Luis M. Quesada Named Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigative Division

Director Christopher Wray has named Luis M. Quesada as the assistant director of the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington. Mr. Quesada most recently served as a deputy assistant director of the Critical Incident Response Group.

Mr. Quesada joined the FBI as a special agent in 1995 and investigated violent crimes out of the Miami Field Office. He transferred to work violent crimes in the San Juan Field Office in Puerto Rico in 1998, and returned to Miami in 2001 to work drug investigations. He served on the SWAT team in Miami and in San Juan.

In 2003, Mr. Quesada transferred to the Terrorist Screening Center under the Counterterrorism Division as a supervisory special agent. He moved to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, in 2005 to teach defensive tactics. In 2007, he returned to Miami as the supervisor of the violent gang and high-intensity drug trafficking area task force.

In 2010, Mr. Quesada was named the assistant legal attache in Buenos Aires, Argentina, responsible for promoting FBI interests there and in Paraguay and Uruguay. In 2012, he was promoted to unit chief in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters, overseeing the Bureaus counternarcotics efforts in Latin America and the U.S. Southwest border. Mr. Quesada was named legal attache of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 2014, and focused on counterterrorism threats throughout the Balkans.

Mr. Quesada was promoted in 2015 to assistant special agent in charge of the Criminal Branch of the Jackson Field Office in Mississippi. He was named an assistant section chief in the Training Division in 2017, before being promoted to chief of the divisions Training Services Section in 2018.

In 2019, Director Wray named Mr. Quesada the special agent in charge of the El Paso Field Office in Texas. He was promoted to the deputy assistant director of the Critical Incident Response Group in 2021.

Prior to joining the FBI, Mr. Quesada was a police officer for the Miami Police Department. He earned a bachelors degree in liberal studies from Florida International University.

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
South Africa: National Assembly recommends candidates for PSC Commissioners posts

The National Assembly (NA) has recommended three candidates for appointment by the President as Commissioners in the Public Service Commission (PSC).

The recommendation follows a letter dated 29 September 2021, which was received from President Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting the National Assembly to recommend fit and proper persons in accordance with section 196(8)(a) of the Constitution.

The names of the three nominated candidates, Zukiswa Mqolomba, Nancy Ngwenya and Professor Mandlenkosi Makhanya, will be forwarded to the President for consideration.

The candidates will fill vacancies that would occur when the term of office of Advocate Richard Sizani, Phumelele Nzimande and Dr Tholumuzi Luthuli, as commissioners in the Public Service Commission ends in January 2022.

Parliamentary spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, said the Speaker referred the matter to the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration.

The committee undertook a recruitment and selection process to find suitable candidates as directed by the Speaker, and to report to the House when its work was concluded.

On 01 December 2021, the committee then established a multiparty subcommittee in accordance with Rule 229 of the National Assembly, which permits a portfolio committee to appoint a subcommittee from among its members, to shortlist and interview candidates.

After a rigorous selection process, the Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration presented a report to the NA, which was considered [on Tuesday], Mothapo said.

The Public Service Commission is an independent institution established in terms of Chapter 10 of the Constitution, 1996. It derives its mandate from section 196 of the Constitution, which sets out the values and principles governing public administration.

The Constitution stipulates that there is a single PSC for the Republic of South Africa, which consist of 14 commissioners. Section 196 (7)(a) of the Constitution stipulates that five commissioners are approved by the National Assembly in accordance with subsection (8)(a).

Section 196(10) states that a commissioner is appointed for a term of five years, which is renewable for one additional term only.

Mothapo said the NA is confident that the candidates recommended for the appointment have a clear understanding, expertise, skills and knowledge of the mandate of the Public Service Commission.

The NA thanks the outgoing Commissioners for their immense contribution to Public Services and wish them well in their endeavours, Mothapo said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Injaz Bahrain has announced the winner of Sheikha Hessa's Award for Inspiring Entrepreneurs and Leaders, a value-driven award recognizing the achievements of Bahrains young innovative thinkers, during its annual Young CEO event.



Among several entrees, two nominees have been selected by a vetting committee to make it to the finals after presenting company ideas that were fuelled by innovation and creativity.



Both Afnan Janahi, Founder of Pause Designs and Fajer Mufeez, Founder of The Journey Adventures, demonstrated innovative, entrepreneurial mindsets through game-changing business ideas that not only served the purpose of the award but add superior value and leave lasting footprints in the Kingdom, directly contributing to the sustainable development of the country, in line with Vision 2030.



Fajer Mufeez, the winner of the bi-annual Sheikha Hessa Award, was honoured during a ceremony held last week at Injaz Bahrains headquarters in the presence of Sheikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairperson of Injaz Bahrain alongside Hana Sarwani, Executive Director of Injaz Bahrain and board members. During the ceremony, Fajer Mufeez was lauded for her outstanding efforts and was handed a monetary prize of BD3,000 ($7,908).



Sheikha Hessa Bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, Injaz Bahrain Chairperson said: We are delighted to announce the winner of this years Sheikha Hessa Award for Inspiring Entrepreneurs and Leaders. All participants have exhibited great efforts in presenting their companies in line with the criteria of the award and we have been extremely proud to see the impact of our programs on their work. The award has tapped into the potential of our students and has reflected their commitment, inspirational entrepreneurial talent, and determination - A true representation of Bahrains dynamic youth.



We extend our congratulations to this years winner and our gratitude to the judging panel including Shaikh Bader Al Khalifa, board member at Injaz Bahrain and General Manager of Corporate Communications & Sustainability and Dana Buheji, board member at Injaz Bahrain and Group Chief Human Resources & Sustainability Officer at National Bank of Bahrain as well as the Injaz Bahrain team who continuously work to achieve Injaz Bahrains vision in supporting Bahraini youth and building a generation of upskilled future leaders.



The Sheikha Hessa award aims at spotting the light on Injaz Bahrains signature Company program and how the program offers young talents a unique opportunity to learn and own their economic success bringing them closer to the real world and opening their minds to their own potential. An opportunity to make better choices for themselves and their communities.  TradeArabia News Service
A legislative effort to establish Juneteenth as an official state holiday passed its first hurdle Tuesday, receiving approval from a Senate committee.

Sen. James Coleman, D-Denver, said recognizing Juneteenth would be a first step toward honoring Black history and ensuring a more prosperous future for all Coloradans. Coleman is sponsoring Senate Bill 139, along with two other Black lawmakers, Aurora Democrat Sen. Janet Buckner and Denver Democrat Rep. Leslie Herod.

Celebrating Juneteenth tells Coloradans we recognize how far weve come as both a state and a nation, and where we can still go, Coleman said. It reminds us that the pursuit of (liberty, freedom and equality) has been a long and arduous one and that, for some, it only continues. This holiday gives those folks hope.

Juneteenth, also called Freedom Day and Emancipation Day, celebrates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. The holiday recognizes June 19, when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger announced slaves in Texas were free in 1865. This announcement came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln declared the end of slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee unanimously passed the bill, moving it to the full Senate for consideration. The vote came after more than a dozen people testified in support of the bill, including many Black youth.

Juneteenth is me, and I am Juneteenth, said Ceirra Noel, a 16-year-old student at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College. Noel said the holiday will help educate young Black people about their history  something, Noel said, not always done in schools.

We deserve a chance to be acknowledged because we are valued. We deserve to have validation that our culture is not seen as a joke, Noel said. "Your guys freedom is celebrated with fireworks, with food, with barbecues. My freedom, I didnt even know about it. ... When learning about my freedom and how your guys freedom is celebrated, the question is, why isnt mine?

Coloradans have recognized Juneteenth for decades, including through the annual Juneteenth parade and music festival in Denvers historic Five Points neighborhood. The celebration is one of the largest in the country, attracting around 50,000 attendees each year, according to event organizers. Five Points first official Juneteenth celebration was held in 1953.

Supporters of the bill say official holiday designation will help spread awareness of Juneteenth and encourage all Coloradans to celebrate the holiday.

Acknowledgment is a part of changing the next era, said Antwaun Johnson, a student at Metropolitan State University of Denver. We cant heal what were unwilling to face. We cant undo our past, but we can change our now and we can define our future.

Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, initially opposed the bill because of its safety clause  which states the legislation is needed to preserve public peace, health or safety. Sponsors added the clause to ensure the bill would go into effect before this upcoming Juneteenth. However, Sonnenberg changed his vote at the last second, saying he agreed with the bills message and didnt want to keep it from going to the consent calendar.

In addition to unanimous approval from the panel, no organization registered in opposition to the bill.

You are heard, said Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, in response to witness testimony in support of the bill. You are heard in this Capitol.

Colorados effort comes eight months after Juneteenth National Independence Day was made a federal holiday  the first since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983  and more than a year after the city of Denver established Juneteenth as an official city commemorative holiday.

If the bill passes, Juneteenth would become Colorados 11th state holiday, during which most schools and state services are closed. This would be the first change to Colorados state holidays since 2020, when lawmakers repealed Columbus Day, replacing it with Frances Xavier Cabrini Day.
Greg Fulton, a 40-year Denver resident, is the president of the Colorado Motor Carriers Association, which represents over 600 companies directly involved in, and affiliated with trucking in Colorado.
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Colorado Springs police have asked the community for help finding two men suspected of trying to kill two women at a bar east of downtown in January, officers said.

On Jan. 21, a male customer fired shots into Babylonia Bar & Grill as he left the area in a vehicle, injuring two female customers around 10:44 p.m., police said.

Officers described one of the men as 25 to 35 years old, of medium build, with short dark hair, a goatee, mustache and wearing a gray hoodie.

The other man was described as the same age, heavy build with facial hair, brown eyes, a dark tattoo on the left side of his neck and wearing a yellow, black and white Iowa Hawkeyes beanie, a jacket with a black torso and white arms and faded blue jeans.

Police requested anyone that who knows the men's identities or has information to call officers at 719-444-7000, or to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 719-634-STOP (7867) or 1-800-222-8477.
Two straight months of tossing out the ruins of your lifes work will consume a man. That's why the total gravity of the Marshall Fire's destruction didn't sink in for Paul Williams until he saw the wrecked landscape of Original Town Superior from a high mountain trail.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday  the next stop as the actor-turned-turned-wartime leader uses the Western worlds great legislative bodies as a global stage to help his country
Workers and volunteers on Tuesday unloaded box after box of syringes, gloves, suction equipment, skin scrub trays, masks and gowns onto trucks from a UCHealth loading dock in Colorado Springs as part of an an effort to help the people of Ukraine during the war with Russia.

Two UCHealth locations  one in Colorado Springs, the other in Denver  collected about $200,000 in medical supplies to help Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia about two weeks ago. The supplies were purchased during the height of the COVID pandemic, and UCHealth officials said they saw an opportunity to donate the much-needed supplies while coronavirus cases have slowed down.

"We're doing our part in helping in any way we can," said Keith Bresciani, the UCHealth Southern Colorado inventory manager. "We can't be there physically but we can supply the support that is needed. And this is what we thought we can do to help."

The shipment will be expedited in hopes of arriving in Ukraine as quickly as in a few days, said Baret Walker, the executive director of Project C.U.R.E. in Denver, which is handling the delivery of the medical supplies. They will be used for trauma care in field hospitals during emergency situations, officials said.

Project C.U.R.E., which started 35 years ago from an Evergreen garage, is the world's largest distributor of donated medical equipment to countries across the globe. The nonprofit hopes its contacts and relationship with Poland can help get the supplies to western Ukraine in a timely fashion, Walker said.

"It's an unthinkable humanitarian human crisis going on," Walker said. "We know several of the hospitals and clinics we've traditionally served have been impacted. ... Earlier this week, we heard 31 hospitals have been bombed. We are working now on outfitting field clinics and (population) centers and where we can get our supplies to."

On Tuesday, 17 palates of medical supplies were loaded onto trucks from the UCHealth loading dock in Colorado Springs.

Thousands of people are thought to have been killed, both civilians and soldiers, though the actual number is unknown.

The U.S. believes Russia underestimated the strength of Ukraines resistance before launching its invasion and has suffered thousands of casualties, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told lawmakers Tuesday in Washington.

UCHealth and Project C.U.R.E.'s efforts to send the supplies to Ukraine are not rooted in politics, officials said.

"There are people in need," said Bresciani. "Whether we agree or disagree, they are in need. We have an ability to help them and it's our due diligence to do that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
For the decades ahead, Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas, aims to be a technology pathfinder for the global aluminium industry including in the adoption of Industry 4.0.

EGA wants to expand its position as technology supplier of choice, and establish a thriving manufacturing innovation ecosystem in the UAE, EGA officials apprised Sarah Bint Yousif Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology, during her visit to the company.

The Minister was briefed on how EGAs technologists and engineers collectively spent more than 6,200 work-days in Bahrain supporting Aluminium Bahrain to implement EGAs DX+ Ultra technology on its project.

EGA is in discussions with companies from Colombia to Indonesia on further potential technology and technological know-how transfers from the UAE.

Al Amiri stressed that under the directives of the UAE leadership the Ministry is fully focused on supporting the growth of national industries, stimulating innovation and facilitating the adoption of advanced technology in industrial systems and solutions.

It also seeks to encourage and develop industries in which the country has a competitive advantage in order to attract investment. Heavy industries are considered a priority sector for the country, due to their high operational efficiencies and ability to enhance the competitiveness of Emirati products in global markets.

She commended Emirates Global Aluminium for its support of the advanced industrial sector in the UAE, and its vital national role in enhancing productivity and industrial efficiency, its adoption of advanced technology, and its development of technical and knowledge capabilities. She also noted that the UAE offers unprecedented investment incentives and facilities to enable and stimulate the industrial sector, whether at the level of priority industries or industries of the future.

The Minister was received at EGAs Al Taweelah site in Abu Dhabi by Managing Director Abdulla Kalban, Chief Executive Officer Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, and the companys leading scientists and technologists.

EGA is one of the UAEs most innovative companies and has developed its own aluminium smelting technology in the UAE for more than 25 years. EGAs latest technology, DX+ Ultra, is amongst the most efficient in the global aluminium industry. The company has used its own technology in all its smelter expansions since the 1990s and has retrofitted all its older production lines.

In 2016, EGA became the first UAE industrial company to license its core process technology internationally through a deal with Aluminium Bahrain, in a milestone in the development of a knowledge economy in the country.

Kalban said: Innovation and continuous improvement have been foundations of EGAs competitiveness for decades, and we have bold aspirations to lead the technological development of our industry for the decades ahead. We were honoured to brief Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri on the work we do, and receive her guidance on how we can further contribute to the UAEs industrial innovation to achieve the goals of Operation 300bn.

The Minister was also briefed by EGA scientists on the companys research and development breakthroughs in the productive re-use of bauxite residue.

More than 150 million tonnes of bauxite residue is thought to be produced worldwide each year, with less than two per cent put to productive use.

EGAs new game-changing process converts bauxite residue in its entirety in hours into an environmentally-benign, plant-friendly soil. The scientists discussed with the Minister their portfolio of other novel applications for the by-product that are set to be publicly unveiled in the coming months.

EGA had worked with academics from The University of Queenslands School of Agriculture and Food Sciences on the bauxite residue project.

The Minister heard how EGA scientists and technologists collaborate with both international and local universities to combine EGAs industrial expertise with the latest academic thinking, as well as promote scientific research and encourage young scientists and engineers. Local universities EGA collaborates with include the American University of Sharjah, Khalifa University, and UAE University.-- TradeArabia News Service
Al Salem Johnson Controls has been a pioneer in empowering Saudi women in the HVAC-R (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration) sector expanding women's employment by 107% to include managerial positions as well.

These women have proven their mettle and gone on to achieve important leadership positions, thereby opening the door wide for the significant presence of women in this field in years to come.

CEO of Al Salem Johnson Controls in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and Yemen, Dr Mohanad AlShaikh said at present, the number of female employees in Al Salem Johnson Controls is 118 and leadership positions for women have seen a rise of 10%.

AlShaikh said that the company started its endeavour of empowering women more than 15 years ago by being keen on attracting women in several departments within the company, including IT, financial affairs, supply chain, data analysis and others.

For example, in recent years, a number of Saudi female engineers have joined the companys Young Leaders Programme in areas where mostly dominated by their male counterparts in the past.

With the opening of the York Manufacturing Complex in King Abdullah Economic City in 2021, the company is training Saudi women in various production lines, enabling them to be directly involved in the manufacturing and assembling of Saudi-made York units, and thus play a role in achieving the twin goals of Vision 2030, which include developing the local manufacturing industry as well as empowering women.

The Saudi women working in the HVAC-R sector feel happy and proud because they are among the first to be working in this field in the kingdom, the CEO added.-- TradeArabia News Service
IBM has announced the launch of its Client Engineering team in Middle East and Africa (MEA) for clients and business partners.

Located across four countries  UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and South Africa, IBM Client Engineering will drive innovation across the MEA region by providing an enhanced customer experience, focused on co-creation, technical eminence and speed.

Client Engineering teams consists of designers, solution architects, data scientists, cloud engineers, security experts, business transformation consultants and more who work on the agile co-creation of IBM technology and Consulting solutions for their clients  all within 6-8 weeks.

The team of creators uses technologies such as Cloud, Data, Automation and Security to deliver innovative solutions that address business use cases and challenges in industries such as government, financial services, telecommunications and travel and transportation, among others.

In addition, the Client Engineering teams will have deep expertise in AI, automation, site reliability and security to help optimise business operations and improve client outcomes in the region.

Across the region, Client Engineering will also leverage access to the Global Industry Solution Centres and their expertise and solutions to advise clients across industries on solving their most critical business challenges at speed - including those clients in some of the most highly-regulated industries.

As it becomes more critical than ever to innovate with technology, organisations across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) are looking for new approaches to doing business which enable them deliver digital transformation to address fast-changing consumer needs despite disruption, said Saad Toma, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Africa.

"With Client Engineerings focus on co-creation and co-execution, these teams will ensure organisations across MEA overcome obstacles to modernise and transform  ultimately fast-tracking innovation and helping clients drive lasting, meaningful outcomes.

Covid-19 has changed the entire landscape in which organisations worldwide operate. Customers and employees became homebound, supply chains and entire industries were disrupted.

Organisations needed to reinvent their existing business models, speed digitisation and technologies like AI, hybrid cloud and prioritise security to survive and emerge stronger.

As Client Engineering teams set out to drive transformation, spur innovation, and reshape business for a digital future, they will focus on jointly deciding on outcomes for clients and act with urgency while adapting and iterating solutions.

Engagements with clients will be varied based on their specific journey and teams will leverage design thinking methodology for client results. While some will work towards the creation of a Minimal Viable Product (MVP), other engagements will lead to a prototype which integrates features of a product or service or Proof of Technology (POT) designed to test whether a specific technology is a viable solution.

Teams will also engage, scope and deliver MVPs faster through accelerators for open hybrid cloud, data fabric, customer care, business automation, observability and security and build client journeys in automation, Data & AI, AI applications, and Security.

By adopting a co-creation approach with IBM, organisations across industries will be enabled to quickly innovate IT solutions:

In government, IBM Client Engineering will help address the growing need for the public sector to be able to work with agility and speed to harness new capabilities, reduce costs and improve on the effectiveness of citizen services.

Financial Services providers co-creating and co-executing with Client Engineering teams will be better enabled to meet the needs of digital customers while addressing regulatory and resiliency issues and enhancing mobile and digital platforms for future operations.

For telecommunications providers increasingly looking to drive value from their data, improve fraud detection and implement cost-effective analytic processing on their network, IBM Client Engineering teams offer expertise to address these large-scale issues.

Our clients have been greatly challenged by the unprecedented disruption of Covid which increased demand, expectations, complexity and constraints. To truly come out stronger and resilient, organisations must invest in end-to-end transformation. The time has come for a different approach that leverages the latest open technologies in hybrid cloud and AI combined with agile methods which helps organisations test market fit quickly and expand solutions using real-time data  this is what IBM Client Engineering is set to do for businesses in MEA, explains Mohamed Behiry, IBM MEA Client Engineering Manager.-- TradeArabia News Service
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Signs in the medians along the streets leading up to the Westside Community Center show concern for the closing of the popular center.
The UAE has launched the ambitious National Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which has created more than 25 tie-ups with leading institutions in the public and private sectors to support citizen entrepreneurs.

The tie-ups were formed after the Ministry of Economy unveiled a new vision for the National Programme for (SMEs), aimed at providing entrepreneurs and SME-owners in the UAE with several new and integrated initiatives and services.

The new set of services are designed to provide national businesses with more growth possibilities and improved market access.

During a media briefing Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, announced the launch of various initiatives which comes as part of the three main programmes presented by the National Programme under a new platform.

This further reflects changes in the services provided to citizen entrepreneurs to support them in developing their projects, thereby enabling them to increase their contribution to the countrys economic diversification efforts and growth in line with the goals of the Projects of the 50.

These programmes include the Government Procurement Programme, the Business Support Programme, and the Financing Solutions Programme.

Dr Al Falasi said: "The announcement of the new programmes and services under the National Programme for SMEs is in line with our wise leaderships vision, which places the citizen first, second and third in our developmental priorities. It places absolute faith on entrepreneurs, and recognises the importance of entrepreneurship as a major driver for building the future economy and achieving more flexibility, sustainability and innovation in the national economy in accordance with the principles and goals of the Projects of the 50. Our efforts to develop SMEs and support entrepreneurial projects led by Emirati youth will continue, by providing them with all the facilities and necessary tools to achieve commercial success, business continuity and growth. He pointed out that SMEs today represent 94% of the total companies and institutions operating in the country and contribute more than 50% to the country's GDP.

Furthermore, Dr Al Falasi reviewed the most prominent indicators that reflect the advanced position that the UAE has achieved in developing its entrepreneurial environment to world-leading levels, as:

 The country ranked first globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2022 and ranked first in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report as the best destination in the world for establishing and starting businesses and having the most supportive environment for entrepreneurship.

The number of commercial licences registered for Emirati entrepreneurs increased from nearly 23,000 in 2019 to about 29,000 in 2021, with a growth rate of 26%.

 It hosts a number of fast-growing pioneering companies and Unicorns that originated from the UAE before going global, such as Careem, Souq.com, Kitobi, Swvl and others.

He said: "Through the new programmes and initiatives that we are announcing today, we look forward to achieving further progress in the country's entrepreneurship system by providing integrated services to UAE national entrepreneurs, serving their business growth and enhancing their market share."

He added that the National Programme for SMEs under the Ministry of Economy is keen to consolidate its role in supporting Emirati entrepreneurs as a major platform for these business owners to avail its the advanced services.

Dr Al Falasi clarified that the new services represent a continuation and expansion of the National SME Programmes efforts during the last phase, and that a dedicated team within the ministry cooperated with various partners and communicated with citizen entrepreneurs to better understand their needs and challenges, and then later developed a new vision which integrates the services, incentives, initiatives and partnerships in order to provide services that consider future needs and keep pace with the ambitions of entrepreneurs.

With regard to the new Government Procurement Programme, Al Falasi explained that the Ministry of Economy renewed its partnership with the Ministry of Finance to enable Emirati entrepreneurs to register on the Federal Procurement Platform in a more efficient and seamless manner.

The National Programme, in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, will allocate special workshops on the platform to enable member entrepreneurs to access various information about procurement and contracts available in the Federal Government. The two parties will also form specific committees to look into any challenges facing Emirati entrepreneurs regarding the federal platform.

The Minister further noted that the National programme at the initial stage will coordinate with the government procurement of three federal entities namely the Ministry of Education, the Emirates Foundation for Health Services, and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.

He emphasised that the goal of this stage is to put in place the appropriate processes to ensure the involvement of the federal procurement in serving the needs of citizen business owners, and thereby expand the scope of the initiative to ensure success, achieve the desired outcomes, and provide advanced services that include all ministries and target entities.

He continued: "What distinguishes the launch of this government procurement programme today is the expansion of the entities participating in this initiative, This is made possible through a series of partnerships signed by the programme with national institutions. So far, 13 partnerships have been concluded, including the ones with the United Arab Emirates University, Emirates Post Group, Emirates Transport, Zayed University, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du), Higher Colleges of Technology, Federal National Council of the UAE, Etihad Airways, and Etisalat Group.

In addition, the Minister underlined that there is great interest from all concerned entities with the implementation of this initiative, in line with the directives of the wise leadership.

We also see a great demand from the private sector and national companies in the country to participate in this initiative and support it in a way that serves citizen entrepreneurs who own small and medium enterprises Efforts in this direction are continuing, and we will announce more partnerships in the coming months to expand contracting opportunities for SMEs that are members of the National Programme. During the next stage, we will also work on developing well-studied indicators to measure the performance of these partnerships and the efficiency of the work mechanisms used to ensure that they achieve the desired results, he added.

In addition, he reviewed the efforts of the National SME Programme to develop the "Business Support Programme" through which, various services are provided to entrepreneurs based on special partnerships forged by the Programme in this regard. These services include:

 Telecoms service, in partnership with the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), and will contribute to providing a more efficient and advanced digital services to Emirati entrepreneurs.

 Accounting and internal audit service through several partnerships held by the National Programme with seven national companies specialised in this field, representing a service from entrepreneurs to entrepreneurs.

 Enterprise resource planning service through important partnerships that allow entrepreneurs to access effective digitisation of institutional resources as the best way to manage resources in projects, as well as high-level consulting services that contribute to the development of national projects and enable them to grow.

 Insurance services, where the programme has developed partnerships to provide insurance solutions, especially for health and vehicle insurance programmes

 Incentives programme, through a continuing cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation which offers reduced cost in labor recruitment commensurate with the capabilities of small and medium enterprises, making them more flexible.

Elaborating on the financing solutions programme offered by the National SMEs Programme, he said for members through an integrated partnership between the National Programme and the Emirates Development Bank. These tools currently include:

*The Business Banking Services Application: It is one of the innovative technological solutions that enable entrepreneurs to open their bank accounts within a few minutes and activate them within 48 hours;

*Financing solutions: include crowdfunding, loan guarantee, and direct lending;

*Non-financial services: include specialised advisory services and solutions;

*The Sanad initiative: Through this initiative, the Emirates Development Bank has allocated financial liquidity worth AED100 million ($27.23 million), and aims to support the recovery and acceleration of the business of Emirati SMEs affected by the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Al Falasi said that the working group in the ministry will constantly work to develop partnerships and services to serve Emirati entrepreneurs. Our ambition is for the programmes platform become the main go-to platform for every Emirati entrepreneur, and we will make sure to provide all the tools to meet all major requirements that will enable Emirati entrepreneurs to cope with challenges in the market and contribute to their growth and success.

He urged various entities and companies to continue supporting the countrys entrepreneurship programmes and participate in the National Programme for SMEs to contribute to providing incentives and unique services to entrepreneurs to further boost their contribution to the countrys global competitiveness and promote growth of the national economy.-- TradeArabia News Service
Disgruntled former employees of Newmonts Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. spoke out about their recent termination for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Newmont officials announced the requirement in October that all employees must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 31. Employees who failed to comply were asked to either resign or be terminated.

The majority of Newmonts employees are vaccinated, said Katie Blake, CC&Vs sustainability and external relations representative.

Blake did not say how many employees were terminated for refusing the vaccine.

As of 2019, CC&V employed more than 600 people in the surrounding area, making it one of Teller County's largest employers.

Gabe Pyle, a former production driller for Newmont, was one who rebelled against the mandate.

I didnt feel the vaccine worked, unlike the one for polio, scarlet fever and chickenpox, which have been proven to work, Pyle said. Ive never heard of a vaccine where, if you take it, you can still get sick.

Pyles aunt died of COVID-19 after being vaccinated, he said. He and his mother both caught the virus in December. It was pretty debilitating; we were both sick about 10 days.

The death of his aunt along with his and his mothers illness confirmed Pyles position. Instead of becoming vaccinated, he said, I decided to allow Newmont to terminate me.

This month, Pyle starts a new job as a production driller with the Climax Mine in Leadville, which mines molybdenum.

Like Pyle, Carolyn (who declined to use her real name for fear of retribution) started job searching in October. I wasnt really pursuing jobs that were in my field because I was hoping, hoping, that Newmont would reverse the order, she said.

Carolyn based her hope on a U.S. Supreme Court decision in January that would rescind the vaccine-or-test mandate for employees in companies with more than 100 workers. Then, the court knocked it down for anybody outside of health care, she said.

As a result, she resigned after refusing the vaccine.

I dont think I need it, dont want it, dont trust it, she said. I wore a mask, stayed 6 feet apart and took a preventive health concoction of vitamins D, C and zinc. Im healthy.

Before leaving the company, Carolyn emptied her 401(k) retirement account to pay the bills. I have a job now, thankfully, that doesnt require vaccination, she said. but Im making half of what I was making up there.

A co-worker of Carolyns tried to get a religious exemption from the mandate, but was denied. So, he changed his mind and got the shot.

I couldnt afford to lose my job, said the employee, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. I didnt want to uproot my family.

The vaccine requirement and subsequent terminations are affecting the remaining workforce in the mine, he said.

People are pretty demoralized, he said. This employee estimates that of 550 employees, 450 remain on the job.

In a Feb. 23 Facebook post, former CC&V worker Cody Schwab wrote: I cant even begin to explain how upside down and insane my world is lately. After 21 years at the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine, I was fired last month. It was a great place to work for a lot of reasons and I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to have continued my familys legacy and been a fourth-generation Cripple Creek gold miner.

Schwab adds that his son, Braden Schwab, is a fifth-generation family member to work in the mine. He was hired by Newmont about a year ago.

A 10-year CC&V mine employee who resigned over the mandate, Antonio Atencio, takes issue with the agreement that Newmont asked its non-vaccinated employees to sign. In part, Atencio said, by signing the agreement, employees agree not to talk about the company or the mandate.

During the pandemic, Newmont required employees to fill out documents related to COVID-19 daily, to include information about their specific worksite and with whom the employee was working, Atencio said.

Atencio disagrees with the vaccine requirement.

If people want to take the shot, thats their personal life, he said. I didnt take the shot because I follow God no matter what. I read my Bible.

Acknowledging that others who believe in God got the vaccine, Atencio said thats their personal choice.

In leaving his job with the mine, Atencio gives up an annual salary of $90,000, plus bonuses.

Walking away is a hard thing to do, to make a decision that alters your whole life, he said. Im going to relax for three months, then look for a job.

Like others who quit jobs for COVID-related reasons during what is being called "The Great Resignation," Atencio is looking back over the past 10 years.

Now that Im not there  I was up days, nights, days, nights  Im seeing how hard it is on your body, he said. Extra-long days; I lost a lot of sleep. Its not just me, because a lot of good employees have left, so the mine has lost a lot of knowledge.

In an article published in the Feb. 16 edition of The Courier, Blake cited the reasons for Newmonts vaccine mandate: We are in a global pandemic and believe that vaccination is a critical tool to protect the health and safety of our workforce and the communities in which we work and live, she said.

Newmont remains committed to the CC&V workforce and to a productive partnership with the communities of Cripple Creek and Victor.

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, 4,737 Teller County residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19, 317 hospitalized, and 55 have died.
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the worlds largest smelter ex-China, has won the International Safety Award  Merit by the British Safety Council in recognition of its commitment to keeping its workforce safe and healthy during the calendar year of 2021.

Commenting on this award, Albas Chief Executive Officer, Ali Al Baqali said: Luck always run out, but Safety is good for life. We are pleased to win again the prestigious International Safety Award by the British Safety Council as we stay on course to attain our objective -- Together #1 in Safety and ESG.

2021 was truly a golden year in many aspects as we went above and beyond to keep our human capital safe amidst the Covid-19 crisis and closed the year with more than 20 million safe working hours without Lost Time Injuries (LTI). Today, we are steering towards 24 million safe working hours without (LTI).

Now in their 64th year, the International Safety Awards recognise and celebrate organisations from around the world which have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the schemes independent judges their commitment to preventing workplace injuries and work-related ill health during the previous calendar year. The awards also acknowledge organisations that have shown commitment to the wellbeing and mental health at work.--TradeArabia News Network
Airport Show, the worlds largest airport industry B2B platform that will be organised in May in Dubai, will focus on sustainability to ensure a better future for the airport industry.

The 21st edition of Airport Show, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, will be held from May 17 to 19 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

The event will provide insights about airports facing the sustainability challenge, said Reed Exhibitions Middle East, organiser of the show.

With the Airports Council International (ACI) predicting global passenger traffic recovering by 2023-end to the 2019 levels, airports, especially in the Middle East region, have started sharply focusing on their sustainability and green goals, said a statement.

More vulnerable to climate changes than most regions due to limited water supplies and harsh summers, the region is seeing airports using environment-friendly reclaimed wood, daylighting systems and water treatment technologies.

The Middle East is expected to see its aviation market reaching the $23.07 billion mark in 2026.

Airport show, in partnership with dnata, will launch e-Apron zone that will provide exhibitors an opportunity to display electric and hybrid ground handling equipment and GSE.

Reducing the carbon footprint is a key target for dnata as a world-leading air and travel services provider at 129 airports and we expect more exhibitors will join our efforts for more sustainable operations, said Raed Younes, Vice President, UAE and Regional Business Development at dnata.

The airport operations have a sharp focus on reviewing the intensity of environmental impacts like carbon emissions, energy consumption, air and noise pollution, waste management and biodiversity. They are practising innovative, unconventional and alternative solutions and, through operational efficiency, working drive significant sustainability.

More than 90 airports are set to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Over 350 airports across the world have successfully accredited under the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, representing 46.1 per cent of global air traffic. That contributed to a total of more than 322,000 tonnes of CO2 getting reduced annually. About 242 airports have individually signed up to achieve that goal.

The commitment to the development of airport infrastructure will need new technologies and innovation for improving operations and reducing their environmental footprints. According to a new study by ACI, airports need to keep modernizing their infrastructure to improve sustainability and resilience if the passenger demand into the future and Net-Zero carbon emissions are to be met.

Airports are working with governments and key stakeholders to address, minimise and mitigate the environmental impacts of the continued aviation growth in the long term. Airport Show is supporting airports in their green initiatives like reducing the carbon footprint across all operations and aligning their programmes to Net-Zero emissions by 2050.

Firas Abu Ltaif, Exhibition Manager at Reeds Exhibitions, said: Airports require to be fully prepared for the boom coming soon. Airports, as part of the ecosystem, are working their ways in the climate change domain. The Airport Show added sustainability to its agenda as the airports on every continent have been focussing on ways to cope with the climate change challenges and the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation programme moving fast on its missions.

The shows co-located events are ATC Forum, Airport Security Middle East, Global Airport Leaders Forum (GALF) and Women in Aviation (WIA) Forum, Airport Passengers Experience Conference and the Future GSE Summit.  TradeArabia News Service
Iowas second attempt to criminalize unauthorized surveillance inside agricultural facilities has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge.

Iowa seeks to protect private property rights by singling out for punishment, at least in part, trespassers based on their disfavored viewpoint of agriculture, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Rose said in her ruling Monday, adding that its precisely this intent that other courts have found to be unconstitutional.

The state of Iowa may not single out individuals for special punishment based on their critical viewpoint of agricultural practices, Rose ruled. It is the proper province of the legislature to determine whether specific facilities  such as agricultural facilities, nuclear power plants, military bases, or other sensitive buildings  are entitled to special legal protections. However, the First Amendment does not allow those protections to be based on a violators viewpoint.

Asked whether the state intends to appeal Roses ruling, a spokesperson for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said Tuesday the office is reviewing the matter and determining next steps.

In the past 10 years, Iowas state legislators have passed four separate laws intended to discourage activists from obtaining jobs at agricultural facilities for the purpose of conducting undercover investigations into the treatment of animals.

The first such law was ruled unconstitutional in 2019 by U.S. District Judge James Gritzner, who said it was a violation of the First Amendment. That decision was appealed and prompted the Iowa Legislature to enact a second law that attempted to address the issues raised by Gritzner.

The second law was challenged by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, Bailing Out Benji, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Center for Food Safety. Enforcement of the law was then temporarily blocked by a judge, citing the pending appeal related to Iowas first farm trespass law.

In August 2021, a three-judge appellate panel party partially reversed Gritzner on the first law, finding that criminalizing false statements on employment applications was unconstitutional, but criminalizing the act of gaining access to an ag facility through false pretenses was not.

That ruling cleared the way for consideration of the constitutionality of the second trespass law and resulted in Mondays decision by Judge Rose.

The plaintiffs in the case argued the law discriminated based on viewpoint because it singles out a specific industry for favoritism and seeks to silent critics of that industry. The state argued otherwise and said that while some legislators had talked of the need to silence animal rights activists and critics of meatpacking plants, others spoke of the larger need to protect private property and biosecurity.

Rose rejected the states argument, noting that crucially, the stated purposes of the law  private property rights and biosecurity  would also be implicated for deceptive trespassers without the intent to harm the facility  Defendants offer no explanation why the strict biosecurity protocols discussed by some of the legislators are not at risk by a benign or benevolent deceptive trespasser.

Rose ruled that because the law criminalizes deception to gain access to agricultural facilities, and only for the purpose of causing physical or economic harm, it establishes different standards for animal rights activists and others who might use deception to gain access to facilities for other reasons.

The state, she noted, had argued that Iowa is entitled to address a specific problem, which the legislature determined to be deceptive trespass by those who seek to cause harm to agricultural facilities. But plaintiffs point out that this is precisely the problem with the law: that it is not intended to address all trespass or resume fraud at agricultural facilities  only that of individuals like plaintiffs who intend to document certain practices.

Also, Rose said, the harm that the law seeks to prohibit stems from the speech, or the publication of information, that grows out of the unprotected, false statements used to gain access to the facility.

The ruling represents a major victory for the plaintiffs as it was issued as part of a summary judgment order, in which the case was decided without the necessity of a trial.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa praised Roses decision. ACLU Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said the law was crafted to silence critics of worker rights abuses, animal cruelty, unsafe food safety practices, and environmental hazards in agricultural facilities.

The law, she said, singles out for punishment speakers critical of big agriculture, while those who would promote or praise agriculture are protected.

In response to the ruling, Animal Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Stephen Wells said it is incomprehensible that Iowa legislators continue to waste Iowans taxpayer dollars to pass and defend unconstitutional laws that suppress free speech simply to protect their own financial interests. We hope this ruling sends a clear message that the Iowa legislature should cease its efforts to pass unconstitutional ag-gag laws.

The state is currently defending another lawsuit over its fourth ag trespass law, which was passed by lawmakers last spring.

That lawsuit, filed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the other co-plaintiffs to the previous lawsuits, alleges the newest law makes it a crime for a person who trespasses to use cameras or electronic surveillance devices on the trespassed property.

The plaintiffs argue that the new law seeks to create the gloss of legitimacy by applying to industries beyond agriculture, so that the state can claim its aim is not just to prevent pro-animal speech. And it targets speech alongside other activities, so that the state can claim its real aim is to prohibit conduct, not speech.

The state has not filed an answer to the complaint, but it has asked the court to dismiss the case on jurisdictional and other grounds. The plaintiffs have countered by asking for summary judgment in their favor. A hearing on those motions has yet to be scheduled.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.

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Averett University and West Main Baptist Church are co-hosting a fundraising classical music concert being performed in solidarity in support of the Ukrainian people.

The groups invite the community to hear world renowned pianists Katya Kramer-Lapin and Vyacheslav Gryaznov as they play in the sanctuary at West Main Baptist Church at 5 p.m. Sunday.

There is a suggested donation of $25 to attend.

Senior citizens, children and students are welcome to donate any amount at the door.

All proceeds will be going toward the Red Cross Ukraine.

We want the Ukrainian community to feel they are not alone, organizers said. Our hearts are with Ukraine.

Parking is available at the church or along West Main Street and Mountain View Avenue. Masks are optional.

The church is located at 450 W. Main St, in Danville.

Learn more at bit.ly/3IdkbDC or visit Eventbrite to purchase tickets online at bit.ly/3t9dpuu.
GREENSBORO  For the first time this weekend, Mabel Poblet saw her hanging lobby sculpture up close at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts.

It was very emotional for me, Poblet said Monday in Spanish, translated by an interpreter. I almost cried.

At 36, Mabel (pronounced Ma-BELL) Poblet of Havana is considered one of Cubas top emerging artists.

This year, she finally obtained a visa that enabled her to travel to the Tanger Center.

On Sunday, Poblet made her way here, to add finishing lighting touches to the sculpture that she designed and created long distance.

A team led by a contracted New York art consultant had installed it more than two years ago, just before the Tanger Center originally was scheduled to open.

When her sculpture was hung in 2020, it was a project I had been working on for five to six years already, Poblet said. Seeing it in real life  its like bringing a child to life. And its very well integrated into the building and the lobby.

On Monday, Poblet attended a morning reception under her hanging sculpture.

That afternoon, she went to the Greensboro Childrens Museum. There, children from The Experiential School of Greensboro made new art from remnants of Poblets installation.

They then visited the Tanger Center to see Poblets creation.

Poblets sculpture, called Genesis, consists of nearly 200 strands of laser-cut acrylic disks  their colors reflective metallic or clear. The disks range in diameter from 6 to 24 inches. They rotate gently in the air current.

Lighting plays a key role.

During the recent touring Broadway show, Wicked, a green light was cast on the reflective disks.

On Sunday, Poblet worked with a lighting technician to add a new color palette that alludes to the four seasons.

When someone comes in to see a performance, they will see one color, Poblet said. When they exit, they will see a different color. That way, they are interacting with the art work.

The lobby installation takes up much of the ceiling  74 feet by 30 feet of space and 12 feet from top to bottom.

It hangs in the 8,000-square-foot, two-story lobby  called Phillips Hall for the locally-based family foundation that gave $5 million to the Tanger Center project. Of that, $500,000 was earmarked for art installation.

New York art consultant Cynthia Reeves led the foundations search for an artist. They considered 30 before selecting Poblet.

Genesis became the first piece of its kind commissioned out of Havana since the 2015 brief opening of full diplomatic relations with Cuba.

When creating a piece of art, Poblet said: Normally, I start with an idea based on a life experience I had. Then I start taking notes on the idea. Then I start drawing, making an idea of how it could formally work.

She makes a three-dimensional model and uses a computer for design.

The acrylic disks are light in weight and reflect surroundings and spectators.

Thats something we wanted to incorporate in the artwork  to make the spectator be part of the artwork, Poblet said.

But Poblet couldnt be here for fabrication or installation.

Her visa had expired in 2019. She finally got another in the Dominican Republic, but it was canceled because of the pandemic. She had to wait another year before obtaining one in Madrid.

So Reeves led efforts to have the artwork fabricated and engineered in the United States.

Poblet said she was pleased when she saw the results online.

They respected all what I wanted, Poblet said. Its the first piece I have made on that scale. I think that will be a step forward in my career as an artist.

Poblet will soon depart to coordinate future projects in the United States, then return to Havana. She will leave satisfied by the result  as well as satisfied customers.

Its an honor for me to be part of this, and also its an honor to be part of this bridge of the homage to the Phillips family and the Tanger Center, Poblet said. I hope that the public of Greensboro will enjoy the artwork, will feel integrated into the artwork and will be part of it  just like I was.

Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 336-373-5204 and follow @dawndkaneNR on Twitter.
As far as monumental moments, March 13, 2020, may not stand out as pivotal.

But it will be forever etched in history as the day the pandemic hit home for the Dan River Region.

With each passing hour that day, it became crystal clear the novel coronavirus had infiltrated daily routines. Community events were canceled in sweeping fashion as life virtually came to a standstill.

Then came the ultimate shock. Delivered via news release at about 2 p.m. that day, Gov. Ralph Northam ordered all Virginia schools closed for two weeks. In itself it would have marked the longest shuttering even compared with lingering impacts from a crippling snowstorm in the South.

At the time, even health experts couldnt fathom the fallout of COVID-19 would linger as long as it has.

But here we are.

We really had no idea what we were in for with the novel virus, Dr. Scott Spillmann, director of the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, told the Register & Bee last week. While we knew there would be certain problems along the way, we didnt think it would last more than a few months, especially past the cold weather.

The two-year anniversary is marked with harsh realities. Some 24,707 cases of the illness caused by the coronavirus officially have been reported in Danville and Pittsylvania County. The true number is undoubtedly higher.

A total of 450 residents  family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers  have died at the hands of COVID-19.

When it all started, the economic impact dwarfed the implications to health and daily lives. After all, the precautions were put in place before any infections started swirling in the region.

That soon changed.

It was not until we had two outbreaks in long-term care facilities at the end of March [2020] that we all started to see the devastation that COVID-19 could cause, McKenna Luzynski, an epidemiologist with the Southside Health District, told the Register & Bee.

Nursing homes, filled with vulnerable individuals, were hit hard in the early days. Stringent lockdowns  all with an eye to keeping residents safe  quickly became the norm.

When it started, Chris H. Garrett, local health emergency coordinator with the Pittsylvania-Danville Health District, used the 1918 Spanish Flu as a benchmark for what was unfolding in real time.

COVID-19 is a different disease, but the overall planning and time expectations do not change, he explained. It seemed to follow the same pattern.

It soon became apparent those two-week shutdowns werent enough. The pause on life extended for the months ahead.

Long hours

To this day, Luzynski still goes to sleep each night with her work phone next to her bed in case someone needs her during the night.

I worked an average of 60-70 hours per week, the epidemiologist said of the early months in the pandemic. We all worked late nights and all day on the weekends.

Sometimes that meant being on the phone as late as 1 a.m. or answering a call at 4 in the morning.

Our epidemiologists were easily working 15 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week, Spillman said.

Garrett said it wasnt uncommon to have people on the job for about 80 hours in a week.

Over at Sovah Health-Danville, emotions were high for the uncharted territory.

When our care team initially started diagnosing COVID-19 in our hospital, we realized that symptoms of the virus can vary among individuals and spread very quickly, Dr. Sheranda Gunn-Nolan, market chief medical officer for Sovah Health, said. These two fundamentals were critical in how we treated and responded to the virus.

The health system with campuses in Danville and Martinsville wanted to ensure the community it was prepared and had contingencies ready.

Our quick response and preparedness in unknown conditions demonstrates the power of our employees, the strength of our team, and the value of our community-centered care, Gunn-Nolan told the Register & Bee. We wanted to assure our community that our providers and clinical teams are well-trained and prepared to manage outbreaks of viruses and infectious diseases, including the coronavirus. We were in this together  not just as a care team or hospital  but as a community.

Education

Virginia, led at the time by the only governor who was a doctor, became the first state in the nation to cancel classes for the rest of the year.

Few could have imagined the extent to which our lives and the education of our students would be disrupted, Pittsylvania County Schools Superintendent Mark Jones told the Register & Bee. During the initial days of the pandemic, we did not have the luxury of languishing in feelings of shock or disappointment.

Instead, schools were thrust into coming up with an action plan that extended far beyond the educational environment. In Pittsylvania County, the school nutrition departments staff was among the first to respond.

They put a plan in place for emergency distribution of meals the first week school was closed by order of Northam.

Even after the governor extended his temporary closure to encompass the balance of the 2019-2020 school year, positivity in the face of adversity characterized the response of every department within our school system in the weeks and months that followed as they rallied to formulate plans to meet the needs of our students throughout the pandemic, Jones said.

Danville Public Schools Superintendent Angela Hairston remembers watching TV as each state announced schools would be closed for the rest of the year.

While I was not the superintendent at the time, I could see from afar that Danville was well positioned because of access to technology and the investment in access to the internet, she said.

At the time, Hairston was the superintendent for Winston Salem/Forsyth County Schools in North Carolina.

Superintendents across the country were warned to begin planning for virtual and remote planning, she explained. Some school districts ramped up their virtual learning plan, while others struggled with the concept.

Many thought by fall of 2020 things would be back to normal, she said. Little did anyone realize a transformational shift in pandemic education was emerging.

Averett University  following step with other colleges throughout the nation  shifted to online learning and moved most employees to a remote working mode. In fact, that decision was announced the evening of March 12, 2020, a day before a cascade of closures engulfed the area.

It wasnt an easy determination to make, said spokesperson Cassie Jones.

This decision was incredibly difficult, she wrote in an email to the Register & Bee. Our campus community thrives on close, personal connections and access to supportive relationships between our students, faculty, staff and the larger community.

During a time of year when the college is full of energy, its campus was mostly empty.

Then when we realized we had to extend the remote instruction for the remainder of the semester, it was an incredibly emotional time for all of us, as these decisions did not come easily, Jones explained. They were informed with countless hours of debating, strategizing and following the guidance of health officials, all while keeping our students at the center.

It was a similar experience over at Danville Community College. Already on spring break, DCC added an extra week off for students. Later it also moved learning into the virtual realm.

In March of 2020, we closed our campus and moved to virtual operations with the intent of returning to campus in a few weeks, DCC spokesperson Faith ONeil said. No one could have predicted the magnitude of the pandemic or how long it would last.
MADISON  A 4-year-old girl and her mother perished in a mobile home fire here early Wednesday in the 200 block of Madison Beach Road, family members confirmed.

Dawn Michelle East Bottoms, 33, and her daughter, Serenity Faith Gibson, died in the fire that began about 7 a.m., according to the child's grandmother, Norma Jean Sizemore of Madison.

Sizemore was on the scene and consoling her son Richard Gibson, who told his mother he was unable to save his family when flames quickly consumed the vinyl and metal structure.

Gibson and Bottoms, a stay-at-home mother and native of Surry County, had celebrated their first wedding anniversary on Sunday, according to the couple's posts on Facebook.

Bottoms' sister, April Michelle White of Walnut Cove, was taken to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for treatment of severe burns and was listed in critical condition early Wednesday, family members said. White, who works as a piercing artist, had spent the night in the mobile home, Sizemore said.

At least 15 fire engines from departments from across Rockingham and neighboring counties lined a quarter-mile-long span of the country road as emergency crews worked in thick white smoke.

Rockingham County Assistant Fire Marshal Jeremy Shelton said he would release an opinion about the cause of the fire after he and his investigative team scrutinized the scene. Viewed from above, the mobile home appears to be connected to a small brick structure.

"I can't process it,'' Sizemore said. "He can't process it,'' she said of her son, Gibson, who she comforted in her sedan while emergency crews worked. "Oh, my baby, my baby,'' Gibson said through tears. Covered in soot, he escaped injury, "But he's lost everything. He has nothing,'' his mother said.

"He tried to get back in,'' she said of Gibson's account of the fire. "He said he was awakened by his sister-in-law who said: 'The trailer's on fire!' So he goes running through the trailer ... he couldn't get to her, so he goes to the back door so he could see. And he couldn't get back in there,'' Sizemore said. "It went up that quick, I guess.''

Gibson's stepfather, Jackie Sizemore of Madison, leaned against his car, shaking his head, "It's hard to imagine what he feels like, you know. My house burnt up when I was 12 years old, but everybody got out. But I've been scared of fire ever since. I just don't see how he's handling it.''

Gibson's Facebook page and that of his late wife featured a flurry of recent messages celebrating the newlyweds' anniversary and expressing love for Serenity and her older sister, Haley Leann East, 17.

"I love this so much! My three lovely ladies. My beautiful wife and daughters,'' Gibson recently wrote about a portrait of Bottoms and her daughters on social media.

Deadly mobile home fires

Wednesday's tragedy marks at least the 12th fatal mobile home fire in North Carolina since January 2021, according to news reports gathered from across the state. According to those records, 17 people died in fires between January 2021 and March 16, nine of whom were children.

Two adults died in a Rockwell mobile home fire in January 2021. In February that year, two children lost their lives in a Hickory mobile home blaze. Another child perished that month in a fire in Currituck County.

In July, two Sampson County toddlers died in their family's mobile home during a fire, and a 3-year-old lost his life in a Henderson County mobile home fire in August. November saw the deaths of a Kinston child and a Lenoir County youngster in two separate mobile home fires.

In December, a Fayetteville man was consumed by fire at his mobile home. In January, a Vale man died in a similar fire. The same month, two adults and one child died in a Bell Arthur mobile home fire.

While recent mobile home fire fatality statistics were not immediately available, a 2019 report from the N.C. Department of Insurance noted the state counted a record number of mobile home fire deaths in 2018 when 135 people lost their lives.

State fire officials in recent years have promoted and helped provide smoke detectors for mobile homes across the state, the Associated Press reported.

Experts explain that occupants of mobile homes must be diligent with safety practices because the structures are uniquely flammable because of their composition from vinyl and metal and their small rooms.

For example, an entire 150-square-foot room in a mobile home can burst into flames in seconds, making it difficult for occupants to escape, experts say.

Contained within a room, fire can send the temperature soaring above 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. And after a blaze breaks through a mobile home's roof, oxygen feeds the spread of fire even faster, according to numerous fire safety experts and resources.

Mobile homes are also prone to electrical problems, especially those built with aluminum wiring, which can deteriorate more easily than copper wire over time, sparking blazes, according to the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass. The group provides information here on fire safety in mobile homes.

This is a developing story. Check back at greensboro.com and rockinghamnow.com for updates.

Ann Fish contributed to this report. Contact Susie C. Spear at sspear@rockinghamnow.com, (336) 349-4331, ext. 6140 and follow @SpearSusie_RCN on Twitter.

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Dozens of Muslim artisans in Jaipur have kept the 400-year-old traditional art form of Gulal Gota alive.

Tabeenah Anjum | TwoCircles.net

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JAIPUR  The narrow lanes of Jaipurs walled city are abuzz with festive fervour ahead of Holi, the festival of colours to be celebrated on March 17. Twenty-eight-year-old Amjad Khan, a seventh-generation lac bangle maker is busy selling Gulal Gotas (lac balls filled with colours) at his shop situated in the Maniharon-Ka-Raasta inside the Tripolia Bazar in the walled city of Jaipur.

Every year, two months ahead of the Holi, Amjad along with his eight siblings starts making the lac balls and fills them with colours before packing them in boxes. Amjad is not alone. Dozens of artisans in Jaipur have kept this traditional art form alive, which is as old as 400 years.

Gulal Gota is made with unique craftsmanship and compliments the festival of colours. After completing his basic education, Amjad learnt this art from his father late Babbu Khan. The family does not earn much from the sale of Gulal Gota but they dont want to give up on this traditional art form that they have inherited from their forefathers.

In the last two decades and especially from the last two years because of the pandemic, the demand for Gulal Gota has come down a bit but for the love of this art form, we want to keep it alive and pass this to our next generation irrespective of gender. My siblings, mother and late father used to participate. It brings families together, Amjad shared.

Every year for two months our entire family gets busy making Gulal Gotas. It is an art to add colours in the lac containers. It is again re-heated and then, with the help of a steel rod and the air is blown into the small balls. We fill it later with organic colours. We are not even earning 50 per cent of what we are spending to make these balls but we are only doing to make the Holi special, Amjad said.

Each ball weighs from 10 to 20 grams and costs anywhere between Rs 100 to 150.

The Gulal Gotas are still popular with traditional families and are used at the famous Govind Dev Ji temple in Jaipur. According to the popular view of historians, Sawai Jai Singh II brought the artists from Amber to the walled city and developed the unique art of Gulal Gota. Even today during the annual Holi celebration at the city palace, revellers throw these balls at each other and get smeared with colours without hurting anyone.

Apart from states such as Madhya Pradesh, national capital New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, it is shipped to other parts of the world including Canada, Britain, Australia, Spain, France and Nepal. However, packaging the balls needs careful handling to avoid the risk of the balls bursting in their wrapping. The balls are sold in packs of 6 or 8.

Those involved in the production of these balls belong to the Muslim community. Awaz Mohammed, a national award-winning artist who has been in this field for seven generations said, This is a beautiful gesture and brings two communities together. The only sad part is that for an artist the sale from Gulal Gotas is not enough to sustain their livelihood.

Awazs daughter Gulrukh Sultana who is a trained lac artist not only learnt the art from her father but is also sharing the skill at national institutes across India such as NIID, JJ School of Arts, Pearl Academy etc.

Making lac artifacts is an intricate and unsafe job, but I want to share this art and skill with the future generation. It is the passing of tradition and heritage Jaipur is proud of. Lac is delicate and it needs proper handling. I have trained so many artists in different cities and also given demonstrations internationally, said 35-year-old Sultana, a recipient of the state award in 2009 and a UNESCO award in 2013.

Looking at the market and interest of the younger generation, Sultana is apprehensive about whether this art could be saved. Since there is not much earning, it is less attractive for youngsters to learn this skill but at the same time the government should come up with lucrative initiatives and ensure the art is kept alive, she added.

Tabeenah Anjum is a journalist based in Rajasthan reporting on politics, gender, human rights, and issues impacting marginalized communities. She tweets at @TabeenahAnjum
Groometown Road is is closed Wednesday morning at Bishop Road due to power lines being down. Authorities on the scene told the News & Record that a dump truck with its dump bed up drove under power lines, taking them down.
CHARLOTTE  A federal judge sentenced a North Carolina truck driver to jail and a long probation on Monday  not only for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol but to keep the Catawba County man from joining another riot after the next presidential election.

James Les Little, of the Catawba County city of Claremont, will spend 60 days in custody and serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty in November to a misdemeanor charge of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

While Little was peaceful, many around him were not. As many as seven deaths have been linked to the violence, 140 police officers were injured and than $1 million in damages to the Capitol occurred.

Littles attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Peter Adolf of Charlotte, told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth that while his client had entered the Capitol, he had not taken part in the violence or destroyed any property.

Little, he said, deserved probation.

In an oral argument that lasted more than an hour, Adolf said his client had been caught in the pushback by the public, politicians and some of the judges in this district that sentences for Capitol defendants need to hurt.

He asked Lamberth to consider Little as an individual and not a member of an angry mob.

Its tempting to talk about collective responsibility, Adolf said. But thats not what our legal system is about. Youre responsible for your own actions.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael James of Raleigh described Littles culpability in different terms. He told the judge that by their mere presence, Little and other relatively peaceful Capitol intruders depleted the ability of police to respond to the siege of the Capitol of government, the stopping of democracy itself.

Mr. Little played a part in that, James said.

Picking up that point, Lamberth, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, said in a sentencing memo filed after the hearing that Little and others accused of lesser criminal conduct were an essential component to the harm.

Law-enforcement officers, Lamberth wrote, were overwhelmed by the sheer swath of criminality.

Moreover, the judge said he feared Little might reprise his role in the upcoming presidential election since he had shown no remorse, has not apologized and blamed police, Antifa and Black Lives Matters for his conduct.

While a term of imprisonment punishes Little for his behavior, Lamberth wrote, only a longer-term of probation is adequate to ensure that Little will not become an active participant in another riot.

Little, who will serve his sentence in Catawba County, is one of at least 18 North Carolina defendants charged in the Capitol prosecution. Overall, almost 800 arrests have been made.

While other North Carolinians have been charged with far more serious crimes, Littles case serves as a highly public microcosm on how former President Donald Trumps unfounded claims of a stolen election continue to polarize the country along with North Carolina families and friends.

On Jan. 6, Little texted a family member while in the building.

We just took over the Capitol, Little wrote.

And you are bragging? the relative fired back. We? THIS IS TREASON!!! IF YOU DONT CONDEMN THIS, NEVER BOTHER SPEAKING TO ME AGAIN! HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE PEOPLE. ITS A COUP! YOU OBVIOUSLY HATE AMERICA!!!

A week later, when agents came to talk to him at his home in Claremont, Little described himself as a Christian, conservative patriot who believed the election had been stolen from Trump. He said the defeated presidents supporters were peaceful but had been lured into the Capitol by members of Antifa waving Trump flags.

Little said he had been swept up in an emotional, spiritual and patriotic event to save the country, and he blamed police for escalating the violence with tear gas and rubber bullets.

Not long before his sentencing, Little went online to urge people to write letters to the judge.

No one wants to help me? he said. I impulsively put my life, freedom and neck on the line at a protest to try to save our constitutional Republic, freedom, rule of law, and capitalism, and no one wants to even write a letter for me???

Lamberth received two.

One came from the Rev. Dennis Richards, Littles pastor at the First Baptist Church of Claremont, who told the judge Little has a Christian servants heart.

I know that Les has his own views on various subjects, but I dont believe he means any harm to anyone, Richards wrote.

The other letter came from out of state. Carlton Huffman of Wisconsin, who said he met Little while working as a political operative in western North Carolina, said Little deserved a heightened sentence because he had shown no remorse.

For as long as former President Trump maintains that the 2020 election was stolen it is my sincere believe that James Little will be on call for a future Jan. 6th style attack on the United States government, Huffman wrote.

I ask as a citizen that James Little be given the maximum penalty allowed.

Lamberth didnt go that far. The maximum penalty was six months. But he doubled the period of confinement that prosecutors had sought.

He also banned Little from using social media during his probationary period.

Given the chance to speak before Lamberth announced his decision, Little did not apologize.
If you lived in Russia, you might be forgiven for not knowing what was happening in Ukraine.

Even though nearly 15,000 Russians have been arrested for protesting the invasion, the state-run media has been pedaling falsehoods to the Russian people, claiming that Ukraine is the oppressor and Russia the liberator  going so far as to deny that Russia has actually bombed cities it has bombed.

Any media outlet that considers veering from the state narrative faces the threat of significant fines by Russian authorities  or worse.

It was against this backdrop that a Russian journalist rebelled on Monday.

TV editor Marina Ovsyannikova crashed a live TV broadcast, holding a handmade sign that, translated, read: Dont believe the propaganda. Theyre lying to you.

Shortly before her transgression, she published a video online in which she said:

What is happening in Ukraine is a crime.

Russia is an aggressor country and the responsibility for this aggression rests on the conscience of only one person. That person is Vladimir Putin.

Unfortunately, Ive spent the last few years working for Channel One, making Kremlin propaganda, and Im very ashamed of this. Ashamed that I allowed lies to be broadcast from TV screens.

We Russians are thinking and intelligent people. Its in our power alone to stop all this madness. Go protest. Dont be afraid of anything. They cant lock us all away.

She added: My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian, and theyve never been enemies.

Ovsyannikova was arrested and now faces charges  for telling the truth.

We hope and pray for her safety. And we are in awe of her. Shes joined the ranks of a select handful who are presenting to all of us a masterclass in courage.

They include other journalists who have swarmed to Ukraine from around the world to tell us, firsthand, whats actually happening in the war zone, like CNNs Clarissa Ward; CBS News Charlie DAgata; The Wall Street Journals Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson; Fox News Benjamin Hall, who was hospitalized after being injured on Monday and Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was killed in the same attack; and American documentarian Brent Renaud, who died on Sunday after he was killed in the fighting in Ukraine.

Journalism is sometimes a hazardous occupation  even in times of peace  in oppressive regimes whose leaders determine what can and cant be reported.

This courage is also exemplified by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the citizen-soldiers he leads, as well as by the prime ministers of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia, who traveled to Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy on Tuesday.

Courage isnt blathering on about what one would have done differently. Courage is demonstrated by action  even in the face of deadly opposition.

None of that has been displayed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the war is taking longer than expected, by all reports. Things seem to going badly for Russia as it fails to bring Ukraine to heel and the civilized world unites against it.

War has not been a very effective means of bringing about change  as we learned, harshly, from our time in Afghanistan.

Russias time in Afghanistan should have instructed Putin as well.

But his reliance on military aggression reveals, more than anything, his failure at diplomacy, at building a stronger nation domestically, at working with the reality that he will never revive the U.S.S.R. Former President Obama had his number in 2015 when he said that Putins aggression in Syria came from a position of weakness. That weakness, that inability to adapt to the 21st century, is on display to the world now.

Putins apologists in the U.S. media also lack courage. Rather than standing up against Russian oppression, some  especially on far-right outlets like Fox  have shamelessly been pushing Russian disinformation, propaganda and debunked conspiracy theories about biological research labs in Ukraine. A leaked memo from the Kremlin instructed Russian media outlets to highlight the broadcasts of Foxs Tucker Carlson as much as possible.

Thats what you do when the truth doesnt accomplish your goals.

Our First Amendment and freedom of the press will keep these apologists out of prison  unlike their counterparts in the country they promote. For those seeking to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys, that fact alone should be clarifying.

It takes little courage or sacrifice to support those who are fighting for their safety and freedom via the Red Cross, Hope for Ukraine, World Central Kitchen or other charity groups that are helping Ukraine stand against the Russian invader.
The head of the Modernity and Democracy Party in Syria, Firas Qassas, conducted an interview with ANHA on the occasion of the Syrian crisis's anniversary which falls on the 15th of this March.

The text of the dialogue read :

The Syrian crisis is its eleventh year, how do you assess its course so far in brief?

Its path was complex and bumpy, it started as a peaceful and civil one demanding freedom, due to the regimes violence and failure of the opposition forces it turned into a set of events and phenomena that produced death, arrest, devastation, displacement, asylum, economic reaction and generalized blockage, behind them are forces, most of which appear to be contradictory in terms of form and positioning towards the goal, but they agree in substance and content to their tendency in hegemony, tyranny and oppression, with the exception of the Autonomous Administration areas that launched a new liberating value, social and political project.

During the Syrian crisis, many countries intervened.. How do you evaluate this? How did this affect the course of the revolution?

There was hope among the Syrians at the beginning of their revolution related to a Turkish role in supporting the revolution, which was still on the verge of dialogue with the Ocalan freedom movement, but it became clear that Turkey seeks to dominate and establish a model similar to the political Islam forces

Instead of supporting the Syrian people to liberate Damascus, Aleppo, and the rebellious Syrian cities, it took upon itself fighting Syrian's will in its socio-political project in Autonomous Administration areas to destroy what the Syrians have achieved from the various components, thus it and the defeated forces started a policy of occupation and cultural replacement in the cities of Afrin and Tel Abyad / Gire Spi and Sere-Kaniye / Ras al-Ain.

In sum, the Turkish intervention was disastrous, neurotic, obsessed with its interests and its will, in recent years it only wanted to undermine what the Syrians had achieved in their revolution in the areas of the Democratic Autonomous Administration

About the external interference, especially Turkey, we witnessed that the radical current swallowed up the revolutionary current. Was this on purpose? And what are the goals?

After what the Syrian had learned from the Turkish role, where it realized that entering takfiris into Syria through Turkey's borders was not just complicity; Rather, it is a direct and intentional expression of a hegemonic policy that wants to direct the Syrian event in accordance with its governments ideological and political goals, such as supporting of Nusra and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Idlib and Its refusal to dismantle it despite its agreement with the Russian side in Astana on that.

That, in my estimation and appreciation of every observer and expert in the Syrian affairs, Turkey deliberately supported religious terrorism in Syria and dragged the country towards its compass and interests.

During the years of the crisis, we witnessed many meetings related to the Syrian crisis, "Geneva, the Constitutional Committee, and the Astana meetings." how do you evaluate the basis of these tracks? Why did it fail ?

In my estimation, launching these tracks initially represented an attempt to draw general lines for the international approach to resolve the Syrian crisis following the revolution, but the challenges actually lay in the details and mechanisms,

The Turkish side wanted to pass its vision and goals through the opposition that sponsored it, also ignored representatives of the Autonomous Administration from attending any international activity, as well as the Russians and Iranians always trying to pass the agendas that belong to them and their local agents.

A.K

ANHA
Two soldiers belonging to the Damascus government forces were injured in the bombing of the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries on the villages of Mara'anaz and Al-Alqmiya in Shara district in the occupied canton of Afrin.

Two soldiers belonging to the Damascus government forces were wounded in the continuous shelling of the two villages. It was not clear afterwards the village in which the two soldiers were injured, and neither their military rank nor the extent of the injury was known.

ANHA
In a move that may seem like something of a homecoming, the Helena City Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to hire Tim Burton as interim city manager, a man who had served as city manager nearly 20 years earlier.

Burton was selected from among six candidates and will serve in the interim job, perhaps until the end of the year, as the search for a permanent replacement continues.

Burton served as Helenas city manager from 2000-2009. He left to serve as then-Attorney General Steve Bullock's deputy director and chief of staff. He most recently served as executive director of the Montana League of Cities and Towns. He has also served as chief of staff for a governor and chief administrative officer for Lewis and Clark County.

The Great Falls native received his bachelors in political science from Carroll College and his masters in public administration from the University of Montana.

Prior to the vote commissioners praised his experience and background.

Commissioner Emily Dean said it was good to have someone with his experience as Helena enters a critical point in time.

I think he is a great choice and a steady hand who would be effective in dealing with "budget issues, she said.

Commissioner Melinda Reed said Burton is familiar with Helena and has city manager experience.

I think he is an excellent choice and wed be very fortunate to have him with us, she said.

Commissioner Sean Logan repeated a theme among commissioners that it was a talented pool of candidates to choose from.

I am really looking forward to working with Mr. Burton, he said.

Burton was not at the meeting. Officials said he was retiring from his job with the league, which is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association of 127 Montana municipalities.

Former City Manager Rachel Harlow-Schalk resigned Feb. 16, stating that based on recent exchanges with the City Commission, she believed she was no longer the right person to serve as city manager. She offered no further details and left office Feb. 18.

The city accepted applications for the position of interim city manager through March 7 and received six letters of interest.

Other than Burton, candidates included Helena residents Mark C. Barry and Gene Walborn. Other candidates included David W. Johnston of Fort Wright, Kentucky, Alan D. Lanning of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and Gregg Schuster of Doylestown, Pennsylvania.

Burton will serve as the chief administrative officer, provide leadership for department directors and its nearly 350 employees, and oversee the daily business of government.

The salary is $14,713 per month, along with a $200-per-month automobile allowance. He is to begin on or before April 1 and is expected to serve in the position for up to nine months, through Dec. 31.

Mayor Wilmot Collins appointed Logan and Reed to an ad-hoc recruitment committee to lead in the hiring of the interim city manager. This committee may later assist in any recruitment process for a permanent city manager.

The commission hired City Attorney Thomas Jodoin to serve as interim city manager from March 2-April 1, with compensation of $14,713. Jodoin had planned to resign from the city Feb. 25 to become deputy director of the Montana League of Cities and Towns but agreed to delay his departure.

Helena has had two city managers and two interim city managers since Ron Alles retired in June 2018 after nearly eight years in the position.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jodoin said the city is seeking external and internal applicants for the police chief position. The closing date is March 25. Police Chief Steve Hagen retired late last year.

Assistant editor Phil Drake can be reached at 406-231-9021.

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Editors note: The Helena Independent Record received this email Wednesday afternoon from Valerie Hellermann, who is executive director with Hands On Global. Members of Hands on Global left last week for Siret, Romania, on the Ukraine-Romania border to establish a medical relief team for those fleeing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. This is the second email Hellermann has sent to the newspaper and others. Portions of this email have been edited for clarity.

We worked in the refugee shelter today, a tech school has turned into a shelter for 350 mostly from Kyiv and Harkiv, both under continuous assault.

Here we saw the fear stress and impact of this war. Women and children, elderly and disabled.

There were many tears shed as people came to us for their ailments. A lot of high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, back pain, shoulder pain, flu and headaches. Many needing their prescription meds.

Were seeing many people having respiratory issues post COVID and likely exacerbated by the stress, persistent deep coughs and shortness of breath

They were so appreciative of our care.

The lines at the border continue with over 5,000 a day crossing.

Today was really cold. Difficult to stand in line with your children pets and bags of belongings. When we crossed into Ukraine we saw the Ukrainian emergency service had set up a really good warming resting tent. Two came to greet us with hugs. Like old friends.

I have in the past spoken about the value of showing up. People are so grateful for the human to human caring. When we say we are from USA they thank us for our courage to come and help them.

We returned to Romania. It was a long day, we were tired but had to restock.

Omar called to say there were boxes of medications and supplies donated and arrived from Germany. Many we needed and we are arranging the rest, especially wound care, to go to Harkiv.

Now lying flat in my bed at the frontier hotel.

Exhausted.

Our room is a maze of bags boxes and suitcases of medications.

Valerie Hellermann

Executive Director

Hands On Global

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief.

Do justly, now.

Love mercy, now.

Walk humbly, now.

You are not obliged to complete the work,

but neither are you free to abandon it.

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Montana is the third-fastest-aging state in the nation and, by 2035, will be home to more people who are 65-plus than children for the first time (U.S. Census).

As people in our community age, new needs and issues arise. Numerous barriers can prevent people from getting health screenings, and the past few years of the pandemic added additional challenges.

Now that the pandemic is waning, and many people are vaccinated against COVID-19, the Aging Well Workgroup of the Healthy Communities Coalition is partnering with the University of Montanas Improving Health Among Rural Montanans program to provide free health screenings to our 50-plus population and their caregivers.

IPHARMs mission is to provide wellness screenings to people throughout Montana who may otherwise be unable to access such services. Additionally, the program provides patient care experience for students in their last professional year in the study of pharmacy, physical therapy, nursing, and other health care fields.

The IPHARM team, comprised of the coordinating pharmacist and students from various disciplines, along with local professionals will screen participants for problems with cholesterol, bone density, blood pressure, diabetes, fall risk, as well as other conditions. After the testing is completed, an IPHARM team member counsels participants on the results and discusses any recommendations. In addition, there will be local organizations and guides to help connect individuals to services.

The event will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 7, at Rocky Mountain Development Councils Senior Center in their card room. No pre-registration is required; community members can drop in any time during the clinics hours to get a health screening and learn more about some local offerings.

Water, snacks, and the testing space are being generously donated by Rocky Mountain Development Council and St. Peters Health.

Community members with questions regarding the event can contact Sarah Sandau, Prevention Programs Supervisor at Lewis and Clark Public Health, at ssandau@lccountymt.gov or 406-457-8960.

To learn more about the IPHARM model, please visit their website: https://health.umt.edu/ipharm/. To learn more about the Healthy Communities Coalition and Aging Well Workgroup, visit their website at www.lccountymt.gov/health/health-promotion/healthy-communities-coalition.html.

Remember, this free health screening is open to any Lewis and Clark County community member over the age of 50 and any consultations are also free of charge.

Sarah Sandau, Prevention Programs Supervisor at LCPH.

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former diplomat Michael McFaul are headlining the upcoming annual Mansfield Lecture on April 18.

Their conversation, Fostering Freedom at Home and Abroad, will be moderated by University of Montana President Seth Bodnar. The annual lectures feature speakers who can bring discussion of critical topics to audiences across the state.

At a time when people around the world are wondering whether democracy is in decline, Rice and McFaul will share their insights from experiences as policymakers, scholars and citizens in order to put democracys challenges into perspective, the Mansfield Center wrote in a press release.

The two speakers will engage in a conversation about creating and sustaining democracy, with topics ranging from Russian aggression in Ukraine to the importance of engaging rural America on Monday, April 18 at 11:30 a.m. on Zoom.

The University of Montana embraces its role in supporting a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry, Bodnar said. The Mansfield Lecture is just one way we support our students and the community in engaging grand challenges of our nation and the world.

McFaul was born in Glasgow, Montana, and raised in Bozeman, where he was a speech and debate partner with Sen. Steve Daines at Bozeman High School. He went on to serve as the 7th U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012-2014 under former President Barack Obama.

He is currently a professor at Stanford University teaching international studies in the Department of Political Science. McFaul is also the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford.

Rice served as the 66th United States secretary of state from 2005-2009 under former President George W. Bush. She also was a United States national security adviser under Bush from 2001-2005 and was the first woman to hold the position. Additionally, Rice served as senior director of Soviet and East European Affairs from 1989-1991.

Rice is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and is a founding partner of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, an international strategic consulting firm.

We are honored that two renowned leaders in national security affairs accepted our invitation to join the distinguished line of Mansfield Lecture speakers, said Deena Mansour, the executive director of the Mansfield Center.

Recent speakers include Dr. Anthony Fauci, who attracted 9,000 attendees, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof. The lecture series was founded in 1968 in honor of Sen. Mike Mansfield.

Our work emphasizes civil exchanges of ideas from a diverse range of viewpoints, the importance of democratic institutions and the role ethical values play in public life. Featuring a Republican and a Democrat in civil discourse is critical to this mission, Mansour said.

The event is free and open to the public, but seats are limited on Zoom and advance registration is required to attend.

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The state psychiatric hospital is more than $7 million over budget, largely due to its growing reliance on contract staff, state officials said Wednesday.

The Montana State Hospital has seen its ranks of full-time staff decline since early 2019, according to figures Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Adam Meier presented to lawmakers on Tuesday. The hospital's fix in the time since has been an increased use of contract employees, who sometimes make more than twice as much as full-time employees.

Testifying before a different legislative committee on Wednesday, Meier said the state hospital is $7.4 million over its budget for the current fiscal year alone.

"The majority of it is reliance on contract staff over state staff," DPHHS Chief Financial Officer Kim Aiken told the budget committee.

Meier's Tuesday presentation showed contracted certified nurses assistants billed hours last year jumped 700%, from 2,000 hours billed to 16,000.

Vacancies in full-time staff have gotten lawmakers attention in the last two days: full-time registered nurses, for example, are experiencing a 72.5% vacancy rate.

The cost of contract staff is simply the market rate, Meier said. The issue is retaining full-time staff, and while the department has approved wage increases for hundreds of employees in recent months, Meier's described his approach as a strategic, long-term effort, rather than making snappy decisions.

"One thing I will say is that we didn't get here overnight," he told lawmakers. "These are long-standing issues that have continued to incrementally get worse as it relates to staffing in particular."

As a result of significant noncompliance with federal health rules uncovered by inspectors last month, the state hospital will also be required to conduct a root cause analysis in concert with a third party. While that analysis is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in order for the hospital to continue receiving federal reimbursement dollars, DPHHS began searching for a contractor to stabilize the workforce since late last year.

"I think we can be more strategic about how we're training, how we're onboarding, how we're staffing and trying to maintain as much consistency as possible within certain units," Meier said Wednesday.

But the deficiencies identified by CMS have resulted in deaths, four of which were deemed preventable and a fifth that the state hospital failed to investigate, according to CMS. Lawmakers for weeks have urged more immediate action in light of the urgent situation in Warm Springs.

During a Wednesday meeting of one of the legislative-created committees that recommends how the state spends hundreds of millions directed to Montana under part of the American Rescue Plan Act, state Rep. Kim Abbott, D-Helena, asked about the possibility of using some of those funds to address the staffing problems.

Last year Gov. Greg Gianforte approved the creation of a program that offers up to $12,500, plus money to offset taxes on that amount, to health care workers who move to Montana and take eligible jobs.

Abbott asked Scott Eychner, administrator of the Workforce Services Division in the state Department of Labor and Industry, if there had been any discussion of using ARPA money for retention in addition to recruitment.

"It seems like what we're missing is retention," Abbott said, citing the state hospital's budget shortfall. "It feels like we're sort of pouring water into a bucket with a hole in it if we're not addressing retention."

Eychner said health care workers are in a "seeker's market" and that traveling staff have all the bargaining power. He said while there have been conversations about using ARPA funding for retention efforts, there are no specific proposals yet and that he thought other state agencies or leadership outside the Commerce department would be better suited to make those suggestions.

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Butte just may be a bit crowded on St. Patricks Day. Because of the pandemic, there has been no parade since 2019 and it appears people are gearing up to celebrate.

A perfect example is Gene Riordan, one of the proprietors of Maloneys Bar. He and his crew have been making preparations for some time now.

Were ready to roll, said Riordan. I hope we have enough Jameson!

Despite the fact that the Irish holiday falls on a Thursday, Riordan is expecting a full-blown St. Patricks Day.

Im all geared up for it, and ready for the Irish, he said, laughing.

Riordan may be on to something because it just may be a full-blown St. Patricks Day. Many motels are filled or filling up fast.

The Miners Hotel at 53 W. Park St., is booked for the Irish holiday. The hotels desk clerk, Cassidy Smith has had to turn people away.

I feel bad about doing that, Smith said.

All 55 rooms are taken at the Finlen Hotel & Motor Inn, 100 E. Broadway St., too.

We are completely full, said desk clerk Sandra McNair.

Its the same story at Motel 6 at 220 N. Wyoming St. The motel is booked solid, said a spokesperson.

Another clear indication that residents are gearing up for March 17 is the amount of corned beef being purchased.

Ladenn Greissl, a butcher at Western Meat Block, said things have been crazy at his workplace.

We have sold around five barrels so far, said Greissl, who explained each barrel weighs about 200 pounds.

Two days later, that number expanded to seven barrels, according to Nick Martin, another busy butcher at Western Meat.

Pickled ribs have become a customer favorite, as well, at Western Meat Block because, according to Greissl, the ribs are corned the same way as the beef.

I prefer the ribs, admitted Greissl. Theyre good.

Conveniently located on the parade route is the Terminal Food Center, 100 W. Park St. Its been a busy place this past few weeks. The store has sold out on corned beef.

Its all gone, said owner Chris Mandic, all 3,000 pounds.

Mandic has another customer favorite coming up Thursday. He plans to set up shop right outside his front door to sell their popular Terminal dogs, along with some beer.

Sandy and Bob Yakawich have been busy preparing for Thursday. The couple will serve up corned beef and cabbage, along with red potatoes, at the Knights of Columbus.

According to Sandy, they will spend a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking 300 pounds of corned beef, 120 pounds of cabbage, and 150 pounds of red potatoes.

Yes, well be busy, said Sandy, but were all ready and willing.

In addition, homemade pasties will be offered, along with Reuben sandwiches, kielbasa dogs, blarney stones, and an abundance of potato salad  to the tune of 50 pounds.

She and her daughter, Dannie Kore, had already sold 200 dozen of Dannies Famous Blarney Stones and are making 80 more dozen for March 17.

Sandy doesnt mind the chaos.

Its time to bring the parade back and get the action going, she said.

Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff Ed Lester just hopes that action doesnt get too out of hand.

He will have extra crews working on St. Urhos Day on Wednesday, March 16. There will also be additional help from the Montana Highway Patrol, with an additional traffic enforcement unit on the streets and on the nearby interstate.

With the weather predicted to be in the mid-40s, Lester is expecting a good crowd on Thursday.

We want people to have a good time but to be respectful toward each other when celebrating, he said, and please plan for a sober ride home.

Starting at noon, double crews will be working Thursday, with additional call outs for the evening and night shift. MHP troopers will also assist in traffic enforcement and crowd control.

We are very thankful for the assistance from the Montana Highway Patrol for this year and in years past, said the sheriff.

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FICTION: Through linked stories, Eloghosa Osunde's debut novel offers a scathing assessment of Nigeria's corruption and its laws criminalizing same-sex relationships.

"Vagabonds!" by Eloghosa Osunde; Riverhead (320 pages, $28)



Through linked stories steeped in magical realism and a narrative voice reminiscent of early Salman Rushdie, Eloghosa Osunde's exuberant debut novel, "Vagabonds!" thrusts readers into the heart of Lagos, Nigeria.

The book serves a blistering response to Nigeria's 2014 Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (SSMPA). The law criminalized same-sex relationships and LGBT organizations, allowing violators, or "vagabonds," to be punished with a 14-year prison sentence.

Narrated by Tatafo, a city-spirit guiding us through the megacity, much of the book's anger targets the hypocrisy of Nigeria's government passing the law under the guise of promoting morality. As Tatafo explains, rife corruption means any crime in Nigeria "is one phone call away from being settled" if "you just pay the right person the right amount."

Especially poisonous for Osunde's Nigeria are people using wealth to subvert laws they set for others. As one employee of an underground sex club is told, "This thing we do here is illegal for you. Not for them. Nothing is illegal for a rich Nigerian."

Focusing just on the novel's fury or the way some stories depict SSMPA's brutally dehumanizing effects is a limited view, though. The novel's final third showcases the greatest strength of "Vagabonds!"  its ability to convey the resilience and joy of its nonbinary, trans and gay characters, even under these oppressive conditions.

In "There Is Love at Home," Osunde blends the erotic with emotional generosity in a love story centered on a lesbian dominatrix and her partner.

"fairygodgirls" showcases the power of literature as guardian fairies try to get the perfect books into the hands of vulnerable adolescent girls. The "sentence-seeds" of these stories give hope and reassurance, telling their readers, "I'm seeing you, you're not the one who needs a new mind, it's them."

"Gold" warms with tenderness when Gold, a trans woman, asks her mother, "Why didn't you withdraw your love?" The mother explains, "Because you know you more than I know you.  So it's only you that can tell me who you are. You've told me and I accept." The moment of parental understanding stuns Gold, demonstrating the psychic toll of living in a society that overwhelmingly supports SSMPA, even as a friend reminds her, "Us being loved shouldn't be rare."

Some stories vacillate between heartbreak and optimism, but the book's soaring conclusion, "Witching Hours/They Will Not Depart from It," revisits characters we meet throughout the book and reads like the uplifting choral finale of a rousing musical.

For readers unfamiliar with Nigerian slang and culture, "Vagabonds!" has a learning curve. Osunde is not here to explain what jollof rice is or what wahala means, and the interplay between the spiritual and physical worlds can be disorienting. But Osunde's method also allows us to experience the full vibrancy of her writing, and she peppers her novel with enough references to other Nigerian writers like Akwaeke Emezi and Arinze Ifeakandu and food blogger The Kitchen Butterfly that "Vagabonds!" works as a phenomenal cultural entry point for anyone who, like me, is excited for more.



Vikas Turakhia is an English teacher in Ohio.

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Todays Highlight in History:

On March 16, 1968, the My Lai massacre took place during the Vietnam War as U.S. Army soldiers hunting for Viet Cong fighters and sympathizers killed unarmed villagers in two hamlets of Son My village; estimates of the death toll vary from 347 to 504.

On March 16:

In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew reached the Philippines, where Magellan was killed during a battle with natives the following month.

In 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

In 1935, Adolf Hitler decided to break the military terms set by the Treaty of Versailles by ordering the rearming of Germany.

In 1945, during World War II, American forces declared they had secured Iwo Jima, although pockets of Japanese resistance remained.

In 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1972, in a nationally broadcast address, President Richard Nixon called for a moratorium on court-ordered school busing to achieve racial desegregation.

In 1984, William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, was kidnapped by Hezbollah militants (he was tortured by his captors and killed in 1985).

In 1994, figure skater Tonya Harding pleaded guilty in Portland, Oregon, to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for covering up an attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan, avoiding jail but drawing a $100,000 fine.

In 2004, China declared victory in its fight against bird flu, saying it had stamped out all its known cases.

In 2012 a jury in New Brunswick, New Jersey, convicted former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi in the webcam spying episode that ended in the suicide of his gay roommate, Tyler Clementi. (Ravi served 20 days in jail for invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and other counts.)

In 2014, Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia, overwhelmingly approving a referendum that sought to unite the strategically important Black Sea region with the country it was part of for some 250 years.

In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to take the seat of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who had died the previous month. (Republicans who controlled the Senate would stick to their pledge to leave the seat empty until after the presidential election; they confirmed Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch in April 2017.)

In 2017, President Donald Trump submitted his $1.15 trillion budget to Congress; it proposed generous increases for the military while slashing domestic programs and riling both fellow Republicans and Democrats by going after favored programs. Steve Penny resigned as president of USA Gymnastics following intensified pressure on the organization for its handling of sex abuse cases.

In 2020, global stocks plunged again amid coronavirus concerns, with Wall Street seeing a 12% decline, its worst in more than 30 years; the S&P 500 was down 30% from its record set less than a month earlier. Ohio called off its presidential primary just hours before polls were to open, but Arizona, Florida and Illinois went ahead with their plans.

In 2021, a gunman killed eight people, mostly women of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area massage parlors in an attack that sent terror through the Asian-American community, which had increasingly been targeted during the pandemic; the white gunman, Robert Long, told police that the attack was not racially motivated, and that he had a sex addiction. (Long was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in four of the deaths.) A declassified intelligence assessment found that Russian President Vladimir Putin had authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election; the assessment found broad efforts by both the Kremlin and Iran to shape the outcome of the race, but no evidence that any foreign actor had actually disrupted the voting process

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DECATUR  Republican voters in two of Macon Countys five county board districts will have a primary, setting the stage for incumbent-heavy battles in the fall.

The primaries are needed to whittle the list of Republican candidates down to three in the new District 4 and District 5.

There also will be a primary for sheriff, pitting current sheriff Jim Root against Cody Moore for the Republican nomination. There is no Democrat on the primary ballot for sheriff.

The new board district map, approved based on the results of the 2020 Census, saw the number of districts drop from seven to five, with each still represented by three board members.

The remapping process sparked controversy, with some accusing the majority Republicans of disenfranchising Black voters by failing to maintain an existing majority-minority district in a county that's nearly one-fifth Black.

Fifteen current board members are among those who filed for the posts during the weeklong filing period that ended Monday.

In the two districts where there will be primaries, there are numerous current board members who will be going head to head in November.

In District 4, current Republican board members Kevin Greenfield, Jason Comer and Ryan Kreke are being challenged in the primary by Edward D. Yoder. Yoder is the son of Edward D. Yoder, the former Macon County treasure who stepped down last year after more than 10 years leading the office.

In his resignation letter, Yoder characterized his premature departure as a retirement. But he came under close scrutiny in 2020 after property tax collection lagged behind previous years. Some of the offices practices were called into question.

The top three vote-getters in the primary will go on to challenge current Democrat board members Marcy Rood and Patricia Dawson.

In District 5, current Republican board members Debra Kraft, Gregory Mattingley and Linda Little are being challenged by Hubert Murray. The top three vote-getters in this race will go on to face current Democrat board member Shad Edwards.

Some current board members chose not to seek re-election. They are Verzell Taylor and Helena Buckner, both Democrats representing the current District 2, Lloyd Holman, a Democrat representing the current District 4, and Republicans Jim Gresham and Phillip Hogan of the current District 7. One of the District 6 seats remains vacant following the death in February of David M. Drobisch.

District 1, which includes most of the urban core of Decatur, was the only district where a full slate of Democrats filed to run. They include incumbent board members Karl Coleman and Bill Oliver as well as challenger Vivian Goodman, who is currently the president of the Macon County Board of Health.

All three candidates are African American and the district is 46% Black. Republicans amended their redistricting proposal in October to include a plurality Black district after concerns were raised about the initial map, which "cracked" the county's minority population across five districts, thus diluting their voting power.

Coleman, who is also the chairman of the Macon County Democratic Party, told Herald & Review that the party continues to mull a lawsuit over the map for alleged violations to the Voting Rights Act.

He also said that vacant slots in other races on the ballot may be filled at a later date.

"There is a law that allows party chairmen to appoint people to the ballot after the petition process is over if there's a vacant spot so to speak," Coleman said. "... We likely will seek to get candidates on there through that process."

Staff Writer Brenden Moore contributed to this report.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation recently announced that Beth Rhinehart, president and CEO of the Bristol TN/VA Chamber of Commerce, graduated from its premier business leadership program, according to a release from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

The Business Leads Fellowship Program trains and equips leaders from state and local chambers of commerce, economic development agencies and statewide trade associations with resources, access to experts and a network of peers to build their capacity to address the most pressing education and workforce challenges.

Rhinehart shared that opportunities such as this fellowship offer those of us in this industry premier access to national experts and specific training to help address the ongoing challenges our businesses are experiencing, specifically in education and workforce areas. It is so impactful to work and learn alongside chamber colleagues across the country who are dedicated and focused on these issues. Originally selected in February 2020 following a competitive application and selection process, Rhinehart graduates with 25 other state and local business leaders from the programs fourth cohort.

The yearlong virtual program covered the entire talent pipeline, including early childhood education, K-12, higher education and workforce development and culminated with an in-person meeting in Palm Springs, California, last week.

Upon program completion, Business Leads Fellows join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundations dedicated network of 220 chambers of commerce and statewide associations from around the country who regularly engage on the most impactful education and workforce initiatives.
POUND, Va.  Leaders in the Town of Pound are working to ensure their town has a future after 2023.

With three newly appointed members rounding out the Town Council, Pounds governing body convened for more than two hours Tuesday as officials in the Wise County municipality moved forward with an attempt to revive the small town near the Kentucky state line.

The locality of fewer than 1,000 people is on the verge of losing its charter, unless the council proves to Virginia state legislators it can govern efficiently.

Earlier this month, House Bill 904  state legislation to repeal Pounds charter effective Nov. 1, 2023  passed Virginias General Assembly after it was filed in January by House Majority Leader Terry Kilgore of Gate City.

This is an opportunity for town officials in Pound to start fresh and move forward for the sake of the community, Kilgore said in a statement. The Virginia Municipal League has set forth processes that will put the town on the right path, and I believe that with diligence, respect, and hard work, town officials can implement those processes by the November 2023 deadline.

On Tuesday, the Town Council, composed of five members and Mayor Stacey A. Carson, signed an agreement for services by the Virginia Municipal League (VML), which has assembled a team of professionals to assist the town, according to the agreement.

Pound is experiencing many challenges related to essential governance, the agreement said. The mayor and Pound Town Council seek assistance in restoring the Town of Pound to a healthy, functional status.

The agreement states the parties are committed to working together as a team so as to prevent the Towns extinction. Any violation of the agreement may result in the revocation of the towns charter.

Also on Tuesday, the Town Council appointed Clintwood attorney Greg Baker to serve as the town attorney and local government consultant.

I have volunteered for a good bit now trying to help the town get on its feet, Baker said. You all have obviously had a tough time, but I can assure you that I believe that better days are ahead for the Town of Pound.

The council also appointed a part-time interim clerk-treasurer and scheduled orientations and training for council members to be held March 22. The town also moved to draft job descriptions for positions of clerk-treasurer and street maintenance worker, with the help of VML.

Kristin Foley, one of three new council members who were recently appointed by the districts circuit court judges, said Tuesdays meeting was full of a lot of small wins that built momentum for the council.

One of our ultimate goals is to prove to our fellow citizens [and] members of the town that we can work together, and that there is something worth fighting for, Foley said. I think tonight was a really good example of that.

Council member Leabern Kennedy, who was appointed vice mayor Tuesday, said that since being elected last November, there have been multiple meetings where council members walked out and/or resigned mid-meeting. Kennedy said Tuesdays meeting was the first time while in office that there was a full council for an entire meeting.

In laying out the rules of the road to the council, Baker advised their focus should be forward-looking.

There will be no going back over all the problems of the past because they are of the past, Baker said.

Baker also added that people are watching what the council does, but voiced an overall tone of optimism to the council about where they are headed.

If you govern well, as I know that you can, and the things get done that are basic governmental functions, then the Town of Pound will never have an issue with losing their charter, Baker said. I can say that with a lot of confidence.

The Town Council will meet at Town Hall next on Tuesday, March 22, at 6:30 p.m. for training and consideration for payment of bills.

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ABINGDON, Va.  A public-private project designed to assess the regions critical mineral assets and apply them toward economic development was unveiled Wednesday.

Evolve Central Appalachia, or Evolve CAPP, brings together a university-led research effort with public, private and academic interests in hopes of creating new industrial opportunities for Southwest Virginia, eastern Kentucky, West Virginia and portions of Tennessee.

It was announced Wednesday at the Virginia Highlands Small Business Incubator in Abingdon as a project that aims to harvest the industrial, environmental and economic potential of rare earth elements, critical minerals and nonfuel, carbon-based products  all out of waste coal.

It is designed to generate a new industry and to create better environmental conditions in the Appalachian basin by accelerating waste coal cleanup, according to a statement.

The research coalition includes Virginia Tech, the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University.

We have a very large, diverse team with a lot of different backgrounds on the economic side, engineering, processing, community engagement, workforce development. We have all these different players, so my role is to facilitate their expertise and put everything together, Richard Bishop, a Virginia Tech professor and the projects principal investigator, said.

The project has received $1.49 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a database of what types of minerals, elements and resources are available and accessible in a specific region of the four states, including the Southwest Virginia counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, Wise and the city of Norton.

State Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Abingdon, said the region is uniquely positioned to emerge as a key player in the race to produce critical minerals used to manufacture devices and items in our everyday lives.

Currently the market on these minerals is dominated by China, which presents a national security issue, Pillion said. Working with House Majority Leader Del. Terry Kilgore, this session we sent a bill to Gov. Youngkin that declares the removal of waste coal from previously mined sites in the coalfield region as a matter of public interest. The Commission on Electric Utility Regulation may review information on the approximate volume and number of waste coal piles present in the coalfield region and options for cleaning up such waste coal piles. This is a major public health, conservation and economic opportunity for the region that aligns with the goals of this research initiative.

Bishop said much work lies ahead.

We know there is a resource here. We need to move it to that next stage so we know where that resource is, how much is there and what new opportunities can ... create new business opportunities, economic development opportunities and jobs in the region, Bishop said. Were trying to assemble all the information that has already been done, fill in those gaps and assemble all the known information and try to get the low-hanging fruit.

Kevin Andrews, a member of the project leadership team and vice president and supervisory geologist of Marshall Miller & Associates of Blacksburg, said work began earlier this year.

Were working in the second quarter of gathering information and very much in the compilation phase, Andrews said. We are starting to have the database compiled where we can look at general things and make decisions as we go forward  do we need to collect more data? How might we use the data to move forward with the resource as part of the second phase?

Andrews said the size and scope of entities involved in this effort separates it from anything which preceded it.

Well incorporate everything that has been done to this point, Andrews said. I think whats different here is a lot of efforts in the past were a certain set of researchers, smaller scale. There are 24 industry partners, multiple universities, consulting firms, people who are very familiar with the geology of the area and how things work in the area, as far as mining goes.

The initiative has identified seven objectives including:

 Determine the quantity and distribution of resources in the region.

 Formulate strategies to utilize coal waste streams to produce useful fuels and materials.

 Evaluate regional infrastructure and identify industries that may benefit from REE and CM production.

 Develop strategies to encourage business development.

 Guide research and development of new technologies.

 Frame plans to establish technology innovation centers.

 Implement stakeholder outreach and education initiatives.

The community colleges will serve as workforce training centers if businesses are established, Kris Westover, president of Mountain Empire Community College, said.

Weve always had a connection to training and mining, and we recognize the huge value and potential this project has. And we recognize the need to train a workforce with the processes and the needs that are going to come out, Westover said. Were waiting to see what the process will look like, what the workforce needs will be, and I love the idea of internships and trying to create a dual-enrollment model for high school and community college students to build that STEM pipeline and have that workforce ready.

The coverage area also includes 38 counties in eastern Kentucky, 12 counties in Tennessee, including Claiborne, Hancock and Roane, and 24 West Virginia counties.

A room at the Business Incubator will serve as a lab and storage area for information and samples, Andrews said.

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Dominion Senior Living of Bristol has named a new executive director.

Nicole Briggs is being welcomed to the facility and the community at a public meet and greet Thursday, March 17, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Dominion Senior Living, located at 425 Shelby Lane in Bristol, Tennessee.

Briggs has been a part of the senior living industry since 2015 and serving in leadership roles in various Tennessee communities since 2017.

I believe that God has opened the door for me to start working with Dominion Senior Living of Bristol, Briggs said in a press release. I am excited to partner with a company who keeps Christ in the center of their business.

Dominion Senior Living of Bristol is an assisted living and memory care community.
Northeast State Community College will host a series of virtual, free Tennessee Reconnect sessions throughout March.

Northeast State welcomes anyone interested in learning more about Tennessee Reconnect, an initiative to help more adults return to higher education, to attend a session. To get a Zoom meeting ID for a session, send an RSVP email to tnreconnect@northeaststate.edu.

The upcoming virtual sessions are Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m.; Tuesday, March 22, at 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, March 24, at 9 a.m.; Monday, March 28, at 2 p.m.; and Thursday, March 31, at 9:30 a.m.

More information is also available by creating a login on the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) portal at: https://clipslink.tsac.tn.gov/studentsignon/. Anyone interested can create an account, select Apply and choose TN Reconnect Scholarship Application.

Applicants can apply to Northeast State, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and enroll in a degree or certificate program at Northeast State from this page.
A Portsmouth man will serve two life sentences for the violent rape of a Charlottesville woman while he was on the lam and one of the Virginia Department of Corrections Most Wanted.

Lenny Riccardo Dortch, 43, was arrested December 2020 and charged with one felony count of abduction with intent to defile, one count of rape and two counts of felony use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.

Dortch pleaded guilty to the charges in a December 2021 hearing, just before his case was to go to a jury.

The charges stem from a Dec. 17, 2020 incident in which Dortch raped a woman near a Madison Avenue apartment building. At the time of the incident, Dortch, a registered sex offender, was considered one of the most wanted people in the state by the corrections officials who issued an alert about him a month before the assault.

Before Judge Richard E. Moore issued the two life sentences at a Monday hearing, Dortch was allowed to speak. Though occasionally difficult to understand, Dortch urged Moore not to weigh his past too heavily when sentencing him, claiming that he had suffered a traumatic childhood.

During a lengthy explanation of his sentencing decision, Moore told Dortch that he was not exclusively considering the defendants past. However, the crimes in Charlottesville were among the worst Moore said he had ever seen and even amongst rapes were a nightmare offense.

Moore said Dortchs past crimes came into play when considering whether he would re-offend or not and the judge said he saw no reason to believe Dortch is not an active threat to the community.

Many people have experienced terrible things and turned around and said I will never allow that to happen to someone else, Moore said. There comes a point where you have to decide to be accountable for your own actions despite your past.

People who deliberately cause fear, shame and pain in others are among the worst in society, Moore said, and sometimes need to be removed from the community. With this in mind, Moore sentenced Dortch to a life sentence for both the rape and abduction charge and three years and five years in prison for each firearm charge.

Moore also issued a no contact order forbidding Dortch from ever reaching out to the survivor or her family. After explaining that the order includes messages from third parties, a visibly angry Dortch cursed out Moore and the court before he was escorted away.

Prior to his outburst, Dortch had sat in Charlottesville Circuit Court with his hands shackled together as prosecutors outlined the evidence against him, providing medical records, video footage and Dortchs lengthy criminal history.

According to Areshini Pather, deputy commonwealths attorney for the city, the 26-year-old victim was attacked by a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants soon after leaving a Madison Avenue gym near her home around 9 p.m. on Dec. 17, 2020.

The man, later identified as Dortch, approached her, pointed a gun at her and threatened to kill her. He then took her to a concealed area more than 100 yards away and raped her, alternating between pointing the gun at her head and putting it in her mouth.

He told the victim If anyone catches us, I will kill you. If anyone catches us, I will kill you both, Pather said, referencing interviews given by the victim in the wake of the attack.

Among the evidence presented was a video of the survivor just a few minutes after the attack. The video, shot via the survivors Ring porch camera, shows her returning home after the attack, covered in mud and in a state of undress, clutching her torn and dirty clothing to her chest.

Evidence presented in the December 2021 hearing indicated that the victim managed to block Dortchs ejaculate with her hands, which were later swabbed and found to contain DNA material that matched Dortch.

After Dortch left the scene, the victim returned home and called police. She was transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center where, according to a physicians report, it was noted she had a litany of injuries consistent with the rape and physical assault she described.

To add to horror of the situation, Pather said the survivor of the attack was a mother of a nine-month-old and had gone to the gym instead of for a run at the urging of her husband who believed it would be safer.

Charlottesville is a beautiful place where we built our lives and [my wife] worked hard to help those around her, Pather said, reading from an impact statement from the survivors husband. However, in one night he decided to destroy all that, to destroy our trust and faith and just days before Christmas.

Pather also presented Dortchs criminal history, which included a previous conviction in 2005 for abduction with the intent to defile. In 2009, Dortch was determined by a Virginia Beach court to be a violent sexual predator and was civilly committed to the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation for treatment until he was released in 2020.

Upon release in July 2020, Dortch was subject to probation and was monitored by an ankle monitor, according to Pather. However, Dortch soon failed to register as a sex offender and was charged for stalking a female co-worker from his new job.

He removed his ankle monitor on Oct. 30, 2020 and was soon added to the states most wanted list until he was arrested following his crimes in Charlottesville.

Given the nature of the crimes and the fact that none of the alternatives available to the court, such as probation and treatment, have worked, the Commonwealth cannot request anything lower than the high end of the guidelines, Pather said, requesting a sentence of 72 years or life in prison.

Dortchs attorney, Mike Hallahan, argued that his client was already facing a lengthy sentence for crimes in Virginia Beach and would be in his 60s by the time he was released.

By avoiding trial and recognizing the harm he caused, Hallahan argued that Dortch had taken responsibility and deserved a sentence more toward the middle of the 30- to 48-year range.

According to Hallahan, Dortch plans to appeal his sentence.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has charged a Kingsport teenager with attempted murder after authorities said a police officer was shot Tuesday.

Just after 10 p.m. Tuesday, Kingsport officers received a report that a male juvenile had escaped from the Department of Children's Services on North Eastman Road, according to a TBI news release issued Wednesday. An officer found the teenager on Lincoln Street and attempted to take him into custody, the release states.

The juvenile resisted and tried to gain control of the officers service weapon, according to the release. At some point during the struggle, the weapon discharged, striking the officer in the leg. Additional officers arrived a short time later and took the juvenile into custody.

The officer was transported to a local hospital for treatment and has since been released, the TBI said.

The teen, who is not being identified, was also charged with evading arrest.
The Bristol Tennessee Police Department has arrested a Bristol, Tennessee man as a suspect in an attempted aggravated robbery late Monday night at a Shell gas station on Volunteer Parkway.

Wayne M. Kistner, 42, was arrested with the assistance of the Sullivan County Sheriffs Department after he was identified from surveillance camera footage circulated through the media Tuesday.

Kistner was charged with attempted aggravated robbery. He was transported to the Sullivan County Jail for booking, according to a press release from the Bristol Tennessee Police Department.

Officers responded to the Shell station at 1716 Volunteer Parkway on Monday at 11:20 p.m. after a middle-aged white male wearing a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, a black and gray toboggan and a black and white face mask entered the store with a black semi-automatic pistol.

The release said the suspect quickly left the store without a theft occurring. It is not known why the suspect left.
The Roanoke Times

Were at the time of the year where there gets to be some frustration between the bodies, and we get to hear from senators that are unhappy with the House, began Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County. But I want to speak today about something thats very disappointing to me here in the Senate.

His speech came during the wind-down of the March 4 Senate session, the conclusion of what was supposed to be the penultimate week of the 2022 General Assembly session, although indications are that legislators might stay in session longer than planned to hash out the budget.

His speech came during a period governed by tradition  we hesitate to use the adjective time-honored  in which bills of all sorts meet their final fates: postponed for further study, killed in committee and so on.

You could call it, were you inclined to whimsy, an annual revival of Arthur Millers play Death of a Salesman, with every piece of legislation potentially playing the role of the down-trodden, tossed-aside, ill-fated Willy Loman.

There is at least one fundamental difference. Loman, confronted by failure, retreats into fatal delusion. Legislators, confronted by the failures of their bills, resort to blame-casting  not that the finger-pointing is entirely unjustified.

A realistic view of a divided General Assembly  the Senate held by Democrats, the House of Delegates held by Republicans  has to presuppose that quite a few ventures will end in stalls and stalemates, if they dont simply fizzle into limbo.

Even under those circumstances, however, triumphant survivors emerge. Contemplating why one good bill gets uplifted while the next gets crushed can seem an exercise in futility, yet on balance the proceedings feel more exasperating, deserving of a facepalm, as opposed to tragic.

Nonetheless, even seasoned elected representatives at least sometimes chafe under these circumstances, occasionally revealing that they, like Willy Loman, are tired to the death, as the following mini-drama shows.

Suetterlein continued, Especially disappointing to me was a bill to help the children of veterans, presented to the Senate Rules Committee that same day. He was referring to House Bill 1333, sponsored by A.C. Cordoza, R-Hampton, which sought to ease the strict standards that determine whether children of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were stationed in Virginia during their service can qualify for in-state college tuition.

If you are stationed here in Virginia, and you have four years of service, four years of filings in Virginia, your children are eligible for in-state tuition, Cordoza told the rules committee. The current standard is 10 years. Cordozas bill was passed by the House of Delegates with overwhelming bipartisan support, 99-0.

We even heard a senior Democratic member speak favorably for the bill, Suetterlein said, referring to Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke.

I think this is one of the things we can do to help our veterans, the children of veterans, to get an education in Virginia, Edwards said during the March 4 rules meeting. We ought to go ahead and do this.

At that moment, out of view of the camera, but picked up by the microphones, a woman said, Remember, we were all going to vote no?

Edwards muttered an acquiescence and voted along with the other 11 Democrats to pass the bill by indefinitely. The three Republican committee members voted in support of Cordozas bill.

More disappointing for Virginians, listening to it at home, they could hear another senior Democratic member telling them, No, were to kill this, Suetterlein said as he described what happened to Cordozas proposal.

The point Suetterlein wanted to make was that Democrats in the Senate were going out of their way to kill Republican bills  even bills that Democratic politicians personally looked on favorably.

Republicans who reached out to Democrats for support for their bills werent getting it. That undercuts the entire system, Suetterlein said, and events like what happened erode confidence in this body, and I hope that we will not continue down this path.

Suetterleins finger-wagging at his Democratic colleagues didnt go unanswered for long. I listened carefully when the gentleman from Roanoke County lamented the issue of partisan imbalance, said Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond. I lived in Australia for three years, in New South Wales, and theres an expression called, Right back atcha, mate.

In a House committee where his own bills came up for review, Morrissey said, There was a partisan imbalance there, 5-3, and my bills were summarily killed, all of them, 5-3. Two of those bills came out of this Senate 40-0.

He suggested that the reason Republicans killed his criminal justice reform bills was simply because they could. I would ask my friend from Roanoke County, for those exact same thoughts that he shared with the body today, perhaps he share them with the folks on his own side of the aisle.

The final word of that days session, though, came from Sen. Tommy Norment, R-James City. Ive enjoyed the eloquence and the edification, he said. Do you realize that we were trying to adjourn so that the senators, both Republicans and Democrats, would try to protect their bills that are being summarily killed without presentation in the House Appropriations Committee, which continues to meet?

On Norments reminder, the Senate adjourned in a hurry.

To be fair, that meeting of the House Appropriations Committee wasnt a slaughterfest. A bill sponsored by Edwards, one that the Editorial Board favored (Feb. 21, Still hope for signs of better laws), granting juvenile courts the authority to review and approve or deny foster care plans filed by local social services boards, was endorsed by the full committee. On Wednesday, it passed the House unanimously.

A measure by Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, making prevision for payments for Medicaid members using telehealth services appeared to stall in that same appropriations meeting but got revived after the weekend and has also been unanimously passed by the House.

In fact, a number of the pieces of legislation we cheered for back during the crossover period, when the two houses exchanged bills, are still kicking and could well become law. These include the call for a study to investigate reopening a hospital in Patrick County introduced by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick; a bill from Del. Marie March, R-Floyd, that would require local government meeting minutes to be posted online; Suetterleins own bill that would make parole board votes public, and another proposal from Suetterlein to have absentee ballots tallied in the precincts where voters reside.

Its great that these strong swimmers have the source of the river in sight. Its too bad so many of their worthy companions wont make it.
HICKORY  Catawba Valley Community College was well represented during the recent Bellwether College Consortium held in San Antonio, Texas.

Thousands of programs from across the country were nominated for the Bellwether Awards

After hundreds of applications were submitted from colleges across the nation, CVCC was named one of 30 overall finalists in three separate categories for the 2022 Bellwether Awards this past November.

Championed by the late Mark Story, CVCCs K-64 initiative was a top 10 finalist in the Workforce Development category.

Representing CVCC at the 2022 Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio were CVCC President Garrett Hinshaw; Robin Ross, vice president for K-64 and talent development; and Jennifer Jones, chief development officer and executive director for Catawba Valley Community College Foundation, Inc.
Hickory Public Schools is offering summer learning programs to help students struggling in school.

The Hickory Public Schools Summer Bridge program will help some fifth- through 11th-graders strengthen their math and reading skills and learn about career and technical education opportunities. The programs will be offered on Mondays through Thursdays each week.

The programs address gaps in learning and help students be better prepared for the next school year, Hickory Public Schools Director of Accountability Shawn Clemons said.

When students can access grade-level content, their self-efficacy improves which directly impacts their academic performance, Clemons said in an email. Part of the vision of Hickory city schools (Hickory Public Schools) is to ensure a high quality education for all students, preparing them to become responsible productive citizens.

All rising sixth-graders will have the option to visit their middle school to work on English and math skills and learn about career and technical education at the middle-school level. There will be two two-week sessions hosted at both Grandview Middle School and Northview Middle School. The sessions will be June 6-16 and June 20-30, Clemons said at a district school board meeting on Monday.

We wanted to have the opportunity for them to become acclimated to their middle schools, Clemons said. We have a teacher who is getting some training in coding. So well also be able to offer that opportunity to students (during the program.)

Principals at both middle schools will work with staff members to select 15 to 20 students from sixth, seventh and eighth grade, who have struggled in their classes throughout the school year, to participate in the program. The program will be optional for these students, but attendance is recommended, Clemons said.

A recent study from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction showed that students statewide made significantly less academic progress during the pandemic than in previous years. The study showed that students of all ages and backgrounds scored lower than expected in nearly all subjects, especially math and science.

We know the pandemic greatly disrupted the learning process and life for most students, Clemons said in an email. We are continually taking stock of the short- and long-term effects the pandemic caused to student learning. When addressing learning loss, it is quite complex. There are academic concerns, as well as social and emotional concerns. Our summer programming is focused on academics, however we will provide a stable, safe and loving environment for students.

During the summer programs, middle-schoolers will work on English and math skills. Students will get the opportunity to participate in hands-on labs with Catawba Science Center staff members and will get to gain skills through career and technical education opportunities. The program will take place at both middle schools June 6-30, Clemons said.

A select group of rising ninth-graders, who scored a four or five on their end-of-grade math tests for eighth grade, will have the chance to earn high school credits in math and career management classes. The program will be offered at Hickory High School June 6-30, Clemons said. Students who complete the program will be able to take another honors math course, Clemons said.

A select group of rising 10th- and 11th-graders will have the chance to earn high school credit in a hybrid summer course focused on Microsoft Word skills.

Along with the Microsoft Word course, students will spend part of each day at Catawba Valley Community College learning about their offerings. The program will be held at Hickory High School June 6-30, Clemons said.

The school district is required to have a summer reading camp as part of the Read to Achieve Act, Hickory Public Schools Director of Federal Programs Timothy Sims said at the Monday board meeting.

This requires 72 hours of reading instruction for students in grades one, two and three who are not meeting grade-level benchmarks, Sims said. We will be hiring teachers. If teachers have high growth, we are required to pay them a $1,200 signing bonus to teach for the summer program. So, we are working on that.

The summer camp will be at Longview Elementary School June 6-30. Transportation and meals will be provided, Sims said.

Remediation and credit recovery opportunities

Students who did not do well on their end-of-grade and end-of-course tests will have the chance to make up for those tests this summer as well.

Remediation will be May 31 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The tests will be re-administered June 1 and 2 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. An additional re-administration day will be on June 3 if needed. Transportation will be provided for free, as well as breakfast and lunch, Clemons said.

The remediation program will cover end-of-grade tests in math for third through eighth, reading and English language arts for fourth through eighth and science for fifth through eighth. The end-of-course tests covered will be biology, English II, North Carolina Math I and III, Clemons said.

Credit Recovery Summer School will be offered to high school students who received an average of 50 to 59 in a course, in order to stay on track for graduating high school in four years, Clemons said.

This is done by Inspired Learning Program, our community partner, so we give our high school students the opportunity to receive remediation in the parts of courses where they failed, Clemons said. This has been instrumental in our cohort graduation rate and keeping students on track for graduation.

The students will be able to make up credits for English, math, world history, civics, American history, earth science, biology, physical science and chemistry classes.

The summer school will operate from June 20 to July 21, but will be closed on July 4 through 7. Students will attend the summer school program in the cafeteria of the Hickory Career and Arts Magnet High School, Clemons said.

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HICKORY  Hickory Museum of Art is celebrating 75 years of the Paul Whitener Student Art Show.

This annual event, started by the museums founder and first director Paul Whitener (1911-1959), provides an opportunity for selected student artwork to be exhibited in the museum and for family members and school representatives to demonstrate their support.

Selected artworks are from homeschool, private and public school students in the Hickory City, Catawba County and Newton-Conover areas.

Understanding the creative process and being comfortable with experimentation empowers students to be innovative when solving problems. The Paul Whitener Student Art Show celebrates the importance of art education in positioning K-12 learners for success now and in the future, said HMA Executive Director Jon Carfagno.

The elementary school division exhibition will be on view from March 19 - April 10. Awards will be presented at a reception held on Thursday, March 24, 5:30-7 p.m. The middle and high school division exhibition will be on view from April 16 - May 1. Awards will be presented on Tuesday, April 26, 5:30-7 p.m. Award categories for both divisions include: Coffee in the Coes Most Creative Artist, first place, second place and third place as well as honorable mentions.

We are very excited that after two years both elementary and middle/high school exhibits will all be in person," said Ginny Zellmer, education manager.

"We had the exhibits online the last two years but it isnt the same as seeing the artwork in person. Students are proud to bring their families to the awards reception, too. Being the 75th year for this show, it is a milestone for the museum and another reason to be excited about the walls being filled with student art. The public is invited to attend both receptions. Admission is free.

The museum is paying tribute to the 75th anniversary of the Paul Whitener Student Art Show with a special exhibition in the Whitener Gallery. This show includes historic photographs and articles from HMAs archives as well as artwork from past student art show winners and judges.

The exhibitions are sponsored by Rotary Club of Hickory, chartered 1921, District 7670 and annual sponsors Shurtape Technologies, Beaver Family Foundation, Broyhill Family Foundation, Deal Financial Group, and Vanguard Furniture.

Hickory Museum of Art is located on the SALT Block, 243 Third Ave., NE. Admission is free. For more information about museum exhibitions, art classes, field trips, and events, visit www.HickoryArt.org or call the museum at 828-327-8576, ext. 201. Business sponsorship information is also available at the same telephone number.
Hong Kong: Private healthcare gets more PPE

The Government today said it will further distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) to the private healthcare sector within March in view of the fifth wave of the COVID-19 epidemic.

In expressing gratitude to healthcare professionals who have been standing fast and serving the public on the frontline since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Government noted it understands that the industry, in particular those who practise in the private sector, might encounter difficulties in buying PPE.

In this connection, it had provided 500,000 masks for free to different healthcare workers in mid-2020 to help them fight the virus with the Government.

Owing to the development of the fifth wave of the epidemic, the Government will give out PPE including masks, gowns, face shields and goggles to the private healthcare sector. The Food & Health Bureau is now handling distribution matters with relevant professional bodies and the gear is expected to be delivered to the practitioners later this month.

In a press statement today, the Government also pointed out that an in-person consultation between a doctor and a patient prior to telemedicine is advisable but not mandatory, as clarified by the Medical Council of Hong Kong.

In the light of the COVID-19 epidemic and the significant increase in public demand for medical support, the Government wrote to the council on February 15 noting that since there were practical needs for the Hospital Authority and the private healthcare sector to provide telemedicine services to COVID-19 patients, such services should not be considered as a breach of the councils Ethical Guidelines on Practice of Telemedicine when the city is combining efforts to combat COVID-19.

In addition, at a video conference on March 9 between Secretary for Food & Health Prof Sophia Chan and sector representatives, Prof Chan encouraged more private hospitals, medical groups and healthcare professionals to provide free telemedicine services to citizens.

The Government said it is pleased to know that individual private hospitals and healthcare institutions have already launched telemedicine support services for the general public and COVID-19 patients.

It will continue to support the sector to fight against COVID-19 and make a concerted effort with them so that Hong Kong can overcome the epidemic soon.

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
" " Jackson, Wyoming's all-female town council was made up of (front row, left to right) Rose Crabtree, Grace Miller, Faustina Haight, (back row, left to right) Genevieve Van Vleck and Mae Deloney. They served from 1920 to 1923. Collection of Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum, 1958.0263.001

While the United States continues to lag in terms of female leadership statistics (America ranked 81st out of 193 countries as of June 2020, in women's representation in government), one unlikely town became known for unprecedented progressiveness a century ago: Jackson, Wyoming. In 1920  yes, the same year the 19th Amendment first granted women the right to vote  an all-female ticket nicknamed the "petticoat rulers" established order in the Wild West town.

"This may be a bit dramatic, but I often say that Jackson could have very easily faded into the landscape in the early 20th century if not for these women," Morgan Albertson Jaouen, executive director of the Jackson Hole Historical Society & Museum, writes via email. "This was a rugged place and incredibly difficult to settle. While Jackson had a strong community where everyone helped each other out, there was very little emphasis on government and civic responsibility."

It may be tough to believe an all-female government ruled a small town in early 20th century America when sexism still remains a major barrier in modern politics, but on May 11, 1920, Jackson elected Grace Miller as mayor and Rose Crabtree, Mae Deloney, Faustina Haight and Genevieve Van Vleck as council members. The five women claimed victory over an all-male roster, and Crabtree even beat out her husband, Henry. This landmark win was no accident, either: The election drew the most voters the town had seen at that point, and in many cases, the women dominated their male opponents by a margin of 2-to-1.

While Oskaloosa, Kansas, and Kanab, Utah, had already elected all-female town councils in 1888 and 1912, respectively, the election was a major turning point for Jackson. "The all-women town council of 1920 stepped up and shaped the town into the place we know and love today  they graded the streets, they expanded electrical service and installed street lamps, they established the first town cemetery, and built the town's budget to be able to continue serving community members," Jaouen says.

According to a 1922 article from The Delineator magazine, there was only $200 in town coffers when the women took office, due to uncollected fines and taxes. As the article states, "they went out personally and collected every cent due the town from those who ignored the notices. Before the end of a fortnight there was $2,000 in the treasury."

Things didn't necessarily all start out with a flashy bang, however, according to Jouen. "A funny story: I had always heard that the all-women town council had 'formalized' town square, and until recently, I assumed that meant creating the park-like square we see today," she says. "But what it actually meant was that these 'councilmen' (as they called themselves in official town documents) simply prohibited the grazing of cattle on town square. You have to start somewhere!"

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It's a Simple Question: What Is Good Government?

As for what inspired the women to effect lasting change, Jouen says their methods and motives were rather simple. "I think Mayor Grace Miller perfectly sums up their time in office when she said in an interview in 1922: 'We simply tried to work together ... we put into practice the same thrifty principles we exercise in our own homes. We wanted a clean, well-kept, progressive town in which to raise our families. What is good government but a breathing space for good citizenship?'"

While the so-called "petticoat rulers" successfully established a lasting legacy, Jouen cautions that celebrating their history simply isn't enough. "The story of the all-women town council is incredible, and certainly something to celebrate and be proud of for the town of Jackson," she says. "Jackson Hole has many stories of powerful women and generally our history is one of inclusivity, adaptability and ingenuity  everyone had to pull their weight and be open-minded in order to survive. However, it's still important to look at the big picture and use history as something to learn from and not just celebrate. Jackson did not see another woman in an elected position until the 1980s. The all-women town council was necessary and successful, but unfortunately did not create a new normal and Jackson was not immune to the times. But it is exciting and encouraging to see more diversity in our local government, including women in all levels of elected positions. The women of 1920 still serve as encouraging role models."

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Highlighting Women's History

The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum is highlighting an exhibit of women's history in 2020:

"To honor and highlight women's history during this important anniversary year, the JHHSM has two special exhibits on display through 2020. The first exhibit in the museum's main gallery space, and coming online soon, is entitled 'Mountains to Manuscripts: Women's Writing in Wyoming, 1900-1950' and features notable women writers of the early 20th century in Wyoming. Narrative writing about the state  certainly, the Tetons  is sparse before 1950, and published works are few and far between in comparison to the rest of the American West. Women's words are even harder to come by, but provide important insight into the changing nature of the region," says Jouen.

The museum has also installed a traveling exhibit from the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center entitled "Wyoming Women" which includes 30 framed historic photographs of Wyoming women throughout history, specifically highlighting the leadership roles they pursued in their family, in the outdoors and in their community.

Now That's Interesting For anyone in Wyoming, a visit to the Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum can offer plenty of additional insights into the legend of these women of the Wild West. The museum houses a number of historical documents and photographs of the women and information about their time in office, as well as Mayor Grace Miller's side saddle and the black coat she can be seen wearing in most photos. "The saddle and coat are currently on display in our museum through 2020, and all of this information can be researched and accessed through our Stan Klassen Research Center, Jouen says.
" " Napoleon Bonaparte dominated European affairs for over a decade as the emperor of France and became one of the most celebrated military leaders of all time. Wikimedia Commons

More words have been written about Napoleon Bonaparte than almost any other historical figure. But for those with limited time resources, here's a short primer on the wildly ambitious French military leader with help from Peter Hicks, historian and manager of international affairs for the Fondation Napoleon in Paris.

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Born in Corsica, Arrives in France

Napoleon was born Napoleone di Buonaparte Aug. 15, 1769, on the island of Corsica, only recently bought by France from the Italian city-state of Genoa. Young Napoleon, the son of a prominent Corsican family, was sent to mainland France for school, where his Parisian classmates made fun of his provincial accent.

"Instead of calling him Napoleon, they called him 'straw on the nose,'" says Hicks, "mispronouncing his name in French with a Corsican accent."

After graduating from the French military academy and becoming part of the French Revolution, Napoleon dropped the extra vowels in his Italian-sounding name.

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Marriage to Josephine

Napoleon was six years her junior when he met 32-year-old Paris socialite Marie-Josephe-Rose de Beauharnais, who already had two children: Eugene, born in 1781 and Hortense, born in 1783. Their father, Alexandre de Beauharnais, had been executed in 1794 during France's Reign of Terror. Napoleon and Josephine married in 1796 and Napoleon became stepfather to her children.

In the course of time, it was discovered that Josephine was incapable of having more children. Napoleon would divorce her in 1809 to marry Austrian Archduchess Maria-Louise, banking on her to produce him an heir, which she did with the birth of a son, Napoleon Francois Joseph Charles Bonaparte, later Napoleon II, in 1811. Napoleon was said to have loved Josephine for the rest of his life and her name was reportedly the last word on his lips when he died in 1821.

But back to the battlefield.

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Hero of the Italian Campaign

Napoleon rose through the ranks of the French army and was promoted to major general after helping to quash a royalist coup in Paris. In 1796, at just 26 years old, he was sent to Italy to mount a last-ditch campaign against France's bitter rival Austria. He found the French troops exhausted and unpaid but whipped them into excitement with promises of glory and riches to be won.

Despite being outnumbered almost two-to-one by Austrian and Italian Piedmontese fighters, Napoleon used speed and cunning to separate the enemy forces and ruthlessly attack their weak points. Napoleon's armies could cover up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) a day compared to just 6 or 7 (10 or 11 kilometers) for the Austrians and Italians.

"They sent a young madman who attacks right, left and from the rear," complained a Piedmontese officer. "It's an intolerable way of making war."

When the Austrians and Italians surrendered, Napoleon demanded payment in gold, which he gave to his fighting men, sealing their loyalty. Word of his exploits spread far and wide.

"Napoleon really burst onto the scene with the staggering success of the first Italian campaign, which put him on the radar with the rest of Europe," says Hicks. "Everybody wanted to know, 'Who is this guy?'"

" " The consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821) and Coronation of the Empress Josephine (1763-1814), in Notre Dame cathedral, 2nd December 1804. Painting by Jacques Louis David (1748-1825), 1806. Musee du Louvre, Paris, France. Photo Josse/Leemage/Getty Images

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Visions of Empire in the Exotic East

It didn't take long for Napoleon to begin seeing himself as the French incarnation of Julius Caesar or Alexander the Great. He could have made a play for emperor in 1797, but felt the moment wasn't quite right in Paris. So he rallied his armies and set off for Egypt, where he hoped to cut off British trade with India.

Napoleon scholar Jean Tulard called the Egyptian campaign, "probably the craziest expedition in the history of France." Napoleon marched 35,000 troops across the desert from the port city of Alexandria toward Cairo. At the Battle of the Pyramids, he faced a wall of 10,000 fearless Mameluke fighters on horseback.

"Soldiers," Napoleon shouted to his troops, "from the height of these pyramids, 40 centuries look down upon you."

The French, following Napoleon's ingenious battlefield strategies, crushed the saber-wielding Mamelukes and took Cairo. But while Napoleon was daydreaming of conquest  "I saw myself founding a new religion," he later wrote, "marching into Asia riding an elephant, a turban on my head, and in my hand the new Koran"  the British struck back, destroying the French fleet docked in the Mediterranean.

Stranded in Egypt, Napoleon decided to pick more fights with the locals. He took on the Turks in Syria and bombarded the centuries-old walls at the ancient city of Acre. But by 1798, morale was low and a civil war was raging back home. Napoleon saw an opening for his triumphant return, so he abandoned his troops in Egypt and secretly made for France.

The Egyptian campaign wasn't a total wash, though. Napoleon's soldiers, while digging to reinforce a fortress wall in 1799, made an accidental discovery in the Nile Delta  the Rosetta Stone.

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From First Consul to Emperor

When Napoleon arrived in France in October 1798, he found his country in chaos. The state coffers were empty, a coalition of enemies was on the attack, and the French central government lead by a five-man Directory was divided and crumbling. France needed a strong, authoritarian leader and Napoleon knew just the right guy for the job.

In a matter of weeks, he plotted with two of the Directors and some wealthy backers to hatch a coup d'etat. They convinced the legislature that another royalist coup was imminent, pretense for relocating the government to a country palace and sending in troops to "protect" them.

First, Napoleon made a ham-handed speech presenting himself as France's savior, which the constitutional body violently rejected, crying "down with the dictator!" and "death to the tyrant!" He returned the next day with more troops, and in a complicated series of political maneuvers, convinced the deputies to dissolve the Directory and create a new three-person consul with Napoleon at its head.

After rallying the army to defeat the Austrians, Napoleon earned the title of "First Consul for Life" and decided it was time to bring monarchy back to post-Revolution France. On Dec. 2, 1804, after literally snatching the crown from the hand of Pope Pius VII, Napoleon named himself Emperor of France.

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Napoleon Helped Make Modern France

While still First Consul, Napoleon created several new state institutions and spearheaded reforms that pulled the country out of chaos by consolidating power in a strong central government.

Among the big changes were to bring religion back to France through a pact with the Pope. Not only did Napoleonic France recognize Catholics, but welcomed Protestants and Jews on equal footing.

Under Napoleon, France created its first central bank, the franc was introduced, and taxes were collected in a fair and timely manner. The messy post-Revolution legal system was codified under what's known as the Civil Code or the Napoleonic Code. On the flip side, women lost almost all legal rights and slavery was reintroduced in French colonies.

"Government was settled along a top-down structure  and it was very much one man at the top," says Hicks, "but Napoleon's reforms brought financial security, and also political and social stability."

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France Versus the World

Napoleon's rule of France was dominated by nonstop fighting with European rivals, chiefly Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia. The Napoleonic Wars spanned from 1796 to 1815 and were bankrolled by Britain, the major economic and military power of the day.

"Britain was happy to have Europe fighting itself so it could run the rest of the world," says Hicks. "Britain paid other countries to do the fighting against France, but the other guys didn't need much encouraging. They found Napoelonic France quite challenging."

The British formed coalition after coalition against the French Empire, but Napoleon managed to keep the upper hand and even win more territory until 1812, when he made a fateful and failed gamble in Russia.

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In Russia, Napoleon Was Beaten by Retreat

When the Russian czar Alexander I backed out of Napoleon's blockade of British goods in 1811, Napoleon was livid. Against the advice of his generals, Napoleon chose to invade Russia with one of the largest European armies ever assembled, an estimated 600,000 soldiers from France, Italy, Germany and Poland.

Napoleon's army charged into Russia in the blazing heat of the summer. The Russians, overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemy fighters, fell back in retreat, burning the towns and countryside behind them. Exhausted and without towns to raid for supplies, the French forces suffered from disease and desertion.

Finally, the two armies met at the Battle of Borodino, where Napoleon threw his men into a brutal, all-day assault that cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides. The Russians finally relented and Napoleon marched triumphantly into Moscow, only to find the city in flames.

The Russian winter arrived early and with a vengeance. Napoleon's army, fully unprepared for temperatures as low as -22 degrees F (-30 degrees C), froze to death by the thousands. Starving soldiers killed each other over horsemeat. And throughout the ordeal, Cossacks raided the retreating French army, dealing devastating blows to its flanks and rear.

Of Napoleon's invading army of 600,000, only 100,000 made it out of Russia alive.

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Exile to Elba

After barely escaping total disaster in Russia, Napoleon came home to fight off another coalition of European foes: Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Austria. With diminished forces, he held off the coalition for a year before the enemy marched on Paris itself and Napoleon's generals refused to follow him into a final battle.

On April 12, 1814, Napoleon abdicated his throne and was exiled to the tiny island of Elba between Italy and Corsica. Hicks says that Napoleon's expulsion to Elba was "kind of a joke," less of a punishment for Napoleon than a strategy engineered by the Russians to destabilize Austrian-controlled Italy.

"Cartoons at the time compared Napoleon on Elba to Vesuvius next to Naples," says Hicks. "It's going to blow up, and it did."

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Triumphant Return and Final Defeat at Waterloo

After less than a year in exile, Napoleon sailed from Elba with 1,000 supporters and landed on the French mainland, where he was met by exultant crowds. King Louis XVIII, who had been installed by the coalition allies in Napoleon's place, skipped town without a fight. The Emperor was back, but not for long.

What followed is known as the Hundred Days Campaign, Napoleon's last desperate grasp at power. With coalition forces amassing against him, Napoleon decided to strike first by invading Belgium. He had some luck against the Prussians in a preliminary battle, but then he came up against the British outside the Belgian town of Waterloo.

The British army, under the command of the formidable Duke of Wellington, numbered 68,000 troops at Waterloo, roughly the same size as Napoleon's force. But Napoleon didn't know that the Prussians were waiting in the wings with 72,000 more enemy troops. Napoleon might have won if he had ordered the attack on the British line sooner, but he opted to wait and let the muddy ground dry. Those extra hours gave the Prussians time to join the fight and rout the French.

On June 22, 1815, Napoleon abdicated the throne for the second and final time.

" " The death mask of Napoleon Bonaparte in the Musee de la Maison Bonaparte, the ancestral home of the Bonaparte family, in Ajaccio, France Michal Osmenda /Wikimedia Commons ( CC By 2.0

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Death on St. Helena, an Island Prison

The British weren't going to take any chances with Napoleon's second exile. They chose the remote tropical island of St. Helena, thousands of miles from France off the coast of Africa. There, in a ramshackle estate called Longwood, a single prisoner was guarded by 2,800 men and a Royal Navy squadron of 11 ships.

Napoleon died May 5, 1821, likely from stomach cancer. He was 51 years old. He was buried on St. Helena, but his remains were eventually returned to France where he was entombed at Les Invalides among the great French leaders of all time.

Now That's Interesting Napoleon wasn't nearly as short as his enemies made him out to be. Historians believe he stood 5 feet, 6.5 inches(169 centimeters), which was average for his day.
" " In this painting, Simon Bolivar signs the "War to the Death" decree that permitted murders and other crimes against Spanish people in Latin America opposed to South American independence. This was in retaliation for crimes committed by Spanish soldiers after the fall of the First Republic of Venezuela. Gerard SIOEN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

The most stunning victory in Simon Bolivar's long struggle for Latin American independence came in 1819, when the man known as "El Libertador" ("The Liberator") led a ragtag squadron over the impassable Andes to wage an audacious surprise attack on the superior Spanish forces.

As the journalist and author Marie Arana writes in her biography, "Bolivar: American Liberator," the impulsive and ingenious Bolivar kept his plan secret from his men, who likely would have deserted rather than trudge through miles of flooded swampland and over 13,000-foot (3.9-kilometer) peaks in the middle of the South American winter.

But they stayed with him, buoyed by the warmth and charisma of Bolivar's outsized personality, even as malaria and yellow fever sickened hundreds in the sodden lowlands, and the icy Andean wind ripped through their threadbare clothing and killed nearly every horse and mule in the party.

Bolivar suffered right alongside his men but seemed much stronger than his spindly 130-pound (58-kilogram) frame. When what remained of his men descended half-naked and starving on the Colombian side of the Andes, they met absolutely no Spanish resistance, because no sane Spanish general would ever have believed such a sneak attack was possible.

"That was as audacious a military maneuver as Hannibal crossing the Alps," says Richard Slatta, emeritus professor of history at North Carolina State University and co-author of "Simon Bolivar's Quest for Glory."

Within days, Bolivar had rallied reinforcements from the Colombian countryside and given his loyal troops time to rest and refuel for the coming fight. On July 25, Bolivar and his patriots charged uphill against the well-armed and brightly uniformed Spanish at the Battle of Pantano de Vargas. The rebels' secret weapon were the llaneros, roughneck South American herders akin to American cowboys, who fell on the Spanish with their machetes and spears.

Next came the decisive Battle of Boyoca, easily won by Bolivar and his reinvigorated fighting force. The Spanish generals, spooked by the patriots' guerilla tactics and promises of a "war to the death," began to lose their nerve and their iron grip on the Latin American colonies. It would all be lost in a matter of years.

While Bolivar didn't act alone, he was clearly the catalyst and "cult of personality" behind the 19th-century liberation movement that won independence for six Latin American nations: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Bolivia, a country named for the Liberator himself.

"In the age of revolution, Bolivar is the most critical figure in the hemispheric story," says Lester Langley, emeritus professor of history at the University of Georgia and author of "Simon Bolivar: Venezuelan Rebel, American Revolutionary."

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The "George Washington of South America"?

Marquis de Lafayette, the French military officer who came to America's rescue in the Revolutionary War, admired Bolivar and dubbed him the "George Washington of South America." Arana said in an interview at History News Network that Washington even sent Bolivar a medallion containing a lock of the American president's hair, which Bolivar treasured.

But Lafayette's nickname is only half-fitting, says Slatta. Yes, both Bolivar and Washington came from aristocratic families, and yes, they were both heroic military leaders known as the "fathers" of their countries. But that's where the similarities end.

"When it gets down to political values, I find them very different people," says Slatta. "Washington was cautious, both militarily and politically, while Bolivar was much more impulsive and mercurial. They were both essentially offered a kingship, and while Washington turned it down, Bolivar settled for being a dictator."

Langley agrees, arguing that Bolivar and Washington were military equals in overcoming impossible odds against the world's best armies, but otherwise they couldn't be more different, in personality and as politicians.

"Where Bolivar failed, unlike Washington, was in his post-military career," says Langley.

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From Wealthy Widower to Revolutionary

Bolivar was born in Venezuela in 1783 to a wealthy mining family who were landed members of the criollo (pureblood Spanish) elite. Orphaned before he was 10 years old, a rowdy young Bolivar was passed between extended family members before being sent to Spain at 16 to study under tutors.

" " A portrait of Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan leader who played a key role in South America's struggle for independence from Spain. Universal History Archive/Getty Images

In Madrid, Bolivar fell in love and married Maria Teresa, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman, but just a year after establishing their homestead back in Venezuela, his young bride died of yellow fever. A widower at 19, Bolivar never married again, though he had many affairs. Some historians believe that if Maria Teresa had lived, Bolivar would have settled for the comfortable life of a criollo landowner. Instead, he returned to Europe, heartbroken and searching for a purpose, which he found in Paris while devouring Enlightenment thinkers like Locke, Rousseau and Voltaire.

The year was 1804, and both the United States and France had already won their independence and established new constitutional forms of government. Bolivar came to believe that the Spanish-ruled colonies in South America deserved the same freedom of self-rule and that he was the man to light the fire of revolution.

Returning to Venezuela, Bolivar dove into the complex tangle of South American interests vying for independence from Spain. Bolivar and his compatriots succeeded in briefly ousting the Spanish twice from Venezuela, establishing the short-lived First and Second Republics of Venezuela.

But when those first attempts at self-governance failed, Bolivar fled to Jamaica, where he penned his elegiac "Carta de Jamaica" ("Letter from Jamaica"), a plea for British aid in which he laid out his vision of a united Latin America from Mexico to Chile.

"The bonds that united us to Spain have been severed," wrote Bolivar, undeterred by the losses he had suffered. "A people that love freedom will in the end be free. We are a microcosm of the human race. We are a world apart, confined within two oceans, young in arts and sciences, but old as a human society. We are neither Indians nor Europeans, yet we are a part of each."

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The Liberator Abolishes Slavery

When the British denied support for Bolivar, he turned to Haiti, which had recently won its independence from France in 1804. The Haitian president Alexandre Petion offered Bolivar piles of weapons and money in exchange for a promise: Bolivar must abolish the practice of slavery in every Spanish colony that he liberated.

Arana sees this moment as a turning point. She explained to History News Network that the Latin American wars of independence began like the Revolutionary War in North America, both started by rich whites who were tired of paying taxes to a foreign colonizer.

"But they couldn't get the revolution off the ground," Arana said in the interview. "Bolivar understood that so profoundly that... he had to emancipate the slaves and get all the races on his side. As far as he was concerned, the enemy was Spain and every color of man needed to unite against that enemy force."

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Gran Colombia and the Grand Collapse

Like Washington, Bolivar learned from his early defeats and the third attempt at revolution was the charm. That's when he executed his unforgettable entry into Colombia over the Andes and began toppling the Spanish chess pieces in northern South America one by one.

Bolivar was made president of Gran Colombia, a newly formed state that included most of modern-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama. His vision of a unified Latin America was coming together.

In the following years, he used his growing political power to wrest control of Peru and establish the new nation of Bolivia. Arguing that the people weren't "ready" for a truly republican government, Bolivar set himself up as the de facto dictator of the lands he helped to free.

"He must have been charming as all get-out," says Slatta. "There are many records of him having audiences with Spanish enemies and political rivals, and they come out warmly supportive of him. His charisma carried him a long way."

In 1826, Bolivar convened the historic Congress of Panama, which brought together representatives from Mexico, Central America and his own Gran Colombia to sign a pact of mutual defense against Spain and its allies.

But back home, things quickly began to fall apart. Political enemies and former military compatriots plotted to overthrow Bolivar. The nations he wanted to bind together in a strong confederacy didn't see themselves as brothers but seethed with internal feuds and civil wars.

"Over the long term, Bolivar lost the battle for Latin American unity," says Slatta, "and Gran Colombia broke into half a dozen countries."

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Bolivar's Mixed Legacy

Unlike Washington, Bolivar died a failure. In 1830, deprived of his office and military commission, Bolivar was about to go into self-imposed exile when he succumbed to tuberculosis. His political enemies, then in charge of Venezuela, outlawed even the mention of his name.

And that's the way it remained until the 1870s, says Slatta, when a new generation of Venezuelan elites went looking for political symbols that would rally supporters to their cause. Slatta credits the late 19th-century Venezuelan President Antonio Guzman Blanco with reviving the "cult of Bolivar."

Guzman Blanco created the modern Venezuelan currency and named it the bolivar. He also built the National Pantheon of Venezuela and had Bolivar's remains reinterred in its hall of heroes.

Langley says that Bolivar undoubtedly deserves his title as "The Liberator."

"If you take Bolivar out of the picture completely, explain how the wars for independence in Spanish America turned out the way they did," says Langley. "It's the same as if you tried to take Washington out of the picture."

On the other hand, Bolivar's penchant for autocratic rule has also inspired generations of Latin American "strongmen" politicians, right down to one of Bolivar's greatest admirers, the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

"The 'cult of Bolivar' has always been used as an excuse for dictatorship," says Langley.

HowStuffWorks earns a small affiliate commission when you purchase through links on our site.

Now That's Cool Bolivar's fame doesn't end in South America. At least 12 U.S. cities and counties are named after Bolivar, including Bolivar, Missouri, whose high school motto is, "Home of the Liberators!"
Eight months after exploratory drilling began on a rural site in Yadkin County, a developer says his plans for the property include a 322-acre mining operation to extract materials used in construction and road-building.

The project would include a fully exposed, 61-acre extraction pit just a few hundred yards from West Yadkin Elementary School.

Jack Mitchell, president of a company called Three Oaks Quarry LLC in Winston-Salem, revealed his plans in a letter to neighbors of a 500-acre tract  northwest of the intersection of Old U.S. 421 and U.S. 21 near Hamptonville  that he said also could include residential development.

Mitchell said the company would mine deposits of stone, gravel and sand used to create aggregate, a key ingredient in concrete, asphalt and similar road-building and construction materials.

Any mining operation would need a county rezoning and special-use permit, as well as state approval. The site is currently a combination of farmland and forest.

The letter confirmed some of the fears expressed by dozens of neighboring property owners and residents since they learned that crews were boring holes as deep as 500 feet on the property.

The potential for open-pit mining had been one of the main concerns expressed by neighbors, and Mitchells repeated refusal to offer any hint about what his exploration aimed to find stoked suspicion.

Those sentiments remain even though Mitchell has finally revealed his plans, said Danny Steelman, a Winston-Salem financial adviser who owns 35 acres adjacent to the site and has become a point person for neighbors concerned about the future of the area.

Our ... group is still very mistrusting of his true intentions after our experiences with his secrecy and misdirection, Steelman of Mitchell. We are still worried that if he opens a mine on the premise of aggregate that he may still find toxic materials he could then begin to mine.

Earlier speculation of what Mitchell might be looking for included lithium, a crucial ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles that is experiencing skyrocketing demand and is prevalent in parts of the North Carolina Piedmont. Regional demand for the so-called white gold is expected to increase with the planned 2025 opening of Toyotas $1.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant near Greensboro.

Steelman said he and his neighbors are worried the mining operation will hurt property values and threaten wetlands and wildlife. Their biggest concern, however, is the open pits close proximity to West Yadkin Elementary.

Yadkin County Schools Superintendent Tom Martin told the Journal previously he was concerned about how the eventual use of the nearby property could impact students and employees.

The potential for increased traffic is also concerning, he added.

Mitchell, in his letter, said a traffic consultant hired by his company determined that about 136 trucks a day would arrive empty and leave full on a daily basis, amounting to a total of 272 trips.

Using national statistics by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, it would take only 37 (new) homes to generate an equivalent number of total daily vehicle trips, he added. If this entire 498-acre tract were very conservatively developed into 350 homes on well and septic (systems), total estimates would be 3,294 (trips) per day.

Sequence of shots

Extraction at the site would begin with the removal of several feet of surface material to get to the rock below, Mitchell said. The so-called overburden would be used to create tall earthen berms to substantially lessen and mitigate sound, he added.

That noise insulation is important because explosions are used to loosen rock that then is taken to onsite machines that crush the pieces into various sizes.

Mitchell explained in the letter that a liquid emulsion is poured into holes that are 10 to 50 feet deep, where it is electronically detonated.

The computer-controlled process creates a fast and timed sequence of shots which cause the rock to fracture and fall downward to the ground below, he added. Each shot is separated from the next shot for periods measured in thousands of a second, but with the result being a 1.5 to 2 second noise duration.

For anyone nearby, the sound will be muffled rather than a sharp, sudden crack, Mitchell said.

He insisted the operation would not affect groundwater levels because pooled rainwater from ponds would be used to prevent dust and clean extracted rock. Nearby wells also will be protected through continuous testing and observation of monitoring wells already drilled around the periphery of the site.

Steelman said he and neighbors have been pushing Yadkin officials to strengthen current county mining ordinances or ban new mining ordinances altogether before Mitchell submits rezoning and special-use permit requests.

Current mining regulations require just a 500-foot setback from the nearest homes or public buildings.

This weak ordinance is allowing the mining company to locate the mine practically on top of the property lines, Steelman said in reference to homes bordering the site. A mining ban would put the county and people in a better position of control against outside interests.

Yadkin County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kevin Austin told the Journal in January he had heard the concerns of some constituents who would oppose any kind of mine. But he added that commissioners would weigh all aspects of any rezoning request.

Its always a possibility, Austin said when asked if his colleagues would allow such an operation. If its considered to be good for the community, its something wed need to look at.

Mitchell apologized for not being in a position to communicate with you now, but with this letter, our silence is over.

He said he preferred to complete all testing and related studies before revealing any details about his plans.

We decided early in our process that we did not want to do piecemeal communications, he explained in the letter. That is how rumors and inaccurate information do harm to productive discussions.







Project meetings

Steelman said his group will host a public meeting to discuss the proposed project Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at West Yadkin Elementary School, 4432 U.S. 421, Hamptonville.

Mitchell said hes planning an all-day drop-in session to share information on the project March 23 from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Yadkin County Agricultural and Educational Building banquet hall, 2051 Agricultural Way, Yadkinville.John Deem covers climate change and the environment in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. His work is funded by a grant from the 1Earth Fund and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

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Can a work entirely created by a machine be protected by copyright?

On Valentines Day, the US Copyright Office (Review Board) answered this question with a heartbreaking no, holding that copyright law only protects the fruits of intellectual labor that are founded in the creative powers of the [human] mind and consequently refusing to register the two-dimensional artwork 'A Recent Entrance to Paradise' below (the Work):

The phrase original works of authorship under 102(a) of the Act sets limits to what can be protected by copyright. As early as in(a seminal case concerning copyright protection of photographs), the US Supreme Court referred to authors as human.

The Review Board was, once again, unimpressed. It held that human authorship is a prerequisite to copyright protection in the United States and that the Work therefore cannot be registered.

A second request for reconsideration followed, also submitting that the Copyright Office is currently relying upon non-binding judicial opinions from theto answer the question of whether [computer-generated works] can be protected.

Thaler then requested a reconsideration of the decision, arguing that the human authorship requirement would be contrary to the US Constitution and be unsupported by either statute or case law. Such a request was once again unsuccessful.

The application stated that the Work had been autonomously created by a computer algorithm running on a machine. Registration was sought as a work-for-hire to the owner of the Creativity Machine.

In 2018, Stephen Thaler (if the name rings an AI inventor-bell then youre hearing it right) applied to register a copyright claim in the Work, indicating Creativity Machine as the author and Thaler as the owner of such machine.

Mazer and This approach was reiterated in other Supreme Courts precedents likeand Goldstein , and has been also consistently adopted by lower courts.





responses that the USPTO received in its consultation on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Policy. While no case has been yet decided on the specific issue of AI-creativity, guidance from the line of cases above indicates that works entirely created by machines do not access copyright protection. Such a conclusion is also consistent with the majority ofthat the USPTO received in its consultation on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Policy.





AI-generated Kats The Review Board also rejected Thalers argument that AI can be an author under copyright law because the work made for hire doctrine allows for non-human, artificial persons such as companies to be authors. First, held the Board, a machine cannot enter into any binding legal contract. Secondly, the doctrine is about ownership, not existence of a valid copyright. The Review Board also rejected Thalers argument that AI can be an author under copyright law because the work made for hire doctrine allows for non-human, artificial persons such as companies to be authors. First, held the Board, a machine cannot enter into any binding legal contract. Secondly, the doctrine is about ownership, not existence of a valid copyright.





Comment

The decision appears appropriate, also in light of international law.





While the Berne Convention does not define who can be regarded as an author, from its text and historical context, it appears that only natural persons who created the work can be regarded as authors. In particular, although Berne does not explicitly set an originality requirement, this already existed in national copyright laws at the time of drafting the Convention. According to Ricketson , it was clearly understood that this was also a requirement for the purposes of protection under the Convention, and inherent in the phrase literary and artistic works in Article 2. The condition that a literary and artistic work possesses a sufficient (how much, however, the Convention does not say) degree of originality postulates "the need for the author to be a human being and for there to be some intellectual contribution above and beyond that of simple effort (sweat of the brow) or what may be called mere value in exchange.





In any case, the above does not mean that there are no situations in which also works created by non-human authors can qualify for protection, a notable (and controversial) example being section 9(3) of the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act





Software Directive provides that the author of a computer program shall be the natural person or group of natural persons who has created the program or, where the legislation of the Member State permits, the legal person designated as the rightholder by that legislation. Article 4(1) of the Looking at authorship from an EU perspective, Article 1(5) of the Sat-Cab Directive states that, for cinematographic or audiovisual works, the principal director shall be considered as its author or one of its authors, leaving Member States free to provide for others to be considered as co-authors. Article 2(1) of theprovides that the author of a computer program shall be the natural person or group of natural persons who has created the program or, where the legislation of the Member State permits, the legal person designated as the rightholder by that legislation. Article 4(1) of the Database Directive admits the possibility that the author of a database can be, not just the natural person or group of natural persons who created the base, but alsowhere the legislation of the Member States so permitsthe legal person designated as the rightholder by that legislation.





In any case, the Term Directive refers the calculation of the term of protection of copyright to the life of authors as physical persons. In addition, the preamble to the DSM Directive specifies that the authors and performers that shall be able to rely on the provisions on contracts therein shall only be natural persons, thus excluding from the scope of application non-human authors and performers.





personal touch (Painer) and the making of free and creative choices (most recently, Brompton)  is indeed premised on the idea that authors in a copyright sense need to be human. The Court of Justice of the European Union has not yet specifically tackled the question of who or what an author is. Nonetheless, it appears that its own understanding of originality  as a notion that presupposes atouch () and the making ofandchoices (most recently,)  is indeed premised on the idea that authors in a copyright sense need to be human.





But the question that all romantics after Valentine's Day might ask is whether the last word on non-human authorship has been spoken yet. As it is the case of all real love stories, probably not. Thus: stay tuned for the next AI+IP development 
Users of the ABC's iview service will not be able to opt out of disclosing even the hashed version of their email addresses, something that had been promised in July last year, a security researcher says.

The service was set to impose mandatory logins for use from today [Tuesday] but does not appear to have done so as of this writing [1140 AEDT].

Dr Vanessa Teague, who runs the infosec outfit Thinking Cybersecurity, said in a tweet that the opt-out offered last July had been limited to "a hashed version of your email address to Google and Facebook." Just email address, not the rest of the data, regardless of login."

And btw the opt-out of hashed-email-address-sharing that was promised was not implemented. https://t.co/AOetMJP2fU  Vanessa Teague (@VTeagueAus) March 14, 2022

But now even that bit of information cannot be withheld.

Dr Teague lodged an FOIA request on 16 June last year, seeking full information on data-sharing agreements signed by the ABC with third parties who have access to iview data, including Google, Facebook and customer data hub and enterprise tag management firm Tealium.

The Australian Privacy Foundationto ABC chair Ita Buttrose at the start of the month, making several arguments for delaying the introduction of the logins until a number of issues were sorted.

Buttrose issued a reply on 8 March, avoiding the most troubling aspects of the APF's letter. The APF them repeated its arguments to no avail.

The compulsory logins were announced by the ABC in a statement on 17 February, claiming that it would collect user data, but would not sell the same. However, the data will be shared with both Google and Facebook

Said Dr Teague: "The ABC belongs to all of us and it's not acceptable to be sharing the details of what we watch on iview with Tealium, Google and others.

"Opt-out wouldn't have been sufficient even if it had been honoured, because the real risk is large-scale information disclosure that puts the most vulnerable Australians at risk of misinformation and manipulation."

She added: "Google and Tealium see exactly what you're watching even if you opt out or watch kids' TV. We did not consent to this."
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, says it will not fact-check claims made by politicians during the forthcoming Federal Election campaign in order to catch disinformation.

The company issued a long blog post on Tuesday, written by Josh Manchin, the head of Policy in Australia, about how it was getting ready for the 2022 election.

Manchin told a media conference: "The speech of politicians is already very highly scrutinised.

"It's scrutinised by [journalists], but also by academics, experts, and their political opponents who are pretty well-positioned to push back or indicate they don't believe something's right if they think they're being mischaracterised."

However, political statements from non-politicians will be checked by Meta's staff and contractors.

Manchin said the Australian Associated Press, Agence France Presse and the RMIT FactLab would be involved in fact-checking, with the last named being new to this scene.

There would also be monitoring for misinformation in the run-up to the election, a process in which an organisation known as FirstDraft would assist.

"First Draft will also be providing pre-election training for Australian journalists on how to identify and prevent amplifying misinformation and disinformation, Manchin said.

Other measures include working with AAP "to launch an education and awareness campaign comprising a series of short videos modelling how people can recognise and avoid misinformation by taking simple steps to Check the Facts", he said.

"The campaign will run again this April and will include, for the first time, content translated in three other languages  Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese and Arabic."

Facebook has been constantly criticised for the misinformation it spreads.

Machin said the company had specialised global teams to identify and take action against threats to the election, "including signs of co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour across our apps".

"We are also co-ordinating with the governments election integrity assurance taskforce and security agencies in the lead-up to the election. Weve also improved our AI so that we can more effectively detect and block fake accounts, which are often behind this activity.

"Since 2017, we have removed over 150 networks around the world including ahead of major democratic elections. Were working to find and remove any networks of co-ordinated inauthentic behaviour. Well also share publicly what we find."

Recently, researchers from the Reset Australia demonstrated that ads containing deliberate misinformation could be easily slipped past the moderators at Meta.

Dylan Williams and Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran said five ads they had designed and submitted, via the Facebook Ads Manager, and scheduled for a date several months in the future, had all been given the green light.

All the ads explicitly promoted election disinformation and scheduling them so far ahead was meant to ensure that they would not actually be published, the two researchers said.

Manchin said: "Since the 2019 Australian federal election, weve made a series of changes for advertisers in Australia that want to run electoral, political and social issue ads. Advertisers are now required to go through an authorisation process using government-issued photo ID, and place a 'paid for by' disclaimer on their ads.

"This includes any person creating, modifying, publishing or pausing ads that reference political figures, political parties or elections. It also includes social issue ads that seek to influence public opinion through discussion, debate or advocacy for or against important topics, such as civil and social rights, crime, environmental politics, education or immigration.

"We launched these requirements for social issue ads last year, before the first possible election date, to ensure it was in place for the Australian federal election. Any political, electoral or social issue ads on Facebook and Instagram that do not have the correct authorisation or disclaimers will be removed from the platform and archived in a public Ad Library for seven years."
Julian Assange: setback in bid for avoiding extradition to the US.

The UK Supreme Court has turned down an appeal from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to hear arguments against his extradition to the US.

A court spokesman said on Monday his application did not raise "an arguable point of law".

One remaining avenue for Assange to avoid what could be a 175-year sentence in the US is for UK Home Secretary Priti Patel to deny the extradition request made by the US. Prior to that, the case will go back to the judge who made the decision to deny the US request for extradition; however the only thing this court can do is to refer the decision to Patel.

In January, the High Court had turned down a request from Assange's lawyers to appeal directly to the Supreme Court, leaving it to the higher court to decide on whether it would hear a challenge.

BREAKING: UK Supreme Court refuses permission to appeal in Assange extradition. The case now moves to @UKHomeSecretary Priti Patel to authorize the extradition https://t.co/Falow48IyP pic.twitter.com/nLdUMkbh5m  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 14, 2022

On 10 December 2021, a two-bench High Court panela 4 January lower court verdict the same year to deny the US the right to extradite Assange to try him on criminal charges in Washington.

British District Judge Vanessa Baraister had ruled in January that Assange should not be extradited, saying the risk he would commit suicide in a US jail was too high.

Assange faces criminal charges in the US for publishing classified information that was leaked to WikiLeaks by an American soldier, then known as Bradley Manning, but now, after gender reassignment surgery, known as Chelsea Manning.

This is not the end of the road for #Assanges appeal against extradition



Instead it is just the latest twist in this torturous travesty of justice



What does todays Supreme Court decision mean for #JulianAssange@amnestys legal expert explains #Assange #FreeAssange pic.twitter.com/w6lKCM9r2S  Stefan Simanowitz (@StefSimanowitz) March 14, 2022

The Australian was arrested on 11 April 2019 and removed from the Ecuador embassy where he had taken refuge for seven years. His asylum was withdrawn shortly before he was arrested and he appeared in court shortly thereafter. The US made a formal request for his extradition on 6 June 2019.

Assange, 50, one of the better-known hackers Australia has produced, is being held at Belmarsh Prison in the UK.

The UK Government has not always been receptive to US requests for extradition. In 2018, the US gave up appealing a decision by a court in the UK to oppose the extradition of British security researcher Lauri Love to face charges of allegedly breaching the computer networks of a number of American Government agencies.

And another British hacker, Gary McKinnon, was not extradited for accessing US Government computers in 2012, after a 10-year legal battle, because he was considered to be seriously ill.

Former British prime minister Theresa May, who was home secretary at the time, made the decision not to extradite McKinnon.
MATTOON  Sam Boruff has resigned as police magistrate. He confirmed such a report this morning and gave as his reason ill health on the part of his wife as well as himself. The resignation of Boruff adds another chapter to the controversy of his time in office. In January, the Illinois secretary of states office said Boruff had never properly filed his bond for the office. An investigation then determined that Boruff had filed his bond with the city clerk instead of the Coles County clerk as the law requires. In February, rumors were afloat that Boruff planned to resign. And T.J. Alabaugh, a former police magistrate, filed a petition to be appointed to the office, only to later withdraw it SHELBYVILLE  For the first time in the history of Shelby County, an entire church congregation has been held up. The holdup took place Sunday night at the Church of Christ at Holliday in southwest Shelby County. As Elder F.A. Ditrick of Shelbyville was in the middle of his sermon and pleading with erring ones to return to the fold, a bandit walked up the aisle and demanded the entire collection taken up at the service. Two bandits stood guard at the door. Elder Ditrick informed the intruder that no collection had yet been taken and coolly invited him to take a seat and wait until that part of the service was reached. The bandit mumbled that he didnt have time to wait, and the three men backed out of the room. The three men, who were not masked, drove away in a buggy. Elder Ditrick took up the threads of his text and completed the sermon.
Bestselling author Randy Wayne White says, People ask me, when are you going write another Doc Ford book? Well, I just came out with another one. People think theyre just for kids, but theyre for young adults and adults, too.

I just take out the profanity and the sex. And theres a lot less violence.

The Sanibel, Florida writer has published 26 novels about Ford, a marine biologist and undercover government agent. The latest, "Salt River," was published in 2020.

The Ford books for grownups combine evocative writing about Florida and its history with tense action and an often high body count. They might not seem likely to spin off a series of books for young readers.

But in 2020 White published "Fins," the first in his Sharks Incorporated series, followed by "Stingers" in 2021 and this month by "Crocs."

"Crocs" is not about the ugly shoes but about, among other things, American crocodiles, which White calls sweethearts. All three books recount the adventures of a trio of youngsters who go to work for Ford as a research team, tagging blacktip sharks. But things, of course, get complicated.

Luke is an Ohio farm boy who moved to Sanibel to stay with a relative and got a dramatic Florida welcome: He was struck by lightning, which might have left him with unusual powers.

Sisters Maribel and Sabina were raised in Cuba and escaped to Florida with their mother on a raft. Maribel, the older sister, is poised and sensible, Sabina quick-tempered and adventurous. (Kids at school think she might be a witch.)

Theyve become a good team, and Doc and his friend Hannah Smith give them a new assignment in "Crocs": hunting for feral citrus trees on the scattered wild islands around Sanibel, trees whose seeds might have been planted by the Spanish five centuries ago.

Its not just a search for history. Theres scientific opinion that such trees might be immune to citrus greening, the disease that has devastated Floridas citrus industry in recent years. Grafting onto rootstock from the feral trees might be a solution.

The three kids find traces of a feral tree soon enough. On the same island, they also find what they first think is a really big alligator, until a closer look (not too close) reveals its an American crocodile, a mother guarding her brood of babies.

They also meet an eccentric older woman called Captain Pony, who tells them the mysterious and tragic story of a little girl who found a gold medallion buried in a shell mound, a medallion thought to have belonged to King Carlos, a Calusa leader.

Wild citrus, crocodiles, a missing medallion, maybe even ghosts  what kid could resist? Not Sabina, for sure, and she brings Maribel and Luke along in her wake.

The Sharks Incorporated books are not the only spinoff from the Doc Ford series. Doc is also the namesake of four restaurants, one of them on St. Petersburgs Pier.

We talked to White, 71, via Zoom from his home in Sanibel. The interview has been edited for length.

Q: Congratulations on the new book. Are the books for kids easier to write than the ones for grownups?

A: Id like to say theyve been a delight to write, but its never gotten any easier for me. Its still a pain in the rump. I labor over every sentence and paragraph. I strive for clarity, and one day maybe Ill achieve it, I dont know. I have enjoyed it.

Im working with a different publisher, different people. Im still moving the Doc Ford story along with his (relationship with Hannah) Smith. They have a child now. Im a sap when it comes to kids. So its fun.

But theyre all difficult to write. Every book Ive ever started, I tell myself this one is going to be simple, boom boom boom, plot, and I just go off on tangents, getting into all the research. Its just one terrifying day after another.

Q: Will the Sharks Incorporated series continue?

A: I have another book in the contract and Im working on that now. Its called "Megalops." Its about tarpon. Ive written about tarpon before.

It was hard to convince the editors at Macmillan to use the word Megalops, but I finally convinced them. Its a lovely word, isnt it? Very dinosaurlike. Tarpons are dinosaurs, theyre very dinosaurlike.

Q: "Crocs" begins with the three kids, ages 10, 11 and 13, out on their own in a small boat catching blacktip sharks. Theyre definitely whats sometimes called free-range kids. But a lot of parents today worry about their kids that age walking to the end of the block. The thought of them out in a boat alone would give the parents a heart attack. Were you thinking about that when you created these characters?

A: Free-range kids. Oh, I like that. It never crossed my mind, but by golly youre right.

Walking to the end of the block, depending on where one lives, might be more dangerous than going out on a boat.

My sons grew up going out on boats by themselves, going camping. They knew what they were doing. Heck, they know a lot more than I do.

When I was working as a fishing guide, I took my sons on charters. Then I took them to Tasmania, Australia, Cuba, Costa Rica, South Africa. Id assign each son  OK, youre in charge of navigation, whatever. Im always lost. They have a much better sense of direction.

Q: Doc Ford never gets lost.

A: Hes smarter than me.

Maybe some parents will read the first page and say, this will give Johnny a  well, who cares, I dont give a crap. More parents should read these books. You need to lighten up. The internets scary enough. I think kids should be more free range.

My parents moved away when I was in high school and I got my own apartment. We got along. I was still in high school and just didnt want to move. Its not like they didnt tell me where they were moving.

Q: As in all of your books, one of the most appealing things about Crocs is your vivid, knowledgeable use of the Florida setting. Can you talk about that?

A: In the Ford novels the only place Ive ever used as a setting where I had not spent a lot of time, not spent any time, is Disney World. Thats the only place Ive never been that I ever wrote about.

Every other place Ive spent time in, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Africa, Colombia, much time in Cuba.

And Ive lived in Florida for years. I had a great deal of fun with various elements in this book, like looking for archaic Spanish citrus, which Ive not only done, but I found it. I got a patent on my own Seduced archaic rootstock.

It went through all the state exams and tests, jumped all those hoops. Now its out in the field being grafted, and well see what happens.

Q: Is it called "Seduced" because the feral citrus is also an element in your Hannah Smith book by that title?

A: I was talking to Jeff Carter (a son of former President Jimmy Carter), who is an expert on this, and he said that if the Spanish had planted a citrus tree in the 1500s in an isolated spot, where it had not cross-pollinated, and it had dropped fruit, that would produce a clone of the original tree.

I was thinking maybe that would be immune to the flies. So I went through the same process Hannah did. I actually did it.

On remnants of what I see as shell pyramids but most people call shell mounds, you can still find feral citrus, oranges, grapefruits, perhaps from seeds brought over by the Spanish in 1500s. I love that linkage.

I love bringing in all this history. Its true here and certainly where you are (in St. Petersburg), so much history of the Tocobaga and Timucuan people.

Also the gold medallion, which I owned for many years. Thats based on the true story of a child who found it and tragically died not long after. I donated it to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Q: How about that crocodile?

A: Years ago my buddy Peter Matthiessen and I went out with Frank Mazzotti, the United States leading crocodilian expert. Hes in the book. Peter and I actually did crocodile tagging with Frank. Hes the one who called saltwater crocodiles the sweethearts of the crocodilian world.

I wanted to use that, so I asked him. I said, Can I use your real name? Ill say youre good-looking.

Q: How were your life and your writing affected by the pandemic?

A: I had far fewer excuses not to write.

Were involved in the restaurants, of course. I own the franchise and Ive got two partners who own and run the restaurants. So we were closed for six weeks. I go to the restaurants. I havent traveled outside of the country at all. Ive spent much of my life traveling to terrible places, but those days are over, I hope.

It affected me personally in that I worried about people. People were afraid.

Its been a troubling five or six years.

I avoid politics like the plague. But I get cubbyholed as an ultra right winger. I get cubbyholed as an ultra left winger because of Tomlinson (Doc Fords best friend). I dont give a st. But what I dont understand is the animus.

I lived an unusual earlier life, and I learned that a plane without two wings is going to crash.

Q: Will the pandemic show up in your future books?

A: Not a chance. I avoid things that tie the books to any particular time period.

Q: Does that solve the problem of whether to age Doc Ford?

A: I dont know how old he is. At one time Tomlinson thought he was using steroids. I was giving a talk once and I told them I was going to break a story about Florida writers using steroids.

Im not going to name Carl Hiaasen, but you have to wonder about performance-enhancing drugs. Hes way too good-looking.

Q: What kind of reaction do you get from kids who read your books?

A: I hear from them usually at the restaurants. A child will come up and say, or his parents will say, he loves the books, he loves the characters. Kids dont tend to write reviews, and I dont blame them.

Kids are smarter than I think we remember. I dont try to write down.

Q: Will there be another Doc Ford for grownups soon?

A: Yes, there will. Im going to write at least two more. In one, Doc Ford and his uncle, Tucker Gatrell, an old cow hunter, trace Florida history from the cow-hunting days around Punta Rassa to Disney World.

Ive got some stuff here thats done better than I ever fathomed, and I think Im going to do just what I want to do.
When Emmanuel Baptist Church officials called to talk with the Rev. Herbert Miller II in November 2021 about becoming the churchs next pastor, Miller was in Flint, Mich., considering a run for mayor.

Miller was the pastor at Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle in Flint and was helping his worshippers and other Flint residents recover from the citys water crisis.

A month earlier, he had been one of three ministers who delivered sermons at an outdoor service at Emmanuel, said John Polite, a church trustee.

Miller and the two others were the finalists in the search for a replacement for the Rev. John Mendez, who retired as the senior pastor two years earlier, Polite said.

Mendez led Emmanuel Baptist for 36 years.

In December, the churchs congregation voted to hire Miller, said Darryl Prince, the churchs vice chairman of its deacon board.

He (Miller) was the best candidate, Prince said. He came highly recommended.

Miller, 55, a Winston-Salem native, accepted the job, and he began his duties Feb. 13 during Black History Month.

Miller said that many of his sermons are based on the Black liberation theology that Mendez and other Black ministers espoused in previous years at Emmanuel Baptist.

During his Feb. 27 sermon, Miller urged Blacks not to practice colorism or self-hate.

Why should we pick on someone or shame someone or treat them like the other about something they have absolutely no control over? Miller said. None of us have the ability to choose our physical characteristics.

Colorism and self-hate play into the 400-year history of Blacks in America, Miller said. Because of their skin color, African Americans suffered during slavery, Jim Crow discrimination, lynching and the Tuskegee Experiment, he said.

The Tuskegee Experiment was a 40-year project conducted by federal health officials to observe the effects on 400 Black men who had syphilis and went untreated.

Despite the gains made during the civil rights movement, Blacks continued to experience racism with redlining and police brutality with the numerous killings of unarmed Black people throughout the United States, Miller said.

Redlining refers to the practice of denying mortgages to people of color to buy homes in certain neighborhoods.

Its time for America to live up to its ideals as stated in the countrys founding documents, Miller said.

Dont treat me differently because of the skin Im in, Miller said. We just want to be treated with the same respect, the same esteem, the same civility and the same regard with the same opportunities as every ethnic group in this country.

Miller said he framed the sermons he delivered on Feb. 20 and Feb. 27 as part of countrys observance of Black History Month. Miller also said he followed the Black liberation theology in his sermons as well.

Let me preface by saying that not all of my sermons are social justice sermons, Miller said. But there is a social justice thread in my preaching and in my teaching.

I believe when you read the Bible, it is very difficult to read it and not believe that God is the god of the oppressed, Miller said.

Growing up in Winston-Salem, Miller attended Mineral Springs Elementary and Middle schools, he said. He attended Carver High School for two years and graduated in 1985 from North Forsyth High School.

Miller received a bachelors degree in religion and philosophy from Shaw University, according to his biography. One of Millers professors at Shaw was Mendez.

Mendez said he is pleased that Miller is embracing the Black liberation theology, and that Miller will help Emmanuel Baptist move forward.

I think hes well prepared and quite knowledgeable about the Black church, Mendez said of Miller. He has both the respect and the appreciation for what Emmanuel has been, what Emmanuel has done and what Emmanuel stands for.

Miller received a masters degree in divinity from the Wake Forest University School of Divinity. He later received a doctorate in ministry from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He and his wife, Veronica, have seven children.

Miller received his call to ministry in Minneapolis at the Redeemer Missionary Baptist Church, according to his biography. He served as a deacon, youth minister and coordinator of the mens fellowship at Redeemer Missionary.

In 1999, Miller served as an associate pastor at Union Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. In 2004, he became pastor of The First Baptist Church of Lexington.

During his time there, he and his wife published the weekly newspaper The Voice of African-Americans in the Piedmont and Vicinity, the only Black newspaper in Davidson County. The publication was distributed in Winston-Salem and other Triad cities.

Miller said he closed the newspaper because he wanted to concentrate on his studies at the Wake Forest Divinity School.

In November 2013, Miller was elected to the Lexington City Council, defeating Ronald Reid, the incumbent, to win the councils Ward 1 seat. Council members and Lexingtons mayor are elected on a nonpartisan basis.

Miller resigned his council seat in July 2015 as he took the job as pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle in Flint, Mich.

City residents were coping with a water crisis that resulted from lead-contaminated water lines to their homes and businesses.

The Flint water crisis began in 2014 when the city began taking water from the Flint River without treating it properly, causing lead to leach from aging pipes. Many city residents got sick from the water.

Miller led his church and other local residents to get relief from the crisis, according to news reports.

Miller recalled participating with church members in a rally in Flint that attracted civil rights and social justice leaders such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson to demand more help for local residents reeling from the effects of lead in their drinking water.

We were highly involved, Miller said of his church, Metropolitan Baptist Tabernacle.

Miller and other city leaders worked to help ensure affected residents will receive their fair share of the $620 million court-ordered settlement that resulted from a lawsuit against Flint.

In Winston-Salem, the Rev. Annie Dalton, an associate minister at Emmanuel Baptist Church, said Miller has done the hard work in answering his call to the ministry.

He is a very smart young man, Dalton said of Miller. Hes very sincere about doing the Lords work. Im so thrilled to have Rev. Miller as our pastor.

336-727-7299 @jhintonWSJ The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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Q: I am a resident in the area that was evacuated (during the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire). Not one time during the evacuation and while we were evacuated do I remember anyone saying, Evacuate only if you are a low-income resident. Now that they are giving out money, they are saying it is for low-income residents. We were all told to evacuate. Regardless of anyones income, this was not a planned event, this was not a planned expense, and I feel everyone should be reimbursed for their inconvenience. The way they are handling it is not right.

W.P.

Answer: There are several groups providing relief to those affected by the fire.

Assistant City Manager Patrice Toney provided the following response:

The City of Winston-Salem created a fund to assist low- to moderate-income residents who live within the one mile evacuation zone of the Winston Weaver fire and experienced undue hardship as a result of the fire.

While we realize that many others may have incurred unplanned expenses as a result of the recommended evacuation, the citys good faith effort to provide relief funding can only be provided to low- to moderate-income individuals.

There are other community resources, such as Love Out Loud, that have more flexibility than the city in providing relief assistance from this fire.

Q: Why do we not have productions at the UNC School of the Arts Stevens Center like they have at the Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro?

G.M.

Answer: Wiley Hausam, the managing director of performance facilities at UNCSA, explained whats been going on at Stevens Center  and the plans for the future:

As the largest classroom and primary performance venue of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Stevens Center regularly presents a variety of student productions, including operas, symphony orchestra concerts, dance performances and of course an annual presentation of The Nutcracker that our Winston-Salem community can enjoy.

In addition, the Stevens Center is home to partner organizations such as the Winston-Salem Symphony, Piedmont Opera and National Black Theatre Festival, which regularly present events.

Prior to the pandemic, UNCSA presented Broadway touring shows and more as part of a series that began in 2018, including the sold-out production of Kinky Boots in 2019.

Unfortunately, future scheduled shows were canceled due to COVID-19s impact on Broadway and the inability to have in-person events out of concern for the safety of our audiences.

UNCSA recently received funding from the state that will allow the university to move forward with Phase 1 of the much-needed renovation of the Stevens Center.

Plans for event programming post-renovation have not yet been determined, but it is our hope to have a broad range of events and offerings in the newly renovated space that will enhance our community.

Thank you

Grateful thanks to the young people who assisted me when I fell Feb. 24 at the corner of Marshall and Fourth streets.

D.S.

Email: AskSAM@wsjournal.com Write: Ask SAM, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101

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A Mississippi man has been charged with murdering a woman whose body was found in Surry County 30 years ago.

Warren Luther Alexander, 71, was arrested Tuesday in Diamondhead, Mississippi, as a result of a joint investigation by the Surry County Sheriffs Office and the State Bureau of Investigation.

Alexander is charged with murder in the 1992 death of Nona Stamey Cobb.

Cobb was 29 when her body was found on the northbound side of Interstate 77 at 6:15 a.m. July 7, 1992. She had been strangled.

She was last seen the previous night, July 6, 1992, getting into a truck with a man at the welcome center on Interstate 85 in Cleveland County near Kings Mountain.

Surry County Sheriffs Office had no suspects until 1995, when an Asheboro trucker named Sean Patrick Goble was questioned about Cobbs death. Goble denied killing her, but he was eventually charged and convicted of killing three other women, including a Florida woman whose body was found in Guilford County in 1995. He is serving two life sentences, plus 14 years, in prison, according to news reports.

But in July 1995, investigators ruled out Goble as a suspect when DNA tests done on semen from Cobbs body did not match Goble.

After Goble was eliminated as a suspect, the Surry County Sheriffs Office did not have any other suspects.

That is until last year, according to a news release from the sheriffs office.

In April 2021, special agents with the State Bureau of Investigations Cold Case Investigation Unit and Surry County sheriffs detectives re-examined physical evidence, including DNA, in Cobbs murder.

They worked with Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, founder of Identifiers International LLC, and were able to identify Alexander as a possible suspect in Cobbs murder using DNA.

Vickie S. Gregory, Cobbs sister, declined to comment when reached late Wednesday afternoon. But in a July 22, 1992, Journal article, she said Cobb had a son named Josh, who was 3 at the time of his mothers death. She told the Journal that her sister had a drug problem.

She loved us, and we loved her, Gregory said in 1992. Just because you do something wrong doesnt mean you stop loving her.

At the time, Gregory said she and her husband had had custody of Josh for about seven months. Cobb, a widow, had lost custody of her child, the Journal reported at the time.

Gregory said her sister would call about every day to ask about her son.

She loved (Josh), was very proud of him, Gregory told the Journal in 1992.

Alexander is now being held at the Hancock County Jail awaiting extradition to North Carolina. Investigators, the sheriffs office said, are looking at whether there are more victims.

Sheriff Steve C. Hiatt said that several law-enforcement agencies helped with the investigation, including the SBIs Hickory District Office, the State Crime Lab, Cleveland County Sheriffs Office, Indiana State Police, Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Hancock County Sheriffs Office, Diamondhead Police Department and the FBIs Gulfport Office.

The sheriffs office said a news conference will be held when Alexander is sent back to North Carolina but that no additional information would be released at this time.

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Three Winston-Salem police officers have been cleared in the shooting of a man accused of killing his grandmother and mother, firing on a police substation and leading officers on a chase that ended with a shootout in Hanes Park.

Kira Boyd, spokeswoman for the Winston-Salem Police Department, said the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office cleared the officers  Sgt. Peter Watkins, Lt. Lee Wright and Cpl. James Singletary.

The three officers were on administrative duty last year pending an investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, which is routine when a law-enforcement officer shoots someone while on duty.

Boyd said all three officers were back on active duty July 14, 2021. Wright, she said, retired on March 1. Boyd referred questions as to when the officers were cleared to the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim ONeill said Wednesday morning that he cleared the officers early this month.

Boyd said police are still conducting an internal investigation. She could not say when that internal investigation would conclude.

The officers shot William Coleman Scott, 27, on June 14, 2021. Authorities said Scott led Winston-Salem police officers on a car chase that started on University Parkway, followed by a foot chase through Hanes Park. Police said Scott shot at police officers while he was being chased.

Watkins, Wright and Singletary fired back, injuring Scott.

Winston-Salem police have said that, at 3:34 p.m. June 14, 2021, Scott fired more than a dozen shots at the police substation on North Point Boulevard. No one was hurt, and officers chased Scott when he fled.

Watkins saw the car Scott was driving on University Parkway near Northwest Boulevard. He chased Scotts car, and police said body-camera footage showed Scott firing his gun at Watkins and other police officers while on Northwest Boulevard.

The car chase ended in front of Reynolds High Schools gymnasium. Police said Scott fired a semiautomatic rifle several times into Watkins police car. Watkins fired back with his AR-15 rifle, police said.

Scott then dropped the rifle and ran into Hanes Park, with officers chasing him. Police said Scott then fired a handgun at the officers. Thats when officers shot him.

After the chase, Winston-Salem police and Forsyth County sheriffs deputies checked on Scotts parents and grandmother. They found Kimberly Scotts body in her Clemmons home. Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. said Kimberly Scott, William Scotts mother, had been shot.

Winston-Salem police found William Scotts grandmother, Glenda Corriher, dead in her home in the Tabor View condominium development off Polo Road. She had been stabbed multiple times, according to an autopsy report.

William Scott is now charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder.

Forsyth County prosecutors have filed notice of their intent to pursue the death penalty.

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The states health secretary told a legislative oversight committee Tuesday that the shift toward living with COVID-19 has altered how the state measures and balances prevention and risk.

Kody Kinsley told the committee that during the current overall decline in key COVID-19 metrics the state has placed more importance on a different set of metrics.

Those include: focusing on early-warning indicators, such as wastewater surveillance; addressing community exposure risks to limit spread in case of the arrival of another variant; monitoring COVID-19 hospital admissions; continuing to promote vaccinations and boosters; measuring where current and future community spread is occurring demographically and geographically; and reacting quickly to the presence of new variants.

Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, and co-chairman of the committee, asked Kinsley about trends over the past two weeks as most K-12 schools have shifted to mask-option policies indoors and its almost like it is business as usual across the state.

Kinsley said that key COVID-19 metrics have followed a similar remarkably consistent path over the past two weeks as over the omicron spread that began in late December.

About 60% to 70% of those presenting themselves with infection and requiring hospitalization are unvaccinated, as well as those with co-morbidities who are at higher risk from health conditions, Kinsley said.

About 5% of those hospitalized (with COVID-19) have been boosted.

Kinsley said DHHS is monitoring the spread of the BA.2 omicron variant that represents about 2.5% of new cases in North Carolina, about 10% nationally, but is widespread in China and several European countries.

The level of its severity remains to be seen, Kinsley said.

We will continue to watch these variants and will message that appropriately to the public so they understand how they manage their risk.

Kinsley said he remains confident that a third booster vaccine dose is providing adequate protection from COVID-19, although he continued to stress that unvaccinated individuals remain the most vulnerable to infection, hospitalization and death.

Emergency order

Several Republican legislative leaders have demanded that Gov. Roy Cooper end his statewide pandemic emergency order as the key COVID-19 metrics continue to decline.

Sen. Jim Burgin, R-Harnett, and a committee co-chairman, said Tuesday that the existence of the order remains a cloud over the state.

Kinsley said the order remains necessary to keep federal assistance, including staffing and access to testing and vaccines, available to areas still in need, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities and facilities that treat behavioral health and addictions.

The order also allows the state health director to continue to issue standing orders for testing and treatment that aid K-12 schools and rural health departments.

We have been very intentional about reducing the impact of our response on individuals, balancing how to protect individuals lives with their livelihood throughout the course of the pandemic, Kinsley said.

There are many other provisions and flexibilities that the state of emergency has allowed that have had their moment.

We have been able to mitigate and walk away from the vast majority of those, Kinsley said. These are just the remaining pieces that, quite honestly, that our teams cannot find another way to mitigate now.

Kinsley said it is more appropriate currently to have consistent statewide policies and procedures through the emergency order rather than individual systems and facilities coming up with their own plan.

The flexibility that remains in the executive order for the state of emergency (is) incredibly specific to those facilities that serve individuals most at risk, Kinsley said.

What I would worry the most about quickly ending the state of emergency and affecting those flexibilities.

Kinsley said DHHS is ready to sit down with legislators to try to craft together a pragmatic way forward.

Kinsley added that while it is great that COVID is in a very different place now for the vast majority of the public ... we know those facilities are not coming out of this pandemic the way they started it and that has many practical implications.

If we can manage through those, that would be a good first start.

Forsyth, statewide updates

New COVID-19 cases continued to decline in Forsyth County in the latest DHHS update with no additional related deaths reported.

Forsyth was listed with 17 new cases in Tuesdays report, following 15 in Mondays report.

The Forsyth case count is at 91,747 since the pandemic began.

A total of 18 deaths have been reported in the county so far in March. In February, Forsyth reported 69 COVID-related deaths, following 73 in January.

January and February saw the highest and second highest COVID-19 death tolls since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

Altogether, there have been 779 COVID-related deaths in Forsyth.

Forsyth health director Joshua Swift has said some of the recent deaths in Forsyth are among people who had been battling COVID-19 for weeks, if not longer.

Statewide, there were five additional COVID-related deaths since Mondays update, bringing North Carolinas total to 22,966.

Statewide, 649 new cases were reported in Tuesdays report, compared with 373 on Monday, 955 Sunday and 1,802 Saturday.

DHHS cautioned that Tuesdays update is incomplete, citing it is investigating an issue resulting in lower-than-expected total tests today that particularly affect the positive test rate metrics.

Forsyths positive test rate over the past 14 days was 3.3% on Monday. The statewide rate was 2.6%.

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The first local ripple effect from Atrium Healths partnership with French medical groups involves the University of Strasbourg in France and Wake Forest University.

The universities said Tuesday they have signed a letter of intent to explore opportunities to engage in education and research collaborations, along with Wake Forest School of Medicine and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.

Any physical presence would be based in downtown Winston-Salems Innovation Quarter.

It is the first time Strasbourg has participated in this type of academic collaboration with a U.S. university since its founding in 1621.

The universities said the catalyst behind the potential collaboration is Atrium landing French institute IRCAD as the first outside tenant for its innovation district in midtown Charlotte.

IRCAD is a research and training institute for surgeons performing minimally invasive procedures. The institute trains more than 7,200 surgeons from around the world each year.

Atrium said the president of IRCAD has a relationship with the University of Strasbourg that led to the Wake Forest initiative.

The Wake Forest-Strasbourg relationship was initiated in part from a recent tour of Innovation Quarter facilities by Strasbourg president Michel Deneken.

The tour featured the Bowman Gray Center for Medical Education, involving simulated surgical training, medical robotics and regenerative medicine research.

I see that we can have very committed actions because here I found excellence in robotics and simulators, which are very important in my university, Deneken said in a statement. I am glad that this great university here will now be a great partner.

Wake Forest president Susan Wente said in a statement, This is a great opportunity for what I would call radical collaboration.

Between our two universities and multiple institutions, we can focus together on the future of education, research, health care and how to provide the very best to all of our societies, not just in Winston-Salem and Charlotte but, through the collaboration, across the world, she said.

Dr. Julie Ann Freischlag, Baptists chief executive and medical school dean, said the potential collaboration could boost undergraduate education and scientific discovery.

I can see that it is really going to help us accelerate that research corridor from Winston-Salem to Charlotte, Freischlag said.

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Conceived at the height of the immigration debate during the Trump presidency, conceptual artist Joel Tauber embarked on a 40-day pilgrimage along the U.S.Mexico border. Deeply unsettled by the amplifying division and separation, Tauber wanted to turn the tables of the conversation by fostering connection and community. The result of this poetic and activist gesture is Border-Ball, a site-specific installation exploring how the dynamics of trust and open dialogue can bridge the growing rifts of fractured societies. Presented on the heels of Taubers award-winning film of the same title, the exhibition debuts at ArtCenters Williamson Gallery from March 10 through June 4, 2022.



*Please note: Admission to Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery will be available by advanced request with proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Go to this link to set up your visit. Please contact exhibitions@artcenter.edu with any questions.



Transportation: Pasadena Transit Shuttle Line 51 will take you from the Raymond Ave & Del Mar Blvd station to the campus.
The city celebrated by dying the Chicago River green and holding its traditional St. Patricks Day parade for the first time in two years.
For decades North Carolina has ranked near the bottom of all states in the country when it comes to the publics right to know what went wrong when a government employee is transferred, demoted or terminated for disciplinary reasons.

There have been efforts to change that, including a bill introduced 25 years ago by a young state senator named Roy Cooper, who now, of course, is North Carolinas governor.

So Sunshine Week on March 13-19 is an appropriate time to examine where North Carolina stands on the peoples right to know.

Founded in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors, Sunshine Week is designed to heighten awareness about the importance of open government and freedom of information and advocate for change where change is needed. Change is needed badly here. The best hope for that openness and accountability is ready to be taken up now by the Legislature.

For the third time since Coopers 1997 bill, the General Assembly has a chance to make history by enacting legislation that opens public employee personnel files to inspection when bosses or elected leaders take disciplinary action. Passed last year by a bipartisan majority in the N.C. Senate, the Government Transparency Act of 2021 would open personnel files in cases of misconduct by public school teachers and professors, city and county managers, and state and local law enforcement officers.

All North Carolinians should ask how the wall of secrecy around these disciplinary records was erected in the first place. One clue lies in a letter presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee last spring voicing full throated opposition to the Government Transparency Act by none other than the states public school teachers lobby (NCAE), the North Carolina state employees association (SEANC) and the Teamsters Union. The opposition caused the bill to stall in the state House, though it remains alive in that chamber and can be taken up at the leaderships signal. The bill has the full support of the N.C. Association of Broadcasters, the N.C. Press Association and the N.C. Sheriffs Association, not to mention consistent and broad support in polling of taxpayers and voters.

This election year  when every seat in the General Assembly is on the ballot  is a good time for those voters to remind candidates of their interest in knowing about the conduct of government employees theyre paying.

A fix for North Carolinas legacy of personnel files locked in file cabinets sits on the goal line. Legislative leaders and the rank and file should be eager to punch it in.

Sandy Hurley, regional publisher of Mount Airy News Media Group, is president of the North Carolina Press Association. Bill Moss, publisher of the Hendersonville Lightning, is the NCPAs Legislative Committee chair.
If you lived in Russia, you might be forgiven for not knowing what was happening in Ukraine.

Even though nearly 15,000 Russians have been arrested for protesting the invasion, the state-run media has been pedaling falsehoods to the Russian people, claiming that Ukraine is the oppressor and Russia the liberator  going so far as to deny that Russia has actually bombed cities it has bombed.

Any media outlet that considers veering from the state narrative faces the threat of significant fines by Russian authorities  or worse.

It was against this backdrop that a Russian journalist rebelled on Monday.

TV editor Marina Ovsyannikova crashed a live TV broadcast, holding a handmade sign that, translated, read: Dont believe the propaganda. Theyre lying to you.

Shortly before her transgression, she published a video online in which she said:

What is happening in Ukraine is a crime.

Russia is an aggressor country and the responsibility for this aggression rests on the conscience of only one person. That person is Vladimir Putin.

Unfortunately, Ive spent the last few years working for Channel One, making Kremlin propaganda, and Im very ashamed of this. Ashamed that I allowed lies to be broadcast from TV screens.

We Russians are thinking and intelligent people. Its in our power alone to stop all this madness. Go protest. Dont be afraid of anything. They cant lock us all away.

She added: My father is Ukrainian, my mother is Russian, and theyve never been enemies.

Ovsyannikova was arrested and now faces charges  for telling the truth.

We hope and pray for her safety. And we are in awe of her. Shes joined the ranks of a select handful who are presenting to all of us a masterclass in courage.

They include other journalists who have swarmed to Ukraine from around the world to tell us, firsthand, whats actually happening in the war zone, like CNNs Clarissa Ward; CBS News Charlie DAgata; The Wall Street Journals Yaroslav Trofimov and James Marson; Fox News Benjamin Hall, who was hospitalized after being injured on Monday and Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was killed in the same attack; and American documentarian Brent Renaud, who died on Sunday after he was killed in the fighting in Ukraine.

Journalism is sometimes a hazardous occupation  even in times of peace, in oppressive regimes whose leaders determine what can and cant be reported.

This courage is also exemplified by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the citizen-soldiers he leads, as well as by the prime ministers of Poland, Czech Republic and Slovenia, who traveled to Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy on Tuesday.

Courage isnt blathering on about what one would have done differently. Courage is demonstrated by action  even in the face of deadly opposition.

None of that has been displayed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, for whom the war is taking longer than expected, by all reports. Things seem to going badly for Russia as it fails to bring Ukraine to heel and the civilized world unites against it.

War has not been a very effective means of bringing about change  as we learned, harshly, from our time in Afghanistan.

Russias time in Afghanistan should have instructed Putin as well.

But his reliance on military aggression reveals, more than anything, his failure at diplomacy, at building a stronger nation domestically, at working with the reality that he will never revive the U.S.S.R. Former President Obama had his number in 2015 when he said that Putins aggression in Syria came from a position of weakness. That weakness, that inability to adapt to the 21st century, is on display to the world now.

Putins apologists in the U.S. media also lack courage. Rather than standing up against Russian oppression, some  especially on far-right outlets like Fox  have shamelessly been pushing Russian disinformation, propaganda and debunked conspiracy theories about biological research labs in Ukraine. A leaked memo from the Kremlin instructed Russias gaslighting media outlets to highlight Foxs Tucker Carlsons broadcasts as much as possible.

Thats what you do when the truth doesnt accomplish your goals.

Our First Amendment and freedom of the press will keep these apologists out of prison  unlike their counterparts in the country they promote. For those seeking to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys, that fact alone should be clarifying.

It takes little courage or sacrifice to support those who are fighting for their safety and freedom via the Red Cross, Hope for Ukraine, World Central Kitchen or other charity groups that are helping Ukraine stand against the Russian invader.
A plan that's in the very early stages could result in a downtown skyscraper that's even taller than the recently constructed Lied Place Residences.

Craft Development Group has a website showing a rendering of a "luxury" condo building called 9 Lincoln Park that rises more than 20 stories.

Steve Glenn, the owner of Executive Travel and various other businesses and one of the principals in Craft Development Group, said plans are very preliminary at this point.

"We're still doing a lot of due diligence," said Glenn, who has done a feasibility study but has not hired an architect.

The website shows the building location near the intersection of Ninth and P streets, but Glenn said he is evaluating a number of sites and does not yet have a contract on a piece of land.

He said he's had preliminary discussions with city officials about the plan but is not close to filing any official applications.

Urban Development Director Dan Marvin said he had a conversation with Glenn that was "very preliminary" and was focused on what potential issues a project of that scope might face, such as the need for environmental remediation and having a site that can support construction of a building that tall.

"They seem pretty excited about coming back and having further conversations with us," he said.

Marvin said it's his understanding that the building would potentially be 275 feet tall, which is the maximum building height allowed downtown. That would make it slightly taller than the Lied Place Residences at 11th and Q streets, which is about 250 feet tall.

Glenn said the project is a dream of his that he hopes can come to fruition.

"It's our hope we can come forward," he said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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The Nebraska Public Service Commission has levied a huge fine against a South Dakota grain dealer that did business in the state without a license.

The order approved by the PSC at its Tuesday meeting says Banghart Properties LLC of Gettysburg, South Dakota, must pay a fine of $290,000 for operating without a license and failing to properly document grain purchases.

PSC spokeswoman Deb Collins said the fine is the "largest in recent memory" handed down by the commission.

According to a complaint filed in October, the company, which also used the name Fearless Grain Marketing, operated for months in the state without a license and made numerous deals with farmers.

The complaint said that owner Jan Banghart acknowledged that she started operating before inquiring about licensing requirements and then continued to operate after being told she needed to cease doing so until she obtained a license.

The PSC held a hearing on the complaint in January, and staff at that time had recommended a fine as high as $870,000, which represented the maximum $10,000 penalty for 87 separate violations that were alleged, which included both the unlicensed purchases and the failure to document them.

The commission decided to reduce the amount to $290,000, which would reflect a $10,000 fine for each of the 29 unlicensed transactions that were documented in the complaint, although it was acknowledged that Banghart's business records showed another 21 unlicensed transactions.

This companys flagrant violation of Nebraska law along with its unwillingness to comply led to the conclusion that this civil penalty is warranted, Commission Chair Dan Watermeier said in a statement.

Banghart has 30 days to either pay the fine or appeal it.

Robert Konrad, an attorney representing the Banghart, told agricultural publication AgWeek that the company is disappointed in the ruling and is considering an appeal.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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Charges of driving under the influence filed last year against Bowie City Council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Adrian Boafo were dropped last month, court records show.

More than a year ago, Boafo was cited by Maryland State Police for driving under the influence and negligent driving stemming from a February 2021 traffic stop. The 27-year-old pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to one count of reckless driving and received probation before judgment and a $250 fine.

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I am pleased that the state dropped all the charges pertaining to the DUI. As I said last year, we were going to go through the process to prove innocence, said Boafo, who announced last month that he is running as a Democrat for the District 23B seat in the Maryland House of Delegates to represent part of Prince Georges County.

Around 2 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2021, Boafo was driving home from a friends house when he hit a pothole on westbound Route 50 and his tire blew out, he said. After calling his family and insurance company, Boafo called the police to report his disabled vehicle.

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Boafo said he was surprised when officers arrived and asked him to get out of the car. The responding officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol when he approached the car, according to a police report. Boafo was arrested around 2:17 a.m. and taken to the Maryland State Police College Park barrack for processing.

When the Maryland State trooper arrived at the scene, the vehicle was disabled and Mr. Boafo was not operating it at the time, said Tia Lewis, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County States Attorneys Office. Maryland law requires proof of operation of a vehicle for a driving while impaired charge to be met. There was evidence that Mr. Boafo had recklessly driven his vehicle and he pleaded guilty to that charge.

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In Maryland, those found guilty of reckless driving can face a possible fine of $1,000 and six points on their driving record. Boafo did not receive any points on his license in his guilty plea.

The penalties for negligent driving are comparatively minor and can result in a fine of up to $240 and one point on a drivers record.

Boafo is one of eight candidates vying for the two-seat District 23B currently represented by two Democrats, four-term Del. Marvin Holmes Jr. and Del. Cheryl Landis, who was appointed to her seat last fall. Landis is not expected to run for a full term.

It's official! I'm running for MD State Delegate in District 23. As we look to #BuildBackBetter their are greater opportunities to address the deep structural inequities that have been exposed during the pandemic at the State level. Join us! https://t.co/AfeQoQd7Do pic.twitter.com/vGb0A7sNB9  Adrian Boafo (@AdrianBoafo) February 25, 2022

Boafo, who works in government affairs for the cloud computing company Oracle, said the experience of going through the legal system, being able to hire an attorney and take off work to attend hearings, made him realize that not everyone is able to fight charges that are filed against them. Its part of the reason he is running for state office, he said, in hopes of implementing reforms to make it easier for people to obtain representation and get time off to defend themselves in court.

Going to court several times reminded me that not everyone gets a positive result, he said. Sitting in that court in Annapolis, I saw people just taking the plea deal because they couldnt take off work or didnt have the ability to get a lawyer. My focus has been renewed a little bit from a policy standpoint in focusing on how to help folks in that situation.

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Capital reporter Dan Belson contributed to this story.
Lancaster County is continuing to see a decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department reported 108 cases for the week ending Saturday, a more than 30% decline from the previous week and the lowest weekly total since July of last year.

Weekly cases have now declined nearly 98% since the omicron peak of 4,961 cases the week ending Jan. 14.

Hospital numbers also have continued to decline, with the seven-day rolling average of daily COVID-19 patients at 33. On Tuesday, there were 29 patients in local hospitals, 17 of whom are Lancaster County residents. Only one person is on a ventilator.

Perhaps the biggest improvement has been in deaths. There were 39 COVID-19 deaths in January and 32 in February. But so far in March, there have been just three.

Those local numbers all are in line with statewide numbers. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nebraska had 650 total cases last week, and its case rate was the second-lowest in the nation, the Omaha World-Herald reported.

An average of 180 Nebraskans were hospitalized with COVID-19 last week, down 28% from the previous week. The 145 people hospitalized as of Monday night is the lowest number since late July.

The state reported 13 deaths last week, down from 57 the previous week.

Despite the improving numbers, the local health department announced Tuesday that its COVID-19 risk dial for Lancaster County is staying in the low-yellow range. That ends a streak of four straight weeks where the dial declined.

However, conditions show improvements, at least in the short term.

Scott Holmes, manager of the Health Department's environmental public health division, said local wastewater monitoring continues to show declining virus particles.

Holmes said wastewater samples in Lincoln are collected once a week on Tuesdays, and the samples are then sent off to a lab in Massachusetts for analysis. Virus RNA copies per milliliter of wastewater dropped to 109 last week from 158 the week before.

Nationally, the CDC reported that as of last week, 38% of cities showed an increase of COVID-19 viral RNA in their wastewater samples, including 15% that saw virus particles increase by 1,000% or more.

Spiking COVID-19 virus particles in wastewater have often preceded an uptick in cases.

The Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Department has been collecting wastewater samples for months, Holmes said, and virus particles have closely tracked with case numbers.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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Margaret Reist Local government reporter Margaret Reist is a recovering education reporter now writing about local and county government and the people who live in the city where she was born and raised. Follow Margaret Reist 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

Just 15 days ago, the decision facing the Lincoln City Council concerning the so-called "fairness ordinance" seemed more straightforward.

The Nebraska Family Alliance announced it had collected four times the number of signatures it needed to keep the ordinance  which, among other things, extends discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender expression  from going into effect.

At least four council members  a majority  said they were ready to let voters decide in what would likely be a special election this summer.

Two weeks later, the path forward seems less clear, as the council and community come to terms with the death of Milo Winslow, a transgender activist whod been vocal about his concerns that opponents would target the transgender community.

Im still trying to figure out what the pathway forward looks like for our community, said Councilman Tom Beckius. "I think Milos passing changed the landscape, not only of how we ought to be discussing this issue, but the complexities of how we move forward.

The council could let voters decide or rescind the ordinance. There are other possibilities: rescinding it and reintroducing a different version, for example.

Most of the council members said they are still working through how best to move forward, and all of those contacted said it was important to take time to figure it out. Bennie Shobe was the only council member who couldnt be reached for comment.

We need to take a deep breath and figure out with a clear head how we should move forward, Councilman James Michael Bowers said.

Two days after the Nebraska Family Alliance turned 18,501 referendum petition signatures over to the city clerk March 1, transgender advocate Winslow died by suicide, throwing concerns he and others had into stark relief.

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ struggling with coming out, LGBTQ identity and depression. Crisis counselors are trained to answer calls, chats or texts 24 hours a day, seven days a week. On the web: thetrevorproject.org Call: 1-866-488-7386

Before his death, Winslow and some other transgender activists talked publicly about concerns that the ordinance was ill-timed, that supporters werent adequately prepared to defend it at the ballot box and that opponents would target the transgender community.

Winslow was the only transgender individual to testify in support of the ordinance. But a week before he died, he sent an email to all the council members urging them to rescind it, saying the anti-transgender rhetoric during a protracted campaign before a vote would put people at risk.

Since his death, council members have gotten emails from people who support the protections asking them to rescind the ordinance and some have been active online. Among them is Jazari Kual, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student who became a familiar figure when he livestreamed Black Lives Matter protests and who is running for Congress. He posted a video online asking people to encourage the council to rescind the ordinance.

Interestingly, conservative KLIN talk show host Jack Riggins had transgender activist Natalie Weiss on his show and the discussion didnt center on rescinding the ordinance  as Weiss advocates. Instead, he and Weiss spent much of the time talking about how hurtful framing the argument as a transgender bathroom ordinance can be.

And council members said theyve also heard from many people who want to move forward.

Were hearing from both sides now, said Councilwoman Tammy Ward. I go back and forth on the right thing to do ... its a very difficult dilemma, because we want to protect those who rightfully are concerned, but on the other hand, I think we have a responsibility as leaders and elected officials to also protect civil rights, human rights.

Councilwoman Sandra Washington, who introduced the ordinance, said shes listening to both sides and will work with council members to decide how to move forward, though she said she hasnt changed her goal of providing equal opportunity to everyone in Lincoln.

I am looking at what people are asking for in order to bring it forward with as much care as some folks are asking, she said.

Councilwoman Jane Raybould said its important to find ways to protect the transgender community, but she wants to move forward to a vote, and believes the calls to rescind are coming from a vocal minority.

We cannot let hate have a place in our city, she said.

It was also important to pause, she said.

Milos passing was heartbreaking and just devastating to so many of his friends who know him and knew of his advocacy, she said. I think we all needed to take a pause and reflect on this devastating loss before we could figure out what is the strategy going forward.

Its unclear when the issue will come before the council, though it wont be Monday.

Councilman Richard Meginnis also said it was important to take time to figure it out what to do next, but its important to do something.

We cannot do nothing, he said.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSreist

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Every two years, the names on the white-marble graves at the tree-lined Netherlands American Cemetery are joined, for a few days, by their faces.

Dutch volunteers plant photos of the U.S. service members alongside their graves, and at the base of the monuments memorializing those missing in action, to pay tribute to the soldiers who died liberating their country.

The collection and display of photos started as a way to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, said Sebastiaan Vonk, who launched the effort.

We felt that putting the photos out there would highlight the soldiers as individuals, all equally worthy of our respect.

They dont have all of the photos, but theyre getting closer.

Since De Gezichten van Margraten  the Faces of Margraten  started in 2015, volunteers there and in the U.S. have helped the project collect more than 8,400 photos for the cemeterys 10,000 graves and names on the Walls of the Missing.

And of the 102 Nebraskans buried there, theyve gathered pictures of 101.

But they cant find a photo of Dorral Bundy Elliott.

The 29-year-old was killed in 1945, three years after enlisting in Lincoln.

Scott Rayl, a Virginia-based volunteer, has found hundreds of photos  working with VFWs and Legions, tracking down family members  for Margraten and other U.S. cemeteries in Europe, he said. At any given time, hes juggling 20 cases.

Elliott is a mystery. Since I started this, this has been the one guy whos been out there the whole time.

Hes spent hours on the internet, trying to piece together the soldiers short life. He learned Elliott was born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1915, but was apparently raised in the northeast Colorado town of Wray.

He married Mary Courtney in Wray in 1939. The next year, they had a daughter, Carol Jo Ann. A few months after that, they buried her.

They had a son, Dorral Duane, in 1942, the same year Elliott joined the Army. The tech corporal was sent overseas with a tank battalion in 1944 and killed in Germany in April 1945. A Purple Heart was awarded posthumously.

At the time, Mary Elliott was living in Denver, and their son was staying with her parents in Wray. He died in 1990.

Rayl did find, and share with the Journal Star, the names of several of Mary Elliotts nieces and nephews  her younger sisters children  living in Lincoln and Seward. One of them told the newspaper shed never heard of Dorral B. Elliott, but she contacted a cousin in Colorado, their familys unofficial historian.

Bruce Courtney was only vaguely familiar with the name of his Aunt Marys first husband; she had three more husbands after that, so there was a lot to try to remember.

I think I might have heard about it one time, he said from his home in Wray. I kind of do know shed been married to a guy who was killed in the war.

But thats about all he knew. He didnt know why Elliott was living in Lincoln when he joined the Army. And he didnt know of any family photos of the soldier.

Still, hes on the case now. He checked with Wrays history museum, hoping it might have a high school yearbook photo of Elliott. No luck. But Courtney had a couple more leads to chase, he said last week.

In Virginia, Rayl was happy to hear he had help. The effort is important to the Dutch, he said. They revere the cemetery at Margraten.

The every-other-year display of the photos draws more than 20,000 people over the course of a few days.

Families there have adopted every grave  keeping them clean and decorated  for nearly 80 years, a responsibility they take seriously, often passing down the role from generation to generation, like an heirloom.

A photo can give life to the name on the marble cross.

A picture says a thousand words, Rayl said. The idea that I can be the person that allows them to see the face of the man beneath the stone is a huge deal.

Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or psalter@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSPeterSalter

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RACINE  John Batten, president and CEO of Racine-based Twin Disc, didnt need to be told by the U.S. government to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Within two days of the beginning of the invasion, Twin Disc moved to stop sending products to Russia.

Two weeks ago, it was the day after the invasion in our daily meetings, we put a pause on shipping to Russia, Batten said in a phone call Tuesday morning. Its the right thing do.

Battens office sent out a directive: Do not ship into Russia or Belarus.

Twin Disc is far from the only company that responded to the invasion in this manner.

Companies including Apple, Victorias Secret, McDonalds and Coca-Cola have closed their Russian operations in the weeks since the country invaded Ukraine.

More than 300 international companies have announced plans to curtail ties to Russia, with the pace accelerating as the deadly violence and humanitarian crisis worsens and Western governments ratchet up economic sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded Thursday by saying that if foreign companies shut down production in Russia, he favored a plan to bring in outside management and then transfer these companies to those who want to work.

Such a move would bring Russia back toward the communism it had moved away from since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Modern Russias economy is generally viewed as somewhat capitalistic but heavily corrupt, with widespread governmental meddling. As much as 55% of the countrys economy is in state hands, reports the Peterson Institute for International Economics. In the U.S., that figure is around 12%.

Human toll It is impossible to know the exact death toll and number of refugees created by Russia's invasion of Ukraine currently. The civilian death toll is already in the thousands. The southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol reported Monday that more than 2,350 people in the city have died as a result of the invasion, with hundreds if not thousands dead in other cities throughout the country. Another 2,000-4,000 people defending Ukraine  some Ukrainian, some foreign volunteers  have been reported killed. Some estimates last week indicate 5,000-6,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine. The invasion is already considered the worst refugee crisis since World War II. More than 2.5 million Ukrainians  the equivalent of almost 13 times the population of Racine County, or nearly half the population of Wisconsin  have already fled the country.

Case, SC Johnson, Twin Disc

Russia and Belarus, the Kremlins closest ally, make up a relatively small piece of the puzzle for Twin Disc. Of Twin Discs $230 million in approximate annual revenue, only about $1 million comes from Russia, Batten estimated; virtually nothing comes from Belarus.

Among other machinery, Twin Disc manufactures power transmission equipment for vehicles and boats.

One of the contracts Twin Disc had in Russia, Batten said, was providing parts for boats for both the Ukrainian and Russian coast guards. Now, only Ukraine will be getting those boats, although there may remain issues in actually delivering the boats to the war-torn country.

Batten didnt expect Twin Disc to take any losses as a result of cutting off Russia. Some customers may just have their orders filled sooner than expected, since orders that would have gone to Russia were canceled.

Twin Disc does not have any employees in Russia or Ukraine, Batten said.

CNH Industrial, the parent company of Racine-based Case IH, likewise is cutting off Russia.

CNH Industrial strongly condemns any and all acts of unprovoked violence and aggression, and especially the current war in Ukraine which is having a devastating impact on so many people, including many of our own employees and dealers, the company said in a statement Friday. Two weeks ago, the company suspended all shipments to Russia and Belarus.

There are 38 CNH employees in Ukraine, the company said; CNH did not say how many employees it has in Russia.

We are providing them (the families in Ukraine) with ongoing assistance, including financial aid and relocation support, CNH said. CNH Industrial is also supporting its employees in Russia. As a company we make a clear distinction between our employees and their respective governments.

CNH added that it has donated $500,000 to organizations that are providing on the ground assistance to those in need, as well as establishing a global employee donation fund, with a dollar-for-dollar company match. Likewise, CNH said it was establishing a global employee donation fund, with a dollar-for-dollar company match.

An SC Johnson spokesperson told Wisconsin Public Radio earlier this month that it has shut down operations in Ukraine. According to the statement SC Johnson provided to WPR: Our priority is the safety of the SC Johnson people and their families there, and to that end, we are taking a number of actions to support them in their time of great need.

A spokesperson for Modine, another international manufacturer based in Racine that reports around $2 billion in revenue per year, said in an email Monday We are not interested in participating in an interview at this time.

Big Pharma, Burger King stay

Pharmaceutical businesses, however, have not cut ties with Russia as quickly.

Drugmakers, medical device manufacturers, and health care companies, which are exempted from U.S. and European sanctions, said Russians need access to medicines and medical equipment and contend that international humanitarian law requires they keep supply chains open.

As a health care company, we have an important purpose, which is why at this time we continue to serve people in all countries in which we operate who depend on us for essential products, some life-sustaining, said Scott Stoffel, divisional vice president for Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories.

Johnson & Johnson  which has corporate offices in Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg  said in a statement: We remain committed to providing essential health products to those in need in Ukraine, Russia, and the region, in compliance with current sanctions and while adapting to the rapidly changing situation on the ground.

The decisions by so-called Big Pharma to remain in Russia have been heavily criticized.

Pharmaceutical companies that say they must continue to manufacture drugs in Russia for humanitarian reasons are being misguided at best, cynical in the medium case, and outright deplorably misleading and deceptive, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor at the Yale School of Management. He noted that banks and technology companies also provide essential services, but they are abandoning Russia.

The situation has led some to question what effect cutting Russia off from international economies will actually have.

The value of the ruble, Russias currency, has already plummeted, hurting virtually every average Russian citizen. But its unlikely that Putin and the countrys other ultrarich oligarchs would go hungry.

World powers have not backed down from looking to cripple Russias economy, in the hope that Putin will give up on warmongering without further escalating the conflict.

Sonnenfeld said that the international community needs to punish Russia, partially in the hope of getting the Russian people to turn on the Kremlin.

Russians are put in a tragic position of unearned suffering. If we continue to make life palatable for them, then we are continuing to support the regime, Sonnenfeld said. These drug companies will be seen as complicit with the most vicious operation on the planet. Instead of protecting life, they are going to be seen as destroying life.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on CBS that the drugmaker is not going to make further investments in Russia, but that it will not cut ties there.

Other big American businesses not connected to medical supplies are still operating in Russia.

The Associated Press reported Friday Burger King restaurants are open, Eli Lilly is supplying drugs, and PepsiCo is selling milk and baby food, but no more soda. Papa Johns announced it would be shutting down operations in Russia, but an American franchisee who operates more than 190 Papa Johns locations in the country is staying open, The New York Times reported Monday.

Johnson Controls raising money for Ukrainians

Johnson Controls, based in Milwaukee, also condemned the actions ordered by Putin.

In a post two weeks ago on LinkedIn, Johnson Controls Chair and CEO George Oliver wrote: This unthinkable situation is a momentous turning point, not just for Europe, but the world. Countries and world leaders are coming together, showing solidarity and support for Ukraine ... We (Johnson Controls) remain committed to leading with integrity and doing the right thing with respect, unwavering morals, and humanity. We believe in non-violent ways to address differences and our desire is for peace, stability and safety for Ukraine and its people.

The safety and security of all our colleagues in Ukraine, and neighboring countries, remains our highest priority.

Last week, Oliver posted again to LinkedIn, saying that the company had achieved a record level of charitable donations from employees, matched by the company. Building on the strong foundation of our employees generosity and our dollar-for-dollar match, Johnson Controls will donate $250,000 to assist critical humanitarian relief efforts on the ground in Ukraine.

In that post, Oliver announced Johnson Controls was suspending our business in Russia.

The Associated Press and Sarah Varney of Kaiser Health News contributed to this report.

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A Kenosha Unified school resource officer who spoke out against the districts mask mandate while providing security during a School Board meeting wants his job back and called for the board presidents resignation Tuesday night.

David Molinaro, who called on the board to lift the mandate at the Jan. 25 School Board meeting, addressed the board again during public comments prior to its unanimous decision to end the district-wide requirement for face coverings. Masks will be optional beginning Wednesday.

This time, Molinaro stood at the podium having been replaced by other security personnel. Molinaro, a retired Kenosha Police Department lieutenant, said he had previously been asked to provide security for the board and showed up to his job each day and did it the right way.

The problem with speaking, Ms. Adams, is it went against your agenda, he said.

Adams had stopped an in-person meeting on Aug. 24 when overflow crowds would not distance and relocate into an overflow room to watch the proceedings. Two days later, the meeting was held virtually and a board majority approved the masking requirement.

Molinaro called her a bully and unprofessional, demanding she resign immediately.

If Unifieds bullying policy had a high bar, you would clear it in street shoes, he said.

According to Molinaro, Adams in an e-mail had accused him of not doing his job while he had stood in the meeting room doorway. During Tuesdays session he asked women in the audience to hold up their purses.

Show me which purse has a weapon in it. Show me which person in this room can do carnage, great bodily harm or death. You cant show me that, he said. So, I stood in the doorway and I watched their eyes and I watched their hands.

Addressing interim Superintendent Bethany Ormseth he asked to be reinstated. To Adams, he said he may run against her in 2023.

Ms. Adams, I suggest you resign from the board tonight, he said. If not, you might find my name next to yours when your term is up. Resign tonight because you cannot be trusted for doing your job in an ethical manner. You are a bully. I want my job back.

Tanya Ruder, Unifieds spokesperson, said Molinaro had not been fired and is still employed as a school resource officer, but was not currently performing security duties for the board.

Adams said his being replaced had nothing to do with his speaking out against the masking requirement.

It had to do with the fact that he was being paid by the board to do security and he was acting as an attendee at that meeting, she said.

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Wisconsin environmental regulators have again extended the deadline for comments on the review of Enbridge Energys proposed relocation of an oil pipeline through northern Wisconsin.

The Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday that it is reviewing more than 10,000 written comments on its draft environmental impact statement on plans to bypass the Bad River Reservation with a new pipeline.

Nearly 300 people attended a nearly 10-hour online hearing last month where most spoke against the project.

Released in December, the review has drawn criticism from environmental groups, tribal governments and thousands of people who say it is incomplete and riddled with errors.

The DNR says extending the comment period is reasonable given the projects complexity and the amount of information and hopes the extended comment period will provide the public with ample time to comment on the more than 700-page document.

Written comments on the environmental review can be submitted through April 15.

Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said the extension adds to the DNRs exceptionally thorough and transparent review and is not expected to affect the companys construction schedule.

As a result of a lawsuit, the Canadian pipeline company wants to remove a 12-mile segment of its Line 5 pipeline and bypass the reservation with about 41 miles of new pipe through Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties.

According to the draft environmental review, the $450 million project would cross some 185 waterways, including the Bad River, and temporarily disturb about 135 acres of wetlands.

The company says the line, which transports an average of 540,000 barrels a day between Superior and southwestern Ontario, is a key piece of energy infrastructure, delivering crude oil and natural gas liquids to terminals in Michigan.

Opponents say the project endangers waters, including Lake Superior, and goes against warnings from international scientists to halt new investments in fossil fuel infrastructure in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Supporters  including Republican lawmakers, trade unions and the state chamber of commerce  tout the economic impact and 700 construction jobs needed to complete the reroute.

Have your say Comments on the DNR's draft environmental review of Enbridge Energy's Line 5 reroute can be submitted by email to DNROEEACOMMENTS@WI.GOV or by mail to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Line 5 EIS Comments (EA/7), 101 S. Webster St., Madison, WI 53707. The deadline is April 15.

Last year the Madison City Council and Dane County Board passed resolutions opposing the Line 5 reroute, as well as a recently completed expansion of Enbridges Line 3 in Minnesota, which connects to a pipeline that cuts through Dane County.

The Wisconsin Legislature last month approved a nonbinding resolution saying Wisconsins economy will continue to rely for many years on petroleum products and calling on lawmakers to support continued and increased development and delivery of oil derived from North American oil reserves to American refineries.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos met with election skeptics Wednesday and afterward stood firm on his position that the 2020 election cant be decertified, but he voiced a baseless claim that there was widespread fraud.

There are some people who think that the Legislature has a unilateral ability to overturn the election, Vos, R-Rochester, said after the meeting. We do not.

Vos added that even conservative constitutional experts said the Legislature cant decertify the 2020 presidential election.

I think there was widespread fraud, and I think we are going to see more and more data that comes out under the investigation by former state Supreme Court Justice and GOP-appointed special counsel Michael Gableman, Vos continued.

Vos on Wednesday met with advocates for decertifying President Joe Bidens win in Wisconsin, hours before he and the state Senates top Republican were to discuss election laws with county GOP leaders.

The morning meeting was not open to the public.

Vos told The Associated Press he was also inviting those who believe the 2020 election cannot be decertified to discuss it along with advocates for decertification on Wednesday. Experts and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have described decertification as a legal and constitutional impossibility  and something Vos has staunchly opposed, despite growing pressure from supporters of former President Donald Trump.

In response to Vos meeting with the skeptics, Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, said Vos wants to have it both ways, casting doubt on election results while asserting that he cant help overturn them.

While he acknowledges there is no legal grounds for decertification, Vos perpetuates the Big Lie by not putting an immediate end to Gablemans sham of an investigation and by holding meetings with conspiracy theorists who refuse to accept that Joe Biden is our president and won Wisconsin fair and square, she said.

Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said Vos false claims of widespread fraud are one of the reasons Wisconsinites lack confidence in elections.

He should be clear about whether or not he would pursue decertification if it was legal, he continued.

After the meeting, Vos also took a jab at Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has said he wont sign any legislation that would make voting harder.

We now need to have an attorney general and a governor who will sign legislation and fight with us to make sure that the election in 2022 and 2024 is fair, Vos said.

Asked to leave

Some decertification proponents were not invited to the meeting, including state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, a gubernatorial candidate who entered the Capitol meeting room on Wednesday, and then minutes later left.

On his way out, Ramthun said Vos asked him not to participate.

This is what Ive been dealing with now for 17 months, he said. Obstruction on top of obstruction to do the right thing.

Vos disciplined Ramthun earlier this year by removing his lone staff member, but not for Ramthuns comments about who won the states 2020 election. Rather, the removal of Ramthuns staffer stemmed from his false accusations that Vos had signed a deal with attorneys for former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to authorize absentee ballot drop boxes, Vos office said.

Returning about a half-hour later, Ramthun questioned why the press wasnt allowed in the closed-door meeting.

I really think you should be in there to witness whats going on, he told reporters.

Im not a conspiracy theorist, he continued. Im focused on truth. And I need closure for myself and for my state and for my nation. This is a question about our republic.

Under pressure

A recount and court decisions have affirmed that Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. A review by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau as well as the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found no evidence of widespread fraud and multiple court rulings have also found no evidence of irregularities.

I think theres people in that room that were involved that dont want to see closure on this as why theyve been obstructing all along, Ramthun continued. He added that Vos was among a long list of people obstructing the effort to decertify the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin.

Vos has been under pressure from Trump and other Republicans who support the false claim that the election was stolen and say Vos is not doing enough, including decertifying Bidens win.

Trump said last week that he was confident that Robin will exercise his moral duty and follow up on Gablemans finding, including dissolving the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Vos has said he does not support that.

Trump also has pushed for decertification, but Vos and other Republican leaders have repeatedly said that would not be done, citing opinions from the Legislatures nonpartisan attorneys who have said such a move is illegal.

Election skeptics

After the meeting, election skeptic Jefferson Davis led an address to a crowd featuring dozens of supporters carrying signs, American flags and pamphlets doubting what happened in the 2020 election. Included in that crowd were Ramthun, as well as state Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, whom Davis called courageous for being in attendance.

Among other things, Davis told the crowd that representatives from the election skeptic organization True the Vote would drop a bomb proving the existence of widespread fraud at an Assembly elections committee meeting next Thursday. None of the many informational hearings coming before legislative committees has led to any finding of widespread fraud.

At a recent hearing, Gableman claimed 100% of nursing home residents in Dane and Milwaukee counties voted in 2020, insinuating that their votes were somehow cast fraudulently. A Wisconsin State Journal review found no evidence to corroborate that claim, finding only one Dane County nursing home where all 12 registered voters cast cast a ballot, and 42% to 91% of registered voters in other facilities casting ballots.

To date, only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trumps own attorney general has said there was no widespread fraud.

With no evidence supporting widespread fraud, more Republicans are becoming confident in the accuracy of the 2020 election, with 38% saying they are confident now while 29% said they were confident in August 2021, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll. Between August 2021 and the most recent poll, independents confidence fell from 79% to 55%, though the percentage didnt change much from the October 2021 poll. Democrats remain trusting of the accuracy of the election, with 96% saying they were confident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission has unanimously denied a complaint seeking sanctions against the 10 Republicans, including a member of the commission, who signed paperwork attempting to hand Wisconsins Electoral College votes to President Donald Trump.

The complaint was filed more than a year ago by Jeffrey Mandell, an attorney with the liberal law firm Law Forward, and alleged the Republicans committed fraud when they met at the Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign official-looking documents purporting that Trump had won the state.

The meeting of Republicans occurred following advice from attorneys with close ties to Trump. Documents have underscored efforts by those in Trumps inner circle to circumvent the Electoral College process in several states, including Wisconsin, following the 2020 election, despite recounts and court decisions affirming that President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the battleground state by almost 21,000 votes.

Mandell received a letter Tuesday from the Wisconsin Department of Justice indicating that all six members of the commission, including Republican appointee Robert Spindell, who was one of the 10 Republicans who signed the documents, had dismissed the complaint in a March 9 closed session.

The Complainants argument  that the Respondents were not electors  presumes the outcome of the state procedures, attorneys for the commission wrote in a memo. And as noted above, Wisconsin law does not prohibit an alternative set of electors from meeting.

The commission concluded Mandells complaint does not raise a reasonable suspicion that the respondents violated Wisconsin election law, according to the letter.

Mandell said he was disappointed in the commissions decision, but even more so that Spindell was allowed to vote on the matter.

Spindell participated in this decision, and that is just egregious, Mandell said. It is contrary to every elementary principle of justice that someone gets to be the judge on whether their own conduct was lawful. I think thats pretty crazy and deeply disappointing.

Mandell could appeal the commissions decision in circuit court, but said he is weighing his options at this point.

From the outset, our goal has been to shed light on this travesty, seek accountability for the fraudulent electors & ensure this never happens again in WI, Mandell tweeted. That project continues. Were actively pursuing numerous avenues for accountability. Our work on this is far from done.

Law Forward also filed a complaint with the Milwaukee County District Attorneys Office and another with the Office of Lawyer Regulation, the agency that handles complaints against lawyers, against former chair of the state Republican Party Andrew Hitt, who also signed the paperwork. The U.S. Department of Justice is also looking into the matter.

The Republicans have said the meeting occurred based on legal advice and was done to preserve their legal options amid litigation surrounding the election.

Others to sign the documents in Wisconsin include 8th Congressional District GOP chair Kelly Ruh; 1st Congressional District GOP vice chair Carol Brunner; Dane County Republican Party chair Scott Grabins; La Crosse County Republican Party chair Bill Feehan; 5th Congressional District GOP chair Kathy Kiernan; 6th Congressional District GOP chair Darryl Carlson; 1st Congressional District GOP vice chair Pam Travis; and Mary Buestrin, vice chair of the Midwest region for the Republican National Committee.

Spindell said in a text message Tuesday the documents were signed following legal guidance from the Republican Party of Wisconsin and Trump campaign, and doing so was necessary to preserve Trumps record and the (Partys) position in these many federal and state cases swirling around (Wisconsin) at the time.

It would have been malpractice on the part of any attorneys not to have the Trump campaign & RPW take all steps to preserve its record and options, Spindell wrote.

Hitt and Ruh were subpoenaed earlier this year by the U.S. House committee investigating the insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol. The committee subpoenaed individuals in six other states where similar documents were signed.

The committee is examining whether Republicans were trying to present Vice President Mike Pence with conflicting slates of electors so that he could have thrown the election to a House vote that would have handed the election to Trump, something Pence refused to do.

The meeting of Wisconsin Republicans occurred on the same day that the Democratic slate of Wisconsin electors convened in the same building to deliver the states 10 electoral votes to President-elect Biden. It also occurred after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Biden had won the election and a month after Wisconsin county clerks canvassed the presidential election results.

Hitt said in a statement he had no illusions the actions we took as Republican electors in December of 2020 were going to change the rightful result of the election either in Wisconsin or nationally.

We simply gathered on the advice of legal counsel to ensure all options were preserved in case of a court decision favorable to the Trump legal team in ongoing litigation, Hitt said. I assumed, correctly, our paperwork would be ignored, as it should be, absent a court decision finding legitimate cause to declare President Trump won Wisconsin.

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Even after a judge has ordered their release, detainees at Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center routinely have to wait several hours  sometimes days  before corrections officials actually let them leave, according to a proposed class action filed this week.

Those delays violate their constitutional rights and cause significant real-world impacts such as lost jobs and missed appointments that can snowball into even bigger problems, attorneys argue.

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They are stealing peoples freedom, said Cary Hansel, a Baltimore civil rights attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jamien Palmer and is seeking class status for it. I mean, it is outrageous.

Palmer alleges he was detained in Central Booking for 22 hours after a judge ordered him released on personal recognizance, meaning he promised to show up for future court dates but was not required to post bail. That order was issued around 3:30 p.m. March 15, 2019, but he would remain locked in a holding cell at Central Booking until 1:30 p.m. the next day.

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Officials with the Maryland Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, which runs Central Booking, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Officials said their legal counsel will review the complaint, but the department does not comment on pending litigation.

According to a data analysis cited in the lawsuit, the average detainee remains behind bars for 15 hours after a judge grants them freedom.

The data also show some groups are held longer than others. People who post bail are often released more quickly than people whose charges are dropped due to insufficient evidence: on average, about 11 hours in limbo compared with nearly 25 hours.

That discrepancy suggests the system favors people with the means to afford bail, Hansel said.

Then you realize justice is for sale, he added.

The data analysis is based on a random sample of 100 cases from 2019. Hansel said his office is working on a more complete analysis using information pertaining to the roughly 6,000 detainees per year judges order released from Central Booking, most often on their own recognizance, after posting bond or because prosecutors decide to dismiss the charges.

Extrapolating the results from the 100-case sample, attorneys contend, Baltimore detainees lose a collective eight years of freedom annually.

This stolen freedom costs people not just time, but money, jobs, their apartments, property like cars repossessed, and even custody of their children, the complaint reads.

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In addition to those potential impacts, attorneys argue, more time spent incarcerated in Central Booking places people at higher risk of experiencing violence. Records show the facility records about two serious incidents of violence among detainees per day, according to the complaint.

There is also a risk of violence at the hands of corrections officers, attorneys said. Last year, a grand jury indicted three Central Booking guards on misconduct charges after surveillance cameras caught one of them placing an incarcerated woman in an illegal chokehold until she passed out.

Central booking is a violent and dangerous place where every additional moment places a person at greater risk of physical harm and death, the complaint reads. Incarcerating people in Central Booking for any period of time beyond the minimum required by law is unreasonable, unconstitutional and dangerous. It also wastes the taxpayers money.

Furthermore, the delayed releases disproportionately impact Black people, attorneys said.

Baltimore is approximately 63 percent African American, but African Americans represent approximately 95 percent of those overdetained after a judge orders their release at Central Booking, the lawsuit says.

Court records show the suit was filed Monday in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Attorneys are asking for class action status to represent the estimated thousands of people being detained well past their release times.

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Palmer, the named plaintiff, was arrested on an outstanding warrant following a traffic stop. When he asked corrections officers why he wasnt being released after the judge ordered it, they told him to hold tight, according to the lawsuit.

Even allowing a reasonable time for processing his release paperwork  up to two hours  Palmer alleges the additional delay violated his constitutional rights. The charges against him were later dismissed.

Along with monetary compensation, his lawsuit requests injunctive relief, which could include court-ordered changes requiring faster release of detainees at Central Booking.

Hansel said his first step after agreeing to represent Palmer was filing a public records request with the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. When corrections officials refused to produce records pertaining to delays in release at Central Booking, Hansel sued the department in July 2020.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Julie Rubin ultimately ordered the department to release the records.

In a written opinion accompanying her decision, she said the case fell squarely in the public interest because Palmer was seeking information pertaining to the twin core constitutional rights of liberty and due process of thousands of Maryland citizens who often lack the resources to pursue such action themselves.

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The court finds the benefit to the public to be derived from the instant action is arguably the most primal of all: to guard and protect the right to live free from unlawful government action, the judge wrote.
1. Yes. Raising the bar for future developments will boost the citys housing market.

2. Yes. It will help in newer areas, but more needs to be done to change Killeens image.

3. No. The new standards will just slow down homebuilding and drive away developers.

4.No. The ordinance will do little more than drive up the price of new homes in the city.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say what the effect will be until they have been in place for a while.

Vote

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WASHINGTON  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on Wednesday as he appealed to the U.S. Congress to do more to help Ukraines fight against Russia. But he acknowledged the no-fly zone he has sought to close the skyto the Russians over his country may not happen.

Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the U.S. must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports. But rather than an enforced no-fly zone, he instead sought other military aid to stop Russian airstrikes.

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For the first time in a public address to world leaders, he showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers a graphic video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war, along with heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.

We need you right now, Zelenskyy said. I call on you to do more.

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Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.

I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, he said.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used the global stage to implore allied leaders to help stop the Russian invasion of his country. The actor-turned-president often draws from history, giving weight to his appearances.

President Joe Bidens administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the U.S. seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces, at the Capitol in Washington, March 16, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Biden was to deliver his own address following Zelenskyys speech, and was expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced in the past week alone to $1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

Wearing his now trademark army green T-shirt, Zelinskyy began the remarks to his American friends by invoking the destruction the U.S. suffered in 1941 when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by militants who commandeered passenger airplanes to crash into the symbols of Western democracy and economy.

Remember Pearl Harbor? ... Remember September 11? Zelenzkyy asked. Our countries experience the same every day right now.

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The U.S. Congress has remain remarkably unified in its support of Ukraine and lawmakers emerged steadfast in their resolve.

Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent. said there was a collective holding of the breath in the room during Zelenskyys address. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, If you did not look at that video and feel there is an obligation for not only the United States but but the free countries of the world to come together in support of Ukraine, you had your eyes closed. Majority Whip Dick Durbin called the address heartbreaking and said, Im on board with a blank check on sanctions, just whatever we can do to stop this Russian advance.

Outside the Capitol demonstrators held a large sign lawmakers saw as they walked back to their offices. No Fly Zone=World War 3.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trumps first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelenskyy spoke Wednesday from a giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to Ukraine.

He thanked the American people, saying Ukraine is grateful for the outpouring of support, even as he urged Biden to do more.

You are the leader of the nation. I wish you be the leader of the world, he said Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.

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It was the latest visit as Zelenskky uses the Wests great legislative bodies in his appeals for help. Invoking Shakespeares Hamlet last week, Zelenskyy asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is to be or not to be. On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraines membership  and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

To Congress, he mentioned the faces of past presidents on Mount Rushmore and told the lawmakers that people in his country want to live our national dream, just like the you have.

Democracy, independence, freedom.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyys relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

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Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

Zelenskyy appeared to acknowledge the political reality.

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Is this to too much to ask to create a no fly zone over Ukraine? he asked, answering his own question. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative, he said, calling for weapons systems that would help fight Russian aircraft.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars, grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the U.S. official said.

The White House is considering giving Ukraine access to U.S.-made Switchblade drones that can fly and strike Russian targets, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday.

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Mary Clare Jalonick, Aamer Madhani, Ellen Knickmeyer, Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking, Alan Fram, Nomaan Merchant and Chris Megerian and Raf Casert in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, Aritz Parra in Madrid and videojournalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this report.
LINCOLN  Daryl Hall, 86, who was publisher of the Kearney Hub from 1985 to 1993, has died.

Halls wife, Jan, said he had been in failing health for several years, and died Monday.

Halls newspaper career included stints as editor of the Scottsbluff Star-Herald for 12 years from 1975 to 1985 and publisher of the Hub.

The Omaha World-Herald Company, which owned the Hub, transferred Hall to Carlsbad, New Mexico, in 1993 where he served as publisher of the Current-Argus newspaper.

He retired in Las Cruces and lived in New Mexico 20 years before he and Jan moved to Lincoln in 2013.

He was born March 28, 1935, in Altoona, Kansas, to Robert and Juanita Hall. His mother died when he was 3 months old and he was raised by his maternal grandparents, Clarence and Cora Carver.

He graduated from high school in Neodesha, Kansas, and from Independence (Kansas) Community College. He earned a degree in journalism at the University of Kansas and served two years in the U.S. Army.

His first job after the Army was at the McCook Gazette. He later was the editor of daily newspapers in Ellensburg, Washington, and Coffeyville, Kansas. He was active in many professional journalism organizations.

He was president of the Nebraska Daily Publishers Association and Associated Press Managing Editors in both Nebraska and Kansas, and served on the board of the Nebraska Press Association and chaired the circulation committee of the multistate Inland Press Association. Hall served on the advisory board for the University of Nebraska School of Journalism and on the Community Relations Board of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
GIBBON  With a favorite roosting spot on the Platte River stretching out behind him, Gov. Pete Ricketts today (Wednesday) designated the sandhill crane as the official migratory bird of Nebraska.

The ceremony was at Rowe Sanctuary near Gibbon, one of the top attractions for sandhill crane enthusiasts who flock to south-central Nebraska in the spring to glimpse what has been labeled one of Mother Natures most amazing migratory spectacles.

Each spring, up to one million sandhill cranes gather along the Platte River during their annual journey north, Ricketts said. The migration is a majestic sight that attracts tens of thousands of spectators to central Nebraska. Today, Im declaring the sandhill crane as the official state migratory bird in Nebraska. This designation recognizes the sandhill cranes migration as one of Nebraskas most amazing natural spectacles. It also recognizes the benefit of the cranes to Nebraskas tourism industry, which welcomes out-of-state birdwatchers each year to marvel at their migration.

Kristal Stoner, executive director of Audubon Nebraska, emphasized the importance of the Platte River as a wetland habitat for sandhill cranes.

The Platte River is a hard-working river, Stoner said. Nebraskans rely on the Platte River for irrigation, drinking water and recreation. Every March, when the evening skies fill with soaring cranes and the rivers echo with their loud, rattling call, it reminds us that we are not the only ones that need this river. Keeping the river healthy requires active management because what is good for birds is good for people. Rowe Sanctuary has been here for nearly 50 years working to make sure the river is open and flowing, and providing thousands of people the opportunity to see cranes on the river.

John Ricks, executive director of the Nebraska Tourism Commission, noted that the cranes annual migration is a major driver of tourism, attracting travelers from all over the world to Nebraska.

The annual sandhill crane migration is a unique, spectacular, and true Nebraska gem, offering visitors from around the world the opportunity to be awed by Mother Nature, Ricks said. What the migration looks like, feels like, and sounds like simply cannot be expressed in words; it has to be experienced.

A research project led by the University of Nebraska at Kearney found that 46,500 people visited sites in central Nebraska for the 2017 crane migration. Ninety-three percent of the visitors were not local residents of central Nebraska. The study estimated that the crane migration had a $14.3 million economic benefit for south-central Nebraska in 2017, supporting the equivalent of 182 year-round jobs.
LEXINGTON  The Lexington Area Christian Womens Connection will meet at noon Tuesday at Kirks Nebraskaland Restaurant, 3002 Plum Creek Pkwy.

Peggy Lee of Prairie Village, Kan., will speak about the Detours of Life she uses to keep from getting lost on a detour.

Also, My Fair Lady dress shop of Holdrege will hold a style show. The Rhea family of Lexington will provide music.

Cost is $10 and includes lunch. Reservations and cancellations are due by Monday. Call Sheri Giesbrecht at 308-320-0952 or Jonelle Lans at 308-325-8279.

For free nursery care, call Joann Reiners at 308-325-1835.
Nebraska would put about $250 million into boosting North and South Omaha and other pockets of poverty under a COVID-19 recovery proposal advanced Monday by the Legislature's Appropriations Committee.

Committee members voted unanimously to approve a package of projects totaling nearly $1.03 billion and benefiting all parts of the state. The plan would use almost all of the $1.04 billion in federal pandemic aid that Nebraska is getting through the American Rescue Plan Act.

But the committee left more than $3 billion of requests on the cutting-room floor, including some of the ideas put forth by Gov. Pete Ricketts and many bills offered by state senators.

"I knew going in we would have more disappointed people than happy people," said Sen. Robert Hilkemann of Omaha. "Certainly not everything I wanted got funded."

The committee plan falls short of the $450 million investment that Sens. Justin Wayne and Terrell McKinney had proposed as a way to transform a historically neglected part of Nebraska.

The two North Omaha senators had said the federal COVID-19 money offered a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to help North Omaha recover from the pandemic and improve the lives of area residents. They later joined forces with Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha, who proposed a similar plan for South Omaha.

Despite the smaller figure, Wayne called the Appropriations Committee package "a step in the right direction."

He said he intends to seek additional money from the cash reserve fund, which is expected to hit a record level by the end of the two-year budget period.

The Legislature is expected to debate LB1024, the Wayne/McKinney proposal, this week after finishing first-round debate on the regular budget bills. The COVID-19 package is slated for debate after lawmakers wrap up the budget.

The package includes money for 37 projects and initiatives. Among them: replacing aging rural ambulances, boosting health and human services provider payment rates, repairing wastewater systems in state parks, and funding nonprofit construction projects that were interrupted by the pandemic.

Others include: developing rural and urban low-income housing, updating a climate change study, building a rural health complex at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and repairing an irrigation canal that runs from Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to Gering.

Committee members decided on most pieces of the package during a rare Saturday session and made only minor tweaks Monday.

During the Saturday session, Vargas offered the proposal to allocate $150 million of ARPA money for business development, community and cultural recovery, job training and other needs in qualified census tracts, with at least $100 million of that going to North and South Omaha.

Qualified census tracts are areas with a high concentration of low-income residents. Half of Nebraskas qualified census tracts are in North and east Omaha, but there are some in several communities.

Vargas also proposed putting $91 million of ARPA money into affordable housing development, including about $50 million that would be directed toward urban areas.

The committee approved both of Vargas' proposals, along with $60 million to develop a new industrial park near Eppley Airfield in North Omaha. The industrial park development was part of the plan put forth by Wayne and McKinney.
March is recognized in the United States as Womens History Month. The 2022 Womens History theme, Providing Healing, Promoting Hope, is both a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during this ongoing pandemic and a recognition of the thousands of ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope throughout history. The 2022 theme proudly honors those who, in both public and private life, provide healing and promote hope for the betterment of all.

In honor of Womens History Month, we are looking forward to hosting a presentation about womens suffragist Lucy Stone later this month. Join Veronica Kleiber from the Vernon County Historical Society on Friday, March 25, at 10:30 a.m. in the library lobby for the in-person program. Visit the Viroqua Library Facebook page or the library website for a Zoom link to join the program virtually.

A leading suffragist and abolitionist, Lucy Stone dedicated her life to battling inequality on all fronts. She was the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree and she defied gender norms when she famously wrote marriage vows to reflect her egalitarian beliefs and refused to take her husband's last name. Stone's organizational activities for the cause of women's rights yielded tangible gains in the difficult political environment of the 19th century.

As the spring season nears, we thought it would be an opportune time to offer a program titled Thatched Roofing with Water Reed. The program will be held inside the library lobby, Thursday, March 31, at 6 p.m. with Ashley Watry. During the program Watry will share her process of learning the building techniques of round-pole framing and thatched roofing. The speaker will share her personal home building plans and present information on opportunities to participate in the home building process.

Watry is a local farmer and natural builder with experience and training in various natural building techniques including strawbale, cob construction, round-pole framing, and thatched roofing. Watry plans to build her own small house out of natural and local materials over the next few years.

Home delivery of library items is just one of the many services available to you through McIntosh Memorial Library. Whether you need delivery for a short time or permanently we are here to help you. Delivery is available at no cost to any resident located in the Viroqua Area School District. Currently, we delivery items on Wednesday afternoons. For more information about home delivery, contact coordinator Maggie Strittmater at 608-637-7151, extension 7.

To stay up-to-date on everything happening at the library, like the Viroqua Library page on Facebook, visit our website at www.mcintoshmemoriallibrary.org, or visit us in person at 205 S. Rock Ave. in Viroqua.

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March is Womens History Month, one of our favorite months here at the museum. I especially enjoy finding local stories that debunk the myth that women in the past didnt work outside the home. Looking through Howard Sherpes Vernon County postal history recently, I discovered that many local women worked as postmasters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Sometimes a post office was located inside a persons house, so being a postmaster didnt always involve working outside the home  but it was paid employment.)

The U.S. Postal Service takes the history of women postmasters seriously. From the online article, Women Postmasters, we learn that, Women served as Postmasters in the United States more than a century before they won the right to vote. Over the course of the 1800s, the number of women Postmasters increased from fewer than a dozen to more than 6,000. By the end of the twentieth century, more than half of all Postmasters were women. Although sometimes popularly called postmistresses, their official title has always been Postmaster. You can read the rest of this article at https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/women-postmasters.pdf

Another good source of general information about women postmasters is the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. Its excellent long article entitled, Women in the U.S. Postal System, can be found online at https://postalmuseum.si.edu/research-articles/women-in-the-us-postal-system

Sarah Wolford served as postmaster at two different post offices in Vernon County. First she worked at the Liberty post office from 1879 to 1881. And then she became the first postmaster of the new post office at Ross, Town of Liberty, in 1890.

The Valley post office boasted several female postmasters. When postmaster William Copley died in the late 19th century, his wife took over his position for some time. Velma Eastman served as postmaster in 1916 and 1917. Mertie Myers Duke ran the Valley post office from 1917 to 1948. When she began, the P.O. was located inside the Eastman Store, and after that burned down in 1921, the office moved inside her residence. And then Evelyn Breidung became the next and final postmaster, and the post office moved inside the Breidung Store. The Valley post office closed in 1953.

The Readstown post office also had several women working as postmasters in earlier years. Elsie Bliss served in the 1880s, Dolores Johnson in the 1940s, and Beverly Farrell, who began working as postmaster in the 1950s, ended up serving in that position for 33 years. And the De Soto post office likewise had several female postmasters in the early 1900s, beginning with Mae Caldwell from 1921 to 1923, then Bertha Johnson Wild from 1923 to 1933, and Anna Loftus from 1933 to 1947.

Some women entered the postmaster position as substitutes for male family members, either because the man was away, ill, or had recently died. For example, Mabel Graves served as Viroqua postmaster from 1942 to 1945 while her postmaster husband Robert was in the Navy during World War II. Others became postmaster after years of working in the office, such as Esther Stoikes, who worked in the Ontario post office for 35 years in the mid-20th century and served as postmaster for her last three years there.

Working in a post office was seen by some as an extension of a womans sphere of home and community, and so they considered it acceptable employment for a woman. Delivering mail, however, was another story, taking a woman out into the world. But Vernon County women did this work too, as we saw in the life of Nora Spaulding Mellen, covered here in the last two columns. She worked as a substitute mail carrier in the Victory area in the early 1900s.

You can learn more about Vernon Countys women postmasters here at the museum. As we look ahead to next month, add to your calendar that our next free public program will be held on Tuesday, April 5, at 7 p.m., at the museum. Tomah author and teacher Larry Scheckel will talk about his new book, Country School Days: True Tales of a Wisconsin One-Room School. More details next week!

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Students from area schools will participate in a Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) sanctioned District Solo & Ensemble Music Festival hosted at Westby High School on Saturday, March 26. During the festival, students will perform vocal and instrumental solos, duets, trios and small ensembles before an adjudicator. Each festival will determine if spectators will be permitted this year based on local health and safety guidelines.

WSMA music festivals annually attract thousands of students from middle, junior high and high schools throughout Wisconsin. The festival will draw students from a number of area schools, including Brookwood High School, Brookwood Junior High School, Cashton High School, De Soto High School, De Soto Middle School, High School Youth Initiative, Inc, Kickapoo Area High School, La Farge High School, La Farge Middle School, North Crawford High School, Pleasant Ridge Waldorf School, Viroqua High School, Westby Area High School and Westby Area Middle School. Peter Engh, music director from Westby Area High School, will be serving as the festival manager.

WSMA is proud to support music educators as we work together to provide quality music education experiences for students. Our long-standing festival programs encourage well-rounded musicians who develop deeper understanding through performance preparation that culminates in comprehensive feedback from a qualified adjudicator. Opportunities for reflection and consideration of new ideas is invaluable for musical growth, said WSMA Executive Director Laurie Fellenz.

WSMA music festivals support school music programs as part of a comprehensive education by encouraging the study of quality music literature; motivating students to prepare and perform to the best of their abilities; improving students understanding of music literature and concepts (performance through understanding) and providing a performance assessment to improve individual and group achievement.

For more information on WSMA, go to www.wsmamusic.org.

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Don't Miss: What happens in a life when you are afraid to make choices that might hurt those who count on you. "Listening Still" by Anne Griffin; St. Martin's Press (345 pages, $27.99)  Jeanie's father can hear the final thoughts of the dead. This gift makes him the most sought-after undertaker in their Irish town of Kilcross  he relays messages to the bereaved, reassures the recently ...
Susan Bulgrin, who owns three local Culver's restaurants, is donating 100% of her Tuesday sales to Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen to benefit Ukrainian refugees and those going hungry inside Ukraine.

Bulgrin, who owns Culver's restaurants on Todd Drive and Cottage Grove Road in Madison and in McFarland, said Tuesday's business has been strong so far.

"It's been great," she said. "The people who are coming are very gracious and are here to help. So that's been wonderful. I couldn't be more pleased."

She said she couldn't predict how much money the effort might raise.

Bulgrin said she's been watching the news and realizing that the people of Ukraine, refugees and those inside Ukraine, are in dire need of food.

"They are struggling mightily," she said, noting that she's read that some haven't eaten in three days.

World Central Kitchen is quickly expanding its #ChefsForUkraine response to distribute food  including hot, fresh meals in five countries. It has opened a kitchen and food supply depot in Poland, on the border with Ukraine, and has multiple warehouses active in Lviv where trucks are filled with food to reach cities like Odessa and Mykolayiv, according to the organization's website.

It is also supporting restaurants to serve meals in Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and Kyiv, which remain under active attack, according to its website.

As a restaurateur, Bulgrin said, she feels compelled to help raise money for food and water.

"There's a real crisis," she said. "People are going without... As I looked at that, I said, 'What can I do?' And one of the things that I've learned is that there's a wonderful organization called World Central Kitchen that actually goes into these areas that are in desperate need. And they cook for people. They train people who are on the ground, and they work with them to try and do whatever they can to feed people."

Andres started the organization in 2017, focusing on Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

"It's amazing what they do," Bulgrin said. "Whether it's Ukraine or any other country that's in desperate need, I just wanted to make sure that (the Ukrainian) people realize we're here to help them and to support them."

Eric Skrum, a spokesman for Culver's, said the majority of Culver's restaurants are independently owned and operated, and participating restaurants are donating sales amounts from 10% to 100%.

He said "Make Your Meal Matter" signs are being displayed in the participating Culvers restaurants.

Culver Franchising System owns and operates six restaurants that are donating 10% of Tuesday's sales to World Central Kitchen's efforts, Skrum said.

Read more restaurant news at: go.madison.com/restaurants

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A problem with having a big influx of funds, in this case hundreds of millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, is that its often accompanied by a long line of organizations with their hands out, advocating for one worthy cause after the other. The needs are almost always greater than the windfall, no matter how large, and many will leave empty-handed, despite the meaningful benefit their projects could offer individuals.

One such worthwhile proposal thats in jeopardy before the General Assembly would provide subsidies to certain small businesses and nonprofits to help them and their employees better afford health insurance plans on the Maryland Health Connection, the states health insurance marketplace.

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The legislation, House Bill 709 and Senate Bill 632, calls for up to $45 million in subsidies annually for calendar years 2024 through 2029 for businesses and nonprofits with 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees, and an additional $3 million in outreach. Unfortunately for the bill, it was to be subject to the availability and receipt of federal funds, which is never a guarantee, and Marylands pile of money is already largely claimed.

Theres a movement underway to salvage a sliver of the proposal, and we heartily hope lawmakers see the merits. While it would likely only affect a few thousand people, rather than tens of thousands as in the original bill, every little bit counts.

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Just 37% of small businesses in the state provide health coverage to their employees, compared with 95% of large employers. That means workers either pay full freight themselves or go without. Helping small businesses cover some of the cost would also help them attract workers. And it would help workers get on the health insurance rolls, offering them protection from the often bankrupting price of unexpected medical care.

Theres also an equity factor to be considered. As of last year, nearly 40% of Marylands small businesses were owned by people of color, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. And nearly 43% of small business employees are non-white. These groups are also the least likely to have health coverage. While the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act in 2010 helped close the gap, some gains were lost during the Donald Trump administration, and disparities persist today.

The last ditch effort to push the bill forward comes at a steep price, however; so steep, you cant even call it a compromise. The details are still being worked out, but for now, advocates are recommending a two-year pilot program of $3 million in subsidies each year, paid for from the state budget. Eligible employers would now include those with 1 to 10 employees, not up to 25, and they would be required to have not offered group health insurance to their workers for the prior 12 months.

The basic criteria of the reworked proposal are modeled after a 2007 state law, known as the Working Families and Small Business Health Coverage Act. It offered a health insurance tax credit that left only 35% to 50% of the insurance premium on an employers tab  a significant discount. Under that program, health insurance was extended to more than 100,000 uninsured Marylanders from July 2008 to May 2015, when it was shut down on speculation that small business tax credits from the Affordable Care Act would make the state program unnecessary.

It didnt work out that way, however. There wasnt enough money, and few took advantage of it because of a cumbersome structure, leading the state to once again look for ways to boost health insurance coverage on its own. The size of the subsidy in todays proposal would be determined by the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, which oversees the Maryland Health Connection. Its expected to help at least 2,000 people get coverage.

At a cost of $6 million, its a bargain.

The original bills introduced in the legislature this year had bipartisan support, if not financial backing, and wed hope to see the same for the scaled down pilot. If it proves worthy after two years, wed also expect it to grow in the future  but with dedicated funding.

Baltimore Sun editorial writers offer opinions and analysis on news and issues relevant to readers. They operate separately from the newsroom.
Feehan responds to panels decision

Bill Feehan, chairman of the La Crosse Republican Party, issued the following statement after the Wisconsin Elections Commission denied a complaint seeking sanctions against the 10 Republicans, including a member of the commission, who signed paperwork attempting to hand Wisconsins Electoral College votes to President Donald Trump:

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has voted 6-0 to dismiss a complaint against me and the other Republican Presidential Electors from Wisconsin.

Democrat Attorney General Josh Kaul concluded that since the outcome of the presidential election was still in doubt on Dec. 14, the GOP electors were within their rights when they cast votes for Trump to ensure the Senate received them by the deadline.

As was said publicly at the time, Wisconsin Republican electors were advised by legal counsel to keep legal options open by meeting and signing papers in support of President Trump should lawsuits on appeal ultimately be successful.

The actions of the Republican electors were done in accordance with precedent. Democrats did the very same thing in the Presidential race of 1960. Nixon was the winner on election day, but after two recounts Kennedy was declared the winner. Only because the Democrat electors met and cast their ballots were the votes for Kennedy able be counted.

This complaint perpetuated a false narrative by Democrats that the Republican Electors were part of a plot to overturn the November 2020 election. The illegitimate Jan. 6 Commission has even subpoenaed electors as part of this smear campaign.

Democrats and their allies are trying to criminalize political activity. These fear and intimidation tactics are intended to discourage people from political involvement. I hope voters can see the dishonesty of the Democrat Party and their incredible failure in governing. Which they are now trying to cover up with baseless attacks upon Republicans.

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COVID-19 cases are still on the decline at the state and county levels.

In Wisconsin, coronavirus activity is rated high for the two-week period ending March 15. The states case burden was 104.7 per 100,000, with a 14% drop in trajectory. La Crosse County is also categorized at high, with a burden of 243.9 per 100,000 and no significant change in trajectory.

All counties are now in the high or medium category.

The state as of Wednesday had a seven-day average of 347 new cases per day for a 2.8% positivity rate. A total of 12,424 deaths were confirmed as of Wednesday, including 173 in La Crosse County. Statewide, confirmed cases totaled 1,387,933 with 34,462 among La Crosse County residents.

The CDCs COVID 19 County Check shows La Crosse County at low as of Wednesday, with masking not imperative. The CDC metric factors in the number of hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. DHS analyzes total new cases and percent change for its rating.

The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported 271 current COVID-19 hospitalizations as of Tuesday, including 15 ICU patients. In the Western region, those numbers were 52 and two, respectively. For the two-week period ending March 15, DHS reported a decrease in overall hospitalizations, with no significant change in Western Wisconsin. Statewide 41.2% of hospitals had their ICUS at peak capacity.

In Wisconsin, 60.6% of residents were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, with 33.2% boosted. For La Crosse County residents, the numbers were 65.9% and 39.1%, respectively.

Colleges alter masking policies

Western Technical College is longer requiring masks in campus buildings, and Viterbo University will only require face coverings in the Health Services Center, or if a specific program, such as nursing, necessitates them in clinical or other settings. Viterbo does still recommend masks, stating individuals are strongly encouraged to continue to wear a mask for their safety and for those around them.

UW-La Crosse and the School District of La Crosse earlier this month removed mask requirements.

Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net.

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From a peer respite center in La Crosse, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed three bills into law Wednesday that increase the penalties for fentanyl distribution, decriminalize fentanyl testing strips and centralize data on substance abuse throughout the state.

Surrounded by state and local leaders at La Crosse Lighthouse, Inc., Evers signed Senate Bills 352, 600 and 49 into law, which have received overwhelming bipartisan support.

These are all incredibly important legislation pieces, parts of which my administration has worked for years to support that will provide life saving and meaningful changes to our state, Ever said, saying they will continue to create a healthier and safer state.

The bills come as overdose rates continue to climb, in part due to the rise of fentanyl. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was shared by Evers office, more than 93,000 people died by overdose in 2020, the highest number ever recorded in a single year in the U.S.

Overdose deaths in La Crosse County are already on pace to beat the record 39 fatal overdoses in 2020. There were nine suspected fatal drug overdose cases through the first two months of 2022, many of them linked to fentanyl.

We have to change this reality for Wisconsinites, folks, and thats why were here doing that today, Evers said.

The first of the three bills would align the penalties for manufacturing, distributing or delivering fentanyl with that of heroin.

The idea for the bill was developed by La Crosse law enforcement, and La Crosse investigators James Mancuso and Andrew Tolvstad testified in front of the Assembly on behalf of the bill.

We hope this will deter people from bringing these large amounts into our communities and hold those accountable who do bring it in and sell it, Tolvstad said at Wednesdays press conference.

The second bill  which was originally proposed on Evers budget and was removed from the adopted version  decriminalizes strips that test for the presence of fentanyl or a fentanyl analog.

These strips are a harm reduction tool, officials said, as fentanyl has become more commonly used to lace certain drugs, increasing the potency and danger.

According to Wisconsin Department of Health Services Director of Opioid Initiatives, Paul Krupski, fentanyl is likely present in all drugs these days, from heroin and cocaine to marijuana. He said that while this bill does not include free testing strips, the DHS has discussed that option.

Ultimately the goal is to reduce harm and hopefully prevent overdose and death by increasing the likelihood of getting treatment rather than entering our justice system, Evers said.

The third bill will create a centralized data and information system on substance abuse around the state, helping better connect the many different pieces and agencies focused on the crisis.

These bills were described by officials as a bipartisan win, receiving nearly unanimous approval from the state Legislature and committees.

This is a perfect example. We have a significant issue in the state of Wisconsin, Evers said. People are dying because of it. And weve brought together a really good group of folks to make it happen in a bipartisan way.

This was especially true for the bill on fentanyl strips, which was previously axed from Evers biennial budget.

The good news it that we have people that stuck with it, Evers said, chalking its removal up to politics. He said, thank God officials pushed to create the bill.

Rep. Jill Billings, D-La Crosse, who sponsored all three bills, said a Milwaukee representative she was mentoring first noticed the fentanyl strip bill was missing and helped keep the momentum.

My first piece of advice was: find your champions on both sides of the aisle. And she did and so we got it through, which, as the governor said, thats the most important thing, Billings said Wednesday.

She also gave a nod to fellow sponsor Rep. Jesse James, R-Altoona, and recent state Senate candidate, for his work on the bills.

Its no surprise right? Western Wisconsin knows how to work in a bipartisan manner, and we know that these issues need a bipartisan approach, Billings said.

State officials commended the Coulee Region for its services to mental health and substance abuse, including host of the press conference La Crosse Lighthouse. It serves as a short-term residency and support system for those in recovery.

DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake and other officials said that the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic go hand-in-hand, as many of the same core local services have been instrumental in tackling both and the pandemic has only exacerbated mental health and substance abuse issues.

Timberlake touted the success of that network by plugging the Evers administrations statewide tour thanking COVID-19 heroes.

While COVID-19 is not over, we are at a place where hospitalizations are way, way down, cases are way, way down, everybodys feeling better, kids are back in school, not wearing masks perhaps, and we all have something to celebrate, Timberlake said.

COVID-19 precautions have begun to drop around the state and country, though new surges in Europe and around the globe caution that this lull in cases at home may not last.

La Crosse Lighthouse encouraged guests to wear masks on Wednesday, and Gov. Evers wore a mask due to a bad cold that he did not want to spread, he said.

These new bills are only one tool in the shed, officials said. Timberlake also promoted federal funding that will go towards treatment and build another data system that increases accessibility to treatment, among other similar initiatives.

IN PHOTOS: Gov. Tony Evers visits vaccination site at UWL Uploaded Photos Evers at UWL Gov. Tony Evers, center, is accompanied by numerous officials Tuesday, including UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow, UW System President Tommy Th Uploaded Photos Gov. Evers at UWL Gov. Tony Evers, right, is accompanied by numerous officials including UW System President Tommy Thompson, center, during a tour of the new CO Uploaded Photos Gov. Evers at UWL Gov. Tony Evers tours the new COVID-19 vaccination clinic Tuesday at the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center on the UW-La Crosse campus. Lifestyles web only Governor Evers tours vaccine clinic at UWL Evers at UWL Gov. Tony Evers speaks at the opening of La Crosse County's COVID-19 vaccination clinic at UW-La Crosse on Tuesday. Initially, the clinic will Tour of site Aron Newberry, vaccine lead for the La Crosse County Health Department, leads Gov. Evers and other state officials on a tour of the site. Education top story Meet these 28 notable UW-La Crosse alumni This list, courtesy of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, highlights some of the most accomplished people who have studied there.

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Western Technical College is hosting a series of events on Thursday, March 17 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Lunda Center, 333 7th St. N., La Crosse.

Westerns annual Suits for Success, which offers free, gently used professional clothing, will be open to the public. The event will offer suits, blouses, sweaters, dresses, and dress shoes. Individuals will also have the ability to have a professional headshot taken, and Westerns Career Services will be on hand to offer job assistance.

Westerns Part-Time, Internship, and Volunteer Career Fair will also be open to the public that day. Twenty-one employers, including Altra Family Credit Union, Festival Foods, and Kwik Trip will be on hand to connect with students about potential job opportunities.

To learn more information on Westerns programs or services, call 608.785.9200 or visit www.westerntc.edu.

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Patricia Era Bath (1942-2019) was born in Harlem and was encouraged by her parents to pursue education and travel.

At 16, Dr. Bath was one of a few students to attend a cancer research workshop sponsored by the NSF. The program director was so impressed by her work, he included it in a scientific journal article. Dr. Bath graduated from high school in two years, and then attended Hunter College for her bachelors degree, followed by Howard University for a medical degree. She completed a fellowship for ophthalmology at Columbia University and then worked as an intern at both Harlem Hospital and Columbia University.

Dr. Bath noticed that half the patients at the Harlem eye clinic were blind in contrast to hardly any of the patients at the Columbia clinic being blind. After conducting an epidemiological study, she concluded that the high prevalence of blindness in Blacks was because of lack of access to ophthalmologic care. Dr. Bath founded the discipline of community ophthalmology which focused on outreach to traditionally underserved populations.

It is estimated that this outreach has saved the sight of thousands of people. In 1977, Dr. Bath and three others formed the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, and as its director, traveled widely offering services to those in industrial and developing countries.

Sponsored by AAUW La Crosse; researched by Ann Brice.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday he is meeting with advocates for decertifying President Joe Bidens win in the battleground state, hours before he and the state Senates top Republican were to discuss the topic with county GOP leaders.

Vos, R-Rochester, told The Associated Press he was also inviting those who believe the 2020 election cannot be decertified to discuss it along with advocates for decertification on Wednesday.

I still believe that we do not have the ability to decertify, but I said I would listen to those who are bringing experts to say we can and we will see if they can prove their case, Vos said in an interview.

Vos has been under pressure from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans who support his false claims that the election was stolen and say Vos is not doing enough, including decertifying Bidens win.

The meetings come after the investigator hired by Vos, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, earlier this month urged lawmakers to consider decertifying Bidens win.

Trump said last week that he was confident that Robin will exercise his moral duty and follow up on Gablemans finding, including dissolving the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Vos has said he does not support that. Trump also said, I would imagine that there can only be a Decertification of Electors.

Vos and other Republican leaders have repeatedly said that would not be done, citing opinions from the Legislatures nonpartisan attorneys who have said such a move is illegal. Rick Esenberg, the head of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, also says decertification is illegal.

One of those who will attend the meeting with Vos on Wednesday is former Menomonee Falls village president Jefferson Davis. He has organized a pair of rallies at the Capitol attended by Rep. Tim Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, a GOP candidate for governor who has introduced resolutions to decertify the vote.

Davis said he and others will be presenting evidence to Vos that shows there were between 250,000 and 300,000 fake ballots cast in the election and that decertification can legally be done.

Davis said the goal is to convince Vos and other Republicans that Bidens win should be pulled back or the election should be held again.

What has to change tomorrow is Robin Vos heart and head and soul, Davis said.

Bidens win by just under 21,000 votes over Trump has withstood lawsuits, recounts and reviews by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau.

Gablemans report, which was panned by Democrats and Republicans, did not provide any evidence to back up Davis claims of more than 250,000 illegally cast ballots. To date, only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trumps own attorney general has said there was no widespread fraud.

Still, some Republicans refuse to back down and Vos has authorized Gablemans investigation to continue.

Also Tuesday, the Green Lake County district attorney said she would not press criminal charges against a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission after determining there wasnt sufficient evidence to prove she had committed a crime leading up to the 2020 election.

Three district attorneys have now decided against filing charges against board members who voted not to send election deputies into nursing homes in 2020 to assist residents with voting due to restrictions during the pandemic, a decision that Gableman and others have said opened the door to fraud.

So far, district attorneys in Milwaukee, Racine and Green Lake counties have all declined to bring charges as recommended by a Trump-backing sheriff, citing a lack of evidence. Marge Bostelmann, a Republican, was the latest commissioner not to be charged.

On Wednesday night in Plover, Vos, state Republican Party Chairman Paul Farrow and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu plan to meet county Republican Party leaders.

Farrow, who called the meeting, said he expected about half of the discussion to focus on election integrity issues.

Farrow said he is focused on the fall election  in which Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are on the ballot  not relitigating 2020, and he hopes that following the meeting local leaders will feel the same.

A Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin residents released earlier this month found that 67% of respondents said they were very or somewhat confident the election results were accurate. But 61% of Republicans were not confident.

Davis said GOP leaders need to listen more to the concerns of grassroots Republicans who believe the election was stolen.

This is the No. 1 issue in Wisconsin and its not going away, Davis said.

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When I left my parents farm in Elroy to attend UW-Madison, we were so poor that I carried my belongings in a paper bag instead of a suitcase. I went on to earn a law degree, serve in the Legislature, get elected to four terms as governor, lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as its secretary, and become president of the University of Wisconsin System.

Its been an honor to serve as UW System president these past 20 months. And in my final weeks in office, Ive been visiting our 13 universities, meeting with community and business leaders, faculty and staff, and students. I wanted to thank our employees and students for their resilience during the pandemic, point out our accomplishments and share a few final thoughts about higher education in our state.

First, its time we stop apologizing for UW and start bragging about it. The UW System is Wisconsins greatest asset other than its people. We need to let everybody know what a great value for students we have here, perhaps with a robust marketing campaign, because the returns to our state when our UW succeeds are tremendous.

I want our states young people and their parents to hear how vitally important a university education is to their individual growth, to our Wisconsin communities and to our states economic health. To become the engineers, doctors, teachers, writers, data scientists and conservationists of tomorrow, you need a university degree. And our universities are key to providing critical thinking skills that help develop citizens in an information-rich society. A college degree is more important than ever.

While UW System remains critical, we are facing challenges. So here are a few things I want everyone to think about:

A blue ribbon commission should be established to study the future of public higher education in our state. The Wisconsin Technical College System has been a great partner. But demographic, financial and other challenges compel us to seek ways to collaborate and innovate.

We also must avoid regionalizing our universities, which would have the effect of reducing enrollment and access for students. But we should continue to build on operational efficiencies here at UW System.

Being on a UW campus and taking classes in person is a quintessential part of the higher education experience. We must continue to support the residential university because that is the kind of education our students deserve and parents expect. But we also must find ways to better offer education credits online  including to the estimated 815,000 Wisconsinites who have some college credit but no degree. We have proven that we offer a quality education online, but we need to do more or else we will fall further behind.

We need to highlight the unique qualities that make our universities special. That doesnt mean we eliminate dozens of majors. But it might mean identifying a few fantastic programs and departments at each campus and building them up by adding professors and resources and recruiting more students. More targeted specialization will enhance our universities and make them more attractive.

The past 20 months has been a whirlwind of activity and challenges, yet I have now seen firsthand the extraordinary opportunity our 13 universities offer students and families throughout Wisconsin. Lets keep it that way and make it even better.

Thompson is leaving his job as president of UW System this week: www.wisconsin.edu/president.

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For the first time in two years due to the pandemic, the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, will offer its popular arts access program, Seasonal Saturdays, with an in-person, onsite event Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Seasonal Saturdays at MMAM are fun-filled, exciting, inviting days offering $1 admission for all, free transportation, a themed art activity for all ages and abilities, artist-led programming, live music in the galleries, and 30-minute tours related to MMAMs current exhibitions and the changing theme of each event.

This is the first of four Seasonal Saturday event days planned for 2022, one per season.

Curator of Education, Heather Casper, said, We are cautiously optimistic that people will feel comfortable and excited to return to this event to connect with each other and the artworks. We have been really thoughtful as we have prepared the offerings for the day and hope people leave energized and refreshed.

Activities for Marchs Winter Seasonal Saturday will focus around the theme of Community Threads and celebrate the exhibition currently on view called Cloth as Community: Hmong Textiles in America. There will be two live artist demonstrations.

Yang Vue will showcase and demonstrate Paaj Ntaub or Pa Doa (pronounced pan dau), a Hmong needlework flower cloth from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Cha Neng Vang will play the Hmong instrument Qeej (pronounced geng) from 1 to 3 p.m.

Additionally, there will be a block print fabric art-making activity for all ages and abilities throughout the day.

Cellist Rachel Ryan will perform in the gallery from 11 a.m. to noon, and Heart Strings Harp Circle will perform from 3 to 4 p.m. There will be a bingo gallery game for all ages to earn a prize and an opportunity to partake in a community weaving activity all day long.

Every hour, MMAM staff and tour guides will offer 30-minute tours to introduce participants to the exhibitions. There will be a MMAM Highlights Tour focusing on select paintings in the American and European exhibitions, and to celebrate the theme of Community Threads, there will be a special tour called Artful Threads that will explore the fabric, fashion, and cloth represented in select artworks on view at MMAM.

Project FINE will be onsite all day to offer interpretation for Spanish and Hmong speaking participants. For more information and for a detailed schedule of events, visit.mmam.org/seasonal-saturdays.

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Fulton Financials chairman and CEO, E. Philip Wenger, announced Wednesday his plan to retire at the end of the year after 43 years at the company.

Fulton President and COO Curtis Myers will take over Wengers positions at the start of next year, according to the announcement. At that time, Wenger will shift to a director role with the companys banking arm, Fulton Bank.

"I have spent all of my banking career at Fulton, and it has been a privilege to work for such an exceptional company and with such a talented team, Wenger said in a news release. Im very proud of all that we have accomplished together. When I retire in December, I will do so with complete confidence in Curt Myers and his senior management team.

Wenger first joined Fulton Bank in 1979 and became executive vice president of corporate banking in 1996, according to the companys news release. He rose to greater positions on the banking side and in 2006 became senior vice president for Fulton Financial.

Fulton Bank is the largest commercial bank in Lancaster County.

Wenger has held his current roles as chairman and CEO since 2013.

Myers came to Fulton on the banking side in 1990 and joined Fulton Banks senior management team in 2004. He became president and CEO of Fulton Bank and COO of Fulton Financial in 2018.

I have had the pleasure of working with Phil for more than 31 years, Myers said in a news release. "He has been a thoughtful and decisive leader, through good times and challenging times, and I have learned a lot from him.

Fulton Financial Corporation maintains holdings of about $26 billion, according to the news release. Its commercial banking operation has 200 locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Virginia.
Seasonal workers have been coming to pick crabs on Maryland's Eastern Shore since the 1980s but problems with limited visas has reduced the number available to help. (Baltimore Sun)

Problem No. 1: There arent enough workers to pick the crab meat. (Only one Maryland crab processor won the guest worker lottery, and the rest worry about their futures, March 11)

Problem No. 2. The squeegee workers are on the street asking for handouts of money.

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Idea: Lets get the squeegee workers to the Eastern Shore where they can pick the crab meat.

For certain, they will need to be taught. And perhaps they do not have a good work ethic, but some will learn. Add other unemployed persons living in the city to the crab industry. Perhaps that will relieve some of the pressure on both sides of the equation: I need a job versus we need workers right here in Maryland.

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Zippy Larson, Baltimore

Add your voice: Respond to this piece or other Sun content by submitting your own letter.
In 1969, Hempfield High School graduate Lucretia Bramlett took a gap year from Penn State and ended up at Woodstock.

Colin Cook, her son, heard the stories of her trek with a boyfriend to Bethel, New York, to join about 500,000 other people at what would become a legendary music and arts festival. The stories were handed down to him as a teenager through the family members, many of whom had heard them secondhand.

Lucretia, a theater major who went on to a career with Armstrong World Industries, died at 49 after an accidental fall, weeks after Colins 7th birthday.



Colin, as an inquisitive teenager with a love of history and a whisp of a story to go on, began a journey  to see his mother at Woodstock.

It started with a 1970 documentary, and then photos. Books. Any other Woodstock-related ephemera that Colin could get his hands on.

I have a lot of family photo albums from her entire life, said Colin, now 32 and living in Lancaster with his partner, Rachel. Losing a parent when you're young, you don't have many memories, so my actual visual memories of her are few. I've got to be honest - there were many, many times where I thought I saw someone that looked like her and then Id just stare at it and think, 'Is it?' I'd find a photo to compare, and it just didn't check out, almost like a you-see-what-you-want-to-see kind of thing.

For 15 years, Colin searched through angle after angle of the massive crowd, trying to find the face of someone who might not actually have even been there in the first place.

In January, a targeted ad caught his eye. He was used to this by now, as his consistent web searches for Woodstock-related content now fed him regular targeted advertising for the festival. It was a gallery called 57 Photos of Woodstock Youve Probably Never Seen Before -- a clickbait headline that turned out to be true.

The photo, which is #14 in this gallery, centered on a young woman in a dark dress picking up garbage on the grounds of the festival. Shes perfectly centered between hippies lounging on scaffolding in the back and a foreground littered with mud and camping supplies.

But just to this womans left is another woman, clad in a yellow dress, with her hand to her mouth, either mid-yawn or mid-thought, looking off into the distance.

Colin knew he had found his mother.

This one was a punch to the gut, just a really wild feeling where I thought, 'Oh my god, that's got to be it,' he said. I took a day to really compare photos, looking at the hairline, the eyes, the nose, all that. Then I reached out to family to confirm, and everyone individually said, yeah that's got to be her.



Dad said it best -- That would be your mother.

The picture was taken by famed Life Magazine photographer Bill Eppridge. Eppridge was known for his photojournalistic spreads on the death of Robert Kennedy, the Beatles arrival in America and dozens of other historical moments of the 20th century  including Woodstock.

About Lucretia

Lucretia Bramlett was born in Millville, New Jersey, in 1947, moving to Lancaster County with her family as a child.

She was a 1965 graduate of Hempfield High School and left for Penn State to become a theater major. Colin, who has his mothers diaries from the period, says Lucretia took a break from Penn State in part due to frustrations with her fellow student actors, though she would eventually return to stage plays at the 5O Clock Theater and graduate.

In 1973, she was hired by Armstrong World Industries and climbed the corporate ladder for the following quarter-century, eventually becoming the manager of marketing and communications for Armstrongs Installation Products division.

She lived life on a very big scale, said Tom Cook of Lancaster, no relation, who worked closely with Lucretia during their time together in Armstrongs advertising division. You don't remember a lot of people you work with, but her memory is etched in my mind. We traveled a lot together. We would check into a hotel, and her idea of a joke was saying, 'We're not getting along, we need separate rooms,' and then I'd have to go back down and tell them that we weren't married.

Despite their many similarities, Tom  who is now retired -- chuckles at the thought of also attending the famed music festival if he had had the chance.

She was a lot hipper than I was. I wouldn't have been caught dead at Woodstock - it would've ruined my shoes, all that mud, he says.

The missing piece

Lucretia met the man who would become her husband, Colin Cook, in 1985 after he moved from his home of Newcastle, England, to the United States.

The Cooks had two other children  Colins twin sister, Kate, who lives in Idaho, and older brother, Bill, in Lancaster. The elder Colin Cook, of Lancaster, instilled a love of music and the classics -- The Band, CCR, etc. -- to his namesake at an early age.

We were always looking, always wondering, said Bill Cook, of Lancaster. That was part of my brother's journey, I think, was to learn about her. They would have been best friends. My mom was a really cool person, so I think for my brother, not being able to talk to her about Woodstock or learn more, this was a great way to sort of figure out what she was doing there, where she sat and what bands she saw. We at least got a little picture of that.

Not long after confirming his mothers visage, he posted the story to social media and received kindness from an internet stranger in the form of several enlarged versions of the photo.

For Bill, who followed in his mothers footsteps by becoming an advertising professor at Temple University, his brothers search is an example of how easily moments can be lost to time.

My whole struggle with not having our mom is that you don't get to pass on these stories, Bill said. You don't get to sit and talk and drink wine and reminisce. So, for me, it's the importance of storytelling, I feel like it gets lost in this generation. This is history, and it's so important to share these things and live these experiences. My struggle is I wish I had more time and I wish I knew more, and I don't want anybody to ever have to think that.

Colin never gave up his search, simply because he always had it in the back of his head that he would one day find her.

It's almost like adding a little chapter, continuing it, Colin said. All this stuff is sort of teaching me about her. As much as you get from friends and families and people who worked with her, there's a lot that I can learn about her personally from this stuff, but this piece was always missing. What to read next
When I was little, my mom shopped at a corner store in Philly. Thats what she called it, the corner store, a tiny-aisled, triangular-shaped shop with a deli counter at the far end. They were as plentiful as churches in city neighborhoods  churches, barber shops and, oh, pubs, where my dad might have gone a time or two. Theres something to be said about familiar businesses that mix together to serve a community.

These days, neighborhood pubs provide that spot, the one that greets you at the end of a weary week when you just want to get away to eat, drink and be merry. And just like those corner stores, these spots cater specially to locals.

They are not for fine dining  and we like it that way. Were talking beer and burgers, one-page menus and maybe even plastic forks.

Here are six Lancaster County pubs, some with rich history in the area, some brand new. Below, find menu highlights, whether or not they source ingredients locally and whats special about each establishment.

Wacker Brewing Co.

312 Beaver Valley Pike, Willow Street

Local vendors: Grandview Vineyard wines.

Whats special?: Display of one-of-a-kind motorcycles from 1919 to 1971.

Belly fillers: Full-size wings are smoked first, then fried for deep flavor. Pair with the Belgian ale or Bohemian pilsner. Tip: Chef Rashaun Jamisons favorite is the chicken slider with his ghost rider sauce.

With roots in Lancaster since 1870, Wacker Brewery has deep ties to serving the locals, but this place is unlike any other. Co-located with Thistle Finch Distillery before opening in Willow Street on March 20, 2021, it now occupies one end of the Lancaster Harley-Davidson warehouse.

It houses a vintage collection of motorcycles that belong to the Texter family, whose patriarch Ray Texter owned and managed the motorcycle business for nearly 50 years. Manager Hanna Eichelman said the odd striping in the parking lot designates a popular motorcycle training area.

The roadhouse has a museum-like quality without any of the hushed pretense  quite the opposite. Like most pubs, the menu is small but food quality is robust.

Trio

3707 Marietta Ave., Columbia

Local Vendors: Wyndridge Cider Co. and the brewing companies of Ever Grain, Troegs, Pour Mans, Victory and St. Boniface.

Whats special?: The lobster roll offers melt-in-your-mouth lobster chunks on a split-top roll grilled in butter which seriously rivals those served in Maine.

Belly fillers: Marinated chicken makes for a juicy, flavorful chicken quesadilla. Try with a no explanation needed draft like Yuengling lager.

Being called by name instantly makes a person feel welcome. We are definitely the Cheers of West Hempfield, Trio owner Becky Lyristis says. I can tell you all the names of the people up at the bar.

East Hempfield natives, she and husband Tony kept the name Trio when they took over in 2014 and expanded the menu. Now looking to scale back food items, they meet one obstacle. I can put a face with every item on the menu and Im like, Oh, that persons gonna be mad if I take it away,  Lyristis says.

Moo-Duck Brewery

79 S. Wilson Ave., Elizabethtown

Local vendors: Groffs Meats, Uncle Henrys pretzels, Dutch Country Foods soft pretzels, Hippeys hot dogs, Thoms Bread.

Whats special?: Bartender Jaye Crist is a local artist whose work is displayed in the taproom.

Belly fillers: Grilled cheeseburger on Thoms Bread, or owners recommendation, the bacon platter. Our customers love bacon, said Kristen Brubaker. Accompany it with the amber lager A Beer for Dad.

Owner Kristen Brubaker says customers describe Moo-Duck as a coffee shop disguised as a brewery. Brubaker and her husband Mike opened Moo-Duck in 2014 to welcome locals, including even young families.

The Brubakers want customers to relax and linger. A sign reads: No TVs. Conversations welcome. People gather in our taproom to catch up, have a meal or a meeting, Brubaker says.

Conestoga Restaurant

150 E. King St., Lancaster

Local Vendors: Harold Keener Potatoes.

Whats special?: Outside dining in nicer weather on the spacious deck that sits alongside the Conestoga River.

Belly fillers: Owners recommend the roasted lamb osso buco, or gyros (both come with homemade bread). Accompany with a Guinness on tap.

A treat for diners at Conestoga Restaurant in Lancaster accompanies all entrees: homemade bread. Owner Marianthi Mountis explains its a must-have for every meal in a Greek family.

One lucky night, it was a flat, round loaf instead of their usual puffy globe because, says Marianthis son Alex Mountis, he let it proof too long. Traditionally, thats what they do in Greece, and its crispier as a result.

The Mountis family, owners since 1999, come from the Greek island of Chios. Their menu hearkens to their heritage and is turning increasingly toward Greek favorites, Alex Mountis said.

Dating from 1742, the building has always housed an establishment called Conestoga either as an inn or restaurant. Way back when, pubs were more than a place to eat, drink and socialize; they offered a nights lodging to worn out travelers and were located on popular byways.

Black Forest Brewery

301 W. Main St., Ephrata

Local Vendors: Waltz Vineyards and a rotating fun beer from local breweries.

Whats special?: New dining area made entirely from reclaimed materials including a chalkboard from Fulton Elementary, walls from a Narvon church, ceiling from an Exton barn and tin from a Morgantown hotel.

Belly fillers: Philly cheesesteak with provolone and a Conrad kolsch, or breakfast burger with a Black Forest porter.

Denise Harter planned her familys brewery in Ephrata as an extension of my living room. Black Forest Brewery opened seven years ago but added a dining area and kitchen in 2020. The new section opened one day before the coronavirus closed it but the community supported their takeout business.

The brewery follows German purity laws (Reinheitsgebot) using water, hops, grain and yeast. No other additives, Harter says, to make beer that tastes like beer.

Everyone talks to each other at the bar whether they know you or not, just like in pubs of old. The food is simple but plentiful, Harter says, like in your best friends den at Christmas.

Artifice Ales and Mead

55 N. Main St., Manheim

Local vendors: Wamplers honey

Whats special?: The mead! Both co-owner Julie Wrede and brewmaster Steven Becker couldnt name another mead maker in Lancaster County.

Belly fillers: Bruschetta sandwich with malted fries. Soaked in vinegar before frying, the fries taste tangy, yet crisp. Accompany it with Old Tom Cyser mead or the Revivified stout.

A basic recipe of honey, water and yeast yields mead, said to be the oldest known alcoholic beverage. Thats what sets apart a new brewpub in Manheim. Artifice co-owner Julie Wrede said they take age-old beer and mead recipes and make them new.

Wrede and husband Willie own Artifice along with Alfonso and Jeanette Soler and Duro Rajkovic, friends since their Donegal High School days. The friends opened Artifice in April 2021. They also own Meduseld Meadery in Lancaster, but dont look for axe throwing here. Instead, once weather changes, the covered patio includes darts, ring toss and cornhole.
A free and open to the public COVID-19 vaccination clinic is today from 1 to 4 p.m. at Millersville Universitys Student Memorial Center, 21 S George St.

The event is free and open to the public.

The event organizer is the South Central Task Force Medical Reserve Corp., which was awarded a grant to hold roughly 17 vaccination clinics, said Duane Hagelgans, a spokesperson for the task force.

While many of us have already been vaccinated, there are still many who need a first, second or even booster shot, Greg Noll, the task forces senior planning specialist, said in a news release.

Noll added, This opportunity to provide vaccines for the students, faculty and staff of Millersville, along with the entire community, is a great partnership.

All three COVID-19 vaccines will be available at the clinic.

The task forces Medical Reserve Corp has volunteered to assist in the vaccination campaign throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

While COVID-19 infections have declined dramatically since the omicron surge receded in February, Lancaster is still seeing cases. The seven day average for new cases on Tuesday was 21, according to state health department data. Across Pennsylvania the seven-day average was 762.

The task force collaborates with the private and public sector to create regional solutions for emergency preparedness. The South Central task force is comprised of the following nine counties: Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill and York.

For more on the task force, visit https://www.sctfpa.org/.
The former head of Lancaster Countys Drug Task Force secretly pocketed more than $200,000 in cash seized from suspected criminals over five years and used the money to support his own lifestyle, a state grand jury found.

Detective John Burkhart, 56, who was fired from the position in 2020 by newly elected District Attorney Heather Adams, deposited at least $170,000 into his personal bank account from 2015 to 2020 as he struggled financially, the grand jury alleges.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that his office had filed charges against Burkhart alleging theft by unlawful taking or disposition, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, forgery, tampering with records or identification, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

Mr. Burkhart abused his position of public trust to scam and defraud the citizens of Lancaster County and the Lancaster County Drug Task Force out of desperately needed funds, Shapiro said in announcing the charges. These funds should have been used to help law enforcement in Lancaster County battle the opioid epidemic. Instead, this money went into John Burkharts pocket.

Burkhart, of Faulkner Drive in East Hempfield Township, turned himself in to agents with the Attorney Generals Office on Tuesday afternoon. He was arraigned by District Judge Bruce Roth in Lancaster and released on $25,000 bail.

Burkhart is expected to appear at a preliminary hearing in the next two to four weeks. Those hearings determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence to hold a criminal trial.

I want to ensure the County, the public and our municipal stakeholders, that issues which led to these charges have been corrected.

Read the criminal complaint

Burkhart was fired from his position in March 2020. A memo written by Adams at the time alleged Burkhart had falsified a report and had poor managerial skills. Problems with his leadership, Adams wrote, led to substantial mishandling of evidence."

Burkhart claimed his firing was politically motivated. He told Judge Roth he had since found another job but did not disclose his employer.

"While we are pleased that the Attorney Generals Office has completed their investigation, its always concerning when a law enforcement officer has been charged with crimes indicating that he abused his power," Adams said. "We hope that this arrest does not shed a negative light on law enforcement that remain dedicated to the public, as our office and our Drug Task Force is. I want to ensure the County, the public and our municipal stakeholders, that issues which led to these charges have been corrected."

'Internal theft'

The grand jury's findings appear to answer one of the most perplexing and scandalous questions swirling around county government in recent years: How did all that money go missing from a law enforcement unit run by the District Attorney's Office?

In June 2020, the district attorney announced that an audit had revealed about $150,000 in civil asset forfeiture funds were missing in what was considered at the time to be a likely internal theft. The Attorney General's Office took over the investigation.

Adams said the missing funds were initially discovered in April 2020 by the officer in charge of the Drug Task Force, shortly after Burkhart was fired. The audit conducted after the initial discovery concluded that the seized cash was connected to less than a dozen drug investigations conducted from 2017 to 2019, but she did not go into details about the cases.

Testimony from Burkhart in a 2019 case involving Drug Task Force records revealed that only he and Detective Gregory Macey had access to the safe where funds were kept. Macey remains actively employed by the district attorneys office as a detective.

In a 2020 interview with LNP | LancasterOnline, Burkhart denied taking the funds. He said at the time that the combination was also known to Detective Joan Resh, but that a slip of paper on which it was written was kept in a folder on his desk and that theoretically anyone could have accessed it.

Burkhart is accused of stealing the nearly $200,000 through two different schemes, according to charging documents. The first was by taking the packets of cash from the safe, which prosecutors say he had nearly exclusive access to, according to the grand jury.

When a bank account was seized by the Drug Task Force, the bank would send a check to the Drug Task Force, and the check would be deposited into Lancaster Countys general fund account, according to the Attorney Generals Office.

The controllers office would then provide a check to the Drug Task Force in care of John Burkhart. "Burkhart was solely responsible for cashing those checks and placing the money into the safe until they were forfeited by court order, the attorney general said.

Burkhart is also accused of falsifying how much money was being deposited with the treasurers office. He was solely responsible for recording and delivering cash deposits from the Drug Task Force to the county treasurer after the seized assets were forfeited by court order.

Burkhart recorded false deposit amounts before they could be recorded by the treasurer and skimmed approximately $50,000 from 2015 through 2020, the attorney general said.

Timeline of the investigation March 2, 2020: District Attorney Heather Adams fires John Burkhart, citing the falsification of a report concerning Jordan Luis Morales, who had been charged with drug dealing. Adams also cited poor managerial skills as a reason for Burkhart's termination. Burkhart, a retired Lancaster city detective, had led the task force since 2011. Charges against Morales were dropped based on the alleged falsification of information on charting documents. April 20, 2020: Adam Weber, who was in charge of the task force, discovered money missing when he went to retrieve about $21,000 in cash that had been seized from Morales. May 14, 2020: Internal audit of all Drug Task Force evidence begins. It lasts until Sept. 25, 2020. June 1, 2020: Adams announces at a news conference that an internal audit uncovered $150,000 missing. This appears in every aspect to be an internal theft," she said. March 15, 2022: Attorney General Josh Shapiros office charges Burkhart with theft, forgery, tampering with records and tampering with evidence.

'Obvious Motive'

According to the attorney general's office, Burkhart had been under financial stress since the time he began with the Drug Task Force. A 2011 divorce required him to give $650 from each paycheck to his ex-wife, which would leave him with about $700 a paycheck.

According to a Dec. 31, 2018, list of salaries provided by the county, Burkhart's annual salary as head of the Drug Task Force was about $70,000.

In 2013, he began receiving a monthly pension benefit of $3,379.67 from his time as a Lancaster City police officer, though $767.77 of that went to his ex-wife.

A review of his bank account found that he was "barely breaking even at the end of each month" and witnesses testified to the grand jury that "Burkhart often complained about being in debt and discussed the fact that he was financially strained."

"Thus, the grand jury's review of Burkhart's bank account provided obvious motive to corroborate the already abundant evidence of Burkhart's pattern of theft," a criminal complaint against Burkhart reads.

Appearing in Roth's courtroom on Tuesday, a state prosecutor said the attorney general did not anticipate charging anyone else in the case "at this time" and that the grand jury had been closed.

We are sufficiently satisfied Burkhart acted alone, Molly Stieber, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, said.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Megan Madaffari.

The cases from which cash was stolen were initiated under former District Attorney Craig Stedman. Now an elected court of common pleas judge, Stedman said in June 2020 that access to the task force funds was limited and he was never made aware of any security issues.

While serving as district attorney, Stedman sought to deny release of drug task force spending details after LNP | LancasterOnline filed a Right-to-Know request to obtain them. Though the records would not have shed light on the alleged theft of task force funds, he also opposed releasing the documents to the county commissioners, which lead to a protracted intragovernmental legal dispute.

"This arrest confirms exactly why the Board of Commissioners for years asked questions about where the Drug Task Force money was going and why we fought for transparency over those funds despite attacks and attempts to silence us," Lancaster County Commissioner josh Parsons said. "Regardless of such attacks, we will always continue to stand up for good government, transparency over all taxpayer funds, and for justice to be served."

Reached Tuesday, Stedman said he could not comment on the charges because it was an active case, but his statement from June 2020 still stands.

He also disputed Parson's assertion that the board of commissioners was unaware of how forfeited funds were being used.
West Lampeter Township police are asking the public for help in identifying a man who robbed a local bank Monday afternoon.

The man arrived at the drive-through window of a Fulton Bank at 2430 Willow Street Pike at 4:57 p.m., handing the teller a note that claimed he had a bomb and demanding money, police said in a news release Wednesday.

Detective Philip Strosser said the man, who arrived in what appeared to be a gray or black 2019-2022 Nissan Altima, was given an undisclosed amount of cash.

Investigators do not believe the man actually had an explosive device at the time, Strosser said.

The bank's alarm alerted police to the robbery.

Anyone with information about the incident or who can help identify the suspect is urged to contact Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-4PA-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday that his office had filed charges against John Burkhart of East Hempfield Township, alleging theft by unlawful taking or disposition, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, forgery, tampering with records or identification, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

The complaint against Burkhart, 56, who was the former head of Lancaster County's Drug Task Force, alleges he secretly pocketed more than $200,000 in cash seized from suspected criminals over five years and used the money to "support his own lifestyle.

John Burkhart was fired from the position in 2020 by newly-elected District Attorney Heather Adams, deposited at least $170,000 into his personal bank account from 2015 to 2020 as he struggled financially, the grand jury alleges.

Mr. Burkhart abused his position of public trust to scam and defraud the citizens of Lancaster County and the Lancaster County Drug Task Force out of desperately needed funds, Shapiro said in announcing the charges. These funds should have been used to help law enforcement in Lancaster County battle the opioid epidemic. Instead, this money went into John Burkharts pocket."

You can read the criminal complaint below.
John E. Burkhart, a Penn Manor and Shippensburg graduate, joined the Lancaster city police in May 1988.

In 1991, Burkhart was one of two recipients of the Kauffman Lancaster Police Award, recognized for his applied enthusiasm in pursuing street-level drug dealers.

The other officer was Gregory Macey  who now works on the Drug Task Force and whose signature Burkhart is accused of forging on an evidence packet.

In 1996, Burkhart was named city patrolman of the year. Fellow officers described him as having a sixth sense in ferreting out illegal drug activity.

His tenure was also marred by accusations that he assaulted two men and threatened one with a gun during 2002 rape investigation.

In April 2003, the Pennsylvania Attorney General charged Burkhart with simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.

Later that year, a jury acquitted him, and he returned to the city criminal investigations division.

He retired from the city in 2009. That December, then-District Attorney Craig Stedman named Burkhart head of the Drug Task Force.
THE ISSUE

Lancaster County school districts are expected to receive a total of $211.56 million in federal pandemic relief funds. At least $19 million has been spent as of Dec. 1, according to reports by 14 districts, LNP | LancasterOnlines Ashley Stalnecker reported in Sundays Lancaster Watchdog column. The money has an expiration date. Federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds allocated in three waves  May 2020, January 2021 and March 2021  must be spent before Sept. 30, 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively. That leaves school districts busy deciding the best use for a large sum of funds.

This pandemic has highlighted problems that have been papered over for years: aging ventilation systems in schools, inadequate mental health counseling for students, patchy internet access in rural areas and low-income households.

So were heartened that school districts are using federal relief funds to address some of these deficiencies, seeking the input of stakeholders, as federally mandated, to decide how best to spend the money. As all government entities receiving federal relief money should do.

Some school districts, such as Solanco, are spending relief funds in ways that wont involve recurrent costs once those funds go away, Solanco Superintendent Brian Bliss told Stalnecker.

Some districts are adding staff members, but only on a temporary basis. Cocalico School District, however, is using its federal relief funds to pay for the salaries of nine mental health professionals already on staff, including counselors and psychologists, according to the districts assistant to the superintendent, Beth Haldeman.

Contrary to some other districts, those people will continue to remain our people, Haldeman said. Weve been very careful about how we allocate those funds because we want to ensure that theres sustainability.

Retaining these mental health professionals is both sensible and smart. In December, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory about the urgent need to address the nations youth mental health crisis, which he noted had been exacerbated by the pandemic. Even before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide  and rates have increased over the past decade, Murthy said. The future well-being of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation.

Murthy urged the recognition of mental well-being as an essential part of overall health, and advocated for mental health support for children and young people in educational, community and child care settings.

So kudos to Cocalico officials for using federal relief money to pay the salaries of professionals who are helping students not only to prepare for post-graduation life, but to stay mentally healthy as they learn.

Cocalico also, wisely, is hiring new teachers to reduce class sizes, and paying for supplies to tutor children and other learning loss programming, Stalnecker reported.

Conestoga Valley School District officials said that after conducting a community survey, they will spend two-thirds of the districts federal relief funds on facilities improvements, including water bottle filter stations and heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades  upgrades that are key to keeping students safely in the classroom when respiratory infections such as COVID-19 are spreading  and renovations to Huesken Middle School.

Solanco Superintendent Bliss told Stalnecker that his district created funding committees to enable community engagement and to determine the best uses of its federal funds.

It was harmonious; it was collaborative, Bliss said. There wasnt really disagreement about it. It was just discussing and trying to brainstorm ways to do this effectively and responsibly.

Imagine that.

Note to state legislative leaders and Gov. Tom Wolf in Harrisburg: Apparently its possible to allocate significant sums of money without rancor.

We were struck by something else Bliss said. His sprawling district covers 19% of Lancaster County land, Stalnecker noted, but is home to only 6% of the county's population.

Remote instruction was a unique challenge in rural areas just because of the lack of internet access, Bliss noted.

While relief funds could be spent on setting up hot spots  wireless internet connections  those hot spots would not remedy the issues in Solancos most rural areas, which have no broadband access.

Instead, Stalnecker noted, Solanco focused on establishing one-to-one technology (a laptop or technological device for each student) and expanding its Wi-Fi reach so students could do work from school parking lots.

Students should not have to sit in school parking lots to connect to the internet. As we wrote in Sundays editorial, there is a pressing need to expand broadband access in unconnected parts of Lancaster County.

Theres another challenge facing county school districts: They need more time to spend the relief money.

As Bliss pointed out, Solanco is just one of the multiple school districts planning to use federal relief funds to upgrade some of its HVAC systems, and so contractors are deluged with requests. Supply chain issues pose another hurdle.

The timeline of getting these grants completed before the grant expiration will represent a challenge, Bliss said.

Because of this, Stalnecker reported, the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials wants to see the deadline to spend the final portions of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding extended beyond 2024.

Originally, the proposed deadline was 2028, Andrew L. Armagost, director of advocacy and analytics for the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, told Stalnecker.

That would have enabled us as schools to essentially have longer planning periods, Armagost said. Construction takes a while, and were in a labor market and ... in an economic and demographic situation where prices are going up.

This makes a lot of sense.

As 2024 approaches, we hope U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker takes this concern to Washington, D.C.

In the meantime, Armagost said by email Tuesday, we are encouraging state lawmakers, education policymakers, school leaders and the like to understand the importance of these funds and the potential need to advocate with federal lawmakers/policymakers for an extension.

As he told Stalnecker, These are the type of funds that you just dont want to spend because you have to spend that by 2024.

We agree.

Any high school financial literacy class would teach students to plan major investments carefully. Likewise, school improvements shouldnt be made in an unnecessarily hurried and slapdash way because of arbitrary deadlines.

Of course, school districts  or any other government entities  should not be permitted to hoard relief funds for vague, future rainy day needs. Relief money is supposed to provide just that  relief  in the face of pressing needs.

Theres a way to differentiate between prudent planning and stashing away money, and the federal government should do it.

GET HELP

This editorial mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs immediate help, contact the following organizations:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, suicidepreventionlifeline.org,

800-273-8255.

Those who are deaf or hard of hearing can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline via TTY at 800-799-4889.

Lancaster Crisis Intervention, 717-394-2631.

This editorial was changed Wednesday, March 16, to clarify the status of the mental health professionals in Cocalico School District.
Changemaker NNaserri Carew-Johnson Inspired by her Mother and the Disney Dreamers Academy

When NNaserri Carew-Johnson arrived at the Disney Dreamers Academy in 2016, she didnt realize how much shed put herself in a box.

Thanks to the foundation of entertainer and Disney Dreamers Academy Celebrity Ambassador Steve Harvey, Carew-Johnson realized that she could use her passions and ideas to accomplish her creative goals and so much more.

Whether its the world, or other peoples ideas of what I should or could be, I, in the end, have the decision, and Disney Dreamers Academy changed my entire life, Carew-Johnson told NNPA Newswire.

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A double-major in economics at Stanford University and a changemaker, Carew-Johnson has traveled the world helping entrepreneurs and creatives monetize and scale visibility through digital marketing and conversion strategies.

While she credits Harveys foundation for learning about the academy, shes inspired most by her mother, who left her Sierra Leone home at 16 and immigrated to America to chase her dreams.

I realized that I could be a creative and that I could feed my passions, my soul, my purpose and still do other things, Carew-Johnson remarked.

I was born in Atlanta, but my mother was born and raised in Sierra Leone and came here and went to Temple University. She went through a lot of adversity to get to where shes at now. Because she is, I am, and she taught me how to dream.

You must be one heck of a risk-taker to leave the only home youve known to come to a new country and a new space for the single purpose of finding you, knowing you, and achieving. That is something instilled in me as a child  where I came from and how far Ive come, pushes and motivates me.

Carew-Johnson insists that she intends to use her passion for acting, business, international travel, and global service to effect change in communities worldwide.

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She declared that shes as motivated to initiate the change she felt her community desperately needed.

Carew-Johnson already has used the Disney Dreamers Academys education and inspiration to launch the charities Strength Over Society and Friends Birth Connection.

The first charity engages in community service projects and provides a safe space for young people to discuss social issues, trauma, and other matters.

Her Friends Birth Connection links members with children in shelters and orphanages who share their birthdays and sends party supplies to help them celebrate.

Carew-Johnson said she first heard the term changemaker from entrepreneur Martice Sutton, whos committed to women and girls empowerment, civic engagement, and economic development.

I have so many passions, so many things I want to contribute to the world, but how do you explain that to people who feel like you should have one particular lane? So, the idea of being a change maker is the best way to describe me, Carew-Johnson exclaimed.

Because of the Disney Dreamers Academy, I knew that I wanted to change music, change acting, and change how Black women perceive traveling around the world, and change access for Black youth around the world.
It sounds simple: Maryland pauses collection of its 36-cent gas tax and surging gas prices plummet overnight. But as the General Assembly began debating such a proposal Tuesday, it became clear that financial relief for Maryland motorists through a 30-day gas tax holiday is no guarantee.

Lawmakers questioned if there was any way to force gas stations to pass tax savings along to motorists  there isnt  and debated whether to extend it for as long as three months.

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I dont know if its really going to provide the impact that we hope for in 30 days, said Del. Jason Buckel, an Allegany County Republican, during a committee meeting. If its not a big help, it looks foolish.

After quick debate, committees in both the House and Senate unanimously advanced bills that lawmakers say all but ensure a swift drop in gas prices within days.

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On Tuesday, a gallon of regular gas cost Marylanders a near-record $4.25, on average, two cents lower than a day earlier, according to the automotive club AAA.

Both chambers could take up floor debate on the measures as early as Wednesday and send them along to Gov. Larry Hogan quickly. The Republican governor struck an agreement last week with Democratic legislative leaders on the plan and is expected to sign the bill.

Gov. Larry Hogan and Maryland lawmakers agreed to a 30-day suspension of the states tax on gas. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun )

The challenge, fuel industry representatives explained to lawmakers, was that gas stations would be unlikely to lower their prices until they sold out of gas held in underground storage tanks on which they already paid the state gas tax, which is slightly more than 36 cents a gallon. (The tax is actually paid by distributors who deliver fuel to stations, but is passed down the line to consumers.)

It would take some gas stations longer than others to sell through those stores, industry groups explained. Without a mechanism to help stations avoid absorbing the cost of the taxed fuel stores, it appeared less likely the tax savings would be passed on to motorists immediately.

Relief that has been so anticipated might not be felt as quick as a signature by the governor on Thursday night, Ellen Valentino, executive vice president of the Mid-Atlantic Petroleum Distributors Association, told senators.

A man pumps gas Friday at a BP gas station in Federal Hill in South Baltimore. (Ulysses Munoz/The Baltimore Sun)

Meanwhile, in a simultaneous hearing on the House side, delegates were being told that suspending collection of the gas tax would set a precedent that could threaten investment in roads that are waiting for billions of dollars in deferred maintenance investment as it is.

We should be spending more, said Michael Higgins, chairman of the Maryland Transportation Builders & Materials Association, not cutting the revenues on which those projects depend.

The states transportation trust fund, which invests gas tax money in road, bridge and tunnel projects around Maryland, was long a source of stopgap funding for holes in the states operating budget. That ended with a 2014 constitutional amendment restricting the use of transportation money.

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Nonpartisan state budget analysts estimate the gas tax holiday will cost the transportation trust fund about $98 million, though lawmakers pledged to make that up using other tax revenue. Democratic Comptroller Peter Franchot last week announced a surplus in the states general fund has ballooned to $7 billion.

[ Maryland Senate passes major climate bill ]

As the House Ways and Means Committee took up the bill for a vote, delegates pushing to extend the gas tax holiday came one vote from upending the debate. The panel voted 12-11 to reject an amendment extending it from 30 days to 90.

We dont know where the Russian war is going to be in 30 days, said Del. Steven Johnson, a Harford County Democrat, in advocating for the 30-day timeline.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has contributed to the spike in fuel prices.

We wont be here in 30 days, Buckel responded. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn April 11.

By late afternoon, committees in both chambers had agreed on the same proposal: Directing the comptrollers office to reimburse gas stations for taxes paid on any fuel on hand when the tax holiday begins, and ordering the stations to report their fuel inventory when the holiday ends.

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That way, the tax relief would apply strictly to fuel sold during the 30-day holiday period.
Getty Trust to Host Free Community Festivals

Kicking off May 14 and running through August 28, these two-day festivals will feature curated experiences reflective of each community including interactive workshops, live music and performances, an artisan marketplace, food trucks, giveaways, photo booths, and more. Getty will be present with an immersive digital experience of its collections, hands-on library, gift shop, and resources for Gettys job, volunteer, and internship opportunities. Festival materials will be available in multiple languages.

In collaboration with the community partners, the non-ticketed public festivals will be held in ten neighborhoods including Crenshaw, Inglewood, Koreatown, Lincoln Heights/East LA, Long Beach, Pacoima, Reseda, San Gabriel Valley, Watts, and Wilmington. Community Arts Resources (CARS) of Los Angeles is serving as the producing partner for the festivals.

To say thank you to Los Angeles for 25 years of support, we want to celebrate the joy of art throughout Los Angeles, meeting people where they live, said Lisa Lapin, Getty vice president for communications. We are fortunate to be able to collaborate with cultural organizations already hard at work in these neighborhoods. Together, we are creating enduring community partnerships, enlivening neighborhoods, and providing fun weekends for people of all ages.

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More than a dozen neighborhood nonprofits and cultural organizations are involved in organizing the public festivals, celebrating the art, artists, and culture of each community.

We have had a legacy of successful collaborations with the Getty, from years of participating in its Getty Marrow internship program to creative projects like the upcoming festival at Plaza de la Raza in Lincoln Heights, said Tomas Benitez, development director at Plaza de la Raza. This partnership has been due in large part to the respect and mutuality between partners and has resulted in a sustained benefit to our students, artists, families, and community, which will resonate for years to come.

Getty 25 marks a powerful opportunity to celebrate Watts rich culture and history and connect across Los Angeles, said Tina Watkins-Quaye, general manager of the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC). Here at WLCAC were hopeful this will spark community growth and investment in a way that benefits the people of Watts.

To help navigate and build strong relationships with stakeholders and residents of the ten festival locations, Getty is proud to partner with Community Arts Resources, an organization with unparalleled experience organizing a wide range of community and cultural events in Los Angeles County and beyond. One of CARSs core tenets is to integrate culture into the built and social fabric of urban environments as a means for creative economic development and community enrichment.

We are thrilled to be working with Getty and our amazing community partners on these unprecedented celebrations in ten communities, said CARS co-founders, executive director Katie Bergin and president Aaron Paley. These events bring together the richness and diversity of LAs neighborhoods and make public spaces accessible for all, which are hallmarks of the work CARS has been creating for the past four decades.

Festival neighborhoods and community partners include:

May 1415Inglewood, Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA)

May 2122Lincoln Heights/East LA, Plaza de la Raza

June 45Long Beach, Long Beach Creative Coalition: Studio One Eleven, Intertrend, Creative Class Collective

June 1112Koreatown, Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC)

June 2526Pacoima, Pacoima Beautiful

July 910Reseda, 11:11 Projects

July 1617San Gabriel Valley, Day One

July 3031Wilmington, Avalon Arts and Cultural Alliance

August 1314Crenshaw, Destination Crenshaw

August 2728Watts, Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC)

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Partnering with the Getty for its 25th anniversary festivals is a wonderful opportunity for 11:11 Projects to strengthen Resedas access to the arts, said Addy Gonzalez Renteria, co-founder and director of 11:11 Projects. The core value that drives our work is the belief that absolutely everyone is deserving of exploring their creativity and having access to high quality arts and cultural programming. Being included in this celebration helps build direct lines of collaboration and support between the Getty and the communities 11:11 Projects serves.

Public festival locations will be announced in coming weeks. The festivals will be held from 11am to 6pm both Saturday and Sunday. The festivals will abide by all city and county COVID-19 guidelines for outdoor events, which are subject to change.
The Impact of COVID-19 on HBCUs and Black Students

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the inequities faced by Black Americans into sharp focus.

While the world has been focused on the growing numbers of COVID-19 causalities, the media has somewhat ignored the long-term educational and economic impacts of the pandemic  especially for Black students. Although there has been some attention given to the disparities between Black Americans and other groups contracting the virus, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Black community will be recovering from the impact of COVID-19, health wise, economically, and educationally for at least the next two decades.

Throughout the pandemic, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been on the front lines addressing the impact the pandemic has had on students, faculty, staff and surrounding communities. In March 2020, when college campuses across the country closed and sent students home, many HBCUs continued to house hundreds of students who did not have homes to return to. Groups of students were stuck on campus without the funds to pay for transportation back to their home cities. This challenge was a byproduct of several students losing the jobs they used to help fund their education, along with loss of family income. Many students became both food and housing insecure without the critical resources that HBCUs often provide.

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The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) worked with our member-schoolsAmericas 47 publicly-supported HBCUsand many of their corporate partners to help secure access to needed support for students. Beyond academic scholarships, TMCF stepped up to help provide grants for students, assisting them with rent, groceries, and transportation. At one HBCU, more than half of the students and faculty did not have the adequate computer hardware or broadband internet access to participate in remote classes. Corporate partners supported the purchasing of laptops and hotspots for both students and faculty to facilitate the pivot to online learning.

Despite their long history and accolades, HBCUs as a collective have continued to struggle with proper funding, receiving less per-student aid from their states, along with less research funding from the federal government. These institutions are highly tuition dependent, which can cause a great challenge anytime enrollment numbers are compromised. Closing campuses and sending students home meant that many schools had to return housing funds that traditionally would have supported the universitys operations. Recognizing the great infringement that the pandemic placed on the schools, we shifted part of our focus of providing scholarships and career readiness opportunities to work with HBCUs to provide support restructuring their finances, securing new resources, and planning for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years.

Part of the shift also included engaging corporate partners to help find new and creative ways to help students succeed in this environment. For example, McDonalds expanded their partnership with TMCF in 2020 to provide additional scholarships beyond their original commitment for HBCU students. This commitment extended in 2021 to support students who overwhelming were high-achieving performers but came from low-income backgrounds and needed the extra support during this unprecedented time. As a non-profit committed to the advancement of Black students, we understand that the best way to address disparities is to invest in students so they can persist in their studies, graduate, and progress to economically sustainable careers.

We also partnered with our member-schools to provide enhanced mental health resources to help students address the emotional needs that may have emerged as a result of the changing landscape of the world. Among other amenities, TMCF scholars were offered access to Shine, a minority-owned mobile app which offers self-care resources to better manage mental health challenges like stress and anxiety.

The resilience of Black students in the face of the pandemic further illustrates the importance of HBCUs for engaging the Black community. Though the pandemic has presented extraordinary challenges in the last two years, HBCUs have emerged even stronger. While many colleges had steep drops in enrollment during the pandemic, HBCUs experienced the exact opposite. Many of the countrys largest HBCUs are seeing record numbers of applications. The COVID-19 crisis inspired a new approach to working together as a network and building new capabilities in online learning, student retention and attraction, and more. This has only strengthened HBCUs unique position to help fill the social and economic gaps Black Americans experience, given these institutions assets, experience, and cultural and historical significance.

As a legacy corporate partner, McDonalds stepped up to support HBCU students because of their longstanding commitment to supporting the Black community and empowering the next generation by creating opportunity through educational initiatives. Today, we call on other major corporations to do the same  address inequities by investing in diverse students, who are posed to be the next generation of changemakers. Their journey to leadership starts with a college degree, and with the proper resources that degree can come from an HBCU.

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Dr. Harry L. Williams is the President and CEO of Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), the largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community.
A $125,000 settlement between the city of Albany and an environmental nonprofit has been reached over a costly sewage spill in the Willamette 
LEXINGTON  After a two year of being virtual only, the National Weather Service  Hastings Severe Weather Awareness talks are returning to an in-person format.

The Severe Weather Awareness talks covers the fundamentals of severe weather, including conditions that are necessary for the event, how to spot storm structure and a variety of other information.

Locally, the talk in Dawson County is being held on Tuesday, April 12 in Cozad at the Wilson Public Library, 910 Meridian Ave.

The event in Gosper County is being hosted on Tuesday, April 19 in Elwood and the Elwood Volunteer Fire Departments fire hall.

Start times for both events is 6:30 p.m.

The NWS Hastings notes virtual presentations will be added at a later date in April.

About the National Weather Service:

The National Weather Services Hastings Forecast Office located in Hastings, is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for people in 24 south central Nebraska counties and 6 north central Kansas counties.

Join us on Facebook and Twitter. Working with partners, the National Weather Service is building a Weather Ready Nation to support community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather, NWS Hastings stated.
LEXINGTON  Over a dozen vehicles will need drivers for the upcoming Vietnam Veteran Parade, March 26 in Lexington.

I think its great that the museum is willing to get involved and offer their vehicles for the parade, said Steve Zerr, one of the organizers of the parade. Now we just have to find the drivers.

The Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles requests that anyone wishing to drive a vehicle get in touch with Zerr at the Dawson County Veteran Service Office. Drivers will need to be available March 19 at noon to check out the vehicles and get familiarized at the museum.

Last year the drivers had quite a bit of fun just getting the vehicles ready, said Zerr. Most were veterans, so it brought back memories.

Zerr added that anyone wishing to have an entry in the parade to contact the Veteran Service Office. Weve had plenty of interest, especially due to the upcoming election, he said. This is really the only parade before the primaries.

Whats more American than an election?

A hamburger feed is also set to be held at the end of the parade route, near the YMCA, starting at 12:30 p.m. March 26. A free will offering is encouraged.
If not for Jane Does courage, former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston,  a man who stands convicted of raping her and now faces spending the rest of his life in prison  would no doubt be on his way toward securing a second term representing this area in the Legislature.
Rep. Kweisi Mfume filed legislation Tuesday to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to the late Henrietta Lacks, a Baltimore County woman whose cells were used for medical research without her consent.

The Congressional Gold Medal is is considered to be one of the highest civilian awards in the United States. Its awarded for distinguished achievements and contributions.

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Mfume, who succeeded the late Elijah Cummings in Marylands 7th District in 2020, said Lacks deserves the award because of how much her cells have helped  and continue to help  society.

Henrietta Lacks' cancer cells were used for research that brought decades of medical advances. (AP)

For Ms. Lacks to have gone on to her grave many, many years ago for whatever miracle God put in her body to be able to keep helping us, I think it warrants recognition from the United States Congress, Mfume said during an interview.

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The congressman described shepherding the legislation as a personal honor, saying he grew up in Baltimore a few blocks from Lacks, knows several people in the family and that his mother knew Lacks.

Lacks, who lived in Turner Station, was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer and died from the disease in 1951. Without the young mothers knowledge or consent, doctors took the then-31-year-olds cancer cells during a diagnostic procedure and used them for medical research. Those cells  the first to live outside the body in a glass tube  brought decades of scientific advances.

The resulting HeLa line of cells  or Henrietta Lacks cells  has proved crucial to scores of researchers, including those working on moneymaking medical ventures. Vaccines, cancer treatments and in vitro fertilization are among the many medical techniques derived from her cells.

[ Family of Henrietta Lacks files suit against biotech company ]

Lacks family went for decades without knowing about the research or receiving any apologies or compensation. Only in recent years has Lacks contribution been acknowledged and celebrated.

Maryland Policy & Politics Weekdays Keep up to date with Maryland politics, elections and important decisions made by federal, state and local government officials. >

Her story won national attention after Rebecca Skloot wrote a bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which was made into a 2017 HBO movie starring Oprah Winfrey.

Lacks case is one of many that contribute to distrust of medical institutions, particularly among Black communities that have been victimized.

Last year, legislation originally championed by Cummings and then taken up by Mfume, was passed into law by then-President Donald Trump. The Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act requires the federal government to publish a report on government-funded cancer research trials, including the amount of participation by underrepresented populations and describing the barriers to participation.

[ Virginia home of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells transformed medicine, is demolished ]

Lawrence Lacks Sr., Henrietta Lacks eldest son, thanked Mfume for his leadership in introducing the latest bill.

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In life, my mother gave to many in our community, and today is a full-circle moment during Womens History Month to have Henrietta Lacks legacy advanced by Congressman Kweisi Mfume, who grew up just blocks away from my family, he said in a statement.

Victoria Baptiste, Lacks great-granddaughter, also applauded Mfume for continuing the work of Cummings, who vowed to help honor Lacks. She also emphasized the importance of the bill being pushed forward during Womens History Month.

When her cells were discovered, they took her name out of it, just like they have with other women in history, she said in an interview. But now we are getting her name out there. We want people to say her name.
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At least three people are being sought by Santa Barbara County sheriff's investigators in connection with a pair of business burglaries that occurred Sunday in Los Olivos, including one in which the suspects ripped an ATM with no money from the wall of a Grand Avenue market, according to a spokeswoman.
After American Family Insurance gave United Way of Dane County $5 million last month as a corporate challenge grant for the social services organizations centennial celebration, some companies and nonprofits have responded by donating just over a combined $2.1 million.

The Madison-based insurance company became the largest corporate donor to United Way of Dane County in its 100-year history then, putting two $2.5 million grants toward the expansion of both United Way 211, a database that connects 40,000 residents annually to resources providing around-the-clock support for various needs  like finding a COVID test, or an entity that helps victims of domestic abuse  and the United Way Volunteer Resource Center, which links about 150,000 prospective volunteers to opportunities that match their interests each year.

At this time, were working on finalizing another major gift with a local company, said United Way vice president of resource management Jeff McGinn.

The gifts come as United Way of Dane County commemorated a century of operations a few weeks ago, having announced that 20,000 individual donors and 500 businesses donated $18.1 million for its 2021 campaign.

Since 1922, the organization has raised just over half a billion dollars to help address the regions most pressing issues. The social services organization has 70 full-time employees and mobilized 700 volunteers last year for its projects.

United Way of Dane County also recently unveiled its 2022-23 investment decisions  a portion of the $22.3 million will be devoted to racial health disparities for the first time. On Tuesday, the nonprofit said it was accepting applications until April 8 for a $25,000 micro-investment grant initiative that aims to support organizations working to achieve equity and social justice for people of color locally.

The United Way 211 database will spend its $2.5 million American Family allotment on ensuring it has the most up-to-date resource information, and on compassionate listening training for workers who field calls from the public.

The $2.5 million for the United Way Volunteer Resource Center is slated to cover doing additional outreach into companies and bringing volunteer projects into businesses, as well as a new van for volunteers to have as a transport option during projects.

Its unclear how exactly United Way of Dane County will allocate the matching funds for the resource center and the database, but the challenge grant is a response to how participation in the nonprofits annual campaign has declined, Moe said last month.

The $5 million gift is part of American Familys multiyear Free to Dream initiative, unveiled in February 2021, which pledges to put $105 million into businesses and organizations working to close equity gaps and effect social change.

Free to Dream focuses on five issues: economic empowerment, education and health, climate resilience, justice reform and workforce diversity.

This year is an opportunity to celebrate an incredible milestone while also ensuring another century of impact and innovation, said United Way of Dane County CEO Renee Moe in a statement Wednesday about the matches. Were excited to be recognizing all of the people and organizations whove made our important work possible over the past 100 years.

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RTHK: British PM makes energy security pleas in Gulf talks

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met the leaders of Gulf oil exporters Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday on a visit aimed at securing oil supplies and raising pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.

Johnson's office said that in his meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the British premier stressed the need to work together to stabilise global energy markets.

He then flew to Riyadh and met Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks which were also attended by the kingdom's energy minister.

Britain, like much of the West, faces spiralling energy prices and Johnson is keen to encourage producers to increase output and secure other supplies to try to help consumers and reduce reliance on Russian exports.

So far Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose close ties with Washington are under strain, have snubbed US pleas to ramp up oil production to tame soaring crude prices that threaten global recession in the wake of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

"The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin's addiction to oil and gas," Johnson said before his meetings. "Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort."

The two Gulf states are among the few OPEC oil exporters with spare oil capacity to raise output and potentially offset supply losses from Russia. But they have tried to steer a neutral stance between Western allies and Moscow, their partner in an oil producers' grouping known as OPEC+.

The group has been raising output gradually each month by 400,000 barrels a day, resisting pressure to act more quickly.

The UAE remains committed to the OPEC+ deal, a source with knowledge of the matter said before the meeting.

Johnson "set out his deep concerns about the chaos unleashed by Russias attack on Ukraine, and stressed the importance of working together to improve stability in the global energy market", his office said in a statement.

Johnson and the crown prince also agreed on the need to bolster security, defence and intelligence cooperation to counter threats, including from Houthi forces who have fought a lengthy conflict in Yemen against Saudi and UAE forces.

Johnson is only the second major Western leader to visit Saudi Arabia since journalist Jamal Khashoggi's 2018 killing by Saudi government agents in Istanbul.

His trip also comes four days after Saudi Arabia executed 81 men, the largest number in a single day for decades, for offences ranging from joining militant groups to holding "deviant beliefs".

Asked about criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record, Johnson said: "I've raised all those issues many, many times over the past ... and I'll raise them all again today.

"But we have long, long standing relationships with this part of the world and we need to recognise the very important relationship that we have ... and not just in hydrocarbons."

Saudi press agency SPA said Johnson and Prince Mohammed discussed the conflict in Ukraine and international issues, adding that Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic partnership. (Reuters)

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The holding companies of both Monona Bank and State Bank of Cross Plains, with almost $3 billion in combined assets, announced Tuesday that both financial institutions intend to merge to create the largest bank headquartered in Dane County next year.

In what Monona Bankshares and S.B.C.P. Bancorp are calling a merger of equals, the two banks are not expected to fully integrate under a new, yet-to-be-determined name and brand until spring 2023.

Until then, both institutions will continue to function independently, said Paul Hoffman, Monona Bank CEO and eventual president of the combined businesses. Monona Bank was founded in 1991, and State Bank of Cross plains in 1908. The unnamed community bank will employ more than 400 associates across 23 locations throughout south-central Wisconsin, including Madison.

Hoffman explained that a merger of equals refers to when two firms that are the same size come together to form a new single company.

The merger was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and signed Monday, and is anticipated to close at the end of 2022 pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Both banks expect to retain all employees, Hoffman said, and no layoffs are expected at this time. The merger is also set to result in added services for bank customers, he said.

We both have really strong mortgage departments, but we are excited to provide even more offerings for mortgages, Hoffman said, adding that State Bank of Cross Plains will add its wealth, trust and agricultural lending departments to Monona Banks service repertoire.

Customers will additionally have more resources to keep their accounts secure, as well as digital banking tools at their disposal, he said.

Both organizations believe strongly in the principles of independent community banking and want to preserve our fundamental beliefs that banking should be built on respectful and supportive relationships that encourage a local focus, Jim Tubbs, S.B.C.P. Bancorp president and eventual combined bank CEO, said in a statement Tuesday. When we invest in our neighbors, we enhance the entire community to be a stronger, more stable, and truly vibrant place to live and work.
Susan Bulgrin, who owns three local Culver's restaurants, is donating 100% of her Tuesday sales to Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen to benefit Ukrainian refugees and those going hungry inside Ukraine.

Bulgrin, who owns Culver's restaurants on Todd Drive and Cottage Grove Road in Madison and in McFarland, said Tuesday's business has been strong so far.

"It's been great," she said. "The people who are coming are very gracious and are here to help. So that's been wonderful. I couldn't be more pleased."

She said she couldn't predict how much money the effort might raise.

Bulgrin said she's been watching the news and realizing that the people of Ukraine, refugees and those inside Ukraine, are in dire need of food.

"They are struggling mightily," she said, noting that she's read that some haven't eaten in three days.

World Central Kitchen is quickly expanding its #ChefsForUkraine response to distribute food  including hot, fresh meals in five countries. It has opened a kitchen and food supply depot in Poland, on the border with Ukraine, and has multiple warehouses active in Lviv where trucks are filled with food to reach cities like Odessa and Mykolayiv, according to the organization's website.

It is also supporting restaurants to serve meals in Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and Kyiv, which remain under active attack, according to its website.

As a restaurateur, Bulgrin said, she feels compelled to help raise money for food and water.

"There's a real crisis," she said. "People are going without... As I looked at that, I said, 'What can I do?' And one of the things that I've learned is that there's a wonderful organization called World Central Kitchen that actually goes into these areas that are in desperate need. And they cook for people. They train people who are on the ground, and they work with them to try and do whatever they can to feed people."

Andres started the organization in 2017, focusing on Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

"It's amazing what they do," Bulgrin said. "Whether it's Ukraine or any other country that's in desperate need, I just wanted to make sure that (the Ukrainian) people realize we're here to help them and to support them."

Eric Skrum, a spokesman for Culver's, said the majority of Culver's restaurants are independently owned and operated, and participating restaurants are donating sales amounts from 10% to 100%.

He said "Make Your Meal Matter" signs are being displayed in the participating Culvers restaurants.

Culver Franchising System owns and operates six restaurants that are donating 10% of Tuesday's sales to World Central Kitchen's efforts, Skrum said.

Read more restaurant news at: go.madison.com/restaurants

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A trained musician who has spent more than three decades in orchestra and cultural arts management has been selected to head the business side of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, one of the citys largest arts organizations.

Robert Reed, 57, will join the staff June 6 as its executive director, the MSO announced Tuesday. He currently holds that title with the Plano Symphony Orchestra, near Dallas, and has previously worked in orchestra administration in Tucson, Arizona; Kansas City, Missouri; Jackson, Mississippi; San Francisco; Buffalo, New York; Nashville, Tennessee; and elsewhere.

Reed will succeed Richard Mackie, who retired last summer after 22 years with the MSO.

I have been in this industry for 32 years, Reed said during a visit to Madison this week.

Ive worked for large organizations such as the San Francisco Symphony, and smaller organizations, so Ive had a wide breadth of activity. For where I am in my life, I felt this was perfect for me, he said of the MSO, which holds its regular season concerts in the 2,255-seat Overture Hall, located in the Overture Center for the Arts.

Its an orchestra thats doing some really wonderful and exciting things, in a venue that is absolutely stunning, and is in a community that has been clear that it supports the symphony orchestra, Reed said. For a city of Madisons size, to have an orchestra of this size and with this financial stability, it tells you that this community loves the symphony.

Reed will oversee the Madison Symphony Orchestras $5 million annual budget, 13 full- and part-time employees and relations with the more than 100 professional musicians who perform as the MSO.

Reeds enormously experienced background and his immediate connection with everyone who was a part of the search process bodes well for an exciting next stage for the orchestra, music director John DeMain, who will celebrate his 30th year as conductor of the MSO in the 2023-24 season, said in a statement.

Reed was hired after a nine-month, nationwide search conducted by a search committee with the assistance of the firm HC Smith, MSO board president Ellsworth Brown said. The board selected Reed from a field of four finalists, Brown said in a statement.

Out and about

Along with overseeing the business side of the organization, a big part of his job will be forming partnerships and relationships in the area  which could mean communities both in and around Madison, Reed said.

I definitely want everyone to know what the brand of Madison Symphony Orchestra is, he said. Although Overture Center is a stupendous place, not everybody can necessarily come to the orchestra, so the orchestra has to go to people.

He is a huge fan of the MSOs existing HeartStrings program, which takes chamber music into health care and residential facilities, Reed said. The orchestra also runs numerous education programs for youth.

An inspiration

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Reed studied clarinet and earned his bachelors and masters degrees in music performance at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

His first exposure to classical music was as a fourth-grader, when he and his classmates joined thousands of other students to see a symphony orchestra concert for young people, he said.

It was a Eureka! moment, and my career was charted from that moment on, Reed said. I am a product of arts education.

After that first concert, Reed said, he visited the band room at his elementary school. He told the band director that he wanted to play the clarinet, although he didnt know the name of the instrument at the time  just that he liked the sound of it. He still plays clarinet, though now just for fun, he said.

As virus wanes

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mackie and the team that led the organization after Mackies retirement kept the MSO in great shape financially, Reed said.

While audience and sales projections for the current 2021-22 season were set at a very conservative level due to the pandemic, attendance far exceeded the targets that were set, and audience numbers for the annual A Madison Symphony Christmas in December were on par with pre-COVID times, according to the orchestra.

The MSO will return to an eight-concert subscription series in 2022-23, up from seven concerts this year, and will maintain its popular organ programming and Beyond the Score concerts featuring music and narration, the organization said.

The MSO will celebrate its centennial in 2025-26.

Theres a lot I look forward to learning about the community, Reed said, and how the symphony will continue on for the next 100 years.

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A 17-year-old Janesville boy was arrested after showing a gun to another juvenile at the YMCA of Northern Rock County on Tuesday night, Janesville police reported.

At about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, police were sent to investigate a report that the teen had showed the gun to another juvenile at the YMCA at 221 Dodge St. in Janesville, Sgt. Rob Perkins said in a statement.

Officers found a gun in the 17-year-olds backpack and he was taken into custody without incident, Perkins said.

The teen faces tentative charges of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, carrying a concealed weapon, and disorderly conduct, Perkins said.

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A longtime Madison attorney and veterans rights activist is suing the city over its removal several years ago of a pair of markers at a Confederate grave site, the northernmost Confederate cemetery in the United States and part of a national landmark.

In a suit filed in Dane County Dec. 30 but not served with the city until Tuesday, Todd Hunter accuses city officials  in particular former Mayor Paul Soglin  of violating several state laws, city ordinances and the state and federal constitutions in deciding to remove a 1906 monument containing the names of 140 Confederate soldiers who died as prisoners of war at Camp Randall, and a 1981 plaque that referred to the dead as valiant Confederate soldiers and unsung heroes.

Both had been in a section of the city-owned Forest Hill Cemetery known as the Confederate Rest. Forest Hill is a designated national landmark.

The removals came in the months after an August 2017 white supremacists march in Charlottesville, Virginia, that turned violent and was in response to that states ultimately successful attempt to remove a statue of former Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The Lee statue was one of hundreds of monuments to the Confederacy and its figures that have come down since 2015 at the urging of racial-justice protesters who see the monuments as an attempt to downplay the Souths legacy of slavery and insurrection and reframe it as an honorable lost cause.

Hunter, who failed to oust Soglin in the 1995 mayors race, says the 1906 monument is evidence of Madisons leadership in the years after the Civil War.

Madison led the nation in reconciliation, he said in an interview. This is Madisons history. It is not what was concocted by the members of the Madison Common Council. He called the cenotaph a remarkable piece of American history that reflects Wisconsin values and the graciousness of the people of Madison and those who erected it.

Meanwhile, the 1981 plaque installed by a descendant of Confederate soldiers is aimed exclusively at honoring military service, he said.

City Attorney Mike Haas said in a statement that an outside attorney will handle the case for the city, and while the city is confident that the actions taken regarding the Confederate Rest area at Forest Hill Cemetery were lawful, the city cannot comment further on the lawsuit at this time.

Compassionate legacy

Hunter says in the suit that the cenotaphs creation was spearheaded by a pair of Union veterans from Madison who wanted to honor a woman who had maintained the graves, Alice Waterman, and that while the monument says the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected it, the group was not the only one to pay for it. He said donations from a variety of sources over nearly a decade covered its cost.

He also said the modern notion of the United Daughters of the Confederacy as a group that promoted the lost cause is inaccurate, and in the suit describes the group as one of this nations most important and respected veteran service organizations whose intent was to find, honor and bury Confederate soldiers, because immediately after the war the federal government only buried Union soldiers.

He notes in the suit that local and state politicians had long appeared at events at or otherwise honored Confederate Rest, and suggests Soglin  who had been mayor on and off since 1973  only decided to condemn the monuments to boost his campaign for governor.

The Madison mayor and city officials sought to erase Madisons compassionate legacy initiated by the two disabled veterans, and instead invented for themselves an alternative history, wholly inaccurate to Madison, so that they could justify their actions in desecrating a public cemetery based only (on) a persons ancestry, the suit says.

Soglin said he stands behind the decisions he made to remove the monuments. As for any connection to his unsuccessful campaign for governor, I hadnt even thought about the fact that they might have occurred simultaneously.

The real story is the refusal to accept the end of slavery and the defeat of the insurrection, he said. Hindsight, I wish wed done it a lot sooner.

Interested person

Hunter says he has standing to bring the suit because hes been recognized by the Wisconsin Historical Societys Burial Sites Preservation Board as an interested person, a designation under state administrative code that shows a person has proven he has some kind of personal, historical, educational or other connection to a specific burial site. A spokesperson for the society confirmed Hunter was added to the interested persons registry on Dec. 7, 2018.

Hunter said slavery has been a human scourge throughout the worlds history, but this is something in our history that we overcame.

We can always focus on the history of America, he said, but overcoming those negatives  is something that is particularly special and wonderful.

The cenotaph is currently being held by the Wisconsin Veterans Museum at the State Archive Preservation Facility in Madison, according to museum director Chris Kolakowski. The 1981 plaque is in storage owned and controlled by the city of Madison, according to Madison Parks Division Superintendent Eric Knepp. He declined to be more specific, citing factors including the possibility that someone might try to steal it and keeping staff from needing to unnecessarily deal with distractions.

Hunter wants the city to return them to their previous locations and establish a $25,000 fund to maintain them. Hes created a website about Confederate Rest and his lawsuit.

In addition to the city and Soglin, 22 current or former members of the City Council are named as defendants in the suit because they were on the council during the period the decisions to remove the monuments were made. No date to first hear the suit had been set as of Wednesday.

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A Dane County judge has denied Chandler Haldersons bid to skip his sentencing hearing Thursday, when the double murderer will find out if he ever sees the outside of a cell again.

Circuit Judge John Hyland said in the two-page order that Halderson, convicted in January of killing and dismembering his parents in July, could not voluntarily waive his legal right to appear at sentencing, and cited a 1997 Wisconsin Supreme Court case that found a fugitive who missed her sentencing had to be re-sentenced when again in custody.

The 24-year-old Halderson on Friday filed a motion and affidavit seeking to give up his right to be present and speak at the sentencing. Under state law, he will get a mandatory life sentence. The only question for Hyland is whether Halderson, who has no prior criminal record, will ever be eligible for parole.

Sentencing hearings in criminal cases provide those convicted with an opportunity to express remorse, take responsibility or ask for leniency. Victims are also allowed to tell the court how theyve been affected by the convicted persons crimes, and judges often hold forth on how they view the case and whether the convicted person has done enough to take responsibility or show remorse.

Halderson did not take the stand in his own defense during his week-and-a-half trial, and his attorneys called no witnesses. In a separate court filing Tuesday, Catherine Dorl, one of his attorneys, says Halderson has not talked about the events of July 2021.

Thats left his motive for the killings unclear, although prosecutors argued that he killed Bart, 50, and Krista Halderson, 53, after Bart discovered his son had been lying for months or years about going to college and having a job. He killed Bart in the Windsor home they all shared on July 1, killed Krista a few hours later when she came home, and then dismembered their bodies before burning them in the family fireplace or spreading them around southern Wisconsin, prosecutors said.

State law requires a defendant to be in court for sentencing, but Dorl argued that requirement can be waived if the defendant refuses to be brought to court. She said that a defendant can lose the right to be present at trial either by engaging in misconduct or by simply consenting to not being there.

In a letter to the court Sunday, Deputy District Attorney William Brown said allowing Halderson to skip his sentencing would be absurd and an affront to the publics interest.

The criminal justice system does not serve at the pleasure of convicted murderers, Brown said.

Dorl on Tuesday asked Hyland to leave open the possibility of parole for her client and indicated he has expressed an interest in speaking with his family at some point if they will allow it, and that her client is still relatively young and could benefit from treatment.

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Madison police were called to a fight involving roughly a couple dozen students Wednesday afternoon near East High School, officials said.

The altercation comes days after two students fought inside an East High classroom Monday, and the Madison School Board voted later that evening to launch a student safety and wellness committee made up of community members, students and staff. The committee was first discussed about five months ago in the wake of multiple fights at East High.

Wednesdays fight was more of the same, with several students brawling at the Milios restaurant near the school during lunch, Madison School District spokesperson Tim LeMonds confirmed. LeMonds said he didnt know the exact number of students involved but estimated that it was a couple dozen. No injuries were reported.

Madison police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said officers responded to reports of fighting near East High around 12:15 p.m. LeMonds said the fight was mostly over by the time police arrived. The fight concluded at Milios, and students returned to class shortly after, LeMonds said.

East High interim Principal Mikki Smith later specified in an email to parents that the fight happened in Demetral Field, which is behind Milios. She said staff called police as soon as they learned of the altercation.

District staff are working with Madison police to look through video of the altercation and identify the students involved, LeMonds said.

When students resort to physical violence to solve a conflict, we take it very seriously, Smith told parents in the email, noting that staff are trying to find the cause of the fight so they can prevent similar behavior from happening in the future.

LeMonds said the district has not heard of any continuing threats to the school or students related to the fight.

In the Monday classroom fight at East High, a video shows a student verbally confronting a classmate before physically attacking the classmate and eventually tackling the teenager onto a table, which subsequently buckles. Another person is seen in the video attempting to separate the two students, but its unclear whether the person who intervened is a student or staff member.

The Wisconsin State Journal viewed the video but did not obtain permission to post it. District spokesperson Tim LeMonds confirmed the altercation and said a teacher was present and on the phone calling for support per district protocol as the incident unfolded.

The goal of the new committee is to address the root cause of violence in schools.

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Emily Hamer | Wisconsin State Journal Emily Hamer is a county government and criminal justice reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal. She also covers some general assignment and crime stories. She joined the paper in April 2019. Send tips to ehamer@madison.com Follow Emily Hamer | Wisconsin State Journal 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 Wisconsin Dells man on Tuesday was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for meth dealing, authorities reported.

Levonte C. Scales, 29, was sentenced by Judge James D. Peterson for possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams of more of methamphetamine, a charge he pleaded guilty to on Dec. 13, 2021, according to the office of Timothy OShea, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.

On June 22, officers responded to a Lake Delton hotel where they found Scales, who had a felony warrant for his arrest. Scales was seen outside the hotel carrying two backpacks and then fleeing the scene. After a short chase, he was arrested and officer found about 100 grams of methamphetamine, a stolen firearm that was loaded, drug packaging materials, and $3,400, OShea said in a statement.

Peterson said at Scales sentencing that he was a danger to the community, and had squandered previous terms of supervision which could have changed the course of his life, OShea said.

The charge against Scales was the result of an investigation conducted by the Lake Delton Police Department, Sauk County Sheriffs Office, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Corey and Steven Anderson prosecuted the case.

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The worn light-brown house with dark trim on the Near East Side is woven into the history of the citys earliest African American neighborhood.

But it might soon be gone.

Greg Werth, the new owner, who restores vintage homes, intended to save the two-story Carmichael House, built in the mid-1850s and moved to 114 N. Blount St. in 1923. Its one of three houses, all constructed around the 1850s and moved from Downtown to the area in the early 20th century, that constitute the tiny East Dayton National Register District associated with some of the areas leading Black pioneer families.

The house and two others in the district  the Hill residence and a grocery, which operated for more than 50 years at 649 E. Dayton St., and the Miller house next door, 647 E. Dayton St., once a rooming house that was the first residence of many Black families looking for opportunity and a better life  are the last vestiges of the citys original African American community on the Near East Side. Those two structures became city landmarks.

Once Werth bought the Carmichael House from the Hill family in December, peeled away the interior plaster and more closely inspected the foundation, he realized the house couldnt be saved and restored. He is now seeking city permission to raze and replace it with new construction that echoes the current structure.

I purchased it with every intention of saving the place, he said. Nobody could have seen the true problems with the house until the plaster was removed. Im left with no choice but to tear the place down. I plan to pay homage to the house in as many ways as I can.

Until this week, the Hill family thought Werth intended to restore the structure. Now it has signs on the front porch that say Keep Out and Caution, Unsafe Building, Do not Enter and yellow caution tape stretched across the front porch stairs.

The family sold the house because it could not afford the property taxes and cost to do a restoration, said Freddie Mae Hill, one of nine siblings whose grandparents operated the grocery at 649 E. Dayton St. and whose namesake aunt was the first African American to graduate from UW-Madison.

If we had the money, we would have fixed it up ourselves, she said. I hope it will not be torn down. There are only three buildings left from way back. (But) theres nothing we can do about it. Its really up to the city.

On March 7, the citys Landmarks Commission considered the proposed demolition and found the structure has historic value as contributing to the East Dayton National Register Historic District, city preservation planner Heather Bailey said.

The Plan Commission will take the advisory recommendation into consideration when evaluating the proposed demolition of the house as soon as May.

A rich history

If not for a sign and some plaques, it would be easy to miss the rich African American history at the corner of North Blount and East Dayton streets.

The Hill properties were originally owned by John Turner, a formerly enslaved man from Kentucky, and his wife, Martha, who organized the Douglass Beneficial Society, a self-help organization based on the teachings of Frederick Douglass, as well as the communitys first Sunday school. In 1901, the Turners provided a boarding house and meeting place for the Beneficial Society by moving a two-story building from Downtown to 649 E. Dayton St.

Around that time, Turner, Miller and others organized the first Black church in Madison, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the group moving an old frame Norwegian Lutheran Church  now gone  to 631 E. Dayton St. The church and Beneficial Society helped attract other Black families to the area.

After her husband died, Martha Turner eventually sold the building at 649 E. Dayton St. to the wife of the Rev. Charles Thomas, pastor of the church. The Thomases lived in the house and opened a grocery store there.

In 1908, William and Anna Mae Miller moved a large, substantial house to 647 E. Dayton St. to serve as another rooming house for Black immigrants to the city. The wife organized the Book Lovers Club, an active but short-lived literary society. In 1986, developer Randy Alexander used old photographs and other information to restore the exterior to its 1908 appearance.

John Hill, who had first visited Madison while visiting a relative attending the university, moved his family from Atlanta to Madison in 1910.

In 1917, Hill bought the house with attached grocery at 649 E. Dayton St. and he and his wife Amanda, ran the store for more than five decades. The store prospered during World War II and became a neighborhood institution. Freddie Mae Hill, their granddaughter, still lives there.

In 1923, Hill moved an old house to 114 N. Blount St. to serve as the home of Ida Carmichael, the widowed mother of Amanda Hill. It was the last new house to be moved to the area. After the 1920s, the neighborhood stabilized but did not grow, with many new Black immigrants moving to the Greenbush area south of Downtown.

Colenthia Hill Hunter, another of John Hills nine grandchildren, said she has warm memories of the store and growing up at 118 N. Blount St., which was eventually demolished, and 114 N. Blount St. She said she is upset by the possible loss of another piece of the citys Black history.

Too many issues

Werth, the fifth generation to be raised in his familys 1800s farmhouse in Markesan, about 60 miles north of Madison, said he became interested in restoration when his father invested a lot of time and effort to save the family home. Since graduating from UW-Stevens Point, he has restored more than a dozen vintage houses, mostly in Madison.

The historic house at 114 N. Blount St. fit the profile for restoration and he said he told the Hill family that was his intent.

But the house simply has too many issues, Werth said, including:

A block wall foundation built before the homes arrival at the site, built to the wrong dimensions and altered prior to the home being placed on it, which compromised the structural integrity.

The foundation is significantly bowed in.

Beams intended to support the flooring and roof systems were never properly done, and the entire center of the house has been wholly unsupported and steadily caving-in for at least 50 years.

The house was balloon framed, typical of a house of its vintage. But it was built without structural sheathing installed, meaning it has nothing to keep it standing straight.

The house was built with undersized lumber, leading to significant sagging of the floors and interior support systems.

The house was remodeled and added to multiple times without any thought toward structural design.

There is no way to repair this home without replacing and rebuilding every aspect of it from the ground up, which is why I am seeking to demolish it, Werth said. I am not the guy who came to demolish this place. Im the unfortunate guy who has to do so.

While I would love it if we could save and repurpose all historic buildings, I do recognize the reality of there being some structures that are not feasible to repair, Bailey said.

In terms of there being a preservation win for this situation, I would love for there to be more visibility for the deep roots of Madisons African-American history, she said. I want more people to know how important the East Dayton neighborhood was and how the people who lived there made a difference to our city.

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The Madison City Clerks Office is reminding voters that, in line with a recent state Supreme Court decision, drop boxes will not be accepting absentee ballots and no one but absentee voters themselves can return their ballots to be counted.

That warning applies statewide after the Wisconsin Elections Commission last month rescinded guidance allowing for the use of drop boxes  which were popular around the state in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic  to comply with the Supreme Courts Feb. 11 ruling.

Drop boxes were used to handle the surge in 2020 absentee voting as public health officials were warning against large gatherings, like at polling places. The surge became a lighting rod after Donald Trump lost the presidency, at which point Republicans and conservative groups began pointing out they were not specifically authorized under state law.

In a 4-3 decision, the courts conservative majority refused to extend a stay through the April 5 election on a previous ruling out of Waukesha County that prohibited the boxes. The case was brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

The states nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau in October found the boxes were used in at least 43 cities, 46 villages and 156 towns throughout the state in the 2020 election. According to a map the agency created, from 24 to 54 municipalities in each of seven regions of the state used them, including in the northeast and northwest parts of the state where Trump won the vast majority of counties. It also found 11 states use the boxes.

Drop boxes were among the supplies Wisconsins clerks purchased in 2020 with money from the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life, which has also become a target of Republican ire and that of GOP-appointed special counsel Michael Gableman, who baselessly sees the Chicago-headquartered group as integral to an illegal conspiracy to boost turnout in Democratic-leaning areas in the 2020 election.

Court rulings have found nothing illegal about the more than $10 million in grants CTCL distributed to about 214 municipalities in 39 of Wisconsins 72 counties, including many solidly won by Trump. Nor did CTCL turn down grant requests from any of the Wisconsin municipalities that made them. Although on a per-capita basis, Wisconsins five largest, and mostly Democratic, cities received two to four times more money than smaller communities.

The clerks office said absentee voters can either mail their ballots back, hand deliver them to any in-person absentee voting location starting March 22, take them to the clerks office at the City-County Building, or bring them to their polling place on Election Day by 8 p.m. Voters must return their ballots themselves.

Madisons 14 drop boxes remain in place but locked for next months election.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos met with election skeptics Wednesday and afterward stood firm on his position that the 2020 election cant be decertified, but he voiced a baseless claim that there was widespread fraud.

There are some people who think that the Legislature has a unilateral ability to overturn the election, Vos, R-Rochester, said after the meeting. We do not.

Vos added that even conservative constitutional experts said the Legislature cant decertify the 2020 presidential election.

I think there was widespread fraud, and I think we are going to see more and more data that comes out under the investigation by former state Supreme Court Justice and GOP-appointed special counsel Michael Gableman, Vos continued.

Vos on Wednesday met with advocates for decertifying President Joe Bidens win in Wisconsin, hours before he and the state Senates top Republican were to discuss election laws with county GOP leaders.

The morning meeting was not open to the public.

Vos told The Associated Press he was also inviting those who believe the 2020 election cannot be decertified to discuss it along with advocates for decertification on Wednesday. Experts and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have described decertification as a legal and constitutional impossibility  and something Vos has staunchly opposed, despite growing pressure from supporters of former President Donald Trump.

In response to Vos meeting with the skeptics, Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, said Vos wants to have it both ways, casting doubt on election results while asserting that he cant help overturn them.

While he acknowledges there is no legal grounds for decertification, Vos perpetuates the Big Lie by not putting an immediate end to Gablemans sham of an investigation and by holding meetings with conspiracy theorists who refuse to accept that Joe Biden is our president and won Wisconsin fair and square, she said.

Rep. Mark Spreitzer, D-Beloit, said Vos false claims of widespread fraud are one of the reasons Wisconsinites lack confidence in elections.

He should be clear about whether or not he would pursue decertification if it was legal, he continued.

After the meeting, Vos also took a jab at Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has said he wont sign any legislation that would make voting harder.

We now need to have an attorney general and a governor who will sign legislation and fight with us to make sure that the election in 2022 and 2024 is fair, Vos said.

Asked to leave

Some decertification proponents were not invited to the meeting, including state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, a gubernatorial candidate who entered the Capitol meeting room on Wednesday, and then minutes later left.

On his way out, Ramthun said Vos asked him not to participate.

This is what Ive been dealing with now for 17 months, he said. Obstruction on top of obstruction to do the right thing.

Vos disciplined Ramthun earlier this year by removing his lone staff member, but not for Ramthuns comments about who won the states 2020 election. Rather, the removal of Ramthuns staffer stemmed from his false accusations that Vos had signed a deal with attorneys for former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to authorize absentee ballot drop boxes, Vos office said.

Returning about a half-hour later, Ramthun questioned why the press wasnt allowed in the closed-door meeting.

I really think you should be in there to witness whats going on, he told reporters.

Im not a conspiracy theorist, he continued. Im focused on truth. And I need closure for myself and for my state and for my nation. This is a question about our republic.

Under pressure

A recount and court decisions have affirmed that Biden defeated Trump in Wisconsin by almost 21,000 votes. A review by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau as well as the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty found no evidence of widespread fraud and multiple court rulings have also found no evidence of irregularities.

I think theres people in that room that were involved that dont want to see closure on this as why theyve been obstructing all along, Ramthun continued. He added that Vos was among a long list of people obstructing the effort to decertify the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin.

Vos has been under pressure from Trump and other Republicans who support the false claim that the election was stolen and say Vos is not doing enough, including decertifying Bidens win.

Trump said last week that he was confident that Robin will exercise his moral duty and follow up on Gablemans finding, including dissolving the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Vos has said he does not support that.

Trump also has pushed for decertification, but Vos and other Republican leaders have repeatedly said that would not be done, citing opinions from the Legislatures nonpartisan attorneys who have said such a move is illegal.

Election skeptics

After the meeting, election skeptic Jefferson Davis led an address to a crowd featuring dozens of supporters carrying signs, American flags and pamphlets doubting what happened in the 2020 election. Included in that crowd were Ramthun, as well as state Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, whom Davis called courageous for being in attendance.

Among other things, Davis told the crowd that representatives from the election skeptic organization True the Vote would drop a bomb proving the existence of widespread fraud at an Assembly elections committee meeting next Thursday. None of the many informational hearings coming before legislative committees has led to any finding of widespread fraud.

At a recent hearing, Gableman claimed 100% of nursing home residents in Dane and Milwaukee counties voted in 2020, insinuating that their votes were somehow cast fraudulently. A Wisconsin State Journal review found no evidence to corroborate that claim, finding only one Dane County nursing home where all 12 registered voters cast cast a ballot, and 42% to 91% of registered voters in other facilities casting ballots.

To date, only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trumps own attorney general has said there was no widespread fraud.

With no evidence supporting widespread fraud, more Republicans are becoming confident in the accuracy of the 2020 election, with 38% saying they are confident now while 29% said they were confident in August 2021, according to the latest Marquette Law School Poll. Between August 2021 and the most recent poll, independents confidence fell from 79% to 55%, though the percentage didnt change much from the October 2021 poll. Democrats remain trusting of the accuracy of the election, with 96% saying they were confident.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Tuesday he is meeting with advocates for decertifying President Joe Bidens win in the battleground state, hours before he and the state Senates top Republican were to discuss the topic with county GOP leaders.

Vos, R-Rochester, told The Associated Press he was also inviting those who believe the 2020 election cannot be decertified to discuss it along with advocates for decertification on Wednesday.

I still believe that we do not have the ability to decertify, but I said I would listen to those who are bringing experts to say we can and we will see if they can prove their case, Vos said in an interview.

Vos has been under pressure from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans who support his false claims that the election was stolen and say Vos is not doing enough, including decertifying Bidens win.

The meetings come after the investigator hired by Vos, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, earlier this month urged lawmakers to consider decertifying Bidens win.

Trump said last week that he was confident that Robin will exercise his moral duty and follow up on Gablemans finding, including dissolving the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission. Vos has said he does not support that. Trump also said, I would imagine that there can only be a Decertification of Electors.

Vos and other Republican leaders have repeatedly said that would not be done, citing opinions from the Legislatures nonpartisan attorneys who have said such a move is illegal. Rick Esenberg, the head of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, also says decertification is illegal.

One of those who will attend the meeting with Vos on Wednesday is former Menomonee Falls village president Jefferson Davis. He has organized a pair of rallies at the Capitol attended by Rep. Tim Ramthun, R-Campbellsport, a GOP candidate for governor who has introduced resolutions to decertify the vote.

Davis said he and others will be presenting evidence to Vos that shows there were between 250,000 and 300,000 fake ballots cast in the election and that decertification can legally be done.

Davis said the goal is to convince Vos and other Republicans that Bidens win should be pulled back or the election should be held again.

What has to change tomorrow is Robin Vos heart and head and soul, Davis said.

Bidens win by just under 21,000 votes over Trump has withstood lawsuits, recounts and reviews by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau.

Gablemans report, which was panned by Democrats and Republicans, did not provide any evidence to back up Davis claims of more than 250,000 illegally cast ballots. To date, only 24 people out of nearly 3.3 million who cast ballots have been charged with election fraud in Wisconsin. Trumps own attorney general has said there was no widespread fraud.

Still, some Republicans refuse to back down and Vos has authorized Gablemans investigation to continue.

Also Tuesday, the Green Lake County district attorney said she would not press criminal charges against a member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission after determining there wasnt sufficient evidence to prove she had committed a crime leading up to the 2020 election.

Three district attorneys have now decided against filing charges against board members who voted not to send election deputies into nursing homes in 2020 to assist residents with voting due to restrictions during the pandemic, a decision that Gableman and others have said opened the door to fraud.

So far, district attorneys in Milwaukee, Racine and Green Lake counties have all declined to bring charges as recommended by a Trump-backing sheriff, citing a lack of evidence. Marge Bostelmann, a Republican, was the latest commissioner not to be charged.

On Wednesday night in Plover, Vos, state Republican Party Chairman Paul Farrow and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu plan to meet county Republican Party leaders.

Farrow, who called the meeting, said he expected about half of the discussion to focus on election integrity issues.

Farrow said he is focused on the fall election  in which Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson are on the ballot  not relitigating 2020, and he hopes that following the meeting local leaders will feel the same.

A Marquette University Law School poll of Wisconsin residents released earlier this month found that 67% of respondents said they were very or somewhat confident the election results were accurate. But 61% of Republicans were not confident.

Davis said GOP leaders need to listen more to the concerns of grassroots Republicans who believe the election was stolen.

This is the No. 1 issue in Wisconsin and its not going away, Davis said.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has called for mothers receiving public assistance to help other mothers by staffing the child care centers taking care of their children.

And he said so  for the second time since 2016  despite Wisconsin law prohibiting state subsidy payments from going to a certified child care provider where an employees child receives care.

When you have mothers on different kinds of public assistance, to me, an elegant solution would be, why dont we have them help staff child care for other mothers? he said Tuesday during a telephone town hall.

I think theres an imaginative solution here, the Oshkosh Republican continued, adding that his idea would be a win for taxpayers, mothers and children.

Across the country, child care centers have been facing staffing shortages. The median wage for child care workers nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is $25,460 per year or $12.24 per hour. The average wage that child care workers make in Wisconsin is $7.50 to $13 an hour, which for a 40-hour work week puts a family of four at or below the 2022 federal poverty rate.

Ron Johnson couldnt care less about Wisconsin parents and children, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Philip Shulman said in a statement. Instead of offering meaningful solutions that would lower costs, hes pushing a self-serving agenda that harms Wisconsin families.

His comments came in response to a caller asking for Johnsons solution to help small businesses and, specifically, child care centers.

I understand, you know, having a mother in charge of a bunch of kids plus her own kids, she may not provide the care to the other kids. Again, I understand the concern, he said.

Theres got to be an imaginative solution where moms who are getting assistance can be involved in the child care centers for other moms and just be a cooperative type of arrangement here, he continued.

Johnson added that that idea hadnt been explored yet, and said there are issues with it. But it wasnt the first time he explored the idea.

In 2016, Johnson proposed the same solution to WIZM radio in La Crosse.

We have prohibitions against that, providing day care for a facility that has your children in it, he said. I think we need to reduce some of these policies. Lets work smart, lets rethink all of these programs, all the laws. Just about everything has got to be rethought.

The law restricting eligible recipients of child care subsidies was enacted after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2009 discovered day care providers collecting subsidies while watching each others children.

Schools allow it

In response to his call to action, Johnson spokesperson Alexa Henning said Johnson believes the federal government exacerbates more problems than it solves, and wanted listeners to begin thinking outside the box.

His suggestion was to look at Wisconsins law that prevents a child care provider from receiving funds if an employees child receives care, she said. He said he understood why that law is in place but suggested we revaluate it to see if theres some way to create a win for children and parents. Why should child care centers be different than schools that allow teachers to teach at government-funded schools where their children attend?

In response to Johnsons proposal on Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski said, We have a full-blown child care crisis and a record number of moms getting knocked out of the workforce. There are commonsense solutions to these problems, but Ron Johnsons imaginative idea would punish moms and drag us back to the 1950s. I have news for this guy: Were not going back.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes said, The pandemic has effectively set womens participation in the workforce back a generation, and Ron Johnsons solution to the child care crisis  on Equal Pay Day no less  is to add to their burden.

Past statements

In January, Johnson said it shouldnt be controversial to worry about the federal government wanting to take greater control over your children, amid the increased national debate around teaching about systemic racism in schools.

What, does the federal government want to start indoctrinating our children even earlier? he said.

His comments came after a late January interview with La Crosse TV station WKBT in which he said he has never really felt it was societys responsibility to take care of other peoples children.

His comments refer to a subsidy for child care supported by Democrats and included in President Joe Bidens Build Back Better proposal, which is currently stalled.

Johnson added that hes OK with some federal programs supporting people who cannot support themselves, but parents need to be responsible for their children.

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Wisconsin state lawmakers claimed more than $1.16 million in daily expense reimbursements in 2021, marking a roughly 7% decrease compared with allowances claimed in 2019, the previous non-election year.

Lawmakers in the Senate claimed more than $316,000 in expenses, while their Assembly colleagues claimed nearly $850,000, according to records from the chief clerks offices in both chambers. The daily allowances, also referred to as per diems, cover expenses lawmakers accrue while in Madison on legislative business and are paid out in addition to their yearly salary of $55,141.

In the Senate, 16 of the chambers 33 lawmakers claimed more than $10,000 in expenses. Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who lives about 30 miles north of Madison in West Point, was the top recipient with $15,525 and 135 days in the Capitol.

Im usually down in Madison four or five days a week, but I try to keep per diems at three, three-and-a-half days on average, Erpenbach said. So there are days Im in there where I just dont take it.

Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison, claimed the second-most in the Senate, with $14,087.50 in expenses over 245 days.

I take my role as a public servant seriously, and part of that role is making myself accessible for my constituents and colleagues, Agard said in an email. People in my district have told me that they want a policy maker that works tirelessly on their behalf, and I take that to heart. I am always ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work, whether at the Capitol or in the 16th Senate District.

Thirty-five of the Assemblys 99 members claimed more than $10,000 in expenses. In that chamber, Republican Rep. Calvin Callahan, who resides about 180 miles north of Madison in Tomahawk, received the most with $19,890 for 153 days.

Top 10 Here are the top 10 legislator per diem payouts for 2021. SENATE Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-West Point: $15,525

Sen. Melissa Agard, D-Madison: $14,087.50

Sen. Janet Bewley, D-Mason: $13,800

Sen. Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg: $13,570

Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green: $13,455

Sen. La Tonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee: $12,880

Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee: $12,190

Sen. Jerry Petrowski, R-Marathon: $12,190

Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma: $11,615

Sen. Kathy Bernier, R-Chippewa Falls: $11,500 ASSEMBLY Rep. Calvin Callahan, R-Tomahawk: $19,890

Rep. Alex Dallman, R-Green Lake: $15,453

Rep. Rob Swearingen, R-Rhinelander: $15,147

Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville: $14,917.50

Rep. Robert Summerfield, R-Bloomer: $14,458.50

Rep. Donna Rozar, R-Marshfield: $14,152.50

Rep. Robert Wittke, R-Racine: $14,076

Rep. Tyler August, R-Lake Geneva: $13,999.50

Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay: $13,923

Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers: $13,846.50

Callahans office said in a statement he has been diligently working for his constituents, including authoring more than 50 bills and co-authoring 100 others.

As a freshman representative sitting on six different committees, Rep. Callahan recognized the need to learn about the issues being brought before him, so that he could serve his constituents in a judicious manner, Callahans spokesperson Wyatt Cooper said.

Reps. Alex Dallman, R-Green Lake, and Rob Swearingen, R-Rhinelander, were the next top per diem recipients with $15,453 and $15,147, respectively.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, received $13,570 for 118 days, while Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, received $7,803 for 73 days. The Assembly speaker receives an additional stipend of $25 per month.

Rep. Jimmy Anderson, D-Fitchburg, was the only lawmaker in either house who claimed less than $1,000 in per diems. Anderson, a quadriplegic who is especially susceptible to COVID-19 and claimed just $153 last year, expressed frustration that lawmakers collecting per diems didnt do more.

I do think that people who are going to be collecting thousands upon thousands of dollars should be doing more to help out the people of Wisconsin, who for the most part dont get to collect per diems to go to their jobs, Anderson said.

State and Assembly lawmakers claimed more than $1.25 million in per diems in 2019, which marked a 6% decrease from payouts claimed in 2017.

About $555,000 in payments were claimed in 2020, a drop from the nearly $800,000 collected in 2018. The decrease was due in part to the Capitol building being closed to the public in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Republican-led Legislature also did not convene for a floor session over an eight-month span that year.

Erpenbach said the amount of per diem payments last year likely underscores the return to more normal activities in the Capitol, including committee meetings. The Legislature also undertook the states time-consuming biennial budget process last summer.

Whether its Farm Bureau days, Tavern League, whatever, there wasnt a lot of that in 2020, Erpenbach said. There was a lot more of that last year.

In the Assembly, lawmakers can collect $76.50 per day for non-overnight stays and $153 for overnight stays. The cap for the daily allowance is $115 for Senate lawmakers who live outside of Dane County and $57.50 for those who live within the county.

Per diems cover room, board and meals on days lawmakers are in Madison on legislative business, excluding Saturdays and Sundays unless a special session or committee meeting is called. Lawmakers can also be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred when attending a committee meeting outside Madison.

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Republican Attorney General candidate Adam Jarchow has swiftly gained momentum in the last month, with his campaign saying it raised more than $200,000 so far this year and picked up endorsements from more than two dozen lawmakers and the husband of gubernatorial candidate Rebecca Kleefisch.

A former state lawmaker from Balsam Lake, Jarchows momentum suggests the party may be coalescing around his campaign as his opponent, Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, boasts a deep bench of support from law enforcement across the state.

Though the GOP primary isnt until Aug. 9, both campaigns have already begun to draw contrasts between the candidates on issues such as criminal justice and COVID-19 restrictions. The winner of the primary will face Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul in Novembers general election.

We continue to demonstrate that our campaign has the message and organization needed to fire Josh Kaul in November, and Im humbled by the outpouring of support from across Wisconsin, Jarchow said in a statement announcing that he had raised $200,000 in the last two months.

In late February, Jarchow announced a flurry of endorsements including U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua; state Sens. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, and Duey Stroebel, R-Saukville; state Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville; and former Oconomowoc state Rep. Joel Kleefisch, the husband of Rebecca Kleefisch.

Jarchow has so far campaigned as a staunch conservative, citing restoring election integrity and protecting parents rights and freedoms to be involved in every aspect of their kids education, per his website.

Brian Reisinger, a former top adviser for Gov. Scott Walker, noted that establishment and outsider forces alike are beginning to back Jarchow, whereas those branches of the conservative movement are often in conflict.

Its a little bit of a scrambling of the usual scenario here, Reisinger said.

While prosecutor resumes like Toneys have won out in past attorney general contests, Jarchows outspoken conservatism has boosted his chances with the partys grassroots in an election year that is stacked in favor of Republicans, Reisinger said.

In response to Jarchows fundraising announcement on Wednesday, Toney said his campaign has had more individual donors this year than during all of last year.

The Fond du Lac district attorney has also pointed to his real-world experience as a prosecutor and his backing from dozens of county sheriffs, district attorneys and the state police union.

Its clear Adam Jarchows a typical politician, Toney said in an interview last month. His campaign is run by Madison insiders and lobbyists. Im a prosecutor and law enforcements choice.

Toney has also chastised Jarchows support for marijuana legalization, which ranges from statements in support of legalization to a 2017 plan to decriminalize possession of less than 10 grams.

As for Toneys stance on marijuana as a district attorney, he said his office charges people for marijuana possession on a case-by-case basis, weighing quantity, a persons criminal record and firearm possession.

Jarchow has pointed to Toneys office bringing charges against 10 Fond du Lac residents for violating Gov. Tony Evers original stay-at-home order in April 2020. Toney has said his responsibility as a district attorney is to enforce the rule of law, whether or not I agree with or like the law and noted the charges were later dismissed.

The ongoing political tit-for-tat has extended onto Twitter, where Jarchow maintains an active and outspoken presence.

In a back-and-forth late last week, Toney tweeted that the Wisconsin Professional Police Association put Jarchow next to last in 2018 for its ranking of how state legislators support pro-law enforcement legislation.

Jarchow retorted that one of Toneys supporters in the Legislature also ranked low and mocked him as one of Tony Evers most trusted lockdown enforcers.

Though Jarchow says his fundraising has grown at a swift clip, his campaigns statements have not included how many donors it has or who they are. Reports for the first half of the year arent due until mid-July.

Jarchows campaign had raised about $10,000 of his own money last year after registering his candidacy in October, but has since assembled an advisory committee of heavyweights in the state party, including former chair Andrew Hitt, former state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, Tiffany and former UW Regents President John Behling.

Jarchow joined the race for attorney general after UW-Madison political science professor Ryan Owens ended his campaign after facing criticism from conservatives for deleting podcast episodes he hosted featuring critics of former President Donald Trump.

Toney, who has been in the race since April, raised about $43,000 between July and December and a total of $84,000 all of last year, according to campaign finance disclosures. The Fond du Lac district attorneys campaign also brought on veteran Republican fundraiser Mary Stitt late last year and formally hired her in the last month, Toney said.

Both Republicans trail far behind Kaul in fundraising, who raised more than $1 million last year.

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HANSEN  Grabbing orange dibblers and canvas bags filled with seedlings of Wyoming big sagebrush, more than 200 local students wandered Tuesday morning around a hillside in the South Hills.

Traversing over the dry, cracked ground, students listened as Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials pointed out cheatgrass  an invasive species  the dominant plant life in Antelope Valley. Once a landscape covered in dusty green sagebrush, the surrounding hills are now brown and burned.

South Hills recovering from Badger Fire: 'Naked' burned land beginning to get green Green shoots are starting to pop up on the 90,190 acres of South Hills forest and grazing land blackened in the Badger Fire.

In 2020, the Badger Fire decimated the landscape, burning more than 90,000 acres and wiping out sagebrush. While the plant can sometimes survive fire, the high heat killed the seed bank, preventing new growth. Mule deer, whitetail, sage grouse, elk, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, jackrabbits and more depend on sagebrush for food and habitat.

The planting event Monday is an annual occurrence that provides more than one benefit.

There is just a ton of synergies here, College of Southern Idaho professor Bill Ebener said. Its too good to pass up, its like a dream come true.

Students not only have the opportunity to help state agencies fill a personnel need, but they can also interact with professionals and learn about potential career paths, Ebener said. Educators were also able to connect with wildlife management professionals and get a better understanding of what to teach in their classrooms.

Like, Hey we were planting the sagebrush seedlings but there was an emphasis to only putting them on the north side. What was that all about? he said. This is a great opportunity to have students think critically about what they are doing and come back with lots of questions driven by their curiosity.

The need for seed: USFS wraps up Badger Fire seeding The agency has seeded 4,400 acres of land that was torched by this fall's Badger Fire in the South Hills with native grass, flowers and shrubs.

Ebener had four of his college students volunteer along with middle- and high-school students from around the area. Twin Falls, Jerome, Murtaugh, Buhl and Burley schools participated.

Twin Falls High School freshman Wyatt Rasmussen said he was glad for an opportunity to do something outside and give back to nature.

I was excited to do something fun and agriculture-related, Rasmussen said.

CSI student Kate Kallenbach said everyone is connected to the landscape whether or not they choose to participate in planting events.

I think a lot of people can be removed from this landscape which is right outside their front door, but in the distance, it just looks like a vast emptiness, Kallenbach said. So they can understand how important sagebrush is to the ecosystem and that they can be a part of it as well. I think there is a big change in getting to be a part of it instead of talking about it in the classroom.

The goal was to plant 7,500 seedlings Tuesday, according to Brandon Tycz, a regional habitat biologist with Fish and Game.

They (the students) get some ownership in this. They live here in Idaho, Tycz said. And everybody wants to give back and Id say most of the people that live here in Idaho, at one point or another, are probably out hunting, or fishing, or trapping, or recreating somewhere out on the landscape.

He said a 30% plant survival rate would be considered a win. How well the plants grow is dependent on moisture.

Fish and Game in April will host two more planting events that are open to the public. Tycz can be reached at 208-324-4359 or by emailing brandon.tycz@idfg.idaho.gov.

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BOISE  Far-right activist Ammon Bundy was found guilty of trespassing and resisting officers at the Idaho Capitol, a six-member jury concluded after three days at the Ada County Courthouse.

The gubernatorial candidate was convicted of two of the three misdemeanor charges against him  one count of trespassing, for the second time in less than a year, and one count of resisting or obstructing officers arrests and seizures. The jury was not able to make a decision on the other trespassing charge against him.

Bundy will serve no jail time. Ada County Magistrate Judge Kira Dale offered him one year of unsupervised probation as long as he doesnt commit a new crime for the year starting Wednesday. He would have originally been sentenced to 20 days in county jail. He was also fined $3,000 plus court fees.

After Bundy compared his actions to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., Dale called that comparison misguided and misplaced.

The jury, which deliberated for more than seven hours, could have stayed longer to decide if the trespassing charge was Bundys first or second offense, but Bundy decided to enter into an Alford plea. That means he maintained his innocence but accepts the ramifications of a guilty plea  essentially pleading guilty  to trespassing as a second offense within five years.

Bundy was convicted in July of trespassing in the first degree after he refused to leave the Lincoln Auditorium in the Idaho Capitol, which resulted in a one-year ban. Bundy is appealing that conviction.

Roughly 20 supporters filled the wooden pews of courtroom 410 as the prosecution and Bundy waited for the six-person jury to enter the courtroom and read the verdict. While waiting, Bundy turned to his supporters and jokingly held up a piece of paper that he called a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Everybody, dont worry, Ive got my get out of jail free card, Bundy said.

Under Idaho Code, Bundy could have been sentenced to up to six months in jail and fined between $1,500 and $3,000 for the trespassing violation. Bundy also could have been sentenced to up to one year in county jail and be fined up to $1,000 for resisting or obstructing officers arrests and seizures.

The charges tried this week stem from April 2021 incidents in which Bundy was arrested, twice in one day, for entering the Capitol while under the one-year ban from the building. That ban resulted from his August 2020 arrest for refusing to leave the Lincoln Auditorium at the Capitol during a legislative special session.

Mr. Bundy is not on trial for who he is, Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Whitney Welsh said. She continued that while civil disobedience has long been a part of the nations history, it doesnt mean it is without consequences.

The trial was expected to be almost a week long but it was cut short. Bundy chose not to give an opening statement or present witnesses and evidence to the jury on Tuesday.

Bundy was arrested on suspicion of trespassing again Saturday after he failed to leave the St. Lukes Meridian Medical Center property in relation to a child welfare case. An arraignment has yet to be set, according to online records.

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BOISE  Idaho Deputy Secretary of State Chad Houck told the Idaho Capital Sun on Monday afternoon that Democratic candidate for governor Shelby Rognstad will not appear on the primary ballot because he was still registered as a Republican before the candidate filing deadline.

Houck said Idaho law requires candidates to be affiliated with the party that lines up with the candidacy declaration, despite an argument from Rognstads campaign that Idaho Code doesnt specify that it has to be the same party.

Thats a semantics argument, Houck said, and added that the Idaho attorney generals office agreed with their interpretation.

In a statement sent to the Idaho Capital Sun, Rognstad said the decision was politically motivated.

Today, a Republican Secretary of State worked with a Republican attorney general to illegally prevent a Democrat candidate from running for governor, based on a technicality that has no basis in Idaho law, Rognstad said. When I filed my candidacy on Friday, I declared as a Democrat on the filing form, which is exactly what the state law requires. Unfortunately, its not enough for Idaho Republicans to win almost every election, now theyre wanting to prevent elections from happening in the first place. Im reviewing my options on how to fight this gross injustice that deprives Idaho voters of a choice on the primary ballot.

The statement included a copy of the letter Rognstads campaign sent to the secretary of states office.

Rognstads campaign manager, Ethan Shaffer, told Idaho Reports over the weekend that the would-be gubernatorial candidate turned in his paperwork on Friday, and discovered Rognstad was still listed as a Republican after the final unofficial candidate list was published later that night.

The campaign contended Rognstad did change his voter affiliation to Democrat with Bonner County in 2021, but Houck said the Secretary of States office found no record of that change.

He could not give us a consistent answer on how that change was made. It was, Maybe I made it online and forgot to hit submit, maybe I submitted it on paper and it got lost, but he didnt seem to know for sure how he had done so, Houck said. There was no record of it. There was a record of him changing from Democrat to Republican after the 2020 primary and prior to the state election, and that was done in writing on paper with the (Bonner County) clerk.

Rognstad did change his affiliation to the Democratic party on Friday night, but that only affects his status as a voter, not a candidate, Houck said.

Rognstad, who is the mayor of Sandpoint and has been outspoken about his opposition to extremism and white nationalist movements in Idaho, now has the option of challenging the decision judicially or staging a write-in campaign.

The deadline for a declaration of intent as a write-in candidate is 5 p.m. March 25.

Democratic candidate Stephen Heidt of Marsing filed a candidacy declaration for governor. Unless a legal challenge from Rognstad is successful, Heidt will be the only Democrat to appear on the primary ballot.

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BOISE  Several pieces of legislation aimed at preventing Idaho government entities from investing in companies that choose environmental-friendly paths or follow particular social policies are moving through the Legislature.

The Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday sent to the full Senate a bill aimed at prohibiting investments in companies that make commitments to environmental, social, and corporate governance, known as ESG.

The House, meanwhile, is advancing a resolution that would task a committee with identifying such companies.

ESG is increasingly seen as an important way for corporations to tout responsible business credentials. But some Idaho lawmakers say theyre suspicious of companies that appeal to whats known as sustainable investing.

Republican Sen. Steve Vick says the state should avoid investing in companies whose actions are counter to the values of Idaho.

Opponents of the legislation said it could allow political beliefs to override sound investing. Democratic Sen. Grant Burgoyne questioned whether government entities would avoid investing in Idaho Power, which plans to cut coal from its power-generating portfolio by 2028.

Vick said he didnt think it would because other factors could be considered.

The House resolution would require the Federalism Committee to draft legislation that protects the State of Idaho and its citizens from the use of ESG standards.

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A former Idaho lawmaker has been convicted of raping a 19-year-old legislative intern after a dramatic trial in which the young woman fled the witness stand during testimony, saying I cant do this. The verdict was returned Friday. The intern told a Statehouse supervisor that Aaron von Ehlinger raped her at his apartment after the two had dinner at a Boise restaurant in March 2021. He said the sex was consensual. At the time, von Ehlinger was a Republican state representative from Lewiston, but he later resigned. Von Ehlinger was found guilty of rape. He was found not guilty of sexual penetration with a foreign object. Afterwards, prosecutors lauded the victim for her courage in coming forward.
Patrick Countys Commonwealths Attorney will soon become Henry Countys newest General District Court Judge.

Stephanie Brinegar-Vipperman will take the seat vacated by Henry County General District Judge James McGarry, who will replace Henry County Circuit Court Judge David Williams who is retiring after 42 years of service.

When I was a college kid I wanted to be the Commonwealths Attorney, but when I became one so young I started asking myself Whats next? Do you want to do this forever? Maybe you would make a good judge, Brinegar-Vipperman told the Bulletin on Tuesday.

Brinegar-Vipperman first realized she wanted to be a lawyer when she was 13 years old after she watched the movie, The Client and coming from a large family mostly comprised of public servants, she knew she wanted to help the public.

The main character inspired me to use the profession of law to help others, Brinegar-Vipperman wrote in her biography. Judge Charlie Stone in Martinsville Circuit Court helped me solidify that aspiration when he allowed me to intern for him in college.

Brinegar-Vipperman was a three-sport athlete in high school at Magna Vista and graduated valedictorian. She continued her education at Lynchburg College where she double-majored in political science and history and graduated in three years ranking number one in her class while participating in a varsity sport and extracurricular activities.

After college, Brinegar-Vipperman went to law school at the University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law. Her electives were divided between criminal law, children in the law and immigration and international law.

As a law graduate, she accepted a job offer at the Martinsville Commonwealths Attorneys Office and decided to run for Patrick County Commonwealths Attorney just two years later and thats where she has been for the past 14 years.

Ive definitely seen the wave of criminal justice change from being more punitive to more rehabilitative now, said Brinegar-Vipperman. I feel like as a judge I can be neutral and wont have to ride that wave. I can decide the case in front of me and not have to mold myself to current trends in the legislature.

Since Brinegar-Vipperman has served Patrick County as its Commonwealths Attorney she has gotten married and has two children. She is active at Horsepasture Christian Church and has been involved in several organizations including the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce Board and the Spencer-Penn Centre, serving as the organizations vice president.

All of my immediate family and most of my extended family still live in the area, so I knew whatever the next step is, it would be here, said Brinegar-Vipperman.

In her biography presented to the local bar for consideration, Brinegar-Vipperman wrote that she decided to seek the judgeship because she loves this community and the people who live her and her goals were to be fair, competent and expeditious on the bench and make the bar proud should it see fit to endorse her.

Her education, experience, and most of all, her faith, will guide her in achieving those goals, Brinegar-Vipperman wrote.

It was in Feb. 2019 that McGarry, along with Kimberly Belongia, Joan Ziglar and Marcus Brinks, became the areas four newly elected judges and three years later Judge David Williams was recognized by the Henry County Board of Supervisors for his service and wished well in his retirement.

Said Brinegar-Vipperman: Ive always appreciated the support Ive received in Patrick County and Im excited to sit in Henry County where I grew up and where my family is. Ill be a neutral, impartial and fair judge.

Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt.

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An Axton man is now charged with first degree murder after the man he allegedly shot died, almost a month after the shooting.

Jacob Raleigh Robertson, 23, of Axton was initially charged with aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and released on bond, but after Ray E. Durflinger Jr., died on Monday, charges were upgraded and Robertson was jailed in the Henry County Jail, a Henry County Sheriffs Office release stated.

On Feb. 18, at approximately 1:05 a.m. the 911 Communications Center received a call that said someone had been shot in the abdomen at 964 Southland Drive in Martinsville, the release said.

When police arrived, they found Durflinger, 42, with a gunshot wound. He was taken first to Sovah HealthMartinsville and the air-lifted to a North Carolina hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries, the release stated.

Police say their investigation resulted in them determining that Robertson and Durflinger had gotten into an argument near the roadway outside Durflingers home and Durflinger was shot once.

Robertson fled the scene and was taken into custody later during a traffic stop, the release said.

Durflinger had remained in the hospital since the shooting and died of his injuries on Monday at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, the release said.

Records in the Henry County General District Clerks Office indicate Robertson was arraigned Wednesday morning and is scheduled for a bond hearing on Thursday.

The investigation is ongoing, and the Sheriffs Office asks that anyone with information regarding this incident to contact them at 638-8751 or Crimestoppers at 632-7463. The Crimestoppers Program offers rewards up to $2,500 for information related to the crime. The amount of the reward is determined by the nature of the crime and the substance of the information provided.

Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin. He can be reached at 276-638-8801, Ext. 2360. Follow him @billdwyatt.

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TODAYS WORD is derision. Example: When we grew up and went to school / There were certain teachers who would / Hurt the children any way they could / By pouring their derision / Upon anything we did / And exposing every weakness however carefully hidden by the kids. Source: The Happiest Days of Our Lives by Pink Floyd (1979)

WEDNESDAYS WORD was incessant. Example: In the summer Cecelia cannot stand the incessant high-pitched drone of cicadas, but in the winter she sometimes misses it.

Support group

Who takes care of the caregiver?

Anyone who has been responsible for caring for someone else knows it can be a draining and isolating labor of love. A new support group at the Spencer-Penn Center aims to help caregivers share the rewards and challenges of caregiving while connecting with others who understand. The group, facilitated by Good Samaritan, also will talk about tips on managing stress.

The caregiver support group will meet from 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, April 7.

New books

On this St. Patricks Day, Library Cataloger Melissa Chapman will Match us up with some good books to help start our Summer Getaway a little early. Whether we sit reading by Sugar Creek or take a stroll along Edgewater Road, we always carry an Element of Love for a good book.

And here are the new choices, on shelves today:

The Match by Harlan Coben

The Summer Getaway by Susan Mallery

The Sugarcreek Suprise by Wanda E. Brunstetter

The Element of Love by Mary Connealy

Edgewater Road by Shelley Shepard Gray

Irish blessings

Nelson Smith shared these two Irish blessings for St. Patricks Day:

May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, a tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart may desire.

And this:

May the blessing of light be upon you, light on the outside, light on the inside.

With Gods sunlight shining on you, may your heart glow with warmth, like a turf fire that welcomes friends and strangers alike.

May the Light of the Lord shine from your eyes, like a candle in the window, welcoming the weary traveler.

Todays chuckle

Why did St. Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland? Because airplanes had not been invented yet. (OK, neither had been cars ... but a team of horses perhaps?)

What kind of music do you listen to on St. Patricks Day? Shamrock and roll.

What does it mean if you find a four-leaf clover? That you have too much time on your hands.

Why do people wear shamrocks on St. Patricks Day? Because real rocks are too heavy.

WEDNESDAYS TRIVIA ANSWER: The first time-lapse film made, in 1901, shows the demolition of the Star Theatre in New York City over the course of a month. The film lasts just over a minute.

TODAYS TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year was the first color film created?

Reach The Stroller at 276-638-8801 ext. 2430 and stroller@martinsvillebulletin.com.
The desire to confide, to be seen, is a universal human one; personal narrative is a way of reaping art from that desire. But only some people are taught that their lives are worthy of the endeavor.

During her 15 years teaching nonfiction, Melissa Febos listened to students criticize and dismiss their own projects as "navel-gazing." Many had internalized the popular backlash against memoir as a debased form: clickbait, self-absorbed, a kind of narcissist's public therapy pursued in lieu of writing Big Important Novels.

Febos noticed a pattern. The students most inhibited by these inner voices of doubt were not the straight white men. They were women. They were queer. They were people of color.

"Certain students of mine believed there was space and audience and value for their stories in the world," she said in a recent phone interview, "and other students absolutely could not surmount the fear and belief that there wasn't."

One of America's most accomplished memoirists, Febos, now 41, decided to build on the pep talks she gave to her students in an essay, "In Praise of Navel Gazing," which became the first chapter of her new book, "Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative."

This original, lyrical collection weaves memory and teaching  about craft, about trauma and healing, about social justice  into an ode to personal writing that couldn't come at a more critical time: amid a nationwide assault on precisely these types of stories.

During an unprecedented surge in book bans by legislatures and school boards targeting LGBTQ writers and authors of color, Febos writes that "the resistance to memoirs about trauma is always in part  and often nothing but  a resistance to movements for social justice."

All of us, to a greater or lesser extent, have internalized some antipathy for the idea of personal testimony as a form of high art. Febos did too. For much of her 20s, she thought she'd write fiction instead. But today she counters these stereotypes, writing: "It is not gauche to write about trauma. It is subversive."

Febos and I spoke about her new book on Feb. 24, the day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At first, we both fumbled for words to articulate how we felt. I shared that I found it comforting to focus for a bit on something as hopeful as her book. She was glad for the distraction as well. But the news kept pulling us back. At one point, she choked up, wondering how we  meaning all of us  might "recoup our humanity and our conscience and our agency moving forward."

It was our first real conversation, but we had read each other's memoirs. (Febos blurbed my first book in 2018, but we have no other relationship). Her first memoir, "Whip Smart," is about the four years she spent working as a dominatrix in Midtown Manhattan while overcoming addiction; her second, "Abandon Me," explored her childhood with a sea captain father; and "Girlhood" focused on her coming of age and its related violations and abuses.

In conversation, Febos is down to earth and self-deprecating, with echoes of her literary voice. "The inside of my consciousness is super messy," she insisted. "It looks like the way that my bedroom looks after I get home from a trip: suitcases burping up clothes everywhere. And the only way I organize my own thoughts is by writing them."

"Body Work" seeks to demonstrate that the art of confession has a sacred power, capable of transforming us individually and collectively  and as much if not more than other genres.

Febos begins by dismantling the false binary between the emotional, which we're conditioned to associate with the female and the body, and the intellectual, which we consider to be lofty and male.

In praise of literal navel-gazing, she observes that she could write something intellectual and political about the knotty depression in our bellies that once tied us to our mothers. "I don't think it's a stretch to wonder if the navel, as the locus of all this disdain, has something to do with its connection to birth, and body, and the female," she writes.

Febos said she chose to center the body in the title to help ground her and the book: to dispel the learned impulse to disembody our writing. She devotes an entire chapter to writing better sex, delving into the need to defy patriarchal programming about what good sex looks like and examining how Carmen Maria Machado, Eileen Myles and other writers manage to transfigure the taboo into something transcendent and irresistible.

The book is illuminating but not didactic. Febos approached it as she did her previous books  as a dialogue with herself, slowly discovering deeper, more difficult truths. She is unapologetic about the form's cathartic potential.

"How many times have I been privy to conversations among other writers in which we sneer at the very concept?" Febos writes. "We compulsively assure each other that writing isn't about enacting a kind of therapy. How gross! We are intellectuals. We are artists."

Febos subverts those assumptions by briefly describing how each of her books transformed her. "Whip Smart" began the process of freeing her from escapism. "Abandon Me" helped her end a toxic relationship. "Girlhood" gave her clarity about abuses she had been unable to name before. She emerged with new empathy for her younger self and, consequently, a sense of wholeness.

But it's ongoing work. "I try to remind myself that I am doing a kind of work in myself and my relationships that is trying to counter centuries of contradictory motion," said Febos. She sees regressive movements in society through that lens too: "We fail to do that [work] as a nation the same way we struggle to do that as individuals."

Personal narrative, in her framing, is an exercise in humility and doggedness, a refusal to stick to the first version of one's story. The most powerful such writing, she argues, layers perspectives from the past and the present.

"Body Work" examines and exhibits these lessons. In one passage, Febos recalls an interview she gave years ago in which she quipped of her adolescence that she was "busy getting finger-banged behind the mall." She writes: "I cringe now, to even type these words. Not because they are crude, but because they are cruel."

But what was behind the impulse? She analyzes her prior belief in "the fantasy of toughness  the idea that lack of feeling signified mastery of it." She notes: "It is true that there is a kind of social power in the pageantry of uncaring. It renders one less vulnerable to others. That protection can exact a steep price."

Febos could have stopped there. But this is a book that explores self-reflection as a path to rebirth. "Time and experience have softened me," she adds, "even to the instinct that prompted [the quip]. It was an early attempt to manage the pain of that time."

While most books about memoir writing focus on craft, "Body Work" probes its power to transform our relationships to our bodies, our memories and other people. Her subject, as she identifies it in her book, is the "revolutionary power of undoing the narratives we've been taught about ourselves, and how that project might make us not only better writers and lovers, but more human to ourselves."

Febos, an associate professor of nonfiction at the University of Iowa, drew inspiration from Audre Lorde's essay collection "Sister Outsider" and other works of theory. The book is dedicated to her students.

"For me," she said, "there have been so many subjects and experiences that I was actually incapable of saying aloud to another person, and the only place where I could articulate them was in writing. And that process of externalizing my own stories ... became a bridge to intimacy and dialogue with other people."

She believes this process has world-changing potential. Reading Febos and speaking with her, it becomes less difficult to imagine how our species might examine our collective traumas and gravest mistakes with an open heart. But it will take body after body, a tug of war against the weight of history.
Naomi Judd died Saturday at age 76. Here are some of the entertainers, leaders, athletes and other notable people we've lost so far this year.
The McDowell Fire, Rescue and EMS College, sponsored by McDowell Technical Community College and a host of agency partners, will be back next weekend for its 44th year, as faithful and strong as ever, to train those who offer aide, comfort and protection to the rest of us when tragedy strikes. More importantly, leaders of the Fire, Rescue and EMS College continue to keep their finger on the pulse of training needs across the state and provide both basic and advanced coursework and certification exams, as well as classes that offer cutting-edge best practices in each of the disciplines supported by the college.

This year, for example, Director Ron Morgan and his colleagues are offering the first Swift Water Boat Class aimed at local emergency responders in the state of North Carolina. Just a few years ago, the college was one of the few in the state to offer Swift Water Rescue classes, but this new offering takes that training to a new level, training personnel to use boat rescue in swift water situations, whether on a river, in mass flooding or other similar situations.

Our strong partnerships are key to providing quality training to our fire, rescue and EMS community, said Dr. Brian S. Merritt, MTCC President. Pulling off a weekend-long college like this is no easy feat, and we appreciate Rons leadership and all of our partners who are dedicated to keeping our community, region and state safe and well.

Classes will begin today in some areas and continue through March 20, with the largest number of classes and participants expected on Saturday and Sunday, March 19-20. For the second year in a row, almost all classes will be held on the campus at McDowell Technical Community College, with additional classes being offered at Nebo, Marion, Glenwood, Sugar Hill Fire Departments, as well as McDowell Rescue Squad.

For hands-on elements, some classes will move to other sites throughout McDowell County to complete their training. Students in Extrication classes, for example, will meet at T & D Wrecker Service to practice extricating accident victims from wrecked vehicles, and Wilderness Rescue students will spend one overnight practicing rescue in a heavily wooded area near the campus, completing a total of 60 hours of training in just four days. With special permission from the state, other groups will convene at the new state recreational area being constructed at Bobs Creek, which has not yet opened to the public. There they will practice use of ATVs in rescue situations, use of technical ropes in rescue and Wilderness Medicine.

As in past years, live burns will be offered at the Fire Training Grounds in Marion, off of Old Highway 10 West, utilizing a specialized burn building, as well as large propane tanks and flammable liquids pit. Basic Engine Company classes will provide hands-on training at this location.

Approximately 130 instructors, many of whom are experts in their field, will teach classes in basic fire and rescue techniques, as well as advanced classes in subjects like arson investigation, clandestine drug labs, and flammable liquids. These classes generally fall into three basic categories: rescue (such as land search, rappelling, vehicle rescue, and vehicle extrication), emergency medical services (including aeromedicine) and firefighting (such as pumps, positive pressure ventilation, confined space, flammable liquids, ladders, forcible entry, ventilation, structural firefighting and liquid propane gas).

Back by popular demand, vendors will offer a variety of fire and rescue equipment, clothing and other items of interest to firefighters and rescue personnel and their families. They will be co-located with food vendors in a central location on the McDowell Tech campus.

Besides offering high-quality training for our emergency services personnel, the Fire, Rescue and EMS College has a strong, positive impact on the local economy with hundreds of trainees, staff and often their families descending on the county, staying in local hotels, eating in local restaurants, and shopping at local retail establishments over the four-day weekend, said Stacy Buff, Dean of Career and Technical Education at McDowell Tech. In addition, having training here allows local firefighters, rescue volunteers and EMS personnel to take selected training without having to travel to other areas of the state and incurring substantial travel and hotel costs to their local departments.

The job of those who put their lives on the line each and every day to save lives, protect and preserve property and rescue those in harms way is one we too often take for granted. We are proud to be partners in public safety, said Merritt, MTCC President. It is the Colleges mission to serve our county, region, and state with quality workforce training, and the long-standing tradition of the McDowell Fire, Rescue and EMS College is one we can proudly say serves our community well.

The Fire, Rescue and EMS College is co-sponsored by MTCC and the McDowell County Fire and Rescue Association, with assistance from the McDowell County Emergency Management Agency, the McDowell County Fire Commission, local fire departments and the McDowell County Rescue Association.
Saudi Arabias Ministry of Investment has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with US retail giant Amazon to develop the kingdoms e-commerce sector, Zawya reports.

The deal is in line with the Gulf countrys efforts to build local capabilities and attract sustainable investment practices to Saudi Arabia, the ministry said on Twitter. The ministry however did not provide details about the deal.

Amazon established its presence in Saudi Arabia after the acquisition of Dubai-based marketplace Souq.com. In 2020, Amazon rolled out a website, which is a re-branding for Souq.com customers in the kingdom.
The President of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates (Parliament), Saqr Ghobash, said, Tuesday, that the support of his country to the Moroccanness of the Sahara stems from its full conviction of the right of the Kingdom to preserve its territorial integrity.

After talks he held in Abu Dhabi with speaker of the House of Advisors, Naama Mayara, Ghobash told MAP that he reaffirmed to his interlocuter that the UAE supports with full conviction the territorial integrity of Morocco and the right of the Kingdom to preserve its territorial unity.

He added that this is the official position of his country on this issue, a stance that has been enshrined and confirmed by the opening of a consulate general of the United Arab Emirates in the city of Laayoune in November 2020.

He stressed that this official position in favor of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, followed by similar positions of a group of countries, including those of the Gulf Cooperation Council remains constant.

It should be noted that the Federal National Council is the UAEs parliamentary body before the federal government, and also plays an advisory role, thus constituting the fourth federal authority in the scale of five authorities stipulated by the UAE Constitution. These are the Federal Supreme Council, the President and Vice President of the Federation, the Council of Ministers of the Federation, the Federal National Council and the Federal Judiciary.

The talks between the speaker of the House of Advisors and the president of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates focused on the prospects for strengthening parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

Both parties reaffirmed their willingness to exchange their experiences in this regard in a way that strengthens the ties of cooperation between the two institutions, and ensures the continuation of fruitful dialogue with the aim of unifying strategic visions aimed at achieving sustainable development and promoting peace, stability and coexistence at regional and international levels.
An African winner of the 2022 Pritzker Prize. This is a first. The greatest prize in architecture was awarded this Tuesday, March 15 to Diebedo Francis Kere from Burkina Faso. At 56 years old, this architect now works all over the world. His agency is based in Berlin, but Diebedo Francis Kere has never forgotten the African continent, and especially Burkina.

Mali, Togo, Benin, Kenya, Sudan, Mozambique, Diebedo Francis Kere has built in the four corners of the African continent. This child of Gando, in the center-east of Burkina Faso, has come a long way since the time when he was learning carpentry alongside French Jesuits. At the age of 17, Diebedo Francis Kere was awarded a scholarship to study in Germany where he trained as an architect.

There, he was inspired by pre-industrial techniques that he wanted to adapt to the African context. It was in his native village, Gando, that he built his first building in 2001: a school, constructed with the help of the local population.

Diebedo Francis Kere uses local materials: earth, granite, wood, which has earned him the title of pioneer in sustainable architecture. But the builder explains that it is mainly a method of Coue: using what is on the spot is above all a necessity.

Among the architects current projects: the construction of the Beninese Assembly in Porto Novo, inspired by the palaver tree. Diebedo Francis Kere has also designed the future Assembly of Burkina Faso, the construction of which is on hold due to the countrys recent political upheavals.
The New York Times correspondent in Zimbabwe, accused of helping foreign journalists obtain false accreditation, will finally be tried at the end of April, the courts announced on Tuesday.

The magistrate rejected the request of the 37-year-old Zimbabwean freelancers lawyers, saying that the state had provided sufficient evidence. The case will now go to a full trial, where Mr. Moyo will have to present witnesses. Prior to the motion to dismiss last month, the court had heard only five witnesses called by the prosecution.

Unfortunately, the magistrate found that the state had provided sufficient evidence for Jeffrey Moyo to be charged, said his lawyer Kathleen Mpofu after the hearing, saying she was ready to present our own witnesses to challenge these charges.

Arrested in May and released on bail three weeks later, Moyo is accused of obtaining false accreditation for Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva, journalists who also work for the NYT, for a week-long report.

The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), which issues media accreditation, claimed that the journalists had been denied permission to work in the country because they had not obtained written approval from the Ministry of Information, as is the usual practice.

The defence contested this argument, saying that the ZMC, an autonomous body, could make independent decisions without government interference.
The situation continues to deteriorate in Burkina Faso. Civilians and soldiers are regularly killed. Transitional President Paul-Henri Damiba has issued a decree calling for the mobilization of former military personnel. According to him, it is for the needs of the nation.

The decree was signed by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba. It launches an order of mobilization of former military under the reserve during the period from 10 to 18 March, according to the decree made public.

The mobilization, which concerns the military categories of non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned members retired during the years 2019, 2020 and 2021, is launched for the needs of the nation, reads the decree. A decision welcomed by the people.

This is a very good measure in the sense that these soldiers will come to strengthen the ranks that can make the enemy retreat. It is one of the decisions that I find salutary, says Batiere Da, a student.

Terrorist attacks have increased in recent days in Burkina. On Sunday, 13 gendarmes were killed and five others wounded in an ambush on the Kaya-Dori road. Long before that, an attack on a transport bus on the same Kaya-Dori route left two people dead and 16 wounded. Seven people were killed, including four army auxiliaries and three civilians, yesterday morning in an attack in Arbinda in the Sahel, according to several local sources.
Several NGOs and civil society activists that are taking part in the ongoing 49th session of the Human Rights Council, have launched a moving call to put an end to the enrolment of Sahraoui Children in the Tindouf camps, in Algeria.

The call was launched during an international conference on the recruitment of Sahraoui children in the Tindouf camps, organized by the NGO Africa Culture International, in association with several civil society activists from the Moroccan Southern Provinces.

The participants denounced the exploitation of children in armed conflicts and their obligation to bear arms, as this is considered by the international community as the worst violation of human rights, something that has been recognized by all international legislations and by all UN instruments.

President of Africa Culture International Dianko Lamine said the Algeria-backed Polisario does not hesitate to recruit children aged 12 to 13 as soldiers, and to exhibit them in military parades. The NGO said cases were reported to it, as an NGO working in the region, by a group of mothers who preferred to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals.

The children thus find themselves deprived of their childhood to join the ranks of the militias, with all the psychological impact this implies.

The NGO Chief recalled that numerous press articles and press releases, documented by videos and photos were published, and their authenticity has been confirmed by the United Nations and by the European Parliament. These videos and photos show children from the Tindouf camps dressed in military fatigues and participating in military parades of the polisario Front militias on Algerian soil, he said.

Participants also deplored the fact that Algeria, as a host country, has consistently denied its protection obligations relating to violations committed against children on its territory.

The exploitation of children by the Polisario, by forcing them to bear arms and subjecting them to sanctions in case of refusal to comply with military orders, is contrary to International Humanitarian Law and is considered a crime against humanity, because of the psychological and physical harm inflicted on children and their families.

Aicha Duihi, President of the Sahara Observatory for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (OSPDH), pointed out in her intervention that the indoctrination and enlistment of children by the Polisario in wars is a crime against human beings in general. This practice contradicts the principles of human rights and the requirements of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates education in the principles and values of freedom, equality and tolerance in a manner aimed at consolidating the personality of the child.

The phenomenon of child soldiers in the Tindouf camps constitutes a danger for the entire North African region. These children could easily be recruited by terrorist organizations in the Sahel, she explained, calling on the international community to adopt serious measures to deal with this phenomenon.

Other participants, including Abubekrine Mohamed Yehdih, member of the African committee of experts on the rights and well-being of children (ACERWC), Abdelouahab Gain Brahim, President of Africa Watch, Moulay Lahsen Naji, President of the independent Commission for human rights in North Africa (CIDH), Mohamed Ahmed Gain, President of the African Institute for Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation (AIPECT), and Hammada Labaihi, President of the Sahara League for Democracy & Human Rights (LSDDH), also denounced the phenomenon that affects childrens rights and insisted on the fact that the war situations in Africa and more particularly in North Africa favor the recruitment of children by the armed militias of the Polisario in the Tindouf camps on Algerian soil.

Describing the phenomenon as a serious violation of the rights of the child and of the human being in general, they invited the African Union and the AU Peace and Security Council to assume their responsibility regarding the recruitment of children by the Polisario, which constitutes a serious violation of all the UN resolutions on Rights of the child.

Underlining that as the international community does not recognize the Polisario, they insisted that all responsibility for the indoctrination and practices suffered by children in the Tindouf camps remains the responsibility of Algeria, noting that this undemocratic country is run by Generals who do not recognize the UN principles and conventions relating to the protection of childrens rights.

In this connection, they urged the international community to strengthen the monitoring of the situation of children in the world and particularly in the Tindouf camps.
Scientists use PCR test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on blood from patients who have had COVID-19 during pregnancy. Credit: Unsplash

A small preliminary study from Northwestern Medicine has shown that a blood test may identify risk of stillbirth and placentitis in pregnant individuals who have had COVID-19. The finding builds on another study with similar results and could have implications in how physicians screen for and address high-risk pregnancies.

Research has shown pregnant people with COVID-19 have a higher risk of stillbirths and other pregnancy complications. Anecdotal reports have also reported potentially higher cases of stillbirths caused by certain variants, leading to increased concern in the scientific community. Scientists identified a link between COVID placentitis, in which the virus infects the placenta, and these poor outcomes, but can only diagnose instances of placentitis after delivery by examining the placenta.

The new paper, published this week in the journal Placenta, illuminates a link between placentitis and circulating SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"Right now, we don't know if there's placentitis until after the fact," said Northwestern's Dr. Leena Mithal, the paper's first author. "We're laying groundwork for further studies so that in the future, people who are diagnosed with COVID during pregnancy may be able to get a test that will help identify pregnancies that may be at higher risk of stillbirth or fetal distress."

Mithal is an assistant professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, the director of perinatal pathology at Feinberg, led the study and is the corresponding author.

Placentitis affects between 1% and 2% of pregnant people infected with COVID-19. Unlike many pregnancy complications, the risk of placentitis and stillbirth isn't linked to the severity of the virus. Dr. Elisheva Shanes, a co-investigator of the study and assistant professor of perinatal and autopsy pathology at Feinberg, said that makes predicting which placentas are at risk next to impossible, because an asymptomatic infection could just as easily have complications as a very sick person.

Using a biorepository of blood taken from pregnant people during the pandemic in 2020, the scientists looked at the blood of participants who had tested positive for COVID-19 during pregnancysix who were positive for placentitis and 12 controls who were not. Then, scientists at the Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution looked for RNA of the virus in maternal blood using the same PCR-based test usually performed on nasal swabs.

Of those who had placentitis, two had low levels of viral RNA (called viremia) in their blood; none of the controls did. One of the people with viremia had a stillbirth, and the other had a well infant; all participants who tested negative for the marker delivered healthy babies.

"The part of the placenta infected by the virus is also the part that's in contact with maternal blood," Shanes said. "So if there's infection in these cells, the virus may also be found in the blood. If a pregnant person had COVID and no placentitis, we wouldn't expect to find virus in the blood."

Most pregnant patients with COVID-19 will go on to have normal pregnancies. Improved versions of this test and additional studies to validate the finding could help obstetricians develop plans for those who are at a high risk of placentitis and stillbirth, Shanes said. Investigators plan to conduct follow-up studies with larger pools of participants and hope other labs will build on the small body of literature to further validate the findings.

The best way to protect both the parent and baby is to get vaccinated, the authors said. In their observations, stillbirths have been more common in unvaccinated patients.

"We don't know why viremia does or doesn't affect some people, but the vaccine does seem to protect against severe complications," Mithal said.

The all-Northwestern team also includes Sebastian Otero, Lacy Simons, Judd Hultquist, Emily Miller and Egon Ozer.

Explore further Coronavirus can destroy the placenta and lead to stillbirths: study

More information: Leena B. Mithal et al, Low-level SARS-CoV-2 viremia coincident with COVID placentitis and stillbirth, Placenta (2022). Leena B. Mithal et al, Low-level SARS-CoV-2 viremia coincident with COVID placentitis and stillbirth,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.placenta.2022.03.003
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Some of the world's leading experts on autism have published a redesigned care pathway for autistic children and their families based on early detection and family involvement.

Published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, the new pathway created by an international team aims to improve the organization of health and care services for autistic people in the UK and internationally.

"Existing services are reactive and often unevidenced, despite recent scientific advances in how to identify and support autistic children from their early years, public discussion and advocacy," said Professor Jonathan Green from The University of Manchester.

"But we now have the evidence and ideas to enable us to re-design care for autistic children and families in a way that fits the 21st century."

Using 20 year's work in service development and the use of digital technology, the team argue an integrated early care pathway will improve the service autistic children and their families receive. They draw on the best available quality evidence in autism, and ideas from what has worked in care for other enduring health conditions internationally. The approach involves identification of signs of neurodiversity in early childhood before diagnosis and links to family-based care.

It has been shown by the team in previous research to reduce some of the stress and difficulties an autistic child can experience during their development. And it can, they say, ease waiting list bottlenecks for later autism diagnosis and long waits for children and families before care.

Following diagnosis, similar models of family-based care give families the best tools and confidence to look after their child in ways that are have been shown to improve the child's long-term development and well-being. The authors then propose an integrated system of supportive care through Case Management and targeted additional ("step-up/step-down") targeted specialist intervention. This ongoing care system uses new digital health technologies and collaborative work with parents to provide them with appropriate long-term supports for the child's evolving needs.

Professor Green said: "Existing services are reactive and often unevidenced, despite recent scientific advances in how to identify and support autistic children from their early years, public discussion and advocacy. But we now have the evidence and ideas to enable us to re-design care for autistic children and families in a way that fits the 21st century. We have tried in this model to combine the best ideas from how services are organized for other health conditions internationally, the best evidence from our field on identification of neurodiversity and associated care, along with listening to what families and the autistic community say they need.

"We want to move from a system with long waiting lists which is often reactive to crisesto an integrated system that identifies needs earlier on and provides the appropriate early support that will provide enduring support and minimize later difficulties. Innovations in digital health technologies will be important in making such a system workable."

Autism spectrum conditions are a developmental aspect of neurodiversity affecting at least 1:100 people and often having a profound impact on children's social development and their and their families' wellbeing into adulthood.

"Digital health technologies provide an unprecedented opportunity to facilitate proactive and personalized care and support to autistic children and their families," says Professor Sandra Bucci, an NIHR Research Professor and Professor of Clinical Psychology at The University of Manchester and one of the authors; "This is already occurring in other mental health areas, and it is time to leverage digital tools to optimize care for children and their families and clinical workflows in services."

"Professor Josephine Barbaro, La Trobe University, Australia said "This proactive model of care from early identification to targeted supports is extremely timely, given recent evidence of highly effective early autism screening from 11 months of age."

"Too often we see autism therapies and supports untethered to any evidence," says Professor Andrew Whitehouse from the Telethon Kids Centre Perth Australia; "By contrast, this new pathway is deeply embedded in 20 years of clinical research, and holds great promise of connecting children to the evidence-based supports that they need. This is a vision that is ready for adoption."

Dr. Venkat Reddy, consultant neurodevelopmental pediatrician and lead clinician, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS FT, Officer for Digital Health and Technology, UK Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health says; "This integrated planned model of service delivery supported by digital technology has the potential to provide a blueprint for support and interventions for autistic children and their families across the world. This is extremely timely as we are all trying to develop long term strategies and action plans to achieve early recognition and needs led support for autistic children."

Explore further Survey heightens concern about pandemic's impact on education of students with autism

More information: Jonathan Green et al, An integrated early care pathway for autism, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health (2022). Jonathan Green et al, An integrated early care pathway for autism,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-4642(22)00037-2
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has become a humanitarian crisis.

More than 3 million people have fled as refugees into neighboring countries, while thousands of civilians who remain in Ukraine have been injured by Russian shelling and missile attacks.

In response, relief organizations have flooded the area to provide health care and aid to the suffering.

Want to contribute? Here's a list of reputable agencies working on the ground in and around Ukraine, with links:

International Medical Corps works both directly and in partnership with local organizations to increase access to medical services, child protection and mental health support. The nonprofit is also working with the Ukraine Ministry of Health to help contain the spread of infectious disease during the invasion.

You can contribute to the International Medical Corps directly, or you can take part in an online fundraiser called the Bundle for Ukraine. For a donation of $10 or more, you can receive one of nearly 1,000 computer games, tabletop role-playing games, and books donated by more than 700 creators.

The Bundle for Ukraine also benefits Voices of Children, a Ukrainian organization that helps children cope with the horrors of war.

The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation has been fundraising to purchase critically needed medical supplies for Ukrainian hospitals. The 30-year-old nonprofit established the Coordinating Coalition for Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine, which sent a first shipment of medical supplies six days after the Russian invasion.

UNICEF is scaling up life-saving support for Ukrainian children and their families. The United Nations-supported organization has been delivering first aid, surgical/medical and family hygiene kits to Kyiv and eastern Ukraine, among its many efforts.

"The past eight years of conflict in Ukraine have already inflicted profound and lasting harm to children," UNICEF says on its website. "Now, the immediate and very real threat to Ukraine's children has grown. Homes, schools, orphanages, and hospitals have all come under attack."

Doctors Without Borders has halted its normal activities in Ukraine and has mobilized emergency operations. The group now has teams in Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia to provide aid to refugees, and on March 6, its first shipment of emergency medical supplies was delivered to the Ukrainian Minister of Health.

"So far we have brought in more than 4,200 cubic feet of medical supplies, including surgical kits, trauma kits, and other basic necessities. These supplies are being sent to hospitals in areas further east where they are urgently needed," the group said on its website.

The International Red Cross is also providing lifesaving aid to people in Ukraine and in neighboring areas. Red Cross volunteers have distributed more than 90,000 food and hygiene parcels to refugees and Ukrainians trapped in occupied cities, provided first aid training to more than 12,000 people hiding in metro stations and bomb shelters, and delivered more than 32 tons of food, blankets, medicine, medical supplies, trauma kits and household items.

"Many of the people affected were already vulnerable before the conflict and now face an even harsher situation as they are losing their homes and their livelihoods, being forced to seek shelter wherever they can or fleeing their country in search of safety," Birgitte Bischoff Ebbesen, European regional director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement on the group's website. "They urgently need food, water and shelter, but also emergency medical care, protective measures and psychosocial support to avert an even greater humanitarian catastrophe."

United Way Worldwide has set up a United for Ukraine Fund aimed at addressing immediate needs like transportation, housing, food, medicine, child care supplies and hygiene kits. Current partners include United Way Romania, United Way Hungary and Fundacja Dobrych Inicjatyw (Good Initiatives Foundation) in Poland.

The World Health Organization Foundation has launched a campaign to raise funds for its Health Emergency Appeal for Ukraine. It has set a goal of $57.5 million to "fund immediate large-scale emergency response and health needs in Ukraine and the humanitarian response in neighboring countries," a news release says.

"With the military offensive causing a rising number of casualties and injuries, the funds are essential to protecting essential health services," WHO says. "Emergency medical services, surgical departments, and intensive care units are likely to become overwhelmed with trauma patients. Essential health services have been disrupted and are collapsing and jeopardizing the treatment of other patients."

U.S. for UNHCR is fundraising for UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency. The Hollywood couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds made a splash for this effort by announcing that they would match donations to UNHCR of up to $1 million for Ukrainian relief. They met their goal within 48 hours.

"UNHCR estimates that more than 4 million people may flee Ukraine as the situation further deteriorates," the organization's website says. "As the crisis continues to develop, humanitarian needs are multiplying and spreading by the hour. Of the 18 million people in Ukraine who will be impacted by the ongoing military operation, 12 million are expected to need humanitarian assistance."

The International Rescue Committee is also set up specifically to aid people affected by humanitarian crises, and it has been raising funds to help resettle Ukrainian refugees.

"Our team quickly deployed to neighboring Poland, where we are working with partners to assist arriving refugees," the group says on its website. "We are also working with partners inside Ukraine, supporting the evacuation of women and children and providing emergency aid to people who had to flee their homes."

Explore further Doctor assessing refugees in Poland sees deep trauma

Copyright  2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Rheumatoid arthritis patients living with frailty may find their frailty is reversible following treatment, according to a new study.

The research, published in RMD Open and led by the University of Glasgow, looked at frailtya vulnerability to poor health-outcomesin people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study used data from the UK Biobank and the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis Cohort, which includes people with newly diagnosed RA in Scotland.

The study found that frailty is common in people with rheumatoid arthritis, including in many younger people aged below 65, however the findings suggest that as people's rheumatoid arthritis was treated and became less active, their degree of frailty was also reduced.

While the study found that people with more severe or active rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to be identified as frail, and people with frailty were more likely to be admitted to hospital or die, early control of rheumatoid arthritis disease activity could help ameliorate frailty.

Dr. Peter Hanlon, Clinical Research Fellow at the University's Institute of Health and Wellbeing, said: "It's incredibly encouraging to see from our study that frailty can be reduced in people with rheumatoid arthritis, particularly in younger patients. We know that frailty can be reduced, but it can be challenging to identify people for whom this is possible.

"Our findings certainly indicate that some people with frailty and active rheumatoid arthritis have the potential to improve their frailty status with treatment of their RA. This knowledge is incredibly beneficial for clinicians when assessing people with RA and deciding on a broad approach to treatments; and also suggests care should be taken in applying a 'label' of frailty to people living with RA, given the potential to reverse this following treatment."

The study looked at people with RA identified from the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis (SERA) cohort (newly diagnosed, mean age 58.2 years) and UK Biobank (established disease, mean age 59 years).

Based on the frailty index, frailty was common in the SERA cohort (12% moderate, 0.2% severe) and the UK Biobank cohort (20% moderate, 3% severe).

Neha Issar-Brown, Director of Research at Versus Arthritis, said: "Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can affect anyone of any age, and for some can take months, sometimes years, to get an accurate diagnosis. It is a debilitating and unpredictable disease, and if not treated and brought under control can cause disabling damage to joints and an increased risk of frailty and hospitalization.

"This research provides further clear evidence of the importance and very real benefit in people quickly finding the most effective treatment that will reduce the impact of RA and prevent it getting worse.

"It also underscores a key principle for Versus Arthritis research prioritiesapplying a holistic approach for people with arthritis, which includes the management of pain, mental health and fatigue, so they get the treatment that's right for them at the right time."

The paper, "Frailty in rheumatoid arthritis and its relationship with disease activity, hospitalization and mortality: a longitudinal analysis of the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort and UK Biobank," is published in RMD Open.

Explore further 2 rheumatoid arthritis drugs tied to lower risk of Parkinson's

More information: Peter Hanlon et al, Frailty in rheumatoidrmdopen-2021-002111 arthritis and its relationship with disease activity, hospitalisation and mortality: a longitudinal analysis of the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort and UK Biobank, RMD Open (2022). Peter Hanlon et al, Frailty in rheumatoidrmdopen-2021-002111 arthritis and its relationship with disease activity, hospitalisation and mortality: a longitudinal analysis of the Scottish Early Rheumatoid Arthritis cohort and UK Biobank,(2022). DOI: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002111
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Heartland virus is circulating in lone star ticks in Georgia, scientists at Emory University have found, confirming active transmission of the virus within the state. The journal Emerging Infectious Diseases published the findings, which include a genetic analysis of the virus samples, isolated from ticks collected in central Georgia.

The research adds new evidence for how the tick-borne Heartland virus, first identified in Missouri in 2009, may evolve and spread geographically and from one organism to another.

"Heartland is an emerging infectious disease that is not well understood," says Gonzalo Vazquez-Prokopec, associate professor in Emory's Department of Environmental Sciences and senior author of the study. "We're trying to get ahead of this virus by learning everything that we can about it before it potentially becomes a bigger problem."

Vazquez-Prokopec is a leading expert in vector-borne diseasesinfections transmitted from one organism to another by the bite of a vector, such as a tick or mosquito.

Yamila Romer, a former post-doctoral fellow in the Vazquez-Prokopec lab, is first author of the new paper. Co-author Anne Piantadosi, assistant professor in Emory School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, conducted the genetic analyses.

The study detected Heartland virus in three different specimen samples of lone star tickscollected in different locations and at different timesand including both the nymph and adult stages of the ticks.

The genetic analysis of the three viral samples showed that their genomes are similar to one another, but much different from the genomes of Heartland virus samples from outside the state. "These results suggest that the virus may be evolving very rapidly in different geographic locations, or that it may be circulating primarily in isolated areas and not dispersing quickly between those areas," Vazquez-Prokopec says.

The Heartland virus was discovered in 2009 in northwest Missouri after two local men were hospitalized with high fevers, diarrhea, muscle pains, low counts of white blood cells and platelets, and other symptoms similar to known tick-borne diseases. Researchers soon realized the men were infected with a novel virus, which was christened Heartland, and later traced to lone star ticks. Further studies found antibodies to the virus in blood samples from deer and some other wild mammals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recognizes 18 tick-borne diseases in the United States, many of them newly emerging. One of the most well-known tick-borne illnesses is Lyme disease, caused by a bacterium, which in recent decades has grown into the most common vector-borne disease in the country. The black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick, is the vector for transmission of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and the white-footed mouse is the primary reservoir for the bacterium. The tick larvae can become infected when they feed on the blood of the mice and other small mammals and birds that may be harboring the bacterium. The infected larvae grow into nymphs and adult ticks that can then move into other hosts, including deer and humans.

While the complex transmission cycle for Lyme disease is well characterized, many questions remain about how the Heartland virus moves among different species.

Since it was first discovered in 2009, more than 50 cases of Heartland virus have been identified in people from 11 states in the Midwest and Southeast, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of the identified cases were severe enough to require hospitalization and a few individuals with co-morbidities have died. The actual disease burden is believed to be higher, however, since Heartland virus is still not well known and tests are rarely ordered for it.

A retroactive analysis uncovered a single confirmed human infection of Heartland virus in Georgia, in a Baldwin County resident who died with what was then an unidentified illness in 2005. The human case prompted analysis of serum samples collected in past years from white-tailed deer in central Georgia. The results showed that deer from that area have been exposed to the Heartland virus since at least 2001.

To better assess the risk for human disease in the area, Vazquez-Prokopec wanted to learn whether lone star ticks are currently carrying Heartland virus in central Georgia.

Members of the field research team collected ticks from the rural landscape near the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. Even during the hot Georgia summers, team members wore long shirts and long pants tucked into long socks, with the top of the socks sealed with duct tape. They further protected themselves with bug spray and by conducting visual checks for ticks on themselves before and after leaving the field.

The lone star tick, named for a distinctive white spot on its back, is the most common tick in Georgia and is widely distributed in wooded areas across the Southeast, Eastern and Midwest United States. They are tiny, about the size of a sesame seed in the nymph stage, and barely a quarter-of-an-inch in diameter as adults.

"Lone star ticks are so small that you may not feel them on you or even notice if you've been bitten by one," says Steph Bellman, a co-author of the study. Bellman is an MD/Ph.D. student in Emory's School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health, focused on environmental health.

The team used "flagging" as a collection technique. A flag of white flannel on a pole is swished in a figure-eight motion through the underbrush. "Every so often, you lay the flag down and use a pair of tweezers to remove any ticks that you find on it and put them into a vial," Bellman explains.

Through this painstaking method, the team collected nearly 10,000 specimens from sites in Georgia's Putnam County and Jones County, both adjacent to Baldwin County. Specimens were separated into groups, each containing either five adults or 25 nymphs, then crushed and put into a solution to test for the presence of the Heartland virus.

The results suggested that about one out of every 2,000 of the specimens carried the Heartland virus, collected from the collection sites. One adult and one nymph sample collected on the same date tested positive from a site in Putnam County, a private property used for hunting. A second sample of adult ticks, collected on a different date from a stretch of woods along a highway in Jones County, also tested positive.

The researchers are now expanding the scope of the work. They will collect ticks across Georgia for testing and conduct spatial analyses with the aim of understanding factors that may raise the risk for Heartland virus.

"We want to start filling in the huge gaps in knowledge of the transmission cycle for Heartland virus," Vazquez-Prokopec says. "We need to better understand the key actors that transmit the virus and any environmental factors that may help it to persist within different habitats."

Climate change is fueling warmer and shorter winters, increasing opportunities for some species of ticks to breed more frequently and to expand their ranges. Land-use changes are also strongly associated with tick-borne diseases, as more human habitats encroach on wooded areas and the loss of natural habitat forces wildlife to live in denser populations.

"Ticks are both fascinating and terrifying," Bellman says. "We don't have effective ways to control them and they are a vector for many nasty diseases. They represent a large threat to human health that a lot of people may not realize."

The Prokopec Lab is also investigating the arrival of the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) in Georgia, funded by a seed grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Long established in China, Japan, Russia and parts of the Pacific, the Asian longhorned tick was first detected in the United States in 2018, in New Jersey. The tick has since spread to 17 states, including Georgia, where it was found on a farm in Pickens County in 2021.

The Asian longhorned tick reproduces asexually and a single female can generate as many as 100,000 eggs, rapidly producing massive amounts of offspring that feed on livestock. So many ticks can be covering a single sheep or cow that the loss of blood physically weakens or, in extreme cases, kills the animal.

The Asian longhorned tick also carries bacterial and viral pathogens that can infect humans, including severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV), also known as Dabie bandavirus. Human cases of SFTS, a hemorrhagic fever, emerged in China in 2011 and have since been identified in other parts of Asia.

"We are investigating not only the potential agricultural impact of the Asian longhorned tick in Georgia, but the potential for this invasive tick to spread SFTS and other diseases to people," Vazquez-Prokopec says.

Of particular concern is the fact that the Heartland virus shares genomic similarities with SFTSV, he adds.

"We will be gathering data to help support tick surveillance efforts by public health officials in Georgia," Vazquez-Prokopec says. "Tick-borne diseases are a real and growing threat and the best way to deal with them is not to panic, but to do the science needed to learn everything we can about them."

Explore further Lone Star ticks in Illinois can carry, transmit Heartland virus

More information: Yamila Romer et al, Isolation of Heartland virus from lone star ticks, Georgia, USA, 2019, Emerging Infectious Diseases (2022). Journal information: Emerging Infectious Diseases Yamila Romer et al, Isolation of Heartland virus from lone star ticks, Georgia, USA, 2019,(2022). DOI: 10.3201/eid2804.211540
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Israel's ministry of health said Wednesday it had recorded two cases of new COVID variant, but which officials said they were not unduly worried about.

The strain, combining two sub-variants of the Omicron version of the COVID-19 virusdubbed BA.1 and BA.2was recorded during PCR tests on two passengers arriving at Israel's Ben Gurion airport.

"This variant is still unknown around the world," the ministry statement read.

"The two cases of the combined strain, which have been discovered so far, suffered from mild symptoms of fever, headaches and muscle dystrophy, and do not require a special medical response," it added.

Israel's pandemic response chief, Salman Zarka, played down the risks.

"The phenomenon of combined variants is well known," Zarka told Army Radio. "At this stage, we are not worried about it leading to serious cases".

More than four million people out of Israel's population of 9.2 million have received three coronavirus vaccine shots.

A total of almost 1.4 million cases of COVID infection, including 8,244 deaths, have been officially recorded in the country.

Last month, Israel announced that unvaccinated tourists would be allowed to enter as part of an easing of COVID restrictions.

The country was seeing a "consistent decline in morbidity data," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.

A previous effort to reopen the border last November foundered after just a few weeks because of the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

Israel was one of the first countries to launch a national vaccination campaign in December 2020.

Earlier this month, the government announced it would provide fourth COVID vaccine shots to people over 60 and health workers, amid a surge driven by the Omicron variant.

Explore further Israeli PM says over 60s to get 4th COVID jab

 2022 AFP
(HealthDay)Expanded care for sexual assault victims is a main feature of the Violence Against Women Act that was signed into law Tuesday by President Joe Biden.

Along with providing greater access to rape testing kits, the legislation seeks to develop national standards of care for victims of sexual assault and also includes measures to better study the issue and create a federal grant program to help hospitals train specialized nurses called sexual assault nurse examiners.

The legislation was drafted by Washington Senator Patty Murray (D) after she learned that a constituent in Seattle was unable to receive a rape examination at her neighborhood hospital in 2014.

"When Leah [Griffin] bravely shared her story with me back in 2014, I was furious that she and too many other survivors were getting turned away from a hospital after a sexual assault and being told 'not here' or 'try somewhere else,' when they tried to get care," Murray said in a statement. "Since then, we've been working the phones, building support and reaching across the aisle to make progress on this. I have never given upbecause survivors like Leah deserve to be heard, to heal, and to get the care they need to seek justice."

"When I was denied access to a sexual assault exam at a hospital in 2014, Senator Murray heard my story, and committed to helping... No survivor should be turned away when seeking care," Griffin said in the same statement.

"My goal is that every hospital in this country, urban, rural, anywhere, will have someone who is trained as a 'SANE' nurse to be able to help a victim of sexual assault, be able to process the evidence that they need," Murray told CBS News.

A 2016 Government Accountability Office report requested by Murray revealed a lack of information about the issue and insufficient resources.

"I was stunned at how many hospitals and health care providers did not have someone trained to be able to do this work," Murray told CBS News. "Since I've been working on this, I've had so many people come up to me on the street and say, 'I just had this happen to me.'"

The legislation was co-sponsored by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski (R), who pointed out that sexual assault victims in rural parts of her state have to take a flight to receive the necessary care.

Explore further Rural availability of sexual assault nurse examiners

More information: Visit the U.S. Department of Justice for more on Visit the U.S. Department of Justice for more on violence against women

Copyright  2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Just one in six (18%) healthcare workers thought mandatory vaccinations were the best solution to encourage more frontline staff to have a Covid-19 jab, finds new research led by UCL and the University of Leicester.

As part of the UK-REACH longitudinal study, researchers carried out a survey of over 3,200 NHS healthcare workers, to understand how they felt about mandatory vaccinations, and find out what solutions they may have to address the problem of under-vaccination among colleagues.

The research was triggered by the UK Government's controversial decision (since dropped) to make it a legal requirement for all NHS workers, in face-to-face patient roles, to be double vaccinated by April 1st, 2022, or risk losing their job.

Published in the Lancet's eClinicalMedicine, the findings show that more than three quarters (77%) of healthcare workers preferred another solution to mandatory vaccinations, and the remaining 5% said they didn't know what the best thing to do was.

The most popular alternative to mandatory vaccinations was 'education and support', proposed by one in three (32%) healthcare workers. This group thought people should be helped to understand the benefits of vaccination and encouraged to take up the vaccine.

Another one in six (18%) felt it was up to individuals to decide whether or not to get vaccinated. Some of this group specifically said it was against people's human rights to make them get vaccinated.

Lead author, Katherine Woolf, Professor of Medical Education Research at UCL Medical School, said: "Our survey provides the only available data and insight about what healthcare workers think about mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations.

"It shows that engaging and educating the NHS workforce is essential to building more trust in vaccination, which remains the most important tool we have to combat Covid-19 infection.

"But forcing frontline staff, particularly those who are hesitant, could cause serious mistrust and backfire, lowering morale and leading to thousands of great doctors and nurses leaving the profession."

The UK-Reach (United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers) study is the largest and most comprehensive research project assessing the risk of Covid-19 for 18,000 clinical and non-clinical staff. It was launched after growing evidence showed how people from ethnic minority backgrounds had double the risk of severe Covid-19 infection compared to that of the White population.

This latest sub-study also found healthcare workers who were hesitant about vaccination and/or who were unvaccinated against flu, were much less likely to favour mandatory vaccination, as were female staff, staff from Black ethnic groups, and staff in allied health professions.

Professor Woolf, Co-Investigator for the UK-REACH study, added: "Our research shows that had a mandatory vaccination policy been implemented, it would have been viewed especially negatively by the people it most targeted; those who are hesitant about getting vaccinated.

"Staff who are forced to get vaccinated when they don't want to, are unlikely to tell patients and their communities that vaccination is a good idea.

"Furthermore, an increase in mistrust among staff from ethnic minority groups, who are most likely to be hesitant about vaccines, could exacerbate existing health and social inequalities in those groups.

"However, if we encourage and support them so they believe that vaccination is safe, effective and worthwhile, they will pass this message on. This matters because healthcare staff are an important source of information and advice about vaccination for patients."

Co-author and Chief Investigator of UK-REACH, Dr. Manish Pareek, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, University of Leicester, said: "Vaccines remain important and getting as many frontline healthcare workers fully jabbed is a priority.

"Our findings show that engaging with staff and understanding their views is key.

"Mandatory vaccines may actually worsen other aspects of our engagement with staff (and disproportionately affect certain groups).

"More broadly, these latest results from UK-REACH highlight the power and impact of the UK-REACH cohort to answer policy-relevant questions at speed."

The UK Government's proposed 'vaccination as a condition of deployment' (VCOD) requirements were highly contentious, both morally and ethically, and came under criticism from a number of Royal Colleges, medical and nursing groups.

Had the VCOD policy remained it would have meant that by 3rd February, 2022 any frontline healthcare worker in England would have needed to have had at least one vaccine, to ensure they had time to receive a second jab by 1st April.

It was estimated around 5% (80,000) of health care workers would have remained unvaccinated and NHS Trusts stood to lose thousands of frontline staff.

Thousands of care home staff left the profession in November last year when rules changes meant that only those fully vaccinated could enter care homes.

What the paper does not say:

It does NOT say that 82% of NHS staff are against mandatory vaccination. It says most of the respondents preferred an alternative solution (mostly educate and support).

Explore further Making vaccination compulsory for NHS frontline workers likely to make patients suffer

More information: Katherine Woolf et al, Healthcare workers' views on mandatory SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the United Kingdom: findings from the UK-REACH prospective longitudinal cohort study, EClinicalMedicine (2022). Journal information: EClinicalMedicine Katherine Woolf et al, Healthcare workers' views on mandatory SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in the United Kingdom: findings from the UK-REACH prospective longitudinal cohort study,(2022). DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.11.22269017
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

In the coronavirus pandemic's early days, health care workers turned to bandannas and other makeshift protections because they lacked the official stuff. That gave engineers at the University of Maryland an idea.

They called a niche company, ActivArmor of Pueblo, Colorado, that they were helping develop custom 3D-printed casts to help set broken bones.

Could the company pause and make custom masks?

It could. It could even go further and make them clear, reusable and form-fitting without any bruising. And they were a protective N95-grade.

"Everyone just wanted to do something to help," said William Bentley, director of the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices in College Park, which was at the time a new center in the university's engineering school. "We designed, built and tested masks, and ActivArmor made them."

The urgency to produce more masks has dropped as mandates eased around the country, reflecting waning cases from the omicron variant. There are ample supplies of masks, mostly disposable, for those who still want or require them.

But no one thinks omicron is the last dangerous coronavirus variant or the final pathogen to emerge. The break from mask-wearing requirements offers government regulators and researchers an opportunity, they say, to vet the many masks on the market and weed out those that are less effective.

They also can turn to their attention to innovation, so that during the next coronavirus wave or a new pandemic, health care providers, first responders and the public have something better that what's available now.

There has been little change or innovation in masks for decades, experts say, though there are nascent efforts in the public and private sectors to develop a more perfect maskone that is protective, comfortable, reusable and affordable.

Officials at ActivArmor and the University of Maryland institute think they are on to something.

"There is no reason to start from scratch," said Diana Hall, president and CEO of ActivArmor, which patented the design and sold 10,000 masks in a year.

The company has since returned to its core business of custom-printed waterproof casts, which Hall views as another pandemic innovation because they allow wearers to wash their hands.

The masks were time-consuming for the small company, which custom-made about half the masks it sold. For those, the engineers had people scan their faces with an iPhone app and made 3D-printed molds in their lab in Maryland. Then, at ActivArmor, a kind of clear, flexible plastic was heated and formed on the molds to make the actual masks.

The other half of the masks sold were ordered from six preselected sizes, a range that meant just about everyone found one that fit.

Hall wants to hand off the project to a large-scale manufacturer and distributor. She believes other firms could use the heat-forming technology, the kind used to mold Solo plastic cups, to make masks for a couple of dollars each.

The six sizes can still be ordered through a company called HMD Technology in Canada, but Hall said they are expensive at $65 and up in U.S. dollars. Even that price is a discount from her initial in-house, money-losing pricing of $99 for the off-the-shelf masks and $149 for the custom masks.

The products themselves look a bit like clear gas masks, with places on each side of the mouth for small replaceable filters or adapters to attach existing respirator-style disks for the most protection.

Hall said the biggest complaint from users was about a bit of moisture buildup inside the mask, which can be wiped off with a cloth.

"Their real value is they are transparent, so you can see what the doctor or EMT coming to rescue you is saying. They are the correct shape for most every face. And they are fit tested for their protective seal," she said.

"They don't bruise your face," she said. "You can run them under the faucet to clean them."

But that won't matter to the masses until the cost comes down, she said.

Government and industry officials hope some new thinking could increase uptake and reduce costs for when masks are again recommended or required.

"In the future, we need more effective and well-fitting masks," said Dr. Eric Toner, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, during a recent webinar hosted by the center and the Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Security, a nonpartisan educational forum for federal lawmakers and regulators.

"Widespread public use of masks could save thousands of lives in the next pandemic," he said.

Toner said it would likely take government funding or reliable markets to incentivize industry to take up the development process and the supply chain to deliver enough of them.

The N95 and KN95 masks most effective in filtering the coronavirus were in such low supply early in the pandemic that state and hospital officials got into bidding wars. That was among the reasons they weren't initially recommended to nonmedical consumers, who were directed to less-protective cloth masks, some of which were homemade.

The administration of President Joe Biden only recently was able to buy and mail more than 240 million of the best masks to the public and stock pharmacies and other outlets.

The country wasn't ready with masks for the pandemic, said Stephen Redd, a former deputy director for public health service and implementation science at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Strategic National Stockpile once had supplies, but many were not replaced after the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 and other batches expired, he said during the webinar. Even now, some N95 and KN95 masks cropping up for sale online do not meet government specifications.

Also, those specifications were largely created for industrial use, rather than pandemics, so there are no rules for kids' masks.

"There's not been much focus on where innovation could take us," Redd said. "How do you stimulate innovation in the absence of commercial demand?"

Ellen White, global business director for respiratory products for the manufacturing giant 3M, told the panel the government needs to start with new regulations to guide the innovation. They should focus on better fit and reusability, in addition to protection, for both adults and children.

"They need to be comfortable for users," she said. "But we also need to look at the overall supply chain and how they can be brought to scale."

Government officials are thinking about those things, said Sandeep Patel, director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the federal health department agency responsible for mask stockpiles.

"We're trying to get away from single-use masks," he said. "The other piece we're thinking about is comfort and design, so people feel more comfortable wearing masks for a long time."

That was a goal when the University of Maryland engineers first called ActivArmor.

The engineers say the work isn't done.

"Cost remains the biggest barrier," said Kevin Aroom, a Maryland institute engineer whose face served as one of the initial models for the 3D-printed molds used in making the ActivArmor masks.

These days, he spends more time testing, in batches of 20, off-the-shelf N95 and KN95 masks on behalf of government and industry consumers to see how well they filter. Salt particles are substituted for aerosolized coronavirus in their high-tech machinery. Such testing is crucial in the time of internet forgeries, he said.

But testing, too, could use some innovation. For instance, they eventually could integrate testing equipment into the machines that manufacture masks and other devices.

Aroom, Bentley and others in the institute are eager to turn more ideas and research into commercial products, if someone is willing to fund the research and development.

"We created the masks in record time," he said. "And people in hospitals are wearing them right now."

Explore further Biden to give away 400 million N95 masks starting next week

2022 Baltimore Sun.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Omicron appears to have hit America's youngest children much harder than any previous variant of the virus, a new government report shows.

Five times as many kids aged 4 and younger landed in the hospital during the Omicron wave than were hospitalized when Delta was the predominant strain, according to findings published March 15 in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

It was even worse for babies younger than 6 monthssix times as many were hospitalized during Omicron as during Delta.

Fortunately, in-hospital death rates remained the same during both waves, with only 0.5% of children dying from COVID.

"The vast majority of kids were treated and did well and were discharged home. The death rate was very, very, very low in both the Omicron and Delta phases for children," said Dr. Sam Dominguez, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora.

And there were indicators that while Omicron hospitalized more kids than Delta, those who wound up in the hospital with Delta were sicker.

Children tended to stay two days in the hospital with Delta versus 1.5 days for Omicron, researchers found. Further, 27% of young children hospitalized with Delta wound up in the ICU, versus 21% for Omicron.

"It suggests that, overall, the kids that were admitted to hospital had somewhat lower severity of disease" during the Omicron wave, Dominguez said.

For this study, researchers led by Kristin Marks, an epidemic intelligence service officer at the CDC, looked at hospitalization rates for children 4 and younger in 14 states participating in COVID-NET, the Coronavirus Disease 19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network.

The study compared pediatric hospitalizations during the Delta wave of COVIDJune 27 to Dec. 18, 2021to those that took place when Omicron became the predominant strain, from Dec. 19, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022.

The peak hospitalization rate during Omicron was 14.5 children per 100,000, about five times the peak during Delta, which was 2.9 per 100,000.

Omicron hospitalization rates remained higher at every age group among young children, the researchers found:

Babies younger than 6 months: 68.1 per 100,000 during Omicron, 11.1 during Delta.

Children 6 months to 2 years: 16.9 during Omicron, 3.3 during Delta.

Toddlers 2 to 4 years: 4.7 during Omicron, 1.4 during Delta.

In part, this is a numbers game, since Omicron spread so quickly to so many more people, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.

"Hospitalizations would be expected to go up with a more highly contagious variant such as Omicron, especially in high-risk unvaccinated children," Adalja explained.

However, Adalja noted that young children might also have been harder hit because they have smaller airways, and Omicron tended to infect and block the upper airway more than previous variants.

The new study can't provide a full picture of the two COVID waves' impact on young kids because the researchers didn't look at all children throughout the community who became infected with either Omicron or Delta, Dominguez noted.

But based on the hospitalization rates, Dominguez agreed that "overall, it's most likely a numbers game."

Since COVID vaccines aren't yet approved for children this young, parents worried by these numbers can "cocoon" their kids against infection by making sure that as many people in their lives as possible get vaccinated, Dominguez said.

Good data on the indirect effects of COVID vaccination suggest that for young children "the risk of getting infected was much lower in those in households where both parents were vaccinated, more so than one parent vaccinated and more so than zero parents vaccinated," Dominguez said.

Pregnant women should also get vaccinated against COVID to protect their newborns from infection, he added.

"Mothers who are pregnant who get vaccinated, it really provides protection for their kids in the first six months of life," Dominguez said. Data show there's a lower risk of COVID hospitalization for babies born to vaccinated motherseven compared to those born to women who were infected by COVID during their pregnancy.

Parents also can keep an eye on local COVID rates, Dominguez said, "to decide how safe or unsafe it is to be out and about in the community.

"What's happening locally is very important in terms of thinking about what your overall risk is," Dominguez noted.

Dominguez added that COVID isn't his main infectious concern right nowit's the longtime nemesis, the flu.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing a small resurgence of influenza," Dominguez said. "We're seeing more influenza circulating than we are SARS-CoV-2. We're still in the thick of respiratory season, and we still recommend getting your flu vaccine.

"Young kids can still get the flu vaccine who are 6 months of age or older. It's not too late, even though it's March," Dominguez said.

More information: Kristin J. Marks et al, Hospitalization of Infants and Children Aged 04 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19COVID-NET, 14 States, March 2020February 2022, MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2022). Kristin J. Marks et al, Hospitalization of Infants and Children Aged 04 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19COVID-NET, 14 States, March 2020February 2022,(2022). DOI: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7111e2 Johns Hopkins has more about COVID and children. Journal information: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

The U.S. is seriously considering making daylight saving time permanent, a move that would likely be popular. But history suggests that opinion might not last.

About three-quarters of Americans recently said they would prefer not switching back and forth between between standard and daylight saving time, a poll conducted in October 2021 from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found. Experts have lamented that changing the clocks has wide-ranging negative consequences, from sleep disruptions to a temporary uptick in traffic accidents.

Eighteen states have already moved to adopt DST year-round but cannot do so without congressional approval, Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida said Tuesday.

And now the U.S. Senate has moved to do away with the bi-annual clock change.

But 48 years ago, the U.S. tried the same thingand public opinion of the change quickly deteriorated, leading lawmakers to rapidly reverse course. The U.S. is set up for a similar rude awakening if it makes daylight saving time permanent, according to David Prerau, an expert and author on DST.

Amid a U.S. energy crisis in 1973, President Nixon swiftly signed a bill which put the U.S. on daylight saving time for two years, Prerau said. The law went into effect on Jan. 6, 1974.

"When it was passed, most people thought it sounded pretty good," he said.

The public liked the idea of avoiding the confusion and frustration of changing the clocks by an hour twice a year. But soon Americans realized what permanent daylight saving time meant: Sunrises at 8 a.m. or later in the middle of winter. In some areas, sunrises could be as late as 9:30 a.m., said Prerau.

Soon "the experiment ... ran afoul of public opinion," the New York Times reported in October 1974.

Public approval for the law dropped severely and rapidly: from 79% in December 1973 to 42% in February 1974, the Times reported.

By October 1974, Congress reversed course and put the country back on standard time for four months of the year.

The change to year-round daylight saving time "caused great inconvenience and in some cases hazard," said Sen. Bob Dole in 1974 as he spoke in favor of undoing the change. Another senator expressed concerns about schoolchildren and citizens being hurt or killed in accidents during the morning.

"People didn't like waking up in the mornings in the dark, or sending their children to school in dark," Prerau said.

Russia also experimented with extending DST in 2011, and reversed course by 2014. According to BBC reporting, the time change created stress and health issues, particularly for northern Russian residents where mornings would remain dark for long periods of time during winter. Russian parliament members cited medical reports of increased morning accidents during the extension.

The failed attempts to extend daylight saving time are part of the reason Prerau supports the current system.

"This is a situation where we've actually tried (making daylight saving time permanent) and it hasn't worked," he said. "So I think we have to be a little more careful about whether that's the right thing to do or not."

But in the decades since the failed experiment in 1973-74, public opinion has again shifted. And many experts say the current system is broken.

A 2020 study published in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology determined the risk of fatal traffic accidents actually increased by 6% in the U.S. during the spring transition to daylight saving time. And evidence from years of scientific research has also suggested many health consequences of sleep loss have been associated with the switch to daylight saving time.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Floridawho sponsored the billsaid DST began in 1918 "as a practice that was supposed to save energy, and since then we've adjusted it." Initially running for six months, DST now lasts eight months, "clearly showing you where people's preference (is)," he said.

The new 2022 bill will now head to the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the measure.

Explore further Why daylight saving time is unhealthy: A neurologist explains

(c)2022 USA Today.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have studied whether severe perineal tearsknown as sphincter injuriesare reduced if the primary midwife has assistance of a colleague during the final stage of labor. The study included a total of more than 4,000 first-time mothers. The results are published in The Lancet.

There is currently a lack of evidence for many of the preventive methods used to reduce perineal tearing during childbirth.

"Although severe perineal tears are rare, they can lead to significant and sometimes lifelong consequences for the women. Symptoms include pain, incontinence, problems with sexual health and other complications," says Christine Rubertsson, professor at Lund University, midwife at Skane University Hospital and principal investigator for the study.

A total of 4,264 women who were planning their first vaginal birth consented to participate in the study. During the births, 3,750 women were randomly assigned to get support and care from either one or two midwives. Of the 1,546 who gave birth with two midwives, 3.9% suffered from perineal tears compared to 5.7% of the 1,513 women who received standard care from one midwife. There were no other differences between the groups regarding tears or the newborn's health following the birth.

"Many maternity units have already adopted this clinical practice of collegial assistance with two midwives, and this study provides evidence for the reduction in severe in perineal trauma," says Malin Edqvist, midwife at the Karolinska University Hospital and researcher at Karolinska Institute, who led the study during her time as a postdoc at Lund University.

The women who participated in the study also responded to two questionnaires; one month and one year after the birth. The questions included birth experiences and the care they received, as well as their physical, mental and sexual health.

"As many as 63% were included in the study, which is a high number. Our understanding is that the study has been important for the women, but also for midwives, particularly as midwives and other health professionals have a heavy workload," says Christine Rubertsson.

The researchers have continued to follow the participants in the study, and the next step is to investigate the postpartum care and women's quality of life and pelvic floor symptoms.

"It is also important to analyze women's and midwives experiences of this clinical practice to further develop collegial assistance.

There are many research questions around women's health that needs to be addressed, particularly when it comes to pelvic floor health. Our research is one contribution," concludes Malin Edqvist.

In this study the primary focus of collegial assistance was to reduce SPT which is a relatively new practice in the Scandinavian countries. However, a second midwife assisting the birth is common in other countries like Australia and the UK, but not with the primary purpose to reduce SPT. This means that in these countries, without excessive measures, the purpose of collegial assistance could be changed to include the prevention of severe perineal trauma.

Explore further Vaginal birth after caesarean increases the risk of serious perineal tear by 20%

More information: Malin Edqvist et al, The effect of two midwives during the second stage of labour to reduce severe perineal trauma (Oneplus): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial in Sweden, The Lancet (2022). Journal information: The Lancet Malin Edqvist et al, The effect of two midwives during the second stage of labour to reduce severe perineal trauma (Oneplus): a multicentre, randomised controlled trial in Sweden,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00188-X
New research from Massachusetts General Hospital explains how natural killer (NK) cells interactions with extracellular matrix proteins regulate their function in solid organs, findings that could yield major therapeutic implications for cancer, viral infection, autoimmunity, and other inflammatory diseases. Here, NK cells (green) are embedded in collagen (red) rich matrix of the skin, which inhibits them from directly killing the epidermal keratinocytes (yellow). Credit: Maulik Vyas, PhD

New research reveals factors that control the interplay of natural killer (NK) cellswhich are part of the body's innate, or first line, immune responsewith tumor cells, viral infections, and solid organ transplants. The results, which are published in Science Advances and were discovered by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), could be used to help protect people from cancer, invading pathogens, autoimmunity, inflammatory diseases, and transplant rejection.

NK cells can effectively kill target cells in the blood, but they fail to kill infected and cancerous cells in tissues and organs like the skin, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas and breast. "This profound lack of NK cell killing function in solid organs has perplexed the field of NK cell biology for the last 60 years," says Shawn Demehri, MD, Ph.D., a cancer immunologist, dermatologist and principal investigator at the MGH Center for Cancer Immunology and the Cutaneous Biology Research Center. Demehri's work in recent years has uncovered a novel explanation for why NK cells lose their ability to kill target cells in solid organs: Organs are made of cells embedded in a dense extracellular matrix (ECM)an elaborate matrix of proteins that form a scaffold to maintain organ structure and integrity. Interactions between NK cells and ECM proteins lead to an immediate switch in NK cell function from killer cells to helper cells when they exit the blood vessels and enter solid organs. As helper cells, NK cells produce molecules that activate and support other neighboring immune cells.

Demehri and his team postulate that NK cells' rapid killer response in the blood and delayed helper response in tissues and organs can be explained by an evolutionary selection pressure to prolong human survival. "Infection of the blood requires immediate control by NK cells to ensure host survival; however, the suppression of a direct killer function of NK cells in the peripheral tissues may prevent over-reaction to localized insults, which could predispose the patient to excessive tissue damage and the development of chronic inflammation," says Demehri. "Meanwhile, a helper function for the development of an overall more targeted, appropriately strong adaptive immune response may be best suited to combat viral infections in peripheral tissues."

In this latest work involving skin transplantation and mouse melanoma models, the investigators identified collagens and elastinmajor ECM proteins that are abundant in solid organsto be the key regulators of NK cell function in tissues and cancers.

"Our fundamental discovery of how NK cells are regulated in peripheral tissues has wide-ranging implications for patients with various health conditions," says colead author Maulik Vyas, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Cancer Immunology at MGH. "Strategies to modulate NK cellECM interplay in organs can provide novel therapies to combat solid cancers, viral infections, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune diseases, and fibrosis, and to improve organ transplantation."

For example, the scientists showed for the first time that losartan, a drug that is commonly used to treat hypertension, can cause a previously resistant melanoma to become sensitive to NK cell killing by blocking collagen deposition in the tumor. The finding is significant because collagen is often abundant in solid cancers, including breast and pancreatic cancers.

"Our data strongly support the concept of blocking collagenNK cell interactions in combination with current immunotherapies for optimal treatment of solid cancers," says Vyas. "And our findings provide a strong rationale for future research to fully understand how ECM proteins regulate NK and other immune cell responses in health and disease. This will greatly expand the development of future therapies that exploit the interactions between ECM proteins and the immune system in the treatment of a large variety of diseases."

Study co-authors include Mark D. Bunting, Marta Requesens, Adam Langenbucher, Erik B. Schiferle, Robert T. Manguso, and Michael S. Lawrence.

More information: Mark D. Bunting et al, Extracellular matrix proteins regulate NK cell function in peripheral tissues, Science Advances (2022). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abk3327 Journal information: Science Advances Mark D. Bunting et al, Extracellular matrix proteins regulate NK cell function in peripheral tissues,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abk3327
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The World Health Organization voiced alarm Wednesday that registered COVID cases are once again rising globally, despite testing levels having dropped significantly.

After falling for weeks, reported COVID cases rose globally by eight percent last week, with more than 11 million cases and over 43,000 new deaths registered, WHO said.

And in the Western Pacific region, new cases shot up last week by a full 29 percent.

Case numbers in the region have been rising since the end of December and the Western Pacific has now overtaken Europe as the global hotspot for detected new cases, with 5.02 million, compared to 4.99 million in Europe.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, lamented the global increase, telling a news conference that it came "despite a significant reduction in testing that's occurring worldwide".

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus agreed, warning that the lack of visibility due to reduced testing meant "the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg."

"And we know that when cases increase, so do deaths," he said, highlighting "unacceptably high levels of mortality in many countries, especially where vaccination levels are low among susceptible populations".

"We call on all countries to remain vigilant," he said, stressing "the pandemic is not over".

More than two years into the pandemic, which has officially claimed more than six million deathswith the true figure believed to be several times as highthe resurgence in reported cases is due to a "combination of factors", Van Kerkhove said.

She highlighted that the Omicron variant was still spreading "at a very intense level around the world".

One of the sub-lineages of that variant, the BA.2, is particularly transmissible and is now by far the most prevalent in samples collected and sequenced.

"This is the most transmissible variant we have seen of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date," she said.

At the same time, many countries have now lifted most if not all COVID restrictions, while access and uptake of vaccines has been inequitable and uneven, making it even easier for the virus to spread, she said.

Van Kerkhove also lamented the "huge amounts of misinformation that's out there".

"The misinformation that Omicron is mild, misinformation that the pandemic is over, misinformation that this is the last variant that we will have to deal with.

"This is really causing a lot of confusion," she cautioned.

But Ven Kerkhove stressed that the world knows how to rein in COVID.

"The good news is that we have the tools that can reduce the spread," she said.

"We know that masking works. We know that physical distancing works, we know that vaccination saves lives."

"We need to continue."

 2022 AFP
A lab assistant points at charts of a sequenced Covid-19 virus at the Wellcome Sanger Institute that is operated by Genome Research in Cambridge, England, Thursday, March 4, 2021. After dropping most coronavirus restrictions in February 2022, Britain is now ending some COVID-19 testing and monitoring programs, a move some scientists fear will complicate efforts to track the virus and detect worrisome new variants. Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File

After dropping nearly all coronavirus restrictions last month, Britain is now ending some of its most widespread COVID-19 testing and monitoring programs, a move some scientists fear will complicate efforts to track the virus and detect worrisome new variants.

Officials have largely dismissed those concerns, despite a recent uptick in cases across Europe, insisting that high immunization rates will help dampen future waves of disease.

Based on how quickly new variants have arisen, some experts suggest the next one could arrive as early as May. They warn that U.K. authorities should be using the time to prepare, rather than winding down their pandemic defenses.

Mark Woolhouse, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh, called it "an unfortunate pattern" that has been seen repeatedly throughout the outbreak.

"Every time one wave of COVID passes, the government acts as if it's the end of the pandemic," he said.

Without testing and monitoring, new clusters or signs that the virus is evolving could be missed, Woolhouse said.

"I do not understand why governments are not learning this lesson," he said.

Last week, the U.K. announced it was suspending funding for one of the world's biggest and most comprehensive coronavirus monitoring programs, in addition to ditching research that tracks in real time symptoms and infections in health workers. And as of April, free COVID-19 tests for most people in England will also end.

Research assistant Robert demonstrates how to prepare a sample for sequencing at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, England, Friday, on Jan. 7, 2022. After dropping most coronavirus restrictions in February 2022, Britain is now ending some COVID-19 testing and monitoring programs, a move some scientists fear will complicate efforts to track the virus and detect worrisome new variants. Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File

As most COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed across Europe, including Austria, Britain, Denmark, Germany and France, the numbers of infections have inched higher in recent days. The uptick is driven in part by the slightly more infectious omicron descendant BA.2 and by people largely abandoning masks and gathering in bigger groups.

In the last two weeks, COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have both risen slightly in Britain.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid described the increase as "expected" and the country as "in a very good position."

Numerous health leaders in the U.K. have questioned the wisdom of abandoning free testing and measures like stopping financial support for people with infections who are isolating.

"The government cannot wave a magic wand and pretend the threat has disappeared entirely," said Matthew Taylor, chief executive of Britain's National Health Service.

Other officials, however, have pointed out that the testing and monitoring programs are enormously pricey. Last month, Swedish authorities halted wide-scale testing, saying that the cost and relevance was no longer justifiable.

"If we were to have extensive testing adapted to everyone who has COVID-19, that would mean half a billion kronor a week (about $55 million) and 2 billion a month ($220 million)," said Swedish Public Health Agency chief Karin Tegmark Wisell last month, when their testing programs were shelved.

U.K. officials have now apparently made the same calculation.

Research assistants watch the sequencing machines analyzing the genetic material of COVID-19 cases at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, England, Friday, on Jan. 7, 2022. After dropping most coronavirus restrictions in February 2022, Britain is now ending some COVID-19 testing and monitoring programs, a move some scientists fear will complicate efforts to track the virus and detect worrisome new variants. Credit: AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File

"The question is whether we can afford to keep using these expensive tools if it appears that COVID is becoming endemic," said Julian Tang, a virologist at the University of Leicester.

He said it was likely the virus was evolving into a more transmissible and less dangerous form, but acknowledged that process could take yearsand that we would probably face sporadic surges until that happens.

Salim Abdool Karim, an infectious diseases epidemiologist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal who previously advised the South African government, said there were clues in COVID-19's track record that allow for an "educated guess." As the country that first detected omicron and where it spread first, South Africa has been closely monitored by many European and other public health scientists to see what might come next in the pandemic.

Karim predicts the next big surge of disease could come within weeks, noting that South Africa had been hit with COVID-19 surges every three months, meaning the next wave could start in May.

Dr. Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at Britain's University of East Anglia, said we would likely see another variant or two every year, based on how rapidly coronaviruses mutate.

Still, many experts don't think future waves of COVID-19 will be as brutal as the past.

"We're in a different place, because we have vaccines and we know what works," said Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, chair of global health at Columbia University.

"In the meantime, it is the wrong time to dismantle the strong public health systems we've relied on throughout the pandemic," El-Sadr said.

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, millions have fled their homes and sought refuge wherever they could find it.

Each individual story is intensely personal, but mental health experts warn of a refugee crisis that risks leaving a nation of 43 million with deep psychological scars for years to come.

Marina, from Kyiv, now counts herself among the displaced.

"Today, I would only like to have a bit of calm," she said.

At 5 a.m. on Feb. 24, the beauty salon owner's world of pedicures, manicures, massages and cosmetics suddenly gave way to rattling windows and explosions. Russia had begun its attack, lobbing missiles at her doorstep. Marina, who has asked to use her first name only, has been in non-stop survival mode ever since.

"We live on the 21st floor," the 40-year-old explained. "We could see it all happening. This was the first hours of the war, and everyone, the whole city, was in a panic."

With their 9-year-old daughter Liza looking on, she and her 38-year-old husband, Artem, pondered previously unfathomable choices. "Are we going, are we not going? What to take, what not to take? We grabbed just one suitcase, and I called my mother," Marina said.

"Finally, I said: 'We have to run!' And we were very, very lucky, because my husband had already filled the car tank up with gas," she added.

Her 72-year-old mother in tow, Marina's family drove west, through traffic jams, constant bombardments and "the awful sound" of wailing air-raid sirens. Yet nothing deterred them, including COVID-19.

As they fled, Marina was still fighting her second bout with the coronavirus, despite being fully vaccinated. "Everyone got it, all of us, the whole family, about a week before the war began. But that morning, we just didn't think about it. We couldn't," she said.

A journey that typically took 7 hours took 14 instead. First stop: a small countryside village outside the city of Lviv. Three days later, they moved briefly to a village at the Slovakian border, before they made an overnight dash to join a mass exodus at the Hungarian border.

Leaving her husband at the border

Once there, relief turned to anguish. At the last of three exit checkpoints, Ukrainian border guards prevented Artem from crossing. Why? A newly imposed martial law banning all men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country.

But the law has exceptions, Marina pleaded. "If you have three kids, or you're the only parent, or if you have a disabled child, and our daughter is disabled."

Born with a severe leg curvature, Marina and Artem were first told that Liza would never walk. But years of therapy helped her beat the odds. Today, Liza is mobile, but her mobility remains impeded by a combination of scoliosis, a hip joint malformation, "flat feet" and a left leg that is nearly two inches shorter than the other.

"And I explained that," said Marina. "I tried to explain everything. I cried. I screamed. I explained that I can't drive. That I can't carry her. That we need Artem."

But the guards were unmovable. And after her husband was threatened with jail, they had no choice but to give up. "They were awful, awful," she said. "I didn't even have time to hug my husband goodbye."

Marina has not been the only Ukrainian woman to have to bid farewell to her husband at the border.

"Thousands of times nowat the train station, at the bordersI've seen husbands and wives in a final embrace," said James Elder, a Lviv-based spokesperson for UNICEF. "Dads kneeling down to explain to their kids that they're not coming with them."

"Really we're talking about millions of Ukrainiansand millions of Ukrainian kidsgoing through this right now," Elder added. "This trauma, this stress, and lives turned upside down."

Ukrainians are not alone in this fate.

"Most people affected by humanitarian emergencies will experience signs of distress," said Inka Weissbecker, a mental health and substance abuse officer with the World Health Organization in Geneva. Depending on the individual, that can register as anxiety, sadness, hopelessness, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, anger, or even aches and pains.

Support from family and friends can help limit the risk for developing far worse psychiatric trouble, Weissbecker added. Serious mental illness is not an inevitability, she stressed, as long as refugees can get access to a safe living environment, needed health services, education, jobs and social assistance.

Children often hit hardest

Still, certain refugee groups are particularly vulnerable, Weissbecker noted. For children, even "losing their usual routines at home and at school can disrupt cognitive, emotional, social and physical development," she said. But more than children suffer. Among adults, people with a history of alcohol or drug abuse may struggle to keep their addiction in check, and patients battling mental illness face deterioration or relapse as medications and therapy suddenly end.

Kyiv psychiatrist Dr. Volodymyr Pohorilyi said he's already lost contact with all of his patients, though the war ensures there's no shortage of new ones waiting for his help.

"On average, I used to have three to four clients per day," he said. The war put an end to that, if for no other reason than becauselike MarinaPohorilyi and his wife have also fled with their 8-year-old son and 19-year-old daughter.

Unlike Marina, Pohorilyi has remained in Ukraine. He now counts himself among Ukraine's millions of internally displaced.

He and his wife, who's also a therapist, have made it to Ivano-Frankivsk, a small Ukrainian city about 375 miles west of Kyiv. There he has volunteered to treat incoming refugees, those involved in actual combat, and anyone else who needs it.

"When a client comes to a therapist for help, the latter has to be resilient and capable of witnessing various emotions," explained Pohorilyi, former head of Kyiv's School of Psychotherapy. "But this was the first time I cried with my client."

One traumatized patient recounted his ordeal driving directly into an airstrike while escaping Kyiv. Several have told tales from the front lines in Kharkiv, a city of almost 1.5 million that has been destroyed by constant Russian bombardments.

"Their houses were destroyed by heavy fire," said Pohorilyi. "Those people couldn't talk, they just cried. After every sentence or two, they'd break down to tears. It was overwhelmingly hard to observe in the therapeutic setting."

For now, the biggest issues are exhaustion and anxiety, he noted. "Depression is possible. However, it needs time to develop. I'd say we'll see more of it in two to three weeks from now. If people receive news about their family members being murdered in the war, or their house being destroyed, they will be more inclined to have depression. At this stage, it is significant anxiety."

And then there's the guilt for leaving, for surviving.

As for Marina, her family has now recovered from COVID-19, and she is no longer in physical danger.

Safe in Poland, but still adrift

Along with her daughter and mother, Alexandrea, Marina made her way to Krakow, Poland, where she found her "guardian angel" in the form of Polish refugee volunteer Joanna Wendorff.

"We are mobilized and motivated," said Wendorff, a Krakow-based project manager for CISCO. "And Marina is my responsibility."

Wendorff says that in Polandwhich has known its share of the brutalities of warthe influx of a million-plus Ukrainians following the Russian invasion has touched everyone she knows.

"I'm not sure whether somewhere deep down in our subconscious we are afraid it will happen in Poland, so we need to do something, or else it would happen here, or if it's instinctive. That we need to help our friend, our brothers," she said. "But I think Polandwhich is normally a pretty divided placefeels united now. We feel we cannot do otherwise. We cannot just sit and cry. We have to do something. It's a light in the middle of the darkness."

Wendorff has already found Marina and her family a temporary free apartment in Krakow. It was donated by the owner, who currently lives in Belgium. "And I created a post on Facebook with a list of things that I needed. Within two hours, I had everything: a new fridge, a mixer, stuff for cooking, within hours." Now she's helping with the basics: opening a bank account; finding a school for Liza; setting up a phone.

Still, Marina feels adrift.

Her husband remains behind in Ukraine, his family name withheld while his future remains uncertain.

"How will I continue living here, because this apartment we're in is only for one and a half months. So, I don't know what will be next. And what about my husband? What about my mother? I will start learning Polish. But I'm tired," she said.

The truth is Marina's new life as a refugee has only just begun.

"And I want to sleep, but I can't," she said. "I can't eat. I am hungry, but I'm not able to put food in my mouth. I can't make myself swallow. It's I don't know. It's horrible."

Explore further Doctor assessing refugees in Poland sees deep trauma

More information: There's more on refugees and mental health at the There's more on refugees and mental health at the World Health Organization

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WTO head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says a breakthrough between the EU, US, India and South Africa on waiving intellectual property rights on Covid-19 vaccines is a major step forward.

The World Trade Organization chief on Wednesday hailed a breakthrough between the EU, the United States, India and South Africa on waiving intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the compromise was a big step forward in a bid to end the logjam at the global trade body.

However, she cautioned that some of the details on waiving WTO rules on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) still needed to be fleshed outand it would need the backing of all WTO members to come into force.

"This is a major step forward and this compromise is the result of many long and difficult hours of negotiations," Okonjo-Iweala said.

"But we are not there yet. We have more work to do to ensure that we have the support of the entire WTO membership."

Since October 2020, South Africa and India have called for IP rights to be temporarily lifted for coronavirus vaccines during the pandemic in order to boost production and address the gaping inequality in access between rich and poor nations.

But the idea has met with fierce opposition from pharmaceutical giants and many of their host countries.

They have argued that patents are not the main roadblocks to scaling up production and warn the move could hamper innovation.

Okonjo-Iweala's statement came hours after Adam Hodge, spokesman for the US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, announced that lengthy talks had resulted in a "compromise outcome that offers the most promising path toward achieving a concrete and meaningful" result.

"No agreement on text has been reached and we are in the process of consulting on the outcome," he added.

- 'Wrong solution': pharma lobbyOkonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, said steps to widen the discussion to all 164 WTO members should start immediately.

Switzerland, home to several major pharmaceutical companies, has notably repeatedly voiced its unwillingness to budge.

A source close to France's foreign trade minister Franck Riester said the agreement had been struck at a technical level but now needed a green light at the political level.

He said the compromise would only apply to developing countries accounting for less than 10 percent of global COVID-19 vaccine exports, excluding China.

He added the plan was intended to facilitate the granting of compulsory licensing deals, a provision already within the TRIPS system.

Compulsory licences give companies other than the patent holder authorisation to make a product, without the consent of the patent owner, subject to certain procedures and conditions being respected.

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, a big pharma lobby group, slammed the compromise, saying that weakening patents when supply constraints had eased was a mistake.

The IFPMA said 12 billion vaccine doses had been produced within a year of the first jab being authorised, and the industry was now pumping out more than a billion doses per month.

"The challenge now is how to get the vaccines into the arms of people who need them, rather than vaccine supply," the group said.

"The TRIPS waiver is not only the wrong solution, it is also an outdated proposal, that has been overtaken by events."

'Key limitations'

Max Lawson, co-chair of the People's Vaccine Alliance coalition campaigning for wider access to COVID vaccines, said the TRIPS waiver proposal was a half-measure that did not address IP rights on COVID-19 treatments.

"Every barrier to accessing these crucial vaccines and treatments must be cleared away," he said.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) welcomed the compromise, but stressed there were "key limitations" in the leaked text, saying it covered only vaccines and was geographically limited.

"(It) covers only patents and does not address other intellectual property barriers, such as trade secrets, which may cover critical information needed to facilitate manufacturing," MSF said.

"WTO members should work together to ensure that any agreement tackles the current barriers to accessing all COVID-19 medical tools, including treatments and diagnostics."

Explore further EU, Africa at odds over vaccine patents ahead of summit

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ZAMBOANGA CITY  Eight villages in the southern Philippine province of Sulu are now free from the influence of the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf...
Montana middle-schoolers are sought for a project that covers wildlife and visual storytelling.

The International Wildlife Film Festival, the Endangered: Short Tales For The Nearly Forgotten podcast, and the University of Montana's Broader Impacts Group are celebrating Earth Day and the 45th International Wildlife Film Festival by offering a storyboarding art contest for middle school students. Winning student storyboards will be exhibited at the festival in the Missoula Public Library at spectrUM Discovery Area from April 22-May 7. Winners will also receive IWFF passes, spectrUM memberships, and cash prizes. Storyboard art should be submitted by March 25.

Participants are invited to participate in a virtual course that outlines elements of storytelling, personal expression, and drawing techniques from professional storyboard artist Vincent Lee.

This opportunity is ideal for individuals, after-school clubs, classrooms and more. Through the short virtual lessons, participants are given the assignment of selecting one of the seven short stories from the Endangered: Short Tales For The Nearly Forgotten podcast to bring the story to life on the page. The endangered species featured are the fairy possum, African white-backed vulture, black-footed ferret, golden dart frog, saola, axolotl and the humphead wrasse. Email Lizzie@wildlifefilms.org to get involved. This project is remotely accessible and is free to all Montana middle school-aged students.

A jury will select winning storyboard art to be featured in The Nearly Forgotten Endangered Exhibition at spectrUM Discovery Area in the Missoula Public Library. The exhibit will include QR codes to the stories, hands-on learning activities, and additional information about each featured species.

Interested artists should submit their work by March 25 to IWFF for review. To submit, scan your artwork and email it to Lizzie@wildlifefilms.org or send artwork in the mail to the Roxy Theater, 718 S. Higgins Ave. Missoula MT 59801. The film festival is April 23-30 and available virtually May 1-7. Visit wildlifefilms.org for more information.

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Rarely stopping to inventory the essential qualities of leadership and human character, we all know them when we see them: decency, honesty, humility, honor and faithfulness. Character is the lens through which a leader perceives the path to be followed, especially when pressure mounts and there is little margin for error.

And though Im somewhere between autumn and winter of my life, I dont claim to possess unique insight or wisdom. I also know that my voice is small, just one of millions. But Im certain that remaining silent is the wrong course for me, and for all of my fellow citizens regardless of political party.

My purpose is to urge all Americans of good sense and honest purpose to confront, define and vindicate the truth. Sometimes that truth has sharp edges, but nonetheless, it is still the truth. This is one of those times.

And so it must be said: Donald Trump does not possess those essential qualities of character that leave him fit to lead this nation, most especially in a time of crisis.

My unease with Donald Trump didnt just begin with his recent remarks concerning the barbaric invasion of Ukraine. It goes back to his arrival on the national scene roughly seven years ago. Montana is a place where there is appreciation for leaders who speak their minds, but an expectation they will also stick to the facts. It is also a place where drivel and deceit are quickly set aside as a waste of precious time. And, frankly, Donald Trump is wasting our time.

If the former presidents recent remarks about Ukraine had amounted to just another ration of narcissistic self-indulgence, it would have been briefly noted, but not thoroughly examined. Such patent nonsense has become, after all, predictable and expected.

But his recent comments before and after the Russian invasion were laced with reckless propositions, cruelty and improprieties which continue to poison and fray the political life and social fabric of the nation.

The former presidents statement that NATO is nothing more than a paper tiger, reveals a stunning ignorance of the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty as well as the solidarity and 73-year history of the alliance.

As Stalins Soviet Union was taking control of numerous sovereign nations after World War II, the treaty was signed by the original twelve members of the pact and approved by the United States Senate in 1949. During the more than seven decades of NATOs existence, 14 former Soviet and Soviet-aligned republics have joined the alliance. What started with twelve functioning democracies has expanded to 30 countries today.

NATOs most ardent advocate was Arthur Vandenerg, a conservative Republican from Michigan, an avowed isolationist before witnessing World War II and the terrifying hegemony of the USSR in its aftermath. Vandenberg worked tirelessly with the Truman Administration to forge bipartisan support for the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO while instructing his colleagues that "politics stops at the water's edge."

The vicious actions of the Russian president have been universally condemned by decent people everywhere. But, not by Donald Trump. To the contrary, the former president could only express his admiration of the Russian presidents tactics by describing him as savvy, smart, and a genius.

There is no record of anybody else, other than Donald Trump, anywhere, at any time during this Russian massacre, who has described Vladimir Putin, as savvy, smart and a genius.

But, thats not all. The former president then went on to make light of the situation in Ukraine, telling his donors in New Orleans that the United States should put the Chinese flag on F-22 jets and bomb the s*** out of Russia. And then we say, China did it. They start fighting with each other, and we sit back and watch.

In addition to revealing a complete lack of maturity and morality, such comments also expose an appalling lack of compassion for the death and destruction of the lives, culture and country of the people of Ukraine. And they remind us once more, how critical the character and stability of one person can be.

For those who, during this painful moment in human history, find any redeeming value or humor in the former presidents remarks; or who continue to ignore his profound lack of knowledge or intellectual curiosity; or who excuse his lack of regard for the truth; or who consciously or unconsciously modify the priorities of their own character or moral imperatives in order to secure his favor, or the favor of his disciples, it may be well to remember the words of J.M. Smith: If you dance with the devil, then you havent got a clue, for you think youll change the devil, but the devil changes you.

Marc Racicot is a former Montana Governor and Chair of the Republican National Committee.

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" " Getting an eviction notice from your landlord is never a good thing. What should you do next? Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

Every year, more than 900,000 Americans are evicted from their homes. That's one in every 40 renter households. And those are only the formal evictions that are processed by the courts. Countless more are simply "landlord evictions," where a landlord says, "If you can't pay, you gotta go" and tenants pack up without a fight.

If you're a renter, it's important to know your legal rights as a tenant in your state. It could be the difference between keeping your home or losing it at the worst possible time.

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If You're in Trouble, Be Proactive

Janet Portman is the executive editor at Nolo and the co-author of "Every Tenant's Legal Guide" and "Renters' Rights." She says that the first and most important thing a struggling tenant can do to avoid eviction is reach out to the landlord and explain what's happening.

If you've always been a good tenant  meaning you consistently pay the rent on time and take care of the property, there's a good chance the landlord will be willing to work with you.

"Smart landlords consider all the factors," says Portman. "If they toss you out for non-payment, they'll risk two or more months of turnover where they won't have any money coming in. If you are a good, stable tenant and the rental market isn't crazy hot, the landlord will have an incentive to work with you."

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Make a Plan and Put It in Writing

If you're lucky and your landlord is willing to negotiate, then be honest and come up with a realistic payment plan. It's not going to do you any good to make a promise that you'll never be able to keep. If you can only cover a portion of the rent for a few months, offer to mow the grass, paint the house or perform other tasks that will save the landlord time and money.

"Whatever understanding you come up with, both the tenant and the landlord have to sign a written agreement spelling out the terms of forgiveness," says Portman. This protects you as a tenant from a sudden eviction notice and further assures your landlord that you'll make good on your promises.

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Formal Evictions Are Hard to Fight

In the immortal words of the late, great Kenny Rogers, "You got to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." If there's simply no way that you can afford the rental, even with a payment plan, it's probably not worth being dragged through a formal eviction. You might think that a drawn-out court proceeding will at least buy you some time, but that's not the case.

"Eviction cases go very quickly through the courts, almost as fast as a criminal case, and certainly faster than any other civil case," says Portman. "And most people don't want an eviction on their record. That's the kiss of death."

That's why in the vast majority of cases, Portman says that tenants who receive a formal three-day or five-day termination notice (to pay up or leave) will just pack up and leave.

On the other hand, one reason that eviction cases are prosecuted so quickly is because the formal eviction process is so tightly regulated. Every state has its own eviction laws, but most of them require the landlord to serve notice to the tenant during every step of the process. If your landlord is new at this and tries to save money by not hiring a lawyer, you could be in luck.

"Landlords who try to do it themselves often screw it up," says Portman.

The bad news is that even if the landlord messes up the first time, they likely won't make the same mistake twice. It's important to recognize when the writing is on the wall and to avoid a formal eviction at all costs.

A landlord can also give you a "Unconditional Quit Notice" where you must leave immediately with no chance to pay up the rent (depending on the state you're in), but that's usually only if you've violated terms of the lease, such as damaged the property or sold drugs from it.

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Dealing With a Bad Landlord

There are times, however, when it's absolutely worth fighting back against a formal eviction. Portman cites the example of a landlord who has failed to do needed repairs and upkeep in the rental. If a tenant decides to withhold rent until those repairs are made, that's within their rights.

Of course, the landlord could still initiate eviction proceedings for the unpaid rent. But if the tenant can produce evidence that the rental unit is uninhabitable or dangerous in its current state, and that the landlord has failed to act, there's a very good chance that the judge will rule for the tenant.

"That's called the 'habitability defense,' and it's a very common one," says Portman.

If you feel you are being wrongfully evicted, contact a legal aid or tenants advocacy group in your state. These groups might also be able to point you toward emergency funds available through government or private organizations earmarked for individuals and families who need temporary help covering rent.

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Special Considerations for Rent-Controlled Units

Certain rental markets are so competitive and subject to such astronomical rate increases that laws have been put into place that protect tenants from being priced out of their homes. There are 182 cities and municipalities with rent control or rent stabilization laws, mostly in California, New York and New Jersey.

Those rent control laws make it illegal for a landlord to raise rent beyond a certain percentage from year to year. The only exceptions are when a tenant vacates a unit voluntarily or is evicted. At that point, the landlord can raise the rate up to its full market value.

"So, what are some landlords doing in that situation? They're trying to evict for whatever reasons are allowed under the 'just cause' eviction ordinance," says Portman. "If they're successful, then they can re-rent at the newer, hotter, higher rate."

The definition of "just cause" is different in every state. In California, for example, landlords are allowed under state law to force a tenant out if they plan on doing a substantial remodel to the unit. Unless the particular city law says otherwise, the landlord doesn't even have to pull the necessary construction permits before asking the tenant to leave.

"That's a loophole that you can sail the Titanic through," says Portman.

Landlords can also kick out a tenant if the landlord or a qualifying relative plan on moving into the unit themselves, or if they want to switch the unit from residential to commercial. Cities like San Francisco require landlords to prove they followed through on their plan for a set number of years. If not, the tenant is allowed to move back in at their original rate.

HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article.

Now That's a Good Point In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government and 34 states issued temporary moratoria on evictions. Portman points out, however, that a moratorium doesn't mean that the landlord forgives all past-due rent. "There's going to be a moment of reckoning down the line," she says. Indeed, on July 31, 2021, the eviction moratorium expired. President Joe Biden has asked landlords to hold off on evictions for 30 days and seek money from federal rental assistance programs. These programs have been in place for months, but red tape and other factors caused states to be extremely slow in distributing the money. If you're being evicted and you lost your job because of the coronavirus pandemic, check out the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website to see what help might be available.

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Originally Published: Apr 6, 2020
" " President Joe Biden's sweeping executive order requires the Federal Trade Commission to establish rules that will ban companies like John Deere from establishing repair monopolies and from preventing DIY repairs to their products. Hirurg/Getty Images

Have you ever tried to work on your own car and run into roadblocks? Maybe parts weren't available at all (or they were ridiculously expensive). Perhaps you couldn't find the information you needed to do a fairly simple repair, even with the internet at your fingertips.

Make no mistake. That was all by design.

Auto manufacturers were deliberately blocking access to information, parts and tools that give owners the ability work on their late-model cars. Why? To ensure car owners had fewer choices for taking their cars for repairs. This has real implications for do-it-yourselfers.

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Massachusetts Right to Repair

But a "Right to Repair" movement, which advocates for a consumers' right to repair and modify products they own, put an end to this practice, in the auto industry anyway. The conversation had been ongoing since 2002, when various industry organizations were demanding more access from auto manufacturers, but were getting nowhere.

But the initiative gained momentum in 2013 when Massachusetts passed the first law in the U.S. ending the practice. The law states that auto manufacturers are required to sell the same diagnostic and repair information to consumers and independent shops. That information was formerly exclusive to franchised dealerships. The information is available now for 2002 and later model year cars. Once the 2019 model years rolled out that info became available online for a fee, as well.

That was good news for do-it-yourselfers in Massachusetts, but it also got the ball rolling elsewhere. A few months later in January 2014, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers agreed that the Massachusetts law would be voluntarily upheld across the United States. As a result, everyone in the U.S. (independent garages and consumers) now has fee-based access to auto manufacturers' service websites. Supporters of the legislation said the deal fosters competition and helps lower auto repair bills for consumers.

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Why Is Right to Repair Necessary?

Bozi Tatarevic is an automotive writer, mechanic and all-around tech expert with a knack for explaining complicated concepts. Via email, Tatarevic talked about how the automotive Right to Repair laws work.

"Modern vehicles have a variety of proprietary electronic systems that require manufacturer-specific tools for certain repairs, and while most individuals won't personally work on their own vehicles, they may choose to take the vehicle to an independent shop not owned by a manufacturer-affiliated franchise," Tatarevic says. "Without Right to Repair laws, manufacturers are not required to provide a way for independent shops to be able to diagnose these systems, which forces consumers to take the vehicle back to the manufacturer-affiliated franchise, or in the case of Tesla, back to the manufacturer for repairs."

If you're wondering why automakers would go to these lengths, it all comes down to money.

"The main issue that automakers had with Right to Repair legislation is stating that it would cost too much for them to adapt their diagnostic software in order to make it accessible to third parties," Tatarevic explains. "While there is some cost in adapting this software, the likely reality is that the manufacturers are looking out for their franchised dealers and their ability to bring in customers for out-of-warranty repair work."

" " Farmers who may have been repairing their equipment for generations are expressly prohibited from making repairs to any John Deere equipment, like this massive hay baler. Pixabay

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Biden Signs Executive Order on Right to Repair

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been a well-known advocate of consumer-friendly legislation. In March 2019, Warren proposed national Right to Repair legislation, specifically for the agriculture industry. She called it "un-rigging the rules" in her March 27, 2019, Team Warren post on Medium.com:

Farmers should be able to repair their own equipment or choose between multiple repair shops. That's why I strongly support a national Right to Repair law that empowers farmers to repair their equipment without going to an authorized agent.

Corporations like John Deere prohibit farmers from repairing their own tractors, or paying anyone other than an authorized John Deere agent to repair them. That can mean economic ruin for family farmers who have small windows to harvest their products (and who have spent decades repairing their own equipment).

And it's not just big tractors that are impossible to repair. Tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Samsung and AT&T explicitly block consumers from repairing to their own products.

But those rules could be changing. On July 9, 2021, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order to promote competition in the U.S. economy. The order aims to lower prescription drug prices, ban or limit noncompete agreements, and create Right to Repair rules for cellphone, agriculture and other electronics companies.

The order will, in part, direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish rules that will ban companies like John Deere from establishing repair monopolies and from preventing DIY repairs to their products. The order "encourages the FTC to limit powerful equipment manufacturers from restricting people's ability to use independent repair shops or do DIY repairs  such as when tractor companies block farmers from repairing their own tractors."

The historic order applies not just to tractor companies like John Deere, but also to consumer electronics companies.

From the White House fact sheet:

Cellphone manufacturers and others blocking out independent repair shops: Tech and other companies impose restrictions on self and third-party repairs, making repairs more costly and time-consuming, such as by restricting the distribution of parts, diagnostics and repair tools.



In the Order, the President:

Encourages the FTC to issue rules against anticompetitive restrictions on using independent repair shops or doing DIY repairs of your own devices and equipment.

" " Tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google have spent billions lobbying to prevent laws that would require them to provide genuine repair parts and device schematics to independent repair shops. Vlad Teodor/Shutterstock

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Opposition to Right to Repair

But not everyone sees Right to Repair as the solution. U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) an independent, citizen-funded consumer rights organization, said the five tech giants  Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Facebook  all have lobbied against Right to Repair legislation. Other major companies also have contributed to the lobbying efforts, including Tesla, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T, T-Mobile, John Deere, General Electric and more, for a total of about $10.7 trillion. In spring and fall of 2018, General Electric, spent more than $200,000 to defeat the Right to Repair bill in New York state alone, according to U.S. PIRG.

"This is great news for farmers, and it's great news for everyone concerned with repair monopolies," U.S. PIRG Right to Repair Senior Campaign Director Nathan Proctor said in a press statement. "It also shows that the Right to Repair campaign is continuing to move forward, and win new support. Already, the vast majority of the American people agree with us. Now, it appears, the president also believes that people should be able to fix their stuff. It's time for manufacturers to wise up, because we're not going to stop pushing for our Right to Repair."

The jury is still out on whether a national Right to Repair law will ever happen. Two organizations, including U.S. PIRG and The Repair Association, a trade association representing independent repair workers, are pushing hard for one. And while a national law has support from Sen. Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), several other states are still introducing local bills similar to Massachusetts.

To date, more than 25 states have considered Right to Repair legislation in 2021.

Now That's Interesting Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak went online July 7, 2021, to issue his support of Right to Repair. "I've read a lot of articles about the Right to Repair issue," he said in a Cameo. "I'm always totally supportive and I totally think that the people behind it are doing the right thing. We wouldn't have had Apple if I hadn't grown up in a very open technology world."

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Originally Published: Aug 13, 2019
Sign outside the Siskiyou Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection station in Weed.

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Two fires burning in Siskiyou County have been fully contained.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Siskiyou Unit on Tuesday announced the Gulch Fire in southeast Dorris is 100% contained at 113 acres.

The Evergreen Fire northeast of Weed was 100% contained as of Monday night.

9:30 a.m., Monday: Evergreen Fire contained; Gulch Fire at 75% containment

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Siskiyou Unit is working to contain two wildfires that started in Siskiyou County on Saturday.

The Evergreen Fire began at about 1:30 p.m. near Evergreen Lane and Highway 97 northeast of Weed. Meanwhile, the Gulch Fire began about 12:45 p.m. near Dorris Brownell Road and East Butte Valley Road, southeast of Dorris.

The Gulch Fire grew from 20 acres with 0% containment Saturday afternoon to 113 acres with 75% containment on Monday evening. The Evergreen Fire was burning across 12 acres and was 100% contained as of Monday morning, Cal Fire officials said.

Cal Fire was monitoring weather conditions on Monday after the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon issued a wind advisory for the area where the Evergreen Fire is burning.

Wind on Monday afternoon was south southeast and increased up to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph, according to the weather service.

Access, terrain and wind have hampered control efforts on the Gulch Fire but rain and snow on Saturday night helped contain the fires, Cal Fire officials said.

The Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Hoy Road area, near Weed, when the Evergreen Fire broke out. The order was reduced to a warning on Saturday night and all evacuation orders and warnings were lifted by Sunday morning.

The cause of the fires is under investigation.

Story continues

Firefighters received help from Mother Nature as rain fell on the fire near Weed and snow fell on the blaze near Dorris.

Update: 10:30 a.m., Sunday

The Evergreen Fire blazing northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County is 50% contained after burning across12 acres near Evergreen Lane and Highway 97, according to the Cal Fire Siskiyou Unit. All evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted, Cal Fire said.

Rain on Saturday night helped contain the fire, Cal Fire said.

The Evergreen Fire sends up smoke Saturday afternoon, March 12, 2022, near Evergreen Lane and Highway 97 northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County. The wildfire had grown to over 5 acres with 5% containment around 4 p.m. An evacuation order was issued by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office for the Hoy Road area from Highway 97 to Edgewood Road.

On Saturday night, the Siskiyou County Sheriffs Office reduced its mandatory evacuation order outside Weed to an evacuation warning for the Evergreen Fire.

The sheriffs office previously issued a mandatory evacuation order for the Hoy Road area, from Highway 97 to Edgewood Road northeast of Weed.

"Hoy Road has been reduced to an evacuation warning," the sheriff's office posted on its Facebook page Saturday evening. "You may return to your homes but be aware of the active fire in the area."

UPDATE: 4:20 p.m. Saturday

The Evergreen Fire is threatening around 100 structures in residential areas, according to the Cal Fire Siskiyou Unit.

The fire began burning about 1:30 p.m. near Evergreen Lane and Highway 97 northeast of Weed and is more than 5 acres, said Suzi Brady, Cal Fire spokesman. The fire is 5% contained.

"The important thing to say is the forward progress on that one has been stopped," Brady said.

The Evergreen Fire sends up smoke Saturday afternoon, March 12, 2022, near Evergreen Lane and Highway 97 northeast of Weed in Siskiyou County. The wildfire had grown to over 5 acres with 5% containment around 4 p.m. An evacuation order was issued by the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office for the Hoy Road area from Highway 97 to Edgewood Road.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. At this time, an evacuation order is still in effect for the Hoy Road area from Highway 97 to Edgewood Road.

Meanwhile, the Gulch Fire near Dorris Brownell Road and East Butte Valley Road, southeast of Dorris in Siskiyou County, was more than 20 acres with 0% containment Saturday afternoon.

Cal Fire officials said there were no evacuations at this time. The cause remains under investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Evergreen Fire, Gulch Fire fully contained: Siskiyou wildfires
Local officials are breathing a sigh of relief after the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released its latest update on COVID clusters in schools.

According to the update, released Tuesday, March 15, Burke Countys last remaining COVID cluster has been declared closed, leaving BCPS without an active cluster for the first time since Jan. 10.

According to BCPS, the district reported only five new confirmed positive cases during the week of March 7. This is down from 21 confirmed positive cases during the week of Feb. 28 and a high of 625 on the week of Jan. 10 during the height of the Omicron surge. This also represents the lowest number confirmed positive cases reported for any week since the 2021-22 school year began.

All this is in keeping with national trends which have seen COVID cases across the country dip to their lowest levels since July. BCPS officials are hopeful the current downward trends will continue.

We have certainly reached a new milestone with no new clusters and our positive cases dramatically decreasing, said Cheryl Shuffler, public information officer for Burke County Public Schools. We, like many others, remain hopeful that things are returning to some sense of normalcy.

Shuffler also said that despite the recent drop in cases, Burke County has no plans to remove its COVID dashboard from the districts website, even though most neighboring counties have already done so.

For more information on COVID-19 statistics in Burke County Public Schools, visit the districts COVID dashboard at www.burke.k12.nc.us. For more information about COVID clusters in schools across North Carolina, visit www.covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard/.

Jason Koon is a staff writer and can be reached at jkoon@morganton.com
Butte Citizens for Preservation and Revitalization received $7,500 in February from Humanities Montana for Story of Butte, a website and app that will include themed self-guided tours on Buttes mining and labor history, women in Butte, the immigrant experience and the citys architectural history.

Butte CPR will develop Story of Butte in partnership with the Butte-Silver Bow Archives. Both the Butte CPR and the Archives are sponsoring Story of Butte, and representatives from each organization are on the steering committee bringing the project to life, said Butte CPR member Nancy Woodruff.

The CPR is the fiscal sponsor, but it really is a joint project with the Archives, she said.

It was a good fit because the Archives are such a depository of historical information, said the steering committees representative for the Archives, Aubrey Jaap. Because of this, much of the research for the project will be done at the Archives, Woodruff said.

Story of Butte will be run through Curatescape, a nonprofit web and app framework founded at Ohio's Cleveland State University. Over a dozen other towns and cities, including Spokane, Cincinatti and Napa have used the platform to put their history online.

Woodruff got the idea to look into the platform for Butte from a friend of her husbands in Spokane. The steering committee started working on the Story of Butte project in November of last year, she said.

I brought it to the board, and they were enthusiastic about it, Woodruff said.

Randi Tanglen, executive director of Humanities Montana, said what stood out to the boards grant selection committee about Story of Butte was that the app and web-based platform will help to tell some of Montanas untold stories, which is what Humanities Montana is all about.

She said the group was especially interested in the stories of Butte women and immigrants the platform plans to tell.

The money Story of Butte received from Humanities Montana will mostly go toward hiring scholars and writers to develop the articles, Tanglen said, because Humanities Montana is focused on the creation of humanities content.

I cant wait to visit Butte and open the app, she said.

Jaap said different people and organizations have been talking about conducting similar guided tours of Uptown Butte for years, but it looks like the committee is going to be the group to get the project off the ground. Nancy pulled us all together, she said.

When the app and website are live, users will be able to click on certain historical spots in Butte and read articles about that place. Some places or topics will have a series of articles about them organized as tours, which will enable people to go from physical place to physical place as they read each article. Users can also go the tours from the comfort of their homes.

The Montana Historical Society will donate 287 articles about Butte to the project, Woodruff said. That way well start with a bunch of topics right off the bat.

The committee is hoping to create multiple tours out of this contribution for an initial launch in time for the Montana Folk Festival in Butte July 8-10, Woodruff said, although its an ongoing project and wont be completed at that time. The purpose of the initial launch is to get people excited about the project and work out any bugs, and Woodruff said the time of the Folk Festival would be ideal because it attracts many history buffs to Butte.

The steering committee will recruit writers and historians interested in and knowledgeable of Butte history to write articles and create more content before and after the initial launch.

Woodruff said that the goals for the project are three-pronged, and that the committee is hoping the project will serve to promote tourism, education and preservation.

The app can not only be used to promote Buttes heritage tourism and preserve the towns rich history, she said, but also as an educational tool.

We want to keep stories about Butte alive, Woodruff said, and encourage the appreciation of its buildings and architecture.

While the steering committee doesnt have any concrete plans for the tours yet, Woodruff said that theyre planning to use concepts like the headframes of Butte or Frank Little, the American labor leader murdered here in 1917.

Jaap said the committee is planning a womens tour and possibly a geology tour as well.

In addition to the Humanities grant, Story of Butte has received $2,000 from the National Parks Conservation Association, $1,000 from a private donor, and is waiting on a grant they applied for from the Montana History Foundation, which they should hear back from on April 15, Woodruff said.

Humanities Montana has three rounds of grants open each year, and one coming up on April 20, Tanglen said.

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Police chase

At about 4 a.m. Tuesday, a call came in about some unidentified men looking inside vehicles at the Super 8 Motel, 2929 Harrison Ave. A high-speed chase would soon ensue.

The gray Nissan pickup left the scene and was spotted just east on Cobban Avenue. It stopped briefly for officers, but then took off again, headed north on Florida Avenue, reportedly running all the stop signs. The truck headed north on Harrison and continued west on Front Street. Stop sticks were placed on Platinum Street, which the driver, Gage James Young, 22, of Butte, eluded. The truck eventually got stuck on Bluebird Street.

Young was jailed for the miscellaneous offenses of fleeing police, driving with a suspended drivers license, reckless driving, no liability insurance in effect, and displaying plates assigned to another vehicle.

Two arrested

Just after midnight Tuesday, police were called to investigate a suspicious mini-van near the Front Street Laundry on Front Street.

Officers found Brett Steele Berry, 43, of Butte hiding under some blankets in the mini-van. Berry had a warrant out for his arrest for felony revocation of sentence. Turns out, the other passenger, Sky Lynn Brisbo, 24, of Butte had several warrants out for her arrest, too, including two counts of felony revocation of sentence, two misdemeanor criminal contempt, and a misdemeanor out-of-jurisdiction warrant.

Both Berry and Brisbo were taken to jail.

Felony warrant

Joseph Patrick Brian Jr., 44, of Butte was arrested Monday night by a Montana Highway Patrol trooper on a felony warrant for revocation of sentence.

Had his chance

Jordan Ellis Pederson, 30, of Butte got two chances to stay out of jail, but in the end, he landed behind bars.

Three times early Wednesday, officers were called to the Town Pump at 531 S. Montana St., to investigate an unwanted male. During two of these separate incidents, Pederson was told by police to leave, he agreed, but kept returning. On his third return, he was taken to jail for the misdemeanor offenses of criminal contempt and criminal trespass to property.

Throwing things

Letha Bonita Harper, 59, of Butte was jailed late Tuesday night for allegedly hitting a 56-year-old man and throwing things at him in the 600 block of West Quartz Street. The victim did have a bump on his forehead.

She was booked for misdemeanor partner or family member assault (physical contact).

Disturbances investigated

Police were called late Tuesday afternoon to the 600 block of North Alaska Street to investigate a disturbance. Jason Quincy Wooley, 52, of Butte was standing outside a residence and was arrested for the misdemeanor offenses of violation of a no-contact order and possession of drug paraphernalia (a pipe).

At noon Tuesday, cops were called to the 100 block of Elderberry Lane, regarding an unwanted female in the area. That female turned out to be Lucinda Lopez, 47, of Butte, who had two warrants out for her arrest, one out of Butte City Court and the other from the Montana Highway Patrol.

Tuesday DUI

While out on patrol, an officer noticed a black SUV late Tuesday night driving for several blocks in the turning lane on Continental Drive.

When the SUV was stopped, the officer felt the driver, Joshua Todd Mohr, 20, of Butte had been drinking. He reportedly failed on-site field sobriety tests.

At the jail, he refused to take a Breathalyzer and a warrant for a blood test was issued. Mohr was jailed for misdemeanor driving under the influence (refusal) and driving with a suspended drivers license.

Miscellaneous crimes

It was reported Monday morning that a log splitter was taken from a front yard in the 2400 block of South Main.

On Monday afternoon, two people were about to practice with their bows and arrows in Koprivica Park. They were advised by police that that particular activity was not going to happen.

A man at the Town Pump, 531 S. Montana, was causing a disturbance Monday night. He was told in no uncertain terms by an employee to get the hell out and not come back. So far, he has complied.

A drivers license and bank card were taken Tuesday morning from a truck parked in the 1400 block of West Granite Street. An unknown person tried to use the bank card shortly after, but was unsuccessful.

Also on Tuesday morning, a wallet was taken from a car while the owner was working out at the Fitness Courts, 4040 Paxson Ave. A debit card from the wallet was used not too long after at Walmart. The police are investigating.

Cops were called to the Opportunity Bank, 3401 Harrison Ave., twice between noon and 12:30 p.m. First call was about a person trying to cash a stolen check. The driver took off at a high rate of speed and a short time later, an officer decided it was too dangerous to the public to follow. A bit later, another man was acting a bit strange inside the banking facility and was told by police to leave.

Late Tuesday afternoon, someone called to make a parking complaint, concerning a handicapped spot being wrongly used at Walgreens, 2611 Harrison Ave. When an officer arrived, the car had left the area.

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A man convicted in the shooting death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore in 2017 will be sentenced to the Montana State Prison instead of spending more time at the Montana State Hospital.

Thats the bottom line of a judges ruling, finding Tuesday that Lloyd Barrus was paranoid in the days leading up to the crimes but could understand the criminality or wrongfulness of his actions.

A jury in Butte found Barrus guilty of deliberate homicide by accountability in Moores death, and of two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for a subsequent high-speed chase and shootout he and his son Marshall Barrus had with police. Marshall Barrus was mortally wounded in the shootout.

After the verdict, defense attorneys argued that Barrus should remain at the state psychiatric hospital because he suffers from delusional disorders and could not appreciate the criminality of his actions at the time.

They tried to make that case during a two-day hearing in January. But on Tuesday, District Judge Kathy Seeley said they failed.

Defendant almost immediately complied upon arrest, Seeley wrote in a 16-page ruling. He made statements indicating he knew he had committed a crime. He expressed surprise that he had not been shot.

The defense has failed to meet its burden to show that defendant did not appreciate the criminality of his behavior or that he was unable to conform his behavior to the requirements of the law.

Seeley has yet to set a sentencing date, but Barrus future place of incarceration has been settled. He faces up to life in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Montana Department of Justice Attorneys Dan Guzynski and Stephanie Robles and Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson, with help from several others. They wanted Barrus sentenced to the state prison in Deer Lodge.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued a statement Tuesday afternoon praising Seeleys ruling.

Im proud that our DOJ prosecutors helped hold this dangerous criminal accountable for his actions and put him in prison where he belongs, he said. Throughout this trial our team has been committed to finding justice for Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore, his family, and all victims involved. Im glad the court agreed with us and made the right decision today.

Prosecutors say Lloyd and Marshall Barrus were on a suicide mission and shortly after 2 a.m. on May 16, 2017, they provoked Deputy Moore by passing him on U.S. 287 south of Townsend driving 100 mph. They were in a Chevy Suburban Lloyd Barrus was driving.

They say Moore was struck in the face by a bullet through his windshield, his car stopped in the grass just south of Three Forks, and he was alive until the Suburban returned four minutes later and additional gunshots from a semi-automatic rifle ended his life.

Butte-Silver Bow police spotted the Suburban moving westbound on I-90 about an hour later and started a 90-mile chase, ending in a shootout in Missoula County. Bullets fired from the Suburban knocked two Butte patrol cars from the pursuit, but by then troopers and police from several counties were involved.

Marshall Barrus was shot and later died at a hospital. Lloyd Barrus was arrested at the scene.

The trial was held in Butte because of pretrial publicity in Broadwater County, and jurors heard several days of testimony before convicting Barrus on Sept. 21.

Prosecutors say Lloyd Barrus had strong anti-government and pro-militia views which played a part in that days events.

Defense attorneys said their client was only trying to avoid a DUI and keep his son out of more legal troubles when the chase with Moore began, and suggested there was no proof he turned the Suburban around and had a direct role in Moores death. The jury determined otherwise.

Barrus mental health was one reason the case took so long to go to trial. He was diagnosed with delusional disorder and mixed personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic features, and addictions to alcohol and marijuana.

He was found unfit to stand trial and refused to take antipsychotic drugs to treat his delusional disorder, which manifests in the belief he is either Jesus Christ or Archangel Michael, according to Virginia Hill, head psychiatrist at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.

Seeley ordered that Barrus be given antipsychotic medications via injection to render him competent to stand trial and aid his defense, since he refused to take the drugs orally. His trial began on Sept. 9 last year.

Seeley said she had to evaluate the persuasiveness of two opposed expert opinions in deciding whether Barrus understood the criminality of his actions that day, and if he should be sent to prison or remain in custody of state health officials.

Hill believed Barrus knew his actions were criminal but said he was unable to appreciate the criminality of his behavior. In other words, he could not comprehend the legal or moral impact of his crime due to mental disorder. Dr. Alan Newman, psychiatrist at the California Pacific Medical Center, disagreed.

Seeley said Hill had treated Barrus at the state hospital for more than four years, but during the hearing in January, it appeared she had become an advocate for her patient. Newmans opinion was not clouded by a long-term doctor/patient relationship, the judge said.

Seeley also cited evidence in the case.

Among other things, she said, Barrus was aware they had passed a law enforcement vehicle speeding and knew Marshall was firing at the officer. Then he turned the Suburban around and returned to the scene, where Marshall fired more shots into Moores car.

Defendants own statements indicate he and Marshall returned because Marshall did not want to face criminal charges, she wrote. This is evidence of defendants appreciation of the criminality of their actions. The only reasonable interpretation of this statement is that Marshall did not intend to leave a witness.

She cited numerous other examples and said Barrus now takes medication because Hill told him he would have to do so to remain at the state hospital.

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ARCHIVED - Ireland condemns Ryanair for hiking flight prices for Ukrainian refugees



The price increase has been deemed unforgivable by Irish politicians

Irish budget carrier Ryanair is rarely out of the news and of late, Mr OLearys company has been celebrating the recovery of the tourism sector and the addition of new routes in anticipation of a bumper summer season, including five new destinations from Spain

This week, however, the airline is making the headlines for the most deplorable of reasons, as Ukrainian ambassador Larysa Gerasko has publicly accused Ryanair of hiking up ticket prices for refugees fleeing the war-torn country to seek safety in Ireland.

Ryanair raised the prices and its unfortunate, and Im waiting for a meeting with the Minister for Transport of Ireland (Eamon Ryan), said Ms Gerasko said on Tuesday March 15.

Ukrainians who are trying desperately to fly out of Poland after fleeing across the border are finding it next to impossible to secure flights, she said.

Ms Gerasko said she would raise this issue for sure when she meets Minister for Transport, adding that a letter she has penned to Ryanair asking for an explanation about the inflated air travel prices has thus far gone unanswered.

Independent Senator Sharon Keogan, who has been very active in raisings funds in support of the besieged nation, stated: Thats unforgivable. Its actually unforgivable.

Given that Ryanair was the largest carrier in Ukraine prior to its invasion, many politicians are calling for Mr OLeary to make amends by offering to transport refugees to Ireland, free of charge.

I think a lot of us who do fly Ryanair would appreciate right now if Ryanair could say, Look, on this occasion, in this traumatic war situation that they would fly services at zero cost, Fianna Fail Senator Gerry Horkan said.

On March 15, Ryanair was advertising one-way tickets from Krakow to Dublin airport for as much as 200 euros on its website.

Image: Archive
MUSCATINE  After spending much of her life working to promote causes at the Iowa Capitol, Michelle "Shelly" Servadio Elias feels it is time to have a more direct role as a policymaker.

On Tuesday, Servadio Elias traveled from Muscatine to Des Moines to file for candidacy with the Iowa Secretary of States Office to run for the Iowa House District 96 seat as a Democrat in the June 7 primary. Should she win or no other Democrat file to run for the seat, she would face off against Republican incumbent Mark Cisneros of Muscatine in the Nov. 8 general election.

Cisneros was first elected to the Iowa House in 2020, becoming the first American of Hispanic descent to be elected to the Iowa legislature, representing Iowa House District 91. But, due to redistricting, Cisneros was drawn out of his district and placed in Iowa House District 95, which includes one township in his current district -- the one in which he lives -- and extends south to the city limits of Burlington. That would have set up a potential contested primary with fellow Republican State Rep. David Kerr of Morning Sun, and a possible general election matchup against incumbent State Rep. Dennis Cohoon, D-Burlington.

Instead, Cisneros announced he would move and run for House District 96 seat, which includes most of the population of his current district and lacks an incumbent.

Previously, Servadio Elias has sought the office of Muscatine County Supervisor. She has worked with the state government frequently as the chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Veterans Caucus and discussed working in a bi-partisan manner with her Republican counterpart to present legislation they hoped to approve.

I had people ask me when I was going to run, she said. At first, I wasnt going to. There was another person who had talked about running. We have a central committee and we vote on who our candidates will be. When we had our caucus night on Feb. 7 I went on and put out some signature sheets. Once I found out they picked me as the candidate they wanted, I worked on getting signatures to register.

Servadio Elias said she believes in service leadership and said she would be working for all the people of the district if elected. She said she hopes to have a working relationship where she is open and transparent and the people of the district feel they can come to her with issues.

She also promised that she is not someone who can be "bought." In the years she has been going to the capitol and working on different issues, she has never accepted money from anyone.

In the coming term, she feels many of the same issues she has championed over the years will be addressed at the statehouse, including healthcare, mental health, education, the environment and water issues.

Servadio Elias is a U.S. Army veteran of the Gulf War, where she spent time with military intelligence. She is also a retired nurse and former charge nurse at UnityPoint in Bettendorf, and an activist for a variety of issues, including the legalization of hemp in Iowa.

As a disabled veteran  she is medically retired  Servadio Elias said she can empathize with medical patients having to deal with the current medical and mental health systems.

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While other major fibre networks in South Africa reach speeds of up to 1Gbps, MetroFibre and Openserve only offer download speeds of up to 500Mbps and 300Mbps, respectively.

Afrihost sells Vumatels, Frogfoots, and Octotels 1Gbps services, and their prices are not far off MetroFibre and Openserves high-speed packages.

MyBroadband asked Openserve and MetroFibre whether they had plans to launch 1Gbps fibre packages.

Openserve declined to give specifics, and MetroFibre did not respond by the time of publication.

The 1Gbps service timelines will be communicated to the market, when available, a spokesperson for Openseve said.

They explained that the fibre operators focus was on expanding its network in South Africa.

[Our] focus remains on providing a scalable next-generation network and higher-speed connectivity solutions by modernising and expanding its network to cater for current and future demand.

Openserves fastest package offers up to 500Mbps download speeds and 250Mbps uploads. Through Afrihost, it is R1,347 per month.

On the other hand, MetroFibres highest speed package is symmetrical, with download and upload speeds of up to 300Mbps for R1,497 a month through the same ISP.

A 1Gbps fibre connection would eliminate any capacity issues in bandwidth-intensive households, provided the home network is geared to use a link this fast.

This speed theoretically lets you transfer files at up to 125 MB per second, and is fast enough to download a typical 4K movie of 14GB in under two minutes, or a 50GB game in around seven minutes.

Frogfoots 1Gbps package is available for R1,547 a month and offers symmetrical download and upload speeds.

Octotels 1Gbps service is available with an upload speed of 100Mbps for R1,447 per month.

Vumatel also sells an asymmetrical 1Gbps package with an upload speed of 200Mbps. The package goes for R1,497 per month.

The table below summarises the highest-speed offerings from five major South African fibre network operators, using Afrihosts prices.
St. Helena's Grace Episcopal Church and its Outreach Committee is providing an opportunity to help the people of Ukraine through Episcopal Relief and Development.

Here are several ways you can help:

Drop off a check at the Grace Church office during office hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Friday.

Drop a check in the black mailbox on Spring Street, with the note "UKRAINE."

Go to grace-episcopal.org, click the Giving button and choose Make A One-Time Gift and Special Contributions, then indicate UKRAINE RELIEF on the memo line.
The City Council will hold a special meeting at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 17, to discuss a June ballot measure that could eliminate the position of directly elected mayor.

If passed, Measure G would end the direct election of St. Helena mayors. The City Council would instead be made up of five elected councilmembers, each serving four-year terms. Those councilmembers would appoint one of their own as mayor.

The council hasnt decided how that selection process would work. If the council chooses a process in the coming months, it could be changed at any point with three council votes.

The council briefly discussed the matter at a special meeting on Tuesday. Councilmembers Lester Hardy and Anna Chouteau will work together on a 300-word ballot argument in favor of the measure and bring it to Thursdays meeting for council approval. The deadline to submit the argument is Friday.
Your smart speaker is listening to you, but whos listening to your smart speaker?

Privacy and home network cybersecurity are at the heart of a new startup co-founded by David Knudsen, best known locally for his two-year tenure on the St. Helena City Council.

Everything Set launched last week when its app went live on Apples App Store and Google Play. The service monitors a subscribers home Wi-Fi network and uses artificial intelligence algorithms to find patterns in the data usage of each device. It alerts the subscriber of anomalous activity and pinpoints potential vulnerabilities.

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In laymans terms: If your smart speaker is talking to its parent company while youre using it, OK. If its talking to an unknown server in Moscow while youre sleeping, not OK.

Everything Set has been in development for two years. Knudsen said he got the idea when his wife expressed discomfort about adding more smart devices to their home. He realized she had a point.

Smart devices are increasingly a part of our life because theyre convenient and handy, but we actually dont know what theyre doing, Knudsen said. Yes, I can download tools to track my network activity, but because Im not comparing it to any other data, my insights are very limited.

Recent technological advances have made it easier to sift through vast amounts of data from various devices  Sonos, Ring, Peleton, Flume, Nest, smart TVs, baby monitors  and sort out whats normal and whats not, Knudsen said. Threats include Mirai malware, which uses an infected networks bandwidth to launch botnet cyberattacks.

During a year of beta testing, Everything Set found that 10 percent of users had devices that were doing inappropriate behaviors, Knudsen said. One percent of the data was going to Russia, and another 1 percent was going to China, he said.

Some vulnerabilities were patched with firmware updates. Other devices needed to be replaced with updated versions.

The Everything Set app is available as a free demo. The hardware comes in a box that attaches to a home router and is provided for a monthly subscription. Early users can get the service free for the first year with a $10 set-up fee.

Everything Set is currently geared toward homes and small businesses in the U.S., but Spanish and French versions should be available by the end of 2022, Knudsen said.

A software developer who moved to St. Helena 16 years ago, Knudsen said he was surprised to find a small but vibrant community of local people working in tech.

There are a lot of people here quietly doing tech work, he said. Its not an adjunct to Silicon Valley, but the Bay Area is awash in tech talent, and some of them live here.

You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation in the South Caucasus with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

"I spoke with President of Azerbaijan on the importance of resolving regional conflicts and pursuing a path to peace in the South Caucasus. I thanked Azerbaijan for the support provided to Ukraine," Blinken tweeted.

According to the State Department, during the conversation, Blinken emphasized the continued importance of the bilateral partnership between the US and Azerbaijan and the US commitment to promoting a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region.

Noting recent reports of escalation between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces, the Secretary of State urged the parties to exercise restraint and intensify diplomatic engagement to find comprehensive solutions to all outstanding issues. He also highlighted the importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Azerbaijan.

"The Secretary of State emphasized the commitment of the United States, along with other partners, to continue holding Moscow and its supporters, including the Lukashenko regime in Belarus, accountable for the Kremlin's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine," the report said.
Bulgaria to seek exemption from EU proposed Russian oil embargo

Biden says he is ready for additional sanctions against Russia

Switzerland braces for serious power shortage

Uruguay freezes ambassador appointment to Ankara after Cavusoglu's gesture

Czech Republic to seek exemption from proposed EU embargo on Russian oil imports

Charles Michel on the likelihood of Moldova's EU membership

Resistance Movement actions to resume tomorrow early morning

Elon Musk is invited to UK Parliament for buying Twitter

Disobedience march reaches France Square, rally starts

US crude oil shipments to Europe hit highest level in April

NEWS.am digest: Large-scale protests being held in Armenia to demand PMs resignation

Armenia Defense Minister meets with Georgian PM

UK bans imposes sanctions on 63 individuals and organizations in Russia

EU plan to completely ban Russian crude oil threatens Hungary's energy security

EU interested in expanding energy cooperation with Azerbaijan

Germany: Gradual EU ban on Russian oil imports could lead to 'supply disruptions'

Opposition demonstration reaches government residences

Aliyev insists so-called Zangezur corridor 'is already a reality'

Slovakia seeks exemption from EU oil embargo for three years

Defense Ministers of Armenia and Georgia sign cooperation program for 2022

Romanian President approves entry of Stryker Brigade and US fighter squadron into country

Dollar goes up, euro also rises in Armenia

EU studying possibility of providing military assistance to Moldova

Public demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Opposition supporters move toward Armenian parliament building

EU envoys can not agree on Russian oil

Armenia Security Council chief briefs Georgia PM on Karabakh conflict settlement process

Armenia deputy police chief says law enforcement has right detain MPs

Large-scale opposition rally starts in central Yerevan

Many teenagers in New Zealand are illiterate

AFP: EU proposes to impose sanctions on Patriarch Kirill

Arestovich says Israel could supply Ukraine with weapons Azerbaijan used in Karabakh war

Parliament speaker threatens Armenian opposition, clergy

Armenia opposition MP: Ex-President Serzh Sargsyan will not hold office in new government

Beijing closes over 60 subway stations due to COVID-19 outbreak

Bayramov, Roquefeuil discuss Azerbaijan-Armenia relations normalization process

Armenia FM meets with US National Democratic Institute president

Armenia ruling force MP: Opposition will not achieve its goal

Armenia 2nd president Robert Kocharyans son blocking road with citizens in Yerevan

Oklahoma bans almost all abortions

Number of children in Japan falls to record low

Karabakh President meets with of Free Homeland-UCA parliamentary faction members

Armenian judge waves Artsakh flag at Ironman Triathlon (PHOTOS)

There is still lot to do in 'October 27' case, says Armenia Prosecutor General

Ambassador Wiktorin to finance minister: EU ready to continue providing assistance to Armenia government

Armenia Prosecutor General admits there are difficulties in investigation of 'March 1' criminal case

Copper price is stable

3 COVID-19 new cases confirmed in Armenia

American Armenian youth hold protest rally outside Armenia embassy in Washington

Japan protests against North Korean missile

Gold is getting cheaper

U.S.-Armenia Strategic Dialogue issues joint statement

Newspaper: Armenia Patrol Guard Service head to be summoned to Investigative Committee to give explanation

Armenia parliament regular sittings continue

Newspaper: Armenia opposition members falling into National Security Service trap by opening links

Civil disobedience protests resume in Yerevan

Earthquake shakes Armenia-Georgia border zone

Microsoft urges to abandon Internet Explorer

Mark Milley: Potential for significant international conflict between great powers is increasing

EU: Poland fines in rule of law dispute now top $170 million

Putin and Lukashenko discuss ongoing situation

Greece and Bulgaria say new LNG terminal will help reduce dependence on Russia

German vice chancellor calls for rapid construction of LNG terminals

Rally of Resistance Movement takes place in France Square

Robert Kocharyan takes part in opposition march

Mario Draghi calls on EU to abandon requirement of unanimity in making foreign policy decisions

Finland and Sweden not yet decided whether to join NATO

Croatian president uses veto power to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO

Slovakia will seek exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil imports

NEWS.am digest: Blinken meets Mirzoyan in US, people detained during protests in Yerevan

Turkish Foreign Ministry on meeting of special envoys in Vienna

Opposition rally in central Yerevan starts with Sirusho's performance

Italy to face serious issues in winter if Russian gas supplies are cut off now

Johnson announces new military aid to Ukraine in amount of 300 million euros

Resistance Movement rally on France Square in Yerevan

EU hopes to adopt sixth round of sanctions against Russia at next EU Council meeting

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Spitak

Spain extends OVID-19 entry restrictions

Vayk joins demand for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation

Putin and Macron discuss Ukraine

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block road from Vayots Dzor to Yerevan

Peaceful rallies of disobedience held in Vanadzor demanding PM's resignation

Citizens demanding Pashinyan's resignation block Gyumri-Yerevan highway

Sirusho: Today I will join our compatriots in France Square

Third meeting of Armenia and Turkey special representatives held in Vienna

Dollar rises slightly after long decline, euro also goes up in Armenia

Civil disobedience actions in regions: Yerevan-Goris highway blocked

Azerbaijan settling occupied Armenian Hadrut, Shushi cities of Artsakh

New colors and new services: Team Telecom Armenia completes rebranding

Armenia legislature speaker receives France-Armenia Friendship Group delegation

France senator: We are leaving for Armenia with Senate group

Putin signs decree on economic measures against unfriendly countries

Armenia legislature speaker: Authorities have repeatedly proposed dialogue to opposition

Backpack action of protest being held outside Armenia parliament (PHOTOS)

Armenia defense ministry: Azerbaijan MOD statement does not correspond to reality

Armenia defense minister receives Kansas National Guard delegation

Armenia Police: Yerevan-Sevan motorway reopened

Ned Price: Mirzoyan-Blinken meeting will launch US-Armenia strategic dialogue

Mirzoyan, Nuland discuss Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement process

Civil disobedience actions are carried out in some Armenia cities
Armenia is ready to discuss any issue with Azerbaijan without preconditions, Chair of the Parliament Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Eduard Aghajanyan told the Public TV host.

Armenia's position is quite constructive and is as follows: The Armenian side is ready to discuss, in fact, any issue, but the most important precondition is the absence of preconditions, he said.

In an interview yesterday, Eduard Aghajanyan said that over the past 30 years, Armenias position at the negotiating table was the right of Artsakh Armenians to live safely in their homeland, and answering the question whether this is possible as part of Azerbaijan, he said that, in his opinion , "this process must be discussed, the final status of Artsakh must be discussed, and we must reach the final status within the framework of signing a peace treaty."

Regarding the question of how logical it is to discuss all issues in one package: demarcation, delimitation, opening of transport routes, peace agreement, Eduard Aghajanyan said.

In my opinion, this is not advisable; as a result, the process will become even more complicated. And if in this case the processes were at least operationally independent of each other, then in this case one process will begin to be conditioned by another, which, naturally, will complicate the possibility of reaching a final agreement.

Aghajanyan also noted that Armenia is now waiting for the response of the Minsk Group to its appeal to start peace talks with Azerbaijan. I think it was a very strong initiative. The problem is that our negotiations with Azerbaijan, in general, the dialogue is taking place in an extremely unreliable, or, if you like, in the absence of an atmosphere of trust. And there are very clear reasons for this," he said, noting that Azerbaijan has always provoked problems in connection with the fulfillment of its obligations within the framework of statements.

The MP noted that Armenia must do everything possible to achieve peace in the region. But we are not the only ones who should serve this agenda. And the current situation proves once again that the remaining players in the region, in this case Azerbaijan, should be really interested in establishing a real peace. Our mission is to include Azerbaijan in this agenda, trying to use all possible tools, including in the field of diplomacy, he said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken believes that Ukraine's not joining NATO should not be taken as a concession to Russia, The Times Hub reported.

I don't think it's a concession, Blinken told CNN.

In my opinion, this is only a reflection of the real state of affairs, which is that even before the Russian aggression, Ukraine was not going to join NATO the next day, the Secretary of State explained.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was necessary to recognize the fact that his country will not be able to become a NATO member in the foreseeable future.

Blinken also criticized China's position regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

The fact that China has not condemned Russia's actions says a lot in itselfnot only to Russia, Ukraine or Europe, but to the whole world, Blinken said.

Secondly, he continued, we are concerned about the possibility of China providing material assistance to Russia, or undermining the sanctions we have imposed. We have stated this directly to Chinaincluding in the past 24 hours when National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart.
The US Senate unanimously approved a resolution late Tuesday seeking investigations of Russias President Vladimir Putin and his regime for possible war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine, AP reported.

The bipartisan measure from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the Senate strongly condemns the violence, war crimes. crimes against humanity being carried out Russian military forces under Putins direction. It encourages international criminal courts to investigate Putin, his security council and military leaders for possible war crimes.

These atrocities deserve to be investigated for war crimes, said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The measure was approved swiftly and without dissent as lawmakers in Congress continue to muscle a bipartisan show of force against the Russian war in Ukraine.

First introduced almost two weeks ago, the Senate resolution would not carry the force of law, but is another example of Congress providing the Biden administration political support to take a tough line against Putins aggression.
The State Security Service of Azerbaijan has opened a criminal case against Azerbaijani citizen Emil Mammadov (born in 1981)and on suspicion of high treason.

According to Azerbaijani media, citing the State Security Service, "() it turned out that in exchange for material gain, Emil Mammadov metin the territory of a third countrywith the employees of Armenias security services to assist them in carrying out the instructions of the representatives of foreign special services.

Taking the side of the adversaryto the detriment of Azerbaijan's sovereignty, territorial integrity, state security, and combat-readiness, he received instructions to gather information that could be used to the detriment of Azerbaijan's state security.

Well-founded suspicions have arisen that he had secret connections with the representatives of Armenias special services; they followed the rules of conspiracy.

Emil Mammadov will be held accountable under Article 274 (high treason) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan.

He has been arrested by a court decision."
International companies that partially or completely leave Russia provide jobs for more than 200,000 people in the country, according to Forbes magazine.

According to the publication, McDonald's is the largest employer of the companies that announced their withdrawal. In Russia, the chain of fast food restaurants employs 62,000 people.

Pepsico is the second largest company in terms of the number of employees.

According to SPARK, cited by Forbes, more than 8,000 people work at the non-alcoholic beverage production facility controlled by it in Solnechnogorsk, more than 1,500 people work at Frito-Lay Manufacturing chips company in Kashira, which produces dairy products and baby food - 8.6 thousand people, at the Lebedyansky juice enterprise - another 462 people. It is noted that in total about 19 thousand people work for Pepsico in Russia.

IKEA closed all Russian stores for three months, with the exception of 14 Mega shopping centers, and stopped local production and purchases from local contractors. The company employs 15 thousand employees, whom IKEA has not yet fired. For three months they will work with pay. IKEA Russia spokesman Konstantin Tyutrin clarified to the magazine that this is not a severance pay and employees work as usual, are on the staff of the company and receive a salary.

Yum! Brands, which owns the KFC and Pizza Hut brands, is the third-largest company in terms of the number of employees that has also suspended operations. The Russian enterprises of the company have more than 14.5 thousand employees. It is specified that the work of 70 KFC restaurants, which the company controlled directly, has been frozen, while the entire network has about 1,000 outlets, most of which are franchised.

Another 502 Russian stores have suspended work by the decision of the Spanish company Inditex, which owns the brands Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho and others. After the temporary closure of stores, Inditex continues to financially support nearly 9,000 employees.

Among the automakers that have suspended their activities, the largest employer is the Volkswagen concern, which employs almost 5.8 thousand people. The publication clarifies that, according to the company, employees in Russia will receive short-term work benefits. It is noted that the contract assembly of VW and Skoda was carried out at the site of the automobile plant of the Gaz group in Nizhny Novgorod. Now the site has been put into temporary idle mode, with the preservation of 2/3 of the salary and social guarantees for employees.

Also, EPAM Systems, which employs more than 6,000 people, announced the termination of customer service in Russia.
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Negotiations with Ukraine are not easy, but there is some hope for a compromise, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

His remarks came during an interview with the RBC television channel on Wednesday.

"I am guided by the assessments given by our negotiators. They state that the negotiations are not easy for obvious reasons, but nevertheless there is some hope of reaching a compromise. Some representatives of the Ukrainian delegation, including those from the office of Zelenskyy, give the same assessment," Lavrov said.

He noted that Russia will be ready for contacts with the Ukrainian side in the future as well, but it is necessary to understand what the added value will be.

The Minister said that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba did not come up with any new ideas during the negotiations in Antalya. "He said he hadn't come there to repeat public statements. I wondered all the more. But during the hour and a half of the meeting, the conversation with the presence of Turkish Minister [Mevlut Cavusoglu] and despite my three or four-fold reminders that I would like to hear something that was not heard in the public space, he never put forward any new ideas," Lavrov said.

The foreign minister called for giving Russian and Ukrainian negotiators the opportunity to work in a calm atmosphere.

There are concrete formulations in the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine which are close to an agreement. Lavrov hopes that the business spirit that Kiev's representatives are displaying will make it possible to agree on the topic of Ukraine's neutral status

Lavrov said that NATO's response to Ukraine's calls cooled Zelenskyy's ardor. "We remember how President Zelensky, as recently as a few weeks ago, talked about the need for NATO to close the skies, start fighting for Ukraine, recruit mercenaries and send them to the front. It was stated quite aggressively, but, apparently, the reaction of the North Atlantic Alliance, which still has sensible people, cooled this ardor," he said.

The West did not want to solve the security situation peacefully, the minister pointed out.
State property as such has not been alienated to non-residents. Chairman of the State Property Management Committee of the Republic of Armenia (RA), Arnak Avetisyan, told this to reporters Wednesdayand referring to the remark that the residents of Aragatsotn Province are raising an alarm that Turks, who represent themselves as Arabs, are acquiring a large number of lands in the provinceparticularly in Ohanavan town and Aparan city.

And when asked how much property was acquired in Armenia by Arabs or Azerbaijanis and Turks, Avetisyan responded: "The question is not addressed to me if they are being obtained from the secondary market, from private individuals. I am aware that under the RA legislation, plots of land are not sold, [their] sale is prohibited to non-residents; that is, only RA citizens can have ownership to plots of land in Armenia. And there are no such cases, they are ruled out in terms of state property."
A group of refugees from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Karabakh are holding a protest rally in downtown Yerevan.

First, the demonstrators staged a protest outside the main building of the government of Armenia.

Speaking to reporters, Levon Hayryan, the chairman of "For Hadrut" NGO, accused the incumbent Armenian authorities of inaction.

"How are they going to carry out the task of defending the homeland?" he added, in particular.

Hayryan noted that due to this inaction of the Armenian government, the demonstrators were going to march to the building of the UN office in Armenia and hand a letter, then hold rallies in front of the foreign ministry building and the embassies of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries (Russia, France, and the US).
The Coalition for Inclusive Legal Reforms has issued a statement on the difficult humanitarian situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). The statement reads as follows: The Coalition for Inclusive Legal Reforms, which is a union of organizations of persons with disabilities, is outraged by the difficult humanitarian situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) since March 8. Due to the damage of the [natural] gas pipeline entering from the Republic of Armenia, the gas supply to the Republic of Artsakh has been suspended since then. The damaged part of the gas pipeline is under the control of the Azerbaijani armed forces, which makes it impossible for Armenians to enter the mentioned territories in the circumstances of the anti-Armenian policy of the Azerbaijani government.

The disruption of the gas supply has led to massive human rights violations of more than a hundred thousand people, having a disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities and their families. The lack of gas supply, exacerbating the humanitarian difficulties of the post-war situation and the pandemic, hinders the realization of the rights to education, health and independent living of the persons with disabilities living in Artsakh. In particular, in the absence of affordable gas and public transport, the rise in gasoline prices has led to an increase in the price of taxi services, which hinders the free movement of citizens, especially those with mobility difficulties. Organizations providing rehabilitation and care services are forced to act with restrictions, failing to provide a completely safe environment for citizens with health conditions. Incomplete operation of pre-school and secondary education institutions may impair the exercise of children's right to inclusive education, leading to the exclusion of children with disabilities from education.

We are deeply concerned about the security and protection of all persons in the Artsakh Republic (Nagorno-Karabakh), as well as the well-founded fear that now pervades the daily life of every member of the society. We demand from the Republic of Azerbaijan to listen to the collective voice of the people of Artsakh, to take all necessary actions for the urgent restoration of gas supply, intimidation of the civilian population and abandonment of the policy based on Armenophobia, and for peaceful coexistence. We reiterate our call for the observance of the principles of international law, including the rules of war for the protection of the civilian population, for the immediate and unconditional cessation of all hostilities and the demonstrative deployment of heavy military equipment.

We urge the Republic of Armenia to continue the implementation of emergency humanitarian assistance programs in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), prioritizing the support of persons with disabilities and their families, the right to independent living and the security of persons living in institutions. We urge the government to work with organizations for persons with disabilities in Armenia and Artsakh to make all humanitarian assistance programs more inclusive, effective, and accessible.

We expect the international organizations and diplomatic missions to clearly condemn the massive human rights violations by the Azerbaijani authorities, in case of deliberate obstruction of the obstacles, if possible, to impose economic, other obstacles and restrictions, to study, respond to the needs of children and adults with disabilities. We consider the strengthening of organizations created and led by persons with disabilities (OPDs) in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) as a priority to protect human rights.

We expect the Russian peacekeeping mission to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders to achieve the restoration of vital guarantees of social security in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), including the restoration of the gas supply. We urge humanitarian organizations and individuals to increase their assistance to persons with disabilities while promoting employment for them and their families. It is urgent to provide the Artsakh care nursing home, psychiatric center, and organizations providing child care services with electric heating devices. At the same time, we urge you not to make investments that could indefinitely prolong the isolation of persons with disabilities in the institutions, but to support their right to live in the community and the development of community-based services.

Signatory organizations: "Emili Aregak" Center for Children and Youth with Multiple Disabilities "Full Life" NGO "Salvation" NGO "White Hawk" NGO for the protection of the rights and interests of persons with disabilities "The Voice of Silence" NGO "Armenian Camp" NGO "Astghatsolk" NGO "EasyLife Benevolent" NGO "We Can" NGO "Helsinki Citizens Assembly-Vanadzor" NGO "Agate Rights Defense Center For Women with Disabilities" NGO "Equal Right, Equal Opportunities" NGO
An unidentified man on Tuesday attacked members of Armenias opposition Liberation Movement, at Northern Avenue in downtown Yerevan, who are carrying out a signature campaign demanding the resignation of PM Nikol Pashinyan. Armenian News-NEWS.am learned about this from the aforesaid movement.

The respective statement added as follows, in particular: "The police on duty on location reacted quickly and isolated the perpetrator. Moreover, the perpetrator had a hammer and other objects with him.

The special police detachment, which arrived at the scene minutes later, apprehended the man who carried out the attacked.

"Two more provocative incidents were recorded on March 15, which [also] were prevented by the police."
RTHK: Earthquake jolts Japan's northeast coast, one dead

A powerful magnitude 7.3 earthquake jolted Japan's northeast coast off Fukushima on Wednesday, leaving one dead and 69 injured and reviving memories of a quake and tsunami that crippled the same region just over a decade earlier.

There were some reports of fire, the government said, and a number of people sustained injuries, but none of those immediately appeared serious. Public broadcaster NHK said one person had died.

The quake was felt in Tokyo, some 275 kilometres away, where the shaking of buildings was long and pronounced. Hundreds of thousands of homes in the capital were plunged into darkness for an hour or more, although power was fully restored by the early hours of Thursday morning.

Just before midnight, the quake hit off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of 60 kilometres, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. That sparked memories of the devastating earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, one week after its 11th anniversary.

There were no abnormalities at nuclear power plants, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. The 2011 disaster triggered a meltdown at the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima that Japan is still coming to grips with.

Authorities earlier said a fire alarm had been triggered at a turbine building at the crippled plant.

Separately, a Shinkansen bullet train derailed with some 100 people on board, although there were no reports of injuries.

Utility Tokyo Electric Power said that initially around 2 million households lost power on Wednesday, including 700,000 in the capital.

In northeast Japan nearly 100,000 households were still without power early on Thursday, according to Tohoku Electric, the local utility.

Authorities issued a tsunami warning for the region of as high as 1 metre. Residents in at least one coastal area were told to evacuate. Residents in Fukushima, Miyagi and Yamagata prefectures were also told to expect aftershocks.

Sitting on the boundary of several tectonic plates, Japan experiences around a fifth of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. (Reuters)

__________

Last updated: 2022-03-17 HKT 03:40

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ultimately, the decisions of the Russian authorities on food export quotas will not have a negative impact on imports to Armenia. Rustam Badasyan, Chairman of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia, told reporters this on Wednesday.

According to him, Russia has enough food resources to export to Armenia.

"[And] what cannot be imported from Ukraine [now] can be replaced by importing from Russia," Badasyan added.

Despite the fact that most of the food imports to Armenia are made from Russia and Ukraine, according to the Armenian official, there is no reason to worry about food products stocks in Armenia.
Turkey reaffirms its commitment to the Montreux Convention and will fulfill its provisions, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

His remarks came at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, TASS reported.

"We remind you that our decision regarding the Montreux Convention remains the same. We will continue to comply with its provisions," he said.

"We would like to note that we were pleased to learn about Russia's decision on the non-passage of the two ships through the straits," Cavusoglu added.
US President Joe Biden will announce an additional $800 million in security aid to Ukraine, a White House official told CNN, bringing the total aid to $1 billion, which was announced last week.

The military aid package will include anti-tank missiles and other defensive weapons that the US has already provided, including Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.

News of the additional aid, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes as the White House continues to face intense pressure from Congress and Zelenskyy to find new ways to help Ukraine. The president of Ukraine, will speak virtually to members of the US Congress on Wednesday, where he is expected to renew his appeals for more help.

Biden will speak later Wednesday.

Given that Zelenskyy is expected to be specific in his requests, officials also expect Biden to be specific about exactly what will be presented to Ukraine as part of the $800 million, including possibly the combat drones Zelenskyy has asked for.

Officials declined to confirm whether the drones would be included in Biden's comments or whether a decision has been made on the matter.
Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed the "3+3" format during their meeting in Moscow.

"While discussing the situation in South Caucasus we noted that at the end of last year early this year the foundations were laid for post-conflict interaction in this region of common neighborhood through a new mechanism - a consultative regional platform "3+3" - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, Iran, Turkey and Georgia, which is still thinking about joining this promising format, but we are always ready to see our Georgian colleagues at meetings of this structure," Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
There is a certain process going on with Armenia, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

The special representatives of the two countries held their first contacts in Moscow, thanks to the conditions created by Russia. Within the framework of the diplomatic forum in Antalya, very good contacts also took place and a dialogue was established, he said.

According to him, Russia has supported this process from the very beginning, Azerbaijan "also supports us in this matter."
Armenian News - NEWS.am presents the daily digest of top news as of 16.03.22:

As talks between Russia and Ukraine continue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said parts of a Ukraine compromise deal are close.

FM said on Wednesday that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv said they can discuss neutrality, raising hopes of an end to the biggest war in Europe since World War Two.

Ukraine has also made cautious positive statements on peace talks. It says it is willing to negotiate to end the war, but will not surrender or accept Russian ultimatums.

In a video address in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said he believed there was possible room for compromise.

On Tuesday, the president had appeared to offer the Kremlin an olive branch by saying that Ukraine would not be joining NATO.

Meanwhile, fights are going on in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian soldier of Armenian origin, 18-year-old Davit Harutyunyan, died in Ukraine during fighting on March 1, only a few days before his 19th birthday.

He took part in a special operation in the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

The Turkish foreign minister has arrived in Moscow to discuss the situation in Ukraine.

Mevlut Cavusoglu posted a respective photoon social mediafrom the Russian capital.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had announced Tuesday that Cavusoglu will pay a visit to both Russia and Ukraine as part of Ankara's peace initiatives.

Ahead of talks with Turkish FM, Cavusoglu said that Russia and Turkey's positions on Ukraine do not coincide, but Moscow appreciates Ankara's efforts to resolve the crisis.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation in the South Caucasus with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Blinken tweeted he thanked Azerbaijan for the support provided to Ukraine.

According to the State Department, during the conversation, Blinken emphasized the continued importance of the bilateral partnership between the US and Azerbaijan and the US commitment to promoting a peaceful, democratic and prosperous future for the South Caucasus region.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has voted in favor of the conclusion calling on the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) to see to it that Russia withdraws from the CoE,.

Accordingly, the PACE has stated that the CoE Committee of Ministers should petition to Russia with a request to withdraw from the CoE immediately.

But if Russia refuses to comply with this requirement, the PACE will apply to the aforesaid committee with a request to determine, as soon as possible, the date as of which Russias CoE membership will be terminated.

A total of 216 PACE lawmakers voted in favor of Russia leaving the Council of Europe, three MPs abstained, but no one voted against.

The Russian MFA earlier said that they will not remain in the Council of Europe, but will continue to comply with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), if they do not contain contradictions to the Russian Constitution.

Baku reacted to the statement of Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan about Azerbaijan's so-called proposals on the normalization of relations between the two countries.

The Armenian Foreign Minister said that the talks on a peace agreement with Azerbaijan should be held without preconditions.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan noted that taking into account the importance of normalization of relations between the two countries and peacebuilding in the region after the conflict, Azerbaijan has put forward relevant proposals and is ready to move forward in this direction.

If Armenia is also serious about this issue, it should present its concrete proposals and thus demonstrate its willingness to start substantive and result-oriented negotiations," Azerbaijani MFA noted.

Meanwhile, Chair of the Armenian Parliament Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Eduard Aghajanyan also said that Armenia is ready to discuss any issue with Azerbaijan without preconditions.

Aghajanyan also noted that Armenia is now waiting for the response of the Minsk Group to its appeal to start peace talks with Azerbaijan

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has said his country is ready to establish diplomatic relations and open its border with Turkey, the Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday.

Mirzoyan held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at a diplomatic forum in the Turkish city of Antalya on Saturday as part of efforts to mend ties after decades of animosity. Cavusoglu called the meeting "productive and constructive.

Ararat Mirzoyans statement that Armenia is ready to develop relations with Turkey provoked heated discussions in Armenian society.

The poll conducted by Armenian News - NEWS.am showed that most of the Armenian citizens are against the Armenian-Turkish relations development as they dont believe Turkish authorities.

Nevertheless, there are many citizens who hope that with the normalization of diplomatic relations, there will be no more enmity between the Armenian and Turkish peoples

Let us note that Saturday's talks were the first sit-down meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers since 2009.

Thanks to negotiations being conducted with the assistance of the government of Armenia and Russian peacekeepers since March 8, the Azerbaijani side on Wednesday began repairing a damaged natural gas pipeline entering Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) from Armenia, the Artsakh Info Center said in a statement.

The statement adds, in particular, that according to the arrangement, the natural gas supply to Artsakh will be restored in a short time, and the Artsakh authorities are making every effort to make it happen as soon as possible.

Artsakh people have no gas for the ninth day in a row.

Since a natural gas pipeline in the territory currently controlled by Azerbaijan was damaged on March 8, talks are being held with the Azerbaijanis, but the latter were hindering the repair work.

Specialists were not even able to visit the territory to find out what caused the accident.

Dollar and euro exchange rates fell sharply in Armenia.

The American dollars (USD) exchange rate against the Armenian dram (AMD) comprised AMD 499.04/$1 in Armenia on Wednesday; this is down by AMD 8.90 from Tuesday, according to the official website of the Central Bank of Armenia.

The exchange rate for one euro was AMD 548.89 (down by AMD 9.64)
Turkey is ready to host a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

His remarks came at a press conference following talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, TASS reported.

According to Cavusoglu, Ankara intends to continue doing everything possible to help resolve the situation in Ukraine.

According to Lavrov, a possible meeting between Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy was not discussed at the Russian-Turkish talks.

"We have not specifically discussed this today, because President Putin and our other representatives have repeatedly touched on this topic in their comments, answering relevant questions," the minister said.

Lavrov noted that Russia was ready to negotiate with the Ukrainian side only if meetings would lead to concrete results in solving problems. According to him, the Ukrainian leadership wants to meet only for the sake of the picture on TV. "So we have learned a very serious lesson from these manners of Ukrainian leaders. Now we will negotiate meetings that will really have added value on all the key issues that led to the current conflict," the Russian foreign minister added.

He noted that the Russian side is ready to continue contacts at the level of foreign ministers with Ukraine with the participation of Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan confirmed the mutual desire to further strengthen the strategic partnership and alliance between Moscow and Yerevan.

According to the press service of the Kremlin, during a telephone conversation, the sides discussed the implementation of the trilateral agreements of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh, including issues relating to the observance of the ceasefire and the restoration of transport and logistics links in the South Caucasus.

Pashinyan also informed about recent contacts aimed at normalizing Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish relations.

"The mutual intention to further strengthen the strategic partnership and alliance between Russia and Armenia was confirmed. It was agreed to hold a visit of the Armenian Prime Minister to Russia in the near future," the statement said.
Turkish and Ukrainian presidents Erdogan and Zelenskyy discussed the latest developments in connection with the Ukrainian crisis.

According to the press service of the Turkish president, Erdogan said that Ankara is making intensive diplomatic efforts to establish peace between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, Ankara seeks to establish a long-term ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible. He pointed out that the continuation of the war would not benefit either side.

Erdogan assured that he would continue his efforts to organize a meeting between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia. He also highlighted the importance of effective humanitarian corridors.
The woman could have fled into Poland to escape the onslaught of Russian military forces. But fearful that her elderly parents couldnt make the trip, she decided to stay in Ukraine, sending her young daughter to live with relatives abroad.

The last I heard from her, she and her husband were holed up in a small town outside Kyiv, said Dina Birman, a professor in the University of Miami School of Education and Human Development, speaking about her Ukrainian friend with whom she regularly communicated in the days just after Russia invaded the Eastern European country.

During one of Birmans last conversations with the couple, they told her that they had to bike to a store to get food and were apprehensive and unsure of what was to come.

Such emotions are common not only among Ukrainians who have elected to stay behind even as Russian shelling continues to bombard their cities, but also in many of the three million who have already fled their homeland since the start of the war, creating what is now the largest displacement of Europeans since World War II.

After crossing into neighboring countries such as Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, Ukrainian refugees face a myriad of daunting challenges in the months and, perhaps, years ahead, according to Birman, who studies the acculturation and adjustment of immigrants and refugees and designs interventions to improve their mental health and well-being.

Being separated from family members is one of the biggest challenges theyre encountering, she explained. It tends to be a very complex issue. Weve seen this happen with Central American migrants and with unaccompanied minors who were sent here without parents. Family separations are always part of the migration experience, but in this case [the Ukraine-Russia conflict] seems like its more extreme.

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree to conscript reserve soldiers, men aged 18 to 60 are now prohibited from leaving the country. As such, women and children constitute the bulk of those fleeing war-torn Ukraine, as the men are being told to stay behind and fight.

Thats always tough on the children, Birman said. How will they adjust to the uncertainty, as it looks like these families are going to be separated for quite some time? Thats a type of loss and grief that is particularly difficult to manage. Theres no permanence right now because theyre waiting and hoping that the conflict will end so they can go back home.

Birman heads up the School of Educations Refugee Collab. Working closely with U.S. refugee resettlement programs, community-based organizations, and schools that serve refugees, the initiative conducts research to understand the educational, vocational, social, and psychological experiences of refugees, its website states. Her teams research contributes to scientific literature that can inform efforts to intervene on behalf of marginalized groups.

The Ukraine-Russia crisis especially hits home for Birman. Her family immigrated to the United States in the 1970s when she was 12, leaving the former Soviet Union because of unfair policies that were directed at them and other Jews.

When we left, we thought we would never be able to go back because the relationship between the countries was such that there was really no contact, no travel back and forth, Birman recalled. We were separated from our extended family. My grandmother died after we left, and I never saw her again. It was a difficult way to say goodbye. Then the Soviet Union opened up in 1989, and we were able to go back. I was able to go back and reconnect with my extended family, most of whom are in Moscow.

Birman has friends in Ukraine with whom she tries to keep in contact. But with the infrastructure in many Ukrainian cities having been obliterated by shelling, its becoming increasingly difficult to communicate.

In addition to the many challenges they already face, such as family separation and loss of employment, Ukrainians fleeing the war face another threat: human trafficking. Credible reports have surfaced, for example, that Ukrainian women crossing into other countries are being targeted by sex traffickers.

Prior studies on human trafficking from Ukraine demonstrate that human trafficking victims are most likely to be females under 40 years of age. Economic hardships often play a role in them becoming victims of this type of crime, said Olena Antonaccio, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology in the College of Arts and Sciences, who was born and raised in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

As we can see now, current refugees from Ukraine are predominantly women, and they are obviously in great economic distress. All of this, unfortunately, means that many of those who are fleeing now fit well the profile of possible victims of human trafficking, as well as find themselves in an extremely vulnerable situation with hardly any economic and social resources, she said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainians who were already living abroad before the Russian invasion are experiencing similar emotions as those now fleeing the war, not knowing what the immediate future holds or if it will ever be safe to return to their country.

For tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have resided in the U.S. since March 1, some measure of security, albeit short-term, came two weeks ago, when the Biden administration offered them Temporary Protected Status (TPS), allowing them to remain here for 18 months without fear of being deported and to apply for work permits.

The designation is based on both ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ukraine that prevent Ukrainian nationals from returning to their country safely, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

The designation, however, is not a pathway to citizenship. It means just thattemporary, said JoNel Newman, professor of clinical legal education and director of the Health Rights Clinic at the School of Law. It means they are being given license to live here lawfully while there is a recognized crisis in their country to which it would be a humanitarian disaster if they were returned.

Immigration advocate groups have applauded the Biden administration for the move. But now, the question becomes whether the designation will be extended after a year and a half.

Sometime before the 18 months is over, the administration will review current conditions in Ukraine to determine whether TPS protection is still needed for Ukrainians living in our country. Typically, we have extended TPS multiple times, Newman said. She noted that after TPS was offered to Haitian refugees in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit their island nation in 2010, the status was extended multiple times under the Obama administration.

The Health Rights Clinic that Newman directs was on the front lines during that crisis, processing hundreds of TPS applications for Haitians in South Florida. And today, the clinic continues to offer clinical legal aid to that group.

What we learned doing all those cases was that there were a number of Haitians eligible for TPS who were also eligible for better immigration status but had never had a lawyer or a law student to look at their case, Newman said. So, our project, on behalf of the Haitian community, actually spun off a number of individual cases in which individuals did have a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship.

Ukrainians now fleeing the war could seek refugee or asylum status in whatever country they arrive, Newman said.

On a broader scale, Bidens decision to grant TPS to Ukrainian nationals in the U.S. is a first step toward recognizing the particular horrific conditions in Ukraine right now, and it certainly doesnt preclude looking more closely at the total immigration picture, Newman said. We are opening our arms to the Ukrainians who are already here, and one would hope that the world will do the same for the ones that are having to flee.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the West is pushing Kiev to bloodshed. "It is also clear to us that Western patrons are simply pushing the Kiev authorities to continue the bloodshed," Putin said, RT reported. He noted that the supply of weapons and the dispatch of mercenaries continued. "Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a military scenario. To the bloody massacre and ethnic cleansing in the Donbass. A massive attack on the Donbass and then on the Crimea was only a matter of time," Putin said. The Russian armed forces thwarted these plans, he claimed. "In Kiev, they were not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against the Donbass, they were waging it. Attempts to organise sabotage and terrorist underground did not stop. In recent years, hostilities have continued in the Donbass, with shelling of peaceful settlements. During this time, almost 14,000 civilians died, including children," Vladimir Putin said. The economic difficulties of the population of Western countries are not caused by the actions of Russia, but were the result of myopic mistakes and ambitions of the ruling elites of their states, who are obsessed with superprofits, Putin said. "Evidence of this is the data of international organisations, which say that social problems even in the leading Western countries have only worsened in recent years: Inequality is growing, the gap between the poor and the rich, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of the Western welfare society, the so-called golden billion, is collapsing," the Russian head of state said at a meeting on economic issues. --IANS san/arm ( 289 Words) 2022-03-16-20:50:02 (IANS)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): Divine paintings of Shrila Prabhupada are displaced in Jehangir Art Gallery in his memory for 7 days starting from 15th March 2022 to 21st March 2022. Also, there was a grand book launch "Illustrations and Illuminations" by Haridas Thakur Das at 4.30 pm today in presence of many esteemed guests and dignitaries to Commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Shrila Prabhupada. "Illustrations & Illuminations" is an artistic glorification of Shrila Prabhupada's teaching by Haridas Thakur Das, an artist and motivational speaker and a Monk in ISKCON temple and a disciple of His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj. He also conducts Art seminars for youth and Art enthusiasts and teaches contemporary wisdom from Vedic texts to youth and working professionals. He has collection of astounding artworks & has compiled thought-provoking articles that distill the mature wisdom of Srila Prabhupada's timeless teachings to help one in treading the path of spirituality and Bhakti which are displayed in Jehangir Art Gallery for the next 7 days in Mumbai and thereafter in all the major Metros in next few months Haridas Thakur Das said, "This book is a compilation of all my Art work. I have made a small attempt to capture the personality behind the person of Srila Prabhupada on canvas with paints & words and have displayed my Art work along with my book "Illustrations and Illuminations" in Jehangir Art Gallery from 15th March to 21st March with the sole purpose to create awareness of Shrila Prabhupada's work, and his contribution to the world on the occasion of his 125th Birth anniversary this year." His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj, ISKCON Spiritual Guru said, "In this Exhibition there are Various illustrations depicting the Divine Meditations, Ecstasies, Emotions and Moods of Srila Prabhupada. His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada has opened up the Windows to the Spiritual World, showing us the blissful life of Bhakti to Lord Krishna. These most beautiful paintings done by Haridas Thakur Das displayed in Jehangir Art Gallery is a token of gratitude by a devotee to Shrila Prabhupada and likewise millions of devotees across the globe are attempting to express their gratitude in their own way on this 125th Birth anniversary year of Shrila Prabhupada." Swamiji added, "This exhibition is dedicated to World peace in these most dangerous situations by glorifying the pure devotee of Lord Krishna Shrila Prabhupada, the global messenger of peace." Shri Abhay Charan Bhaktivedanta Swami Shrila Prabhupada was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnav guru who founded ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) also known as the Hare Krishna movement in July 1966 in New York City at the age of 70 redefining the values of life. Shrila Prabhupada was the first Hindu preacher to take advantage of the removal of national quotas by the 1965 Immigration Act of the United States to establish ISKCON. He was the cultural Ambassador of India to the world. He restored Vedic art & Culture not only in India but across the globe. The Outstanding & Revolutionary Preacher of Vedic Wisdom for Modern times. Srila Prabhupada established ISKCON movement and traveled all over the world fourteen times. His purity, his faith in the teachings of Lord Krishna, his expertise in engaging everything in Krishna's service, his bold preaching is truly remarkable & unprecedented. The ISKCON movement provides an opportunity to anybody and everybody to come and practice bhakti and devotional service and engage themselves in serving Lord Krishna. Shrila Prabhupada was followed by George Harrison, Beatles fame, Alfred Ford and many dignitaries, corporate tycoons, artists, actors and masses all across the globe. Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi acknowledged the contribution of Shrila Prabhupada on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary by issuing a 125th Year Silver Coin for spreading Indian culture & Ethos worldwide this year, Shrila Prabhupada was an Inspiration for Free Midday Meals project where billion plates & more served each day all across India. Establishing Gurukulas for Child & Women Empowerment, Temples/Farms/Cafes in 160 countries and taking Yoga to many countries in across the globe Shrila Prabhupada strongly advocates that Krishna is within you and when you are sincerely searching Krishna by devotion, He reveals Himself to you. A person who does not actually utilize his human intelligence to get out of the clutches of Maya, the cycle of birth & death, is accepted as miserly. Srila Prabhupada delivered us invaluable & timeless nugget of wisdom that are a panacea for this pandemic & have the potential to fill our every-hungry heart with ever-increasing happiness. This story is provided by News Voir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
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Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): Chitkara University, Punjab, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Gemini Solutions here today and launched the Gemini Ambassador Program to provide the students with enhanced opportunities. The MoU will pave a path for collaboration and co-operation between the duos and promote more effective use of each of their resources. The formal signup was completed in presence of Soumendra Nath Ray, Vice President, Akshay Gupta, Technology Solutions Associate Architect; Anju Suri, Assistant Vice President; Richa Khatri, Technology Solutions Manager; Vineet Gupta, Lead UI/UX Engineer; and Ashna Khurana, Assistant HR Manager of Gemini Solutions Pvt Ltd. From Chitkara University, Cavita Taragi Pro-VC, Chitkara University was present. Gemini Solutions is engaged in Business and Research & Development services in the field of B.Tech in Computer Science/Information Technology and related fields. The Gemini Ambassador Program is an engagement initiative started by Gemini Solutions that aims to form a fraternity of individuals who want to make a difference in the world through technology and have fun while doing it. The program will facilitate and nurture the skills of the students and contribute to their professional growth. The MoU will permit Chitkara University and Gemini Solutions to focus their efforts on cooperation within area of skill based training, education, placement, industrial visit and expert lectures. Under the agreement, the 6th semester students will get the chance to attend a free training program of 30 days, wherein they will be trained on Automation Testing. The students will also be provided with assignments to test them on real-time projects. On successful completing the course, students will be hired to work with the company. Students of Chitkara University will also benefit from industrial training & visits. Gemini Solutions will provide an insight into the latest developments and requirements of the industries and students will be involved in industrial training programs. This will boost the confidence of the students and smooth the transition from university life to work. Chitkara University is a leading non-profit, NAAC A+ Accredited private University of Chandigarh with more than 10,000 students and 800 full-time faculty spread across various academic disciplines. Chitkara University has been at the forefront of higher education in North India and boasts of a learning environment that represents a unique blend of distinguished faculty, brilliant students with strong industry collaborations and extensive partnerships with International Universities. Since its inception of the Punjab campus in the year 2002 and further establishment as a University in 2010, Chitkara University has been established and managed by passionate academicians with the sole mission of making each and every student "Industry ready". Chitkara University's academic programs have been ranked among the top 50 programs in the country and speak volumes about strong academic heritage, highly committed faculty, extensive industry collaborations, great international connections and state of the art campus facilities. For more information, please visit www.chitkara.edu.in. This story is provided by News Voir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 16 (ANI/BusinessWire India): L&T Technology Services Limited (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a leading global pure-play engineering services company, announced that it has launched a next-generation IoT-based engineering practice on Digital Twins for manufacturing and industrial sectors. LTTS has collaborated with Microsoft and Bentley Systems to establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) that will address and accelerate the Digital Twin and Digital Thread requirements of new-age manufacturing companies. Microsoft Azure's scalable and secure platform provides the tech backbone to support global organizations seeking innovative, cloud-based solutions. Azure Digital Twins uses IoT spatial intelligence to create a digital representation of physical environments, thereby gaining insight to drive better products, optimize operations and costs as well as create greater customer experiences. By combining mechanical 3D simulation models with real control system logic, LTTS has been able to devise and create highly interconnected and dynamic digital twins for many manufacturers across the globe. The CoE, based in Chennai, India, will provide an opportunity for global customers to experience, experiment and build a digital replica of their physical entities in the Manufacturing, Automotive, Industrial & Consumer Products, Medical & Healthcare, Plant Engineering, and Aerospace segments, all of which are at the forefront of leveraging digital twin capabilities. It will utilize new-age digital engineering driven technologies such as AI & ML, Multiphysics Simulation, Data Analytics, and physical assets. Bentley Systems, a leader in engineering software that supports organizations to design, build, and operate critical infrastructure assets, offers engineering applications across industries, such as roads, buildings, plants for the manufacturing sector. Bentley's iTwin platform provides an open, secure and scalable platform-as-a-services. The Bentley iTwin platform will serve as the foundation for LTTS to develop robust infrastructure digital twin solutions. Bentley is committed to the development of an ecosystem of software application providers developing solutions that are open and interoperable with both Bentley technology and third-party offerings. Abhishek Sinha, Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Board at L&T Technology Services said, "Using simulation and digital twins, LTTS has been helping manufacturers infuse smartness in their critical day-to-day operations. With our engineering capabilities, we support companies to review, assess, and map the performance of their operational model and identify areas to improve efficiency and automation. The establishment of a dedicated Digital Twin practice in collaboration with Microsoft and Bentley Systems emphasizes our steadfast commitment to bridge the gap between virtual and physical worlds." Venkat Krishnan, Executive Director, Global Partner Solutions, Microsoft India said, "We are pleased to collaborate with an engineering services leader like LTTS for their newly established Digital Twin Center of Excellence, utilizing Microsoft Azure along with Bentley Systems. This collaboration is important to the success of our joint vision of building intelligent enterprises and accelerating innovation, while reducing operating costs with advanced predictive monitoring and analytics." Adam Klatzkin, Vice President, iTwin platform, at Bentley Systems said, "We are pleased to partner with LTTS as they build a digital twin practice with the Bentley iTwin platform at its core. In doing so, LTTS joins a growing ecosystem of developers building digital twin applications on the Bentley iTwin platform, showcasing what they have built, and offering professional services to support clients with their development efforts." This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India)
New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): Alniche Lifesciences got tremendous response on its health awareness marketing campaigns launched recently on World Kidney Day. Alniche Lifesciences launched this campaign in collaboration with Radio Mirchi, India Today, The Economic Times, Zee News (Kolkata), TV9 Telugu pan-India for creating health awareness. The campaign was executed by Vigor Media Worldwide. Committed to providing excellent and complete healthcare, Alniche Lifesciences, one of the key players in Nephrology and Critical Care Medicines is eyeing a wider footprint in India. While the company has ramped up its operations, it has adopted an aggressive marketing strategy using print, electronic and radio to reach the next level of growth and expansion. Known for providing specialized, high quality, effective, affordable and value-for-money medicines and wellness products from around the world, Alniche Lifesciences has already started its health awareness campaign on radio. The campaign is aimed at making the public aware of various critical diseases. Alniche Lifesciences launched its radio campaign on World Kidney Day in all the major cities including Kochi, Mumbai, Delhi, Jalandhar, Pune, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur. All the leading Nephrologists from across the country supported the campaign launched by Alniche Lifesciences. Bollywood celebrities like Lara Dutta and Salim Merchant also came forward to support this campaign by sharing their recorded messages advising the people on how they can take better care of their kidneys. The campaign has been executed by the Delhi office of Vigor Media Worldwide. Sumit Arora, Director, Alniche Lifesciences Private Limited said, "First of all I wish to express my thanks to all the doctors and the Bollywood celebrities to support our campaign on raising awareness about health issues. Further, we are looking to take Alniche Lifesciences to the next level by introducing new and innovative products which would support the critical care segment in a big way. Going forward we aim to gain even deeper market penetration in the country. Simultaneously we look forward to strengthen our geographical presence in all the key global markets." With its innovative healthcare product portfolio Alniche Lifesciences aims to enable people to live Life with greatest potential-clearly, freely, expressly and fully. Headquartered in New Delhi, Alniche Lifesciences also has overseas partners in North America and Africa. All across the globe it's making efforts to increase the availability of medicines in Renal Care, Neuro, Cardio and Critical Care segments, among others. Alniche Lifesciences promotes deep engagement with medical fraternity and it listens to them closely for better patient care. While working with global consulting companies, its aggressive and well-structured approach helps it to commercialize successful Global brands. In all its segments, Alniche Lifesciences has successfully launched new brands from Korea, US as well as Australia in India. Alniche Lifesciences has already forayed into pharma manufacturing under the name of EffiKasia Lifesciences. At its manufacturing setup in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, the company produces pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and dermatologicals. Alniche Lifesciences has more than 28 distributors pan-India apart from its major distribution hub in Ahmedabad, and it has over 700 employees. For more information, please visit www.alniche.com. This story is provided by News Voir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/PNN): Hidoc Dr, India's most comprehensive platform for doctors' networking, has launched a one-stop solution known as Key Opinion Leaders (KOL) Factory to bridge the gap between pharmaceutical companies and India's top doctors in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Hidoc KOL Factory has registered more than 500 renowned doctors from a variety of medical specialties, and the company has set a goal of registering more than 5,000 doctors from more than 40 medical specialties in its network. KOL Factory is a one-stop solution for pharmaceutical companies looking to market their products to India's renowned doctors, who serve as chairmen, presidents, and other key positions in the country's top hospitals. They (Drug companies) will have to contact the doctors on the website and KOL will check for the doctor's availability and revert with the time and date of the meeting. The KOL Factory offers a unique facility to the drug companies and healthcare officials where they can schedule a webinar with the doctors in any specialization and can also enlist them for the articles, case studies, videos, CME, audio podcasts, and other activities related to the medical field. "If the drug company wants to schedule a webinar from any of the enlisted doctors, KOL is the one-point contact. They (drug companies) can visit the website where they will get all the information regarding the doctors including their profile, designation, specialization, achievements, and experience. They can contact us and we will find out the doctors' availability and we will share the details with the pharma companies" said company COO Varun Gadia. He added, "KOL Factory offers a better connection for the pharma companies with the top doctors in the country. Even doctors can register as KOLs. KOL is completely cost-effective for both the pharma and the doctors. Reputed doctors on KOL will act as influencers for the drug products" We are happy to share this networking service and sincerely hope that we have been able to add value. If you would require any further assistance, we at HiDoc Dr. would be more than happy to help. Visit our KOL website to connect with the top doctors in the country (https://kolfactory.hidoc.co/) HiDoc Dr. is India's #1 medical app for doctors and offers various online services including online communications and marketing. Approx. 1 in every 2 Indian doctors is registered on the Hidoc Dr. platform. This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): Continuing its success story, Sany India marks the sale of 100 excavators to Sri Raja Rajeswari Constructions (SRRC) Pvt. Ltd. This Telangana based company has purchased 100 excavators from Sany India over a period of six years. The momentous occasion was celebrated recently with Deepak Garg, M.D, Sany India handing over the 100th excavator key to Ramu Ravuri, Managing Director, Sri Raja Rajeswari Constructions Pvt. Ltd. The event was also graced by Chethan Kumar, Regional Manager, Sany India and Madhusudhan Katragadda, MD, Madhura Engineering. Sri Raja Rajeswari Constructions (SRRC) Pvt. Ltd. is one of the fastest growing firms in the Infrastructure Business which is rapidly expanding its presence across the country. With the core business area in irrigation, power, runway, building, railways and highways, they have major projects going on across more than 5 states in the country. SRRC has been awarded and applauded by Andhra Pradesh state government and Irrigation and Agriculture Ministries for consistent performance in timely delivery of projects. SRRC purchased its first excavator in 2016 from Sany India and since then have steadfastly reiterated their trust and loyalty in brand Sany. Sany India's association with this company is significant with regards to the similar growth trajectory they share in addition to their focus on top notch product quality and versatility. SRRC have also purchased equipment like motor graders, batching plants and rock breakers from Sany India. Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Garg, Managing Director, Sany India, said, "We are proud to announce the key handover of 100th Sany excavator to M/s. Sri Raja Rajeswari Constructions Pvt. Ltd., one of the leading construction companies in Telangana. Our association with them has seen tremendous growth. We are committed to keep the trust shown by them intact by helping our partners grow in this ever-growing journey with our world class construction machinery. We are certain to achieve new milestones together in the years to come." Over the years, Sany India has expanded their product range, from offering 3 models of excavators in 2014 to 26 models currently. Their state-of-the-art excavators range between 2 and 80 tons gross vehicle weight and are best suited for multitude of work requirements and come with unmatched productivity and long life of components. They have already surpassed several big brands to emerge as the largest excavator seller globally in 2020 with a market share of over 15%. With sustained growth of urbanization, major on-going national highways projects and government's focus on construction projects, Sany India is seeing a huge demand for its range of construction equipment like Hydraulic Excavators, Cranes, Piling Rigs, Mining Trucks, Road Machinery and Port Equipment. Sany India was incorporated in 2002 and offers the widest range of Construction Machinery in India & South Asia. In 2012, Sany India invested more than INR 600 crore to develop infrastructure for R&D, Manufacturing, Quality Inspection, Testing, and Service at their manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune. Through this facility, the company operates in four Business verticals viz: Excavator, Heavy Equipment, Mining Machinery, and Renewable Energy. Presently, Sany India offers products like excavators, truck-mounted cranes, all-terrain and rough terrain cranes, crawler cranes, transit mixers, batching plants, boom pumps, trailer pumps, piling rigs, motor graders, pavers, compactors, reach stackers, rubber tyred gantry cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, mining equipment, wind turbine generators and many more. The company has already established a strong network of around 41 dealers and 210 touch points across India to cater to the growing demand and provide support to all its customers & associates. Sany has more than 20000 machines delivered on the ground, contributing to infrastructure development projects in India & other South Asian countries. Owing to its widest product range, superior build quality, service commitment, innovative solutions, and global expertise, Sany India has achieved market leadership in various construction equipment segments. With the Government of India's focus on infrastructure development and modernization, the company is poised for tremendous growth. This story is provided by News Voir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI/ATK): Nancy Patel in collaboration with Krish Tour & Travels has taken up social initiatives for building sustainable cities and communities under the vision of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030, India. As part of the initiative, the duo have made up several projects to help the children of the workers to receive their primary education and medical relief too. The collaboration will benefit people who are affected by the pandemic and are looking ways for medical and financial assistance. Since the pandemic has impacted several nations, they have started supporting the country with creative social initiatives in the collaborations of several NGOs in India. Nancy Patel, 16 years young youth of India is helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. During Covid-19 when the world was suffering from a huge impact, Nancy has served the nation by providing more than one lakh community means to the people in need, Sanitaires to all orphanages, Medical kits to all the community centres with the support of 56 NGOs of the Nation. She further participated in building 100 Tribal marts for Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh for improving the economical conditions of the people with United First and joined one million plantation movements in 15 states and two UT in India. Nancy believes that it is our moral responsibility to serve the nation in need. Her social contribution and services have also been blessed by several cabinet ministers and spiritual leaders of the nation. Nancy has been inspired by a lot of welfare workers and community workers that are working or helping in the areas of mental health clinics, schools, child welfare and human service agencies, hospitals, settlement houses, community development corporations and private practices. She says that "working socially not only represents me but also represents an industry wrapped around the poor, providing them with services so that they can meet the basic living needs to survive." With a skilful mind and outstanding vision to leave a benchmark in the society, Nancy Patel has joined hands with United First to work upon with all the experience she has garnered on social projects. A project that contributes towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030-- makes youngsters like Nancy an example for the upcoming generation for her noble contributions towards humanity and scaling up her life to the next level. This story is provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): HealthWorksAI, an industry-leading Healthcare analytics company in the USA, is looking to double its employee base in India and hire over 100 more employees to strengthen its product portfolio. The growth is led by its recently launched products like Explainable AI (XAI) and Network Intel for the US Medicare Advantage market. HealthWorksAI is one of the leading healthcare data analytics companies in the US providing healthcare payers with rapid access to efficient and insightful Medicare Advantage market data for strategic decision making. The cloud-based HealthWorksAI solution has been highly beneficial for its clients in Medicare Advantage by providing more robust analytics and insights to support strategic decision-making. With stronger HealthWorksAI offerings, the company is building its team on the back of its unique developmental programs for employees like genie awards, open leave policy, multiple opportunities for promotions each year including self-nominations, weeklong work retreats like a portable office and more fostering entrepreneur spirit among its millennial workforce. As the Medicare Advantage market matures and competition intensifies, more robust offerings have become a key differentiator for many payors. With the enhanced product offering and quality talent, HealthWorksAI is strategically placed to grow significantly in the USA market in the coming years. Speaking on the occasion, Arvind Nagpal, Founder & CEO, HealthWorksAI said, "The US Medicare Advantage market is highly competitive, the role of analytics and insights is very critical. HealthWorksAI products are built at the intersection of business, math, and technology giving our clients the ability to deliver higher ROI to its beneficiaries while driving profitable growth for their health plans. This makes us focus more on expanding our team and India is strategically placed to be the key contributor, with our employee-friendly policies we look forward to adding a significant number of employees this year." The US Medicare Advantage Market Every day 10,000 Americans turn 65 which makes them eligible for Medicare benefits. Medicare Advantage is a Health Insurance program sponsored by the federal government in the US and managed by private insurance companies. Over the last decade, the role of Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has grown consistently. In 2021, more than 26 million people are enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, accounting for 42 percent of the total Medicare population, and USD 343 billion (or 46%) of total federal Medicare spending (net of premiums). This story is provided by News Voir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/PRNewswire): IFI Techsolutions (www.ifi.tech), a Microsoft Cloud Solution & Managed Services Provider, recently expanded its services in 2021 to cater to the needs of the Indian public sector. This diverse segment consists of various Government Ministries, Departments, PSUs, government owned companies and government education institutes. Within a short span, the company's clientele boasts of renowned organisations like Indian Army, CSIR, CDAC, SAIL, Indian Post, Ladakh Police, Dedicated Freight Corridor, Power Grid, ICAR and Delhi University amongst others. As a Microsoft Managed Partner, IFI Techsolutions has helped accentuate the vision of 'DIGITAL INDIA' by providing various solutions for datacentre transformation, data analytics, security, productivity, DevOps & Automation etc. One of its marque wins this year is Qbot, an AI-infused teaching and learning solution enabling the personalized learning experience for Delhi University's School of Open Learning (DUSOL) students. This is one of its kind solutions in the Indian education domain that will accelerate the learning potential of 3 Lakh+ students across 150+ degrees and 200 Faculty members. Datacenter transformation is one of the most sought after solutions as it is an obvious first step for any digital transformation along with large scale adoption of productivity tools like Microsoft 365 and Teams. Interestingly Data Analytics is 2nd but the most exciting solution in demand. India has a unique opportunity to analyze the massive data generated via various government programs thus providing granular insights and enabling the Public Sector leadership & Ministries in making data-driven decisions for the welfare of our country. A close collaboration with Microsoft sales along with earning Microsoft Gold competencies, numerous Azure Advanced Specializations for Windows Virtual Desktop, Modernization of Web Applications, Windows Server & SQL Server Migration has helped IFI Techsolutions differentiate itself from the competition, demonstrate their knowledge, and gain traction in the Public Sector, all while ensuring that its solutions are both innovative, scalable and secure. Adheer Singh, Director - Public Sector Sales, leads this entire program. He comes with an overall experience of 25+ years consistently delivering results across diverse geographies and business in India and abroad. Commenting on this expansion, Adheer Singh said, "As IFI Techsolutions reaches its 1-year milestone of selling cloud solutions to public sector organisations, we have acquired more than 70+ customers pan India. We are excited to see how every government organisation is embracing the power of cloud to provide faster, better and secure solutions to serve the nation and its citizens. At this pace, India will soon be able to provide digital-enabled services at par or even better than most developed nations and we as IFI Tech will always be proud of our contributions in it." IFI Techsolutions has been catering to various industry mix and aims to provide the much needed thrust to empower organizations, communities and citizens in Public Sector in order to create a digitally empowered society. IFI Techsolutions (www.ifi.tech) is a Microsoft Gold Partner, Cloud Solution and Managed Services Provider founded by ex-Microsoft employees Ankur Garg and Puneet Bajaj to help global customers with their digital transformation journey. IFI Techsolutions has delivered more than 70 projects for Public Sector, 400+ corporate projects, and 60,000+ consulting hours, migrated 5,000+ servers for more than 350 global customers. This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): Even before India announced its emission-neutrality aim at the CoP-26 summit held in Glasgow, the country at different points in history, has witnessed citizen-led environmental movements like 'Chipko' and government-led initiatives. Grow-Trees.com is however a one-of-a-kind social organisation that builds synergies between corporate entities, individuals, forest departments and local communities to undertake massive afforestation. This year it has reached a remarkable milestone by achieving the goal of planting 10 million trees across India. Founded in 2010, Grow-Trees.com is now counted among the largest non-governmental organisations in the world and has generated over 7,53,000 (and counting) employment days, helped conserve wildlife corridors and worked tirelessly for forest restoration. With the help of a web-enabled, cost-effective method that can be used by individuals and companies to donate, plant and gift trees, the social enterprise has done its bit to not just spread awareness about climate change but also enabled climate action. Bikrant Tiwary, CEO Grow-Trees.com says, "Right from the onset, our plan was to follow intention with action and once we identified a zone that needed green cover urgently, we created a blueprint in keeping with specifics of topography, indegenous plant species, the needs of local communities, the challenges being faced by wildlife and then proceeded systematically with afforestation projects in over 23 states. Till now we have covered more than 4,500 hectares of land in India." The projects are named after the causes they support and these include Trees for Forests and Wildlife, Trees for Himalayan Biodiversity, Trees for Rivers, Trees for Tigers, Trees for Tribal Communities, Trees for Coastal Ecosystems, Trees for Urban Landscape, Trees for Memories, Trees for Wellness and more. Bikrant adds, "Our goal has never been to randomly plant trees. For instance, our project at Sariska Tiger Reserve required us to reforest zones where poaching and disruptive human activities had impacted the tiger population. We ended up planting over 4,00,000 trees around the reserve to expand the natural habitat and soon enough tigers identified as ST6 and T10 were spotted in the project area. What is more, we saw an increase in the peacock and deer population. So what we do is not about just numbers but results. For instance, every single project we have undertaken has helped revive water bodies and improve groundwater levels." What is more, each project has provided livelihood opportunities to tribal and rural communities and improved local biodiversity for them to benefit from. Adequate forestation encompassing millions of trees along wildlife corridors also helps prevent human and animal confrontations as was the case at Singhbhum Elephant Reserve in Jharkhand and Sundarbans National Park, West Bengal. The plantation of over 25,000 tree saplings around the corridor of Dachigam National Park is helping preserve the Hangul or the Kashmiri red deer. Trees in polluted urban centres and even in spiritually significant spaces like Bodhgaya, Bihar are creating welcome lung spaces for city dwellers. Eco-Sensitive zones like Pakyong, East Sikkim are also benefiting from afforestation drives. Another major project is Trees for Ganga to counter water depletion in the Gangetic region. As Bikrant says, a tree is the simplest answer to the many problems created by heedless developmental activities and climate change. The 10 million trees planted by Grow-Trees.com have done their bit to enhance the overall ecological health of many regions, minimized the risk of floods, helped in soil conservation, renewed water tables, and created carbon sinks in polluted environs. As more citizens and companies join Grow-Trees.com in its mission, this may just be the beginning of a nationwide green revolution. This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)
New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI/SRV): IM Branding has come forward with its very own social networking platform, IM Connect, to solve the issue of that one thing which baffles us all - money. Dalson Zacharia Samuel, Founder of IM Connect and the team behind it has structured the application in such a way that this potential can be leveraged to the benefit of both the businesses and the user. While other platforms take, IM Connect gives back to the user, that too in excess. IM connect has already crossed various geographies as the application got downloads from over 125+ countries. In a very basic sense, IM Connect bridges the gap between the employer and the employee, no matter where either party is situated in the world. It is interesting to note that IM Connect had chosen the work-from-home model as its mode of work long before it was imposed upon the whole world. IM Connect has been virtually running the social networking platform from the comfort of their homes. This way, they have cut down on all other costs and have had success with low-cost operations. Through the app, users can find potential legitimate employers and vice versa, with just a few clicks. IM Connect is a great place to market yourself, as the algorithm is constructed in such a way that each post will be viewed by all users in the app at least once. This feature can also be used to boost posts from other social media platforms as they can be shared with IM Connect. Content creators will have great opportunities and a bigger reach with maximum earnings from their content. In addition to this, IM Connect also has a Referral Program, whose work is akin to making money out of thin air. IM Coins are a digital currency of the IM Connect referral program users can redeem the coins to purchase products in all the partnered stores and services that accept IM Pay. They can be used for shopping at partnered stores, streaming on movie platforms, mobile recharge and utility payments, travel and accommodation, purchasing groceries, etc. Not stopping at this, they have already entered in the Film and OTT industry with IM Films as an OTT-Service provider within the IM Connect app. IM Studios is the Production House which is providing 10,000 International Standard Quality contents to IM Films. The company plans to invest the revenue of one vertical into the execution of the other. A portion of the revenue generated through IM connect will be utilized by IM studios for unique content production. Through IM Connect, people living in even the remote parts of the country can realize their potential and gain monetary benefits from it. IM Connect is truly a unique contribution to the world and proves to be a necessary tool in the new normal. It topples over the idea of traditional professions, thus widening the scope of employment. IM Connect stands out as a promising next-generation organization, that help India can reach greater heights. The expectations of IM Connect are huge, so is its necessity. With IM Connect's help, Indians will surely be able to find their visions and dreams fulfilled. IM Connect has come forward with an initiative known as IM Charity to fulfil their social responsibility. IM Charity is a program where 10 per cent of the revenue generated by its products and services will be provided to charity. IM Charity has been designed to help individuals and families that are in need of basic necessities. IM Charity is divided into four main subdivisions: Global Hunger Help, Free Medical, Quality Education for All and Shelter for the Homeless. Each of these divisions is dedicated to providing food, medicines, education and quality shelter for the underprivileged. To know more visit: IM Branding This story is provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
A fire broke out on the set of Disney's upcoming live-action remake of 'Snow White' at Pinewood Studios in the UK on Tuesday afternoon. According to Variety, the stage had been under construction for the movie when reportedly a tree caught alight, leading to a huge blaze. "No filming was underway," a Disney source confirmed. Photographs show enormous flames next to a mock thatched cottage, with thick smoke all the way up to the ceiling. The fire is believed to have broken out on Pinewood's Richard Attenborough stage. Image clicked outside the production facility also showed smoke billowing around the outside of the building. "A set made up of a lot of wood, and trees, etc was currently being built in the Richard Attenborough stage. Rumour is a piece of set has caught alight and spread across the rest of the set. Some crew in the studio were shaken but evacuated without injury," an unnamed source told a local news outlet. No casualties have been reported and it is not believed any actors were on set when the fire broke out. The live-action version of the animated classic is set to star Rachel Zegler as the Disney princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. As per Variety, previously, Pinewood sets have caught fire on at least two other occasions: on Ridley Scott's 1984 film 'Legend' and in 2006 during a shoot for Bond film 'Casino Royale'. (ANI)
The actor, who rang in her 29th birthday on Tuesday with her family in the Maldives, has posted a heartwarming video montage from the day, to thank all her followers for their love.

The video, which she set to the song 'At My Worst' by Pink Sweat$, captured beautiful pictures of smiling Alia by the beach, glimpses of her dancing on a yacht, watching TV sitcom 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S', going to the pool and posing with her mom Soni Razdan and sister Shaheen Bhatt.

In the caption, she penned, "this is 29. thank you for all the love."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbJ4-nTgLaQ/

Meanwhile, on her birthday, Alia introduced fans to Isha, her character from the upcoming Ayan Mukherjee directorial 'Brahmastra', co-starring her beau Ranbir Kapoor. (ANI)
As per Page Six, the notoriously private couple, who started dating in 2012, looked loved-up at the premiere of 'The Lost City' in New York City.

The adventure comedy titled 'The Lost City' stars Radcliffe alongside Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum and Brad Pitt.

For the red carpet night, Radcliffe wore a patterned navy button-down shirt with matching trousers and a casual black bomber jacket.

On the other hand, Darke was stunned in a black and white floral dress with sheer black tights and green boots. She styled her blond hair in loose curls and completed the look with signature red poppy lipstick.

The pair last hit a red carpet together at the Tony Awards in June 2014, as per Page Six.

Radcliffe, 32, and Darke, 37, met on the set of the 2013 movie 'Kill Your Darlings' in which they shot for an intimate scene.

Although the couple has been spotted out and about, they rarely walk the red carpet together. (ANI)
The Ministry source said that Health Minister has directed the senior officials to maintain alertness, active genome sequencing and high level surveillance across the country in the view of again rising cases of Covid 19 in some countries.

Mandaviya also reviewed the Covid-19 vaccination programme and resumption of international passenger flights from March 27, the source added.

Mandaviya is also expected to chair a meeting with all AIIMS Directors on looming threat of possible fourth wave from 12 noon on Thursday.

Meanwhile, India began the inoculation drive for 12 to 14 age group of children from Wednesday. As per the ministry, only Corbevax Covid vaccine manufactured by Biological E. Ltd is being administered to this age group.

--IANS avr/vd

( 180 Words)

2022-03-16-21:40:03 (IANS)
Dhami, along with the party's national media in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni, met Amit Shah at the Home Minister's office in the Parliament House complex.

Talking to the media after the meeting, Dhami called it a routine meeting.

However, the meeting is being considered crucial in view of the ongoing discussions within the party to finalise the name of the next Chief Minister.

A meeting was also held at the Prime Minister's residence late on Monday night to discuss probable names for the Chief Minister post. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President J.P. Nadda and election in-charge Pralhad Joshi were present at the meeting.

Earlier on Tuesday, in a meeting chaired by Nadda at the party's headquarters in Delhi, discussions were held regarding government formation in Uttarakhand. Apart from Dhami, many leaders of the state BJP core group attended the meeting.

As per sources, a meeting of the BJP legislature party is scheduled to be held in Dehradun on March 19. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as central observer and Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs as co-observer, will be present in the meeting.

The name of the Chief Minister would also be announced on March 19 and the swearing-in would take place on March 20, sources said.

--IANS stp/shs/bg

( 262 Words)

2022-03-15-20:30:03 (IANS)
Continuous/over use of nitrogenous fertiliser alone has a deleterious effects on soil health and crop productivity, the Parliament was told on Tuesday. "There is no harmful effect of chemical fertilisers on soil health with balanced and judicious use but, investigations carried out under All India Coordinated Research Project on 'Long Term Fertiliser Experiments' over five decades at fixed sites have indicated that continuous/over use of nitrogenous fertiliser alone had deleterious effect on soil health and crop productivity showing deficiencies of other major and micro nutrients," Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is recommending soil test-based balanced and integrated nutrient management through conjunctive use of both inorganic and organic sources (manure, bio-fertilisers etc.) of plant nutrients for judicious use of chemical fertilisers to improve soil health, he said. In addition, growing leguminous crops and use of Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs) are also advocated. ICAR imparts training, and organises front line demonstrations (FLDs) to educate farmers on all these aspects. Tomar said the Government is promoting non-chemical farming under the names of organic and natural farming through the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and Bharitya Prakratik Krishi Padhati along the river Ganga. The PKVY scheme is implemented in all the states across the country. Under this scheme, farmers are provided financial assistance of Rs 31,000 per hectare for three years for organic inputs such as seeds, biofertilisers, bio-pesticides, organic manure, compost/vermi-compost, botanical extracts etc. In addition, support is also provided for group/Farmers Producers Organisation (FPO) formation, training, certification, value addition and marketing of their organic produce. Under the Namami Gange Programme, a total of Rs 120.49 crore has been released for 6,181 clusters and 123,620 ha area covered. The government is also promoting Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) which includes soil test-based balanced and integrated use of chemical fertilisers in conjunction with organic sources of nutrients like Farm Yard Manure (FYM), city compost, vermi-compost and bio-fertilizers that leads to saving in use of chemical fertilisers, the Minister said. --IANS miz/vd ( 352 Words) 2022-03-15-20:32:01 (IANS)
Over 19 lakh people, whose names were not included in the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), published in August 2019, did not get Aadhaar cards as the document is necessary for availing benefits of various welfare schemes. These 19 lakh people in absence of Aadhaar cards are now facing serious problems as their biometric data have been locked following the directive of the Supreme Court, which is overseeing the NRC updating process. While replying to a question of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Aminul Islam, General Administration, Panchayat, Rural Development Departments Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass told the Assam assembly on Tuesday that the state government is aware of the problem as many eligible people are not getting benefits of welfare schemes due to the lack of Aadhaar cards that are mandatory to be linked to their bank accounts in receiving the benefits. The Minister said that the state government has written at least twice to the Union Home Minister in 2020 and 2021, requesting the Centre to allow the authority to access the biometric details of at least those whose names had figured in the final draft of the NRC. "Chief Minister (Himanta Biswa Sarma) himself recently raised the issue in the state Cabinet meeting and a sub-committee has been formed to look into the problem and the way forward with different organisations," Dass said. The ministerial sub-committee, comprising ministers Ajanta Neog, Atul Bora and Pijush Hazarika, would soon likely to initiate consultations with different groups, including All Assam Students' Union (AASU). The Minister told the house that 85.55 per cent of people in Assam have registered for Aadhaar enrolment till February this year. AIUDF legislator Islam said that though the state government has been claiming to have resolved the issue, no favourable step has been taken. A large number of genuine citizens are being denied their due benefits, he said. While Congress MLA Jakir Hussain Sikdar requested the government to define specific period to resolve the problem, ruling BJP legislator Biswajit Phukan said that the government should ensure that at least those whose names were included in the final draft of the NRC are not deprived of the benefits. Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha said that in absence of Aadhaar, lakhs of people are not getting ration under the public distribution system, unable to operate bank accounts and not getting houses under various housing schemes. Assam assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary said that after discussing the matter with the Chief Minister and others, the matter once again can be brought to the notice of the central government. --IANS sc/skp/ ( 448 Words) 2022-03-15-20:38:02 (IANS)
A day after the spat between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Assembly Speaker Vijay Sinha, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary came in defence of the former, saying that he was talking about the Assembly rulebook. "The Chief Minister has not used any non-parliamentary language... He made his points before the Speaker with folded hands," Chaudhary said. Following his remarks, RJD leaders, who came in the Vidhan Sabha wearing black ribbons on their hands, objected to the "wrongful statement". RJD's Bhai Virendra said that the entire country has seen the approach of the Chief Minister towards the Speaker, noting Nitish Kumar pointed his finger at the Speaker's Chair and said that the house would not run like this. "Nitish Kumar said that the Speaker has violated the rulebook of Vidhan Sabha. The act of Nitish Kumar was condemnable. He should apologise for it," he said. Meanwhile, the Speaker refused to come to the Assembly on Tuesday and some of the BJP's MLAs were enquiring about him, though they were not vocal against the Chief Minister openly. However, many BJP leaders are angry against Nitish Kumar and JD-U, and claimed that if the party's central leadership will not come out strongly on this issue, the prestige of BJP legislators will be completely destroyed in the state, and whatever political ground they have gained will be washed out. BJP Minister Ram Surat Rai, however, said that the central leadership of the party is aware of the ongoing situation in Bihar and will soon take decision on it. --IANS ajk/vd ( 273 Words) 2022-03-15-20:54:04 (IANS)
Operation by forest authorities to trap the sloth bear, which strayed into Satavahana University campus in Telangana's Karimnagar district, continued on Tuesday. The university authorities suspended the classes at all colleges on the campus to facilitate the ongoing operation by the forest authorities to track down the bear, which was sighted on the campus on March 10. Forest officials continued their operation for a sixth day on the sprawling campus. They installed camera traps, cages, and food to lure the animal but their efforts have not yielded any results. Besides suspending the classes, the university authorities have also restricted the movement on the campus as a precautionary measure. Around 300 students are staying on the campus and they have been asked not to step out. The university staff remained on their tenterhooks. The rescue team of the Forest Department, which came from Warangal, is staying in the university campus for the operation. Forest Range Officer (FRO) Gantala Srinivas Reddy said they installed camera traps at vantage points on the 200-acre campus to track the wild animal. However, the camera traps have not yet captured it. According to District Forest Officer Balamani, 10 camera traps have been installed to track the movement of the sloth bear. She said they also used drone cameras as part of the operation. The rescue team has also set up four trap cages. Groundnuts, bananas, honey and jaggery are among the food items that have been placed in the cages to trap the animal. A student at the women's hostel had first sighted the sloth bear. She captured it on her mobile phone camera. Some dogs are seen barking at the bear. She alerted the university authorities. Vice Chancellor Mallesham said they informed the Forest Department, which sent experts to track and trap the animal. As the campus has two ponds, the forest personnel were focusing their efforts on areas around the ponds as they expected the sloth bear to come there for water. The land allotted to Satavahana University was once a part of forest. The authorities have built a few buildings over the last 13 years. Earlier, sloth bears were also sighted near BSNL office and Police Commissioner's office. Experts say with dwindling forests due to rapid urbanisation, wild animals may be straying into human habitations for food and water. Areas surrounding Karimnagar town used to have dense forests. However, in recent years the forests, rocks and lakes have disappeared due to increasing construction activity. --IANS ms/vd ( 426 Words) 2022-03-15-20:56:03 (IANS)
In a bid to improve India's farm business, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is coming up with India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA) report, which is being prepared with the help of department's high level task force. The ministry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft India Pvt Ltd to work for the betterment of farmers and their agriculture business. Initially 100 villages have even selected across the nation where Microsoft is working for consolidating agri ecosystem to empower farmers using data Analytics. This will increase the income of farmers and will improve the efficiency of the Agriculture sector in the country. "Based on this, the Department is in the process of finalizing a framework for creating Agristack in the country, which will serve as a foundation to build innovative agri-focused solutions leveraging digital technologies to contribute effectively towards increasing the income of farmers and improve efficiency of the Agriculture sector in the country," the ministry said. The government had recently identified a few leading technology, agri-tech, startups and invited them to collaborate with them and develop Proof of Concepts (PoC) based on data of select districts, villages. A public call through the Department's website was issued inviting proposals for Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). These PoCs will help in understanding the uses of Agristack service and solutions that can be built using available data and some of them, if found beneficial to the farmers will be scaled up at the National level," the ministry said. --IANS atk/skp/ ( 263 Words) 2022-03-15-21:06:03 (IANS)
Students in Anne Arundel County can now learn virtually on inclement weather days prompted by snow, wind, rain or other hazardous conditions, logging on at home instead of taking the day off and potentially prolonging the school year.

State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury established standards this year for the use of virtual learning on inclement weather days in the state and asked systems to submit a plan if interested.

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Sixteen jurisdictions have done so, including Anne Arundel County. This option is available to school districts that have used up inclement weather days built into their school calendar. After these days run out, districts must add an instruction day for every inclement weather day they have off from school, often requiring districts to cancel other days off or extend the school year to meet the state mandated 180 days of instruction.

The countys plan was approved Feb. 24, and AACPS can now ask students to work from home on inclement weather days instead of having a day off.

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If students dont log on, they will have an opportunity to make up assignments that were missed, the system says in its plan, which is posted online.

State Sens. Bryan Simonaire, a Pasadena Republican, and Jim Rosapepe, a Democrat who represents Prince Georges and Anne Arundel counties, are co-sponsoring a bill, SB 717, that will take the new state policy and turn it into a law.

Simonaire said instead of inclement weather in the winter forcing closures that extend the school year into the summer, jurisdictions can decide to have a virtual day. While it may mean fewer snow days, it will not impact summer activities, he said. The choice is up to local school leaders.

Each local board can decide whats best for their location, he said.

The Maryland State Department of Education and Anne Arundel County Public Schools support the bill.

The bill was approved by the state Senate Wednesday.

AACPS spokesman Bob Mosier said the option gives the system another way to deal with bad weather, which is why the system applied this year and also supports SB 717.

It offers an opportunity to avoid extending the school year and provides for more uninterrupted instruction for students if a switch occurs, Mosier said in an email. At the same time, a switch is not mandated and that affords the opportunity, where possible, to preserve snow days  a great American treasure to the young and young at heart  for students across our county.

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There are 10 students who live in a southern Anne Arundel County community lacking internet connection or cellphone service, according to the county school system plan. Those students will be offered transportation to a nearby location where they can participate in virtual learning. If the weather is so severe it prevents that travel, the students would be able to dial into class using telephone reception, according to the AACPS plan.

The bill includes specifications requested by the state education department to ensure virtual learning on inclement weather days doesnt damage learning.

Research across the country has clearly shown that, for the vast majority of students, virtual learning is not an effective form of instruction, the department said in submitted testimony for SB 717.

Virtual school days will be at least four hours long with attendance taken. There will be a chance to make up any work missed that day, and schools must have a plan for providing devices and internet access, as well as meeting the needs of students with Individualized Education Plans.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Abir Ranjan Biswas said on Tuesday that the representation of Schedule Tribe (ST) people in the government offices is just 6 per cent in the country. Participating in a debate in the Upper House on the working of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Biswas said that despite the Constitutional guarantee to the ST population, we as a country have failed to accommodate the ST population. Referring to the Ministry data on villages where ST population is greater than 25 per cent, the Trinamool lawmaker stated that it is shocking to know that only 9 per cent of these villages have a bank, only 24 per cent have a healthcare centre, and only 50 per cent of them have tap water connection. Noting that ST constitutes 8.6 per cent of the total population of the country, CPI-M member V. Sivadasan demanded that 8.6 per cent of the total Budget allocation should be allotted for STs. He said the government has allocated only 2.26 per cent of the total expenditure to STs in the Union Budget for 2022-23. Joining the debate, DMK lawmaker Kanimozhi said that many students from marginalised communities have been compelled to stay out of schools and support their parents in forest-based and local livelihoods during the pandemic. She asked the government whether it has assessed the situation. She further said that a National Scheme of Incentive to Girl Child for Secondary Education (NSIGSE), which was started in 2008 to promote the enrolment of SC and ST girls in secondary schools and also to reduce dropouts, has been discontinued. --IANS ams/arm ( 281 Words) 2022-03-15-23:16:04 (IANS)
Two men have been arrested in Mizoram for threatening to kill Chief Minister Zoramthanga, an MLA, and others, over fake Facebook accounts, police said on Tuesday. A senior police official said that a team of Mizoram Police arrested Rodinliana, 37, alias Apuia Tochhawng, a resident of Hermon Veng in Khawzawl district, on Sunday and recovered two mobile phones. On interrogation, Rodinliana admitted that he had created Facebook account "Thingtlang Pa" earlier this year from his mobile phone and then made the post threatening the Chief Minister and others from this account on March 11. "The accused Rodinliana has previously been arrested and charge sheeted in connection with Aizawl police station for posting a threatening open letter to the former Chief Minister on social media," the official said. A Mizoram Police statement on Tuesday night said that the anonymous Facebook account with profile name "Thingtlang Pa" made a post in the Facebook group "Zoram Politics Group1" claiming that a new group "Ram Siamthatu Pawl" (organisation of reformers of land) had been formed consisting of five educated persons with the sole purpose of eliminating persons whom they consider to be harmful and detrimental to the state. "The Facebook post criticised the Chief Minister of Mizoram, Zoramthanga and threatened to kill him stating that a serial killer or sniper has already been arranged and if the Chief Minister does not resign within a span of three months, he will be killed. It mentioned that there were other targets as well. The post also challenged CID stating that since the Facebook account was a fake account operated from a foreign country, CID would not be able to locate him," the statement said. It said that thorough examination of Rodinliana's social media accounts revealed that he was in frequent contact with a Facebook account with profile name "CC Azyu" with whom he conspired to arrange weapons, financing, training and support of the youth in order to carry out the assassinations of the so called unwanted persons. The Facebook account "CC Azyu" has also made a threatening comment on a post relating to H. Lalzirliana, MLA, Mamit constituency in Facebook Group "Zoram Politics Group1" stating the MLA was included in the list of persons to be killed. The man behind "CC Azyu" was identified as Chanchinmawia alias CCa, 44, a resident of Zohnuai in Lunglei district and he was also arrested on Sunday for his involvement in the case. "Mizoram Police will leave no stone unturned in the detection of other persons involved, the police statement said and urged the people to refrain from using social media to threaten and intimidate others. Strict action will be taken against unlawful behaviour on all social media platforms," it added. --IANS sc/vd ( 467 Words) 2022-03-15-23:18:01 (IANS)
Goa acting Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that he is in the national capital to meet the central leadership and consult them over the next course of action in the state. Speaking to ANI at Goa Sadan, Sawant said, "I am here to meet the central leadership and consult them over the next course of action in the state." Sawant had earlier stated that the new government will be formed after the election of the leader of the legislative party in the presence of the Central observer of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP Parliamentary Board has appointed Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as the central observer for Goa and Union Minister of State for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry L Murugan has been made the co-observer. On March 12, Sawant tendered his resignation to Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai at Raj Bhawan in Panaji to pave way for the formation of the new government after the BJP won the popular mandate in the state. The BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa, winning 20 seats in the 40-member state Assembly, leaving Congress with 11 seats at a distant second position. The BJP fell one seat short of the majority figure in Goa but is set to retain power in the state with the help of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak (MGP) and independent candidates. According to Election Commission, the BJP got 33.31 per cent vote share followed by Congress (23.46 per cent), MGP (7.60 per cent), AAP (6.77) and Trinamool Congress (5.21 per cent). (ANI)
The Lok Sabha will resume its proceedings from 11 am on Wednesday after it was adjourned by Speaker Om Birla late on Tuesday. Discussions on Demands for Grants in Railway Ministry took place in Lok Sabha on the second day of the second half of the Budget session. The proceedings of the House were extended till 11 pm. Initiating the debate on Demand for Grants 2022-23 for Railway in Lok Sabha, Congress MP K Suresh accused the Central government of running the railways in an inefficient manner and said it is indulging in jugglery in the allocation of funds. Expressing concern over huge vacancies in railways, DMK MP Kanimozhi said that the South Indians don't get jobs and it seems that there is an effort to keep them away. She demanded the government to clarify as to how 100 per cent electrification can be achieved by the next year if it is 73 per cent at present. TMC MP Satabdi Roy emphasized the need to bring down platform ticket prices from Rs 50 to a reasonable level. BSP MP Shyam Singh Yadav alleged that the railways is no longer a common man's transport with increasing prices and privatisation. After the proceedings got over on Tuesday late night, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said, "We had a healthy discussion in the presence of the ruling party and the opposition and learning new things from the Speaker on how to run the House." The second half of the Budget session of Parliament resumed from March 14 and will conclude on April 8. The first half of the Budget session began on January 31 and concluded on February 11. (ANI)
The body of a man aged between 40-45 years was found near the Slow railway track, Ranga Nagar, Mumbra.

According to Thane Municipal Corporation, the body was handed over to Mumbra Police.

Further investigation is underway. (ANI)
Later, they were arrested and brought back to the centre.

BS Jadav, a senior police officer, said, "The Bangladeshi women were arrested for carrying fake Aadhaar cards. The three women and a man were travelling from Howrah to Ahmedabad on March 11 and on suspicion, they were interrogated by the Railway police. When inquired, it was found the Bangladeshi were holding fake documents and Aadhaar cards, which they had made it from Kolkata. The Bangladesh women were identified as Poppi Begum and Yasmin."

He further said that women have been apprehended and further investigation is underway. (ANI)
"Terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT/TRF involved in the recent killing of Khanmoh's Sarpanch Sameer Bhat trapped in Nowgam encounter," Kashmir Zone Police quoted Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar in a tweet.

Last Wednesday, the Sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat was shot at by terrorists in the Khonmoh area in the outskirts of Srinagar, succumbing to injuries later.

The encounter started between the security forces and the terrorists in the Nowgam area of Srinagar in the early hours of Wednesday. (ANI)
"As desired by the Congress President I have sent my resignation," Sidhu said in a tweet as he posted the one line resignation letter.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought the resignations of state party chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resignations in order to facilitate reorganisation of the Pradesh Congress Committees.

Congress high command's move comes after Congress Working Committee's met on Sunday.

The meeting was held after the party's crushing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in five states.

The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. (ANI)
The terrorists were involved in the killing of Khanmoh's Srinagar.

The Kashmir Zone Police tweeted, "#SrinagarEncounterUpdate: 02 more #terrorists killed (Total 03). #Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition recovered. Search going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice."

Last Wednesday, the Sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat was shot at by terrorists in the Khonmoh area in the outskirts of Srinagar, succumbing to injuries later.

The encounter started between the security forces and the terrorists in the Nowgam area of Srinagar in the early hours of Wednesday. (ANI)
The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday informed that more than 17.25 crore balance and unutilized COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with States and Union Territories to be administered. "Nearly 183 crore (1,82,97,24,590) vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India (free of cost channel) and through direct state procurement category," informed an official statement by the Ministry. "More than 17.25 crore (17,25,37,371) balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered," it further said. As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs, said the Ministry. The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination started on 16th January 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on 21st June 2021. (ANI)
Chantal Forthun, winemaker at Flowers Vineyard and Winery, was standing alongside a row of vines at the vineyard and over a six-foot hole. Down in the pit with a pick axe was Pedro Parra, a revered dirt doctor who consults with winemakers around the world. A Chilean by birth, Parra believes that you cannot make good wine without knowing what lies deep beneath a vineyards surface.

Terroir is regarded as a major influencer in a wines flavor profile, whether it be the limestone in Champagne or the gravel in the Left Bank. Sandy soils can leave wine with less acidity and tannin. Clay soils, on the other hand, yield wines with more body, tannin and fruit extraction.

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As Parra thumped the side of the hole with his pick axe he asked Forthun to describe the wines made at the Healdsburg, California property. Having been with Flowers Vineyard for a decade, she could rattle off the characteristics with ease. He, in return, could tell what in the soil gave the wine its flavor profile. Sometimes, the revelation wasnt what Forthun expected.

Flowers dug two dozen pits on its remote property in an effort to better understand its own viticulture. Camp Meeting Ridge, planted in 1991, sits above a fog line along a flat top about 1,200 in elevation; it is composed of mostly fractured sandstone. Insulated below by a wall of forest, it has its own special micro-climate and is only two miles from the Pacific Ocean.

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Even closer to the water is Sea View Ridge, a 43-acre vineyard planted in 1998, that has broken red rock soil and basalt. These windswept vineyards have unique soils that demands more than a superficial inspection to fully comprehend its influences on wine. Pinot noir is grown here.

For years we were told this is a special place for special people, Forthun said, but we didnt know how special it was beyond the beautiful surroundings. We needed to understand how beauty translates into wine.

That feeling is echoed by Rodrigo Soto, the estate vineyard manager, who is equally mesmerized by Parras analysis.

We gained a tremendous amount of accuracy, Soto said. We identified blocks and isolated them. We now monitor them with a very difference lens.

Forthun said she had a light-bulb moment when Perra dug a hole in a Sea View Ridge block.

We picked the grapes the same time each year, but we couldnt get the chemistry right, she said. When he opened the soil, we knew immediately what was wrong. It was completely rocky  no soil. Roots, big and thick, made their way around rocks looking deeper for soil and water.

Forthun cant do much to change the soil, so she concluded that she may not get the ripeness she wanted from the grapes.

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Forthun and Soto work together to create wines with a desired texture, extraction and aroma, all based on the terroir they have identified.

Flowers Vineyard is a member of the West Sonoma Coast Vintners and in good company with Paul Hobbs, Joseph Phelps, Peay and others.

The three wines we tasted were terrific.

The 2019 Flowers Almar Camp Meeting Ridge Chardonnay is remarkable for its concentration and mouthfeel. You can taste the evergreen forest below and the saltiness from the ocean in sight from the property. Citrus and peach notes abound, and it has crisp acidity.

The two pinots had length and tension because the roots have to work hard to penetrate the red rock. The 2019 Flowers Sea View Ridge Pietra Pinot Noir has earthy aromas and broad dark fruit flavors with hints of herbs and a terroir-driven mineral character. Forthun said the wines are deeply tortured from the vines winding a path through the basalt terroir.

The 2019 Sea View Ridge Cielo, from the highest point in the vineyard, enjoys great sun. The soil here is more gravelly at the surface. The wine produced is very floral and has more plum notes on the palate. We found this pinot noir more elegant than the massive Pietra.

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Wine picks

Here are a few syrah and syrah blends that we recently discovered.

JONATA Todos 2018 ($50). Matt Dees, winemaker of this Santa Ynez Valley winery, describes this blend as 50 percent syrah, 30 percent cabernet sauvignon and 20 percent chaos. The chaos is another eight grape varieties, so we see what he means. The result is an enjoyable, lavishly textured wine with oodles of ripe red berry fruit. This property is owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, who bought Screaming Eagle in 2006.

Faust The Hour 2019 ($90). For the syrah fan in your family, we suggest this incredibly concentrated monster from the rugged Coombsville area of Napa Valley. It is packed with plum, wild blackberry and spice flavors cloaked in firm tannins. Very floral nose with notes of violets, pepper and black cherries. Long and firm in the finish. This is a blockbuster wine that would pair well with beef.

Copain Wines Les Voisins Syrah 2017 ($36). This is a beautifully structured wine with generous notes of black olives, blueberries and lavender. Deliciously ripe and fruit forward.

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Ferraton Pere & Fils Cotes-du-Rhone Samorens Rouge 2019 ($16). We loved this equal blend of grenache and syrah, a nice soft approach to the holiday meal. Its a great sipper but is versatile enough to go with just about anything you put on the table. Ripe and juicy blackberry, raspberry notes with a hint of black licorice and dried rosemary.

Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a weekly, syndicated wine column since 1985. See their blog at moreaboutwine.com. They can be reached at marq1948@gmail.com.
According to ED, Faraz will soon be sent a third summon asking him to appear for questioning.

ED wants to question Faraz about the deals and payments regarding Goawala Building in Kurla, Mumbai.

Earlier, ED had summoned Faraz, then Faraz sent his lawyer and asked for a week's time, to submit documents to the investigative agency related to the Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case but the ED denied the request.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday denied any interim relief to Nawab and refused to pass an order for his release from judicial custody.

Malik in his plea has demanded that the FIR against him be cancelled. The plea also calls the Enforcement Directorate against him illegal and wrong.

Malik was arrested on February 23. He is currently in judicial custody. (ANI)
Seoul [South Korea], March 16 (ANI/Global Economic): Korea's first Apple Developer Academy has opened online on the 14th. The nine-month course, which has opened online first due to COVID-19, will offer in-person classes at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in the future. Apple Developer Academy, which provides education and start-up opportunities in computer engineering fields to developers, entrepreneurs, and designers, offers classes five days a week. The curriculum also consists of various courses, including coding, design, app business and marketing, and professional skills and processes. It also provides a multidisciplinary fram ework for students to improve their skills and experiences. Apple Developer Academy and POSTECH said 200 exceptional individuals full of passion and potential have been selected for the 2022 academic year. "We are glad to partner with POSTECH to open Korea's first Apple Developer Academy, and to support Korea's next generation of developers and entrepreneurs," said Gordon Shukwit, director of Apple Developer Academy. "The App Store ecosystem is an engine for creativity and economic development, and we can't wait to see how the 200 students in the first Academy class develop and release new apps and businesses that change the world with their creativity." "POSTECH is welcoming our first students of Apple Developer Academy despite the pandemic, in partnership with global leading company Apple," said President Moo Hwan Kim of POSTECH. "We will fully support these 200 students with full of potential to grow into a global leader who can contribute to the advancement of the communities and the nation through the course over the nine months." Meanwhile, there are more than a dozen Apple Developer Academy sites around the world, including Detroit in the U.S. and Italy. Graduates from the Apple Developer Academies reportedly released more than 1,500 apps in the App store and founded 160 new companies in total. (ANI/Global Economic)
As COVID-19 vaccination began for those aged between 12-14 years, children in the age group who received their first dose on Wednesday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Everyone who is eligible should get vaccinated. We thank PM Modi. We are all getting vaccinated as a precautionary measure," Tanu said at a COVID vaccination centre for the 12-14 age group here. Another student Priya, while thanking PM Modi, said vaccination is for the safety of people against COVID-19. "I request all the children of my age group to get vaccinated. We thank our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This vaccination is for our safety," she added. Dr Rajnikant Contractor, Medical Officer in charge of Municipal Urban Health Centre in Chandlodiya, Ahmedabad, said, they are getting a good response from children in the age group. "All schools were informed. We are getting a good response. Children are excited to get vaccine. This is a good step, we all appreciate this," he said. India has expanded its COVID-19 vaccination drive with the inclusion of children in the age group of 12-14 years starting on Wednesday while those aged above 60 years are also eligible now for the precaution dose. The children in the said age group will be administered Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E. It is India's first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19. Meanwhile, the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to those aged 60 years has been removed and all above 60 years of the age can be administered with precaution dose starting today. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would list for hearing after Holi break appeals challenging Karnataka High Court's order that dismissed petitions against the ban on Hijab in educational institutions. A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli said it will consider listing the pleas after Holi vacation after senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for petitioners, sought an urgent hearing. "The urgency is this that there are several girls who have to attend colleges. List this on Monday," Hegde said. To this, the CJI said, "Others have mentioned too. We will see, we will post the matter. Let us see we will post the matter after Holi vacations." Some of the petitioners before the High Court have approached the apex court challenging the order upholding the Karnataka government's order which directs strict enforcement of schools and colleges uniform rules. One of the appeals in the top court has alleged "step-motherly behaviour of government authorities which has prevented students from practicing their faith and resulted in an unwanted law and order situation". The appeal said the High Court in its impugned order "had vehemently failed to apply its mind and was unable to understand the gravity of the situation as well as the core aspect of the Essential Religious Practices enshrined under Article 25 of the Constitution of India". "Wearing of Hijab or headscarf is a practice that is essential to the practice of Islam," it added. A bench of Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Krishna S Dixit, and Justice JM Khazi on Tuesday held that the prescription of uniform is a reasonable restriction that students could not object to and dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on Hijab in education institutions saying they are without merit. The Hijab row had erupted in January this year when the Government PU College in Udupi allegedly barred six girls wearing the hijab from entering. Following this, the girls sat in protest outside college over being denied entry. After this, boys of several colleges in Udupi started attending classes wearing saffron scarves. This protest spread to other parts of the state as well leading to protests and agitations in several places in Karnataka. As a result, the Karnataka government said that all students must adhere to the uniform and banned both hijab and saffron scarves till an expert committee decided on the issue. On February 5, the pre-University education board released a circular stating that the students could only wear the uniform approved by the school administration and no other religious attire would be allowed in colleges. The order stated that in case a uniform is not prescribed by management committees, then students should wear dresses that go well with the idea of equality and unity, and do not disturb the social order. A batch of petitions was filed against the government's rule in the Karnataka High Court by some girls seeking permission to wear the hijab in educational institutions. On February 10, the High Court had issued an interim order stating that students should not wear any religious attire to classes till the court issued the final order. The hearings related to the Hijab case were concluded on February 25 and the court had reserved its judgement. (ANI)
"I have come to meet the Prime Minister and Home Minister," said Manipur CM N Biren Singh.

When asked if the formation of the new government in the state will be taken up for discussion, Singh said, "Yes."

The Bharatiya Janata Party won a clear majority in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in Manipur by securing 32 seats in the 60-member House.

Biren Singh, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, met the BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda.

According to sources, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju will visit Manipur in the coming days for the party legislature meeting. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government and others on a plea seeking to cancel bail to Ashish Mishra, who is the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana asked the UP government to file a detailed counter reply and directed that it should protect the witnesses in the matter. The Court noted the submission of the petitioner that the witness has been attacked. The Court listed the matter for March 24 for further hearing. In the last hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, said that one of the prime protected witnesses was brutally attacked, a few days after bail was granted to Ashish Mishra. Family members of victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident have moved Supreme Court challenging Allahabad High Court order, which granted bail to Ashish Mishra. In the Special Leave Petition, family members of the deceased have challenged the Allahabad High Court order dated February 10 2022, wherein Ashish Mishra was granted regular bail. The petitioner said that the Allahabad High Court order is "unsustainable in law." They also said that they have approached the apex court as Uttar Pradesh has failed to prefer any appeal against the impugned order. "The lack of any discussion in the High Court's order as regards the settled principles for grant of bail is on account of lack of any substantive submissions to this effect by the State as the accused wields substantial influence over the State government as his father is a Union Minister from the same political party that rules the State," said the petition. "The impugned order is unsustainable in eyes of law as there has been no meaningful and effective assistance by the State to the court in the matter contrary to object of first Proviso to Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, which provides that in grave offences notice of bail application should ordinarily be given to the Public Prosecutor," said the petitioner. "Even the victims were prevented from bringing the relevant material as regards the settled principles for grant of bail to notice of High Court as their counsel 'got' disconnected from the hearing on 18.01.2022 before he could barely make any submissions and repeated calls to the court staff to get reconnected were to no avail and application filed by the victims/petitioners," the petition said. "Contrary to settled law, the High Court failed to form its opinion on the basis of the chargesheet on broad probabilities and has instead gone on the basis of far fetched imaginary possibilities. The observation of High Court that, "there might be a possibility that the driver tried to speed up the vehicle to save himself, on account of which, the incident had taken place", is perverse especially when there was nothing on record to show the same and there is evidence in fact in the chargesheet to the contrary showing that the vehicles had been dashing at high speeds of 70-100 km/hr from the time they left the venue of the 'dangal'; when they passed the petrol pump; when they crossed the police crossing; all the way to the scene of the crime; and the same has been attested to by various eye witnesses including police officials on duty," the petition said. The petitioner said that Allahabad High Court has not considered the heinous nature of the crime; the character of the overwhelming evidence against the accused in the chargesheet; position and status of the accused with reference to the victim and witnesses; the likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice and repeating the offence; and the possibility of his tampering with the witnesses and obstructing the course of justice, while granting relief to accused. Ashish Mishra was released from jail in February after Allahabad High Court granted him bail. Eight people, including four farmers, had died in violence on October 3, 2020, in Lakhimpur Kheri. (ANI)
Around 20 lakh children in the 12-14 age group have been identified in Karnataka for COVID-19 vaccination, state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar informed on Wednesday. "Everybody was waiting to vaccinate their children between 12-14 years of age. Parents and children are very happy. In Karnataka, we have identified about 20 lakh children in this age group. We started today, we would like to vaccinate as early as possible," Sudhakar told ANI. The children in the said age group will be administered Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E. It is India's first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19. Meanwhile, the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to those aged 60 years has been removed and all above 60 years of the age can be administered with precaution dose starting today. India commenced its nationwide COVID vaccination drive on January 16, 2021. Starting initially by inoculating vaccines to healthcare workers, it was then expanded to frontline workers, followed by people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with comorbidities. Later it was also expanded to all above 45 years of age and then those above 18 years of age. The vaccination drive for those between the age group 15-18 was started on January 3 this year and for administering the precautionary doses to the healthcare workers, frontline workers and sixty plus individuals then commenced on January 10 this year. India's cumulative vaccination coverage has crossed 180.58 crores, as per government data available till 7 pm yesterday. (ANI)
Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the COVID-19 vaccination drive for children between 12 and 14 years of age on Wednesday and assured parents that the vaccine is completely safe for their children. The vaccination drive was launched at Rukminigaon Valika Bidyalaya High School in Guwahati. Assam health minister Keshab Mahanta was also present there. Sarma said that the children should not take the vaccine on empty stomach. "Happy to launch Covid vaccination drive for children in 12-14 age group in Assam at Rukminigaon Balika Vidyalaya High School, Guwahati. I want to assure all parents that this vaccine is completely safe for their children, but it should not be taken on empty stomach." Sarma tweeted. "Also, all persons above 60 years of age are now eligible for Precaution Dose of Covid vaccine, which can be taken only after 9 months (36 weeks) from the date of administration of the second dose. I urge all those eligible to get themselves vaccinated," he said in another tweet. Stating that such a huge number of students have come for vaccination, the Chief Minister complimented PM Narendra Modi and the scientific community for giving us this vaccine. "It will further strengthen our resolve to fight COVID." India has expanded its COVID-19 vaccination drive with the inclusion of children in the age group of 12-14 years starting on Wednesday while those aged above 60 years are also eligible now for the precaution dose. The children in the said age group will be administered Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E. It is India's first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19. Meanwhile, the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to those aged 60 years has been removed and all above 60 years of the age can be administered with precaution dose starting today. (ANI)
The detainees include Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's transport wing vice president Prashant Gandhi. Search for one more person is underway.

Earlier, Mumbai police registered an FIR against five to six unknown persons for allegedly attacking the Delhi Capital IPL team parked bus on Wednesday.

The FIR had been registered under sections 143,147,149,427 of IPC.

Delhi Capitals have been preparing up for the upcoming IPL 2022, where they face five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians on March 27. (ANI)
The Prime Minister congratulated Singh for the BJP's victory in the recently concluded Assembly polls.

"Met N Biren Singh and congratulated him on BJP's stupendous victory in the recently concluded Assembly Polls. Our Party is committed to working even harder to fulfill the aspirations of the people of Manipur," PM Modi said in a tweet.

Biren Singh is also scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The BJP won a clear majority in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in Manipur by bagging 32 seats in the 60-member House.

Biren Singh, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, met the BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda also.

According to sources, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju will visit Manipur in the coming days for the party legislature meeting. (ANI)
Amazon said Tuesday it will spend more than $120 million to build affordable-housing units close to transit stations in Maryland and near Washington, D.C. and Seattle, the latest example of a tech company trying to address the affordable housing crisis critics say the industry has exacerbated.

Amazon said it is working with Sound Transit and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to construct a total of 1,060 homes near four public transit sites. The Maryland sites are in New Carrollton and College Park. The Washington state sites are in SeaTac and Bellevue.

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Amazon is building out another corporate hub in Arlington, Virginia, and is expanding operations in Bellevue, near its Seattle headquarters.

We know that our investment in these areas brings many economic opportunities for residents in the region, but we also acknowledge that this growth needs to benefit everyone in the community, Catherine Buell, director of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, said in a statement.

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That funding comes from a commitment Amazon made in January 2021 to launch its Housing Equity Fund, a $2 billion initiative to preserve and create 20,000 affordable homes.

Microsoft has said it will spend at least $750 million toward affordable housing in the Seattle area following years of complaints that the tech boom had worsened the problem as salaries in the sector and housing prices escalated.
Refusing to comment on the recent spat between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLC Rabri Devi on Wednesday said that it's their (NDA) government at the Centre and in the state then why are they fighting within themselves. "I don't know why they are having a spat. I won't comment on their matter. It's their government. They have their own government in the country and in the state (JDU-BJP). The Opposition's work is to raise the issue and we did it. How can a House run without a Speaker," the former Chief Minister told media persons. When asked about the meeting and settlement between Nitish Kumar and the Speaker, Rabri Devi said, "Opposition is not aware of their meeting or if the matter has been dissolved or not. They should answer about it." The Bihar Assembly on Wednesday was adjourned till 2 pm soon after the commencement of the Assembly as the Opposition MLAs kept on demanding an apology from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the alleged insult of Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Assembly Speaker entered into a heated exchange of words in the Legislative Assembly on Monday over the investigation of the Lakhisarai case and accused the Speaker of "openly violating" the constitution by raising questions against his government. The matter is related to COVID protocols violation during the Saraswati Puja celebrations in Lakhisarai last month in which two persons were arrested by Bihar Police. Raising objection against the Police action, Assembly Speaker argued that two innocent people were made scapegoats in the case as Bihar Police arrested them and no action has been taken against the organisers of the event. A counter objection was made by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the persistent uproar in the Assembly on the issue of Lakhisarai. It is pertinent to mention that BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha was raising the matter related to his own constituency, Lakhisarai. Speaking at the Assembly, Nitish defending the Police action, said, "No one will be spared whoever commits a crime. Our government saves no one and does not implicate anyone." Lashing out at the Speaker, he reminded that Legislative Assembly is not the place to discuss the crime report card. Nitish accused the Speaker of violating the Constitution, "You are openly violating the Constitution. This way the House will not run. There is no point in raising the same issue every day. We will definitely consider the Privilege Committee report. The system is run by the Constitution. The report of any crime goes to the court and not to the House." Replying to Nitish, Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha said, "As far as the Constitution is concerned, Chief Minister, you know more than us, I learn from you. Bihar Assembly Speaker said that the Chair should not be discouraged." Questioning further, Sinha said, "Why is the government not taking serious action on this? You people have made me the speaker of the assembly. The DSP and SHO could not give answer."Notably, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs moved a privilege motion notice against the Deputy Superintendent of Police and two other officers in Lakhisarai for violation of the protocol and alleged misconduct with the Speaker. When the Speaker tried to intervene, the Deputy Superintendent of Police and two other officers allegedly misbehaved with him. In the assembly, Sinha had been asking the government to act against the policemen. BJP leaders have also been pressing for action against the policemen. (ANI)
Chargesheet has been filed before special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar in Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi. Special Public Prosecutor for CBI Advocate DP Singh filed the chargesheet.

According to the sources, CBI got a prosecution sanction against Shashi Kant Sharma. Earlier, CBI had sought sanction from the government to prosecute former defence secretary and CAG Shashi Kant Sharma, in a case of alleged irregularities in the Rs 3,600-crore VVIP chopper deal.

The probe agency had also sought sanction to prosecute former Air Vice Marshal and three other former Indian Air Force officials.

Earlier, CBI had filed the chargesheet in September 2020 against 15 accused including persons, private companies in a case related to the award of a contract to a UK-based company for the supply of 12 VVIP helicopters.

The AgustaWestland case is being probed by CBI and ED. It has been alleged that bribes were paid during United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to 'middlemen', perhaps even politicians, when India agreed to buy 12 AgustaWestland helicopters built by an Italian defence manufacturing company Finmeccanica at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore.

Later in 2014, the said deal was scrapped by National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. (ANI)
The elimination of three wanted terrorists who were involved in the recent killing of Sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat is a big success for the joint forces, said Kashmir IGP, Vijay Kumar on Wednesday. "I congratulate the joint forces for conducting successful anti-terrorist operations without any collateral damage. The killed terrorists were also planning to attack security forces on the National Health and Welfare Department (NHW)," Kumar told ANI. Jammu and Kashmir Police neutralised three wanted terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT (TRF) in Srinagar today. Sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat was shot dead by terrorists in the Khonmoh area on the outskirts of Srinagar. The encounter between the security forces and the terrorists started in the Nowgam area in the early hours of Wednesday. After getting the information about the presence of terrorists in the Nowgam area, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police and 50RR in the said area, according to an official statement by Jammu and Kashmir police. During the search operation, the team proceeded towards the suspected spot and the terrorists fired at them which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter. Later on, CRPF also joined the encounter. As per police records, the deceased has been identified as Adil Nabi Teli (Pampore), Shakir Ahmad Tantray (Ronipora Shopian) and Yasir Ahmad Wagay (Kulgam). Police informed that the killer terrorists were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit LeT (TRF) and active since 2021. Pertinently, terrorist Adil Teli, along with his associates, was also involved in the killing of Inspector Pervaiz Ahmad Dar at Menganwari Nowgam on June 22 last year and in the killing of Javaid Ahmed Malik at Lurgam Tral, police added. Besides, he was also involved in a grenade attack on the joint party of Police and CRPF at Barbarshah Srinagar in which one civilian was killed and three civilians were injured. Similarly, police said that the other terrorists Shakir Ahmad and Yasir Ahmad were also involved in several terror crime cases including the killing of ASI Mohammad Ashraf near Police Station Bijbehara, Anantnag on December 22, 2022. Following the encounter, police recovered incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including one AK rifle, three AK Magazines, 14 AK rounds, two Pistols, four Pistol Magazines, six Pistol rounds from the site of encounter. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation. A case under relevant sections of law has been registered and investigation has been initiated. (ANI)
Mann, in a video message, released earlier had invited the people of the state for his oath-taking ceremony, urging men to wear 'basanti (yellow)' turbans and women yellow 'dupatta (stole)' for the ceremony.

Basanti colour signifies revolution and the spirit of sacrifice and is identified with Bhagat Singh. It also aligns with welcoming the Spring season.

Mann wore a yellow turban for the ceremony, and the same colour was chosen for the theme of the decor.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also sported yellow turbans at the ceremony, tied in a style inspired by Bhagat Singh's turban.

The type of headgear sported by political leaders plays a significant role in conveying a silent yet clear message of what they intend to represent or portray.

When the Aam Aadmi Party came into power, the white 'Gandhi topi' with the words "Main Hoon Aam Aadmi" was worn prominently by party workers and supporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also known for celebrating India's diverse culture with his sartorial headgear choices.

He has always kept up with the tradition by sporting varied turbans on special occasions, ranging from bright Jamnagar Pagdi, Rajasthani safa, to a Kolhapuri style turban.

The Prime Minister went to Gujarat on last Friday for a two-day visit and donned the newly designed Gujarat BJP's saffron colour cap, which caught wide attention.

The design of the cap seems to be inspired by the traditional caps of Uttarakhand. It had thin patch of embroidery and Bhajap (Gujarati) inscribed on it with plastic lotus pinned on it representing the BJP's symbol.

It is apparent that headgear plays a significant part in creating a link between culture, ideas and politics. (ANI)
According to a new study led by Brigham Young University, students who participate in multiple field trips during the school year have higher test scores, perform better in class and have increased cultural conscientiousness over time. The study was published in the journal, 'The Journal of Human Resources'. School field trips have been part of the educational experience for children across the nation for decades. While many school administrators believe there's intrinsic value in letting students develop socially with out-of-classroom experiences, quantifying the impact and the value of field trips is difficult. And justifying out-of-class time can be burdensome for teachers tasked with providing a good education amid the pandemic. As such, many art venues, science museums and zoos have reported declines in field trip attendance. Teachers and students have also reported decreasing amounts of school-sponsored trips, particularly for minority students in academically low-performing schools. "Contrary to practice where schools, facing accountability pressures, trade extracurricular for increased seat time, we found that there's no harm to academics by taking time out of the classroom," said Heidi Holmes Erickson, assistant professor of educational leadership at BYU and lead author of the study. "It's possible to expose students to a broader world and have culturally enriching curriculum without sacrificing academic outcomes, and it may actually improve academic outcomes," she added. The study used an experimental design and randomly assigned fourth- and fifth-grade students from fifteen elementary schools in the Atlanta, Georgia, area to participate in three culturally enriching field trips during a school year. The field trips included a trip to an art museum, a live theatre performance and a symphony concert. Students, who attended three different field trips in fourth or fifth grade scored higher on end-of-grade exams, received higher course grades, were absent less often and had fewer behavioural infractions. These benefits were strongest when students entered middle school. "We anticipated that field trips wouldn't harm test scores. However, we started seeing academic improvements and realized that students who participated in these field trips were doing better in class," said Erickson. "One potential reason for this is that field trips expand students' world concepts and expose them to new ideas. Similarly, students might be more engaged in school thanks to field trips. Students find school more exciting and want to try harder in class," she added. In addition to the academic improvements, students who participated in multiple field trips were 12 per cent of a standard deviation more likely to express a desire to consume arts in the future and nearly 14 per cent of a standard deviation more likely to agree with the statement, "I believe people can have different opinions about the same thing." Researchers said this is more evidence that field trips are beneficial not only for academic success but for individual character development as well. "Parents are very interested in the academic quality of their child's school, but they're also interested in the social skills and social engagement habits they develop. Cultural field trips are easy ways to help facilitate both," researchers said. Erickson said she's hopeful this study will be a resource for policymakers and school principals who are interested in improving children's growth during the children's school experience. When considered in the context of the pandemic, she said this research should be a caution to administrators who are considering eliminating out-of-class opportunities. "Field trips have been non-existent for the last two years, and many cultural institutions like museums and science centres were closed. Schools want to make up learning loss from the pandemic and might feel pressure to sacrifice a well-rounded education for increased seat-time," said Erickson. "Field trips might be the first thing to go. Addressing student learning loss is crucial, but schools should be thoughtful in their approach," she concluded. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has chaired five meetings of Zonal Councils in the last three years, said Minister for State Home Nityanand Rai in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. "Since 2019, five meetings of Zonal Councils have been held... Meetings are chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah," reads Nityanand Rai's written answer to an Unstarred Question by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ramkumar Verma in Rajya Sabha. There are a total of five Zonal Councils which have been set up under the States Reorganization Act 1956, which include Northern Zonal Council, Central Zonal Council, Eastern Zonal Council, Western Zonal Council and Southern Zonal Council. Councils consist of a Union Minister nominated by the President, Chief Minister of each of the states in the zone and two other Ministers of each such states nominated by the Governor and if there is no council of ministers present in the state, three members of each states to be nominated by the President and where any Union Territory is included in the Zone, not more than two members from each such territory to be nominated by the President. Zonal Councils act as an advisory board where irritants between Centre and States and amongst States are resolved through discussions and consultations. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Hema Malini on Wednesday requested the government to make resources available for completion of National Mission on Cultural Mapping. Speaking in the Lok Sabha today during the ongoing Budget Session of the Parliament, Malini said, "In 2017, Ministry of Culture launched National Mission on Cultural Mapping scheme to collect information on art and artists. As per latest information, this has been closed due to lack of resources. I request the Government of India to make necessary resources available for completion of this scheme." As per the government data, National Mission on Cultural Mapping (NMCM) was set up by the Ministry of Culture in 2017. The Mission was tasked to compile the data of artists, art forms and geo-location with inputs from Central Ministries, State Governments and art/culture bodies. The Parliament convened for the second leg of the Budget Session on March 14, 2022. The Lok Sabha will not be in session on March 17, 2022 on account of Holi. Proceedings will now resume on Monday, March 21. (ANI)
Indian Railways have prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) for India which will create a 'future ready' railway system by 2030, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. In a written reply, Vaishnaw said that the NRP is aimed to formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase the modal share of the railways in freight to 45 per cent. He also informed that the objective of the plan is to create capacity ahead of demand, which in turn would also cater to future growth in demand right up to 2050 and also increase the modal share of Railways to 45 per cent in freight traffic and to continue to sustain it. The key objectives of the National Rail Plan are to formulate strategies based on both operational capacities and commercial policy initiatives to increase the modal share of the railways in freight to 45 per cent, the minister said. In addition, Reduce transit time of freight substantially by increasing the average speed of freight trains to 50 Kmph, he added. As part of the National Rail Plan, Vision 2024 has been launched for accelerated implementation of certain critical projects by 2024 such as 100 per cent electrification, multi-tracking of congested routes, up-gradation of speed to 160 kmph on Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes, up-gradation of speed to 130 kmph on all other Golden Quadrilateral-Golden Diagonal (GQ/GD) routes and elimination of all Level Crossings on all GQ or GD route. According to the Railway ministry, NRP also suggests identifying new Dedicated Freight Corridors and new High-Speed Rail Corridors. The plan also includes assessment of rolling stock requirement for passenger traffic as well as wagon requirement for freight and assessing Locomotive requirement to meet twin objectives of 100 per cent electrification (Green Energy) and increasing freight modal share. Assessment of the total investment in capital that would be required along with a periodical break up is also included in NRP, Vaishnaw said. He also added that the sustained involvement of the private sector in areas like operations and ownership of rolling stock, development of freight and passenger terminals, development or operations of track infrastructure etc. It is notable that 58 supercritical projects of a total length of 3750 kms costing Rs 39,663 crore and 68 critical projects of a total length of 6913 kms costing Rs 75,736 crore have been identified for completion by 2024. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the plea for interim bail of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh who along with others is accused of misappropriating about Rs 2,400 crore of Religare Finvest Ltd funds. A bench of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna dismissed the plea of Singh who sought interim bail for a short period on humanitarian grounds for helping his ailing mother to take part in the last rituals of his maternal uncle, who died on March 8 in Haryana. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Delhi police opposed the bail plea of Singh saying he is accused of a financial scam to the tune of Rs 2400 crore and he is a flight risk. "In terms of serious allegations, it seems that if the petitioner is released on interim bail he may be a flight risk, the application for interim bail stands rejected," the apex court ordered. At the outset, the senior advocate Gopal Jain representing Singh said that his mother had suffered a stroke and he be granted bail on humanitarian grounds to be with her mother in the last rites of her brother. Last year, the apex court had directed the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police to conclude the probe by December 15, 2021 in the case against Singh. The apex court has been seized of a plea of Singh who had challenged in the June 14, 2021 order of the Delhi High Court which cancelled his bail granted by the trial court in a money laundering case. Earlier, the top court had asked the Delhi police about how much time it will take to complete the investigation and it cannot be an "unending story". Justice Suresh Kait of the High Court had said that the Singh's detention was necessary to unearth the "conspiracy hatched by him and trace the siphoned off money". The High Court order had come on the plea of RFL challenging the March 3 order of the trial court granting bail to Singh in the case registered against him by the EOW for cheating, criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust. In March 2019, the EOW of Delhi Police registered an FIR after it received a complaint from RFL's Manpreet Suri against Singh, former CMD of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) Sunil Godhwani and former CEO of RFL Kavi Arora and others, alleging that loans were taken by them while managing the firm but the money was invested in other companies. RFL's authorised representative Suri alleged that these accused put RFL in poor financial condition by disbursing loans to entities having no financial standings and willfully defaulted on repayments causing a loss of Rs 2,397 crore to RFL, as per EOW. (ANI)
The Congress G-23 leaders, who had earlier called for sweeping reforms in the party, held a meeting here on Wednesday at the residence of former union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the wake of the party's debacle in the assembly polls to five states. This is the second meeting of G-23 leaders in a week. Party leaders Kapil Sibal, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Mani Shankar Aiyar, PJ Kurien, Preneet Kaur, Sandeep Dikshit and Raj Babbar were among those present. The meeting was earlier scheduled to be held at the residence of Kapil Sibal. Members of G-23, who are part of the Congress Working Committee, had taken part in its meeting held on Sunday to take stock of election results. In a statement released after the meeting, the CWC had unanimously reaffirmed its faith in the leadership of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and requested her "to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges". Sonia Gandhi had on Tuesday sought the resignations of state party chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. The party is slated to elect a new party chief later this year at the culmination of organisational elections. (ANI)
Clothing, shoes and other pieces of evidence collected in the infamous Baltimore murder case against Adnan Syed will be sent off to a California lab for new DNA analysis, a city judge has ordered.

Together, Syeds attorney and Baltimore prosecutors asked the court last week to consider new post-conviction DNA testing, arguing that the results could help settle Syeds long-standing claims of innocence in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee.

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Lee was strangled to death and her body discovered in a clandestine grave in Leakin Park. Police and prosecutors maintained Syed, her ex-boyfriend, was culpable for her killing. He stood trial twice for her murder and was convicted in 2000 and sentenced to life in prison plus 40 years. Syed is incarcerated at the states Patuxent Institution in Jessup. He has appealed multiple times and has always maintained he is innocent.

Circuit Judge Melissa Phinns order Monday requires Baltimore police to send a handful of items recovered in the investigation to the Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in Hayward, California, within 15 days.

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While the judge deferred to the labs experts and Syeds lawyer to determine the type of DNA analysis, she said the testing must be conducted in a manner generally accepted in the scientific community for forensic criminal identification. The results will be run through the FBIs criminal justice DNA databases, known as CODIS, or the Combined DNA Index System.

Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. >

Phinns order marks the latest twist in a more-than-two-decade legal saga that was propelled to international prominence when it was examined by the hit podcast Serial beginning in 2014. Other podcasts and an HBO series brought more attention to Syeds case.

Syeds lawyer, Erica J. Suter, director of the University of Baltimore Innocence Project Clinic, argued in the joint motion with prosecutors that the absence of her clients DNA on the items tested could persuade a judge or jury that Syed didnt commit the murder. She asked for what is known as touch DNA analysis, as well as examinations to determine whether a DNA profile can be identified and to test for the profiles of people born as men.

Touch DNA refers to the forensic footprint, skin cells or bodily fluids, someone leaves behind when they touch something.

Results can be interpreted to different effects, however. The Maryland Office of the Attorney General in 2018 oversaw the DNA analysis of evidence in Syeds case  fingernail clippings, blood samples and a condom  and none of the samples tested positive of Syed. His lawyers argued that was proof he didnt kill Lee, while prosecutors said it didnt prove anything.

Items being tested under Phinns order werent tested during the state attorney generals review.

The idea for the latest testing came up when Suter contacted the Baltimore States Attorneys Offices Sentencing Review Unit about Syeds case this past spring after the state passed a law enabling those convicted of crimes as youths to petition for a sentence modification. In that review, city prosecutors agreed that forensic analysis unavailable at the time of Syeds trial would be appropriate for his post-conviction claims.

DNA analysis has come a long way during the past 23 years, experts say. DNA analysis used to require a large sample to identify a profile; over time, the tests became more and more sensitive.
A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to a man who was arrested by the Delhi Police on February 16 for allegedly trying to enter the residence of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain on Wednesday while granting bail to Shashi Dhar Reddy in the matter said, "Considering the nature of allegations, the background of accused and the fact that accused is in custody since February 16 and no more is required for investigation, the accused/ applicant Shakti Dhar Reddy is admitted to bail after him furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs. 50,000 with one surety in the like amount." Advocates Anubhav Tyagi, Kuldeep Jauhari, Karan Ahuja, Sagar Mehlawat and Hemant Kumar, counsels for accused Shakti Dhar Reddy submitted that the case against the accused is that he deliberately banged his car at the entrance gate of NSA's residence; however, nobody was injured in this case. Also, the said accident was caused only because the car got out of his control and there was no 'mens rea' (intention) to injure anybody or to damage the property. This accused has no criminal antecedents. Furthermore, he is in custody since February 16 and is no more required for investigation, argued the lawyers. Additional Public Prosecutor Ravindra Kumar, appearing for Delhi Police submitted that during the investigation the accused was not found to have any criminal antecedents and also appears to be "psycho". However, he is no more required to be in custody by investigative agencies for further investigation. (ANI)
"The Aam Aadmi Party was born out of deceit, they deceived the Anna Hazare's agitation in Delhi. People of Punjab have selected them, let's see if they are able to fulfill their promises in the coming years or they fail to do so," said Haryana Minister Anil Vij to ANI today.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party's National Convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, on Wednesday, congratulated Bhagwant Mann and expressed confidence that under Mann's leadership, prosperity will return to Punjab.

"Many many congratulations and best wishes to Bhagwant Mann on becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab. I am sure that under your leadership, prosperity will return to Punjab. There will be a lot of progress and people's problems will be solved. God is with you," tweeted Kejriwal in Hindi.

Mann on Wednesday was administered the oath by Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

A grand ceremony of the swearing-in was organized in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

The AAP registered a landslide victory in recently concluded Punjab Assembly polls, winning 92 seats, pushing most of its rivals to the margins. (ANI)
The government on Wednesday informed that India needs 1.3 to 1.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2030. "Due consultations were held for finalizing India's approach for negotiations at COP-21 and prior to signing the Paris Agreement. As per Economic Survey, the demand for coal is expected to remain in the range of 1.3-1.5 billion tonnes by 2030," Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said, "Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India and accounts for 55 per cent of the country's energy need. Commercial primary energy consumption in India has grown by about 700 per cent in the last four decades. The current per capita commercial primary energy consumption in India is about 350 kgoe/year. Coal is not only the primary source of energy in the country but is also used as an intermediary by many industries such as steel, sponge iron, cement, paper, brick-kilns etc." He added, "Similarly, with an increase in growth of industries using coal, their demand for coal has also been increasing; hence, there has been an overall increase in the demand for coal over the years." The Union Minister said that being an affordable source of energy with substantial reserve, coal is going to stay a major source of energy in the foreseeable future. "Despite the push for renewables, the country will require base load capacity of coal-based generation for stability and also for energy security," he said. Overarching decisions titled 'Glasgow Climate Pact' reflect the agreement between parties with regard to coal and fossil fuel subsidies. "'Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low emission energy systems, including by rapidly scaling up the deployment of clean power generation and energy efficiency measures, including accelerating efforts towards the phasedown of unabated coal power and phase-out of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, while providing targeted support to the poorest and most vulnerable in line with National circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition'," he said. He said that it is evident that above paragraph is not mandating the phase down of coal power, and it is not setting any timelines for the phase down. Further, the paragraph is only 'calling upon' Parties to accelerate efforts towards the phase down of unabated coal power in line with national circumstances and recognizing the need for support towards a just transition. Paris Agreement is a multilateral treaty for combating climate change. Accordingly, while India has committed to clean energy; the pace of transition to cleaner energy sources in India is to be viewed in the light of national circumstances, and principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, the transfer of climate finance and low cost climate technologies, he said. (ANI)
Maharashtra Finance Minister Ajit Pawar said that the central government should provide tax relief for the 'Kashmir Files', instead of asking states to waive off tax on the recently released film. Pawar, who is also the deputy chief minister was on Wednesday replying to a debate on the annual budget for 2022-23 in the state assembly said that many ruling and opposition legislators had asked the Maharashtra government to make the film tax free. "Many BJP MLAs have asked the state government to make the tax free the movie 'Kashmir Files'. Some have written a letter to CM Uddhav Thackeray also in this regard and even to me," Pawar said. BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha had yesterday raised the demand for making the move tax free in Legislative Assembly. Pawar mentioned that previously several movies such as 'Tanaji' and 'Super 30' were provided tax relief in Maharashtra. "I have also heard that PM has also spoken on about the movie Kashmir Files. If the decision is taken, it will apply to the entire country, even from Jammu and Kashmir to Kanyakumari the film will be tax-free,'' Pawar said. 'The Kashmir Files' starring Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and Mithun Chakraborty among others revolves around the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and has been directed by Vivek Agnihotri, known for films like 'Tashkent Files', 'Hate Story' and 'Buddha in a Traffic Jam'. (ANI)
The Congress on Wednesday accused the Centre of not presenting full facts before the Supreme Court in the case concerning One Rank, One Pension (OROP) and said the BJP-led had "refused to implement" the order issued by Congress-led UPA government in 2014. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala accused the BJP government of "betraying" the interests of ex-servicemen and posed some questions. "OROP Denied - it is now "One Rank, Five Pensions"! Ex Servicemen and Armed Forces betrayed by our own Govt, which opposed right of persons holding the same rank, with the same length of service to get same pension, irrespective of date of retirement," Surejwala said in a tweet. "PM and Raksha Mantri ji, Pl answer - 1. Why did you deny and oppose #OROP in Supreme Court? 2. Why are you refusing to implement the order dated 24th April, 2014 issued by UPA-Cong Govt giving OROP?" he added. He said the BJP-led government had "rejected Koshiyari Committee recommendations on OROP before Supreme Court. " Why did you disown (then) Finance Minister P Chidambaram's speech of Feb 17,2014 in Parliament endorsing Koshiyari Committee, in the Supreme Court?" he asked. Surjewala said the government had told the Supreme Court that the Minutes of Meeting of February 26, 2014 chaired by then Defence Minister A K Antony "didn't constitute a decision of the government". "Why was this done before Court to deny relief to armed forces?"he asked. He asked if the promise of OROP "made with much bravado in Uttrakhand-U.P-Punjab a mere facade for vote-catching and to be denied in Supreme Court?" He said the government should implement OROP as per UPA-Congress Govt's decision of April 24, 2014. The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that there was no constitutional infirmity in the One Rank One Pension policy introduced by the government. A three-judge Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath said that definition, as argued by the petitioner, is not found to be arbitrary. The Court said that it does not find any constitutional infirmity on the OROP principle and the notification dated November 7, 2015. The Court disposed of the petition filed by the Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement seeking implementation of OROP in the defence forces. The petitioner had questioned the Central government's notification dated November 7, 2015. (ANI)
Tirunelveli district police superintendent P. Saravanan in a statement on Wednesday said that the Dindigul police team cornered Murugan in a robbery-related case at Kalakad in Tirunelveli.

Murugan attacked the police and Sub Inspector of the Dindigul police team. In response the police fired one round at him which killed the notorious gangster on the spot.

Police said that four cops received injuries in heads and faces after they were attacked with a billhook by Murugan and Sub Inspector Isakki Raja had to fire in self-defence.

Superintendent of Police of Tirunelveli district, Saravanan said that Murugan had attacked police earlier also and was a notorious criminal involved in robberies, quotation attacks as well as encroachment of properties.

Kalakkad police registered a case and further investigation is on.

Murugan's body is sent for postmortem at the Tirunelveli Government Medical College hospital.

Murugan had more than 60 criminal cases including murder against him in various districts of Tamil Nadu and a video of him forcing a school teacher to part with her gold ornaments went viral after being recorded by a passerby.

--IANS aal/skp/

( 218 Words)

2022-03-16-19:18:04 (IANS)
The BSF in an official statement issued on Wednesday said, "Movement of two Pakistani fishing boats and four-five Pakistani fishermen was observed by the troops of BSF Bhuj while patrolling in the Sir Creek area."

The troops immediately rushed to the spot after crossing swamps and brooks on foot, the statement added.

"The Pakistani fishermen on observing the BSF troops coming towards them fled into the Pakistani territory taking advantage of marshy terrain. The BSF troops chased them and seized two Pakistani fishing boats, 1.5 kilometers inside the Indian territory," said the BSF.

"The seized boats were thoroughly searched but nothing suspicious has been recovered from the boat except for fishing nets and fishing equipment. A thorough search of the area has been launched and nothing suspicious recovered from the area as yet," it added. (ANI)
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the arrests were made in 45,314 cases registered by law enforcement agencies.

Citing provisional data of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), he said while 99.36 per cent of those arrested were Indians, 0.64 per cent were foreign nationals.

The minister was replying to a question about the number of cases registered for drug trafficking in the country during the last one year along with the percentage of Indian nationals and foreign nationals involved in the cases. (ANI)
A court here on Wednesday granted bail to a man who was arrested by the Delhi Police after ramming his vehicle into the high-security gates of the residence of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain granted bail to Shakti Dhar Reddy after hearing arguments from both sides. Advocates Anubhav Tyagi, Kuldeep Jauhari, Karan Ahuja, Sagar Mehlawat, and Hemant Kumar appeared for the accused. The accused's counsel said, as per the case, the accused deliberately banged his car in the entrance gate of Bungalow No 5, Janpath road, but nobody was injured and the said accident occurred because the car got out of his control and he has no mens rea to injure anybody or to damage the property. "This accused has no criminal antecedents. Furthermore, he is in custody since February 16, and is no more required for investigation," counsel argued. The Additional Public Prosecutor said during the investigation, it was found that the accused has no criminal antecedents, and appears to be a "psycho" but also agreed that the accused is no more required for probe. After the submissions, the court granted bail to the accused and also asked him to furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety in the like amount. On February 16, the Bengaluru-based man was detained by the Delhi Police following the incident. Doval was present at the residence when the man tried to drive a red-coloured SUV through the high-security gate. However, the vehicle was intercepted and the man nabbed by the guards and later handed over to the police. --IANS jw/vd ( 284 Words) 2022-03-16-19:38:03 (IANS)
As per data available in the online citizenship module, 10 applications of Chinese nationals are pending for grant of citizenship, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question asked by DMK's Tiruchi Siva on asylum and citizenship requests of communities from China, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongolians since 2019.

"Only nationality-wise data is maintained. Community-wise data is not maintained," he said.

Officials in the Ministry, however, said that the government has not offered asylum to the Uyghur community, which faces repression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

The minister also said that all foreign nationals (including asylum seekers) are governed by the provisions contained in The Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and The Citizenship Act, 1955.

He also said that India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon and that also the data on requests for asylum is not centrally maintained.

--IANS ams/vd

( 218 Words)

2022-03-16-19:48:04 (IANS)
Some state government jobs will no longer require applicants to have a four-year college degree under a new initiative announced by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Tuesday to expand job opportunities.

Thousands of state jobs in every department will be open to applicants with relevant experience and training, particularly in the information technology, administrative and customer-service sectors, which previously required a college degree. The workforce development initiative comes as the state is experiencing a record number of job vacancies, which is creating issues across state agencies, according to the Department of Legislative Services.

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The state has more than 8,600 vacant positions within the executive branch. The Maryland Department of Health and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services each have a 14% vacancy rate, and numerous other departments have vacancy rates of 10% or higher.

Positions that have the highest vacancy rates include parole and probation agents, correctional officers, case managers for juvenile services, registered nurses, social workers, nursing assistants, vocational rehabilitation specialists, IT and fiscal services.

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The state government is one of Marylands largest employers with more than 38,000 workers.

The Maryland Department of Budget and Management estimates that more than half of all government jobs can be staffed by workers with relevant skills, rather than a college degree. Under the initiative, more than 300 state government jobs currently are open to applicants without a bachelors degree who are active in the labor force, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and have developed skills through community college, apprenticeships, military service, boot camps or previous job experience.

We really want an economy where if you can do the job, you can get the job. And if you can learn new valuable skills, you can earn more, said Byron Auguste, co-founder and CEO of Opportunity@Work, at a news conference.

Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. >

Augustes nonprofit will partner with the state budget and management department to identify eligible workers for state jobs.

Out of more than 2.8 million workers in Maryland, more than 1.3 million, or 47%, are considered skilled by relevant experience that does not include a four-year college degree. Nationally, the demographic of workers who are skilled through alternative routes is 61% Black and 55% Hispanic; 66% are rural workers of all races, and 61% are veterans, according to data provided by a state spokesman.

Through these efforts that were launching today, we are ensuring qualified, non-degree candidates are regularly being considered for these career-changing opportunities, Hogan said at a news conference.

Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Council 3, said that the union, which represents the majority of the states public workers, was blindsided by Hogans announcement. Union leaders expressed disappointment over Hogans decision not to consult the union about ways to improve employee recruitment and retention in a staffing crisis.

It is unfortunate that the Hogan administration is deskilling state services. This is another poor attempt to suppress wages and reduce the quality of state services in Maryland, Moran said in a statement. Thousands of state employees worked hard to gain the knowledge and skill set to gain state employment and work for the people of Maryland only to have the Hogan administration pull the rug out from under them.

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Salaries and job standards would be not lowered by hiring candidates without a bachelors degree, Hogan said. The governors spokesman took issue with Morans criticism.

This initiative will likely do more to help open doors and expand opportunities for state workers than anything Pat Moran has ever done, the spokesman, Mike Ricci, said.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday slammed party leader Kapil Sibal for his "ghar ki Congress" remark and said he should set an example of doing something "without the support of Congress". Choudhary also hit out at G-23 leaders, saying they are not in a habit of staying in power. Chowdhury said Sibal, a former union minister, owes his rise in politics to Congress. "Kapil Sibal kahan ke neta hain mujhe pata nahi (where he is leader from, it is known)," Chowdhury told ANI. "Things were good when he was a minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government now when UPA is not in power he is feeling bad," Chowdhury added. Sibal is a member of Group of 23'in Congress, which in the past has called for sweeping reforms in the party including election at various levels. "I don't know what's his (Kapil Sibal's) mass base. He should set an example that he can do something without the support of Congress, fight for his ideology on their own, otherwise what is the outcome of just giving interviews while sitting in an AC room," Chowdhury said. "They (G23) don't have a habit of staying out of power. That is why they're trying to save themselves while criticising," he added. Sibal had made "ghar ki Congress" remark during an interview in which he had also said that he was not surprised by results in five state elections and the leadership should have worked out a plan for party's rejuvenation. Two members of G-23, who are part of the Congress Working Committee, had taken part in its meeting held on Sunday to take stock of election results. In a statement released after the meeting, the CWC unanimously reaffirmed its faith in the leadership of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and requested her "to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges". Sonia Gandhi had on Tuesday sought the resignations of state party chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country.The party is slated to elect a new party chief later this year at the culmination of organisational elections. (ANI)
In a tough and unprecedented measure, the Maharashtra government has decided to cancel the recognition of any school from which examination paper leakages come to light, School Education Minister Prof. Varsha Gaikwad said on Wednesday. After the SSC Marathi exam paper allegedly leaked earlier this week, the state government clamped down and derecognised the Laxmibai Secondary and Higher Secondary School, Nilajgaon, where there were allegations of mass-copying. Announcing the strong decisions in the Maharashtra Legislature, Prof. Gaikwad said that henceforth, all students must reach their examination venues at least one hour before the scheduled paper. The candidate must compulsorily be seated inside the exam hall 10 minutes before the start of any exams - at 10.20 a.m. for the 10.30 a.m. paper, and at 2.50 p.m. for the 3 p.m. paper. "Under no circumstances shall any candidate be permitted to enter the exam halls after the examinations begin at 10.30 a.m. or 3 p.m. All parents and students must take note of this and cooperate with the authorities," she said. However, those entering the exam hall after 10.20 a.m. or 2.50 p.m. - owing to circumstances beyond their control - would undergo a complete check before they are permitted to write the exams to ensure their future is not affected, the Minister assured. Simultaneously, all schools have been ordered to ensure that students do not misuse their mobile phones, click pictures of the question paper distributed at 10.30 am and 2.50 p.m. (for reading) and strictly prohibit the use of phones in the exam halls. Reacting to the government decision, Maharashtra English Schools Trustees Association (MESTA) Founder-President Sanjayrao T. Patil said that though welcome, the move appears to be misdirected. "During the SSC/HSC exams, the schools are taken over by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Examination, with their own examiners, invigilators, vigilance, officers, etc., students are outsiders, and the schools merely act as facilitators to help them conduct the exams. So, in case of a paper leakage, how can the schools be held liable?" Patil told IANS. The MESTA founder-head urged that the government should keep a check on all the authorities engaged in conducting the exams to ensure the rules are stringently followed by all to prevent paper leakage or mass-copying instead of targeting the schools which are only 'exam centres' offering their premises for the conduct of exams. --IANS qn/vd ( 403 Words) 2022-03-16-20:18:03 (IANS)
The leaders would suggest organisational changes after interacting from MLA candidates and important leaders.

Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil will oversee Goa, Jairam Ramesh Manipur, Ajay Maken Punjab, Jitender Singh Uttar Pradesh and Avinash Pandey Uttarakhand.

The development comes just one day after the state unit chiefs of these states were asked to tender resignation by the Congress president.

The step came even as the Congress dissenters, called the 'G23 group', are meeting at senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence to chalk out their strategy after the humiliating defeat of the party.

Sonia Gandhi in the meeting of the Congress Working Committee - the party's highest decision-making body -- on Sunday offered to step back from the leadership along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, but her offer was rejected by the CWC members.

--IANS uj/vd

( 178 Words)

2022-03-16-21:56:03 (IANS)
Its likely that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will also be present at this meeting.

On Wednesday, 'G-23' leaders met at Azad's residence to chalked out their strategy ahead of the meeting.

Apart from the initial members, some more leaders including Mani Shankar Aiyar, Patiala MP and former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur, senior leader P.J. Kurien, former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Raj Babbar, and Kuldeep Sharma were also seen arriving at Azad's residence for the meeting.

Shankarsinh Vaghela and Sandeep Dikshit were also taking part.

Vaghela has been in the Congress in the past but his present status is not clear.

The meeting is being held to devise the further strategy after the CWC endorsed Sonia Gandhi's leadership. The group has already reached out to the like-minded leaders within the Congress.

The Congress President on Tuesday removed state chiefs of five states and after which loyalists started targeting the dissenters.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at Kapil Sibal that he does not know the "ABCD of Congress", and is an outsider who was given everything from the party.

However, talking to IANS, Dikshit said: "The Congress President should have accessibility, acceptability and accountability."

--IANS miz/vd

( 258 Words)

2022-03-16-22:34:04 (IANS)
Chinese companies having interests in the import and distribution of various products, including electro-mechanical equipment, textile and apparel processing, are intending to make the move.

A team of Chinese companies' representatives is likely to visit Bangladesh for a feasibility study and work out its operation plans for setting up its business in Bangladesh. They propose to interact with the Bangladesh Economic Zone officials and also visit 4 Economic Zones.

Notably, 36 Chinese nationals were killed and 26 injured in a terrorist attack in Pakistan on July 14 2021. The July 2021 incident that impacted bilateral ties was a suicide attack on a bus that was carrying workers to the worksite of the Dasu Hydropower Project.

Pakistan initially sought to play it down as an accident but the Chinese government intervened, issued a terse statement demanding that the terror aspect be also probed and secured a joint probe that established it as a terror attack. (ANI)
The ministry further informed that the Indian embassy in Moscow facilitated the transit and accommodation of these citizens.

"Three Indians stranded in Kherson have been evacuated via Simferopol and Moscow. They boarded their flight from Moscow a short while ago. @IndEmbMoscow facilitated their transit and accommodation en route," tweeted MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday told Rajya Sabha that 22,500 Indian citizens have been safely evacuated from war-torn Ukraine under Operation Ganga.

Jaishankar further said 150 foreign nationals of 18 countries were also evacuated from conflict zones and brought to India in line with India's principle of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'

Among the foreign nationals evacuated are India's immediate neighbours like Bangladesh and Nepal, said the Minister, adding that under Operation Ganga, 90 flights have been operated, out of which 76 were civilian flights and 14 were Indian Air-force flights. (ANI)
Iranian state television reported on Monday that its security forces have also reportedly made several arrests in the case, reported HAARETZ.

The Israeli spy agency, Mossad had also recruited a neighbour of a facility technician, who underwent special training to carry out the operation, the report stated.

Iran has accused Israel of carrying out several attacks on facilities linked to its nuclear program and of killing its nuclear scientists over the past years. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations, reported HAARETZ.

On Sunday Iran fired as many as 12 missiles toward the US consulate in Iraq's northern city of Erbil, Iraqi security officials said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards released a statement later on Sunday saying they were targeting Israeli "strategic centres" in Erbil, state media reported.

"Any repetition of attacks by Israel will be met with a harsh, decisive and destructive response," the statement added, reported HAARETZ.

Israel killed two Iranian members of the Revolutionary Guards in an airstrike earlier this week in Syria vowing to "make the Zionist regime pay for this crime."

Meanwhile, the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal is in its final stages with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying on Thursday that America was "close to a possible deal -- it's really down to a very small number of outstanding issues." (ANI)
Pakistan navy's deep security concerns were rejected over speedy completion of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. The Pakistan Navy has to vacate 20 acres of prime land in Gwadar after the Cabinet Committee that oversees all CPEC-related work in Pakistan decided against the Navy, reported European Times. Pakistan navy had pleaded that "the geographical dictates make Shamba Ismail the only central advantageous location for seaward security, response generation". A report in the Express Tribune says that the committee has overridden the PN's plea made after a detailed study and analysis that forcefully concludes that the "sole purpose" for which it wants to retain the land with seafront "is to ensure timely response for the defence and security of Gwadar Port against the ubiquitous asymmetric threat, according to the Ministry of Defence." The "ubiquitous asymmetric threat" is not spelt, but analysts say this pertains to an adversarial India that blockaded the Karachi port and throttled the PN's naval capacities during the 1971 conflict. That threat persists even though the overall security situation has altered with the growing Chinese presence at Gwadar, reported European Times. Besides, Gwadar's location at the mouth of the Gulf, barely 100 km from Iran's Chabahar port and the continuing tensions in the region make it necessary for the PN to retain its limited capacity to man vantage positions, these analysts say. Clearing up hurdles and speeding up projects under the CPEC has been taken up post-haste by the Cabinet Committee, headed by Planning Minister Asad Umar, also politically close to Prime Minister Imran Khan, especially after their Beijing visit in the first week of this month, reported European Times. The Chinese Government, as also the Chinese companies engaged in the CPEC projects had lodged several complaints with the Pakistani team. It is apparent that Khan and his government are burying all objections by the domestic stakeholders to ensure the CPEC's work. Of the many decisions taken by the Committee, the one on Gwadar has a long history. The PN had surrendered 500 of the 572 acres of land in its possession from 2015 onwards. The delay in getting the land vacated slowed down work on Gwadar Free Zone and Gwadar East Bay Expressway -the two projects that were very critical for the full functioning of Gwadar Port, showed official documents, reported European Times. (ANI)
"To make sure Putin and his enablers are held accountable, Canada has imposed severe sanctions on 15 more Russian officials - including government and military elites who are complicit in this illegal war," Trudeau said in a tweet.

The Canadian Prime Minister added that the sanctions being imposed are in line with Canada's European Union partners, and they bring the total number of individuals and entities sanctioned by Canada since Russia's invasion of Ukraine to nearly 500.

The latest round of sanctions targets deputy commander in chief of the navy Vladimir Kasatonov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Federal Guard Service Director Dmitry Kochnev, and Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov among others, reported Sputnik News Agency.

"These new measures impose restrictions on 15 Russian officials who enabled and supported President [Vladimir] Putin's choice to invade a peaceful and sovereign country," Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.

In response to the sanctions, Russia is imposing counter-sanctions against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and over 300 lawmakers, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Moscow also imposed sanctions against Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Defense Minister Anita Anand, Sputnik reported.

Earlier, Russia had imposed sanctions against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials.

The slew of sanctions against Russia come after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 on the pretext of "demilitarising" and "denazifying" Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine has caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with thousands of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries to the west of Ukraine for shelter. (ANI)
China has emerged as a key financial player in Iraq amid its policy of fostering deeper economic ties with the Middle East in recent years. Valentin Popescu, writing in a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG) said that China is strategically leveraging Iraqi reconstruction efforts by building energy and connectivity infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). It is also constructing schools and opening language training centres in Iraqi Universities. With the end of the US combat mission in Iraq, Beijing is pushing its energy projects with Baghdad under the BRI with overall investment to the tune of USD 10.5 billion, making Iraq the third most important partner of Chinese energy engagement. Chinese companies, Power Corporation of China and Sinotech, are currently finalizing the sub-contracting to build 1000 schools in Iraq under the 'oil for reconstruction' programme signed with the Iraqi government in December 2021, reported POREG. Beijing is also promoting the Chinese language and culture in Iraq. The Chinese Language Department in Salahaddin University, Erbil, offers language training and education to Iraqi students and also conducts events that create a positive image of China. These efforts are apparently part of Beijing's policy of fostering deeper economic ties with Middle East countries by taking advantage of a growing perception among Arab leaders that the US is disengaging from the region, said Popescu. It is also attributed to Beijing's growing appetite for Middle Eastern energy and increasing trade with the Gulf States. Iraq is already the third-biggest exporter of oil to China. Baghdad appears more than willing to receive Chinese investment to help upgrade war-ravaged and decaying infrastructure. Beijing views Iraq as a less controversial investment destination in the region with a great deal of untapped potential and easy access. For China, the Iraqi government and people are easier to negotiate and to do business as the country is trying hard to rebuild infrastructure and push up economic growth. China also sees Iraq as a fertile base for its expansion plan in the Middle East, said Popescu. (ANI)
Baltimore County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins said Monday that she will not seek another term after representing the countys 6th District for more than a decade.

I have spent my life dedicated to public service, first handling constituent services for former County Executive Jim Smith then as a member of the Baltimore County Council, she wrote in a letter posted to her Facebook page. Now it is time for a new chapter in my life, and I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to focus on my family.

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Bevins, a Democrat, found herself in hot water last year after moving to a home outside her district  a violation of the county charter. Bevins said she made a mistake and acted on erroneous advice from the councils legislative attorney. To rectify the issue, Bevins said she moved into a rented apartment in the 6th District.

Bevins statement about her resignation did not reference the matter, and she did not respond to a request for comment.

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Bevins, first elected to the council in 2010, is the first woman in county history to serve as council chairwoman three times. Her term ends in December.

Cathy Bevins has been a dedicated advocate for her district for years, consistently delivering for those she represents on the county council, County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. wrote in a statement included in Bevins letter. On behalf of our residents, I thank her for her tireless service.

In 2019, Bevins was assigned police protection after voting in favor of an anti-discrimination housing bill that prohibited county landlords from rejecting renters solely because they use federal housing vouchers. Bevins, who had voted against the measure years earlier, received threats and saw her personal information posted online after the favorable vote. In an interview at the time, Bevins called the approval overdue.

In her statement, Bevins called her tenure on the council a true privilege.

As a little girl growing up in Dundalk I never imagined that I would ever be a member of the Baltimore County Council, she wrote. It has not always been easy, but it has always been incredibly rewarding.

In a statement included in Bevins letter, Councilman Tom Quirk, who already has announced he will not seek reelection, applauded her tenacity.

We came into office at the same time and we are now leaving together, the 1st District Democrat wrote. Ive always found Cathy to be true to her word and she never ran away even when significant pressure would come.

So far, Democrat Caitlin Klimm-Kellner and Republican Tony Campbell have filed to run for the 6th District seat. The statewide candidate filing deadline is April 15.

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Campbell commended Bevins years of service but said that her issues with residency represented a lack of accountability in county government.

Afternoon Update Weekdays Updating you on the day's biggest news before the evening commute. >

That will unfortunately be her tie to the ending of her time in office, said Campbell, a political science professor at Towson University who previously ran unsuccessfully to represent Maryland in the U.S. Senate.

Without an incumbent in the race, the door may open a bit wider for fresh faces, said Campbell, whos running a campaign focused on improving public safety by bolstering the police department.

It may make it easier reaching out to folks, he said of Bevins departure. But you still have to make your case.

The countys redistricting process also could shake up the race. Under the countys new district map, currently before a judge after a legal challenge, Democrat Mike Ertel also would be running in the 6th District, rather than in the 5th District against Republican David Marks.

Ertel, who won a three-person Democratic primary in the 5th District back in 2010, lost the seat to Marks. Therefore, the prospect of running in a race with no incumbent is exciting, Ertel said, and the new 6th District lines would allow him to represent areas closer to where he grew up  Baltimores Hamilton neighborhood.

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Ertel previously served as president of the Towson Communities Alliance and on the board of trustees of the Community College of Baltimore County.

I think were ripe for some new leadership in the county, he said. And I feel like I really understand a lot of those issues well, being on the community side of it.
The Taliban who were helped by Pakistan to rein in Afghanistan is now seeking to destabilise Pakistan's democracy empowering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that is battling Islamabad, working to launch a 'jihad' in Pakistan. A report in The Friday Times of March 13 showed hand-written leaflets distributed by the TTP in Afghanistan seeking donations for waging 'Jihad' in Pakistan, where it is outlawed. These 'donations' are being sought in Afghanistan's Khost and Kunar provinces, where the group has managed to remobilise following the Afghan Taliban's return to power. Journalists from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have reported that the TTP is raising funds from southern Afghanistan. The social media is awash with their circulation, causing concern among the local people, reported The Times of Israel. Confirming the fundraising, a TTP source told journalist Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, "We're doing what our brothers (Afghan Taliban) used to do (collect donations) in Pakistan". What really counts is the Taliban-TTP co-existence and collusion at Pakistan's expense and also that of security and peace in the region. More than the money, the cause of concern to Islamabad is the rise of terror attacks across Pakistan attributed to the TTP in recent months, confirming that not only the TTP, but other terror groups are also reassembling in Afghanistan, reported The Times of Israel. Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid has acknowledged that the TTP had ramped up its attacks across the country after a brief month-long ceasefire that collapsed on December 9, 2021. Efforts to reach a peace pact since, with the help of Wazir, Mehsud and Dawar tribes from North and South Waziristan have failed. Thus, an embarrassed Islamabad that advocates the Afghan Taliban's cause globally, urging the latter to rush humanitarian aid, is having to deal with the Taliban despite their tacit support to the TTP. For the first time early this year, Pakistan issued a formal statement charging the Afghan authorities with allowing terror groups on its soil to operate. Kabul promptly denied the charge. The hope was, with a new friendly government in Afghanistan, Pakistan would get more help than in the past," said Michael Kugelman of the Washington DC-based Wilson Center in an interview with FRANCE 24. Instead, "there are signs of intensified security risks. We're seeing a resurgence of the Pakistani Taliban, as well as Baloch separatist groups intensifying attacks," he noted. The Pakistani accusation of Afghan soil being used for cross-border terrorism came days after a UN terrorism monitoring report said the Taliban had failed to take "steps to limit the activities of foreign terrorist fighters in the country". The report, by the UN Security Council's monitoring team for Al Qaeda, the Islamic State (IS) group and their affiliates, noted that "On the contrary, terrorist groups enjoy greater freedom there (Afghanistan) than at any time in recent history." To the chagrin of Islamabad that had hoped to effectively tackle the TTP once the Taliban took Kabul, the new rulers have washed their hands off saying it was Pakistan's "internal matter," reported The Times of Israel. Pakistan in the past was able to partially tackle the TTP fighters hiding in Afghanistan during the earlier regimes in Kabul with the American intelligence and the US providing drone and missile strikes. Post the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, targeting the TTP is no longer an American priority. Pakistan cannot risk any action across the border -which is disputed and has been a source of tensions ever since the Durand line was drawn by the British Indian rulers in agreement with the then Afghan king, to demarcate their commercial interests. The tribes of "Pashtunistan" who consider this line as a colonial relic that divides their homeland, do not support Pakistan's army presence here. This is also the part of the border where the Taliban soldiers have clashed with the Pakistani Rangers when the latter attempted to erect a border fence in December. Pakistani creation is now putting at risk Pakistan's democracy and security and taking all of South Asia with it. As Shakespeare summarised in Macbeth "Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return To plague the inventor". (ANI)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is concerned that Russia may use chemical weapons in a 'false flag' attack in Ukraine, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. He was speaking at the press conference at NATO headquarter. Stoltenberg said, "We are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation possibly including chemical weapons, in Ukraine." "Any support to Russia military or any other type of support will actually how pressure conducts a brutal war against in... Ukraine and help them to continue to rage war which is causing death, suffering and anonymous amount of destruction," he added. "All of this sends an unmistakable message. An attack on one Ally will be met with a decisive response from the whole Alliance. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and its military integration with Belarus, create a new security reality on the European continent. So we need to reset our military posture for this new reality. Tomorrow, ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term, in all domains," he added. NATO leaders will meet in Brussels on March 24 to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the alliance's chief wrote on Twitter. "I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at NATO HQ," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote. "We will address Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together." NATO's main purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means, according to NATO's website. (ANI)
The United States on Tuesday (local time) said India would not be violating US sanctions by purchasing discounted Russian oil but added that such a move would put the world's largest democracy on the "wrong side of history". Asked about the reports of India considering a Russian offer to buy crude oil and other commodities at discount prices a week after the US banned all Russian energy imports, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Joe Biden administration's message would be for countries to abide by US sanctions. "I don't believe this would be violating that, but also think about where you want to stand," Psaki said. "When the history books are written at this moment in time, support for Russia - the Russian leadership - is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact". India has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from voting at the United Nations calling out Russia's aggression. US officials have said in recent weeks they would like India to distance itself from Russia as much as possible, while also recognizing its heavy reliance on Moscow for everything from arms and ammunition to missiles and fighter jets. Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri in a phone call that the country is keen to increase its oil and petroleum product exports to India along with Indian investments in the Russian oil sector, according to a statement issued by Moscow. A Russian government release last week had said that Russia's oil and petroleum product exports to India have approached USD 1 billion, and there are clear opportunities to increase this figure. "We expect to continue cooperating in the development of peaceful nuclear power, in particular, in building the nuclear power units at Kudankulam," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying in the statement following a phone conversation with Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. According to some media reports on Monday, India's largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, purchased 3 million barrels of Russian crude oil, the first such transaction since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February. India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer and one of the few countries not to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, currently imports 80 per cent of its oil, but only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of those purchases come from Russia. (ANI)
Dozens of women protesters held anti-Taliban demonstrations in Afghanistan on Monday as they distanced themselves from prominent women's rights activist Fatima Gailani, stating that she does not represent them. Fatima Gailani is the daughter of the late Ahmed Gailani, leader of one of the mujahideen resistance groups that fought the Soviet invasion in 1979. Fatima Gailani is also a member of the negotiating team for women's rights in Afghanistan. "Fatima Gailani is not our representative, do not recognize the Taliban," one of the female protesters was quoted as saying by Aamaj News. Since seizing power in August year, the Taliban have rolled back women's rights in virtually every area, including crushing women's freedom of movement. Media reports say the vast majority of girls' secondary schools are closed. "Universities recently reopened, with new gender segregation rules. But many women are unable to return, in part because the career they studied for is off limits now as the Taliban banned women from most jobs," the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a press statement. With the new rules in place, women and girls are blocked from accessing health care as some healthcare facilities require them to bring a mahram, the rights group said. This protest came a few days after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last week underlined the need to empower women in Afghanistan, saying that they are "not passive bystanders" and should contribute to the future of their country. Delivering a statement on Women's Rights in Afghanistan, Bachelet said women of this country are often portrayed in the international fora and media as victims. "In fact, Afghan women have - in the face of war, extreme poverty and unspeakable violence and discrimination - been working tirelessly to protect and provide for their families and communities," she said. The UN rights chief stated how Afghan women have been attacked for speaking up and excluded from positions of power and decision-making. "They are not passive bystanders," Bachelet said. For this Afghanistan to find peace and progress, Bachelet argued that Afghan women should be active agents for change and be given the space to lead peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development processes. (ANI)
As the people in Tibet commemorated the 63rd year of Tibetan Uprising Day, demonstrations were held across the world this week to echo the voice of Tibetans seeking justice following decades of struggle against Chinese rule. On March 10, 63rd Tibetan Uprising Day was commemorated in Tibet. Chinese military vehicles were out in the streets of Lhasa where the Tibetan's vehicles were being stopped and people who were just passing by were also being interrogated for their own assurance, Tibetan Press reported citing Radio Free Asia. The Chinese communist government has tightened the security and surveillance inside Tibet and great measures were taken to halt any movement or protest. To monitor the situation, the Chinese authorities hired unemployed Tibetans who resided in the outskirts of Lhasa and also asked them to inform the communist officials about any suspicious talk or movement. Chinese communist authorities started the hiring process of these workers in February and they were sent mostly to Lhasa and Shigatse, the two biggest cities of that region. These people are offered to be paid more if they would provide any useful information to the Chinese officials, according to Tibet Press. Surveillance cameras were installed in the Jokhang Temple and people were made to register their entries and led on with strict coverage. The lack of basic human rights is apparent from all these impositions which have gone on for decades and have also increased with time and become more severe on various levels. The Tibetan uprising in 1959 began as a spontaneous act of peaceful protest demonstrations against the Chinese in the capital Lhasa which later turned violent in which thousands of Tibetans were killed by the marauding soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). (ANI)
As part of the international campaign, different zones of the Baloch National Movement plans to protest internationally.

The protest will be held in London, the capital city of the United Kingdom and Busan, South Korea.

Taking to Twitter, BNM said that the protest will take place in front of the British Prime Minister Residence at 10 Downing Street, London on March 27 against the illegal occupation of Balochistan.

It further stated that this protest is also against the recent enforced disappearances of Baloch activists from Balochistan and the extradition of Hafeez Baloch from the UAE.

BNM urged all the Baloch activists and human rights activists in the UK to join the protest between 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm.

Meanwhile, BNM also said that they will hold the protest at Biff Square, Busan, on March 27.

Earlier, in October 2021, BNM organised the protest in Belfield city of Germany, in Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands and Busan, South Korea.

Central spokesman for the Baloch National Movement (BNM) in a media statement said that the party's ongoing international awareness campaign focused on Baloch "genocide" and Pakistani state "atrocities" in Balochistan. (ANI)
The United States on Tuesday said it is not asking its allies and partners to choose between the US and China when negotiating trade deals. US State Department spokesperson Ned Prices made these remarks on Tuesday while referring to the Saudi-Chinese talks on oil sales. This follows reports that Saudi Arabia is negotiating with China to partially switch from dollars to yuan in oil sales amid souring relations between Riyadh and Washington. "Our allies and partners around the world are going to have their own relationships with the PRC [People's Republic of China]," Price said during a press briefing on Tuesday. "What we are not asking countries to do is to choose between the United States and China. When it comes to many of our partners, what we seek to do is to give them choices and to make partnership with the United States and all that we bring to the table, all that we could bring to a bilateral relationship," he added. Media reports say Saudi Arabia is growing discontent with US foreign policy. In particular, Riyadh is not pleased with the lack of support from Washington for the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen. Reportedly, they are also not happy about the Biden administration's efforts to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran. Reports suggest that the national oil company Saudi Aramco is also considering using yuan-denominated futures contracts, in its pricing model. However, this transition from petro-dollar to yuan is unlikely to happen, a senior US official told the Wall Street Journal. The US official was quoted in the report describing the negotiation as "highly volatile and aggressive" and "not very likely." The official further stated selling oil to China in yuan will likely stagger the Saudi economy and undermine the Saudi government's fiscal outlook. (ANI)
Ahead of the 48th session of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad this month, Pakistan has prepared a draft resolution for adoption with ain aim to steer its anti-India propaganda on Kashmir. Representatives of more than 40 Muslim countries have so far confirmed their participation in the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in the capital city of Pakistan. This OIC conference on March 22-23 will coincide with the Pakistan Day parade. The OIC foreign ministers will be guests of honour at the parade on March 23. Pakistan has previously hosted four sessions of the OIC-CFM, during which it has raked up the issue of Kashmir. Experts believe that OIC sees India as a great development partner as they diversify their economy. The recent UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is resounding evidence of the same. The CEPA has been described as a landmark partnership between two countries whose political leaders and businesses share "very strong bonds going back many years in history". Analysts argue that the OIC countries can't afford to jeopardize their longstanding ties with an emerging global economic and political power like India. Although the countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE have remained conscious of Pakistan's prejudiced agenda, some countries like Turkey and Malaysia have taken a view on Kashmir to cajole their own domestic constituencies, according to Islam Khabar. Last month, India had said that Islamic organisation continues to be hijacked by vested interests to further their nefarious propaganda against India. The statement was issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in response to media queries regarding the statement by the General Secretariat of the OIC. "We have noted yet another motivated and misleading statement from the General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on matters pertaining to India. Issues in India are considered and resolved in accordance with our constitutional framework and mechanisms, as well as democratic ethos and polity," the MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. (ANI)
Seoul [South Korea], March 16 (ANI/Global Economic): While Russia claims that it killed 180 'foreign mercenaries' in Ukraine, a former Korean Navy UDT SEAL Rhee Keun, who has joined Ukraine's army as a volunteer, is reportedly alive in Ukraine and currently undergoing the military operation. According to the Munhwa Il-bo on the 14th, Rhee's close aside said in the interview that he recently contacted Rhee. He said, "Rhee is currently carrying out the operation well, and I'm in regular contact with him to check his safety in Ukraine." He added, "It is difficult to disclose the operation in detail for security reasons." He also said that Rhee is not included in 180 foreign soldiers that Russia claims it killed. He said, "I heard that there are more Korean volunteers who have joined the Ukrainian army, including reserve officers and non-commissioned officers. Most of them entered Ukraine through the Poland route." Another community user also claimed that Rhee's death is not true because Rhee recently read his SNS message. (ANI/Global Economic)
Boo Seung-chan, spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, said at the regular briefing, "The government has decided to supply non-lethal military supplies to Ukraine."

Spokesman Boo said, "As for details, including transportation and other issues, the consultations are underway."

About 20 items will be shipped to Ukraine. 12 items are the military supplies, including combat helmets, blankets, emergency foods, and military folding cots. Other items are medical supplies. The total amount of the supplies supported to Ukraine is about 1 billion won.

The military supplies are expected to be shipped by air. As early as this week or next week at least, the supplies will be sent to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense announced on the 15th that a direct communication channel with the Russian Navy and Air Force is set to open.

Spokesperson Boo said, "We were notified earlier this year that Russia's communication network has been installed. The official opening is expected to take place after a test-call between the two countries." (ANI/Global Economic)
Baltimore City Police Department forensic officers investigate shooting on the sidewalk outside of Dunbar High School. The school system confirmed that a young man was shot in the leg outside of the building. "We are currently investigating," according to spokesman Andre Riley. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)

An 18-year-old was injured Tuesday afternoon in a shooting outside Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in East Baltimore, police said.

Some students were standing outside the gym near the 1400 block of Orleans Street on Tuesday afternoon around 3:21 p.m., when a group of individuals approached them, according to the Baltimore Police.

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An unknown person pulled out a firearm and shot a young man who attends the school in his leg, police said. The victim was taken to an area hospital with a non-life-threatening injury, they said.

It was not immediately clear whether the shooter was affiliated with the school, police added.

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The incident drew the attention Police Commissioner Michael Harrison and Mayor Brandon Scott, both of whom condemned the attack.

We will be vigilant ... in tracking down these individuals who saw it fit to be so cowardly and hazardous to come on school grounds to shoot a student right outside the school building, Scott said. This is something as a city, a community, we cannot accept.

The mayor called on community members to check in on friends and family who are tied to the school.

Authorities are working with the Johns Hopkins University and the Maryland Transit Authority to review security cameras in the area in hopes of identifying a suspect. Eastern District detectives are asking anyone with information to call 410-396-2433 or to leave an anonymous tip with Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.
"The priority is to provide technical support to the power plants to ensure safe and sustainable operation of the units. To that end, a group of Russian experts are providing consultative assistance," the cooperation said in a statement.

The statement added that Russian specialists are currently consulting on the restoration of the power supply of the Chernobyl NPP and the physical protection system of the Zaporozhskaya NPP.

The statement by Rosatom comes after Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine's state-run nuclear company Energoatom said that Russians have asked the staff at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to follow the orders of the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.

"The interaction between Russian and Ukrainian specialists is taking place on a regular basis. While implementing measures aimed at ensuring the safe and secure operation of Ukrainian NPPs the Russian side maintains close contact with the IAEA."

The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine's media outlet reported that Russia brought 11 engineers to Zaporozhskaya nuclear power plant.

On February 24, Russia began a "special military operation" in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk requested help in defending themselves, Sputnik news agency reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its offensive is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.

The West however denies these claims by the Russians and in response, Western nations have imposed comprehensive sanctions on Moscow. In addition, they introduced sanctions on Belarus for supporting Russia's operation in Ukraine. (ANI)
"The Prime Minister will meet leaders in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh today [Wednesday 16th] for talks on energy, regional security and humanitarian relief, as he galvanises global action on the crisis in Ukraine. He will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates before travelling to Saudi Arabia to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," the statement said.

"The leaders are expected to discuss efforts to improve energy security and reduce volatility in energy and food prices, which is affecting businesses and consumers in the UK as well as regional stability in the Middle East," it said.

In addition to potential further measures to increase oil production, Johnson is focused on diversifying the UK's energy supply and working with international partners to ramp up renewables.

UK Prime Minister said: "The UK is building an international coalition to deal with the new reality. The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin's addiction to oil and gas."

"Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term," he added. (ANI)
While the world has been in throes of the pandemic, traders in Nepal have had a rough deal at the hands of China. They are the victims of an undeclared Chinese blockade and have incurred hefty losses. The distraught traders are now pinning their hopes on the forthcoming visit of the Chinese foreign minister. Nepal imports readymade garments, cosmetic products, footwear, consumer electronic items and stationery goods, among other products, from China and exports handicraft items like metal statues. The border trade between Nepal and China is facilitated through nine trade routes, including Hilsa, Nagcha, Ko Rala, Gorkha Larka, Rasuwagadhi, Tatopani, Lamabagar, Kimathanka, and Olangchung Gola; of these Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani are most crucial from the trade perspective and have been closed since January 2020. As reported, China had stopped nearly 2,000 containers laden with clothes, shoes, cosmetics, electronics and industrial raw materials from entering Nepal. Using COVID-19 prevention as an excuse, China allows only four to five truckloads of goods each day from each of the two key border points -- Tatopani and Rasuwagadhi -- to enter Nepal. Nepalese businessmen have protested against China's blockade both at Rasuwagadhi and Tatopani checkpoints at the Nepal-China border anddemanded smooth movement of goods across the border, to no avail. To harass Nepalese traders, the Chinese transporters even increased freight charges along the nearly 26 km stretch from RMB 15,000-16,000 to 60,000-65,000. To make the matter worse, the Chinese government is not issuing visas to Nepalese traders. As a result, they place orders virtually and many have complained of being cheated. A case in point is where a Nepalese company Sun Moon Multi Trading Pvt. Ltd. had placed an order in September 2021, with China-based Changsha Washum Bamboo Products Trading Company Ltd. for supplying 5000 boxes of Disposable Latex Gloves. The Nepali entity transferred about USD 25,000 to the Chinese company and as agreed, it was expecting goods within a month. However, the company is still awaiting the supplies. On being asked, the Chinese company said that it has shut shop and its bank accounts are frozen. The closure of the border has not only caused losses to the traders but the government has also lost on account of low revenue collection. According to the Trade and Export Promotion Centre, imports from China dropped 18.5 per cent year on year. A statement released by the Chinese Embassy in Nepal on Jan 13, 2022, said that "The Chinese side opened one-way cargo transportation to Nepal by overcoming great difficulties and has continuously enhanced the ports' cargo handling capacity, which played an important role in ensuring the supply of anti-pandemic and livelihood materials in Nepal. We look forward to working with the Nepali side to overcome the present difficulties and make efforts to restore the economy and normal personnel exchanges." However, China has not initiated any step to ease the trade deadlock between the two countries. (ANI)
Sri Lanka is facing the double whammy of high debt and rising prices, sparking protests from citizens due to widespread shortages of food and fuel. The crisis may further aggravate with global crude prices rising to a 14-year high while wheat prices are also increasing due to disruption in the supply chain from the Russia-Ukraine war. According to government data, China accounted for about 10 per cent of Sri Lanka's USD 35 billion foreign debts till April 2021. However, experts believe that China's total lending could be much higher when taking into account loans to state-owned enterprises and the Sri Lankan central bank. Sri Lanka's lead industry tourism could also face ripple effects from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Of the total tourism arrivals of 82,327 in the month of January 2022, roughly 26 per cent were from these countries. Meanwhile, the IMF has noted that the country faces mounting challenges, including public debt that has risen to unsustainable levels, low international reserves, and persistently large financing needs in the coming years. The country's official reserves fell to USD 2.36 billion in January 2022 compared with USD 3.1 billion in December 2021. Colombo's next big challenge is a USD 1 billion bond repayment due in July 2022. To emerge from this crisis, Sri Lanka's most pragmatic option would be rescheduling its external debt. Delaying capital payments would create some space for the country to build up reserves and pay for critical imports including food. Against this backdrop, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is believed to be disappointed over Beijing's failure to restructure and reschedule loans and concessional trade-credit scheme on imports, despite requesting for the same in his recent (Jan 2022) meeting. Rajapaksha's request to Chinese President Xi Jinping also went unanswered. Incidentally, Gateway House, an independent think-tank noted that Chinese debt and equity in SL were funding over 50 projects worth more than USD 11 billion up to 2017. Further, it noted that interests on some Chinese loans are as high as 6.5 per cent compared to 2.5-3 per cent for Asian Development Bank loans. Independent observers estimate that Chinese state-owned enterprises and central banks' current loans might have even crossed USD 15 billion. With Beijing letting the country down in times of crisis, Rajapaksawas keen to improve relations with the West and dispel the pro-China image of his government. He was now apparently amenable to approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package to increase Colombo's credibility as he believes that the IMF is fairly flexible in its policy prescriptions. He was hopeful of using Indian clout in getting favourable terms from the IMF. Colombo was also looking at improving productivity and performance of economic sectors as well as attracting investment from Indian companies in renewable energy projects. It plans to offer incentives like assured power, tax holidays and quick clearances for IT companies interested to invest in IT parks in Galle, Karunegala and Kandy. It also intends to benefit from the global outreach of the Indian IT sector. To improve the performance of the Sri Lanka Railways, Colombo has sought help from Indian Railway'stoo. India's recent financial and oil assistance to Sri Lanka has been deeply appreciated. The International Sovereign Bond payment of USD 500 million on January 18 was facilitated through timely SWAP from the Reserve Bank of India and the deferral of payment to India under the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). Though Colombo has foreign debt obligations of around USD 7 billion in 2022, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the governor of the Central Bank was optimistic, stating that the country would be able to pull through the crisis by taking some hard and pragmatic decisions. But harsh measures to contain economic crisis may not be very palatable to the public. Colombo owes over USD 45 billion in long-term debt. Known external debt repayments of Sri Lanka would be USD 26 billion (USD 5 billion/year) over the next five years, which would constitute over 80 per cent of government revenue in 2020. (ANI)
Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday asked leaders of the opposition parties to undertake the long march on March 25 to counter the government's alleged attempt to forcibly stop lawmakers from entering the Parliament House on the no-trust motion. Fazlur Rehman said the change in the schedule for the long march has been made due to the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting that is slated to be held on March 24. He informed reporters after completing the meeting of the steering committee of the joint opposition, Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported on Wednesday. PDM has given a call to its workers and the public to begin their long march towards Islamabad on Pakistan Day on March 23 to stage a possible sit-in to counter the government's alleged attempt to forcibly stop lawmakers from entering the Parliament House to cast vote on the no-trust motion. Rehman said that they had made this decision due to the presence of foreign ministers of Islamic countries in Islamabad for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting and they don't want to create any problems for the foreign dignitaries. As the OIC delegates will leave the country by March 24, the alliance will continue their march on March 25. PDM chief informed that they had given the call for their long march three months ago. He further stated that soon PTI's allies will break their ties with PTI and will join the opposition parties, claiming that matters between them had almost settled. Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) has decided to support that side which will offer them the Punjab CM's slot, Pakistani channel ARY News reported citing the sources. The leaders of PML-Q would prefer to settle the matters with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government but the term of assemblies should be completed, sources added. The demand for the Punjab CM slot came at the time when the reports of the Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) leader and the Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz's nomination for the next Punjab CM came forward. The Opposition parties in Pakistan are jettisoning mutual hatred to oust Imran Khan as they submitted the no-trust motion in the National Assembly secretariat on March 8. While the Imran Khan government has exuded confidence to defeat the no-trust motion, the Opposition is sure that they will oust Khan. (ANI)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to visit Nepal this month to push for the implementation of China's infrastructure development strategy Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). During his visit, Wang Yi will look to sign at least two projects, The Kathmandu Post reported. "We have already received the text of the project implementation plan of the BRI from China," a senior Nepali government official told the Post, adding, "During the visit, both sides are expected to agree on the text of the project implementation plan, which will pave the way for the execution of BRI projects." Nepal signed the BRI agreement back in 2017. Back then it was regarded as a watershed moment in Nepal and China bilateral ties. However, no project took off over concerns regarding the Chinese infrastructure programme. Last December, internal consultations were held with regard to BRI projects in Nepal during which it was recommended that both countries should set up a joint mechanism for the selection of projects. According to a Nepali government official, the recommendations also include avoiding commercial loans for the implementation of BRI projects because "they are too expensive." "In our recommendation, we have clearly stated that we should seek preferably a grant from China or concessional loans at less than 2 per cent annual interest to fund the projects under the BRI. Our economy is too small to be able to afford commercial loans, so we should avoid such loans," a senior Nepali Finance Ministry official told the Post. Since its launch in 2013, the BRI has been well received across the globe due to its easy loan parameters. However, these concessions facilitated economic and military expansion for the Chinese, allowing them to build infrastructure, establish military bases in BRI- recipient countries. Several of these sovereign loans are in fact extended to developing countries and are negotiated in secret. A few of these loans use resources as collateral. This dept trap diplomacy, the lack of transparency and unreasonable loan conditions have made these schemes extremely unpopular and have earned the BRI a lot of bad press. BRI has left scores of lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) saddled with "hidden debts" totalling USD 385 billion, according to new research released last September. The findings are part of a report published by AidData, an international development research lab based at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. According to this report, China has used debt rather than aid to establish a dominant position in the international development finance market. The report has analyzed more than 13,000 aid and debt-financed projects worth more than USD 843 billion across 165 countries. According to AidData, over 40 LMIC now have levels of debt exposure to China higher than 10 per cent of their national gross domestic product. (ANI)
The Government of India announced that they will restore the old valid long duration (10 years) regular (papers) tourist visas for the US nationals with immediate effect, Consulate General of India in Chicago said in a press release on Tuesday. The press release stated that the fresh issue of regular (papers) long-duration (10 years) tourist visas have been restored for US nationals. It also reads that the e-tourist visas under three options (one month, one year and five years), which was suspended since March 2020, shall be restored. And the application for fresh e-tourist visas for eligible nationals can now be made at the Indian E-visa portal. While the current scheme of regular tourist visa/e-visa (one month stay only) on a gratis basis will continue. According to the press release, "Foreign nationals on tourist/e-tourist visas would be permitted to enter India only through designated Sea Immigration Check Posts (ICPs) or Airport ICPs by flights, including those under the Vande Bharat Mission or 'air bubble' scheme or by any flights as allowed by Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation." The release firmly stated that no foreign nationals, in any case, will be allowed to enter through the land border or riverine routes on a Tourist visa/E-Tourist visa. (ANI)
Amid the uncertainty surrounding the impact of sanctions on Russia on global companies, China on Wednesday assured to protect the rights and interests of national companies in the event of unilateral sanctions by the US. "China opposes any form of unilateral US sanctions and will resolutely protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters when asked about the prospects for US sanctions against China for its stance on the Ukraine crisis. The Chinese diplomat asked Washington not to harm China's legitimate rights and interests in any way. There is a lot of conjecture about the strategic relationship between China and Russia, and the degree of knowledge that Chairman Xi Jinping had before President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Ukraine. Last week, CIA Director William J. Burns hinted at a potentially tenuous China-Russia relationship in the wake of Moscow's increasingly tactics against Ukraine, with Burns telling the Senate Intelligence Committee that Xi is "unsettled". "The Chinese leadership, first, has invested a lot in partnership with Russia, and I don't expect that to change anytime soon," Burns said during the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual worldwide threats hearing. "I do however believe that the Chinese leadership, President Xi in particular, is unsettled by what he's seeing, partly because his own intelligence doesn't appear to have told him what was going to happen." Xi and Putin issued a 5,000-word joint statement ahead of the Winter Olympics last month outlining how the two nations approached different issues, with the statement released following a meeting of the leaders in Beijing. The New York Times had reported that Chinese officials asked the Russian government to hold off on invading Ukraine until the end of the Winter Olympics. But the reality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the targeting of civilians and displacement of millions of Ukrainians, may have shifted China's calculus. (ANI)
Zafar Sahito, the founder of the JSFM, stated that his group along with religious minorities of Pakistan, human right organisation and activists have organised this rally.

The month-long campaign "Sanction Pakistan" will be culminating at the conference.

The conference asked to declare Pakistan, a terrorist state and state sponsor of terrorism. They stood against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

A few days ago, a US lawmaker from the state of Pennsylvania had called for the designation of Pakistan as a state sponsoring terrorism.

Representative Scott Perry has sponsored a bill that seeks "to provide for the designation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism, and for other purposes."

This bill has now been referred to the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The four main categories of sanctions resulting from designation under these authorities include restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defence exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual-use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions.

Designation under the category will also imply other sanctions that penalize persons and countries engaging in certain trade with state sponsors of terrorism.

Currently, there are four countries designated by the US under these authorities: Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Iran, and Syria. (ANI)
Helsinki [Finland], March 16 (ANI/Sputnik): Finland and Sweden seek to boost bilateral security collaboration amid changing security environment in the region, the Finnish Interior Ministry said on Wednesday. Swedish Minister for Justice and Home Affairs Morgan Johansson will meet with his Finnish counterpart, Krista Mikkonen, later in the day as part of his visit to Helsinki. The sides will deliberate on strengthening the bilateral cooperation in civil preparedness, rescue services, police and coast guards operations, the statement read. "We are facing complex global challenges to our security. Finland and Sweden are preparing for these challenges in close cooperation at both political and public official level. The challenges include not only changes in the security environment but also climate change and vulnerabilities of the increasingly digital society," Mikkonen was quoted as saying in the statement ahead of the meeting. On his part, Johansson said that the two countries are encountering various threats, including deteriorating security situation in neighboring states. "Our societies are facing many different threats that we must address. The pandemic has posed a challenge for both of our countries, and the climate crisis is a global challenge. And now the security situation in our neighboring areas is weakening," Johansson was quoted as saying in the same statement. The statement added that in the wake of the recent security shift, it has become increasingly important that cooperation between Finland and Sweden is "close, intensive and direct at all levels." During 2021, the countries have expanded their cooperation in civil preparedness issues related to the European Union and NATO, as well as in the field of joint exercises, statistics and research, the ministry added. (ANI/Sputnik)
A year and a half after announcing it had established a $1 million fund to support reparations for slavery and systemic racism, the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland is accepting applications for the inaugural round of grants under the landmark program, the first of its kind in the state.

Two or three applicants will be chosen to receive between $25,000 and $50,000 each in support of work that restores African American and Black communities, said the Rev. Christine L. McCloud, the dioceses canon for mission, who is helping oversee the selection process.

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Successful applicant groups must be nonprofit organizations with a proven history of helping to restore such communities or startups with a mission of doing so. They can be secular or faith-affiliated in nature but must be based within the boundaries of the diocese, a territory that includes Central, Southern and Western Maryland, and carry out their work there.

More than two dozen such groups have either sent representatives to informational meetings about the program or have been in contact with administrators over the past month, according to diocesan spokeswoman Carrie Graves, though none had submitted formal applications as of early this week.

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The deadline for submissions is Friday. Recipients will be announced no later than June.

[ Her family was owned by his. Now they attend a Baltimore church seeking to atone for its past. ]

The fund was created, and the first round of grants will be awarded, as part of an ongoing campaign by the diocese to confront and make amends for how it benefited from slavery and the various forms of racial inequality to which it gave rise.

As thorny an issue as reparations can be in the culture at large, McCloud says, its a cause Episcopalians must take up if theyre to abide by the denominations core values, which include a liturgical call to persevere in resisting evil and repent and return to the Lord ... whenever you fall into sin.

The Rev. Christine L. McCloud, the canon for mission with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, is the liaison to the reparation task force overseeing the process by which the diocese will be awarding grants from its $1 million reparations fund. (Kenneth K. Lam/The Baltimore Sun)

That doesnt mean simply transferring money from white communities into African American ones, as some critics would have it, McCloud said, but rather facing up to the facts of history as a nation, accepting those facts, and determining how best to offer recompense to the damaged parties and their descendants.

Our call throughout Scripture is to do the work of reconciliation, and the first step in that is seeking truth, McCloud says. If we never reconcile this country and the act of slavery, we will never move forward in any significant way around matters of race.

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, an ecclesiastical body with roots in the early 1600s that includes nearly 120 churches and 44,000 parishioners, decided to provide the $1 million as a seed fund for reparations at its annual general conference in September 2020. More than 80% of its delegates voted for the move. Membership in the diocese is 90% white.

The diocese had been investigating the history of its complicity in slavery and racial inequality for more than a decade, a process that accelerated after the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton  the dioceses 14th bishop and the first African American to hold the position  assumed leadership in 2008.

Since then, and most prominently over the past five years, archivists, clergy members and parishioners have been combing through archival materials to assemble the most truthful record they could.

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The tale that emerged from old newspaper accounts, vestry meeting notes, diaries and even the memories of elderly congregants was sobering.

Not a few white Episcopalians, it turned out, were slaveholders or openly supported the practice. Many played key roles in creating such racist practices as redlining, which refers to policies by banks and insurance companies to refuse to lend to homebuyers in areas (sometimes outlined on a map with a red line) that were predominantly Black.

Priests, parish leaders and congregants, meanwhile, often conspired to exclude Black Episcopalians, and a number of new churches  including the Cathedral of the Incarnation in North Baltimore, the seat of the diocese  were built with the aim of helping white congregants flee their increasingly diverse older neighborhoods and parishes.

More recently, the diocese consolidated findings that most, if not all, of its churches constructed before 1860 were either built by enslaved people or by people who benefited financially from slave labor.

In other words, the Diocese of Maryland unduly benefited, across generations, from explicitly un-Christian laws and attitudes.

Why should we continue to benefit as an institution when so many in the Black community have never had the opportunity to have a good education, good jobs or good medical care? Sutton asked in 2020. Weve benefited from racist institutions, and now we are going to invest financially.

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The $1 million figure represented more than 20% of the bodys annual operating budget, and the money served as a seed fund to finance programs that would benefit the African American community.

[ Georgetown to give admissions preference to descendants of slaves sold by the college ]

The diocese has since created a task force to clarify the programs goals and administer funds when the time came. Consisting of eight clergy members and lay people from across the diocese, the panel has used its regular meetings to designate five pillars, or areas of service, on which to focus  education, health care, affordable housing, environmental degradation and job creation.

Panelists will use a competitive points system to evaluate applications and select either two or three recipients  just as they expect to do next year at this time, as well as in ensuing years.

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Though the fund is the first of its kind in Maryland, its one of dozens of similar initiatives offered across the country over the past half-decade, mostly by faith-affiliated groups and universities.

The sisters of the Religious of the Sacred Heart, an order of Catholic nuns in Louisiana that enslaved 150 people, created a fund in 2018 to finance scholarships for African Americans at a school it operates in that state.

Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., followed a year later, establishing a $400,000-per-year program to benefit the descendants of people the school owned in the 19th century  and sold in 1838.

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Since then, the Virginia Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Episcopal dioceses of Georgia, Newark, New York and Texas have each established reparations programs worth $1 million or more apiece, and a prominent order of Catholic priests, the Jesuits, vowed to raise $100 million to benefit the enslaved people it once owned.

One local Episcopal parish, Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill in West Baltimore, created its own initiative, committing $500,000 toward reparations-style programs in the city through 2026. The parish was founded in 1860 by a priest whose family enslaved people at Hampton plantation in Baltimore County.

Though the reparations task force had received no final submissions as of Monday, McCloud said she expected a sizable influx during the week. A 30-year veteran of the nonprofit world, she said its standard for applicants to wait until the very last minute, then create a rush.

We do anticipate receiving a number of [applications], McCloud said. Well be happy with whatever comes in. It will be our honor to review those and make the best choices possible for this first round.
Tokyo [Japan], March 16 (ANI/Sputnik): Japan has decided to deprive Russia of the status of a Most-Favored Nation in connection with the events in Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. "We are excluding Russia from the Most-Favored nation regime," Kishida said. The Most-Favored Nation treatment was extended to Russia as a member of the WTO, according to one of the main principles which are to provide one country with the same foreign trade conditions that other members of the organization enjoy. Russia has enjoyed the benefits of the Most-Favored Nation treatment as a member of the WTO since 2012. Japan will impose restrictions on the export of luxury goods to Russia and will also impose a ban on the import of a number of goods from Russia, Kishida said. Japan, together with G7, will take measures to make it difficult for Russia to receive investments from the World Bank and other international organizations, he said. Tokyo will expand the circle of "Russian oligarchs" close to the Russian president whose assets will be frozen and will also impose cryptocurrency-related sanctions on Russia, the Prime Minister added. (ANI/Sputnik)
"17,000 people [from Ukraine]... have entered France," Darmanin told the French BFMTV broadcaster.

At the request of French President Emmanuel Macron, his ministry is working to be able to host at least 100,000 refugees in France, the minister added.

On February 24, Russia began a military operation to "demilitarize and denazify Ukraine," responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only.

According to the UN refugee agency, over 3 million people have already left Ukraine for neighboring countries since the start of hostilities. (ANI/Sputnik)
A Uyghur farmer, sentenced to eight-year imprisonment for saving his wife from forced abortion, died in jail in 2020, said a media report citing another Uyghur in the know of the development and local police officials. The Uyghur farmer, namely, Abdureshid Obul moved his pregnant wife from their hometown in Xinjiang to prevent Chinese authorities from forcing her for an abortion in 2012, Radio Free Asia reported citing an Uyghur from the same county who now lives abroad. Obul, who returned a year after the birth of his baby, was detained by the police and interrogated for a week. He was later released after undergoing "political re-education" and paying a fine of 20,000 yuan for violating the government's family planning policy, according to the source. Notably, Obul's wife was pregnant with her fourth child when this happened. However, under the government's policy, families hailing from ethnic minorities living in rural areas were allowed to have only two children. Despite paying the fine, Obul was sent to an internment camp in 2017 when Chinese officials stepped up their crackdown on Uyghurs and reconsidered Obul's action to be a crime deserving harsher punishment, the media outlet reported citing a source. According to the source, the year witnessed a sudden surge in the enforcement of the family planning policy by the Chinese government. Obul, who spent two years in the camp, before being sentenced to eight years imprisonment for "religious extremism and disruption of social order" died in prison after serving one year of his sentence, according to the source. Notably, in recent years, forced abortions have reached record numbers among Uyghurs in the region, the media outlet reported citing observers. As part of the crackdown on ethnic minorities that primarily began in 2017, the Chinese government implemented population control measures for Uyghurs, including forced sterilizations and abortions. Uyghur and other Turkic minority women, who have been released after detention in Xinjiang's vast network of internment camps, have reported being raped, tortured, and forced to undergo sterilization surgery, Radio Free Asia reported. However, China publicly denies that it has committed human rights abuses in Xinjiang. International reactions have varied. Some United Nations (UN) member states issued statements to the United Nations Human Rights Council condemning China's policies, while others supported China's policies. The United States was the first country to declare human rights abuses a genocide, announcing its finding on January 19 last year. (ANI)
The United States expressed concerns about China's "provocative" activities across the Taiwan Strait, during talks between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi which was held on Monday. According to a senior Biden administration official, the talks, which were held in Rome on Monday, focused heavily on the war between Russia and Ukraine, and took place over an "intense, seven-hour session," Focus Taiwan reported. Both sides discussed recent "escalatory actions" taken by North Korea and the need for the US and China to manage their competition so that it does not veer into conflict, according to the official. As relates to Taiwan, the US official said that Sullivan had "underscored concerns about Beijing' courses and provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait." He also reiterated Washington's one-China policy "based on the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Communiques and Six Assurances," the official said, referring to the series of commitments that form the basis of US ties with both China and Taiwan, Focus Taiwan reported further. Under the "one China" policy, the US acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and that Taiwan is part of China. During the talks, Yang also urged the US to recognize "the high sensitivity of the Taiwan question" and to abide by the one-China principle, rather than "going further down the dangerous path" of supporting Taiwan independence, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. On Tuesday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said it had received briefings from the US both before and after the meeting between Sullivan and Yang, but declined to comment on what it was told, as per Focus Taiwan. (ANI)
Pakistan's Karachi Police on Wednesday arrested a gang of robbers that used to snatch gold ornaments from women at gunpoint and was involved in over 100 robberies of gold ornaments. The gang has been operating for the last two years and used to commit three to four crimes in a week. "They have committed over 100 robberies," Senior Superintendent of Police, South, Ejaz Ahmed said. The kingpin of the gang Jibran, along with two other gang members Anees and Waqas, was arrested, said SSP, South, Ejaz Ahmed, and SSP Farrukh Raza, while addressing media. According to the officials, the accused used to commit snatching of gold ornaments from women at gunpoint. The SSP, South, said, "They had committed crimes in Clifton, Gizri and various other areas of Karachi," adding that the main accused remained in South Africa. "The Jeweller buying gold jewellery from the gang will also be arrested," he said. SSP Ejaz Ahmed added, "The arrested accused can be seen in CCTV footage of various crimes." SSP South district said that the motorbike recovered from the gang members was in their personal use and the weapons were also licensed, reported the news channel. Amid poor governance, Karachi is facing a lot of issues that include shortages of utilities like water and gas, encroachments, unbearable traffic, unprecedented increase in crimes, the Pakistani newspaper reported.The major cause behind the problem seems to be the lack of conversation between the city's elected representatives and the provincial government setup. The city, which has voted for a mix of parties -- largely for the Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan PTI government, is suffering due to the conflict between PTI and the PPP, the ruling provincial government. Meanwhile, the city continues to decline into chaos amid a lack of accountability and the political tussle between different parliamentary parties in Pakistan. (ANI)
Celebrating the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ambassador of India to Madagascar, Abhay Kumar jointly inaugurated a Green Triangle named after Mahatma Gandhi along with Mayor of Antananarivo Naina Andriantsitohaina on Wednesday. The event was attended by members of local government, diplomatic corps, heads of international organisations, and members of the Indian Diaspora in Madagascar, according to a statement issued by the Embassy of India in Antananarivo. Addressing the ceremony, the Ambassador of India said that the Government of India has launched an initiative: Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India. "Madagascar has a large diaspora from the Indian state of Gujarat and it is fitting that today a green triangle named after Mahatma Gandhi who also hailed from Porbandar Gujarat is being unveiled in the capital of Madagascar," Abhay Kumar said. Asserting the significance of the triangle, the Ambassador quoted Mahatma Gandhi and said: "The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs but not every man's greed", the quote highlights his vision and philosophy when it comes to reducing consumerism, respecting nature and aiming for sustainable development." The word green in the plaque signifies our commitment to sustainable development and saving the environment, he added. "Since this area is a booming commercial spot and also hosts a large number of Indian outlets, the naming of this park as Mahatma Gandhi Green Triangle is an apt tribute to the Mahatma Gandhi. I believe it will bring the Indian Diaspora in Madagascar closer to India and will raise awareness among the people about Mahatma Gandhi and the values of peace and non-violence he stood for," Abhay Kumar continued saying. Mayor of Antananarivo Naina Andriantsitohaina thanked the Embassy for taking the initiative to gather all the enterpreneurs of this area to create a green space. "I appreciate the efforts of the Embassy in greening this area and enhancing the beauty of this place as it meets the objective of the Urban Municipality of Antananarivo to create the maximum green space in the capital city of Madagascar," the Mayor said. While at the end of the event, the Ambassador presented postal stamps on Mahatma Gandhi to the Mayor, issued by the Malagasy Post to mark of the celebrations of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 2019, as per the statement. (ANI)
Citing media reports, Asia Times reported that Beijing is reluctant to pump in new funds under the CPEC arrangement until problems faced by Chinese investors are resolved and previous CPEC-related agreements are fully honoured by Pakistan.

Last year, Pakistan pledged to pay USD 1.4 billion due to Chinese power plants against accumulated owed dues of USD 2.3 billion during a meeting of the 10th Joint Cooperation Committee of the CPEC.

Earliar, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority has urged the Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed (CPPA-G) to pay overdue receivables of IPPs established under CPEC, warning that the plants may go into default because of rising prices of coal in the international market.

Islamabad is also committed to opening a revolving fund equal to 21 per cent of the cost of power generation.

In December 2021, CPEC Authority proposed that overdue payments need to be made to the IPPs urgently as with pending claims, Sinosure, could not support new projects in Pakistan anymore, Business Recorder reported.

Beijing has heavily invested in the CPEC as a short route that allows it to avoid the circuitous Gulf of Malacca and the South China Sea region, according to experts. (ANI)
The injured transgenders were taken to the hospital, The Friday Times reported.

The attacks on transgenders in Pakistan are not uncommon. In October 2021, another transgender in Mansehra was critically injured after an armed man attacked and attempted to assault them.

According to The Friday Times, they were slashed through their neck with a dagger. In 2018, also in Mansehra, a transgender person was attacked and tortured at their homes.

In 2016, in Peshawar, a trans woman died after hospital staff delayed her treatment because they couldn't decide whether to place a transgender patient in the male or female ward.

The transgender community in Pakistan has historically faced stigma, poverty and marginalization despite various laws which have been passed for the community's protection. (ANI)
A Tibetan tour guide, Pasang Norbu was detained by the Chinese police authorities on unreasonable charges in a bid to restrict locals from coming in contact with foreign visitors to the tightly controlled Himalayan region. A middle-school graduate in his 20s, Norbu, arrested last Friday, used to work in western Tibet's Shigatse municipality. He is a resident of Shigatse's Gampa county in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). A Tibetan living in exile told Radio Free Asia that Norbu was beaten by the Chinese Police and he was accused of running an illegal business. Even when Norbu had the permit to work in the region, the Chinese police ignored his permit and threatened him twice to shut down his business, according to the sources. On condition of anonymity and to protect his contact in the region, RFA's source said, "Pasang Norbu's business is legally registered by the official tourism administration in the TAR, and he even paid 18,000 yuan (USD 2,827.79) for a permit to run it." Sources described Norbu as "a very decent person and always friendly with everyone." "He owns seven tour bikes, all in very good condition, and his family's livelihood depends on his tour guide service," he added. Moreover, he shared, "He has a mother named Tsamchoe and his 13-year-old sister Choedon is still in school." A researcher at London-based Tibet Watch, Pema Gyal confirmed Norbu's arrest, also citing sources in the Shigatse area. "It's true that Pasang Norbu was arrested by Chinese authorities in Shigatse, but he is not the only one to have been detained. The Chinese government has recently been increasing its controls on many privately owned Tibetan tourist services and has been holding their owners on unreasonable charges," Gyal said. Tibetan tour business has come under growing pressure by the Chinese authorities. One guide, Kunchok Jinpa, 51 was arrested for sharing the news of Tibetan anti-mining protests in Driru country within the Tibet Autonomous Region. He had been serving a 21-year prison term for sharing the news. He died on February 6, 2021, in a hospital in Lhasa after being transferred in critical condition from his prison. Tibet was invaded and incorporated into China by force 70 years ago, and Tibetans living in Tibet frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses by Chinese authorities and policies they say are aimed at eradicating their national and cultural identity. (ANI)
Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) has claimed that certain foreign institutions were misleading the world by presenting false statistics about humanitarian aid and embezzling tens of millions of dollars in the name of Afghan people, local media reported. Criticizing the way foreign aid is being provided, the deputy director of the NSIA, Hasibullah Muwahed, said that most foreign institutions, including the World Food Programme (WFP) give wrong figures to the people every day, Tolo News reported. "Unfortunately, foreign institutions, including the WFP and most other institutions, give different and wrong figures to the people every day, and in this way they want to deceive the people of Afghanistan and the world. Unfortunately, these figures have no basis," the media outlet quoted Muwahed as saying. Doing so not only does not solve the country's economic problems but it also increases the poverty rate in Afghanistan, he added. Notably, statistics from the WFP show that the program has spent USD 2.6 billion to deliver food to more than 18 million people in Afghanistan.Meanwhile, the Taliban has said that it is difficult to improve the economic situation of the country with humanitarian aid. "Humanitarian aid can keep the nation alive, but it cannot make the people self-sufficient," the media outlet quoted Abdul Rahman Habib, spokesman for the Taliban Ministry of Economy, as saying. However, Afghan people believe that humanitarian aid is not properly distributed to those in need. "Most of the aid which they receive is distributed to their own relatives, but it does not reach the deserving people at all," Tolo News quoted a teacher as saying.Notably, the United Nations has requested USD 5 billion in aid to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan. The Afghan government collapsed on August 15 when then-president Ashraf Ghani fled to Afghanistan, leading to the Taliban taking over the country. The Taliban's swift ascension to power in Afghanistan has triggered economic disarray and a dire humanitarian crisis in the country. (ANI)
The Hampstead Volunteer Fire Department is preparing to break ground early next month on a new emergency operations building and event center.

An artist's depiction of the new Hampstead volunteer fire station, with the event center visible in the back.

According to Jim Dwyer, fire department president, the new facility is being built to ensure the highest level of service for Hampstead and Carroll County.

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The current building at 1341 N. Main St., Hampstead, was built in the 1970s, Dwyer said, and was not designed to house duty crews or to address the requirements of cleaning and detoxifying hazardous materials and carcinogens.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the critical nature of fire and emergency medical services as the first line of assessment and intervention to protect residents and deliver lifesaving care, Dwyer said. It also highlighted the need to separate front-line emergency service areas used by firefighters and other personnel from public access areas routinely used for fundraising, public service education, social events and community meetings.

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On April 4, the department will break ground on the first phase of construction for a new fire and EMS operations station on the site of the current fire station, as well as a new event center, which will be in the rear of the property. Work on the two buildings is estimated to be complete by early 2024.

The fire department had originally planned to break ground on the multiyear project in spring 2021 but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the regulatory review of the building plans. Final approval was delayed to December 2021.

This delay, in conjunction with an unanticipated rise in the cost of materials and supply chain issues has resulted in a significant increase in the cost of construction.

Construction costs for the project now total about $7.5 million, a 25% increase from last year, Dwyer said. As these capital investments are the responsibility of the Hampstead Volunteer Fire Department, the department has secured a $5 million low-interest loan through Carroll County and a $1 million loan through Farmers & Merchants Bank.

Dwyer said the department applied for a supplemental loan from the county for an additional $1.5 million, which has not yet been approved.

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The fire department has also been running a capital campaign to help raise money for the project. Donations are accepted at https://www.hampsteadvfd.org/content/campaign/.

The project will begin with the construction of an interim operations building, which will house all vehicles, equipment and personnel for about one year while the main station is demolished and rebuilt.

Once the new station is complete, that building will house all emergency vehicles and contain offices, bunk rooms, training rooms, a kitchen, and storage and cleaning capabilities to keep equipment and turnout gear ready for service.

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When the station is completed, the interim operations building will be converted into a fully functional social event center, designed to host wedding receptions, parties, meetings and fundraisers with a capacity of 325.

Dwyer said this will provide a much-needed, higher-end social venue for the community.

The county is home to 14 independent fire companies, Dwyer said, and Carroll County is in the process of developing a countywide combination fire and EMS system to ensure consistency of advanced life support and organization in the county.

Its a partnership between volunteers and the county to provide a consistent level of emergency service on the EMS side, Dwyer said. Carroll Countys combination fire and EMS department will continue to use Hampsteads buildings and ambulances.
Citing several actions taken by the Imran Khan government against media organizations, the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) has criticized the government for "controlling editorial content, freedom of speech and depriving the citizens of Pakistan of their right to know", reported local media. The PBA, in a statement, has slammed the Imran Khan government for exerting financial pressures on media organizations and creating hurdles in the way of execution of their professional duties, the Dawn newspaper reported. Notably, the steps taken by the government included an advertising ban, issuing a series of show-cause notices through the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) to numerous TV channels, according to PBA, the representative body of the electronic media. "The government has banned the official spokespersons to appear at certain channels," the media outlet quoted the PBA as saying. Aimed at controlling editorial content, freedom of speech and depriving the citizens of Pakistan of their right to know, the other actions taken by the government include imposing illegitimate claims amounting to billions of rupees on the channels under the illegal pretext of Gross Annual Revenue (GAR) dues, according to the Pakistani publication. Earlier, the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) promulgated by the Imran Khan government as an ordinance had also drawn flak from media bodies and Opposition for its violation of basic rights of citizens and the government's flagrant attempt to stifle the voice of dissent. (ANI)
In the eighth round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) between India and Lithuania held in New Delhi on Wednesday, both sides discussed bilateral relations and strengthening of partnership in diverse areas. The Indian side was led by Neeta Bhushan, Additional Secretary (Central Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and the Lithuanian side was led by Audrius Bruzga, Director General of Latin America, Africa, Asia and Pacific Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. As per an official statement of MEA, the FOC provided an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations, including high-level visits and further strengthening of our partnership in diverse areas such as trade and investment, research & development, digital cooperation, education, and agricultural processing. Both sides agreed to explore cooperation in new areas like space, biotechnology, laser technology, renewable energy, fintech, LNG infrastructure, startups, health and pharmaceuticals. They also discussed the need for greater mobility between both countries, including the movement of students and professionals. In line with this, India requested Lithuania to recognize Covaxin and to consider a mutual recognition agreement on COVID-19 vaccination certificates. India also took note of the 'Start Up Visas' and 'Blue Card' initiatives of the Lithuanian government to further facilitate the movement of business persons and professionals. Both the countries also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, including Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, India-EU Partnership and the Ukraine situation. During the FOC, while India invited Lithuania to join the International Solar Alliance, the Lithuanian side reiterated their request for the opening of an Indian mission in Vilnius. Further, both sides agreed to hold the next round of the Foreign Office Consultations in Vilnius on a mutually convenient date. India and Lithuania share warm and friendly relations based on shared values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and respect for human rights. Both sides acknowledged that 2022 is of great significance, as it marks 30 years of establishment of diplomatic relations which also coincides with the celebrations of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. (ANI)
Rajapaksa briefed the Prime Minister on initiatives being taken by both countries to increase bilateral economic cooperation and conveyed his thanks for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy, wrote the Ministry of External Affairs in its press release.

PM Modi spoke about the central role that Sri Lanka occupies in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and its S.A.G.A.R (Security and Growth for all in the Region) doctrine. He reiterated that India would continue to stand with the friendly people of Sri Lanka.

Finance Minister Rajapaksa noted the deepening of people-to-people relations between both countries, including in the cultural sphere. Prime Minister pointed to the potential for increasing tourist flows, including through the joint promotion of Buddhist and Ramayan tourism circuits.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also called on the visiting Rajapaksa and discussed bilateral economic cooperation and opportunities post-pandemic. "Sri Lanka is integral to our Neighbourhood First policy. India will always be a reliable partner for Sri Lanka", said the Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)
In a crackdown against ethnic minorities, China has destroyed three Buddhist statues since December 2021 in Tibet. According to media reports, the Chinese government demolished the Tibetan Buddhist statue Padmasambhava, built six years ago to stamp out the Tibetans' religious traditions. The intent of the Chinese destroying Buddhist statues is to eradicate Tibetans' faith and their right to preserve Tibetan traditions. The acts of destruction signal a fresh crackdown and straight case of cultural genocide. According to Tibet Press, the revival of "Cultural Revolution" like activities in Tibet should be viewed in a larger perspective, in view of CCPs efforts over the years to "Sinicize" Tibetan Buddhism involving ensuring that the spiritual beliefs and teaching be congruent to the principles of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Tibet Press said that the 11th Representative meeting of the Buddhist Association of Ngaba (Aba in Chinese) Prefecture was held on December 6, 2021 to focus on theNational Religious Works Conference (NRWC). Radio Free Asia reported that another three-story statue at a different monastery in Drago had been destroyed in early January, only weeks after authorities toppled a 99-foot Buddha statue just 900 meters (2,700) away. A three-story structure is around 40 feet high. Satellite imagery of the Chanang Monastery taken October 3, 2019, shows the site of the statue of Padmasambhava which stood three-storyed high, but an image taken February 25, 2022, shows the destruction of the statue as indicated by the circular objects on the ground. "Though there has been no explanation of the reasons for its destruction, it falls in line with the Chinese government's policy of demolishing Tibetan religious sites in the region," the exiled Tibetan said. Similarly, on December 12, 2021, the 99-feet statue of Maitreya Buddha, costing about USD 6 million, at Gaden Namgyal Ling Monastery at Kham Drago along with 44 prayer wheels and thousands of prayer flags was destroyed. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities make up regulations to justify the demolition of Tibetan statues, another Tibetan exile told RFA. (ANI)
Pakistan Telecast Authority (PTA) has reportedly requested Facebook to remove over 700 URLs related to the Ahmadiyya community for "blasphemy". The PTA's request was made on the grounds that Ahmadiyyas propagate their faith under the guise of Islam by portraying themselves as Muslims and deliberately outraging the Muslim community sentiments. However, the request was turned down by Facebook for its violation of Pakistan's commitments to the international community. The social media platform apparently informed that in view of its commitments to the international community and as Islamabad is also a signatory to 'Conventions on International Human Rights', removal of URLs would be contradictory to the country's commitment to the international community. Notably, the Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan are not only treated like pariahs in their life but also desecrated, dug up, and humiliated after their death. Over the years, Ahmadiyyas have become the most hated and humiliated Muslim sect in Pakistan. Thousands have been attacked by mobs and scores have fled the country. By law, they cannot call the azan, cannot use Islamic terms and titles, read Islamic texts for prayers, name their places of worship 'masjid' and greet people in the Islamic manner. All these are acts punishable with three years in jail and a fine. (ANI)
In an effort to raise awareness in Indonesia about China's human rights violations in Xinjiang and expose why some developing countries indebted to China turn a blind eye towards it, the Center for South-East Asian Studies (CSEAS) organized an international webinar titled "China's Atrocities On Uyghur Muslims: Why Do Many Countries Remain Silent?" in Jakarta on Tuesday. Prominent leaders at the webinar noted that China is trying to eliminate the Uyghur's culture from the country. The webinar was moderated by Dr Asep Setiawan from Muhammdiyah University Jakarta. It featured very prominent speakers, including Omer Kanat (executive director of Uyghur Human Rights Project, Washington), Professor James Leibold (from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia), Dinna Prapto Raharjo (from Binus University, Jakarta) and Dr Ayjaz Wani (Research Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai, India). Omer Kanat while addressing the webinar said, "Lack of response from the Muslim world has been demoralizing for the Uyghurs. The leadership of many Muslim-majority countries have been silent, while others vocally approved the Chinese government's actions". "Economically, indebted to China and toeing China's strategy of political Islam, some Muslim countries in South Asia like Pakistan and Bangladesh have turned a blind eye to the atrocities on Muslims in Xinjiang," noted Dr. Ayjaz Wani during the webinar. Moreover, Prof. James Leibold pointed out that people are not aware of the human rights situation in Xinjiang as less information is present. "There is a general, a genuine knowledge gap. There is simply less information available about what is happening in Xinjiang and to the Uyghur people in the media and social media landscape of the Muslim world," he said. Dr Dinna Prapto Rharjo hoped that solidarity sentiment could be generated for the repressed Uyghurs. "Hopefully, we can build the feeling of solidarity (for Uyghurs) again all of us," said Rharjo. Notably, the US State Department and parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands have determined that China's conduct constitutes genocide under international law. Many countries have imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and companies as a result. But many countries from Asia, Africa and Latin American countries remained silent about atrocities in Xinjiang. Many Muslim-majority countries strongly supported China's repressive actions on Uyghurs. Communist leaders generally do not like religion. Likewise, communist China does not like its largest province-level division, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and its people, who are mostly Uyghur Muslims. Xinjiang, which has vast natural resources, is a landlocked autonomous region with some 25 million people. In area-wise, Xinjiang is four times bigger than Germany. Locals call Xinjiang East Turkistan and it was an independent country, which was occupied by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1949. The people of East Turkistan are called Uyghurs, or Uighurs, and are ethnically and culturally Turkic people. They practice a moderate form of Islam. The Xinjiang region has been under China's repressive rule for many years, with deliberate policies opposing centuries-old traditions, culture, and religion. Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, Chinese atrocities on Uyghur Muslims have increased sharply. China has imposed a ban on growing a long beard and wearing an Islamic dress. Owning a holy Quran or a prayer mat will land you in jail in Xinjiang. Even parents cannot give Islamic names to their own children. There is a strict surveillance system everywhere. According to the Human Rights Watch 2021 report, total arrests in the Xinjiang region accounted for about 21 per cent of all arrests in China in 2017. But the fact is the population of the Xinjiang region constitute only 1.5 per cent of China's 1.44 billion people. Two-thirds of mosques were destroyed by authorities. Since 2017, around 16,000 mosques were either partially or fully demolished in Xinjiang. More than one million Uyghurs were put in internment camps in Xinjiang. It is an open jail. Last year, an unofficial Uyghur Tribunal in Britain ruled that China has committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. It cited birth control and sterilisation measures allegedly carried out by the Chinese state against Uyghur as the primary reason for its conclusion. However, China denies all accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. (ANI)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday called on the United States to do more to help Ukraine in its "darkest time", according to a media report. Zelenskyy's remarks came during his virtual address to the US Congress, CNN reported. "In the darkest time for our country, for the whole Europe, I call on you to do more. New packages of sanctions are needed, constantly, every week until the Russian military machine stops. Restrictions are needed for everyone on whom this unjust regime is based," the media outlet quoted him as saying. The Ukrainian President said that all American companies should leave the Russian market, which is flooded with the blood of Ukrainians. "All American companies must leave Russia from their market, leave their market immediately, because it is flooded with our blood. Ladies and gentlemen, members of Congress, please take the lead, if you have companies in your districts who finance the Russian military machine leaving business in Russia, you should put pressure. I'm asking to make sure that the Russians do not receive a single penny that they use to destroy people in Ukraine," he said. He stressed the need for "union of responsible countries" to save the world. "We propose to create an association ... a union of responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflicts immediately, provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours, if necessary, even weapons, if necessary, sanctions, humanitarian support, political support, finances, everything you need to keep the peace and quickly save the world, to save lives," CNN quoted him as saying. The Ukrainian President also reiterated his request for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, however, he offered an alternative in case the request cannot be fulfilled. "To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, to save people, is this too much to ask? Humanitarian, no-fly zone -- Something that Russia would not be able to (use to) terrorize our free cities. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defence systems we need, as 300 and similar other systems. You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft. Powerful, strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land," CNN quoted him as saying. Zelenskyy requested that the US provides its aircraft to defend Ukrainian skies. He also showed a graphic video showing the war in Ukraine and the attack by Russian forces. The video ended with a note that read, "close the sky over Ukraine". Closing his speech in English, Zelenskyy made a direct request for help to US President Joe Biden asking him to be the leader of the peace, CNN reported. "Today, it is not enough to be the leader of the nation ... Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country doesn't depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong," he said. "I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. And this is my main issue as the leader of the people, great Ukrainians, and as the leader of my nation. I'm addressing President Biden: You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace," he added. Zelenskyy received a standing ovation from the US lawmakers both at the beginning and the conclusion of his address, according to the media outlet. (ANI)
The Peshawar mosque attack is a reminder of how Pakistanis continue to be openly intolerant towards Shias in the country and there is still active support for groups that target their communities, local media reported. Shias are one of the largest persecuted minority groups in Pakistan with scores losing their lives only because of the faith they choose to follow, according to an opinion piece published in The Express Tribune. The blast in a Shia mosque in Peshawar on March 4 resulted in the death of over 60 people, including seven children below 10, and left nearly 200 people injured. While the authorities always cite 'invisible' hand seeking to destabilize the country's fragile security as the reason behind such terror attacks, the Peshawar mosque attack did not target random Pakistani worshippers. These worshippers belonged to the Shia community who have been the victim of these atrocities for decades, according to the media outlet that added that the religion has been used as a political pawn in the history of Pakistan where sectarian violence has an entrenched and a deeply political, violent history. Notably, Shias comprise nearly 20 per cent of Pakistan's population and are the target of violence by Sunni Islamist militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Shias are mostly excluded from positions of power. Doctors, businessmen and other professionals have been targeted in Karachi by Sunni terrorists on a regular basis. According to one estimate, over 1,900 Shias were killed in bomb blasts or targeted gun attacks from 2012 to May 2015 alone. (ANI)
Asserting that India and France are at the forefront of the call for peace, dialogue and diplomacy over the Russia Ukraine war, Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron are among few leaders who have had regular contact with Moscow and Kyiv to maintain an open channel of communication. "Only apt that India and France, which have always sought, and succeeded, in maintaining strategic autonomy, are at the forefront of the call for peace, dialogue and diplomacy. Prime Minister Modi and President Macron are among the few leaders who have had regular contact with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine and continue to maintain an open channel of communication with them," Shringla said at the India-France Track 1.5 Dialogue. In a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday, the Foreign Secretary said that both the countries have been longstanding friends and strategic partners. "As resident powers of the Indo-Pacific, they have a shared understanding of the challenges, opportunities and stakes in the region. The bilateral relationship has been dominated by cooperation in traditional fields such as defence and security, science and technology, space and cultural contact," he said. "Both countries understand this very well, which is why they are rapidly expanding their cooperation to non-traditional areas, such as digital, cybersecurity, green energy and sustainable development, he added. Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Secretary said that the world had to face its biggest non-traditional threat in decades in the form of the pandemic. "In response, India and France worked in coordination and collaboration, helping each other out in difficult times, while also contributing to global efforts to fight the pandemic, whether in the form of financial assistance or through the supply of life-saving drugs, especially vaccines." He further said that India and Frace have excellent cooperation as can be seen in the successful development of India's fastest supercomputer "Param-Siddhi-AI" under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) by India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing or C-DAC and the French company Atos. "There is also an increasing realisation that the 5G networks that are coming up in the two countries have to be safe and secure. Both India and France are committed to finding solutions to risks associated with 5G technology, Shringla said. He also informed that India too has launched an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission, which will contribute to the five key climate targets or the Panchamrit that our Prime Minister announced at the COP26 Summit last year. (ANI)
The operations of Chinese companies in Indonesia have become a hazard for the country's environment as these companies continue to exploit natural resources and disturb the ecological equilibrium of the country, said a media report. Disregarding the delicate local environment, the companies, that not only threatened the flora and fauna but also the indigenous population causing their displacement, continue to take a toll on bio-diversity, as they did in Africa, reported The Hong Kong Post. The construction of USD 1.6 billion Batang Toru Hydro-Power Project, under China'sambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), has threatened Sumatran Orangutans, a critically endangered species in Indonesia's Sumatra Island. Moreover, the project that was declined to be funded by the Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corporation amid environmental concerns, was funded by the Bank of China. Notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping had championed the philosophy of open, green and clean cooperation to make BRI development sustainable in his speech at the Boao Forum (April 2021) for the Asia Annual Conference. However, China's double standards of sustainable development are obvious as Chinese activities while developing zinc mine in Northern Sumatra, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail and the Probolinggo-Banyuwangi highway have been destroying the environment in the country, according to the media outlet. Further, PT Dairi Prima Mineral Project (DPM), a zinc mining project has raised concerns among indigenous farmers about the likely rising acidity of soil due to sulphuric acid, generated as a by-product of the mining operations. There are also issues of accountability and transparency of the Mineral project, with suspicions regarding the amount of autonomy given to the Chinese company, the media outlet reported citing earth.org. The most obvious demonstration of Chinese insensitivities towards the local concerns is the handling of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Rail project which has led to forced evictions, flooding, and degradation of farmland. Thus, most Chinese-funded projects in Indonesia are hazardous to the environment as they continue to disregard the local population's sensitivities for their economic ambitions, reported The Hong Kong Post. (ANI)
A federal jury convicted two men Thursday on charges relating to their participation in a drug trafficking organization that was distributing cocaine and crack cocaine in Harford County, according to a news release from the Maryland U.S. Attorneys Office.

Che Jaron Durbin, of Aberdeen, and Terrell Darnell Walton, of Delaware, were convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 40 years. Durbin was also found guilty of two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Each of those counts also carries a maximum 40-year prison term.

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According to trial evidence, Harford County Drug Task Force members were investigating Durbin in May 2019 because he was suspected of trafficking drugs to the area. Durbin testified that hed previously had a federal drug trafficking conviction in the state, as well as a previous drug trafficking conviction in Harford County Circuit Court.

Witnesses testified that a U.S. postal inspector notified detectives on May 17, 2019, of a suspicious package being delivered to Durbins mothers apartment in Aberdeen. The package was delivered to Durbin, who took it inside. Co-defendant Jameka Cara Thompson, of Abingdon, left the apartment with the package shortly after and drove it to her home, according to testimony.

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Law enforcement later detained Thompson and obtained a search warrant for her vehicle, where they found the package, which contained 1 kilogram of compressed cocaine. A Tucson, Arizona man, co-defendant Jack Anderson, was later found to have sent the package.

Law enforcement learned from U.S. postal inspectors on Jan. 22, 2020, that Durbin sent a suspicious package from Havre de Grace to Anderson in Tucson. A search warrant was obtained for the package, which contained $82,300 in cash in a wireless headphones box, according to the U.S. attorneys office.

More trial evidence showed that Walton obtained cocaine from Durbin and sold it to a network of county individuals. According to trial testimony, Durbin met with Anderson in a Tucson hotel in May, 2020, and later picked up Thompson from the Tucson airport and took her to the hotel. Durbin then flew back to Maryland, while Thompson obtained a bulk amount of cocaine from Anderson and drove it cross-country to Harford County, where she was arrested May 12, 2020, according to trial testimony.

Thompsons vehicle was searched, and an additional 1.4 kilograms of cocaine was seized; Durbin was also arrested. According to trial testimony, Thompson made eight similar trips for Durbin, transporting almost 40 kilograms of cocaine to Maryland for him to distribute.

Sentencing dates for Durbin and Walton have not yet been scheduled. Anderson was sentenced to 126 months in federal prison in December 2021 after entering a guilty plea. Thompson and co-defendants Garrick Devlon Jackson of Havre de Grace, and Michael Ronnell Wells of Forest Hill, are awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to participating in the conspiracy.
"Such horrific attacks must stop. We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine," the Embassy added.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, Ukraine's neutrality could only be on its own terms. Zelenskyy's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said that Ukraine could agree only to "legally certified security guarantees," adding that in a new agreement, signatory states must be legally bound to defend Ukraine, reported the media outlet.

Moreover, Russia shelled Vinnytsia city in west-central Ukraine that hit a TV tower. According to Vinnytsia Oblast Governor Serhiy Borzov, a Russian attack damaged the tower, leaving some residents without a TV signal. No casualties are reported, said the Ukraine-based media outlet.

Russia started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. (ANI)
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Wednesday spoke with General Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council and warned Moscow of consequences of "any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine", the White House said. Sullivan in a telephone call to Patrushev said that if Russia was serious about diplomacy, then it should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns, the White House said in a statement. "Mr. Sullivan warned General Patrushev about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine," the White House statement read. He reiterated the United States' firm and clear opposition to Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified invasion" of Ukraine. According to the statement, Sullivan clearly laid out the United States' commitment to continue imposing costs on Russia, to support the defence of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to reinforce NATO's eastern flank, in continued full coordination with its Allies and partners. Russia had started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation was only targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure and the civilian population was not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. (ANI)
A court in Ethiopia has sentenced a Chinese national to nine years in jail for reportedly trying to smuggle highly censored communication gear into the country, local media reported citing the country's ministry of justice on Wednesday. In a statement, Lee Nayong, the Chinese national the ministry referred to as "a foreign national" was arrested at Bole International Airport last year and was arranged in court in Addis Ababa where he was given the legal opportunity to defend himself but failed to do so, Sudans Post reported. "A foreigner who smuggled a telecom device into Ethiopia for telecom fraud was sentenced to a 9-year prison term and fine," the ministry said, adding that the suspect "was charged with violating the provisions of Article 3 (1) of the Proclamation No. 761/2004 on the Elimination of Telecom Fraud. Sudans Post also reported that the Chinese national had "entered the Bole International Airport in Ethiopia without the permission of the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (and) imported two 8-SIM and 16-SIM cards gateway device for telecom fraud." (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday welcomed Finance Minister of Sri Lanka Basil Rajapaksa in New Delhi and held productive discussions on the economic partnership between India and Sri Lanka. "Finance Minister @RealBRajapaksa of Sri Lanka. Held productive discussions on our economic partnership. India continues to respond to the requirements of the people of Sri Lanka," Jaishankar said in a Tweet. Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan Finance Minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thanked PM Modi for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy. Rajapaksa briefed the Prime Minister on initiatives being taken by both countries to increase bilateral economic cooperation and conveyed his thanks for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. PM Modi spoke about the central role that Sri Lanka occupies in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and its S.A.G.A.R (Security and Growth for all in the Region) doctrine. He reiterated that India would continue to stand with the friendly people of Sri Lanka. Rajapaksa noted the deepening of people-to-people relations between both countries, including in the cultural sphere. Prime Minister pointed to the potential for increasing tourist flows, including through the joint promotion of Buddhist and Ramayan tourism circuits. Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also called on visiting Lankan minister and discussed bilateral economic cooperation and opportunities post-pandemic. "Sri Lanka is integral to our Neighbourhood First policy. India will always be a reliable partner for Sri Lanka", the MEA stated. India has stepped up and pledged a whopping USD 2.415 billion to the island nation to help overcome dire financial constraints caused by external debt payments and a lack of US dollars in the country for business. In January this year, Jaishankar held a virtual meeting with the Finance Minister of Sri Lanka Basil Rajapaksa and conveyed that India has always stood with Sri Lanka, and will continue to support Sri Lanka in all possible ways for overcoming the economic and other challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. (ANI)
"By thirteen votes to two, The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 in the territory of Ukraine," the ICJ said in its order, adding that "Both Parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve."

Following the ICJ order, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, "Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice."

"The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further," he added.

The ICJ in The Hague was hearing Ukraine's application to initiate a case on genocide against Russia, with Kyiv denying that acts of genocide have been committed in the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (DPR and LPR).

Russia started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia. (ANI)
Political and human rights activists from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) have raised a demand to dismantle terror camps in the occupied region during a protest in front of the United Nations office in Geneva on Wednesday. The protest was organised during the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council by the United Kashmir Peoples' National Party (UKPNP). UKPNP's exiled Chairman, Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri shouted slogans by calling upon Pakistan to quit the occupation and dismantle all terror camps in the occupied region. "We organised a protest in front of the United Nations to draw the attention of the international community towards the serious human rights violations in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit Baltistan," Nasir Aziz Khan, spokesperson of UKPNP said. He added: "We are the oppressed people. Pakistan made pledges to the international community that she will withdraw from PoK, which was illegally occupied by Pakistan, but she did not comply with the UN Resolution on Kashmir and we have been forcibly divided since 1947. We are here to raise our voice to draw the attention of the UN and the international community towards the abductions, extra-judicial killings and exploitation of natural resources in our area". What was seen as a clear indictment of Pakistan's support and sponsorship of terrorism, the protesters also demanded the dismantling of terrorist camps and infrastructure that have been established in PoK. Junaid Qureshi, a Kashmiri activist and director of European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) said, "We are here to protest against the atrocities and human rights violations being committed in the region of South Asia, particularly in Pakistan, especially against the administrative areas of Kashmir which are under the occupation of Pakistan". "We are here to protest against those human rights violations and call the attention of world bodies like the UN to the rights of the Kashmiri people live with dignity, peace and honour, especially to free ourselves from the imposed terrorism exported on us by Rawalpindi. We believe that terrorism is basically the biggest violation of all human rights. We disassociate ourselves from all those imposed groups by Pakistan, like the jihadis". March 16 is observed as the foundation day of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu Kashmir International People's Alliance (JKIPA) also organised an international seminar and discussed the state of human rights in Pakistan and its occupied areas. The event was attended by Baloch, Sindhi, Pashtun and other international human rights defenders. (ANI)
Washington [US], March 16 (ANI/Sputnik): NATO has commanders who can reach out to their Russian counterparts via deconfliction channels to avoid any accidents amid the Ukraine conflict, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday. "Our commanders have lines for communications [with Russia] and it is extremely important that we do whatever possible to prevent any incidents or accidents and if they happen to ensure that they don't spiral out of control, because with heightened tensions, with more military presence close to our borders ... the risk for incidents or accidents has increased," Stoltenberg told CNN in an interview. Earlier in the day, CNN reported that NATO has been unsuccessful in reaching out to Russia via a deconfliction hotline following Russian military movements to the west of Ukraine, closer to the borders of the alliance. (ANI/Sputnik)
US President Joe Biden in a press conference on Wednesday announced an additional USD 800 million in security assistance to Ukraine amid the country's ongoing conflict with Russia. The new security assistance provided to Ukraine includes 800 anti-aircraft, 9000 anti-armour systems, 7,000 small arms such as machine guns, shotguns, and grenade launchers as well as drones and other military equipment. "I'm once again using my presidential authority to activate additional security assistance to continue to help Ukraine fend off Russia's assault, an additional USD 800 million in assistance," Biden said during the press conference as quoted by Sputnik. The development comes a day after the US announced an additional USD 186 million to the war-torn country in humanitarian assistance to support internally displaced persons and the more than three million refugees affected by Russia's war in Ukraine. "This will provide further support for humanitarian organizations responding to the crisis and complement the generosity of the neighboring countries that are welcoming and supporting refugees," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said in the statement. Earlier on Tuesday, Biden had signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2022, which funds the federal government through September 30, 2022, and provides USD 13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic, and defence assistance for Ukraine, Sputnik reported. "We will make sure Ukraine has weapons to defend against the invading Russian force. We will send money and food and aid to save Ukrainian lives. We will welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms," US President had announced on Monday, taking to Twitter. Meanwhile, Biden is scheduled to travel to Belgium to attend an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 along with participating in a European Council Summit, a White House statement informed on Tuesday. (ANI)
An Austrian Parliamentary delegation led by Wolfgang Sobotka, President of the National Council of the Austrian Parliament, called upon the Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday and Naidu underlined the need to deepen trade and investment ties between India and Austria in the post-Covid world. Welcoming the delegation, Naidu said that regular exchange of such high-level visits between both the countries will help to sustain the momentum in bilateral relations and also provide the required direction to the executive officials. Naidu highlighted that both the countries share similar values and goals such as commitment to democracy, respect for rule of law, global peace and security. He also added that India has proven that democracy can flourish in developing nations with very large populations and immense diversity, as per the press release. Speaking on the cultural interaction between the two countries, Naidu stressed that people-to-people contact needs to be further encouraged. He further underlined that a long-standing; vibrant deep interface across institutions, academia, political institutions and people of the two nations is a key pillar of the bilateral relationship. Naidu also appreciated the signing of the MoU between ICCR and the University of Vienna for the creation of a Short-Term Chair on India Studies in May 2021 that should facilitate further exchange of information and interaction between the two countries. While highlighting India's contribution to the world in fighting Covid-19, Naidu said that India has exported more than 166.4 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to more than 96 countries and two UN entities till March 9, 2022, under the initiative Vaccine Maitri. Naidu also said that India is partnering with QUAD member countries to enhance vaccine coverage and last-mile delivery of vaccines in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Naidu also stated that India possesses the capacity to produce more than 5 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines per year. India manufactures eight Covid-19 vaccines among which four vaccines namely Covishield, Covaxin, Covovax and Janssen have Emergency Use Listing (EUL) of the World Health Organization (WHO) and another vaccine i.e. Corbevax whose application for EUL is under WHO's a consideration. Naidu noted that about a billion digitally verifiable Covid-19 vaccination certificates have been generated through India's CoWin platform. He also mentioned that India has offered CoWin as an open-source digital public good and is in talks with the WHO for an MoU for Sharing of CoWin platform globally through WHO's C-TAP (COVD-19 Technology Access Pool) initiative. Informing about India's capacity for the supply of medicines and medical equipment, Naidu stated that since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, India has provided medical assistance to more than 150 countries in the form of medicines and medical equipment. He also highlighted that India's domestic pharmaceutical industry had become the centre of global attention due to its production capacity for generics as well as high-end life-saving antibiotics. While speaking on the bilateral cooperation between the two countries, Naidu said that India and Austria have always been reliable partners that were further underlined during the Covid-19 pandemic situation. He extended gratitude to the Government of Austria for the emergency supply of medical equipment from Austria during the second wave of Covid-19 in India. While highlighting mutual recognition of Covid19 vaccine certificates, Naidu appreciated that Austria recognizes both Covishield and Covaxin-based Indian COVID-19 vaccination certificates. Reciprocally, under India's new international arrival guidelines, travellers with vaccination certificates issued by Austria can travel to India on the basis of their primary vaccination certificate without the need to undertake an RT-PCR test. He expressed that it would be in the interest of travellers from both countries if the recognition of vaccination certificates could be formalized through the signing of an MoU or exchange of diplomatic notes He further stated that as of March 9, 2022, India has entered into mutual recognition of vaccination certificates with 31 countries and continues to do so. Speaking on the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation in India and its Management, Naidu highlighted that more than 1.79 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the country till March 9, 2022. He also noted that approximately 82 per cent of the adult population (aged 18 years and above) has been fully vaccinated while more than 96 per cent has received the first dose. More than 20.6 million people have received precautionary doses (booster doses) as of March 8, 2022. The delegation led by Wolfgang Sobotka appreciated the friendly relationships between the two countries and hoped that such a visit would further strengthen the existing bonds. Pramod Chandra Mody, Secretary-General, Rajya Sabha was also present on the occasion. (ANI)
Baloch Students Council announced to boycott classes across Pakistan on March 21 against the enforced disappearances. The council urged students from all over Pakistan to boycott classes on Monday, March 21 to record their protest for the safe recovery of Hafeez Baloch, reported Pakistan's vernacular media. They are seeking the release of fellow student Hafeez Baloch, who was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani intelligence agencies. Meanwhile, a protest will be held in Quetta for the recovery of Zahid Baloch on Friday, March 18 at 4 pm on the eighth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Zahid, reported local media, The Balochistan Post. Zarjan Baloch, wife of Zahid Baloch, former chairman of Baloch Students Organization in a statement announced the protest in Quetta. She said that after the disappearance of Zahid Baloch, the family was severely affected. "The family is deeply concerned about whether he is alive or not because in these eight years we have knocked on the doors of all state institutions from the courts but no one has listened to our pain and has not even told us. Where is Zahid Baloch and in what condition is he?", said Zarjan. Appealing to the government and the apex court, Zarjan Baloch said, "We are citizens of this state and we are living in it. Don't we as citizens have the right to know whether Zahid is safe or not? If there is any case against Zahid and he is involved in any crime then he should be produced in court and punished according to the law of Pakistan." Zarjan Baloch further said, "We will not remain silent on the enforced disappearance of Zahid Baloch. Zahid Baloch should be brought to light and we as citizens should be provided justice. We appeal to the government and state institutions to bring Zahid to light and save us from this agony." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) earlier had expressed alarm over reports of a fresh wave of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan, including most recently, Hafeez Baloch, a postgraduate student at the university in Islamabad. Experts believe that the missing persons may be dead, their mutilated bodies dumped into ditches. They may be interned, locked in some detention center of dubious legality. (ANI)
Parents and other community members gathered Monday at the last of three public workshops to discuss the redistricting process for Howard County public schools in anticipation of a new high school opening next year in Jessup.

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New High School #13 is expected to open in fall 2023 and will be designed to accommodate 1,658 students in grades nine through 12.

Representatives from the Howard County Public School Systems Office of School Planning, Cooperative Strategies spoke with community members to discuss the redistricting process for the 2023-24 school year. The workshop offered the opportunity for community members to express their hopes and priorities for the redistricting process, according to the school systems website.

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The workshops came at the beginning of an eight-month redistricting process that includes a feasibility study, online feedback forms, attendance area focus group meetings and community feedback sessions, followed by a superintendent recommendation to the Board of Education.

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Once the recommendation is made, the school board will hold public hearings and work sessions, then ultimately make a decision about redistricting in November. In spring 2023, information and activities will be offered to support students transitioning to the new high school and in September 2023 the school will open and new boundaries will be implemented.

During Mondays workshop, school system staff gave a presentation laying out the redistricting process timeline, while community members filled out surveys and gathered in small groups to further discuss the process.

Brent Loveless of North Laurel, who is the father of an eighth grader and 11th grader in the school system, attended the workshop. He serves on the PTA Council of Howard County, which continuously works with the school system and its partners to address capital expenses, overcrowding and sustainability issues.

Loveless said he hopes to see a more analytical redistricting process and the most efficient and equitable outcome with the least disruption to the children.

Workshop attendee Meg Ricks of Elkridge, a mother of elementary, middle and high school students at Elkridge Elementary School, Elkridge Landing Middle School and Howard High School, said she hopes the redistricting process will help address issues such as overcrowding in the school system.

My kids have been in overcrowded schools for many, many years, and its a problem, Ricks said. I hope that we can make an impact on the overcrowding and we can open High School #13 in a way that makes sense and [does] not split our whole community apart in the process.
Pakistan's appointment of Masood Khan as its new ambassador to Washington is less a diplomatic olive branch and more an effort symbolically to rub salt in America's wounds. Michael Rubin, writing in Washington Examiner said that the members of Congress are correct to raise their concerns to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Masood Khan maintains intimate relations with Pakistan-supported terrorist groups, as well as close associations with terrorists convicted by US courts. He openly supports terrorist groups launching attacks in Kashmir. Khan has also met regularly with members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist group responsible for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in which terrorists murdered 166 people, including six Americans, one of whom was a 13-year-old girl. This support for Lashkar-e-Taiba was the rule rather than the exception for Khan. He repeatedly praised Helping Hand for Relief and Development, an organization that openly cooperated with the terrorist group, reported Washington Examiner. Khan's appointment is a window into the reality of Pakistani policy. Rather than cooperate to defeat Islamist terrorist groups who one day will overwhelm what is left of moderate Pakistani society, Prime Minister Imran Khan encourages them, said Rubin. If US President Joe Biden is serious about his core duty to defend Americans, it is time not only to send Khan home but also to end Pakistan's Major Non-NATO Ally status, added Rubin. Nor should the US reward governments that harbour any terrorists, let alone those with American blood on their hands. Not only should the US deny Khan's credentials, but it should also respond to Khan's provocative appointment by designating Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism. Moreover, symbolism is important. India dispatched Taranjit Singh Sandhu, one of its most talented career foreign service officers, to be ambassador to the US. The same is true of M Shahidul Islam, who represents Bangladesh in Washington. That Pakistan sends an apologist for murder should cause Washington to reconsider its ties with Islamabad. (ANI)
A drama theatre that was hosting hundreds of civilians fleeing the conflict-ridden areas of the city of Mariupol in Ukraine's south-east was bombed on Wednesday allegedly by Russian aircraft, media reports said. Mariupol City Council, who shared an image of the destroyed building, said Russian forces had "purposefully and cynically destroyed the Drama Theater in the heart of Mariupol," CNN reported. "It is still impossible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act because the city continues to shell residential areas," the council wrote on Telegram. "It is known that after the bombing, the central part of the Drama Theater was destroyed, and the entrance to the bomb shelter in the building was destroyed," it added. "The plane dropped a bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding," it claimed. Videos of the aftermath showed a fire raging in the theatre's ruins. The number of casualties has not been ascertained yet by the local authorities. Meanwhile, the Russian defence ministry denied the allegations of bombing the theatre saying that the right-wing extremist Azov battalion blew up the building, "according to available reliable data," Sputnik News Agency reported. "In the afternoon of March 16, Russian aviation did not carry out any tasks related to delivering strikes against ground targets in the city of Mariupol," the ministry said in a statement. On the same day, US Embassy in Ukraine accused Russian troops of shooting and killing 10 people standing in line for bread in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv. "Such horrific attacks must stop. We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine," the Embassy added. As many as 2,500 civilians have died in Mariupol, Ukrainian officials estimate, and hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in the city -- with officials warning those who remain are without electricity, water and heat, CNN further reported. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday passed an order asking Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine that it started on February 24. Russia has been facing immense pressure from the international community to stop its military operations in Ukraine which has created an immense humanitarian crisis with thousands of refugees from Ukraine fleeing to the neighbouring countries to the west. (ANI)
Calling the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) order relating to the ongoing war as a "complete victory" for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday asked Russia to 'immediately' comply with the order even as the ongoing peace negotiations in Belarus appeared to reach some headway with the two sides ready to make compromises. "Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice. The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further," Zelenskyy said on Twitter. Earlier on the same day, the ICJ at The Hague had ruled that pending the final decision in the case, Russia must suspend the military operations that it commenced on February 24 in the territory of Ukraine. The development comes amidst the continued efforts by Russia and Ukraine to reach a negotiated settlement through the talks being held in Belarus. While the fourth round of talks continued on Wednesday, a few details emerged suggesting that talks might be reaching some headway with a Ukrainian delegation member saying that the two sides are now willing to reach a compromise. "The positions of the parties were very different and we have only now begun to reach some kind of compromise," Ukrainian delegation member Mykhailo Podolyak told the Ukraina 24 broadcaster, he added that Kyiv and Moscow will reach a peace agreement sooner or later, Sputnik News Agency reported. Podolyak also later tweeted that a draft peace plan circulating in the media calling for severe concessions from Ukraine was actually just a draft of the Russian side's request. "Briefly. FT published a draft, which represents the requesting position of the Russian side. Nothing more. The side has its own positions. The only thing we confirm at this stage is a ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops, and security guarantees from a number of countries," the tweet said. Ukraine on February 26 had filed an application at the ICJ to initiate proceedings against the Russian Federation under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Ukraine seeks to address what it calls "Russia's groundless claims" that genocide has occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine and establish that Russia has no lawful basis to take military action on the basis of those "false" claims. Ukraine had also requested the ICJ exercise its authority to indicate provisional measures to preserve Ukraine's rights and limit the ongoing and irreparable harm to the Ukrainian people as well as Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. (ANI)
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani on Wednesday said that India has been at the forefront of uplifting and empowering women at the socio-economic and political front while addressing the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on Status of Women (UNCSW). "India is witnessing a rapid transition from women's development to women-led development, we have developed a multi-pronged approach in our strategy under the leadership of our honorable Prime Minister," Irani said in her address. The Minister highlighted several aspects of the socio-economic and political status of women in India, giving various statistics related to female literacy, sex ratio, female ownership of land, houses, and bank accounts, and also political participation of women in parliament. "We are firmly committed to eliminating all forms of discrimination, disadvantages, and violence against women. This is the fundamental framework that underpins our development story in which women's agency and leadership plays a key role in the realization of our aspiration of an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', that is an India that is self-reliant, not just for our own sake, but in the interest of the global community in the post-COVID world," the minister said. Irani also paid homage to female healthcare workers and scientists for their major role in handling the COVID-19 pandemic in India. "I pay homage to the service and resilience of over 6 million Indian female frontline workers who have protected our communities during the pandemic and Indian female scientists who have immensely contributed to the development of the vaccine and test kits in India," she said. She further highlighted the steps being taken by the Indian government to facilitate gender equality in India. "The government of India has taken various steps to ensure that women in India are educationally, socially, economically and politically lifted," Irani said while citing steps like the introduction of a Gender Inclusion Fund under the New Education Policy (NEP), provisions in the new labour codes to promote female employment and encouraging female participation in previously unconventional sectors like mining and defence. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. It is a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and was established on June 21, 1946. (ANI)
"I think he is a war criminal," Biden said.

Biden initially said "no" when asked whether Putin was a war criminal, but returned to a group of reporters immediately to clarify what had been asked. When asked again whether Putin was a war criminal, he answered in the affirmative, reported Sputnik.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday that US President Joe Biden's remarks on Russian President Vladimir Putin speak for themselves.

"The President's remarks speak for themselves," Psaki said. "He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what he's seen on television which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country. There is a legal process that continues to be underway at the State Department."

Biden's designation reflects a shift from the administration's previous stance. Officials, including Biden, had previously stopped short of saying war crimes were being committed in Ukraine, citing ongoing investigations into whether that term could be used, reported CNN.

But officials have been clear they believe atrocities are underway and that the intentional targeting of civilians would constitute war crimes.

Meanwhile, Kremlin considered Biden's statement on Putin unacceptable as it came from a leader of a country whose bombs "killed thousands of people," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik

"We consider such rhetoric of the head of state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, unacceptable and inexcusable," said Peskov. (ANI)
As Russia hammered Kiev with artillery with its troops within 30 km of the capital, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a direct appeal on Wednesday to US Congress for putting his country under a no-fly zone, a proposal US President Joe Biden had rejected. "Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people," Zelensky said over a video link from Ukraine and asked, "To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people, is this too much to ask?" In an emotional speech, he invoked the powerful symbols of US crises of foreign attacks, the 1941 Pearl Harbour attack by Japan and the 9/11 terrorist attack, to reinforce his plea for help. "Our country experiences the same, every day, right now at this moment," he said. Zelensky's proposal included a modified version, a "humanitarian no-fly zone", that would provide a safe air corridor for providing relief supplies rather than blanketing the country. He also referred to another proposal to provide Ukraine with aircraft that has been rejected by Biden without directly naming it. "You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft, powerful strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land, aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. You know they exist and you have them, but they are on Earth not in the Ukrainian sky," Zelensky said. Poland has proposed sending its MiG jet fighters to a NATO airbase from where they would be sent to Ukraine and the US making up for them by giving Poland equivalent aircraft. He also asked for air defence systems like the Russian S300. Wearing an olive green T-shirt and sitting at a desk with the blue and yellow national flag behind him, Zelensky spoke mostly in Ukrainian from a secret location from where he is directing Ukraine's defence against Russian invasion. Members of Congress watched on a giant screen from an auditorium in the Capitol building, rather than from the chamber of Congress. The speech was interspersed with horrific videos of the war. He had earlier spoken to British and Canadian parliaments. Zelensky ended his speech in English, directly telling Biden: "Today it is not enough to be the leader of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world... To be the leader of peace." The US is wary of creating a no-fly zone because it could create a direct confrontation between the nuclear-armed superpowers. Ruling it out, Biden's spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Tuesday, "A no-fly zone is escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia, a major nuclear power." It "essentially means us shooting down Russian planes and them potentially shooting back at us", she added. Zelensky's end-run to Congress to ask for a no-fly zone was met warily with fears of World War III. Representative Michael McCaul, who is the Republican leader on the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, also ruled out a no-fly zone, warning that if there was an air battle between the jets of the two countries, "it is automatically World War III". But he said a "redline" should also be considered such as a chemical attack on Ukraine, which would require a reconsideration of no-fly zones. The Committee's Democratic chair, Gregory Meeks said that the focus should be on helping Ukraine beef up its air defence system. Zelensky proposed a new trans-Atlantic alliance, "U24, 'United for Peace', a union of responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflict immediately", he said. Explaining the name, he said that it would "provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours" when there is an attack. The Congress has passed a $13.6 billion emergency aid package for Ukraine. Biden was scheduled to announce later on Wednesday an aid package of $800 million, in addition to the $200 million announced last week. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis) --IANS al/arm ( 674 Words) 2022-03-16-21:48:02 (IANS)
Former Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar and former Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Wednesday supported the proposal by the Pashtun ethnic jirga in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to hold a Loya Jirga in Balochistan. Atmar said the jirga's decision was based on the principles of patriotism and rationality and supported all its provisions, tweeted Reporterly, Afghanistan's online portal. Meanwhile, Saleh praised the Pashtun ethnic jirga in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province for holding elections in Afghanistan, calling it a brave and pleasant move. A jirga gathering of Pashtuns in Bannu city in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan that was held from March 11 to 14 called for Loya Jirga and general elections in Afghanistan to elect a representative government. At this four-day-long jirga, participants discussed issues impacting Pashtuns and also the situation in Afghanistan, reported Tolo News. In a 25-article statement released at the end of the jirga, the participants have said a Loya Jirga and general elections should be held in Afghanistan to elect a representative government in the country. The statement called for a 'republican' government to be formed in Afghanistan that is in line with all international standards, reported Tolo nEWS. "The demand of this jirga is that an elective and representative government should be formed through Loya Jirga and general elections in Afghanistan," the statement read. Former President Hamid Karzai also in a statement welcomed the jirga and said that it is a good step towards resolving problems in the region and in Afghanistan. "This jirga is an efficient step towards solving issues in Afghanistan and in the region and I support its statement. I also appreciate women's participation in the jirga and the jirga's call for securing women's political, economic, and cultural rights," Karzai said. The jirga participants have also criticized fencing along the Durand Line and said the crossings along the Duran Line should remain open so the people of both sides of the line can cross freely without presenting documents, reported Tolo News. "The jirga strongly rejects fencing along the Durand Line and wants all the historical trade routes along the line to remain open for people of both sides and trade and that people can freely move without presenting documents," the statement reads. The participants have also said Pashtuns in Pakistan have been victims of insurgency, adding that from 70,000 victims, 60,000 have been Pashtuns, reported Tolo News. "In the current situation, (Pashtuns) have over 8,000 missing youth," Manzoor Pashteen, leader of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement said. (ANI)
Mohammad was a member of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) in the previous government of Afghanistan and he was killed on Monday, reported local media.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim had changed occupation and was running a small shop in the province market.

Law and order situation has deteriorated since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last August. Although the leader of the Taliban Hibatullah Ahkundzada announced a general amnesty following the unexpected fall of the former government, there have been several reports of arbitrary detentions, targeted killings, and attacks on former Afghan government employees.

The former soldiers, government officials, and those who have worked with foreign alliances have not yet been safe for the last six months.

They are either killed or imprisoned and the Taliban are taking no responsibility and are closing the files as of mysterious murders by unknown gunmen, reported local media. (ANI)
"During the meeting, Defense Ministers agreed to continue providing significant military supplies to Ukraine including lethal and non-lethal aid. The UK Defence Secretary highlighted that the UK would be providing Starstreak, a high-velocity anti-aircraft missile system, that complements the other military aid provided by the UK Armed Forces, including over 4,000 anti-tank missiles," the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry cited Ben Wallace as saying that the UK and allies will continue to support Ukraine against Russia's military operation.

The ministry added that it has recently doubled the number of troops in Estonia, has sent the patrolling vessel HMS Trent and the air defence destroyer HMS Diamond to the Eastern Mediterranean, and is conducting joint air policing missions in Romanian and Polish airspace to bolster its commitments in Eastern Europe.

Russia launched an operation in Ukraine on February 24 after the breakaway Donbas republics "appealed for help" in defending themselves against the Ukrainian military. In response, Western nations have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow. (ANI/Sputnik)
The protesting employees said that they have not received their salaries for months and are now facing problems, reported local media.

State Ministry for Peace Affairs, officially known as State Ministry for Peace (SMP) is an Afghan government ministry responsible for peace process focused on ending ongoing wars in Afghanistan diplomatically.

Earlier in December 2021, the Taliban had dissolved the state ministries for peace.

Meanwhile, the Taliban had promised to work on a mechanism based on which they will pay the salaries of all the government employees, Khaama Press reported.

But, just like the vague promises made to the international community about inclusive government, women's rights, general amnesty to former Afghan Government employees etc. remains unfulfilled by the Taliban. (ANI)
Charges of driving under the influence filed last year against Bowie City Council member and Mayor Pro-Tem Adrian Boafo were dropped last month, court records show.

More than a year ago, Boafo was cited by Maryland State Police for driving under the influence and negligent driving stemming from a February 2021 traffic stop. The 27-year-old pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to one count of reckless driving and received probation before judgment and a $250 fine.

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I am pleased that the state dropped all the charges pertaining to the DUI. As I said last year, we were going to go through the process to prove innocence, said Boafo, who announced last month that he is running as a Democrat for the District 23B seat in the Maryland House of Delegates to represent part of Prince Georges County.

Around 2 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2021, Boafo was driving home from a friends house when he hit a pothole on westbound Route 50 and his tire blew out, he said. After calling his family and insurance company, Boafo called the police to report his disabled vehicle.

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Boafo said he was surprised when officers arrived and asked him to get out of the car. The responding officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol when he approached the car, according to a police report. Boafo was arrested around 2:17 a.m. and taken to the Maryland State Police College Park barrack for processing.

When the Maryland State trooper arrived at the scene, the vehicle was disabled and Mr. Boafo was not operating it at the time, said Tia Lewis, a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County States Attorneys Office. Maryland law requires proof of operation of a vehicle for a driving while impaired charge to be met. There was evidence that Mr. Boafo had recklessly driven his vehicle and he pleaded guilty to that charge.

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In Maryland, those found guilty of reckless driving can face a possible fine of $1,000 and six points on their driving record. Boafo did not receive any points on his license in his guilty plea.

The penalties for negligent driving are comparatively minor and can result in a fine of up to $240 and one point on a drivers record.

Boafo is one of eight candidates vying for the two-seat District 23B currently represented by two Democrats, four-term Del. Marvin Holmes Jr. and Del. Cheryl Landis, who was appointed to her seat last fall. Landis is not expected to run for a full term.

It's official! I'm running for MD State Delegate in District 23. As we look to #BuildBackBetter their are greater opportunities to address the deep structural inequities that have been exposed during the pandemic at the State level. Join us! https://t.co/AfeQoQd7Do pic.twitter.com/vGb0A7sNB9  Adrian Boafo (@AdrianBoafo) February 25, 2022

Boafo, who works in government affairs for the cloud computing company Oracle, said the experience of going through the legal system, being able to hire an attorney and take off work to attend hearings, made him realize that not everyone is able to fight charges that are filed against them. Its part of the reason he is running for state office, he said, in hopes of implementing reforms to make it easier for people to obtain representation and get time off to defend themselves in court.

Going to court several times reminded me that not everyone gets a positive result, he said. Sitting in that court in Annapolis, I saw people just taking the plea deal because they couldnt take off work or didnt have the ability to get a lawyer. My focus has been renewed a little bit from a policy standpoint in focusing on how to help folks in that situation.

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Capital reporter Dan Belson contributed to this story.
The Daily Beast

ReutersTroops sent into Ukraine to back up Russian forces say they had no choice but to leave because Russian military was in shambles and they deceived us at every step.Soldiers from the breakaway state of South Ossetiaspeaking to South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov at a meeting publicized by the independent news outlet MediaZonarattled off a list of complaints about faulty equipment, lack of leadership and intel, and brainless tactics.South Ossetia, which relies heavily on military and f
A year after the Atlanta-area spa killings, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are reflecting on the impact of the tragic day that brought together  locally and nationwide  a community that says it can be siloed at times.

On March 16, 2021, the Asian American community in Atlanta and across the U.S. was rattled as news of a shooting spree spread: a gunman entered three separate spas, killing eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

The victims were Delaina Ashley Yaun, 33; Paul Andre Michels, 54; Xiaojie Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Hyun Jung Grant, 51; Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Yong Ae Yue, 63.

He also tried to shoot me, Eun Ja Kang, Gold Spa employee and shooting survivor, previously told NBC Asian America. I dont know if I should be glad. It hurts to be alive and talk about this.

Robert Aaron Long pleaded guilty to murder and other charges related to the shooting in Cherokee County and received multiple life sentences without parole. On Sept. 28, Long pleaded not guilty to additional charges in Fulton County.

Up until the pandemic, we talked about AAPI hate crimes, but that voice often faded away amid the many issues we faced during the pandemic, Sarah Park, the president of the Korean American Coalition Metro Atlanta, said. We were often a lonely voice within our community.

The 36-year-old, who served as a community liaison for most of the spa shooting survivors and the victims families, pointed out that while the tragedy served as a turning point for many, anti-Asian incidents have not slowed down.

Suncha Kim, left, one of the eight victims of the Atlanta-area spa shootings. (via GoFundMe)

Anti-Asian hate crimes increased 339 percent nationwide last year, according to a study published by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.

The Stop AAPI Hate coalition  which formed on March 19, 2020, in response to the spike in violence against the AAPI community resulting from the pandemic  said a total of 10,905 hate incidents against Asian Americans were reported from March 2020 through December 2021, with more occurring in 2021 than 2020.

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Most recently, a 67-year-old Asian woman suffered facial and brain injuries after being attacked in New York on Friday.

Anti-Asian bias rose after media and political officials, including then-President Trump, used phrases like "China virus," a report shows. The study pointed to a 650 percent increase in Twitter retweets using the term China virus, and an 800 percent increase in similar rhetoric among conservative media.

But Park said there wasnt a real awakening until the spa shootings.

Demonstrators rally to honor shooting victims and to end attacks on Asians in Chinatown in New York City on March 21, 2021. (John Lamparski / Sipa USA via AP file)

As a Korean community, were kind of siloed, she said. No one took it to that extent  until it happened in Atlanta, and Atlanta really reckoned with it.

In the year since the shooting, Atlanta area leaders have been holding fundraisers, marches and vigils with other elected officials, religious and community leaders and people across all ages and races.

Byeong Cheol Han is another Atlantan who became a community leader after the shooting.

I heard about the shooting spree through the news outlet, the 58-year-old pastor of Korean Central Presbyterian Church said. When I heard that, I was heartbroken and I was very sad and angry. At the same time, I felt that nowhere is safe. No one is safe.

Han said his goal was to inspire political action in a community that often only interacted in small cultural circles and wasnt involved in civil rights activities.

I said the shooting spree in Atlanta area was this kind of wake-up call for Asian Americans, Han said. We were just focusing on our survival for our success and the American dream. But the shooting spree really awakened us to think the other way.

Robert Peterson holds a photo of his late mother, Yong Ae Yue, one of the eight victims of the Atlanta-area spa shootings. (Ron Harris / AP)

This focus on self and survival is what Han said traditionally made his community hesitant to participate in activism involving other communities of color.

Following the Atlanta-area spa shootings, many Black and Asian protesters joined together in rallies across the country, holding signs saying Black-Asian unity, a gesture of solidarity for two groups who were often historically at odds with each other.

When Black Lives Matter movement happened, many Korean Americans were very reluctant to do something, Han said. So I told my members to not stay in your personal experience. Its not a personal thing. Its a structural problem in this society. Racism has not been solved.

Alexis Suh, a 29-year-old corporate lawyer and board member of the Korean American Coalition Metro Atlanta, said splits along generational and socioeconomic lines within the AAPI community add nuances to which policies and protests they support.

Asian Americans arent a monolith, so youre going to have different reactions from people. Theres a group that believes in law enforcement, and a group that maybe went through the L.A. riots, she said, which gets them thinking, We have to protect us. No one else is going to protect us.

Activists In Atlanta Paint Murals In Solidarity With Asian American Community (Megan Varner / Getty Images file)

This reluctance in activism is something Allison Wang saw from her family. The 32-year-old Augusta University student got involved with organizing Asian appreciation rallies shortly after the spa shootings. She said her parents, who are immigrants from China, doubted whether the uptick in activism would amount to tangible change.

Its definitely a trauma because theyve been disappointed for so long. They just dont really believe it can happen for us because Asian Americans, they are used to being undervalued, Wang said. No matter how much weve done, thats not going to erase all the pain that people are going through. And its this generational feeling of being a perpetual foreigner.

Still, a full year after the shootings, Atlantans are feeling ambivalent regarding the progress of Asian Americans in the area.

Sarah Parks husband, Michael Park, 43, witnessed and aided the work his wife did after the shootings. But he said he wonders just how much has really changed.

Thankfully, we havent had any kind of major incident in metro Atlanta since that time. A lot of stuff weve been seeing on the national news sadly has been around New York or in California. But it does impact us, Michael Park said. The fact that it continues to happen at a really alarming rate, it makes you wonder, as an Asian American, have we made that progress?

Xiaojie Tan was one of eight people killed in shootings at three Georgia spas on March 16, 2021. (Michael Webb / AP)

But Sarah Park said she doesnt want people to use the spa shootings as a tool for a political agenda and, instead, wanted the focus to be about the eight lives lost that day.

"We didnt want this tragic event to be any kind of platform."

But he said the work that his wife and Asian American community leaders in Atlanta have done will make a difference in the future.

All the collaboration between different organizations and the AAPI community  which had its roots in civic engagement with voter registration and census work  is now set up to be a really good network that I think can be more proactive, he added.

The couple said this kind of work is worth the time and effort.

Even though we do move our needles at our own pace and at a slow speed compared to New York or Southern California, Sarah Park said, it takes a longer time because we want to include all demographics of our first generation to our next generation, and to invite them to the table and have this kind of conversation takes a longer time.

Part of continuing the work, Michael Park said, is staying alert.

I think we have to remain very vigilant, though, now that we are so visible, he said. Now that were no longer this silent minority, we have to be careful because its going to put a target on our back.
Local leaders, advocates and supporters gathered at Yonkers City Hall on Tuesday to condemn the recent attack against an elderly Filipino woman and to call for New Yorks Legislature to approve a $64.5 million addition to the state budget in support of Asian Americans.



The recent act of anti-Asian violence occurred in Yonkers, New York, on Friday. It was caught on surveillance camera and saw 42-year-old Tammel Esco punch the unidentified 67-year-old victim more than 125 times in the head and face, stomp on her seven times and spit on her.





Graphic:

A black male punched a 67-year-old woman 125 times & stomped on her head in Yonkers, NY after calling her an "Asian b." She suffered brain bleeding & facial fractures. Tammel Esco has been charged with attempted murder & assault w/hate crime enhancements.#StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/PDMBHhg8LP



 Andy Ngo  (@MrAndyNgo) March 15, 2022







Esco, who called the victim an Asian b*tch, was brought into custody at the scene of the crime and later charged with assault and attempted murder as hate crimes.



The victim  who suffered brain bleeding, facial fractures and lacerations to the head and face  was sent to the hospital and is now recovering.



It is viciousness and depravity. We are all here to express our outrage and heartbreak against this senseless act of violence, said Lisa Hofflich, founder and chair of the Westchester Asian American Democrats.



Hofflich was joined on the steps of City Hall by Marjorie Hsu, chair of the Asian American Federation; David Imamura, co-chair of the Westchester County Asian American Advisory Board; Elmer Cato, consul general of the Philippines in New York; Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano; and Congressman Jamal Bowman, among others.



"We don't feel safe, Cato said. We think more effort should be exerted to make not just Filipinos but Asian Americans feel safe, feel safe here in New York.



The group collectively called for the New York Legislature to approve the addition of $64.5 million to the state budget to improve services for Asian Americans and combat hate against the community through education.



Of the proposed amount, $5 million will be allotted to targeted COVID-19 testing, personal protective equipment (PPE) and vaccine equity work; $5 million for data projects, particularly those that disaggregate AAPI data; $6 million for K-12 AAPI curricular materials; $1 million for the creation of an AAPI Educational Attainment Workgroup; $1 million for the creation of the first AAPI New York State Commission; and $46.5 million for community-based organizations that offer culturally relevant and language-accessible programs for local AAPIs.



Esco is a repeat offender with 14 prior arrests, according to police records. He was also reported to have substance abuse and mental health issues.



Many of the people who perpetrate these assaults are mentally ill, right? So we need to ensure there is proper care for those individuals, and ensure they are not on the street, going out and hurting people, Imamura said.



Esco is currently being held at the Westchester County Jail without bail. Current guidelines presume incarceration for [people] with prior violent felony convictions, said the Westchester District Attorneys Office, which decided not to imprison Esco after he pushed a woman through a window in February 2021.







Featured Image via CBS New York (left), Yonkers Police Department (right)

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A day after organizing rallies in Connecticut to build support for more state funding for child care, a bipartisan group of lawmakers followed through Wednesday with a gathering at the Capitol to push for measures they intend to work into the state budget being drafted by Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders.

Democrats, Republicans and labor and business representatives are backing legislation they say is needed to pump money into the underfunded child care industry that is losing workers and closing preschool classrooms.

If we are going to be serious about doing something about the achievement gap in our school districts then we need to do something with child care, said Rep. Robert Sanchez, D-New Britain. We need to support it and we need to add the funds that are desperately needed for this crisis we have in hand.

The state Senates Democratic majority has proposed legislation that would expand support services to address the impact of COVID-19 on childhood depression, anxiety and developmental delays. It could add as much as $100 million, said Sen. Saud Anwar, co-chairman of the Committee on Children.

Legislation would increase funding to the state Office of Early Childhoods child care program Care4Kids that provides free or discounted child care for low- to moderate-income families. Backers hope the federal government will step in with money, Anwar said. However, that fell through as President Joe Bidens Build Back Better legislation stalled in Congress.

A separate bill would increase the salaries of early childhood teachers by establishing a grant program, support school readiness and other state-funded preschool programs by increasing rates and expand the eligibility for the Care4Kids program and permit the expansion of the number of children in family child care homes.

Sanchez, co-chairman of the Education Committee, said its difficult to put a dollar amount on the legislation. Everything has to be negotiated, he said.

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Anwar said as much as $700 million is being sought over time.

Early childhood teachers with bachelors degrees are often paid $17 an hour that Sanchez called disrespectful to the profession.

The Connecticut Business and Industry Association, the states largest business group, is backing legislation that would buttress the child care industry. Little access to child care keeps parents from returning to work, undermining the states labor force thats struggling to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephen Singer can be reached at ssinger@courant.com.
(Reuters) -Amazon.com Inc said it would counter any disruptions due to the lockdowns in Chinese cities by diverting freight to warehouses in unaffected regions, as companies rush to comply with the country's controls to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The e-commerce giant said it had purchased more local inventory during the early outbreak of the Omicron variant to stay better prepared to handle potential disruptions.

Earlier today, Apple supplier Foxconn and other companies including Japan's Toyota Motor fueled concerns over how global supply chains could be impacted as China deals with its biggest spike in COVID infections since early 2020.

"We do not anticipate a significant disruption to our business. We are able to counter these closures by diverting available freight to our neighboring warehouses in the region not impacted by COVID lockdown/restrictions," Amazon Spokesperson Maria Boschetti said on Wednesday.

Multiple Chinese provinces and cities have tightened restrictions in line with Beijing's zero-tolerance goal of suppressing COVID-19 as quickly as possible, including the southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen.

The Shenzhen Cross-border E-commerce Association, which groups about 2,800 retailers using platforms such as Amazon, said its members felt the pain of supply disruptions.

The association said there would be some short-term impact on cross-border platforms such as Amazon as goods may not be delivered on time.

The factory shutdowns were also causing delays in deliveries, while logistical difficulties were making it challenging to ship goods to overseas customers, manufacturers in the region said.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
ALBANY  A Queens activist mounting a bid for lieutenant governor is already racking up endorsements from progressive groups.

New York Communities for Change and the Tenants Political Action Committee plan to announce their support Thursday for Ana Maria Archila as she challenges Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin in Junes Democratic primary.

Archila, co-founder of the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York, drew national attention in 2018 by confronting former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in a Capitol Hill elevator over his support of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

In the city as well as Albany, shes known as a tenacious grassroots activist advocating for paid sick leave, housing rights and expanding social networks to help immigrants.

Jonathan Westin, the executive director of New York Communities for Change, touted Archilas on-the-ground approach to effecting change in the Empire State.

Shes been with us not only inside the halls of power but also on the streets fighting for good cause eviction to protect tenants, for a permanent fund for excluded workers, and much more, he said.

City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, running against Gov. Hochul in the Democratic primary, announced Archila as his pick for lieutenant governor last month.

The two have the backing of the progressive Working Families Party of New York, but will have to collect 15,000 petition signatures to get on the ballot and face off against the incumbent Dems.

The progressive Tenants Political Action Committee, which has fought for stricter rent regulations and other housing issues in Albany, are also in Archilas corner.

This is not a time to settle for machine politics and more of the same policies that have consistently failed to make New York a more equitable and progressive state, said Michael McKee, the treasurer of the Tenants PAC. We need organizers and grassroots leaders like Ana Maria in high office.

We need a lieutenant governor who will use the office as a platform for real change rather than ribbon-cutting ceremonies, he added.

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Benjamin was chosen by Hochul as her second in command last summer after she took control of the state following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo.

Archila has said she wants to transform the lieutenant governor post, typically considered a ceremonial position, into a more active assignment and will make housing issues a priority.

This campaign is picking up steam because were putting the needs of working people across this state at the center, she said in a statement thanking the groups for their support. From Brooklyn to Buffalo, New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis, with the lack of affordable housing or protections for most tenants at the center.
ALBANY, N.Y.  Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo isnt just looking to clear his name; now he wants his old job back.

Cuomo, who resigned of his own volition last year in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations, is eyeing a primary run against Gov. Kathy Hochul, according to a report from CNBC on Wednesday.

According to the report, Cuomo fielded calls from supporters about running for governor and is commissioning internal polling as he weighs a potential showdown with his one-time lieutenant governor.

The man who once commissioned a paper mache mountain symbolizing the stark toll COVID took on New York has made clear he has no intention of staying out of the spotlight.

Cuomo made his first public remarks since his resignation earlier this month at a Brooklyn church, where he claimed in a speech that cancel culture was to blame for his political downfall.

The 64-year-old, who maintains his innocence, took aim at state Attorney General Letitia James during his sermon, claiming that her office engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by releasing a report corroborating allegations that he sexually harassed 11 women, many of them younger aides.

A poll released last week by Emerson College found Cuomo would be a formidable challenger for Hochul should he enter the race ahead of the June primary. Hochul received 37% of Democratic voter support in a hypothetical match-up, while Cuomo garnered 33%. Neither U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., nor Public Advocate Jumaane Williams could register even double-digit support.

The CNBC report came hours after Hochul signed off on a package of sexual harassment and retaliation-related bills written in response to the scandals swirling around her predecessor.

One new law will prohibit the release of personnel files as a retaliatory action against employees.

The bill was penned after Cuomo aides released confidential personnel files related to former adviser Lindsey Boylan, the first of nearly a dozen women to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.

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Still, the ex-governor has his supporters. He recently dined with both New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on separate occasions and will appear at a Bronx church on Thursday at the invite of controversial ex-City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.

A group of Cuomo die-hards formed in the wake of his downfall, dubbed New Yorkers for Justice, gathered at a Queens hotel last month for a roundtable talk and encouraged the disgraced Democrat to enter the race clear his name.


Officials say it could take days or even weeks to free a massive container ship stranded near Gibson Island since Sunday evening.

U.S. Coast Guard officials still were trying to determine Wednesday how to refloat the nearly 1,100-foot Ever Forward, a Hong Kong-flagged vessel, that was on its way out of the Port of Baltimore heading to Norfolk, Virginia, when it ran aground outside the Craighill Channel east of Gibson Island and Pasadena.

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The channel, a 700-foot wide path that is dredged to a depth of 52 feet to accommodate large cargo ships, is the main artery for freight coming to the port by sea, said Kipp Snow, who directs the transportation, distribution, maritime logistics department of the Community College of Baltimore County.

The container ship Ever Forward, which ran aground in the Chesapeake Bay near Pasadena, is seen from Downs Park on Monday. (Jeffrey F. Bill/AP)

Water depths adjacent to the channel range from 25 feet to shoals of 17 feet, according to nautical charts, and the Ever Forward, owned by Evergreen Marine Corp., needs about 43 feet of water to safely operate.

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Its essentially stuck in the mud, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Cynthia Oldham, a spokesperson, noting the Ever Forward is particularly large for a cargo ship and is stacked with containers, making it more difficult to refloat the vessel.

Evergreen has appointed salvor Donjon Smit to join the rescue operation and experts are assessing the vessels grounding condition, the weight of its cargo and the tidal range at the location as they plan to refloat the vessel, according to a Thursday company news release.

The Ever Forward can carry up to 12,000 of the truck-sized steel boxes used in global trade that can be readily shifted between ships, trucks and trains.

The Coast Guard is investigating how the ship ran off course Sunday night and has not disclosed any findings. Oldham said she did not know if a local pilot was operating the vessel at the time. Maryland law requires foreign vessels to employ a pilot licensed by the state to operate the craft in state waters. The Association of Maryland Pilots did not respond to a request for comment.

Along with technical experts, a salvage team, naval architects and divers, the Coast Guard was looking at a couple of options to free the Ever Forward, but had not decided on one yet, Oldham said, noting that some processes could take weeks to free the ship.

When a massive ship runs aground, crews may attempt a combination of both dredging underneath the vessel, and using tension from tugboats to set it afloat, Snow said. It could take days or weeks, Oldham added, to free the cargo ship.

While officials decide how to free the ship, the Coast Guard has ordered the crew of the Ever Forward to check fuel levels every four hours, as a large drop would indicate fuel spilling into the bay.

No environmental hazards have been noticed, officials said, and nobody has been injured. The Coast Guard established a safety zone close to the ship, asking mariners to avoid the area and requiring those who must pass through the channel to travel in one-way traffic.

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Evergreen Marine, the Taiwanese shipping company that owns the Ever Forward, did not respond to requests for comment this week.

Evergreen Marine also owns the Ever Given, an even larger container ship that became wedged across Egypts Suez Canal last year, blocking all traffic in the vital waterway and disrupting a global shipping system that already was strained by the coronavirus pandemic. It was freed March 29, 2021.

The Ever Forwards grounding in the Chesapeake Bay a year later is not impacting the global supply chain nearly as much, officials said, as ships are still able to pass by the marooned vessel.

The ships grounding has not prevented other ships from transiting into or out of the Port of Baltimore, Port of Baltimore Executive Director William P. Doyle tweeted Wednesday morning. Business and commerce related activities at the Port of Baltimore continue as normal.

Snow said that while the ships impact on the supply chain is minimal compared to the Suez Canal grounding last year, there would be various, small ripple effects from the Ever Forward, which is carrying a variety of general cargo, remaining stuck.

Really, the only impact is the cargo and the freight aboard the vessel, as the shipping lines customers will have to wait longer to get their goods, Snow said. But as the vessel misses its next port calls, revenue and wages could be lost and there could be extra costs to reload the ship.

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Anna Sorokin at her criminal trial in 2019. Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

Anna Sorokin said on Wednesday's "Call Her Daddy" podcast she doesn't see herself as a con artist.

The inspiration for "Inventing Anna" also said she paid her way out of doing menial tasks in jail.

Sorokin said that she plans to share her story on her own terms soon.

Anna Sorokin appeared on an episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast released Wednesday, where she told host Alex Cooper that she has a "jail assistant" who does her laundry.

During the conversation, which begins at 5:45, Cooper asked if Sorokin had picked up a jail "hustle" while incarcerated. Sorokin replied, "No, not at all."

"If you have money, you don't really have to do anything," she continued. Sorokin added that in the Rikers Island jail where she spent two years before her jury conviction on fraud charges, you can "not do your laundry," which she said needs to be hand-washed at Rikers, if you "just pay somebody to do it."

"Wait, so you were paying people off in jail to just, like, do your stuff?" asked Cooper.

"Yeah, absolutely," said Sorokin.

"They actually think I'm, like, super rich," she added, with a slight chuckle.

Sorokin also said she has been "buying tablets" and "phone minutes" from others in jail in order to communicate with the outside world.

The convicted scammer appeared via video chat in 15-minutes increments on the podcast, which was filmed prior to Monday's news of her ordered deportation to Germany. She's most recently been detained at the Orange County Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Sorokin has been in the Orange County jail since she was rearrested by ICE six weeks after her February 2021 release from the Albion Correctional Facility in upstate New York, where'd she spent about two years of her jail sentence after her two-year stint in Rikers.

Another recent interview Sorokin did for the Forbidden Fruits podcast, in which she discussed why she publicly responded to her former friend Rachel Williams' "attacks" on her, took place in 15-minute increments as well.

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Sorokin also refuted the label of 'con artist' and denied ever telling people she was a German heiress

Julia Garner as Anna Sorokin (AKA Anna Delvey) in Netflix's "Inventing Anna" and the real-life Sorokin at a court appearance. Netflix; Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP

Sorokin, whose scams inspired the Shonda Rhimes Netflix series "Inventing Anna" based on a viral 2018 New York magazine article about Sorokin, initially said on Wednesday's podcast that she never told anyone she was going to be inheriting money and refuted claims that she told people she was a German heiress.

"No, like, no one introduces yourself like that. Like, what kind of sentence is that? It's completely ridiculous," she said around the 23:52 mark. "I cannot testify to what people are assuming about me. I don't know."

However, when Cooper asked Sorokin if she'd ever lied about her "family's background, or wealth," Sorokin said "I guess I did."

"I mean, I cannot tell an exact instance, but I'm sure," she continued. "But all of that  I never, like, told any senseless lies. Unless they were, like, a bank."

Sorokin also said she does not consider herself a con artist: "Absolutely not."

She explained why she thought she was different from a con artist, saying she "never intended to permanently harm anybody" through her actions.

"I literally cannot come up with a single example where I'm like yeah let me fuck this person over and they'll never see their money ever again," Sorokin said.

Listen to Sorokin's full "Call Her Daddy" episode below.

Read the original article on Insider
Antony Blinken. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Secretary of State Antony Blinken used an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday to remind Russian President Vladimir Putin of his mortality.

Putin decided to invade Ukraine because he wants to deny the country its "independent existence," Blinken said, but "there's going to be a Ukraine, an independent Ukraine, a lot longer than there's going to be a Vladimir Putin. One way or the other, Ukraine will be there and at some point Putin won't."

The United States will continue to provide "extraordinary" support to Ukraine, Blinken said, with the aim of protecting civilian life. "The real question is how much death and destruction is wrought by Russia's aggression in the meantime, and that's what we're working as hard as we can to limit, to stop, to put an end to the war of choice that Russia is committing," he added. "We're doing that through the support we're providing Ukraine every single day. We're doing that by the pressure we're exerting against Russia every single day."

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An aerial view of the new Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California (Getty)

Apple was forced to evacuate part of its spaceship headquarters in Cupertino, California, after an envelope was discovered containing a white powder substance.

A hazmat response unit was sent to investigate the incident at around midday on Tuesday, according to an incident report from the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

Apple employees were told in an email that authorities concluded that there was no presence of hazardous materials, The Verge reported, though it is not clear what the substance was.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on the incident before time of publication.

The technology giant is yet to return to pre-pandemic office work levels, having pushed back its return-to-work date after backlash from employees.

Corporate employees are expected to return to the office for at least one day a week from 11 April, before a staggered rise will take them to three days a week by late May.

For many of you, I know that returning to the office represents a long-awaited milestone and a positive sign that we can engage more fully with the colleagues who play such an important role in our lives, Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote in a memo to employees earlier this month.

For others, it may also be an unsettling change. I want you to know that we are deeply committed to giving you the support and flexibility that you need in this next phase. As we begin this pilot, we are looking forward to learning as we go and adjusting where we need to, all in service of fostering a really collaborative and flexible approach to our work together.
By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia announced almost A$500 million ($360 million) in funding to boost output of critical minerals, aiming to diversify supply for its allies and counter China's dominance of the global market.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled the funding for a slew of projects in Western Australia on Wednesday and said the state would become a powerhouse for Australia's allies.

"Recent events have underlined that Australia faces its most difficult and dangerous security environment that we have seen in 80 years. The events unfolding in Europe are a reminder of the close relationship between energy security, economic security and national security," he told reporters.

A meeting of the Quad group leaders of Australia, United States, Japan and India agreed in Washington in September to improve supply chain security for rare earths.

"China currently dominates around 70 to 80 percent of global critical minerals production and continues to consolidate its hold over these supply chains. This initiative is designed to address that dominance," said Angus Taylor, minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction.

Diplomatic relations between Australia and China are strained, with Canberra describing trade sanctions imposed on Australian agriculture and coal by Beijing in response to political grievances as "economic coercion".

Critical minerals are used in smartphones, computers, rechargeable batteries and electric cars as well as defence and space technology.

Projects to be funded include the second rare earth separation plant to be built outside China, a battery material refinery and a vanadium processing plant. Funding will also be provided to commercialise government research and bring new companies to market.

Some A$200 million will also be included in this month's budget for grants to bring more critical minerals projects to market. Australia has already made A$2 billion in financing available to build the industry.

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Australia produces half the world's lithium, is the second-largest producer of cobalt, and is the fourth-largest producer of rare earths.

Diversifying resources exports will strengthen the Australian economy, officials also said.

Australia's resources and energy exports are worth A$348.9 billion, with iron ore shipped from Western Australia to China the nation's biggest export earner.

The funding for critical minerals follows an announcement by Morrison on Tuesday that Australia will build a A$4.3 billion naval dry dock in Western Australia to maintain navy ships and nuclear submarines visiting Australia from allied nations, as well as those it will acquire under the AUKUS defence agreement with the United States and Britain.

China has criticised AUKUS and the Quad as Cold War constructs "targeting other countries".

($1 = 1.3887 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Terry can trace his inspiration back 40 years, to working on his grandparents farm as a child (Celeste Noche)

Bryant Terry is a busy man.

Admittedly, I am trying to catch 30 minutes with the James Beard Award-winning chef during Black History Month in the US  given that his latest book, Black Food, is an anthology celebrating authentic food stories from across the African American diaspora, his schedule is pretty slammed.

When we eventually meet screen-to-screen (him somewhere sunny across the pond; me in dark, storm-ravaged London), he tells me hes only got a half-hour before he has to start preparing for his next event this evening. Mild panic sets in but as soon as he starts speaking, I realise its more than enough time. Hes a natural speaker  in fact, its 15 minutes before I get another question in, but Im more than happy to sit and listen, as Im sure his audience tonight will agree. He speaks with the eloquence of someone that is deeply knowledgeable on their subject, the kind of knowledge that can only be passed down from generation to generation.

It is that knowledge that means he is one of the distinguished authors speaking at the inaugural Santa Fe Literary Festival in May, a talk which will no doubt be quick to sell out given Terrys captivating style.

Terrys knowledge starts in Memphis, Tennessee. So much of what I hope to impart through the work I do now I learnt as a child, he tells me. His grandparents have roots in the rural South, where they lived and worked on farms that his family owned. Terry spent much of his childhood, alongside his sister and their cousins, on his paternal grandfathers urban farm. It was one of my favourite places to spend time as a child because it was fascinating to me that he was growing all the food, or most of the food, that we would eat. His grandfather grew everything from dark leafy greens and tubers to grapes, nectarines and other fruits. I wont romanticise it too much because while I did enjoy spending time out there, I didnt enjoy the labour that was often required of us. He put us to work! It wasnt until Terry was older that he started to appreciate and understand the importance of all that manual labour. Although, I would have much rather been listening to music or watching cartoons, he adds.

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His maternal grandmother lived in the same neighbourhood, and it was because of her that he fell in love with cooking. She was an amazing cook, he says. I remember the smallest tasks like cleaning greens that she harvested from her kitchen garden, or pouring sugar into the preserves that she made from the surplus fruit. She had a big cupboard with a variety of pickled and fermented vegetables inside, and all types of things that she would can and pickle and preserve so that in the winter we had an abundance of food in the larder.

Most of Terrys back catalogue has revolved around veganism and soul food (Bryant Terry)

This was 40 or so years ago, yet youd be forgiven for noticing the similarities with what is trending today: home cooks are encouraged to think about the sovereignty of what they eat, if they dont grow it themselves. Restaurants pride themselves on their kitchen gardens and efforts to use up every last bit of an ingredient in new and exciting ways. Then theres Veganuary. The irony, of course, is that people all over the world have been living that way forever. Terry, whose back-catalogue mostly concerns veganism, wants to uplift that. Theres this perception of veganism being a white thing. Many people have historically thought about it as practices of upper-middle-class white people living in suburbia and, more recently, young white hipsters living in gentrified cities. (I sense, at this point, a little twinkle in his eye as he side-eyes me down the camera.) Those things may be true, he continues, but vegetable-centric diets have been a mainstay in a lot of African American communities because eating meat for every meal was cost prohibitive.

Terrys first contact with ideas of plant-based eating was with black separatists in the community in which he grew up. He learnt about Elijah Muhammads two-book collection How to Eat to Live, in which he encouraged black people to reject the standard American diet, and the Ital diet long-held by Rastafarians, which rejects chemically processed foods, industrialised foods and certainly animal products. He cautions people not to get caught up in the idea of vegan purity. When he thinks about his grandparents and their farm, he says it wasnt like it was anything special. They werent talking about eating local, seasonally, sustainably but, in hindsight, we were eating as locally as our backyard. He says he tries to live by the central and west African word sankofa, which means to look back as you move forward.

It was these influences that laid the path to what has become a sensational career in cooking, writing, education and activism, all geared towards creating what Terry describes as a healthy and sustainable food system. That and a song called Beef by seminal hip hop group Boogie Down Productions, which Terry first heard while he was studying for an MA in history at NYU. The song explores factory farming and the negative impact it has on human health, the environment, and, of course, animals. That was the thing that really catalysed my journey as a food activist, muses Terry.

Theres this perception of veganism being a white thing ... That may be true, but vegetable-centric diets have been a mainstay in a lot of African American communities because eating meat for every meal was cost prohibitive

It was enough to make him abandon academia and dive headfirst into food activism. In 2011, he founded b-healthy!, a project that taught children from poor neighbourhoods how to cook in an after-school programme, sending them home with a meal for their families. His first book, Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, followed shortly after, after he met author Anna Lapee, his co-writer. Published in 2006, it received a Nautilus Book Award for Social Change. For the next decade, Terry published three more books, all focused on Afro-vegan cooking, and made appearances across national radio and TV. He wrote recipes, essays and columns for a range of titles, such as Gourmet, Food and Wine, The New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and Vibe. He penned a series for TheRoot.com on sustainable eating and living. His essay Reclaiming True Grits sparked a heated debate around soul food. He dabbled in consulting, working with Bioneers Conference to raise funds for the Peoples Grocery in West Oakland, as well as other not-for-profits and corporations. From 2008, he was a food and society policy fellow at the WK Kellogg Foundation. In 2015, he gave a TED talk on Stirring up political change from the kitchen, and won a James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for his efforts to raise awareness of food justice issues and empower young people. It all sounds plain sailing, though Im sure that couldnt be further from the truth.

And then, that same year, he was named the inaugural chef-in-residence for the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco. I cant talk about the origins of Black Food without talking about the origins of this position, he says. The first programme he worked on brought together black female scholars, farmers and food justice activists to talk about the often erased history of black women in the shaping of food culture in America. The fact that we had people flying in from the east coast - a six-hour flight for a two-hour programme - showed me that we were onto something, he tells me.

Fast forward to 2020, the US is in the midst of both a pandemic and a racial reckoning after the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by the state. Around the same time, food magazine Bon Appetit was called out for its failure to support its BIPOC employees, not to mention a certain scandal involving a photo of the white editor-in-chief impersonating a Puerto Rican. The idea for the book had been in the back of his mind for some time, but now I felt like this was the moment, he says.

After Americas racial reckoning, Terry knew it was time to put Black Food out there (Adrian Octavius Walker)

I knew it was time for me to create a book that gave way to people working around these issues through the African diaspora and allow them to tell their most authentic food stories, whether thats through recipes, essays, poetry or visual art. Although its filled with recipes, to describe Black Food as just another cookbook is to do it a disservice. Its a deeply heartfelt tribute to black culinary ingenuity. Its a broad and divergent anthology that captures the voices of the African diaspora through the prism of food. Theres poetry and essays from the likes of Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Zoe Adjonyoh, Leah Penniman and Michael W Twitty. Theres recipes from Yewande Komolafe, BJ Dennis, Suzanne Barr, Pierre Thiam and Jenne Claiborne. Theres artwork from Emory Douglas and Sarina Mantle. Theres even a playlist, curated by Terry. Its not only redefining what black food really means, its redefining what a cookbook could and should be.

Black Food, which went on to become the most critically acclaimed cookbook to be published in North America in 2020, is the flagship publication of 4 Color Books, Terrys imprint with Ten Speed Press. While I knew this book would have a major impact - I knew it would elevate the voices and the work of dozens of people throughout the black diaspora - I wanted to use this as an opportunity to grab some power, he says. Hes using the imprint to create pipelines within food media so that there are more diverse voices in all jobs, not just as authors but as art directors, food photographers, food stylists, prop stylists, and so on. These positions are typically very white. Theres a paucity of BIPOC voices in these fields, he explains. A lot of it has to do with the fact that with these things you largely get into them by mentorship and by shadowing people on set. So I really wanted to use my two decades of connections, my platform and my social capital, to ensure it wasnt just one book, but a continuing effort to ensure that we are hearing from more diverse voices.

Its not only redefining what black food really means, its redefining what a cookbook could and should be (Handout)

I tell him I think he has a lot to be proud of, but hes the first to admit that he couldnt have done it alone. I just want to say it wasnt just me, he says. Im good at what Im good at. Im a good leader. Im good at assembling a team and Im good at helping move that team towards a goal. But this book is nothing without the many collaborators. Everyone just felt like it was a gift that they wanted to give to the world. Already, the pipelines are working. Its been covered by art and design journalists, and is even up for some art and design awards because of the unique cover design, photography and artwork.

While I am sure Black Food isnt even the peak of what we can expect in the future from Terry, he tells me that he is retiring from writing cookbooks and wants to focus on becoming a good publisher. Being a publisher and editor of this imprint is a new stage for me and Im uncomfortable! Theres a lot for me to learn and I like it. These are the moments where I can grow and become a better person. Dont expect another book for a while, though, and dont expect them to be cookbooks either. The imprint has acquired four titles, with one cookbook and one photography book coming out next year. Terry wants to spend the rest of 2022 working out how we want to show up in the world. In the autumn, they will be collaborating with MoAd on a Black Food summit, bringing together the contributors from the book, as well as others, for a half-IRL, half-virtual event geared towards community building, networking and skill sharing.

After two years of negative energy for everyone, its an exciting time. But what does Terry think the future actually holds? Is a healthy, just and sustainable food system achievable? Its not like its a pie in the sky, he says, adding that there are models out there around the world that are working. The goal for me is seeing more resources shifted into the hands of these communities and having homegrown solutions that empower people, he says. Give them the opportunity for ownership, whether its owning land that they could farm themselves, or co-ops with an ownership structure where theres not just some CEO that makes millions of dollars, but the funds are distributed among the people.

Often entities that are purporting to help can just reproduce harm, albeit unintentionally most of the time. If the government wants to give grants or throw money at people, then thats fine but then get out of the way! he laughs, ushering them away with a flick of the wrist. People know what the problems are. They are aware of the issues and they have brilliant ideas to solve those issues. What they need is the resources and power to do so. And perhaps an inspirational leader? I think I have just the guy.

The inaugural Santa Fe Literary Festival will be taking place between 20-23 May 2022. The four-day event is set to explore issues at a time of extraordinary change  in politics, race, immigration, the environment, and more. The Independent, as the events international media partner, will be providing coverage across each day of the festival as well as during the lead up with exclusive interviews with some of the headline authors. For more on the festival visit our Santa Fe Literary Festival section or visit the festivals website here. To find out more about buying tickets click here.




The Biden administration is weighing supplying Ukraine with killer drones called Switchblades that can pinpoint personnel and military equipment accurately, NBC News reported, citing two congressional officials briefed on the matter.

Manufacturer AeroVironment has previously sold two types of Switchblades to the U.S. Special Operations Command: the Switchblade 300 and Switchblade 600, the network noted. The 300 is used for targeting personnel, while the 600 is used for targeting equipment like armored vehicles, such as tanks.

The 600 can travel up to 50 miles and for as long as 40 minutes, NBC reported, citing the manufacturer. The set up time for the drones can take just minutes and they can be programmed to aim at targets miles away.

President Biden is anticipated to talk about a new round of military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, which the drones could be a part of, but no decisions on the Switchblades have been made, NBC News reported.

AeroVironment did not respond to the network's requests for comment, but NBC News did note a statement on the manufacturer's website that showed AeroVironment expressing its solidarity with Ukraine.

"We stand for freedom, and we stand with our allies and sovereign nations in their right to protect their homelands and their very lives when this fundamental right is threatened," AeroVironment said in a statement. "Our full dedication to supporting the response to 9/11 led us to become the world leader in small unmanned aircraft systems."

"Ukraine and our eastern European allies need these solutions now to win against the Russian military and strategically deter future aggression," it continued.

When asked about the report, a spokesperson for AeroVironment told The Hill in a statement that the company "is not in a position to comment on the specifics of the U.S. government's military aid for Ukraine or the transfer of equipment between governments."

The Hill has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

- Updated at 1:21 p.m.
President Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal for his attacks on Ukraine.

It appears to be the first time Biden has used the phrase to describe Putin. Other U.S. officials have previously avoided branding Putin as a war criminal, instead drawing attention to Russias attacks and expressing support for an international war crimes investigation.

The comment came in response to a question from a reporter who asked if Biden is ready to call Putin a war criminal.

The president first appeared to misunderstand the question and replied, No.

Biden then added: Did you ask me whether I should call?

Oh, I think he is a war criminal, the president clarified.

When asked about Bidens comment, White House press secretary said his words speak for themselves.

He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what weve seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country, Psaki said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

There is a legal process that continues to be underway at the State Department. Thats a process that they would have any updates on, she added.

Earlier on Wednesday, Biden condemned Russias bombing of apartment buildings, maternity wards, hospitals and other civilian targets.

Bidens comment came shortly after Senator Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.) said he should absolutely call Putin a war criminal, given Russias attacks on hospitals, maternity wards and apartment buildings in Ukraine and the militarys direct fire on civilians.

Ukrainian officials said Russian forces bombed a theater in Mariupol on Wednesday where hundreds of people had taken shelter.

The International Criminal Court first opened an investigation into allegations of Russian war crimes during the first days of the invasion. At the time, Ukraine said Russia was shelling civilian areas and had exploited the definition of genocide as a pretense to invade.

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Meanwhile, Biden announced plans on Wednesday to send cutting-edge armed drones to Ukraine as part of an additional $800 million aid package to support the war and humanitarian effort.

The world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make (Russian President Vladimir) Putin pay a very heavy price, Biden said. America is leading this effort, together with our allies and partners, providing an enormous level of security and humanitarian assistance that were adding to today and were going to continue to do more in the days and weeks ahead.

More from National Review
County officials say there were likely several eyewitnesses to a Monday afternoon shooting which resulted in a 21-year-old womans death and a 16-year-old boy being injured, as gunshots followed a dispute at a large gathering in the Freetown neighborhood.

Detectives are searching for leads in the shooting which killed Aiyana Walker, a resident of the Pasadena neighborhood. Walker was declared dead by firefighters shortly after Anne Arundel County Police responded to multiple reports of gunshots in the area after 4:30 p.m., Lt. Glen Shanahan of the county police department said on Monday evening.

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Walker was found on the sidewalk near a community center in the neighborhood suffering from gunshot wounds, according to police.

Later, police discovered a 16-year-old boy was injured in the incident and had been taken to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds. He has not been identified, but police say he is from Curtis Bay.

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We think hes going to be ok, Jacklyn Davis, a police department spokesperson said at a Tuesday news conference.

Police said the shooting stemmed from a dispute which arose while a large group gathered at the intersection of Whittaker Road and Huff Court on Monday afternoon.

Up to 30 people may have actually seen the shots being fired, Davis said, encouraging those with information to come forward.

We have a 21-year-old young woman who had her whole future ahead of her, who lost her life last night, and a 16-year-old teenager who is still recovering at an area hospital, she said.

Daily Top Stories Daily Get the day's top news, sports, opinion, features and local events. >

Its essential that people come forward and share what they know, Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman said at the news conference.

Those with information about this or other crimes are asked to contact the Anne Arundel County Police Tipline 410-222-4700 or the Homicide Unit 410-222-4731. Those providing information may remain anonymous.

It feels like the world is in an unstable place right now, Pittman said, noting mental health challenges can lead to some residents displaying themselves through violence and particularly gun violence.

Walkers death is the third homicide investigated by the Anne Arundel County Police Department this year. Police arrested Jaden Crowner, 18, of Brooklyn, on March 8 after Devin Freeman, 19, of Millersville, was found dead in Brooklyn Park on Feb. 27. Last week, 42-year-old Neka Natalie Jennings was found dead by police alongside her husband, 39-year-old Dajuan Jennings who investigators said shot his wife before shooting himself.

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Were hoping this is three for the entire year and were done. Three is three too many, Davis said.

At this point last year, the countys police department had investigated four homicides. They totaled 14 homicide investigations in 2021.

Annapolis Police has investigated one homicide this year, when Shakeo Williams, 21, was shot and killed in January. No suspects have been arrested in that case. Last year, they investigated 5 homicides.
Two British citizens imprisoned in Iran for years were returning home on Wednesday, the U.K. government said, ending lengthy ordeals that have strained relations between Tehran and London.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was detained in Iran for nearly six years, was "in the air" and beginning her journey back to the U.K., her local lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was flying away from 6 years of hell in Iran, Siddiq wrote on Twitter alongside an image of the aid worker seemingly aboard the plane.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said that Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, would return Wednesday. They added that another British citizen, Anoosheh Ashoori, a retired engineer in his 60s who has been held in Iran since 2017, was headed back to the U.K.

Both will be reunited with their families later today, Truss said, without specifying where that was set to take place.

The news will further raise hopes that the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers may be imminent after months of talks in Vienna. Former President Donald Trump backed out of the deal in 2018.

But for Zaghari-Ratcliffes family and supporters, it brings a happy end to a tireless campaign that has pushed for her release since April 2016. Her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who lives in London with their daughter Gabriella, 6, went on hunger strike in October to highlight her case. He ended it after 21 days.

Ratcliffe said his wife had asked him to make her a cup of tea on her arrival back in Britain.

There will probably be a couple of days peace and quiet somewhere else, and then back here," he told reporters in London, standing alongside Gabriella.

I think actually we were looking at the house and it needs a bit of tidying, so there might be a bit of tidying, he added.

'Political pawns'

Iran has been accused of detaining the British nationals to force the U.K. to settle a dispute dating to the 1970s. Iran says Britain owes it about $524 million because of a canceled order for British tanks.

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Britain had said it was willing to pay the debt and Truss confirmed in a statement that the debt had been settled in parallel with the release of the detainees.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori are dual U.K.-Iranian citizens who had been imprisoned on what the British government maintains were trumped-up charges while visiting family in Iran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years, accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government. She was then sentenced to additional time last year on a charge of promoting propaganda against the system for having participated in a protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London in 2009.

Ashoori was sentenced to 10 years in prison, accused of spying for Israel, a charge his family called bogus.

Truss said in her statement that she had the deepest admiration for the resolve, courage and determination, the pair had shown.

She added that Morad Tahbaz, an Iranian American environmental activist, had also been released from prison on furlough. Tahbaz, 66, also holds British citizenship. He was among a group of wildlife conservationists in Iran who were accused of espionage after using cameras to track endangered species. He was detained in 2018.

Several more U.S. citizens are still being detained

Human rights groups say the British, U.S. and other Western nationals imprisoned in Iran are being held on baseless charges and that Tehran uses detained foreigners as bargaining chips and to extract ransom payments.

Antonio Zappulla, chief executive of the Thomson Reuters Foundation where Zaghari-Ratcliffe was previously employed, said that staff were overjoyed at news of her release.

An innocent victim of an international dispute, Nazanin has been one of many used as political pawns. Her treatment has been utterly inhumane, he said in a statement.

A representative for the Iranian mission to the United Nations said last year that the Iranian government categorically rejects allegations that the pair and others being detained by the government were hostages.
Mentions of dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei were reportedly censored from one publication. JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images

Two British publishers censored words in books so that they could be printed cheaply in China, FT reported.

References to topics including Taiwan were cut from books published by Quarto and Octopus, FT said.

This is not the first time the publishing industry has self-censored to appease Beijing.

According to the Financial Times, two British publishers censored words in books meant for Western audiences so that they could print them at a low cost in China.

Two unnamed sources cited by the FT said references to topics deemed sensitive by China, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, were repeatedly edited out in books published by Quarto  publisher of "This Book Is Antiracist" and "The Complete Language of Flowers"  as well as Octopus Books, which is part of literary giant Hachette.

These books, which are sold in the West, were censored after the companies' Chinese suppliers said they were unable to publish the texts in their original forms due to legal restrictions on what can be published in China, according to the FT. Limitations include compliance with a rule introduced in January 2018 that requires all maps to be approved by the state before being published, the South China Morning Post reported.

The report sparked concern that as publishers continue to look to China for cost-effective printing solutions, they'll be increasingly beholden to Chinese censorship.

Octopus, FT reported, cut out references to Taiwan in at least two books since 2020  with an entire section on the island censored in one of them. In the same period, Quarto cut mentions of Hong Kong and dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei from two different works, according to the outlet. In one publication, "Taiwanese" was modified to "East Asian."

The titles of the books have not been named as the sources said this could risk their anonymity, FT said.

A Quarto spokesperson told FT that the company did not make changes at the request of suppliers. However, the firm had "a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of our shareholders" and would work with Chinese suppliers who "consistently deliver" good value for money, the spokesperson said.

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An Octopus Books spokesperson told FT that books with sensitive details relevant to the text are not printed in China. Any changes made "are not material, and we always ask the permission of the author first to check they are comfortable to proceed," the spokesperson said.

Quarto and Octopus Books did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

This is not the first time the publishing industry has self-censored to appease Beijing.

In 2017, academic publisher Springer Nature blocked access to more than a thousand articles in China to comply with demands from the Chinese government, per AP. The articles were related to topics such as Taiwan and Tiananmen Square.

Cambridge University Press also censored hundreds of politically sensitive articles in China that same year before reversing its decision.

Read the original article on Insider
President Biden signs a $1.5-trillion spending bill that includes over $760 million in new congressional earmarks for California. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press)

After a decadelong prohibition, congressional earmarks make their return this week, sending more than $760 million in transportation, military, healthcare and other projects to California.

President Biden signed into law a $1.5-trillion government spending bill on Tuesday that includes financing for initiatives specifically written by lawmakers seeking to boost their local universities, roadways or parks with federal dollars. Nearly 500 of the projects will be in California.

The biggest projects in the state's $766-million pot involve military construction at naval bases in Coronado and Ventura County requested by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Other undertakings include $15 million to dredge Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard, written by Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village); $15 million to replenish beaches from Anaheim Bay to Newport Bay, pushed by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Seal Beach); and $10 million to stabilize the Coaster commuter rail along the Del Mar Bluffs, led by Feinstein.

Other Southern California projects funded in the bill include $2 million to convert a Santa Monica parking structure into affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness, written by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and $1.5 million for Children's Hospital Los Angeles to buy a high-performance heart MRI scanner.

Orange County beaches will soon be shored up with federal funds. Pictured is North Star Beach in Newport, which health officials temporarily closed to swimming in 2019. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Earmarks were banned on Capitol Hill 11 years ago at the behest of House Republicans and then-President Obama in response to scandals surrounding how lawmakers were using them. Democrats brought so-called pork barrel spending back last year with reforms that they say will prevent abuse. Some lawmakers, particularly conservatives, say earmarks can lead to wasteful spending.

Democrats, who renamed earmarks the more politically palatable "community project funding," say lawmakers know what their districts need better than a Washington-based bureaucrat who would otherwise decide what receives funding. And lawmakers from both major parties like to promote the spending to their constituents.

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Within moments of the spending bills passage in the House last week, many lawmakers were broadcasting the federal pork they were shipping back home. Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska  a state with a long history of winning earmarks  boasted that he had "proudly secured" funding for a fire station and health center.

Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) similarly bragged about using earmarks "to deliver real results for Central Coast residents."

In a sign of the political potency of such earmarks, many of the most vulnerable House Democrats secured sizable pots of money. Among Californias most endangered incumbent Democrats in this fall's midterm election, Rep. Mike Levin of San Juan Capistrano landed $21 million for eight projects and Rep. Josh Harder of Turlock won more than $11 million for at least eight.

Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, the most conservative Senate Democrat and a swing vote on several Biden administration priorities, counted up a whopping $166 million in earmarks for his state.

Congressional leaders like earmarks because a lawmaker who has a project tucked into a larger bill is more likely to vote yes. Such spending be a potent form of political grease in the complex legislative process. But thats not always the case.

A house burns during last year's River fire in Nevada County, Calif. Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) voted against the earmarks he got for the area, including $1 million for a fire-suppression system in the county. (Xavier Mascarenas / Sacramento Bee)

Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) received millions in earmarks, including $4 million to expand broadband in Plumas and Sierra counties. He also got $1 million for a fire-suppression system in Nevada County. Yet he voted against the portion of the bill that contained that funding.

LaMalfa said he supported many individual pieces of the legislation, but criticized House leaders for giving lawmakers less than a day to read the 2,741-page measure. He was also worried about the overall price tag.

Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) similarly secured millions in earmarks, including money to improve the streets in the cities of Highland and Hesperia, but voted against that portion of the legislation.

The bill "increases spending over previous years at a time when our national debt is already over $30 trillion, which is $90,000 per American ... without including any measures to reduce the national debt," he said in an explanation of his opposition.

It wasn't just Republicans who voted against portions of the bill containing their pork spending.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) pushed for $1.5 million for a seawall in the city of Alameda and $500,000 for the Youth Alive violence prevention program. But she voted against that part of the bill, which also covered defense spending.

Lee had advocated for the earmarks as a member of the committee that crafts spending bills. But as a longtime antiwar advocate, she has historically opposed defense spending bills. It was unfortunate procedural circumstances that led defense spending to be combined with earmarks that she supported, an aide said.

Not all lawmakers included earmarks in the bill.

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) scored an earmark for $15 million to dredge Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard. (Paul Harris / Getty Images)

Several Republicans did not request any earmarks. They included California Reps. Darrell Issa of Bonsall and Tom McClintock of Elk Grove and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield.

When Democrats brought back the practice last year, they implemented new rules to reduce the chances of requests being used in corrupt ways.

Lawmakers keenly remember the scandal involving former Rep. Randy Duke Cunningham (R-Rancho Santa Fe), who resigned after pleading guilty in 2005 to receiving $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in exchange for including earmarks in legislation. And former House Appropriations Committee Chairman John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) was under investigation for using his post to steer earmarks to his brother's lobbying firm, the Washington Post reported after the lawmaker died in 2010.

Under the new rules, lawmakers must publicly disclose their requests and certify that they and their families do not have any financial interest in them; and for-profit entities can no longer receive funding from earmarks.

Only one House Democrat, Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine, did not seek to include earmarks in the bill, saying they invite corruption and wasteful backroom deals.

Pork-barrel spending should remain banned, Porter wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last year.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
NEWBURGH, NY  The Newburgh woman who was accused of starving a 7-year-old to death admitted her guilt in court Wednesday.

Leticia Bravo, 39, of Newburgh, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of Peter Cuacuas, 7, according to Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Bravo will be sentenced to 15 years in state prison and five years post-release supervision when she is sentenced June 21.

Authorities said that Bravo dated Peter's father  Arturo Cuacuas  and was the child's primary caregiver.

Arturo Cuacuas, 54, of Newburgh, pleaded guilty Feb. 2 to felony criminally negligent homicide.

Prosecutors said the child was kept secreted inside Bravo's city of Newburgh apartment while he starved to death.

Arturo Cuacuas did not live with her during that time. He admitted that in the months prior to Peter's death, he would see him with Bravo once a week and noted his deteriorating condition and that she failed to take appropriate steps to help him.

Cuacuas will be sentenced to one-and-one-third to four years in state prison. The plea agreement required that he cooperate and testify against Bravo.

When she pleaded guilty, Bravo admitted being Peter's primary caregiver, knowingly underfeeding the child and failing to provide him with medical attention that she knew he required.

She previously worked as a child-care provider, authorities said.

Bravo also admitted that she intended on causing physical injury to the child and that she recklessly created a grave risk of serious physical injury to the boy, with ultimately ended with his death.

Shortly after 8 a.m., Feb. 10, 2021, Bravo took Peter's lifeless body to St. Luke's Hospital in Newburgh. He was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

An investigation by the City of Newburgh Police Department, aided by the New York State Police and the Orange County District Attorney's Office, found that during the school year that began in September 2020, Bravo became Peter's primary caretaker.

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She was the girlfriend of Peter's father, Arturo Cuacuas. The child would stay with her at her apartment in Newburgh every day except Saturday, when Bravo and the child would stay at Cuacuas's apartment.

An autopsy concluded that Peter, who weighed just 37 pounds, had died as a result of malnutrition.

Bravo kept him in a bedroom that could be locked from the outside.

The child never logged on for virtual schooling from January 2021, despite numerous conversations between Bravo and the child's teachers and other school representatives.

Hoovler said it may never be known why Bravo subjected an innocent child in her care to what must have been an agonizing and completely preventable death.

"It is unthinkable that someone would accept the responsibility of being a young child's primary caregiver and then deny that child the barest necessities of life," he said.

Hoovler said it was truly disturbing how the child was kept hidden from authorities.

"Absent the COVID-19 pandemic, school and social service protocols would likely have revealed Peter's deteriorating situation to authorities," he said.

This article originally appeared on the Mid Hudson Valley Patch
Anne Arundel County will receive more than $13 million for various improvement projects in the federal omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last week.

While most of the funding will go to larger county projects, such as stormwater management and purchasing electric vehicles, $500,000 is earmarked to upgrade the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Camp Woodlands site on Riva Road in Annapolis.

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Its a project the Girl Scouts persuaded Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen to support, after getting positive feedback from the county.

Its feeling its age right now, said Violet Apple, the organizations CEO. In Girl Scouts, camping is an amazing way for us to retain girls. A lot of girls stay because of the camping experience.

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Renovating the roughly 35-acre campgrounds will cost at least $10 million, Apple said. Improvements will include installing new plumbing and electrical infrastructure, building new cabins and updating old facilities to be more accessible.

Being outdoors and just breathing in fresh air and learning about nature and stewardship of the land is a great way to help build solid mental health and, not only that, but girls can go to camp and they learn about risk-taking, Apple said. They learn about all these things that they think they maybe couldnt do.

The camp offers a ropes course, canoeing, kayaking and other outdoor programs. Apple estimates the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland serves about 11,000 girls from kindergarten through 12th grade and about 6,000 adults.

For generations, young Marylanders have enjoyed Girl Scouts Camp Woodlands in Annapolis. We want to ensure that generations to come can do the same, Van Hollen said.

The organization is hoping to get much of the rest of the upgrade funding from selling Camp Ilchester in Ellicott City, a sale that was announced last year. Howard County said in December it was making a $6 million offer to buy the property.

We remain committed to protecting this green space for our residents to enjoy for many years, and we look forward to working with the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland to make this a reality, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. Howard Countys offer for Camp Ilchester is still under consideration, based on our most recent communications with the Girl Scouts.

Apple says Camp Ilchester is just on the market at this point.

In addition to the sale of the Howard County property, the organization is trying to raise additional funds to support the Camp Woodlands upgrades.

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Other Anne Arundel County projects that received federal funding in the omnibus bill ranged from $5 million for electric vehicles and charging stations for the county to $300,000 for improvements at City Dock. Its a wide-ranging list, but one the county considered very carefully, said County Executive Steuart Pittman.

We internally had conversations among my staff and some of our departments about not only what is needed, because there are lots more needs than these, but also things that we thought would be viewed favorably in Congress and not be controversial and be most likely to get funded, Pittman said.

Breaking News Alerts As it happens When big news breaks in our area, be the first to know. >

U.S. Rep. Anthony Brown, a Prince Georges County Democrat, secured $5 million to go toward Anne Arundel Countys goal of having all-electric public transit and light- and medium-duty vehicles by 2037. The money can be used for the vehicles and charging stations.

Brown also earmarked $3 million to help with the creation of a new $16 million community center in Brooklyn Park  the area in the county with the highest levels of poverty, substance abuse and parental incarceration, Pittman said.

When we brought residents of Brooklyn Park together they said that their number one priority was to create a rec center, community center, particularly for young people, Pittman said, I cant tell you how thrilled I am about this.

Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, a Democrat, secured $2 million to contribute to a $10 million upgrade to the stormwater management system in the Patapsco River watershed and another $2 million to help maintain a property near Carrs Beach that the city of Annapolis will purchase.

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Smaller ticket items included $500,000 to expand Youth Works  a paid summer work experience program coordinated by the county for 16- to 24-year-olds run by the countys Workforce Development Corporation.

The $13 million disbursement to Anne Arundel County is part of the more than $104 million in federal money Maryland will receive in the $1.5 trillion package.

Baltimore Sun Media reporter Katie V. Jones contributed to this article.
BEIJING (AP)  Chinas government tried Wednesday to reassure jittery investors by promising support for real estate and technology companies after regulatory crackdowns caused stock prices to plunge.

Regulators should issue market-friendly policies to invigorate the economy, officials said at a Cabinet meeting led by Vice Premier Liu He, President Xi Jinpings top economic adviser, the official Xinhua News Agency said

The announcement appeared aimed at rebuilding business and investor confidence as the ruling Communist Party tries to revive economic growth that slid to 4% i n the final quarter of 2021, compared with the full years expansion of 8.1%.

The downturn was triggered by a collapse in construction and housing sales after Beijing launched a crackdown on debt in real estate that officials worry is dangerously high.

That added to private sector anxiety about the status of Chinese industries following anti-monopoly and data-security investigations, multimillion-dollar fines and public criticism of e-commerce and other internet companies and a spat with Washington about oversight of companies with U.S.-traded shares.

Xi's government has promised to support entrepreneurs who generate new jobs and wealth. But crackdowns have shaken the private sector since 2020, with no indication when the uncertainty might end.

Wednesday's announcement gave no sign the debt, anti-monopoly and other regulatory campaigns are finished. But some economists suggested enforcement may have peaked after leaders announced a policy pivot in December to focus on the shorter-term goal of shoring up economic growth.

Share prices of companies including e-commerce giant Alibaba Group have fallen by almost half on foreign exchanges, wiping out more than $1 trillion in stock value since the start of last year.

Liu, the vice premier, spoke to stop the stock market rout, Larry Hu and Xinyu Ji of Macquarie Group said in a report.

The tone of the meeting is strong, suggesting that policymakers are deeply concerned about the recent market rout, they said.

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Chinese stock markets rebounded after the announcement. Hong Kongs Hang Seng index soared 9.1% while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 3.5%.

Hong Kong-traded shares in Alibaba jumped 25.8%. Tencent Holdings, operator of the popular WeChat message service, surged 23%. Livestreaming site Kuaishou Technology added nearly 34%.

The Hang Seng Tech Index for technology stocks on the Hong Kong exchange ended the day up 22.2%.

These announcements dont mean much individually, but collectively, they suggest policymakers wont sit idle, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report.

The economy also is encumbered by anti-coronavirus measures that shut down the southern business center of Shenzhen and other cities, raising the risk of disruptions of manufacturing and trade.

Chinas No. 2 leader, Premier Li Keqiang, said last week the government hopes to generate as many as 13 million new job s this year but faces many difficulties and challenges. Forecasters say the ruling party is likely to struggle to meet its official 5.5% economic growth target, the lowest since the 1990s.

Abroad, Russia's attack on Ukraine has pushed up oil and other commodity prices and raised the risk of more snags for trade at a time when economies are recovering from the pandemic.

The meeting of the Cabinets financial stability committee promised to propose supporting measures for real estate, Xinhua said. It gave no details of possible initiatives.

Housing sales and construction, industries that support millions of jobs, plunged last year. The government has tried to revive demand by telling banks to lend more to home buyers, but economists say Beijing is moving cautiously to avoid igniting a surge in housing costs and debt.

In a separate statement, the agency that regulates Chinese banks and insurers promised to encourage lenders to support development of the real economy by maintaining moderate loan growth.

It promised to support healthy development of real estate while repeating the official slogan that housing is for living, not for speculation."

The agency said Chinas state-owned insurers would be encouraged to increase investment in stock markets.

The Cabinet officials promised to coordinate more closely on policies that will affect financial markets and to move cautiously on carrying out any that might disrupt them.

The government will promote the development of internet industries and improve their competitiveness, Xinhua said, without giving details.

Entrepreneurs and investors also are uneasy about the status of Chinese companies on U.S. and other foreign stock exchanges after Beijing and Washington clashed over how much information American regulators can require those companies to divulge.

Tech companies with shares traded abroad also face heightened scrutiny by regulators of their cross-border data flows.

In December, Chinas dominant ride-hailing service, Didi Global Inc., announced it was leaving the New York Stock Exchange and shifting its share-trading to Hong Kong. That followed a data-security investigation of Didi launched by Chinese regulators shortly after its June 30 stock market debut.

Wednesday's announcement sounded a positive note about Chinese companies and foreign stock exchanges, though it was vague, saying only that Beijing will continue to support overseas share listings.

It said Chinese and U.S. regulators are having a good dialogue about stock markets and working on a plan for cooperation following disputes over audit requirements that led to a threat to kick some Chinese companies off American exchanges.
GOODYEAR, Ariz.  By the time Luis Castillo arrived at camp Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds clubhouse was already without Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez.

There has been a who is next? feeling in the clubhouse after Mondays trade signaled at least a short-term rebuild and Castillo has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout the season. Hed arguably be the top pitcher available on the trade market.

Cincinnati Reds: It will be tough for the Reds to replace Sonny Gray the teammate as much as the pitcher

I dont worry about it too much because Ive been traded to different teams along the line, Castillo said, according to team interpreter Jorge Merlos. This is just how this sport is. Its how it works.

Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Luis Castillo (58) listens to Cincinnati Reds bench coach Freddie Benavides during workouts, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at the baseball team's spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz.

Castillo is two years from reaching free agency and projected to command around $8 million as an arbitration-eligible player, according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Reds General Manager Nick Krall said the Reds are no longer making trades to simply cut payroll and theyre looking to add to the roster through free agency or trades.

Cincinnati Reds trade: Cincinnati Reds trade Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker to Seattle Mariners

The Reds asking price for Castillo remains sky high, according to a source, which makes it unlikely Castillo will be traded prior to Opening Day.

Its just a business, Castillo said. Every team makes changes and its part of the sport. Its tough we lost some great guys, but now we just have to move forward.

Castillo spent the offseason in the Dominican Republic, hoping to build on the way he finished in the final four months of the 2021 season. He had a 7.22 ERA through his first 11 starts and a 2.73 ERA across his final 22 starts.

He knew during the lockout it would be a shortened spring training, so he ramped up his offseason activities to make sure hed be ready for a potential start of the season in April.

Hunter Greene: With the Reds in a state of transition, the spotlight shifts to Hunter Greene

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Like my idol said, Pedro Martinez, its not about how you start, its about how you finish, Castillo said. With that in mind, I feel like I did really well last year even though the start of the season was a little bit tough. I was able to rebound and finish strong. Hopefully, this season coming around, start strong and finish strong as well.

Cincinnati Reds infielder Mike Moustakas (9) throws to first during infield drills, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at the baseball team's spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz.

Mike Moustakas to third

As expected after the Reds traded Eugenio Suarez to Seattle, Mike Moustakas will enter the season as the starting third baseman, manager David Bell and Krall confirmed.

We all came into camp trying to find ways to help us win ballgames, Moustakas said. Whatever our roles were going to be, we were going to be happy with it and find ways to help us win. I think that was a huge asset to what we had going on, especially with Geno, Wink, everybody in this clubhouse.

Nick Senzel: 'Ive learned to have more patience.' Nick Senzel is ready to start fresh in 2022

Moustakas was limited to 62 games last season because of right foot injuries.

I feel good, Moustakas said. Worked hard this offseason to get my foot to being able to play every day. I feel good. Obviously, havent played in a game yet since the end of the season, but I feel ready to go.

Cincinnati Reds pitchers Alexis Diaz (84), Reiver Sanmartin (52) and Dauri Moreta (55), walks back to the clubhouse at the conclusion of workouts, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at the baseball team's spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz.

Cincinnati Reds injury updates

Infielder Juniel Querecuto, a non-roster invitee, had surgery to repair the hook of the hamate bone in his left hand and will miss at least a few weeks of camp. He signed a minor-league deal in the offseason.

Reliever Lucas Sims may have a delayed start to spring training games. Bell said hes not injured, but its more based on the timing for ramping up for the start of the season.

A lot of these guys were trying to time up their progression just right based on the information we had, Bell said. (Sims) progression might be a little bit behind. We havent completely defined that yet.

Reds roster 2022: Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell breaks down roster battles heading into spring training

Right-handed pitcher Brandon Bailey, who missed the 2021 season because of Tommy John surgery, likely wont be ready for the start of the season because of tendinitis last month. He said he was ahead of schedule in his Tommy John rehab, which was the second Tommy John surgery of his career.

Cincinnati Reds pitchers Amir Garrett (50) and Hunter Greene (21) joke around before stretch, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at the baseball team's spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz.

More Jesse Winker, Eugenio Suarez trade fallout

The Reds were scheduled to have their first team meeting of the season Monday when the front office completed the trade that sent Jesse Winker and Suarez to the Mariners.

The trade, as expected, changed the entire mood of the clubhouse. The team meeting was postponed to Tuesday.

(Monday) was a tough day just from a relationship standpoint, obviously two very good players as well, Bell said. You become, like, family with players youve been around, especially those two guys.

Sell the team, Bob? Doc: Maybe Bob Castellini should sell the Reds. What an utterly sad day for Cincinnati.

Right now, after (Monday) and going through the day, its back to focusing on what were doing. Weve talked about it. It doesnt change. Really excited about the group we have. Were focused on reaching our potential. When we do that, great things can happen. Were excited about that. We have a lot of work to do.

What made the timing of the trade unique is few trades typically happen at the beginning of spring training. Its a special circumstance this year because of the 99-day lockout which condensed three months of offseason business into the first few weeks at the beginning of camp.

Nick Krall: GM Nick Krall: Cincinnati Reds have not been in talks with free agent Nick Castellanos

I have never been through that, Bell said. It was different. If its the trade deadline, you almost expect it. Obviously, this year is different, so it didnt come completely out of the blue. The timing of it was different because it was the first day and everyone is excited to get on the field and everyone is together for the first time. Thats something to just adjust to and we will make the most of it.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Reds trade rumors not bothering Luis Castillo
Arlene Silver and Dick Van Dyke. Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images

Dick Van Dyke and his wife Arlene Silver are 46 years apart in age.

The couple first met in 2006 at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

They were married in 2012, and released music together on Valentine's Day in 2022.

January 28, 2007: The pair met at the 13th annual SAG Awards, after which Van Dyke hired Silver as a makeup artist.

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver at the 19th annual SAG Awards in January 2013. Dan MacMedan/WireImage

Van Dyke told HuffPost that he spotted Silver at the SAG Awards, where she "stopped [him] dead" in the green room.

He told The Washington Post that he had been speaking to Cate Blanchett when he saw Silver walk by, compelling him to introduce himself.

Silver later told HuffPost that she had seen Van Dyke's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame the Thursday before the awards, as well as "Mary Poppins," which Van Dyke famously stars in.

"I remember seeing Dick at the catering table with his bow tie and his big smile. Right when I sat down, he was sitting next to me. He said, 'Hi, I'm Dic,'" Silver told the publication. "The first thing I asked him was, 'Weren't you in 'Mary Poppins'?' I wasn't sure."

Van Dyke went on to hire Silver for some of his Hallmark movies, she told HuffPost.

At the time of their meeting at the SAG Awards, Van Dyke was still with his partner of 30 years, Michelle Triola.

October 30, 2009: Van Dyke's previous partner, Michelle Triola, died of lung cancer.

Dick Van Dyke and Michelle Triola in 1988 at the CBS TV Affiliates Party. Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

In 2009, Van Dyke's partner of thirty-plus years, actor Michelle Triola, died of lung cancer in the home they shared together, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Van Dyke told HuffPost that during the year after Triola died, Silver would visit him after work to bring him food, cook, do his dishes, and check up on him.

"I fell in love pretty hard," Van Dyke told the publication.

Silver told HuffPost that during that time, their relationship "became something else."

February 29, 2012: Van Dyke and Silver got married.

Arlene Silver and Dick Van Dyke on the SAG Awards red carpet in 2012. Seve Granitz/WireImage

Van Dyke and Silver were married in a private ceremony at a chapel near Van Dyke's home in Malibu, The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2012. For the ceremony, Silver wore a pink dress from Anthropologie rather than a traditional wedding gown.

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In a 2013 interview with Parade, Van Dyke called marrying Silver "one of the smartest moves" he'd ever made.

Van Dyke told HuffPost in a 2013 interview that everybody thought he was "crazy" when he married somebody "half" his age. "But she is just an absolute angel. She sings and dances so there's a lot of that going around the house. She's a great cook," the actor said.

"And the age difference hasn't been a problem at all. Emotionally I'm about 13. She's very, very wise for her age so I'm just having the time of my life," he added.

September 8, 2012: Van Dyke and Silver hosted a larger, "Seafoam Circus" wedding.

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver at the "Backstage At The Geffen" fundraising event in June 2012. Mark Davis/WireImage

After their private ceremony, Van Dyke and Silver had a larger extravaganza that was "seafoam circus" themed. The event, as detailed in a Rebel Belle Weddings blog post that Van Dyke reposted on Twitter, was both festival and nautical themed, featuring elements like a gymnast performing in a plastic bubble in a pool, a big top circus tent, and hula-hooping.

Silver has shared several photos from the celebration on Instagram over the years, including one in which she swapped her and Van Dyke's faces, and another in which she hula-hoops on the dance floor.

December 2015: Van Dyke and Silver celebrated Van Dyke's 90th birthday at Disneyland.

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver celebrated his 90th birthday at Disneyland. Paul Hiffmeyer/Disney Parks via Getty Images

In December 2015, the couple celebrated Van Dyke's 90th at Disneyland. Silver posted a photo of the celebration on Instagram in December 2021.

As the Orange County Register reported at the time, Van Dyke and Silver traveled down Main Street U.S.A. while fans sang happy birthday to him. People reported that there was later a flash mob in his honor at The Grove, an outdoor shopping center in Los Angeles, where dancers performed to "Mary Poppins" songs in costumes reminiscent of Van Dyke's character, Burt.

March 2, 2019: Silver posted a photo from their wedding on Instagram in honor of their seventh anniversary.

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver at the 2017 AMD British Academy Britannia Awards. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Several days after the couple's seventh wedding anniversary in 2019, Silver posted a photo of herself and Van Dyke cutting their wedding cake. In it, she's wearing the pink dress that she was married in, her hands touching those of a smiling Van Dyke.

"Four score and seven years ago, the Mister @official_dick_van_dyke and I took a 'leap' of faith and jumped into a live together filled with laughter, music, dancing, kindness, positivity and joy," Silver wrote. "I love you so dang much, it hurts."

June 5, 2021: Silver and Van Dyke launched a TikTok account together.

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver at the premiere of HBO's "If You're Not In The Obit, Eat Breakfast." Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

In June 2021, the couple launched a TikTok account under the handle @mrvandyke, which Silver promoted on her Instagram account.

The first video on the account shows Van Dyke dancing to Beck's "loser," while subsequent videos show Silver narrating videos of one of their cats and Van Dyke serenading her.

June 6, 2021: Van Dyke was celebrated as part of the Kennedy Center Honors.

Arlene Silver and Dick Van Dyke attend the 43rd annual Kennedy Center Honors in May 2021. Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Van Dyke was honored at the 43rd annual Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C., Good Housekeeping reported.

Silver later posted a video of herself singing "Class" from "Chicago" with actor Chita Rivera's daughter Lisa, with Van Dyke chiming in in the background. Van Dyke and the elder Rivera costarred in the original production of "Bye Bye Birdie" on Broadway in 1960, The Washington Post reported.

February 14, 2022: Silver posted a cover of "Everybody Loves a Lover" with her husband and his barbershop group.

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver in "Everybody Loves a Lover." arlene silver/YouTube

On Valentine's Day 2022, Silver posted a cover of Doris Day's "Everybody Loves A Lover," featuring her husband and Eric Bradley, Bryan Chadima, and Mike Mendyke of The Vantastix, the barbershop group to which Van Dyke belongs. The cover also features a trumpet solo by Tony Guerrero.

The video, directed by Silver herself, shows the couple dancing and singing together.

March 6, 2022: Van Dyke told Closer Weekly he didn't want people to think his wife was a "gold digger."

Dick Van Dyke and Arlene Silver at the premiere of Disney's "Mary Poppins Returns" in 2018. Amanda Edwards/WireImage)

In March 2022, Van Dyke told Closer Weekly that he was initially worried about the reception of his relationship with Silver.

"I thought there would be an outcry about a gold digger marrying an old man, but no one ever took that attitude," he told the publication.

"We share an attitude," he told Closer Weekly. "She can go with the flow. She loves to sing and dance, which we do almost every day. She's just delightful."

Read the original article on Insider
Mar. 16Early on during her Tuesday night concert at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center, zoomer superstar Billie Eilish announced she had two rules for the crowd of about 15,000.

First, she said, you are not allowed to judge anybody. Second: "F---- have fun!"

The 20-year-old's rise to global fame has been remarkable to watch. Homeschooled by free spirited, artsy parents, Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell were encouraged to follow their artistic muse as teens and both gravitated toward music. When Eilish was 13, she began writing songs with her brother and recording them in their parents' home.

The pair's songs dabble in hip-hop, electropop, goth and any number of other more unconventional styles. Eilish's ethereal whisper of a voice, which sometimes transforms into an angry snarl, is more about texture and mood than technical skill. (Not to say she can't sing, just that she wouldn't make it too far on, say, "American Idol.")

Much like Taylor Swift did early in her career, Eilish has an amazing ability to connect directly with young fans, in part because they're her peers. She speaks their language.

Turns out Eilish speaks a lot of languages. She's found success around the world, earned seven Grammys and became the youngest artist ever to write a James Bond theme song, which earned her an Oscar nomination.

In early 2020, Eilish set out on what was going to become her fifth and largest tour to date. The pandemic cut the outing short after just three shows. So Eilish and her brother went ahead and made their second album together, "Happier Than Ever." And the current tour isn't an updated version of her ill-fated 2020 dates, but instead an entirely new show that found time for nearly every song from "Happier Than Ever."

Early in her career, Eilish dressed in loud, baggy clothing coupled with a perpetual frown. She plunged into Old Hollywood glam style for "Happier Than Ever," but the garish, oversized look was back Tuesday night. The idea is less about fashion and more about giving Eilish the ability to move more freely.

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Move she did, darting up and down a catwalk that extended from her sparse stage, which projected video in sync with the screens behind her. The only other people on stage were drummer Andrew Marshall and Finneas, who played a number of instruments, but Eilish commanded the attention of the entire arena.

Eilish also showed none of the dour gloom that helped make her famous. She smiled and giggled and playfully interacted with the screaming crowd, giving them instructions to jump around and, as noted above, have fun. At times, her vocals seemed to get buried in the bass-heavy mix. Then again, it could be it was actually the audience drowning her out, as they loudly sang along to many of the more than two dozen songs in the set.

Huge, almost throbbing, anthems dominated the night, from the show-opening "Bury a Friend" to "You Should See Me in a Crown" to a mashup of three of her early tracks, "Bellyache," "Ocean Eyes" and "Bored." But her quieter moments were much more compelling, like the lush ballad "Halley's Comet" and "Getting Older," which she sang in front of screens showing home videos of her as a kid.

The strongest song was her absolutely gorgeous Bond theme song, "No Time to Die," which manages to sound both dramatically regal and utterly modern at the same time. The fact that, like the rest of her catalog, Eilish and her brother wrote and recorded it without outside interference suggests Eilish's fame will not be fleeting.
WASHINGTON  U.S. lawmakers this month pitched a new program to increase adoption of artificial intelligence across combatant commands, one of the latest efforts to boost a technology that officials say provides an edge over world competitors like Russia and China.

A $200 million Artificial Intelligence Development Fund was included in the $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2022 government funding package, and was highlighted by House and Senate appropriation committees. Another $50 million was flagged to improve recruitment and development of AI talent at the Department of Defense.

The congressional defense committees oversight efforts discovered numerous opportunities to accelerate the pace of change, especially with respect to security and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, space and cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure and public shipyard improvements, budget documents state.

The efforts lodged in the latest budget dovetail with the Pentagons Artificial Intelligence and Data Acceleration initiative, announced in June 2021. The program embeds data-focused technical teams with the 11 combatant commands and hopes to streamline workflows.

By dispatching teams to our combatant commands, ADA looks to generate foundational capabilities through a series of implementation experiments or exercises, each one purposefully building understanding through successive and incremental learning, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said March 12 at the South by Southwest kickoff in Texas. This software engineering approach will be critical to advancing our data-centered capabilities.

The Pentagon has described AI as a game-changer  the sort of development that demands investment, lest the U.S. be left behind.

Artificial intelligence, according to the Defense Departments 2018 strategy, can help maintain equipment, reduce costs, improve readiness and modernize organizations. It is also a key component of the departments ongoing communications overhaul, Joint All-Domain Command and Control, which involves substantial amounts of data that need deciphering, sorting and relaying.

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As AI implementation scales across the department, it has the potential to automate routine functions, lead to improved decision making and allow for multi-domain integration, Hicks said last summer. Only through the integration of AI and related technologies will we gain both an information advantage and operational advantage on rapidly accelerating future battlefields.

The Defense Department had more than 685 artificial intelligence projects under its umbrella as of April 2021. The projects span several services and combatant commands, according to the Government Accountability Office, a monitor of federal programs and spending.

The Army and Navy are each handling more than 200 artificial intelligence projects, mostly funded via research and development. At least 17 of the Pentagons 88 reported major weapon systems in fiscal year 2021 had AI projects associated with them, the watchdog said.
San Antonio police clashed with a crowd that gathered after three police officers fatally shot a man they said pulled out a gun while they tried to arrest him.

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Rep. Kweisi Mfume filed legislation Tuesday to posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to the late Henrietta Lacks, a Baltimore County woman whose cells were used for medical research without her consent.

The Congressional Gold Medal is is considered to be one of the highest civilian awards in the United States. Its awarded for distinguished achievements and contributions.

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Mfume, who succeeded the late Elijah Cummings in Marylands 7th District in 2020, said Lacks deserves the award because of how much her cells have helped  and continue to help  society.

Henrietta Lacks' cancer cells were used for research that brought decades of medical advances. (AP)

For Ms. Lacks to have gone on to her grave many, many years ago for whatever miracle God put in her body to be able to keep helping us, I think it warrants recognition from the United States Congress, Mfume said during an interview.

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The congressman described shepherding the legislation as a personal honor, saying he grew up in Baltimore a few blocks from Lacks, knows several people in the family and that his mother knew Lacks.

Lacks, who lived in Turner Station, was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer and died from the disease in 1951. Without the young mothers knowledge or consent, doctors took the then-31-year-olds cancer cells during a diagnostic procedure and used them for medical research. Those cells  the first to live outside the body in a glass tube  brought decades of scientific advances.

The resulting HeLa line of cells  or Henrietta Lacks cells  has proved crucial to scores of researchers, including those working on moneymaking medical ventures. Vaccines, cancer treatments and in vitro fertilization are among the many medical techniques derived from her cells.

[ Family of Henrietta Lacks files suit against biotech company ]

Lacks family went for decades without knowing about the research or receiving any apologies or compensation. Only in recent years has Lacks contribution been acknowledged and celebrated.

Breaking News Alerts As it happens When big news breaks in our area, be the first to know. >

Her story won national attention after Rebecca Skloot wrote a bestseller, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which was made into a 2017 HBO movie starring Oprah Winfrey.

Lacks case is one of many that contribute to distrust of medical institutions, particularly among Black communities that have been victimized.

Last year, legislation originally championed by Cummings and then taken up by Mfume, was passed into law by then-President Donald Trump. The Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act requires the federal government to publish a report on government-funded cancer research trials, including the amount of participation by underrepresented populations and describing the barriers to participation.

[ Virginia home of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells transformed medicine, is demolished ]

Lawrence Lacks Sr., Henrietta Lacks eldest son, thanked Mfume for his leadership in introducing the latest bill.

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In life, my mother gave to many in our community, and today is a full-circle moment during Womens History Month to have Henrietta Lacks legacy advanced by Congressman Kweisi Mfume, who grew up just blocks away from my family, he said in a statement.

Victoria Baptiste, Lacks great-granddaughter, also applauded Mfume for continuing the work of Cummings, who vowed to help honor Lacks. She also emphasized the importance of the bill being pushed forward during Womens History Month.

When her cells were discovered, they took her name out of it, just like they have with other women in history, she said in an interview. But now we are getting her name out there. We want people to say her name.




A zoo in the Czech Republic has named an endangered, baby eastern black rhinoceros in honor of Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv, in dedication to the Ukrainian forces standing against Russia's invasion, The Associated Press reports.

"The name is another expression of our support for the Ukrainian heroes," said zoo Director Premysl Rabas, according to the AP.

The baby rhino was born on March 4 at the Dvur Kralove Zoo and currently weighs 110 pounds, as Kyiv's mother, Eva, is taking good care of him, the AP notes.

The Dvur Kralove Zoo has the most rhinos in the world belonging to the eastern black subspecies, as they currently home 14.

Forty-seven eastern black rhinos have been born at the Czech zoo since 1971, though many of them have been sent to zoos across the world and nine of them were rehabilitated back into the wild in Rwanda and Tanzania, reports the AP.

Poaching has brought down the total number of eastern black rhinos to a mere 800 and only three of these rhinos have been born at other zoos across the world this past year.
Mar. 16About three dozen people gathered Tuesday at Eighth and Washington streets, wearing bright red shirts as they stood beside the Reading School District administration building.

They sang songs and chanted. Some clanked small red cowbells.

The words emblazoned on their T-shirts in capital letters shouted the story of why they were there: "PA STUDENTS DESERVE FAIR FUNDING."

The event was an education funding rally organized by Make the Road Pennsylvania. It was part of a statewide effort to shine light on an ongoing school-funding trial currently being held in Commonwealth Court.

The suit was filed in 2014 on behalf of six school districts, claiming the way the state funds education is inadequate and inequitable.

Three families and two statewide advocacy groups  the Pennsylvania chapter of the NAACP and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools  are also plaintiffs.

The case went to trial late last year, with the Public Interest Law Center, the Education Law Center and the private firm O'Melveny arguing the case on behalf of the plaintiffs.

The trial wrapped up last week, and the sides are waiting for the judges to issue a ruling. It is unclear how long that may take, but it might take months.

In the meantime, supporters of the lawsuit are taking their message to the street.

At the Reading vigil, Patty Torres, organizing director of Make the Road, painted a picture of why the lawsuit is so important.

She said that Pennsylvania only provides 38% of the cost of kindergarten through 12th grade public education, a figure that ranks the state fifth from the bottom across the nation. The lack of state support, she said, means that local dollars have to fill in the rest.

And that leads to education funding being dependent on local wealth, she said, a system that shortchanges students in poor areas of the state like Reading.

"The students who need the most get the least because of where they live," Torres said. "And that's not right."

Torres said that students in Reading aren't getting a fair shake.

They miss out on things that better-funded, suburban schools have no problem providing, like tutoring, safe buildings, sufficient numbers of teachers and counselors and the newest and best technology.
ACROSS AMERICA  A new COVID-19 combination of the delta and omicron variants, informally called deltacron, is in the United States after being detected earlier this year in Europe, according to a new study.



Two unique cases of delta-omicron hybrids were found among 30,000 positive COVID-19 samples obtained from persons in the United States during sequencing at Helix, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-affiliated lab in San Mateo, California.

The study was published the day after the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, which has killed more than 6 million people  nearly 1 million of them in the United States  strangled world economies, set back academic achievement, and triggered seismic shifts in how people around the world work, play and go about their lives.

Here are five things to know:

1. Plenty Of Skepticism Early On

The first cases of deltracron were detected in France, the Netherlands and Denmark, and were reported in January.

At the time, Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician who works for the World Health Organization, was quick to dismiss the notion that omicron and delta created a super variant.

This is likely a sequencing artifact (lab contamination of Omicron fragments in a Delta specimen), she tweeted at the time. Lets not merge the names of infectious diseases and leave it to celebrity couples."

2. Two U.S. Cases Appear To Be Deltracron

Researchers found two infections involving different versions of deltacron, resulting from the combination of delta and omicron genetic material. Twenty other infections had both the delta and omicron variants, with one case having delta, omicron and deltacron.



3. Study Showing U.S. Cases Isnt Peer-Reviewed

It was published to medRxiv, a research site co-founded by Yale University and The British Medical Journal. What that means is the research hasnt been evaluated and should not be used to guide clinical practice.

4. Deltacron Is Unlikely To Get Greek Letter

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Health experts are keeping an eye on the delta-omicron hybrid, but so far theres no evidence it spreads as easily as either of the parent variants, William Lee, the chief science officer at Helix, told USA Today.

Lee said also unlikely to warrant its own Greek letter name under the WHO naming system used for key variants of the virus. The WHO adopted the system to make communication about variants easier and less confusing.

5. How Worried Should You Be?

Deltacron hasnt changed in epidemiology or severity since it was detected, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, an American infectious disease epidemiologist and the COVID-19 technical lead for the WHO, said in a March 9 news conference. Also, she noted, there have been very low levels of this detection.



"This is something that is to be expected, given the large amount of circulation, the intense amount of circulation we saw with both Omicron and Delta," she said. "This is what viruses do. They change over time."

An additional 12 cases have been found in Europe since the first three, but thats still too few to know if deltacron infections are highly transmissible or cause severe disease, according Philippe Colson, the lead author of the report showing U.S. cases, Reuters reported.



The bottom line about the recombinant, Van Kerkhove said: "So, again, this pandemic is far from over. We cannot allow this virus to spread at such an intense level."

This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch
The Rnland offshore wind farm in Limfjorden, Denmark. Fanny Schertzer via Wikipedia

Denmark is pledging to increase production of green hydrogen, its government announced Tuesday. The low-carbon fuel could supplant oil in airplanes, trucks, and cargo ships, and replace coal in the production of steel and cement, helping to curb pollution from transportation and heavy industry.

Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, which uses electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Denmark is aiming to build up to six gigawatts of electrolysis capacity, which will demand a greater buildout of clean energy. The effort will be supported by subsidies of 1.25 billion Danish crowns ($184.83 million).

We have had an economy which has been based primarily on oil but in the future it will be based on hydrogen, climate and energy minister Dan Jorgensen told Reuters. This will help us to become independent of fossil fuels.

Jorgensen said he is expecting a speedy approval of aid from the European Union (EU), which could help Denmark curb the use of imported Russian fossil fuels. Europe is heavily reliant on Russia for coal, oil, and natural gas and looking to limit imports. As part of its climate goals, the EU is aiming for six gigawatts of electrolysis capacity across member states by 2024 and 40 gigawatts by 2030.

ALSO ON YALE E360

Green Hydrogen: Could It Be Key to a Carbon-Free Economy?


The USA TODAY series Dying for Care does not help potential residents and their family members identify appropriate long-term care settings as intended.

The series focuses on a narrow time period of the pandemic during the U.S. COVID surge in the fall of 2020  a time when cases were rampant throughout the general population, deaths were at their height, and widespread availability of vaccines and treatments did not yet exist. Perhaps most important in regard to nursing homes during this time, providers were pleading with public health officials for resources to help protect their residents and staff, such as testing, personal protective equipment and staffing support, but little aid was provided.

Much has changed since this timeframe, including the distribution of lifesaving vaccines and more readily available supplies, making long-term care facilities much safer. Nearly 90% of nursing home residents are now fully vaccinated, protecting hundreds of thousands from the latest omicron surge when infected residents were four times less likely to succumb from the virus.

Additionally, there is now clearer federal guidance on testing frequency, isolation protocols, responding to new variants, the use of masks and much more to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care.

Nursing homes were not the problem

Independent academic researchers have consistently found that COVID outbreaks in nursing homes were primarily related to the spread of the virus in the surrounding community. These studies found that facility ownership, government ratings and previous citations, including for infection control, were not determining factors for COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes.

Rex Huppke: Dolly Parton's rock hall humility vs. Elon Musk's oafish Putin challenge: Decency prevails

The truth is that COVID-19 viciously targets our nations most vulnerable  the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions  precisely the individuals who reside in Americas nursing homes.

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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the risk of mortality for those 85 years and older is 340 times higher than those 18 to 29 years old. The average age of residents in long-term care is 85, and almost everyone has at least one  if not multiple  chronic, medical conditions. And due to this, we saw tragedy in long-term care settings around the globe.

Weekly COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes

Nursing home providers are committed to learning from this pandemic, but to suggest that our front-line heroes did not do enough to prevent these deaths fails to recognize the nature of this virus as well as how public health officials neglected to direct resources to where the most vulnerable people were living.

To then grade nursing homes on deaths during this window of time is disrespectful to the millions of caregivers who put their lives on the line to protect their residents, who are like family to them.

Suzette Hackney: After developing a COVID-19 vaccine, scientist continues to research, educate about vaccines

Its time we stop placing blame on nursing homes for a once-in-a-century global pandemic. If potential residents and their loved ones are searching for a nursing home, they need to use up-to-date information. Many great tools and resources already are at your disposal, including with the latest COVID-19 data. But the greatest tool of all is visiting a facility in-person to get to know the other residents, staff members, services and, now, COVID protocols.

Dr. David Gifford, a geriatrician, is the chief medical officer at the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

And together, lets focus on meaningful solutions that can improve the care residents receive and encourage policymakers to prioritize long term care for the resources our nations seniors deserve.

Dr. David Gifford, a geriatrician, is the chief medical officer at the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blame the virus, not nursing homes for residents' deaths in a pandemic
Commemoration for My Lai massacre victims held

A ceremony was held on Friday morning in the central province of Quang Ngai to commemorate 504 innocent civilians who were killed by US troops 54 years ago.













A ceremony was held to commemorate 504 innocent civilians who were killed by US troops 54 years ago in Quang Ngai Province on March 16.

The ceremony saw the attendance of representatives from local authorities, residents, and relatives of victims who offered incense in front of the Son My monument in My Lai village of Tinh Khe commune to pray for the deceased.



Billy Kelly, a US war veteran who fought in Vietnam during 1968-1969, sent 504 roses and a postcard saying Never Forget to the ceremony this year as offerings to the 504 civilians murdered during the US-run operation.













Billy Kelly, a US war veteran sent 504 roses to the ceremony this year as offerings to the 504 civilians killed during the US run operation.



On March 16, 1968, US troops came to My Lai village of Tinh Khe commune and shot and killed 504 villagers, including 182 women, 173 children, 89 middle-aged and 60 elderly people.



The massacre came to light after photojournalist Ronald Haeberle published a series of photos depicting the incident. My Lai has since become a symbol for denouncing war crimes.
California Hospital Begins To Return To Normal After COVID-19 Surge

Registered nurse Kaila Cunningham works in the triage tent at Providence St. Mary Medical Center on March 11, 2022 in Apple Valley, California. The hospital was treating 125 confirmed COVID-19 patients at the peak of the Omicron surge but has seen a sharp decline and is currently caring for 13 confirmed coronavirus patients. The hospital is planning to take down the triage tent next week as cases decline and operations return to normal. Credit - Mario Tama-Getty Images

In 1985, the first HIV vaccine trial was launched with great fanfare. The previous year, Margaret Heckler, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, confidently declared that an HIV vaccine would be created within two years. But almost four decades after the initial discovery of the HIV virus, there is still no viable HIV/AIDS vaccine. That doesnt mean, though, that there is no cure. The grueling and largely thankless work of trialing an HIV/AIDS vaccine has continued steadily over the past four decades (the most recent one launched in January 2022, using Modernas mRNA technology), making it the longest-running modern pandemic.

But failure, in the hands of scientists, doesnt mean the end. Instead, it is a sturdy foundation for scientific discovery. Rather than giving up, the failure to create a viable HIV vaccine spurred scientists to develop a whole new strategy to end the AIDS pandemic. Without vaccines available to teach human immune systems to kill the virus, scientists were forced to find other ways to keep infections at bay. And heres where four decades of scientific failure was transformed into a radical approach to pandemic control, with direct implications for the future of the global effort to end COVID-19.

Without vaccines to stop new infections, HIV scientists pivoted to developing antiviral treatments to slow the replication of HIV in human hosts and thereby keep the tens of millions of HIV-infected people from becoming sick and dying. And this is where failure was transformed into unfettered success. The cocktail of HIV treatments known collectively as highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is so effective at disrupting viral replication that it has transformed infection with that most deadly and protean virus, HIV, into a chronic condition. Whats more, HAART is so good at disrupting HIVs ability to replicate that it can reduce the amount of virus in a persons bloodstream to undetectable levels. That keeps people alive but it does something else as well: it makes it essentially impossible for a person living with HIV to transmit the virus to others. Treatment has become an unmatched strategy to prevent the spread the virus.

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Thats a remarkable feat for a retrovirus like HIV, which has the highest recorded mutation rate of any biological entity. To overcome that innate advantage, the drugs in the HAART cocktail target multiple parts of the HIV virus. Simply put, the virus cant mutate its way out of the multiple attacks the drugs make on its ability to replicate. This multi-pronged strategy has made HAART a long-term solution that hasnt lost its effectiveness over time even as HIV has continued to evolve at a rapid clip. Its also where HIV prevention intersects neatly with the COVID-19 Test to Treat strategy that President Biden announced at the State of the Union. It could not come at a better time, as recent evidence suggests that a post-Omicron wave is steadily rising across Europe and Asiaand that the U.S. is at risk of a renewed surge.

Read More: Omicron Is Receding But the Pandemic Is Not Over

We now have three antivirals approved for use against COVID-19, all of which target regions of SARS-CoV-2 that are highly conserved, meaning they dont mutate very much at all. That makes them far more resilient to variants compared to the COVID-19 vaccines, all of which target the fast-mutating spike protein. And that gives us a fighting chance to end this pandemic using weapons we can be confident wont be obsolete in a years time. All we have to do is embrace the failure playbook.

Molnupiravir, Paxlovid, and Remdesivir, the three FDA-approved COVID-19 antivirals, target regions of SARS-CoV-2 critical to its ability to copy itself. At their most effective, they nullify the viruss basic programming feature: replication. Instead of an elegant entity made up of macromolecules spring-loaded to enter cells, unfurl, and produce progeny ad nauseam, the antivirals make sure that the viruses that enter human hosts are the last of their kind. And thats where effective treatment can become prevention: as the AIDS pandemic taught us, as long as you can stop a virus from replicating, you can stop it from spreadingboth through a persons body, ending their life, and across a population of transmissible hosts, ending an epidemic.

The Test to Treat plan is part of a larger containment strategy in which the role of COVID-19 antivirals is only going to become more critical. With Test to Treat, the Biden administration is looking to rapidly increase access to antivirals (specifically Pfizers Paxlovid, which reduces the risk of hospitalization for COVID by nearly 90%) for people who test positive for infection at pharmacies. Its a smart approach to reducing illness and death from COVID-19, and it may also set the stage for the end of this pandemic. Thats because, even if new variants find a way to escape the vaccines (the U.K. government estimates that a two-dose vaccine regimen is only 10% effective against Omicron), we can be confident that they wont elude the antivirals, at least not in the short term. Thats why Test to Treat should be the first step in a wholesale adoption of the failure playbook to end COVID-19.

Maintaining a supply of effective antivirals could allow them to be deployed strategically when outbreaks of new variants occur. That way, frontline healthcare workers, along with the families and close contacts of infected people, can be given doses to protect them from severe infections even before theyre infected, stamping out the next wave before it starts. Of course, that will only be possible with long-term funding for the initiative, something that is looking much more perilous after a congressional decision last week halted additional COVID-19 funding, causing the White House to announce that it would soon have to stop covering the costs of testing, vaccines, and antivirals and other treatments for uninsured people.

Read More: What to Know About the 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Dose

Thats shortsighted thinking, because whats perhaps most impressive about the failure playbook is that it might just spell the end of all coronavirus pandemics, now and forever. Thats because the regions that the antivirals target arent just similar across SARS-CoV-2 variants: they are remarkably conserved across every one of the hundreds of coronavirus strains discovered, as quintessentially a part of coronaviruses as prehensile hands are to human beings. To date, the antivirals have been tested against SARS-CoV-2, SARS (the first human pathogenic coronavirus ever discovered), MERS (Middle East Respiratory Symdrome), and many, many other coronaviruses; in every trial, they were effective at significantly reducing the capacity of the viruses to replicate.

And thats where the failure playbook, starting with Test and Treat, becomes truly great news for our speciess long conflict with coronaviruses. Regardless of whatever pathogenic coronavirus next emerges, it will also have those same genomic regions as the ones that came before, making it just as susceptible to the antiviral treatments developed to stop SARS-CoV-2. That should help blunt our understandable anxiety about a repeat of the last two years. Instead, as we look to the future, our species might for the first time in our history have something that has eluded us until now: a weapon to fight the future progeny of our ancient viral nemesis.
DENVER (AP)  A former member of the board that regulates Colorado's veterinarians faces animal cruelty allegations after authorities said pet birds were found living in bad conditions in her suburban Denver home.

Ellen Kessler, 72, was issued a summons to appear in court May 23 to answer to 13 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty after a visitor tipped off authorities earlier this month, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Karlyn Tilley said Tuesday.

A woman who answered the phone at Kessler's home said she had no comment.

According to the sheriff's office, the birds were found by animal control officers living in Kessler's basement with water and food but no sunlight and their cages and the floors were covered in seed, dirt and feces.

Flies and many mice, dead and alive, were also found, Tilley said.

Kessler agreed to have the birds taken to a veterinarian but one of the 13 birds was dead and another died at the veterinarian's office, Tilley said. The other birds were suffering various health problems.

Kessler, an animal rights activist, was appointed to the board to represent the public by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis but resigned earlier this year after making critical comments about ranchers and the livestock industry.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Electric vehicle giant Tesla is suspending production at its Shanghai factory for two days, according to a notice sent internally and to suppliers, as China tightens COVID restrictions to curb the country's latest outbreak.

The Shanghai factory runs around the clock, and suppliers and Tesla staff were told on Wednesday in the notice, reviewed by Reuters, that production would be suspended for Wednesday and Thursday.

It did not give a reason for the stoppage at the plant, also known as the Gigafactory 3, which makes the Tesla Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover sport utility vehicle.

Many cities across China, including Shanghai, have been rolling out strict movement controls to stem the country's largest COVID-19 outbreak in two years. The measures have also caused factory shutdowns in parts of the country, putting pressure on supply chains.

Tesla did not have immediate comment.

Its Shanghai factory produces cars for the China market and is also a crucial export hub to Germany and Japan. It delivered 56,515 vehicles in February, including 33,315 for export, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

That amounts to an average of around 2,018 vehicles a day.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspension of work would apply to other plant operations over the two days.

Two people briefed on the notice said they understood it applied to Tesla's general assembly lines. They declined to be identified because the information was not public.

The notice did not specify whether the measures would correspond to a loss of production, or whether Tesla could make up for any lost output.

Authorities in Shanghai have asked many residents not to leave their homes or work places for 48 hours to as long as 14 days as they conduct COVID tests or carry out contact tracing.

In a separate notice issued on Wednesday that was also seen by Reuters, Tesla asked suppliers to estimate how many workers were needed to achieve full production and to provide details of workers affected by COVID restrictions.

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It also asked suppliers to prepare workers to live, sleep and eat at the factories in an arrangement similar to China's "closed-loop management" process. Apple supplier Foxconn was allowed to resume some operations at its Shenzhen campus on Wednesday after it set up such an arrangement.

Tesla was alerted by one supplier last weekend that its production had been affected by COVID measures, said a person familiar with the matter. That supplier told Tesla that its stockpiles could only last for two days, the person said.

Any protracted China lockdowns will further rattle Asian supply chains, OCBC economist Wellian Wiranto said in a research note, noting the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen alone produces 11% of China's exports.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Kim Coghill)
Federal authorities in Austin have arrested a suspect wanted for murder in connection with a deadly shooting at a south Lubbock night club.

U.S Marshals arrested 51-year-old Kennon Charles Shaw, 51, on Wednesday - a week after he's accused of killing 28-year-old Joseph Shaw in a shooting March 9 at the Angelwitch Cabaret in the 600 block of County Road 7150, said Lubbock County Sheriff's Cpl. Patricia Holbert.

Read more: Man indicted in central Lubbock deadly shooting at after-hours party

Responding to a report of shots fired at the club, Lubbock County Sheriff's deputies located a man, later identified as Burks, inside the establishment and suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

He was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Shaw is accused of fleeing the scene before authorities arrived. By last Thursday, officials with Lubbock's Metropolitan Special Crimes Unit had announced Shaw was a suspect in the shooting.

Shaw was located and arrested on a first degree murder warrant by U.S. Marshals about 1:10 p.m. Wednesday in the 200 block of Pedernales Street in Austin.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the violence or how Shaw was linked to the killing as the shooting remains under investigation.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Federal authorities in Austin arrest Lubbock murder suspect
Washington  Five individuals have been charged with working in the U.S. on behalf of a state-sponsored Chinese secret police agency to silence dissent and harass outspoken Chinese nationals living in the U.S., the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Prosecutors unsealed three separate criminal complaints in federal court alleging the defendants stalked, harassed, and spied on Chinese nationals living in New York and throughout the U.S. The individuals, allegedly acting on orders from the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), engaged in various schemes, ranging from attempting to blackmail a congressional candidate with false claims of prostitution to trying to bribe an Internal Revenue Service employee to obtain one victim's tax returns. At least one victim was even jailed in Hong Kong as a result of one of the criminal schemes.

Qiming Lin is accused of trying to intimidate a dissident who planned to run for Congress. The unnamed victim is a former student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who later moved to the U.S., joined the military and became a naturalized citizen.

According to the criminal complaint, in September of 2021, about six months before the primary elections for Congress, Lin allegedly hired a private investigator to undermine the candidate before he could be elected. Investigators say he communicated with a private investigator "to see if there could be a scandal about the Victim that could be publicly released, such as an extramarital affair" or stealing money. If no scandals could be found, Lin allegedly asked, "'can they create some?'"

"Right now we don't want him to be elected,'" Lin said, according to the indictment.

Lin even allegedly suggested to the private investigator, "You go find a girl for him [the Victim], see if he would take the bait," attempting to set the candidate up with a prostitute, and he instructed the private investigator to "dig up things from 1989 to now [t]o see if there are any flaws before participating in the election now."

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Court documents reveal Lin left a voicemail on the private investigator's phone suggesting physical violence would also be an acceptable approach to getting the dissident to drop his campaign.

"In the end, violence would be fine too," Lin allegedly said in the message, "beat him until he cannot run for election."

Lin is a 59-year-old Chinese national and remains at large. He is charged with conspiracy to commit interstate harassment and other counts.

In the second criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday, Shujun Wang, a 73-year-old naturalized American citizen from China, is accused of using his leadership position in New York diaspora organizations to spy on members of his own community.

Wang, a member of the pro-democracy Memorial Foundation, allegedly acted under the direction of four MSS handlers and provided information to them about various protests and dissident group organizations. Specifically, prosecutors say Wang was found in possession of a list of names and contact information for Hong Kong democracy activists in 2019.

A Hong Kong activist mentioned by Wang to MSS was arrested for organizing a banned protest in China and charged with political crimes. And in another instance, Wang's MSS handler instructed him to engage with "Tibetans, Uyghurs and Mongolians," all Chinese opposition members, at a pro-democracy event in Queens, New York.

Wang was arrested Wednesday morning. Wang is being released on $300,000 bond and will have electronic monitoring, no contact with PRC locations or its consulate.

Investigators say in the third criminal complaint that three other men worked together in schemes to quiet a dissenting artist and bribe an IRS worker.

Qiang "Jason" Sun is accused of directing Fan "Frank" Liu and Matthew Ziburis to spy on dissidents and spread negative information about them in apparent blackmail attempts.

In January 2021, Liu allegedly hired a private investigator to bribe an IRS employee in order to obtain the U.S. federal tax returns of a visual artist located in Southern California, so that he could disclose tax liabilities and publicly discredit him.

The dissident artist had sculpted a bust of a COVID-19 particle with the head of Chinese president Xi Jinping, a sculpture that prosecutors say Sun directed Ziburis to destroy.

Sun wrote, "Destroy all sculptures and things that are not good to our leaders," court documents say. Ziburis is also accused of installing surveillance and GPS devices in the artist's studio that Sun later monitored.

The three men also allegedly schemed against a Chinese dissident living in Indiana, whom they are accused of planning to lure into a mock interview with Liu's media company. The recorded interview was intended to be used in Chinese propaganda videos against the dissident.

Liu and Ziburis were arrested Tuesday, while Sun remains at large. Liu was released Wednesday night on a $1 million bond with electronic monitoring; he cannot visit PRC locations or its consulate.

Wednesday's charges come nearly a month after the Justice Department announced it was ending the controversial "China Initiative," launched under the Trump administration to hunt down Chinese spies. The initiative, often criticized for racial bias against Chinese-American academics, was replaced with a broader approach tackling national security threats within the department.

An internal review of China Initiative prosecutions found no indication of racial bias or prejudice. Still, the Justice Department said the initiative was "myopic," chilled scientific research and created the perception the department applied different standards to people of with Chinese ethnicity.

"Transnational repression harms people in the United States and around the world and threatens the rule of law itself," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division on Wednesday, "This activity is antithetical to fundamental American values, and we will not tolerate it when it violates U.S. law."

Biden pledges $800 million in military aid for Ukraine

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Florida repairman Jermaine Wofford was arrested for stealing $30,000 worth of turtles from a breeder (Lee County Sheriffs Office)

A Florida repairman was arrested for stealing $30,000 worth of turtles from a breeder after he was called out to fix a beverage cooler.

Jermaine Wofford, 47, was allegedly spotted on surveillance footage taking up to 18 rare turtles from Turtle Source in Estero, south of Fort Myers.

Owner Marcus Cantos told Wink News he had a sick, sick feeling after noticing an office turtle named Huncy was missing. He then realised more than a dozen turtles were missing.

Mr Cantos said he had called the repairman to his store to fix a fridge.

The turtle breeder said he noticed some turtles were missing after the first time Mr Wofford came to the store, but didnt immediately make the connection.

He checked store cameras, and saw Mr Wofford allegedly removing the turtles.

Mr Wofford claimed he had needed to pick up parts, and when he returned to the store, he was arrested by Lee County Sheriffs deputies.

The camera is right up here, not hard to see, and the guy looked right in the camera, and thats how the sheriffs department was able to use the facial recognition, and he was just helping himself to all of these, Mr Cantos told Wink News.

He warned business owners to carefully check the credentials of trade staff.

Lee County Sheriffs Office deputies were able to recover five of the 18 stolen turtles from a house in Hillsborough County.

Mr Wofford is in custody on a $50,000 bond.
Two teenagers were taken to the hospital after being shot on Monday night in Fort Worth, according to police.

Police said the teens statuses were unknown as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, but a MedStar spokesman said they were taken to the hospital in stable condition Monday.

Police said they received a call around 10:40 p.m. Monday that there were two people shot in the area of Roosevelt Avenue and Northwest 31st Street. They found the two teenagers at the scene.

Gun violence detectives are investigating the shooting, but police have not announced any arrests or the identities of any suspects.
Benjamin Hall, the Fox News Channel correspondent who was injured while covering Russias invasion of Ukraine for the Fox Corp.-owned network, has managed to get out of the country, according to a memo from Suzanne Scott, Fox News Medias CEO, issued Wednesday.

Ben is alert and in good spirits. He is being treated with the best possible care in the world and we are in close contact with his wife and family, Scott said in the note to staffers.

More from Variety

Fox News has deployed a handful of correspondents around the country, including Trey Yingst and Steve Harrigan.

Hall had been reporting in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine, with cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshynova when their vehicle came under fire. Hall had initially been hospitalized in Ukraine. Kuvshynova was working as a freelance consultant for Fox News in the country, helping find sources and gathering information.

Hall, who has extensive experience covering news overseas, joined Fox News as a State Department correspondent in 2015. His work has taken him to Syria, Iraq and Libya over the years, and he has contributed to such outlet as the New York Times, the Times of London, The Independent and the BBC. He has also written a book, Inside ISIS: The Brutal Rise of a Terrorist Army.

News of Halls exit from the country was reported on Fox News Wednesday morning, with anchor Martha MacCallum telling viewers, We are all thinking of Ben and his family. And our thoughts and prayers go out to all of them. We hope for more good news to come in the days ahead.

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BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany plans to spend up to 2.861 billion euros ($3.14 billion) to ensure that COVID-19 vaccine makers have enough production capacity available to supply the country with shots in future outbreaks through 2029, the economy ministry said.

Germany's cabinet approved plans on Wednesday to sign contracts with BioNTech, CureVac/GSK, Wacker/CordenPharma, Celonic and IDT, the ministry said in a statement.

The contracts will maintain the ratcheted-up production capacities created during the coronavirus pandemic by paying an annual standby fee, ensuring enough vaccine can be produced quickly for the population.

"We have learned from the coronavirus pandemic and initial vaccine shortage: With these contracts, we are securing vaccine production and supply for years to come and are taking precautions for the citizens of Germany," said Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

The contracts give the government access rights to the companies' production capacities if the coronavirus pandemic persists or a new pandemic breaks out, and contain arrangements stipulating vaccine supply and production for the government.

The next step is to sign pandemic readiness agreements with the five companies, according to the economy ministry.

($1 = 0.9106 euros)

(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Emma Thomasson and Maria Sheahan)
Jeff Pelley leaves the St. Joseph County Jail in South Bend in this 2003 photo prior to his trial.

SOUTH BEND  In the decades since he was charged with and convicted of a series of grisly murders in Lakeville on the night of his high school prom in 1989, Jeff Pelley has attempted to present alternative theories for who could have murdered his father, mother and two stepsisters.

Pelley has claimed that illegal financial activities by his father, Lakeville pastor Rob Pelley, in Florida prior to 1989 could be the reason for his killing, and on Tuesday, Pelleys legal team argued that prosecutors withheld from Pelleys jury a key piece of evidence  the 2003 testimony of a woman named Toni Beehler  supporting that claim.

'Prom Night Murders': Pelley legal team hopes to show prosecutors lied, hid evidence in case

In testimony given Tuesday, Beehler recalled Rob Pelley telling her the mob was going to have him killed because he used to move money for them but had tried to escape.

Theyre going to kill each member of my family, and Im going to watch, and then theyre going to kill me, Beehler recounted Rob Pelley telling her a few days before his murder in May 1989.

Whether Beehler's testimony was given to Jeff Pelley's lawyers before his 2006 trial was the focus of Tuesday's proceedings in the second day of a week-long series of court dates that will determine whether Pelley, now 50, will get a new trial. Pelley previously appealed his conviction before the Indiana Supreme Court in 2009.

Jeff Pelley: Legal team hopes to show prosecutors lied, hid evidence in 'prom night murders' case

Now more than a decade later, St. Joseph Superior Judge Stephanie Steele has granted Pelley a hearing on his petition for post-conviction relief, as Pelley claims prosecutors lied about evidence and that Pelleys trial lawyers were ineffective.

He didnt want to be found

Tuesdays proceedings centered on the VHS recording of a police interview with Toni Beehler. In the video, which was played in court, Beehler told cold case investigators she was a salesperson attempting to sell Rob Pelley a photographic church directory for his parish.

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When she talked to the pastor, she said, Rob Pelley told her he didnt want his photo published because he had another life prior to becoming a minister and that he didnt want to be found.

The parsonage at the Olive Branch United Brethren Church in Lakeville, where Jeff Pelley allegedly killed four members of his family in 1989.

Portions of the VHS tape were inaudible, but in her in-person testimony Tuesday, Beehler vividly recalled the conversation she had with Rob Pelley a few days before his murder.

Indiana: Jeff Pelley wants a new trial for the 'prom night murders.' Here's what we know.

The reverend called her into the Lakeville church, had her place her hand on the Bible and then told her about his past life, Beehler said.

I moved money for the bad guys and I wanted out and I wanted a life and more family, Pelley said at one point, according to Beehler.

Later in the conversation, Pelley told Beehler that theyre sending people. I dont know when, but theyre going to go kill me and my family.

Beehler said she tried to tell police about her conversation with Pelley in the days following the murders, but investigators brushed her aside.

Finally in 2003, after she saw media coverage that Jeff Pelley had been charged with the killing, she contacted the prosecutors office again and was interviewed by officer Tim Decker.

In court Tuesday, Decker said he had concerns about Beehlers testimony from 2003 and questioned why she hadnt come forward earlier. Decker also questioned why Rob Pelley would confide in Beehler, a stranger, about his criminal ties if he truly was concerned about his safety.

When asked whether detectives looked into Pelleys dealings in Florida as part of their investigation, Decker said the FBI had but that for St. Joseph County investigators, Florida was never part of the conversation.

Jeff Pelley

'Hearsay within hearsay'

For Jeff Pelleys chances at a new trial, the specifics of Beehlers testimony are less important than the issue of whether or not it was disclosed to his defense attorneys.

Frances Watson, Pelleys lead attorney for the post-conviction relief hearing, questioned former prosecutors office employees about how they filed evidence in the original case in an effort to show there was no documentation the VHS tape was sent to Pelleys trial attorneys.

Prosecutors did not cross examine Beehler but have maintained in previous filings that even if her 2003 testimony was not provided to Pelley, her statements are "hearsay within hearsay and would not be permissible at trial.

Whether or not Steele grants Pelley a new trial will rest in part on if Beehlers testimony would be admissible and whether its inclusion would lead to a different outcome.

Proceedings are scheduled to run through Wednesday and Thursday, when former prosecutors, cops and defense attorneys involved in Pelleys original trial are expected to testify.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Prom Night Murders: Jeff Pelley says lawyers never heard key testimony
Google just announced that its annual I/O developer conference is taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheater on May 11th and 12th with a "limited live audience." This would mark the first time there has been any in-person component of I/O since 2019, but that limited live audience will primarily consist of Google employees as well as some partners. Other attendees will have to tune in to the livestream remotely, just like last year.

The "save the date" Google just shared said that the event this year will be "completely free and open to everyone virtually" and encouraged potential attendees to "plan to tune in online." From the sound of things, Google will just be using the Shoreline Amphitheater as a venue to broadcast from, rather than a place where attendees can gather. Basically, don't book any plane tickets to California, because chances are you'll be watching at home.

We'll be back live from Shoreline Amphitheatre for this year's #GoogleIO! Join us online May 11-12 https://t.co/KgNKbaLeym pic.twitter.com/NUodJb7UCi  Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 16, 2022

Google I/O was canceled entirely in 2020 in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 event took place virtually, like so many other tech events have in the last two years. While cases in the US have dropped significantly since peaking earlier this year thanks to the Omicron variant, it appears Google is putting safety first.

Update, 7:00PM ET: Added more details on Google's plans for a limited in-person audience.
Thomas Tuchel, pictured, and Chelsea have been handed a boost (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Chelsea have been handed a big boost for their FA Cup quarter-final with the Government raising the Blues travel budget for the Middlesbrough trip, the PA news agency understands.

The Stamford Bridge club have been hit with tough restrictions under the terms of their new operating licence in the wake of Roman Abramovichs Government sanctions.

Chelsea cannot sell new tickets for matches as the Government restrictions stand, but the Blues are continuing to lobby Downing Street over a range of relaxations to help restore something close to normal operating procedures.

Roman Abramovich, pictured, has fallen under UK Government sanctions (Adam Davy/PA) (PA Wire)

The Blues were initially hit with a 20,000 travel budget cap for each match under the new licence, but now the Government is understood to have lifted that limit  but initially only for Saturdays FA Cup trip to Middlesbrough.

The average cost for a Premier League team to travel to Middlesbrough is understood to push beyond three times that 20,000 limit.

And now Prime Minister Boris Johnsons Government is understood to have handed Chelsea a travel budget lift for their journey to the Riverside Stadium.

While Chelsea were unable to comment on the Governments easing of restrictions, a club spokesman did thank Downing Street for regular dialogue over the Stamford Bridge clubs licence specifics.

A Chelsea spokesman said: We are grateful for the Governments continued attention to our requests for amendments to the licence.

Owner Abramovich was sanctioned last week after Downing Street claimed to have proven the 55-year-olds links to Vladimir Putin amid Russias continued invasion of Ukraine.

Russian-Israeli billionaire Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on March 2, with that process accelerated considerably by last weeks sanctions.

Abramovichs UK assets are all frozen barring Chelsea, with the Blues able to continue operations but with stringent controls.
TOKYO (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations will hold an online meeting after 1200 GMT to discuss Russia's actions in Ukraine, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Wednesday.

Suzuki, who made the comment in parliament, did not specify whether the meeting would be held among G7's financial leaders or other representatives.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
By Sumit Khanna and Saurabh Sharma

AHMEDABAD/LUCKNOW, India (Reuters) - Hardline Hindu groups are demanding restrictions on wearing the hijab in classrooms in more Indian states after a court upheld a ban on the traditional Islamic head-scarf in Karnataka state, worrying Muslim students who had protested against the ban.

The Karnataka High Court decision on Tuesday, backing the southern state's ban on the hijab in February, has also been welcomed by top federal ministers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who say students should avoid wearing religious clothing in class. [L2N2VI09V]

A female Muslim student has already appealed the verdict in the country's highest court, which could take up the matter later this month, her lawyer said on Twitter on Wednesday.

There is no national guideline on uniforms in India, and states often leave it to schools to decide what their students should wear.

"We are a Hindu nation and we do not want to see any kind of religious outfit in educational institutes of the country," said Rishi Trivedi, president of the Hindu-first group Akhil Bharat Hindu MahaSabha.

"We welcome the court verdict and want the same rule to be followed throughout the country."

The ban in BJP-ruled Karnataka had sparked protests by some Muslim students and parents, and counter-protests by Hindu students. Critics of the ban say it is another way of marginalising the Muslim community that accounts for about 13% of Hindu-majority India's 1.35 billion people.

Leaders of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of the RSS, the BJP's parent organisation, said they have asked for a hijab ban in Modi's home state of Gujarat and would soon write to the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh. The BJP is in power in both states.

"The hijab is not allowed in the defence forces, police, and government offices, then why the insistence on hijab in schools and colleges?" said VHP's Gujarat secretary, Ashok Raval. "It is an attempt to raise communal tensions."

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Gujarat Education Minister Jitu Vaghani declined to comment. A state minister and a bureaucrat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was no immediate plan to ban the hijab in schools.

Officials in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP retained control in recent state elections, declined to comment saying a decision will only be taken by the next administration which should be in place in days.

Ayesha Hajeera Almas - who had challenged the Karnataka ban in court - said there is a real fear that the hijab ban will now go national.

The 18-year-old said she has not attended school since late December after its authorities barred Muslim girls from wearing the hijab, even before the state-wide ban came in early February.

"Increasingly, we feel we are living in an India where its citizens are not treated equally," Almas said from the Karnataka district of Udupi, from where the protests began.

"I am fighting for myself, fighting for my sisters, fighting for my religion. I'm scared that there will be changes like this in the whole country. But I hope it does not happen."

(Additional reporting and writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Kim Coghill)
BEIJING (AP)  Asian stock prices surged for a second day Thursday after the Federal Reserve announced its first interest rate hike since 2008 and China promised support for its real estate and internet industries.

Hong Kong's benchmark jumped 5.8% and Tokyo gained 3%. Shanghai, Seoul and Sydney advanced more than 1%.

Oil prices gained more than $1 per barrel but stayed below $100.

Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index rose 2.2% on Wednesday after the Fed raised its short term lending rate by 0.25 percentage points. The move was widely expected but investors were reassured it was smaller than the 0.5 percentage point hike advocated by some officials.

First rate hikes in a tightening cycle dont normally signal the end of a bull market, Shane Oliver of AMP said in a report. But they are consistent with a more constrained and rougher ride. High inflation and the war in Ukraine also add to the risks.

Asian markets also were buoyed by Wednesday's promise by the Chinese government that it would invigorate the economy by supporting the struggling real estate industry, internet companies and entrepreneurs who want to raise capital abroad.

Chinese leaders appeared to be trying to rebuild private sector confidence after a drumbeat of anti-monopoly, data-security and anti-debt crackdowns caused stock prices to plunge.

The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose to 21,246.76, adding to the previous day's explosive 9.1% gain.

The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo surged to 26,508.77 and the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 2.6% to 3,252.96.

The Kospi in Seoul was 1.8% higher at 2,706.65 and Sydney's S&P-ASX 200 added 1.1% to 7,252.20.

New Zealand and Southeast Asian markets also gained.

The Fed, in a move officials discussed well in advance, is trying to cool inflation that is at a four-decade high by gradually withdrawing ultra-low interest rates and other stimulus that boosted share prices.

Other central banks also are preparing to withdraw stimulus they poured into the global economy after the coronavirus pandemic struck.

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That is fueling anxiety among investors about economic growth, which also faces threats from Russia's war on Ukraine, coronavirus outbreaks in China, soaring oil prices and uncertain global consumer demand.

Forecasters expect as many as seven U.S. interest rate hikes this year.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell said that before the Russian invasion of Ukraine he expected inflation to stabilize in the first quarter of this year. He said he now believes inflation will come down in the second half.

The S&P 500 rose to 4,357.86. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.4% to 34,063.10. The Nasdaq composite gained 3.8% to 13,436.55 for its biggest daily gain in 16 months.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude added $1.72 to $96.76 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.40 to $95.04 on Wednesday. Brent crude, the price basis for international oils, gained $1.78 to $99.80 per barrel in London. It declined $1.89 the previous session to $98.02.

Oil prices jumped in late February over concern President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine might disrupt supplies from Russia, the second-biggest exporter.

The dollar edged down to 118.66 yen from Wednesday's 118.69 yen. The euro fell to $1.1033 from $1.0940.
MSNBC's Jacob Soboroff reports from Lviv, Ukraine on how a humanitarian village has sprouted up, offering services to refugees and how the Red Cross is helping refugees in Ukraine.
GENEVA (Reuters) - Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has arrived in Kyiv on a planned five-day visit to Ukraine to insist on greater humanitarian access and protection of civilians, the organisation said on Wednesday.

"After enormous suffering by the civilian population and after our intensive virtual conversations with the Russian and Ukraine governments, I find it utterly important that we have person-to-person contacts, that we are able to go in-depth into the understanding of neutral, independent and impartial humanitarian work, and that our licence to operate in the country is fully understood by the authorities," Maurer said in a statement that added he continued his regular humanitarian dialogue with government officials in Moscow as well.

Maurer had told Reuters this month that he was "cautiously positive" the ICRC would gain access to Ukrainian and Russian prisoners held in the context of the conflict.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, Writing by Michael Shields; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured Monday in an attack that killed two of his colleagues near Kyiv, has been safely evacuated from Ukraine, the network announced Wednesday.

"Ben is alert and said to be in good spirits," Fox anchor Bill Hemmer told viewers Wednesday morning. "He is being treated with the best possible care in the world."

The network previously said cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and local producer Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova were killed when their vehicle "was struck by incoming fire" while in the field with Hall. Fox News said the attack occurred as the team was newsgathering outside the capital city.

Hemmer added that Hall, who grew up in London and has both U.S. and U.K. passports, has been married almost seven years and has three young daughters back home.

"Been a couple of heavy days around here, so that is a dose of good news for Ben," Hemmer said,

On Tuesday, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said Zakrzewski, who was based in London, had "covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us," adding that "his passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched."

"He was profoundly committed to telling the story and his bravery, professionalism and work ethic were renowned among journalists at every media outlet," Scott said.

Scott said the 24-year-old Kuvshynova was "incredibly talented" and had spent weeks helping the network's crews navigate Kyiv, gathering information and communicating with sources, "operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country."

While giving an update on Hall Wednesday, Hemmer told viewers: "We remind you, please continue to keep him in your prayers as well as Sasha and Pierre."

News of the attack on the Fox News crew came just a day after another American journalist, Brent Renaud, was shot and killed in Ukraine.

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Victoria Albert and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.

Special Report: Ukraine's President Zelenskyy addresses U.S. Congress

Carly Pearce reveals the 2022 CMT Music Awards nominations

"48 Hours" investigates the death of a Missouri snake breeder
After St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies searched two homes in Port St. Lucie, investigators said they found a possible connection to the human remains found at a nature preserve last week in Martin County.

Martin County sheriff's investigators have said the remains, in three separate locations including a shallow grave, found at John C. and Mariana Jones/Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area March 11 are likely of 42-year-old Dustin Davis Mills.

The rural environmental area is more than 16,600 acres in Martin and Palm Beach counties off Southwest Pratt Whitney Road.

Investigators release name: Remains found in Hungryland preserve thought to be 42-year-old St. Lucie County man

Remains found: Body parts found more than mile apart in Martin County wildlife area; possible homicide

Martin County sheriff's investigators search Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area after human remains were found on the bank of a gator-infested canal.

Mills, who was released from state prison in February 2020, did not have a permanent address and was suspected to be living "couch-to-couch," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said last week.

St. Lucie County sheriff's Chief Deputy Brian Hester did not elaborate Wednesday on what the suspected link to his death was, beyond saying a possible connection was found from one of the homes deputies examined Monday under a search warrant on Northeast Jettie Terrace in Port St. Lucie.

"Law enforcement officials from the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office, Martin County Sheriffs Office and Port St. Lucie Police Department are investigating a possible connection between evidence found at Jettie Terrace and the human remains found in Martin County last week," Hester said in a written statement.

A prior search warrant operation and narcotics arrest at a home on Southwest Del Rio Boulevard led deputies to search the house on the 100 block of Northeast Jettie Terrace, Hester said.

Deputies arrested two men on narcotics-related charges at the home on Southwest Del Rio Boulevard.

Hester said information gathered from their search of that home led them to Northeast Jettie Terrace, where they found evidence possibly connected to Mills.

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Hester did not specify what information was gathered from Southwest Del Rio Boulevard or if the two men arrested are involved in the Mills case.

The St. Lucie County chief deputy was unavailable for further comment Wednesday.

Deputies searched John C. and Mariana Jones/Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area on March 9 after a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist said she saw an alligator with a severed arm in its mouth.

Later that afternoon law enforcement officers found an arm on a canal bank about 3 miles west of Southwest Pratt Whitney Road, Snyder said. They found a leg in another location and a torso in a shallow grave.

Snyder said investigators don't know who saw Mills last and his contact with family was intermittent.

The Medical Examiner's office was able to link one of the body parts to Mills by a fingerprint test.

Mills was sentenced to prison in 1999 in St. Johns County, and again in 2004 in St. Lucie County, according to the state Department of Corrections.

In the 2004 case, most of the charges involved marijuana. He also was sentenced in 2018 in Broward County in connection with an offense involving battery on a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency repsonder, records show.

When Mills got out of prison in 2020, his listed residence upon release was 4700 W. Midway Road  the address of the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office.

Mauricio La Plante is a TCPalm breaking news reporter. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@TCPalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: St. Lucie sheriff's office finds possible connection in human remains case
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan plans to buy a combined 145 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines with an eye to rolling out a fourth shot, Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a government source.

Japan has not made a decision on the fourth vaccine doses as the country currently delivers its first booster shots - or third doses. Local media reports have said another booster roll-out could start this summer.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
KRAKOW, Poland  Being an independent journalist in Russia has never been for the faint of heart, especially with government pressure growing year by year since the fall of the Soviet state. But a crackdown in the days following Russias invasion of Ukraine has made the situation increasingly untenable and forced many to flee.

Those who made up a small but dogged band of reporters determined to uncover and tell the truth in Russia are now scattered across Europe, uncertain of their futures and fearful for their countrys.

It is now a crime in Russia punishable by 15 years in prison to spread false information about the war, which cant even be called a war without fear of punishment.

As a result, at least 150 journalists have fled the country since the war started nearly three weeks ago, according to the Russian investigative news site Agentstvo, which is based in Georgia.

Every journalist in Russia who is trying to say the truth about whats happening could be put in jail, said Katya Arenina, a reporter at Agentstvo.

They have largely headed to Turkey, Armenia, Serbia and Georgia, she said  countries that havent closed their airspace to Russian flights or where Russians dont need visas.

Ksenia Mironova, 23, was juggling her job as a journalist with the demands of preparing to adopt a child. Weeks later she has left her home in Moscow, fearing she might also face prison if she stayed.

Mironova worked for TV Rain, for years a rare source of independent news in the country. Russian President Vladimir Putins crackdown has forced the channel off the air, along with any other likely source of critical coverage.

TV Rain's Moscow newsroom was a hub for independent journalism before the channel suspended operations after the Ukraine invasion. (Denis Kaminev / AP file)

Mironova, who asked that her current location not be mentioned out of fear of reprisal, said she and her colleagues first decided to leave their Moscow newsroom when they found out police would be coming to their offices after they blocked access to the channels website.

She packed up her stuff, headed to the airport with colleagues and left the country she had hoped might see a different future.

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The next day TV Rain announced that it would suspend operations, while the independent radio station Echo of Moscow decided to shut down after access to its site was also blocked.

The Kremlin has driven out the last remaining bastions of independent and international news media while restricting access to social media sites that might also offer a counter to the official narrative of a limited military operation intended merely to de-nazify Ukraine.

Journalists are getting out before they face a visit from Putins security services; Russians who remain have little news beyond state media.

Mironova has left behind her fiance, a former journalist who was imprisoned in 2020 on charges of treason and remains behind bars. She said she didnt want either of their families to have to take on expenses like sending food if she were also jailed.

They have no money for two people in prison, Mironova said.

TV Rain anchor Mikhail Fishman, 49, said he was blocked from entering Georgia at the countrys Tbilisi international airport. He believes it was because of concerns that his presence as a critical journalist would worsen the countrys relations with the Kremlin.

In response to a request for comment, Georgias Internal Affairs Ministry referred NBC News to past comments in which Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said Fishman was one of more than 100 foreign citizens to fall foul of tightened border control policies from law enforcement agencies.

Fishman, who has left Russia and also withheld his current location over fears of reprisal, said he had promised himself he would stay in Russia as long as the independent channel was still on the air.

He said the new law that sets out prison terms for anyone going against the governments messaging about the war made him especially concerned.

It was clear that we, TV Rain [and] independent journalists as a whole, are now treated as enemies of the state, he said. Who knows what would be the next step?

Mikhail Fishman (Eugene Odinokov / Sputnik via AP file)

Mironova and Fishman said Putin had long been able to convince Russians that he would provide stability and prosperity in contrast to the low living standards they faced in the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The economy has grown during his two decades in power, although it has been allied with growing limits on press freedom and the right to protest. Putin has accumulated political power and sought to silence voices that might pose a threat.

Now Western sanctions in response to the invasion are crippling Russias economy, but journalists who fled have little hope it might loosen his grip on power.

His propaganda is really good, said Dima Barchenkov, 23, a culture journalist and filmmaker who fled to Istanbul on an overnight flight this month over fears that he would be punished for his work.

Barchenkov stressed that he did not want to leave his country but felt compelled to because of the increasing power of the state.

The knots are being tightened, he said.

His biggest concern now is his future, with no idea what he will do in a foreign country, while he fears Russian culture and talent might not be accepted in the West.

All of the journalists said they were afraid Putin would go much further to limit the media. The possibilities are as varied as stopping access to YouTube to shutting down the internet altogether.

However, they also had hope that Russians will find ways to maintain access to independent information, although they said they dont know how that would happen.

Barchenkov said journalists living in exile could come together and find a way to cover what is happening in Russia.

Mironova shared the same hope but said her days are filled trying to figure out how to send letters to her imprisoned fiance and money home to her family, because her credit cards arent working.

She said she cant plan much of a future beyond that, except for hoping she might one day be able to return home.

This is my country, she said. I always wanted to live in Russia, to have a family in Russia.
Four Bosshardt Realty employees including county commissioner Ken Cornell will be forced to testify under oath for depositions in a slander lawsuit filed against the real estate company.

The lawsuit is in response to a criminal investigation against Colliers International commercial real estate agents Michael Ryals and Daniel Drotos, who say their former employer, Bosshardt Realty owner Aaron Bosshardt, is slandering their names.

The two agents face a host of felony charges, including racketeering, scheme to defraud/organized fraud and theft of trade secrets from Bosshardt Realty.

Among those set to be deposed is County Commissioner Ken Cornell, Bosshardt Realtys chief financial officer.

Cornell said in a text message on Monday that he was looking forward to "setting the record straight."

The same can be said for Charles Hughes, an attorney for Drotos and Ryals, who says he has reviewed every document related to his clients' charges and found no theft of trade secrets.

"We want to find out what Bosshardt knew about what was taken," Hughes said. "And what it was exactly that they reported to law enforcement about what was taken, and specifically who had the interactions with law enforcement as to what was reported to law enforcement.

Felony charges: Colliers International agents charged with multiple felonies, including theft of trade secrets

Battle to testify: Latest legal twist: Must Bosshardt employees testify in case challenged as suit designed to intimidate?

FBI investigates land deal: Law enforcement agencies investigating school district's $3.7M land deal

Dan Drotos (left) and Mike Ryals

The lawsuit filed by Drotos and Ryals says that Bosshardt fed false information to Gainesville police, leading to their arrests.

On March 1, Circuit Court Judge Donna Keim rejected Bosshardt attorney Paul Donnellys motions asking to delay the depositions until a higher court ruled on whether this slander suit was an illegal strategic lawsuit against public participation, or SLAPP suit, which are lawsuits meant to intimidate others into not speaking out.

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Keim sided with Drotos and Ryals' legal team who says they have been trying for months to get the Bosshardt employees deposed under oath.

Keim also ordered Bosshardt to pay attorneys fees and expenses after the firms employees did not show up for previously scheduled depositions.

Cornell was originally set for his deposition on Nov. 11 but had a scheduling conflict for a speech at a county-related Veterans Day ceremony. He said he informed Donnelly of the conflict and was advised not to go while Bosshardt tried to get the lawsuit thrown out.

Other Bosshardt employees who are scheduled to be deposed include: Jessica Keller, a real estate service specialist, Autumn Doughton, the relocation director, and Gene Anne McKay, former president of the firm.

Bosshardt's attorney, Donnelly, said Tuesday in a text message that the depositions will get Drotos and Ryals nowhere.

First, they wasted taxpayer money in their dealings with the school board, Donnelly said. Now, theyre wasting even more taxpayer money throwing a fit with a frivolous lawsuit in the court system. They can kick and scream the whole way down, but theyre just delaying the inevitable. The legal process will hold them accountable.

Drotos, Ryals also under investigation in a separate case

Multiple law enforcement agencies are also investigating Drotos and Ryals in connection with their role in a land purchase involving the Alachua School Board in 2020.

At least five sources close to the investigation have confirmed to The Gainesville Sun that the FBI is one of those agencies probing the land deal.

Drotos and Ryals, who were working with the district to acquire 37 acres potentially for a new school in the Jonesville area, are accused by some school board members of inflating the price to nearly double its value to pad their commission, while also working with the party selling the property.

Their attorney, however, says the price was based on the latest property appraisal, and that Drotos and Ryals had a legal agreement with the school district in which they were "transactional brokers," meaning they were supposed to function as a neutral third party.

Several school board members complained that they had thought Drotos and Ryals, who had an exclusive contract to handle real estate transactions for the district, were looking out for the district's best interest.

Christian Oldenburg, executive managing director and marketing leader for Colliers North Florida, defended the company and the agents in a letter to the school district dated Oct. 28, 2021, saying that the property is worth more than the district paid.

It has been said by some that the purchase of this property was not an urgent matter and that taxpayers do not have a need for the land, Oldenburg wrote. If that is truly the case, we would be happy to market the property for sale, and would agree in writing to waive 100% of the commission that would be due for such a sale as a gesture of good faith to the community.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Alachua County elected official to be deposed in defamation lawsuit
When the Inspired Home Show returned to McCormick Place earlier this month after a three-year pandemic hiatus, the annual housewares show was the smallest in recent memory, and among the most significant in its 80-year history.

Navigating mask mandates, vaccine cards, the waning omicron variant and an increasingly remote business world, the Inspired Home Show made Chicago a convention city again.

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The first major trade show to cancel at McCormick Place as the pandemic hit in March 2020, the Inspired Home Show was also the first to welcome visitors back to the citys convention center two years later, drawing 20,000 visitors over three days. While attendance was down about 60% from 2019, organizers were both pleased and relieved to pull the show off, a symbolic bookend to the COVID-19 convention crash.

This feels a lot better than being the first one to cancel, said Leana Salamah, a spokeswoman for the Rosemont-based International Housewares Association, which puts on the annual show. Being back and even being the first ones out of the gate to do that just feels fantastic.

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The economic engine of Chicagos tourism industry, McCormick Place was hard-hit by the pandemic, with more than 230 event cancellations costing the city about 3.4 million attendees and nearly $3.1 billion in economic impact. McCormick Place has 176 events on the calendar this year and projects nearly $1.9 billion in economic impact for the city.

In 2019, McCormick Place held 289 events with a total attendance of 2.9 million.

People tour product displays, including one for Finamill spice grinding, at the Inspired Home Show on March 7, 2022, at McCormick Place. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

This year got off to a promising start with the Chicago Auto Show, which shifted to an outdoor summer edition last year, but made it back inside McCormick Place in February for the convention centers first large-scale public event of 2022.

But the road to recovery may take years of red ink, taxpayer-funded incentives, and some out-of-the-box thinking to restore McCormick Place to pre-COVID-19 attendance numbers and operational self-sufficiency, as larger questions loom about the traditional convention model.

McCormick Place had been steadily losing convention and trade show business prior to the pandemic, said Heywood Sanders, a convention expert, and professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. I cant imagine that post-pandemic, were going to be back with any speed to where attendance was in 2019.

The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, a municipal corporation whose board is split between gubernatorial and mayoral appointees, owns McCormick Place, the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, the Marriott Marquis Chicago, Wintrust Arena and Navy Pier, which it leases to a not-for-profit corporation for $1 per year.

Its stated mission is to attract trade shows and conventions to Chicago, and bolster the regional economy.

The McCormick Square convention and hotel complex generated an operating income of $856,000 in fiscal year 2019, but fell to a loss of nearly $30 million in fiscal year 2020, which ended in June 2020  three months into the pandemic  after McCormick Place temporarily shut down. Losses were projected to bottom at $89 million for fiscal year 2021 before climbing back into the black by 2025, according to MPEAs current three-year financial plan.

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Combined operating revenue dropped from $314 million in fiscal year 2019 to $24 million in 2021, according to financial statements.

The McCormick hotels made money before the pandemic. The convention center did not.

The business model for convention centers everywhere is that they lose money, said Larita Clark, CEO of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. I look at it as we bring in $1.9 billion in economic impact, but the convention center might lose $50 million or $60 million. Its a great investment.

MPEA also collects about $160 million a year in tax revenue from hotels, restaurants, auto rentals and taxis, which is used to finance debt service on $4.4 billion in bonds issued for capital projects such as the hotels and Wintrust Arena. During fiscal year 2021, falling tax revenues were inadequate to fund the $95.5 million in debt service, so MPEA borrowed $10 million in state sales tax revenue. Clark said improving hotel and restaurant revenues should enable MPEA to pay back the state by 2024.

In its three-year financial plan, MPEA projects combined hotel and convention center revenues recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2023. Sanders said that may be an ambitious goal.

Folks are not coming back, at least for now, at levels comparable to 2019, Sanders said. How long it might take for them to do that, or if indeed they will ever do, that is the big question.

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Sanders said convention attendance had been steadily declining in Chicago and across the country for a decade before the pandemic. While attendance will likely bounce back from its lows, the pandemic is bound to accelerate the long-term decline at trade shows and conventions, he said.

Like many other industries, Sanders said conventions are adapting to a more virtual post-pandemic world.

People enter the main hall for the Inspired Home Show on March 7, 2022, at McCormick Place. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The industry likes to say you cant replace face-to-face, Sanders said. The larger economic reality is that as employers increasingly embrace, to varying degrees, remote work, and they recognize that the technology today has made lots of virtual activities far more viable, they arent going to send as many employees to attend a convention and trade show as they used to.

To help speed the convention industrys recovery, the state authorized $15 million in annual incentives for fiscal year 2022 through 2026 that MPEA can use to lure events to McCormick Place. Clark said MPEA has offered more than $25 million in incentive grants to date.

In recent years, all convention centers have been engaging in what Sanders called the great incentives war, using rebates, discounts or other added value to get trade shows to commit, and banking on the broader economic impact to make up the lost booking fees.

Sanders said the increase in incentives is another long-term trend accelerated by the pandemic.

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Orlando gives their center away for free, Sanders said. The competitions going to get worse.

McCormick Place has snared some big events this year, including the inaugural Star Trek: Mission Chicago next month, the Sweets & Snacks Expo, which is returning in May from Indianapolis, and the National Education Association, which is moving its July conference to Chicago from Dallas.

An even bigger win is the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, which is scheduled to return to Chicago in April 2023 after an eight-year absence. The 2022 show takes place this month in Orlando, one of Chicagos biggest convention rivals.

Its a major health care event that we are so excited to have back, Clark said. Thats a major event that will fill our hotels.

But Chicago was also dealt a blow Tuesday when the Sweets & Snacks Expo, which went to Indianapolis in 2021 while McCormick Place was still closed due to COVID restrictions, announced it would be rotating the trade show over 10 years between Indianapolis and Las Vegas beginning in 2024.

The Chicago hotel industry has also struggled during the pandemic, with occupancy in the central business district dropping from 74% in 2019 to 26% in 2020, according to data from research firm STR. Hotel occupancy recovered to 42.6% last year, but fell sharply in January to 23.7% amid the rise of the omicron variant and new vaccine and mask mandates imposed by the city.

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The central business district has 135 hotels offering 43,881 rooms, according to Choose Chicago, the citys tourism arm.

While leisure travel is the primary driver of hotel occupancy, Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, said the return of convention business to McCormick Place is crucial to the Chicago hotel industry, pushing guests out to smaller boutique hotels and even the suburbs as big box hotels fill up.

We need conventions for our local hotel and tourism industry to flourish, Jacobson said.

The original McCormick Place opened in 1960 and burned down seven years later. It was rebuilt in 1971 as the steel-and-glass Lakeside Center, now the oldest of four exhibition halls comprising 2.6 million square feet.

The Hyatt Regency was built in 1998, while the Marriott Marquis and Wintrust Arena opened in 2017.

Three of five competing proposals to build a Chicago casino seek to use part of the McCormick campus, including a $1.3 billion Rivers Chicago McCormick bid to redevelop Lakeside Center. Developers have touted the project as an opportunity to repurpose a seldom-used space and have promised to cover the tab for $500 million in deferred maintenance.

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Clark said Lakeside Center has 253 events scheduled through 2035, generating an estimated economic impact of $13.8 billion, and that McCormick Place would not be interested in giving up any convention space without a replacement. A decision by the city on the winning casino proposal is expected this month.

The annual housewares show, which dates back to 1939, has deep roots in Chicago predating McCormick Place. Its return this month after three years was anything but assured amid the rise of the omicron variant.

There was a real pressure cooker the last couple of months in terms of what was going to happen, Salamah said. When the reports started coming out in mid-January that omicron had peaked, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

The city ended its mask mandate and proof of vaccination requirement for certain public spaces on Feb. 28  just days before the March 5 -7 run of the Inspired Home Show. While McCormick Place is no longer bound by the mask and vaccine requirements, the convention center is choosing to leave that up to the individual shows, Clark said.

The Inspired Home Show still required its 20,000 attendees and more than 1,000 exhibitors to show a vaccination card, a negative COVID-19 test or proof of natural immunity after recovering from the virus. It also left a loose mask mandate in place, Salamah said, but most attendees doffed their face coverings by the second day.

Not a lot of people felt obligated to wear masks, she said. It was really an encouragement versus a true kind of enforcement.

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The downsized show drew a large contingent of international attendees, though companies sent fewer individuals to participate, Salamah said. Though the crowd was smaller, attendees were more engaged, spending more time together than ever before, she said.

In the end, the old school, face-to-face trade show proved its value, she said.

It was like a giant reunion, Salamah said. Everyone was so happy to be in out in person again. It was just tons of gratitude, but also an incredible amount of business got done.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com
DEVILS LAKE - Starting in late December, one of the most common inquiries, other than where the fish are biting, has been about the wildlife in winter and if theres anything people can do to help them out.

So what can you do as spring gradually arrives. Give wildlife a little space.

As a biologist, we want whats best for fish and wildlife. Yet, at the same time we understand the PG-13 and sometimes R rating (for violence) for the circle of life and nature.

The strong survive and the small and weak sometimes dont.

Also realize that while this winter looks and feels a little worse than weve had, in any given year, no matter how little snow or how mild the temperatures, winter mortality will take its toll. Always has and always will.

Ive written often about the real biological and science red flags with feeding wildlife. So what can you do as spring gradually arrives. Give wildlife a little space. Its that simple.

This advice is especially true this winter as wildlife habitat and available food sources have been limited because ongoing drought conditions leading up to winter nearly crippled the development of vegetation that many animals rely on to survive.

People in North Dakota want to have fun in winter because we have four or five months of it, which means we've got a lot of people out shed hunting, riding snowmobiles and track machines, those kinds of things, said Casey Anderson, North Dakota Game and Fish Department wildlife division chief. It's important, the tougher the winter is, that people are

cognizant about where wildlife are and really view wildlife from a distance.

That means wait to shed hunt until later in the spring so that you're not pushing deer in and out of thermal cover where they're trying to just conserve energy, he added. You push them out into the open, then they get exposed to the elements a lot more and it adds further stress. Also, people need to realize if theyre out on a snowmobile or a machine and are pushing wildlife, chasing wildlife, that's actually an illegal activity in North Dakota as far as harassment of wildlife is concerned.

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Anderson said its common for snowmobilers and others to ride in areas where snow has accumulated, such as near shelterbelts and other wooded habitat.

Those areas can be fun to ride because that's where the drifts are, but people also have to realize that there could be deer or other wildlife within those areas that are using that for thermal cover and a windbreak. And so, every time you push them out, it increases the amount of energy they expend to survive the next day.

These same warnings, for shed hunters and others, also apply on Game and Fish Department owned or operated wildlife management areas where many animals gather to weather the winter months.

This article originally appeared on Devils Lake Journal: Keep your distance from wildlife in winter
Mar. 16WILKES-BARRE  An evaluation by the state's Sexual Offender Assessment Board was ordered by Luzerne County President Judge Michael T. Vough of a Kingston man who pled guilty to child sex offenses.

Edward James Palicki, 25, pled guilty to two counts of unlawful contact with minors for encouraging three boys, ages 11, 12 and 13, to engage in sex acts at Reese Park on Dean Court, Kingston, on June 8, according to court records.

Police said the children reported Palicki approached them stating he "saw two good looking" victims for sex. The children told Palicki to go away because they were underage.

Palicki asked the boys if they wanted to see his genitals and exposed himself twice, court records say.

Police alleged Palicki asked two boys to remove their underwear and if they wanted to engage in sexual activity. Palicki allegedly told the boys he masturbates in the park and asked the children if they wanted to see a video of him performing a lewd sex act.

Palicki further allegedly asked the boys if he could record them engaged in lewd sex acts for a video on a pornographic website.

One boy ran home and notified a parent, who later confronted Palicki at the park.

Police obtained a picture taken by the parent that was posted on their Facebook page requesting assistance from the public to identify.

Palicki saw the posted picture and contacted police, claiming he was being falsely accused of exposing himself to children.

After Palicki arrived at police headquarters, police said he admitted to exposing himself to three boys at the park and masturbating in front of them.

Vough ordered an evaluation by the Sexual Offender Assessment Board to determine if Palicki meets the criteria of a violent sexual predator.

Palicki is scheduled to be sentenced June 17. He remains jailed at the county correctional facility without bail.

Assistant District Attorney Shana Messinger prosecuted.
A satellite image shows the Drama Theater in Mariupol, in southern Ukraine. The word "children" had been written in large white letters in Russian on the ground in front of and behind the building. (Maxar Technologies )

A Russian airstrike hit a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people had taken shelter in recent days as a siege on the southern port city tightened, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, but there was no immediate word on casualties.

If large numbers of civilians were inside in the building  shown by satellite imagery earlier in the week to have the word children marked in large letters on the ground in front and at the back of it  it could prove one of the worst atrocities of the 3-week-old conflict.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba posted before-and-after photos of the stately, white-columned Drama Theater in the heart of the Russian-encircled city, saying that hundreds of innocent civilians were hiding within its walls. Mariupol, under heavy bombardment, was already the venue for some of the wars most harrowing reports of suffering.

Writing on Twitter, Kuleba called the theater attack a horrendous war crime, but he did not say whether those who had taken refuge were thought to have been inside when the building was hit or had managed to flee. Earlier, the Mariupol City Council said in a post on the messaging app Telegram that it was still impossible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act.

Russias Defense Ministry denied involvement and sought to cast blame on a right-wing Ukrainian militia, the state-run RIA news agency reported.

Earlier, an around-the-clock curfew brought the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, to a standstill and Russian forces stepped up fierce attacks on civilian areas across the country Wednesday. Casualties and damage were reported in Kyiv, Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities.

President Biden on Wednesday echoed growing international condemnation of the wholesale leveling of civilian areas by Russian President Vladimir Putins forces. I think hes a war criminal, Biden said of the Russian leader, the first time he had publicly made such a characterization.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden was speaking from his heart about televised scenes of barbaric actions, but did not specify a particular incident that had prompted the presidents remark. The Kremlin called the accusation unacceptable.

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With a spiraling humanitarian and refugee crisis arising from the fighting, Putin sought to bat aside assessments by Western military officials and analysts that his forces had become bogged down in their attempt to speedily subdue Ukraine. At a televised government meeting, he insisted that what Russia calls its special military operation was going successfully and according to plan.

At the same time, the U.S. and Russia engaged in their highest-level encounter since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security advisor, talked by phone Wednesday with Gen. Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russias security council, and a spokeswoman said Sullivan warned against any Russian use of chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, kept up his string of appeals to allies around the world for more forceful action and more weaponry. In a video speech to the U.S. Congress, he requested additional military aid and heavier sanctions on Russia, and repeated his request for a no-fly zone over Ukraine  an appeal rejected again Wednesday by NATOs chief.

After a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization defense ministers in Brussels, the alliances secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said a no-fly zone would risk sparking a wider war.

NATO should not deploy forces on the ground or in the airspace over Ukraine because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict, this war, doesnt escalate beyond Ukraine, he said.

In Kyiv, plumes of smoke rose Wednesday from a 12-story apartment building in the Shevchenkivskyi district, just a few miles northwest of the city center, after Russian shelling left at least two people injured in a predawn attack. Several floors became engulfed in flames, and the top floor was destroyed.

In the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest, two people were found dead and four were injured after artillery destroyed two residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said. Part of a school building was also damaged early Wednesday.

In Chernihiv, about 80 miles northeast of the capital, 10 people were shot and killed while standing in line for bread, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said on Twitter.

The assaults took place as a third day of negotiations was set to begin between Ukraine and Russia, the latest attempt to broker peace after the two sides failed to reach agreement during multiple rounds of previous talks.

In an early-morning video, Zelensky said that the demands of both nations were sounding more realistic. But he said that time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed that a business-like spirit had begun to mark the talks. He told Russian channel RBK TV that a neutral status [for Ukraine] is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, but there was no confirmation of that from Kyiv.

Debris clutters a street in a suburb of Kyiv, Ukraine, after a Russian bombardment on March 14, 2022. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Its unclear how much an outpouring of U.S. and Western assistance will help Ukraine, which has impressed the world by fending off a bigger, more militarily advanced enemy, but also suffered hundreds of deaths and severe losses of territory, especially in the east and south. Outside Mariupol, desperately needed aid convoys have been blocked in recent days.

In Washington, a senior Defense official said that the Pentagon has reason to believe the Russians are considering their resupply and manning options, but added that there was no evidence of Russian efforts to bring in additional supplies.

While he tries to rally more international support, Zelensky has appeared to shift on the key issue of NATO membership for Ukraine, pursuit of which is enshrined in the countrys constitution. On Tuesday, he said he accepted that his nation would not join the transatlantic alliance.

It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of NATO  we understand this, Zelensky said in a speech to the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led group of 10 northern European countries committed to rapid crisis response. For years we heard about the apparently open door but have already also heard that we will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged.

Putin has demanded that Ukraine never join the alliance and cited Kyivs desire to do so as a sign of Western aggression toward Russia.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he agreed with Zelensky. Theres no way Ukraine is going to join NATO anytime soon, Johnson said during a visit to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky who is taking part in negotiations, tweeted Wednesday that our position at the negotiations is quite specific, saying Ukraine needed legally verified security guarantees; cease-fire; withdrawal of Russian troops.

He also suggested that Russians were more likely to negotiate because of Ukrainian counteroffensives. In a PBS NewsHour interview, Podolyak said Russia was making adjustments to its demands because they see the war is not going according to their plans.

They were planning to move in their troops, capture as much territory as possible in three days and basically have a blitzkrieg, he said in the interview. They did not do that, and they will not do that. They are stuck fighting in their current positions.... Therefore, we have much confidence that we will have a cease-fire in coming days.

In Kyiv, residents said it felt like the danger was getting closer even though Russian troops havent made deep inroads into the city, and routes in and out remained open.

Olga Grigorieva becomes emotional as she and other residents of the besieged Ukrainian town of Irpin are driven to safety by volunteers on March 13, 2022. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Maria Zhartovska, a 31-year-old journalist who works for the news website Babel.ua, said she awoke to the sounds of explosions for the second day in a row. She lives near the Lukyanivska subway station, which is three miles from Zelenskys office and was shut down after Russian shelling damaged it Tuesday.

By morning, we heard the air raid sirens five times, Zhartovska said.

As afternoon came, a series of loud explosions rumbled through the city center, where the occasional car still drove on streets devoid of pedestrians.

The citys curfew, imposed Tuesday evening because of what Mayor Vitali Klitschko described as a dangerous moment in the capital, is to end Thursday.

Bulos reported from Kyiv, Kaleem from London and King from Washington. Times staff writers Eli Stokols and Anumita Kaur in Washington contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine, form a line as they approach the border with Poland in Shehyni, Ukraine, Sunday, March 6, 2022. The number of Ukrainians forced from their country increased to 1.5 million and the Kremlin's rhetoric grew, with Russian President Vladimir Putin warning that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Kentucky State Sen. Chris McDaniel wants to set up a $50 million initiative to help resettle refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine (as well as other conflicts) in Kentucky, and lawmakers gave his plan its first green light Wednesday.

The United Nations' refugee agency says more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded on Feb. 24.

"That would be roughly the equivalent, in three weeks, of 450,000 new people entering the borders of the commonwealth with nothing but the clothes on their back," said McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, who called the war a humanitarian "catastrophe."

"As this year advances, there are probably going to be significant opportunities to help with the resettlement of these people, who wanted nothing but to be free. And they're leaving countrymen behind who are fighting the very kind of fight that this nation fought several centuries ago to be able to live free in a nation where they self-determine."

Related: In encrypted texts, a Louisville woman's family describes their terrifying life in Ukraine

McDaniel's proposal, Senate Bill 195, would set up a fund that appropriates $10,000 per family for up to 5,000 families displaced by international conflict, including the war in Ukraine. Those families would be relocated to Kentucky.

State Sen. Chris McDaniel listens as Braidy Industries CEO Tom Modrowski addresses the appropriations and revenue committee at the Kentucky Capitol Annex building on Feb. 11, 2020.

The legislation also would establish a scholarship for the families' children and would devote $5 million per year for the next two fiscal years toward administering this program.

"Obviously, this is for refugees displaced by international conflict broadly," McDaniel said. "But more specifically, we believe that over the course of the next six-to-nine months, the opportunities to resettle Ukrainians is pretty dramatic."

He introduced this legislation Wednesday morning and got an initial green light to advance the bill from the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee, which he chairs.

McDaniel indicated he's open to making adjustments to the bill, which will need full approval from the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives to become law.

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More: 'My heart is breaking': Louisville Paralympian born in Ukraine speaks about Russia

He suggested this is a chance not only to support people who've fled violence but also to help Kentucky with its relatively low level of participation in the workforce.

"And if we can help human interest, basic decency and public policy all meet at a common point, I believe it is incumbent upon us to do so," he said.

Kentucky Refugee Ministries' executive director, John Koehlinger, told lawmakers Wednesday that the federal government oversees the resettlement of refugees in various states, and the commonwealth has an "outsized role in the U.S. refugee program."

Relatively recently, for example, Kentucky Refugee Ministries resettled over 460 refugees from Afghanistan, 300 of whom came to Louisville, he said. Many of those individuals already are working here in manufacturing and other industries.

"There's a deep history here ... of resettling refugees from Burma, Syria, Iraq, Congo, Sudan," he said. "We've had a lot of bipartisan, local community support."

More: One family's harrowing escape from Afghanistan, and the road to resettlement in Louisville

Ukrainian and Russian officials are in the midst of negotiations, but the war continues as well.

At least 691 civilians have been killed and 1,143 civilians injured since the invasion last month, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. That agency believes the real totals are considerably higher.

While Kentucky lawmakers greenlit aid for refugees Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a virtual address to Congress that same morning and asked America to do more to support his embattled country.

Morgan Watkins is The Courier Journal's chief political reporter. Contact her at mwatkins@courierjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter: @morganwatkins26.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky lawmaker proposes $50M plan to welcome Ukraine war refugees
By Michael Martina and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A planned summit between China and the European Union should be canceled until Beijing shows whether it stands with Russia or the West over the conflict in Ukraine, a senior Lithuanian official said on Wednesday.

The 27-nation EU, of which Lithuania is a member, has said it plans to hold the top-level, likely virtual, meeting with China on April 1 to diffuse growing tensions between the two sides, but Lithuanian vice foreign minister Mantas Adomenas told Reuters that it was "not the time for normalization."

"In our assessment it is very ill-timed. In view of recent developments, it should be called off, or at least postponed significantly until we see which side China is on," Adomenas said in an interview during a visit to Washington.

"It is the time to show China that we mean business  that they cannot expect to occupy this ambiguous role, on one hand supporting Russia, on one hand using trading opportunities with the West  European Union, and expect no consequences," he said.

But Adomenas said Lithuania, a former Soviet republic concerned about Moscow's broader intentions, had "a lot of persuasion to do" to convince other EU members that the summit should not go ahead.

The EU regards China as a strategic rival in some areas, but seeks to encourage Beijing to reform trade rules at the World Trade Organization, even as it has imposed sanctions on some members of the European Parliament and punishes Lithuania over its move to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy.

U.S. officials have told China that it will face consequences, including secondary sanctions, if Beijing provides Russia with material military or economic support in the Ukraine war, which Moscow calls a "special military operation."

China and Russia announced an upgraded "no limits" strategic partnership just weeks before the conflict began, and Beijing has refused to term Moscow's actions an invasion, although Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for "maximum restraint".

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday called on China to condemn Russia's invasion.

Adomenas, in Washington for meetings with U.S. officials, said China was not an "honest broker," and couldn't be relied on to help mediate a solution to the crisis, as Beijing has signaled.

"Certainly, if China joins in any way facilitating Russia's military effort, assisting its military, there ought to be sanctions. We will be arguing for it," he said, adding that there was a lot more that the West could do to support Ukraine.

NATO could provide protection for humanitarian convoys and set up "safe zones," Adomenas said, without elaborating, and added that the West should send Ukraine more sophisticated weapons such as U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missile defense systems.

More Russian oligarchs and their family members needed to be sanctioned, Adomenas said, adding that Europe should also consider an oil embargo on Russia.

"Europe can resupply itself with oil from other sources. This is the kind of lifeline that finances the war," he said.

(Reporting by Michael Martina and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
Its Wednesday, Chicago.

Weve got the list of finalists for the Chicago Tribunes 2022 Readers Choice Food Awards, and now its your turn to vote. Tribune food boss Ariel Cheung has all the details below.

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Speaking of dining, critic Louisa Chu has some thoughts on two new hot spots in the Avondale neighborhood. Theres Wolfhound Bar and Kitchen, an Irish-inspired pub (but dont expect corned beef and cabbage on the menu) and a creative new bar. Meanwhile, Tribune beer expert Josh Noel tests out nonalcoholic Guinness 0.

And for a little food for the soul: After listening to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ask the U.S. Congress this morning for more aid to push back on the continuing Russian invasion, you may find yourself looking for a way to help the besieged country and its residents. If youre free tonight, theres a last-minute option: Dozens of Chicagos best chefs will be raising money with a dinner tonight at Navy Pier.

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The war, like most in our planets history, has touched those in every corner of the arts. Chris Jones writes that Saturday nights opening of the Lyric Operas Tosca began with a performance of the Ukrainian national anthem, which nudged the audience to its collective feet. Beyond a moving start, Jones notes we can find a lot of parallels between world events and the operas storyline: sometimes love doesnt conquer all.

See you next week.

Lisa Donovan, deputy senior editor

The entrance to Mother's Ruin, 2943 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, is seen on March 10, 2022. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)

Mothers Ruin opened Friday in Avondale and offers creative slushy cocktails and hearty food, like hot and crispy waffle fries, with a simplified approach: Everything is ordered at the bar. No servers or hosts.

T.J. Lynch co-owns the bar and restaurant with business partner Richard Knapp; they opened other Mothers Ruin locations in New York and Nashville. In Chicago, theyve partnered up with Toby Maloney, head mixologist at The Violet Hour. Tribune critic Louisa Chu has the details.

Guinness Draught, left, and nonalcoholic Guinness 0 beer. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

In recent weeks, the legendary Irish brewery, which plans to open a Chicago brewpub in 2023, has introduced nonalcoholic Guinness 0 to the United States. Tribune beer guru Josh Noel poured himself a glass of what has become a polarizing offering in the NA beer world to see where he landed.

Hint: The initial whiff of milk chocolate was a sign of things to come and inspired a bit of an experiment.

Haley Blomquist and Bridget Stiebris of the Chicago indie band OK Cool. (Tracy Conoboy photo/HANDOUT)

The pair behind indie rock band OK Cool really got going two years ago and what followed  from a line of singles to starting a record label  seems almost counterintuitive. This was all during the pandemic, after all.

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Music critic Britt Julious writes of Bridget Stiebris and Haley Blomquists latest work and their evolving sound: The elevation in OK Cools sound from early singles like the minimalism of I Cant Stand in Ice Skates to their latest release, brimming with confidence, speaks to the continued development of their artistry. Read the rest of the story here.

National Scavenger League creators Brian and Brittany Brindza on Chicago's Michigan Avenue DuSable Bridge on Feb. 23, 2022. Their tournament, a scavenger hunt where contestants solve clues to win a prize, is slated to be March 26. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

As part of its Chicago kickoff, The National Scavenger League is offering a big award to a team of sleuths who can solve 20 Chicago-themed clues. The debut digital event is unknown and untested, so anything could happen, Beth Franken writes for the Tribune. Caveat gamer, as it were. More on the event here.

The Tribune will host a virtual event, the Great Tribune Takeout Night, on April 12, during which we'll announce the winners of the 2022 Readers' Choice Food Awards. (Aly Morris/Chicago Tribune)

Weve narrowed it down from hundreds of nominations that spanned from Wadsworth on the Wisconsin border to Scottsdale, Arizona (when we said best Chicago-style pizza, its true we never specified the pizza had to be in Chicago), to name the finalists for the Chicago Tribunes 2022 Readers Choice Food Awards.

Vote daily from Wednesday through Friday, March 25, and help your favorites best their competition.

The winners will be announced April 12 during a new virtual event, the Great Tribune Takeout Night. Well go live on Facebook to chat with some of our winning chefs and restaurateurs and share the results of the Readers Choice Awards. More details here.

Glenn Davis and Chris Perfetti in Steppenwolf Theatres world premiere production of "King James." (Michael Brosilow)

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

The play King James, on stage at Steppenwolf Theatre, tells a moving, accessible and openhearted story of two friends in Cleveland who bond and come unstuck over the rise (and subsequent exit and return) of LeBron Raymone James Sr., the pride of northeast Ohio and the Cleveland Cavaliers and for years a symbol of what Cleveland could and could not achieve, Tribune critic Chris Jones writes.

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Jones expects the play to be a hit, noting it is a simple piece of highly commercial theater, short, not overly taxing of its exhausted audience ... (and) full of heart, un-preachy and filled with humor and a healing racial energy. The full review is here.

Pizza with black and white pudding is seen at The Wolfhound Bar and Kitchen, 3188 N. Elston Ave. in Chicago, on March 4, 2022. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago firefighter Brendan Byrne drew on his years of experience cooking up meals for his colleagues at Bucktowns Truck 28 when opening his new Irish-inspired pub. Hed planned to open in the Avondale neighborhood by St. Patricks Day  two years ago. The pandemic delayed his plans, but now The Wolfhound is open and thriving.

What you wont find is corned beef, with or without cabbage, or stacked sky high in sandwiches. Critic Louisa Chu has more on why.

Tony Priolo, chef-owner of Piccolo Sogno, is seen on Oct. 28, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Tonight, more than 70 of the biggest local chefs will be part of the fundraiser Chicago Cooks for Ukraine, the Tribunes Nick Kindelsperger writes. Participating chefs include Erick Williams (Virtue), Jason Hammel (Lula Cafe), Lee Wolen (Boka Restaurant) and Giuseppe Tentori (GT Fish & Oyster). Read more here.

Michelle Bradley, as Floria Tosca, and Russell Thomas, as Mario Cavaradossi, perform in Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca" at Chicago's Lyric Opera on March 9, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Saturday nights Lyric Opera of Chicago opening of Tosca, the Giacomo Puccini opera set as the Neapolitans abandoned Rome and the city fell, began with the Ukrainian national anthem, Tribune critic Chris Jones writes. The performance goes on to beautifully tell a timeless story of two lovers unable to find their place, done in by the battles that surround them, and used to further the agenda of others, Jones says in his review.

Perch fillets are dredged in a proprietary seasoning blend, then lightly dipped into a beer batter before they're fried at The Old Fashioned, in Madison, Wisconsin. Prices start at $12.95, which includes coleslaw, fries and a slice of rye. (Mary Bergin / Chicago Tribune)

Lent is as good a time as any to head north to Wisconsin to check out a fish fry, which is a cherished year-round Friday tradition in the state. Writer and Wisconsin native Lisa Bergin offers a list of where to find the sweet and petite perch, as well as a deep dive into why the sought-after fish is increasingly elusive.
Samantha Washington was a passenger in a car driving through north St. Louis when the vehicle was struck by an SUV fleeing police, Missouri officials say.

The 17-year-old was thrown from the Toyota Avalon and killed in the collision with a Cadillac SRX shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, March 13, police said in a statement provided to McClatchy News.

Now the family is mourning their loss.

Things happen in the blink of an eye, father Tyrone Washington told KSDK. I lost my daughter to a tragic car accident.

Its heartbreaking, aunt Gwendolyn Rodgers told the TV station. The only thing we can do is pull together, we have each other.

Police say the 24-year-old male driver who struck the Avalon was fleeing SWAT officers after they tried pulling him over. They attempted the traffic stop at about 9:18 p.m. after spotting him speeding in the Cadillac, which was later found to be stolen out of Illinois.

With the SUVs lights out, officials say the man quickly drove away.

Officers lost sight of the vehicle shortly after initiating the car stop and they returned to their normal patrolling, according to the departments statement.

Soon after, the driver crossed directly in front of officers vehicle going east on W. Florissant at a high rate of speed, police said. Thats when the man struck the Avalon at the intersection of Shreve Avenue and W. Florissant Avenue.

Authorities say the driver of the Avalon had been trying to make a left turn at the intersection when the car was hit. The 28-year-old male driver was injured but alert (and walking around) when police arrived at the scene.

Samantha was found lying on the pavement and unresponsive, police said. Responding EMS pronounced her dead at the intersection.

Following the fatal crash, police say the 24-year-old man tried to run away, but he was arrested shortly after.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Mar. 16Members of Maine's congressional delegation said they favor providing additional sanctions and military equipment to support Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Congress Wednesday and asked for more aid, sanctions and a no-fly zone to help defend his country against the Russian invasion.

Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Jared Golden, D-2nd District, all said the United States needs to continue to back Ukraine. However, none of the Maine lawmakers expressed support for enforcing a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

"President Zelensky is a courageous leader, and his presentation to Congress this morning was so powerful and moving," Sen. Collins said in a written statement.

"I don't know how anybody could listen to him and see the videos of casualties and destruction in Ukraine and not be in favor of providing additional assistance to counter the horrendous Russian bombardment from the sky," Collins said. "We should allow the transfer of the Polish MiG fighter jets, provide additional weaponry and drones, cease to do business in Russia, and implement broader sanctions."

Following Zelensky's address, Biden announced $800 million in new military aid to Ukraine, including 9,000 anti-armor systems, 7,000 small arms, 20 million rounds of ammunition and 800 Stinger aircraft systems. That's in addition to $200 million in aid announced Saturday.

King held a news conference after Zelensky spoke and said the U.S. response has been extraordinary while also avoiding escalating the conflict.

King said Biden's decision to slap economic sanctions on Russia and provide military equipment and humanitarian aid has helped Ukraine and hurt Russia without provoking Russia into starting a wider war or using nuclear weapons, which "could and would be disastrous for the world," King said.

King said that Zelensky's address further strengthened his resolve to help Ukraine and that it's hard to stay on the sidelines of the war, but it is important to consider the risk and horrors of escalation to a nuclear world war and it's crucial to continue to walk the line of aiding Ukraine without provoking Russia into further widening the war.

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"That's the terrible dilemma that's facing this country and facing the president," King said.

Implementing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, something President Zelensky has repeatedly urged the U.S. to do and Biden has consistently declined, would be both dangerous and ineffective, King said. Having American pilots shooting at Russian pilots would quickly escalate the war, and most of the shells hitting Ukraine are not coming from planes anyway, but from missiles and artillery, he said.

"The utility of a no-fly zone in terms of the actual protection of the Ukrainian people would be very limited," King said.

Pingree and Golden echoed Collins' and King's sentiments.

"Congress heard from a true hero today," Pingree said in a written statement. "My message for President Zelensky is this: 'The United States hears you. We stand with you. And we will continue to support you.'"

Pingree backed the additional support announced Wednesday by Biden, saying "the United States has demonstrated our firm commitment to the people of Ukraine. However, it's also clear more assistance will continue to be needed, and I'm committed to working with my colleagues to make that happen."

Golden said in a written statement that the need to provide additional support to Ukraine "becomes more urgent with every passing day as Russia continues to target cities and is killing thousands of Ukrainian civilians."

But Golden said more needs to be done, and that the assistance Biden announced "falls short of providing the Ukrainian government with the resources that it has requested for the protection of its civilian population against indiscriminate bombing and shelling."

Golden is part of a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers advocating for the Biden administration to help protect Ukraine's airspace with weapons systems, planes and further sanctions.
A helicopter makes a water drop as fire crews work to extinguish an Eagle Rock brush fire that was sparked after a firework was thrown at a homeless encampment in 2019. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A man who ignited a 2019 brush fire when he threw a lighted firework into a homeless encampment was spared from prison by a judge Wednesday.

Daniel Nogueira, 28, faced the possibility of more than a decade behind bars for starting the blaze. But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kerry White agreed with Nogueira's attorney that the case should be resolved by placing Nogueira into a mental health treatment program.

The attorney, Alan Jackson, had argued that Nogueira has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly referred to as ADHD, and that the condition makes it difficult for him to control his impulses.

Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, said prosecutors had opposed the idea of diverting Nogueira's case because they believed he posed an "unreasonable risk of danger to public safety."

Jackson acknowledged during a court hearing Wednesday that Nogueira used "extremely bad judgment" when he threw the firework, which prosecutors also described as "a mortar," out a car window as he rode down Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock in August 2019. But Jackson claimed Nogueria was merely engaged in "horseplay" and did not intend to set a fire.

The firework exploded in a large homeless encampment beneath the 2 Freeway, starting a fire that quickly grew to 45 acres as it burned brush made tinder-dry by months of summer heat. Residents were forced to evacuate as the flames threatened about 100 homes in L.A. and Glendale, and sections of the 2 and 134 freeways were closed as fire department helicopters dumped water on the blaze. Two residents of the encampment and a Los Angeles firefighter suffered minor injuries.

White chastised Nogueira for his behavior, adding that he was fortunate to benefit from a 2018 law that allows judges to divert the cases of some mentally ill defendants if they find the illness was a significant factor in their crime.

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"What you did was extremely dangerous and not too bright," White said. "Five years ago, you would have been placed on probation or you would have gone to county jail."

Nogueira's lack of criminal record was also a factor in the judge's decision to spare him from jail, White said. He will enter a guilty plea at a future hearing, but his sentencing will be suspended while he is in a treatment program that could last up to two years, Jackson said.

If Nogueira abides by the program, the case will be dismissed upon completion of treatment and he will have no criminal record, Jackson said.

The decision frustrated advocates for homeless people. Jennifer Hark Dietz, the CEO of People Assisting The Homeless, said it was particularly troubling given recent attacks on homeless people in New York City and Washington, D.C.

"I think the concern could be that other folks might feel that they can get off as well," she said. "It kind of increases the stigma that, being homeless, youre unworthy of the attention of justice.

Daniel Nogueira did not speak during Wednesday's hearing. His father, Michael Nogueira, who is president of Eagle Rock's Chamber of Commerce, has not responded to requests to comment about the incident.

Weeks after the fire, Daniel Nogueira and Brian Antonio Araujo Cabrera were initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but prosecutors sent the case back to the Los Angeles Police Department for further investigation. Arson and assault charges were filed against Nogueira last year, and no charges were filed against Araujo because of insufficient evidence.

The fire was the first in a series of arson attacks that stoked fears in L.A. Countys sprawling homeless communities. In a six-week span from late August to early October of that year, tents were set ablaze and homeless people said they also had explosives thrown at their dwellings in Glendale, Echo Park and Skid Row.

Three homeless people were killed in the fires  two of which police said were set by other unhoused people  but the attacks raised concerns that people frustrated with homelessness in L.A. County were attacking encampments.

Last year, a Times review of Los Angeles Fire Department data found that the number of fires related to homeless encampments in the city tripled from 2018 to 2020.

Mel Tillekeratne, the founder of a mobile shower program that aids encampments throughout L.A. County, said Nogueira was being given treatment and leniency not often shown to the city's homeless.

"When were looking at our homeless population, theres so many people who are suffering from mental illness who he assaulted, people who never got the chance that he got," Tillekeratne said. "What does that say about our justice system? What does that say about how we look at our unhoused population?

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A woman's hand holding a knife. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  A married woman who wanted to confront a man she regarded as a boyfriend for talking to other women ended up stabbing him in the chest.

Sui Shiyinghui, 37, had consumed seven cans of beer before crashing the mans birthday party, where she stabbed him.

The Singapore permanent resident and Chinese national was jailed for eight months on Wednesday (16 March) after she pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon.

The pair had been close friends for four years, and Sui had regarded the man as her "boyfriend", even though she was married. On the other hand, the man did not consider himself to be in a relationship with Sui, whom he had met once a week.

Confronted man at his condominium

On 23 August last year, the man had invited a group of friends to his condominium to celebrate his birthday.

Sui came over unannounced at about 8.30pm, as she wanted to confront the man for talking to other women. She went into the bedroom with the man and argued with him, before one of the mans friends came in to separate the two.

While in the living room, Sui shouted obscenities at the victim and told the man she wanted him to die. In response, the man said that Sui could stab him if she was angry.

Upon hearing this, Sui went into the kitchen to grab a knife with a nine-centimetre-long blade. Another man tried to stop her, but Sui freed herself and rushed towards the victim, stabbing him once in the upper left chest.

She let go of the knife and the victim removed it himself. One of the mans friends called the police about the incident, saying, I think this woman is crazy."

The victim was conveyed to hospital where he was found with a 1.5cm laceration at his left chest region. The wound was bleeding mildly.

According to court documents, there was no aggravation of any existing condition and there was no anticipated loss of function of any body part or fractures.

Found without a mental disorder

Sui was assessed psychiatrically and found without a mental disorder. She was likely to have been voluntarily intoxicated then, but was still cognisant of the nature and wrongfulness of her actions.

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She has since paid $1,000 in compensation for the victims medical bills.

Suis lawyer Suppiah Thangaveloo pointed out that his client was a first-time offender and was remorseful. She had committed the offence on the spur of the moment and did not visit the victims house armed, the lawyer said.

For voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon, Sui could have been jailed up to seven years, or fined, or with caned, or with any combination of the penalties.

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Mar. 16Keith Olbermann is one TV personality who has made far more comebacks than Tom Brady.

He almost made another.

The New York Post reported that Olbermann was negotiating to take Rachel Maddow's place when she went on her sabbatical.

According to the Post, Maddow used her veto power and Olbermann will not be returning to MSNBC.

Bringing back Olbermann makes sense. When he was at MSNBC earlier in his career, his nightly show was so popular he had a heated rivalry with Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly.

It was mainly a verbal battle  O'Reilly had far higher ratings. But it always was interesting to read their comments.

Olbermann was so highly regarded at MSNBC that he anchored election night coverage and even narrated highlights on "Sunday Night Football."

In 2011, however, the Olbermann story ended the way it always ends  with him getting fired.

Olbermann collects pink slips the way "Ted Lasso" wins TV awards.

Consider his journey. He was at ESPN and left. He was at Fox and left. He was at Current TV and left. He went back to ESPN and left.

I'm sure that there are some other moves that we've forgotten about.

Olbermann, however, is good for ratings  until he crashes and burns.

But him taking over for Maddow  remember Maddow took over for him  would have been fun while it lasted.

It might have even been enough to make Sean Hannity nervous.

ABC activity

The UConn women's basketball team may be a No. 2 seed, but it's being treated like a No. 1 seed by ESPN and its family of networks.

UConn's first-round game against Mercer will be televised on broadcast TV on ABC and WTNH-TV8.

It's the fourth time UConn has been on a national broadcast this year  once on ESPN, once on ABC, and twice on Fox  more than any team in the tournament.

ESPN will be sending Pam Ward and Stephanie White to Storrs to cover the action.

There's only one No. 1 seed playing Saturday  North Carolina State  and the Wolfpack's game against the Longwood-Mount St. Mary's winner will be seen on ESPN at 2 p.m., with Sam Ravech and Kelly Gramlich doing the call.

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ABC has one other game Saturday  the Tennessee-Buffalo matchup with former UConn women's announcer Eric Frede and Tamika Catchings on the call.

The other three No. 1 seeds are playing Friday.

There are probably more competitive games ABC could put on its air, but apparently UConn, with its Paige Bueckers comeback story, is too irresistible for ABC to pass on.

Last year, UConn played one tourney game on ABC against Iowa and it was one of the most-watched games of the first four rounds.

The most-watched game this year was the regular-season showdown between South Carolina and Tennessee, which drew 876,000 viewers to ABC. We'll see how close UConn-Mercer can come to matching it, despite being face-guarded by the men's tournament.

'Bachelor' boost

A little controversy never hurts the Nielsen ratings. "The Bachelor," which specializes in season-ending controversy, had a big night Monday, finishing No. 1 in adults 18-to-34, adults 18-to-49, and adults 24-54. Its total audience was 4.54 million.

Because there was even more controversy in Part 2 Tuesday, including a surprise announcement for the next season of "The Bachelorette," the ratings should get even larger.

"The Bachelor's" biggest support came from women 18-to-49 from which the show grabbed an 11.2 rating. Finishing a distant second was "The Neighborhood" with a 5.6.

Shocking endings are good for business.

Follow Matt Buckler for more television, radio, and sports coverage on the JI's Twitter @journalinquirer, and see his articles on the Journal Inquirer Facebook page.
Mehmet Oz, a Senate candidate who had gained fame as host of

After some initial confusion about his position, Mehmet Oz said he would give up his dual Turkish citizenship if elected to the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.

My dual citizenship has become a distraction in this campaign, Oz told Fox News on Wednesday. I maintained it to care for my ailing mother, but after several weeks of discussions with my family, Im committing that before I am sworn in as the next U.S. senator for Pennsylvania, I will only be a U.S. citizen.

The Republican candidate, who achieved fame for hosting the long-running Dr. Oz Show, appeared to signal the exact opposite of this in an interview with a Pennsylvania media outlet, saying he would keep it to be able to care for this mother, who lives in Istanbul. His campaign manager denied that report, which also erroneously implied that senators receive an explicit security clearance. In reality, theres no such thing.

Dr. Oz never said this. I was standing right there. Ive asked the reporter to correct his reporting as its inaccurate. Also - you can have a dual citizenship and full security clearance in congress. Even asking this question is ridiculous. https://t.co/5BAlPcBIyV  Casey Contres (@ccontres) March 16, 2022

Theres no law against dual citizenship in Congress, but Ozs opponents framed his status as a potential conflict of interest. Lawmakers are privy to sensitive information through classified briefings, which they agree not to disclose.

Oz is of Turkish descent on both sides of his family. His parents were born in Turkey and immigrated to the United States in the 1950s. Oz was born in Cleveland, Ohio. During medical school, he served in the Turkish army.

In a heated campaign for an open Senate seat, Ozs opponent, Dave McCormick, called on Oz to renounce his dual citizenship and questioned why Oz didnt serve in the U.S. military. Oz, in turn, told Fox News the attacks on his nationality were bigoted.

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To be a senator, you have to be at least 30 years old, live in the state you intend to represent at the time of the election and have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years.

Dual citizens have served in Congress, but some, like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who was born in Canada, ended up renouncing their non-U.S. citizenship once it became public knowledge. Cruz gave his up in 2014.

Oz talked about his Turkish heritage in a 2011 interview with SJ Magazine:

The great thing about America is that you can hold on to whatever heritage you come from, he explained. We celebrate the different cultures, so I had the privilege, as the son of immigrant parents, to grow up American while staying deeply in touch with my Turkish roots. I have a great deal of family back in Turkey, I lived there for a period as a boy and I served in the Turkish military, which is compulsory for dual citizenship.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
Patt Morrison

Patt Morrison is a longtime Los Angeles Times writer and columnist who has a share of two Pulitzer Prizes. Her broadcasting work has won six Emmys and 11 Golden Mikes. Her book about the Los Angeles River was a bestseller, and she was the first woman in nearly 25 years to be honored with the L.A. Press Clubs lifetime achievement award. Pinks, the legendary Hollywood hot dog stand, named its veggie dog after her.
With fighter jets to Ukraine seemingly off the table, what can the U.S. do to provide military aid? And what impact could President Zelenskyy's virtual address to Congress have? CBS News White House correspondent Steven Portnoy and Siobhan Hughes, Capitol Hill reporter for the Wall Street Journal, join "Red and Blue" to discuss.
Good Wednesday morning Connecticut,

An amazing weather day today, sunshine and 60 degrees, rain is forecast for Thursday afternoon, sunshine and 70 degrees on Friday. Saturday looks rainy, and Sunday looks sunny and a bit cooler with temperatures in the low 50s.

CT MMA fighter dies after a recent bout

Sad news to share this morning. Christian Lubenga, 27, an MMA fighter from Connecticut, died after injuries sustained during a competition held in West Springfield, Mass. this past weekend, Fox 61 reported.

The cause of death has not been released and is under investigation, according to authorities. Lubenga was knocked out in the third round and taken to the hospital afterward, Fox 61 reported. He trained in Orange, CT. This was his debut MMA fight, Fox 61 reported.

In a social media post, Black Wolf Martial Arts of Orange, posted, "We are at a loss (for) words. This is what a nightmare looks like. It can't even be properly articulated with words and on a social media post, nonetheless. We wanted to give the family some time to make their own decisions about how to go public with this before we spoke on it, out of respect. While we ourselves are grieving, and its difficult to even type this out, we felt it appropriate to take a moment to say a few things."

"Christian wasnt just any student. Christian was the kind of human who brought life and light into any room he walked into. Christian was our family. We shared laughs, stories, blood, sweat, tears. Hes the kind of person I aspire to be like, and I wish more people were like him. Polite, professional, humble, always kind to everyone no matter what. We spent hundreds of thousands of hours together doing the things we were passionate about. Christian was a true martial artist in every aspect of the word and a true warrior. We love you, Christian. We all love you."

Read More at Fox 61.

Here are some of the top news stories trending across Connecticut:



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New info in the case of a Connecticut superior court judge who hasn't worked in two years has been released, the Hartford Courant reported.>>>Read More.

An advocacy group is offering a reward for info on the person who threw a bulldog out of a pickup truck following a botched surgery.>>>Read More.

About 13 percent of the Connecticut State Police academy class was terminated following an investigation.>>>Read More.

A police officer was charged in connection with one of the incidents.>>>Read More.

He joins the news station from New York.>>>Read More.

Flags lowered to half-staff

Gov. Ned Lamont announced that he is directing U.S. and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Friday, March 18, in honor of Rocky Hill Fire Captain James Lamarre, who died in the line of duty as a result of work-related cancer. Funeral services are scheduled to be held on Friday at 10 a.m. at St. James Church in Rocky Hill.

Lamarre served the Rocky Hill Fire Department for 27 years. A veteran of the U.S. Army, he was very active in the Benino-Beck VFW Post 2138 in Rocky Hill, serving as chaplain.

Captain Lamarres passing is a terrible reminder of the dangers firefighters face throughout their careers in the name of public service and the protection of others, Lamont said. First responders like Captain Lamarre embody the best of our state and our country. On behalf of the State of Connecticut, I send my condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues in the Rocky Hill Fire Department and Benino-Beck VFW Post 2138. I ask the residents of our state to keep him and his family in your prayers.

Coronavirus update



The most recent infection rate in the state is 2.88 percent, and the number of hospitalizations as a result of COVID-19 keeps dropping and is currently at 113.

Of the 113 patients currently hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, 42 (37.2%) are not fully vaccinated.

This article originally appeared on the Milford Patch
Two dangerous police pursuits within one day were both called off by officers due to safety concerns.
Murphy Oil Executive VP Retires, Replacement In Place

This article was first published on Rigzone here

Murphy Oil Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company, has made a change in one of the leadership positions.

As the company was informed by its current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David R. Looney on his decision to retire, it was prompted to find a replacement. The company noted that the board has elected Thomas J. Mireles as a replacement.

Looney's retirement from the company will come into effect on June 30, 2022, a date on which Mireles will also assume the position and Looney's responsibilities, while maintaining oversight of the company's sustainability function.

Looney joined Murphy in 2018 and will conclude his 38-year financial career by modernizing Murphys financial function, as well as leading efforts to strengthen the balance sheet following the global pandemic.

Joining the company in 2005, Mireles has a proven track record with Murphy as he earned roles with increasing responsibility culminating in his most recent position as Senior Vice President, Technical Services.

While working at the company, Mireles has gained extensive experience in managing multiple disciplines, including Senior Manager Planning and Business Development, as well as gaining significant operational experience serving as a senior vice president in both the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Before Murphy, he started his career in 1996 as a petroleum engineer for a major integrated energy company.

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As a key member of the executive team, we want to recognize and thank David for his significant contributions during a transformative time in our company and wish him all the best on his pending retirement, stated Roger W. Jenkins, President and Chief Executive Officer.

In addition, we want to acknowledge that Toms outstanding leadership skills and in-depth knowledge about Murphy, financial operations, and sustainability position him to be successful with his new responsibilities, and I want to congratulate him on his new role. As we look to the future, Tom and his team will continue with Murphys ongoing commitment to sustainability efforts, as well as fulfill Murphys commitment to deliver, execute, and explore, Jenkins added.

Story continues

To contact the author, email andreson.n.paul@gmail.com

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NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter will keep making trips at least through September.

NASA

The tiny chopper hitched a ride to Mars on the Perseverance Rover in the summer of 2020 and landed on the planet's Jezero crater in February of the following year.

A few months later, Ingenuity made history as the first aircraft to ever complete a powered and controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

Since then, Ingenuity has made 21 successful trips on the Red Planet with the NASA announcement that flights will continue until the fall coming shortly after its most recent flight.

Ingenuity's 21st successful flight is the first of three trips needed for the helicopter to reach its next staging station located in the northwestern area of the planet's "Seitah" region, according to NASA.

In the months to come, the compact aircraft will help the Perseverance rover's upcoming exploration of the Jezero crater's river delta. Once Ingenuity meets up with Perseverance, its first task will be to figure out which of the two dry river channels the rover should take during its journey to the top of the delta, NASA said.

Along the way, Ingenuity will also continue to test its own capabilities to "support the design" of future Mars aircraft, according to a statement from NASA.

"Less than a year ago we didn't even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars was possible," Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.

"Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuity's involvement in Perseverance's second science campaign. Such a transformation of mindset in such a short period is simply amazing, and one of the most historic in the annals of air and space exploration."

READ MORE STORIES FROM CHANGING AMERICA

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HUGE PLANET FOUND ORBITING TWO OF THE UNIVERSE'S HOTTEST AND BIGGEST STARS

NASA SAYS HUGE, 'POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS' ASTEROID WILL BREAK INTO EARTH'S ORBIT NEXT WEEK

SCIENTIST PREDICTS EARTH WILL DEVELOP RINGS LIKE SATURN

NEW PHOTOS OF MARS PROVIDE CLUES IN SEARCH FOR ANCIENT LIFE
FARMINGTON  The reauthorization by Congress of the Violence Against Women Act is receiving praise from those in Indian Country because it strengthens tribes to further address domestic violence and sexual violence.

The act was added to the $1.5 trillion spending bill to fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed the bill last week.

President Joe Biden signed it on March 15 and highlighted VAWA in remarks during the signing event. The president worked on the law when he was a senator.

"The law has saved lives and that's helped women rebuild their lives and make children a heck of a lot safer," Biden said.

Previously: Bill to establish "Missing in New Mexico" event passes, moves to governor's desk

Nicole Walker shares her story about sexual assault before participating in the Dine Saanii for Justice march on Oct. 18, 2021 in Window Rock, Arizona.

He added, "today, with this bill, we reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act. For example, we're doing more to help survivors in rural areas and in underserved communities. Tribal courts will now be able to exercise jurisdiction over non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault and sex trafficking and we're providing more support for legal services and for law enforcement to get the training they need to help handle trauma that survivors are experiencing."

VAWA was first enacted in 1994 but lapsed three years ago over partisan disagreement. This latest renewal will have it in place through 2027.

Related: New Mexico bills assign state resources to address missing Indigenous people cases

Overall, the law provides federal resources and technical support for programs that help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.

Among the provisions that center on Indian Country is the "tribal title."

This title further restores and extends tribal jurisdiction over offenders who commit domestic violence and related crimes and closes jurisdictional gaps left from the act's reauthorization in 2013, according to information released by Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office.

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Several posters call attention to domestic violence on the Navajo Nation during an awareness walk about the issue on Oct. 18, 2021 in Window Rock, Arizona.

Murkowski, R-Alaska, was among the group of bipartisan senators who sponsored the reauthorization, which also enhances access by tribal law enforcement to national crime databases and permanently authorizes a pilot program under the Federal Bureau of Prisons to allow certain offenders convicted in tribal courts to be held in federal prisons.

"The reauthorization combats crimes by assisting domestic violence prevention, protecting survivors, and promoting safer tribal communities for women, children, and families," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said on March 14. "The reauthorization ensures that survivors in the Navajo Nation receive the resources they deserve. We thank the Biden-Harris administration for taking this step towards a shared goal to make our communities safer."

Nez and first lady Phefelia Nez were among the Navajo Nation leaders who advocated for reauthorizing VAWA during visits to Washington, D.C., according to the tribal president's office.

"The law allows survivors from all tribal communities to have more access to healing, justice, and restoration," Phefelia Nez said. "The reauthorization is a major victory for all of Indian Country, especially those who have long advocated and supported the act."

Participants move toward the Navajo Nation Council chamber in Window Rock, Arizona on Oct. 18, 2021 during an awareness walk about domestic violence on the Navajo Nation.

Also applauding the reauthorization was the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native American women and children.

"The Violence Against Women Act is an important step forward in addressing jurisdictional gaps that leave Native women and children vulnerable," Lucy R. Simpson, the organization's executive director, said. "By strengthening and restoring tribal jurisdiction and providing necessary resources to tribal governments through VAWA, tribes will be better equipped to keep their communities safe and ensure justice for Native women."

Noel Lyn Smith covers the Navajo Nation for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4636 or by email at nsmith@daily-times.com.

Support local journalism with a digital subscription to The Daily Times.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Navajo Nation leadership hail Violence Against Women Act
A U.S. Navy Sailor gunned down his wifes boyfriend after he caught the couple locked in the throes of passion inside their Virginia home, according to court documents.

Tyler Lamar Jenkins was charged on Monday with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Timothy Paul Talley III. The 26-year-old suspect allegedly entered the apartment unit he shared with his wife on Friday to discover her engaged in a sexual act with another man, according to court documents obtained by the Virginia-Pilot.

What am I doing wrong? Jenkins allegedly asked her before opening fire.

When officers arrived at the Palm Beach complex just after 9:45 p.m., they discovered Talley suffering from a gunshot wound and pronounced him dead on the scene.

Jenkins, who has been employed by the U.S. Navy since 2014, reportedly confessed to shooting his wifes paramour three times. A gun was also recovered at the scene.

Jenkins remained behind bars on Wednesday without bond, according to online records. He was reportedly denied a public defender due to his income and is slated to appear in court again on May 12.
WASHINGTON  In 2020, a U.S. naval engineer and his wife made the fateful decision to try to sell some of Americas most closely guarded military secrets, the technology behind the nuclear reactors that power the U.S. submarine fleet.

Then the couple faced another important choice: To which foreign government should they try to peddle the stolen secrets?

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The engineer appeared to believe that soliciting U.S. adversaries like Russia or China was, morally, a bridge too far, according to text messages released in court. Instead, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe thought of a country that was rich enough to buy the secrets, not hostile to the United States and, most importantly, increasingly eager to acquire the very technology they were selling: Brazil.

The identity of the nation approached by the Toebbes has until now remained shielded by federal prosecutors and other government officials. But, according to a senior Brazilian official and other people briefed on the investigation, Jonathan Toebbe approached Brazil nearly two years ago with an offer of thousands of pages of classified documents about nuclear reactors that he had stolen from the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington over the course of several years.

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The plan backfired almost as soon as it began. After Jonathan Toebbe sent a letter offering the secrets to Brazils military intelligence agency in April 2020, Brazilian officials handed the letter over to the FBI legal attache in the country.

In undated booking photos provided by West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, Jonathan Toebbe, right, and his wife, Diana Toebbe. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, who pleaded guilty last month in an espionage case, tried to sell nuclear secrets to Brazil. (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority via The New York Times)

Then, beginning in December 2020, an FBI undercover agent posed as a Brazilian official to win Jonathan Toebbes trust and persuade him to deposit documents in a location chosen by investigators. Jonathan Toebbe eventually agreed to provide documents and offered technical assistance to Brazils nuclear submarine program, using classified information he had learned from years working for the U.S. Navy.

Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, who lived in Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested in October and pleaded guilty to espionage charges last month. He faces up to 17 1/2 years in prison; she faces up to three.

Brazil has continued to struggle with its submarine nuclear reactor program and has approached Russia to seek a partnership on the nuclear reactor design, said a Russian military official who, like all the people interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the classified material and delicate diplomacy involved.

Last month, just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil even brought up the technology during a trip to Moscow.

Bolsonaro has tried to maintain a positive relationship with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, even amid his aggressions toward Ukraine. Analysts in Brazil believe that Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is in part hoping to keep the door open for a partnership on the nuclear reactor technology.

The Brazilian presidents trip to Russia drew criticism from the Biden administration. Asked about Brazils efforts to acquire Russian nuclear reactor technology, a senior administration official said Tuesday that seeking to acquire Russian military technology is a bad bet for any country.

In some respects, Brazil was an odd choice for the Toebbes. While Brazil and the United States have a limited military relationship, Jonathan Toebbes outreach came during a period of some of the closest Brazil-U.S. relations in decades, as Bolsonaro and then-President Donald Trump strengthened the countries alliance.

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While the U.S. government initially wanted to release the name of the country the Toebbes had tried to sell the secrets to, Brazilian officials insisted their cooperation not be publicly disclosed, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The White House, Justice Department and FBI declined to comment. U.S. officials have repeatedly said the couple had not tried to sell the secrets to the United States chief adversaries, nor to its closest NATO allies, like France.

In encrypted messages from 2019 recovered by the FBI, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe discussed what appear to be different plans to sell the secrets. One plan, Jonathan Toebbe wrote, was wrong to even consider. Another plan, presumably to sell to a friendlier country, was also questionable for Jonathan Toebbe, but his wife pushed for it.

Its not morally defensible either, Jonathan Toebbe wrote, according to a transcript of the court proceedings. We convinced ourselves it was fine, but it really isnt either, is it?

Diana Toebbe responded: I have no problems at all with it. I feel no loyalty to abstractions.

Jonathan Toebbes public defender has said government rules prevent him from answering questions. A lawyer for Diana Toebbe declined to discuss the case before her sentencing, set for August. She has repeatedly said in court that the government has presented selected messages out of context.

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There were only a few countries that were not overtly hostile to the United States and could make use of the technology and designs Jonathan Toebbe had to sell. Only a country able to build a nuclear reactor and ready to invest billions in a nuclear submarine fleet would be willing to funnel him the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency that he was seeking.

Brazil began work on developing nuclear submarines in 1978, originally motivated by its rivalry with Argentina. In 2008, under the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil reinvested in an effort to create a nuclear submarine, to better patrol and protect its exclusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean, a source of fossil fuels and other resources.

The country aims to launch its first nuclear-powered submarine in 2029, part of a $7.2 billion submarine program. Brazil is building four more traditional submarines with the help of France, but it has been attempting to develop a fifth submarine powered by a nuclear reactor on its own  a project it has struggled with.

As a result, Jonathan Toebbes expertise, on how to make nuclear reactors even quieter and harder to detect, as well as other design elements of Virginia-class submarines, would have been of enormous value to Brazil.

While the Brazilian Embassy declined to comment, a senior Brazilian official said the country had cooperated with U.S. investigators because of the two nations partnership and friendly relations between Brazils intelligence service and the CIA

Had Brazil gotten caught seeking to purchase U.S. secrets, the relations between the two countries, including intelligence sharing, could have been thrown in jeopardy.

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Instead, Brazilian officials worked with the FBI after Jonathan Toebbe was initially hesitant to deposit the classified information at a prearranged secret location, called a dead drop.

I am concerned that using a dead drop location your friend prepares makes me very vulnerable, Jonathan Toebbe wrote, according to court records. For now, I must consider the possibility that you are not the person I hope you are.

To trick Jonathan Toebbe into believing he was speaking with a Brazilian official, the undercover agent told him to look for a signal placed in a window in a Brazilian government building in Washington over Memorial Day weekend last year. Such an operation could only have been carried out with the cooperation of Brazilian officials in Washington.

After seeing the sign, Jonathan Toebbe agreed to drop a sample of the nuclear secrets he stole from the Navy hidden in a peanut butter sandwich in West Virginia, setting off a chain of events culminating in the October arrest of the couple.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

c.2021 The New York Times Company
Cars file through the Buncombe County vaccination site at Biltmore Church on Clayton Road in Arden Sept. 28, where officials are administering booster shots of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

Major car insurers now give customers the option to have their driving habits tracked in exchange for discounted rates.

Drivers can download apps and put telematic devices into their cars that monitor their vehicles speed, braking, cornering, total miles, and more.

But the discount programs of many major insurance companies arent available in North Carolina, and North Carolina officials say theres good reason why.

Why some car insurance programs aren't approved

Each of the countrys 10 largest car insurers has its own safe driving discount program, with many sporting similar names like Drivewise, Drive Safe & Save, and DriveEasy. But it's up to each state to approve the programs.

The apps and devices record a trove of information, like how hard a car breaks, how smoothly it turns a corner, what time of day its being driven, total miles, and how much one uses their phone while driving. All this and more gets calculated to determine drivers discounts.

Insurers hope these discount programs incentivize safer driving which reduces costly accidents. They also see it as a way to better align prices with risk.

"Some of their customers are more risky than others so the insurance companies would like to price that policy based on how risky a driver the customer is," said Adam Jones, an economics professor at UNC-Wilmington.

Insurance companies can also use the data to better understand broader driving habits and detect insurance fraud.

Most safe driving programs offer clients an initial discount just for signing up, then allow for greater savings based on driving performance. But under many programs, more dangerous driving can lead to premium increases.

That the driving data insurers collect could be used to raise premiums doesnt sit well with the North Carolina Department of Insurance, which negotiates car insurance rates on behalf of the public. All discount programs are considered deviations from the negotiated rates and must receive NCDOI approval.

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Some of the apps are not approved because the insurance companies haven't been able to demonstrate that they won't use it to increase the premiums for some drivers, said NCDOI spokesperson Barry Smith.

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According to Smith, North Carolina doesnt allow discount programs that have the potential to raise drivers' premiums above the figure reached by the NCDOI and the North Carolina Rate Bureau, which represents the insurance industry in negotiations.

Many insurers dont hide the fact that their programs could result in higher premiums.

When describing its Snapshot program online, Progressive states most Snapshot customers earn a discount based on their safe driving. However, riskier driving based on these factors indicate a greater likelihood of being in an accident and may result in a higher rate at renewal.

Progressive, the nations third largest auto insurance company, has its Snapshot discount available in every state but North Carolina and California.

NC Answers: Is sports betting set to expand in North Carolina?

What car insurance discounts does NC allow?

The NCDOI has approved several telematic discount programs from a number of major insurers like Allstate, Nationwide, Geico, and Travelers.

State Farm, the largest insurance company in the county, is also able to offer its Drive Safe & Save program, which includes an initial 10% discount with further opportunities for lower rates based on driving behaviors.

All North Carolina drivers are required to have insurance, and Smith says there are at least 125 insurers currently covering drivers in the state.

With or without safe driving discounts, many drivers may already be getting a relatively decent deal on their rates: According to the U.S. News, North Carolina has the nation's 7th cheapest car insurance rates.

Crime and cars: Catalytic converter thefts illuminate NC's auto parts black market

Brian Gordon is a statewide reporter with the USA Today Network in North Carolina. Feel free to email him at bgordon@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @skyoutbriout

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC safe driver insurance discounts for Progressive, more are limited
This month marks the 57th anniversary of Alabamas "Bloody Sunday"  a crucial moment that started on Selma's famous Edmund Pettus Bridge and ushered in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. On that day, people around the world witnessed state-sanctioned violence against African Americans fighting for their civil rights  in this case, the right to vote.

And now, a year after President Joe Biden issued an executive order expanding voting rights access in honor of Selmas legacy, we are still fighting the vestiges of a system built on subjugation and racism. Thousands of people in federal custody or who have been released, whom Bidens order seeks to protect, are facing roadblocks and red tape, preventing them from attaining full access to this most sacred right.

And a disproportionate number of those disenfranchised voters are people of color.

Helping inmates through the voter registration process in Rutland, Vt., in 2008.

I was banned from voting

I used to be one of them. I was incarcerated in 2002 on drug conspiracy charges after I signed for a boyfriend's packages that I didn't know contained marijuana. When I was released from federal prison in 2006, I was among the many formerly incarcerated individuals who were on probation in Tennessee who couldn't vote.

My case was relatively easy. I petitioned for early release from probation, eventually received a letter that stated my citizenship had been restored and sent that to the elections commission. After nearly three years of probation, my voting rights were reinstated.

COLUMN: Children deserve protections that too many aren't getting in the US justice system

I had no overwhelming court fees and no outstanding child support to pay. Even so, I struggled. I paid my debt to society with nearly four years of my life. I studied for the LSAT while I was in prison and went to law school when I was released. Eventually I became a public defender, but before that I watched as the rest of the country voted for our first Black president, while I, as a Black woman, was stuck in the shadows. I was banned from the electoral process because of my felony conviction. I was paying even more for a crime for which I had already paid.

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While my transition was somewhat smooth, that's not the case for most people. I have seen folks caught by mountains of legal debt and others who must wait even longer than I did under supervision  unable to obtain early release. The systematic exclusion of millions of Americans from our elections not only weakens our communities, it also undermines the very legitimacy of our democracy.

Keeda Haynes

Racist roots of disenfranchisement

Felony disenfranchisement and this countrys racist roots are undeniably intertwined.

Alabama lawmakers, for example, all but wrote the word "disenfranchisement" in their constitution. In 1901, delegates decided to limit voting rights for felons whose convictions included "moral turpitude"  a very subjective phrase. Vague language like that has often been used in states across the country to keep Black voters from casting their ballots. Alabama's "moral turpitude" language was at one point ruled discriminatory.

In 2020, the Sentencing Project (where I work to advocate for voting rights) found that 1 out of every 16 African American adults are kept from voting because of a felony conviction  nearly four times the rate of other populations.

Today, only Maine, Vermont, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., uphold voting rights for all its residents whether or not they are incarcerated or have any history with the criminal legal system.

Bidens executive order instructs the Department of Justice to ensure voting access for people in federal custody who are eligible to vote, including citizens detained pretrial who have not been convicted of a felony offense and residents of jurisdictions that do not ban voting by imprisoned people. The order also instructs the Justice Department to assist individuals leaving federal prison who are eligible to vote with the voter registration process, and provide information about when and how their voting rights can be restored, according to their respective state laws.

While the executive order is a step in the right direction, more must be done to reduce the significant hurdles faced by individuals when they attempt to register or cast their ballot.

COLUMN: Ex-cop: Verdict in Floyd case, others show cracks in blue wall. Here's what has to change.

This is especially true for people in custody. The League of Women Voters, the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia and the Sentencing Project, along with other groups, submitted written testimony to the city council about the difficulties that Washington residents have had trying to vote while in federal custody.

Without clear guidance on voter registration, voter education and the assurance that those individuals who register to vote receive an absentee ballot and that those ballots are delivered in a timely manner to boards of election, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is undermining voter participation, which is the very thing the executive order sought to end.

Adequate voting information

I reviewed the Admission and Orientation Handbooks for several Bureau of Prisons facilities and only found that Alderson Federal Prison Camp (where I was incarcerated), located in West Virginia, had information regarding voting in prison. However, as written, the information is wholly insufficient in explaining the process of voting in prison and fails to meet the requirements set out in Section 9 of the executive order to provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting.

Adequate voting information should be added to all prison handbooks, particularly those with a high concentration of individuals from Maine, Vermont, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. There is little information on the BOP website about voting rights for inmates.

As the Department of Justice navigates hiring its next Bureau of Prisons director, DOJ should seek an individual who prioritizes the health and safety of individuals in their custody, who is committed to racial justice, and who understands that ensuring access to voting rights for people in federal custody is critical to the bureau's mandate.

Bloody Sunday showed our nation that voting is a sacred right. Unlocking the vote for those in prison and jails will uphold our democracys legacy.

Keeda Haynes is the voting rights campaign strategist with The Sentencing Project. She is a formerly incarcerated former public defender who works with various state and federal partners on voting rights for directly impacted and currently incarcerated individuals. Haynes is also the author of "Bending the Arc: My Journey From Prison to Politics." Follow her on Twitter: @keedahaynes

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Decades after Voting Rights Act, protections for some still undermined
In a video posted on Twitter Nigel Farage denied taking money from the Russian state in 2018. (@Nigel_Farage/Twitter)

Nigel Farage has strongly denied allegations he was paid more than half a million pounds by the Russian state.

On Tuesday, Chris Bryant, Labour MP for Rhondda, told MPs that Nigel Farage received 548,573 in 2018 from Russian state broadcaster Russia Today and suggested the former Brexit Party leader should be sanctioned.

Bryant has repeatedly called on high-profile individuals with links to the Russian state to face sanctions.

Read more: Dorries: RT must never again be allowed to broadcast poisonous propaganda in UK

He said he was mystified by some of the names missing from the UK sanctions list and used parliamentary privilege to identify individuals.

These included broadcasters trotting out propaganda on Russian television and others said to be associates of Russian president Vladimir Putins regime.

Labour MP Chris Bryant accused Nigel Farage of taking almost 550,000 from Russia Today (RT) in 2018. (PA Images)

He also questioned why Roman Abramovichs properties owned through his subsidiaries, as it were, or members of his family rather have not been frozen.

And he said of Nigel Farage: Id simply point out that Nigel Farage received from Russia Today 548,573 pounds in 2018 alone from the Russian state.

Farage swiftly took to Twitter to post a video firmly rejecting the claims.

Chris Bryant, paranoid EU Remainer, has stood up in the House of Commons today and made the most outrageous statement.

He says, that in 2018, I received over half a million pounds from Russia Today; Mr Bryant, in 2018, I did not receive a penny from Russia Today.

In previous years, Id done a couple of bits for them. I decided it wasnt suitable for me.

Farage went on to point out that Bryant has previously appeared on RT, which the Labour MP did as a guest in 2014. Bryant has firmly denied receiving any payment from RT.

Farage also appeared to threaten legal action if Bryant repeats his allegation outside the House of Commons, where the rules of parliamentary privilege allow MPs to make claims in parliament without the risk of being sued for libel.

Say that outside of the House of Commons, Id like you to, I could do with a new car  maybe even a new house, but of course you wont do that. Youve said this on the basis of no evidence, Farage added.

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Nigel Farage made regular appearances on Russia Today previously. (Russia Today)

The basis of the figure of 548,573 quoted by Mr Bryant is unclear, although a source close to Mr Farage told the Mirror that this was Mr Farage's firm's "total income" for 2018.

British politicians appearing on RT is not unusual in the UK, with senior figures appearing as paid guests including: Labour shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy; senior Tory MP, David Davis; former Liberal Democrat, leader Vince Cable; and former Scottish National Party leader, Alex Salmond.

Russia Today has been banned across the European Union following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Read more: BBC faces ban in Russia if UK shuts down RT, Liz Truss warns MPs

It is widely seen as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Russian government and has repeatedly defended Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

The EU ban meant RT disappeared from UK screens as well.

UK regulator Ofcom has launched dozens of investigations into the due impartiality of programmes on the channel.

Watch: Ukraine crisis: Ofcom urged to review Russia Today as broadcaster branded Vladimir Putin's 'propaganda tool'
PARIS (Reuters) - There are no plans at this stage for French President Emmanuel Macron to travel to Ukraine, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday.

A trip can be envisaged as soon as a visit appears useful to resolve the crisis, Attal told a news conference following a cabinet meeting.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon ; editing by Tassilo Hummel)
WASHINGTON  While the politics surrounding the transfer of Polish MiG-29s to Ukraine are complicated, experts say the technical and logistical difficulties involved should not stand in the way of a deal.

Theres been two weeks of debate over whether Poland should or will transfer its Soviet-era aircraft to Ukraine in exchange for a backfill of U.S. aircraft. A potential deal was upended after it went public, prompting Poland to announce it would offer the aircraft for the U.S. to shepherd into Ukraine. But the Biden administration ruled out such a move.

Amid a chorus of mostly Republican lawmakers pressuring U.S. President Joe Biden to facilitate the aircraft transfers, Biden on Wednesday announced another $800 million in military aid, including new drones and advanced anti-aircraft missiles. The administration had previously committed more than $1 billion in aid and is aiming to deter Russia by sending thousands of U.S. troops to bolster NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Pentagon officials have been emphasizing the usefulness of previously supplied Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. They argue that with Russian anti-aircraft systems blanketing Ukraines skies, MiG-29s wouldnt make Ukraines forces more effective. Moreover, Russia could view their transfer into Ukraine as escalatory, prompting it to retaliate.

The MiG wouldnt survive for a minute in Ukrainian airspace given what the Russians have, the surface-to-air missiles they have, given the quality of their fighter jets, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., told reporters after Bidens announcement. Its ability to be effective is negligible, if at all. I think the focus on MiGs misses the point.

But John Venable, a former Air Force fighter pilot now with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the deal is doable and might have gone through if it hadnt been made public.

This is not brain science. The hurdles that the administration is saying right now  are way overstated, Venable said. We should move absolutely to transfer these jets right away, and if people are afraid of flying them, we should put these MiG-29s on trucks and drive them across the border.

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With MiG-29s already in Ukraines arsenal, the learning curve for the Ukrainians shouldnt be very steep, Venable said, noting theyd likely only need a few hours of instruction to bring them up to speed on the Polish MiGs systems.

Congress backs more military aid for Ukraine, but how much remains unclear

Polish MiGs have been modified with digital systems, he said, including analog dials upgraded to digital displays and systems including Identification Friend or Foe, or IFF, recognition devices. Those IFF boxes could be pulled out in an hour or so if deemed too sensitive  a much less-involved process than sanitizing Stinger missiles of their classified systems.

While Ukraines pilots are fighting very well, their fighters will inevitably sustain battle damage and wear the longer this goes on. At the very least, Venable said, Ukraines air force could cannibalize spare parts and weapons from the donated MiGs to keep their native fighters air-worthy.

Venable also said Poland should rearm Ukraine with its stocks of AA-11 air-to-air infrared missiles, which both nations use and would not require any adaptations to use on Ukraines existing fighters.

Flying very low is one of the few ways Ukraines MiG pilots can avoid air defenses such as Russias S-400, Venable said. That system is a serious threat, he said, viewed by the Air Force as the leading surface-to-air missile system in the world.

It is the most deadly, has the longest range, you have the hardest time breaking lock on the system once it acquires you, Venable said. The S-400 is a deadly SAM system.

Advocates of a Polish MiG transfer say the United States should send its F-16s to Poland to as part of the deal. This would be intended to fill the airpower gap Poland would face from losing its MiGs.

In a conference in Washington March 9, Gen. Mark Kelly, head of Air Combat Command, said the Air Force does not lack F-16s that could theoretically go to Poland, if the administration decided to do so.

He suggested even pulling retired F-16s out of the aircraft graveyard, known as the Boneyard, at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, could be an option in that case.

Frustrated lawmakers blast stalled transfer of European aircraft to Ukraine

But Kelly said what worries him is what history has shown a leader like Russian President Vladimir Putin is capable of doing, if a conflict turns against him.

Dictators faced with the choice of either losing or using chemical weapons, choose not to lose, Kelly said. Thats what, frankly, keeps me up at night more than where Im going to source the F-16s from.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a new, emotional plea directly to lawmakers for powerful, strong aircraft Ukraine could use to defend itself against Russias invasion.

You know they exist and you have them, but they are on earth, not in the Ukrainian sky, Zelensky said in a presentation that culminated with a video showing clips and photographs of devastated Ukrainian cities and wounded and dead civilians.

This week, 42 Senate Republicans, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, signed a letter calling on the Biden administration to assist in the transfer of the Soviet-era aircraft. But the pressure is bipartisan, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., among Democrats who have come out in favor of the MiG-29 transfers.

We should provide every tool that the Ukrainians to defend themselves because if they have a fair fight on the ground, they will push Russian troops out of Ukraine, Blumenthal said after Zelenskys remarks Wednesday.

Previewing Bidens announcement of new aid, lawmakers said the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft system, which is operated by Ukraine and some NATO countries, as well as the AeroVironment-made Switchblade 300 drone, were among new systems headed to Ukraine in the next tranche.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. said the initial deal for Poland to supply its MiG-29s directly fell apart last week amid Warsaws fears about possible retaliation from Russia, but he indicated those talks are not dead.

I think everything is still on the table in that regard, but in the meanwhile, weve got to do something to try to close those skies, and the S-300 is the alternative which even President Zelensky mentioned in his statement, Meeks said.
Volodymyr Zelensky GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images

Before Volodymyr Zelensky was Ukraine's president in real life, he was Ukraine's president on TV, as Netflix subscribers in the U.S. can now see for themselves.

Netflix has added Servant of the People, a Ukrainian political satire in which Zelensky plays the country's president, to its library in the United States. The show was previously on Netflix for several years but hadn't been available for U.S. subscribers in 2022. An article for Mashable recently dubbed the series "one of the most intriguing and historically important shows you could possibly watch right now" but noted it was difficult to access it in its entirety.

"You asked and it's back!" Netflix tweeted.

Zelensky was an actor and comedian before being elected president of Ukraine, and in Servant of the People, he plays a teacher who unexpectedly is elected president after ranting against corruption in a viral video. The show aired from 2015 through 2019. In 2019, Zelensky was actually elected president after running as part of the Servant of the People party.

This year, Zelensky has become an international hero for defending his country against an ongoing Russian invasion, sparking renewed interest in his past acting roles. Multiple networks have picked up the rights to air Servant of the People, including Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, according to Deadline.

"The series is a comedy but also an important document of where Zelensky comes from," said Eccho Rights, the television group licensing the show, per The Hollywood Reporter. Eccho added there are "obvious parallels with the real-world situation."

Outside of Servant of the People, Zelensky also voiced Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian versions of the Paddington films, as star Hugh Bonneville noted. The actor tweeted, "Speaking for myself, thank you, President Zelenskiy."

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Dozens of City Council members and advocates pushed back hard against Mayor Adams budget plan Wednesday, arguing that cuts hes proposing to housing and education would hurt New Yorkers still struggling with the pandemics fallout.

In a moment where our city requires robust and significant investments in marginalized communities, austerity isnt the answer, Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa, vice chairwoman of the bodys Progressive Caucus, said. We must safeguard housing, sanitation services, education and worker justice. Its time for our budgets to invest in people.

Last month, Adams unveiled a $98.5 billion spending plan that marked a stark departure from his predecessor former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who upped city spending to record-breaking levels during his eight years in office.

Adams proposal  which ultimately must be approved by the City Council to be enacted  includes cuts across most city agencies. But some of those agencies  and the people they serve  are likely to feel the cost-saving measures more profoundly than others, Council members and advocates argue.

Under Adams plan, the Health Department would lose $194 million compared with the 2022 fiscal year, Health + Hospitals, the citys public hospital system, would see a $400 million cut, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development would lose nearly $1 million in funding.

To fight cuts like those, 10 Council members and dozens of community leaders signed on to what they described as the Peoples Response to the budget.

Included among them are Council members De La Rosa (D-Washington Heights), Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights), Crystal Hudson (D-Prospect Heights) and Tiffany Caban (D-Astoria) among others. Along with the advocates who signed on to the statement, the group is calling itself the Peoples Plan.

Put simply, the mayors austerity budget cuts funding for or underfunds education, health and hospitals, and other vitally necessary services that New Yorkers need  all while maintaining or increasing funds for institutions that criminalize and destabilize communities of color, like the NYPD and the jails system, they contend in their written response to the budget.

Jonah Allon, a spokesman for Adams, pushed back on detractors and said that the mayor is increasing investment for New Yorkers in the greatest need.

The budget that the mayor proposed last month is fiscally responsible while making upstream investments to promote an equitable recovery, Allon said. The truth is that for too long, New Yorkers have not gotten their moneys worth from our government, and we need to make it better and more efficient. Were also increasing investment for New Yorkers in the greatest need  adding 30,000 summer youth jobs, expanding the citys Earned Income Tax Credit, baselining funding for the Fair Fares program and investing in affordable childcare.
Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering and rained fire on other cities Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.

There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was an airstrike on the theater.

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In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew that runs until Thursday morning, as Russia shelled areas in and around the city, including a residential neighborhood 1.5 miles from the presidential palace. A 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

And 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office said.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, went before the U.S. Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: We need you right now.

U.S. President Joe Biden later announced the United States is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones.

International pressure against the Kremlin mounted and its isolation deepened as the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ordered Russia to stop attacking Ukraine, though there was little hope it would comply. Also, the 47-nation Council of Europe, the continents foremost human rights body, expelled Russia.

While Moscows ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the operation was unfolding successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans, and he decried Western sanctions against Moscow. He accused the West of trying to squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.

Another round of talks between the two sides was scheduled for Wednesday. After Tuesdays negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a neutral military status for Ukraine was being seriously discussed by the two sides, while Zelenskyy said Russias demands for ending the war were becoming more realistic.

Hopes for diplomatic progress to end the war rose after Zelenskyy acknowledged Tuesday in the most explicit terms yet that Ukraine is unlikely to realize its goal of joining NATO. Putin has long depicted Ukraines NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia.

Lavrov welcomed Zelenskyys comment and said the businesslike spirit starting to surface in the talks gives hope that we can agree on this issue.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov said on Russian TV. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

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Russias chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the sides were discussing a possible compromise for a Ukraine with a smaller, non-aligned military.

Prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough were highly uncertain, however, given the gulf between Ukraines demand that the invading forces withdraw completely and Russias suspected aim of replacing Kyivs Westward-looking government with a pro-Moscow regime.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied Russian claims Ukraine was open to adopting a model of neutrality comparable to Sweden or Austria. Podolyak said Ukraine needs powerful allies and clearly defined security guarantees to keep it safe.

Another source of dispute is the status of Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014, and the separatist-held Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia recognizes as independent. Ukraine considers both part of its territory.

The fighting has sent more than 3 million people fleeing Ukraine, by the United Nations estimate. The U.N. reported that over 700 civilians have been confirmed killed but that the real number is higher.

In going before Congress, Zelenskyy said that Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. But Biden has resisted Zelenskyys requests to send warplanes to Ukraine or establish a no-fly zone over the country because of the danger of triggering war between the U.S. and Russia.

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The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, arrived in Ukraine to try to obtain greater access for aid groups and increased protection of civilians.

Amid the vast humanitarian crisis caused by the war, the Red Cross has helped evacuate civilians from besieged areas and has delivered 200 tons of aid, including medical supplies, blankets, water and over 5,200 body bags to help ensure the dead are treated in a dignified manner.

Nowhere has suffered more than the encircled city of Mariupol, where local officials say missile strikes and shelling have killed more than 2,300 people. The southern seaport of 430,000 has been under attack for almost all of the three-week war in a siege that has left people struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.

Local authorities said Russian forces took hundreds of people hostage at a Mariupol hospital and were using them as human shields.

Bodies have been buried in trenches in Mariupol, and more corpses lay in the streets and in a hospital basement.

Using the flashlight on his cellphone to illuminate the basement, Dr. Valeriy Drengar pulled back a blanket to show the body of an infant 22 days old. Other wrapped bodies also appeared to be children, given their size.

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These are the people we could not save, Drengar said.

Nearly 30,000 people managed to escape the city on Tuesday in thousands of vehicles by way of a humanitarian corridor, city officials said.

But with humanitarian aid unable to get in amid the constant bombardment, people burn scraps of furniture to warm their hands and cook the little food still available.

Kyiv regional leader Oleksiy Kuleba said Russian forces had intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs and a highway leading west, and across the capital region, kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing.

In other developments, the mayor of the city of Melitopol, who was seized by Russian forces five days ago, has been freed, said Zelenskyy chief of staff Andriy Yermak. No details were given about how he became free.

Ukraine also appeared to have successes, with satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showing helicopters and vehicles ablaze at the Russian-held Kherson airport and air base after a suspected Ukrainian strike on Tuesday.

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Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
In a regular scheduled Caddo Parish School Board meeting, parents met in opposition and support of a University Elementary School teacher, who identifies as nonbinary.

Action regarding Blaine Banghart was not on the agenda and was not addressed by the board.

Nevertheless, the public comment period devolved into arguments and yelling over the dress code and this educator.

Banghart is a music teacher at University Elementary School in Shreveport who uses the term MX, as opposed to Mr. or Ms.

The teacher received pushback and support after posting a video on TikTok about their inability to be out at work.

The Caddo Parish School Board meeting was packed Tuesday afternoon, March 15, 2022 with those in defense and in protest of a nonbinary teacher.

WHAT WE KNOW: Support and outrage over Louisiana teacher who identifies as nonbinary

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Brandy Pou with UnMask our Kids Louisiana took to Facebook on Monday asking all parents to come out in opposition of Banghart at the Tuesday evening meeting.

The Shreveport Times reached out to Banghart, but they declined to comment.

As people entered the meeting chamber at 4 p.m. Tuesday, a clear divide was apparent. Individuals appeared to seat themselves in factions  to the left, brightly-dressed Banghart supporters and to the right, their opposition.

Before opening the floor to public comments, board President Tony Nations warned the audience that "derogatory statements" made toward board members or employees would not be tolerated.

Laura Statos, right, gets emotional with her daughter, Catelyn Statos, listening to a person speak to the Caddo Parish school board about a nonbinary teacher Tuesday afternoon, March 15, 2022 at the Caddo Parish School board meeting.

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The dress code was the main point of contention.

Pou said, "Employees should be professional. We have never asked (for) Banghart to be fired."

Jane Taffy, who spoke during public comments, brought up dress code regulations that are found in the student handbook. She was one of several who mentioned the document.

Hannah Ross rebutted some of the comments about the educator, specifically addressing one man's statement.

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Holly Allen speaks in defense of a nonbinary teacher in Caddo Parish School District to school board members Tuesday afternoon, March 15, 2022, at the Caddo Parish School board meeting.

Read: How higher gas prices are affecting some Shreveport and Bossier City drivers

"They made a comment about a Hustler Club member teaching pole dancing to students," Ross said. "Obviously, that is ridiculous and would be breaking the dress code, this teacher was not. The picture in question that circulated on the internet had this teacher fully covered in a cardigan, blouse and pants. There is nothing wrong with that. Moving on from that, they talked about the student handbook, keyword 'student.'"

By the middle of the public comment period, the room was full, and people from both sides were speaking out of turn while those at the podium addressed the board.

Keith Hanson, Chief Technology Officer for Shreveport spoke in support of Banghart. "I have never spoken here as a citizen or parent of a student, but I am here today because this is important to me, my family and, most importantly, to her," he said. "Let everyone see on public record that there are good people here ready to defend other good people from vile, bigoted hate."

Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Parents clash at Louisiana school board meeting over nonbinary teacher
MANILA, Philippines (AP)  With her hand raised high to greet the crowd, Philippine Sen. Leila de Lima appeared on stage campaigning for re-election in upcoming polls. Only it wasnt the opposition icon herself, but rather a life-size cutout image displayed by her allies on the campaign trail.

The 62-year-old top critic of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte has been locked up for more than five years in a high-security jail in the main police camp in the capital. She is the most famous prisoner under Duterte's turbulent six-year rule.

Isolated from the outside world by high prison walls, iron bars, rusty barbed wire and armed guards, de Lima has accused Duterte and his deputies of fabricating the non-bailable drug-linked charges that landed her in jail in February 2017 and effectively stopped her from investigating the widespread killings of mostly poor suspects under his anti-drug crackdown. Duterte has insisted on her guilt, saying witnesses testified that she received payoffs from imprisoned drug lords.

I cried every day especially at night in the first few weeks, not really out of self-pity but for my family and out of disbelief, de Lima told The Associated Press on Tuesday, in her first court-authorized jail interview since her arrest. I was isolated. There was no one else but stray cats.

During her imprisonment, she has only won court permission five times to leave detention briefly and under heavy guard for medical checkups, to attend a party for her son after he passed the bar exam and to console her ailing 89-year-old mother.

The prison wall and desolation, however, have failed to silence her, she said.

Im a fighter, said the bespectacled former human rights commission chief and justice secretary, who welcomed an AP journalist, her lawyer and staff with a smile and a fist bump in jail as two police officers kept watch.

It's tough, but I can manage, she said. I can never lose hope."

An internet connection, TV and radio sets, personal computers and cellphones are prohibited in her tiny cell, but she has kept abreast of domestic and international developments through the two newspapers delivered to her each morning, from radio news blaring out from somewhere in the jail compound and from news clippings brought by her Senate staff.

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This has allowed her to issue more than 1,200 handwritten daily statements from detention so far, mostly her critical thoughts on Dutertes governance and reaction to breaking news like the 2020 electoral triumph of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, which she welcomed as a victory of democracy over fabricated populism, and Russias invasion of Ukraine, which she called an act of madness that has put the world on edge.

She has filed more than 600 proposed Senate bills and resolutions from jail, many aimed at strengthening human rights and government accountability and easing poverty. One bill that was signed into law in 2019 calls for the regular funding of a program providing cash aid to the poor who enlist their children in health and educational campaigns.

Running for re-election in the May 9 polls under the main opposition bloc led by presidential candidate Leni Robredo, the incumbent vice president, de Lima sought a trial courts permission to participate in online campaigning and debates and to allow journalists to interview her. But government prosecutors opposed the requests, saying she's facing capital charges and that granting them would virtually make her a free man and promote her to a distinctive rank. The court allowed her to grant media interviews in detention but without cameras and to regularly meet with her campaign team in jail.

Locked away from the campaign trail, de Lima sent her cut-out images to appear in her place.

Im sad because I should be out there interacting with the voters, she said, adding that whenever her name is called at campaign rallies and people see her standee being carried to center stage, it receives a warm response from audiences.

De Lima expressed relief that Dutertes crisis-ridden term is drawing to a close but said she was very, very concerned that the late dictator Ferdinand Marcoss son and namesake, who is seeking the presidency, has led pre-election surveys by a huge margin.

She expressed fears that a Marcos presidency may undermine the rule of law and allow the family to block efforts to recover their suspected ill-gotten wealth and fully compensate the thousands of human rights victims under his fathers dictatorship. Theres also the danger of historical revisionism, she said.

Sometimes, you cant even think how is it that were going back to this direction, de Lima said.

A former law professor, de Lima led the national Commission on Human Rights starting in 2008 and later served as justice secretary before winning a Senate seat in 2016 in her first attempt in a national election. But she has not been faring strongly in recent pre-election surveys and blames the brash-speaking Duterte, who she says demonized her and subjected her to misogynistic attacks that she could hardly address from jail.

After de Lima surrendered and was detained in February 2017, Duterte gave a speech before the Filipino community in Thailand where he described de Lima as a sinner with a very thick face. The 76-year-old president said hell likely end up in hell first but when de Lima follows, I will tell Mr. Satan: 'The queen youve been waiting for is here.

While some did not believe him, some others did believe the character assassination and demonization, she said, adding that she and her team try to fight such disinformation in the campaign.

Duterte and de Lima have long been on a collision course over human rights.

As a human rights commission chief in 2009, she led an investigation into the widespread killings of drug suspects under then-mayor Duterte in southern Davao city. But she failed to find any witnesses who would testify publicly against the local leader, who was dubbed Duterte Harry after the Hollywood police character with little regard for the law. In 2016, Duterte rose to the presidency and de Lima was elected to the Senate and pursued an investigation into his campaign against illegal drugs but authorities moved to put her under arrest.

According to official police records, more than 6,000 mostly poor suspects have been killed under Dutertes crackdown, but human rights groups say the death toll is considerably higher. The International Criminal Court has begun an investigation into the killings in what an ICC prosecutor said could be a case of crimes against humanity.

De Lima's years-long detention has sparked calls from the European Union Parliament, some U.S. legislators and U.N. human rights experts and international watchdogs for de Limas immediate release.

Duterte has responded with angry outbursts and threats, saying Westerners were bullying and meddling in his countrys domestic affairs.

Asked if she feels that she could win back her liberty once Duterte steps down, de Lima said that if the next administration would be beyond his lingering influence, I have a pretty good chance of achieving justice.
The Russian flag is removed outside the Council of Europe building, Wednesday, March 16, 2022 in Strasbourg. AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

Photos show the Russian flag being taken down after the country was removed from the Council of Europe.

The organization chose to remove Russia from the Council over its invasion of Ukraine.

"The Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership," the organization said.

Photos show officials from the Council of Europe taking down the Russian flag outside its headquarters after the country was removed from the organization on Wednesday.

"In an extraordinary meeting this morning, the Committee of Ministers decided ... that the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership," the Council of Europe said in a statement.

The council said it opted to end Russia's membership over Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion and war in Ukraine.

Following the decision, Associated Press photos showed Council of Europe staff removing Russia's flag from its headquarters in Strasbourg, France.

The pole which had the Russian flag is left empty outside the Council of Europe building, Wednesday, March 16, 2022 in Strasbourg. AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

The Council of Europe said in its statement that Russia had informed the organization of plans to withdraw on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly unanimously adopted an opinion that decided Russia could no longer be a member of the organization, the statement said.

The Council of Europe first suspended Russia's representation on February 25, the day after it invaded Ukraine. In a statement posted on their website at the time, the council said that the move would only be temporary.

"In line with the Statute of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers has today decided to suspend the Russian Federation from its rights of representation in the Committee of Ministers and in the Parliamentary Assembly with immediate effect as a result of the Russian Federation's armed attack on Ukraine," the statement from the Council of Europe said at the time.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Theres a push to get life-saving medical supplies to Poland and Ukraine.
AUSTIN, Texas  Texas threw out mail votes at an abnormally high rate during the nations first primary of 2022, rejecting nearly 23,000 ballots outright under tougher voting rules that are part of a broad campaign by Republicans to reshape American elections, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Roughly 13% of mail ballots returned in the March 1 primary were discarded and uncounted across 187 counties in Texas. While historical primary comparisons are lacking, the double-digit rejection rate would be far beyond what is typical in a general election, when experts say anything above 2% is usually cause for attention.

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My first reaction is yikes, said Charles Stewart III, director of the Election Data and Science Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It says to me that theres something seriously wrong with the way that the mail ballot policy is being administered.

Republicans promised new layers of voting rules would make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. But the final numbers recorded by AP lay bare the glaring gulf between that objective and the obstacles, frustration and tens of thousands of uncounted votes resulting from tighter restrictions and rushed implementation.

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In Texas, a state former President Donald Trump easily won although by a smaller margin than 2016, the trouble of navigating new rules was felt in counties big and small, red and blue. But the rejection rate was higher in counties that lean Democratic (15.1%) than Republican (9.1%).

The unusually high rejection rate to start Americas midterm election season is expected to put more attention on changes to the ballot box elsewhere in the country. Texas election was the debut of more restrictive voting rules the GOP raced to put on the books across the U.S. in time for the midterm elections, a push that took particular aim at mail voting that soared in popularity during the pandemic.

At least 17 other states in the coming months will cast ballots under tougher election laws, in part driven by Trumps baseless and persistent claims of rampant fraud in the 2020 election. The rejected ballots in Texas alone far exceeds the hundreds of even possible voter fraud cases the AP has previously identified in six battleground states that Trump disputed.

In this May 6, 2021, file photo, a group opposing new voter legislation gather outside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas. (Eric Gay/AP)

The AP counted 22,898 rejected ballots across Texas by contacting all 254 counties and obtaining final vote reconciliation reports. Some smaller counties did not provide data or respond to requests, but the 187 counties that provided full numbers to AP accounted for 85% of the 3 million people who voted in the primary.

Last week, AP reported that 27,000 ballots had been flagged in Texas for initial rejection, meaning those voters still had time to fix their ballot for several days after the primary and have it count. But the final figures suggest most voters did not.

The most rejections were around Houston, a Democratic stronghold, where Harris County elections officials reported that nearly 7,000 mail ballots  about 19%  were discarded. During the last midterm elections in 2018, Texas largest county only rejected 135 mail ballots. Harris County elections officials said they received more than 8,000 calls since January from voters seeking help, which they attributed to confusion and frustration over the new requirements.

In the five counties won by Trump that had the most mail-in primary voters, a combined 2,006 mailed ballots were rejected, a rate of 10% of the total. In the counties won by Biden with the most mail-in voters, which include most of Texas biggest cities, a combined 14,020 votes were similarly rejected, which amounted to 15.7%.

In rural East Texas, Annette Young voted by mail like usual but received a surprising letter a week after the primary, informing her that the ballot never counted because it didnt comply with a new state law requiring mail voters to include personal identification numbers.

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I just threw it right in the trash, she said.

Most of the rejected ballots, according to county election officials and the Texas secretary of state, failed to adhere to the new identification requirements. The changes were part of the sweeping overhaul to Texas elections that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law in October, saying at the time that no one who is eligible to vote will be denied the opportunity to vote.

Abbott and top Texas Republicans who championed the changes have largely been silent about the high rejection rates. Abbotts office did not respond to requests seeking comment, and messages for Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan also went unanswered.

Republican state Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a proponent of the changes, said in an email that one issue might have been that ballot instructions printed in different ink colors  red for signature, black for identification numbers  might have left voters with the wrong impression they did not need to provide both.

Federal data on discarded mail ballots in general elections show few instances of double-digit rejection rates. The outliers include Indiana (14.5%) in 2006, Oregon (12.7%) in 2010 and New York (13.7%) in 2018, according to records from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Stewart, of MIT, said generally less is known about trends in primary elections because of lacking data. One assumption, he said, is that because primaries tend to draw the most habitual voters, they are less likely to mistakes that cause rejections. But Stewart said others believe that officials may have more time to scrutinize, and reject, ballot paperwork in low-turnout elections.

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The new mail ballot requirements in Texas include listing an identification number  either a drivers license or a Social Security number  on the ballots carrier envelope. That number must match the countys records, and if a ballot is rejected, voters are given the opportunity to supply the missing information or simply cast a ballot in person instead.

It is unknown how many Texas voters whose mail ballots were rejected may have still had their vote count by deciding to just show up in person instead.

Sam Taylor, a spokesman for the Texas secretary of state, said the office did not yet have its own final comprehensive numbers on ballot rejections. He said a significant portion of their efforts this year will be awareness about the new mail-in rules.

We are confident we will have all the information we need to apply any lessons learned during the primary to an even more robust voter education campaign heading into the November general election, he said.

Delores Tarver Smith, 87, took no chances with a mail ballot this year. She applied in Harris County for a mail ballot Feb. 1, but when none arrived by election day, she went and voted in person.

Last Wednesday  more than a week after the primary  her absentee ballot finally showed up at her home.

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I just went in person to vote, because I had to make sure my vote counted, she said.

Associated Press data journalist Aaron Kessler in Washington, reporter Nicholas Riccardi in Denver; Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa; Jim Salter in St. Louis, Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; Margaret Stafford in Kansas City; Andy Tubasa Field in Topeka, Kansas; Tammy Webber in Fenton, Michigan; and Kathleen Foody and Jeff McMurray in Chicago contributed to this report.
LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal will implement all sanctions decided at EU level against Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich but is not able to ban him from entering the country because he is a citizen, Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Inti Landauro and Aislinn Laing)
LVIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - The Ukrainian prosecutor general said on Wednesday 103 children have been killed so far in the war in Ukraine.

Russian forces have struck more than 400 educational establishments and 59 of them have been destroyed, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said on Facebook.

Reuters could not immediately verify the information.

(Reporting By Natalia Zinets, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Several senators want to send U.S. troops back into Somalia to fight al-Shabaab terrorists, about 16 months after former President Donald Trump pulled them out of the country and put them elsewhere in Africa.

The push came at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday with Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command.

Townsend told senators he has given his chain of command advice on whether to redeploy to Somalia. While he would not specify his recommendation in a public setting, Townsend made clear he does not think the current arrangement of what he described as "commuting" to Somalia is working.

Read Next: Army Officer Tulsi Gabbard Faces Ire for Peddling Russian Disinformation About Ukraine Biolabs

"It is not effective, it's not efficient, and it puts our troops at greater risk," he said.

The comments were blunter than what Townsend told the committee a year ago, when he warned that positioning troops outside Somalia "introduced new layers of complexity and risk" to the U.S. mission there.

Tuesday's hearing came after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that U.S. military officials have asked President Joe Biden to station several hundred troops in Somalia to stem growing threats from al-Shabaab, an al-Qaida affiliate.

During the waning days of Trump's presidency, he pulled all of the 700 or so U.S. special operators who were in Somalia out.

Trump framed the move as part of his efforts to end "forever wars" and bring troops home from foreign lands. But all of the troops were sent instead to Kenya or Djibouti, from which aircraft have been flying over Somalia to conduct airstrikes against al-Shabaab. Troops have also visited Somalia for periodic exercises with local forces.

U.S. Africa Command, or AFRICOM, has publicized five airstrikes in Somalia since Biden took office, most recently last month. The Biden administration has been reviewing Trump's 11th hour move on Somalia since shortly after taking office, but has yet to announce any changes.

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Several senators on Tuesday pressed Townsend on the situation in Somalia and expressed concern that pulling troops from the country and conducting what's called "over-the-horizon" operations, where strikes are ordered without troops on the ground, have allowed al-Shabaab to flourish.

"It increases risk and decreases our effectiveness," committee ranking member Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who is typically a staunch Trump supporter but opposed the Somalia withdrawal, said about over-the-horizon operations. "We're seeing this play out on the ground in Somalia as things get worse and al-Shabaab gains strength."

Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., similarly warned that security in east Africa has been on a "downward trajectory" since Trump's withdrawal and that U.S. and partner efforts "to disrupt and degrade the most dangerous violent extremist organizations have not achieved the success we need."

Pressed by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., on how operating from outside Somalia is working, Townsend said "we are marching in place at best" when it comes to fighting terrorism. In addition to the issues of being stationed outside the country, Townsend also blamed political dysfunction in Mogadishu and "inactivity" by the peacekeeping mission known as the African Union Mission to Somalia for the worsening security situation there.

"We may be backsliding at the security in Somalia," Townsend said. "I just think that what we're doing is not providing sufficient pressure, and the best we can do is maintain a secure area around the bases that we return to, and we really can't get at the al-Shabaab problem set."

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: After Most US Troops Pull Out of Somalia, Some Reenter for Training Event
(Reuters) - Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc said on Wednesday it has stopped selling its products to Russian companies in compliance with U.S.-imposed sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

The company's action was disclosed by its senior vice president of government affairs, Nate Tibbits, in a tweet as a reply to a comment by Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Urging Tibbits to stop supplies to Russia, Fedorov said Qualcomm products are still available in Russia and it "inadvertently enables this country to kill thousands of Ukrainians."

In his reply, Tibbits said, "This is incorrect. Qualcomm has called for a peaceful resolution to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, made direct donations to relief organizations & match employee contributions."

"We comply with U.S. sanctions & laws are not selling products to Russian companies," he said.

Thanking the move, Fedorov subsequently suggested that the chipmaker can send its satellite phones for Ukrainian rescuers if it wants to help.

While the invasion has drawn the ire of Western nations and resulted in several U.S. companies halting operations in Russia, the country has called its actions in Ukraine a "special operation".

Revenue from Russia and Ukraine accounts for less than 1% of its total revenue, Qualcomm had said at its stockholder meeting earlier this month.

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
As the humanitarian crisis intensifies in Ukraine, the United Nations has reported that more than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country in search of safety. In Lviv, an ongoing Red Cross operation is assisting some of the 300,000 displayed citizens currently in the city by providing food, medical assistance as well as shelter. NBCs Jacob Soboroff reports for TODAY from Lviv.
SPRINGFIELD 

Chicago Public Schools defended its COVID-19 policies in a downstate courtroom Tuesday as six CPS teachers try again to prevent the district from requiring them to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or undergo weekly testing.

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Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow heard arguments from both sides for nearly two hours Tuesday before setting another court date for March 25. Downstate attorney Tom DeVore, a Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general, filed the request for a temporary restraining order last week.

William Pokorny, a lawyer representing CPS, argued that managerial decisions made by the school system can be enforced through collective bargaining if those decisions affect work conditions.

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William Gerber, arguing on behalf of DeVore, chided CPS for contending its policy would be more of a labor issue when he believes its not covered under collective bargaining.

The lawyers sparred over whether the teachers participating in the litigation are having their due process rights jeopardized.

A collective bargaining agreement cannot adopt policy in violation of state statutes, Gerber said. Due process is constantly being taken from these people on a regular basis.

Pokorny said if school employees believe their due process rights are being violated, they can take it up through the labor grievance process.

Teachers have a lot of due process opportunities under collective bargaining agreements, he said, noting protections for their employment rights. Theyre not being deprived of due process.

Grischow already granted a temporary restraining order on Feb. 4 preventing Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzkers school policies, including testing for unvaccinated staff members, from being enforced statewide.

The appellate court dismissed Pritzkers appeal of the ruling as moot because school rules from the Illinois Department of Public Health had been allowed to expire. The Illinois Supreme Court declined to hear the case, vacating the February temporary restraining order.

DeVore said since that order was issued early last month, four of his CPS teacher clients continued to undergo testing. Two of them didnt. Those two women were told to submit proof of vaccination or test by Friday or risk being placed on a nondisciplinary administrative leave of absence without pay starting Monday.

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DeVore said the teachers worked Monday without incident.

CPS announced an employee vaccine mandate in August, with exceptions for staff members who qualified for a medical or religious exemption. The district later relaxed those rules, but required partially vaccinated and unvaccinated staff members to test weekly.

The district says more than 91% of its staff is fully vaccinated. About 8% of employees, some 3,800 staff members, have been directed to test weekly through the districts in-school program, according to CPS data.

The weekly testing program has also been open to vaccinated staff members as well as students. About 1,700 adults, including 12 last week, tested positive through the free program since the beginning of the school year, CPS data shows. Its unclear how many of these staff members were unvaccinated.

In a statement last week, CPS said it plans to continue requiring unvaccinated CPS employees submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. The constant assault on the districts right to act affirmatively on behalf of our school communities is disappointing, CPS said in its statement.

CPS is already experiencing pushback from the Chicago Teachers Union over the districts decision to lift its mask mandate this week, with exceptions for some situations. CPS CEO Pedro Martinez cited declining COVID-19 case numbers and referenced pressure from DeVores litigation as reasons why masks are now optional for students and staff.

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The CTU filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board last week, complaining CPS acted unilaterally in ditching the universal masking requirement, which was a tenet of the safety agreement the two sides reached in January. The board scheduled a hearing for June. Its set to weigh the unions immediate request for CPS to honor the safety agreement until the June hearing date or until new terms are negotiated.

Tracy Swartz reported from Chicago.
Mar. 15Rochester Catholic Schools' Emily Heydon was awarded MINNDEPENDENT's Honor Teacher Award.

Heydon, a kindergarten teacher at St. Pius X, was selected as one of two teachers in Minnesota to receive the award as part of the MINNDEPENDENT 2022 Private and Independent Education Awards.

The award recognizes teachers who show dedication, compassion and excellence in education and model personal and professional growth.

Heydon has been teaching at St. Pius X since 2014 and will be honored at a ceremony on May 1.
Twitter/Mariupol City Website

People started miraculously staggering out of a makeshift bomb shelter Thursday morning under a theater in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where hundreds of Ukrainian citizens had been sheltering when it was reportedly struck by Russian forces on Wednesday.

The spokesperson for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted the good news Thursday morning. The bomb shelter in Mariupol Drama Theatre has survived the brutal Russian missile, Iuliia Mendel posted Thursday. At least, majority stayed alive after bombing. People are getting out from the rubble.

The bomb shelter in Mariupol Drama Theatre has survived the brutal Russian missile. At least, majority stayed alive after bombing. People are getting out from the rubble  Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) March 17, 2022

The shocking attack drew global scorn overnight after satellite images captured just two days before the assault showed a massive sign on the ground near the church that reads CHILDREN in Russian, Reuters reported. On Tuesday, some 20,000 Ukrainian refugees were evacuated from the city, but its unclear whether that included any of the people who were reportedly inside the theater when it was bombed. Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov told the BBC between 1,000 and 1,200 mostly women, children and elderly people had taken shelter there under increasingly dire conditions.

The Russian military attacked #Mariupol's Drama Theater, where a large number of citizens were hiding! the official account of the Ukrainian parliament said in a statement on Twitter about the attack. It is unknown how many people died under the rubble. Now there are fierce battles. No one can reach the blockages, we dont know if there are any survivors.

Maxar

Early Thursday morning, the mayor of Mariupol said rescuers were hindered from reaching the structure by constant Russian shelling, but then a short time later, those inside the shelter started digging out. It is still unclear how manyif anyof those inside the makeshift bomb shelter were injured or died.

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The attack comes after weeks of bloodshed and utter destruction in the strategic besieged port city of Mariupol, with Russian forces launching relentless attacks on hospitals, homes, and other non-military targets that have so far killed some 2,500 civilians in the city, many of whom have been dumped in hastily dug mass graves. More than 350,000 residents remain essentially trapped in the city as it faces almost daily bombardment from Vladimir Putins army.

The Russian Defense Ministry denied that Russian troops had attacked the theater and accused the far-right Ukrainian militia Azov Battalion of staging the bombing.

Thats Mariupol drama theater after Russian airstrike with a huge bomb today. Hundreds of civilians were hiding there from the shelling.#SaveMariupol https://t.co/l5RkYDnQpy pic.twitter.com/g7QCcfYdD9  Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) March 16, 2022

Videos circulating on social media showed part of the theater building in ruin, with a thick cloud of smoke billowing from the site of the wreckage late Wednesday.

The theater attack is only the latest incident to cast doubt on official claims from the Kremlin that it has not been targeting civilians since the onset of the war last month.

This is a theater in which Russian language performances were held, it is a sanctuary in which the residents of Mariupol were rescued from the continuous shelling, Mariupol politician Sergiy Taruta said in a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday. The world is obliged to hear the screams, moaning voices of [the people of Mariupol], who were buried.

The #Russian Aggression on #Ukraine

1- First videos from Mariupol: where the Russians bombed the theater, where mostly women with children were hiding pic.twitter.com/aKwQn6hA3V  Shadi Alkasim (@Shadi_Alkasim) March 16, 2022

Serhiy Orlov, Mariupols deputy mayor, told the BBC on Wednesday that some 1,000 to 1,200 had been sheltering in the building before the attack took place.

The building, which is located in the heart of the city, is now now fully ruined, according to Ukrainian Minister of Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, who added in a statement about the attack that the Russians could not have not known this was a civilian shelter.

The Mariupol city council accused Russian forces of purposefully and cynically destroying the theater, adding that a plane dropped a bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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(Reuters) - Russia has opened at least three criminal cases against people for spreading what it called fake news about the Russian army on Instagram and other social media, the country's investigative committee said on Wednesday.

Russia's parliament earlier this month passed a law making public actions aimed at "discrediting" Russia's army illegal and banning the spread of fake news.

(Reporting by Reuters)
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Pope Francis discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, Kirill's office said, the first known contact between the two religious leaders since the conflict began.

The Moscow Patriarchy said in a statement that the two discussed the "humanitarian aspects of the ongoing crisis" and the importance of pursuing peace talks.

They also discussed "what actions the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches could take to overcome its consequences," the Russian side said.

In its readout of the conversation, which took place in a video call, the Vatican said the pope told Kirill: "The ones who pay the price of war are the people, the Russian soldiers and the people who are bombarded and die."

Kirill, 75, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has made statements defending Moscow's actions in Ukraine and sees the war as a bulwark against a West he considers decadent, particularly over the acceptance of homosexuality.

At his general audience earlier on Wednesday, Francis evoked the spectre of a nuclear war, where whoever is left of humanity would have to start all over again on "the day after", and appeared to ask God to stop the aggressor in Ukraine.

Metropolitan (Archbishop) Hilaron of the Russian Orthodox Church's external affairs office and Cardinal Kurt Koch, head of the Vatican Council for Christian Unity, also took part in the conversation, both statements said.

On Wednesday evening, the Vatican's number two, Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said a Mass for peace in Ukraine in St. Peter's Basilica attended by both the Ukrainian and Russian ambassadors to the Vatican.

(Additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London; Editing by William Maclean and Jonathan Oatis)
A Russian politician and mouthpiece for president Vladimir Putin has called for Alaska to be returned to Russia as a form of reparation.

Russian State Duma member Oleg Matveychev told a TV host on Sunday that Russia should be thinking about reparations from the United States for sanctions imposed on Russia following its war on Ukraine, as the Daily Beast reported.

The brazen request formed part of a list of future demands from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine under the false guise of demilitarisation and deNazification of Ukraine, although analysis suggests Moscow has so far failed in its aims to topple Kyiv.

We should be thinking about reparations from the damage that was caused by the sanctions and the war itself, Mr Matveychev told Russia1, the Kremlin-controlled broadcaster, on Sunday. Because that too costs money and we should get it back.

Asked whether or not that included Alaska and a former Russian settlement in California, Mr Mateychev told host Vladimir Soloviev he wanted all Russian properties to be returned after billions in sanctions were imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine

That included those of the Russian empire, the Soviet Union and current Russia, which has been seized in the United States, and so on ... As well as the Antarctic ... We discovered it, so it belongs to us, Mr Matveychev added, according to reports.

While Alaska was sold by the Russian Empire in 1867 in an agreement known as the Alaska Purchase following an end to Russian expansion in the Americas, Fort Ross, the countrys southernmost settlement in the United States, was meanwhile abandoned by 1841 as the Arctic fur trade declined.

The Sunday night episode of Sunday Evening With Vladimir Soloviev also saw Mr Matveychev call for the lifting of all sanctions....The dissolution of NATO, and the return of all Russian Olympic medals following a Russian victory in Ukraine.

A military tribunal for so-called Ukrainian terrorists will be carried out, according to the Russian MP, in remarks that were not dissimilar to reports about Moscow panning on carrying out public executions after taking Ukraine.

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While Russians have so far been told that its forces are liberating Ukraine from a Nazi president, Moscow has waged a full-scale war on Kyiv without reason, causing civilian deaths and a widespread humanitarian crisis.

Russia has suffered heavy losses, with an estimated thousands of Russian soldiers killed in its war against Ukraine so far, although Moscow has rebuked such figures  or any news that suggest it was losing.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski tweeted on Tuesday night about the claims to her state, with a meme of American country star Taylor Swift and the words: That will never, ever, ever happen!
The Russian TV employee who interrupted a widely viewed evening news broadcast holding a No war sign told reporters Tuesday that authorities interrogated her for more than 14 hours.

The Channel One employee, identified by Russian rights-monitoring group OVD-Info as Marina Ovsyannikova, said that after being taken into custody she was denied access to a lawyer and barred from contacting her family.

I was in a rather tough situation, she said outside a Moscow courthouse, according to an NBC News translation. All the comments will be made tomorrow. I just need to rest today.

A judge fined Ovsyannikova 30,000 rubles, or $280, for flouting protest laws, according to Reuters.

Her lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, the Kremlin made it a crime punishable by 15 years in prison to promote what it described as fake news by calling Russias invasion of Ukraine a war.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Ovsyannikovas protest as hooliganism, saying in a daily news briefing with reporters that her brief demonstration was not on his agenda.

Speaking in English, Ovsyannikova told reporters that the protest was her own anti-war" decision.

During the broadcast, she could be seen standing behind a newscaster holding a sign and telling viewers not to believe the state-run channels propaganda.

The channels newscasters have described the invasion is a special military operation that aims to denazify Ukraine, a phrase Russian officials have promoted.

In a pre-recorded video released by a human rights group Monday, Ovsyannikova said that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian.

They were never enemies, she said, adding that she was ashamed to have contributed to the Kremlins propaganda at Channel One.
Mar. 15SALISBURY  Jacob Dow, the Beach Road man accused of shooting and then strangling a neighbor's dog to death last month, is expected to be released from custody Tuesday after posting $1,000 bail.

Dow, according to his attorney, successfully appealed a Newburyport District Court judge's decision to hold him without bail while awaiting trial. The appeal to overturn Judge Allen Swan's March 3 ruling took place Monday in Salem Superior Court.

In addition to two counts of cruelty to animals, Dow was charged with malicious killing or injury to a domestic animal, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, unlawful possession of a shotgun, possessing ammunition without a Firearms Identification Card (FID card) and misleading a police investigation.

Two of Dow's relatives, George Dow and Donald Dow, were also arraigned on March 3 on misleading a police investigation. Donald Dow, 29, who was also charged with firearms offenses, was released on $1,500 cash bail while George Dow, 77, was released on personal recognizance.

Both men are charged with lying to police while officers conducted their investigation of husky pet dog Zoe's disappearance.

All of the men are due back in court April 5 for pretrial hearings. While awaiting trial, George and Donald Dow were ordered to stay away and have no contact with Emily Meattey, the dog owner. They were also ordered to turn over all firearms and stay out of trouble with the law.

Jacob Dow was ordered by Superior Court Judge Thomas Dreschler to remain at home around the clock and wear a GPS monitoring device. He was also ordered to remain employed, stay away from and have no contact with the victim, surrender all firearms, and possess no firearms, according to an Essex County District Attorney's Office spokesperson.

According to an Essex County prosecutor, Meattey's two dogs, Zoe and Grizzly, escaped from their Dock Lane home about 9 a.m. on Feb. 23 and headed toward the Dow family's property.

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The husky then attacked and killed a duck on the property. That prompted Jacob Dow to grab an unregistered shotgun from the home, and fire a round of birdshot at the dog. The blast hit Zoe in the chest and felled her. But when Jacob Dow checked on the dog, he discovered it was still alive. He then got onto his knees and strangled Zoe until she was dead.

Salisbury police Sgt. Jeremy Kelley wrote that after the dogs escaped, Meattey went outside to find them. Aided by sightings posted on a community Facebook page, and motorists, Meattey tracked the dogs to the Dows' property.

After what sounded like a shotgun blast, Grizzly came running from the Dow property but ran past Meattey. She then called police.

Kelley and Officer Bruce Dow (not related to the Dows) spoke to Meattey at the adjacent Marie's Restaurant. She told them of the shot and that Zoe was missing. Kelley spoke to the three Dows and asked if they saw the dog. All three said they had not seen the dog nor heard the shot. Officer Dow was told that one of the Dows' ducks was found dead.

A few hours later, Kelley returned to the Dow residence and asked again if they knew what happened to Meattey's dog. Jacob Dow continued to deny any shooting or seeing a dog. A day later, police spoke to the property owner, Russell Dow, who was away at the time of the incident.

Russell Dow told police that a dog may be on his property and went on to say that if "they want the dog back I will see what I can do about it. After that comment we were now confident that the dog was on the property somewhere," Kelley wrote in his report.

Suspicions fell upon Jacob Dow after officers learned he had used a .410 shotgun to shoot woodchucks in the garden. Russell then led officers to a place out back where the dog had been buried. Police noticed the dog's chest had injuries consistent with birdshot. Zoe was then transported to a local veterinary hospital for examination, according to Kelley's report.

On Friday, Jacob and Donald Dow went to the police station to be interviewed. During the interview, Jacob Dow told officers he found the dog with a pet duck in its mouth and shot it with birdshot. Seeing the dog was still alive, he choked it to death.

Jacob Dow then told Kelley that he did not want the dog to suffer and that he choked the dog to "put it out of its misery."

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
Vietnams Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 3 receives UN medals

The 63 staff members of Vietnam's Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 3 in Bentiu, South Sudan, have been honoured with UN medals for their dedication to UN peacekeeping missions.









The 63 staff members of Vietnam's Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 3 in Bentiu, South Sudan, receive UN medals for their dedication to UN peacekeeping missions. (Photo: Vietnam's Level-2 Field Hospital)



The award ceremony was held in the presence of Brig. Gen. Dhananjay Joshi, acting commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); and Hiroko Hirahara, Head of the UNMISS Field Office in Bentiu.



Since it started operation in South Sudan last March, the field hospital has provided healthcare services for more than 1,400 UN staff and local residents, successfully performed 16 complex surgeries and supported air ambulance services for 15 cases, remarked Lieu. Col. Trinh My Hoa, Director of the Level-2 Field Hospital.



The hospital has applied various new medical techniques, well implemented pandemic prevention work and vaccination, and provided oxygen and properly treated medical waste for all Level-1 hospitals of the mission, he said, adding that it has also launched a series of environmental protection events and created recycled items.



He further noted that the hospital has cooperated with other foreign units to hold discussions and training courses on improving medical skills and promoted Vietnams culture and people through nine Civil-Military Coordination in UN Integrated Peacekeeping Missions (UN-CIMIC) events.



In her remarks at the event, Brig. Gen. Dhananjay Joshi and Hiroko Hirahara spoke highly of the 63 Vietnamese officers dedication and professional working style.



Hirahara said she is happy to receive positive reviews for what the Vietnamese hospital has done in South Africa and highly appreciates its achievements. For his part, Dhananjay welcomed the Vietnamese hospitals active participation in UN-CIMIC events, for example, providing HIV/AIDS consultation, assisting hospitals in Bentiu, sharing medication and medical equipment with local authorities and donating school items for local students, over the last year.



During the ceremony, the Vietnamese officials themselves took to the stage to perform Vietnamese songs and dances, and introduced to the attendees various Vietnamese traditional food./.
Want $50 in free gas? Get in line  literally.

Chicago entrepreneur and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson has pledged to give away $200,000 of gasoline via $50 gifts to motorists filling up at preselected Chicago-area gas stations Thursday. But the donations will only be given out until the $200,000 mark is reached, so those vying for a free fill-up should plan to arrive in advance of the giveaways scheduled 7 a.m. start and should likely expect to wait in line.

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The average price of regular was $4.84 per gallon in the city of Chicago Wednesday, up from $3.27 a year ago, according to AAA. Wilson said he wanted to do what he could to ease that burden.

The soaring price of gas has caused a hardship for too many of our citizens, Wilson said in a news release.

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Wilson planned to give each motorist filling up at the specified stations as much as $50 in gas until the total donation amount of $200,000 is reached, according to a news release on his social media accounts. The free gas is available to all and is not based on need, nor will any information be required; gas will be doled out to motorists on a first-come, first-served basis.

In addition, gas station owners Khalil Abdullah and Amin Ibrahim decided to lower their gas prices during the giveaway to allow more cars to benefit from Dr. Wilsons generosity, Abdullah is quoted as saying in the news release. Each vehicle that passes through one of the participating gas stations while the giveaway is ongoing will have $50 in gas pumped by individuals hired by Dr. Wilson, it said.

The nine selected gas stations are in neighborhoods from Rogers Park and Calumet Heights to Albany Park. The full list is available on Wilsons social media.

MEDIA ADVISORY Wilson Donates $200,000 Worth of Gas as Chicagoans Experience the Highest Fuel Prices in 14 Years, and... Posted by Willie Wilson on Tuesday, March 15, 2022

I am confident that with Gods help and wisdom we will get through these tough times together, Wilson said. If I can help somebody as I pass along this way, then my living is not in vain.

Wilson unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2015 and 2019. He also ran as an independent for U.S. Senate in 2020.

Wilson previously donated some 30 million face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic to the city of Chicago, Cook County Jail, the Fraternal Order of Police and numerous area hospitals, among others. Hes also donated millions to individuals who lost their job during the pandemic and to more than 1,000 churches.

A customer pumps gas at the BP gas station at Wabash Avenue and Roosevelt Road in Chicago on March 8, 2022. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

oolander@chicagotribune.com
Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

A Savoy man pleaded guilty last week to a felony charge related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress as members were in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the 2020 Presidential Election.

A news release from the Department of Justice said that Nolan B. Cooke, 23, of Savoy pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to a charge of civil disorder.

"According to court documents, Cooke joined the front lines of the riot on Jan. 6 and helped lead the charge breaking through the police line," the release said. "He wore a camera around his neck and recorded videos during the day. While on the restricted grounds, Cooke was part of a crowd of individuals shoving their way through a group of U.S. Capitol Police officers, who were providing security to the Capitol on the east side of the building."

The Department of Justice alleged that Cooke yelled statements like, "Theres a storm coming," "Were coming through," and "Nothings holding us back," whil at the Capitol that day.

"Cooke ultimately climbed the steps to the Capitol and encountered more officers guarding the entrance," the release said. "He made physical contact with one or more of these officers as he tried to push through the crowd. When he reached the door of the Capitol building, he banged on a window with a flagpole displaying the American flag."

In the release, they also alleged that he encouraged others to Break the glass.

"Although the government has no evidence that Cooke entered the building, he committed or attempted to commit an act to obstruct, impede or interfere with one or more law enforcement officers carrying out their duties," the release continued.

Cooke was arrested on Jan. 21, 2021 in Sherman. He is to be sentenced on June 10.

He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

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In the 14 months since Jan. 6, more than 775 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 245 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: Savoy man pleads guilty to storming of U.S. Capitol
From scholarship writing to navigating employment possibilities, a new program from the local organization Scholarships AZ is here to expand support for undocumented students.
A second man has been arrested after an attempted robbery ended in a fatal shooting Saturday outside a Waffle House in Nashville.

Mehvan Abdullah, 25, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with criminal homicide in connection with the death of 18-year-old Brandon Phan, felony cocaine possession and marijuana possession, Metro Nashville Police said.

The shooting took place Saturday in the parking lot of the Waffle House in the 800 block of Murfreesboro Pike.

Phan and James Sanders, 18, arrived at the restaurant parking lot together and got into a white SUV, occupied by Abdullah and one other person, police said.

More: 2022 criminal homicides in Nashville: Remember the city's slain

Phan got out of the vehicle, but then reached back inside before gunfire rang out striking Phan. Both Sanders and Phan, armed with guns, fled the scene. Phan collapsed shortly after and died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, police said.

Sanders allegedly told police that he and Phan planned to rob the two men in the SUV of a pound of marijuana. Sanders was charged Saturday with with attempted aggravated robbery, evidence tampering, using a gun during the commission of a dangerous felony and unlawful gun possession.

Abdullah was taken into custody Tuesday in Brentwood.

Contact Tennessean reporter Kirsten Fiscus KFiscus@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KDFiscus.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville man charged in connection with shooting outside Waffle House
A Phoenix police vehicle on Dec. 7, 2021.

A new sex crimes unit at Phoenix police identified and arrested a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old in 2016 and 13-year-old in 2017, according to the departments Twitter page.

Police named Zackaria Mohamud Mudasir, 32, as the suspect behind the assaults. Officers confirmed Mudasir is the same person accused of trespassing, providing a false identification and activating an aircraft's emergency slide at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in 2019.

Investigators used DNA evidence from the assaults to obtain a warrant and arrest him last week  six years after the initial crime took place.

"He was convicted of pandering prostitution in an unrelated case, and after his conviction, DNA was collected and that DNA was put into a computer system which matched to DNA collected during the initial investigations in 2017," Jeff Starks, a detective with the new unit, said.

Phoenix police praised their newly established adult sex crimes cold case detail for making the arrest. The unit was established in December and has since solved 11 cases left previously unsolved by law enforcement agencies.

Mudasir has been charged with multiple counts of felony sexual assault and kidnapping, and has been assigned a bail of $500,000.

Reach breaking news intern Brock Blasdell at Bblasdell@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @BrockBlasdell.

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Zackaria Mohamud Mudasir arrested in sexual assaults in 2016, 2017
Billboards around Sioux Falls last weekend began displaying messaging targeting members of the House Select Committee on Impeachment.

From Pierre to Sioux Falls, state and county officials are fielding complaints about the legality of billboard advertisements targeting lawmakers and calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

The Secretary of State's Office as well as the Minnehaha County State's Attorney this week received formal complaints alleging that Dakota Institute for Legislative Solution violated campaign finance law when it began running attack ads accusing five state lawmakers of obstructing an ongoing impeachment investigation into the attorney general, who struck and killed a man with his vehicle in 2020.

"Whether this technically complies with the laws, it certainly violates the spirit of what South Dakotans wants in their officials and election, which is transparency and to know whos funding these candidates or these statements," said Rep. Ryan Cwach, a Yankton Democrat who's serving on the House Select Committee on Investigation, of which four members are being targeted by Dakota Institute's billboard advertisements that have been running on rotation in Sioux Falls since Saturday.

More: Gov. Kristi Noem says impeachment billboards are not her doing. Lawmakers don't believe her.

Rep. Scott Odenbach, a Spearfish Republican who's sparred with Noem on various social issues in recent months but is not on the impeachment committee, has also been added to the list of lawmakers

Dakota Institute earlier this month announced its formation as a 501c4 nonprofit that aims to advance the agenda of Gov. Kristi Noem with a $2.3 million budget. It's not registered as a political action or campaign committee because it's not influencing the outcome of elections and has no official connection to the governor or any individual candidate or public official in South Dakota, according to its executive director, Rob Burgess.

Instead, the group considers itself a grassroots advocacy organization, and Monday filed as such when it reported the advertisements cost about $24,000, noted in what's called an independent communication expenditure report.

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But even that distinction might not be enough for Dakota Institute to avoid legal scrutiny. That's because Cwach and other lawmakers, including House Speaker Spencer Gosch, say the ads violate South Dakota Codified Law 12-27-16.1, which mandates certain disclaimer language be placed in an advertisements being paid for by an individual or entity that isn't a campaign, ballot or political action committee.

More: Recording signals tampering with Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg impeachment process

Specifically, the law states that such an advertisement  whether it be television, radio or mailer communications  must either include the phrase "This communication is independently funded and not made in consultation with any candidate, political party, or political committee" or list the top five donors who made the largest contributions to the organization paying for the ads.

Neither appeared on Dakota Institute's impeachment ads.

"I feel that it is clear that they have to disclose their top donors, and they have failed to do so," House Speaker Spencer Gosch, R-Glenham, wrote to Secretary of State Steve Barnett Tuesday while filing a formal complaint against Dakota Institute.

Multiple attempts to obtain comment from Barnett and the Secretary of State's Office by the Argus Leader on Monday and Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Minnehaha County State's Attorney Daniel Haggar declined to comment, citing an open investigation into the complaint.

And Burgess did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The Attorney General's Office is also prepared to investigate Dakota Institute, though it has yet to receive a formal complaint.

"Further, if a formal complaint is made the decision would then be made as to whether an investigator would be appointed from within with a confidentiality wall to allow them to work independently or whether a special investigator from outside the office would be appointed to carry on," said Tim Bormann, chief of staff in the Attorney General's Office.

The House Select Committee on Investigation is scheduled to reconvene before delivering final recommendations on whether Ravnsborg should be impeached on March 29. The House of Representatives will consider the recommendations at a special meeting of the Legislature on April 12.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: SD secretary of state fields complaints about impeachment billboards
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)  Sri Lankas president said Wednesday that his government was in discussions with the International Monetary Fund, other agencies and countries on deferring loan repayments and requested people's support by limiting electricity and fuel consumption to cope with the worst economic crisis in memory.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his televised address asked the nation not to be discouraged and have faith in his steps to salvage the situation. His appeal comes amid widespread public anger at the severe shortages of essential goods including medicine, cooking gas, fuel and daily power cuts.

He said the government has initiated talks with international financial institutions and "friendly countries regarding repayment of our loan instalments.

Yesterdays discussion with the International Monetary Fund was also held for this purpose, he said.

His government's decision to deal with the IMF marks a policy shift after it had resisted calls from experts and politicians to seek the agency's help. It had argued that asking international financial institutions for assistance could bring along conditions detrimental to the country's interests.

Sri Lanka's usable foreign reserves are said to be less that $400 million, according to experts, and it has nearly $7 billion in foreign debt obligations for this year.

The dollar shortage has led to authorities struggling to pay for shiploads of fuel, cooking gas and food items docked at Colombo port. At the same time, people and vehicles were forming long lines near gas stations and cooking gas dealers for hours.

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was currently in India, where he is expected finalize a $1 billion credit line to buy essential supplies.

Rajapaksa said that along with his decision to free float the local currency and positive signs about a revival of tourism and exports after a respite in the COVID-19 pandemic, he expects a better inflow of foreign currency and hopes the deficit can be managed at around $2.4 billion this year.

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Rajapaksa said fuel makes up about 20% of Sri Lanka's total imports. Recent sharp rises in fuel prices were the result of the increase of crude oil prices globally, he said.

Therefore, by limiting the use of fuel and electricity as much as possible, the citizens too can extend their support to the country at this time. I hope that you will understand the responsibility lies with you at this challenging time, he said.

Political parties and citizen groups have launched protests around the country, accusing the government of being responsible for the economic crunch. The main opposition party in Sri Lanka's Parliament held a demonstration near the president's office on Tuesday demanding Rajapaksa's resignation.
The 43rd Street CTA Green Line station is seen on June 18, 2021. It was the site of a fatal 2013 beating of Sanchez Mixon. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Nine years and a long series of legal twists after Sanchez Mixon was killed on a CTA Green Line platform, the man convicted of murder in his fatal beating was sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years in prison.

Anthony Jacksons sentence concludes  for now  his cases extraordinary tenure in Cook County court. The Jackson matter has been through two trials, a slew of explicit and conspiracy-laden court filings by his attorney brother, and an unsuccessful bid for relief at the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Meanwhile, Jacksons brother George Jackson III, a former federal prosecutor who represented Jackson until stepping down after the second trial last year, has been formally accused of misconduct by the administrator of the state commission that handles disciplinary complaints against attorneys.

Anthony Jacksons defense has often overshadowed the person who Anthony Jackson is, Assistant Public Defender Marijane Placek, who replaced George Jackson III as Jacksons attorney, told Judge Ursula Walowski at sentencing Wednesday. Its never good for an attorney to defend their relatives, because they become too emotionally involved.

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This is a genuinely good man who needed help, and that help was misdirected, she said. The legal system has let him down.

Jackson was convicted of first-degree murder in June. Jurors saw copious footage of the attack: Mixon approaching Jackson, the two men briefly speaking, then Jackson hauling off and punching Mixon, throwing him to the ground, kicking him in the head, stomping on him so hard his foot left a mark.

For the first time Wednesday, the Jacksons mother revealed in court that Anthony Jackson had been violently assaulted on his 16th birthday  at the same L platform where, years later, he would beat Mixon to death.

I often say (the attack) was a backflash he experienced from the beating he experienced on that same platform, Theresia Jackson said from the witness stand.

Anthony, the youngest of her five children, acted as her caretaker until he was taken into custody, Theresia Jackson said.

Judge, Im sorry, hes not the person that people have him painted as. Thats not who he is, she said. Anthony is a very caring person.

Assistant States Attorney Yolanda Lippert argued that Walowski should sentence Jackson to a term above the minimum of 20 years, noting that the beating was extraordinarily gruesome and apparently unprovoked.

His actions showed a complete and utter disregard for life, she said. It was a completely senseless murder. Sanchez Mixon was a complete stranger, a regular citizen of Chicago on an L platform in the middle of the day.

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Anthony Jackson gave a lengthy statement, saying he acted solely in self-defense.

I kick him, hes still getting up  I cant let him get back up, Jackson said.

Placek said in court afterward that while some of Jacksons statement contradicted the evidence, she did not believe he meant to mislead. Rather, he was conflating the attack on Mixon with the attack he suffered on the same platform as a teenager, she said.

I believe this is a mix-up in his mind of what happened when he was 16 years old on that same L platform, and thats what in fact was the triggering event that brought about the event that happened, she said.

In sentencing Jackson, Walowski noted that he does have a compassionate side. Jackson may have had a split-second reaction on the platform, but that was your reaction, your choice, she told him.

The 25-year sentence is just five years above the minimum for first-degree murder. Jacksons attorneys filed notice that they would appeal the conviction, bringing the case up to a higher court.

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George Jackson III had been working on his brothers case since 2015, when he signed on to help the defense at his first trial. He then successfully got the initial guilty verdict tossed out.

After that, the case took dozens of unusual turns. George Jackson was held in contempt more than once for sexually explicit and racially insensitive court filings. He filed a slew of paperwork alleging prosecutors and judges were in on a conspiracy to frame his brother. For a time, he was booted off the case, and separately, banned from even entering the courthouse.

At times he would fail to show up in court altogether. He has been referred to the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission at least twice, and a previous judge assigned to the case openly questioned his mental health.

Attorneys with the administrator of the ARDC formally accused him of misconduct in December, records show. Among other charges, he is accused of repeatedly making false statements and acting to embarrass, hinder or obstruct judges and prosecutors for no reason.

No response to the ARDCs complaint has been posted online. If a panel of the ARDCs hearing board finds that the allegations have merit, Jackson could be recommended for discipline.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers will see almost $1 million to improve maternal health outcomes for Black women, who are more than twice as likely to die in childbirth than white women.

The federal funding will bring a renovated labor and delivery unit, anti-bias training and more support for community organizations dedicated to maternal health.

"One of the primary complaints from Black women over time, research has shown, is that their provider doesn't listen to them," said Cheryl Brannan, founder of Sister to Sister International, which has worked with St. John's on maternal health issues.

According to a press release from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer's office, 28% of the 1,300 mothers served annually at St. John's are Black. Schumer said in the release he was able to secure the funding, which is part of a federal spending package.

Cheryl Brannan is the President and Founder of Sister to Sister International, Inc.

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St. John's provides millions of dollars in uncompensated care every year, the release said, and 67% of its maternity services treat women on Medicaid or Medicaid-managed care.

Through a partnership with Sister to Sister International, St. John's has been working to address disparities in "maternal mortality, premature births, low birthweight births and our percentage of cesarean sections among Black birthing mothers," Ronald J. Corti, president and CEO at St. Johns said in a statement.

In 2016 and 2018, Black women had higher rates of infant mortality (5.5% per 1,000) and low birthweights (12.2%) compared to other races, according to the New York State Department of Health. (Infant mortality among white women was 1.9 and among Hispanic women was 4 per 1,000. Low birthweight rates for white women were 6.6% and for Hispanic women 7.4%).

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"The St. Johns Riverside Hospital serves as the only maternity hospital in Yonkers and caring for over 1,300 patients per year, they have been unable to improve their facility for decades," State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, said in a statement. "This $990,000 will go a long way in finally bringing the level of care our families deserve."

The renovated labor and delivery space at St. John's will be designed to "support culturally appropriate care for Black birthing women," the release said, and will include equipment that allows women giving birth more movement.

Images of Black and brown families will be in the space, which will also include extra room for families and birthing professionals. The renovation will bring state of the art telehealth equipment for when in-person support isn't possible.

The funds will also go toward implicit bias training for up to 100 hospital staff, such as OB-GYNs, anesthesiologists and nurses.

Brannan said some of the money will go toward supporting community organizations dedicated to maternal health, such as Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network (Children's Health and Research Foundation), Birth from the Earth and Woman to Woman OB-GYN.

The funds will help to "close the gaps," Brannan said.

"For far too long, Black women in New York and throughout the country have faced a disproportionate risk of complication, risk, and death during child birth, falling behind the rest of the developed world in maternal health." Schumer said. "Its past-time we rectify this injustice."

Contact Diana Dombrowski at ddombrowski@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @domdomdiana

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: St. Johns Riverside Hospital gets $1 million for racial disparities
I tried six teas. The numbers aren't a ranking. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Starbucks has a line of six iced tea drinks that are exclusive to its Singapore locations.

They're made with different varieties of tea, including black, oolong, and hibiscus.

I'm a tea lover and tested them all one evening, but found only two were worth the money.

In Singapore, Starbucks has a line of iced teas that can't be found in the US.

A Starbucks store in Singapore. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Many Singapore residents, including myself, are tea lovers. From bubble tea to chai, the aromatic drink is a favorite among locals.

The city-state's Starbucks stores have a selection of six iced tea drinks made with different varieties of tea, including black, oolong, and hibiscus.

Starbucks began selling drinks made with its own brand of tea, Teavana, in over 6,2000 stores in Asia in 2016. Nikkei Asia described the recipes as "more complex" than the herbal and green tea-based drinks in the US.

"Asian consumers want more than just tea but the flavor and boldness," Starbucks' China and Asia Pacific product line innovation director Vera Wang told Nikkei in September 2016.

Starbucks Singapore did not reply to my requests for comment for this story.

As a tea lover, I was curious to test Starbucks' line of Singapore iced teas, as the US chain is better known for its coffees.

I tried six teas. The numbers aren't a ranking. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

And so, one evening earlier this week, I visited a store at a nearby mall to give their iced teas a try and see which one is best.

I ordered a tall of each, the smallest size available. Here's a full look at what I ordered:

1. Iced Shaken Golden Monkey Tea Lemonade, 5.70 Singapore dollars ($4.10)

2. Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with Pomegranate Pearls, S$6.90

3. Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea Lemonade, S$5.70

4. Iced Shaken Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade, S$5.70

5. Strawberry Golden Monkey Tea Lemonade, S$5.90

6. Strawberry Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade, $5.90

I first tried two drinks: one was made with golden monkey black tea, and the other from hibiscus tea.

Iced Shaken Golden Monkey Tea Lemonade and Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with Pomegranate Pearls. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

The first drink I tried was the Iced Shaken Golden Monkey Tea Lemonade (pictured above, left). Starbucks' describes this drink as "full-bodied," and made with "golden monkey" black tea  tea grown in China's Fujian province, close to the Tai Mu mountains.

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I found the drink was mild but not bland. There was also a bit of pulp that gave it a fruity edge, and I liked the way the tea and lemonade mixed together.

I then tried the Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with Pomegranate Pearls (pictured above, right) which Starbucks said is bright and floral. It's infused with pomegranate juice-filled boba.

The Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with pomegranate pearls was refreshing and delicious.

Trying the Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with Pomegranate Pearls. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Hibiscus tea is made from tropical Hibiscus flowers, which gives it a tart, earthy flavor.

The sweetness of the pomegranate complemented the earthy tea, which gave it a balanced taste. Although the prices at Starbucks stores in Singapore can be quite expensive, I'd happily buy this iced tea again.

Next up in the experiment were two lemonades, made with hibiscus and oolong tea respectively.

Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea Lemonade and Iced Shaken Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

I expected the Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea Lemonade (pictured above, left) to be similar to the one with pomegranate pearls, but it tasted different.

The lemonade version was more watered down, without much sweetness. It was also quite sour. I prefer teas to be balanced rather than lean heavily on sweet, sour, or bitter flavors, so I won't be ordering this drink again.

The Iced Shaken Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade (pictured above, right) had a similar flavor profile to the hibiscus tea-based lemonade.

The oolong tea-based lemonade did not taste like tea or lemonade. It was my least favorite of the bunch.

Starbucks Singapore. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

The drink is made with oolong tea  an oxidized Chinese tea that's distinct from black and green tea varieties.

While I usually enjoy oolong tea on its own or in bubble tea, Starbucks' version just fell flat. It was sour and watery, and I could barely taste the oolong flavor.

I was disappointed to not pick up on the lemonade flavors either, so the drink was a hard pass for me.

Lastly, I tried two strawberry-flavored iced teas, made with golden monkey black tea and oolong tea respectively.

Strawberry Golden Monkey Tea Lemonade and Strawberry Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

The Strawberry Golden Monkey Tea Lemonade (pictured above, left) is made with strawberry syrup, black tea, and lemonade.

While this drink was more balanced than the other lemonade-mixed teas, it just tasted like lemonade. For the price, grabbing a freshly made lemonade from a local shop, or Singapore's version, homemade iced lemon tea, would be more worth the money.

Last but not least, I had the Strawberry Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade (pictured above, right).

While I already had two disappointing lemonade-mixed iced teas, I was hopeful that the oolong flavor would finally shine.

It was deliciously light and fruity  the juiciness from the strawberry syrup lifted the oolong tea with touch of sweetness. It was one of the best from the line.

Overall, for a tea lover like me, only two of the iced teas were worth the money.

With my Starbucks' iced shaken teas. Marielle Descalsota/Insider

While I enjoyed the Iced Shaken Hibiscus Tea with Pomegranate Pearls and Strawberry Zen Clouds Oolong Lemonade, the rest of the drinks failed to hit the spot.

As the freshly made iced lemon tea at my neighborhood hawker costs four to five dollars less, most of the Starbucks' iced teas I tried felt overpriced. I personally can't justify the premium price for drinks that don't have a pronounced tea flavor or fragrance.

For me, the line of iced teas wasn't anything special, and I would much rather have a cup of freshly brewed tea to satisfy my tea fix.

Read the original article on Insider
Robert Smith on March 14, 2022 outside his Roseland home. In a 34-page motion filed in Smith's federal case seeking millions in damages for the decades he lost in prison, his attorneys say they have unearthed department records proving then-Lt. Philip Cline perjured himself by testifying he took a confession he did not take. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Lawyers for an ailing 73-year-old man freed after 33 years in prison for a double murder now say they can prove a high-ranking police officer lied under oath in a case tainted by a notorious squad of Chicago officers known for torturing suspects.

A motion filed Wednesday in Robert Smiths federal case  seeking millions in damages for the decades he lost  says unearthed Chicago Police Department records show then-Lt. Philip Cline perjured himself by testifying he took Smiths confession hours after the crime

The allegations are striking because Cline  who went on to serve as Chicago police superintendent under Mayor Richard M. Daley  has previously remained untarnished by the police torture scandal involving a group of detectives linked to disgraced former Cmdr. Jon Burge.

The filing includes attendance logs showing Cline was off the day Smith confessed to the 1987 murders, myriad police reports devoid of Clines name, and narratives from other detectives who said Smith confessed to them instead.

Reached by phone, Cline declined to discuss the allegations but noted the grisly nature of the underlying crime.

If he gets a dime, its a miscarriage of justice, said Cline, who is now executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation, which honors slain officers and supports their families.

The new allegations against Cline are the latest twist in a scandal that has lasted more than three decades, involved more than 100 allegations of abuse and cost Chicago taxpayers more than $100 million in legal fees and payouts so far.

The case also highlights the way the city continues to rely on an expensive, hard-line defense of Burge-related lawsuits despite having acknowledged for years that abuse happened.

The citys aggressive legal strategy clashes with its public message, said Aislinn Pulley, co-executive director of the Chicago Torture Justice Center, which advocates for the torture victims.

Former Chicago Police Superintendent Phil Cline, foreground, speaks during a press conference on March 27, 2007, at Chicago Police Headquarters. Cline and top police officials have worked on a plan to reform the disciplinary process for officers facing credible allegations of brutality or other misconduct. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

All of these cases could be and should be easily resolved if the city stopped defending these torturous cops who have lengthy histories and wasting precious dollars that should be going to other essential services, she said.

The citys attorneys contend Smith is guilty and his abuse allegations are false, according to their filings in the case. Theyre seeking forensic testing they say could support their theory.

A Law Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the pending litigation.

Almost inconceivable

The case against Smith began when he was 38, in the early morning of Sept. 19, 1987 after emergency crews responded to a house fire at his mother-in-laws Roseland neighborhood home.

There, they found the bodies of Edith Yeager, 55, and her 87-year-old mother, Willie Bell Alexander, with their throats slashed.

Smith raised suspicions after he arrived with his wife, Yeagers daughter, and became emotional. Officers later alleged he dove into a pool of blood on the floor. Smith said he scuffled with police who threw him into the blood.

Officers arrested him and reported he confessed later that night at the station to killing the women with a razor blade. Smith claimed in his confession he left the murder weapon at the scene, but it was never found, according to court records.

In the following days and months, Smith complained to medical personnel and police disciplinary officials he was beaten, kicked and choked and called racial slurs by police officers he was unable to identify.

This project is a collaboration between the Better Government Association and the Chicago Tribune. Subscribe to the Chicago Tribune

At the time, Burge himself had been transferred to another post amid early allegations of abuse in other cases. Cline was picked to replace Burge and lead his former squad of detectives, some of whom have since been implicated in the torture scandal.

Smith was convicted at trial in 1990 and handed a life sentence. In 2013, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission  formed to investigate allegations against Burge and his detectives  found Smiths claims of abuse credible and the case wholly circumstantial and very weak without the confession.

In 2020, prosecutors asked a judge to toss out the conviction and Smith went free. A Cook County judge granted him a certificate declaring his innocence.

Last year, civil plaintiffs attorneys Stuart Chanen and Ariel Olstein filed suit seeking compensation for Smith, who is in poor health and uses a wheelchair. It was in poring through old records they say they found evidence to prove Cline lied several times about taking the confession.

In a motion filed in federal court, the attorneys cite a departmental attendance record that shows Cline was off work the day of Smiths arrest and confession. Cline later signed off on a disciplinary investigation  spurred by Smiths complaints that officers beat him  which included the finding that records showed he was absent.

Cline never authored a police report detailing Smiths statement, and his name doesnt appear in key reports written by other detectives who said they were there for the interrogation, records show. Smiths attorneys say in the filing that none of the reports in the case place him in the room during the confession.

Robert Smith on March 14, 2022 at his Roseland home. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Some evidence to support Clines attendance at the confession, however, comes from Smith himself. In a 1989 pre-trial hearing, Smith testified Cline was involved in his interrogation. Then again in a 2011 affidavit alleging the abuse, Smith also said Cline was involved in the interrogation.

Smiths lawyers say their client has often voiced uncertainty about the names of the officers, and they argue he was confused during his interrogation.

Terry Ekl, a veteran local lawyer, said it would be almost inconceivable for there to be no documentation in police reports of Clines presence at the confession.

Its even more difficult to understand if its one of the supervisors of the detectives, who then later testifies to the confession in court, he said.

Still, Cline testified in two different hearings crucial to Smiths conviction, records show.

In a 1989 pre-trial hearing at which Smiths criminal defense team sought to throw out the confession, Cline testified Smith told him: Ill tell you the truth now. I killed them. I slit both their throats with a razor blade

During a longer stint on the stand at the 1990 trial, Cline testified he told Smith his account didnt match other witnesses, and Smith then told him he didnt know what went wrong but that he killed the women, washed his bloody clothes, set the fire and went to buy drugs.

Cline defends testimony

In a November 2021 deposition in the Smith civil case, Cline was confronted with the discrepancies in the record. He said his earlier sworn statements in the case were truthful and he came in on his day off because of the double murder.

Cline also said in his deposition that he entrusted the report-writing to the other officers.

According to the records, the two former officers who wrote they took the confession were detectives William Pederson and since-deceased Robert Rice.

Pedersen said in a deposition he had no memory of Smiths interrogation. In 1991, Pedersen was charged with selling confidential records from government databases. He pleaded guilty and spent 15 months in prison.

As Cline rose to the top of the department, reporters raised unrelated questions about his credibility. The Tribune reported shortly before he won the superintendent post that Cline had pleaded the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination rather than answer questions about warrants he approved. Cline told the Tribune he did nothing wrong related to the warrants.

Cline retired in 2007 amid scandals including the videotaped beating of a female bartender that later led to a civil jury verdict finding that the Police Department operated under a code of silence that shields bad cops.

Eileen Rosen, one of the lawyers the city hired to defend Cline, declined to comment. Lawyers for the officers Smith sued have denied he was abused or framed by anyone in the Chicago Police Department. According to records, Cline collects a $187,000 annual pension.

Smiths lawsuit rests on allegations of abuse and misconduct by officers with ties to Burge, though the litigation does not definitively allege which officers beat him.

Reports show that one officer involved in the case was Daniel McWeeny, who has been sued alongside Burge repeatedly. Documents also show Smiths case involved the late John Yucaitis, who the city suspended for 15 months for failing to stop or report the abuse of a suspect.

A federal jury convicted Burge of perjury in 2010 after finding he lied about his conduct in a civil deposition.. Burge served 3 1/2 years in prison and died in 2018.

$650,000 in legal bills, so far

The city has taken a well-worn approach to Smiths lawsuit by hiring private lawyers who have been paid more than $650,000 for their work over roughly the last year. Those expenses add to the hundreds of millions of dollars the city has paid in recent decades to private lawyers to defend a Police Department with a long history of violence and misconduct.

Burge and his men played a huge role in that history.

The Chicago Tribune reported in 2019 the city had paid more than $27 million in fees and costs to outside lawyers in Burge-related cases. In addition, taxpayers paid more than $80 million for settlements, reparations and other costs in those cases.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 33 Acting Chicago Police Department Cmdr. Jon Burge of the Burnside Area Detective Division on Jan, 22, 1983. (Walter Neal/Chicago Tribune)

Those expenses piled up as the city hired expensive private counsel and fought Burge-related cases for years. Despite those efforts, the city still sometimes lost millions at trial or in settlements.

For example, the citys attorneys took in more than $6 million and spent five years fighting a lawsuit from James Kluppelberg, who spent a quarter-century in prison for an arson that killed a woman and her five children before prosecutors dropped his case in 2012. The city settled just before trial in 2018 for $9.3 million.

The city also hired private lawyers and went to trial against Stanley Wrice, who spent 31 years in prison for a vicious gang rape before a judge threw out his conviction. In 2020, jurors awarded Wrice $5.2 million.

Previous city attorneys cast the hardline legal strategy as necessary to fight back against bogus claims and bring plaintiffs lawyers down to earth in their demands. But theyve taken this approach to Burge-related lawsuits even as the last two mayors acknowledged abuse happened.

The city gave reparations to torture survivors in 2015, Chicago Public Schools students are taught a curriculum on the police torture scandal, and the city council pledged to build a memorial to the victims of the abuse.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013 publicly apologized for the abuse, and in 2015 he called Burges actions a disgrace.

Before she ran for office, Mayor Lori Lightfoot also acknowledged the widespread police violence.

She headed Emanuels Police Accountability Task Force, which in 2016 issued a report citing evidence that Burge and his subordinates had tortured and abused at least 100 African-Americans as part of a section dedicated to explaining why people of color often distrust Chicago police.

Mark Flessner, who served as top lawyer for the city from 2019 to 2020, said the city could limit its spending by bringing on more in-house lawyers to defend police, as some other big cities do.

Smiths lawyers criticized the city for continuing to double down on these cases after acknowledging decades of abuse.

The city is backing (Cline) over the innocent guy who spent 33 years in prison, Chanen said.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Thyssenkrupp on Wednesday suspended its 2021/22 forecast for free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions for due to the Ukraine crisis and said it was unclear if it would still be able to spin off its steel division.

"Thyssenkrupp remains convinced that the independent positioning of the steel business offers very good prospects for the future. Nevertheless, a statement on the feasibility is at present not possible due to the current economic conditions," it said.

Although the group's sales in Russia and Ukraine are negligible at less than 1% of total sales, Thyssenkrupp said it expected business to be hit by the far-reaching macroeconomic and geopolitical consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Last month, Thyssenkrupp had said it expected free cash flow before M&A to break even for 2021/22.

"Against this background - in particular due to rising raw material prices - Thyssenkrupp AG suspends its forecast for free cash flow before M&A for fiscal year 2021/2022," it said, adding the exact extent of consequences of the war were very uncertain.

Until the start of the war, business in the first and second quarter of the fiscal year were going according to plan, it said.

In February, Thyssenkrupp said it expected an adjusted EBIT between 1.5 billion euros and 1.8 billion euros and net income of at least 1 billion euros for 2021/22.

"In March, initial negative effects occurred primarily in the steel and automotive supply businesses," it said, adding the board still expected adjusted EBIT for the second quarter to be above the previous quarter.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Richard Chang)
By Moira Warburton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, a rare show of unity in the deeply divided Congress.

The resolution, introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and backed by senators of both parties, encouraged the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague and other nations to target the Russian military in any investigation of war crimes committed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"All of us in this chamber joined together, with Democrats and Republicans, to say that Vladimir Putin cannot escape accountability for the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

Russia calls its actions a "special military operation" to demilitarise and "denazify" Ukraine. Putin has also called the country a U.S. colony with a puppet regime and no tradition of independent statehood.

Moscow has not captured any of the 10 biggest cities in the country following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.

(Reporting by Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Parades, revelry, and community  all of it was evident this past weekend to celebrate St. Patricks Day  a holiday postponed in various ways in the Chicago area since the pandemic began.

On Tuesday, two years since the first coronavirus death of an Illinois resident  retired nurse Patricia Frieson, of the Auburn Gresham neighborhood  Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the citys Department of Public Health came together to say thanks to Chicagoans who made sacrifices and helped others during COVID-19.

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Arwadys weekly Facebook Q&A showed Chicago COVID-19 cases and test positivity are at the lowest rates since July 2021. Currently, Chicagos positivity rate is 0.7%. Arwady said that rate is remarkably low, and Chicago is low everywhere it counts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions standardized community risk levels.

You can see a lot of the country is looking green, at low risk, Arwady said. Chicago, Cook County, northern Illinois have been green all along, but weve been seeing improvements in areas around us. Were at 76.9%; our goal was 77% of all Chicagoans having gotten at least a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine ... those over 5, almost 82% got a first dose. Everyday is good progress.

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Arwady is proud of that progress. Since Chicago fully reopened in June 2021, the city hasnt needed to close anything down, pull a permit, or put a capacity restriction in place, she said.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, listens as Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks on Feb. 22, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

In August, the city did put an indoor mask requirement back in place that helped us stay open, that helped limit risk and with the omicron surge ... we put the proof of vaccination in place for certain public spaces, Arwady said. We were able to lift all restrictions, and we had a good summer, last summer. When a new variant came and we saw some issues, we put the masks back on. If a new variant comes, if we have issues we would do that again.

Arwady said vaccines, boosters, widely available tests, and effective treatments have pushed us into a new phase of the pandemic, one that requires ongoing work to address the racial health disparities laid bare the last two years. While the vaccinated numbers of the Latino and white population are the same with 75% of both demographics having received at least one dose, only 61% of the Black population received one dose of the vaccine. The varying vaccination rates is why the omicron surge hit Black Chicago really hard in terms of hospitalizations and deaths, Arwady said.

To date, weve lost 7,586 Chicagoans due to COVID-19  that means families have been irreparably touched by the loss of loved ones as a result of their dying from this deadly virus, Lightfoot said at the news conference.

Arwady said her team is closely watching the BA. 2 variant and virus surges around the globe. This comes after news that former President Barack Obama is suffering mild symptoms since testing positive for coronavirus, and Pfizers CEO saying a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine will be necessary in order to maintain manageable levels of hospitalizations and mild infections.

All risk is local, Arwady added. When any disease is surging in the world, how likely is it that someone will come to Chicago with that disease. We built that into our modeling. The focus moving forward: Continuing to work not just on vaccination, but all of the reasons that underlay differing vaccination rates, rebuilding or building trust in health care, in public health, in government and thinking about access in new ways, creative ways and recognizing that until in a long-term way we commit to having all Chicagoans have equal opportunities, we will not reach a healthy Chicago.

I think back on the last two years with a lot of humility ... but a lot of pride especially in the way Chicagoans stepped up.

drockett@chicagotribune.com

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wlee@chicagotribune.com
Black Chicago aldermen and other City Council members who back their vision for the citys ward map ratcheted up the tension Tuesday in a standoff with their Latino colleagues.

Supporters of the Black aldermanic map, which is endorsed by 33 aldermen, filed paperwork to have it included as a referendum question on the ballot in June. That sets the stage for Chicago voters to pick the boundaries for Chicagos 50 wards for the first time since the decennial remap that followed the 1990 U.S. census.

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The Black and Latino caucuses are free to reach an agreement before then, and if any version of the map gets at least 41 council votes by mid-May the referendum will get called off. Aldermen are notorious for often waiting until the map deadline before they start hammering out their negotiations.

On Tuesday, council Rules Committee Chair Ald. Michelle Harris, 8th, said she still hopes a deal is reached but she also made pointed comments toward Latino Caucus Chair Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th.

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Ald. Michelle Harris at a City Council meeting in December. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Gil Villegas, let me know when youre serious, when youre serious about coming into the room and working on the map, Harris said at a City Hall news conference. The Chicago United map represents coalitions and compromise, and in that spirit, Im committed to working with all of my colleagues toward a resolution short of a lengthy and costly political campaign.

Relations have seemingly gotten worse between the caucuses in recent months, with each side accusing the other of acting in bad faith.

Villegas on Tuesday said the Black Caucus was forced to move toward a referendum because the 15 council backers of the Latino map already did so in December. Its better to leave it to the voters, Villegas said.

This is a win for 15 alderpeople, community groups and others who want to take the politics out of this process, and stop these decisions from being made behind closed doors, he said. Were going to let the people decide.

Since December, Latino aldermen have announced a partnership with good government groups, which have endorsed a so-called Peoples Map that they say removes politics from the remap process.

But its not clear the Latino Caucus and the backers of the Peoples Map are allowed under state law to make agreed-upon changes to the map that Latino aldermen already submitted for the referendum.

Ald. Gilbert Villegas at a City Council meeting in May. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The referendum itself wouldnt cost taxpayers much, but Harris has for months has warned of the likelihood aldermen who dont like the outcome would file a federal lawsuit, which could cost millions of dollars.

Thats what happened in 1992, when the ensuing court fight dragged on for years and ran up a $20 million tab. Taxpayers could be on the hook for twice that amount this time, Harris has said.

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This year, the proposed Black Caucus map that the council Rules Committee has endorsed creates 16 Black-majority wards, 14 Latino wards and an additional ward with a Black plurality. Of the remaining wards 18 would be in majority-white communities and one would be an Asian American-majority ward.

The proposed Latino map has 16 Black-majority wards and 15 Latino-majority wards following 2020 U.S. census data showing Chicagos Latino population climbed and Latinos overtook Blacks as the citys second-largest racial or ethnic group while the Black population continued to fall. Backers of both maps say the maps would create the citys first Asian American-majority ward.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has largely stayed on the sidelines during the council infighting, though she did make it clear she opposed an early version of the Rules Committee map that gave 14th Ward Ald. Edward Burke, who is under federal indictment, more majority-white precincts west of Midway Airport. Changes were made to address her concerns.

On Tuesday, Lightfoot said she wouldnt endorse either map. And she said it would be more democratic for aldermen to reach an agreement than for Chicago voters to decide on which map they prefer.

Compromise is always the best thing. Its intrinsic to our participatory democracy, Lightfoot said.

jebyrne@chicagotribune.com
CAIRO (AP)  A United Nations appeal for Yemen Wednesday raised $1.3 billion, less than a third of what the organization had targeted to help the Arab world's poorest country, the U.N.'s humanitarian chief announced.

Martin Griffiths called the total a disappointment, given that the U.N. had set out to raise $4.27 billion to help alleviate the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Some 161,000 people are likely to experience famine in Yemen in 2022.

"We hoped for more," he said in a somber tone at the end of the conference, calling the outlook for Yemen dire. The country, he said, "needs money, funding, urgent, rapid, in the bank to the people of Yemen.

The conference came as world attention focuses on the war in Ukraine, which has overshadowed other humanitarian crises since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24  raising concerns that that Yemens plight may be forgotten. Over 3 million people have fled Ukraine, in Europes largest exodus since World War II.

A prolonged conflict in Ukraine is likely to make it harder for Yemenis to meet their basic needs, as food prices, especially the cost of grain, are expected to increase. Yemen depends almost entirely on food imports, with 22% of its wheat imports coming from Ukraine, according to the World Food Program.

Griffiths said some nations did meet expectations. He was likely referring to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the pillars of a military coalition fighting the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. Last year, Saudi Arabia pledged $430 million and the UAE $230 million.

It is a disappointment that we weren't able as yet to get pledges from some we thought we might hear from, he said. We will be following up to see if we can increase this sum" to at least match last year's.

The 2021 conference raised only about $1.7 billion for Yemen out of $3.85 billion the U.N. had sought. However, the overall amount reached over $2.3 billion by the end of the year, according to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

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Only one Arab nation, Kuwait  which pledged $10 million  announced donations to the Yemen effort, according to a tally of pledges. The European Union and its members combined pledges of over $407 million for Yemen this year, including $118 million from the United Kingdom.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will donate nearly $585 million in aid to Yemen this year. Blinken also called for an end to the grinding war. We have to work relentlessly to bring the conflict to an end, knowing that as long as it goes on, so will the humanitarian crisis, he said.

Yemens war started in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebel Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the countrys north. A Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition intervened months later to dislodge the rebels and restore the internationally recognized government.

The conflict has in recent years become a regional proxy war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including over 14.500 civilians.

The majority of Yemens roughly 32 million people live in Houthi-held areas. The rebels have for years been implicated in aid theft and withholding in extortion schemes.

U.N. experts earlier this year said they documented that the rebels provided or denied humanitarian aid to families solely on the basis whether their children participated in fighting or to teachers on the basis of whether they taught the Houthi curriculum.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, has warned that a total of 19 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity between June and December  an increase of around 20% compared to the first six months of 2021.

It said that half of the countrys health facilities are shuttered or destroyed. Yemeni currency, the rial, lost 57% of its value in 2021 in government-run areas, while persistent fuel shortages drove up the prices of food and other basic commodities in the Houthi-controlled north, OCHA said.

More than 4 million Yemenis have been driven from their homes; around one-fifth of newly displaced people in 2021 were in the energy-rich province of Marib which Houthis have attempted to seize for over a year, it said.

Ghalib al-Najjar and his family lives in the Dharwan camp on the outskirts the rebel-held Sanaa. The 48-year-old father, his wife, and seven children are at risk of famine amid price hikes and lack of humanitarian assistance.

In the morning, half of us are fasting and Im doing my best to provide food if available -- to the others, he said in a recent interview. We live like ants on the ground or fish in the sea. We eat what we find on our way.

The conference comes as peace efforts stall, with fighting escalating since the beginning of 2022. The Saudi-led coalition has stepped up its support to government ground forces to fend off the Houthis' offensive on Marib. Clashes have also intensified elsewhere, and the Houthis accelerated their cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Speakers from around the globe called on warring parties to de-escalate.

Allowing the war to continue is a choice. So is ending it. I appeal to the parties to choose peace," the U.N. chief said.
THE HAGUE (AP)  UN's highest court orders Russian Federation to suspend military operations in Ukraine.
JUPITER  Voters in six Palm Beach County cities and towns will cast ballots again Tuesday in runoff elections.

But the two-week turnaround between the first election and the runoff, triggered when no candidates won 50% of the vote, means tight deadlines for people who choose to vote by mail and candidates who want to differentiate themselves.

There will be no early voting for the municipal runoffs. The deadline to register to vote was Feb. 21.

Voters wait outside the Jupiter Community Center to vote on Oct. 19, 2020. (GREG LOVETT / THE PALM BEACH POST).

Voters in the cities of Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach and Riviera Beach and the towns of Lantana, Jupiter and Jupiter Inlet Colony will head to the polls. Most will select council members. Jupiter voters also will select a mayor.

Boynton Beach: Marit Hedeen and Thomas Turkin will face off for a seat on the city commission representing District 3.

Jupiter: Ilan Kaufer and Jim Kuretski will compete for the mayoral seat on the town council. Linda McDermott and Malise Sundstrom are seeking a town council seat representing District 2.

Jupiter Inlet Colony: Cynthia Keim and Marie Rosner will compete for the Group 4 commission seat.

Lake Worth Beach: Reinaldo Diaz and Craig Frost will face off for the commission's District 4 seat.

Lantana: Lynn Moorhouse and John Raymer are seeking a seat on the town council representing Group 1. Media Beverly and Kem Mason will compete for a seat representing Group 2.

Riviera Beach: Billie Brooks and Ronnie Felder will compete for the mayoral seat. Shirley Lanier and Marvelous Washington are seeking the District 3 seat on the city council.

From March 8: Jupiter election: Mayor, town council races headed to March 22 runoffs. New council member elected.

The issues: Jupiter isn't 'defunding' its police department. So why is it the election's biggest issue?

The money: Jupiter candidates have raised $156K to sway voters. Have town elections changed for good?

There are two ways to vote on March 22: by mail and in person.

Here's what to know about each voting method:

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Vote by Mail

Voting by mail is available in the runoff elections, but the timeline is crunched.

The deadline to request mail-in ballot has passed: Those new to voting by mail needed to request a vote-by-mail ballot be sent to them by 10 days before the election, which was Saturday, March 12.

If voters previously requested a vote-by-mail ballot for all elections, the request is active through the end of 2022, and they should receive a mail-in ballot for the runoff. If a voter only requested a ballot for the March 8 election, a mail ballot will not automatically be mailed to them for the March 22 runoff.

How to get printed mail-in ballot after March 12: In the event that a voter misses the deadline to request a mail ballot, they can visit a Supervisor of Election's office and get a printed mail ballot up until 5 p.m. on March 21.

Here are the office locations:

Main Office: 240 South Military Trail, West Palm Beach, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

North County Branch Office: Northeast County Courthouse, 3188 PGA Blvd., Room 2401, Palm Beach Gardens, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

West County Branch Office: 2976 State Road #15, 2nd Floor, Belle Glade, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

South County Branch Office: Southeast Palm Beach County Administrative Complex, 345 South Congress Ave, Room 103, Delray Beach, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

How long does it take to return mail in ballot? Voters should allow six days for the United States Postal Service to deliver their mail-in ballots. The ballots must be delivered to the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. March 22 (Election Day).

Voters can return mail ballots in person: Voters nervous about mail delivery timing, however, can also drop off a mail ballot in person at any supervisor of elections offices during office hours.

Decide to vote in person instead? What to do: If a voter receives a mail ballot but decides to vote in person on Election Day, they must bring the ballot (marked or not) to the polling location so it can be canceled.

If a voter fails to bring the ballot, the supervisor of elections will need to confirm the voter has not already cast a ballot in the election.

Election Day voting in person

As on March 8, voters in Jupiter can visit their polling place to cast a a ballot in person.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 22.

Precincts and polling places will remain the same. Voters can find specific polling places on voter information card or they may enter voter information at www.votepalmbeach.gov/Voters/Precinct-Finder.

Voters must bring an identification card with both their photo and their signature to the polling place. A list of examples of acceptable photo identification can be found on the Supervisor of Elections website.

kkokal@pbpost.com

@katikokal

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Mail in voting, polling places for March 22, 2022 runoff elections
The Democratic primary race for Cook Countys top elected office has intensified, with incumbent County Board President Toni Preckwinkle trying to paint a newly filed opponent as an ally to Republicans and the challenger denouncing what he said was her support of the defund the police movement.

Richard Boykin, a former county commissioner for the 1st District, filed his nominating papers for the June 28 primary a couple of hours shy of Mondays deadline. His bid came a week after Preckwinkle submitted her own signatures for a fourth term as the countys top executive.

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Last-day filers for other county offices included Kari Steele, the Democratic aiming to unseat first-term assessor Fritz Kaegi in the Democratic primary, and new challengers to Sheriff Tom Dart.

Former Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin takes part in a candidate forum at the Union League Club of Chicago on Feb. 21, 2020. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Following Boykins Monday petitions submission, the Oak Park resident swiftly labeled Preckwinkle as a defund the police backer. It was an attempt to tie Preckwinkle to the movement that targeted police department budgets following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

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I wouldnt vote to defund the police, Boykin said. When you vote to defund the police, you send a message to them that you dont care about them. Thats what the county board did last year. And (Preckwinkle) allowed that to happen.

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Boykin was referencing a symbolic resolution passed by Cook County commissioners with Preckwinkles approval in July 2020 that called for the county to redirect funds from policing and incarceration to public services not administered by law enforcement.

After the vote, Preckwinkle had reaffirmed to reporters: Im for reducing and redirecting our investment in law enforcement.  Were overpoliced, and theres a disproportionate number of Black deaths at the hands of the police.

Preckwinkles campaign spokesman Hannah Fierle said Boykin makes a misleading claim in criticizing the resolution as a defund the police measure.

The resolution proposed several ways for the County to commit to increasing funding for programs and policies to support residents and address the root causes of violence, Fierle said. The resolution is not, and was never about, cutting services or laying people off, but better envisioning how the County can allocate funding to support residents in areas like healthcare, housing, economic development, and housing and rental assistance.

Fierle added, It also is important to note that this legislation came from a moment in time when the disparities for the Black community were on display more than almost any other time in recent history.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle speaks during a rally outside the the Art Institute on Nov. 22, 2021. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Ultimately, the sheriffs office, which runs the county jail and a police force of about 500 officers, saw its budget shrink by about 4% the following year, but it more than recouped that in the 2022 budget.

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Preckwinkles campaign also went on the attack against Boykin, contrasting her attention to community investment during the COVID-19 crisis with what Fierle said was Boykins affinity toward reducing government services.

Mr. Boykin has a history of aligning himself with Republicans  and during his time on the Board, consistently advocated for cuts, closures, and layoffs, Fierle wrote. This is a time when our communities need real investments and resources.

While representing the West Side and western suburbs from 2014 to 2018, Boykin led opposition against Preckwinkles repealed soda tax and her reinstated sales tax hike.

Boykin lost his 2018 primary to now-Commissioner Brandon Johnson and placed third in the 2020 Democratic primary for circuit court clerk.

Boykin is a Democrat but has supported Republicans in the past, including former Illinois U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk in his 2010 election, campaign contribution records show.

Preckwinkle was most recently trounced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 mayoral election, but Preckwinkle had easily beat former Ald. Bob Fioretti, her most recent primary opponent in a county race, the prior year.

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Also filing to run in primaries for county board president were Democrat Zerlina Smith-Members, whose website describes her as an activist based in the Austin neighborhood, and River Forest resident Thea Tsatsos, who registered as a Libertarian.

Steele, the Democratic challenger for the assessors office, released a campaign statement attacking Kaegis record.

Im running for Assessor to finally lift the Assessors office out of chaos, and bring my decade of experience as a public servant to bear fixing a broken office so that tax bills are simplified, predictable and fair, Steele said.

Metropolitan Water Reclamation Commissioner Kari Steele speaks to media outside the Jardine Water Purification Plant in Chicago on May 27, 2021. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

The current assessor made waves four years ago when he ousted incumbent Joseph Berrios in the Democratic primary and promised a new era of transparency. This time around, Kaegi has the backing of the Cook County Democrats. But Steele, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District president, has more support from trade unions and real estate developers who say the current administration is driving small businesses out.

Keagis campaign hit back by characterizing his critics as wealthy or politically connected.

While it may make some uncomfortable, large commercial properties are paying their fair share for the first time in a long time, because Assessor Kaegi is following the law, campaign spokeswoman Alicia Webb said. When the very wealthy, big corporations, and political insiders were let off the hook for so many years, working and middle class families and small business owners had to pick up the tab. Under Fritz, thats come to an end.

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Chicago resident Nico Tsatsoulis is also running for the assessors office, as a Libertarian.

On the Cook County Board, several incumbents are facing primary challengers, with crowded primaries in the 9th District, where GOP Commissioner Peter Silvestri is retiring.

By the filing deadline, five Democrats, three Republicans and one Libertarian had turned in signatures for his seat.

Lastly, seven candidates have thrown their hats in the ring for the sheriffs office. Dart, the four-term Democratic incumbent who received the Cook County Democratic Party endorsement, has four primary opponents: Carmen Navarro Gercone, an official with the circuit court clerks office and a former director at the sheriffs office; Noland Rivera, a veteran Chicago Police Department sergeant; Kirk Ortiz, a deputy sheriff; and LaTonya Ruffin, a former police officer with several south suburbs.

Brad Sandefur, a sergeant with the sheriffs office, is running as a Libertarian.

ayin@chicagotribune.com
A powerful bomb rocked a shelter in Mariupol. Ten died in a bread line in Chernihiv. A high-rise apartment building was shattered in Kyiv.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was urging Congress to replenish his fast-depleting military stocks Wednesday, the unrelenting battery of his country by Russian military firepower continued unabated.

"I'm proud to greet you from Ukraine, from our capital city of Kyiv," Zelenskyy said. "A city that is under missile and airstrikes from Russian troops every day, but it doesn't give up. And we have not even thought about it for a second."

Meanwhile, residents of his nation's proud capital huddled in basements and shelters. The sprawling city, home to almost 3 million people, is a one of many battered remnants of Russia's brutal invasion. On Wednesday, a citywide curfew meant to keep rattled Kyivans off the streets provided no protection from Russian missiles that blasted neighborhoods, homes and businesses.

An International Committee of the Red Cross vehicle drives on a deserted boulevard in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, as authorities declared a 35-hour curfew in the Ukrainian capital.

In central Kyiv, shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-story apartment building, causing a partial collapse and igniting a fire, according to the Kyiv emergency agency. A nearby nine-story building was also damaged. At least two people were known to be injured, but rescuers were searching the rubble for victims.

'IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK?'An impassioned Zelenskyy demands more from Biden

Dozens of residents were left homeless to face the Russian aerial assault and freezing temperatures. Russian forces also intensified fighting Wednesday in the Kyiv suburbs and a highway leading west  a route that could take fleeing families away from the fiercest fighting, said Kyiv regional leader Oleksiy Kuleba.

Russian troops have seized many outlying suburban towns, setting up checkpoints and in some cases cutting off access to food and utilities.

"Kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing," Kuleba said.

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In the northern city of Chernihiv, home to almost 300,000 people, Russian troops killed at least 10 civilians queueing for bread. That drew an angry response from the U.S. embassy in Kyiv.

"Such horrific attacks must stop. We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine, the embassy posted on Twitter.

The embassy also urged U.S. citizens to leave Ukraine immediately "if it is safe using ground transportation.

WAR CRIMES: Putin war crimes in Ukraine will be investigated, but Russian leaders unlikely to be prosecuted

To the south, Russian forces also continued pounding beleaguered Mariupol, a seaport city of 430,000 nearly broken by three weeks of siege. Serhiy Taruta, a member of the Parliament, said a powerful bomb rocked the Mariupol Drama Theatre, where hundreds of women and children were taking refuge. Information on casualties was not available, and constant Russian artillery strikes made a rescue operation nearly impossible, Taruta said.

"We don't know if there are survivors. And the worst thing is that we can't get them out of the rubble," Taruta said.

Mariupol residents picked through trash cans for food. Some were drinking water from puddles, according to Ukraine TV. Amid a struggle for essentials including food, water and heat, the dead are so numerous they are buried in mass graves.

Across Ukraine, the United Nations Development Program estimates that 90% of the population could face poverty and extreme economic vulnerability if the war escalates.

The was some hope Wednesday. Both Russia and Ukraine said some progress had been made as talks reconvened Wednesday. Zelenskyy spoke of "more realistic" Russian demands. And he is fully aware that the fate of his country was at stake.

"Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided," he told Congress. "The destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy."

Contributing: The Associated Press

US TO PROVIDE MORE AID: Biden providing $800M in military aid for Ukraine; Zelenskyy calls on Congress 'to do more'

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine: Zelenskyy pleaded for US aid as Russia kept attacking Kyiv
RIYADH (Reuters) -Yemen's Houthi group said on Wednesday it would welcome talks with the Saudi-led coalition if the venue is a neutral country, including some Gulf states, and that the priority is lifting "arbitrary" restrictions on Yemeni ports and Sanaa airport.

The Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) plans to invite Yemeni parties including the Houthis for consultations in Riyadh this month, two Gulf officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

"It is neither logical, nor fair that the host of the talks is also the sponsor of war and blockade," the Iran-aligned movement said in a statement on the official news agency.

Riyadh leads a military coalition that has been battling the Houthis for seven years in a conflict widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

GCC members Oman, where some Houthi officials are based, and Kuwait, which hosted previous peace talks in 2015, would be a more neutral ground for such consultations.

The U.N. and the United States, trying to engineer a truce, have pressed Riyadh to lift sea and air restrictions on Houthi-held areas to alleviate a dire humanitarian crisis. The coalition says the blockade aims to prevent arms smuggling.

The U.N. special envoy has been holding talks with Yemeni parties to build a framework for inclusive political negotiations to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The alliance intervened in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014. The group says it is fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

The United Nations on Wednesday received only $1.3 billion in pledges towards a $4.27 billion aid plan for Yemen where the humanitarian drive had seen funding dry up even before global attention turned to the conflict in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Catherine Evans and Nick Macfie)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked the worst attacks on U.S. soil during his speech to Congress on Wednesday, pleading for more military assistance to fight back against Russias invasion.

We need you right now [to] remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning, Dec. 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Just remember, remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001, when evil try to turn your cities, independent territories into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked, Zelensky said. Just like no one else expected it, you could not stop it. Our country experience the same every day right now.

Zelensky went on to ask for the U.S. to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and to continue providing additional aid to Ukraine as it closes out its third week fending off Russian invaders, which, according to the United Nations, has left nearly 700 civilians dead.

This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for a reply, for an answer, from the whole world, Zelensky said in his remarks to Congress. Is that too much to ask for, a no-fly zone?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak to Congress by video at the Capitol on Wednesday. (J. Scott Applewhite/Pool via AP)

Zelensky has been addressing the other member countries of NATO, which have joined in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putins attack on Ukraine. On Tuesday, Zelensky made an emotional plea directly to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while addressing that country's Parliament, evoking the image of Trudeaus own children waking in the early morning to Russian cruise missiles exploding in front of them.

But NATO ally countries have so far refused to establish a no-fly zone for fear it would escalate the invasion into a full-blown World War III with Russia.

Zelensky closed his address on Wednesday by pleading directly to President Biden for additional support.

Im almost 45 years old, today my age stopped when the hearts of 100 children stopped beating, Zelensky said. Im addressing President Biden, you are the leader of the nation, your nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.

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The Ukrainian president concluded his remarks by saying: Glory to Ukraine. He received a bipartisan standing ovation from Congress.

_____

What happened this week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seen on March 10, 2022. Office of the President of Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Congress on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian leader asked the US to support a no-fly zone. Biden has so far ruled this out.

Zelenskyy has been applauded across the world for his handling of Russia's unprovoked attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a virtual address to Congress from Kyiv on Wednesday, imploring the US to support a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Zelenskyy said if this was "too much to ask for," then Kyiv needs more advanced anti-aircraft systems, like the S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as aircraft and other weapons.

"Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people," Zelenskyy said. "You know how much depends on the battlefield on the ability to use aircraft  powerful, strong aviation  to protect our people, our freedom, our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe."

Invoking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, Zelenskyy said, "I have a dream: these words are known to each of you. Today I can say, I have a need. I need to protect our sky."

The Ukrainian president said the Russian assault on his country represents a "terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years."

"We are asking for a reply, for an an answer to this terror from the whole world," Zelenskyy said. "Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask? A humanitarian no-fly zone?"

The destiny of Ukraine and whether it will be free and able to preserve its democracy is being decided in this war, he added.

Zelenskyy also called on the US to remember the 9/11 terror attacks and Pearl Harbor, the 1941 attack by Japan that launched the US into WWII. "Our country experienced the same every day right now at this moment, every night for three weeks now," he said.

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As Russia pummels Ukraine with airstrikes and artillery, Zelenskyy has repeatedly called on NATO to institute a no-fly zone. NATO and the US have rebuffed this request, however, because it would require the alliance to shoot down Russian warplanes. This would effectively amount to a declaration of war by NATO, a 30-member alliance that includes nuclear powers like the US, against Russia  a country that possesses one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals.

The US has provided Ukraine with billions in security assistance since Russia invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014. The Kremlin also began supporting pro-Russian rebels in a war in eastern Ukraine that year. The aid provided to Ukraine by the US includes Javelin anti-tank missiles and Stinger missiles, but Kyiv has repeatedly asked for more advanced defense systems to help it defend against Russian airstrikes.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday also signed a $1.5 trillion government funding bill that included $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

In addition to more weapons, Zelenskyy asked the US to slap additional sanctions on Russia. "I am grateful to President Biden for his sincere commitment to the defense of Ukraine and democracy all over the world ... In the darkest times for our country, I call on you to do more," he said.

The US has imposed crippling economic sanctions, including personal sanctions on Putin, since Russia began the military assault.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. UKRINFORM/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Zelenskyy has refused to leave Ukraine despite grave concerns for his safety. He has been praised across the world for his handling of Russia's unprovoked invasion.

The Ukrainian president has consistently expressed gratitude for the support his country has received from the West both before and during the war. But he's also cooled on Ukraine's NATO ambitions since Russia launched the military assault in late February.

Russia has demanded that Ukraine be permanently barred from NATO. Though the alliance has not taken steps to place Ukraine on the formal path to join NATO, it's firmly rejected this demand from Russia  underscoring that NATO's open-door policy is non-negotiable. Despite not being a member, Ukraine still maintains a robust partnership with NATO.

Zelenskyy, a former comedian and TV star, has only been in office for a few years. But in many ways, he's already upstaged Russian President Vladimir Putin  a former KGB operative who has ruled over Russia for roughly 20 years. Ukraine has put up a stiffer resistance against the Russian advance than expected. But the war has still caused immense suffering in Ukraine, and forced more than three million Ukrainians to flee the country in less than a month.

The war has led to roughly 1,900 civilian casualties in Ukraine thus far, per the UN's latest numbers, including 726 civilian deaths. Children were among those killed.

"I'm nearly 45. But today my age stopped when the hearts of 100 children stopped. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop death," Zelenskyy said toward the end of his speech to Congress.

He also addressed Biden directly, adding: "I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace."

The Ukrainian president said Russia has not just attacked Ukraine itself, but launched "a brutal offensive against our values, our human values." He said Ukraine was "fighting for the values of Europe and the world."

By assisting Ukraine, "the American people are helping not just Ukraine, but Europe and the world to keep the planet alive, to keep justice in history," Zelenskyy said.

In the lead-up to the Russian invasion, Putin baselessly suggested Ukraine was committing genocide against ethnic Russians and Russian speakers. Putin also said Russia would engage in the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine. Zelenskyy speaks Russian, is Jewish, and members of his family died in the Holocaust  highlighting how bizarre and unfounded Putin's justifications for the war have been.

Putin over the years has repeatedly suggested that Ukraine is not a real country, claiming Russians and Ukrainians are "one people." Biden, among others, has said that Putin wants to restore the Soviet Union.

Read the original article on Business Insider
President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the White House last September. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Biden during his speech to Congress.

"You the leader of your nation, your great nation, I wish you to be the leader of the world," the Ukrainian president said of his American counterpart.

Zelenskyy has repeatedly pushed Biden and other leaders to do more to help Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged President Joe Biden during an emotional plea to Congress for the US to do more to help Ukrainianians repel the Russian invasion.

"You the leader of your nation, your great nation, I wish you to be the leader of the world," Zelenskyy said near his address to lawmakers. "Being the leader of the world means to be a leader of peace."

According to multiple reports, Zelenskyy personally requested to address Congress, the latest in a series of speeches he's given via video link. His words to Biden were even more notable as they came during the only section of his speech that was given in English.

The two presidents have spoken frequently in the lead-up to and aftermath of Russia's invasion. Zelenskyy has lamented that it took a war for his nation to get a more direct relationship with the US.

"I can tell you the truth. It's a pity it began after the beginning of this war, but we have it," Zelenskyy said earlier this month, according to Fox News. "My appreciation to him and to his team. So we can speak now often."

Zelenskyy has not minced words when it comes to challenging the West to more. He has made repeated requests for a no-fly zone over his nation's skies even as Biden and other western leaders have rejected him over fears that such a declaration could lead to World War III.

During his Wednesday address to Congress, Zelenskyy cited Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in arguing why Ukraine needs the US and other countries to do more.

"Our country experiences the same every day," he said. "Right now, every day, every night for three weeks now ... Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death of thousands of people."

Biden is set to deliver his own address on Ukraine later this afternoon.

Read the original article on Business Insider
New Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins speaks after being introduced on Oct. 18, 2021, outside Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

New Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins and his wife, Lindsay, on Jan. 7 paid $3.65 million for a six-bedroom brick mansion in the Lakeview neighborhood.

Hawkins joined the Cubs as its general manager in October, after 13 years working for the Cleveland Indians which now are known as the Cleveland Guardians. He most recently was the Guardians assistant general manager.

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Built in 2017, the mansion has four full bathrooms, two half-bathrooms, four fireplaces, intricate millwork and built-ins throughout, custom lighting and draperies, high ceilings and a Savant home automation system. The mansions living room has a custom limestone fireplace, and the rest of the first level has a butlers pantry, a walk-in pantry, a great room and a kitchen with commercial-grade appliances, oversize quartzite countertops, a steel hood and an eat-in area with built-ins.

The homes lower level has an office, a wine cellar, a craft area and a media room with a custom bar, while the second floor has a primary bedroom suite with vaulted ceilings, built-ins, two walk-in closets, a steam shower and a wet bar.

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The mansion came on the market in October for $3.6 million, and it sold for above its asking price.

Jeffrey Lowe of Compass, who represented both the Hawkinses and the mansions sellers, declined to comment on the transaction.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 New Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins stands outside Wrigley Field after being introduced on Oct. 18, 2021. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

The mansion had a $46,914 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.

On March 4, the Hawkinses sold their recently built, four-bedroom house in Rocky River, Ohio  just outside of Cleveland  for $1.35 million.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter., after 13 years working for the Cleveland Indians  which now are known as the Cleveland Guardians. He most recently was the Guardians assistant general manager.

Built in 2017, the mansion has four full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, four fireplaces, intricate millwork and built-ins throughout, custom lighting and draperies, high ceilings, and a Savant home automation system. The mansions living room has a custom limestone fireplace, and the rest of the first level has a butlers pantry, a walk-in pantry, a great room and a kitchen with commercial-grade appliances, oversized quartzite countertops, a steel hood and an eat-in area with built-ins.

The homes lower level has an office, a wine cellar, a craft area and a media room with a custom bar, while the second floor has a primary bedroom suite with vaulted ceilings, built-ins, two walk-in closets, a steam shower, and a wet bar.

The mansion came on the market in October for $3.6 million, and it sold for above its asking price.

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Jeffrey Lowe of Compass, who represented both the Hawkinses and the mansions sellers, declined to comment on the transaction.

The mansion had a $46,914 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.

On March 4, the Hawkinses sold their recently built, four-bedroom house in Rocky River, Ohio  just outside of Cleveland  for $1.35 million.

Goldsborough is a freelance writer.

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WASHINGTON  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with Congress on Wednesday for more aggressive measures to help stop the war, including a no-fly zone, showing lawmakers a gripping video of the death and devastation that has beset his country.

His appeal was direct, aimed not just at lawmakers but at President Joe Biden. The graphic video that accompanied his speech showed exploding buildings, dead children and mass graves, and left lawmakers visibly shaken.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace, Zelenskyy said in his 16-minute virtual address from Kyiv.

"This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years and we are looking for a reply, for an answer, to this terror, from the whole world," Zelenskyy told hundreds of lawmakers who packed an Capitol auditorium. "Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people, is that too much to ask?"

Knowing that the U.S. opposes a no-fly zone, Zelenskyy proposed what he called an "alternative": planes to defend Ukrainian skies from Russian attacks. But the Biden administration has also ruled out sending fighter jets.

"Aircraft, powerful, strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land. Aircraft that can help Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "You know that they exist, that you have them, but they are on the Earth, not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not defend our people."

Sporting his signature green T-shirt, Zelenskyy also urged Americans to look to their own history in trying to understand what Ukrainians are going through, invoking the I Have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr., but also the Pearl Harbor and Sept. 11 attacks.

"Remember Pearl Harbor. The terrible morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Just remember it," Zelenskyy said. "Remember Sept. 11, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, in battlefields, when innocent people were attacked, attacked from air, yes.

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"Just like nobody else expected it, you could not stop it," he continued. "Our country experiences the same every day, right now, at this moment every night for three weeks now.

Echoing King, Zelenskyy declared: "I have a dream. ... I can say, I have a need, a need to protect our sky. I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words I have a dream.

Zelenskyy spoke one day after President Joe Biden signed into law a large spending package that included $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. At Congress's urging, Biden also ordered a U.S. ban on imports of oil and other Russian energy products on the heels of sanctions that have hobbled Russia's economy and financial institutions.

In his speech, Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for the recent aid package, but he wants Biden and other world leaders to go further, framing the war as a fight for global democracy and human rights.

"Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, the destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy," Zelenskyy said.

"Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities  it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values."

After Zelenskyys address, Biden announced that he has authorized sending Ukraine an additional $800 million in military support, including anti-air systems, shoulder-mounted anti-armor systems, machine guns and grenade launchers. The new assistance means that Biden has authorized a total of $1 billion in military aid for Kyiv just this week.

"Now, I want to be honest, this could be a long and difficult battle," Biden said at the White House, flanked by top officials from the Defense and State departments. But he said Americans would continue to stand by Ukrainians as they fight "for their freedom, their democracy, their very survival.

"We're gonna give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead," Biden said.

Zelenskyy was invited to deliver the rare war-time address to Congress by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

She introduced Zelenskyy, followed by the words "Slava Ukraini!" which means "Glory to Ukraine!" Lawmakers gave two standing ovations to Zelenskyy, at the beginning and end of his speech.

Image: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Virtually Addresses Congress On Current Russian Invasion Of Ukraine (J. Scott Applewhite / Pool via Getty Images)

Many lawmakers were moved to tears by Zelenskyys gut-wrenching video of civilians, including small children, being killed by Russian forces.

A solemn Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., spoke to reporters about his grandchildren as he emerged from the gathering. New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the No. 3 GOP leader who gave birth last year, talked to reporters about being a new mother. And Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, was crying as she left the room.

It makes me want to throw on my uniform and go help, said Ernst, who served in Kuwait during the Iraq war.

After the speech, Pelosi walked out of the room escorting Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova, who said in a brief interview with NBC News that air support will save more lives, regardless of whether that comes in the form of a NATO-enforced no-fly zone, allied nations giving planes to Ukraine or both.

Asked whether her country could survive without a no-fly zone, the ambassador replied: We will prevail and we will not surrender.

Zelenskyys speech, which was livestreamed for the public, comes at a perilous moment for Ukraine. The war, now entering its fourth week, has killed hundreds of Ukrainians and forced nearly 3 million refugees to flee to neighboring countries.

In the capital, Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko imposed a 35-hour curfew Tuesday after Russian missile strikes destroyed apartment buildings and caused deaths.

Kyiv faces a difficult and dangerous moment, Klitschko said.
WASHINGTON  Two years ago, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the central character in one of Capitol Hill's most divisive chapters: the first impeachment of Donald Trump, over charges he pressured the Ukrainian president to perform a political favor.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy will address a bipartisan throng of House and Senate lawmakers as a unifying figure. In a Congress where both parties agree on little, the Ukraine president has become a rallying figure for Democrats and Republicans as he petitions the U.S. for aid to help his undermanned force fend off a brutal Russian invasion.

As Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida put it, "the man met the moment."

Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman gushed Tuesday that Zelenskyy was "inspiring (and) one of those rare figures who can actually help direct the course of history." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, was equally effusive Monday, calling the opportunity to hear the Ukrainian leader's address to Congress "a privilege."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks

World leaders have addressed Congress many times but this will be a moment unlike any other: a foreign head of state under siege from a global military power dialing in from an undisclosed location to address lawmakers who are still working under the restrictions of a lingering pandemic.

Zelenskyy's virtual address starts at 9 a.m. and will take place not in the ornate House chamber, but at the Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium.

Only lawmakers are invited to attend and seating will be first come, first served. Members who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear a mask but those who aren't must don a face covering. Also unlike typical speeches, it will be closed to the press.

Zelenskyy played central role in Trump's first impeachment

Wednesday's address is a far cry from how many members of Congress first got to know the comic actor-turned-Ukrainian leader as a little-known personality in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment proceedings

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The impeachment focused on Trump's pressure on Zelenskyy to reopen an investigation into a Ukrainian energy company and Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter. At the time, Joe Biden had announced he would run for the White House and was seen as one of Trump's biggest threats to reelection. A July 25, 2019 call between Trump and Zelenskyy was central evidence in the investigation.

More: 'I would like you to do us a favor.' What Trump and Zelensky said in their July 25 phone call

More: Impeachment Hearing Takeaways: Trump request to Ukraine seen as a "demand"

After news leaked out about the call  which Trump called "perfect"  the president acknowledged withholding foreign aid from Ukraine but insisted he didn't use the money as leverage to demand an investigation by Kiev into Biden. Instead, Trump said he held up the money because he wanted other countries to contribute as well.

After Trump was acquitted, Zelenskyy sought to deny the former president's claims that Ukraine is corrupt and said he wanted to change the image of Ukraine.

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas accused Democrats of mishandling the U.S. relationship with Ukraine going back to the impeachment.

"I think it was a mistake when Democrats politicized our relationship with Ukraine during impeachment, Cruz told USA TODAY. "It was an even bigger mistake when the Biden White House decided to abandon Ukraine and waive sanctions on Nord Stream 2, which led directly to the Russian invasion of Ukraine."

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio in contrast said Zelenskyy "was always on the right side of issues. It was because Trump did what he did, Ukraine was less prepared than they would have been."

"Zelenskyy's always been a good leader, he's risen to the occasion like few do," Brown said.

'A leader fighting for his life'

The address marks the second time in recent weeks that Zelenskyy has taken his request for support directly to members of the U.S. Congress, making a personal appeal for aid. His last appeal led to a flurry of legislation aimed to support Ukraine, and was well received by Senators and Representatives who then pressured the Biden administration to enact a ban on Russian energy.

A foreign leader personally pleading their case in front of Congress is unusual, which Schumer underscored in a speech on the Senate floor on Monday.

More: Biden to travel to Brussels for NATO summit next week; Zelenskyy says Ukraine may never join NATO: Live updates

"It is one of the highest honors of any Congress to welcome remarks by foreign heads of state, but it is nearly unheard of in modern times that we hear from a leader fighting for his life, fighting for his countrys survival, and fighting to preserve the very idea of democracy," Schumer said.

Speaking at an event in New York City on Monday, Pelosi said that Zelenskyy requested the meeting when they spoke at the end of last week.

"He will tell us what else he probably would like," Pelosi said. "It's such a privilege to have this leader of this country, where these people are fighting for their democracy and our democracy."

Zelenskyy previously addressed more than 280 members of Congress in a private Zoom call earlier this month. The call lasted around an hour, and he thanked the senators and representatives for the sanctions already in place but asked for additional support.

In his address Wednesday, Zelenskyy is expected to renew calls for military and humanitarian assistance from the U.S. as he did in the Zoom call but it's not clear whether lawmakers can help much beyond what Biden is willing to do.

More: Oil, gold, trade: Congress is looking for options to punish Russia for invading Ukraine

Zelenskyy asked Congress for help getting Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine. At the time, Schumer said he "strongly" backed Zelenskyy's request and urged the Biden administration "to explore all feasible options to getting these fighter aircraft to Ukraine."

But the U.S. has still not provided this form of air support, or imposed a no fly zone, which Zelenskyy may repeat calls for in tomorrow's address.

Zelenskyy also addressed the British Parliament last week by video where he received a standing ovation.

Portman said that it's been helpful in passing legislation related to Ukraine to hear from Zelenskyy directly.

"I'm glad he's speaking in the joint session for the same reason," Portman told reporters on Tuesday. "I suspect he'll be appreciative and express deep appreciation for what we've done and what our taxpayers have done, but he will also be very direct about what they need now."

Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman

Likewise, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah said, "I think it's helpful to hear someone who is leading a nation at war."

"We are all thrilled he's coming," Brown said. "He's charismatic, but what really matters is the courage and the inspiration, and that's what he's been to all of us and the rest of the world."

Not all lawmakers are heaping praise, however. North Carolina GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn referred to the Ukrainian president as "a thug," and called the Ukrainian government "incredibly evil."

More: N.C. Rep. Madison Cawthorn: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a 'thug'

But that sentiment, immediately condemned by fellow Republicans, appears in the distinct minority on Capitol Hill.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Schumer stressed that Zelenskyy's personal appeal Wednesday will be received by a Congress eager to act further to support his country.

"President Zelenskyy can rest assured that he will always have friends in Congress ready to listen, to stand in his corner, and we are honored to have him speak to us," Schumer said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Zelenskyy's speech to Congress long cry from Trump impeachment scandal
WASHINGTON  U.S. lawmakers said they were deeply affected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plea for help on Wednesday as they agonized about how to do more for his country without triggering a full-scale war between the U.S. and Russia.

Everyone was really moved by the whole thing," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA and Pentagon official who chairs the House intelligence and counterterrorism subcommittee. His connection between whats going on in his country and events in American history. Obviously a video that was  I dont know that there was a dry eye in the House, Democrat or Republican.

"All of us are just trying to figure out how we do more," Slotkin told NBC News as she walked out of the room in the Capitol where Zelenskyy spoke virtually. "There's more we can do."

Slotkin said she supports Zelenskyy's call for "a steady drumbeat of economic sanctions" targeting Russia. She said the Ukrainian president's call could prompt the U.S. to provide more fighter jets and air defense to fend off the Russian onslaught.

Members of Congress give Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a standing ovation before he speaks in a virtual address to Congress in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center Congressional Auditorium on March 16, 2022. (Sarahbeth Maney / The New York Times via AP)

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who previously served in the U.S. Army Reserve and Army National Guard, said the Zelenskyy speech "makes me want to throw on my uniform and go help."

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said transfers of the S-300 missile defense systems could take place soon.

"Everything I hear from our military is that what's much more effective are other air defense systems, including the transfer of the S-300, which would be far more effective and quick. And I think we're moving forward on that," he said.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he favors sending Ukraine MiG-29 fighter jets, which the U.S. has struggled to find a way to transfer.

"S-300s are in, but we need a lot more," McCaul said.

But one move that remained off the table for many lawmakers was Zelenskyy's call for closing the skies over Ukraine  or a no-fly zone.

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"Its hard not to be moved his words. Its kind of sad because he made a request that I dont think we can honor, which is the no-fly zone," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who sits on the House Homeland Security Committee. "We shouldn't call it a no-fly zone. We should just call it World War III."

Cleaver said it's a "massive challenge" to strike the right balance between providing military assistance to Ukrainians without provoking a conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

"We're talking about a megalomaniac on the other side who could very easily decide the nukes are a way out," he said.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said it makes more sense for the West to help Ukraine close its own skies than to be the enforcers by shooting down Russian aircraft.

"I think its pretty clear that its not a good idea for NATO to be in a combat in the skies with the Russians and shooting at each other. That has the potential really becoming a World War III type scenario," he said. "But we can create safe skies by getting MiGs that are available in Poland to the folks in Ukraine to fly themselves."

Romney expressed interest in Zelenskyy's call for sanctioning members of the Russian assembly.

"I'm sure we'll keep studying more things, sanctioning more people. President Zelenskyy suggested sanctioning each member of the elected officials in Russia  probably a good idea," he said.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., also kept the door open for additional sanctions.

"He asked us to sanction the Duma  Im willing to look into that," he said. "If theyre supporting Vladimir Putin, who is a war criminal, we should look for opportunities to bring as much financial hardship and as much sanctions as we can on the Russian government."

Key House and Senate leaders were expected to receive briefings on the situation in Russia and Ukraine later on Wednesday, aides said.

Slotkin said there was some talk after Zelenskyy's address about a limited no-fly zone negotiated between Russia and Ukraine, though she cautioned that was not fully fleshed out.

Theres a lot of discussion now, even just in the hallways walking out, of what a humanitarian no-fly zone would be. So a negotiation between Russians and Ukrainians on a humanitarian corridor thats enforced by more than just the goodwill of the Russians," she said.

Slotkin said she planned to visit the White House later on Wednesday and offer her advice directly to President Joe Biden.
The Free Clinic of Central Virginia has hired a new CEO after an extensive regional search.

A news release Wednesday stated the clinic's search committee has recommended Jen Kilgore Webb, a registered nurse with a master's in nursing, to take over the helm.

Webb has served as interim CEO of the Free Clinic since the departure of former CEO Christina Delzingaro in November 2021. Webb has been an advocate for the underserved since her time working in the emergency room in Lynchburg, the release states.

She won the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics 2019 Leadership Champion in Healthcare Award for her work creating Community Access Network, which opened in 2018. Previously, Webb was a nursing executive at Centra Health, and she has spent years building key relationships in the community that make her and her experience ideal for The Free Clinic of Central Virginia, the release states.

Dr. Jim Wright, president of the board of directors of the Free Clinic of Central Virginia, said the Free Clinic has always had capable, even visionary leadership and Webb will continue that tradition.

"Her broad understanding of the needs of those we serve and her passion for meeting those needs aligns perfectly with our mission," he said.

Webb said she looks forward to working with community partners to continue to improve healthcare.

"The Free Clinic is a unique part of the history of downtown Lynchburg," she said in the release. "My vision of its future is consistent with its past: meeting people where they are and helping them reach their goals in health and life. It is very important to me that everyone understand the significance of the Free Clinic to our community. The work we do here changes lives."

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Wintergreen Fire and EMS now plans to evaluate its distributors in an attempt to favor U.S. companies, the departments chief announced.

Each year, Wintergreen Fire and Rescue purchases over one million dollars worth of supplies. This year, due to capital purchases the amount will exceed two million, Chief Curtis Sheets wrote in a Feb. 27 Facebook post.

In the past, Wintergreen has opted for the lowest-priced vendors without paying close attention to manufacturers, he continued.

Given the unspeakable events unfolding in Ukraine, we want to do our part to support democracy, Sheets wrote.

The letter then outlined three phases for changing department spending.

In phase 1, effective immediately, Wintergreen will scrutinize its purchases to ensure the department isnt supporting Russian companies.

We believe this will have little impact on our operation, as we arent aware of our consumption of any Russian products, the letter reads.

In phase 2, Wintergreen will require vendors of products sourced from China provide a cost estimate for the same product from an alternative source.

We recognize this will cause us to pay more for many of our products. We are aware that many of our products come from Chinese held corporations.

Phase 3 calls for Wintergreen to be quoted an option from an American company for every product.

We are a small department and we may not be able to afford the domestic option. Nonetheless, we aspire to make more informed decisions moving forward.

In an interview, Sheets acknowledged the post was the first time Wintergreen Fire and Rescue had made any kind of public political statement.

To me, it was just so commonsense, Sheets said, adding, I think anybody, whether theyre right, left, or center can look at whats happening in Ukraine and say, Thats wrong.

He said he wanted to be certain his department wasnt purchasing goods from Russia. Sheets said he didnt expect an evaluation to reveal any purchases from Russia and confirmed Wintergreen is not currently making any purchases from Russian companies.

Before we never would have even asked, just  were busy, we need something, we find it, we buy it. We look around for a good price, we buy it. Weve never paid very close attention, he said.

Sheets said on March 9 hed been preparing to purchase a product and after noting it was produced in China asked the distributor if there was another option. He said his department then evaluated a Mexican product made with a higher-grade material.

The alternative design turned out to not fit his departments needs, but Sheets said the consideration was a step in the right direction: Again it was a conversation that we had that weve never had before. Its helping us make more informed decisions.

He added Wintergreen now is looking for a domestic alternative to products it purchases.

We are a small nonprofit. In the grand scheme of things we are a very small company. And so we can oftentimes not afford the American-made product. But the point is we had gotten lazy and we werent searching for it, and now we are, Sheets said, adding hes received positive feedback from staff on the policy update and has not had anyone tell him they arent in favor.

Sheets said he doesnt expect to see the department exclusively buy domestic products in his lifetime.

I know we cant afford it. But that does not mean that we cant do better about investigating our purchasing decisions. For every T-shirt that we buy from, say, Vietnam, were we overlooking a vendor in South Texas that could have sold us the same shirt but for 50 cents more? Because I would pay 50 cents more, he said.

I dont know what the magic number is. Everything we do has to fit within our annual budget, but where we can make little tweaks here and there to establish relationships domestically, I think that we all need to do that.

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BEDFORD  Three felony charges against a Roanoke man accused of second-degree murder in connection with a shooting death at a Bedford County restaurant will proceed to the April term of the grand jury, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Shamanique Peter Mickle, 44, also faces one count each of use of a firearm in commission of murder and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Mickle appeared Wednesday before Bedford County General District Court Judge Randy Krantz and waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

James Sipos, 49, of Huddleston, was killed in a Jan. 1 incident at Lagos Pizza in Moneta involving Mickle, the Bedford County Sheriffs Office has said.

An earlier incident at the restaurant off Virginia 122 led to Clinton Ray Minter, 28, getting charged with robbing Mickle by using physical force resulting in serious injury, a news release from the sheriffs office said. About two and a half hours later, Mickle returned to the restaurant and became engaged in the incident where Sipos was killed.

The Bedford County Sheriffs Office has released no other details in the matter.

Krantz certified the three charges to the grand jury, which does not determine guilt or innocence but rather if probable cause exists to go to trial. Mickle remains in custody pending further court proceedings.

Minter, of Moneta, has a preliminary hearing on the felony robbery charge May 16 in Bedford County General District Court, online court records show.

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A magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck off Japan's Pacific coast on Wednesday night has left at least three people dead and more than 190 injured. Its impact on transportation and the lives of locals continues.

The nighttime quake jolted people awake across much of eastern Japan. It registered an upper 6 on Japan's seismic scale of zero to 7.

Waves of up to 30 centimeters were reported at Ishinomaki Port in Miyagi Prefecture.

Hundreds of people living along the coasts of Fukushima and Miyagi evacuated to shelters.

The quake triggered blackouts that affected more than 2 million households and disrupted train services. It also caused fires and structural damage, including cracks in a famous statue of a samurai leader in central Miyagi.

East Japan Railway says the quake caused a bullet train to derail between Fukushima and Shiroishizao stations. None of the 75 passengers and three crewmembers were injured.

Maintenance workers checked the tracks on Thursday and confirmed distortions.

Many train services in the Tohoku region are still suspended, leaving passengers stranded.

A man said, "We're wondering if there's any way we will be able to get back to Tokyo today."

A woman said, "I could go by car, but I'm worried about getting back home."

The Tokyo Electric Power Company reported no major problems or abnormalities at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

At the Fukushima Daini plant, the utility says water pumps in spent fuel storage pools temporarily stopped working. But there was no change in radiation levels.
On a call with reporters, Iowas Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said the U.S. should do all we can to help (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and his people short of getting the United States into a third world war.

Zelenskyy spoke to Congress on Wednesday, asking the U.S. for air support to protect the skies in Ukraine as Russia has continued to bomb cities and civilian targets.

When asked about what he specifically thought would thread the needle between providing help and escalating the war, Grassley cited Ukrainian humanitarian and military aid to the tune of nearly $14 billion approved by Congress last week. President Joe Biden announced about $800 million in new aid to Ukraine on Wednesday.

Grassley didnt say whether he supported specific military measures like a no-fly zone.

Now, if thats not enough money, its pretty easy for us to appropriate more money, he told reporters. All you have to see is that video, you know, any American sees that video that we saw in the middle of the speech would just say how terrible Putin is and how stupid he is and how egomaniac he is and he may be sick and maybe all the above.

In his speech, Zelenskyy called for a humanitarian no-fly zone, which would allow for evacuation corridors and food and medical supplies to be brought into besieged cities. According to national media reports, the no-fly zone has not garnered wide support in the Biden administration and from members of Congress. The Biden administration has cited concerns that it could inflame tensions and escalate into a global war.

Grassley, who is not on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he wasnt qualified to make decisions about specific weaponry to send.

Now, you know if you want me to say we need this weapon or that weapon, Im not qualified to make those decisions, he said. But, I think that we ought to be doing everything we can short of anything that brings about World War Three, and with it the possibility of a nuclear holocaust.

Iowas junior Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Twitter implored the Biden administration to allow Poland to fly in MiG fighter jets to Ukraine to defend its air space.

The Biden administration pulled out of the deal for concerns it would escalate into a global conflict with Russia.

Ernst, who commended Zelenskyy as a fearless leader, called on Biden to send a signal to Putin that the United States is behind Ukraine by immediately providing Ukrainians with the lethal aid they urgently need.

Pres. Zelenskyy is showing strength in the face of Putins war of aggression against his sovereign nation, Ernst tweeted. America stands with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom. Pres. Biden, send the MiGs.
DES MOINES  A key state lawmaker has called for a moratorium on the use of eminent domain by companies proposing to build pipelines across Iowa.

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who chairs the House State Government Committee, made his proposal Wednesday, saying he wanted to protect landowners until the Legislature is back in session next year.

The committee adopted his amendment to prohibit the Iowa Utilities Board from granting eminent domain before March 1, 2023, at which time the moratorium would be repealed.

Pipeline companies could not seek the exercise of eminent domain during that time.

Democrats said they understood landowners concerns, but voted against his proposal because Kaufmann was hijacking Senate File 2022, a bill regulating cosmetology and barbering, to address an unrelated issue. They were joined by one Republican.

Kaufmann defended his approach, saying Iowans, especially the landowners who are in the pathway of proposed pipelines, dont care about the process. They want results.

The reason for us doing this today is because landowners who are potentially impacted want certainty, Kaufmann said.

I am not anti-pipeline and not trying to interfere with negotiations between landowners and pipelines, he said. But the moratorium would give landowners a year to go on without the threat of eminent domain over their heads.

Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City, referencing her familys Century Farm, said she understood Kaufmanns passion, which is why it is so important to follow process.

Since being elected in 2012, Kaufmann has made reining in the use of eminent domain one of his priorities. Eminent domain is the right of a government or its agency to take private property for public use with payment.

GRASSLEY SUPPORT

House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, signaled his support for Kaufmanns proposal.

We also want (landowners) to know that the Legislature is watching this process, he told Radio Iowa. We would just want to give them some certainty that if eminent domain were ever to be on the table moving forward, the Legislature would be in session and be able to weigh in and try to avoid a situation where there could be mass condemnation.

He doesnt want to the Legislature to change the rules but let landowners and the pipeline companies know that the Legislature just stands prepared to act if needed. We hope it doesnt come to that.

A Senate bill on eminent domain hasnt advanced, but Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny, said his members are concerned about eminent domain in general  and will continue to watch these close to make sure that landowners are protected.

Concerns about the possible use of eminent domain have increased over the past year as three companies have proposed building underground pipelines across Iowa.

Many landowners on the pipelines proposed routes have decried the projects at informational meetings around the state since November. They have raised concerns about eminent domain, pipeline safety and whether the companies should get tax credits for projects that may make money for the owners but not help Iowans or the environment.

The Iowa Utilities Board has to approve the pipeline projects, including the potential step of using eminent domain to force the sale of easements to the companies.

KAUFMANN SWITCH

The call for a moratorium is a bit of a reversal for Kaufmann, who describes himself as pro-landowner. In January, he announced that after careful consideration, he decided it wasnt the time to change state law governing when property may be seized for pipelines.

Rushing eminent domain changes through the Legislature this year, he said then, would send the wrong message to businesses and to the landowners whove already signed easements for carbon pipelines and landowners still considering contracts.

That was after he said he was trying to craft a bill to require companies to get the support of at least 70% of landowners in a pipelines path before asking state to allow the use of eminent domain.

PROPOSED PIPELINES

ADM has signed a letter of intent to build a 350-mile pipeline to transport liquefied CO2 from ethanol and cogeneration facilities in Cedar Rapids and Clinton to ADMs already-operational sequestration site in Decatur, Ill.

Navigator, a Texas company, is proposing a 1,300-mile pipeline that would pass through 36 Iowa counties, including Linn, Benton, Cedar, Delaware and Iowa, capturing carbon dioxide at ethanol and fertilizer plants. The gas would be put under pressure, turned into liquid and piped to a site in south-central Illinois  near the ADM site.

Summit Carbon Solutions, which is planning a 2,000-mile pipeline through Iowa to North Dakota, said it has worked in partnership with landowners to sign easements on more than 100 miles of the proposed route in Iowa.

Additionally, Summit said it is finalizing agreements that include an additional 70 miles of the proposed route in the state.
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The husband-and-wife acting powerhouse couple Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon recently listed their four-bedroom, 6,873-square-foot contemporary-style house in Bucktown for $3.99 million. - Original Credit: Cook County Assessor (Cook County Assessor / HANDOUT)

The husband-and-wife acting powerhouse couple Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon recently listed their four-bedroom, 6,873-square-foot contemporary-style house in Bucktown for $3.99 million.

An actor, playwright and screenwriter and an alumnus of Chicagos Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Letts, 56, won both a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his 2007 play, August: Osage County. Coon, 41, is a veteran of Chicagos stage scene, and has appeared on TV and film as well. She most recently starred in the movie Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

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Through an opaque land trust, Letts paid $3 million in 2009 for the modernist house in Bucktown, which sits on a triangular property. Built in 2003, the house has four full bathrooms, two half-bathrooms, two fireplaces, an attached three-car garage and has more than 100 feet of street frontage.

Via text message, Coon told Elite Street that, Tracy and I are committed Chicagoans who are temporarily relocating to New York for work.

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The couple recently placed the Bucktown home on the market through the real estate agents private listing network. Listing agent Kristie Edwards declined to comment to Elite Street on the listing.

The house had a $39,070 property tax bill in the 2020 tax year.

Goldsborough is a freelance writer.

Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news.
Hexcel Corporation is expanding its manufacturing site in the Midparc Free Trade Zone in Casablanca to meet increased demand from aerospace customers for lightweight advanced composites.

A ground-breaking ceremony for the extension was held Tuesday in presence of minister of Industry & Trade Ryad Mezzour, Hexcel top managers and customers.

The expansion is expected to be completed in early 2023. The plant size will double to 24,000 square meters and employment will increase from 120 to 400 people.

The Casablanca facility was built as part of Hexcels worldwide investment to create a diversified and robust global supply chain to support aerospace customers growing demand for engineered core.

At the plant, Hexcel transforms lightweight honeycomb materials into engineered core parts to reinforce structures in the aerospace industry, particularly for aircraft, engine nacelles, and helicopter blades.

Moroccan Industry minister said: Hexcels decision to strengthen its presence at Midparc reflects the resilience, competitiveness and worldwide reputation of the Moroccan aerospace platform.

We continue to support this project not only to help meet the growing demand for composite products but also to create more job opportunities for our youth and to further strengthen Moroccos competitiveness through advanced technology and a decarbonized, circular industrial base, added the minister.

Thierry Merlot, Hexcel President  Aerospace for Europe, MEA/AP & Industrial, said, We are pleased to celebrate this milestone with our customers and with the local community. The increased demand for lightweight, aerodynamic, advanced composites is growing, and our customers including Safran, Airbus, Airbus Atlantic, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have shown confidence in our ability to meet that demand.

He also praised the support of the Moroccan state and the skilled workforce, which have been real assets and drivers of the new investment in Hexcel site in Casablanca.

The ground-breaking of the extension of the Hexcel plant marks the strong recovery of the aerospace sector in Morocco after the downturn caused by COVID-19. It also reflects a renewed confidence by Hexcel, a leader in advanced composite materials, in Morocco.
The U.S. Congress has included again the Sahara into its aid program to Morocco in a move that translates the US administrations recognition of the North African countrys sovereignty over the whole of its territory.

The report accompanying the U.S. spending bill, signed into law Tuesday by President Joe Biden, after it was passed last week by Congress, renews U.S. assistance to the Moroccan Sahara.

The report accompanying this law also reaffirms, in a clear manner, the constancy of Washingtons position in support of the process conducted under the auspices of the United Nations for a compromise political solution to the regional dispute over the Sahara.

The document notes, in this connection, the importance of complying with the parameters of the Security Council resolutions that enshrine the pre-eminence of the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a credible, serious and realistic solution to this conflict.

This same position has been reaffirmed in the joint statement issued at the end of the Morocco-US Strategic Dialogue, held in Rabat on March 8, 2022, under the co-chairmanship of Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman.

This years legislation was again a resounding failure for the Kingdoms opponents, who tried in vain to introduce amendments trying to set a distinction between Morocco and its Sahara or to call into question the U.S. consulate in Dakhla. None of these ill-intentioned attempts were successful.

The new U.S. spending bill thus reaffirms the U.S. recognition of Moroccos full sovereignty over all of its territory, including its Southern Provinces.
Software company Ares Prism has moved its global headquarters from Californias Silicon Valley to Naperville's MetroWest building, officials announced Tuesday. (Rafael Guerrero / Naperville Sun)

Software company Ares Prism has moved its global headquarters from Californias Silicon Valley to Naperville, officials announced Tuesday.

The company moved to the 10th floor of the MetroWest building, 55 Shuman Blvd., along the Interstate 88 corridor last month. In addition to 15 employees currently manning the Naperville office, the firm plans to hire another 15, officials said.

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The move came as a result of Naperville resident Ryan Kubacki partnering with growth equity firm M33 Growth to purchase Ares Prism in November.

We are excited to establish Naperville as our official headquarters, Kubacki said in a news release. There is a great talent pool here in the Silicon Prairie area, and Naperville is a convenient, central hub for our teams across North America.

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Marketing communications manager McKinzie Brocail said along with Kubackis Naperville ties, the MetroWest headquarters is an ideal location because of its access to local airports and Midwest site.

Its a good central location because we do have offices in California, offices in Houston, on the East Coast and global, too, Brocail said. Chicago is an easy location for anyone to fly to.

Ares Prism has about 60 employees in eight locations worldwide, including offices in the U.K., Canada, Australia and South Africa.

According to the company, its software suite is primarily used for major capital projects around the world to manage project/program costs and budgets in the mining, construction, oil/gas, infrastructure and energy industries.

Its client list includes or has included NASA, the London Underground mass transit system, Waste Management, Westinghouse and others.

Our community is honored to welcome Ares Prisms new global headquarters, Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said in the announcement.

We are proud that a company on the cutting edge of their industry finds common ground in Naperville, a leading-edge community. As mayor, it is even more heartwarming that a Naperville native is leading Ares Prisms move to Naperville.

Brocail said the Burlingame, California, location is not closing but will no longer serve as the companys HQ.

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The Naperville location currently consists of upper management positions. Kubacki has hired seven Chicago-area residents in the past two months, including fellow Naperville resident Kurt Kauper as chief revenue officer and Chris Anello as vice president of finance.

The 15 additional jobs theyll be filling locally are in sales, marketing and software engineering, Brocail said.

raguerrero@tribpub.com
A coalition of human rights NGOs have renewed their condemnation of the continued use of children as child soldiers by the Polisario and urged Algeria to stop turning a blind eye and assume its responsibility with regards to the human rights violations affecting children under the separatist militias in Tindouf.

This came during an international conference, organized by Africa Culture International NGO, on the sidelines of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, which brought together rights activists from different rights watchdogs including ACERWC, the Sahara Observatory for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (OSPDH), Africa Watch, CIDH, AIPECT and LSDDH.

The Polisario insists on recruiting children aged 12 and 13 as soldiers, said the coalition in a statement, adding that the Polisario shocked the international community by forcing children to take part in a military parade recently.

Mothers, who kept anonymity for fear of Polisario retribution, reached out to rescue their children urging pressure from the internationally community to halt the violation of childrens vital rights in the Polisario-run camps, in full sight of Algerian authorities.

Multiple calls have been made by international rights NGOs calling on Algeria to ensure full respect of childrens rights within its territories including the Tindouf camps, notably after a series of articles and videos have been released recently- whose authenticity was confirmed by the UN and the European Parliament- showing the shocking scale of the exploitation of children as soldiers by the Polisario.

The conference also showed shocking data including the fact that 20% of fighters within the Polisairo separatists ranks were younger than 16 years old.

The participants pointed to multiple publications and investigations on the violation of childrens rights by the Polisairo, citing in particular an investigation into the recruitment of children by Spanish media Tribuna Libre in 2020, which unveiled how children of Sahrawis held against their will in the camps are separated from their parents and sent to Cuba to undergo indoctrination and military training.

Algeria has not reacted so far to the blatant violations of childrens rights by its Polisario proxies deplored the right NGOs, which urged the immediate release of all children who have been forced to be in military uniform.

They called for criminalizing all parties or states that sponsor or arm the Polisario for its involvement in child recruitment.

They also urged the international community to put pressure on Algeria to put an end to ordeal of the children it has forsaken to the mercy of the brutal militia and called on the international community to end this ordeal and bring psychological support to these children.
Several North Platte City Council members expressed angst Tuesday over their choices for renewing the citys health and accident insurance.

The main issue: The lower of two bidders is based overseas.

The council, which reviewed the situation at a nonvoting Wednesday work session, voted 7-0 to accept Tokio Marine HCCs proposal under the citys self-insured structure for 2022-23.

The other proposal came from Western & Southern Financial Group, which has its home office in Cincinnati. Tokio Marine, part of Japans Mitsubishi conglomerate, has its main U.S. office in Houston.

Council members said Tokio Marines proposal promised to save the city about $110,000 in health insurance costs.

But Councilman Ed Rieker abstained from the vote, saying he couldnt reconcile his need to protect taxpayers with his distaste for sending any of their money out of the country.

From a strictly financial sense, it makes total sense to approve Tokio Marines coverage, he said. But Im not sure Im able to make a decision that really reflects what I believe.

Council members Mark Woods and Donna Tryon said they also prefer keeping city business as local as possible but leaned toward saving tax money this time.

Tokio Marines proposed costs were 15% to 20% below Western & Southerns proposal, Woods said. The cost savings are so significant.

The council agreed 8-0 to a motion charging Mayor Brandon Kelliher with forming a committee to review city health costs and coverage over the next year.

Where the citys health insurance administrator comes from isnt the only issue, Councilman Ty Lucas said in proposing the review committee.

He noted that city employees now can choose only single or family coverage. They ought to have options for plus-one coverage for a parent and child, paying nothing for coinsurance or making use of a health savings account.

Combined city and employee health costs still run higher than those of Nebraska cities of similar size, Lucas added.

City Administrator Matthew Kibbon said a review committee makes sense. But he added that city staff looked into the issues with providing the insurance options Lucas mentioned.

HSA coverage can be problematic for self-insured employers like North Platte, because it tends to drive up rates for employees who dont use them, he said.

Council members Tuesday also approved the citys 2021-22 one- and six-year road program, which features repaving projects across North Platte and the widening of North Lakeview Boulevard from West A to Front streets.

Western Engineering Inc. crews should start laying fresh asphalt next week on a long stretch of West Front, said City Engineer Brent Burklund.

In other business, the council:

 Ratified Kellihers appointments of Randy Billingsley and Greg Wilke to complete unexpired terms on the North Platte Airport Authority and the Community Redevelopment Authority respectively.

Both will finish the terms of new state Sen. Mike Jacobson, who chaired both boards before his Feb. 23 appointment to finish Mike Groenes second and last District 42 term.

Billingsley will serve on the Airport Authority board until 2025. Wilke, a former Planning Commission chairman, will serve on the CRA until June unless reappointed by Kelliher.

 Gave final approval to an ordinance establishing a street improvement district for next years rebuilding of South Jeffers Street from First to Leota streets. Jeffers there doubles as U.S. Highway 83s southbound lanes.

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As we sink under the deluge of Pillen and Herbster ads, at least a couple of sizable questions are inescapable. One, why are these two who seek the GOP gubernatorial nomination so intent on scaring Republican primary voters about immigration? Two, will the demagoguery on this non-issue be rewarded by voters?

Even a cursory glance at a map confirms Nebraskas geographical position hundreds of miles removed from any national border. The most minimal familiarity with the Constitution of the United States and concepts of federalism confirms the federal governments sole authority to determine and enforce immigration laws. And candidates scaremongering on this issue can only be interpreted to mean that the Biden administrations purported failures related to immigration are not being adequately redressed by Nebraskas current governor, something Pete Ricketts would surely dispute vigorously.

What, pray tell, do these two seeking to be our next state chief executive think they are going to do: build a big, beautiful wall circling our states borders? How will the gates at the ends of Interstate 80 and I-76 work, and will there be a tunnel for the water flowing through the canal to be built to bring South Platte River water into Nebraska?

The absurdity of what these candidates assert is as laughable as the cartoonlike posturing dominating their ads, but the pervasiveness of the sloganeering suggests that there must be something legitimate about it. There isnt. State governments have zero authority to legislate or enforce national immigration law. Even the most authoritarian governor has no role based in law on issues of immigration. Any wisdom that could be gleaned from experiences of governors whose states are near a national border has no application to Nebraska, firmly ensconced midcountry.

Well, there is crime, right? Wrong. In a study of crimes committed in 2018 in Texas, the only state that maintains immigration status records of those who are arrested, the illegal immigrant conviction rate was 782 per 100,000 illegal immigrants, 535 per 100,000 legal immigrants, and 1,422 per 100,000 native-born Americans. Illegal immigrants had a conviction rate 45% less than native-born citizens, and legal immigrants conviction rate was about one-third of that of native-born citizens. Other studies on the topic widely confirm the conclusion: Native-born Americans commit crimes at much higher rates than either legal or illegal immigrants.

Here in Nebraska, we are experiencing historically low unemployment rates. Employers simply cannot find enough people to do the work that is here to be done now. The same conditions exist regionally and, to varying degrees, across our country. And our national birth rate is insufficient to replenish the labor supply.

In the three decades plus of my legal practice, I have had the pleasure of representing scores of immigrants. In my 56 years plus of life, I have been blessed to know hundreds of immigrants, including my paternal grandmother. Generally speaking, my experience is that immigrants are as hardworking, family loving, law abiding, taxpaying and American dreaming as we who had the good fortune to be born in this country.

So just who are these immigrants that we are supposed to be so afraid of? Where are the facts that support the assertion that this is a problem in Nebraska? Or is it just that many immigrants do not speak, look and worship the way we do? Herbsters and Pillens insistence that immigrants are some sort of boogeymen to be feared, persecuted and deported is as erroneous as it is offensive.

We need workers. Immigration must be part of the solution. But elected federal office holders have refused, for decades and across Republican and Democrat administrations alike, to seriously address immigration policy. In the meantime, candidates  even for offices that have nothing to do with immigration, like governorships  disingenuously raise immigration as some sinister proposition, a scare-tactic point of divisiveness, only driving deeper the wedge of deceit on this issue that cries out for thoughtful resolution.

What if voters quit rewarding candidates who defame immigrants and use the issue only to seek political advantage? What progress might be made if Republican primary voters reject Pillen and Herbster and instead select Brett Lindstrom? What will it say about Republican primary voters if they dont?
Princess Charlene has returned to Monaco to be with her husband Prince Albert and her children as her health improves, the royal palace has said.

Charlene, who married Prince Albert in 2011, has been absent from the principality for months due to a mystery health battle, including what the palace has previously referred to as a "state of profound general fatigue".

Princess Charlene has returnd to Monaco amid ongoing health issues. Photo: Getty

"The next few weeks should allow for Princess Charlene to further strengthen Her health, before gradually resuming Her official duties and commitments," the palace said in a statement issued on Saturday.

The royal's health battles have taken her away from the media spotlight and her royal duties for some time and have been the subject of speculation since she reportedly came down with an ear, nose, and throat infection while visiting South Africa.

Back in November, a source told Page Six the Princess' health complications - which left her stranded in South Africa for 10 months - had been "downplayed" by the royals and that she had "almost died" due to a severe ear, nose and throat infection that flared up after surgery.

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She returned briefly to Monaco afterwards, looking emaciatedonly to be sent to a Swiss clinic to be treated for exhaustion, both emotional and physical.

She was stuck in South Africa for months following complications from an ENT infection. Photo: Instagram

The Monaco palace has consistently denied media reports of a rift between Charlene and Prince Albert.

Albert told People that leaving Monaco late last year was her decision.

"She wanted this. She already knew the best thing to do was to go and have a rest and have a real medically framed treatment, he said.

Charlene was born in Zimbabwe. She later moved to South Africa and swam for the country at the 2000 Olympic Games.

Story continues

Additional reporting by Reuters.

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Brian Cox Sort of Regrets Calling Johnny Depp an Overrated Actor: I Was Being Harsh https://t.co/ajq3gysbJV  Variety (@Variety) March 15, 2022

As ONTD may already know (if they read the post, that is), Succession's Brian Cox released his memoir last year where he came for everyone he has ever worked or interacted with One of those folks was the Pirates of the Caribbean actor. What he previously said:Personable though Im sure he is, is so overblown, so overrated. I mean, Edward Scissorhands. Lets face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you dont have to do anything. And he didnt. And subsequently, hes done even less.Now L-to-the-O-G actor said he "sort of regrets" calling him overrated when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live.I just thought I was being a bit harsh, Cox told Kimmel about criticizing D*pp in his memoir. You know what its like, you go for the easy joke. And I went for the easy joke. That was what happened, and I sort of regretted it. Because Im not like that normally; I was just being a bit glib, a bit flip.Jimmy also asked Brian if he thinks actors, in general, think they're overrated.I think they do. I think a lot of times actors think theyre overrated, and some think theyre underrated, he said. Lets put it this way: Most of them think theyre not rated at all.
200 staff are now hostages, where theyre toiling round the clock at gunpoint, exhausted, hungry and want to go home, and (!!) theyre starting to defy their Russian captors



Wishing the best for the workers at Chernobyl. I hope they stay safe and that their Russian captors are exhausted and sick of being in Ukraine and then surrender.

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I hope theres plenty of mental health services available to people being held captive right now (ofc there should be such services for everyone but this is a different level of trauma)

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Ive been waiting for this post! Thank you op for all the thought into this everyday <3



Reading about the women heading back into the country to help brings me to tears. The dedication to their country is something so .. indescribable. The courage these individuals have. May any and all higher powers look after them, and all the other families stuck in the hands of war around the world.

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During a city council meeting last night our resident qanon freak was repeating the bioweapon lie, said Ukrainians wanted Russia to free them for their corrupt govt, said no one is involved but the government (what about the civilians???), and she knows this bc her storage unit owner is Ukrainian and her mom is a putin fan. Said everyone needed to wake up and talk to real Russians and Ukrainians



She wont take the vaccine tho bc Covid isnt real and wont talk to a real doctor  interesting

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Hopefully evolution takes care of her 

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She wasnt showing up for a while and I was really hoping she got got by Covid



Edited at 2022-03-16 01:54 am (UTC)

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She should go to the battle front lines and fight for Ukraine's "liberation", if she's that concerned about it. I'll pay for her flight.

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i hope she doesn't think hospitals are real either

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Please tell her that one real Russian here thinks she needs help

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she knows this bc her storage unit owner is Ukrainian



I'm sorry but lmaoooooo



Edited at 2022-03-16 08:56 am (UTC)

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My partners parents have started to go down this route. Well I say started but it's been going on since covid started. His dad had to be put on oxygen due to covid and yet he's still not vaccinated and is going to work. And now we can't believe anything media says about this invasion because they're all lying 

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I don't know how these people get into this state. Brainwashing, I know, but it's like... How?

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my street has started putting blue and yellow ribbons around their trees. its not much, but its solidarity so its making me happy.

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Salem MA is flying a Ukrainian flag in their circle of flags in the center of town. It's not much...but yeah, I know exactly how you feel.

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One of the Catholic schools by me wrapped all their trees in blue and yellow. I thought it was a nice gesture.

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Psaki addressing the sanctions today had me rolling Thats president Bidens dad may he rest in peace



Jake tapper saying no president trump administration members on the sanction list



Im surprised Putin went ahead of this with an economy collapsing and thought people wouldnt mock it?



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Jake tapper saying no president trump administration members on the sanction list



lol that was so funny like damn, could they BE more obvious?



No members of the Trump admin, but like, Hillary Clinton who hasn't held public office in like 8 years is? ok.

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Lends some credit to the rumors that Putin is terrified of her I wonder why lol



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I hope the US Congress is better behaved that our individual state senators. Imagine having your country under siege and you still have to tell some idiot from Florida to mute his mike.

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House of Reps is, by its nature, full of more cooks than the Senate so, my hopes are not high.

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We have "Zelensky is a thug" Madison Cawthorne, remember.

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God I hope Boebert, Cawthorn, etc have no way to actually talk back to him.

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Wait what happened I must Google this embarrassment

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Zelensky had to ask Rick Scott to mute himself on Zoom.

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I don't really comment on these posts (it's hard to think of what to say) but I do read them every day and I just wanted to thank the OP for their hard work putting them together.

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Agreed. I have had... just so much going on, both good and bad, but it's a really overwhelming time in general. These posts are literally the main way I'm keeping up. Brilliantly boiled down, well sourced and with more info in the comments. Cannot overstate how helpful I'm finding these, tho I rarely add anything.

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Just said this in the last one, but my fucking weird obsessive brain has just latched into, like, NEEDING to learn to read Russian. Like right this instant. So Im obsessively trying to understand Cyrillic letters and the sounds they make at this point.



This is so stupid. Whhyyyyy. Im not going to singlehandedly make any difference on Russian language online propaganda in the 3 years it would take me to get a very basic knowledge of the language (and thats if I stick with it long enough to learn anything).

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I want to learn it too. I worked in an industry where quite a few co-workers interacted with Russians so took classes. I also want an excuse to get these beautiful blocks https://unclegoose.com/collections/languages/products/uncle-goose-russian-blocks They have Ukrainian ones as well

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oh wow, those are all so pretty

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Learning to Cyrillic and by extension Russian is pretty easy. Its phonetic and every letter has a specific sound and everything sounds just like it looks ( with a few exceptions). The hard part is the grammar and learning the declension: cases, endings and gender. Side note fuck you genitive case - I hate you! 

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learning any language is never a waste of time!

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SAME. like even if i can't understand it, i want to at least read it as tweets pop up. i added Ukrainian to my duolingo list of languages i'm trying to learn.

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I thought I was the only one. I chalked it up to my anxiety. When there's a seemingly insurmountable problem, my brain fixates on inane things. Like, oh, Russia is about to start WWIII. Let's learn Russian, that'll help.

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So is the no-fly zone a good idea or no? I am ignorant

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No fly zone = official war with Russia



So no, it's not.

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Only answer

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No fly requires NATO to actually enforce it. So theyd be in Ukraine shooting Russian jets out of the sky. NATO is fully capable of crushing the Russian Air Force, the problem is the outright war with Russia gets everyone closer to nuclear war and NATO has always been really, really careful not to go there.

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It's not a good idea because someone has to be up there enforcing the no-fly zone. That's going to be NATO planes enforcing against Russian planes. The Russian planes will not respond to being asked nicely to stop bombing a city or to turn around and go home. So NATO planes will have to fire on Russian planes and that's the moment it becomes an actual war between NATO and Russia. That then gives Putin justification to attack countries near their borders or Ukraine's borders like Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania.

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so the problem is if nato goes in now, countries like china will point and go, "see! nato interventionalism! putin was right to be concerned!" to keep the world largely united against russia and to keep china and its ilk on the sidelines, nato needs to wait for an unequivocal article 5 provocation. unfortunately, thousands of ukrainians will probably die before putin finally pokes nato and draws them in.

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It should be at least over the humanitarian corridors but Russia is really trying to take the conflict on an higher level so... :c

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I can't stop laughing at the fact that Putin put sanctions on Biden and a whole bunch of other cabinet members and white house staffers.

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lol like, i'm sure Biden and all the cabinet members and White House staffers are just heart broken about it. oh no whatever shall they do if they cannot do business in russia

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what I imagine the response to these "sanctions" was:





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The Hunter Biden sanction ha.



The obsession right wing assholes have with that man.



I know Ive told this story before here but my father-in-law was bitching earlier this year about researchers who spent time investigating who betrayed Anne Frankss family. He was like why dont they spend time investing things that matter  LIKE HUNTER BIDEN!! And I legit had to hide my laughing. When your head is so far up your conservative ass you think WW2 era researchers should be repurposed to investigating Hunter Biden and all the cracked out sex hes had with prostitutes.

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I lol'd out loud when I saw Hillary Clinton's response and said she thanked the Russians for this Lifetime Achievement Award. Has anyone else commented on it?

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I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award. https://t.co/4og9S3OCEp  Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 15, 2022 

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Did anyone happen to listen to The Daily today? They did an interview with the photographer that took that picture of the mother and her two children. It was a nice interview about the balance of respecting the dead yet wanting to show the world the reality of what was happening.

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I heard part of her story on NPR. I was a little weirded out about how very NPR she sounded while recounting something so horrific.

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Yes! The Daily has been one of my favourite sources of information lately.

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I know these posts don't have as many comments but I still check in with each one. Thank you for putting these together.

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My mom's Ukrainian, but grew up in a part of Poland that was right on the Poland/Ukraine border so the boundaries kept shifting. She grew up in a Soviet occupied Poland before coming to the US in the early 80s. I was talking with her Sunday and she was like "I'm feeling stressed about all of this and having a hard time sleeping." I just feel so bad for her and so many other countless people who grew up in Soviet occupied countries because this must be causing so many trauma reminders for them.

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My mom is much further removed than yours (her grandparents came here) but shes half Polish and half Ukrainian and its stressing her out too. Im hoping the weather gets better soon because she loves gardeningI hope your mom can find some happiness soon, too.

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I hope your mom can find ways to at least take her mind off it for a little while so she can get some rest. sending her all the good vibes!

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I have some good news. A friend of a friend that was stuck in a basement in Mariupol with her 2 kids is alive! And her kids are alive! They all have a bad upper respiratory infection, but are traveling to western Ukraine and are alive!



I shared their story here a few days ago, and i used some of the responses I got here when talking to my friend about it the next day to support her. So, thank you!

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I'm so glad they were able to get out of Mariupol and hopefully will recovery from their respiratory infections soon.

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Im so glad!!!! Thats great. Im happy for your friend.

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So glad they could make out of Mariupol. All kinds of good vibes to them.

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Yay, I'm so glad. I hope they get all the medical and psychological support they need.

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I'm so glad she and her children are alive. Your friend must've been so relieved when they found out 

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I'm happy to hear that! I hope they continue to stay safe and that they'll receive all the medical attention they need <3

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OMG this is wonderful news! I'm not a big 'prayer' person, but I have been hoping they stay and make it through all this. I'm glad that we were able to give your friend a little bit of comfort in all of this, too.

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Part of me can't help but wonder how far Putin will take this. He's too far up top to be affected in the short run.

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As it has for the past several years, Naperville ranks as the best city to raise a family and the city with the best public schools in America, according to Niche's 2022 Best Places to Live. (H. Rick Bamman / Naperville Sun)

Blame old man winter and the cost of living for dragging down Napervilles grades in Niches 2022 list Best Places to Live released this week.

Naperville ranked third behind No. 1 The Woodlands, Texas, in Niche.coms Best City to Live in America.

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Where Naperville continually outranks the Houston suburb is the categories of best city to raise a family and the city with the best public schools in America. Naperville is No. 1 again in both, and The Woodlands trails at No. 2 for raising a family and No. 6 for its schools.

Naperville also ranks third behind No. 2 The Woodlands in Niches 2022 Best Cities to Buy a House in America.

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Naperville scored a No. 19 spot in two categories dominated by West Coast cities: Healthiest Cities in America and Healthiest Places to live in America.

Of the top 20, Naperville was the only Midwest city, though 15 of the healthiest are located in California, Washington and Hawaii.

Like The Woodlands, Naperville earned an A+ grade overall and for its public schools and being a good location for families.

Where the cities differ is with weather and the cost of living.

The Woodlands received a B+ grade for weather and B- for its cost of living, whereas Naperville earned a C+ and C, respectively.

Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows temperatures in The Woodlands in January, the coldest month of the year, average 63 degrees for a high and 41 degrees for the low. The average high in August, the hottest month, is 96 degrees, with a low of 74.

In Naperville, NOAA reports January also is the coldest month with temperatures averaging 31 degrees for a high and 13 for a low. But July is the hottest, with an average high of 84 degrees and average low of 62 degrees.

Niche has produced its annual rankings for eight consecutive years by analyzing 228 cities and 18,515 towns and neighborhoods based on data from the U.S. Census, FBI, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention combined with millions of resident reviews. The company said it also considers such factors as affordability, local housing market, neighborhood diversity, area public schools and walkability.

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Millions of people each year use the ranking, according to Niche, when making key life decisions, such as where to live and where to go to school.

Whether our users are young professionals, parents with young kids or retirees, Niches Best Places to Live rankings serve as an excellent starting point for considering a move, Luke Skurman, CEO and founder of Niche, said in a news release.

The pandemic triggered a new set of possibilities  suddenly, many individuals and families found themselves more mobile than ever before, and in the past two years they have continued to think hard about where they really want to live, Skurman said.

Families wondering about an areas school district, a major part of many relocation decisions, can also use our comprehensive school profiles and rankings to get a sense of what their childs future school might be like, he said.

subaker@tribpub.com
He said, Great. But you know, Im not sure that this is going to be my future,  Lauren recalled... I said, What do you mean by that? And he said, Well, you know, I just dont know if this is the path. Is this a company thats going to be all White?  Whats the story with this company? 

Essentially, Jeter wanted to know: Who are we?

When he said that to me, I was sort of surprised and I said, James, there is a future here for you,  Lauren said.

I know how the other women whove graduated from Spelman, the other men who graduated from Morehouse, all of the people who have attended an HBCU, theres so much reverence and respect for the Ralph Lauren brand, Dara Douglas, who oversees the Ralph Lauren library and is a Spelman graduate, said. For us to see this culture and see this community turn the gaze back to them and show them themselves  its going to be tremendous. Its overwhelming.



Spelman President Mary Schmidt Campbell agreed to this collaboration, in part, because the project drew on archival imagery from the school and was a kind of contemporary version of a series of photographs of Black men and women at home, at school and at work commissioned by W.E.B. Dubois at the beginning of the 20th century. By sharing the early history of Spelman, as reflected in archival research, through clothing, the collection encourages conversations about the creative power of the Black experience.

Third from left, Thea Johnson, from the Spelman Class of 1984; model Franciele Santos; Kasmere Trice, from the Class of 2015; and Joyya Baines, from the Class of 2013, pose in looks from the new Ralph Lauren collection.







RJ Jackson, a Morehouse student from the Class of 2025, poses in attire from the new Ralph Lauren collection.





Spelman student Mykel-Michele Longino, from the Class of 2022, left, with models Franciele Santos and Aaliyah Hydes.







Morehouse psychology professor David Wall Rice, who also graduated in the Class of 1995, in a look from the collection.











Robin Givhan of the Washington Post penned a column about the collection and the complicated politics and history behind behind the fashion of black education, which you can read at the source . Op is indebted to Ms. Givhan for her excerpts used throughout the post and included a few more below:

[Morehouse College and Spelman College] are two of the historically Black colleges and universities that educated Black students during segregation and continue to do so today as predominantly White institutions typically treat Black history as a niche subject to be discussed in the safety of a singular department rather than a discipline intrinsic to the American story. The story of Blackness is a part of our collective history that can cause discomfort and because of that is especially under assault these days.



I knew nothing about it, said [Ralph] Lauren, including the aesthetics of HBCUs, the Divine Nine Black fraternities and sororities, and the Black collegiate experience.James... brought in these books, because he went to Morehouse, and said, This exists. He felt that the world has always thought Ivy League [style] was only White people. This exists; the college exists; the taste levels existed. And we looked through some books and he showed me the school and I said, This is beautiful. I love it. 



It would be tempting to call these looks Ivy League style. But thats only because those who had the power to codify elements of American achievement didnt account for Black students. Princeton and Harvard preceded Morehouse in existence, but what was worn on the campuses up North in the 1950s, when they became defined by sack suits, Oxford shirts and rep-stripe ties, was also worn on the campus of Morehouse, which was founded in 1867.



Spelman students circa 1946-1947.



Personal presentation has always been part of the story at Morehouse and Spelman, which has focused on classic liberal arts education rather than vocational training. The students dressed to express personal dignity, as a statement of academic intent and as an ode to respectability before that word implied a certain political surrender. The collaboration with Ralph Lauren centers Morehouse in the American story. You look at those pictures and you can see the connection to the same fashion sensibilities that have defined Ralph Lauren. They were at Morehouse before Ralph Lauren was even born, said Morehouse President David Thomas. If we really think about Morehouse in the period of those pictures, if we hadnt had racial discrimination, many of those young men could have gone to the best colleges in this country. Many could have ended up at Ivy League colleges.





Morehouse alumnus Martin Luther King, Jr. (front row, third from left) listens to a lecture.

Titledthe collaboration seeks to explore the legacy and style of Morehouse and Spelman Colleges. Composed of some 100 items, the collection includes the crested jackets favored by Morehouse men, the signature Spelman white cotton attire, and the varsity jackets and crew neck sweaters that are staples of the broad college vernacular. The collection is spearheaded by James Jeter, one of the New York-based companys design directors, who has spent the entirety of his professional career at the brand, starting when he was a stylish, Black teenager obsessed with the companys aesthetic and working on the sales floor at a Rugby Ralph Lauren shop in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington. Jeter climbed the corporate ladder from intern to design associate to a lead designer. He is also a Morehouse man from the Class of 2013.In the midst of 2020's racial justice protests sweeping across the country, at a time when the populace was profoundly divided, Ralph Lauren's 23,000 employees gathered in groups virtually for conversations that were intended to be open and honest about the tumult around them and the questions that it raised. In one, the founder asked James Jeter a simple question: How are you doing?We didnt sort of design this collection through the lens of HBCUs to say this is sort of the Black way of dressing, said Jeter. Its really American style. We only changed the context and not really the clothing.The clothes in this licensing agreement with the two schools were mostly photographed on students, graduates and faculty  against the backdrop of the two campuses, which neighbor each other in Atlanta. The collection was inspired by images from the schools archives of students dating back to the 1920s as they gathered on the yard, in a classroom or on the playing field. The collection's ad campaign was shot by Nadine Ijewere, and is the first Polo Ralph Lauren collection to feature not only HBCU alumni overseeing the development of the collection, but also to feature exclusively black talent both in front and behind the lens.Its a fact not lost on Ijewere. For me, the significance of this campaign is that we are the ones telling our stories, the London-born photographer says. We are the ones that are in control of the image that gets put out there and what were trying to say, what were trying to highlight. ONTD readers can see more photos at the source links.The release of the collection will be accompanied by a short documentary titledreleasing on March 28th, at 7:30PM EST (4:30PM PST) on Ralph Lauren's website. It is described as a thesis about the inception of historically Black colleges and universities and the philosophies of living that they entrench within their students and American culture.Its so much more than a portrayal of a collegiate design sensibility, Ralph Lauren said Tuesday. Its about sharing a more complete and authentic portrait of American style and of the American dreamensuring stories of Black life and experiences are embedded in the inspiration and aspiration of our brand.The collection drops in-stores and online worldwide on March 29th.
Good for you, op.

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Lmao truly!! I figured at least 1 person on here would watch it but apparently not (or maybe its the 4 people who liked this post)

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For a forum who was rules about it, plenty of people don't want to be the first/only commenter. They will come!

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Finally! I loved this show! When the nephew was like oh right in the olden days and the rich uncle was like olden days? It was the 80s, calm down. I died a little because I felt that lol

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Had to delete the extra time this comment posted because my phone is dumb

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love this show. hope it being renewed adds a little bit of curiosity and i see more people watch it.

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Sounds interesting but tired of eugenio derbez 

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Hes only in about 10% of every episode Id say, maybe even less. So dont let that stop you from giving it a try 

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I love it too. Ironically my Mexican BF doesnt enjoy it but he is a old soul only re-watching what he already knows for the 100th time anyway

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My husband and I binged this on New Year's Eve, it was a really cute & fun show. Plus I love the aesthetics of the sets.

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I couldnt get past episode 2

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Serious Violations at Greensboro US Postal Service Facility After Amputation Injury

OSHA found that many machine safe guards had been removed at the USPS distribution center.

There isnt any employee that leaves for their shift thinking they will return with an injury. Unfortunately, thats what happened on September 27, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina when an employee came into contact with a machine that had its safety guard removed at a USPS distribution facility, leading to the amputation of their arm.

Following the tragic incident, OSHA conducted an inspection at the USPS facility, which operates as Greensboro Network Distribution Center. The inspection identified repeat and serious safety violations, including failure to ensure that safety guards were in place and allowing conveyor guards to be routinely removed, leaving workers at risk of injuries.

OSHA also found, according to a press release, that the facility had failed to ensure that employees were being trained on working near conveyors or proper methods for safely operating equipment using lockout/tagout safety measures. Additionally, the facility allowed unqualified workersworkers without adequate training and protective equipmentto perform tests on live electrical equipment.

OSHA issued two series and two repeat citations which totaled $170,918 in penalties.

The U.S. Postal Service ignored long-established safety standards and put workers at risk, said OSHA Area Director Kimberley Morton in Raleigh, North Carolina in a press release. The USPS has an obligation to eliminate hazards to ensure safe working conditions and prevent another worker from suffering a tragic and life-altering injury.
The U.S. shale patch is on the verge of a new boom in mergers and acquisitions, in which companies that have expanded with recent deals are expected to continue growing via acquisitions of scale to build acreage and take advantage of the high oil prices, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing interviews with a dozen sources in the industry.

Industry analysts and sources expect companies like Continental Resources, Pioneer Natural Resources, Diamondback Energy, Devon Energy, and EQT Corporation to continue making deals, emerging as the mini-majors of the U.S. shale patch, after European supermajors such as Shell divested their shale assets.

Devon Energy, for example, has approached ExxonMobil twice with offers to buy the supermajors assets in the Bakken, two sources told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. One of Devons offers was earlier this year and valued Exxons acreage at over $6 billion, according to Reuters sources.

Last week, reports emerged that confusion over asset valuation as oil prices are on their wildest ride in history over Russias invasion of Ukraine had put some deals in the U.S. shale patch on hold. Some companies in the shale patch had been marketing acreage in the Permian and Eagle Ford basins, but sale processes were paused amid the oil price rally of the past weeks, according to sources who have spoken to Bloomberg.

Not all potential deals are being paused. Earlier this month, Whiting Petroleum Corporation and Oasis Petroleum said they had entered into an agreement to combine in a merger of equals transaction, which will result in a company with an enterprise value of around $6 billion.

Upstream M&A deal flow could hit the highest in years in 2022 if commodity prices hold steady, Wood Mackenzie analysts said in their 2022 outlook of the global upstream published in January.

Companies ability to finance and execute acquisitions improved immeasurably through the course of 2021  we can see this clearly in the increasing number of larger cash asset deals. If commodity prices remain elevated, the ability to execute transactions will only increase through 2022, the authors of the outlook said.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Australia unveiled on Wednesday a new support scheme for its domestic rare earths mining and supply chain industry as the U.S. ally looks to reduce global dependence on China for the minerals critical to technology manufacturing and the energy transition.

Australias government said it would allocate US$180 million (AUS$250 million) in the 2022-2023 budget to support the growth of Australias critical minerals sector and create a domestic supply chain of secure and stable rare earth metals supply. The federal government also announced over US$175 million (AUS$243 million) in support for four projectsan integrated nickel manganese cobalt battery material refinery hub, a project to process high-grade vanadium, a first of its kind rare earth separation plant in Australia, and a high purity alumina production facility.

According to Roskill, a Wood Mackenzie commodity research business, China accounted for 54 percent of global rare earth elements mining in 2021 and for a massive 85 percent of refined REE supply in the world.

The geographic concentration of rare earth mining and refined production has long raised concerns over the potential for supply disruption and the wide-ranging end-use markets they serve, Wood Macs analyst Ross Embleton and David Merriman, Manager, Battery & Electric Vehicle Materials, said in October 2021.

Commenting on the new Australian initiative, Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said: Australia is lucky to have some of the largest reserves of the critical minerals and metals which drive the modern global economy. But China currently dominates around 70 to 80 per cent of global critical minerals production and continues to consolidate its hold over these supply chains. This initiative is designed to address that dominance.

These investments align with the governments commitment to securing our sovereign manufacturing capability, unlocking a new generation of high wage, high skill, high tech jobs by expanding into downstream processing, and will embed Australia in global supply chains for technology ranging from mobile phones to fighter jets, Keith Pitt, Minister for Resources and Water, said in Australias 2022 Critical Minerals Strategy.

Australias goal is to become a critical minerals powerhouse by 2030, under its strategy, thanks to its high geological potential for a range of minerals, including critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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The Chernobyl nuclear facility could be close to a new nuclear accident as Ukrainian personnel at the plant are held hostages by Russian troops and are running out of food and fuel, the mayor of a nearby town which houses workers at the plant has told Daily Mail.

The mayor of Slavutych, Yuri Fomichev, warned that there could be a complete catastrophe at the Chernobyl plant, the site of the 1986 disaster, as workers are stressed out by being held at gunpoint and are running out of supplies and fuel, including fuel for emergency generators supplying back-up control for the safety systems.

Nearly 100 workers at Chernobyl have been held hostage by the Russians for weeks, after Russian soldiers took them hostage on the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Chernobyl is located in the northernmost part of Ukraine, close to the border with Belarus.

The decommissioned Chernobyl power plant has 20 tons of nuclear waste that must be constantly cooled to prevent radiation from leaking.

If the cooling systems stop, even for a while, we will get yet another Fukushima, Fomichev told Daily Mail via text messages.

The mayor of Slavutych is pleading for a humanitarian corridor to rotate and supply the people keeping the facility safe.

The some 200 Ukrainian workers keeping the abandoned nuclear plant safe are ill-fed, stressed and desperate for relief, The Wall Street Journal reported in a featured article on Tuesday.

Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday that the Chernobyl plant had been re-connected to the national electricity grid and no longer relied on emergency diesel generators for power, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The facility lost power last Wednesday, March 9, and had to rely on diesel fuel for backup electricity.

The sites 211 technical personnel and guards have not been able to rotate since the day before the Russian forces entered the area, in effect living there for the past three weeks. Director General Grossi said they were working under enormous stress without the necessary rest. The regulator said there was no information whether and when a shift change would be possible, the IAEA said on Tuesday.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Rallying energy commodity prices are expected to drive up primary energy expenditures globally to a record 13 percent of world gross domestic product (GDP), comparable to the energy cost levels in the 1979-80 energy crisis, research consultancy for energy technologies Thunder Said Energy said in a report on Wednesday.

The expected record 13-percent energy expenditure would be three times the average level of 4 percent between 1900 and 2020, and 1.3 times the 2018 levels, the consultancy noted.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, primary energy expenditures have averaged 4 percent of global GDP, rising to 8 percent after the first oil shock, 13 percent after the second oil shock, 10 percent in 2008, and 8-10 percent in 2013-2015, when prices were high.

Source: Thunder Said Energy

The estimate of a record energy expenditure as part of global GDP assumes prices of $250-$300 per ton of coal, $125-$150 per barrel of crude oil, and $40-45/mcf price of global natural gas, Thunder Said Energy noted.

"So this is not an 'oil shock' or a 'gas shock' but an 'everything shock'," Rob West, Analyst & CEO at Thunder Said Energy, wrote in the report.

Crude oil, natural gas, and coal prices had rallied even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the war premium sent earlier this month prices of coal and natural gas to all-time highs, while crude oil prices hit a 2008 high last week of above $130 per barrel.

"Curtailing demand is the only short-term option to alleviate shortages," West said, adding that "There are no good options here, only 'less bad' ones."

Thunder Said Energy, like many other analysts and industry officials, shares the concerns about underinvestment in conventional energy in recent years, especially in light of the fact that fossil fuels still provide around 83 percent of total energy demand globally.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Saudi Arabias new personal data protection law would discourage foreign investment in the worlds top crude exporter which looks to diversify from oil with tech and digital hubs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said in letter seen by Bloomberg.

In September 2021, Saudi Arabia published a draft of its Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) which is set to come into force later in March 2022.

The current draft of the law prohibits the transfer of personal data outside Saudi Arabia, while companies not complying with this provision face criminal sanctions, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

There are several aspects of this law that pose not only significant problems for the private sector but will be significant barriers to helping the Kingdom achieve its goal to become a digital hub, Americas biggest business lobby group said in the letter seen by Bloomberg.

It will have a major impact on the cost and ability to do business in the Kingdom, the group warns.

Discouraging investments is one of the last things Saudi Arabia and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, want after several years of a charm offensive to attract investments in the financial and technological sectors and make Saudi Arabia a business hub, not just a port of origin for a large part of the worlds global crude trade. Mohammed bin Salman has been looking for years to make Saudi Arabia more like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but foreign firms havent really flocked to the Kingdom.

Last year, Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), unveiled one of its latest project to attract tourists to the country by offering epic adventures in a park, THE RIG, inspired by offshore oil platforms.

Last autumn, the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said that tax disputes with foreign companies could discourage investments in Saudi Arabia, as multinational enterprises have experienced tax issues exhibiting a lack of transparency, consistency and due process compared to what they have come to expect from other nations, according to a letter of the embassy cited by Bloomberg.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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China urges U.S. to take concrete actions to ease situation in Ukraine

Xinhua) 08:09, March 16, 2022

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday urged the United States to make tangible efforts to ease the situation in Ukraine.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a question on recent allegations reportedly made by an unnamed U.S. official on relations between Russia and China with regard to the Ukraine crisis.

According to media reports, the official said the U.S. government has notified NATO and certain Asian allies that Russia has requested military and economic assistance from China, and that China agreed but would deny it publicly.

Noting that Russia has denied asking China for military assistance, Zhao said that the United States creates and spreads disinformation from time to time, and such actions are unprofessional, unethical and irresponsible.

"Their practices will only cause the United States to be further discredited in the world," he said.

The United States should deeply reflect on the role it has played in the development of the Ukraine crisis and make tangible efforts to ease the situation in Ukraine, Zhao added.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
"Language is a part of culture. And if you want to master a foreign language, singing is an effective way," said Zo Rasendra, co-director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Antananarivo.

"We observe that young Malagasy people have singing potential," Rasendra told Xinhua last Saturday on the sidelines of the finals of the inaugural Chinese singing contest, "The most beautiful voice of Madagascar," in the capital, Antananarivo.

The contest, co-organized by the Confucius Institute of the University of Antananarivo, the Confucius Institute of the University of Toamasina and the Ecole de la Francophonie, was aimed to encourage young people to learn Chinese.

About 100 competitors participated, 24 of them advancing to the semifinals.

Andriantsiferana Rutha Esther, one of the 10 finalists, won the first place in the competition.

"Happy! I'm overjoyed!" said the second-year student at the University of Antananarivo's Confucius Institute, who also has a Chinese name, Xu Tianyu.

Esther said she looks forward to traveling to China to compete in the "Learn Chinese by Singing" World Contest.

"This is also my initial objective in studying Chinese. To participate in international contests at the top level (in China)," she said.

Malagasy songs were also featured at the finals. Zhang Shanyi, who uses Lina GPE as her stage name, was invited to sing a song in the local language she wrote by herself.

Zhang's is another example of the role played by singing in learning a language and immersing in a culture.

"My father and mother are both Chinese. We live in Madagascar," she said. "I only learned Malagasy two years ago. I adore Malagasy music and vocalists, as well as the culture here."
A Fremont woman has been sentenced to 18 months probation after pleading no contest to felony animal cruelty.

Janelle C. Winners, 24, had faced up to three years in prison and could have been banned from owning another pet for 15 years. Dodge County District Judge Geoffrey Hall did not restrict her ownership of pets in his sentencing order.

Fremont Police Officer Kelli Brown rescued a young Lab mix named Maya from Winners home on Sept. 11 after receiving a complaint about a dog in poor condition. Brown said the dog was a bag of bones when carried from the apartment, where she had been left in a dog kennel for weeks.

It was the worst case of animal abuse Brown said she had ever seen in a long career that includes not only the police department but also 18 years with the Nebraska Humane Society. Instead of having Maya euthanized because she was in such poor health, Brown and her supervisors decided to try to save her.

Only a year old, Maya had been locked in her kennel and rarely fed, Brown said. Brown rushed the dog to Urgent Pet Care in Omaha. After 10 days at the urgent care clinic, the Nebraska Humane Society stepped up to provide further care.

Six months later, Maya has been adopted and is enjoying her new home.

Shes honestly one of the happiest dogs Ive ever met, said Emily Cheloha, a veterinary assistant who adopted Maya. You would never guess she came from where she did. Shes loving life and just the happiest dog ever.

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One participant grabbed the shooters long gun by the barrel. Another, his shoulders.

A third wrapped his arms around the gunmans legs, restraining him in place. The fourth pretended to bash his head in with a plastic trashcan lid.

Had a real shooting occurred at the Jewish Community Center of Omahas Staenberg Kooper Fellman Campus on Tuesday, the mood in the room  packed with more than 85 souls  would have differed markedly.

But the simulation  a session led by the FBIs Omaha field office that catered to local faith communities  was greeted with nervous laughter and unease.

Participants spent a day learning how to report hate crimes and threats. When confronted with active shooters, they were instructed to run, hide or fight.

Although unfortunately common, the public must not become jaded to acts of violence, said Gene Kowel, special agent in charge.

People should not have to live in fear  when they go to their sanctuary, when they go to pray, when they go somewhere for religious comfort  that they might be targeted, he said. We want to do everything we can to prepare congregations.

The training for congregations, specifically, was the first of its kind in the Omaha metro area, but was not precipitated by a single incident. It had been suggested some time ago, Kowel said.

During one session, Special Agent Andrew Crawford offered tips on how to apply a tourniquet to bleeding arms and legs.

If they have a head wound, where do you put the tourniquet? he asked.

The audience chuckled.

Please dont put it around their neck, Crawford said.

He noted that tourniquets should be applied only to extremities.

Julie Vidlak of Omaha volunteered for a demonstration.

In real life you want to tighten it a lot more, she said as her small-group partner twisted the bright-orange band around her arm.

Vidlak said she is not accustomed to talking about how to respond to shootings.

Its just something you never want to have happen, she said.

Hate crimes, particularly those targeting religious minorities, have risen nationally in recent years.

The FBI recorded 976 offenses in 2020 that were motivated by bias against Jewish people. That represents a 38% increase from 2016.

In the Jewish community, this is not so out of sight. These shootings are things we see in the news, said Rabbi Steven Abraham of Beth El Synagogue in Omaha. Its unfortunate, I think, on so many levels.

Demetrius Watson, pastor at New Fellowship Christian Church, a Pentecostal congregation, said that much like providing spiritual sustenance to parishioners, faith leaders must also consider their physical well-being.

Do I feel safer? he asked, following the training.

Watson paused.

I feel prepared.
LOS ANGELES  No one mentioned the party affiliation of U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry on Wednesday as a judge questioned prospective jurors on their ability to be fair to the nine-term Republican congressman from Nebraska.

But the elephant in the room, so to speak, eventually bared its head.

Juror No. 24 walked up to the microphone where jurors were answering such basic questions as whether they ever had committed a crime or been a victim of one, ever served on a jury and whether they had any political biases.

The property manager from Ohio said he didnt have any animus specifically toward Republicans or Democrats.

Just politicians, the middle-aged White man said. Theyre hard to trust. Youve got the one party  and youve got the spineless party on the other side. ... They spend their whole careers not telling the truth.

He paused, then turned toward Fortenberry, seated next to his attorneys on the right side of the courtroom.

No offense, the juror said, nodding at the congressman.

And so it went Wednesday, as the purportedly streamlined jury-selection process  with a judge, not attorneys, asking questions  nonetheless ground into the tedium that accompanies virtually every jury selection.

By days end, attorneys were scrambling to strike those they didnt want and seat the jury. The trial likely will go into the middle of next week. Opening statements are expected Thursday morning.

Such jury selection isnt so much a selection as it is an elimination.

Attorneys on both sides winnow down the pool of more than 50 potential jurors until they come up with 12 jurors and a couple of alternates who they dont think will ruin their chances.

Though his party wasnt identified to prospective jurors, the Nebraska Republican stands accused of lying to FBI agents and trying to conceal the fact that Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury donated $30,000 to his campaign at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles.

The defense argues that Fortenberry was set up by a 10-minute phone call from an informant  that he didnt know about Chagourys donation and that he didnt try to conceal anything.

Fortenberrys lead attorney, John Littrell, had requested that the entire case be moved to Nebraska, primarily because he feared that Fortenberry wouldnt get a fair jury in the predominantly Democratic state of California.

U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr., however, kept the trial in California, noting that the fundraiser that was the source of the felony allegations was held in Los Angeles.

Though he kept the case in California, the judge promised to ferret out anyone who couldnt put aside political biases and decide the case on its merit.

The biggest difference between this California jury and a Nebraska jury wasnt necessarily ideology. It was demography. While Nebraska juries are typically 90% White, just five of the 12 jurors in this case are White. Ultimately, Fortenberrys fate will be decided by a jury of three men and nine women  a mix of Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander and White jurors.

Regardless of demographics, most prospective jurors said they didnt view life through a political lens. A couple of jurors even said they would need definitions of political parties and political terms, just like legal jargon.

The political queries produced plenty of discussion.

Juror No. 21, a Latino business owner who deals in rebuilt truck chassis, declined to say which party he couldnt stand. I lean to one side, but I dont want to disclose that, he said.

When Blumenfeld tried to drill down to his concern, the man hemmed and hawed and eventually said that they ask for your money but never do what they say theyre going to.

Pressed further, he finally blurted his nemesis: Democrats.

Juror No. 29 had a different take. A middle-aged Black woman, she cut to the chase.

Republicans  I dont like them, she said, because of the recent voter suppression efforts in states across the country.

Blumenfeld: Would you have a problem if, say, you were told the defendant was a Democrat?

Maybe, but especially if he was a Republican. I specifically do have a problem with the Republican Party. Sorry, I am who I am.

Juror 31, an Asian-American engineer, revealed his leanings in a different way. I will try hard to check my conscious bias.

Whats your bias? the judge asked.

The juror told the judge he used to watch a certain cable TV station.

I dont necessarily do Fox (News) anymore, so you can guess ... my bias, the juror said.

The one who stole the show had nothing to do with politics.

Juror 19, a 20-something from Calabasas who sells appliances for use on Hollywood sets, disclosed, as required, all the brushes with the law she or her family had had. A sister was arrested for stealing from a Nordstrom. The juror said she was the victim of a hit-and-run.

And as she pushed her blond hair back over her ears, she said she might have gotten a minor-in-possession charge when she was 16.

How do you not know? Blumenfeld asked gently.

I just smoked a lot of weed when I was younger, she said with a breathless laugh. So I dont remember. The past is in the past. Were good.

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The Douglas County Board of Health on Wednesday voted to formally oppose a proposal before the Omaha City Council that would strip decision-making powers from the city health director in the event of an epidemic.

Under the proposed ordinance, the city health director would have the power only to certify the presence of an epidemic. After a threat is recognized, a newly established special epidemic health director would be responsible for coming up with a plan to manage it.

The county health director, according to the resolution, has the public health knowledge, expertise and experience to make and carry out actions in an epidemic. Neither a special epidemic health director, the mayor nor the City Council is chosen or elected based on their public health expertise, the resolution states.

The proposed ordinance would negatively impact the health and well-being of the public during such times of duress as an epidemic or pandemic, when swift and non-political decision-making is necessary to protect the lives of Omahas citizens, the resolution reads.

Multiple non-elected officials make decisions impacting these citizens on a daily basis, without interference. To now interfere in the City Health Director roles codified, delegated authority can only be construed as being politically influenced, rather than being driven by the long-term public health needs of the community.

The proposed city ordinance states that the special epidemic director would assume the powers previously held by the citys health director during an epidemic. However, any order from the new epidemic director could be rejected by the mayor. The City Council also would have the ability to weigh in on the order.

Under the ordinance, the newly created special epidemic health director position would be filled by the physician medical director for the Omaha Fire Department.

Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, who requested the ordinance along with Councilman Vinny Palermo, told The World-Herald that the measure is intended to provide accountability during future epidemics.

Nearly two months ago, Douglas County Health Director Lindsay Huse issued a mask mandate for Omaha amid a surge of COVID-19 infections. Huse issued the mandate under her authority as the citys health director. She cited an astronomical spike in cases and an already overburdened health care system as her justification for the mandate.

More than a half-dozen local infectious diseases experts spoke Wednesday in support of the health boards resolution and in support of keeping epidemic authority in the hands of the county health director. All spoke on their own behalf rather than on behalf of their institutions. But all have been involved in caring for COVID-19 patients or providing advice on the pandemic response.

Dr. Renuga Vivekanandan, chief of infectious disease at CHI Health and Creighton University, said the pandemic has shown the importance of having a public health expert leading the response.

Its really important for them to do that job, she said, noting that COVID is not over, and parts of Asia and Europe are seeing a new surge. Weve just got to keep doing the right thing in a coming surge, she said.

Dr. Maureen Tierney, assistant dean for public health and clinical research at Creightons School of Medicine, said the ability to manage an epidemic or pandemic comes from years of training in public health and epidemiology, training the fire departments medical director would not necessarily have.

The health director deals with a variety of epidemics, not just COVID-19, including annual influenza, norovirus and sexually transmitted diseases.

If you dont act quickly when you have a new epidemic, the number of additional people who can be affected can go up markedly, said Tierney, who also represented the Nebraska Infectious Diseases Society.

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A Douglas County judge on Wednesday released an 18-year-old Millard West senior on his own recognizance after hearing the details of the deadly shooting of the young mans best friend.

Blake W. Miller has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the Saturday night shooting death of 18-year-old Tanner Farrell, a Ralston High School senior. Miller was booked into the Douglas County Jail on Tuesday afternoon.

Millers attorney, William Bianco, told Douglas County Judge Marcela Keim that he and Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine had talked about the conditions of Millers release before Wednesdays court hearing. Kleine had agreed to letting Miller out of jail, Bianco said.

Kleine has said Miller, who was drinking beer with two friends at his house, pulled out his .22-caliber rifle and pointed it at Farrell. Miller pulled the trigger, thinking it was unloaded, and shot Farrell in the chest, Kleine said.

Millers parents were not home, he said.

It just shows you what can happen when somebody who doesnt apparently know what theyre doing is handling a firearm in an inappropriate manner, and we see the results, Kleine said Tuesday.

Kleine said the manslaughter charge indicates that Miller unintentionally killed Farrell as he committed an unlawful act, which was pointing the gun at another person.

Bianco said Wednesday that Miller wanted to finish up at Millard West this spring and attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the fall. He is working on a farm to raise money for his college tuition, Bianco said.

If convicted of the manslaughter charge, Miller faces up to 20 years in prison.

Farrells parents, Tiffany and Jason Farrell, said in a statement Tuesday that their son and Miller have been best friends for years.

We are deeply saddened by the news that (the manslaughter charge has) been filed, they said. We love Blake as one of our own. We want Blake and his family to know we are here and in support of them all.

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A man was critically injured after being struck by a vehicle in downtown Omaha Tuesday evening.

Robin L. Tucker, 60, was crossing South 25th Street from east to west when he was struck by a Jeep that was making a left turn from Dodge Street onto 25th.

Police say that Tucker was not in a crosswalk at the time of the collision and that speed and impairment are not considered to be factors in the incident.

Tucker was transported to Nebraska Medical Center. A status update was not immediately available Tuesday night.
You are here: China

China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration has issued a regulation that aims to strengthen supervision on electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes).

The country will implement license management for e-cigarette production, wholesale and retail entities starting from May 1, according to the regulation.

In recent years, due to regulatory gaps, the e-cigarette industry has seen disorderly development, with some products reporting problems such as unclear nicotine content, unknown additives and tobacco tar leakage, the document said.

According to the regulation, sales channel management on e-cigarettes will be carried out, while an e-cigarette trading management platform will be established to standardize sales.

Efforts will be made to regulate e-cigarettes in terms of product safety and quality, as well as transportation, import and export, said the regulation.

E-cigarette sales outlets must not be set up near schools, and flavored e-cigarettes will be banned, it said.
LINCOLN  A bill that would require Gov. Pete Ricketts to apply for $120 million of federal rent and utility assistance money cleared another hurdle in the Legislature.

Legislative Bill 1073 passed the second of three rounds of debate Wednesday afternoon without any discussion. Lawmakers squeezed the bill into their agenda during the second day of budget discussions.

The bill needs to get through one more round of debate before it goes to Ricketts desk, where it could be vetoed. Ricketts has repeatedly said he is not interested in seeking the money, arguing that Nebraska doesnt need it.

Ricketts noted in a column last week that Nebraska still has about $30 million of unused federal funding from the first round of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

Nebraska is not a welfare state, Ricketts said in the column. Its not who we are. But if we take these funds, it will be.

Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers of Lincoln said he is committed to getting the bill through the legislative process in time to meet a March 30 federal deadline if senators ultimately pass the bill. That includes time to debate a potential veto override, he said.

Ricketts office has not commented on whether the governor would veto the legislation.

LB 1073 still had a fair amount of naysayers in Wednesdays voice vote, but they were clearly outnumbered by the bills supporters. The bill passed its first round of debate last week in a 29-7 vote.

Opponents of the bill previously argued that the federal assistance would hurt Nebraska taxpayers. Supporters argued the opposite. State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha said last week that the money would help taxpayers because the state would accrue interest, and could just return the funding that wasnt allocated by the 2025 deadline.

This is a no-brainer, Vargas said.

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Nebraska Lt. Gov. Mike Foley on Tuesday endorsed Falls City businessman and cattle rancher Charles W. Herbster to succeed Gov. Pete Ricketts, revealing a divide between Foley and Ricketts, who have served alongside one another for most of a decade.

Foley ran for governor in 2014 and was chosen as Ricketts running mate after Ricketts won the primary and lost his first pick for lieutenant governor to a family scandal. Before his current role, Foley was the state auditor of public accounts and had served as a state senator. Hes currently running to reclaim his seat as auditor.

Foley officially declared his support for Herbster at a press conference Tuesday afternoon in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Lincoln.

He said running for governor and serving as lieutenant governor have allowed him to get to know people across the state and hear their concerns. He called Herbster a bold thinker who understands the machinery of state government is very, very complicated. He said Herbster asks intelligent questions and wants to learn.

Foley repeatedly emphasized that Herbster is anti-abortion, a core issue for Foley.

Im going to endorse Charles W. Herbster for the office of governor, and Im going to work very, very hard on the campaign trail with him, when time permits, to get out there and try to rally conservative voters, particularly pro-life voters, he said.

Ricketts has endorsed Herbsters chief opponent in the primary race, Jim Pillen, a University of Nebraska regent and livestock producer. When former President Donald Trump endorsed Herbster last year, Ricketts said he strongly disagreed that Herbster was qualified for the job.

Among his objections, Ricketts knocked Herbster for headquartering one of his businesses, Conklin Company Inc., in Missouri rather than Nebraska. He repeated that critique at a press conference earlier Tuesday.

Reporters questioned Ricketts about his splitting with Foley on both the governors race and the U.S. House race in the states 1st Congressional District, where Foley is supporting embattled Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. Ricketts supports State Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk.

The lieutenant governor and I have both been around politics for a long time. Im disappointed with some of his choices, Ricketts said. I think, for example, the choice of Herbster is a poor choice.

Ricketts brought up Herbsters history of not paying his property taxes on time. A KMTV investigation last year found that Herbster and his businesses have paid property taxes late nearly 600 times. Herbster told KMTV that he chose to pay late to offset cash flow issues and keep paying his employees.

Ricketts brought up an example from 2014 when Herbster was late on his property taxes while donating a hefty sum to then-gubernatorial candidate Beau McCoy.

Everybody knows Charles Herbsters rich and hes got the money to pay his property taxes, Ricketts said. He shouldnt try to make this seem like it was some sort of noble mission. He should just pay his property taxes. This is just typical politician stuff, when you say one thing and do another.

On basing Conklin in Missouri, Ricketts said, he wont be able to attract companies here by doing that.

I think its poor judgment to support Charles Herbster, but the lieutenant governor and I will disagree on topics from time to time and were both going to continue to work together in the best interest of the state of Nebraska.

Pillen preempted Foleys announcement Tuesday with a press release suggesting the endorsement came after Foley was spurned by the Pillen campaign.

Its disappointing, but not surprising, that Mike Foley is endorsing Charles Herbster, Pillen said in the release. He was pretty unhappy when I turned down his request to be my lieutenant governor. Herbster has always thrown his money around to buy political influence and favor. Nebraskans know what they want in a governor, and it is not backroom politics.

Foley and Pillen met last July, the campaign said, providing a photo of what the campaign said is a handout Foley used to make arguments about how many votes he could bring in as Pillens running mate.

Foley said Pillen had approached him and that Pillen did not turn him down.

Will he be Herbsters running mate? Foley didnt rule out the possibility.

Thats a conversation for another day, he said. He hopes to be auditor, he said, and to have a good relationship with the governor.

Asked about the current governors disappointment in his choice to endorse Herbster, Foley said people pushing back strongly indicates that they understand the seriousness of this endorsement. Im flattered by that.

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LINCOLN  Lincoln student Alex Hamric pleaded with Nebraska lawmakers to, at a minimum, recognize the impacts of climate change, but the 14-year-old was doubtful that his words would hold any weight.

Hamric was one of five individuals who, during a hearing Wednesday, advocated for the Natural Resources Committee to pass Legislative Resolution 102. The committee did not vote on the resolution.

LR 102 asks the Legislature to acknowledge that the world is in a climate and ecological crisis that was caused by humans and that lawmakers have a moral obligation to take steps to mitigate the crisis.

It is the smallest step you can take in the right direction, Hamric said.

According to States At Risk, a project studying the effects of climate change across the U.S., Nebraska is projected to see a 70% increase in widespread summer drought by 2050. The state currently averages about 15 days at dangerous temperatures each year. By 2050, that average is expected to rise to 40 days.

PRAIRIE Hill Learning Center students drafted LR 102, which was introduced by State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed a hearing on the resolution at the time. Since then, Wishart said several of the students involved have graduated.

Teacher Jordan Hope said the resolution started as a class project studying climate change and how laws are made to mitigate it. Eventually, she said schoolwork wasnt enough to satisfy some students.

Its not enough to write fake bills and resolutions when real change needs to be made, Hope said.

Hamric, who first testified before senators when he was 12, said he thinks most lawmakers regard this resolution as a learning experience for students, rather than a real piece of legislation. Most lawmakers wont listen to anyone under the age of 25, he said.

Of the eight-member committee, only Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha asked the students any questions. Cavanaugh asked Willa Hamric, Alexs twin, if she had any suggestions for what the Legislature could do to combat the crisis. Willa suggested the state expand on its wind energy potential rather than relying so much on oil.

Wishart noted that lawmakers are currently debating how to allocate American Rescue Plan Act funding, including a proposal to use $150,000 to update a 2014 climate change report by University of Nebraska scientists.

In total, five people spoke in support of LR 102. No one spoke against it, although Sen. Bruce Bostelman of Brainard, chair of the Natural Resources Committee, said there were four written submissions against the resolution, as well as one in support.

Wishart encouraged committee members to support the resolution as a way to support younger generations that will feel the heavier impacts of climate change.

Give me the chance to have a future, Alex Hamric said.

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BLOOMINGTON  State Farm is building a new $21.5 million corporate hangar at Central Illinois Regional Airport.

The hangar, which is expected to be completed in January 2023, is replacing the insurance company's current hangar at the airport, 3201 Cira Drive, Bloomington.

"While we have renovated our current hangar over the past 20 years to meet business needs, we must invest in further infrastructure improvements," State Farm spokeswoman Gina Morss-Fischer told The Pantagraph. "Once construction is complete, flight operations will move from the current location to the new hangar."

The new hangar will be at the site of the airport's former passenger terminal, 2901 E. Empire St., which was demolished in September 2020. Documents filed with the City of Bloomington indicate the facility will include interior and exterior parking, offices, plane storage and storage rooms.

Airport Executive Director Carl Olson said the new hangar is a "positive sign," adding that commercial travel through CIRA is getting stronger.

"CIRA had a very good year in 2021 and we're looking to continue that strength in 2022," said Olson. "This is very positive for the community, and very positive for the airport. We're excited to see them move forward."

Contact Sierra Henry at 309-820-3234. Follow her on Twitter: @pg_sierrahenry.

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BLOOMINGTON  The CEO of the startup medical company Reditus Laboratories has been indicted on tax fraud charges, according to federal court documents.

Aaron J. Rossi, 39, of Bloomington, is accused of underrepresenting his income in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to the Internal Revenue Service.

He is charged with three counts of making and filing a false tax return. The indictment was filed Tuesday.

Rossi reported incomes of about $325,000 in 2015, $500,000 in 2016 and $472,000 in 2017, according to court documents. The indictment does not list the source of income.

David Rossi, an attorney for Aaron Rossi, said this is a personal matter and that they have no further comment.

Aaron Rossi opened Reditus Laboratories in 2019 in Pekin. The lab opened in June 2019 with anatomic pathology and histology, which studies the microscopic structures of tissues.

Reditus added PCR testing for infectious disease in December 2019, and the company has played a key role in COVID-19 testing since the pandemic began.

He also is the CEO of Pekin-based PAL Health Technologies and he is the founder of the recently-opened printing business AJR Brands in Pekin.

Rossi is due in court April 7 for an arraignment.

READ THE COURT DOCUMENTS:

Contact Kade Heather at 309-820-3256. Follow him on Twitter: @kadeheather

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China's aviation regulator said Tuesday that to alleviate the pressure on epidemic prevention and control in Shanghai, 106 international flights of 22 air routes scheduled to arrive in the city will be diverted elsewhere from March 21 to May 1.

The diversions will take flights to 12 airports in other major Chinese cities, including Chengdu, Dalian, Fuzhou and Hangzhou, said the regulator.

The eastern Chinese metropolis of Shanghai has registered a cluster of new local infections recently. From Monday midnight to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, the city reported four new locally transmitted COVID-19 confirmed cases and 101 locally transmitted asymptomatic carriers, officials said at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Of the newly confirmed infections, three were detected during the city's closed management of residents under quarantine. Sixty-six of the new local asymptomatic carriers were also found during closed management and the others during screenings of risk groups.

So far, all the new local infections have been sent to a designated hospital for further medical observation or treatment, said the municipal health commission.

The city has implemented precise and comprehensive epidemic prevention and control measures to curb the spread of the virus, while minimizing possible impacts on the normal lives of its citizens.

Shanghai's working units and enterprises outside the key areas under closed management have been asked to carry out staggered working hours. If possible, employees in such establishments should work from home for a period, said Gu Honghui, deputy secretary general of the municipal government during the press conference.

The city has also established an investigation team to look into a possible case of dereliction of duty at a local designated quarantine hotel, Hua Ting Hotel & Towers.

At present, residents in Shanghai are urged not to leave the city unless necessary. From March 12, those who need to leave the city must provide negative nucleic acid tests taken within the previous 48 hours.
BLOOMINGTON  Bloomington parks officials are putting flock protection plans into action following reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza in McLean County.

A Wednesday press release from the City of Bloomington said Miller Park Zoo staff started moving all of their birds inside or under cover to prevent contact with wild fowls.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture forwarded a report Saturday from its federal counterpart that the virus was detected in a private backyard flock in McLean County.

Miller Park Zoo managers are following veterinary recommendations to cordon off their flocks from wild birds on zoo grounds, the city release said.

Zoo Superintendent Jay Tetzloff said in the release they are committed to protecting their birds, and their staff are closely monitoring the situation.

He added the tropical rainforest exhibit will remain open. Tetzloff told The Pantagraph its mostly full of song birds, including tanagers, red cap cardinals, Nicobar pigeons, doves and scarlet ibis.

Tetzloff said there are around 35 birds in the exhibit, and for now, thats the only place visitors can view zoo birds. The rest of the bird species, like flamingos, must remain sheltered and are temporarily unavailable for public viewing.

He explained the reason for relocating the birds is to prevent contact with droppings from birds flying over zoo grounds.

The citys press release added four outdoor exhibits at the Katthoefer Animal Building reopened Wednesday because of falling COVID cases in the area. That facility was closed Jan. 5 while snow leopard Rilu fought off a COVID infection. He died the next day.

Tetzloff said COVID hasnt been an issue for the birds.

I have not heard of a single non-mammal that tested positive for COVID, he said.

The superintendent added they are still waiting on vaccine doses to become available for the snow leopards. He said four have recovered from COVID but still have minor side effects.

City officials also announced last week the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is granting the zoo $750,000 to restore animal areas and infrastructure at the Katthoefer building, install a new pool in the tropical rainforest area, and add python and large lizard exhibits. The Katthoefer facility first opened in 1914.

Tetzloff said winter bird shelters will benefit from those improvements.

Contact Brendan Denison at (309) 820-3238. Follow Brendan Denison on Twitter: @BrendanDenison

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Republicans voted for Biden, then choose down-ballot GOP candidates thinking once Trump was defeated the party would regain its moral footing, not realizing Trump was just a symptom of a chronic condition infecting Lincolns once-respected organization. Like slow-growing tumors that eventually spread, this affliction intensified after civil rights laws were passed in the 1960s.

Nixons 1968 law and order platform targeted minorities as criminals, then Reagans 1980s dog-whistle politics exploited racial divisions attracting southern Democrats and northern suburbanites. Even George H.W. Bush, who supported civil rights, hired a campaign manager who played the race card.

During Clintons administration, Republicans lurched further right taking control of the House and speaker Gingrichs toxic philosophy branded Democrats and minorities as enemies. After Floridas vote recount was stopped by the Supreme Court, George W. Bush became president and tried healing contentious attitudes by focusing on improving education and attempting immigration reform. However, unnecessary wars and a financial collapse caused by deregulation reduced the GOPs power.

In 2008, Obama and a Democratic House and Senate were elected resulting in the radical right tea party movement and Sen. McConnell vowed to make Obama a one-term president by blocking needed legislation although American was mired in war and deep recession. Because Obama won a second term, powerful far-right media and Trump constantly provoked racial and partisan hatreds.

In 2016, campaign and election corruption facilitated by Supreme Court rulings, internet disinformation, Russian interference, white nationalist support and fossil fuel and gun industry donors helped Trump win a narrow Electoral College victory.

After four horrendous years, voters rejected Trump, but he still has the support of many GOP office holders and candidates who refuse to condemn his un-American actions. Voting for them in November will subvert democracy and establish a Putin-style autocracy ensuring Americas demise. We must unite and elect candidates who will uphold our Constitution.

Linda Doenitz, Bloomington

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100 years ago

March 16, 1922: New York papers say Lewis G. Stevenson of Bloomington is one of three partners in General Air Service, Inc. The firm plans to build rigid airships in the U.S., taking business from Germany. For airship buoyancy they want to use helium, which is safer than hydrogen.

75 years ago

March 16, 1947: Without warning city officials, the sheriff and states attorney staged several raids in Bloomington. Two brothels on Moulton Street produced nine arrests. Elsewhere in town, 17 otherwise-legitimate spots were hit and 112 coin-op gambling machines seized.

50 years ago

March 16, 1972: St. Josephs Hospital received areawide trauma center designation from the state. It was the only Twin City hospital to apply, and only the fourth in Illinois to receive such designation. To qualify, St. Josephs spent 18 months upgrading facilities and medical services.

25 years ago

March 16, 1997: Normal police have a reputation for being aggressive with drunken drivers. The town consistently ranks in the top 20 in Illinois for DUI arrests, averaging 290 per year. They dont arrest everyone they stop, but administer a lot of tests to identify those who are drunk.

Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com.
Theres no way around it: Travel has a big environmental impact. If commercial aviation were its own country, it would rank sixth in terms of total carbon dioxide emissions (between Japan and Germany), according to a 2019 fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.

Whoa.

The onus of reducing the carbon impact of travel rests on many shoulders, from corporations to countries. But the fact remains that the decisions of individual travelers matter as well. So what can environmentally conscious travelers do to reduce their impact?

Flying less frequently or less far is one option, but not an attractive or feasible one for many travelers. And buying carbon offsets or other price-intensive measures can help (in theory), but not everyone can afford them.

Thankfully there are many low-cost or free ways to reduce the environmental impact of travel. In fact, some of them can even save you money.

1. Skip premium cabins

Yes, flying at the front of the plane is the dream. And using points and miles makes this dream a possibility for many. But its expensive  both in terms of cost and carbon impact.

An analysis by the World Bank's Environment and Energy Team, Development Research Group estimates that first-class fares can cause up to nine times more emissions than economy fares because of the space they require on aircraft.

So, taking a single flight in first class could be the equivalent of nine flights of the same distance in economy.

This ones a win-win for budget- and eco-conscious travelers. Avoiding the markup on premium seats can reduce both the cost and carbon impact of air travel. Your knees might not thank you for cramming into an economy seat, but the climate might.

2. Use Google Flights' new carbon feature

Googles flight search tool is an excellent choice for travel experts and newbies alike. And it has recently added a carbon emissions feature that makes it invaluable for environmentally minded travelers.

The best part of this feature is that you dont have to do anything to use it: Its baked into the flight search results automatically. Google shows the estimated carbon dioxide emissions for each flight and highlights the option with the lowest emissions.

This acts as a behavioral nudge that lets you choose the most environmentally conscious option with all other variables being the same. In the example pictured, the Qatar Airways flight costs a bit more and has slightly lower emissions than the Singapore Airlines flight.

However, in many cases, the lowest-cost flight is also the least carbon intensive. This makes it easy to make a small difference on the impact of your flight without spending much (or any) more.

3. Dont accept a rental car upgrade

Have you ever booked the cheapest (and smallest) rental car available, only to receive a much bigger vehicle at the counter? This can feel like a small victory  akin to being upgraded on a flight  but it comes with a carbon cost. In addition to being cheaper, economy cars are also generally more fuel efficient. So getting upgraded to a sport utility vehicle isnt always a good thing.

Just ask the rental car agent if any smaller cars are available. You might get some arched eyebrows in response, but theres no issue with taking the downgrade. Sometimes there are no small cars available, which is the reason for the upgrade, but its worth asking.

This carbon-conscious trick is not only free  it can save you gas money.

4. Turn down the hotel AC and heat when you leave

All in all, hotel rooms are pretty efficient. Theyre much smaller and easier to heat, cool and light than a typical home. And theyre generally built with energy conservation in mind (since hotel companies foot the bill).

Yet, for the most part, hotel rooms are under constant climate control, even when unoccupied. This means youre always stepping into a perfectly room-temperature environment when returning, but its also a waste of energy.

This ones easy: Simply turn down your heat or air conditioning when leaving the hotel room for the day. The minor inconvenience of a chilly or warm room is easily offset by the energy savings.

You might even take your eco-consciousness a step further and consider booking hotels that are committed to protecting the environment.

The bottom line

Being an environmentally responsible traveler is not a zero-sum game. You dont have to travel less, or buy a bunch of carbon offsets, in order to make a difference. Small behavioral nudges such as turning down the AC or rental car upgrade can make a meaningful difference.

In fact, you can have it both ways  saving money and reducing your carbon footprint at the same time.

Sam Kemmis writes for NerdWallet. Email: skemmis@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @samsambutdif.

The article 4 Cheap Ways to Be an Eco-Conscious Traveler originally appeared on NerdWallet.

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The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Samuel Abu Jinapor, clashed with Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, James Klutse Avedzi over the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy) during the Committees public hearing on Tuesday.



The Committee, on Monday (March 14, 2022) began sitting to consider the Auditor-Generals report on Public Accounts of Ministries, Departments and other agencies (MDAs) for the 2018 Financial Year.



The Chairman had raised concern about MoMo (mobile money) accounts that the Administrator for Stool Lands said they have created for agents collecting rents for the agency in the hinterland to ensure such funds are not kept too long in the hands of the collectors.



The Chairman, however, expressed hope the MoMo arrangement would work and pointed to potential problems for the collectors if the E-levy is approved because that will be a hindrance for the collectors in terms of who would be expected to absorb the levy.



He said, Lets hope that this MoMo works and if the amount You know the E-levy that is coming will be a hindrance to the MoMo but this government is determined to pass the E-levy without considering things of this nature.



So Madam, pray that the E-levy doesnt come so that your people can send the money to you through the MoMo, he added.



The Minister of Lands, Abu Jinapor interjected the Chairmans statement and thanked him for admitting that the E-levy is truly coming.



I want to thank the Honourable for seeing the light but the Administrator has made the point that the rate is at GH30.



Mr. Chairman, as you know President Nana Akufo-Addo is so sensitive to the poor and vulnerable, and through his numerous policies of free education and several others, which are to cushion the poor, that is why the Levy does not affect any transfer below GH100.



President Akufo-Addo is so sensitive to the poor and and his policies have always been pro-poor unlike.. But because Im before you I cant make any comparisons.



The Chairman, however, pointed out to the Minister that the money collected daily is more than a GH100 and so if they need to transfer in the event that the E-levy is approved, they will be affected.



Who pays that E-levy, he quizzed?



Abu Jinpor, in response argued that intervention is required to build the national economy hence the government is not taking it lightly.



He said, it was thought through by cabinet, thought through by the President and the E-levy intervention is required just as it is happening in Kenya and in several countries cross the world.



It is intended to build our national economy that was hit by COVID, an economy that has been hit by global commodity prices, that intervention is never ever to punish the Ghanaian people and I believe you know that.



It is to reconstruct our national economy for the Ghanaian people so that we can provide them the amenities they ask for; roads and healthcare, and to build this economy and create jobs for the youth of this country, he added.



The Minister argued the contours and reach of the E-levy will not affect such small transactions and stressed the Ministry of Finance has taken the trouble to go across the 16 regions of the country to hold town hall meetings with the public that this kinds of transfers will not be affected by the E-levy.





Source: graphiconline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last month, 27-year-old Nigerian Ottah Abraham was outraged.

He picked up his phone and tweeted: "I want to join the team."



He was some 8,700km (5,400 miles) away from the front line, in a small apartment in Nigeria's main city, Lagos.



The philosophy graduate is one of several hundred Africans, from countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Algeria, who say they are willing to take up arms in the battle against Russia, partly to escape the bleak prospects faced by many young men at home.



"We know that it's war, it's not child's play," he told the BBC. "But being a soldier in Ukraine would be better than being here.



"I'll probably be allowed to stay if the war ends, plus I'll be a hero and fight an undeniable enemy."



Some 20,000 volunteers from across the world have reportedly enlisted after Ukraine's President Volodmyr Zelensky made a global appeal for foreign fighters to "come and stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainians".



The government has temporarily axed its visa requirements and offered equipment and a salary to those with a valid passport and military training. Although there has been no official confirmation that foreign fighters will be allowed to stay in the country after the war.



Kereti Usoroh, a Nigerian living in the capital, Abuja, said his motivations for volunteering had nothing to do with financial gain or the prospect of citizenship.



"I already live a comfortable life. If I wanted to go to Europe, I'd do it through education, not war," the 29-year-old lawyer said.



"This is about beating a bully - injustice for one is injustice for all."



Sentiments to gladden the hearts of Ukrainian diplomats and days after President Zelenksy's appeal, dozens of hopeful volunteers headed to the Ukrainian embassy in Abuja, with ambitions of enlisting.

Source: BBC









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Russia's foreign ministry says it has imposed sanctions on US President Joe Biden and 12 other US officials.



The list includes Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, press secretary Jen Psaki and other members of the administration.



But it also includes two surprises: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr Biden's son Hunter.



The measures block their entry into Russia and freeze any assets held in the country.



However, the ministry has said the sanctions will not impede necessary high-level contacts for the affected individuals.



Other names on the list are:



-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley



-National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan



-Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh



-US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power



-Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo



-President of the Export-Import Bank of the US Reta Jo Lewis



The ministry has said it is applying sanctions "on the basis of reciprocity".



Russia is now the most sanctioned country in the world.



Western countries have already sanctioned top Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov.



On Tuesday, the US announced sanctions on 11 Russian defence leaders and signalled that it could levy sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Moscow-allied Belarus.



Earlier, the UK slapped sanctions on another 370 Russian individuals, including former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev.



President Biden is due to travel to Europe next week to attend an emergency Nato summit in Brussels where he will assert Washington's "iron-clad" backing to its allies, the White House said on Tuesday.



Hillary Clinton can abandon dreams she may have had of buying a vacation dacha in Sochi.



Any Joe Biden post-presidency plans for starting a business in Moscow will have to be shelved.



Jokes aside, the Russian "stop" order placed on the US President, senior White House staff and - interestingly - a former secretary of state who has not held public office in nine years is a symbolic but not particularly consequential reprisal for the staggering sanctions the US and allies have imposed on Russia. It's not like any of the listed Americans had significant financial interests in Russia.



The move is a reflection, however, of the growing chasm between the US and Russia in the wake of the latter's invasion of Ukraine.



Prohibiting the top American diplomat, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, from even setting foot on Russian soil suggests relations between the two nations are at a post-Cold War nadir.



That has very real consequences outside of the Ukrainian conflict, as the US and Russia had hoped to co-operate on Iranian nuclear negotiations, counterterrorism, global warming and other pressing international issues. Chances of that happening now are increasingly dim.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The management of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) has presented a cheque of Ghc 500000 and a new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado to the leadership of the Veteran Administration of Ghana (VAG).



The donation is in fulfilment of a promise made to VAG four years ago by NLA.



Per an agreement, the NLA is the sole authority that manages the lottery platform of VAG in Ghana.



The NLA is binded by the agreement to make monthly contributions to the VAG leadership.



Board Chairman of the NLA, Francis Nyonyo said "the NLA has a duty to play as far as VAG is concerned, so today we are here to do the needful".



He added that the NLA will continue to collaborate with VAG to clean the lotto industry in Ghana " VAG is helping the NLA to rid the lotto industry of illegal operators, when they are caught the claim to be working with VAG but that is not the case so the NLA is in a joint venture with VAG to clean the sector".



The Executive Director of VAG, Captain (rtd) Edmund Ben Duah, on his part, thanked the NLA for the gesture and pledged VAG's commitment to help NLA achieve its objectives.



"We at VAG are pleased with this move by NLA, we are excited about this partnership and its out prayer that it moves from strength to strength", he said.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, Chairman of the Nduom School of Business and Technology (NSBT), has urged students to strive harder in their educational journey to contribute their quota to national development.



He said students needed to always work harder when performing any difficult task considered not enjoyable, but crucial for their success.



Dr Nduom gave the advice when he addressed students via zoom at the second matriculation ceremony at the Schools Auditorium.



The matriculants would be offering degree programmes including Bachelor of Science (Bsc) Banking and Finance, Bsc Information and Communication Technology and Bsc Information Technology and Management (ITM)



Diploma Programmes included Management Studies, Accounting, Information and Technology and banking and Finance.

He said education and skills training constituted the most essential approach to manpower development, adding that students should strive towards attaining greater heights in their educational pursuits to gain better positions in society.



The Chairman urged the students to work hard and excel wherever they may find themselves and entreated them to become worthy ambassadors of the NSBT by exhibiting the values to be imbibed in them over the period of their studies.



He stated that the effects of COVID -19 on businesses and institutions were enormous but noted that the institution would stick to its mandate to provide quality and brilliant students for the job market.



Dr Nduom who doubles as the Founder of the Institution, said the school was moving step by step to become a great giant to meet and compete with local and international universities.



He charged the lecturers to give the students practical and real experience-based teaching to prepare them well to meet the global job market.



Professor Daniel Adjepong Nyarko, Rector of NSBT, urged the matriculants to abide by the rules and regulations of the institution.



He told them to see their ceremony as a milestone towards their future, put much effort to achieve the ultimate goals and become influential persons in life.



Prof. Nyarko stated emphatically that the institution was fully accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission and was mandated to run degree and diploma courses.



That he said made the NSBT a University by all standards and was working hard to meet the criteria for the use of the adjective University.



Prof. Nyarko informed the public of the existence of a scholarship fund tailored to assist needy students to access quality tertiary education at the institution.





Source: GNA









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Accra-based Radio Gold has started a test transmission with the hope to start full-time broadcasting in a month's time.

In a statement dated March 16, 2022, signed and issued by the Chief Executive Officer of the radio station, Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, who is a former Deputy Minister of Information, the test transmission will last for a month after which regular programming will begin.



Radio Gold was shut by the National Communications Authority (NCA) in 2017 after it failed to renew its operating license for the frequency 90.5 FM over a long period.



The action by the NCA affected 33 other broadcast stations who were all shut down after a 2017 audit embarked upon by the NCA.



Radio Gold had over a long period not paid to renew its operating license.



In 2021, the NCA approved the granting of a total of 133 FM radio broadcasting authorisations to some entities.



Radio Gold was among the entities whose new applications were approved and it was offered the same 90.5 megahertz on the Frequency modulation (FM).



Below is a copy of the statement issued by the management of Radio Gold on the test transmission:







Source: graphiconline.com









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You are here: China

China will expand family doctor services to cover at least 75 percent of its population by 2035, according to a guideline jointly issued by six government departments, including the National Health Commission.

By 2035, family doctors are expected to serve about 85 percent of priority patients, including the elderly, pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, people with chronic diseases and people with mental illnesses, the policy document said.

The government will work to raise the percentage of people registered with family doctors by 1-3 percentage points every year from 2022, it said.

Family doctors can be general practitioners, eligible doctors at hospitals, or doctors of traditional Chinese medicine. Doctors at primary-level hospitals are encouraged to join this line of work.

Fees will be jointly covered by China's medical insurance scheme, government expenditure on public medical services, and the individuals receiving medical services.

China's health authorities will work to raise the capacities of family doctors and streamline their services, the document said.
A High Court judge, Justice Daniel Mensah says he will encourage activism but a coup d'etat is not an option in a democracy.



At the Tema High Court on Wednesday [March 16, 2022] where he presided and granted bail to Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a convenor of the #FixTheCountry movement, who has been charged with treason felony at the Ashaiman District Court, Justice Mensah insisted that a coup is never an option in a democracy.



He, has, therefore, advised Barker-Vormawor not to go to the extent of thinking about a coup detat no matter how he feels about a regime.



The Tema High Court granted Barker-Vormawor bail at GH2 million with two sureties, one of which is to present documents covering a landed property.



Granting bail, the court said it cannot disable itself from granting the activist bail but had a word of caution for him.



No matter how we feel about a regime, a coup isnt an option. Ill encourage activism but know the extent, the judge told Oliver Barker-Vormawor. Click to Tweet



The Attorney-General had filed an affidavit opposing Barker-Vormawor's bail application on the grounds that the accused was a flight risk and does not have a fixed abode in Ghana.



But the court said it cannot accept that argument by the Attorney-General.



Barker-Vormawor has also been directed by the court to report to the police once a week while investigations into the case continue.



The court also directed that the police should continue to hold his passport.



The application for bail at the High Court followed the inability of the Ashaiman District Court, where he has been arraigned on the treason felony charge to grant him bail.



A district court cannot grant bail to a person charged with treason felony unless a higher court.



Barker-Vormawor has been in police custody since February 11, 2022, when he was arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).



He was remanded into police custody when he was first arraigned at the Ashaiman District Court on February 14, 2022, on a charge of treason felony.









Source: graphiconline.com









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The Minority in Parliament has expressed disappointment in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the demolition of the Bulgarian embassy in Accra.



The embassy, situated at Kakramadu Road, Plot No. 10, East Cantonments, was pulled down by a private developer despite protests by staff and the Honorary Consul, Nicolaas C.M. van Staalduinen, who is said to have been attacked in his effort restrain the developer.



Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu, addressing journalists in Accra on Tuesday, March 15, expressed shock that such a diplomatic blunder has been committed under President Akufo-Addo.



President Akufo-Addo is our key diplomat and he has a duty to keep our relationship with our foreign friends and neighbours [as] well.



My understanding is that they have gone to demolish the Bulgarian Embassy in Ghana.



This is unacceptable! And this can sever ties between Ghana and Bulgarian and its other foreign allies, he observed.



The situation is said to infringe on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.



It comes a few years after a similar demolition created tension between Ghana and Nigeria when parts of the latters embassy were encroached upon by a private developer.



The Tamale South Member of Parliament insisted: We just dont want to believe that this is happening under the watch of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, [a] former Foreign Minister, former Attorney General, [and] he cant respect the Vienna Convention on diplomacy?



We are disappointed.





Source: 3news.com









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Member of Parliament(MP) for Mpraeso and a member of the Public Accounts and Works and Housing committees of parliament, Davies Opoku, has appealed to government to immediately open the borders of the country for trading activities to begin.



According to him, the devastating effect brought in by COVID-19 seem not to exist any longer.



Speaking on Okay FM's 'Ade Akye Abia' programme, he explained that traders in the country are already suffering under the existing laws which had had the borders closed.



"I have visited the markets and our traders are complaining about the hardships they are going through to get their products into the market.



"They are going through a lot so I am appealing to government to have the borders opened to enable our traders be able to transact business again," he said.



"Though the world is not out of the woods yet some countries have relaxed their restrictions and some have opened their borders for trade. Government should engage various stakeholders to see how best they can ensure that the borders are opened for trading activities to commence," he added.



Restrictions were placed on the number of people to attend public events such as; weddings and funerals; the time for church services was reduced, and social distancing was strictly enforced.



These restrictions have, however, been eased with the exception of land borders.



Watch Video Below





The Minority in Parliament has asked that the land borders be opened with immediate effect for the free flow of goods and persons among neighbouring ECOWAS countries and the world at large.I will call on the President, supported by his Ministers for Health, and Interior, to take urgent practical steps for the re-opening of Ghanas land borders to allow for free flow of persons and goods across ECOWAS and around the world, said the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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The quest of Henry Nana Boakye ESQ (Nana B) to be elected to the position of National Organizer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) keeps gaining momentum as loads of party leaders, government officials and the rank and file of the party, day in day out, come out openly to throw their weight behind him.



Latest to endorse the candidature of Nana B are two influential bigwigs in the NPP, Hon. Francis Asenso Boakye (MP, Minister of Water Resource and Housing) and Mr. Anthony Abayifa Karbo (Fmr MP, Deputy Minister and Nat'l Youth Organizer of NPP).



The duo paid glowing tributes to the young dynamic man at the just ended NPP-UK branch's Youth Forum '22 that the Youth Leader has performed to the admiration of the NPP Party to become the next National Organizer of the NPP.



According to Hon. Asenso Boakye, he's known Nana B for over two decades and can vouch for his loyalty and competence to perform in the position of National Organizer adding that "Nana B has risen through the ranks of the party; from Polling Station through TESCON to National Youth Organizer. He is more than qualified for the National Organizer position and we will support him to win".



On his part, Mr. Anthony Karbo eulogized Nana B for making the youth wing much vibrant and attractive to the Ghanaian youth. He asserted that "Nana B has performed extremely well and as he intend to upgrade himself, it's imperative that we offer him the needed assistance to become the next National Organizer".



It does appear that Nana B has won the hearts and minds of majority of NPP faithful evident in the massive endorsement of his candidature and awesome ratings of his leadership style and job performance.



The NPP has set July to elect its National Executives and as it stands now, all surveys and polls suggest that Nana B will be elected as the National Organizer of the party.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Daniel Parker Odailai France has been arrested and arraigned before court by the Regional Police Command over an assault case.



The suspect was put before court on Wednesday after he was granted a Police inquiry bail on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a delegate.



According to reports, the Regional Secretary is suspected to have ordered a gang of eight well-built men to assault Daniel Amakye Kingsford, who wanted to observe the acclamation of Ablekuma West polling station executives at the Dansoman Liberty Park on Sunday, March 13.



Report said, one Amakye Kingsford, also an aspirant for the upcoming constituency elections, was said to have been pushed to the ground by the suspect, who also ordered the men to beat him up.



A source who revealed the incident explained that It took the intervention of some people around to rush him to an undisclosed hospital.



Meanwhile, the Police in a statement said We continue to assure the public that the police are committed to the protection of life and property at all times and also poised to promote law and order for a peaceful society.





Source: Daily Guide









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James Kwabena Bomfeh, popularly called 'Kabila', a Consultant at KN & Associates - a Human Resource Management and Legal Services firm - has slammed the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Bagbin over his reply to the Supreme Court and President Nana Addo on the court verdict about Deputy Speakers to participate in decision-making in Parliament or not.



Hitherto, the right of the Deputy Speakers to be considered Members of Parliament and take part in parliamentary decisions has been vehemently opposed by the Minority.



The opposition even resulted in a brawl last year in the chamber when Deputy Speaker, Joseph Osei Owusu, sitting in for Speaker Alban Bagbin, decided to hand over his seat to the Second Deputy Speaker in order to join a quorum to vote on the 2022 budget.



The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, March 9, ruled that a "Deputy Speaker is entitled to be counted as a Member of Parliament for quorum" and can "vote and take part in the decision of Parliament".



President Akufo-Addo Comments On SC Ruling



Following the court decision, the President of the Republic explained why it's legitimate for the Deputy Speakers to participate in voting.



''We are being told that the decision of the court amounts to judicial interference in the work of Parliament. I'm not quite sure that the people who are saying have actually taken the time to read the constitution of our country. It says so in black and white.



''The legislative power of Parliament [that is vested] that is of the State which is vested in Parliament is subject to the provisions of the constitution. All organs of the Ghanaian State including me as the Head of Executive, we are all subject to the teachings of the constitution. There is nobody in the Ghanaian State that is above the fundamental law of the land'', he said.



The President asserted that defying the ruling will ''lead to the very matter that we have striven so long to avoid; the concentration [of power] of unregulated power in our State. We don't want that. We've had that experience before and we brought about this constitution in order not to allow that to reoccur'' and expressed shock over what he believes is over-concentration on this subject matter, saying ''I'm astonished about how much public energy has been wasted, I say so with the greatest of respect, been wasted in an area on an issue where there is so much clarity and I'm happy that the court''.



Speaker's Reply



The Speaker, issuing a statement on the ruling, described the President's comments as ''myopic'' and the ruling as a ''reckless incursion'' of Parliament.



Excerpts of the statement read; ''Good morning comrades. I have resisted the temptation of making a comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court on the issue of the voting rights of Deputy Speakers when presiding. But the unfortunate and myopic comment of the President has compelled me to let it out. The SC decision, is to say the least, not only an absurdity but a reckless incursion into the remit of Parliament.



''The trend of unanimity is equally troubling. It doesnt help explore and expand our legal jurisprudence. The Presidents comment is myopic and unfortunate. It only goes to worsen the schism between the Executive and Parliament.''



''The issue being discussed is the political question doctrine. It took centuries to detail out the strands of this doctrine and the principles are settled as to when and how this closed book could be opened. Please, I encourage the Plaintiff to go for a review'', the Speaker stressed.



Kabila Fires Speaker



But Kabila finds the Speaker's statement in a distasteful manner and queries him on why he would call for a review of the verdict.



Reminding Mr. Bagbin about some statements he made where he called for a legal remedy on the Deputy Speakers' issue, Mr. Pratt wondered what has changed for the Speaker to such remarks about the court ruling.



Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Kabila rebuked Mr. Babgin saying, ''none of his statements worried me like the part which says what the Supreme Court has done is an incursion into remit of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, I beg to differ; you are wrong! Now, you are asking the applicant to go back for a review. I want to ask Rt. Hon. Speaker Bagbin that if the Supreme Court grants the review, will it be an incursion into the remit of Parliament or it will be an incursion into the remit of the Executive''.



He believed the opposition and unparliamentary happenings in the Legislative House, by the Minority, is to fuel President John Mahama's "comeback'' campaign and nothing else.



''In fact, the gymnastics that occur in Parliament is a continuation of the failed JDM 2020 comeback," he stated.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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A pregnant woman surprised her husband with a 160,000 Lamborghini as a reward for his help with their child after giving birth.



Malaysian cosmetic guru Anes Ayuni Osman, 19, is due to give birth to her first child with her entrepreneur husband Weldan Zulkefli, 20, in late March and will enter a 100 day confinement period.



The traditional practice sees women limit their movement after birth in order to reduce the risk of postpartum complications and help rebalance hormones. As a reward for his help during the period, Anes surprised her husband with a Lamborghini Huracan Evo and shared a video of the moment to TikTok.



She added that she will be relying on him day and night, and expects him to change nappies, saying: 'Hes fine with that because he has been cleaning up after our cat all this time. He can stay awake at night because his business brain works better at night doing marketing.'







































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Klet Observatory sees asteroid 2022 EB5, 13 minutes before impact. Credit: European Space Agency

At 19:24 UTC on 11 March 2022, astronomer Krisztian Sarneczky discovered a bright and fast-moving new object in the sky using the 60cm Schmidt telescope at the Piszkesteto observatory, Hungary. He collected four observations in quick succession, and just 14 minutes later reported his findings to the Minor Planet Center (MPC), initially designating the object "Sar2593."

The results were quickly published and used by automatic impact assessment systems around the world to estimate the possibility of an impact: at the time, it seemed unlikely, at less than 1%.

Krisztian continued to observe the object, making a further 10 observations soon after the discovery and again submitting them to the MPC. These, however, resulted in an entirely different scenario. Almost exactly an hour after it was detected at 20:25 UTC, ESA's "Meerkat" monitoring system triggered an alert to the Agency's Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre (NEOCC) based on the accumulated observations.

The chance of impact was now 100%, and would happen in less than an hour, sometime between 21:21 and 21:25 UTC. The new object's impact location was already predictable to the nearest thousand kilometers, expected just a few hundred kilometers north of Iceland.

Rapid response to a speedy space rock

In response to ESA's Meerkat alert and others like it, professional and amateur observers across Europe and Asia quickly started to observe the imminent impactor. Finding it was extremely challenging since the object was already very close (about 1/7th the distance to the Moon) and moving rapidly in the sky.

Predicted impact point and time computed by ESAs imminent impactor alert system Meerkat at 20:25 UTC, with the initial 14 observations. The impact location was subsequently refined with more observations and proved correct. Credit: European Space Agency

Another observatoryKysuce, Slovakiasoon reported its successful observations, together with many more detections from the original discoverer. With this new data added to the mix, the location of the asteroid impact could be pinpointed even more precisely: the asteroid was going to enter the upper layers of our atmosphere roughly 140 km south of the Jan Mayen island at 21:22:42 UTCless than two hours after being discovered.

From its observed brightness, the object appeared to be very small. At roughly a meter in diameter it posed no threat to Earth, as at this size it would entirely burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

Shortly after the expected time of impact the Minor Planet Center designated the asteroid the title "2022 EB5," becoming just the fifth known impactor observed in space before hitting our planet, and the first discovered from Europe.

Unfortunately, no conclusive visual or video detections of the corresponding fireball have been located at present, likely due to the remoteness of the impact location.

Nevertheless, there is independent evidence that the impact did in fact occur thanks to the international network of infrasound detectors. Signals from the impact were detected from Iceland and Greenland, suggesting an energy release equivalent to roughly a magnitude 4.0 earthquake.

Asteroid danger explained. Credit: European Space Agency

Why only the fifth?

It is estimated that between 40 and 100 tons of space material strike Earth every day, most in the form of very small particles. Larger objects, similar in size to 2022 EB5 are expected to strike roughly ten times per year. So why have only five asteroids been detected before impact?

The news here is rather positive. Large asteroids, kilometers in diameter, are easier to spot. Although they could do immense damage, they are thankfully relatively rare. We now know where the vast majority of these are and can say for certain that they are safe, at least for the next hundred years. The international community continues to seek out every last one.

Smaller asteroids are far more common and strike Earth much more frequently, but their impact is small and they're much harder to spot. All five asteroids, spotted before impact, were found since 2008, illustrating how much asteroid observation technologies have improved in the last years.

In the Flyeye telescope, a single mirror of 1 m equivalent aperture collects the light from the entire 6.7 x 6.7 field of view and feeds a pyramid-shaped beam splitter with 16 facets. The complete field of view is then imaged by 16 separate cameras that contain 16 detectors. The tubes contain a set of secondary lenses. Credit: ESA/A. Baker

Many more to come

More dedicated sky scanning telescopes are in the pipeline, including ESA's first state-of-the-art Flyeye telescope soon to be constructed in Monte Mufara, Italy. The new, European telescope will split each image into 16 smaller subimages, expanding its overall field of viewsimilar to the technique exploited by a fly's compound eye.

"The extremely wide field of the new telescopes will allow us to cover a large area of the sky in just one night," says Detlef Koschny, ESA's acting Head of Planetary Defense.

"This will reduce the chance that we miss any interesting object."

As our ability to predict asteroid impacts improves, so will our preparation. For medium-sized impacts that can create airbursts in the sky, this means the chance to warn people to stay away from windows that could break in the explosion. For larger objects, this means having the chance to prepare asteroid deflection missions to prevent impact altogether.

Explore further NASA system predicts impact of small asteroid
White-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla. Credit: Ian McCarthy/RSPB

Poisoning caused by preying on or scavenging animals shot by hunters using lead ammunition has left the populations of many raptorsor birds of preyfar smaller than they should be, according to the first study to calculate these impacts across Europe.

When birds like eagles and Red Kites scavenge carcasses or eat injured animals with fragments of toxic lead from gun ammunition embedded in their bodies they can become poisoned, suffering slow and painful deaths. Smaller doses have been shown to alter behavior and physiology.

Now, scientists from the University of Cambridge have used data on lead levels in the livers of over 3,000 raptors found dead in more than a dozen countries to calculate the extent to which poisoning by lead ammunition has affected Europe's raptor populations.

Researchers estimate that, for ten raptor species, poisoning from lead ammunition alone has resulted in an absence of around 55,000 adult birds from European skies.

Worst affected are species like eagles that are naturally long-lived, rear few young per year and breed later in life. However, even populations of species familiar to bird-watchers across countries like the UK, such as the Common Buzzard and Red Kite, would be significantly bigger were it not for lead ammunition.

For example, the study suggests that Europe's White-tailed Eagle population is 14% smaller than it would have been without more than a century of exposure to lethal levels of lead in some of its food.

This is closely followed by the Golden Eagle and Griffon Vulture with populations 13% and 12% smaller than they would otherwise have been. Northern Goshawk numbers are 6% smaller, and both Red Kite and Western Marsh Harrier populations are 3% smaller.

Common Buzzard populations are 1.5% smaller, but this equates to almost 22,000 fewer adults of this widespread species, say the researchers.

They estimate that the overall European population of ten raptor species is at least 6% smaller than it should be, solely as a result of poisoning from lead ammunition.

Red Kite flying over Wales, UK, during the month of May. Credit: Norman Norris/RSPB

Cambridge researchers worked with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and the findings are published today in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The scientists say that a range of alternatives to lead shotgun cartridges and rifle bullets are widely available to hunters and work well. However, efforts by UK hunters' organizations to instigate voluntary bans on lead shot in hunting have had almost no effect.

Research by the same Cambridge authors published just last month shows over 99% of pheasants killed in the UK are still shot with lead, despite hunting groups urging members to switch to non-toxic gunshot in 2020, with the aim of phasing out lead use by 2025.

"The continued blanket use of lead ammunition means that hunting as a pastime simply cannot be considered sustainable unless things change," said lead author Prof Rhys Green, a conservation scientist at the University of Cambridge and RSPB.

"Unfortunately, efforts to encourage voluntary shifts away from lead shot have been completely ineffective so far," he said.

"The kinds of reductions in raptor populations suggested by our study would be considered worthy of strong action, including legislation, if caused by habitat destruction or deliberate poisoning."

Currently, only two European nationsDenmark and the Netherlandshave banned lead shot. Denmark plans to follow this up with a ban on lead rifle bullets. Both the European Union and the UK are considering legal bans on all lead ammunition due to effects on wildlife and the health of human consumers of game meat, but many hunting groups oppose this, according to researchers.

Some raptors are poisoned when they scavenge from dead animals killed with lead ammunition. This can be a whole carcass lost or abandoned by hunters, orfor examplethe guts of a hunted deer, discarded to reduce carrying weight.

As well as vultures, which rely on scavenging, many other raptors also scavenge when the opportunity arises, including eagles, buzzards and kites. Many dead pheasants at UK roadsides carry lead shot and fragments in their bodies and are scavenged by buzzards and kites.

Northern goshawk, Accipiter gentilis, adult perched on fallen tree, Highlands, Scotland, November. Credit: Louise Greenhorn/RSPB

Other species, such as falcons and goshawks, are exposed through preying upon live animals with lead embedded in their bodies from being shot and injured but not killed. X-ray studies of wild ducks in the UK have shown that about a quarter of live birds have shot in their bodies. Injured ducks or pigeons are less likely to be able to evade predatory birds.

"It's taken decades for researchers from across Europe to amass sufficient data to enable us to calculate the impacts of lead poisoning on raptor populations," said study co-author Prof Debbie Pain from the University of Cambridge.

"We can now see just how substantial population impacts can be for some of our most charismatic and vulnerable speciesspecies that are protected by EU Regulation and the UK Wildlife & Countryside Act."

"The avoidable suffering and death of numerous individual raptors from lead poisoning should be sufficient to require the use of non-toxic alternatives. These population-level impacts make this both doubly important and urgent."

For the latest study, researchers used population modeling to calculate how big Europe's raptor populations would have been were it not for the destructive impact of a single "additional mortality factor": lead poisoning from ammunition.

They took data gathered since the 1970s from the livers of thousands of dead raptors in 13 nations and tracked the relationship with "hunter density": average numbers of hunters per square kilometer in each country, using data from the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, places with a higher density of hunters had more poisoned raptors. Scientists used this relationship to predict rates of poisoning in countries without data from bird livers, but where "hunter density" is known. Their results indicate that a country with no hunters using lead ammunition would have virtually no lead-poisoned raptors.

Scientists say their estimates are conservative, not least as data on poisoned raptors is limited and hugely difficult to gather. For many European raptor species, including some of the rarest ones, there were insufficient data to estimate how great the risk is.

Explore further Bald eagle rebound stunted by poisoning from lead ammunition

More information: The impact of lead poisoning from ammunition sources on raptor populations in Europe, Science of the Total Environment (2022). Journal information: Science of the Total Environment The impact of lead poisoning from ammunition sources on raptor populations in Europe,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154017
The photo illustration shows GenX molecules, the red and green circles, superimposed over a stream. the interaction between GenX and water lead to the formation of micelles, which occur in higher concentratations near surfaces, like the pebbles of the stream. Credit: University at Buffalo

Last fall, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported that GenX chemicals were more toxic than the "forever chemicals" they were developed to replace.

Now, a new University at Buffalo-led study examines what happens when GenXchemicals used in food packaging, nonstick coating and other productsinteracts with water.

Published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the research reveals how molecules of GenX and water intermingle to form complex structures called micelles.

The work builds upon a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that GenX and its derivatives, which have been found in drinking water in North Carolina and elsewhere, could pose similar or worse health hazards than other forever chemicals.

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report on GenX micelles," says lead author Paschalis Alexandridis, Ph.D., UB Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. "It's an important step toward better understanding what happens to these chemicals when they are released into the environment."

GenX is named after a processing technology developed by DuPont in 2009. It is a member of a large group of synthetic chemical compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

PFAS are so resistant to breaking down that they are commonly referred to as forever chemicals. They have emerged as a major concern due to their persistence in the environment and their adverse effects on human health and wildlife.

"Many of the more notorious PFAS have been banned," says Alexandridis. "Industry has developed replacements, presumed to be safer and more sustainable. However, that may not be the case, as findings from the EPA suggest."

GenX is a surfactant molecule comprising segments that are water-soluble and segments that are not. This dual nature prompts several GenX molecules to self-assemble into micelles, and also to adsorb on surfaces and bind to other compounds such as proteins.

The study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Utah, shows in atom-level resolutionin other words, incredibly detailedthe formation and structure of GenX micelles.

Micelles are relevant to the impact that PFAS surfactants, such as GenX, have on the environment and human health, Alexandridis says.

"PFAS are typically found in water and in blood at very low concentrations, but they tend to associate and accumulate at interfaces and surfaces," he says. "This is desirable when we want to sequester PFAS using adsorbent materials. But it's not desirable when PFAS bind to proteins in blood or to cell membranes. Hence, it is important to understand and control the PFAS association."

In addition to improving the scientific community's understanding of GenX, the study is important, Alexandridis says, because it establishes a methodology to computationally predict how other, lesser-known PFAS behave in similar situations. The study uses a variety of experimental techniques such as surface tension, fluorescence, viscosity, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.

Alexandridis notes that "We should invest the time and resources to screen such chemicals before we introduce them into products and the environment, where humans and wildlife are exposed to them."

More information: Samhitha Kancharla et al, GenX in water: Interactions and self-assembly, Journal of Hazardous Materials (2022). Journal information: Journal of Hazardous Materials Samhitha Kancharla et al, GenX in water: Interactions and self-assembly,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.128137
Stringent measures have been adopted in China to contain the latest COVID-19 rebound, with closed management and massive nucleic acid testing rolled out.



On Monday, the Chinese mainland reported 3,507 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, of which 3,076 were reported in northeast China's Jilin province, said the National Health Commission at a press conference on Tuesday.

Jilin province unveiled strict travel restrictions after it posted a steep jump in daily COVID-19 infections.

It announced a temporary suspension on inter-provincial and inter-city travel starting from Monday, especially targeting residents in the cities of Changchun and Jilin, where most of the province's local infections have been registered amid the fresh outbreak.

The cities of Changchun and Jilin have been placed under closed management, and local residents were asked not to leave home unless necessary.

As of Tuesday, five operational makeshift hospitals in Jilin Province coupled with seven vacated medical institutions can guarantee 22,880 beds.

Chen Jianlong, an asymptomatic carrier and student from Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology University, was admitted to a makeshift hospital in Changyi District of Jilin City on March 11.

"I was very afraid at first, worrying about getting worse and also having concerns about the conditions in the hospital," Chen said.

"However, I felt relieved after coming here. The patients are all treated well, and all the meals are provided. Though the temperature is relatively low these days, the stadium-transformed hospital is still quite warm," Chen said.

Shenzhen, China's major tech hub bordering the country's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, asked its 17-million-plus residents on Monday to work from home if they can, while the city is carrying out three rounds of mass testing.

Residents are barred from leaving the city, the public transport services are suspended, and businesses, except those providing essential services, have been closed from Monday to March 20.

"Shenzhen has been vigorously identifying imported cases while preventing domestic resurgence and adopted a dynamic zero-COVID approach, taking the most resolute, decisive, and comprehensive anti-epidemic measures," said Huang Qiang, deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen municipal government.

China's aviation regulator said Tuesday that to alleviate Shanghai's pressure in epidemic prevention and control, 106 international flights scheduled to arrive in Shanghai will be diverted to other Chinese cities from March 21 to May 1.

Shanghai reported nine locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 130 locally transmitted asymptomatic carriers on Monday, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.

The metropolis has urged its residents not to leave the city unless necessary. From March 12, those who need to leave the city must provide negative nucleic acid tests taken within 48 hours.
Tree rings of a beech. Credit: Edurne Martinez del Castillo

Beech forests in Europe are severely threatened by climate change, particularly in southern European countries, but also in central Europe. Models project severe beech growth declines over the next 70 yearsranging from 20% to perhaps more than 50% depending on the climate change scenario and the region in question. "We expect high productivity declines due to increased drought severity, especially at the southern limits of the beech's distribution range," said Dr. Edurne Martinez del Castillo from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). She warns that this will seriously affect both the environment and forestry and urgently recommends that measures be taken to adapt the forests. Furthermore, beech forests are crucial stores of carbon dioxide. The models are based on tree ring analyses from all over Europe using well-established climate scenarios. The study has now been published in Communications Biology.

Tree rings from 324 sites in Europe examined

Beech is one of the most important trees in the forests of Europe. Beech forests are both economically important and ecologically highly valuable. Almost 100 beech forest regions in 18 European countries are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, climate change could place severe pressure on stocks in the future, both in geographical and ecological terms. Evidence of this has already been published in regional studies, but to date no comprehensive analysis has been conducted.

Edurne Martinez del Castillo, a member of Professor Jan Esper's Climatology Group at Mainz University, has now investigated this development for the species Fagus sylvatica, together with cooperation partners from 32 scientific institutions. They performed over 780,000 tree ring measurements on 5,800 trees at 324 sites across Europe, from the north of Scotland to mainland Greece. This data allowed them to analyze the growth rates of the trees over the past six decades, enabling them to forecast likely trends in the future.

Edurne Martinez del Castillo collecting samples in the mountains of Picos de Urbion in northern Spain. Credit: Ernesto Tejedor Vargas

Tree growth has declined in virtually all regions

The results reveal marked geographical differences between the two study periods of 1955 to 1985 and 1986 to 2016. For example, the model tree growth rate over the past six decades was two to three times higher in low-lying areas of northwestern and central Europesuch as coastal regions in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the British Islesthan towards the southern distribution limits. Comparing the two 31-year periods revealed a remarkable decline in tree growth in almost all distribution regions. The models reveal that the strongest contrast is between northern Europe with Sweden and Norway, where growth has risen by 20%, and southern Europe, where growth has declined by as much as 20%.

Researchers expect drastic losses in southern Europe during the 21st century

Based on two widely accepted climate research scenarios from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP), Edurne Martinez del Castillo has projected the developments likely to occur over the next 70 years through to 2090. "Even assuming a relatively optimistic climate change scenario, we will see sharp growth reductions of up to 30% in southern Europe between 2020 and 2050 compared to the 1986 to 2016 period," said the climate researcher. The optimistic climate model assumes a temperature increase of one degree Celsius by 2090, while the pessimistic scenario predicts a warming of five degrees Celsius. The latter would have dramatic consequences. Beech productivity would decline sharply in much of Europe, by as much as 20 to 30% in most central European forests. "In southern Europe, losses could even exceed 50%," said Martinez del Castillo, noting that increased aridity would affect the pattern. In contrast, in the north and in mountainous regions, the growth trend would be positive. Overall, however, the gains will not be as severe as the losses, neither geographically nor in terms of absolute numbers.

In light of these forecasts, the authors of the study led by Edurne Martinez del Castillo and Jan Esper believe that forest adaptation measures are urgently required to mitigate serious environmental and economic consequences. All the more so because beech forests act as carbon dioxide sinks, and the reduction in tree growth is expected to lead to further forest dieback, reducing this effect.

Explore further Droughts across Europe affect British trees most

More information: Edurne Martinez del Castillo et al, Climate-change-driven growth decline of European beech forests, Communications Biology (2022). Journal information: Communications Biology Edurne Martinez del Castillo et al, Climate-change-driven growth decline of European beech forests,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03107-3
Marine sediments contain the microscopic shells of organisms called foraminifera that lived in the surface waters. The chemical composition of these shells records the environmental conditions in which they formed. Credit: Marci Robinson/USGS

A massive release of greenhouse gases, likely triggered by volcanic activity, caused a period of extreme global warming known as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) about 56 million years ago. A new study now confirms that the PETM was preceded by a smaller episode of warming and ocean acidification caused by a shorter burst of carbon emissions.

The new findings, published March 16 in Science Advances, indicate that the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere during this precursor event was about the same as the current cumulative carbon emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. As a result, the short-lived precursor event represents what might happen if current emissions can be shut down quickly, while the much more extreme global warming of the PETM shows the consequences of continuing to release carbon into the atmosphere at the current rate.

"It was a short-lived burp of carbon equivalent to what we've already released from anthropogenic emissions," said coauthor James Zachos, professor of Earth and planetary sciences and Ida Benson Lynn Chair of Ocean Health at UC Santa Cruz. "If we turned off emissions today, that carbon would eventually get mixed into the deep sea and its signal would disappear, because the deep-sea reservoir is so huge."

This process would take hundreds of yearsa long time by human standards, but short compared to the tens of thousands of years it took for Earth's climate system to recover from the more extreme PETM.

The new findings are based on an analysis of marine sediments that were deposited in shallow waters along the U.S. Atlantic coast and are now part of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. At the time of the PETM, sea levels were higher, and much of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey were under water. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has drilled sediment cores from this region which the researchers used for the study.

56 million year old fossil foraminifera specimen. Credit: Tali Babila

The PETM is marked in marine sediments by a major shift in carbon isotope composition and other evidence of dramatic changes in ocean chemistry as a result of the ocean absorbing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The marine sediments contain the microscopic shells of tiny sea creatures called foraminifera that lived in the surface waters of the ocean. The chemical composition of these shells records the environmental conditions in which they formed and reveals evidence of warmer surface water temperatures and ocean acidification.

First author Tali Babila began the study as a postdoctoral fellow working with Zachos at UC Santa Cruz and is now at the University of Southampton, U.K. Novel analytical methods developed at Southampton enabled the researchers to analyze the boron isotope composition of individual foraminifera to reconstruct a detailed record of ocean acidification. This was part of a suite of geochemical analyses they used to reconstruct environmental changes during the precursor event and the main PETM.

"Previously, thousands of foraminifera fossil shells were needed for boron isotope measurement. Now we are able to analyze a single shell that's only the size of a grain of sand," Babila said.

Mass Spectrometer used to analyse the samples after laser ablation. Credit: Tali Babila

Evidence of a precursor warming event had been identified previously in sediments from the continental section at Big Horn Basin in Wyoming and a few other sites. Whether it was a global signal remained unclear, however, as it was absent from deep-sea sediment cores. Zachos said this makes sense because sedimentation rates in the deep ocean are slow, and the signal from a short-lived event would be lost due to mixing of sediments by bottom-dwelling marine life.

"The best hope for seeing the signal would be in shallow marine basins where sedimentation rates are higher," he said. "The problem there is that deposition is episodic and erosion is more likely. So there's not a high likelihood of capturing it."

The USGS and others have drilled numerous sediment cores (or sections) along the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The researchers found that the PETM is present in all of those sections, and several also capture the precursor event. Two sections from Maryland (at South Dover Bridge and Cambridge-Dover Airport) are the focus of the new study.

"Here we have the full signal, and a couple of other locations capture part of it. We believe it's the same event they found in the Bighorn Basin," Zachos said.

Based on their analyses, the team concluded that the precursor signal in the Maryland sections represents a global event that probably lasted for a few centuries, or possibly several millennia at most.

The two carbon pulsesthe short-lived precursor and the much larger and more prolonged carbon emissions that drove the PETMled to profoundly different mechanisms and time scales for the recovery of the Earth's carbon cycle and climate system. The carbon absorbed by the surface waters during the precursor event got mixed into the deep ocean within a thousand years or so. The carbon emissions during the PETM, however, exceeded the buffering capacity of the ocean, and removal of the excess carbon depended on much slower processes such as the weathering of silicate rocks over tens of thousands of years.

Zachos noted that there are important differences between Earth's climate system today and during the Paleocenenotably the presence of polar ice sheets today, which increase the sensitivity of the climate to greenhouse warming.

In addition to Babila and Zachos, the coauthors of the paper include Gavin Foster and Christopher Standish at University of Southampton; Donald Penman at Utah State University; Monika Doubrawa, Robert Speijer, and Peter Stassen at KU Leuven, Belgium; Timothy Bralower at Pennsylvania State University; and Marci Robinson and Jean Self-Trail at the USGS.

Explore further Ancient example of modern global warming was too hot for tiny, important ocean creatures

More information: Tali L. Babila, Surface ocean warming and acidification driven by rapid carbon release precedes Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Science Advances (2022). www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abg1025 Journal information: Science Advances Tali L. Babila, Surface ocean warming and acidification driven by rapid carbon release precedes Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum,(2022). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg1025
Women scientists face many hurdles when it comes to their career progression. Credit:  Gorodenkoff, Shutterstock

Gender equality and inclusion are key metrics by which performance is measured in industry today. Research is no exception. While there is no quick fix to eliminating gender disparities, the EU has identified the structural changes needed in policies and programs to increase the participation of women in research and innovation and improve their career prospects.

If you are a woman in scientific research and keen on climbing the promotion ladder, chances are your path will be long. It will also require an equal measure of confidence, commitment and courage. While there are many challenges to building a successful research careerfor many women it can prove to be a real obstacle course.

Promoting equality through institutional change

The importance of institutional transformation through instruments like Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) was highlighted recently by Mariya Gabriel, the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth. "Horizon Europe, our 95.5 billion research and innovation program, now has new eligibility criteria," she said. "To receive EU funding, public bodies, research organizations, and higher education institutions must have a Gender Equality Plan in place."

Gender equality has been a key priority in the European Research Area for over a decade. To remove barriers, research funding and performing organizations, including universities, were invited to implement institutional change through GEPs, and support has been provided under the EU's research and innovation funding programs FP7 and Horizon 2020.

GEPs are "drivers" for systemic institutional change, according to Dr. Angela Wroblewski, a sociologist and senior researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna. This is why the European Commission's monitoring of the implementation of the GEP requirement is key to supporting gender equality within the research sector.

As coordinator of the Horizon 2020 structural change project TARGET, her work takes an approach that goes beyond the formal adoption of a GEP. By initiating institutional change in seven gender equality innovating institutions in the Mediterranean basin, including universities and research funding organizations, the project introduced a reflexive policy (reflecting on what worked and what didn't work) and tools for each stage of the GEPfrom planning and implementation to monitoring and self-assessment.

"When the project started in 2017, the countries where our institutions are located did not have established policies for gender equality in research and innovation," said Dr. Wroblewski. "This has changed. Most importantly, our participating institutions managed to become visible as pioneers in the field of gender equality. I think this is a very important and interesting result because these pioneers may also influence the national discourse."

The national context is important. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Any approach to institutional change needs to be tailored to fit the national context, as well as the nature, history, and mission of each organization.

"The challenge is to find the best solution for each institution and to have a look at the national context," explained Dr. Wroblewski. "Take the "leaky pipeline" phenomenon in which female researchers "leak" out from their career path. While it is very pronounced in Central European countries like Austria and Germany, the situation in Bulgaria and Romania, for instance, is different."

In terms of the "leaky pipeline" phenomenon, an increase in the number of women among graduates does not automatically result in an increase in the share of women among researchers or top academic staff. Many women "disappear" in the transitions from Ph.D. student to post-doctoral fellow and to assistant professor. Others face obstacles that either slows their progression or blocks it completely. This combines with the "glass ceiling" or "sticky floor" effects.

"This is a problem in most European countries," said Dr. Wroblewski.

Reflecting on the work carried out through TARGET, which ended in December 2021, she said: "It's very impressive what the institutions managed to achieve even in difficult contexts. For instance, the Romanian Accreditation Agency ARACIS became the first Romanian institution to adopt a gender equality plan. And the University Hassan II Casablanca became the first university in Morocco to adopt a Charter for Equality."

"Based on the feedback from our partner institutions, we learned it is very important to have targeted gender equality plans and to have the support to develop such plans," she added. "It is not an easy task!"

GEPs to fill the gender gaps

Entrenched gender stereotypes and gender bias are a big part of the difficulties encountered, according to Jorg Muller, a sociologist and coordinator of the ACT project.

"I'm especially interested in how gender imbalances are made durable and continuously reproduced over time," he said. "There are many types of gender imbalances. Among the most persistent are the under-representation of women in the decision-making positions or at the highest level in academia."

Why does it exist? While the answer is complex, the main reasons stand out. "The short answer is because we live in societies that have been and are still dominated by men," explained Muller. Gender inequality is built into the very structure of our societies. It is men who hold positions of power, decide over resources and provide the blueprint for what is valued and what is not."

Since 2018, Muller has been investigating gender equality and institutional change. Through ACT, he has coordinated researchers from 17 institutions across the EU Member States in the creation of Communities of Practicesorganic instruments of innovation in which groups of practitioners work together to solve concrete challenges. ACT supported the implementation of 8 Communities of Practice (within 144 organizations in Europe and Latin America) to promote gender equality through institutional change.

"This is an extraordinary achievement and shows the commitment of those involved towards a more inclusive research and innovation environment," said Muller. "The Communities of Practices in many cases did allow practitioners to overcome their isolation and connect with others working in the field of gender equality. As a result, especially in Poland, many organizations made huge advances."

This is one of the benefits of having a uniform framework to evaluate the organizational efforts. "This is crucial in relation to the latest advances put forward by the European Commission, namely making Gender Equality Plans an eligibility criterion to access Horizon Europe funding. This is a huge step forward."

A next step could be the creation of a European award scheme through the CASPER project. "If a European award and certification system for gender equality is implemented, there will be a uniform framework to evaluate institutional efforts in terms of gender equality plans by organizations across Europe," explained Muller.

To increase public awareness of the importance of addressing gender equality in academic and research organizations, the European Commission is launching the "EU Award for (Academic) Gender Equality Champions" this year. Meant as a booster and to complement the requirement for higher education and research organizations applying to Horizon Europe to have in place a GEP, it will be awarded to up to four academic or research organizations.

The need to support gender equality plans

Despite some national differences, there is a common thread woven throughout all European countries: the design of successful GEPs requires both short-term and long-term commitment. This is the main goal of the SPEAR project, launched in 2019 by the University of Southern Denmark. It assists European research organizations to design their own Gender Equality Plans. By doing so, it also initiated the necessary institutional change.

"My biggestand happiesttakeaway from the first three years of SPEAR is how creative and effective our partners have been in applying the existing resources and knowledge to their specific contextsand how far it is possible to go when we have access to competent guidance and time and support for qualified joint reflections," said Eva Sophia Myers, SPEAR coordinator.

In her role as leader of the Gender Equality Team at University of Southern Denmark, Myers knows all too well the challenges relating to gender equality, especially in the realm of scientific research. She underlines two types of challenges. The first set of challenges result from deeply embedded traditions, norms, practices, structures, systems and procedures. The second rests on competition, elitism, power and privileges.

"Both manifest in the "real world" and in each of our minds and cognitive systemsand the two mutually enhance each other," she explained. "This means all of us favor certain directions and our everyday behaviors and decisions are largely influenced by these biases, norms and stereotypes."

Breaking free of stereotypes hinges on our willingness to "open up" to new understandings and different perspectives. According to Myers, however, resistance is inevitable. She explained: "Academia is highly competitive and often the competition is about a limited pool of resources. All this gives rise to fierce power struggles and dynamics. Successful structural change brought about by gender equality approaches will inevitably challenge the status quoincluding those in power positions So, if members of academia are truly advocates of meritocracy, then working actively for inclusivity and gender equality is the only way forward!"

Rising through the ranks herselffrom student assistant, research assistant, project coordinator, research administrator to inhouse organizational consultant to head of faculty administration and now head of her university's gender equality team, Myers is an advocate of the structural change approach. "I find this approach to gender equality in academia to be very closely aligned with the beautiful and lofty values and ideals of academia," she said.

"And in my experience, a deep integration of approaches that further inclusivity into daily practices in the universities, qualifies the efforts of university managers, Ph.D. supervisors, teachers and researchers."

Gender equality

The European Commission is committed to promoting gender equality in research and innovation and is taking concrete steps to address these challenges through Horizon Europe, in line with the Communication A New ERA for Research and Innovation and the new Gender Equality Strategy 20202025. Additionally, efforts to address the underrepresentation of women in certain fields of study (such as STEM) and in decision-making positions at universities are outlined in the recent European Strategy for Universities.

Horizon Europe has set gender equality as a crosscutting principle and aims to eliminate gender inequality and intersecting socio-economic inequalities throughout research and innovation systems, including by addressing unconscious bias and systemic structural barriers.

Explore further The long road to gender equality is paved with data
First ever photograph of a wild saola, caught on camera in Pu Mat, Vietnam. Credit: EC SFNC/FFI

The recent announcement that Fauna & Flora International (FFI) and our partners have recorded over 100 new species in Myanmar in the decade since we began working there caused quite a stir, but that landmark figure doesn't begin to hint at the total number of discoveries in which FFI and partners have historically had a hand. And the stories behind those finds would fill a book thick enough to stun an oxwhich brings us neatly to a noteworthy example.

In 1998, FFI was instrumental in capturing the first ever camera-trap image of a saola in a remote corner of Vietnam. This mysterious horned ruminant, dubbed the Vu Quang ox after the place where it was first recorded, has achieved almost mythical status, in much the same way as the legendary khting vor. The crucial difference, of course, is that tales of a spiral-horned, snake-eating cow are almost certainly pure fantasy, whereas we have photographic evidence that the saola is real, however elusive it has since proved.

Discovering new species or new populations of species is obviously not an end in itself for FFI, but it is one of the channels through which we are able to convey our broader conservation message to the wider world.

Lost and found

The rediscovery of the Antiguan racer in 1995 provided the catalyst for a wide-reaching and hugely successful conservation program that has benefited other endangered Caribbean wildlife by ridding many offshore island of invasive black rats and other alien predators.

Antiguan racer on Great Bird Island, site of the snakes rediscovery. Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI

The first images of a new species of snub-nosed monkey, photo-trapped in a mountainous region of Myanmar, ignited national interest and pride in the country's unique biodiversity and focused global attention on the importance of conserving its forests.

In a world where we are in danger of losing species more quickly than they can be described, new discoveries provide vital ammunition in the battle for hearts and minds that is central to the fight against biodiversity loss.

Here are just a few 21st-century highlights:

Cambodia cornucopia

The rediscovery of the Siamese crocodile by an FFI-led team during the first biological surveys of the Cardamom Mountains in 2000 may have been momentous, but was by no means the only significant find. The FFI-led team unearthed 400 unidentified species as well as globally significant populations of highly threatened animals such as the tiger, Asian elephant, gaur, pileated gibbon and dhole.

The extraordinary green-blooded, turquoise-boned Samkos bush frog (main photo) was one of several new amphibians discovered in this wildlife haven. Among the most thrilling discoveries was a black-and-white serpentsince named the Cardamom wolf snakethat bore a superficial resemblance to the highly venomous Malaysian krait.

A wolf in kraits clothing. Picking up a potentially venomous serpent is not recommended, but subtle differences in scale structure convinced the expedition leader that this was a new  and harmless  species. Credit: Jenny Daltry/Fauna & Flora International

Regrettably, all these species were threatened by uncontrolled logging, poaching and other forms of encroachment. Two decades of FFI support for groups as disparate as indigenous communities, government officers, park rangers and science students has helped to hold back the tide of destruction.

Hope swings eternal

Vietnam has been a rich source of revelations, particularly where primates are concerned. The cao vit gibbon was rediscovered in the remote north east of the country, while potentially game-changing new populations of two other critically endangered primatesthe Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and Delacour's languralso came to light during FFI-led surveys.

These encouraging finds served to highlight the country's pre-eminent importance as a hotspot for primate conservation and underlined the urgent need for stronger protection measures.

Amazon primates

On the other side of the globe, conservationists whose careers were kickstarted by support from the Conservation Leadership Program have recorded several new species of New World primate, including the evocatively named fire-tailed zogue-zoguemore prosaically known as Milton's titi monkey.

More recently, the discovery of a new marmoset species in the arc of deforestation, an area of the Amazon threatened by rampant illegal logging and agricultural expansion, strengthened the case for protecting this irreplaceable and globally crucial ecosystem.

Madagascar's midget gem

The golden mantella frog weighs less than a gram, butas its garish coloring suggestsit packs a punch every bit as powerful as its more famous New World counterparts, the poison-dart frogs. Surveys conducted by FFI's in-country partner Madagasikara Voakajy discovered new breeding populations of this critically endangered amphibian, which is severely threatened by agricultural encroachment.

The tiny but toxic golden mantella frog. Credit: Evan Bowen Jones/Fauna & Flora International

Hidden secrets

Liberia's Sapo National Park is rightly renowned as a stronghold of the pygmy hippo, western chimpanzee and African forest elephant, but it is also rich in botanical species, some of which are known only from this area. To date, almost 500 plant species have been documented, and this figure continues to rise, hinting that Liberia's dense forests harbor an astonishing array of as-yet-undescribed species.

A series of rapid biodiversity surveys in another West African biodiversity hotspot on the Guinea/Liberia border uncovered some of the hidden secrets in this relatively unexplored landscape, from obscure small mammals to rare lizards. A diminutive butterfly never previously recorded outside a single site in Ghana was just one of numerous extraordinary finds that cemented the reputation of the carbon-rich Upper Guinea Rainforest as a globally important ecosystem and biodiversity treasure trove.

Protecting what we have

We shouldn't underestimate the value of the feelgood factor in stories about new speciesand new populations of critically endangered species. But just as planting three trillion new trees wouldn't be necessary if we had avoided deforestation in the first place, let's not forget that safeguarding the species we already know about is an absolute priority.

We should be at least as exercised about conserving the myriad species we take for grantedand protecting the vital ecosystems that support themas we are about discovering and describing new ones.

What else is out there? We don't know, but one thing's for certain: we'll never have the chance to find out unless we change our cavalier attitude to biodiversity loss and come together to avert a sixth mass extinction. The good news is that declines are reversible. FFI has successfully intervened to bring numerous critically endangered species back from the brink. Stay tuned for a few examples in the coming weeks.

Explore further Time is running out for primates, bears and songbirds in Vietnamese wildlife hotspot
Whilst the moons barren surface has been well-documented by orbital spacecraft, subsurface cavities remain a mystery but could be vital in our future exploration of the moon. Not only could they provide shelter for human visitors  shielding astronauts from radiation and micrometeorites, they may also provide access to icy water and other resources trapped underground. Credit: Francesco Sauro

Lunar caves are not only a geologically pristine record of the moon's history, but they could also provide a safe home for future human explorers. Building upon ESA Discovery's OSIP call and SysNova challenge, ESA gathered a spectrum of more than 60 experts in many different areas of science and engineering to design a mission to enter a pit on the moon's surface and explore the entrance to a lunar cave.

The moon is dotted with pits that scientists think could lead to huge underground tunnels. But a space mission has never been sent to explore what could lie within.

"A view into the interior of a lunar cave would be true explorationit would reveal unexpected scientific information," says Francesco Sauro, cave scientist and planetary lava tube expert, as well as technical course director of ESA CAVES and PANGAEA.

ESA kick-started such a mission in 2019, when the Discovery element of ESA's Basic Activities launched a public Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP) call for ideas to detect, map and explore lunar caves. Five ideas were chosen to be studied in more detail through an ESA Discovery SysNova challenge, each addressing a different phase of a potential mission.

Most recently, the two winning SysNova studiesRoboCrane and Daedaluswere united and expanded into one complete mission plan through ESA's Concurrent Design Facility (CDF). The mission would use a robotic crane (RoboCrane) to lower down a cave explorer (Daedalus) into a lunar pit. On its way down, Daedalus would explore and document the entrance to the cave, before mapping the closest part of the cave at the bottom.

Lunar caves are not only a geologically pristine record of the Moon's history, but they could also provide a safe home for future human explorers. Building upon ESA Discovery's OSIP call and SysNova challenge, ESA gathered a spectrum of experts in many different areas of science and engineering to design a mission to enter a pit on the Moons surface and explore the entrance to a lunar cave. The key parts of the mission would be a crane attached to a rover, and a probe that is lowered by the crane into the pit. Credit: European Space Agency

"The OSIP Campaign and SysNova challenge paved the way to the CDF mission analysis," explains Loredana Bessone, CAVES and PANGAEA project lead and technical officer for the studies. "They allowed us to identify the interest in lunar cave missions from European and Canadian industry and research institutes, as well as revealing their expertise. It allowed industry and academia to confront the challenges of such missions and learn from lunar cave scientists about constraints, opportunities and potential mission scenarios."

There is a huge amount to think about when designing a space mission; by bringing together experts from many different areas of science and engineeringincluding specialists from the RoboCrane and Daedalus teams, as well as ESA expertsthis much-larger-than-usual CDF study came up with a complete vision of a lunar caves exploration mission. It confirmed that the mission is feasible and would be scientifically very interesting.

The mission could launch on an Ariane 6 in 2033 at the earliest, and would use the European Large Logistic Lander (EL3) to reach the moon's surface. It would target the Marius Hills pit and last a fortnightequivalent to one day on the moon.

Experts taking part in the CDF study came up with rough designs for the rover that would carry the equipment to the pit, as well as concrete designs for RoboCrane and Daedalus themselves. They also studied the environment of the pit, created models of the moon's subsurface and the mission elements, generated roadmaps for developing the technologies that will be needed to make the mission a success, and assessed the main challenges that the mission will face.

Exploring lunar caves. Credit: European Space Agency

DAEDALUS would first be lowered into the cave mouth on a long tether, then disconnect to roll away autonomously under its own power. The hanging tether would then double as a Wi-Fi receiver, allowing DAEDALUS to relay its findings out of the pit. Credit: Julius-Maximilians-University

"A mission like this would require the development of innovative technologies, encouraging the space sector to develop new solutions compared to previous lunar missions," explains Francesco. "This advancement in technology would be a big step forward for lunar and martian exploration."

The progress that has been made so far puts ESA at the frontline of pushing space exploration beyond the surface of the moon and into its subsurface. But there is still lots to be done in the next decade to make such a mission possible.

The teams behind RoboCrane and Daedalus continue to work on their ideas. Led by the University of Oviedo, RoboCrane researchers published a paper in December 2021 describing their system to provide a power and communication link between the lunar surface and lunar caves for exploration robots.

"The mission will need to be defined in even more detail during the coming years," says Loredana. "The rover that will carry RoboCrane and Daedalus to the pit will need to be described, and a lunar test range would be required to try out the techniques planned for the mission."

A "Topical Team" made up of 17 experts from universities and research institutes across Europe and Canada has now been established to support ESA in the development of a strategy that includes lunar caves in the framework of European lunar exploration. The Team is organizing a planetary caves conference for 2023, where an international group of scientists and engineers will push the need for a lunar cave mission within the next decade.

Explore further Lunar cave explorer
NASAs DSS-53 antenna went online in February 2022 at the Deep Space Networks Madrid facility. The addition is part of the agencys effort to expand the capacity of the network, which supports about 40 missions and is expected to support another 40 that will launch in the coming years. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

There's a powerful new member of NASA's family of giant antennas that enable engineers and scientists on Earth to communicate with the growing number of spacecraft exploring our solar system.

Called Deep Space Station 53, or DSS-53, the 111-foot (34-meter) antenna is part of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN). It's now operational at the network's facility outside Madrid, one of three such ground stations around the globe. The Madrid station is managed on NASA's behalf by Spain's Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (National Institute of Aerospace Technology). To mark the antenna's debut, King Felipe VI of Spain attended the March 16 inauguration ceremony alongside NASA officials and dignitaries from Spain and the U.S.

"NASA is honored and humbled to have the king acknowledge this important milestone by joining us at the Madrid station. His inauguration of the Deep Space Station 53 antenna highlights the critical and historical collaboration between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States that through the Deep Space Network, will continue to enable humankind's exploration of the heavens for many years to come," said Badri A. Younes, deputy associate administrator for Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA officials and dignitaries from Spain and the U.S. flank King Felipe VI of Spain at the inauguration of the DSNs DSS-53 antenna. Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for the Space Operations Mission Directorate, and Badri Younes, deputy associate administrator for SCaN, led the NASA delegation. Credit: NASA

Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California for SCaN, the DSN allows missions to track, send commands to, and receive scientific data from faraway spacecraft. Now with 14 operational antennas, the network supports about 40 missions and is expected to support another 40 that will launch in the coming years.

Growing the network

With so many missions to support currently and in the future, NASA began a project to expand the DSN more than a decade ago. DSS-53 is the fourth among six new beam waveguide antennas that the agency is adding to the network. When the project is complete, each ground stationMadrid, along with one in Canberra, Australia, and the Goldstone facility near Barstow, Californiawill have a total of four such antennas. The DSN's three ground stations are spaced almost evenly around the globe so the network never loses sight of missions as Earth turns.

Construction of NASAs DSS-53 antenna at the Deep Space Networks Madrid complex is shown from November 2018 to March 2020. A nearly two-year commissioning process followed  including installation of electronics and testing  before the antenna became operational in late February 2022. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

More about the Deep Space Network

The forerunner to the Deep Space Network was established in 1958 when JPL was contracted by the U.S. Army to deploy portable radio tracking stations in California, Nigeria, and Singapore to receive telemetry of the first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer 1. Shortly after JPL was transferred to NASA later that year, the newly formed U.S. civilian space program established the Deep Space Network to communicate with all deep space missions. It has been in continuous operation since 1963 and remains the backbone of deep space communications for NASA and international missions, supporting historic events such as the Apollo Moon landings and checking in on our interstellar explorers, Voyager 1 and 2.

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YRFR and gender ratio of infants aged 04. The study found striking gender ratio gaps in infants aged 0-4, with boys outnumbering girls. Credit: China Economic Quarterly International (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.ceqi.2022.01.001

China's Yellow River has a long and tumultuous history of flooding, and has been the cause of the some of the deadliest natural disasters ever recorded. Before the introduction of dams and other modern disaster management methods, floods would not only lead to multiple drownings, but spark long-term famines and the emergence of infectious diseases.

In a study published in the journal China Economic Quarterly International, Ruibing Liang, a professor at the School of Economics, Xiamen University, China, set out to discover how events in the Yellow River flooding Region (YRFR) have shaped the area's culture.

He explains that "few studies have ever comprehensively discussed the general impact of natural calamity on three main cultural variables, namely gender norm, religious beliefs and trust. Using YRFR as a case study, I wanted to see how the frequent flooding there has influenced these variables."

Liang drew on national population censuses and Chinese General Social Survey data for the study, and applied a regression discontinuity design.

He says that "what I found is that people in the region value sons over daughtersin fact, the number of boys per 100 girls is four more; for example, if the gender ratio of boys to girls is 1.05 (105 boys per 100 girls) outside the YRFR, then within the YRFR region, it will be 1.09 (109 boys per 100 girls). And the female employment rate in the YRFR is 21.1 percentage points lower than in other regions."

"I also found that while people living in the YRFR tend to believe in religions and participate in religious activities more frequently, they reject foreign religions such as Christianity. In addition, they are generally suspicious of others, but retain a high level of trust in institutions and organizations, such as governments and the army. These conclusions remain robust when proxy variables and substitute regression forms are used, population migration is considered, and the placebo test is performed."

Liang adds that "this paper demonstrates that, in the long run, economic shocks have the ability to not only change people's behaviors, but strengthen that change and make it endure."

"I believe these results are of great significance for understanding the causes of cultural differences among regions from the perspective of economics. And they could help us understand some of the issues that people in YRFR are currently dealing with; for example, regional and gender discrimination."

According to Liang, the findings may also provide insights into the potential impact of other natural calamities, such as earthquakes, droughts, famines, and even climate change.

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More information: Ruobing Liang, Natural calamity and cultural formation: A study on Yellow River flooding region, China Economic Quarterly International (2022). Ruobing Liang, Natural calamity and cultural formation: A study on Yellow River flooding region,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.ceqi.2022.01.001

Provided by KeAi Communications
Japan sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', an arc of intense seismic activity.

A powerful 7.3-magnitude quake jolted eastern Japan on Wednesday night, rattling the capital Tokyo and prompting a tsunami advisory for parts of the northeast coast near the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

At least one person died in the quake, local news agency Kyodo reported, as authorities said emergency departments in affected areas received numerous calls to respond to emergencies and injuries.

A tsunami advisory warned of waves of up to one metre for the Fukushima and Miyagi regions, but reports indicated only small tsunami waves had hit the coast in the subsequent hours.

The undersea quake, which caused temporary power cuts to more than two million households, hit at 11:36 pm (1436 GMT) off Fukushima's coast at a depth of 60 kilometres (37 miles), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

It came just days after Japan marked the 11th anniversary of a massive quake that triggered a deadly tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe.

JMA said waves of 30 centimetres had been measured in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi, calling on residents to stay away from the coast.

Authorities said they were working to assess damage from the quake, as officials warned of potentially powerful aftershocks.

"Calls have been inundating police and ambulances in Fukushima and Miyagi," government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters. "We're doing our best to assess the extent of the damage."

A tsunami advisory warned of waves up to one metre for the Fukushima and Miyagi regions but reports indicated only small tsunami waves had hit the coast in the subsequent hours.

"Major aftershocks often happen a couple of days after the first quake, so please stay away from any collapsed buildings... and other high-risk places."

Japan's nuclear authority said no abnormalities were detected at the Fukushima plant that went into meltdown in 2011 when the tsunami hit.

Pumps for cooling pools storing spent fuel at separate plants in Fukushima and Onagawa, in Miyagi, temporarily stopped operating at some reactors but were being quickly restored, the country's nuclear watchdog said.

TV footage showed some structural damage in the northeast, including the collapse of a stone wall of Aoba castle in Sendai city.

A Shinkansen bullet train derailed north of Fukushima city, train company JR East said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

An official in the emergency department of the local government of Ishinomaki told AFP he had been woken by "extremely violent shaking".

Evacuation orders were issued by some northeastern towns.

"I heard the ground rumbling. Rather than feeling scared, I immediately remembered the Great East Japan Earthquake," he said, referring to the 2011 disaster.

Multiple smaller jolts hit the region in the hours immediately after the quake.

'Take action to protect yourself'

Some two million households were left without power in the eastern Kanto region, including 700,000 in Tokyo, electricity provider TEPCO said.

But the power company had resolved blackouts in its service area by around 4:00 am (1900 GMT), Kyodo reported.

In the northeast, 156,000 households lost power, regional energy company Tohoku Electric Power said.

Evacuation orders were issued in some northeastern towns, NHK reported, with Rifu town in Miyagi opening shelters in its official buildings.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the government was gathering information on the situation.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters the government was gathering information on the situation.

Around two million households were left without power in the eastern Kanto region.

"Please pay attention to information on the earthquake, stay away from the coast and take action to protect yourself," he said.

Japan sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire", an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The country is regularly hit by quakes, and has strict construction regulations intended to ensure buildings can withstand strong tremors, but it remains haunted by the memory of the 2011 catastrophe.

A minute's silence was held last Friday, the anniversary of the disaster, to remember the some 18,500 people left dead or missing, most in the tsunami.

Around the stricken Fukushima plant, extensive decontamination has been carried out, and this year five former residents of Futaba, the region's last uninhabited town, returned to live there on a trial basis.

Around 12 percent of Fukushima was once declared unsafe, but no-go zones now cover just 2.4 percent of the prefecture, although populations in many towns remain far lower than before.

Explore further Japan lifts tsunami advisory after strong quake off northeast

 2022 AFP
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

In March 2022, Russia took censorship to new extremes, blocking access to Facebook and enacting a law that threatened to punish coverage of its war on Ukraine with forced labor and imprisonment. To what extent does censorship actually reduce activity on banned media among different societal groups in the context of international conflict?

A new study published in The Journal of Politics examines this question by exploring the effect of a 2017 Ukrainian ban on online activity among Russian social media users with close affiliations to Ukraine and Russia.

Authoritarian and nonauthoritarian states alike use censorship to police cyberspace, notes author Yevgeniy Golovchenko in "Fighting Propaganda with Censorship: A Study of the Ukrainian Ban on Russian Social Media." In recent years, an increasing number of European states and tech firms have used it to combat digital disinformation and foreign interference.

Even before the Russian attacks in 2022, Ukraine offered some of the most extreme examples of censorship used to respond to information war and online propaganda from abroad. In 2017, the Ukrainian government issued an executive order that forced internet service providers to block access to major Russian websites, including VKontakte, the second most visited social media platform in Ukraine. The Kremlin's control over Russian social media was one of the reasons why the Ukrainian government viewed the VKontakte ban as a national security measure against Russian propaganda and surveillance.

Censorship may successfully limit overall access to information, or it can backfire and draw attention to the "forbidden" or political outrage. "Even if a government succeeds in partially reducing the overall online activity on forbidden media, the ban may backfire if the supporters of the regime become less active on the censored platform than the opposition," Golovchenko writes. "The government would risk making the opposition more prevalent on the platform than the supporters of the regime."

Golovchenko uses publicly available data from VKontakte and a natural experiment research design to estimate the causal effect of the ban on online activity among different user groups. The findings indicate that a vast majority of Ukrainians on VKontakte could circumvent censorship by logging on through tools like VPN. However, the Ukrainian government still succeeded in reducing the overall online activity among Ukrainians on the Russian platform. "Government attempts at curbing Russian influence reduced the wall posting activity on VKontakte among users with pro-Russian attitudes at least as much as among pro-Ukrainian users," notes Golovchenko, who found the same pattern when comparing citizens in Ukraine with few social ties to citizens within Russia versus those embedded in the Russian social network.

Even without legal repercussions for circumventing the ban, the increased access time and effort is enough to disrupt online activity among pro-Russian (and pro-Ukrainian) users, who would instead shift to cheaper and more accessible alternatives. "In other words, the accessibility of the media appears to play a much more important role in the decision to use censored social media than do politics or social ties with citizens in the hostile state," Golovchenko writes.

"The results are favorable from the perspective of the censor, who wishes to combat foreign propaganda and disinformation by using one of the most drastic countermeasures available," he writes. He went on to speculate, "If Russia were to use its newly upgraded censorship infrastructure to ban Facebook to prevent foreign influence, one would expect the ban to be successful from the point of view of the government if Russians were to respond in a similar manner as Ukrainians have." Now that such a ban has come to pass, the effects of its harsher censorship remain to be seen.

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More information: Yevgeniy Golovchenko, Fighting Propaganda with Censorship: A Study of the Ukrainian Ban on Russian Social Media, The Journal of Politics (2022). Journal information: Journal of Politics Yevgeniy Golovchenko, Fighting Propaganda with Censorship: A Study of the Ukrainian Ban on Russian Social Media,(2022). DOI: 10.1086/716949
The interactive visualization tool shows the effects of an economic shock on Russia, such as the currently imposed sanctions. Credit: CSHVienna/Liuhuaying Yang

The international sanctions imposed on Russia are expected to lead to a double-digit contraction of the Russian economy, according to a new Policy Brief by the Complexity Science Hub Vienna (CSH). Considering China and India follow the current sanctions imposed by Western countries, the Russian economy would contract by 17%. With a worldwide embargo on Russian oil and gas, the country's economy would shrink by another 12.4%.

"We use a combination of economic models that allow us to estimate supply and demand shocks of many economies simultaneously," the senior author of the policy brief, Stefan Thurner, points out. "Our extension to classical input-output analyses shows shock waves which started in one place running through the world's economies and give us a feeling of how strong they play out in a global context," says the CSH President.

The methods consider economic networks, thus allowing the scientists not only to estimate the direct broadscale effects of sanctions imposed on Russia and the sanction-imposing countries, but also to estimate indirect outcomes of an economic shock.

Two scenarios

The CSH team analyzed two scenarios. The first one models the effects of the current set of economic sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries. The second scenario simulates the effects of a hypothetical global embargo on Russian oil and gas. The scientists used data from 66 countries and 45 industries provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In the first scenario, the simulations indicate an expected contraction of the Russian economy by 6%. If India and China follow the sanctions, the decline is 17%. The most affected industry sectors in Russia are Motor vehicles (52%), Electrical equipment (39%) and Machinery (36%), followed by Manufacturing of other transport equipment (34%) and Computer, electronic, and optical equipment (33%).

In contrast, the demand shock effects for European countries from missing Russian exports are marginal and are often below the percent range, says Tobias Reisch, the first author of the policy brief. "However, there will be supply chain disruptions that we can presently not model and that could cause much more severe damage," he adds.

A global ban?

Simulating the short to medium term effects of a hypothetical worldwide embargo on Russian oil and gas, the modeling predicts an additional 12% contraction of the Russian economy. Assuming that the international demand for fuel remains constant and is satisfied by other countries, the global ban on Russian fossil energy exports would benefit Saudi Arabia, Norway, the US, and Australia. The Saudi Arabian mining and oil and gas extraction sectors could grow up by 6.9%, the same sectors in the US and China by 6.7% and 6.4%, respectively, according to this paper.

The CSH team also created an interactive visualization tool that allows users to explore the effects of economic shocks in different countries and on various economic sectors. Users can even impose their own sanctions and watch how they play out.

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During the Fifth Session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), Yang Rong, a deputy from Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, together with other lawmakers, had 10 items on the agenda, including the deliberation of several documents such as the government work report, over the course of six and a half days since March 5. Drafting suggestions and submitting motions was another important task throughout their five-year term, which will conclude in 2023. More than 2,700 of 2,951 13th NPC deputies attended this year's full session in Beijing.

Community police officer Yang's suggestions this year concerned advancing law-based primary-level governance and improving community security mechanisms. As a member of the Taiyuan Women's Federation, she primarily focused on issues related to women's and children's rights during the session.

NPC deputies are elected nationwide. They are the voices of the people they represent, with their suggestions usually relating to the regions they hail from, the fields in which they work, and the topics at play in society.

Motions can be raised through a provincial-level delegation, a group of at least 30 NPC deputies, or the relevant NPC departments. A motion is raised when congress is in session; it becomes legally binding when adopted. Suggestions concerning political and social issues will be passed on to government and judicial departments concerned for consideration, according to the regulations regarding their handling. The drafting party will receive a reply on the outcome for each of their suggestions.

Deputy Su Bomin has been working in the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, for three decades. Also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, the site consists of roughly 500 Buddhist temples carved into cliff faces and lined with one of the world's most precious Buddhist art collections.

Since his election as NPC deputy in 2018, Su, also curator of Dunhuang Academy, the institution responsible for overseeing the grottoes, has presented a series of suggestions for the preservation of cultural relics.

Chui Sai Peng, a deputy from Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), then, called for intensifying the region's role in cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries and promoting scientific and technological exchanges between Macao and the mainland.

The 13th NPC has 12 deputies from Macao SAR and 36 from Hong Kong SAR. There are also 13 deputies representing Taiwan, most of whom were born in the mainland but have ancestral roots tracing back to the island.

The people's voice

"We have achieved a lot in primary-level governance, for example, implementing new and effective management systems for communities and neighborhoods with high population densities, which allow us to more swiftly identify potential problems," Yang told Beijing Review.

"We have invited volunteers to participate in the management," Yang said. "Dividing communities into smaller sections allows us to better adapt to resident needs, in turn providing them with a safer and happier environment."

Yet China's current urban and rural community governance models remain complex and often do not clarify the responsibilities of stakeholders. Yang said specific legal provisions are necessary to render urban and rural management more effective.

"I developed the proposal based on the problems people face in daily life," Yang said, adding that she had conducted extensive field research and further discussed her proposal with experts.

"Our current system is more democratic than the West gives us credit for; they seem to think we are just rubber stamping the approval processwhich is far from the truth," Lee Kwan Ho, a deputy from Hong Kong, told Beijing Review. "Any legal revision has undergone a long, due process of deliberation as well as public opinion consultation," Lee said, adding there are millions of online opinions to be considered as well under an established digital system.

Every year, Lee assesses different surveys and studies, including those organized by the NPC. "It's all about getting the right information from the right peoplenamely, the grassroots," he said.

Concrete process

"Policy- or lawmaking should always be based on public consultation, extensive research and well-conceived procedures," Su told Beijing Review. During their five-year term, the NPC provides training sessions to help deputies study the related rules on how to submit motions and suggestions.

"My work as a deputy over the past four years has allowed me to witness firsthand the importance the NPC attaches to our advice," Yang said. "It also reflects the importance the Central Government attaches to people's immediate interests, which in turn inspires deputies to more actively represent the people."

Since becoming an NPC deputy in 2018, Yang has submitted proposals on the promotion of folk culture and the support of family education; all have become part of the related government policies or laws.

"By doing my duty, I can make people's voices heard and acted upon by the NPC. This is the embodiment of whole-process people's democracy," Yang added.

If a deputy disagrees with the response to their suggestion, officials from the handling department will fly from Beijing to wherever they may be to explain and further discuss the matter face to face, according to Lee. "Of course, as deputies are elected, we also report our efforts and undertakings to our electors every year."

Su suggested making cultural relics preservation a major in universities again at this year's NPC session. He said he feels it is of great importance for future generations to better understand and protect their nation's past.

Su had presented something similar before, namely during the Second Session of 13th NPC in 2019. In their reply at the time, the Ministry of Education agreed with the importance of cultivating high-caliber professionals for cultural relics preservation, and committed to engage in further discussion with related parties.

According to the Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of the NPC released on March 8, all 8,993 suggestions submitted by deputies during the 2021 annual session were forwarded to 194 organizations for examination and handling, a process which has now been completed. The 265 suggestions that were raised when the NPC was not in session were handed over to 98 organizations for examination and handling.

"The ministries and departments give their feedback on every suggestion and inform us of the procedures' progress directly by phone or mail," Su said.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol (NP) are multilateral agreements aimed at conserving biodiversity, promoting sustainable use of biological components, and facilitating the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from genetic resources. Although widely considered to be born of good intentions, the access and benefit sharing (ABS) framework introduced under these agreements have been criticized for introducing bureaucratic hurdles to effective biodiversity conservation and other scientific endeavors, such as responding to infectious disease outbreaks. A recent debate that has elevated concerns among the international scientific community focuses on whether ABS agreements should be expanded to explicitly incorporate digital sequence information (DSI)a foundational component of many areas of biological research, including biodiversity conservation and biotech innovation.

In a recent BioScience Viewpoint, Rebecca A. Adler Miserendino, from Lewis Burke Associates, in Washington, DC, and a group of coauthors who organized a recent workshop series on this topic led by the American Institute of Biological Sciences and funded by the National Science Foundation, discuss recent developments and provide community-generated recommendations for enabling effective ABS mechanisms related toDSI.. DSI, say the authors, is presently a contentious topic, with questions arising about what it includes and whether it should be covered under the CBD and NPas well as concerns about the possible implications of its regulation under existing policy frameworks.

Adler Miserendino and colleagues note that "open access to and free circulation of DSI has been the norm within the scientific communities from both developed and developing countries." They argue that an implementation of policies that fail to preserve open sharing of DSI may hamper real-time responses to global crises, including those caused by invasive species and rapidly emerging infectious diseases. The economic and ecological impacts could be substantial, the authors caution.

According to the Viewpoint, self-governance may be the best way to address DSI under the CBD and NP. "The scientific community is well positioned to identify opportunities to improve benefit-sharing and to develop pragmatic, implementable practices for international collaboration, which may vary by subdiscipline," say the authors. Many international research programs, they argue, have developed ethical benefit-sharing standards, and fostered deep collaborations, while also helping to decentralize participation and distribute benefits. The authors propose a series of recommendations focused on meaningfully engaging the scientific community in ongoing policy discussions, enhancing support for capacity building and training as benefit-sharing mechanisms, and creating the institutional and legal support necessary for open and effective sharing of DSI. These recommendations, the authors argue, can contribute to upcoming CBD discussions on DSI.

To conclude, the authors call for policies that will preserve open access to DSI, "enable international collaboration, be practical, efficient and cost effective to implement, ensure legal certainty, and account for both monetary and non-monetary benefits." They argue that DSI is itself a benefit to all, and that access to DSI is a way to build up equity in scientific research and innovation. Failing to do so, they say, may hamper science's ability to address grave threats to humanity, including biodiversity loss, food security, and global health.

Explore further Calls to share genetic data fairly and promote conservation

More information: Rebecca A Adler Miserendino et al, The Case for Community Self-Governance on Access and Benefit Sharing of Digital Sequence Information, BioScience (2022). Journal information: BioScience Rebecca A Adler Miserendino et al, The Case for Community Self-Governance on Access and Benefit Sharing of Digital Sequence Information,(2022). DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biac019
Kids can move around by themselves in FInland thanks to smart urban planning and an environment of trust. Credit: Maarit Hohteri

For several years in a row, Finland has topped the prestigious World Happiness Report, bringing a lot of attention to the modest Nordic country of 5.5 million people. What's the recipe for a content and healthy city in a country that's roughly the size of California?

"A functional and happy city like Helsinki should facilitate a smooth daily life for its people. There should be access to nature, recreational areas and a child-friendly environment," says Marketta Kytta, Professor of Land Use Planning at Aalto University.

"We also want the public to participate in planning. I believe having a say in your own environment plays a huge role in happiness," she adds.

These days city dwellers in Finland's capital city can make their voice heard in ways that move beyond conventional practices, like voting online for special projects or budgets. Through groundbreaking research that asks the public opinions about their city, researchers have started to understand what kinds of environments are perceived to be positive, and what elements cause negative reactions. These findings could be the secret to developing cities that promote health and happiness among their inhabitants.

To your health, happiness and environment

"A person's environment plays a big role in their happiness which makes the topic of health promotion in cities very important. It's closely related to social sustainability and whether you feel connected to your community," explains Kytta.

Data suggests that two important factors for promoting mental and physical health in citiesat all ages.

"There are two main takeaways from the current information available. The first is that nature promotes mental wellbeingit has this amazing ability to reduce stress within minutes. The other data focuses on physical health. Here we're talking about environments that promote an active lifestyle," Kytta emphasizes.

An active lifestyle can take many forms, but in a city like Helsinki it means 'people can get to their daily destinations easilythat means having mobility without cars and access to recreational areas," Kytta describes.

Kids and their communities

Throughout Finland children grow up trusting in their environment, allowing for parents to breathe a sigh of relief. With smart urban planning kids are given mobility and freedom to easily get to their schools and social structures, helping them navigate their environment independently.

For example, a 7-year-old walking to school alone is considered part of normal life. These elements of trust woven into the day-to-day help foster the feeling of shared responsibility among parents, and ultimately, their communities.

"There's a silent understanding that if something happens to my kid at the park, another adult will step in and make things right. This notion of trust and shared responsibility is unique in Finland and is an important factor in health and happiness," Kytta says.

She explains that Finland is a good example of how you can combine data on environmental health promotion with the public's opinion on how to make a city better, to help steer urban planning.

"We hope to influence decision-makers by encouraging people to be an active part of the city they want to live in."

Explore further Unlocking happiness
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

One proposed strategy in the fight against climate change is to increase tree cover in the world's savannas, either through the planting of new trees or fire suppression, to increase the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, a new Yale-led study of African savannas suggests this approach is far less effective than previously estimated.

"Increasing tree cover in savannas, whether via afforestation or fire suppression, is unlikely to yield the substantial gains in ecosystem carbon storage that have been advertised," said Carla Staver, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in Yale's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, associate director of the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies, and senior author of the new study.

The study was published March 17 in the journal Nature.

Savannas cover about a fifth of the Earth's land surface. Because they have fewer trees than forests, they have been increasingly targeted for their potential to capture carbon. Some studies projected that afforesting the worlds savannas could capture 280 tons of carbon per hectare, a number that assumes that tropical savannas would store as much carbon as tropical forests.

A team led by Yong Zhou, a G. E. Hutchinson Environmental Postdoctoral Fellow in Staver's lab and lead author of the study, questioned some of the projected climate benefits of afforestation in tropical savannas, which account for more than half of the planet's fire-related carbon emissions.

For the study, the research team used data from a decades-old experiment at Kruger National Park in South Africawhere for 68 years scientists have studied how fire management affects the landscapeto better understand whether increased tree cover from fire suppression actually increases carbon sequestration.

To measure the amount of carbon stored in savannas under different fire regimes, the Yale researchersalong with scientists from Harvard University, the U.S. Forest Service, and Kruger National Parkused direct measurements of tree and grass biomass taken from the experiment, combined with remote sensing techniques and chemical analysis of soil samples.

The good news, they found, is that even frequently burned savannas store more carbon in soil and in roots than previously estimated, even when prescribed burns occur annually. This finding highlights the importance of natural savannaswhich are under widespread threat from land use conversionfor storing carbon.

But the study also found that increasing tree cover through fire suppression captured much less carbon than previously estimated. Despite a 78% increase in tree cover, this strategy captured only 35% more carbon overall, corresponding to total gains of about 23 tons per hectare. These new, direct estimates from Kruger National Park suggest that the carbon sequestration potential of savannas is less than 10% of previous estimates.

"Previous models relied on sparse data to promise a very large carbon storage benefit to increasing tree cover in savannas," Staver said. "But our direct measures show that these were not good assumptions."

Staver and Zhou stressed that these findings need to be replicated in other savanna areas around the world. "More measurements from more savanna sites are still needed," Zhou said.

"But the findings are substantial," Staver said. "We need to recalibrate our assessments of the role savannas play in the global carbon cycle. And we should not be relying on afforestation to save us from accelerating human-driven carbon emissions."

Explore further Savannas suffer greater loss and fragmentation than forests over 30 years in Yunnan

More information: Yong Zhou & Carla Staver, Limited increases in savanna carbon stocks over decades of fire suppression, Nature (2022). www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04438-1 Journal information: Nature Yong Zhou & Carla Staver, Limited increases in savanna carbon stocks over decades of fire suppression,(2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04438-1
Amazon River meets Atlantic Ocean: Satellite image of northern Brazil. Credit: European Space Agency/CC BY-SA 2.0

Satellite data have played an important role in efforts to monitor the rate of deforestation in the Amazon Basin for decades. But the way these data are used has changed under the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. His supporters are questioning the validity of scientific findings as a means to propagate a worldview that puts profits first.

An extensive satellite-based monitoring system has been developed since the 1980s to track the loss of rainforest in the Amazon Basin. In a new study, M. Cecilia Oliveira (Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Germany) and Leandro Siqueira (Universidade Metropolitana de Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil) examine how the use of data generated through this system has changed since Bolsonaro took office in 2019.

"Our study shows that far-right groups are undertaking a broad and sophisticated effort to produce and spread a different 'truth' about the Amazonnamely, that deforestation is an acceptable price to pay for economic development. Structures built up over many years to track and control deforestation are increasingly being dismantled," says Cecilia Oliveira, lead author of the study and research group leader at the IASS.

Bolsonaro's alternative truth

For many years, successive Brazilian governments shared available satellite data with environmental agencies and civil society organizations. This approach facilitated the participation of diverse groups in the protection and sustainable use of the rainforest. While the analyses of satellite imagery published by the government were relatively simple, they provided environmentalists with the information they needed to pressure agencies to improve protections. Especially under President Lula, who ruled from 2003 to 2011, Brazil succeeded in significantly reducing deforestation in the Amazon.

The situation has deteriorated significantly since Bolsonaro came to power in 2019. "Newly empowered groups such as the military, climate denialists, far-right activists, and the agribusiness and extractive industries have begun to establish an alternative regime aimed at spreading an 'alternative truth' about deforestation," Oliveira explains. The researchers refer to this new approach to the use of data as a "hyper-transparency regime" that competes with the old "transparency regime."

Sanctuary or strategic extractive resource?

The age of hyper-transparency is characterized by an excess of information. "This counter-activism works to refute the scientific validity of the images and satellite data produced by the National Institute for Space Exploration by questioning their quality, accuracy and veracity and regularly demanding that it be verified through so-called 'audits.' In doing so, they suggest that the images are not to be trusted. The goal of this practice appears to be to confuse the public about the extent of deforestation," says Oliveira. In addition, the government has accused scientists of allying themselves with environmental NGOs to harm Brazil's economic development.

The prevailing image of the Amazon, the researchers say, has changed fundamentally in the last three years: Whereas it was previously viewed as a protected area within which only limited areas would be sustainably developed, a vision of the Amazon as a strategic resource has become increasingly prevalent.

The research was published in Earth System Governance.

Explore further Record deforestation in Brazilian Amazon in February

More information: M. Cecilia Oliveira et al, Digitalization between environmental activism and counter-activism: The case of satellite data on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, Earth System Governance (2022). M. Cecilia Oliveira et al, Digitalization between environmental activism and counter-activism: The case of satellite data on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon,(2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.esg.2022.100135

Provided by Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies e.V. (IASS)
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Ukraine's population could decline by a third over the next two decades as a result of the Russian invasion, researchers at the University of St Andrews suggest.

War casualties and the large numbers fleeing the country in search of safety would contribute to the population fall.

The population of Ukraine is also likely to become proportionately older over time with continued large-scale emigration the longer the war persists. Coupled with continued low fertility, which has been in decline since the 1990s, this could have a dramatic impact on the long-term future demographics of Ukraine, according to the research team.

Professor Hill Kulu, of the School of Geography and Sustainable Development at the University of St Andrews, said: "Russia's invasion will not only lead to immense human and economic costs in Ukraine in the present, but also carries long-term demographic repercussions.

"Our analysis shows that Ukraine's population has been declining and aging and these processes are projected to continue in the next two decades.

"With long-term political and economic instability, refugees are not only unlikely to return, but young adults and families still in Ukraine may also decide to leave the country eventually."

The researchers conducted a series of population projections to assess the impact of the invasion calculated on the basis of potential deaths, refugees and their likelihood of staying abroad for a long period.

The impact of previous armed conflicts on the population was reviewed as well as an analysis of Ukraine's current demography.

Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 and since then its population has been constantly declining.

In 1991 there were almost 52 million people in Ukraine, but by 2021 the total population had fallen to 41.6 million.

Overall, the size of the Ukrainian population has declined by 20 percent since 1991, which includes a sharp decline from 45.4 million to 42.9 million between 2014 and 2015 related to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Explore further Musk activates Starlink internet service in Ukraine

More information: The War and the Future of Ukraine's Population. The War and the Future of Ukraine's Population. migrantlife.wp.st-andrews.ac.u  aines-Population.pdf
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The length of the border between Finland and Russia is 1,340 kilometers. Besides separating the European Union country from its neighbor, the border has also marked a grim reality: the largest happiness gap in Europe, with the happiest country alongside one of the unhappiest.

Finland has received a lot of attention for taking the top spot in the World Happiness Report in recent years, but what does happiness really mean there and around the globe?

For many years, researchers have measured well-being based on factors related to the economy, environment and unemployment statistics, but according to Frank Martela, university lecturer at Aalto University, we also need to look at factors that show how a country becomesand remainshappy.

"Other countries outside of the Nordics, like Canada, New Zealand and Netherlands have started examining well-being more closely to better understand what factors explain why some citizens are happy and some not. well-being is very multi-layered. First, of course, you need to have your basic needs met. We might take food, shelter, and clean drinking water as self-evident, but if you suddenly lose themlike many civilians in Ukraine right nowlife becomes a struggle. It's much easier to think about higher needs, such as self-expression, when you can take your survival relatively for granted," Martela explains.

How happiness works

Happiness seems to be a notion we universally value as humansa consequence of human action that needs no further explanation. When you ask someone why they did something and their answer is "it made me happy," that's typically enough of a reason.

"The international comparisons of national happiness typically focus on life satisfactionthey ask people, 'How satisfied are you with your life?"' Martela explains. "Finland seems to excel here because of the Finnish welfare system's ability to help its citizens feel taken care of. Things like relatively generous unemployment benefits and nearly free healthcare help mitigate sources of unhappiness, ensuring that there are fewer people in Finland who are highly unsatisfied with their lives."

Finland's ranking as the world's happiest country in 20182021 is from the World Happiness Report, which is based on surveys conducted in 160 different countries to gauge people's satisfaction. It asks the same question in each country: Think about your life on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being the worst possible life and 10 being the best. How would you rate your life on this scale? Similar surveys are also conducted by other organizations, like the European Union, which examines life satisfaction in all of its member countries.

"Research shows that high national ranking on these surveys is not so much about culture," Martela notes. "It's more about how a country's institutions take care of their peoplethis leads to higher ratings of life satisfaction."

This explains the stark gap between Finland and neighboring Russia seen recently in the happiness report. "While well-functioning democracy and institutions, low corruption, and trust between people explain the high levels of happiness in Finland, it is exactly the absence of these factors that explain why Russians are so much less satisfied with their lives," says Martela.

You are what you measure

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the Finnish Prime Minister's Office has been conducting a monthly survey to get fast and up-to-date information on the population's current attitudes and feelings. Recently, Martela collaborated with them to devise new questions examining current levels of well-being.

"Asking Finns to answer questions on a frequent, monthly basis is super important when measuring well-being. The pandemic is a good example of things happening fastwe had to catch up just as fast! We wouldn't get this data if we only measured markers once a year," Martela explains.

"It will be interesting to see what the survey reveals about how Finns have reacted to the war nearby. I am quite sure we will see increased stress and decreased optimism, but are there some demographic groups for whom the effects are especially strong? And who, as a result, would need more targeted help? Surveys like this can help to identify vulnerable groups within the population, so we can better support them."

How frequently you survey a population can help policy-makers quickly see what's working and what's driving discontent, placing hope in the future of policy to address people's needs, and ultimately, their well-being.

With the help of Martela and his colleagues, we're starting to see that asking questions about a population's well-beingand more specifically about how satisfied people are with their country's ability to take care of themcould be the ultimate ticket to tranquility.

"Instead of saying 'Finland is the happiest country in the world,' perhaps a better statement is 'Finland is the country where people are least unhappy.' When the institutions take care of citizens and ensure that their basic needs are met, they are more free to live the kind of life they wantallowing a sense of satisfaction and happiness to exist," says Martela.

Explore further Pressure to feel good associated with poorer individual wellbeing in happier countries: study

More information: 2022 World Happiness Report: 2022 World Happiness Report: worldhappiness.report/
WARRENSBURG  A Schenectady man was arrested following a controlled drug-buy operation conducted by the Warren County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit in Warrensburg.

Terry W. Fauntleroy, 31, was charged with two felony counts of third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. Police said the Warren County NEU purchased crack cocaine from Fauntleroy multiple times during the operation.

Fauntleroy is currently a New York state parolee. State police assisted with the case. He was arraigned in front of Warren County Judge Robert Smith and sent to Warren County Jail, with bail set at $15,000 cash or $30,000 bond.
WARRENSBURG  A 35-year-old Glens Falls man was arrested after selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer, the Warren County Sheriffs Office said.

William A. Pryor, whose street name is Smoke, police said, was arrested Tuesday in Warrensburg by the Warren County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Enforcement Unit, according to a news release.

He is currently a New York state parolee. Pryor was charged with two felonies of criminal possession and sale of a controlled substance, police said.

He was arraigned in Warren County before Judge Robert Smith, and was sent to the Warren County Jail. His bail is set at $10,000 in cash and a bond of $30,000. The Warren County Sheriffs Office made the arrest with the assistance of state police.

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New York state data shows that Warren County is tied with Saratoga County for having the highest percentage of administered booster shots in the state, with a reported 45.7% of its residents boosted.

Warren County Health Services reported Wednesday that there are eight new COVID cases.

Five of these cases stemmed from at-home COVID test results, according county data.

There were 70 new COVID cases in the last five days, county officials said.

The county has three residents who are currently hospitalized, two fewer than Tuesdays report.

Two of these patients are vaccinated, according to county data.

No one in the county is critically ill from COVID.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for Warren County is 2.5%.

Glens Falls Hospital has 10 COVID patients in-house, with one patient in the ICU, according to hospital spokesperson, Ray Agnew.

Washington County

Washington County has not updated its COVID data since last Friday. As of then, the county had 43 active cases, with three hospitalizations.

A total of 35.7% of county residents have received the booster vaccination shot.

According to state data, there were nine positive COVID cases out of 204 administered tests, as of Wednesday morning.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the county is 2.5%.

Capital Region/statewide

There are 57 COVID patients throughout Capital Region hospitals as of Wednesday, according to Warren County data.

Statewide, there were 2,072 positive COVID cases out of 133,109 administered tests, as of Wednesday morning, according to state data.

The seven-day rolling positivity rate for the state is 1.7%.

That rate for the Capital Region is 2.3%.

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China stands firmly against U.S. arms sales to Taiwan region and any forms of official exchanges or military contact between U.S. and the island.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remark at a press conference on Wednesday while responding to a question on a recent purchasing contract of a field information and communication system between the United States and Taiwan region, which was a follow-up to the U.S. arms sale plan to the Taiwan region in December 2020.

Zhu said the Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority has repeatedly purchased arms from the U.S. with taxpayers' money and attempts to "seek independent by force."

"Such attempts will not succeed and will only harm peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the interests of Taiwan residents," she said.
Dear Members of the University Community,

When I became President of Catholic University in 2010, there was another transition going on. The Franciscans had just named a new head of Campus Ministry  Fr. Jude DeAngelo, OFM Conv.

Fr. Jude has been a good friend to me, and a wonderful chaplain to our students, over the past 12 years. Not being a priest myself, I had to depend on him in many ways my predecessor, Fr. OConnell, found unnecessary. In my time it has been Fr. Jude, rather than the University President, who has led our community in prayer, prepared students for entry into the Church, celebrated our Masses, brought the sacraments to students, and counseled them in their griefs and troubles, in addition to the daily business of leading Campus Ministry.

We are immensely grateful for this service. Campus Ministry is not what it was a dozen years ago. It has grown in size and professionalism. Opportunities to serve have multiplied. The Days of Service we observe to celebrate Mother Teresas feast and Martin Luther King Jr. Day have attracted record numbers of students. The food pantry that serves our local community is an important resource for people experiencing food insecurity. Above all, I want to thank Fr. Jude for meeting our students where they are. He has done this with great pastoral sensitivity, deep faith, and a keen sense of humor. He has been selfless in giving his time to anyone in need, and he was a particular source of insight and solace during the worst of the clergy abuse crisis.

I am writing today to let you know that Fr. Jude will be concluding his time as University Chaplain this summer. In his order it is customary to move priests to new assignments after a set number of years. Those who have been here longer than I will recall that Fr. Jude replaced Fr. Bob Schlageter, OFM Conv., after a similar period of service.

As it happens, the term of our current contract with the Conventual Franciscans also ends this summer. The concurrence of these two events moved us to consider a broader conversation about the future of Campus Ministry, and whom we might ask to guide it.

I appointed a team comprising Larry Morris (Vice President and Chief of Staff), Judi Biggs-Garbuio (Vice President for Student Affairs), Susan Timoney (Undergraduate Dean in the School of Theology and Religious Studies), Emmjolee Mendoza Waters (Associate Director of Campus Ministry), Andrew Abela (Dean of the Busch School of Business), and Tony Crnkovich (an undergraduate junior). They solicited expressions of interest from eight groups: the Conventual Franciscans, the Capuchins, the St. John Society, the Dominicans, FOCUS, the Jesuits, the Benedictines, and the Archdiocese of Washington. We received proposals from the first five.

The process took several months, but it was worth our effort. We learned a lot about how Campus Ministry works elsewhere, and what we might want to have for our students. At the end of the day we have decided to ask the Dominicans to undertake the work. The Dominicans bring with them a rich heritage of scholarship and spiritual guidance, and as our neighbors they are well acquainted with the University and its mission.

We will be arranging an opportunity to thank Fr. Jude and the Franciscans for their service, and the transition will take place this summer. We will have more information about the transition after the end of the academic year.

The University, and I personally, have the utmost appreciation for the work Fr. Jude and his friars have done. I cant express adequately the debt we owe him and the Conventual Franciscans for the care they have shown our students over the last 24 years.

Sincerely,

John Garvey

President
The main characters in "The Fell" consider how individual freedom and collective responsibility collide during a period of pandemic lockdown.

"The Fell: A Novel" by Sarah Moss; Farrar, Straus and Giroux (192 pages, $25)



Sarah Moss is no newcomer to writing about isolation. Both "Summerwater" and "Ghost Wall" are set in places of confinement and inaccessibility. In "Cold Earth," visitors to a remote community hear that a deadly pandemic is spreading across the rest of the world. Moss' newest novel, "The Fell," which is coming out in the United States right as the world begins its third year of life with COVID-19, examines the effects of isolation and pandemic even more directly.

Single mother Kate and her teenage son Matt, residents of England's Peak District, are required to quarantine following exposure to the virus. When Kate starts feeling overwhelmed, her son suggests that she bake bread, start knitting or try an online workout. Instead, she breaks her legally mandated lockdown to slip out of the house with her rucksack and take a walk along the moors. What harm could she do, she thinks, just walking outside away from other human beings?

Their elderly neighbor Alice has been isolating in her home for months following cancer treatment. Looking through her window, she watches Kate leave her yard but decides not to report the violation to the authorities. When night falls and Kate has still not returned, Matt becomes increasingly worried and, with Alice's support, arranges for a search party to find his mother. Soon, a helicopter is flying overhead as emergency personnel comb the area with flashlights.

"The Fell" explores the way individual freedom conflicts with collective responsibility. Kate, an avid environmentalist who cares about the future of society enough to compost religiously and purchase only sustainable toothbrushes, has no intention of endangering anyone when she starts her hike. Nevertheless, her choice puts her community at risk.

Alice wonders what boundaries she should maintain in her efforts to help Matt. Matt is unsure how to approach the investigators. And one of the emergency workers will have to touch Kate's injured body, only to risk bringing the virus home to the son he has left behind.

These four characters narrate the book in individual sections full of extremely personal perspectives. They rarely appear in the same scenes, narrating only through their internal monologues. The intense separation between the characters reinforces the novel's major theme of isolation. Perhaps the most significant dialogue in the book is when Kate, lying injured along the path through the moors, hallucinates a judgmental raven who voices both Kate's suffering and her yearning for freedom.

Moss' short novel crystalizes our shared moment of global danger and allows us to observe its different facets. The book's ending, sadly, is not completely satisfying: After their traumatic experiences on the moors, the main characters don't experience personal transformations or have new insights. Perhaps, though, this limitation is exactly what Moss is trying to say: that the continuing pandemic, combined with the climate crisis, has stripped us of any hope for resolution.

"One of the things we're learning, we of the end times," Kate says to her raven, "is that humanity's ending appears to be slow, lacking in cliffhangers or indeed any satisfactory narrative shape."



Hannah Joyner is an independent historian and a freelance book critic in Washington, D.C. She talks about books and reading on her YouTube channel, Hannah's Books.
Causeway CARes, the charitable giving branch of The Causeway Family of Dealerships funded by The Wintrode Family Foundation Inc., recently donated $250,000 to Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin. The funds are being used toward the hospitals surgical expansion. The hospital is key to the expansion of the southern end of Ocean County, said Wintrode. Its important to the major demographic living in the area, which is predominantly seniors and families with children. After hearing the hospitals strategic plan for growth, I knew I wanted to help them succeed. At the March 10 check presentation, from left, are Joe Stroffolino, director of Advertising and Marketing of Causeway Family of Dealerships/Causeway CARes; Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation trustee Sean Kauffman; Dave Wintrode, president of Causeway Family of Dealerships and The Wintrode Family Foundation; Southern Ocean Medical Center President and Chief Hospital Executive Michele Morrison; Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation Board Chair Deb Mathis; Lisa Wintrode of The Wintrode Family Foundation, and David Wintrode, general manager of Causeway Family of Dealerships.
PLEASANTVILLE  The local school district has investigated and addressed an incident in which a racial slur was reportedly used, acting Superintendent Karin Farkas said Tuesday.

There was an incident that occurred at the Pleasantville High School that was brought to our attention by several students, Farkas said. The district has investigated the reports and the situation was addressed. We appreciate the diversity of the districts students, staff, and community members and we will continue to ensure that every person is valued, respected, and has a voice.

Farkas did not address specific disciplinary actions taken, but in her statement she underscored the commitment of the school district to promoting tolerance.

Her statement was in response to questions regarding an apparent audio recording of an adult using a racial slur at the high school. The nine-second clip was sent to The Press on Monday.

Quiet, an adult voice can be heard saying. What I said was, Is it OK if I use the word (racial slur)?

The question seemed to prompt anger and shock from the younger voices being asked about the racial epithet.

Pleasantville community alarmed about school safety following knife fight Parents and community members questioned the Board of Education about whether the district w

The audio portion of the clip is preceded by a brief video of a car floor. A caption on the video gives the last name of a high school teacher and says that he is fried (sic), followed by several laughing emojis.

Pleasantville schools have won statewide recognition for the districts Amistad, Holocaust and Latino heritage, or AMHOTINO, curriculum, which teaches students about race, racism and genocide, while fostering tolerance and diversity in the classroom.

At its March 8 meeting, the Board of Education authorized the AMHOTINO director, Leeds Avenue School first-grade teacher Tamar LaSure-Owens, to help the New Jersey Department of Education implement similar lessons about race and racism across the state.

The incident comes after somebody used a slur for Black people in neighboring Absecon during a Feb. 3 City Council meeting. The person who used the slur was heard saying, I didnt know (expletive) were allowed at the meeting.

Absecon officials said they condemned the slur Feb. 15 and discussed its use with the NAACP, which is calling for an investigation into the incident.

Contact Chris Doyle cdoyle@pressofac.com

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Utility companies across New Jersey are urging their customers to take advantage of assistance programs after the winter shutoff moratorium was lifted Tuesday.

More than 850,000 residential gas and electric customers owe more than $660 million, much of which emanates from prolonged economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities said. More than 157,000 overdue residential water accounts also owe a total of more than $50 million.

Locally, South Jersey Gas is urging its customers with unpaid bills to apply for assistance funds. Interested customers should visit southjerseygas.com for more information.

PSE&G is advising customers behind on their bills to do the same.

We never want to turn off a customers electric or gas service for any reason, and we understand the enormous financial distress the pandemic has caused so many, said Jane Bergen, director of billing for PSE&G Customer Care. We are ready and willing to work with customers who have fallen behind. We are offering more flexible payment arrangements.

Changes made to the states Universal Service Program (USF) included raising the income limits from 185% of the federal poverty level to 400%. Therefore, for a family of four, the income limit for USF is now $106,000 annually.

Other changes include raising monthly USF benefit caps to $180 and enrolling USF customers owing $60 or more into the states energy debt forgiveness program Fresh Start.

The BPU also expanded the Payment Assistance for Gas and Electric program, which historically was for moderate-income families, to also offer supplemental assistance to low-income families. The state also has committed $250 million from the federal American Rescue Plan for utility assistance.

If you have electric, gas, or water bills that are past due, now is the time to ask for help, said Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who also serves as commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. There are a significant number of residents who are in danger of having their services cut off after today, and that is why were continuing to ask utility companies to work with people as they apply for assistance, but they must apply for help.

Contact Eric Conklin: 609-272-7261 econklin@pressofac.com Twitter @ACPressConklin

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GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  If you legalize it, they will come, especially if they have somewhere to consume it.

That seemed to be the message Tuesday at a virtual panel on cannabis tourism.

The free event was sponsored by the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at the Stockton University School of Business, in partnership with the Greater Atlantic City Chamber and Stocktons cannabis studies program.

Panelists compared cannabis tourism to wine tourism. People want to visit where the plants are grown, much like a vineyard tour, with the expectation that the visitors will also want to taste and have a chance to purchase the product. Visitors also want an educational component to cannabis tours, just like with wineries, they said.

In California, which legalized marijuana in 2016, work is underway to develop an appellation system similar to how wine regions are dedicated, said Brian Applegarth, a founder of the Cannabis Travel Association and a California marketing and events agency, one of four participants in the event.

Cannabis tourism has been an increasing industry in California, Colorado and elsewhere. Some business leaders see a chance for New Jersey to cash in big, with millions of potential customers in New York City and Philadelphia just over the bridges.

Somers Point to survey public about pot policies With a new age of marijuana sales in New Jersey on the horizon, Somers Point is turning to t

Right now, we have a lot of people who are preparing for all the opportunities that will come, said Rob Mejia, an author and adjunct faculty member with Stocktons cannabis studies minor. Keep an eye on New Jersey because were going to go from zero to 60 in the next year.

He joined Jamie Hoffman, who runs a cannabis-infused edibles company in Seattle, and Susan Dupej of the Social Studies and Humanities Research Council of Canada on the panel. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, the first G20 nation to legalize at the federal level.

The discussion was presented by the Cannabis & Hemp Research Initiative at Stockton. CHRIS provides cannabis and hemp education, research and resources for local and national markets. Jenna Misciascio moderated the event. She graduated from Stockton in 2021 with a bachelors degree in hospitality and tourism management studies and a minor in cannabis studies and now works in the cannabis tourism industry.

Dupej discussed a Canadian program that allows cannabis growers to offer tours and sell directly to visitors, similar to vineyard and brewery tasting tours. She said some states in the US are ahead of Canada in offering consumption lounges.

In most instances in which cannabis is legal, it cannot be smoked or consumed in public, and most hotels and rental properties do not allow smoking. That means visitors who want to enjoy their legal weed may have few options.

In New Jersey, plans are to offer consumption lounges. Licensed cannabis sellers will be able to offer lounges, but only if the municipality opts in.

But according to Mejia, only nine communities out of more than 500 in New Jersey have said yes to such lounges. Atlantic City is one of them.

Just as wine pairs with food, Applegarth said, cannabis pairs with environments and experiences. He said consumption lounges should be more than just somewhere to sit. He spoke about offering cannabis-based events and concerts, to present visitors with immersive experiences.

If youre a yoga instructor, can you do a couple of cannabis sessions? Mejia suggested.

Other recommendations from the panel included making connections between cannabis companies and other tourist-centric services, so that visitors dont have to drive. Other possibilities included having restaurants offer infused dishes.

For now, New Jerseys restrictions on edibles remain strict and very limited, although indications are that could be eased once the market is up and functioning.

New Jersey voters said yes to legalization in 2020, and Gov. Phil Murphy signed a package of legislation more than a year ago, but for now, taxed and legal cannabis remains in the future for New Jersey.

Hoffman said businesses should work closely with local and state officials and prioritize compliance with regulations. She also suggested bringing creativity to the process and not just offering something already on the market, but with cannabis.

You want to give somebody a reason to spend $35 on a little jar of something, she said.

Think, what are you passionate about? Then roll up your sleeves every day and get to work on it, Applegarth said.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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ATLANTIC CITY  The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority Board of Directors on Tuesday unanimously approved a deal to sell three former rooming houses to a developer for a total of $150,000, despite some neighbors saying the houses would be better off torn down.

The agreement with Liberty Hudson Holdings LLC is for 105 California Ave., 106 Albion Place and 108 Albion Place. Lance Landgraf, the planning and development director for the CRDA, told the board the plan is to combine the three buildings to operate as a single boutique hotel, with nine rooms in each building.

Theyre not seeking any financial subsidies from the CRDA, except for the reduced price of the buildings, Landgraf said of the proposal.

At previous meetings, CRDA officials said the former rooming houses were tenacious problems for neighbors and police, allegedly being used by some of the renters for drug sales, prostitution and human trafficking.

I think these buildings are in really rough shape, said one resident at the meeting, which was held over the phone. Another speaker doubted anything could be salvaged from the three buildings.

If they wanted to do whats best for the neighborhood, I think they should tear them down and put in a new project, said resident Sean Reardon.

CRDA delays vote on boarding houses ATLANTIC CITY  The board of directors of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority on T

But Landgraf disagreed about the potential for the buildings, and Evan Sanchez, a developer who has worked on other projects with the CRDA but is not involved in this proposal, said he is familiar with the work Liberty Hudson Holdings has done in other areas and is confident in its ability to complete the project.

The properties are less than a block from the beach and Boardwalk, Landgraf said, and are in a neighborhood with restaurants and homes. He believes the work will change the neighborhood for the better.

Another resident suggested postponing the vote. The CRDA board had already delayed voting on the proposal at the February meeting.

Liberty Hudson Holdings representatives were on the call but made no comment. John Errico, who is partners in the business with Ryan Goldfarb, said in an interview after the vote that the plan is to reframe the existing buildings and connect them, but keep the structures intact. Even though some of the residents said they were not particularly good-looking buildings, he said they will remain recognizable.

We want to keep the original character of the buildings, he said. Our goal is to do something that blends into the neighborhood. Its not going to be a modernist, brutalist structure.

The goal is to have the property open by the summer of 2023, although Errico said that could be optimistic. The firm still has to close on the purchase with the CRDA, and will then return to the board with a proposal. The CRDA acts as the Planning Board for Atlantic City within the Tourism District. Each step will likely take months, he said.

CRDA rooming house purchases criticized ATLANTIC CITY  A Casino Reinvestment Development Authority effort to buy problem rooming ho

Then its off to the races, he said.

The construction phase will probably take about a year, he said.

Liberty Hudson Holdings has three other former rooming houses in Atlantic City and has also completed residential projects, he said. The budget for this proposal is $1.7 million, including the building purchase, with more than $1 million planned on construction.

Still to be determined is the use of the first floor of each building, which cannot be residential space under current flood and construction codes. That space could be used for recreation, storage or possibly an art gallery, he said.

Landgraf said the units could be rented for a week for vacationing families once the project is completed.

The properties were vacant when the CRDA purchased them, part of an effort begun in 2020 to address problem properties. The CRDA initially approved more than $1 million for the two properties on Albion Place, a small, L-shaped street connecting Pacific Avenue with South California Avenue. Those costs included money for demolition, however.

Last September, some board members balked at buying properties at a premium and then selling them for far less than the purchase price. Three board members voted no on the purchase of the Albion Place properties at that meeting, but the sale was approved.

At the meeting Tuesday, a resident asked why the CRDA did not demolish the properties, as discussed when the purchase was approved. Landgraf said the cost would be about $400,000 to demolish them, while if a developer used the existing buildings, that would save the CRDA that cost.

Contact Bill Barlow: 609-272-7290 bbarlow@pressofac.com Twitter @jerseynews_bill

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Moline is moving closer to consolidating most city services in one location.

City council members on Tuesday discussed the creation of a "one-stop-shop" at a centralized location where residents can obtain permits and license applications, make utility payments, and inquire about zoning, code enforcement and more with the goal of improving service to residents, businesses and developers.

Currently, residents needing those services must go to either City Hall, public works or the central fire station. The One Stop Shop would put all those processes under one roof.

During the planning session, City Administrator Bob Vitas said the public works building, 3635 4th Ave., is best suited as a site to accommodate and consolidate city operations, as it has potential for expansion, enough parking and is easily accessible to the public.

"As with any one-stop-shop, the first issue is location," Vitas said. "After taking a look at the land that we actually own today, I honed in on our public works facility. It's always good to invest money on that side of town.

"That facility was built with a future in mind. It was built beyond the present-day need, and there were plans for expansion at that present location," he said. "So it lends itself to a cost-effective way to try and bring about a one-stop-shop without having to spend a gross amount of funds on land acquisition or new facility construction."

After touring the building with Municipal Services Manager Rodd Schick, Vitas said it became clear there was potential to adapt the facility to fit the need.

Vitas said $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act Funds has been allocated for expansion of the public works building for the purpose of the one-stop-shop, some of which will be used to install an elevator to the mezzanine level where offices will be located. The mezzanine will be enclosed and renovated at an estimated cost of $294,525. The overall project is projected to cost about $2.8 million.

"ADA requirements are going to set the tone for what we do," Vitas said. "Whether it's an employee that needs accommodation or whether it's a visitor, you still have to meet those ADA requirements."

The plan would move the community and economic development department out of City Hall and the finance department from the central fire station into the public works building. The public works building already offers building permits, engineering and code enforcement services.

"One of the legs of the three-legged stool is already there," Vitas said.

Alderman Alvaro Macias, Ward 2, said it's important to make sure there will be employees available who speak other languages.

"Maybe being aware of that and making sure we have enough staff that can provide a language line so we can provide better service for those residents," Macias said.

Council members also discussed renovations and repairs needed at City Hall and the central fire station.

Fleet and Facilities Manager Sarah Mark displayed photos taken of the basement in City Hall, showing crumbling plaster, broken tiles and obvious water damage.

"One of the most immediate (issues) is the need for waterproofing our basement. We've got an issue with humidity down in the basement as well as water coming through the walls," Mark said. "It has created a condition down here where we've got plaster coming down, paint chipping and we have asbestos tiles that have popped up in areas because of the water damage."

Vitas said it is also necessary to address the massive amount of records being stored in the basement and begin the process of digitizing them or destroying records that no longer serve a purpose or have outlived their usefulness.

City Hall is also in need of a new boiler, mold remediation, removal of asbestos tiles and abatement of lead-based paint.

The central fire station, 1630 8th Ave., was built in 1972 to accommodate the fire and police departments. The building is in need of so many repairs, city officials are discussing whether to renovate or construct an entirely new facility. With construction of a new police facility in 2007 and departure of police personnel, the central fire station is now over-sized for its purpose.

The fire station is in need of a new HVAC system, boilers, roof, windows, upgrades to electrical and mechanical equipment, lead abatement and waterproofing.

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St. Ambrose University Professor Joe Miller is running for a spot on the Scott County Board of Supervisors, he announced Tuesday.

Miller, a Democrat, in 2021 was tapped by Davenport Mayor Mike Matson to stand-in to represent Davenports 7th Ward until city elections filled the vacant seat.

Miller is a business professor, and directs the St. Ambrose business colleges sales program. According to a news release, his research has been published in the academic journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, the Journal of World Business, and the Harvard Business Review.

I believe my extensive business expertise and background will enable me to help restore Scott County competitiveness as we continue to lag behind other large counties in the state in terms of economic growth, Miller said, according to the media release.

In a press release, Miller criticized the countys approach for federal COVID-19 relief dollars and its plan to build a new 40-bed youth detention center.

The county board plans to vote on its upcoming fiscal 2023 budget on Thursday, which will include its plan to spend $7.2 million in American Rescue Plan dollars on the new 40-bed juvenile detention facility, which has faced push back from Supervisor Ken Croken and social justice advocates for being too large for the countys needs.

I continue to be disappointed by the Boards refusal to listen to even the experts, much less the community. Once you come to understand that incarceration is the least effective approach to reducing juvenile crime; your next move should not be to build a bigger jail, he said, according to the news release. As a board member of the North/West YMCA, it is apparent to me that we should be investing more in community-based programs that keep kids in school and in the community. Furthermore, the Boards blind determination to push forward with a $25 million capital project without taxpayer approval in the form of a referendum is unprecedented, particularly considering the citizens who will have to bear the brunt of such an outcome.

Three of the five at-large supervisor seats are up for election in 2022. Ken Croken's term expires at the end of the year, but he plans to run for Iowa House District 97, a newly drawn district in Scott County that lacks an incumbent.

Supervisors John Maxwell, a Republican, and Brinson Kinzer, a Democrat, are also up in 2022, and plan to run for reelection.

Tony Knobbe has said he plans to run for county treasurer, though his term isn't up for election until 2024.

Miller is the fourth non-incumbent candidate to announce a bid for a board of supervisors seat.

Jean Dickson, a former Pleasant Valley school board member announced plans to run as a Republican.

Davenport attorney Jazmin Newton plans to vie again for a spot on the board as a Democrat. She lost by fewer than 70 votes to chairman Ken Beck in the 2020 election.

State Rep. Ross Paustian, a Republican from Walcott, also threw his name in the ring for a seat.

As of now, three Republicans and three Democrats plan to be on the ballots for the June 2022, partisan primary elections.

Three seats are up for reelection, so voters can advance up to three candidates from each party to the general election ballot so long as each reaches a threshold of 35% of partisan votes cast.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Miller graduated from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor of fine arts degree and from Wayne State University with an MBA in marketing and finance, as well as from Michigan State University with a PhD in marketing, according to the release.

Miller and his wife of 28 years have two children, according to the press release: a daughter who is a college freshman, and a son at Davenport North High School. Before moving to Davenport, Miller lived in the Rochester, New York area for nine years, working as a faculty member at Rochester Institute of Technology.

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The Scott County Jail needs emergency roof repairs, county staff say, after it was damaged in the March 5 storms that caused tornadoes and leveled homes in central Iowa. But it could be months before the roof is fixed.

Tammy Speidel, facility and support services director, told county supervisors on Tuesday that about 75% of the rubber membrane layer of the roof above the housing portion of the jail is torn loose. As a stop-gap, the county has piled upward of 300 sand bags to hold down the rubber roof membrane.

"It is by no means secured to the substrate, but it is back down so it's no longer flapping in the wind, which it literally was doing," Speidel said. "You could see the air under it billow. So you imagine like a kid's bouncy house, that's what it looked like and felt like to walk on."

Leaks started appearing in the jail Monday because of precipitation and snow melt since the storm.

The roof covers the building where the majority of the Scott County inmates are held.

The leaks have since been patched, and there is no current danger to inmates or security risk, Speidel said, but the sand bags and roof are susceptible to bad weather conditions.

"If we get driving rain or a hail storm or heavy winds, then we're going to see some more leaks," Speidel said.

The county has contacted Wold Architects and Engineers to help diagnose the problem and do the engineering and design. Fixing the roof will cost $570,000 for engineering, design, material and construction, the company has said.

Wold estimated the project wouldn't be completed until November because of a long wait time to get materials.

"We we have impressed upon them (Wold) the urgency of this. We're going to continue to impress, as we go through the process, on any contractor the urgency of this to see if there's any way we can shorten that lead time," Speidel said. "I did let the sheriff know. He's obviously not happy with that. We're not happy with that."

Supervisor Ken Croken asked Speidel if the county could evaluate proposals to add other improvements to the roof like solar panels or vegetation to help offset the facility's energy costs.

Speidel said solar panels were one idea the county and Wold were considering already for the new juvenile detention center, to be located in northern Davenport. Likewise, she said solar panels could be considered for the jail, though it would add to the cost estimate of the roof replacement.

"They'll (Wold) be on site here in the next week or so to take that first initial look at it, and we'll start that conversation," Speidel said.

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Two officers at Thomson Federal Prison have required medical attention in the past month after being exposed to illegal drugs.

The union representing Thomson correctional officers, American Federation of Government Employees Local 4070, is asking the Bureau of Prisons to restore positions in search and shake-down teams at the prison to help detect the drugs. The positions were lost in staffing cuts.

In a case Tuesday, a correctional officer was opening mail when he unknowingly came into contact with a letter that had been soaked in methamphetamine, said Jon Zumkehr, president of Local 4070.

"It resulted in a violent reaction, and the officer immediately started throwing up," he said. "He was treated at the hospital."

Thomson Prison employee named AFGE 2021 Officer of the Year Thomson Bureau of Prisons Correctional Officer Jonathan Zumkehr has been named American Federation of Government Employees' 2021 law enforcement officer of the year.

Encountering letters that have been soaked in various drugs for inmates to consume is not a problem that is specific to Thomson, Zumkehr said, but the prison in Carroll County is not equipped to spot the drugs. Another officer was exposed just three weeks ago, he said.

The union now is asking the Bureau of Prisons to restore positions that were removed from the hiring roster and to buy an ion scanner, which is used in many prisons to detect illegal substances and hazardous chemicals on mail.

"It would be a proactive approach that would help staff and inmates by eliminating drugs in the prison," Zumkehr said of the equipment request. Other prisons also use automatically sorted mail systems that takes photo copies of letter to inmates, so the original documents are not circulated in the facility.

At federal prisons throughout the United States, fentanyl, carfentanil, K2, suboxone, ecstasy, synthetic cocaine, and other substances are introduced through the prison mail, causing an increasing number of staff to become ill from accidental exposure.

The cost for a pre-screen system in general mail is $40 million and another $10 million would be needed to effectively screen correspondence for the presence of drugs, union officials said. They are requesting emergency funding for the processes.

Considerable progress has been made in recent years to increase the number of correctional officers who are working at Thomson. In 2019, the union reported having 167 vacancies.

It still is down 75 positions in custody jobs with another 10 vacancies in medical, Zumkehr said.

Several financial incentives have been approved by federal authorities to help recruit workers for Thomson, including 25% recruitment bonuses, and 25% retention bonuses are paid after a year on the job.

The prison and its union also were granted direct-hire authority. With the red tap cut, Zumkehr said, the time it takes to process workers has been cut from six months to two months.

Thomson Prison cleared to expedite hiring of 65 additional correctional officers Thomson Federal Prison has been cleared to hire its own correctional officers, allowing it to address its worker shortage.

Corrections positions start at $20.84 an hour, plus the bonuses. At the second and third years, the pay scale bumps to $25.12 an hour.

"We're definitely better off than we were two years ago, so it's definitely helping," Zumkehr said Wednesday. "We're doing everything possible to get the word out to all qualified candidates.

"The union did six job fairs just last month."

Those interested may apply by searching for Thomson at USAJOBS.gov or by calling 815-259-1666.

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A 33-year-old East Moline man died Tuesday when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a pickup pulling a trailer on Avenue of the Cities, Moline police said.

Moline police and firefighters responded to the 4600 block of Avenue of the Cities at about noon, according to a news release issued by police.

A man on a Yamaha motorcycle was westbound on Avenue of the Cities.

A Chevrolet pickup pulling an enclosed box trailer was eastbound on Avenue of the Cities. The pickup was driven by a 32-year-old East Moline man.

The two vehicles collided near 46th Street and the motorcyclist was ejected from the bike. The motorcycle skidded along the roadway and burst into flames.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson confirmed the fatality.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at 12:17 p.m. at Genesis Medical Center, Silvis, Gustafson said. His identity was not being released until family had been notified.

Officers began removing traffic barricades about 2:30 p.m., allowing traffic to resume in both directions.

Gustafson said the investigation was ongoing with the Moline police and the coroners office both participating.

Moline police said a reconstruction of the crash was being performed by the Moline Police Department's Traffic Unit.

No arrests were made and no traffic citations had been issued as of Tuesday afternoon.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information about the incident is asked to call the Moline Police Department at 309-797-0401, or Crime Stoppers of the Quad-Cities at 309-762-9500, or on the Crime Stoppers app P3 Tips.

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Anthony Watt Reporter Anthony is a reporter for Dispatch-Argus-QCOnline.com. Follow Anthony Watt 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
SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP)  Linda Navarre moved to Sandpoint, Idaho, from Cleveland in 1978, when the town consisted of people in the timber industry and hippies "and they all got along."

Now she barely recognizes the small resort community near the Canadian border that is quickly growing as people disenchanted with big city life move there. Many are conservatives fed up with liberal politics in blue states.

"The division gets wider and wider," Navarre said, adding many of the new arrivals are changing the civility of the community. "My concern is there are so many people who are not nice."

Sandpoint is a four-season resort town built along the shores of scenic Lake Pend Oreille. It had 7,300 residents in the 2010 Census, but grew 21% in the decade to about 8,900 in the 2020 Census. In addition to the natural beauty, "people come here because it's a red state," said longtime resident Gail Cameron, 67.

To capitalize on that trend, a growing number of real estate companies are advertising themselves to people on the right, saying they can take them out of liberal bastions like Seattle and San Francisco and find them homes in places like rural Idaho.

Keep scrolling for a ranking of the best places to live in America

Sandpoint-based Flee The City is a consortium of four businesses which specialize in selling property to conservatives in northern Idaho and western Montana. The company calls itself "a real estate firm for the vigilant."

Flee the City has partnered with a company that provides "sustainable homes design with integrated ballistic and defensive capabilities."

Todd Savage, whose Black Rifle Real Estate firm is part of Flee The City, said in a brief email exchange that his business is booming, thanks to "insane" left wing politics.

One of the bigger players among right-leaning real estate companies is Conservative Move, based in a suburb of Dallas. Founder and chief executive Paul Chabot said blue states have only themselves to blame for driving out conservatives.

"People are tired of out-of-control crime and forced masking," Chabot said.

Idaho has been the fastest growing state in the nation for five years running, growing 2.9% in 2021, mostly from in-migration.

But the influx of people to places like Idaho has made it harder for some long-time residents. People struggle to find housing in Sandpoint, with many houses sold the same day they are listed, after bidding wars, Cameron said.

Many of those homes are converted into vacation rentals, which tightens the market for people who live in the area, Cameron said.

Carolyn Knaack, associate director of the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper conservation group, has lived in town for a year.

She said the confluence of the coronavirus pandemic and politics "has created a divisiveness among folks."

"I've been applauded and belittled for wearing a mask," she said. "I have friends who refused to get vaxxed."

Savage was asked if it was desirable for people to segregate themselves by political ideology.

"I don't agree with the term 'segregate,'" he wrote. "Folks simply 'vote with their feet' relating to issues such as crime, taxes, homeschooling, gun laws, mask and vaccine mandates, Orwellian laws and out of control tyranny in the sanctuary states."

Not everyone is a fan of what Savage and conservative realtors are doing in Sandpoint and elsewhere.

Mayor Shelby Rognstad, a Democrat, worries real estate firms that serve only conservatives "pushes Idaho more and more into a playground for extremism.

"It doesn't bode well for our sense of community here," said Rognstad, who is mounting a campaign for governor. "It's a challenge to civility."

Barbara Russell, who lives in nearby Bonners Ferry, Idaho, expressed similar concerns.

Bonners Ferry feels like it's been overrun with white nationalists, said Russell, who owns a dance studio in the town of 2,600 residents.

"What they are doing is preparing for war," Russell said of new arrivals, who often carry guns when in town.

"New people are moving in and they go to City Council meetings and tell people who grew up here to go back to California," Russell said. "They are selling fear is what they are doing."

The National Association of Realtors does not keep records of if any of its members market themselves by political ideology, spokesman Quintin Simmons said. And not all real estate agents are members of the Realtors. So it's tough to determine if the trend of targeting conservative customers is widespread.

The Western States Center, a human rights group based in Portland, Oregon, is keeping an eye on right-leaning real estate firms, said member Kate Bitz.

"It's just the latest of several waves of politically motivated relocation to the inland Northwest," Bitz said.

Indeed, in past decades a variety of extremist groups, most prominently the Aryan Nations, sought to create a white homeland in northern Idaho because of the region's small number of minorities.

"People in the United States relocate all the time," Bitz said. "What concerns us is when white nationalists and anti-democracy actors relocate to the region with the aim of organizing, recruiting and seizing control of local institutions."

***

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Scott County supervisors are expected to adopt the fiscal year 2023 budget this week. Well over $100 million, it will be the largest ever. Still included is the misguided plan to spend about $25 million to increase capacity of the juvenile detention center from 18 to 40 beds, expandable to 60 beds. Its wrong, wasteful and lacks taxpayer approval because theres simply no need.

The county board has threatened the public for two years that federal law effective in December 2021 would result in a huge wave of juvenile detainees overwhelming our current facility. Scary? Sure! But it didnt happen. In fact, the average daily population in juvenile detention in January was only 11, the lowest monthly number in over seven years. And, the average daily population for February was also 11, only 60% of current capacity

Declining juvenile incarceration is really no surprise. Nationwide, juvenile confinement rates declined by 70% between 1995 and 2019. Everyone except the Scott County Board has come to accept that incarceration is the least effective, most expensive response to juvenile crime. Even our own nascent county, community-based, alternative-to-incarceration programs are showing positive results. Moreover, the Iowa Supreme Court announced a "holistic review" of Iowas juvenile justice system to make service improvements. As a consequence, we should expect significant changes, particularly focused on racial disparity.

Scott County needs a better detention center, not a bigger one. Equally important, dont we have any more compelling needs for $25 million; say roads and bridges, perhaps?

Ken Croken

Davenport

(Ken Croken, a Democrat, is a member of the Scott County Board.)

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Iowa and Illinois members of Congress said they'd support U.S. military aid to Ukraine, though several cautioned against escalating the conflict globally.

On a call with reporters, Iowa's Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said the U.S. should do "all we can to help (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and his people, short of getting the United States into a third world war."

Zelenskyy spoke to Congress on Wednesday, asking the U.S. for air support to protect the skies in Ukraine as Russia has continued to bomb cities and civilian targets.

When asked about what he specifically thought would thread the needle between providing help and escalating the war, Grassley cited Ukrainian humanitarian and military aid to the tune of nearly $14 billion approved by Congress last week. President Joe Biden announced about $800 million in new aid to Ukraine on Wednesday.

Grassley didn't say whether he supported specific military measures like a no-fly zone.

"Now, if that's not enough money, it's pretty easy for us to appropriate more money," he told reporters. "All you have to see is that video, you know, any American sees that video that we saw in the middle of the speech would just say how terrible Putin is and how stupid he is and how egomaniac he is and he may be sick and maybe all the above."

In his speech, Zelenskyy called for a humanitarian no-fly zone, which would allow for evacuation corridors and food and medical supplies to be brought into besieged cities. According to national media reports, the no-fly zone has not garnered wide support in the Biden administration and from members of Congress. The Biden administration has cited concerns that it could inflame tensions and escalate into a global war.

Grassley, who is not on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he wasn't qualified to make decisions about specific weaponry to send.

"Now, you know if you want me to say we need this weapon or that weapon, I'm not qualified to make those decisions," he said. "But, I think that we ought to be doing everything we can short of anything that brings about World War Three, and with it the possibility of a nuclear holocaust."

Sen. Joni Ernst

Iowa's junior Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Twitter implored the Biden administration to allow Poland to fly in MiG fighter jets to Ukraine to defend its air space.

The Biden administration pulled out of the deal for concerns it would escalate into a global conflict with Russia.

Ernst, who commended Zelenskyy as a "fearless leader," called on Biden to send a signal to Putin that the United States is behind Ukraine by "immediately" providing Ukrainians with "the lethal aid they urgently need."

"Pres. Zelenskyy is showing strength in the face of Putins war of aggression against his sovereign nation," Ernst tweeted. "America stands with the people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom. Pres. Biden, send the MiGs."

Rep. Cheri Bustos

Rep. Cheri Bustos, a Democrat from Illinois, indicated she did not support a no-fly zone in an interview ahead of Zelenskyy's address to Congress.

"A very small group have spoken out publicly and said that they're in favor of a no-fly zone," Bustos said. "But they are very much in the minority, the vast majority of members of the House and the Senate have deep concern about the United States getting more deeply involved in this. We're helping them with their weapons, with their defense, with their humanitarian needs."

In a statement following Zelenskyy's address, Bustos said she "saw an undaunted, but dire, plea from a leader on the front lines of preserving and defending democracy."

"Ukraine needs help  and the United States is stepping up," she said.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

"We stand with the Ukrainian people, but even more we know that we need to continue to ramp up sanctions and to give assistance to Ukraine that they need," Miller-Meeks said in a video posted on Twitter. "We should not, as members of Congress or the public, be forcing the president to have a ban (on) Russian oil and gas, and at the same time we should release domestic energy production."

Iowa's U.S. senators have promoted biofuels to replace Russian oil, though some agriculture economists have questioned whether there is sufficient ethanol production capacity to meet that demand.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, on Twitter touted the $14 billion in aid to Ukraine approved by Congress, saying "The U.S. is dedicated to supporting Ukraine by sending the resources and weapons they need and is leading the free world in punishing Putin for this war."

"Our country and the world remain in awe of the bravery of the Ukrainian people who, with the fearless leadership of President Zelenskyy, are continuing to repel Putin's forces against overwhelming odds."

Sen. Dick Durbin

Fellow Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter: "President Zelensky's speech to Congress today was powerful. Putin has unleashed a savage war of death and destruction on a peaceful, sovereign nation. The U.S. must continue to provide Ukraine with the military and humanitarian supplies it needs to fight back and save lives."

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Im starting to feel a sense of deja vu. At about this time last year, I was contacting my representatives and senators in Des Moines to ask that they oppose voucher legislation. Despite the lack of support from all corners of the state last year, it seems that were having this discussion again. No matter what these programs are called (this year, its Student First scholarships and Hope scholarships), these "education savings accounts" are vouchers for private education using public money. And vouchers are still a terrible idea for Iowa.

I am a Davenport Schools parent, and I am also on the Davenport Community Schools Board of Education. On Feb. 28, by unanimous vote, we passed a resolution opposing vouchers in any form, stating that public money belongs in public schools. We have a wide variety of political views on our board, from conservative to progressive. In an era of little bipartisanship, the fact that seven people of diverse political ideologies all agree on this issue should mean something to the governor and the state legislature.

So why are vouchers such a terrible idea? There are a number of reasons, but here are just a few.

First, public schools are set up to educate all children, no matter how difficult it is, how unique the child, how severe the disability, how gifted they are. Private schools can and do routinely refuse to admit students who do not meet their preferences. Indeed, any private school can simply say "no" to a student.

Public money should be used to pay for services accessible to all students, not just a few. In addition, by refusing students who do not meet their preferred profiles, test scores and other measures of successful schools are artificially inflated by leaving out low-achieving students.

Most private schools cannot provide special education services, or if they can, they are minimal. Those that do contract with their Area Education Agency to provide those services. The AEA is a state-run organization that also assists public schools in providing services. So why should parents pay for the same services that they can get in a public school for free?

Second, voucher programs will divert money from students with the fewest resources, and those who are most impacted by the learning loss of the coronavirus pandemic. These are also the students least likely to be able to take advantage of any voucher program due to lack of transportation, academic challenges, an inability to pay the difference between vouchers and tuition, or a lack of private schools nearby.

In fact, many rural districts don't even have private schools that could be eligible for vouchers. That the governor has offered to pay these districts money when other districts use vouchers is just tacky and insulting, and it doesn't do anything to help the vast majority of Iowa families.

Third, Iowa already has school choice. Parents can choose to send their kids to religious and nonreligious private schools, open enroll to a neighboring public district, attend online, or even homeschool. The only families that will be able to use this "choice" are those with the ability to transport children longer distances and pay the difference between voucher money and actual tuition. Those families are also already most likely to have the privilege of wealth, flexible work schedules, or are least at risk of academic failure.

Fourth, public schools are overseen by publicly elected boards of education and federal and state reporting of finances and academics. Private schools are not. Public money should be spent in the light of day, with the ability to be monitored closely. Voucher legislation prevents this transparency, as taxpayer money goes to private institutions not subject to such fiscal oversight.

Finally, we live in the United States, where separation of church and state are foundational concepts. I do not want my money going to pay for someone else's religious education. I have no problem with religion, or even religious schools. But unless legislators can honestly say to themselves that they are equally willing to fund a student's tuition to a Jewish school, a Muslim school, or a progressive Christian school as well as one that is Evangelical Christian or Catholic, then its clear the motivation is not for school choice, but to impose particular values on the public.

In short, the money for this program would be much better spent as part of an increased supplemental state aid allotment that will benefit the more than 90% of Iowa children who already attend public schools. It should not be used to help a few Iowa students while pulling money from all Iowa public school students.

Allison Beck is a member of the Davenport School Board.

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Theres good news for west Rapid City book lovers. The longtime business Everybodys Bookstore has a new owner, Jessie Polenz. After working at the store for a few years, she decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship and will become the stores owner on March 23.

For customers, Polenz hopes the transition will be smooth with few changes, except for more bookshelves being added in April. Store hours will change slightly; the new hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday to give people time to stop in and browse on their way home from work, Polenz said. If theres enough interest from the community, Polenz will consider opening on Sundays, too.

Its a perfectly viable bookstore right now. We sell books. Thats what we do. It works, Polenz said Tuesday. The majority of people who come in say, I have a Kindle and I never touch it. I need a real book.

Current owner Lori Speirs will assist Polenz at the store for an undetermined length of time to ease the transition.

Speirs has owned Everybodys Bookstore since 1995 and moved it from its Fifth Street store to present location at 3321 W. Main St. in 1998. The store fills a niche in that area of the city, and the location came with a much-needed parking lot, Speirs said.

Before owning the bookstore, Speirs worked in speech therapy and home day care. Now, Speirs is retiring. She put the store up for sale last summer.

Ill miss the store and the people and customers Ive become acquainted with, Speirs said. After 26 years, it felt like time to retire.

Shes enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere at the store, which specializes in used books and maps.

When people come in theyre pretty relaxed and wanting to browse, Speirs said. Theres a lot of people who spend their work time on screens and they dont want to be on screens in their off time.

Speirs is looking forward to traveling and visiting her children who live out of state. Chuckling, Speirs said she also has a stack of books she wants to read. She especially enjoys Diana Gabaldons books and John Sandfords Prey series.

For Polenz, owning a bookstore might be her dream job. She carries a book with her at all times and doesnt own a television because shed rather read. She, too, likes Gabaldons books, as well as mysteries and books by Craig Johnson.

Ive always loved books. Books are definitely my main thing, she said. My sister and I hike every Thursday. Our favorite part is we take a book and read in the woods.

After Everybodys Business had been on the market for a few months and Speirs thought she might have to shut down the store, Polenz took action.

I never intended to own a business, she said. I thought maybe I can figure this out. I dove into the whole thing of learning the ropes of running a business and getting it all together.

I really felt like I would rather put more effort in and learn to run a business than lose the bookstore entirely, Polenz said. "I don't want to see the bookstore close."

Speirs has mentored her in business ownership, Polenz said, and Polenz credits Dona Leavens, regional director at the South Dakota Small Business Development Center, for being a valuable resource. Polenz has a GoFundMe (gofundme.com/f/help-jessie-purchase-everybodys-bookstore) and invites the community to help her buy Everybodys Bookstore.

Polenz said Everybodys Bookstore will be a family affair. Her two sisters will help her in the store, and her dad is going to build bookshelves.

What Im excited about is building more shelves. Weve still got crates full of books. My dad is a fantastic carpenter so  well have a bookshelf building day so we can get books up on those, she said.

Polenz doesnt plan a grand opening, but she does plan to celebrate the new bookshelves by taking books for trade again beginning in April. Book donations are always welcome.

Speirs said Everybodys Bookstore customers are always particularly looking for Harry Potter books and novels by Agatha Christie, Lee Child and Louis LAmour. Follow the Everybodys Bookstore Facebook page for updates about the store.

Theres good news for west Rapid City book lovers. The longtime business Everybodys Bookstore has a new owner, Jessie Polenz. After working at the store for a few years, Polenz decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship and becomes the stores owner March 23.

For customers, Polenz hopes the transition will be smooth with few changes, except for more bookshelves being added in April. Store hours will change slightly; the new hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday to give people time to stop in and browse on their way home from work, Polenz said. If theres enough interest from the community, Polenz will consider opening on Sundays, too.

Its a perfectly viable bookstore right now. We sell books. Thats what we do. It works, Polenz said. The majority of people who come in say, I have a Kindle and I never touch it. I need a real book.'"

Current owner Lori Speirs will assist Polenz at the store for an undetermined length of time to ease the transition.

Speirs has owned Everybodys Bookstore since November 1995, and moved it from its Fifth Street store to present westside location at 3321 W. Main St. in 1998. The store fills a niche in that area of the city, and the location came with a much-needed parking lot, Speirs said.

Before owning the bookstore, Speirs had careers in speech therapy and home day care. Now, Speirs is retiring and she put the store up for sale last summer.

Ill miss the store and the people and customers Ive become acquainted with, Speirs said. After 26 years, it felt like time to retire.

Shes enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere at the store, which specializes in used books and maps.

When people come in theyre pretty relaxed and wanting to browse, Speirs said. Theres a lot of people who spend their work time on screens and they dont want to be on screens in their off time.

Speirs is looking forward to traveling and visiting her children who live out of state. Chuckling, Speirs said she also has a stack of books she wants to read. She especially enjoys Diana Gabaldons books and John Sandfords Prey series.

For Polenz, owning a bookstore might be her dream job. She carries a book with her at all times and doesnt own a television because shed rather read. She, too, likes Gabaldons books, as well as mysteries and books by Craig Johnson.

Ive always loved books. Books are definitely my main thing, she said. My sister and I hike every Thursday. Our favorite part is we take a book and read in the woods.

After Everybodys Business had been on the market for a few months and Speirs thought she might have to shut down the store, Polenz took action.

I never intended to own a business, Polenz said. I thought maybe I can figure this out. I dove into the whole thing of learning the ropes of running a business and getting it all together.

I really felt like I would rather put more effort in and learn to run a business than lose the bookstore entirely, Polenz said. "I don't want to see the bookstore close."

Speirs has mentored her in business ownership, Polenz said, and Polenz credits Dona Leavens, regional director at the South Dakota Small Business Development Center, for being a valuable resource. Polenz has a GoFundMe (gofundme.com/f/help-jessie-purchase-everybodys-bookstore) and invites the community to help her buy Everybodys Bookstore.

Polenz said Everybodys Bookstore will be a family affair. Her two sisters will help her in the store, and her dad is going to build bookshelves.

What Im excited about is building more shelves. Weve still got crates full of books. My dad is a fantastic carpenter so  well have a bookshelf building day so we can get books up on those, Polenz said.

Polenz isn't planning a grand opening, but she does plan to celebrate the new bookshelves by taking books for trade again beginning in April. Book donations are always welcome.

Speirs said Everybodys Bookstore customers are always particularly looking for Harry Potter books and novels by Agatha Christie, Lee Child and Louis LAmour. Follow the Everybodys Bookstore Facebook page for updates about the store.
From Pierre to Sioux Falls, state and county officials are fielding complaints about the legality of billboard advertisements targeting lawmakers and calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.

The Secretary of State's Office as well as the Minnehaha County State's Attorney this week received formal complaints alleging that Dakota Institute for Legislative Solutions violated campaign finance law when it began running attack ads accusing five state lawmakers of obstructing an ongoing impeachment investigation into the attorney general, who struck and killed a man with his vehicle in 2020.

"Whether this technically complies with the laws, it certainly violates the spirit of what South Dakotans want in their officials and elections, which is transparency and to know whos funding these candidates or these statements," said Rep. Ryan Cwach, a Yankton Democrat who's serving on the House Select Committee on Investigation, of which four members are being targeted by Dakota Institute's billboard advertisements that have been running on rotation in Sioux Falls since Saturday.

Rep. Scott Odenbach, a Spearfish Republican who's sparred with Noem on various social issues in recent months but is not on the impeachment committee, has also been added to the list of lawmakers.

Dakota Institute earlier this month announced its formation as a 501c4 nonprofit that aims to advance the agenda of Gov. Kristi Noem with a $2.3 million budget. It's not registered as a political action or campaign committee because it's not influencing the outcome of elections and has no official connection to the governor or any individual candidate or public official in South Dakota, according to its executive director, Rob Burgess.

Instead, the group considers itself a grassroots advocacy organization, and Monday filed as such when it reported the advertisements cost about $24,000, noted in what's called an independent communication expenditure report.

But even that distinction might not be enough for Dakota Institute to avoid legal scrutiny. That's because Cwach and other lawmakers, including House Speaker Spencer Spencer Gosch, say the ads violate South Dakota Codified Law 12-27-16.1, which mandates certain disclaimer language be placed in advertisements being paid for by an individual or entity that isn't a campaign, ballot or political action committee.

Specifically, the law states that such an advertisement  whether it be television, radio or mailer communications  must either include the phrase "This communication is independently funded and not made in consultation with any candidate, political party, or political committee" or list the top five donors who made the largest contributions to the organization paying for the ads.

Neither appeared on Dakota Institute's impeachment ads.

"I feel that it is clear that they have to disclose their top donors, and they have failed to do so," Gosch wrote to Secretary of State Steve Barnett on Tuesday while filing a formal complaint against Dakota Institute.

Multiple attempts to obtain comment from Barnett and the Secretary of State's Office by the Argus Leader on Monday and Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Minnehaha County State's Attorney Daniel Haggar declined to comment, citing an open investigation into the complaint. Burgess also did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

The Attorney General's Office is also prepared to investigate Dakota Institute, though it has yet to receive a formal complaint.

"Further, if a formal complaint is made the decision would then be made as to whether an investigator would be appointed from within with a confidentiality wall to allow them to work independently or whether a special investigator from outside the office would be appointed to carry on," said Tim Bormann, chief of staff in the Attorney General's Office.

The House Select Committee on Investigation is scheduled to reconvene before delivering final recommendations on whether Ravnsborg should be impeached on March 29. The House of Representatives will consider the recommendations at a special meeting of the Legislature on April 12.

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This week is Sunshine Week, a national observance to highlight the importance of openness and transparency in government and freedom of information laws.

Newspaper editors originated Sunshine Week in 2005, but all of us have a stake in open government. Knowing what government is doing and how it is spending taxpayer money is fundamental in a democracy and a cornerstone for good government at all levels.

In South Dakota, newspapers have pitched in each year to spotlight Sunshine Week. Newspaper editors and reporters in our state have long been frustrated by weaknesses in our open meetings and open records laws.

In short, weve made some progress over the years, but we have a long, long way to go before South Dakota can be considered a beacon for openness in government.

From my point of view, this years legislative session saw passage of two bills that strengthen open government in our state.

One was House Bill 1087, which clarified how government boards may use a certain provision in the open meetings law for executive session or closed-door meetings. The executive-session provision has to do with discussions related to certain security and safety threats faced by government entities.

In 2019, the Belle Fourche City Council used the provision to discuss replacement of an HVAC system in a city-owned building. The editor at the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper challenged it, filing a complaint as allowed by law. Ultimately, the state Open Meetings Commission ruled the citys use of the executive-session provision was valid, given how the statute was worded.

HB1087 was introduced to fix the wording in the open meetings law. The bill was approved unanimously by legislators and signed by Gov. Noem. Not a huge step forward, but an important one.

The other bill this session was House Bill 1075, brought by the states newspapers to modernize some of the laws regarding legal newspapers and publication of public notices in newspapers. Perhaps the most important provision in the bill is that newspapers will now be required to post all government notices printed in the newspaper  local city, school and county board minutes, for example -- to a website that is archivable and searchable. The site --- www.sdpublicnotices.com  is maintained by the states newspapers through SDNA.

When newspaper editors gathered in Pierre in January during the legislative session, Gov. Noem was asked what she would like to see happen to improve open government in South Dakota. She responded by challenging editors and others to give her a list of suggestions.

We will be happy to do so.

The list could include specific suggestions such as requiring all state boards and commissions to record their meetings for the public to much more sweeping changes such as addressing weaknesses in our open meetings and open records laws.

For example, lets tighten the laws regarding closed-door meetings by public boards. Over the years, the use of executive sessions to discuss personnel or legal matters has been abused. Its time to rein it in.

Our open records laws have a lengthy laundry list of exceptions for when government can keep information confidential. Lets open up access to law enforcement records such as certain investigative records, as well as government correspondence and email. Those are tall order items, but certainly not unreasonable. Look to the many other states that already allow public access to those types of records. The sky hasnt fallen.

I could go on, but for now I invite you to tell me what open government issues you think should be addressed in our state. Be specific. Send them to me at daveb@sdna.com.

Open government requires strong freedom of information laws, but ultimately its the commitment and willingness of those who govern that makes open government more than just an ideal touted once a year during Sunshine Week.

David Bordewyk is the executive director at South Dakota Newspaper Association, which represents the states 115 newspapers.

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Virginia State Police on Wednesday released more information about the man who died after jumping off the Route 288 bridge into the James River.

During their preliminary investigation, police learned that a 2004 minivan traveling north on Route 288 was struck by a gray 2018 Ford pickup traveling in the right lane on the bridge.

Police said that a 40-year-old man from Richmond was operating the minivan. After the crash, witnesses told police that the driver got out of his vehicle and made a statement to the effect of, "I can't take this anymore."

He then jumped off the bridge and, according to witness reports, was having trouble swimming and eventually wasn't seen anymore.

Virginia State Police Med Flight was contacted and sent to the area for assistance, as was the Goochland County Sheriff's office.

The body was recovered, and he was pronounced dead at 2:31 p.m.

State police concluded that the Richmond man died as a result of suicide and was not injured in the car crash. His family has requested we keep his information private, police said.

The driver of the gray pickup that was struck remained on the scene and was uninjured.
Virginias U.S. senators on Wednesday praised the heroism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and renewed their support for aiding his countrys defense, but stopped short of backing a no-fly-zone that could prompt a direct U.S. confrontation with Russia.

The senators statements followed Zelenskyys virtual speech to a joint session of Congress. The Ukrainian president alluded to the attacks on the U.S. at Pearl Harbor and on Sept. 11 and made reference to the dream of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Zelenskyy also showed a poignant video about the wars deadly toll on Ukraines people and he again urged the U.S. to close the skies above Ukraine.

In a conference call with reporters, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said the U.S. must continue to keep significant pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin through military aid to Ukraine and through tough economic sanctions in partnership with NATO allies and other Western countries.

Kaine said it is important that Vladimir Putins illegal effort to invade another country ultimately run aground on the rocks of ruin.

But Kaine agreed with President Joe Biden in drawing the line at a no-fly zone.

President Biden does not want this to escalate into an all-Europe war, Kaine said. We eventually want Ukraine to defeat Russia, not it becoming a world war against Russia.

I think thats a wise decision, but it can also be painful, the senator said.

The Biden administration has turned down a Polish plan to transfer MiG fighter jets to Ukraine with the U.S. replenishing the Polish planes.

Kaine said Wednesday that he does not understand the difference between transferring missile defense systems and Javelin missiles to Ukraine and transferring military aircraft.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a statement: I was incredibly moved by President Zelenskyys words this morning and by the powerful images of the destruction inflicted on the Ukrainian people as a result of Russias indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets.

As President Zelenskyy noted, the U.S. has already taken unprecedented steps to rally the world to isolate Russia economically and to support Ukraines efforts to defend itself. We should heed President Zelenskyys call for additional defensive aid including anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft missiles and for new sanctions on those responsible for supporting the Russian governments barbaric invasion of a peaceful and sovereign neighbor.

Kaine welcomed the news that the federal government has granted temporary protected status to Afghan refugees, who will be allowed to stay in the U.S. for 18 months. He noted that Virginia had played a key role in welcoming refugees from Afghanistan, with military bases at Fort Lee, Fort Pickett and Quantico serving as initial intake centers.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration made the same designation for Ukraine. Kaine said that within about a day of the announcement he spoke with a friend at a Richmond law firm that already is working on temporary protected status applications for Ukrainians to come to the Richmond metropolitan area.

Heres what I know about Virginians, Kaine said. When folks are in trouble around the world were often very, very welcoming.

A high percentage of people in the U.S. from El Salvador and Honduras under such designations and a high percentage of the nations Afghan refugees are in Virginia, he said.

Ive just seen again and again the generosity of local churches, local families, resettlement organizations, Kaine said, also citing the work of Catholic dioceses of Richmond and Arlington. So I think there are opportunities for Virginians to play a role in helping people from Ukraine.
The U.S. Coast Guard is formulating a very detailed assessment before a Norfolk-bound cargo ship stuck in the Chesapeake Bay can be refloated, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

Theres no exact timeline to free the 1,000-foot ship, called the Ever Forward, according to Petty Officer Steve Lehmann, a Coast Guard spokesperson. The ship ran aground in 24-feet-deep waters off the coast of Maryland Sunday night after leaving the Port of Baltimores Seagirt Marine Terminal. It was set to arrive in Norfolk on Thursday, according to MarineTraffic.com.

If the ships name  or situation  sounds familiar, thats because it is.

The 117,000-ton vessel is part of a fleet of cargo ships owned by Evergreen Marine Corp.  a Taiwan-based company that also owns the Ever Given. The skyscraper-length container ship became wedged in the Suez Canal almost exactly a year ago, inspiring a flood of internet memes and blocking billions of dollars a day in maritime commerce, the Associated Press reported.

A flotilla of tugboats freed the Ever Given after six days.

The cause for Ever Forwards running aground is unclear, according to Lehmann. The ship is located just off Gibson Island near the Craighill channel.

Unlike the Ever Given  which halted traffic in both directions  the Ever Forward is not blocking other ships from reaching the Port of Baltimore, according to William P. Doyle, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration.

Business and commerce related activities at the Port of Baltimore continue as normal, Doyle said in a Tuesday statement.

Efforts are underway to craft a plan to refloat the vessel. But before that can happen, the Coast Guard needs to complete an assessment of the situation, Lehmann said.

Then we take that and that gets put into a plan by the captain of the vessel, Lehmann said.

No injuries or oil spills have been reported on the Ever Forward, Doyle said.

Still, Doug Myers, Maryland senior scientist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, is concerned the refloating process could damage the hull  and cause a leak  without preemptive efforts.

You dont wait until the ship breaks up and spills oil to start responding to it, Myers said.

A contaminant boom has not been placed around the vessel, said Petty Officer Breanna Centeno, a Coast Guard spokesperson. Coast Guard crews are conducting regular soundings to check fuel levels and ensure no leaks are happening.

The eventual refloating plan will consider potential hull damaging situations, Centeno said.

The Coast Guards incident management division went aboard the Ever Forward Monday, Lehmann said. The division did not find any damage to the hull  which means, if refloating efforts are successful, the Ever Forwards crew would be safe in their continued journey, Lehmann said.

Still, the Coast Guard plans to inspect the vessel again.
Jailed Roanoke City Councilman Robert Jeffrey was due back in court Wednesday to face further proceedings after a jury convicted him Tuesday of bilking the city out of $15,000 in pandemic relief funds.

Prosecutors have filed two sets of charges alleging financial crimes and won convictions Tuesday as the result of the first of two jury trials planned in Roanoke Circuit Court.

To conclude the first trial, jurors deliberated for about 25 minutes before convicting Jeffrey of two felony counts of obtaining money by false pretenses. A judge jailed the 52-year-old councilman to await sentencing.

Jury selection for the councilmans planned second trial was as of late Tuesday afternoon set to begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

A businessman turned politician, Jeffrey won office with 13,188 votes, or 14% of the vote, in November 2020. A Democrat, he has taken a keen interest in economic issues, including minority-owned startups. He is the publisher of ColorsVA magazine and has worked in real estate management.

But his run-in with the law could derail his civic efforts for some time. Each of the charges on which Jeffrey was convicted carries a penalty of one to 20 years.

In addition, Jeffrey will be forced from office if any felony conviction against him is still standing after his final appeal, should he decide to do that. His attorney declined to comment Tuesday.

Council members plan to gather behind closed doors at their next meeting Monday to discuss what the council should do moving forward, Vice Mayor Trish White-Boyd said Tuesday night when asked about Jeffreys conviction and jailing.

She called Jeffreys situation unfortunate but declined to elaborate on account of the planned second trial.

Jeffrey has a right to request bail to obtain release from jail.

According to the first set of allegations, slightly more than a week after his election, Jeffrey falsified applications he submitted to the citys Economic Development Authority for pandemic-relief grants. He received payment in December 2020. Jeffrey was sworn into office in January 2021.

The money was reserved only for small businesses with full-time employees that had been damaged by the pandemic, but while Jeffreys media and real estate companies had no full-time employees, his applications said they did, according to prosecution evidence.

Prosecutors presented their case Monday. Jeffreys attorney Jonathan Kurtin announced Tuesday he would present no evidence  by Jeffrey or any defense witness.

Kurtin used a portion of his closing argument to bring up the problem of identity theft and told jurors, that is what this case is really about.

Kurtin asked jurors to consider what Kurtin said was the possibility that one of Jeffreys employees submitted the falsified applications and not Jeffrey.

Kurtin also made a personal appeal, telling jurors that a conviction will end his life. He will be a convicted felon. Hell be sent to the penitentiary.

Chief prosecutor Sheri Mason offered a rebuttal. She argued, in part, that if someone other than Jeffrey submitted the grant applications, it did not stand to reason that the thief would then deposit the checks the government issued to Jeffreys companies into those businesses bank accounts and, from there, allow the money to be used to pay what Mason said were some of Jeffreys bills.

She read from what she said was a list of disbursements, one of which sounded as if it was to an investment account in Jeffreys name. The account holder also bought goods from Sams Club, Victorias Secret, Best Buy, and Haley Toyota; paid the tab at several of Roanokes finer restaurants; and remitted child support, Mason said.

Deflect, deflect, deflect. This is what happens when a defendant is pushed against the wall with the commonwealths evidence, Mason said. He [Kurtin] wants you to blame everyone but Mr. Jeffrey.

Maybe it was Santa Claus, Mason said.

Pointing at Jeffrey with a red marker she had used earlier to diagram the elements of the crime, she said, The defendant is the person who did these things.

Soon after, jurors departed to deliberate. There were eight white and four Black jurors on the panel.

As the parties reassembled in the courtroom of Judge David Carson to hear the verdicts, a uniformed sheriffs deputy appeared for the first time in a position behind and to the side of Jeffrey.

As Carson read the convictions, Jeffrey, who was wearing a gray suit and a blue mask, looked down. Kurtin appeared to rub Jeffrey on the back.

Carson thanked jurors and invited them to leave.

When they cleared the room, Carson asked Jeffrey to stand. I find you guilty as charged in these indictments, Carson said. You now stand stripped of the presumption of innocence 

The judge called for deputies to take Jeffrey into custody. A door was standing open at the back of the courtroom for Jeffrey, who was immediately led out.

Carson said he would sentence Jeffrey in eight to 10 weeks on the counts for which he was convicted Tuesday.

For the second trial, Jeffrey is charged with embezzling money from the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization during a period of time in which he worked for the organization as a property manager. These alleged crimes began before Jeffrey took office and continued after he took office, prosecutors said.

The NNEO is a Roanoke nonprofit that provides affordable housing and has a long history of community development work.
Radford City Schools announced Wednesday a new partnership program with United Way and Carilion Clinic that will help preschool-aged children prepare for kindergarten.

The Kinder Camp program is designed to help students get a leg up before their first day at McHarg Elementary School. The three-week program, to begin this summer, will help build literacy, social and emotional skills, Superintendent Rob Graham said.

We do have some kindergarteners who dont have a preschool experience and they come into kindergarten not knowing what thats like, Graham said. To have this opportunity, theyll be ready. Hopefully they wont have any fear, any anxiety or stress and theyll be ready to learn.

Graham said the school systems kindergarten readiness rate ranges from 95% to 97% but the program will help increase it by targeting students in the preschool programs that havent hit literacy or behavioral benchmarks.

United Way of Southwest Virginia, which will administer the program, plans to also look for students who did not attend preschool and may need more time to acclimate to the school environment. The number of students who did not attend preschool during the pandemic has risen.

Susan Patrick, director of childhood success at United Way, said the program will not only focus on educational components, but will provide the opportunity for teachers to have one-on-one experience with students and help build relationships.

The program is free and will start July 18 at Belle Heth Elementary School while McHarg Elementary School is under construction. Applications for the program open March 20 and there are 30 spots available.

Weve known for a long time that early childhood education is needed to prepare children for kindergarten and set the stage for lifelong learning, Patrick said. Its only three weeks, but its a really important three weeks that provide that basic foundation.

Carilion Clinic awarded $10,000 to the program. Graham said this will help cover the materials, equipment and personnel costs for the teachers. The school also plans to provide two meals each day to the students.

Bill Flattery, vice president of Carilion Clinic Western Region, said the health care system is always looking for opportunities to invest in partnerships that will help the health of the community.

Health is so much more than health care, Flattery said. Where you live and what opportunities you have will determine your well being as an adult. Investing in early childhood education pays huge dividends long-term.

United Way opened Kinder Camp programs last year in other Southwest Virginia localities, including Grayson, Lee, Russell, Scott and Wythe counties.

CEO of United Way of Southwest Virginia Travis Staton said the programs were a success for the school districts. All of the students in Kinder Camp showed improvement and their literacy skills were on track mid-way through kindergarten.

Teachers appreciated meeting and getting to know students before the chaos of the first week of school and being able to assess their students needs and abilities, Staton said.

The children feel loved, they feel appreciated and they get acclimated to the environment, Staton said. Do we assess where they are in literacy and behavior? Yes, and we work to make improvements there, but the biggest thing is they feel welcome and they know that school is a safe environment and a safe place for them.

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State regulators have made official a rate increase by Appalachian Power Co. that will boost the bill of an average residential customer by $3 a month.

In an order Tuesday, the State Corporation Commission approved the utilitys request to raise its rates to cover the higher costs of coal and natural gas, which generate about 80% of its electricity.

The SCC allowed the increase to take effect on an interim basis last November. Tuesdays order finalizes the latest in a number of recent rate hikes for Appalachians 500,000-plus customers in Western Virginia.

In an application filed last September, Appalachian said it needed to adjust the fuel factor portion of its bill to account for higher prices that came with the easing of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the country, and the world, opened back up in 2021, the price for natural gas rose and the demand for coal recovered, Kimberly Chilcote, coal procurement manager for American Electric Power, Appalachians parent company, said in documents filed with the SCC.

The fuel factor  one of several components to monthly bills  is adjusted on an annual basis.

Appalachian does not make a profit on the fuel factor, but simply passes the costs on to customers, according to company spokeswoman Teresa Hall.

With that said, energy costs are continuing to rise sharply, and the companys annual fuel case filing made in the fall with the Virginia State Corporation Commission will likely include a request to again increase the fuel factor, Hall wrote in an email.

In 2020, the rate was reduced by about the same amount it is now going up for the average residential customer, who consumes 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month.

When the rate went down by $3 in 2020, Appalachian said it was due largely to a drop that year in the price of natural gas, which makes up about 19% of its energy portfolio.

In approving the latest adjustment, the SCC noted that its investigation found that Appalachians projected fuel expenses and underlying assumptions were reasonable and its staff did not oppose an increase.

Other parties in the case, including the Attorney Generals Division of Consumer Counsel, also did not object to the increase.

Two other major increases  one that adds $11 to the bill of an average residential account to cover higher transmission costs and the other a boost of $2.17 to pay for environmental improvements to two coal-burning power plants in West Virginia  were approved last year.

Another hike, this one of $2.37 a month, is being requested by Appalachian to pay for more solar and wind energy required by the Clean Economy Act, a new state law that mandates the utility to provide its customers with all renewable energy by 2050.

The SCC will take public comments and hear evidence on that request at a hearing scheduled to begin April 21.

We are sensitive to the effects of rate increases, especially in times such as these, the regulatory agency said this week in approving the fuel factor adjustment.

The Commission, however, must follow the laws applicable to any rate case, as well as the findings of fact supported by the evidence in the record. This is what we have done herein.

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BEDFORD  An MS-13 gang member who pleaded guilty to his role in the March 2017 slaying of a Lynchburg teenager in Bedford County was sentenced Tuesday to 75 years in prison.

Lisandro Antonio Posada-Vasquez, 28, is among a group of gang members involved in the brutal murder of Raymond Wood, 17. Posada-Vasquez in September 2018 pleaded guilty to capital murder, but because of changes in state law abolishing the death penalty he entered a guilty plea Tuesday to an amended charge of aggravated murder.

He also was convicted of abduction for a financial benefit and gang participation. A robbery charge against him was dropped Tuesday at his sentencing hearing in Bedford County Circuit Court.

Commonwealths Attorney Wes Nance has said Posada-Vasquez was among those in the group who directly inflicted fatal wounds on Wood that night. Wood, who sold marijuana and according to prosecutors was seen by the gang as a rival, was abducted from his front lawn in Lynchburg and driven to a rural Bedford County road, where he was choked unconscious and stabbed repeatedly.

Posada-Vasquez was one of four gang members sent to the Lynchburg area and at the time was living in Montgomery County, Maryland, Nance has said. The gang set up a fake marijuana deal to lure Wood out of his home and drove him to Roaring Run Road in Bedford County, according to prosecutors evidence. A passing driver came across the scene of Woods murder and Posada-Vasquez was one of several assailants to flee the area into the woods, Nance has said.

The defendant was arrested with others after a vehicle stop in Forest the morning after Woods murder, which prompted a large investigation that crossed state and national borders and marked the first time Central Virginia had seen such a gruesome crime attributed to the MS-13 gang.

A knife more than 10 inches long was the murder weapon; it was buried shortly after the killing and recovered by investigators in June 2018, according to evidence. Four others aside from Posada-Vasquez have been charged or convicted in connection with killing Wood.

Amy Tharp, a state medical examiner who conducted Woods autopsy, has testified the cause of death was sharp force injuries to the neck, torso and right arm, and Wood had rapid blood loss.

Judge James Updike sentenced Posada-Vasquez to life in prison on the combined charges, which is suspended after 75 years, and credited him with time served since his 2017 arrest. The horrific crime calls for a lengthy prison sentence, Nance said.

Its one more defendant that has finally gotten to a day of justice for Raymond Wood and his family, Nance said. Were very satisfied with that.

He said three jury trials for co-defendants have put the Wood family through a lot and Posada-Vasquez was the first to plead guilty and take responsibility for his actions.

Kevin Josue Soto Bonilla was found guilty of capital murder and received a life sentence in December 2019. Victor Arnoldo Rodas was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 55 years in February 2019 in connection with Woods killing.

The sentencing for Josue Moises Coreas-Ventura, who last month was convicted by a jury for aggravated murder in commission of abduction for financial benefit, is set for October. Another co-defendant, Cristian Sanchez Gomez, awaits trial on charges of murder, robbery and abduction for financial benefit.

So one more hurdle has been cleared, but there is still several to go, Nance said.
Virginia Parole Board operations have ground to a halt with nearly 400 pending parole cases stalled in the wake of last weeks decision by Senate Democrats to reject four of Gov. Glenn Youngkins appointments to the board, leaving only chairman Chadwick Dotson. The board members had been on the job six weeks and were in the process of reshaping the agency.

Its an unworkable position, and its absolutely unconscionable what they have done for purely political purposes, Dotson, a retired judge and former Wise County commonwealths attorney, said this week in an interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Ive spent about every moment since then trying to figure out what the fallout is going to be on our operations here.

The consequences of the Senates decision  the result of a back-and-forth dispute between Democrats and Republicans  were immediate.

The number of inmate parole cases pending has climbed to 378, and Dotson between 50 and 75 of those involve inmates whom parole examiners have recommended be granted parole. Nineteen cases were on the boards docket Wednesday for discussion or a decision  17 of those came with a recommendation by examiners to grant parole.

I dont know how the Board would have voted on these cases, but these are generally the cases with the strongest argument for parole, Dotson said.

But we cant proceed on those now, which means that victims who are kind of waiting to hear whats going on arent going to get any resolution, he added. And families of offenders, and the offenders themselves who are up for parole, arent going to get any resolution one way or the other.

Board decisions to grant parole require, in most cases, at least three member votes. More serious cases, such as inmates serving a life sentence for first degree or capital murder require four votes.

In the short period the board had been in place, no inmates had been granted parole. The board voted to deny parole in 177 cases, but examiners had recommended against granting parole in all but one of those cases.

The other 176 were largely cases in which parole had been denied many times, and the board felt there was a risk to the community to release these offenders, or that parole would minimize the seriousness of the offenses charged, Dotson said.

Another immediate consequence of dissolving the board, Dotson noted, is that parolees who are arrested after allegedly violating the conditions of their parole will remain incarcerated until members of the parole board can make a decision in their cases.

We cant make those decisions now, so people will be held indefinitely, Dotson explained. Some people might say, Well, they allegedly violated their parole, why do we care?

But Dotson said some of those cases are relatively minor technical violations that dont always result in charges, and the parolees could be released after further review by the board. But with no board in place, their rights, their freedom, have been taken away  with no recourse.

Senate Democrats rejection of four of Youngkins picks for the parole board was the latest move in an escalating dispute over state appointments in the legislature.

On Feb. 8, Senate Democrats balked at Andrew Wheeler, Youngkins choice for secretary of natural resources, who had been director of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump.

House Republicans then rejected 11 appointments by former Gov. Ralph Northam, including three of his picks to the State Board of Education.

House Republicans also blocked Angela Navarro  another Northam pick  from receiving a full six-year term as a judge on the State Corporation Commission.

The General Assembly  then led by Democrats  first elected Navarro in 2021 to complete the unexpired term of Mark Christie, who became a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Then on Thursday, Senate Democrats rejected four of Youngkins five picks to the Parole Board, which Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, called retaliation by the Democrats.

It wasnt us who escalated the war, OK? said Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax.

After scuttling the parole board appointees, Senate Democrats issued a news release saying the rejection of the parole board appointments was in response to Youngkins refusal to appoint the 11 Northam appointees that House Republicans removed last month.

It appears Youngkin will not be allowed to reappoint his now-scuttled choices for the parole board.

They include Tracy Banks, a longtime attorney and law professor from Charlottesville, who served as the boards vice chair; Cheryl Nici-OConnell of Chesterfield County, a former Richmond police officer who survived being shot in the head while on duty in 1984 and left to pursue a career in social work; Montgomery County Sheriff Charles Partin; and Carmen Williams of Chesterfield, who was a language access and immigration legal services manager for the Project of Empowerment of Survivors for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance.

Three of these members had quit their prior jobs to come do the work of the people, Dotson said. And they were just tossed aside.

Dotson said that based on his reading of the law, once the General Assembly adjourned Saturday, that was it for this particular group of nominees. The Senate could have walked it back before the session ended.

If theres some way to get around that, I dont know what it is, Dotson said. I believe there will have to be four new nominees.

Dotson said it doesnt appear his colleagues could be reinstated during a Special Session, if Senate Democrats could be persuaded to reconsider. Virginia Code is very specific about what can be taken up during such sessions, he said.

A Youngkin spokeswoman did not immediately return a message for comment on the governors plans for the parole board.

Dotson said its unfortunate that his colleagues have been booted, because I was really impressed with their dedication and seriousness in the short time I got to know these individuals.

The members were fully on board with the attitude that their jobs are not political and that we have to do the right thing all the time, Dotson said. We have to be above the partisan politics going forward because these decisions affect real peoples lives.

There are victims depending on us to give these cases serious attention, and family members of the offenders are somewhat victims themselves, so we need to take into consideration everything. Its too important for politics, he added.

In the six weeks the board had been together, Dotson said the members had begun to reshape the agency with a focus on maximum transparency.

In the past, the parole board kind of voted in secrecy [and] they didnt get together as often as I feel like they should have to discuss cases and do the work of a board, Dotson said. So we instituted regular board meetings, the taking of minutes and parliamentary procedure. And I implemented a process to try and prevent some of the issues that I think involved the recent parole boards.

In 2020, the Office of the State Inspector General in at least nine reports found violations of law and board policy, including the parole board freeing felons convicted of murder without first reaching out to victims families as required by law.

Dotson said he put in place a procedure whereby the board would discuss at its weekly meetings any cases of inmates who had received recommendations for parole by agency examiners, and determine whether an extra step was needed to investigate any red flags and make sure a victims input was received.

All of this would occur before the board took a vote.

So we would discuss everyone where theres a grant for parole recommendation, he said. In addition, every time there was a case where an examiner recommended to not grant parole  and someone on the board thought we might want to consider parole notwithstanding that recommendation  thats placed on our agenda.

We had just started in the last two weeks to actually discuss some of those cases, because it took us awhile to kind of get this procedure in place, Dotson said. But now every one of those cases grinds to a halt. Every single one.
A report from Virginia's new director of the Department of Environmental Quality backs Gov. Glenn Youngkin's view that a program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is a carbon tax without benefit to consumers.

Supporters of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) criticized the new report as leaving out key facts, and one called the report "policy laundering."

A Jan. 15 executive order from Youngkin called for the state Department of Environmental Quality to provide him with a report within 30 days examining the costs and benefits of RGGI, which seeks to reduce emissions generated by electric power plants.

DEQ Director Michael Rolband sent the report on Friday to Andrew Wheeler, who was then the state secretary of natural resources but is now a special adviser to the governor because the General Assembly did not confirm Wheeler's appointment and adjourned on Saturday. Youngkin's office released the report publicly on Tuesday evening.

"Because of the captive nature of their ratepayers, the ability for power-generators to fully pass on costs to consumers, and the fact that the Code of Virginia dedicates RGGI proceeds to grants programs, participation in RGGI is in effect a direct carbon tax on all households and businesses," the report concludes.

"RGGI fails to achieve its goal as a carbon 'cap-and-trade' system because it lacks any incentive for power-generators to actually reduce carbon-intensive gas emissions."

The General Assembly passed legislation in 2020 to join the program, in which energy producers in a number of states trade emission reductions for credits, or buy credits to emit carbon dioxide past a cap.

The revenue the state gets from the program is directed to programs that help low-income people reduce energy usage - thereby lowering their cost of electricity - and for programs combating sea level rise in coastal areas and inland flooding across the state.

The costs are passed on to electric utility customers. Under the initial cost recovery request from Dominion Energy, the state's largest electric utility, typical customers' bills increased $2.39 a month because of the program. Rolband's report says Virginia isn't turning over any proceeds to customers to offset the costs.

Walton Shepherd, a senior staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Virginia, said it's been transparent that the costs of RGGI are paid by consumers but evidence from other states shows that will result in lower overall costs by making electricity use more efficient and eliminating fuel costs of using fossil fuels to create electricity.

Rolband's report didn't include federal data showing pollution was reduced in Virginia during the first year of RGGI, Shepherd said.

Chris Bast, who was a deputy director at DEQ under Democratic former Gov. Ralph Northam, attacked the report on Twitter as a "disservice" to professionals at DEQ dedicated to reducing carbon emissions, and said Wheeler hadn't learned his lessons from his time as U.S. Environmental Protection Agency director.

"This 'report' is nothing more than policy laundering," Bast wrote. DEQ and its attorney "have spent years arguing how RGGI is NOT a carbon tax. The Administration and political leadership have manufactured a report to push their policy preference. And laundered it through DEQ staff."

In December, after his election, Youngkin said in a speech that he would withdraw Virginia from RGGI by "executive action."

Then-Attorney General Mark Herring issued an opinion saying that would be illegal because the governor doesn't have the power to single-handedly eliminate a law passed by the General Assembly.

Youngkin backed off, and his January executive order instead called on the State Air Pollution Control Board to consider a regulation withdrawing Virginia from the program. Program supporters say even that would be illegal.

Youngkin asked the legislature to withdraw Virginia from RGGI this year but the Senate is controlled by Democrats and his request went nowhere.

Rolband's report said he is preparing paperwork to bring the air board a proposed rule for its consideration that would repeal Virginia's participation in RGGI.

This is a developing story and will be updated.
Pushes for improvements to Virginias mental health system, like reforms to social services, dont generate opportunities for media grandstanding or for courting deep-pocketed campaign donors.

Its a fair bet that anyone who has had to rely on the states mental health treatment facilities or help a loved one navigate the system is well aware of the many shortcomings long inadequately addressed  aging facilities, short staffing, deficient resources, bare-bones budgets  and grown weary of beseeching politicians for attention thats rarely if ever given and improvements that rarely if ever materialize.

A stark consequence of these years of neglect reared an ugly head in July 2021, when five of the states mental hospitals closed to new admissions because of lack of staffing. One of the five was Catawba Hospital in Roanoke County. The institutions have since begun admitting new patients, though the staffing problem remains dire.

Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, deserves kudos for picking up the mental health banner. The bill he championed this session sought a study as to how Catawba Hospital could be expanded into a state of the art campus that continued its mission of providing care and treatment for those with mental health diagnoses while adding programs and infrastructure for treatment of substance abuse.

Were these improvements to become reality, they could go a long way in helping those affected by the ongoing opioid crisis, the pitch went.

Rasouls legislation, House Bill 105, received a ringing endorsement in these pages from New York Times-bestselling author and former Roanoke Times reporter Beth Macy, who has moved mountains to bring national attention to the devastating effects on Appalachian communities of pharmaceutical companies unethical pushing of prescription painkillers.

It is possible for someone who has even passing familiarity with the difficulties faced by those in need of mental health-related care to wonder that the invocation of a international-headline generating topic would be necessary to procure needed funding to the century-old Catawba campus, when the urgent need for that funding is already self-evident.

Sad to say, its generally taken tragedy-driven news cycles to move the needle on mental health reform. The 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech that left 33 dead, including the shooter, and 17 wounded led to changes in state law and $42 million in new mental health-designated state funding in the years that immediately followed. Alas, the intensity of focus subsided.

On the other hand, if tying more funding for Catawba to the opioid crisis brings results, all the better for everyone, right?

However, though the Republican-controlled House of Delegates passed Rasouls bill on a unanimous, bipartisan 99-0 vote, its a curious matter that HB105 didnt make it through the Democrat-controlled Senate Rules Committee.

Curioser and curioser, as a character named Alice famously said, the senator who seemed to lead the charge was Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, a man whose bona fides when it comes to concern for the mental health system are without question genuine.

In November 2013, Deeds and his family endured a horrendous tragedy. Deeds 24-year-old son Gus was released from emergency custody because the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board failed to find a bed for him in a psychiatric hospital. Gus Deeds returned home, stabbed his father multiple times in the face and chest with a knife, then used a firearm to take his own life.

Deeds has since then been a constant advocate for mental health reform  rendered a Sysyphian task by decades of kicking the can down the road. The frustrating part is that no matter how much you do, theres still so much to do, Deeds told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2018.

In granting his support for the rules committee to effectively scuttle Rasouls bill, Deeds argued, in essence, that the entire mental health system needs to be examined and overhauled statewide, and that Rasouls Catawba Hospital proposal, which he called a good idea, should be considered as a piece of the whole, rather than in a way thats disconnected from the system.

A sensible sentiment, all well and good, but in light of years upon years of inaction, a disappointing development with potential for future regrets.

The larger reform Deeds seeks  which absolutely should take place, and which should incorporate Rasouls proposal  remains mired in the impasse that saw the General Assembly disperse this week without agreeing to pass a budget.

Meanwhile, the consequences of the ongoing staffing shortage have been underscored in a lawsuit brought last month by the Giles County Department of Social Services against the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents in Staunton.

The suit states that a female youth in foster care undergoing a mental health emergency was kept in police custody for more than four days without ever receiving treatment, as the Commonwealth Center, the states only psychiatric hospital for youth, never provided her with a bed.

According to the lawsuit, the youth had no one but a police officer for company for the full extent of the temporary detention order issued to get her admitted to a psychiatric institute. The suit alleges that the Commonwealth Center violated the bed of last resort law that Deeds successfully advocated for in 2014.

That law requires that a bed be found somewhere in the state, whatever it takes, for a patient who is the subject of a temporary detention order  ruled by a magistrate to be a danger to themselves or others and in need of hospitalization and treatment.

According to reports in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, an unintended consequence of this well-meaning law has been that beds are always quickly filled, leading to an overcrowding problem. That problem was compounded by the reductions in staff that resulted from the pandemic. For months, the Commonwealth Center has only been filling 18 of its 48 beds because of a personnel shortage.

In an interview with Roanoke Times reporter Luke Weir, Deeds voiced his chagrin that he hasnt found universal support for the creation of a comprehensive state mental health system. Lives are slipping through the cracks because were not providing for them, he said, while expressing hopes that progress will advance faster in the future.

Whatever the solutions should be, patience is absolutely not the answer. The General Assembly needs to end this habit of waiting until tragedy strikes to act.
This week in 1992, China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) established diplomatic relations. The normalization of ties marked an end to a cold war bloc division across the Yellow Sea which had seen the two countries as quasi-adversaries for 40 years, opening the doorway to an economic and financial relationship which has become comprehensive. The two countries went on to become partners, reflecting the longstanding ties between China and the Korean Peninsula which are represented by a deep cultural affinity and mutual understanding. Irrespective of ideological and political differences, they have learnt to co-exist and work together.



However, the world is changing. Various forces are looking to instigate division and confrontation more than ever, and are seeking to roll back the world into the cold war politics of old, forcing countries to make zero-sum choices in their relations with others, and trying to transform the international climate into a binary ideological struggle.

In this regard, the legacy of 30 years of relations between China and South Korea should not be forgotten and this progress should not be turned back to the divisions of the past. It is vitally important that both countries continue to pursue a mutually cooperative relationship across a range of domains.

First of all, finding common ground on the challenge of the DPRK's nuclear missile program is critical. President Moon Jae-in's vision was to secure peace on the peninsula and to engage Pyongyang. However, more adversarial policies will produce more provocations and tests by the DPRK which will upend the military balance. More confrontation is not the answer, and Seoul and Beijing must work together.

Second, the economic and trading relationship between the two countries is mutually indispensable. South Korea is a key source of semiconductors and leading chip technologies, and leading Korean firms such as SK Hynix and Samsung have been keen to expand their capacity in China. This has given Seoul an enormous trade surplus, with exports to China standing at $136 billion. Moreover, China is an engine for the manufacturing of products and consumer goods, with South Korea's imports in 2019 standing at $109 billion. One simply has to look at the enormous Mirae Asset skyscraper in Shanghai's Lujiazui district to recognize the mutual importance of this relationship. On trade and investment alike, this is a very high-stakes set of ties. Likewise, there have been efforts to deepen ties further, with negotiations underway to upgrade the South Korea-China free trade agreement, while the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) has also come into force.

Given this, it is critical that both countries get this relationship right and no moves are taken which provoke uncertainty, disruption or instability. The Korean Peninsula has established its own unique cultural characteristics, heritage and traditions, which are admired worldwide. However, there is no shame or inferiority in recognizing that China is a longstanding historical neighbor with which it has a natural cultural overlap in many areas.

Thus, as relations between the two countries stand at a crossroads, one hopes the right and sensible choices are made. This 30 year anniversary is a symbol of change and progress, and no politics of alliances or hegemony ought to obscure this moment.

Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/TomFowdy.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
" " Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, is believed to have been built by the Fort Ancient people around 900 years ago. This protected historical earthwork is nearly a quarter of a mile long and represents a giant snake possibly holding an egg in its jaws. MPI/Getty Images

Imagine you're a person living in ancient times in what is now the state of Ohio. Your job is mostly to grow corn and hang out in your village, providing all the necessities of life for yourself and your community  making pottery to cook in, maintaining your home and working to procure food other than corn. But one day you're talking to some friends and you decide, Let's make a 1,376-foot-long (419-meter-long) snake sculpture on the edge of this meteorite crater over here!

If only we had a time machine to ask you, our friend from ancient times, what possessed you and your people to make such a thing. But that's why we have archaeologists.

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Located in southwestern Ohio, Serpent Mound is a giant earthen mound  the largest serpent effigy in the world  thought to have been constructed by the Fort Ancient people around 900 years ago, although some argue that the site is much older and that the Fort Ancients did not build it, but actually refurbished it. Although no human remains or artifacts have been found in the sinuous, grassy hillock that is Serpent Mound, some graves and burial mounds stand nearby, probably built by the Adena culture  the Fort Ancient people's predecessors in the area  around 500 C.E. Regardless, Serpent Mound belongs to a class of structures called effigy mounds, which were commonly built in the shape of animals like bear, lynx, bison or birds, and often served as burial sites for ancient people.

" " Serpent Mound snakes along a plateau above the Serpent Mound crater, an ancient meteor crater. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Serpent Mound sits on the edge of a meteorite impact crater, and the serpent itself is between 19 and 25 feet (6 and 7.5 meters) wide and rises around 3 feet (1 meter) from the surrounding landscape, with its head formed by a rock cliff overhanging a nearby creek. Although it's difficult to know what its purpose was since it wasn't used for burials, it acts as a calendar  the sunset on the summer solstice lines up with the serpent's head. The three eastern-facing curves of the snake's body line up with the sunrise on the equinoxes, and the serpent's tail coils align with the winter solstice.

According to Ohio History Connection, Serpent Mound and eight other Ohio American Indian earthworks were chosen in 2008 by the U.S. Department of the Interior for inclusion on the United States tentative list of sites to be submitted to UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) for inclusion on the prestigious World Heritage Sites list. If it is eventually inscribed on the list  possibly in 2023, according to Ohio History Connection's World Heritage Director Jennifer Aultman  Serpent Mound will join the ranks of the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, Pompeii, Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal as World Heritage Sites.

Serpent Mound is located within the Serpent Mound State Memorial, designated a National Historic Landmark in Peebles, Ohio. The site is closed Mondays, but maintains visitors hours all other days of the week.

" " Serpent Mound is on Brush Creek in Adams County, Ohio. This map appeared in "Ancient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley" by E. G. Squier in 1848. NNehring/Getty Images

Now That's Interesting Serpent Mound was first sketched and surveyed in 1847 by surveyors Ephraim Squier and Edwin Davis.
Francis Marion University will be able to help school districts retain teachers thanks to a recently awarded grant by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.

The university will receive just over $347,000 during the next three years to fund the new Center of Excellence for Teacher Retention and Induction in the Pee Dee. The center will be housed in FMUs School of Education and focus on early-career teachers effectiveness, resilience and well-being.

We are all very proud of this new Center and its purpose. Our education faculty is doing what they do best - applying strategic and thoughtful solutions to difficult issues, FMU President Dr. Fred Carte said. In this case, working to resolve the teacher retention problem is imperative to the success of K-12 education  both in the region and across the state.

FMU was one of three universities in South Carolina to receive the latest Center of Excellence grants in a statewide competitive process administered by the state agency.

Two other centers focusing on different areas of educational preparation already exist at the university. They have been recognized regionally and nationally for the quality of their work.

The COE-TRIP initiative will provide professional development support for first- and second-year teachers in participating school districts.

We hope to help partner districts retain and support effective, resilient teachers, which, in turn, will support successful and engaged children, said Dr. Kimberly McCuiston, associate professor of education.

McCuiston  along with Dr. Michelle R. Murphy, and Dr. Jared H. Stewart-Ginsburg  wrote the grant, which will focus on first-year elementary and special education teachers.

Teacher retention in K-12 education has long been a critical issue nationally and in South Carolina.

A report released March 1 from the non-profit South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement showed nearly 1,000 teachers across the state had left their jobs since the 2021-22 school year began.

In the first year, the grant will fund the center start-up, including support for current student teachers to engage with Professional Learning Communities throughout the region.

Murphy said new teachers will be supported by colleagues who can help them adapt as they begin to deal with the challenges and demands of the teaching profession.

It is hugely important that we find more innovative and sustaining ways to assist teachers in the early years of their career. They must be at their professional and personal best, so that they can give their best to students, Murphy said. We cant fill from an empty cup.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Diana Murphy-Eaddy, owner and publisher of Diversity Works, a quarterly magazine promoting diversity in the community, received the 2022 Small Business Person of the Year award on Wednesday at the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Annual Outlook Luncheon held at the Florence Center.

The award, presented annually, is sponsored by Dedicated Community Bank and given by the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce.

Jim Ivey, president and CEO of Dedicated Community Bank, made the presentation. He said the bank recognizes that small businesses are the engines of the local, state, and national economy.

He said the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that there are more than 445,000 small businesses in South Carolina, and small businesses represent 99% of all employers in South Carolina. More than 830,000 people work for small businesses in South Carolina.

Receiving the Small Business Person of the Year award, Murphy-Eaddy said, means that my hard work is beginning to pay off.

It is a great honor and a surprise, and so overwhelming, said Murphy-Eaddy.

Diversity Works is published by DMM Advertising and Marketing and is a magazine committed to showcasing organizations and individuals that represent diversity of the workplace. It celebrated its 10th anniversary last October.

The magazine features articles on those who appreciate, accept and promote diversity, she said. Being able to bring people together is the greatest reward of the job, Murphy-Eaddy said. She said the magazine focuses on promoting the concept of community in the workplace.

Ivey said of those attending the event: We are of diverse ages, races, and genders. We were raised in diverse towns, states, and even countries. We hold the faiths of diverse religions, and we have been shaped by diverse educational experiences. To paraphrase our 2022 honoree, this diversity strengthens our community by helping us to appreciate each other, as we recognize our differences while understanding our similarities.

Murphy-Eaddy created the Diversity Works magazine in 2011. For the past decade, Diversity Works magazine has been produced and distributed throughout 12 counties of the Pee Dee region.

Its mission statement reads: The magazine has a commitment to be a showcase for organizations and their individuals that represent best practices in diversity of the workforce and supplier choices. Diversity Works features articles on those displaying inclusionary vision in and for the marketplace and who can both encourage and provide role models to others.

In addition to her publishing career, Murphy-Eaddy created a biennial diversity focus training conference aimed at educating and informing businesses on diversity and inclusion practices. The conference has been supported by several local businesses and organizations and has been well-attended, Ivey said.

Ivey is a native of Hartsville. She attended the University of South Carolina and is a graduate of Leadership Florence. She has served on the chamber board of directors and is an active volunteer and leader in many community organizations, including the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce, PRISM, the Florence Regional Arts Alliance, Women in Philanthropy, Mingle of the Pee Dee, Empowered to Heal, New Testament Missionary Baptist Church and Mt. Calvary Baptist Church.

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Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun with gusty winds. High 89F. Winds SSE at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Overcast. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds SSE at 15 to 25 mph.
 Spotlighting the new widening potential of electronic monitoring | Main | US Sentencing Commission publishes 2021 Annual Report and Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics 

March 16, 2022

New Third Way report details "The Red State Murder Problem"

The "center-left" think tank Third Way has this interesting new accounting of the increase in murders in 2020 in a new report titled "The Red State Murder Problem." I recommend the full report and its linked data, and here is an excerpt:

The US saw an alarming 30% increase in murder in 2020. While 2021 data is not yet complete, murder was on the rise again this past year. Some blue cities, like Chicago, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, have seen real and persistent increases in homicides. These cities  along with others like Los Angeles, New York, and Minneapolis  are also in places with wall-to-wall media coverage and national media interest. But there is a large piece of the homicide story that is missing and calls into question the veracity of the right-wing obsession over homicides in Democratic cities: murder rates are far higher in Trump-voting red states than Biden-voting blue states. And sometimes, murder rates are highest in cities with Republican mayors. For example, Jacksonville, a city with a Republican mayor, had 128 more murders in 2020 than San Francisco, a city with a Democrat mayor, despite their comparable populations. In fact, the homicide rate in Speaker Nancy Pelosis San Francisco was half that of House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthys Bakersfield, a city with a Republican mayor that overwhelmingly voted for Trump. Yet there is barely a whisper, let alone an outcry, over the stunning levels of murders in these and other places. We collected 2019 and 2020 murder data from all 50 states. (Comprehensive 2021 data is not yet available.) We pulled the data from yearly crime reports released by state governments, specifically the Departments of Justice and Safety. For states that didnt issue state crime reports, we pulled data from reputable local news sources. To allow for comparison, we calculated the states per capita murder rate, the number of murders per 100,000 residents, and categorized states by their presidential vote in the 2020 election, resulting in an even 25-25 split. We found that murder rates are, on average, 40% higher in the 25 states Donald Trump won in the last presidential election compared to those that voted for Joe Biden. In addition, murder rates in many of these red states dwarf those in blue states like New York, California, and Massachusetts. And finally, many of the states with the worst murder rates  like Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, South Carolina, and Arkansas  are ones that few would describe as urban. Only 2 of Americas top 100 cities in population are located in these high murder rate states. And not a single one of the top 10 murder states registers in the top 15 for population density. Whether one does or does not blame Republican leaders for high murder rates, it seems that Republican officeholders do a better job of blaming Democrats for lethal crime than actually reducing lethal crime.

Of course, one does not need to be a criminologist to notice that most "red states" with high murder rates are southern states, and lots of lots of research has identified relationships between higher temperature and and higher violent crime rates. It would be quite interesting (though probably challenging) to try to run these data by comparing states and cities with comparable climates.

Though one might temper reactions to this report with an eye on temperatures, this report still provide a useful reminder (1) that crime challenges are always dynamic nationwide regardless of the political concerns of the moment, and (2) that it will often be much easier for politicians than for data scientists to claim a link between crime policies and crime.

March 16, 2022 at 12:43 PM | Permalink

Comments

Demographics matter. And SF should have very little crime and should be safe. It isnt. Comparing that to Jacksonville obscures that reality.

We know that the rats are to blame for the Waukesha atrocity.

Posted by: Federalist | Mar 16, 2022 12:50:40 PM

Say the quiet part out loud, Mr. Federalist, so people who dont read between the lines know the racism youre selling.

Posted by: Rory Fleming | Mar 16, 2022 2:18:41 PM

Rory Fleming --

The worst mass murderers (e.g., McVeigh, Bundy,the BTK killer) were white. Everyone who follows the subject matter knows this. Some were black, like the Waukesha murderer. It's hardly racism to note this fact, especially in a woke media environment like the one we have now, in which the rare instances of whites killing blacks are played to the hilt, while the more common (but still quite unusual) instances of blacks killing whites, as in Waukesha, get hustled to the back of the newspaper, if they get covered at all.

Want to know who's racist? How about the defense attorneys who gleefully defended the church bombers in the Birmingham massacre from the civil rights days? How about those who know full well that blacks, at roughly 12% or the population but 53% of murder victims -- a grossly disproportionate share -- work for all they're worth to reduce the punishment for murder (and other crimes, which also disproportionately target blacks)?

Looking for racism? That's where you can find it.

The fake snarl of RACISM is just a ploy by liberal fascists to stifle anyone who dares to raise a question about criminal justice "reform." I know Federalist, and I'm happy to say it won't work with him.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 16, 2022 2:53:45 PM

Would it be fair to characterize prosecutors as "gleefully prosecuting black defendants" who later were exonerated as being factually innocent?

It's not racism. It's tribalism, Mr. Otis.

Posted by: Drug Cnslr | Mar 16, 2022 5:09:42 PM

Drug Cnslr --

Thank you for agreeing with me that Rory Fleming's accusation of racism is incorrect.

Still, I notice that you immediately pivot away from the overtly racist and celebratory defense of the Klansmen who murdered four little black girls in the Birmingham church bombing in 1963 to talk about "exonerated" black defendants. Did you have in mind that most famous "exonerated" black defendant, OJ Simpson? Say, are you and OJ still looking for the "real killer"? Just asking, since we all know, "if the glove don't fit, you must acquit."

Quite a bunch of devoted-to-justice defense lawyers there too, no?

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 16, 2022 5:36:37 PM

I notice that you conveniently ignore the main point of my comment, that being that "tribalism" is what is motivating the cult-like devotion to one's own point of view, be it pro-defense or pro-prosecution. Such devotion inevitably destroys one's objectivity, and leads to an increased distrust and hostilities between the various tribes.

Please try to stay on point with your next response. Thanking you in advance.

Posted by: Drug Cnslr | Mar 16, 2022 7:09:48 PM

Drug Cnslr --

You address what you want and I will do the same. You would not be in a position to give instructions even if you didn't insist on anonymity. If a point be made of it, however, "tribalism" is just this year's nifty, faux-intellectual term like "confirmation bias" was a couple of years ago. Both are a net minus in the debate, because they imply (and are used to imply) an equivalency between the competing sides. But there is no equivalency. One side in a prosecution is there to set out the facts; the other is there to advance the client's interests, however soiled and unworthy they may be, by hook or by crook (as long as outright perjury gets avoided).

It's true that both sides occasionally fall short of their goal. But the goal tells us a lot, and it's not the same for both, not by a long shot. It's what the tribe stands for, and not merely that it's a different tribe, that tells most of the tale.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 16, 2022 7:56:45 PM

According to Bill, the real racists are defense attorneys who defend clients charged with murder! Wow. I guess you dont believe in the right to counsel?

Posted by: Curious | Mar 16, 2022 8:41:33 PM

Bill, do you really believe that all the AFDs you litigated against when you were a prosecutor were racists? Or are you just trolling? I'd like to know if you'll defend your claim or qualify it.

Posted by: Curious | Mar 16, 2022 9:06:53 PM

Mr. Otis,

I was so confident that you would address my point directly, using your impressive intellectual and linguistic gifts. After reading your response, I am, sadly, disappointed. I was hoping for so much more.

What your argument boils down to is: "prosecutors, by definition - good", and "defense attorneys, by definition - bad". And "tribalism is just a meaningless catchphrase". Very unpersuasive, Mr. Otis. (Yes, I know it's an over-simplificiation, but it's pretty damn accurate. And I also am painfully aware that paraphrases and interpretations of your words are a pet peeve. I get it. I get it. Please spare us the disapprobation. Thank you.)

I say there are obviously (to paraphrase your President Trump) "good and bad on both sides".



However, in my experience, both sides collectively strive to do good, and on the whole they are good people. Their seemingly opposite goals (which you focus upon almost exclusively) are the two sides of the same coin. But you already know this. Your alternative to this system is...what? No defense, just prosecution? Or the defense attorney always and only being supplicant and subservient to the noble prosecutor?

(And by the way, I never saw a more guilty defendant than O.J., and a more incompetent prosecution team than Marcia Clark and Chris Darden. It was an easy lay-up, and they blew it when they moved the trial to downtown L.A., not to mention the 'glove gambit'. Game over).

Posted by: Drug Cnslr | Mar 16, 2022 9:08:31 PM

Demographics includes wealthMr. Fleming. A city full of rich people shouldnt be violent. SF should be safe. It isnt.

Posted by: Federalist | Mar 16, 2022 9:29:00 PM

who can ever forget, "if the glove don't fit, you must acquit."

Posted by: anon | Mar 16, 2022 9:32:08 PM

Curious --

"According to Bill, the real racists are defense attorneys who defend clients charged with murder!"

Could you quote where I said that? Should I wait?

Of course you're not going to quote it, since I never said it. It's just the latest in a long line of outright lies on this blog about my position, and you knew it was an outright lie as you were typing it.

If you want further conversation with me, apologize and give your word that you will stop. If you don't, that's fine too.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 16, 2022 11:04:52 PM

Drug Cnslr --

"I was so confident that you would address my point directly, using your impressive intellectual and linguistic gifts. After reading your response, I am, sadly, disappointed. I was hoping for so much more."

What you were hoping for was that you would succeed in silencing me on subjects I think are important (like the ethics of the defense of the Klan church bombing) and limiting me to discussing only those you think are important.

Hey, how's that workin' out for ya? Not quite the Commander of the Comments Section you thought you were?

"What your argument boils down to is: "prosecutors, by definition - good", and "defense attorneys, by definition - bad". And 'tribalism is just a meaningless catchphrase'."

Actually it's worse than a meaningless catchphrase because it pretends to be informative while actually intending to obscure, and obscuring, the fact that prosecutors and defense attorneys have very different goals.

"However, in my experience, both sides collectively strive to do good, and on the whole they are good people. Their seemingly opposite goals (which you focus upon almost exclusively) are the two sides of the same coin. But you already know this."

For pure nonsense, those three sentences are hard to beat. The prosecutor is striving for a conviction because he thinks the evidence warrants it and believes in accountability. The defense lawyer is striving for the most favorable outcome for the client -- guilty or innocent, makes no difference. And if the most favorable outcome is a windfall acquittal, hey, so much the better. If the client thus emboldened goes out and rapes yet another five year-old next week, hey, that's someone else's problem and besides she'll get over it.

The idea that these are "two sides of the same coin" is just astonishing.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 16, 2022 11:33:59 PM

Bill,

I think the comments that suggested defense attorneys are racists are these "How about those who know full well that blacks, at roughly 12% or the population but 53% of murder victims -- a grossly disproportionate share -- work for all they're worth to reduce the punishment for murder (and other crimes, which also disproportionately target blacks)?

Looking for racism? That's where you can find it."

That's how I read it. But it sounds like you strongly disagree with that gloss. Care to elaborate?



Posted by: John | Mar 17, 2022 1:40:21 AM

John --

I will quote verbatim what "Curious" wrote: "According to Bill, the real racists are defense attorneys who defend clients charged with murder!"

"[C}lients charged with murder" means exactly what it says, and contains no limitations. According to that formulation (which is his not mine), I think defense counsel are racists when they are defending, e.g., a white charged with killing a white, something that happens thousands of times a year -- but has zip to do with race or racism. Curious's statement is thus absurd on it's face, and to the extent it's not absurd, it's false.

For my money, we have seen more than enough black people get murdered in this country and it escalated again last year. It's time for it to stop. One way of trying to stop it is to attach more and more serious consequences to it, not lighter and fewer consequences. Do you disagree?

To illustrate my views, I referred to the murders of four black children in the Birmingham church bombing. Martin Luther King referred to it as "one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity." It was done by Klansmen, and if you think racism was absent from the hearts of those who rushed to aid those Klansmen, you go right ahead. "Curious" had nothing to say about that episode, one of the most horrible in the civil rights era. Perhaps he has no interest in it. I wouldn't know. But just walking past it, or walking past the carnage of blacks in the inner cities of this country, or making excuses for it, or indulging those who make excuses for it, inside the legal system or outside, has an odor to it that I and many others find repulsive.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 17, 2022 3:35:38 AM

Hi Bill -

I just disagree with your seemingly prosecutorial bias to crime spikes - more and more punishment which imposes escalating costs on society as a whole (more police, jails and so on) and individuals (criminals, families). More and more punishment for crimes may be emotionally desirable but we should at least try to help potential criminals or minor offenders desist from crime in the first place - I emotionally and intellectually agree with the election of district attorneys who try to minimize incarceration because they recognize that more incarceration should be minimized to the extent that is possible. More and more murders may have a disproportionate impact on blacks but the impact of punishing those crimes also falls disproportionately on blacks - that is what justice reformers are trying to change.

Thank you for reading and considering my comments -

Brett Miler

Posted by: Brett Miler | Mar 17, 2022 12:44:59 PM

Oh my god Bill you're such a snowflake, please stop crying about my very fair characterization of your sweeping attack on criminal defense attorneys. I won't apologize for repeating exactly what you said, which is that defense attorneys are racists if they try to "reduce the punishment for murder" while knowing "know full well that blacks, at roughly 12% or the population but 53% of murder victims -- a grossly disproportionate share."

Presumably, most defense attorneys who defend murder cases know these statistics (there's plenty who went to the same fancy law school as you). I assume all the AFDs you litigated against as a prosecutor are aware. And according to you, they're all racists!

Posted by: Curious | Mar 17, 2022 1:00:42 PM

Here's a quote about defense attorneys from someone who once worked as a prosecutor:

This system of justice that were so proud of in America requires the unpopular to have an advocate and every time a defense lawyer fights to make the government do their job, that defense lawyer has made us all safer."

Senator L. Graham (R)

Posted by: Drug Cnslr | Mar 18, 2022 4:46:59 AM

Drug Cnslr --

1. Sen. Graham is a politician (a pretty good one in my view), and politicians don't like to antagonize powerful groups such as the private bar.

2. But for however that may be, some defense lawyers are heroes, e.g., the ones who defended Kyle Rittenhouse and the Duke lacrosse players falsely accused because their prosecutors had unworthy motives. Other defense lawyers are disgusting, like the ones who defended the Birmingham church bombing, knowing full well, and not caring, that their benighted clients were racist killers.

3. If as you quote the Senator as saying the defense lawyer is doing good every time he "fights to make the government do their job," only about one in twenty qualifies, since, in part in order to do more cases and rake in more fees, 95% of cases are pled out. In pled out cases, the defense lawyer is NOT doing his main job of requiring the government to prove the accused's guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 19, 2022 11:42:34 PM

More bad math and bad arguments from Bill, who claims that "only about one in twenty" defense lawyers "do their job" because "95% of cases are pled out," in order to "rake in more fees." His broad attack on the integrity of the defense bar fails, however, because more than 75% of criminal defendants are represented by public defenders, who do not "rake in more fees" for doing more cases (source: https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/dccc.pdf). Instead, they plead out cases for reasons that have been amply covered by this blog - overwhelming caseloads, trial penalties, mandatory minimums, etc.

Unfortunately, Bill seems to suffer from the adolescent misimpression that anyone who sees the world differently than him, like the criminal defense bar, must be evil or ill-intentioned. Most people grow out of this stage, but Bill, sadly, is descending back into it during his twilight years.

Posted by: Curious | Mar 20, 2022 11:06:30 AM

Post a comment
 Brennan Center reviews "The Landscape of Recent State and County Correctional Oversight Efforts" | Main | New Third Way report details "The Red State Murder Problem" 

March 15, 2022

Spotlighting the new widening potential of electronic monitoring

This new Los Angeles Times op-ed authored by Kate Weisburd and Alicia Virani and headlined "The monster of incarceration quietly expands through ankle monitors," spotlights why many are concerned that electronic monitoring and other new supervision tool may expanded rather than reduce our nation's carceral footprint. I recommend the full piece, and here are excerpts (with links from the original):

In Los Angeles County, the number of people ordered to wear electronic ankle monitors as a condition of pretrial release went up 5,250% in the last six years, according to a recent report by the UCLA Criminal Justice Program. The figure rose from just 24 individuals in 2015 to more than 1,200 in 2021. This type of carceral surveillance is becoming the new normal across the U.S.... Its widely defended as better than jail, but being better than jail does not make a criminal justice policy sound  much less humane or legal.... Its deceptive to even compare jail and ankle monitors as though they are the only two options. There is a third option: freedom. In 2015 and before, L.A. judges were unlikely to order electronic monitoring as a condition of release before trial. Judges either set bail, released people on their own recognizance or ordered that people be detained in jail until trial. Now, judges seem to be defaulting to electronic monitoring, perhaps for people who would  or should  otherwise be free. For people who would otherwise be in jail, monitoring may be preferable. But for people who are monitored instead of being released on their own recognizance, monitoring reflects a dangerous expansion of the carceral state. This E-jail entails a web of invasive rules and surveillance technologies, such as GPS-equipped ankle monitors, that allow law enforcement to tag, track and analyze the precise locations of people who have not been convicted of any crime.... The difference between E-jails and real jails is a matter of degree, not of kind. A recent report by researchers at George Washington University School of Law details the myriad ways that monitoring undermines autonomy, dignity, privacy, financial security and social relationships when they are needed most. Like in jail, people on monitors lose their liberty. In L.A., as elsewhere, people on monitors are forbidden from leaving their house without pre-approval from authorities days in advance. Like in jail, people on monitors have little privacy and must comply with dozens of strict rules governing every aspect of daily life. Failing to charge the monitoring device, changing a work or school schedule without permission or making an unauthorized trip to the grocery store can land someone back in jail for a technical violation. It is hardly surprising that in L.A. County, technical rule violations, not new criminal offenses, led to more than 90% of the terminations and reincarcerations applied to people on electronic monitors. Ankle monitoring also further entrenches the very racial and economic inequities that bail reform sought to address. In 2021, 84% of people on pretrial electronic monitoring in L.A. County were either Black or Latinx. And in most places, though not in L.A., people on ankle monitors before trial are required to pay for the device. These fees are on top of other costs, such as electric bills (to charge the monitor), cellphone bills (to communicate with the monitoring agency) and the cost of care and transportation for family members that is required because people on monitors often cannot leave home.... There is, however, some reason for optimism. After years of community organizing, L.A. Countys Board of Supervisors recently passed a motion to develop an independent pretrial services agency within a new Justice, Care and Opportunities Department that takes over the role that probation plays in pretrial services. This new agency has the ability and authority to end the countys needless reliance on electronic monitoring. We urge officials to focus on innovative solutions that rely on community-based support rather than punitive and harmful surveillance technology.

March 15, 2022 at 08:10 PM | Permalink

Comments

You could significantly mitigate this by requiring sentence credit for time spent on "tagged bail," as I believe the UK calls it and does. That "compensates" anyone who ends up receiving a significant custodial sentence (and people who aren't expected to receive such a sentence if convicted shouldn't be on electronic monitoring in the first place absent pretty unusual circumstances)

Posted by: Jason | Mar 16, 2022 9:11:13 AM

It's always interesting to see who is benefiting financially from the increasing use of monitoring and who the lobbying money is going to.

Posted by: beth curtis | Mar 16, 2022 12:37:45 PM

This is the same ploy the Left pulled off with capital punishment. For years, the plea was to do away with horrible stuff like the electric chair and the gas chamber, in favor of something more humane, like lethal injection. When lethal injection won the day, there was an immediate pivot to. "Oh, wait, lethal injection is just like torture, so we can't do that either."

Same deal here. For years we've been hearing about the wonderfulness of "alternatives to incarceration" such as home confinement with close monitoring. So when we get home confinement with close monitoring, what happens? "Oh, we can't do that either, it's just incarceration by another name."

The only thing the Left knows how to do better than trash Amerika is how to play a shell game.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 16, 2022 3:02:40 PM

@Bill Otis: I think you've blown past some of the valid questions the article is asking.

There's a huge difference between home confinement as a punishment in lieu of incarceration, and electronic monitoring of those who are awaiting trial. The DP is a punishment. Pretrial release is not -- or isn't supposed to be.

Bail is a Constitutional right -- most defendants are entitled to it. The article suggests that some judges are adding electronic monitoring as a condition of bail, in cases where they formerly would not have. Bail conditions should be tied to ensuring the defendant's presence at trial, rather than punishment. But violations of electronic monitoring can be triggered by such trivialities as taking out the garbage or stopping to refill the gas tank.

I think it's a bit dubious to blame every article you disagree with on "the Left".

Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Mar 17, 2022 10:33:13 AM

All good, but lets not forget that judges just throw home monitoring as a condition of bail. That feels like an issue when you think about the fact that the bailed person hasnt been convicted yet. Look also at what Judge Jackson did to Roger Stone. Is it really cool for judges to issue gag orders that prohibit criticism of the judge? I would say no. The more tools in the toolbox that dont look like jail, the more that people will be subjected to onerous pre-sentencing regimes.

On that front, relatedly, I dont know what to think about Juicy getting out of jail. Hes guilty as sin, but I think he has a pretty good Double Jeopardy argument. Of course, he procured the abortive sweetheart deal through clout, so from a rough justice standpoint, I hope he loses that argument.

Kim Foxx is a disgrace.

Posted by: Federalist | Mar 17, 2022 10:44:19 AM

Bail isnt a federal constitutional rightUS v Salerno

Posted by: Federalist | Mar 17, 2022 10:45:06 AM

US vs Salerno held that the Bail Reform Act was Constitutional. This Act "requires courts to detain prior to trial arrestees charged with certain serious felonies if the Government demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence, after an adversary hearing, that no release conditions "will reasonably assure . . . the safety of any other person and the community."

This does not contradict what I said, which is that Bail is a Constitutional right that most defendants are entitled to. It can be denied only if the government makes a particularly strong showing in particular cases. I don't think the Court has ever said categorically that no such right exists. They just said the right to Bail has limits, as is true of most rights.

Posted by: Marc Shepherd | Mar 17, 2022 11:47:13 AM

Marc Shepherd --

"I think it's a bit dubious to blame every article you disagree with on 'the Left'."

So do I, which is why a blame quite a few of them on quite non-Leftish libertarians.

Moral of story: It's a bit dubious to say "every" when you don't actually mean it.

More later.

Posted by: Bill Otis | Mar 17, 2022 4:23:17 PM

Post a comment
(SWNS)

Selfless Britons have been offering up their homes to shelter displaced Ukrainians, as over three million refugees flee the Russian invasion.

Since the Homes for Ukraine scheme was opened in the UK, more than 100,000 households have volunteered to house people forced by war to leave their homeland.

Sponsors can nominate a named Ukrainian individual or family to stay with them in their home, or offer a separate property for them to use rent-free.

Anyone offering their home will be asked to commit to a minimum of six months, but many are already opening their homes for a refugee to use for as long as they need to reestablish their lives.

Those offering accommodation will be vetted and Ukrainian applicants will undergo security checks.

As a thank you, sponsors will receive payments of 350 per month, the government has said, and those offering accommodation will be asked to undergo security checks.

Yahoo News UK spoke to some of the Britons who've offered up their homes to Ukrainian refugees.

You put yourself in their position because its so close to home



Denis and Annie Marie Shields , from Airdrie in Scotland, have seen both their sons grow up and move out, and now have two spare bedrooms they hope could become a home to a parent and children.

They have offered their terraced four-bedroom property to become a long-term home for someone to reestablish their lives following Vladimir Putins bombardment of Ukraine.

Denis, who works as a magician and entertainer, told Yahoo News UK he and his wife had spoken about it when the invasion began, but realised weve just got to do it.

Were hoping to make one of the bedrooms into a living area so they might have their own space.

(Yahoo news UK/ Denis Shields)

Our two boys have grown up and left, Ive got gym equipment in one of the rooms that Im clearing out, we currently only have one bathroom but wed like to get another one if we can.

Denis and Anne Marie couldnt believe their eyes when they saw what was happening in Ukraine, and knew they needed to do something to help.

Story continues

He said: I was watching the news from the start, watching the war from the start and it got to the stage where my wife was getting angry because I was getting so caught up with it.

Watching these people you put yourself in their position just because its so close to home.

"These people were doing the same things we were doing just a few weeks ago and now theyre trudging through mud and snow to find somewhere safe.

Denis Shields said he can offer one of his spare rooms to a Ukrainian family (once he's cleared out his gym equipment). (Yahoo news UK/ Denis Shields)

Another of the spare rooms in Denis's property. (Yahoo news UK/ Denis Shields)

Despite being eager to have someone in as soon as possible, Denis said the UK government has been hopeless

He added: Processes should have been put in place long before now.

At the moment we have registered but that is about it.

It is up to us to try to find a family to sponsor and on Friday if you have found someone to help I believe you have to fill in visas online for them.

There is just not enough help in my opinion. And how are we supposed to find someone? Who helps the families that you see on the news struggling at borders and at train stations with no Facebook or even a phone. How do we get help to them?

We dont have perfect lives... but we can share.



Emma Hunneyball, 39, along with her husband Andrew and their two sons are offering a spare room in their four-bedroom home in Hednesford, Staffordshire, and are happy to house a refugee as soon as possible.

Emma told Yahoo News UK: We dont have perfect lives but we have a lot and we can share, and help.

She added: I think the appalling atrocities that you can see today being inflicted on ordinary people makes you want to help in any way that you can.

Since weve got the room, why wouldnt we help?

Weve got a spare room and plenty of living space. We use our spare room as an office so we will decamp from that and squeeze into other rooms so we can work and free it up so somebody can come over and stay with us for as long as they need.

Marina Vizerska, an evacuee from Ukraine, hugs her baby after they crossed the Ukrainian-Romanian border in Siret, northern Romania. (Getty)

But the process has not been easy, and Emma has taken to social media to try and find someone who needs help in finding safety.

We made the decision that we wanted to help in this way pretty soon after the invasion started and people started feeling the country, but the visa situation didnt help, Emma said.

I actually found the new process pretty easy, the site crashed once or twice while I was trying to get through on Monday and sign up.

The big disappointment is that there was no co-ordination between that site and charities and people who are trying to connect you with people who need help.

The onus is on us to find people who need help.

Project manager Emma is putting her skills to good use in preparing for a new arrival, and says they are ready to go.

Every day somebody is being displaced from that country, every day we are ready and each day that goes past is a missed opportunity for someone to have a safe home, but theyre not being given that home. Its too slow.

The children also understand they are opening their home to someone who needs it, with her eldest son, 13, telling his younger brother theyre helping people whose houses are on fire.

The boys are now eagerly awaiting their new arrival, with her youngest asking: Mummy, when are they getting here?

I don't feel like I can just sit back.



Rend and Michael Platings painted their house in the Ukrainian flag, and now plan to welcome their friend Kristina Corniuk, a Spanish teacher who is stranded in Kyiv.

The couple and their eight-year-old daughter Samantha plan to open the spare bedroom of their semi-detached home in Cambridge.

Rend, a former Iraqi diplomat who now runs Cambridge-based charity Sugarwise, said: "I don't feel like I can just sit back. I think it's our responsibility to be active citizens and fight injustice."

She added said: "The war is feeling like it's coming closer and closer to Kristina.

Rend Platings outside her house in Cambridge that is painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. (SWNS)

"Yesterday she told me that she was up all night because there were sirens and bombs.

"The next day they found out the strikes were around 200 metres from their apartment."

Rend said Kristina had stayed in Kyiv to look after her parents and 90-year-old grandfather, who is around 90 years old, but doesnt know if they will also try to reach the UK.

"We'll be passing the government's 350 to Kristina as an allowance to get her onto her feet."

Rend described the Homes for Ukraine application form as "pretty straightforward" and said it involved sharing details about the room size and access to shared facilities like the kitchen and bathroom.

We just want to help as soon as we can.



Charlie Rubin, 30, and his girlfriend Constance Campbell, 25, say they want to help as soon as they can and are offering their spare loft room in Shepherds Bush in London to a family who needs it.

For Charlie it is particularly important, as he feels like he would be repaying the British for giving his great-grandfather sanctuary in 1919 when he fled violent Russian pogroms and massacres to settle in Manchester and going on to start a family.

Now Charlie and Constance want to offer the same opportunity to Ukrainian refugees displaced by the Russian invasion of their country.

Charlie Rubin and Constance Campbell, from Shepherd's Bush, London, in their spare room which they'll be offering to Ukrainian refugees. (SWNS)

Charlie said: "If it wasn't for the British government who allowed my great grandfather the opportunity to build a life in the UK, I wouldn't be here today.

"Over a 100 years later I'm repaying a debt to them by taking in a family myself.

"I want to do something on behalf of Britain which was done for my great grandfather, and offer as much help as I can to families fleeing the conflict.

"It's our first home, and we have a room in the loft perfect for a family to stay in.

"There's no fixed time limit we have in mind, we just want to help as soon as we can."

"I couldn't fathom fleeing my country to protect my family."



Sabrina and Tony O'Brien from East Yorkshire have opened their doors to a family of four currently stuck in Moldova, and are pleading with the government to speed up the process so they can help as soon as possible.

Sabrina signed up to a match-up scheme online and was paired with English teacher, Liliia, who has fled Ukraine with her husband and two daughters, and wants to come to the UK, to start a new life.

Sabrina said: "My family and I were incredibly shocked at what we were seeing on the news about Ukraine, and we were desperate to help in some way.

"We are fortunate enough to have two spare rooms in our home in Driffield, so I knew we were in a position to take a Ukrainian family in.

Sabrina and Tony O'Brien, from Driffield, have two spare rooms to offer the Ukrainian family (Reach)

Sabrina and Liliia were matched online, after Lillia, her husband and two children escaped to Moldova.

The two women have since regularly chatted online, and had several Facetime calls to get to know each other, and Sabrina has been incredibly moved by Liliia's story.

Sabrina said: "I am very frightened for the family, I have four children myself, and I just could not fathom having to flee my country to protect my family.

"A few weeks ago, Liliia was making Valentine's Day decorations with her pupils at her school in Ukraine, and now everything is being destroyed.

"It is also not safe for the family in Moldova, the neighbours are all very pro-Russia, due to endless propaganda, and food is becoming scarce, they need to be as far away as possible.

"As Liliia speaks English, this is the best place for her to be, and she is spending all of her time teaching her family English too.

"Liliia hasn't slept in five days, and can barely eat."

The family have applied for visas, but Sabrina said the sponsorship scheme, proposed by the government, needs to move along faster.

She said: "The government really need to do more to fast track this scheme, as the situation is getting more dangerous as time goes on.

"Poland and Romania have let in record amounts of refugees, and we can really learn something from them.
Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said in an interview to be broadcast at the upcoming Bloomberg Lives Asean Business Summit. (PHOTO: Bloomberg)

By Philip J. Heijmans

(Bloomberg)  Singapores top diplomat said he hopes China will use its enormous influence on Russia to help end its war with Ukraine, warning that Beijings decisions in the coming days and weeks could determine the future path of the global economy.

The big issue now is what decisions and actions China takes, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan said in an interview with Haslinda Amin to be broadcast at the upcoming Bloomberg Lives Asean Business Summit. If you get a deepening of the bifurcation of the global economy, of supply chains, of technology, this will be a very, very different world.

Singapore last month became the first Southeast Asian nation to say it is imposing unilateral sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, a move Balakrishnan said was necessary due to the egregiousness of it all. Calling the invasion perhaps even a bigger moment than the fall of the Berlin Wall, he said China has a greater economic stake than Russia in an integrated multilateral rules-based world.

I hope they will assert their influence with Chinese characteristics, which means quietly and discreetly, but effectively, Balakrishnan said of President Xi Jinpings government. Thats a hope now. Whether this is wishful thinking on my part well see over the next few days and weeks.

Singapores biggest banks have restricted trade financing for Russian raw materials including a halt on issuing so-called letters of credit in U.S. dollars for trades involving oil and liquefied natural gas, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Singapore Airlines Ltd. has also suspended all return services with Moscow due to operational reasons.

Singapore has rarely imposed sanctions on other countries in the absence of binding United Nations Security Council approval.

We believe we are at an inflection point, Balakrishnan said. Little Singapore is standing up for principles and expressing a hope for the rules of engagement for this new era.

Story continues

Here are some other key points from the interview:

Balakrishnan dismissed Chinas claim that the U.S. is looking to form a NATO-style military alliance in the Indo-Pacific region, saying Southeast Asia is not looking for one or the other superpower to be a godfather to Southeast Asia.

He called it a strategic error on the part of the United States to have abandoned talks on the deal that became the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Every time I go to Washington I continue to make this point that actually, the best thing you could do would be to return to the TPP, he said.

The war in Ukraine will likely result in a protracted quagmire for the Russians and decades of instability.

He noted increased global defence spending across the board, citing Germanys decision to channel US$113 billion this year into a fund to modernise the military as a result of Russias actions in Ukraine. I think youre getting a reversion to the mean, which means that every country needs to make sure, as we do in Singapore, that we have invested enough to be able to defend our own interests, he said.

He said he was pleasantly surprised with the joint statements by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. You have to understand the diversity in Asean, he said, adding only two of its members abstained at the UN General Assembly to condemn Russia. Frankly, even that exceeded my expectations.

On the continued conflict in Myanmar, he said there needs to be honest-to-goodness political dialogue between detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the military junta that overthrew her government in a coup last year.

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Commentary: Why China must stick to dynamic zero-COVID policy

Xinhua) 08:10, March 16, 2022

A volunteer in protective gear guides citizens at a nucleic acid testing site in Luohu District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, March 13, 2022. (Photo by Chu Yan/Xinhua)

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The latest resurgence of COVID-19 infections in major Chinese cities has underscored once again why it is important for China to adhere to its dynamic zero-COVID policy.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, some western media have been calculating the human and economic cost of China's zero-COVID policy, repeatedly stirring up debates about the limitations of this containment strategy.

The importance of sticking to the current prevention and control measures is apparent. For a country as populous as China, hasty and premature relaxation of dynamic zero-COVID policy risks eroding the hard-won prevention and control achievements gained in the earlier stage, and may also result in severe consequences in the near future.

Only by adhering to such an effective containment policy, can China tackle the epidemic situation immediately upon detection of cases, preventing mass infections, severe illness and deaths, and avoiding straining medical resources to better meet people's daily medical needs.

Compared with the huge population in China, the numbers of infections, severe cases and deaths related to novel coronavirus pneumonia are very small, and the imported epidemic situation can be curbed quickly, demonstrating that the prevention and control measures are effective and efficient.

China has already found an approach to dynamically stamp out COVID-19 infections while maintaining the country's economic vitality. It saw a strong rebound with 8.1-percent growth in 2021 and became the only major economy to record growth in 2020.

The dynamic zero-COVID policy has not only saved precious lives and made it possible for economic and social life to recover in a relatively short time in China, the whole world has also benefitted.

Thanks to this policy, China, the second largest economy and major supplier of many manufactured goods, could provide key manufactured products to the world, including goods badly needed by many countries in fighting the pandemic.

Amid the persistent battle against the coronavirus, the Chinese people have actively complied with the country's anti-epidemic strategy. Preventive measures such as wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing are strictly followed by the public.

Residents queue to receive nucleic acid tests at a community in east China's Shanghai, March 13, 2021. (Xinhua/Gao Feng)

In Shenzhen, Shanghai and other cities, where resurgence of cases has been reported, citizens have actively cooperated with the government to undergo mass nucleic acid testing and implement closed-loop management for residential communities and other public places at risk of infection.

China's dynamic zero-COVID approach has been supported and collectively implemented by the people in all walks of life -- from frontline medical staff and local residents to college students and community volunteers, as they believe the dynamic zero-COVID policy has proved effective in containing the virus.

Getting cold feet about a worthwhile endeavor that the country has been sincerely pursuing is tantamount to flinching at the final attempt. The result may prove catastrophic to China and the world. China will stick to the dynamic zero-COVID policy until the battle against the virus is won.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
 Flash

The Group of 20 (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation, not an appropriate platform to discuss political security issues such as Ukraine, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query on an Indonesian official's recent comments that the G20 is a multilateral economic cooperation mechanism and, as Indonesia holds the rotating presidency of G20, it does not intend to include the Ukraine crisis in the current agenda.

Zhao said that under the current circumstances, G20 is shouldering important responsibilities in advancing international anti-pandemic cooperation and maintaining the stability and recovery of the world economy.

He called on G20 to stick to its mandate, deepen solidarity and cooperation, and work for a joint response to prominent challenges such as global public health and economic and financial issues.

China supports Indonesia in promoting cooperation across the board in accordance with the established agenda, Zhao said, adding that China will continue to get deeply involved in the preparation process of the Bali Summit and make positive contribution to improving global economic governance and promoting post-pandemic economic and social recovery.
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The Nebraska Public Service Commission has levied a huge fine against a South Dakota grain dealer that did business in the state without a license.

The order approved by the PSC at its Tuesday meeting says Banghart Properties LLC of Gettysburg, South Dakota, must pay a fine of $290,000 for operating without a license and failing to properly document grain purchases.

PSC spokeswoman Deb Collins said the fine is the "largest in recent memory" handed down by the commission.

According to a complaint filed in October, the company, which also used the name Fearless Grain Marketing, operated for months in the state without a license and made numerous deals with farmers.

The complaint said that owner Jan Banghart acknowledged that she started operating before inquiring about licensing requirements and then continued to operate after being told she needed to cease doing so until she obtained a license.

The PSC held a hearing on the complaint in January, and staff at that time had recommended a fine as high as $870,000, which represented the maximum $10,000 penalty for 87 separate violations that were alleged, which included both the unlicensed purchases and the failure to document them.

The commission decided to reduce the amount to $290,000, which would reflect a $10,000 fine for each of the 29 unlicensed transactions that were documented in the complaint, although it was acknowledged that Banghart's business records showed another 21 unlicensed transactions.

This companys flagrant violation of Nebraska law along with its unwillingness to comply led to the conclusion that this civil penalty is warranted, Commission Chair Dan Watermeier said in a statement.

Banghart has 30 days to either pay the fine or appeal it.

Robert Konrad, an attorney representing the Banghart, told agricultural publication AgWeek that the company is disappointed in the ruling and is considering an appeal.

Reach the writer at 402-473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LincolnBizBuzz.

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ELK POINT, S.D. -- A Beresford, South Dakota, man accused of sexually assaulting a toddler was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison for possession of child pornography.

Mark Cornish, 30, pleaded guilty in January in Union County Circuit Court to four counts of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to a term of 10 years imprisonment on each count. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.

Cornish was indicted in September on 39 counts of possession of child pornography and single counts of first-degree rape and sexual exploitation of a minor. The remaining counts were dismissed.

Authorities began investigating Cornish on Aug. 26, when police were notified of his behavior with a 13-year-old girl at the Family Dollar store. The girl told police she had babysat Cornish's two children and that she and Cornish had kissed, hugged and cuddled at his home. She also admitted they had sent nude photos of themselves to each other.

On Aug. 29, police seized Cornish's cellphone and laptop during a search of his home, where he lived with his fiancee and their two young children.

Investigators searching the phone and laptop found dozens of downloaded images and videos of nude children, some engaged in sexual activity. Investigators also found a video of the rape of a child they believed was taken on Cornish's phone inside his home.

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SIOUX CITY -- Several years ago, Carissa Roach was called out to process the scene of a bank robbery in downtown Sioux City.

Unfortunately, the bank had an antiquated video surveillance system, which yielded a lone still image of the suspect.

"The description of the individual was really odd -- had glasses on, a wig on, so we really didn't have any good physical descriptors," recalled Roach, who got her start working as an identification technician for the Sioux City Police Department 16 years ago.

Roach processed a pamphlet, which the suspect had picked up and set down at the bank, for fingerprints. She entered the prints into the automated fingerprint identification system or AFIS and came up with a match, which was ultimately verified by her supervisor.

"That was kind of exciting," she said. "They had him picked up the next morning."

Roach now supervises the police department's Identification Unit, which currently has three senior identification technicians and a property clerk. They handle thousands of calls per year.

Identification technicians process crime scenes 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They take photographs, recover and analyze latent fingerprints, collect DNA, use a FARO 3D laser scanner to digitally map crime scenes and traffic crashes, collect and analyze marijuana, as well as document and store crime and video evidence.

Last month, during a budget wrap up meeting, the Sioux City Council voted to add one full-time identification technician in FY 2023, which will bring the unit to six. The identification technicians' titles are also changing to crime scene investigators.

"Right now, having good forensic evidence is huge in court," Sioux City Police Chief Rex Mueller told the council. "All of our county attorneys, they're focusing on it. Our federal attorneys are focusing on it. Nothing beats having that forensic evidence to back up what the investigators do, what the detectives are doing. We place a high emphasis on that."

Changing times

Roach said her interest in photography and her "averseness to blood and guts" led her into this line of work.

She obtained a bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Morningside College and went on to pursue a masters degree in forensic science from Nebraska Wesleyan University. About a year after she earned her masters degree, the Sioux City native learned about an opening at the police department and the rest is history.

Roach said the demand for identification technicians or crime scene investigators is "pretty limited." Usually, only larger police departments have civilian positions dedicated to forensics. She said Sioux City has had civilians working in the unit since 1980. Before then, she said it was staffed by officers.

"A lot of the smaller departments have officers assigned to those duties, or, even if something major happens, they call in the state to process their crime scenes," she explained.

Sheila Rogeness began her career as an identification technician with the department in 1994. After 13 years, she took a job with Davenport's crime scene unit. She return to Sioux City 2 1/2 years ago.

"My background was actually in photography and graphics," she said. "In 1994, there was no such thing as a masters degree or any kind of a degree in forensics."

Rogeness first applied for a job in the unit in 1980, but, at that time, she said women weren't really welcome. When the position opened up again in 1993, Rogeness applied and was hired.

"I have since gotten my associates (degree) in science and, of course, the training that I've received over the years has been from the FBI," she said. "There's a lot of online options for training now so that you can stay current."

When she arrives at the scene of a crash or crime, Rogeness speaks with officers to get a sense of what they think transpired. She said they give her a tour of the scene and point out where they think she might find evidence. Depending on the type of incident, Rogeness may have her eye out for tool marks, footwear impressions, as well as items that she could obtain fingerprints or DNA from.

"I'll start by taking overall photographs and work my way around the scene," she said. "I'll look for any evidence that might be pertinent to what we're looking at. If it's a burglary, for instance, I'll focus on the point of entry or anything they may have disturbed inside a residence or a business."

The unit sends DNA evidence to the state crime lab in Ankeny for testing. The technology is so precise, according to Roach, that lab reports have revealed that fewer than one out of 100 octillion individuals are expected to have that particular DNA profile.

"It's just amazing the statistics on it now," she said. "It used to be the standard blood, semen, saliva for DNA. Now, we have what they call touch DNA. They're able to get full profiles from such smaller amounts of cells that you can gather."

Not as seen on TV

While Roach and Rogeness find their work interesting, rewarding and even exciting at times, it's also challenging and arduous. For example, Rogeness has spent countless hours hand sanding firearms in hopes of restoring serial numbers that were obliterated by criminals.

Roach and Rogeness say popular crime scene investigation shows don't accurately depict their jobs.

"It's not nearly as glamorous. We don't have a Hummer," Rogeness said with a chuckle. "We're not arresting people."

Identification technicians don't carry weapons or interview victims and suspects. They're the ones collecting clothing and swabbing hands during interviews. They see injured people and death constantly.

"We witness the worst times in people's lives and we do it daily," Roach said.

Identification technicians work various shifts and can be called out in the middle of the night to process a scene in sub-zero temperatures. They're trekking down into ditches and climbing on top of roofs in oppressive heat, while lugging heavy camera bags.

"I, one time, had to climb a ladder onto the roof of Lowe's with my camera bag, because somebody had gone up there and stolen equipment," Roach said. "I would say nobody would watch a show about Sioux City CSI, because it's not as exciting most of the time."

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GRANVILLE, Iowa  Iowa DNR staff on Tuesday returned to follow up on a manure release from a dairy barn about three miles south of Granville in Sioux County that occurred Monday morning.

They found the manure had moved downstream roughly five miles from the dairy barn. Although ice covered parts of the creek, they found stressed fish, and some dead chubs and minnows in Deep Creek.

Owner Nate Zuiderveen is looking at pumping contaminated water from the stream.

Manure had backed up into the dairy barn, and then flowed into an underground tile line. Its unknown how much manure reached the stream.

DNR will monitor clean up, keep checking the stream and consider appropriate enforcement action.

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SIOUX CITY -- The Sioux Gateway Airport is eligible to receive more than $3.1 million from the Iowa Commercial Aviation Infrastructure Fund.

A total of $100 million is being offered through reimbursable grants to the eight publicly owned commercial service airports in Iowa as identified in the 2020 Iowa Aviation System Plan. The fund, which is being administered by the Iowa Department of Transportation, is made possible with allocations through Federal American Rescue Plan State Fiscal Recovery Funds.

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the investment to modernize and strengthen Iowa's air transportation system on Wednesday.

Ninety percent of the funds will be granted based upon passenger numbers from 2019 and the remaining 10% will be split equally among the commercial airports.

"It's significant. The commercial airports in Iowa have been lobbying for a long time about infrastructure funds. I think the Legislature and the governor have taken that all in over the years and found a way to help fund and find a resource when they were able to," Assistant Sioux City Manager Mike Collett told The Journal.

Eligible projects under the program include terminal construction and renovations, parking structure construction and hangar construction.

Collett said city staff, the airport's board and the City Council will provide input regarding how the funding will be used at Sioux Gateway.

Iowa's airport system supported 2.2 million passengers and 142 million pounds of cargo in 2019, prior to the pandemic.

Sioux Gateway is home to one commercial airline, SkyWest, a United Airlines regional carrier which flies daily connecting routes to Chicago and Denver. Last week, SkyWest announced its intention to leave Sioux Gateway as early as this summer due to a systemwide pilot shortage. Because Sioux City is an Essential Airport Community, however, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered SkyWest to indefinitely continue service here until a replacement airline is found.

Reynolds said the airports are essential for Iowa's tourism, business growth, development and economic prosperity.

"Iowa's commercial airports play a vital role in supporting the economic development and prosperity of our state, and we need to ensure that continues to be the case for many more years to come," Reynolds said in the statement. "This significant investment will help maintain momentum and encourage ongoing growth through transformative projects that will greatly benefit Iowans and other travelers that utilize our air transportation system."

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The first China-Europe freight train bound for Tilburg from Nanjing, capital city of east China's Jiangsu Province, arrives in Tilburg, the Netherlands, June 4, 2021. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held a phone conversation with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra, during which the two mainly exchanged views on the current situation in Ukraine.

Wang said the position of the Chinese side on the Ukraine issue has been consistent and open, noting that "the four musts" highlighted by Chinese President Xi Jinping are China's clearest and the most authoritative attitude, and that all measures taken by China will be based on the "four musts."

During his virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this month, Xi said China maintains that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported.

Wang said China, as a peace-loving country, has always been committed to peaceful settlement of disputes through political means, and is ready to work with the Netherlands and other countries of the European Union to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

The international community generally hopes to realize a cease-fire as soon as possible, ease the situation on the ground and avoid civilian casualties, which is also China's expectation, he said.

Noting that Russia and Ukraine have held four rounds of talks and progress has been slow, Wang said there is hope for a cease-fire and a peaceful future can be opened up if the talks can be maintained, adding that China will continue making efforts in its own way to promote peace talks.

Noting that the escalating sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe against Russia have compounded the difficulties facing a struggling global economic recovery and inflicted undue damage on the people's livelihood of various countries, Wang called on all parties to do more to promote peace talks, not the opposite.

He also pointed out that the top priority for the international community at the moment is to deal with a possible large-scale humanitarian crisis, saying that China has already put forward a six-point proposal on easing the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and taken concrete actions, and the first batch of emergency humanitarian aid has arrived and been distributed, with more assistance to be provided in the future as needed.

Stressing that behind the Ukraine crisis lies the issue of Europe's security, Wang said that how to safeguard Europe's security in the future concerns the vital interests of all European countries, including the Netherlands.

The conflict will eventually end, Wang said, expressing his hope that European countries can sit down with Russia for an in-depth and comprehensive dialogue, and discuss ways to set up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework in a bid to achieve long-term stability in Europe.

Hoekstra appreciated China's humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian refugees, deeming dialogue and negotiation the most important way to resolve conflicts and confrontations.

Expressing the hope that China could continue to play a positive role in this regard, Hoekstra said that under the current circumstances, all countries should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries and abide by the basic norms governing international relations.

Wang said that it is exactly the traditional position China has always adhered to. On China's Taiwan question, the Chinese foreign minister said he hopes that such words would also be matched with deeds, and double standards should not be applied.

They also exchanged views on Chinese-Dutch relations.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands, Wang said, expressing the hope that the two countries will take this opportunity to push for new progress in their open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership so as to make positive contributions to international and regional peace and stability.

Echoing Wang's remarks, Hoekstra said that the Netherlands is willing to strengthen communication and exchanges with China and hold successful celebrations for the 50 anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties so as to lift bilateral relations to a higher level.
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China did not know in advance about Russia's plan for a military operation against Ukraine, nor did Beijing support it, wrote Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, in an opinion piece appearing Tuesday in The Washington Post.

"Let me say this responsibly: Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation," Qin said in the article, which he said aims to explain "fully" to the American people China's stance on the Ukraine conflict and "dispel any misunderstandings and rumors."

"All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China," the ambassador said.

Noting that there were over 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine and that China is the biggest trading partner of both Ukraine and Russia, Qin said that conflict between Russia and Ukraine "does no good for China" and that China would have tried its best to prevent the war had it known about it in advance.

"On Ukraine, China's position is objective and impartial," the ambassador said. "The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter must be fully observed; the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected; the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously; and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported."

Regarding threats from some U.S. officials about sanctioning Chinese entities and businesses in a scenario -- purported by Washington -- where China provides assistance to Russia, Qin said the threats are unacceptable.

"Neither war nor sanctions can deliver peace. Wielding the baton of sanctions at Chinese companies while seeking China's support and cooperation simply won't work," he said.

The ambassador also denounced those who have been trying to link the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, saying doing so "is a mistake" and the two "are totally different things."

"Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair. It does not make sense for people to emphasize the principle of sovereignty on Ukraine while hurting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Taiwan," Qin said.

The ambassador reiterated China's resolve for national reunification, saying China is "committed to peaceful reunification, but we also retain all options to curb 'Taiwan independence.'"

"We hope the United States earnestly abides by the one-China principle and does not support "Taiwan independence" separatism in any form. To ensure long-term peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, China and the United States must work together to contain 'Taiwan independence,'" he said.

Qin also highlighted China's efforts to push for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and prevent a humanitarian crisis induced by the conflict.

The long-term peace and stability of Europe, the veteran diplomat said, "relies on the principle of indivisible security," adding that China, whose ultimate purpose in the ongoing crisis is to seek an end to the war and support regional and global stability, "will continue to coordinate real efforts to achieve lasting peace."
Three bills that would heavily restrict or ban abortions in Nebraska hit a roadblock in the Legislature Tuesday.

Though there were motions to advance all three bills out of the Judiciary Committee, all three motions failed during an executive session. The committee did not kill any of the bills, and each would require a vote by the committee or the full Legislature to move further.

One bill, LB933, would ban all abortions in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, or if the U.S. Constitution or federal law is amended to give control over abortions to individual states. Such measures are referred to as trigger bills.

Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said he doubts that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, even with more conservative justices on the court.

"I just don't see that as an outcome," Lathrop said.

Lathrop said he didn't like that LB933 did not include exceptions in rape or incest cases. The bill would not provide exemptions, but would allow licensed physicians charged under the law to claim as a defense that the abortion was necessary to prevent the womans death or serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ.

The remaining two bills would ban abortions after a certain period, both of which come early in a pregnancy. LB1086 would ban chemical abortions after seven weeks, but would not regulate surgical abortions, according to Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, who introduced the bill.

LB781, introduced by Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling, would ban abortions after a so-called fetal heartbeat can be detected. That usually occurs at about six weeks gestation, before most women are aware that they are pregnant.

All three bills would penalize the physicians or other officials involved in administering an abortion procedure or providing an abortion-inducing drug  in most cases classifying it as a felony. The woman undergoing an abortion, however, would not be charged.

Several committee members raised concerns with this aspect. Lathrop said he didn't like that LB781 would put doctors in a position where they would have to defend themselves.

Abortion rights were the subject of a Judiciary Committee hearing in February, in which abortion-rights supporters outnumbered opponents. Most of the testimony was against LB933, with speakers arguing that access to abortion was essential to women's rights.

Meanwhile, a separate bill in the Health and Human Services Committee, LB716, would make abortions more accessible across Nebraska. The bill, introduced by Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, would expand the types of providers allowed to perform abortions. Currently, only physicians are authorized to do them.

Hunt's bill would allow qualified advance practice registered nurses, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants to also perform abortions. LB716 has also not made it out of committee.

World-Herald reporter Martha Stoddard contributed to this report.

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The slow impending death of Roe v. Wade at the hands of the Supreme Court has encouraged red states to experiment with different approaches to tormenting abortion patients. In the months since it became clear that the court planned to let Roe die this summer, states have playfully experimented with nullifying its protections.Texas kicked things off with S.B. 8 last summer, allowing random vigilantes to sue abortion providers and their abettors for a $10,000 bounty. Lawmakers in at least 12 other states have since proposed versions of copycat abortion bansmost of which make up for what they lack in constitutionality in sloppy drafting and cruelty.

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For instance, Missouri Republicans have introduced bills that would prohibit residents from traveling out of state to terminate a pregnancy and force women to carry ectopic pregnancies that could kill them. Alabama is vigorously defending a law that allows district attorneys to cross-examine minors seeking an abortion without parental consentand allows judges to appoint a guardian to represent the fetus in court. (The law seemed dead until January, when a conservative appeals court, emboldened by SCOTUS, took steps to revive it.) Not to be outdone, Idaho has taken a slightly different approach: On Monday, its Legislature passed a bill that effectively allows the father, siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles of a preborn child to veto an abortion. The law applies not just to minors, but to any adult seeking the procedure.

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That bill, S.B. 1309, now headed to Republican Gov. Brad Littles desk for his signature, constitutes an explicit effort to afford the biological relatives of a preborn fetus more rights than the person carrying it. Like Texas S.B. 8, the Idaho measure bans abortion when a heartbeat can be detected after six weeks, before most people know theyre pregnant. (Protesters wanted it to be triggered at fertilization, believing six weeks was too late, but they did not prevail.) Like S.B. 8, the Idaho law grants private citizens, rather than the state, the power to enforce it, so no state actor can be sued, and therefore no legal mechanism exists to challenge it in federal court. The Supreme Court blessed this workaround in December, holding that the federal judiciary cannot block an unconstitutional law that relies on private enforcement, and the Texas Supreme Court ratified it last week.

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But unlike S.B. 8, the Idaho bill does not let just any random stranger sue clinics, physicians, or those who aid or abet them. Rather, it limits the pool of plaintiffs to the fetuss family members. That includes patients, who can sue their own abortion providers up to four years after the procedure. And unlike S.B. 8, the damages start at $20,000. (As was the case in Texas, if the plaintiff wins, they collect attorneys fees from the defendant; whereas if the defendant prevails, they get nothing.)

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It seems safe to assume that a person who voluntarily terminates a pregnancy will probably not sue their doctor for providing the requested medical care. (Someone who later regrets their decision might try it, but the overwhelming majority of patients do not regret their abortions.) So, the obvious object of the Idaho bill is to permit a third partyin most cases, likely the father or anyone in his familyto force the patient to carry an unwanted pregnancy.

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The Idaho law has an exception for rape, but only if the victim files a police report. This exception is cold comfort given that few victims of sexual assault report the crime to the police, in part because filing a report could result in further abuse, especially for victims of intimate partner violence. If a rape victim terminates her pregnancy without filing a police report, the rapists family members can all sue and collect separately. The bills sponsor, Republican state Rep. Steven Harris, has confirmed that if a rapist has 10 siblings, each can sue for $20,000. The bill therefore makes it incredibly easy for a sexual assailants family to further victimize the woman by profiting from her pregnancy.

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Really no words for this cruel Texas-style bill heading to Gov. Brad Little's desk: Idaho Senate Bill 1309 would ban abortion after six weeks, and it allows family members of rapists to sue medical providers.



Here's some of the discussion before it passed the House: pic.twitter.com/5F1yRD7wIn  The Recount (@therecount) March 15, 2022

The law also contains a theoretical exception for medical emergencies, but the burden falls on the provider to prove that the abortion was medically necessary. Even then, the procedure is only deemed legal when it is necessary to avert death or substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.

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Gov. Brad Little has indicated that he will sign S.B. 1309 soon. Once he does, Idahos five abortion facilities may well close their doors, since the threat of ruinous lawsuits could render their work untenable. And that, of course, is the end goal. As has been the case in Texas since September, the object is to save the preborn fetus at any cost to the pregnant person, and to do so by chilling providers and those who need services from taking any action at all. Knowing that the Supreme Court has permitted that end run around Roe and Casey, Idaho goes one further in assuring that pregnant victims of intimate partner violence will be subject to the whims of their abusers. The putative police report isnt the state protecting the victims interest but the state incentivizing and rewarding abusers and their families.

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These copycat bills will proliferate regardless of what happens to Roe this summer; Tennessee Republicans are rapidly advancing one at this moment. It is worth dwelling on the cruel and cynical route that GOP legislators took to get there. Only a few short years after states claimed they only sought more ultrasound laws, more mandatory medical warnings read by unwilling physicians, longer waiting periods, and more burdensome requirements for clinics, the fiction that states just wanted to help women make better informed decisions for their unborn babies gave way to the proliferation of this odious legislation the moment Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to replace Anthony Kennedy.

This fictionthat terminating pregnancies should only be permitted when maternal interests are carefully balanced against those of the fetusis now revealed as a tactic to shutter clinics and nothing more. The new tactic, which simply bars any procedure after six weeks and converts pregnant people into unwilling incubators, is yet more evidence (if we still needed any) that years of professed solicitude for maternal autonomy and decisional freedom was always a sham. Gone is the talk of pregnant people making decisions coerced by nefarious abortion mills. The only option now available is state-coerced pregnancy and delivery.

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There is a progression here, but its subtle. Texas made sure that people seeking to terminate a pregnancy would be at constant threat from their own communities; the state has invited Lyft drivers, high school counselors, and neighbors to police private decisions that should be left to the mother and her physician. What Idaho has done is even more ruthless and vindictive. The state now invites family, including intimate partners extended family, into the home to coerce and pressure her. Texas weaponized community to diminish autonomous decision-making. Idaho plans to weaponize family.

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1992, the Supreme Court upheld a host of new Pennsylvania burdens on abortion but drew a firm line against mandatory spousal consent; a provision then-appellate Judge Sam Alito would have permitted. The famous plurality opinion that was a compromise between Justices Sandra Day OConnor, David Souter, and Anthony Kennedy cited copious trial testimony about the prevalence and danger of domestic violence. Pennsylvanias spousal notification requirement had exempted wives whod been raped by their husbands, but not those whod been coerced into sexual behavior other than penetration, the opinion noted:

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In well-functioning marriages, spouses discuss important intimate decisions such as whether to bear a child. But there are millions of women in this country who are the victims of regular physical and psychological abuse at the hands of their husbands. Should these women become pregnant, they may have very good reasons for not wishing to inform their husbands of their decision to obtain an abortion. Many may have justifiable fears of physical abuse, but may be no less fearful of the consequences of reporting prior abuse to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Many may have a reasonable fear that notifying their husbands will provoke further instances of child abuse; these women are not exempt from [Pennsylvanias] notification requirement. Many may fear devastating forms of psychological abuse from their husbands, including verbal harassment, threats of future violence, the destruction of possessions, physical confinement to the home, the withdrawal of financial support, or the disclosure of the abortion to family and friends.

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The dissenters in CaseyChief Justice William Rehnquist joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Byron Whiteall disagreed, lifting up a husbands interests in procreation within marriage and in the potential life of his unborn child. Idaho has not only nullified Caseys protections for abuse victims, even before the Supreme Court has pronounced Casey dead. Its also empowered the families of those denied a veto in Casey cash prizes for exercising that veto. The states thumb is not just on the scale for fathers and their relatives and the preborn; there is just no scale anymore. There will be more babies, yes, and more maternal violence and more maternal suicide and more poverty, yes. But now the state wont just mandate those outcomes with the threat of imprisonment. It will offer cash bounties to the individuals who help make them happen.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an unsurprisingly impassioned virtual speech before the U.S. Congress on Wednesday morning. But it was also a shrewd speech. It seemed designed not to make Americans feel ashamed that they arent doing more to help his country stave off Russias invasion, but rather to alter the dynamics of the war.

In recent days, Zelensky has beseeched previous Western audiences to impose a no-fly zone above his country. This would involve U.S. or NATO jets shooting down any Russian plane that flies over Ukrainian territory. President Joe Biden and European leaders have declined to take this step, sayingquite rightlythat it would be, by definition, the first move in a direct U.S.-Russia battle that could trigger World War III.

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However, in his speech to Congress, Zelensky tried a new tack. If a no-fly zone is too much to ask, he said, we offer an alternativesend Ukraine advanced anti-aircraft systems. You know what kind of defense systems we need, S-300 and other similar systems, he added.

These systems would improve the Ukrainians ability to shoot down Russian airplanes, which have been bombing civilian and military targets. His request is plausible: As long as Ukrainians are manning the systems, it wouldnt cross any of Vladimir Putins red lines. Finally, the U.S. and other NATO nations are already about to do what hes asking.

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In the past week or so, the U.S. and other countries have sent hundreds of shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. But Stingers are good mainly for shooting down helicopters; by contrast, S-300s are radar-guided, have a more powerful explosive device, and can reach the altitudes of the highest-flying Russian combat jets. The missiles were made by the Soviet Union beginning in the 1980s and have been sold over the years to about 20 countries, including three NATO membersBulgaria, Slovakia, and Greecewhich could presumably turn some over to Ukraine.

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Ukraine also bought S-300s, meaning that at least some of its air-defense crews know how to use them.

A few hours after Zelenskys speech, Biden made one of his own, announcing that he was using his executive powers to provide Ukraine with another $800 million in military assistancebringing the total amount to $1 billion just this week and nearly $2 billion in the past several months.

Biden said that the new arms deliveries would include 800 anti-aircraft weapons. A White House fact sheet, released shortly after the speech, indicated that all 800 would be Stinger missiles. However, the sheet also stated that, in addition to the Stingers, which the Ukrainians have been using to great effect, the U.S. is helping the Ukrainians acquire additional, longer-range systems on which Ukraines forces are already trained.

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Though specific models have yet to be announced, these longer-range systems could include S-300s. CNN reported that NATO members are about to send Ukraine several other types of Soviet-made mobile surface-to-air missilesnot quite as advanced as S-300s, but, unlike Stingers, fully able to shoot down high-flying aircraft.

The $800 million worth of new U.S. weapons will also include 9,000 anti-tank weapons, 100 drones, nearly 7,000 small arms (grenade launchers, rifles, machine guns, and pistols), and more than 20 million rounds of ammunition for those arms, in addition to 25,000 helmets and sets of body armor.

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This is in addition to the following weapons that the U.S. has already sent (a list that the White House fact sheet makes public for the first time): more than 600 Stingers, 2,000 anti-tank weapons, five Mi-17 helicopters, three patrol boats, four counter-artillery and counter-drone radars, 600 small arms, more than 1 million rounds of ammo, 70 wheeled vehicles, military medical equipment, secure communications and electronic warfare systems, and access to satellite imagery and analysis.

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Though Zelensky did not say so in his speech to the Congress, he has also been urging Western countries to send Ukraine Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets, which could shoot down Russian planes from the air and also drop precision-guided bombs on ground targets, such as convoys of Russian tanks and other vehicles.

Last week Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Poland would send Ukraine 29 of its MiG-29s, but the Polish government backed away, offering to fly them to a NATO base in Germany, from which NATO officials could then transfer the planes to Ukraine. The Pentagon rejected that idea, concerned that Putin would see it as interference in the war and possibly strike back at targets inside NATO nations, thus escalating the conflict.

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of NATO defense ministers. Biden will fly there next week for a meeting of the NATO nations heads of state. The main topic of both sessions will likely be how to boost the alliances military assistance to Ukraineand whether certain forms of assistance, once thought to be off limits, might now be put on the table.

Certainly it is unclear why the U.S. and several European nations can send Stingers, Javelin anti-tank missiles, grenades, rifles, bullets, and other weapons, which have been used to kill Russian soldiers and damage their equipment, without spurring Putin to expand the war to NATO territorybut some officials think sending combat jets and more advanced anti-aircraft missiles would somehow tip him over the edge.

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Pressure has been mounting on Capitol Hill for Biden to do more, and Zelenskys speech, which Biden called convincing and significant, will probably play into that pressure. It was finely calibrated to his audience. In a Facebook speech earlier this month, the Ukrainian president harshly criticized the NATO nations for not imposing a no-fly zone over his country, slamming them as weak and urging them to think about all those people who will die because of you. Perhaps because someone briefed him that shame and scolding wouldnt appeal to an American audience, Zelensky was more restrained on Wednesday, saying his country is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support, for its weapons and ammunition, for training, for finances, for leadership in the free world. He appealed to Americans on their own terms, asking them to remember the horrors of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 and to reflect that Ukraine has experienced those sorts of catastrophes every day and night for the past three weeks. In that spirit, he pleaded, in the darkest time for our country, for the whole Europe, I call on you to do more.

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Meanwhile, the war continues, with Russian planes and artillery stepping up Russias bombing and shelling of Ukrainian citieswhile its ground forces have still made little if any progress toward conquering those cities or achieving any of its other war aims.

So-called peace talks continue as well. In recent days, Zelensky has offered to drop his hopes for joining NATO, an aspiration that Putin had once cited as a reason for his invasion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that there was hope for reaching a compromise. However, around the same time, in another long, rambling televised speech, Putin seemed less than ready for peace, doubling down on his false claims that the pro-Nazi regime in Kyiv is committing genocide in the Donbas, preparing an attack on Russia, and plotting with the West to build biological and nuclear weapons, among other deeds.

As Biden said in his speech, This could be a long and difficult battle, adding, The American people will be steadfast in our support of the Ukrainian people.  Were going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead. The implicit message herewhich he has sometimes said out loud, though he didnt do so this timeis that the U.S. and NATO are not going to send troops or pilots into battle against Russia. But they will supply the firepower to carry on this fight.
On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that Russia and Ukraine had made significant progress on a tentative 15-point peace plan that would end Russias invasion and require Ukraine to become a permanently neutral state with its own military in the mold of Sweden or Austria. Ukrainian officials have already played down the prospects of the plan, alternatively calling it a Russian ploy for time and a draft, which represents the requesting position of the Russian side. Nothing more.

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Analysts, however, noted thatdepending on the final termsthe Russian position would seem to be a considerable descent from Vladimir Putins initial goals when he launched his brutal campaign three weeks ago with demands for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine and the aim of toppling the democratically elected government in Kyiv. As New York Times international columnist Max Fisher put it:

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The speed and extent of Moscows climbdown is just head-spinning. Three weeks ago it called Ukraine a rightful Russian territory run by genocidal Nazis. Now its voluntarily offering the Sweden modela Western ally in all but nameand getting told no!

The devil is in the details, obviously, and a peace deal with Putin will depend on Ukraines ability to maintain an army capable of defending the country, as well as outside assurances of security from other countries. (This is tricky, because the U.S., the U.K., and Russia said they would guarantee Ukraines security if the country gave up its nuclear weapons after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and that deal clearly has not been upheld.) But the Financial Times reported that the biggest sticking point remains Russias demand that Ukraine [recognize] its 2014 annexation of Crimea and the independence of two separatist statelets in the eastern Donbas border region.

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If the Russian climbdown is realand with the additional caveat that theres much we dont know about the state of negotiationsthen Kyiv must still be leery that Putin does not turn such a deal to his long-term advantage. It is worth considering the lessons of one previously aborted peace initiative when thinking about how Ukraine can prevent an unfavorable outcome now. That proposal, which would have benefited Putin significantly, came from a Russian spy who tried to get former President Donald Trump to endorse his plan. Looking at the contours of that draft initiative shows the sort of concessions that should be avoided now if at all possible.

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The idea of an autonomous Luhansk and Donetsk in the Donbas is hardly new. And it was central to the 201618 plan we have insight into thanks to the Senate Intelligence Committees 2020 report outlining Russias interference in the 2016 election. Konstantin Kilimnik, the onetime righthand man to Donald Trumps 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort, proposed and pushed this plan as part of an effort to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine to Putins ultimate advantage. (Kilimnik was described by the report as a Russian intelligence officer providing information to Russian intelligence, and last year the U.S. Treasury Department, in issuing sanctions against Kilimnik, said he was a known Russian Intelligence Services agent implementing influence operations on their behalf.)

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Manafort was fired in August 2016 from the Trump campaign after allegations that he had received millions of dollars for off-the-books work he did with Kilimnik to install and prop up former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the Russian-backed leader whose ouster in 2014 led to Russias annexation of Crimea and the separatist war in eastern Ukraine. Over the course of many months from 2016 to 2018, though, Kilimnik sought to use Manaforts position in Trumps orbit to influence U.S. policy and push what Kilimnik described in emails as a Russia-endorsed plan to end the conflict in Ukraine, seemingly to Putins advantage. During a key August 2016 meeting at which Manafort gave campaign polling data to Kilimnik (who then allegedly passed it on to Russia), the two men discussed that possible peace plan. As the Mueller report described it:

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Manafort and Kilimnik discussed a plan to resolve the ongoing political problems in Ukraine by creating an autonomous republic in its more industrialized eastern region of Donbas, and having Yanukovych, the Ukrainian President ousted in 2014, elected to head that republic. That plan, Manafort later acknowledged, constituted a backdoor means for Russia to control eastern Ukraine.

Manafort lost his job before getting a chance to push his boss to help implement it as president. But we know that Kilimnik pressed Manafort about it for months after that meeting, even after Trump took office and Manafort was already under indictment for his work in Ukraine.

Also from the Mueller report:

Several months later, after the presidential election, Kilimnik wrote an email to Manafort expressing the viewwhich Manafort later said he sharedthat the plans success would require U.S. support to succeed: all that is required to start the process is a very minor wink (or slight push) from [Donald Trump]. The email also stated that if Manafort were designated as the U.S. representative and started the process, Yanukovych would ensure his reception in Russia at the very top level.

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Russians at the very top level are in principle not against this plan that would start the process of uniting [the two breakaway states] into one entity, Kilimnik wrote. If the plan went ahead, DT could have peace in Ukraine basically within a few months after inauguration.

The outlines of the plan had three parts. First, the plan called for the creation of the Autonomous Republic of Donbass that would be formed within the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that existed prior to April 2014, when the armed conflict began. Those borders include more than 10 percent of Ukraines population, a vast amount of the countrys agricultural land and natural resources, and many of the cities now under siege and assault by Russian forces. It also includes the town of Mariupol, which has been devastated by Russian bombardment of civilians and is home to a crucial port. Kilimnik even named his proposal the Mariupol plan. The second element of the plan involved Ukraine incorporating this autonomous republic into its own body politic via a parliamentary vote that would grant the area reintegration into Ukraine and its own political representation in the country. The Autonomous Republic of Donbass, or ARD, would thus have influence over Ukraines political affairs. The third and final point of the plan would grant the region its own prime minister, who would be a legitimate and plenipotentiary representative of ARD in talks with international structures.

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The key to the entire plan, which would give a Russian quisling control over a key region and the ability to influence Ukrainian domestic and foreign affairs, was Trumps endorsement. Kilimnik wrote:

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Personal participation of the US President will lead to stopping the bloodshed, returning political balance and stability in Ukraine, creating a stable and effective pro-European legislative majority, able of implementing effective reforms.

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Trump obviously never endorsed the plan, but this episode provides insight into what Putin might want from the conflict if he has in fact pulled back from his more outlandish aims. The Mariupol plan is a record of how Russia might seek to influence Ukraine from within, without annexing further territory. Its also clear evidence that Mariupol, which offers a port and the potential to create a land bridge to Crimea, is key to even Putins most minimal war aims, which is perhaps why it has been such a target for Russia in its Ukraine invasion.

As things stand, Russians still have not gained control of Mariupol, nor most other major Ukrainian cities. But if Putin wont settle for anything less than something like the Mariupol plan, Ukraine could be in for more turmoil, even should Russia officially withdraw its forces and leave Ukraine, on paper, with the borders it had before this war.
Its time to check in on Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald, the odd couple of right-libertarian contrarianism. Having previously downplayed the idea that Russia presented a serious humanitarian or security problem to the world, the duo have moved on to exploring the idea that Ukraine might have been harboring secret bioweapon labs, a hypothesis widely promoted by both the Kremlin and American conspiracy theorists.

To quickly rewind: In the lead-up to Vladimir Putins invasion, Greenwald disparaged claims about the threat to Ukraine as hyperbole repeated by the corporate media on behalf of the military-industrial complex. (He was careful never to say flat-out that Russia wouldnt invade Ukraine, but, for example, referred to one report that it was planning to do so before the Olympics ended on Feb. 20 as an example of CIA fraud. The invasion began Feb. 24.) Carlson expressed incredulity that any American would organically care about Ukrainian people, arguing on many occasions that Putin was a strong, admirable leader who had been made into a boogeyman by elite multiculturalists because he understood the importance of territorial sovereignty and national purity.

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Those takes were cast ruthlessly into the dustbin of history when Russias armed forces invaded Ukraine and launched a universally condemned strategy of intentionally killing civilians. Its been a slightly embarrassing time to have spent the last several years saying on TV that only hysterical Democratic fantasists and CIA stenographers would be concerned about Putin destabilizing the rest of the globe and violating international law.

But Greenwald and Carlson now have a new slant: The U.S. and Ukraine were possibly manufacturing biological weapons that presented a legitimate threat to Russian security. In a monologue last week, Carlson said the Biden administration is possibly funding secret biolabs in Ukraine. In videos, Substack posts, and tweets, Greenwald has asserted that we dont know if biological weapons are in Ukraine and said U.S. denials of their existence are suspicious and unconvincing.

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Where, exactly, did this story come from?

As reported by NBC News, Foreign Policy, and Politifact, Russias government has been promoting the accusation that the United States is financing biological weapons research throughout the former Soviet bloc since at least 2018. The claim is premised on the existence of something called the Biological Threat Reduction Program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Defense and operates (among other places) in lab facilities in ex-USSR countries such as Ukraine and Georgia. The U.S. has dabbled in terrifying biological weapon research here and there, as did the Soviet Union, so the idea that there might be ongoing, clandestine work in the field is, in the abstract, not the most far-fetched of possibilities. A State Department official named Victoria Nuland also said in congressional testimony last week that Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of.

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Where the theory breaks down, however, is the absence of evidence that these labs are involved in making weapons, or in any other kind of malfeasance. There is a plausible official explanation for the threat reduction programs creation, which is that stockpiles of potentially dangerous biological material in the former USSR needed to be destroyed or secured after the Cold War ended. Theres also a plausible explanation for its continued existence even in countries that no longer possess weapons material, which is that expertise in detecting, studying, and containing deadly microbes has public health benefits that are of use to U.S. allies.

The program has never been a secret, either. Its part of nonproliferation activity that was promoted and touted for years by former Republican Sen. Dick Lugar; its been discussed in open hearings for years; its described in mundane budget materials on the Department of Defense comptrollers website. There has specifically been a page of information about its Ukraine-specific work (including links to fact sheets about individual lab sites) on the U.S.s Ukrainian Embassy site since at least April 2020. Related programs even ran in Russia during the friendlier days of the early 2000s.

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Civilians are aware of the program too. In 2018, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists published an account of a visit by nongovernmental experts to the Georgian facility that was then the subject of Russian allegations. They said its work appeared legitimate. The BBC visited the site as well and made the same conclusion. With some Googling, I found this cached press release issued by Michigan State University about some of the members of its faculty receiving Biological Threat Reduction Program grant money to do work in Ukraine involving the detection of disease in birds. Last week, when Russian authorities released a tranche of documents purporting to show bio-malfeasance in Ukraines labs, a geneticist at Uppsala University in Sweden named Olga Pettersson wrote on Twitter that the evidence appeared to document normal public health work with common pathogens, adding that her conclusions were made in collaboration with a number of other experts. (Her commentary was translated in a long thread posted Sunday by an editor at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.)

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So insofar as evidence shows anything about what the U.S. and Ukraine are doing in their biolabs, its that theyre working with microorganisms that cause disease in humans. This describes a lot of laboratories everywhere in the world. Figures like Carlson appear to be conflating the practice of biology with the creation of biological weapons, a word that appears 21 times in his segment. (Secret comes up 19 times.)

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They are also airing a theory that got much of its momentum from the most certifiably nutso corners of the internet. The current set of allegations regarding work in Ukraine, according to a cybersecurity firm cited by NBC, were first posted in February on the far-right social media site Gab. On Feb. 24, the day of the Russian invasion, they were posted on a Twitter account that has also circulated allegations related to QAnon, the theory that Democrats operate secret pedophilia and cannibalism clubs. From there they were picked up by Infowars, the conspiracy site which has also aired, uh, allegations that NASA runs slave colonies on Mars. Those posts, and Russian (and Chinese) government claims, are the reason this issue is in the news.

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Reached by direct message for comment, Greenwald said that he is not saying evidence exists to say there are bio weapons programs in Ukraine and that his objection is to US media outlets calling it false without knowing that. He added that there is a lot of circumstantial evidence that makes the question valid and reasonable to ask and pointed to a Reason.com post making similar points. He points in particular to Nulands claims that it would be dangerous for the Ukraine facilities to be captured by Russia as evidence that there could be weapons research going on there.

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So thats his position. But should we really be spending a week-plus asking whether there are weapons of mass destruction being manufactured in Ukraine when the allegation originated with Infowars? Wouldnt that be taking the exact opposite wrong lesson from WMDs never having been found in Iraq, by helping a belligerent world power justify its violations of international law? Isnt it ironic and a little sadif not unprecedentedthat Glenn Greenwald, scourge of every liar and profiteer who promoted the war on terror, is now giving oxygen to an even less credible mirror image of the WMD evidence Dick Cheney used as an excuse to send Halliburton into Iraq? I dont knowIm just asking questions.
Meduza is an independent Russian news website, born from the ashes of a media outlet that crumbled under Kremlin pressure. In 2014, the sites founders decamped to Riga, Latvia, but committed themselves to covering Moscow remotely. The Russian government last year declared Meduza a foreign agent, complicating the sites business model and making it harder for it to sell ads to Russian companies. The site is now wholly dependent on donations from outside of the country it covers. So Meduzas staff has come to expect hindrances from Vladimir Putins government. Its just that this time, the states crackdown is widespread and more severe, says Kevin Rothrock, managing editor of Meduzas English-language section. In the midst of public protests against the Ukraine invasion, including a recent sign displayed on Russian state TV reading Russians Against War, how are Russians interacting with the state-controlled media, and how is Putins government responding? To find out I spoke with Kevin Rothrock on Wednesdays episode of What Next. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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Mary Harris: Russia had these independent broadcasters, Echo of Moscow and TV Rain, that have been recently shut down.

Kevin Rothrock: Theyre both tremendous blows. Those were the real multimedia titans when it came to the Russian free press, essentially. Theres also a prominent website named MediaZonawhich was established by two of the founding members of Pussy Riotthat focuses exclusively on Russias legal system. They are the premier journalists working on criminal trials and investigations, and they had their page on Contactia blocked.

Whats that?

Contactia started off as a shameless Facebook clone, and it has since it has since evolved into something more unique. It is the No. 1 social network inside Russia, and it is very much under the control of the Russian government. Theres lots of evidence to suggest that the site surrenders personal data to police. Its not a safe network if youre doing anything that could get you into trouble. Unfortunately, its been blocking the independent outlets that need it now even more than before.

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Are there options for news sites in Russia that are trying not to be shut down?

I mean, most of them are gone, but there are few outlets around. The most prominent one at this point would be Novaya Gazeta, one of the oldest independent newspapers in Russia. Its the last pillar of true independent media that still remains today, and its had to make compromises. For instance, when the newswoman did her sign protest, Novaya Gazeta had to blur out her poster. It cannot show anti-war messages because thats a potential violation of the new criminal code.

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So how does the paper write about it?

With a lot of asterisks. This comes into play, mostly when reporters are interviewing somebody or covering something someone else said, and theres a footnote at the bottom saying that this word is forbidden by the Russian federal censor, and you have to guess from the context what it is. Same way they would treat an obscenity.

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Your site, Meduza, was blocked. Im curious about how you learned that was happening.

In advance of being blocked, we received a message from Roskomnadzor, the federal media regulator. After that, we were kind on the lookout for when are we were going to be blocked, because you dont get a second letter saying now youre being blocked. We asked one another to keep looking around and monitor any reports of outages. Eventually, those started pouring in, and it was clear that we were being blocked.

Youve said Telegram is a way some Russians are getting independent information. Can you explain how that works?

Telegram, right now, is sort of the last unfiltered resource for information in Russia. Theres not really a good explanation as to why Russian authorities havent tried to close it.

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I cant speak to the data security of Telegram, but it is an absolutely beautiful app. Its just very pretty in terms of its user interface, which is a mix of messaging and public channels. Telegram channels are extremely popular. Theyre like the hotbed of Russian blogging todayand not just blogging, but also professional media outlets are sharing their stuff there.

So you can find like-minded people.

You can find absolutely anything. You can find illegal things, and you can human rights activists and poetry. Its the whole internet shoved into an app that is built on messaging and multimediayou can share videos and music and all that stuff. Theres almost no content moderation on Telegram, so it is kind of the Wild West.

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It sounds to me like the Russian government is making the bar higher and higher and higher for getting good quality information, and making it so you need to use apps where theres probably also a lot of misinformation. You can see how in an environment like this, it might be easier for the Russian government to control the narrative because its making it so difficult to get accurate news.

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Its also tempting for someone like me to see that protest that happened on Russian TV and think of it as a change in how Russians view Putin and his invasion of Ukraine. But is that actually the case? Do we have any evidence of that?

That protest was extremely brave, and its inspiring to people that are seeing it. But I wouldnt say its a watershed moment in Russian public consciousness. The reasons for that being, the mediasphere is controlled, the narrative has been well-established for years, and Russians also have legitimate reasons to distrust the West.

There are certainly people out there we wouldnt expect to have anti-war views. I think that most Russians and Russian journalists didnt think this invasion could happen. Now it is happening and theres not a rebellion. So were just having to deal with the fact that most Russians seem OK with things for now.

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The village needs a solution before an ecological disaster.

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The village of Nizna Slana in south-east Slovakia has asked the state to solve a problem regarding the polluted river Slana before an ecological disaster occurs.

The local municipality shared about it on social networks, adding that at least temporary solutions could be applied  filters or a cleaning system.

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Rusty river

The rusty colour of the Slana River worries more and more people and it affects a large area, the municipality stated, as quoted by the TASR newswire. Water of such a colour can be also seen behind Tornala, which is 50 kilometres away from the shaft Gabriela, from which the orange water is flowing.

On Friday, a meeting took place at the District Office in Roznava and subsequently in the area of the former mining plant Siderit, which was attended by invited representatives of the local municipality, district office, environmental experts, representatives of the Environment Ministry and councillors.

They should have proposed a solution for cleaning the river and adequate measures to prevent it from reocurring.

We as the municipality will, of course, develop pressure so a solution, even if temporary, will be put into practice as soon as possible, the municipality Nizna Slana declared, as quoted by TASR.

From our archive

From our archive Environmental disaster in the east: Toxic waste still pollutes local sludge bed Read more

Mining waters

The Slana River turned orange in mid-February.

The reason is the outflow of mining waters from an iron-ore mine in the compound of the former mining company Siderit in Nizna Slana.

The authorities that monitor the situation in the river took samples of the water and are waiting for lab test results.

The mining company Siderit in Nizna Slana functioned between the years 1975 and 2008 when it went bankrupt.

The state company Rudne Bane (Ore Mines) said that the company Siderit did not fulfil its commitments to eliminate mining works after mining activities were over. Therefor Rudne Bane took necessary measures in 2012.

Rudne Bane is currently working on a proposal to include groundwater outflows in the register of environmental burdens.

From our archive
Economy minister says power plants have this year covered. Alternative supplier is expensive, he said.

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Slovakia has enough nuclear fuel for its two power plants for the entire year and some of next year.

Economy Minister Richard Sulik (SaS) confirmed that another supply of nuclear fuel from Russia landed in Bratislava on March 16. This is the second time since Slovakia closed its skies to Russian planes that a Volga Dnepr Airlines cargo plane has transportted nuclear fuel from Russia to Slovakia.

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Sulik noted that the two power plants produce 55 percent of the electricity made in Slovakia. He admitted that the government is considering alternative suppliers, although options are scarce.
https://sputniknews.com/20220315/scientists-replicate-galaxy-cluster-plasma-with-almost-200-lasers-to-solve-mystery-of-hot-gas-1093906131.html

Scientists Replicate Galaxy Cluster Plasma With Almost 200 Lasers to Solve Mystery of Hot Gas

Scientists Replicate Galaxy Cluster Plasma With Almost 200 Lasers to Solve Mystery of Hot Gas

Scientists have long known that the hydrogen gas in galaxy clusters is extremely hot, at roughly 10 million degrees Kelvin, or about the same temperature as... 15.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-15T23:33+0000

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2022-03-15T23:32+0000

tech

space

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galaxy

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Researchers from the University of Chicago, the University of Oxford, and the University of Rochester have collaborated to use the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, to mimic the hot gas seen in massive galaxy clusters - an experiment that could lead to the solution of an astronomical mystery.Galaxies rarely exist in isolation. Instead, gravity draws hundreds to thousands of them together, generating huge clusters that are the known universe's largest objects. The extremely high temperature of gas among them should have cooled over the course of the age of the universe, according to standard physics. But this has not happened, and nobody yet knows why. As hydrogen atoms cannot exist at such temperatures, the gas is actually a plasma made up of the building blocks of atoms, including protons and electrons.The difficulty for researchers in attempting to solve the puzzle of galaxy cluster gas temperature is the extreme difficulty of replicating these intensely hot and magnetic circumstances in usual conditions.In new research published in the journal Science last week, scientists revealed that they were able to produce these extreme conditions, albeit for only a fraction of a second and in a volume around the size of a penny.Researchers focused 196 lasers on a single small target, resulting in a white-hot plasma with powerful magnetic fields that lasts just a few billionths of a second. This gave them ample time to see that, instead of a uniform temperature, the plasma had relatively hot and cold patches. This is said to be consistent with one of the main hypotheses for how heat is trapped inside of galaxy clusters. Heat would normally be easily diffused as electrons collide with one another. The tangled magnetic fields inside the plasma, however, might impact these electrons, causing them to spiral in the direction of magnetic fields, preventing them from dispersing and distributing their energy equally.Researchers discovered that in the experiment energy conduction was inhibited by overt a factor of 100.Another co-author of the paper, University of Rochester Prof. Petros Tzeferacos described the experiment as "indeed an astonishing result." The simulations were carried out using the FLASH computer software, which was created at the University of Chicago and is now based at Tzeferacos' Flash Center for Computational Science at the University of Rochester. According to SciTechDaily, scientists may use the software to model laser experiments in great detail before they are carried out, ensuring that they get usable results. This is crucial, as scientists only get a few shots at the facility, and retakes are next to impossible if something goes wrong. Because the experiment conditions last barely nanoseconds, researchers must ensure that the measurements they require are taken at precisely the proper time. This means that everything must be meticulously planned out ahead of time.Researchers admit, however, that are still several unanswered concerns about the physics of galaxy clusters. Though the hot and cold regions provide strong evidence for the influence of magnetic fields on the cooling of hot gas in galaxy clusters, further research is needed. Later this year, the group will conduct its next batch of experiments at NIF. For the time being, they are said to be content with having shed light on why the gas in galaxy clusters is still burning billions of years later.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

https://sputniknews.com/20220219/discovery-of-largest-galaxy-yet-observed-baffles-astronomers--1093187542.html

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https://sputniknews.com/20220316/afghan-refugees-get-a-lifeline-but-remain-in-limbo-1093939391.html

Afghan Refugees Get a Lifeline but Remain in Limbo

Afghan Refugees Get a Lifeline but Remain in Limbo

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday that the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) granted to roughly 76,000 Afghan refugees have been... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

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afghanistan

asylum

department of homeland security (dhs)

temporary protection status (tps)

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After the tumultuous withdrawal of American and allied forces from Afghanistan last year, Afghan refugees were given TPS because of the inherent danger of returning to their home country. Before Wednesday's extension, TPS protections were set to expire in early August for some refugees. Any Afghan refugee who is not currently in the US will not qualify for TPS and will have to go through the larger US asylum system.Afghanistans lack of infrastructure is in part owed to the United States' seizure of over $7 billion in assets from the Afghanistan central bank. Half of the funds were designated for a humanitarian aid program in Afghanistan and the other half for families of 9/11 victims.Of the 76,000 Afghan refugees that were part of the evacuation, roughly 40% of them are expected to qualify for a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) for their work helping the US and its allies during the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by NATO forces.The SIV program, like many asylum programs, is a slow process and has an extensive backlog. The TPS extension will extend refugees more time to traverse the byzantine US asylum system.The remaining Afghan refugees, those who did not or cannot prove they worked with US forces, will remain in limbo. Most were evacuated under humanitarian parole, which allows them to enter the country, but it does not provide a path to permanent residency or citizenship.Refugee and immigration advocacy groups have largely praised the plan, but want more to be done.Vignarajah also called on Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act that would give permanent residency and a path to citizenship to all Afghan refugees, much like the US has done in the past for refugees from Cuba, Vietnam, and Iraq.The bipartisan bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives in May of last year and has 44 cosponsors. However, it has sat in committee limbo since.In the meantime, Afghan refugees who dont qualify for SIV have an uncertain future. They're neither able to seek permanent residency nor leave the country to seek asylum through traditional methods. It is unclear what will happen to those individuals if the TPS is not extended again after the 18 months is up. According to the letter of the law, they should be deported. Until the Afghan Adjustment Act or similar legislation is passed, Afghan refugees in the United States will have no true place to call home.

https://sputniknews.com/20210909/top-us-commanders-to-testify-in-senate-on-afghanistan-withdrawal-1088919468.html

https://sputniknews.com/20211023/us-authorities-getting-veterans-involved-in-resettlement-on-afghan-refugees---reports-1090164679.html

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https://sputniknews.com/20220316/armenia-ready-to-establish-diplomatic-relations-with-turkey-foreign-minister-says-1093908784.html

Armenia Ready to Establish Diplomatic Relations With Turkey, Foreign Minister Says

Armenia Ready to Establish Diplomatic Relations With Turkey, Foreign Minister Says

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Armenia is ready to open its borders and establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told Anadolu Agency. 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T00:11+0000

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2022-03-16T00:09+0000

world

armenia

armenian genocide

turkey

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"Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations and to the opening of the borders," Mirzoyan said.The foreign minister added that Yerevan was pleased to hear that Ankara had expressed the will to "lead the process towards this goal." He added that the both parties "should not hesitate" to take specific steps "in a rapidly changing world."In addition, Mirzoyan said that the process of normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia is generally positive. The diplomat noted that the last high-level visit between the two countries took place more than 10 years ago.Mirzoyan said that mutual visits can take place when the normalization process continues and results are obtained.As Mirzoyan noted, despite the general positive attitude, there are groups in both countries who are skeptical about the rapprochement process, and officials from both sides should use political leadership to solve accumulated problems.On January 19, Yerevan, the nation's capitol city and seat of its government, stated that Ankara had not put forward any preconditions during the negotiation process to normalize relations with the Armenian side. Despite the common border, there are still no diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia. Contact between the countries was interrupted in 1993, when Ankara sided with Baku in the Karabakh conflict and closed the border, unilaterally breaking off diplomatic relations with Yerevan. Ankara's refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire has also played a part.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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https://sputniknews.com/20220316/british-iranian-national-nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-on-her-way-to-uk-after-being-released-by-tehran-1093930424.html

British-Iranian National Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on Her Way to UK After Being Released by Tehran

British-Iranian National Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on Her Way to UK After Being Released by Tehran

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been imprisoned in Iran since 2016 on spying charges. When her five-year sentence ended, she was given an extra year behind bars... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T14:15+0000

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uk

liz truss

nazanin zaghari-ratcliffe

iran

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Two British-Iranian nationals, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were detained for five and six years respectively, have been released by Tehran and are returning to the UK today, according to Britains Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. The two have been transferred to a British team at Imam Khomeini Airport, Tehran, reported Sky News.Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker from Hampstead, northwest London, was arrested at Tehrans airport in April 2016 and served five years  four in Evin Prison and one under house arrest  after being convicted of plotting the overthrow of Irans government. She vehemently denied the charges.According to her family, local authorities had informed her she was being detained because the UK had failed to pay its outstanding 400m debt to Iran.After her sentence ended, she was slapped with another year behind bars for spreading propaganda against the Iranian state. Since her release, the woman had been held under house arrest and unable to leave the country.On Tuesday, UK MP Tulip Siddiq announced that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe had had her British passport returned.According to the Fars News Agency, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was handed over to a British team at about 2:15pm local time, with the 400 million ($523,4 million) transferred to Iran by the British side ahead of the release.The sum amounts to the debt, dating back to the 1970s, that the UK has admitted it owed Iran when it failed to deliver tanks and other defence vehicles bought by Tehran.Foreign Secretary Liz Truss was cited by Sky News as reiterating that Britain owed Iran a "legitimate debt", while stopping short of confirming whether it had settled.Retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori, 67, who also holds a British-Iranian passport, was visiting his mother in Iran when he was seized and arrested in 2017. He was jailed for 10 years on charges of spying for Israels Mossad and two years for acquiring illegitimate wealth, according to Irans judiciary.Before 11:45am GMT, a source close to both families was cited by Reuters as saying the two Iranian-Britons had left Tehran.

https://sputniknews.com/20210503/british-pm-says-iran-arms-deal-dispute-not-linked-to-jailed-zaghari-ratcliffe-1082791196.html

https://sputniknews.com/20210502/uk-downplays-reports-of-400-million-deal-with-iran-to-free-woman-jailed-for-spying-1082785723.html

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Svetlana Ekimenko

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Svetlana Ekimenko

uk, liz truss, nazanin zaghari-ratcliffe, iran
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/ex-dod-officer-neutral-ukraine-would-be-better-for-us-than-protracted-conflict-1093935167.html

Ex-DoD Officer: 'Neutral' Ukraine Would Be Better For US Than Protracted Conflict

Ex-DoD Officer: 'Neutral' Ukraine Would Be Better For US Than Protracted Conflict

On 11 March, Joe Biden signed off on $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine, including $3.65 billion worth of arms; on 12 March, the US allocated another $200... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T18:16+0000

2022-03-16T18:16+0000

2022-03-16T18:16+0000

situation in ukraine

us

world

opinion

pentagon

russia

europe

joe biden

neutrality

finland

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"At this point, the Biden administration does not appear to have any endgame in mind," says David T. Pyne, an EMP Task Force scholar and former U.S. Department of Defene officer. "It's only strategy appears to be to try to prolong the war in Ukraine as long as possible, with little to no regard for the lives of the tens of thousands of Ukrainians and the destruction of most of its major cities that would inevitably ensue, in the hopes that Russia will give up the fight and withdraw all of its military forces from the territory that Ukraine controlled prior to the Russian invasion."At the same time, the Biden administration's earlier plan of aiding the Ukrainian insurgency against the Russian military does not seem viable, because it "would not serve the US national security interest," according to the ex-Pentagon officer.In December 2021, the US administration task force, which includes the CIA and other key agencies, started examining how to ramp up Ukrainian insurgency "without directly involving US troops" in case Russia engages in a military conflict with the Ukrainian government forces, according to the Washington Post.NATO Troops, No-Fly Zones & False Flag OpsMeanwhile, some politicians including Ludovic Hood, the former adviser to VPs Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, proposed to "insert heavily armoured forces into pockets of western Ukraine." At the same time, 27 former American diplomats and ex-DoD officials signed an open letter to President Joe Biden urging him to implement a "limited no-fly zone in Ukraine." Both requests have been rejected by the White House so far.The former Pentagon officer expresses skepticism about the allegations voiced by some US lawmakers and mainstream media pundits that Russia could resort to using weapons of mass destruction to quickly end the special operation on its terms."There is no evidence whatsoever that I am aware of in the open-source international media to substantiate such spurious claims that Russia has any plans to do so," says Pyne. "Furthermore, Russia has thus far demonstrated surprising restraint in refraining from using its most powerful weapons against Ukraine in an effort to limit civilian casualties and collateral damage, which has been encouraging."The EMP Task Force scholar notes that he finds it interesting that "Western leaders began circulating these suspicious reports that Russia may be planning to use chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine after Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland admitted under oath in a US Senate hearing that the US has been funding 26 Ukrainian biological research labs for many years and was very concerned that biological weapon samples might fall into Russian hands.""That was essentially an admission by the US government that Ukraine does in fact have US-funded biological weapons research labs even though it has stated that these research labs are defensive in nature," he remarks.At the same time, Pyne rejects allegations that the Pentagon could be planning false flag ops involving chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine in cahoots with Ukrainian nationalists to pin the blame on Russia.View From the West: Ukraine as 'Neutral State'President Biden could help end the conflict and must take the lead in taking a stand for peace by increasing its support for the efforts of the Israeli government and other international leaders to mediate an end to the conflict, argues Pyne.These terms include Ukraine amending its constitution to prohibit its government from aligning with any military bloc including NATO; the indefinite suspension of all military ties and future military assistance to Ukraine by NATO countries; its recognition of Crimea's reunification with Russia as well as the independence of the Lugansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics along their constitutional boundaries. In return, Russia would withdraw all of its military forces from Ukrainian territory and guarantee Ukraines territorial integrity, according to the scholar.As the EMP Task Force scholar noted in his recent National Interest op-ed, "the effect of such an agreement would be very similar to the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940, which ended the Winter War between Finland and the USSR and ensured Finlands long-term independence."The biggest obstacle for this is that the United States and NATO continue to give false hope to Ukrainian leaders and the fact that Washington "has painted itself into a corner by propagating false accusations of systematic Russian war crimes in Ukraine and deliberate targeting of civilians on a systematic scale," according to the ex-DoD officer."I fear that the Biden administration is overly concerned about being criticised for accommodating Russia even though in this instance it is in the US national security interest to do so in order to avoid a war between the nuclear superpowers and to normalise diplomatic relations with Moscow as well as to overturn self-defeating economic sanctions on Russia that threaten a global recession," Pyne concludes.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

finland

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Ekaterina Blinova

Ekaterina Blinova

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Ekaterina Blinova

us, world, opinion, pentagon, russia, europe, joe biden, neutrality, finland, nuclear, nuclear weapons, nato, nato expansion
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/ex-us-ambassador-to-uk-woody-johnson-offers-2bln-to-buy-chelsea-fc-1093922672.html

Ex-US Ambassador to UK Woody Johnson Offers 2Bln to Buy Chelsea FC

Ex-US Ambassador to UK Woody Johnson Offers 2Bln to Buy Chelsea FC

At the end of February, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich  who has owned Chelsea since 2003  announced his decision to sell the English Premier League... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T12:28+0000

2022-03-16T12:28+0000

2022-03-16T12:28+0000

sport

chelsea fc

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Woody Johnson, ex-US Ambassador to the UK and businessman, has launched a 2 billion bid to buy Chelsea FC, according to The Sun.According to reports, Johnson is hoping to outplay current favourites Saudi Media Group and plans to seal the deal before Fridays deadline. Johnsons bid is less than the Saudi Media Groups 2.7billion.Johnson is the great-grandson of Johnson & Johnson co-founder Robert Wood Johnson. He has been the owner of the NFL's New York Jets since 2000.The London club has previously faced financial constraints amid sanctions imposed against current owner, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. In particular, it was banned from selling tickets and spending more than 500,000 on organising home matches. Also, Barclays Bank temporarily blocked the Blues' account.Abramovich bought Chelsea FC in 2003 for 140 million. Since then, the London club has become an English Premier League (EPL) champion five times, won the Champions League and the Europa League twice, won the FA Cup five times, and the English League Cup three times.

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sport, chelsea fc
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/exit-from-nord-stream-2-not-being-discussed-german-energy-giant-eon-says-1093922209.html

Russian Gas Purchases Halted, But Exit From Nord Stream Not Discussed, German Energy Giant E.ON Says

Russian Gas Purchases Halted, But Exit From Nord Stream Not Discussed, German Energy Giant E.ON Says

Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz recently called on Europe to slap sanctions on Nord Stream 1, the set of offshore natural gas pipelines running from Russia... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T10:06+0000

2022-03-16T10:06+0000

2022-03-16T11:19+0000

europe

russia

nord stream ag

gas

e.on

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German energy giant E.ON will halt the purchase of natural gas from Russian companies, but has no plans to withdraw from Nord Stream 1, company CEO Leonhard Birnbaum has said."We buy our gas in wholesale markets in Europe. E.ON does not have long-term supply contracts directly with producers. However, a small amount of natural gas in our portfolio was purchased from Gazprom's trading companies in Europe. Due to the conflict in Ukraine, we stopped purchasing new volumes of gas from these companies. The Russian market is not among our target regions," Birnbaum said in a statement Wednesday.The CEO indicated that a prolonged shortage of energy imports will cause problems for the company in the long-term. "The current situation certainly does not make our business easier," he said. He added that Germany can build a new LNG terminal before the end of 2023, with independence from Russian gas possible in 2-3 years.Russia delivered over 50 billion cubic meters of gas to Germany in 2021. The central European industrial power imported some 142 billion bcm the same year.Nord Stream 1 became fully operational in 2012, and was built after numerous conflicts over pricing and threats to cut off supplies between Gazprom and countries containing Soviet-built gas transit infrastructure in Eastern Europe. The pipeline network is operated by Nord Stream AG, 51 percent of which is owned by a Gazprom subsidiary, and 15.5 percent apiece by Germany's Wintershall and E.ON. Another 9 percent each is owned by NV Nederlandse Gasunie and France's Engie.Nord Stream 2, a Russian-European gas pipeline project complementing Nord Stream 1, was completed and made ready for operation late last year, with German regulators deliberately drawing out its certification process. The project's certification was suspended on 22 February by Berlin in response to Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics as independent nations. That pipeline network's Switzerland-based operator filed for bankruptcy on 1 March. The crisis in Ukraine and uncertainty over the supply of Russian oil and gas to Europe and other markets has caused an unprecedented spike in energy prices. Gazprom and other Russian companies have promised to continue providing supplies to clients according to previously agreed contracts, with gas continuing to flow through Ukraine's gas transit infrastructure to European customers notwithstanding the Russian military operation in the country.

https://sputniknews.com/20220307/russia-has-right-to-ban-pumping-of-gas-through-nord-stream-1-because-of-nord-stream-2---deputy-pm-1093668938.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220307/gazprom-vows-to-continue-gas-deliveries-under-contracts-amid-soaring-prices-1093665003.html

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Ilya Tsukanov

Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

europe, russia, nord stream ag, gas, e.on
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/fate-of-russia-its-place-in-the-world-being-decided-today-russian-foreign-intelligence-chief-says-1093930038.html

Fate of Russia, Its Place in the World Being Decided Today, Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Says

Fate of Russia, Its Place in the World Being Decided Today, Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Says

Russias military operation in Ukraine has given rise to cracks in the US-dominated rules-based international order, with the US and its allies slapping... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T13:47+0000

2022-03-16T13:47+0000

2022-03-16T13:47+0000

ukraine

russia

sergey naryshkin

russian foreign intelligence service

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The present moment has historic significance for Russia, and the country has not and cannot retreat from its main historical priority of sovereignty, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin has said.Sovereignty is a guarantee of the well-being and dignity of our citizensIn such matters, Russia has never retreated and will not retreat, because otherwise it will stop being Russia, Naryshkin said.Commenting on the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine, the spy chief stressed that the decision to carry it out, taken with the aim of protecting the population of the Donbass and protecting Russias own security, was based on a deep analysis of historical patterns and an extremely accurate and realistic assessment of the situation in the world.The Russian military published classified documents belonging to the Ukrainian National Guard last week which appeared to confirm Kievs plans to start a fresh offensive in the Donbass in March of 2022. Kiev made no secret of its militarization activities, with an analysis of the website of the countrys main defence contractor Ukroboronprom showing a 27.4 percent increase in production in 2021, and a whopping 48 percent growth in output in January 2022.The Russian military also published documents last week indicating that Kiev authorities were seeking to scrub evidence of a Pentagon-backed biowarfare programme operating in the country. US officials and media initially dismissed the Russian reports as fake news and disinformation. However, undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland confirmed last week that Ukraine hosts biological research facilities, and said Washington was quite concerned that the research materials contained therein might fall into the hands of Russian troops.The Russian MoD later revealed in briefings that the US-funded biolabs had been tasked with conducting research into bat, reptile and bird coronaviruses, and that the labs sent serum samples of Slavic ethnicity patients to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Maryland under the pretext of testing for COVID-19 treatment methods, for reasons as yet unclear. The facilities were also studying the possible spread of deadly pathogens via wild birds, according to the MoD.

https://sputniknews.com/20220311/no-plans-for-offensive-on-donbass-docs-show-48-boost-in-kievs-defence-industry-output-in-2022-1093771712.html

https://sputniknews.com/20220310/us-funded-bio-labs-in-ukraine-conducted-research-into-bat-coronavirus-russian-mod-says-1093736082.html

ukraine

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Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

ukraine, russia, sergey naryshkin, russian foreign intelligence service
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/finders-keepers-watch-donbass-troops-train-using-captured-javelin-nlaw-anti-tank-missiles-1093928829.html

Finders Keepers: Watch Donbass Troops Train Using Captured Javelin, NLAW Anti-Tank Missiles

Finders Keepers: Watch Donbass Troops Train Using Captured Javelin, NLAW Anti-Tank Missiles

The US and its allies have reportedly delivered as many as 17,000 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine. Washington approved over $13.6 billion in additional assistance... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T13:18+0000

2022-03-16T13:18+0000

2022-03-16T13:18+0000

situation in ukraine

ukraine

donbass

militia

donetsk people's republic

lugansk peoples republic

anti-tank missile

javelin

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The Russian military has released footage showing Donbass troops training using captured Javelin and NLAW anti-tank missile systems.The captured Ukrainian military equipment and the weapons of Western countries is being transferred to the units of the Peoples Militia of the Lugansk and Donetsk Peoples Republics for use in hostilities against Ukrainian nationalists, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Wednesday.Tweet reads: Transfer of trophy equipment and weapons to units of the LNR and DNR.Footage shows a mishmash of captured equipment, including FGM-148 Javelins a US-made man-portable missile manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, and NLAWs, a joint British-Swedish anti-tank missile design manufactured by the UKs Thales Air Defence Limited. A host of other gear, including binoculars, night vision scopes and body armour was displayed.An instructor was shown demonstrating how the NATO anti-tank systems operate, with troops handling the Javelin and NLAWs and preparing them for fire, carrying them in the field, and delivering them to formations on the front.Other Ukrainian equipment, including trucks, armoured troop transports, a Shilka anti-aircraft system and Ukrainians tanks were shown receiving Z insignia and new license plates.The Donbass republics have reported seizing multiple parties of NATO-made weapons and equipment over the past two weeks.Russian precision strikes have also destroyed ammunition depots containing Javelins, NLAWs, Stingers and other US and NATO-supplied equipment before they could be delivered into the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces and National Guard formations.Last week, the New York Times reported that the US and its allies flooded as many as 17,000 anti-tank weapons into Ukraine.Russia began a military operation in Ukraine on 24 February after a request for assistance from its Donbass allies following weeks of escalating shelling, sniper and sabotage attacks against the DPR and the LPR by Kiev forces. The US and its allies reacted by slapping Russia with crushing sanctions and promising to ship billions in weapons and economic aid, including funds for Kiev to hire Western mercenaries. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that some 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries signed on to form a so-called International Legion to fight Russia. The Legion suffered a major setback Sunday after a precision Russian airstrike leveled a major training camp containing up to 1,500 legionnaires. Ukraine reportedly paused recruitment in response to the strike.

https://sputniknews.com/20220305/russian-mod-destroys-ammunitions-depot-in-zhitomir-hosting-javelins--nlows-in-high-precision-strike-1093605396.html

ukraine

donbass

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Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

ukraine, donbass, militia, donetsk people's republic, lugansk peoples republic, anti-tank missile, javelin
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/jens-stoltenberg-speaks-ahead-of-nato-defence-ministers-extraordinary-meeting-1093912818.html

Jens Stoltenberg Speaks Ahead of NATO Defence Ministers' Extraordinary Meeting

Jens Stoltenberg Speaks Ahead of NATO Defence Ministers' Extraordinary Meeting

On Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he is convening an extraordinary summit of the alliance on 24 March to address the situation in... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T08:28+0000

2022-03-16T08:28+0000

2022-03-16T08:28+0000

situation in ukraine

world

nato

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Sputnik goes live as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is giving a press statement in Brussels ahead of the extraordinary meeting of the NATO Ministers of Defence to discuss the Russian military operation in Ukraine.Russia started a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February in response to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia.Follow Sputnik's Live Feed to Find Out More!

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Jens Stoltenberg Speaks Ahead of NATO Defence Ministers' Extraordinary Meeting Jens Stoltenberg Speaks Ahead of NATO Defence Ministers' Extraordinary Meeting 2022-03-16T08:28+0000 true PT9M26S

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world, nato, 
NATO Peacekeeping Mission in Ukraine Could Trigger World War 3 - German Lawmaker

Poland's proposal to send a NATO peacekeeping mission to Ukraine could trigger a new global war, Armin-Paul Hampel, German politician from the AfD party and a member of the Bundestag, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

According to the lawmaker, Polish National Security and Defene Committee Chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski made "a disturbing proposal" to send a NATO peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, during the meeting of EU delegations from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, with Volodymyr Zelensky.

"He proposed to send a NATO peacekeeping mission to Ukraine, with the consent of President Volodymyr Zelensky. This proposal is stupid and very dangerous, it could trigger World War 3... Several other NATO members and EU heads of states declared they were shocked by the declaration of Kaczynski and are categorically refusing it," Hampel said.

Hampel expressed his confidence that the majority of NATO and the EU members have a level view of the situation in Ukraine and would not support this initiative. The lawmaker also said that the European Union should not provide "unconditional support" to Ukraine.

"Clearly NATO is not speaking with one voice. If Poland is willing to risk a war, the worst tension between the East and West since the last World War, it is not the case for most other NATO members, who steadfastly refuse to try and establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine. I think that despite Poland's declaration, the risk is relatively low of seeing a major conflict being triggered," Hampel said.

The lawmaker added that Poland's thinking may also be influenced by the Ukrainian minority in Poland, as well as by the Polish minority in Ukraine. He stressed that "if the Russian influence would be weakened in Ukraine, Poland might think of filling the void."



The politician also said that the United Nations is unlikely to send blue helmets to Ukraine. The UN is no longer capable of conducting successful peacekeeping operations as it was in the days of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and his predecessors, the lawmaker argued. The world will not support UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in this sort of a proposal as the UN has failed to establish peace and stability in the Middle East and Africa, Hampel said.



While peacekeeping missions of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) managed to maintain peace and stability in several conflicts, including the one between Ukraine and the breakaway Donbass republics, the United States' influence might undermine such a mission in Ukraine, Hampel said.



"I perceive there is a strong US influence to undermine the success of the OSCE. I am not sure it would work in the present situation. It is too early anyway, but bringing NATO units on the territory of Ukraine must be out of the equation, totally," the politician concluded.
It Is Clear to Everyone Attacks on Putin Aim to Destroy Russia- Russian State Duma Speaker

"It has become obvious to everyone: the attacks on Putin are aimed at destroying Russia," State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on Telegram.



"It has turned out that you do not know the people of our country at all," he added, addressing the authors of harsh statements about the Russian leader.


https://sputniknews.com/20220316/met-police-apologise-for-strip-search-of-15-year-old-schoolgirl-that-should-never-have-happened-1093921978.html

Met Police Apologise for Strip Search of 15 Year-old Schoolgirl That Should Never Have Happened

Met Police Apologise for Strip Search of 15 Year-old Schoolgirl That Should Never Have Happened

Metropolitan Police were called in to carry out a strip search of the girl by teachers at her secondary school in Hackney in late 2020. Staff had been... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T10:37+0000

2022-03-16T10:37+0000

2022-03-16T10:37+0000

scotland yard

strip search

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/09/08/1088878422_0:204:2048:1356_1920x0_80_0_0_27ec875c49c3fa4d69b20545c30f5475.jpg

The Metropolitan Police has apologised for strip-searching a Black schoolgirl in 2020, leaving her traumatised.In a statement, Detective Superintendent Dan Rutland of the Mets Central East Command acknowledged that that the findings of the safeguarding review reflect this incident should never have happened.Rutland emphasised that the department welcomed the review, commissioned by the statutory partnership with the support of police."We have already reminded local officers of the appropriate policies in place around carrying out searches in schools. We are conscious that the IOPC are still completing their independent investigation, so further comment would be inappropriate at this time, Rutland added.Inexcusable Behaviours, MindsetThe Met statement came after the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review, carried out by the City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership CHSCP) determined that the strip search at the London school in late 2020 had been unjustified, emphasising that racism was likely to have been an influencing factor.The unnamed schoolgirl had been suspected by teachers at her Hackney secondary school of carrying drugs after they claimed she smelled of cannabis. After police were called out, the girl was taken to the medical room and strip-searched by two female officers. There were no teachers or other adults present.During the procedure, the girl, who was menstruating, was forced to remove her clothing and expose her intimate body parts, taking off her sanitary towel, according to the review. No drugs were found on the teen, who was sent home by taxi.The distressed child shared her experience with her family, who claim the strip search was a racist incident.After a review was triggered, the results, published in March, suggested that adultification bias was a factor in the incident, when adults perceive black children as being older than they are. The girls treatment would unlikely to be the same had she not been black, added:In a written statement to the review, the girl, who revealed that after the humiliating incident she feels like wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up daily, added:In a joint statement, councillor Anntoinette Bramble, deputy mayor and cabinet member for Hackney Councils Childrens Services, and Hackney mayor, Philip Glanville, said they were appalled by what the review had revealed.The officials added that Met police must stop inexcusable behaviours and mindsets in order to properly serve all our diverse communities.

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Svetlana Ekimenko

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scotland yard, strip search
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/north-korea-reportedly-launches-projectile-believed-to-be-ballistic-missile-1093909739.html

North Korea's Latest Effort to Launch Projectile Proves Unsuccessful, S. Korea Military Says

North Korea's Latest Effort to Launch Projectile Proves Unsuccessful, S. Korea Military Says

On Monday, South Korean media reported that the DPRK was preparing to conduct another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch as soon as this... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T00:53+0000

2022-03-16T00:53+0000

2022-03-16T01:28+0000

north korea

projectiles

launch

test

missile tests

south korea

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According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, citing a source from Japan's Ministry of Defense, North Korea fired a projectile on Wednesday that could be a missile.No other details were available in the initial report. An emergency headquarters has been set up under the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan in connection with the reported launch of a DPRK missile. There has been no damage reported as a result of the alleged test.According to Reuters, however, the South Korean defence ministry initially said it had nothing to confirm in regard to reports of a launch.South Korean news agency Yonhap later reported, citing the country's military, that it was presumed that North Korea attempted to fire an unknown projectile from Sunan airfield, but it reportedly failed to launch properly.The alleged missile test was reported to have been conducted at around 9:30 am, local time, but the projectile was presumed to have failed shortly after launch.Additionally, NHK reported that the US Air Force's special electronic reconnaissance aircraft took off from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and returned to the base after about nine hours in the sky.According to the report, the aircraft was an RC-135S, commonly known as "Cobra Ball," a special plane that collects data on ballistic missiles in flight.If the reports are true, it will be North Korea's tenth missile launch this year.South Korea and the US accused the DPRK of testing a new ICBM system ahead of a full-range launch on February 27 and March 5. North Korea said that the tests were aimed to create a "reconnaissance satellite."Let's stay in touch no matter what happens! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

south korea

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2022

Kirill Kurevlev

Kirill Kurevlev

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Kirill Kurevlev

north korea, projectiles, launch, test, missile tests, south korea
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/palestinians-side-with-russia-despite-their-leaders-decision-to-stay-mum-on-moscows-op-in-ukraine--1093914795.html

Palestinians Side With Russia Despite Their Leaders' Decision to Stay Mum on Moscow's Op in Ukraine

Palestinians Side With Russia Despite Their Leaders' Decision to Stay Mum on Moscow's Op in Ukraine

Residents of the Gaza Strip have expressed support for Russia amid the country's special military operation in Ukraine, and not only because they feel Moscow... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T06:33+0000

2022-03-16T06:33+0000

2022-03-16T06:33+0000

palestinians

world

russia

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Since 24 February, when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, the Palestinian leadership -- that has always sided with Moscow -- has been refraining from making comments about the conflict.The fear was that supporting Russia would provoke the outrage of the United States, and that would also mean the Palestinians would lose their diplomatic backing and heaps of monetary donations.Backing Russia Is NaturalFor many ordinary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, supporting Russia was "natural" and they weren't fearful to express themselves.A 40-year old Salim Shurrab told Sputnik that he supported Russia because it was fighting "for the right cause", namely liberating its own lands from radical forces.Other Gazans said the war was necessary for Russia to stop the threat of NATO and its expansion towards the East. But there were also those, who backed Moscow for yet another reason."I throw my full support behind Russia," said Angham Eid, a native of Gaza in her thirties, who was injured last May during Israel's operation the Guardian of the Walls and who lost her father and a brother in those hostilities.The Biased WestHowever, the Palestinian frustration is directed not only at the Ukrainian leadership. The public in the Gaza Strip is also angry with the West, and with the way the its media has been covering the conflict.Over the past three weeks, Arabic-language social media has been packed with images and caricatures that exposed the duplicity and the double standards of the West.Molotov cocktails in the hands of the Ukrainians were presented in Western media as a lawful means to fight the "Russian aggressors". Palestinians, who were using the same tools, have been denounced as terrorists. Their cause has been largely forgotten.Shurrab agreed. "If the West is so concerned with the so-called occupation, why don't they speak about the deeds of Israel? They have been killing Palestinians for years but that hasn't gotten that much of attention."Since 2007, when Hamas -- an Islamic group deemed terrorist by Israel -- took control over the Gaza Strip, the Jewish state has waged four military operations in the enclave.Those campaigns reportedly killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians. They have also devastated the Strip's infrastructure causing billions of dollars in damage. Although the international media has repeatedly slammed Israel for its actions, the general feeling on the Palestinian street was that the Western sympathies lay with the Jewish state and its people.However, Shurrab says it didn't deter his people from continuing their fight. "We know they are biased. We know they are not fair. But we will continue our struggle and our resistance until we liberate our lands".

russia

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Elizabeth Blade

Elizabeth Blade

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Elizabeth Blade

palestinians, world, russia
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/portugal-to-amend-naturalization-law-for-sephardic-jews-following-abramovich-controversy-1093932599.html

Portugal to Amend Naturalization Law for Sephardic Jews Following Abramovich Controversy

Portugal to Amend Naturalization Law for Sephardic Jews Following Abramovich Controversy

MADRID (Sputnik) - Portugal will amend laws fast-tracking naturalization for Sephardic Jews following controversy around granting citizenship to Russian tycoon... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T15:04+0000

2022-03-16T15:04+0000

2022-03-16T15:04+0000

portugal

europe

roman abramovich

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In December, the Portuguese Ministry of Justice confirmed that Abramovich had obtained citizenship under the law of return, which allows descendants of Sephardic Jews originating from Spain and Portugal, and Jews forcibly converted to Christianity, to obtain Portuguese citizenship. Abramovich provided a certificate from the Porto Jewish community as proof of his Sephardic descent. According to media reports, an investigation is underway to look into the legitimacy of the decision, which was taken in an unprecedentedly short time.The foreign minister explained that the change in law will not be retroactive, and that Abramovich's citizenship will not be revoked, but the sanctions imposed on the businessman will be applied regardless of his Portuguese citizenship, according to the news channel.

portugal

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portugal, europe, roman abramovich
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/possibility-of-complete-trade-embargo-with-russia-1093903925.html

Possibility of Complete Trade Embargo With Russia

Possibility of Complete Trade Embargo With Russia

TikTok Talking Points, GOP Kills Iran Deal, Deaths at Fort Bragg and Cobalt in the Congo. 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T10:29+0000

2022-03-16T10:29+0000

2022-03-16T10:29+0000

political misfits

tiktok

trade embargo

iran

cobalt

congo

fort bragg

radio

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Possibility of Complete Trade Embargo With Russia TikTok Talking Points, GOP Kills Iran Deal, Deaths at Fort Bragg and Cobalt in the Congo

At the top of the show, Mohamed Elmaazi, journalist and contributor to numerous outlets including Jacobin, The Canary, The Grayzone and The Dissenter joins the show to talk about the Senate GOP opposition to reviving the Iran Nuclear Agreement. And, they talk about the British Supreme Court yesterday refusing to hear Julian Assanges appeal of an appeals courts decision to allow his extradition to the United States. The decision is expected to be affirmed by the Home Secretary, which will then, technically, set the extradition in motion. There is one final step for Julian, he can still appeal the extradition to the European Court of Human Rights.Then, Garett Rappenhagen, Director of Veterans for Peace joined the conversation to talk about numerous unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Over the past few months, some reporters have taken notice of what appears to be an unusual number of violent or unexplained deaths among active duty soldiers there. Rolling Stone reported a few months ago that 83 active-duty soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg died in the 18 months ending June 2021. Eleven of those deaths were due to natural causes, but for 33 of those deaths the causes were undetermined.Next on the program, Daniel Lazare, writer and journalist, joins the conversation to talk about the latest on the Iran nuclear agreement. Even if the US and Iran were to come to an agreement, theres a good chance that the Senate would reject it. Do relations between the two countries go back to square one? Then they talk about the White House meeting with TikTok influencers. Im sure there wont be any tag on their content saying that it came from White House talking points. A lot of what the White House put out there were economic talking points. It seems the TikTok meeting was meant more to influence people to vote Democratic in the coming midterm elections than it is to influence the debate on Ukraine according to Lazare.For the last segment, Nii Akuetteh, is a Ghanaian born policy analyst and activist. He is the founder of the Democracy & Conflict Research Institute based in Accra, Ghana joins the show to talk about a recent Wall Street Journal article about the mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The story recently highlighted what could herald a change in the way mining is done, at least in the DRC. It notes that for more than a decade, Chinese companies have been buying out American and European miners in the DRCs cobalt belt. Now a court has accused one of Chinas biggest players there of underestimating one mines reserves and therefore cheating Congo out of millions of dollars of royalty payments. Akuetteh confirms that the Congo has been cheated out of royalty payments for as long as cobalt has been mined from the region.The Misfits sign off for today.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

iran

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Michelle Witte https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e5/02/11/1082103644_0:1:240:241_100x100_80_0_0_aa1e89cc3422c54bfdeb46decb112e73.jpg

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political misfits, tiktok, trade embargo, iran, cobalt, congo, fort bragg, , radio
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/report-claims-half-million-killed-by-war-in-ethiopias-tigray-but-ignores-amhara-afar-deaths-1093939898.html

Report Claims Half-Million Killed by War in Ethiopias Tigray, But Ignores Amhara, Afar Deaths

Report Claims Half-Million Killed by War in Ethiopias Tigray, But Ignores Amhara, Afar Deaths

A new report by researchers at Belgiums Ghent University claims that as many as half a million people have died in Tigray since the regions government... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T21:03+0000

2022-03-16T21:03+0000

2022-03-16T21:04+0000

ethiopia

tplf (tigray people's liberation front)

famine

war

africa

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The researchers, led by Jan Nyssen, a prominent researcher of land degradation in Ethiopia, found that between 50,000 and 100,000 people had directly died of violence, according to Canadas Globe and Mail. They also estimated that 150,000 to 200,000 had died of starvation, while another 100,000 had been caused by lack of access to adequate health care.Moreover, the report only described estimated deaths in Tigray and does not mention deaths in Amhara and Afar, two other Ethiopian states that have been invaded and occupied over the course of the war by the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), Tigrays ruling party and the former rulers of all of Ethiopia.The TPLF launched the uprising in November 2020 when it ambushed Ethiopian forces sent to Tigray after the government held an illegal election in defiance of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmeds COVID-19 safety orders. Eritrea soon entered the war on the side of Ethiopia after the TPLF bombarded Asmara for sheltering fleeing Ethiopian troops, and by the following summer, the TPLF had launched an invasion of northern and eastern Amhara state and western Afar. By December, Ethiopian forces had reversed the groups gains and forced them back behind Tigray borders, but a ceasefire and peace deal has so far not happened.However, the TPLF and Western powers have claimed that Abiys government has organized a blockade of Tigray in an attempt to deliberately starve the population. The claim has been used to justify punishing economic sanctions against Abiys government and that of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki by Washington, although leaked video of closed-door meetings has revealed close coordination between the TPLF and Western diplomats, including from the United States.Still, a massive humanitarian crisis exists in northern Ethiopia, where OCHO estimates 9.4 million people in Amhara, Afar and Tigray states are in need of aid, including food, medicine and fuel.

ethiopia

africa

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ethiopia, tplf (tigray people's liberation front), famine, war, africa
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/russia-ready-for-any-formats-of-dialogue-on-ukraine-seeking-diplomatic-solutions---diplomat-1093915824.html

Russia Ready for Any Formats of Dialogue on Ukraine Seeking Diplomatic Solutions - Diplomat

Russia Ready for Any Formats of Dialogue on Ukraine Seeking Diplomatic Solutions - Diplomat

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia is ready for any formats of dialogue on Ukraine, if they make it possible to seek diplomatic solutions, Yuri Pilipson, the head of... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T06:20+0000

2022-03-16T06:20+0000

2022-03-16T06:20+0000

situation in ukraine

ukraine

world

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"To date, three rounds of Russian-Ukrainian consultations have already taken place in Belarus, and the negotiation process continues. We initially declared our readiness for any formats of communication, if they are beneficial, if they make it possible to seek peaceful diplomatic solutions  of course, with unconditional consideration of the interests of our national security, the principled approaches voiced by Russian President Vladimir ... Putin," Pilipson said.Commenting on the special operation in Ukraine, the diplomat said that Russia will achieve its goals, while European countries will have to pay for the damage they cause to their national interests and bilateral relations with Moscow.On 15 March, a fourth round of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia resumed in a video format, after three rounds of negotiations in person in Belarus.Russia started a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics for protection against intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly said it has no plans to occupy Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia.

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ukraine, world
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/russian-military-has-evidence-ukraine-preparing-provocation-involving-poisonous-substances-mod-says-1093934376.html

Russian Military Has Evidence Ukraine Preparing Provocation Involving Poisonous Substances, MoD Says

Russian Military Has Evidence Ukraine Preparing Provocation Involving Poisonous Substances, MoD Says

On Monday, Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia cited a Russian military intelligence report that Ukrainian nationalist fighters... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T16:35+0000

2022-03-16T16:35+0000

2022-03-16T18:25+0000

ukraine

poisonous gas

provocation

russian military

intelligence

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The Russian Defence Ministry says it has information that Ukraine's security service is planning a provocation involving the use of poisonous substances, and that Kiev has received support in these efforts from members of the UN Security Council."We have it on good authority that, with the support of Western countries, the Security Service of Ukraine is preparing a provocation using poisonous substances against civilians. The purpose of this action is to accuse Russia of using chemical weapons against the people of Ukraine," MoD spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a briefing Wednesday.The spokesman noted that Russian forces were taking control of dangerous facilities inside Ukraine to prevent provocations and ensure their protection."Therefore, any attempt by the Security Service of Ukraine to carry out a provocation using poisonous substances will inevitably be uncovered," Konashenkov said.The MoD spokesman also commented on the images coming out of the city of Chernigov, and media reports that Russian troops "shot and killed 10 people queuing for bread" in the city."We would like to point out that alongside Ukrainian internet resources, this material appeared on the social media resources of the US Embassy in Ukraine without any checks or evidence. At the same time, the Embassy itself is situated in Lvov, not Kiev, and ignores Russian forces' delivery of hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid in those settlements freed of nationalist forces," he added.Konashenkov also reported on Russian forces' operations for the day, saying precision strikes had wiped out communications, intelligence and relay centers in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and shot down a Ukrainian Mi-24 gunship and six drones near the settlement of Sarana. Russian military aviation and drones also destroyed 34 military objects, including three command centers, according to the MoD spokesman. In total, Russia has destroyed 180 Ukrainian jets and helicopters, 166 drones, 1,367 tanks and armoured vehicles to date, he said.'Bloody Provocation'Later Wednesday, the spokesman reported that "another bloody provocation" had been carried out by the Azov battalion in the beseiged city of Mariupol, with the neo-Nazi fighting unit feared to have blown up the city's famous drama theater building after rigging it with explosives. Konashenkov said the MoD had been informed by refugees who managed to flee the city that Azov might hold civilians hostage in the theater building while using its upper floors as firing points.Furthermore, the officer said, Russian military aviation did not carry out any strikes against ground targets in Mariupol on the afternoon of 16 March.Konashenkov dismissed claims made by Kiev officials that Russia deliberately bombed the theater.Mariupol's deputy mayor told the BBC that between 1,000 and 1,200 people were inside the drama theater at the time that it was destroyed. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of responsibility and again called on the West to "stop Russian war criminals!'"

https://sputniknews.com/20180405/russian-chemical-weapons-history-1063253970.html

ukraine

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Ilya Tsukanov

Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

ukraine, poisonous gas, provocation, russian military, intelligence
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/serial-shooter-targeting-unsheltered-people--arrested-in-washington-dc-1093911161.html

Serial Shooter Targeting Unsheltered People Arrested in Washington, DC

Serial Shooter Targeting Unsheltered People Arrested in Washington, DC

A gunman who had been targeting and killing people sleeping on the streets of New York City and Washington, DC was apprehended by police on Tuesday. The 30... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T03:40+0000

2022-03-16T03:40+0000

2022-03-16T03:39+0000

violence

crime

arrest

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Brevard was arrested at around 2:30 a.m. local time in southeast DC following an intense manhunt conducted by both the New York Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department that was launched on Sunday. DC officials say he will be charged with first-degree murder.The assaults took place between March 3 and March 12, with Brevard allegedly shooting two men who were sleeping on the streets. The gunshot wounds which he inflicted on his first two victims, one on March 3 and the other on March 8, were non-fatal.On March 9, Brevard allegedly killed his first victim, by stabbing the man multiple times, shooting him and lighting his tent on fire. This took place in Washington, DC at 3:00 a.m.Brevard then traveled to New York City where he shot a man while he was sleeping on King Street around 4:30 a.m. on March 12. The man was shot in the arm, but reportedly survived. Following the assault, Brevard murdered a New Yorker who was living on the streets by shooting him in the head while he slept in a sleeping bag.The victim was found by police 11 hours later after a passerby called 911. A surveillance camera caught the suspect at around 6 a.m. approaching the victim at 22 Howard Street, a 15-minute walk from King Street.Castings of the bullet casings exchanged between NYPD and DC police showed that the bullets in each city came from the same gun.Brevard has a string of misdemeanors and felonies in Washington, DC and northern Virginia which include several charges of assault. He was also found mentally incompetent after a court-ordered examination and was subsequently committed to Saint Elizabeths Hospital in 2019, according to court records.In an interview, Brevards father said his sons mental health issues were never properly addressed. He said Saint Elizabeths kept him for only a week, declared him competent to stand trial, and released him despite his familys objections.They said he was healthy so they let him out, said Brevards father. I knew he wasnt healthy. I know my son.Brevards aunt, Sheila Brevard, revealed that he had been homeless off and on for many years.According to Essig, the suspect returned to Washington on Sunday. He had called his father and told him he was being followed and plotted against by coworkers at a restaurant in DC where he worked as a server. Brevards father said he did not mention anything about the shootings.On Monday, authorities shared a photo of the suspect taken at an ATM in Union Station, attached to the photo was a $70,000 bounty for the serial shooter. It was also on Monday that the NYPD received about a dozen tips, one of which included Brevards name.Authorities arrested Brevard at a gas station some five miles from the White House and took him into custody at 2:30 a.m.We said that the work to remove this man from our streets was urgent, and our communities responded, said DC Mayor Muriel Browser, who believes tips from the public helped authorities find the suspect.Let's stay in touch no matter what! Follow our Telegram channel to get all the latest news: https://t.me/sputniknewsus

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Mary Manley https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg

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violence, crime, arrest
https://sputniknews.com/20220316/uk-security-services-to-look-for-alleged-putins-assets-in-london---reports-1093916434.html

UK Security Services to Look for Alleged Putin's Assets in London - Reports

UK Security Services to Look for Alleged Putin's Assets in London - Reports

LONDON, (Sputnik)  UK National Crime Agency (NCA) will cooperate with the countrys intelligence services to identify assets allegedly kept by Russian... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

2022-03-16T06:30+0000

2022-03-16T06:30+0000

2022-03-16T07:43+0000

uk

security

assets

russia

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https://cdnn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/104403/13/1044031306_0:150:4500:2681_1920x0_80_0_0_64a2e943c3bed56c5ceb073daeaaf763.jpg

NCA will work with MI5, MI6 and GCHQ agencies, the report read.The investigation into alleged Kremlin-linked assets will not be simple and will also include Belarusian money in the United Kingdom, according to the newspaper.In late February, London introduced sanctions against Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, which entailed the freeze of their assets in the country. However, the sanctions document did not specifically identify the assets involved. Foreign Minister Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that neither Putin nor Lavrov had assets in the UK or anywhere else abroad.On February 24, Russia began a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The United States and its allies responded by imposing comprehensive sanctions against Russia.

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US President Joe Biden Delivers Remarks on Assistance to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden Delivers Remarks on Assistance to Ukraine

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that US President Joe Biden is expected to announce that his administration will provide... 16.03.2022, Sputnik International

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Sputnik is live from Washington DC where US President Joe Biden is delivering remarks on the assistance the United States is providing to Ukraine.On Saturday, Joe Biden authorised a drawdown of up to $200 million in spending for "defence articles" and military training to provide military assistance to Ukraine. This followed a $350 million arms package approved by Biden in February.On 24 February, Russia launched a special operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics requested help to defend themselves from intensifying attacks by Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry has said the operation targets only Ukraine's military infrastructure and the civilian population is not in danger. In response, the United States and its allies imposed comprehensive sanctions against Russia.

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A locally and nationally connected mother, grandmother and great grandmother who was the oldest living spouse of a former U.S. Senator has died.

Martha Hartke, wife of the late three-term Sen. Vance Hartke (1919-2003) of Indiana, passed away Jan. 21 at Shenandoah Place Assisted Living in New Market. She was 101.

Mrs. Hartke was a venerable force around the Beltway in the 60s and 70s, working alongside her husband in opposition to the Vietnam War. Hartke met and had lunch with 15 First Ladies starting with Eleanor Roosevelt through Michelle Obama. She befriended presidents as well.

Through her friendships, she furthered the causes that she cared about. In 1959, she met and was mentored by Eleanor Roosevelt who told her to take care of your family, get involved in the life of the country, and help people in need, according to Hartkes obituary.

She is credited with helping to save countless lives advocating dialysis legislation with her work with the National Kidney Foundation.

An important accomplishment was Mrs. Hartkes appointment by President John F. Kennedy as chairwoman for a national banquet for the Freedom from Hunger initiative, said Hartkes daughter, Anita.

Hartke spent her later years living with her daughter and grandson, Wyatt, in Amissville in Culpeper County and for the past decade in Woodstock.

She was a very prolific speaker, said Anita Hartke in a phone call Tuesday.

She was good at that in a positive way. She could hold her own.

Anita Hartke, former chairwoman of the Culpeper County Democratic Committee, ran in 2008 for Congress as a Democrat representing Virginias 7th District and is a longtime real estate broker.

She said her mother always advised her father when he would be on one side of an issue.

She would try to take the other side, would say, I am going to talk to my husband about that, and she did, Hartkes daughter said. She didnt shy down from giving her opinions.

Martha Hartke, born in Richmond, Indiana in 1920, enjoyed her life in Washington, D.C.as when she danced with President Lyndon Johnson at his inauguration.

He whispered sweet nothings such as how Vance should help him pass medical care for the aged, Anita Hartke recalled.

Martha Hartke campaigned with President Harry Truman when he came to Indiana to help husband in his 1958 race for the senate.

After a long day, Truman asked if they wanted a bourbon, and when her husband said he didnt drink, she said, Ill drink with you, Mr. President.

Martha Hartke was a graduate of Indiana University. She remembered her family being threatened by the Ku Klux Klan because they were Catholic. She raised seven children and baptized them all in the church.

A funeral for Martha Hartke will be held at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 16, at the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel. She will be buried next to her husband in Arlington National Cemetery.

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A new exhibit, Origins & Evolution, is now on display in the Carver 4-County Museum in Rapidan.

The four-part display recalls the parents, grandparents, faith community members and others who advocated for a high school for minority children.

The George Washington Carver Regional High School where the museum is located educated Black students from four counties after its opening on Oct. 1, 1948 until integration was completed in this area by 1968.

The new exhibit builds on the museums initial display, Origins, at its opening in February 2019. It will lead up to the Carver schools 75th anniversary in 2023.

We as a museum have evolved just as the school evolved, said curator Terry Miller during a visit last month at the museum as she was placing finishing touches.

The next 22 months will highlight The Carver Story in film and print in anticipation of the anniversary celebration, she said.

Visitors may view the exhibit in person by appointment and online at carver4cm.org.

The display has four parts: The Persistent, The Planners, The Implementers and The Educators.

The first gallery features such names as Charles Coleman and Anna Green.

The second gallery highlights Gov. Colgate Darden, Dr. George Denny of the University of Alabama and the Virginia Dept. of Education.

The third gallery focuses on those who worked to find the land for the school, worked on the design and finalized furnishings.

Finally, the fourth gallery is the largest, featuring 18 teachers, a librarian, administrators and the principal who served for all but one year at Carver.

The museum had not previously focused on Principal Harvey Fleshmon (1909-1967), Miller said. For 19 of the 20 years that Carver operated, educating students from Culpeper, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock, he was its top administrator.

Sadly, Fleshmon died by suicide in the final academic year, Miller said.

I dont know what the school administration told him, because integration was coming, she said. I dont think there was a place for him.

Fleshmon rests in the historic Antioch section at Fairview Cemetery. He was trained at historic Hampton Institute in auto mechanics and education and earned a masters degree.

Fleshmons grandmother, Alice Griffin Fleshmon, a practical nurse, raised him. She lived to see him become a school principal, Miller said.

Fleshmon made an annual salary that first year of $3,000, according to the exhibit.

The Carver 4-County Museum is producing short videos throughout the year helping to tell the more of the schools story leading up the anniversary. Those with pictures or stories are encouraged to share them for the video project.

Before 1948, young American-African students experienced extreme difficulty obtaining a high school education in Culpeper, Greene, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock, according to the alumni web site.

Culpeper and Orange counties had a secondary program. Still, the offerings were so limited that some parents paid for their childrens school enrollment elsewhere to guarantee their school admission.

No educational program was offered for Greene, Madison, and Rappahannock counties beyond the 7th grade. The children of these counties were forced to gain a high school education elsewhere at their parents expense.

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An 18-year-old Minatare teen died in a crash Saturday in rural Laramie County, Wyoming. The teen, Wyatt Butler, had been a senior at Scottsbluff High School, months away from graduation.

According to Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Butler had been driving a 1998 Dodge Dakota northbound on U.S. Highway 85. Beck said the investigation determined that around 11:20 a.m., Butler came upon a parked Ford F-150 and Freightline commercial truck that had stopped due to a partial blockage in the road. He began to pass the stopped vehicles on the left, then swerved to the right to avoid hitting another oncoming vehicle.

The passenger side of Butlers Dodge sideswiped the drivers side of the Ford. His vehicle then rotated to the right, struck the Freightliners trailer with its drivers side and came to a rest east of the highway.

A fatality crash summary on the Wyoming DOT website described the weather as severely windy, with the road conditions being wet and slushy. Beck said Butler was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. He cited speed, driver inattention and cell phone use as potential contributing factors to the crash. The three occupants of the other two vehicles were not injured during in the crash.

The crash occurred near the intersection of the highway and Road 144, around 10  15 miles south of the Meriden rest stop. It was the second fatal accident at that intersection in two months.

A 55-year-old Colorado woman died during a crash there in late January.

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Hemingford Public Schools officially has a new superintendent  Travis Miller of Bayard.

The school board took action Monday, March 14 to approve a superintendents contract, officially naming Miller the superintendent of the Box Butte County School District, effective July 1. The contract period is for one year and expires June 30, 2023. Millers salary is set at $145,000 annually, which will be paid in 12 equal monthly installments starting in August.

Meeting minutes indicate the school board met Monday, Feb. 14 to discuss the superintendent interviewing process that week. Following those interviews that concluded Wednesday, Feb. 16, the board entered into executive session before returning to open session.

Miller said as part of the interview process, one question he was asked was If selected as the superintendent, what would be your agenda?

I dont bring an agenda to the role other than to make the school the best it can be in partnership with the staff, the students, the parents and other stakeholders, Miller said.  My job, as I see it, is to learn what the board and the community are looking for and expect. The strategic planning process will be extremely informative toward that. My job is then to make that a reality.

School board president Justin Ansley told the Star-Herald the next 2 hours and 31 minutes of that February meeting were spent discussing which candidate fit best within the school district. After selecting Miller, Ansley extended an offer.

It was an honor to be selected, Miller told the Star-Herald.

The July 1 start date gives him an opportunity to get to know the community and staff ahead of the school year, he said.

For a new superintendent, July and first part of August is really your opportunity to start getting to know the community and your staff  starting to build relationships with people, Miller said. Its also the beginning of getting a sense of the vision and shared commitments of the community around the school.

Hemingfords board is currently working on its strategic plan, including meetings with key stakeholders to establish a new vision for the district. One of those meetings is on St. Patricks Day and Ansley invited Miller to attend.

Thats a real opportunity for me to have a sense of the community and the boards commitments and desires moving forward, Miller said. I think my role as the superintendent-elect will be to meet people and just listen intently and take notes to learn as much as I can.

Miller noted how to have an effective transition involves a lot of listening and learning that informs a shared leadership moving forward.

He has served as superintendent of Bayard Public Schools for 11 years. Throughout his tenure, he has attended several sporting events where he said the Hemingford athletes conducted themselves with discipline and parents and fans showcased a high level of sportsmanship. With a dedicated school board, investments being made throughout the community to help it thrive, Miller said Hemingford stuck out as a place he wanted to work.

The Bayard school board formally accepted Millers resignation in February. Bayards board of education also convened Monday for a work session to meet with the Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association (NRCSA) consultants to discuss its own superintendent search process.

Miller is a lifelong Nebraskan who comes from a family of educators, including teachers and administrators.

I love western Nebraska, Miller said. Im really excited to be part of the community of Hemingford.

As he concludes his contractual obligations with Bayard, Miller said he is grateful for the opportunities to lead the district for the last 11 years and looks forward to hearing about the continued success of the school and community.

To this point, the opportunity to serve as the superintendent at Bayard has been a great honor and the high point of my career to date, he said.

Following his departure from Bayard, Miller said he looks forward to supporting educational excellence and sharing in the accomplishments to come for Hemingford Public Schools.

Im incredibly honored and humbled to join Hemingford Public Schools and look forward to working with everybody there to continue the traditions of excellence.

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The Torrington Volunteer Fire Department expanded its fleet in mid-January with the purchase of its first tower truck. Now the department is inviting the public to attend a push-in ceremony for Tower 1 Friday, March 18 at 4 p.m. at the Torrington Fire Station, located at 2001 West C St.

Firefighter and public information officer Chuck Kenyon said the event will be the first for the department and will feature speeches from Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, Torrington Mayor Randy Adams and the chairman of the Rural Fire District.

How did firefighters maneuver a fire truck into the fire hall before vehicles were motorized? While horse-drawn vehicles and hand-drawn pumpers worked around town, using those methods to park in a bay was impossible. So firefighters used their muscles to push the truck into the bay.

Its called either a push-in or a push-back, Kenyon said. Its a traditional fire department ceremony. It dates back to the horse-drawn fire apparatus where the members of the fire department had to push the engine back into the fire station because the horses couldnt back it up.

In a post on the St. Charles, Illinois, city website firefighter paramedic Stephen Dries said the tradition dates back to the late 1800s when fire departments used hand-drawn pumpers and horse-drawn equipment.

Upon returning to the station after a fire call, the horses could not easily back the equipment into the station, he wrote. So they were disconnected from the fire equipment and firefighters would push the equipment back in to the bays themselves.

Kenyon said they have a joke in the fire service where some of their operations are a 400 years tradition unaltered by progress and the push-back event is one tradition that has stood the test of time.

Mayor Randy Adams said the idea to purchase a tower truck arose shortly after he was elected mayor.

We had three events  all three of which required us to ask the Scottsbluff Fire Department to bring their fire truck to Torrington to help us fight these fires, Adams said. It made me get to thinking seriously about the fact that our volunteer fire department and our volunteer firemen needed something like that to keep them safe in these very dangerous situations.

Seventy-five percent of the cost to purchase Tower 1 came from a state grant that totaled $1.4 million. The other 25% was contributions from the City of Torrington and the Rural District Fire #3. The two entities each contributed $175,000 toward the $350,000 needed to match the grant. The 43-foot-long, 10-feet-high, 8-feet-wide and 76,000-pound tower truck will aid the firefighters in various situations.

It will provide a much safer and much more secure platform for our volunteer firemen to work out of, Adams said. Its not only going to be used for high second or third floor access, but also will provide us access sometimes when we have to be out in the street a long ways away from the building where we could stretch out over a roof thats on fire, for example.

Adams said the engine can also be used along the river to rescue someone and various scenarios where access is a challenge.

The event will offer the community a chance to see the truck and fire station. Following the push-in Kenyon said they plan to pull the truck back out for a demonstration.

Parking will be along E. 21st Avenue and around the city park.

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Omaha would get a new veterans hospital and Fremont and Council Bluffs would get new veterans clinics under proposals outlined in a Veterans Affairs report that calls for a massive, nationwide overhaul of its facilities.

The main losses for the state under the proposal would be eventual reductions in urgent care hours and nursing home beds at the Grand Island VA Medical Center and the closure of a small outpatient clinic in Sidney.

It looks good for Nebraska veterans, said Holden Armstrong, communications director for the Nebraska Department of Veterans Affairs.

The recommendations are, however, just a first step in what will be a long process, and one subject to change. The recommendations next will be reviewed by an independent commission, which has a year to review them. Members will seek public comment and likely will visit many of the communities listed in the proposals.

The panels recommendations eventually would go to Congress and President Joe Biden. If theyre approved, it would take a decade or more to implement many of the recommendations.

That is a long way of saying we are a long way from any action happening, said Ron Woolery, a regional VA spokesman.

Overall, 35 VA medical centers in 21 states would be closed or rebuilt under the proposal as part of the nearly $2 trillion infrastructure overhaul, according to the Military Times.

In the report, VA Secretary Denis McDonough wrote that the changes are a rethinking of where VA facilities are located and how they deliver care. The average age of a VA facility is 60 years old. More health care now is being delivered on an outpatient rather than an inpatient basis. Most VA facilities also were built before women entered the armed forces in force.

The report recommends building a new hospital in Omaha on or in the vicinity of the current hospital footprint near 41st Street and Woolworth Avenue rather than renovating the building. Built in 1950, both inpatient and surgical spaces as well as the emergency department are old and undersized, and the structure wont allow for renovations to bring it up to current VA standards. The recommendations for Nebraska carry a price tag of $1.07 billion.

The report also recommends that the VA explore construction and community partnership opportunities with academic affiliates or others.

The Omaha VA already has been exploring a public-private partnership to improve inpatient hospital and surgical facilities for veterans. One possibility would include such a facility as part of a proposed new teaching hospital and national surge facility, dubbed Project NExT, on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus.

To help lay the groundwork for a potential new inpatient facility, U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, both Nebraska Republicans, last summer introduced legislation reauthorizing the CHIP-IN for Veterans Act. The 2016 federal law provided for public-private partnerships that made possible the new, $86 million outpatient center on the Omaha VA campus.

Fischer said she and her staff are reviewing the VAs report, which was required by the VA MISSION Act that Congress passed in 2018 and that she co-sponsored.

As this process continues, Fischer said in a statement, I will closely monitor it every step of the way to ensure Nebraska veterans receive the quality care they have earned now and into the future.

I worked with former Rep. Brad Ashford to advance our bill that successfully facilitated the development of the new VA ambulatory clinic in Omaha. The clinic was built ahead of schedule and under budget as a result of the public-private partnership the bill created. My priority will be to continue to work to provide Nebraska veterans with needed services.

Bacon said he fully supports the initiative to build a new VA medical facility in Omaha, as well as the VAs openness to exploring not only VA construction but also community partnership opportunities.

Whether its providing physical therapy, hearing and vision services, or more beds, we need to ensure Americas heroes receive the medical treatment they have earned through their service to our nation, he said in a statement.

In addition to recommending a new Omaha VA hospital, the report calls for adding physical therapy, audiology and optometry services at its Bellevue clinic and establishing new clinics in Fremont and Council Bluffs. That would increase access to primary care and outpatient mental health services in those areas.

The report also calls for shifting urgent care services at the Grand Island VA Medical Center to same-day appointments, due to low urgent care volumes. The agency also recommends scaling back the number of nursing home beds at the Grand Island facility once a new 34-bed center opens at Midland Hospital in Papillion.

That facility, a partnership between CHI Health and the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, is expected to open in June on the fifth and sixth floors of the hospital at 11111 S. 84th St. It will provide short-stay rehabilitation, skilled nursing care and memory care to veterans.

The Sidney outpatient clinic recommended for closure has seen declining use in recent years. It served only 663 people in 2019, a level the report labeled unsustainable. Veterans would have access to similar care at a local hospital.

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It seems timely that the remains of the Endurance, a ship symbolic of humans ability to persevere in the harshest environments, was just found where it sunk 106 years ago, off Antarctica. The 28 men who had boarded it in London wandered the frozen wilderness for nearly two years. Miraculously, all survived.

It may be indecent to make too much of a parallel between that tale of bravery and the story of Ukrainians fighting week after week against vicious Russian attack. The Endurance crew were explorers and scientists who volunteered for an exciting mission to explore the ice cap at the South Pole. Ukraines people never asked to undertake the suffering under Russian President Vladimir Putins cruel and insane campaign. But as Ukrainians die in the thousands, they show no signs of ending their resistance.

What both narratives have in common  in addition to the blessing of personal courage and determination to carry on  is extraordinary leadership. There are books written about Captain Ernest Shackletons skill at shepherding the Endurances passengers through many months exposed in the coldest, windiest region on earth. They were forced to eat mostly penguins, as well as their beloved sled dogs.

For several months after the Endurance got stuck in ice, the crew could return to the ship for supplies and shelter. But then the ship went down, virtually forcing the men onto a drifting ice floe. They eventually took life boats to Elephant Island, an outcropping of desolate rock. A handful then sailed for help on a tiny wooden open boat. With the most primitive equipment they navigated 800 nautical miles through famously treacherous waters to an outpost in South Georgia, a lonely island in the South Atlantic.

Books are surely being written about the leadership skills of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has roused his people to battle the invaders until the end, while putting himself in grave personal danger. His most famous quote was that directed to the U.S. government after it offered him safe escape from the capital, Kyiv. The fight is here, he said. I need ammunition, not a ride.

This show of steely resolve by Zelensky and his compatriots drew other countries into the mission of saving Ukraine. And that nearly global support may have changed the course of the war.

Early on, some marveled that a former comedian could transform himself into a Churchillian war president. Perhaps, though, thats part of Zelenskys strength. Shackleton was also a performer  a savvy fundraiser who sold the rights to his story before the ship set off.

Of course, there was an immense difference in the two leaders ability to communicate with the outside world. Every minute, scenes of the horror in Ukraine can reach most of the worlds TV screens. Antarctica was totally cut off from civilization. Though twice the size of Australia, no human had reportedly set eyes on the continent until 1820.

In addition, the explosion set off by World War I extinguished most interest in the fate of the Imperial Trans-Antarctica Expedition.

I send Alfred Lansings book, Endurance: Shackletons Incredible Voyage, to friends undergoing medical trauma. It offers an inspirational reminder that people can ride out terrible odds.

As the Endurance went down, there was no sign of fear or even apprehension among its former passengers, Lansing wrote. Interviews with the valiant Ukrainians fighting the Russian assault likewise include reports of their fear going away. Perhaps the dimming of terror reflects glimmers of hope amid the nobility of enduring such hardship.

This month, another team of explorers located Shackletons three-masted ship at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Its name in brass letters, Endurance, shined in the glow of their searchlights.
American Legion Post 543 members from St. James presented the colors and played Taps prior to the wreath-laying ceremony, which was performed by the U.S. Coast Guard Station from Oak Island.
An attempt to rob a convenience store Sunday resulted in an assault on the clerk and the would-be robber getting away with only a can of beer, said Iredell Sheriff Darren Campbell.

Darren Eugene Parker, 51, of Foster Road, Cleveland, is now facing charges of attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor assault.

Parker was arrested Monday in Charlotte and a magistrate set bond at $250,000 on the Iredell charges and $2,000 on an order for arrest from Rowan County.

Campbell, in a news release, said deputies were called to the Sunshine Express West store, at 2159 Old Mountain Road on Sunday. The clerk told them that a man wearing a surgical mask came in and got a beer from the cooler, Campbell said. After walking around inside the store, he walked behind the counter and demanded money from the safe, the sheriff said.

The clerk told deputies the man kept his hand in his jacket and the clerk saw what looked like the handle of a gun. After telling the man repeatedly that the store did not have a safe, the suspect assaulted the clerk, Campbell said. He then ran out of the store but not before grabbing the beer he had set on the counter, Campbell said.

Criminal investigations detectives were able to retrieve photos of the suspect from the stores surveillance video, and those were shared on the sheriffs office Facebook page and App.

On Monday, Campbell said, information was received from the public about the mans identity and that information was verified, leading to warrants for Parkers arrest.

He was entered as a wanted person.

Campbell said information came in from the public about Parker possibly being in Charlotte.

Warrant squad deputies went to Charlotte and found him wearing the same clothing that was seen in the surveillance video and, a purple Scion connected to the robbery was also found, Campbell said.

Parker is also facing charges from the Statesville Police Department for an armed robbery that occurred in the city Sunday night, Campbell said.

This investigation is a great example of how social media can be used to help investigate crimes, as well as how quickly suspects can be located by sharing information with the public and other law enforcement agencies, Campbell said.

Parkers history includes felony possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, felony maintaining a vehicle/dwelling for sale or use of a controlled substance and identity theft and misdemeanor charges of false pretense to a police station, soliciting possession of cocaine by another, common law forgery, attempted larceny, second-degree trespassing, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving-related charges.
More Nigerians are realizing that they have to decide what is the most effective way forward for themselves and Nigeria. Some approaches are more popular or more successful than others. Since independence in the 1960s created the most populous and potentially the most prosperous nation in Africa, Nigerians have not been able to agree on which approach is both very effective as well as achievable. Being responsible and responsible are popular, but usually only as it applies to family or tribe, not all of Nigeria or Nigerians. Easier to adopt was the criminal rapacious or radical approach. It is now generally agreed that the rapacious or radical approach has been the main reason why a trillion dollars in oil revenue since the 1960s and made a few percent of Nigerians very wealthy while making life harder for most Nigerians, especially compared to average living standards in the 1960s. Attitudes are changing faster than effective efforts to make the needed changes.

In 2022 the Islamic terrorists continue to decline as a source of violence while tribal violence continues to cause more casualties than Islamic terrorists. Borno State, in the northeast, continues to be where most of the Islamic terrorism takes place. There are still clashes with the security forces, but the Islamic terrorists usually lose these battles and far more Islamic terrorists are surrendering than terrorizing. Eighteen years of Boko Haram violence in Borno created some lasting problems. There are still millions of refugees plus substantial economic damage in Borno State, where it all began. There seems to be no end in sight because of the local corruption, but more competent leadership in the security forces reduced the violence. All this was caused by a local group of religious militants modeling themselves on the Taliban and calling themselves Boko Haram. Corruption in the army and police severely crippled effective counterterror efforts for over a decade. By itself Boko Haram was too small to have much impact on a national scale but the inability to deal with this problem put a spotlight on the corruption that has hobbled all progress in Nigeria for decades. A new president (Muhammadu Buhari. a former general who is Moslem) was elected in early 2015 and began changing the corrupt army culture. That is still a work in progress but enough improvements in the military were achieved for Boko Haram to be defeated. This was one reason Buhari was reelected in early 2019. Two terms as president are the limit and Buhari is old and in declining health. It is unclear who might prevail in the 2023 elections although more candidates are promising to continue Buharis work.

Down south in the oil producing region (the Niger River Delta) decades of violence against oil facilities have become a regular source of income for thousands of bandits. Local politicians and business leaders have become partners with the oil theft gangs. Stealing oil usually involves punching holes in pipelines, which slows production and limits the ability to expand it. This was recently made clear when Nigeria admitted that it could not use the higher OPEC production limits granted to make up for American and Russian oil removed from global production in the last year.

One reason for unrest among Northern Moslems is that they want more control over the federal government and the oil money. In northern and central Nigeria, you have increasing violence as nomadic Moslem herders move south and clash with largely Christian farmers over land use and water supplies. Since 2018 these tribal feuds have been killing more people than Boko Haram. The situation is still capable of sliding into regional civil wars over money and political power. Corruption and ethnic/tribal/religious rivalries threaten to trigger, at worst, another civil war and at least more street violence and public anger.

Violence in the north includes kidnapping for ransom, wives or slave labor. Extortion is another widespread practice. Boko Haram and their dissident faction and rival ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) survive but often fight each other. These clashes are often caused by gangster rather than religious disputes. The Islamic terrorist attacks still make spectacular headlines, but are rare compared to the gangster operations the Islamic terrorists carry out to survive.

Islamic terrorism survives in Borno State because that is where it began, in response to the violent government response the initial, non-violent, Boko Haram generated. Boko Haram was initially about reducing corruption and improving the economy in Borno. For governments and gangsters, its all about money and power. ISWAP has evolved into a profitable criminal enterprise with a fading veneer of religious fanaticism.

The tribal, bandit and Islamic terrorist violence have the same long-term effect on local economies that suffer a lot of this malevolent activity. Large areas lose population, including hundreds of smaller communities, usually rural villages, being abandoned. There are millions of refugees, mainly in Borno, where they live in camps near large cities waiting for their depopulated region to be cleared of bandits and Islamic terrorists so they can return. Many do not and this has changed local economies and population levels throughout the north. In the military, where only a small portion of the army is in Borno, officers have found that it is easier to get promoted if their personnel records show they have served with a combat unit in Borno State.

March 14, 2022: In the northwest (Katsina state) the military received information that the leader of one of the major criminal gangs Katsina and over fifty members of the gang were assembling near a rural town for the festivities. The air force quickly put the area under aerial surveillance, apparently using a UAV, because the surveillance continued for hours to confirm that the bandits were assembling. The air force then sent one of their jet fighters to attack the assembled bandits with rockets and autocannon fire. Meanwhile ground troops were sent to the area to confirm the damage. About half the assembled bandits were killed or badly wounded. The remainder got away, but many were wounded. For several years Katsina state has been the scene of some of the worst criminal activity in the country, including kidnapping and mass attacks to loot towns and kill any civilians or police who resisted.

March 13, 2022: In the southeast (Anambra state) leaders of an Igbo separatist militia, the Bakassi Boys have been meeting leaders of a separatist Southwest Cameroon group the Ambazonian Boys. The Bakassi Boys militia was revived in 2021. The original Bakassi Boys appeared in the late 1990s as teen-age boys following a charismatic leader who claimed magical powers. Popular initially for their efforts to fight crime, the group eventually became criminals and soon disappeared after becoming a local legend. These two groups are small and more likely to turn into bandits than successful separatists. Yet there has been cooperation between Biafran and Cameroonian separatists, like the older and larger Ambazonia organization. Back in 2018 leaders of the separatist IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) group and a similar Ambazonia separatist organization across the border in Cameroon met and agreed to cooperate and support each other in their shared goals of more autonomy for Igbo in Nigeria and the minority English-speaking people in Cameroon, where most people use French as a common national language.

The close links between Igbo separatists and nearby like-minded Anglophone (English speaking) Cameroonian separatists has grown during the last decade as both separatist movements grew despite efforts of local political and military forces to shut down these increasingly violent movements.

The Nigerian Igbo want a separate Igbo state of Biafra, while the Cameroonians want a separate state of Ambazonia, consisting of terrain in southwest Cameroon dominated by the English-speaking minority of largely Francophone (French speaking) Cameroon. Unlike Biafra, which has never existed legally, Ambazonia was separate from French speaking Cameroon as one of the two former German colonies that France and Britain administered from 1919 (the end of World War I) until 1961 when it was agreed by Britain, France and the UN that the two Cameroons could either merge as one Cameroon or the smaller (and less economically developed) Ambazonia could choose to join either Nigeria or Cameroon as one of the federal states each nation was using for their new governments. Most Ambazonians would have preferred to be an independent state. Ambazonia was considered too small (42,000 square kilometers), poor and sparsely populated (under a million people) for independence. French Cameroon offered more autonomy and economic assistance and that persuaded most to vote for joining Cameroon. The language difference was not believed to be a problem because the English speakers tend to treat the language as a tool, not something more. The Ambazonians soon discovered that adopting the French language meant a more hostile attitude towards other languages, especially English. By 1972 the French speaking majority removed most of Ambazonias autonomy and were vigorously trying to get the Ambazonians to adopt French. That caused more resentment and by the 1980s the two million Ambazonians were getting more enthusiastic about regaining their autonomy, or even independence. Now there are nearly four million Ambazonians and they have a substantial separatist movement going.

An independent state of Biafra, dominated by Igbos and consisting of the southeastern states of Ebonyi, Enugu, Anambra, Imo and Abia is once again an issue. Local politicians told the federal government that the best, and most possible, solution to the Biafra/Igbo separatist movement threat was to offer some autonomy instead. The Biafra (separatist) movement was revived in 2015 and at first the government ordered police to crack down. By 2016 nearly 200 Igbo had been killed by police attacks on demonstrators and anyone suspected of separatist activity. The violent response was obviously making it worse and after 2018 a gentler approach was tried.

The pro-Biafran separatists have been around and increasingly active since the 1990s. Back in the 1960s the Igbo (or Ibo) people of southeastern Nigeria considered establishing a separate Igbo state called Biafra. A brutal war followed before the separatist movement was crushed and the Igbo were warned not to try it again. Separatist attitudes were silenced but not extinguished. Pro-Biafra groups began to appear again in the late 1990s, trying to revive the separatist movement. Since then, over a thousand separatists have been killed, and many more imprisoned, while the government continues to insist that Biafra is gone forever. But as details of the extent of government corruption during the last few decades came out, Biafra again seemed like something worth fighting for. Senior government officials, including president Buhari, are paying attention, and seeking to work out a compromise with the Igbos. The Fulani are less amenable to any compromise, especially since the Fulani are Moslem and consider themselves defenders of Islam against non-believers like the Christian Igbo.

In response to the threats of violence, a major pro-Biafra organization IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) took the lead in protecting Igbo from anti-Biafra violence. In areas where peaceful defense measures do not work IPOB formed an armed security component, the ESN (Eastern Security Network), to defend Igbos in Imo State from Fulani and government violence. The government has responded by sending a battalion of infantry to an area thought to be a base for ESN members. This was unpopular with the locals as Nigerian soldiers are notorious for their violent behavior. These troops had been ordered to behave but that proved difficult for them to do so in the face of Igbo contempt and hostility.

Many Igbo politicians urge IPOB to become more political than militant to achieve their goals. The Igbo, because of their higher education levels and entrepreneurial skills are a growing presence in the national economy and senior civil service. Many prominent Igbo see the possibility of an Igbo president of Nigeria. This would do more for the Igbo than another war for an independent Biafra.

March 8, 2022: In the northwest (Kebbi state) gunmen attacked a convoy that included the deputy state governor and a military escort. The armed escort fought back and the attackers fled without harming the deputy governor. The armed escort suffered 18 soldiers and one policeman killed plus eight soldiers and policemen wounded. The attackers took their dead and wounded with them to prevent identification of the group responsible for the attack. Earlier in the day gunmen also ambushed a local defense militia and killed 62 before leaving the scene. These large-scale attacks are meant to intimidate opponents, including the state government, into being more cooperative with the outlaws. That sometimes works but generally it just gets a lot of people killed and others angry enough to rm themselves and organize militias.

What is happening in Kebbi is not unusual and is a problem throughout the Moslem north. The violence is caused by a combination of tribal, religious and economic disputes. In Kebbi the population of 3.3 million is largely Moslem and composed of different tribal groups, some with many kinsmen in neighboring Niger or Benin. The Fulani minority is the most aggressive. The Fulani are particularly active in Nigeria as well as nearby nations like Mali. The growth of Islamic radicalism in the last few decades has not helped, nor has rapid population growth during the same period. All this made land ownership or land use disputes more frequent, and bloody. In the last decade there have been an increasing number of mass killings which cause more groups to arm themselves and get organized to fight back. This is often just about seeking revenge. Additional police and soldiers have been sent to more and more parts of the north to deal with Boko Haram, tribal disputes and in areas the numbers of Christians and Moslems are more equal, to keep armed Christians and Moslems apart. A temporary large presence by security forces can calm things down for a while. Because the fundamental causes of the disputes are still there, the violence eventually breaks out again.

The situation reached the point where, in late 2021 the British government warned its citizens to avoid going anywhere within 20 kilometers of the Niger border while in Kebbi State. Kidnapping in the north, usually by bandits rather than Islamic terrorists, has grown into a major problem with over a thousand people taken in 2021. In the last few years fighting between tribal militias plus a proliferation of banditry has created a chaotic and violent atmosphere that has created outrange among people living in the northwest. The federal and state governments said they would do something about the lethal anarchy but not much is changing.
Most Americans associate the name James Patterson with the worlds bestselling mystery and thriller author. In Marion, the name calls to mind an equally prolific figure who has dedicated more than six decades to the health and well-being of his community.

Affectionately known as the Good Doctor, Dr. James E. Patterson celebrated his 90th birthday March 8 with the staff of the Mel Leaman Free Clinic, where he serves as medical director and still sees patients one day a week.

He is just a pleasure to work with, said Lisa Mitchell, a licensed practical nurse who has worked alongside Patterson for much of the clinics existence. Hes one in a million, just a wonderful person to be around and a very caring and professional medical provider. Hes a true joy to work with and he truly has the clinics best interest at heart.

Patterson helped launch the clinic in 2001 after he was approached by a group of nurse practitioners who wanted to help provide quality healthcare to the working uninsured and needed a medical doctor to back them.

Still in private practice at the time, Patterson was familiar with the problem and, believing that everyone deserves good healthcare, often provided care to uninsured people who couldnt afford it.

In those days, they couldnt practice without a medical doctor behind them and I said, Sure, I already do a lot of that anyway, Patterson explained.

In his late 60s when the clinic launched, Patterson hadnt yet retired from the private practice he began in 1959. It was during his many decades in private practice that he noticed the need to fill the healthcare gap for those who worked but didnt have insurance.

After his graduation from the University of Virginias medical college in 1957, the Wytheville native began his career with an internship in Wise County. In his 20s during the 1950s, the decade that saw the Korean War and the beginning of the Vietnam War before the U.S. became militarily involved, Patterson expected to be called to military service at some point and put off going into private practice.

I thought I was going to get called into service, but about nine months at Wise, they never called me so I went into practice here in Marion, Patterson said.

Doctoring was quite different in those days. At the time, physicians didnt really have specialties. They were general practitioners and did everything from house calls to emergencies to caring for pregnant women, delivering their babies and then caring for those babies.

Patterson stopped counting after he delivered his 3,000th child.

The field has evolved drastically over the six decades Patterson has been practicing. Now, physicians have specialties and either provide care at their office or in a hospital or clinic setting. Far more medicines are also available.

We didnt have much medicine then. We had phenobarbital, Demerol and I remember when Penicillin came along in 43. The difference then, of course, is the few medicines we had. Now we have many medicines.

Smyth County also had far fewer doctors in those days. When practicing alone became too demanding, Patterson reached out to his college friend, Dr. George Walker, to join him.

I got overwhelmed after about nine months into practicing alone, so I called Walker.

Now, with more than 60 years of caring for Smyth County residents, a lot of folks have known Patterson as their doctor at some point.

I still see some of them, he said. I see a lot of them actually. When you go into Walmart or something like that, you always get a hug or a kiss or a handshake.

Or a you delivered my grandma, or you delivered my mom, added Pattersons daughter, Becky Sparger.

Sparger recalled her fathers office always being packed.

I remember your office being full of patients30 patients sitting in the office, now you go [to an office] and theres one or two, she recalled to Patterson.

Itd be so stuffed you couldnt get in there, Patterson agreed, recalling that he sometimes couldnt get out of the office for lunch.

And you never turned anyone away, Sparger said. No sorry, you dont have an appointment, and whether they had insurance or not, you saw them.

We would take people as they came, Patterson explained. We didnt turn anyone awayI thank my nurses for that. They saved me, because you shouldnt turn away sick people.

On top of his career as a private physician, Patterson also oversaw the Smyth County Community Hospitals emergency department and served as the countys medical examiner. He fell into the latter role after tagging along on a call with Dr. D.C. Boatwright the year Patterson began practicing in Marion and served as such for 53 years.

Its interesting how I got involved in that, Patterson said. Dr. Boatwright he was the medical examiner thenhe had a murder case and asked me would I go with him and I did. And we head down, down on a street behind cars and somebody took pot shots from a house at anybody that moved. There was a house full of tear gas and they got the guy out of there. But, that was my introduction, and since Dr. Boatwright was retiring, I just became the medical examiner.

Having watched all the good he did for his patients as she grew up, Sparger followed her father into healthcare.

Dad said, Be a nurse. Youll always have a job, and by golly, I always had a job and it was always interesting, Sparger said.

Sparger, who retired after 45 years in healthcare, held several nursing positions, including as a public health nurse. By the time she went into the field, physician house calls had dwindled and the health department picked up the practice.

Dad would say, Oh, youre going out to see the patients that I used to see, she recalled.

All the good the Good Doctor has done for the community stems, in part, from treatments Patterson received from a Roanoke physician as a child. Patterson called that physician, Dr. Alexander McCausland, a super specialist in allergies.

Back when I was a child, I had severe asthma. In those days, we didnt have much to do except an oxygen tankits just like being in a tent, I guess, and they stick you in there and you stay in there until you get better. I saw the family physician very frequently. All those doctor visits got me interested in medicine.

Though Patterson would like to retire soon, he doesnt want to leave the clinic on unstable ground. Because his is a voluntary role, finding a medical doctor with time to fill it is difficult. Patterson and Sparger, who also previously volunteered at the clinic, pointed out that most doctors are too busy with their practices to dedicate such time, and many retired doctors move away once they hang up their white coats.

I would like to completely retire, but I cant until the clinic is steady, Patterson said.

Earlier on, Patterson thought he, too, might leave the area after retirement. He had ideas of heading out west to a Native American reservation to provide healthcare to that underserved population, as his anesthesiologist cousin had.

But when it got time to retire, there was still enough need here that I felt like I just better stay here, he said.

The work is just too important.

Without the gap, people die, literally, Sparger said.

Pattersons contributions to the clinic and compassion to his patients and to clinic staff will carry on long after he receives his well-deserved retirement.

Dr. Patterson really cares for our patients, and he worries about us too. When one of us is sick, he calls to check on us the next day, said Susan Ferraro, the clinics executive director. Hes just an all-around caring fellow and hes got a mind like a steel trap. He can remember anything. 

I cannot imagine the clinic without him here, she said. Thats going to be a tough day.

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ABINGDON, Va.  Alena Dubavaya, 31, remembers how every summer, her parents would drive her and her sister Hanna, from her native Belarus, where they worked, to Kyiv so she could spend time with her aunt Olga Mudra and the rest of her family in Ukraine.

I would visit Kyiv pretty much once a year because both of my parents studied there in the early 80s, the current Abingdon resident said. It would be our connection point between my father dropping us off in Kyiv, and my aunt picking us up for summer to be in Ukraine.

Both of Alenas parents were born in Ukraine. However, after completing their studies in Kyiv, they were relocated by the USSR to Belarus to work at a meat plant. When she went to visit Ukraine, despite the subtle cultural differences, she always felt welcome.

I grew up in Belarus. I was born in Belarus, and I have always spoken Russian. When I came there (to Ukraine), I always felt welcome and safe, and nobody ever told me like, Oh, were not going to serve you or talk to you here in Russian.

Alena would not stay in Kyiv. She would visit her paternal grandparents in Luhansk and her maternal grandparents in the Dnipro region of Ukraine. There she remembers swimming in the water reservoir by the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which has been in the news recently because it is under siege by Russian troops.

We could see the nuclear power plant from their window, and we would come there, to that water reservoir to swim and to sunbathe. Ive spent every summer there. I have really deep, deep roots and appreciation for the land, she said.

In 2015, around the time Alena met John Fowlkes, 40, who was born and raised in Abingdon, Virginia, at a techno festival that he was playing at in Detroit, Michigan, her aunt Olga, her cousin Viktoriya Mudra and her husband Oleksandr Herasimov and their daughter Eileen relocated from the Dnipro region to Kyiv.

Alenas family opened a hair salon in Kyiv and saved up money to buy an apartment in the east side of the city, which was going through a renaissance.

It (Kyiv) just, you know, had a feel of freedom and like the spirit of newness that was lacking, I would say, in Minsk or Moscow, she said.

Alena and John have visited her aunt and family in Ukraine over the years, most recently this past summer, when they spent time in Kyiv, Odesa, and Lviv hanging out with their friends, going out to restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

One of the things John points out from their visits is that for many Ukrainians, the war with Russia has been going on since 2014, and recalled entering a bar in Lviv that had a wall with pictures of soldiers.

First off, the door guy was a big barrel-chested guy with a beret and an assault rifle with bullets loaded around his chest like straight out of a Rambo movie, John said. When you go in, you have to say the password, Slava Ukraina, which means all glory to Ukraine. They had pictures of the people who are fighting on the front line on their wall.

On the morning of Feb. 24, the lives of Olga, Viktoria, Oleksandr and Eileen, as well as the lives of countless other Ukrainians in Kyiv were turned upside down as they were woken up by the sounds of explosions hitting their city.

At the time when the first Russian rockets hit Kyiv, Viktoria was separated from their family on the other side of the Kyiv with a friend of hers, which is only crossable by a bridge that connects both sides of Kyiv.

The only way to cross is by bridge, and it wasnt working. So they stayed together and were hiding, pretty much spending every night in an underground parking garage sleeping in a car, Alena said.

Alena said over the course of the first few days, Olga, Viktoria, and Oleksandr had discussions about what they should do.

Do we leave? Do we stay? Well, I dont want to leave because I dont want to leave my business behind. What if there are looters? Alena said of the deliberations of her family.

Olga did not want to go. She wanted to stay in her apartment, which she had only just bought.

She was very resistant, but finally, they talked her into it, Alena said.

She recounted the first part of her familys difficult journey from Kyiv to Lviv. It took her family 16 hours on an icy, cold road to reach Ternopil, where they were received by friends of friends who told them they could stay as long as they needed. She said her cousin felt uncomfortable imposing on total strangers and decided to reach out to family in western Ukraine instead, where they have been since.

So theyre with a relative. Luckily she has rooms for everyone, and they are going to stay (in Ukraine) because my cousin did not want to leave without her husband [because all men between the ages of 18 to 60 in Ukraine are required to stay in Ukraine], Alena explained.

Alena and John are expecting a baby, and in order to reduce stress, they have decided to limit their news intake and keep conversations about the conflict to a minimum. Of course, Alena, John and her sister Hanna, who lives in Maryland, have been in continuous contact with their family every day through the use of messaging apps.

For now, Lviv is safe. There is a curfew and searches. However, in the case the situation changes, John and Alena have been looking at what they can do.

Weve got the tiny house. If they need to come, we will bring them here, John said. My dads got a place on Jonesborough Road. But right now, theyre holding on.
BY JOAQUIN MANCERA

WASHINGTON COUNTY NEWS

BRISTOL, Tenn.  The Bristol Tennessee City Council made its intentions clear during a meeting last Tuesday night at the Slater Community Center. If Bristol, Virginias City Council does not follow the recommendations of a panel of landfill experts, the legal fight between the sister cities is on.

City Council has hired outside council and filed an intent to sue Bristol, Virginia over the foul smells that have caused a loss of quality of life and other issues for some Bristol, Tennessee residents. The council has held off filing a formal lawsuit over the issue, hoping to find a suitable remedy for the smelly situation. The council made it clear what had to be done to keep the situation out of further litigation.

The city of Bristol, Virginia must follow the recommendations of a panel of experts set up by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) to address the deficiencies of its landfill.

Vince Turner, the vice mayor of Bristol, Tennessee, emphasized that if the city of Bristol, Virginia fails to act on the recommendations presented to them by VDEQ, Bristol, Tennessees outside legal counsel already has instructions to proceed with a lawsuit.

Just so everyone is crystal clear. If this does not happen, were giving our attorneys [instructions]. We dont have to meet again. We dont have to vote on anything else. Its done, Turner said. I would stress to Bristol, Virginia and VDEQ to please get this handled.

The VDEQ panel, which will be made up of landfill experts from across the country, will meet March 21 and 22. The first draft of recommendations will be presented March 29 with the final recommendations set to be delivered April 7.

The Bristol Tennessee City Council will select an engineering firm to be a part of the VDEQ landfill panel.

Councilwoman Lea Powers highlighted the role of HOPE for Bristol in bringing the Bristol, Virginia landfill issue to the attention of the Virginia state leaders.

I want to thank HOPE for Bristol because you are the energy behind this movement, Powers said. There are some [members of HOPE for Bristol] with us tonight that reached out to then-candidate [Glenn] Youngkin, now Gov. Youngkin, who appointed Director [Michael] Rolband to VDEQ. It is our understanding that it [the landfill] is of the highest priority, so to those who are here tonight, thank you.

HOPE for Bristol will also participate in the panel.

George Linke, one of the members of HOPE for Bristol, thanked the City Council for addressing the needs of the Bristol, Tennessee community.

I want to thank you for from the beginning helping getting air purifiers in peoples homes and acknowledging the not just purely scientific exercise of whats in the air, but what it really means for people in their everyday life, he said.
BRISTOL, Va.  The timeline to build and open the citys proposed new elementary school has been delayed, with the opening now planned for August 2024.

City leaders had been working toward finalizing financing for the more than $22 million project to close three older schools and consolidate into two buildings on the Van Pelt Elementary campus. Work was originally expected to begin this month. But 52-week lead times to order several needed components forced the anticipated opening to be pushed back from August 2023 to August 2024, Superintendent Keith Perrigan told the city School Board on Monday during its regular meeting.

[Contractor] J.A. Street started talking with suppliers about developing a schedule, and three items specifically  roofing insulation, steel and [electrical] switchgears  were potentially 52 weeks out. Street moved the opening date from August 2023 to December 2023, Perrigan said.

That caused two problems for us. The annual payment for the school would be made through savings generated through consolidation. If you cant consolidate at the beginning of the [school] year and you issue annual contracts to teachers, it would be hard to realize savings, and the city might have to come up with at least half of the annual payment, if not more, Perrigan said.

Bristol Virginia Public Schools can do anything  we opened schools in the middle of a pandemic. But it would be very challenging to consolidate from four elementary schools into two over Christmas break, he said in explaining the second factor.

Much of the haste was to be able to access $2 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, which had to be spent next year.

I contacted Virginia Department of Education and made them aware of the supply chain issues that we were having that would cause us to not meet the deadline, Perrigan said. As a result, the Department of Education has extended our deadline to use our ESSER funds to August 2024. This will give our contractor two full years to move dirt and get the new school open.

Board Chairman Randy Alvis, who has served on the board for more than a decade as they continued to promote the need for this project, is fine with the additional time.

I would rather it be pushed back, us have time, J.A. Street not have to rush to get the building done. I think when you rush, things can get overlooked. Its better for everyone, Alvis said after the meeting.

My biggest concern about a delay was if we could use the ESSER funds. That is a big deal. Im thankful for the Department of Education extending that deadline for us. All in all, its fine, Alvis said.

The citys bond counsel and financial advisers have developed the bond financing package, which is expected to come back for approvals next month.

It will come to the School Board first, then City Council and then to the IDA. We meet April 7, and City Council meets April 12, Perrigan said. The bond counsel and the financial folks were working feverishly to get everything done and get it approved by last week when we had it [originally] scheduled. When VDOE gave us the blessing to extend to August 2024, that changed the whole ballgame.

If everything is finalized in April, site work would likely begin in June, Perrigan said.

In other matters, the board voted 4-0 to approve school calendars for the next two years. Classes would begin this year Aug. 17 with a holiday break scheduled from Dec. 19-Jan. 2, second semester starting Jan. 17 and the last day of school set for June 1, 2023. The second calendar is nearly identical.

In other matters, the board voted 4-0 to approve a series of expenditures:

 $669,200 to low bidder Trademark of Virginia to install a secure vestibule at Virginia High School and restroom improvements at Virginia Middle School.

 A $44,100 annual contract for mowing at city school facilities to Doss Lawn & Landscaping LLC.

 More than $147,000 with CDW-G for 111 internet access points, switches and related equipment to improve internet service in schools.

 Almost $123,000 to DAI for improved internet firewall protection subscription and monitoring services.

 Up to $2 million to complete a comprehensive energy performance contract to reduce utility usage in school facilities.
The Cowlitz County commissioners Tuesday took a step in what will be a long and expensive process to repair flood-damaged Tower Road.

The commissioners approved a resolution creating the project and dedicating an initial $580,000 for engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction.

Two weeks ago, heavy rain and flooding washed out a section of Tower Road that ran across the culvert over Rock Creek.

Heavy rain floods, washes away roads in Cowlitz County on Tuesday Heavy rains caused flooding and damage to Cowlitz County roads Tuesday, while a regional flood warning was extended through early Wednesday.

Last week the commissioners declared a disaster, opening eligibility for federal funding if the governor declares an emergency. If eligible, the public works department anticipates design and construction would be covered by the Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief program and the county road fund would pay $30,000 for right-of-way acquisition.

Susan Eugenis, county engineer, said if the county can get federal assistance, it probably will pay about $300,000 overall, which the department can do without a problem. If the county does not get federal money to help cover costs, it would be very difficult to come up with possibly $2 to $3 million and would delay other projects, Eugenis said.

Eugenis said as of Tuesday afternoon she hasnt heard one way or the other if the governor will declare the emergency. She said she contacted the Washington State Department of Transportation about the damage and area residents have contacted their state lawmakers.

Public works has contacted construction companies to find a temporary bridge that is long enough to bridge the 130-foot span, Eugenis said. If one is available and the commissioners agree to the cost, it could be about $500,000 and may be installed this summer, she said. A permanent fix wouldnt be until summer 2023.

A driller will be at the site next week to take samples to determine what kind of foundation needs to be installed, Eugenis said.

In other business, the commissioners approved:

A $34,040 change order with Woodburn Construction for the new Cowlitz County morgue, bringing the total to about $4.12 million. The change order includes costs to replace undocumented sanitary sewer lines at the Janus House and lighting the outdoor sign, said Kurt Williams, interim chief of staff.

A bid award to Owen Equipment for about $39,100 for public works annual supply of disposable polypropylene tube brushes and gutter brooms for street sweeping.

An amendment to an agreement with Paradigm Software adding a five-year support schedule through April 2027 for the landfill scale and billing software for $5,100 for year one, increasing to $5,740 by year five.

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Recently, we reported that Microsoft is potentially planning to put ads in Windows 11 File Explorer based on a screenshot shared by one of the OS build testers. Now, Microsoft has come out to address the matter, saying that the ads feature is merely an experimental banner.

Furthermore, the tech giant also said that the banner was never intended for external publication and has since been turned off in the latest Windows 11 test build. This is according a statement from Windows senior programme designer, Brandon LeBlanc that was sent to US-based tech portal The Verge.

Previously, Microsoft faced a flurry of backlash after the File Manager ad banner was first shared by Florian onTwitter. A post regarding the incident went viral on Reddit, garnering over 49100 upvotes at the time of writing with many commenters mocking the feature, with some even saying that 'this is the perfect ad for Linux'.

While Microsoft has turned off the ads banner in its latest Windows 11 test build, the brief statement doesnt actually rule out the company putting ads in File Explorer in the future. Nevertheless, we cant judge a company based on what they may do, so for now, kudos to Microsoft for actually taking action based on feedback from its customers.

What do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and make sure to follow TechNave on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest trending tech news such as this!
Bias in AI systems is often seen as a technical problem, but the NIST report acknowledges that a great deal of AI bias stems from human biases and systemic, institutional biases as well. Credit: N. Hanacek/NIST

As a step toward improving our ability to identify and manage the harmful effects of bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recommend widening the scope of where we look for the source of these biasesbeyond the machine learning processes and data used to train AI software to the broader societal factors that influence how technology is developed.

The recommendation is a core message of a revised NIST publication, "Towards a Standard for Identifying and Managing Bias in Artificial Intelligence," which reflects public comments the agency received on its draft version released last summer. As part of a larger effort to support the development of trustworthy and responsible AI, the document offers guidance connected to the AI Risk Management Framework that NIST is developing.

According to NIST's Reva Schwartz, the main distinction between the draft and final versions of the publication is the new emphasis on how bias manifests itself not only in AI algorithms and the data used to train them, but also in the societal context in which AI systems are used.

"Context is everything," said Schwartz, principal investigator for AI bias and one of the report's authors. "AI systems do not operate in isolation. They help people make decisions that directly affect other people's lives. If we are to develop trustworthy AI systems, we need to consider all the factors that can chip away at the public's trust in AI. Many of these factors go beyond the technology itself to the impacts of the technology, and the comments we received from a wide range of people and organizations emphasized this point."

Bias in AI can harm humans. AI can make decisions that affect whether a person is admitted into a school, authorized for a bank loan or accepted as a rental applicant. It is relatively common knowledge that AI systems can exhibit biases that stem from their programming and data sources; for example, machine learning software could be trained on a dataset that underrepresents a particular gender or ethnic group. The revised NIST publication acknowledges that while these computational and statistical sources of bias remain highly important, they do not represent the full picture.

A more complete understanding of bias must take into account human and systemic biases, which figure significantly in the new version. Systemic biases result from institutions operating in ways that disadvantage certain social groups, such as discriminating against individuals based on their race. Human biases can relate to how people use data to fill in missing information, such as a person's neighborhood of residence influencing how likely authorities would consider the person to be a crime suspect. When human, systemic and computational biases combine, they can form a pernicious mixtureespecially when explicit guidance is lacking for addressing the risks associated with using AI systems.

To address these issues, the NIST authors make the case for a "socio-technical" approach to mitigating bias in AI. This approach involves a recognition that AI operates in a larger social contextand that purely technically based efforts to solve the problem of bias will come up short.

"Organizations often default to overly technical solutions for AI bias issues," Schwartz said. "But these approaches do not adequately capture the societal impact of AI systems. The expansion of AI into many aspects of public life requires extending our view to consider AI within the larger social system in which it operates."

Socio-technical approaches in AI are an emerging area, Schwartz said, and identifying measurement techniques to take these factors into consideration will require a broad set of disciplines and stakeholders.

"It's important to bring in experts from various fieldsnot just engineeringand to listen to other organizations and communities about the impact of AI," she said.

Explore further Proposed method for evaluating user trust in artificial intelligence systems

More information: Reva Schwartz et al, Towards a Standard for Identifying and Managing Bias in Artificial Intelligence, (2022). Reva Schwartz et al, Towards a Standard for Identifying and Managing Bias in Artificial Intelligence,(2022). DOI: 10.6028/NIST.SP.1270

This story is republished courtesy of NIST. Read the original story here.
The logo of German car manufacturer BMW is fixed at the headquarters in Munich, Germany, May 14, 2021. German automaker BMW reports second-quarter earnings on Tuesday Aug. 3, 2021. BMW said Wednesday, March 16, 2022 that bottlenecks at its suppliers in Ukraine have forced it to adjust or interrupt production at a number of factories, which is likely to have a negative impact on auto sales figures. Credit: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, file

BMW and Volkswagen warned this week that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is causing shortages of some vital components, forcing them to reduce vehicle production in Europe.

The two German carmakers said the war is having a "negative" effect on auto supply chains, which have already been battered by shortages of semiconductors.

BMW said Wednesday that bottlenecks at its suppliers in Ukraine have forced the automaker to adjust or interrupt production at a number of factories, which is likely to have a negative impact on vehicle sales figures.

"Ukraine is, of course, home to many suppliers, hence we too will have to face production interruptions and supply disruptions for important components," Maximilian Schoeberl, BMW's director of corporate affairs, said in an earnings webcast.

Executives from both companies said wiring harnesses, which bundle and organize wires or cables, were in short supply because their main suppliers were in western Ukraine.

BMW said the war forced its suppliers to reduce or suspend production of the harnesses, which in turn forced the automaker to cut its own output. The company said it's resuming production at two factories in Germany this week, while its Mini factory in Oxford, England, is expected to start up again next week.

"But what is clear is that the situation will remain volatile," Schoeberl said.

BMW finance chief Nicolas Peter said raw material prices are expected to cost the company hundreds of millions of euros. The invasion sent commodity prices soaring over worries it would restrict supplies from Russia, a major producer of metals like nickel and palladium that are used in auto production.

Volkswagen said Tuesday that it's supporting its Ukrainian suppliers of wiring harnesses as they try to keep up operations.

"The dominant constraint is indeed wiring harnesses," CEO Herbert Diess said. The company sources them from up to 11 plants in Ukraine, nine of which are working at "reduced capacity."

"We cannot expect that this continues," he said, so VW is working on relocating production, which will take some time.

Volkswagen said it's also shifting some auto production out of Europe to other regions including China and South America.

Both companies paused production of cars in Russia as well as exports to the country after the war erupted.

Explore further Chip firms play down Ukraine war supply fears

 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

David Naylor's knowledge of cryptocurrency was limited, to say the least, when Bitcoin miners started approaching him last year about buying power from the utility he runs across a 16-county stretch of rural Texas.

"I was writing it down, B-i-t-c-o-i-n," said Naylor, chief executive officer of Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative Inc., which provides power to about 229,000 customersmostly small towns and homesnorth and east of Dallas.

Naylor has had to get up to speed quickly. He's received multiple proposals to build Bitcoin mines, with rows of electricity-guzzling computers that solve mathematical problems to create digital coins, on what's now ranch land. Two of the mines would each require as much as $20 million to fortify power lines and avert blackouts. Each would consume enough electricity to power as many as 60,000 Texas homes. Utilities like Rayburn have to provide service to miners if it's technically feasible to do so, but upgrades to the grid threaten to drive up bills for consumers already shouldering price shocks for almost everything.

Rayburn's talks with Bitcoin miners illustrate the conundrum utilities face as crypto companies like Riot Blockchain Inc. and Argo Blockchain Plc flock to Texas, spurred by almost nonexistent regulation, relatively cheap electricity and Governor Greg Abbott's quest to make the state the global center for crypto mining. Besides threatening to boost power bills, the dozens of Bitcoin mines proposed are also a risk to the state's shaky power grid after a deep freeze last year left hundreds dead and pushed up prices so much that utilities were left with massive debts or bankrupted.

"These are just challenges we've never faced before," Naylor said in an interview.

Texas utilities may have to figure it out largely on their own, weighing the cost of upgrades against long-term benefits like revenue that can be invested in protecting against outages. It falls to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state's grid operator, to evaluate how Bitcoin mining will affect the power system. So far, Ercot hasn't publicly disclosed what it's done, but its members will vote this month on creating a task force to understand how many mines will connect to the grid and how fast. New types of demand come with a number of risks and challenges, and "Ercot will continue to coordinate and collaborate with its regulators and stakeholders to successfully integrate crypto loads," the grid operator said in an emailed statement.

It's too early to estimate how much Texans' power bills could rise as a result of Bitcoin mining. But the city of Plattsburgh, New York, may provide clues. After power prices surged, Plattsburgh temporarily banned crypto mining in 2018 until it could pass measures to regulate the industry. Two counties in Washington state took similar steps.

Overall, Bitcoin mining cost residents and businesses in upstate New York about $250 million a year in higher annual electricity bills, a 2021 University of California Berkeley study concluded. Mining pushes up monthly electric bills about $8 for individuals, and $12 for small businesses, the researchers estimated.

Industry advocates argue that as Bitcoin mining booms in the state, someone will come along to build more power plants. One year after the deadly winter storm, a record amount of solar capacity is planned for Texas. Plus, miners say their ability to quickly throttle back operations when the grid needs power will actually make the system more stable. Bitcoin mines shouldn't cost consumers much because they seek out more sparsely populated areas with electricity to spare, said Lee Bratcher, president of the Texas Blockchain Council, a lobbying group.

But Rayburn's experience shows that's not always the case. Miners are looking at remote sites, which in some cases will require millions of dollars in grid upgrades, Naylor said.

Utilities across Texas are fielding proposals. American Electric Power Co. is weighing requests from 75 to 100 Bitcoin miners to connect primarily across West Texas and is evaluating the need for upgrades to handle the mines. Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, which serves the Texas Panhandle and Central Plains, is studying inquiries from two dozen miners.

Austin Energy, which powers the state capital, says investors want to build five mines just outside Austin that would need a total of 1,000 megawatts of electricity, equal to about two-thirds of the city's current demand. That may require the utility to build more transmission lines, said Erika Bierschbach, vice president of energy market operations.

"The risk is that we don't manage the opportunity very well," Bierschbach said. Austin Energy, Rayburn and Golden are considering whether to require miners to pay higher power rates.

Upgrades to the power system will be needed because the grid "can't handle all of this new load," said Evan Caron, a former power trader in Austin who invests in energy technology. New investments in the transmission system are typically shared among Ercot's consumers and show up in their utility bills. This year, Ercot expects more than $4.5 billion in transmission charges to be distributed among users from factories to utilities.

Given the crypto industry's notorious volatility, there's also the chance that miners will close up shop, leaving ratepayers to cover the costs of upgrades that may no longer be needed. To mitigate that risk, utilities can ask for a deposit, which would be refunded after the miner uses the power for a certain period of time.

Worldwide, mining consumes an amount equal to twice what's needed to power every light in the U.S., according to the University of Cambridge's Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index.

But in Texas, the payback can be immense because electricity is so cheap, Caron said. Even if Bitcoin prices fell to $30,000roughly 25% below current levelsminers would still make revenue equal to about six times the cost of power, he said.

At Rayburn, CEO Naylor wants to make sure he's not taking undue risks to help deliver those returns. Rayburn had to sell $908 million of bonds in February to cover the bill from Ercot for soaring power prices during last year's crisis, and it will take 28 years for customers to repay the debt.

The risks may pay off because crypto miners have pledged to shut down in times of crisis to conserve power, Naylor said. The biggest Bitcoin miner in Texas, Riot Blockchain, did so in February and last year, and others, such as Compute North LLC and Bitdeer Technologies Holding Co., have committed to shutting if needed.

Even with those safeguards in place, Bitcoin mining comes with costs. "It's definitely going to have an impact," Naylor said. "It's simple supply and demand."

Explore further Bitcoin carbon emissions rise as mining moves to US and other countries

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Gas prices? Pah! A few months ago, my family bought an electric car, used. A little 2018 BMW i3s. It looks weird but it drives great. Every time I pass long lines of cars and trucks waiting to fill up on $6-a-gallon gas, I admit, I feel a schadenfreude smile coming on.

But buying the car, it turns out, was a lot easier than buying a home charger and getting it installed, which was a serious hassle. Worth it in the end, but a hassle. And that government rebate I thought I'd been promised? Yeah, right.

You can get by without a home charger but I wouldn't advise it. There are too few public chargers available at present for dependable refueling. And the price you pay is significantly higher than your cost of electricity at home.

A home charger isn't cheap, though. Including installation, depending on what model you buy, the cost can top $1,500.

Hunting for a home charger is a bit of a hassle too. The hassle can be small or large depending on variables that include the age of your home, the state of its electrical system and how easy it is to find an installer in your area.

If stories about $7-a-gallon gasoline have you thinking it's time for an EV, though, here are some hard-won tips that might save you some headaches.

The basics

The first step is deciding whether you want a Level 1 or Level 2 charger.

Level 1 operates at 120 volts. That's the voltage you use to run your toaster and most of your home's electricity. Level 2 is 240 volts, what an electric dryer requires. Level 2 chargers will fill your EV a lot faster from empty than a Level 1: a couple hours or so, depending on the size of your battery, versus overnight.

You'll probably get a portable Level 1 charger included when you get your car. If most of your trips are local, or you can charge at work, or buy a plug-in hybrid instead of a battery-only electric, a Level 1 might work just fine.

If you want the flexibility of a relatively fast fill-up and more freedom from range anxiety, you're a candidate for a more expensive but more powerful Level 2. That's what we chose.

Level 2 chargers require 240 volts and a socket like an electric dryer might use. If you have a 240-volt outlet near where you'll park your car, good for you. Installation will be a lot easier. (A charger also can be connected directly to your electric panel, obviating the need for an outlet.)

Chargers come with cords of different lengths. You'll want to measure the distance from where you put your charger to where you'll park your car. Shorter cords make for less expensive chargers. I'd rather have too much than not enough and went for a 25-foot cord. If you'll always be parking in a tight garage space, you can get by with something shorter and cheaper.

Portable 240-volt chargers are available, but you'll get only about 10 miles of range per hour. If you want to fill up fairly fast and have your car ready to go when you need it, a stationary charger is the way to go.

Buying

An internet search will turn up loads of sites that rank home chargers. For a comprehensive overview of what's available, Veloz, an EV advocacy site, is a good first step.

Level 2 charger prices range from nearly $300 to well over $1,000. The bigger your car battery, the more expensive your charger is likely to be. Veloz pegs the typical cost of installation around $500. It can be lower or it can cost several thousand dollars, depending on how your home's electrical system is configured and whether you need a 240v outlet installed.

Unless you are well versed in volts and amps and kilowatts and kilowatt hours, you should ask an electrician or someone with expertise in the area for advice before you choose your charger. The requirements of your car's battery and the configuration of your home electrical system are major factors in charger choice.

You'll also have to ask yourself how important it is to be able to control charging times through a charger's software, allowing you to take advantage of your utility's variable time-of-day electric rates and potentially prolong your battery's life. Many experts suggest you not fill your battery all the way full because that can degrade performance. Charger software can set a limit at, say, 90% full.

You'll also need to know whether you want to install the charger inside a garage or outdoorsmany chargers are advertised as weatherproof.

Which brand is best? After spending much time comparing models online, I found a ChargePoint model that topped many best-of lists and tried to buy one. Alas, ChargePoint told me I couldn't expect the charger to arrive for at least several weeks. Popularity has its price.

My neighbor bought a charger from Wallbox and got it in a couple of days. I did too. The reviews were good. It's working fine so far, although the software interface could be much improved. I paid $649 plus tax.

Installing

Wallbox posts an excellent installation guide online that can apply to any charger make or model. With any luck, you'll be able to hire an electrician at a reasonable price and he or she will take care of everything for you.

I wasn't so lucky. Our Berkeley house was built 60 years ago. No 240v outlet in the garage. Worse, the house is fed by a 100-amp Pacific Gas & Electric power line; the lines to modern houses are rated at 200 amps. Practically speaking, the 100-amp line means that adding an electric car to the house's load could overpower the whole system. The situation would demand some changes to our electric supply panel.

Finding an electrician to help was tough. It's hard to find a tradesman to do anything latelytoo few workers with the proper skills, too much home improvement demand. One electrician informed us our electric panel is way out of date, and that building codes would require a new one. We'd also need a 200-amp line to the house. Total cost, he said, would top $2,000.

With the help of a neighbor who's a lighting architect and ace handyman, I was able to get the job done for the price of materials and a nice dinner.

If you have an older home, do some research on home electric load capacities to better communicate with the professional electricians you might hire.

The rebate

Rebates from the government or electric utilities depend on where you live. Put your ZIP Code into the Veloz site and then click on a charger model to find out what's available to you. If your electricity comes from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the utility says you can get up to $1,000 back, even more if you qualify as low-income. But the actual amount, based on numerous Veloz searches, is likely to be a few hundred dollars. Residents of the South Coast Air Quality Management District can get another several hundred dollars, but the money is available "first come first served," so you can't count on funds being there.

The city of Anaheim says charger buyers can qualify for $400 to $1,000 in rebates, "subject to the availability of funds." The city of Burbank advertises rebates up to $500.

If you bought a charger in 2021, you may be eligible for a federal income tax credit for 30% of the charger's cost. If you waited until 2022, you're out of luck.

Here in Berkeley, I qualified for rebates totaling $0. My utility, the financially troubled Pacific Gas & Electric, offers no home EV charger incentives at all.

But driving an EV can save $800 or more a year for an average driver, and the warm feeling I get driving past those gas station price signs makes up for a zero rebate, and then some.

Explore further Can you own an electric car without a home charger?

2022 Los Angeles Times.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Mediterranean has its first offshore wind farm, off the Italian coast.

The Mediterranean's first offshore wind farm is rising from the shallows off Italy, its turbines a symbol of hope for a Europe suffering an energy crisis exacerbated by war.

The park will stretch out from the port in Taranto, a city in the south blighted by a noxious steel plant and unemployment, but which now finds itself centre stage in the country's race to scale up green power.

"This is a big chance to change hearts and minds on renewables," said Fabio Matacchiera, an activist in Taranto, where child tumours are well above the average but poor locals cling to jobs in dirty energy.

The Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine in February prompted an outraged European Union to pledge to sharply reduce its dependency on Russian gas, and expand clean energy faster to compensate.

Italy is one of Europe's biggest guzzlers of gas, which currently represents 42 percent of its energy consumption. It imports 95 percent of the gas it uses, 45 percent of which comes from Russia.

An "accelerated investment in renewables... remains the only key strategy in the long term," Prime Minister Mario Draghi told parliament last week, with Rome planning to stop using Russian gas by 2025.

As the Ukraine conflict rages, Italy's cabinet has approved six new wind farms to be built on land, from Sardinia to Basilicata, and has committed to unlocking "several tens of gigawatts of offshore wind power".

The invention of floating turbines has increased the potential of the Mediterranean, one of the world's busiest waterways.

Deep waters

Offshore is more complicated: average water depths in the Mediterranean are much deeper than in areas such as the North Sea, making bottom-fixed installations difficult and costly.

The Mediterranean is also one of the world's busiest waterways, as well as the sea in Europe most prone to severe climate change.

But the invention of floating turbines has increased its potential.

France recently held the world's first auction for a commercial-sized floating offshore wind farm, and other Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Spain are also planning auctions for large-scale projects, according to the WindEurope association.

Once complete, the Beleolico farm off Taranto's sandy beach in Puglia, down in the heel of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula, will have 10 bottom-fixed, red and white-bladed turbines.

Together they will be capable of powering 21,000 homes.

Renexia, the company behind it, says it also has plans for a vast floating wind farm with 190 turbines off the island of Sicily, which would produce energy for 3.4 million families and create hundreds of jobs.

The Beleolico wind farm off Taranto's sandy beach in Puglia, in the heel of Italy's boot-shaped peninsula, will be capable of powering 21,000 homes.

Sunken treasures, beach views

The project has met some opposition from locals convinced it would ruin the view in tourist hotspotsthough Renexia's general manager Riccardo Toto told AFP it would be "practically invisible" from the coast.

Treasure hunters have been known to uncover sunken ancient artefacts off Sicily, but there are none on the site in question, he said.

The turbines can also boost, rather than damage, biodiversity by acting as artificial reefs.

Italy's Ecological Transition Ministry has received 64 expressions of interest for floating offshore wind farmsbut the number of projects held up by bureaucracy is "staggering", WindEurope said.

Beleolico, which Renexia hopes will be operational by May, has been 14 years in the making.

Greenpeace Italy head Giuseppe Onufrio slammed the delays as "absurd".

"Some (farms) are authorised after six, seven years, and the technology changes year by year and so the risk is that plants are authorised despite being outdated."

An 'accelerated investment in renewables... remains the only key strategy in the long term,' Prime Minister Mario Draghi said.

Cut red tape

Draghi insists the government "is working to streamline procedures, cut red tape and speed up investments".

But Davide Tabarelli, economics professor and head of energy think tank Nomisma Energia, told AFP he was "amazed and stupefied" to see Draghi describe renewables as the "only key strategy".

Beleolico, a symbol of Italy's offshore potential, "is constantly being thrown around as the immediate solution to the energy crisis, and the fact that we can do without gas, especially Russian gas".

But there are several "serious problems", he said, not least the difficulties storing wind energy, for suitable batteries do not exist, leading to waste.

Rome's vow that it is readying to turn off the gas to punish the Kremlin is remarkable, he added, "as if, after 30 years of promises on renewables, the problem could be solved in the space of a few weeks".

Explore further US to hold largest-ever offshore wind farm auction next month

 2022 AFP
Researchers demonstrated that the system transports the operator locomotion, manipulation, voice, and face expressions to the robotic avatar, while receiving visual, auditory, haptic and touch feedbacks. This is the first time that a system with all these features is tested using a legged humanoid robot for remote tourism so that the human operator may feel and experience where the avatar is. Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

Feeling and moving in a place without being there is the main goal of the new iCub robot advanced telexistence system, also called the iCub3 avatar system, developed by researchers at IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) in Genova, Italy. The new system was tested in an online demonstration involving a human operator based in IIT, Genova, and a new version of the humanoid robot, the iCub 3, visiting the Italian Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture ExhibitionLa Biennale di Venezia; the two sites are 300 km apart and the communication relied on basic optical fiber connection. Researchers demonstrated that the system transports the operator locomotion, manipulation, voice and facial expressions to the robotic avatar, while receiving visual, auditory, haptic and touch feedback. This is the first test of a legged humanoid robot for remote tourism and conferring the experience to a human operator. The system is a prototype and may be further developed for other scenarios, including disaster response, healthcare and metaverse applications.

This result was obtained by the research team coordinated by Daniele Pucci, principal investigator of the Artificial and Mechanical Intelligence (AMI) Lab at IIT in Genova. One of their research goals is to develop humanoid robots that play the role of avatars, namely a robotic body that acts in place of humans without substituting them, but allowing them to be where they cannot.

"We believe that this research direction has a tremendous potential in many fields," explains Daniele Pucci. "On the one hand, the recent pandemic taught us that advanced telepresence systems might become necessary very quickly across different fields, like healthcare and logistics. On the other hand, avatars may allow people with severe physical disabilities to work and accomplish tasks in the real world via the robotic body. This may be an evolution of rehabilitation and prosthetics technologies."

The system integration was possible thanks to previously developed IIT technologies. The robot iCub3 is currently being developed at IIT and represents a new version of the iCub robot; the wearable technologies, named iFeel, were developed in the EU-funded project AnDy in collaboration with the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL).

The new iCub robot advanced teleoperation system enables a human operator to visit remotely the Italian Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition  La Biennale di Venezia, staying 300 kilometers away. Researchers used a new version of the humanoid robot iCub, the iCub3. Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

An advanced software architecture, designed by the IIT researchers, controls and manages the interconnection between the iCub3 robot and the iFeel system. Also, this software infrastructure allows the integration of commercial wearable technologies, which complete the iCub3 avatar system. For instance, the remote user walks in place inside a virtual-reality platform that allows free upper-body movement.

The iCub3 robot is 25 cm taller than the previous iCub versions, measuring 1.25 m and is thus a more adequate platform to interact within a human environment. Its balance and locomotion are more robust and able to emulate human movements and physical interaction better. The robot is, therefore, biggerweighing 52 kg vs 33 kgand has more powerful motors in its legs for faster locomotion. Moreover, the iCub3 robot also differs from the previous platform for a different actuation mechanics, no longer based on cable-driven joints. On the sensors side, it has an additional depth camera and force sensing of the latest generation withstanding higher robot weight. Lastly, iCub3 has a higher capacity battery, which is located within the torso assembly instead of being included in a rigidly attached backpack.

In the demonstration realized by operating the system from Genova to Venice and backward, the IIT wearable iFeel suite tracks operator's body motions and the avatar system transfers them onto the iCub3 in Venice, which then moves as the user does in Genova. The user is also provided with a headset that tracks the user expressions, eyelids, and eye motions. These head features are projected onto the avatar, which reproduces them with a high level of fidelity: the avatar and human share similar facial expressions. The user wears sensorized gloves that track hand motions and, at the same time, provide haptic feedback.

Thanks to the avatar system, the remote user can smile, talk and shake hands with the guide in Venice. Analogously, when the guide hugs the avatar in Venice, the operator in Genova feels the hug thanks to the IIT's iFeel suit that also provides upper body haptics. Moreover, the conversation between the remote user in Genova and the guide in Venice is possible thanks to systems that record and transmit the operator voice, reproduced by the avatar in Venice.

The iCub3 avatar system is mainly composed by the robot iCub3, which is currently being developed at IIT and represents a new version of the iCub robot, and the wearable technologies  named iFeel  born in the EU-funded project AnDy and further developed in collaboration with the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL) for applications in real cases scenario. Credit: IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia

The transmission was streamed on a standard optical fiber internet connection, resulting in only few milliseconds of delay.

"Our iCub 3 avatar system is validated on a legged humanoid robot allowing remote verbal, non-verbal and physical interaction, which represents a perfect starting point when looking for platforms to emulate humans for all interaction aspects," says Daniele Pucci. "What I also see in our near future is the application of this system to the so-called metaverse, which is actually based on immersive and remote human avatars."

The director-general of contemporary creativity of the Ministry of Culture and Commissioner of the Italian Pavilion, Onofrio Cutaia, said, "With great pleasure, we received the proposal to collaborate with the Italian Institute of Technology in Genova on this project. We really would like to thank Arch. Alessandro Melis, curator of the Italian Pavilion at the 17th International Architecture ExhibitionLa Biennale di Venezia, for sharing our enthusiasm and interacting with iCub 3 in a surprising dialog between man and robot. A unique opportunity to promote contemporary cultural heritage through new forms of communication. We firmly believe that interdisciplinarity and interaction between languages is the real challenge to be faced, and this is what the Directorate-General will focus on in the coming years."

Explore further Improved remote control of robots
The team's chemical-free printing technique, when combined with metal-assisted chemical etchingresulted in semiconductor wafers with nanowires that were highly uniform and scalable. Credit: NTU Singapore

Scientists from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (KIMM) have developed a technique to create a highly uniform and scalable semiconductor wafer, paving the way to higher chip yield and more cost-efficient semiconductors.

Semiconductor chips commonly found in smart phones and computers are difficult and complex to make, requiring highly advanced machines and special environments to manufacture.

Their fabrication is typically done on silicon wafers and then diced into the small chips that are used in devices. However, the process is imperfect and not all chips from the same wafer work or operate as desired. These defective chips are discarded, lowering semiconductor yield while increasing production cost.

The ability to produce uniform wafers at the desired thickness is the most important factor in ensuring that every chip fabricated on the same wafer performs correctly.

Nanotransfer-based printinga process that uses a polymer mold to print metal onto a substrate through pressure, or "stamping"has gained traction in recent years as a promising technology for its simplicity, relative cost-effectiveness, and high throughput.

However, the technique uses a chemical adhesive layer, which causes negative effects, such as surface defects and performance degradation when printed at scale, as well as human health hazards. For these reasons, mass adoption of the technology and consequent chip application in devices has been limited.

In their study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal ACS Nano, the research team from NTU and KIMM reported that their chemical-free printing technique, when combined with metal-assisted chemical etchinga method used to enhance the contrast on surfaces to make nanostructures visibleresulted in semiconductor wafers with nanowires (nanostructures in cylindrical form) that were highly uniform and scalable. The semiconductor also demonstrated better performance when compared with current chips in the market. Moreover, the fabrication method is also fast and leads to high chip yield.

The study is an example of ground-breaking research that supports the NTU 2025 strategic plan, which seeks to address humanity's grand challenges and accelerate the translation of research discoveries into innovations that mitigate impact on the environment and on the human health.

New chemical-free printing technique leads to high chip yield

The newly developed nanotransfer printing technique developed by NTU and KIMM is accomplished by transferring Gold (Au) nanostructure layers onto a Silicon (Si) substrate at low temperature (160C) to form a highly uniform wafer with nanowires that can be controlled to the desired thickness during fabrication.

The printing technique, which is chemical-free, works by triggering direct chemisorption of the thin metal films under heata chemical reaction that creates a strong bond between a substrate surface and the substance that is adsorbed.

This industrial compatible technique allows a wafer to be fabricated quickly and uniformly at scale (from nanometers to inches). At the same time, the fabricated wafer is almost defect-free, meaning that little to no chip are discarded due to poor performance.

In lab tests, the joint research team was able to achieve more than 99 percent yield transfer of a 20-nanometre thick Au film onto a six-inch Si wafer. This printable wafer size was limited to the laboratory setup, and the NTU-KIMM team believes their technique can easily be scaled up for use on a twelve-inch waferthe mainstream wafer size in the current production lines of semiconductor chipmakers like Samsung, Intel and GlobalFoundries.

When the method was adopted to fabricate a six-inch wafer, results showed the printed layer remained intact with minimal bending during etchinga process that commonly cause layers to separatedemonstrating the outstanding uniformity and stability of the technique developed by NTU and KIMM.

Furthermore, when 100 light sensors, known as photodetectors, were fabricated into the six-inch wafer, excellent uniformity of performance was achieved, underlining its excellent potential for the technique to be used in commercial mass production.

Technique opens door to lower cost semiconductor chip

Co-lead researcher, NTU Assistant Professor Kim Munho from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering said the uniformity, scalability and stability of the team's technique overcomes the main bottleneck present in existing nanotransfer printing methods.

The achievement by the NTU and KIMM research team in developing a method to manufacture semiconductor chips more cost-effectively could lead to significant advances in electronics and light-based devices added Kim.

"The technique devised by the research team from NTU and KIMM has proven to be effective in creating wafer with excellent uniformity, which translates into fewer defective semiconductor chips. The reality of global chip supply is its vulnerability to many external factors, including shortage of materials and unexpected events like the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Our newly developed method thus has potential to relieve the tension on the global chip supply in future by increasing chip yield. Moreover, chip makers may also enjoy greater cost-efficiency with higher yields," said Kim.

Highlighting the significance of the work, co-lead author Dr. Jeong Jun-Ho, Principal Researcher from the Nano-Convergence Manufacturing Systems Research Division at KIMM, said, "The technique developed by the NTU-KIMM team is a new concept of low-cost mass production technology for highly uniform and scalable semiconductor nanostructures, which can be applied to the mass production of nanophotonics, high performance nano-solar cells, next-generation secondary batteries and others."

Explore further Fast, affordable solution proposed for transparent displays and semiconductors

More information: Zhi-Jun Zhao et al, Direct Chemisorption-Assisted Nanotransfer Printing with Wafer-Scale Uniformity and Controllability, ACS Nano (2022). Journal information: ACS Nano Zhi-Jun Zhao et al, Direct Chemisorption-Assisted Nanotransfer Printing with Wafer-Scale Uniformity and Controllability,(2022). DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c06781
Lab setup demonstrating the MWIR 3D measurement principle. Credit: Fraunhofer IOF

Capturing transparent objects in three dimensions is a major challenge. Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF have developed a sensor that is able to solve this problem. The system has now been successfully tested for the first time with a robot. Applications in large-scale industrial manufacturing processes such as the semiconductor or automotive industry could be possible. The sensor will be featured at the Hannover Messe Preview on March 16 and at the German trade fairs Control from May 36, as well as Hannover Messe from May 30June 2, 2022.

Transparent objects have their drawbacks: It is not without reason that we have stickers of birds' silhouettes on big glass windows in order to protect their real-life conspecifics from colliding with the transparent barrier. Just as these animals have difficulties recognizing transparent surfaces, robots are also limited in their capabilities: They cannot "see" glass or other so-called "uncooperative surfaces," i.e., surfaces that are glossy metal, extremely reflective, or jet-black. Especially in an industrial environment, this has been impeding the use of robots in the past. Many projects of automatization stagnate because uncooperative surfaces could only be detected too slowly or too inaccurately in 3D measurement.

Thermographic 3D sensor makes transparent objects visible to robots for the first time

A new 3D measurement technique, developed by researchers at Fraunhofer IOF last year, solves this problem: The "MWIR 3D Sensor"also called "Glass360Dgree"can detect objects with reflective or light-absorbing surfaces spatially and reliably for the first time. For this purpose, the system combines infrared laser projection and thermography: After locally heating up the object to be measured, two thermal imaging cameras determine the resulting temperature distribution on the object's surface. Contrary to conventionally used sensors, the newly developed system does not require additional measurement aids or special, temporarily applied markings, for example in the form of (spray) paint.

High measurement speed for applications in large-scale industrial processes

Production processes are often about speed combined with high quality. This means: The more work steps a system can perform per minute without producing defective products, the more profitable is the production. The researchers at Fraunhofer IOF have taken this self-image of industry as an opportunity to adapt "Glass360Dgree" to various production scenarios. In recent months, the researchers from Jena have succeeded in increasing the measurement speed accordingly and optimizing the parameters of the measurement field.

The system works with thermal radiation for the 3D detection of transparent objects. Credit: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

"Our research group has been cooperating for years with companies from a wide range of production fields," explains Dr. Stefan Heist, head of the "3D Sensors" research group at Fraunhofer IOF. "Among them are companies from semiconductor manufacturing, the automotive industry and aviation. We looked at joint projects from the past and analyzed how our 3D glass sensor could achieve better results than conventional sensors in various application scenarios," explains the researcher, who has been working vigorously on new methods for 3D measurement for years. "We were able to identify three key starting points to make our system ready for potential use in a large-scale industrial manufacturing facility."

The team found the ideal balance between the level of detail needed in resolution and the duration of a measurement. They also investigated various options for the optical setup of their 3D sensor in order to variably adapt the measurement field to the task at hand and the space available within a manufacturing plant. In addition, the team led by Dr. Stefan Heist and Martin Landmann, also researcher at Fraunhofer IOF, worked closely with researchers from the Ilmenau University of Technology to optimize the data processing of their measurement system. The team from Ilmenau succeeded in efficiently deriving the active control of a robot and its respective tools from the obtained measurement data.

A new dimension in flexibility and diversity

With its great flexibility and unprecedented versatility in the properties of the objects to be scanned, "Glass360Dgree" opens up completely new possibilities in the automation of industrial processes as well as in product design.

The thermographic 3D sensor uses thermal radiation and imaging for 3D detection. A high-energy CO 2 laser and a mobile optical setup with special lenses project a line moving in several steps over the measured object in fractions of a second. Throughout the measurement, the object absorbs the energy of the laser light and emits it clearly visible to the two highly sensitive thermal imaging cameras.

Special software developed at Fraunhofer IOF analyzes the images of the heat signature left by the narrow infrared line on the object for a short time. The software uses the two differing viewing angles and the resulting deformation in the recorded fringe pattern to reconstruct the spatial coordinates. It then merges the data into the exact dimensions of the measured object. The thermal energy introduced for the 3D analysis is so low that the object is not damaged: The temperature difference between heated and non-heated surfaces is typically less than 3 C.

Glass360Dgree will be presented by Fraunhofer IOF to a specialist audience interested in automation and metrology at the German Hannover Messe at the Fraunhofer joint booth in Hall 5, Stand A06 from May 30 to June 2, 2022, and at Control, the international trade fair for quality assurance, from May 3 to 6, 2022.
Deformation and lateral-line stress in solely swimming fish. (A) curvature map of fish axis in an arbitrary tail-beat cycle (from t 0 to t 0 +T); (B) Flow field surrounding a solely swimming fish; (C) pressure-stress map of the left-side lateral-line; (D) Frequency domain analysis of pressure stress signal at five locations along the lateral-line; (E) Distribution of single-sided spectrum of left-side pressure, at k = 0, 1, and 2; (F) shear-stress map of the left-side lateral-line; (G) Frequency domain analysis of shear-stress signal at five locations along the lateral-line; (H) Distribution of single-sided spectrum of left-side shear-stress signal, at k = 0, 1, and 2. One stress unit = 10 Pa. Credit: Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2022). DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2022.825889

Skoltech researchers and their colleagues from ESPCI Paris, Chiba University, and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology have used a 3D simulation to show that small fish swimming in a school can sense the position and tail beat of their neighbors as water pressure variation on the side of their bodies. This mechanism is thought to enable fish to maximize swimming efficiency in a group even in complete darkness, when no visual cues are available. Understanding group motion of fish is useful for predicting their migration and designing aquatic research robots that mimic fish behavior either for the energy-saving benefits of moving in a group or to blend in with the ocean creatures they are studying. The paper is published in Frontiers in Robotics and AI.

Prior research suggests fish swimming in groups may benefit from adopting optimal relative positions and synchronizing their movements. To keep track of neighbors even in dark or turbid environments, fish must clearly rely on more than just vision. "In this study, we simulate two rummy nose tetra fish swimming adjacently in various configurations in calm waters. We investigate the pressure signals propagating through water from one fish's body to the other's. While we don't know how the animals process them, the simulation shows that signals reaching the tactile sense organs are intelligible against the background noise and carry information about the neighbor's position and tail movement," commented study co-author Dmitry Kolomenskiy, an assistant professor at the Skoltech Center for Materials Technologies.

According to Kolomenskiy, further research might consider noisier environments, expand to larger groups of fish, and enlist artificial intelligence to look at how fish might process such signals. A prior study on ant swirling and bird flocks, also carried out at Skoltech, demonstrated the potential of AI for understanding the neural processes underlying the collective motion of animals.

In fact, there is an emerging trend in robotics that will increasingly see modular designs of smaller robots working in groups, or swarms. For example, a study in the upcoming May issue of Acta Astronautica will consider an eight-wheel Mars rover that can operate as a constellation of two-wheeled machines, maximizing exploration time.

Similarly, swarms of robotic fish equipped with pressure sensors might exploit the hydrodynamic advantages of moving in a group to replace larger underwater drones that explore historic shipwreckssuch as that of the recently discovered Ernest Shackleton's Enduranceor observe fish behavior. In the latter case, the added bonus is that studies have shown fish to be much less disturbed by sea probes that look and feel more fishlike.

Knowledge of how much energy ingested as food fish conserve by optimizing their movement in groups is also important for predicting their migration patterns, which is of use to the fishing industry.

Explore further Uncovering the optimization secrets of fish schools

More information: Gen Li et al, Hydrodynamical Fingerprint of a Neighbour in a Fish Lateral Line, Frontiers in Robotics and AI (2022). Journal information: Acta Astronautica Gen Li et al, Hydrodynamical Fingerprint of a Neighbour in a Fish Lateral Line,(2022). DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2022.825889


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The man who helped open the H-E-B in Bryans Tejas Center has announced his retirement after more than 17 years at the store.

During his time in the community, Rich White has served as board president for the Brazos Valley Food Bank and chairman of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce, among other roles.

He will retire as the general manager of the H-E-B on Villa Maria Road next month and return to his home state of Utah with his wife Carolyn, whom he met in a checkout line while he was working as a cashier in 1982. White said his retirement plans include spending more time with his four children and 11 grandchildren.

White said the Bryan-College Station community has always been warm and welcoming.

What stands out to me is how giving this community is, and how generous [residents] are in their support of both business and nonprofit alike, he said. It has been really eye-opening and inspirational to see the giving hearts that are out there in this community that really care to make this a place to work and raise families.

White came Texas after H-E-B recruited him from a grocery store in Phoenix in 1992. He started his H-E-B career at an Austin store and later moved to Waco, where he managed five stores and more than 1,000 employees.

White then worked at a Shaws grocery store in Boston for two years before returning to H-E-B and moving to College Station in 2004 to open the Villa Maria Road location, which today has more than 400 employees.

Mike Newkham, the general manager at the Tower Point H-E-B in College Station, said he worked with White for a year when the Villa Maria Road store opened, and they have since become great friends.

Rich has always been a people person, Newkham said. He was just always really good with people, and was always just really genuine and good to know.

White studied biology at Utah State University and food industry management at the University of Southern California. He received a business management degree from the University of Phoenix.

He said his volunteer efforts started as soon as he was settled in Aggieland. He served on the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce board for six years. He joined the Brazos Valley Food Bank board in 2017 and currently serves as the immediate past president. He was also a guest lecturer at Texas A&M University and said he hopes to continue speaking to college classes in Utah.

It is hard to put a defined, quantifiable impact [during my time here], but when you see that the community is growing and that you have represented a company like H-E-B in a manner that the company gets recognized for their involvement, that to me brings some satisfaction, White said. We are doing things that are paying back the community for supporting our business in a way that is probably larger than people realize or expect. I have seen events that have been able to happen because H-E-B has been involved.

White said his involvement in area organizations is just a matter of caring about the community.

Glen Brewer, president of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce, said White stands out as a leader in the community, and that is incredible because our community is full of extraordinary leaders.

He cares about people, but he sees everyone as an individual person, with individual wants, and needs and he looks for ways to help solve any problems that might be hindering someones growth and happiness, Brewer said. Leaders like Rich White dont come along every day, and I am thankful that we were lucky enough to have him come to our community. We are blessed that as he retires, we are left a much better place because of his efforts.

Nate Sharp, president of the College Station Texas Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said White served as the churchs bishop for four years in a congregation for young adults.

In our church, this is a volunteer position with no financial compensation; yet I imagine Rich spent at least 20 to 30 hours per week volunteering, Sharp said. He connected easily with that age group, and he was able to be a positive influence on so many young adults during that time.

White said he hopes he has set an example that it is possible to give of yourself and your time, even with a busy work schedule.

I feel being an effective employee, businessman, manager, it is possible to do both [work and volunteer], he said. I would hope that people that I have worked with have seen my commitment both to my company and to the community and see that I cared.

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Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel, a beloved recent addition to the superhero comic canon, is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) this summer. And based on the trailer for her new self-titled Disney+ series, she's every bit as endearing and relatable as her comic iteration.

The new trailer for "Ms. Marvel," dotted with speech balloons straight out of a comic book, introduces viewers to Kamala, a Muslim, Pakistani-American high schooler from New Jersey who doodles and daydreams about one day joining the superheroes she idolizes. Kamala, who was introduced in comics in 2013 before getting her own series the following year, was Marvel's first Muslim-American superhero.

Though one day our teenage hero (played by Iman Vellani) will become one of Marvel's most powerful crime fighters, the series appears to serve as her origin story. The Kamala we meet encounters sniping classmates who mispronounce her name and poke fun at her Avengers T-shirt. She gawks at a shirtless boy at a party surrounded by equally awed friends. And, crucially, she envisions herself as a version of Captain Marvel, a cosmic-powered icon in the MCU.

That daydream is pure fantasy, until it isn't: The trailer doesn't show us just how Kamala gets her powers or their extent (no spoilers here) -- she describes them as "cosmic."

"It's not really the brown girls from Jersey City who save the world," Kamala says at one point in the trailer. But "Ms. Marvel" the series will likely prove her wrong.

What foes will Kamala face beyond high school mean girls and intimidatingly attractive classmates? Will her family learn her super-powered secret? And when will she get to join her idol Captain Marvel in defending Earth from interstellar invaders? (She's set to appear in the upcoming "Captain Marvel" sequel "The Marvels.")

The MCU loves a slow build, so it's likely neither Kamala nor the viewers will get every question answered. Marvel fans have likely already begun theorizing, but they'll have to wait until June 8, when the show starts streaming on Disney+, to see how Kamala's story plays out.

The-CNN-Wire

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Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky on Tuesday responded to an advisory released by Germany's Federal Office of Information Security (BSI) against using the company's security solutions in the country over "doubts about the reliability of the manufacturer."

Calling that the decision was made on "political grounds," the company said it will "continue to assure our partners and customers of the quality and integrity of our products, and we will be working with the BSI for clarification on its decision and for the means to address its and other regulators' concerns."

The statement from Kaspersky follows a warning from Germany's cybersecurity authority, the Bundesamt fur Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik aka BSI, which recommended "replacing applications from Kaspersky's portfolio of antivirus software with alternative products" due to risks that they could be exploited by Russia for a cyber attack.

"Companies and authorities with special security interests and operators of critical infrastructures are particularly at risk," the BSI said, adding the company's tools could be used for attacks against its own customers or be compelled to strike systems against its will amidst Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.

Although not an outright ban, the announcement adds to similar restrictions put in place by the U.S., U.K., and Dutch governments in 2017 and 2018 to phase out the use of antivirus software made by Kaspersky Labs.

The Moscow-based company, however, noted that it had shifted its cyberthreat-related data processing infrastructure to the Swiss city of Zurich in 2018 and that its data services and engineering practices have been subjected to independent third-party assessments.

Earlier this month, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of the namesake company, struck a neutral tone, hoping that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia would lead to "a compromise," in an attempt to distance the organization from being branded as siding with Russia.

"We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument for resolving conflicts," Kaspersky tweeted on March 1. "War isn't good for anyone."
Education isnt static.

New research is churned out regularly by experts.

Methods and practices are perpetually under construction, and guidance standardizing what different subjects are to cover domino from federal regulations down to state and sometimes local decisions.

If the most recent Grand Island Public Schools Board of Education meeting was any indication, its an exciting time to be an educator at GIPS  particularly for teachers in English/language arts, social studies and math.

Among the enthusiastic presenters were GIPS curriculum coordinator Brittney Bills and Gifted and Talented education coordinator Cara Kuhl. Bills was one of GIPSs representatives during Nebraska Department of Educations Standards of English and Language Arts revision process.

The standards do not include recommendations or requirements for reading materials or other specifics. It focuses on skills like grammar, writing and analyzing text. For example, the 2014 standards section L.A.5.1.6.b. reads: Analyze & describe elements of literary text.

In the 2021 version, the correlating section offers educators more guidance and specifics on what students should know how to do at their grade level: Compare & contrast two or more characters, settings or events in a literary text or texts.

Specific content like assigned readings fall more under local jurisdiction. After Mondays school board meeting, GIPS released a statement regarding access to reading.

The statement reads, in part: there may be specific titles or resources some families may prefer their student not engage with. We at GIPS recognize that nuance and want to be as accommodating as possible without needlessly over-correcting through grand decisions that may be difficult to reverse. That being said, we have a policy in-place where a parent or guardian may request an exception from specific materials.

Statewide implementation of the new state standards, presented to the GIPS board in part during Mondays meeting, is slated for the 2022-23 school year. In Nebraska, the state board of education establishes content area requirements only for subjects with measurable standards: reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies.

Grand Island Public Schools has been piloting new resources and approaches in some of its social studies classrooms. Monday night a needs analysis for GIPS social studies grades 4-12 was presented.

It was emphasized critical race theory was not a part of the needs analysis. In conjunction with the districts statement on its literature censorship stance, GIPS specifically addressed CRT: What is commonly referred to as CRT is not a curriculum. Nor has it been formalized as a program implemented in Grand Island Public Schools  when we speak of CRT specifically  especially as it pertains to library resources  it is important to understand that we are not speaking of curriculum; we are, instead, speaking of generic opinions and potentially misinformed anecdotes.

Every student has a right to be represented in our curriculum. We also know that the process of adopting curriculum is sensitive. That is why we have always strived to be transparent with our schools, staff, families and community about curriculum standards and initiatives. We always welcome thoughtful feedback and informed opinion from our community in that regard.

While not as controversial, GIPSs math program also was discussed at Mondays board of education meeting. Similar to the districts social studies pilot, some math classes at GIPS have been undergoing test runs of new ways for students to learn by doing more than copying an equation put on the board.

As presented, the pilot places an emphasis on learning as an experience, and understanding concepts and being able to apply them to realistic situations instead simply having an answer.

Jessica Votipka is the education reporter at the Grand Island Independent. She can be reached at 308-381-5420.

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Hall County Commissioners at their Tuesday meeting applauded the Legislatures approval of LB791.

The legislative bill changes population requirements relating to county surveyors, engineers and highway superintendents.

It is a bill that, currently, only applies to Hall County.

It was a very good idea for us, Board Chair Ron Peterson told The Independent. That was a bizarre bill for the county because we were the only ones who were affected. But it makes sense because really it doesnt make any sense to put somebody in charge of a department that he has no involvement in.

He added, We were very pleased.

In August, data released by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that Hall Countys population had increased by 7.3%, from 58,607 people in 2010 to 62,895 in 2020.

As a result of crossing the 60,000 population threshold, the county became required to make a change in its administrative structure.

The job description for the county surveyor, an elected office, had to be changed so the person in the role was also in charge of the countys highway department.

Scott Peters was elected as county surveyor and Geographic Information Systems coordinator in 2018.

In September, Steve Riehle stepped down as highway superintendent to focus on serving as county highway engineer.

The county has been searching since for a replacement for that position, with Commissioner Scott Sorensen serving as the interim department head.

In January, state Sen. John Lowe of Kearney submitted LB791.

The bill increases the population base by which a county surveyor serves as the head of the county roads department from 60,000 to 100,000.

LB791 passed 43-0 in the Legislature on March 8.

It was signed into law Monday by Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Its a great thing for Hall County, said Commissioner Sorensen. Weve been pushing for that for about the last year to get that changed. Our thoughts are, that will give us a little bit more flexibility and hopefully encourage some other highway superintendents to apply for our open position out there.

County Surveyor Peters also applauded the passing of the bill.

Its a good thing for the GIS department and for the county in whole if they can find a good person to run the highway department, then both departments will be well-served, instead of one person trying to serve both of them, Peters said. Thatll be the biggest accomplishment out of it, I think.

Peters added that GIS still will be working closely with the Highway Department and continue to be there to support them.

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Three bills that would heavily restrict or ban abortions in Nebraska hit a roadblock in the Legislature, but the journey isn't over for all of them just yet.

Motions to advance all three bills out of the Judiciary Committee stalled Tuesday. Each would require a later vote by the committee or the full Legislature to move to the floor.

Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston said she is already planning to file a pull motion for her bill (LB933) which could happen as early as this week. Albrecht said she is confident she can get the 25 votes needed to pull the bill out of committee.

LB933 would ban all abortions in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, or if the U.S. Constitution or federal law is amended to give control over abortions to individual states. Such measures are referred to as trigger bills.

Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said he doubts that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, even with more conservative justices on the court.

"I just don't see that as an outcome," Lathrop said.

Albrecht, who is not on the Judiciary Committee, said she introduced LB933 so the Legislature could avoid a special session in the event that the Supreme Court rules prior to the next regular session. She said this will save Nebraskans money and ensure the ban takes effect instantly.

"We can start saving lives immediately," Albrecht said.

Lathrop said he also didn't like that LB933 did not include exceptions in rape or incest cases. The bill would not provide exemptions, but would allow licensed physicians charged under the law to claim as a defense that the abortion was necessary to prevent the womans death or serious, permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ.

The other two bills would ban abortions after a certain period, both of which come early in a pregnancy. LB1086 would ban chemical abortions after seven weeks, but would not regulate surgical abortions, according to Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, who introduced the bill.

Sen. John Lowe of Kearney, who named LB1086 as his priority bill, said he is also considering a pull motion. Lowe said he is still talking with other senators, but he wants at least one of the three bills to make it out of committee.

LB781, introduced by Sen. Julie Slama of Sterling, would ban abortions after a so-called fetal heartbeat can be detected. That usually occurs at about six weeks gestation, before most women are aware that they are pregnant. Slama said she does not intend to file a pull motion.

All three bills would penalize the physicians or other officials involved in administering an abortion procedure or providing an abortion-inducing drug  in most cases classifying it as a felony. The woman undergoing an abortion, however, would not be charged.

Several committee members raised concerns with this aspect. Lathrop said he didn't like that LB781 would put doctors in a position where they would have to defend themselves.

Abortion rights were the subject of a Judiciary Committee hearing in February, in which abortion-rights supporters outnumbered opponents. Most of the testimony was against LB933, with speakers arguing that access to abortion was essential to women's rights.

Meanwhile, a separate bill in the Health and Human Services Committee, LB716, would make abortions more accessible across Nebraska. The bill, introduced by Sen. Megan Hunt of Omaha, would expand the types of providers allowed to perform abortions. Currently, only physicians are authorized to do them.

Hunt's bill would allow qualified advance practice registered nurses, certified nurse midwives and physician assistants to also perform abortions. LB716 has also not made it out of committee.

World-Herald reporter Martha Stoddard contributed to this report.
KEARNEY  A man serving a prison sentence for robbing Kearneys Walgreens in 2005 has died in prison.

Melvin Stamper, 53, died Sunday night at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln. He was serving an 18- to 34-year sentence for two counts of robbery and possession of a deadly weapon by a felon in robberies in Kearney and North Platte. The cause of death hasnt been determined.

As is the case whenever an inmate dies in the custody of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, a grand jury will conduct an investigation.

In the late evening of June 23, 2005, Stamper, then of Montrose, Colo., entered Walgreens at 2516 Second Ave., pointed a handgun at a clerk and demanded cash. When the clerk opened the register, Stamper reached inside and took $240. Stamper then got into the passengers side of a dark-colored minivan and fled.

The following day Kearney Police Department officers contacted Stamper and another man at 11th Street and Central Avenue following a report of unwanted men in the area. Stamper was wearing similar clothing to and had features similar to those of the suspects described in the robbery. Both men were arrested, although its unclear whether the second man was prosecuted.

Stamper was sentenced to 8-14 years in prison for the Kearney robbery. He also was serving a 10- to 20-year sentence for robbery for a June 22, 2005, robbery of Kwik Stop in North Platte at the time of his death.

@HubChic

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Nearly 12.8 mln children in U.S. infected with COVID-19

Xinhua) 08:14, March 16, 2022

Children greet each other as they arrive at school in New York, the United States, March 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Since the first week of September, there have been over 7.7 million additional child COVID-19 cases, according to the AAP.

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Almost 12.8 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

A total of 12,752,636 child COVID-19 cases had been reported across the country as of March 10, and children represented 19 percent of all confirmed cases, according to the report.

Nearly 411,000 of these cases have been added in the past 4 weeks. About 42,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported in the past week, according to the report.

Since the first week of September, there have been over 7.7 million additional child COVID-19 cases, according to the AAP.

There is an urgent need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, said the report.

"It is important to recognize there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children's health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth," said the report.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
His trouble began when he helped bring an end to World War II, and he can never wipe the horror of it from his mind.

Claude Robert Eatherly, 42 , sat on the witness stand, his tall frame slumped in the hard-backed chair in the County Court of Judge Raymond Mormino.

His voice was calm. He methodically told the story of his life for the past few years. But you could tell that he was nervous. Normally he smokes one cigarette after another. And he had been on the stand for more than two hours. He ran his fingers through his blond hair with patches of white. The jury of four men and two women listened to his story, then decided that he should be returned to the Veterans Administration mental hospital in Waco and placed in the violent ward to prevent him from possible escaping rather than because he is considered violent or dangerous.

Eatherly, a former Air Force Major who led the atomic attack at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, entered a mental hospital for the 10th time last week. It was his second commitment. The other times he went voluntarily.

He says he has a guilt complex because of the atomic attack on Japan. It was his job to pick the target for the first bomb, the one dropped at Hiroshima. He led the bomber Enola Gay over the target.

I thought of Pearl Harbor, Eatherly once said. But after I saw the destruction, I didnt want to go over Nagasaki. But I went. It (the complex) come over me just like that.

Eatherlys brother, Joe, an oil company wholesale agent at Van Alstyne, Texas, asked for the commitment. Eatherly, and his attorney, Tom Moore Jr., argued that while he had been mentally ill in the past, he is cured now. Moore said he would appeal the courts decision.

Eatherly walked out of the VA hospital in Waco on Oct. 19, 1960. He had voluntarily committed himself, so no immediate attempt was made to get him back.

I felt like I had to get out of the hospital so I could prove my sanity and ability to manage my own affairs. He testified. I talked with members of the hospital staff several times while I was out.

He has been in trouble numerous times since he was discharged from the Air Force in 1947.

He told the jury of his arrest for armed robbery in Dallas in 1959, of the attempted robbery of a post Office in 1957 and the robbery of a grocery store in 1956 and of his 18-month term in jail for writing a forged check at New Orleans in 1953.

"I did these things because I knew I would land in jail, he said. It gave me a certain amount of relief and a chance to get away from it all. I was mentally sick then. Im not now. He also told of running guns and ammunition to Cuba before the Castro uprising. When an attorney questioned him closely about this, he snapped: You make your money your way and Ill make it mine.

Actually, Eatherly isnt interested in money. He has several thousand dollars in the bank. He is writing a book about the horrors of nuclear war and has it about finished, he said.

I could be a rich man, he said. Ive turn down half dozen movie offers, but I dont want the money. I just want peace. Each time I get a little publicity it hurts me just that much more. I cant walk down the street without someone coming up and recognizing me. But I learned to live with it."

Charles F. Burdick is a lifelong resident of Grand Tower. After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Navy and then went on to a 42-year Maritime career including 35 years as Master Pilot. He has been retired for 28 years and enjoys local history and writing poetry.

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ELIZABETH CITY, N.C.  An Orangeburg man caught with drugs in his SUV during a trip with his children has been convicted by a federal jury, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Anthony Cyquan Herring, 40, was convicted last week on charges of distribution of heroin and fentanyl, along with associated firearms violations including possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

His charges stem from a traffic stop by Nash County, N.C. Sheriff Keith Stone on I-95 southbound for speeding.

Stone smelled marijuana coming from Herrings SUV, which other deputies confirmed.

The ensuing search of his SUV resulted in deputies finding over 36 grams of heroin and fentanyl, 50 grams of cocaine, marijuana, distribution paraphernalia, $2,200 cash and a loaded firearm.

Deputies discovered Herrings young children in the back of the SUV, sleeping and urinating in bottles as their dad drove through the night from Connecticut on the way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the release said.

Sentencing guidelines call for Herring to serve between 30 years and life in prison. Hell be sentenced in June.

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The barbarity of the Russian assault on Ukraine is neither mitigated by the ineptitude of the Russian army nor can hearts be uplifted by the bravery of the Ukrainians. Murder on a colossal scale is taking place in plain sight on television day after day.

At this writing, there are 3.5 million refugees and thousands of civilian casualties reported. This is killing, killing, killing without respite. The Russian economy is destroyed, and the consequence of this bloody slaughter is affecting the world economy.

Even pusillanimous nations like India and Brazil feel the hot breath of the crazed organ grinder Vladimir Putin and his Russian bear.

The invasion of Ukraine was folly and a criminal act, but its continuation has become pure and sustained evil.

Some in the U.S. commentariat have suggested with amazing thought gymnastics that all this is because of the expansion of NATO. But if NATO hadnt expanded after the fall of the Berlin Wall, then Russia wouldnt have felt threatened and wouldnt have invaded Ukraine. Nonsense.

Russia has felt threatened in Europe since the days of the tsar. If NATO hadnt expanded to include the Baltic nations of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, Russian troops would be billeted there right now.

Had Ukraine joined NATO, the United States wouldnt be paying the price at the pump and Europe wouldnt be shivering out the last days of winter, wondering how it will get through the coming months without enough fuel to produce electricity.

Security is the abiding fault line in Russias thinking about the West. Sure, St. Petersburg is close to the rest of Europe and could be overrun. And Moscow isnt so far from European neighbors that it couldnt be reached easily by an invader: Napoleon got there, and Hitler could have if he had been a better strategist. But most of Russia with its 11 time zones is geographically out of reach. That makes it hard to swallow the security argument.

Putin wants to restore Imperial Russia and the empire that reached even farther under communism  which makes him a diabolical romanticist. He wants to restore Russian hegemony over its former states: Ukraine first.

Larry ODonnell, the MSNBC host, correctly postulated that for NATO, or the United States alone, to intervene to help Ukraine, nuclear war could result; war not just in Europe but also between the United States and Russia  the very thing that dominated the world from 1945 to the fall of the Soviet Union.

ODonnells argument reveals the impotence that comes with nuclear weapons and sets up this question: Can we never challenge Russia, China or any other country with a substantial nuclear arsenal and the ability to deliver its weapons into the United States and Europe?

If that is so, does it inoculate Russia from invading the Baltic states?

We know the reality that lurks behind Chinas ambitions for Taiwan. Is that more inevitable than ever? President George W. Bush said we would do whatever it takes to defend Taiwan. That is very unlikely now, if it ever was.

It isnt that the reality of the international scene has changed so much as it has come into a clear and harsh light. However, one thing has changed: The slaughter, the unspeakable suffering in Ukraine will change the attitude of a generation to Russia in Europe. Russia will be a pariah, not a partner.

The United States fears war with Russia, but Russia, much weaker in every way, must fear war with NATO and the United States.

On a visit to Moscow, toward the end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, I heard a four-star Russian general say, Never again. But the Ukraine invasion is again. Will Russia and other aggressors be deterred long after the last of the dead are buried in Ukraine, and long after the last body bag has gone back to Russia? Maybe for a generation, which is about how long it will take to rebuild the global economy after the Russian invasion of Ukraine has run its ghastly course.

Llewellyn King is executive producer and host of White House Chronicle on PBS. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.

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(TBTCO) - Thi truong ket thuc thang 4 voi muc giam 8,4%, tro thanh thang giam sau nhat trong vong 2 nam. Hang loat co phieu chiet khau gia cuc sau tuy gay thiet hai rat lon cho nhieu nha au tu, nhung cung se tao co hoi cho cac nha au tu khac.
(TBTCO) - Chinh phu Viet Nam a xac inh logistics la mot nganh dich vu quan trong trong co cau tong the nen kinh te quoc dan, ong vai tro ho tro, ket noi va thuc ay phat trien kinh te - xa hoi cua ca nuoc, gop phan nang cao nang luc canh tranh cua nen kinh te. Chinh vi vay viec nang cao nang luc canh tranh cua doanh nghiep logistics e thuc ay, gia tang gia tri hoat ong xuat nhap khau la mot yeu cau cap bach trong boi canh hau Covid-19...
Casper police warned residents Wednesday to avoid the area around the Eastridge Mall while they were investigating a reported armed robbery at one of its stores, according to a Facebook post.

The suspect had not been found as of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police described him as a man between the ages of 17 and 24, and between 5'10" and 6'2" tall with an "average build."

At the time of the incident, police said, he was seen at Zumiez wearing a hoodie and medical mask.

Police said there were no reported injuries connected to the incident. Officers cleared the scene at the mall around 4 p.m.

Those with information can call the department at (307) 235-8278.

More information will be made public as the investigation goes on, police said.

Follow city and crime reporter Ellen Gerst on Twitter at @ellengerst.

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PIERRE, S.D.  The National Park Service has denied Gov. Kristi Noems request to mark the Fourth of July with fireworks at Mount Rushmore, citing opposition from Native American tribes as well as the possibility of igniting wildfires.

Mount Rushmore is the best place in America to celebrate our nations birthday  I just wish President Biden could see that, the Republican governor said in a statement Tuesday. Last year, the President hypocritically held a fireworks celebration in Washington, D.C., while denying us our own event. This year, it looks like they are planning to do the same.

Noem said she would continue the court battle. She filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration after it refused to issue a permit for a similar celebration last year. A federal judge rejected her arguments in June, prompting an appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

In a letter dated Monday from the U.S. Department of Interior, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent Michelle Wheatley said a fireworks event would not be safe and responsible.

Noem successfully pushed for a return of the event in 2020 after a decade-long hiatus. It gave former President Donald Trump an opportunity to be featured at a patriotic display attended by thousands of people during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the letter to the South Dakota Department of Tourism, Wheatley noted the March 2021 wildfire that closed the memorial for three days.

Current drought conditions and the 2022 wildfire outlook indicate that fireworks would cause a high likelihood of a wildfire ignition, she wrote.

Local Native American tribes objected to the celebration being held on land they hold as sacred.

There is ample documented opposition from the Tribes to the 2020 event, and we understand from ongoing meetings with the Tribes that these concerns have not diminished. the letter stated.

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The Wyoming game bird farm trying to raise sage grouse in captivity will stay open past the programs original sunset date.

State lawmakers authorized the Wyoming Game and Fish Department in 2017 to permit experimental sage grouse farming  a controversial departure from standard conservation methods  through the end of 2022. A bill to extend it passed the Legislature and was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Mark Gordon.

The bill as introduced by Sen. Drew Perkins, R-Casper, would have done away with the expiration date. But an amendment passed by the state House of Representatives and included in the final version of the bill reinstated the deadline, giving Diamond Wings Upland Game Birds, the states only permitted sage grouse farm, another five years before it has to report back to the Legislature.

Those five years are a win for the privately funded farming operation. If a new law hadnt passed, Diamond Wings wouldve been allowed to continue raising other game bird species, like pheasants and chukars, but wouldve had to scrap its work on sage grouse.

We would have preferred to have (authorization) longer, but that was just a political compromise, and we certainly accept that, said Diemer True, president of the Western States Sage Grouse Recovery Foundation, the group financing the project.

With the biggest roadblock now out of the way, True must find the money to keep the sage grouse farm open past the end of the year. Hes hopeful the considerable legislative support will help: Despite facing a handful of vocal challengers, the amended bill passed 44-15 in the House and 28-1 in the Senate.

I was not surprised by the opposition, True said. Those same groups opposed the original legislation, and so that was sort of expected. Once again, though, the Legislature gave a surprising and most appreciated endorsement of the project.

Though conservation groups generally prefer the five-year limit over no expiration at all, many wanted to see the program end. Long-time advocates of heightened protections for the declining species have voiced a range of concerns about the potential impacts: nest disruption from the gathering of wild eggs, inbreeding among small captive populations, diseases spread by birds released back into the wild.

Above all, opponents of sage grouse farming are worried the program will distract from habitat loss, the primary cause of the birds decline and an issue not solved through breeding.

Past efforts to breed sage grouse in captivity havent seen much success, either. Most wildlife biologists dont think farming is a viable conservation option. But the skepticism hasnt dissuaded Diamond Wings.

After a few false starts, the farm successfully gathered and hatched wild sage grouse eggs last year. It now houses 51 birds nearing their first mating season. Within a few months, True said, the farm will know whether its first pass at captive breeding succeeded.

If the sage grouse dont reproduce, Diamond Wings will have to reassess. If they do, the farm will have to figure out what to do with the offspring. Sending them to zoos and research centers is one possibility. Release is is another.

Our foundation is not equipped to study how to best release the bird, True said. We can release birds under the statute, but there ought to be some careful study on the best way to release the birds. And Im hoping that another foundation or a university or some other group will take up the next step.

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An 18-year-old Minatare teen died in a crash Saturday in rural Laramie County.

The teen, Wyatt Butler, had been a senior at Scottsbluff High School, months away from graduation.

According to Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol, Butler had been driving a 1998 Dodge Dakota northbound on U.S. Highway 85. Beck said the investigation determined that around 11:20 a.m., Butler came upon a parked Ford F-150 and Freightline commercial truck that had stopped due to a partial blockage in the road. He began to pass the stopped vehicles on the left, then swerved to the right to avoid hitting another oncoming vehicle.

The passenger side of Butlers Dodge sideswiped the drivers side of the Ford.

His vehicle then rotated to the right, struck the Freightliners trailer with its drivers side and came to a rest east of the highway.

A fatality crash summary on the Wyoming DOT website described the weather as severely windy, with the road conditions being wet and slushy. Beck said Butler was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. He cited speed, driver inattention and cell phone use as potential contributing factors to the crash.

The three occupants of the other two vehicles were not injured during in the crash.

The crash occurred near the intersection of the highway and Road 144, around 10  15 miles south of the Meriden rest stop. It was the second fatal accident at that intersection in two months.

A 55-year-old Colorado woman died during a crash there in late January.

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SMALL business owners in three Caribbean countries will get the opportunity to showcase how their enterprises are transforming their communities, and themselves, due to support from the social enterprise, Nudge Caribbean.

The opportunity comes tomorrow, at an event called Nudge Now, which is being organised by Nudge Caribbean, which was founded by Anya Ayoung-Chee, design strategist and social entrepreneur, and Julie Avey, Massy Groups senior vice president of People and Culture.
A Barrackpore woman returned to her house in the early hours of last Saturday and found an i
And so it has come to pass. One week after the island-wide blackout of February 16, we told you in this space that, from among the best authority available, there would be, there could be no one to blame for what happened.

We told you that the determination had already been made as to what happened, how and why, and that nobody could have been held responsible for that. It was a warning against the natural national tendency to go for blood. Loud had been the shouts of sabotage, the result of worker discontentment, and a clamour for heads to roll.
Tens of millions of people are living under lockdown in China, as the country battles its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

This outbreak has spread far faster than previous waves of less infectious variants, with daily cases skyrocketing from a few dozen in February to more than 5,100 on Tuesday -- the highest figure since the early 2020 outbreak in Wuhan.

The number may sound low compared to other countries, but it is alarmingly high for a nation that has attempted to stamp out outbreaks and chains of transmission with a strict zero-Covid policy throughout the pandemic.

As of Tuesday, cases have been reported in 21 provinces and municipalities nationwide, including the national capital Beijing, and other major cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The cases may still be in their thousands, but as of Tuesday 37 million people were in lockdown.

Here's what we know about China's outbreak.

How did this wave begin?

Cases began rising at the start of the month in a few provinces around the country, including Shandong in the east, Guangdong in the south, and Jilin in the northeast.

By March 6, experts were cautioning the situation was "severe" in some places -- but they expressed confidence that "China still has the ability to control it," state-run tabloid Global Times reported at the time.

Jilin province, which shares a border with North Korea, soon became a major hotspot with a university cluster that prompted public outrage online after quarantined students complained of poor conditions while isolating on campus.

More than 4,000 of Tuesday's reported infections were reported in Jilin. Nearly half of the total infections in this outbreak have come from that province -- and cases there haven't peaked yet, officials warned on Tuesday.

Authorities and state media say it's still not clear how the first few outbreaks began.

But several factors -- including cases imported from overseas and the prevalence of the Omicron variant -- exacerbated the severity of the outbreak nationwide, said Global Times, citing Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

What variant is spreading?

Omicron has been driving this surge. One of the reasons cases have spread so fast and are harder to trace is Omicron's milder symptoms and shorter incubation time, according to state media.

The highly infectious variant has now replaced Delta as the dominant strain in the country, making up about 80% of recent cases, Wu told the Global Times.

He added that experts are seeing both BA.1 -- the original Omicron -- and BA.2, a subvariant that was first detected in January and nicknamed the "stealth variant" because at first glance on lab tests it can look like other Covid variants.

BA.2 is about 30% more transmissible than BA.1, according to early studies from the UK and Denmark. It is now causing about 1 in 5 Covid-19 cases worldwide, with cases detected in dozens of countries including the US, according to the World Health Organization. BA.2 has been detected in the outbreak in Jilin, according to state-run news outlet CCTV.

It's not yet clear whether it causes more severe disease, but some studies suggest it won't likely lead to greater numbers of hospitalizations and deaths, partly because it emerged so soon after the original Omicron wave, so many people have protective antibodies, either from recent infection or booster shots.

What lockdowns and restrictions are in place?

Five cities -- collectively home to more than 37 million residents -- are now under varying levels of lockdown.

Residents in Changchun, Jilin city, Shenzhen and Dongguan are banned from leaving their neighborhoods, except for essential workers and emergency services. Each household is only allowed to send one person to buy groceries every two to three days.

The fifth city, Langfang, went a step further in prohibiting all residents from leaving their homes except for emergency reasons.

Several of these cities have suspended public transport and indoor dining, closed schools and are conducting multiple rounds of mass testing for all residents. Jilin city kicked off its ninth round of testing on Tuesday, with photos showing residents lining up outside in the snow, bundled up tight.

Jilin province has also implemented travel restrictions, prohibiting residents from leaving the province or traveling between cities within the province.

But these lockdowns also pose a huge logistical challenge for the government, with CCTV reporting the province only has a few days' worth of medical supplies in stock.

Authorities are now racing to boost health care capacity in hard-hit areas -- for instance, building temporary treatment centers in Changchun and Jilin city, and deploying thousands of soldiers to help Covid control work, according to Global Times.

Will China stick to zero-Covid?

As increasingly infectious variants -- Delta, then Omicron -- spread in 2021, many countries abandoned the strict zero-Covid approach in favor of living with the virus.

China and its territories, including Hong Kong, also undergoing a severe wave, are the largest holdouts.

Though some Chinese leaders and scientists have hinted that China could eventually move away from the strategy, that likely won't come anytime soon, if current rhetoric about bringing cases back to zero is any indication.

Han Jun, the governor of Jilin province, vowed on Monday to end all community transmissions within a week -- prompting derision on Chinese social media, with many calling it an empty promise. Others urged him to address more pressing issues first, like the shortage of groceries and other essential supplies.

"Just think how people suffered when Xi'an aimed for 'zero-community transmission,'" said one comment on the Twitter-like platform Weibo.

The city of Xi'an was locked down for more than a month from December to January, with some residents complaining they were unable to receive food, basic supplies like menstrual pads, and even emergency medical care -- painting an image of local government dysfunction and prompting public outcry nationwide.

"It's better to be fully prepared and then gradually (clear Covid transmission)," said the Weibo comment. "If we rush it, people will suffer."

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Three men are facing prison time after being convicted of stealing $28,000 in ceiling fans from home improvement stores in Tucson and elsewhere around the state and reselling them on Facebook.

Beginning around June 2020 through December 2020, Micah Allen Pierce, 35, Jesse Raul Henderson, 31, and Clint Anthony Anaya, 39, stole over 70 ceiling fans from Home Depot and Lowes home improvement stores, a news release from the Arizona Attorney Generals Office said.

They later sold the stolen fans on Facebook Marketplace, selling them at a lower price than the selling price, the news release said. Store security officers later identified Pierce and his Facebook account and referred the case to the Tucson Police Department.

Investigators linked the men to 28 individual thefts around Arizona, including stores in Pima, Maricopa and Pinal counties.

Pierce, of Green Valley, pled guilty to one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices and organized retail theft. On those counts, he faces a mandatory prison sentence in the Arizona Department of Corrections between 1.0 and 3.75 years.

While on release in this case, Pierce was caught swapping universal product code labels on various products using a Walmart self-checkout line, the news release said. He plead guilty to unlawful possession and use or alteration of universal code label, which could net him probation or up to two years in prison.

Henderson, of Tucson, pled guilty to one count of trafficking in stolen property and organized retail theft. He faces a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Anaya, of Tucson, also pled guilty to one count of trafficking in stolen property and attempted organized retail theft. He was sentenced to 0.5 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections and will serve 5 years of supervised probation upon his release.

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A Bowie man has been arrested on charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, federal authorities say.

Jacob Zerkle, 50, was arrested in Tucson on suspicion of assaulting several police officers, according to a Justice Department complaint.

Zerkle was identified using photos analyzed by the FBI and taken from Metropolitan Police body cams, a Justice Department news release says.

He faces charges that include: suspicion of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers; civil disorder; and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds.

Federal officials say Zerkle fought with Metropolitan Police Department officers.

Zerkle threw several punches at one officer, pushed at least one other officer and grabbed an officers baton, officials said.

Court documents also confirm that Zerkle was interviewed on Oct, 28 and acknowledged the body-cam footage and photos were of him.

Zerkle stated that he pushed into some police officers and that he probably did something dumb, court documents say. Zerkle also said that he was shoved into the police and was trying to protect himself but did not intend to assault a police officer.

According to the DOJ, Zerkle is now one of nearly 775 people who have been arrested for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 245 charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

Edward Celaya is a breaking news and marijuana reporter. He has been on both beats since May 2021.

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The online university the University of Arizona bought and now plans to absorb doesnt have high enough retention and graduation rates to please its accreditor.

For that and other reasons, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission, which accredits the University of Arizona Global Campus and visited the schools Chandler headquarters in December, sent a letter last week to Paul Pastorek, the schools CEO and president, notifying him that it will remain accredited with a notice of concern.

Ashford University (the database doesnt have an entry for UA Global Campus, which was formerly known as Ashford) reported that 22% of students graduate within eight years and 25% of first-time, full-time undergraduates return to the school after their first year, according to the U.S. Department of Educations College Scorecard, which was updated as recently as Monday.

While there continues to be a large gap between the retention and completion rates of UAGCs students compared to its peer group, the team thought that many of the new initiatives to improve these outcomes were promising, the commissions report from its December visit said.

But, the report noted that because those changes are so new, there has clearly not been enough time and data to demonstrate the effectiveness of programs and initiatives, and that they remain aspirational. As such, the report continued, UAGC will need to demonstrate that they have made an impact once results are available and can be analyzed and reported.

Of the 214 total schools the commission accredits, UA Global Campus is one of 12 schools with a notice of concern. But the schools leadership is confident its moving in the right direction.

In general, we were pleased with the outcome of the report, Pastorek said in an email to the Arizona Daily Star. There is nothing new, and we have been working on most of these matters even before the acquisition of Ashford University in December 2020.

The school has until 2023 to improve its retention and graduation rates, as well as address other issues outlined in the letter, which include:

Launch the website that differentiates University of Arizona Online, University of Arizona, and UAGC as swiftly as possible. Critics of UA Global Campus have said its logo is so similar to the UAs that it could lead to confusion for students. The new website is set to go live on March 18, Pastorek said.

Continue to revise and improve marketing, application and enrollment processes that contribute to students understanding of their obligations before enrollment (e.g., financial aid, transfer credits and length/cost of program).

Continue to assess and continuously revise the plan to mitigate risks associated with the contracted relationship with Zovio, which the school contracts with for education technology services.

The commission is set to conduct another site visit in Spring 2023, which is when it will again assess how well UA Global Campus has addressed these latest directives.

UA liable for outcomes

Despite the notice of concern, UA Global Campus, which has about 28,000 students, remains accredited and eligible to collect Title IV funds, which include federal grants and loans the majority of students use to pay for an education there. But, if after its next visit, the accreditor is not satisfied with UA Global Campus performance, the school could face sanctions, which would put it one step closer to losing its accreditation altogether. Loss of accreditation makes a school ineligible to collect Title IV funds.

Whatever happens in that timeframe is now also the concern of the UA.

In 2020, Arizonas public flagship university acquired the assets of Ashford, which was a for-profit online college with a reputation for using aggressive recruitment tactics to deceive students about the cost and quality of an education there. The UA rebranded it as the non-profit UA Global Campus, and the two were to remain separate entities, accredited by two different agencies and governed by two different boards.

Then, in January, the UA announced plans to fully absorb UA Global Campus, after the federal education department threatened to pull the online schools ability to collect Title IV funds. The UA and the UA Foundation now provide the financial backing for UA Global Campus Title IV eligibility, which makes the UA liable for UA Global Campus performance.

Academic performance was a known issue for Ashford at the time the UA became involved.

In 2019, the accrediting commission put Ashford on notice because it had strong concerns that the targets set for academic improvement are seriously inadequate to reach levels of student outcomes that should be expected at an accredited institution.

The commission reissued the notice last summer, after the UA acquired Ashfords assets. In its updated letter to UA Global Campus, it also asked for information about the schools current financial condition, its implementation of an independent monitoring and marketing audit plan, and its contractual relationship with Zovio.

Increased oversight of Zovio

UA Global Campus has a 15-year contract with Zovio, which was Ashfords parent company. Both Zovio and Ashford have faced lawsuits in multiple states. Earlier this month, a California judge ordered Zovio to pay $22 million in restitution at the conclusion of a bench trial initiated by a lawsuit the state filed in 2017. Although at least one witness accused UA Global Campus of operating as the same institution under a different name, the judge declined to issue an injunction against Zovio, noting there wasnt sufficient evidence of ongoing misconduct after 2017.

Zovio is now UA Global Campus online program management provider, which means it provides enrollment management and academic support services. Under the current contract, Zovio collects 19.5% of the schools tuition revenue.

Critics of the Ashford acquisition in 2020 and the recent announcement of the integration of UA Global into the UA have pointed to the online schools relationship with Zovio as a chief concern.

After investigating UA Global Campus in December, the accreditation team said it recognized that UAGC had made significant progress in increasing oversight and requiring changes to Zovios marketing, enrollment and student advising practices to limit risk and increase transparency of information to students.

However, the team also noted that students may still not be provided with comprehensive information to have enough time to comprehend their financial obligations when enrolling at UAGC. It recommended that UA Global Campus continue to make improvements as needed to ensure that students are given accurate information and enough time to make their decisions.

As of Tuesday, Pastorek said, All options with Zovio to improve student outcomes are being evaluated.

Student-centered turn

According to the commissions report from its site visit, UA Global Campus student body is composed principally of non-traditional students who work part or full time while pursuing their education. Nearly 10% are first-time college students, 85% are older than 25, 70% are female, 60% are students of color, and 25% are military-affiliated.

Just over 70% of those students are receiving federal student loans, and the median total debt for undergraduates who complete a degree is $31,802. Another big concern critics and the commission have had about UA Global Campus and its previous iteration, Ashford, is that it didnt make students fully aware of the costs of attendance.

Last July, UA Global Campus implemented a policy change that requires prospective students who plan to use federal financial aid to pay for school to file their Free Application for Federal Student Aid before starting classes. According to the commissions report, that prevented 26 students from premature enrollment and raised the percentage of students who had all financial aid documents on file to 94%  up 10% from the previous year.

The online schools new efforts to make students more aware of their financial obligations, the commission wrote in its report, is illustrative of the student-centered turn taking place in the institution.

UA Global Campus also told the commission that its considering evaluating student transcripts before they enroll in a program so they are fully informed about remaining course requirements necessary to complete their program. Further, the school is thinking about reducing the number of program start times from 50 to 10 to 20 a year to give prospective students more time to get oriented to the school and to assess how much commitment it will take for them to complete their degree.

The commission encouraged those moves, but suggested there might be more direct steps, like compulsory orientation to financial aid, academic planning and other student support activities that would assure students use the time between admission and enrollment in the way that UAGC envisions to prepare students for success.

UA Global Campus still has about a year to show the commission that its practices have improved to the point that it no longer needs a notice of concern on its accreditation status.

In the meantime, the UA has formed a steering committee composed of members from both schools and is moving forward with refining the details of what integrating the online school into its operation will look like. Administrators have previously said that could potentially include streamlining accreditors and bringing UA Global Campus under the purview of the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits the UA.

Regardless, as the whole integration process continues to take shape, Pastorek said he is not particularly concerned about UA Global Campus current accreditation status.

The notice, which is not a sanction of the university, is well understood by UA and existed for two years, he said. It was believed then, and we continue to believe, that with the changes we have already adopted and scrutiny we continue to apply, we will rectify this matter regardless of the accreditation agency, because we remain focused on doing the right thing for students.

Kathryn Palmer covers higher education for the Arizona Daily Star. Contact her via e-mail at kpalmer@tucson.com or her new phone number, 520-496-9010.

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Legislative Republicans griped this session that even when they increase funding for schools, education advocates and Democrats complain they havent done enough.

OK  now they have another chance to show their commitment.

On Friday, Maricopa Superior Court Judge John Hannah ruled Proposition 208, a ballot issue that raised taxes on the wealthy to fund schools, is unconstitutional. He did so in part at the behest of legislative Republicans, who argued against the initiative in court. And he did it seemingly against his will, strong-armed by the state Supreme Court.

That means that hundreds of millions of dollars in anticipated revenue from Prop. 208s surcharges on high incomes will not flow to Arizona schools next year.

This, of course, goes against the will of Arizonas voters, 52% of whom approved the initiative in 2020. And it means the staffing crisis in Arizona schools, along with our perpetual ranking among the lowest states in school spending, may well continue.

The good news is that Arizonas budget situation is strong enough that we can do what the initiative would have done anyway, said David Lujan, president and CEO of the Childrens Action Alliance and spearhead of the initiative.

They could fund everything Prop. 208 was going to fund this year, out of the general fund and not raise taxes, Lujan said. If they truly support the idea of raising funding for education, they have got that opportunity.

Even the people who led the fight against that initiative largely agree. The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry also would support increased spending on education, spokesman Garrick Taylor said.

The business community strongly supports increased investment in Arizonas K-12 system, he said, noting previous initiatives it has supported. We will continue to support policies that invest in K-12 while also assuring the states continued economic competitiveness.

In other words, they really dont want us to raise taxes but will support an increase in spending.

The question is whether legislative leaders have the same level of commitment to schools or are too sidetracked with culture-war battles against the education system and with cutting taxes.

Back in February, youll recall, there was growing panic that the state Legislature had not routinely waived a limit on school spending. This waiver had to pass simply to spend the money the Legislature had already allocated. Without it, schools would have had to absorb $1 billion in cuts.

Sen. Vince Leach, of SaddleBrooke, was among the legislators who recapped various increases in spending supported by Republicans.

We would like to get some credit for that, but no we dont. All we get is, We need more, Leach said.

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita went much further than Leach, unconscionably saying that voting for the waiver is tantamount to capitulating to the educational terrorists who have held our kids hostage.

They shut our schools down, Ugenti-Rita went on. They disenfranchised parents.

Much more than a desire to raise funding for Arizona schools, this is the spirit that has been animating the GOP majority, which controls the agenda, this session. Its the anger over remote schooling, mask mandates, sex education and other culture-war touchstones that have helped Republicans win elections in states like Virginia.

I doubt its a coincidence that Ugenti-Rita used such extreme language against the schools: She is running for the GOP nomination for secretary of state and needs the support of Republican voters worked up about public schools.

So, far from working to raise funding for public schools again, Republican legislators have been passing bills to regulate them more strictly.

On Monday, they passed a bill to require teachers to post online all materials used and activities for student instruction within seven days of doing it. Other materials dealing with sensitive subjects like race, ethnicity, sex, gender discrimination and diversity would have to be posted 72 hours before being used.

This type of requirement would be funny if it werent so burdensome on already overburdened teachers. Just having one child in school, I have trouble keeping up with all the emails and other correspondence and requirements that come through from teachers, the school and the district.

I dont believe that any significant percentage of the people calling for these measures will actually use the information teachers would be required to post. Its just an assertion of control.

Its also out of step with whats going on in schools. Across the state, districts are desperately trying to hang on to teachers as they flee out of frustration, low pay or other reasons. Short-staffing is chronic.

But again, solving those problems is not a top priority at the Capitol. Beyond asserting control over schools, the other high priority is cutting taxes. Now that Prop. 208 is out of the way, any number of tax cuts are possible, with a big possible impact on the surplus that could be used to solve schools problems.

If the GOP majority really wants to be credited for supporting schools, they should avoid spending the surplus on tax cuts. They should respect the will of the majority and put the amount we would have collected through Prop. 208 toward a permanent funding increase.

Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter

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Barrio Bread owner/baker Don Guerra is heading to Chicago in June to possibly pick up the highest honor in the foodiverse  the coveted James Beard Award.

Guerra was named during a ceremony Wednesday in Scottsdale as a finalist for outstanding baker, one of 11 major categories that honor chefs, restaurants, bakers and pastry chefs.

It hasnt hit me yet, but Im kinda freaking out, Guerra said Wednesday morning, not long after hearing the news from Visit Tucson. Its tripping me out.

Guerra is the first James Beard nominee to make the final cut since Daniel Contreras won a James Beard Americas Classics Award in 2018 with his popular El Guero Canelo Sonoran hot dog restaurant.

The awards will be presented in Chicago on June 13.

Guerra was one of three 2022 James Beard Tucson semifinalists alongside Tito & Pep chef-owner John Martinez and Boca Tacos y Tequila chef-owner Maria Mazon. And given his recent national publicity including a profile last October in the New York Times and topping Food & Wines just released state-by-state best bread list for Arizona, its not entirely inconceivable to think Guerra could hear his name follow those four little words  and the winner is ... .

It looks pretty good, but I just dont know, he said when pressed on what he thought his chances were to edge out his fellow outstanding baker finalists who hail from Chicago, Montana, Florida and Maine.

I did a little research on the other people and they are doing good things, but theyre not doing the green stuff, Guerra said, referring to his work with sustainable and heritage grains that has garnered him attention from food writers and makers nationwide and landed him a spot as a panelist for the 2022 Philly Chef Conference in Philadelphia next month. Guerra will discuss The Grain Movement, which he has been leading and championing since he started Barrio Bread out of his Tucson garage in 2009.

Other Arizona James Beard finalists are previous winner Chris Bianco, owner of Pizzeria Bianco and Tratto, who is up for outstanding restaurateur; Phoenix Mexican restaurant Bacanora for best new restaurant; and Giovanni Scorzo of Scottsdales Andreoli Italian Grocer for best chef: Southwest  the category that Tucsons Martinez and Mazon were knocked out of the running for.

In addition to Barrio Bread, Guerra is a partner with the Flores family (founders of Tucsons El Charro) in Barrio Charro and The Monica downtown.

Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch

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After more than two years, New Zealand will reopen its borders to Australians starting April 12, and to international tourists from visa-waiver countries from May 1, the government announced on Wednesday, March 16.

The move is part of efforts to accelerate economic recovery, according to a statement from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Originally, the Ardern government had planned to reopen by July 2022, but has moved up its schedule.

Arrivals from Australia will be able to enter without having to quarantine. Two and a half weeks later, vaccinated tourists from visa-waiver countries and those with valid visitor visas will also be able to enter quarantine-free.

Citizens from the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the United States and Singapore are among those able to visit New Zealand without a visa.

While this may be great news for travel-starved Americans, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently added New Zealand to Level 4, its highest risk category. The CDC places a destination in this category when more than 500 cases per 100,000 residents are registered in the past 28 days.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, international tourism contributed almost $11.5 billion to New Zealand's GDP, while tourism industry employees comprised 8% of the national workforce.

New Zealand closed its borders in March 2020 in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19. The closure and restriction measures were successful in halting the spread of the virus, though the government faced extensive criticism from its own citizens, who were unable to return.

Travelers who decide to visit New Zealand when it reopens will be spoiled for choice.

Since the advent of the pandemic, New Zealand has launched the world's first "winery airline," ramped up tourism to the far-flung Chatham Islands and unveiled a campaign to encourage everyone to take more creative travel photos.

The-CNN-Wire

 &  2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.

Mount Taranaki image by Lu Huaiqian/Xinhua via Getty Images

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Trump patriots cheer on Putin

Donald Trump, who called Putin a genius, and his true patriot American supporters are rooting for the Russians as they deploy a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Tucker Carlson, Trumps Fox News mouthpiece, echoes this message nightly on Fox News. I think this would be the equivalent of Americans cheering and rooting on Hitler as he invaded Poland in 1939.

Rick Klumpp

Oro Valley

Robson has a border plan

Border Patrol agents have already had more than 600,000 encounters with undocumented immigrants since October alone. Theyre not just coming from Mexico; migrants are arriving from dozens and dozens of countries. No wonder we say border security is national security.

I saw a TV advertisement from Karrin Taylor Robson, who is running for Arizona governor, that showed a bus pull up to the border on the Mexico side, and a group of undocumented immigrants walked calmly across the ravine into our country. Amazing! I simply cannot believe it has become that easy for people to enter our country.

We simply cant wait for the feds to fix this crisis. Karrin Taylor Robsons plan to act by surging National Guard, giving local law enforcement the resources they need, and finishing the wall, is right for Arizona. That would be a great start to getting this situation under control. I agree with Karrin.

Valeri Bustamante

Northeast side

Bannon returns to Pima County

Re: the Feb. 25 article Bannon buys home for $1.55M in Oro Valley.

We just moved from the Quail Creek community to Oro Valley. Unfortunately, Steve Bannon followed us. According to the Daily Star, Bannon bought an Oro Valley home for $1.55 million on Jan. 31. Bannons We Build the Wall traveling con game visited Quail Creek and raised funds in 2019. Bannons wall project turned out to be an expensive scam, for which he and partner Brian Kolfage were charged. Bannon earned a presidential pardon, but Kolfage was not so lucky.

Tim Steller wrote that even though Bannon was pardoned by Donald Trump for federal crimes, he could be charged for state crimes in Arizona, including fraudulent schemes and artifices, conspiracy, money-laundering and accomplice liability. Pima County Attorney Laura Conover is interested in investigating financial crimes, so we hope that she would take an interest in this matter. Criminal charges would be a fine way to welcome Mr. Bannon back to Pima County.

Charles Stack

Oro Valley

Putin has a room waiting for him

Good news and bad news for Vladimir Putin. If he needs a welcoming place of refuge, its Mar-a-Lago, but the bad news is he wont be able to travel there.

Larry Gray

SaddleBrooke

GOP doesnt want us to vote

Alrighty now, so the Arizona Republican Party, standing resolutely firm on an exceedingly slippery slope of moss-covered rocks, doesnt want us to vote early. Republicans seem to believe that when the electorate votes early, it harms their chances of winning. Likely they have a point. The Arizona GOP has been steadily losing statehouse positions and federal offices as the Copper State turns purple with prevalent independent voter registrations. Yikes!

Those same cunning state Republican legislators couldnt find voter fraud in their hellbent-for-leather audit last year. Their examination of voter records lasted forever and produced microscopic results that worked against their breathless howlings of voter cheating, fraud, deceit. The Republican belly-up Ninja audit dissolved into gaseous shadows. Nothing here to see, folks. Keep moving.

Jeepers, wouldnt we all feel reassured and gosh-darn sentimental with that cock-eyed city-slicker cowboy Republican Rep. Mark Finchem as our secretary of state in charge of elections?

Jerry Wilkerson

SaddleBrooke

We have been the invaders

Several letters have debated the hypocrisy of Americas reaction to the invasion of Ukraine. Surprisingly, none mentioned our own invasion of a sovereign nation on a trumped-up pretext. Iraq was under the protection of the United Nations, but that didnt stop George Bush from grinding it under his heel.

I am in sympathy with the Ukrainian people; I also suffered with the Iraqis. But I dont claim the moral high ground. To paraphrase Jesus: Let he who is without hypocrisy cast the first stone.

All I ask is that the next time a president wants to invade a sovereign nation, the American people rise up and demand a good reason.

Walter Mann

Marana

Support protests inside Russia

Think about this. Over 6,500 Russians citizens have already been arrested protesting their dictators immoral war against the Ukraine. And there are tens of thousands more Russians who despise Putin and his regime for his role in displacing over a million women and children but who live in fear as to what Putins government will do to them if arrested. America needs to send a strong message of support to the Russian people encouraging them to continue to stand up against what is going on in Ukraine.

Russian people, stop going to work, shut down your nation from within, it will help the Ukrainian people and build our solidarity with you. The Russian people can bring Putin to a standstill, continue to protest! Russia should be a friend and partner to Europe but what is happening now reinforces the fear and drive toward militarization. Freedom-loving people everywhere support those in Ukraine and Russia who are standing up against the unlawful and immoral use of violence.

Richard Harper

Northeast side

The impulse to be king

The president of Ukraine urged his people to arm themselves and fight to defend their country. Our former president told his mob to fight like hell to stop a peaceful transfer of power. The same mob breached the Capitol, looked to hang the vice president and kill the speaker of the House. Meanwhile, our glorious ex-president ran back to the White House and watched the whole fiasco unfold on TV. Now his co-conspirators plead the Fifth.

What a shining example we are to the world.

Wait! Maybe Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump coordinated the Ukraine operation in one of their private meetings where Trump ate the notes. Both of them wanted to be Kings of the World.

Slava Ukraina  until it is free.

Linda and Robert Butler

Foothills

Fitzs bike ride and our old flag

Re: the March 12 article On my new bike Im a kid again, savoring the American dream.

Saturdays opinion by Fitz really hit home. I, too, have witnessed houses with the American flag flying upside down in tatters, the dont tread on me flag and the blue and white Trump 2024 flag waving in front of houses I pass. Thanks to the inspirational column by Fitz, I dug out my American flag and its now proudly flying in front of my house. Right-side up, of course.

Elaine Spindler

Green Valley

Leave cancer patients alone

As a former cancer caregiver, now researcher, I am gravely concerned about the impact SB 1164 would have for cancer patients in Arizona if passed, possibly this week, which has received little attention. My mother was diagnosed with leukemia at age 37, when her youngest was 6 years old.

Historically estimated at 1 in 1,000 pregnancies, cancer incidence during pregnancy is rising as childbearing is delayed. There is a good chance someone you know  perhaps even your own daughter  will be diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. SB 1164 would prohibit her from obtaining an abortion 15 weeks after her last period, denying her treatment in the early stages of disease when therapies are most effective.

Your daughter should have the right to decide for herself whether to terminate a pregnancy to begin treatment and improve the odds she survives to raise your grandchildren. With prompt therapy, my mother survived long enough to see my brother reach high school before she died  and he got to know and remember her.

Susan Massey

North side

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The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer. Abraham represents LD 10 in the Arizona House of Representatives:

With every day seeming to bring news of significant changes in our world, it can be hard to keep track of everything thats going on. Like many, Im especially concerned by the invasion of Ukraine, an international conflict that involves our European allies.

As a member of the Army Reserve, Im thankful that we have thoughtful, clear leadership from the White House and across the West to help guide us through these uncertain times.

But as a Democratic legislator serving in the state House, I know we cant afford to be distracted from whats going on elsewhere in Washington, on Capitol Hill.

In the same week that the world watched Russias abhorrent attack, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida recently outlined an 11-point plan that laid out policy priorities for a potential Republican Senate majority. The plan should worry every Arizonan.

Among many proposals, it specifically calls for every American to pay federal income taxes. That particular plank caused immediate backlash from many who pointed out that retirees would have to pay higher taxes  after paying into Social Security for their entire working lives.

The reaction from the public was so strong that Sen. Scott backpedaled to say that retirees would be exempt. But he said nothing about the many low-income Americans, including many military veterans exempted from federal income taxes, or active-duty service members eligible for specific exclusions on their federal income taxes. The men and women who put their lives on the line for our country shouldnt see their taxes increase next year  especially in an economy where the wealthy are doing better than ever.

But thats not all.

This Republican plan would sunset any law after five years. That would mean hundreds of laws that have been on the books for years would have to be renegotiated, re-passed, and re-signed into law every five years.

For example, the Veterans Choice Act, championed by the late Sen. John McCain, gives veterans the option to seek private health care when the Veterans Affairs system doesnt work the way its supposed to. Under this plan, that law could simply expire  limiting options for veterans when they need it most.

But thats not the only law threatened. Sen. Scotts plan for a Republican majority threatens every law.

What happens to the Social Security Act or the Medicare and Medicaid Act in five years? Many older Arizonans could see the health care and retirement benefits they need go away.

And the Affordable Care Act? It could be dissolved, forcing many Arizonans with preexisting conditions off their insurance.

I dont know about you, but I dont want to depend on Congress  the body whose failures have given us multiple shutdowns of the federal government  to have to successfully negotiate every law on the books, and do that in time and without political gamesmanship. The stakes are just too high for Arizonans to take those risks.

This Republican plan would affect us all. And as Arizonans, we deserve to know where our Republican elected officials stand.

For example, Attorney General Mark Brnovich has already tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act and its protections for those with preexisting conditions, taking his health care repeal lawsuit all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now hes running for Senate. Does he support this plan to endanger that law, and so many others that Arizonans depend on?

Trying, uncertain times like these require leadership. I strongly urge Attorney General Brnovich and Gov. Doug Ducey to give Arizonans the certainty they deserve by vocally opposing this ridiculous Republican plan.

Morgan Abraham is a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and state representative from Tucson, representing District 10. The views expressed here are those of him alone and not those of the Department of Defense. You can follow him on Twitter: @MorganAbrahamAZ.

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Spring has sprung, and in Tucson that means we have a new flurry of restaurant openings taking advantage of our citys beautiful weather. New offerings bring mochi donuts and wood-fired fine dining.

On the horizon, we can look forward to a sibling to the basement bar Tough Luck Club and a brick and mortar for Houldens Rise Above.

Bata

35 E. Toole Ave.

Wood-fired fine dining from Chef Tyler Fenton, of Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink, set in a chic warehouse downtown. Read our story about Bata here.

Hours: 5-9 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday

For more information, check out their website.

BoMo

9040 E. Valencia Road

Rita Ranch-area boba tea shop featuring fun mochi donuts.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily

For more information, check out their website.

Bun Dock

3225 N. Swan Road

Casual eatery featuring fresh vermicelli salad bowls alongside a limited Vietnamese menu, including fish sauce wings and banh mi.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday

For more information, check out their website.

Cruda

31 N. Scott Ave.

Oyster bar and mariscos restaurant downtown, from the owner of The Neighborhood and La Chingada. Read our story about Cruda here.

Hours: 3-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday

For more information, check out their website.

Del Cielo Tamales

3073 N. Campbell Ave.

Mexican restaurant with both traditional and extensive vegan menus.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, closed Monday

For more information, check out their Facebook page.

Fridas Cafe

5526 E. Grant Road

Mexican-inflected brunch restaurant near Tucson Medical Center.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily

For more information, check out their website.

Hillhouse Coffee

8991 E. Tanque Verde Road

Drive-thru coffee stand with trademark cold roast and pastries from La Estrella Bakery.

Hours: 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday

For more information, check out their website.

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Midtown Vegan Deli and Market

5071 E. Fifth St.

Vegan restaurant and grocery store with animal-free alternatives to classic comfort foods. Read our story about Midtown Vegan here.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday

For more information, check out their Instagram.

Pacaws Wings & Things

Inside Just 1 More at 6255 E. Golf Links Road

The made-from-scratch wings started as a food truck and will now available in a bar setting.

Hours: Noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday-Tuesday

For more information, check out their Facebook page.

Squared Up Pizza

Park Place Mall, 5870 E. Broadway

Sicilian-style pizza by way of New York, with gourmet pies like their white pie, made with ricotta and honey, alongside more traditional options. Read our story about Squared Up here.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

For more information, check out their Facebook or Instagram accounts.

The Century Room

Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.

Mezcal bar and jazz club inside Hotel Congress.

Hours: 6 p.m. to close, Thursday-Sunday

For more information, check out their website.

The Citizen Hotel

82 S. Stone Ave.

Boutique wine hotel featuring a lobby bar, plus Sand-Reckoner Cellar that offers tastings and tours.

Hours for the lobby bar: 5-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday

For more information, check out their website.

The Delta

135 S. Sixth Ave.

The sister restaurant to Casas Adobe's The Parish, The Delta's Chef Travis Peters brings southern rockstar flair to a bar and grill menu. Read our story about The Delta here.

Hours: 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, 4 p.m. to midnight Friday-Saturday, closed Monday

For more information, check out their website.

The Monica

40 E. Congress St.

Downtown market and restaurant from the El Charro dynasty, featuring breads and pizzas made by Barrio Breads Don Guerra, in addition to full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Read our story about The Monica here.

Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday

For more information, check out their website.

On the horizon
Sperry Public Schools will have pre-kindergarten enrollment on Friday, April 8th, 2022, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM in the auditorium located behind the administration office.

Pre-kindergarten enrollment is for children who will be four years of age by September 1, 2022, but will not turn five years of age prior to September 2, 2022.

Parents need to bring with them the following:

Proof of residency within the Sperry School district (residents of Quail Hollow require a property tax receipt),

Current utility bill showing your name and physical address,

Drivers license/ state-issued identification.

Childs certified birth certificate, and

Childs immunization record.

All applicants must complete a Home Language Survey for the 2022-2023 school year. Assistance in completing this form will be available for those who need it. Parents should bring the Indian Card for Native American students.

The Caring Van will be on campus from 11:00-2:00 to provide immunizations for those who qualify. All vaccinations must be current prior to enrollment. Required immunizations for students entering pre-kindergarten include 4 DTP (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus), 3 OPV/IPV (polio), 1 MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), 3 hepatitis B, 2 hepatitis A, and 1 varicella (chicken pox). The Caring Van will also be available for 6th grade students who have not received the 1 Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) booster which is required before they begin 7th grade. For additional information, call (918) 288-7213, ext. 145.

Because Sperry Elementary strives to prepare each student for future success, a comprehensive, full-day pre-kindergarten program has been offered since 2008. While pre-kindergarten is not required by the state of Oklahoma, The Urban Child Institute found in an ongoing independent evaluation that during the year before kindergarten, pre-k children develop literacy, language, and math skills faster than non-participating children. Gains made by Pre-k children are 37 to 176 percent greater than those of non-pre-k children and persist into the elementary grades. When they begin kindergarten, children who attended pre-k are rated more highly than their peers on teachers assessments of school readiness.

Sperry Public Schools recognizes the value of important foundational knowledge provided by and social interaction opportunities within a pre-kindergarten program. Research shows that children who participate in pre-k are better prepared for school and score higher on reading and math scores. Sperry Public School 3rd reading assessment scores have been at or above State average for several years. In addition, the percentage of 3rd grade students meeting the Reading Sufficiency Act requirements to be eligible to advance to 4th grade have also consistently been at or above the State average. It is the belief of the administration, teachers, and staff that this success begins with a pre-kindergarten program that is well-rounded and focuses on developmental and kindergarten readiness for all students no matter their ability as they begin their educational journey.

Curriculum in all pre-kindergarten classes is based on the notion that all children can learn and learning at this early age is most easily achieved through play. Developmentally appropriate activities are designed to provide real life experiences and to build on a childs previous knowledge base. Sperrys pre-kindergarten program teaches standards related to fine and gross motor skills, social/emotional skills, intellectual skills, reading skills, and math skills. Skills taught include daily lessons designed to build the foundation for future reading and math skills, as well as fostering social and emotional skills that will be essential for success in the kindergarten program. Sperry pre-kindergarten students enjoy active learning experiences that are age appropriate and prepare them for the rigors of kindergarten.

When entering a pre-kindergarten class at Sperry, one might see students interacting with the teacher and assistant in a whole group activity or in small groups working on individualized skills. While fostering independence, the notion of learning through play is also an important aspect that can be seen in the classrooms. Centers are designed for students to engage in activities that allow them to interact with each other while increasing their knowledge base in relation to reading, math, science, and social studies. Since technology is a very important tool used to enhance instruction, pre-k students might be seen interacting with lessons on the Smart Board or learning computer skills in the computer lab in preparation to be a part of Sperrys one-to-one Chromebook experience that begins with kindergarten. Sperry strives to achieve excellence in education at all levels, and pre-kindergarten is no exception.

While enrollment is not required to be completed on April 8th, class sizes are limited, and enrollment is on a first come first served basis. Once classes are filled, students will be put on a waiting list, and parents will be notified of openings if and when they occur. Transfers will be available for out of district students who are wishing to attend Sperrys pre-kindergarten program, and parents may fill out enrollment applications at roundup as they await transfer approvals.

We look forward to meeting all our new pre-kindergarten students who will be attending Sperry during the 2022-2023 school year.
It takes a village to make a taco.

Or, rather, it takes a tribe  the preferred term to describe those who work at Velvet Taco, the Dallas-based chain that recently opened its first Tulsa location at the corner of 15th Street and Peoria Avenue.

The kitchen space behind the counter at the Tulsa location is a veritable hive of activity, as more than a dozen workers go about the tasks necessary to produce the restaurants signature takes on the humble Mexican staple, the taco.

We are a little over-staffed right now, because were wanting to get every member of the team dialed in our procedures, and be comfortable with what we do, said Chuck Smith, general manager of the Tulsa Velvet Taco. Our food takes a great deal of prep work  everything we do is made from scratch in-house. Our brisket is a three-day process. We brine and hand-cut our chicken. All the sauces, the quesos, we make daily right here.

So, yeah, it does take a tribe to put our tacos in your hands, Smith said. And it gives our tribe member a real sense of ownership in what we serve. They see someone take a bite out of one of our tacos, see how much they enjoy, and they take some pride in knowing they helped to make it.

Velvet Taco started in 2011, and currently has 35 locations, most of them in Texas. A Norman location opened last year.

The Tulsa shop began life as a Long John Silvers, and while the basic shape of building has been retained, the interior has been drastically overhauled, with a lot of neon and metal. Elevated communal tables fill the center of the main dining area, with more conventional seating around the edges. The north side of the building has been converted into an open-air dining area.

The kitchen area, as previously mentioned, has been opened up so one can observe the crew as they mill about busily putting tacos together.

Said tacos are not the typical Tex-Mex offerings, but draw instead from all kinds of culinary traditions.

We are using all kinds of globally inspired ingredients, Smith said. We call it a taco because it comes to you in a tortilla, but whats inside that tortilla is something youre not going to find anywhere else.

Take, for example, the Shrimp & Grits ($5.95), which is a surprisingly effective re-imagining of this Southern breakfast staple. Spicy sauteed shrimp and fried nuggets of pepper-jack cheese grits are topped with a charred tomato salsa, cilantro and a Creole mayonnaise in a corn tortilla. The crunch of the fried grits, the tender and flavorful shrimp, and the mix of sweetness and tartness of the salsa worked well together.

The Spicy Chicken Tikka ($4.95) was another winner, with fried chicken tenders doused in a vivid orange sauce that brought to mind tandoori chicken, basmati rice flavored with cilantro and peppery Thai basil leaves.

On the other hand, the roast pork in the Korean Fried Rice ($4.95) was passable in flavor and texture, but the rice, grilled pineapple, pickled red onions and red chili aioli provided decent enough compensation.

Velvet Taco also offers several vegetarian options, one of which is the Beer-Battered Cauliflower ($4.55), spiked with Texas Petes hot sauce and an avocado-corn salsa that added a creamy sweetness. The cauliflower was not overly battered, and had a texture that was just yielding to the tooth. (A number of menu items are also gluten-free.)

Velvet Taco also offers a Weekly Taco Feature, which beginning March 16 will be a Reuben taco, which will have grilled corned beef, Swiss cheese, velvet sauce, house-made sauerkraut, and house-brined pickles, for $5.50.

Side dishes include two types of queso, a blanco and a red curry coconut queso ($5.65 each), served with blue corn tortilla chips. We sampled the curry version, although the most unusual  and enjoyable  tastes came from the sweet pickled onions and the bite of the single Thai basil leaf that topped the serving.

We also tried the elote ($4.85), a mix of roasted corn kernels mixed with crema and a dash of the restaurants Valentina hot sauce. It was basically a crunchier-than-normal creamed corn, but we still finished the serving.

For those in need of dessert, Velvet Taco offers squares of red velvet cake ($3.50).

Soft drinks are available from a self-service station; also available are adult beverages such as margaritas, frozen and on the rocks, as well as palomas, a mix of tequila and grapefruit soda ($7.50 and $10.50).

While this location has a drive-up window, it is not a conventional drive-through.

Its strictly a pick-up window, Smith said. People can call in an order, or order online from our website or our new Velvet Room app, and drive up to the window to get their order.

However, one item can be ordered at the drive-up window  a deal known as Back Door Chicken.

Every day of the week, you can come into the store, or pull up to the drive-up window, and ask for the Back Door Chicken, Smith said. And well hand them a box with a whole roasted chicken, with corn tortillas, a side of elote, our corn pico de gallo and servings of Heat and Valentina sauces, for $20.

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"I like to say that what we offer is something fun," owner Derek Bray said. "We want to give people a quality product, but we like to have fun when we're cooking, and we want our customers to have fun eating what we cook."
A spot on the House Ways and Means Committee beats a shot at the U.S. Senate, 1st District Congressman Kevin Hern has decided.

This isnt about the pay or a second career, Hern said Tuesday in a telephone interview. Its about how I could best help Oklahoma and the United States of America.

Ive been blessed to get on Ways and Means, he said. Its very important for us to have someone on there from the Oklahoma delegation. I was very fortunate to get on there my second term, and if things go according to the way they look, I could be chairman of one of the subcommittees.

Ways and Means is the U.S. House of Representatives oldest standing committee and one of its most powerful, with control of tax policy and substantial influence on many other aspects of domestic lawmaking. Until Herns appointment in 2021, Oklahoma had not had a Ways and Means member in 20 years.

Hern expects only token opposition for reelection this year, but many thought he would make a run at the Senate seat being surrendered by Jim Inhofe at the end of the current Congress.

But Hern said the Senate is a nice, shiny object but that staying in the House was not a hard decision for me.

Asked what he thought about his odds of winning a crowded Republican Senate primary, Hern said, I dont know, but I think they would have been great. Ive been in a situation where nobody thought I could win a House seat.

That wasnt what it was about, said Hern. It was about how I could best serve Oklahoma.

Although the Senate has 100 members and the House 435, Hern said he thinks he can get more done in the latter because, he said, less depends on seniority. This is partly because of a steady churn of House membership over the past decade but also because of changes in the rules and culture of the chamber.

Being in business for 35 years, Ive been on the other side of changing tax policy and changing health care policy, Hern said. Now to be on the other side, thats exactly why I ran for Congress.

Announced Republican candidates for the Senate seat are 2nd District Congressman Markwayne Mullin, former Oklahoma Speaker of the House T.W. Shannon, Inhofes former Chief of Staff Luke Holland and state Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow. Former 5th District Congresswoman Kendra Horn on Tuesday became the first Democrat to enter the race.

Filing for all state and federal offices is April 13-15.

Tulsa World Newsroom: The story behind U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe with political reporter Randy Krehbiel

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Oklahomas two U.S. senators urged President Joe Biden and all Americans to do more to help Ukraine in its fight with Russia following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys impassioned speech to Congress on Wednesday.

This morning began with one of the most moving speeches Ive ever heard from a foreign leader, Sen. Jim Inhofe, who has been in Congress since 1986, said in a written statement.

His message, both in Ukrainian and English, came through loud and clear: The United States must do more, and do more now.

Speaking at a Republican news conference, Sen. James Lankford said Americans should do everything possible.

What he was pulling from us is, remember that moment in 9/11, when you were attacked, and you wanted the whole world to come to your aid, Lankford said. Now thats us. We want the whole world to come to our aid. And while (the U.S. has) provided anti-tank, anti-aircraft  while weve provided them intelligence information, food, water, medical supplies  while weve continued to be able to stand alongside of them, they continue to say, Do you see whats going on? Will you help us?

Theres a biblical term that says if its within your power to act and you withhold it  thats really what he was calling out, Lankford continued. Its to say, You have access to aircraft that we could use. Thats what we need to defend ourselves. You have access to S-300 anti-aircraft systems; you have access to those, and youre withholding them. Dont withhold, dont hold back from doing good when you have the opportunity to do it.

Lankford extended his call to corporations and private citizens.

Find a practical way to be able to help, he said. There are a lot of aid organizations out there that would love to have Americans jump in to be able to help them personally. Find practical ways to be able to help.

For any American company thats saying theyre going to continue to be able to sell luxury products to Russia, theyre choosing income over peace, he continued. So I would call on companies  to be able to pull back income from Russia, to allow them to feel the effects of what theyre doing to their neighbors around them.

Inhofe, who has long advocated more advanced military assistance to Ukraine, reiterated that position and said the Biden administrations offer of additional help is insufficient.

This half-measure by (Biden) does not rise to the occasion, Inhofe said. Its not enough. We can and must send more now.

Inhofe noted that the Oklahoma National Guard helped train Ukrainian forces and said, Ive been clear that we should have been sending much more military aid to the Ukrainians, with more training. President Biden didnt do that, and now were rushing to deliver aid just in time. I hope President Biden doesnt miss this opportunity to rise to the occasion and ensure the Ukrainians have what they need to keep fighting Russian aggression.

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OKLAHOMA CITY  Deposits to the states general revenue fund remained strong in February, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services said Tuesday.

The general revenue fund is the states primary operating account.

OMES Executive Director Steven Harpe, the states chief operating officer, said general revenue receipts for the month totaled $442.6 million, 27.6% above the estimate and 26.5% above the same month a year ago.

Our positive economic momentum continues as collections exceed estimates across income, sales, gross production and use taxes, said Harpe. This advancement is an encouraging indication of our fiscal resilience as we increase savings and witness strong economic growth across the state.

Income tax collections were particularly strong, coming in at $129.4 million, 172% above projections.

Sales tax receipts, the states other primary revenue source, contributed $178.2 million, 5.9% above projections.

Gross production tax receipts, at $72 million, beat expectations by 20.3%, and use taxes were 12.7% above the estimate at $31.7 million.

Total general revenue fund collections through the first eight months of fiscal year 2022 are $5.1 billion, which is $904.6 million  or 21.6%  above the estimate and $794.9 million  or 18.5%  above prior year collections for the same period.

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In a rare moment, the Oklahoma Legislature found unanimous agreement around an issue: womens health.

Last week, House Bill 3504, sponsored by Rep. Melissa Provenzano, D-Tulsa, passed 86-0. It would require insurance companies to cover a diagnostic mammogram if ordered by a physician.

The Affordable Care Act in 2010 expanded womens preventative health care by requiring companies to cover breast screenings. But if a screening shows an anomaly, a diagnostic mammogram is ordered for further evaluation. Not all insurance companies pay for that diagnostic test or may provide only partial payment.

That denial of coverage costs a patient an estimated $200 to $1,000 to get the cancer detection service.

Many patients avoid that follow-up care due to affordability. In those who actually do have cancer, it will grow undetected until reaching later stages, requiring significant treatment and lowering survival rates.

The American Cancer Society lists breast cancer as the most common type of cancer, outside skin cancers. Breast cancer represents 1 out of 3 new female cancers annually.

The average risk of a U.S. woman developing breast cancer in her lifetime is about 13%. Viewed another way, there is a 1 in 8 chance an American woman will develop breast cancer.

In Oklahoma, the top rate of cancer incidence by type is breast cancer among women, at 124.2 out of 100,000 women. The next most prevalent is prostate cancer at 95.7 per 100,000 residents.

Breast cancer is the second most deadly type of cancer in Oklahoma, at 22.5 deaths per 100,000 residents. Only lung cancer tops that death rate, at 48.7.

In the U.S., men represent less than 1% of breast cancers. But men are often diagnosed at advanced stages due to the lack of screening.

This year in the U.S., an estimated 287,850 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected among women and 2,710 among men. For women, another 51,400 cases of noninvasive breast cancer is predicted.

About 43,250 American women are expected to die this year from breast cancer.

The best chance at survival is early detection. Mammograms are recommended for women over 40, but that drops to age 35 for those with a family history of breast cancer.

We appreciate Provenzanos work on the bill and the House for passing this life-saving legislation. It now moves to the Senate, where we urge lawmakers to put the same priority on womens health and pass the bill.

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Climbing is inherently hard, add nearly 20 kilograms of cargo and the faces of the porters turn red and begin to sweat in the bitterly cold weather.

On misty mountains, Mong women, from the eponymous ethnic minority living in Vietnams northern mountainous regions, follow their husbands to assist trekkers with conquering northwestern mountain peaks.

At 9:00 am, a car travels for over 60 kilometers from Sa Pa Town in northern Lao Cai Province, transporting tourists to an area in Sang Ma Sao Commune in the provinces Bat Xat District.

When the car arrives at the destination, two women quickly arrange food, clothing, and other necessities for the tourists and put them into their gui, a basket used by ethnic minorities in Vietnam.

Porters in the northwestern regions are mostly indigenous men who are of sturdy build and aged 18 to 40 on average.

But it would not be hard to realize that leading a trekking group one day is a female porter in a colorful Mong outfit who is enthusiastic about supporting trekkers.

Often leading groups of trekkers to conquer mountain peaks in the northwestern region, Bui Huy Khoi, a young tour guide, refers to Giang Thi Lien, a 27-year-old local girl in Sang Ma Sao Commune, with admiration in his voice: Traveling with porters for a while, I think that female porters are really good at their job.

Having trekked with Lien for three consecutive days earlier, I saw her rushing back to her farm work without taking a break right after completing the tour.

Lien looks quite young for her age, with rosy cheeks impressing travelers throughout the trekking trip to conquer the Nhiu Co San peak, which is 2,965 meters above sea level.

Having joined the porter team five years ago, Giang Thi Lien has made a name for herself for her enthusiasm, friendliness, and good cooking. Photo: G.L / Tuoi Tre

Stopping by a rock, with a cheerful smile on her face, Lien says she was predestined to follow her husband to move to Ky Quan San Hamlet, and now she is again destined to earn her living as a porter along with her husband.

Earlier, A Chu and his wife mainly worked in the fields but still failed to make ends meet. He then discussed a plan to find travel-related jobs with his wife.

With vigorous health, A Chu and other men of Ky Quan San Hamlet decided to work as porters, accompanying trekkers to conquer great mountains.

Recognizing that the more A Chu climbs, the stronger his health becomes, and the more money he can earn, Lien, after giving birth to two children, decided to follow in her husbands footsteps.

I do the same job as my husband because I love to do so, she says delightfully.

At the beginning, she only worked as her husbands assistant.

After five years doing the job, Lien is now more confident and can serve as the main porter for each tour and provide guidelines for other female newbies.

Climbing is not hard at all, just get used to it, she says honestly.

Sung Thi Voi, 47, a local woman in Nhiu Co San Hamlet, joins her children to work as porters. Each time joining a tour, she carries a 20kg load on her back to serve travelers. Photo: Ha Thanh / Tuoi Tre

The job of a porter is carrying travelers bags and other loads.

Depending on the number of travelers who book tours in groups or individuals, each porter will be in charge of carrying a restricted weight of some 25 kilograms, around 18-20 kilograms for female bearers.

As each trip of climbing mountains and walking through forests is quite long and adventurous, male carriers usually have the edge over their female peers.

During the trekking trip, despite not being able to speak Vietnamese fluently, Sung Thi Voi, 47, always encourages young trekkers to keep moving on.

Seeing any trekker tired, she is willing to carry extra cargo for them without complaining.

Each porter is currently paid VND400,000 (US$17.5) per day. For individual travelers, the fee could be a little bit lower depending on the number of tourists on that day.

This job offers them better income than farming jobs. Hard-working jobs do not bother upland women.

This job is inherently for men, but we try to do the job to help them as much as we can," Lien says.

"The job also helps us become happier and learn more from travelers."

On the recent International Womens Day on March 8, local women in northwestern Vietnam still received tour bookings from travelers.

All of them hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic could be soon brought under control so more tourists can book trekking tours.

This would the most amazing gift for female porters.

"Female porters are usually wives or family members of old male porters. They initially travel along with the male porters as their assistants and gradually become main sherpas. Further, travelers generally love to talk to and admire female porters as the latter have good health as well as even better climbing skills than their male peers," said Bui Huy Khoi.

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The Eiffel Tower grew 6 metres (19.69 ft) on Tuesday after a new digital radio antenna was attached to the top of the Paris monument.

The tower, built by Gustave Eiffel in the late 19th century, now measures 330 metres after the DAB+ (digital audio) antenna was airlifted onto its peak by helicopter under a leaden sky.

During its construction, the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, a title it held for four decades until the Chrysler Building in New York City was topped off in 1929.

A helicopter flies next to the Eiffel Tower to install a new telecom transmission TDF (TeleDiffusion de France) antenna on its top, in Paris, France, March 15, 2022. Photo: Reuters

The wrought-iron lattice tower is among the most visited tourist sites in the world, according to TripAdvisor.

It has, however, also been used for broadcast transmissions for more than 100 years, with the height of its pinnacle changing numerous times as ageing antennas were replaced.

Live television images showed the helicopter lowering the antenna onto its base atop the tower, where workmen made it secure in an operation that lasted less than 10 minutes.
Japanese accountant Masamitsu has not travelled or gone to the cinema in years and rarely eats out.

Instead, his annual salary of about $34,000 goes to support his family and has risen by just $4 a year for nearly a decade.

"I can't save, I have nothing at all put by for my old age. I'll just have to keep on working," said the 50-year-old, who declined to give his last name out of concern for his job at a small company that works in event planning.

"After I retire from this company, I'll do anything I can get. Maybe work as a security guard."

Masamitsu's plight mirrors that of many workers at small and medium-sized firms in Japan, where the average salary in 2020 was $38,515, little changed from the 1990s and well below the average of $49,165 in countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has urged profitable companies to boost wages at spring wage negotiations, when managements of blue chip firms meet key unions for talks to fix wages in the coming year, setting a guideline for most other companies.

This year's talks are expected to wrap up on Wednesday.

Masamitsu, who was trained in accounting at a vocational school, switched jobs at age 43, in a move relatively unusual for Japanese employees, after his previous employer cut salaries.

After a long series of unsuccessful interviews, he felt lucky to land his current job, only to be told upfront that raises would be only 500 yen ($4.25) a year for the first decade.

"Given my age, the base pay actually wasn't too bad, there were other places that were lower," he said. "And I was told that after 10 years, it'd go up by 5,000 yen a year."

Masamitsu's monthly pay, along with allowances common in Japan, amounts to about 250,000 yen, and he gets a bonus of two months' pay twice a year for a yearly total of roughly 4 million yen ($34,000).

"It's kind of unfortunate it doesn't rise more, even though I'm working hard," he said.

From this sum he supports his wife, who works part-time to supplement their income, and a daughter who is just about to complete high school.

For recreation, he and some friends do yoga from YouTube videos, though he occasionally buys a one-day gym pass to take yoga classes.

"I'd have liked to have had another child, but the one has taken everything we have," he said.

He has little hope that Kishida's urging will change much.

"This kind of thing doesn't really reach people in places like me," he said. "Officials say a lot of things that don't really work out."
Part of a hill collapsed in northern Peru on Tuesday, burying at least 60 homes, the government said, with harrowing images on social media showing whole apartment buildings being covered by the landslide.

"We estimate that between 60 and 80 homes have been affected by the landslide. There are many people trapped," Manuel Llempen, the governor of the Peruvian region of La Libertad, told news channel Canal N.

There were no confirmed deaths as of Tuesday at noon, but rescue squads were on the scene searching for people, according to local media.

Llempen did not explain the cause of the collapse but said it had happened in an area that is home to mining workers and not safe for the construction of homes.

Peru has high rates of housing informality, with homes often built on the edges of rivers or on the sides of hills prone to landslides.

"We are drilling into the walls and saving and rescuing people whose homes have been covered," Llempen said.
President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio expressed his admiration for the history of Vietnam during talks with Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on Tuesday.

President Bio, who is on his first official visit to Vietnam from March 14 to 20, was formally welcomed by his Vietnamese counterpart in Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During their talks following the ceremony, President Phuc highlighted the significance of President Bios visit, which takes place on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the two nations diplomatic relations.

President Bio believed that his visit will continue to tighten the strong cooperative relationship between the two countries.

He expressed his admiration for Vietnams history and how the Vietnamese people fought for national independence in the past.

Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio review the guard of honor in Hanoi, March 15, 2022. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Sierra Leonean leader added he was impressed by Vietnams achievements in socio-economic development in recent years, as well as the results of the countrys response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both presidents aired their delight at the fruitful development of the bilateral relationship across all fields.

Two-way trade has been on the rise, increasing to $51.5 million in 2021 from US$17 million in 2018.

The two nations have worked together in agriculture and investment, the leaders added.

They agreed to maintain visits and meetings at all levels, and strengthen collaboration and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially at the UN.

Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) shakes hands with Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio in Hanoi, March 15, 2022. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Both sides agreed that economic cooperation is the focus of bilateral relations, adding that the two nations will implement their signed agreements to boost trade ties, including the trade of rice.

Favorable conditions will be provided for businesses in both countries to seek cooperation and investment opportunities.

They will also turn agriculture into a key pillar by sharing experience to promote cooperation in the field within bilateral and tripartite frameworks.

Following the talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of three cooperation deals between ministries and sectors of Vietnam and Sierra Leone in diplomacy, agriculture, and fishery.

As part of his agenda, the Sierra Leonean leader met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi later the same day.

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Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son asked Russia to ensure the safety of Vietnamese people in Ukraine in their evacuation from war zones during phone talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.

During their conversation, the two officials discussed the conflict in Ukraine in a candid and constructive manner.

Minister Son suggested that Russia continue to organize humanitarian corridors and take measures to ensure the safety of civilians, including Vietnamese citizens, during their evacuation from war zones in Ukraine.

He affirmed Vietnams consistent stance that international disputes and disagreements should be resolved by peaceful measures and in compliance with the basic principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, especially the principle of respecting the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of countries.

The official asked relevant parties to exercise restraint, reduce tensions, and conduct more dialogues to find a long-term solution that is in line with international law and takes into consideration the legitimate interests of all sides.

Vietnam is willing to join the international community in contribution to this process, he added.

Minister Lavrov praised Vietnams contribution to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The official shared recent developments on the situation in Ukraine and affirmed that he would try his best to support the safe evacuation of Vietnamese citizens from conflict zones.

Regarding the Vietnam-Russia ties, Son suggested that Russia continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Russia to stabilize their life, production, and business.

About 7,000 Vietnamese people live in Ukraine, many of whom have left conflict zones for Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The country has so far organized four flights to repatriate 1,166 of these citizens.

The flight landed in Vietnam on March 8, 10, and 13.

Russia has been attacking Ukraine since February 24, saying it wants to demilitarize and denazify the neighboring country.

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Read what is in the news today:

Politics

-- Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Tuesday hosted a welcome ceremony and held talks with his Sierra Leonean counterpart Julius Maada Bio, who is on a week-long official visit to Vietnam.

-- Staff under the Vietnamese field hospital level 2 No. 3 in South Sudan were honored with the United Nations Peacekeeping medals on Tuesday for their dedication and outstanding contributions during one year of their mission.

Society

-- Hanoi authorities on Tuesday lifted an order requiring food and beverage establishments to close before 9:00 pm, which had been in place since November last year.

-- The Hanoi Department of Transport on Tuesday decided to reduce the operating frequency of subsidized public bus routes by 15 percent from Wednesday for COVID-19 prevention.

-- Police in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum announced on Tuesday the arrest of six people for their involvement in a case where 26 ancient trees had been illegally chopped down at a forest in Kon Plong District.

Lifestyle

-- Authorities in the northern Vietnamese province of Tuyen Quang will organize an International Hot Air Balloon Festival from March 30 to April 3, the International Balloon Association and the provincial Department of Culture and Information announced at a conference on Tuesday.

-- Vietnams Danh Chieu Linh won the first runner-up prize at the finale of Mister Global 2022, an annual mens beauty contest that has been held in Thailand since 2014, on Tuesday night.

Sports

-- Manchester United, eliminated from the Champions League after defeat to Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford on Tuesday, are likely to face punishment from UEFA after their fans hurled objects at visiting manager Diego Simeone, Reuters reported.

World news

-- Oil prices tumbled more than 6% on Tuesday to their lowest in almost three weeks, as Russia suggested it would allow a revival of the Iran nuclear deal to go forward and as traders worried growing pandemic lockdowns in China could dent demand, Reuters reported.

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A car driver in Vietnams northern Bac Giang Province has been prosecuted for taking a traffic policeman for a three-kilometer ride on the hood of his car after the officer tried to stop him for speeding last month.

Police in the provinces Hiep Hoa District on Tuesday said they had initiated criminal proceedings against 36-year-old Tran Van Quy, a local resident, for resisting on-duty law enforcement officers, pursuant to Vietnams Penal Code.

On February 26, a traffic police team was on duty on Provincial Road 295 in the district when they detected Quy speeding in his car.

A team member, H.N.H., approached the car and signaled Quy to pull his vehicle over.

Quy did not follow the police signal but revved up his engine and drove the car into H., forcing the officer who was standing right in front of the vehicle to jump onto its hood.

The driver kept accelerating with H. on the hood for around three kilometers and the districts police had to deploy a specialized vehicle to block his way.

While Quy was slowing down the car and turning it before continuing to run away, H. jumped off the car safely.

At 10:00 pm on the same day, Quy turned himself in to local police.

A similar case happened in Hanoi on March 19, 2020, when a traffic policeman found a local taxi driver, 22-year-old Ha Quoc Huy, violating traffic laws.

Like in Quys case, as the police officer hopped off the cab after being taken for a several-kilometer ride, Huy escaped from the scene and showed up to police later.

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Nightlife was revived on many streets in Hanoi on Tuesday after authorities lifted an order requiring food and beverage establishments to close before 9:00 pm, which had been in place since November last year.

Hanoi chairman Chu Ngoc Anh approved a new fiat on the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic and tourism reopening in the capital city on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the municipal administration allowed F&B establishments to offer sit-down services after 9:00 pm every day after imposing the 9:00 pm curfew for four months and a half.

City eateries must meet all of the COVID-19 safety criteria promulgated by health authorities.

Following the removal of the curfew, F&B establishments on famous nightlife streets in Hanoi such as Ta Hien, Luong Ngoc Quyen, and Tong Duy Tan were full of diners, especially young people, on Tuesday night.

The past months were very tough for us, said Vu Hoang, manager of three eateries on Luong Ngoc Quyen Street in Hoan Kiem District.

I still had to pay the staff, with a lower salary, though.

People enjoy nightlife at a corner of Hanoi Old Quarter in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi on March 15, 2022 after food and beverage establishments are allowed to operate after 9:00 pm. Photo: Ha Quan / Tuoi Tre

The eateries remained operating in moderation.

Electricity and water bills still came monthly.

I had to spend my own money to make up for incurred expenses several times.

While expecting moderate numbers of customers in the first few days of the full-swing reopening, Hoang hopes his eatery chain will rake in higher revenue, giving the employees more stable income in the near future.

I was very happy upon the announcement of the 9:00 pm curfew removal as I have been waiting for this day for so long, said Le Thanh Hang, the owner of another eatery on Luong Ngoc Quyen Street.

Today, customers have come in a lot, just like in the old days.

Hangs place remained busy even after 11:00 pm on Tuesday, as observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper correspondents.

People enjoy nightlife at a corner of Hanoi Old Quarter in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi on March 15, 2022 after food and beverage establishments are allowed to operate after 9:00 pm. Photo: Ha Quan / Tuoi Tre

Not only F&B business operators but many residents also expressed their joy at the nightlife revival in the city.

Im excited to be hanging out with my friends this late, Vu Quynh Huong, a 23-year-old resident of Cau Giay District, said while having a coffee with her friends at a cafe on Tong Duy Tan Street on Tuesday night.

Previously, we had to leave before 9:00 pm.

Now life has been back to the way it was.

Nguyen Thu Trang, a 31-year-old resident of Hai Ba Trung District, spent Tuesday night taking her children to Hanoi Old Quarter for their very first night out after a long time.

The children have stayed at home and studied online for so long that they have not met their friends and enjoyed fresh air, Trang said.

Now they can play and eat street snacks, so they laugh and talk a lot.

Hanoi has recorded 865,127 cases of COVID-19 since the fourth wave of the pandemic broke out in Vietnam in late April last year.

Some 6.2 million people of the citys eight million population have received two doses of vaccine, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

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Two days after the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, Nguyen Duc Huy, a 54-year-old Vietnamese engineer living in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, began supporting his compatriots.

Huy has resided in Lviv since he was 19 and considers the Ukrainian city his second hometown, where he lived happily with his family for 35 years.

When Russia launched their military action in Ukraine, Huy temporarily stopped his work as a web designer and started to help Vietnamese people who wanted to flee to neighboring countries.

Extremely busy days

Many people, including thousands of Vietnamese, made their way to Lviv, less than 50 miles from the Polish border, hoping to escape the crisis in Ukraine.

Among the people who have asked Huy for help are his many acquaintances from social media, as well as some of his close friends. He had just met many of them in person for the first time.

Since 2014, after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the laws to reunite Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia, which was considered an annexation by Ukraine and Western countries, many Vietnamese living in Ukraine have formed groups on social media platforms such as Facebook to share information and help each other.

Although they have had a sense of insecurity since then, Russia's beginning to attack Ukraine on February 24 came as a surprise to everyone.

According to Russia, it has launched a special military operation to ask the Ukrainian government to fulfill some important demands that ensure the national security and sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

The first condition is that Ukraine maintain a neutral status, which means that it will not become a member of any union or alliance, namely the European Union (EU) or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), both seen as potential threats to Russia.

Other preconditions are that Ukraine recognize the independence of the two self-proclaimed People's Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in the east of the country and accept that the Crimean peninsula is Russian territory.

The Ukrainian government does not want to follow this path, giving rise to the military attack.

The crisis has so far forced more than 2.5 million people, including thousands of Vietnamese, to flee Ukraine.

Having lived in Lviv for more than three decades, Huy knows what he must and can do to help his compatriots.

He does his best to help them find temporary housing that is safe and warm while it is still winter in Ukraine and temperatures are low.

Thanks to his help, so many Vietnamese in need have been provided with food, heat, and shelter to continue their arduous journey.

"During the first days after gunfire broke out, a lot of people came here, but in the last three days, the number has gradually decreased," said the middle-aged man.

There are merely a few Vietnamese households in Lviv, quite different from the Ukrainian east and south. The number of Vietnamese households here has dropped from six or seven to three, with a total number of five people.

Despite this small number, they have worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine to aid 2,000 to 3,000 compatriots who want to evacuate to nearby countries.

They used all their resources and personal connections to help those in dire straits.

"Some of my Ukrainian friends had asked me to take care of their homes before the evacuation. I discussed with them in the last days the likelihood to lease the houses to our compatriots," Huy told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, adding that Lviv authorities also helped the Vietnamese a lot.

"In general, our Vietnamese people have prepared carefully before evacuation.

"Most of them do not want to inconvenience others.

"There are some people who are financially better off and even gave me some money to ask me to help the less fortunate."

Among the evacuees are not only people who were picked up by Huy, but also many who came to his house by themselves after he gave them the address.

Some stayed a day or two, others are still hesitant because they do not want to leave behind the fortune they have accumulated over the last twenty or thirty years to flee the conflict.

"Currently, there are at least three queues at the Polish-Ukrainian border, one for cars, one for people, and the other for privileged cases who need special help, such as children, pregnant women, and disabled people," Huy elaborated.

"There are 10 gates at the border with Poland, if you can go through the more gates, you will be let through faster."

'I did my best to help'

Huy always spends a lot of time 'following up' on the compatriots he has helped, sending them messages, or calling them to find out if they are stable after crossing the border into Polish territory.

After saying goodbye to them, he quietly cleans up the houses and restores them to their original condition before returning them to their owners. Sometimes he used his own money to solve some problems.

"In such a situation, I did my best to help my compatriots," he laughed when asked about problems he encountered while helping others in recent times.

Like other Vietnamese living in Lviv, Huy strived to help others even though his family has met with so many obstacles.

Due to the military confrontation, Huy cannot continue his work as a web designer.

His family now has to live on their savings as prices for energy and other daily necessities are rising.

Ukraine is still experiencing winter, and although temperatures outside can drop to 2-3 degrees Celsius, the family must save up every source of energy to survive for an unpredictable period of time.

Even though the battlefield in Lviv is not too hot at the moment, there is a shortage of some essentials such as meat, vegetables, and rice.

As a domestic person, Huy does not care much about the temporary dearth.

"I would like to thank the many Vietnamese living in neighboring countries such as Poland, Slovakia, and Romania for their great kindness," he said.

"It is so sympathetic of them to help their countrymen in need since the first days of the war.

"Especially in tricky situations like this, the love and kindness of our compatriots are invaluable."

Why did they decide not to evacuate? Huy said he had received some offers of help from his friends living in other countries, but his family had decided to stay. He cited two reasons for this crucial decision. First, Duc Huy's mother-in-law, who is 80 years old, does not want to leave the country at the moment. Second, his daughter, a young woman whose sweetheart is taking part in the self-defense unit of Lviv, does not want to live far away from her boyfriend.

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NSW animation and special effects company Flying Bark Productions will create 150 new full time jobs over 3 years, following support from the NSW Governments Jobs Plus Program.

The company behind 100% Wolf, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, What If? will add a new floor to its Alexandra-based premises and support another 63 indirect jobs by June 2024.

Minister for Enterprise, Investment and Trade Stuart Ayres said, PDV is thriving in NSW and late last year we expanded our sector rebate to include the digital games industry to drive even more opportunities for companies to locate in the state.

Investing in the expansion of leading production companies, such as Flying Bark, through Jobs Plus supports our home-grown talent pool and will ensure the NSW industry maintains its competitive edge in drawing international business opportunities that rely on transferable digital skills.

Flying Bark Productions CEO Barbara Stephen said, The NSW Government has been instrumental in supporting the expansion of our industry, with the competitive PDV rebate a contributing factor in the exponential growth of our company over the past few years, along with the unprecedented demand for premium animation.

This demand and COVID-19 has caused our local talent pool to be stretched, so the Jobs Plus Program could not have come at a better time as we commit to a further 150 full-time jobs over the next three years, with a focus on entry-level positions.
A new short-form series, filmed during the pandemic, with names including Heather Mitchell, Andrew McFarlane, Catherine Van-Davies and Eryn Jean Norvill has been selected to compete at Cannes.

Its Fine, Im Fine is the only Australian entry in the official selection in-competition at CanneSeries 2022.

Created and directed by Stef Smith (Joy Boy, The Lost Tapes) the part shorts are produced by Photoplay but yet to be signed to an Australia network or subscription platform.

The series explores therapy with a magical realism, black comedy twist and features Heather Mitchell (Love Me), Andrew McFarlane (Secret City) and Arky Michael (House of Bond) alongside talented rising stars Catherine Van-Davies (Hungry Ghosts), Eryn Jean Norvill (Preppers), Wendy Mocke (Troppo) and Chris Bunton (Relic).

Writers include Ana Maria Belo, Arky Michael, Anna Lindner, Cecilia Morrow, Chris Bunton, Jeanette Cronin, Michael Gupta, Nick Coyle, Stef Smith and Wendy Mocke.

Smith said: This show melds together three things I love  happy/sad stories, magical realism & therapy. Though I dont go to therapy nearly as much as I should (but who does?). As a storyteller Im really drawn to the happy / sad moments. Look at the world around us, its impossible to be happy all the time. Life is too complex for that. Are we all alone in the Universe? I dunno but sometimes it sure as shit feels like it. I find embracing sadness is a really healthy and liberating thing.

Shooting 80 pages in eight days during a pandemic was a terrifying challenge only made possible because of our amazing team. Im a sucker for an underdog story and for our little project that could, to end up screening in a place like Cannes, is overwhelming and thrilling to say the least!

Screen Australias Head of Online Lee Naimo said: A huge congratulations to this team on being selected for CanneSeries. Creator Stef Smith along with such an exciting array of writers have brought a unique, poignant and visually beautiful story to the screen and we are proud to see it premiere on the world stage.

David Gordon, Acting Head of Screen NSW said: Screen NSW is thrilled to be a supporter of Its Fine, Im Fine, which is representing NSWs talented screen industry at its world premiere in competition at CanneSeries 2022. Supported by a stellar creative team that includes the production team at Photoplay, this heart-warming short form series directed by Stef Smith gives voice to 10 emerging Australian writers covering a range of diverse stories.

It will receive its world premiere at CanneSeries during MIPTV on April 5. Attending will be Creator / Director Stef Smith, Actor / Writer Ana Maria Belo, Actor / Writer Chris Bunton, series Editor Lily Davis and actress Margaret Pittas.
Actor Lincoln Younes (Grand Hotel, Tangle, Barons, Home & Away) will play infamous nightclub mogul John Ibrahim, in the upcoming drama series, Last King of The Cross, coming to Paramount +.

It is an honour to have the opportunity to play such a formidable character in a world where truth is often stranger than fiction. I feel privileged to lead a diverse cast with a Lebanese character at its centre, and Im excited to bring the world to Sydneys Kings Cross once more, said Younes.

Inspired by John Ibrahims autobiography of the same name, the 10 part series is described as an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organise the street but lose each other in their ascent to power.

The Helium-produced drama tracks John Ibrahims rise from a poverty-stricken immigrant with no education, no money, and no prospects, to Australias most infamous nightclub mogul in Sydneys Kings Cross.

Writer / director Kieran Darcy-Smith (Wolf Creek, The Duel), said, He is a terrific young actor and hell be taking us all on a wild ride. John Ibrahim is  amongst so many things  an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He is a fascinating and compelling character. An individual. Therefore finding the right person to portray him accurately was paramount. Finding Lincoln was a blessing.

Ibrahim has previously been portrayed on screen by Firass Dirani in Underbelly: The Golden Mile.

Last King of The Cross is expected to screen later this year.

Last King of The Cross is a Helium Pictures production for Paramount+ Australia with Cineflix Rights as the exclusive international distribution partner. Produced by Mark Fennessy and Karl Zwicky.
Virginia Trioli hosts Q+A live from Melbourne this week, which includes a live performance from Chris Cheney.

This week on Q+A, join author and international cultural icon Roxane Gay and a panel of thinkers to discuss reopening, representation, politics and how to share the stage.

Self-proclaimed bad feminist and outspoken social commentator Roxane Gay has returned to Australia to speak at key events about feminism, race and giving a platform to emerging voices.

With Australias borders finally open again, well discuss the concept of Fortress Australia. Has it left a lasting impact on our international reputation? What are the challenges ahead for tourism, employment, and key business relationships? Do we need disrupters to bring fresh ideas to the fore after such a tumultuous period?

Our great reopening comes as Australians prepare to cast their votes at the upcoming Federal Election. Which voices are being heard in the public domain? And how can we amplify the voices of those who are underrepresented.

Another key election focus will be cost of living pressures, as fuel and food prices rise rapidly. Some Coalition MPs and state Premiers are calling on the Federal Government to cut the fuel excise, which the Prime Minister is not ruling out. How would that impact our long term economic and national interests? Is it important for Governments to intervene or is there only so much they can do in the face of major events such as floods and the conflict in Ukraine?

All this, plus the news of the week  join us for an important discussion.

Guests:

Roxane Gay, Writer

Sarah Henderson, Liberal Senator for Victoria

Anne Aly, Labor MP for Cowan

Thomas Mayor, Author and advocate

Pru Goward, Former NSW Liberal Minister

Thursday, March 17 at 8.30pm on ABC.
Seven News Adelaide will cover the South Australian election this Saturday. Live rolling coverage will begin from 5.00pm.

From 6pm SA Decides 2022 sees Jane Doyle, Mike Smithson and Rosanna Mangiarelli joined by former Premier Mike Rann, MPs and Senators James Stevens, Rebekah Sharkey, Sarah Hanson-Young, State Government Minister Michelle Lensink and The Advertisers editor-at-large Paul Starick. Christopher Pyne and Labor Senator Don Farrell will also feature.

Jane Doyle said: In more than three decades covering SA elections, this weekends looms as one of the most significant and interesting.

Live coverage is always exciting and with the expert panel weve assembled, viewers can be assured theyll have the best analysis as well as up-to-the-minute results from key electorates across the state.

7NEWS Adelaide News Director, Chris Salter, said: It will be one of the biggest election broadcasts in South Australias history.

With the election tipped to be a nail-biter, well have live coverage from key electorates all over Adelaide  north, south, east, west  and across the State. Youll see the votes counted in real time, through our state-of-the-art election software.

Seven has the most plugged-in panel to break it all down and explain how it impacts our state.

7NEWS Election Coverage

Saturday 19 March, from 5.00pm on Channel 7 and 7plus

SA Decides 2022

Saturday 19 March, at 7.00pm on Channel 7 and 7plus
Season Two of German crime drama Pagan Peak begins at SBS on Demand on Thursday.

UK retro comedy Teachers will also be added, produced from 2001  2004.

Pagan Peak

Thursday, 17 March on SBS On Demand

In German with English subtitles. Two seasons available to stream.

The hunt for the Krampusliller has left its mark on the psyche of detective Ellie Stocker (Julia Jentsch). Her Austrian colleague Gedeon Winter (Nicholas Ofzcarek) is in a coma. When a young tourist is found dead near Salzburg, German and Austrian police must work together again. Yela Antic (Franziska von Harsdorf) is given the chance to prove her skills for the first time as a liaison officer in Tonia Roths (Marie Sophie von Reibnitz) murder case. Ellie must team up with Gedeon again to get to the bottom of these new murders.

Teachers (Season One To Four)

Thursday, 17 March on SBS On Demand

This comedy drama follows the exploits of school staff  both inside and out of the classroom. Teachers chronicles the chaotic lives, loves and drinking sessions of a group of hapless teachers. They might be qualified to teach, but theyve still got a lot to learn. Teachers ensemble cast features Andrew Lincoln, Nina Sosanya, Ursula Holden Gill, Gillian Bevan, Lloyd McGuire, and Ellen Thomas.
Stan is moving into longform investigative content, with a major new original documentary slate: Revealed.

The slate draws upon journalists and producers from 60 Minutes, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian Financial Review and more.

The first project, a feature documentary Amongst Us: Neo Nazi Australia directed by Bentley Dean, explores the terrifying rise of neo Nazi activity in Australia. It is presented by 60 Minutes, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald reporter Nick McKenzie. Amanda Duthie as Executive Producer works across the full Revealed slate.

Coming later this year are The Price of Hate, a forensic examination of the Frankston Serial Killer Paul Denyer, by veteran crime reporter John Silvester; Reefshot, an urgent call to action on the state of the Great Barrier Reef, with environment reporter Laura Chung embedded in the production.

Stan Chief Executive Officer Martin Kugeler said: Stans new documentary slate Revealed represents the next milestone in our collaborative partnership with Nine. This initiative gives Stan unrivalled access to the investigative journalists and producers that drive Nines world class flagship current affairs program 60 Minutes, alongside the acclaimed reporters from Nine Publishings mastheads The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian Financial Review.

Stan Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie said: Australians have an insatiable appetite for documentaries. Revealed will be a series of important stories told by the worlds best journalists and documentary filmmakers  with the chance to shift the debate and impact the lives of many Australians. We thank our partners for their support on this newly announced slate, including Screen Australia, screen agencies around the country, and the talented independent producers, directors and Nine producers and journalists who bring us these ground-breaking documentaries.

Screen Australias Head of Documentary Alex West said, Screen Australia is proud to support Reefshot which will shine a light on the spectacular environment of the Great Barrier Reef and what we can all do to save it. Were also thrilled to see Stan bringing home-grown documentaries to our screens and we look forward to these stories premiering this year.

60 Minutes Executive Producer Kirsty Thompson said: Working with Stan on the Revealed series has been a great opportunity for our team to build on the compelling story Nick McKenzie told on 60 Minutes and in the SMH and The Age. Nicks work with producer Joel Tozer exposed serious threats from neo-Nazi organisations in this country. Everyone at 60 Minutes is very proud of this investigation and pleased it will reach new audiences on Stan.

Further Revealed premiere announcements will follow.

Revealed: Amongst Us  Neo Nazi Australia  Premiering 27 March

A collaboration between Stan, 60 Minutes, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Revealed: Amongst Us  Neo Nazi Australia is an eye-opening investigation led by 12-time Walkley Award-winner and two-time Australian journalist of the year Nick McKenzie that explores the terrifying rise of neo Nazi activity in Australia. Drawing on the incredible 2x Walkley Award-winning two-part 60 Minutes story first reported by McKenzie, Amongst Us follows a brave undercover individual who infiltrates the National Socialist Network  Australias largest far-right extremist network  and exposes the everyday Aussies at the centre of the organisation and the lengths they go to extend their influence. Revealed: Amongst Us  Neo Nazi Australia is directed by Academy Award nominated documentarian Bentley Dean (Tanna, The President vs David Hicks), who produces alongside Walkley Award-winning journalist Joel Tozer (60 Minutes Producer of the 2 x Walkley Award winning stories that inspired this documentary), Academy Award nominee Tania Nehme (My Name is Gulpilil, Charlies Country) is editor and Antony Partos (Animal Kingdom, Sherpa, Tanna) composed the original score. Funding Partners: Stan, 60 Minutes.

Revealed: The Price of Hate  Premiering 2022

Revealed: The Price of Hate takes viewers back to the winter of 1993, with a journey into the deeply disturbing world of Paul Charles Denyer, the then 21-year old who is currently serving three life sentences for the Frankston murders and who will be eligible to return to the community he terrorised in 2023. Led by Australias most experienced crime reporter John Silvester and developed with the assistance of Film Victoria, the documentary explores the psychology of the serial killer, whose power to create fear in a community is magnified by the fact that he can live undetected in that community, often for years. The greatest danger of a serial killer is the camouflage that lets him masquerade as one of us. Serial murder has little to do, personally, with the victims  it is all about the killer and his motive will usually only be apparent once he has been caught. Revealed: The Price of Hate is directed and produced by award-winning documentary filmmaker Terry Carlyon (The Brotherhood, Trigger Point, Conviction). Funding partners: Stan. Developed with VicScreen.

Revealed: Reefshot  Premiering 2022

A stirring testament to 21st century conservationism and people power in action, Reefshot is more than just a call to arms to save the Great Barrier Reef. It is the story of some of the Reefs most loyal citizens racing against time to turn the tide on the danger facing the worlds largest living organism. Led by the creators of Earth Hour, a small fleet of scientists, activists and indigenous rangers set out to document and preserve the entire Reef by uploading data to one of the largest natural censuses undertaken in human history. The clock is ticking. The world is watching. But rather than getting that sinking feeling about The Reef and its fate, seeing this armada in action will inspire and empower all of us to take part in their plight. Led and executive produced by Andy Ridley (Founder of Earth Hour), Chris Chard (Bump, Romper Stomper), Damon Gameau (That Sugar Film) and the pioneering Great Reef Census team, featuring embedded reporting from The Sydney Morning Herald environment reporter Laura Chung, Revealed: Reefshot will demonstrate just what imagination, science and mass collective action can achieve, on a scale never before seen, in order to help Australias natural wonder to recover  before its too late. Funding partners: Principal production investment by Screen Australia in association with Citizens of the Reef.
Tyler, TX (75702)

Today

Cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
I cover local government in East Texas for the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Im from East Texas and love getting to report on the area I grew up in. Texas A&M University former student. If you have story ideas email me at mmcham@tylerpaper.com

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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts are welcomed upon their arrival at the Phnom Penh International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 16, 2022. A team of 10 TCM experts arrived here in the capital of Cambodia Wednesday evening to help the southeast Asian nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Phearum/Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A team of 10 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) experts arrived here in the capital of Cambodia Wednesday evening to help the southeast Asian nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The team was warmly welcomed by Cambodian health ministry's secretary of state Oeun Boraroth and Wu Guoquan, economic and commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy to Cambodia, at the Phnom Penh International Airport upon their arrival.

Boraroth said the experts will carry out medical tasks at the Cambodia China Friendship Preah Kossamak Hospital in Phnom Penh.

"The TCM experts will play an important role in sharing China's experience in treating COVID-19 patients with Cambodian doctors," he told reporters, adding that they will also carry out the clinical diagnosis and treatment of other diseases.

He said more TCM experts will be dispatched to Cambodia in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Boraroth expressed his profound gratitude to China for having provided a large number of TCMs to Cambodia, saying that they are very efficacious to treat COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.

"Traditional Chinese medicines are very useful. A lot of patients have recovered after using them," he said.

The medical team was organized by the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and selected by the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Two TCM experts have arrived in Cambodia ahead of the team to carry out medical assistance work.

Some of them used to be the frontline doctors during the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Wu said the state-level TCM medical team would train Cambodian medical professionals on how to treat COVID-19 patients using TCMs.

"You are all not only doctors who save lives and heal the wounded, but also the builders of a China-Cambodia community with a shared future," he said.

He said TCMs, namely Lianhua Qingwen capsules and Huashi Baidu granules, have been licensed to use for treating symptoms of COVID-19 patients in Cambodia, and they are very popular here and in other countries.

"Facts have proved that traditional Chinese medicines are safe and highly efficacious," Wu said.

Xu Fengqin, one of the TCM experts, said she was very pleased to be selected for such a vital mission in Cambodia.

"We hope that China's experience and TCM technology will help Cambodia to treat COVID-19 patients more effectively," she said.

Cambodia has fully resumed its socio-economic activities in all sectors and reopened its borders to fully vaccinated travelers without quarantine since mid-November last year after most of its population have been inoculated against the COVID-19.

The country reported 140 new cases and one fatality on Wednesday, bringing the national total caseload to 134,492, with 3,049 deaths and 130,028 recoveries, the health ministry said. 
Images of pregnant women fleeing a bombed maternity ward in Mariupol, Ukraine, raised again the question of how far the Russian military will be willing to go to conquer the country  and whether war crimes are being committed.

A pregnant woman is carried away from a shelled maternity hospital. She later died. AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File

In just over two weeks of the invasion, the World Health Organization has verified 39 attacks by Russians on health care facilities. Ukraine claims more civilians than Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed.

International humanitarian law, constituting agreements between countries on the laws of conduct in war, requires militaries to avoid the deliberate targeting of civilians and the use of weapons like cluster munitions that are indiscriminate  in other words, have a high chance of affecting civilians.

It also calls on warring nations to prevent extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, such as schools, residential buildings and hospitals. Simply stated, under these criteria, war crimes take place when there is excessive destruction, suffering and civilian casualties. Rape, torture, forced displacement and other actions may also constitute war crimes.

There are other international crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity. The latter consists of similar acts like rape and murder undertaken as part of widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

As a scholar of human rights and the law, I believe there is clear evidence that Russia has already engaged in violations of international law, including war crimes. Although the potential for holding Russian commanders, and even President Vladimir Putin, accountable and punishing them for international crimes is more likely than in the past, the path is likely long and difficult. Moreover, it is unknown what effect, if any, the specter of prosecution will have on the course of the war.

Thats because international justice has been unable to either prevent or prosecute many perpetrators of war crimes in the past decade.

History repeating

International law experts point to the earlier ravages of Russian military actions in both Chechnya and Syria as an indicator of the tactics Putin is willing to use in the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia fought two wars against the breakaway republic of Chechnya in the years following the fall of the Soviet Union. The second  in which Putin cut his teeth as a wartime leader  was seen as particularly brutal.

During that 1999-2000 conflict, advocacy group Human Rights Watch collected evidence that Russia carpet-bombed the capital Grozny and other towns, causing heavy civilian casualties  estimates run into the tens of thousands killed  and leaving much of the capital destroyed.

There is also compelling evidence that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed during Russias occupation of South Ossetia in Georgia in 2008 and in relation to its annexation of Crimea and engagement in eastern Donbas region in Ukraine in 2014.

In 2015, Russia participated in Syrias civil war on the side of President Bashar al-Assad by providing Russian air support to Syrias army. According to Human Rights Watch, the aerial bombardment of Aleppo supported by the Russians in 2016 was recklessly indiscriminate, deliberately targeted at least one medical facility, and included the use of indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions and incendiary weapons.

The United Nations concluded that the Russian air force was responsible for war crimes in the Syrian province of Idlib in 2019, having bombed indiscriminately a major marketplace and a displaced persons camp, killing and injuring scores of men, women and children. Russian denied any culpability. And no charges against Putin or Russian military commanders have ever been formally pursued internationally for alleged crimes in Chechnya or Syria.

The United States recently raised the prospect of Russias deploying prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine. If it does so, it will be following the lead of Putin ally Assad, whose government is known for its use of prohibited chemical weapons against civilians in Syria.

Either way, military experts expect Russias tactics in Ukraine to only intensify in its brutality and disregard for the laws of war.

In search of accountability

Many scholars pin their hopes for accountability on the International Criminal Court, which was established under the Rome Statute in 1998 with 123 states parties. The aim of the court is to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.

Although neither Russia nor Ukraine is a party to the Rome Statute, the ICC has initiated an investigation into alleged crimes based on a special declaration by Ukraine. This gives the ICC legal authority to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes committed in Ukraine since 2014.

But while this early action means that evidence might be collected in real time and speed up the usually slow process of international justice, there are still substantial problems in prosecuting these alleged crimes.

The standards set for proving massive and complex international crimes are more daunting than for domestic crimes. It is even harder to prove command responsibility by a head of state, such as Putin, particularly when there is no cooperation between the ICC and the country of the accused. Successful cases are few and have taken place only after a leaders fall from power and only if the court has cooperation with the country. Thats how Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia was prosecuted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Similarly, former President Charles Taylor of Liberia was prosecuted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

Other options for criminal trials exist outside the ICC but also face major obstacles. Advocates have harnessed the concept of universal jurisdiction  inspired by the efforts of Spain to bring former dictator Augusto Pinochet of Chile to justice  to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Syria to trial in European courts.

Legal experts are also looking at the prosecution of Putin and Russian leadership directly for the crime of aggression in regards to Ukraine.

For this crime, the ICC does not have legal authority to prosecute Putin without a U.N. Security Council referral. Given that Russia has a seat on the Security Council, where it wields a veto, that wont happen. Options include establishing a special tribunal by Ukraine with U.N. General Assembly endorsement or other international support.

But the ICC and special courts are made from scratch institutions, with limited capacity and without a police force. Practically, getting Putin or other Russian leaders into any court is an issue. For example, the ICC still struggles to capture former Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, accused of genocide and other crimes in Darfur, despite issuing arrest warrants for him in 2009 and 2010.

Age of impunity

Advocates point out that impunity  the ability to escape responsibility for violations of international law  has been on the rise for many years, along with authoritarianism.

That means the initiation of criminal investigations might have little impact on the calculations of Putin, senior Russian leadership or commanders and soldiers on the ground in Ukraine. Some international law experts argue that even where actual prosecution and punishment might not be immediate, actors who care about their legitimacy domestically or internationally are more likely to be deterred from committing more crimes by potential prosecutions. However, there are no firm conclusions about the preventive or deterrent effect of international justice.

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The actions of Russia in Ukraine might spur investigations at an unprecedented pace. And the ICC can issue arrest warrants in order to prevent the further commission of crimes. Such warrants would affect the accuseds ability to travel and officially represent the country.

When, or if, the formal label of accused war criminal gets attached to specific Russian names, it is possible that the prospect of accountability will become a more significant factor in the decision-making of those responsible for the ruthless war in Ukraine. But it will still be too late for the many victims already being identified.

Shelley Inglis is executive director at the University of Dayton Human Rights Center.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Ukrainian clergy demonstrating against the war in their country have appeared in media coverage carefully holding an image of the Virgin Mary, her outstretched hands lifting up the edges of a cloak.

The flag of Ukraine has been tied around a statue of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ outside a church in Pennsylvania amid the Russian invasion. Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

These pictures depict a particular religious icon known as the Pokrova in which Marys veil  a pokrova, or cover, in Ukrainian  is a sign of protection.

Ukrainian Marian Collection, The Marian Library, University of Dayton , CC BY-ND

I am an archivist for the Marian Library at the University of Dayton, which includes a collection of Ukrainian artwork about Mary. For Ukrainian Christians, both Orthodox and Catholic, the Pokrova image held by protesters represents a long history of seeking Marys protection during difficult times.

Queen of Ukraine

According to Orthodox tradition, Mary miraculously appeared at a church in Constantinople, or modern-day Istanbul, when the city was under attack in the early 10th century. As the story goes, Mary prayed at the churchs altar, then spread her veil over the congregation, and the invading armies withdrew.

Around a century later, in 1037, Yaroslav the Wise, the Grand Prince of Kyiv, dedicated Ukraine to Mary. To this day Mary is known as Queen of Ukraine, among her many other titles, and Oct. 14 is celebrated as the Pokrova, or Feast of the Protection.

There are other icons of Mary that have special meaning to Ukrainian Christians.

One of these is known as the Oranta or the Great Panagia. A mosaic of the Oranta is located in St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, built in the 11th century, which is one of the citys most famous spiritual landmarks. With her arms extended upward, this icon of Mary is also known as the Immovable Wall or Indestructible Wall.

St. Sophia Cathedral has survived centuries of destruction from war and is now a museum. Many Ukrainians in Kyiv believe that as long as the icon stands, Kyiv and Ukraine will continue to stand as well.

The cathedral is one of seven UNESCO world heritage sites in Ukraine, and religious and cultural authorities have voiced concern that it could be at risk during the invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has often stressed Ukrainians and Russians common religious roots in the Eastern Orthodox Church. But the cathedral is also a proud national symbol.

In 1988 Ukrainians across the world celebrated the millennium anniversary of the Baptism of Kyivan Rus. At the time, Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union, but declared its independence shortly after in 1991.

Icons created of Mary during this era show the importance of freedom and independence. In one of the icons in the Marian Library, for example, by Slovenian artist Mikulas Klimcak, Mary stands above the entire world while angels hold a banner reading Freedom.

Ukrainian Marian Collection, Marian Library, University of Dayton. , CC BY-ND

Widespread devotion

It is quite common for Christians, and even people of other faiths, to ask Mary to intercede on their behalf during hardship.

For the past two years, for example, many across the world have asked Mary to end the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, Pope Francis himself prayed before Salus Populi Romani, a famous Marian icon in Romes Basilica of St. Mary Major long associated with requests for healing. In 2020 the Italian Air Force, whose patron saint is Mary, Our Lady of Loreto, took a statue of her by plane across the country to protect citizens from the coronavirus.

Mary is also revered in Islam, and mentioned dozens of times in the Quran, as Maryam. In Saudia Arabia, a governor asked people to look toward Marys perseverance as an example to find courage at the start of the pandemic.

The mother of Jesus represents strength for many oppressed groups, from Mexican revolutionaries to Polish LGBTQ activists. In 2019, three Polish women were arrested for adding a rainbow to an icon of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, but later acquitted.

And in recent years, as refugee crises mount around the world, many religious leaders have drawn parallels to the holy familys flight to Egypt.

Devotion to Mary is one bridge between the Catholic and Orthodox traditions, as well as other faiths. As someone who has experienced human struggles of her own, and even lost her only son, Mary is a source of comfort for many.

Kayla Harris is a librarian/archivist at the Marian Library and an associate professor at the University of Dayton.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Quintessentially recently suspended its Moscow division Quintessentially

Russian lawyer Andrei Pavlov offered Kazakh prosecutor Andrei Kravchenko free membership to Quintessentially.

The concierge service, founded by Conservative party co-chair Ben Elliot, could "organize a dinner with Tony Blair", Pavlov claimed in 2014.

There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Quintessentially, Elliot, or Blair.

A Russian lawyer offered free membership to a luxury personal concierge service founded by Conservative Party co-chairman Ben Elliot to a top Kazakh official, leaked documents seen by Insider suggest.

Andrei Pavlov, who was sanctioned for his involvement in the infamous $230 million criminal conspiracy that Sergei Magnitsky was investigating before he died after being refused medical assistance in Russian police custody, told Andrei Kravchenko that he had arranged one-year access to Quintessentially.

Quintessentially has increasingly been in the spotlight as a result of Elliot's role as a fundraiser for the prime minister and as a Conservative party official. However, his position is a cause of growing unease among Conservative MPs, who fear his "contaminating" Russian links.

Pavlov told Kravchenko, the then-deputy prosecutor general of Kazakhstan, that clients received the benefit of "personal connections" including being able to "organize a dinner with Tony Blair, or get an invitation to the Oscars".

In a 2014 email to the prosecutor, seen by Insider, Pavlov said: "This service is paid, but taking into account our agreement with them, we agreed that a year of membership in Quintessentially will be free for you."

Kravchenko would receive a higher tier of membership, Pavlov added, in which "the client is allocated one personal manager who provides a more 'personal' service, as he eventually learns the details of the client's life, his needs, etc".

The top-level "Quintessence" service costs 25,000 a year, although Pavlov's membership cost 3,000, according to the documents.

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'Involved in serious corruption'

It is not clear if Kravchenko ever accepted the offer, however in the same email chain he asks for clarification as to "how you negotiated my membership" as well as how much it will cost himself and Pavlov. "I don't want to sound stingy on this issue," he added. "I certainly have the ability to pay for certain things I need  but I need to understand what I'm signing up for."

This is just one of a series of Pavlov's emails, which were leaked and posted online, following what he described at the time as a hacking attack.

The leak led to a flurry of news coverage, including reports that Pavlov had hired Lynton Crosby's lobbying and elections firm CTF to identify targets in the European Parliament who could be persuaded to prevent him being sanctioned by the EU, as reported by BuzzFeed News. CTF said at the time the project was a piece of background research and unrelated to lobbying.

Last September, the Mirror reported on Pavlov's use of Quintessentially.

In 2018, Ulukbek Maksatbekuulu, the senior assistant to Kazakhstan's attorney general for special assignments, was convicted for receiving bribes "in the form of property benefits on a large scale", from Pavlov four years earlier. He received an eight-year sentence; Pavlov was released by Kazakh authorities without indictment.

Pavlov was sanctioned in the UK in 2021 for his role in the Magnitsky case, in the first wave of designations after the Magnitsky Act was passed, having previously been sanctioned in the US in 2017.

A UK government document explaining the sanctions described Pavlov as part of "an organised criminal group [that] was involved in serious corruption," alleging that he helped the group make fraudulent claims for damages.

Charles and Diana's hairdresser

Pavlov told Kravchenko he used the service "constantly", although his email says he doesn't know the senior management "well".

The emails seen by Insider suggest Pavlov was using Quintessentially services after he was added to the European Parliament's 'Magnitsky List'.

The lawyer spent four-figure sums on English lessons, hotel trips, and luxury car hire, a series of other documents seen by Insider suggest.

They also suggest he spent nearly 3,000 at Quintessentially's education division, helping his son with his application for the private Brockhurst prep school.

Pavlov used the concierge service for more prosaic reasons, including finding his wife an Hermes bag and having a Kindle sent to his hotel in Los Angeles via Amazon, the documents suggest. He also used Quintessentially to source a hairdresser for his wife "someone who cut Diana and Charles  cost 300".

Bill Browder, the US businessman who campaigned for the Magnitsky Act, told Insider he found it "shocking that a British firm would be assisting a Russian organised crime figure, enabling him to upgrade his lifestyle."

Quintessentially membership was "considered to be a high-value gift" among elite Russian circles, Browder added. "It's like a black American Express card  even better."

A spokesman for Quintessentially told Insider his firm had not been involved in discussions with Pavlov about free membership for Kravchenko, and that no one had agreed to waive the fee.

He declined to comment on specific members, but added: "Quintessentially complies with the US, EU, and UK sanctions lists and there are currently none of its members on these lists. If a member does appear on such lists, they will cease to be a member of Quintessentially immediately."

Asked if Pavlov had ever been a member during the period in which he was sanctioned, the spokesman said: "Categorically, no."

A spokesperson for Tony Blair said: "Mr Blair has never heard of Quintessentially, let alone attended dinners arranged by them. He does not know Andrei Pavlov and has no recollection of ever meeting him, neither do we have a record of any such meeting taking place. If, as you claim, he is offering to organise a dinner with Mr Blair, he is doing it without his knowledge or permission."

Insider contacted Pavlov and Kravchenko but did not receive a response by the time of publication. CCHQ declined to comment.

'Nearly 15 years' experience providing luxury lifestyle management services to Russia's elite'

Until recently Quintessentially's Russia division boasted that it had "nearly 15 years' experience providing luxury lifestyle management services to Russia's elite and corporate members", employing more than 50 managers out of Moscow.

In a 2013 interview, Quintessentially Russia president Irina Volskaya told a local website that the firm's corporate slogan was "access to the inaccessible" and that the firm was engaged in "everything that does not contradict the law".

Bick said: "Quintessentially had a franchise office in Moscow and the license for this franchise has been suspended following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia."

He added: "The clients who were receiving Quintessentially services out of the Moscow franchise are no longer receiving services from Quintessentially."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Volta Finance Limited

Volta Finance Limited (VTA/VTAS)

Dividend Declaration

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION OR PUBLICATION,

IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES

Guernsey, 16 March 2022

Volta Finance Limited ("the Company") hereby announces a first interim dividend for the financial year commencing 1 August 2021.

The Company announces that it has declared a quarterly interim dividend of 0.15 per share payable on 28 April 2022 amounting to approximately 5.49 million, equating approximately to an annualised 8% of net asset value. The ex-dividend date is 24 March 2022 with a record date of 25 March 2022.

The Company has arranged for its shareholders to be able to elect to receive their dividends in either Euros or Pounds Sterling. Shareholders will, by default, receive their dividends in Euros, unless they have instructed the Companys Registrar, Computershare Investor Services (Guernsey) Limited (Computershare), to pay dividends in Pounds Sterling. Such instructions may be given to Computershare either electronically via CREST or by using the Currency Election Form which has been posted to shareholders and a copy of which is also available on the website www.voltafinance.com within the Investors  Other Documents section. The deadline for receipt of currency elections is 12:00 (midday) on 28 March 2022.

CONTACTS

For the Investment Manager

AXA Investment Managers Paris

Serge Demay

serge.demay@axa-im.com



+33 (0) 1 44 45 84 47

Company Secretary and Administrator

BNP Paribas Securities Services S.C.A, Guernsey Branch

guernsey.bp2s.volta.cosec@bnpparibas.com

+44 (0) 1481 750 853

Corporate Broker

Cenkos Securities plc

Andrew Worne

Daniel Balabanoff

+44 (0) 20 7397 8900

*****

ABOUT VOLTA FINANCE LIMITED

Volta Finance Limited is incorporated in Guernsey under The Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (as amended) and listed on Euronext Amsterdam and the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities. Voltas home member state for the purposes of the EU Transparency Directive is the Netherlands. As such, Volta is subject to regulation and supervision by the AFM, being the regulator for financial markets in the Netherlands.

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Voltas investment objectives are to preserve capital across the credit cycle and to provide a stable stream of income to its shareholders through dividends. Volta seeks to attain its investment objectives predominantly through diversified investments in structured finance assets. The assets that the Company may invest in either directly or indirectly include, but are not limited to: corporate credits; sovereign and quasi-sovereign debt; residential mortgage loans; and, automobile loans. The Companys approach to investment is through vehicles and arrangements that essentially provide leveraged exposure to portfolios of such underlying assets. The Company has appointed AXA Investment Managers Paris an investment management company with a division specialised in structured credit, for the investment management of all its assets.

*****

ABOUT AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a multi-expert asset management company within the AXA Group, a global leader in financial protection and wealth management. AXA IM is one of the largest European-based asset managers with 2,460 professionals and 887 billion in assets under management as of the end of December 2021.

*****

This press release is published by AXA Investment Managers Paris (AXA IM), in its capacity as alternative investment fund manager (within the meaning of Directive 2011/61/EU, the AIFM Directive) of Volta Finance Limited (the "Volta Finance") whose portfolio is managed by AXA IM.

This press release is for information only and does not constitute an invitation or inducement to acquire shares in Volta Finance. Its circulation may be prohibited in certain jurisdictions and no recipient may circulate copies of this document in breach of such limitations or restrictions. This document is not an offer for sale of the securities referred to herein in the United States or to persons who are U.S. persons for purposes of Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or otherwise in circumstances where such offer would be restricted by applicable law. Such securities may not be sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration from the Securities Act. Volta Finance does not intend to register any portion of the offer of such securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of such securities in the United States.

*****

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the Order) or (iii) high net worth companies, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as relevant persons). The securities referred to herein are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents. Past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.

*****

This press release contains statements that are, or may deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believes", "anticipated", "expects", "intends", "is/are expected", "may", "will" or "should". They include the statements regarding the level of the dividend, the current market context and its impact on the long-term return of Volta Finance's investments. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Volta Finance's actual results, portfolio composition and performance may differ materially from the impression created by the forward-looking statements. AXA IM does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements.

Any target information is based on certain assumptions as to future events which may not prove to be realised. Due to the uncertainty surrounding these future events, the targets are not intended to be and should not be regarded as profits or earnings or any other type of forecasts. There can be no assurance that any of these targets will be achieved. In addition, no assurance can be given that the investment objective will be achieved.

The figures provided that relate to past months or years and past performance cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance or construed as a reliable indicator as to future performance. Throughout this review, the citation of specific trades or strategies is intended to illustrate some of the investment methodologies and philosophies of Volta Finance, as implemented by AXA IM. The historical success or AXA IMs belief in the future success, of any of these trades or strategies is not indicative of, and has no bearing on, future results.

The valuation of financial assets can vary significantly from the prices that the AXA IM could obtain if it sought to liquidate the positions on behalf of the Volta Finance due to market conditions and general economic environment. Such valuations do not constitute a fairness or similar opinion and should not be regarded as such.

Editor: AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS PARIS, a company incorporated under the laws of France, having its registered office located at Tour Majunga, 6, Place de la Pyramide - 92800 Puteaux. AXA IMP is authorized by the Autorite des Marches Financiers under registration number GP92008 as an alternative investment fund manager within the meaning of the AIFM Directive.

*****




The return of the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) to European soil has been a thorough success and the 5,300 Main Event in the King's Casino at the Hilton Hotel in Prague has concluded. Out of a field of 1,190 entries, Grzegorz Glowny defeated Andrea Cortellazzi in heads-up play to claim the biggest portion of the 5,771,500 prize pool.

For the victory, Glowny earned a payday of 692,252 and the maiden post-pandemic EPT Main Event title. The top four finishers all locked up career-best prizes and agreed to an ICM deal in the second attempt after the first negotiations fell through. Notably, it was Glowny who declined the deal and became the short stack only to stage a successful comeback thereafter.

The winner story of Glowny very much reminds one of the victory of fellow countryman Piotr Nurzynski in Barcelona 2018, who qualified online at PokerStars while traveling in South America with his fiance. Likewise, Glowny earned his entry in the Main Event via a 530 satellite and scored the biggest cash of his career. En route to victory, he was supported by a boisterous rail including his partner and became the fifth EPT champion from Poland.

Among the final four who agreed to an ICM deal was also Symeon Alexandridis and Gab Yong Kim, the latter of which locked up the biggest cash prize but was the first to depart thereafter. Armin Rezaei became the first casualty on the final day followed by Demetrio Caminita.

The former EPT champions Dimitar Danchev and Hossein Ensan were eliminated on the penultimate day, missing out on the chance to become the third two-time champion of the popular live poker series.

2021 EPT Prague 5,300 Main Event Final Table Results

Place Winner Country Prize (in EUR) 1 Grzegorz Glowny Poland 692,252* 2 Andrea Cortellazzi Italy 579,420* 3 Symeon Alexandridis Greece 497,278* 4 Gab Yong Kim South Korea 622,610* 5 Demetrio Caminita Italy 245,870 6 Armin Rezaei Austria 181,800 7 Teun Mulder Netherlands 138,570 8 Valentino Konakchiev Bulgaria 98,750

*The final four players agreed to an ICM deal and continued to play for 110,796 and the trophy

When asked if he can put into words what had just happened, Glowny was quite overwhelmed: "Absolutely not. It's too much. I am too tired to think otherwise. It's obviously a massive win."

Glowny remarked that the pressure on the final table was very high but he was able to stay focused. He also mentioned a difficult spell when he went card dead and became the short stack. This was not unknown territory for Glowny throughout the last few days as he was a short stack near the money bubble and even dropped to as little as four big blinds on Day 4.

After the first deal negotiations fell through, Glowny was on the ropes once more but scored a pivotal double through then chip leader Kim.

"I ran ace-jack into ace-king. I don't know if this was even a decent move or not and I got lucky. After that, my confidence was back. So, yeah, for the most part, I think I was able to be focused", Glowny said with a smile on his face.

He has been playing poker for a few years and mainly focused on the online poker arena. In what became his first EPT Main Event ever, Glowny tasted success in the most remarkable way.

"Live tournaments are a completely new thing," he said, but he will certainly continue to take part in live events from now on after such an amazing experience.

Action of the Final Day

After a topsy turvy previous day, South Korea's Kim entered the final day with the lead and preserved it during the opening stages. Glowny then pulled to the top of the leaderboard after he knocked out Rezaei with ace-king suited versus ace-queen suited in a preflop contest. He was also responsible for the elimination of Caminita as well after winning a "fake flip and go" with pocket fives versus eight-six suited.

From there on, the action became somewhat cagey and Alexandridis stuck around with a shorter stack. Deal discussions broke out during the break but it was Glowny who declined and the action carried on. The following level saw the rise of the Greek while Glowny became the short stack only for the roles to be reversed once more.

When the final four contenders agreed to deal numbers, the action and atmosphere at the table visibly loosened up. Alexandridis went from short stack to chip leader in quick succession and Cortellazzi then doubled through him to take over control. The Italian knocked out Kim with a turned flush against two pair to become the runaway chip leader.

Glowny double twice through Alexandridis and then finished the job he had started when a dominated ace got there to knock out the Greek in third place. That set up the stage for a thrilling duel in which Cortellazzi mixed up his strategy regularly and utilized open-shoves as a weapon. This ultimately backfired when he pushed with an ace and Glowny held with pocket queens to take an overwhelming lead, the tournament then concluded in the very next hand.

Grzegorz Glowny

Grzegorz Glowny

This concludes a successful return for PokerStars to the live poker scene in Europe with its flagship EPT series, which is set to have the next stop in just over a month from now. The 1,100 Eureka Main Event and the 2,200 Eureka High Roller set new records in the Czech Republic and the 5,300 Main Event came up short by just three entries to achieve the same feat. From April 28 until May 07, 2022, the Casino de Monte-Carlo will once more be the host venue on the French Riviera.
Suzanne Turner Named Assistant Director of the Inspection Division

Director Christopher Wray has named Suzanne Turner as the assistant director of the Inspection Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington. The division conducts internal investigations, reviews operational performance and use-of-enforcement authorities in all investigative programs, and conducts special inquiries.

Ms. Turner most recently served as the special agent in charge of the San Diego Field Office.

Ms. Turner joined the FBI as a special agent in 1998 and reported to the San Diego Field Office. She initially worked violent crime matters, but soon moved to investigating major Mexican narcotics cases. In 2001, while still in San Diego, she shifted to counterterrorism work as part of the team investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

In 2003, Ms. Turner transitioned to investigating public corruption in San Diego. She was promoted in 2007 to supervisory special agent and worked corporate, securities, and healthcare fraud and served as the white-collar crime and asset forfeiture manager. In 2011, she transferred to San Diegos Human Intelligence Squad.

Later in 2011, Ms. Turner was promoted to assistant inspector in the Inspection Division.

She returned to San Diegos Human Intelligence Squad in 2012 and was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of San Diegos Intelligence Branch in 2014. As ASAC, she oversaw the field intelligence groups, the surveillance program, the foreign language unit, and other programs. In 2017, she was appointed ASAC of San Diegos National Security Branch, responsible for counterterrorism, counterintelligence, cyber, weapons of mass destruction, and other programs.

Ms. Turner was promoted to section chief in the Inspection Division at Headquarters in 2018. She was then promoted in 2020 to deputy assistant director of the Training Division and oversaw all operations at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Director Wray named her the special agent in charge of the San Diego Field Office later in 2020.

Prior to joining the FBI, Ms. Turner served as a sheriffs deputy and a police officer in Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Science in human resources management from Syracuse University.

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Press freedom degenerates into political tool as Western media hire Chinese reporters in new China-bashing campaign

Xinhua) 08:16, March 16, 2022

* In the name of "press freedom," the Western media have produced piles of fake reports on China with their Chinese employees as authors or co-authors.

* It is a miscalculation by the Western media that their anti-China stories will enjoy more credibility if told by journalists with Asian faces.

* Manipulating these journalists to misrepresent China and stir up ideological bias against the country has once again revealed that so-called "press freedom" touted by the Western media is just a handy tool to advance a narrow political agenda.

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- In a recent smear campaign against China, the Western media have recruited a cohort of Chinese media practitioners as pawns to propagate their China-bashing rhetoric.

Don't expect these anti-China stories to be convincing, even if narrated by Chinese journalists, most of whom are born in China and appear in front of television screens as so-called "China experts."

Manipulating these journalists to misrepresent China and stir up ideological bias against the country has once again revealed that so-called "press freedom" touted by the Western media is just a handy tool to advance a narrow political agenda.

ANTI-CHINA MISINFORMATION

A staff member carries medical supplies donated by the China Chamber of Commerce in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

In the name of "press freedom," the Western media have produced piles of fake reports on China with their Chinese employees as authors or co-authors.

The stories have distorted China's domestic and foreign policies and reinforced the highly biased image of China in the Western world, gravely violating basic professional ethics and eliminating any sense of objectivity.

China's anti-pandemic fight has been one of the primary targets in this misinformation war. The Western media's Chinese employees have written articles claiming that China covered up the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan at the beginning and misled the world in COVID-19 origins tracing. They have also criticized China's approach to handling the pandemic as "too rigid."

The facts speak for themselves. China reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization early on, shared the genome sequence of the virus with the rest of the world, and released information about the epidemic in a timely, open and transparent manner.

China has also been active in sharing anti-epidemic response experiences with the world and sending large quantities of supplies, vaccines and medicines to other countries, and has been engaged in science-based cooperation on COVID-19 origins tracing.

Furthermore, China has enjoyed widespread support from the Chinese public in its approach to stemming the spread of the disease.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus gives a speech via video during a virtual Briefing on China's Experience on COVID-19 Response in Beijing, capital of China, March 12, 2020. (National Health Commission/Handout via Xinhua)

Chinese reporters in Western media have also cobbled together "evidence" depicting China's so-called human rights violations.

Among these fabrications are the deplorable reports about the so-called "genocide" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang, which have been debunked by Chinese and foreign experts, ordinary people living there, as well as official data.

The same ploy has also been manipulated to slander China as an irresponsible player on the international stage.

Such baseless accusations have torn up the Western media's claim of being the epitome of trustworthiness and objectivity.

PSEUDO "CHINA EXPERTS"

It is a miscalculation by the Western media that their anti-China stories will enjoy more credibility if told by journalists with Asian faces.

Nothing could be further from the truth, but that hasn't stopped Western media from claiming their reporters are "China experts."

Chi Wang, president of the U.S.-China Policy Foundation who previously served as the head of the Chinese section at the U.S. Library of Congress, said individuals who have no qualms over claiming expertise "are crawling out of the woodwork."

In the United States, these so-called experts either smear China or extol the importance of confronting China in critical fields.

"It seems everyone with a pen, an opinion, and an audience is suddenly somehow an expert on arguably the most complex bilateral relationship in the world," said Wang, also a professor of U.S.-China relations and modern China at U.S. Georgetown University.

A cotton picker works in the fields at Yuli County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhao Ge)

Failing to comprehend China's development path, how Confucianism shapes Chinese social interactions and how human rights operate in China, these so-called "China experts" have become accomplices in the Western media's misinformation campaigns and partially explain the public's declining confidence in the news media.

In the 21st annual Edelman Trust Barometer released last year, researchers found that for the first time, less than half of all Americans say they have any trust in U.S. mainstream media, with 56 percent believing that "journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations."

In September 2021, Javier Garcia, then head of the Beijing office of Spain's EFE News Agency, announced his decision to leave journalism because "the embarrassing information war against China has taken a good dose of my enthusiasm for this profession."

Garcia had enough of the Western media's obsession with tarnishing China's image. The American public is fed up, too.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
JERUSALEM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced the detection of a new COVID-19 strain.

This is a combined strain of the original Omicron lineage BA.1 and its subvariant BA.2, which was detected from two arriving passengers at the Ben Gurion International Airport in recent days, said the ministry.

Both passengers suffered from mild symptoms of fever, headaches and muscle aches, and did not require special medical attention, it added.

The ministry said that it would continue monitoring the results of sequencing tests.

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 6,310 new COVID-19 cases in the past day, bringing the total tally of infections to 3,734,462. 
The first business trip was conducted by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to attend the 130th anniversary of the establishment of Ha Giang province.

On December 8, 2021, Phuc came to offer incense and flowers to pay tribute to heroes and martyrs at Vi Xuyen National Martyrs Cemetery as part of the working trip.

Vi Xuyen was a fierce battlefield against Chinese invaders throughout 10 years (1979-1989). The place is considered the lime kiln of the century, but Vietnamese soldiers never flinched. The men at the age of 18-20 struggled to protect every inch of the fatherland.

At Vi Xuyen Cemetery, there is a stone stele engraved with nine words Song bam da, chet hoa da, thanh bat tu (living on the stone, turning stone when dying, becoming immortal). The inscription was engraved on the buttocks of Martyr Nguyen Viet Ninh, a Muong ethnic minority man from Minh Hoa, Yen Lap of Phu Tho province. This was also the oath of all the fearless combatants on the land.

Earlier this year, at Vi Xuyen National Martyr Cemetery, where there exist 1,850 graves of martyrs and a mass grave of martyrs, people gathered, including 1,600 martyrs from all provinces of the country who heroically fought and sacrificed in the battle to protect the northern border area. In Ha Giang, as many as 2,000 martyrs still have not been found. The work of restoring, expanding and gathering the remains of martyrs who died in the struggle to protect the northern border at ViXuyen cemetery is still being carried out.

One month later, on January 26, 2022, during his business trip to Quang Ninh, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh came to Po Hen Memorial Site in Hai Son Commune of Mong Cai to offer incense to commemorate the heroes and martyrs who sacrificed in the struggle to protect the northern border area in February 1979.

This place marks the brave fighting and sacrifices of officers and soldiers of the Police Station No 209, officers of Hai Son agro-forestry plantation, and employees of the trade sector with many unforgettable memories.

Senior Sergeant Doan Tien Phuc, before his death, tried to bury a bag of secret documents. Deputy head of the station Do Si Hoa replied to the enemy that Our troops do not know how to surrender; Hoang Thi Hong Chiem, a militia member, together with her boyfriend  Senior Sergeant Bui Anh Luong  fought side by side fought to the last.

All the stories about the 86 cadres and soldiers who together struggled to protect the sovereignty of the fatherland are related on the stele of the PoHen memorial site.

Visiting the memorial site, the Prime Minister affirmed that every citizen is a soldier who protects the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

On March 12, Prime Minister Chinh took a field trip to Cam Lam district of KhanhHoa province.

The trip attracted the attention of the public as this was the first time a head of the Government offered incense to commemorate and pay tribute to the martyrs at Gac Ma Memorial Site in Cam Hai Dong commune in Cam Lam district.

The trip took place just two days before the 34th anniversary of China's illegal use of force to occupy the submerged reef of Gac Ma (Johnson South Reef), belonging to the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago of Vietnam.

The Prime Minister said that the 64 soldiers of the Vietnam People's Navy who bravely and selflessly defended the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland are shining examples of revolutionary heroism, embellishing the heroic tradition of the Vietnamese nation.

During the working session with the Standing Committee of Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, the PM emphasised the task of building Truong Sa island district into an economic, cultural and social center of the country, a solid stronghold protecting the country's sovereignty over sea and islands.

The recent trips to offer incense and lay wreaths to commemorate heroes and martyrs who died in the fight to protect the northern border in February 1979 and the battle on Gac Ma on March 14, 1988 of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other senior leaders have much significance and responded to people's thoughts and feelings about historic events.

The heroic years and months in the nations history of protecting the country will never be forgotten. Vietnamese people remember historic events to learn lessons about the fighting against aggressors and defending the country in modern days. They remember the pain so as to value peace. The memory of Vi Xuyen, Po Hen and Gac Ma will never be erased from the mind of Vietnamese citizens.

Respecting history is the best way for us to educate the next generations and teach them that when you eat a fruit, think of the man who planted the tree, so that they live with higher responsibility and, in all situations, continue the heroic tradition of the forefathers to protect every inch of the sacred land and the integrity of the country's sovereignty over seas and islands.

Nguyen Duy Xuan - Thai An

Vietnamese youth must not forget the deaths of soldiers at Gac Ma in 1988 Colonel Nguyen Van Khanh, former Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations of the Engineers Brigade No 83, says that young people mustnt forget the 64 fallen soldiers who protected the sovereignty of the fatherland.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday said that the future of China's Taiwan region, as well as Taiwan compatriots' security and wellbeing, lies in the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and national reunification, rather than "empty promises" from external forces.

Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authority has miscalculated the situation as it looks for U.S. support for its independence agenda and attempts to rely on external forces' help to split China, said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office. 
The Waco Fire Department Dive Team, assisted by Waco police, Tow King employees and others, pulled a car from Lake Waco, near a boat ramp, around midday Wednesday.

By Wednesday evening, officials learned the vehicle had been reported stolen in 1987.

Police Officer Kurt Morsbach and Fire Lt. M. O. Herbert said the vehicle is a 1985 Honda CRX. Under caked-on mud, the paint appeared to have been white and no license plate was found on the car.

The next step is for investigators to try to determine how long the car was submerged, Waco police spokesperson Cierra Shipley said shortly after it was retrieved. They will also try to link it to its owner and find people connected to it.

Later Wednesday, Shipley said investigators found a hidden vehicle identification number or VIN and used it to determine the car had been reported stolen more than three decades ago.

After the small car emerged from the water at Koehne Park upside down, tow truck operators from Tow King used cables to flip the vehicle back right side up.

Nothing readily apparent in the vehicle after it emerged from the water indicated it might have been connected to any crime, Morsbach said as he gave the vehicle a cursory examination after it turned back over.

A fisherman saw the vehicle on his fish finder Monday about 55 yards away from the boat ramp, near white buoys, and reported it to police Tuesday, Morsbach said.

Herbert led the fire department divers who found the car Wednesday. He said that with the amount of algae built up on the car and the amount of aquatic life gathered on it, it could not have been under water since the mid to late 1980s.

He and Morsbach differed their assessment of the condition of the vehicle after it emerged from the water. Herbert said it appeared to have been burned before being dumped in the lake.

Morsbach said that what appeared to be charred and burned waterlogged material on the underside of the car was actually a layer of mud.

Fire Lt. Keith Guillory said the dive team could recover nothing else from the car.

The vehicle would first go to the towing companys yard and then to the police department for a thorough examination, Herbert said.

Police investigators will search for people connected to the vehicle and see what that reveals, Shipley said. The investigation is ongoing.

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VALPARAISO  The new Valparaiso Public Library director didnt plan on starting another chapter in her life, but so far, shes loving it.

Debi Woodburn, who moved to Valparaiso about two years ago to be closer to family, took over as the library director on Feb. 1 after eight months of working part-time at the library.

Before that, Woodburns experience working with libraries was limited, but shes confident she can continue the librarys forward momentum since previous director Deanna Priefert took over in May 2021.

The library director who preceded Priefert was Lori Springer, who was arrested in 2021 for allegedly using the librarys Amazon account to make personal purchases. Her case is still pending in court.

Theres been a lot of trauma, and I dont know a lot about it or all about it, Woodburn said. But I know people have kind of backed away from the library, I think, because of it. But they are really starting to come back in, I feel like.

Woodburns strategy to continue rebuilding public trust in the library is to host events that bring the community into the library to see what it has to offer.

In February, she held three events at the library  one for children, one for teens and one for adults  each with the theme of book cover art. She said the attendance has already started to increase, and she hopes it will stay that way as she makes the library more visible.

It started slow, and its really starting to pick up, she said. Im working on the website a lot, just trying to get fresh things out at least once a week and trying to do something to keep the library in front of the community.

Shes learning on the go, though, and shes up for the challenge. Her new gig is one more adventure in a life full of them.

Woodburn grew up in the Tampa Bay area and attended Florida State University and the Ringling College of Art and Design on scholarship. Her resume includes two decades working as a flight attendant, which eventually scored her a role as the lead steward on the first nonstop flight from New York to Tokyo.

So Ive been everywhere, just about, Woodburn said.

She liked that job because she could get a lot of her monthly flight time out of the way in just a few days, which allowed her to spend her free time with her family or working on her art.

Her dream was to one day own an art gallery, and after her husbands job led the family to the Kansas City area, she reached her goal. In 2000, she opened the Community of Fine Art Gallery in the Liberty, Mo. town square.

In that time, she was active in Libertys arts community, serving as a county art commissioner and a City of Liberty art commissioner. She launched the nonprofit Northland Arts Coalition in 2004, too, which she said aimed to expose underprivileged youth to art education.

"But when you run a business, youre kind of married to it," she said. "When I got in the dream, I thought, Okay, do I want to manage a gallery and teach classes, or really is my heart just to do my art.'

So, Ive been able to do both, which is pretty cool.

After a few years living near Houston, she moved to Nebraska, where her daughter had gone to college.

She had planned to retire in Valparaiso, but when a part-time job at the Valparaiso Public Library opened up, she took it.

I thought, Well, I could get to know some people, she said. I took that job and almost fell backwards into this job (as library director).

Shes taking classes to familiarize herself with the ins and outs of running a library, and she said shes enjoyed the learning curve.

I never thought Id be doing this, but its something Im finding I really love, Woodburn said.

Her long-term goals for the library include a few interior renovations  replacing the carpet, repainting the walls. And she hopes to receive grant funding from History Nebraska to help restore the bank vault from the library buildings former life as Oak Creek Valley Bank.

To realize those goals will require support from the Valparaiso Public Library Board of Trustees, but she said the board has been supportive since she took over.

They all seem to have a real passion to keep this going and not let anything thats happened in the past kind of strip the community of its library, Woodburn said.

So even though Woodburn is new to Valparaiso, she hopes to become a familiar face for readers young and old. She thinks the support system in place will be strong enough to reestablish the library as a pillar in the community.

I hope that the whole community can kind of move beyond (the library drama) and just embrace the fact that this little bitty town does have a really neat library as a resource, she said.

Sam Crisler is a reporter for The Waverly News. Reach him via email at samuel.crisler@wahoonewspaper.com.
WAHOO  The Wahoo City Council heard four options for upgrading city hall that include remodeling the existing facililty and/or added a new structure.

Marv Larson, senior program manager with JEO Consulting Group, presented the options during the councils regular meeting March 8.

City hall, which was built in 1958, includes the city offices and police station. Even though it is more than five decades old, it is still in good shape structurally and is in a prime location, Larson said.

So it has a lot of benefits, certainly, he added.

However, the current use of the building is not ideal, Larson said. There are privacy and acoustic issues in the city offices, access to the council chambers through the police department is inadequate, there is an inefficient use of space in the area occupied by police and security issues and there is space on the lower level that is underutilized, he explained.

Other drawbacks to the current facility include the presence of hazardous materials, including asbestos, that will need to be addressed during any future construction projects. Also, the building sits on a small parcel of land, .3 acres, and there is no room for expansion there, Larson said.

JEO was hired to conduct a study of the building and come up with possible solutions. Larson said they thoroughly inspected the building and created a 3D model to determine the four options.

Larson provided four options that range from remodeling and reconfiguring the current facility to renovating city hall to become solely a facility for police and emergency medical services (EMS) and relocating city hall.

Option 1 would move the council chambers into the current garage bays and move the police department into the existing city offices. The city offices would then be located in the south and west sides of the building. The basement would be used for police department and EMS, and the kitchen and restrooms would be remodeled there.

The opinion of cost for this option is around $1 million.

The plan for Option 2 is very similar to the first option, with a slight change to the council chamber configuration. The opinion of cost also increased slightly, by about $250,000 over Option 1.

The third and fourth options include new construction, which makes the price tag higher. Option 3 would keep the city offices in city hall and relocate the police and EMS to a new building. The opinion of cost is in the range of $3.1 to $3.7 million.

The fourth option would relocate city hall to a new facility and renovate the existing building for police and EMS. The opinion of cost drops slightly to $2.9 to $3.5 million, because the cost of building a new police/EMS facility in Option 3 is higher due to security and technology needs, according to Larson.

The timeline for the first two options is 13 to 16 months, while options 3 and 4 could take 21 to 30 months, Larson said.

Council President Stuart Krejci asked why the city would need to renovate city hall and build a new facility if there is underutilized square footage in the present building.

Larson said Wahoos anticipate growth creates the need to look beyond the next 10 to 15 years. He also noted that the options presented were not meant to be final solutions, but were developed to start discussion about the direction the council wants to go with the project, the cost and scheduling.

Mayor Jerry Johnson suggested the council schedule a work session to narrow down the options. No other action was taken.

Suzi Nelson is the managing editor of the Wahoo Newspaper. Reach her via email at suzi.nelson@wahoonewspaper.com.
WATERLOO  A 21-year-old woman will spend the next six months in federal prison after she bought a gun that was later used in a homicide by a friend of a friend.

Destiny Nacole Harrington of Waterloo was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Cedar Rapids to six months in prison followed by four months of home detention and three years of supervised release.

Harrington pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm in November, according to court records.

According to prosecutors, Harrington purchased a 9 mm firearm from an undisclosed business in Cedar Falls in August, and allegedly represented to the business that she was purchasing the gun for herself. But prosecutors say she was buying the gun for her friend, a felon who under federal law cannot purchase or possess guns.

Less than two days after the purchase, another unnamed person allegedly used the gun to shoot and kill someone. There was no evidence Harrington knew the gun was going to be used for that purpose, and Harrington has no criminal record.

Harrington was one of more than a dozen people indicted on unrelated federal gun charges in Waterloo and Cedar Falls in September.

Its not clear where the homicide took place. But only one homicide happened in Waterloo in August, when Dayton L. Sanders, 20, of Waterloo was shot and killed during a botched robbery.

Waterloo Police allege Sanders, Daijon Jarell Stokes and Alvonni A.J. Jante Stone had attempted to rob Cedrick Smith during a synthetic marijuana deal on Aug. 24. Smith was beaten and began to drive off, and he fired a pistol when Sanders  apparently carrying an empty handgun  ran after his car.

Sanders, 20, collapsed in the U.S.Highway 218 median during a thunderstorm and died.

Smith wasnt charged in Sanders death, but he is awaiting trial for drug offenses as part of the robbery and shooting investigation. Stokes was found guilty of lesser assault charges during a January trial, and is awaiting sentencing. Stone is awaiting trial for robbery.

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WATERLOO  The Cedar Valleys longest-serving state representative is seeking another two-year term that would give him a total of two decades in office.

Rep. Bob Kressig, 68, a Democrat from Cedar Falls, officially filed for a tenth two-year term Tuesday, in order to continue his strong support for public education, job creation for the middle class and support for small businesses in the Cedar Falls community, his campaign noted in an email.

Only Sen. Bill Dotzler, who has served in the Senate since 2002 and in the House two terms before that, has been in office longer among current officeholders.

Kressig currently serves as the ranking member on the House Transportation Committee, as well as on the commerce and public safety committees, and said he is also committed to improving access to mental health services in Iowa, according to the release.

If you look at where were ranked nationwide with services for mental health, its not good, Kressig said at last weeks Cedar Valley legislative forum on health.

Iowa ranks 36th among the 50 states and District of Columbia for prevalence of mental health disorders and 18th in access to insurance and treatment for an overall ranking of 23rd, unchanged from 2021, according to the State of Mental Health in America 2022 report. But among adults with a mental illness, 32.9% of such Iowans reported not being able to access treatment, the second-worst ranking in the country.

Iowa has a significant amount of money in reserves that we could utilize to restart and shore up mental health programs, Kressig said. Its frustrating to me. We need to do something.

Kressig will face familiar voters: His district has largely been redistricted in name only, changing from District 59 to District 75, and continues to include the bulk of northern Cedar Falls.

Kressig was first elected to the district in 2004, when it was District 19, and from 2004 through 2016 faced competition  Republican Darin Beck, a well-known restaurant developer, came closest, with Kressig winning 52.4% of the vote to Becks 47.6% in 2010.

But in the last two elections, Republicans did not field a candidate in Kressigs district, and no Republican had filed as of Tuesday. Candidates have until Friday to file for federal and state office.

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KABUL, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The cabinet of Afghanistan's caretaker government has ordered the removal of pictures of Taliban leaders from military vehicles, a statement from the government said Wednesday.

The order came after a weekly cabinet meeting was held.

There are still some Taliban members carrying the pictures of their leaders in military vehicles.

According to the statement, the ministries of national defense and interior and the General Directorate of Intelligence, or the national intelligence agency, have been asked to order their subordinates to remove all pictures of the Taliban leaders from military vehicles.

The cabinet meeting also discussed the issues including transportation and the problems facing the Afghan traders, the statement added. 
CEDAR FALLS  Imagine a personal business producing shoes, then amidst war, pivoting to make boots for soldiers.

What about having math class over Zoom while airstrikes hit schools, churches, and hospitals in your home country? And what if you had to ultimately give up basically everything to seek refuge in another country?

Its 2022, and thats been the reality for Svetlana Karplyuk, 55, and her daughter, Uliana, 17. They recently fled their home in Ukraines capital Kyiv and made the trek to cross the western border into Poland.

From there they took a flight to Chicago, where they were met by Svetlanas sister, Tatiana Ivaschenko Jackson. The Ukrainian-born artist who once lived in Russia  and attended the University of Northern Iowa in the early 1990s as part of a student exchange program  brought them to her home in Cedar Falls.

With the help of the Cedar Valley community, the family has raised hundreds of dollars for medical equipment, kits and other supplies for the Ukrainian army.

Svetlanas other daughter, Olga, is still overseas, having refused to leave her husband, Ruslan, who is forced to stay in Ukraine because martial law mandates military-age men stay to help with the war effort.

The husband and wife have connections that allow the family to help from the United States.

I know Ukraine is being protected by our army and God, said Svetlana, who on top of everything she owned, gave up her small business, a shoe factory, and apartment. I pray for Ukraine, our army and our president. I know Ukraine will win.

Theyve been assisted by Cedar Valley-based friends Karin Leonard and Hilda Ostby, who are also collecting aid for Ukraine. They can be reached at (319) 290-5948 and (319) 504-3257, respectively.

Svetlana and Uliana began the long trek to the border in a car with their family Feb. 24 immediately after Russian President Vladimir Putins army attacked its neighbor Ukraine, a country that became independent from the USSR in 1991.

A few million Ukrainians had the same idea. As they traveled toward Poland, the line of cars eventually stretched many miles long.

As they got closer to the border, it was easier to get there on foot. People in surrounding villages graciously helped women and their children by providing essentials to make their trip possible and less grueling.

It took them four days. They arrived in Poland on Feb. 28, took a flight and made it to Cedar Falls on March 5 with their few remaining possessions  basically the clothes on their backs.

It was scary, Uliana said. We were constantly nervous about what was going to happen as sirens were blaring.

They were able to come to the United States because the family had travel visas from previous trips visiting family. Uliana, who is supposed to graduate later this year, acknowledged that the rest of her 30 or so classmates were not as lucky to have the opportunity to get out of the war zone.

One of her teachers continues to give math lectures at 3 p.m. Ukraine time, which Uliana watches virtually at 7 a.m. Central Time.

There are no snow days for this teacher, said Jackson. There are no bomb days.

I do feel guilty because of all the classmates we left behind. But I still feel we can do something to help. I am hopeful me and my mom will eventually be back in Ukraine, added Uliana.

Cedar Valley colleges get creative in preparation for enrollment drop Starting in 2008, there was a decline in births with the arrival of the Great Recession, as financially burdened couples put off starting families while they weathered the economic troubles. And as the 18th anniversary of the recession approaches, institutions of higher learning will face what is being called the enrollment cliff. That is, the students who would otherwise be going to college in 2025-26 were never born, resulting in a shortage of enrollments.

Ukrainians were understandably angry with Putin for starting this war. But now theyre taking a different approach to the tragedy.

Its a trust in God that will produce better results, Jackson said. Ukrainians are united in prayer.

Our Lord is our defense, she added, against pure evil  Putin. She said Russias special military operation was a foreseen event because of how the situation transpired in recent years.

The surprising aspect for many, including Putin, she said, has been the response from Ukrainians and their strength in fighting back.

The beautiful thing is how much help Poland has provided. Everybody has been so considerate, she said. People know we are fighting a common enemy.

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Looks like it!

That could be why China is shutting down again, which probably implies war production and war footing implimentation, due to a 3rd times the charm

Keep in mind:

1st was mass culling of pigs and they knew it was intentional and has been shown because of a pig influenza bioweapon. Their most essential food protein source.was attacked

Then intentional so called Bat Flue that we now have positive proof of USA involvement through Ukraine Bio-Labs, was number 2 attempt at an attack and now

Number 3:

According to Chinas state-run Global Times, the countrys northwest Shaanxi province has witnessed several cases of hemorrhagic fever. The Chinese newspaper said it is a natural epidemic disease with high fatality rate.

This is also being investigated and has shown signs of being intentionally brought upon the Chinese people by outside sources

As with everything that is happening for years now, you will find nothing but fingerpointing, screaming, whining by the West and constant turmoil to keep distraction going.you can only cry wolf so many times, before others get tired of you and trust is lost, never to return

Silence by the intentionally jilted is the worry that should consume the USAs attention. Yet, with an attention span of a goldfish as predominant.they are too busy trying to chase another shiney hook, dangling in the water, glittering in the sunlight

Thus, behind the scenes, the world as we know it is changing and the Great Western Empire is being shunned as you read this

WtR

PS: USA Plan

Plan A: Fund bio-research in Wuhan & blame the Chinese for the leak

Plan B: Fund bio-research in Ukraine & blame the Russians for the leak
Weather Alert

...MORE WINDY DAYS ON THE WAY, WITH COLDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS FOR MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND... --Thursday and Friday-- * A pair of systems brushing through the region will bring gusty winds both days, with Friday looking to have the strongest peak winds. Anticipate wind gusts of 35-45 mph Thursday, and 35-55 mph Friday, locally stronger in wind prone locations. Winds will bring travel difficulties both in the air and on the ground. Travel restrictions for high profile vehicles are possible. Check with CalTrans/NDOT for the current road information. * Area of blowing dust are possible both afternoons downwind of the Carson Sink, possibly affecting portions of I-80, US 50, and Highway 95. In addition, backcountry and ski recreation could be impacted along with choppy conditions on area lakes. * A few light showers with minimal liquid totals are possible in far northern Nevada and northeast California. --Mother's Day Weekend into Early Next Week-- * It will remain breezy throughout the weekend, with a secondary max in wind speeds on Sunday due to a strong cold front. This front will usher in a much colder air mass and high temperatures on Mother's Day will be 15-20 degrees below normal. * There will be rain and snow showers with the front, but again, liquid amounts will be minimal. There are solid chances for snow levels to fall to all valley floors by Sunday evening, which may catch many off guard, though it is hard to get snow to stick to roadways in lower elevation valleys this late in the spring. * Well below normal temperatures and chances for light showers will continue into Monday and Tuesday next week. While still some uncertainty due to winds and cloud cover, it's possible we could have frost and freeze concerns Sunday and Monday nights.
BEIRUT, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday urged the United Nations for financial support to help Lebanon host Syrian refugees on its territories, a statement by Lebanon's Presidency reported.

"Lebanon has suffered greatly from the repercussions of the displacement of Syrians since 2011, and the country is in dire need of urgent international assistance that contributes to alleviating the great financial burdens," Aoun said during his meeting at Baabda Palace with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

Aoun added that Lebanon needs not only humanitarian aid, but also development assistance to launch needed reconstruction projects to help the country reach sustainable development goals which require investment in people, especially women and youth.

For her part, Mohammed said that the UN appreciate Lebanon's efforts in hosting Syrian refugees and will continue to support Lebanon in all fields.

She added that the UN will support the Lebanese government in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, and for the ongoing preparations for parliamentary elections on May 15. 
Troy Driver, accused of killing Naomi Irion, has been formally charged with murder and will be held without bail at the Lyon County Jail.

The arraignment happened Friday, April 8th at a hearing at the Canal Township Justice Court in Fernley. Driver appeared via zoom from Yerington.

The Lyon County District Attorneys Office says Troy Driver fatally shot Naomi Irion before burying her body in the desert, according to an amended criminal complaint.

Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye filed the amended criminal complaint Tuesday adding first-degree murder and other crimes to the kidnapping charge already facing 41-year-old Troy Driver.

Driver is accused of kidnapping Irion from the Fernley Walmart parking lot on March 12, and killing her on or before March 25 - the same day Driver was arrested for kidnapping.

Four days later, authorities say investigators acted on a tip and found her body in a grave near the Churchill County line.

Drivers been held in the Lyon County Jail in Fernley on $750,000 bondable bail since his arrest.

Hes now accused of first-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon, first-degree kidnapping, robbery, burglary of a motor vehicle and destroying evidence, according to the new complaint Rye filed Tuesday in Canal Township Justice Court in Fernley.

Drivers public defender, Mario Walther, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

The complaint said Driver shot Irion in Churchill County northeast of Fernley, where he took her for the purpose of committing sexual assault and/or purpose of killing her.

The document also alleged that Driver destroyed her cell phone and left pieces in Lyon, Churchill, Pershing, Humboldt and Eureka counties.

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office says Driver shot Irion in the head and chest.

The local community has been rallying around this family since this all started - there are a couple of events this weekend.

Kim Lovett, a Fernley resident says, "For this to happen is a scary thing, that even in our quiet little sleepy town that we have predators out there that would do something like this."

A devastated community that carried hopes of finding Naomi for weeks, and went on countless searches with her family. They said this outcome wasn't one anyone wanted. Some of the resident we spoke with extended their condolences to Naomi's family, and want them to know they are supported. Tisha Leija, another Fernley resident visibly upset told us, "I can't even imagine... the first thing I thought of was poor mom...poor mom...very sad. "

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The man accused of kidnapping Naomi Irion will stay in Lyon County Jail on $750,000 bondable bail.

41-year-old Troy E. Driver was arrested and booked into the jail last Friday. He's officially now charged with first degree kidnapping, a felony.

"Should the defendant post bail, he will not be released from custody until a GPS monitoring device is installed," Judge Lori Matheus, Canal Township Justice Court said.

The judge set Driver's preliminary hearing for April 12 for 1:30pm.

Irion's family attended the court hearing.

"It does look like they're going to be posting bail, from what I understand, so he's the only one who can help us bring Naomi home," Casey Valley, Irion's brother said. "He's the only one that we know about."

If he does get released from jail, Driver will be ordered to stay out of Fernley. He also must not contact Irion's family.

Driver has a criminal history. According to old articles in the Ukiah Daily Journal, he pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact for his role in a 1997 homicide in Willits, California. He was 17 years old at the time of the murder. The article says Driver stuffed the body of an alleged drug dealer, Paul Steven Rodriguez in a trunk and then left it in a wooded area. The article says he pleaded guilty to three charges of robbery and one of burglary. A judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison but the article said he could have been released after serving 12.

"It is upsetting to me that there is people out here in the general public that have these capabilities with this kind of past and people should be more aware of that," Naomi's brother, Casey Valley, said. "We talk about sex offenders all the time but where is the list with this guy?"

Deputies also announced Friday, March 25th that Driver's Chevy truck was impounded and is being processed for possible evidence.

This photo below, shows the truck being taken into evidence. David Ausano took the picture from his porch in Fallon, the night of March 25, 2022.

A second public search was organized for Saturday, March 26th, 2022 by Naomi's brother, Casey Valley.

In a Facebook post, he asked community members to gather at Love's Travel Stop on Commerce Center Drive in Fernley, Saturday at 10am. Valley says, "this will be the first of a few areas of a concentrated search." He also requested no pets or children.

During the search on March 26th, more than 110 people showed up to help find Naomi. Diana Irion says she's been getting massages from all over the country from people who want to help her family.

Casey Valley tells us, "Today's search covered more ground, if not just as much, as last weekends search."

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On Thursday, March 24th, Lyon County Deputies said they identified a potential witness vehicle and occupant(s) that appears in the Walmart parking lot minutes before Naomi was abducted. They say they've contacted the occupant of the car.

The 4-door sedan enters the east Walmart parking lot at approximately 5:15 a.m. and then drives around the median on the east side before parking at the the southeast corner of the Walmart building.

Police were able to locate the vehicle with help from the public.

Irion was last seen March 12th at the parking lot at the Fernley Walmart. Her car was found a few days later and is undergoing processing for possible evidence.

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office held a press conference on Tuesday, along with Irion's family where again they asked for the public's help in finding her, adding they are getting "hundreds" of tips everyday.

They also mentioned that her car, which was found a few days after her disappearance, is still undergoing processing for any related evidence.

Her family also made another plea for help, with her mother saying, "please save my daughter. Bring her home." Because Irion's possible kidnapping happened near I-80, her mother also said that her daughter could be anywhere in the U.S. by now.

Irion's sister and brother also spoke, mentioning that tips to law enforcement can stay anonymous, if need be. He also said that another search will happen this Saturday.

During the weekend, the Lyon County Sheriff's Office released new surveillance video from the Walmart parking lot where Naomi was reportedly last seen.

The footage shows the suspect standing in front of the Walmart entrance, pacing the east side of the building, before walking toward the front of cars with their headlights on.

Authorities say this footage was recorded minutes before Naomi was abducted.

If you were in the east Walmart parking lot between 4:30 and 5:30 a.m. on March 12th, 2022 and have not been contacted by law enforcement, reach out to the Lyon County Sheriffs Office, Major Crimes Bureau.

The Lyon County Sheriffs Office can be reached at 775-463-6620, Secret Witness at (775) 322-4900 or by email at detective@lyon-county.org.

Authorities said a cell phone ping led officers to the Wadsworth area last week.

She was last seen wearing a blue Panasonic company shirt, gray cardigan sweater, gray pants, brown boots and was carrying a black purse. She had an iPhone, Airpods and a fidget spinner.

She is 511 tall, weighs about 230 pounds and has green eyes. Her hair is currently dyed black and she has a septum piercing and smiley face tattoo on her right ankle.

On Thursday, March 17th, Lyon County deputies announced that they were working with the Pyramid Lake Police Department and the FBI near Highway 427 in Wadsworth searching for evidence related to the disappearance of Naomi Irion.

They asked the public to stay away from the area as not to damage any evidence.

Her family made a public plea on Thursday for her safe return.

Authorities also thanked the Fernley community for their help. Her family members said that they are in contact with police about the case's progression.

On Friday, supporters gathered at the Round Table Pizza in Fernley to make signs to post around town in hopes of someone recognizing Irion's photo and calling police with information.

The newest released photos show Irion on the morning she was last seen and also include a person of interest.

The investigation now indicates that the suspect may be driving a dark 2020 or newer Chevrolet, 2500, High Country 4-Door Pickup Truck.

Authorities say the forensic evidence collected by investigators show that her disappearance is 'suspicious' in nature and that the driver of the truck "has a direct connection to her disappearance and her current whereabouts."

Previous video surveillance showed that person walking from a nearby 'homeless camp' looking in cars.

The unknown person then gets into the driver's seat of Irion's Mercury Sable and then leaves with her in the passenger seat.

During the course of the investigation, evidence was discovered leading investigators to believe Naomis disappearance was suspicious in nature.

Her 1992 blue Sable has a Nevada license plate of 595T37 was located in a industrial park in Fernley and has since been searched and forensically analyzed.

The first vehicle photo with the plate is Naomi's actual vehicle. The second vehicle photo is a stock photo and not her actual car.

If you have any information, contact Lyon County Sheriff's Office with case number 22ly01068 at 775-463-6620, or call or text your anonymous tip to Secret Witness at 775-322-4900.
Its a major headache for consumers, says Tracy Kitten, author of the report and Javelins director of fraud and security. And its a migraine for the financial industry because it absorbs some of the losses, especially when the childs information is used to create a synthetic identify  a mash-up of details from a real person and a phony one.

The growth in social media and time spent online, plus the increasing reliance on digital transactions, has added to the risks for kids, according to Kitten, who notes, That just opened the door for cybercriminals.

Thus, its critical to educate children and the adults who care for them about safe practices online and ways to look out for identify fraud.

Social media poses extra risk

Sharing on social media is fun, but savvy criminals lurk on platforms and exploit posted information to create fraudulent profiles. Identifiers stolen from data breaches or other means are bought and sold in underground forums on the internet. When parents or children post personal information on sites, criminals can figure out where the kids go to school, their birth dates and other identifying details. And it all adds up.

If you just look at something in isolation, youre probably not going to figure too much out, Kitten says. But if you look at what people post over time, its easy to put together a profile.

Most of the victims of child identify fraud in recent years  73 percent  knew the perpetrator, according to the report. The bad actor may be a parents spouse or partner, another relative or a family friend, or someone on a spoofed account who poses as a person the child knows, she says. Kitten warns parents and grandparents to avoid using passwords that include combinations of identifiable information, such as childrens birth dates. The numbers may be easy to remember, but criminals who get them could try to gain access to the adults email or bank accounts.

When con artists pretend to be someone kids know, they may ask for personal information  and children may share it without realizing how vulnerable that makes them. If a child accepts a friend request from a spoofed account, the criminal potentially has access to the people the child is connected to online. Bad actors may try to friend their grandparents and other family members, pretending to be one of the childs pals.

This whole cycle just perpetuates itself, Kitten explains. A child becoming a victim of identity theft can quickly lead to a grandparent being compromised in some way, through social engineering.

Protecting your family

Safe online behavior is critical to stopping swindlers. Two key rules: Dont trust what people say online, and be very cautious about what you and your children post.

The report recommends monitoring childrens online activity, since identify fraud was three times more likely among kids with unlimited and unmonitored internet access than among those whose online activity was scrutinized.

Finally, because child identify fraud can go on for years without families realizing it, parents should consider an identify-protection service for themselves and their children. In addition to monitoring your credit, these services will watch out for social media spoofed accounts pretending to be you or your child, and alert you when your email addresses or other personal information appears in underground internet forums. These services may be offered by your credit card company, homeowners insurance company or financial institution or purchased online.

Parents can freeze their childrens credit, which will halt criminals ability to open illicit accounts in their name. This can be done until youths are old enough to seek employment and want to open a checking account or apply for a credit card or student loan.

4 tips to stay safe

1. Educate yourself and the children in your care about safe online behavior. Teach them not to accept friend requests from people they dont know and not to provide personal information online to anyone. Monitor their social media use, since children with unlimited internet access are more vulnerable to identity fraud.

2. Be careful about what you and your children post on social media. Keep personal information private.

3. Monitor your financial accounts. Consider freezing your childrens credit until they are old enough to look for a job and open a checking account or are applying for a student loan or credit.

4. Consider an identity-protection service for you and your children. These alert you when your personal information is being used.

The Javelin findings are from a survey of 5,000 U.S. adults taken in July and August 2021. Heres the full report: Child Identity Fraud: A Web of Deception and Loss.

Kathryn Masterson is a writer who previously worked for the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune. Her byline has also appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington City Paper.
Pfizer and BioNTech are studying additional doses, including Omicron-specific vaccines. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said Sunday that he expects that a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be needed.
GENESEE COUNTY, Mich. (WJRT)  Many questions with not many answers from the Genesee County Clerk's Office regarding criminal charges against the county election supervisor.

Genesee County Clerk John Gleason said on Tuesday he was not made aware of the charges or investigation.

Attorney General Dana Nessel formally charged supervisor Kathy Funk with ballot tampering and misconduct in office during her time as the Flint Township clerk in 2020.

AG Nessel charges Genesee County election official with ballot tampering The incident dates back to August 2020 when she was serving as Flint Township Clerk.

Funk appeared for her arraignment before Judge Jennifer J. Manley on Monday, where she pleaded not guilty to both charges and was released on a $25,000 bond for each charge.

Meanwhile, Gleason has remained quiet about the status of Funk's job. Since the charges were announced, ABC12 News has reached out to Gleason numerous times via phone, email and text with no response.

When asking workers in the clerks office if he was available, they indicated he was not in the office and they had no knowledge of when he would return or be available.

Early Tuesday morning, Gleason called saying he will not be giving a formal interview because he didnt know about any charges.

During the phone call, he went on to say his only official statement was Any person who knows the charges is a better person to talk to because they know more than I do.

Gleason added that he will not suspend or terminate Funk at this time.

The Genesee County Board of Commissioners says theyre also struggling to get answers.

We as a Board of Commissioners deserve a full explanation of what happened, how it happened and just what he did or did not know, County Board of Commissioners Chairman Domonique Clemons said. The fact that he hasn't, to me, is telling that there's more there that he may be hiding.

Clemons said Gleason's behavior has been inappropriate on multiple other matters and that investigations into him and his office are underway.

We've gotten reports from the Board of Commissioners of harassment and hostile work environment from employees that the county board is investigating ongoing, on top of all these other things that are happening, Clemons said.

The charges against Funk come after an investigation that alleges she purposely broke the seal of a ballot canister after the August 2020 Democrat primary.

At the time, Funk was overseeing the August election as the Flint Township clerk while also seeking re-election against challenger Manya Triplett.

Funk narrowly defeated Triplet by 79 votes, according to an unofficial ballot count. But according to state election law, the votes inside the container with a broken seal could not be included in anticipated recounts.

Both Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said they were not able to comment on the charges against Funk. However, a spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office said answers will come.

Our clerks, who are Republicans, Democrats, nonpartisan -- some are appointed, some are elected -- they all have laws. There's Michigan election law, which they have to obey and follow, spokesman Jake Rollow said. That ensures that Michigan voters know that they will have a secure, safe and accurate election, that they can be absolutely confident in the outcome.

A probable cause conference has been scheduled for Funk on March 24 with a preliminary examination set for March 30 before Genesee County Circuit Judge Mark W. Latchana.
MEA survey: 1 in 5 educators plan to leave teaching in next several years
Zelensky to US lawmakers: 'We need you right now' as he invokes Pearl Harbor and 9/11


Half Yearly Report and Accounts

Perth, Mar 15, 2022 AEST (ABN Newswire) - During the half year, Okapi Resources Ltd ( ASX:OKR ) ( FRA:26O ) ( OTCMKTS:OKPRF ) completed the acquisition of Tallahassee Resources Pty Ltd (Tallahassee).Tallahassee holds a 100% interest in mineral rights that cover approximately 7,500 acres in the Tallahassee Creek Uranium District of Colorado, USA (Tallahassee Uranium Project) together with an option to acquire 100% of the Rattler Uranium Project, including the historical high-grade Rattlesnake open pit mine, in south-eastern Utah (Rattler Uranium Project).The Company announced a Maiden 2012 Mineral Resource for the Tallahassee Uranium Project estimated at 25.4Mt @ 490ppm U3O8 for 27.6 million pounds of U3O8 using a 250ppm cut-off grade.The Company has entered into a binding, conditional agreement with ALX Resources Corp ( CVE:AL ) to acquire a portfolio of six advanced exploration projects in the Athabasca Basin (Athabasca Projects), the world's premier high grade uranium district.The Athabasca Projects includes 75 granted mineral claims covering over 55,000 hectares. Importantly, all of the projects are located along the margin of the Athabasca Basin or in the Carswell Impact Structure where depth to the unconformity is relatively shallow being 300 metres or less and typically closer to 100 metres, making them ideal for targeting shallow high-grade uranium deposits.Okapi Resources Limited proceeded to acquire the Enmore Gold Project (EL8479) located in New South Wales from Providence Gold and Minerals Pty Ltd ("Providence").The Enmore Gold Project is located 30km SE of Armidale in north eastern NSW, near the recently recommissioned Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Mine (Figure 10) where past production exceeds 730,000 ounces of gold. The Enmore Gold Project ("Enmore") is underexplored and remains highly prospective for identifying potentially economic highgrade gold mineralisation on known prospects, and for discovering new mineralised areas on the 135km2 exploration licence. Historic exploration at Enmore has largely focussed on the potential for locating and developing open-cut resources, leaving the exploration potential for deeper gold occurrences largely untouched.Okapi has conducted a preliminary due diligence of available data considering the underground potential. The Company is very encouraged by both the apparent high-grade potential, and the limited relevant systematic exploration testing of higher-grade gold reefs within the broader structural lodes.The Company completed a soil sampling program on tenement E63/2039. A lithium target over 2km in length has been generated from the results including lithium in soil results of up to 86ppm.Enmore Gold ProjectSeveral gold anomalies have also been identified over 5km in strike length and several hundred metres width on the tenement, along interpreted structures that also extend to gold anomalies on the adjoining joint venture tenement E63/1903.*To view complete report, please visit:About Okapi Resources Limited

Okapi Resources Limited (ASX:OKR) recently acquired a portfolio of advanced, high grade uranium assets located in the United States of America and in the Athabasca Basin, Canada.

Assets include a strategic position in one of the most prolific uranium districts in the USA - the Tallahassee Creek Uranium District in Colorado. The Tallahassee Uranium Project contains a JORC 2012 Mineral Resource estimate of 27.6 million pounds of U3O8 at a grade of 490ppm U3O8 with significant exploration upside. The greater Tallahassee Creek Uranium District hosts more than 100 million pounds of U3O8 with considerable opportunity to expand the existing resource base by acquiring additional complementary assets in the district.

The portfolio of assets also includes an option to acquire 100% of the high-grade Rattler Uranium Project in Utah, which includes the historical Rattlesnake open pit mine. The Rattler Uranium Project is located 85km from the White Mesa Uranium Mill, the only operating conventional uranium mill in the USA hence provides a near term, low-capital development opportunity.

In January 2022, Okapi acquired a portfolio of high-grade exploration assets in the world's premier uranium district, the Athabasca Basin. The Athabasca Basin is home to the world's largest and highest-grade uranium mines.

Okapi's clear strategy is to become a new leader in North American carbon-free nuclear energy by assembling a portfolio of high-quality uranium assets through accretive acquisitions and exploration.
Chen Xi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department, meets with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth, also Cambodia's economy and finance minister, via video link in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chen Xi, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Aun Pornmoniroth via video link on Wednesday.

Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the CPC Central Committee's Organization Department, said China stands ready to work with Cambodia to strengthen cooperation in various fields, including civil service administration, to further enrich the connotations of the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries.

Aun Pornmoniroth, also Cambodia's economy and finance minister, expressed gratitude to China for its aid in Cambodia's economic and social development. He said Cambodia is willing to continue to deepen practical cooperation and further advance bilateral ties.

The two sides witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries' civil service departments. 
Authorities shot a person Tuesday afternoon on Laguna Pueblo.

FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said no Homeland Security Investigations agents were injured in the incident. He did not give a condition for the person who was shot or any other details.

Fisher said the shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. on Laguna Pueblo near Route 66 Casino. He said the FBI is reviewing the incident.

No agents were injured, and one subject was wounded, Fisher said. Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information can be provided at this time.
Dogs 24/7, a cage-free dog resort business with five locations in Arizona, is the newest owner of Santa Fe-based Zoomies.

It is the companys first out-of-state acquisition, Dogs 24/7 founder and president Stephen Biles told the Journal. Biles paid an acquisition cost of around $700,000 and the plan is to pour in an extra $100,000 into renovations, he said.

Zoomies is such a good brand in Santa Fe, Biles said.

Zoomies, located at 513 Camino De Los Marquez, will keep its name with the addition of 24/7 at the end to keep in line with Dogs 24/7s branding. The Santa Fe business will likely extend its hours of service, said Biles. And the resort will add an extra five employees to the current head count of 10.

What appealed to me about Santa Fe was that this particular business was very, very successful, Biles said.

Zoomies entered the Santa Fe market in 2019 and was most recently owned by Andrew Imrie, who purchased the business in the fall of the same year. He had purchased the resort just a few months after its opening when Zoomies founder had put the business up for sale. Since owning the resort, Imrie has built up a successful clientele, offering services such as daycare, boarding and grooming for dogs in the Santa Fe area.

Imries plan to sell the business came as he decided he wanted to move back to Washington state. And the similarity between the two businesses, as well as Biles positive nature, made the sale to Dogs 24/7 a good fit, Imrie said.

Biles, on the other hand, was looking to add another dog resort to the fold after successfully running his current five locations in Arizona throughout the pandemic.

Dogs 24/7, founded in 2009, currently has locations in Glendale, Tempe, Phoenix, Chandler and Mesa, Arizona. But Biles, with a plan to continue growing the business, said theres a good chance hell expand into neighboring markets. That includes the possibility of opening an Albuquerque location in the future.

I want to go there as opportunities arise, Biles said.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Democratic lawmakers debated in closed-door talks Tuesday how to provide financial relief to drivers squeezed by high gasoline prices and options for restoring $50 million in spending vetoed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

They discussed the possibility of an April 5 special session called by the governor that would focus on tax rebates and a revised version of the spending package.

But they didnt make a final decision during caucus meetings late Tuesday at the Capitol.

In an interview, Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with Lujan Grisham on plans for a special session.

But lawmakers, she said, are still evaluating how to address the governors objections to the spending bill.

Were not there yet, Stewart said.

If no agreement is reached, lawmakers have discussed the option of calling themselves into session without the governors approval, using an emergency procedure outlined in the state Constitution for an extraordinary session.

Whether by special or extraordinary session, lawmakers are focused on addressing fuel costs and enacting the $50 million supplemental spending package initially rejected by the governor.

Among the fuel options under consideration, according to lawmakers, are suspending the states portion of the gas tax or issuing tax rebates to New Mexicans to reflect the higher cost of living.

Oil prices have surged following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sharply expanding revenue in New Mexico, the No. 2 oil producer in the United States.

Some lawmakers have floated the idea of suspending the states 17 cents a gallon tax on gas. But others say lifting the gas tax might affect the states debt obligations, among other potential consequences, leading to increased talk of rebates as an alternative.

Lawmakers of both parties, however, have said they support taking action of some kind to help New Mexicans hit by higher fuel costs.

The state is certainly rolling in revenue, House Minority Leader James Townsend, R-Artesia, said Tuesday.

Sen. George Munoz, D-Gallup, put it this way: People need help.

Caucus meetings are closed to the public. They are a confidential forum that allows a group of legislators  usually Democrats or Republicans in a particular chamber  to discuss strategy or other topics among themselves.

This months round of talks began after Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, angered lawmakers of both parties by vetoing legislation that would have funded programs and projects picked by individual legislators.

The proposal, Senate Bill 48, gave each lawmaker a certain amount of money to allocate as they chose. Members of the House got $360,000 each and senators had $600,000.

It passed without a dissenting vote.

Funding was earmarked for a wide range of purposes: speech and debate clubs, animal rescue, medical equipment, public safety programs and other projects.

Lujan Grisham rejected the bill, contending it circumvented the typical budget process and wasnt a wise way to make spending decisions for public money.

Lawmakers initially focused on whether to call an extraordinary session, as its called in the state Constitution, to override the veto.

Such a session can be convened with support from three-fifths of the members of each chamber.

But its a rare procedure  having been used only once in state history, in 2002  and would deliver an unusual, bipartisan rebuke to a governor up for reelection this year. While an extraordinary session would be open to any topic, a special session would be limited to subjects authorized by the governor.
WASHINGTON  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, the actor-turned-wartime leaders latest video stop as he employs the Wests great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russias crushing invasion.

Zelenskyys livestreamed address into the U.S. Capitol will be among the most important in a unique and very public strategy in his fight to stop Russia.

Invoking Winston Churchill and Hamlet last week, he asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is to be or not to be. On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Trudeau. Appearing in his now trademark army green T-shirt, Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraines membership  and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

It was a man showing leadership while at the same time keeping his calm in the toughest of circumstances, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte about the address to the Europeans. I have to say, it had an enormous impact on all the leaders.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used his public campaign to help ensure a global spotlight that might have faded amid the coronavirus pandemic and fatigue after the end of the long U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Instead, Zelenskyys video appearances are beaming the boyish but unshaven president into households and smartphones around the world as he speaks from undisclosed locations in Kyiv while Russia bombards his country, a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

When Zelenskyy is live-streamed into the U.S. Capitol, his speech could very likely put him at odds with President Joe Biden, who has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or facilitating the transfer of military planes from neighboring Poland that Zelenksyy has been pleading for since the outbreak of the war.

Biden will give his own address following Zelenskyys speech in which the president will announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total announced in the last week alone to $1 billion, according to a White House official familiar with matter.

While officials are anticipating that Zelenskyy may once again call on the U.S. and the West to send fighter jets or help establish a no-fly zone, the Biden administration is looking to send Ukraine more of whats been working well, including anti-armor and air defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Altogether, Biden has authorized $2 billion in security for Ukraine since the beginning of his administration, making the U.S. by far the largest single donor of security assistance to the country, the official said.

Zelenskyy wants the West to close the sky  a rallying cry now in pop culture  to prevent the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country, perhaps most dramatically in the attack last week on a maternity hospital as pregnant women fled for their lives.

I know he will ask for more help, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Congress has been ready to push on economic sanctions and beyond.

At first, the White House resisted calls from Congress to ban Russian oil imports to the U.S. Then it hit the brakes on legislation to revoke Russias normal trade status  before going ahead on both. It rejected efforts in Congress to stop the Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline, then led allies in halting it.

Can Zelenskyys address generate more?

Biden has a very difficult line to walk here, and that is that no one wants to trigger a World War III, Warren said. You have to keep options on the table. The Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, and they are also fighting for democracy all around.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyys relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

The Pentagon has rejected an offer from NATO ally Poland to transfer its Soviet-era MiGs to a U.S. base in Germany for re-transfer to Ukraine. And U.S. defense officials say they are puzzled, at any rate, by Zelenskyys demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isnt often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of Stingers and other weapons the West is providing.

Even though Zelenskyy and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

This wont be the first time he has appealed directly to members of the House and Senate, who have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine with some feeling they have made a commitment to do as much as they can in the fight against Russia. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelenskyy delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

We think the United States needs to do more, said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., returning from a weekend visit with other lawmakers to Poland. We need to do what we can to facilitate the delivery of the Russian-made MiGs to the Ukrainian fighter pilots so that they can wage this war themselves.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelenskyy asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week.

It was in that call that Zelenskyy asked for the opportunity to address the U.S. Congress, something the Democratic leader readily agreed to. Members of the congressional Ukrainian caucus supporting the country had already asked for similar.

The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine, said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

They said Congress remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putins cruel and diabolical aggression.

Zelenskyys next stop could be Spain. On Tuesday, the speaker of Spains Congress of Deputies invited the Ukrainian president to address Spanish lawmakers via videolink.

In a letter to Zelenskyy, Speaker Meritxell Batet wrote that the address will be a magnificent opportunity for the chamber, all Spanish people and the thousands of Ukrainians living in Spain to listen to your message and express our firmest support.

___

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani, Ellen Knickmeyer and Chris Megerian and Raf Casert in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, Aritz Parra in Madrid and videojournalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this report.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

A federal and state goal to conserve land and water has set off a firestorm of county-level opposition in New Mexico, with backing from a Texas advocacy group.

The 3030 initiative in the U.S. began with the Biden administrations January 2021 announcement to conserve 30% of the nations lands and waters by 2030.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order in August mirroring the federal goals.

The governors announcement garnered praise from New Mexico conservation groups.

Soon after the federal announcement, the Georgetown, Texas-based group American Stewards of Liberty launched a campaign across the West, targeting 3030 as a land grab.

Catron and Otero counties were the first in New Mexico to pass resolutions  modeled on the Texas groups talking points  opposing the 3030 initiative.

I just think its really important for us to hold on to as much of our private land as we can, Otero County Commissioner Vickie Marquardt said. Weve given so much to the federal and state government already  I dont think we have any more to give.

At least 15 of New Mexicos 33 counties followed suit, doubling down once Lujan Grisham set the state goal.

Colorado Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert leads opposition to the federal program. She, along with former U.S. Interior secretary and oil lobbyist David Bernhardt, will speak at ASLs Stop 3030 summit in Nebraska this spring.

Proactive decisions needed

The out-of-state campaign dismisses authentic voices from residents, said New Mexico Wildlife Federation executive director Jesse Deubel.

I think the effects of climate change are pretty clear, he said, and weve got to make some serious adjustments, with proactive decisions protecting our wild places, and our lands and waters.

Lujan Grishams executive order sets a goal of conserving 30% of all lands in the state by 2030. An additional 20% of all lands would be designated climate stabilization areas.

In New Mexico, the loss of natural habitat and biodiversity catalyzed by increasing temperature and drought will outpace natures regenerative abilities, the order reads. Current levels of protection and conservation will not change this trend.

Boosting conservation efforts could make a difference for generations to come, Lujan Grisham said.

The order directs a committee of state agency leaders to meet quarterly and report on such initiatives as water quality, wildlife migration corridors and carbon sequestration on agricultural lands.

The group, which uses existing funds and recommends legislative policy, held its first meeting in December.

Climate change may be an excuse

Over the past year, the American Stewards of Liberty has held meetings in Roswell and Tucumcari and presented to the New Mexico Association of Counties.

Many county commissioners cited those presentations as the impetus for the resolutions.

Chaves County has paid $185,000 since 2016 to the American Stewards of Liberty for contracts to advise on land management and endangered species issues, according to information obtained from public records requests by the NMWF and shared with the Journal.

The group describes itself as a nonprofit organization challenging the radical environmental movement and working to protect private property rights and the liberties they secure.

Duebel said his organization plans to file more records requests to find out if other counties have paid ASL for consultation.

Each resolution is similar in its language about the federal and state goals endangering agriculture, oil and gas and outdoor recreation on public and private lands.

The Board  opposes the use of global climate change as an excuse to set aside large tracts of land as preserves or open space to fulfill the 3030 programs objectives, many of the resolutions state.

According to the state, about 29% of New Mexicos undeveloped federal, state and private lands are managed by a federal or state agency.

In a March 1 presentation to the San Juan County Commission, ASL executive director Margaret Byfield said her organization believes data and modeling about habitat loss and rising temperatures do not merit the 3030 program.

The problem as they have defined it does not match the solution they are trying to get all of us to agree to, Byfield said.

Byfield also spoke out against strategies like conservation easements.

The easements usually involve landowners working with a land trust to preserve water and wildlife habitat on their property and prevent harmful development.

The best managed lands are the lands that are in private hands, she said.

Commissioner GloJean Todacheene requested that the board hear from people who are in support of 3030 before proceeding with a resolution.

Land grab seen as fearmongering

In an October opinion column, New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte and Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst said the state committee will work with soil and water conservation districts and private landowners.

By taking control of our own 3030 goals and setting up a process to participate in the national initiative, well be able to ensure the needs of New Mexicans are met as we promote wildlife habitat, improve watershed resilience and protect the rights of private landowners, the secretaries wrote.

The agency leaders also said that farms and ranches using conservation practices could count toward the climate stabilization area goals.

Arguments over land preservation and wilderness designations are nothing new, Deubel said.

In July of last year, the NMWF worked with the Trust for Public Land to purchase nearly 10,000 acres of private property near the Sabinoso Wilderness in San Miguel County. The groups then donated the land to the Bureau of Land Management. The donation created an additional public access point for the wilderness that was once locked in by private land.

Some criticized the land purchase and subsequent donation as a government overreach.

But the landowner was a retired cattle rancher willing to sell the land to the conservation groups. No federal dollars were involved.

Land grab is like this fearmongering term that certain political-leaning groups tend to use as a way of saying they oppose the federal government, period, Duebel said. The government is not running around with eminent domain as part of this initiative.

Fueled by misinformation

Most counties passed the anti-3030 resolutions with unanimous votes.

The counties are mostly in rural parts of the state with Republican-led commissions.

Sierra County Commissioner James Paxton said his region has all kinds of land set aside for wilderness and wildlife.

Its my very strong conviction that we dont see a reason or a need for a 30 by 30 in Sierra County, much less in the state of New Mexico, Paxton said.

Sandoval Countys Feb. 23 meeting played out differently.

Commissioner and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jay Block pitched the Sandoval County resolutions as coming from the people.

This is an attack on private property rights, this is an attack on Americans, Block said.

But Commissioner Katherine Bruch said the resolutions were a conspiracy theory run amok and fueled with misinformation by the Texas landowner group.

Its not a land grab, and nobodys going to come and take your private property, Bruch said.

While the resolution ultimately passed, Bruch and fellow Democrat Kenneth Eichwald voted against it.

For groups like the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, restoring and protecting healthy ecosystems is a non-partisan issue that demands constructive conversations.

There are protected lands and designated wilderness areas in this state that still allow for cattle grazing, hunting, angling, all kinds of uses that are appropriate, Duebel said. But there are parameters put in place to ensure we dont destroy these landscapes.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
Its hard to watch what is happening to Ukraine, each day bringing the increasingly grim news of the suffering and the inhumanity of war into our homes thousands of miles from the front lines.

What is happening is shameful, awful, cruel and criminal. But we have the luxury to look away while Ukrainians cannot.

So watch we must, with broken hearts and the shattering reality that it seems there is nothing we can do about it all.

And yet.

Dina Afek has been overwhelmed with that helplessness and despair. The Swiss-born Albuquerque resident has family from both Ukraine and Russia, and is horrified by what is happening.

So she creates.

Going into my creative mode is a way of coping, she said in discussing her mosaic Tears for Ukraine, which depicts a sunflower, the countrys national flower, against the blue and yellow background of its flag, blood dripping from the leaves and pooling at the roots.

When art wasnt enough to allay her emotions, she began baking cookies.

But not just any cookie. She chose Hamantaschen, a buttery three-cornered cookie served traditionally during the Jewish holiday of Purim, which begins tonight. The holiday commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from the bloodthirsty tyrant Haman in ancient Persia, and the cookie is said to resemble Hamans hat, or ear, essentially turning something evil into something sweet.

Afek renamed her cookies Putintaschen.

She began baking them by the hundreds, filling them with poppyseed, prune, apricot or raspberry, and selling them to friends for a minimum of $15 for a box of 12 cookies.

Afek estimates shes sold about 47 boxes and has raised about $700, though she expects the final total to be closer to $1,000. Proceeds will be donated to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which provides emergency humanitarian aid to Ukraine refugees.

Some people think it is such a small effort for such a big problem, but even the smallest effort gives the feeling of doing something, she said. It gives me hope. It makes me feel a little less helpless.

Mary Tovey of Albuquerque also knows that helpless feeling and that need to help in any way she can.

Tovey is known for her tireless work with Planned Pethood de Juarez, which rescues street animals south of the border. But, now, her sights have turned toward the east and the efforts of a sister organizer rescuing animals from Ukraine.

Voice For the Needy is a nonprofit started by a veterinarian in Romania to help street dogs run by my friend Laura Fincu, Tovey explained. They are now taking in dogs and cats from Ukraine, and are in dire need of help.

Fincu, who runs the Sache Vet Clinic near Bucharest, posted this week on Facebook about how resources and space are becoming limited because of overflowing numbers of rescued Ukraine animals.

We no longer have the strength to fight, to get angry, to unload, Fincu wrote, her words translated via Facebook. We quickly overcome these emotions and wonder: So where do we put them?

Tovey said she felt compelled to raise funds for Fincu after their bleak online conversation.

I dont know a solution now, we all wait for it to stop so we can see through the gun smoke, Fincu wrote. It is horrendous, it is horrible.

The horrors of war have also compelled Father Chris Zugger and his parishioners from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Albuquerque to do what they can by fundraising and by praying.

As of March 2022, we are helping with assistance for refugees and displaced persons inside Ukraine, a message written on the churchs website reads.

Biking enthusiast Jennifer Buntz from Duke City Wheelmen found a way to help by sponsoring a bike swap 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at Trek Bicycles, 5000 Menaul NE. The meet will raise funds for Ukraine through both the Global Empowerment Mission and Razom for Ukraine, Buntz said.

Razom translates from Ukrainian to English as together,  she explained. Together for Ukraine.

Small things, together. Folks can help by planting sunflowers in solidarity with Ukraine, the profits from seeds sold by Perry-Morse being donated to GlobalGivings Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund through April 13.

Small efforts, yes. But these efforts are the seeds of hope and help. We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. For now, its what we can do.

UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Reach Joline at 730-2793, jkrueger@abqjournal.com.
LONDON  Two British citizens who had been jailed in Iran for more than five years  charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori  returned home to their families hugs and tears Thursday after the U.K. settled a decades-old debt to Iran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugged her 7-year-old daughter, and her husband and members of Ashooris family tearfully embraced one another after the two arrived via a government-chartered aircraft at the Brize Norton air force base in Oxfordshire in the early morning hours.

The British government said a third detainee, Morad Tahbaz, who holds U.S., British and Iranian citizenship, was released from prison on furlough as part of the same deal.

The breakthrough was reached as world leaders try to negotiate the return of both Iran and the U.S. to an international agreement designed to limit Tehrans nuclear enrichment program  talks that have been complicated by the prisoner issue. Negotiators have edged closer to a roadmap for restoring the accord, though recent Russian demands slowed progress.

Looking forward to a new life, said Richard Ratcliffe, who had worked tirelessly for his wifes release. You cant get back the time thats gone. Thats a fact. But we live in the future.

The release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori came as the U.S., Britain and other countries seek to secure the release of dozens of dual nationals detained by Iran, which doesnt recognize their right to hold citizenship in another country. Family members and human rights activists accuse Iran of arresting the dual nationals on trumped up charges to squeeze concessions out of Western nations.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told lawmakers that the change of government in Iran last summer had been instrumental in moving the talks forward. President Ebrahim Raisi is a hard-line protege of Irans supreme leader known for his hostility to the West.

I was able  to reset the relationship, to be clear that we were serious about resolving the outstanding issues that Iran had, and they were clear they were serious about resolving the outstanding issues we had, Truss said in the House of Commons.

Extensive diplomacy secured the release of the dual nationals and led to agreement to repay the debt in a way that complies with U.K. and international sanctions. Britain agreed to pay Iran 393.8 million pounds ($515.5 million), which will be ring-fenced so the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes. The British government declined to offer details of the arrangement.

While the British government has refused to acknowledge a link between the debt and the detention of the dual nationals, Zaghari-Ratcliffes husband has been outspoken in arguing that Iran was holding her hostage to force Britain to pay.

The debt has been a sticking point in British-Iranian relations for more than 40 years.

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the U.K. canceled an agreement with the late Shah of Iran to sell the country more than 1,500 Chieftain tanks. Since the shahs government had paid in advance, the new Iranian government demanded repayment for the tanks that were never delivered. The two countries have haggled over the debt ever since.

Hope for a deal had been growing since Tuesday, when the member of Parliament who represents Zaghari-Ratcliffes neighborhood in London announced that Iranian authorities had returned her passport.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taken into custody at Tehrans airport in April 2016 as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family in Iran. She was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, but she was on vacation at the time of her arrest.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison after she was convicted of plotting the overthrow of Irans government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny. She had been under house arrest at her parents home in Tehran for the last two years.

Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said his organization was overjoyed that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been freed.

No one can begin to imagine what Nazanin has endured throughout the past tortuous six years; denied her freedoms, separated from her husband and young child, battling significant illness, thrown in solitary confinement, Zappulla said in a statement. An innocent victim of an international dispute, Nazanin has been one of many used as political pawns. Her treatment has been utterly inhumane.

Ashoori was detained in Tehran in August 2017. He had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for alleged ties to Israels Mossad intelligence agency, something long denied by his supporters and family.

Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent, was caught in a dragnet targeting environmental activists while visiting Iran in January 2018. The 66-year-old served on the board of the Persian Heritage Wildlife Association, a prominent conservation group in Iran.

Iran convicted Tahbaz, along with seven other environmentalists including his colleagues, on charges of spying for the U.S. He was sentenced to 10 years and taken to Evin Prison.

Truss tweeted she was delighted with the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori and said the British government would continue to work for Tahbazs freedom. Pleased Morad Tahbaz has been released on furlough and is reunited with his family in Iran, but this is far from sufficient. We will continue to work intensively to secure his departure from Iran, she tweeted.

In France, the family of a French tourist jailed in Iran since May 2020 welcomed the release and urged French authorities to accomplish without delay what British authorities achieved.

Benjamin Briere was arrested after taking pictures in a desert area where photography is prohibited, and asking questions on social media about Irans obligatory Islamic headscarf for women. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on what his lawyer said are trumped-up espionage and propaganda charges. He started a hunger strike in December.

Wednesdays release comes as negotiators in Vienna say they have nearly finalized a roadmap for both the U.S. and Iran to rejoin Tehrans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, sparking years of tensions across the wider Mideast as the Islamic Republic enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

Those negotiations were disrupted last week by a Russian demand that Moscow not be affected by Western sanctions over its war on Ukraine. It remains unclear when theyll resume in Vienna.

__

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporters Amir Vahdat in Tehran; Isabel DeBre in Dubai; Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui in London; and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
HONG KONG  As a COVID-19 outbreak overwhelms Hong Kong, its hard for its 7.4 million residents to know whats next.

Uncertainty is the only certainty as store shelves are stripped of goods, mainland Chinese companies throw up sprawling isolation and testing centers and the government sends mixed messages on whether it will lock down the population for a citywide mass testing.

Pandemic restrictions have sucked much of the energy out of a cosmopolitan city known for its neon lights and dense crowds. The latest closure, announced Wednesday, is public beaches. An overburdened health system means those who get infected often have to fend for themselves. And the death toll, particularly among the elderly, keeps rising.

Its a helpless situation, said Wong Wing-tsang, a single mother who spent days trying to get a doctors appointment for her 10-year-old daughter who tested positive earlier this month. We can only count on ourselves.

After keeping the virus mostly at bay for nearly two years, Hong Kong authorities have been unable to bring under control an outbreak driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant. So many people have been infected that there arent enough drivers for the city buses and subways or clerks to keep some stores open.

China has responded by sending experts, medical staff and construction crews, expanding capacity but also raising fears that Hong Kong might adopt tough mainland-style restrictions, notably its lockdowns of entire cities.

Anxious residents have stockpiled daily necessities, as the government flip-flops on plans for mass testing and a possible lockdown. Infections among truck drivers interrupted shipments of meat and vegetables from mainland China, prompting worries of shortages and deliveries by sea.

Honestly, I think government policies keep changing all the time and its hard for residents to follow, said Alison Hui, a Hong Kong resident. We dont know if an announcement is real or not. It really makes us feel very worried.

Last month, officials announced citywide, mass testing slated for March but said there were no plans for a lockdown. Days later, as cases surged, officials acknowledged that a lockdown was under consideration, prompting residents to wipe out supermarket shelves to stock up on food.

Then, two weeks after the February announcement, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said that the citywide testing had taken a temporary backseat as authorities focused on reducing the number of deaths and critical cases, but she didnt say when the testing might happen.

Hong Kong was able to stamp out four earlier outbreaks with tough zero COVID restrictions that temporarily shuttered businesses, limited public gatherings and imposed entry curbs such as lengthy quarantine stays for arrivals and flight bans from countries deemed high-risk.

That has changed with the fifth wave. Since it began at the end of December, over 760,000 infections have been reported, with more than 4,300 deaths. Mortuaries are so full that refrigerated containers had to be set up to store some of the bodies.

Many more infections are likely going unaccounted for as residents self-test with rapid antigen tests and isolate at home. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong estimated that nearly 3.6 million people  about half of the citys population  have been infected as of March 14, based on modelling and data.

Lam, who has begun holding daily news conferences on the outbreak, said Wednesday that it appears to have peaked on March 3 and then showed a downward trend, though it has leveled off since last Friday.

Mainland authorities have helped build emergency hospitals and inflatable testing labs. This is an unprecedented situation, Lam said earlier, saying it had outgrown the capacity of the city government.

Wong, the single mother, said the only help she got from the government was a pack of five rapid antigen test kits. She sent her daughter to live with her mother-in-law, who was also infected, because there was no way to isolate at their home.

I had no choice. I couldnt let her isolate at home alone, and we dont have enough bedrooms to separate us properly, she said.

The pandemic has brought many businesses to their knees. Some restaurants, once again restricted to takeout and delivery after 6 p.m., have shuttered for good.

Many shops in malls have temporarily closed  some for lack of business, others because they are understaffed as workers have tested positive. Hair salons were allowed to reopen recently, but gyms and bars were ordered shut in January and wont reopen until after mid-April at the earliest.

Fewer subway trains and buses are running as hundreds of employees contract the coronavirus. Some multinational companies have relocated outside of Hong Kong, while others have temporarily sent senior executives elsewhere amid the uncertainty.

Mak Sin Chang, a Singaporean who has lived in Hong Kong for eight years, said he would consider leaving if he got a job elsewhere. He said the government should offer a road map for exiting the pandemic so people could see light at the end of the tunnel.

Now we are all living in darkness, guided by the blind, he said.

Its a major setback from late last year, when Hong Kong had gone months without any locally spread cases and was working to get the quarantine requirement in mainland China lifted for people entering from Hong Kong.

Everything was really starting to look up by the end of 2021, because we were looking forward to opening up with China, said Francis Lun, an investment manager and a veteran market commentator. But all of a sudden, the omicron hit, and its completely out of control now.

After two years, he said, theres no end in sight.

___

Soo reported from Singapore. Associated Press news assistant Janice Lo in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
UDUPI, India  When Aliya Assadi was 12, she wore a hijab while representing her southern Indian state of Karnataka at a karate competition. She won gold.

Five years later she tried to wear one to her junior college, the equivalent of a U.S. high school. She never made it past the campus gate, turned away under a new policy barring the religious headgear.

Its not just a piece of cloth, Assadi said while visiting a friends house. She wore a niqab, an even more concealing garment that veils nearly the entire face with just a slit for the eyes, which she dons when away from home. Hijab is my identity. And right now what theyre doing is taking away my identity from me.

Shes one of countless Muslim students in Karnataka who have found themselves thrust into the center of a stormy debate about banning the hijab in schools and the Islamic head coverings place in this Hindu-majority but constitutionally secular nation.

The issue has become a flashpoint for the battle over the rights of Muslims, who fear they are being shunted aside as a minority in India and see hijab restrictions as a worrying escalation of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modis government.

On Tuesday, an Indian court upheld the ban, saying the Muslim headscarf is not an essential religious practice of Islam.

The hijab is worn by many Muslim women to maintain modesty or as a religious symbol, often seen as not just a bit of clothing but something mandated by their faith. Opponents consider it a symbol of oppression, imposed on women. Hijab supporters deny that and say it has different meanings depending on the individual, including as a proud expression of Muslim identity.

The furor began in January in India, where Muslims make up just 14% of the countrys 1.4 billion people but are still numerous enough to make it the second-largest Muslim population of any nation, after Indonesia.

Staffers at a government-run junior college in Udupi, a coastal city in Karnataka, began refusing admission to girls who showed up in a hijab, saying they were violating the uniform code.

The students protested by camping outside and holding their lessons there, arguing that Muslim students had long been allowed to wear headscarves at school. More schools in the state soon imposed similar bans, prompting demonstrations by hundreds of Muslim women.

That led to counterprotests by Hindu students wearing saffron shawls, a color closely associated with that religion and favored by Hindu nationalists. They shouted slogans like Hail Lord Ram, a phrase that traditionally was used to celebrate the Hindu deity but has been co-opted by nationalists.

At one campus a boy climbed a flagpole and hoisted a saffron flag to cheers from friends. At another a girl in a hijab was met by shouted Hindu slogans from a group of boys; she raised her fist and cried, Allahu akbar!  God is great, in Arabic.

To quell tensions the state, governed by Modis Bharatiya Janata Party, shut schools and colleges for three days. It then slapped a statewide ban on the hijab in classes, saying religious clothing in government-run schools disturbs equality, integrity and public law and order.

Some students gave in and attended with their heads uncovered. Others refused and have been barred from school for nearly two months  students like Ayesha Anwar, an 18-year-old in Udupi who has missed exams and is falling behind her peers.

I feel like we are being let down by everyone, Anwar said while surrounded by friends in a dimly lit cafe, her voice barely a whisper from behind her cloth veil.

Six students sued to overturn the states ban, now upheld by the court, arguing it violates their rights to education and religious freedom. One of the plaintiffs to the challenge was Aliya Assadi.

Im an Indian and a Muslim, she said. When I see this with the point of view of a Muslim, I see my hijab is at a stake, and as an Indian, I see my constitutional values have been violated.

Theres a cost to her activism: Hindu nationalists doxxed her personal details on social media, unleashing a flood of online abuse and harassment. She lost friends who depicted her actions as Muslim fundamentalism.

But shes steadfast about wearing the hijab. She first did so as a child, imitating her mother, carefully arranging the headscarf in front of the mirror each morning. Today she enjoys the privacy it affords and the sense of religious pride it conveys: It makes me confident.

Ayesha Imtiaz, another student barred from school, said she wears it as a token of devotion to Islam but acknowledged that opinions vary even among Muslim women.

There are so many of my friends who do not wear hijab inside the classroom, said Imtiaz, 20. They feel empowered in their own way, and I feel empowered in my own way.

In her eyes, the bans segregate women according to faith and contravene core Indian values on diversity.

Its Islamophobia, Imtiaz said.

Hijab restrictions have surfaced elsewhere, including France, which in 2004 banned them in schools. Other European countries have enacted regulations for public spaces, usually aimed at the more concealing garments such as niqabs and burqas. Usage of head coverings has divided even some Muslim communities.

In India, the hijab has historically been neither prohibited nor limited in public spheres. Women donning the headscarf is common across the country, which has religious freedom enshrined in its national charter with the secular state as a cornerstone.

But critics of Modi say India has steadily drifted from that commitment to secularism and today is deeply fractured along religious lines. The prime minister and top Cabinet officials often perform Hindu rituals and prayers on television, blurring the lines between religion and the state.

Since coming into office in 2014, Modis government has passed a raft of laws that opponents call anti-Muslim, though his party rejects accusations of being discriminatory.

Meanwhile calls for violence against Muslims have moved from societys fringes toward the mainstream. Watchdog groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have warned that attacks could escalate against Muslims, who are disproportionately represented in Indias most impoverished neighborhoods and in prisons.

Some of the anti-Islam sentiment has specifically targeted women  recently many in the country were outraged by a website that was set up offering a fake auction of more than 100 prominent Indian Muslim women, including journalists, activists, artists and movie stars.

Muslim students allege that behind the counterprotests in Karnataka was Hindu Jagran Vedike, a nationalist group associated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a far-right Hindu organization ideologically linked to Modis political party.

Mahesh Bailur, a senior member of Hindu Jagran Vedike, denied that his group organized demonstrations and said it only offered moral support to the saffron shawls and their cause.

Today these girls are demanding hijab in colleges. Tomorrow they will want to pray there. Finally, theyll want separate classrooms for themselves, he said. This is unacceptable.

Bailur, 36, is a proponent of a discredited conspiracy theory that holds Muslims are plotting to convert Indias Hindu population and eventually remake it as an Islamic nation. Demands to wear the hijab in classes, he argued, are part of that.

Manavi Atri, a human rights lawyer based in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, said the hijab ban is among many assaults on expressions of Muslim identity in India today, violates principles of state neutrality on religious matters, and inflates an us-versus-them philosophy in a country already riven by sectarian divisions. Most troubling, she said, is the pressure it puts on girls and young women in their formative years.

This choice (between education and faith) that people are being forced to make is not a choice one has to be exercising at that age, she said.

In the court case, lawyers for Karnataka state argued that the Quran does not clearly establish wearing the hijab as an essential spiritual practice, so banning it does not violate religious freedom.

Many Muslims reject that interpretation.

On a recent Friday, Rasheed Ahmad, the head imam of Udupis grand mosque, delivered a sermon before hundreds of worshippers. His voice thundering through loudspeakers mounted on the minarets, he railed against the bans as an attack on Islam.

Hijab is not just our right, he said later in an interview, but an order from God.

Assadi said she and the others are determined to prevail.

We are brave Muslim women, she said, and we know how to fight for our rights.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Copyright  2022 Albuquerque Journal

Hot air balloonists have been granted a one-year waiver in which they will be able to fly in Albuquerque airspace without having to install an advanced electronic tracking system, according to an updated Federal Aviation Administration policy released Wednesday.

The waiver, in effect through March 2023, is good news for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and local hot air ballooning companies.

This is huge for New Mexico, said a joint statement from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, Rep. Melanie Stansbury and Mayor Tim Keller.

Albuquerque is the ballooning capital of the world. Balloon Fiesta and year-round ballooning are a vital part of Albuquerques cultural fabric and economy, Stansbury said. Upon hearing that a new FAA rule could threaten this iconic industry, we have been working to resolve this issue. I am grateful to the FAA for working to find a meaningful solution and to the ballooning community who brought it to our attention  and who every day keeps the magic of ballooning in New Mexico alive!

FAA Regional Administrator Rob Lowe said the agency recognizes the important role that hot air ballooning plays in New Mexicos culture, and the updated policy enables balloon pilots to continue flying safely in the region while we work on a long-term solution.

The temporary solution still leaves the question of a long-term, even permanent resolution, regarding the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B device, up in the air.

Balloonists will also have to agree to certain procedures and sign a letter of agreement confirming that they know the proper operational procedures in the Class C airspace that surrounds Albuquerque.

The function of the device is to provide a better way for aircraft to see one another and thereby help keep them safely separated while flying, Sam Parks, operations manager for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, previously told the Journal. He said the regulation requires that the tracking device be integrated into the permanent onboard electrical system of the aircraft. This makes compliance impossible because hot air balloons have no such permanent onboard electrical system.

The FAA rule was likely formulated with fixed-wing aircraft in mind, he suggested. It became effective Jan. 1, 2020, but was not enforced actively until September 2021. The Balloon Fiesta was given a waiver last year, and organizers had requested another one for this years event.

Balloon Fiesta Executive Director Paul Smith said Wednesday that getting the waiver for the fiesta was never really an issue.

We had been told several weeks ago by the FAA that it would waive the ADS-B requirement during fiesta, he said.

What the mayor, governor and members of the congressional delegation were able to get was a waiver for the rest of the year, to enable our pilots to identify landing sites and develop the experience and skill to get to those sites.

Smith expressed his gratitude to everyone involved, including the FAA, for getting the waiver.

According to the updated policy, The FAA will conduct outreach to the balloon community in Albuquerque to share the letter of agreement with them. The agency will also be available to explain the process and answer questions.

That outreach will begin this week, and until balloonists sign the agreement they will be in violation if they launch from or fly over the Class C airspace, the FAA said.

Long term, the agency will conduct a risk-analysis of balloon operation in Class C airspace following implementation of the mandate.

Further, the FAA in the future has committed to include stakeholders from the balloon community in this process as the FAA works to determine the next steps.

The one-year waiver also applies to Colorado Springs airspace, where balloonists also requested exemption from the ADS-B device.

The FAAs decision follows a February letter to FAA officials from Stansbury, Heinrich and Lujan, seeking a solution.

FAA officials were also contacted by Keller and Lujan Grisham.

The initial response from the FAA was that the agency had convened a work group to study the matter.

In the Wednesday joint announcement, Keller said: When it comes to ballooning and Albuquerques traditions, we stand up for our city. Were grateful for the FAAs work to find a path forward with us.

Lujan Grisham also expressed thanks to the FAA.

The economic and cultural importance of New Mexicos rightful reputation as the ballooning capital of the world cannot be overstated. I appreciate the FAAs work to identify a solution, recognizing that Albuquerques ballooning community has operated with a dedication to safety for over 50 years, she said.

The real winners are the thousands of visitors to New Mexico and the Balloon Fiesta every year.

Heinrich noted the distinctive flying conditions that make the city a destination for balloonists.

The unique Albuquerque wind patterns have made hot air ballooning iconic and essential to the industry and our tourism economy, he said. This fight was critical to reopen the airspace over Albuquerque. I was proud to work with our delegation to win that fight.

Lujan said ballooning is an important part of New Mexicos culture and commerce. It is vital that the FAA provides clarity to hot air balloon professionals and enthusiasts, as their community makes significant contributions to our states economy.

There are five commercial ballooning companies in Albuquerque collectively providing up to 30 combined flights each weekday and up to 130 flights on weekends, said Scott Appelman, owner of Rainbow Ryders, among the biggest hot air ballooning operations in the country.

Im thrilled with the FAAs decision, he said Wednesday. Were looking forward to working with the FAA and air traffic control to develop a process that attains the greatest amount of safety for aviation.

The ultimate goal, Appelman said, is to make sure ballooning is not left out when regulations are being made, and without any way to comply.
COLOMBO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Maldivian Health Protection Agency (HPA) on Wednesday advised the Maldivians to get their COVID-19 booster shot if they are traveling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah pilgrimage.

The Maldivians who have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, six months before the proposed departure to Saudi Arabia, should take the booster shot two weeks before the departure, the HPA said.

The HPA said that the Saudi Arabian government expects those who come for Umrah to be vaccinated within a certain time period. If eight months have passed since a pilgrim received his or her second dose, the person involved must also get a booster shot prior to arrival in Saudi Arabia.

Health experts have said that the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine decreases the chances of testing positive for the virus for eight months, according to the HPA.

Local media reported that by March 16, over 143,000 people in the country have received the booster shot. 
WASHINGTON  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Congress on Wednesday he was grateful for U.S. help against invading Russian forces but pressed for more  more military aid to combat Russian warplanes, more blowback for Russias politicians and economy.

Already, the United States has worked with other Western and Western-allied nations to impose what are jointly some of the toughest sanctions ever leveled against a country. That includes sanctions against Russias financial institutions and systems, bans on much of its international trade, and individual sanctions targeting many of the defense officials, civilian leaders and oligarchs in Russias power structure.

Heres a look at Zelenskyys other asks of the United States on Wednesday.

A NO-FLY ZONE  OR AN ALTERNATIVE

As expected, Zelenskyy in his appeal to the worlds superpower Wednesday renewed a request he has made repeatedly throughout the 3-week-old invasion: Western creation of a no-fly zone to block the Russian warplanes now attacking Ukraines cities and other civilian targets.

Is this too much to ask, so that Russia would not be able to terrorize our cities? the Ukrainian leader asked U.S. lawmakers listening, rapt, by video.

The U.S. has joined NATO in flatly rejecting creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which is not a member of the NATO bloc and is not protected by its defense pact.

Setting up such a zone would likely entail Western air forces directly engaging with Russias military. That would greatly increase the chances of a broader war between Russia and NATO members, something Biden says hes not willing to risk for Ukraine. So would providing Ukraine with MiG fighter jets and a U.S. or NATO base to fly them out of, something else that the U.S. and NATO have said no to.

Notably, however, Zelenskyy also presented another option to the no-fly zone.

If this is too much to ask, we offer you an alternative, Zelenskyy said, leveraging the tougher ask to push for an easier one. He then asked for the Soviet-era S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, or similar systems.

The S-300s use long-range missiles that are capable of flying hundreds of miles and knocking down cruise missiles as well as warplanes. The Soviet-era anti-air defense systems could be valuable in Ukraine continuing to defy Russia control of its skies, and in thwarting Russian air attacks on cities and other targets.

NATO members Bulgaria, Slovakia and Greece have the S-300s. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to discuss a possible deal that would get some of those S-300s to Ukraine when he visits Bulgaria and Slovakia this week.

Slovakia has no objections to providing its S-300s to Ukraine, Slovak Defense Ministry spokesperson Martina Koval Kakascikova told The Associated Press. But we cant get rid of a system that protects our airspace if we dont have any replacement.

Any such transfer could be a three-country swap, with the U.S. or other NATO country providing Patriots or other air defense system to make up for any S-300s passed on to Ukraine.

Ukraine already has a few S-300s. And Ukrainian fighters already are using simpler anti-aircraft systems like Stingers, a simple shoulder-mounted missile that uses an infrared sensor to blow up low-flying aircraft, effectively against Russian aircraft, denying Russian forces control over Ukraines skies, U.S. military officials say.

Russia has a history of relying on warplanes and missiles to level cities and crush resistance in offensives in Chechnya and Syria.

Ukraines resistance to Russian forces, the horrifying toll on Ukraines people, and its charismatic presidents appeals, have Biden and lawmakers of both parties in Congress rushing to provide military and humanitarian support, within the limits Biden is setting in hopes of avoiding a broader war. The support includes a more than $13 billion legislative package Biden signed Tuesday.

MORE SANCTIONS

Zelenskyy also appealed to the U.S. to intensify its already punishing package of financial sanctions against Russia, including hitting all the sitting members of Russias Duma and every other politician in office in Russia.

In the darkest time for our country we call on you, he said, speaking to lawmakers who rose to their feet repeatedly to applaud the Ukrainian leader. New packages of sanctions are needed every week until the Russian military stops.

The U.S., European nations and other world allies from the first days of Russias invasion enacted some of the toughest financial penalties in history. U.S. officials said the measures would cut Russia off from much of the worlds financial systems and trade, starve it of high tech and other imports, send the value of the Russian ruble plunging, and eventually plunge Russia into recession.

A steady stream of individual sanctions have also targeted powerful businesspeople and senior military and civilian officials in Russian President Vladimir Putins power structure, as well as their family members.

The status of any consideration of sweeping U.S. sanctions against Russian lawmakers wasnt immediately known Wednesday. Notably, however, Biden pointed out in first announcing the start of sanctions over Putins invasion last month that the Russian leader was acting with the approval of Russias Duma.

MAKE SURE THE RUSSIANS DO NOT RECEIVE A SINGLE PENNY

Zelenskyy urged U.S. companies still doing business in Russia to leave. He asked lawmakers to pressure any holdout businesses in their districts to get out.

American companies must leave Russias market because it is flooded with our blood, he said.

Make sure that the Russians do not receive a single penny that they use to destroy our people in Ukraine and for the destruction of our country and the destruction of Europe.

According to a list kept by Yales School of Management, 147 U.S. corporations have announced since Russia launched its invasion that they are pulling out of that country entirely.

Another 173 U.S. companies have said they are suspending operations.

With support in the West strong for Ukraine, and threats of boycotts of companies still doing business there, another roughly 70 American companies have said they are scaling back operations or holding off on new investment, but remaining.

Steady public pressure has helped winnow the total of companies that have made no announced change to their operations in Russia to fewer than 40, according to a list maintained by Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management,
Keagan Karnes and Richard Farmer are hoping to fill a void when it comes to filming commercials in the state.

Thats why the pair started Inspirado in March 2021.

For the past year, the company has grown by word of mouth.

Inspirado offers commercial advertising production as well as production and editing of feature films and documentaries. Additionally, the pair is offering consulting services to aid productions coming into the state to maximize the film credits and incentives.

On the advertising side of the business, theyve developed and produced ads for New Mexico law firm Glasheen, Valles & Inderman, the New Mexico Department of Health, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, the New Mexico Small Business Administration and Health Carousel.

Inspirado also has a film division where there are four projects in various stages.

Its been my mission for years to bring opportunity for writers, directors and producers to tell true New Mexico stories and serve New Mexico clients, Karnes said. I want to make sure that we can give every New Mexico business Los Angeles level of production. Were planning a massive expansion.

Inspirado would not only help bring productions to the state, but serve the productions that come from out of state.

Its a service position that is very necessary, Karnes said. Our ethos is creating new, daring work developed wholly in state. Inspirado practices the inside-out approach, relying uniquely on the creative direction and talent of New Mexicans. We want to be a filmmakers haven, inviting in new ideas and people.

Farmers experience is in the commercial world and knows that its a big industry that remains uptapped in New Mexico.

There are almost four times the permits pulled for commercials over feature films in Los Angeles County, Farmer said. Thats how I got my start. Im hoping we can get the New Mexico Film Office to recognize that if we put work into that, we can attract more of that runaway business.

Karnes has met with New Mexico Film Office director Amber Dodson.

Shes on board in getting the commercial industry to New Mexico, Karnes said. This new expansion with Inspirado can really drive it forward.

The company is working on four films currently  Little Brother, Facing Survival, Vengeful and Wildfire.

Our long-term goal is to have a robust team of directors, producers and filmmaking talent all working on a number of fiction and advertising projects, Farmer said. We also are planning to add studio space and offer advanced resources for writers and directors whether they are doing work here or out of state. There is so much talent in New Mexico, and we want to show the world what we can do.
NEW YORK  Americans reacted with empathy, pain, frustration and in some cases anger Wednesday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys impassioned speech to the U.S. Congress pleading for more aid for a nation and a people under bloody siege.

Across the country, thousands shared video of Zelenskyys speech on social media, many especially pained by a clip he shared of bloodied children in hospitals, bodies in neighborhood streets, crumbling facades of apartment buildings and a ditch where the dead of war were being buried.

Many were struck by Zelenskyys comment that I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the death.

Eric Bottoms, a day trader from North Little Rock, Arkansas, said after watching the speech that America has an obligation to protect the citizens of Ukraine because Russian President Putin is purposely targeting them.

Its morally the right thing to do, Bottoms said, comparing relative inaction to failing to stop Nazi Germanys early aggressions in the last century. If wed done something earlier, how many more lives could have been saved?

At Streecha, a tiny New York City restaurant that offers Ukrainian comfort food, a small group of workers watched Zelenskyys remarks live on TV. The canteens manager, Dmytro Kovalenko, moved to the U.S. from Ukraine in 2014 after the Russian invasion of Crimea.

Kovalenko said he still believed his home country could win the war if America offered more help, like anti-aircraft weapons or the enforcement of a no-fly zone. The latter option has been ruled out, for now, by the U.S. for fear of escalating the war.

United States proved to be our friends and allies supporting us, Kovalenko said. Maybe they can do more. We will expect from them to do more. But at least you already proved you are our friends.

Zelenskyy cited Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terror attacks as he appealed to Congress to do more to help Ukraines fight against Russia. He also appealed for intensified U.S. financial sanctions against Russia.

It was appropriate for Zelenskyy to draw on the horrors of 9/11 and Pearl Harbor in his appeal to Americans, said Taisa Kulyk, a 22-year-old Harvard University senior and Cleveland, Ohio, native whose parents immigrated from Ukraine in 1996. Ukraine is experiencing this every day, every night for three weeks now, Kulyk said. The world cannot just stand by and bear witness to terrorism on this scale.

Zelenskyy appealed to the American experience of terror, thus speaking directly to American voters, said Oleh Kotsyuba, a 41-year-old scholar at Harvards Ukrainian Research Institute who is originally from Ukraine.

President Joe Biden announced after Zelenskyys speech that the U.S. will be sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones. That makes a total of $2 billion in such aid sent to Kyiv since Biden took office more than a year ago.

In the Detroit suburb of Warren, Michigan, dozens of Ukrainian Americans watched as the flag of their homeland was raised in front of City Hall. Among them was Luba Kytasta, who described her initial reaction to Zelenskyys speech as: Heartbreak, rage, outrage and hope.

The outrage, Kytasta said, stemmed from whats happening to my people, to my country that I was born in, as well as with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who she said wants to kill all of us, not only in Ukraine, because were suffering here, too.

I cant eat, I cant sleep  pretty much like all the other Ukrainians, she said. This is the only thing thats on your mind.

Kytasta said Zelenskyys address did provide her with hope, though.

Hes very resolute. Hes very focused. Pretty much like all the Ukrainian fighters, said Kytasta, who added, I hope to God his speech makes a difference.

The ever-lingering question of What to Do dominated social media posts reacting to Zelenskyys speech. A sense of anger  and helplessness  was paramount. Many said they could not sit back and let the carnage continue. Others warned that acceding to Zelenskyys requests for air power or anti-aircraft missiles could lead to World War III.

Still others criticized U.S. lawmakers who applauded Zelenskyy on Wednesday but had voted against impeaching and convicting then-President Donald Trump for withholding U.S. military aid to Zelenskyys government in 2019.

In Warren, Mykola Murskyj, with the Ukrainian-American Crisis Response Committee of Michigan, said he has lost 9 pounds worrying about friends and family since the war started.

Were spending every waking moment working for Ukraine, said Murskyj, who watched Zelenskyys speech online in the kitchen of his sisters Detroit-area home.

It was a very moving address, he said. There are mothers and children dying in the streets, apartments being bombed, nuclear power plants being attacked  things that a month ago were completely unimaginable in Europe.

And now theyre happening, and we have to do something.

___

AP video journalist Joseph Frederick reported from New York. Associated Press writers Householder reported from Warren, Michigan, and Hanson from Helena, Montana. Philip Marcelo in Boston contributed to this report.
A new airline will begin offering flights out of Albuquerque come late this summer.

Albuquerque International Sunport and Spirit Airlines officials announced at a Wednesday news conference that the low-cost carrier will begin offering daily, non-stop flights between Albuquerque and Las Vegas, Nevada, starting Aug. 3.

Were incredibly excited to be welcoming a new domestic airline to Albuquerque for the first time in more than five years, said Sunport director Richard McCurley. Spirit is a great airline for the Albuquerque market.

Florida-based Spirit is the ninth commercial airline to begin operations out of Albuquerque, Sunport development manager Lisa Leyva said. Before Spirit, Allegiant Air was the last new carrier addition to the Sunport.

The flight from Albuquerque to Las Vegas will connect passengers to at least 15 other markets, said Spirit Airlines director of communications Erik Hofmeyer. The airline recently announced other flights in Western cities to Las Vegas, including twice-daily flights out of Reno and Salt Lake City and daily flights out of Boise.

Were starting to see a larger footprint out West, Hofmeyer said. When new airlines enter the market, it really ramps up the competition  (and it) keep fares down too.

Hofmeyer said its possible that Spirit may add more flights out of Albuquerque to other major airports across the country, but that its too soon to tell. Travelers flying out of the Sunport in August can get Spirit flights to Vegas for $66 in honor of Route 66, Hofmeyer said.

The addition of Spirit to the Sunport came after discussions that began last May, Leyva said. But the deal came together in late February when Spirit gave the go ahead on flights out of the Albuquerque market.

The Sunport offers incentives packages for carriers to help cover some ancillary costs. Spirit has yet to apply for those offerings, though Leyva said she does anticipate that they will.

Hofmeyer said Spirit Airlines will look to hire about 25 to 30 employees in Albuquerque. Those jobs include pilots, flight attendants, technicians and agents. The airline plans to work with a local service provider to conduct hiring activities, Hofmeyer added.

The news comes on the heels of another new flight between Albuquerque and Las Vegas. Frontier Airlines announced last week that in May it will begin offering twice-weekly, nonstop flights between the two cities.

The Sunport will undergo a multi-million dollar renovation starting next year that will move and modernize the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint and add a new food court. The project is anticipated to take three years.

Editors note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly named the airline that, previous to Spirit, was the most recently added airline serving the Albuquerque International Sunport. Allegiant Air is the most recent addition. The story has been updated.
Celebrity

The TLC personality remains in police custody with his bail set at $10,000 after he's booked for missing a scheduled appearance at a probation violation hearing.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Ben Rathbun is facing another trouble with the law. The "90 Day Fiance" star is spending time behind bars after he was taken into police custody for violating drunk driving probation in Michigan.

The 52-year-old reality star was arrested on early Tuesday morning, March 15 after he didn't appear at a probation violation hearing, per TMZ. According to the court documents, he was originally booked for operating while under the influence and driving with a suspended license in 2020. He was later sentenced to 18 months probation in January 2021.

Ben missed a scheduled appearance at a probation violation hearing early last month. As a result, a judge issued a bench warrant and the TLC personality was taken into custody on Tuesday. His bail is set at $10,000 as he remains in custody. His next court hearing is scheduled for March 21.

Ben's legal woes arrived shortly following his issues in his relationship with girlfriend Mahogany Roca. During season 5 of "90 Day Fiance", their romance raised eyebrows when the Michigan native started questioning whether she was a catfish before their first in-person meeting.

Ahead of Ben's trip to meet Mahogany in Peru, they continued to question whether they're meant to be together. In an episode earlier this month, Mahogany asked the former pastor to open up about his love life.

"After my divorce, I dated someone who was 27 years old for three years and we were going to get married but when it came down to it, she did not accept my children," Ben shared, which didn't make his girlfriend feel better. In response, Mahogany pointed out, "It's really strange because first, you told me that your first wife didn't work because it was the religion's fault. Now you tell me that you went out with a 27-year-old girl but she did not accept your children. So Benjamin is perfect and does absolutely nothing?"

Mahogany then explained that she didn't want to put an official label on their romance yet. "For me, it's normal before you start a relationship to talk about things like marriage and family, to know if we're on the same page. But Benjamin assumed we were already in a relationship," the 24-year-old said.

Ben, for his part, pointed out that their past conversations left him confused. The reality star, who once admitted that he's unbothered by their 30 year age gap, shared, "So, I was saying that we were going to have a family and that I was in love with you and like the next step is maybe we get engaged and so I just assumed. I see that means something different for you."
Facebook/WENN/FayesVision Celebrity

In a new interview, the 'Black Illuminati' rapper shares that the 'Empire' alum deserves more than five-month jail time for his role in creating a hate crime hoax.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Freddie Gibbs shared his two cents on Jussie Smollett's fake hate crime case. In an interview with TMZ, the rapper said that the actor deserved the five-month jail time.

In a clip which was released on Tuesday, March 15, a paparazzo asked the hip-hop star if Jussie's jail sentence was fair compared to the Capitol rioters who have been receiving lesser jail sentences. In response to that, he said, "I think the Capitol rioters should go to jail and Juicy Smollett should go to jail, too, man."

"Free Juicy Smollet in about three years," he continued. "The Capitol rioters they need to get the same sentence as drug dealers."

When it came to disparity in jail sentences, Freddie said, "The justice system been f**ked up that ain't even a question, man. Capitol rioters, f**k y'all, n***as. Juicy Smollett, f**k you too, go to jail. All of y'all go to jail, quit breaking the law."

When the paparazzo told Freddie that the judge seemingly gave Jussie a harsher sentence because he's black, Freddie begged to differ. "He did that bulls**t, he should go to jailjust like b***hes that fake rape should go to jail," Freddie insisted, seemingly referring to his August 2016 case in which he was charged of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in Austria back in 2015. "He faked a hate crime, he should go to jail. F**k Juicy Smollett. Free Juicy Smollett in five years."

While Freddie blasted Jussie, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson and more stars showed support for Jussie. "I am not here to debate you on his innocence but we can agree that the punishment does not fit the crime," the "Hidden Figures" actress wrote along with a picture of the message #FreeJussie.

"He has already lost everything, EVERYTHING! To me as an artist not able to create that in itself is punishment enough. He can't get a job. No one in Hollywood will hire him and again as an artist who loves to create, that is prison," she went on to argue. "My prayer is that he is freed and put on house arrest and probation because in this case that would seem fair. Please #freejussie."

On Thursday, March 10, Cook County Judge James Linn handed down an overall sentence of 30 months probation, $120,106 in restitution to the Windy City, and a further $25,000 fine. He was set to spend the first 150 days of his probation in the Cook County Jail.

Not happy with the ruling, the "Empire" alum yelled, "I am not suicidal. I am innocent." He continued, "If I did this then it means I stuck my fist in the fears of black Americans in this country of over 400 years in this country and the years of the LGBT communityif anything happens to me when I'm in there, I did not do it to myself and you must all know that. I respect you your honor and your decision."

In related news, it was revealed that the actor had been moved from a psych ward to a new jail cell. The Cook County Sheriff's Office said on Tuesday that he's still in the same unit but was moved to a different cell on Monday as medical professionals determined another detainee needed it more.
Instagram Celebrity

Nearly three months after his passing, the findings of an autopsy report performed on the Memphis rapper's body following his November 17, 2021 shooting are revealed to public.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Young Dolph were shot more than twenty times in Memphis on November 17, 2021. Nearly three months after his tragic passing, new autopsy results have been unveiled to public, revealing that he suffered 22 gunshot wounds.

The West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center released the autopsy report, per WHBQ-TV. The findings say that he was shot in his forehead, temple, face, right back, center back, left back, right arm, left arm, left chest, left abdomen, right chin, right neck, right wrist and right shoulder. Those wounds both include where they entered and exited his body.

After the autopsy report was released, Young Dolph's aunt Rita Myers said she was still waiting to see the report and bracing herself considering the details already reported by local media. "It's difficult to process. This takes us through it all again. We're going through a whole lot right now, and this adds to it," she told Rolling Stone.

Young Dolph was fatally shot when he visited Makeda's Homemade Butter Cookies to pick up cookies for his mother. He was laid to rest on November 30 at a cemetery across from Hamilton High School, after a service at First Baptist Church Broad Street.

Two suspects, 23-year-old Justin Johnson and 32-year-old Cornelius Smith, were indicted on first-degree murder and other criminal charges. 27-year-old Shundale Barnett, a passenger of the vehicle Johnson was driving, was also arrested and charged with being an "after-the-fact accessory" for reportedly helping Justin get away from the scene of the crime. On February 11, both Justin and Cornelius pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder.

In a January interview, in the week her nephew's murder suspects were publicly identified, Young Dolph's aunt Rita said her family was still reeling. She shared, "Our family has suffered a tremendous loss, because he was the glue that held our family together."
Instagram Celebrity

Revealing that she's barely able to make it to workout today, the makeup mogul tells other moms that 'it's OK not to be OK' and reminds them to 'stop putting pressure on ourselves to be 'back.' '

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Kylie Jenner has opened up about her postpartum struggle. In candid social media videos, the mother of two admitted that her postpartum experience has been "very hard," six weeks after giving birth to her second child with Travis Scott (II).

After giving a glimpse of her post-baby body in a boomerang selfie while she's on a workout machine, the 24-year-old said in a follow-up video posted on her Instagram Story on Tuesday, March 15, "I just want to say to my postpartum moms that postpartum has not been easy." She added, "It's very hard. This experience for me personally has been a little harder than with my daughter."

Kylie Jenner gives a glimpse of her postpartum body 6 weeks after giving birth to her son Wolf.

"It's not easy mentally, physically, spiritually, it's just crazy," she continued. "And yeah, I didn't just want to get back to life without saying that because I think we can look on the internet - for other moms going through it right now - we can go on the internet, and it might look a lot easier for other people, and put the pressure on us, but it hasn't been easy for me."

The Kylie Cosmetics owner admitted "it's been hard." She confessed, "I didn't even think I'd make it to this workout today." Sharing her positive outlook, the reality TV star noted, "But I'm here, and I'm feeling better. So you got this!"

In a subsequent Story, Kylie reminded other moms, "It's OK not to be OK. Once I realized that I was putting some pressure on myself... And I just keep reminding myself I made a whole human, a beautiful healthy boy."

"We have to stop putting pressure on ourselves to be 'back,' " she went on imploring. "Not even physically, just mentally, after birth. So yeah, just sending some love. I love you guys!"

Kylie's candid confession about her postpartum experience arrives just a day after she was spotted taking her newborn son Wolf on his first plane ride. On Sunday, the makeup mogul and her 4-year-old daughter were spotted outside a private pink-and-white jet on the tarmac at an airport in Los Angeles.

While Kylie was not pictured with baby Wolf, a male attendant was seen holding a white blanket on the stairs of the plane to hide the one-month-old infant as he was brought aboard the aircraft. They were reportedly headed off to Palm Spring, California for a vacation.
WENN/Avalon Celebrity

The attack came after Willliam made a controversial statement about the Russia-Ukraine crisis when he and his wife Kate Middleton met volunteers at the Ukrainian Culture Centre in London.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Tension isn't only growing between Prince Harry and Prince Williams. Supporters for each of the British royal members are also feuding online with fans of Harry and his wife Meghan Markle facing backlash for targeting William.

Jo Elvin, the host of Palace Confidential, said she came under "some quite epic trolling on social media" last week by 'Sussex Fans'. She claimed in a Mail on Sunday article that they were trying to find any reason to be angry with the Duke of Cambridge.

"The Sussex Squad likes to indulge in a sport I call 'Offence Fracking': the deep, deep mining for something -anything! - to jump on and be angry about," Jo continued. "Last week, their ship really came in when they found the most spurious of reasons to vent murderous fury at enemy number one, Prince William."

The attack came after Willliam made a controversial statement about the Russia-Ukraine crisis when he and his wife Kate Middleton met volunteers at the Ukrainian Culture Centre in London earlier this week. At the time, he said, "For our generation it's very alien to see this in Europe."

Defending William, Jo said, "Initially, some social-media reports claimed William had also made a comment along the lines of 'We're more used to seeing this in Africa or Asia.' But it turned out he said no such thing - the proof coming later in the day, when a video from the event was widely circulated online."

"But there's no fun in that for the Offence Frackers. So Twitter's Sussex Squad wasted no time in screeching about 'racist' William," she noted. She also mentioned journalist and "Finding Freedom" author Omid Scobie, whom she describes as "Harry and Meghan's most famous cheerleader."

"Even if William actually had said the line about Africa and Asia, it would have been outstanding work to take a tiny, throwaway comment and contort it until they found a reason to be angry (the textbook definition of Offence Fracking)," Jo continued. "But then Meghan and Harry's 'squad' really do all seem the type who could start a brawl in an empty room."
WENN/Euan Cherry/Avalon Celebrity

In a new interview, the 'Succession' actor says that he 'was being a bit harsh' for dubbing the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star 'overblown' in his memoir titled 'Putting the Rabbit in the Hat'.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Brian Cox is rethinking his words. The Logan Roy depicter on "Succession" has expressed his regret for labeling Johnny Depp "overrated" and "overblown" in his newly released memoir titled "Putting the Rabbit in the Hat".

When making an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Monday, March 14, the 75-year-old actor said that he "sort of" regretted what he wrote in his book. "I just thought I was being a bit harsh," he said. "You know what it's like..you go for the easy joke. And I went for the easy joke."

When asked by host Jimmy Kimmel if actors generally think they're overrated, Brian responded, "I think they do. I think a lot of times actors think they're overrated, and some think they're underrated." He then pointed out, "Let's put it this way, most of them think they're not rated at all."

Brian also hinted that he added an addendum to the paperback version of the book before it was published. The Scottish actor went on to explain, "I'm not like that normally. I was just being a bit glib, a bit flip."

In his book, Brian wrote, "Personable though I'm sure [Johnny] is, [he] is so overblown, so overrated. I mean, 'Edward Scissorhands'. Let's face it, if you come on with hands like that and pale, scarred-face make-up, you don't have to do anything. And he didn't. And subsequently, he's done even less." He added, "But people love him. Or they did love him. They don't love him so much these days, of course. If Johnny Depp went for Jack Sparrow now, they'd give it to Brendan Gleeson."

Additionally, Brian shared in his book that he turned down the role of Governor Swann, which eventually went to Jonathan Pryce, in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. "It would have been a money-spinner, but of all the parts in that film it was the most thankless, plus I would have ended up doing it for film after film and missed out on all the other nice things I've done," he stated.

Elsewhere in his memoir, Brian also sent a message for director Quentin Tarantino. "I find his work meretricious. It's all surface," he noted. "Plot mechanics in place of depth. Style where there should be substance. I walked out of 'Pulp Fiction'. That said, if the phone rang, I'd do it."
WELLINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government is bringing forward the date for opening the border to tourists in time for the Australian school holidays, in a move that will help accelerate the economic recovery from COVID-19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday.

From 11:59 p.m. local time on April 12, Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand isolation-free, and then two and a half weeks later from 11:59 p.m. local time May 1, vaccinated travelers from visa-waiver countries such as Britain, the United States, Japan, Germany, South Korea and Singapore, and those with valid visitor visas, will be able to arrive, Ardern told a press conference.

"Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop COVID-19 two years ago. It did the job we needed. But now that we're highly vaccinated and predicted to be off our Omicron peak, it's now safe to open up," she said.

Reopening in time for the upcoming Australian school holidays will help spur New Zealand's economic recovery in the short term and is good news for the winter ski season, said the prime minister.

Trans-Tasman travelers have historically made up 40 percent of New Zealand's international arrivals, with around 1.5 million Australians visiting each year, statistics show.

New Zealand's largest city airport Auckland Airport is celebrating the return of international quarantine-free travel to New Zealand following Wednesday's announcement that two years of border restrictions would be coming to an end.

There are currently 13 airlines flying to 25 destinations from New Zealand, down from 29 airlines connecting to 43 international destinations pre-pandemic. 
Instagram Celebrity

Days before her hosting duty, the 'Life and Beth' actress turns to social media to share a video of her showing off some dance moves wearing nothing but black undies.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Amy Schumer knows how to turn up the heat. Taking to her social media account, the "I Feel Pretty" actress posted a video of her dancing topless in her underwear ahead of her Oscars hosting duty.

On Tuesday, March 15, the "Trainwreck" star made use of Instagram to share a cheeky clip that saw her showing some dance moves shirtless during a dress fitting. "Oscar and @lifeandbethhulu fitting. Can't stop dancing. #badtattoo #baddancing," the 40-year-old comedienne, who flaunted her lower back tattoo as she only wore black undies, captioned her post.

In the comment section, many Instagram users likened her clip to Britney Spears' as the "Toxic" hitmaker often shares dance videos while showing some skin. "Yes it has the current Britney energy! And let's agree the tattoo is fantastic, as is the dancing," wrote one fan. Another chimed in, "I thought it was Brittany Spears. [gasped emoji]."

Someone else asked Amy to make a collaboration video with the "Oops!...I Did It Again" songstress, writing, "You and Britney should collab !!" A separate person added, "In all honesty, i thought this was Brittany Spears posting another dance video."

Her celebrity pals also couldn't say enough positive things about Amy's body-baring video. "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi commented, "OKAY BODY [fire emoji]," while "Hustlers" actress Keke Palmer gushed, "Body is itttt," along with a slew face with heart eyes emojis.

The cheeky post came shortly before Amy is set to host the 94th Annual Academy Awards later this month. The "Snatched" actress will be hosting the star-studded event alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall.

Speaking to Extra earlier this month, Amy joked that she's "going to get [herself] in some trouble as per the [usual]." The "Life & Beth" actress said, "Wanda, Regina are hilarious, and we're having a blast preparing. I mean, I don't know who made the decision to let me personally be a host, but it's not a good one  because it'll burn all bridges. I'll burn every bridge."
Discovery Celebrity

The TV personality was taken into custody at Okanogan County Jail and charged with assault in the fourth degree following an alleged physical altercation with his wife Raiven Adams.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Bear Brown has finally gotten his freedom back. The "Alaskan Bush People" star has been released without bail after he was arrested for domestic violence involving his wife Raiven Adams.

The 34-year-old TV personality, whose real name is Solomon Isiah Freedom Brown, was released from Okanogan County Jail on Monday, March 14, per The Sun. According to arrest records, he was taken into police custody on March 11 around 11:30 P.M. and charged with assault in the fourth degree following an alleged physical altercation with his spouse. His court date is set for April 26.

The investigative report claimed that when Bear tried to take a phone away from his wife, he "put her on the ground." The deputy said in the doc, "Raiven stated the argument had started from the last night. Bear was cussing at her and being crazy. Ravien stated they are currently moving out of the residence and into the camp trailer, so must [sic] of their stuff is in the camp trailer."

"At night, Raiven moves there [sic] child in common over to the camp trailer to sleep," added the deputy. "Bear was in the camp trailer and Raiven went over and told Bear she was coming into the camper due to all of their stuff being in there."

According to the report, Bear "began cussing" at Raiven and told her "to leave the camp trailer." However, Raiven explained to Bear that "they needed to be in the camp trailer due to all of their stuff being in there," leading him to leave the premises in a vehicle.

After Raiven went to the camp trailer with their son, River, and laid down in bed, Bear was allegedly "banging on the door" upon his return but she "did not feel comfortable letting him in." The report further stated that he returned "multiple times throughout the night asking for items."

The next day, Raiven was on FaceTime with her mother in the camp trailer when Bear entered and accused her of being "crazy." The document added, "Raiven then stated Bear pushed her down on the bed and was trying to take her phone," before pointing out that Bear "was holding her down by having one hand on her hip and the other on hand."

"Raiven stated she does not have cell service there and Bear knows it. Raiven stated Bear was trying to take the phone so Raiven's stepdad couldn't hear her ask him to call the cops," read the report. "Raiven stated she was scratched on her hand during the argument. Raiven then told Bear, she was going to call the cops and Bear left. Raiven was unsure of where he had went and did not know if it was to his mother's house or the property on the mountain."

According to Raiven's recount to police, Bear had pushed her a "few times." The deputy who spoke to Raiven said he "did not observe any marks other than the scratch" on her finger and said there weren't any "under her clothing."

Raiven's parents, Raymond Contes and Cassy Contes, also spoke to the deputy before submitting the video of Raiven and Bear's argument. While Raymond didn't witness the alleged attack, the stepfather claimed to overhear Raiven saying her husband was "hurting" her as well as Bear calling her a "b***h." Cassy also allegedly heard Bear using explicit language and claimed to see him "on top of" her daughter.
TV

While it is unlikely for Brie Larson's Captain Marvel to appear on the upcoming Disney+ series, the actress shows support for Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan in a post on Twitter.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - Disney+ has unveiled the first trailer for "Ms. Marvel", one of its highly-anticipated MCU projects. Released on Tuesday, March 15, the footage introduces fans to young hero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who is a big fan of Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel.

Set to The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights, the teaser features the Pakistani-American teen who writes fan-fiction. She's just an ordinary high school student, who is having a crush on a hot guy in her school while some others think she's a weirdo who wears an Avengers tee to school.

That quickly changes when she gets powers of her own. The trailer sees her transforming as she reveals that becoming a superhero feels "cosmic." However, just like what Spider-Man says, "with great power comes great responsibility." Kamala admits, "I always thought I always wanted this kind of life, but I never imagined any of this."

As for her super power, Kamala's Ms. Marvel appears to have purple constructs. It remains to be seen if she has the usual stretching abilities from the comics.

The trailer also hints at ClanDestine, who is rumored to be the villain of the series. ClanDestine is a family of super-beings that are descendants of Djinn, a race of powerful magicians from Marvel Comics.

While it is unlikely for Brie Larson's Captain Marvel to appear on the series, the actress showed support in a post on Twitter. Reacting to the trailer, Brie wrote, "You ARE a superhero, Kamala."

Brie Larson reacted to 'Ms. Marvel' trailer.

The two stars, however, have been confirmed to share screen in "The Marvels". The pair will be joined by Teyonnah Parris' Monica Rambeau, who, unlike Khan, has a tainted opinion of Captain Marvel.

The new video also reveals the premiere date for "Ms. Marvel". The series will be available to stream on Disney+ on June 8.
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In 'Look at Me: XXXTENTACION' documentary, the slain rapper's mom sits down with his ex Ayala, who was allegedly assaulted by him prior to his death in 2018.

Mar 16, 2022

AceShowbiz - XXXTENTACION's documentary "Look at Me: XXXTENTACION" premiered on South By Southwest (SXSW). The documentary, which is about the life and career of the slain rapper, sees his mother having a sit-down with his then-girlfriend Geneva Ayala while addressing his assault against her.

"Everyone was like, you are ruining his career, but at the same time, I felt my whole life was ruined because nobody even cared," Ayala said. "After that I was homeless, I lived in a hotel almost a year after that. I was just trying to say what happened."

She went on to say, "If you are going to think I'm a liar, I'm a liar. How am I supposed to fight that? I'm only one person. It was a really dark moment for me. There was no way to stop it. He had the power to do all that."

When it comes to her relationship with the rapper, whose real name is Jahseh Onfroy, Ayala said, "It was kind of a romantic feel in the beginning, it was a mesh of always taking care of each other and trying to better ourselves."

Later in the documentary, Onfroy's mom, Cleopatra "Cleo" Bernard, joined Ayala in a sit-down. While Onfroy, who was arrested on several charges related to an incident involving Ayala, his mom come to terms with it.

"A part of me took that and ran with it," she said. "That's my son, even if he' hitting her, that's my son. If he's a devil, that's my son, I birthed him. Wrong, right or indifferent I'm going to have his back no matter what. I'll always have his best interests at heart, protect her. Any mother would have done the same thing."

She went on telling Ayala, "My son is no longer here, and I feel like it's up to me now to make amends and try to right his wrongs as much as I can... I would actually like to hear you tell your story because like I said, my son died, and he's never admitted it to me-I don't think he would want me to see him in that light or know that side of him."

"Jahseh was wrong for what he did. There's no excuse for that, period. But I just want the world to know that he wasn't that same person anymore, but the past is still part of his story," she added.

Of Ayala, Bernard said, "I'm not going to hate her. And my son is not here, and I don't think she should be mistreated in any way. This is about his legacy, and she was the love of his life, and she was a part of that legacy."

XXXTentacion was murdered during a robbery back in 2018. He was fatally shot near a motorcycle dealership in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was 20.
Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. launched Vedica, its natural mountain water in 2010. Vedica has now announced the appointment of actor Mr. Dino Morea as their brand ambassador. With the announcement, they also launched a unique Vedica glass bottle which put the spotlight on their design, unparalleled experience and brand message.

The campaign with Mr. Morea shot at Taj Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad exudes luxury and showcases its opulent elements which tie back to the Vedica glass bottle. This campaign was brought to life to strengthen Vedicas awareness in the rapidly evolving mineral water space, and to develop a strong position in the HORECA market.

Vedica Himalayan Spring Water is bottled at source through a precious aquifer. It was discovered in the foothills of Mount Kailash. It focuses on attracting consumers to develop a healthier lifestyle through conscious and easy changes in their routine. With a pH range of 7.3-7.9, it is high in alkalinity and helps neutralize acids and remove toxins. The existing brand portfolio includes Vedica PET and Glass bottles and will be available pan-India.

The ad film that has been launched represents Mr. Moreas dashing elegance, and as a man who will not settle for anything but a life #FullOfAltitude. It will be released along with a 360-campaign covering digital, influencers, print, outdoor and television.

Speaking on the association, Mr. Dino Morea says, "Vedica is living well, having fun and being healthy. These are the values I have grown up with. I vividly remember working on an ad for Bisleris 500 ml bottle, early in my career. Therefore, I am thrilled to be the face of Vedica Himalayan Spring Water because it is a brand that resonates perfectly with my life and health goals, and I am glad to be a part of this adventure.

Commenting on this, Miss Jayanti Chauhan, Director, Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd. says, Launching Vedica Himalayan Spring Water in a glass bottle has been one of my goals over the past decade. I am glad to have found a team, with whom I have a wonderful dynamic to create and launch this piece of art. Initially, Mr. Rais and I had a different train of thought regarding Vedicas digital amplification. Through countless conversations and brainstorming, we concluded that a film would be the most impactful. We discussed on what the Vedica man would embody and therefore decided on associating with Mr. Dino Morea as I do believe he is someone who is truly #FullOfAltitude. I am extremely excited for the campaign which will help Vedica achieve new heights.

Adding to this, Mr. Zafar Rais, CEO, MindShift Interactive says, Our inspiration for the campaign has been the beauty of the Vedica glass bottle. From it, we derived an omnichannel marketing strategy that was opulent. We shortlisted Mr. Dino Morea as the ideal Vedica Man and conceptualized an ad film that brought out the essence of a life #FullOfAltitude with Vedica.
Shobiz, the experiential communication agency of Havas Group India, has completed 40 glorious years in India. A pioneer in the experiential marketing and communications space, Shobiz has been offering unparallel strategic planning, communication & content design, creative, graphic & architectural design, audience acquisition, production, and logistics for the last four decades. Founded in 1982, the Mumbai-headquartered Shobiz has four offices and over 250+ professionals across India.

To commemorate this historic milestone, Havas Group India and Shobiz have launched a new brand identity, a new logo  Shobiz Havas  to display the companys integration with the French network. In addition, Shobiz has also launched a 40-year celebratory logo to mark this momentous occasion. In 2019, following Shobizs acquisition by the Havas Group India, the agency became a critical strategic pillar in the growth of the network in the country.

This legacy company in the field of events, activations, and experiential, has a glorious history of evolution spanning over four decades.

Founded by Mr. Rehmatali Tobaccowala, whose early days were focused solely on the wedding business. As years passed, the alacrity with which Rehmabhai innovated, adapted, and readily took on newer challenges was nothing short of wondrous. As a result of his undying enthusiasm and impeccable work ethic, his business gradually expanded by foraying into newer avenues including staging, live events, product launches, theatre productions and more. The relations that Rehmatali established went a long way in spreading the word about his exceptional work, as he went about his business stage setups for some of Indias biggest industrialists including the Mahindras & Ambanis, theatre production for the likes of Alyque Padamsee, Hosi Vasunia Productions, Ronnie Screwvala Productions, Borjor Patel Productions, and events including the Filmfare and Femina Miss India.

When Rehmatalis son Sameer Tobaccowala, the current CEO, joined Shobiz in 1990 he brought in a fresh zest and energy to the business and diversified it further to meet the needs of the market. Sameer spearheaded the digital influx and spread its wings globally with behemoths like Oracle and SAP. It was Shobiz that relaunched Coca-Cola in India in 1993 after a gap of 16 years. Not to forget the agency's iconic work for Liril and Mahindra Ford.

Through the four decades, from the 80s to the post-pandemic era, Shobiz has grown from strength to strength, becoming the forerunner in the experiential space. It included managing, theatres to erecting the superstructure for the Annual General Meeting of Reliance Industries at Cross Maidan, attended by more than 1,00,000 shareholders, something unheard of in the 80s. In the 90s, Shobiz underwent its first big transformation as it moved from being a stage management company to an event management company and expanded to Bangalore and Delhi. India's economic liberalisation of 1993 opened doors to Fortune 500 companies in India. Some of the marquee launches by Shobiz of this era included Tata IBM, Coco-Cola, Fiat, Opel Astra, Mahindra Ford Escort, Mercedes E-class, and several others. Shobiz played a pivotal role in the launch of Indias first indigenously produced car, the Tata Indica. In 2000, the Indian IT sector was booming, and new investments were pouring through to resolve the Y2K problem. Shobiz was one of the first ones to create a website in India through which it lapped up the massive Oracle client. This was one of those key moments for the agency. The agency executed one event, following which Oracle handed over a mega 14-city event across the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. This led to new clients like IBM, SAP, Sun Microsystems etc.

By the time it was 2010, social media had already taken centre stage. AR/VR soon followed rather than just displaying a product like a car or a phone, elements of gaming were being introduced for the audience to get involved with brands. In addition to the IT clients, Shobiz won clients like One Plus, Vivo and others.

However, the biggest transition took place in 2020, after the world was hit by the pandemic, and businesses came to a grinding halt. The agency quickly moved towards building a holistic, and strong hybrid model, with best-in-class experiential offerings, both online and offline. The agency launched Shobiz Digital, built an in-house studio, and delivered over 500+ events in the virtual world through 2020 and 2021. As marketers are back on the ground, the virtual offering of Shobiz has now become a separate profitable venture for the agency.

The agency is also lauded for its long-standing client relationships in India. This includes HUL, Tata, Ford, SAP, VMWare, Mercedes, HPE. Today, the agency works across sectors, such as IT, Automotive, FMCG, Corporate, BFSI, Healthcare and Media, with over 150 recurring clients.

Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, said, I want to congratulate Sameer and the entire team at Shobiz Havas for achieving this tremendous milestone. Its legacy and reputation in the market is unrivalled. Over the last 4 decades, Shobiz has gone through several transformations, but the one over the last two years was perhaps the biggest in the history of the company and reflects in the business growth of the company despite the market challenges. Very soon, the company will venture into newer functions and partner many of our group companies to offer a meaningful and seamless brand journey to clients.

Sameer Tobaccowala, CEO, Shobiz Experiential Communications, said, The legacy of Shobiz in the field of experiential is unmatched. The brands that we built over the last 4 decades and the long-standing client relationships that we cherish are a testimony of this legacy. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who associated with us over the years. A huge thanks to Havas Group global and Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, who stood by us when we were at our lowest. I also want to thank my team for their unwavering support. Lastly, we wouldnt have been here without the business acumen of my father Rehmatali Tobaccowala, who taught us to never say never, always be open to learn and do it all with impeccable humane touch and a sense of joy.
IDAM House Of Brands, a conglomerate of various Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) brands, has acquired another Food and Beverage Brand, Bevzilla, the curator of Indias first Instant Coffee Cubes. Being 100% vegan, their cubes are an innovation in the beverage industry. IDAM House of Brands has picked up 40% stake in Bevzilla with a route to the majority in Bevzilla.

Bevzilla was founded in September 2020 by its co-founders Divisha Chaudhry and Anurag Chhabra. During the pandemic, when everyone worked from home, coffee consumption saw a boost. With the obsession came artificial preservatives and high sugar content, which started to become a health concern. Launched as an alternative to unhealthier options, Bevzilla made Indias first Instant Coffee Cubes that not only cut time but made a cup of coffee healthy and tasty by using organic date palm jaggery.

Bevzillas strategy of replacement of sugar with pure Date Palm Jaggery which also has various health benefits has helped the brand receive positive feedback within a year of establishment. Since Bevzilla is the sole producer of Instant Coffee Cubes, it has the monopoly to penetrate a market that does not have competition. In the coming days, Bevzilla plans to roll out products in several markets across various GCC countries including Dubai, to expand their reach.

IDAM targets to initially invest an amount of $1Million towards Bevzillas new product development, marketing, and team building. Currently, Bevzilla is present in 100+ retail outlets, Amazon, its own website, and other leading retail stores like Foodhall, Nilgiris, The New Shop & more.

Commenting on the same, Aakash Anand and Saahil Nayar Founders of IDAM House of Brands said that Bevzilla has had remarkable growth in the last year. Were excited about this venture and wish to collectively enhance their visibility in the global market. Bevzilla has carved a niche in the beverage industry and attained expertise, making it a potential brand for acquisition. Were delighted to be working together and hope to achieve the 100 Cr. ARR target in the coming two years.

Anurag Chhabra & Divisha, co-founders of Bevzilla also added that While looking for instant and healthier options for a cup of coffee, we came up with an idea of Bevzilla. As people are leaning towards a healthier lifestyle that is also easy to make and less time-consuming, we find our product, Instant Coffee Cubes, to be the perfect solution. With IDAM, the company looks forward to expanding and reaching a market, both nationally and internationally where the product receives the recognition it deserves.
The prosperity of the Indian economy owes a great deal to the micro, small, and medium businesses (MSME). The industry contributes so much to the Indian economy that it not only accounts for 29 per cent of the GDP, but also employs over 11 crore people in its 6.3 million businesses. As a result, the development of this sector is crucial for inclusive prosperity and Indias future. Amazon Business assists MSMEs in running their businesses more efficiently by giving wholesale discounts on regularly purchased business supplies and items.

Amazon Business is aiding MSMEs in India in running their businesses more efficiently by assisting them in lowering total procurement costs and increasing profitability. Small and medium enterprises may get regularly purchased business supplies and items at wholesale costs from Amazon Business. IT, Services, Telecom, Manufacturing, Education, Hospitality, Healthcare, Real Estate, and many more industries are among its clientele.

Amazon India had launched Amazon Small Business Days (SBD) from July 2-4, 2021 to help vendors recover from the economic disruptions created by the second round of Covid-19. Over the course of the three-day event, 84,000 merchants received orders. Non-metro cities like Kodagu (Karnataka), Dholpur (Rajasthan), Eta (Uttar Pradesh), Giridh (Jharkhand), Una (Himachal Pradesh), and Tinsukia (Assam) received 68 per cent of the orders.

In an exclusive interview with Adgully, Suchit Subhas, Director, Amazon Business, speaks about the growth of MSMEs in India, contribution of Amazon Business in driving this growth, the rebound of MSMEs in the post-pandemic period, promotional campaigns for 2022, and more.

What is the growth rate of MSMEs in India?

In the past couple of years, micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have grown to be a crucial part of Indias economy, producing various products and services for domestic and global markets. As per a report, the MSME sector currently employs about 110 million across rural and urban India.

More than half of the MSMEs in India operate in the rural parts of the country. To further boost the rapidly growing industry, the government and leading industries are introducing several initiatives and programmes. In the Union Budget for FY 2022-23, MSMEs received almost twice the allocation of Rs 15,700 crore as compared to Rs 7,572 crore in the last year, showcasing that MSME sector will continue to grow at an accelerated rate in India. We at Amazon Business, like other private companies, are humbled to get this opportunity to be a part of this growth story by launching innovative procurement solutions for MSMEs.

What is the contribution of Amazon Business in accelerating the growth of MSMEs?

Since its launch in 2017, Amazon Business has aimed to empower MSMEs as a one-stop destination with over 15 crore GST-enabled products across top categories to cater to their distinct business needs. It has become a one-stop shop for all business needs owing to the vast selection available to MSMEs, competitive pricing and vast delivery network. With presence in 99.5% pin codes pan-India, businesses from the remotest parts of the country can rely on Amazon Business for their purchase needs.

In 2021 alone, we saw an exponential growth of over 70% Y-o-Y in customer base, making the Indian marketplace of Amazon Business the second largest after the US.

Features such as Bill to Ship to, Multi-user accounts and approvals, spend analytics and safe and reliable delivery, etc., allow the customers to claim GST credit on their billing address, thus improving the ease of doing business. A monthly sales event, Business Value Days, held on the last week of the month allows customers to avail more than Rs 7.5 crore additional savings on business exclusive deals and promotions. We also launched Business PAN, a unique feature that allows non-profit organisations, educational institutes, NGOs, Trusts, Associations, and even MSMEs with a turnover of less than Rs 20 lakh to register on Amazon Business. As per regulations, these businesses could not register with Amazon Business without a GSTIN.

We will continue to focus on increasing our selection, bringing in top brand launches, exciting business deals for bulk purchases, and new innovations for customers.

How has Amazon Businesss journey been in the last four years in India and how has it helped MSMEs rebound from operational challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic?

In the past four years, we have focused on helping MSMEs in India run their businesses more efficiently by offering them frequently purchased business supplies and products at wholesale prices, thus reducing the overall cost of procurement and improving profitability. With presence in 99.5% pin codes pan-India, it has become a one-stop shop available to MSMEs across the remotest parts of the country for their purchase needs.

Currently, we are Indias largest GST store and we have added a host of features through which businesses can avail GST invoice with ease and sophisticated business analytics tools through which they can calculate extra savings with a GST invoice every time they make a business purchase.

Additionally, we have continued to add products to cater to changing needs of businesses. Our Commercial Store offers thousands of products across top categories such as business laptops, networking devices, industrial adhesives, tools and equipment and safety and security across top brands such as Lenovo, Cisco, Pidilite, Kimberly Clark, Stanley Black and Decker, Kirloskar. Similarly, we also have a dedicated COVID Supply Store through which businesses can buy a range of essential products like PPE kits, masks, face shields and sanitizers.

For our seller partners, Amazon Business provides an additional opportunity on Amazon.in to scale their B2B business by catering to requirements from lakhs of business customers and grow their revenues. Through features such as Request for Quantity Discount, our sellers have catered to lakhs of bulk orders from businesses across the country.

How is Amazon Business penetrating in the Tier 2 and 3 markets? What are the initiatives launched by Amazon Business?

Amazon Business currently houses Indias largest GST enabled selection. We serve 99.8% pincodes across the country and have businesses from some of the remotest parts of the country buying from us. More than 30% of our customers come from Tier 2 and 3 markets.

In terms of sellers, Amazon has digitised 2.5 million MSMEs across the country. 90% of the sellers on Amazon.in use Amazons logistics and warehousing services, out of which over 50% of our sellers are from Tier 2 and below cities.

We are delighted that Amazon Business is able to cover the length and breadth of the country and cater to the MSMEs belonging from the remotest parts of India.

What are your marketing and promotional campaigns for 2022?

As always, Amazon Business will continue to remain customer-obsessed to build the right customer experience. Our customers, no matter which segment they are from, will choose us as long as we are the best option to serve their needs. We will continue to provide convenient and innovative technology-led purchasing solutions to our business customers and strive to be a one-stop shop for businesses for their needs. Additionally, the aim is to serve the demands by connecting sellers in a seamless manner. Amazon Business will continue to build on our three strategic pillars of growth  Selection, Pricing, and Convenience.

Our focus will remain on increasing our selection bringing in top brand launches, exciting business deals for bulk purchases, and new innovations for customers.

What are the trends that you are foreseeing in the MSME sector in India?

With the increased penetration of the Internet, smartphones, and affinity for online experiences in India, the e-commerce sector has received a major boost in our country. Especially, in the past 24 months, customers have realised that e-commerce is the safest way to get everything at their doorsteps, further propelling the growth of the sector.

Embracing the digital solutions, MSMEs have also started shifting towards this to cater to the evolving needs of consumers. The rapid adoption of digital mode will be an ongoing trend this year as well. Be it selling the products or procuring the business supplies, digitization is the way forward for rapid growth.

On these lines, Amazon Business will continue to ease the procurement needs of MSMEs by providing direct access to the supplier, reduced paperwork, greater procurement laws compliance and less error.
Ipsos India has announced a host of management changes in the Leadership Team, to gear up for the new fiscal and beyond.

Detailing the changes Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India, said, The pandemic is almost behind us, and we are entering an era of exciting opportunities. Our clients, across industry verticals, are gearing up for a rebound, pursuing their own aggressive strategies for growth and they look at us to partner them in their growth journey. At the same time, Ben Page, Ipsos Global CEO has included India in Ipsos top priority markets for 2022. Keeping in mind client as well as internal expectations, we have reinforced and revamped the Leadership Team with the announcement of top management changes, effective immediately. This sets the tone for the growth path to 2025.

Changes in the top deck

Krishnendu Dutta is being elevated as Group Service Line Leader, Innovation, MSU and Strategy3, Ipsos India. In this role, he will support our pan India, Client facing teams and lead strategic client conversations in areas of innovation, foundational consumer as well as shopper understanding and research-based advisory.

Rinku Patnaik will take on a new role as Managing Director, Research, Ipsos India. She will lead our select businesses in North & South India.

Geeta Lobo will take on a new role as Chief Client Officer (CCO), Ipsos India. In this role, Geeta will report to Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos India, and will be tasked with deepening our business relationship with key Clients.

Ashwini Sirsikar is being elevated to Group Service Line (GSL) Leader, Ipsos UU (qualitative research) and SIA (Social Intelligence Analytics).

Geetika Singh, Executive Director, Ipsos UU (Mumbai) has been elevated to the role of Country Service Line Leader, UU (qualitative research), Ipsos India.

Maitreyi Mangrati, Executive Director, Ipsos UU (Qualitative Research, Delhi) will now take up the additional charge of the Country Service Line Leader, Social Intelligence Analytics (SIA).

There is a clear need to integrate survey data with social data to provide a 360 degree perspective to Clients. Sirsikar, Singh & Mangrati will be tasked with connecting these two data streams more, added Adarkar.

With the reducing Covid threat and physical world opening, Ipsos India is bullish for Channel Performance Service Line, which is not limited to mystery shopping, but also covers retail execution management and audits. With this aim, Abhishek Jha will lead the Channel Performance service line and would report to Rinku Patnaik.

Ipsos India is guided by our value of Client First and our tagline of Game Changers. It is always our endeavor to galvanize our team towards providing the best expertise and globally proven tools to our clients to enable them to stay ahead of the curve. These & such changes provide exciting opportunities to our staff and help us in our mission to be the best place to work for, in the research industry, concluded Adarkar.
ANKARA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces killed 8 members of Syria's Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

The YPG members were "neutralized" when they were in preparation for an "attack" against Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield zone in northern Syria, the Turkish ministry tweeted.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" to imply "terrorists" killed, wounded, or captured in security operations.

Turkey's forces and the YPG members often exchange fire on the Syrian border, and the tension has increased in the region since early January after the killing of three Turkish soldiers when a bomb exploded on its border with Syria.

The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria.

Turkish authorities say the operations aim to eliminate terror threats against Turkey and provide a safe zone that will facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.

Ankara sees the YPG as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). 
The Motion Picture Association today honored four individuals from the global policy and creative communities who have made notable contributions to the film, TV and streaming industry at the inaugural MPA Awards. Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu was recognized with the MPA Creator Award. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) received MPA Industry Champion Awards, and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) received the MPA Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards were presented to the honorees at a ceremony tonight at the MPA global headquarters in Washington, DC.

As the MPA commemorates its 100th anniversary this month, we are proud to introduce the MPA Awards to annually honor the work of individuals whose vital contributions enable our industry to continue to flourish, said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association. This years honorees are individually ensuring the success of the global creative economy, protecting creators and building a more inclusive pipeline for storytellers.

Jusu is being recognized for her expert display of her craft behind the camera and her contributions to moving and shaping culture, helping audiences see the world in a different light. Jusu is an accomplished writer and director who has uniquely transformed the way stories are told in Hollywood  and who tells them. Her feature film debut, Nanny, won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Nanny is the first horror movie to take the top Sundance prize, and Jusu is only the second Black woman to win.

I am honored to accept the first-ever MPA Creator Award on behalf of a global community whose work inspires positive change and growth, Jusu said. Creators make more than movies. They create jobs. They inspire cultural movements. They generate empathy machines, tackling socially resonant topics in entertaining ways. Being part of this community is among my lifes proudest achievements, and I am grateful to the MPA for shining this spotlight on us all.

The MPA Industry Champion Award will be presented each year to two individuals who have promoted the growth of the creative economy by fostering a dynamic ecosystem that generates new opportunities for all creators.

Senator Tillis was honored for the profound impact he has had on Americas creative industry, including his work to ensure fairness within the American copyright system, to support the contributions the creative community makes to the American economy, and for leading efforts such as the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act (PLSA) to ensure that intellectual property rights have meaning.

Its an honor to stand beside Nikyatu Jusu, Governor Phil Murphy, and Senator Patrick Leahy as supporters of Americas creative industry, Tillis said. I came to the Senate to find bipartisan solutions to Americas problems, and I am proud to stand up for the rights of the creative community. The industry supports nearly 50,000 jobs in North Carolina and provides more than $1.2 billion in wages. I am proud to have authored a law to make sure that criminal enforcement keeps pace with the cutting edge of piracy and am excited to continue working to support the film, television, and streaming industrys growth across all 50 states.

Governor Murphy was recognized for expanding film and TV production opportunities in New Jersey, creating local jobs and driving economic growth. In January, the governor signed into law the expansion of the New Jersey Film & Digital Media Tax Credit Program, enhancing the states production incentive program. Since its inception in 2018, the program has made New Jersey a national film and television production center and continues to attract high-profile projects to the state.

Im grateful to the MPA for highlighting the work we have done to make New Jersey a top destination for some of the countrys most significant TV and film productions, Murphy said. Those productions are shovel-ready projects that create good jobs and drive economic growth across the state. I accept the MPA Industry Champion Award on behalf of the 57,000 New Jerseyans whose jobs are supported by the film and TV industry.

The association presented its first MPA Lifetime Achievement Award to Senator Leahy, a staunch ally of the industry throughout his eight terms in the Senate. The award recognizes Leahy, who is retiring from the Senate next year, for his unwavering commitment to intellectual property rights and copyright protection during his distinguished Senate career. His commitment to the industry goes beyond the halls of the Senate  hes been featured in five Batman movies, serving under four different Caped Crusaders.

I have always felt that the brilliance of artists and filmmakers deserves protection from those who attempt to unfairly profit off their hard work, said Leahy. Individuals at studios go to work every day to create the movies and shows loved by audiences around the world. That is why it has been a pleasure to work throughout my Senate service with the MPA, which represents the most iconic American film and TV studios.
With the election season energizing the entire media landscape since February22, News18 India launched the most extensive marketing campaign by a news channel. The campaign objective was to deliver News18 Indias No. 1 core messaging to the target audience utilizing multiple mediums.

The channel arrayed a range of media across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttarakhand that included traditional mediums such as TV, Radio, Print, Outdoor, Transit, and Cable channels at high frequency. Various high visibility and impactful units were also deployed in outdoor mediums.

However, it was the use of digital/social/mobile platforms to maximize the targeted reach and also drive the brands perception amongst key audiences which was the mainstay of the campaign. Highly engaging communication reiterating the messaging of No. 1 was deployed across multiple platforms such as FB, YT Twitter, and on Whatsapp to drive home the message of the channel being the best destination for elections coverage. Influencers were also used to seed the channels video promotions as well as to drive the channel brand through interesting content formats such as Twitter Polls. These campaigns delivered an overall reach of over 90 million+ across different platforms. The channel also ran a targeted campaign on LinkedIn to reach out to top corporate executives as well as marketing leaders. This leg was further bolstered with the use of highly targeted programmatic advertising which also allowed the brand to ambush competing media platforms

The channel also interacted directly with the consumers through a viewer engagement program on the Counting Day  named Kya Aap Hain News18 India ke Darshak No.1? to tie in with the rest of the campaign. This activity was extensively promoted across Whatsapp, social media and a recorded voice call. The campaign truly had multiple high points on account of several innovative creative and media interventions.

The campaign unveiled a unique film-Voters ki Number 1 Zimmedari  which consisted of a prank being used to remind people to go out and vote. The film was promoted extensively on Whatsapp in Varanasi, Allahabad, and Gorakhpur wherein a large proportion of the eligible population was reached through this campaign. The channel also did a high-impact content integration on the radio with Red FM called Sawaalon ka Number 1 Dangal where RJ interacted with top News18 India anchors. The idea here again was to through both the promotional communication as also the interaction hammer in the point about News18 India having the No.1 news team and the No.1 news coverage.

News18 India also deployed high visibility transit & OOH media and public avenues creatively. LED hoardings were installed on boats near various ghats in Varanasi. Prime areas such as the Gomti Bridge in Lucknow were completely branded by the channel to drive the channels visibility and salience.

Similarly, the Lucknow-Varanasi intercity train was wrapped with the channels branding to deliver the No.1 messaging.News18 India branded autos and cabs traversed through many cities of UP, Uttarakhand and Punjab, carrying the campaign communication.

News18 India also had a special song crafted for the Counting Day coverage News18 India par nahi toh natija nahi. Customized autos playing this song echoing were deployed across major cities of Uttar Pradesh. As the 5-state elections conclude, News18 India has clearly emerged as a dominant brand on the back of a holistic and innovative campaign executed through multiple mediums, strategic media partnerships and effective targeting.
India's prominent PR firm PR 24x7 has recently entered into a joint venture with the multimedia leading institute, Fashion TV School of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad. The tie-up has been done to benefit the employees by providing them training and upskilling their knowledge and experience in the fields of the communication industry. Interestingly, the courses of the FTV School of Performing Arts are designed according to New Education Policy 2020 to accomplish the mission of the Ministry of Education.



It is not the first time that PR 24x7 has taken any initiative for the betterment of its employees. Under this venture, the employees will be given specialized tailor-made courses in PR and communication and Personality Development where the core programs are designed by the experts. Notably, FashionTV School of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad is a renowned institute, offering a wide range of courses to provide world-class training programs to the aspirants and help them bring out the best in them. The six major courses offered by the institute include Advertisement and PR, Event Management, Fashion Personality Development, Fashion Management, Photography, and Cinema. Undoubtedly, being trained under such a big platform will help employees cultivate their efficiency and productivity, elevate their in-depth knowledge and know-how of the PR field.



Speaking about the venture, Atul Malikram, Founder of PR 24x7 says, "It is indeed a pleasure to get associated with a prominent fashion media and institute such as Fashion TV School of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad. The entire program has been planned for PR 24x7 employees and this collaboration will help in discovering and cultivating their potential. The training will be given by the experts who are very much enriched in industrial expertise. I hope this venture will lead us to many new possibilities."



Speaking about the FTV School of Performing Arts, Ahmedabad- Director Mukesh Chawla says, Our entire team is thrilled to be associated with PR24x7 which is a well-known PR agency in India. We as an Ftv SOPA Ahmedabad, are looking forward to having fruitful results with this association. We hope to contribute towards the education and communication industry for filling up the gap of job opportunities.



Excited about the training program, Neha Gour, Senior VP, PR 24x7 says, It is a great opportunity for us to learn and enhance our knowledge. We are grateful to PR 24x7 who always motivates us to do our best in everything and to Ftv for organizing the training programs to the best of our interest.
The award-winning branded content studio arm of Kulfi Collective, Supari Studios, has announced a set of proficient hires to add a rich layer of experience to its dynamic team.

Ishan Naman Sinhas previous experience includes a stint at Ogilvy & Mather alongside five years at DY Works. An alumnus of Symbiosis Institute of Media & Communication, his rich background in the media landscape has nurtured acute consumer-centric thinking capabilities and a strong understanding of digital platforms. He has joined Supari Studios as the Assistant Vice President, heading all Strategy efforts.

Dedicated and enthusiastic about every project she undertakes, Anvita Arora has joined Supari Studios as an Assistant Vice President, where her responsibilities include heading brand partnerships. She has a broad knowledge of the advertising and media industry and has pursued her Masters Degree in Advertising and Marketing from the University of Leeds. Driven and hardworking, she has also previously worked with prominent companies like OgilvyOne Worldwide and 22Feet Tribal Worldwide.

Meanwhile, Victor Daruwalla, who previously worked at Viacom 18 Media, has joined Supari Studios in the capacity of Senior Creative Director. His responsibilities include providing solutions to brand problems by building out clutter-breaking IPs and scaling Youtube channels to create trending content.

Parikshit Vivekanand has joined Supari Studios as a creative director. He has been a digital content strategist with over 8 years of experience and has previously worked in the position of a senior content strategist, and later, a creative director at Foxymoron as well as a content specialist at 22Feet Tribal Worldwide.

Furthermore, Anuj Rai has joined Supari Studios as an executive producer with the responsibility of creating cutting-edge branded content. A seasoned content professional, he has more than a decade of experience creating content across broadcast, digital and social media formats in multiple sectors of sports, auto, tech, lifestyle, amongst others.

In addition to these new appointments, Supari Studios Prachi Vasantwho has eight years of work experience in content development, production, post-production and creating digital content and brand campaignshas been elevated to the position of an executive producer. Meanwhile, Joel Nigli has been promoted as a senior creative director, where he will be seen leading a squad of creative directors focussed at building out clutter breaking campaigns.

Shirley DCosta - CBO - Kulfi Collective, added, Were thrilled to be building a stellar team of very driven individuals who not only have a strong background in strategic, consumer-centric work but are also adept at creating cultural currency for brands through storytelling. We are not only partnering with brands to create campaigns, and content IPs but also setting up content studios to deliver scale and efficiency, and this team is the right fit to do so.

Manoti Jain - COO - Supari Studios, said, We are a people-centric organisation with a deep focus of shaping the cultural narrative for brands with whom we work. We are excited to partner and onboard digital-first creators, a team full of diverse, unique and strong voices that share a common passion for creative excellence. With a team like this, Supari Studios is set up to scale to new heights.

Nisha Vasudevan - VP, Creative Development - Supari Studios, mentioned, Im looking forward to expanding our creative voice in more versatile directions. The new additions to our team will boost not only our leadership but also our capabilities and offerings by leaps and bounds.

By putting together an effective team of individuals with high potential, the content studio looks to the future to scale greater heights of success.
While the global pandemic has brought economies to a halt and massively disrupted businesses, it has also fuelled start-up dreams and we even saw several Indian start-ups achieve Unicorn status during the pandemic period. The times have never been better for the budding entrepreneurs to give wings to their start-up dreams. The Government, too, has come up with various schemes to support its Vocal for Local drive.

Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series  START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the Vocal for Local movement and over the next few months will be featuring all local/ homegrown businesses, brands and Apps.

Amrit Singh, Co-Founder & CRO, Loop, was building digital medical records for patients in rural India and in Africa and saw how poor the quality of healthcare was. There he witnessed the clear lack of preventive or primary care. Singh saw that patients were not given any financial support or medical support, especially in the form of second opinions. In most cases, they would trust the local general physicians to do a proper diagnosis and give the right advice. But more often than not, they failed to do so for many reasons. Thats when Singh saw an opportunity to build a better healthcare system bundled with insurance.

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Amrit Singh, Co-Founder & CRO, Loop, speaks about how this company was founded, challenges and opportunities in healthcare insurance, new campaigns, learnings from the past years and much more.

What are the recent campaigns that you have done to promote your business?

When it comes to our marketing efforts, our motto is to approach with value. When we wanted to capture the eyes of the start-up ecosystem, we went to them with free healthcare for founders through our top-notch team of in-house doctors and specialists. And of course, nothing beats word of mouth. So, in addition to the services we offer to our clients, we always try to go above and beyond. Recently, we sent out home quarantine care packages to the Covid positive employees of our clients.

We go to HRs with content marketing efforts that provide them with the tools they need to excel at their job. Through our recent rebranding campaign with Kunal Kapoor, we are trying to reach more of the HR community across different cities in the country so that they are aware of all the amazing things we offer their community.

What need gap did you want to fulfill with your start-up? What is the core business proposition?

The healthcare system is currently set up in a way that it benefits more from treating those who are ill than from keeping them healthy. This is because being reactive is where the money is at. In a world where the cost of healthcare is rapidly shooting up, this set-up makes quality healthcare dangerously inaccessible to millions of people. Theres a need for a modern healthcare provider who prioritises preventive care and top-notch primary care so that the focus is always on keeping people healthy rather than waiting around to treat them when they fall sick.

Right now, we are in the process of reaching millions of people through their employers as an insurance broker with free OPD from in-house doctors. Even in the employee healthcare ecosystem, things are highly outdated. So, there are plenty of opportunities for us to become a healthcare partner that modern companies deserve.

How did you identify your TG? Did you carry out any feasibility study prior to starting your business?

Ultimately, we want to provide high-quality healthcare to millions of people in India. The best place to attach preventive and primary care is through health insurance, and most Indians who have health insurance, get it from their employers. When it comes to these employers, their HR teams are dealing with outdated employee health practices from traditional providers. So, our marketing efforts are focused on helping HR teams overcome those hurdles and be excellent at their job.

What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges was acquiring a broking license to provide our customers with more options on insurance policies.

What were the clearances that you required for your venture from various authorities?

We got support from the IRDAI to acquire a broking license.

How is digital helping you further your business?

When it comes to marketing, digital helps us to be razor-sharp-focused in our efforts. Of course, we experiment and go through a lot of trial and error, but digital allows us to learn from every step and keep improving ourselves in every aspect. I believe in 2022, we have more than enough tools to grow our businesses, its just a matter of using them wisely.

As for our product, we provide our free OPD services through the loop app. Every Loop member gets a dedicated medical advisor, who helps answer quick health questions and guide them in their healthcare needs through a simple chat feature. They also have access to unlimited virtual doctor consultations with specialists, along with discounted lab tests. This makes it more accessible to more people. We are making healthcare more convenient for those who have to jump a thousand hurdles to get to a doctor.

Weve also brought the age-old health insurance and benefits system to 2022 through our app. Policies and e-cards are now just a tap away and our members get 24x7 claims support through the app.

What were your key learnings from the past years? How do you see the start-up ecosystem progressing this year?

It sounds obvious, but every passing year we realise the importance of making things people really want. You figure this out by speaking to your customers every day.

And when it comes to insurance, its an old industry based on trust. So, trust and relationships are still super important for doing business.

What would be your message for budding entrepreneurs?
Get set to be drenched in a rainbow of colors as Zee Telugu, one of the leading channels in Telugu speaking states, amps up its festive quotient with Ranga Ranga Vaibhavanga to entertain its audience on the occasion of Holi. With an aim to add exuberance and keep the audience enthralled and entertained, the programme promises to bring alive the vibe of Holi. The show is set to telecast on 20th March, at 6 PM only on Zee Telugu. In this special lighthearted & fun show, ardent fans can view a tug of war between weekday entertainers (Fiction shows) and weekend entertainers (Non-Fiction shows).



The 180-minute multi-entertainment show will witness power-packed performances that will entertain the audience from the comfort of their homes. The show will feature the beautiful Krithi Shetty as a special guest. Adding to the galore, the show is hosted by the multitalented anchor Pradeep Machiraju. For the viewers, the icing on the cake would be to watch Pradeeps love proposal to Krithi in the Tulu language followed by a romantic candlelight dinner on a ship.



Taking the entertainment quotient, a notch higher, the show will also witness weekday entertainers led by Akul Balaji filled with acts of Sri Satya  Amardeep, Anusha  Prathap, Chandu  Ashika, Nagarjuna & Aishwarya, Nikhil  Kavya, Pavan  Yukta, Siddharth  Nisha, Nirupam  Manjula, among others. On the other side, weekend entertainers led by Sreemukhi will showcase dazzling performances of Super Queen participants, along with Saddam, and his team who will roast the serial actors with a fun skit and 50 mashup songs by 13th and 14th season contestants of SRGMP. Do not forget to tune-in to the celebration of colors on 20th March, 2022 at 6 PM only on Zee Telugu!
Zenith, the ROI agency under Publicis Groupe, is awarded the media mandate for Zoomcar, the world's largest emerging market focused car sharing platform. Zenith India has won the mandate after a successful multi-agency pitch by Zoomcar. Known for its deep-seated media planning and buying, Zenith aims to strengthen and elevate Zoomcars marketing efforts in India.

As a part of the mandate, Zenith will handle the entire gamut of media planning including brand strategy, media buying and implementation. The scope of work will be ROI driven with data analytics as its core. Through this association Zenith expects to help expand Zoomcar as a brand to a larger audience and build a strong media presence in the market.

Commenting on the business win, Jai Lala, CEO, Zenith India said, In a progressing market, we aim to give the best data analytics experience to our clients. We are delighted to have partnered with Zoomcar, the world's largest emerging market focused car sharing platform. Our ROI led strategic media approach will aid to companys growth in India.

Speaking on the partnership, Nirmal NR, CEO, Zoomcar India said, We are happy to partner with Zenith to help bolster our marketing strategies in India. We look forward to a fruitful association and believe that the agency with its innovative ideas and inherent data analytics, media planning and buying knowledge will help with our business growth
Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

Bern, 16.03.2022 - The first Swiss-Canadian Cleantech Innovation Summit is taking place on 16 and 17 March. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin is opening the virtual gathering for Switzerland with a video message recorded the previous week. The Swiss cleantech industry is of paramount strategic importance.

Switzerland and Canada want to strengthen their economic and scientific cooperation in the field of clean technologies. The aim of the summit is to improve understanding of the Swiss and Canadian innovation ecosystems and to shed light on the transition from research to entrepreneurship.

The Cleantech Innovation Summit, held virtually, will be jointly opened by the head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER), Guy Parmelin, the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, Mary Ng, and the Canadian Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Simon Kennedy. On the Swiss side, State Secretaries Martina Hirayama (State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI) and Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch (State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO) will also take part in the talks.

Switzerland is a leader in the field of cleantech

The Swiss cleantech industry is of paramount strategic importance. In order to decarbonise our economy and thereby combat climate change, progress in the field of clean technologies, especially in the energy sector, is crucial. Switzerland is a leader in the cleantech sector. The sector has been growing at an above-average rate for years; its value added amounts to almost 5 per cent of GDP. Every year, around 30 new cleantech start-ups are founded in Switzerland, with Zurich and Lausanne - the locations of the two federal institutes of technology - being the two most important centres.

The cleantech sector includes many innovative business fields. For example, hydropower, ecomobility, photovoltaics and materials. Several of these business areas will be discussed in depth at the summit.

Address for enquiries

EAER Communications, info@gs-wbf.admin.ch, 058 462 20 07

Publisher

Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

http://www.wbf.admin.ch



Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

http://www.wbf.admin.ch



Innosuisse  Swiss Innovation Promotion Agency

https://www.innosuisse.ch




The Federal Council

Bern, 16.03.2022 - On 16 March, the Federal Council approved the total revision of the Ordinance on Measures against Belarus. The newly adopted measures concern goods and financial services in particular. Due consideration is being given to humanitarian activities.

On 2 and 9 March, the EU extended its sanctions against Belarus in view of the countrys involvement in Russias serious human rights violations in Ukraine. On 16 March, the Federal Council took the decision to adopt these measures in full. They mainly concern trade and financial sanctions and are very similar to the measures already imposed on Russia by the EU and Switzerland. The changes come into force at midday on 16 March and can be viewed on the website cited below.

The export of all dual-use items (civilian or military) to Belarus is now prohibited, regardless of their end-use or end-user. In addition, the export of goods that could contribute to Belarus's military and technological enhancement or the development of the defence and security sector is prohibited. In this context, it is also prohibited to provide technical assistance, brokering services or financing.

Import bans in place against Belarus will also be extended. These bans now also apply to wood products, products made of rubber, iron and steel, and cement.

The provision of public financing or financial assistance for trade with or investment in Belarus is prohibited. Other restrictive measures in the financial sector concern securities, loans and the acceptance of deposits. Transactions with the Belarusian Central Bank are also no longer permitted. Furthermore, listed Belarusian banks are excluded from SWIFT, the international messaging system for financial transactions.

Address for enquiries

Enquiries from the media: EAER Communications, Tel. 058 462 20 07, info@gs-wbf.admin.ch



Enquiries from businesses: sanctions@seco.admin.ch, Tel. 058 464 08 12

Publisher

The Federal Council

https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html



Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research

http://www.wbf.admin.ch




Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Geneva, 16.03.2022 - At the High-Level Pledging Event on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, held in Geneva in a hybrid format, President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis announced further CHF 14.5 million in financial support for humanitarian aid activities on the ground. The conference was opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

At the pledging event co-chaired by the Swedish and Swiss governments as well as the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, President of the Swiss Confederation and FDFA head Ignazio Cassis reaffirmed his support for the people of Yemen, whose humanitarian needs are increasing by the day.



Opening the pledging event via videoconference from Bern, Mr Cassis began with a message of solidarity with Ukraine. He added that while war is raging in Ukraine not far from our doorstep, "we must not forget other crises".



"Let's offer concrete support and the prospect of a better future to millions of Yemeni women, men and children," he said. Switzerland pledged CHF 14.5 million to support the activities of humanitarian organisations such as the ICRC and United Nations World Food Programme. Switzerland's support will focus primarily on water, sanitation, food security and civilian protection. Ministers from a dozen countries and representatives of international organisations and NGOs took part in the event, which was held in a hybrid format in Geneva.



One of the worst humanitarian crises worldwide



The situation in Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, leaving over 23 million people, more than two thirds of the Yemeni population, in acute need of humanitarian assistance. Women and children are the most severely affected by the crisis.



Yemen is also in the midst of a massive migration crisis involving 4 million internally displaced persons, with devastating consequences for health, nutrition and children's education.



The pledging event's aim was to gather funds for the humanitarian organisations active in the country. Switzerland considers it crucially important that these organisations have sufficient room for manoeuvre to deliver humanitarian assistance effectively to the population in need.



Supporting a political solution to the conflict



In addition to the support provided to strengthen humanitarian assistance on the ground, further efforts are under way to encourage the parties to the conflict to agree to a cease-fire. Switzerland supports the call for a cease-fire and the UN's efforts to facilitate a political solution to the conflict.

Address for enquiries

FDFA Communication

Federal Palace West Wing

CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland

Tel. Communication service: +41 58 462 31 53

Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55

E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch

Twitter: @SwissMFA

Publisher

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html




DECISION

Red Hat, Inc. v. Daniel Pocock / Software Freedom Institute SA

Claim Number: FA2201001980642

PARTIES

Complainant is Red Hat, Inc. (Complainant), represented by Maury M. Tepper, III of Tepper & Eyster, PLLC, North Carolina, USA. Respondent is Daniel Pocock / Software Freedom Institute SA (Respondent), Switzerland.

REGISTRAR AND DISPUTED DOMAIN NAME

The domain name at issue is <wemakefedora.org>, registered with Gandi SAS.

PANEL

The undersigned certifies that he has acted independently and impartially and to the best of his knowledge has no known conflict in serving as Panelist in this proceeding.

Alan L. Limbury, as Panelist.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Complainant submitted a Complaint to the Forum electronically on January 17, 2022. The Forum received payment on January 17, 2022.

On January 18, 2022, Gandi SAS confirmed by e-mail to the Forum that the <wemakefedora.org> domain name is registered with Gandi SAS and that Respondent is the current registrant of the name. Gandi SAS has verified that Respondent is bound by the Gandi SAS registration agreement and has thereby agreed to resolve domain disputes brought by third parties in accordance with ICANNs Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the Policy).

On January 18, 2022, the Forum served the Complaint and all Annexes, including a Written Notice of the Complaint, setting a deadline of February 28, 2022 by which Respondent could file a Response to the Complaint, via e-mail to all entities and persons listed on Respondents registration as technical, administrative, and billing contacts, and to postmaster@wemakefedora.org. Also on January 18, 2022, the Written Notice of the Complaint, notifying Respondent of the e-mail addresses served and the deadline for a Response, was transmitted to Respondent via post and fax, to all entities and persons listed on Respondents registration as technical, administrative and billing contacts.

A timely Response was received and determined to be complete on February 28, 2022.

On March 7, 2022, pursuant to Complainant's request to have the dispute decided by a single-member Panel, the Forum appointed Alan L. Limbury as Panelist.

RELIEF SOUGHT

Complainant requests that the domain name be transferred from Respondent to Complainant.

PARTIES' CONTENTIONS

A. Complainant

Complainant is a leading provider of open-source software and support. Complainant offers a range of products, including Linux platforms, middleware, cloud computing and storage for companies in a wide range of industries, and provides support and training and certification courses for its software.

Complainant has used the trademark FEDORA in connection with these goods and services since at least as early as September, 2001 and has advertised them over the Internet via the web site www.getfedora.org since 2014. Complainant has rights in the FEDORA mark through registration of the mark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Respondents <wemakefedora.org> domain name is confusingly similar to Complainants mark.

Respondent has no rights to or legitimate interests in the <wemakefedora.org> domain name. Respondent is not commonly known by the domain name. Complainant has not consented to Respondents use of the domain name and has not authorized or licensed to Respondent any rights in the FEDORA mark. Additionally, Respondent does not use the domain name for any bona fide offering of goods or services or legitimate noncommercial or fair use. Instead, Respondents adoption of a name that is virtually identical to Complainants registered trademark to offer or to discuss software and software design and development services does not constitute any right or legitimate interest in the domain name on the part of Respondent.

Respondent registered the <wemakefedora.org> domain name in bad faith with actual knowledge of Complainants rights in the FEDORA mark and did so in order to disrupt Complainants business. Respondent uses the domain name in bad faith to divert Complainants customers for commercial gain.

B. Respondent

The prefix We Make is not confusing. It is entirely accurate. As an open-source product, volunteers make Fedora side by side with the employees of Complainant. This is noted in Complainants founding documents, Exhibit 104:

There is a place in Fedora for anyone who wants to help, regardless of technical skill level, as long as they believe in our core values. Like any friends, we occasionally disagree on details, but we believe in finding an acceptable consensus to serve the interests of advancing free software. We believe in a strong partnership between Red Hat and our enormous volunteer community, since they both provide essential contributions that help the Fedora Project succeed.

This statement makes it clear that Respondents Software Freedom Institute SA and other institutions are welcome collaborators on Complainants Fedora product. Complainant operates an official site, FedoraPlanet.org which aggregates blogs from volunteers. It is very similar to <wemakefedora.org>. Nonetheless, FedoraPlanet.org has chosen to censor the contributions of some volunteers (Exhibit 114). <wemakefedora.org> includes the censored blogs. This is an important distinction that justifies the existence of a web site that is inevitably similar.

To avoid any confusion, there is a disclaimer at the top of the web page informing visitors about the trademark and giving visitors a direct link to the trademark holder's official web page.

As to legitimacy, on March 30, 2021, Complainant acknowledged and consented to the use of the trademark by volunteers (Exhibits 101 and 102). For 10 months after that email exchange Complainant did not make any legal complaint, despite being well aware of Respondents web site.

Complainant does not pay us for contributions of intellectual property but gives us badges recognizing our efforts. These further convey the rights of all volunteers to assert We Make Fedora. As We Make Fedora, we are authoring a software product as volunteers and as a community. We have a clear right and interest in asserting our authorship.

During 2021 various community members published blogs that were censored from the official aggregation site operated by Complainant (FedoraPlanet.org) but they appeared uncensored on the <wemakefedora.org> aggregation site, which provides a means for volunteers to highlight their work, past and present, despite the efforts of other parties to delete or disparage those contributions.

As to bad faith, Complainant has submitted five articles posted by different volunteers on <wemakefedora.org> in early October 2021 which appear to describe technical subjects and social phenomena in the open-source community (Exhibit 4). None of these articles appear to be asking for money. None of them are asking visitors to abandon Complainants Fedora product and use an alternative. These blogs complement the development of Complainants Fedora product. Through its founding documents (Exhibit 104), Complainant encourages volunteers to contribute content and speak freely.

Respondents <wemakefedora.org> website does not feature banner advertising or any other additions to the content. It only contains the original content created by Fedora volunteers. The only banner on the site is the disclaimer encouraging people to download Fedora, which includes contributions from the volunteers, from Complainant's official download page. Therefore, the claim that Respondent is operating the site for commercial gain is unsubstantiated and somewhat vexatious.

The Complaint appears to be about stifling the voices of volunteers in the community and suppressing evidence of our authorship of intellectual property in the open-source products distributed under the trademark FEDORA.

Respondent clearly has an interest in the domain name due to the communication from the trademark owner at the time of registration, public statements made by Complainant encouraging us to engage in free ways of working and the longstanding history of joint authorship of the trademarked product, FEDORA.

The domain name is not used in bad faith, given that the web site directs people back to the trademark owner's site, doesn't ask for money, doesn't run banner advertising, doesn't ask for personal registration. It has been demonstrated that the trademark owner is suppressing the blogs of some volunteers with authorship rights and Respondents site exists to give those voices an equal status. The founding documents published by the trademark owner (Exhibit 104) encourage us to give voice to all sides.

FINDINGS

Complainant has failed to establish all the elements entitling it to relief and has brought the Complaint primarily to harass the domain-name holder.

DISCUSSION

Paragraph 15(a) of the Rules instructs this Panel to "decide a complaint on the basis of the statements and documents submitted in accordance with the Policy, these Rules and any rules and principles of law that it deems applicable."

Paragraph 4(a) of the Policy requires that Complainant must prove each of the following three elements to obtain an order that a domain name should be cancelled or transferred:

(1) the domain name registered by Respondent is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark or service mark in which Complainant has rights; and

(2) Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name; and

(3) the domain name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.

Identical and/or Confusingly Similar

Complainant has shown that it has rights in the FEDORA mark through registration of the mark with the USPTO (e.g., Reg. No. 3,283,928 registered August 21, 2007).

According to the WIPO Overview of WIPO Panel Views on Selected UDRP Questions, Third Edition (WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0) paragraph 1.7:

It is well accepted that the first element functions primarily as a standing requirement. The standing (or threshold) test for confusing similarity involves a reasoned but relatively straightforward comparison between the complainants trademark and the disputed domain name.

This test typically involves a side-by-side comparison of the domain name and the textual components of the relevant trademark to assess whether the mark is recognizable within the disputed domain name

Applying this test, the Panel finds Respondents <wemakefedora.org> domain name to be confusingly similar to Complainants mark because it incorporates the FEDORA mark in its entirety and adds the descriptive words we make, which do not distinguish the domain name from the mark, and the inconsequential .org generic top-level domain (gTLD), which may be ignored.

Complainant has established this element.

Rights or Legitimate Interests

Paragraph 4(c) of the Policy sets out three illustrative circumstances as examples which, if established by Respondent, shall demonstrate rights to or legitimate interests in the domain name for purposes of paragraph 4(a)(ii) of the Policy, i.e.

(i) before any notice to Respondent of the dispute, the use by Respondent of, or demonstrable preparations to use, the domain name or a name corresponding to the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services; or

(ii) Respondent (as an individual, business or other organization) has been commonly known by the domain name, even if Respondent has acquired no trademark or service mark rights; or

(iii) Respondent is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain to misleadingly divert customers or to tarnish the trademark or service mark at issue.

The <wemakefedora.org> domain name was registered on March 29, 2021, many years after the registration of Complainants FEDORA mark, at a time when Respondent has shown that he had been contributing for some years as an unpaid volunteer to the content of Complainants website and had received numerous badges in recognition of his efforts.

Complainant says it has not consented to Respondents use of the domain name. However, in an email dated March 30, 2021 (Exhibit 101), Complainant consented to Respondents use of the domain name so long as the website followed Complainants trademark guidelines relating to Community sites and accounts.

Those guidelines are as follows:

Community sites and accounts

Fedora defines community sites and accounts as pages related to the Fedora Project, but not officially maintained by Marketing team members or Social Media administrators. Often, these groups are specific to a region or country. These pages are usually run by an individual contributor or a group of contributors. These sites are non-commercial in nature (they are not selling a product).

Examples of these pages include (but are not limited to):

 placing the Fedora Trademarks on a personal web site or blog to support Fedora

 making a page on a social networking web service to support Fedora

 linking to Fedora from a wiki to provide information or show support for Fedora

While these online community sites and accounts are not officially endorsed by the Fedora Project or Red Hat, because they are part of the Fedora Community (and use the Fedora trademarks to identify themselves), their site owners, moderators, administrators, and users are required to comply with the Fedora Code of Conduct. Community sites and accounts which are unable to meet this standard of conduct will be required to cease use of the Fedora trademarks, and will be not be promoted/advertised by Fedora. Our intent is for all Fedora community members to have a positive and welcoming experience in all community spaces, official and unofficial.

It is permissible to use the Fedora Trademarks on community sites and accounts to show your support for the Fedora Project, provided that:

 where possible, the design logo hyperlinks to the Fedora Project website, http://fedoraproject.org/, or if that is not possible, the site includes a prominent link to the Fedora Project website at http://fedoraproject.org/.

 the site indicates clearly that it is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Fedora Project; in addition, where possible:

o the site must include the text "This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Fedora Project" prominently on any page that includes the Fedora Trademarks, and

o if the Fedora Trademarks appear in a page header or any area that is designed to be presented on more than one page, the notice must also be designed to be presented on all of those pages as well. (i.e., if the Fedora Trademarks appear in a site-wide header, the informational text must appear in that header or an identically site-wide footer.)

 the site does not use visual styling that could be confusing to viewers or visitors as to whether the site is hosted by or on behalf of the Fedora Project.

The <wemakefedora.org> domain name resolves to a web site containing multiple blog posts on topics related to software, including in particular, uncensored versions of blogs previously appearing in censored form on Complainants website. The landing page of Respondents web site prominently features the name We Make Fedora, indicating that we are contributors to Complainants community sites and accounts.

Complainant has shown that Respondents website also features prominently the following statement, including links to Complainants web pages:

Fedora is a Trademark of Red Hat, Inc, an operating system built by volunteers around the world. This page is provided so that independent volunteers can showcase our contributions to Fedora and Free Software in general. Official Fedora Download page  (Complaint Exhibit 4).

There are no advertisements on the Respondent's website. There is no evidence that Respondent is a competitor of Complainant, nor is there any evidence that Respondent has operated the website for any commercial purpose. The Panel rejects Complainant's submission, unsupported by evidence, that Respondent's conduct is likely to have been undertaken for commercial gain.

The Panel finds that Respondent is operating a genuine, noncommercial website from a domain name that contains an appendage ("we make") that, as noted in the Response, is clearly an identifier of contributors to Complainants website. In registering the domain name using an appendage that identifies Complainants contributors, Respondent is not attempting to impersonate Complainant nor misleadingly to divert Internet users. Rather, Respondent is using the FEDORA mark in the domain name to identify Complainant for the purpose of operating a website that contains some criticism of Complainant. Such use is generally described as "fair use" of a trademark.

Accordingly, the Panel finds that the Respondent has rights or legitimate interests in the <wemakefedora.org> domain name both because Complainant consented to Respondents use of the domain name so long as the website followed Complainants trademark guidelines and because Respondent is making a legitimate noncommercial or fair use of the domain name, without intent for commercial gain misleadingly to divert Internet users or to tarnish Complainant's FEDORA trademark.

Complainant has failed to establish this element.

Registration and Use in Bad Faith

In light of the Panels findings in relation to the second element, it is unnecessary to consider this element.

Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

Respondent requests that the Panel consider whether the Complaint amounts to harassment under UDRP Rule 15(e).

Paragraph 15(e) of the Rules provides that if after considering the submissions the panel finds that the complaint was brought in bad faith, for example in an attempt at Reverse Domain Name Hijacking or was brought primarily to harass the domain-name holder, the panel shall declare in its decision that the complaint was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative proceeding. Reverse Domain Name Hijacking (RDNH) is defined under the Rules as using the UDRP in bad faith to attempt to deprive a registered domain-name holder of a domain name.

The mere lack of success of the complaint is not itself sufficient for a finding of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking; rather, as stated in the WIPO Jurisprudential Overview 3.0, paragraph 4.16:

Reasons articulated by panels for finding RDNH include: (i) facts which demonstrate that the complainant knew it could not succeed as to any of the required three elements  such as the complainants lack of relevant trademark rights, clear knowledge of respondent rights or legitimate interests, or clear knowledge of a lack of respondent bad faith (see generally section 3.8) such as registration of the disputed domain name well before the complainant acquired trademark rights

Despite Complainant having consented, on the day after Respondent registered the domain name, to Respondents use of the domain name for a website, so long as Respondent complied with Complainants trademark guidelines, the Complaint does not contain contend that Respondent has failed to comply with those guidelines. Instead, the Complaint asserts that Complainant has not consented to Respondents use of the domain name and that Respondents adoption of a name that is virtually identical to Complaints registered trademark to offer or to discuss software and software design and development services does not constitute any right or legitimate interest in the domain name on the part of Respondent.

In light of these circumstances the Panel finds that Complainant brought this proceeding despite having clear knowledge of Respondents rights or legitimate interests in the domain name and that the proceeding was brought primarily to harass the domain-name holder.

DECISION

Complainant having failed to establish all three elements required under the ICANN Policy, the Panel concludes that relief shall be DENIED and declares that the Complaint was brought in bad faith and constitutes an abuse of the administrative proceeding.

Accordingly, it is Ordered that the <wemakefedora.org> domain name REMAIN WITH Respondent.

Alan L. Limbury, Panelist

Dated: March 14, 2022
Donna with Tanner's Dad Tim Welsh at an Autism One Conference

Below is a copy of a letter Ms. Knepple sent to President Biden after his State of the Union address. There are two industries that manufacture and sell products that are unavoidably unsafe, and that are shielded from product liability. Guns and the vaccine divisions of pharmaceutical companies. President Biden was wrong when he said only guns enjoy this shield. Donna's letter should go to every Senator and Congressperson in the United States of America.



###



Donna M. Knepple

6 XYZ Road, Upper

XYZ, NY 12345

VIA CERTIFIED MAIL WITH RETURN RECEIPT

President Biden

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Biden:

I watched the State of the Union address and was in utter shock and disbelief when you said, "Look, repeal the liability shield that makes gun manufacturers the only industry in America that can't be sued. I would like to remind you that President Ronald Regan signed into law the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) of 1986 (42 U.S.C.  300aa-1 to 300aa-34) giving pharmaceutical vaccine manufacturers and doctors who administer vaccines complete legal liability protection from all vaccine injuries including death. The NCVIAs purpose was to eliminate the potential financial liability of vaccine manufacturers due to vaccine injury claims to ensure a stable market supply of vaccines, and to provide cost-effective arbitration for vaccine injury claims as a result that stemmed from all the vaccine injuries and deaths caused by the Swine Flu X53A and DPT vaccines in the 1970s and 1980s. Do you not recall voting on this bill when you were in the Senate? Henceforth, the reason why vaccine manufacturers gave Congress an ultimatum for complete indemnification or no more vaccines. Due to this industrys liability shield since 1986 the following examples depict why it is imperative to hold vaccine manufacturers liable again:

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Simpsonwood Secret Meeting, June 7-8, 2000, held in Norcross, GA, re: Thimerosal in Vaccines; Dr. William Thompson, CDC Scientist Whistleblower, re: MMR and Autism, Dr. Frank DeStefano, Former Director of the CDC Immunization Safety Office; Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, Mercury and Autism; Dr. Julie Gerberding, Former Director; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)





Simpsonwood Secret Meeting, June 7-8, 2000, held in Norcross, GA, re: Thimerosal in Vaccines; Dr. William Thompson, CDC Scientist Whistleblower, re: MMR and Autism, Dr. Frank DeStefano, Former Director of the CDC Immunization Safety Office; Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, Mercury and Autism; Dr. Julie Gerberding, Former Director; Dr. Anthony Fauci, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, Government Witness showed that VACCINES CAN CAUSE AUTISM as in the Hannah Poling case conceded in 2008; on Sept. 10, 2010 the story was leaked in the first ever VACCINE AUTISM CASE AWARD; Soon thereafter, 5000+ Autism Omnibus petitioners were dismissed with callous disregard.





Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, Government Witness showed that VACCINES CAN CAUSE AUTISM as in the Hannah Poling case conceded in 2008; on Sept. 10, 2010 the story was leaked in the first ever VACCINE AUTISM CASE AWARD; Soon thereafter, 5000+ Autism Omnibus petitioners were dismissed with callous disregard. Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) against U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Case 1:18-cv-03215(JMF) Document 18, Filed 07/09/18 ; revealing THERE HAS BEEN NO QUALITY CONTROL OVER VACCINES MANUFACTURED BY PHARMA FOR AT LEAST 32 YEARS





; revealing Institute for Autism Science and the ICAN against Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Case 1:2019cv11947-LJL, Document 15, Filed 03/02/20 CDC admits in Federal Court they have NO EVIDENCE that Vaccines Dont Cause Autism





CDC admits in Federal Court they have NO EVIDENCE that Vaccines Dont Cause Autism ICAN against United States Food and Drug Administration, Case No. 18-cv-11237-VEC, filed 2/10/19 , No clinical trials prior to approving influenza or Tdap vaccine for use in pregnant women as an indicated use.





, No clinical trials prior to approving influenza or Tdap vaccine for use in pregnant women as an indicated use. MERCKs Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR) live virus vaccine; Gardasil HPV vaccine; and Zostavax live vaccine; CDC Whistleblower, Dr. William Thompson, MMR and Autism; The infamous Lancet Paper Ileal Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia Non-Specific Colitis and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. 1 in 44 with an autism diagnosis as reported by the CDC reported, surveillance year 2018, birth year 2010. The Gardasil HPV vaccine achieved FDA approval in just 6 months with serious and deadly injuries continuing to date. Zostavax live vaccine used since 2006 was pulled from the market and no longer available in the United States, as of November 18, 2020.





CDC Whistleblower, Dr. William Thompson, MMR and Autism; The infamous Lancet Paper Ileal Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia Non-Specific Colitis and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. 1 in 44 with an autism diagnosis as reported by the CDC reported, surveillance year 2018, birth year 2010. The Gardasil HPV vaccine achieved FDA approval in just 6 months with serious and deadly injuries continuing to date. Zostavax live vaccine used since 2006 was pulled from the market and no longer available in the United States, as of November 18, 2020. ICAN against United States Food and Drug Administration, results of ICAN lawsuit against FDA reveals that Mercks Chicken Pox Vaccine, Varivax should never have been licensed.

In case you forgot, while you were Vice President the Obama Administration filed an amicus brief for Wyeth presented in Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, 562 U.S. 223 (2011). Did Wyeths Tri-Immunol DTP cause Hannah Bruesewitzs disabilities? The United States Supreme Court case decision stated that vaccine manufacturers could not be sued for design defects in their products dismissing Hannahs severe vaccine injury to their product. Assume arguendo, was this premeditated to further shield Pharma vaccine manufacturers from liability and denying JUSTICE to the 5000+ Autism Omnibus Petitioners dismissed with callous disregard from the NVICP? I can attest to the consequential frauds and damages, as an Autism Omnibus Petitioner v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the United States Court of Federal Claims, Office of Specials Masters, No. 02-1890V, filed for compensation on May 21, 2003, after 9  years of waiting was dismissed on April 27, 2012.

The Obama Administration also granted whistleblower immunity to Dr. William Thompson, CDC Whistleblower, after he exposed all the CDC senior level vaccine and autism staffers who destroyed data which demonstrated a clear link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Whatever happened to Dr. William Thompsons investigation that was started by Congressman Bill Posey on the floor of the House of Representatives on July 29, 2015?
Winter often lies too long along the road formerly known as Hilldale, where my woodlot resides. From hill to dale the road gives up its frost 
Decorah Peak is just off U.S. Highway 53 near Galesville, Wisconsin.
OPINION The U.S. Dairy Export Council and the National Milk Producers Federation have sent a letter to the Biden administration recommending 
BLACKWELL, Wis.  Each year folks in the north look forward to early spring when sap rises in the forest trees. The smell of wood smoke wafts 
DONETSK, Ukraine  Workers on a farm near Donetsk in the east of Ukraine were forced to run to the bomb shelter March 15 as missiles fired by 
MT. CALVARY, Wisconsin  Farming the same area of land for more than 140 years, Mark Loehr and his family know how important it is to keep the
The new Heifer Grazing Compass is a spreadsheet tool designed to help farmers predict the cash flow and long-term financial outcomes of raisin
What do ranchers need to know before balancing cattle rations using Pearson Squares? A Pearson Square is a tool that can be used to calculate the portion of two feeds or more needed to meet protein or energy requirements of an animal.

Megan Van Emon, Montana State University Extension beef specialist, spoke to producers in a webinar about preparing to balance cattle rations using either a Pearson Square or a computer program.

We need to know several things before determining the nutrient requirements of cattle and if the ration we develop will meet those requirements, Van Emon said.

Montana State University has developed several examples of Pearson Squares for different needs, such as using two feed ingredients, using more than two ingredients, and calculating supplements. Van Emon used one of the examples, using two ingredients, to show producers how to build a Pearson Square.

In order to determine nutrient requirements, it is important to note the class of cattle, how long the cattle will be fed, and the current body weight and body condition score of those animals.

Do we need to start looking at adding weight to our mature cows or maybe our bulls, which increases their nutrient requirements? she asked. In that case, we may have to alter the ration to meet those requirements.

Ranchers will also want to note what production stage the cattle are in, whether there are gestating cows, cows in early or peak lactation, or cows at weaning when lactation requirements are removed.

This helps us determine what kind of demand that will put on the cow nutrient requirement, Van Emon said.

Weight gain will be important to feedlot managers, as well as those who are developing heifers. In addition, breeding and the age that heifers will be when bred is another consideration for nutrient requirements.

This helps us determine how much our heifers should weigh to ensure we have a successful breeding season, she said.

Ranchers should also consider what feed ingredients they want to use in their ration for their cattle. According to Van Emon, a nutrient analysis is important to do, in order to have an accurate analysis of your animals.

That way we can have a better picture of our nutrients, and having a more accurate picture leads to a more accurate ration, Van Emon said.

Implants are more about the feedlot sector, which can improve feed efficiency and production. It is also important to look at what the target weight is at finishing for feedlot cattle.

With the Pearson Square, Van Emon explained how to create the two feed ingredient ration for protein and energy. She used common ingredients, chopped hay and corn silage.

One thing to note is this is all done on a dry matter basis and we develop our rations by using our dry matter only, Van Emon said. The water factor could dilute the numbers.

The example graphic shows a completed chopped hay and corn silage Pearson Square:

Step one: The value in the middle must be intermediate between the two values used in the left side of the square. In this example, 11 percent is the protein requirement for the animals. Chopped hay has 12.25 percent protein and corn silage has 10.8 percent protein.

We have on our chopped hay as 12.25 percent in the top left (of the square), and 10.8 percent in the bottom left, she said.

Van Emon said chopped hay has 88 percent DM, 12.25 percent protein and we want to mix that with corn silage which has 35 percent dry matter and 10.8 percent protein.

What we are going to do is take this top left corner, the 12.2 percent, and subtract 11 percent from it, and we get 1.25, she said. Were going to come over to the bottom left, to our corn silage, subtract diagonally, so were going to subtract 11 percent, which gets us 0.2 parts.

Step two: If you end up with negative numbers, just disregard those during subtraction. Instead of being a negative .2, it is just .2.

Step three:Subtract the nutrient value from the nutrient requirement on the diagonal.

Then move the feed ingredients straight across to the right. So, meaning youll have 0.2 parts of chopped hay and 1.25 parts of corn silage. When you add the two parts together, it totals 1.45 total parts.

Now, to determine how much on a percentage basis, you need to include for your chopped hay and corn silage on a dry matter basis. Then move on to step four.

Step four:Add the parts of each ingredient and divide by the total to calculate the percent of the ration that each ingredient will represent.

We now have our total parts and our individual parts of each feed ingredient, she said. To get the percent of chopped hay needed on a dry matter basis, you take 0.2 divided by 1.45, multiply that by 100, and on a dry matter basis, we get 13.8 percent chopped hay.

The same equation done with the corn silage comes out to 86.2 percent of dry matter of corn silage.

Step five: Re-check the calculation to see if we met our 11 percent protein goal of that ration.

Now, weve accounted for the entire diet with these two ingredients, Van Emon said.

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NEW ORLEANS, La.  Commodity Classic returned to an in-person event this year, held March 10-12 in New Orleans, and biofuels were a hot topic.

Several farmers and guest speakers talked about the importance of biofuels for growers, as well as a recent legal challenge to an EPA emissions rule that growers say would make electric vehicles a single solution to emissions reduction.

Bradley Schad, CEO of the Missouri Corn Growers Associations, one of the state growers associations in the coalition opposing the rule, says the organization supports efforts to reduce emissions but opposes regulations that attempt to mandate a single solution. He also says the rule does not factor in the impact through the whole life cycle of electric vehicles.

The rule is flawed because they dont look at the full life cycle, Schad says.

He is optimistic about the petition, although he says predicting court responses can be difficult, and the timetable could be lengthy.

The courts are backed up because of COVID, Schad says. Were hoping they take it into consideration. We just never know with the court system.

Schad says just focusing on electric vehicles to reduce emissions does not help the overall challenge.

Its not energy diversity, he says.

He says the current spike in fuel prices and war in Ukraine are reminders about the importance of getting energy from a variety of sources, and he says ethanol should be a part of that picture, especially since it is produced domestically.

The Corn Congress meeting at Commodity Classic discussed this and related topics.

We continue to work to find ways to expand ethanol demand and corn demand, Schad says.

Ed Lammers, a Nebraska livestock producer who serves on the United Soybean Board, said the biofuel industry is a key part of livestock feeding, citing soybean crush trends.

By 2025, crush capacity in the country is going to go up 30%, he said at a panel discussion on the Commodity Classic main stage. Ninety-seven percent of the meal that the crushers are producing goes into livestock feed. Seventy percent of the soybean is protein.

Dave Walton, a southeast Iowa farmer who serves as treasurer for the Iowa Soybean Association, says ag groups continue to work on developing new markets and finding ways to provide the crops consumers want.

A lot of this is just listening to what the industrys trying to tell us, he says.

Schad says growers continue to work with the U.S. Grains Council to expand ethanol exports. He says Japan is a market that shows potential, and there is demand in China, even if direct U.S. ethanol exports to that country are not currently allowed. Mexico also remains a top priority in ethanol exporting.

In Mexico, were continuing to work to develop that market, he says.

Schad says using biofuel as sustainable aviation fuel could be a new market, and even if its widespread use is still years away, he says there has been a first commercial flight using biofuel.

Looking at the year ahead, high input costs remain a concern, and Schad says the Missouri Corn Growers and other ag groups are working to find solutions and prevent any price gouging in future years.

Were focused on that politically, legislatively and judicially, he says.

Schad says farmers seem to be hopeful, boosted by high crop prices, despite the high input costs.

I think theres good optimism out there in the countryside, he says.

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December 14, 2020

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has signaled to the United States in recent days that reentry to the nuclear deal would be an easy process. President-elect Joe Biden has also expressed that his administration would reenter the nuclear deal if Iran does. However, some conservatives in Iran are not as eager as Rouhani to establish a working relationship with Washington, even if they realize reentry of the United States into the deal is a necessity.

With six months left in office, Rouhani is not yet a lame duck president but unlikely to push any large agendas. He entered office in 2013 with the promise of resolving the nuclear crisis, removing the Obama era crippling sanctions and opening the country up to the West. With six months left Iran is under more severe sanctions, it has a reduced nuclear program and relations have only improved with China. Conservatives, who believe they will take back the presidency in June, are not holding back.

In a Dec. 10 article in Tabnak, many of the sentiments regarding the reentry of the nuclear deal were discussed, especially comments by European leaders regarding non-nuclear issues such as Irans missiles and regional policies. The editorial in Tabnak questioned how Europe, despite not being able to stop US President Donald Trump from exiting the nuclear deal that they signed, now is taking a step bigger than itself and bringing up the issues of missiles. The editorial said that such demand is incomprehensible.

According to the article, it is Iran that should be making demands given that US sanctions caused $100 billion in damages, the United States prevented other countries from fulfilling their end of the deal, and that it is the US position that has failed, not Irans, so that they are not in a position to ask for consessions. The article continued that Iran should demand the immediate return of Washington to the deal and have it approved by Congress so that it prevents future administrations from repeating Trumps policies. The article also demanded a full return of the United States and Europe for an entire year before Iran returns fully to the deal.

Other conservatives have also drawn the line on new US-Iran talks. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf tweeted that Iran should not give the message of compromise to the United States, while Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Expediency Council, said that the United States is in a quagmire.

Lotfollah Forouzandeh, member of the conservative Society of Devotees of the Islamic Revolution, summed up the latest feelings about the conservative opposition to talks with the United States in a Dec. 7 interview with Iranian news site Khabar Online. The people are extremely pessimistic about the United States and are very angry at them because they have lost two national heroes, the hero of resistance  commander [Qasem] Soleimani  and the other a defense and nuclear hero  [Mohsen] Fakhrizadeh, he said. Citing a poll, he said that 80% of Iranians are opposed to talks with the United States.

When Trump took office, he vowed to scrap the nuclear deal that was signed under his predecessor and negotiate another deal with Iran. The current nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was signed by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Two years into his administration Trump realized that Iran would not renegotiate another deal after already having limited its nuclear program, and the United States exited the deal, reapplying US sanctions that prevented Iran from selling its oil and causing damage to the economy. President-elect Biden has said that he would reenter the nuclear deal once he takes office.
February 18, 2021

President Hassan Rouhani made some fresh comments today as the public battle between the United States and Iran heats up over which country will take the first step in salvaging the nuclear deal.

Participating in a virtual conference via video, Rouhani admitted that the people of Iran have experienced difficulty, pain and problems since President Donald Trump exited the nuclear deal in 2018 and reapplied US sanctions. We did not think that in America a crazy person would be elected and start a historically incomparable war against the nation, said Rouhani, referring to the crippling economic sanctions as an economic war.

The new US administration has not yet waived these sanctions, calling on Iran to first return to full compliance with the terms of the deal. Rouhani said, The people of the US and the current administration have understood that [Trump] was in the wrong.

Talking about Irans resilience in the face of the maximum pressure policy of the Trump administration, Rouhani said, The enemy brought all of its pressure and suspended our sale of oil. We managed the country without oil sales and wrote a budget not tied to oil.

Rouhani added, We are not asking the Americans to do something illegal due to our insistence; what we want is for them to implement an international pact. We are hopeful they will return to the law. The nuclear accord was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Despite public statements by Iranian officials about the need to return to the deal, some Iranian officials and media outlets are beginning to sense that progress is not imminent. Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhanis chief of staff, said that the agreement by itself has no value and it only has value when we see benefits to it. An article in the hard-line Javan newspaper headlined Is Biden opportunity or threat argued that President Joe Bidens differences with the Trump administration were a campaign performance and that even members of the Rouhani administration are learning that Biden is following Trumps actions.

The next step in the escalation appears to be Irans withdrawal from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty's Additional Protocols, which Iran signed in 2003 and give the International Atomic Energy Agency broad access to Iran's nuclear facilities. An Iranian bill called the Strategic Action to Remove Sanctions calls for Iran to suspend its voluntary participation in the additional protocols.

Tehrans representative to the IAEA, Kazem Gharibabadi, has notified the United Nations that Iran will suspend compliance with the Additional Protocols on Feb. 23. It is not yet clear what doing so will mean.
UN chief voices concern over missile attack in Erbil, Iraq

Xinhua) 08:35, March 16, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about Sunday's missile attack in Erbil, Iraq, said Farhan Haq, his deputy spokesman, on Tuesday.

The attack came at a critical moment for Iraq's path to peace and stability. The secretary-general renewed his call on all concerned sides to exercise restraint and avoid escalation, said the spokesman.

Guterres urged Iraq's partners to support Iraqi efforts to advance regional peace and security in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and good neighborly relations, said Haq.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday confirmed that it launched the attack on what it said an Israeli intelligence base in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The operation was in response to an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital of Damascus on March 7, in which two IRGC officers were killed, the IRGC said in a statement.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
NEWS PROVIDED BY

Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights

March 16, 2022



NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on Lent:

Those who observe Lent are not known as cultural radicals, yet they clearly qualify as such.

Repenting for our sins is common practice for Catholics during Lent, though it is not understoodmay even be the object of scornby secularists. Many of them do not believe in the existence of sin, never mind making reparations for it. Even more countercultural is the Lenten practice of self-denial.

In a society marked by self-absorption, nothing could be more extreme than self-denial. The idea that we should deny ourselves what we want rings hollow with narcissists, many of whom are secularists. They are the true children of Humanist Psychology.

Abraham Maslow posited that we all have needs, some of which are basic, such as food and water and feeling safe. At the top of Maslow's hierarchy of needs is self-actualization, the idea that we owe it to ourselves to be self-fulfilled.

Not surprisingly, his work was celebrated in the 1960s and 1970s, the two most culturally corrupt decades in American history. It was in the 1970s that Tom Wolfe coined the phrase the "Me Society," and Christopher Lasch wrote The Culture of Narcissism.

Carl Rogers, another humanist psychologist at this time, wrote that self-actualization means we are all arbiters of our own truth, and only by acting on our feelings can we be truly human. He argued that rebellion against traditional moral norms, as found in Christianity, was good for the individual and society.

Maslow and Rogers helped destroy people's lives. In fact, Rogers destroyed an entire order of nuns in Los Angeles, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The naive nuns followed his advice by questioning the norms and values they had committed themselves to, and wound up totally deracinated.

Maslow and Rogers got it all wrong. They never understood the Lenten precept that self-denial can be liberating. By giving of ourselves to Jesus, and to others, we experience real self-actualization, not the one steeped in self-absorption. Selflessness has its own rewards.

Selflessness also pays significant social dividends. Mother Teresa could not have comforted so many of the sick and dying had it not been for her selflessness. Had she been self-absorbed, no one would have benefited from her care. There are many other persons who have also yielded great social dividends by sacrificing for others, though they are not publicly known.

Who were the men and women who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust? They were not seculariststhey were people of faith.

Samuel P. Oliner, and his wife, Pearl M. Oliner, are the authors of The Altruistic Personality, a book about who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. These two non-believing Jewish sociologists interviewed nearly seven hundred persons, comprising rescuers, nonrescuers, and survivors in several countries in Nazi-occupied Europe.

They found there was a significant difference between rescuers and nonrescuers when it came to accepting "the importance of responsibility in maintaining their attachments to people." They learned that "More rescuers were willing to give more than what they might necessarily receive in return."

Catholics and Protestants who were imbued with their faith were the most likely to rescue Jews. Pearl Oliner explained why Catholics had the best record. They were "significantly marked by a Sharing disposition." In short, these Catholics embodied the "altruistic personality."

Who were the least likely to rescue Jews? The self-absorbed. The Oliners concluded that "self-preoccupation," or the tendency to focus on oneself, not others, was the principal reason why they failed to act. "In recalling the values learned from their parents, rescuers emphasized values relating to self significantly less frequently than nonrescuers." It was the "free spirits," the self-actualization types, who balked when it came to helping Jews.

Regrettably, our society is more self-absorbed now than ever before.

Lent is delightfully different. It signals an awareness that there is much more to this world than "me," and that self-giving is a national treasure, not simply a personal attribute. We need more Lenten cultural radicals, not less of them.
Graveside service will be held on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at 2 p.m. at the Alva Municipal Cemetery under the direction of Wharton Funeral Chapel. Online condolences may be made at www.whartonfuneralchapel.com.

Jimmy was born February 23, 1953, to Maurine (Smith) and Bob Reneau in Alva, Oklahoma. Jim passed away at the age 69 on March 8, 2022, after a battle with cancer.

Jim graduated from Liberal High School in 1971 and later graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He then moved to Argonia, Kansas, where he taught school for a few y...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  A 65-year-old man died after being arrested by Oklahoma City police officers investigating reports of a fight and shots being fired, police said.

Charles Kim Moore died at a hospital where he was taken following an unspecified "medical episode" after he had been arrested without the use of force, according to a police statement on Tuesday.

Police say officers were sent to the scene about 4 p.m. Saturday where they arrested and handcuffed Moore.

Moore then suffered the medical event and the handcuffs were removed, police said. Moore was then taken to a hospital where h...
WICHITA, Kan. (AP)  A young boy who was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Wichita over the weekend has been identified by police.

Police said Armani Saucedo, 9. of Wichita, died in the crash that happened around 10:15 p.m. Saturday, television station KAKE reported.

Investigators said the crash happened when a car side-swiped two pickup trucks, causing the 27-year-old driver of the car to lose control and hit a bridge abutment. Armani was a passenger in the car and was thrown from it on impact with the abutment, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The drivers of the trucks...
The problem with being a normie right now, that wants to drive a truck without a boatload of mandates, or buy gas to go shopping, or live in peace with your neighbors, is that the global educated elite has other plans for you, and you are not allowed to object.

Indeed, if you do object, as Little Justin made clear up in Canada, you will be obliterated. Oh, you won't be sent to a camp, at least not yet. But you will lose your bank account, your job, and anything else that the government can get its hands on. And anyone that objects to Little Justin and his just rule is a racist-sexist-homophobe.

Then there are the Bobbsey Twins, Soros and Schwab. I keep wondering what it is, deep down, that those two want. Here's George Soros waffling about Putin and Xi / And World War III. What is his point? I don't have a clue. And Klaus Schwab and his WEF and Build Back Better and ESG and his Young Global Leaders program? Question: What is word salad?

I suspect that, deep down, the Twins suffer from the same disease as the aspiring activists that want to make a difference in NGO-land.

If you really want to make a difference, why not invent a reusable rocket-ship system like Elon Musk? Will it work? Stay tuned, but Soros and Schwab and lefty activists need not apply, and 90 percent of tech startups fail.

So what percent of Open Society Foundation ideas fail, as in Soros prosecutors? What percent of Build Back Better ideas fail, as in Oops, no natural gas for you, Europe?

Then there's California, going full-steam ahead to a fossil-fuel-free future, where the state goals include:

"getting 33% of our electricity from renewable resources by 2030." "achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, and no later than 2045.

Suppose these goals are a) impossible, and b) crash the California economy. Are you "Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Twitter, Google, Intel, and a host of other social media and technology companies," plus Hollywood plus the gubmint sector going to sacrifice your lives, your fortunes and your sacred honor if it turns out that carbon neutrality is the cruelest and the stupidest idea since Stalin's Five-Year Plan that starved the Ukraine? Hello? I can't hear you, Zuck.

Ninety percent of tech startups fail, experts agree, even though they were financed by savvy guys and investors that really know their stuff.

Suppose that 90 percent of Soros prosecutors fail, Georgie boy?

Suppose that 90 percent of Build Back Better programs fail, Klausi baby?

Suppose 120 percent of RCMP's Battles of the Bouncy Castle only Make Things Worse, Justie honey?

What is going on? Behold: I tell you a mystery.

Back in the day, warrior rulers built feudal castles. The rulers barricaded themselves behind stone walls and mottes and baileys. They poured boiling oil from the battlements on any peasant who dared to snub his nose at the feudal lord. Meanwhile, the feudal lords and ladies amused themselves of an evening with medieval romances in which rude, crude medieval barons were represented as noble knights rescuing damsels riding on their white palfreys.

But the age of feudal castles crumbled before the might of gunpowder and cannons, and so came the age of ideological castles. The new rulers barricaded themselves behind ideological walls: constitutions, Communist Manifestos, Frankfurt Schools, and Great Purges, and they deployed a new weapon of domination: Reason. They poured ideological scorn on any peasant that dared to challenge their ideological might. Meanwhile the ideological lords and ladies amused themselves of an evening with activist romances, in which rude, crude political power addicts were represented as selfless Allies of Oppressed Peoples.

The age of ideological castles has begun to tremble before the organic power of the Commoner. But the new rulers will not really rule. They will rent Bouncy Castles to amuse the kids while they enact the culture foretold by Frankfurt Schoolkid Jurgen Habermas. In the Age of the Bouncy Castle that is to come, people will experience life in a Lebenswelt, the life world of Husserl and Heidegger and negotiate their common concerns over a couple of brewskis. As I wrote back in 2013,

Whereas domination is coded into the very definition of reason, the intersubjective lifeworld offers a possibility of discourse rather than domination, interchange rather than injunction, emancipation rather than subordination.

As I keep saying, the big thing about Commoners is that we are not that interested in power and domination. Or subordination.

Back in the feudal age the castellans ruled by military might. In the ideological age the castellans rule by ideological might. In the world that is to come, the bouncy castellans will not rule, but negotiate.

And we will change the world, because today's Science says that the world moves by self-creating "emergence," not the sword of the warrior or the top-down conceit of the administrator.

Could we get this regime change without tears and bloodshed? Who knows?

Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class.

Image: Eugene Delacroix
Just over a week ago, President Joe Biden nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson to fill the Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Jackson is a black woman, as were the other two leading contenders -- J. Michelle Childs and Leondra Kruger. Nobody except black women were seriously considered, which was intentional. Two years ago, during the South Carolina presidential primary in 2020, Biden had pledged to nominate a black woman to the Court. Though such a justice had never served before -- making it, on paper, an unprecedented nomination -- Bidens pledge was a clear attempt to shore up black votes in South Carolina at a time when his campaign was flailing.

However, Biden was hardly the first candidate to consider Supreme Court nominees based on their gender or race. Later that year, then-president Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, to fill the seat vacated by Ruth Bader Ginsburg upon her death. Though Ginsburg was a woman, she was neither the first woman nor the only woman serving on the Court at the time. Two others, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, were already on the bench, and Trump had made no prior pledge to keep the seat female. Yet, when Ginsburg died at the height of the 2020 election, Trump vowed that only a woman would take her place. Similarly, all the leading contenders -- Barbara Lagoa, Joan Larsen, and Barrett herself -- were women, and no judges except women were seriously considered at all.

Both nominations demonstrate that Americas long-running politicization of its Supreme Court has finally met identity politics -- the result being quotas on the Court. In filling the shoes of the previous occupant, nominees are now expected to match not only their qualifications but also their race and gender. Their jurisprudence -- i.e., the way they view and interpret the law -- is no longer the essence of their selection and confirmation, as had been the case since 1987, when Reagan-nominee Robert Bork was voted down by the Senate for his conservative views. If anything, as Bidens nomination of Jackson would suggest, the tide is turning in favor of identity. Jacksons legal views have, so far, faced unusually little scrutiny by politicians and the press -- certainly less than what Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, or Neil Gorsuch faced during their processes. Instead, Jackson is termed a historic -- in a bite-sized sense perfect for public consumption, with little else said.

Presidents motivations for these quotas are clear. The high-profile appointment of Supreme Court justices is now an act of brokerage to appease a specific group identity -- e.g., African-Americans, women, or other minorities -- with the nominee as its token. No longer is this just an insidious rumor of affirmative action whispered about minority nominees -- as was the case with Clarence Thomas (succeeding Thurgood Marshall, the first black justice) or Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to sit on the court. As Trump and Biden demonstrate, candidates of both parties are quite explicit in making identity the primary basis for a nominee's selection. Candidates are cashing in a hyphenated-American nominee for vote banks during elections. There is no principle behind them; its a bald political transaction.

I f this trend continues, we can expect to see the Supreme Courts bench be permanently comprised of several informal quotas, where justices of one color and/or gender are perpetually succeeded by others of the same appearance, and nobody else. Such is the nature of quotas: once imposed, political pressure from the groups they represent makes them notoriously difficult to escape. Would a future Democratic president risk upsetting black or women voters with a white male nominee to Ketanji Brown Jacksons seat? Likely not. Indeed, Jacksons nomination only came after a years-long campaign by progressive activists to force Justice Breyer, an old white man, into retirement -- precisely so a Democrat could appoint a black woman in his place. Theyre unlikely to relent the next time around. When the time comes, you can expect fierce demands that Sotomayor, Kagan, and Thomas be succeeded by judges of the same gender and race -- this time, for the sake of equity (as "history" has already been made). Even Republicans, in their populist lurch, are wary of upsetting these group identities -- as Trump demonstrated with his woman-pledge -- making a quota once established thus entrenched. In essence, this means that half of the Courts seats will soon be reserved according to color, gender, and race.

Supreme Court nominations are rightly high-stakes moments in America. The Court is the final word on the most contentious questions of law -- from abortion rights to gun laws, religious freedom, immigration, and even the results of presidential elections. A justice is one of nine Americans with a vote on these decisions, which can shape the course of history. The reason they have this power, however, is their separation from political trends. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 78, the independence of the judges may be an essential safeguard against occasional ill humors in the society. If justices are to be truly independent of these political headwinds, it follows that their appointment must be so, as well. Only then will the Court preserve the public legitimacy on which its power solely rests.

Yet, as America becomes more polarized, and the Supreme Court is politicized to absurdity, this last measure of confidence in the judiciary is being eroded. The bar for appointment as a justice is no longer the height of brilliance but has fallen to the color of ones skin or gender of birth. This doesnt mean that present nominees arent qualified; Barrett and Jackson are certainly jurists of excellent caliber. What it does mean, though, is that the American value of 'equal opportunity' is in decay at the highest level, for entire swathes of judges are excluded from nomination to the Court because they don't look the part. Its another damning blow to equality in American public life -- effectively, discrimination against every jurist outside one sex or race. They are the latest measure demolishing the principles that underpin Americans' faith in the Court's authority, at a time when theyre already under strain.

Dr. King famously spoke of a nation where people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. To stop the erosion of confidence in the Courts character, identity cannot be the basis of nomination. Americans must expect their Supreme Court to be free of quotas, whose members are selected merely for their legal brilliance. Nothing else. In matters of appointment to the highest court in the land, we must better judge our judges.

Image: angela n
What is the biggest collaborative art form of the past fifty years? Its the visual arts of movies and television and its amazing. Whole universes are created for an hour or three. Just to tell a simple tale. Ok sometimes its not just a simple tale. Sometimes it is the narrative of an entire generation.

The Batman was released recently and will probably be at your cinema. There is a new Batman movie every six to ten years. Often in threes. They are all very similar. Batman has villains to catch and by the end he does. Usually with a lot of explosions and cgi effects.

The Art of Sound

Its all art. Every part of it. The costumes, the lighting, the editing. The editors make and remake the film so many times. The music. I am very confident that most people can tell certain movie scores without realising they know them. But what about the sounds?

I sat in an empty cinema. Ten in the morning on a Thursday. Just me, all alone. Normally there is a hubbub, a susurrus of the pop-corn, conversations, babies crying. None of that was there. Just me and the three dimensional sound.

After two years this was my second time in the cinema. Last time was a family trip for Spider-Man: No Way Home. But by myself it was me and the soundscape. It placed you right in the midst of the scene. If the scene was in the rain, it sounded like you were in the rain. It was very immersive.

Essential Sounds

This is an art form. One that goes back to the early days of theatre. Music and sound effects were always being elaborated upon. Wether the orchestra or other practical sound generation. Radio took it to another level. Then came movies and television.

Sound is recorded stored and reused. That laugh track on most shows, the canned laughter comes from a live audience from a long time ago. We hear dead people. We hear them through speaker systems that surround the entire room we watch the movie in.

Each speaker is programmed to take a certain part of the sound. Immersing you in the world of the movie. The little sounds from the bat-suit, the footfalls on different surfaces, sound of the lights as they flicker. All of this co-ordinated by the sound engineers to bring you into the world on the screen.

Creative Sounds

The illusion of the movies requires many art forms to bring us into the world on the screen. It is the culmination of multiple technical and artistic efforts. Placement of microphones, recording and effects to amplify the sound. This is just recoding sounds.

Creating sounds is another level. Effects engineers searching for just the right sound for the scary slimy monsters tentacles. What about dog food slowly falling out of the can. Its just one of many. A part of the movie experience that we often overlook.

So why not have a watch at the many youtube videos on Ben Burtt one of the main sound designers from the original Star Wars movies. This does not look like art as you know it, but it is. A creative use of sound. Closer to painting and sculpture than you realise.




Democrats have been insisting that our democracy is under attack ever since Donald Trumps upset election in 2016. According to First Things editor R.R. Reno in his lengthy commentary in this months issue, this urgent warning has been underlined and put in bold since the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol. And the phrasing, our democracy, never varies. Yet, the more Reno thinks about it, the more Im puzzled. Its an odd formulation. Our democracy: Why append the possessive?

He finally concludes that, The answer is evident: Those responsible for our governing consensus are exasperated by an increasingly indocile and intractable public that will not accept their authority.

Renos commentary addresses a New York Times column by extremism expert Cynthia Miller-Idriss, published to mark the anniversary of January 6. She warns readers that the Capitol riot proves the most urgent threat to Americans safety and security isnt coming from foreign terrorists, but from the countrys own citizens.

Specifically, shes alarmed by a study showing a majority of the arrested Jan. 6 attackers were employed, some of them teachers, chief executives, veterans, doctors and lawyers. They had an average age of around 40. In other words, largely average to above-average Americans more or less representative of the American middle class. This makes the threat especially pernicious because governments traditional counterterrorism infrastructure [is] built to focus on fringe extremists, and thus wholly unequipped to counter a danger that comes not from the fringe but from the mainstream.

For Reno, these assertions invite bewilderment: On its face, this notion of mainstream threats to democracy perplexes. One presumes that a democratic system reflects mainstream views. Isnt the first principle of democracy that the majority rules?

Youd think, but as Reno points out, Miller-Idriss is not one to ponder paradoxes. Whatever democracy means for her (she never says) its clearly not the rule (kratos) of the people (demos). It becomes clear her idea of democracy is a compliant demos answerable to a well-funded and dynamic kratos.

Because Miller-Idriss views our current, misguided mainstream thinking as a societal problem more akin to a public health threat, she urges the U.S. to adopt the ambitious holistic approach other nations (far ahead of the United States) have used to tamp down mainstream extremism. In a recent article for Foreign Affairs, she proposes a complex social-control apparatus comprising not only security and intelligence services but ministries of education, labor, health and human services, youth and families, social services, and culture and the arts. It also includes decision-making authority granted to experts in education, social work, and mental health. The object is to build democratic resilience in the mainstream, by which she means citizens more likely to recognize and resist propaganda, disinformation, and conspiracy theories.

These ideas are chilling. Not only is she proposing policing Americans thoughts, but who can forget how, already in 2020, government officials were using threats to public health as their excuse for seizing authoritarian control of society in response to the pandemic, and to justify a see-no-evil approach to BLM and Antifas months-long orgy of arson, looting, and murder on the pretext of a crusade for racial justice. We already have education experts who think parental rights ended when children were enrolled in public school, authorizing them to indoctrinate grade-schoolers with critical race theory and gender ideology in defiance of parents wishes -- or without their knowledge. Experts on school boards conspired with the DoJ to target outspoken parents as domestic terrorists. Reliably leftist members of the helping professions enthusiastically assist in taking children away from parents who refuse to consent to their childs gender-transition treatments or agree their daughter is a boy.

Miller-Idrisss proposals appeared just as the Department of Homeland Security released its National Terrorism Advisory Bulletin that, as Kyle Shideler explains at American Greatness, reiterates the sea-change in DHSs mission from tracking actual terror threats inspired by enemy lies spread abroad to tracking information spread by domestic threat actors (read: American citizens).

DHSs new bottom line is [s]topping the flow of MDM the latest government acronym from which you must be protected. MDM stands for mis- dis- and mal-information, that last neologism defined by DHS as information which is true but the government considers harmful anyway. The true-but-harmful examples listed include misleading narratives regarding unsubstantiated widespread election fraud and COVID-19. In effect, mal-information means facts harmful to the regime.

The consensus among Ministry of Truth advocates is that the proximate cause for the January 6 Capitol riot was a vast undercurrent of wrongthink flooding the internet. Miller-Idriss sees the riot as the real-world consequence, of Americans click[ing] their way through an online flood of disinformation, including the widely distributed falsehood that rampant voter fraud had allowed Joe Biden to steal what was rightfully Donald Trumps victory.

Its the official position of the Biden administration that January 6 conclusively proves questioning the election outcome or any other talk that sow[s] discord or undermine[s] public trust in U.S. government institutions guarantees more right-wing [m]ass casualty attacks. This is their pretext to justify police-state tactics against any political opponent they choose. Now they want what Ben Weingarten describes as a counterterrorism policy [l]inking speech that does not comport with regime orthodoxy to terror, and using that pretext to police thought -- with an armed Ministry of Truth operating out of our national security and law enforcement apparatus

Casting critics as terrorists and threatening to sic the most powerful, pervasive and sophisticated security state in the history of the world on them is of course not about defending democracy or protecting the truth, but intimidating democratic opposition into silence and submission to an official narrative.

Neither the Left nor their lapdog media can endure hoi polloi challenging their official narratives. This is why so many Joe Biden speeches feature scripted outbursts of faux rage that hes sick of this stuff and his patience is wearing thin. But the Left has worn the peoples patience even thinner -- by unleashing a hundred official narratives that have, virtually every one, been exposed as cynical hoaxes. Theyve picked the wrong time to break ground for their dreamed-of Ministry of Truth.

T.R. Clancy looks at the world from Dearborn, Michigan. You can email him at trclancy@yahoo.com.

Image: RawPixel
New England's most prominent exponent of the Black Lives Matter movement is facing charges of bilking donors and using charity funds for personal gain. The highest-profile race activist in Boston, Monica Cannon-Grant, has been indicted by the U.S. attorney in Boston on 18 counts:

[W]ith two counts of wire fraud conspiracy; one count of conspiracy; 13 counts of wire fraud; and one count of making false statements to a mortgage lending business. The indictment also charges Cannon-Grant with one count of mail fraud.



YouTube screen grab.

Cannon-Grant founded a group called Violence in Boston (VIB) before the George Floyd death in police custody. That event and the riots that followed propelled her and her group into the stratosphere of prominence and Beantown, with accompanying honors from the progressive media and plenty of cash from suckers donors.

The Boston Herald reports:

Cannon-Grant has associated herself repeatedly with U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley's campaign, which says she never worked there and declined to comment further. VIB has gotten financial support from various elected officials, with City Councilor Julia Mejia, whose office didn't respond to a request for comment, giving by far the most at $1,235. Cannon-Grant's profile particularly soared during the racial-justice protests of summer 2020, when she organized a massive rally in Franklin Park in which she yelled "(Expletive) the police." The donations poured in  as did glowing profiles, with The Boston Globe naming her a "Bostonian of the Year" and Boston Magazine "2020 Best Social Justice Advocate." But the news stories turned sour. Local conservative newsblog TB Daily News put out a series of reports on Violence in Boston's financial dealings and grant receipts  topics that the indictment touched heavily on. And Cannon-Grant further fueled the fire with several outlandish statements that generated immediate blowback, such as baselessly claiming that a teen was lynched in Hopkinton and going after a Black Republican's interracial relationship.

The Boston Globe, which had previously named her "Bostonian of the Year," provides this example of her shenanigans:

In a June 2019 ceremony at the Suffolk district attorney's office, Monica Cannon-Grant was handed a check for $6,000, a grant awarded to her nonprofit, Violence in Boston Inc., to take a group of at-risk young men to a retreat in Philadelphia. The trip was meant "to give these young men exposure to communities outside of the violence riddled neighborhoods that they navigate daily" and focus on community-building activities and coping skills, according to her grant proposal. But the trip never happened, federal prosecutors say. Instead, they allege, Cannon-Grant and her husband, Clark Grant, spent the grant money on themselves  taking a vacation to Maryland, dining at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Shake Shack, and other restaurants, and paying for car rentals, groceries, Walmart purchases, and visits to a Boston nail salon.

The Globe doesn't mention it, but the Suffolk County D.A. who made the award to Cannon-Grant was Rachel Rollins, who was appointed the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Howie Carr of the Boston Herald, in a priceless must-read column on the indictment, points out:

Given all the million bucks Monica is accused of scamming, six grand is a drop in the bucket. Monica's problem is that now Rollins is the U.S. attorney. It's one thing to steal money from some random mark, it's another thing altogether to pick the pocket of somebody who can arrest you. From the indictment: On page seven, we have an incredibly detailed account of how Monica squandered the dough she swindled out of Rachael Rollins: " for, among other things, $145 at a Boston nail salon; over $400 in grocery and Walmart purchases in Columbia, MD; hundreds of dollars in meals costs in Connecticut, New Jersey and Maryland, including at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Shake Shack, and other restaurants; $1,211 in charges at the Sonesta Suites, Columbia, MD; hundreds of dollars in fuel, parking and car rental costs; and hundreds of dollars in ATM withdrawals." Monica was supposed to be leading a "retreat" for "at risk young men" (read: thugs) from Roxbury. Later, when one of her typical gullible sugar-mommies (the Cambridge Women's Organization) asked Monica why she hadn't replied to any of their e-mails during that month, she replied: "I was on vacation."

Howie also takes well deserved pokes at the Boston establishmentarians that rushed to honor her:

Is Monica still the Boston Globe's "Bostonian of the Year?" Does Boston Magazine still think she's "the best social justice advocate in Boston?" Do the Boston Celtics still consider her "a hero among us?" Does the Boston City Council still offer her "congratulations" after her 18-count indictment? Does the Roxbury Unity Community still consider her a "Leader of Tomorrow?" Of all the slobbering, the Globe is probably most responsible for enabling this alleged million-dollar flim-flam to fester for so long. Remember the Globe's front-page profile, by two of their crack scribes, describing her as both "a firecracker and a mother bear" who "leads change." The Globe is owned by the same pampered puke who owns the Boston Red Sox. You know that big banner at Fenway Park facing the Turnpike extension: "Black Lives Matter." By Opening Day, I want to see that BLM banner replaced with a new one: "Free Monica Cannon-Grant."

Of course, legally, Cannon-Grant and her husband are innocent until found guilty in a court of law. But am I the only person who sees a pattern of airhead virtue-signaling progressives getting fleeced by hustlers cashing in on the moral panic that followed the George Floyd riots?
Does Joe Biden have any idea of where he is? What he's doing? Who his vice president is?

Get a load of his latest gaffe:

Joe Biden refers to Kamala Harris as The First Lady when announcing her husband, Doug Emhoff, tested positive for Covid:



"The First Lady's husband has tested positive for covid." pic.twitter.com/JgcUBH3azj  TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 15, 2022

So after all that effort to build Kamala Harris up as presidential and leader-like, most recently sending her to Europe to represent the U.S. on its most significant crisis there since World War II, making much of Harris being "the last person in the room," gaffing that Harris was president, declaring the Biden administration the Biden-Harris administration, featuring Harris in Vogue as the "most powerful" woman in the U.S., the truth comes out: Harris is a placeholder, an affirmative action hire, someone who in reality is just a public relations vehicle to serve Biden, not a power figure in her own right.

It's a Freudian slip, of course, because it happens to be true. Harris's chief role in the Biden administration has been in "messaging." She's the Instagram-obsessed "messenger" who's supposed to create "narratives" from being "the first" female black/Asian vice president and present her rags-to-riches biography. She's also got the "messenging" role in other matters  to convince Europe that America remains committed to its NATO alliance, which is what happened just recently. European leaders noticed that she didn't seem to realize that NATO did not include Ukraine and displayed a toddler's knowledge of where the place actually was, and therefore began taking matters into its own hands  the French and British leaders began to cut their own deals with Russia's Vladimir Putin, and the Slavic state leaders, bordering Ukraine  Slovenia, Poland, and Czechia  made their own trip to Kyiv to talk deals with Ukraine's embattled president. Leave aside the matter of the Gulf states not returning Joe's phone calls and Venezuela telling the U.S. to forget about importing oil from it. Harris wasn't exactly a player in these wretched failures of foreign policy as the vaunted Lady Messenger, which is a first lady's role.

Harris was also tasked with resolving the out-of-control border crisis by serving as the point person for the "root causes" of illegal immigration from three Central American countries here in the States. Instead of doing that, which ought to have included a substantial visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, she skipped out on that and went to various ribbon-cutting ceremonies around the Midwest and New Jersey, which again is essentially a first lady's job. What's more, she was shut out from the big boy meetings. Somehow, she didn't get invited or didn't show up to the significant high-level officials' meeting held in Mexico City last year, whose topic was... root causes of illegal immigration.

When Harris made her first trip to Europe, supposedly to patch up relations with an angry France, her role was first-lady stuff, too. The patching had already been done by the State Department, so it appeared to be a phony bid to claim some kind of leadership credit for her, which didn't happen. The headlines she drew in Paris came from her shopping trip for high-end cookware, not her capacity to cut a deal or manage relations with a disgruntled but important ally. If there was anything she did of substance behind closed doors, she sure as heck wasn't able to "message" it. Some messenger.

So it's no surprise that Biden referred to Harris as the first lady, that's basically all she does. That's not surprising, given that she's famous for not paying attention to briefings, nor does she "do her homework," as previous stories from the Washington Post and others have noted. She then lashes out when she gets caught flat-footed, or "unprepared," as the Post delicately noted. When you are just there as a symbol of wokesterism, why do homework? It makes all claims that she's a power player laughable, particularly since she's attached at the hip to a senile old fool. The fool, Biden, lets the truth get out because that's how senility runs.

Had Harris actually had some kind of substance to her record, the gaffe would be on Biden alone. But, well, the claim was true, which creates some uncomfortable reminders of what's going on in that disastrous administration.

Image: Twitter screen shot.
On March 9, 2022, there was a panic in Moscow that forced Vladimir Putin out of hiding. On that day, the Russian leader said: "I now address the mothers, wives, sisters, brides, and girlfriends" of Russia's soldiers in Ukraine.

What was the reason for Putin's urgent speech? Family and friends of Russian combat troops had just found out that in the first attack on Ukraine, conscripts had been sacrificed on the battlefield, while experienced, professional soldiers had been kept in reserve for decisive battles.

In his speech, Putin posed as an avenger of mothers and all other women. Only LGBT partners escaped his clumsy version of Prince Charming. He claimed he didn't know about these military assignments and immediately ordered the withdrawal of the greenhorns from the firing line. He even promised to court-martial the responsible career officers.

This at least half-admission of a mistake contrasts strikingly with his boasting about his war proceeding absolutely according to plan. Why is Putin more afraid of Russian mothers than he is of MIGs being supplied to Kiev, or even of NATO itself?

An answer can be found in the history of the Russian Empire, which the man in the Kremlin wants to restore. Between 1840 and 1914, tsarist Russia had the highest birth rates in the world, with women consistently averaging seven children each. Every 20 Russian mothers gave birth to 70 sons. For every 1,000 inhabitants of the world, more than 100 lived under the Romanov crown. For every 1,000 men of military age, as many as 120 were, due to Russia's extremely low median age, under the command of the tsars.

Putin's Russia can only dream of such demographic abundance. In 2021  with a fertility rate of 1.5  there will be only 15 sons for every 20 Russian women. Today, the 115 million Russians under Putin's direct control  80 percent of the Federation's population  account for only 15 of every 1,000 citizens of the world. Out of a global total of 1,000 men at military age, Russia's high median age (41 years) means that, at best, only 10 are under Moscow's command.

To make things worse, these 10 are likely to be their mothers' only sons, or even their only children. With Russia's war index of 0.7 (700 nineteen-year-olds follow 1,000 fifty-nine-year-olds), the young have such wide career paths that the option of a hero's death seems unattractive, indeed repulsive. The times of expendable sons are over in Russia just as in the West.

Putin knows all this. Russia's low birth rates mean that every war he wages will wipe out many family lines forever. This grim statistic applies not only to conscripts, but also to professional soldiers. But the latter, in a sense, have only themselves to blame. When they enlisted in the military, their families knew the risk. Fallen professionals  as Putin announced on March 3, when giving figures on dead and wounded for the first time  were promoted one last time to secure somewhat higher pensions for their widows. Moreover, eight average annual salaries were announced for a fallen soldier and  in addition to disability benefits  five and a half for a wounded or maimed one. The descendants of professional soldiers will hardly want to jeopardize these benefits and will therefore keep a low profile.

It is the anxious mothers and girlfriends of the draftees whose fears force Putin into telling lies. There is little to suggest that they will fall for them. Their furious verbal attack on one of Putin's functionaries, Sergei Tsivilev from the Siberian Kuzbass, who had deliverd their sons as cannon fodder while bringing his own child to safety, proved to be a direct hit on the commander in chief.

However, his countermove to withdraw soldiers from the front line cannot be indefinitely repeated. Will he have the protesting women locked up? Will he even shoot them? Not even Brezhnev dared to do that during the full Soviet dictatorship. He had anguished mothers demonstrating at the Kremlin and, thus, before the entire world. Their fallen sons were among the 13,000 killed in the Soviet war in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989.

Last but not least, it was this high casualty rate in a declining population that caused the Soviets to admit defeat and leave. Will the same pattern repeat in Ukraine? Will it occur one day that Russia's mothers, even in a real defensive war, would rather surrender than send their sons to their deaths?

Gunnar Heinsohn (b. 1943) introduced the subject of war demography at the NATO Defense College in 2011 and taught it until 2020.

Image: World Economic Forum via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
When my wife convinced me to move from the People's Republic of Washington to the state of Mississippi, I looked at the political landscape and found that the state House, state Senate, and governorship were all controlled by Republicans. I said, "Thank God for Mississippi!" and supported the move.

Then I looked into it deeper and found that all is not as it appears. This is a state packed with RINOs and "former" Democrats. I searched the internet to find a reliable conservative site that had rated legislators at the state level and found the Americans for Prosperity website. This site rates on fiscal conservatism and conservative values. This report grades all the legislators' votes against a conservative standard, then grades them just like in high school: A = 90%+, B = 8089%, and so on. Among the 36 Republican senators, only three scored an "A," one scored a "B," and 19 scored a "C." The rest got "D" or less. The Republican members of the House did not fare much better. Of the 77 House Republicans, only seven scored an "A," two scored a "B," and eighteen scored a "C."

These are not conservatives. Not even close. Many are former Democrats who just want to get elected.

This explains why, in a state with a $1-billion surplus and a call from the governor, Tate Reeves, to eliminate the disastrous income tax, the bills making their way to the governor do not even come close to achieving this goal. According to House speaker Philip Gunn, the House version of the Tax Freedom Act would reduce the tax burden on an average citizen by $1,513 the first year, while the Senate version would reduce it by only $260. That is because the Senate plan cuts only the 4% bracket, and that is phased over four years. In my opinion, tax relief for my state is unlikely.

Let's turn our attention to my representatives to the United States Congress. I turned to Conservative Review's Liberty Score to see how well my representatives did. They use a similar scoring methodology as AFP. It is not pretty. Cindy Hyde Smith scored an "F" at 50%. I looked into her further. She was a Democrat until 2010. Her voting record is not one of liberty and fiscal responsibility. Roger Wicker did worse at 46%. AT readers know he is a very dangerous senator. The highest-scoring representative scored a "C" at 78%.

At this point, it became clear to me that the representation is not as conservative as the constituents. At least now I know where to spend my time and money in the political arena. I believe there is hope for my state. We need to work to get our politicians in line with our views.

Mississippi is not an isolated example. Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin (just to name a few), and other states all have similar issues. I encourage everyone take a good hard look at the voting records of their representatives and act accordingly.

Image: Odder (talk).
Writing in Commentary, neoconservative Joshua Muravchick labels those who believe that the roots of the current Russia-Ukraine War lie at least in part in the postCold War expansion of NATO as "Putin apologists." He groups into that category the Democratic Socialists of America (including several members of Congress); some writers at the far-left Nation magazine; members of the Quincy Institute, including its president, Andrew Bacevich and senior fellow Anatol Lieven; The American Conservative's Patrick Buchanan, Rod Dreher, and Scott McConnell; Frontpage Magazine contributor Robert Spencer; frequent Tablet contributor Lee Smith; conservative commentator Candace Owens; Fox News's Tucker Carlson; former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard; and, last but not least, former president Donald Trump.

The "Putin apologists" on the left, Muravchik writes, are motivated by "an anti-war reflex" and a belief that "the American system, as an avatar of capitalism and systemic racism, is inherently malign." Some of the "Putin apologists" on the right, he explains, are "ideological isolationists" who "share the left's contempt for America." Others on what he calls the "Trumpist right" call themselves "patriots," but "their passions focus powerfully on disputes with other Americans" rather than our country's foreign adversaries. Muravchik doesn't appear to realize that the passionate focus of his article is his "disputes with other Americans."

Muravchik calls the NATO expansion argument of the "Putin apologists" flimsy because Putin's view that NATO expansion threatens Russia's security is "nonsensical." "NATO," he writes, "does not threaten Russia and never has threatened it." NATO, he continues, is a defensive alliance, and adding Ukraine to NATO "would not change this a whit." It apparently doesn't matter to Muravchik that Putin's and Russia's perception of NATO differs from his own or even from the reality that NATO is a defensive alliance.

Muravchik ignores what is one of the most important qualities of a statesman  what Halford Mackinder described as "an insight into the minds of other nations than his own." That insight was lacking, for example, during the Vietnam War, when the Johnson administration thought offering Ho Chi Minh massive government aid projects (like the Tennessee Valley Authority) would convince the communist leader to make peace and give up his quest to conquer South Vietnam. It was similarly lacking when that same administration (persuaded by defense secretary Robert McNamara, who knew next to nothing about communism or Russian history and culture) thought slowing or stopping the U.S. deployment of nuclear missiles would convince Soviet leaders to do likewise. More recently, the inability to gain insight into the minds of other nations on the part of the George W. Bush administration led to the delusional and costly policies of trying to spread democracy to Iraq and Afghanistan  policies, it is worth noting, championed by many neoconservatives.

In his famous "Long Telegram" in 1946, George F. Kennan explained that Soviet/Russian foreign policy was motivated by "a neurotic view of world affairs" and an "instinctive Russian sense of insecurity." That traditional Russian insecurity, Kennan noted, grew "as Russia came into contact with [the] economically advanced west," which triggered "fear of more competent, more powerful, more highly organized societies." Russia's rulers, he wrote, "have invariably sensed that their rule was relatively archaic in form, fragile and artificial in its psychological foundation, unable to stand comparison or contact with political systems of western countries." That is why Russian leaders, according to Kennan, "have always feared foreign penetration, feared direct contact between the western world and their own, feared what would happen if Russians learned truth about world without or if foreigners learned truth about world within."

Kennan explained further that throughout its history, Russia "had never known a friendly neighbor or indeed any tolerant equilibrium of separate powers, either internal or international." Russia's leaders, he wrote, had an "instinctive fear of [the] outside world." He viewed Soviet leaders as simply the latest of a "long succession of cruel and wasteful Russian rulers who have relentlessly forced their country on to ever new heights of military power in order to guarantee external security of their internally weak regimes." Kennan described Russian nationalism as a "centuries old movement in which conceptions of offense and defense are inextricably confused."

International developments since the end of the Cold War have done nothing to calm traditional Russian insecurity. Russia's leaders have witnessed a steady expansion of NATO to the frontiers of Russian territory  to include the Baltic States, many eastern and central European countries that were once members of the Warsaw Pact, and several Balkan nations. And some Western leaders publicly promoted the admission of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO and the European Union. Kennan, writing 50 years later in 1997, predicted that NATO expansion  then in its infancy  would produce among Russia's new leaders  who had recently lost part of their empire  a return to that insecurity that would manifest itself in more extreme forms of nationalism and militarism.

There is nothing "nonsensical" about questioning the wisdom of NATO expansion or suggesting that the current Russia-Ukraine War might not have happened if NATO had not expanded or at least expanded in a more prudent fashion. Nor are those who question the wisdom of NATO expansion "Putin apologists." That is a smear intended to silence dissent from the "NATO must defend Ukraine" narrative that has been incessantly promoted by a jingoistic media and much of the U.S. foreign policy establishment. Questioning the wisdom of NATO expansion does not equate with excusing or justifying Putin's aggression, but it may help us to find a diplomatic way to end the war before it widens.

Image via Public Domain Pictures.
This is directly from the U.S. Constitution:

The United States Constitution provides that the president "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur" (Article II, section 2). Treaties are binding agreements between nations and become part of international law. Treaties to which the United States is a party also have the force of federal legislation, forming part of what the Constitution calls ''the supreme Law of the Land.''

As someone said, there it is in black and white.

According to news reports, GOP senators will stand up against this executive agreement:

Forty-nine Senate Republicans are threatening to derail the Biden administration's efforts to secure a new Iran nuclear agreement within the coming days. Any new agreement that "does not have strong bipartisan support in Congress will not survive," the senators said in a statement issued Monday and provided to the White House. The lawmakers warned the administration that if it bypasses Congress and agrees to a deal without first allowing a vote in the Senate  as is required under a 2015 law  they will do "everything in our power to reverse it."

By the way, Sen. Rand Paul is the only GOP senator who did not sign the letter. Why not? He said: "Condemning a deal that is not yet formulated is akin to condemning diplomacy itself, not a very thoughtful position."

I agree with the 49 and trust that Sen. Paul will join the call for a full ratification vote.

It's hard to believe that something this consequential should be done by executive agreement. The GOP, and a few Democrats, should call on the Biden administration to send it to the Senate for ratification and a treaty vote.

Why? It's the Constitution, after all. It makes President Biden look weak when he can't get a vote this important through the U.S. Senate. He'd look stronger walking into the negotiations with the Congress behind him.

Also, we don't convey seriousness as a nation when executive agreements are signed by the current president only to be canceled by the next one.

The Founding Fathers got this one right, too. Have an up-or-down vote, and the debate that goes with it.

PS: Click for my videos and podcasts at Canto Talk.

Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License.
Tucker Carlson had as his guest Jonas Max Ferris, an investment adviser, and asked Ferris for his opinion about the sanctions from America and the European Union that are intended to break the Russian economy. Ferris pointed out that, while the sanctions are hitting the ordinary Russians very hard, and probably making them more hostile to the West than to Putin, the fact that Russian oil and gas still flow freely to Europe and will soon be heading to China and India means that Putin, personally, has more than enough funds to keep his policies going. And that, in turn, made me think of the message in the Passover story.

So far, only a limited part of the interview is available on Tucker's or Fox News's sites. In the part below, Ferris speaks about how the West is isolating Russia, which empowers Putin  and makes bargains available for him:

In another part of the interview, Ferris pointed out that Putin's military excursions into surrounding regions have always occurred when fuel prices are high. (Did the Democrats know that might happen when they destroyed America's energy independence on Biden's first days in office, inevitably driving up fuel prices?)

Even as Western nations huff and puff about the horrors Russia is inflicting on the Ukrainian people, Biden only reluctantly cut off Russian oil, Europe has refused to do so, and both India and China have entered into agreements to buy from Russia. So, while the Russian people are being bankrupted, the money is still flowing into the coffers upon which Putin relies for his war machine. And that, believe it or not, ties in perfectly with the Passover story in Exodus.

The central part of the Exodus story is the ten plagues that God, through Moses, brings to Egypt as Moses begs the pharaoh to release the Jewish people from slavery. Each of the plagues is dreadful: the Nile turns to blood, and frogs proliferate, as do gnats and other insects. Livestock die off; people are afflicted with boils; hail destroys the crops; locusts eat what the hail doesn't destroy; and, eventually, darkness envelops the land.



Image: Pharaoh Putin by Andrea Widburg.

The Egyptian people must have suffered terribly, and yet, repeatedly, Pharaoh refused to let the Jewish people go. People hostile to the Bible have accused this narrative of revealing God to be a vicious sadist. People dismissive of the Bible contend that the escalating plagues are merely dramatic license to make a slave escape seem more exciting and religiously inspired. And people trying to give the story a rational basis to justify belief have posited all sorts of scientific explanations coinciding with the Jewish break for freedom.

I believe, though, that there's a much more profound reason for these escalating plagues. All of them cruelly affected the Egyptian people, but Pharaoh would have been insulated from these effects. Like all tyrants, he did not exist as his people's servant; they existed as his servants, and he was not particularly concerned with their welfare, provided he remained safe.

It was only with the tenth plague  the death of the firstborn as a punishment, not just for Pharaoh's enslaving the Jewish people, but for his earlier edict to kill all male Jewish babies  that the plagues finally hurt Pharaoh. He, clearly, was not his father's firstborn child, but he lost his own firstborn child, as well as many of his courtiers. Suddenly, the Jewish God was playing tough  not with the Egyptian people, but with Pharaoh himself...at which point Pharaoh finally caved.

This is the lesson of the tyrant: if the people suffer, so be it; if the tyrant suffers, he will likely back off.

Currently, the West is inflicting financial pain on the Russian people but is unable to inflict direct financial pain on Putin. Both because of European need and new markets in Asia, Putin is protected. He still has money coming in.

The only way to hurt Putin directly is to stop the flow of cash for oil and gas  and the only way to do that is for America to begin producing like mad to bring prices down.

And yet that's the one thing Biden won't do. He'll punish the people and leave the tyrant untouched. Maybe that's because he has pharaonic dreams of his own...
Evidence has come to light strongly indicating that the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are not really "vaccines" in the medical and legal sense of the word, but rather "experimental gene therapies." If proven true, the significance and legal ramifications of this allegation are profound.

This article summarizes a presentation by Dr. David Martin, a national intelligence analyst and founder of IQ100 Index, a developer of linguistic genomics, and molecular biologist Dr. Judy Mikovits.

In the presentation, Dr. Martin states, "You cannot have a vaccine that doesn't claim to result in either immunity or blocking transmission." He goes on to say, "By their own patents and reference material, neither Pfizer nor Moderna claims this. Rather, they only classify their products as 'gene therapy.'"

Dr. Martin states the Moderna and Pfizer products "do not prevent you from getting the COVID-19 infection, nor do they prevent its spread. They are really experimental gene therapies  unlike real vaccines, which use an antigen of the disease you're trying to prevent, the Moderna and Pfizer injections contain synthetic RNA fragments encapsulated in a nanolipid carrier compound, the sole purpose of which is to lessen clinical symptoms associated with the S-1 spike protein, not the actual virus."

If indeed Moderna and Pfizer corporations are misrepresenting their experimental gene therapies as bona fide vaccines, Dr. Martin states that "the legal ramifications of this deception are immense  from a legal view, both Moderna and Pfizer qualify as using illegal deceptive practices by making medical claims without clinic trial proof of immunity and transmission blocking. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S. Code, Section 41, outlaws such deceptive practices."

During the presentation, various entities and individuals were identified as supporters of the above alleged deception, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of North Carolina, and other individuals.

Why call an experimental gene therapy product a "vaccine"? Dr. Martin believes that there are two basic reasons: 1) to circumvent liability for damages, and 2) if the products were called gene therapy or a similar label, most people would wisely refuse to use them.

Regarding avoiding liability for damages, as long as the U.S. is under a state of emergency, things like COVID-19 "vaccines" are allowed under emergency use authorization. As long as the emergency use authorization is in effect, the makers of these "vaccines" are not financially liable for any damages that comes from their use. However, Dr Martin states that "there is no liability shield for a medical emergency countermeasure that is gene therapy." In fact, if the documentation Pfizer and Moderna provided the Federal Drug Administration for emergency use authorization can be proven fraudulent, then there is no legal protection.

Given the above, a multitude of multi-million-dollar lawsuits are possible, if not probable, against the two pharmaceutical companies by parties who have been "injured" in one way or another by Moderna and Pfizer inoculations. Depending on the evidence produced, criminal indictments may also be a possibility.

What needs to happen next? Dr. Martin urges citizens to contact their state attorney, governor, representatives, and anyone else who might be in a position to take action to address and correct what he calls a tremendous fraud on the American people. He hopes his presentation will be viewed and acted upon by officials with the authority to thoroughly investigate his findings.

He states, "Defense contractors are violating FTC law, and gene therapy companies  not vaccine manufacturers  are conducting experimental trials under deceptive medical practices. They're making claims of being 'vaccines' without clinical proof, and must be held accountable for their deceptive marketing and medical practices."

The need for accountability extends to anyone who promoted the use of the Moderna and Pfizer products while having full knowledge that they were not bona fide vaccines as described herein.

Dr. Martin states, "World governments and global and national health organizations are all complicit in this illegal deception and must be held accountable."

In conclusion, Dr. Martin makes a most sobering comment: "These injections are not vaccines. They do not prevent infection, they do not render you immune, and they do not prevent transmission of the disease. Instead, they alter your genetic coding."

Given the above, perhaps it is time for several state attorneys general to band together and thoroughly investigate the activities of Moderna, Pfizer, and various individuals in this matter. This could develop into a similar cooperative multi-state effort reminiscent of the 1998 Big Tobacco lawsuit. In this action, 52 state and territory attorneys general ultimately signed a Master Settlement Agreement with the four largest tobacco companies in the U.S. to settle dozens of state lawsuits brought to recover billions of dollars in health care costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses.

Paul S. Gardiner is a retired Army officer, Vietnam veteran, and lover of America. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, University of Alabama, and the United States Army War College. He is hopeful that the truth will eventually emerge about the Moderna and Pfizer inoculation products as well as truth about statements made by various high-ranking officials promoting their use.

Image: qimono via Pixabay, Pixabay License.
Several decades ago, a colleague from a neighboring department at my university loaned me a marketing textbook. Naturally, it was difficult to force a young physicist to read something that does not explore the Schrodinger Equation. Anyway, I accepted the book, intending to surf it politely for a few minutes and then ignore it.

However, the moment I opened the book, I was hooked. Since then, I have read and reread it several times. One of the practicing marketing experts who also taught at the university wrote its introduction. In particular, he described the type of homework given to his students. As part of the course, students were required to develop a marketing program for new, high-quality drill bits.

All undergraduates completed the assignment, and all earned an F.

Indeed, the marketing guru substantiated an explanation for such disastrous results. He noted that humans, in the truest sense of the word, do not need drill bits. What people actually want is holes, not drill bits. Thus, there is no need, and subsequently, there is no demand for them. People need holes in wood, metal, plastic, whatever. In reality, drill bits are only one part of the range of tools that allow men to accomplish their actual goals: the holes.

Any attempt to persuade individuals to purchase items they do not actually require is ineffective. Such an endeavor is ultimately not profitable. The correct, profitable approach is selling people what they truly desire: holes. The professor argued that marketing should focus on the holes rather than drill bits. Eventually, people will purchase these drill bits if they are convinced that they will get stunning holes at the end of the process.

Let us fast-forward to 2022. The Ukrainian citizens call for establishing a no-fly zone over the country. This is an excellent example of a situation where people demand things they do not actually need. There is no question that Ukrainians are anxious to stop deadly Russian aerial and missile attacks, and that is a noble goal, but it has nothing to do with NATO's no-fly zone. A no-fly zone is one of many tools available to achieve this objective. According to what is known, military personnel dislike it when civilians offer the mission and mandate specific tools.

Instead, let military professionals choose the methods and tools to stop terrible bombings and shelling of innocent civilians, assuming that the West  and, it seems, the world  wants to offer a helping hand to suffering Ukrainians. We must stop the chorus of internet military experts who were prominent virologists and world-renowned epidemiologists just a few weeks ago.

Ukrainians should be informed that while the need to stop the bombardments is acknowledged, the external methods to resolve it are not their choice. Various military, diplomatic, and economic tools are available  and the no-fly zone is just one (and not the most attractive) of them. (Regarding this matter, we are still awaiting official calls to expel Russia from the United Nations, similar to the expulsion of the Soviet Union from the League of Nations for attacking Finland in 1940.)

One of the solutions would be a Lend-Lease-like program to deliver Ukraine high-tech anti-aircraft batteries. Ukraine already uses high-tech Turkish drones; they have to be complemented with American-made surface-to-air missiles.

Along with anti-aircraft defense weapons, the United States has historically supported just causes while embracing a facade of neutrality. There were, for example, approximately one hundred American military pilots who resigned from their commissions in 1940 and 1941 and joined Chiang Kai-shek's army in the fight against Imperial Japan. Note that American pilots entered the combat long before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) squadron became known as the Flying Tigers. It is noteworthy that the Flying Tigers flew Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, made in Buffalo, N.Y., resulting in the first American aces of World War II.

Ukrainians must also observe that Flying Tigers represent a pre-woke American military. Today's politically correct military will take much longer to reach the right decisions. For this reason, Ukraine must fight off the invaders with what it has at this juncture  until Pentagon lawyers and Washington swamp-dwellers are able to explore and crunch risks, profits, and political expediency.

Gary Gindler, Ph.D., is a conservative columnist at Gary Gindler Chronicles and a new science founder: politiphysics. Follow him on Twitter.

Image via the Department of Defense.
(Image source from: Economictimes.indiatimes.com)

Ukraine War: Fresh Blasts in Kyiv:- Russia's invasion in Ukraine continues and the entire world is trying hard to resolve the issue. The fresh rounds of talks were initiated between Russia and Ukraine but Russia continues to attack. Fresh blasts took place in the city of Kyiv. The spokesperson for the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called the move immoral. He said that Russia was trying hard to suffer the people of Ukraine. Despite efforts, Russia could not capture any of the biggest cities of Ukraine after the invasion started on February 24th. Joe Biden, the President of the United States will make his first visit to Europe after Russia started war against Ukraine and he would discuss about the crisis with NATO allies. The meeting is expected to take place next week.

As per the reports, the refugee tally crossed 3 million mark. The Kremlin today told that Ukraine is a neutral state when compared to Austria and Sweden. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson started lobbying Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to buy more oil and he is in Abu Dhabi for the talks. Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived to Kyiv on his five-day visit on humanitarian terms. The oil prices rose by 3 percent on Wednesday and a barrel is more than 100 USD. The talks between Russia and Ukraine are happening currently. Russia sincerely wants peace told the Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky and he said that the talks with Ukraine are slow and difficult.
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(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 16 - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that "Italy is a NATO ally of great value, it contributes to our collective defence in many ways.

"I have recently been to Romania where I met the Italian pilots who are helping keep NATO's air space safe and secure.

"They are showing commitment and strength in their contribution to several operations, also in Kosovo, where Italy has been a fundamental ally for many years". (ANSA).


Energy: Sanchez to start European tour against price hikes Meeting with Croatian MP in Madrid before departure

(ANSAmed) - MADRID, MARCH 16 - Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez started on Wednesday a political "tour" in different European countries with the objective of finding agreements with other leaders on measures to propose to Brussels to counter recent strong increases of energy prices.



After a meeting in Madrid with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Sanchez will travel to Slovakia in the afternoon.



Over the next few days, he will travel to Romania, Italy, Germany and Ireland, according to the official agenda of the Spanish government.(ANSAmed).




ROCCELLA JONICA - A new landing has been reported in the port 'Delle Grazie' in Roccella Jonica, Calabria. A reported 104 people arrived on Wednesday. They are Egyptian and Syrian nationals and were rescued in the Ionian Sea by finance police units from Roccella Jonica and Taranto. The refugees included three young women and three children under six. Today's landing is the fifth in Roccella in the first 100 days of 2022. Last year, on the same date, in the port city alone there were 49 out of the 55 landings registered along the Ionian coast of the Locride area.



The refugees who landed on Wednesday were aboard a 20-meter-long sailboat in difficulty intercepted in Brancaleone, some 10 miles off the coast, by finance police cutters.



According to preliminary information, the boat reportedly left about a week ago from the coast of Turkey. After the landing, the 104 refugees were tested for Covid by healthcare professionals from the local health agency of Reggio Calabria.



Subsequently, at the order of the prefecture of Reggio Calabria, all migrants were temporarily hosted in a tent camp recently built in the port area and managed by Red Cross and Civil Protection volunteers.
LISBON - In the three weeks since the start of the war in Ukraine, Portugal has already received a number of Ukrainian refugees equaling nearly that of refugees from other parts of the world welcomed in the last seven years.



According to data provided by the Servico de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF), the agency in charge of security at the border and immigration, already over 10,000 applications for temporary protection have been presented by Ukrainian citizens. At the moment, counting the new arrivals, Ukrainians represent the third largest community of foreigners for number of people in Portugal, after Brazilians and Britons. The Ukrainian community was in fact already significant before the Russian invasion, with more than 27,000 people out of a total of about 10 million inhabitants.



In order to facilitate and speed up application and approval processes for temporary protection for Ukrainian citizens, SEF launched a specific online platform. The efficiency of the service brought Portuguese daily Publico to wonder whether the applications of other refugees, including some who have been waiting for years, will also be able to benefit from an acceleration in the evaluation process.



The ministry of interior administration however told the newspaper that the situation concerning Ukrainian refugees is "truly exceptional" and that requests for temporary protection can't be compared to other types of asylum requests or applications for long-term protection.




MADRID - Spanish Premier Pedro Sanchez started on Wednesday a political "tour" in different European countries with the objective of finding agreements with other leaders on measures to propose to Brussels to counter recent strong increases of energy prices.



After a meeting in Madrid with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Sanchez will travel to Slovakia in the afternoon.



Over the next few days, he will travel to Romania, Italy, Germany and Ireland, according to the official agenda of the Spanish government.




An inquiry should be launched into the alarming number of jobs advertised below the national minimum wage on a Government website, MPs have heard.

Speaking during an SNP-led debate in the House of Commons on how to address the rising cost of living, Chris Stephens said an article on The Ferret website, which was also published in The Herald newspaper, gave examples of jobs being advertised for below the national minimum wage on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website.

The SNP MP for Glasgow South said: It outlined that out of 10,000 jobs advertised on the Department for Work and Pensions website, an alarming number were offering jobs and advertising jobs below the national minimum wage.

Burger King, there was an advertisement for 6 an hour, Pizza Express 6.56 an hour, Farmfoods 6.66 an hour. These are companies that have made profits in the last couple of years, and good profits at that.

I will be asking for an inquiry as to why the Department for Work and Pensions websites are advertising jobs that are below the national minimum wage rates, it really is a scandal.

Perhaps the Department for Work and Pensions will refer themselves to the national minimum wage compliance unit because they should when theyre advertising jobs at these rates and I hope ministers in the Government will respond.

The minimum wage is 8.91 an hour for people aged 23 and over, 8.36 for 21 to 22-year-olds, 6.56 for those aged 18 to 20, 4.62 for under-18s and 4.30 for apprentices.

Greg Hands, a minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which is responsible for minimum wage compliance and enforcement, said the DWP website had checks to remove job adverts offering below the minimum wage.

Greg Hands (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Mr Hands said: Im going to answer his point about the minimum wage job adverts. The DWP does have checks, and if they discover any that are below the minimum wage they will take them down.

Mr Stephens intervened, thanked the minister, and asked: Is it in order then for us to report the Department for Work and Pensions to the national minimum wage compliance unit?

The business minister responded: We take the enforcement of the national minimum wage incredibly seriously right the way across Government, all departments do.

The SNP put forward a motion in the Commons warning that households will soon be suffering the worst income squeeze since the 1970s, and calling on the Government to scrap VAT on energy bills, implement a windfall tax on companies which are benefitting from significantly increased profits as a result of impacts associated with the Covid-19 pandemic or the current international situation, and to scrap the energy bill rebate scheme and introduce immediate emergency cash payments for households.

Speaking for the SNP front bench, Stephen Flynn said the Government has gone nowhere near far enough in terms of its support for households up and down the country.

Is it right that those who benefitted from the pandemic  Serco, Amazon, Netflix, Asos  to the tune of billions of pounds because of the way peoples habits have changed, and of course because of some of the contracts they have received from Government, is it right that theyre able to benefit whilst our constituents are struggling? Absolutely not. It is not right at all, he said.

Treasury minister Helen Whately said: We in Government do recognise the challenges many households are facing with the cost of living, including of course those in Scotland.

Thats one reason why we are providing support worth over 20 billion across this financial year and next, why for instance were cutting the Universal Credit taper rate, increasing work allowances to make sure work pays, freezing fuel and alcohol duty to keep costs down, and why last month we announced a 9.1 billion package to help households with rising energy bills.
The Irish premier has said the Government is doing everything it can to procure accommodation for the thousands of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland.

Micheal Martin said that housing and accommodation will need to be refurbished for the thousands of refugees fleeing the war-torn country.

While many are being accommodated in hotels, the Government is attempting to source other properties.

More than 7,000 refugees have arrived in Ireland, with the number expected to increase significantly in the coming days and weeks.

Micheal Martin addresses reporters outside the Irish Embassy, in Washington DC (Oliver Contreras/PA)

Speaking in Washington DC on the second day of his trip to the US as part of the St Patricks Day celebrations, Mr Martin said there is currently no estimate for how much the war in Ukraine will cost the Irish Government.

Mr Martin said that some housing will need to be refurbished while the Government will look to procure hotels, B&Bs and other facilities.

Those other facilities will have to be refitted and reconfigured to make them suitable for residential, Mr Martin said.

There will be significant costs on the accommodation front. We have over 7,000 refugees that have come into Ireland. It is significant and it is growing but we, through the whole of government approach, we are doing everything we possibly can to procure as much as they possibly can.

Mr Martin said the sanctions against Russia by the EU and United States are having an impact on the countrys economy.

He also said that he hopes peace talks between Ukraine and Russia will lead to some results.

I would hope that the current talks, tentative though they are, could yield some results in terms of the ceasefire and cessation of the violence in the first instance, then demilitarisation, he said.

Really engaging and encouraging lunch hosted by @IDAIRELAND and @scienceirel in Washington today. Good ideas on how we can boost innovation and future-proof Ireland as a global home of research. pic.twitter.com/WAiv1Scrpv  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 16, 2022

In particular we believe its imperative that humanitarian corridors, genuine humanitarian corridors are created, maintained and sustained as quickly as possible.

Turning to the dramatic increase in energy prices, Mr Martin said he will not move unilaterally on the EUs VAT directive.

He defended the Irish Governments reaction to tackling the rise in energy and living costs, saying Ireland moved faster than many other EU member states.

He added: The Government will not be able to shield the entire population from the full impact of this war, on fuel prices and our energy prices.

There are limits to what any government can do in a situation like this, and that is why this war should end.

In the first instance because of the appalling death and destruction on the people of Ukraine and their cities and their towns, and also the broader danger it poses to the world in terms of an extension of that conflict.

We are at a very dangerous moment in terms of where we are globally as a result of this war.

Accidents can happen and we need to avoid that at all costs.

But when in a war situation like this on the continent of Europe, where the sanctions that have been imposed by Europe and US are the severest kind that we create shocks to the system, it will create a degree of instability in the economy. It will create price pressures, particularly on energy, food and other commodities.

Those are the realities of the fact that Russia has waged war on Ukraine and all of the consequences going from that.

No government is going to be in a position to protect in its entirety their societies from those consequences.

We took measures last week with respect to hauliers and so on.

So into the future we keep this under review, I think the more targeted measures will probably yield the best results.
Portraits of the Duchess of Cambridge taken to mark her 40th birthday are to go on public display for the first time  in places close to Kates heart.

The glamorous shots of the duchess by celebrated fashion photographer Paolo Roversi will feature in four venues around the UK linked to Kates childhood and her relationship with the Duke of Cambridge.

They include the Middleton family church, St Andrews university where William and Kate first met, and on the island of Anglesey where they lived as newlyweds.

William watches fiancee Kate pour champagne at Trearddur Bay Lifeboat Station on Anglesey in 2011 ahead of their wedding (Phil Noble/PA)

The exhibitions form part of the National Portrait Gallerys Coming Home project, which sees the gallery lend portraits of famous people to places with which they are closely associated.

The locations were selected in consultation with Kate, who was described as having a special affinity with each one.

One of Paolo Roversis birthday portraits of Kate (Paolo Roversi/Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/PA)

A black and white shot of the duchess  in profile looking left  will be on view first from March 22 to April 5 at St James the Less in the Berkshire village of Pangbourne.

The church is where Kates family have been parishioners for generations.

The photograph will then move to the Reading Museum  close to the Royal Berkshire Hospital where the duchess was born in 1982  with the image appearing from April 7 to June 4.

St James the Less Church in Pangbourne, Berkshire , will display one of Kates portraits (Brian Gibbs/Alamy Stock Photo/PA)

A picture of the duchess with her hair flowing and wearing a red Alexander McQueen dress will be on show between June 13 and September 30 at the Wardlaw Museum at the University of St Andrews.

William and Kate met as students at the university in Fife, when Kate was studying history of art, as was William before he switched to geography.

William and Kate passing St Salvators  the halls at St Andrews where they met  during a visit in 2011 (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The third photograph in Roversis series shows Kate in a white dress, smiling straight at the camera.

This portrait will be displayed at Angleseys Oriel Mon museum between July 16 and October 2.

William and Kate had a home on Anglesey in north Wales before their wedding while William worked as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot.

This portraits of Kate will be on view on Anglesey in north Wales (Paolo Roversi/Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/PA)

They remained there during the early years of their marriage, eventually moving to London soon after the birth of their first child Prince George in 2013.

Nicholas Cullinan, director of the National Portrait Gallery, of which Kate is patron, said: As one of her first and earliest patronages, we are delighted to be sharing Paolo Roversis wonderful portraits, taking each to a place of resonance across the United Kingdom for Her Royal Highness as part of our Coming Home project.

Kate celebrated her 40th birthday on January 9 this year. The portraits can be visited free of charge.
Kylie Jenner said the postpartum after the birth of her second child was not easy mentally in a message of support to other new mothers.

The reality star, 24, reminded other women it was ok not to be ok and urged them not to put pressure on themselves.

Her son, Wolf Webster, whose father is rapper Travis Scott, was born on February 2 this year.

The couple already had a four-year-old daughter, Stormi Webster, whose birthday is on February 1.

In a series of videos on her Instagram, Jenner said her recent experience of postpartum, the period following birth, had been a little harder.

Jenners second child, Wolf Webster, who she had with rapper Travis Scott, was born on February 2 (Jennifer Graylock/PA)

I just want to say to my postpartum moms that postpartum has not been easy, she said.

Its very hard. This experience has not been easy for me personally and has been a little harder for me than with my daughter.

Its not easy mentally, physically, spiritually, its just crazy. Its been hard so I just wanted to say that.

She added: Its ok not to be ok.

Once I realised that I was putting some pressure on myself, I just keep reminding myself that I made a whole human, a beautiful healthy boy.

We have to stop putting pressure on ourselves to be back, not even physically, just mentally, after birth.
Poet Lemn Sissay says he felt obliged to accept his OBE because the award honours his younger self who overcame a dehumanising time in care.

Mr Sissay detailed his experiences in the British care system in his autobiography of his early life  My Name Is Why.

He shared the abuse he suffered during his formative years in the one-off show The Report, based on a psychologists report on his mental health struggles as a result of his upbringing, at the Royal Court.

Lemn Sissay being made an OBE by the Prince of Wales during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle (Yui Mok/PA)

After receiving his honour for services to literature and charity from the Prince of Wales, the poet and playwright said: If I had said to him that one day you will be in Windsor Castle to receive an OBE from Prince Charles, I would never have believed that kind of magical story  almost fairy tale  would happen.

He added: If you can go to that boy  who lost his family, who left childrens homes at 18 years of age and didnt know anybody for longer than a year at that age and had spent all of those Christmases alone  if you were going to say to that child that, In your adulthood you are going to be honoured for what it is that you do and who it is that you are but you have got to turn it down

I just could not do that to him.

This is a way of being able to honour service and what you were born to be. I was born to be a poet.

The service is the work (I have done) for care leavers and it has come from my own experience.

Mr Sissay was born on May 21 1967 to an Ethiopian mother shortly after she moved to England to study. He was taken into long-term foster care in Wigan and named Norman Greenwood.

Mr Sissay with his godmother Ethiopia Alfred (Jonathan Brady/PA)

After being reunited with his birth mother aged 18, she told him he had been named Lemn, meaning why in Ethiopias official language of Amharic.

He learned his birth mother had made strenuous albeit unsuccessful efforts to reclaim him.

There was a 34-year battle with Wigan Council to get hold of his records and a settled court case against the authority over his treatment.

Mr Sissay said: When people get these awards, they usually say, I can not wait to tell my mum or dad because that will make them proud.

I did not have that and that is a direct result of my story  but that is just the way it is and it has an even more profound effect upon me in lieu of family.

He is keen to see what comes of the upcoming Independent Review of Childrens Social Care in England, which was set up to ensure youngsters get the support they need.

Lemn Sissay after being made an OBE (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Sissay said: It is a big deal. It is really important for me to be able to represent all the young people who have been in care so they think, I can do that.

They can think, I can be a lawyer, or a doctor, a hairdresser, or just go where he has gone.

It is a wonderful thing to be recognised as somebody who has got my kind of past.

Mr Sissays first book of poems, Tender Fingers In A Clenched Fist, was published when he was 21 and sold in pubs, at political marches and anywhere he could stand and perform.

In 1995, he made a BBC documentary, Internal Flight, about his life.

His one-man show, Something Dark, detailed how he was given up as a baby.

The drama was adapted for BBC Radio Three in 2006, winning the UK Commission for Racial Equalitys Race in the Media Award.

An MBE came in the 2010 New Year Honours list, while Mr Sissay also won the 2019 PEN Pinter Prize and is chancellor of the University of Manchester.
A 26-year-old man arrested by detectives investigating the murder of journalist Lyra McKee has been released pending a report to prosecutors.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the shooting of the author in Londonderry in April 2019.

Five other men detained by detectives on Tuesday morning were released later that night.

The men  aged 20, 21, 21, 41 and 54  were arrested in the Cityside area of Derry under the Terrorism Act and taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave police station in Belfast for interview.

They were released on Tuesday night pending a report being submitted to the Public Prosecution Service.

Ms McKee, 29, was shot dead in Derry as she observed rioting in the Creggan area.

An extremist group styling itself the New IRA has previously claimed it was responsible for killing the journalist and author.

Three men have previously been charged with Ms McKees murder, and another five have been charged with rioting and associated offences.
The settlement of a 40-year-old debt dating back to the time of the Shah of Iran was the key to unlocking the deal which secured the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her fellow detainees.

The payment of almost 400 million to Tehran was the final step in a carefully choreographed set of diplomatic manoeuvres which saw the British-Iranian mother board the flight back to freedom and her family.

It relates to an order placed by the pro-Western Shah in the 1970s for 1,500 British Chieftain tanks and 250 armoured recovery vehicles for the Iranian armed forces.

An estimated 650 million was paid to International Military Services (IMS), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Defence, for the equipment.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss made resolving the dispute her number one priority (James Manning/PA)

But when the Shah was toppled in the Iranian revolution of 1979, Britain cancelled the order with only 185 tanks having been delivered.

Iran has been trying to get back the outstanding cash for the undelivered vehicles ever since.

In 1990, the Tehran government began lengthy proceedings through the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), which rules on trade disputes between countries, to recover the money.

In 2001, the ICC found in favour of Iran, a ruling that was upheld on appeal in 2009.

By that time however Iran was the subject of international sanctions over its banned nuclear programme and the UK  while accepting the ICC ruling  said it could not return the money without breaching their provisions.

After Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested on spying charges in 2016, her the family said she had been told by her interrogators that her detention was linked to the outstanding debt.

The order for the tanks was cancelled following the overthrow of the Shah (PA)

Officially both the UK and the Iranians denied there was any link between the two cases but it was becoming increasingly clear that Tehran saw Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other dual nationals as a form of leverage in thee dispute.

In London, there was a deep reluctance to be seen to be paying anything which might be perceived as a ransom to secure her freedom.

However, ministers have been facing a growing clamour  including from former foreign secretaries Jeremy Hunt, Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind  to settle its legal obligations.

When Liz Truss became foreign secretary in September 2021 she was said to have made dealing with the issues of the detainees and the debt her number one priority.

At a meeting with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian at the United Nations in New York  the first face-to-face talks at that level in three years  they agreed to work to resolve the two disputes in parallel.

In October, a team of highly experienced Foreign Office negotiators was dispatched to Tehran to begin intensive talks aimed at finding a way through the diplomatic impasse.

Later that month Ms Truss spoke again to Mr Amirabdollahian to give further impetus to the talks.

In December, at a gathering of Gulf foreign ministers at her official country residence at Chevening, she met the Omani foreign minster Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, securing his assistance in the final stages of the negotiations.

In February, Ms Truss held a third meeting with Mr Amirabdollahian in the Omani capital, Muscat, ahead of a final round of negotiations.

The result was that the UK has agreed to pay 393.8 million to settle the historic IMS debt.

In her statement, Ms Truss said funds were being released in full compliance with UK and international sanctions and all legal obligations and would be ring-fenced solely for the purchase of humanitarian goods.
Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war could arrive in Scotland this weekend, Nicola Sturgeon said as she announced 15 million of Government funding is being made available to help them.

The Scottish First Minister said there will be challenges involved in resettling thousands of displaced and traumatised people in such a short space of time.

But she said she is confident Scotland will provide not just refuge but a warm welcome and a helping hand to people whose lives have been ripped apart.

Ms Sturgeon said: We will open our doors and we will also open our hearts.

Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland will open our hearts to those fleeing the war in Ukraine (Robert Perry/PA)

Her comments came in a statement to Holyrood after earlier confirming she would be willing to step up and open her own home to a refugee, if this is deemed to be necessary and appropriate.

However she added that someone escaping the conflict in Ukraine may not want to come and live with the First Minister with all the scrutiny that might come with that.

With cities in Ukraine having come under attack from Russian forces for three weeks now, Ms Sturgeon described Russian President Vladimir Putin as both evil and a war criminal.

But she said Scots are very, very keen to offer support to those fleeing the conflict.

The First Minister has already said Scotland could welcome 3,000 refugees from Ukraine in the first phase, before taking in at least 10% of those who come to the UK.

A super sponsor scheme put forward by the devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland aims to get Ukrainians to these countries quicker, by providing them with temporary accommodation while a more permanent place is found for them.

That would mean refugees do not need to be matched with a sponsor with whom they can stay before coming to the UK.

They would be able to come here to sanctuary and safety first, the First Minister told MSPs.

In a visit to @scotrefcouncil this morning, First Minister @NicolaSturgeon heard about the vital work taking place to help those arriving from Ukraine and announced 1m in funding for two organisations already providing support. pic.twitter.com/FNo4MjEIcr  First Minister (@ScotGovFM) March 16, 2022

She said it should be possible and was certainly our hope for the first 3,000 displaced Ukrainians to begin arriving in Scotland from as early as this weekend.

Ms Sturgeon added: This is dependent on UK Government agreement, only the Home Office can issue the visas.

But there is no good reason in my view for this agreement not to be reached, we hope and expect that it will be and crucially this is the basis on which we are now planning.

To help with this work, she said the Scottish Government is allocating 15 million to support our immediate response.

The bulk of this cash  more than 11 million  will go to local councils, with 2.25 million being used to pay for temporary accommodation and 1.4 million for the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC).

The First Minister visited the charitys Glasgow headquarters earlier on Wednesday, where she was asked if she would take in a refugee herself.

Ms Sturgeon said she would do that if that is necessary.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited the Scottish Refugee Councils headquarters in Glasgow (Robert Perry/PA)

She added: Im not going to ask other people to do things I wouldnt be prepared to do myself.

She stressed that everybodys circumstances are different, adding: I dont think we should get into a position of making people feel bad if they are not in a position to offer accommodation.

Speaking about potentially taking someone in herself, she said: In my case I am willing to do that if that is necessary and if that was thought appropriate.

For somebody coming from Ukraine it may be that they wouldnt want to come and live with the First Minister with all the scrutiny that might come with that.

But certainly if that was something that was necessary and considered to be appropriate, I am certainly willing to step up and do whatever I can.

Meanwhile, work is under way to establish welcome hubs where refugees can receive food and clothing, health care, advice and language support.

Decisions on where these hubs will be based will be made when more details are known about where and when refugees will start arriving in Scotland, Ms Sturgeon said.

She told Holyrood: The challenges of resettling thousands of displaced and traumatised people in such a short space of time are significant and they should not be underestimated.

But for all the undoubted challenges, I am confident that Scotland will live up to our humanitarian obligations.
Thousands of Ukrainian refugees could arrive in the UK next week but checks on accommodation may not be carried out in time, a minister has warned.

Refugee minister Lord Richard Harrington told MPs he expects thousands of people to arrive next week under the Homes for Ukraine sponsorship scheme, but said it may not be possible for all accommodation being offered to be checked first.

Asked about the council checks, Lord Harrington told the Commons Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday: I mean, Im talking next week  Im expecting thousands of people to come but it will be their responsibility and, particularly where theres a possibility of vulnerability with children, this sort of thing, that would take priority.

But if we started saying were going to pre-view it, its just not possible.

Asked if he could give assurances that Ukrainian refugees will not be housed in hotels, he replied: I honestly cant give you that undertaking. Id like to but its not our intention. But if all else fails, its our duty to make sure theyve got a roof over their head and theyre fed properly.

So far, more than 120,000 British families have registered their interest in opening their doors to Ukrainians fleeing the war.

Those who have expressed interest and found someone to sponsor will be able to apply from Friday, MPs heard.

Councils will get 10,500 per refugee for the first year to help with education, English language support, safeguarding and social care services.

In response to questions over how hosts would be vetted, Lord Harrington said: The reality is were having to do this very quickly.

(PA Graphics)

Im assured the electronic checks that can be done really quickly take place  and then the local authorities will be responsible for the full DBS checks and they will inspect properties and inspect the situations.

Asked if councils will be told before refugees move into their area, Lord Harrington said: Im hoping that it will be simultaneous  I cant quite promise it because weve not seen things on this volume in our history.

Responding to concerns about whether councils already under enormous pressure will be able to provide the services needed if there is a concentration of refugees in some areas, Lord Harrington accepted it was a very valid point.

But he said: For the moment, we just have to get these people in.

He added: Were going to have to find school places and were going to have to find extra social workers.

Some 5,500 visas have now been granted under the Ukraine Family Scheme and 20,000 applications had been submitted as of 4pm on Tuesday.

(PA Graphics)

Lord Harrington, who took up his post last week, accepted the 49-page visa application form is too long and said by Friday it will be simplified and reduced to around 30 pages.

He told MPs: For two nights running the Home Secretary and I have sat with officials going through the form page by page and really cutting down everything that we possibly can.

Conservative committee member Tim Loughton said his head hurt quite a lot when he studied the application forms, adding: These forms have got to be  simplified hugely.

Asked if it was acceptable for the family visa application form to be available only in English, Home Office minister for safe and legal migration Kevin Foster said this was the quickest way to get it set up, adding: Guidance leaflets will be available in detail in Ukrainian plus teams in the region do speak local languages as well, and were setting up a military help hub in south east Poland which will again have an ability to support people in applications.

Mr Foster told the committee the Home Office started planning in January what to do if large numbers of people fled Ukraine in the event of an invasion.

Asked why the department did not consider offering a resettlement programme, he said this was partly inspired by our experience with Afghanistan where there have been difficulties finding accommodation for refugees who fled after the Taliban takeover.

The measures put in place are about controlling flow but there is no cap on numbers, he added.
Award-winning broadcaster and writer Lemn Sissay will be among a number of people recognised with royal honours at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

The 54-year-old, who was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics, will receive an OBE for services to literature and to charity.

Mr Sissay, whose mother arrived in Britain from Ethiopia pregnant with him in 1966, spent his early life in foster care and childrens homes, an experience which features in his literary work.

Throughout his career, he has seen the publication of nine of his books, the production of seven plays, and four further radio plays.

Poet Lemn Sissay in Downing Street on National Poetry Day last year (James Manning/PA)

Among his achievements are an MBE, which he received in 2010, and being elected chancellor of the University of Manchester in 2015.

While in the position, he set up a bursary scheme to boost the number of black law students in 2017.

He also became a member of the board of trustees of the Foundling Museum  which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britains first home for children at risk of being abandoned.

In 2019 he was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize for authors who take an unflinching, unswerving look at the world.

Mr Sissay has appeared numerous times on television, including in the Southbank Show and BBC shows Grumpy Old Men, Winter Walks, and Have I Got News For You, as well as being a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4s Saturday Live programme.

Others to be recognised include Nigerian-born but London-based novelist Irenosen Okojie, who will receive an MBE for services to literature.

Her first novel, Butterfly Fish, won the Betty Trask Award in 2016, while her story Grace Jones was awarded the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2020  an accolade for the best short story by an African writer in the English language.
Former prime minister David Cameron has lamented the cut in the UKs aid budget and said the Government could do more to help Ukraine, as he defended his own relationship with the Kremlin.

Mr Cameron called on the Government to get back to dedicating 0.7% of gross national income (GNI) to overseas aid, after it was cut to 0.5% last year.

He said the Cabinet should have a dedicated aid minister, who would be 100% dedicated to the role.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has promised to return the UKs aid contributions to 0.7% by the end of this Parliament.

But Mr Cameron said: Lets do more on humanitarian aid. We achieved 0.7% of GDP in our aid payments. Im sad weve got away from that. I hope we can get back there.

Lets  with the EU  lead the donor conference, lead the aid effort.

Lets have a dedicated aid minister in the Cabinet doing development. The Foreign Office ministers do a great job but itd be good to have someone whos 100% dedicated to humanitarian aid and development.

He also said permanent Nato bases should be created in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Asked whether he had any regrets about his own time in office and the relationship he had with Moscow, Mr Cameron condemned the feeble Western response to Russias invasion of Georgia in 2008, and insisted by the time he was in No 10 and Moscow invaded Crimea in 2014 the response was stronger.

David Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland (Ben Stanstall/PA)

But he said there had been a sense that, look, you had to try and find a way of working with these people.

Asked about a speech he gave at the State University of Moscow in 2011 where he said Britain and Russia would be stronger together, he said: What I regret is in 2008, when I was leader of the opposition, when Russia effectively invaded Georgia, I went to Tbilisi to show solidarity with President Saakashvili. And if you look at the Western response to Georgia, it was feeble, there werent sanctions, there wasnt pressure put in place.

We should have done that in 2008 and we did behave differently in 2012 when Putin invaded Crimea, in 2014.

He said by 2014 the UK was leading the effort on sanctions, adding: When I think back to that time, you know, we were trying to persuade I mean, the French at that stage were selling warships to the Russians.

But he said when he entered No 10 there was a sense that, look, you had to try and find a way of working with these people.

We had to work together over terrorism, we had to work together over climate change. We had to work together over banking regulations, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin waits for the arrival of then PM David Cameron ahead of a meeting at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

I thought we had to do business with Russia and its leadership, which at that time was more (Dmitry) Medvedev than Putin.

He rejected any suggestion that Russian money in London or donations to the Conservative Party from Russian donors had influenced policy.

If the argument is that somehow Russian investment in Britain, or very small numbers of Russians supporting the Conservative Party, somehow changed our policy, I would say that its complete nonsense, he said.

Mr Cameron refused to be drawn on accusations against Boris Johnson regarding the elevation of Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords.

Mr Cameron said: Look, thats for the Prime Minister to explain and to defend.

The Lords Appointments Commission is an important body. I always listened to it very carefully. But Im not here to start throwing bricks at the Prime Minister at this moment.
Energy trading giant Trafigura is actively looking at reopening a gas terminal in the north-east of England as the UK and Europe try to reduce their reliance on Russian energy.

The Swiss company has had the option for years to reopen the Teesside site, but was waiting for the right market window.

After gas prices soared in recent months, the company confirmed to the PA news agency that the plans are being considered at the moment.

We are actively looking.

In the current market conditions we are seeing unprecedented interest in establishing Teesside as a major import terminal of LNG into the UK.

All substantive technical design and permitting work has been completed to allow the project that includes using a FSRU (floating storage regasification unit) to be constructed.

The site started to bring gas into the UK in 2007, but its previous owner shut it down in 2015, saying it had got to the end of its commercially viable life.

Trafigura bought the rights to the site two years later.

The plan could open another route for gas from the Middle East or the US into the UK, and onwards to Europe.

At its height the site could bring as much as 600 million cubic feet of gas a day into the country.

This could help reduce the need for Russian natural gas, which currently heats homes and keeps heavy industry running across the continent.

Oil has for a long time been brought by ship into Europe, but gas is more complicated to ship.

To do so the methane gas needs to be cooled to 160 degrees below freezing, which turns it liquid. It can then be pumped on to purpose-built ships which keep it chilled as it is transported.

At the other end the methane can once again be turned into gas and piped into the UKs gas grid.

But this can only happen in plants which are set up to take the methane off ships and convert it back into gas.

The UK currently has three such sites, a significant proportion of the total across Europe.

A fourth active site would help ship more gas into the UK, which could be used here or piped to mainland Europe.

Spain has the highest number of LNG terminals in Europe but the country has limited pipeline connections with the rest of Europe, so it is difficult to get the gas that arrives there to Germany, which uses huge quantities of Russian gas.
Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is returning to lead the company on an interim basis after the coffee giant's current chief executive announced his retirement.

Kevin Johnson said he will retire next month after five years as president and CEO and 13 years at Starbucks. Johnson, a former executive at Microsoft and Juniper Networks, succeeded Schultz as CEO in 2017.

Starbucks made the announcement Wednesday ahead of its annual meeting.

In an open letter to Starbucks' employees, Johnson, 61, said he told the companys board last year that he was considering retirement. His most obvious successor had been Roz Brewer, the company's chief operating officer, but Brewer left the company in February 2021 to become the top executive at Walgreens.

Starbucks said its board has been engaged in "continuous CEO succession planning'' since last year and expects to name a permanent CEO by this fall. While Schultz leads the company, he will get $1 in compensation. Schultz, 68, is also rejoining Starbucks board.

Some observers expressed surprise that the board would name Schultz instead of a new permanent CEO.

Its curious that they were not able to find a successor within a year, said Timothy Hubbard, assistant professor of management at the University of Notre Dames Mendoza College of Business. "For a company the size and stature of Starbucks not to have a solid succession plan is surprising.

Andrew Charles, an analyst with Cowen, said Schultz's return to the board signals he wants greater say in Starbucks' future strategy.

Workers at Starbucks stores __ including five in Buffalo, New York, and one in Mesa, Arizona __ have voted to unionize since late last year. As of Wednesday, 140 stores in 27 states have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold union elections, according to Workers United, the union organizing the Starbucks campaign.

When Schultz bought Starbucks in 1987, it had unionized workers at six stores and a roasting plant. One of his first acts as CEO was to lead an effort to decertify the union. Starbucks has fought multiple unionization efforts since then.

I was convinced that under my leadership, employees would come to realize that I would listen to their concerns. If they had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn't need a union, Schultz wrote in his 1997 memoir Pour Your Heart Into It.

In a statement, Worker United noted that Schultz visited Buffalo late last year to try to convinced employees to vote against the union.

We encourage Howard Schultz to put union-busting behind him and embrace Starbucks unionized future," the union said.

Schultz is credited with growing Starbucks into the global behemoth it has become. When he bought the chain in 1987, it had 11 stores and 100 employees. Four years later, when Starbucks went public, the chain had grown to more than 100 stores. Starbucks now has more than 34,000 stores worldwide.

Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2000 and became the company's chairman. But he returned as CEO in 2008, when the company was struggling in the recession. He stepped down again in 2017 and became the company's chairman emeritus in 2018.

Schultz spent 2019 testing the waters for a possible run for president as an independent. But he announced in the fall of that year that he had decided against it.

In a statement issued by Starbucks, Schultz said he had not planned to return to the company, but wants to help it transform again as the pandemic recedes.

When you love something, you have a deep sense of responsibility to help when called, Schultz said.

Investors cheered the news; the Seattle companys shares jumped 6% at the opening bell Wednesday.

The company's shares are down almost 30% this year as Starbucks struggles with higher labor and commodity costs and weaker sales in China. Last month, Starbucks lowered its earnings expectations for its 2022 fiscal year, which ends in September.

The board thanked Johnson for navigating Starbucks through the pandemic, one of the greatest challenges in its history. Johnson also championed a Starbucks Rewards program, which now has 45 million members in the U.S. and China.
Boris Johnson has hailed the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe by Iran, while downplaying his own role in her six-year-long detention.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the Prime Minister said he was thrilled that she would be reunited with her husband, Richard, and daughter, Gabriella.

However he immediately faced questions over comments he made as foreign secretary, which were blamed for exacerbating her plight following her arrest for alleged spying.

Giving evidence to a Commons committee in 2017, Mr Johnson said she was simply teaching people journalism, as I understand it, at the very limit.

His remarks were seized on by the Iranian media as evidence that she was engaged in propaganda  contrary to her insistence that she was there on holiday visiting family.

It led to Mr Johnson apologising in the House of Commons for his mistake.

Asked on Wednesday whether he was particularly pleased she was now free given the past controversy, he said: We must always realise that, sadly, the regime in Tehran is capable of holding people in this way.

I think that people do need to recognise that.

He added: I am glad that after a great deal of UK diplomacy we have been able to get her out, get her back to her family.

I am absolutely thrilled for Nazanin, for Richard and for Gabriella.
Americans seem especially gullible to misinformation when theyre bleeding at the gas station.

With the Russia-Ukraine war pushing gas prices well above $4 per gallon, motorists are looking for somebody to blameand President Bidens critics sense an opportunity. Leading Republicans such as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy say Bidens decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline last year explains why gas prices are so high now. Former Vice President Mike Pence is running ads claiming killing Keystone XL made the United States more dependent on Russian oil. Fox News tells viewers gas prices would fall if Biden would only reverse the Keystone XL decision. Here at Yahoo, people write in frequently to echo these claims.

It's all nonsense. The Keystone XL pipeline would have been a new way for one Canadian energy firm to ship oil to the United States. But the nation still gets all the oil it needs from Canada, its own producers and many other countries.

People have this idea that because Keystone XL was not completed, the oil just disappeared. It didnt, says Samantha Gross, director of the energy security and climate initiative at the Brookings Institution. That oil got produced anyway and is still getting to market through trains and other pipelines.

There's never been any lost supply

Canadian firm TC Energy proposed the Keystone XL pipeline in 2008, as a way to ship more oil from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska, where it would then enter existing pipelines for final transport to Gulf Coast refineries. There were other pipelines bringing Canadian oil to the United States, but XL would have been a more direct route that also added capacity. The project drew local and national opposition from the beginning. The type of oil TC Energy wanted to transport was unusually dirty, triggering environmental protests. Local communities, including Native American tribes, worried about spills along the 882-mile U.S. portion of the pipeline.

The route of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline lies idle through a farmer's field after construction stopped near Oyen, Alberta, Canada February 1, 2021. REUTERS/Todd Korol

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After years of debate, the Obama administration denied a national permit needed for the project in 2015. That stopped it. In 2019, President Trump reversed that position, allowing construction to begin. As a presidential candidate in 2020, Biden pledged to revoke the permit, and on his first day in office in 2021, he did. Last June, TC Energy officially canceled the project.

Had the pipeline been built, it would have delivered 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to the Gulf Coast, where refineries would process it into gasoline and other finished products. TC Energy never said where those products would end up. They could have been sold in the U.S. market, or loaded on tankers for export to other nations. Its flawed logic to assume this would have represented a huge boost in U.S. gasoline supply that would have lowered prices.

The United States consumes about 20 million barrels of crude oil products per day. So the quantity that would have moved through XL would have represented about 4% of U.S. consumption. If you removed that much oil from the U.S. market all at once, it would be enough to bump prices upward, at least until new supply replaced the lost oil. But thats not what happened. The XL pipeline was never built, and it never brought any oil to the United States. So theres never been any lost supply.

This leads to the iffy logic about future supply, which is where the argument about XLs impact on gas prices breaks down. Canadian oil imports to the United States have risen consistently for the last 20 years, with the only decline coming in 2020, when the COVID pandemic caused a short recession and slashed oil demand worldwide. From 20008, when TransCanada first proposed the XL pipeline, through 2019, Canadian oil imports rose 77%. In 2020, the last year of the Trump administration, Canadian oil imports fell 6.7%. But in Bidens first year, 2021, they rose 4.5%. The post-COVID recovery means Canadian oil imports could hit a new high this yearwithout Keystone XL.

The amount of oil that would have flowed through XL, 830,000 barrels per day, equates to about 303 million barrels per year. From 2008 to 2021, Canadian oil imports to the United States rose by 672 million barrels per year. So total Canadian imports have grown by more than double the amount XL would have carried.

We have other pipelines

How is all that oil getting here? Mostly by other pipelines. While TransCanada didnt get the capacity expansion it wanted, energy firm Enbridge is doubling the capacity of its Line 3 pipeline, which runs from Alberta to refineries in the U.S. Midwest. That will eventually transport 760,000 barrels of oil per day. An expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline that moves oil from Alberta to ports near Vancouver will boost capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000. That oil can move by ship to the U.S. Gulf Coast or foreign ports. Theres also been a sharp increase in Canadian oil deliveries by rail, though that represents a small portion of Canadian imports, and it dropped off after COVID.

Fixating on oil from Canada, or from any single source, overlooks the dynamism of energy markets and refiners ability to purchase raw crude from many sources, both domestic and foreign. If one source of oil dries up, other producers typically step in, as long as the demand is there. If missing oil from XL had dented the U.S. supply of gasoline, pushing prices up, then that would show up as excess capacity at U.S. refiners. But theres been no increase in excess capacity, except for when COVID hit.

U.S. refining capacity hit a record high at the beginning of 2020, right before the COVID downturn. The portion of oil arriving at refineries from domestic sources also hit a new high, with foreign oil from Canada and elsewhere dropping from 69% of refinery input in 2010 to just 28% in 2020. With imported oil from every source becoming less important, imported oil from a single pipeline doesnt even register.

Capacity utilization at refiners would also have fallen if the missing XL oil left refiners short of oil. That also hasnt happened. Capacity utilization actually rose from 2008-2019, which indicates refineries were getting all the oil they needed.

Refinery capacity and utilization both declined during COVID, amid an abrupt drop in transportation. But both are headed up again, in line with the global economic recovery.

Many factors determine oil and gas prices, which are largely set in global markets no American president has ever been able to control. Oil producers in dozens of countries determine how much to produce based on demand, desired profit and geopolitical shocks such as Russias barbaric invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on the country. At the moment, most of those producers, in the United States and elsewhere, are cautious about overproducing, as they did from 2015 through 2020, when low prices roiled the industry and caused hundreds of oil and gas bankruptcies in the U.S. alone.

As a portion of world oil production, the amount of oil flowing through the XL pipeline would not have registered until the third decimal point. Had that oil disappeared from the market, it would have had no discernible impact on global prices. But the oil is still there, even though Bidens critics pretend its gone. Its not easy to make oil disappear, and Biden didnt.

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman. You can also send confidential tips.

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J.C. Penney Co. Inc., adding some Southern California attitude to its offerings, has launched an exclusive Airwalk line of sneakers, skate shoes and sandals, and will add Airwalk apparel in time for back-to-school 2022.

Airwalk, considered a pioneer of the skate culture, is owned by Authentic Brands Group.

ABG is excited to announce the launch of Airwalk at J.C.Penney, said Jarrod Weber, ABGs group president lifestyle, chief brand officer. This is a new comprehensive apparel and footwear plan for the brand within this channel. The styles and designs will continue to pay homage to the brands DNA and we are focused on building the next generation of Airwalk consumers.

Airwalk should also help Penneys attract many more customers of a younger age.

We want customers to be excited about who they can become and the experiences they can have when they wear our collections, said Michelle Wlazlo, Penneys executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. Airwalk at J.C. Penney makes the brands signature So-Cal spirit and fashion accessible to everyone, whether they connect with the brand through attitude or activity.

For more than three decades, Airwalk has been bringing its SoCal style and attitude to consumers around the world through its sneakers. The company says the brand inspires nostalgics and those who crave the unconventional to go against the grain and express their individuality.

Penneys Airwalk collection has distinctive graphics and bold colors. The high-tops and low-tops are available in mens, womens and kids sizes.

In December 2020, the Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management, which acquired Penneys retail and operating assets, lifted Penneys out of bankruptcy.

ABG owns several retail and fashion brands  among them Brooks Brothers, Lucky Brand, Barneys New York, Greg Norman, Nine West and Forever 21. ABG is a strategic partner in Penneys with Simon and Brookfield, and has become a big factor in feeding merchandise to Penneys and hopefully, fueling sales. The key to Penneys long-term survival is to rev up revenues, particularly in the face of greater competition from the likes of Kohls Corp. and Target Corp.

Since 1986, Airwalk has been creating performance and lifestyle gear focused on skateboarding and action sports. The brands offerings include mens and womens apparel, footwear, accessories including skate hard goods, which are available in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia.
The UKs decision to pay a historic debt to Iran in parallel with the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe could set a precedent of politically motivated hostage-taking, ministers have been warned.

As MPs welcomed Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes release from detention, Labour former minister Hilary Benn called on the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to explain what steps she was taking to make it difficult for governments to engage in hostage-taking for political purposes.

Meanwhile, Conservative chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat warned that on a previous occasion when Iran released American hostages, the Iranian government took another six American dual nationals hostage and merely started the whole process again.

Labour former minister Mr Benn told the Commons: The Foreign Secretary said that the debt was paid in parallel, but we all know that for the government of Iran it was always sequential.

Given what she said about the work she is doing with other G7 members including Canada to try and deal with this, what practical steps is she hoping to secure from this to ensure that in future it is much, much more difficult for governments to engage in hostage-taking for political purposes?

Mr Tugendhat meanwhile sought assurances from the Government that none of this payment will end up in weapons and ammunition to kill Syrians.

Richard Ratcliffe, with his daughter Gabriella, outside his North London home ahead of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffes return (PA Wire/PA Images)

He said: May I ask whether or not the Government has been looking at some of the implications that happened when the last time a ransom payment was paid to the Iranian government? And that ransom payment was paid by the US government a number of years ago.

About six months after they were paid, the Iranian government took another six American dual nationals hostage and merely started the whole process again. Sadly, furthermore, the money that was paid was then spent on murdering hundreds of thousands of Sunni Muslims in Syria.

Can she assure us that that will not happen this time, that British citizens will be very carefully warned of the dangers they face in visiting Iran, and that none of this payment will end up in weapons and ammunition to kill Syrians?

Foreign Secretary Ms Truss said: We do need to change the practice of countries detaining other countries nationals unfairly and that is precisely what we are working on with our Canadian counterparts and others, but we need to act in concert to change the system and change the reactions that we give overall.

I cant say more at this stage but I hope to be able to say more soon.

Ms Truss had earlier told DUP MP Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) that Mrs Zaghari-Racliffes imprisonment and the outstanding 400 million debt owed to the regime in Tehran were longstanding issues with Iran, suggesting that they had been treated in parallel rather than being directly linked.

The Foreign Secretary added that the debt payment, owed to Iran after the UK cancelled an order of Chieftain tanks following the revolution of 1979, would be spent on humanitarian support.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on her way home, after her six-year ordeal in Iran was brought to an end as the UK Government settled an outstanding 400 million debt owed to the regime in Tehran.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who fought a tenacious battle to secure her release, said it meant we can stop being a moment in history and start being a normal family again and together with their daughter Gabriella they were looking forward to a new life.

The British-Iranian mother is returning to Britain, along with a second dual national, Anoosheh Ashoori.

A third British detainee, Morad Tahbaz, has been released from prison on furlough.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained on security charges by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard at Imam Khomeini airport after a holiday visit to Iran, where she introduced her daughter Gabriella to her parents.

Mr Ashoori has been in prison for almost five years while Mr Tahbaz has been held for four.

Their release follows months of intensive diplomatic negotiations between London and Tehran.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: We have the deepest admiration for the resolve, courage and determination Nazanin, Anoosheh and Morad, and their families, have shown.

Anoosheh Ashoori (Family Handout/PA)

They have faced hardship that no family should ever experience and this is a moment of great relief.

Mr Ratcliffe has long claimed that his wife was being used as a pawn in a dispute between the UK and Iran over the unpaid debt linked to an arms deal.

The UK has paid the 393.8 million owed to Iran after it cancelled an order of Chieftain tanks following the overthrow of the shah in the revolution of 1979.

In a statement, Ms Truss confirmed the debt had been settled in parallel with the release of the detainees.

She said it had been done in full compliance with UK and international sanctions and all legal obligations.

She added: These funds will be ring-fenced solely for the purchase of humanitarian goods.

Sanctions on the Tehran regime had been one of the key sticking points in being able to settle the debt.

After a nervous wait for final confirmation of their release from Iran, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr Ashoori were initially taken to the Gulf state of Oman, which has been closely involved in the behind-the-scenes negotiations to secure their freedom.

Omans foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, posted a picture of them arriving at the airport, adding: Soon they will be with their loved ones at home.

From there it is expected they will be flown on a Government-chartered flight to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

In the Commons, with Mr Ratcliffe and Gabriella, seven, watching, Ms Truss set out details of their release.

It was only when we heard that the wheels were up in Tehran that we really knew it was happening, she said.

Tulip Siddiq, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes MP, told the Commons: I want to pay tribute to my constituent Richard Ratcliffe for his relentless campaigning, but I also think hes really set the bar high for all husbands.

Mr Ratcliffe campaigned tirelessly for her release, including staging a hunger strike outside the Foreign Office.

He said: It is going to be lovely to see her, lovely to catch up with her.

Mr Ratcliffe said he had been kept out of the loop on discussions about settling the arms debt, but Im relieved the problem has been solved.

He said his wife had asked him to make her a cup of tea when she arrives in the UK.

Speaking alongside Gabriella, he added: I think actually we were looking at the house and it needs a bit of tidying, so there might be a bit of tidying, perhaps directed by mummy when she comes back.

In a statement the family of Mr Ashoori said: This day has been a long time coming, and we are thankful for the efforts of everyone involved in bringing Anoosheh home.

1,672 days ago our familys foundations were rocked when our father and husband was unjustly detained and taken away from us. Now, we can look forward to rebuilding those same foundations with our cornerstone back in place.

But Mr Tahbaz remains in Iran, effectively under house arrest.

Ms Truss said his position was complicated because he is a British-Iranian-US tri-national.

That is seen in Iranian eyes as also meaning that the US are involved, she said.

The whole country can celebrate the triumph of welcoming Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori home. pic.twitter.com/ws78EF708j  David Lammy (@DavidLammy) March 16, 2022

And we are working very closely with the US. We have secured his release from prison. Of course we want to see him come home, and we will continue to work to achieve that with our US partners.

While there were plaudits in the Commons for Ms Truss and the Foreign Office finally securing Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes release, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was singled out for criticism.

In 2017, as foreign secretary, he wrongly told MPs that she had been training journalists at the time of her arrest  something which the Tehran regime seized on as proof that she was engaged in propaganda against the regime.

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said Ms Truss showed more skills in diplomacy than her bungling boss.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh, Mr Johnson said he was thrilled that Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was finally free.

We must always realise that, sadly, the regime in Tehran is capable of holding people in this way. I think that people do need to recognise that, he said.
Ukrainian emergency workers and volunteers carry an injured pregnant woman from the maternity hospital in Mariupol that Russians shelled. (Evgeniy Maloletka / Associated Press)

We dont know much about her.

We know she was pregnant and close to giving birth.

We know she was severely injured a week ago, after Vladimir Putins tanks shelled a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

We know that her left hand cradled her belly as brave rescuers carried her to safety, that she was loaded into an ambulance and taken to another hospital. We know that her pelvis was crushed, and her left hip, bloody in the photo, was dislocated.

We know that doctors there delivered her baby by caesarean section, that the baby showed no sign of life.

And we know that she died too.

Every so often, a single photograph so perfectly encapsulates the terror, the tragedy, the despair of a particular moment that it jolts the world. The pregnant woman on the stretcher has become one of the most memorable images from the misbegotten Ukraine war. Her situation is as unthinkable, and gut-wrenching, as war itself.

If Putin is willing to kill pregnant women, we cannot help but think, what will the Russian dictator do next? And how should we answer him?

Every conflict produces indelible images of human suffering. We used to have to wait for the nightly news, or the newspaper to hit the porch. But now, with the flick of a send button, powerful photos go viral in an instant. Suffering that may have once seemed far away is right in our face.

In 2015, the image of a lifeless toddler face down on a beach in Turkey galvanized an international response to the Syrian refugee crisis.

We would learn that the boy was 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, that he and his family were in the first stages of what they hoped would be a journey to Canada, when the inflatable boat they were in capsized. Within hours of the photos dissemination, migrant organizations and charities reported huge spikes in donations and offers from ordinary citizens willing to take in refugees from the Syrian civil war.

People are saying they dont want to be bystanders anymore, the director of a group that operates a fleet of rescue boats in the Mediterranean told Britain's Guardian newspaper. We are increasingly understanding that behind every statistic, every number, there is a life  a life who has a mother, a father or a sibling, a grandparent.

The public outcry forced the British government to change its policies on refugees.

Another image from the war in Syria produced similar shock and heartache. Omran Daqneesh, a boy about 5, sat dazed and bloody in an ambulance after a Russian air strike destroyed his home in Aleppo on behalf of the Syrian government.

Closer to home, as debate over migrants at our southern border raged, and then-President Trump bloviated about building a wall and making Mexico pay for it, one 2019 photograph said everything there was to say about what desperate people are willing to risk to make it to this country. It showed a father facedown in the mud and reeds of the Rio Grande, his toddler daughter tucked into his T-shirt with her arm draped over his neck.

Their bodies lay near the Mexican border town of Matamoros, across the river from Brownsville, Texas, a mile or so from an international bridge.

Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez, 25, his 21-year-old wife, Tania Vanessa Avalos, and 23-month-old Valeria had fled the turmoil and violence of El Salvador and were hoping to apply for asylum in the United States. Relatives told reporters that the family tried to wade across the river after being told the bridge was closed. As it turned out, the bridge was closed because of the Trump administrations policy of limiting the number of migrants allowed to seek asylum at border crossings.

Trump is responsible for these deaths, tweeted former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke (D-Texas).

These terrible images serve to focus the worlds attention, but they also raise ethical questions about whether graphic images of the dead amount to exploitation. Perhaps the most famous example of this quandary, and the toll it can take on those who bear witness, is a photograph taken by South African photojournalist Kevin Carter during a famine in Sudan in 1993.

The photograph shows an emaciated child, sitting on the ground, head bent, with a vulture watching in the background. It was one of the most shocking photographs published, to be sure, and brought home the unspeakable suffering and the worlds insufficient response.

The child survived. Carter, however, was widely criticized for not doing enough to intervene, though he said he chased the vulture away before leaving the scene. Three months after winning a Pulitzer Prize for the image in 1994, Carter died by suicide. I am really, really sorry, he wrote. I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain.

I've scoured the internet and have yet to find any detailed information in English about the woman on the stretcher in Mariupol. I hope, one day, to learn her name and hear her story.

She may be anonymous at the moment, but she has become a powerful symbol of the cruelty and pointlessness of this unforgivable war.

@AbcarianLAT





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" for his violent invasion Ukraine, including attacks on civilians.

The president initially told a reporter "no," when asked if he was ready to label Putin a war criminal "after everything we've seen," but moments later Biden circled back, asking her to repeat the question, which he appeared to have initially misunderstood.

"I think he is a war criminal," Biden said of Putin, for the first time since the unprovoked attack began.

BREAKING: Pres. Biden calls Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin a " war criminal." https://t.co/ORuOYE3lBspic.twitter.com/9XHbwoCZrq  ABC News (@ABC) March 16, 2022

A short time later, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at an afternoon press briefing Biden was speaking "from the heart" after he made the comment, while carefully noting there is still a State Department review of whether it considers Russia's attacks on Ukrainian civilians a war crime.

"The president's remarks speak for themselves. He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what you've seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator, through his invasion of a foreign country," Psaki said. "There is a legal process that continues to  is underway, continues to be underway at the State Department."

ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce followed up, noting the ongoing, formal process to use the term, and said, "So something must have changed for the President to feel like he can take this additional step today."

"The president was answering a direct question that was asked, and responding to what he has seen on television, we have all seen," Psaki replied. "Barbaric acts, horrific acts, by a foreign dictator in a country that is threatening and taking the lives of civilians impacting hospitals, women who are pregnant, journalists, others, and I think he was answering a direct question," she added, appearing to downplay the comment.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden answers a reporters question as he departs after speaking at an event to celebrate the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in the East Room of the White House, March 16, 2022. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Despite the evidence, the White House had gone out of its way not to label Putin a war criminal, repeatedly noting there was an official review underway before the Biden administration could formally accuse Putin of war crimes.

MORE: Biden details US military aid for Ukraine following Zelenskyy's appeal to Congress

Earlier this month, Biden said it was "clear" Russian forces were targeting civilian areas but said that it was too early to label the actions war crimes.

"Do you believe Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine?" Biden was asked on March 2.

"We are following it very closely. It's early to say that," he said.

PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, March 16, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

MORE: Ukraine's Zelenskyy invokes Pearl Harbor, 9/11, calls out Biden in plea to Congress for more US help

The shift in characterization follows a wave of U.S. sanctions on Russia including personal sanctions on Putin and following a powerful appeal from Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to Congress, in which he called on Biden to do more to aid Ukraine.

Exactly one year before Russian forces started invading Ukriane, Biden told ABC News Anchor George Stephanopoulos in an interview that be believed Putin was a "killer."

Biden calls Russia's Putin a 'war criminal' over invasion of Ukraine originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Long-term plans are important, CIA Director William Burns has said, but the success or failure of a nations leaders often depends on how they react to surprises.

Playing the long game is essential, Burns wrote in his 2019 book The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for Its Renewal. But its the short game  coping with stuff that happens unexpectedly  that preoccupies policymakers and often shapes their legacies.

CIA Director William Burns testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 10. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

When President Biden took office last year, national security experts could rattle off a list of problems his administration would have to deal with on the world stage, from aggressive Chinese moves in the Pacific to the ongoing threat of terrorist groups. But it is an unexpected event  a land war in Europe  that has become a defining moment for Biden and his team.

The scope and brutality of Russias invasion of Ukraine was unthinkable to many, even as President Vladimir Putin massed troops and tanks on the border in the months preceding their attack on Feb. 24. Germanys spy chief was so caught off guard that he reportedly had to be evacuated from Ukraine.

And so far, the Biden administration has won praise for its handling of the crisis in Ukraine. Starting in December, the president and his team shared U.S. intelligence with the world that accurately predicted Putins actions, including attempts by Moscow to create a false pretext for war.

This unorthodox approach to intelligence sharing also helped the U.S. galvanize an international coalition that has acted with surprising speed and unity to impose sanctions on Putins regime and to aid the Ukrainians.

Were calling out Russias plans loudly and repeatedly, not because we want a conflict, but because were doing everything in our power to remove any reason that Russia may give to justify invading Ukraine and prevent them from moving, Biden said on Feb. 18.

He also said that day he was convinced Putin had made the decision to invade. When questioned how he knew, Biden replied that the U.S. has a significant intelligence capability. Russia invaded Ukraine less than a week later.

President Biden addresses the National League of Cities' Congressional City Conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters)

A core team of Bidens advisers has shaped the American response to this crisis. Burns, who was a career diplomat for more than three decades and U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2005 to 2008, is one of the key players. He and other top national security officials have watched Russia wreak havoc around the world for years through cyberattacks, email hacks and disinformation.

In 2014, Russia promoted false stories of atrocities in western Ukraine to justify its violent annexation of Crimea, a strategically vital peninsula on the Black Sea. In 2016, Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election, hacking and releasing Democratic emails and sowing discord between Americans on social media.

In the weeks leading up to Bidens comments on Feb. 18, the U.S. government began to warn that the Russians were going to create a false pretext for an act of aggression. In mid-January, government officials said U.S. intelligence had evidence that Russia was sending saboteurs into Ukraine to stage a fake attack on Russians or Russian-speaking Ukrainians.

In early February,the Pentagon, State Department and White House all told the press that U.S. intelligence had discovered a Russian plot to produce fake video footage that Moscow would claim showed evidence of genocide by the Ukrainians against Russians. The day after Bidens remarks predicting Russias invasion, Secretary of State Antony Blinken presented similar arguments at the United Nations.

Sure enough, when announcing his invasion, Putin declared that he was launching the war to, among other reasons, protect Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine from Kyivs supposed aggression against its own people. But thanks in part to U.S. intelligence and diplomacy, Putins message gathered little traction beyond Russias borders.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of his government via teleconference in Moscow on March 10. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

In all the years I spent as a career diplomat, I saw too many instances in which we lost information wars with the Russians, Burns said in an appearance before the Senate last week. In this case, I think we have had a great deal of effect in disrupting their tactics and their calculations and demonstrating to the entire world that this is a premeditated and unprovoked aggression, built on a body of lies and false narratives.

This is one information war I think Putin is losing, Burns said.

Elizabeth Hoffman, a foreign policy expert who worked for Republicans on the House Committee on Homeland Security, told Yahoo News that the intelligence community is usually so reticent to share any information.

I dont think [the Biden administration has] gotten enough credit for their intel sharing, said Hoffman, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "Its a very inside-Washington thing to notice how thats different from how things have played out before. I dont know that the broader American public understands really what a big deal that was, and what a big shift that is from how the U.S. government has ever operated in situations like this before.

A burned tank in the city of Volnovakha, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on March 12. (Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Burns, 65, is no stranger to Russian tactics. He was first posted to Moscow as a junior diplomatic officer in the mid-1990s, and returned as the U.S. ambassador a decade later.

He became deputy secretary of state in 2011 and was praised by one commentator as the United States' "secret diplomatic weapon. In addition to his work with Russia, Burns led the Obama administrations secret negotiations with Iran over its nuclear weapons program.

Burns is the first career diplomat to head the CIA, and is known for his trenchant analysis and skillful writing on geopolitics. In 2006, he sent a colorful dispatch back to Washington about a wild, alcohol-soaked three-day wedding in Russias Caucasus region. One of the weddings other guests of honor was Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen strongman and Putin ally who has been sending his own troops to fight in Ukraine.

Another senior member of the intelligence community who has pushed the culture to evolve in the modern information era is the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines.

Haines, 52, has an idiosyncratic background for a high-ranking intelligence official. She studied judo in Japan after high school and ran an independent bookstore in Baltimore for most of her 20s, before joining the government in her 30s.

But Haines has ample experience with state secrets. She was deputy director of the CIA during the Obama administration and worked on the 2014 release of the CIA torture report. The report was heavily redacted.

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on March 10. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Haines has warned that the U.S. intelligence community is too secretive for its own good, and that relying too heavily on keeping things classified actually hurts national security by impeding our ability to share information in a timely manner.

Haines has a personal connection to Biden. She was deputy chief counsel on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 2007 to 2008, when Biden chaired the panel as a senator from Delaware.

Others inside the Biden administration are even closer to Biden, chief among them Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Hoffman, the CSIS expert, said Blinken had not been an obvious choice to be the next secretary of state, after a stint as a staffer to Biden rather than a principal in his own right. From 2002 to 2009, Blinken was staff director on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a righthand man to Biden. He was Hainess boss during her stint there on the committee staff.

But Blinken has proven adept at assembling an international coalition to act together in imposing financial penalties on Russia, said Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace.

Blinken and Burns share a strong belief in the importance of a close U.S. relationship with European democracies. Blinkens stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was a Holocaust survivor who spent time in Nazi concentration camps and went on to become a legal adviser to French presidents. Blinken lived in Paris as a teenager and speaks fluent French.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken listens at a meeting at the State Department on Monday. (Elizabeth Frantz/AFP via Getty Images)

Burns, for his part, wrote in his 2019 book that the trans-Atlantic alliance is growing more, not less, important to both of our interests.

Blinken and Burns have also expressed disappointment in former President Barack Obamas failure to use airstrikes to enforce his red line against the use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad of Syria. Diplomacy is vital, they believe, but must also have the credible threat of force behind it.

Sullivan, 45, has been characterized as wise beyond his years, and already has extensive experience in high-stakes diplomacy. He worked closely with Burns in the Iran negotiations. Burns described Sullivan in his book as his alter ego and said the younger man was the best of his generation of foreign policy thinkers and practitioners, strategically creative as well as tactically adept."

Sullivan is a graduate of both Yale (where he majored in philosophy) and Yale Law School. He was a Rhodes Scholar and a champion debater in college. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, and eventually became a top aide to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In 2013 he became Vice President Bidens national security adviser.

In 2016, Sullivan got his first experience with U.S. domestic politics as a key adviser to Clinton on her presidential campaign. There he got a close look at the impact of Russian cyber warfare, when Russian intelligence hacked into the Democratic National Committee and disseminated the partys internal emails.

Sullivan issued some of the Clinton campaigns public statements in response, and has been a punching bag for some on the right who believe Russian involvement in the 2016 campaign was exaggerated.

Rounding out this group is Victoria Nuland, the undersecretary of state for political affairs. Nuland is a veteran of the State Department, having worked there for both Republican and Democratic presidents. She is also descended from Ukrainian Jews.

Nuland was a top State Department staffer during the Clinton presidency, and then a foreign policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney during the Bush administration. She was deeply involved in the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, something her critics have not forgotten.

But Nuland is also well versed in the history and geopolitics of Eastern Europe. She was Bushs last U.S. ambassador to NATO from 2005 to 2008, and then assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia under Obama. She was one of the top U.S. officials dealing with efforts in Ukraine to resist Russian aggression before, during and after Putins 2014 invasion of Ukraine.

I have a lot of respect for [Nuland], and I think shes very savvy, Hoffman, the CSIS expert, told Yahoo News. She knows and understands how the Russians operate and has thought a lot about how to best counter that.

Nuland also has firsthand experience with foreign intrusions into her private communications. A Russian government official in 2014 posted audio, according to Reuters, of a recorded conversation between Nuland and the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, in which they discussed their opinions of who should be in the new government in Kyiv. In that conversation, Nuland responded at one point, F*** the EU.

Nuland is perceived to be the most hawkish of Bidens advisers, although diplomats have been busy trying to figure out an off-ramp for Putin, which could theoretically allow for the Russian strongman to save face at home while pulling his forces back.

A Ukrainian serviceman examining a destroyed military vehicle in a photograph released by Ukraine Armed Forces press on March 8. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Biden team has done much better than we anticipated based upon what we saw in Afghanistan and the botched run-up on the deal to sell nuclear submarines to the Australians, Stephen Kotkin, a historian of Russia, told the New Yorker. Theyve learned from their mistakes. The problem now is  that its hard to figure out how to de-escalate, how to get out of the spiral of mutual maximalism.

_____

What happened this week in Ukraine? Check out this explainer from Yahoo Immersive to find out.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas released from hospital after battling infection Clarence Thomas speaks on Sept. 16, 2021 at the University of Notre Dame.

WASHINGTON  The revelation that Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, attended President Donald Trump's rally ahead of the attack last year on the U.S. Capitol has once again opened the couple up to scrutiny and raised questions about when members of the high court should recuse themselves.

Ginni Thomas acknowledged in an interview with The Washington Free Beacon this week that she attended the rally outside the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, where Trump whipped up a crowd with false allegations of voter fraud before a group of his supporters descended on the Capitol as lawmakers certified President Joe Bidens victory.

A longtime conservative activist, Ginni Thomas said she left the rally before the president took the stage  and had no part in the subsequent riot at the Capitol. But the acknowledgement was the latest example underscoring the unusual dynamic between Justice Thomas, who has weighed in on several cases held over from the 2020 election, and his wife, who has questioned whether the election was fraudulent.

When the Supreme Court earlier this year allowed a House committee investigating the Capitol attack to receive Trump administration documents, Thomas was the only justice on the nine-member court to publicly oppose the move.

In a blistering dissent in another case last year, Thomas disagreed with the court's decision not to take up a challenge to the expanded use of mail ballots in Pennsylvania and raised questions about the reliability of mail-in voting, echoing some of the same arguments raised by Trump.

Ginni Thomas has vigorously pushed back on the criticism and court observers note that Justice Thomas has been a leader of the conservative wing for decades  long before Trump emerged as a force in the Republican Party. In the interview with the Washington Free Beacon, Ginni Thomas said the two keep their professional lives separate.

"Clarence doesnt discuss his work with me," she said, "and I dont involve him in my work."

Thomas, like other justices, has argued that politics do not play a role in the decision making on the nation's highest court. The biggest misconception about the court is when the media portrays outcomes as being based on personal preferences on issues such as abortion rather than the law, Thomas told Notre Dame University last year.

I think that they think that we make policy, Thomas said. They think you're for this or for that, they think you become like a politician. And I think that's a problem."

A Biden commission studied the court and reviewed options for making recusals  when a justice withdraws from a case because of a conflict of interest or lack of impartiality  more transparent. And lawmakers have proposed legislation to force justices to explain their recusals.

Basic judicial ethics, federal law and Supreme Court precedent require justices to recuse in a number of situations, yet some of the justices refuse to heed those requirements," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. "It contributes to the deep rot at the Court. The justices need to address it or their credibility will tumble even further."

Clarence Thomas speaks on Sept. 16, 2021 at the University of Notre Dame.

The debate over Supreme Court recusals

The latest acknowledgment of Ginni Thomas' attendance at the rally drew attention to the debate over recusals, a murky process that has drawn criticism from watchdog groups for years. The scrutiny has been bipartisan, directed at justices who were named by Republican as well as Democratic presidents.

The issue of recusals was thrust back into the fore recently in connection with Bidens nominee to the Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Jackson, who appears to be on a glidepath for confirmation to the seat being vacated by retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer, has faced questions over her role at Harvard University and whether she should recuse from an upcoming blockbuster case involving affirmative action at the school. Jackson serves on Harvard's board of overseers.

Supreme Court watchdogs have argued for years that additional clarity is needed for when justices should recuse  and that push has received some bipartisan support.

In the rare instance when the justices actually talk about why they do or dont recuse in certain close calls, they give completely different answers from one another, said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, a nonpartisan group that advocates for greater transparency in the federal judiciary.

President Donald Trump watches as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administers the Constitutional Oath to Amy Coney Barrett on the South Lawn of the White House White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, after Barrett was confirmed to be a Supreme Court justice by the Senate earlier in the evening. Holding the Bible is Barrett's husband, Jesse Barrett.

When do justices recuse themselves and how often do they do it?

Federal law requires justices to disqualify themselves in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned. The law goes on to cite specific circumstances for recusal, including situations in which the justice has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party or in which the justice or a spouse has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy.

But theres a good deal of wiggle room in that language. The decisions by justices about whether to recuse themselves from cases can't be challenged in court, although the circumstances can be contentious.

In 1993, the court issued a statement of policy signed by seven of nine justices that said when relatives of justices are lawyers, recusals are only required when the lawyer participated in an earlier stage of litigation or was a partner of a firm. Recusals were only required when the lawyer participates in a case at the high court.

From left, Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Stephen Breyer.

Justices recused themselves from decisions about whether to hear cases 200 times per year on average from 2015 through 2020, according to a presidential commission Biden appointed to study the court. Justices averaged about four recusals per year at the stage of deciding cases, according to the commission.

Roths group, Fix the Court, tracks when a case arrives at the court that a justice participated in, sometimes as a lower-court judge or as solicitor general, the government official who represents the federal government at the Supreme Court.

Because recusal decisions cant be challenged, justices rarely explain their reasoning. For example, Breyer routinely recuses himself from cases involving his brother, a U.S. District Court judge in California. Chief Justice John Roberts recused himself from a 2020 case involving the Smithsonian Institute  perhaps because he serves as a chancellor of the institution.

But that made a couple of cases where justices offered lengthy explanations more remarkable.

In 1981, then-Associate Justice William Rehnquist recused himself from a case lingering from the Watergate era, as he had in several other cases, because of former Attorney General John Mitchells personal participation in it, rather than as a lawyer. Rehnquist had worked at the Justice Department with Mitchell before being appointed to the court.

In 2004, the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia issued a 21-page memo after participating in a case involving Vice President Dick Cheney. The Sierra Club, a participant in the case, filed a motion for Scalia to remove himself because he went hunting with Cheney. But Scalia refused, explaining the case hadnt arrived at the court when the trip occurred.

It was not an intimate setting, Scalia wrote of about 13 hunters on the trip. Of course we said not a word about the present case.

Republicans criticized the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's involvement in cases dealing with President Donald Trumps administration after she described him as a faker during the 2016 presidential campaign and said she couldnt imagine what the country would be with Donald Trump as our president.

Roths group has found three current justices who own individual stocks  Roberts, Breyer and Associate Justice Samuel Alito  have in recent years failed to recuse themselves from deciding petitions to the court in which a company whose shares they own is a party.

Its just unforced errors that make people doubt the integrity of the judiciary, Roth said.

Proposals for making recusals more transparent

The debate over potential remedies to make recusals more transparent have focused on financial issues rather than the potential for political influence like in the Thomas case.

In reviewing options for improving how recusals work, the Biden commission outlined proposals such as requiring justices to state their reasons for recusing, establishing a procedure for another justice or the court to review recusal decisions and reforming recusal laws to make it easier to avoid financial conflicts.

Justin Driver, a professor at Yale Law School who served on the commission, noted that recusals occurred in 10% of the decisions about whether the high court will hear a case involving a Forbes 100 company. Driver called that a reasonably large number.

Driver suggested solutions could require justices divest investments when conflicts arrive or prohibit justices and their families from owning individual stocks. I don't believe that this would succeed in transforming the judicial oath into anything like a vow of poverty, Driver said.

Lower federal courts use a computer system to catch potential conflicts of interest, but even that system has drawn scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that more than 130 federal judges had overseen cases involving companies in which they or their families owned stock.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sponsored legislation in 2018 that would have mandated a code of conduct at the Supreme Court and required the justices at least explain their recusals. That bill drew bipartisan support, and some provisions have worked their way into subsequent proposals.

The sweeping voting rights legislation House Democrats passed last year included a code of conduct for the Supreme Court, but that bill failed to gain traction in the Senate.

Roberts asserted in a report in 2011 that Congress has no constitutional authority to impose a code of ethics on the Supreme Court, only on lower federal courts. Associate Justice Elena Kagan told lawmakers during a hearing in 2019 that Roberts was weighing a code of conduct for the high court, but it's not clear what, if any, progress has been made in the three years since.

Jackson, nominated to fill the vacancy created by Breyers retirement, is almost certain to face questions about whether she will recuse in the Harvard case.

The Supreme Court announced in January that it would decide whether the use of race in the admissions process at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violates civil rights law and the Constitution, reviving a controversial legal debate over affirmative action that has been years in the making. That case will likely be heard in the fall after Jackson would be seated.

Former Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., who is guiding Jackson through her Senate confirmation, said Jackson would wait for her hearing to address the matter.

I dont really see a drawback for the recusal, Roth said of Jacksons situation. I think it would send an incredibly strong signal.

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer and Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor after addressing a joint session of the U.S. Congress on February 28, 2017 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

Concerns about the Supreme Court appearing political

Legal observers and even Supreme Court justices fret that their decisions could lose authority if viewed as political rather than based on interpreting the law.

Approval of the Supreme Court slipped to 40% in September, a record low and down from 49% in July, according to a Gallup poll taken after the court declined to block a Texas abortion law.

A C-SPAN poll released Tuesday found 72% of voters support a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.

Trust in the federal government has taken a powerful hit in recent years, said Robert Green, CEO of Pierrepont Consulting & Analytics, which conducted the poll.

Concerns about politicizing the court range across the political spectrum. In a December case involving a Mississippi abortion law, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned whether the public would view the courts actions as political.

"Will this institution survive the stench that this creates in the public perception that the Constitution and its reading are just political acts?" Sotomayor asked.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ginni Thomas went to the Jan. 6 rally. Should Clarence Thomas recuse?
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, dual British-Iranian nationals detained in Iran for years, have been freed and are on a plane headed to the U.K., Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Tulip Siddiq, Zaghari-Ratcliffes lawmaker in the U.K., tweeted a photo of the freed woman from her flight.

It's been 6 long years - and I can't believe I can FINALLY share this photo. Nazanin is now in the air flying away from 6 years of hell in Iran. My heart goes out to Gabriella and Richard, as her long journey back home to them gets closer by the minute.#NazaninIsFree  pic.twitter.com/BzEEBP840C  Tulip Siddiq (@TulipSiddiq) March 16, 2022

I am very pleased to confirm that the unfair detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in Iran has ended today, and they will now return to the U.K., Johnson tweeted on Wednesday. The U.K. has worked intensively to secure their release and I am delighted they will be reunited with their families and loved ones.

Zaghari-Ratcliffes long spell in detention began when she was arrested on charges of espionage in April 2016 on a visit to see family in the country.

PHOTO: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is pictured in an undated family handout file photo. (Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe/AP, FILE)

Her detention drew international condemnation, and her husband, Richard, led the calls back home for her release, going as far as a hunger strike outside the U.K. Parliament in October of last year to compel the government to do more.

Ashoori was arrested in August 2017 when he was visiting his mother in Tehran. He said he was arrested by plain clothes intelligence agents on a street near his mothers home, according to Amnesty International. He was then forced into their car and was driven, blindfolded, to an unknown location, the group said.

For years, Islamic Republic officials denied they were keeping Zaghari and Ashoori as bargaining chips to compel the U.K. to unfreeze millions of dollars linked to a decades-long debt, saying the judicial power is independent and the two issues should not be connected.

PHOTO: Richard Ratcliffe protests outside the Foreign Office while on hunger strike to lobby the UK foreign secretary to bring his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe home from detention in Iran, on Oct. 25, 2021 in London. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images, FILE)

Families of Zaghari and Ashoori, however, had urged British officials to pay Irans debt.

Fars News confirmed that $520 million of Iran's blocked assets were transferred to Iran's account before the pair was released, although U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the debt had been settled in a way that complies with international sanctions, with the funds released restricted to humanitarian uses.

Another British national, Morad Tahbaz, has been released from prison on furlough, Truss said, and the U.K. government will continue to work to secure his departure from the country.

Zaghari and Ashoori will be reunited with their loved ones later this evening, she said.

Editor's note: The story headline has been updated to correct a spelling error.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe freed from captivity in Iran after almost six years originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Saudi prince, rebuked by West, faces dilemma over Russia and China British PM Johnson visits Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

By Aziz El Yaakoubi, Maha El Dahan and Yousef Saba

RIYADH (Reuters) - The United States and Britain are ramping up pressure on Saudi Arabia to pump more oil and join efforts to isolate Russia, while Riyadh has shown little readiness to respond and has revived a threat to ditch dollars in its oil sales to China.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flew into the world's biggest crude oil exporter on Wednesday, a day after U.S. security advisor Brett McGurk arrived with a U.S. delegation.

Saudi Arabia and its neighbour the United Arab Emirates, which are among just a handful of producers with spare capacity, have snubbed Western calls for more crude to cool red-hot prices and have stuck to an OPEC+ supply pact with Russia and others.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, has faced sharp Western criticism over the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Riyadh's human rights record and the Yemen war. U.S. President Joe Biden has, so far, refused to deal directly with the prince, who is widely known as MbS.

With U.S-Saudi relations at a low point, MbS has responded by strengthening ties with Russia and China, even though the kingdom still has close security ties with Washington.

McGurk and other U.S. officials met senior Saudi officials on Tuesday, pressing them to pump more oil and find a political solution to end the war in Yemen, where Saudi-led forces are battling the Iran-backed Houthi group, two sources said.

"You would be wrong if you think Washington would give up on these two files," one of the two sources, who is familiar with the discussions, told Reuters.

A senior U.S. administration official said McGurk was in the Middle East "discussing a wide range of issues, including Yemen", but declined to elaborate.

The British prime minister, meanwhile, described Saudi Arabia and the UAE as "key international partners" in the effort to wean the world off Russian hydrocarbons and put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

But Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati political analyst, said Johnson should not expect much. "Boris will go back empty handed," he wrote on Twitter.

The Saudi government did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the U.S. and British visits.

For now, Saudi Arabia has shown no sign of abandoning an oil supply pact forged between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, which has seen the group known as OPEC+ hiking oil output only gradually.

SHORT SHRIFT

At the last OPEC+ meeting on March 2 - less than a week after Russia invaded Ukraine and as the West ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow - ministers dodged the Ukraine issue in talks and swiftly agreed to stick to existing policy.

Meanwhile, Riyadh has signalled it wants closer ties with Beijing by inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit this year. The Wall Street Journal said Saudi Arabia was in talks to price some crude it sells to China in yuan.

"If Saudi Arabia does that, it will change the dynamics of the forex market," said a source with knowledge of the matter, adding that such a move - which the source said Beijing had long requested and which Riyadh threatened as far back as 2018 - might prompt other buyers to follow.

The Saudi energy ministry declined to comment, while state oil giant Saudi Aramco did not respond to a request for comment.

One diplomat said Riyadh was turning to "old threats" to push back at the West, although the diplomat and others say any shift to the yuan would face practical challenges, given crude is priced in dollars, the Saudi riyal is pegged to the greenback and the yuan does not boast the same role as a reserve currency.

"It would be reckless, given global oil pricing in dollars and the currency peg, not to mention the amount of Saudi debt priced in dollars, its reserve assets in dollars and their holdings of U.S. equities," said Karen Young, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

"There may be some contracts in yuan between Saudi Arabia and China, but there is no reorientation of Saudi monetary policy," she said.

The Saudi central bank had assets worth $492.8 billion at the end of January, including $119 billion in U.S. Treasuries.

The government had foreign currency debt - mostly in dollars - of $101.1 billion at the end of 2021, while the Saudi sovereign wealth fund held $56 billion in U.S. equities.

Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, said Saudi Arabia could slowly shift some sales to yuan. "A gradual shift would have a limited impact," she said.

And even as U.S. officials were meeting in Riyadh, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday that Washington was not asking its allies to choose between the United States and China.

(Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi in Riyadh, Maha El Dahan and Yousef Saba in Dubai; Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday doubled down on calling for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin  a suggestion that has been widely rebuked by lawmakers in both parties.

I hope he'll be taken out, one way or the other, Graham said during a press conference on Capitol Hill. I don't care how they take him out. I don't care if we send him to The Hague and try him. I just want him to go.

Yes, I'm on record, Graham continued. If John McCain were here, he'd be saying the same thing, I think. It's time for him to go. He's a war criminal. I wish somebody had taken Hitler out in the '30s. So yes, Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate leader. He is a war criminal.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., at a news conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday. (Mandel NganAFP via Getty Images)

As he did on Twitter earlier this month, Graham explained that he wants the Russian people to carry out Putins assassination  not the United States.

He needs to be dealt with by the Russian people, Graham said. I'm not asking to invade Russia to take him out. I'm not asking to send American ground forces into Ukraine to fight the Russian army. I am asking the Russian people to rise up and end this reign of terror.

He added: I think the world is better off without Putin, the sooner the better, and I don't care how we do it.

Graham first floated this idea in a tweet on March 3.

Is there a Brutus in Russia? he wrote. Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country  and the world  a great service.

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Moscow on March 10. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Graham was referring to Marcus Junius Brutus, who was among Julius Caesars assassins in 44 B.C., and Claus von Stauffenberg, a German officer who attempted to kill Adolf Hitler with a briefcase bomb in 1944 and was executed after the Nazi leader survived the blast.

The comments received wide bipartisan pushback.

Seriously, wtf? tweeted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWlll.

This is an exceptionally bad idea, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote on Twitter. Use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves. But we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state.

This is irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted. We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom. Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations. Americans dont want war.
ATLANTA (AP)  During his two Senate campaigns, Republican David Perdue had little trouble raking in millions in campaign cash. But as he tries to unseat Georgia's incumbent governor, fellow Republican Brian Kemp, Perdue is struggling to attract donors.

Perdue's top 30 individual contributors pumped in nearly $450,000 to his Senate campaigns in 2014 and 2020, according to campaign finance disclosures. But that same group and their immediate family members have steered just $26,200 to his current run for governor. Kemp, meanwhile, has raised $81,450 from these previous Perdue backers.

Purdue's difficulty winning back previous donors suggests a broader challenge for him ahead of Georgia's May 24 primary, which is being closely watched for signals about the direction of the national Republican Party. Despite the backing of former President Donald Trump, Purdue is well behind Kemp in what is certain to be an expensive race, an Associated Press review of federal and state campaign finance records shows.

Perdue raised just $1.1 million from the launch of his campaign in December through the end of January, an opening stretch when candidates typically try to post their most impressive numbers, and he had less than $1 million in cash on hand.

Kemp took in $7.4 million by January 31 and had $12.7 million on hand. The governor, defending himself against fierce criticism from Trump for being disloyal about the former president's false claims of election fraud in Georgia, has pledged to unleash that cash advantage with plans that include spending $4.2 million on television ads alone.

The kind thing to say is maybe the fundraising has not been where he expected, said Alec Poitevint, a former chairman of the Georgia Republican Party who is supporting Kemp.

Perdue is turning to Trump for help on Wednesday, appearing with the former president at his Mar-a-Lago resort, where contributors will have to give $3,000 to attend. A picture with Trump means spending $24,200.

That's ahead of a campaign-style rally Trump plans to hold later this month in northeast Georgia that will feature Perdue and former football player Herschel Walker, the lead Republican vying for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats.

Republican candidate for Georgia Governor former Sen. David Perdue speaks at a rally on March 1, 2022, in Rutledge. (AP)

Perdue's campaign acknowledges it is behind in the money race and is relying instead on energy from the GOP's most loyal voters.

Well be outraised and outspent, but we wont be outworked," said Perdue spokesperson Jenni Sweat. This is a people versus politicians race, and the silent majority is rising up to reject failed career politicians like Brian Kemp. David Perdue is proud to be supported by a strong network of grassroots conservatives who will propel him to victory in May and November.

For now, Perdue is particularly reliant on one family. Chip Howalt, his wife Cynthia, and their three Dalton-based companies including Textile Rubber & Chemical Co., have given Perdue $121,000. That's more than 10% of what Perdue raised. Textile Rubber & Chemical Co. also gave $250,000 in January to the Georgia Values Fund, an independent committee supporting Perdue.

Thats the only contribution the fund reported through March 1.

Howalt didnt respond to messages seeking comment. But in January, he emailed the Georgia Recorder regarding his donations to contentious northwest Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that he was motivated to support candidates, like Perdue, who back Trumps false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

The only financial support our Family will pull will be from ANY RINOs (Republicans in name only) complicit in blocking investigations into Voter Fraud and Irregularities (GA had many) and not Objecting to confirm the Biden Electors where practical and advisable to do so, Howalt wrote to the nonprofit news outlet.

Federal and state election officials and Trump's own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president's allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.

One option for Perdue, a former CEO of Reebok and Dollar General, would be to infuse the campaign with his own money. He had assets worth between nearly $15.2 million and $42.5 million in 2018, according to Open Secrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks political spending. Perdue also loaned or gave his campaign more than $5 million during his 2014 Senate run. As of Jan. 31, he hadn't offered the same support for the governor's campaign, but has suggested he might.

Were going to make sure this thing is well funded, Perdue told reporters last week. Were going to get our message out.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during the State of the State on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP)

For many years a Republican stronghold, statewide races in Georgia have recently become more competitive. In 2020, Joe Biden was the first Democratic presidential contender to carry the state since 1992, a victory that left the GOP reeling.

After campaigning for Kemp in the 2018 governor's race, Trump turned against him in the wake of the 2020 campaign when the governor refused to overturn Biden's win  something he had no power to do. As revenge, Trump recruited Perdue to challenge Kemp in a primary, a move that some in the party worry will leave the eventual nominee weakened heading into a general election race against Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Amid the bitterness, some donors say they will simply wait for the primary to play out without taking a side. Among those is Sunny Park, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based General Building Maintenance, which has thousands of office cleaning employees throughout the U.S. A prolific donor to Georgia Republican causes, Park has previously backed both Kemp and Perdue, and gave Kemp $3,750 toward his reelection bid before Perdue jumped in.

Until the primary is over, Im going to remain neutral, Park said. I told both, You go ahead and win and then Ill be right back with you.

Some past Perdue contributors, especially those that gave toward the eye-watering $100 million that Perdue raised in 2020, are oriented toward congressional giving, and may not care who becomes governor of Georgia. But some big contributors who arent donating, such as Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus or Atlanta's Delta Air Lines, are Georgia-based and have a stake in the results of the primary.

And for them, they may just prefer Kemp. Take for example, Vince Kolber who previously donated more than $10,000 to Perdue and said hed met and admired him, but nonetheless plans to stay out of the governors primary.

Kolber, founder and chairman of Residco, a Chicago aviation and rail transportation logistics firm and a former two-time Republican House candidate in Illinois, said his sense was that many Republicans nationally were just mad as hell as Trump for the whole post-election situation. That refers to Trumps lies about the 2020 election playing a role in depressing Republican turnout and costing the party both Perdue's Senate seat and a second Georgia Senate seat in January 2021.

I sense thats softening now, Kolber added, but perhaps not fast enough to buoy Perdue, especially given that Kemp has been a solid governor.

I havent heard anybody say, That guy was just out to lunch or crazy or anything like that, Kolber said of Kemp. I think that hes been well-received for what he tried to do. Trumps consternation to what happened not withstanding.

Former Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who also lost her reelection bid in 2021, downplayed tensions within the GOP. And where such divisions exist, she said, they won't determine who ultimately wins.

The left loves to focus on divisions on our side, said Loeffler, who now runs Greater Georgia, a nonprofit designed to boost conservative outreach and voter registration efforts. What voters are focused on is the harsh realities of the liberal politics that are playing out in their lives every day.
FILE - People gather at the site of a Saudi-led airstrike near Yemen's Defense Ministry complex in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Nov. 11, 2017. The world must not lose sight of the plight of those living through the yearslong war in Yemen, Katharina Ritz, the International Committee of the Red Cross head of delegation in Yemen said Friday, March 11, 2022, urging continued aid for the Middle East's poorest nation as the war in Ukraine grabs the world's attention. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CAIRO (AP)  The United Nations is appealing for $4.27 billion for Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, with 161,000 people likely to experience famine there in 2022.

The virtual pledging conference is co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland to alleviate what the U.N. says is the word's worst humanitarian crisis.

Two in three Yemenis  20 million men, women and children  live in extreme poverty, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told donors in New York. Today, we must do everything we can to bridge immediate funding gaps and strengthen aid delivery. We cannot cut people adrift from humanitarian aid.

The conference comes as world attention is gripped by the war in Ukraine, which has overshadowed other humanitarian crises across the world since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24  raising concerns that that Yemens plight may be forgotten. Over 3 million people have fled Ukraine, in Europes largest exodus since World War II.

The Ukrainian crisis could also dramatically impact Yemenis access to food," said Erin Hutchinson, Yemen director at the Norwegian Refugee Council. "We hope that Yemenis will find the same level of support and solidarity as weve seen with the people of Ukraine."

Speaking in a briefing ahead of the fundraising conference, Swedish diplomat Carl Skau urged donors to pay attention to Yemen. While Ukraine understandably and rightly requires our urgent attention, we cant drop the ball on other crises, he said.

A prolonged conflict in Ukraine is likely to further reduce Yemenis' access to their basic needs, as food prices, especially the cost of grain, are likely to increase. Yemen depends almost entirely on food imports, with 22% of its wheat imports coming from Ukraine, according to the World Food Program.

The horrendous situation in Ukraine will have an indirect and direct impact on our ability to assist children in Yemen, said Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF's representative in Yemen. Operations around the world will be more expensive.

Last years conference raised only some $1.7 billion for Yemen, out of $3.85 billion the U.N. had appealed for as the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating consequences hit economies around the globe. The U.N. chief at the time called the 2021 result disappointing.

However, the overall amount reached over $2.3 billion by the end of 2021, according to Guterres.

Yemens war started in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebel Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the countrys north. A Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition intervened months later to dislodge the rebels and restore the internationally recognized government.

The conflict has in recent years become a regional proxy war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including over 14.500 civilians. The war has also created the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.

The majority of Yemens around 32 million people live in Houthi-held areas. The rebels have for years been implicated in aid theft and withholding for extortion.

U.N. experts earlier this year said they documented that the rebels provided or denied humanitarian aid to families solely on the basis whether their children participated in fighting or to teachers on the basis of whether they taught the Houthi curriculum.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, has warned that a total of 19 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity by the second half of this year  an increase of around 20% compared to the first six months of 2021. Of them, 161,000 people are likely to experience famine, it said.

OCHA said that half of the countrys health facilities are shuttered or destroyed. It said the Yemeni currency, the rial, lost 57% of its value in 2021 in government-run areas, while persistent fuel shortages drove up the prices of food and other basic commodities in the Houthi-controlled north.

It said 4.3 million Yemenis have been driven from their homes; around one-fifth of new displaced people in 2021 were in the energy-rich province of Marib which Houthis have attempted to seize for over a year, it said.

Ghalib al-Najjar and his family lives in the Dharwan camp on the outskirts the rebel-held Sanaa. The 48-year-old father, his wife, and seven children are at risk of famine amid price hikes and lack of humanitarian assistance.

In the morning, half of us are fasting and Im doing my best to provide food - if available - to the others, he said in a recent interview. We live like ants on the ground or fish in the sea. We eat what we find on our way.

With the $4.27 billion for Yemen, the U.N. aims to provide support to 17.3 million people in 2022, out of the 23.4 million who need aid, OCHA said.

David Beasley, head of the World Food Program, said his agency was forced to cut rations in half for 8 million Yemenis due to the shortage of funds.

We are in great need and the children are in great need, he told the donors.
FILE-In this Tuesday, March 16, 2021 file photo, authorities investigate a fatal shooting at a massage parlor, in Acworth, Ga. Asian American leaders plan to gather in Atlanta for a Community Remembrance Day remembering the victims of the shootings a year ago at massage businesses in the Atlanta area. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

ATLANTA (AP)  President Joe Biden on Wednesday remembered the victims of shootings at three massage businesses in Georgia a year earlier and decried racism, misogyny and gun violence.

Six women of Asian descent were among the eight people killed on March 16, 2021. Though prosecutors disagree about whether the shootings were motivated by racial animus, the slayings contributed to fear and anger among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders already experiencing a rise in hostility and motivated many people to join the fight against it.

Asian American organizations in cities across the country planned rallies Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the shootings and to promote awareness about ongoing violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Robert Aaron Long, then 21, shot and killed four people  Xiaojie Emily Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54  and seriously injured a fifth person at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County. Authorities say he then drove about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south to Atlanta, where he killed three women  Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51  at Gold Spa, crossed the street and killed Yong Ae Yue, 63, at Aromatherapy Spa.

These horrific murders shook communities across America and underscored how far we have to go in this country to fight racism, misogyny, and all forms of hate  and the epidemic of gun violence that enables these extremists, Biden said in a statement.

The president recalled a meeting he and Vice President Kamala Harris had with Asian American community leaders during a visit to Atlanta shortly after the shootings.

We heard about the terror and anguish that too many Asian Americans have felt since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when anti-Asian xenophobia, harassment, and violence skyrocketed to alarming levels, Biden said.

Prejudice and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. are not new, but racist verbal and physical attacks increased sharply after the coronavirus first appeared in China just over two years ago. Many believe that former President Donald Trump's use of racial terms to talk about the virus, which first appeared in China, contributed to the trend.

Stop AAPI Hate has been tracking incidents nationwide based on victims self-reporting. From March 19, 2020, through the end of last year, it recorded a total of 10,905, with 4,632 occurring in 2020 and 6,273 in 2021. Incidents reported by women made up 61.8% of the total.

Shortly after the Georgia shootings, police said Long blamed his actions on a sex addiction, which isnt recognized as an official disorder, and targeted the spas as a source of temptation. That explanation rankled many Asian Americans and their allies, who saw the killings as hate crimes.

When he pleaded guilty in July to murder and other charges in the Cherokee County shootings, the district attorney there said investigators did not find evidence that Long was motivated by racial bias. Among other things, the prosecutor noted the diversity of the people shot there  in addition to two women of Asian descent, two victims were white and one Hispanic. But in Atlanta, where all four victims were women of Asian descent, the Fulton County district attorney is pursuing a sentencing enhancement under the state hate crimes law, saying she believes race and gender played a role.

In the weeks and months following the shootings, rallies were held to protest violence against those of Asian descent. Prominent figures, including lawmakers and former federal prosecutors, spoke out against the violence and called for solutions.

Initial figures from individual police agencies indicate anti-Asian hate crime overall in the U.S. increased 339% in 2021, compared with a 124% rise in 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. But the actual numbers could be much higher since many victims hesitate to report and not all incidents are charged as hate crimes.

Preliminary figures released by police in San Francisco in January show reported hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders rose by 567% last year. The initial count shows 60 victims in 2021, up from nine in 2020. Half of last years victims were allegedly targeted by one man.

In New York City, the number of alleged hate crimes against Asians logged by police climbed from 28 in 2020 to 131 last year.

Earlier this month, a 28-year-old white man was charged with hate crimes after police said he randomly punched seven women of Asian ethnicity over two hours.

At least two people of Asian descent have died in New York City this year from injuries sustained months ago in attacks that authorities said were likely racially motivated: GuiYing Ma, 61, who was beaten in November while she swept a sidewalk in Queens, and Yao Pan Ma, 61, who was beaten into a coma in April while he collected bottles and cans in Manhattan.

There have been other recent attacks on Asian women in the city that authorities arent sure are linked to racial bias, including the stabbing death of a woman in her Chinatown apartment building last month by a homeless man who followed her inside and the January death of a woman who was pushed in front of a subway train by a mentally ill homeless man.

In the nearby city of Yonkers, New York, this week, police charged a man with attempted murder as a hate crime after he attacked a 67-year-old Asian woman in an apartment building vestibule, punching her more than 125 times in assault recorded on security video. Police and prosecutors said the Black man used an anti-Asian slur before assaulting her.

___

Associated Press writer David B. Caruso in New York contributed reporting.
Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tells reporters after a meeting with advocates for decertifying the 2020 election won by President Joe Biden, that his mind was not changed and that it is impossible to undo Biden's win on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo Scott Bauer)

MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Wisconsin's Republican speaker of the Assembly again rejected calls to decertify President Joe Biden's win in the battleground state after meeting privately Wednesday with advocates for making that move that attorneys across the political spectrum have said can't be done.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who called the meeting, emerged to say he believed there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election but the focus should not be on relitigating that but instead on electing Republicans as governor and attorney general this fall.

We dont have the ability to unilaterally overturn the election," Vos said of 2020, repeating his long-held position. It cant happen.

Vos said the oath he took as an elected official and the constitution "doesnt allow me to decertify any of the elections, whether I want to or not. Thats not going to happen.

Decertification advocates, including Republican candidate for governor and current state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, had hoped to convince Vos to change his stance. They didn't succeed.

Vos kicked Ramthun out of the meeting before it even began.

More obstruction, Ramthun said as he exited the room. This is what I have been dealing with now for 17 months.

Ramthun and Vos have butted heads over the election and its aftermath.

Vos and other Republican leaders have refused to take up Ramthuns resolutions seeking to decertify the election. And in January, Vos removed Ramthuns only full-time staff member as punishment after Vos said he falsely accused Vos of signing a deal with attorneys for former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton to authorize absentee ballot drop boxes.

Vos said the meeting was a chance for those who believe the 2020 election cannot be decertified to discuss it along with advocates for decertification. Nonpartisan attorneys who advise lawmakers were at the meeting. They have previously said it is illegal to decertify the election, as has the head of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty.

Another meeting attendee, Jefferson Davis, presented evidence of what he said was widespread fraud. Statewide, 24 people have been charged with voter fraud, a miniscule percentage of the nearly 3.3 million people who cast ballots that is on par with past elections.

Vos has come under pressure from former President Donald Trump and other Republicans, including Ramthun, who support his false claims that the election was stolen and say Vos is not doing enough, including decertifying Bidens win.

The meeting came after the investigator hired by Vos, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, this month urged lawmakers to consider decertifying Bidens win.

Bidens win in Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes over Trump has withstood lawsuits, recounts and reviews by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau.

Vos, Senate Republican Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and state GOP chairman Paul Farrow were scheduled to meet with county Republican chairs on Wednesday night to discuss election fraud and other issues.

Ramthun told reporters after he was kicked out of the meeting that it should have been open to the public. He also urged the filing of criminal charges against anyone who broke the law related to the 2020 election, including members of the bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Three county district attorneys have declined to file charges against commission members, citing a lack of evidence.

Ramthun has emerged as one of the most vocal election conspiracy theory advocates in Wisconsin, using it as the primary issue for his run for governor. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, also a purveyor of false claims that Trump won the 2020 election, endorsed Ramthun.
Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Wednesday, March 16. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Thursday, March 17, as Russia's invasion continues.

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that an additional $800 million in military aid will be sent to Ukraine, just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the U.S. Congress, a speech Biden called "convincing."

Biden said the U.S. is adding to its assistance, which now totals $1 billion just this week, to help "fend off Russia's assault."

"America is leading this effort, together with our allies and partners, providing enormous levels of security and humanitarian assistance that we're adding to today, and we're going to do more in the days and weeks ahead," he said, adding the fight is "about the right of people to determine their own future, about making sure Ukraine never will be a victory for Putin, no matter what advances he makes on the battlefield."

Biden, speaking for just over seven minutes early Wednesday afternoon, said the war in Ukraine is a struggle that pits the appetites of an autocrat against humankinds desire to be free.

On a day when he called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal'' for the first time publicly, Biden also stressed the U.S. will not get involved militarily, but added that it will help Ukraine for as long as it takes.

"We're going to stay the course," he said, while warning, "This could be a long and difficult battle.''

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Earlier Wednesday, Zelenskyy gave an impassioned address to an overwhelmingly supportive Congress, pleading for more military support, a "no-fly" zone over his country and even tougher sanctions on Russia. Zelenskyy's presentation included a gripping video showing graphic images of the brutal human and property damage inflicted by the Russians as the invading forces continued their relentless attack.

In his virtual address  three weeks into his nation's fierce struggle to repel invading Russian troops  Zelenskyy drew parallels to horrific moments in American history to explain his country's plight and called on the U.S. to ramp up its aid to Ukraine.

"Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, the destiny of our people," said Zelenskyy, who drew a standing ovation from Congress at the start of his speech from Kyiv. "Whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy."

Latest developments:

Ukrainian military forces have hit the airport in Kherson, which Russian troops had seized early in the war, the General Staff said late Wednesday. It said the Russians were trying to remove any surviving military equipment.

Ivan Fedorov, the 33-year-old mayor of the southeastern city of Melitopol (pop. 150,000), was freed from Russian captivity, Ukrainian officials said.

The 2015 Ukrainian satirical comedy series "Servant of the People," which Zelenskyy starred in, is available on Netflix. Zelenskyy plays a teacher who unexpectedly becomes president after a video of him complaining about corruption goes viral.

The International Chess Federation suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from participation in official tournaments "until further notice." Chess is extremely popular in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing foreign planes to be seized and used domestically, Russia's Tass News Agency reported. Most foreign airlines have paused service to Russia due to the war and sanctions.

At least 103 children have died and more than 100 others have been injured, said Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.

FULL COVERAGE: Latest updates, analysis, commentary on Ukraine

Biden calls Putin a war criminal for the first time

For the first time in public, President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal for his continued assault on Ukraine, which has killed hundreds of civilians.

I think he is a war criminal, Biden said in response to a question from a reporter after delivering remarks at the White House on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Earlier in the afternoon, Biden authorized an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine. He vowed that the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin's immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations.

We are united in our abhorrence of Putin's depraved onslaught, he said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the president was speaking from his heart and speaking from what youve seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country.

The State Department has said it is reviewing Russia's actions for potential war crimes, a legal process Psaki said is ongoing.

-- Joey Garrison

Missile strike destroys theater that served as shelter in besieged Mariupol

The fate of hundreds of Ukrainians hung in the air Wednesday as the Mariupol theater where they were sheltering was destroyed by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities said.

There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was an airstrike on the theater. The word children in Russian was written in large white letters in front of and behind the theater, as shown by an image taken Monday by the Maxar space technology company, in what appeared to be an attempt to dissuade the Russians from targeting the theater.

Mariupol, a southern port city of 430,000, has been the site of some of the fiercest attacks since the invasion began Feb. 24. Local officials say missile strikes and shelling have killed more than 2,300 people, and a siege that has lasted more than two weeks has left people struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.

Local authorities said Russian forces took hundreds of people hostage at a Mariupol hospital and were using them as human shields.

In central Kyiv, a 12-story apartment building burst into flames after being hit by shrapnel. And in the northern city of Chernihiv, 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread, the Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office said.

Presidential adviser warns Russia not to deploy chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine

President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned a Russian counterpart against the use of chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine, the White House said Wednesday.

Sullivan "warned General (Nikolay) Patrushev about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine," said a White House readout of a phone call with Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council.

Biden did not mention Russian threats of chemical and biological weapons during his remarks on U.S. assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday.

In the call, Sullivan repeated "the United States firm and clear opposition to Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine," the readout said.

It added: "Mr. Sullivan clearly laid out the United States commitment to continue imposing costs on Russia, to support the defense of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to reinforce NATOs eastern flank, in continued full coordination with our Allies and partners."

 David Jackson

Russia ponders how to replenish; Odesa now in its sights

Russian commanders are deliberating how to replace troops, equipment and aircraft theyve lost in their invasion of Ukraine, a senior Defense Department official said Wednesday.

The losses mount daily due to spirited resistance from Ukrainian forces, said the official, who discussed intelligence assessments on condition of anonymity. However, the Russians still have the majority of the combat forces they deployed for the invasion.

The Russian advance on Ukraines major cities, including Kyiv, remains largely stalled. In the south, Russian naval vessels have begun shelling towns around the port city of Odesa, possibly in advance of an attack by ground forces, the official said.

Meantime, the United States and its allies continue to send weapons to Ukraine on a daily basis, the official said. The latest shipment of war materiel, announced Wednesday by President Joe Biden, includes 100 drones. The official indicated the drones will be armed, saying they will deliver a punch.

U.S. Defense officials are working with other European countries to provide Ukraine with air defense systems. Among those systems are S-300 surface-to-air missiles launchers, according to a congressional source.

-- Tom Vanden Brook

Biden: We're providing up to $1 billion in new military assistance

President Joe Biden on Wednesday emphasized the strength of the new military assistance, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons aimed at helping Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Biden said the $800 million package, combined with a previous appropriation, adds up to $1 billion "just this week." In total, the administration has committed $2 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Biden took office.

The new package includes:

800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems

2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems

100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems

100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns and 400 shotguns

Over 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds

25,000 sets of body armor

25,000 helmets

"More will be coming," Biden said.

 David Jackson

Biden: Humanitarian aid will continue to flow

President Joe Biden on Wednesday spelled out the $300 million in humanitarian assistance  tens of thousands of tons of food, water, medicine and other basic supplies  that the U.S. has provided both to Ukraine and the neighboring countries that have harbored their refugees. He said that aid, which is separate from the $800 million announced Wednesday in security assistance, would not stop.

We're going to continue to mobilize humanitarian relief to support people within Ukraine and those who have been forced to flee Ukraine, he said. Our experts on the ground in Poland and Moldova and other neighboring countries are there to make real-time assessments of a rapidly evolving crisis to get urgently needed humanitarian supplies to the people in need when they need it.

And we will support Ukraine's economy with direct financial assistance as well, Biden said, though he did not provided specifics.

 Ledyard King

Putin: The West underestimates Russia, laments losses on battlefield

In a speech aired on Russian TV, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russias so-called special operation in Ukraine is going according to plan, again declining to call it an invasion.

The West thinks we will step back, Putin said, according to a translation from Meduza, a Latvia-based media outlet. The West does not understand Russia.

Putin repeated a number of false claims about the invasion, including the conspiracy theory that Ukraine was developing weapons of mass destruction like nuclear and bioweapons. There is no evidence, though Russia watchers note the argument may be a reference to Putins continued anger over the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Putin said that in enacting sanctions, the West is trying to cancel Russia and that measures targeting Russias Central Bank showed that foreign currency reserves can be stolen.

Signaling an even greater crackdown on Russian civil liberties at home, Putin called for a purge of traitors by patriots, arguing that such a natural and necessary self-purification of the society will only strengthen our country."

 Matthew Brown

McConnell: US not doing enough, says its depressing to compare Biden to Zelenskyy

After listening to Zelenskyys speech, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said President Joe Biden needs to step up his game.

Were not doing enough, quickly enough to help the Ukrainians. And I think comparing Zelenskyy (to Biden) is depressing. President Biden needs to step up his game  right now  before its too late.

The Kentucky Republican said he agrees with the president on one point: the U.S. shouldnt be creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine due to concerns that it could potentially escalate a direct confrontation with Russia.

 Ledyard King

Lindsey Graham's resolution would pressure Biden on jets for Ukraine

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is planning to bring a resolution to the Senate floor Wednesday afternoon that would put pressure on the Biden administration to reverse course and accept Poland's proposal to provide up to 28 Soviet-built MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. to give to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy has asked the U.S. for more air power and Graham believes theres enough bipartisan support to pass the nonbinding resolution calling for the administration to deliver the planes and change the trajectory of the war.

Control of the skies is the missing link, Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill shortly after listening to Zelenskyy's address to Congressional lawmakers. Its the biggest advantage the Russians have.

 Ledyard King

NATO chief: Efforts aimed at stopping war between allies, Russia

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said his alliances main goal with the invasion of Ukraine is to keep it from escalating into full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.

Stoltenberg told CNN that he understands Zelenskyys desperation and pleas for help, noting that NATO has provided significant support to Ukraine.

NATO's core responsibility, main responsibility is to protect 1 billion people living 30 NATO allied countries, he said, adding that the alliance has implemented the biggest reinforcements on collective defense since the end of the Cold War to prevent Russian attacks from spilling over Ukraines borders.

Stoltenberg declined to give specifics on what military aid is being sent to Ukraine beyond describing advanced systems also to protect them in the air, air defense systems, drones and other means to also deal with attacks that are faced within the airspace. He said he welcomed President Joe Bidens announcement on increased military aid from the U.S.

 Katie Wadington

Russian assault continues as Zelenskyy pleads US for more help

As Zelenskyy spoke to Congress, Kyiv residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew while Russian troops shelled neighborhoods, homes and businesses.

In central Kyiv, shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-story apartment building, obliterating the top floor and igniting a fire, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergency agency. The neighboring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without elaborating.

Russian forces also have intensified fighting in Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and a highway leading west, said Oleksiy Kuleba, head of the Kyiv region.

To the south, Russian forces also continued pounding beleaguered Mariupol, a seaport city of 430,000 that has faced three weeks of siege, leaving people struggling for essentials including food, water and heat. It has also has forced the digging of mass graves.

Remember Pearl Harbor': Zelenskyy invokes US tragedies as he pleads with Biden, Congress for help

Zelenskyy speech draws rave reviews from Congress

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Zelenskyys address to Congress differed from his past remarks in that it was not a more desperate ask, but a more resolved ask.

Zelenskyy was very firm, very clear in what he needed, Murkowski said. And if his words were not enough, if you did not look at that video and feel that there is an obligation for not only the United States, but for countries of the world to come together in support for Ukraine, you had your eyes closed.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the U.S. needs to do more, specifically mentioned MIG-29s, anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems and armed drones.

"Theres a powerful message that came out of that video," Portman said. "For all that weve done, its not enough to protect innocent lives."

We need to do more and specifically we need to provide them the armaments they need at a minimum to be able to protect themselves, he added.

Sen. Murphy questions public US debate over military support

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said he doesnt think its wise for Congress and the Biden administration to broadcast disagreements over the best military support for Ukraine.

I'm open to increasing our level of military commitment to Ukraine, I just don't think it is wise policy for all of those debates to play out in public in the United States Congress, Murphy said.

This is a bit of a strange way to prosecute a war to have daily, open, public debates about exactly which weapons and exactly which planes we're sending, Murphy said. Russia is not doing that, Russia is not having a public debate about how many planes they send in Ukraine and exactly what weapons systems they send in.

 Dylan Wells

Europe's human rights group expels Russia

The Council of Europe's ministers has decided to exclude Russia as a member following its invasion of Ukraine. The council, focused on human rights and democracy, was founded after World War II and Russia joined in 1996, following the Soviet Union's collapse.

A day after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the group began to assess Russia's membership. On Tuesday, Russia informed the council it would be withdrawing and the ministers formally expelled Russia on Wednesday.

As leaders of the Council of Europe we expressed on several occasions our firm condemnation of the Russian Federations aggression against Ukraine," the council said in a statement. "This unjustified and unprovoked aggression led to the decision of the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly to initiate the procedure of expulsion."

 Katie Wadington

Ukraine terrain adds to Russian military struggles

Russias invading troops are struggling with Ukrainian terrain, forcing them to remain on roads where Ukrainian forces have slowed their progress, according to British Defense Ministry assessment. The Russians have been reluctant to drive off-road in Ukraine, and Ukrainians have further stalled their advance by blowing up bridges, British defense attache Mick Smeath said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Russian warplanes have failed to control Ukrainian airspace, according to the British and U.S. military, further limiting the invaders ability to protect its ground forces.

The tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adeptly exploited Russias lack of maneuver, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces, Smeath said in the statement.

 Tom Vanden Brook

Zelenskyy calls for new alliance, U24

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of a United for Peace alliance of "responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflict immediately."

"We need to create new tools to respond quickly and stop the war the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine," he said.

Dubbing it U-24, Zelenskyy referenced 24 nations that are actively working with Ukraine to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

 Matthew Brown

Zelenskyy asks US companies to pull out of Russia

Saying Russia is flooded with our blood, Zelenskyy called on U.S. companies to abandon their operations in Russia.

As he made his address to a joint session of Congress, the Ukrainian president asked for more U.S. sanctions against the Kremlin and to establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine.

We propose that the United States sanctions all politicians in the Russian federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those who are responsible for the aggression against Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.

 Rick Rouan

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, greets Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova as they arrive to hear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak to the U.S. Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

Blinken: Russia, Ukraine peace deal must be 'irreversible'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that a diplomatic solution ending Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine will require irreversible moves on Moscows part should global backlash to the conflict end.

We will want to make sure, (the Ukrainians) will want to make sure, that anything thats done is in effect irreversible. That this cant happen again, Blinken said during an interview with NPRs Steve Inskeep.

Blinken left the door open to lifting crippling Western sanctions on Russias economy should the invasion end while cautioning that the moves are already making global business and finance hesitant of investing in Russia in the long term.

If the war ends, Ukraines independence, territorial integrity, sovereignty are restored then many of the tools that were using to get to that result  of course, thats the purpose of them, theyre not designed to be permanent, Blinken said.

Blinken declined to say whether the U.S. is in active communication with the Kremlin over Putin's invasion but said there are always ways of communicating should it be necessary.

 Matthew Brown

Mom who fled Ukraine now worries about life in US: 'I don't know what to do'

Last week, single mom Olga Kovalchuk was hunkered down in a Ukraine basement with her children in a basement while bombs and missiles rained over Cherkasy, a city of 278,000 on the Dnieper River.

This week, they are in a foreign land  San Diego  where Kovalchuk has no place to live, no relatives, no job. But her kids are safe.

Like more than 3 million other Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, the 37-year-old says she is simultaneously looking back and ahead. In Ukraine, a career as an interpreter allowed Kovalchuk to work mostly from home, looking after the children. Now, the kids will need to find schools, learn English, adapt to a new culture.

I was very angry. I didnt want to leave. Im a patriot," she says, adding that she had to go "to save the lives of our children. Still, sometimes I feel shame because I left." Read more here.

 Dennis Wagner

International students trapped at Ukraine university finally get home

International students who had been studying at Ukraine's Sumy State University have finally returned to their home countries after being trapped in the school's six hostels for two weeks with little food and water as the war raged.

The students  from India, Nigeria, Turkey and South Africa, among other countries  eventually found their way home over the course of last week and weekend after many days of travel by bus, train and plane throughout Ukraine and across borders.

Students had turned to social media to plead for help, using the hashtag SaveSumyStudents. But with limited access to electricity, calling attention to their plight was also difficult.

"We never had a plan, and every method of communication was lost, I couldn't communicate with my parents," said Samuel Olaniyan, a fourth-year student who returned to Nigeria a few days ago. "It was very, very scary." Read more here.

 Christine Fernando and Cady Stanton

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine recap: Biden calls Putin 'war criminal', pledges $800M
Biden to travel to Brussels for NATO summit next week; Zelenskyy says Ukraine may never join NATO: Live updates Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers carry a man injured during a shelling attack into a hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 15, 2022.

Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Tuesday, March 15. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Wednesday, March 16, as Russia's invasion continues.

Ukrainians must realize the country will not be joining NATO and must "count on ourselves and our partners who are helping us" to withstand the Russian onslaught, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

Later in the day, the White House said President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations yielded a sliver of hope when Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said there is certainly room for compromise. However, the invading forces continued their bombardment of Kyiv while a siege of the port city of Mariupol prompted about 20,000 civilians to flee. Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday.

Zelenskyy, speaking to representatives of the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force, said Ukraine has heard for years about "the allegedly open doors of NATO but acknowledged his country will not be able to join. Instead, Ukraine needs separate security guarantees from its allies, he said.

Zelenskyy had been a strong supporter of Ukraine's efforts to join NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has called for a guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO among terms for an end to the war.

Still, Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for NATO to set up a no-fly zone above Ukraine to ease an aerial assault from Russia that has decimated Ukraine cities since the invasion began Feb. 24. And he said Tuesday that Europe could help yourself by helping us with more military aid. The Ukrainian military is using up weapons and ammunition meant to last a week in 20 hours, he said.

Leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were traveling to Kyiv on a European Union mission Tuesday to show support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet announcing the trip that "Europe must guarantee Ukraine's independence and ensure that it is ready to help in Ukraine's reconstruction."

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A fourth Russian general was killed in fighting at Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, identifying him as Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev, commander of the 150th motorized rifle division. Russia did not confirm the death.

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday evening repelled an attack on Kharkiv by Russian troops, who tried to storm the city from their positions in Piatykhatky, a suburb 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the north, the head of the Kharkiv region said.

A funeral service was held Tuesday in Lviv for four Ukrainian soldiers killed in a Russian attack on a training base in Yavoriv in western Ukraine. The attack on Sunday killed at least 35 people.

Zelenskyy addressed the Canadian Parliament, again pleading for a no-fly zone over his country. The speech came as Moscow announced it was banning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from entering Russia.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says at least 691 civilians have died and 1,143 have been injured since the war began. At least four children have died, the agency said.

More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country, the U.N. refugee agency said. "Today we have passed another terrible milestone," tweeted U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "The war has to stop. Now."

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Izium, an eastern city of 46,000 people, Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin said. The city lacks basic supplies and extensive Russian shelling has severely damaged infrastructure, he said.

Belarus, a neighbor of both Russia and Ukraine but an ally of the former in the war, continued its crackdown on independent media by sentencing two journalists from the nation's oldest newspaper to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of dodging communal payments they have rejected as politically driven.

Biden to announce $800 million additional military aid for Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to announce an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, according to a White House official, bringing the total U.S. support for Ukraine to $1 billion in just the last week.

Biden will announce the aid in an 11:45 a.m. ET speech, shortly after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to urge for greater assistance during a virtual address to the U.S. Senate and House earlier in the morning.

Were moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country, Biden said Tuesday. And Ill have much more to say about this tomorrow  about exactly what were doing in Ukraine.

The additional $800 million will mean more than $2 billion in U.S. aid has gone to Ukraine since Biden entered office. The money has paid for an assortment of military equipment including 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 200 grenade launchers and ammunition, 200 shotguns and 200 machine guns, according to the White House.

In addition, Biden signed into law a government funding bill Tuesday that will provide $13.6 billion in humanitarian aid, economic support and defense assistance for Ukraine and the region.

 Joey Garrison

Russian forces take 500 hostage in Mariupol hospital, Ukraine official says

Russian forces took control of a hospital in the port city Mariupol, holding about 500 people hostage late Tuesday, according to a regional leader.

Pavlo Kyrylenko said on the social media app Telegram that Russian forces rounded up 400 people from their houses in the neighborhood and drove them into the hospital, where about 100 patients, doctors and other hospital staff were. Kyrylenko said Russians were using the hostages as human shields.

Its impossible to leave the hospital, they are shooting hard, Kyrylenko said.

He said staff are continuing to treat patients in makeshift wards set up in a basement despite damage done to the building from shelling.

The siege of Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol comes the week after Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in the same city. Three people were killed, including a child.

Biden to attend NATO summit in Brussels to discuss Russias invasion

President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russias invasion of Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Bidens attendance after NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg announced the extraordinary summit of all NATO allies at the NATO headquarters.

At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together, Stoltenberg said in a statement on Twitter.

This will be Bidens first to Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago. Vice President Kamala Harris last week traveled to Romania and Poland, where she reaffirmed the United States commitment to defend members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Psaki said Biden will discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine and reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies. She said Biden will also join a scheduled European Council summit to discuss concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and humanitarian support to those affected by the violence in Ukraine.

When asked, Psaki would not say whether Biden will visit Poland, where the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees have fled. Were still working through the final details of the trip and what it may look like, said Psaki, who did not rule out Biden possibly meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

 Joey Garrison

As advancement stalls, Russia seeks reinforcements

Russian losses on battlefields in Ukraine have stalled its offensive and forced it to seek reinforcements from troops stationed in the Pacific and paying mercenary forces, according to the British Defense ministry. Russia has been seeking mercenaries from Syria and elsewhere to fight in Ukraine.

"Russia will likely attempt to use these forces to hold captured territory and free up its combat power to renew stalled offensive operations," British defense attache Mick Smeath said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Ukrainian resistance has hampered advancement by Russia, whose ability to hold territory it seizes would be degraded by continued losses, according to British military intelligence.

Earlier Tuesday, a senior Defense Department official said the Russian offensive against Ukraines major cities, including Kyiv, was not progressing.

However, Russian forces continue to bombard Kyiv with artillery and missile fire, striking residential areas with increasing frequency, according to the official, who shared battlefield assessments on condition of anonymity.

Russias main force has made minimal progress toward Kyiv. The leading edge of the troops remain about 10 miles to the northwest and about 15 miles to the east of the citys center. Ukrainians continue to mount stiff resistance, including near the city of Kharkiv.

-- Tom Vanden Brook

Fox News cameraman and consultant killed while covering war

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra "Sasha'' Kuvshynova were killed while reporting with correspondent Benjamin Hall in Ukraine outside the capital city of Kyiv, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced Tuesday.

The group was traveling in a vehicle in Horenka  nearly 20 miles from Kyiv  when they were struck by incoming fire Monday, Scott said in a statement. Hall remained hospitalized.

"Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us," Scott said. "His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched."

Kuvshynova, 24, was a freelance consultant for the network's team in Ukraine who helped with her knowledge of Kiev and its surroundings as well as her country's language. "Her dream was to connect people around the world and tell their stories and she fulfilled that through her journalism,'' Scott said.

American photojournalist Brent Renaud was killed Sunday when Russian forces fired on a car in Irpin, a town 30 miles outside Kyiv. A second American journalist, Juan Arredondo, was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, police said.

Ned Price, the State Departments chief spokesman, did not directly respond when asked if Russia is intentionally targeting journalists, but said the department is documenting attacks on people who should be completely off limits. He said it would merit a serious response if the department determines there is any intentionality here.''

 Asha C. Gilbert

Russian TV employee who protested war is fined $270, could face tougher penalty

The Russian state television employee who interrupted a live news program by protesting against the war in Ukraine was fined the equivalent of $270 but could face harsher penalties under Russia's new law aimed at quelling opposition to the invasion.

Marina Ovsyannikova was ordered to pay 30,000 rubles by Moscow's Ostankino District Court on charges of organizing unsanctioned actions for her call to demonstrate against the war. CNN reported that Ovsyannikova was questioned for 14 hours before her court appearance.

More concerning than the fine was the possibility Ovsyannikova could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of violating the punitive legislation adopted a day after the Feb. 24 invasion. Russia's top state investigative agency is looking into whether Ovsyannikova broke the new law by publicly spreading false information about the Russian military.

Ovsyannikova, who said in a video that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian, walked into a Channel One studio during Monday's evening news show with a poster saying no war and Russians against the war and warning viewers against believing propaganda spread by the station In the video, she said Russia is the aggressor country and one person, Vladimir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression, and she urged Russians to join anti-war protests.

Speaking in a video address early Tuesday, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth, real facts  And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.

Girl who went viral singing 'Let It Go' in Kyiv bomb shelter is now in Poland

A video of a 7-year-old girl singing the song Let It Go from Disneys Frozen in a bomb shelter in Kyiv went viral last week. Now she has made it safely to Poland.

The girl, Amelia, is in the country with her grandmother, the BBC reported. She told the outlet that, It was OK in the bomb shelter.

There were other children there. My classmate, Artyom, was there too, she said.

I would be very happy to be with my mother and father, in Kyiv, of course, she added. She also thanked the millions of people who saw the video of her singing the hit song from the Disney movie.

Last week, Idina Menzel, who voiced Elsa, the character who sings Let it Go in Frozen, shared the video of Amelia singing on Twitter, writing, We see you. We really, really see you.

-- Marina Pitofsky

U.S. supplies another $186 million in humanitarian aid

The Biden administration said Tuesday it would provide an additional $186 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the refugee crisis caused by Russias war against Ukraine. More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia invaded on Feb. 24th, with the majority crossing into Poland.

This will provide further support for humanitarian organizations responding to the crisis and complement the generosity of the neighboring countries that are welcoming and supporting refugees, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken said the new funds would help provide food, drinking water, shelter and emergency health care through international and non-governmental partners. This funding will also help victims of this conflict maintain contact with family members who have been separated and promote family reunification when possible, Blinken said.

-- Deirdre Shesgreen

Kyiv mayor: Men should fight, not 'sit somewhere and sympathize'

Russia stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv on Tuesday, smashing apartments and a subway station as the assault edged closer to the city center. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko stressed that Kyiv is prepared to defend itself and was confident it will not fall. He urged the men who left the capital to return and fight.

Everyone who loves Kyiv and wants it to survive should help as best they can," said Klitschko, a former heavyweight champion boxer. "Kyiv men, come back. We must protect our city and our future. Dont sit somewhere and sympathize."

Russia sanctions President Biden, top national security officials

The Kremlin has sanctioned President Joe Biden and 13 of his top national security and foreign policy aides, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday. Among the other officials sanctioned are Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; Secretary of State Antony Blinken; CIA Director Bill Burns; White House press secretary Jen Psaki; national security adviser Jake Sullivan and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

When a country sanctions officials or a company, their assets in the country are seized and they're subject to arrest if they set foot on the country. The U.S. and the European Union have sanctioned a number of top Kremlin military officials, billionaires and members of the Russian legislature over Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

It is unlikely the sanctions against the U.S. will have a material effect, given that none of the officials have reported assets in Russia. Western governments have ramped up efforts to seize the wealth of Russian oligarchs and financial institutions in their countries.

 Matthew Brown

Zelenskyy: Russian troops who surrender will be treated 'decently'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian troops in an online video early Tuesday that they can surrender and will be treated "decently" and pleaded with European nations to provide his military with more weapons.

"On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance," Zelenskyy said in a video translated into English by his office, ahead of his scheduled speech to Canada's parliament Tuesday. "Chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently."

NATO leaders focus on bolstering forces near Russian border

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was traveling to Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of NATOs defense ministers that will focus on bolstering the alliances eastern front following Russias invasion of Ukraine. Austin then is scheduled to visit senior civilian and military leaders in Slovakia and Bulgaria, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby.

The NATO meeting comes after Russias cruise-missile attack Sunday on the Yavoriv military training base in western Ukraine. The attack killed at least 35 people and occurred not far from the border with Poland, a NATO ally. President Joe Biden and other senior officials have pledged to respond to any Russian attack that spills into NATO territory.

 Tom Vanden Brook

Damage in Ukraine estimated at $500 billion and rising

Preliminary losses from Russia's attack in Ukraine are already estimated at $500 billion  and the damage grows worse every day, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said Tuesday. Supply chains have been broken, some businesses destroyed and others left unable to function because their workers have fled, Marchenko said. The true cost of the war won't be determined until it's over, he said. The International Monetary Fund, which has approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, said this week that the country's economic output could shrink by up to 35% if the war drags on.

Marchenko said some of the hundreds of billions in Russian assets frozen in the U.S. and Europe could be tapped to help his country rebuild.

China defends position on Ukraine

China's stance on Russias invasion of Ukraine is impartial and constructive while the U.S. has been immoral and irresponsible by spreading misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.

Lijian accused the U.S. of spreading misinformation over reports Beijing had agreed to a Russian request for military supplies. Lijian also said the U.S. played a major role in the development of the crisis, a reference to NATO expansion.

Lijian spoke at a press briefing on day after Yang Jiechi, one of China's top diplomats, met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Yang called on the international community to support peace talks and said "China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries."

State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to confirm whether U.S. officials believe Beijing has conveyed its support for Moscow's assault on Ukraine but said the U.S. is watching very closely whether China or any other country is providing any form of support, including material, economic or financial assistance.

Poland on edge as Russian airstrikes hit near border

KRAKOW, Poland  After a deadly Russian missile attack in Ukraine just 15 miles from the Polish border Sunday, some Poles are increasingly anxious  saving money, checking to see whether their passports are up to date and making plans to flee if war spills over to their country.

I said to my husband, If only one bomb touches Polish ground, I will pack myself, pack my grandma, pack my mom, and we are going abroad,' local artist Aga Gaj said.

Poles are nervous following a Russian airstrike that killed 35 and injured at least 100 at a military base where Americans had trained Ukrainian forces before the war. The United States and NATO have regularly sent instructors to the base, known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center. Just weeks before the war began, Florida National Guard members trained there. Read more here.

 Katelyn Ferral, USA TODAY Network

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine recap: Biden to provide Ukraine with $800M in new aid
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YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Turkey will continue its efforts to normalize relations with Armenia, ARMENPRESS reports Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"A very good dialogue took place at Antalya Deiplomacy Forum (with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan - edited.). Russia has been providing assistance since the beginning of the process, Azerbaijan has also been assisting in this matter. First of all, let us ensure a ceasefire, establish peace, so that to have a peaceful region. We will continue our efforts in this direction," said Cavusoglu.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian Federation welcomes the process of normalization of bilateral relations between Turkey and Armenia.
by Shafique Khokhar

The ceremony in Lahore cathedral marked seven years since the young man heroically gave his life in 2015 to stop a suicide bomber from entering a church. He is the first Pakistani lay person to be officially recognised as a servant of God.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Yesterday the Catholic Church of Pakistan officially opened the process of beatification and canonisation of Akash Bashir at Lahores Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Seven years ago, the young man courageously lost his life stopping a suicide bomber, thus saving hundreds of people.

Fr Amajd Yousuf, episcopal delegate, Fr Refan Fiaz, promoter of justice, and Fr Patrick Samuel, notary, attended the opening session and were sworn in.

On 15 March 2015, Bashir, 20, was a volunteer security guard at St Johns Catholic Church in Youhanabad.

While the faithful gathered for Sunday Lent Mass, two suicide bombers were about to blow themselves up.

One of them was at the entrance to the church when Bashir stopped him. I will die but I will not let you in were the young mans last words before he was killed by the attacker's bomb.

Akash, a young lay man from Lahore, is the first Pakistani Catholic to be recognised as a servant of God whose beatification process was authorised by the Holy See.

For this reason, his father, Emmanuel Bashir, told AsiaNews that he is very grateful to God for all the blessings he has given to his family, especially for this son of his.

To save others he did not renounce his faith, but renounced the world. He makes me proud to be Pakistani, the father said, a thought shared by the young mans mother.

She is grateful to Pope Francis, His Grace Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore, and all the bishops of Pakistan for their efforts for our son and celebrating the joy of this day.

We are celebrating Akash's faith, hope and trust in God, Archbishop Shaw said at the end of the celebration.
by Stefano Vecchia

The outgoing president says the war will be less gruesome, centred on outreach and rehabilitation. Civil society groups fear it will still be marked by abuse and violence. Independent sources estimate that the crackdown claimed at least 30,000 lives in the past six years.

Milan (AsiaNews)  The "war on drugs by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is changing gear, from summary executions to rehabilitation, but still largely entrusted to the police.

The new approach will focus on reaching out to drug addicts and their families as well as drug dealers arrested the past six years or who voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement for fear of lethal reprisals.

Duterte, who cannot run again and whose term of office ends after the next presidential elections on 9 May, launched his war at the start of his election campaign in 2016.

Expressing a desire to rid the country of the scourge of drug addiction, which is estimated to affect two million people, he carried out a violent crackdown against political opponents, non-governmental organisations, independent media and religious leaders.

The international community repeatedly spoke out against the most brutal practices used by the outgoing president, which caused at least 8,000 extrajudicial executions, perhaps up to 30,000 according to independent sources.

Disappearances, arbitrary arrests and searches have pushed a million Filipinos to turn themselves in to the authorities to avoid worse consequences; the countrys already infamous and overcrowded prisons saw an influx of 300,000 people arrested directly by the police.

Faced with this unmanageable situation, difficult to explain for his daughter Sara, candidate for the vice-presidency, and the frontrunner in the presidential campaign, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Duterte decided to switch to a less brutal end-of-term strategy, even if it will hardly be enough to mend relations with civil society.

The Plan Double-Barrel Finale Version 2022 campaign, presented by Philippines National Police (PNP) chief, General Dionardo Carlos, is meant to show greater humanity towards suspects. It will be based on outreach programme accompanied by operations of persuasion and rehabilitation, without however changing the goal of eradicating drug addiction.

This seeming change of heart has not impressed those groups that have been critical from the start of the use of force and arbitrariness against people, usually from the poorest strata of society, who legally at least were innocent until proven guilty.

For example, for Karapatan, a human rights coalition, the idea of "persuasion", in a context in which the police will be able to act with greater leeway following the lifting of pandemic restrictions, simply means more of the same abuse and violence.
by Nirmala Carvalho

Benjamin Bara, a tribal from Jharkhand, heads UNESCO Asia committee promoting special decade (2022-2032) to protect tribal languages. Speaking to AsiaNews, he urges missionary schools to do more to preserve tribal identities.

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  Catholic educational institutions must do more to promote education among tribal children in their native language, this according to Dr Benjamin Bara, an Indian Catholic activist appointed by UNESCO to its Global Task Force for Making a Decade of Action for Indigenous Languages 2022-2032.

Bara is an educator in Jharkhand, a state in eastern India. A tribal rights expert at the Jesuit-run Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, he teaches at the University of Delhi and is a member of several Indian national bodies like the Adivasi Ekta Parishad, Adivasi Samanway Manch Bharat, and India Indigenous Peoples.

I belong to the Kurukh tribal community from Pandrani village in Gumla district, Jharkhand, he told AsiaNews. He is also a member of the Global Task Force and head of its Steering Committee for Asia.

His job at the UN agency is to raise awareness about the importance of tribal languages and to create sensitivity towards the protection, promotion, and revitalisation of tribal/indigenous languages in Asia.

To this end, he is involved in the training on digital archival, script generation, and language learning workshops with the tribal/indigenous peoples in Asia.

In India, indigenous languages are a very important issue. Unfortunately, Most of the countries in Asia do not recognise indigenous peoples. Therefore, indigenous languages face an identity crisis. This results in language assimilation.

By contrast, According to the New Education Policy 2020, the Government of India has taken an excellent step to teach students in their mother tongue/regional-local languages till fifth class. I hope this step will bring new change to promote and revitalise Adivasi/tribal languages in different countries.

Bara grew up attending Catholic schools, like St Francis' College in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, followed by a PhD at the Xavier School of Management in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

I noticed that the values taught in missionary institutions, such as love, care, generosity, coexistence, compassion, forgiveness, adjustment, etc., are tribal values, he explained.

What concerns me is that most missionary institutions are not imparting education to tribal and Adivasi children in their tribal/Adivasi languages. This results in the alienation of tribal children from their roots, identity, knowledge, and culture.

Changing the curriculum and imparting education in tribal/Adivasi languages in missionary and non-missionary institutions could bring change and become a milestone to protect, preserve, and revitalise tribal/Adivasi languages, their traditional knowledge, identity, and culture.
It was scheduled for next autumn. Xi Jinping would need a "small victory" to secure a third term in power. Taipei cannot confirm the authenticity of the document, but it is credible, according to a well-known investigative journalist. After invasion of Ukraine, Taiwanese more ready to fight.

Taipei (AsiaNews) - Xi Jinping was planning to invade Taiwan next autumn, but Russia's attack on Ukraine, and the military difficulties that have emerged from the battlefield, would have dissuaded the Chinese president from launching the venture. This is according to Vladimir Osechkin, head of the humanitarian group Gulag Net, citing Russian intelligence funds that he allegedly came into possession of.

On Facebook, Osechkin published material dated 4 March that he attributes to an analyst of the FSB, Moscow's internal intelligence service. According to the document, Xi was preparing the recapture of Taiwan because he "needs his little victory to secure his third term" in power. The assault on the island was planned on the eve of the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party to strengthen Xi's position, while a "colossal" power struggle is taking place within the Chinese leadership.

The alleged Russian intelligence analyst claims that events in Ukraine "closed the window of opportunity" to attack Taiwan. This would have given the US the opportunity to "blackmail Xi as well as negotiate with its adversaries on advantageous terms". According to the Moscow spy, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has activated a "trap mechanism" for Beijing.

investigative journalist Christo Grozev wrote in a Twitter post that two of his contacts at the FSB had confirmed: "Without a doubt [the report] was written by a colleague".

This morning, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said that he could not confirm the veracity of the revelation at the moment, but that Taipei is closely monitoring Beijing's moves. Earlier, Wu said the Chinese government is closely watching what is happening in Ukraine, especially the West's united response and the problems faced by the Russians in the military campaign.

After Russia's armed blitz in Ukraine, Taiwan raised its military alert level. These days its naval units are carrying out military exercises in the waters of Dongyin Island, a few kilometres from the Chinese province of Fujian.

China considers Taiwan a "rebel province" and has never ruled out re-conquering it by force. The island has been de facto independent from Beijing since 1949; at that time Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists found refuge there after losing the civil war on the mainland to the communists, making it the heir to the Republic of China founded in 1912.

After the invasion of Ukraine, Taiwanese are more willing to fight to defend their country from a Chinese attack. A survey released yesterday by the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society reveals that 70.2 per cent of respondents are ready to take up arms against an aggression by Beijing; in a December survey it was only 40.3 per cent.
The execution is ostensibly a revenge" killing for a death that occurred decades ago. The group killed the Christians and danced over their bodies. Upon returning to their village, they were greeted by songs, celebrations and cries of Allah Akbar. The three brothers who were killed had nothing to do with past events.

Cairo (AsiaNews)  Three Christian Coptic brothers were brutally killed by a group of six Muslims, who allegedly acted in revenge to cleanse the blood of a relative who died about 70 years ago.

At the time of the attack, 1 March, the victims  Youssef Youssef Youssef, Afifi Youssef Youssef and Bushra Youssef Youssef  were working in an agricultural field, but news of the incident became public only recently.

The attackers, from the village of Jaweer, killed the Christian brothers, execution style while they were in the village of Ibshadat, Mallawi district, Minya governorate. They reportedly performed a ghoulish dance during the killing and then mutilated the bodies.

Local sources, cited by International Christian Concern (ICC), said that residents in the attackers village celebrated the killing by playing musical instruments.

Lawyers and some people familiar with the incident note that the victims knew nothing of the killing that took place decades ago, when their father was young.

Furthermore, the way the murders took place does not match those typical of revenge killings but resemble the violence of the Islamic State. According to a source, the murderers returned to their village shouting "Allah Akbar", God is great.

Soon after, police arrested the attackers who, during the interrogation, admitted the crime and showed how they killed the victims and cut up their bodies. Now they will stand trial for killing the three men, one of whom had six children

Extremist Islamist groups have been operating in Egypt for many years, their actions intensifying after the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in 2013, especially in the Sinai.

Several Christians have also been targeted, killed in attacks against individuals and groups. In February 2018, the Egyptian security forces, army and police, launched a massive campaign aimed at armed groups and jihadists in the Sinai.
The GCC invites a Houthi delegation to Riyadh to try to reach a lasting ceasefire. "Formal invitations" will be sent shortly. But the rebels seem inclined to decline because of the active role of the Saudis. The humanitarian crisis is worsening: UN agencies sound the alarm: 161,000 people at risk of famine by the end of the year.

Riyadh (AsiaNews) - The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an organisation based in Riyadh, is acting as a mediator to reach a lasting truce in Yemen by inviting a Houthi delegation to the Saudi capital for consultations with its counterparts. The initiative is part of the United Nations' peace efforts, at a time when the humanitarian emergency in the country is becoming increasingly dramatic and could also be affected by the Russian war in Ukraine and the wheat supply crisis.

Formal invitations" are expected to be issued in the coming days for talks on military, political and economic issues in the conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-led Arab coalition supporting the internationally recognised Yemeni government. The war has entered its eighth year and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, millions of internally displaced persons and damage whose consequences will be felt for decades to come.

An official GCC source, on condition of anonymity, explains that the Houthis will be "guests" of the organisation's secretary general Nayef Falah Mubarak Al-Hajraf at his headquarters in Riyadh. The delegation of the rebel movement will be assured of all guarantees in view of the talks, which should be held between 29th March and 7th April. However, the hopes of success appear very limited due to the leading role played by Saudi Arabia. A senior Houthi official, interviewed by Reuters, stressed that the group would be unlikely to accept travel to the Wahhabi kingdom, which is an active participant in the war and supports the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, considered corrupt and the result of "foreign aggression" by the Shiite rebels. Riyadh," explains Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of the supreme committee, "is a party to the war and not a negotiator".

In the meantime, the humanitarian situation in Yemen is becoming increasingly dramatic, as denounced in a report published in recent days by more than a dozen international organisations linked to the UN and present in the area. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 161,000 people in the Arab country will face famine in the second half of 2022, a figure five times higher than the current one, and catastrophic levels of hunger.

"These harrowing figures confirm that we are on a countdown to catastrophe in Yemen and we are almost out of time to avoid it," said David Beasley, head of the World Food Program, appealing for immediate funding to "avert imminent disaster and save millions." The Ipc report states that 19 million Yemenis - out of a population of more than 30 million - are likely to be unable to meet minimum food needs between June and December, up from 17.4 million at present. In addition, 2.2 million children, including 538,000 already severely malnourished and some 1.3 million women, will be at risk of severe hunger by the end of the year. "More and more children are going to bed hungry in Yemen," said Catherine Russell, UNICEF's executive director. "This puts them at increased risk of physical and cognitive impairment, and even death."
Lake Mead reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States is the largest reservoir in the country and amid a decades-long mega-drought in the region. The Colorado Problem: A River in the Red, a 2021 documentary produced by the Aspen-based Wendover Productions company, sheds light on this issue and many more and will be screened at the Isis Theater tonight.
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Share This: Rivians $5 billion manufacturing plant in Georgia is pushing lawmakers to revisit the Peach States legislation on direct sales by vehicle manufacturers.

Rivians presence in Georgia solidifies the states growing electric vehicle industry, making legislators reconsider its take on direct vehicle sales.

As of March 15, Tesla is the only car manufacturer allowed to sell vehicles to customers directly. Georgia approved legislation in 2015 that allowed Tesla to sell cars without going through local dealers. However, the bill limits Teslas direct sales to five locations statewide.

In 2021, Rivian and other players in the EV industry, like Lucid and Lordstown Motors, sent a coalition letter to the Georgia Legislature, showing their support for House Bill 460.

we ask you to support House Bill 460, which would allow dedicated manufacturers of EVs, who have never been party to a franchise dealer agreement, to sell their vehicles directly to customers ('direct sales') in the state of Georgia, the letter said.

Rivian and the other companies supporting HB 460 sent the coalition letter to the Georgia Legislature in February 2021, months before the Illinois-based EV manufacturer announced its production plant in the peach state. Rivian has been lobbying Georgia lawmakers to allow direct sales in the state for the last few years.

Rivians decision to build a production facility in Georgia did not hinge on HB 460 passing. State Rep. Chuck Martin noted Rivian advocated for HB 460, but by no means tied the laws, or the passage of it, to any funding in Georgia.

After Rivian announced its production facility in Georgia, Lea Kirschner---CEO of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association---reached out to the company in a statement.

Georgias franchise automobile dealers and the more than 70,000 Georgians employed by dealers and their suppliers throughout the state look forward to working with Rivian to...
The crew of six will thus soon be joining an increasing list of people who have done this. Some of them are now dreaming of getting the coveted astronaut wings for their touch-space-and-go experience, while most wish theyd be at least called astronauts after the feat.Now compare those largely unfounded dreams and aspirations with what this guy, who spent years in training, achieved, as he became the American with most consecutive days spent in space.His name is Mark Vande Hei, and on March 15 he became the record holder, reaching the milestone set a while back by Scott Kelly. By the time hes set to return to planet Earth from the International Space Station (ISS), on March 30, he would have spent 355 days in orbit, 15 days more than what Scott Kelly achieved, and just ten days short of a full year. Vande Hei joined NASA in 2009, after serving in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer. He started at NASA as Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) in the Mission Control Center and did that for Expeditions 15 to 20 and STS-122, 123, 124, 126 and 127.In June 2011, he finished astronaut candidate training, but continued to work as CAPCOM until 2012, when he joined the Astronaut Offices Director of Operations in Russia.His first mission to space came in 2018, as part of the Expedition 53/54 crew, and presently, as he set a new record for the longest stay in space, he serves as Flight Engineer for Expedition 65. For the current mission, the astronaut reached the International Space Station on April 9, 2021.
However, its hard to rest on our laurels when knowing that space rocks can pummel our planet at any time, and all we get is just a couple of hours notice. This time, the asteroid burned up in the skies above Iceland and nobody was the wiser.Credited with this discovery is astronomer Krisztian Sarneczky, who spotted the bright and fast-moving object in the sky using a 60 cm (23.3-inch) Schmidt telescope at the Piszkesteto observatory in Hungary, as reported by Gizmodo His initial observation took place at 7:24 pm UTC (3:24 pm EST) on March 11, 2022, followed by three other observations before a report could be sent to the Minor Planet Center. About an hour later, the European Space Agencys Meerkat monitoring system triggered an alert to the Near-Earth Object Coordination Center (NEOCC), and at that point, the cat was out of the bag and impact probability was 100%.But again, this particular space rock was rather small, thankfully, which ironically is part of the problem, because the smaller they are, the harder they are to detect. Objects this small dont usually survive entry through our atmosphere, and were seeing roughly 10 asteroids of this size arriving at Earth every year.In the end, no footage exists of the moment the asteroid burned up on entry, but according to the data, its demise took place about 87 miles (140 km) south of Jan Mayen, at Arctic island located 1,190 miles (1,910 km) northeast of Iceland.Signals from the impact were detected from Iceland and Greenland, suggesting an energy release equivalent to 2 to 3 [kilotons] of TNT, as per the NEOCC.
But as far as BMW is concerned, the lack of chips combined with the supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine have caused new struggles that are impossible to deal with in the short term.In other words, the German carmaker has reduced its original sales estimate for 2022, explaining it now expects this years figures to match the ones in 2021.Last year, BMW sold a total of 2.52 million vehicles.The company doesnt expect the chip shortage to come to an end this year, so in theory, the semiconductor supply is very likely to remain incredibly constrained until 2023.But BMW is betting big on EVs, as it wants to sell more than 200,000 zero-emission vehicles in 2022. The company has a target of 2 million EVs by 2025.While some analysts are optimistic the chip inventory would ease off in the second half of 2022, it becomes more obvious this isnt going to happen.Just last week, Ford announced a new set of measures supposed to help the company deal with the chip shortage, including the removal of certain systems from Explorer SUVs. The whole purpose was to reduce the number of chips used per each model, so at the end of the day, the company would have more units to build additional vehicles.BMW, too, was affected by the chip shortage in most markets out there. In the United States, the company sold some cars without touch-capable screens for the very same reason, therefore following in the footsteps of other large manufacturers who removed non-critical systems from their vehicles.As for the war in Ukraine, BMW says its still working with its local suppliers, but the company has already reached out to other suppliers based in various locations to minimize any potential disruption in its supply chain.
Ukraine, Russia to continue peace talks on Wednesday: Ukrainian negotiator

Xinhua) 08:40, March 16, 2022

KIEV, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine and Russia will continue their peace talks on Wednesday, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said Tuesday.

"We'll continue tomorrow. A very difficult and viscous negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise," Podolyak tweeted.

The work in subgroups will continue during the break, he added.

The fourth round of negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations started on Monday via video link and continued into Tuesday.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
Its two new partners are Mannheim City Airport in Germany and the UAS Denmark Test Center hosted at Odenses Hans Christian Andersen Airport. The former is located between Frankfurt and Stuttgart, in the heart of the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region, representing an important aviation infrastructure in the area. The former is one of the most renowned centers in Northern Europe for the test and development of drone technologies.Back partners have agreed to host Dronamics Black Swan drones, facilitating same-day delivery services and providing access to more than six million people located within a one-hour drive of these airports. While the Mannheim airport serves as the fifth droneport location in Germany, the UAS Denmark Test Center is Dronamics very first partner in Denmark.With these new collaborations, Dronamics has now expanded its droneport network to 42 locations in 14 European countries. The Bulgarian company aims to eventually create a global network of droneports, along with a ground control station that can guide all the cargo drones Dronamics Black Swan cargo drone has a wingspan of 52 ft (16 m) and can carry a payload of up to 770 lb (350 kg) over a distance of 1,553 miles (2,500 km). The aircraft can land on short and unpaved runways that are just 1,312 ft (400 m) long and can fly at altitudes of up to 22,000 ft (6,700 m). It can reach a top speed of 125 mph (200 kph).The Bulgarian drone developer has scheduled the first commercial flights of the Black Swan for this year, between Malta and Italy.
Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage.



If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed.



Elona  Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022

And maybe thats not entirely a bad thing. If were to believe the most pessimistic headlines, the world is on the verge of WWIII, prices are going up, gasoline is so expensive that thieves are drilling holes in tanks to steal it, theres still an international health crisis, and Ye and Kim and Pete are having one hell of a messy fight in the media. Nothing seems to be going right these days, so maybe what Elon Musk is trying to do is lighten up the mood a bit.Earlier this week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to hand-to-hand combat, nominating Ukraine as the prize for the winner and making many believe his Twitter account had been hacked. The invasion of Ukraine is no laughing matter, so Musks tweets divided opinion, because he seemed to be turning it into just that. For his part, Musk insisted he was serious about it, even tagging the official Kremlin account on the platform, just to make sure he gets a reply.The idea of commanders-in-chief duking it out man-to-man to spare the lives of troops is not unheard of in history, but Musk doesnt have a bone to pick in the ongoing conflict. Still, he wants to fight Putin, and he seems to want it badly enough that hes still tweeting about it.One of Musks most recent tweets is a message he got from Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Chechen Republic and a known Putin associate, over Telegram. Its an offer (and a not-too-veiled insult) to train him either in fighting or in the American art of black PR, with the goal of turning him from the gentle (effeminate) Elona into the brutal Elon you need to be. Because, as Elona is right now, Vladimir Vladimirovich will look unsportsmanlike when he beats the hell out of you, a much weaker opponent, Kadyrov says.Musk says that Kadyrovs message is legit, which, if true, means even Russian politicians and feared militia chiefs take the time out in a bloody war to check their social media. But perhaps more astounding is Musks response to this offer, which was not of the kind he couldnt refuse.Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage, he writes. If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed. Signed: Elona.As of the time of press, Musk is still Elona Musk on Twitter. From Technoking to the Emperor of Mars and Elona, you cant say that Musk doesnt have his plate full at all times of day. And night.
You dont hear about too many former Navy Seals becoming superyacht owners, but Mike Noell moved on to becoming a successful entrepreneur who launched his first tactical gear brand, Blackhawk, more than a decade ago. One of his luxury toys turned out to be an award-winning, sophisticated yacht that had been built for the founder of Heesen Yachts himself, Frans Heesen, in 2012.The 153-footer (47 meters) boasts an elegant exterior by Omega Architects and a modern yet sophisticated interior by the acclaimed Bannenberg & Rowell. Noell and his family enjoyed it as a family yacht with six cabins that can accommodate up to 12 guests, a large jacuzzi, a full-beam cinema, and a wide selection of water toys.But Odyssea also proved to be a self-sustaining vessel during challenging times. At the end of 2019, Noell and his family were planning to attend Americas Cup in New Zeeland. Despite its world-cruising capabilities, the yacht was shipped from the U.S. to Tahiti to spare it from wear and tear. At first, the family got to enjoy visiting different destinations in the area, but when the pandemic broke out, the kids (who studied in Miami) were sent back home, while Noell and his wife chose to stay isolated on board Odyssea.The former Seal told Boat International that it was an exciting adventure, despite being very different from what they had originally intended. After refueling and getting supplies, they were able to stay around French Polynesia for a total of 42 days. In the end, the couple flew back home onboard another superyachts owner airplane while the captain and crew cruised to Mexico  a trip that took 15 days.It was an unforgettable experience, and the prestigious superyacht demonstrated that its more than just a toy. But it might also be the last adventure onboard Odyssea for Noell, as the superyacht is listed for sale at Imperial Yachts , with an asking price of $26.5 million  not too much for a yacht that proved that the only thing she wouldnt do is cook the food.
Safran is building an aerodynamics test center near Liege, Belgium. Called Becover, this state-of-the-art facility was specifically designed for testing next-generation commercial and military aircraft engines. This means it will offer capabilities that are unique in Europe, including that of testing all types of compressors for these advanced engines. This includes a turbofan testing capability, a multi-speed gearbox, and even the possibility of innovative co-piloted remote tests.GR Power Conversions, a GE subsidiary thats focused on developing electric applications for various industries, will equip the new testing facility with an advanced technology that will allow a wide range of tests for compressors in various configurations.The technology includes an electrical system comprised of two MV7315 drives and a 30 MW induction motor, plus the auxiliary equipment. The GE induction motors for various applications are designed to provide high power and torque density while also being robust and highly reliable, thanks to a rotor cage construction.With the growth trend we currently see in the aerospace industry, engines manufacturers need to develop their test facilities and improve their efficiency and flexibility, said Philippe Piron, President & CEO of GE Power Conversion. Unfolding over 3,000 square meters (32,290 square feet), the Becover facility in Liege is set to become a real laboratory not only for the aviation industry but also for universities and research centers. One of its innovative features will be a closed air-loop system that enables tests for turbomachine components not only on the ground but also at different altitudes.The cutting-edge Becover testing center is set to become operational in 2023.
SUV

This is what happened when several owners of full-size trucks and SUVs, discovered that the paint job on their GM-made vehicles was not exactly spotless, so to speak. More specifically, the paint on some Chevrolet and GMC vehicles delaminates, peels, bubbles, or blisters, without any external or environmental influence.Affected owners filed a class-action lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and demanded GM to issue a recall for all 2015-2019 Chevrolet and GMC full-sizeand trucks that suffer from the peeling paint problem. The plaintiffs also demanded GM to repurchase affected vehicles at full cost and reimburse lessees based on how much theyre paid toward their leases.GM should properly repair all of the Class Vehicles, immediately, offer rescission to the Class by repurchasing their Class Vehicles for their full cost, reimburse the lessees of the Class Vehicles the monies they have paid toward their leases, recall all defective vehicles that are equipped with the defective paint, and cease and desist from marketing, advertising, selling, and leasing the Class Vehicles, writes the Riley, et al., vs. General Motors LLC. lawsuit.This seems like a minor problem for a car owner, but it has far-reaching consequences. Not only does the peeling paint blemishes the look of the vehicle , but it also affects its resale value on the used car market. A repaint would not do either, since the vehicles were painted using robots at the factory and hand-painted vehicles would not have the same consistent finish. The plaintiffs also claim that GM was aware of the problem.According to CarComplaints , the vehicles affected by the peeling paint problem are the 2015-2019 model years of Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL, and Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra.
4WD

His secret? Just buy an absolute rust bucket of an old Bronco. It was a certified stroke of genius. $1,500 out the door was all it took for Westen to get this Bronco, which appears to be fresh from yet another police chase, back to an off-road trail near him. Westen also makes it known that he hasn't modified the thing to high-holy heaven.Everything but the water pump is much the same as it was when it left the Ford factory sometime around 20 years ago, even if that means it's all worn out and falling apart. Oh, Ford, you never change, do you? Westen wasn't sure if the Bronco's iconically capablesystem would even work as he ran down his latest purchase to the camera. What was working just fine, however, was the big V8 under the hood.Specifying between whether it's the Ford 302 V8 or the beefier 351 Windsor engine is tough without seeing what's under the hood. What is more concretely known is that, even with its rear differential going on strike under heavy load, this is still a very capable off-road machine. The off-road trail in question is located in rural Oklahoma.Its many rivers, streams, fields of boulders, and steep hills meant many challenges were ahead for this beat-up Bronco. To its eternal credit, the old dog managed to do pretty well, even as Westen Champlin made his best effort to scrape the passenger side door mirror, trying to find the best angle to get up a steep hill. In the end, Westen was nothing but impressed with his little truck.Enough so that he's now inspired to put a suspension lift and some big-chunky tires on this old Bronco so he can try to climb the steepest terrain this little Oklahoma trail can offer. We can't wait to see what he comes up with.
EV

Amidst high gasoline prices at the filling stations and major global unrest and uncertainty, there are also glimmers ofhope. For example, Hyundai has pledged to reveal no less than 17 electric vehicles and sell almost two million EV units by 2030.Meanwhile, Kia was not sitting idle either, with plans for 14 new EV models and deliveries of 1.2 million examples by the end of the decade. Per year! Of course, that means the South Korean brand is going to expand its zero-emission reach into many more segments than it caters for today. Like EV pickup trucks That is a highly coveted subject in North America these days, with the already revealed GMC Hummer H1, Rivian R1T, Ford F-150 Lightning, and 2024 Chevy Silverado EV. Not to mention the upcoming GMC version. Or the teased fully-electric Ram pickup truck. But at least o n a hypothetical level , there is more from Kia as well.Kleber Silva, a Barueri, Brazil-based virtual artist known as KDesign AG on social media, has noticed Kia's decision to plunge into the sprawling EV pickup truck market. And quickly came up with the idea of transforming the cool EV6 compact crossover SUV . Into a battery-powered pickup truck. Of course, he also opted for a logical approach.Kias sibling Hyundai already sells, with remarkable success, a Tucson-based unibody compact pickup truck. Their Santa Cruz thus served as the CGI base of digital transformation. Alas, the pixel master did not want too much of it to remain. So, he virtually slapped on top of it the current EV6 design language. That is clearly visible, especially at the front and rear fascia levels. Do you dig this EV that would presumably battle the popular, hybrid Ford Maverick?
The beauty mogul gave us a glimpse of her Bombardier Global 7500 jet as she was heading off to Palm Springs, California, to have some family vacation time. Kylie, mother of two, shared a look at her private pink-and-white private jet before boarding in Los Angeles.She also took her two children with her, Stormi Webster, and her newborn son, Wolf Jacques Webster, whom she welcomed merely six weeks ago, and who was ready for his first flight. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star shares her two children with rapper Travis Scott Kylies fortune grew to almost billionaire status thanks to her beauty products. Forbes declared her the worlds youngest billionaire, then took it back when they revealed they dont think her net worth actually is what she claimed. Despite that, she is still worth around $700 million, which allows her and Travis Scott to live more than comfortably.And, among her possessions, theres also a private jet, a Bombardier Global 7500 with a pink stripe and her name on it.A black Cadillac Escalade ESV sat outside the aircraft, while Kylie took a short video that she shared on her Instagram Stories from inside her custom-made Rolls-Royce Cullinan with a bubblegum pink interior.The Global 7500 is the worlds largest and longest-range business jet, and it couldnt be more luxurious and comfortable. Powered by GE Passport engines, it has a range of 7,700 Nmi (14,260 km) and a top speed of 0.925 Mach (982 kph).On board, there are four living spaces, and the jet comes with its own full-size kitchen. The aircraft has enough space for up to 19 passengers, depending on configuration, which will allow Kylie and her family to enjoy the flight. And, given the fact that the jet is also very quiet, baby Wolfs first flight ever was probably a success.
AMG

AWD

But first, heres another statement from the release: the new four-cylinder Emira is powered by a bespoke version of AMGs M139 direct-injection engine. It is manufactured specifically for the Lotus Emira, and includes hardware changes to aid mid-mounted integration and new software to give it a true Lotus character. It is the worlds most powerful four-cylinder engine homologated for road use (up to 208 bhp per liter), widely regarded as the worlds best I4 unit, and has an enviable reputation for reliability.First things first, its not actually bespoke. Lest we forget,supplies Aston Martin with twin-turbo V8s from the M177 family, with fewer ponies than AMGs own applications. The peeps at Aston Martin wrongly refer to this V8 as an in-house design, so theyre also guilty of misinformation.The only bespokeness would be how the M139 is integrated in the all-new Emira, which is a mid-engine RWD sports car rather than a front-enginehot hatchback as it's the case with the AMG A 45 and A 45 S.Secondly, the M139 for the Emira produces 360 horsepower, which is less than what Mercedes offers in the A 45. Last, but certainly not least, the worlds most powerful four-cylinder engine is the high-output M139 used in the A 45 S. In this application, it packs a whopping 416 horsepower.Having deconstructed this aspect, we also have to mention what a certain employee said about the dual-clutch transmission of the four-pot Emira First Edition. Its a bespoke rear-wheel-drive variant of the transmission developed by Lotus in collaboration with AMG, said vehicle attributes director Gavan Kershaw. Emphasis on the developed by Lotus in collaboration with AMG part, which is incorrect because were dealing with the AMG Speedshift 8G produced by the Stuttgart-based carmaker.Are these guys for real?Anyway, the four-pot Emira First Edition is priced from 71,995 in the United Kingdom, 87,995 in Germany, and $85,900 in the United States of America. If you prefer a manual gearbox, the 3.5-liter Toyota V6-engined Emira should be right up your alley. The base specification of the 400-hp V6 Emira will be launched in January from 64,995, 81,995, and $82,900.
AMG

As always, the drag and roll races take place in a secluded, not open to the public, windy location (hence the numerous windmills) in the latest video embedded below (posted on March 15th, 2022). The previous JDM battle had just one tuning twist added for additional flavor. This one, on the other hand, tries to level the aftermarket battlefield.From stock, a Mercedes-AMG C 43 4Matic should have a slight advantage over the bone-factory BMW M340i xDrive . However, everyone knows the Bavarians love to underrate their engines. But that does not matter anymore. According to the description from Sam and the stat cards, both are on equal, around 400 wheel horsepower footing.Alas, the Mercedes might still have a tiny edge because it is slightly lighter. Well, let us be frank and admit this was not one of those cases when the difference mattered . Nor did the fact that during races, they switched drivers to try and lower the influence of Sams experience on the digs and rolls. In the end, it was an absolute BMW blast, from start to finish line. Every single time!That certainly caught Sam  and everyone else, probably, by surprise. The first drag was from the 1:50 mark, and it set the quick pace for absolute destruction . That tuned C 43 stood no chance at all against the modded M340i, even though both feature all-wheel drive. Well, Sam thinks it has something to do with the transmission. Maybe.Or perhaps their equal whp ratings were severely off... who knows. All we can see is the utter humiliation of Mercedes-'s representative repeatedly. To the tune of the second drag race (at the 2:39 mark) and a couple of rolls (from 3:23 and 4:02), there was nothing anyone could do about it. Not even when the Merc got a slight head start...
And unfortunately, it really doesnt, with some users now struggling with an awkward error that causes Google Maps to switch to a basic map view on Android Auto.Users on Googles discussion board indicate that Google Maps started switching to what looks like a pre-navigation screen approximately one week ago, and its believed a recent update is the one to blame.Manually switching to the full navigation screen is indeed possible, but on the other hand, Google Maps then returns to this odd screen once again.In other words, using the Google Maps navigation has become quite a struggle on Android Auto, and unfortunately, nobody knows exactly how to bring things back to normal and whether this is a new feature and therefore intended behavior or not.Unsurprisingly, the problem seems to occur on Android 12, the most recent version of Googles operating that has until been wreaking havoc on Android Auto. At the same time, the device most often affected by this glitch is the Google Pixel, but at this point, its not yet clear if the phone model has any role in the whole thing.The good news is that not a lot of people seem to be affected, though its important to keep in mind the problem first showed up one week ago. In other words, theres a chance more users could come across the same behavior sooner or later, so it remains to be seen just how widespread the whole thing gets.In the meantime, no workaround is known to exist. If a recent Google Maps update is the one to blame, then a downgrade to an earlier version could help.On the other hand, if Android 12 is the one causing the glitch, then the only option is to wait for Google to come up with a fix.We have also reached out to Google for additional information on what happens, and well post an update when we hear back.
The vehicle is commonly referred to as the Mad Max car, but it is a replica of the Pursuit Special MFP Interceptor in the first Mad Max film, which made the Ford Falcon even more popular than it was after the movie reached international fame. Mad Max has managed to influence pop culture even decades after it came out, but that is not enough for Australian police.Back in 2016, this vehicle was voted to be the best replica in Australia by Murray Smith, who built the original movie car. That kind of accomplishment is impressive, and even Gladstone Police acknowledged the quality of this build as they explained why the owner was ticketed.As ABC News reported, the owner of the vehicle, which he converted into a Mad Max replica starting in 2009, had been pulled over by police in Queensland. Despite managing to pass a Queensland inspection and registering the vehicle to his new home after moving from the Northern Territory.The Australian man was fined for having a blower protruding from the hood, which is a safety issue in the event of an impact with a pedestrian, while their other issue with the car was having a blue light in the vehicle.Despite not using it, simply having it inside, with the possibility of being seen or used, is not permitted, as blue is reserved for emergency services in Australia. The side-mounted exhaust pipes were also seen as a safety hazard.The owner of this fantastic Mad Max replica , Rod, stated that he only drives the vehicle "about six times a year, mostly to special events" and he was disappointed that the police decided to fine him instead of issuing a warning. When he resided in the Northern Territories, police representatives even invited Rod to bring his vehicle to a police graduation ceremony.The vehicle had a special club registration in prior years, and it was only pulled over by police for picture opportunities, instead of tickets, Rod noted. Well, as you can see in the comments on the Gladstone Region police's post, people are not happy with the outcome of this, but at least the vehicle was not impounded.However, its owner will have to resolve the defects before being allowed to drive it on public roads again. The supercharger could be concealed by a hood scoop, but the blue light has got to go.Meanwhile, the exhausts might have to be modified  as the issue with them is not about noise, but about a potential injury risk if someone touches the pipes when they are hot, as police officers explained in the post.As we mentioned in the lead of this article, owning a movie car or a replica of a movie car can be exciting, but it may get expensive real fast if we consider potential fines from the police. While the police officers must apply the law with no exceptions, all enthusiasts can hope is that someone will devise legislation to save things like movie cars from being confined to museums.
The Abarth brand had an on-and-off history in Brazil and this is the third time the Italians push the performance brand to South American customers. The first time was in 2002 with Fiat Stilo Abarth, while the second time was in 2014, with the launch of the Fiat 500 Abarth in 2014. Now, Abarth is riding high with the subcompact crossover Pulse as its first model. The Pulse Abarth will be followed soon by two other models.Compared to the mundane Fiat Pulse, the Abarth version comes with more aggressive styling. Nothing to break the bank though, just some contrasting side mirror caps, front bumper trim, and some nice side decals. That is beside the scorpion Abarth badge that replaces Fiat lettering. Even so, the Pulse Abarth looks promising and properly competent, so we guess the Brazilians would line up to order one in October when the order book will open.Regarding the powertrain, Fiat keeps everything simple, with one engine option based on the 1.3-liter turbocharged unit that also powers the Jeep Renegade. This should be the most powerful derivative of this powerplant, with 185 horsepower expected when fueled by ethanol and 180 horsepower on gasoline. Most probably, it will be backed up by a 6-speed automatic transmission.We know the Brazilian market is not one for sophisticated models, but the drum brakes on the rear axle do seem a little long in the tooth. It's a shame Fiat did not opt for something more suited for spirited driving and opted to keep the brakes of the regular Fiat Pulse. Be it as it may, this nice-looking sporty crossover would most likely not make it to the U.S. and will be, as far as we know, a Brazil-only affair.
SUV

Rapper Fabolous loves his cars, especially his Rolls-Royces . He owns several, and he doesnt pose better with any other car in his collection. So, when someone else tampers with them, hes not happy.On Tuesday, March 15, the rapper took it to his social media to accuse a DoorDash delivery driver of stealing stuff from his Rolls-Royce. His light grey SUV, a Cullinan , stood parked next to a white Mercedes-Maybach GLS.In the video, we can see the driver deliver a box, and then try out thes door, which was unlocked. Although he looks around for a camera, he hops inside the Cullinan and gets out with a few boxes of shoes and clothes.The rapper wrote, next to several videos from the security camera: Yesterday afternoon a DOOR DASH DELIVERY GUY bringing a order to someone else in NEW JERSEY decided to STEAL me & my Sons sneakers & clothes out of my car !!!He continued, Im giving the opportunity here & now to whoever this dude is to return the stuff stolen. I will take it back with no consequence, & let it slide.Fabolous added in the lengthy message: IF NOT, i have plenty of video footage, the delivery car info, the Door Dash pick up info & even will reach out to door dash & get all information involved with the driver/vehicle If you know this guy or this is your family or friend u should holla at him to return it ASAP. YALL CAN DM ME & this will be handled & left as a mistake or opportunity.The rapper has since deleted the post, but he didnt add whether the matter is resolved.
Earlier this week, NASA unveiled the complete scribblings that will adorn to two solid rocket boosters of the SLS. Known as the NASA worm logo, the cursive writing of the agencys name is now featured in complete form on the pieces of hardware, after the rocket got fully assembled.NASAs worm logo dates back to 1975 and was created because the agencys insignia, known as the meatball and featuring a red chevron wing piercing a blue sphere, was hard to replicate on space hardware.A firm called Danne & Blackburn is responsible for the worm coming into this world, a symbol that was featured on spacecraft until 1992, when it was retired (except for clothing and souvenir items) in favor of a more vintage design.Back in 2020, NASA brought back the worm logo, being featured for the first time on the Falcon 9 rocket that took American astronauts to space from American soil for the first time in a decade, as part of the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission.The SLS boosters will take the logo to high altitudes probably in May, when the launch of the Artemis I mission will take place. It will be the first launch of Americas new Moon exploration program, one meant to return the nation to Earths natural satellite, carrying, possibly by the end of the decade, the first woman and first person of color to touch another celestial body.In the long run, Artemis should kick off the colonization of the Moon, and the first crewed mission to Mars.
FSD

NHTSA

ADAS

@elonmusk Can I please have FSD Beta back? ??  Aiaddict (@Aiaddict1) March 16, 2022

Elon Musks excuses thatmade cars safer and had never had any crashes were already shattered by two other cases. The first was reported toand happened in Brea, California. We wrote about that on November 11, 2021. The second was reported on February 4. Although it was a corner case involving black ice, FSD was in charge nonetheless. AI Addicts video emerged one day later.According to CNBC , Bernal was not informed about why he was fired in the written separation notice he received. The article does not state exactly when Tesla fired thetest operator but it must have been recently. Bernal tweeted Elon Musk asking to get FSD again on March 16.The request came because the YouTuber was not only fired. He also lost access to the beta software, which is understandable in this case. As an employee, Bernal could buy a Tesla vehicle and get FSD for free. When he purchased his 2021 Model 3 Long Range , it cost $8,000. Now, Tesla charges $12,000 for the software but it also offers it as a subscription service. It is not clear if the company gave the YouTuber the option to pay for it.Without access to the system, Bernal will not be able to record his videos anymore. Despite getting no written reasons for termination, the YouTuber had already been told by his managers that he had broken Tesla policy with his videos and that they represented a conflict of interest.Although the managers did not elaborate on that, they probably meant that Bernal could not present the results of his driving sessions in video. In the past, Tesla required customers with access to FSD to sign NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). Vice had access to the text of these contracts and they asked customers to share info about FSD selectively. Either they should shoot fewer videos about the system or share only the ones that you think are interesting or worthy of being shared.For a software named Full Self-Driving that demands its users to take full responsibility for the car because it is not capable of doing what its name promises, it is clear what Tesla wanted these guys to share. When Bernal posted about the video with his crash, the tweet said: Hey @elonmusk time to update FSD Beta crash numbers to at least 1. Runs red light ~ 2:40. Smashes into Stationary Object ~ 3:20 mark. The tweet was later erased.Calling out his boss on his promises was probably the reason for Bernals termination. Now free from any commitments with the company, the YouTuber may keep shooting videos about FSD if he manages to reinstate it in his car or borrow one that has the software. He may also sell his Tesla and make videos about other electric vehicles. His YouTube channel will answer that soon.
Volkswagen was a partner at the festival, offering a sneak preview of its forthcoming ID.BUZZ, the modern-day replica of the beloved Microbus of the hippy era. According to Herbert Diess, the electric Bulli made quite an impression in Austin and is the German companys best hope to regain Americans hearts. But he also let everybody know that there was one thing that made a lasting impression on him, and that was Teslas Gigafactory Austin.We all know the cordial relationship between Herbert Diess and Elon Musk, with the two executives exchanging more than a few rounds of pleasantries. Musk visited Volkswagens plant in Wolfsburg , while Diess also praised Musk for his work at Tesla. But Tesla Giga Austins visit seems to have been a moment of reckoning for Herbert Diess, and he mentioned the plans to build a new plant in Wolfsburg as the best decision that allows Volkswagen to compete with Tesla.In a post on LinkedIn , Diess spent an entire paragraph showing his admiration for Tesla, including the part when he actually described Texas as an opportunity to investors. Tesla went to Austin because of this: 3 months after the first meeting a deal was agreed. 2 years after the plant is close to getting into production, wrote Diess. But then he couldnt stop from praising the latest (and biggest) Gigafactory in Teslas empire.By the way: Elons new factory - he calls it the machine that produces the machine is impressive: 1.2 km long, 400 m wide, all under one roof, no logistics from cell production to the final assembly. Once up and running it will very likely set some new benchmarks. I am so happy that we decided (on) a new plant for Wolfsburg. Without that - no chance to compete, he continued.Giga Texas is the largest Tesla gigafactory so far, with plans to produce the Model Y and later Model 3, the Cybertruck, and the Semi. Everything from battery cell manufacturing to vehicles final assembly is concentrated under one roof, with little logistics necessary to supply the factory. Tesla will stage a Giga Fest at Austin on April 7, with mass production expected to begin later this year.
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Sudanese media are reporting that several Arab countries are trying to promote a behind-the-scenes initiative to bring former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok back to the political scene.

Driving the news: The army chief and chairman of the sovereign council Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan appears unable to bring about any form of political reconciliation amid persistent waves of street protests and rising casualties among demonstrators.

Catch up fast: Sudanese military leaders deposed Hamdok and placed him under house arrest last October, prompting mass protests and derailing the country's fragile transition to democracy.

Military leaders described the coup as a "course correction."

A power-sharing agreement was reached last November to reinstate Hamdok as prime minister, but the pro-democracy movement rejected the deal and protests continued.

Hamdok resigned in January.

The big picture: Several Arab countries are trying to build a new power-sharing government between civilians and the military, according to press reports in Sudan.

Burhan visited the UAE in recent days and met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. The Emiratis are a key player in trying to break the political deadlock in Sudan.

The Sudanese sovereign council said in a statement that bin Zayed promised large deposits" in Sudanese banks and the establishment of developmental projects to boost the Sudanese economy.

Hamdok, who declined to comment, reportedly met with Burhan in Abu Dhabi during his visit.

But a source who is in constant contact with the former prime minister told Axios that Hamdok vehemently denies intentions of assuming any political position in Sudan. The military did not comment.

State of play: African Union special envoy to Sudan Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt warned at a press conference in Khartoum last week that the country is in grave danger if political players fail to quickly reach a consensus that would bring back the constitutional order that existed prior to the Oct. 25 military coup.

Earlier this year, the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan, headed by Volker Perthes of Germany, launched a series of meetings with hundreds of Sudanese stakeholders with the goal of breaking the political impasse and facilitating a dialogue that would eventually lead to an agreement.

The gloomy political picture is coupled with a deteriorating economy driven by the suspension of international aid in the wake of the coup.

The Sudanese government has decided to devalue the Sudanese pound in order to bring about parity or exchange rate with the black-market rate  a move that is all but certain to push up prices of goods and services. This comes in addition to an expected rise in taxes this year.

What to watch: Sudan is currently torn between some street protesters who insist the military totally relinquish rule to civilians and a military that says it will only hand power to an elected government.
President Biden announced Wednesday that the U.S. will provide Ukraine with an additional $800 million in military aid, including direct transfers of anti-aircraft systems and drones to help the Ukrainian military defend itself.

Why it matters: The announcement, which came just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered an emotional address to Congress pleading for more assistance, brings the total amount of military aid to Ukraine authorized in the past week to over $1 billion.

Biden directed $200 million in military aid to be sent to Ukraine from his presidential drawdown authority on Saturday.

The rest of the funding will come from a $13.6 billion aid package to Ukraine that Congress passed last week, which was divided between humanitarian and security assistance.

Details: The U.S. will directly transfer the following equipment to the Ukrainian military as part of the latest package, according to a White House fact sheet:

800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems

2,000 Javelin anti-armor missiles

1,000 light anti-armor weapons

6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems

100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems (armed drones)

7,000 small arms for both military and civilian use (100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns and 400 shotguns)

Over 20 million rounds of ammunition

25,000 sets of body armor

25,000 helmets

The big picture: The U.S. provided $650 million in military aid to Ukraine in 2021, more than it had in the previous eight years that Ukraine had been fighting a war against Russian-backed forces in the east.

After Russia's large-scale invasion began, the Biden administration surged an additional $350 million into Ukraine.

"We're going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead," Biden pledged on Wednesday.

What they're saying: "I want to thank President Zelensky for his passionate message this morning. I listened to it in the private residence. He was convincing and [it was] a significant speech," Biden said in his announcement.

"Now, I want to be honest with you. This could be a long and difficult battle. But the American people will be steadfast in our support and the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin's immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations," he continued.

"We're united in our abhorrence of Putin's depraved onslaught and we're going to continue to have their backs as they fight for freedom, democracy, their very survival."

What to watch: Zelensky and bipartisan members of Congress have urged Biden to send advanced anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine in the absence of a NATO "no-fly" zone.

Acknowledging Zelensky's request, Biden said the U.S. has "identified" and is "helping Ukraine acquire longer-range anti-missile systems, and the munitions for those systems."

That's likely a reference to the S-300 anti-aircraft systems possessed by NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Go deeper: Highlights from Zelensky's speech to Congress
Data: FactSet; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios

Oil prices remain high and volatile, but have backed off the surge that started with Russia's invasion.

The big picture: Traders are weighing a mix of bulling and bearish forces, including reduced Russian barrels, COVID restrictions in China, and nuclear talks with Iran that could bring more supplies.
The New York State Health Department "misled the public" and failed to publicly account for the COVID-19 related deaths of over 4,000 N.Y. nursing home residents, according to an audit released on Tuesday by the state comptroller.

Why it matters: Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo had faced criticism over his administration's handling of COVID-19, particularly in nursing homes early in the pandemic.

He allegedly withheld data on coronavirus deaths in nursing homes in order to delay potential investigations.

The FBI and U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn announced last year that they were investigating the Cuomo administration over its handling of COVID-19 nursing home deaths.

Worth noting: The Health Department rejected "conflating the Cuomo administration's issues with transparency with the work of the departments staff and the manner in which they use public health data" in a lengthy rebuttal of the report's findings to the New York Times.

Cuomo has previously taken responsibility for his administration's delay in releasing data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, but said "nothing was hidden from anyone."

The big picture: The state comptroller's report found that the Health Department failed to meet its "ethical" and "moral" imperatives to act transparently by conforming to the narrative Cuomo and his administration pushed.

"Rather than providing accurate and reliable information during a public health emergency, the department instead conformed its presentation to the executives narrative, often presenting data in a manner that misled the public," the report said.

What they're saying: "Our audit findings are extremely troubling," State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement.

"The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth."

The other side: "Whatever criticisms may now be directed at the prior administration relating to issues of transparency, or the particular categories of information that were publicly disclosed, those ultimately were matters for the executive chamber of the prior administration and not department personnel," the Health Department told the NYT.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, President Biden's most powerful appointee on tech, has largely been an ally to the sector, defending U.S. tech firms abroad and pushing for funding domestically.

Why it matters: With Big Tech critics in charge of the government's antitrust enforcement efforts, Raimondo has become the industry's key advocate within the Biden administration.

What's happening: Raimondo has taken heat from progressives after she criticized two European regulatory proposals for disproportionately targeting American tech companies.

Progressive advocacy group Fight Corporate Monopolies on Tuesday announced a new digital ad campaign against Raimondo aimed at voters in Nevada and New Hampshire. The ads demand she release her calendars and disclose meetings with Big Tech companies.

The other side: Raimondo deserves praise for "pushing back on flawed and discriminatory regulatory approaches coming out of Europe," Chamber of Commerce senior vice president for international regulatory affairs and antitrust Sean Heather told Axios.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told the Washington Post he'd rather see U.S. officials regulating Big Tech than "bureaucrats in Brussels," and a bipartisan group of House lawmakers backed Raimondo's approach to the European measure in a letter to Biden in February.

Raimondo supports the goals of the European proposal, the Digital Markets Act, and is working to coordinate U.S. and European digital regulatory approaches, a Commerce Department spokesperson told Axios.

Context: Historically, Commerce secretaries defend American companies against foreign regulations that may impact their business.

Raimondo founded a venture capital firm before becoming governor of Rhode Island.

The big picture: At home, Raimondo has been a key player on the Hill in advocating for funding that would boost the sector.

She was deeply involved in negotiations on the bipartisan infrastructure law, with her agency winning control over nearly $50 billion in funding for high-speed internet access and deployment.

She has also kept a steady drumbeat of pressure on lawmakers on the need to pass legislation that would dedicate $52 billion to domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

"She's the Cabinet voice for the American business community and she's taken that role seriously and has embraced it. And as a result, we feel like we have a very strong advocate," Al Thompson, Intel vice president of U.S. government relations, told Axios.

Of note: FTC chair Lina Khan and Department of Justice antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter are both well-known for their views that Big Tech has too much power, and longtime anti-monopoly evangelist Tim Wu is at the National Economic Council.

"[The Biden Administration] made tough appointments on antitrust and tech regulation, and other cabinet secretaries don't touch on these issues at all, and the Secretary of Commerce, as a booster of American business, cares about discriminatory treatment of U.S. companies," one senior tech industry official told Axios. "It can all work together."

What they're saying: Raimondo listens to businesses and has been effective in negotiations toward a new privacy agreement with Europe and conversations around artificial intelligence, Craig Albright, vice president of legislative strategy for software industry group BSA, told Axios.

"She is an action person," Albright said. "She is making the phone calls, she's making the case. She's very active in her advocacy. She's very inclusive in getting input from the outside. She's a star player."

Yes, but: Small and medium-sized tech companies led by Yelp took issue with her comments on the Digital Markets Act and met with Commerce staff in January to air their concerns, per a source familiar with the meeting.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri, two British-Iranian dual nationals, arrived in the U.K. on Thursday, after being released from Iran following years in detention.

Why it matters: Their release comes amid reports that an agreement to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal could be close.

Iranian state media said the U.K. had "settled a long-overdue debt of $530 million to Tehran," presumably for tanks ordered before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that were never delivered, per AP.

Tulip Siddiq, a British member of Parliament, tweeted a photo of her constituent Zaghari-Ratcliffe being reunited with her husband and daughter, who was 22 months old when her mother was detained. "Richard, Nazanin and Gabriella finally reunited after 6 long years," she wrote.

Details: Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was given back her passport over the weekend, raising hopes that she'd be able to leave the country.

In 2019, Ashouri was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges of spying and two years for "acquiring illegitimate wealth," per Reuters.

What they're saying: "I am very pleased to confirm that the unfair detention of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori in Iran has ended today, and they will now return to the UK," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a Twitter post announcing their return on Wednesday.

"The UK has worked intensively to secure their release and I am delighted they will be reunited with their families and loved ones," he added.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
The Biden administration is working to maintain calm in Jerusalem ahead of an unusual situation that happens once every 10 years (when important Jewish, Muslim and Christian holidays coincide), U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides said yesterday.

Why it matters: The fact that Passover, Ramadan and Easter take place during the same time in mid-April heightens the potential for violence in Jerusalem. Israeli officials say there is no specific intelligence that an escalation will take place.

Flashback: During the month of Ramadan and ahead of Jerusalem Day last May, Israeli police banned Palestinians from gathering near the Damascus Gate, leading to violent confrontations between Israeli police and Palestinians in the Old City.

Tensions had already been high over the planned expulsions of several Palestinian families from East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

As the situation intensified, Hamas fired missiles toward Jerusalem, and eventually at Tel Aviv and southern Israel. Israel began an 11-day military campaign against Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians and more than a dozen people in Israel were killed.

It was the Biden administrations first international crisis.

Tensions have remained high since, with the threat of further escalation at any point.

Behind the scenes: During a webinar organized by Americans for Peace Now  a left-wing NGO that works to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace  Nides said he sent a cable to the State Department five weeks ago alerting them of this sensitive week in mid-April.

"I wrote, 'Wake up everybody, this is really a problem.' Everyone [in Washington] is fixated now on what could be a really serious issue," Nides said.

"The more you talk about it, the more the chances are that the Israelis, Egyptians and Jordanians will calm things down  to make sure this holy week does not blow up," he added.

State of play: Nides and other Biden administration officials have discussed the matter with Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian officials and stressed the need to maintain calm, a source briefed on the issue said.

The State Departments point person on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Hady Amr traveled to Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman this week.

The sensitive situation in Jerusalem is one of the issues he is discussing. A State Department official said Amr is working to reduce tensions and to implement specific economic steps that will improve lives.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid met last Wednesday with Palestinian Minister for Civilian Affairs Hussein al-Sheikh and discussed the need to maintain calm in Jerusalem during Ramadan and Passover.

A day later, Lapid addressed the issue with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman, Israeli officials said.

Whats next: On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met senior ministers and the heads of the military, the police and the Shin Bet security agency to discuss the preparations for Ramadan, which starts at the beginning of April, and the sensitive week in the middle of the month.
President Biden confessed in private that he didn't understand Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who helped stymie his biggest legislative dreams, New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns write in the first major book about the Biden-Harris administration, coming May 3.

Sneak peek: "One person close to the president likened Biden's perplexity at Sinema to his difficulty grasping his grandchildren's use of ... TikTok. He wanted to relate, but he just didnt quite get it," the authors write in "This Will Not Pass," about the 2020 election and President Biden's first year.

In the spring of 2021, "she became the first-ever lawmaker to argue with White House aides when they asked her to wear a face mask in the company of the president, repeatedly asking why that was necessary when she had been vaccinated."

"she became the first-ever lawmaker to argue with White House aides when they asked her to wear a face mask in the company of the president, repeatedly asking why that was necessary when she had been vaccinated." She also discouraged Biden from coming to Arizona after the president signed the COVID rescue plan in 2021.

Biden aides complained that Sinema sounded more like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) than a Democrat, the book says:

At a private fundraiser in D.C. with a Republican-heavy group of lobbyists  which hasn't been reported before  she portrayed herself as anti-tax and anti-government.

in D.C. with a Republican-heavy group of lobbyists  which hasn't been reported before  she portrayed herself as anti-tax and anti-government. She mocked Biden while speaking warmly about House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, and even defending far-right Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who denied the election results and claimed Antifa had infiltrated the Capitol riot. "I love Andy Biggs," she said. "I know some people think hes crazy, but that's just because they dont know him."

while speaking warmly about House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, and even defending far-right Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who denied the election results and claimed Antifa had infiltrated the Capitol riot. "I love Andy Biggs," she said. "I know some people think hes crazy, but that's just because they dont know him." Separately, Sinema told colleagues five or six other Senate Dem moderates were "hiding behind my skirt" as she pushed back on the left.

Between the lines: The title alludes to this period of political tumult not passing with the 2020 election.

"A big reason we wanted to capture all of 2021 rather than just ending with the campaign aftermath or Jan. 6 is because there's so much more to report about the ongoing strain in both parties," JMart told me.

we wanted to capture all of 2021 rather than just ending with the campaign aftermath or Jan. 6 is because there's so much more to report about the ongoing strain in both parties," JMart told me. "Trumpism on the right is a central theme. But more broadly we wanted to capture how both party establishments are being tested like never before."

On Jan. 6, an enraged Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) telephoned White House counsel Pat Cipollone and told him that if President Trump didn't act more aggressively to denounce the mob "well be asking you for the 25th Amendment" to remove Trump from office.

In an in-person interview with the authors that afternoon, after they all evacuated from the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed optimism that the riot could become a turning point: "People will say, 'I don't want to be associated with that' ... There will be a rallying effect for a while, the country says: We're better than this."

with the authors that afternoon, after they all evacuated from the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed optimism that the riot could become a turning point: "People will say, 'I don't want to be associated with that' ... There will be a rallying effect for a while, the country says: We're better than this." Graham suggested Biden was the right man for this time: "I mean, how mad can you get at Joe Biden?"

Burns and Martin were represented by Matt Latimer and Keith Urbahn of Javelin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday peace talks were beginning to "sound more realistic," as the war entered its third week with Russian forces intensifying attacks on Kyiv and Mariupol.

What they're saying: "Efforts are still needed, patience is needed," Zelensky said during a televised address. "Any war ends with an agreement," added Zelensky, who thanked the U.S. ahead of his congressional address later Wednesday for a $13.6 billion aid package.

Ukrainian presidential aid Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the peace talks delegation, tweeted that "fundamental contradictions" remained as peace talks with Russian officials were expected to continue Wednesday. "But there is certainly room for compromise," he added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it's too early to say how negotiations were progressing, but "in the current situation the very fact that [negotiations] are continuing is probably positive," per Reuters.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "there are absolutely specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement," Reuters reports.

Worth noting: Zelensky indicated during a video-link to leaders of the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force Tuesday that he realized Ukraine couldn't soon become a NATO member, saying, "We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join."

"It's a truth and it must be recognized," he added. "I am glad that our people are beginning to understand this and rely on themselves and on our partners who assist us."

The big picture: Russian airstrikes on Kyiv Wednesday morning destroyed several residential buildings and killed at least two people, Ukraine's state emergency services said. Kyiv entered a 35-hour curfew on Tuesday night, hours after at least four people were killed in a Russian airstrike on a city apartment.

Fresh attacks were also reported in Mariupol, where local officials said Russian forces had seized a hospital and taken some 500 people hostage.

But Zelensky said during his address that, despite Russia's military bombardment, its forces had failed to break through.

Situation report: U.S. and British officials also reported that Russian forces had in general stalled across Ukraine.

A U.S. defense official told AP that Russian forces were about nine miles outside Kyiv and their long-range missiles were striking civilian targets in the capital "with increasing frequency." But Putin's ground forces were "making little to no progress around the country."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update Wednesday that Russia's military has been "struggling to overcome the challenges posed by Ukraine's terrain."

"Russian forces have remained largely tied to Ukraines road network and have demonstrated a reluctance to conduct off-road manoeuvre. The destruction of bridges by Ukrainian forces has also played a key role in stalling Russias advance," the Defense Ministry added.

"Russia's continued failure to gain control of the air has drastically limited their ability to effectively use air manoeuvre, further limiting their options" in the face of Ukrainian resistance, according to the statement.

What to watch: "Russia is increasingly seeking to generate additional troops to bolster and replace its personnel losses in Ukraine," the U.K. Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The Kremlin "is redeploying forces from as far afield as its Eastern Military District, Pacific Fleet and Armenia. It is also increasingly seeking to exploit irregular sources such as Private Military Companies, Syrian and other mercenaries," the update added.

"Russia will likely attempt to use these forces to hold captured territory and free up its combat power to renew stalled offensive operations."

Go deeper:

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
Securities and Exchange Commissioner Hester Peirce has no desire to stay on board after her term ends in 2025.

"Absolutely not," she said in the interview with Axios Pro Fintech Deals when asked if she'd like to stand for renomination.

Why it matters: Affectionately dubbed "Crypto Mom" by the web3 crowd, Peirce is seen as a long-time supporter who comes to bat for the often libertarian-leaning industry.

When the SEC fined BlockFi $100 million and called for the company to register its high-yield product as a security last month, Peirce dissented.

"Is the approach we are taking with crypto lending the best way to protect crypto lending customers? I do not think it is, so I respectfully dissent," she wrote.

In February, Peirce warned that proposed SEC rules to reform government securities trading could impact DeFi protocols.

Context: Peirce is now the lone Republican appointee on the SEC after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate for a second term in 2020, making it a steep uphill battle to affect change internally.

Still, she has seen value in staying inside the SEC, at least for now.

"You can hear it in my voice and in my responses  I am quite frustrated by the lack of willingness to engage proactively with the community," she says. "But I think it is important to have people in government who are willing to try to push from within to have us take a more innovation-friendly approach."

So what comes after 2025? Many former regulators have gone on to lucrative positions in the private sector crypto. But Peirce says her plan is to return to Ohio.

"I really think 2025 is back to Ohio," she says, adding jokingly: "I have a dream of becoming a beekeeper. I love it."

This all comes as SEC Democratic Commissioner Allison Lee said Tuesday she plans to leave after a successor is confirmed by the Senate.
A Republican running to replace Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) used racist tropes to talk about Asians on a podcast in 2013, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

Why it matters: One of the leading contenders in the race, entrepreneur Mike Gibbons made the remarks while citing "The Bell Curve," a controversial book that drew accusations of racism for claiming that racial differences in intelligence are driven by genes and the environment.

Driving the news: The book claimed that "the smartest people in the world as far as measurable I.Q. were Ashkenazi Jews," Gibbons said on the podcast, according to a transcript reviewed by the Times. "And then right below them was basically everybody in China, India and, you know, throughout the Asian countries."

Describing a class with "mostly Asians" during his graduate school years, Gibbons said, "It was astounding to me how much they studied, how they were incredibly bright, but they memorized formulas."

"And when we ran into a word problem  and you know, I think this is a function of the educational track they put them on  they got lost in the weeds."

He added that "they're very good at copying" in a discussion on the Chinese education system, which his co-host claimed did not adequately teach critical thinking, per the Times.

What he's saying: A spokesperson for the campaign of Gibbons, who received a masters degree at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, told the Times that he was "discussing the difference in educational structure and attainment that he experienced in both business and graduate school in relation to China."

Gibbons did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on whether he regretted his 2013 remarks after the NYT article was published, but said in an emailed statement: "The New York Times doesn't get to cancel me or the truth about China."

"Donald Trump was right: COVID- 19 did come from China, and China's COVID cover up cost lives around the world," he continued, referring to the former president's unproven claims about a pandemic cover-up.

Gibbons accused "the Chinese" of stealing intellectual property, cheating on trade deals and destroying American jobs, without elaborating further. Upon a request for clarification, he specified that he was referring to China's government.

He also claimed Beijing was "cozying up" to Moscow and "threatening to invade Taiwan." "Donald Trump was absolutely right to stand up to them and I will do the same in the Senate," Gibbons added.

Between the lines: Gibbons' 2013 comments rely on an old racist trope that assumes Asians inherently excel in STEM due to their race despite the community's diversity. It perpetuates the notion that Asians are like sheep  only able to regurgitate formulas and produce copies.

They also invoke the model minority myth, a term coined by a white sociologist in 1965 that falsely claims Asians achieved success despite their status as a racial minority.

Experts say the model minority myth adds an undue burden on Asians who feel unable to ask for help because of the stereotype, which puts them in a box. It can also lead to mental health stressors, according to NBC News.

The big picture: Ohio's GOP race has received a lot of attention because of its crowded field and enormous ad spending.

Two recent polls put Gibbons and former state treasurer Josh Mandel out in front with a few weeks until early voting begins, Axios' Tyler Buchanan writes.

Gibbons is among several GOP candidates vying for Trump's endorsement.

Gibbons' campaign did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Go deeper: The centuries-long history of anti-Asian racism and violence in the U.S.
Texas discarded and discounted roughly 13% of mail ballots submitted for its March 1 primary, a significantly higher rate than the typical 2%, according to an AP analysis.

Why it matters: Republicans enacted new voting restrictions in the state last year, claiming they would make elections more secure. But the "rejected ballots in Texas alone far exceeds the hundreds of even possible voter fraud cases the AP has previously identified in six battleground states that Trump disputed," AP notes.

Details: AP documented 22,898 rejected ballots from the March 1 primary by contacting all 254 counties, accessing data from 187 counties and examining final vote reconciliation reports.

The numbers used in the analysis account for 85% of the 3 million people who voted in the primary.

AP found that the rate of ballot rejection was higher in Democratic-leaning counties, especially in the area surrounding Houston, a liberal stronghold.

Most of the discarded ballots were rejected because they did not meet new identification requirements, county election officials and the Texas secretary of state told AP.

The big picture: Texas' new law is part of a wave of GOP-led voting restrictions that swept the country after former President Trump lost the 2020 election.
Afghans in the U.S. as of Tuesday can avoid deportation and obtain work permits for the next 18 months through Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday.

Why it matters: The new designation will ensure Afghans in the U.S. without proper documentation, whose temporary visas may soon expire or who were recently brought to the U.S. on parole can continue living and working in the U.S. without fear of return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan for at least the next year and a half.

The government pointed to ongoing armed conflict in Afghanistan as reason for the designation. The conflict poses a serious safety threat "as the Taliban seeks to impose control in all areas of the country and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) conducts attacks against civilians," DHS said

DHS also cited the devastated economy in Afghanistan, drought, food and water insecurity, as well as other humanitarian concerns on the ground.

What they're saying: "TPS will also provide additional protections and assurances to trusted partners and vulnerable Afghans who supported the U.S. military" over the last 20 years, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

Roughly 80,000 Afghans have been evacuated and brought to the U.S. since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan last August. Most were brought in through a mechanism called parole, which provides them deportation protection and work permits for two years.

After that, seeking asylum is one of the only ways for many Afghans to legally stay in the U.S. long term.

Now, Afghans brought here since August can apply for TPS, which will ensure protections for at least 18 months  and possibly longer if the status is extended.

The big picture: TPS is used when immigrant home countries cannot safely accept those who have been deported. There are currently 12 countries with TPS designations, including Haiti, Somalia and Myanmar.
The Biden administration is considering removing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a terror blacklist in return for a public commitment from Iran to de-escalation in the region, three Israeli officials and two U.S. sources tell me.

Why it matters: An agreement to restore the 2015 nuclear deal is nearly complete, but Iran's demand that President Biden reverse Donald Trump's decision to designate the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization is a key remaining sticking point.

The IRGC is not only Iran's most feared military branch, it's also a powerful political and economic player. The terror designation means that even if Biden lifts nuclear sanctions to return to compliance with the deal, criminal penalties could still be imposed on anyone doing business with individuals or businesses connected to the IRGC.

But removing the designation is a political hot potato for Biden. It would create an uproar from Republicans and likely several Democrats in the Senate.

Between the lines: The IRGC designation is not directly related to the nuclear deal, and any decision would take the form of a separate bilateral understanding between the U.S. and Iran, according to the U.S. and Israeli sources.

One idea being discussed by the Biden administration would be a public announcement that the U.S. reserves the right to redesignate the IRGC if it determines that Iran did not follow through on its pledge to de-escalate in the region.

The Israeli officials say the Biden administration briefed the Israeli government that such possibilities are being considered but stressed that no decisions have been made.

The Israeli government is concerned about the idea, and in particular, the fact that the U.S. didn't demand specific commitments from Iran not to target the U.S. and its allies in the region, two senior Israeli officials tell me.

Behind the scenes: When former Vice President Mike Pence visited Israel last week, he claimed in meetings with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid that Biden planned to delist the IRGC in return for a more narrow commitment not to target Americans, two Israeli officials said.

When the Israelis checked this in Washington, they were told the Biden administration had discussed this possibility but ruled it out.

Asked about Pence's description, a senior State Department official told Axios: It should not be a surprise to anyone that descriptions of our talks from critics not involved in the process are inaccurate." Pences team declined to comment.

State of play: The State Department official said no decision has been made on the IRGC designation and any speculation to the contrary is simply uninformed."

Nevertheless, the official stressed that regardless, the IRGC will remain on a separate terror list and subject to numerous sanctions, and the U.S. will still have a "panoply of tools to counter Irans destabilizing activities."

Another senior U.S. official claimed that it would be "pure speculation" to talk about details of a deal that isn't complete yet, but added, "Its clear that President Trump and Vice President Pences withdrawal and maximum pressure campaign have been a clear failure" because Iran has only increased its nuclear activity and regional aggression.

Worth noting: Trump's 2019 designation of the IRGC as an FTO was the first time a state entity was added to the list.
The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday warned of the increasingly dire and "catastrophic" humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray region, saying, "There is nowhere on Earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat."

Driving the news: As world leaders focus on Russia's war in Ukraine and the growing refugee crisis in Europe, UN bodies and humanitarian groups are urging nations to not forget other crises around the globe.

Background: Fighting broke out in Ethiopia's Tigray region in November 2020.

Since then, the war between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and Ethiopian forces and their Eritrean allies has escalated, leading to what the UN has described as a de facto aid blockade on Tigray. The conflict has also spilled over into neighboring regions.

State of play: An estimated 6 million people in Tigray have been "sealed off from the outside world" for almost 500 days due to a blockade by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing Wednesday.

No food aid has been delivered since mid-December, and while the WHO was able to airlift medicines and other supplies for about 300,000 people to Tigray last month, "much more is needed," he explained.

What he's saying: "Yes, I am from Tigray, and this crisis affects me, my family and my friends very personally. But as the director-general of WHO, I have a duty to protect and promote health wherever it is under threat," Tedros said.

"Just as we continue to call on Russia to make peace in Ukraine, so we continue to call on Ethiopia and Eritrea to end the blockade  the siege  and allow safe access for humanitarian supplies and workers to save lives."

Of note: Ethiopia in January accused Tedros of "misconduct" over his criticism of the humanitarian situation in Tigray, AP reports.

The big picture: Tedros also called on world leaders to remember the needs of people in other parts of the world.

More than 20 million people are in need of health assistance in Yemen, while Afghans face widespread malnutrition and a surge in measles, Tedros said.

Go deeper: UN raises less than a third of requested funds for Yemen humanitarian response
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked the Canadian parliament Tuesday to envision waking at 4am to bombs dropping on Ottawa's airport or Toronto's CN Tower. "Justin, can you imagine?" he bluntly asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Why it matters: Zelensky's virtual address to Congress on Wednesday is expected to build on this signature blend of praising, chastising and pleading with his audience to understand the global stakes of Ukraine's resistance.

So far, he's succeeded in securing rapid new commitments virtually every time he's addressed Western lawmakers and leaders.

Many of those commitments  such as SWIFT and oil sanctions against Russia  had been viewed as inconceivable just days earlier.

"I apologize for being sometimes too blunt, but this is our life, and it is thanks to such character traits of our people that we stand firm against the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation," Zelensky told the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force earlier Tuesday.

Zoom in: Zelensky's speech to the leaders of the U.K., Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden illuminated the policy priorities remaining on his wishlist.

They include an embargo on all trade with Russia, a ban on Russian ships accessing the world's ports, a "complete disconnection" of all Russian banks from the SWIFT banking network and recognition of Russia as a "terrorist state."

What they're saying: Zelensky thanked the European allies for providing military support but urged them to do more, saying "the amount you give us per week, we use in 20 hours."

Ukraine prevailing over Russia will help "stop the destruction of democracies," Zelensky stressed.

"Stop them now, on our land, or they will come to you too. ... Help yourself by helping us."

What to watch: Zelensky's most urgent priority  for the U.S. or NATO to impose a "no-fly" zone over Ukraine  has failed to overcome a red line overwhelmingly supported by Congress.

The Biden administration has also rejected Ukraine's request to supply its military with Polish fighter jets, although it continues to face bipartisan pressure to find a way to do so.

That pressure was initially triggered by Zelensky's first virtual address to members of Congress on March 5, and could intensify after his second.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is exploring the possibility of sending Ukraine anti-aircraft equipment, but concerns about logistics and the possibility of provoking Russia continue to stand in the way.

The big picture: "Zelensky is going to express gratitude to the U.S. for what its done to support Ukraine and punish Russia, but he's also going to name and shame, or at least shame, and rightly so," says Daniel Vajdich, a lobbyist for the Ukrainian energy industry and a non-profit aligned with the Zelensky government.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky can be expected to call out the U.S. on Wednesday when he addresses Congress virtually  as he did with the Canadian parliament, and as he has done with the world.

Why it matters: Three weeks into Russia's invasion, Zelensky has invoked Winston Churchill, Hamlet, Canadian cultural landmarks and his own demise as he's made deeply emotional appeals to Western leaders and lawmakers.

In Ottawa on Tuesday, Zelensky made it first-name personal as he asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and lawmakers for help enacting a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

"Justin, can you imagine you and your children hearing all these severe explosions, the bombing of the airport, the bombing of the Ottawa airport?" Zelensky asked. "Cruise missiles are falling down and your children are asking you: 'What happened?'"

In London last week, Ukraine's wartime leader channeled Churchill as he told the U.K. Parliament: "We will not give up, and we will not lose. ... We will fight in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets."

And in Brussels on Day 1, Zelensky helped secure an unprecedented sanctions package at record speed when he told EU leaders "this might be the last time you see me alive."

The backdrop: Zelensky and President Biden speak almost daily by phone, but he has appealed directly to Congress before  and has gotten a very receptive ear, AP notes.

Members of the House and Senate have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine.

Two weekends ago, Zelensky delivered a desperate plea to 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call, and was met with an outpouring of support in his requests for Polish fighter jets and sanctions on Russian energy.

Between the lines: Zelensky's wish list to Congress includes armed drones, communications jamming equipment, long-range, anti-ship missiles and high-tech air-defense systems, the N.Y. Times reports.

Biden, meanwhile, wants to avoid playing catch-up: He plans to announce more than $1 billion in new military aid to Ukraine today, including anti-armor and anti-air systems, The Wall Street Journal reports.

What's next: Zelensky's next stop could be Spain's Congress of Deputies. He's been invited for a virtual address.
President Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned pleas Wednesday rekindled congressional talk of supporting a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

Why it matters: While most members of Congress still maintain having the U.S. and NATO enforce such a zone would drag Americans into a superpower conflict with Russia, the openness of a few members to consider various options for air involvement represented a shift in tone from recent days.

What they're saying: "I wouldn't say [a no-fly zone] is off the table," House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Axios while leaving the auditorium where members watched Zelensky's virtual address.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, made the case for a limited humanitarian no-fly zone over a part of the country.

He also advocated for using non-kinetic ways to enforce a no-fly zone.

"We can ground airplanes without ever firing a shot. Now I'm sure one of the factors is that they don't want to front that technology ... but the technology does exist, and we can do it."

Fitzpatrick specified in a later interview "we have to jam MAV systems and jam radar, you can ground aircraft without kinetic strikes," adding, "There's more to the story than just 'no-fly zone means WWIII.'"

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) told Axios he's intrigued by a Wall Street Journal op-ed proposing an international humanitarian airlift as an alternative.

It would involve countries not viewed as hostile to Russia  Brazil, Egypt, India and the United Arab Emirates  flying planes full of humanitarian goods into Ukraine.

He started pitching the idea to his colleagues as they streamed out of the auditorium.

"I just think it's not all-or-nothing," Wicker said. "There are a myriad of nuanced ways to protect Ukraine from indiscriminate bombing of civilians."

During his remarks, Zelensky invoked the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks in asking Americans to empathize with the daily onslaught Ukrainians face amid Russia's invasion.

He also played a graphic video showing the destruction of his country, including the targeting of children.

He closed his remarks by addressing the members in English.

Some stopped short of calling for international involvement in Ukraine's airspace.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) highlighted a slew of other actions the U.S. could take  supplying planes and more weaponry, closing all ports to Russian imports and sanctioning all leaders of Russia in addition to oligarchs.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a veteran who's feverishly pushed Congress and the Biden administration to send fighter jets and military aid, spelled out why a no-fly zone could not be implemented.

"We can't because we can't directly engage with Russia. That's a whole other level that does set up a much more widespread conflict."

The big picture: President Biden on Tuesday signed into law a bill that includes $13.6 billion for assistance to Ukraine.

He was expected to announce an additional $800 million in military aid in remarks a few hours after Zelensky's.

Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who's previously resisted increasing U.S. defense spending, is prepared for the Biden administration to allocate even more money to Ukrainian military aid.

"We will continue to give them more help," she said. "We want to make sure that they have Javelins and Stingers and the other weapons to fight back."

Editor's note: Updates with comment from Rep. Fitzpatrick.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked President Biden to be "leader of the world" during his address to Congress, pleading for more assistance as Russia's unprovoked invasion of his country continues.

What he's saying: "Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country doesn't depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong. Strong doesn't mean weak. Strong is brave and ready to fight for the life of his citizens and citizens of the world. For human rights, for freedom, for the right to live decently," Zelensky said in English, towards the end of his speech.

As leader of the world, you must be ready "to die when your time comes," he added.

"I am addressing President Biden," Zelensky said. "You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world."

The big picture: Speaking directly to Congress and the American people, Zelensky thanked Biden and Congress for their support, but urged them to "do more" in the "darkest time" that Europe has seen in 80 years.

During his remarks, he played a graphic video showing the destruction inflicted by Russia on Ukraine. A caption saying "close the sky over Ukraine" was displayed at the end of the video. [CONTENT WARNING: GRAPHIC FOOTAGE]

Between the lines: The U.S. has continuously asserted its position against establishing a "no-fly zone."

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden believes doing so could "be escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia."

Go deeper: Zelensky urges Congress to "remember 9/11" as he pleads for more aid
The law that came into effect on March 15 is part of the governments public health strategy that also included a blanket ban on any form of tobacco advertising enforced earlier this year.

Authorities in Armenia believe that fines ranging from 50,000 drams (about $100) for citizens to 200,000 drams (about $400) for business owners will deter visitors of bars, cafes and restaurants from smoking there and thus protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.

The enforcement of this law will help us lead a healthier lifestyle and will help our young generations not to have bad habits that affect their health, Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesian said.

Armenia is a nation of heavy smokers. According to official data, more than 52 percent of Armenian men are regular smokers. In general, more than 28 percent of Armenians aged 18-69 smoke. Medics blame this for a high incidence of lung cancer among them. It is believed that up to 5,500 people die in Armenia every year from diseases caused by smoking. According to a United Nations report, annually Armenian authorities allocate funding amounting to over 4 percent of the countrys GDP for treating diseases caused by smoking. The smoking rate among women in Armenia is much lower than among men, but healthcare specialists believe that women in Armenia have been heavily exposed to secondhand smoke because of the absence of restrictions on smoking in public spaces, including cafes and restaurants.

The ban on smoking in public places has elicited mixed reactions among Armenians. One restaurant manager in Yerevan said that while he was in favor of the measure that reduces the serious health hazard, he also feared that his restaurant would inevitably lose quite a few customers visiting particularly for hookah smoking.

Our restaurant has been open from early morning, but as you can see the area that was originally designed for hookah smoking has been empty. We are definitely going to see a decline in the number of visitors, Suren Abgarian said.

Some residents approached by RFE/RLs Armenian Service in Yerevan streets hailed the measure as progress in Armenias public health sphere, others spoke in favor of designating special areas for smokers in outdoor cafes. Still others spoke skeptically about the ability of the authorities to properly enforce the law.
Hayastan and Pativ Unem said they are particularly concerned about the situation in Stepanakert and other areas of the region that for days have been left without natural gas supplies from Armenia following reported damage on the main pipeline passing via Azeri-controlled territory.

The situation affects both businesses and ordinary residents in Nagorno-Karabakh some of whom have to fall back on firewood for heating amid still freezing temperatures.

Hayastan lawmaker Aram Vardevanian said it is important that Armenia adequately respond to what he described as a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Since March 8, thousands of our compatriots in Artsakh [Nagorno-Karabakh  ed.] have been deprived of the possibility of heating their homes [with natural gas]. Even hospitals have been left without heating. I was in Artsakh a few days ago, and I saw with my own eyes how, for example, in a childrens hospital where there are more than 40 patients there is no heating, the opposition lawmaker said.

For an urgent discussion on a particular issue its initiators are required to enlist the support of a quarter of lawmakers. The two opposition factions together are able to collected the required number of signatures.

Hayastan and Pativ Unem said they want the sitting to be held on March 22 and have already invited Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigorian to attend it as co-rapporteurs from the government. The opposition factions said they have not received a response from the ruling faction on whether its members will participate in the discussion or not.

The opposition has designated Tigran Abrahamian, a member of Pativ Unem, as the keynote speaker during the discussion.

Artsakh is in crisis. We see a problem not only in the current situation. It is obvious that Azerbaijan will also have the opportunity in the future  something that it has already shown  to use these tools to influence our compatriots living in Artsakh and extort concessions on issues related to Artsakh and Armenia. Officials who are related to this humanitarian situation in socio-economic or infrastructural terms or should have been in contact with relevant bodies of Artsakh should also provide an explanation about what steps they had taken to prevent such a situation, Abrahamian said.

The pipeline supplying gas from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh was damaged at a section passing near Shushi (Susa), a town that has been controlled by Azerbaijan after a 2020 war in the region.

De-facto authorities in Stepanakert accused Azerbaijan of not allowing ethnic Armenian maintenance workers to approach and repair the damaged pipeline to restore gas supplies vital for the region.

The lack of natural gas has, in particular, created problems for the work of bakeries in Nagorno-Karabakh. Power outages are also frequent in the region as the local grid has to work at its maximum capacity. Ethnic Armenian authorities suspended classes in schools on Monday because of the absence of heating in classrooms.

Officials in Stepanakert said on Wednesday that following negotiations held with the assistance of the Armenian government and Russian peacekeepers Azerbaijan today began repairing the damaged section of the gas pipeline. They said that gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh would be restored shortly.

Ahead of his two-day visit to Armenia earlier this week the European Unions special representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar said that Brussels was concerned over the disruption of natural gas supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the latest shootings in the region. The European diplomat said these issues would certainly be on the agenda of his meetings in Yerevan.

Obviously, these developments are of concern to the EU. It would be essential that the gas pipeline is repaired as soon as possible and that the shootings stop, Klaar said.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @idesai98 on Twitter.
A Glastonbury police officer was one of three people injured in a four-car crash Tuesday, police said.

The crash happened about 4:40 p.m. on Hebron Avenue, near Hawthorne Mead Drive. None of the injuries was life-threatening, police said.

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According to police, a preliminary investigation suggests that a westbound Ford Fusion crossed the center line, sideswiped an eastbound Jeep Grand Cherokee and hit the Glastonbury police car head on.

The Jeep then struck a fourth vehicle, police said. The driver of the Ford and the officer were taken to Hartford Hospital, and the driver of the Jeep went to Saint Francis Hospital. The driver of the fourth vehicle was not injured.

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Hebron Avenue was closed until about 6 p.m.

Police continue to investigate the crash. Anyone who saw it or has information about what led up to it is asked to call Sgt. Anthony Pagliughi at 860-652-4254.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.
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According to the Associated Press, American journalist and Little Rock native, Brent Renaud, was killed by Russian forces after he and another journalist were stopped at a checkpoint near Kyiv.

Renaud was a visiting distinguished professor of journalism ethics at the University of Arkansas in 2019.

UA School of Journalism and Strategic Media chair, professor Larry Foley, said Renaud left an impact on students, who learned from his experience in the field.

"It takes a special breed, a special kind of journalist who will have the courage to go to those difficult places, war zones, to report the truth. Not the stuff you might read on the internet, but what's really going on. He was dedicated to that kind of work his entire career," Foley said.

Foley said he hopes Renaud is remembered for his grit and dedication to both journalism and Arkansas.

"Brent was never afraid to cover the underbelly of life, whether that be in a war zone, or people in rural or urban America who were victims of addiction. He'd go for those stories, and I had great respect for him," Foley said.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson shared his condolences Sunday on Twitter saying, "I am grateful to the dedicated media covering the attacks in Ukraine at great personal risk and sacrifice.

Watch the video above for the full story.
TJ Rodman was riding back from a work event in Houston when his Ukranian friend Ari messaged him about the Russian invasion.

They're shooting and there are bombs falling, I don't know what to do.

The 39-year-old Lumberton native said he immediately started researching different Ukrainian organizations, many of which came out of the 2014 conflict in Ukraine when Russia annexed Crimea.

"Everybody was like, '(Vladimir Putin's) not going to (invade Ukraine),' but when it finally started to happen, it was that moment of shock and to see not only the feeling within myself, but the feeling within a lot of people that we needed to do something, we need to get into action, seeing that mobilization was an extra push I needed to know that I need to do something," he said. "I realized my selfishness and the privilege that I had as having been born an American, growing up in such a privileged situation, it's important for me to do something for people who have never experienced the freedom that I have."

RELATED: Here are five charities you can donate to in order to help support Ukraine

Originally, Rodman wanted to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine, a foreign military unit of Ukraine's Armed Forces reserves.

"But I'm old and fat and don't have any military experience," he said. "So, going over there and picking up a rifle and shooting people, that's not necessarily something that's in my wheelhouse."

He also was concerned about his ability to communicate with officers since he knows very little Ukrainian and Russian.

"It's kind of a situation where I know that I can do something but figuring out what it is that I can do is the most important thing and I think that's mainly the holdup now," he said. "I have to get my passport updated, check with consulate and embassy in D.C. to make sure that I'm not walking into something that I'm completely unqualified to walk into is where we're at right now."

RELATED: 5 things to know about Russias invasion of Ukraine

Rodman has applied to volunteer for several organizations including the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Nova Ukraine and Razom, which have focused their efforts in getting supplies, food and water to conflict areas.

The application process to volunteer and travel to Ukraine is extensive, Rodman said.

In the last week, he has undergone physical and mental health evaluations. As of press time, he had not received a response on if he will be able to travel to Ukraine to volunteer.

In addition, Rodman said he has to make sure everything in his personal life is squared away before he can leave the country.

"How long I go over there, if I come back, am I going to have a job waiting for me?" he said. "There's a lot of moving parts there. Whether I pick up and leave tomorrow or if I think I'm going to leave in a month or pick up and leave once this conflict is over, I know I'm going to go over there to do something. Getting there as quickly as possible is something I want to do, but I have to do it the right way."

RELATED: Here's how the Russian invasion of Ukraine could impact Texas

Though he's not in Ukraine yet, Rodman said he's trying to do what he can from home.

It started with a group of online friends who live in Ukraine.

A real good friend of mine that I did some online gaming with and just kind of became friends with outside of that, her and her family live in Kharkiv," he said.

Using WhatsApp, email and social media, hes gone from talking to a family of two or three people to being in constant contact with about 30 different people, giving them update on the war and helping connect them with others who can help them.

"Ari told some friends, and they told some friends and they told some friends," he said. "It's more of an information transaction. I'm getting them the information."

RELATED: OPINION: Horror in Ukraine will only get worse

For those outside the conflict area, updates about the invasion are almost constant, but the information isn't so readily available to those whose towns are being bombed, Rodman said.

"Some of the information isn't being disseminated as fast as it needs to be," he said. "It's something that I've enjoyed doing because it's important because you're trying to help people. But it's also frustrating because sometimes they'll lose their service, or there's no internet access."

After living what he called a selfish life so far, living through significant conflicts but not taking direct action, Rodman said he felt compelled to do something.

"I've lived through the Gulf War, I was on my way to my first year of college when 9/11 happened, I've (lived) through these massive conflicts, but also, being a child of the 80s, we were on the tail end of the Cold War, where Russia was this big, bad enemy and then it was kind of normalized over the course of my life," he said.

RELATED: OPINION: Putin wont get long-term win in Ukraine

Potentially going into an active conflict zone, Rodman knows that there's risks that could put his life in danger. But he wants to go anyway.

"I'm no geopolitical expert, but I do know that this conflict is kind of like a test run for what could happen in the future if we as a global, democracy-loving community don't come together and do something now," he said. "It's going to happen to someone else. I would hate to see a global conflict (happen) because we didn't anything (about it)."

Rodman said it's up to everyday people to help one another.

"We're not relying on governments to step in and do what they're supposed to do, we're doing it ourselves," he said.

RELATED: Looking to replace Russian vodka? Try these Texas-made liquors

And hes already dealt with his mortality  last year, he had a heart attack.

"The fear of going over there and something happening to me isn't as big because I've already almost been there," he said. "It's not really something that I think about. I think more about being able to protect somebody else or help somebody else.

Rodman noted that everyone can do something to help without traveling to Ukraine.

"You can rent an Airbnb, donate to the International Red Cross, the International Rescue Committee," he said. "If you have money to give, give money. If not, talk about it. Get involved in the conversation, understand what's going on, look beyond yourself to see what you can do to make a difference."

olivia.malick@hearst.com

twitter.com/OliviaMalick
The forecast isnt good this week, and experts are advising Southeast Texans to stay indoors as much as possible. Heavy rain? Freezing weather? Unfortunately, the answer is more complex.

The danger that area residents are being advised to avoid is ozone in the air we breathe. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality predicts that the area will see moderate air quality through Thursday.

Ozone at ground level is formed when certain pollutants react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Breathing in ozone can cause irritation of the tissues lining human airways, causing and worsening a variety of symptoms.

Ozone is the main culprit in this case, but so is particulate matter. Thats small particles floating through the air, such as from a marsh fire, that could affect those with asthma or a similar condition  or really anyone who wants to breather pure air. The TCEQ says particulate levels will be slightly elevated as a result of smoke from prescribed burnings across eastern parts of the state.

As if all that werent enough to concern area residents about air quality, new information has been released on last weeks flaring incident at Indorama Ventures. When this happened, company officials assured nervous residents that the flaring was a designed response to the problem and that they werent in any particular danger.

But the TCEQ says that Indorama has released or is expecting to release:

 Nearly 30,000 pounds of ethylene

 More than 5,000 pounds of ethylene oxide

 More than 20,000 pounds of carbon monoxide

 Nearly 4,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides

 More than 20,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds

The release of tens of thousands of pounds of various pollutants like that, including carbon monoxide, directly contributes to ground-level ozone. And each one of the substances listed in Indoramas release is hundreds of times above the limit.

Thats not what Southeast Texans want to see as warmer weather begins and the potential for ground-level ozone pollution increases from greater sunlight. What they would undoubtedly prefer is air that safe for them and their children.

To be sure, the air quality in Southeast Texas is better than it was years ago. But all it takes is incidents like this to show how fragile that condition is and how vulnerable we all are to the dangers of pollution.

As we have noted before, area residents appreciate the jobs and tax revenues provided by our petrochemical plants. But we also want  and deserve  air and water that is safe for all of us.

Thats usually the case here, and the situation is much better than the bad old days before pollution controls. But close enough isnt good enough. Area residents shouldnt have to worry about ozone warnings when they go outside, a few times a year or ever.
Severe fatigue was among the reasons thousands of Harris County ballots went uncounted in March 1's Texas primary elections, according to new remarks made by county Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria. Over 10,000 mail-in ballots, approximately 4,000 Republican and 6,000 Democratic, were overlooked in the primaries unofficial election night count.

The "fiasco" ultimately led to Longoria announcing her decision to resign office on July 1. The elections administrator told county commissioners that as workers recorded results on Election Day, she worried about her staff's capacity to work continuously throughout the night. Longoria's office was understaffed due to budget restrictions, she said. After expressing her concerns, Longoria said the county's Republican party told her that neither she nor her staff could take breaks and would need to work through the night to count all the votes.

"As you can see that led to the issue at 1 a.m. with those 10,000 mail ballots that, by the way, were not lost," Longoria said. "They were tabulated. They were always in the room. It was a situation of exhaustion and my staff just trying to compensate and cope with the Texas election code in complying with this 24-hour continuous count rule, which does not take into account the human capacity to stay up that long."

Longoria added that some of her workers fell sick from exhaustion, leading at least one worker having a "near heart attack." Longoria also blamed the oversight issues on new voting machines, which required printing and scanning paper ballots.

It's not uncommon for counties to need more time to tally votes, Longoria said, noting Harris was not the only county to find ballots after the 24-hour time limit. Longoria said the requirement is outdated and "does not meet the need of increased numbers of votes and increased technological and accountability standards in the state."

"In Harris County over the past several administrations, you can see that there was a very large difference in the number of votes counted on election night versus what was finally canvassed. It's not good but I am proud that for, what I think is the first time ever, me and my administration were transparent about it and we notified the public immediately."

Longoria faced strong criticism from the Harris County GOP, which filed a lawsuit to impound election records due to delays and called for her firing. Democrats, including County Judge Lina Hidalgo, have focused on linking the issues to confusion surrounding new voting requirements under Senate Bill 1, which went into effect on Dec. 1.
Bedford, PA (15522)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low around 50F. NNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low around 50F. NNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
A New Haven man will be sentenced in May for manslaughter after a jury rejected his story that he accidentally shot his girlfriend to death with a replica of an antique gun when he tripped, the New Haven Chief States Attorney said Tuesday.

Anthony Valeriano, 53, of New Haven was found guilty March 7 of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm, according to a news release from New Haven States Attorney Patrick J. Griffin. He was taken into custody when his bail was boosted to $750,000; sentencing is scheduled for May 2.

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Valerianos girlfriend, Natosha Gaines, 44, died on Oct. 17, 2020, when she was shot once in the New Haven apartment the couple shared. Valeriano told detectives his replica of an 1851 Navy .44-caliber black powder revolver accidentally discharged when he tripped, but Griffin said testimony from the state medical examiner and a firearms expert refuted that.

Griffin thanked the New Haven Police Department for their investigation and the work of Supervisory Assistant States Attorney Lisa DAngelo and Assistant States Attorney Adrienne Russo in prosecuting the case.

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He also thanked the Hartford Police Department, the Rhode Island State Crime Lab, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for their help with the investigation.

Christine Dempsey may be reached at cdempsey@courant.com.
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Stateline Business Expo returns to Hononegah High School

cwolf / BDN file photo Paige Jaeger, an instructor at Board and Brush in Roscoe, assists Lisa and Brianna Reid at a past RORO Expo at Roscoe Middle School. The business expo, now called the Stateline Business Expo, will be held March 26 and 27 at the Hononegah Community High School Field House. cwolf / BDN file photo Stateline Area residents turned out out to chat with and learn about area businesses at the RoRo Expo as shown in this past photo. This year the event will be held March 26 and 27 at the Hononegah High School Field House in Rockton.

ROCKTONThe Stateline Business Expo is returning to familiar surroundings this year. The business exposition is returning to Hononegah Community High School where it started when it was known as the RoRo Expo.

The Expo will be held in the Hononegah Field House March 26 and 27 at Hononegah Community High School, 307 Salem St., Rockton.

The event has not been held at Hononegah since the fieldhouse inflatable dome collapsed in 2015. After that, the high school built a new fieldhouse, but the expo still was held at various other venues. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Expo to be canceled in 2020.

There were tons of restrictions, mask mandates and restrictions on events where there would be large attendance, said Ryan Rydell, chair of the Expo Planning Committee for the Stateline Chamber of Commerce.

Now, with COVID-19 restrictions mostly relaxed, the chamber of commerce is looking forward to a full-fledged, in-person expo. And, community members seem to be looking forward to the event, Rydell said.

There have been a lot of questions about when the expo would be coming back, he said.

But, he noted it is a different world since the pandemic hit and organizers of the expo dont know what to expect.

Businesses featured at the expo in the past have included contractors, landscapers, plumbing, crafts, health care and more. Municipalities have had booths as well as community service agencies.

Area businesses and agencies will have booths set up to display their products and services. There will be food trucks serving a variety of taste treats for the expo attendees. Youth dance teams and cheer squads will make appearances to entertain those in attendance. There also will be appearances by area sport team mascots. And a bounce house will be set up for kids.

Rydell said he expects 80 to 100 businesses and agencies renting booths at the expo. Booth reservations can be made by going to the website at sbexpo.net.

Rydell said the is a $100 discount for booth rental for any member of an area chamber of commerce and there is a $50 discount on booth rental for any non-profit organization.

The expo normally is held in early March when weather conditions can be somewhat unpredictable. By scheduling it for late March, it is hoped that the weather will be less of an issue and expo crowds will be treated to some pleasant spring days.

There is no charge to enter the expo. Hours for the expo will be from 9 a.m.4 p.m. March 26 and from 10 a.m.3 p.m. March 27.
Police escort three men accused of links to a Rohingya leaders killing to a court in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, Oct. 6, 2021.

Four of 15 people arrested by Bangladesh police in recent months on suspicion of ties to the murder of Rohingya leader Muhib Ullah have confessed to the crime and say they belong to the ARSA insurgent group, police told BenarNews on Wednesday.

However, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and the police are continuing to insist that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army has no presence on Bangladeshi soil although, in mid-January, local authorities arrested the brother of the rebel groups leader from a refugee camp in Coxs Bazar. The brother is not among the 15 suspects in the Muhib Ullah case.

This case [of Muhib Ullahs killing] has been under investigation. Thus far, we have arrested 15 suspected people in this connection. Four of them have given confessional statements [with regard to the murder] at the court, Gazi Salahuddin, the officer-in-charge of the Ukhia police station, told BenarNews.

When asked whether the four had admitted to having links to ARSA, Salahuddin replied, They claim they are [ARSA members]. Some of them said they were guards of ARSA [members], some of them said they were activists of ARSA.

ARSA is a Rohingya insurgent group whose 2017 attack on government outposts in Myanmars Rakhine state led to a brutal military crackdown against the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, causing about 740,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

Unidentified gunman burst in and fatally shot Muhib Ullah, a refugee and internationally known Rohingya activist, in his office at the Kutupalong camp in Coxs Bazar on the night of Sept. 29, 2021.

Salahuddin, the local police official, said he believed that ARSA leader Ata Ullah Abu Ammar Jununi may have ordered Muhib Ullahs killing, but he said police had no evidence to prove the existence of the insurgent group in the refugee camps.

Actually they [some arrested people] claim to be ARSA members. But we have not got anything that substantiates the claim, he said.

ARSA is also blamed for criminal activities at the Rohingya camps in Ukhia and Teknaf, two upazilas (sub-districts) of Coxs Bazar, a southeastern district near the border with Rakhine state in Myanmar.

When asked to comment Wednesday about the Muhib Ullah case, the home minister again denied that ARSA has a foothold in Bangladesh. But, he conceded, operatives from the rebel group have crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier back and forth.

We have no sympathy for, or link with, ARSA. ARSA originated in Myanmar and sometimes some of their members infiltrate into Bangladesh territory to commit a robbery and go back, Khan told BenarNews.

Whenever we get intelligence, our law enforcement agencies catch them. But there are no organized camps or presence of ARSA on Bangladesh soil, and we will never allow them.

However, security analyst Mohammad Ali Shikder told BenarNews that the presence of ARSA at the Rohingya camps was not unusual.

The family members of Muhib Ullah alleged ARSA killed him. Again, four arrested persons confessed at the court that they are ARSA members, the retired Army major general told BenarNews.

So, the government must take the issue seriously as Bangladesh maintained zero tolerance for terrorism of all forms and manifestations.
A citizen of Jamaica who was last living in Hamden was sentenced Tuesday to more than 24 years in prison for marijuana trafficking, firearm possession and money laundering offenses, according to federal officials.

Andrew Davis was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to a total of 295 months in prison, federal authorities said. He faces immigration proceedings when he completes his prison term.

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The case arose after Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Connecticut State Police began an investigation in 2013 into individuals who were moving large amounts of marijuana from the Southwestern United States to Connecticut, federal authorities said in a statement, citing evidence presented during Davis trial in December 2018.

Federal authorities said that, investigators intercepted four packages, each containing approximately eight kilograms of marijuana, from the U.S. Mail, and made multiple controlled purchases of the drug from a member of the trafficking ring.

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Davis was arrested on Feb. 1, 2017, after investigators conducted court-authorized searches of a Hamden apartment that Davis shared with his girlfriend, Shanice Goffe; a storage unit in West Haven that was rented in Goffes name, and two Bridgeport apartments that Davis maintained under different aliases.

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A search of the Hamden unit revealed more than one pound of marijuana, a loaded 9mm handgun, boxes of .45 caliber ammunition, $62,409 in cash, and numerous false identifications, including a U.S. passport, all of which contained a photo of Davis, federal authorities said in the statement. A search of the storage unit revealed approximately 33 kilograms of marijuana, ammunition and firearm magazines, additional false identifications, and $350,100 in cash.

A search of a Bridgeport apartment rented in the name of Cordel Freckleton yielded one firearm, and a search of an apartment rented in the name of Andrew Carter revealed more than 60 pounds of marijuana and two firearms, one of which was stolen, federal authorities said in the statement.

Investigators also seized a 2014 BMW X6, a 2016 Honda Accord, and a 2008 Honda Odyssey, all of which were registered to Goffe and had been purchased with proceeds of the marijuana trafficking enterprise, according to federal authorities.

The investigation also revealed that Davis, using the name Steve Williams, was under investigation in 2008 for marijuana trafficking, federal authorities said in the statement. In August 2008, Bridgeport Police searched Daviss Bridgeport apartment and discovered a fake identification, photos of Davis/Williams, three firearms, extended magazines, ammunition, drug packaging paraphernalia, marijuana packaged for resale, and eight UPS receipts for packages that had not arrived, federal authorities said in the statement. Bridgeport Police subsequently seized the UPS packages, which contained a total of more than 75 pounds of marijuana. Williams was not located.

At the time of Daviss federal arrest in 2017, investigators seized more than 40 identification cards with false names, including the names of the addressees of the 2008 Bridgeport packages, federal authorities said in the statement. When presented to U.S. Marshals and asked his name, Davis said, Lets go with Steve Williams.

On Dec. 18, 2018, the jury found Davis guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana, one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to federal authorities.

On Nov. 20, 2017, Goffe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, federal authorities said in the statement. On Feb. 28, 2018, she was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Filipinos shout slogans while protesting against the alleged firing of water cannons by Chinese coast guard ships on Philippine ships in the South China Sea, in front of Chinas embassy in the Makati business district of Metro Manila, July 12, 2021.

A Chinese navy reconnaissance ships trip through Philippine territorial waters in the Sulu Sea did not break international law, Beijing said in responding to a protest by Manila, which had called it an illegal incursion.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian described the ships action as an exercise of the right of innocent passage pursuant to UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea].

The Chinese passage was safe and standard, and consistent with international law and international practice. We hope relevant parties can view it in an objective and rational manner, he said in response to a reporters question during the ministrys daily press briefing on Tuesday.

China and the Philippines are signatories to UNCLOS, an international treaty that provides a comprehensive legal framework for all activities and uses of the worlds seas and oceans.

On Monday in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to meet with Acting Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro over Chinas alleged maritime action in southwestern waters of the Philippine archipelago.

An electronic reconnaissance ship of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had entered Philippine waters without permission from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, the department said in a statement.

The department did not say why it waited six weeks to confront the Chinese ambassador about the incident.

The Dongdiao-class PLAN ship communicated that it was exercising innocent passage when the Philippine Navy challenged it in Sulu Sea waters, the department said. The ship reached the Cuyo Islands in the Palawan region of the central Philippines.

Its movements, however, did not follow a track that can be considered continuous and expeditious, lingering in the Sulu Sea for three days, the DFA said, adding that the ship did not immediately leave despite being warned off by the Philippine Navy.

The department said Manila recognizes the right of any ship to pursue innocent passage through its waters in accordance with UNCLOS. However, the action of the Chinese ship did not constitute innocent passage and violated Philippines sovereignty.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, but five other Asian governments  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have territorial claims. While Indonesia does not regard itself as a party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Manila has filed a series of complaints about Beijings presence within its territory beginning about 12 months ago and summoned Ambassador Huang after about 220 Chinese ships were spotted in March 2021 around Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands.
The last of a group of 15 Thai citizens who were duped into taking sketchy jobs in Laos Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone have returned home, Radio Free Asia has learned.

Middlemen recruited the 15 Thais in December, promising them good jobs in the de-facto Chinese-controlled Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in return for 15,000 baht (U.S. $450) each.

In January they took small boats across the Mekong River border between Thailands Chiang Rai province and Laos Bokeo province, arriving in Tonpeung district, home of the Golden Triangle SEZ.

Once there, they began working as online chatters, selling shares in companies within the SEZ to tourists. They immediately realized that the job was not what they had been promised.

Five of them were able to escape in late February by paying brokers to ferry them back to Thailand. Then in early March six more escaped the same way. The final four were rescued left for Bangkok on Tuesday.

One of the first to escape was a male resident of Chiang Rai province. He told Chiang Mai News that after the escapees arrived in Laos, they were picked up and quarantined in a building outside the SEZ.

Then we were taken to the SEZ, quarantined there for 14 more days, then taken to the 9 th floor of a blue building which is strictly well-guarded, he said.

On our first day of work, we were taken to a large room with a lot of tables, each of us was given a smart phone, a computer and connection to the internet. There were about 50 workers in the room. Most of them were Chinese and Lao, and there were the 15 of us.

A woman who was among the group of five to escape first told a Thai reporter that their initial task was to create Facebook pages and Instagram accounts using fake names and photos.

They said we were working as administrators of the website of the Kings Romans Casino.  Later we were told to disguise ourselves on the fake social media accounts, trying to convince others to invest or buy shares of the company, she said.

At this point, we said to our Chinese boss that we wanted to go home, but the boss said that we have to pay the company 100,000 baht ($3,000), she said.

The chatters were told they must work 12 hours each day but actually worked about 16 hours with two breaks, another female member of the first five escapees said to the same Thai reporter.

After we worked for three days, we realized that we were not doing the work that we had actually agreed upon. We wanted to stop working on the fourth day, but our boss insisted that we continue or else we would be sold into prostitution, she said.

Living conditions were harsh, and the sales goals were nearly impossible to achieve, a second male escapee in the initial group of five said.

We didnt get paid at all. We stayed all together in a bedroom and received two meals a day. If we couldnt reach the target, they would threaten to sell us to another company. Because we were new, we couldnt do much, he said.

One of the workers who was there for a long time said she was able to convince a customer to transfer 10 million baht ($300,000). After a week, our boss asked us to sign a labor contract that stated that well get paid 25,000 baht ($750) per month and two months later, well get 30,000 baht ($900) plus commission.

It was then that they realized they had been tricked.

In mid-February this year, we contacted the Chiang Rai Governors Office and the Thai Embassy in Laos who advised us not to sign the contracts, and to wait, as help was on the way, he said.

Pasakorn Boonyalak, governor of Chiang Rai Province, sent a letter to the governor of Bokeo Province on Feb. 21, requesting the Lao authorities help rescue the Thais trapped in the SEZ.

A day later, the first group of five decided to escape back to Chiang Rai Province, their home province.

My four friends and I (three male and two female) were able to escape thanks to a Lao woman who worked at the first quarantine center, the second male escapee said.

We asked this woman whether there were any ways that we could escape. She told us that there was a Lao man who can help us, but we would have to pay 30,500 baht ($911) per person to escape and 14,000 baht ($418) per person for a boat ride across the Mekong River. We called our families, and one family pawned their home for their sons freedom, he said.

The third male escapee, identified as Mr. C, said that he had been assigned to sell shares to European customers because of his English skills.

I realized that this job was illegal and immoral, so I convinced four others to escape. We left the blue building at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22, leaving behind all the belongings in our bedroom. We dressed in dark colors, then ran away from the security guards to the back of the blue building, he said.

We continued to walk for almost one hour. When we got to a village we were picked up by car. I dont remember how long and how far it was, but we later got to the Mekong River where the Lao man was waiting with a small boat, Mr. C said.

Once they arrived in Thailand, they were taken to a rubber plantation where a Thai man held them until he received electronic payment from the Lao man. Once that was done, the Thai man dropped them off at a local market in Chiang Sen, Chiang Rai province.

About a week after, I found out that six other Thais also escaped exactly the same way we did; one of the six paid up to 90,000 baht ($3,000) for his part for the escape. Now, only four in our group are still trapped in the SEZ and all of them have been traded to another scamming gang. Id like to ask the authorities to rescue them and many other Thai nationals in the SEZ as soon as possible, Mr. C said.

A Lao official in Bokeo Province told RFA on Monday that authorities assisted the final four in returning home.

After we received the request from the governor of Chiang Rai Province, we wrote a letter asking the Golden Triangle SEZ Management to look at every building if there were any Thai workers there, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The first group of escapees on Monday went to a police station in Chiang Rai to assist with the investigation. There they formally asked the Thai authorities to rescue the remaining four, as well as other Thais who may be trapped in the SEZ.

Police Lt. Gen. Torsak Sukwimol, assistant to the Thai police commissioner, told reporters in late February that the case was similar to a previous human trafficking case.

We believe that this case is no different. There might be many other groups of Thai workers on the Lao side, he said.

Thai media reported Tuesday that the four remaining Thais flew back to Thailand that morning.

One of the four said their rescue happened suddenly.

We were told to take our clothes and other belongings, then we were on a plane back to Thailand, without having to pay for it, the rescued Thai citizen said.

One of the first group of escapees, under condition of anonymity, told RFA that there are many Thais still trapped in the SEZ.

One of my Thai friends told me there were at least 90 Thais working in her company, the escapee said.

The Golden Triangle SEZ is run by Zhao Wei, chairman of the Dok Ngiew Kham Group, with Zhaos firm holding 80 percent interest and the Lao government holding 20 percent.

Located where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet, the Golden Triangle area got its name five decades ago for its central role in heroin production and trafficking.

In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department declared Zhao Weis business network, centered on Kings Romans Casino, a transnational criminal organization and sanctioned Zhao and three other individuals and companies across Laos, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Zhaos business exploits this region by engaging in drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery and wildlife trafficking, much of which is facilitated through the Kings Romans Casino located within the GT SEZ, a Treasury statement said.

Laos, which has been under U.S. pressure for years to crack down on trafficking, last year remained at tier 2 in the annual State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, avoiding cuts to certain types of foreign aid that are imposed on tier 3 countries.

The 2021 report said Laos increased its overall efforts to combat trafficking, but fell short in victim identification and screening procedures, and failed to adequately investigate suspected perpetrators of sex trafficking.

RFA reported in December that many Lao women go into debt to work in the SEZ as chat girls in the same capacity as the 15 Thais. One source in that report said that sales quotas are set impossibly high so that the women will fail to meet them, and the companies can more easily sell them into the sex trade.

Reported by Radio Free Asia, a sister entity of BenarNews.
Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering and rained fire on other cities Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.

There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was an airstrike on the theater.

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In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew that runs until Thursday morning, as Russia shelled areas in and around the city, including a residential neighborhood 1.5 miles from the presidential palace. A 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

And 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office said.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, went before the U.S. Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: We need you right now.

U.S. President Joe Biden later announced the United States is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones.

International pressure against the Kremlin mounted and its isolation deepened as the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ordered Russia to stop attacking Ukraine, though there was little hope it would comply. Also, the 47-nation Council of Europe, the continents foremost human rights body, expelled Russia.

While Moscows ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the operation was unfolding successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans, and he decried Western sanctions against Moscow. He accused the West of trying to squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.

Another round of talks between the two sides was scheduled for Wednesday. After Tuesdays negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a neutral military status for Ukraine was being seriously discussed by the two sides, while Zelenskyy said Russias demands for ending the war were becoming more realistic.

Hopes for diplomatic progress to end the war rose after Zelenskyy acknowledged Tuesday in the most explicit terms yet that Ukraine is unlikely to realize its goal of joining NATO. Putin has long depicted Ukraines NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia.

Lavrov welcomed Zelenskyys comment and said the businesslike spirit starting to surface in the talks gives hope that we can agree on this issue.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov said on Russian TV. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

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Russias chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said the sides were discussing a possible compromise for a Ukraine with a smaller, non-aligned military.

Prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough were highly uncertain, however, given the gulf between Ukraines demand that the invading forces withdraw completely and Russias suspected aim of replacing Kyivs Westward-looking government with a pro-Moscow regime.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied Russian claims Ukraine was open to adopting a model of neutrality comparable to Sweden or Austria. Podolyak said Ukraine needs powerful allies and clearly defined security guarantees to keep it safe.

Another source of dispute is the status of Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Russia in 2014, and the separatist-held Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia recognizes as independent. Ukraine considers both part of its territory.

The fighting has sent more than 3 million people fleeing Ukraine, by the United Nations estimate. The U.N. reported that over 700 civilians have been confirmed killed but that the real number is higher.

In going before Congress, Zelenskyy said that Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. But Biden has resisted Zelenskyys requests to send warplanes to Ukraine or establish a no-fly zone over the country because of the danger of triggering war between the U.S. and Russia.

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The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, arrived in Ukraine to try to obtain greater access for aid groups and increased protection of civilians.

Amid the vast humanitarian crisis caused by the war, the Red Cross has helped evacuate civilians from besieged areas and has delivered 200 tons of aid, including medical supplies, blankets, water and over 5,200 body bags to help ensure the dead are treated in a dignified manner.

Nowhere has suffered more than the encircled city of Mariupol, where local officials say missile strikes and shelling have killed more than 2,300 people. The southern seaport of 430,000 has been under attack for almost all of the three-week war in a siege that has left people struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.

Local authorities said Russian forces took hundreds of people hostage at a Mariupol hospital and were using them as human shields.

Bodies have been buried in trenches in Mariupol, and more corpses lay in the streets and in a hospital basement.

Using the flashlight on his cellphone to illuminate the basement, Dr. Valeriy Drengar pulled back a blanket to show the body of an infant 22 days old. Other wrapped bodies also appeared to be children, given their size.

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These are the people we could not save, Drengar said.

Nearly 30,000 people managed to escape the city on Tuesday in thousands of vehicles by way of a humanitarian corridor, city officials said.

But with humanitarian aid unable to get in amid the constant bombardment, people burn scraps of furniture to warm their hands and cook the little food still available.

Kyiv regional leader Oleksiy Kuleba said Russian forces had intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs and a highway leading west, and across the capital region, kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing.

In other developments, the mayor of the city of Melitopol, who was seized by Russian forces five days ago, has been freed, said Zelenskyy chief of staff Andriy Yermak. No details were given about how he became free.

Ukraine also appeared to have successes, with satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showing helicopters and vehicles ablaze at the Russian-held Kherson airport and air base after a suspected Ukrainian strike on Tuesday.

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Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on Wednesday as he appealed to the U.S. Congress to do more to help Ukraines fight against Russia. But he acknowledged the no-fly zone he has sought to close the skyto the Russians over his country may not happen.

Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the U.S. must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports. But rather than an enforced no-fly zone, he instead sought other military aid to stop Russian airstrikes.

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For the first time in a public address to world leaders, he showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers a graphic video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war, along with heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.

We need you right now, Zelenskyy said. I call on you to do more.

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Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.

I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, he said.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used the global stage to implore allied leaders to help stop the Russian invasion of his country. The actor-turned-president often draws from history, giving weight to his appearances.

President Joe Bidens administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the U.S. seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces, at the Capitol in Washington, March 16, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Biden was to deliver his own address following Zelenskyys speech, and was expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced in the past week alone to $1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

Wearing his now trademark army green T-shirt, Zelinskyy began the remarks to his American friends by invoking the destruction the U.S. suffered in 1941 when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by militants who commandeered passenger airplanes to crash into the symbols of Western democracy and economy.

Remember Pearl Harbor? ... Remember September 11? Zelenzkyy asked. Our countries experience the same every day right now.

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The U.S. Congress has remain remarkably unified in its support of Ukraine and lawmakers emerged steadfast in their resolve.

Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent. said there was a collective holding of the breath in the room during Zelenskyys address. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, If you did not look at that video and feel there is an obligation for not only the United States but but the free countries of the world to come together in support of Ukraine, you had your eyes closed. Majority Whip Dick Durbin called the address heartbreaking and said, Im on board with a blank check on sanctions, just whatever we can do to stop this Russian advance.

Outside the Capitol demonstrators held a large sign lawmakers saw as they walked back to their offices. No Fly Zone=World War 3.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trumps first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelenskyy spoke Wednesday from a giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to Ukraine.

He thanked the American people, saying Ukraine is grateful for the outpouring of support, even as he urged Biden to do more.

You are the leader of the nation. I wish you be the leader of the world, he said Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.

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It was the latest visit as Zelenskky uses the Wests great legislative bodies in his appeals for help. Invoking Shakespeares Hamlet last week, Zelenskyy asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is to be or not to be. On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraines membership  and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

To Congress, he mentioned the faces of past presidents on Mount Rushmore and told the lawmakers that people in his country want to live our national dream, just like the you have.

Democracy, independence, freedom.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyys relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

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Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

Zelenskyy appeared to acknowledge the political reality.

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Is this to too much to ask to create a no fly zone over Ukraine? he asked, answering his own question. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative, he said, calling for weapons systems that would help fight Russian aircraft.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars, grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the U.S. official said.

The White House is considering giving Ukraine access to U.S.-made Switchblade drones that can fly and strike Russian targets, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday.

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Mary Clare Jalonick, Aamer Madhani, Ellen Knickmeyer, Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking, Alan Fram, Nomaan Merchant and Chris Megerian and Raf Casert in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, Aritz Parra in Madrid and videojournalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this report.
Through its FastTrack Hospitality & Culinary program, Berkshire Community College will be offering three free online workshops for Serv Safe certifications beginning in April. The workshops will be offered in English and Spanish.
Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and David R. Scott arrive, March 16, 1966 at Complex 19 for a simulated test in preparation for flight.
Community News Editor / Librarian

Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
'You dont know if Ukraine is going to be the same again': Ukrainian students navigate life at Williams amid war at home
You don't want us? Then a cannabis business doesn't want North Adams, its owner, Rustin Kluge, said in effect Friday. Were just choosing another municipality that we feel is a better fit."
China regrets U.S. push for human rights language in Security Council resolution on South Sudan

Xinhua) 08:43, March 16, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday regretted the push by the United States for human rights-related texts in a draft Security Council resolution on the mandate renewal for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

China had to abstain in Tuesday's voting after the United States, the penholder on South Sudan, refused to make revisions, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

UNMISS has made sustained and enormous efforts in facilitating the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement, protecting civilians, delivering humanitarian relief, and advancing South Sudan's nation-building. China applauds the mission's important role and supports the renewal of its mandate, said Dai in an explanation of vote after the vote.

However, throughout the consultation process, the United States had pushed for the inclusion of many human rights-related texts, resulting in a very unbalanced draft resolution, he said.

South Sudan is the youngest UN member. The international community should support the country in gradually exploring a path of human rights development that is suitable for its national conditions, instead of resorting to criticism or pressure, not to mention interference in its internal affairs, he said. "The Security Council is not the appropriate forum for human rights discussions."

The language in the draft makes reference to "human rights defenders." Internationally, there is no clear, unified definition for this term. China opposes this reference, said Dai.

The draft also asks UNMISS to assess the effects of climate change on humanitarian situations, a job that should rightly fall on the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or the country team, instead of UNMISS. China does not appreciate assigning climate change-related mandates to peacekeeping missions without an in-depth analysis of climate change impacts and a clear understanding of climate change as a driver of security risks, he said. "We request that there should be no human resource or budget increase due to this inappropriate mandate."

In fact, on the aforementioned issues, several Security Council members repeatedly requested revisions. But the penholder failed to heed their calls and take on board their reasonable suggestions, and did not demonstrate a penholder's inclusiveness. In view of this, China had no option but to abstain, said Dai.

China will always stand with the South Sudanese people in their journey on nation-building. China is ready to work with UNMISS to make positive contributions to the peace and stability of South Sudan, he said.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
Hartford students who attend Open Choice schools in surrounding towns tend to demonstrate higher proficiency on standardized tests than Hartford students who attend neighborhood schools, but grow at comparable rates, according to state data obtained by the Courant.

Differences in academic achievement between Hartford students in Choice programs and those in Hartford Public neighborhood schools is of particular relevance as the states landmark Sheff vs. ONeill settlement, hinged largely on expansion of the Open Choice program, is in front of state lawmakers for approval.

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[ Legislature opts not to vote on Sheff settlement ]

The Courant examined a 2020 state data set that lists proficiency rates and two growth metrics on the states Smarter Balanced Assessment, as well as proficiency rates and average scores on the SAT, for Hartford students disaggregated for school setting.

Proficiency rates of Hartford students on the Smarter Balanced assessment in both English Language Arts and Math between 2015-16 and 2018-19 Proficiency rates for Hartford students attending neighborhood schools lag behind Hartford students in Open Choice and charter schools, with charter schools performing closest to state numbers. ELA MATH School Type Year % Met or Exceeded Level 3 or 4 % Met or Exceeded Level 3 or 4 Connecticut 15-16 55.6% 44.0% 16-17 54.2% 45.6% 17-18 55.3% 46.8% 18-19 55.7% 48.1% Open choice 15-16 33.9% 17.9% 16-17 31.7% 18.6% 17-18 32.6% 20.2% 18-19 29.9% 23.5% Neighborhood 15-16 16.2% 8.7% 16-17 13.6% 8.8% 17-18 16.2% 12.1% 18-19 16.5% 11.5% Charter 15-16 41.8% 25.8% 16-17 45.0% 36.2% 17-18 50.3% 41.6% 18-19 49.6% 42.6% SOURCE: Connecticut Department of Education

The Courant also examined a state Department of Education study, dated March 2015, that analyzed the performance on the Connecticut Mastery Test (the states previous standardized test) of two cohorts of Choice program students from Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury.

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To us, [the 2020 data] confirms the findings from [the 2015 study], that students in Choice programs are higher achieving and, in general, were seeing that growth in charters [charter schools] is stronger than some of the other Choice programs as well, said Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for state Department of Education.

Its interesting to me that we did this with our old assessment, we did this with our new assessments, and were seeing kind of confirming evidence, Gopalakrishnan said.

[ Settlement that would end 30-year Sheff v. ONeill desegregation case promises to create space at magnet and suburban schools for all Hartford students ]

Standardized test scores are not the only metric for measuring academic success  and an imperfect one, critics argue  but allow for large-scale analysis.

The Sheff settlement would meet all demand for Hartford students who want to attend a school other than their racially segregated neighborhood school by 2028-29, and also release the state from more than three decades of litigation and court oversight.

Comparing growth rates among Hartford students on the Smarter Balanced assessment in English Language Arts between 2015-16 and 2018-19 The percentage of Hartford neighborhood school students who hit their individualized growth target is generally similar to the Hartford students at Open Choice and Magnet schools. ELA School Type Year % Met or Exceeded Level 3 or 4 Neighborhood 15-16 29.4% 16-17 21.4% 17-18 30.5% 18-19 27.0% Open Choice 15-16 33.4% 16-17 27.2% 17-18 31.9% 18-19 27.7% Magnet 15-16 32.8% 16-17 24.4% 17-18 32.0% 18-19 31.5% Charter 15-16 43.9% 16-17 40.6% 17-18 46.9% 18-19 36.1% SOURCE: Connecticut Department of Education

While charter schools are considered part of the broader Choice landscape, they are not a focus of the Sheff settlement. Under the agreement, the state would primarily increase seats at interdistrict magnet schools, technical schools and suburban schools through financial incentives to those districts which expand Open Choice participation.

The settlement explicitly seeks to address the levels of ethnic and racial segregation in Hartford schools, which were deemed to violate the state constitution by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1996.

[ Sheff settlement, in need of legislative approval, criticized by Democratic lawmakers ]

Lawmakers have touted the merits of Choice and the benefits to students who learn in an integrated setting, but some have voiced concerns related to unintended consequences.

Of the Hartford students attending the citys neighborhood schools who took the Smarter Balanced assessment in 2018-19, 16.5% were proficient in English Language Arts.

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That number was 29.5% for Hartford students attending an interdistrict magnet school, 29.9% for Hartford students attending a suburban school through the Open Choice program and 49.6% for Hartford students attending a charter school.

Similar disparities exist in the math section of the Smarter Balanced assessment. In neighborhood schools, 11.5% of Hartford students who took the test in 2018-19 were proficient.

[ Sheff settlement made without Hartford residents, people of color, lawmakers say ]

Nineteen percent of Hartford students were proficient in interdistrict magnet schools, 23.5% were proficient in Open Choice schools and 42.6% were proficient in charter schools.

The disparities hold for Hartford students who took the SAT in 2018-19. Fourteen percent of neighborhood school students met proficiency on the English Language Arts portion, with an average score of 397.

In magnet schools, 37.6% of Hartford students met proficiency and scored 450 on average. In Open Choice schools, 41% of students met proficiency and scored 456 on average, while 44.2% of charter school students met proficiency with a 466 average.

Both proficiency and average scores were lower across the board on the math portion of the SAT, but the decrease was least pronounced among charter school students, 39.% of whom were proficient.

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Just 1.5% of neighborhood school students met proficiency on this portion, with an average score of 377, compared to 15.8% and 19.1% of magnet and Open Choice students, respectively.

Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, superintendent of Hartford Public Schools, was not available for an interview to analyze the data and underlying factors.

Growth

While the data suggests a disparity in proficiency levels between Hartford students in neighborhood schools and Hartford students in Choice programs, the disparity in growth statistics are minimal.

The state Department of Education measures two main growth statistics: 1) growth rate, which is the percentage of students who met their individual growth targets, and 2) average percentage of target achieved, which is the percentage of target that was achieved by students on average.

These two statistics are closely related; schools with high growth rates tend to have higher averages of target achieved.

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These statistics are criteria measures, not relative measures, Gopalakrishnan said. We dont need to have winners and losers, like some growth models across the country, he said. Everybody can be high growth, which is what were after.

On the 2018-19 math section of the Smarter Balanced assessment, growth rates were actually higher for neighborhood school students than Hartford students in magnet schools, at 28.9% and 26.1% respectively.

Open Choice students registered a growth rate of 33.6%, and charter schools again led the way with 34.5%.

The disparities were also slim in the English Language Arts portion. Twenty-seven percent of neighborhood school students met their growth targets, compared to 27.7% of Open Choice students.

In magnet schools, 31.5% of students hit their growth targets. Charter schools led with 36.1% of students meeting their growth targets.

Study

In the 2015 study, state Department of Education officials looked at city students in two grade cohorts: Cohort 1, which includes third-grade students in 2010 and follows them through fifth-grade in 2020; and Cohort 2, which includes sixth-grade students in 2010 and follows them through eighth-grade in 2012.

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The cohorts included students from Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury.

The study looked at the performance, in terms of proficiency and percentage who met the target goals, of the two cohorts on the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT), the states standardized test which was phased out by 2015-16. Results were disaggregated by school setting.

Public charter schools alone showed statistically meaningful gains at or above Proficient and Goal levels on the CMT.  2015 CSDE study, "Evaluating the Academic Performance of Choice Programs in Connecticut"

As an ex post facto study, the results come with the caveat that they do not allow for causal attribution.

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According to the study, students in Cohort 2 in public charter schools alone showed statistically meaningful gains at or above Proficient and Goal levels on the CMT.

In Cohort 1, the studys results showed statistically meaningful gains in terms of proficiency for students in RESC-operated magnet schools and Open Choice programs. Gains were nearly statistically significant for magnet school students in meeting CMT goal levels.

The relatively strong growth numbers among charter schools, in both the study and the 2020 data set, potentially adds a wrinkle to discussions over the Sheff settlement.

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As students of color traditionally make up the overwhelming majority of the population at inner-city charter schools, they are not seen as an antidote to racial segregation that has plagued city schools in Hartford and elsewhere for decades.

Gopalakrishnan notes that there are good schools everywhere in Connecticut, including in the states Alliance Districts, which serve the bulk of Connecticuts students of color and students from low-income families.

Ultimately, it comes down to good schools, and we need every school to be a solid school, Gopalakrishnan said.

Seamus McAvoy may be reached at smcavoy@courant.com
Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday waded back into the debate over how to improve access to health care.
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Democrats on Southingtons town council want to raise the Ukrainian flag over the municipal center, but the Republican majority  citing a proposed ordinance against any non-U.S. flags  turned down the idea.

The council last month took up a proposal to allow raising only four official flags over town property as a way to avoid lawsuits and divisive debates.

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At the council meeting this week, Republican Councilor Willian Dziedzic cautioned that Southington might be asked, for instance, to raise a Russian flag if it were to put up a Ukrainian one.

Speakers from Southington Pride, however, told councilors that the town shouldnt block non-governmental flags flying over municipal property. Some suggested the GOP caucus was mostly interested in keeping the Pride flag from going up this summer.

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I think most people see whats truly going on, resident Walter Grover told the council at a meeting Monday night. This has nothing to do with What if they want to raise the Russian flag? It really has to do with appeasing a small minority group who oppose having our Pride flag raised.

Permitting only the American, Connecticut, Southington and POW-MIA flags would head off controversy about which causes, countries or religions would be represented in the future, Republican councilors said.

Dziedzic and others have warned that the town could be in the middle of debate  and potentially litigation  if it allows some outside flags but refuses others.

The city of Boston is the defendant in a Supreme Court case in which a religious organization claims it was wrongly denied permission to fly the Christian flag in front of city hall.

The citys argument is that the Bill of Rights bars government from promoting any religion. The Camp Constitution organization, however, says Boston approved scores of other non-governmental flags  and discriminated against it by rejecting the Christian one.

Southingtons council last month referred the matter to a committee, and plans to hold a public hearing on whether the town should officially refuse to fly any flags from outside groups, nations or interests. Protestors or others could still carry those flags on city property, but the town itself would not be participating.

Republican Council Tom Lombardi said he supports the message of flying a Ukrainian flag, but doesnt want the town manager put in the position of rejecting requests from some organizations while accepting others.

Democratic councilors and Pride speakers, however, countered that the town has temporarily flown non-official flags over the course of many years. Former Town Manager John Weichsel, for instance, raised the Greek flag at Town Hall every year on Green Independence Day.

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Homeowner Thomas Catricala said the council majority should have gone along with the Ukrainian flag proposal as a show of unity.

This is a simple action that shows what we stand for  its been mucked up by unnecessary government red tape, he said. They dont want to show support to another community, the LGBTQ community.

Catricala and others said social media lit up with anti-gay posts after the town raised the Pride flag last summer.

As disgusting as those comments are, its a vocal minority and nothing more than that. It doesnt represent what most of Southington believes, he said. Lets not go backwards.

Alissa Nelson called on the council to reconsider.

Its so much bigger than flying a flag, I get that. Having it flown last year and having it be a point of contention this year  it makes us feel unheard, unsupported, Nelson said. I understand it is being politized but being gay isnt a political issue.

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By a 6-3 party-line vote, the council declined to take up the Ukrainian flag proposal. Chairwoman Victoria Triano emphasized that the council would conduct a hearing before adopting any flag ordinance.
Ryker Audiss (Belle Fourche baseball): Audiss, a senior outfielder, was a force at the plate and a major contributor to the Broncs wins over Lead-Deadwood, St. Thomas More, and Chamberlain/Kimball/Lyman. His cumulative Stats for the week: three games, nine hits in 11 at bats, two doubles, nine RBIs, seven runs scored, two stolen bases. 0.818 batting average, 0.833 on base percentage, and a 1.000 slugging percentage.

Garrett Winkler (Newell boys track and field): Last week Winkler competed at the Northern Hills Invite in Belle Fourche and finished second in the 3,200-meter run, and had a 16 second improvement from his previous best. He also anchored the boys Medley Relay to a sixth place finish.

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I lift up my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2).

The psalmist often cried out for help, and many passages in Psalms point to the comfort and deliverance David received from Jehovah, the God of Israel. Davids confidence in the power and character of God has inspired and encouraged believers throughout the ages. Psalm 121, especially the first two verses, is a good example of the God who helps His own.

What Does This Verse Mean?

Psalm 121 has been called the Soldiers Psalm because its eight verses were possibly penned during a time when David found himself struggling or pursued in battle. Others call this psalm the Travelers Psalm, believing David may have written it during a perilous journey. Either way, the psalm relates to dangers one might encounter in the world, and the need to trust in Gods providential care. David clearly looked beyond these dangers to the Lord God who cared for him. The entire psalm speaks of Gods intimate care over the land of Israel and its people, but verses one and two are more personal  Davids statement of confidence in his God.

Verse one can be read in several ways. In the most common version, David looks toward the mountains  perhaps deep in thought in the midst of a struggle  and asks, Where does my help come from? Some people read the verse as one long question, as if to say, Shall I lift up my eyes to these strong mountains; does my help come from there? In other words, should I look to the powers and resources of the earth to come to my aid? But David looks beyond the hills to their creator. God existed long before the mountains were formed (Psalm 90:2).

In verse two, David testifies to the true source of his help: My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. In English, the word help can mean simple assistance, but in the Hebrewthe root word is ezriits more like living under the watchful eye of one who secures protection. David looked to Jehovah Ezer, the Guardian of Israel. He knew the Creator would help him in His own time and way, and would be sufficient for his need.

Psalm 121 is the second of the fifteen psalms (120-134) labeled Songs of Ascent. These songs were sung by those traveling to Jerusalem for Jewish feasts, a journey that led upward toward the holy city; so perhaps the hills or mountains David referenced were where the temple was built  the holy hill of Zion, Mount Moriah. This would be an even grander theme: Gods help comes from His holy presence!

Is It True That God Only Helps Those Who Help Themselves?

Some people believe God is not involved in the affairs of mankind. He is thought to be aloof and uncaring, leaving people to fend for themselves. Ancient deism, an unbiblical belief, taught that God made the entire universe, and then left it to function on its own.

A more caring, modern concept is that God is there and somewhat involved in His creation, but He limits help to those who help themselves. The phrase God helps those who help themselves is reportedly attributed to an English politician in the 1600s  later quoted by Benjamin Franklin in 1736 in Poor Richards Almanac. It is not a biblical concept.

The Bible, in fact, teaches the opposite! While its true that God does not want His children to be lazy, and they need to be obedient and cooperate with Him in His will, God is a helper for the helpless and needy  those who cannot help themselves (Isaiah 25:4). People are all helpless when it comes to salvation, but God provided the help that is needed. Because people are powerless to save themselves, Christ died as the substitute for sinners (Romans 5:6). But God also helps believers in their daily lives.

How Is God Our Helper?

Verse two has likely been quoted by many Christians as they encounter trials or confusing difficulties. It is great comfort to know that God is the believers helper. The Message Bible translates help as strength  perhaps because the mountains are symbols of strength. Although Gods help may give strength, His help is more than that.

Psalm 46:1 says, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. God helps by giving refuge in the midst of battles and trials. He is the believers' safe place, always ready to strengthen them when they feel weak or afraid. When people sing, Hes got the whole world in His hands, what theyre saying is, the Maker is in control, and He has unlimited power and resources to help. Jeremiah said God founded the world by His wisdom and the heavens by His understanding (Jeremiah 10:12). As a child of God fears Him  living in reverent awe of His holiness, obeying Him, and determining to bring Him honor  that person will find godly wisdom and insight (Proverbs 9:10).

Christians today often say, Gods got this! Nothing happens outside of Gods loving, providential will and care. In the rest of Psalm 121, David shares more information about how God helps His people. He watches over them, protecting them from accidents (v. 3). Gods people are on solid ground. Those who delight in Him may stumble, but they will not fall without remedy, because they are upheld by His strong hand (Psalm 37:23-24). Unlike pagan gods, the God of the Bible does not fall asleep on the job (1 Kings 18:25-27; Psalm 121:4). The Lord is always awake  always actively involved in His childrens lives.

David says God helps us as shade at our right hand (v. 5). A soldier often carried his shield in his left hand, and the right side was exposed and vulnerable. David saw God as the One who would provide a protective shade  another shield  against potential harm. In a similar way, God is close beside His children, watching over them so they will not be overwhelmed or shaken (Psalm 16:8).

God is the believers protector, guarding day and night (v. 6) both now and into eternity (vv. 7-8). He grips the believers hand and says, Do not fear, I will help you (Isaiah 41:13). He knows everything and watches over every activity and transition in believers lives (Psalm 139:2-3). He gives peace of mind, guidance, rest, joy, encouragement, and so much more.

Why Is God Such a Powerful Helper?

God is powerful to help because He is the Maker and sustainer of heaven and earth. Jeremiah says, Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you (Jeremiah 32:17). All things were made by Him, culminating in His creation of man and woman. It makes sense that the One who created people can best help them.

The Scriptures teach that every member of the Trinity is a source of help. First, Jehovah God was known to help His people from the beginning, recorded in Genesis. The Israelites recognized how blessed they were to have the powerful LORD as their shield and helper (Deuteronomy 33:29). Throughout the psalms, Gods people recognized their God was the mighty Helper of Israel. The prophet Isaiah suggested many things that Gods people might fear, but then the prophet told them not to be afraid because God was with them: I will strengthen you, I will help you, God saidtwice in 13 verses! Isaiah emphatically declared that the Sovereign LORD helped him.

Second, Jesus three-year ministry was filled with examples of helping others. He helped through teaching and encouraging, through many wondrous miracles, and through His prayers for those who followed Him. Jesus told His disciples He would ask the Father to give another Helper (John 14:16; 15:26; 16:7)a statement that suggests His own helper role. As believers today study the life of Christ, they are helped by His example.

Third, the indwelling Holy Spirit is the believers helperteacher, comforter, advocate, and counselor. He convicts of sin, and as believers are in fellowship and partnership with Him, He produces good fruit in their lives (John 16:8; Galatians 5:22-23). He strengthens with power (Ephesians 3:16). When believer do not know what to pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes before God on their behalf (Romans 8:26-27).

Can We Trust God to Help Us at All Times?

When believers get into tough situations  especially when the struggle and pain feel so overwhelming  its natural to call out to God for help. Psalm 34:1 says, When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. That is a wonderful truth. But does that mean God will always deliver, always help?

In circumstances when bad things happen to the righteous, people ask, Why would a good, all-powerful God allow this to happen? Its not always an accusation; often it is simply a desire to understand. Why didnt God stop the pain; why didnt He help me? Its nearly impossible, humanly speaking, to understand great disasters in life. Part of the answer is that in this fallen world, every person is under the curse of sin, and sinful people do sinful things.

But also, God is God and His children are not. The believer may never understand this side of eternity the countless tragedies, like a childs murder, genocide, or painful disease leading to death. The key is to remember that the Sovereign Gods ways are higher than mans ways (Isaiah 55:9), and there is more involved in suffering from heavens perspective.

Believing this is not escapism. Rather, in this world of questions and shadows of sin where we may not understand Gods purposes, the believer can still choose to trust His heart and place confidence in His holy character and providence.

Romans 8:28 teaches that God can bring about good for His beloved ones from any situation. Sometimes Christians will see that good on earth, but other times, the good will only be understood in heaven. The Bible also teaches that God, in His sovereign purposes, sometimes uses afflictions to draw believers back to Himself and produce good fruit in and through them (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75; Hebrews 12:5-11). This may not be the kind of help a Christian would ever ask for, but God knows the help of affliction may be needed to make His children more like His Son, Jesus, and prepare him or her for heaven.

Related articles

The Holy Spirit Is Here to Help When You Need It

9 Ways Our Faith Helps Seasons of Change Go Smoothly

21 Prayers for Strength in Difficult Times



Photo credit: Getty Images/Shuang Paul Wang

Dawn Wilson and her husband Bob live in Southern California. They have two married sons and three granddaughters. Dawn assists author and radio host Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth with research and works with various departments at Revive Our Hearts. She is the founder and director of Heart Choices Today, publishes Upgrade with Dawn, and writes for Crosswalk.com and Christianity.com. Dawn also travels with her husband in ministry with Pacesetter Global Outreach.
BOISE - Idaho hunters who entered the drawing for spring turkey controlled hunts can now view the draw results online.

To view controlled hunt tag draw results, hunters need to visit GoOutdoorsIdaho.com and log in to their account. Email notifications will also be sent to those who provided an email address on their profile.

Hunters who were successful in the draw can purchase the controlled hunt tag multiple ways.

Through their GoOutdoorsIdaho customer account By visiting any Fish and Game regional office By visiting any license vendor location By calling 1-800-554-8685.

Tags purchased online or over the phone will include an additional convenience fee and will be mailed to the mailing address on file.

Hunters who were successful in the draw will still receive a notification card by mail by early April, however, it is the responsibility of hunters to find out their draw results for hunts. Those who do not have access to the internet can either wait to receive their notification card, or visit a Fish and Game license vendor to determine draw status.

Hunters should refer to the online brochure for all current spring controlled hunts, seasons and bag limits.

Additional spring turkey hunting opportunities

For those who didnt draw a controlled hunt tag, there are still turkey hunting opportunities to be had in many areas of the state, including the spring youth turkey hunt, which runs from April 8 through April 14, and the general spring season, which runs from April 15 through May 25.
POCATELLO  With water levels in Idahos reservoirs well below normal last fall, irrigators entered this winter hoping for above-average snowpack in order to ensure a reliable supply of water for the 2022 growing season.

That has not happened. In fact, snowpack levels are well below normal in most basins and Idahos 2022 water supply outlook doesnt look very rosy at the moment.

Its looking like its going to be a pretty tight water situation this year, said Bob Carter, manager of the Boise Project Board of Control, which provides water to five irrigation districts in southwestern Idaho.

On the other side of the state, Tony Olenichak, watermaster of Water District 1, the states largest, isnt feeling any more optimistic about this years water supply outlook.

It looks like its going to be a tight water year, he said.

Water District 1, which feeds the upper Snake River system, is Idahos most important in terms of providing irrigation water to farmers and provides enough water to irrigate well over 1 million acres of crop land.

The plentiful rainfall that soaked many parts of Idaho last fall has helped soil moisture levels but its snow that fills the states reservoir systems and those reservoirs provide critical irrigation water to farmers, ranchers and other irrigators during the dry, hot summer months.

The reservoirs are the life blood of Idahos important agricultural sector and right now, they dont look so good.

Its starting to look not too great from an irrigation standpoint, said Rockland dryland farmer Cory Kress.

A few weeks ago, people were saying if Idaho had a great March in terms of mountain snowpack, things would be OK, he pointed out.

So far, Im not seeing a great March, he added.

Idahos snowpack season typically runs until April 1 so there is still some time for a turnaround, but the clock is ticking.

A wet spring or a few good mountain snowstorms over the next few weeks would help significantly, Olenichak says.

But, he adds, Right now, its not looking too good.

Last years severe drought, exacerbated by a brutal heat wave early in the growing season, resulted in yields in Idaho being down significantly for almost every crop.

But most Idaho reservoir systems had a good amount of carryover water heading into the 2021 growing season and that helped prevent 2021 from being a disaster for many Idaho farmers and ranchers.

Idaho irrigators didnt have that luxury of full reservoirs heading into this winter and now they are hoping for a good finish to the 2022 winter snowpack season or at least a wet spring.

If Idaho is blessed with a wet spring, most farmers will be able to juggle things around make do, Kress said.

But if we get another dry spring like we had last year, were all in trouble, he said. The weather pattern has to change or well be in the same boat here shortly as we were last year.

During the Idaho Water Supply Committee meeting March 10, David Hoekema, a hydrologist with the Idaho Department of Water Resources, said Idaho started with a perfect wet fall and plentiful early winter snowpack levels.

But since Jan. 7, there has been a failure of normal precipitation and snowpack has flatlined in multiple basins, he added.
SEATTLE - A 21-year-old Seattle man pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court in Seattle to Providing Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. Elvin Hunter Bgorn Williams was arrested May 28, 2021, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on criminal charges related to his alleged efforts to join the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, to engage in violent acts of terrorism in the Middle East or the United States. Williams faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on June 14, 2022.

According to court documents, Williams was arrested following a lengthy investigation into his efforts to join ISIS.

According to the plea agreement, in November 2020, Williams began telling family members he was a member of ISIS. Williams posted a video on Facebook in which he swore an oath of loyalty to a leader of ISIS.

Using confidential sources close to Williams, the FBI monitored his activity and became aware of his efforts to travel to the Middle East and join ISIS. Williams expressed to his associates that if he could not travel overseas, he would commit an attack in the U.S. on behalf of ISIS. Williams began communicating with those he believed were ISIS recruiters who could get him to an ISIS terror cell in the Middle East or other parts of the world.

The plea agreement contains statements Williams made about his intentions: that he sought martyrdom, had no problem with killing, and hoped to be involved in beheading others.

In May 2021, Williams obtained a passport and pawned a laptop computer to raise funds for his travel. In early May 2021, Williams booked an airline ticket from Seattle to Amsterdam and on to Egypt to join ISIS. On Friday May 28, 2021, he went to Sea-Tac Airport to catch the first leg of his international flight. Williams was arrested at the departure gate.

The case was investigated by the FBIs Joint Terrorism Task Force in Seattle with assistance from the King County Sheriffs Office; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Homeland Security Investigations; Federal Air Marshals; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; U.S Marshals Service; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Transportation Security Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Seattle Police Department; Bellevue Police Department; and Port of Seattle Police Department.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Departments National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Nicholas W. Brown for the Western District of Washington, and Special Agent in Charge Donald Voiret of the FBIs Seattle Field Office made the announcement.

Assistant United States Attorney Todd Greenberg of the Western District of Washingtons Terrorism and Violent Crime Unit, and Trial Attorney Andrew Sigler of the National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.
YouTube influencer and boxer Jake Paul suggested he could set up fights between Vladimir Putin and billionaire Elon Musk, as well as Kanye West and comedian Pete Davidson.

The point of these fights would be to 'squash a beef,' end a feud or a dispute.

This was after Musk challenged Putin to a fight on Ukraine's behalf.

One could wish that a pugilistic faceoff between rivals was possible and would be better than the situation we face now where innocent people are dying, including journalists who are covering the atrocities.

All of this is a pipe dream, like Kanye and Pete burying the hatchet but another reminder that everyone is consumed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Hoping for an end to the conflict.
Astellas MOONLIGHT 1 clinical trial evaluating investigational fezolinetant 30 mg administered once daily

Japan-based Astellas Pharma Inc. has announced topline results from the ongoing Phase 3 MOONLIGHT 1 clinical trial investigating the efficacy and safety of fezolinetant, an investigational oral, nonhormonal compound being studied for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause (VMS), in women in Asia. VMS, characterized by hot flashes (also called hot flushes) and/or night sweats, are common symptoms of menopause.

Based on the 12-week data analysis in 302 participants, fezolinetant 30 mg once daily (QD) in women in China, Korea and Taiwan did not meet the pre-defined endpoints for efficacy.

While numerical improvements from baseline were observed in the fezolinetant 30 mg treatment group, the results did not meet statistical significance.

The 12-week safety data in this study are aligned with what was previously observed with fezolinetant. Detailed results will be submitted for publication following completion of the 24-week analyses.

We are evaluating the results and look forward to reviewing the full data set once the study is complete, said Nancy Martin, M.D., PharmD, Vice President, Global Medical Head, Medical Specialties, Astellas.

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Ababil Healthcare is the new distributor for Temporal Artery Thermometers in southern India

Exergen Corporation, US-based player in infrared temperature measurement for medical applications, has signed a distributor agreement with Ababil Healthcare. Based in Chennai, Ababil Healthcare aims to provide high-quality healthcare services and products in 6 Indian states, home to around 275 million people.

The TAT-5000 and the TAT-2000 thermometers for professional use by doctors and nurses and the TAT-2000C thermometer for consumer applications are based on a very innovative infrared technology. They offer many advantages over more traditional methods of determining a patient's body temperature.

Ababil Healthcare delivers state-of-the-art medical equipment for doctors, nursing homes, and hospitals to manage every critical care department. We are very impressed by the accuracy and ease of use of the Temporal Artery Thermometer, says Mohammed Ibrahim, CEO of Ababil Healthcare. At the same time the infrared thermometers designed and manufactured by Exergen are very affordable. We think both doctors, nurses and at-home-users in India will love the Temporal Artery Thermometer series of products.


Biological Es production capacity is up to 1 billion vaccines annually

On the occasion of National Immunisation Day on 16 March and in an effort to support the Governments ongoing efforts to protect our country against COVID-19, Hyderabad-based Biological E is geared to facilitate the first phase of the vaccination drive for the 12 to 15 years Indian population through its vaccine CORBEVAX. Biological E collaborated with the Texas Childrens Hospital and the Baylor College to develop CORBEVAX vaccine.

Dynavax, Inc from US supported CORBEVAX development by providing the adjuvant and THSTI Delhi conducted key immunogenicity testing as part of a comprehensive clinical trial development plan.

BIRAC, a division of Department of Biotechnology, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Coalition for Epidemic Prevention and Innovation (CEPI) provided partial funding during clinical development.

CORBEVAX is a recombinant protein subunit vaccine against the novel coronavirus and has been given emergency use authorisation (EUA) for children aged 12-18 years and adults from 18-80 yrs. The vaccine is administered through intramuscular route with two doses scheduled 28 days apart and is stored at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.

Biological E had begun the manufacturing CORBEVAX for stockpiling after approval, based on the favourable clinical evidence and review by experts. Multiple Biological E. Limited facilities in Hyderabad are currently producing and will continue to produce the vaccine. The group will leverage its robust pan India presence and partner with the State Governments, hospitals and Medical institutions to leave no stone unturned in facilitating the uninterrupted supply of the COVID-19 vaccine. To date, 30 crore vaccines have been produced as part of the commitment made to the Government of India.
The Connecticut Yankee Council is selling Deer Lake, a large parcel of land in Killingworth currently used for camping, hiking and rock climbing.

Conservationists in Connecticut are scrambling to stop the sale of a large parcel of land in Killingworth, which they say should be maintained as a camping ground or nature reserve.

The land, a 253-acre parcel known as Deer Lake, is currently owned by the Connecticut Yankee Council of the Boys Scouts of America. The organization announced last month that it plans to sell to a private buyer unless it receives a higher bid by March 31.

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Conservationists in the area have urged the council to instead accept a lower offer from the Trust for Public Land, which would buy the property for its assessed value and maintain it as is. As they see it, selling Deer Lake to private developers would violate the spirit of the Connecticut Yankee Council, which operates as a tax-exempt nonprofit.

The fact that theyre considering, even thinking about, selling this property for development is, to me, in complete opposition to their mission, said David Anderson, land campaigns manager for Save the Sound, a Connecticut-based environmental group.

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Theyre acting with the mentality of a private corporation, but theyre not a private corporation, theyre a nonprofit, he said.

According to Save the Sound, the private buyer has offered $4.6 million, while the Trust for Public Land has offered $2.4 million. The Connecticut Yankee Council declined to comment Tuesday beyond a statement issued in February, in which the organization said selling Deer Lake was a difficult decision that was nonetheless necessary amid a decline in membership.

Simply put, we own too many properties for the membership we have today, the council said. While the outdoors are critical to delivering Scoutings mission of preparing youth for life, owning property is not.

A dining hall at Deer Lake.

According to the council, funds from the sale would be used to expand facilities and programs at Camp Sequassen in New Hartford and Hoyt Scout Camp in Redding.

Opponents of the Deer Lake sale hope public pressure will convince the Connecticut Yankee Council to prioritize conserving the land, which is currently used for camping, hiking, rock climbing and more.

As of Tuesday, a Save Deer Lake Facebook group had 1,600, and officials from the local first selectman to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had gotten involved.

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If you have been to Deer Lake, you know how pristine and precious this area is, Blumenthal said Tuesday. It is of incalculable value for fishing, camping, hiking and just appreciation of outdoors.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., stand in his office before Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson arrives for a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Blumenthal said he hoped the Connecticut Yankee Council would sell for less than the private developers are offering and that he was working to secure federal funding to supplement the Trust for Public Lands bid.

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The more development there is in Connecticut and the more densely populated we are, the more critically important open space is, he said. And once its lost, theres no way to regain it.

In a statement, the Trust for Public Land called Deer Lake an incredible geological wonder and said it would continue working to acquire the land.

Ted Langevin, president of Pathfinders, Inc., a nonprofit seeking to raise money to purchase the land for conservation, noted the history of the Deer Lake site, as well as environmental benefits to preserving it. He said he hopes the Connecticut Yankee Council will see the land as more than just a dollar figure.

Were trying to get the scouts to realize that this is a precious natural resource and their charge is to be conservation-minded, Langevin said. They teach the outdoor code and that stuff, but they dont seem to be paying an awful lot of attention to it at the moment.

Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
Truenat platform has been deployed as a frontline tool in the governments effort towards scaling up testing in the country

The Government of India is all set to launch a special door-to-door tuberculosis (TB) screening initiative on 24 March 2022, globally observed as World TB Day.

Under this initiative, over the next two to three weeks, health workers will be visiting the vulnerable population that is potentially exposed to the infection and test those found to have symptoms of the disease.

The indigenously developed Truenat platform by Molbio Diagnostics has been deployed as a frontline tool in the governments effort towards scaling up testing in the country. The Truenat technology was endorsed by WHO in 2020 as the worlds first point-of-care rapid molecular diagnostic platform for diagnosis of TB and multidrug resistance.

With the ability to operate in resource-limited settings with minimal dependence on infrastructure and skilled manpower, Truenat machines are being deployed at the sub-district level in the remotest corners across the country.

Over 3,500 community health centres (CHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs) have been equipped with Truenat devices under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) for first-line testing of TB in suspected patients. The ongoing expansion in the rollout of this technology across the healthcare chain will ensure that patients will not have to travel long distances and wait long hours to access an early and accurate diagnosis.
The transport industry contributes to 20% of our GDP and forms the backbone of South Africa's socio-economic activities by enabling the movement of people and products. Yet despite South Africa's high unemployment rate, there is currently a shortage of skilled drivers, which represents a significant risk to local businesses moving into 2022.

Source: Quintin Gellar via Pexels

Upskilling drivers

"South Africa is currently facing a shortage of skilled truck drivers, which will only worsen as the economy recovers," warns Arnoux Mare, managing director of Innovative Learning Solutions (ILS)."And like the current issues with national electricity supply, a shortage of drivers is also a catch-22. As business activity resumes, we will see more transportation demand, but a lack of adequate supply could quickly strangle economic growth again."Pointing to the high demand for truck drivers, latest figures from fleet-tracking company Ctracks Freight Transport Index show that in November 2021, the average number of trucks passing through the Tugela toll plaza reached 7,450 per day. As the midpoint of the busiest long-distance freight corridor in South Africa, this equates to as many as 251 trucks per hour.The index further shows that there were even more trucks than cars on the N3 corridor for 10 of the 12 months of 2021 and that despite the impacts of the pandemic, there has been a 30% increase in the number of trucks on South Africas roads compared to five years ago."A shortage of skilled drivers impacts nearly every sector. They transport essential goods like food, fuel, coal, hospital and medical equipment, clothing, and more. We urgently need to do more to fill the skills gap in South Africa by investing in driver training programmes now to avoid hitting a major roadblock in our economic recovery," says Mare"South African businesses need to begin building a talent pipeline to plug the skills gap now if we are to avoid hitting a speedbump in economic growth. With affordable training programmes, a career as a truck driver is an attractive option for many unemployed South Africans  particularly for unemployed youth."Mare argues that corporates especially need to invest in upskilling drivers to mitigate the risk they are taking by hiring drivers without proper background checks and driver training."With the rising demand for truck drivers, having professionally trained drivers is one of the best solutions available for enhancing operational efficiency. This means having truckers who know how to secure their load, drive in wet conditions, and have the expertise and confidence to act swiftly when a threat arises, to aid in ensuring that cargo arrives safely at its destination."Professional skills training not only benefits employees and the economy, but also reduces the risk of accidents, which directly impacts the bottom-lines of businesses. Thats why an increasing number of business owners are taking advantage of training and testing opportunities to bridge the skill shortage gap within the transport sector and safeguard their assets."As the home of Africas largest driver testing and training centre, Innovative Learning Solutions offers courses and learning programmes for corporates. With courses suitable for beginner drivers to experienced code 14 truck drivers, as well as several TETA accredited courses, Innovative Learning Solutions aims to reduce the risk of accidents and damages to transport companies and private businesses.As part of the Innovative Solutions Group TM of companies, ILS also uses its insights into South Africas critical skill shortages to create programmes that fulfil wider business needs. These include training staff in soft skills such as communication, emergency care, motivation, and customer services."By investing in the development of their systems and staff, private sector businesses can increase their functionality, mitigate risk and gain competitive advantage over those companies whose staff have not been trained," concludes Mare.
In 2020, the South African government introduced a Social Distress Relief (SDR) Grant of R350 to provide much-needed support for those who were particularly vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic.

The debate around raising taxes

Addressing SA's societal divisions

Two years later, the grant; now referred to as the Basic Income Grant, has become a fundamental part of the South African zeitgeist, and a hotly debated topic amongst politicians, analysts and civil society.With many South Africans having become reliant on this grant, the writing is on the wall for the State. The question is, therefore, not whether the grant will become a permanent fixture of South African economic policy, but how it will be designed to meet the needs of the population  and who will be picking up the cheque.This is the opinion of Michael Sachs  the most recent guest on PSGs webinar series entitled, which welcomes some of the countrys most knowledgeable experts to discuss pressing issues. Hosted by renowned financial journalist and broadcast anchor, Alishia Seckham, the webinar focused on the Basic Income Grant and whether it should become a permanent line item on the national budget.Michael Sachs is an adjunct professor at University of the Witwatersrand. He has held positions in government as the chief director of Fiscal Policy and the chief director of International Finance and Development, Currently, Sachs is the deputy chair of the Finance and Fiscal Commission  an advisory body to the South African government.Teeing up the conversation, Seckham explained that the State is faced with the task of balancing a social, moral and historical imperative with the fiscal and policy trade-offs of this critical decision.I would argue that the Basic Income Grant; or Basic Income Support as I prefer to refer to it, is in effect, a done deal and impossible to withdraw for a number of socio-political reasons. The question is how this grant will be designed in its evolution into prevailing South African policy, and what the parameters will be, says Sachs.On the topic of whether the issuing of such a grant could encourage the development of a culture of dependency, Sachs asserted his view that there is little merit to this perspective. "As a country, we have struggled with increasing mass unemployment and poverty since the onset of democracy," he said. This, according to Sachs, is at the crux of the issue. "It is difficult to envisage a South African state that is able to sustain growth and development to a point where the entire population can be employed. The R350 grant speaks to this inability to curb record-high unemployment by job creation and economic growth alone.When we look at other grants  like child-support and old-age grants  we see evidence both globally and locally, that cash payments of this nature can serve as an enabler to encourage more people to participate in the local economy. R350 could cover taxi fare from a rural location into a city centre where, for example, someone could find employment that would otherwise be inaccessible. When debating this issue therefore, its important to look at South Africas history and formulate a plan that considers our experience as a nation and our unique socio-economic position, Sachs elaborates.Sachs argued, the formal issuing of a Basic Income Grant will necessitate the raising of taxes. It is, as he explains, an inevitability". The challenge for government is how far taxes can be raised before the detrimental impact on job creation and growth begins to chip away at the economy.Value-Added Tax (VAT) and Personal Income Tax are the two most viable candidates for raising the quantum that is required to sustain a Basic Income grant, according to Sachs. These two forms of tax are tried and tested methods of increasing tax revenue, as opposed to corporate-income tax, which fluctuates quite significantly due to its cyclical nature and therefore does not provide the consistent revenue flow that is necessary to produce stability.Again, instead of a singular focus on how tax can be increased and possibly how that tax burden can be shouldered by the wealthiest 1%, Sachs advocates for a broader solution that includes how South Africa can broaden the tax base. The redistributive approach of taxing the wealthiest South Africans is idealistic, but not necessarily practical.Taking this approach could erode the tax base further if the affluent members of society decide to move their money offshore or emigrate. VAT, on the other hand, is more broadly distributed and could be a more progressive method of increasing tax revenue. The key is striking the delicate balance between redistributive polices and building a broader tax base that will help to sustain the economy in the long term.Of course, as Sachs explains, the pivotal point at which the Sate finds itself concerns more than just taxation. There is a pressing need for the public sector to address the issues that serve as economic constraints, the most significant of which is the energy crisis.There are two sides to this challenge, Sachs continues, there is the question of how to support and uplift the most vulnerable members of society, and then theres the question of how South Africa can stimulate growth and development at the same time. These issues are inextricably interconnected with the countrys political affairs. As South Africans we need to remain hopeful that we can recover economically, but people need to understand that its unlikely well see a scenario where South Africa turns into Singapore.Nearing the end of the talk, Sachs referenced the philosophy of Thabo Mbeki, who stated that there are two societies and two economies within South Africa  that of the "haves", and that of the "have nots". In Sachs opinion, current events have caused the country to go further down the path of division rather than moving towards solidarity and building an economy to which everyone can contribute.The question for government now is whether establishing a grant of this nature will serve to exacerbate or transform the societal divisions that separate South Africans. As Sachs asserts: These "bigger picture" questions are the ones that we need to answer if we are to work towards a sustainable fiscus and economic policy that builds us up in the long term.The wrap-up from PSG Wealth is that South Africa finds itself at a crossroads in terms of its economic and political future. And with the turbulence of the global climate, there are a myriad factors to consider. There is no simple answer to this complex issue. As individuals, prudent financial management is more necessary now than ever to ensure that we are able to weather the economic difficulties and remain active participants in stimulating the economy.
South African food producer Libstar, whose brands include Denny Mushrooms and Lancewood dairy, said on 16 March that its full-year earnings rose by 18.8%, due to lower interest and income tax expenses.

Source: Supplied

Normalised headline earnings per share, the main profit measure in South Africa, from continuing operations rose to 80.4 cents for the year ended 31 December, from 67.7 cents a year ago.Income tax expense fell to R53m from R106m, while interest incurred on interest-bearing banking facilities and right-of-use liabilities declined by 10%.Group revenue increased by 7.1% to R10bn, with volumes up 0.5%. Price increases and changes in sales mix contributed 6.6% to the group sales growth.Gross profit margin though declined to 23% from 24.4%, mainly due to lower export margins and rapidly rising costs of critical raw materials and packaging amid volatility in local and international supply chains."The immediate impact of these cost increases was exacerbated, as there is a timing lag between the increases and their recovery through selling price increases," the company said.Consumer goods companies worldwide are grappling with the surge in commodity, energy, transport and labour costs. Libstar is particularly exposed due to its reliance on food, where inflation is high.Group normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization increased by 2.4%. Libstar declared a final dividend of 25 cents per share.
Fujifilm South Africa has announced the construction of a new head office in Sandton. This forms part of the company's ongoing commitment to the country, following not only the opening of a new office and repair centre in Cape Town last year but also in celebrating Fujifilm South Africa's ten year anniversary in South Africa.

Image supplied

Image supplied

Fujifilms new head office will be located at 18 Holt Street, Sandton, Johannesburg, with construction expected to be completed in December of this year. Once finished the five-story, 999m building will incorporate office space, a Fujifilm repair centre, and importantly, also the Fujifilm Technology Centre Africa.The Fujifilm Technology Centre Africa is the only one of its kind on the continent, providing a demo and training centre for the companys different departments.This includes innovative solutions from graphic communication (wide format printing, packaging, commercial digital and commercial offset), medical systems (radiography, mammography, pathology, X-ray diagnostics), as well as imaging solutions (Instax instant cameras and printers, Fujifilm X-series and GFX mirrorless cameras).At the Technology Centre Africa, Fujifilm customers will be able to see the equipment in action, receive up-to-date training, and go hands-on with a range of products and solutions.Designed by Empowered Space Architects, the new Fujifilm head office will be constructed to fall in line with Fujilfilm Holdings climate action targets: to produce net-zero CO2 emissions by the fiscal year ending March 2041. Initial energy-efficient solutions for the new building include the use of motion sensor and day/night lighting, energy-efficient plumbing that consumes less water, the harvesting of rainwater, and the installation of solar panels on the roof.Fujifilm South Africa is working alongside green energy consultants to further investigate solutions to greenify the building, with, for example, the possibility of incorporating a vegetable patch on the roof of the building. The offices are being constructed by Bantry Construction, with whom Fujifilm has a working relationship after the construction of the Fujifilm warehouse in Roodepoort in 2017.During the sod-turning ceremony, Fujifilm South Africas managing director, Taro Kawano noted the significance of the new building.This year marks the tenth anniversary of Fujifilm establishing a subsidiary in South Africa, and what better way to reaffirm our commitment to the country than with the construction of this new head office in Sandton, he stated.What Im most excited about is further serving our local customers through the Fujifilm Technology Centre Africa, where there will be a training and demo centre available to help showcase the latest Fujifilm products and services. I would like to thank all our partners involved in the construction of this significant new office space in Johannesburg, he concluded.
Fastjet Zimbabwe has launched flights from Zimbabwe's tourism capital of Victoria Falls to Mbombela Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport in South Africa. Providing a boost for tourism between the two countries, the new direct flight will be a seamless connection for travellers on the safari circuit, effectively linking the Lowveld lodges in and around the Kruger National Park, directly with Victoria Falls, another of Southern Africa's greatest tourism attractions.

Source: Alec Wilson via Wikiemdia Commons

The new scheduled service route will operate three times a week on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.Fastjet will operate the service using the airlines 50-seater Embraer ERJ145 aircraft. This aircraft type is known to provide the versatility to build a sustainable regional network with the right-size capacity while offering customers comfortable seating with generous legroom.Nunurai Ndawana, Fastjet Zimbabwe spokesperson, says: "Fastjet is a leading airline operating into Victoria Falls and the region. We are delighted to be adding another crucial direct flight connection to Victoria Falls. We believe this route will facilitate accelerated travel between these two globally recognised tourism destinations of Zimbabwe and South Africa, thereby massively contributing to the restart of tourism in the region."Julian Edmunds, Fastjet Group chief commercial officer, comments: "Since our announcement of this route, the response from Victoria Falls and the Mpumalanga Province has been overwhelmingly positive. Our nonstop service from Victoria Falls to Mbombela Kruger Mpumalanga will benefit a variety of travellers especially those that want to maximise their holiday by exploring multiple Southern African destinations in a single visit."
On 16 March 2022, Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) officially opened its Adolescent Centre of Excellence to serve young people, between the ages of 13 and 18, in the Western Cape.

Source: Supplied.

Adolescent centre aligned with NGOs

Meeting the unique needs of adolescents

This is another proud milestone for the hospital as this is the first facility of its kind in the province.This public-health facility will be providing a holistic package of care to patients who are referred from other facilities in the province. The services have been structured to be adolescent friendly through the use of peer support. Apart from general adolescent clinics, the service primarily serves to assist these young adults to deal with chronic illnesses, ensure that they understand the need to be compliant in taking their medication and to offer them counselling services both as individuals and through group therapy.The launch of this facility is very much aligned with the World Health Organisation directive and focus on adolescent health, notably with the understanding that investing in adolescent health today has multiple spin-offs in future-years. The idea is to provide a home for adolescents with long-term health care until they are ready to transition into adult services, as well as to provide a space for expert opinion and care for general adolescent medical conditions, commented Dr Zakira M-Sablay, paediatrician at the facility.The department has also been able to partner with NGOs to make a difference at the facility. Currently South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP) and TB-HIV Care are the two NGOs on board and they share the vision of addressing the critical gap in mental health services for adolescents.On-site counsellors will provide counselling for adolescents once a week, in addition to the services of a newly established Adolescent Psychiatric Outpatient Department Clinic for non-acute psychiatric conditions.The primary purpose of the SACAP foundation is to address the inadequate provision of mental healthcare services in South Africa. The foundation seeks to be a positive force for change, oriented towards social justice and addressing the wide gap that exists between mental-health service needs and available quality provision in disadvantaged and marginalised communities.Mental-health problems represent the largest burden of disease in young people, and in joining hands with the Western Cape Government and Groote Schuur Hospital, The SACAP foundation is honoured to be assisting in providing integrated care to the adolescents of the Western Cape,, said Kim Starkey, counselling psychologist for SACAP.TB-HIV Care is involved in several primary healthcare programmes in the Western Cape, notably addressing tailored service delivery for youth. The organisation was understandably eager to synergise with Groote Schuur Hospital on the Adolescent Centre of Excellence. We did so by placing service-delivery teams at this wonderful youth-friendly establishment, with a focus on finding missing TB cases and providing supportive preventative and therapeutic care."The participating stakeholders understand the importance of providing a variety of services based on the unique needs of youth to ensure they access the health interventions needed for our country's future leaders, said Dr Laurene Booyens, chief programme officer, TB-HIV Care.Western Cape Minister of Health, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo advises that: A wise youth knows their health status. I started this year engaging with young people through Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVETs). There are eight priorities that have been identified regarding young people:* HIV/TB and Sexually Transmitted Inflections* Covid-19* Gender-Based Violence* Mental health* Sexual reproductive health, maternal health and contraception.* Disability* LGBTQI+ residents* Alcohol and drug-abuse prevention.To my delight this centre covers all the above, and it's about youth empowerment. It will assist young people to make healthy decisions. There will also be interactions with parents. I see it also empowering families. This is innovation as the best intervention of dealing with social determinants of health, said Mbombo.
MyHealthTeam - creator of the largest and fastest-growing social networks for people facing chronic health conditions - announced its partnership with Discovery Health, to launch myCOVIDteam - an online patient community for people facing acute or long-haul symptoms of Covid-19, also known as long Covid.

Source: Supplied.

A health-economic challenge

An initiative open to people around the globe

MyHealthTeams patient communities are patient-led, online groups where patients, caregivers, doctors, researchers, and others come together with a focus on a particular disease. They share stories, offer support and information, and even develop solutions where needed.Covid-19 will have a wide-ranging impact on individuals and communities around the world for years to come, said Eric Peacock, co-founder and CEO of MyHealthTeam.The myCOVIDteam network is key to empowering community members on multiple levels in this regard. Visitors to myCOVIDteam have access to medically reviewed information and trusted resources to help them to talk with their doctors more effectively and better manage their recovery.myCOVIDteam provides community members with access to:* Foundational information about Covid-19 - risk factors, symptoms, treatment options and more.* Interviews with medical experts addressing various aspects of Covid-19 - including conversations with renowned specialists in cardiology, nephrology, pulmonology, neurology, and psychology* Guidance for navigating daily life with the disease - including addressing physical, mental, social, and practical impacts* Research insights and new information- including accessible summaries of studies from around the world that explain what people can expect and what they can do when facing Covid-19 and its long-term effects* Member stories from the myCOVIDteam community - through which real people have a chance to share their personal experiences, providing validation and support to others within the community.Long Covid is an emerging illness causing distress for a surprisingly high percentage of previously healthy individuals, following a Covid-19 infection, said Dr Ryan Noach, CEO of Discovery Health. Our data demonstrates an unequivocal increase in healthcare burden in a cohort of previously Covid-positive members who are living with ongoing symptoms. This poses significant individual concern and discomfort, population health risk and a health economic challenge.Throughout the pandemic we have supported members of schemes administered by Discovery Health with up-to-date and factual clinical information regarding Covid-19. We believe our partnership with MyHealthTeam to launch myCOVIDteam is an extension of this very important work. We consider it critical to facilitate interaction between affected patients through secure communities which encourage information sharing, learning and support.A strong, medically-sound, social network is key in helping people navigate the challenges of Long Covid, feel supported, less isolated, and truly informed about a disease which the worlds scientific community continues to learn about. We believe that myCOVIDteam will provide much needed empathy and practical know-how to people facing both acute and long-haul Covid-19 symptoms.People in 13 countries  United States of America, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Finland - can now connect with others facing the challenges of Covid-19 illness at www.mycovidteam.com. Once signed up (at no cost), members can share their first-hand experience of the disease and connect with others facing similar symptoms or challenges in a secure, private environment.In addition to collaborating on the launch of myCOVIDteam, the partnership of MyHealthTeam and Discovery Health includes integration of Discovery Health as the exclusive sponsor of MyHeartDiseaseTeam and DiabetesTeam in South Africa, for a period of two years.Discovery Health will soon open access of these online patient communities to its members, helping them take a proactive approach to managing their health while living with these common chronic conditions.
Should judgment and penalty be awarded by the Competition Tribunal against Facebook, Meta and Whatsapp, the judgment will need to be applied abroad as these entities hold the majority of their assets in California USA.



What we need to consider is how one will apply any judgment handed down in SA in California, USA.



Foreign judgments may be enforced in California in the same manner as California judgments are. However, before a foreign judgment may be enforced, it must be recognised by the California Courts.



Therefore, there will be an application to USA courts to enforce the SA judgment there.



Subject to some exceptions, California will recognise a foreign-country judgment to the extent that the judgment both: (1) grants or denies recovery of a sum of money; and under the law of the foreign country where rendered, is final, conclusive, and enforceable. Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. 1715(a). California, however, will not recognise a foreign-country judgment even if the judgment grants or denies recovery of a sum of money, to the extent the judgment is for taxes, a fine, or a penalty. Cal. Code of Civ. Proc. 1715(b).

The Commission alleges that Facebook decided in or about July 2020 and expressed an ongoing intention to offboard Gov Chat and #LetsTalk, a technology startup that connects government and citizens, from the WhatsApp Business Application Programming Interface (WhatsApp Business API). In addition, Facebook imposed and/or selectively enforced exclusionary terms and conditions regulating access to the WhatsApp Business API, mainly restrictions on the use of data.It is commendable that our government stands up against unilateral amendments to the terms and conditions of WhatsApp. While it is not yet known whether or not the referral to the Tribunal will be successful, it is high time that governments stand up to the large international companies / entities, to keep them accountable to their anti-competitive unilateral amendments to business structures and terms and conditions.What will be interesting to consider is the following:
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More talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives began on Monday, the day after Russian missiles hit a Ukrainian military site near the border with Poland, killing 35 people. Rockets also rained down on residential districts of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

It is non-military targets that for over a week the Russian military has focused on. Other towns and cities have experienced extensive artillery attacks aimed directly at civilian targets. We do not know how many civilians have been killed, but it is believed at least 1,000. The number of Ukrainian fighters killed is not known. Lt. Gen. Scott D. Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Washington Post the number of Russian war dead is estimated to be between 2,000 and 4,000.

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This violence is happening because one person wants it. Vladimir Putin, the autocratic, if not now dictatorial president of Russia, was convinced that his military would be able to carry out a rapid strike against the Ukrainian state, remove its president and other top officials, and install Russian puppets who would then turn Ukraines orientation away from the west and back to the east, to Moscow. Clearly, Putin had received extremely poor intelligence about the likely success of the planned mission. In fact, the chief of the FSB section charged with collecting intelligence in Ukraine before the invasion, as well as his deputy, have both been placed under house arrest.

Putins destructive terror is now aimed against the people of Ukraine, regardless of whether their native language is Russian or Ukrainian. Yes, Putins army is killing Russians too. Russian is the dominant language in the cities of northeastern and southeastern Ukraine that have been heavily bombed: Kharkiv, Sumy, Mariupol, Mykolaiv and Dnipro. (The language people use in daily life in these cities does not necessarily correspond to what they consider as their ethnicity.) The targeting of civilians and artillery fire directed at residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools and local government buildings is deliberate retaliation by Putin against all the people of Ukraine for collectively opposing his vision for a future relationship between Russia and Ukraine.

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One can understand a hesitancy to delve into Putins thinking. He denies the right of the people of Ukraine to determine their own future. There is no way to justify or explain his rejection of this  something that modern states defend as a fundamental human right. But what is behind Putins reasoning? Putin sees as his legacy returning Russia to its status as an empire led by Moscow. Justification for this he sees in Russias long history, extending back centuries.

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In many ways, Ukraine is central to this imperial identity. If you open a textbook on the history of Russia and one on the history of Ukraine, beginning no later than the ninth century into the 14th century (800s to 1300s) the content is basically the same  the story of the consolidation of eastern Slavs, with a religion that came from the Byzantine Empire (eastern part of the Roman Empire)  Eastern Orthodox Christianity. There werent yet Russians or Ukrainians in these centuries, just like the nations of western Europe did not exist in their modern form.

Ukraine's Paralympic team members arrive to Warsaw Chopin airport in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Ukrainian team, which ranked second in the number of medals in Winter Paralympics Games in China, could not fly to Ukraine's embattled capital city of Kyiv as bombardment by the Russian military edged closer to the city center. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski) (Czarek Sokolowski/AP)

In the 17th century, when Moscow had become the strongest state in these lands, the eastern part of what is Ukraine today was brought under its control. Most of what is western Ukraine  which had been part of Poland  was taken into the empire in the last third of the 18th century. For all of the 19th century and then most of the 20th century, Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire  which after World War I became the Soviet Union. The rest of what today is Ukraine was brought into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic after World War II. Then in 1991, the Soviet Union fell and Ukraine (and 13 other so-called Soviet republics) became independent states  new countries. For Putin, this shared history justifies his demand that Ukraine be under Russias control.

It is likely that for Putin  as much as he likes to emphasize that Russians and Ukrainians are one people  a single whole  what he wants most is to stop Ukraine from moving more toward Western and Central Europe in its national orientation. His greatest concern is that Ukraine will enter NATO. Ukraine has been moving decisively away from an association with Russia and looking toward Western Europe, including wanting to become a member of the European Union. Putin responded to this with military action, annexing the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and unleashing war in several regions in eastern Ukraine  regions that in February he proposed should be recognized as independent states. At a televised session of Russias Security Council to discuss the plan, Putins director of foreign intelligence was so nervous he stuttered and was visibly flustered under Putins baleful eye.

For Putin, the seizure of Ukraine is the first step in restoring Russia to a position of global dominance. Putin does not respect the post-World War II order, in which the sovereignty of states is held in respect. Putin does not see the international politics in terms of individual states that make up the world community, and whose citizens get to make up their own minds about their countrys overall direction. Instead, he sees power in the world in the hands of several large countries  Russia, China, India, the United States. Everything else is just spheres of their influence. Europe, for instance, is in Putins eyes merely an extension of American power. Not incidentally, Stalin saw Europe in the same light after World War II.

What is happening in Eastern Europe is perhaps the most fraught, dangerous moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. We do not know how this current crisis will end. Will there be a long, drawn-out war in Ukraine, with Russian troops battling insurgents for months if not years? Will Ukraine soon be forced to capitulate to Russia to avoid more killing, conceding territory and a promise not to join the EU and NATO? Or will Putin somehow be ousted in Russia?

Undoubtedly, the historical path of Europe will be changed after this war. Europe and the United States will work to rebuild Ukraine, and the Ukrainians now forever will see themselves as part of the Western and Central European family of nations. What will happen to Russia is harder to predict. Russians will have to come to terms with, and try to find a way to compensate for the crimes committed in their name by their state, similar to what Germans have done after World War II. That is a task that will face Russians alive today for the rest of their lives as well as generations to come.

Bradley D. Woodworth is an associate professor of history at the University of New Haven.
The African Public Relations Association (APRA) commissioned Reputation Matters, a South African reputation research firm, to conduct a study on Africa's ethics and reputation. The research study was first conducted in 2018. This year's study is currently out in the field.The survey is intended for CEOs, MDs, directors, senior and junior managers, as well as public relations managers and/or officers.Click here to take the surveyThe survey results will be compared and shared at APRA's 33rd conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania taking place from 23-27 May 2022.
In the lead-up to the current legislative session, state lawmakers emphasized that addressing Connecticuts crisis in childrens mental health care would be a top priority. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant/Hartford Courant)

State lawmakers have emphasized that addressing Connecticuts crisis in childrens mental health care would be a top priority in the current legislative session,

Now, a wide range of proposals will soon be under consideration by the General Assembly, including efforts to expand mental health support for student athletes, to shore up the child care industry and providing funding for children seeking care in the wake of abuse or neglect.

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This session, some of the most important things that will happen across all different committees may be the work on childrens mental health, state Sen. Saud Anwar, a D-South Windsor, said Tuesday during a meeting of the Childrens Committee.

In this file photo, State Sen. Saud Anwar, who previously was the mayor and a council member in South Windsor. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mark@markmirko.com (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant)

Efforts to address the crisis in childrens mental health have broadly earned bipartisan support in the state legislature.

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I know that all caucuses want to do something in the area of mental health this session, Senate Republican Leader State Sen. Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, said during the Childrens Committee meeting.

Here are some of the ways that lawmakers aim to improve the lives of Connecticut children:

Expanding youth mental health resources

Senate Bill No. 2, a lengthy bill including a number of provisions that would support mental health prevention programs, was passed out of the Childrens Committee on Tuesday.

Anwar described Senate Bill No. 2 as a primary prevention bill, while the related House Bill No. 5001, which addresses school-based mental health resources and workforce issues, represents a secondary and tertiary prevention bill.

[ Connecticut lawmakers unveil comprehensive legislative effort to invest in childrens mental health ]

Senate Bill No. 2, which spans more than 40 sections, includes provisions to expand access to mental health support for student athletes, study the mental health impact of social media on K-12 students, provide training in adolescent screening and intervention to local health departments and boards of education and establish a Childrens Behavioral Health Cabinet within the executive branch.

The bill would also establish a fund to cover the cost of mental health services, to be administered by the Department of Children and Families, to address the social determinants of mental health, ranging from adverse early life experiences to poor educational opportunities and poverty.

We sometimes look at mental health in isolation, but sometimes the environment and social determinants of health can lead to mental health issues, and in order to resolve them, we need resources...so this bill is going to address that part as well, Anwar said.

House Bill No. 5001  a wide-ranging proposal to expand behavioral health services for children  is currently before the legislatures Public Health committee. That bill would increase support for pediatricians, fund the staffing of in-school mental health clinicians, create evidence-based peer support programs in schools and confront insurance issues that impact the mental health field.

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Supporting child care

Legislators have also drawn attention to a deepening crisis in childcare, as day care centers struggle with short staffing and stagnant wages. In addition to addressing mental health issues, Senate Bill No. 2 would extend a lifeline to the child care industry, which experts and providers say is in a state of crisis.

The bill would increase the per-child cost of the Office of Early Childhoods school readiness program  which provides affordable childcare in high-need communities  and raise the hourly salary of child care workers in the state, among other provisions.

Working parents really have long struggled to find affordable, quality child care in our state, said Rep. Robin Comey, D-Branford, said Tuesday, noting that the issue predated, but was exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic.

Comey argued that the bill would address the true cost of child care by providing living wages for child care workers, which she called a move in the right direction for the state.

Addressing sexual abuse issues

A number of legislative proposals would address child sexual abuse issues and expand support for victims, including H.B. 5242, which would create a task force on online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

H.B. 5238, which would make funding available for the medical care of minor victims of sexual assault or child abuse and neglect, was passed out of committee on Tuesday.

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Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, noted during the Childrens Committee Tuesday that there is already a fund within the Office of Victim Services that allows for out-of-pocket reimbursement for victims of certain crimes; H.B. 5238 would expand the fund to include victims of child abuse and neglect substantiated by the Department of Children and Families.

Liz Linehan

What this simply would do is help those children who have high deductible health plans or no health coverage, Linehan said. It would essential get them the counseling that they need.

Establishing a childrens mental health day

A bill that would establish a Childrens Mental Health Day in Connecticut was passed out of committee last week. Senate Bill No. 205 would designate May 26 as an annual Get Outside and Play for Childrens Mental Health Day, in order to raise awareness of childrens mental health and wellness.

During a public hearing earlier this month, Department of Children and Families commissioner Vannessa Dorantes argued that the Childrens Mental Health Day would cement the importance of childrens mental health care beyond the pandemic, though she recommended that the legislation be expanded to encompass a Childrens Mental Health Month.

Eliza Fawcett can be reached at eflawcett@courant.com.
In this file photo from February, Commissioner James Rovella, left to right, appears with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Connecticut State Trooper Alex Giannone during a news conference at the Capitol to discuss details of Lamont's legislative proposals on gun violence. Senate Bill 16 includes several gun-control proposals that will enhance public safety, Rovella says. (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

State lawmakers are considering a number of bills this year that would change the way children and teens are treated by the criminal justice system.

During a lengthy public hearing Monday, the legislatures judiciary committee heard testimony on several of the measures. They include:

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This omnibus criminal justice measure, proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont, has several components. It would give police access to arrest records of cases of involving juveniles from the past 90 days.

It would also permit the police to detain a juvenile for up to eight hours  from the current limit of six  if an officer is waiting for a judge to sign an order of detention or if the officer is actively engaged in contacting the juveniles parents or guardian.

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The bill classifies as serious offenses charges including failing to stop a motor vehicle when signaled, evading responsibility leading to death or a serious injury, and second-degree burglary. Additionally, a second violation of auto theft would be considered a serious offense.

If approved, the bill would also place children arrested for auto theft to be placed under electronic monitoring if it wasnt their first offense.

The bill also includes several common sense gun-control proposals that will enhance public safety, James Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, told the committee.

This proposal, crafted by the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives, has some similar provisions to Lamonts proposal. But it contains several significant differences. Chief among them: It would allow 13- and 14-year-olds charged with certain violent crimes to be handled by criminal courts, not the juvenile justice system.

Proposed by Sen. Kevin Kelly, the Republican leader in the state Senate, this measure would also allow juvenile cases involving 14-year-olds charged with certain violent offenses to be transferred to the criminal courts. This bill also allows GPS monitoring of juveniles charged with violent crimes.

During the hearing, Marisa Halm, an attorney and the director of the Youth Justice Project at Center for Childrens Advocacy, told lawmakers that placing juvenile offenders in a criminal court system meant for adults results in a worse outcome both for the offender and for society.

Making these blanket changes will not serve the vast majority of youth, Halm said. Theyre going to actually do worse.

Rep. Craig Fishbein, a Republican from Wallingford, disagreed.

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I understand that some people dont want any kids to go to jail no matter what, but at some point somebodys got to say what youre doing is wrong and do something about it, he said.

Rep. Toni Walker, a Democrat from New Haven, cited research that shows teenagers handled by the juvenile justice system are less likely to become repeat offenders than those prosecuted in the criminal court.

When children go to a childrens facility ... the percentage of recidivism is extremely low compared with adults, Walker said. Because when theyre going into adult prisons and adult courts, they are being exposed to opportunities and things that are far worse than what they have probably done.

Daniela Altimari can be reached at daltimari@courant.com
Andreas Schofbeck, the CEO of one of Germanys leading health insurance companies, was terminated last month after releasing data that showed health authorities were dramatically underreporting covid vaccine injuries.

The information has since been removed from the BKK/ProVita health insurance companys website.

The Defender reports: Schofbeck, who noticed an unexpected jump in vaccine-related health insurance claims, in February notified the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI)  the German equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  that BKK billing data indicated the PEI was underreporting adverse events to COVID vaccines.

In his letter to the PEI, Schofbeck wrote:

If these figures are extrapolated to the whole year and to the population in Germany, probably 2.5-3 million people in Germany have received medical treatment for vaccination side effects after Corona vaccination.

Dr. Dirk Heinrich, chairman of NAV-Virchow Bund, an association of private medical practitioners in Germany, said PEI and BKK would be working closely to examine the billing code data. Heinrich also stated that the conclusions from Schofbecks letter are complete nonsense.

According to some experts, however, insurance company data may ultimately prove to be the most telling when it comes to accuracy about adverse events and deaths from COVID vaccines  thats because insurers are highly motivated to carefully track any anomalies in their data that could profoundly affect their profits and losses.

The BKK data, in concert with U.S. insurance industry data and adverse event reports collected by a survey conducted by the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH), reveal an emerging pattern of underreporting of COVID vaccine-related injuries and deaths.

BKK data revealed alarming safety signals

According to Schofbecks Feb. 21 letter to the PEI:

Data from 10.9 million people were analyzed.

According to physician billing data, 216,695 were treated for a vaccine AE during the first 2.5 quarters of 2021.

Figures extrapolated over an entire year for a population of 83 million people means that 2.5-3 million people likely received treatment for an AE.

4-5% of vaccinated people received treatment for an AE.

In his letter, Schofbeck speculated on possible causes for underreporting, stating:

Our first assumption is that, since no compensation is paid for reporting vaccine adverse events, reporting to the Paul Ehrlich Institute is often not done because of the great expense involved. Physicians have reported to us that reporting a suspected vaccine adverse event takes about half an hour. This means that 3 million suspected cases of vaccine adverse events require about 1.5 million working hours of physicians.

Schofbeck concluded the data present a significant warning signal and that danger to human life cannot be ruled out.

Although the PEI publicly announced it would work with BKK to review the data, as of Schofbecks termination from the company, authorities hadnt launched an investigation into Schofbecks claims about underreporting.

Data from non-government sources reveal emerging pattern of underreporting

Before the BKK data disappeared, Florian Schilling, a German researcher and physician, took a deeper look at it, comparing it to existing reports from the PEI.

According to Schillings analysis:

PEIs reported numbers for 2021 were 7 times lower than BKKs calculations.

PEIs reported numbers were 13.86 times lower than BKKs projections when compared to the 14 month period since the vaccine rollout.

Using this factor, Schilling calculated more than 400,000 serious AEs and over 31,000 deaths from AEs have occurred since the beginning of the vaccination campaign.

Statistician Matthew Crawford, who also reviewed Schofbecks claims, calculated that with potentially 31,000 vaccine-related deaths in Germany  a country of 82 million  it follows that 120,000 vaccine-related deaths may have occurred in the U.S.

That number approximates Crawfords original estimations, made in August 2021.

How could so many potentially fatal complications from COVID vaccines escape the attention of the CDC?

According to Crawford, the CDC chose to identify risk by using an obscure computation called Proportional Reporting Ratio (PRR). As the name implies, this system is based on ratios of different event types and is utterly blind to the absolute rate of such events.

The result of using such a formula is that even if a vaccine is associated with substantially higher risk of injury, no alarm will sound if the vaccine raises risks of different types uniformly, no matter to what degree.

In other words, if the risk of myocarditis from a Covid-19 vaccine is, for example, twenty times higher than from other vaccines, the PRR for myocarditis will not be any higher than with previous vaccines if other adverse events associated with the Covid-19 vaccine are also twenty times higher. No safety signal will be raised.

Methods of extrapolating data, adverse event reporting categories and billing code descriptions will vary by country, agency and within the private sector, making direct comparisons difficult.

However, a pattern of underreporting is evident.
President Biden has signed a $1.5 Trillion spending bill that sends $13.6 Billion to Ukraine and funds the Government until September. The bill itself passed the Senate with a bipartisan 68-31 vote.

As weve reported before, the Biden administrations only way to pass gun control at all is by backdoor means. So, of course, theyve hidden gun control in a massive spending bill designed to fund the Government. Hidden within this 3000-page bill were two significant pieces of gun control.

But thats only half of this shady gun control strategy. The second half is to wrap gun control into a bill that is difficult to vote against for fear of social stigma.

So, inside the omnibus bill is a previously failed act called VAWA, or the Violence Against Womens Act. This act contains significant backdoor gun control that stands to harm gun owners. But you wouldnt know that just by reading the title. The swamp creatures in the Senate took the opportunity to revive VAWA (which initially failed explicitly because of the gun control provisions), placing the gun control section 2207 pages into the overall bill itself.

VAWA contains two major changes to current law.

The first is titled the NICS Denial Notification Act of 2022. This act will require the criminal investigation of all denials on the National Instant Criminal-Background-Check System. For those unaware, the NICS system is used any time a sale occurs, and a firearm is transferred from a Federal Firearms Licensee (also known as an FFL) and an individual. This process happens thousands of times per day all over the country. It happens almost every time a legal gun sale takes place.





Heres the thing, though, the NICS system isnt perfect. Its actually not even close to perfect. Many people experience never-ending delays or even flat-out denials because they have a common name, or the system confuses them for someone else entirely.

In fact, according to Gun Owners of America, the FBI itself admits that its often wrong on gun-related background check denials. GOA filed a FIOA request, and the FBI revealed that around 27.7 percent of NICS appeals received during the requested time period were overturned, and the firearm purchase/transfer were proceeded. (proceeded is when the NICS check completes, the FFL is given a green proceed status)

Additionally, GOA mentions that according to claims from John Lott, a Second Amendment researcher and economist, 99 percent of NICS denials are false positives, Which means that most denied people are not actually prohibited from owning a firearm.

So, the fact that the Government is compelling law enforcement to act upon a system that produces so many false positives is insane. This change to the law treats people who simply want to purchase a firearm and are falsely denied as guilty until proven innocent.

To make matters worse, the act allows the Federal Government to deputize local police and attorneys to act on behalf of the ATF.

This deputization of local police is a massive overreach for the ATF. Its also likely a direct response to the popular Second Amendment Sanctuary County movement, which composes about 62% of counties in the entire United States as of September 2021 and has continued to grow since. These counties have pledged not to enforce federal gun control laws.
Around a third of Ukrainian refugees arriving in France are actually economic migrants from other areas of the world, mostly North Africa and the Middle East, according to an investigation by newspaper Le Figaro.

Over 5,000 refugees have already arrived in France from Ukraine, with some being transported by bus from Berlin and others arriving by rail and air.

However, many of those arriving through official channels and being identified by the authorities are non-Ukrainian, with Le Figaro reporting that as many as 30 percent are migrants of other nationalities, reports ReMix News.

The newspaper reveals that 7.5 percent are of Algerian nationality, while 3.5 percent of arrivals are from the Ivory Coast and Morocco respectively.

Indians and Kyrgyzstan nationals also represent a chunk of the fake refugees, in addition to migrants from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Pakistan, Nigeria, and China, who are all falsely claiming to be Ukrainian.

The incentive for economic migrants to obtain asylum in France by pretending to be Ukrainian is clear given that they are given immediate blanket refugee status, guaranteed accommodation, as well as educational, financial and medical support.

Despite his usually staunch opposition to immigration, presidential candidate Eric Zemmour said Ukrainians with family ties in France should be allowed in.

There are people who are like us and people who [are] unlike us, the populist told BFM TV. Everybody now understands that Arab or Muslim immigrants are too unlike us and that it is harder and harder to integrate them.

The research again highlights the opportunism and cynicism of economic migrants who will piggy back off the suffering of genuine refugees to reach the west.

The numbers are sure to cause concerns amongst people considering opening up their homes to Ukrainian refugees in western countries such as the United Kingdom.

According to an Observer poll, 9 per cent of Brits would definitely invite a refugee to stay in their home, while 20 per cent say they might.

How many of those people are just performatively virtue signaling and dont actually plan on taking in any refugees at all is probably quite a high number.

During the 2015-16 refugee crisis, innumerable celebrities in the UK vowed to take in refugees, yet virtually none of them actually followed through.

As we highlighted earlier, the Sweden Democrats have proposed helping genuine Ukrainian refugees by temporarily banning asylum claims filed by those coming from different countries.
SAO PAULO  During the last two weeks, a small group of Brazilian bolsonaristas became social media celebrities as they crossed the border into Ukraine to fight against Russia  posing with assault rifles on Instagram, reciting prayers to the special forces, and sharing video monologues praising the brotherhood of people from around the world who had gathered in a training base near the Ukrainian city of Lviv to kill Russian communists. The groups inexperience was demonstrated by the fact that most of their social media posts included their geo-location information.

This all changed following a missile attack on the training base near Lviv on March 13, after which a series of more humble photos and videos began cropping up on their Twitter and Instagram feeds.

From across the Polish border, Jefferson Kleidian posted a selfie brandishing an injured pinky finger and thanking God for one more day on Earth.

Andre Hack posted that he had lost friends at the base. Twenty-eight-year-old shooting-range instructor and Bolsonaro fanatic Tiago Rossi tweeted a video saying he had fled the base immediately before the missile strike. Our entire legion was destroyed, the information I have is that everyone died. You dont understand what its like to have a fighter jet fire a missile at you. I didnt think it was a real war, he said.

"You guys don't understand what it's like to have a jet shoot a missile at you."

So war isn't a movie or a video game.

Brazilian describes what happened when Russians missiles hit the base where the foreign legion was deployed.

Thanks to @BrianMteleSUR for translation. https://t.co/1HFcXi6zby pic.twitter.com/DZRPDQmiDP  Margaret Kimberley (@freedomrideblog) March 14, 2022

What were these Brazilians doing in Ukraine in the first place? In order to answer that question, one has to look back at the resurgence of Nazi ideology in Brazil and the deepening relationship between Brazils neo-Nazi groups, which have grown by a staggering 270% since Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019, and Ukrainian neo-Nazi organizations like Azov.

During the 1930s, Brazil was home to the largest German Nazi party outside of Europe and had a much larger indigenous fascist movement, called the integralistas, that tried to enact a coup in 1938. The coup was crushed but the ideology lived on in a country that already suffered from severe structural racism as the last place in the Americas to eradicate slavery.

Brazils current president, Jair Bolsonaro  who made it into power only after a joint U.S. DOJ/Brazilian Public Prosecutors operation jailed the leading 2018 presidential candidate on false charges  began his career as an army captain during a sub-fascist military dictatorship, which employed Gestapo tactics like death squads and torture against labor union leaders, intellectuals and communists.

As a congressman in 2004, Bolsonaro wrote a series of letters to neo-Nazi websites, saying things like you guys are the reason I am in politics. Grounded on a platform of anti-communist hate speech, his presidency unleashed a flood of public support for fascism, which had been latent since the end of the dictatorship. According to Brazilian law, Nazi organizations are illegal, but according to anthropology professor and Nazi researcher Adriana Dias, there are currently 530 neo-Nazi cells operating in Brazil. Since 2012, these organizations have had increasing interactions with Ukrainian Nazi organizations, which have resulted in Brazilian Nazis gaining combat experience with Azov in Donbas and a campaign to Ukraine Brazil run by a right-wing extremist faction of Bolsonaro supporters.

The role of a FEMENazi

Sara Fernanda Giromini was a teenager involved in Nazi skinhead gangs in Sao Paulo when she opened a VK account and made friends with Russian and Ukrainian neo-Nazis and learned about FEMEN after reading about it on Facebook. VK is a popular Russia-run social media platform.

Giromini first visited Ukraine in 2011, where she met and trained with FEMEN leaders and other actors from the Ukrainian far-right. After returning to Brazil in 2012, she started calling herself Sarah Winter in homage to the English fascist of the 1920s.

After a series of topless protests transformed Giromini into a celebrity, FEMEN Brazil imploded in less than a year. Bruna Themis, number two in the organization, resigned and gave a series of whistleblowing interviews, saying that the Ukrainians demanded they kick out any Brazilian woman who didnt meet their sexist physical appearance and weight standards; that the real leader of the group was a minor far-right politician named Andrey Cuia, who frequently traveled back and forth to Ukraine; and that Cuia and Giromini were ripping off donors and keeping the money for themselves.

Shortly afterward, FEMEN Ukraine announced that FEMEN Brazil had nothing to do with them, despite the fact that Giromini was arrested during a FEMEN protest in Kiev in 2012. Giromini now says that during her time in FEMEN, they paid her $2,000 per protest.

According to Professor Dias, after FEMEN folded, Giromini, who remains friends with several leaders of Azov and the Phoenix Battalion on her VK account to this day, began inviting Ukrainian neo-Nazis to Brazil.

In 2016, civil police in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, home to several waves of German and Italian immigration and a long fascist tradition of its own, carried out an investigation against neo-Nazi groups that were planning violent attacks against Afro-Brazilians, Jews, and LGBT+ and discovered that the Ukrainian neo-Nazi militia Misanthropic Division was recruiting Brazilian Nazis in seven cities in the state to serve as volunteer combatants with Azov in the Donbas region. The investigation, which was dubbed Operation Azov, received ample coverage in the Brazilian and Israeli press at the time.

After leading candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was arbitrarily imprisoned during the 2018 election campaign, Bolsonaro was swept into office on a wave of Nazi-influenced anti-communist propaganda that led him to label any person or organization that ever criticized him as a communist. At one point he even called the oldest conservative magazine in the world, The Economist, The Communist.

Giromini, by this time a vocal member of the anti-abortion movement, campaigned heavily for Bolsonaro. After he took office in 2019, she began a public call to Ukrainize Brazil. Many of the most reactionary public figures associated with Bolsonaro, like openly fascist Rio de Janeiro lawmaker Daniel Silveira, joined the campaign. Professor Dias says, Azovs tactic has always been to bring a group of 300 people to a city and, through training activities with locals, start a right-wing extremist movement. Giromini relocated to Brasilia and started an organization called the group of 300 to help build support for the Ukrainization of Brazil.

In 2020, after the Brazilian Supreme Court blocked one of Bolsonaros attempts to bypass the Constitution, Girominis group of 300 camped out on the national esplanade, held a series of tiki torch-wielding protests in front of the court building and shot fireworks at it. Posing for selfies with guns, she cited for violence against Supreme Court Ministers; on July 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ordered her arrest. After two weeks in jail, she was given an ankle bracelet, transferred to house arrest, and ordered to stay off social media. She has been there ever since.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian flags and symbols of the Ukrainian far-right became more and more popular at pro-Bolsonaro rallies. In 2020, a former soldier and security consultant named Alex Silva, who has been living in Kiev since 2014 and says he is a member of an auxiliary volunteer police force there, triggered a media controversy that led to an official disclaimer from the Ukrainian Embassy when he hoisted a red and black Pravyi Sektor flag onto a sound truck at a Bolsonaro rally and was photographed walking through the crowd wearing it like a cape. Silva, now back in Kyiv, has become another internet celebrity to the Brazilian far-right, posting videos of his armed voluntary patrols of Kyiv as recently as this week.

Ukrainizing Brazil

Leonel Radde is a Porto Alegre city councilor who spends a lot of his time investigating neo-Nazi groups in Rio Grande do Sul. Asked about connections between Brazilian and Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups, he said:

We see clearly that the majority of Nazi groups here use Ukrainian design elements. They are using the same symbols  mainly the black sun  and they all use this discourse of Ukrainizing Brazil. They also talk among themselves about adapting Ukrainian tactics for setting up camps and occupying public squares and things like that. They are definitely trying to copy what happened in Ukraine in 2014. We are trying to figure out how much they are just copying things they see on the internet or if they are being financed from the Ukraine, although Sarah Winter spent time near Porto Alegre doing organizing work and she started this whole thing.

Meanwhile, far-right social media influencers like Alex Silva are still sending reports from Ukraine. Last week the Ukrainian Embassy in Brasilia said it received 100 requests from Brazilians asking to volunteer for the Ukrainian army, and UOL reports that analysis of bolsonarista social media groups shows that 500 others are planning to go.

Whether the missile attack near Lviv and reports coming in from scared-looking former Brazilian combatants who have escaped to Poland will change any of that has yet to be seen. Regardless, it is clear that political indoctrination from Ukrainian Nazis has taken hold among Brazils growing far-right and will be a factor in this years presidential election season.

Feature photo | MintPress News | Associated Press

Brian Mier (@BrianMteleSUR) is Brazil correspondent for TeleSur English TV news program From the South, co-editor of Brasil Wire and co-host of the Portuguese language WebTV program Globalistas on Brasil 247. He has lived in Brazil for 26 years.


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Democratic Gov. Ned Lamonts proposal to expand Connecticuts gun control laws received pushback Monday from some opponents who argue its a kneejerk reaction to combatting crime  a key issue in this years election.

During a daylong public hearing on Lamonts bill, numerous gun rights advocates and supportive state legislators argued more needs to be done to control crime in Connecticut rather than control guns in a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the U.S.

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I have no disrespect for Governor Lamont, but its a crime. And its not a knee-jerk reaction regarding guns, said Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield. The only people that would end up getting caught in a lot of these measures are the law-abiding citizens of the state of Connecticut.

Lamont, who is seeking a second term in November, unveiled a package of legislative proposals last month that he maintains will help eliminate gun violence in state he contends remains one of the safest in the nation. While theres additional money in his plan to reestablish a state/federal gun-tracing task force to stop the flow of illegal weapons into Connecticut and to train additional police officers, gun rights advocates complained Monday that the bulk of the legislation is more gun control laws.

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Lamont has called for expanding the states assault weapons ban; requiring pre-2019 untraceable ghost guns to be registered; requiring all firearms, not just pistols and revolvers, to be sold with a trigger lock; making it easier for police to request gun permits from someone openly carrying a firearm; and banning the carrying of firearms in polling places, public buildings, public transit, and at demonstrations, such as protests, among other provisions.

Youre not tough on crime if youre weak on guns, the governor said last month when he unveiled his proposal.

The Connecticut Democratic Party has pushed that message as well, last month crediting Lamont in an email with doubling down on his commitment to public safety and smart gun violence prevention and criticizing his likely GOP opponent, businessman Bob Stefanowski, for receiving an endorsement from the NRA when he first ran against Lamont in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

Stefanowski, meanwhile, has criticized Lamont and his fellow Democrats for not doing more to reduce crime in Connecticut, which he has called rampant.

Its a lot easier, I understand, to ban an object. To demonize an object. To say thats the cause of the problem. But thats not the cause of the problem, said Walt Kupson, outreach coordinator for the 42,000-member Connecticut Citizens Defense Fund, during Mondays Judiciary Committee public hearing.

But veteran Rep. Bob Godrey, D-Danbury, said examples of people bringing guns to protests around the country, including to sites where votes were being counted in 2020, shows the need for Connecticut to continually update its existing laws with provisions such as Lamonts proposed ban on guns at polling places and public buildings.

When I see armed groups wanting to kidnap the governor of Michigan. When I see groups invade the U.S. Capitol on January 6th ... When I see fascist-leaning, gun-toting people wanting to overturn democracy and replace it with government by dictatorship, I get really really angry and I get really frightened, he said.
In this July 2021 file photo, a Metro North train exits the Stamford station toward New Haven. Photograph by Mark Mirko | mmirko@courant.com (Mark Mirko/The Hartford Courant)

State lawmakers and residents sparred Monday over a proposed bill that would expand the development of land  and encourage some affordable housing  near transportation hubs across Connecticut.

The proposed bill, House Bill No. 5429, would allow for the development of as-of-right housing with a minimum overall gross density of 15 dwelling units per acre located within a half-mile radius of any passenger or commuter rail station or bus rapid transit station in the state. A municipality with multiple transit stations would be able to calculate the gross density across all of its stations; inland wetlands, flood hazard regions and other areas would be exempted from the regulations.

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Additionally, development created under the regulation would need to reserve 10% of housing units for assisted or affordable housing.

The public hearing on the bill by the Planning and Development Committee marked a return to issues of affordable housing and zoning rights that dominated last years legislative session and have long been a source of controversy in towns across the state.

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Rail lines near Hartford (John Woike / Hartford Courant)

We know exactly what the issues are; we dont need any more study. What we need is for legislators to step up and find common-sense solutions like this one, said attorney Sara Bronin, the founder of Desegregate CT, a coalition of residents and nonprofits that advocates for expanded affordable housing, which backs the legislation.

Bronin noted that the bill would apply to roughly 40 municipalities across the state with existing transit hubs, from Greenwich to New Haven, New London and Windsor Locks.

Other proponents of the bill argued that it would encourage the development of livable, walkable transportation hubs throughout the state, as well as housing that is convenient and affordable.

Deb Polun, the executive director of the Connecticut Association for Community Action, noted that many of her organizations clients do not own cars and use public transportation to run errands or go to work.

This bill isnt just about people who commute to New York City, Polun said. Its about people getting around within the state of Connecticut as well.

Sean Ghio, the policy director for the Partnership for Strong Communities, argued that Connecticut has under-built housing for decades, resulting in rents that, now, have skyrocketed.

This bill will increase mixed-income housing near transit, helping meet Connecticut unsatisfied demand for new housing, market-rate and affordable, he said.

Lawmakers and residents on both sides of the aisle raised concerns about the bill  particularly leaders from Fairfield County, who made the case that, while they supported affordable housing and transit-oriented development, the proposal did not make sense for their communities.

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I really urge you to take a more nuanced look and not treat every single train station, whether its Fairfield Metro or Bethel or Greens Farms or Southport, the same way, said Danielle Dobin, Westports planning and zoning commissioner.

While expressing strong support for affordable housing efforts, state Rep. Stephanie Thomas, a Norwalk Democrat, said that the bill would not work well for the towns she represents, partly due to the high cost of land in Norwalk, Westport and Wilton.

We cant rely on the private sector to solve our affordable housing crisis and I think the sooner we recognize that, the closer well be to a solution, Thomas said, adding that developing valuable land for small numbers of affordable units would not move the needle given the likelihood of how few lots will become available in the next several decades.

The as of right zoning language in the legislation  which typically means that developers would not have to go before a public hearing or under review by a towns zoning board  emerged as a point of tension during the hearing, as it has in previous affordable housing debates.

State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, said that while he supported transit-oriented development, this bill is not the way to do it.

He argued that local zoning boards should be able to customize developments and that transit areas in shoreline communities are very different from those along Hartford rails lines, as they are often surrounded by beaches and existing developments.

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As of right for many of us is fast becoming as of wrong, he said.

At one point, Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo and state Rep. Michael Winkler, D-Vernon, disagreed over the as of right designation of the legislature.

What are you afraid of, having the town weigh in? Why would you want to handcuff the local zoning boards? Camillo said.

Im saying as-of-right already exists and you dont know it, Winkler said, pointing out that single-family houses are, for the most part, developed without public weigh-in.

Later in the hearing, Bronin returned to the issue, noting that if the legislation were to pass, towns would identify through a public process how they would meet its development goals. Moreover, she noted, in many towns in Fairfield County, the vast majority of housing is as-of-right, including 97.7% of Westport and 98.4% of Greenwich, which are zoned for single-family housing.

Eliza Fawcett can be reached at elfawcett@courant.com.
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There will be no inquest into the death of Krystal Mousseau.

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There will be no inquest into the death of Krystal Mousseau.

The 31-year-old woman from Ebb and Flow First Nation died of COVID-19 in May 2021 while being prepped for transport from Brandon Regional Health Centre to an intensive care unit in Ontario.

FACEBOOK Krystal Mousseau

According to the CBC, who reported the development on Monday, a letter the media organization obtained from the office of chief medical examiner Dr. John Younes dated March 1 stated, "there is no mystery" in the circumstances of Mousseaus death.

The Sun contacted the provincial governments media relations on Monday to verify CBCs reporting, only to be told the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner handles its own media requests.

When Younes was contacted for comment by phone, he denied that any information was or will be sent from his office to any media outlet and declined to comment.

Last year, the Manitoba NDP advocated for an inquiry into the provinces handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the circumstances that led to patients being transferred out of province and Mousseaus death.

"Having spoken with Krystal Mousseaus family, I know its been a very difficult time because Krystal was an important person," Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew told the Sun over the phone on Monday.

"I think all of us as Manitobans should recognize the importance of her life and her death because the tragedy in which she passed occurred within a time when our health-care system ran out of the ability to care for the sickest people in our province. I think we should all want to see answers to the questions that persist."

While Kinew called the decision to not pursue an inquest "disappointing," he said he would continue to press for answers.

 The Brandon Sun
PARIS (AP)  The Eiffel Tower grew by six meters (nearly 20 feet) on Tuesday after engineers hoisted a new communications antenna at the very top of Frances most iconic landmark.

A new telecom transmission TDF (TeleDiffusion de France) antenna hanging from an Eurocopter Ecureuil 2 helicopter as the crew flies to install it on the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The six meters antenna is raising the Eiffel Tower from 324 meters to 330 meters. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

PARIS (AP)  The Eiffel Tower grew by six meters (nearly 20 feet) on Tuesday after engineers hoisted a new communications antenna at the very top of Frances most iconic landmark.

Tourists watched from the Trocadero esplanade as the new digital radio antenna was helicoptered up. With the new antenna, the Eiffel Tower grew from 324 meters (1,063 feet) tall to 330 meters (1,083 feet).

The Eiffel Tower companys president, Jean-Francois Martins, told The Associated Press that scientific progress is an integral part of the Iron Ladys 133-year history.

Its a historical moment this morning, because the Eiffel Tower is getting higher, which is not so common," he said.

From the invention of the radio at the beginning of the 20th century to right now, decades after decades, the Eiffel Tower has been a partner for all the radio technology, Martins said.

The Eiffel Tower was 312 meters (1,024 feet) high when it was inaugurated on March 31, 1889.
OTTAWA  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with Canadians to imagine the terror and horror unfolding in his country, to do more to close Ukraines skies to Russian bombs and to starve out every last dollar for Russia to fund its war.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation as he appears via videoconference to make an address to Parliament, in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Tuesday.

OTTAWA  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pleaded with Canadians to imagine the terror and horror unfolding in his country, to do more to close Ukraines skies to Russian bombs and to starve out every last dollar for Russia to fund its war.

Zelenskyy appeared by video link from Ukraine, where the death toll confirmed by the United Nations is now close to 700, after 20 days of the Russian invasion.

The president said 97 of the dead are children.

"Every night is a horrible night," he said, speaking in Ukrainian, to a crowded House of Commons where almost every MP, many senators, and dozens of members of the public gathered to listen.

"We are not asking for much. Were asking for justice, for real support."

In a speech lasting more than 20 minutes, he asked Canadians to imagine if Russian bombs were falling in cities like Vancouver, Edmonton or Toronto, or if it were their children asking why there was a war.

"Can you imagine when you call your friends, your friendly nations, and you ask, Please close the sky, please close the airspace. Please stop the bombing. How many more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities before you make this happen?" he said. "And they, in return, express their deep concerns about the situation  and they say, Please hold on a little longer."

He said he does not wish the war on anyone, but he wants, and needs, Canadians and others around the world to understand "what we feel every day. We want to live and we want to be victorious. We want to prevail for the sake of life."

Zelenskyy issued a similar plea for a no-fly zone in the British House of Commons on March 8, and is expected to do so again today when he speaks to the United States Congress.

NATO countries, including Canada, have thus far resisted the idea of a no-fly zone, fearing it would escalate the crisis by forcing NATO forces to come into direct combat with Russian military.

Defence Minister Anita Anand is in Brussels for a special meeting today, and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday a leaders summit to discuss the Russian invasion is now scheduled for March 24. Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus office has not yet confirmed if he will attend.

Trudeau did not address the no-fly zone in his speech that welcomed Zelenskyy to Parliament. He told Zelenskyy that he and Ukraine are defending freedom for everyone in the world, not just Ukrainians.

"In the years Ive known you, Ive always thought of you as a champion for democracy," Trudeau said. "And now, democracies around the world are lucky to have you as our champion."

The words brought a lengthy standing ovation in the House and Zelenskyy, appearing on a large video screen, touched his hand to his heart to say thank you.

Zelenskyy, who three years ago said during a trip to Toronto that Trudeau had been among those who inspired him to enter politics, appealed not just to Canadians, and MPs, but directly to the prime minister, whom he consistently called "Dear Justin."

He said Canada has always been a reliable partner for Ukraine, but the sanctions and other assistance provided so far has not ended the war. Ukraine, he said, needs to close the airspace, with NATOs help, to keep Russian aircraft and missiles from continuing to destroy the country.

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly reinforced that lethal weapon deliveries to Ukraine were ongoing, and that Canada needs to get creative when it came to sanctioning and isolating Putin diplomatically. But she said a defining principle of Canada and allies involvement is that they would not cross the "red line" into international conflict.

Canada has previously worked to send weapons, including guns, as well as protective gear to Ukraine. Last week it added $50 million in equipment, including cameras for drones.

Canada has also sanctioned more than 900 Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian entities and individuals it says are enabling and supporting President Vladimir Putins illegal war. Fifteen more Russians, mostly politicians and military leaders, were added to the list Tuesday morning just before Zelenskyy spoke.

As the Zelenskyy speech unfolded, Putin hit back by banning more than 300 Canadians from Russia, including Trudeau, Joly, Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of defence staff, and almost every Canadian MP from all political parties.

That includes Brandon-Souris Conservative MP Larry Maguire and Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa Conservative MP Dan Mazier.

"Moments after attending Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys address to Parliament, I found out that I have been banned from Russia," Mazier wrote in a Facebook post. "I take this as a compliment as I continue to stand with the independent nation of Ukraine and its people. Glory to Ukraine."

In an email to the Sun, Maguire called Zelenskyys address "incredibly moving."

"The Ukrainian request for a no-fly-zone is entirely understandable given the constant and indiscriminate killing of civilians being perpetuated by the Russian military," Maguire said about the presidents request.

"Canada and our allies must do more to secure Ukraines airspace. We need to protect at a minimum the airspace over the humanitarian corridors, so that Ukrainians can seek safe passage away from war zones and to allow humanitarian relief to reach those areas under siege."

He also called for Canada and its allies to provide Ukraine with actionable intelligence, lethal aid like ammunition and Stinger missiles, fuel and for our country to completely ban all Russian petroleum products.

As for his ban from Russia, he said it doesnt make a difference to him.

"My Conservative colleague James Bezan, who has been banned from Russia for years, has called it a badge of honour," Maguire wrote. "I will never waver in my support of the people of Ukraine. I will continue to denounce the evil and vile acts of the Putin regime and the Russian military."

Joly said the ban was not a surprise and would have no bearing on Canadas response to the war.

In the United States, some Republicans are leaning on President Joe Biden to support a no-fly zone. Following Zelenskyys speech Tuesday in Canada, interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen and the Conservative caucus backed the idea as well.

"We must do more together with our allies to secure Ukraines airspace," she said, prompting every Conservative MP, as well as some Liberals, to stand and applaud.

"This is not just a war against Ukraine, it is a war against the free, democratic world," she said. "We must stand with Ukraine. It is not a choice. It is a moral duty. Canada was the first country to recognize Ukraines independence from the Soviet Union. Now its time to honour that legacy."

Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Canada should help arm Ukraine more rapidly and more significantly to defend itself.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said it is impossible for Canadians to imagine their cities being bombed like Kyiv, Mariupol and Kharkiv have been, but Canada will be behind Ukraine "every step of the way."

 The Canadian Press, with files from The Brandon Sun
Atlanta star LaKeith Stanfield has been living with crippling anxiety which he used alcohol to self-medicate.

The 30-year-old actor began to experience anxiety when he was shooting 'The Harder They Fall' in 2020 and also came to the realisation that he had a problem with alcohol, something which was tough to come to terms with.

In an interview with GQ Hype, he said: "This is something I never really had talked about before, but I think its something that I need to talk about, because I want people to understand that its something that you can get through, that its something that you can get past, he says. And I want people to feel empowered by the fact that the person theyre looking at on that screen has gone through addiction and survived it."

The Get Out star added that he once got so anxious and overwhelmed while getting a massage that he left in the middle of it, and discussed using alcohol as a way to cope with his mental health struggles.

LaKeith confessed: All of a sudden, I got so anxious during it that I just got up, cancelled the massage, and told [the masseuse] to leave. And she was probably like, What the hell is going on? And I didnt really know what was happening either. I just thought, Im anxious, let me just drink some wine. As soon as I drink the wine, the anxiety goes away.

He added that he had become completely dependent upon alcohol to the point where he wasnt able to move or function a whole day without having it.

However, the Someone Great star explained that hes learning to cope in healthier ways after going to rehab.

LaKeith is learning to do what he needs for himself, which sometimes includes sitting down on a red carpet when he gets tired.

He revealed: The couple times Ive sat down on [a red] carpet, I was genuinely tired. To be honest, when Im put in these situations like interviews, photo shoots, I do what makes it fun for me; otherwise its banal and inane, and I dont feel like sitting through that bulls***.

You have to do it your way, otherwise you get ran by this business and people always telling you who you need to be, pushing you in all these f***ing directions. No, Im going to do what I want to do for me, and take it or leave it, man. Im not going to be where you need me to be.

Read the full story 'LaKeith Stanfield on Atlanta Season 3, Getting Sober, and Mastering Hollywood' by Frazier Tharpe on GQ.com.
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(The Center Square)  The St. Charles County Police Department reported receiving approximately 12% of Missouris federal asset forfeitures in 2021, according to a compilation by Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway.

St. Charles County Police reported it received $1.1 million of the $9.4 million Missouri law enforcement agencies in the federal program during 2021. Missouris law enforcement agencies reported spending $6.1 million of the seized assets.

Rounding out the top five law enforcement agencies in assets received under the federal program are the St. Louis Metropolitan Police ($933,085), Rolla Police ($899,326), St. Louis County Police ($866,445) and the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office ($621,738).

Law enforcement agencies participating in the federal asset forfeiture system must annually file information regarding federal seizures and proceeds with the state auditor. Law enforcement agencies can seize money and property from individuals and organizations found conducting illegal activities. State and local law enforcement agencies participating in federal investigations resulting in forfeitures can request a portion of the funds through the federal system.

Galloways report stated 684 Missouri law enforcement agencies were potential participants in the federal program and 120 filed reports. The other 564 agencies werent required to file a report if not participating in the system.

Last month, Galloway released a report of the property seizures made under Missouris Criminal Activity Forfeiture Act (CAFA) in 2021. Law enforcement took approximately $5.3 million worth of property in 514 seizures. In 2020, $4.2 million in property was taken in 502 seizures.

Phelps County recorded the largest amount, with $697,321 taken during 14 seizures. Rounding out the top five were St. Charles ($568,420 during 13 seizures), St. Louis County ($509,261; 85), St. Louis City ($451,575; 67) and Iron County ($387,440; three).

CAFA allows law enforcement officials to take possession of property or cash believed to be involved in or related to a crime. Missouri law requires prosecuting attorneys and the Attorney General to annually report seizures with the auditors office.

Approximately 33.9% of the CAFA amount seized in 2021 was transferred to federal agencies. The remaining amount was either returned (4.9%), transferred to the state (1.9%) or still pending a final decision (47.4%). The report stated 11.9% of seizures didnt indicate disposition of the seized property or listed another disposition.
Hebron Road - In A Moment | Turning Point Media Relations

In A Moment, the highly anticipated debut from Dallas-based modern Inspirational trio Hebron Road, is set to release March 18 from StowTown Records. Produced by GRAMMY-winner Keith Everette Smith (Tasha Layton, TaRanda Greene) and executive produced by Dove Award-winning songwriter and producer Michael Neale, the seven-track set features songwriting contributions from Neale, for KING & COUNTRYs Joel Smallbone, Charles Billingsley, Tony Wood and Matt Armstrong, among other leading names.



Compelling anthems, including project-opener Every Other Throne, Beauty Of The Cross, and the Revelation-inspired title-cut, stand alongside reimagined renditions of such current favorites as Lauren Daigles You Say and Crowders All My Hopeeach track putting Hebron Roads soaring tenor harmonies front and center.



In A Moment represents a journey of faith, family and a lifetime of brotherhood, shares Hebron Roads Rick Briscoe. Our sincere aim for this album is to encourage every listener with a renewed sense of Hope for their journey. We also pray each song brings a fresh awareness of Gods presence for when the road gets long.



Along with our congregation at Prestonwood, I can honestly say the authentic worship and heartfelt voices of the men of Hebron Road have always been church favorites, states Dr. Jack Graham, senior pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church. Their beautifully-woven vocal gifts are on full display in this debut project of modern Inspirational music. And as great as they are as vocalists, theyre even greater men of God.



About Hebron Road

Sharing deep musical and personal lineages, Hebron Road was birthed at Dallas megachurch Prestonwood Baptist. Comprised of longtime friends Rick Briscoea former member of the pioneering contemporary worship ensemble TRUTHand Alan Monk, along with Alans son Jarrod, Hebron Road takes its name in part from the biblical city of Hebron, where the Lord first spoke to Abram of the Promised Land.



Known for their annual show-stopping performance of O Holy Night during Prestonwoods Gift of Christmas 14-show live production reaching more than 75,000 people each year, Hebron Road was also featured in the 2020 Prestonwood Christmas television broadcast, A Joyous Hope, which has been viewed around the world. The trio regularly serve as worship leaders at Prestonwood Baptist Church.
The Australian sharemarket finished up more than 1 per cent for a second straight day as part of a global rally as fears eased about US Federal Reserve monetary tightening and a slowdown in China.

The ASX200 gained 1.05 per cent or 75.6 points to 7250.8 points by the end of Thursdays session which was boosted by the news that unemployment fell to four per cent.

A very strong lead from Wall Street set the local bourse off to a good start. Overnight the Dow increased 1.5 per cent, the S&P 500 lifted 2.2 per cent and the tech-heavy NASDAQ stormed 3.7 per cent higher.

Notably, the US Federal Reserve lifted its interest rate for the first time since 2018 by a quarter of a percentage point  the first of seven forecasted rises this year. Australias central bank is expected to follow suit, one economist has predicted, though there are fewer hikes on the horizon than its US counterpart.

News that unemployment dropped to four per cent today also gave the bourse a boost. Credit:Justin McManus

VanEck head of investments and capital markets Russel Chesler said investors had already factored rate rises into the market.

Normally these rate rises would have the effect of pushing markets down. But everybodys seen it coming, Mr Chesler said.

If you look at the last few days, its the highest two-day return since April 2020 [for US markets], he added. So the US market responded even more positively than the Australian market.

Mr Chesler expects the Australian Reserve Bank to hike rates in May.

Investors concerns about a lockdown-induced slowdown for China were eased after Vice Premier Liu He signalled more stimulus to support markets.

PointsBet was the best performer of the day, gaining 10.32 per cent and finishing at $3.85.

Afterpay owner Block was very close behind, up 10.2 per cent to $157.50. Zip Co gained 10.14 per cent.

Gold ore mining giant Gold Road Resources was the worst performer of the day, down 3.28 per cent.

Graincorp also lost 2.76 per cent of its stock value after global wheat prices slumped overnight. Dominos Pizza slipped 2.22 per cent.

The local bourse suffered another outage after the options and futures market platform ASX24 was suspended for most of Thursdays session due to a hardware issue.

The equities market platform remained unaffected throughout the day and the ASX24 was back up and running just after 2pm AEDT.

However, corporate watchdog ASIC said the ASX would have to provide a full incident report into the outage.

Biggest gains:

PointsBet 10.3%

Block 10.2%

Zip Co 10.1%

Polynovo 8.3%

Novonix 7.5%

Biggest declines
Now, the Russian Venture Company is subject to the strictest form of US sanctions. A spokeswoman for DCM declined to comment. A spokeswoman for IVP said the Russian firm invested in two of its funds, both times committing less than 1 per cent of the total capital of the fund. She also said that IVP is consulting lawyers about how to abide by all applicable sanctions and regulations. To avoid the reputational and financial risks of having a business partner wind up on a sanctioned entities list, some VC firms are now steering clear of Russian money even when theyre not required to. As far as Russia is concerned, we are taking steps beyond simply complying with all international sanctions, Index Ventures, with offices in London and California, said in a recent statement. We are therefore committing not to make any investments in Russia until further notice. The firm also said it would not take on any Russian investors and that it would support its portfolio companies trying to cut ties with the country. Funds backed by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich have invested in various Silicon Valley startups. Credit:AP Even co-investing alongside a Russian investor has become a red flag. Index Ventures said it would not co-invest alongside any groups or individuals with ties to the Kremlin. And in late February a Russian investor was asked to bow out of an undisclosed seed investment being led by London-based Hoxton Ventures into a British startup, said Hoxton partner Hussein Kanji. I dont ever want to take the risk of ending up on a cap table with someone who could be sanctioned, Kanji said. There are sides now, and you need to be on the right side.

Some prominent Russian investors have recently worked to distance themselves from the country. For example, venture firm RTP Global was founded by entrepreneur Leonid Boguslavsky, who showed up on a controversial US Treasury list of oligarchs identified as allies of Vladimir Putin in 2018. The firm, originally founded as ru-Net in 2000, is now based in London, a spokeswoman said, where it focuses on Europe, North America, India and Southeast Asia. Neither RTP funds, nor its beneficiaries, are under any sanctions/restrictions, so our business is not adversely affected, the spokeswoman wrote in an email. Perhaps the most prominent US investor with ties to Russia is Yuri Milner, a Russian-Israeli billionaire. Milners firm, DST Global, was an early investor in some of the largest internet companies, including Alibaba, Facebook and Twitter. Milner is not facing any action from the US or other Western governments, and is not on the US list of oligarchs. Most venture firms love anybody with money. It really doesnt matter what nationality you are. US private equity financier Patricia Cloherty DST has taken funding from Russian state-owned VTB Bank, according to documents revealed in the Paradise Papers. After Russia invaded the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, VTB faced sanctions. However, DST had already fully returned the capital from VTB before that point, a DST representative said. Less than 3 per cent of the total capital ever raised by DST Global was from VTB Bank, all prior to 2011, the representative said.

Alisher Usmanov, a Russian oligarch who was recently added to sanctions lists, was also a DST investor. But Usmanov has not put in money since 2011, the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, Milner has appeared to offer a kind of rebuke to the country of his birth. This month, Milners foundation donated millions to a GoFundMe campaign for refugee relief run by Ashton Kutcher and his wife Mila Kunis, who is Ukrainian American. Individual start-ups are also affected by shifting international rules. Israeli battery start-up StoreDot Ltd. and New York-based transportation platform Via Transportation have both taken cash from funds backed by Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch who is now sanctioned in the UK Representatives for StoreDot and Via declined to comment. Earlier this month, New York delivery start-up Buyk, partly owned by Sberbank, furloughed its chief executive officer, along with 900 employees. Moscows limits on fund transfers prohibited Buyks Russian founders, which had been funding the company until its next financing, from wiring cash out of the country to the company. Russian bank Sberbank is one of Fort Ross Ventures biggest backers. Credit:Bloomberg by Andrey Rudakov In the case of Menlo Park-based Fort Ross Ventures, the firm with Sberbank as a major investor, it manages about $USUS500 million and is actively working to ensure it complies with the latest rules. Orlovski, the managing partner, spent more than seven years at Sberbank prior to founding Fort Ross in 2015, and said the firm is analysing the new measures put in place against Russia and Sberbank. Were not hiding Russian oligarchs money here, Orlovski said. Were going to do what it takes to follow the law.

Fort Ross, which launched a new fund in December, already deliberately left Sberbank out of the fundraising in a bid to distance itself from the Russian bank, Orlovski said. Now, because Sberbank is not on the US list of Specially Designated Nationals, which sees the most severe restrictions, Orlovski said the firm is still analysing what steps it will be required to take. For now, the investor doesnt believe there will be a meaningful impact to the firm. He said Fort Ross is not planning to return Sberbanks capital and that brokering a sale of the stake would be a possibility, but the firm is not currently pursuing it. In the event that the US decides to hit Sberbank with a full blocking order, though, the banks capital in any fund would be completely frozen, said Brendan Hanifin a partner at Ropes & Gray LLP. Loading The morality of VC funding can be complex. Often, tech investment firms and start-ups believe that their first duty is to build great businesses, using whatever funds available  even though private funding has not been hard to come by in recent years. Patricia Cloherty, who pioneered post-Soviet Western investment in Russian companies via her roles at the US Russia Investment Fund and Delta Private Equity Partners, said venture firms typically obeyed the letter of the law, but not more. Now, of course, obeying the law could get more complicated as sanctions proliferate. Most venture firms love anybody with money, she said. It really doesnt matter what nationality you are.
Shane Warnes son Jackson will play an integral part in St Kildas tribute to the cricketer on Friday, tossing the coin ahead of the teams first match this AFL season.

The Saints confirmed on Thursday that, along with Warnes son taking the ground on Friday night, players would warm up wearing run-out tops with the name and number WARNE 23.

Shane Warnes children and ex-wife Simone Callahan pose for a photo next to his statue outside the MCG. Credit:Instagram

During the game, Saints players would wear black armbands to honour the cricketer, a spokeswoman said, and the numbers #23 and #708 would be painted on the turf.

Number 23 is the number Warne wore as a player, and 708 is the number of wickets he took in his cricket career.

At half-time, a video and photo montage paying tribute to Warne will be shown at Marvel Stadium.

Warne was a lifelong supporter of the Saints, having played for the teams under-19s side.

In his autobiography Shane Warne, My Own Story, he wrote that being dropped from the reserves in the 80s resulted in him pursuing cricket instead.

St Kilda will take on Collingwood on Friday at Marvel Stadium, with the first bounce at 7.50pm
A Nino Sydney-designed Beachcomber home in the Blue Mountains not only dodged bushfires, it withstood a half-metre deep river of rain that lifted the concrete driveway and swept it away.

But the house described as a matchbox on stilts with a bit of Bauhaus attitude survived unscathed.

The extreme storm of 2019 probably wouldve knocked another house off its foundations. Our house stood up perfectly as it did in the flooding this month, said the homes current owner, Billy Gruner, a curator and friend of the late architect who died earlier this year.

Architect Nino Sydney in front of the Beachcomber house in Faulconbridge in 2012. Credit:Wolter Peeters

A tour of the Beachcomber in Faulconbridge  one of more than 200 originally built in the 1960s  last Saturday marked the first in this years program of Urban Explorers by Sydney Living Museums.
More than 330,000 people aged over 60 in NSW are yet to receive a coronavirus vaccine booster jab, as officials stress the urgency of getting the shot before winter with cases expected to double in weeks.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard told the Herald that despite an expected spike in Omicron BA.2 infections he did not support a return to pandemic restrictions, but would concentrate on driving booster uptake and looking at every possible method of reaching out to those not triple-dosed.

After a data glitch, NSW reported a dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases on Wednesday with 30,402 infections. Credit:Bianca De Marchi

What weve seen in the last few years is that as soon as positive cases start going up, people start getting vaccinated. It would make a lot more sense if they got [boosted] now, so they are less likely to catch the virus and be part of those rising numbers, Mr Hazzard said.

NSW reported a dramatic increase in coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with 30,402 infections after a data glitch meant about 10,000 tests on Sunday and Monday failed to be added to daily case counts.
World should not forget suffering in Syria: UN

Xinhua) 08:51, March 16, 2022

GENEVA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday issued a global appeal for the plight of Syrians displaced by the 12-year war in the country not to be forgotten.

"11 years since the crisis began, Syria remains the world's largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have either fled the country or are displaced within its borders," UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov told a press briefing on Tuesday.

Countries bordering on, or close to Syria have hosted more than 5.6 million Syrian refugees, Cheshirkov said. These countries are now under increased financial pressure, especially due to the devastating socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Today, most Syrian refugees in the region live in poverty. Prospects are dire for the most vulnerable among them, such as single mothers, children living without a caregiver, and people with disabilities," Cheshirkov warned.

The situation is particularly serious in Lebanon, he said, where over 90 percent of Syrians live in extreme poverty.

More than 6.9 million people are still displaced inside Syria, and 14.6 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance.

In 2021, three quarters of all households in the country said they could not meet their most basic needs, Cheshirkov said.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
OUTER BANKS, N.C.  Maybe Manteo needed a wine bar like NouVines and nobody knew it. Maybe people did know it, but no one was quite sure what to do about it. Maybe it was destiny, the alignment of wine glasses in just the right way that led Garret Cameron and Lori Wilkinson to downtown Manteo at just the right moment in time.

Whatever it was that brought the couple to Manteo on a fateful day in March of last year, one thing they remember clearly  the first time they walked by that big picture window on Budleigh Street there was no sign in the window saying, For Rent.

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We literally pulled up and parked in front of the building, Wilkinson said. There was not a sign in the window when we parked. We walked up and down, took some pictures, wrote some numbers down and when we  came back to the car, all of a sudden, it was like okay, thats just weird.

They looked inside and it seemed to have so much of what they pictured their NouVines wine bar would have.

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The brick and the wood, the open space. It was perfect for what we wanted to do, Cameron said.

With its open beam ceiling, brick walls, huge front windows, spacious seating and an eclectic selection of wines based on personal taste, NouVines seems to be just what Cameron and Wilkinson pictured when they first had the idea to open a wine bar.

What they have created is not like anything else on the Outer Banks. Although there is a wine for just about every taste, the selection is limited. That is by choice and the physical limits to how many wines two people can taste.

They have sampled every wine they offer and the wines in the racks reflect their personal tastes, although they do admit that expanding their palates was an important part of creating an inventory that would appeal to everyone.

We wanted to make sure that we covered the whole world, that were not pigeon-holed into our own personal preference of taste. Otherwise, youd have a whole red menu, Wilkinson said.

There wouldnt be any whites, Cameron added. But were learning to appreciate a number of whites. There are a number over there that we do like.

NouVines features wine and art nights, trivia nights and live music on Fridays and Saturdays, even in the off season. (Kip Tabb)

The pace of life at NouVines is leisurely. There is no feeling as though an hour or two is too long to sit with a friend or friends and sip wine and talk.

And that, too, is by design.

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What we want is the ambience that leads to a somewhat sophisticated environment where people can just come in here and completely decompress, Cameron said.

Theyve kept it simple  wine and a charcuterie board. A restaurant with everything that goes with it, that was not going to happen.

We didnt want a full kitchen. We didnt want to cook. So why introduce all that stuff, Wilkinson said. Having charcuterie boards you can have everything on there that matches with all the wines. So it just enhances the experience.

At first glance, the couple seem an odd choice to open a wine bar. They had been living in Washington, D.C. She had worked with businesses in the life sciences industry; he worked in security for the federal government including more than 10 years providing security for the Supreme Court.

It is nothing like whats portrayed in the media, Cameron said. The Chief Justice really tries to stay away from the whole political spin. Politics are left at the door as you walk up the stairs.

They retired in 2019 and moved to North Carolina. After about a year or so, they were ready to do something other than be retired.

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We were bored, is Camerons description.

The thought that a wine shop might be something worth pursuing began when they stopped by the local wine shop in Hertford, Barley and Vine, and found it had been sold.

She (the original owner) just didnt want to deal with it. So that was the seed that was planted, Garrett said.

The search began for the right location. The couple knew they didnt want to compete against another locally-owned businesses. Edenton got crossed off the list right away; they werent sure about Elizabeth City, but then heard someone was opening a wine shop and that was one more location with a line through it.

So I called my son on a whim, Garrett said, and said Anything going on Manteo, and hes like, No, no, and we need it because the closest thing is Trio. His son was referring to the Kitty Hawk wine bar and retail store.

Once the contracts were signed, things moved quickly to getting the doors open. Their first day of business was Saturday, July 3. It was busy that first weekend, but it wasnt until August that they realized how popular a wine bar in Manteo could be.

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We have to say the very first First Friday literally kicked our butts, Lori said. We didnt know what to expect for it and it definitely got us.

But they learned and they have family living locally so now there are four people on hand for First Fridays -- a street festival the town hosts every first Friday of the month in season.

Even in the winter and off season, there are things happening. Tuesday its wine and art, Thursday trivia. And the weekends have music.

Friday and Saturday, both days, live music, Cameron said.

The weekend musicians are some of the best on the Outer Banks. Blues artist Mojo Collins was there recently. Bill Rea and the Rea Family Trio have also held court.

With its casual atmosphere and acoustic music, those weekend performances feel like a throwback to an image of small nightclubs, intimate conversation and the best of times with friends, something Cameron and Wilkinson were hoping to create when they opened their doors.

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We want people to have fun, Cameron said. If theyre having fun, were having fun and thats kind of the concept here.
After that nasty fire, the Museum of Australian Democracy is getting ready to throw open its doors again on April 28  by which time the federal election will be in full swing.

Julia Gillard and John Howard. But whos missing? Credit:John Shakespeare

The Museum was forced to close in December, when a fire at the front door and portico of Old Parliament House caused $4 million worth of damage throughout the building. A 30-year-old man has been arrested and charged. Since then, heritage and conservation teams have been hard at work.

To make a splashy re-entry, the museums director, Daryl Karp, a former ABC executive, has recruited five former prime ministers to become museum patrons. They each expressed their love of democracy in quotes provided to the museum.

But you dont have to be Antony Green to know that Australia has six living former prime ministers.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged Australian businesses not to put all their eggs in the China basket and cautioned he could not say whether the trade relationship between the two countries would improve in coming years.

Speaking at a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA breakfast on the second day of his Perth trip, Mr Morrison was asked whether Australian businesses should continue to put effort into relationships with Chinese businesses when the political relationship was so tumultuous.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA breakfast on Wednesday. Credit:Matt Jelonek/Getty Images

Mr Morrison said businesses needed to be resilient in a changing world, and there have been significant opportunities in the Chinese market in the past but the China were dealing with today is very different to the one that John Howard dealt with.

Id love to tell you that there will be a massive change in their relationship in the next few years, but I cant do that, Mr Morrison said.
A potentially dangerous infestation of wasps at Brisbane Airport has probably already spread beyond the limits of practical control, the aviation safety authority warned in its final report on a 2018 incident in which an international flight was forced to land shortly after take-off.

The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau found the July 18 Malaysia Airlines flight from Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur, with 215 passengers and 14 crew on board, took off with no airspeed information available to the pilots.

CCTV shows the pitot probe covers on the Malaysia Airlines plane prior to take-off. Credit:ATSB

The airspeed sensors, contained within narrow open tubes called pitot probes, had been covered up by ground staff in a safety measure designed to prevent wasps building nests in them.

The flight crew, engineers, and dispatch co-ordinator were required to conduct various pre-departure checks, meant to identify aircraft damage or other unsafe conditions, such as the fitment of pitot probe covers, the ATSB found.
Queenslands Premier has defended the states ongoing coronavirus vaccine rules as the sound of drums leaked into Parliament from hundreds of protesters swarmed outside for a third day.

While demonstrators outside cried for the scrapping of a bill to extend the Chief Health Officers powers until October, inside the similarly loud legislative assembly the focus was on integrity matters and the states flood response.

Interjections from MPs, often above the sound of drumming and chants from protesters, led to warnings for six including Treasurer Cameron Dick and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli.

During question time, Katters Australia Party MP Shane Knuth quizzed the Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, on the need for continued vaccine mandates, citing comments from Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall who called on the government to enact fit-for-purpose laws rather than extended emergency powers.
Friends of the Perth brother and sister killed along with their mother in a suspected murder-suicide have begun laying tributes at their schools memorial.

Abiyah Selvan, 10, and Aiden Selvan, 8, lost their lives in a car fire police believe their mother Selvamma Doreswamy lit at a Coogee beach carpark on Monday.

Their father, a leading Perth anaesthetic technician, was told by phone after catching a flight to the United States on Sunday to visit extended family.

He is expected to arrive back in Perth on Wednesday evening, and is being supported by his workplace and police.
Mobile black spots and poor internet coverage are plaguing regional Victoria and hampering economic development as more people attempt to work from home and conduct business online.

The latest report from Infrastructure Australia shows poor mobile and broadband coverage persists across the regions and the pandemic has further exposed the shortfalls.

Towns along the Great Ocean Road have been identified as suffering from poor telecommunications infrastructure.

The report, Regional Strengths and Infrastructure Gaps, found there was a shortage of fixed-access broadband across the majority of regional towns in the Barwon South West region, which takes in the Great Ocean Road and Geelong. It said peak tourism seasons increased demand on telecommunications infrastructure, which was ill-equipped to handle influxes of visitors, raising safety concerns in coastal, remote and high-traffic areas.

Infrastructure Australia cited federal figures showing more than 430 mobile black spots in the Barwon South West region.
Despite history showing that opposition leaders seldom match incumbents when it comes to preferred prime minister and despite Morrisons own chequered performance, the view peddled within the government, relayed by obliging commentators, was that Morrisons higher personal ratings would transport the Coalition to another victory. When Labors lead solidified, frantic efforts were unleashed to brand Albanese as a risk, to paint him as a threat to national security because he was Chinas preferred candidate and to cast him as the most left-wing leader of the Labor Party since Gough Whitlam. So far they have not registered. Now, according to an increasingly desperate Morrison, Albo has gone from being brainwashed by the Chinese to being programmed by Jenny Craig. Clearly confusing himself with Shakespeares Caesar, Morrison struck on the bizarre tactic of mocking Albaneses new lean and hungry look to argue it was another reason not to trust him. Im not pretending to be anyone else. Im still wearing the same glasses. Sadly, the same suits  and I weigh about the same, and I dont mind a bit of Italian cake either, Morrison said on Sky, referring to Albaneses refusal to even take a bite of cannoli for the 60 Minutes cameras on his birthday.

So Im happy in my own skin, and Im not pretending to be anyone else. And when you, when youre Prime Minister, you cant pretend to be anyone else. Youve got to know who you are because if you dont know who you are, then how on earth are other people going to know. And I think thats what the choice is at this election. Loading This from the man who created the daggy dad persona  a character his colleagues had never previously seen  for the 2019 election, then ever since has pretended to be everything from a hairdresser, to a welder, to a lab technician, confident that goofy pictures would grab voters attention. They have. At great cost to his dignity and authority. Liberals who a few months ago rattled off a list of up to a dozen gettable seats in NSW as their pathway to victory are in despair. They are convinced the election is lost. They are furious with Morrison and Alex Hawke for deliberately stalling preselections and incensed by briefings to media against Dominic Perrottet over management of the flood crises claiming its a repeat of the undermining by Morrisons surrogates of Gladys Berejiklian during the Black Summer fires. They say Andrew Constance could regain Gilmore, but after that its a struggle. They believe North Sydney, held by Trent Zimmerman, is under serious threat from independent Kylea Tink, that Dave Sharma could lose Wentworth to another independent Allegra Spender and the way things are going, not even Berejiklian could reclaim Warringah from Zali Steggall.

They say they could lose five seats in Western Australia, one in South Australia, four in Victoria and two in Tasmania. Another plugged-in Liberal has drawn up a list of 24 seats at risk across the country. That is much more optimistic than Labor dares to be. Labors key players, incredulous that Morrison could muck up another disaster, are doing their utmost to keep expectations in check. Unsurprisingly the deep gloom inside the government has triggered more than the usual academic internal canvassing of the nuclear option. Removal of Morrison. This week, one Liberal MP cautioned against discounting the possibility of a change before the election then named a cabinet minister he believed was slyly scheming against the Prime Minister. MPs backing both likely contenders  Peter Dutton and Josh Frydenberg  have also privately accused their opponents of canvassing votes in preparation for a contest either before the election or after. Loading The truly depressed say it is too late. Too late for it to make a difference and too late to engineer it. The optimists  and there are still a few around  say there is no such thing as an unwinnable election. That is true. All the government needs is clear air, a responsible budget and a faultless campaign during which Albanese implodes. Above all it needs Morrison to behave like a prime minister, to forgo stunts and blame-shifting, leave the sledging to others or to negative advertising and construct a compelling argument for his re-election. Not too much to ask, is it?
Kramatorsk: Ukraines heroics in fighting off a Russian invasion have captured our attention but what many fail to grasp is that the nation will lose this war unless something changes.

Despite scenes of people fleeing Kyiv, the capital is expected to hold out against Russian advances for a while longer. Putins troops real gains are elsewhere. Credit:Felipe Dana/ AP

None of this is to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin will win. The Russian economy is in ruins and what many thought would be a three-day operation to conquer the capital, Kyiv, is now a war entering its fourth week. Putins military misadventure is likely to rival Russias invasion of Afghanistan and Americas forays in the Middle East and Vietnam in terms of disastrous interventions.

But we must be more clear-eyed about what lies ahead for the Ukrainians, otherwise their gallant fight will come to nothing.
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Beekeeper Ihor Zakablukov doesnt know why a Russian missile landed in front of his home. The attack destroyed his car, smashed the windows and roof and ruined his hives.

Beekeeper Ihor Zakablukov lost his bees in the missile attack on Monday. His home and car were also damaged. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Russian President Vladimir Putins forces dropped at least two missiles in the neighbourhood in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk in the early hours of Monday morning, killing two people.

Its unclear what the Russians were aiming for on Vodobaky Street in the south-west of the city when they fired the missile about 2.40am. Perhaps they were trying to hit the military building a few streets over. It wouldnt be the first time in this campaign the Russians have missed their target and killed civilians instead.

A young Ukrainian woman on the balcony of her apartment building, which was damaged by Russian missile attacks on Kramatorsk. Credit:Kate Geraghty

One of the missiles left a five-metre crater just in front of Zakablukovs property. The shrapnel from the missile ricocheted in all directions on impact, smashing into houses and apartment buildings. Zakablukov, 57, said his apiaries, which are his only livelihood, were completely destroyed.
Washington: US President Joe Biden has called Vladimir Putin a war criminal for the first time in public, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an impassioned speech to US Congress in which he played a graphic video of war injuries and deaths.

Biden initially said no, when asked by a journalist at a press conference if Putin was a war criminal, but then asked the reporter to repeat the question.

I think he is a war criminal, the President said.

His remarks were swiftly condemned by the Kremlin.

We consider unacceptable and unforgivable such rhetoric from the head of the country whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people, said Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Putin insisted his special military operation in Ukraine was going to plan.
FILE - This Jan. 14, 2013, file photo shows a gavel sits on a desk inside a courthouse. The Virginia General Assembly last week filled seven judicial vacancies in Hampton Roads out of about 30 such appointments statewide. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File) (Brennan Linsley/AP)

The Virginia General Assembly filled seven judicial vacancies in Hampton Roads  out of about 30 such appointments statewide  before it adjourned last week.

Lawmakers elevated two sitting General District Court judges  Matthew W. Hoffman of Newport News and Robert B. Rigney of Norfolk  to new eight-year terms on those cities circuit courts.

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The General Assembly also tapped five local lawyers  two each in Norfolk and Virginia Beach and another in Newport News  to fill six-year terms on lower courts:

Newport News Senior Assistant Public Defender Rian E. Lewis will fill the General District Court vacancy created by Hoffmans elevation.

Norfolk attorneys Jamilah D. LeCruise and Leondras Webster landed judgeships on that citys General District Court  one of them created with Rigneys ascension.

Lawyers James P. Normile IV and Jennifer B. Shupert were picked for open seats on the Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court.

As part of a series of judicial reappointments in January, lawmakers previously elevated Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Tanya Bullock to that citys Circuit Court. They also elected Joe Lindsey  a former state delegate and interim judge at Norfolk General District Court  to a six-year term.

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Though the full General Assembly elects judges, a longstanding state tradition gives local lawmakers deference in making the picks after consulting with local bar groups and conducting their own interviews.

Heres a rundown of the regions newly appointed or elevated judges:

Matthew W. Hoffman, Newport News Circuit Court

Hoffman, 50, an Arizona native, stayed in Hampton Roads after attending law school at the College of William & Mary, and is a former prosecutor in Newport News and Hampton. He worked for Progressive Insurance for several years before becoming a General District Court judge in 2016.

Hoffman sat in both Newport News and Hampton before getting the Newport News job full time a year later, and he founded the citys behavioral health docket, an alternative court for those with mental illnesses.

Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, introduced Hoffman to lawmakers as one of the finest jurists we have been able to produce in Newport News, saying he really blossomed the behavioral health docket.

Hoffman told a joint Courts of Justice Committee last week that hes ready for a new challenge, looking forward to handling jury trials and doing more researching and writing than hes had the opportunity to do in district court.

want to improve the efficiency and the accessibility of the circuit court to the citizens of Newport News, he said. Hoffman will replace Circuit Court Judge Timothy S. Fisher, who retired in January.

Robert B. Rigney, Norfolk Circuit Court

A Long Island native, Rigney, 61, holds a bachelors degree from the State University of New York at Oswego and a law degree from the University of Richmond. He has worked as an attorney for more than 30 years, including with the firm of Protogyrou and Rigney, and sat on the citys General District Court bench since 2019.

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Hes really respectful to the citizens and is an overall fair person, Sen. Lionell Spruill Sr., D-Norfolk and Chesapeake, told lawmakers by way of introduction. Thats what I look for in the judge.

On a personal note, being a judge has been the greatest job ever, Rigney told lawmakers. On a professional note, Ive been a trial lawyer for 32 years, and I believe I have the experience, qualifications and the personality to continue to be effective for the citizens of Norfolk and everyone that comes into my court.

Rigney will take the seat of retired Circuit Court Judge Joseph Migliozzi.

Rian E. Lewis, Newport News General District Court

Lewis, 38, a Winchester native, holds a bachelors degree from Washington & Lee University and a law degree and masters in psychology from Valparaiso University. Shes spent more than 10 years with the Newport News public defenders office, including representing clients on the behavioral health docket, which she sees as a passion project.

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, said she was impressed with Lewis answer when the senator asked what she would do if she didnt get the job. I will be disappointed, but I will go back to doing that which I love, and thats being a public defender, Lewis replied.

Im definitely enthusiastic about starting the new position, though it will be very hard to leave the public defenders office, Lewis said in an interview.

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Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, asked Lewis whether her psychology degree helps her understand clients better. She called it a huge help not only with clients, but everyone else I come in contact with.

Jamilah D. LeCruise, Norfolk General District Court

LeCruise, 36, graduated from the University of Richmond and received her law degree from William & Mary. While in law school, she traveled to Ghana with a human rights organization, then interned for Legal Aid Society and with the Office of the Capital Defender in Richmond.

She later worked as a magistrate and an assistant public defender in Norfolk before opening her own law practice.

Ive always wanted to be a General District Court judge  the place where I learned to practice law, LeCruise told lawmakers. Its the peoples court ... with a variety of different people before the court from different backgrounds.

Del. Don L. Scott, D-Norfolk, a practicing attorney, called LeCruise extremely bright, very sharp and a go-to attorney in the Norfolk area  and a great choice for the bench.

Leondras Webster, Norfolk General District Court

Webster, 42, a graduate of the University of Virginia and William & Mary law school, has been a practicing attorney for 13 years.

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He told lawmakers he worked in the Circuit Court as a high school intern moving files around and later became a deputy clerk there. I was able to take a look and understand what the judges and what the attorneys had to do on a daily basis, he said.

Webster later worked as a Norfolk prosecutor, helping to spearhead cases in the citys drug court, mental health court and the veterans court. He also worked as a defense lawyer, including with the insurance industry, and has been a substitute judge in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight.

They keep asking me to come back, so I guess Im doing something right, Webster quipped.

He and LeCruise will replace Rigney and the recently elevated Circuit Court Judge Tasha Scott on the General District Court.

James P. Normile IV, Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court

Normile, 52, received his bachelors degree from Towson State University and completed Virginias reading for the law program in 1999. He then worked in private practice for 22 years, including with Zogby, Broccoletti and Normile.

My whole professional career and my personal life has led me to this point where Ive found a passion and a calling to serve my community, give back to my community, and to make Virginia Beach the best place possible for children and families, Normile told lawmakers, saying most of his work is in the juvenile and domestic area.

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Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, called Normile a unanimous selection from the Virginia Beach delegation.

Jennifer B. Shupert, Virginia Beach Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court

Shupert, 43, graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a degree in family studies and child development, received her law degree from Regent University, then worked as an attorney for 18 years.

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I have specialized my practice in the area of family law intentionally, she told lawmakers. I believe that helping children and families through that type of process is very rewarding. And they needed a lawyer who was logical and practical and could help them through one of the toughest times in their lives.

DeSteph said Shupert was also a unanimous selection of Virginia Beach lawmakers.

Normile and Shupert will replace Bullock and Judge Deborah Bryan. Bullock now sits on the citys Circuit Court and Bryan is slated to retire in April.

Aside from filling the open vacancies, the General Assembly also reappointed 12 sitting judges in Hampton Roads to new terms.

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That includes eight Circuit Court judges to new 8-year terms: Judges Steven C. Frucci and James C. Lewis of Virginia Beach; David W. Lannetti of Norfolk; L. Wayne Farmer of Isle of Wight; Robert H. Sandwich Jr. of Suffolk; Bryant L. Sugg of Newport News; and Jeffrey W. Shaw of the Middle Peninsula.

Lawmakers also elected three local lower court judges to new 6-year terms: General District Court Judges Douglas B. Ottinger of Portsmouth and Patrick A. Robbins of Accomack, and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge James E. Wiser of Suffolk.

Peter Dujardin, 757-247-4749, pdujardin@dailypress.com
Money management platform Parpera has launched Australias first embedded finance business debit card linked directly to deposit accounts.

Parpera is partnering with fintech Railspay, the Australian arm of UK firm Railsbank, and Australias first neo-bank Volt.

The Parpera business debit Mastercard is now available to Australian sole traders. Users are encouraged to download the Parpera app which includes banking, cards, invoicing, money, and tax insights as well as a debit card to manage business payments and access to make fee-free international transactions.

Brokers who are sole traders can apply for their own card and can encourage their sole trader and SME clients to do the same.

Parpera founder and CEO Daniel Cannizzaro (pictured) said he was excited about the new card.

The launch of our business debit card marks a significant milestone for Parpera and Australian business owners who have been under-served and unfairly treated when it comes to their finances for far too long, Cannizaro said.

Having to pay on average 3% to 4% fees on top of international card payments, waiting weeks for a business debit card, and being forced to use their personal card to cover business expenses are all examples of how business owners needlessly suffer. Parpera offers business owners access to a much fairer and more transparent system which will make business easier for everyone.

Read more: AMP's new tech investment to speed up loan approvals

New clients can download the Parpera app through the App store or Google store, create an account within 10 minutes, confirm they are a sole trader and subscribe to a monthly or yearly membership ($15 per month or $135 per annum). There are no additional fees for customers apart from the membership expenses.

Partnering with Railspay gives access to a payment network and the ability to launch a card within the Australian market through leveraging their technology and marketing, Cannizaro said. Our focus is to help business owners and sole traders to make business easier through an easy and efficient process.

Read more: Brokers smash home loan value record, says MFAA

Railsbank APAC chief operating officer Ben Smith (also pictured) welcomed the first embedded finance business debit card to hit the Australian market.

Railspay is enabling Parpera customers to transform the way that they can manage their businesses by providing a seamless and integrated customer experience, which is a great example of the power of embedded finance experiences to positively impact lives. The launch of yet another Australian-first finance experience product also demonstrates that we are on the forefront of the next generation of financial services across the globe, Smith said.

This is only the start of the journey. Our product collaboration where brokers can co-design with members along with incorporating their suggestions is powerful. We are able to provide this information quick because of our powerful partnership. It can only get better from here.
on Wednesday said it has entered into a partnership with Biofabri, a Spanish biopharmaceutical firm, for the development, manufacturing and marketing of a new vaccine.

This partnership will guarantee the supply of (TB) vaccines in more than 70 countries, especially in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with a high TB incidence, the company said in a statement.

The new TB vaccine, 'MTBVAC', is being manufactured and developed by Biofabri, in close collaboration with the University of Zaragoza, IAVI and the Vaccine Initiative (TBVI).

"This agreement between and Biofabri would guarantee the worldwide production and the supply of the future vaccine in more than 70 countries with a high TB incidence, such as India which has the highest TB burden in the world, with a 25 per cent of all cases," the company said.

Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella said, "We are proud to announce this partnership with BioFabri, where MTBVAC can become a global TB vaccine."



Bharat Biotech has opted for this vaccine candidate owing to its advanced stage of clinical development as well as the promising results from Phase-I and Phase-II clinical trials, he added.

The Phase-III clinical trials are expected to start in Senegal, South Africa and Madagascar in the second half of 2022, the company said.

Biofabri CEO Esteban Rodrguez said the agreement with Bharat Biotech is a milestone in the MTBVAC project.

Right from Day 1, the company's goal has been to make a vaccine accessible to everyone at affordable prices in middle and low-income countries where the incidence of tuberculosis is high, Rodrguez added.

"The contract signed with Bharat Biotech ensures that our vaccine reaches countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and South Africa, among others, where tuberculosis is a public health problem due to its high incidence," Rodrguez said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hyderabad-based pharmaceuticals and biologics major Ltd on Wednesday expressed confidence over getting emergency use authorisation for use of its Corbevax anti-COVID vaccine in children in the age group of 5-12 years.

The company's Corbevax vaccine is being used for the inoculation of children in the age group of 12 to 14 years, which started on Wednesday.

said its multiple manufacturing units in Hyderabad are fully qualified to enable production of around 1 billion dosages of Corbevax annually and it is geared up to meet any increase in demand.

As on date, the company has produced 30 crore vaccines as part of its commitment made to the Government of India, with 5 crore dosages already supplied.

Addressing a press conference, Managing Director Mahima Datla said, "We have achieved a capacity to produce over 100 million doses per month in order to ensure adequate supply and we are able to respond to any increasing demand too, should the need arise."



She said in order to keep it simple for vaccinations to be carried out across age groups, the company has not made any difference in the protein and drug substances used in Corbevax for children and the adult population.

In a presentation, Biological E Executive Vice-President Technical Operations Vikram Paradkar said at present the company is conducting clinical trials of Corbevax among children in the age group of 5-12 years and it is almost nearing completion.

Stating that the interim report has been submitted to the relevant authority, he said, "We are confident of getting emergency use authorisation (EUA) for that age group as well."



A company official said the intent is to develop the COVID-19 vaccine even for babies all the way down to six months old.

Datla said the company has been able to prove superiority of Corbevax over Covishield, which was a pre-condition for getting the approval.

"In clinical trials, Corbevax induced immune response demonstrated consistent neutralisation of the ancestral SARS-COV-2 strain as well as the variants of concern such as Beta, Delta and Omicron," she added.

Biological E said Corbevax vaccination generates antibody response that is "highly persistent for more than 6 months post vaccination".

While Corbevax is the first indigenous vaccine to get emergency use authorisation (EUA) for vaccinating the Indian population between the age group of 12 to 80 years, the government programme is currently focussed on vaccination of 12-14 years age group, Datla said.

She further said Corbevax has been priced at Rs 990 (inclusive of taxes and vaccine administration charges) in the private market, while for the government vaccination programme it is priced at Rs 145.

The company has also commenced clinical trials to use Corbevax as a booster dose over Covishield and Covaxin around two months back.

Biological E had collaborated with the Texas Children's Hospital and the Baylor College in the development of the Corbevax vaccine.

US-based Dynavax Inc supported the programme by providing the adjuvant and THSTI Delhi conducted key immunogenicity testing as part of a comprehensive clinical trial development plan.

BIRAC (a division of the Department of Biotechnology), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Coalition for Epidemic Prevention and Innovation (CEPI) provided partial funding during clinical development, the company said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's domestic airlines have called for rationalisation of taxes on jet fuel to counter the massive rise in fuel prices.

On Wednesday, high crude oil prices led OMCs to hike ATF prices to more than Rs 1 lakh per kilolitre. In the national capital, the price of jet fuel was raised by 18.32 per cent to Rs 1,10,666.29 per kilolitre (kl) from Rs 93,530.66 per kl.

In the other metro cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, the price was increased to Rs 1,14,979.70, Rs 1,09,119.83 and Rs 1,14,133.73 per kl, respectively.

The rise came as crude oil price has remained on elevated levels due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Fuel retailers revise jet fuel prices on a fortnightly basis.

"Over the past few weeks, crude oil prices have soared to a seven-year high nearing $140 per barrel, due to the ongoing conflict in Europe. This has resulted in over 50 per cent hike from January 2022 till date, including the 18 per cent hike today," said Ronojoy Dutta, Whole-time Director and Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo.

"This situation adversely impacts us, given that ATF constitutes over 45 per cent of our operational costs. We have been in talks with the government to bring ATF under GST as it brings the benefit of input tax credit," Dutta added.

According to Dutta, such measures are needed now more than ever to offset this increase in cost and make flying viable for airlines and affordable for consumers.

"A rationalisation of taxes will result in high growth for the sector, creating a multiplier effect throughout the economy, promoting trade, tourism and job creation," Dutta said.

In India, the domestic ATF prices are derived from international fuel prices, denominated in the US dollar, thereby rendering the ATF prices susceptible to exchange rate movements.

Notably, the rupee has also seen depreciation against the US dollar lately, which has been reflected in the prices.

The ATF prices are much more expensive than international benchmarks due to high levels of taxation.

The industry has been demanding that the fuel type be brought under the ambit of GST, similar to the status given to 'Bunker Diesel' which is used in the shipping sector.

A Vistara spokesperson said: "The resumption of scheduled international flights from March 27 is expected to stimulate demand and we hope it will help the industry in managing the increase in ATF prices."

--IANS

rv/arm

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With a strong interest in specialising in blockchain and artificial intelligence, India-based investors were a distant second in providing funding to fintech in Asia-Pacific after the US in 2021, a report said on Wednesday.

According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence research, US investors, led by venture capitalists, funded 358 fintech in the Asia-Pacific region in 2021, up from 134 in 2020.

India also attracted the most funding in the region, with $5.94 billion raised across 236 deals in 2021, up from $1.5 billion across 118 deals in 2020.

"Venture capital funding reached new highs in 2021, with Asia-Pacific fintech receiving $15.69 billion. Such funding was up sharply from $5.87 billion in 2020 and was 74 per cent higher than 2019's pre-pandemic levels," the research firm said.

Global investors were most active in backing fintech specialising in investment and capital markets technology such as blockchain, internet of things and artificial intelligence, funding 254 deals in 2021 compared with 99 the year prior.

The report said that payments were the second-most popular category for the US investors, as 167 companies received funding in 2021.

--IANS

vc/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel-based Coralogix, announced its foray into the India market with the launch of security venture Snowbit. The company, which will initially focus on the Indian and Israeli markets, is a full-service cybersecurity venture focussed on empowering cloud-native to secure themselves against growing cyber risks in a quick, efficient, and cost-effective manner.

Founded and led by tech veterans and former Amazon Web Services (AWS) executives Navdeep Manaktala and Zack Barak, Snowbit will have operations across Tel Aviv and New Delhi/Gurgaon. An Indo-Israeli venture, Snowbit will have its operations (R&D, product development, and expert teams) across India and to leverage the best of Israeli cybersecurity talent and Indias unique position to become the global cybersecurity hub of the world.

We are setting up a security research centre in India. Additionally, the India will also be the hub for our product development along with . We plan to start with a 40 member team for the research centre by the end of the year and we will also further ramp up our sales and marketing team, said Navdeep Manaktala, co-founder Snowbit and president APJ Coralogix.

Snowbits Managed Extended Detection and Response (MxDR) incorporates a SaaS platform and expert services. The platform gives organizations a comprehensive view of their cloud environments security and compliance (CIS, NIST, SOC, PCI, ISO, HIPAA). The expert teams are offered 24x7 to provide support for more efficient remediation.

In July 2021 Coralogix had raised $55 million in series C funding round led by Greenfield Partners. The company is investing around $10 million as initial investment for the Indian market.

Mankatla also shared that this is the first Indo- venture in the space, that too with India as a focus both as a market as well as development hub. At present we have customers in India, Israel and the US. With a strong growing startup ecosystem which relies on cloud infrastructure, security is a crucial aspect. Besides we already work with several unicorns in India already, he added.

Snowbit platform scans the entire cloud environment for abnormal activity, configuration, network, and vulnerability issues. It automates threat detection and incident response leveraging machine learning, an extensive set of pre-configured rules, alerts & dashboards, and support for integration with any orchestration platform.

Observability forms the bedrock of cybersecurity, and as a result, Snowbit is strategic for Coralogix as it enables us to offer a powerful integrated observability and security proposition to unlock the value of data correlation, said Ariel Assaraf, CEO of Coralogix.
The has lifted a January 5 stay by the Delhi Hight Court on the Singapore Arbitration Tribunal Centre (SIAC) in the hearing of the case between and the .

The top court asked and whether they had any issues with resuming arbitration proceedings. If they didn't, then the court would pass an order to resume arbitration proceedings. Both parties confirmed that the did not have any issues.

approached SIAC in October 2020 to oppose the Rs 24,713 crore deal signed in August 2020 between Reliance Industries and .

SC also asked Future Group to file a reply to the interim application that the court had allowed Amazon to file on Tuesday, and adjourned the case to March 23.

Both parties also informed the top court on Tuesday that negotiations between them to resolve the legal battle arising out of the sale of Future Groups assets to RIL have not led to a resolution. On March 3, Amazon had proposed a dialogue with Future Group and RIL to end the legal deadlock and the court had given them time till March 15 to come up with a settlement.

Amazon had also informed the SC on Tuesday that Reliance Industries had taken over the bulk of Future Group stores. In a newspaper ad on Tuesday, the US e-commerce major accused Future Retail and RIL of fraud over the transfer of stores.

Reliance Industries had started taking over Future Group stores on February 25.

Future Group had sub-leased stores from Reliance Industries and in an exchange filing on February 26, it said that it received termination notices for a significant number of stores, due to huge outstandings.

On March 9, Future Group said in two seperate stock exchange filings that it received termination notices on March 7 and March 8 for 947 stores that it had sub-leased from Reliance entities.

Future Retail received termination notices for 342 Big Bazaar and Fashion@Big Bazaar (fbb), 493 small format stores which include easyday and Heritage stores.

Future Lifestyle also received termination notices for 78 Brand Factory stores and 34 central stores, which have been contributing 55-65 per cent of the companys retail revenues, it said in its stock exchange filing. Future Group had approximately 1,500 outlets of which 550 are still with it.
Black Lives Matter 757 leader, Aubrey JaPharii Jones, speaks during a protest last July in Hampton. (Mike Caudill / The Virginian-Pilot)

A Hampton Roads Black Lives Matter group plans to host a peace march next weekend on the one-year anniversary of a night of violence at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront that left two dead.

BLM 757s march, which will serve to memorialize anyone who died prematurely as a result of violence, is set for 7:57 p.m. March 26 at the Oceanfront boardwalk.

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This is a day of remembrance for all, said Aubrey JaPharii Jones, president of BLM 757. We believe not just gun violence, but community violence as a whole is a problem. We want to give people time and space to grieve.

Those in attendance are encouraged to bring candles and wear T-shirts or lanyards honoring loved ones. Attendees are asked not to bring balloons.

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757 Day of Remembrance 3.26.22 - 7:57pm - Peace March for all lives stolen to soon due to violence @ The #VirginiaBeach Boardwalkalk #SayTheirNames

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.#BLM757 pic.twitter.com/ZlIJU0lEMI  Blacklivesmatter757 (@BLM757) March 16, 2022

We want to people come out and share stories of their loved ones and connect with people who have similar stories and form bonds to further help them cope with their grief, Jones said.

Jones encourages elected officials, clergy and mental health professionals to attend the march, and suggested they could pass out brochures or materials advertising resources available in the community.

Two people were shot and killed and eight others were injured during a chaotic night of violence last March 26 at the Oceanfront.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

One of those killed was DeShayla Harris, 28, an innocent bystander. Police have not arrested anyone in her killing.

BLM757 announced the march a day after the Virginia Beach City Council rejected a proposal to create a permanent memorial plaque for Harris.

This has been a rough year for the Harris family, Jones said, who has worked closely with Harris family in the year following her death. They have had the standard highs and lows experienced during grief, but to still not have answers a year later  it has been rough. They had to experience their first holidays without her, their first birthdays without her.

The other person killed that night was Donovon Lynch, who was shot by a police officer responding after an initial report of gunfire sent people scattering. Prosecutors announced in November they would not bring charges against Virginia Beach Police Officer Solomon Simmons for Lynchs shooting.

Jones said there was no better time to hold the remembrance peace march than the anniversary of the Oceanfront tragedy, and he hopes it will help Hampton Roads communities to move forward.

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The community never got a chance to heal from this, Jones said. We want to show the world that Virginia Beach is a great community that is unified  still healing, because grief is an extensive process, but unified.

Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
on Wednesday announced the launch of Conkrete Super King (CSK) and Halo Super King, in a move to cash in on the brand identity of its successful franchise CSK (Chennai Super Kings).

CSK is a game-changing cement that resonates with the features that are highly inspired by iconic captain and VP (Marketing), Mahendra Singh Dhonis phenomenal strength, speed and on-field demeanour, the company said in a statement. Halo Super King (HSK) cement, exclusively designed for pre-cast hollow blocks, will be sold Rs 25 higher than the company's existing brand.

"Super King is such a strong brand, why not utilise it, said N Srinivasan, vice-chairman and managing director, . Conkrete Super King (CSK) is created to deal with these issues and ensure long-term stability and strength. All our products are premium and have stood the test of time because of their reliability, durability and consistent quality, bag by bag. Consumers recognise our brands for their robust and sturdy nature, he added.

According to the company, India Cements CSK is a novel product, packed with the Power of 7 -- high durable strength, quick setting time, easy workability, corrosion resistance, everlasting smooth finish, no seepage, and all-weather proof nature.

Highlighting the legacy of last seven decades of India Cements, N Srinivasan stated, The competition can commit that their cement will last 70 years. But I can proudly say that our products have proven their quality and are still standing tall and strong. Every testimonial building that is built by us is a standing testament to the quality of our cement.

MS Dhoni, VP Marketing, India Cements and Captain, Chennai Super Kings, said, From foundations to roofs, Conkrete Super King means strong buildings and homes. It is packed with the power of seven to stand the test of time.

Rakesh Singh, Executive President said, Our consistency of quality over the years, over plants, across markets is the reason why we have three successful brands (Sankar, Coromandel and Raasi). All state capitals in the South (which are the highest consumption centres) are within 200 kms radius of one factory or the other, ensuring fastest and fresh cement supplies.
says will act to reverse store takeovers by Reliance

said on Wednesday it was committed to taking back its stores which were seized by rival Reliance, saying it had been surprised by the move.

Reliance, India's biggest retailer, stunned Future on Feb 25 with its staff suddenly showing up at many of Future's biggest stores to assume control, in what was seen as a de facto takeover. Read more

Bhagwant Mann: Now CM, former comedian gets down to serious business

From a comedian to Punjab chief minister, has seen a phenomenal rise in a political career of just over a decade.

Mann on Wednesday was sworn in as chief minister at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district. Read more

may go for another round of fare hikes as crude prices bite

may go for another round of fare hikes to offset the cost of rising fuel prices, a senior executive of a private airline said on Wednesday.

This was in response to state oil marketing decision to increase the price of aviation turbine fuel by 18 per cent to record Rs 1.10 lakh for a kiloliter. Fuel accounts for over 40 percent of airlines expenses and the latest jet fuel price hike will increase overall expenses of by 7-8 per cent. Read more

scam: CBI files chargesheet against ex-Defence Secretary

The CBI has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Rs 3,600-crore scam against former Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.

The CBI filed the chargesheet in a special court in Delhi after getting the nod from the government to prosecute Sharma, who was the Defence Secretary between 2011 and 2013 before being appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General. Read more

Indian shares rise on gains in bank, auto stocks; Fed meeting eyed

Gains in bank and auto stocks helped Indian shares close higher on Wednesday, with investors keeping a watch on Ukraine-Russia peace talks and the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

At the closing bell, the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index was up 1.87% at 16,975.35, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended 1.86% higher at 56,816.65 points.

Both indexes opened higher after losing more than 1% in the previous session and kept the momentum through the day to close at their highest levels in three weeks. Read more.
Of the 8,973 applications received for support under the 'PM-CARES for Children' scheme, as many as 4,302 who were orphaned during the pandemic have been approved as eligible for benefits, the government said on Wednesday.

Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani gave state/UT, gender and age-group wise details of such .

According to the data, 212 aged 0-6 years, 1670 children aged 6-14 years, 2001 children aged 14-18 years and 418 young adults aged 18-23 years have received the approval.

Irani said that till March 14, 2022, 8973 applications have been uploaded on the portal out of which, 4302 applications have been approved by district magistrates after due process.

Responding to another question, Irani said the Indian Missions across the world have provisions for assisting Indian women in distress including survivors of gender-based violence.

However, to augment such facilities, the Empowered Committee (EC) under the Framework for Nirbhaya Fund has appraised a proposal to set up facilities in Missions/ Posts in countries having a significant proportion of Indian diaspora such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia (Jeddah and Riyadh), and at Singapore and Canada (Toronto) on the lines of One Stop Centres (OSCs) for assisting women in India facing violence or in distress.

She also said in response to another question that no child has gone missing from the Government-owned Child Care Institutions (CCIs)



She said that under POSHAN Abhiyaan, Anganwadi workers (AWWs) have been technologically empowered with the provision of smartphones for efficient service delivery and monitoring.

"A total of 11.03 lakh Smartphones have been procured by States/UTs," Irani said in a written response to another question.

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West Bengal Chief Minister on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister requesting him to accommodate the medical students who returned from in Indian colleges.

Banerjee, who met students who came back to West Bengal from the war-torn country, urged the PM to relax the norms for them as it is an "extraordinary situation".

In her letter to the prime minister, she put forth several suggestions including allowing eligible students to undergo internships in government medical colleges.

"For other students..., they may be allowed to get admitted at the equivalent level in private medical colleges against the existing seats and these medical colleges may be allowed to increase equivalent number of seats," the letter read.

As those returnee students did not clear NEET, the national level examination for admission in medical colleges, Banerjee suggested that the relevant guideline be relaxed "as a very special case" to accommodate them.

"The private medical colleges of the state have agreed to accommodate these students at state quota fees. The government of West Bengal has also decided to extend financial assistance to these students to meet the expenses on their course fees," she said.

"I also request you that as students who have returned to other states are facing similar problems, the steps that may be taken by NMC (National Medical Commission) be implemented for other states as well," Banerjee wrote in a three-page letter to Modi.

Medical education in the country is regulated by the NMC.

Banerjee on Wednesday met 391 students, who were studying medical and engineering courses in . They returned because of the war and are now facing an uncertain future.

Top officials including Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi were present at the meeting.

"Today we will write to the National Medical Commission (NMC) seeking its permission to allow you to practise internship at government medical colleges in West Bengal. We will also pay a stipend for that," Banerjee told the students during the interaction here.

She directed the state health secretary to go to Delhi and submit the letter to NMC and get the permission then and there.

She herself may go to the national capital to pursue the case, Banerjee said adding that if the NMC accepts the proposal, it would set an example for students in other states who are in similar conditions.

She urged private medical colleges to help the students.

The CM said that her government would arrange for special courses for first, second and third-year medical students, if it gets permission from the NMC.

As per norms, one pursuing a foreign medical graduation course should complete it within 10 years from the date of joining the course and from the same institution throughout the course of study, including training and internship.

The chief minister told the engineering students that the government will look into their cases too.

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The has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Rs 3,600-crore against former Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.

The filed the chargesheet in a special court in Delhi after getting the nod from the government to prosecute Sharma, who was the Defence Secretary between 2011 and 2013 before being appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The central probe agency also named the then Air Vice Marshal Jasbir Singh Panesar (now retired), deputy chief test pilot S A Kunte, the then Wing Commander Thomas Mathew and Group Captain N Santosh, they said.

Kunte and Santosh retired as air commodore.

The case pertains to alleged bribery to swing a deal to procure 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland which was ineligible as its helicopters did not meet the 6,000-meter operational ceiling parameter set by the Indian Air Force.

The need for new helicopters to ferry VVIPs -- the president, the prime minister, the vice president and the defence minister -- was felt in 1999 when a proposal was moved to find an alternative to the IAF's Soviet-era Mi8s.

The has accused then IAF Chief S P Tyagi of recommending reduction in the operational ceiling of the helicopters from 6,000 meters to 4,500 meters which brought AgustaWestland into the race, the CBI has alleged.

The IAF was strongly opposed to the changes but when Tyagi became the chief, he recommended it, the agency has alleged.

This, according to the CBI, was allegedly done at the behest of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland top executives who engaged the services of three middlemen -- Christian Michel, Guido Haschke and Carlos Gerosa -- who allegedly paid bribes to Tyagi and his cousins Rajiv, Sandeep and Julie.

The agency has alleged that Michel's firms received about 42.27 million Euros, approximately seven per cent of the deal amount, from the companies to swing the Rs 3,600-crore deal in their favour.

The bribes were allegedly routed through companies of Michel and an advocate, Gautam Khaitan, in the form of multiple contracts through layered transactions to camouflage them.

The first chargesheet in the case was filed in September 2017 naming former IAF chief Tyagi and others. It was followed by another chargesheet in September 2020 against Michel and others.

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The Health and Medical Education Department has tied up with the National Accreditation Board for and Healthcare Providers (NABH) to seek its accreditation for the tertiary-care in the Union Territory, an official spokesperson said.

Three each in Jammu and Srinagar shall be put to entry-level certification of the NABH, a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI), at the beginning, followed by full-level accreditation, the spokesperson said.

He said the decision was taken at a recent meeting held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Medical Education Department, Vivek Bharadwaj, with NABH Chief Executive Officer Atul Kochar and the heads of all the line departments of health and medical education.

He said the institutions identified in Jammu are the SMGS Hospital, the Super Speciality Hospital and the Dental Hospital, while the L D Hospital, the Super Speciality Hospital and the Dental Hospital, Srinagar were identified in the Kashmir division, besides all the AYUSH institutions in the Union Territory.

The first three-day on-site orientation programme started at the Government Medical College, Srinagar on Tuesday, in which 40 participants from GMC Srinagar and its associated hospitals participated.

A similar on-site programme for the Government Medical College, Jammu and its associated hospitals shall be conducted on March 21 and another for the AYUSH institutions on March 23, the spokesperson said.

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Hyderabad-based vaccine maker Biological E, which plans to make 100 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine Corbevax a month, has priced the vaccine at Rs 800 (excluding GST) a dose for the private market. It is being sold to the government at Rs 145 per dose, making it the cheapest vaccine in India and also globally, the company claimed.

has plans to test the vaccine on children as young as six months of age eventually, and is now testing it as a booster shot after Covishield and Covaxin.

Speaking to the media, Mahima Datla, managing director, (BE) said that the vaccine would be available for both children and adults in the private vaccination centers in a matter of days. BE is, however, not expecting much demand in the private market. She added that by pricing it at Rs 145 per dose to the government, BE is saving Rs 1500 crore to the state exchequer. It is the lowest (price) in the country and in the world, Datla said.

Jeevan Mudgala, senior vice president, domestic business, BE said that The government vaccination programme is so easily accessible and available to everybody, and specifically for vaccines like these where they have taken the lead, our experience is that the private market will be limited. It will definitely be below 10 percent (of the total demand) is my guess.

BEs vaccine would cost Rs 990 per dose including taxes and one would have to pay the administration charge (Rs 150) at a private vaccine center.

In the last few months demand for Covid19 vaccines in the private sector has largely dried out with abundant vaccines available for free at the government centres.

BE is supplying 300 million doses to the government, of which they have already supplied 50 million doses, and will supply the remaining 250 million doses soon. BE has already manufactured the 300 million doses committed for supplying to the Centre.

The company has also applied for a WHO prequalification and expects a visit from the WHO team soon. It is eyeing Australia and African markets, and Datla said that they are receiving several queries for bilateral supplies to countries.

Moreover, BE has already started a clinical trial to test Corbevax as a booster dose (third shot) after two doses of Covishield and Covaxin.

They plan to do trials as a booster dose of Corbevax too later.

Narender Dev Mantena, head, global strategy and CEO of specialty generic injectables and synthetic biology, BE pointed out that they plan to test this vaccine on children as young as six months of age eventually, whenever the safety data is available. Already, BE has applied to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) seeking an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Corbevax for use in children aged between 5-12 years. The company has generated interim data for this cohort and expects to meet the subject expert committee soon for a review.

BE said that it has been conducting studies on sera samples of individuals vaccinated with Corbevax and have found that the vaccine generates neutralizing antibodies against Delta, Beta and Omicron variants. This is an ongoing process and we will continue to test against other upcoming variants, Mantena said.

As for publication of the clinical trial data on immunogenicity, it would happen in a few weeks, the company said. It added that the data was available on their website, but yet to be published in any scientific journal.

All data shared with NTAGI periodically, says BE on Wednesday clarified that they have been sharing clinical trial data with the National Technical Advisory Group (NTAGI). Our first point of sharing data is the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and the subject expert committee (SEC). At every stage, we have shared data with the NTAGI too after the data got reviewed by the DCGI. In fact, our last meeting with the NTAGI was on March 10, said Mahima Datla, adding that they are happy to share any further information required or requested by the NTAGI. She added that they have also shared data related to Corbevaxs action against the Omicron variant with the NTAGI. The company said that it has been evaluating the vaccine against emerging variants to assess the vaccine induced immune response and have seen excellent neutralization in case of the Omicron variant. A controversy of sorts erupted after JP Muliyil, epidemiologist at CMC Vellore and member of the working group of the NTAGI said that they have not approved the use of this vaccine for 12-14 year olds and that there was no scientific evidence to suggest that children who have been already infected with Omicron will be better protected if they are given a vaccine now.
The Centre is likely to table 'The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the .

The Upper House will also discuss the working of tribal affairs ministry and railway ministry.

Union Tribal Affair Minister Arjun Munda will move the Bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to omit 'Bhogta' community from the list of Scheduled Castes in relation to Jharkhand and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain communities in the lists of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State for consideration.

Munda will also move that the Bill be passed.

The to hold further discussion on the working of the ministry of tribal affairs raised by Ram Vichar Netam on Tuesday.

The Upper House of Parliament will also hold discussion on the working of the railway ministry.

Union Minister of state for parliamentary affairs V. Muraleedharan to make a statement regarding the government business for the week commencing March 21.

Reports of different department related parliamentary committees will be also tabled in the .

Ministers General (Retd) V.K. ASingh, Nityanand Rai, Renuka Singh Sarutu, Annpurna Devi, Bhagwant Khuba, Pratima Bhoumik, Dr Subhas Sarkar, Dr Bhagwat Karad and Dr Manjapara Mehendrabha to lay papers on the table.

--IANS

ssb/dpb

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A visit to India by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi later this month could be on the cards but there is no finality on it yet, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

There is no official word by the Ministry of External Affairs or the Chinese government on the possible visit.

If the visit takes place, it will be the first trip by a senior Chinese leader to India after the eastern Ladakh standoff between the two countries began in May 2020.

It is learnt that the proposal for the visit came from the Chinese side and Wang also intends to travel to Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh as part of a four-nation tour.

Nepal's Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday that Wang is scheduled to arrive in the Nepalese capital on March 26 on a two-day official visit.

It is not clear whether Wang's possible visit to New Delhi will take place after his trip to Kathmandu or before it.

In the last one-and-a-half years, Jaishankar and Wang held several rounds of talks in Moscow and Dushanbe to defuse tensions in eastern Ladakh.

In September 2020, Jaishankar and Wang held extensive talks in Moscow on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during which they reached a five-point agreement to resolve the eastern Ladakh border row.

The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.

The two foreign ministers also held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of another SCO meeting in Tajik capital city Dushanbe in July last year with a focus on the border row. They again met in Dushanbe in September.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was key for the overall development of the bilateral ties.

This position was again emphasised by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla last week.

"We have made it clear to that peace and tranquillity in the border areas are essential for the development of our relationship. Development of India- relationship has to be based on 'three mutuals' -- mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest," Shringla said.

Earlier this month, Wang said some forces have always sought to stoke tensions between and India, in an apparent reference to the US.

Wang's proposed visit, if it takes place, is expected to provide an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on the crisis in Ukraine.

On March 11, India and China held the 15th round of high-level military dialogue to resolve the pending issues in the eastern Ladakh region.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas.

Both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process last year in the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the sensitive sector.

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A on Wednesday released on bail a Bengaluru man who was apprehended last month for allegedly trying to enter the residence of National Security Advisor (NSA) .

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain admitted Shakti Dhar Reddy on bail subject to a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety in the like amount while noting that the accused was not required any more for investigation.

The judge added that the accused has no criminal antecedents and has been in custody since February 16.

Considering the nature of allegations, background of the accused and the fact that accused is in custody since February 16, 2022 and no more required for investigation, the accused/applicant Shakti Dhar Reddy is admitted to bail on his furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of concerned Ld. MM/Duty MM till the disposal of this case, the court said in its order.

On February 16, at around 7:30 AM, a red-colour SUV, being driven by the accused, had allegedly tried to enter through the gate of Doval's high-security central Delhi residence, triggering a minor security alarm.

The car was intercepted and the man was nabbed by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel who guard Doval's house, the officials had stated.

The officials had said that when the man was asked some questions, he was not in a state of giving answers. He is mentally unsound.

The NSA is secured under the top Z+ category of CISF commandos and Doval was present at the residence when the incident took place.

The accused was later handed over to the police and an FIR was registered under section 307 (attempt to murder) IPC and violation of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The accused sought bail from court on the ground that nobody was injured in the incident which happened because he lost control over his car.

The prosecution said the accused appears to be a psycho and was not required for further investigation.

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BJP MLAs Raja Singh, Etala Rajender and Raghunandan Rao address the media at the party office in Hyderabad on Tuesday (S. Surender Reddy/DC)

Hyderabad: Assembly Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy on Tuesday rejected the plea of three BJP MLAs to lift the suspension on them. Following the interim order of the high court, the MLAs reached the assembly premises and handed it over it the speaker and assembly secretary Narasimha Charyulu.

After listening to the MLAs arguments, the speaker rejected the plea and said the suspension was the unanimous decision of the assembly.

BJP legislature party leader Raja Singh and MLAs Raghunandan Rao and Eatala Rajendar had approached the high court. However, the court said it cannot order the speaker but directed him to review the decision as it was the last day of the assemblys budget session.

Speaking to the media, the three said they handed over a copy of the HC order the speaker. The speaker listened to our arguments over the suspension and said he was rejecting our plea to lift the suspension, they said.

It is unfortunate the speaker failed to protect the rights of members. He acted as per the wishes of the higher-ups (in the TRS), they alleged.

They criticised chief minister Chandrashekar Rao, saying he has no regard for well-established democratic and legislative procedures. The CM has no respect for the Constitution, courts and the assembly, they alleged. We now understand why KCR proposed a new Constitution, they said.

"The people of Telangana are watching the attitude of the CM and they will teach him a lesson at the appropriate time," they said.

The MLAs said they will approach the Supreme Court. We will stage a hunger strike at Indira Park on March 17 against the suspension, they said, adding, The BJP will take up agitations in all assembly constituencies and district headquarters.
The Wednesday allowed reopening of three floors of Markaz, where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has remained shut since then, to enable devotees to offer prayers during Shab-e-Barat.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri removed the restriction of putting a limit of 100 people at one floor and said it has been agreed that the management of the mosque will ensure that COVID-19 protocols and social distancing will be followed while allowing devotees to enter the mosque to offer namaz.

While Delhi Police had imposed various conditions to be followed during the reopening of markaz on the occasion of Shab-e-barat, several of them were modified during the court hearing with mutual agreement between the police, Delhi Waqf Board and the management committee of the mosque.

The court noted that the ground floor and three other floors of the mosque building will be opened at 12 PM one day prior to Shab-e-Barat, which is on March 18, and will be closed the next day at 4PM.

The court, which was hearing an application by the Delhi Waqf Board seeking to open the mosque in view of Shab-e-Barat and Ramzan in March and April, listed the matter for March 31 to decide on the issue of reopening the mosque during Ramzan which will begin from April 2.

Regarding the condition imposed by the police that foreign citizens and OCI card holders will not be allowed inside the markaz premises and if some devotee of foreign origin or OCI card holder intends to offer namaz at Masjid Bangley Wali, his identity details along with ID proof will be taken by the management and submitted to the SHO, the management said it a notice will put on the display board at the entry gate specifying this restriction.

While the police, through advocate Rajat Nair, initially said no tablighi activities will be permitted during the reopening period, it was later agreed between the parties that opening of the mosque will be restricted only for offering prayers.

The court was informed that CCTV cameras have already been installed at the entry and exit points of the premises and the management will ensure that there will be screening of devotees with hand held thermal scanners at the entry point.

As senior advocates Sanjoy Ghose and Rebecca John, representing Delhi Waqf Board and the managing committee of the mosque respectively, initially submitted that the police letter was silent on the arrangement to made during Ramzan, Nair said the modalities for that will be worked out after Shab-e-barat.

The high court had on March 14, asked the Delhi Waqf Board, represented through advocate Waqeeh Shafiq, to file an application before the SHO of Hazrat Police Station seeking permission to open the other three floors of Markaz to enable devotees to offer prayers during Shab-e-Barat and Ramzan.

The counsel for the police had earlier said he has no objection in allowing 50 persons to offer prayers at the mosque's first floor but the opening of the entire mosque cannot be permitted.

He had referred to the high court's April 15, 2021 order by which it had permitted 50 persons to perform the Namaz five times at Masjid Bangley Wali on the first floor.

The Centre, in its recent affidavit, has opposed fully re-opening the Nizamuddin Markaz and stated that a few people may be allowed to offer prayers on the upcoming religious occasions.

The counsel for the Delhi Waqf Board had earlier said that the mosque, which is under the lock of Delhi Police, should be opened as the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has now lifted all restrictions that were imposed on account of the pandemic.

Several FIRs were registered under the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, the Foreigners Act and various provisions of the penal code in connection with the Tablighi Jamaat event held at the Nizamuddin Markaz and the subsequent stay of foreigners there during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

In its application, the Board has said that last year during these two occasions -- Shab-e-Barat and Ramzan, the high court had permitted prayers in the mosque.

It has said the current strain of COVID-19, Omicron, was not as severe and fatal as the Delta variant and as the conditions have improved, physical hearings of all courts have resumed, schools, clubs, bars, and markets have also reopened, therefore, there is no impediment to direct reopening of this waqf property.

The application was filed in the Board's petition which has sought the reopening of the premises and contended that even after unlock-1 guidelines permitted religious places outside containment zones to be opened, the Markaz -- comprising the Masjid Bangle Wali, Madarsa Kashif-ul-Uloom, and attached hostel -- continues to be locked up.

On April 15, 2021, the court had allowed 50 people to offer namaz five times a day at Nizamuddin Markaz during Ramzan, saying there is no direction in the DDMA notification to close down places of worship.

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The will collaborate with national and international organisations to provide world-class training to trainees as well as to exchange new ideas and practices, Deputy Chief Minister said on Tuesday.

Sisodia, who is also the education minister of Delhi, made the comments at the first meeting of the board of management of the .

"The will collaborate with national and international organisations to provide world-class training to trainees as well as to exchange new ideas and practices. Along with this, they will also be educated about the international education system through exchange programmes and visits," he said.

According to a government official, it was agreed at the board meeting that unlike most of the teacher-training courses offered in the country, those offered at the University will not focus solely on subject-based knowledge.

"Instead, capacity building of trainees will be in focus. They will be equipped with practical skills so that they can be better prepared for classroom teaching. It was also discussed at the meeting that the university would not only emphasise on teachers' training but also focus on fundamental and applied research in the field of education. The trainees in the university will be exposed to excellent pedagogical practices by expert faculty," a government official said.

After getting the approval from various statutory bodies, seven courses will be offered to the students of the university -- a four-year integrated B.Ed programme, a two-year B.Ed programme, a two-year B.Ed programme for special education, a three-year integrated B.Ed-M.Ed programme, a two-year MA education programme, a one-year certificate programme (school education) and a one-year certificate programme (higher education).

"The Delhi Teachers University will work to fulfil the vision of the city government for education and emerge as the best institution of teacher education not only in Delhi but in the whole country and in the world," said Dhananjay Joshi, the vice-chancellor of the university.

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The on Wednesday agreed to list for hearing after Holi vacation the pleas challenging the High Court verdict which dismissed the petitions seeking permission to wear inside the classroom saying it is not a part of the essential religious practice in Islamic faith.

A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Sanjay Hegde, appearing for some students, that urgent hearing was needed keeping in mind the upcoming examinations.

The urgency is that there are many girls who have to appear in examinations, the senior lawyer told the bench which also comprised Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli.

Others also mentioned, let us see...we will list after the vacations. Give us time, the CJI said.

Some petitions have been filed against the full bench high court verdict on the case in which it was held that wearing is not a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith under Article 25 of the constitution.

The high court dismissed the petitions filed by a section of Muslim students from the Government Pre-University Girls College in Udupi, seeking permission to wear inside the classroom.

The prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction, constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to, the high court said.

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A day after the High Court pronounced its verdict on the ban, the and colleges reopened in Udupi on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, section 144 will remain in force in the area with restrictions on processions, celebrations and protests till March 21.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi District announced that "all and colleges will be re-opened tomorrow in the Udupi district but the imposition of 144 section will continue with restrictions on processions, celebrations and protests till 21st March."

Ahead of the High Court's verdict, the authorities had ordered the closure of and colleges in Dakshina Kannada district on Tuesday.

Notably, the High Court on Tuesday dismissed various petitions challenging a ban on in educational institutions and said that wearing is not an essential religious practice of Islam.

The High Court, while upholding the government's order which directed strict enforcement of school and college uniform rules, had dismissed petitions challenging the hijab ban, saying that they are without merit.

In its order, Karnataka High Court observed that the Holy Quran does not mandate the wearing of the hijab, and stated that it is a cultural practice and used as apparel as a measure of social security.

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Stating that is set to become the number one state in the country in overall economic growth, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday expressed confidence that the state will contribute USD 1.5 Trillion to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of making India a USD 5 trillion .

The CM in his address at the 'Vision of 2025' conclave organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) said, "By 2025 the would have attained pace and buoyancy. I am confident of Karnataka making a significant contribution of $1.5 Trillion to realise PM's dream of making India a $5 Trillion . The gross domestic product (GDP) growth would double. With financial discipline and planning there would be growth in the agriculture, industry and services sectors," said Bommai.

He added, "I have given greater impetus for economic growth in this year's budget. The size of the budget has been increased by Rs 19,000 cr. Even the experts had not expected this. It was predicted that the budget would be loaded with freebies as it is a pre-election budget, but we have come to the rescue of those who help the state. We have extended a helping hand to those who toil under the hot sun."

Bommai further stated that infrastructure projects like roads, railways, airports and ports have received a big boost. Special investment regions would come up at Dharwad and Tumakuru.

Food parks would be set up in every district. The Chennai-Mumbai corridor, textile parks at Gulbarga and Vijayapura would lay a strong foundation for sustained economic growth, the CM said.

Karnataka CM stressed the need for equity in economic growth. He said, "Special emphasis has been given for the development of Bengaluru. The peripheral road has been approved and the tendering process is on."

He said that packages have been finalised for Ring Roads in all cities. Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) from Dabaspet to connect with Chennai Highway and Mysuru road would be taken up. Metro is being extended. Tenders have been invited for the Suburban Rail project.

"Our government is laying a strong foundation for a bright economic future. It is a pro-people government," Bommai added.

Ministers Dr K Sudhakar, BA Basavaraj and FKCCI office bearers were present at the event on Tuesday.

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Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor on Wednesday left for to attend the swearing-in ceremony of chief minister-designate .

Elaborate arrangements have been made for Mann's oath-taking ceremony at Khatkar Kalan -- ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district.

"It's a big day for today. In this golden morning of new hope, the entire will today come together and take a pledge to make it a prosperous Punjab. To witness that historic moment, I have also left for Khatkar Kalan, the native village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

Over three lakh people are expected to attend Mann's oath-taking ceremony.

The chief minister-designate of Punjab had invited people to attend the ceremony, saying three crore people of the state will also take oath with him.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP MLA on Wednesday alleged in the Legislative Assembly that various companies duped nationalized banks in the state to the tune of Rs 13,043 crore, but the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government has not allowed the to investigate these matters.

After these banks approached the central agency, it sought permission from the state government to carry out probe, he said.

"Why isn't the government giving permission," said Shelar, a former state minister.

Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, who was present in the House, said the Central Bureau of Investigation will be allowed to investigate these and similar pending cases.

The BJP MLA said that various private firms had borrowed large sums from 12 major banks in the state and defrauded them.

Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India and Union Bank of India have lodged complaints with the CBI, he added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid a rise in Covid cases in some European and East Asian countries, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday directed officials to maintain a high level of alertness and surveillance, and carry out genomic sequencing aggressively.

At a high-level meeting, chaired by the minister, the government's decision of resuming scheduled international flights from March 27, the vaccination situation and the level of genomic surveillance were reviewed.

"Given the rising cases in China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and some European countries, a high-level meeting was held by the Union health minister with senior government officials and experts.

"The minister has directed aggressive genomic sequencing, heightened surveillance and a high level of alertness," an official source said.

Senior government officials including Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Department of Biotechnology secretary Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals S Aparna, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul, ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava and AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr N K Arora, the chairman of the COVID-19 working group of NTAGI, attended the meeting.

China has been witnessing the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in the last two years forcing the country to place millions under lockdown in desperate attempts to curb the surge. The situation has also deteriorated in Hong Kong.

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The on Wednesday told the government counsel to ensure witnesses are protected in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, and agreed to examine a plea filed by the family members of the farmers, mowed by a car belonging to Ashish Misra, challenging bail granted to him by the Allahabad High Court.

The bench said it will issue notice in the matter.

Misra is the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Misra.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, representing the family members, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that on March 10, a protected witness in the case had been attacked and the state government did not file an appeal challenging the bail granted to Misra in the case.

The Chief Justice told the government counsel: "What is this? There is a specific mention that a witness is attacked. File a detailed counter affidavit."

The Chief Justice emphasized that the UP government should ensure that witnesses in the case are protected.

At the outset, Dave criticized the high court order granting bail to Misra, despite sufficient material on record connecting him with the incident. The bench, also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, scheduled the matter for further hearing on March 24.

On March 15, the said a bench will be constituted, which heard the matter earlier and scheduled the matter for hearing on Wednesday.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing some farmers, submitted that there was an attack on one of the prime witnesses in the case. Bhushan claimed people who attacked the witness threatened by saying that now that the BJP has won, they will take care of him. He had submitted that other co-accused are also seeking bail relying on the high court order. In February, a single-judge bench of the high court granted bail to Mishra who had spent four months in custody.

The plea contended that the family members were forced to move the apex court since has failed to file an appeal challenging bail granted to Misra.

The plea argued that the high court granted bail without considering the heinous nature of the crime and also in the backdrop of overwhelming evidence against the accused in the charge sheet. The plea further argued that there is likelihood of the accused tampering with the witnesses and causing obstruction in justice.

In November last year, the appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe. The top court also reconstituted the SIT investigating the incident and appointed IPS officer S.B. Shiradkar, as its head.

Misra was arrested on October 9 last year in the case. On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri in clashes during a farmers' protest.

--IANS

ss/dpb

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The on Wednesday dismissed the plea for interim bail of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh who along with others is accused of misappropriating Rs 2,397 crore of Ltd (RFL) funds.

Singh had sought interim bail for a short period on humanitarian grounds for helping his ailing mother to take part in the last rituals of his maternal uncle, who died on March 8 in Haryana.

We are of the opinion that the presence of the accused was not a must..., said a bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Neurasthenias while dismissing the plea.

The bench heard the submissions of senior lawyer Gopal Jain, appearing for the jailed accused, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of Delhi Police, and senior advocate R Basant, representing the complainant in the case.

It took note of the seriousness of the crime in which Singh is facing the charges and the pendency of another case of money laundering in which he was accused of paying a bribe to the tune of Rs 200 crore to get bail.

At the outset, the senior lawyer representing Singh said that his mother had suffered a stroke and he be granted bail on humanitarian grounds to be with her mother in the last rites of her brother.

The solicitor general said that Singh is accused of a financial scam to the tune of Rs 2400 crore and he is a flight risk.

The law officer said that as per records, it seemed that Singh's mother suffered a stroke a few years ago and sought dismissal of the interim bail plea.

Earlier, the apex court had asked the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police to conclude a probe by December 15, last year in the case of misappropriating Rs 2,397 crore of Ltd (RFL) funds.

The police had said that the investigation was at an advanced stage and sought time by the end of this month to complete the probe.

In May, the Delhi High Court cancelled Singh's bail, noting that his detention was necessary to unearth the conspiracy hatched by him" and trace the alleged siphoned off money.

The EOW recently said that it would need four more months to complete the probe in the fund embezzlement case.

"How much time should it take to complete the investigation? It cannot be an unending story," the bench had observed while asking the police to give a timeline for concluding the probe.

The counsel for Singh had said that he has been in jail for the last two years and his custody is not needed for the investigation as two charge sheets have already been filed.

The high court order, cancelling the bail, was passed on a plea by Religare challenging the March 3 order of the trial court granting bail to Singh in the case registered against him by the EOW under charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust.

Singh has moved the top court against the Delhi High Court cancelling the bail granted to him by the trial court in the case.

The EOW registered an FIR in March 2019 after a complaint from Suri against Shivinder, former CMD of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), Sunil Godhwani and former CEO of RFL Kavi Arora and others, alleging that loans were taken by them while managing the firm but the money was invested in other companies.

According to the prosecution, RFL's authorised representative Suri alleged that these accused put RFL in poor financial condition by disbursing loans to entities having no financial standing and wilfully defaulted on repayments, causing it a loss of Rs 2,397 crore.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir said that hijab should be a choice of Muslim women and it should not be insisted on by anyone. (Representational Image/ PTI)

Hyderabad: The Karnataka High Court's verdict on hijab has set off a wide range of reactions, with some welcoming the judgement and others opposing it vehemently.

Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said, "It is for people to decide what they want to wear. Some people wear shirts, some wear waistcoats, dhoti or sherwani. How is the government concerned with this? Why make it such a big issue that people fight against each other. Where are we heading for?"

Senior Congress leader and former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir said that hijab should be a choice of Muslim women and it should not be insisted on by anyone. He said not only Muslims, women of other faiths in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and some tribes follow the hijab like traditions.

BJP youth leader and Mylardevpally corporator Thokala Srinivas Reddy welcomed the verdict. The court's decision brought peace and equality in educational institutions, he said. Muslim women should take the High Court verdict in a positive way, he suggested and hoped that the student fraternity would concentrate on their studies instead of other practices.

The minority Muslim leaders in Andhra Pradesh disagreed with the verdict. Minority Hakkula Parirakshana Samithi state president Farooq Shibli said that disagreement with the judgment was a constitutional right and hoped that the petitioners would appeal to the Supreme Court.

Indian Union Muslim League AP (IUMLAP) state president and AP High Court advocate Basheer Ahmad said hijab was a headscarf a tradition which continued for centuries. He said wearing the headscarf tradition was practiced by people belonging to Hindu communities. He further stated that priests including seers also wore headscarf, Sikhs wore turban and Muslims, traditional topi (skullcap) which many Hindus also wore.

Former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said the court or the Karnataka government were only advising the students to follow the uniform prescribed by the school. The students could wear hijab while entering the school but not in the classroom since all students were equal once they were in the class, he added.

Former Nellore district Congress president K. Dhanunjaya Reddy said there should not be any discretion when it came to school or college uniforms or systems devised by the education institutes. Going by the court verdict, no one was against hijab outside the classroom and everybody should follow the protocol with respect to dress code in the classrooms, Reddy added.

The official spokesperson of BJP, Warangal district A. Rakesh Reddy said in many Islamic countries, their government itself banned wearing a headscarf, hijab and said that it was not an essential religious practice. Actually, it was necessary that in all educational institutions, the students should have a sense of fraternity in classrooms without mixing religion or communalism. The BJP is welcoming the verdict, he said.

Jagital district unit president of AIMIM Younus Nadeem said that wearing of hijab is a culture which was followed by the girls and women of Muslim community for the past several years. It was the religious right provided by the Constitution of India to the people of Indian citizens irrespective of their caste, creed and religion.

Muslim Advocates Association (MAA) in Kakinada welcomed the verdict. MAA president Jawahar Ali said the judgement was in tune with the constitutional norms and Muslim girls and women should abide by the court verdict and should wear uniform of a particular educational institution, when they were studying there. If that was not acceptable, they should move to another institution, he said.
Lack of awareness, along with the ongoing examination season, led to a slow start of the Covid-19 vaccination drive for children aged between 12 and 14 years on Wednesday, which coincided with the National Immunisation Day. Only 136,886 doses were administered across the country to children in this age group, according to data from CoWIN.

The upcoming Holi weekend could also to be a dampener for the drive, but vaccinations are expected to pick up gradually with school exams getting over, and awareness building among parents. On Wednesday, vaccinations picked up in the afternoon, with children coming to the centres after school. Vaccination centres were largely empty in the first half of the day.



In South Delhis Greater Kailash 1, not a single beneficiary visited the Pahariwala Gurdwara vaccination centre till noon where empty chairs were seen lined up as frontline workers chit-chatted.



A dingy corner near the parking area of the Pahariwala Gurdwara served as the vaccination site for the young beneficiaries.

Vaccination officer Pradeep Kumar blamed lack of awareness behind the poor turnout. Parents are not aware of this vaccination drive. Moreover, I feel it is a school day that's why no one has arrived, he said.



Around 600,000-700,000 children in Delhi are eligible for vaccination in this age bracket, and the city has already received 631,400 doses of Biological Es Corbevax vaccine, which requires two doses given 28 days apart.



In Mumbai, about 400,000 children are estimated to be eligible and the city has received about 130,000 doses so far. Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the doses were enough for the next few days. Mumbai has started with 12 vaccination centres, and will gradually add more as supplies improve. Around 1.3 million doses have arrived in Maharashtra which has an estimated 6.5 million children in this age group.



In Ahmedabad some schools and health centres had prepared well in advance. "Parents were informed in advance to come with their children with identity and age proofs and students were given slots, starting with higher standards of ninth, followed by eighth and seventh. Hence, the vaccination drive was smooth, with a healthy turnout," said Smita Das, principal of Sakar English School in Ahmedabad. Over 300 students were inoculated with the first dose of Biological E's Corbevax vaccine and no instance of side-effect was reported.



In Gujarat, over 2,500 vaccinators have been deployed at more than 2,000 centres even for about 2.26 million beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group.



According to state government officials, Gujarat has over 2.3 million doses of Corbevax vaccine for the age group. The state government's education as well as women and child development departments have collaborated with schools across the state, apart from state-run centres, for the drive.



In UP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath distributed chocolates among young beneficiaries at the Lucknow Civil Hospital. Nearly 8.5 million children are eligible for the doses in the state, with about 200,000 of them in Lucknow alone. Vaccination centres have been decorated with posters and banners to keep the children in good humour.



The drive, however, is expected to gain momentum after Holi. Lucknow resident Pravir Rai said he will get his 12-year-old son vaccinated after Holi, while 13-year-old Chhavi Saxena was excited about the vaccination drive and said the vaccine was imperative to protect against the disease.



For young children who have been deprived of their normal routine during the pandemic, vaccination came as a ticket to having fun. Friends Sachin Madhavan and Madhav T from SRM Nightingale Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennais Mambalam, who, for the past two years, were always warned by their parents against venturing out, said they were thrilled at the prospects of being able to step out, finally. Madhav T, who aspires to become a doctor, feels that vaccination is vital, as it helps us in not taking the virus back to our homes.



On Wednesday, as they registered their names at the school for vaccination, they almost got an answer to their parents worries. In Tamil Nadu, about 2.12 million children are eligible and the state administration has already distributed around 2.16 million doses of Corbevax across districts.



West Bengal, however, has decided to start the drive for the young children after a few days. West Bengal has not started vaccination today. The training for the vaccination ended today, said state health department officials. It may start in a few days, they indicated.



(With inputs from PTI)
As the COVID-19 vaccination for children in the age group 12-14 years and for all above 60 years of age began on Wednesday, Chief Minister reached a Civil Hospital in Lucknow for inspection.

Speaking to media persons after the inspection, Adityanath said that "COVID-19 is under control in Uttar Pradesh, which is the largest state of the country".

" administered the largest number of vaccination doses," he added.

The state has so far administered more than 29 crores 54 lakh doses of the vaccines. "Over 82 per cent of the people of the state have taken the second dose of the vaccines," the Chief Minister said.

The state has nearly 1,000 active cases of the virus, he said. Emphasizing on following COVID appropriate behaviour, Adityanath said, "We need to be cautious as experts are predicting the fourth COVID-19 wave."

The Chief Minister also said that 84 lakh 64 thousand children in the age group 12-14 years will be given a "protective shield" under this vaccination drive.

India has expanded its COVID-19 vaccination drive with the inclusion of children in the age group of 12-14 years, starting on Wednesday while those aged above 60 years are also eligible now for the precaution dose.

The children in the said age group will be administered Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E. It is India's first indigenously developed 'Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine' against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to those aged 60 years has been removed and all above 60 years of the age can be administered with precaution dose starting today.

As per sources, Adityanath will visit Delhi later in the day to attend a meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He will return from the national capital late in the evening.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday said as per feedback received from the industry, exports of certain products such as pharmaceuticals, telecom instruments, tea, coffee, and marine goods from India are likely to be affected due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

He added that the Department of Commerce is apprised of the present situation and holding regular consultation with all stakeholders to ensure availability of essential imports.

A more precise implication of the post-war scenario can be assessed only after the situation stabilises, he said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

"As per the feedback received from the industry, exports of some products from India are likely to be affected including pharmaceuticals, telecom instruments, tea, coffee, marine products, etc," Goyal said.

He was replying to questions about the likely impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on India's trade with the two countries and whether the Centre is apprised of the present business scenario in the light of the war.

Major items of export from India to Russia are pharmaceuticals, telecom instruments, iron and steel, tea and chemicals, while imports include petroleum, pearl and semi-precious stones, coal, fertilisers and vegetable oils.

India's exports to Ukraine include pharmaceuticals, telecom instruments, groundnut, ceramic, iron and steel, while imports comprise vegetable oils, fertilisers, inorganic chemicals, plastic and plywood and allied products.

Goyal added that as both Ukraine and Russia are major exporters of wheat with more than 25 per cent share in global trade, disruption of exports from these countries provides India an opportunity to increase its outbound shipments of the crop.

In a separate reply, the minister said as part of the consultative process to formulate a new Foreign Trade Policy, various meetings with stakeholders were held and all the suggestions have been taken on record for further examination.

"A separate Foreign Trade Policy cell was created to coordinate with various officials in formulation of the Foreign Trade Policy," he said.

He also informed that export of agri products (including dairy and dairy products) has increased from USD 32.662 billion in April-Jan 2021 to USD 40.873 billion in April-Jan 2022, a growth of 25.14 per cent.

Replying to a question on the rubber sector, Goyal said to remove certain archaic provisions, create a conducive environment for ease of doing business and make a world class rubber industry, the government is considering modifying the existing Rubber Act, 1947.

"In this regard, a draft Bill - Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill 2022 - has been put up...for wider consultation and for seeking comments/ suggestions from public/ stakeholders till April 9, 2022.

"As on March 10, 477 stakeholders and the public have submitted their suggestions on draft Bill including some suggestions to not introduce new Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022," he said.

The government of Kerala has suggested modifications in some provisions of the draft rubber bill and the draft Spices (Promotion and Development) Bill 2022.

In the draft spices bill, suggestions include limiting production schemes only to cardamom; apprehensions on the validity of the registration of owners of cardamom estates being done by the state government; provision for the Centre to consult Spices Board with regard to import and export of spices; addition of a section to prohibit/control import of spices; and to revoke the Cardamom (Licensing & Marketing) Rules, 1987.

"All suggestions received from stakeholders, including the Government of Kerala, and the public will be taken into account before finalizing the Bills," the minister said.

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India does not have a very good record on road accident front and registers the world's highest deaths due to it at 1.5 lakh every year, the government informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Replying to supplementary queries during Question Hour, Union Road Transport Minister said the government will soon implement a Rs 7,500-crore scheme with the help of the World Bank to address the problem and reduce accident-prone and black spots on national and state highways.

He sought the support of people in reducing accidents and saving precious lives.

Gadkari said it was unfortunate that 65 per cent of those dying every year were in the 18-45 age group.

"The government is very sensitive about this issue. We will soon implement a Rs 7,500-crore plan with the support of the World Bank across the country. We have urged the World Bank to implement this programme across the country.

"We will soon get cabinet approval on this scheme, which will help improve upon accident-prone and black spots on national highways and state roads," he told the House.

The minister said the scheme has been implemented in Tamil Nadu with the help of the World Bank where 50 per cent reduction in accidents and deaths has been noted.

"This is a very unfortunate subject. As many people do not die in war or Covid. Every year 1.5 lakh people die, we are the highest in the world. We have to work on it," Gadkari said.

The minister pitched for creating awareness, observance of rules, and improving road engineering and automobile engineering.

"We cannot work on this without the support of people and all including NGOs, educational institutions and people have to come forward in creating awareness about road accidents," he said.

He said states such as Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have helped reduce by around 50 per cent, while in places like Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Nagaland accidents have increased by 47 and 40 per cent respectively.

"The record of states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra is not good and needs to improve. Overall the country does not have a very good record," he said.

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Minister of Road Transport and Highways said on Wednesday that the governments long-term aim is to become an exporter, particularly in renewable like green .

The union minister today launched Indias first green pilot project project--a fuel cell electric vehicle--in collaboration with Japanese automaker Toyota and International Center for Automotive Technology.

One direct benefit is that well reduce our dependence on coal. Cement, steel, aviation and other fuel-intensive sectors will run on green in the future. It is our aim that India becomes an exporter of green hydrogen in the future, Gadkari said, adding that 80 per cent of the countrys is currently imported.

Green hydrogen, which uses only renewable resources to be made, is a key aspect of the governments push overhauling the countrys energy consumption. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier launched the green hydrogen mission, and in February. the ministry of power had notified the green hydrogen policy with several concessions and incentives for manufacturers of the fuel.

The process of creating hydrogen from water is executed through electrolysers. While we have started producing electrolysers domestically, each one costs Rs 1.2 crore. We are working on an electrolyser policy, Gadkari said.

The minister added that the pilot project four-wheeler launched today last 153 kilometres (km) on a single kilogram (kg) of hydrogen, but it currently costs $6-7 per kg.

We are trying to bring the cost down to $1 or Rs 75, and even if it is slightly higher than that at Rs 100, it will be more cost effective than any other fuel, he said.

Highlighting the rapidly increasing scale of climate-friendly vehicles, the minister said that nobody will be using petrol-run two-wheelers and three-wheelers as the cost of electric vehicles will come to similar levels by then.
India is boosting imports from nations including and to ensure sufficient supplies for the coming summer sowing season after the disruption of shipments caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

India is a leading importer of fertilisers for its huge agriculture sector, which employs about 60% of the country's workforce and accounts for 15% of the $2.7 trillion economy.

"This time we have made advance preparations for kharif (summer sown crop) season. We need about 30 million tonnes of fertilisers and arrangements are in place," minister Mansukh Mandaviya told Reuters, without elaborating.

He said India will have a comfortable opening stock, about a quarter of the overall amount of fertilisers needed for the summer season.

Indian farmers usually start planting crops including rice, cotton and soybean with the arrival of monsoon rains in June.

To fertilise the crops, India depends on imports for its entire annual consumption of 4 million to 5 million tonnes of potash and ships in a third of this from Belarus and Russia.

Landlocked Belarus uses ports in Russia and Lithuania for its exports.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, shipping routes have been closed off and western sanctions on Moscow, which has described its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation", have made it difficult to trade with Russian and Belarusian companies.

Indian Potash Ltd (IPL) has increased imports from Canada, and Jordan.

It will buy 1.2 million tonnes of Potash from Canada, 600,000 tonnes from and 300,000 from Jordan in 2022 to partly replace supply from Russia and Belarus, numerous sources said.

A senior industry official who declined to be named said IPL was trying to ensure that "a substantial amount of shipments" arrive before June to prevent any shortage during the sowing season.

India was close to signing a three-year import deal with Russia during Mandaviya's visit to Moscow planned for this month. The visit was postponed following the Ukraine invasion, which began on Feb. 24.

One of the sources said India may try again to sign the deal "when the situation improves".

Traditionally India has used prices struck in deals with Belarus and Russia as the benchmark for supplies from other countries. For 2022, has emerged as a price setter, the sources said.

IPL is buying potash from companies in and Israel at $590 per tonne on a delivered basis with six months credit in 2022. IPL declined to comment.

India also relies on Russia and Belarus for complex fertilisers that provide more than one crop nutrient.

To help make up for any lost supplies of nitrogen, phosphate and potash, Indian companies are also increasing supplies from Saudi Arabia and Morocco, the sources said.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Barbara Lewis)

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Commerce and Industry Minister on Wednesday expressed disappointment over certain auto companies continuing to import even those components which can be qualitatively manufactured in India.

The minister also said he has been told that some Indian auto component manufacturers have been forced to sell their shareholding cheaply by automobile makers.

"One more concern that has been flagged off with me... if any of the auto component manufacturer is being pressurised by your parent company or by the company to whom you supply... to sell off your shareholding or to sell out cheap your own ownership in your company to the technology partner or to the ancillary of the main auto component (maker) ...I have been told by some of you that this is happening in your industry...

"...it is extremely unfortunate that if any of our Indian promoters who have put in their sweat and blood to develop ancillary suppliers for the auto firms are forced out of their contribution or their partnership...I am told that this is prevailing in this industry...we would trying to know if there are any such instances," he added.

He urged the industry to cut import dependence, focus on R&D, increase innovation, buy goods from domestic firms and be open for global competition.

"I am extremely disturbed to see some companies, who continue to be dependent on imports even for products where India has the ability to provide them good quality goods," Goyal said while speaking at ACMA Aatmanirbhar Excellence Awards here.

Expressing concern, he also said some firms do not use high-quality Indian steel and instead rely on imports.

"I would urge ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association) to share with us more details of products where we have a competitive edge but companies are resisting to use your components,'' he said.

The minister pointed out that continuous dependence on imports would make India an "assembly shop".

He urged the industry to develop the entire mobility ecosystem in India, become global suppliers, and make the country self-sufficient in the sector.

"It's time to open up markets, we can't always be protective...look for greater penetration in global markets," he said.

"The government has provided you significant protection, I think now for almost three decades. You have created world class products, you have a robust ecosystem in India, you have modern technologies that you are using in your industry and therefore I think it is the time to...open up," the minister added.

He further said focus on areas like e-vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells would help India cut its huge dependence on oil, which puts a burden on the exchequer.

On exports, he said India's outbound shipments have reached close to USD 390 billion as of March 14 this fiscal.

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Prime Minister on Wednesday conveyed to visiting Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa that India would always stand with the island nation as it occupies a central role in New Delhi's 'neighbourhood first policy'.

is expecting a USD 1 billion Line of Credit (LOC) from India to tide over its economic crisis and a pact on the additional financial assistance is likely to be finalised on Thursday, people familiar with the developments said.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Rajapaksa briefed Modi on initiatives being taken by both countries to increase bilateral economic cooperation, and conveyed his thanks for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy.

Modi and Rajapaksa also had a "comprehensive discussion" on the complex fishermen issue and agreed on the urgent need to find a lasting solution, according to the Sri Lankan High Commission.

There have been frequent attacks on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy and it has remained a sticky issue.

"The prime minister spoke about the central role that occupies in India's 'neighbourhood first' policy and its SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region) doctrine. He reiterated that India would continue to stand with the friendly people of Sri Lanka," the MEA said.

Last month, India extended a USD 500 million line of credit to to help it purchase petroleum products as the island nation has been reeling under a severe foreign exchange and energy crisis.

"Had a good meeting with Sri Lanka's Finance Minister @RealBRajapaksa. Glad to see our economic partnership strengthen and investments from India grow," Prime Minister Modi tweeted.

Rajapaksa called on Modi during which he thanked the prime minister for all the assistance that India has provided to Sri Lanka at this "critical time", the Sri Lankan High Commission said.

"Prime Minister of India stated that India would always stand with Sri Lanka, a close friendly neighbour, when the visiting Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa called on him this afternoon," the High Commission said in a statement.

It said Modi and Rajapaksa discussed a wide range of issues pertaining to bilateral ties including in areas of agriculture, renewable energy, tourism and fisheries.

"The two dignitaries also agreed that cooperation in the development of renewable energy in Sri Lanka is mutually beneficial and should be pursued with vigour," the high commission said.

It said that Modi and Rajapaksa recognised the "complex and multidimensional" aspects of the fishermen issue.

"Prime Minister Modi and Minister Rajapaksa had a comprehensive discussion on the fisheries issue between the two countries and recognised its complex and multidimensional aspects including humane treatment of fishermen, livelihood, enforcement, ecology of the ocean, early release of arrested fishermen and their boats, etc," it said.

"The two dignitaries also agreed on the urgent need to find a lasting solution to this complex issue," it added.

The MEA, in its statement, said Rajapaksa noted the deepening people-to-people relations between both countries, including in the cultural sphere.

"The prime minister pointed to the potential for increasing tourist flows, including through the joint promotion of Buddhist and Ramayan tourism circuits," it said.

In the evening, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla called on Rajapaksa.

"FS @harshvshringla called on the visiting Finance Minister @RealBRajapaks of Sri Lanka. Discussed bilateral economic & commercial cooperation & opportunities post-pandemic. Sri Lanka is integral to our #NeighbourhoodFirst policy. India will always be a reliable partner for Sri Lanka," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congratulatory messages began pouring in on Wednesday ahead of the swearing-in of as chief minister of Punjab following the resounding victory of the in the recently-concluded Assembly polls.

Congratulating the leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that the Centre will work with his government for the state's growth.

"Congratulations to Shri @BhagwantMann Ji on taking oath as Punjab CM. Will work together for the growth of Punjab and welfare of the states people," tweeted PM Modi.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin greeted Mann and said his state and Punjab share "a long history" of being vocal about linguistic rights and rights of the states.

"My hearty wishes to Thiru. Bhagwant Mann, who is swearing-in as chief minister of Punjab today. Tamil Nadu and Punjab share a long history of being vocal about linguistic rights and rights of the state in the Indian Union. Wishing the new government in Punjab a successful tenure," Stalin tweeted.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also congratulated Mann and hoped that Punjab, under his leadership, develops further with the support of the people of the state.

"Congratulate Shri Ji on being sworn in as the chief minister of Punjab. I wish under your leadership, the state develops further with the support of the people of the state. Best wishes," Patnaik wrote on Twitter.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav congratulated the chief minister-designate of Punjab ahead of his oath-taking ceremony and hoped the state will flourish under his leadership.

"Many congratulations and best wishes to the newly elected chief minister of Punjab Shri Ji for the oath ceremony! Hope that under his able leadership, the crops of progress, brotherhood and new perspective will flourish in Punjab, Yadav said in a tweet in Hindi.

All arrangements are in place for the swearing-in ceremony of Mann at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

In the morning, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal left for Punjab to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

"It's a big day for Punjab today. In this golden morning of new hope, entire Punjab will today come together and take a pledge to make it a prosperous Punjab.

"To witness that historic moment, I have also left for Khatkar Kalan, the native village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

supporters from across Punjab began reaching Khatkar Kalan in large numbers to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Mann had invited the people of the state to attend the ceremony, saying three crore people of Punjab will also take the oath along with him.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended A Manimekhalai for the position of managing director and chief executive (MD & CEO) of . She is cuurenty Executive Director at Bengaluru-based Canara Bank.

Rajkiran Rai G, the incumbent MD & CEO of Union Bank, will complete his term by May end. The government had extended his term beyond June 30, 2020.

BBB said in a Twitter message that it has also recommended Ajay Kumar Srivastava's name as MD & CEO in Chennai-based Indian Overseas Bank and Swaroop Kumar Saha for post of MD & CEO in Delhi-based Punjab & Sindh Bank.

The bureau interacted with 15 candidates from various public sector banks, based on which it made recommendations for three MD-CEO posts, keeping in mind performance during interaction, overall experience, the parameters and preferences given by them.

The three names in the reserve list are K Satyanarayana Raju, Nitesh Ranjan and Debadatta Chand.

The Government of India will take a final call on appointments and issue necessary communication.

Meanwhile, BBB said after interacting with 21 candidates in March, that it has recommended Alok Kumar Choudhary for the position of MD at State Bank of India. At present, he is looking after the function as deputy managing director. He was earlier chief development officer at the bank and also handled human resources management function.

Ashwini Bhatia, current MD at SBI, is moving to Sebi as a whole-time member.

Vijay M Tonse is on the reserve list for the MD post at the country's largest lender. Tonse is managing director of SBI Mutual Fund.
Chandigarh: Ahead of being sworn-in as Punjab chief minister on Wednesday, AAP leader Bhagwant Mann said people of the state will take oath with him to fulfil the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb Ambedkar.

All arrangements are in place for the swearing-in ceremony of Mann at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district.

Mann in a tweet in Punjabi said, The golden rays of sun have brought a new dawn today. To fulfil the dreams of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Babasaheb (B R Ambedkar), entire Punjab will take oath today at Khatkar Kalan.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other senior party leaders will also take part in the ceremony.

In a tweet, Kejriwal said he had left for Khatkar Kalan to witness a historic moment."

"It's a big day for Punjab today. In this golden morning of new hope, the entire Punjab will today come together and take a pledge to make it a prosperous Punjab. To witness the historic moment, I have also left for Khatkar Kalan, the native village of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.

AAP leader and party's Punjab affairs co-in-charge Raghav Chadha tweeted, "Today marks an important day in the history of Punjab as 3 crore Punjabis will together be sworn in as Chief Minister along with @BhagwantMann."

"Oath to change this corrupt system & to fulfill dreams of Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh & Babasaheb Ambedkar Ajj ton har Punjabi CM houga (from today onwards, every Punjabi will be CM)," he said in the tweet.

Chadha also shared his photo in a yellow turban on his twitter handle.

Newly-elected MLA from Anandpur Sahib Harjot Bains said, "Today marks the beginning of a new dawn in Punjab. Together, we will fulfil 'Shaheed-E-Azam' Bhagat Singh' dreams which will be the real tribute to our shaheeds."

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party supporters from across the state began reaching Khatkar Kalan in large numbers on Wednesday morning to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

The men were wearing yellow turbans while women were draped in a yellow 'dupatta'.

"We want to congratulate Bhagwant Mann and the entire Punjab," said a party supporter from Shutrana.

Another supporter, who came from Mann's Satoj village in Sangrur said, We have high expectations from him and he will definitely live up to them. The way Kejriwal did good work in Delhi, Mann will also do the same in Punjab.

When Mann was leaving for Khatkar Kalan from Mohali, a few of his supporters showered flower petals on his vehicle and congratulated him.

"I am very happy that my brother (Mann) is going to be the CM. We are very happy about it, said a woman supporter in Mohali.

The 48-year-old Mann had invited the people of the state to attend his swearing-in ceremony, saying the three crore people of Punjab will also take oath with him.

Foolproof security arrangements have been made for the ceremony and several senior officials, including inspector general and senior superintendents of police, have been deputed for the event.

Around 8,000 to 10,000 security personnel have been deployed for the event, said the officials.

The AAP romped home winning 92 seats in the 117-member Punjab Assembly, decimating the Congress and the SAD-BSP combine.
An estimated 20,000 civilians fled Mariupol by way of a humanitarian corridor Tuesday in the biggest evacuation yet from the besieged Ukrainian port city, while Russian forces stepped up their bombardment of Kyiv, smashing apartments, a subway station and other civilian sites.

On the diplomatic front, a top Ukrainian negotiator, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, described the latest round of talks with the Russians as very difficult and sticky" and said there were fundamental contradictions between the two sides, but added that there is certainly room for compromise. He said the talks will continue Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, another aide to Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy, Ihor Zhovkva, struck a more optimistic note, saying that the talks had become more constructive and that had softened its stand by no longer airing its demands for Ukraine to surrender.

In other developments, the leaders of three European Union countries including Poland, a NATO member on Ukraine's doorstep visited the embattled capital in a bold show of support amid the danger. And the number of people fleeing the country eclipsed 3 million.

Meanwhile, large explosions thundered across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes, as Russia's assault on the capital appeared to become more systematic and edged closer to the city centre.

Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens. The strikes, carried out of the 20th day of Russia's invasion, disrupted the relative calm that returned after an initial advance by Moscow's forces was stopped in the early days of the war.

A senior US defence official, speaking condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment, said the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometres from the centre of the capital.

The official said the US has seen indications that believes it may need more troops or supplies than it has on hand in Ukraine, and it is considering ways to get more resources into the country. The official did not elaborate.

Before Tuesday's talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would press its demands that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO, adopt a neutral status and demilitarize.

In a statement that seemed to signal potential grounds for agreement with Moscow, Zelenskyy told European leaders gathered in London that he realizes NATO has no intention of accepting Ukraine.

We have heard for many years about the open doors, but we also heard that we can't enter those doors, he said. This is the truth, and we have simply to accept it as it is.

NATO does not admit nations with unsettled territorial conflicts. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he realizes NATO isn't going to offer membership to Ukraine and that he could consider a neutral status for his country but needs strong security guarantees from both the West and .

The UN said close to 700 civilians in Ukraine have been confirmed killed, with the true figure probably much higher.

New efforts to bring civilians to safety and deliver aid were underway around the country. The Red Cross said it was working to evacuate people from the northeastern town of Sumy near the Russian border in about 70 buses.

One of the most desperate situations is in Mariupol, the southern city of 430,000 where officials say a weekslong siege has killed more than 2,300 people and left residents struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior aide to Zelenskyy, said that about 20,000 people managed to leave Mariupol in 4,000 private vehicles via a humanitarian corridor leading to the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Fighting has intensified on Kyiv's outskirts in recent days, and air raid sirens wailed inside the capital. The mayor imposed a curfew extending through Thursday morning.

Tuesday's artillery strikes hit the Svyatoshynskyi district of western Kyiv, adjacent to the suburb of Irpin, which has seen some of the worst fighting of the war.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four Pakistani soldiers were killed and 10 more were critically injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in the Sibi district of Balochistan, local media reported.

This attack comes a few days after Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed that the suicide attack that took place in the same district killed at least seven Pakistani soldiers.

The suicide bomber was identified as "Abdul Rehman Al Bakistani", according to the media outlet.

Notably, since the beginning of this year, several terror incidents rocked as major cities including Islamabad and Lahore were targeted.

An Islamabad-based think tank, the Institute for Peace Studies, recently published a report endorsing the fear that has been slowly sliding into chaos and instability for the last couple of years.

Earlier, on March 12, one policeman was injured in an in the Tank city of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Group and are preparing to cut tens of thousands of jobs combined this year in one of their biggest rounds as the internet firms try to cope with China's sweeping regulatory crackdown, sources said.

While is yet to specify a group-wide target for the layoffs, China's biggest e-commerce company could ultimately axe more than 15% of its total workforce, or about 39,000 staff, estimated one of the sources with knowledge of the company's plans.



Tencent, the owner of China's dominant messaging app WeChat, also plans to make employees redundant this year in some of its business units, said three separate sources with knowledge of the matter. Its unit overseeing businesses including video streaming and search will see a 10%-15% headcount cut this year, said one of the three people.



and Tencent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



The at the two would be their first major layoffs since Chinese regulators launched an unprecedented campaign a year-and-a-half ago to rein in its internet giants after years of laissez-faire approach that drove growth at breakneck speed.



The regulatory crackdown, coupled with a slowing economy, has sharply slowed sales growth for most of the internet companies, smashed their share prices, and made new capital raising and business expansion much tougher in the world's second-largest economy, forcing such as Alibaba and Tencent to look for ways to cut operating costs.



Alibaba started to fire employees last month, the first source said. It discussed with several business units last month and left it to them to make specific plans, the source added.



Some business units have moved fast since then.



Its local consumer services segment, which includes food delivery business Ele.me and other groceries delivery and mapping services, intends to lay off up to 25% of its employees, said the second source.



The company's video streaming unit Youku is planning layoffs too, according to another source. That includes the planned dismissal of a team responsible for producing shows for kids, the source said.



Alibaba reported in February its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public in 2014, hit by a fall in sales at its core business segment and intensifying competition. Its stock has tumbled more than 60% since the beginning of last year.



The company has been under pressure since late 2020 when its billionaire founder Jack Ma publicly criticised China's regulatory system, triggering a chain of events that saw Beijing slapping the firm with a record $2.8 billion fine and introducing a series of new rules for its internet sector.



Alibaba, whose total headcount more than doubled to 251,462 last year from 2019, won't be wielding the jobs axe indiscriminately. Two separate sources said staff at growth engine Alibaba Cloud have not been informed of layoffs yet.



PREPARING FOR 'WINTER'



According to the sources with knowledge of Tencent's plan, layoffs at the company are also set to start at its less profitable or loss-making businesses such as Tencent Video and Tencent Cloud.



During an internal meeting at Tencent at the end of 2021, chief executive Pony Ma told staff that the company should prepare itself for a "winter", according to two other sources who said this prompted insecurity among some staff about their jobs.



Tencent had 94,182 employees as of June last year compared with 70,756 a year earlier, according to its 2021 interim report.



China's biggest ride-hailing firm Didi Global Inc is also planning to reduce its overall headcount by as much as 15% as its domestic business has been impacted by the crackdown, said another person with direct knowledge of the matter.

Didi, which has been subjected to a cybersecurity probe after its $4.4 billion New York listing last year, aims to complete the layoffs by the end of March, said the source.



Didi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
began a visit to the United Arab Emirates and to try to persuade the OPEC members to step up oil production and help lower energy prices following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The British prime minister met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the UAEs de facto ruler, in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, before travelling to Riyadh for a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince .

The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putins addiction to oil and gas, Johnson said.  and the United Arab Emirates are key partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term.

and the pump more than 13 million barrels of oil a day between them and are among the few producers with significant spare capacity.
UK Prime Minister will discuss energy security during a visit to the and in connection with Russia's special operation in Ukraine, the British government said on Wednesday.

"The Prime Minister will meet leaders in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh today [Wednesday 16th] for talks on energy, regional security and humanitarian relief, as he galvanises global action on the crisis in Ukraine. He will meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates before travelling to to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," the statement said.

"The leaders are expected to discuss efforts to improve energy security and reduce volatility in energy and food prices, which is affecting businesses and consumers in the UK as well as regional stability in the Middle East," it said.

In addition to potential further measures to increase oil production, Johnson is focused on diversifying the UK's energy supply and working with partners to ramp up renewables.

UK Prime Minister said: "The UK is building an coalition to deal with the new reality. The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin's addiction to oil and gas."

" and the United Arab Emirates are key partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term," he added.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, March 16: China's lifting of restrictions related to wheat imports from Moscow just ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help boost its . The stringent sanctions imposed by the US and European Union against have only strengthened Beijing's trade relations with Moscow - the world's largest producer of wheat. Amid sanctions, Russia's dependence on for exports will increase. "With rising uncertainties related to Russia's wheat supplies to Europe, it is becoming clear that Moscow will now depend a lot more on for exports and that includes food items such as wheat," an analyst told India Narrative.

A CNN report too echoed the same. "It helps Beijing secure food supplies at a time when global food prices are already near 10-year highs, the report said.

In 2021 China's wheat imports increased by 16.6 per cent year on year to touch 9.77 million metric tonnes. In 2020-21 (July-June) accounted for an estimated 19 per cent of the world's wheat consumption. That's more than the European Union's 15-per cent share, and far ahead of the 4 per cent US share according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In a turbulent post-coronavirus world, ensuring has become a crucial political priority for Beijing's new development strategy, which relies more on the domestic market and its consumers to resist external uncertainties.

China's National Development and Reform Commission in December said the government's focus in 2022 would be on the security and stability of energy, food and supply chain.

Beijing, which has 1.4 billion mouths to feed, has repeatedly said that the country's national security is linked to its .

According to the World Economic Forum, China ranked 34th out of 113 countries in the 2021 Global Food Security Index, published in September, which measures food affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience.

China's arable land has been shrinking. Besides, severe weather conditions leading to floods in many parts of the country led to serious concerns over food security. "At this critical time, Russia's wheat supply could hugely help China," the analyst added.

Though largely a rice eating country, China's demand for wheat too has increased in the last few years.

Wheat flour is required for staple food items such as noodles, breads, dumplings. The USDA noted that European-style breads and pastries, hamburger buns, and snack foods have also become popular all over the country. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

--indianarrative

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After the Russian aviation sector was hit by crippling Western sanctions for war against Ukraine, refused to supply with parts.

For the supply of aeroplane parts, now plans to seek assistance from India, Turkey and other countries, reported Global Defense Corp.

Russia's air transport agency Rosaviatsiya was considering various alternatives for parts supply after refused to supply parts amid sanctions, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Rosaviatsia official Valery Kudinov was quoted by Interfax as saying, "We have tasked airlines with looking for a possible supplier of parts on their own. As far as I know, there is information that a request has been made to China, but has refused to do it.

"We will be looking (for opportunities) in other countries. Perhaps, via our partners, Turkey, or via India. Every company will reach an agreement on its own while we (Rosaviatsiya) will merely help legalise these parts."

Most of the aircraft used by Russian airlines are manufactured by Boeing and Airbus. Earlier this month, Boeing and Airbus announced that they will stop aircraft spare parts supply to in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Apart from these two, many other companies in the aviation sector have cut off their ties with the country, reported Global Defense Corp.

Recently, Russia's foreign ministry expressed its concerns over the safety of Russian passenger carriers. Earlier this week, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot temporarily suspended all its flight services, excluding neighbouring Belarus.

Meanwhile, in retaliation to the mounting sanctions imposed on it by the West, Russia has now banned exports of aircraft and drones, among others, reported TASS.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth could decrease by 1-2 per cent if Beijing, in order to fight the COVID-19 outbreak which is highest in the last two years, continues to impose lockdown in large portions of the country.

China is reporting the highest outbreak in the last two years with over 1,400 new cases per day and the Chinese authorities are struggling to deal with the deteriorating situation.

Most of the new local cases have been reported from eastern provinces like Jilin (Changchun as epicentre), Guangdong (Shenzhen as epicentre), Shandong and Shaanxi. Certain districts of Jiangsu province have announced monetary awards, up to 10,000 Yuan, for reporting violations of rules.

In order to control the situation, the Chinese authorities have approved the Rapid Antigen Test (RATS) for use by its citizens giving up its earlier resistance to the Western practice. Over 300 medical workers have also been sent to Hong Kong to assist the local administration to control the ongoing pandemic.

Beijing may consider lockdown in large portions of China if the localized curbs and measures fail.

The lockdown would, however, curb domestic economic activity, slow down exports, disrupt global supply chains and decrease China's GDP growth by 1-2 per cent.

Earlier also, the effect of a slowdown in Shenzhen port in May-June 2021 had a wider impact than the closure of the Suez Canal.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
is willing to help out in facing western sanctions brought on by the invasion of Ukraine but only to that extent where it itself does not face sanctions and its internal is not compromised.

Faced with the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict, President Xi Jinping sounded a rare alert, calling on his country to produce more food to reduce dependence on foreign markets. "The rice bowls of the Chinese people must be filled with Chinese grain."

Having faced a number of famines in the past that killed millions, has serious concerns about food shortage. It wants to produce 95 per cent of the grain it consumes. The current war has made it more apprehensive. The government is currently undertaking an exercise to ensure maximum arable land is available right away from growing foodgrain.

But now the war has put in a quandary. Last year, China imported a third of its annual corn requirement from Ukraine instead of the United States. Coming April is when the new crop is sown in Ukraine and China has no idea if it can import corn this year too.

On the other hand, both Ukraine and are major wheat producers. Just before invaded Ukraine, China had placed a massive order for Russian wheat. Previously, questions over the quality of wheat and the presence of pests in wheat from certain regions of Russia affected bilateral trade in the commodity.

But with the United States openly challenging Russia over Ukraine in the buildup to the war, China took clear sides with Russia, lifting all restrictions on Russian wheat and barley from all regions.

Now it wants to ensure that it does not end up also inviting sanctions for helping Russia. China is well aware of how bad the sanctions can be; it had a taste of the sanctions when they were enforced against Huawei and several other Chinese firms.

However, the lure of cheaper energy, in the form of gas, coal and oil, and low-cost wheat from Russia far outweighs the fear of sanctions. China has decided to make deals with Russia as long as it can.

The South China Morning Post reports that in times of the current way weighs heavily on the government's mind. "China is sounding the alarm about 'unprecedented' challenges facing the nation's this year while prioritising domestic grain production and soybean self-sufficiency in its annual blueprint for rural policies. The concerns were outlined this week in the year's first joint policy statement issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, the nation's cabinet. Atop the to-do list is the need to ensure that there is abundant year-round arable land for grain to maximise output, particularly in the face of climate-related output disruptions."

Trade between Russia and China is growing steadily in recent years. In 2021, it hit a high of USD 147 billion, up 36 per cent from the previous year. Both countries recently decided to increase the trade levels to USD 250 billion by 2024.

China is also "currently the single biggest market for Russian energy exports such as oil, gas and coal". China is "Russia's largest coal buyer, and the two countries agreed on a new deal worth more than USD 20 billion - just a week before the Ukraine invasion".

The European Union imports nearly 45 per cent of its energy requirements from Russia. But it may diminish following the sanctions. That gives China an opportunity to divert that oil trade to itself.

In 2021, Russia was China's second-biggest oil supplier and third-biggest gas supplier, with "exports reaching USD 41.1 billion and USD 4.3 billion, respectively".

Analysts say that "over the longer term, China may want to boost imports of Russian gas to try to reduce its dependence on coal in order to meet targets for cutting greenhouse gases".

For the record, since sanctions were imposed in 2014 after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea, "bilateral trade has expanded by more than 50 per cent and China has become Russia's biggest export destination".

A UK-based media report says exports of Russian oil and gas to China have steadily increased with "Russia being China's second-biggest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, with volumes averaging 1.59 million barrels per day last year, or 15.5 per cent of Chinese imports". Just under half of the oil supply flows into China via the 4,070-km East Siberia Pacific Ocean pipeline that was financed by Chinese loans. Russia is also Beijing's third-biggest gas supplier, "exporting 16.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of the fuel to China in 2021, meeting about 5 per cent of Chinese demand".

The war is really worrying both Russia and China over their long-term agreements on the supply of oil. Reuters paints the grim picture: "Supplies via the Power of Siberia pipeline, which is not connected to the network of westbound Russian gas pipelines, began in late 2019 and are due to rise to 38 bcm a year by 2025, up from 10.5 bcm in 2021, under a 30-year contract worth more than USD 400 billion.

Russia aims to build a second gas pipeline, Power of Siberia 2, with capacity for 50 bcm a year to run via Mongolia to China." What happens if the war lingers is anybody's guess.

Other food exports from Russia to China include fish, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, poultry, wheat flour and chocolate. China is also a "huge buyer of timber from Russia's Far East, with imports of timber and related products worth USD 4.1 billion last year".

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The decisions makes regarding are going to be watched by the world, the has said, amid reports that is trying to help either militarily or economically in its war against .

"We are watching closely. The world is watching closely, and our national security adviser was clear. There will be consequences should they violate our sanctions," Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday in response to a question.

"The decisions that makes are going to be watched by the world. But in terms of any potential impacts or consequences, we'll leave those to private diplomatic channels at this point," Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference.

She was asked what qualified as helping evade sanctions when it comes to .

"During the lengthy conversation that our national security adviser had with his counterpart, he reiterated our one-China policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, three communiques and six assurances, and underscored concerns about Beijing's coercive and provocative actions across the Taiwan Strait, which is, of course, our position publicly, but is also something that he took the time to reiterate during this conversation," Psaki said.

"There are a range of sanctions we obviously have in place. And we watch, of course, if there's a violation of those. And we also watch if there is support provided for the military invasion of another country. I don't have any assessment of that to provide you today," she said in response to the question.

On what measures were on the table if China was found to be helping either militarily or economically in the war, Psaki said the US is going to have those conversations directly with China and the Chinese leadership, and not through the media at this point in time.

"I would note that when our national security adviser was having his meeting yesterday, he was very direct about the consequences. He made clear we're going to be watching closely, made clear that it's not just us. The decisions that China makes are going to be watched by the world," Psaki said.

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HYDERABAD: After Hussainsagar, Mir Alam Tank and Jeedimetla lake, the twin reservoirs would cease to be sources of drinking water in less than a year, if the GO 111 would be scrapped, claimed the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) officials.

Hussainsagar, along with Mir Alam Tank and Jeedimetla lakes, used to be a major drinking water source for city residents in the 1860s. Post Musi floods in 1908, authorities constructed twin reservoirs in 1920s for not only regulating the flood water but also for water storage, which quenched the thirst of city residents for a century. Authorities said the twin water bodies would die a slow death even if the construction activity was restricted in a 5 km radius from the existing 10 km radius.

Hussainsagar was built in 1575 by Sultan Ibrahim Kutb Shah at a cost of about Rs 2.5 lakh. When full, the water-spread covered an area of about 20.71 sq km and it was the source of water for the British Residency and suburbs north of the Musi river. The authorities later constructed two pipelines to draw raw water and supply treated drinking water to residents by constructing a water treatment plant (WTP) at Narayanguda in the 1860s. The Mir Alam Tank on the outskirts of the city built way back in 1806, is still considered an engineering marvel, created by the first multiple-arch dam in the world. However, these water bodies were no more useful for drinking water purposes due to urbanisation as the industrial effluents and sewage inflow contaminated the water bodies and made them unfit for drinking. Flash floods in the Musi forced the authorities to construct twin reservoirs. Osmansagar was constructed in 1920 and Himayatsagar in 1927 for regulating floods and for water storage.

To safeguard vital drinking water sources, GO 111 was issued on March 8, 1996 prohibiting polluting industries, major hotels, residential colonies or other establishments that generate pollution, in the catchment of the lakes up to 10 kms radius of full tank level of the lakes. It said a whopping 60 per cent of the total area should be kept as open space and roads in all layouts in the villages of the catchment area. The land use of about 90 per cent of the area is classified as recreational and conservation use in the Master Plan. The then Hyderabad Urban Development Authority should take action for the classification of this 90 per cent of the area as agriculture which is inclusive of horticulture and floriculture, the order said.

However, about 80 years later, Osmansagar dried up in the second week of February 2003 making it difficult for the HMWSSB to draw any more water for drinking purposes. This reservoir has a catchment area of about 738 sq. km. The Himayatsagar, which has a catchment area of about 689 sq. km, more or less dried up for the first time in the last week of June 2003. Thus, the two large reservoirs and the oldest sources of drinking water for Hyderabad dried up two decades ago.

Post this, the erstwhile governments kept an eye on 1.36 lakh acres land in 84 villages in the purview of GO 111. In the 10 kms radius, cutting across the party lines, politicians apart from industrialists and realtors illegally occupied the lands. Once the GO 111 is revoked, the area would see a rapid development resulting in the death of the lakes.

A senior HMWSSB official requesting anonymity told Deccan Chronicle that it was a policy decision to revoke the GO 111. He said now it was an open secret that everybody knows who would benefit if the GO was scrapped. The official said the lakes would eventually die a slow death even though the constructed activity was restricted to 5 km after revising the GO 111. He said that the high-power committee would reduce the construction buffer area from 10 km to 5 km.
Ratings agencies say is on the verge of defaulting on following its invasion of Ukraine, with billions of dollars owed to foreigners. That prospect recalls memories of a 1998 default by Moscow that helped fuel financial disruption worldwide.

The possibility has become more than market speculation after the head of the Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, conceded that a Russian default is no longer an improbable event.

A look at possible consequences from a Russian default:



WHY ARE PEOPLE SAYING IS LIKELY TO DEFAULT?



On Wednesday, faces an interest payment of USD 117 million on two bonds denominated in dollars. Western sanctions from the war in Ukraine have placed severe restrictions on banks and their financial transactions with Russia.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said the government has issued instructions to pay the coupons in dollars, but added that if banks are unable to do that because of sanctions, the payment would be made in rubles. There's a 30-day grace period before Russia would be officially in default.

So Russia has the money to pay but says it can't because of the sanctions that have restricted banks and frozen much of its foreign currency reserves. Ratings agencies have downgraded Russia's credit rating to below investment grade, or junk. Fitch rates Russia C, meaning in Fitch's view a sovereign default is imminent.

WHAT DOES THE FINE PRINT SAY?



Some of Russia's bonds allow payment in rubles under certain circumstances. But these bonds don't. And indications are that the ruble amount would be determined by the current exchange rate, which has plunged, meaning investors would get a lot less money.

Even for bonds that allow ruble payments, things could be complicated. Rubles obviously aren't worthless, but they're depreciating rapidly, said Clay Lowery, executive vice president at the Institute of Finance association of financial institutions.

My guess is, it could be a legal issue: Are these extraordinary circumstance or were they brought on by the Russian government itself because the Russian government invaded Ukraine? That could be fought out in court.

Ratings agency Moody's says that all else being equal," payment in rubles on bonds that don't permit would be a default under our definition. "However, we would need to understand the facts and circumstances of particular transactions before making a default determination, it said.

HOW MUCH DOES RUSSIA OWE?



Russia as a whole has about $491 billion in foreign debts, with USD 80 billion due in the next 12 months, according to Algebris Investments. Of that, USD 20.5 billion is in dollar-denominated bonds held by nonresidents.

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF A COUNTRY IS IN DEFAULT?



Ratings agencies can lower the rating to default, or a court can decide the issue. Bondholders who have credit default swaps -- derivatives that act like insurance policies against default -- can ask a determinations committee of financial firm representatives to decide whether a failure to pay should trigger a payout, which still isn't a formal declaration of default.

It can be complex. There will be a lot of lawyers involved, said the IIF's Lowery.

WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT OF A RUSSIAN DEFAULT?



Investment analysts are cautiously reckoning that a Russia default would not have the kind of impact on global financial markets and institutions that the 1998 default did. Back then, Russia's default on ruble bonds came on top of a financial crisis in Asia.

The U.S. government had to step in and get banks to bail out Long-Term Capital Management, a large U.S. hedge fund whose collapse, it was feared, could have threatened the stability of the wider financial and banking system.

This time, however, it's hard to say ahead of time 100 per cent, because every sovereign default is different and the global effects would only be seen once it has happened, said Daniel Lenz, head of euro rates strategy at DK Bank in Frankfurt, Germany.

That said, a Russian default would no longer be any great surprise for the market as a whole. ... If there were going to be big shock waves, you would see that already. That doesn't mean that there won't be significant problems in smaller sectors."



Impact outside Russia could be lessened because foreign investors and companies have reduced or avoided dealings there since an earlier round of sanctions imposed in 2014 by the U.S. and the European Union in response to Russia's unrecognised annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula.

IMF head Georgieva said that while the war has devastating consequences in terms of human suffering, and has wide-ranging economic impact in terms of higher energy and food prices, a default by itself would be definitely not systemically relevant" in terms of risks for banks around the world.

Holders of the bonds -- for instance, funds that invest in emerging market bonds -- could take serious losses. Moody's current rating implies that creditors would experience losses of 35 per cent to 65 per cent on their investment if there's a default.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A COUNTRY DEFAULTS?



Often investors and the defaulting government will negotiate a settlement in which bondholders are given new bonds that are worth less but that at least give them some partial compensation. It's hard, however, to see how that could be the case now with the war going on and Western sanctions barring many dealings with Russia, its banks and companies.

In some cases, creditors can sue. In this case, Russian bonds are believed to come with clauses that permit a majority of creditors to agree to a settlement and then force that settlement on the minority, forestalling lawsuits. Again, it's unclear how that would work when many law firms are leery of dealing with Russia.

Once a country defaults, it can be cut off from bond-market borrowing until the default is sorted out and investors regain confidence in the government's ability and willingness to pay. Russia's government can still borrow rubles at home, where it mostly relies on Russian banks to buy its bonds.

Russia is already suffering severe economic impact from the sanctions, which have sent the ruble plunging and disrupted trade and financial ties with the rest of the world.

So the default would be one more symptom of Moscow's wider political and financial isolation as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has emerged as a key financial player in amid its policy of fostering deeper economic ties with the in recent years.

Valentin Popescu, writing in a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG) said that is strategically leveraging Iraqi reconstruction efforts by building energy and connectivity infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

It is also constructing schools and opening language training centres in Iraqi Universities. With the end of the US combat mission in Iraq, Beijing is pushing its energy projects with Baghdad under the BRI with overall investment to the tune of USD 10.5 billion, making the third most important partner of Chinese energy engagement.

Chinese companies, Power Corporation of and Sinotech, are currently finalizing the sub-contracting to build 1000 schools in under the 'oil for reconstruction' programme signed with the Iraqi government in December 2021, reported POREG.

Beijing is also promoting the Chinese language and culture in Iraq. The Chinese Language Department in Salahaddin University, Erbil, offers language training and education to Iraqi students and also conducts events that create a positive image of China.

These efforts are apparently part of Beijing's policy of fostering deeper economic ties with countries by taking advantage of a growing perception among Arab leaders that the US is disengaging from the region, said Popescu.

It is also attributed to Beijing's growing appetite for Middle Eastern energy and increasing trade with the Gulf States. Iraq is already the third-biggest exporter of oil to China. Baghdad appears more than willing to receive Chinese investment to help upgrade war-ravaged and decaying infrastructure.

Beijing views Iraq as a less controversial investment destination in the region with a great deal of untapped potential and easy access. For China, the Iraqi government and people are easier to negotiate and to do business as the country is trying hard to rebuild infrastructure and push up economic growth. China also sees Iraq as a fertile base for its expansion plan in the Middle East, said Popescu.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India taking up Russia's offer of discounted crude would not be a violation of American sanctions on Moscow, the White House has said, as it also underlined that countries should also think about "where you want to stand" amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden last week announced a ban on Russian and gas imports over the country's invasion of Ukraine, targeting the main artery of Russia's economy.

"Our message to any country continues to be that abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday.

Asked about a media report on the possibility that India could take up the Russian offer of discounted crude oil, Psaki said, "I don't believe this would be violating that (sanctions)." "But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time. Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact," Psaki added.

The US-led West has imposed a series of financial sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

India has not supported the Russian military operation of Ukraine. New Delhi has consistently asked all stakeholders to resolve differences through dialogue. It has, however, abstained in all United Nations resolutions against Russia.

Officials of the Biden administration have shown an understanding of India's position and have told American lawmakers that New

Delhi has a major dependence on Russian military supplies for its national security requirements amidst the challenges posed by China.

Meanwhile, Indian-American Congressman Dr Ami Bera has expressed disappointment over reports that India is contemplating buying Russian at a steeply discounted rate.

"If reports are accurate and India makes this decision to buy Russian oil at a discounted price, New Delhi would be choosing to side with Vladimir Putin at a pivotal moment in history when countries across the world are united in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russia's deadly invasion," the Democratic Party lawmaker said.

"As the world's largest democracy and as a leader of the Quad, India has a responsibility to ensure its actions do not directly or indirectly support Putin and his invasion," Bera said in a statement.
Washington [US], March 16 (ANI): The on Tuesday (local time) said would not be violating US sanctions by purchasing discounted Russian oil but added that such a move would put the world's largest democracy on the "wrong side of history".

Asked about the reports of considering a Russian offer to buy and other commodities at discount prices a week after the US banned all Russian energy imports, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Joe Biden administration's message would be for countries to abide by US sanctions.

"I don't believe this would be violating that, but also think about where you want to stand," Psaki said. "When the history books are written at this moment in time, support for - the Russian leadership - is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact".

has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from voting at the United Nations calling out Russia's aggression. US officials have said in recent weeks they would like India to distance itself from as much as possible, while also recognizing its heavy reliance on Moscow for everything from arms and ammunition to missiles and fighter jets.

Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri in a phone call that the country is keen to increase its oil and petroleum product exports to India along with Indian investments in the Russian oil sector, according to a statement issued by Moscow.

A Russian government release last week had said that Russia's oil and petroleum product exports to India have approached USD 1 billion, and there are clear opportunities to increase this figure.

"We expect to continue cooperating in the development of peaceful nuclear power, in particular, in building the nuclear power units at Kudankulam," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying in the statement following a phone conversation with Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

According to some media reports on Monday, India's largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, purchased 3 million barrels of Russian crude oil, the first such transaction since invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer and one of the few countries not to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, currently imports 80 per cent of its oil, but only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of those purchases come from Russia.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
taking up Russia's offer of discounted would not be a violation of American sanctions, the has said.

"Our message to any country continues to be that abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended," Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday.

Asked about a report on the possibility that could take up the Russian offer of discounted crude oil, Psaki said, "I don't believe this would be violating that (sanctions)."



"But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time. Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact," Psaki added.

has not supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. New Delhi has consistently asked all stakeholders to resolve differences through dialogue. It has, however, abstained in all United Nations resolutions against .

Officials of the Biden administration have shown an understanding of India's position and have told lawmakers that New Delhi has a major dependence on Russian military supplies for its national security.

However, Indian-American Congressman Dr Ami Bera expressed disappointment over reports that India is contemplating buying Russian oil at a steeply discounted rate.

"If reports are accurate and India makes this decision to buy Russian oil at a discounted price, New Delhi would be choosing to side with Vladimir Putin at a pivotal moment in history when countries across the world are united in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russia's deadly invasion," he said.

"As the world's largest democracy and as a leader of the Quad, India has a responsibility to ensure its actions do not directly or indirectly support Putin and his invasion," Bera said in a statement.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chipmaker Intel said it plans to build a plant in as part of an investment of up to 80 billion euros ($88 billion) in over the next decade.

The initial outlay for the facility in Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, is 17 billion euros ($19 billion), reports TechCrunch.

The so-called "mega-site" will actually comprise two factories. Planning will start right away with construction expected to get under way in the first half of next year, as long as Intel gets the thumbs up from the European Commission.

Production should commence at what Intel is calling "Silicon Junction" in 2027. As such, the plant won't help offset the global chip shortage any time soon, the report said.

Intel said the dual plants will build chips using its top-of-the-line Angstrom-era transistor tech. It expects to create 7,000 construction jobs for the duration of the build, 3,000 permanent positions and thousands more jobs across partners and suppliers.

Elsewhere, Intel will invest another 12 billion euros ($13 billion) to expand a factory in Leixlip, Ireland. It will double the manufacturing space and expand foundry services there.

The company is also in discussions with Italy to build an Assembly and packing facility there at a cost of up to $4.9 billion.

Intel plans to build its European research and development hub near Plateau de Saclay, France. It expects to create 1,000 jobs as a result, with 450 of those opening up by the end of 2024.

The chipmaker aims to set up its main European foundry design center in France too. Further investments are earmarked for Poland and Spain.

--IANS

vc/dpb

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Just a year ago, was struggling for his political survival as headed toward its fourth consecutive election.

Today, the Israeli prime minister is at the forefront of global efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Just as Bennett took advantage of unique circumstances to become to become the most unlikely of prime ministers, he has managed to leverage Israel's good relations with both Ukraine and Russia and his personal rapport with their leaders to turn himself into an unexpected mediator.

Although he has not yet delivered any major diplomatic breakthroughs, he is one of the few world leaders to speak regularly to both sides, providing a rare glimmer of hope for ending the 3-week-old war.

Bennett himself has said little in public about his mediation since making a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with President Vladimir Putin on March 5. His office says there have been two more phone calls with Putin and six with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Bennett describes his efforts as a moral obligation to do whatever is possible to end the fighting.

Underscoring that message, Bennett flew to Moscow to meet Putin on the Jewish sabbath, when observant Jews like himself do not travel unless it is a life-saving situation.

will continue to act to prevent bloodshed and bring the sides from the battlefield to the conference table, Bennett said this week.

While is well over 1,000 miles from the war zone, its involvement isn't entirely surprising.

Israel's ties with Russia and Ukraine run deep. Both countries have large Jewish communities, and over 1 million Jews from the region have moved to Israel since the collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago.

Zelenskyy, who is Jewish, appears to have an affinity for Israel, while the Israeli and Russian militaries have maintained close communications in recent years to prevent clashes in the sky over Syria.

Russia has provided support to Syrian President Bashar Assad in the civil war, while Israel often strikes what it says are enemy Iranian and Hezbollah targets aligned with Assad on the territory of its neighbour.

Beyond Israel's geopolitical strengths, Bennett's personality also appears to be a factor.

In last year's election, Bennett's tiny Yamina party barely squeaked into parliament with just seven of the chamber's 120 seats.

But through some creative wheeling and dealing, Bennett positioned himself as a kingmaker, providing the critical votes to form a majority coalition.

That allowed him to become prime minister in a power-sharing agreement that ousted his former mentor, Benjamin Netanyahu, from the top job.

Bennett, a former high-tech executive who led two companies that were later sold in nine-figure deals, has shown similar creativity in office.

Long before the war, he moved quickly to establish good working relations with world leaders, including President Joe Biden as well as Putin and Zelenskyy.

His mediation efforts were first encouraged by Germany, and he carefully coordinates his activities with Washington and other Western allies.

This calibrated approach appears to have gained the trust of both sides. Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, this week pinned hopes on Israeli negotiating efforts.

Israel took upon itself the difficult but noble mission of mediator in the search of peace and an end to Russia's aggression against Ukraine, he said.

Zelenskyy previously said he believed Bennett could play an important role and even suggested that Israel might be a host for future cease-fire talks. That would mark a major accomplishment for Bennett.

Toward that end, Bennett has been careful to maintain a relative air of neutrality.

While Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion, Bennett's criticism has been muted.

Israel has delivered humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but has not joined its Western allies in sending military assistance or imposing sanctions on Russia and the many Russian-Jewish oligarchs who have second homes in Israel.

At times, Bennett's refusal to be tougher against Russia has drawn criticism at home and abroad. But it appears to have allowed him to retain Putin's trust.

Israeli officials have been careful not to exaggerate Bennett's role and say he is not actively making proposals or pressuring the sides.

Instead, they describe him as a channel of communication, passing messages from the sides in what they describe as a frank and realistic manner.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing diplomatic efforts, say there has been a positive shift in the rhetoric from both sides.

They declined to elaborate. Zelenskyy acknowledged in the most explicit terms yet Tuesday that Ukraine's goal of joining NATO is unlikely to be met, while Putin appears to have backed away from earlier comments questioning Ukraine's right to exist as an independent country.

Vera Michlin-Shapir, who previously worked on Israel's National Security Council and published a book on Russia last year, said Bennett's main advantages are that he is seen as neutral and that Israel is a small country far removed from the conflict.

Putin obviously has some sympathy for Israel, she said, in part because of its large Russian-speaking minority and its Christian holy sites.

The military relations in Syria, while sometimes strained, have added depth to the relationship.

Nadav Eyal, an Israeli journalist and author of the book, Revolt: The Worldwide Revolution Against Globalization, described Bennett as a good listener, fast learner and straight shooter. These skills, and his close ties with the White House, position him to be an effective mediator.

But he said ultimately that only Putin will decide when to climb down the ladder and end the war.

Bennett might be a useful tool in order to bring the Russian side back to some sort of civility in its approach to Ukraine, he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President will travel to Belgium to attend an extraordinary summit on March 24 along with participating in a European Council Summit, a statement informed on Tuesday.

"President Biden will join an extraordinary summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defence efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our Allies," said Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

"President Biden will also join a scheduled European Council Summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence, and address other challenges related to the conflict," she further said.

"In these testing times, our transatlantic action is more important than ever. @POTUS [Biden] will join EU leaders Thursday 24 March to discuss support for #Ukraine and its people, strengthening transatlantic cooperation in responding to Russia's aggression against Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa [Volodymyr Zelenskyy]," European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet.

However, whether President Biden would travel to Poland to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy could not be confirmed with Press Secretary Psaki saying that "We are still working through the final details of President Biden's trip," Sputnik reported.

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg informed on Tuesday that he is convening an extraordinary summit of the alliance on March 24 over the situation in Ukraine.

"I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at #NATO HQ. We will address #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence & defence. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together," Stoltenberg tweeted.

The development comes as the fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine resumed in Belarus.

"Consultations on the main negotiation platform renewed. General regulation matters, ceasefire, withdrawal of troops from the territory of the country," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aide tweeted.

Meanwhile, Russia has imposed sanctions against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials. Russia is also imposing sanctions against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and over 300 lawmakers. Moscow also imposed sanctions against Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Defense Minister Anita Anand.

As Russian troops continued their advance towards Kyiv, the city imposed a new curfew from 8 pm (Local Time) on March 15 until 7 am on March 17. Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that the residents are only allowed to go outside to head to the bomb shelters.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A slew of drugmakers, including from the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK have halted exports of non-essential medicines to Russia, in the wake of its invasion into Ukraine, while continuing supply of critical medicines.

Eli Lilly has said it will be stopping the exporting of medicines such as Cialis, a treatment for erectile dysfunction, while also suspending all investments, promotional activities and new clinical trials in Russia, the Financial Times reported.

However, the US drugmaker stated it would continue to supply treatments for life-threatening diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Any profits generated by sales of essential medicines such as insulin or cancer drugs would be donated to humanitarian relief efforts, said Lilly.

"For nearly 150 years, Lilly has worked to ensure patients have access to the medicines they need, no matter where they may live," it said in a statement. "Our Russian operations are now only focused on ensuring people suffering from diseases like cancer and diabetes continue to get the Lilly medicines they need."

The announcement comes as other drugmakers have also distanced themselves from .

Johnson & Johnson has said it will provide humanitarian support for refugees in the border countries, and also donate hygiene kits, health packets and medical supplies. While it is committed to providing essential health products to Russia, it is ceasing new enrollments in Ukraine, and Belarus.

Pfizer has committed to donate any profits from its Russian operations to direct humanitarian support for the Ukrainian people.

Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla during an interview with Face the Nation on CBS said that going forward, the company is "clearly not planning to invest in Russia".

However, as medicines are typically exempt from trade restrictions, it will continue to export essential medicines like for cancer treatment, he added.

Another US drug major Merck has "paused clinical trial enrollment" at new sites in both Ukraine and . Drugmaker AbbVie, known for wrinkle treatment Botox, has also temporarily suspended operations for all its aesthetics products in the country.

French drug major Sanofi has decided to suspend "all of advertising and media activities in Russia", as well as "any new spending not related to the supply of our essential medicines and vaccines."

Germany's Bayer and Abbott Laboratories have pulled back from non-essential spending in Russia, while maintaining a supply of essential medicines to Russia.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis has said it is suspending investments in Russia and stopping all commercial marketing in Russia. It has also committed towards humanitarian effort in Ukraine and will make an initial donation of $3 million.

UK pharma major GlaxoSmithKline also said its stopped advertisements in Russia, nor starting any new clinical operations, and will also not enter into any contracts that directly support the Russian administration or military. But, it will continue to supply its products in Russia.

Following Russia's invasion into Ukraine on February 24, the European Union along with the US and other western nations imposed a slew of sanctions on Russia in the sectors such as finance, energy, transport, technology, visa policy as well in space cooperation.

Only the export of medicines, the materials necessary for making them and medical equipment have been excluded from tough sanctions imposed on Russia. This has meant pharmaceuticals and healthcare are among the only industries still doing substantial business in Russia.

--IANS

rvt/svn

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The state government has been able to bring back 710 of the 740 medical students from Telangana from Ukraine. (Representational image/ PTI)

Hyderabad: In a major relief to over 700 medical students from Telangana pursuing MBBS courses and evacuated from Ukraine, Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao announced on Tuesday that the state government will bear their educational expenses to enable them to complete their course in India.

Rao made the statement in the state assembly and asked chief secretary Somesh Kumar to write to the Centre and seek its permission to allow these students complete their course in India.

The CM said that over 20,000 students from across India had gone to Ukraine to study medicine. The state government has been able to bring back 710 of the 740 medical students from Telangana from Ukraine.

"Now that the war is continuing, what will happen to their future? So, I want to say that the state government is ready to ensure they continue their education here. We will bear the expenditure so that they dont have to discontinue or spoil their future," the CM said.

"To study MBBS in India, it was costing a student over Rs 1 crore. Since they could not afford this, they went to Ukraine where they had to pay only Rs 20-25 lakh," the CM said.
launched an 'unidentified projectile' what is believed to be a ballistic missile, NHK reported on Wednesday citing Japanese Defense Ministry sources.

This is the tenth missile launch by this year.

The projectile was reportedly fired on Wednesday morning from Sunan, NHK reported.

An emergency response center has been set up under the Japanese prime minister's office in connection with the possible launch.

So far, no damage has been reported yet.

The story is developing and more information is awaited.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded in mid-air in an apparent failed launch on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, amid speculation that the North could soon launch its biggest long-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

Details of the missile explosion weren't immediately known. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks.

The North Korean missile blew up while it was flying at an altitude of about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a South Korean military official said requesting anonymity because he wasn't publicly authorized to speak to media on the issue. He said the cause of the explosion wasn't known.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said in a statement that the launch made from the Pyongyang region around 9:30 a.m. apparently failed. It said South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launch.

The US Indo-Pacific Command later said that fired a ballistic missile but didn't say whether it was a failed launch. A command statement said the launch didn't pose an immediate threat to US territory and its allies but called on to refrain from further destabilizing acts.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that a flight of a ballistic missile has not been confirmed and that Tokyo is working with Washington and Seoul to further analyze what happened.

Experts say past failures still have moved North Korea closer to its goal of acquiring a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the American homeland. Of eight Musudan intermediate-range missiles tests in 2016, only one of those launches was seen by outside analysts as successful, which led to debates of whether North Korea's path toward ICBMs had been cut off.

However, the North in 2017 flew more powerful intermediate-range missiles over Japan and conducted three successful test-flights of ICBMs that demonstrated a potential range to strike deep into the US mainland.

North Korea's successful satellite launches in 2012 and 2016 which were viewed by the UN as disguised tests of its long-range missile technology also followed repeated failures.

The US and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea had tested an ICBM system in two recent launches, referring to the developmental Hwasong-17 missile that North Korea unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.

In the two recent launches on February 27 and March 5, the North Korean missiles flew medium-range distances, and experts have said North Korea could eventually perform a full-range ICBM test.

The North has said it tested cameras and other systems for a spy satellite and released what it said were photos taken from space during one of the two tests, but it didn't confirm what rocket or missile it launched.

Observers say North Korea aims to boost its ICBM capability while trying to place its first functioning spy satellite into orbit. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire an improved ICBM and a spy satellite among an array of sophisticated weapons systems he says his country needs to cope with what he calls American hostility.

The Hwasong-17 is North Korea's biggest missile, which could potentially fly up to 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), far enough to strike anywhere in the US and beyond. The 25-meter (82-foot) missile, which was shown again at a defense exhibition in Pyongyang last year, has yet to be test-launched.

The three ICBMs that North Korea tested in 2017 were the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15. Some analysts say developing a larger missile could mean the country is trying to arm its long-range weapons with multiple warheads to overcome missile defense systems.

If North Korea makes a new ICBM launch, it would be its highest-profile weapons tests since its third and last ICBM launch in November 2017.

North Korea will likely call its potential new ICBM test a rocket launch to place a reconnaissance satellite in space, not a weapons test. That could invite condemnation but likely no fresh UN sanctions, some analysts say, since Russia and China wield vetoes on the Security Council and would oppose it.

Other North Korean missiles tested this year were mostly shorter-range, nuclear-capable weapons which place and Japan, both key U.S. allies, within striking distance. In January alone, North Korea carried out seven rounds of missile tests, a record number of monthly tests since Kim took power in late 2011.

US-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program collapsed in 2019 due to wrangling over US-led sanctions on the North. Washington has urged North Korea to return to talks without any preconditions, but Pyongyang has rejected such overtures saying the United States must first withdraw its hostile policies.

In January, North Korea hinted at lifting its 4-year moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. South Korea's Defense Ministry said Friday it detected signs that North Korea likely is restoring some of the tunnels at its nuclear testing site that it detonated ahead of the now-dormant nuclear diplomacy.

The US Treasury Department last week announced new sanctions against three Russian-based entities that aided ongoing development of North Korea's military capabilities and two individuals tied to those companies. The sanctions block access to any US assets held by them.

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The first time the United States government slapped his family with sanctions and locked him out of the American financial system, Arkady Rotenberg waited about eight weeks, investigators say, before buying a $7.5 million painting in New York City.

That was in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, and since then the sanctions have hardly slowed down Rotenberg, a life-long friend and former judo partner of the Russian president, Vladimir V Putin. His estimated worth sits at about $3 billion, and his brother, Boris, became a billionaire after sanctions were imposed on him. Investigators have tracked at least $91 million passing into the American economy from accounts linked to the Rotenberg family.

Today, as Putins soldiers lay siege to neighbouring Ukraine, world leaders have responded by strangling the Russian economy.

And a new raft of European and American sanctions has been announced, against Putin himself, as well as those considered close to him, including Boris Rotenberg and Arkady Rotenbergs son, Igor. The logic now is the same as it was in 2014: Squeeze Putins allies to put pressure on him.

But despite such boasts, coming at what some analysts call a watershed moment, the question is whether the West can make its sanctions bite after largely failing to do so in the past.

A New York Times analysis of global corporate filings identified nearly 200 companies associated with the Rotenbergs, spread across three continents and a dozen countries. Many of the firms are now inactive, but even after Rotenberg was placed on sanctions lists in 2014, he was able to take a stake in at least seven companies in European offshore tax havens.

As recently as 2020, Rotenberg became the beneficial owner of two companies  Robben Investments and Lucasnel  in Luxembourg, a tiny European Union country known as a tax haven for shell companies.

Rotenberg has stayed wealthy and spent lavishly because governments rarely investigate or try to untangle the fortunes of those they target. As oligarchs hired high-priced accountants, lawyers and other middlemen to conceal their assets, governments largely left it to banks and companies to figure out for themselves whether they were doing business with people on the blacklists.

Governments may need to change laws to tackle the problem.

In the United States, the authorities have broad powers to seize property if they suspect a crime has been committed. Investigators caution, however, that they do not expect to find many oligarch fortunes in American bank accounts, or Russian superyachts in American ports. The harder task, they said, will be identifying transactions in real time when the buyers have concealed themselves behind shell companies and foreign banks. In France, the government is considering laws that would allow it to seize, not just freeze, assets belonging to blacklisted people. Similarly, the British government announced last week that it had seized a private jet suspected of being linked to the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. But the governments argument  that it could seize the jet under a ban on Russian-linked aircraft entering Britain  has yet to be tested. And the plane in question is registered not in Britain or Russia, but in Luxembourg.

But there are some encouraging signs.

More than five years after it was proposed, Parliament recently passed a law prohibiting people from hiding behind offshore companies when buying property. And the British government finally hit Abramovich with sanctions more than a decade after corruption allegations and evidence of ties to the Kremlin first emerged.

2022 The New York Times News Service
Ukrainian President is addressing the U.S. Congress, the actor-turned-wartime leader's latest video speech as he uses the West's great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russia's crushing invasion.

Lawmakers rose and gave him a standing ovation when Zelensky appeared on the large video screen.

Zelensky's livestreamed appearance Wednesday into the U.S. Capitol is part of his very public strategy, in which he has invoked Winston Churchill, Hamlet and the power of world opinion in his fight to stop Russia.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelensky has used his campaign to implore allied leaders to close the sky to prevent the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country. It has also put Zelensky at odds with President Joe Biden, whose administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the U.S. seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Instead, Biden will deliver his own address following Zelensky's speech, in which he is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced in the last week alone to $1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air-defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Appearing in his now-trademark army green T-shirt as he appeals to world leaders, Zelensky has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump's first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to as he pressured Zelensky to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelensky is speaking on a giant auditorium screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to .

Invoking Shakespeare's hero last week, Zelensky asked the British House of Commons whether is to be or not to be. On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelensky called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine's membership and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

I know he will ask for more help, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelensky's relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

U.S. defense officials say they are puzzled by Zelensky's demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isn't often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of other weapons the West is providing, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.

While officials are anticipating that Zelensky may once again call on the U.S. and the West for fighter jets or help establishing a no-fly zone, the Biden administration is looking to send Ukraine more of what's been working well, according to an official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars; grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the official said.

Even though Zelensky and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

This won't be the first time he has appealed directly to members of the House and Senate, who have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelensky delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

"We think the United States needs to do more," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., returning from a weekend visit with other lawmakers to Poland.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelensky asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week. It was in that call that Zelensky asked to address the U.S. Congress, something the Democratic leader readily agreed to.

The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine, said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

They said Congress remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin's cruel and diabolical aggression.

Zelensky's next stop could be Spain. The speaker of Spain's Congress of Deputies has invited the Ukrainian president to address Spanish lawmakers via videolink.

In a letter to Zelensky, Speaker Meritxell Batet wrote that the address will be a magnificent opportunity for the chamber, all Spanish people and the thousands of Ukrainians living in Spain to listen to your message and express our firmest support.

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The Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday that 313 Canadian officials have been barred from entering Russia, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, Defence Minister Anita Anand, and most members of the House of Commons of the Parliament are among the blacklisted officials, the ministry said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

The restrictions were introduced in retaliation for the anti-Russian hostility of the current Canadian government, it said.

--IANS

int/pgh

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is concerned that may use in a 'false flag' attack in Ukraine, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at the press conference at headquarter.

Stoltenberg said, "We are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation possibly including chemical weapons, in Ukraine."

"Any support to military or any other type of support will actually how pressure conducts a brutal war against in... Ukraine and help them to continue to rage war which is causing death, suffering and anonymous amount of destruction," he added.

"All of this sends an unmistakable message. An attack on one Ally will be met with a decisive response from the whole Alliance. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and its military integration with Belarus, create a new security reality on the European continent. So we need to reset our military posture for this new reality. Tomorrow, ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term, in all domains," he added.

leaders will meet in Brussels on March 24 to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the alliance's chief wrote on Twitter.

"I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at HQ," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote. "We will address Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together."

NATO's main purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means, according to NATO's website.

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The Russia- conflict continues on Wednesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said.

"We'll continue tomorrow. A very difficult and viscous negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise," Podolyak tweeted on Tuesday.

The work in subgroups will continue during the break, he added, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and European Council President Charles Michel discussed the Ukrainian situation during a phone conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders exchanged views on Russia's special military operation in and measures to evacuate civilians, said the statement.

Putin outlined his assessments of the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on a possible settlement of the crisis, it said.

Russia will table its own draft Security Council resolution on the humanitarian situation in after France and Mexico announced their intention to move their draft to the General Assembly, said the Russian UN ambassador on Tuesday.

France and Mexico, which were working on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine for adoption at the Security Council, announced on Monday that they would move to the General Assembly for action.

--IANS

int/sks/shb/

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The fourth round of talks between and that started on Monday will continue through Wednesday, even as a Ukrainian negotiator spoke of "fundamental differences" between the two sides.

"We will continue tomorrow... There are fundamental contradictions. But, of course, there is room for compromise," Volodymyr Zelenskyy's top aide Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on his Telegram channel as reported by Sputnik News Agency.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier today that talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations should continue saying that it is difficult, but important as the positions of the sides sound more realistic now.

"Everyone needs to work in their place, including our representatives in the delegation at the talks with the Russian Federation. This is important, difficult, but important. Because any war ends with an agreement. Meetings continue, as I am informed, the positions at the negotiations sound more realistic. But more time is needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in his video message on Telegram.

Meanwhile, Russian President held a discussion with the European Council President Charles Michel where the two also talked about the ongoing negotiations between and .

" outlined his fundamental assessments of the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives to develop agreements taking into account well-known Russian requirements. At the same time, it was noted that Kyiv does not demonstrate a serious attitude towards finding mutually acceptable solutions," the Kremlin said in a statement.

The two also discussed the situation with respect to the conflict, as well as humanitarian aspects, including measures to evacuate civilians, the Kremlin statement said.

Meanwhile, Russian troops continued their advance towards Kyiv, and the city has imposed a new curfew from 8 pm (Local Time) on March 15 until 7 am on March 17. Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that the residents are only allowed to go outside to head to the bomb shelters.

A veteran war photojournalist of Fox News, Pierre Zakrzewski was killed while reporting in war-torn . Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott wrote to employees, "It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we share the news this morning regarding our beloved cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski," adding "Pierre was killed in Horenka, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine and his push to upend the broader security order in may lead to a historic shift in American thinking about defence of the continent. Depending on how far Putin goes, this could mean a buildup of U.S. military power in not seen since the Cold War.

The prospect of a bigger U.S. military footprint in is a remarkable turnaround from just two years ago.

In 2020, President Donald Trump ordered thousands of American troops out of Germany as part of his argument that Europeans were undeserving allies. Just days after taking office, President Joe Biden stopped the withdrawal before it could start, and his administration has stressed NATO's importance even as Biden identifies China as the main long-term threat to U.S. security.

Then came Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

We are in a new era of sustained confrontation with Russia, says Alexander Vershbow, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia and former deputy secretary-general of NATO. He argues that the United States, in cooperation with NATO allies, will need to establish a more muscular stance to deal with a more threatening Russia. That is especially so in Eastern Europe, where Russia's proximity poses a problem for the three Baltic nations that are former Soviet states.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was flying to Europe on Tuesday for his second recent round of Ukraine consultations at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He also will travel to two Eastern European NATO countries Slovakia, which borders Ukraine, and Bulgaria, which does not. After a NATO meeting last month, Austin visited two other allies on the eastern flank Poland and Lithuania.

As Austin was en route, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made it clear Tuesday that the 30-nation military alliance is set to radically change its security stance in Europe in response to Russia's war on Ukraine. He said defense ministers will discuss possible changes when they meet Wednesday.

We need to reset our military posture for this new reality, Stoltenberg told reporters. On land, this could include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness, and with more prepositioned equipment.

He added that NATO will also consider major increases to our air and naval deployments, strengthening our integrated air and missile defense, reinforcing our cyber defenses, and holding more and larger exercises.

In just the past two months, the U.S. presence in Europe has jumped from about 80,000 troops to about 100,000, which is nearly as many as were there in 1997 when the United States and its NATO allies began an expansion of the alliance that Putin says threatens Russia and must be reversed.

By comparison, in 1991, the year the Soviet Union dissolved, the United States had 305,000 troops in Europe, including 224,000 in Germany alone, according to Pentagon records. The number then dropped steadily, reaching 101,000 in 2005 and about 64,000 as recently as 2020.

This year's U.S. troop additions are billed as temporary, but there's no certainty how long they'll stay.

They include an armored brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, totaling about 4,000 soldiers, to Germany, and a similar-size infantry brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, to Poland. Numerous Army headquarters units also have been sent to Poland and Germany. Austin also sent F-35A fighter jets to NATO's eastern flank and Apache attack helicopters to the Baltic states.

A recent Pentagon review of its worldwide military presence concluded that troop levels and positions in Europe were about right. But in testimony before a House committee several days after Putin invaded Ukraine, Mara Karlin, a senior Pentagon official who oversaw the 2021 review, said that conclusion will have to be reconsidered.

The Pentagon must ensure that we've got deterrence of Russia and that we can absolutely 150% say that NATO is safe and secure, not just in light of Russia's invasion but for the longer term, she said March 1.

Putin's war in Ukraine has prompted a rethinking of regional defense needs not just by Washington but also some European allies, including Germany, which last month broke with a longstanding policy of not exporting weapons to conflict zones by sending anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to Ukraine. Germany also committed to a much bigger defense budget.

A new reality, Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared.

Putin has not only demanded that Ukraine disavow its ambition to join NATO but also insisted the alliance withdraw its forces from NATO's eastern flank demands the U.S. and NATO reject as counter to the fundamental rights of nations to decide their foreign relations for themselves and of NATO's basic commitment to provide security for all members equally.

If Russia were to take control of the entirety of Ukraine, it would be on the border of additional NATO countries, including Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Poland and Lithuania already share a land border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, headquarters of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy. There is concern that Putin could decide to make a play for control of that 60-mile-long land corridor, known as the Suwalki Gap, that connects Kaliningrad to Belarus.

Vershbow, the former deputy NATO secretary-general who is now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council, recommends that the U.S. and NATO move beyond their current reliance on light, battalion-size battle groups in Eastern Europe to instead deploy heavier, larger and permanent forces there.

Such a transition on NATO's eastern flank is just the sort of thing Putin says is a threat to Russia and says he will no longer tolerate. He has demanded a return to the arrangements that existed in 1997, when the NATO-Russia Founding Act was signed.

In that document, Moscow acknowledged that NATO would go ahead with plans to invite Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to join the alliance. Notably, the document also said that in the foreseeable security environment, NATO would forgo additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces on the territory of new members.

Does that foreclose the option of a U.S. troop buildup in Eastern Europe? No, says a new report by the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. It argues that the restrictions on NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe as described in the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act are irrelevant in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

We are in new, dangerous territory a period of sustained tensions, military moves and countermoves, and major intermittent military crises in the Euro-Atlantic area that will ebb and flow for at least the remainder of the 2020s, if not longer, the report says.

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An employee of Russian state television who interrupted a live news program to protest the war in was released from custody Tuesday and fined about USD 270, but still could face a sentence.

Marina Ovsyannikova told reporters she was not allowed to sleep while held in police custody and that she was interrogated for 14 hours.

Ovsyannikova, an employee of Channel 1, walked behind the presenter during Monday's evening news show with a poster saying stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.

In English, it said no war at the top of the poster and Russians against the war at the bottom.

In a video recorded earlier, she urged Russians to join antiwar protests and said that is the aggressor country and one person, Vladimir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression.

The state news agency Tass said Ovsyannikova was fined for the video and remains under investigation for the on-air protest under a law banning dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of Russian armed forces. The new law carries a maximum 15-year sentence.

Ovsyannikova, whose father is Ukrainian and her mother Russian, spent the night in police custody.

These were very difficult days of my life because I literally went two full days without sleep, the interrogation lasted for more than 14 hours and they didn't allow me to contact my family and close friends, didn't provide any legal support, Ovsyannikova said.

The court ordered her to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles (about USD 270) on charges of organizing unsanctioned actions for her call to take part in demonstrations against the war.

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New Delhi: Under attack from within, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought the resignations of all five state unit chiefs -- in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur -- to facilitate reorganisation of the respective Pradesh Congress Committees. These states went to the polls in the past few weeks. This includes PCC chiefs Navjot Singh Sidhu from Punjab and Ganesh Godiyal from Uttarakhand, among others.

This move comes after several leaders started demanding responsibility directly from the Gandhi family members. After senior leader Kapil Sibal had said that the Gandhis should pave the way for somebody else to lead the party, on Tuesday senior leader Sandeep Dikshit reiterated this demand. He said that changes were immediately required and that the Congress interim president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, instead of offering to resign, should have straightaway tendered her resignation if she was so inclined. He was even more harsh on the state in-charges and the coterie surrounding the high command. He added that strict action should be taken against the leaders under whom several elections have been lost.

The change-seekers, known as the G-23, are, meanwhile, expanding their base. A dinner meeting has been called by senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday. This meeting will include many other leaders who were initially not a part of the change-seekers grouping earlier. The internal battles within the Congress have put the high command in a tight spot. It is the first time that the Congress leadership is under direct attack because of the successive election losses. The leadership of the Congress has been moving around within the Gandhi family only since 1998 till date.

The Congress establishment has struck back. Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore accused Kapil Sibal of speaking the language of the RSS and the BJP. He said: Why the RSS and BJP wants the Nehru-Gandhis out of the leadership? Because without the Gandhis leadership, the Congress will be become the Janata Party. It is easy to kill the Congress then as it is easy to destroy the idea of India. Kapil Sibal knows it well, but why is he speaking the language of the RSS/BJP?

Attacking Mr Sibal, Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said: Kapil Sibal isnt a person from Congress culture. Hes a renowned advocate who entered the Congress. Sonia Ji and Rahul Ji have given him a lot of chances. Its not expected from a person who doesnt know the ABC of the Congress to give such statements.
The South Korean government announced on the 15th that it will send non-lethal military supplies to Ukraine, which is fighting against Russia's invasion.

Boo Seung-chan, spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, said at the regular briefing, "The government has decided to supply non-lethal military supplies to ."

Spokesman Boo said, "As for details, including transportation and other issues, the consultations are underway."

About 20 items will be shipped to . 12 items are the military supplies, including combat helmets, blankets, emergency foods, and military folding cots. Other items are medical supplies. The total amount of the supplies supported to is about 1 billion won.

The military supplies are expected to be shipped by air. As early as this week or next week at least, the supplies will be sent to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of National Defense announced on the 15th that a direct communication channel with the Russian Navy and Air Force is set to open.

Spokesperson Boo said, "We were notified earlier this year that Russia's communication network has been installed. The official opening is expected to take place after a test-call between the two countries.

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There are reports that may emulate and may attack Taiwan, however, it is not as simple or easy as it appears or is thought. There are strategic, geographical and tactical issues that make it difficult for Chinese forces to enter and annex it.

is surrounded by the sea from all sides and is around 161 km from mainland . This means will have to carry out an amphibian attack, unlike Ukraine invasion in which Russian forces could easily cross the border, reported The Singapore Post.

The amphibian attack would be resource-consuming and difficult to gauge real progress. The presence of major military powers from the Taiwanese side would make it further problematic.

Attacking means China will have to face several challenges. The most crucial one is confronting the militarily superior US. The US has had no duty to protect Ukraine. But Taiwan and the US signed a defence treaty in 1954.

Also, the US is the main arms supplier to Taiwan. So China will have to face the US and even other allied nations such as Canada, the UK, Australia and France if it decides to invade Taiwan, reported The Singapore Post.

The US has deployed its troops in Taiwan amid reports of potential Chinese aggression. And US warships conduct routine patrolling in the Taiwan Strait. France is assisting Taiwan in upgrading its Kang Ding-Class Frigates.

Japan and Australia too have extended their support to the sovereignty of Taiwan and declared that it would not stand by if China attacks the island nation, reported The Singapore Post.

"We have to protect Taiwan, as a democratic country," said Yasuhide Nakayama, Japan's deputy defence minister. Japan knows independent Taiwan was important for its security and for the peace in the Taiwan Strait as it is in conflict with China over the ownership of the Senkaku Islands.

Japan and the US have already drawn up a plan in case China tries to invade Taiwan. Australia has announced that it would extend full support to Taiwan if China dares to conduct military action. "I think we do whatever we can to deter China from acts of aggression in our region," Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said.

Moreover, the 2019 US Pentagon Report said China lacked equipment for a direct assault on Taiwan such as large amphibious assault ships and medium landing crafts.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has recently reiterated that Taiwan is an integral part of mainland China and it would be reunified. At the same time, he warned the western block to stay away from interfering in the Taiwan matter.

China has refused to join the world in condemning for attacking Ukraine. Rather it drew a parallel between the Ukraine fight for independence and the Chinese claim on Taiwan as the issue of preserving sovereignty, reported The Singapore Post.

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Hong Kong stocks jumped 9 per cent on Wednesday to mark their best day since 2008, after Chinas top policymaker assured of stability and support and helped put a floor under sectors hurt by a regulatory crackdown.

Vice Premier Liu He said Beijing would roll out support for the Chinese economy as well as be cautious with measures for capital .

The comments came a day after China stocks slumped to 21-month lows and mainland firms listed in Hong Kong plumbed 2008 lows. Lius assurances helped the Hang Seng index claw back all the ground lost on Tuesday and more. The HSI surged more than 9 per cent to above the 20,000-point mark.

The Hang Seng Tech Index logged its biggest daily gain of 22 per cent, recovering a good deal of the ground it had ceded since March 10 as regulatory fears piled up.

Among Hong Kong index heavyweights, Meituan jumped 32.1 per cent, while Holdings and Group soared 23 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively, logging their biggest daily gains. Other stocks caught in Chinas regulatory crosshairs, such as education, also rallied, with New Oriental Education & Technology Group rising 37 per cent.

The blue-chip CSI300 index gained the most since July 2020, rising 4.3 per cent, while the Shanghai Composite Index added 3.5 per cent.

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British Prime Minister declared a mission to build an coalition against Russia and wean off dependence on its oil and gas exports in protest against the conflict with Ukraine, as he embarked on a visit to the Gulf region on Wednesday.

Johnson is scheduled to meet with leaders in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh for talks on energy, regional security and humanitarian relief as part of what Downing Street described as the UK's efforts to galvanise global action on the crisis in Ukraine.

The leaders are expected to discuss efforts to improve energy security and reduce volatility in global energy and food prices amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

"The brutal and unprovoked assault President Putin has unleashed on Ukraine will have far-reaching consequences for the world, well beyond Europe's borders," Johnson said ahead of his visit.

"The is building an coalition to deal with the new reality we face. The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putin's addiction to oil and gas. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term," he said.

Johnson will hold talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before travelling to Saudi Arabia to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The focus of the visit is on highlighting the importance of working together to increase the diplomatic and economic pressure on President Vladimir Putin's regime and minimise the global fallout from the conflict.

"Vladimir Putin over the last years has been like a pusher, feeding an addiction in Western countries to his hydrocarbons," Johnson told reporters before he set off from the .

"We need to get ourselves off that addiction," he added.

In addition to potential measures to increase oil production, the visit is a part of efforts on diversifying the UK's energy supply and working with international partners to ramp up renewables, Downing Street said.

Saudi Arabia, the third largest supplier of diesel to the UK, committed to net zero emission targets by 2060 ahead of the COP26 climate summit hosted by the in November last year.

As part of the visit, Saudi Arabia's Alfanar group will confirm a new GBP 1 billion investment in the Lighthouse Green Fuels Project in Teeside, northern England, aiming to be the first company to produce sustainable aviation fuel from waste at scale in the UK.

The project is expected to create more than 700 jobs during construction starting next year and around 240 full-time jobs once it is fully operational. Aviation fuel generated by the plant has the potential to produce 80 per cent less greenhouse gas than its fossil fuel equivalent, Downing Street said.

Other strategic and regional issues, including the situation in Iran and Yemen, increased security cooperation, trade and investment and supporting human rights and the civil society, are also on the agenda of Johnson's Gulf tour.

According to official data, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are among the UK's two largest economic partners in the Middle East, with bilateral trade worth GBP 12.2 billion and GBP 10.4 billion in 2020 respectively.

The UK is preparing for negotiations on a trade deal with the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which will boost trade and investment with the whole region.

There are concerns in the UK over Saudi Arabia's human rights record, including the controversial murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Johnson defended his trip to the country, saying his mission is to build "the strongest, widest possible coalition" to ensure that Putin does not succeed.

Last week, the UK government announced plans to phase out imports of Russian oil products by the end of 2022 and a possible ban on natural gas from the country. Western action against Russia has sent oil prices rocketing amid supply uncertainties.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
has imposed sanctions against 15 more Russian government officials over the country's war with Ukraine, Canadian Prime Minister informed in a tweet on Tuesday (local time).

"To make sure Putin and his enablers are held accountable, has imposed severe sanctions on 15 more Russian officials - including government and military elites who are complicit in this illegal war," Trudeau said in a tweet.

The Canadian Prime Minister added that the sanctions being imposed are in line with Canada's European Union partners, and they bring the total number of individuals and entities sanctioned by since Russia's invasion of Ukraine to nearly 500.

The latest round of sanctions targets deputy commander in chief of the navy Vladimir Kasatonov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Federal Guard Service Director Dmitry Kochnev, and Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov among others, reported Sputnik News Agency.

"These new measures impose restrictions on 15 Russian officials who enabled and supported President [Vladimir] Putin's choice to invade a peaceful and sovereign country," Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.

In response to the sanctions, is imposing counter-sanctions against Canadian Prime Minister and over 300 lawmakers, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Moscow also imposed sanctions against Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Defense Minister Anita Anand, Sputnik reported.

Earlier, had imposed sanctions against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials.

The slew of sanctions against come after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 on the pretext of "demilitarising" and "denazifying" Ukraine. The conflict in Ukraine has caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with thousands of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries to the west of Ukraine for shelter.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The head of the UN refugee agency has come to Kabul to tell Afghans they have not been forgotten despite the devastation of Russia's war on Ukraine and the unfolding humanitarian crisis unseen in Europe since World War II.

For Afghans, the message from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi was very much needed as they seek stability even as plunges deeper into poverty, seven months since the Taliban takeover in mid-August.

It was only last year that the world watched as young Afghan men clung to departing American aircraft, some falling to their death as a stream of refugees left the country. Now, a stunned community watches as the refugee exodus from Ukraine topped three million on Tuesday.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Grandi said some have wondered at the timing of his trip. But even as the world's attention has shifted, the crisis in is deep, he said in Kabul.

A report Tuesday from the UN organisation coordinating humanitarian aid said that a staggering 96 per cent of Afghanistan's 38 million people do not have enough food.

In Kabul, Grandi met Taliban leaders Tuesday and was to travel to southern Kandahar and eastern Nangarhar provinces before departing on Thursday. He acknowledged having seen progress since his last visit in September.

He said Taliban leaders are establishing structures and developing strategies on how to tackle burning issues as they shift from war to governing and running day-to-day matters of state.

I can see that they have gained more experience," Grandi said, adding that this time, he had a stronger impression of professional strategies in certain areas.

His conversations were frank, Grandi said he heard the Taliban speak of support for girls education. That promise will be tested later this month, when Afghanistan's new rulers have pledged to reopen schools for girls of all ages.

The Taliban have also spoken to him about the rights of minorities and having women in the workforce. He welcomed the commitment and while women are still restricted in the jobs they do, they have returned to work in two sectors health and education. And at Kabul's airport, women work in passport control and customs.

Grandi, however, also urged the community to reach out to Afghanistan's new rulers.

I do hope that the international community does take note of both actual progress and good intentions, because they also have to make steps in the direction of the Taliban, otherwise these intentions will not materialise, he said.

Still Grandi said there is much to be done by the Taliban and by the international community to keep peaceful and move the country from the state of a humanitarian disaster to a developing economy.

There is progress but whether that progress is already felt in the country, I think it's too early to say, said Grandi.

But he warned that with the scope of the persisting humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, "so much suffering, so much hunger, so much despair ... it will take time.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The complete US military withdrawals from and last year have made it more difficult for the to counter terror groups that aspire to attack America and its allies, senior commanders have told Congress.

And they said Russia and China are both seeking to bolster their influence in the Middle East and Africa, with Moscow being the more acute threat" right now.

Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of US Africa Command, on Tuesday said sending teams of US forces into on a periodic basis is not efficient or effective and puts American troops at greater risk.

In my view, we are marching in place at best. We may be backsliding, Townsend told the Senate Armed Forces Committee. He said troops commuting to work has created new challenges, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is considering changes there.

Former President Donald Trump ordered the complete withdrawal of the roughly 700 US troops in as one of his final acts in office.

Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the committee, pressed Townsend on the Somalia withdrawal, saying the al-Shabab militant group has gained strength. He asked if Townsend has submitted a request to put US forces back in Somalia, and if so, what the response was.

Townsend declined to detail publicly what requests he submitted to Austin or if he has gotten a response. He said that right now, the US is not putting sufficient pressure on al-Shabab, and the best we can do is maintain security around the bases that American troops go in and out of intermittently.

Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of US Central Command, said the US has not launched any strikes on Islamic State insurgents in since the US military pulled out of the country last August.

He said the militant group has grown since the US left and there are concerns about its ongoing development. He said the group has carried out high-profile attacks in and still aspires to strike the U.S. and allies.

McKenzie said the Taliban, which swept across Afghanistan and took control of the government last year, still is trying to counter the Islamic State. But he said it is more difficult for the Taliban to control al-Qaida elements in the country, because the two groups have long been more closely aligned.

McKenzie said that without sustained counterterrorism pressure, militants have more time and space to prepare for attacks. Sustained military pressure prevents groups from being able to grow, train and plot, he said.

And, while McKenzie stressed that his top priority in the Middle East is countering the malign activities of Iran, both he and Townsend said Russia and China are continuing to try to expand their economic and military influence across his region and Africa. As the US withdraws troops, both countries will try to capitalize on America's absence, they said.

In other comments, McKenzie said the US has seen only very small groups of Syrians trying to make their way to Ukraine to assist the Russians in the war there. Right now it's a very small trickle, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin late last week approved bringing in volunteer fighters from the Middle East, particularly Syria, to bolster the Russian war effort.

Russia's military is deeply entrenched in Syria, where its intervention starting in 2015 helped Syrian President Bashar Assad gain the upper hand in the ongoing, 11-year civil war.

In response to questions, McKenzie also told the senators that the US was not the target of the Iranian missile attack near a sprawling US consulate complex in northern Iraq.

He declined to provide details in the public session. But Iran has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard earlier this week.

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard said on its website that it attacked what it described as an Israeli spy centre in Irbil. It did not elaborate.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The on Tuesday adopted a non-binding resolution condemning Russia's "military operation" in Ukraine.

The resolution was adopted by Senate through a voice vote, American newspaper The Hill reported.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said that the Senate had joined together "to say that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot escape accountability for the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people."

"The legislation passing today, championed by Senator Graham, sends an unmistakable message that the U.S. Senate stands with Ukraine, stands against Putin, and stands with all efforts to hold Putin accountable for the atrocities levied upon the Ukrainian people," he added.

"The next step for me is to work with our British allies and hopefully others to create an intel cell that will make available to the public Russian military units engaged in war crimes and start naming their commanders. A name-and-shame campaign is in the making," Senator Graham said.

The resolution from Graham throws Senate support behind condemning violence "including war crimes, crimes against humanity and systemic human rights abuses" being carried by the Russian military, encourages countries to petition the Criminal Court to investigate war crimes carried out by the Russian military and Russian President Vladimir Putin and formally supports a war crimes investigation, the Hill reported.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls from the region of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed the "special operation" is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.

A number of countries including the US, UK and Australia have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia and condemned increasing casualties and refugee crisis arising out of the Russian offensive in Ukriane.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President said on Wednesday the US is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armour weapons and drones to Ukraine to assist in its defense against Russia.

The president's comments came as he formally announced his administration was sending an additional USD 800 million in military assistance to Ukraine, making a total of USD 2 billion in such aid sent to Kyiv since Biden took office more than a year ago. About USD 1 billion in aid has been sent in just the last week.

We're going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead," Biden said.

Biden spoke hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address to members of US Congress in which he made an impassioned plea for the US and West to provide more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to provide.

Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the US must sanction Russian lawmakers and blockimports. But rather than an enforced no-fly zone that the White House has resisted, he instead sought other military aid to stop the Russian assault.

For the first time in a public address to world leaders, he showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers a graphic video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war, along with heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.

We need you right now, Zelenskyy said. "I call on you to do more.

Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.

I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, he said.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used the global stage to implore allied leaders to help stop the Russian invasion of his country. The young actor-turned-president often draws from history, giving weight to what have become powerful appearances.

President Joe Biden's administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the US seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Biden was to deliver his own address following Zelenskyy's speech, and was expected to announce an additional USD 800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced in the past week alone to USD 1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The White House is considering giving Ukraine access to US-made Switchblade drones that can fly and strike Russian targets, according to a separate person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

Wearing his now trademark army green T-shirt, Zelinskyy began the remarks to his American friends by invoking the destruction the US suffered in 1941 when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by militants who commandeered passenger airplanes to crash into the symbols of Western democracy and economy.

Remember Pearl Harbor? ... Remember September 11? Zelenzkyy asked. Our countries experience the same every day right now.

Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent. said there was a collective holding of the breath in the room during Zelenskyy's address. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, "If you did not look at that video and feel there is an obligation for not only the United States but but the free countries of the world to come together in support of Ukraine, you had your eyes closed. Majority Whip Dick Durbin called the address heartbreaking and said, I'm on board with a blank check on sanctions, just whatever we can do to stop this Russian advance.

Outside the Capitol demonstrators held a large sign lawmakers saw as they walked back to their offices. No Fly Zone=World War 3.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump's first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelenskyy spoke Wednesday from a giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to Ukraine.

He thanked the American people, saying Ukraine is grateful for the outpouring of support, even as he urged Biden to do more.

"You are the leader of the nation. I wish you be the leader of the world," he said Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.

It was the latest visit as Zelenskky uses the West's great legislative bodies in his appeals for help, invoking Shakespeare's Hamlet last week at the British House of Commons asking whether Ukraine is to be or not to be and appealing Tuesday to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He often pushes for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to provide.

To Congress, he drew on the image of Mount Rushmore and told the lawmakers that people in his country want to live their national dreams just as they do.

Democracy, independence, freedom.

Biden has insisted there will be no US troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyy's relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

Zelenskyy appeared to acknowledge the political reality.

Is this to too much to ask to create a no fly zone over Ukraine? he asked, answering his own question. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative, he said, calling for weapons systems that would help fight Russian aircraft.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armour systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars, grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the US official said.

Congress has already approved USD 13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbour and the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on Wednesday as he appealed to the US Congress to do more to help Ukraines fight against Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine and Russia drew up a tentative peace plan to end the war. The deal includes a ceasefire and Russian troop withdrawal if Kyiv renounces Nato membership ambitions and accepts limits on its armed forces, the Financial Times reported.

In his address, Zelenskyy acknowledged the no-fly zone he has sought to close the sky to the Russians over his country may not happen. Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, he said the US must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports. But rather than an enforced no-fly zone, he instead sought other military aid to stop Russian airstrikes.

We need you right now, Zelenskyy said. I call on you to do more. Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter .

New talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv on a status for Ukraine outside of Nato lifted hope on Wednesday for a potential breakthrough after three weeks of war.

Zelenskyy said negotiations were becoming more realistic, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said proposals now being discussed were in my view close to an agreement. The Kremlin said the sides were discussing status for Ukraine similar to that of Austria or Sweden, both members of the European Union that are outside the Nato military alliance.

Ukraine's chief negotiator said Kyiv was still demanding a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and binding security guarantees to protect Ukraine in future.

1st high-level US-Russia contact since invasion

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on Wednesday with Nikolay Patrushev, the secretary of Russias Security Council, in the first high-level contact publicly disclosed between the two countries since the invasion of Ukraine, and warned Patrushev about the consequences of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. The White House statement after the call between the two officials did not specify what those consequences would be.

World court orders Russia to stop military operation

The United Nations top court on Wednesday ordered Russia to stop hostilities in Ukraine granting measures requested by Kyiv, although many remain sceptical that Russia would comply. Ukraine had two weeks ago asked the Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, to intervene, arguing Russia violated the 1948 Genocide Convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide and using that as a pretext for the ongoing invasion.

Nato starts planning to adapt to new reality

The and other Nato members said on Wednesday they would keep helping Ukraine fight off Russias invasion. We need to reset our military posture for this new reality, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. Diplomats and military analysts estimate that Nato allies have sent more than 20,000 anti-tank and other weapons to Ukraine since the invasion started on February 24. We remain united in our support of Ukraine, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
TD MLAs and MLCs display the placards at a Protest rally against the cheap liquor deaths outside the Assembly premises on Wednesday. (Photo:DC)

VIJAYAWADA: Stalemate and suspensions continued in the AP Assembly as Opposition Telugu Desam restarted its protests by saying Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy misled the house in the issue of the Jangareddygudem deaths.

Speaker Tammineni Sitaram tried to restore normalcy but in vain. As the disturbances continued, he suspended 11 TD legislators for a day from the assembly.

The MLAs were Bendalam Ashok, Adireddy Bhavani, Nimmakayala Chinanajappa, Gana Babu, Bhogeswara Rao, Velagapudi Ramakrishna, Ramaraju, Gadde Rammohan, Gottipati Ravikumar, Eluru Sambasiva and Anagani Satyaprasad.

The seventh day of the budget session started with question hour and ministers were up with their answers. But TD MLAs were in no mood to listen. They raised a furore, saying the chief minister misled the house by stating the Jangareddygudem hooch deaths were natural deaths. They gave privilege notice against the CM in this connection.

They said while the police registered cases against illicit hooch manufacturers, Jagan stated that there was no possibility of anyone making hooch. So, who was telling the truth, they asked. They termed the Janagareddygudem deaths as governments murders and held the YSRC government responsible for the deaths.

Finance minister Rajendranath Reddy objected to the rude behaviour of TD MLAs and said the Opposition was bent on stalling the assembly by creating ruckus every day. He urged the speaker to take stern action against protesting legislators.

Agriculture minister Kurasala Kannababu alleged that Chandrababu Naidu and TD legislators were doing corpse politics by portraying ordinary deaths into hooch-related deaths. Nearly 30 people died due to Naidus faults related to the Godavari Pushkaram but Naidu never tried to even condole those families.

Deputy chief minister Narayana Swamy objected to the continuous ruckus by TD, starting from the day of the Governors speech, and said he will expose the drama of the TD on the Jangareddygudem deaths.

MLA Kapu Ramachandra Reddy recalled that, sometime ago, a person had gone to the market yard at Rayadurgam to purchase seeds and he returned home safely. Later, he went out and died due to some illness. But, the TD spread lies and claimed the person died in the market yard. Likewise, the TD is spreading lies about the Jangareddygudem deaths, he said.

MLAs RK Roja, Vidadala Rajani, Parthsarathy, Karanam Dharmasri and other legislators objected to the rude behaviour of the protesting MLAs. But, the MLAs continued shouting slogans and showed placards in the house. Speaker Sitaram adjourned the house for a while to restore normalcy but in vain.

As the opposition members continued to stall the proceedings demanding a debate on the incident of the death, deputy CM Narayanaswamy moved a resolution for suspension of the members for a day. This was passed and speaker Sitaram announced the suspension. Notably, the TD MLAs were suspended for the third consecutive day.
World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Wednesday welcomed the breakthrough among four member countries - India, South Africa, EU and the US - on a waiver of the trade-related intellectual property (TRIP) agreement for the production of Covid-19 vaccines.

She said that this is a major step forward and this compromise is the result of many long and difficult hours of negotiations.

"But we are not there yet. We have more work to do to ensure that we have the support of the entire Membership, the Director-General said in a statement.

While the agreement between the European Union, India, South Africa and the US is an essential element to any final deal, she cautioned that not all the details of the compromise have been ironed out and that internal domestic consultations within the four members are still ongoing.

She stressed that work must commence immediately to broaden the discussions to include all 164 members of the .

"In the we decide by consensus, and this has not yet been achieved. My team and I have been working hard for the past three months and we are ready to roll up our sleeves again to work together with the TRIPS Council Chair Ambassador Lansana Gberie (Sierra Leone) to bring about a full agreement as quickly as possible. We are grateful to the four Members for the difficult work they have undertaken so far, Okonjo-Iweala said.

India and South Africa are pushing for a decision on their proposal for a temporary waiver of certain provisions of a WTO agreement on intellectual property rights to deal with the pandemic.

In October 2020, India and South Africa had submitted the first proposal, suggesting a waiver for all WTO members on the implementation of certain provisions of the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID. In May 2021, a revised proposal was submitted by them.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
prices on Wednesday were hiked by over 18 per cent - the steepest ever increase - to all-time high levels after international oil price surged to a multi-year high.

The increase - sixth straight this year - led to prices soaring past the Rs 1-lakh-per-kilolitre mark for the first time ever.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) - the fuel that helps aeroplanes fly - was hiked by 17,135.63 per kl, or 18.3 per cent, to Rs 110,666.29 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification by state-owned fuel retailers.

prices are revised on the 1st and 16th of every month based on the average international price of benchmark fuel in the preceding fortnight.

International oil prices had climbed to a 14-year high of near USD 140 per barrel last week on fears of supply disruption following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Rates have since mellowed to around USD 100 per barrel.

In Mumbai, soared to Rs 109,119.83 a kl and it costs Rs 114,979.70 in Kolkata. is priced at Rs 114,133.73 per kl in Chennai.

Jet fuel, which makes up for almost 40 per cent of the running cost of an airline, has this year surged to new highs.

The previous peak of Rs 71,028.26 per kl was recorded in August 2008, when international crude oil prices touched USD 147 per barrel. Brent crude oil on Wednesday was trading just above USD 100 per barrel.

ATF prices have increased every fortnight since the start of 2022. In six hikes beginning January 1, ATF prices have been increased by Rs 36,643.88 kl or almost 50 per cent.

Unlike ATF, petrol and diesel prices continue to remain on freeze for a record 132nd straight day on Wednesday. The daily price revision was put on hold on November 4, 2021, just as electioneering to elect new governments in states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab started.

Cooking gas LPG prices too have been on freeze since October, when they touched Rs 900 per cylinder.

This is despite a wild swing in international oil prices. Brent crude oil, the best-known international benchmark, was at USD 82.74 per barrel on November 5, 2021, before it started to fall and touched USD 68.87 a barrel on December 1.

Prices climbed to over USD 139 per barrel last week following the Russia-Ukraine crisis and are now trading at USD 101, well above the peak of USD 86.40 touched on October 26, 2021, which had led to petrol and diesel prices spiking to an all-time high.

Petrol costs Rs 95.41 a litre in Delhi and diesel is priced at Rs 86.67, price information from state fuel retailers showed.

The record-high retail pump prices prompted the government to cut excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and that on diesel by Rs 10. Many states matched this with a reduction in local sales tax or VAT rates.

Before the excise duty cut, petrol and diesel prices had touched an all-time high across the country. While petrol had crossed the Rs 100 a litre mark in most cities, diesel was above that level in nearly half the country. In Delhi, petrol was Rs 110.04 a litre and diesel was Rs 98.42.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shares of moved higher by 8 per cent to Rs 1,481.35 on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade on reports that the company has signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French aerospace engine firm Safran to extend cooperation and explore opportunities for new helicopter engines in civil and military .

The Company has entered into an MOU on non-exclusive basis with Safran Helicopter Engines SAS, France for finding the feasibility of potential cooperation w.r.t. business opportunities, which does not constitute any obligation on the part of either Party to enter into any Definitive Agreement or make any financial commitments, HAL said in clarification on report.

Hence, the said transaction was not considered material for making disclosure to the stock exchanges, the company said today on clarification on media report.

In the past three months, the stock has outperformed the market by gaining 15 per cent, as compared to a 2.3-per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. Over the past one year, it has rallied 37 per cent as against 12 per cent rise in the benchmark index. It had hit a record high of Rs 1,568 on October 18, 2021.

In the first nine months ended December 2021 (9MFY22), HAL had reported 23 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in profit after tax at Rs 1,985 crore on the back of strong operational performance. Revenue from operations, too, grew 9 per cent YoY at Rs 13,059 crore. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (ebitda) margin improved 232 bps at 26.04 per cent from 23.72 per cent in 9MFY21.

HAL is engaged in the design, development, manufacture, repair, overhaul, upgrades and servicing of a wide range of products including, aircraft, helicopters, aero-engines, avionics, accessories and aerospace structures. The company has been set up to meet the requirement of Indian Defence Forces (namely Indian Airforce, Indian Navy, Indian Army and Indian Coast Guard) in the area of Aerospace.

The business of the company is mainly concentrated to defence services which is highly technology intensive. The company has a vision to expand the revenue sources in the domestic and international market. This is mainly to boost the growth of the company. The company has been developing aerospace ecosystem in the country to boost the growth of industry in line with "Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan".




The key benchmark indices are likely to start trade on a optimistic note tracking cues from the US . As of 07:10 AM, the SGX Nifty March futures quoted at 16,890  indicating a gap-up of more than 200 points to the NSE Nifty 50 benchmark back home. Meanwhile, here are the stocks to focus in trade on Wednesday.

Zomato: The food-delivery giant and online grocery firm Blinkit (formerly Grofers) are in talks for a merger deal. According to sources, a share-swap deal in which Blinkit would be valued at around $750-800 million is under discussion. READ MORE

Dish Tv, Yes Bank: In an exclusive interview with Business Standard, Essel Group patriarch Subhash Chandra said Yes Bank should decide its role as a shareholder of Dish TV India or a lender so that the group can accordingly take steps to settle the pending issues with it. READ FULL INTERVIEW

HDFC Bank: With the banking regulator lifting restrictions on HDFC Banks digital initiatives, the largest private sector lender is now girding up to launch a clutch of customer-facing applications (apps), which will act as stepping stones in its journey to morph into a technology (tech)-led bank from a conventional one. READ MORE

Future Retail: With Future Retail and Amazon failing to resolve disputes, lenders will begin legal action to secure their interest with an option to approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). READ MORE

Dhani Services: Gagan Banga, MD & CEO of Indiabulls Housing Finance has stepped down from the board of Dhani Services, formerly known as Indiabulls Consumer Finance, to focus full time in the affairs of the mortgage lender, Indiabulls Housing Finance. Apart from Dhani Services, Banga also stepped down from Dhani Loans and Services and Indiabulls Distribution Services with effect from March 14.

IndiGo: The low-cost airline said it started flights between India and Thailand from Tuesday onwards after a span of two years. Thailand opened its borders nearly two years after it restricted entry for tourists in March 2020, the airline's statement noted. READ MORE

Oberoi Realty: The real-estate company topped Mumbais ranking of the top-20 developers in terms of sales in 2021. The Runwal group which took the top slot in 2020 was down to third place in 2021. The more well-known Godrej Properties fell far behind and failed to make it into the top 10; it was ranked in 12th place. READ MORE

Paytm: Japanese investment bank Softbank representative on Indian fintech firms Paytm and Policybazaar, Munish Verma is stepping down from the companies boards, accordingly to sources. The decision to step down from the boards of listed company is part of Softbanks global strategy to not be on boards of listed companies.

Auto stocks: Major automotive (auto) component manufacturers and automakers on Tuesday were shortlisted by the government for incentives under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the sector. The list had 75 firms including the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Forge, Hero MotoCorp,, Bosch India, Ola Electric and BHEL among others. The government expects these 75 companies to invest close to Rs 29,834 crore under the Component Champion Incentive scheme. READ MORE

Eicher Motors: The companys premium brand Royal Enfield on Tuesday launched its new bike model Scram 411 with introductory prices starting at Rs 2.03 lakh (ex-showroom Chennai). While it will be available immediately in India, the Scram 411 will make its debut in Europe and Asia-Pacific by the middle of this year, Royal Enfield said.

REC: The company has scheduled its board meeting on March 21 to consider a proposal for approval of market borrowing programme of the company for FY22-23.

Stocks in F&O ban: Balrampur Chini is the only stock in the F&O ban period on Wednesday.


Bharat Forge Ltd is quoting at Rs 673.9, up 3.2% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 14.02% in last one year as compared to a 14.88% jump in NIFTY and a 1.59% jump in the Nifty Auto index.

Bharat Forge Ltd is up for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 673.9, up 3.2% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 1.49% on the day, quoting at 16912.1. The Sensex is at 56605.23, up 1.49%. Bharat Forge Ltd has slipped around 4.26% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Auto index of which Bharat Forge Ltd is a constituent, has slipped around 10.2% in last one month and is currently quoting at 10131.3, up 1.87% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 5.54 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 22.39 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark March futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 675.2, up 3.1% on the day. Bharat Forge Ltd is up 14.02% in last one year as compared to a 14.88% jump in NIFTY and a 1.59% jump in the Nifty Auto index.

The PE of the stock is 30.63 based on TTM earnings ending December 21.

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DCB Bank rose 1.20% to Rs 71.75 after the bank announced the opening of its 50th branch in Chandrasekharpur, Odisha, a resident and commercial locality in capital city Bhubaneswar.

The new branch is a part of DCB Bank's expansion plan in Odisha which will offer customers a range of retail banking services such as savings and current accounts (CASA), fixed deposits (FD) and various loan products. It will provide a variety of loans to farmers, agri, micro and small businesses, local artisans such as Patachittra artists, Small Road Transport Operator (SRTO) and individuals.

The branch will also disburse loans for tractors, high-tech farming, educational institutions, retail small ticket micro finance loans and Kisan Credit Card to farmers, in addition to loans against gold and loans to MSMEs. The Bank has financed construction projects particularly focused towards affordable housing. DCB Bank also simultaneously opened branches today at Junagarh in Kalahandi district, Khariar in Nuapada district and Padampur in Bargarh district of the state.

The net profit of DCB Bank declined 21.66% to Rs 75.37 crore in the quarter ended December 2021 as against Rs 96.21 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2020. Total operating income rose 1% to Rs 878.08 crore in the quarter ended December 2021 as against Rs 869.35 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2020.

DCB Bank is a new generation private sector bank with 367 branches across India as on 31 December 2021. It is a scheduled commercial bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India. DCB Bank has contemporary technology and infrastructure, including ATMs, internet banking for personal as well as business banking customers and mobile banking app.

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Equity indices traded sideways with strong gains in mid morning trade. The Nifty was trading below the 16,900 mark. The buying was supported by a slump in crude oil prices. All sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the green.

At 11:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, jumped 757.41 points or 1.36% at 56,534.87. The Nifty 50 index rallied 228.45 points or 1.37% at 16,891.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.33% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.29%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 2,284 shares rose and 940 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2022 settlement rose $1.36 cents at $101.27 a barrel. Oil prices have declined 11% in two trading sessions and settled below the $100 mark for the first time since the start of Russia Ukraine conflict.

Crude prices have also come under pressure amid spike in COVID-19 cases in China.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index rallied 1.74% to 6,013.1, snapping its two day losing streak. The index saw bargain hunting after falling 4.52% in two days.

Vedanta (up 3.15%), APL Apollo Tubes (up 2.69%), JSW Steel (up 2.17%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.87%) and Tata Steel (up 1.63%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were NMDC (up 1.59%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.48%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.42%), Coal India (up 1.01%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.91%).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Punjab National Bank was up 0.14%. The state-run bank has reported a fraud of Rs 2,060.14 crore in the NPA account of IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company (ITPCL) at Extra Large Corporate Branch, Delhi. Punjab National Bank (PNB) informed that it has already made provisions amounting to Rs 824.06 crore as per prescribed prudential norms.

ITPCL is a SPV incorporated by IL&FS Group under the energy platform (i.e. IEDCL) for implementation of the Thermal Power Project ("Project"), at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu.

Genus Paper & Boards rose 3.7% after the company said it has started commercial production of duplex paper from one of production lines at its new unit at Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. The Muzaffarnagar unit has manufacturing facilities for production of kraft paper and duplex paper.

Global Markets:

Asian markets advanced on Wednesday. China continues to grapple with its most severe Covid outbreak since the height of the pandemic in 2020, with major cities scrambling to limit business activity.

US stocks rallied on Tuesday as oil prices continued to drop further below $100 on hopes of an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

The gains came as traders continued to eye the latest with ceasefire negotiations in Ukraine and China Covid lockdowns that could wreak havoc on tech supply chains. Investors are anticipating a big Federal Reserve monetary decision Wednesday, in which the central bank is expected to hike rates by a quarter point, its first hike since 2018.

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Chinese, Dutch FMs hold phone talks

Xinhua) 08:54, March 16, 2022

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held a phone conversation with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra, during which the two mainly exchanged views on the current situation in Ukraine.

Wang said the position of the Chinese side on the Ukraine issue has been consistent and open, noting that "the four musts" highlighted by Chinese President Xi Jinping are China's clearest and the most authoritative attitude, and that all measures taken by China will be based on the "four musts."

During his virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this month, Xi said China maintains that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported.

Wang said China, as a peace-loving country, has always been committed to peaceful settlement of disputes through political means, and is ready to work with the Netherlands and other countries of the European Union to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

The international community generally hopes to realize a cease-fire as soon as possible, ease the situation on the ground and avoid civilian casualties, which is also China's expectation, he said.

Noting that Russia and Ukraine have held four rounds of talks and progress has been slow, Wang said there is hope for a cease-fire and a peaceful future can be opened up if the talks can be maintained, adding that China will continue making efforts in its own way to promote peace talks.

Wang also said that the escalating sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe against Russia have compounded the difficulties facing a struggling global economic recovery and inflicted undue damage on the people's livelihood of various countries, calling on all parties to do more to promote peace talks, not the opposite.

He also pointed out that the top priority for the international community at the moment is to deal with a possible large-scale humanitarian crisis, saying that China has already put forward a six-point proposal on easing the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and taken concrete actions, and the first batch of emergency humanitarian aid has arrived and been distributed, with more assistance to be provided in the future as needed.

Stressing that behind the Ukraine crisis lies the issue of Europe's security, Wang said that how to safeguard Europe's security in the future concerns the vital interests of all European countries, including the Netherlands.

The conflict will eventually end, Wang said, expressing his hope that European countries can sit down with Russia for an in-depth and comprehensive dialogue, and discuss ways to set up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework in a bid to achieve long-term stability in Europe.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
HYDERABAD: The claims on the cantonment land in Secunderabad by the state government are said to go against the conventional wisdom, which holds that public lands in cantonments belong to Centre.

According to experts, the British either conquered the lands or had otherwise got the land ownership which was passed to the government of India in 1947. But Secunderabad Cantonment was not located in British India. Hyderabad was a sovereign princely state prior to 1948.

There are 62 cantonments in India. They were originally set up by the British to house troops, troop families and civilians who supplied goods and service to the troops. Now, the Central government (ministry of defence) directly administers all cantonments.

Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao recently made a statement in the Assembly that public lands in Secunderabad Cantonment belonged to the state government.

The claim is important because it has a bearing on the resolution of several pressing public issues. These include: Civilians being denied access to several public roads passing through cantonment by military authorities, impossible financial demands made by the Centre when the state approached it for land for road widening, Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP), and for improving the abysmal civic infrastructure in cantonment.

A little history is useful to understand who owns public lands in Secunderabad Cantonment today.

The East India Company did not conquer Hyderabad. Rather, it signed a treaty (Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance) with the 2nd Nizam, Ali Khan, at the end of the 18th century. This treaty mandated that both parties would provide their troops to each other against common enemies.

As a result of the treaty, a subsidiary force of British troops was stationed in Hyderabad. The Nizam allocated an area near Hussainsagar (today's Kavadiguda) for their camp. Traders from all over India came in to provide goods and services to the troops. The new town which emerged was named Secunderabad in 1806, after the then Nizam Sikandar Jah.

Like the British, the Nizam also was treaty-bound to provide for his troops. He did so. But the British, claiming that Nizam's troops were poorly trained, convinced him that they would raise a fresh contingent of local troops (at Nizam's expense). This contingent came to be called Hyderabad Contingent. It was quartered in Bolarum, 10 km north of Secunderabad.

The crucial point is this: Though the Nizam allowed the British to occupy land for military purposes, he did not give them ownership of that land. We know this through the following evidence available in the national archives and from other archival records.

In 1906, Bolarum, Secunderabad and 13 intervening villages were merged to form the single area now called Secunderabad. The firman issued by the Nizam to formalise this merger clearly states that land ownership in the merged area remained with the original owners.

Though the Nizam allowed the British to occupy land for military purposes, he did not give them ownership of the land, as per historic documents. The British themselves undertook several exercises to see whether they owned any land in Secunderabad. The most elaborate such exercise was by Sir William Barton in 1926. All these exercises concluded that the British did not own any land in Secunderabad.

A large portion of the land was directly owned by the Nizam himself. Another significant chunk was under paigahs and jagirdars who were allowed to collect land revenue  but even this land was ultimately owned by the Nizam. Some land - diwani  belonged to the Hyderabad government. The rest was privately owned.

By the time of the Operation Polo in 1948, sarf-e-khas and jagir lands together accounted for almost 80,000 sq. km. out of the 2,10,000 sq. km. total area of Hyderabad. Opression of peasants by the aristocracy led to a violent, communist-supported revolt a few years earlier. This revolt was still ongoing when the Indian Army entered in 1948.

To quell the revolt, a more equitable distribution of land was necessary. Documents show that the ministry of states under Sardar Patel instructed Maj. Gen. J. N. Chaudhuri (who had been appointed Military Governor after he led the Indian Army into Hyderabad) to convince the Nizam to hand over sarf-e-khas and jagir lands to the state. There were tortuous and protracted negotiations between the two. The privy purse offered to the Nizam was raised to Rs 1 crore every year. Other concessions were also made. Finally, the Nizam agreed. He issued a firman announcing that he was handing over these lands to the state. Two regulations were passed in 1948 to formalise Hyderabad Sarf-e-Khas (Merger) Regulation 1358F and Hyderabad (Abolition of Jagirs) Regulation 1358F. Thus, overnight, 80,000 sq. km. of land owned by the aristocracy became diwani, or state land. This was perhaps the largest land reform in independent India.

Strangely though, a new general land register prepared by the government of India in 1956 (after merger of Hyderabad with India) shows all public lands in cantonment as belonging to the government of India!

In 1933, the British prepared the first comprehensive land record of Secunderabad. The special lands officer appointed for preparing this general land register (GLR) stated that the British did not own any land in Secunderabad.

Twice in the 20th century, the Nizam took back land which was no longer required for military purposes. In 1933 he took back Chaderghat Municipality, including the British Residency (today's Koti Women's College) and the Residency Bazars. In 1946, he took back the town area of Secunderabad, south of today's Rashtrapathi Road.

It thus seems clear the reality of ownership of public lands in Secunderabad Cantonment is different from that in other cantonments. The cantonment's land record needs to be corrected to reflect this.

Importantly, this also meant that sarf-e-khas, jagir and paigah lands inside Secunderabad Cantonment  which accounted for the entire public land in cantonment - also became state land.

Strangely though, a new General Land Register prepared by Govt of India in 1956 (after merger of Hyderabad with India) shows all public lands in cantonment as belonging to Govt of India!

However, whenever the matter has been examined deeply  by government or by courts  the Central Government's claim of ownership has been rejected. In 1956 Govt of India actually had to purchase Rashtrapathi Nilayam  the erstwhile Bolarum Residency of the British - from Govt of Andhra Pradesh, showing that the premises were property of the state government. Many individual court cases have successfully challenged the Central government's claim of land ownership in cantonment. There are Resolutions of Secunderabad Cantonment Board, and even internal reports of Government of India, which conclude that the Central government does not own public lands in Secunderabad Cantonment. Even the recent Hyderabad High Court judgement upholding state government's ownership of Kokapet lands relied on the 1948 sarf-e-khas Merger Regulation.

It thus seems clear that ownership of public lands in Secunderabad Cantonment is different from the other cantonments. The cantonment's land record needs to be corrected to reflect this.
The domestic equity benchmarks marched towards the day's high early afternoon trade. The Nifty crossed the 16,900 mark. The buying was supported by a slump in crude oil prices. All sectoral indices on the NSE were trading in the green.

At 12:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 867.28 points or 1.55% to 56,644.13. The Nifty 50 index added 249.25 points or 1.50% to 16,912.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index jumped 1.46% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rallied 1.32%.

Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 2,284 shares rose and 940 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, slumped 7.60% to 24.70. The Nifty 31 March 2022 futures were trading at 16,942.75, at a premium of 30.5 points as compared with the spot at 16,912.25.

The Nifty option chain for 31 March 2022 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 23.8 lakh contracts at 18,000 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 48 lakh contracts were seen at 16,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty IT index rose 1.32% to 35,559.40. The index had declined 2.58% to end at 35,097.85 yesterday.

Coforge (up 4.29%), Infosys (up 1.65%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.34%), Wipro (up 1.33%), MindTree (up 1.19%), TCS (up 1.16%) and HCL Tech (up 1.11%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Tata Communications rose 2.97% to Rs 1159.10 after the company announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with Formula 1. Under the collaboration, Tata Communications will function as the official broadcast connectivity provider of Formula 1.

Dhampur Sugar rose 0.20% to Rs 524.85. The company announced that a meeting of the board of directors will be held on Monday, 21 March to consider the recommendation of an interim dividend for the financial year 2021-22.

Macrotech Developers (MDL) gained 1.42% to Rs 1050.75 after Moody's Investors Service upgraded the company's corporate family rating (CFR) to 'B2' from 'B3'. "The upgrade of MDL's ratings to B2 from B3 reflects the company's improved liquidity following the partial prepayment of its $225 million backed senior secured bonds due in 2023, as well as a continued recovery in operating performance both at India and London," says Sweta Patodia, a Moody's analyst.

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Munish Ravinder Varma, non-executive, non-independent director of One 97 Communications (Paytm), tendered his resignation with effect from the close of business hours on 14 March 2022, due to personal commitments and other pre-occupations.

Upon Varma's resignation, Vikas Agnihotri, alternate director to Munish Ravinder Varma, ceased to be alternate director of the company from closure of business hours on 14 March 2022.

On Friday (11 March), the Reserve Bank of India barred the company's Paytm Payments Bank venture from accepting new customers. The RBI decision is based on certain "material supervisory concerns" and the restrictions will continue pending a comprehensive audit of its information-technology systems, the central bank said in a statement. Paytm said in response that it is taking steps to comply, including the appointment of an external auditor.

Paytm believes that the measures imposed upon Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) will not materially impact Paytm's overall business. This direction does not have an impact on the services that Paytm provides in partnership with other financial services institutions.

Paytm is one the largest payments platform in India based on the number of consumers, number of merchants, number of transactions and revenue ended March 2021.

On a consolidated basis, Paytm reported a net loss of Rs 778.50 crore in Q3 FY22, higher than net loss of Rs 535.50 crore in Q3 FY21. Net sales jumped 88.6% to Rs 1,456.10 crore in Q3 FY22 over Rs 772 crore in Q3 FY21.

Shares of Paytm were trading up 5.28% at Rs 623.70. It bounced after hitting a record low of Rs 572.25 in the morning trade today. The stock slumped 23.65% in the past three trading sessions.

It was listed on the bourses on 18 November 2021 at Rs 1955, a discount of 9.07% to the IPO price of Rs 2150.

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The state-run bank has reported a fraud of Rs 2,060.14 crore in the NPA account of IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company (ITPCL) at Extra Large Corporate Branch, Delhi.

Punjab National Bank (PNB) informed that it has already made provisions amounting to Rs 824.06 crore as per prescribed prudential norms.

ITPCL is a SPV incorporated by IL&FS Group under the energy platform (i.e. IEDCL) for implementation of the Thermal Power Project ("Project"), at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. It is setting up 3180 MW thermal power plant in Kothattai, Ariyagoshti and Villianallur revenue villages of Chidambaram Taluk, Cuddalore District.

PNB's net profit surged 122.67% to Rs 1,126.78 crore on 4.41% decline in total income to Rs 22,026.02 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

As on 31 December 2021, the Government of India held 73.15% in PNB. As at the end of September 2021, PNB had total 36,514 delivery channels with a network of 10,528 domestic branches, 2 International branches, 13,506 ATMs & 12,478 business correspondents.

Shares of PNB were up 0.14% at Rs 36.05 on the BSE.

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Shree Cement jumped 3.65% to Rs 23,622 after the company announced that it has commenced trial run of its new Clinkerisation unit (Kiln-3) at Baloda Bazar, near Raipur in Chhattisgarh.

This clinkerisation unit shall augment company's clinker supply to its various grinding units in Eastern region. The company has also set up Waste Heat Recovery Power unit alongside the kiln, which will produce green power and help meet company's power requirement.

This brownfield investment in Kiln-3 at Raipur (Chhatisgarh) will generate employment and revenue generation opportunities and contribute to the overall growth and development of the State. Company has funded the entire investment from its internal accruals.

Shree Cement reported a 23.6% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 482.70 crore in Q3 FY22 from Rs 631.58 crore posted in Q3 FY21. Net sales grew 2.2% to Rs 3,637.11 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

Shree Cement is one of India's top three cement producers. Its portfolio of products includes Shree Jung Rodhak Cement, Bangur Cement, Roofon and Rockstrong Cement. It also has an installed power generation capacity of 752 megawatts which includes waste heat recovery power, solar power, wind power along with others.

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Tata Communications rose 2.97% to Rs 1159.10 after the company announced a multi-year strategic collaboration with Formula 1.

Under the collaboration, Tata Communications will function as the official broadcast connectivity provider of Formula 1.

Tata Communications will empower Formula 1 with global end-to-end managed network services for video contribution. For this, the company will facilitate the transfer of more than 100 video feeds and over 250 audio channels to be transmitted between the Grand Prix venue and F1's Media & Technology Centre in the UK every race weekend in under 200 milliseconds, enabling F1 to broadcast to over 500 million fans in 180+ territories globally.

Following the introduction of Formula 1's remote broadcast operations in 2020, Tata Communications has allowed reduction in the organisation's travelling freight by 34%.

Formula 1 racing began in 1950 and is the world's most prestigious motor racing competition, as well as the world's most popular annual sporting series.

Tata Communications is a global digital ecosystem enabler powering today's fast-growing digital economy in more than 190 countries and territories. Leading with trust, it enables digital transformation of enterprises globally with collaboration and connected solutions, core and next gen connectivity, cloud hosting and security solutions and media services.

On a consolidated basis, Tata Communications' net profit jumped 27.84% to Rs 395.21 crore on 0.90% decline in net sales to Rs 4184.89 crore in Q3 December 2021 over Q3 December 2020.

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Tata Motors rose 2.32% to Rs 423.25 after the media reported that the auto major is planning to invest Rs 15,000 crore in the EV segment in the next five years.

According to the reports, the company, which is a leader in the newly emerging EV segment with offerings such as Nexon, is also planning to develop around 10 more new offerings in the segment.

In October last year, Tata Motors announced that it will raise $1 billion (Rs 7500 crore) in its passenger electric vehicle business at a valuation of upto $9.1 billion from TPG Rise Climate.

TPG Rise Climate along with co-investors ADQ, shall invest Rs 7,500 crore in compulsory convertible instruments to secure between 11% to 15% stake in a newly incorporated subsidiary of Tata Motors, translating to an equity valuation of up to $9.1 billion.

The new company shall leverage all existing investments and capabilities of Tata Motors and will channelise the future investments into electric vehicles, dedicated BEV platforms, advanced automotive technologies and catalyse investments in charging infrastructure and battery technologies.

Over the next 5 years, this company will create a portfolio of 10 electric vehicles (EVs) and in association with Tata Power, catalyse the creation of a widespread charging infrastructure to facilitate rapid EV adoption in India.

Tata Motors, part of the Tata group, is a global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups, trucks and buses. On a consolidated basis, the auto major reported net loss of Rs 1,338.17 crore in Q3 FY22 as against a net profit of Rs 3,222.21 crore in Q3 FY21. Net sales fell 4.6% to Rs 71,406.77 crore in Q3 FY22 over Q3 FY21.

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The dissenters, called the G23 group, are meeting in Delhi at Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence to chalk out their strategy after the humiliating defeat of the party in recently held five state elections.

Apart from the initial G-23 dissenters, some more leaders have joined the meeting which include Mani Shankar Aiyar, Patiala MP and wife of ex Punjab CM Amarinder Singh Praneet Kaur, former Rajya Sabha Member P.J. Kurein have also joined the meeting at Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence.

Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, ex Punjab CM, Raj Babbar, Kuldeep Sharma have also been seen arriving at the venue for the meet.

Shankar Singh Vaghela and Sandeep Dikshit are taking part in the meeting.

Vaghela has been in the in the past but his present status is not clear.

The meeting is being held to devise the further strategy after the CWC endorsed Sonia Gandhi's leadership. The group has already reached out to the like-minded leaders within the party.

The Congress president on Tuesday removed state chiefs of five states and after which loyalists started targeting the dissenters.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at Sibal that he does not know the "ABCD of Congress", and is an outsider who was given everything from the party.

Kapil Sibal and other leaders from the group have demanded stepping aside of the Gandhis, and pave way for a new leadership.

Amid the war within the Congress, talking to IANS, Sandeep Dikshit, a former MP said: "The Congress president should have accessibility, acceptability and accountability."

--IANS

miz/skp/

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CPI(M) state committee member and national president of DYFI, A A Rahim, will be the party's candidate for one of the three Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant from the southern state next month.

Rahim's candidature was announced on Wednesday by the state committee of CPI(M) which has decided to share 2 out of the 3 seats with its coalition partner CPI.

The CPI has already announced that its candidate would be former national general secretary of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF), P Santhosh Kumar.

The elections for the Rajya Sabha seats are being held as the terms of senior Congress leader A K Antony, K Somaprasad (CPI-M) and M V Shreyams Kumar (LJD) will expire on April 2.

The Congress has started discussing the party's candidate for its lone seat.

Antony has said he will quit active parliamentary and not seek re-election to the Rajya Sabha, but will continue to contribute to party in Kerala.

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The leaders of the Congress's "Group of 23" on Wednesday said the only way forward for the grand old party is to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels.

In a statement, the G-23 leaders, who met at the residence of former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, urged the leadership to initiate talks with like-minded forces to create a way for a credible alternative to the ruling BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The G-23 saw some more leaders joining the dinner meeting at Azad's residence, which was convened to work out the grouping's future strategy and discuss the Congress's debacle in the just-concluded Assembly polls in five states.

The meeting lasted for over four hours and all the leaders spoke about the strategy to be adopted.

Sources said Azad also spoke to president and conveyed to her the feelings of the grouping, while assuring her of their support in strengthening the organisation.

Azad and Anand Sharma reposed faith in Gandhi's leadership at the Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Sunday.

Incidentally, the grouping sidestepped the issue of leadership, after Kapil Sibal said Gandhi should step aside and pave the way for another leader.

The leaders said they met to deliberate on the demoralising outcome of the recent poll results and the constant exodus of party leaders and workers.

"We believe that the only way forward for the Congress is to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels.

"In order to oppose the BJP, it is necessary to strengthen the Congress party. We demand the Congress party to initiate dialogue with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024," the joint statement of the G-23 said.

The next steps in this regard will be announced soon, it added.

Sources said the grouping had earlier planned a dinner at Sibal's residence, but it was changed at the last minute.

Among the leaders who attended the meeting were Sibal, Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor, Vivek Tankha, Raj Babbar, Akhilesh Prasad Singh and Sandeep Dikshit.

The ambit of the G-23 grouping widened this time as some more leaders -- Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, former Gujarat chief minister Shankar Singh Vaghela, former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurian and former Haryana speaker Kuldeep Sharma joined the dinner meeting, besides MA Khan.

The grouping had given an open invite to other Congressmen to join them at the dinner meeting.

The sources said the meeting was convened to apprise all the G-23 members of the decisions taken at the crucial CWC meet.

Two prominent G-23 members -- Azad and Sharma -- were to apprise the other members of the developments at the CWC meeting and what they said on strengthening the party in the wake of its drubbing in the Assembly polls, they said.

The performance of the Congress in these states was poor as it failed to win any of the four BJP-ruled states -- Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur -- while it lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The G-23 grouping has been critical of the Congress leadership. It has been demanding an organisational overhaul, after its members wrote a joint letter to Gandhi in 2020.

The sources said invitations were also extended to the Congressmen who do not constitute the bloc but feel that changes are required, including at the leadership level, to revive the party's electoral fortunes.

The decision to convene a meeting of the G-23 came a day after Gandhi sought the resignation of the Congress presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.

Sibal, in his latest salvo targeting the Congress leadership, had said the Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to helm the party, provoking a backlash from the Gandhi family loyalists, who accused him of speaking the language of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

The G-23 has, however, got weakened over time with senior leader M Veerappa Moily distancing himself from the group, Jitin Prasada joining the BJP and Mukul Wasnik not attending its meetings in recent times.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By chalking up a huge electoral victory, the Aam Aadmi Party has seized power in Punjab by the scruff of its neck. This is an extraordinary achievement as it comes barely eight years after the party emerged on the public stage in Delhi, which is not quite a state and is more in the nature of a very large municipal authority.

Therefore, for the AAP, the best that can be said is that its recent victory reflects a yearning of Punjabs people for hope in a sea of wilderness, such is the legacy left behind by the established political parties. Basing any projections for the AAPs future trajectory on this sparse basis -- as some are tempted to do -- can be premature.

Aside from the prevailing local factors, the AAPs phenomenal Punjab victory is a tribute to its ambition, the dedication of its cadre and to the leadership of its founder-supremo Arvind Kejriwal. How the party proceeds from here will naturally be watched closely by the people of Punjab and the partys supporters and its opponents alike.

The AAPs reputation in Delhi was based principally on two elements -- the large subsidies the Kejriwal government provided on water and electricity, making these practically free for the lower economic strata and to some others; and running government schools and mohalla health clinics efficiently and making these easily accessible to the public. It's these that may have aroused hope in Punjab.

Are large subsidies sustainable on a long-term basis in a revenue deficit state where sources of tax collection are way more limited than in a megapolis like Delhi. Punjab primarily means agriculture, from which incomes arent taxed, and fertiliser and power consumed by farmers are already subsidised.

On the political side, Delhi voters have backed the AAP in a big way in order to extract relatively free water and electricity from the system, but while electing their MPs they have tended to show a marked preference for the BJP, powered by the saffron partys religio-political appeal -- a larger-than-life communal feature projected strongly under Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership.

In Punjab, the majority communalism factor is hardly present in day-to- day life since the Muslim community factor is nearly wholly absent after Partition, which accompanied Independence. The other, around which the typical BJP election campaign is spun in practically every other state, is missing. Thats why the BJP hasnt had an independent existence -- in electoral terms -- in Punjab, and has traditionally tagged along with the Akali Dal, though this was not so in the recent election.

In the absence of the communal factor in everyday life, which it is important to note has emerged as a key element of national politics as the BJPs influence has gained hegemonic proportions in much of India, a party like the AAP -- with its emphasis on the efficient distribution of public goods and services, and little else -- has found traction with relative ease in Punjab.

In the last Assembly election (2017) too, the party had emerged as the principal Opposition, edging out the Akali Dal, which was dethroned by the Congress. The Akalis couldnt get even to second place although they are a political behemoth possessing wide and deep-going social influence for historical reasons in a Sikh-majority state.

The AAP is thus not a newbie in Punjab. The Akalis had mired Punjab in controversies, many over corruption, high-handedness and the misuse of constitutionally-given authority for personal benefit of the powerful rather than public welfare. As for the Congress, which lost power in this election, it was mainly a story of the party shooting itself in the foot.

The party controversially removed its chief minister just months before the polls at the behest of its national leadership, which sought to pander to an irresponsible and super-ambitious politician in its midst who was named state party chief, and then proceeded to belittle and destroy the partys chances. The stage was thus set for the AAPs victory. Its the scale of its victory that is the real surprise, and may give us a sense of the Punjab voter being left bereft of even hope.

On most subjects other than service delivery -- which is of course very important and is generally missing in governance in most states -- the AAPs political and ideological positions come closest to the BJPs, while many of its slogans seek to mimic the Congress to buttress its so-called secular appeal.

For elections in Delhi, this has proved a plus so far. What happens outside the national capital is a question mark for now. Punjab is an important Indian state, and the AAPs first test is to prove itself here. That said, Punjab is not a so-called normal state as the countrys biggest religious minority is nearly wholly absent in its demography and social and political consciousness.

It has been posited that since the Congress is in serious decline  as the recent elections showed -- and could be perilously close to organisational chaos and possible disintegration, the AAP is suited to take its place nationally. The basis of such an analysis hasnt been made clear by its proponents, unless it is meant to be kite-flying! Do the claims made for the AAP take precedence over several other regional entities who may aspire similarly? This question is also not tackled. But these aspects aside, is the AAP best suited among Indias political parties to take on the BJP ideologically?

Unless a challenger threatens the BJP ideologically and offers a coherent and credible narrative on an all-India basis, there seems little hope for it, given the current scenario. If anything, the BJPs spectacular results in the recent state elections show that its ideology has prevailed with voters across a swathe of the country -- and all its opponents, not just the Congress, have bitten the dust.

So, how should the AAP be judged on this matter? The partys stance on the Shaheen Bagh movement of resistance against the law to threaten the citizenship of millions of people two years ago -- in sharp contrast with its fulsome support to the farmers agitation that gripped Punjab, Haryana and western UP -- and its stance on the Delhi riots that took place alongside the Shaheen Bagh mobilisations, shocked lakhs of AAP supporters in the national capital as it was practically indistinguishable from that of the BJP. With credentials such as these, can the AAP take on the BJP nationally? Does the alternative to the BJP have to be a Chhota BJP?
Ukrainian President cited Pearl Harbour and the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 on Wednesday as he appealed to the to do more to help Ukraine's fight against Russia, but acknowledged the no-fly zone he has sought to close the sky over his country may not happen.

Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelensky said the US must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports, and he showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers an emotional video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war.

We need you right now, Zelensky said, adding, "I call on you to do more. In urging a steeper economic hit to the Russians, he said: Peace is more important than income. Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelensky began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.

I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, he told them.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelensky is using the world's leading legislative bodies as a stage to implore allied leaders to stop the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country. It has also put Zelensky at odds with President Joe Biden, whose administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighbouring Poland as the US seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Instead, Biden will deliver his own address following Zelensky's speech, in which he is expected to announce an additional USD 800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced in the last week alone to USD 1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air-defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Appearing in his now-trademark army green T-shirt as he appeals to world leaders, Zelensky has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump's first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelensky to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelensky spoke on the giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to Ukraine.

He thanked the American people saying Ukraine is grateful for the outpouring of support, and Biden in particular, even as he urged Biden to use his office to do more.

"You are the leader of the nation. I wish you be the leader of the world," he sad Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace. Invoking Shakespeare's hero last week, Zelensky asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is to be or not to be. On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelensky called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine's membership  and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.



Biden has insisted there will be no US troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelensky's relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

US defence officials say they have been puzzled by Zelensky's demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isn't often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of other weapons the West is providing, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.

The Biden administration is looking to send Ukraine more of what's been working well, according to an official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars; grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the official said.

Even though Zelensky and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

This won't be the first time he has appealed directly to members of the House and Senate, who have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelensky delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

Congress has already approved USD 13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelensky asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week. It was in that call that Zelensky asked to address the US Congress, something the Democratic leader readily agreed to.

The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine, said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

Zelensky's next stop could be Spain. The speaker of Spain's Congress of Deputies has invited the Ukrainian president to address Spanish lawmakers via videolink.



In a letter to Zelensky, Speaker Meritxell Batet wrote that the address will be a magnificent opportunity for the chamber, all Spanish people and the thousands of Ukrainians living in Spain to listen to your message and express our firmest support.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/PRNewswire): La Tim Metal & Industries (BSE: LATIMMETAL) (Script Code # 505693), a listed company has been in the steel trade since 1987 and deals with Colour Coated Steel Sheets.

La Tim has an un-utilized land parcel in Khopoli - Pali, Raigad district with huge business potential. With the central government's focus on nation-building through infrastructure development, La Tim is delighted to announce Phase 1 of an Industrial Park on 30-40 acres of land parcels on Khopoli - Pali Road.

As far as industrial growth is concerned, Maharashtra is amongst the leading states in the country with Mumbai being the financial capital. Eventually, Raigad will become a hub of industrial growth in Maharashtra with projects, like Delhi - Mumbai Industrial Corridor, Refinery, Pharmaceutical Park, Food Park, and many more industrial projects planned in the near future.

The company's Industrial Park is well placed alongside an existing hub of steel industries including Tata Bhushan Steel Ltd, Asian Colour Coated Ispat Ltd, Uttam Galva Steels, Top worth Pipes and Tubes, Maharashtra Seamless Tubes & JSW Steel Plant, and many more in the nearby vicinity.

La Tim's Industrial Park is strategically located on the main road and is easily accessible from Mumbai & Pune. Furthermore, Khopoli - Pali road has been recently declared as a National Highway, leading to Dighi Port, whose construction is going on at a remarkable pace. The Industrial Park is located at an equidistance from Dighi Port and Nhavasheva Port and is accessible by railway from Roha and Khopoli Railway station.

La Tim is coming out with smaller plots ranging between 1,000 square meters to 4,000 square meters suitable for Service Industries, Warehousing, Small and Medium Scale Industries, and more. The Company is hoping that this will generate additional revenue of around INR 60-75 crores and additional operating profit in the range of INR 35-45 crores. The incremental income will be utilized further to develop another phase of an industrial park and/or value addition to the existing manufacturing unit of the steel division by way of backward integration.

La Tim Metal & Industries Ltd manufatures and trades in Colour-Coated Steel sheets. It owns and operates a manufacturing unit in Umergaon, Gujarat, through its wholly-owned subsidiary i.e. La Tim Souring India Pvt Ltd, having a capacity of 1 lakh metric ton per annum and a consolidated turnover of more than INR 410 crore and profit after tax of INR 17 crore until December 2021.

La Tim Group is also in the business of Real Estate and Hospitality.

Its real estate division 'La Tim Lifestyle & Resorts' initiated land trading and real estate development from Panvel and its surrounding areas. Currently, La Tim has a land bank in excess of 1000 acres spread out along the Khopoli - Pali Road (State Highway 92), which is approximately 90 km's from Mumbai and 95 km from Pune.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 16 (ANI/PNN): The West Bengal Board of Primary Education (WBBPE) has launched a new website (http://www.wbbpe.org.pl/) after hackers carried out a successful cyberattack on the government server which hosted its original website (https://www.wbbpe.org/) on Wednesday.

The defacement came to light when the board received several complaints from the students and parents regarding the webpage showing HTTP error 503.2 and service unavailable on March 15.

Dr RC Bagchi, secretary, WBBPE said, "The WBBPE's official government website has been hacked in a successful cyberattack by the hackers. Since March 15, students and parents were unable to access our official website due to the cyber attack. However, the government has launched a new website (http://www.wbbpe.org.pl/) to facilitate the students and parents for accessing vital information from the board."

In 2020-21, India had a total of 11,58,208 cyber security incidents. According to a study from the Central Government, cyber security attacks grew to 12,13,784 by October 2021. In the last two years, about 87,050 cyber security incidents were directed at government organisations.

Data security is becoming increasingly important, particularly for governments that are more exposed to cyber-attacks. And, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, security experts have warned that cyber-attacks will only become more prevalent.

Dr Bagchi added, "We are seeking expert advice for securing our new official website from further cyber-attacks. Still, the hackers are anonymous and they may have stolen the important data."

This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI/NewsVoir): World Consumer Day is celebrated every year on March 15 to mark the sovereignty and supremacy of the rights and needs of the consumers and highlights their unqualified claim to a fair and just treatment.

The underlying theme of this year is "Fair Digital Finance" and the Bank strives to leverage its digital platforms to meet and satisfy the diverse financial needs of its customers while at the same time committing itself to protect and uphold their interests at all times.

The Bank celebrated the World Consumer Rights Day with aplomb at its corporate office which was chaired by MD and CEO and the Executive Directors. CGM Operations, Gauri Prosad Sarma welcomed the gathering with his opening remarks.

Thereafter, MD & CEO, Atul Kumar Goel addressed the gathering where he underlined the importance of rendering prompt and responsive customer service by reaching out to all segments of the populace including the most vulnerable. The bank's continued focus on customer-centeredness is further underscored by the fact that MD & CEO in an internal message to all its employees, unequivocally conveyed the need to place the interests of the customers first and try to fulfil their aspirations and needs in all the activities and endeavours undertaken by the bank, be it launching of a new product/service or rendering routine service to them.

The event also marked the launch and circulation of collaterals for improved customer service and customer ease with thrust on promoting digital agenda and providing access to a plethora of digital banking services. Grahak Sewa is one such initiative, which is an in-house escalation matrix for the branches and field staff, to provide better customer service through expeditious customer grievance redressal, reduced TAT and faster resolution of customer complaints.

Customer EASE is another initiative to streamline the process of account opening so as to deliver a superior customer experience. Sanchay is the third initiative to layout and empower the workforce on all the digital offerings by PNB. In line with this, the bank has launched podcasts around digital offerings and released a set of videos for the capstone PNB One application to enable customers to make the most out of it.

The Bank also launched a booklet on Door Step Banking highlighting the different services being offered for the benefit of the customers like new cheque book delivery against requisition slip, Form 15G/H Delivery & Pick up, life certificate pickup, cash deposit & withdrawal within certain limit among other services.

The celebration ended with the vote of thanks by the General Manager (Customer Care).

This story is provided by News Voir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir)

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On March 11th, the Reserve Bank of India barred Payments Bank from onboarding new customers with immediate effect. Without elaborating, the said it observed material supervisory concerns in the bank. The regulator also ordered a comprehensive audit of Payment Bank's IT systems. Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds a 51% stake in the bank and One97 Communications 49%. The restrictions mean users cannot sign up for new wallets or Paytm Payments Bank savings and current accounts. Meanwhile, sources told Business Standard that RBIs action was primarily owing to violations of and anti-money laundering norms. The bank faced a similar action in 2018 after found that it had violated norms while onboarding users. Banking industry experts said the had been strict in this regard in view of the Financial Action Task Force country review, which is coming up this year or early next year. Paytm has denied a report from Bloomberg that said RBI found Paytm Payments Bank's servers were sharing information with China-based entities that indirectly own a stake in the firm. In the past, RBI has levied monetary penalties on banks for non-compliance with rules. Earlier this month, three cooperatives faced penalties while in September 2021, Axis Bank was fined 25 lakh rupees. Recently, fraudsters used the PAN number of several people to avail instant loans from the Dhani app. This has highlighted the need for stronger KYC checks.

The objective of KYC and AML guidelines is to prevent banks from being used by criminal elements for money laundering. KYC procedures also enable banks to understand their customers and their financial dealings better which in turn help them manage their risks prudently.

Banks must ensure that no account is opened in anonymous or fictitious names. Account should not be opened when a bank is unable to apply appropriate customer due diligence measures, either due to non-cooperation of the customer or non-reliability of the documents and information furnished by the customer.

Customers shall be categorised as low, medium and high risk category, based on the assessment and risk perception of the RE.

So, what are the challenges that financial institutions face when trying to implement RBI's KYC/AML guidelines since lenders are being frequently fined for lapses?

In an increasingly digital world, it is clear that banks must find innovative ways to assess customer risks and monitor transactions. Financial institutions, i.e both banks and fintech companies, should understand the complexities that arise from both the volume of transactions as well as KYC data as we undergo a digital transformation.

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Paytm has been in the news for a while now. A few months after its IPO shook investors confidence in the primary market, a recent audit shook RBIs trust in its implementation of know your customer norms. But are all financial institutions adhering to these norms? And what difficulties do they face in implementation? cuts the risk of fraud in digital transactions, whose nature has changed a lot in recent years because of the pandemic. UPI is set to grow bigger now as the RBI has introduced it in feature phones too. Most other forms of digital transaction are also growing.

Find out the changing landscape of virtual transactions. also form the backbone of financial markets. Global stock markets, meanwhile, seem to be waiting to see the outcome of the two-day meeting of the US Federal Reserve on March 15 & 16. Business Standards Puneet Wadhwa spoke with Raamdeo Agrawal, co-founder & joint managing director, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, to know how he is interpreting the situation in Ukraine, other recent developments, their impact on corporate earnings back home, and the investing opportunities in this market correction. After the markets, lets now return to the subject of . National Electronic Fund Transfer, or NEFT, is now a preferred mode of transaction for everyone. The RBI-managed has made near real-time movement of funds from one bank to another very easy. But how does the system operate? Find out in this episode of the podcast.
The National Electronic Funds Transfer or is a nationwide centralised payment system owned and operated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The objective of was to establish an efficient, secure and economical electronic fund transfer system. is now available round-the-clock on all days of the year. Before December 2019, NEFT transactions were settled between 8 am to 7 pm on weekdays. And from 8 am to 1 pm on the first and third Saturdays. The system remained unavailable. The electronic system offers near-real-time funds transfer to the beneficiary account and settlement in a secure manner. The does not levy any charges from member banks for NEFT transactions. On credit to the beneficiary account, the remitter will receive confirmation via SMS or email. Besides funds transfer, NEFT system can be used for payment of credit card dues to the card-issuing banks, payment of loan EMI, inward foreign exchange remittances and more. It is also available for one-way funds transfers from India to Nepal. But, how does the NEFT system operate? An individual or an organisation willing to transfer funds through NEFT can use the internet or mobile banking facility by initiating the transfer request. The remitter has to provide details of the beneficiary and bank account for the addition of the beneficiary to the internet or mobile banking module. Following beneficiary addition, the remitter can initiate online NEFT funds transfer by authorising debit to his/her account.

Alternatively, the remitter can also visit the bank for initiating NEFT funds transfer. Following this, the originating bank prepares a message and sends the message to its pooling centre, also called the NEFT Service Centre. The pooling centre forwards the message to the NEFT Clearing Centre, operated by the RBI, to be included for the next available batch. The Clearing Centre sorts the fund transfer transactions and prepares accounting entries to receive funds from the originating banks and redirect them to the beneficiary banks. Thereafter, remittance messages are forwarded to the beneficiary banks through their pooling centres. While the has not imposed any limit on the amount that can be remitted through NEFT, banks may place limits based on their own risk perception The beneficiary banks receive the inward remittance messages from the Clearing Centre and pass on the credit to the beneficiary customers accounts. A person having no bank account can remit funds through NEFT to a beneficiary having a bank account. It can be done by depositing cash at the NEFT-enabled branch of any bank. Such cash remittances are, however, restricted to a maximum of Rs 50,000 per transaction. NEFT presently operates in batches at half-hourly intervals throughout the day. In case of non-availability of NEFT for any reason, appropriate messages are broadcast by to all system participants. With effect from January 01, 2020, banks have been advised to not levy any charges from their savings bank account holders for NEFT funds transfers initiated online. The maximum charges for outward transactions at originating banks for other transactions have been prescribed by the RBI. The remitter and the beneficiary can track the status of NEFT transactions by contacting NEFT Customer Facilitation Centre (CFC) of the bank. The beneficiary customer receives the funds only after final settlement takes place between the banks.
Short-distance rural tourism grew more popular in Chinas capital during this years Labor Day holiday amid curbs on travel to control the pandemic. Bookings for hotels and homestays outside urban areas started earlier than usual for this years five-day national holiday, with volumes climbing since April 10. Despite Covid control measures, most scenic spots in suburban areas remain open, though visitors are required to present negative Covid-19 test results to enter

May 04, 2022 03:50 PM
Its economy in shambles, Sri Lanka is in dire straits. The island nation, largely dependent on tourism dollars, has suffered more than most from the two-year slowdown caused by the pandemic. Food and essentials are scarce on supermarket shelves, fuel is getting prohibitively expensive after unprecedented recent price hikes caused by the balance of payments problem leaving the country little wiggle room for importing all its requirements and even medicine is in short supply.

With demonstrators out on the streets of Colombo beginning to demand the resignation of President Gotobaya Rajapaksa for alleged mismanagement of the economy, which is facing a meltdown, the country has had to go back on its resolve not to go to the IMF for bridge loans for fear of being dictated to on its economic management. With the Cabinet deciding to cross the Lakshman Rekha, the country is negotiating with the IMF now.

There is no threat to the government of the Rajapaksa brothers who came back with a thumping majority. But it is time that they buried once for all their ambivalent attitude to India brought about by an over reliance on China as an economic and infrastructure benefactor. In fact, it would make sense for India to offer to bail the island out from its current troubles with fuel, medicines, vaccines, etc. Surely a large bridge loan greater than the adjustments offered recently should be possible.

It would be in Indias geostrategic interests to get Sri Lanka on its side by lending a generous helping hand in this time of acute crisis. There have been pinpricks with regard to operating container terminals for the Colombo Port and other Indian public and private sector projects, including in healthcare and hospital sectors. The time to negotiate past them has come, towards which India may have to convince Sri Lanka that it is not for any blanket ban on Chinese investments.

In the light of the Hambantotta port experience in which there may have been a virtual surrender of sovereignty, Sri Lanka must be well aware of the hazards of accepting Chinese help. Indias aid is far more likely to come without throttling strings attached. Sri Lanka must also clear any residual doubts about its consent to projects in its northeast to China that may affect strategic interests in free flow of maritime traffic and possible eavesdropping from posts close to the Indian mainland.

The view from the capital New Delhi may be different to that of Chennai when it comes to handling the problem of Tamil Nadu fishermen frequently straying into Sri Lankan waters because the catch is better there. It should be possible for India to seek a humanitarian response on the part of the Sri Lankan navy and the setting up of a mechanism by which fishermen and their boats are returned. It may take diplomacy of greater transparency to halt the drift of years but the time is ripe for resetting of India-Sri Lanka ties. India would do well to remember the maxim that a friend in need is a friend indeed.
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Carteret Community College trustee Mary Charles Jenkins listens during an overview of the N.C. Community College Systems budget process during a retreat Feb. 22 in the CCC Foundation Building. (Cheryl Burke photo)
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The end of seasonal time changes is possible in B.C. after the U.S. Senate voted to end the practice.

The Senate unanimously approved the "Sunshine Protection Act," sending the bill to House of Representatives which will also have to pass it before being signed into law by the president.

A survey held by the B.C. government in 2019 found 93% of residents are in favour of ending the time change, reports CTV News.

B.C. has already passed legislation that will see the province switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time if the states of Oregon, California, and Washington do as well.

The change in the U.S. required federal approval, and with the pandemic, was placed on the back burner until Tuesday.

"For B.C. families who have just had to cope with the disruptions of changing the clocks, the U.S. Senate bill passed today brings us another step toward ending the time changes in our province for good," reads a statement from the premier's office on Tuesday.

"While the bill still requires congressional approval before it can go to President Biden to sign, were well positioned in B.C. to do away with the time changes once and for all and move to permanent DST."

with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed A B.C. Supreme Court judge has order the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch to hand over documents about a seizure of alcohol from Fets Whisky Kitchen in Vancouver.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ordered the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch to give a Vancouver restaurant records relevant to the 2018 seizure of 242 bottles of scotch whisky.

Justice Nathan Smith ruled March 14 that Fets Whisky Kitchen had been denied documents the Commercial Drive eatery needed to address the seizures.

"I find that Fets was entitled to fully argue the issue based on a complete evidentiary record and that the denial of full access to documents relating to the branchs investigation was a breach of procedural fairness," Smith said.

Restaurant owners Eric and Allura Fergie have maintained the branch prejudged their situation and refused to hand over documentation so the couple could fight the seizure of $40,000 worth of single malt whisky, a petition to the court said.

The inspectors, accompanied by police, raided Fets on Jan. 18, 2018. They brought with them a U-Haul van and spent five hours going through bottles of whisky before carting them off in front of customers. The operation was code-named Operation Malt Barley.

The following June, the branch fined the business $3,000.

The Fergies asked for a reconsideration but were denied documentation to fight the case. Told to use the freedom-of-information system to obtain documents, they received heavily redacted papers.

In response, the pair went to court for a judicial review seeking an order setting aside the reconsideration decision and entering a stay of proceedings.

The Fergies also sought an order for the whisky's return.

Smith said the issue he needed to decide was whether Fets was denied procedural fairness by being denied access to documents that were potentially relevant to the argument it sought to advance.

Smith said the case should return to a branch hearing delegate once Fets has been provided with the documents.

The judge did not address the return of the whisky.
Photo: CTV News

A Soviet Union flag on a boat in Vancouvers False Creek has created an uproar.

CTV News reports the flag is flying from the mast of a boat moored at the Heather Civic Marina at Stamps Landing.

Every time I take a walk, Im just dying. Its like a war here on my heart, said Maryna, a woman who from Ukraine who has lived in Vancouver for 23 years.

Millions of people died, often starved or murdered, under Soviet policies and the flag continues to be used by the Russian military in Ukraine today.

Its not even the Russian flag, this is the symbol of aggression. This flag is what Russian tanks are carrying when they are invading and bombing the cities and people in Ukraine, Maryna told CTV.

Myroslav Petriw, president of the League of Ukrainian Canadians in Vancouver, likened the flag to the Nazi flag.

Its a symbol of evil, pure evil.

A Vancouver Parks Board spokesperson told CTV staff are aware and are looking into the situation.

Petriw wants to see the city take action, suggesting that it would be taken down quickly if it was a swastika flag.

with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE- This April 16, 2021 file photo shows protesters marching near Mayor Lori Lightfoot's home in Logan Square to protest the fatal shooting by Chicago police of 13-year-old Adam Toledo. No charges will be filed against the Chicago police officers who fatally shot Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez during foot pursuits within days of each other last year, a prosecutor announced Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File)

No charges will be filed against the Chicago police officers who chased and fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez within days of each other last year, prompting sharp scrutiny of the department's foot pursuit policy, a prosecutor announced Tuesday.

Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers in the deaths, which were captured on video that showed both suspects appeared to have handguns prior to the shootings.

The public release of the videos in April 2021 renewed calls for reform of the Chicago Police Department, which for decades has had a reputation for brutality, misconduct and racism. And it came as videos of police confrontations put departments around the country under heavy scrutiny, especially after the footage from 2020 that helped lead to a murder conviction in the death of George Floyd.

Foxx was critical of the officers in the shooting death of Alvarez, saying they created the situation that put them in danger. Alvarez was walking when officers approached him because of a traffic incident the night before.

Alvarez ran away, turned a corner and fell, Foxx said. When Officer Eric Solano turned the corner, Alvarez was getting up off the ground, and it appeared to the officer that Alvarez was about to shoot him.

As he (Alvarez) began to use both hands to push himself off the ground, Officer Solano arrived at the corner of the residence and observed Mr. Alvarez in a crouching position with a handgun in his right hand, Foxx said. That led Solano, she said, to believe Alvarez was waiting to ambush him.

In the Toledo shooting, police were on the scene after a gunshot detection system the city uses recorded eight shots in the area. When they arrived, the only two people they saw were Toledo and a Ruben Roman, then 21, both of whom immediately started to run away.

Officer Eric Stillman saw that Toledo had his hands near his waistband, causing him to believe that the teen had a gun. Foxx said when the officer caught up to Toledo and ordered him to put down the gun, the teens hand that held the gun was behind a wooden fence post. She said that the teen raised his right hand so quickly that it was impossible to determine if hed dropped the gun.

Between the time he began to turn with the right hand that had been holding the gun and the time the officer shot him when he was no longer holding the gun was estimated to be 838 milliseconds, Foxx said.

The prosecutor said she met with families of both Toledo and Alvarez earlier Tuesday. In meeting with Alvarez family and their attorney, Foxx said the family was unmistakably heartbroken and had many, many questions about how officers approached him, including why they didnt come to their house if they knew they were looking for him.

Foxx also described Toledo's family as heartbroken.

Foxx said the officers in both cases demonstrated they feared for their lives at the moment they fired. But she added she has deep concerns about the Chicago Police Department's foot pursuit policy in both cases. The city has said it is reviewing the policy.

I think in the instances weve seen, especially with Mr. Alvarez, we have to ask ourselves, was this worth the effort? Foxx said.

Foxx said she has spoken with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, police Superintendent David Brown and the head of the Civilian Office on Police Accountability and believes there is a full awareness that the foot pursuit policy must change.

I think the deaths that we have seen, the risk to our officers, absolutely necessitates that we have a foot pursuit policy that keeps everyone safe," she said.
Photo: ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST HMCS Saskatoon and HMCS Yellowknife conduct a sailpast off Ogden Point on Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, prior to departing for Operation CARIBBE, a U.S.-led enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.

A Canadian warship and the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a drug-smuggling boat carrying approximately 800 kilograms of cocaine, arresting its crew and sending most of the drugs to the bottom of the ocean.

The seizure by the crew of HMCS Yellowknife took place March 6 in the eastern Pacific Ocean, National Defence spokesman Daniel LeBouthillier said Tuesday.

HMCS Yellowknife, a Kingston-class maritime coastal defence vessel, left Greater Victoria on Feb. 21 to take part in Operation CARIBBE, the U.S.-led counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. In this operation, Canadian ships and aircraft help the U.S. suppress drug-trafficking in international waters.

Law-enforcement officials on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball removed the crew due to a safety of life at sea issue, said LeBouthillier.

Then the crew of HMCS Yellowknife and U.S. officials drilled holes in the boat and found 800 kilograms of cocaine. The law-enforcement officials were able to remove 150 kilograms of cocaine from the boat before it became too unstable to remain afloat, said LeBouthillier.

In order to avoid the scattering of the remaining contraband packages if the vessel sank, a decision was made to scuttle the vessel and destroy the remaining 650 kilograms of cocaine. This was made to ensure the remaining contraband would not land on the streets of Canada or the U.S. and to ensure the vessel did not pose a hazard to navigation, said LeBouthillier.

The 150 kilograms of cocaine was turned over to the coast guard for evidence in the prosecution of the detained crew.

The National Defence spokesman would not say where the crew was from or where the vessel was registered.

That is a question best answered by the United States Coast Guard, as they are in charge of the law enforcement and prosecution of those individuals, he said.

Operation CARIBBE helps to control and disrupt drug trafficking and organized crime in South and Central America. It stems the flow of illicit narcotics to the U.S. and Canada.

Every year, partner nations intercept and seize millions of dollars of illicit drugs and play a major role in suppressing trafficking in international waters, said LeBouthillier.

The navy is involved in these foreign drug seizures far from our shores to demonstrate Canadas commitment to security challenges in the region, including illicit trafficking, he said.

The Canadian Armed Force has participated since 2006, and contributed to the disruption or seizure of more than 112 tonnes of cocaine.
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and their seven year old daughter Gabriella pose for the media in Parliament Square, London, to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. British lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said Wednesday March 16, 2022 that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran for nearly six years, is on her way to Tehran's airport to leave the country. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national who has been detained in Iran for nearly six years, has left Tehrans airport after being freed with another fellow detainee, Anoosheh Ashoori, British officials said Wednesday.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on a trip to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, tweeted that he was pleased that the twos unfair detention had ended.

The UK has worked intensively to secure their release and I am delighted they will be reunited with their families and loved ones, he wrote. He said the two would return to the UK.

An Oman Royal Air Force jet left Iran just moments before lawmaker Tulip Siddiq, who represents Zaghari Ratcliffe, tweeted that they were in the air.

An image showed Zaghari-Ratcliffe inside a similar aircraft. The semiofficial Tasnim news agency also posted a video online of a woman it said was Zaghari-Ratcliffe getting onto a similar aircraft.

Ashoori was detained in Tehran in August 2017. He had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for alleged ties to the Israeli Mossad intelligence agency, something long denied by his supporters and family.

A lawyer representing Zaghari-Ratcliffe in Tehran couldnt be immediately reached for comment.

Johnson had confirmed earlier that a negotiating team was at work in Tehran to free Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe served five years in prison. She was later convicted of plotting the overthrow of Irans government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny. She had been held under house arrest and unable to leave the country since her release from prison.

While employed at the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, she was taken into custody at Tehrans airport in April 2016 as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family.

Rights groups accuse Iran of holding dual-nationals as bargaining chips for money or influence in negotiations with the West, something Tehran denies. Iran doesnt recognize dual nationalities, so detainees like Zaghari-Ratcliffe cant receive consular assistance. A U.N. panel has criticized what it describes as an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals in Iran.

Iranian state media said that Britain had settled a long-overdue debt of $530 million to Tehran." Irans English-language broadcaster Press TV made the announcement as Zaghari-Ratcliffe was allowed to travel to the airport with British officials.

Irans semiofficial Fars news agency earlier suggested shed be released after the British government paid Iran the sum. Before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the late Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi paid the sum of 400 million British pounds for Chieftain tanks that were never delivered.
Photo: pixabay

What are Canadians to make of the countries showing ambivalence in their willingness to criticize Russia for waging war on Ukraine?

In a vote earlier this month at the United Nations General Assembly, 141 countries voted to adopt a resolution condemning the Russian military assault. It is not surprising, analysts say, which were among the five countries that opposed the resolution. The list included Russia, Belarus (its ally in the attack), as well as dictatorial regimes with close links to Moscow (North Korea, Syria).

Less clear is the position of the 35 countries that abstained from the vote. They range from world powers with shared interests against the United States (China) and states with close historical links to Moscow (South Africa, Mongolia, Vietnam) to countries whose positions are much more nuanced (India, United Arab Emirates).

But while all these countries may have abstained from the vote condemning Russia, their reasons for abstaining reveal fundamental differences in positions and ideologies, said one leading foreign policy analyst.

For some, a symbolic vote at the UN Security Council seems important, said Shuvaloy Majumdar, Munk senior fellow at think-tank Macdonald-Laurier Institute and the former director of policy at federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For me, theres also the material things being done  that nations are undertaking ... in their bilateral relationship with Russia. Some are supporting Russia generally, with how they voted with an abstention but are then backing Russia in other ways. India also voted with an abstention, but its a very different qualifier.

The contrast between the Indian and Chinese abstention votes, Majumdar said, is key to understanding just how different the positions behind the same vote can be.

In Indias case  perhaps the most surprising UN abstaining vote for some  Majumdar said it is crucial to understand that countrys history, geopolitical position and democratic nature and its growing alliances with partners like Australia and Japan to counter Chinese expansion in Asia.

For India, they do have a tradition of non-alignment, Majumdar said, noting New Delhi has largely maintained that position against regional alliances since the founding of the modern Indian republic in 1950. Only in the last number of years with Chinese aggression have they become more focused on a new alliance to replace their non-alignment.

What Indias non-alignment has had to contend with since the 1950s is the ongoing conflict at its borders with not only China but also Pakistan. When the West started warming to China in the 1970s to counter the Soviet Union and to capitalize on the opening of the Chinese economy, India had to look elsewhere for its defence requirements.

That elsewhere was the Soviet Union, a relationship that continued after the USSR devolved into the Russian Federation. Today, as much as 60% of the Indian defence supply chain may be linked to Russia, Majumdar said, and abstaining from a UN vote demonstrates the fact that those links are still needed to protect the countrys territorial sovereignty while new supply chains with democratic partners are being established.

What was really interesting to me was the qualifying explanation that they gave through their ambassador at the United Nations, in which they laid bare their discomfort with what Russia is doing, Majumdar said. Theyve deployed four ministers surrounding the Ukraine issue to engage the Ukrainian government.... Yes, they are beginning to diversify their defence supply chains to democratic, trusted partners. But those things take time.

That also speaks to Canadas need to increase its voice in supporting democratic partners globally like India to avoid future situations like this, he added.

We have an Atlantic coast and a Pacific coast, which again, theres only a handful of countries that can say that. We have the capacity to help define the alliance among the worlds democracies in terms of how we think about our shared rivals and their intentions.... Thats what we should be doing.

The Indian example contrasts sharply with Chinas, where Majumdar said Beijings abstention was accompanied by a softening of import rules on Russian commodities like wheat.

Gordon Houlden, director emeritus of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, agreed that Beijing will likely continue to side with Russia (even with the UN abstention) based on a no limits friendship statement jointly issued by the two countries just before the 2022 Beijing Winter Games started last month.

And while Houlden agreed that Beijing will likely side with Moscow for the foreseeable future when it comes to dealing with the West, he added that China  with a singular focus on stability at all costs  was unlikely to be fully support Moscows decision to invade Ukraine.

That hesitance may be reflected in both the UN abstention vote and in China-led international institutions like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) putting lending in Russia and Belarus on hold.

China has an opaque system where the leadership  doesnt broadcast its innermost thinking policy process, Houlden said. I dont think [Russian president Vladimir] Putin was upfront with China about precisely what it was going to do ... because China did not make any serious effort to deal with some 6,000 Chinese nationals in Ukraine. So I think Beijing has been taken aback to some extent ... including by western reaction and the coherence of NATO.

In that sense, Houlden said Chinese programs that are more directly under the purview of president Xi Jinping, such as the controversial Belt and Road Initiative, will likely continue to engage Russia, while initiatives with a more international management scope (i.e. the AIIB) will pull back to ensure European and other trade partners do not treat such institutions with the same strong rejections they issued towards Russia.

But Houlden noted that Russias economic struggles in the face of overwhelming western sanctions may push it closer to China  but in a way where the post-Second World War dynamic of the USSR playing a big brother role to the then-fledgling Peoples Republic is reversed.

China is certainly not a client state of Russia like Belarus or Syria, he said. The power equation there is now completely different.
Photo: pixabay

The federal Liberal government is extending its amnesty on "assault-style" firearms until October 2023.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in May 2020 he was banning more than 1,500 models of firearms, including the AR-15.

He also announced owners of these guns would have a two-year amnesty period to come into compliance with the prohibition.

The Liberal government revealed on Wednesday that the order that was set to expire in April would be extended until October 2023.

It says doing so gives officials more time to implement a mandatory buyback program for the firearms.

Gun-control advocacy group PolySeSouvient says it hopes this is the "first and last" extension of its kind and wants to see the buyback program introduced as quickly as possible.

It says since the announcement of the ban on so-called "assault-style" firearms, new models have been introduced into the market and further legislation is required to ensure they are covered by the same prohibition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2022.
Photo: The Canadian Press People demonstrate in support of the Ukraine outside the United Nations' top court in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, March 16, 2022, where judges where expected to rule on a request by Ukraine to order Russia to halt its devastating invasion. But it remains to be seen if Moscow would comply with any order made by the International Court of Justice. Russia snubbed a hearing last week at which lawyers for Ukraine accused the country's powerful neighbor of "resorting to tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare" in its brutal assault. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Jillian Amodio went with the truth when her 10-year-old daughter had some pointed questions about the war in Ukraine.

When she asked what nuclear weapons were, I explained in simple terms that they're explosive devices used in warfare that are capable of releasing tremendous amounts of energy and causing widespread harm and damage, said the Annapolis, Maryland, founder of a support group called Moms for Mental Health.

But her daughter wasn't finished there.

She asked if we were in danger of being hit with nuclear weapons," said Amodio. "And I explained that leaders around the world are responsible for ensuring that nuclear warfare doesn't occur, and that we have learned from past instances just how devastating the effects of nuclear warfare can be.

She did what many parents and experts recommend: She led with the truth, though she chose her details based on what she knew her child could handle emotionally.

The day Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear forces placed on high alert late last month was a big one for some parents with inquisitive kids.

On social media, in classrooms and at the playground, children who hear about Russias invasion of Ukraine are wondering where the war could lead. Its a moment that can feel similar to growing up during the Cold War, when there was talk of nuclear winter, radiation and the atomic bomb.

Unlike in the past, however, todays kids have greater unchecked access to both accurate images, video and information but loads of disinformation, too. What some also have are loved ones with personal experiences of tense nuclear times.

With younger kids, speak simply and avoid discussing scary topics in detail. With adolescents, honesty is the best policy. Always be transparent," said Dr. Beth Oller, a family physician in Stockton, Kansas, and mom of four kids, ages 2 to 9. Speak to whats actionable to help put their minds at ease.

Fear of nuclear devastation can have a lifelong impact on children, said Nathaniel N. Ivers, an associate professor of counseling at Wake Forest University. During the Cold War, studies showed that vulnerable populations, including children and caregivers, experienced greater fear and anxiety over the nuclear threat than others, he said.

And parents who expressed more anxiety about a nuclear threat, he said, "tended to have children who were more anxious about nuclear bombs."

A threat of nuclear detonation  something like the Cuban Missile Crisis, for instance  may create in children a profound awareness of their mortality and vulnerability. Children know there is very little they can do to protect themselves if a nuclear bomb were to hit their area, which can create feelings of helplessness and hopelessness," Ivers said. It also can create a sense of nihilism, especially in older children and adolescents."

Henry Williams, a digital designer in Brooklyn, reached for film when his 11-year-old son came to him with questions about nuclear weapons and the war. Not the nuclear submarine spy thriller The Hunt for Red October. Not The Sum of All Fears, another thriller in the Jack Ryan series that tracks a sinister plot to draw the United States and Russia into World War III.

He chose the unflinching Threads, an apocalyptic war drama that follows a young couple in Sheffield, England, in the deadly and chaotic aftermath of a nuclear bombing. The film, filled with realistic horrors, was made for BBC television and first broadcast in 1984. Now, it has cult status.

Williams, who grew up near Sheffield, was home in the U.K. on vacation with his kids when the war in Ukraine broke out.

We had BBC news on all day long every day. That prompted questions, he said. It's a much more realistic movie. Like, this is what it's like on the ground."

His 11-year-old wasn't visibly shaken, Williams said. As for his younger son, who's 5 and didn't watch the film, the questions were far simpler: So, we'll just all be dead?

To which his father responded: Well, yes, but that's very unlikely. He had that notion in his head, that that could happen, which I thought was incredible. Even then, he wasn't freaked out by it. I said, we'll be there if it ever happens, and that comforted him, I think.

Dr. Jessica Griffin, a child psychologist and executive director of the Child Trauma Training Center at the UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts, said it's important to make sure children aren't consumed by their worries or what's on the news.

Children can be encouraged to ask questions but also encouraged to engage in their daily routines of schoolwork, play and bedtime, she said. Routines can send signals to the brain that children are safe, and are calming for children in anxiety-provoking situations.

After Putin ordered his forces on alert, Ricardo Groll took a straightforward approach with his two girls, ages 9 and 12.

I decided to explain what nuclear was and how it could hurt people in Europe, said Groll, in the southern Brazil city of Novo Hamburgo. From the 9-year-old, he said, came: Daddy, is that man bad? Is he going to hurt our family? How?"

As I always do with my kids, I told the truth," Groll said. "Now Im pretty sure if anybody asks Giovanna what a nuclear weapon is, she will say to them, Its a bomb that could destroy the world. She doesnt seem to be traumatized by my straight-to-the-point explanation, but I confess that Im not so sure she knows what destroying the world' is.

Things are different, of course, for children already touched by war or other traumas.

For children who have a prior history of trauma, seeing disturbing images may be even more distressing and triggering" and they might "require increased reassurance and support, Griffin said.

JR Guerrieri in Lavallette, New Jersey, has two girls, ages 8 and 13. As the founder of a digital communications platform, he does business in Ukraine, and has friends and colleagues there. His daughters have been asking questions about the war and the possibility of nuclear weapons being used.

He showed them photos of the devastation in Hiroshima after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb in 1945. They learned about it in school, he said, but without real depth.

Up until now, there was no reason to really talk about it, Guerrieri said. You want them to learn history, of course. But, you know, to instill that fright in a child is not really necessarily the best thing in the world.
At the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) briefing on the situation in Libya, R. Madhu Sudan, Counsellor at Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations reiterated the imperative for holding the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the North African country at the earliest.

Noting with concern the recent developments and political disagreements in Libya, Sudan said India hopes that all outstanding political issues could be resolved peacefully by the parties concerned, keeping the larger interests of the Libyan people in mind.

Moreover, he appreciated the efforts of the UN to form a Joint Committee of representatives from the House of Representatives and the High Council of State to decide on the constitutional basis for holding elections.

"Security challenges remain serious in Libya, including reported mobilization of armed groups in and around Tripoli. Priority right now must be to ensure that elections are held at the earliest in a free, fair, inclusive and credible manner," said the Counsellor.

He highlighted that there should be a clear message against the violence of all forms that could undermine the progress achieved since 2020. "Sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Libya need to be safeguarded. The political process must be fully Libyan-led and Libyan-owned with no imposition or external interference," he added.

Furthermore, he emphasized the need for concrete progress in the full and complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries.

"Important for the international community to focus its attention on the threat of terrorism in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region. It is critical for the Security Council to focus and act upon the growing threat of terrorism in Africa," said the counsellor on terrorism in the region.

The Libyan House of Representatives, the country's parliament, on March 1, granted confidence to a new government to replace the government led by Dbeibah. The new government was sworn in on March 3.

The House of Representatives withdrew confidence from Dbeibah's government in September 2021 and kept it as a caretaker government.

On February 10, it unanimously voted to appoint Fathi Bashagha as the new Prime Minister.

However, Dbeibah said his government would remain in office until an elected government is established. On February 21, he announced a plan to hold general elections in June.

Dbeibah's government accused the House of Representatives of approving the new government "without achieving quorum" during the session, confirming that it would continue to work and prepare for elections in June.

(ANI)
Ghana to look at regulating cement industry

ICR Newsroom By 16 March 2022

Ghanas Ministry of Trade and Industry has announced plans to set up a committee to advance the drafting of policies to regulate the countrys cement industry, according to local sources.



Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Michael Okyere Baafi, said the government is also working with the cement manufacturers in the area of regulation of cement and even the development of the cement business in Ghana. The cement business is not regulated.

In addition, the countrys Chamber of Cement Manufacturers protested the reduction in benchmark value from 50 to 30 per cent by the government as it believes it will result in high production costs and impact cement prices. According to the chamber, the local cement industry is already suffering from high production costs as a result of the increase in the cost of limestone, clinker, duties, transport/fuel increase, the commissioning of new cement plants, and instability of the cedi against the major currencies.

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Philippine government urges cement producers to use plastic waste

ICR Newsroom By 16 March 2022

To help reduce the countrys solid waste generation by at least 40 per cent Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has requested cement producers to explore ways to use plastic waste as a raw material, reports The Manila Times.



"When all these cement plants will participate, we can dramatically reduce the volume of plastic waste which will be now regarded as raw materials of the cement plants in their current processing," said DENR-EMB Director William Cunado, citing that several cement firms in the country have already adopted the conversion of plastic waste into energy.



Meanwhile, DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Panning, and International Affairs and spokesperson, Jonas Leones, also said that campaign materials made out of plastics used for the May 2022 elections can be recycled by cement plants.

"Plastic tarpaulins are also used in co-processing, in energy. These are mixed into cement as fillers; sometimes these are used to create pots," Mr Leones said. "Plastic tarpaulins are melted to have some other products out of these plastics," he added

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Christian Pfeiffer supplies Dyckerhoff's Deuna cement plant

16 March 2022

In December Christian Pfeiffer delivered a mill head with welded-on mill shot for a raw mill for Dyckerhoffs Deuna cement plant in Germany.

Due to the on-time delivery the assembly started according to schedule. The customer reused the trunnion and the assembly was completed successfully.

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Geocycle to double capacity at Cordoba RDF facility

ICR Newsroom By 16 March 2022

Holcim subsidiary Geocycle and the Municipality of Cordoba, Argentina, have signed an agreement to double the capacity of Geocycles waste processing plant at Piedra Blanca landfill.



Inaugurated last November the refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant currently has a capacity of 50,000tpa and the plan is to expand this to 100,000tpa.



The facility is fully automated and processes the waste that arrives in the collection trucks operating in the central area. The garbage is shredded and screened with the fraction suitable for RDF production sent in 20t trucks to the Holcim plant. Once arrived, the waste is analysed and mixed into a blend that is used to fee the kiln at Holcims Malagueno cement plant.

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Buena Vista, CO (81211)

Today

Cloudy with showers. High 48F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low around 30F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Danville City leaders get ready to breathe new life into the old mill village; Danville leaders ready to weigh proposal to provide real estate tax help to elderly and disabled; Danville native taking his place in Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
A 55-year-old Dalton man has been sentenced to serve 19 years in prison followed by one year on probation for child molestation.

Anthony Marshall Ponders, of 310 Jericho Way, was sentenced on Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Cindy Morris.

Georgia law requires that at a minimum, the defendant receive one year on probation to help facilitate their return to the community from the prison system, and their registry as a sex offender so this represents the maximum sentence allowed by law.

Ponders was convicted by a Whitfield County Jury last Thursday following a trial that had begun that Tuesday. Assistant District Attorney and Child Abuse Prosecutor Ben Kenemer presented the states case at trial and at sentencing. The defendant was represented by Dalton attorney Jerry Moncus.



The charge involved allegations that Ponders had exposed himself to an underage child. The act was witnessed by a family member who walked in on Ponders at that moment and then asked the child what had occurred.

That led to a call which was answered by the Whitfield County Sheriffs Office. Deputy Brian Pack led the initial response and assisted Kenemer with presenting the case to the jury. Prosecutor Kenemer called 13 other witnesses to testify including a previous victim who had been sexually assaulted by Ponders as a child.

The case had to be tried twice because at the first trial in January, some evidence concerning another prior victim which had been excluded was inadvertently introduced when it was mentioned in a videotaped interview with another witness.

Prosecutor Kenemer himself advised the Court of that error before any defense objection which led to a declaration of mistrial and the second trial in March.

Kenemer said he wished to single out Deputy Packs assistance in not only investigating this case, but also in presenting it in court. He said, Brian Pack was eager to see to it that this case was brought to a just conclusion, and did so twice given the first trial resulted in a mistrial. His assistance in presenting the states case was invaluable and I appreciate having members of law enforcement ready and willing to be in the trenches, day in and day out, to see to it justice is served.
Michael Eugene Hall, 67, was arrested after court documents allege he struck a child 61 times with a belt all over his body last Wednesday. On Friday, law enforcement received a report that a child said Hall had beat him 57 times with a belt and that there was video of the incident.

Police spoke to the victim at school and interviewed the child victim. The child confirmed the report, and identified Hall as the suspect. Photographs taken after the incident showed marks to the childs buttocks, upper arm, chest, torso, neck, and face. There were also seven video files produced from a cell phone.

The court document said 24 strikes could be heard in one video.

Over the course of seven videos, the detective counted 61 strikes. Police spoke with other relatives who were present who confirmed what the video showed, and court documents said they were concerned for his safety. They also said the victim was not allowed to leave the kitchen table except to go to the bathroom for the last three days.

Police responded to the residence and arrested Hall. Police said Hall admitted to striking the child with the belt 20 times before noticing the childs pants were still fixed. He said he continued to hit the child with the belt because the child was fighting him. Police said Hall initially denied striking the child in the face, but they said he changed his story and said he slapped him and said he went too far.

The victim said he had been confined to the kitchen table for the last three days. Detectives photographed the victim and observed swelling on both sides of the childs face, as well as bruises all over the body.

Hall, of 7342 Sims Road, Harrison, was then charged with aggravated assault and aggravated child abuse.
It is with great disappointment that I see the school board continue to focus on bogus, moralistic issues of library book obscenity in our schools. While it may be of great concern to those who have invested time in talking about that topic, we all know that there are many issues of substance that should be receiving the school board's attention instead.

We recognize that often the school board may deny or discount various issues by claiming that they are an "individual" problem. Listed below are some issues that have plagued our schools for several years, across several facilities, and without adequate address or discussion by our school board members.

Hostile work environment. As the husband of a teacher, I know of many incidents in which teachers have been hit by students. In some of our schools, these kinds of violent behavioral events occur weekly to daily; sometimes it is several times a day. At one school a couple years ago, a principal was knocked unconscious. What happens in response to these problems? Often little or nothing. Students don't get expelled or suspended immediately for offenses like these anymore. Students who have underlying social problems are also not adequately supported. By not supporting teachers in the classroom who get hit by students, the school board is condoning violent behavior. Not once have we seen effective inquiries into behavioral support for classroom teachers.

Lack of support for homeless or near-homeless students. For many of our county's poorest residents, the public school system provides essential services that support basic survival. By not ensuring that students get adequate meals served at reasonable times, the school board is choosing to pay no attention to the critical help we need to provide to our poorest and youngest people. For homeless children, the need for support goes beyond just a snack and lunch. Not once have we seen effective inquiries into food service management and scheduling at our public schools.

Lack of advocacy for preventing truancy. Since the pandemic, the school board seems to have chosen to focus on the governor's policy of allowing students to attend remotely. Truancy policy enforcement is at near negligible levels. Meanwhile, many of our students need attendance at our school facilities as part of conditioning them and supporting them in the growth of their education. When we see students who miss days of school far beyond our county's traditional response limits to truancy, then we are seeing the school board turn a blind eye to the problem. While the school board may choose to ensure the state's policies are implemented in the county, they are doing a poor to nonexistent job of reporting to the state the impact poor policies have on our students. This is one more area where we are not receiving the benefit of professional reciprocity when it comes to policy evaluations and oversight by the school board.

Lack of support for Child Protective Services requests and psychological services requests. It takes more than two months to assess a child who needs psychological support or a diagnosis which supports special education in our system. By not providing enough counselors and licensed personnel to carry out these evaluations in a timely manner, the school board is promoting the continuance of substandard conditions for education among our most disadvantaged students. Not once have we seen effective inquiries into the support for special ed programs. Perhaps we can start with examining the lack of resources provided to the Dawn School and work our way up from there.

Lack of enforcement of basic workplace laws around lunch. For example, state labor laws describe that every employee be afforded no less than 30 minutes for lunch and no more than one hour. In the years I have been around teachers, I have never once heard of a 30 minute lunch break that looks like what occurs at every normal job. Perhaps if the school board had inquired into the resource allocation and support at each school then the schools might be adequately staffed to comply with basic state employment laws. Perhaps the school board will say their lawyer suggests they need not be accountable to themselves, HCDE employees, or the rest of us on this issue. What's sure is that nothing has been done about this issue, despite the fact that it is an obvious and prevalent labor law violation.

Lack of enforcement of basic workplace laws around timely pay. Imagine if you were a hairdresser whose client owed hundreds of dollars in money earned through extra work. Now imagine that you had to keep providing haircuts even though that pay was not provided for several months after it has been earned. This type of situation is common for every teacher in our county who has had to attend additional trainings, worked summer schools, or heard rumors that a bonus had supposedly been conferred. For years, HCDE has relied on this type of deadbeat payroll system. We don't see the school board getting upset about it. Perhaps if their pay were delayed each time a teacher or HCDE employee had a pay problem, then we might see some of this get cleared up.

We understand that most of the time, the focus seems to be on our highest income residents who seem to complain the most. We understand that the whole library book obscenity problem seems to be limited to people who have heard on Facebook that others actually read books and that some of those books are not totally likeable. These other problems, however, listed above, apply to our residents who have actual needs, significant problems, and a real yearning to receive help.

Support teachers and students. Drop the bull and get to work on our actual problems. Pick any other problem that's worth an adult's time and of actual benefit to teachers and students. We expect our school board's time to be spent on matters of significant concern first. Let's leave these trivial matters, like debating opinions about literary obscenity, for a time when important problems have been solved. We expect the school board to provide commitments of time and judgement worthy of who they serve. Prioritize accordingly.

John O'Keefe-Odom

* * *

Mr. O'Keefe-Odom's thoughtful comments are very relevant and I would echo many of his contentions. There are critical issues that need the attention of the school board. I know some of these folks are trying. I see and appreciate them.

It also occurs to me that we as a city spend more time talking about sports stadiums than we do about schools and other pressing concerns. Again it seems to be a certain well-heeled minority that steer the conversation. My suggestion to those people who think that a stadium is important, is that they fund it privately. Public funds are much more needed for other things, such as children's services, feeding families and affording people access to mental health care who currently have none.

Many people seem to have the idea that the non-wealthy public has access to resources, such as mental health care, legal aid, etc, that are all but non-existent in reality. There was a time we allocated resources for these services, but try to avail yourself of them now, without the ability to pay, and you will find out how accessible they are.

Again, I suggest public funds should not be thrown at private projects whose developers and supporters can afford to pay for them. They should also have to pay their fair share of taxes for these projects.

Darlene Kilgore

* * *

Of all the logical fallacies, the Fallacy of Relative Privation is probably my favorite.

The Fallacy of Relative Privation is used to distract the reader/listener from one problem by pointing out a problem or a list of problems which the person employing the fallacy claims are worse. It is a type of false dichotomy. It is used to scold the reader/listener, and to silence their complaints using emotional manipulation.

One recent example is the oft-parroted claim that you shouldn't be worried about gas prices or inflation because people are dying in Ukraine.

Mr. O'Keefe-Odom and Ms. Kilgore have been kind enough to provide us with two more excellent examples.

Kevin Hargis

* * *

 and on the subject of deflecting and false premise, Monty Python summed it up thusly:

I think that all right-thinking people in this country are sick and tired of being told that ordinary decent people in this country are fed up with being sick and tired. I am certainly not, and I am sick and tired of being told that I am.

Michael Mallen
Previous Eaves Formal Wear employee Nicole Pearson told a Criminal Court jury on Tuesday that she witnessed Billy Forte murder his son.

It was all in slow motion to me. I heard a loud noise, then I saw Mr. Charles start to fall forward, the witness said. Billy cocked the gun at me, then told me to get out of his business.

Ms. Pearson said she became close friends with Charles Forte while working at Eaves Formal Wear. She said she came to help him with a computer problem on April 2, 2018. Ten minutes later Billy showed up.

Ms. Pearson said both men acted like normal that day and Billy greeted them when he arrived. She said he left, then returned about a minute later. She said after he walked back in he shot Charles Forte.

According to a responding officer and body cam footage, the victim was shot in the face. Ms. Pearson left the scene, then returned to get her phone. She said she called 911 after she retrieved her phone. Billy Forte also called 911; however, his call recording was not presented as evidence due to a three-year expiration.

Ms. Pearson testified that Billy Forte owned Eaves Formal Wear and Charles was an employee. Ben McGowan, Billys defense attorney, said the business was on the verge of bankruptcy at the time of the incident. Ms. Pearson said Charles Forte occasionally complained about money that Billy owed him. Attorney said he owed him $54,000.

Footage from a responding officers vehicle showed Billy making comments to himself about the shooting. He repeatedly said, I told you mother, pow! He laughed afterward.

I killed that mother, Billy said on the footage. I shot him in the heat, man - it was so liberating.

The defense, so far, stands in their position that Billy Forte shot Charles Forte out of self defense.

Attorney McGowan also cited instances of alleged misconduct by police and investigators.

Crime scene investigator Kristen Booker said, We follow the same process no matter what type of scene, while in cross examination with attorney McGowan, after he questioned her investigative process.





Ms. Booker said they found randomly placed glasses and a cloth gun case outside the building of the crime scene. Also found were two $750 uncashed checks from July and August 2017 in Charles Fortes vehicle. The checks were from the defendant, Billy Forte. A previous witness mentioned that Billy owed Charles some money.





Inside the building, Ms. Booker said they found blood spatters and transfers'' near the victims head. A spent shotgun shell on a nearby desk and the loaded shotgun leaning upright were also located.





Hamilton County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Metcalfe testified that the victim was shot at a downwards angle in his right temple. He said pellets from a shotgun were found surrounding the wound. He estimated the victim was shot from two feet away. Dr. Metcalfe said he classified Charles death as homicide.
The special prosecutor from Nashville who quickly dismissed a high-profile shooting case in Soddy Daisy is leaving her post there.

Sources said Tammy Meade will be exiting the office of District Attorney Glenn Funk, and the still-open case will fall to another prosecutor.

The case brought attention when District Attorney Neal Pinkston asked the TBI to investigate the actions of his election foe, Coty Wamp, in the case.

The TBI said the probe on whether Ms. Wamp was involved with witness tampering is still an open matter - despite the decision of prosecutor Meade. The Nashville assistant DA said police had arrested the wrong culprit - and that the shooter was Hugo Garcia Robles and not Hugo Garcia Padilla. She had charges dropped against Padilla.

Ms. Wamp said she got involved after getting a call from Jeff Cannon, who maintained that victims in the case were insisting that the perpetrator was Robles, not Padilla.

Prosecutor Meade said she asked for the dismissal after discussing the case extensively with the TBI. She apparently did not discuss the matter with the Soddy Daisy Police, who made the arrest of Padilla based on victim statements.

Meanwhile, the attorney for Robles said he was advised by a caller that Robles has an alibi and could not have been at the scene of the shooting.

Attorney Jay Morgan said he had represented Robles previously in court. He said he had not spoken to him about the Soddy Daisy shooting, saying Robles does not speak English.

He said Robles has no need for an attorney at this point since he has not been charged.

At the hearing in which prosecutor Meade recommended dismissal of two counts of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment against Padilla, it was stated that warrants would be taken out against Robles. Soddy Daisy Judge Marty Lasley said he still wanted to review the matter before issuing those, but he expected to do soon.

However, the judge said he was later told by prosecutor Meade that she would go to the Grand Jury against Robles. That apparently has not happened.

Prosecutor Roger Moore of the Nashville DA's Office is expected to take over handling of the case.
The manager of McKays at 7734 Lee Hwy. told police he had a suspicious female in the store. The woman had attempted to sell merchandise that was previously stolen from McKay's. The manager said he trespassed the female and she signed the ban form in acknowledgment of that.

* * *

A homeless man on Lee Highway told police he was sleeping outside and he hid his bag behind a trash can at America's Best Value Inn to go to work. He said when he returned, his bag was gone. He said the only thing he wants on the report is that his Social Security card was stolen.

* * *

A woman on Chestnut Street told police she placed an order with EuniceKeynes.club for two Awesome Power Wheels battery-powered vehicles. She said the order came to $79.98. She said she never received the merchandise and the company is not answering her emails. Police suggested that she file a claim with the Fair Trade Commission. She said she would do so.

* * *

Residents on Crestway Drive complained to police of a vehicle parked in the road in front of their property for over three weeks. The resident said that the owner of the vehicle broke down and they assisted them in moving the vehicle to the side of the road. They said the vehicle's owner said they

would be back for it next time they were paid. The resident said it has been over three weeks and they would like it towed. S&S Towing came and towed the vehicle.

* * *



A man told police the fence surrounding his business' property at 2300 Cannon Ave. had been cut and an unknown male stole a catalytic converter off of a Toyota Sequoia. The man observed the incident on his security cameras occurring at 1:30 a.m. The vehicle is owned by T&J Motors. They were notified. Photos of the suspect, taken from video surveillance, will be added to the report once received by the man.

* * *

A man on Alexis Circle told police he got a text message from the Tennessee Unemployment office that someone has filed for unemployment using his date of birth and Social Security number. He said he contacted the unemployment office and confirmed that it was not him that filed. He said he did not ask for any details and could not give police any further information. He said that the only thing the unemployment office told him was that if they needed anything they would call him. Police recommended that he read the website identitytheft.gov.

* * *



A woman on Bay Pointe Drive told police she received a check that was meant to be payment for items she was selling on Facebook Marketplace. She said she had not yet given the item to the

person she was dealing with, who was unknown, but she thought the check appeared suspicious. The woman had her bank check the validity of the check, which was found to be fake. The check was taken and turned into Property for destruction. The woman was provided a receipt.

* * *

A shoplifting was reported at Lowe's, 2180 Gunbarrel Road. A manager told police that a black male who has previously shoplifted at Home Depot had just shoplifted from Lowe's and fled the scene with the stolen merchandise prior to police arrival . The man was observed on camera taking merchandise out of packaging and concealing it in a backpack. The man then fled the scene

on foot. The merchandise totals to be at least $437 in value. A photo of the man was given to police. A BOLO was created.

* * *

A driver for Uber Eats told police he has had a verbal altercation with two other Uber Eats drivers. He said they drive a black Mazda with Alabama plates. He told police he has called 11 times about the vehicle in order to get them in trouble with police. Police have yet to locate that vehicle or any violation associated with it. The man said he wanted to have a record of his issues with the two other drivers.

* * *

Police were flagged down by a woman on North Market Street who said she found a wallet on the sidewalk. The wallet contained $183.54 in cash and coins, a Georgia ID and several debit/credit cards. Police transported the purse and contents to the Chattanooga Property Division.

* * *

A man on Rossville Avenue told police he went out of town with some friends and, when he returned, he found that there was a dent in his vehicle. He said that the dent was on the rear driver-side of his car. At this time, it is unclear what happened to his car and he was just wanting a report in case he was not able to get the dent out.

* * *

The owner of Glass Man at 2114 Chapman Road told police his single-axle black trailer was stolen sometime over the weekend. It appears the suspect is driving a silver Mustang. This is based on very grainy footage. The man said the trailer is 20-plus years old and he does not know the VIN number. At this time, without a VIN number police cannot enter the trailer into NCIC.

* * *

A man said he was in his motel room at La Quinta Inn and Suites at 311 Browns Ferry Road when a female knocked on his door and asking to borrow money. The man said the woman asked for $32, and said her husband was out and she needed to pay the pizza guy before her husband returned. The female said that it was her kid's birthday and she was trying to get pizza for the birthday party but she did not have money. The man said he gave the female $35. When he went down to the lobby, he asked the front desk clerk if she had seen the female. The front desk clerk told him that the woman is known to be a "scammer" and to take peoples money. The man said he got upset and then called the emergency number to report it. The man said she was a heavy-set white female wearing glasses. Police were not able to identify the pizza scammer.
With the first of three local elections in 2022 fast approaching, a nonpartisan voter guide specifically designed for Christian voters with candidates answers will be available online this coming Monday. There is no cost associated for voters in using this guide.



We are very pleased with the response from candidates weve received thus far, said Church Voter Guides Spokesman Tim Adams. Overall, the response rate is over 80 percent, including county mayor candidates, both district attorney candidates and the candidate running for sheriff. We use the verbatim answers provided by candidates, with no editing involved. We think the answers will really help voters better know each candidate, so they can make a more informed choice when they vote.



Church Voter Guides provides voters with information about where candidates stand on key issues, not a simple "yes" or "no" answer. The organization took questions that were submitted by citizens of Hamilton County and submitted them to candidates.



To get alerted as soon as Voter Guides are available and to receive updates, visit VoteChattanooga.org and add your name securely to the email list.



Church Voter Guides, a nonpartisan Chattanooga-based nonprofit, initially launched in Colorado Springs last year. The guides are specifically designed to be 501(c)(3)-compliant so that it may be promoted and distributed through local churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations.



Candidates running for Hamilton County are being surveyed regarding their positions on such topics as Critical Race Theory, sex ed, the parents role in their childs education, COVID-19 protocols, pro-life positions and more. Candidate answers to the questionnaire are published in the Voter Guide verbatim, thereby ensuring that candidates responses accurately represent their positions and perspectives on these issues. This information is then shared through the online Guide.



For more information, or to book a meeting about Church Voter Guides and/or our Hamilton County Election Voter Guide, call Rick Toner at 423-910-9105.
Cary Hodnett, M.D., of Chattanooga, Tennessee, entered eternal life on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

His spirit is carried on by his devoted wife of 32 years, Susan Biggs Hodnett. Cary and Susan had exciting adventures together, tackled day-to-day challenges, achieved many accomplishments, and in Carys own words, I couldnt imagine anyone who wouldve been a better partner and friend along the way.

Cary was preceded in death by his parents, Gains and Gertie Lee Hodnett, brothers, Harold and Paul Hodnett, sister, Wanda Carson, and twin sister, Mary Alexander.

He is survived by his children, Michael, David, and Caron Hodnett, three grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren; also by his son by marriage, Matthew Lamb (wife Hollis) and his granddaughters, Perri and Mattie, who were the lights of his life.

Cary was born and raised in Alexander City, Al., where he attended Benjamin Russell High School. He attained a bachelor of science from Auburn University, a medical degree from the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, and was awarded a fellowship at the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Cary joined the U.S. Navy and served as a Medical Officer on a nuclear cruiser, the USS Long Beach. This was a unique opportunity that allowed Cary to travel around the world, a passion which he maintained well into his retirement, having visited countries on all seven continents. Of all the amazing places he traveled, his favorite trips were to Tibet and Antarctica.

Following the Navy, Cary practiced family medicine, then found his lifes work in interventional radiology, the first in his field in Chattanooga.

Cary spent most of his spare time on his beloved farm raising cattle, sheep, and quail  a responsibility that he took very seriously and for which he was honored by the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District as the 2021 Conservation Farmer of the Year.

Cary was a man of strong faith and a dedicated member of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer where a reception will be held on Tuesday, March 22, at 10 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. service, and a 1 p.m. burial at National Cemetery.

Arrangements are entrusted to Hamilton Funeral Home, 4506 Hixson Pike, Hixson, 423 531-3975.
In July 1989, I was lying on the sofa of my brothers Knoxville apartment one night. It was the summer Id quit work to go back to school and finish the degree I abandoned to work on political campaigns a few years back.

The TV was turned on, the volume low, while I read. And then, a news anchor broke into regular programming with an announcement: Knoxville Democratic Rep. Ted Ray Miller had been found dead at his house from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Millers suicide came one day before he was expected to be indicted by a grand jury on bribery charges but the suicide stunned Tennessees political world.

And Miller wasnt the only official to commit suicide. Less than six months later, Secretary of State Gentry Crowell shot himself and died eight days later.

The recent history of Tennessee political scandals may provide lessons for the present.

Former Gov. Ray Blanton, a West Tennessee Democrat, got bounced from office early for giving paroles to prisoners who had bribed members of his administration. In 1979, his successor, Lamar Alexander, was allowed to assume office a few days prior to Tennessees official inauguration date to halt Blantons actions.

Blanton served time in a federal penitentiary and Democratic lawmakers apparently learned little from him.

Crowell had been outspoken during the period in which Blanton was freely issuing pardons. As Blanton signed off on the parole of a political supporter, he reportedly said: This takes guts. Crowell responded: Some people have more guts than brains.

But Crowell and Miller got caught in Operation Rocky Top, an FBI investigation into legislative bribery that began in 1986 and culminated in 25 indictments, with several leading legislators being convicted and imprisonedincluding Democratic Senate Majority Leader Tommy Burnett and the two suicides.

In 2005, another crop of lawmakers were caught in another FBI investigation, this one called Operation Tennessee Waltz.

Several longtime Democratic senators, Ward Crutchfield and John Ford, were convicted of taking bribes, Ford for a whopping $800,000. Crutchfield got two years of house arrest and Ford spent more than four years in prison. Another veteran Democrat, Sen. Roscoe Dixon, got a five-year sentence. All three had served through both the Blanton and Rocky Top scandals but apparently absorbed no lessons.

This is more than just a history lesson, though; its a lesson for an unfolding scandal, as yet nameless.

Last week, Robin Smith, a Chattanooga area Republican representative, pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, resigned from the legislature, and announced she is cooperating fully with an FBI investigation.

FBI documents charging Smith made veiledvery thinly veiledreferences to former House Speaker Glen Casada. Individual 1 served as Speaker of the House from in or around January 2019 until in or around August 2019.

In short, Casada and his former chief of staff Cade CothrenIndividual 2 in the FBI documentsallegedly colluded with Smith to set up a fake consulting firm called Phoenix Solutions. The trio then arranged for the Republican House Caucus and its members to use the vendor for direct mail during the 2020 campaign cycle.

Phoenix may not have been Casadas first effort at creating a fake firm. The Lookouts Sam Stockard reported Casada spent money with the Cattleya Group, set up in 2018 at the same address Phoenix Solutions had.

Theres a lot to unpack in the current scheme and much we dont know yet. Republican insiders, including professional vendors and former GOP staffers, point to the difficulty most vendors have getting approved to do caucus work and the number of hoops to be jumped throughyet the caucus signed off on Phoenix without ever meeting someone affiliated with the company.

No one who spent money with Phoenix or signed checks seems to have much memory of who they dealt with. One GOP lawmaker, Rep. Bruce Griffey of Paris, spent $6,000 with the Cattleya Groupthe largest single sum of money he spent in the 2020 campaign cyclebut got nothing in return for the money, wasnt refunded and wouldnt identify his Cattleya contact when pressed.

Whatever one may think of Casada, hes never been called stupid. Hes a savvy, if Machiavellian, politician who worked his way from county commissioner to the third most powerful person in Tennessee politics. But he, Smith and Cothren all felt comfortable sending discoverable emails to each other with incriminating details about fake names and the fake firm.

There are a couple of commonalities with earlier legislative scandals: Power and hubris.

After holding a legislative majority for a century, Democrats became emboldened by power. They thought they could take what they wanted, do what they wanted and theyd never fall. They were wrong, of course. Societal and political changes played a part in the Republican takeover of Tennessee but Democratic graft and lack of regard for laws played right into the collective hand of the GOP.

Smith wont be sentenced until October and it remains to be seen if any GOP lawmakers get indicted or what other names surface as the investigation proceeds but we are seeing a similar pattern. From partisan gerrymandering to violation of campaign finance laws to the Phoenix scheme that could entrap several officials, Republicans are heading down a similar path as earlier Democrats, in only fraction of the time.
90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 cast member, Benjamin Ben Rathbun is currently in jail. Ben was arrested after violating his probation from a drunk driving incident in 2020.

Benjamin 90 Day FIance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 | TLC

Bens drunk driving arrest in 2020

According to TMZ, back in 2020, 52-year-old Ben was arrested for operating while under the influence of alcohol (OUI) and driving with a suspended license. In January 2021, he was sentenced to 18 months of probation.

On Feb 7, 2022, Ben had a scheduled probation hearing, but he didnt show up. The judge issued a bench warrant since Ben was a no-show. What was Ben doing? Fans recall that Ben was spotted visiting his 22-year-old girlfriend, Mahogany, on Feb 23. Could this be the reason why he missed his probation hearing?

Ben arrested for probation violation

According to online records obtained by TMZ, Ben was arrested due to the bench warrant from his original OUI case on the morning of Mar 15. Theres no information about what Ben was doing ahead of his arrest.

Ben is currently in jail for breaking probation, and his bond is set at $10,000. So far, there havent been any updates on whether he posted bail or not.

Ben and Mahoganys 90 Day Fiance journey

After falling in love via an international dating website, Ben flew to Peru to meet the love of his life, Mahogany. Upon arriving at the airport, Ben was stood up by Mahogany. While there was speculation that Mahogany wasnt real, she proved she was real when she finally showed up to meet Benjamin.

Now that theyre finally together, many red flags appear. Ben suspects that Mahogany isnt being truthful after finding out shes two years younger than he expected. Meanwhile, Mahogany is suspicious of Bens intentions. On the Mar 13 episode of Before the 90 Days, Ben stands Mahogany up at breakfast, leaving their relationship in jeopardy.

Will Bens arrest cause problems in his relationship with Mahogany? 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Season 5 airs Sundays on TLC and discovery+.

RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Ella Is Active on Dating Sites After Admitting to Cheating on Johnny
Emporia, KS (66801)

Today

Periods of rain. High 56F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Showers and thundershowers likely. Low 53F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives centered around disgraced restaurateur Sarma Melngailis who ran once-successful Pure Food and Wine and attached retail store, One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, which she opened with her ex-boyfriend, Matthew Kenney. The famous chef didnt appear in the Netflix documentary for a comment; where is he now?

Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis | Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images

As documented in Netflixs new docuseries, Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives, restaurateur Sarma Melngailis, met New York-based popular chef Matthew Kenney in the early 2000s when she reached out to him to help with his cookbook.

The vegan-based couple began dating and opened a restaurant Commissary together in 2001. However, it closed two years later.

Netflix just dropped #BadVegan!



Go watch my incredibly talented wife (@mostly_vegan) share her experience as the Executive Chef of the infamous Pure Food & Wine in NYC.



Its a bizarre and riveting story that you have to see to believe pic.twitter.com/NmEyiA9CwU  Champ (@doyouknowchamp) March 16, 2022

RELATED: Lizzos Vegan Chicken Sandwich Recipe Is Based On a Popular Fast Food Chain

She then worked for Jeffrey Chodorows China Grill Management before he agreed to invest in their fine-dining raw food establishment, Pure Food and Wine, the first of its kind. The restaurant opened in 2004 to positive reviews and media attention, becoming a hot spot for celebrities.

They also wrote a book together, Raw Food Real World. However, the couples relationship soured, she claimed due to his irresponsible money habits, and forced Chodorow to oust the other. Due to his belief in Melngailis, and Kenneys reputation for not paying bills, the restaurateur chose her and gave her the restaurant for around $2 million of debt.

Kenney was a known chef before meeting Melngailis

In 1990, Kenney graduated from the French Culinary Institute around 10 years before Melngailis, who attended the same New York-based school.

After graduating, he began working in New York City in multiple kitchens before launching Matthews in 1993.

[PDF] Raw Food/Real World by Matthew Kenney, Sarma Melngailis pic.twitter.com/YV3ZNCId0l  Ivor Boyce (@ivorboycee) February 7, 2022

The following year, Food & Wine Magazine named him the Best New Chef, and he went on to open a few more restaurants that have since closed. The chef has pointed to the economic decline following the September 11 terror attacks as to why his establishments shut down.

After leaving Pure Food and Wine in 2005, Chodorow sued him for breach of fiduciary and breach of contract, accusing the chef of recruiting their employees for his future projects. While Kenney claimed the staff came to him, the restaurateur denied it.

Matthew Kenney has over 25 vegan-based restaurants and other food products

Following his exit, the famous chef opened a culinary academy named after himself (2009) in Oklahoma City before relocating it to Los Angeles, California. He has since opened another campus in Belfast, Maine (2013) before selling the academy in 2017 due to debt.

In 2012, he launched plant-based lifestyle company Matthew Kenney Cuisine and had gone on to publish over 10 raw vegan cookbooks.

The chef has since opened over 20 different restaurants around the world, including five locations for Double Zero Pizza Place, plant-based food pub food and craft beer spot Plant Pub, plant-based artisanal chocolate shop Casse-Cou Chocolate, elixr Seeva, Ntidote Life nutrition bars, meal delivery service PlantX, the first plant-based food hall Plant City, meal-kit company PlantMade, drive-thru fast food spot Vegd, convenience store X Market, and other restaurants Adesse, Alibi Bar and Kitchen, Althea, Avivar, Ayre, Baia, Besties, Botanica, Casa Planta, Folia, Hungry Angelina, Laduree, Liora, Mudra, New Burger, Oleada Cocina, Scen, Sestina, Sutra, and Xyst.

He plans to release a frozen plant-based pizza soon and announced Plant Food and Wine in Lima, Peru, will open in April 2022. Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives is streaming on Netflix.

RELATED: Lizzos Favorite Vegan Restaurants Include a Hollywood Food Truck and a Tamale Joint
John Wayne is a legendary Western movie star who the world will always recognize for his contributions to the medium. However, his final words on his deathbed didnt have anything to do with movies or his career. Rather, he used them to speak sentimental, heartfelt words aimed at his daughter, Aissa Wayne, who stayed at his bedside.

John Waynes cause of death was stomach cancer

John Wayne | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

According to History.com, Wayne died on June 11, 1979, of stomach cancer at the age of 72. However, it wasnt his first encounter with cancer, as he fought it for more than a decade. Unfortunately, the doctors reported that the actor was too weak to begin chemotherapy and experimental treatment, which the actor approved of.

Wayne coined the term The Big C for cancer in 1964. He ultimately needed to have his left lung and four ribs removed. Wayne seemed to recover at the time, despite regularly being short of breath. However, he didnt stop his habit of smoking and chewing tobacco regularly, which certainly didnt help with his situation.

John Waynes last words were to his daughter, Aissa Wayne

"He was really a loving dad and granddad. It was cute seeing him with the grandkids  he would get all goo-goo and gaga. He was just a jolly guy.  Aissa Wayne on her father, John Wayne pic.twitter.com/iXRuiLOMIv  John Wayne Official (@JohnDukeWayne) April 16, 2019

Outsider confirmed that Wayne was surrounded by his family during his stay in the hospital. He was never left alone, as the doctors tried to do all they could to strengthen his physical state. However, their efforts ultimately failed. Wayne spent his last days before his death in and out of consciousness.

Waynes name is generally associated with a tough sense of masculinity, but he also had a sentimental side of him. These stories particularly come from his family, including Waynes final words.

Waynes daughter, Aissa, was at his bedside at the time of his death. She was holding her fathers hand and asked him if he knew who she was. He responded with his last words, Of course, I know who you are. Youre my girl. I love you.

The Shootist was his final acting role

"My most useful acting tip came from my pal John Wayne. Talk low, talk slow, and don't say too much"  Ron Howard on working with Duke on his last film, The Shootist (1976) pic.twitter.com/MNyOXiie2S  John Wayne Official (@JohnDukeWayne) August 3, 2020

Waynes final movie role before his death was starring as J.B. Books in The Shootist. The film follows his character, who is an aging gunfighter who has cancer. He heads to Nevada and rents a room from the widowed Bond Rogers (Lauren Bacall) and her son, Gillom (Ron Howard). Many folks confront Books for various reasons involving his notoriety. However, Books doesnt plan to die quietly but will go out with a bang.

Wayne surprised critics and audiences with his performance, as many folks previously believed that he simply played himself in all of his roles. However, he wouldnt ultimately earn an Oscar nomination for his role.

Wayne earned his first two Oscar nominations for Sands of Iwo Jima and The Alamo. However, it wouldnt be until 1969s True Grit that he would finally earn the golden statue. Many of his fans still believe that he deserved to get an Oscar nomination for his final work on The Shootist.

RELATED: The Conqueror: John Wayne and His Sons Allegedly Got Cancer From Nuclear Fallout Movie Set
The first Marvel Cinematic Universe release of 2022 is almost here, and fans are more excited than ever for Moon Knight. The series will venture into a brutal corner of the MCU that aims to shed light on mental illness. And given the addition of the Defenders series on Disney+, it seems like Marvel is ready to embrace its dark side and explore topics that it has rarely touched. And we have everything you need to know to prepare for Moon Knight.

Oscar Isaac as Moon Knight | Marvel Studios

Moon Knight releases on Disney+ at the end of March

Disney+ will release the first episode of Moon Knight on Wednesday, March 30. Some of the previous Marvel Disney+ shows aired two episodes during their premieres, but it looks like Moon Knight will only debut one on March 30.

The show consists of six episodes, and the streaming service describes it as a miniseries. So its unlikely that Marvel has a second season planned, but weve learned never to say never when it comes to the MCU.

Moon Knights synopsis reads, The series follows Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, who becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life. Steven discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marcs enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.

The many phases of Marvel Studios #MoonKnight, an Original series streaming March 30, only on @DisneyPlus. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/GevUIoI9cx  Moon Knight (@moonknight) March 10, 2022

Who is in the cast?

Once Moon Knight releases on Disney+, fans will meet a handful of new characters. The cast includes Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant/Marc Spector/Mr. Knight/Moon Knight, Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow, Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Mogart/Midnight Man, May Calamawy as Layla El-Faouly, and F. Murray Abraham voices the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.

Isaac will begin the series as Steven Grant. But his character will quickly learn of his dark past as Marc Spector and that he is a conduit for Khonshu.

While speaking with USA Today, Isaac explained the differences between Steven and Marc. He said Steven is an English bloke who is a bit confused and doesnt have great social skills and says the wrong things at all the wrong times and is completely sincere. The actor added that Steven is someone longing for connection, and in a way, could be a counterpoint to the classic, tortured, dark vigilante guy weve seen a lot.

Marc, on the other hand, is rougher around the edges. Isaac shared, I leaned into this Chicago guy whos pushing people away. You feel the way that Steven feels: Why is he such a (jerk)? I dont really want to be around him. As the story progresses, you see that thaw happen.

Meanwhile, Arthur Harrow is the villain of the story. He is a cult leader connected to the god Ammit, but many fans believe there is more to his character than meets the eye. Hopefully, we will learn more about Hawkes character when Disney+ releases Moon Knight at the end of March.

The trailer teases the introduction of Steven Grant and a mysterious villain

The Moon Knight trailer revealed the release date for the Marvel series, and it gave fans a first look at the show. Plus, fans learned that the series would begin with Oscar Isaac as Steven Grant instead of Marc Spector, which surprised many.

The video introduces Steven as an English man living in London who has a sleeping disorder. He cant tell the difference between his waking life and dreams. Steven sees flashes of Moon Knight and Khonshu as he struggles to differentiate reality and his dreams. He later finds a ringing cell phone, and when he answers it, a woman on the other end calls him Marc.

Steven also meets Arthur Harrow in the video. The cult leader tells him, It must be very difficult  the voices in your head. Theres chaos in you. Embrace the chaos.

The trailer also treated fans to Isaac in the Moon Knight costume, which psyched many for the release of Moon Knight on Disney+.

How to watch Moon Knight when it releases

Moon Knight will air weekly on Wednesdays on Disney+, starting with episode 1s release on March 30. The streaming service will add new episodes at 3 a.m. ET.

The series will run for six episodes, so it is set to conclude on May 4. Interestingly, the finale date is two days before the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness premiere. Since fans expect Moon Knight to jump over to the MCU films, perhaps a crossover will happen sooner rather than later.

RELATED: Moon Knight Star Ethan Hawke Describes Arthur Harrow as a Bad Steve Jobs
The anime Ranking of Kings Episode 22 release date and time have been announced for Japan, the US, the UK, and the rest of the world. Fans can catch the new episode of Ranking of Kings English sub and Japanese dub editions on Funimation and Crunchyroll (which recently merged). No matter where you live in the world, then heres what time you can see the next adventure for Prince Bojji, Kage, and the rest of the Ranking of Kings characters.

Prince Daida from Ranking of Kings Episode 22 | Funimation

When is the Ranking of Kings Episode 22 release date?

The Ranking of Kings Episode 22 release date is Friday, March 18, 2022. Its title in Japanese is  (Majin to no Yakusoku), which translates as The Promise to a Demon.

Ranking of Kings Season 1, or Ousama Ranking in Japan, started on October 15, 2021, then continued through the end of the year. It aired alongside new Winter 2022 anime like My Dress-Up Darling and Attack on Titan: Final Season Part 2.

Shouta Goshozono's Ousama Ranking #21 is a masterpiece, a precious case of great artists working together & influencing/contamining each other with their own different sensibilities to create something bold and new. Gosso's unique & transformative approach and use of tools like- pic.twitter.com/a3N6Y7KKye  S(p)am (@Spammuele) March 10, 2022

The previous Ranking of Kings episodes to air included episode 21, The Swordsmanship of a King. It dropped on March 11, 2022, directed and also storyboarded by Shota Goshozono and written by Taku Kishimoto.

In an epic battle, Prince Bojji finally took on his father, King Bosse. Ranking of Kings fans looked forward to seeing the showdown between the prince and the king.

What time can you watch Ranking of Kings Episode 22?

Whether you want to know the Ranking of Kings Episode 22 release date and time in PT, ET, GMT, or CET time zones, heres what time you can expect the English sub and Japanese dub to drop according to Game Revolution:

1:25 AM JST

9:25 AM PT (March 17)

12:25 AM ET (March 17)

4:25 PM GMT (March 17)

5:25 PM CET (March 17)

However, only viewers with premium Crunchyroll or Funimation subscriptions can catch Ranking of Kings episode 22 at these times.

If you only have a free account, though, youll have to wait a week to see the new episodes. Those should then release on March 24 and 25.

Ranking of Kings is not available for streaming on Netflix or Hulu, in Japanese or English dub. Crunchyroll and Funimation remain the two most reliable places to watch new episodes of the show.

When does the English dub release?

Some fans outside of Japan might prefer anime dubs to subs. However, the Ranking of Kings Episode 22 English dub has not received a release date at the time of writing this article.

So far, all Ranking of Kings episodes through 15 have an English dub available to watch as an alternative to the Japanese dub with English subtitles version.

Bojji. Today prince, tomorrow king



Anime: Ranking of Kings pic.twitter.com/BPgn1Up54y  Anime Trending (@AniTrendz) March 13, 2022

For now, the only way to catch the latest episode of Prince Bojji, Kage, and the rest of the Ranking of Kings characters is with English subtitles.

With only 21 episodes released so far, Ranking of Kings has set itself apart from other anime shows. While the biggest anime like Dragon Ball and One Piece continue to dominate, Ranking of Kings has quickly become a modern classic series.

RELATED: 1 Ranking of Kings Controversy Causes Debate Among Anime Fans
Leading up to the finale of Clayton Echards season of The Bachelor, Nick Viall teased the episode on Twitter. Im just shaking my head in disbelief  and then there are some iconic moments, he said at the time. The Bachelor Nation star, who appeared in The Bachelor Season 21 and proposed to contestant Vanessa Grimaldi, had even more to say about the way things ended for Clayton  who isnt single. Plus, Nicks thoughts about who ABC cast as the next star of The Bachelorette.

Jesse Palmer, Michelle Young, Nick Viall, and Clare Crawley | Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images

Clayton Echard and Susie Evans reunite during The Bachelor finale

As Nick promised, The Bachelor Season 26 finale was full of twists. Clayton broke up with Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia simultaneously in Iceland during the finale episode. In a last-ditch effort, he asked Susie to meet him in what would have been the place he proposed. But instead of getting down on one knee, he asked Susie to give him a second chance. She denied him.

As Clayton revealed during the finale, he and Susie reconnected after filming for his season wrapped when she reached out to The Bachelor star. I know he was following his heart and I have a lot of respect for him for doing that, Susie said. But I just had to choose myself in that moment and that allowed me to take a better look and get the answers we both needed.

Their smiles say it all  Thanks for watching this season of #TheBachelor! pic.twitter.com/DpimHg14Wa  The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 16, 2022

They arent engaged, despite Neil Lanes presence in the audience. But Clayton did say he was moving in with Susie in the next couple of days.

Nick Viall thinks Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia as the next Bachelorette leads is a great idea

At the end of The Bachelor Season 26 finale, host Jesse Palmer announced who the next star of The Bachelorette would be. This time, the show will have two leads  Gabby and Rachel.

Honestly  this is a great idea, Nick tweeted during the finale. Right now, its unclear how ABC will handle two leads in the upcoming season. Will Gabby and Rachel date the same men or get their own group of guys to choose from?

They are going to bring paradise to the bachelorette and its going to be a mess. #Bachelor  Nick Viall (@viallnicholas28) March 16, 2022

Either way, Nick supports the idea, comparing it to Bachelor in Paradise. They are going to bring Paradise to the Bachelorette and its going to be a mess, he said in another tweet.

Nick Viall previously called Clayton Echard out for being a d*** to Susie Evans

During the Fantasy Suites episode of The Bachelor, Clayton and Susie got into a heated discussion about their relationship. I think youre incredible, but  knowing theres an engagement, there are things I feel like I cant compromise, Susie said. I know you just told me you feel like youre in love with me, but do you feel that way with someone else? Have you slept with another woman? Those are things I feel like would be impossible for me to move forward with an engagement.

Clayton was upset Susie didnt present him with this information sooner, leading several fans to feel like Clayton gaslit her and invalidated her feelings. Nick shared similar sentiments on Twitter.

Susie tried to express her feelings while trying to empathize with Claytons POV, he wrote. Clayton expressed his feelings to Susie by being a d***.

Now, Nick seems to have changed his tune. Wishing you two all the best, he commented on Claytons Instagram post regarding his relationship with Susie.

Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for the latest on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

RELATED: The Bachelor 2022 Finale: Clayton Echards Dad Brian Wins Bachelor Nations Hearts
The Bachelor finale gave fans answers in regards to what happened with Susie Evans and Clayton Echard. During Fantasy Suites week, Susie had trouble getting past Clayton getting ultra-close with Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey, and she left. By the second half of the finale, Clayton begged Susie to return. And it seems Susie didnt take Cassie Randolphs advice.

[Spoiler alert: The Bachelor finale spoilers ahead regarding Clayton Echard and Susie Evans.]

The Bachelor finale recap: Does Susie Evans reject Clayton Echard?

Susie Evans and Clayton Echard | Craig Sjodin via Getty Images

The Bachelor finale and After the Final Rose were full of twists no one expected. At the end of part one, Clayton told his family that despite still having Gabby and Rachel around, he knew Susie was the one for him. Part two of the finale featured Clayton finding Susie and begging her to return. Then, Clayton sent Gabby and Rachel home despite first begging both of them to stay and meet his family.

So, what happens with Susie and Clayton? Does Susie reject Clayton in the end? Shockingly, she does. Clayton tells Susie he loves her and wants to build upon their relationship, but Susie doesnt agree. I have made the decision to leave Iceland alone, Susie tells him. It doesnt make it an easy decision. Its devastating if Im being honest. But Ive thought this through, and I dont think that Im your person and I dont think that youre mine.

Despite everything that went down on the show, Clayton and Susie found their way back to each other. They reconnected after the show and debuted their new relationship during After the Final Rose.

Susie didnt take the advice given by Bachelor alum Cassie Randolph

Kaitlyn Bristowe, Rodney Mathews, and Cassie Randolph | Craig Sjodin/ABC via Getty Images

During part one of The Bachelor finale, Cassie Randolph from Colton Underwoods season of The Bachelor weighed in on what was going down. Fans likely remember Cassie chose to leave the show, but Colton then convinced her to stay. They had a relationship outside of the show until they broke up. Many fans thought Colton shouldve never gone after Cassie after she made the initial decision to leave the show.

People reminds us Cassie said she hopes Susie doesnt feel pressure to sustain a relationship with Clayton if he went back for her. I hope that if he does go back, which it is seeming very possible that hes going to, that she just doesnt feel pressure, whether thats pressure from him to have a relationship or pressure to give a happy ending to the show, Cassie said.

When she initially came on the show, she wanted to find something, you know.  She might be living in this idealistic world, Cassie added. But yeah, I just hope that she sticks with her intuition and really is in the moment in a good way where shes not looking at what she wants it to be but for what it is.

It seems Susie didnt heed Cassies advice, as she and Clayton got in contact after everything that occurred on the show to rebuild their romance.

Are Susie and Clayton still together now?

The Bachelor's Clayton Echard and Susie Evans Are in Love! All the Photos from Their PEOPLE Photoshoot https://t.co/EtCW0oMA7f  People (@people) March 16, 2022

Whats the status of Susie and Clayton now after The Bachelor finale? According to People, theyre both happy and in love.

In a weird, twisted way it did work out because I ended up with Susie, Clayton told the publication. And Im happier than Ive ever been.

I was totally caught off guard by everything that happened in Iceland so I needed to take time for myself and get to the bottom of who Clayton is as a person, Susie added. I wanted answers for how he treated me on the initial day of our breakup. But weve learned so much about each other. And those feelings of love came back.

Now, Clayton is reportedly moving to Virginia to be with Susie. Theyre not currently engaged, but instead are taking their relationship one day at a time.

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RELATED: The Bachelor: Clayton Echard Believes Real World Dating Rules Dont Apply on the Show
The Bachelor with Clayton Echard aired its finale last night, March 16. To say that it was a wild ride is an understatement. Despite spoilers from Reality Steve, producer Mike Fleiss was correct in saying this season was spoiler-proof. Clayton left Iceland single. However, he and Susie Evans reunited during last nights episode. Fans are clamoring to know more about Susie. Heres what Susie does for a living, plus her age, Instagram, and where she calls home.

Clayton and Susie | ABC/Craig Sjodin

Who is Bachelor star Susie Evans?

Twenty-eight-year-old Susie describes herself as someone with a passion for living. She currently resides in Virginia and previously participated in beauty pageants. Susie held the title of Miss Virginia USA in 2020. She worked with Tokyo Disney as a performer before that. She performed as a Disney princess at Tokyo Disneyland and portrayed beloved characters such as Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. The Virginia native has several photos on her Instagram page showing her dressed up as different Disney princesses. Susie previously mentioned the impact that job had on her outlook on life.

Susie left her job with Disney after two years before returning home to start her journey in the pageant industry. In 2020, her bio on Pageant Update Info listed a different position as Program Director as what Susie does for a living.

The site says, Susie currently works as a Program Manager at a marketing agency in Williamsburg, Virginia where she plans and executes patient-education programs across the U.S. She works closely with advocacy groups and patients with rare diseases and she believes that her work experience has shaped her greatly in the last year. When Susie isnt at work she spends hours training in Brazilian Jiu Jistu and volunteering at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

Their smiles say it all  Thanks for watching this season of #TheBachelor! pic.twitter.com/DpimHg14Wa  The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 16, 2022

RELATED: Bachelor Nations Thoughts on The Bachelor Finale and Clayton Echards Cringy Rose Ceremony

What Susie Evans does for a living now

Susies bio for The Bachelor says she works as a wedding photographer for a living, but her LinkedIn profile lists Program Manager. However, her Instagram bio says she works as a fitness instructor.

Everything is going to change. Get ready for the most dramatic finale of #TheBachelor TONIGHT. pic.twitter.com/8ynrC4eNcA  The Bachelor (@BachelorABC) March 15, 2022

The Bachelor winner has a passion for digital cinema

Susie mentioned becoming a documentary filmmaker as one of her biggest goals and something shed like to do for a living. Shes always had a passion for digital cinema. Plus, she already has one short film under her belt.

Her Miss Virginia bio goes into detail about that particular passion. Susie started looking for ways to use her digital cinema education to give back to the community. Live, learn, and pass it on! This is the idea behind her initiative Media That Matters. She set out to empower women through her media production and had the opportunity to display a photo series showcasing the natural beauty of women from around the world in the Scheidegger Center for the Arts. She also produced a short film called, Kara, to empower women who have lost their hair from chemotherapy, fundraised for a scholarship contest at her alma mater to award young women scholarships, and used a documentary-style video to help find a kidney donor for a kidney disease patient in Sarasota, FL.

Although many fans believed The Bachelor producers were giving Susie The Bachelorette edit, she surprised everyone with her return on stage. During The Bachelor finale, Susie and Clayton announced they would begin their life together in Virginia. Clayton quit his job and already has plans to join Susie at her home there. The two arent engaged, but we wont be surprised if that happens in the near future.

RELATED: Former Bachelor Star Jade Roper Says Claytons Actions Toward Susie Were Triggering
A microstructure created by a 3D printer: the innovative refractive structure developed by PSI scientists and which combined with a diffractive element, results in an achromatic X-ray lens, is almost a millimetre long (or high, as shown in the photo). Turned on its end, it resembles a miniature rocket. It was created by a 3D printer using a special type of polymer. This image of the structure was captured using a scanning electron microscope.

PSI scientists have developed a ground-breaking achromatic lens for X-rays. This allows the X-ray beams to be accurately focused on a single point even if they have different wavelengths. The new lens will make it much easier to study nanostructures using X-rays, according to a paper just published by the researchers in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Achromatic lenses are essential for producing sharp images in photography and optical microscopes. They ensure that different colours  i.e. light of different wavelengths  have a common focal point. To date, however, achromatic lenses have not been available for X-rays, so that high-resolution X-ray microscopy has only been possible with monochromatic X-rays. In practice, this means that all other wavelengths have to be filtered out of the X-ray beam spectrum and hence only a small portion of the light can effectively be used, resulting in a relatively inefficient image capturing process.

A team of PSI scientists have now solved this problem by successfully developing an achromatic X-ray lens for X-rays. Since X-rays can reveal much smaller structures than visible light, the innovative lens will particularly benefit R&D work in sectors such as microchips, batteries and materials science, among others.

More complex than in the visible range

The fact that it took until now to develop an achromatic lens for X-rays may at first seem surprising: for visible light, achromatic lenses have been around for over 200 years. These are usually composed of two different materials. The light penetrates the first material and splits into its spectral colours  much like when passing through a conventional glass prism. It then passes through a second material to reverse this effect. In physics, the process of separating different wavelengths is called dispersion.

"This basic principle applied in the visible range does not work in the X-ray range, however," explains the physicist Christian David, Head of the X-Ray Optics and Applications research group at PSIs Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies. "For X-rays, no pair of materials exists for which the optical properties differ sufficiently over a broad range of wavelengths for one material to counterbalance the effect of the other. In other words: the dispersion of materials in the X-ray range is too similar."

Two principles rather than two materials

So instead of looking for the answer in the combination of two materials, the scientists linked together two different optical principles. "The trick was to realise that we could position a second refractive lens in front of our diffractive lens," says Adam Kubec, lead author of the new study. Until recently, Kubec was a researcher in Christian Davids group, and now works for XRnanotech, a spin-off that emerged from PSIs research in X-ray optics.

"For many years now, PSI has been a world leader in the production of X-ray lenses," says David. "We supply specialised lenses, known as Fresnel zone plates, for X-ray microscopy at synchrotron light sources worldwide." Davids research group uses established nanolithography methods to produce diffractive lenses. However, for the second element in the achromatic lens  the refractive structure , a new method was needed which has only recently become available: 3D printing on the micrometre scale. This ultimately enabled Kubec to produce a shape that vaguely resembles a miniature rocket.

Potential commercial applications

The newly developed lens enables the leap from research application to X-ray microscopy in commercial use, for example in industry. "Synchrotron sources generate X-rays of such high intensity that it is possible to filter out all but a single wavelength while still preserving enough light to produce an image," Kubec explains. However, synchrotrons are large-scale research facilities. To date, R&D staff working in industry are allocated a set beam time to conduct experiments at synchrotrons at research institutes, including the Swiss Light Source SLS at PSI. This beam time is extremely limited, expensive and requires long-term planning. "Industry would like to have much faster response loops in their R&D processes," Kubec says. "Our achromatic X-ray lens will help enormously with this: It will enable compact X-ray microscopes that industrial companies can operate on their own premises."

Together with XRnanotech, PSI plans to market the new lens. Kubec says they already have suitable contacts with companies specialising in building X-ray microscopy facilities on the lab scale.

SLS X-ray beam used for testing

To characterise their achromatic X-ray lens, scientists used an X-ray beamline at SLS. One of the methods employed there is a highly developed X-ray microscopy technique called ptychography. "This technique is normally used to examine an unknown sample," says the studys second author, Marie-Christine Zdora, a physicist working in Christian Davids research group and an expert in X-ray imaging. "We on the other hand used ptychography to characterise the X-ray beam and thus our achromatic lens." This enabled the scientists to precisely detect the location of the X-ray focal point at different wavelengths.

They additionally tested the new lens using a method where the sample is moved through the focus of the X-ray beam in small raster steps. When the wavelength of the X-ray beam is changed, the images produced with a conventional X-ray lens become very blurred. This, however, does not happen when using the new achromatic lens. "When we eventually got a sharp image of the test sample over a broad range of wavelengths, we knew our lens was working," says a delighted Zdora.

David adds: "The fact that we were able to develop this achromatic X-ray lens at PSI and will soon be bringing it to market with XRnanotech shows that the type of research we do here can lead to practical applications in a very short period of time."
One of country musics most successful acts, Parmalee, will perform at three different Cherokee casinos this month.
A sign promoting Native American participation in the U.S. census is displayed as Selena Rides Horse enters information into her phone on behalf of a member of the Crow Indian Tribe in Lodge Grass, Mont., on Aug. 26, 2020. The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday, March 10, 2022, released two reports which measure how well the once-a-decade head count tallied every U.S. resident and whether certain populations were undercounted or overrepresented in the count. Any undercounts in various populations can shortchange the amount of funding and political representation they get over the next decade.
Cheshire Academy will be going mask-optional at its campus this month, after students and faculty return from the schools scheduled spring break.

Head of Schools Julie Anderson explained to The Herald last week that administrators decided to wait until after the upcoming recess, scheduled for March 11 through the 29, in order to make sure that students and staff get to enjoy their break. Since Cheshire Academy is a private boarding school with students hailing from all different parts of the world, it was decided that the change in mask mandates should err on the side of caution.

We are being extra cautious, said Anderson. We want people to really enjoy that break, so we just felt it was best to be a little more cautious and keep the masks on until then.

The Academy counts itself as a fully-vaccinated school community, which provides administrators with another layer of comfort in terms of moving to a mask-optional model for the rest of the spring semester, Anderson stated. Also, when the Academy reconvenes after spring break, more activities are planned to be held outside, providing the weather cooperates. Given that the virus has proven to not transmit very effectively outside as opposed to an indoor setting, the school feels confident it can safely transition away from many of the mitigation protocols that have been in place at different times during the pandemic.

We are making these decisions in consultation with our medical director, Chesprocott (Health District), and state officials, said Anderson. We are moving to mask-optional, and it will be very important to respect everyones comfort level and decision (regarding masks).

We will be asking everyone to still bring a mask with them (to school), just in case there is a situation where it is needed, she continued.

While the school wont officially move to a mask-optional model until the end of March, some Academy thespians will get an early opportunity to take masks off this week when they perform their show, The Lighting Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (March 9, 10, and 11). In 2020, the annual production had to be canceled due to COVID-19, while last year cast members were required to wear masks throughout the performance. But this year, the masks can come off  at least while the students are performing on stage.

They are so excited, she said. Our students have been so good, but they are excited to take the masks off. I know our athletes are excited as well.

The Academy is following in the footsteps of most Connecticut schools in moving away from mask mandates, after Gov. Ned Lamonts statewide mandate expired on Feb. 28, handing the decision to local districts and schools for the first time since the pandemic began. The Cheshire School District moved to a mask-optional model last week, and Superintendent of Schools Jeff Solan has indicated that officials dont plan to mandate masks unless required to do so by a state authority.

Anderson commented that The Academy will still retain the option to institute a mask mandate on their own if they see fit, even absent a mandate from the state. That, she explained, is a product of the schools student body containing so many out-of-state and out-of-country students, with limited space to quarantine them if they test positive.

It just adds another layer to the decisions we have to make, so we want to be as flexible as possible, she said.

Anderson joked that she would prefer to find a word other than pivot to describe the reactions of the school community over the last two years, but she reiterated that administrators, teachers, students, and parents have had to be nimble in order to deal with the uncertainty of the pandemic. For instance, she admits that, last June and July, she had assumed that masks would no longer be required by the time students resumed classes in September. Even as recently as last November, Anderson was thinking about ways to open up more.

Then our medical director (Debra Bond), who is a rock star, was saying to me, Oh, Julie, we have the omicron coming, and she was right, said Anderson.

At no point in the school year has Cheshire Academy been forced to close due to an outbreak of COVID-19, and Anderson stated that, while there have been a number of students and teachers who have tested positive, the school has had no more than five students requiring isolation at any one time.

The Academy did decide to extend their normal winter break, sending students home early in December, in response to the rising rate of cases caused by omicron.

Now, members of the school community are preparing for a return to something more closely resembling normal.

We are planning our big graduation ceremony for this year, said Anderson, after the last two ceremonies had to be altered because of COVID. We havent had a full on-campus reunion (for alumni) in three years, so we are excited to be planning that.

Its just exciting to get back to what we do best, she continued. I think there is a percentage of folks who are a little anxious. They may feel like now we are going to be exposed, but for the most part I think everyone feels excited. It feels like the end is in sight.
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Walking along the dusty streets of Cairo, Terence Ascott had an epiphany. Having served in literature ministry in the Middle East and around the world, the British missionary grew somber as he passed by the local bawab (gatekeeper), his wife, and three children.

How can such an illiterate family ever be exposed to the Christian faith? Ascott mused.

Hired to guard a construction site, the Egyptians sat huddled under a makeshift tent with only the most rudimentary of kitchen itemsand a television that transfixed them and left Ascott unnoticed as he lingered.

Last year, satellite TV ministry SAT-7 celebrated its 25th anniversary. Broadcasting in Arabic, Turkish, and Farsi, the embodiment of Ascotts epiphany now communicates the gospel across 25 nations in the Middle East and North Africa, home to 400 million people.

Having transitioned SAT-7 to local leadership but continuing to serve as a member of its international council, Ascott turned back to literature to reflect on four decades of ministry.

Below is an excerpt from Dare to Believe, a collection of Ascotts anecdotes of faith from ordinary believers, telling the story of his journeythrough civil wars, arrests, and deportationto establish an evangelistic ministry embraced today by nearly every Christian denomination in the region.

Tertullian, the early North African Christian writer, observed, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. When one considers the dozens of murdered Christian workers in Algeria over the past decades, it is not surprising to know that it hosts the fastest-growing church in the Arab world today.

The Protestant Church of Algeria (EPA) was officially recognized by the government of Algeria in 1974. While the exact number of its members has never been clear, estimates in 2011 were in the range of 60,000 to 120,000.

Almost all of the membership was not from a Christian tradition, with many of the 50 or so registered churches being in the Berber, Kabyle-speaking regions of the country. Though these believers had faced waves of persecution and church closures, their numbers continued to grow.

The violence Islamists have committed against Algerian civilians also appears to have been a factor in turning many to Christ. This was graphically illustrated by a drawing a young Algerian girl sent to our childrens program, AsSanabel.

It pictured Jesus on the cross, holding an Algerian flag in each hand. To Christs left was pictured something that no child should be thinking about: a bearded Islamist cutting the throat of this young artist with a sword. Over this gory part of the picture was a big X, rejecting the behavior.

To Christs right was a happy child holding a cross in one hand and declaring their freedom. And at the bottom of the picture she had written, They are killing the children, but Jesus was killed for the children.

Rita El Mounayer, who was by then the executive director for SAT-7s Arabic channels (and still the presenter and producer of AsSanabel), and I flew into Oran on July 25, 2011. It was a long-postponed trip to strengthen SAT-7s ties with the church and local producers there. Security was tight but friendly. Several of the immigration staff in the airport recognized Rita from her regular programs on SAT-7. This perhaps delayed things a bit, as they seemed anxious over the possibility of us filming in their country. We assured them we would not.

Our first impressions of the city were not that great. For the second largest city in Africas geographically biggest country, with one of the worlds greatest reserves of natural gas, their investment in public services and infrastructure seemed underwhelming. Many of the streets were unpaved, littered with rubbish. And we could find stores selling only the most basic range of local produce. Unemployment was high. Many of the apartment buildings seemed poorly maintained and had no elevators or air conditioning, despite the stifling summer heat.

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But they all had satellite dishes!

Our Algerian hosts welcomed us warmly. They clearly had a heart for ministry and for sharing their faith with others in North Africa through SAT-7s broadcasts, especially at a time when half a dozen churches in the country had recently been given orders to close. These brothers and sisters had already been recording simple church services and other programs but were obviously in need of both better and more equipment, as well as some advanced training in television production.

Rita questioned if the believers at the church services being recorded minded that their faces would be shown on television, especially given the growing problems for such churches at that time. Youssef, the ministry leader, explained that when they discussed this issue in church, instead of people moving to the back and away from the cameras, many moved to the front to let their faces be seen more clearly!

Rita then asked Samia, both a presenter and a producer of several shows, Is it not dangerous to show your face on screen?

Rita, what are you afraid of? Samia asked.

I am not afraid for myself or for SAT-7, replied Rita, but for your sake.

Afraid for me? Samia said. Persecution is actually a crown that we put on our heads each and every day before going out into the world. Dont take this away from us!

These are the Christians of North Africa.

***

Today we are seeing in the region a turning away from religion, due to several factors.

First, religious extremism. Many have been appalled by Muslims killing other Muslims in the name of their common god. The rise of the so-called Islamic State in 2014 only served to widen such attitudes.

Others have been turned from religion by the hypocrisy and the corruption they have seen in religious leaders, especially in theocracies like Iran.

This disappointment and loss of trust in religious leaders and religion was exacerbated by the disappointment many people had at the way the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings turned out. At the time, people believed that these would lead to new freedoms, new employment opportunities, and being able to live with dignity. But all they got was chaos and destruction. And disappointment led to a loss of hope, even among the regions Christian populations, motivating many more to make the hard decision to emigrate.

But for most Christians and Muslims in the region, emigration has never been a legal or practical option, something that has only added to their loss of hope, noticeably pushing up despair and suicide rates, especially among the young.

It is in this context that there has never been a more important time for Christians to broadcast, on air and online, messages of hope in our region. But I do not mean just academic, theological messages of hope. I mean a whole gospel, to minister to the whole person, authentically touching all areas of human need: the spiritual, the emotional, the psychological, the socioeconomic, and the educational.

But it is not just taking a holistic approach. It is also seeing Gods Holy Spirit at work in the lives of our viewers, sometimes in a very special way through visions and dreams.

The story of Aziz is typical of such interventions. He is a young Iraqi who had been a militant, fighting with a violent Islamic group in Syria. He telephoned SAT-7 to explain that he had been hiding in a destroyed church during a battle when he had a life-changing vision. He saw the broken pews restored and Christians filling the building, worshiping God.

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A man in white, radiating light, walked over to him and touched his shoulder. The militant recognized him as Jesus Christ from the Jesus film he had watched on SAT-7s Arabic service. And it was to a SAT-7 counseling line that Aziz turned after he left the ruined church a changed man.

The living Jesus himself came to me, he said. He called me and I told him, I want to follow you.

Media continues to give the Christians of the Middle East and North Africa the opportunity to come out of their churches and homes and to be the salt of the earth, a city on a hill, a lamp on a lampstand.

Over the past quarter century, the Christians of the region have shared their lives through media with millions who may never have spoken with a Christian before. They have shared their sorrows, their joys, and the faith and hope that are theirs. As individuals and a community, they have shown the unconditional forgiveness of God through their own public acts of forgiveness, sometimes in the wake of terrible acts of violence against them.

God is using this witness to bring many to himself and, in the fullness of time, I believe that the rest of the global church will be surprised, even stand in awe, when all that is happening today, in secret, becomes clear to everyone.

If theres one thing I have learned from my time living among our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East and North Africa, it is that most of them please God every day through their bold faith in him, in daring to believe. And they have also helped show me that not daring to believenot being willing to trust God in such an area of the worldis far more dangerous.

Terence Ascott is founder and president of SAT-7 and author of Dare to Believe.
There is an epidemic of military coups in Africa, says the head of the United Nations. The past year and a half witnessed the overthrow of governments in Mali (twice), Chad, Guinea, Sudan, and Burkina Faso. At least three additional attempts were thwarted in Madagascar, the Central African Republic, and Niger.

Averaging two per year for the last decade, this is Africas largest surge since 1999.

What should Christians in these nations do about it?

Abel Ngarsoulede of Chad, where roughly 45 percent of the Muslim-majority nation is Christian, is walking through it.

It is not for me to support a military coup in my country, said the secretary general of the doctoral program at the Evangelical University of Chad. But if God wants to remove a king from his throne, [God] uses all the means in his power to restore his fear and justice in the land.

When Chads president was killed on the battlefield last April, the army moved quickly to place his son in charge of a 15-member Transitional Military Council that would govern for 18 months, renewable once. Pledging to hold a national dialogue, invitations were sent to rebel groups, politicians, civil society, academics, and religious leadersincluding Ngarsoulede.

He accepted.

With the council now delayed until May, he serves on two committees in a process designed to lead to reconciliation, social cohesion, and new elections. There are no guarantees any of these will happen, he says, and asks for prayer.

Also deputy director of the Council of Theological Institutions in Francophone Africa, Ngarsoulede recalled that at times in Old Testament history, God used prophets or priests to depose kings. Though today prayer should be employed, he is not so concerned about the end result.

The form of the state is not the subject of biblical teaching, he said, noting Gods priority for peace and justice. It is men who adopt this or that form of governance, according to the orientation of their hearts.

Ngarsoulede is not the only African Christian leader whose opinion does not reflect the ironclad American Christian defense of democracy.

Between democracy and autocracy, democracy seems to be the best suited at the moment, said Samuel Korgo, director of the Institute of Theological and Artistic Education in Burkina Faso. But certain coups come to relieve the populations of authoritarian, corrupt, and incapable regimes.

The latter is what drove popular acceptance of the January 23 coup detat in the West African nation.

This included Christians, said Korgo, also an Assemblies of God pastor. Though only 30 percent of the population, Burkinabe Christians have historically been at the forefront of government. Not that this has helped democracy: The nation has been under military rule for 48 of its 62 years of independence, suffering eight coups in its historya record for the continent.

Some concern is starting to seep in, however. The situation after successive coups in nearby Mali, including sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is feared in Burkina Faso, Korgo said.

The coup also undoes what had been promising democratic development, as 86 percent of the country viewed the 2020 election as free and fair. But since then, Burkina Faso has been pummeled by a jihadist insurgency that has displaced 1.5 million people. Over 3,000 schools have been closed, and nearly one-fifth of its 21.5 million population now needs humanitarian assistance.

The junta promised to restore control.

Dont trust them, warns Lawrence Gomez, associate regional secretary for the West African branch of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, affiliated with InterVarsity.

It is the responsibility of the military to provide security, he said, from his home in Gambia. If they failed, they have no right to tell me they will do better if they are in government.

In fact, the junta reappointed the same defense minister.

The first thing coup leaders do, Gomez said, is consolidate power. Often a messy endeavor, development becomes a secondary concern, and promised elections are simply a way to fend off international condemnation.

Contrary to the apparent continental trend, Gambia is one of Africas democratic success stories. A popular revolution dislodged its 20-year president in 2017, after he tried to overturn an election loss.

Last year witnessed the peaceful transfer of power in Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania; since 2015, peaceful transfers also occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria. Across the continent, 73 percent of Africans want to choose their own leaders, and 76 percent want term limits.

In fact, stated the Institute for Security Studies, the continent is more democratic than other regions, relative to its level of development.

But the problem, Gomez said, is that too many governments do nothing to improve the status quo. Democracy itself is no balm and, in fact, can allow social evils the Bible condemns. But at least it gives the people a choice.

Just because someone is doing something wrong, you dont do wrong to fix it, he said. The worst civil leadership is better than the best military rule.

Not necessarily, countered Illia Djadi, Open Doors senior analyst for religious freedom in Africa.

Military or civilian, it is not the main question, he said. It is who will help them live in peace.

Djadi noted that most of the recent coup attempts have taken place in Africas volatile and poverty-stricken Sahel regionincluding his own nation of Niger. Only four months of rainfall determine yearly agricultural production, exasperating the underdevelopment that plagues many countries in Africa.

But the plague of jihadism killed 1,300 civilians in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso alone last year, reaching 3,500 casualties since 2015. The people have had enough.

Lets wait and see if these coups change things for good, on the ground, he said. It is not the place of Christians to support or oppose.

Instead, Djadi placed much onus on the international community.

Western nations have a responsibility to help. But repeating the same mistakes made in Iraq, their focus is primarily on the military response to jihadism. Yet it was their intervention in Libya that induced regional chaos, sparking the southward movement of Islamic extremism into the Sahel.

Mali is now kicking out its French counterterrorism partners, as Russian mercenary troops enter the country. Russian influence is also established in Libya and the Central African Republic and rumored to be in Burkina Faso, Sudan, Chad, and Mozambique.

The people are not interested in geopolitics, said Djadi. Simply desiring security, they instead suffer under the weight of punitive economic sanctions. ECOWAS has taken a different approach with each coup leadership, depending on their willingness to work together for democratic restoration.

Djadi strongly opposes these sanctions, however, and calls for greater cooperation in development. The church is a capable partnerwhen not the target of attackand contributes to socioeconomic welfare through its many schools, hospitals, and aid organizations.

It is the responsibility of the worldwide church to support the body of Christ, he said. But the Sahel is not getting the attention it deserves.

John Azumah, executive director of the Lamin Sanneh Institute at the University of Ghana, agrees with much of thisbut not all. Economic sanctions are damaging. Within the Sahel, security is the necessary priority for Christians. And African governments have failed at supporting democracy with development.

But Azumah reflected on his nations two decades of successful multiparty governance and from whence it came. Ghana ranks third in African coup attempts with 10, five of which have been successful.

Juntas do not bring the stability they promise.

The church has been at the forefront of the struggle against dictatorship, Azumah said. But it did not run deep, and our seminaries have failed in public theology.

Democracy is certainly the most suitable governing system for Africa, he said, guaranteeing freedoms and sustaining minority communities. But it has also been a vehicle for corruption, and the church has often been compromised.

Even when not involved, it has regularly sided with power.

It is not the place of the church to rally for democracy but to rally for the people, Azumah said, stressing the need to be nonpartisan. Uphold the principles when the nation grows disenchanted, but always call out the abuses.

Such pessimism is rampant in Africaand worldwide. Freedom House recently noted the 14th consecutive year of global democratic decline. Of the 12 largest drops, seven are sub-Saharan. Only 9 percent of the sub-Saharan population lives in seven free nations, the lowest tally since 1991.

Similarly, Afrobarometer noted that of 15 surveyed nations since 2011, only Sierra Leone registered an increase in support for elections. And across 34 nations, only 43 percent are satisfied with how democracy works in their country.

This is why Ngarsoulede has gotten involved.

Chairing one committee and serving as rapporteur (secretary) of another, he interacts with senior army officers, government officials, academics, businessmen, and civil society activists. Though there is open discussion and a commitment to religious liberty, sometimes it gets partisan.

It is precisely at this strong moment of debate, he said, that I make myself heard.

Most sources reported a growing Christian realization that engagement in politics is necessary. Despite his critique, Azumah pushes the issue in Ghanas seminaries. Gomez aims to raise a new generation of leaders among his college students. And Korgo said the holistic dynamic of the gospel demands that Christians fight against poverty and corruption.

But pastors, these leaders said, should avoid public politics.

Opinions among African Christian leaders differ about democracy and military coups. But regardless of the system, the political expression of sinful nature is hardly confined to Africa.

As citizens of heaven, we serve God within our nationsand beyondbased on Christian values, said Ngarsoulede. It is among this corrupt and perverse generation that Christians are called to live their faith.

[ This article is also available in Francais. ]
Baptist pastor arrested for child porn possession after authorities search parsonage

A Baptist pastor in New Hampshire was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse images, following an investigation by multiple law enforcement entities that lasted nearly six years.

The Nashua Police Department arrested 46-year-old Stephen Bates on Tuesday after executing a search warrant on the parsonage. Bates is the pastor of Bible Baptist Church of Nashua, an independent Baptist congregation.

Police said in a statement that while searching Bates parsonage, they found two flash drives on his person, which had numerous images of child pornography on them.

As a result of him possessing child pornography Pastor Bates was arrested, stated the Nashua Police Department on Tuesday. Pastor Bates has been initially charged with Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Images but more charges are expected as the investigation continues and more digital evidence is analyzed.

The charge is a Class A felony, according to authorities, and can carry a punishment of up to 15 years in state prison, exclusive of fines. Bates had his bail set at $3,000.

The investigation began in August 2016, when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children contacted Nashua Police with a tip indicating that child pornography had been accessed by a device with an IP address associated with Bible Baptist Church.

Offices of the Homeland Security Investigations in Denver, Colorado, and Blaine, Washington, conducted investigations into the distribution of child pornography and child sexual exploitation in 2019 and 2021. They also discovered the source of the crimes being an IP address associated with the church.

Additionally, in 2020, when police in Tallahassee, Florida, investigated the publishing of child pornography online, they learned that the account responsible for publishing the images utilized an IP address associated with the Bible Baptist Church.

From the onset of the investigation, Pastor Bates was contacted several times by investigators with the Nashua Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, the departments statement reads.

Pastor Bates was considered a person of interest during the earlier investigations but until today there wasnt sufficient evidence to charge him with any crimes.

Other investigative bodies involved in the case included the Nashua Police Departments Special Investigations Division, the New Hampshire Internet Crimes against Children Task Force and the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office.

According to its website, Bible Baptist Church was founded in 1980 by a group of ex-Catholics. Bates became the churchs pastor in August 2005 following a unanimous vote.

The Christian Post reached out to Bible Baptist Church for comment on Bates charges, but a response wasn't immediately received. A second attempt to reach the church was also unsuccessful.

The churchs Facebook page appears to be disabled.
DC nun has medical license restored as litigation over vaccine mandate continues

A Roman Catholic nun who sued the District of Columbia for an exemption to the citys COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers has had her medical license restored and can continue to practice medicine for the foreseeable future while her lawsuit is adjudicated.

Sister Deirdre Byrne, an outspoken pro-life activist and practicing physician who serves a ministry providing free medical services to the poor, filed a lawsuit against District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, the city and D.C. Health Department Director LaQuandra Nesbitt last week over their refusal to grant her a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate.

Byrne first submitted a request for a religious exemption to the coronavirus vaccine mandate shortly after it was rolled out as an emergency measure six months ago, citing concerns about the use of aborted fetal tissue in the development and testing of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Throughout most of the past several months, Byrne had been able to practice medicine in D.C. without taking a coronavirus vaccine and had not faced any objections from the hospitals and clinics where she served.

Following a continued back-and-forth with the D.C. Department of Health, Byrne was informed late last month that her request had been denied and was told that failure to take at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine would result in a prohibition on the renewal of her medical license or its revocation or suspension.

In an appearance on EWTNs The World Over Thursday, Byrne said that her license had been suspended and that she was forced to close her clinics. She was unable to see patients and couldnt help anyone.



With assistance from the Thomas More Society, the nun asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to issue a declaratory judgment asserting that the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers violates her rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Additionally, she sought a temporary restraining order and a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting the defendants from enforcing the vaccine mandate against her as well as an award of nominal damages, attorneys fees and other costs related to the litigation.

On Facebook Tuesday, the Thomas More Society announced that Byrnes medical license had been restored.

The religious liberty law firm noted that Fridays letter notifying Sister Dede that her license was now active until September doesnt resolve all of the issues raised in her lawsuit. The legal group expressed concern that the letter stated that her exemption could be rescinded at a later date if the director finds that it is in the best interest of public health.

The letter informing Byrne that her medical license was restored came just a week before the order denying Byrnes religious exemption to the coronavirus vaccine was scheduled to become final.

In an interview with The Epoch Times, Byrnes attorney Christopher Ferrara described the letter as unacceptable but said shell take it. Ferrara said litigation will continue because the letter was not a solution but instead a Band-Aid on a problem that has to be solved.

So Sister Deirdre, the Mother Teresa of the District of Columbia, whos devoted herself to providing free medical care to the needy, including surgeries that can save their lives, is now living with the Sword of Damocles hanging over her head, wielded by defendant Nesbitt, he added. This is a woman who could have made a million dollars a year easily. Now, shes a nun in a habit.

Byrne first burst onto the national stage with a speech at the 2020 Republican National Convention, where she described the unborn as the largest marginalized group in the world and argued that then-Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and his running mate, Kamala Harris, were the most anti-life presidential ticket ever.

Byrne also delivered remarks at a conference hosted by the pro-life group Heartbeat International last spring. She condemned abortion as the greatest inhumanity. She urged people to pray for politicians who are wanting to make the abortion pill over the counter so people will be able to take it like bubble gum or Tylenol. She warned, their soul is in a mortal state.

The District of Columbia has wound down most of its coronavirus restrictions and mandates, mirroring other major cities and states across the U.S.

Last month, the nations capital eliminated its requirement that those seeking entry into most businesses provide proof of vaccination while dropping its mask mandate for both public and private school students two weeks later.
Minnesota churches pack thousands of meals for Ukrainians impacted by Russian invasion

Four congregations based in Minnesota recently came together to pack around 100,000 meals for the needy, with half of them slated to be sent overseas to help those impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Bethel Lutheran Church of Rochester hosted the meal-packing event last Saturday, with 250 volunteers packing the meals on behalf of Food for Kidz and the Channel One Regional Food Bank.

Local congregations that aided the event included Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Holy Spirit Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Bruce Gudlin, an organizer of the event, told The Christian Post that he believes the charity effort went very well. He said the volunteers were divided into several two-hour shifts.

Half of the meals will be distributed locally, while the other half will be sent to Poland. From there, they will be distributed to those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

The meal-packing last Saturday is not a standalone event, but rather a regular occurrence for the Lutheran congregation, Gudlin said.

Each year, the churches campaign for donations which are used to purchase the raw food ingredients. These ingredients are purchased in bulk by our nonprofit partner, Food For Kidz, he said.

The meals are then packaged by volunteers in a space donated by Bethel Lutheran Church. These efforts allow 100% of the donations to go towards food with an end result of a highly nutritious meal for just 17 cents.

The church is already fundraising for our next meal pack, Gudlin said. People can donate by going to this website and selecting Food for Kidz.

Since Russian forces invaded the eastern part of Ukraine, many churches and other charities have been sending aid to those adversely affected by the Eastern European conflict.

In an earlier interview with CP, the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the North Carolina-based Evangelical humanitarian organization Samaritans Purse, spoke of how the charity had set up a field hospital in the western Ukraine city of Lviv.

He said people fleeing the fighting in Ukraine have general health needs to be addressed as well as injuries sustained due to the conflict.

Youve got people that are diabetic, youve got people with heart conditions, high blood pressure, all of these kinds of things are just normal everyday problems of life, said Graham.

On top of that, you have a lot of people that  have been wounded  due to the shelling. And so, you have to throw that into the mix.

We will be doing a lot of treating trauma, he added.

As many Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries, Poland has taken in about 1.8 million Ukrainian refugees since the invasion began. According to the United Nations, Poland has taken in about 60% of the 3 million people whove fled Ukraine in the last month.

Many churches in neighboring countries like Poland have opened their doors to shelter and aid refugees.

In the U.S., many churches have stepped up their efforts to aid Ukrainian refugees by either holding supply drives or fundraisers.

In Ludlow, Massachusetts, Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church is hosting a supply drive to benefit those impacted by the invasion in Ukraine. Supplies donated to the drive are shipped out to a handful of locations in western Ukraine to aid orphanages, wounded military and civilians, according to WWLP.

The Bethany Slavic Church in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, started a Ukraine War Refugee Aid Fund that has raised over $200,000.

Meanwhile, the Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in Springfield, Oregon, has raised over $40,000 to help those impacted by the invasion.

Other churches in the U.S. have sent members to aid the relief efforts on the ground in Ukraines neighboring countries.
UN General Assembly declares 2026 as int'l year of rangelands, pastoralists

Xinhua) 08:55, March 16, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution to declare 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

The resolution invites all member states, organizations of the UN system, other international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector and academia, to observe the International Year, as appropriate, through activities aimed at raising awareness of the relevance of the sustainable management of rangelands and pastoralism and its contribution to achieving sustainable development.

It invites the Food and Agriculture Organization to facilitate the implementation of the International Year and to inform the General Assembly at its 82nd session about the implementation of the present resolution, including an evaluation of the implementation of the International Year.

The resolution invites all relevant stakeholders to contribute to and support the implementation of the International Year. It stresses that the costs of all the activities that may arise from the implementation of the present resolution should be met through voluntary contributions.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
Why people choose to stay behind for the sake of the Gospel

I dont need a ride. I need more ammunition.

The recent words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may echo through history alongside phrases from notable freedom fighters such as Patrick Henry ("give me liberty or give me death!") and Winston Churchill ("never give in").

But these political figures are not alone in standing for their beliefs when under attack by those trying to destroy them and end their way of life. Christians in more than 70 nations face regular attacks and persecution because of their Christian faith and testimony, and many choose to remain in their country to serve God and tell others of His love.

As the Taliban took control of Afghanistan last year, many Afghan Christians made the decision to stay in the country. While they know that the Islamist Taliban view them as apostates who should be executed, they also know  and regard much more highly  Jesus directive to go and make disciples. Who, they ask themselves, will make disciples in Afghanistan if we Christians all leave? And so, they stay.

The same is true in northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram militants target churches and their leaders. One pastor with whom The Voice of the Martyrs works with sent his family to a safer part of the country, remaining to face the danger on his own. Who, he asks, will shepherd my flock if Im not here? So, he chooses to stay.

Similar examples of faith and courage exist in China, Iran, North Korea, northern Mozambique, Somalia, and many other nations where Christians suffer imprisonment, beatings, sexual assaults, and even death because of their witness. Since these Christians are not fighting a physical war, they need spiritual weapons instead of bullets or missiles. So, they ask us to pray for them and to send more Bibles.

Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who founded The Voice of the Martyrs 55 years ago, famously spoke for persecuted Christians using a phrase that would ring true today in Kyiv, Mariupol, and Odessa: Give us the tools we need, and we will pay the price for using them.

As world leaders decide how to answer the call from Ukrainians, Christians in free nations must decide how to answer the requests of our spiritual family members in restricted nations and hostile areas. Will we answer their call to pray for them and send more Bibles? Will we provide more tools, training, and encouragement for front-line workers? Or will we turn a deaf ear to their requests?

The Voice of the Martyrs is committed to the principle that every Christian can and should have his or her own copy of Gods Word  a Bible for every believer. In recent years, VOM has delivered more than 1 million Bibles annually to those living on the worlds most dangerous mission fields, places like Iran, China, Afghanistan, India, and northern Nigeria. Our international team is committed to facing any necessary risk to deliver Bibles  spiritual ammunition  to Christians living in restricted nations and hostile areas.

Our bold Christian brothers and sisters arent asking for a ride to a safer area. They are asking for more ammunition to fight spiritual battles in enemy territory. And despite facing a seemingly overwhelming enemy, they choose to stay, knowing the battle is already won in Christ.
John Perkins is facing death and his final message to America is: repent

John Perkins is dying. Hes dying of old age after multiple bouts with cancer. And at 91, one of Americas most prominent Evangelical voices on civil rights and racial reconciliation wants to send an urgent final message to America: repent.

Repent of your sins and return to God and the centrality of the Gospel.

And to do that, Perkins is convinced Christians must first learn to suffer well to lead the nation into radical deliverance from its errant ways.

Repentance is the only way back to God. Unless you repent, you will all perish, Perkins said in a recent interview with The Christian Post. That was the story of Jonah to Nineveh. They repented. They repented.

The centrality of the Gospel is defined by church planter Tom Depew as the belief that the Gospel that saved, is the same Gospel that should be made central in every Christians life. Meaning, the Gospel is more powerful than we think, and does more than we could ever imagine.

In his final book, Count it All Joy: The Ridiculous Paradox of Suffering, published six months ago, the civil rights activist and racial reconciliation crusader presents a compelling narrative on the essential roles suffering and the centrality of the Gospel play in delivering the United States from social maladies like racism, bigotry, strife and pain.

This is the great paradox of suffering! Suffering drives us deeper in Him. Suffering drives the roots of our faith deep, deep into the reservoir of His sufficiency. With each new privilege to suffer, our roots go even deeper in Him, Perkins writes in his book.

And before you know it we have become like the tree that David spoke of in Psalm 1. We become like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not witherwhatever they do prospers (Ps. 1:3). Not only are we strengthened to ready ourselves for the next storm, we produce fruit that shelters, nourishes, and encourages others, he adds.

The book caps a trilogy that includes, One Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race and Love and He Calls Me Friend: The Healing Power of Friendship, which Perkins refers to as his manifesto.

In those three books, what I have there is an overview of the centrality of the Gospel. That's the idea. What I try to do is to put the centrality of the Gospel in those three books. The issue is what to do with our sin, Perkins explained. Someone said we don't have a skin problem. It's really a sin problem.

Perkins makes a strong case for his premise by sharing stories about his personal suffering. And he has suffered plenty.

His grandmother was a sharecropper. His mother died from malnutrition when he was just an infant. At 16, one of his brothers was killed by police after returning from World War II. When he was 17, he had to flee from Mississippi to California due to racial hatred. He was beaten and jailed by police in the 1960s, as he fought for civil rights. His sister died due to domestic violence. And he's had to bury two of his sons.

When pain is overwhelming, it can be hard to pull your attention away from the pain and look to Him. Its hard. When my son Spencer died, it was like that for me, he recalled in his book of his son who died at age 44 in January 1998 of a heart attack. It was the most traumatic experience of my life. I felt like a part of me had died. ... Parents are not supposed to bury their children. Children are supposed to bury their parents.

And both he and his wife, Vera Mae, have battled cancer. They are fighting to stay alive, Perkins said, because they dont want each other to be alone. Perkins said he has already made his peace with death and is looking forward to going to Heaven because of the lessons he has learned about the Gospel in suffering.

This is what Ive learned from knowing this awesome God; this is the reality of the war we fought to the end. Yes, we fought to the very end and found joy in that place. These messages are a witness of how I believe we should live in a world that is fractured by racism, bigotry, strife, and so much pain, he writes.

I want more than anything to encourage others to know that you can live a life of sacrifice, loving your enemies, doing good, and suffering for His name. And at the end of it all He promises paradoxical, inexpressible joy.

On racial reconciliation

At a racial reconciliation event in Alabama last October, Ed Litton, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Americas largest Protest denomination, told a multiracial Christian audience that indifference to racial prejudice is killing us and we ought to go and work at it.

That message came after a controversial debate over critical race theory and social justice led some prominent black Southern Baptist leaders to leave the denomination.

Like Perkins, Litton argued that the Gospel is enough to fix racial prejudice, but racial reconciliation also requires intentional action to achieve it because time doesnt heal all wounds and prayer isnt enough by itself.

Ignoring doesnt heal all wounds," Litton added. "Just praying and saying its going to get better doesnt heal all wounds. Believing in a God who heals, yes, thats what heals wounds. But God also requires that we make intentional treatments of those wounds that we are persistent and consistent with one another, that we are always a source in the Body of Christ, all of our churches, to experience love and prayer and care for one another.

Littons advice aligns with Perkins position. In his book, Perkins recommends that if Christians learn to enter into the suffering of their fellow Christians facing racial prejudice, it can help to bring lasting reconciliation.

Perhaps because of peoples aversion to suffering, however, Perkins readily admits that getting people to share in the suffering of others remains a challenge, even among Christians.

The enemy of our souls has made it really easy for believers in America to choose the way of ease and self-preservation. He has lulled many of us to sleep on beds of comfort and wealth, Perkins writes. We are satisfied with ourselves. Pleased with ourselves and all that we have accomplished. But I think He calls us to enter the suffering of other people.

He further explained in his interview with CP that he believes the Church has developed a reconciliation that is not biblically based.

It's not based on the solution," he said. "The solution is the incarnation of God on Earth, in Jesus Christ, now that's the biblical solution.

The theology of racial reconciliation is what throws us off. We are a racialized society, he contended. We turned sin into being racial. Sin is disobedience to the Word of God and the commandment of God.

Perkins urged Christians to stop viewing each other through a racialized lens that departs from what God originally intended when He created one human race.

He created us to reflect His image in the world, Perkins said. And so we were to be like a looking glass. When we looked at each other, we will see God in each other.
Gift boxes help Western Christians keep small businesses, charities afloat in the Holy Land

NASHVILLE  When COVID-19 shut down much of the tourism that had supported local shopkeepers in cities across Israel, Itai Schimmel was concerned.

So many businesses were closing down, businesses that relied heavily on tourism, especially American tourism, he told The Christian Post. The borders were closed, and people could no longer travel to Israel and have that connection to the land and bring the stories of the Bible to life in a meaningful way.

To help meet this need, Schimmel launched Artza Box, a curated box of goods designed to bring the Holy Land to Christians in North America. Artza delivers a quarterly subscription box that features products and gifts from artisans throughout Israel, helping keep small businesses afloat and connecting subscribers to the Holy Land.

Every three months, you receive a box from a different region or different city in Israel. And then well source all the products in that box from small artisans, businesses and charities within that city and within that region, Schimmel said. When you open the box, it kind of really brings that specific city in that specific region to life in an immersive, educational, fun way where you can share with your family and your friends.

Previous boxes have featured Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee and others. The latest box highlights the Golan Heights and includes chocolate, candle, herbal tea, an ancient olive oil lamp and jug replicas from the time of Jesus and more  all made by local residents.

Every box also helps support an Israeli charity, from a shelter for abused women to a nonprofit working with children with special needs.

Theres a lot of Scripture inside each box, related to biblical history, and we tell you about the people that created the products as well, Schimmel said. Its just this fully immersive experience.

The response from both subscribers and shopowners has been nothing short of incredible, according to Schimmel. Since Artza launched in July 2020, the organization has sold over 50,000 boxes and raised over $1.6 million for small Israeli businesses and charities.

Schimmel shared how Susans House, a Jerusalem-based charity that works with underprivileged children, was on the verge of closing its doors when Artza placed an order for ceramic vases.

We placed an order of 5,000, and the woman on the other line began crying, he shared. She said that just an hour earlier, the bank had called and said that if they couldnt pay the months rent, they would be shut down. With that order that we placed, we gave them a lifeline for the next few months.

To bring the flavors of the Holy Land to life, each box also includes a spice and recipe card  something Schimmel said has been wildly popular with subscribers.

We love watching people cook real, typical Israeli foods that they wouldnt necessarily normally cook at home, he said. We get so many requests for more spices and more recipes.

In response, Artza recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for a cookbook titled Tasting Israel: A cookbook of food, family & faith. The book features an exclusive collection of recipes, history and stories told by 30 of Israels leading chefs.

This isnt just going to be like any other cookbook, Schimmel said. This is a cookbook with a soul. Israel is a melting pot of many faiths and heritages and cultures and religions, and Israeli cuisine reflects that. Israeli cuisine isnt just one type of thing; its a bit of Arabic, European, Moroccan and Ethiopian.

The idea is to have 30 chefs from 30 completely different backgrounds bring their version of what Israel is to them, and kind of how they represent in food, and then share it with each other, he added. The book will be made up of 60 recipes. And itll be full of stories of the chefs and how they ended up in Israel, the land history, the biblical relevance of food, and where it is mentioned in the Bible.

By funding this project, supporters will have exclusive access to live masterclasses, behind-the-scenes content, giveaways, new recipes, locally sourced artisan products and more. As of Monday afternoon, the Kickstarter campaign had raised more than half of its $50,000 goal.

Soon, Artza is hoping to bring its supporters to Israel for in-depth tours now that the country has re-opened its doors.

We want to be the company that allows you to connect with Israel, connect with the modern-day people, connect with the modern-day country, but also connect to its history and to the stories of the Bible, and to see to the beauty of what Israel is, Schimmel said.

He applauded Western Christians for their support of Israel, adding that Artza allows believers to support a country struggling to recover from the pandemic tangibly.

I always knew Israel had strong support from Christians in America, but I was never fully aware of how strong that support was. Its mind-blowing, he said.

Artza provides such a practical way for people to support people that are really hurting right now, Schimmel added. When you get to learn about nine small businesses that youve actually supported, and then every three months you get to get to know another nine from Jerusalem, then Nazareth and from the Judean Desert, you feel connected to the land and connected to the people. Its a beautiful thing and helps strengthen our country.
Pastor says hes ready to be authentic self after arrest for debt owed to former parishioners

Anthony Knotts, pastor of the Embassy Church International in Greensboro, North Carolina, and owner of Seafood Destiny, said he is now ready to be his authentic self after racking up more than $100,000 in loans and penalty charges on a credit card he borrowed from former parishioners.

The former parishioners, Ed Cobbler and his wife, Pat Lowe, told WFMY 2 News that they had forgiven their former pastor and friend for violating their trust, but they cannot ignore the hefty bill he racked up.

He kept running the [credit card] balance up and running the balance up, and it got very high, Cobbler told the news network.

The couple explained in court papers that while members of Embassy Church International in 2011, they allowed the 52-year-old pastor to use their credit card because they had become good friends and trusted him.

We became very close to our pastor. He was like one of our best friends, Cobbler recalled.

As time went by, however, the pastor failed to pay some $50,000 in charges on the card. Ten years later, that amount has doubled to more than $100,000, with late fees and interest charges, a legal filing says.

I said, Listen, Anthony, I forgive you, but Im not forgetting the debt. You owe the money. But as far as my heart  I forgive you, Cobbler was quoted as saying.

The couple claims Knotts wrote them two bad checks to clear part of the debt.

The Christian Post called the phone number provided by a lawyer to reach Knotts but received no answer and was unable to leave a message.

The Knotts-led Embassy Church International has a relatively large following on social media, with over 2,000 Facebook followers and 450 followers on Instagram. The churchs website appears to be down for maintenance with a note stating that a new site is coming soon.

The phone number listed for the Embassy Church International has either been disconnected or is no longer in service.

According to News & Record, Knotts failed to show up for debtors examinations scheduled for Dec. 13 and Jan. 3.

A judge ordered him on Jan. 11 to appear in court on Feb. 14 to explain himself, but he failed to show up again. Superior Court Judge John O. Craig III held him in contempt of court and ordered the pastors arrest.

It just breaks my heart as to the way its all come to this. It should have never been. It didnt have to be, but he chose it to be this way, Lowe told WFMY News 2 after he appeared in court on Monday.

Cobbler and Lowe further allege that Knotts owes them $10,000, which he borrowed but failed to pay back.

In a separate case, Performance Food Group, which supplies food to the pastors restaurant, is seeking more than $28,000 from him after he allegedly paid them with bad checks.

In a statement released by his lawyer, Jason L. Keith, dated March 9, Knotts explained how the arrest quickly changed his life.

Seven days ago, coming into this jail was the worst experience of my life. However, what started out to be the worst experience has become a true blessing, he said.

He noted that he was failing to be my true authentic self.

All my life, I have lived to please other people first. Behind these jail walls, in the last seven days, all that has changed, he said. I realized I hadnt been the authentic me all my life. To be honest, I didnt know how to be. However, these last seven days there has been nobody here but me, myself and God. I truly believe this had been my belly in the whale experience and my Damascus Road experience like Paul. Totally humbling, eye-opening, but life-changing.

Knotts said that hes now on the journey to become the authentic me and apologized to his family, his former parishioners and the court for his actions.

I would like to sincerely apologize to Ed Cobbler and Pat Lowe. I would like to apologize to Judge Craig and the Guilford County Court System. I would also like to apologize to my wife, three children and immediate family, he said.

Im sorry for any shame I may have caused you. I would also like to apologize to my church family and my Seafood Destiny family.

However, Knotts statement has been removed from his lawyers Instagram account. Keith told CP that Knotts has been released on bail and can now speak for himself.

Knotts is expected to return to court later this month.
Texas Supreme Court deals major blow to lawsuit challenging heartbeat abortion ban

Texas highest court has recommended that a lawsuit against the states law banning abortion as early as six weeks gestation should be dismissed because state officials are not enforcing the pro-life measure.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday in the case of Whole Womans Health et al. v. Jackson et al. that officials at state medical licensing boards cannot enforce the law, which bans nearly all abortions after an unborn babys heartbeat can be detected, which is usually around six weeks into a pregnancy.

Since the law allows for private citizens to enforce the ban instead, the decision by the states highest court effectively defeats the lawsuit brought by pro-choice groups.

Texas Right to Life, a pro-life group that supports the heartbeat abortion ban, celebrated the Texas Supreme Courts opinion in a statement telling supporters that the ruling was a big victory.

We have said from the beginning that abortionists lawsuit should be dismissed, the lobbying group stated.

The Legislature clearly never intended state agencies to participate in enforcing the Texas Heartbeat Act, and the Supreme Court of Texas agreed. This is not the final step in the journey, as the case will now return to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, but it affirms a positive path forward for the historic law.

The Center for Reproductive Rights, which helped to bring the litigation against the law, concludes that the lawsuit is effectively dead. Among the legal attempts to stop the Texas law, the abortion-rights group contends this lawsuit was once the most promising.

But now, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the lawsuit cant proceed against the Texas Medical Board and state licensing officials, the only remaining defendants.

Although the case will return to the 5th Circuit, the CRC said in a statement that it expects the challenge will be thrown out in light of Fridays ruling.

This ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed most of the case in December 2021, allowing only a small part of the case to move forward in lower court, the CRC statement explains. Todays ruling will result in dismissal of the remaining portion of the challenge to the 6-week ban, meaning S.B. 8 will likely remain in effect for the foreseeable future.

CRC President and CEO Nancy Northup said the ruling shows that [w]e are in a moment of crisis not only for reproductive rights but for our justice system and the rule of law.

With this ruling, the sliver of this case that we were left with is gone, Northup said.

An unconstitutional ban on abortion after six weeks continues unchecked in the state of Texas. The courts have allowed Texas to nullify a constitutional right. We will continue to do everything in our power to right this wrong.

Last May, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 8 into law, which prohibits most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, generally around six weeks into a pregnancy.

The law is enforced through private citizens who receive financial incentives to sue abortion providers or anyone else in Texas who helps a woman get an illegal abortion.

The law has survived multiple legal challenges, with the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the law to take effect last summer and also refusing to block the legislation last December.

According to data from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the number of abortions in the state the month the law took effect dropped by about 60% compared to the month before.

In its statement, Texas Right to Life said it is grateful that the Texas Heartbeat Act will continue saving thousands of lives, and were hopeful that the judiciary will soon pave the way to protect all preborn children by overturning Roe v. Wade.
Hank Hanegraaff says modern prophecy pundits wrong to tie Ezekiel 38 to war in Ukraine

Hank Hanegraaff, also known as the Bible Answer Man, says modern prophecy pundits are wrong to call Russias invasion of Ukraine fulfillment of a prophecy in the book of Ezekiel after Pat Robertson and others said Ezekiel prophesied about the event more than 2,500 years ago.

Tying Ezekiel 38 to Ukraines invasion is based more on our modern-day imaginations than being rooted in the historical context, argues Hanegraaff, an Orthodox Christian author in Hank Unplugged Short on YouTube.

Ezekiel is about the prince of Rosh coming with other nations to attack the land of Israel, leading to Gods judgment. Verse 2 reads, Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal; prophesy against him.

Many Bible scholars believe that the mention of Magog attacking Israel in Ezekiel 38 is modern-day Russia.

Televangelist Pat Robertson recently said Russian President Vladimir Putin is being compelled by God to invade Ukraine. He went into the Ukraine, but that wasnt his goal. His goal was to move against Israel, ultimately, Robertson said, suggesting that this was all prophesied by Ezekiel, who lived more than 2,500 years ago.

However, Hanegraaff says understanding the historical context is crucial to properly evaluate biblical text.

Explaining the context, he says: Remember this, Ezekiel was prophesying during an extremely dark period in the history of Judah. He was born into the priesthood in Jerusalem, right about the time that Josiah found the book of the law in the temple. This was a time in which spiritual renewal had broken out in the land. But unfortunately, the reformation was short-lived. By the time of Josiahs death, the idolatrous practices of the past had returned with a vengeance, and thus the acts of Gods judgment fell. As a result of the acts of Gods judgment falling, Ezekiel found himself on the dusty plains of Babylon.

Hanegraaff adds that Ezekiel was warning fellow exiles that the worst lay right around the corner.

Referring to the desecration of Jerusalem and its golden temple in 586, he continues, Ezekiel was prophesying from the dusty environs of a refugee camp in the south of Babylon, near the Kebar River. And there he looked into the eastern sky, and he was longing for the glory of the Lord to return to a temple that had vanished in the rocks that surrounded it. He yearned for the promise of a temple whose glory would exceed even that of Solomons temple.

And in the Spirit, he was looking forward to events that were going to take place a generation later  a generation later  not the 21st century, but a generation later. A generation later  when Zerubbabel would rebuild the spiritual condition of the returning exiles [and] when Nehemiah would challenge his fellow countrymen to arise and rebuild the shattered walls of Jerusalem.

And Rosh does not mean Russia, Hanegraaff says.

The Christian apologist website Got Questions also talks about Russia in biblical prophecy.

Gog is a person. Whoever Gog is, he is from the land of Magog and is the leader of Tubal and Meshek (some translations add Rosh to the list) and a confederacy of other nations: Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, and Beth Togarmah (Ezekiel 38:56). And, whoever he is, he will have plans to attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people, viz., Israel (verses 11, 14, and 18). But, regardless of Gogs plans, the Lord God is against him and will defeat him soundly (Ezekiel 38:4, 1923; 39:35).

Persia, a nation listed as being in alliance with Magog, is modern-day Iran.

Hanegraaff argues, The word Russia is an 11th century Viking word and not semantically linked, in the least, to the Hebrew word Rosh. We need to understand the principles of biblical interpretation so that our modern-day imaginations dont go wild.
Jewish holiday of Purim and the war in Ukraine reminds us of our need for modern-day Esthers

This week Jews in Israel and around the world will begin celebrating Purim. Some Jews, who just fled the war in Ukraine, will be celebrating it in Israel for the very first time. It is perhaps the most festive holiday in the Jewish calendar, and though Christians do not usually celebrate it, many know the story behind it, just like Jewish children who grow up hearing it every year.

Purim recalls the deliverance of the Jewish people from their enemies nearly 2,400 years ago. The king of Persia chose a beautiful young woman named Esther to be his queen, unaware that she was Jewish. Esther heard from Mordecai, her uncle, that the king had entrusted the fate of Persian Jews to Haman, the King's top adviser. Haman may have been one of historys earliest anti-Semites: he hated the Jews, and issued an order to kill them all.

At great risk to her own life, Esther revealed to the king that she was Jewish and pleaded with him to save her people. He agreed to do so, and, in a fitting twist, handed down to Haman the death sentence Haman himself had planned to give the Jews.

Esthers story, though thousands of years old, teaches us several lessons that are relevant today.

The first is that, sadly, Haman is more than just a historical figure. In fact, it is not hard to find modern-day Hamans who are bent on causing harm to the Jewish people. Hamans presence lingers among Iranian leaders who frequently call for Israels destruction. We feel it when we read about terrorists who carry out murderous attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions  as well as on Christians  around the world.

We sense it in the rising tide of anti-Semitic attacks. Not too long ago, we saw it at work when an armed man barged into a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, and held four hostages  including the rabbi  at gunpoint.

As I watch the events unfolding in Ukraine, I am reminded that the Jewish community there too is suffering under the specter of Haman. Their plight has likely worsened during this precarious time of war and violence.

Yet the most important lesson from Esthers story is that God still calls brave men and women to protect others. Esther could have kept quiet and lived a comfortable life of luxury as a bride of the most powerful man in the world. But she was willing to put her life on the line to save her people.

In our world most people look out first for their own interests. Self-preservation is deeply ingrained in our human psyche. At times this is beneficial as it helps us avoid danger, but it too can tempt us to survive at the expense of others.

Esther reminds us that God does not work that way. Often, He calls us to put the needs of others before our own. As I write this the faces of several brave women in Ukraine come to mind. One friend, Malcki Bukiat  who had five children of her own to care for and protect from the horrors of war  took it upon herself to help lead 60 orphan children west, on a dangerous journey through an unpredictable war zone to find shelter and flee Ukraine. As food and fuel were lacking, and chaos consumed her world, she found an Esther-like courage to think of others safety and put the vulnerable and helpless before herself.

As we celebrate Purim this year, my prayer is that in a world with no shortage of Hamans more Esthers will rise to protect the vulnerable. As Esther reminds us, even one brave person could save an entire nation.
Russian airstrikes hit Ukrainian Orthodox Christian monastery sheltering refugees, several wounded Ukraine President Volodymyr says he's ready to hold peace talks with Russia in Jerusalem

Several refugees sheltering at a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery suffered injuries when a bomb exploded near the entrance just hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky said hes ready to hold peace talks with Russia in Jerusalem.

The Holy Dormition Svyatogorsk Lavra, an Orthodox Christian monastery in the Donetsk region that has sheltered more than 500 evacuees, including 200 children, was rocked when a bomb exploded 54 yards away from the entrance, the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security (CSCIS) reported in posts on Facebook and Telegram.

The bomb landed near a bridge connecting the left and right banks of the Seversky Donets River.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church and CSCIS said the force of the explosion blew out windows and doors, and several people had to be transported to a hospital in Svyatogorsk. No one was killed in the airstrike, according to initial reports.

Images shared online show the destruction and debris left by the explosion.

On the night of March 12-13, all the refugees and brethren were evacuated to the monastery cellars," CSCIS added in its posts on social media. "Currently, there are 520 refugees in the Svyatogorsk Lavra, 200 of them are children. There are about 10,000 refugees and local residents in the city of Svyatogorsk."

It continued: "With the terrible force of the explosion in the temples of the Lavra, window frames flew out. In the Lavra hotels, an explosive wave smashed all the windows and doors. Several wounded were taken to the hospital in Sviatohirsk, the rest were treated at the monastery. ... The management of the Lavra informs that there were no military formations on the territory of the monastery and the city."

According to the Daily Mail, the city of Svyatogorsk is working to restore electricity which is the energy source used to heat the monastery, which is known for containing the relics of St. John the Hermit of Sviatohirsk.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk Oblast, who is also listed as the head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said as many as 1,000 people were sheltering in the monastery at the time of the blast.

In a post on Facebook, he said: As a result, one person was hospitalized to the hospital, two addressed the trauma in Sloviansk on their own; another 30 people with minor injuries were provided on the spot. Damaged infrastructure around the Lavra, damaged private property.

The occupants [Russians] have crossed all possible limits of common sense and humanity. Should get the proper punishment for their hellish crimes!

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said hes ready to hold peace talks with Russia mediated by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in Jerusalem. The announcement comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin showed no willingness to accept a ceasefire when French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to him.

I said to (the Israeli prime minister) that, at present, its not constructive to hold meetings in Russia, Ukraine or Belarus, The Jerusalem Post quoted Zelensky as saying Saturday, a week after he spoke to Bennett on the phone. These are not the places where we (Ukraine and Russia) can agree to stop the war. ... Do I consider Israel, Jerusalem in particular, to be such a place? I think the answer is yes.

Also on Saturday, a senior aide to Macron revealed that Putin didnt seem interested in a ceasefire during a phone call with Macron and Scholz, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The phone conversation lasted for about an hour-and-a-half, the official was quoted as saying. Have we detected a willingness of Mr. Putin to stop the war? The answer is no. The response is that we draw one conclusion ... raise the price of the war for him and take new sanctions measures. However, will the talks not get there? The response is also no. Its important in the situation where we are to use all the tools of diplomacy.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said Friday it had recorded 1,581 civilian casualties since Russias invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24. It includes 579 civilian deaths and 1,002 injuries  although the actual figure could be much higher, the OHCHR said.

Those dead include 75 women, six girls, and nine boys, as well as 27 children and 352 adults.

About 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion began, the AP said last week.

Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and airstrikes, the U.N. noted.

Last week, Bennett visited Moscow and met with Putin and has spoken twice with him and four times with Zelensky ever since.

I believe (Bennett) can play an important role, because Israel is a country with a lot of history and parallels, as well as having a large migration of Jews from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, Zelensky was quoted as saying in a briefing in Kyiv.

Days earlier, some media reports suggested that Bennett had urged Ukraine to give in to Russia.

This report isnt just inaccurate but patently false, a senior official in Bennetts office was quoted as saying. At no point did Prime Minister Bennett advise President Zelensky to take a deal from Putin  because no such deal was offered to Israel for us to be able to do so. Prime Minister Bennett has at no point told Zelensky how to act nor does he have any intention to. The dialogue between Bennett and Zelensky is good and the option of a mediation meeting in Jerusalem has been raised.

On Thursday, high-level talks between the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine failed in Antalya, Turkey, according to The Epoch Times.

Several rounds of Russia-Ukraine technical negotiations have taken place thus far, but Zelensky said no progress had been made.

Moscow wants Ukraine to stop military action, never to join NATO, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory, and also give independence to separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Zelensky said earlier he would be willing to halt the military action in Ukraine, not seek NATO membership and give independent status to the contested territories, but he insisted his forces would not give in. Im ready for a dialogue, but were not ready for surrender, Zelensky told ABC News Tuesday.

About 100 Christian leaders in the United States, more than 280 priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church and over 400 ministers of Evangelical churches in Russia have called for reconciliation and an immediate end to Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

We mourn the ordeal to which our brothers and sisters in Ukraine were undeservedly subjected, the Russian Orthodox clerics wrote in their open letter. The Last Judgment awaits every person.

The clerics added, No earthly authority, no doctors, no guards will protect from this judgment. Concerned about the salvation of every person who considers himself a child of the Russian Orthodox Church, we do not want him to appear at this judgment, bearing the heavy burden of mothers curses.
Feelings in colour  Howard Hodgkins graphic works

Specialist James Baskerville discusses the vibrancy and powerful physicality of Howard Hodgkins later prints

Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017) is best known as a painter, associated most often in his mature years with abstraction. His late paintings explode with riotous colour and his signature repertoire of stippled dots, splotches, commas, rainfall-like-drips and long, broad brushstrokes, which conjure an illusion of painterly spontaneity. These pictures were, however, the fruits of intense, solitary labour, and often completed over a period of many years. Hodgkins meticulous, singular painting practice may appear at odds with the collaborative and, at times, unpredictable process of printmaking. Certainly, the artist regarded painting and printmaking as two distinct practices, each of which offered different artistic challenges and creative possibilities. In an interview with Liesbeth Heenk, author of Howard Hodgkin Prints, a catalogue raisonne, the artist discussed working alongside printmakers, and how they had enabled him to do things that I didnt know, and often they didnt know, were possible to do.

Open a larger version of this image Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017), Summer. Lift-ground etching and aquatint with carborundum in colours and hand-colouring, 1997. Image & sheet 289 x 370 mm. Sold for 4,032 on 24 March 2022 at Christies, Online

The Prints and Multiples sale offers prints from the 1980s and 90s, including works from his celebrated Venetian Views series, says James Baskerville, prints specialist at Christies London. Since Hodgkins death in 2017, his market has remained strong, the specialist adds. Theres an unexpected vibrancy and emotional dimension to Hodgkins prints that will surprise people.

Open a larger version of this image Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017), Green room. Lift-ground etching and aquatint in colours and extensive hand-colouring, 1986. Image & sheet 508 x 610 mm. Sold for 1,512 on 24 March 2022 at Christies, Online

Hodgkin experimented with the full spectrum of printmaking throughout his career, making over 100 signed, editioned prints during his lifetime. It wasn't until 1986, however, that his printmaking took a dramatic new direction. Although Hodgkin had experimented with hand-colouring  the technique of adding watercolour, gouache, or ink to the printed surface  Shirreff introduced the use of hand-colouring with acrylic to his practice, as well as the printing technique of carborundum (a carbon and silicon compound that induces surface texture when applied to an aluminium plate). It was an innovation that would revolutionise his prints of this period. Carborundum gives the print a really nice thick, almost brush-like texture, adding a three-dimensionality to the work that makes the images much more powerful, says Baskerville.

Open a larger version of this image Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017), Venice, Morning, from: Venetian Views. Lift-ground etching and aquatint and carborundum in colours, with extensive hand-colouring, 1995, on 16 sheets. Images & sheets 398 x 492 mm (each). Overall 1600 x 1965 mm Open a larger version of this image Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017), Venice, Evening, from: Venetian Views. Lift-ground etching and aquatint and carborundum in colours with extensive hand-colouring, 1996, on 16 sheets of arches wove paper. Image & sheet 400 x 490 mm (each). 1600 x 1965 mm (overall). Sold for 11,340 on 24 March 2022 at Christies, Online

Hodgkin explored the possibilities of this printing technique in numerous works made in collaboration with Shirreff, perhaps most memorably in the Venetian Views, a series of prints from 1995 that evoke Hodgkin's experience of Venice at different times of day through a combination of extensive hand-colouring with etching, aquatint and carborundum in colours. The images in the series were printed from the same five copper plates, which were inked in different colours (for each time of day), and hand-coloured by Shirreff following Hodgkins direction. Hodgkin liked how hand-colouring blended painting and printmaking and brought the composition harmoniously together, Baskerville explains. The slight variation in hand-colouring between each impression also gives each print an individual identity, a painterly quality and a degree of spontaneity. Its what makes them look like unique works on paper, adds the specialist.

Open a larger version of this image Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017), Snow. Intaglio with carborundum in colours and hand-colouring, 1995. Image & sheet 285 x 361 mm. Sold for 3,276 on 24 March 2022 at Christies, Online

The printmaking and hand-colouring are so intertwined in Hodgkins work  its vibrancy confronts you head on, says Baskerville. The artists prints are always titled, but the exact subject of the work is often unclear. This is the case with Snow (1995), above  a fine example of his collaboration with Shirreff and one of the specialists favourite prints from the upcoming sale.

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When I received an invite to the Cheetos Hands-Free House, I stupidly thought that I was about to attend the brand activation of my dreams. I would walk into a room, a robot would feed me cheesy, salty snacks, and I would go on my merry way, clean hands and all.

Apparently, that utopia does not yet exist. Not yet knowing that, though, I had to get inside.

Enter the Hottieverse: I lost my damn mind in Megan Thee Stallion's new virtual reality 'Hottieverse' experience at SXSW

After hearing that it was taking two hours to enter the building on East Sixth Street, I finagled my way in by being a member of the press. This life has some perks after all. I was told there were Flamin' Hot Cheetos margaritas in the backyard, a treat I would brave any amount of silly branding to try.

I entered the building, finding a row of tablets in front of me. After entering my information and submitting myself to a lifetime of emails from Frito-Lay, the screen asked me to hover my hand above it. It "scanned" my fingers for "cheetles," which I quickly surmised was the cutesy shorthand for what we all call Cheeto Dust. I use quotes here because it couldn't have possibly detected cheetles on my hand  at least not yet. I was saving myself for the margarita.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

Suddenly, a door flung open, and our group was led through an antechamber and into an all-white lounge: pristine couches and tables and rugs. That is, except for perfectly marked cheetle fingerprints. Cheetos popcorn popped out from behind picture frames and from underneath surfaces. This is the moment when I discovered the cruel truth: the Hands-Free House would not be feeding me such treats as if I were a Jetson. This event was a tie-in with Amazon Echo, and you're supposed to touch the Cheetos and get crud all over your fingers. Hands-free means you use voice commands to turn on the TV, not snack like a futuristic aristocrat.

That's a glow-up: Self-care was on the menu at Jonathan Van Ness' SXSW pop-up

Chris O'Connell/MySA

Bummed but determined, I made my way into the next room, where we were shown how one could, I guess, tell Alexa to construct Flamin' Hot Cheetos mozzarella sticks. Beyond that was Chester's lounge, where the mascot allegedly lived like Austin's most eligible bachelor in a midcentury mancave. By this point, I needed to know what was out in the backyard. They kept threatening me with dust but not letting me have any.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

As a disco ball dropped and smoke poured out of the ceiling, a young child dabbed repeatedly. It was time for the real party. We were led outdoors for the grand finale: free food and drinks, the reason SXSW endures.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

I grabbed a Flamin' Hot margarita, a regular rocks margarita with a red Cheetos rim, and sipped. It was pretty good. Everyone in my vicinity agreed that it was pretty good, but that the second one really hit. I can confirm.

As far as brand activations go  and I have many thoughts on these  the Cheetos Hands-Free House is another odd one. It obviously cost a ton of money, between its large staff, its primo East Side real estate rental, and the actual installation of the interior. It was cheesy (sorry) but actually pretty impressive, short enough to keep my interest but substantial enough to have something of a purpose. But again, why are the brands back at SXSW, and why would Frito-Lay spend likely seven figures on whatever this is?

More SXSW: Richard Linklater's new film 'Apollo 10 1/2' premieres at SXSW

I befriended a group of SXSW wanderers, and one of them wondered aloud about the usefulness of such a gauche marketing spend.

"I mean, is anyone not aware that Cheetos exist?" she asked.

It's a fair point. These things are justifications for using marketing budgets and to give marketing folks at large companies an excuse to party in the Austin sunshine. Everyone knows that. But after a three-year SXSW pause, it appears that brands are trying to be weird as hell again, just to cause some buzz. And it worked! Everyone wanted to get into the Cheetos Hands-Free House, despite lines that snaked around endlessly. It was just odd and interesting and mysterious enough to pique the interests of thousands of people over the course of a few days.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

I feel like the event turned into an unintended focus group for the brand, though, and one that Frito-Lay wouldn't normally be privy to. But that's my job. Here you go, Chester and company, here's what I learned, not from the workers in orange-streaked white jumpsuits but from those who cared enough to wait an eternity to get inside.

First off, people of a certain age (upper 20s into early 40s) hate  hate  plain crunchy Cheetos. This should be alarming for the brand's flagship product. There was a free vending machine out back that vended a random bag based on your "vibe," according to a worker. In reality, it gave almost everyone the basic stuff. Not me though, it obviously gave me Flamin' Hot. But I digress. People were begging for a second shot at the vending machine, and at one point, I checked and there were half a dozen leftover bags of the normal stuff just sitting at the bottom of the vending machine.

One of my new SXSW besties who I will never see again for the rest of my life told me that he grew up in a Texas border town, and that even Flamin' Hot is too mild for him now that they make XXTRA Flamin' Hot Cheetos. He doctors his Cheetos at home, dumping lime, cheese, even pickle juice into bags of hot Cheetos to make them just right.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

There was a food truck at the event giving out free Cheetos-inspired items, like Flamin' Hot mozzarella sticks and elote.

"We had that at restaurants growing up," he said, nonplussed. "I've been eating that since I was like a baby."

Well good for you, my once and probably-not-future buddy. I suppose one can become desensitized to anything: violence, sex, Hot Cheeto dust. But not me. Put Flamin' Hot dust on everything.

In fact, my new friends agreed that this was the beginning of a new trend: local restaurants crumbling Cheetos over tacos, sandwiches, salads, anything. I, for one, welcome my new Flamin' Hot overlords.
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When Dolly Parton announced Monday that she must respectfully bow out of her nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, many in the public and media assumed that her wish was the Halls command, and that her name would be removed from contention. But as of a day later, the matter seems far from settled, and it could still turn out that she gets voted in, regardless of whether she feels shes worthy of the honor.

Complicating the matter is the fact that voting is already well underway, with many of the thousand-plus ballots that were sent out to artists and the music industry already having been checked off for Parton, who was considered close to a shoo-in for induction. Voting (by snail mail only) for the 2022 crop doesnt close for another six weeks  on April 29  but even among those whove waited and are still mulling it over, its certainly possible that many will go with Parton anyway, as long as her name isnt officially taken off the ballot.

Whether the Rock Hall would accede to her wishes and officially disqualify her mid-vote remains an open and intriguing question. So far, there appears not to be any immediate inclination to officially remove her from balloting thats already in progress, since either honoring or ignoring her stated desire to be taken out of contention would be fraught with separate problems. (Another issue: some voters report not having received the ballot yet, as of press time.)

The hope is for a Tom Brady and that she changes her mind, says an insider, who notes the likelihood of Parton being a top vote draw either way.

It stands to reason that, if Parton prevailed in the voting, the Hall would consider going ahead and inducting her but handling it on the show in the low-key way they did Todd Rundgrens induction last year. When Rundgren  who had long made it clear that he had little regard for the Hall  made it clear that he wouldnt be showing up in Cleveland to accept the honor, the org and HBO minimized the time afforded to him on the telecast, putting up a short historical montage but stopping short of having anyone perform his material on the show.

The change of heart on Partons part seemed to be an abrupt one, as the artist had just told Variety, in an interview conducted March 3 and published March 7, that she would be honored to be inducted, even though she wasnt sure she fit under the rock n roll banner.

A rep for the Rock Hall said there was no comment from the organization at this time, and a Parton spokesperson indicated Parton and her camp would not be commenting further beyond her initial social media statement.

The Halls position is complicated by the fact that Partons demurral is historic in its timing and extremeness. While Rundgren may have said he didnt care about getting in, he also expressed that he understood it created some happiness for the fans who had been lobbying for him to get in for decades. Many others preceded him in making a statement by declining to show up, like John Lydon/Rotten, who called the Hall a farce for years before his group was voted in. But historically, no major artists under consideration have outrightly declared they wanted their nominations rescinded.

If it were a less universally beloved performer asking to opt out, the request might be easier to overlook and just declare that the vote is what it is. But being seen as telling a Dolly Parton that her opinion on her induction doesnt count could create a backlash for the Hall. Going the other way, though, and giving Parton her way could be seen as setting up a dangerous precedent in which the Rundgrens, Lydons and future rebellious victors all start saying theyre turning down their inductions, too, putting the Hall in the precarious position of having precedent to yank their nominations or wins as well.

Is a compromise possible that would respect where Parton is coming from in wanting to decline the honor  if she does not, indeed, do a Tom Brady reversal  but also respect the will of the voters, if she winds up in the front ranks, as expected?

Its not difficult to conceive of one, although there are no indications yet that the Hall has proceeded in considering fresh alternatives yet. One option could be to declare that she won but not officially induct her, and say the award will be waiting for her if she changes her mind, essentially making her an asterisk in the Rock Hall pantheon. But the powers-that-be behind the Hall surely arent eager to force that creative a solution if theres any easier way for it to be resolved.

Parton said she was making the request in part because she didnt want to split votes among other contenders, but its not clear that, if the Hall did bump her, someone else would move up in her stead, because the number of inductees getting in varies from year to year anyway.

Complicating how the Hall proceeds is the fact that Parton was gentle and not angry In her disavowal statement, even saying she was leaving the door open for future consideration, after she gets around to making a record she considers rock n roll. It could become surreal if the country icon turned it down this year and then cut some rock sides so she could feel justified in being nominated again, even though that seemed to be what she was suggesting in Mondays statement.

Even though I am extremely flattered to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I dont feel that I have earned that right, Parton wrote. I really do not want the votes split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out. I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again  if Im ever worthy. This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock n roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do! My husband is a total rock n roll freak, and has always encouraged me to do one.

In her interview less than two weeks ago with Variety, Parton had said, I was so surprised that that I was even nominated to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I never thought about that, but they say they judge that on a whole lot of things. Im not expecting to win. But it was a great honor to be nominated. But it did make me think Ive got to do a good rock n roll album  Ive always thought about it, a good rock album  after next year, when I get some of these things behind m. Ive always wanted to do a great rock album, like a great Linda Ronstadt-type rock, just to do some things. But I dont know. Im not expecting to win, but if I should, I would be very honored and Ill just see.

Theres not much direct precedent to help predict how this might pan out. Unusual as it might be for entertainers to conduct an anti-award campaign, there have been a few famous refusers over the years.

In the music world, in 2020, after winning the CMA Awards entertainer of the year prize for a seventh time, Garth Brooks declared that he wanted to be grandfathered out of consideration, since he felt his wins were blocking younger nominees from getting their due. The Country Music Association made it clear at the time that ultimately it wasnt up to him, issuing a statement: If voters have nominated Garth Brooks in the first round, his name will appear on the second ballot. It will then be up to voters in this second round to select their top finalists. But making that declaration between ballots, and not mid-vote, seemed to do the trick in getting CMA voters to leave him out.

Three Oscar winners have refused their honors, at least initially, but their wins were certified and stayed on the books regardless of their wishes. Marlon Brando and George C. Scott were famously both recognized as best actor winners in the early 1970s despite their anger with the system.

Scott, calling the Academy Awards a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons, sent the Academy a telegram asking to be taken off the ballot and said, I respectfully request that you withdraw my name from the list of nominees. My request is in no way intended to denigrate my colleagues. His plea was in vain, and the Oscar (his second) still resides in a museum. Brando did not telegraph his intentions the way Scott did, but he famously sent Sacheen Littlefeather to deliver a politically inclined speech in his absence. Decades earlier, Dudley Nichols refused his 1935 screenplay Oscar because of a writers strike, but he reportedly accepted it three years later.

In the history of the Rock Hall, though, its traditional for artists who have a problem with the institution or their induction to simply not show up. In 2019, Thom Yorke broke the news to Variety that he would not be attending the ceremony, though Radiohead didnt actually try to refuse the honor. Weve always been very blase about that stuff, Yorke said at the time. So we dont want to offend anyone. We just think that we just dont quite understand it. Two other band members did show up to accept, but Yorkes excuse for not attending the induction: he had a conflicting engagement in Paris nine days later.

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Before he quit bartending at Geraldines, the restaurant inside Austins swanky Hotel Van Zandt, Bob Mann started getting annoyed at the conversations hed overhear. Located on Rainey Street, once a quiet residential street and now a bustling party zone, Mann would catch snippets of investment talk as he shook up espresso martinis.

Thered be real estate conventions going on, and Id hear them talking about how much money they're gonna make, Mann says. And I'm just like  everyone's cashing in on my city.

Mann sits in his kitchen in Elgin, Texas, as two of his three children nap on a recent weekday afternoon. The musician, born and raised in Austin, has made his peace with being priced out of the city more than two years ago. But that doesnt mean hes happy with the changes going on, especially now that he spends time in traffic on his way to picking up shifts at a dive bar on 290 or picking his children up from daycare in Austin.

As far as Austin itself, I just kind of  Mann trails off. Yeah, I'm not talking to it right now.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

Elgin City Limits

Mann joins a recent trend of young artists and musicians defecting from Austin to nearby towns like Elgin, Bastrop, and Lockhart in the wake of rapidly increasing city living costs. A December 2021 report showed that Austin home prices increased 28% year-over-year, compared with a 10% bump nationwide. For a city that bills itself as a place for creatives  the Live Music Capital of the World no less  its impossible for those artists to compete with transplants making all-cash offers or invoking bidding wars.

"It's completely unattainable," says Caleb Dawson, who moved to Elgin in 2016 while still drumming in Roky Ericksons band. "I dont think for young artists, or even old artists, that its possible to own a home in Austin at this point."

In 2015, UNESCO named Austin the first  and still only  city in America as a City of Media Arts for its fostering of "a rich and diverse cultural ecosystem." While the urge to "save" the arts through city-funded programs and philanthropic efforts still exists, the artists that comprised that ecosystem have begun, in recent years, to break free from Austin. Put simply, many feel like being able to live and thrive as an artist inside city limits is a bygone dream.

Elgin has become a refuge for musicians like Mann and Dawson. Twenty years ago they would have happily lived the sleepy Austin dream, now they welcome Elgin's rural landscape and comparatively cheap home prices. Call it Elgin City Limits. The young artists and musicians who live here praise the open space, the slower lifestyle, and the small, close-knit community that for decades made Austin so special.

As for the cultural fabric of America's 11th largest city by population, Dawson says that it hasn't so much changed completely as evolved, leaving behind an echo of what it once was.

"It still has the illusion of old Austin," he says. "Some of that vibe is still there, but it's becoming less of a place that people flock to from your big hubs like L.A., San Francisco, New York ... and its just becoming one of those cities."

Chris O'Connell/MySA

Building a Future

Its ironic that Dawson, and fellow bandmate/Elgin resident Ryan Lee, did time in Ericksons band shortly before his death in May 2019. The leader of The 13th Floor Elevators pioneered  along with the genre of psychedelic rock  the notion of maintaining a music career in Austin, away from big city life.

Thats because, when Easter Everywhere was released in 1967, Erickson and his LSD-dropping cohorts lived in an Austin wholly alien to the one of today. Before Austin City Limits and South by Southwest, Austin was a place where musicians not only could live, but actively flocked to because of the ability to live cheaply while chasing a dream.

After Lee graduated from Texas State a few years ago, he didnt even consider moving to Austin, despite playing guitar in multiple bands that gigged around town.

I was detecting a little bit of the old Austin energy in here among a lot of people who are younger, who might have lived in Austin 15 or 20 years ago, he says.

Lee lives in a trailer behind a house belonging to his bandmates, married couple Rockyanne Bullwinkel and Jimmy Wildcat. Bullwinkel leads a band called Blue Jean Queen, which counts Dawson and Mann among its members. Together, Wildcat and Lee are building a recording studio on the land and moving all the gear from their East Austin location, Sweetheart Studios.

Lee and Wildcat both say they imagine their Elgin studio as a Big Pink-type of spot, referring to the house outside of New York City where the Band and Bob Dylan recorded seminal albums.

It's just far enough away, Lee says, but just close enough to Austin for it to be a destination.

Thats already happening, even before the studio is finished. Wildcat says that they have an intermediary setup in their garage in Elgin, one that is more sparse than Sweetheart. Regardless, most bands are actually requesting to come out to the country to record.

I could be using the Austin location more, he says, but all my clients who have worked out here prefer this even though it's a more minimal studio and less space. They just love getting out of town and feeling a bit more relaxed.

Wildcat and Bullwinkel lived in Austin for more than a decade before leaving for Elgin. They looked at homes in Bastrop and Copeland before settling on Elgin, where they already had musician friends. Bullwinkel didnt realize how much she needed wide open space until they moved.

I realized I wasnt sleeping very well, she says. In Austin, there was an apartment complex across from us constantly shining a light in our bedroom. It was like daylight. Its dark out here.

Lee, their backyard tenant and studio partner is a bit more mobile  trailer and all  but hes grown tired of his cramped living space and is looking for land in Elgin or nearby Bastrop. Regardless of which town he lands in, hes planting roots outside of Austin.

I plan on making something for myself here, Lee says.

Chris O'Connell/MySA

Elgin Forever

For their part, Dawson and Mann are trying to open a dive bar in the center of town. The two found a historic building for sale recently, but the city sold it to another group. Both say they hope that their window isnt closing, as more and more people move to Elgin after being priced out of Austin. Dawson is encouraging his Elgin friends to open businesses while they still have the chance.

In just a few years, downtown Elgin is going to be overrun by venture capitalists from San Francisco buying downtown spaces and opening coffee shops, he says. Thats all fine and good. And more than that, its inevitable. But for now its still a tangible goal for people like us to be opening businesses. Its a good investment for us and itll also let us preserve what we love about this town, and eventually, for however long it may last, make it kind of what Austin used to be.

The anecdotes bear that out, at least on the residential side. Dawson says he wouldnt be able to afford his Elgin home today, despite only buying three years ago. Mann estimates his house has increased $60,000 in value since the pandemic began.

Flickr/JMWalling

The statistics show sharp migration into the town. Between 1990 and 2000, the population of Elgin grew by fewer than 1,000 residents, according to the Elgin Economic Development Corporation. Since then, Elgins population has more than doubled to more than 10,000. Conservative estimates by the EEDC put Elgins population at 19,000-plus by 2025. Its exponential growth forecast, the most aggressive trend, suggests that more than 40,000 people could call the town home in just three years.

Even more stark is the upward trend in home prices. Zillow estimates that the average Elgin home costs $314,410 to purchase. In the last year, thats an increase of 40.1%. Thats just short of the Austin increase, which Zillow puts at 41.2%.

Thats why Dawson started a bid to join the Elgin City Parks Planning Committee. Hes been going to meetings where talk has centered on incoming development, both residential and commercial. Between numerous new subdivisions and talks of a semiconductor factory and Elon Musk spreading Tesla eastward from Austin, residents new and old fear rising property taxes and an influx of tech money. Sound familiar?

Dawson says part of his five-to-10-year goal is to be mayor of Elgin so that he can prevent the town from losing the character that attracted him there.

Ill start with the parks planning committee, move on to city council, and so forth, he says. Id like to be in a position to really foster something cool here and prevent it from becoming some cookie-cutter hellhole.

Bullwinkel puts it another way: I would hate houses to get torn down and replaced with tall-and-skinnies, she says, a plague on Austins Eastside. She and Wildcat have no plans to leave Elgin.

We love it here. I love our house, Bullwinkel says. I love our friends here. I want to stay.

Lee and Dawson might pursue larger areas of land to build on outside of Elgin, especially as prices continue to rise, but their business efforts are focused right where they currently live. None foresee waking up in Austin ever again, save for crashing on a friends couch after a late gig.

Mann, whose parents have lived in Austin for decades, cant even picture it.

I'd have to hit the lottery. But then Id probably sooner buy a house in New York before I bought a house in Austin, he says. Yeah, I'd rather just stay here.
The bizarre saga of the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas appears to be coming to an end, at least temporarily.

The private nature preserve began a limited reopening Monday after closing its doors in February in response to a string of incidents involving right-wing conspiracy theorists trespassing on center grounds and disseminating false allegations online.

The center announced its new interim policy on social media platforms Tuesday.

The reopening follows a fraught series of events involving the butterfly center and adherents of a series of right-wing online conspiracies. First reported by The New York Times in a February article, the conflict is rooted in a string of allegations that began circulating in right-wing and conservative digital properties during the Trump administration as national attention pivoted to the construction of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Many of these conspiracies claimed the center, located on the Rio Grande next to the Texas-Mexico border, was a front for human smuggling and sex trafficking run by Mexican drug cartels.

These tensions culminated in January with an in-person confrontation between Marianna Trevino Wright, the center's executive director, and Kimberly Lowe, a Republican congressional candidate in the state of Virginia. Lowe and another woman arrived at the center and told staff they wanted to walk to the Rio Grande. Wright told the New York Times she was thrown to the ground after barring the women from the premises and claimed her son was nearly hit by Lowe as the intruding parties drove from the scene.

Days after the incident, tensions further heightened when armed individuals gathered near the center to show support for the border wall. These compounding events led to the conservatory closing indefinitely as management looked for ways to improve security for staff.

"We've been targeted with outright lies & defamatory statements designed to incite violence," the center wrote on its website member page. "The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) board of directors is working diligently to seek & secure professional guidance & take the necessary steps required for us to re-open safely."

For now, the National Butterfly Center is admitting paying members to its 100-acre property. Memberships begin at $35 and include discounts on merchandise and invitations to member's only events.
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When Heather Herlong was serving in the U.S. Army in the 1990s, a member of the Blue Star Mothers group gave her a star from their Stars for Heroes program.

The star was cut from a retired American flag and meant to recognize her service to her country and remind her that she is not forgotten as an active member of the military.

She carried the star around with her ever since up until a few months ago. Then someone else needed it more, she said.

I didnt even know something like this existed before I went in, she said. The Blue Star Mothers group came to where she was serving in Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Now shes one of the Blue Star Mothers supporting not only her own two sons in the military, but all those who are actively serving.

The fifth-generation veteran is the president of the Spring Creek Area Blue Star Mothers which serves Montgomery County. The local chapter is an affiliate of the national organization Blue Star Mothers of America Inc. The national organization was launched during World War II and is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2022.

On YourConroeNews.com: Wreath project honors fallen veterans in Conroe

The local chapter was chartered in March 2021 and on Saturday the group will celebrate the first anniversary of the group from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Honor Cafe in downtown Conroe. Theyll host a military care package packing event and start working on a veteran cookbook for Montgomery County.

Blue Star Mothers membership is open to mothers, stepmothers, foster mothers or female legal guardians of active military members. Associate membership is open to fathers, step-parents, grandparents, family members and friends.

Currently the group has about 15 members and they are looking for additional members to fill out their board and committees. They are also seeking organizational and event sponsors for the group.

Herlong and two other local Blue Star Mothers were previously members of the Houston chapter. With the large number of veterans in Montgomery County, they knew that Montgomery County needed its own Blue Star Mothers chapter. The local chapter was chartered on March 17, 2021.

Throughout the past year the members have participated in a variety of events and projects to support military members. Theyve participated in parades, hosted a classic car rally, worked with five local school to have children writes letters to veterans, helped lay wreaths for the Wreaths Across American program, served veterans on Veterans Day at Honor Cafe, supported the local Conroe VFW Post 4709, participated in the Stars for Heroes program and much more.

Herlong said it is also the mission of the organization to guide soldiers through the whole process from entering the military to their transition into civilian life.

Herlong served as a 91 Bravo Combat Medic. She was eager to learn and volunteered for any and every opportunity in her downtime. Through volunteering unique opportunities developed.

On YourConroeNews.com: Conroe's Honor Cafe celebrates military, patriotism

For example, in her first 18 months of service, she became responsible for $4 million worth of military equipment.

But she said transitioning military members often feel displaced from many of those opportunities as they re-enter civilian life.

We want to help people through the complete life cycle of the process from not feeling alone when their loved one goes in to helping the military member transition when they exit out of the military, Herlong said.

The chapter also hosts Blue to Gold ceremonies when an active military member dies while in service. The Gold Star Mothers are a group to support mothers who have lost a son or daughter who served in the military.

Its a very tender moment, Herlong said of these ceremonies.

Cara Johnson, First Vice President for the Spring Creek Chapter, came on board with the Blue Star Mothers in March 2021 after volunteering with a variety of nonprofits that support the military.

Her stepson is a Montgomery graduate and went straight into the U.S. Marines following high school.

When he decided to go in and give his time and his life to this, I thought if he could be this selfless, then I needed to give as well, Johnson said.

Next up, the Blue Star Mothers will be a part of a Classic Car Rally from Tomball to Conroe on the evening of May 13. The rally will end at Honor Cafe where the cars will be on display.

The Spring Creek Area Blue Star Mothers meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at Honor Cafe, 103 N. Thompson Street in Conroe.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/springcreekareabluestarmothers or email bsm.tx18@bluestarmothers.us.

shernandez@hcnonline.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Kevin Holland was apparently at the right place at the right time Monday night during a dinner in Houston.

Holland and three others, including friend and mixed martial artist Patrick Robinson, were dining a RA Sushi in the 3900 block of Westheimer Road around 11:30 p.m. to kick off a night of revelry in the Bayou City when a man sitting at the restaurant's bar pulled a gun and fired a shot into the air, according to Houston police. There were about 40 to 50 people in the restaurant at the time, police estimated, most of whom ducked and ran for coverexcept for Holland, Robinson and another man who charged at the gunman, disarmed him and tackled him to the ground.

No one was injured in the gunfire, although a woman who was with Holland scraped her hand while running for cover to the kitchen. Police eventually responded and put the gunman in handcuffs. On Tuesday, HPD identified the man as 24-year-old Jesus Edrai Cardiel Samaniego. He faces charges of deadly conduct and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

OnScene.TV

"We pretty much knew it was a gunshot, because we had just came from the shooting range the other week," Robinson said Monday night. "We were like, 'that's a gun.' We quickly hopped on it, got to the shooter and got him down. He had a backpack on him. We got the backpack away from him, because we didn't know what was in the backpack."

Holland declined to speak to media Monday night and was not immediately available for an interview Tuesday. His involvement was confirmed through a UFC spokesperson. The 29-year-old Holland, who trains in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has fought in the UFC for the past four years, going 9-4, including being featured twice in the main event. Holland last fought on March 5, knocking out Alex Oliveira at UFC 272.

While he's been relatively quiet about the encounter, he gave a nod to the incident on Twitter while promoting his merchandise that says "I'm ok." In the tweet, he tagged the Houston Police Department's official Twitter account.

Houston police Sgt. Ricardo Salas said the men's quick thinking could have saved lives. In an interview the night of the shooting, Salas did not know why the man pulled the gun and fired in the first place.

"If it wasn't for the quick thinking of a Good Samaritan taking that gun away, who would have known what could have happened?" Salas said. "Multiple people could have been injured out here. We're very thankful that the citizen helped us out, knew there was something going on and took quick action to stop anyone from getting injured."

OnScene.TV

Robinson, who also trains in DFW, said they continued the night even after the violent ordeal.

"It's time to turn up," Robinson said. "You know Houston."

It turns out this wasn't Holland's first stab at vigilantism. In October, he helped chase down a person accused of stealing a car in Las Vegas, according to Milan Ordonez of Bloody Elbow.

Chron reporter Matt Young contributed to this report.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
To the Editor,

According to the American Petroleum Institute, we have enough oil in North America to fuel every passenger cat and long-haul truck for the next 430 years. We have enough natural gas to provide electricity for every business and household for the next 535 years and enough coal to provide electricity for about 500 years.

Don't you think that in 430 years we will have developed alternative fuel sources? And for the ecologists who scream bloody murder about anything that combusts, will we also not have developed more effective ways of cleaning the air? Why did Joe Biden sacrifice America's energy independence, abandon pipeline development and drive up prices of gasoline, heating oil and jet fuel and make us once again dependent on foreign oil, and from countries that are not among our closest allies, to put it mildly.

In some states like California, Washington and New York shoplifting of items less than $950 is not a crime, but the IRS wanted to investigate individual banking transactions of $600 or more and the administration has proposed hiring another 87,000 IRS agents to do so.

How we are going to produce the batteries to facilitate a transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles when the basic ingredients for batteries are all found in rare minerals such as lithium, cobalt and zinc and others, all of which must be mined in countries not exactly friendly to us. They are called 'rare minerals' for a reason. When they aren't available anymore, or so costly they make batteries too expensive to use, what then?

If you have ever been in a traffic jam and everyone's battery starts to die, how will the repair trucks, also electric by then, reach disabled vehicles without their batteries dying as well? When will construction start to build the 500,000 battery charging stations Joe Biden told us about? Won't they be built and powered using fossil fuels?

If you feel like you haven't accomplished anything, try to remember that it took 20 years, trillions of dollars and four presidents to replace the Taliban in Afghanistan. With the Taliban.

We can't seem to find illegals to deport, but we find them to give them money! How does that work?

If there was a barnyard election, the pigs would always vote for the person who feeds them and gives them treats, even though that same person is going to slaughter them someday. That same philosophy is the very definition of socialism.

Memo to Generation Z: The Stars and Stripes that fly over our nation's capital are wrapped around the coffins of our honored dead who sacrificed their lives to keep us free. It is my flag; I will never apologize for it. It does not stand for skin color, race or religion. It stands for freedom.

"If you do not take an interest in the affairs of your government, then you are doomed to live under the rule of fools."  Plato.

Tom Harlander

Wood River
In one of his first interviews since disarming a man who started shooting inside a crowded Houston restaurant Monday night, Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight Kevin Holland recounted the "craziest sushi experience" of his life in a one-on-one with Chron.

Holland was with several others at RA Sushi in the 3900 block of Westheimer Road late Monday night when a man seated at the bar pulled a gun and fired into the air. The 170-pound mixed martial artist was one of three men who helped subdue the shooter, who was later handcuffed by police and charged with deadly conduct.

"I was done (eating) first, of course, because I'm a bigger guy," Holland said Wednesday. "I was on my second cup of liquornice and relaxed, having a good time."

Holland noted a birthday party was going on in the booth behind theirs, so noisy celebrations were expected. There were between 40 and 50 people inside the restaurant at the time, Houston police estimated, and Holland was ready to party. Then he heard a "pop."

"You could feel the wind coming off the pop," Holland said. "It was an abnormal pop inside a building. I turned to look over my shoulder real smooth, real slow. I thought it was a champagne bottle poppingI promise you I thought it was. I looked over thinking, 'Oh these guys are turning up behind us.'"

OnScene.TV

Holland's assumptions were quickly dashed when he looked and saw the "pop" was from the barrel of a gun. Someone was already struggling to disarm the man when he realized what happened.

"They were on the ground, and the direction of the gun was originally facing where we were sitting," Holland said. "That was more alarming than anything, just looking around and seeing the gun facing toward us. That made me get so fast on the offense."

Holland ran toward the scuffle but admitted it was difficult to immediately determine who was the shooter and who was the Good Samaritan. He determined the guy on the bottom was holding the gun while the other man was holding the hammer back trying to stop it from shooting. "I helped the guy pry the gun out of the guy's hand," Holland said. "After we pried the gun out of the guy's hand, I grabbed the guy, put him in my lap, put him in a rear naked choke. I was choking him out."

The shooter, identified by Houston police as 24-year-old Jesus Edrai Cardiel Samaniego, was fast asleep by the time Holland was done. The fighter then flipped him over and straddled him until police arrived.

"I didn't think I was the only one there who could help the situation," Holland said, acknowledging the crucial roles played by the others who also helped subdue the shooter. He also said the state's relaxed gun laws made him feel safe in the moment, despite the fact that no one had to use a gun to disarm the man.

Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC

"The first thing in my brain, they had a shooting out in Texas in a church," Holland said recounting his immediate thoughts."The older guy pulled out his gun and shot the shooter. That was going through my head first and foremost. I'm damn sure going to help the situation, but in Texas there's nothing to fear to be honest with you. There's no telling who else had a gun. We're in Texas. The gun laws here are way different. I feel safe in my state."

Not only does he feel safe in Texas  he still feels safe in Houston despite the violent encounter.

"Nothing could deter me from coming (back to Houston)," said Holland, who lives and trains in the Dallas/Forth Worth area. "I love Houston. I love Texas. I have to argue which one's my favorite between Fort Worth/DFW and H-Town. I don't think anything could deter me from coming back, especially not some guy who seemed to be intoxicated off his ass shooting a gun."

After all is said and done, Holland is now focused on his next bout.

"Go back to work, get another fight, win a fight, keep living life," Holland said. "This doesn't change anything. One bad night eating sushi that turned out to be a good night because everyone got home safely. Nobody got hurt."
Veronica G. Cardenas

The National Butterfly Center reopened for members this week after it temporarily closed in February due to conspiracy-fueled attacks against the center on social media. The center tells MySA it hasn't opened for the public and doesn't have a timeframe yet of when it will.

In February, the butterfly conservatory made the decision to close its center for the immediate future after GOP operatives visited the site and revived false conspiracy theories linking the center to sex trafficking. There are no law enforcement investigations into the organization or its staff for human trafficking, according to the Texas Tribune.
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A view of the Sleeping Giant is seen from across Black Bay towards the west. The Thunder Bay Yacht Club invites anyone interested in their group to join them on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Mission Island Clubhouse at 108th Avenue.
Florida, US (34429)

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The Cosumnes CSD boards current division map was based on population data from the 2010 census. Their future map will be redrawn based on the 2020 census data.
Wilkes Barre, PA (18701)

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Anunt de angajare: Expert/a pentru elaborarea raportului de evaluare a necesitatilor antreprenoriale ale tinerilor din regiunea Centru si a mediului de afaceri regional in cadrul proiectului Youth4Entrepreneurship 
Raspunsul la criza refugiatilor: Apel de propuneri, lansat de MAD-Aid in parteneriat cu Camera de Comert Britanica din Moldova
Two weeks ago, Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian dictator and Russian ally, stood with a pointer in front of a map at a meeting with his security council that was broadcast on state TV. Arrows on the map appeared to show troop movements into Ukraine, though one pointed toward Moldova, a tiny post-Soviet country that borders Ukraine to the southwest and is home to Transnistria, a separatist enclave that slithers along the Moldovan-Ukrainian border and has been occupied by Russian forces since fighting there in the early nineties.

The Belarusian ambassador to Moldova described the televised map as a misunderstanding, but it nonetheless caused concern in a country where nerves were already on edge after Vladimir Putin invaded its neighbor, even though Moldovan officials have downplayed the likelihood of an imminent threat. Since the war began, several major Western news organizations have chronicled fears on the ground that should Putin get his way in Ukraine, Moldova might be next. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, visited, too, and held a joint press conference with Maia Sandu, Moldovas pro-European president. A foreign reporter asked Sandu how she thought the invasion next door might affect Moldovas security. In this region, she replied, there is no possibility for us now to feel really safe or secure.

ICYMI: The biases in coverage of the war in Ukraine

Moldova is already having to contend with a refugee crisis. Since the war began, well over three hundred thousand people have crossed the border from Ukraine and more than a hundred thousand have stayed put, mostly in Moldovans homes and communitiesa huge undertaking for a country that is among Europes poorest and has a population less than that of New York City, LA, or Chicago. Corina Cepoiwho leads Moldovan operations for Internews, an international media nonprofit, and is herself hosting Ukrainianstold me yesterday that this has so far been a major focus for Moldovas independent news outlets, which have worked to debunk online disinformation casting refugees as not worthy of Moldovans support. I think for now the coverage is more focused on whats happening in Ukraine, on the economic impact, and less on a potential war in Moldova itself, Cepoi says. Some talk shows do cover that, of course, inviting experts in the field. But I dont see huge media coverage of a potential war. For now, this type of coverage, I would call it more balanced, and not providing a reason for panic.

As Ann Cooper, who covered the waning days of the Soviet Union for NPR, told me last year and has since described in more detail for Nieman Reports, Moldova belongs to a midway media group of post-Soviet countries (that also includes Ukraine), boasting a determined cadre of independent journalists and a media ecosystem that is neither as free as that across the Baltic states nor as repressed as those in Russia and Belarus. Instead, it has fluctuated against a backdrop of endemic corruption and power-swapping between pro-Western and pro-Russian factions. Independent news organizations have typically relied on foreign funding, including from the US government, in the absence of a thriving independent advertising market or subscription models, though according to Cooper, some outlets have recently attempted to diversify their revenue.

The independent-media sector in Moldova is also smallaccording to surveys cited by IREX, a DC-based development nonprofit, it represents only around 15 percent of Moldovan outlets and is exclusively consumed by a similar proportion of the population. The rest of Moldovas media is controlled by, or aligned with, political interests, many of them pro-Russian. This is especially true of TV, which remains the leading source of news in the country, as Anastasia Nani, of Moldovas Independent Journalism Center, told me in an email. In the run-up to Russias invasion of Ukraine, numerous pro-Russian channels spun the Kremlins line, Nani says, casting Ukraine and the West as aggressors and decrying US hysteria. All the prewar propaganda prepared some Moldovans to have a certain attitude towards the events that followed.

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Since the invasion, that type of content has receded; here, too, the refugee story has come to the fore. There is very little talk about how Moldovans or central authorities mobilized to help refugees from Ukraine, Nani told me. At the same time, these stations hardly talk about the war in Ukraine; they do not show images of the neighboring country with bombings. Also since the invasion, Moldovas pro-Western authorities have taken steps to try to limit the dissemination of pro-Russian propaganda in the country after declaring a two-month state of emergency that gives it extra powers over media activityblocking access to several pro-Russian sites for using false news to incite war and hatred, and levying fines against pro-Kremlin TV channels. The broadcasting of news produced in Russia and Belarus has been suspended entirely. Moldovans can access Russian outlets using VPNs and other methods, Cepoi says, but you dont see them in our cable packages.

Moldovas political battle over Russian media and disinformation long predates the past few weeks. In 2018, lawmakers passed a bill curbing broadcasts from Russia, but it was repealed in 2020, and the same years election season was also marred by a barrage of propaganda and claims of pro-Russian fake news; in 2021, a report compiled by the east Center, an Eastern European think tank, found that Moldova has quite limited resilience against disinformation. Since the war began, Kremlin-style talking points have again swelled online, seeping past official efforts to curb them; according to Stop Fals, an organization dedicated to debunking disinformation, these have included false reports that Moldova is mobilizing army reservists and preparing to intervene militarily in Ukraine. Even if it is busy with Ukraine, Madalin Necsutu wrote yesterday for Veridica, a disinformation-focused site based in Moldovas neighbor Romania, Moscow still keeps an eye on the Republic of Moldova and still has enough leverage through which, if it wishes, it can destabilize it at an extremely vulnerable time.

Despite its small size, Moldova is a rich tapestry of different ethnic communities and has two autonomous regions. One is Gagauzia, in the countrys south, where the population has historically been more pro-Russian; the authorities there exert a tighter grip on information, and according to Cepoi, Russian channels are still allowed there. The other is Transnistria, where press freedom is very limited and newspapers and TV channels have scarcely mentioned the conflict across the border. Residents, the Washington Posts Chico Harlan found recently, have gotten the signal that the topic is off-limits. Andrei Platonov, an artist in Transnistria, did tell the Post that he opposes Putins war and refuses to watch Transnistrian TV. His biggest fear, he said, is that freedom of speech will disappear completely and that going to protests will soon get you thrown in jailas has happened recently in Russia itself.

In my conversation with Cepoi yesterday, I noted that despite the recent flurry of articles about Moldova in international outlets, the country often seems to get overlooked in the high-level media conversation about what Putin might do next, especially since he started hitting targets close to the Polish border. Were used to that, its okay, Cepoi said. We are always marginal in terms of international coverage, so were not surprised. Regretfully, thats what happens to a small country that doesnt even have a history of independence or identity like Ukrainians have.

Below, more on the war:



Other notable stories:

Related: Brent Renaud, Yevhenii Sakun, and the grave dangers on the ground in Ukraine

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Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
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Dangerous, expensive disruptions to shipping and many of the worlds roughly 3,700 ports are on the rise along with global temperatures. These events will increasingly threaten the sea routes that convey 80% of traded goods by volume, according a new analysis published today by the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund.

Encroaching waters and more powerful tropical storms top the list of risks. Although research on climate changes impacts on the shipping industry is scant, catastrophic events in recent years together tell a concerning story, the authors write. Storms have repeatedly cost hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in damage to U.S. ports in the last 15 years. When a port slows down or closes as the result of a storm, backups can increase along supply chains.

Typhoon Maemi shut South Koreas Port of Busan for 91 days in 2003. Cyclone Yasi cost the Port of Brisbane $52 million and 10 days of operation in 2011. Typhoon Lekima closed the Port of Wenzhou, in China, for 45 days in 2019 and cost the Port of Dalian $65 million.

Wind speed, rainfall and wave heights are all expected to increase with greenhouse-gas concentrations. Weather was responsible for at least 80 of the 400 vessel loses between 2015 and 2019. Losses killed 142 crew members during that period33 in 2015, when a Category 4 hurricane felled a cargo ship in the Bahamas.

Havoc on land affects shippers, too. Drought in and around the Panama Canal in 2019 mandated a traffic slowdown that cost the shipping industry $300 million. Shorter-term disruptions from storms add up. Ships can use up to 150 tons of fuel a day, so if they have to be rerouted or face delays, the daily cost can reach $75,000.

Adaptation measures are expensive up front but cheaper in the long run in comparison to facing destructive changes, the report says. Elevating port infrastructure is a common response, along with seawalls, floodgates, breakwaters and drainage.

Shipping is responsible for about 20% of global emissions from transportation, a problem thats drawing increasing attention from some major fleet owners. Cargo ships tend to run on oil that produces particularly high carbon-dioxide emissions, a critical logistical obstacle to fleets trying to help the world zero out emissions by mid-century. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S this week announced it will work with six energy companies to quickly ramp up demand and production of methanol, a clean fuel made with renewable energy from hydrogen and CO.

The report, which was written for EDF by the nonprofit RTI International, draws on computer-model scenarios common in climate research that project, based on varying assumptions, future storm damages that are multiples of the estimated $3 billion a year that ports alone suffer now.

The report in one sentence lays bare a message generalizable far beyond this sector: Everybodys greenhouse-gas emissions are essentially self-destructive. Through these GHG emissions, the authors write, the maritime shipping industry is contributing to changes in global climate that will ultimately harm [the industry] itself.

About the photo: Two ships sit grounded on a breakwater strewn with debris in Hyogo, Japan, after a typhoon, Sept. 6, 2018. Photographer: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
A rash of railcar thefts in the Los Angeles area may have given a different impression, but nationally the number of reported cargo thefts dropped by 15% in 2021 compared to the prior year, according to CargoNets annual Supply Chain Risk Trends report.

The company, which is a division of Verisk, tracked 1,285 cargo thefts in the United States and Canada last year with reported losses of $57.9 million. That was down from 1,517 thefts and $66 million in losses in 2020.

Images of empty boxes pilfered from rail cars and strewn across railroad tracks received national attention in February. Union Pacific reported that rail thefts increased 160% in Los Angeles County in 2021 compared to the previous year.

But Keith Lewis, director of operations for CargoNet, said it is impossible to say how much that widely reported crime spree contributed to overall cargo theft numbers. He said the railroads have their own police departments and dont always report thefts to law enforcement.

The number of reported cargo thefts in California, however, did show an uptick: 276 thefts in 2021 compared to 244 in 2020. The CargoNet report shows that electronic goods were taken in 99 of those California thefts.

No other state or province had anywhere near that number. Texas and Florida were the next highest, with 12 electronics cargo thefts each, according to the CargoNet report.

Electronics was the favorite target of cargo thieves last year, accounting for 180 of the 1,285 thefts in the US and Canada. That was up from 154 last year.

Household goods were the No. 1 target in 2020, with 202 reported cargo thefts. That dropped to 171 in 2021. The food and beverage category accounted for 125 cargo thefts in 2021, down from 194 in the prior year.

The CargoNet report shows one form of cargo theft declined sharply in 2021: The number of fictitious pickups  where a fraudster posing as a legitimate truck driver makes arrangements with a brokerage to pick up a load  dropped to 16 from 62 in 2020 and 36 in 2019.

Lewis said the COVID-19 pandemic likely contributed to the jump in fictitious pickups in 2020. He said the brokerages that match trucking companies with businesses that need to move freight dont typically do a lot of screening because they have to move cargo fast. He said there was even less scrutiny during the 2020 lockdowns.

Everybodys working from home so the boss isnt looking over your shoulder asking what are you doing, he said.

Lewis said brokerages have learned that they shouldnt assign a load of cargo to anybody who calls in with a Department of Transportation number, but mistakes still happen. He said hes not sure fictitious pickups are always reported.

They are getting better at vetting and when they do get hit they are embarrassed and dont want to tell anybody, he said. They suck it up and move on.

Security appears to be a greater concern throughout the supply chain. Steve Diebold, export manager for American Casting and Manufacturing Corp., said in an email that there is a movement away from plastic and lighter stamped metal seals among shippers, especially those that are moving hazardous cargo, food and high-value goods.

The users are just trying to replace something easily broken with a stronger seal that would force a would-be thief to bring bigger tools or pass by their truck or container because it is harder to open, Diebold said. Easier targets with less to cut are the most likely to be hit by thieves. Essentially that stronger barrier seal becomes a one-time disposable lock and a visible theft deterrent.

About the photo: Shredded boxes and packages are seen at a section of the Union Pacific train tracks in downtown Los Angeles Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. Thieves have been raiding cargo containers aboard trains nearing downtown Los Angeles for months, leaving the tracks blanketed with discarded packages. The sea of debris left behind included items that the thieves apparently didnt think were valuable enough to take, CBSLA reported Thursday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP)  The U.S. Postal Service is continuing to investigate an accident at a North Carolina distribution center in September that caused an employee to lose an arm after touching a machine, the federal agency said Monday.

The U.S. Postal Service also said that its reviewing a citation filed Friday by the U.S. Labor Department that found serious safety violations at the Greensboro Network Distribution Center.

The Postal Service places the safety and well-being of its employees as a top priority, the agency said in a statement Monday. It declined further comment.

The U.S. Department of Labors Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it inspected the Greensboro facility following the Sept. 27 injury. The agency released its findings in a news release on Friday.

OSHA said that the arm of the mechanic working at the facility was amputated after coming into contact with a machine that had a safety guard removed. OSHAs inspection identified repeat and serious safety violations, including failure to ensure that safety guards were in place as required and allowing conveyor guards to be routinely removed, leaving workers at risk of injuries, the news release said.

The facility also failed to train staff on working near conveyors or proper methods for safely operating equipment, OSHA said. And the facility allowed workers without adequate training and protective equipment to perform tests on live electrical equipment, the news release said.

OSHA said its citations come with $170,918 in proposed fines.

The U.S. Postal Service ignored long-established safety standards and put workers at risk, OSHA Area Director Kimberley Morton said.

USPS will be able to request an informal conference with OSHAs area director or contest the findings, the news release said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
DETROIT (AP)  First came the beeping alarms and the dashboard lights warning that something had gone haywire. Then the drivers side windows suddenly and mysteriously rolled down. Kendall Heimans Volkswagen SUV then pulled the scariest stunt of all: It abruptly braked for no reason.

Heiman, a clinical social worker in Lawrence, Kansas, was driving her 15-year-old son to a class on Jan. 5 when her 2021 Atlas Cross Sport went bonkers. The malfunctions turned a normally routine two-mile round trip into a white-knuckle ordeal.

It literally feels like the car is possessed, Heiman said. Im not feeling like Im driving my car. My car is driving me.

Heimans experience, it turns out, wasnt unique. Since late 2020, 47 VW owners have complained to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the same glitches in their 2020 and 2021 VW Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs. Some drivers reported that they narrowly escaped collisions, though a review of the complaints found no reports of crashes.

In a statement, NHTSA said it has been gathering information from VW about the problem and is monitoring complaints and other data sources. The agency hasnt opened a formal investigation. And it would have to collect and analyze additional data before it could seek a recall.

Complaints about unexpected braking involving the VW SUVs began in September of 2020, eight months before Heiman bought her SUV, NHTSAs records show.

In a statement, Volkswagen said it is working on the problem but stopped short of saying its recalling the affected vehicles.

VW is aware of concerns involving faulty door wiring harnesses in certain Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport vehicles, the company said. We are working closely with NHTSA regarding the next steps towards identifying the affected vehicles.

After her SUVs unexpected braking on Jan. 5, Heiman initially kept driving, figuring that the problem was a bizarre fluke. The SUV and a VW app flashed malfunction alerts, she said, but neither displayed a message to stop driving the vehicle.

Her Cross Sport braked unexpectedly a few more times that day, but she was able to override it with the gas pedal. Heading into a roundabout on the way home with her son the same day, the SUV abruptly braked and came to a complete stop, Heiman said, and another SUV narrowly missed rear-ending her. She shut the engine off and restarted it to override what she thinks was a malfunction of automatic emergency braking.

Jan. 5 was the first time she had encountered the problem with the Cross Sport, which she bought new in May 2021.

Once home, Heiman called her dealers service department and got an appointment the next day. On the way there, she said, the SUV braked mysteriously again while exiting a two-lane highway.

They didnt tell me it wasnt safe to drive to the dealer, she said.

In the shop, a mechanic detected a problem with a wiring harness in the drivers door, but she was told there werent any parts to fix it. (Electrical shorts in wiring harnesses can cause multiple problems in vehicles, including brake activation.)

After discussing the safety risks with her, the dealership arranged for a rental car, Heiman said, and eventually the use of a new all-wheel-drive VW SUV.

The same day, Heiman reported the problem to VW in an online chat and was referred to a regional manager who was of little help, she said.

VW declined to comment on Heimans assertions.

On Jan. 12, Heiman complained to NHTSA but said she never heard back from the agency. (NHTSA says it reviews all complaints but in most cases doesnt respond directly to them.)

For more than two months, Heiman said, her burnt orange Cross Sport, which had 12,600 miles on it and had cost $45,000, sat at the dealership waiting for the part. But late last week, after a reporter contacted the dealership, Heiman received a call telling her that the part had come in and that her vehicle had been repaired.

Others who filed complaints with NHTSA wrote that dealers told them they were out of loaner cars and that they should keep driving their vehicles.

They also could not guarantee that my parking brake would not engage again while the car was in drive, but did not want to offer me a rental car because Volkswagen doesnt consider it a `safety issue,  one unidentified owner from Sidney Center, New York, wrote in a complaint.

Heimans experience with Volkswagen made her worry about others who have encountered the same problems with the same VW models. She wonders why the automaker and government safety regulators havent recalled them.

If there is a recall, its not clear how many vehicles would have to be repaired. In 2020 and 2021, VW sold 203,000 of both models combined.

Many owners wrote in complaints that the automatic emergency braking system had abruptly stopped their Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs for no reason. Safety advocates say the new technology, which uses cameras and computers to detect obstacles and stop or slow down if a driver doesnt react, shows great promise to prevent crashes.

But the technology is also causing concerns for automakers. NHTSA recently opened investigations into unexpected braking by the systems in some Honda and Tesla vehicles. It has been investigating Nissan Rogue small SUVs since 2019.

In documents about the Honda investigation, NHTSA said that six people complained of crashes with minor injuries.

Inadvertent or unexpected braking activation while driving can cause unexpected speed reductions that can lead to increased vulnerability to rear end impact collisions, the agency wrote.

Investigations often lead to recalls. But they can take months or even years to complete.

NHTSA is working on developing rules that will require automatic emergency braking system on all new light vehicles and heavy trucks. In addition, automakers have agreed to make the system standard on most of their models by September of this year.

We all want to have technology, said Michael Brooks, chief counsel for the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety. But if it doesnt work and it actually causes other safety issues like phantom braking, then it suggests they need a bit of a performance standard for all of these AEB systems.

AP Researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Biden Administration has issued a final rule intended to ensure safety of occupants in automated vehicles. This rule updates the current Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to account for vehicles that may be equipped with automated driving systems (ADS) and do not have the traditional manual controls associated with a human driver.

Prior to this 155-page rule, occupant safety standards were written for common, traditional vehicle features including steering wheels, drivers seat and various manual controls. The rule, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, clarifies what is required of manufacturers if and when they build vehicles without steering wheels or other traditional features.

The final rule seeks to assure that, despite their innovative designs, vehicles with ADS technology must continue to provide the same levels of occupant protection as current passenger vehicles.

As the driver changes from a person to a machine in ADS-equipped vehicles, the need to keep the humans safe remains the same and must be integrated from the beginning, said Dr. Steven Cliff, NHTSAs deputy administrator, in announcing the rule. With this rule, we ensure that manufacturers put safety first.

A number of companies from Argo to General Motors to Waymo are testing driverless vehicles  some have traditional features and some do not. Other firms like Nuro are testing vehicles for transporting cargo, not passengers, that lack traditional driver features The new rule affects only passenger vehicles.

NHTSA said it knows of dozens of testing activities taking place in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia, many of which involve ADS-equipped vehicles that lack manually operated driving controls.

The agency said the rule should provide some certainty for manufacturers of vehicles with ADS that lack some traditional features and potentially reduce costs slightly by eliminating the need to install redundant traditional features like driver seats and steering wheels. At the same time, cost savings are likely to be partially offset, for example, by the equipment needed to make the left front seating position as safe as the right front seating position.

In response to some criticisms around how cars without these traditional features are not yet being made, the agency acknowledged that uncertainty continues to exist around the development and potential deployment of ADS-equipped vehicles. However, NHTSA said it believes it is appropriate to finalize this action at this time in anticipation of emerging ADS vehicle designs that NHTSA has seen in prototype form. These current designs considered by NHTSA generally involve forward-facing row seating and vehicles without manual driving controls.

NHTSA said it hopes the final rule provides regulatory certainty that, despite their innovative designs, vehicles with ADS technology must continue to provide the same high levels of occupant protection that current passenger vehicles provide.

NHTSA said it received 45 comments on the rule from vehicle and equipment manufacturers, ADS developers, industry associations, consumer advocates, advocates for persons with disabilities, states, insurance organizations, a university, an oil independence advocacy group, and members of the general public. Many commenters supported the proposal while others argued that the agencys focus on this issue was premature.

The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) argued that NHTSA should not permit traditional manual controls to be removed from vehicles until at least equivalent safety [of ADS-equipped vehicles] is proven. The National Safety Council (NSC) called the rulemaking premature and hasty since most ADS vehicle designs that might benefit from the revised standards are still on the drawing boards and unforeseen issues are certain to arise.

Consumer Reports also question[ed] the present focus of the agency on removal of regulatory barriers rather than on developing and implementing standards for proven safety technologies. However, Consumer Reports also stated that the narrow scope of the rule is appropriate.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) expressed concern that the current process creates a path for introducing into the market ADS-controlled vehicles without regulations that establish the ground rules for the safe behavior of ADS, although the IIHS also stated that the modifications proposed by NHTSA likely will be helpful to the entities developing automated driving systems (ADS) and the vehicles that will be controlled by ADS and that the changes answer some questions about how the occupants of ADS-controlled vehicles should be protected in the event of a crash.

The rule goes into effect 180 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
Claremore, OK (74018)

Today

Thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 63F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. A few storms may be severe. Low 61F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
The United States Army has started a competition to develop a light battle tank designed to counter the ground armies of Russia and China due to the rising animosity with these superpowers. Army officials want to have it ready by fast-tracking it and arms it mobile infantry with fast-moving armor.

Smaller lightweight tanks are more lithe and mobile than heavy battle tanks, which need specialized transport due to their size.

Light Battle Tanks Development

Plans by the army to have a contract for the chosen defense contractor for lighter tanks are planned for the summer of 2022.

In 2018, two firms were chosen to design and engineer the next-generation Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) vehicle. According to Eurasian Times, BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) are vying to get the contract worth millions of dollars.

Both firms were given $376 million to make their prototypes with several conditions, like having 12 of the MPF light tank ready for trials and tests for approval. The machines need to pass a Soldier Vehicle Assessment (SVA).

In 2021, the competing teams did the SVA with a Fort Bragg Unit called the 82nd Airborne Division in North Carolina. The soldiers' tasks included giving feedback on tactics techniques to systemize fighting with the new combat vehicle.

Competing Light Tank Systems

The General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) have a light chassis with a high-performance power pack, advanced suspension, and a turret that is equipped on the Abram Main Battle Tank (MBT) used by the United States Army will be used in a proposed light battle tank.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

BAE Systems' design went with an improved M8 Buford armored gun system with unpublished capabilities and parts. Due to delays because of COVID, they delivered later than General Dynamics.

Just with a few months on until the army intends to select a contender, Janes reported that BAE System had been dropped from the competition earlier this month, allowing only GDLS to participate in the contract.

To this effect, the army is mum on the claims of the military magazine, although a statement from the service's program executive officer for ground combat systems, systems Brig. Gen. Glenn Dean spoke to Defense News.

He added that the US Army would pursue the MPF program for the needs of a mobile system that has offense and defense for US infantry units. Infantrymen need a new system that offers speed, firepower, protection in a light armored vehicle other than an MBT.

US Military Armed Response

Since America became a superpower, it now has to reckon that Moscow and Beijing are ramping up their forces; for the Pentagon, this near-peer competition needs to be resolved in a 2030-2050 time frame.

Regimes other than Russia and China now include Iran and Pyongyang as blooming powers that could keep the USA locked up with a weakened military.

Taking control of the air, sea, land, space, and cyber to keep the US pinned down will signal changes, with America fading in power like Britain.

Scenarios like a westward Russian push and China's anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities in the South China Sea (SCS) are uncrackable. It will be shifting to asymmetrical warfare in the Pacific or urban centers in Europe.

There are tactical advantages if the United States Army finally adopts the plus of having a Light Battle Tank in its arsenal in evolving combat theatres.

Related Article: Vladimir Putin Has New Weapons To Defend Russia if NATO Decides to Strike From the Ukraine Border

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If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-perfect  warm and sunny with cool nights.
If a visitor to Israel had the time to take a month to really get to know the country, I would recommend the period that has just concluded  from Passover through Israeli Independence Day. Its Israel in a nutshell. And it also happens to be a time of year when most of the days are picture-
As retaliation for the Biden administration's sweeping economic sanctions targeting Russian entities over the invasion of Ukraine,

the Russian Foreign Ministry announced sanctions on more than a dozen Americans on Tuesday, including President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. In a statement, Russia's Foreign Ministry said it plans to blacklist additional US officials, military commanders, congressmen, and journalists who are critical of the country.

Russia Sanctions 12 US Officials

Russia has sanctioned 12 current and former government officials, as well as Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden's son. In addition, the following Americans have been sanctioned:

General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser

Bill Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary

Daleep Singh, Deputy National Security Advisor

Adewale Adeyemo, Deputy Treasury Secretary

Reta Jo Lewis, Chairman of the Export-Import Bank

Samantha Power is the Director of the United States Agency for International Development

Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State

Officials from the United States who Russia has sanctioned are barred from entering the country, and any assets they disclosed to Russia have been frozen, according to the ministry, but the procedures do not prevent high-level meetings if necessary, according to CBS News.

Russia has also sanctioned Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Russian billionaires and large Russian banks have been sanctioned by the United States, Canada, and European nations. The White House has also imposed penalties on Russian President Vladimir Putin and several of his senior advisors, including a restriction on the import of Russian oil, as per The Hill.

Read Also: Australia, Netherlands Launch Legal Action Against Russia Over Downing of Malaysian Airlines MH17

Joe Biden To Continue Defense Operations

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is scheduled to travel to Brussels next week for a special NATO summit on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Biden will travel overseas next Thursday, who confirmed this at her briefing on Tuesday.

"In response to Russia's unprovoked and unlawful aggression on Ukraine, President Joe Biden will discuss continued deterrence and defense operations, as well as reiterate our unbreakable commitment to our NATO friend. He will also attend a planned European Council Summit on March 24th," she added of the sessions at NATO headquarters.

Biden's trip is being announced as the heads of three Eastern European nations - the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia - go to Kyiv to meet with Zelensky. The emergency summit will be convened by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who announced it on Tuesday.

The Russian military has been closing in on Kyiv as Vladimir Putin raises his aggressiveness, and some Russian commentators have recommended using nuclear weapons to bring Ukraine to its knees. The Biden administration has justified its efforts to aid Ukraine, highlighting the humanitarian and supply assistance it has provided on several occasions.

Officials also remind out that the United States and its allies have imposed severe economic sanctions on Putin, his inner circle, and the oligarchs who have become billionaires as a result of Putin's actions, as well as Russia's banks. Psaki praised Biden's actions, saying, "He has approved and accelerated the delivery of more support, military and security assistance to Ukraine than any year in history."

She detailed the $1.2 billion in aid that the US had provided. In addition, the US government's omnibus financing includes an additional $13.6 billion for Ukraine. The White House has decided on a no-fly zone, claiming that it would have to be monitored by American fighters who would be forced to fire on Russian planes, triggering World War III, as they fear, Daily Mail reported.

Related Article: Turkey Refuses To Sanction Russia Over Ukraine Invasion, Plans Alternative Solutions Despite Pressure From NATO Membership

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Mainland support boosts confidence in fighting COVID-19 in Hong Kong

Xinhua) 09:00, March 16, 2022

A medical worker guides residents at a designated clinic in Tai Po, south China's Hong Kong, March 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Lo Ping Fai)

HONG KONG, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong people are full of gratitude for the central authorities' support for the global financial hub to fight COVID-19, especially under the fifth wave of the epidemic when there is a temporary shortage of supplies and medical staff.

Community worker So Ka Lok has participated in the delivery of supplies from the central authorities and distributed supplies to COVID-19 patients.

"Seeing boxes of supplies, I am very grateful for the central authorities' support for Hong Kong to fight the epidemic, which has stabilized the society. We are confident in defeating the epidemic," So said.

Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of the epidemic in Hong Kong, the central authorities have provided timely assistance, from community isolation facilities to medical supplies, medicines, protective equipment and fresh vegetables, at this difficult time.

In late February, confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in the building where Hong Kong resident Ms. Kwong lived. She was very worried about the health of her family with senior people and kids.

Kwong and other residents living in the same building were required to undergo mandatory nucleic acid tests. But with only about 10 booths open, there were long lines at the testing center and sometimes it took people more than two hours to get tested, Kwong said.

"The days when we took the tests were the coldest days in Hong Kong," Kwong said.

She said it was difficult to stand in line in heavy rain and strong wind while taking care of her kids.

Kwong added that after the arrival of the nucleic acid support team from the mainland, seven more testing booths were added and the testing process ran much faster. Moreover, the test results came out quickly and Kwong was relieved to see her whole family tested negative each time.

Hong Kong civil servant surnamed Chong had to contact different people at work and wanted to get some medicines in case he needed them, but it was hard to buy them on the market.

When feeling troubled, Chong got Lianhua Qingwen capsules, a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used to treat COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases, donated by the central authorities.

"I am really touched. Hong Kong and the mainland are one family and we will definitely defeat the epidemic together," Chong said.

As of Tuesday, the medical supplies procured with the co-ordination by the central authorities included 86 million rapid antigen test kits received and various kinds of personal protective equipment. These included over 180 million N95 masks, KN95 masks and surgical masks, as well as over 14 million articles of other protective equipment.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government announced on Tuesday that the supply of fresh food from the mainland on Monday was largely stable, with plenty of supplies of vegetables, live pigs and eggs.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong registered 11,956 new COVID-19 cases by nucleic acid tests, and 15,809 additional positive cases through self-reported rapid antigen tests, official data showed.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
White House officials express their concerns about potential coronavirus surges after COVID-19 relief funding was scrapped from the massive government spending plan.

Authorities warn that aspects of the federal COVID-19 response will be affected due to the omission of the provision. During a call with reporters, Biden administration officials spoke in dire terms, and they sent a letter to Congressional leaders on Tuesday warning of the consequences.

COVID-19 Relief Fund

The recent warnings from officials mark the latest escalation in pressure from the Biden administration prior to key funding deadlines. Initially, COVID-19 relief funds were included in a recent omnibus spending package but were removed after Democratic complaints of how the spending would be offset.

United States President Joe Biden's administration had previously requested $22.5 billion in supplemental COVID-19 relief funding to be included in the government funding package. Later on, negotiators proposed a scaled-back $15.6 billion provision. Democrats have opted to propose a standalone COVID-19 relief bill after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the removal of the provision from the bill, which passed last week, as per CNN.

One senior Biden administration official said on Tuesday that the White House would give Congress the responsibility of getting the details on how to provide the COVID-19 relief fund. They added that there was bipartisan recognition that the United States needs the money and that the funds were already spent last year.

Read Also: COVID-19 Cases in China Skyrocket Amid Omicron Wave, 37 Million People in Lockdown

However, top appropriators on Capitol Hill pointed the finger back at the Biden administration, saying that they did not make a convincing enough case to win over Republican lawmakers to their side. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama said that there were doubts that the money was needed and would be used in what Democrats planned it for.

According to Politico, even some GOP members who were supportive of the bill initially have expressed concerns about the consequences of the money running out if the Biden administration fails to do enough. Sen. Roy Blunt, the Senate's top Republican in charge of healthcare spending, said that he supported the replenishment of the accounts.

Consequences of Losing Funding

However, the official noted that it was the responsibility of Democrats to make their case and show officials how needed the COVID-19 relief funding is and how long it will last. He said that if he were presented with those facts, he would be able to advocate for the amount of money the Biden administration was looking for.

The letter sent by Biden administration officials to Congress included concerns of the possibility of future variants as the number of new infections in recent weeks has dwindled. The White House also noted that vaccine shortages would be even more severe if medical professionals became in need of a variant-specific booster vaccine.

Another official warned of the probability of a coronavirus infection surge in the coming months, similar to what other countries are experiencing now. In a statement, Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla echoed concerns about the coronavirus variants in an interview this week. He said the new strains coming is a likely scenario and that the US should make ways to outsmart the virus and be ahead of it, Yahoo Finance reported.

Related Article: US Extends Nationwide Mask Mandate on Planes, Mass Transit Until Mid-April; CDC Prepares New Rules

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A habitual residence case, Golan v. Saada, involving a local family practice law firm will be heard March 22 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

The term habitual residence is essentially the location where a child has spent most of his or her life, or where he or she has the deepest connection. Whether the habitual residence is defined by the parent or by the child, age depending, is a matter of debate.

I became involved because of the Monasky case, attorney Andrew Zashin, co-managing partner of Zashin & Rich in Cleveland, and a member of Golans legal team, told the Cleveland Jewish News. This is Zashins second habitual residence case before the U.S. Supreme Court, the first being Monasky v. Taglieri, that ruled in favor of the father in February 2020. This is in some ways the flip side of that case and I have always been interested in the Hague Conventions Grave Risk of Harm exceptions.

[ Supreme Court hears international residence case ]

The difference with this case, compared to Monasky v. Taglieri where Zashin represented the mother, Michelle Monasky, is that Golan v. Saada deals with grave risk of harm  where returning the child to his country of habitual residence would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation, as laid out by Article 13(b) of The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction  and whether a district court is required to consider ameliorative measures that would facilitate the return of the child safely, notwithstanding the grave risk finding.

A look at the case

In Golan v. Saada, the couple met and began a relationship in June 2014. Narkis Aliza Golan moved to Milan, Italy, to live with Isaaco Jacky Saada, and two months later, they were married in a religious Jewish marriage. Their child, referred to as B.A.S. in court documents, was born in Milan in 2016 and spent two years living there with his parents. But, in July 2018, Golan took B.A.S. to a wedding in New York and did not return to Milan in August as scheduled.

According to court proceedings, Saada then initiated actions in the Italian court system and the United States to seek the return of his son by filing a criminal kidnapping complaint, initiating civil proceedings against Golan. He filed his lawsuit in September 2018, but Golan refused, stating it would pose a physical and psychological danger to her and the child as the marriage was physically, psychologically, emotionally and verbally abusive, according to a January 2022 brief filed by Golans team, led by attorney Karen R. King, partner at Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC in New York City.

While Zashin has been involved in several domestic violence cases, what makes Golan v. Saada unique is that it involves the Hague Convention.

Previously, the Supreme Court had heard only four cases regarding the Hague Convention, including Monasky v. Taglieri and this is the fifth, he told the CJN. Monasky, that focused primarily on the Habitual Residence issue in the convention. This case focuses on the Article 13(b) issue, which is an exception to Habitual Residence, grave risk of harm. So, it is like the flip-side of Monasky. These are the two issues are pillars of the entire 1980 Hague Convention of Child Abduction, and cases like this will be cited forever. My client is an abused woman, a mother, who is both sympathetic and in an intolerable situation. The idea of her returning to Milan is horrible, unjust, and contrary to the language and spirit of the treaty itself.

But Saadas legal team, led by Richard Min, partner at Green Kaminer Min & Rockmore LLP in New York City, notes the case demonstrates clear child abduction under the Hague Convention, requiring the child to be returned by international law.

I hope to use my expertise to advocate for a father who has been dealing with all of the complex effects of having his child taken from his home and extended family, Min told the CJN in an emailed statement. Decisions regarding the best interest of children should be decided by courts in their home country and parents should not be able to unilaterally abduct children with the aim of changing the jurisdiction of custody.

Min added that since the child had been taken to the United States, B.A.S. has been deprived of the love and support from the father and his extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who live in the same building.

Prior to the abduction, the child had daily contact with his extended family as well as weekly Shabbat meals and family gatherings, which he has since been denied, Min said.

Golan seeks 'get' from Saada

One of the other aspects of the case surrounds the claim that Golan has been denied a get, or a Jewish religious marriage divorce, from Saada.

As such, she cannot remarry or have traditionally Jewish children under Jewish law, Zashin said. It is the first time a woman in this position, a chained woman, an agunah, has made it to the Supreme Court. It may not move the legal needle so to speak, in this case, but it does describe the character of the individual demanding the return of the child to Italy. The ability for her to have a family, the ability to define the nature of your family, is a human right. And our client, Ms. Golan, is being denied that right.

But, Min noted that Saada has consistently said he has no problem with the get as soon as the child returns to Italy.

International importance

Michael P. Scharf, dean and the Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, who helped co-write a March 2021 amicus brief submitted by the Frederick K. Cox International Law Center at CWRU, said the Golan v. Saada case, along with the prior Monasky v. Taglieri case, is very important, because of the sheer number of Americans that live abroad, have kids abroad or are married to people who live abroad.

These are basically the two most important cases to be decided by any court in the world regarding this treaty, he told the CJN. The first case answered the question of what habitual residence means. This one focuses on the grave risk of harm, which is the exception of habitual residence. Theyre bookends of the Hague Convention.

Scharf said when the courts determined grave risk of harm but still moved to consider ameliorative measures was a weird decision.

The story is that if the court finds there is a grave risk of harm for the child, the court should not send the child back, full stop, he said. But the Second Circuit said what if we order these protective measures? These are just very involved things that the U.S. courts could ask the Italian courts to do. The U.S. can ask that they do it, and just have to hope they will. They cant follow up or complain about it if it isnt happening.

Something like that could cause issues in international relations, Scharf added.

In our brief, we say that this offends good neighborliness, he said. Two things could happen, both of them bad. The U.S. courts could defer wrongly to the Italian courts to enforce the ameliorative measures, or two, these orders could get in the way of U.S. foreign relations with Italy.

Decision could further clarify

Zashin said he hopes the hearing causes the Supreme Court to focus on the cases practical evidence, rather than just taking a legalistic look.

The child at issue here is 6 years old. He has lived in the United States for four years, and doesnt know his family overseas, he said. The court, practically speaking, should consider how much time has elapsed already, because of deficiencies in our own court system when it comes to handling Hague cases. The court should realize that sending the case back for more proceedings in the lower courts, which is a real possibility, would harm the child even more. The child at issue does not even speak Italian. Anything the lower courts can fashion in the way of ameliorative measures do not make sense anymore. Federal courts need to be streamlined when handling Hague cases. Therefore, remanding this case for further proceeding would be grossly unfair.

And the fact the case is being heard at all is a credit to our legal system, Zashin said.

This case has been going on for years, he said. There are so many unanswered questions in our system about how it can handle situations like this. So, we hope the Supreme Court is going to create some uniform procedural rules and not make the situation worse. Ideally, we want the court in this case to stop the delays, end all the court proceedings, and let the child stay in the only home he knows.

Min said his team hopes the child is instead returned to Italy in time for the custody proceedings scheduled for June.

Ultimately, a thorough best-interests analysis will also include an evaluation, not just of the father, but also of the mothers parental abilities and the risk she may herself present to the child, he said. These factors are critical to the custody case in Italy but have largely been ignored as it is not relevant to a Hague case, which serves only to highlight the differences between a custody case and a Hague abduction case.

But simply put, Zashin said, this sounds like a cliche, but this case will literally be one for the books.

Other than the custody hearing scheduled in Italy this spring, there is no currently established time frame for the opinion and vote.

This is a developing story. To read more about it, including Monasky v. Taglieri, visit cjn.org.

Publishers note: Andrew Zashin writes a monthly law column for Cleveland Jewish News.
The FBI has released a podcast in its Inside the FBI series called Hate Crimes: Investigating Cases, Supporting Victims, and Building Trust.

The March 11 podcast is narrated by Kristen Fletcher with the FBIs office of public affairs. She cited 2020 as having the highest number of hate crimes reported in more than a decade.

That year, according to the FBI, law enforcement agencies submitted incident reports involving 8,263 criminal incidents and 11,129 related offenses as being motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender and gender identity.

Community organizations, faith groups, and local leaders are also ringing alarm bells about an increase in hate speech and hate crimes, she said in the podcast.

[ Ohio hate crimes increased 55% after data glitch ]

Fletcher explained that hate crimes are the only crime where motive has to be proved.

In it, she posed the question, Why does this work matter?

Answers came from staff, including Regina Thompson, the head of the FBIs victim services division; Daudshah Andish, who leads the civil rights squad within the FBIs San Francisco field office.

The agents spoke about their personal connections to targeted groups as well. Andish is from Afghanistan and Thompson was a clinical social worker.

Hate crimes are different from other crimes of violence as they attack a person or a communitys identity  some core, immutable characteristic that strikes at the heart of who they are, Thompson said in the podcast. So, in essence, theyre being attacked for something that they cant change. Hate crimes are especially terrifying as they are a message crime, meaning that theyre meant to terrorize victims, their families, and also entire communities. They send the message that theyre unwelcome and unsafe where they live and where they work. It is also important to acknowledge that, due to the nature of hate crimes, victims of hate crimes may experience more psychological distress than victims of other types of violent crime.

In the podcast, Andish spoke of the impact of hate crimes on society.

Hate crimes attack and erode the basic fabric of our society, he said in the podcast. This is a free country. Everybody should be able to get out of their houses, enjoy the public spaces and go about their business without any fear of violence or retribution.

Andish spoke about the investigation.

We have to prove that the person that committed the crime had a bias towards that persons race, ethnicity, Andish said in the podcast. If it wasnt for that bias, the crime would not have otherwise occurred. So, its a really high bar when it comes to federal statutes and proving these beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. So, for investigators, its important at the very beginning of the case to make sure that those elements are present while investigating.

Andish spoke of the use of cell phone video in evidence as well as witness statements.

Really, what it comes down to is close collaboration with the local law enforcement, because were not first responders, Andish said. As you know, when hate crimes do occur, people tend to call 911 first. So, when the investigators show up on scene, they start interviewing people and they start gathering evidence. We have to depend on them initially to get all the facts of the case, and then we can determine a way forward.

Fletcher spoke about the role of the FBI in state cases, in areas like evidence collection and laboratory services, and it can offer expertise in identifying hate-based motivations. The FBI has also stepped in to provide publicity and rewards in an effort to solve cold cases.

The podcast highlighted the FBIs hate crime reporting campaign as well.

Thompson said, The victim services division plays a critical role in the campaign by ensuring that the FBIs national and local messaging is victim-centered, culturally sensitive, and tailored to community needs, all of which plays a major role in encouraging reporting and also making reporting mechanisms accessible to all communities.

In terms of services, first and foremost, victims can be expected to be treated with understanding, dignity, and respect. Victims will likely engage with a victim specialist, and they will assist with assessing safety and individual needs. They will discuss a wide range of emotional responses that people might feel, both directly in the aftermath and sometimes long after a crime has occurred. They will also connect them with needed counseling or medical services.

To learn more about how the FBI investigates hate crimes or to view data, visit fbi.gov/hatecrimes.

To report a hate crime, call 800-CALL-FBI, or visit tips.fbi.gov.

To view the podcast, visit bit.ly/3KRCS1H.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  The COVID-19 pandemic caused displacement of workers and skills mismatches in the Philippines, triggering a massive disruption of its labor market, the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday.

In its report titled Southeast Asia: Rising from the Pandemic, the ADB has warned that the countrys unemployment rate is still higher than in pre-pandemic 2019 and that many workers are logging fewer hours.

RELATED: PH unemployment rate rises to 6.6% in December, pushes 2021 tally to 3.7M

The pandemic saw a shift from formal, wage employment to informal, self-employment, according to ADB. Disruptions in education, training and earnings occurred amid the health crisis as well, disproportionately affecting youth and prime-age workers.

Industries with high-skill jobs like information and communication technology along with professional and business services were not hit as hard by job losses while employment-intensive sectors like tourism would take time to rebound, the report said.

The ADB also noted that the swift adoption of digital technologies in companies business models is seen to drive demand for new skills and reshape the labor market altogether.

There will be a higher number of job seekers, including people who lost their jobs, school dropouts, and new labor market entrants. The longer laid-off workers and new labor market entrants remain unemployed, the more likely they will become less employable because of lost skills, it stated.

Still, Philippine authorities implemented fiscal support measures such as unemployment benefits, cash transfers, livelihood assistance, wage subsidies, and aid for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help displaced workers and poor families deal with the impact of COVID-19, the regional lender noted.

It also cited the National Employment Recovery Strategy, a blueprint borne out of the dialogue among the government, businesses and workers on addressing the long-lasting effects of the health crisis on the labor market.

As the Philippines recovers from the pandemic, it will be important to implement effective policy measures to support workers labor market transitions as well as strengthen the resilience of MSMEs and support their future growth, the ADB said.

These measures must support the training and redeployment of workers which may be done through development of workplace skills, apprenticeship programs and innovative solutions to ensure trainings reach the disadvantaged. Among the recommended initiatives are in-person education and sessions in small groups for those without digital resources.

Investing in upskilling and reskilling is vital to support the reallocation of workers at risk of displacement and respond to changes in the demand for skills brought by automation, digitalization, and structural changes, the ADB stressed.

The government must also continue pushing for digitalization for MSMEs, said the ADB, which suggested state-funded technology extension programs and initiatives to strengthen the firms management skills.

Ultimately, the Philippine government must provide a well-funded unemployment insurance within the Social Security System. This will ensure income stability for workers should there be any major economic shocks and disruptions to the job market, the ADB added.

Empirical research shows that unemployment insurance simultaneously enhances productivity and stabilizes consumption, acting as an automatic stabilizer that cushions the impacts of economic crises and helps to prepare for the next growth period, the ADB explained.

The ADB expects the Philippine economy to grow by 6% this 2022, faster than its actual 5.6% pace in 2021 but short of the governments 7-9% target band for this year.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  The economic growth of Southeast Asia this year could still dwell way below what could have been its level if there was no COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

"For Southeast Asia as a group, the average expected output level in the region in 2021 and 2022 is at least 10% below its no-COVID output level," the regional lender said in its report Southeast Asia: Rising from the Pandemic released Wednesday.

The ADB said while Southeast Asia's prospects are better this year, its economic situation continues to be fragile. In 2021, the health crisis pushed 4.7 million into extreme poverty and slashed 9.3 million jobs in the region.

Huge income losses persist among households, and "traditional engines of growth" like hospitality, tourism, transport, and personal services have yet to see a rebound, it added.

The Philippines joins Cambodia, Malaysia, Lao PDR, and Thailand in having the highest output gap  or the difference between an economy's actual and potential output  within the region, the ADB said.

The ADB also acknowledged the "pressing concern" of stalled recovery due to a new wave of cases caused by Omicron. The region's economic expansion could be slashed by as much as 0.8 percentage points because of the dreaded variant, the ADB warned.

The pandemic bared several vulnerabilities in Southeast Asia's economic and social systems - such as a weak health system, limited social protection safety nets, and flaws in its trade and supply chains, the report said.

"Going forward, policy makers in the region should also focus on strengthening macroeconomic fundamentals and correct existing economic and financial imbalances," it added.

For instance, Southeast Asian economies must practice greater fiscal prudence to keep budget deficits and public debts at bay. But with priority spending such as healthcare system investments, stronger social protection measures, and support for small businesses remaining crucial, the ADB stressed that governments must fortify their use of mobile resources.

This could be done through stronger administration of taxes and introducing new ones along with reviewing tax spending, the ADB said. It also suggested better targeting, stronger partnership with the private sector, and usage of insurance markets.

Policy makers are also encouraged to maximize the current reform momentum in the region to build back better and greener.

"In much of Southeast Asia, there is a genuine desire to improve national health systems, to streamline domestic regulations and spur competitiveness, to invest in smart and clean infrastructure to boost growth, and to adopt technology and innovation to nurture a green economy," the ADB said.

It particularly batted for promoting people's health and well-being in the region; creating jobs and ramping up the market's reopening; building competitiveness and human capital; and for governments, leading efforts to care for the planet.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the Department of Finance's recommendations to provide additional assistance for poor households and to keep excise tax on fuel products amid consecutive price hikes, the Palace said on Wednesday.

Acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar made the confirmation during his noontime virtual briefing.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III proposed these during Tuesday's televised Cabinet meeting that aired Wednesday morning.

This is our firm recommendation, Mr. President. One, to retain the fuel excise tax imposed under TRAIN Law because we already budgeted it for salaries of school teachers; Build, Build, Build program; and other expenses, said Dominguez.

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law slaps an excise tax of 10 per liter for gasoline, 6 for diesel, 5 for kerosene, and 3 per kilogram for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

With this, Dominguez said they propose distributing unconditional cash transfers of 200 to each of the countrys bottom 50% households per month, totaling to 2,400 for a year. With 12 million households or 70 million individuals covered, the cash aid would cost the government 33.1 billion, he added.

This is a little more than what authorities expect to collect from additional value-added tax (VAT) on fuel given higher prices, noted Dominguez.

Assuming Dubai crude oil costs $110 per barrel, about 26 billion could be added to VAT revenues from March to December due to more expensive fuel prices, according to the Finance chief.

We realize that this is not enough but this is what we can afford as of this time. To make sure that our finances going forward, and especially for the next administration, are still going to be healthy, this I believe is what we can afford, Dominguez said of the proposed aid.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua also recommended such assistance for poor households.

Nagawa na po natin under TRAIN Law, so may experience na po tayo, may listahan na po tayo. At sila ay tutulungan muli natin para hindi po sila mahirapan, Chua explained.

[Translation: We have already done this under TRAIN Law, so we already have experience, we already have the lists. We will help them again, so that they wont have a hard time.]

The TRAIN law mandated cash subsidies for qualified poor households and individuals: 2,400 for the entire year in 2018, 3,600 in 2019 and another 3,600 in 2020.

The proposal of the DOF and the National Economic and Development Authority comes after the economic team doubled fuel subsidy funds for public transport drives to 5 billion, which will be distributed in two tranches this March and April.

Oil firms increased prices for the eleventh time in a row this week, hiking per liter prices of diesel by 13.15, gasoline by 7.10 and kerosene by 10.50.
Russian playwright Anton Chekhovs classic Uncle Vanya barely appears in Haruki Murakamis short story Drive My Car, about a theater director enveloped by grief and regret. But when Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi adapted it for the screen, Vanya became the films lifeline.

Hamaguchis characters are subdued; it is only when they started working on a production of the play did some degree of truth peek out. The filmmaker was surprised to see parallels between Vanya and Drive My Car protagonist Kafuku: The lines spoken by Vanya really match up with the feelings Kafuku has. Because I wasnt using [Murakamis devices of] flashback and inner monologue, this would also help express those things, he told the LA Times.

Interestingly, the films Vanya is multilingual, with actors hailing from different Asian countries. This choice, Hamaguchi explained in interviews, compels actors to connect more intensely. Even if its just one language you dont speak  lets say for me, its in English  Im not going to get everything, but Im going to base my understanding on nuances, emotions, things like that. And so Chekhovs dialogue is translated and acted out in the actors native languages, including Japanese, Mandarin, Korean Sign Language, and Filipino.

Perry Dizon, the Filipino stage and film actor who co-stars in Drive My Car, told Rappler that Hamaguchi directed the cast the same way the protagonist Kafuku directed his fictional Vanya production. You hear the lines over and over spoken in zero emotion on flat mode until somehow, you memorize your co-actors lines, unaware that your body is adapting and reacting to what is happening in the scene, he said. You find ease and comfort when you are with your co-actors speaking in Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Korean Sign Language, and, for my part, Tagalog.

Korean actor Jin Dae-yeon (left) and Filipino actor Perry Dizon (right) in "Drive My Car." Photo from JANUS FILMS/FACEBOOK

Uncle Vanya has been translated to Filipino before  most notable is Rolando Tinios Tiyo Vanya, which the National Artist penned in 1976. Aside from Chekhov, he had also translated the seminal works of Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, and Arthur Miller, among many others. In 1975, Tinio founded Teatro Pilipino with the mission to promote local theater and the national language through translated world classics and Filipino-made productions. Tiyo Vanya graced the stage as recently as 2016.

Dizon hypothesized that the Filipino Vanya lines he acted out in the film were sourced from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) archives, perhaps alluding to the Tinio translation. Philippine production coordinator Kristine Kintana tells CNN Philippines Life that while this was the original plan, pandemic restrictions pushed her to improvise.

When the Japanese production team expressed the need for a Filipino Vanya translation, Kintana reached out to actor and director Dennis Marasigan, who directed the 2016 restaging of Tiyo Vanya, and was one of the actors invited to audition for the part that eventually went to Dizon.

This was between June to October 2020, pandemic pa rin siya nang todo, Kintana says. Hindi mahanap ni Sir Dennis yung translation because of course he was at home [due to] the lockdown. Sarado rin daw yung CCP, Kintana says. Even though the production team has acquired the permission of Tinios son, Antonio Tonchi Tinio, to use his fathers translation, a copy of it was proving difficult to find, especially with having to work around so many limitations.

Thats when the films associate producer tapped Kintana to translate. She agreed, thinking she would only do it for the Filipino lines in the script. She says, But then they said na, can you translate the whole thing kasi malay mo may mga shots, during the rehearsal [scenes] kunyari, na makikita yung binabasa [ng characters]. Baka mahagip daw yung ibat-ibang parts [ng script]. So kinailangan kong i-translate yung buong Uncle Vanya.

Doing extensive translations is not new to Kintana  shes worked with Lav Diaz for a long time, providing the English-translated subtitles to his films. Still, this undertaking was admittedly daunting. Its from English to Filipino, tapos kahit kailan di pa ko nakakabasa ng Chekhov. May mga nuances dapat yan para ma-gets mo yung beats nila, yung pagka-dark ng humor, she says. Medyo mahirap siya, but it was very eye-opening.

Philippine production coordinator Kristine Kintana was tasked to translate "Uncle Vanya" to Filipino for the production of "Drive My Car." Photo courtesy of KRISTINE KINTANA

When Kintana confirmed with Hamaguchi that she would be translating, the filmmakers only instruction was to not make the dialogue, written by Chekhov in 1898, sound contemporary. Filipinos who watched Drive My Car could attest to Kintanas success  together with Dizons unmissable performance, the resulting play is equal parts inviting and contemplative.

I was surprised to hear that Kintana wrote the translation in just 2-3 days, considering the caliber in which it was made. On how she took the nuances of Chekhovs writing into account, she says, Like how he uses his words, even though it was the first time [I read it], you would get into his rhythm. Kung papaano niya sinasabi, ganoon mo na rin siya masusulat. Yung humor, nare-retain pa rin, plus yung desperation ng characters. She gives credit to the well-written English Vanya the Japanese production team gave her, which she used in her translation.

That said, not a lot of people know it was Kintana who supplied the translation. When Drive My Car came out, she sometimes posted about having translated the entire Uncle Vanya in Filipino, but only the films production team has a copy of her work.

Shes overjoyed at the films overwhelmingly positive reception, particularly its four Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, International Feature Film, and Adapted Screenplay. She shares that pre-production began as early as November 2019, and like the rest of the industry, it suffered major delays and pushbacks. Were proud kasi mahaba yung trabaho na ginawa namin, Kintana says. Fulfilling talaga.
United States President Joe Biden is set to make his first presidential visit to Europe to speak with NATO allies and discuss the Russia-Ukraine war since the fighting began three weeks ago that has resulted in more than three million refugees.

The Democratic leader will join other leaders of the trans-Atlantic alliance for the Mar. 24 meeting that is designed to showcase NATO unity in fighting against Russia over its war on Ukraine. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that Biden will discuss topics such as deterrence and defense efforts and reaffirm America's ironclad commitment to NATO allies.

Visit to Europe

Biden praised the growing efforts of the U.S. in assisting Ukraine by confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin while he signed a stopgap spending bill that will prevent a government shutdown. The U.S. government allocated roughly $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine and Eastern European allies with the help of the bill.

Joined by congressional leaders, Biden said that Putin's aggression against Ukraine had resulted in the unification of people throughout the U.S. He argued that the war has united Democrats and Republicans in Congress and united freedom-loving people worldwide, as per the New York Daily News.

Read Also: Russia Slaps Joe Biden, 12 Others With Sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Mocks Decision

On Tuesday, the White House reported that the number of refugees displaced by the Russia-Ukraine war has surpassed three million as Moscow continues its airstrikes. Despite going on for nearly a month, Russia has yet to conquer any of Ukraine's 10 biggest cities. Local authorities in Kyiv said on Tuesday that bombardments in the region resulted in the death of at least five people as buildings were set on fire and others were buried under rubble.

The local council added that roughly 2,000 cars fled the southern port city of Mariupol, which has become the location of the worst humanitarian crisis in the region. The United Nations said that among the three million refugees, 1.8 million arrived in neighboring Poland. The country's prime minister and those of Slovenia and the Czech Republic traveled to Kyiv on Tuesday to show solidarity with Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine War

According to Reuters, in a Twitter post, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the meeting on Mar. 24 will include discussions addressing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and NATO's support of the latter. Psaki said that Biden's attendance will seek to meet in person and assess with other leaders where the world is amid the conflict.

The situation comes as Putin announced "retaliatory sanctions" against President Biden, several top U.S. officials, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Hunter Biden. Russian state-owned news agency Tass said that on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry imposed "personal sanctions against representatives of the U.S. leadership and persons associated with them."

The announcement said that starting Mar. 15, Biden and the other affected individuals will be placed on a Russian "stop list" on the "basis of reciprocity departments and well-known American figures. The other personnel included are Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, national security adviser Jake Sullivan, CIA Director William Burns, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and several others, Fox News reported.



Related Article: Joe Biden, US 'Watching Very Closely' China's Potential Russia Aid; Investor Warns About World War 3

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) confirmed that it has been demanding the family of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos to settle their estate tax debt -- an amount the camp of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno claimed to have ballooned to over 200 billion.

"The BIR did send a written demand letter to the Marcos heirs on Dec. 02, 2021 regarding their tax liabilities," BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay said in a letter addressed to Aksyon Demokratiko chairman Ernest Ramel, Jr.

The response letter, dated March 14, was shown to the media on Wednesday.

Ramel hit the camp of presidential hopeful Bongbong Marcos, branding them as "liars who invent stories and create their own truth" and who continue to deceive the Filipino people.

Marcos' spokesperson Atty. Vic Rodriguez earlier claimed the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the BIR have agreed "to wait for the decision on the said case before any collection enforcement activities."

The PCGG, however, said on Tuesday the claim "may not be accurate."

While it did have a verbal understanding with the BIR in 2003, the PCGG said Rodriguez's statement could be inaccurate, considering that the judgment on the tax case had already become final and executory in 1997 following a Supreme Court decision.

READ: PCGG letter to Aksyon: Marcos camp's claim on estate tax debt 'may not be accurate'

Reacting to the PCGG's response to Marcos' claim, former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said the heirs of the late dictator "are not parties to the verbal agreement" of the two government agencies.

"Besides, the reason for the agreement is to collect the estate tax from Marcos assets that are not yet in custodia legis or in the custody of the court so as to maximize the collection of the government," he said in a statement.

Carpio also stressed that the Marcoses "cannot use this verbal agreement between two government agencies as excuse for not paying the estate tax immediately."

"The verbal agreement was never intended in any way to delay or suspend the collection of the estate tax," he added.

What if Bongbong wins?

The Aksyon Demokratiko presidential warned about the fate of the estimated 203 billion tax liabilities of the dictators heirs if Marcos wins the 2022 polls.

"Kapag na-elect ang pamilya na 'yon at sila magpapatakbo ng gobyerno ng anim na taon, maba-balewala na yong 200 billion," Moreno said while campaigning in Silay City, Negros Occidental on Wednesday.

[Translation: If that (Marcos) family is elected and runs the government for the next six years, the 200 billion tax liabilities will be forgotten.]

Moreno said the Marcos family should voluntarily pay the amount to show their sincerity for the welfare of the Filipino people.

"Kung ako sa kanila, tutal marami naman silang pera, malaking bagay ito para makatulong sa ating mga kababayan. Sana ikusa na nila, huwag ng humanap ng ways on how to circumvent, o paano mapalusutan yung mga batas na umiiral sa pagbu-buwis," added Moreno.

[Translation: If it were up to me, since they are so rich, these (tax liabilities) will be a big help for our countrymen -- I hope they voluntarily settle and not find ways to circumvent or dodge prevailing tax laws.]

If elected on May 9, Moreno vowed to use the money for the country's economic recovery from the pandemic, as cash aid to the jobless and people affected by the rising fuel costs.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  The president of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians backs the vaccine expert panels recommendation to give another round of booster shot to the elderly and persons with underlying illness.

Dr. Imelda Mateo, an internist and pulmunologist, said that a fourth dose or a second booster shot could help maintain the moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals protection against COVID-19 after studies showed SARS-COV2 fighting antibodies decline within three to four months from the booster shot.

She explained that although studies showed there is a relatively small increase in efficacy between the third and fourth doses, that small percentage of additional protection would help prevent people with weak immune system from getting severe infection.

Sa may immunocompromised, we need the small percent increase in protection kasi immunocompromised ka nga kaya need ng additional protection [because you're incompromised that's why you need additional protection]," Dr. Mateo said in a forum hosted by the Department of Health (DOH). "So, this small additional protection could be useful for high-risk groups during a surge.

We want to be protected, let us prepare for another surge because ang nearby countries natin tumataaas ang cases nila [cases in countries near us are surging]... We want to be protected and hopefully not with another surge by a fourth dose, she added.

The DOST-Vaccine Expert Panel has recommended a fourth dose or a second booster to the moderately and severely immunocompromised, and individuals most vulnerable to severe forms of COVID-19 such as the elderly.

Also recommended to take another round of extra dose are workers often exposed to people who are likely infected with COVID-19 like health workers and airport personnel. This is recommended to be given after the third or fourth month of getting a third dose.

The interval that they recommend between the third and fourth doses should be at least four months," Mateo pointed out. "But by the physicians assessment if one is severely immunocompromised, you can give the fourth dose or second booster as early as the third month.

The DOH-All Experts Group is still looking at the dosing requirement. Once they finished the review, the DOH will seek an amendment to the current vaccines FDA permit for emergency use .

So, DOH pagkatapos makapag usap with All Experts Group, mag-apply ang DOH for an amended EUA so that we can be able to do this fourth doses," Health Undersecretary and spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said. "So ngayon po pinag-aaralang mabuti at kapag nakapagtapos na ng pag-uusap tayo ay mag a-apply ng amended EUA (emergency use authorization) for fourth doses of senior citizens and immunocompromised individuals.

[Translation: After speaking with the All Experts Group, the DOH will apply for an amended EUA so that we can be able to do this fourth doses.So, now we are closely studying this and after all discussions, we will apply for an amended EUA for fourth doses of senior citizen and immunocompromised individuals.]

RELATED: PH likely to approve 2nd booster shot for seniors, with weak immunity, Duterte adviser says

4th dose vs. 2nd booster

Mateo explained that a fourth dose refers to the fourth COVID-19 vaccine administered if it is the same platform or brand with the primary series and first booster shot. Meanwhile, a second dose refers to the booster shot of different platform than the primary series.

Which countries are already giving a 4th dose or 2nd booster shot?

Israel is already giving a fourth dose to aged 60 and older, immunocompromised and medical workers.

In Chile, it is administered to immunocompromised and ages 5 and older at sixth month after the first booster.

In the United States, the Center for Diseases Control recommended four COVID-19 vaccine doses for people aged 12 and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. It includes those who are undergoing cancer treatments, had organ transplant, have HIV infections and autoimmune disorders.

In the United Kingdom, a fourth dose is given to the elderly and people with severely weakened immune system

Cambodia, Denmark and Sweden are also planning to offer this to specific groups.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  As the government deliberates on the health protocols that will remain under Alert Level 0, President Rodrigo Duterte urges the public to keep wearing face masks to protect them against COVID-19.

He said the virus is still present and continues to mutate so there is a need to stay protected.

"One of the best defenses we have, humans really adapted to, is the wearing of the mask," Duterte said in a pre-recorded address that aired on Wednesday.

"Wearing of the mask, maski mag-abot tayo ng [alert level] 0, it is good to just wear a mask kasi yun ang nakakapigil ng talagang widespread, uncontrolled contamination," he also said.

[Translation: Wearing of the mask even if we reach alert level 0 is good because it can prevent widespread and uncontrolled contamination.]

The government will only consider placing the entire country under Alert Level 0  in other words, removing the alert level system  once the World Health Organization lifts the state of COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr said last week.

Duterte also asked Health Secretary Francisco Duque III if the Omicron BA.2.2 subvariant can hit the Philippines in the same way it is affecting Hong Kong.

The health chief replied it is possible, but its effect is not yet clear since the Philippines recently recovered from the surge caused by the BA.2 subvariant.

Duque also said the country has better vaccination coverage for senior citizens compared to the vaccination rate in Hong Kong.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16) The 200 monthly cash assistance promised to the country's vulnerable sector may not be enough amid the continuous fuel price hikes and the current cost of living, senators said on Wednesday.

"[N]apakaliit hindi kakayanin 'yun, hindi makakasapat (It's a small amount, it won't be enough)," Sen. Ping Lacson told reporters.

Sen. Grace Poe echoed the sentiment, calling the allocation  equivalent to 6.66 per day  a "pittance."

"It can't even get one a jeepney ride to the minimum distance," she said in a separate statement. "Our people deserve more amid the battering of the high cost of living, joblessness and continuing impact of the pandemic."

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan also expressed concern over the matter, noting that the amount won't be able to cover basic necessities.

The lawmakers instead reiterated the call for the government to suspend excise tax on fuel products  despite President Rodrigo Duterte deciding to keep it.

Over at the lower chamber, House Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Stella Quimbo is also pushing the proposal for the tax suspension.

"The DOF (Department of Finance) is willing to spend 33 billion for this 200 per family per month, right? So 33 is about a third of the 105 billion that DOF says they collect from excise tax. So if they are willing to spend 33 billion then they should also be willing to forego the collection of 33 billion from excise taxes," Quimbo told CNN Philippines' The Final Word, suggesting that the government should be "more accepting" of the recommendation.

Nonetheless, Quimbo said Congress would be "absolutely ready" for a special session on the issue should Duterte call for one.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  The Department of Labor and Employment has sought President Rodrigo Duterte's approval to give wage subsidy to minimum wage earners as fuel prices continue to soar.

DOLE said the proposed P24-billion wage subsidy could benefit about 1 million minimum wage earners for three months. If approved, its distribution is being eyed from April to June.

"Given the indirect impact of the global tension to the Philippine economy, nakikita po namin, Mr. President, na ang wage subsidy ay importante pa rin para sa manggagawang Pilipino," Labor Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said in a meeting with Duterte that aired on Wednesday.

[Translation: We're seeing that the wage subsidy will be important for the workers.]

The labor official added subsidies may also be extended to vulnerable workers severely affected by fuel prices and its domino effect on prices of basic goods.

DOLE added that the proposed three tranches of wage subsidy would give Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board enough time to deliberate on petitions to hike the minimum wage salary.

Tutay said eight petitions from six regions have been filed so far.

"Any adjustment in the minimum wage at this time shall focus on the recovery of erosion or lost purchasing power of workers," she said.

Duterte approved the proposal of the Department of Finance to distribute unconditional cash transfers of 200 to each of the country's "bottom 50%" households per month, totaling to 2,400 in a year's time amid 11 consecutive price hikes. At the same time, he agreed to retain the excise tax on fuel products.

Cabinet officials also proposed a four-day work week set-up so workers can cut down on transportation cost.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  Police have identified at least eight suspects linked to the disappearance of more than 30 cockfight players and enthusiasts, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said on Wednesday.

Nais namin ibalita na at least eight suspects ang ating na-identify, said Ano during President Rodrigo Dutertes weekly public address.

[Translation: We would like to report that at least eight suspects have been identified.]

Sa oras na makuha natin ang sapat na ebidensya ay hihingin na natin ang tulong ng korte," he also said. "Sa bisa ng mga warrant, agad natin na hahanapin ang mga suspects na ito upang mabigyang linaw na ang mga insidente.

[Translation: We will seek assistance from the court once we gathered enough evidence. Through warrants, we will immediately look for these suspects to shed light on the incidents.]

The Philippine National Police has created a special investigation task group to look into the disappearance of 31 cockfight players in e-sabong or online cockfights since last year.

Based on police observation, Ano said that most of the persons of interest are either security or management personnel of cockpit arenas.

Moreover, the police also noticed that the last location of missing persons where within the premises of cockpit arenas and all involved arenas have no CCTVs installed.

Authorities also noted that all the cockpit arenas being investigated are managed by the same administrator and operator, said Ano.

Investigation likewise showed that most of the vehicles used by the missing individuals were abandoned near their residences.

The Senate earlier transmitted a resolution to Malacanang and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. seeking to suspend e-sabong operations following the reports of disappearances.

However, President Duterte rejected the suspension as the e-sabong generates billions of revenues for the country.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  Malacanang stood by President Rodrigo Duterte's move to appoint Aimee Torrefranca-Neri to the Commission on Elections amid calls for her to resign due to her involvement in a multi-million bribery allegation.

During a virtual briefing on Wednesday, acting Duterte spokesman Martin Andanar described Neri's appointment as a "presidential prerogative."

"The Commissioner is the personal choice of the President, having served as the President's lawyer in the gender office in Davao. Dumaan po sa vetting process ang kanyang appointment," said Andanar.

[Translation: Her appointment went through the vetting process.]

During her time at the Davao City Mayor's office, Neri served as special counsel for violence against women and children.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon earlier urged her to resign even before she faces the Commission on Appointments, stressing that the panel "takes this matter seriously."

Convicted drug lord Herbert Colangco's lawyer Ferdinand Topacio told ABS-CBN on March 11 that his client gave 10 million to then-Justice Assistant Secretary Neri to "fix" his pending robbery case in the Supreme Court. She apparently returned only 7 million after Colangco was ultimately convicted in 2018, Topacio said.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said Neri told him she is willing to address the allegation against her in due time.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16) The government will protest the reported continuous incursions in the Philippine Rise, Malacanang assured on Wednesday.

Pagdating po naman sa [When it comes to the] Philippine Rise, the Department of Foreign Affairs will take the necessary course of action which is to file a diplomatic protest, acting presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar said in a briefing, reacting to a recent revelation by the National Security Council (NSC).

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, NSC Deputy Director General Rufino Lopez, Jr. said the Coast Guard and the Navy are working to conduct a proper report of all the incursions in the resource-rich Philippine Rise, also called the Benham Rise.

No further details were provided as of publishing.

The Philippine Rise is an undersea plateau 217 kilometers off the coast of Aurora. The United Nations in 2012 ruled the Philippines had sovereign rights over the feature as part of its continental shelf.

But China, in 2018, gave names to some undersea features in the Philippine Rise  a development the government slammed at the time.

RELATED: Palace: PH won't recognize Chinese names of Benham Rise features
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 16)  Despite a wide gap between the survey numbers of presidential bets Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos and Vice President Leni Robredo, her camp is confident that the next poll will reflect the huge turnout at her rallies.

Speaking to CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday, Robredo's spokesperson Barry Gutierrez hit back at Marcos' spokesperson Vic Rodriguez for claiming that the survey frontrunner is "winning the battle with the Filipino people," unlike other candidates who are claiming victory on Twitter and Google searches.

Gutierrez noted that the recent survey does not yet reflect the "snowballing" of support from people who are actively campaigning for Robredo on the ground.

"One thing he can't argue with is the massive energetic support that has greeted the Vice President in every place she has gone to over the course of the first month of the official campaign," Gutierrez said.

"To demonstrate that they're really worried about it, the attacks on the Vice President have stepped up. The attention to discredit the number of people to go there, the attempts to discredit their motivations, I think that's a clear indicator that they see what's going on," he said. "They see the snowballing of support on the ground  actual people, not simply survey respondents or internet trolls  and that has got them worried."

"I have seen video footages of Vic Rodriguez's principal, you can see in some of the rallies that they've held, even in places where they're supposedly ahead in terms of the survey, they have sparse crowds. The people there are kind of low-energy, it seems theyre not really invested in what is going on," he added.

Marcos and his running mate Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte have maintained their lead in the latest Pulse Asia survey conducted Feb. 18-23.

Marcos kept his 60% rating while Robredo, who saw her numbers slide from 16% to 15%, remained on the second spot.

READ: Marcos-Duterte tandem maintains lead in Pulse Asia survey

Gutierrez also stressed that despite this wide gap, Marcos' 60% rating does not guarantee a solid vote among survey respondents, since he did not get a perfect rating when the people were surveyed about the candidate who best fits the criteria for ideal president.

Nonetheless, Marcos still topped the survey, with 41% thinking he is the "least corrupt," 47% believing that he has "the greatest concern for the poor," and 53% thinking he is "the most honest and trustworthy." Robredo followed suit, scoring15%, 18%, and 16% in these categories.

Gutierrez also expressed confidence that Robredo would get even more than a 20% voting preference in the next poll.

Robredo's proclamation rally last Feb. 8 started in her hometown Naga City, drawing up around 15,000 pink-clad supporters. Around 40,000 showed up for her rally in Bulacan, 47,000 in Cavite, and 40,000 in Iloilo in the succeeding weeks. On March 11, she gathered the largest campaign crowd of over 86,000 in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.

The Marcos' camp has claimed that the UniTeam's caravan and rally in the cities of Muntinlupa and Las Pinas on March 13 drew 500,000 people, but the Las Pinas police has clarified that only 18,000 people showed up for the campaign activities that day.

READ: FACT CHECK: Only 18,000 attended UniTeams Las Pinas rally, caravan  police

Marcos has also been drawing huge crowds in his campaign activities, with February's Bacolod rally drawing up around 70,000, according to Negros Occidental Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer.

CNN Philippines' Glee Jalea and Rex Remitio have contributed to this report.
Cotabato City (CNN Philippines, March 17)  Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said they hope Vice President Leni Robredo would continue the peace process in the region if she is elected president.

Robredo on Wednesday visited the Bangsamoro Government Center and met with Ebrahim and BARMM Cabinet officials.

Ebrahim explained it is crucial for them to engage with like-minded leaders who have the political will to continue the peace process.

We look forward with the Vice President to be our next president in order to achieve the continuity we need for the implementation of the peace process, he said.

He also recognized Robredos contribution in crafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which created the BARMM.

There are only some incidents that took place at the last part of the administration of late President Noynoy (Aquino) that prevented the establishment of BARMM, he said, referring to the 2015 Mamasapano clash that killed 44 Special Action Force commandos and stalled the passage of the BBL.

Robredo admitted that it was an emotional decision to be a co-author of the BBL when she was still the representative of Camarines Sur. She said it felt like continuing the advocacy left by her late husband, former Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

I was a witness as to how former President Aquino was very passionate about passing the BBL during his term pero sabi nga ni Chief Minister (but just like what Chief Minister said), because of the unfortunate incident that happened in Mamasapano, hindi napasa yun (it was not passed) during the time that I was in Congress, she explained.

Robredo also affirmed her full commitment to the peace process if elected president because the BARMM, she said, still needs a lot of help from the national government to make sure that everything that will be implemented in the manner that you hope it would be implemented.

I will be with you 100% in making sure that all available government help will be at your disposal to make sure that under my administration, we will be able to really achieve what we had long for, for so long, Robredo added.

The BARMM is currently in the transition period which, according to Ebrahim, is one of the most crucial phases of any peace process. It is during this period that the bureaucracy, systems, processes and laws needed for a responsive and progressive Bangsamoro government are put in place.

The transition period is also a golden opportunity to implement major reforms and programs for the betterment of the people and to give justice to the sacrifice of the mujahideens (fighters) and the communities that went through so many pains and suffering for the sake of this struggle, Ebrahim explained.

Robredo said she believes it is only when justice is served that peace will prevail.
In a significant concession that might open the door to peace, Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that Ukraine will never join NATO.

President Zelensky acknowledged that his country's possible membership in the defense alliance was now in jeopardy, fulfilling a key demand of warmongering Vladimir Putin. Next week, President Joe Biden will go to Europe for face-to-face meetings with EU leaders as well as an exceptional Nato summit in Brussels.

Zelensky on Ceasefire Efforts With Vladimir Putin

However, Volodymyr Zelensky, who supported membership before Russia destroyed his country, is now claimed to have "cooled" on the concept. He claimed talks on a possible ceasefire were proceeding "very well," despite reports that Russia had modified its stance and stopped making demands for Ukraine's capitulation.

On the 20th day of the battle, however, courageous Ukrainians refused to surrender, with one legislator pledging to "grind" the Russians until Putin acknowledges defeat. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair questioned NATO's only peace-keeping mission Wednesday night, calling it a "weird" ploy to rule out military action against Russia, The Sun reported.

While he made no formal guarantees, his comments may be perceived as further opening the door to a peace accord between Ukraine and Russia after negotiators hailed 'substantial' progress over the weekend without offering any indication of what such a deal would look like.

Putin had demanded guarantees that Ukraine would never be joined to NATO, as well as the expulsion of all NATO soldiers and weaponry from ex-Soviet nations, before the attack. He started his special military operation' to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine after being rejected by Kyiv, Washington, and NATO.

Since then, Russian negotiators have modified their stance, stating they want Ukraine to proclaim neutrality, disarm, recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and recognize the Donbas as a separate entity. Ukraine has demanded a cease-fire and the departure of all Russian soldiers immediately. This week's talks are still underway, and Moscow has made no mention of broader demands for NATO in recent days.

Zelensky encouraged Western partners to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine once more, lamenting NATO's failure to do so thus far, adding that the catastrophic situation in his nation had prompted him to do so. He said, "[It] allowed us to see who our true friends are these past 20 days."

Read Also: Sen. Lindsay Graham says that Putin Played Joe Biden Well, He Knew the Weakness of the US President

Ukraine May Need Separate Security Guarantees

Ihor Zhovkva, another President Zelenskyy aide, had sounded a more upbeat note earlier in the day, claiming that the talks had become "more fruitful" and that Russia had modified its stance by no longer making demands for Ukraine's capitulation.

Any agreement between Moscow and Kyiv would confront a slew of challenges, including whether forces would respect a truce and if Russia could be trusted to fulfill its word. However, both sides appear to be softening to the notion of a truce, which would allow Ukraine to deliver desperately needed humanitarian goods to cities that have been under siege for weeks, according to Daily Mail.

Without NATO membership, Ukraine requires "new structures of contact with the West and independent security assurances," according to Zelensky.

Although Zelensky's remarks were not a formal concession in discussions with Russia, stating that Ukraine will not pursue NATO membership may not be enough to appease Putin. The Kremlin wants specific modifications to Ukraine's constitution to prevent the country from joining NATO or the EU.

Russia's overarching objective is to demilitarize Ukraine, which Zelensky cannot accept if he wants to secure his country's survival, but Ukraine's acceptance of not joining NATO might open the door for talks.

Conceding on the matter, however, cannot imply that Ukraine foregoes the international assistance it presently gets. Ukraine has been receiving military weaponry from the US and other countries to assist it in mounting its defense against Russian strikes. It's uncertain if Russia would accept a deal, as per Newsweek via MSN.

Related Article: Russian Soldiers Admit Vladimir Putin's Ukraine Invasion Is "Terrible Mistake" After Hearing Their Air Force Bombs Public Places

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Mandaluyong City (CNN Philippines, March 17)  Presidential candidate Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. has claimed that theres a lot of fake news involved in his familys unpaid estate taxes despite the 1997 Supreme Court ruling that they must settle their tax liabilities.

During the Kapihan Sa Manila Bay media forum on Wednesday, he faced a number of issues hounding his presidential bid. One of them is the Marcos familys unsettled estate tax liabilities that may have reached 203 billion as of 2021 from 23 billion in 1997.

Well, theres a lot of fake news involved there. Lets leave it to the lawyers to discuss it, he said when asked about his familys unpaid estate taxes.

The so-called facts that they call are not facts at all. Theyre just presumptions, he added.

The son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. also said he is not familiar with the case and he will just follow the courts decision.

In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that the Marcos family must settle their unpaid estate taxes.

Written demand

Hours after the media forum, the Aksyon Demokratiko party of presidential bet Manila Mayor Isko Moreno showed a letter supposedly from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

We have received a copy of a letter of Commissioner (Caesar) Dulay ng BIR na sinulatan sila noong December 2, 2021, na sinisingil na ng buwis ang pamilya Marcos sapagkat ito raw ay marapat lang na mapunta sa gobyerno. If that is the case, this is a very good asset, malaking pera ito, 200 billion na pwede nating ipang-ayuda sa tao, Moreno said in an ambush interview during his campaign activities in Silay City, Negros Occidental.

[Translation: We have received a copy of a letter of Commissioner Caesar Dulay of BIR stating that last December 2, 2021, they demanded that the Marcos family pay their estate taxes because it must be given to the government. If that is the case, this is a very good asset, this is a huge money, 200 billion that we can give as aid to the people.]

READ: BIR says it sent written demand to Marcos family to pay tax liabilities in late 2021
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Women protest against the six-week abortion ban at the Capitol in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. The law restricting the procedure went into effect Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to rule on an emergency appeal to put the law on hold.
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The Russian journalist identified as Marina Ovsyannikova who works as an editor at state-controlled Channel one has resurfaced after her disappearance following her protest against the Russia-Ukraine war on live TV.

Ovsyannikova said that he was detained after her actions on the news outlet on Monday and claims she was interrogated for 14 hours and has not slept for the last two days. She also said that authorities banned her from having access to legal assistance for her situation.

Russian Journalist

Officials have also fined the journalist for her actions that totaled 30,000 rubles, equivalent to roughly $280. Authorities also charged her with organizing an unauthorized public event, which she pleaded not guilty to.

During a pre-recorded video, Ovsyannikova urged other Russian citizens to fight against propaganda and protest against the war on Ukraine. She said that only the people of the country had the power to "stop all this madness." In her recording, the journalist said that the Russian government would not be able to imprison every single citizen, as per BBC.

In a court appearance on Tuesday, Ovsyannikova refused to retract her statement against Russia's war on Ukraine. After her protest on live TV, the journalist's whereabouts were in question before she appeared in a district court, sitting next to her lawyer.

Human rights attorney Sergei Badamshin said that the charge against the journalist stemmed not from her actions on Channel one, but from her pre-recorded video message. After her court appearance, Ovsyannikova briefly talked to journalists, expressing her gratitude for the support she had received.

Read Also: Russia Slaps Joe Biden, 12 Others With Sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Mocks Decision

According to NPR, Badamshin noted that under Russian law, police officers are barred from arresting mothers on administrative charges if their children are younger than 14. Ovsyannikova has two children, an 11-year-old and a 17-year-old. The journalist was still wearing the blue, yellow, and white necklace that she wore during her protest on Channel one.

Escalating Tensions

During a news briefing on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Ovsyannikova's actions as "hooliganism" and added that Channel one, not the Kremlin, was responsible for dealing with the issue.

The journalist's act of protest has become an act of great personal risk in Russia after authorities passed a law that banned the spread of "fake news." Moscow has continued to tighten its propaganda machine regarding the war on Ukraine. Many leaders and international organizations expressed concern for Ovsyannikova's personal safety.

In an interview with reporters, Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, said that Russian authorities should ensure that Ovsyannikova does not "face any reprisals for exercising her right to freedom of expression."

A junior minister in Britain's Foreign Office, James Cleverly, said on Tuesday that the country was worried for Ovsyannikova's safety. He said that her actions showed a great degree of bravery in what is considered an authoritarian state.

French President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, said he would bring up the journalist's case the next time he speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He said that they will launch diplomatic efforts to offer Ovsyannikova protection, either at the embassy or through asylum, the Washington Post reported.



Related Article: Russian Soldiers Admit Vladimir Putin's Ukraine Invasion Is "Terrible Mistake" After Hearing Their Air Force Bombs Public Places

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After reportedly being caught forcing his six-year-old son to run on a treadmill for "being too fat," a New Jersey father has been charged with murder in connection with his kid's death.

Christopher Gregor's kid repeatedly fell off a treadmill, which he forced his son to use in a warped attempt to lose weight. This one especially horrific event was recorded on surveillance film examined by the police.

According to a joint news statement, the Ocean County Medical Examiner's Office found last year that Corey Micciolo died on April 2, 2021, of "sustained injuries attributable to blunt force trauma."

NJ Father Abuses, Endangers Son Before His Death

Officials discovered evidence that Gregor harmed his kid at the time, and he was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer and Barnegat Township Police Chief Keith Germain, Gregor was arrested last Wednesday; and his charges were raised to murder after an expert assessment of the evidence.

The youngster was only identified by his initials C.M. in the press release, but his complete name was listed in an obituary posted online by Lester Memorial Home.

As reported by Asbury Park Press, unreleased security footage used in an affidavit of probable cause shows Gregor and Corey at a local fitness club called the Atlantic Heights Clubhouse on March 20. In the video, Corey could be seen jogging on a treadmill while Gregor approached it and increased the speed.

According to the video, Corey kept falling off the treadmill while Gregor continued picking him up and putting him back on. According to the news site, Gregor was seen biting his son on the back of the head before pushing him to flee again.

Breanna Micciolo, who shared custody of Corey with Gregor, saw her son's bruises a few days later and reported them to the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency's caseworker.

On April 2, she took Corey to the doctor, where he said his father had him exercise on the treadmill because he was too big. The next day, he died. Gregor is being detained at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River for a detention hearing. It's unclear whether or not a bail amount has been established, Daily Mail reported.

Read Also: China Stocks Crash: Alibaba, Other Chinese Tech Companies Suffer After US SEC Reveals Possible Delisting

Suspect Tries To Escape But Fails

Gregor had been in his son's life for two years, according to the document, but there had been various custody difficulties throughout that time. According to the complaint, he informed someone that when he found out he had a son, he battled for full custody and won "against a former heroin and meth addict."

According to the probable cause affidavit released last week, both parents Gregor and Breanna Micciolo made allegations of child abuse, with 14 complaints of injury to Corey Micciolo made to the New Jersey Division of Child Permanency and Protection.

Gregor was accused of abuse in seven of the allegations while Micciolo and her family were accused of abuse in five of them. Within an hour after leaving the hospital following Corey's death, Gregor contacted his parents to say he wouldn't be back for a time and to look after his dog, according to the affidavit.

As stated in the affidavit, he was tracked down to Arkansas and then Tennessee two days later. According to the affidavit, he informed a lady in a Tinder message that he was going to see his brother in LA the same day. He was apprehended by local police in Tennessee with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, who indicated she would fly down to Tennessee and drive back to New Jersey with him after he messaged her.

Micciolo had accused Gregor of molesting the youngster on several occasions, but Gregor denied it. In the affidavit, a woman who met Gregor on a dating service in April 2020 said she broke up with him after noting "red flags," including one event during which the woman said Gregor became enraged and shoved Corey over the boat while crabbing. According to the affidavit, he subsequently stated that he was "roughhousing."

Breanna Micciolo started a private Facebook group called Justice for Corey after her son died to seek awareness for his cause. It now has over 18,000 members, as per Patch.

Related Article: Anna Delvey Now: Scammer Socialite 'Furious' Over Deportation Decision [REPORT]

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As the Cubs were beating the Braves 6-3 Wednesday night Steve left to see the game with his mom and dad, Reva and Harold, brother Ron and baby niece Elizabeth Henney. He left behind to run the store his wife Kathleen (Knight), Amelia (27), Nathan (24) and his beloved cat Lewis Black. His sis
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Rick Grenell deplored how Secretary of State Antony Blinken is undermining his diplomatic job in trying to find ways to stop the Ukraine Conflict. The ex-Ambassador and acting National Intelligence Director said that the State Secretary should try to convince European countries to intercede and apply pressure, not hold back. He concluded that the Biden official is more interested in ignoring diplomacy and sending jets to rile up Moscow instead.

Grenell Pushes for Diplomacy

The former Trump ambassador spoke to Newsmax TV about how he saw the state department become lazy lately, instead, let the warmongers do the talking, not US ambassadors well suited for the job.

He said that especially now with a shooting war, that will benefit if diplomacy is used. Stressing now that bombs have gone off; the Biden administration should consider it; reported Newsmax.

Now there should be a flurry of meetings and diplomatic thrusts going on all over the Bloc and NATO. Why the reservation for diplomacy which is to deflate is puzzling

Though there is a spate of talks here and there about the Moscow-Kyiv conflict, another one goes on behind the scenes that are crucial as well.

Prudent diplomats should keep their opinions in general, not tell them in public; only keep the general details.

Ric Grenell added that the media should not know everything about issues until everything about it can be settled with satisfaction. Also, good diplomacy will not get everything done but the important goal like stopping the Ukraine conflict.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Net Worth 2022: Does Anyone Know Russian President's Hidden Wealth?

Competent negotiators on the team will do better for any side, cites Now Trending.

Grenell spoke of what Germany did under Chancellor Angela Merkel for 16 years as she kept a good relationship with Moscow. When Olaf Scholz replaced her, the new Chancellor said no more and paid their due. They stopped buying Russian gas and oil.

He claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin's reputation made a mistake rolling into Ukraine.

Furthermore, few countries will support Russia as pressure for sanction grows. There was energy independence in the Donald Trump administration when the US did not need any outside help. An offshoot is a peace that the administration did with its misguided priorities.

If the Biden administration wants to see less price at the pump, it should stop its anti-fossil fuel policy. Allow companies to find energy, not buy from adversaries with oil and gas; the president was ripped for such an idea.

The US Needs Solid Leadership

Joe Biden once said America is back; soon after Afghanistan fell; earlier, his action undid the stable border under President Trump.

To many, the president is a wisp with no hallmarks of solid leaders and a Democrat. Many think the US leader becomes an object, nothing more; allies and enemies disregard him.

Without the leadership of someone opposite of the 46th president who sunk in the polls. It is undeniable to Ric Grenell that a lack of diplomacy caused the Ukraine conflict, and leadership is the culprit. The American people should first, not last; Joe Biden has not delivered.

Related Article: Joe Biden's Weakness Incited the Ukraine Invasion To Happen; Vladimir Putin Pushed Ahead Amid Recent Sanctions

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Often maligned as a tool for illicit activities, Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies have become something of a lifeline to Ukrainians as donors have been using the digital tokens to fund various war-related causes.

More than 120,000 cryptoasset donations totaling about $63.8 million have been funneled to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion, according to according to Elliptic, a blockchain analysis company.

Thats going to top $100 million, soon. Its a serious amount of money. As of the other week, its more than what the UN had given," said Alex Gladstein, chief strategy officer at The Human Rights Foundation.

Cryptocurrency donations accomplish several objectives: they avoid heavier fees charged by traditional financial networks, transfers are nearly instantaneous, and the digital tokens are mobile  they can be given by anyone and accessed by the owner regardless of their location.

"There are close to two million Ukrainians that have fled into Europe and other countries and they had to do so quite rapidly," Gladstein said. "Think about a middle-class family. You probably have some stocks and own a house or part of a house. You cant bring any of that with you. Ukraine is the fourth most crypto-friendly country in the world in terms of per-capita ownership, so those who fled probably were able to take advantage of an asset that could just go with them.

"Ukraine also is a huge technology center and a country where local currency has history of devaluation and collapsing," Gladstein continued. "The other reason is the government wants to use crypto to raise money for war against Russia. Traditionally, that has been done through bond schemes or government-to-government transfers. Now, through bitcoin, anyone from anywhere can donate to the Ukrainian cause."

Gladstein called Ukraine's population "IT savvy and mobile friendly." Because of its tech acumen and embrace of crypocurrency, it's playing a big role in funneling funds across borders, Gladstein said.

"Never before in history have we had an asset like that. Its like gold. You can have your savings in something where you just have to memorize or write down on paper the private key, and thats really powerful," Gladstein said. "Ive interviewed lots of people from Argentina and Afghanistan whove left their country with their value because of the power of bitcoin. Its a tremendous humanitarian tool."

In fact, with the growth of legitimate cryptocurrency usage far outpacing the growth of criminal use, illicit activitys share of cryptocurrency transaction volume has never been lower, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain data, services and research provider.

Transactions involving illicit addresses represented just 0.15% of all crypto transactions, according to Chainalysis.

The cryptocurrency donations being made to Ukraine go directly the government, non-government organizations (NGOs), charities, or citizens, and that saves 30% in overhead charges and an additional 15% on reconciliation fees normally charge by traditional financial networks and charties, said Avivah Litan, a distinguished analyst and vice president at research firm Gartner.

I think its important to dispel this notion held by some that blockchain is just for criminals and illicit activity, Litan said.

Donating to the digital wallet of an organization or Ukrainian citizen can also be vastly simpler than that of a traditional bank account, Litan noted. For example, if a Ukrainian citizen or organization wanted to, they could simply display a QR code on a placard or sign.

If you took picture of it, youd have a blockchain address to send money to, Litan said. That potential is there for Ukraine.

The Human Rights Foundation has posted a list of legitimate organizations to whom donors can send cryptocurrencies.

The Ukrainian government is accepting donations of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether and Dogecoin.

Like its populace, the Ukrainian government is also one of the most cryptocurrency friendly organizations on earth. It ranks fourth in the world for cryptocurrency use, according to Chainalysis. For example, the government keeps its national records on decentralized blockchains, the basis for cryptocurrencies. As an immutable system of record, or unchangeable electronic ledger, blockchain ensures the documentation of war crimes by Russia cannot be deleted or changed.

On Tuesday, Aid for Ukraine launched its initiative to raise funds from the crypto community to fund humanitarian needs and aid Ukraines military. The organization is supported by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, crypto exchange FTX, and Everstake, a Ukraine-based proof-of-stake provider.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it has donated more than $10 million to its Ukrainian Emergency Relief Fund. Binance has also launched a crypto-first crowdfunding site, called Ukraine Emergency Relief Fund to allow people to donate crypto to provide emergency relief to refugees and children and to support logistics on the ground such as food, fuel, and supplies for refugees.

The top digital coins being used for Ukrainian donations are Ethereum (33.7%), Bitcoin (31.2%), and Stablecoins (17%). Stablecoins are digital currency backed by cash, and therefore theyre more stable than typical cryptocurrencies.

Litan said its significant that Ethereum, a less popular crypto coin than Bitcoin, is more popular for the donations to Ukraine. For one, Ethereum is used more often to buy and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are digital tokens representing data, media, or valuable assets, such as real estate or memorabilia.

The popularity of NFTs has soared in recent years. Last year, NFTs reached $44 billion in sales.

Ethereum also recently moved to a proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithm that is vastly more efficient and computationally less taxing than Proof of Work (PoW), which Bitcoin continues to use. Unlike PoS, PoW algorithms require massive amounts of electricity from supercomputers and computer farms to solve complex computational equations.

Thats why proof of work is bad for the environment, Litan said. "The EU parliament was going to ban PoW. And Bitcoin miners are always looking for the cheapest electricity.

The average crypto donation to Ukraine is $95, but there have also been some notable transactions. For example, one donation of $1.86 million appeared to come from the proceeds of the sale of NFTs created by Julian Assange and the digital artist Pak, according to Elliptic. A CryptoPunk NFT worth about $200,000 was also donated to the Ukrainian government's Ethereum account.

The drive for crypto donations began Feb. 26 when the Ukrainian government, NGOs, and volunteer groups began posting pleas for cryptoasset donations. To date, Bitcoin, Ethereum, TRON, Polkadot, Dogecoin and Solana addresses listed in the tweets have accounted for donations worth $54.4 million, Elliptic stated.

Cryptoasset fundraising campaigns to support the Ukrainian military are also being organized outside of Ukraine. UkraineDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization, which aims to raise Ether to be donated to Come Back Alive, according to Elliptic.

Cryptocurrencies, of course, can be volatile and subject to wild value swings  as anyone who has invested in bitcoin or Ethereum know. So, if money is converted to Bitcoin or another digital currency, it could lose value before it can be spent. (It can also gain value.)

Scammers also appear to be taking advantage of the current situation by tricking unsuspecting users wishing to donate to Ukrainian causes. Elliptic has identified a number of fraudulent crypto fundraising scams now in play.

Scammers are using the on and off ramps to cryptocurrency exchanges to pretend to be Ukrainian humanitarian organizations, and are instead stealing from unwitting donors. Its like phishing attacks, Litan explained.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase and Gemini, act as cryptocurrency banks, storing digital tokens for owners and enabling users to access trading networks.

Cryptocurrency is also likely being used by Russia to thwart widespread financial sanctions by ferrying rubles across borders.

We do believe it is very likely that Russian companies and nationals are trying to use crypto assets like Bitcoin or the US Dollar-pegged stablecoin, such as Tether (USDT), to circumvent the economic sanctions, said Josh Olszewicz, head of research at Valkyrie Funds, a digital asset investment manager.

US and European nations want cryptocurrency exchanges to block the Russian government, oligarchs, and others from using their systems to move money across borders. But it's a difficult task, at best, given that decentralized networks thrive on anonymity.
Slack has suspended access to accounts for customers based in Russia, citing compliance with policies set out by its parent company, Salesforce.

Several Russia-based customers have been locked out of their Slack accounts, Axios reported Tuesday, preventing them from downloading data from the popular collaboration app.

The data in suspended accounts is not deleted, and access will be restored if and when sanctions are lifted and Slacks corporate policy changes.

Slack is required to take action to comply with sanctions regulations in the US and other countries where we operate, including in some circumstances suspending accounts without prior notice, as mandated by law, Slack said in a statement to Computerworld.

We are in contact with affected customers regarding the impact of these actions on their account status, where permitted by law. Slack has a very small number of additional Russia-based customers, and like Salesforce, we are exiting those relationships.

Slack declined to say how many customers have been affected by the decision.

Slack is used by millions of individuals worldwide, and said it had 169,000 paying customers as of 2021. The company was acquired by US business software vendor Salesforce in a deal that closed last year for $27.7 billion.

Salesforce is one of several tech companies that have announced they would stop sales to Russia-based customers after the invasion of Ukraine last month.

We do not have a material business in Russia, Salesforce said in a statement March 7. Through resellers and other channels, we have a very small number of Russia-based customers, and we began exiting those relationships last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on several large software vendors to end support for Russia-based customers in a message on Twitter Sunday.

Technology spending in Russian and Ukraine is likely to see a marked drop due to sanctions and disruption caused by the ongoing conflict, according to research firm IDC. The conflict has halted business operations in Ukraine while the Russian economy is feeling the early impact of Western sanctions, according to a March 7 report. This will strongly affect tech spending in both countries with double-digit contraction of local market demand expected in 2022.
03/16/2022

Photo (c) Moussa81 - Getty Images COVID-19 tally as compiled by Johns Hopkins University. (Previous numbers in parentheses.)

Total U.S. confirmed cases: 79,587,313 (79,564,017)

Total U.S. deaths: 966,493 (965,149)

Total global cases: 461,937,132 (458,260,648)

Total global deaths: 6,053,334 (6,047,784)

FEMA pays $2 billion for COVID-19 funerals

COVID-19 stimulus checks ended last year, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is still paying for funerals of Americans who have died from COVID-19. So far, the agency has written checks for $2 billion to support more than 300,000 applicants.

Rather than curtailing the program now that deaths are in decline, FEMA has launched a new outreach campaign and is continuing to process applications to ensure that the program -- already the largest offering of funeral assistance in FEMAs history -- reaches additional eligible families in need.

Our new outreach campaign is designed to reach families, especially across underserved communities, where the cost of a funeral can be a financial burden to a loved one, said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. Our goal is to help families apply for assistance, as well as submit all required documents for existing applications.

Pfizer seeks fourth shot approval

Just days after Pfizers CEO said everyone who is vaccinated and boosted will need a fourth shot to protect against the coronavirus, the drugmaker, along with partner BioNTech, has formally applied for approval for the extra booster.

The companies say they have submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of an additional booster dose for adults 65 years of age and older who have received an initial booster of any of the authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccines.

The application makes a case for a fourth shot by focusing on two real-world data sets from Israel, collected at a time when the Omicron variant was at its peak. The application cites evidence that an additional mRNA booster increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe illness.

Study tracks vaccine effectiveness with children

A continuing research study at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, in combination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been a moderately effective tool for preventing the spread of COVID-19. It has also been shown to reduce the severity of infection among children and adolescents.

Nearly 1,400 children ages five to 15 were tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, each week from July 25, 2021, to Feb. 12, 2022. Researchers found that vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine reduced the risk of infection from the Omicron variant by 31% in children aged five to 11 and by 59% in adolescents aged 12 to15.

The report also showed that the vaccine was somewhat less effective against the Omicron variant. When the Delta variant was the dominant variant, the study found that protection levels were around 87%.

Around the nation
03/16/2022

Photo (c) Kira-Yan - Getty Images Irelands Data Protection Commission has hit Meta (formerly known as Facebook) with a fine worth $18.6 million for a series of data breach notifications in the European Union (EU).

The commission said Meta failed to have appropriate technical and organizational safeguards in place to protect its users data. That left users vulnerable in 12 breaches over a six-month period during 2018.

When the breaches were first revealed, the commissions investigation revealed that as many as 50 million Facebook accounts were impacted, some allowing hackers access to Facebook users photos.

Meta calls the fine unfair

Facebook should be relieved that the fine wasn't any larger. Under the EUs data protection law, member blocs like Ireland can levy penalties as high as 4% of a companys annual revenue for the most egregious violations. In Meta's case, that would have equated to a fine of more than $4 billion.

Last year, Ireland fined another Meta product  WhatsApp  $246 million. Amazon was also slapped with a record $746 million by the country of Luxembourgs privacy custodian.

Nonetheless, Meta still contends that the fine is unfair because it took the commission nearly four years to make its decision. Company officials say they were still making adjustments to privacy settings at that time.

This fine is about record-keeping practices from 2018 that we have since updated, not a failure to protect peoples information, Meta told Bloomberg News.
03/16/2022

Photo (c) Catherine Lane - Getty Images Even in a bitterly partisan U.S. Senate, Republicans and Democrats have found something to agree on. Lawmakers unanimously approved a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.

If the bill is also passed by the House and signed by President Biden, Americans would no longer have to set their clocks forward in the spring and set them back in the fall.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a sponsor of the bill, noted the bipartisan nature of the support for the measure to make Americas time consistent.

Just this past weekend, we all went through that biannual ritual of changing the clock back and forth, and the disruption that comes with it, Rubio said. And one has to ask themselves after a while, Why do we keep doing it? Why are we doing this?

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), was the lead Democratic sponsor of the legislation. He said the measure is highly popular in his state.

Pretty much everybody in Rhode Island experiences the same thing on that unhappy day in early November  when suddenly an hour of your day, an hour of your daylight disappears and dusk comes an hour earlier, he said.

First promoted to save candles

According to some accounts, the first proposal for Daylight Saving Time goes all the way back to 1784 when it was argued that aligning Americans awake hours to daylight would save on candle usage. In the 20th century, the argument was updated to advocate the conservation of electricity. Daylight Saving Time began in the U.S. in 1918.

While many nations other than the U.S. observe Daylight Saving Time, others do not. Those that do sometimes have different start dates than other nations.

Adding to the confusion, some states and territories do not observe Daylight Saving Time, remaining on Standard Time. The areas of the U.S. that do not go on Daylight Saving Time are Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

Disruptive

In a global economy, lawmakers argue that Daylight Saving Time can lead to confusion and disrupt timekeeping, travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, and sleep patterns. Rubio says he believes most Americans are ready for some consistency.

So we're doing this back-and-forth clock changing for about 16 weeks of Standard Time a year, Rubio said. I think the majority of the American people's preference is just to stop the back and forth changing. But beyond that, I think their preference is  certainly at least based on today's vote, and what we've heard  is to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.

The measure now heads to the House of Representatives. Once House Speaker Nancy Pelosi schedules a vote, the unanimous vote in the Senate suggests easy passage.
The memorial service for Judith McFerran Robertson will be held at Algiers United Methodist Church, 637 Opelousas Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70114 at 2PM on Sunday, May 22, 2022 with Reverend JoAnne Pounds officiating. The obituary for Judi can be viewed and online condolences made at www.shule
United States President Joe Biden is set to announce a further $800 million fund that will be used to provide military aid to Ukraine amid Russia's continued unprovoked invasion, bringing the total to $1 billion in just the last week.

The U.S. security assistance will include anti-tank missiles and additional defensive weapons that the American government has been providing Ukraine, including Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. However, the assistance will stop short of a no-fly zone or fighter jets that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously requested.

Military Aid to Ukraine

Zelensky said that the no-fly zone and additional fighter aircraft were needed in Ukraine's fight against Russian forces. The news of the military aid comes as the White House continues to face off against pressure from both Congress and the Ukrainian president to provide assistance to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president is scheduled to address U.S. members of Congress on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. remotely. Zelensky is expected to discuss the situation of his country and renew his calls for more international assistance, as per CNN.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in an interview last week that the intelligence community has assessed that the transfer of MiG-29s could be taken as an escalatory move. The official warned that doing so could result in a significant Russian reaction that could worsen the situation. Kirby was referring to Ukraine's request for MiG fighter jets from Poland to fight against Moscow's troops.

Read Also: Biden Set To Visit Europe, Talk With NATO Allies as Russia-Ukraine War Refugees Peak 3 Million

On Tuesday, Zelensky made similar requests for assistance to the Canadian Parliament where he took it a step further by making an appeal for Canadian lawmakers to push for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. In his remarks, the Ukrainian president raised the thought of Canadian facilities being bombed like how his country was being attacked by the Russians.

Russia-Ukraine War

According to Fox News, the official continued that he and his people wanted to live and be victorious against the Russian troops. "Can you imagine when you call your friends and nations, and you ask to please close the sky, close the airspace, please stop the bombing? How many more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?"

Furthermore, while the White House is discussing the possibility of deploying more troops to Europe to bolster the 15,000 that have been there since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, Biden is not expected to order such a move any time soon.

On Tuesday, the Democratic leader said that his administration was moving quickly to bolster the support given to the people of Ukraine. While he did not provide details of such assistance, he said he would be revealing more information at a later time.

In recent days, senators and members of the House of Representatives of both Democrats and Republicans have urged the Biden administration to provide support troops to Ukraine. In response, Pentagon officials said that there were some forms of support that could be detrimental to Ukraine and risk the U.S. slipping into direct conflict with Russia within Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported.



Related Article: Russia Slaps Joe Biden, 12 Others With Sanctions, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki Mocks Decision

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If youve been grumpy this week after losing an hour of precious sleep thanks to the annual spring forward caused by Daylight Savings Time, youre not alone. Apparently, members of the U.S. Senate felt similarly about their shortened slumber. With a speed and efficiency rarely known within Congress, they quickly passed a bill proposing the elimination of the twice-yearly switch. However, lest we ever truly feel that Congress has our best interests at heart, they decided to do it in the stupidest way possible: not by eliminating Daylight Savings Time, but by making it year round. The bill still needs to pass the House, but it's significant.

Its unlikely tears will be shed at the idea of not having to reset your microwave clock twice a year, or spending a week wrangling your circadian rhythms every spring and fall. Its not exactly a popular phenomenon. Plus, as weve previously explored, the concept of Daylight Savings Time is an antiquated wartime phenomenon that was originally developed to save on electricity. A strategy that doesnt even make sense anymore because of how much American energy consumption habits, and the relative power demand of lighting, has changed.

In fact, theres scientific research proving that not only is it an obsolete idea, but an actively harmful one, accomplishing the precise opposite of its original intent. Indiana was a state that did not observe Daylight Savings Time until the year 2006. This switch helpfully provided a perfect environment to track the effects of Daylight Savings Time on energy usage, something sorely needed when the last time they decided these things was in WORLD WAR 1. It might bear re-examining energy based decisions that were made not long after Edison was still electrocuting elephants to demonize alternating current.

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Pixabay Wow, I get to be part of a science experiment? Cool!

When they did this research, lo and behold, it did indeed show that the needle had swung not only closer to center, but entirely to the other side. The calculations made back then were based on a time where the power used for lighting was a significant factor in a households electricity usage. Nowadays, lighting is a much smaller slice of that pie chart, with electronics and air conditioning usage dwarfing it. Air conditioning, in particular, is put to use more frequently after work during DST because its warmer when people return home. They found that just the state of Indiana spent an extra $9 million annually by the implementation of Daylight Savings Time, not to mention greater pollution. So why has it survived so long?
On Tuesday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China recognizes Iran's genuine worries over the nuclear issue and supports its efforts to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

In a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Wang stated that China opposes unilateral sanctions that aren't based on international law. Wang was updated by Amir Abdollahian on the latest developments in the Vienna discussions aimed at resurrecting the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

China Is Eager to Strengthen Ties with Iran

In a report by CGTN, he stated that Iran is ready to return to the discussions as soon as feasible to discuss the outstanding problems with relevant parties in order to establish a satisfactory deal. The Iranian envoy thanked China for its positive engagement in the discussions and requested further assistance.

Wang emphasized China's commitment to resuming talks on the JCPOA as soon as possible. He stated that China is open to and supportive of any effort that leads to the achievement of the goal. In light of the tumultuous international and regional circumstances, Wang stated that China is eager to strengthen coordination and collaboration with Iran to seek a settlement that promotes regional peace and stability.

In exchange for the lifting of UN and Western sanctions, Iran agreed to some limitations on the growth of its nuclear program under the JCPOA. In 2018, President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal, reimposing previous and new sanctions on the country. Iran replied by abandoning some of its nuclear pledges.

President Joe Biden is holding tense negotiations with Iranian President in an attempt to prevent the nation from gaining nuclear weapons. Despite escalating tensions between the two nations, Harry Kazianis, an analyst at the Center for National Interest and an expert on US foreign policy and national security concerns, believes China will continue to "push Taiwan" in the coming years.

As a result of the massive disruption generated by Putin's war in Ukraine, according to the national security expert, comparable threats to the West will become more prevalent. He believes Iran is also working on its nuclear weapons, maybe in collaboration with North Korea as part of an "authoritarian axis," Daily Express reported.

Read Also: Turkey Refuses To Sanction Russia Over Ukraine Invasion, Plans Alternative Solutions Despite Pressure From NATO Membership

North Korea Missile Test Launch Fails

North Korea has already conducted tests of hypersonic, short-range, intermediate-range, and long-range ballistic missiles this year. At a military ceremony in January 2021, the government presented a new submarine-launched ballistic missile, dubbing it "the world's most powerful weapon." According to South Korea's military, North Korea attempted but failed to fire an unidentified projectile early Wednesday, in what might be the North's first high-profile missile failure in years.

The unidentified North Korean projectile appeared to have failed "soon after the launch," according to the South Korean military. The launch took place in the Sunan area near Pyongyang.

According to Big News Network, it's unclear what kind of weapon North Korea tried to demonstrate. Earlier this week, Japanese media claimed that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile, but provided no further details.

Related Article: Russia-Ukraine War: Did Russia Really Ask China for Ready-to-Eat Food Amid Invasion?

@YouTube

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Margaret Pearl Blaylock, age 85, of Crossville, TN, passed away at her home on May 3, 2022. She was born on November 18, 1936, in Crossville, TN, daughter of the late William Wyatt and Alice (Hale) Wyatt. Margaret was a homemaker and attended Stephen Gap Church of Christ. She is survived by 
Chinese authorities have placed more than 37 million people in lockdown as the country struggles with its worst COVID-19 surge since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials noted that the outbreak spread much faster than previous waves reported relating to less infectious variants. Health officials reported that daily cases skyrocketed from a few dozen in February to more than 5,100 on Tuesday, which is the highest number of new infections since the early 2020 outbreak experienced in Wuhan.

China's Lockdowns

While the number of infections in China may seem low in comparison to other countries, it is alarmingly high to a nation that has been aggressive in stomping out the virus and chains of transmission with strict zero-COVID policy throughout the pandemic.

Authorities have reported cases in 21 provinces and municipalities nationwide as of Tuesday, including Beijing and other major cities, such as Shanghai and Shenzhen. While the number of infections could still be in the thousands, the number of people who have been placed in lockdowns were in the tens of millions, as per CNN.

The lockdowns have caused trucks to be delayed because drivers are getting tested while container rates are rising as ships wait for several hours at ports. Furthermore, products are piling up inside warehouses. These are only some of the effects of the lockdowns in China that continue to add chaos to global supply chains.

Read Also: Biden Set To Visit Europe, Talk With NATO Allies as Russia-Ukraine War Refugees Peak 3 Million

The Asian nation is home to roughly a third of the world's manufacturing capacity which has been severely affected by the lockdowns. The orders have disrupted the production of finished goods like Toyota and Volkswagen cars and Apple's iPhones and components such as circuit boards and computer tables.

According to the New York Times, at the start of trading on Monday, oil prices dropped by about 5% after surging last week, a result of fears of an economic slowdown in China. Beijing officials and from other cities and provinces argued that the coronavirus infection was still spreading quickly and urged the government to take stricter actions to control it.

Global Supply Chains

The lockdowns could also cause Amazon and Walmart customers to experience delays on their orders due to affecting China's major manufacturing hubs. In Shenzhen, the location of half of China's online retail exporters was recently placed under lockdown to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus infection.

In Dongguan, a center for shoe, textile, and toy manufacturing, factories that reported cases of the coronavirus were ordered to temporarily close down and suspend operations. Authorities told more than 17 million residents to telecommute while also ordering essential businesses and public transportation to shut down.

The president of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association, Wang Xin, said that the region was forced to press the pause button, halting operations for nearly all sectors. The organization represents 3,000 exporters in China's tech hub.

Wang said that the moves created a "significant disruption to the production and delivery of goods sold on major online marketplaces," noting that the association was currently negotiating with the Shenzhen government to resume some parcel deliveries, PYMNTS reported.



Related Article: China Plans To Develop Hypersonic Dream Engine By 2035 for Space Planes To Replace Rockets

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Germanys Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has warned businesses against using Kaspersky virus protection products amid concerns of Russian technology being coerced by Russian government agents and forced to attack target systems against its will or spied on. The BSI did not raise any concrete allegations against Kaspersky products but recommended replacing them with alternatives due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict. The Russian vendor responded in an official statement suggesting the BSIs actions have been made on political rather than technological grounds.

The warning echoes earlier unconfirmed claims by U.S. intelligence agencies about ties between Kaspersky and the Russian government. Those claims led to the removal of Kaspersky Lab products of approved vendors for U.S. federal agencies in 2017.

Risk of attacks considerable, organizations urged to switch products with caution

The BSI wrote that antivirus software must for systemic reasons (at least for updates) maintain a permanent, encrypted and non-verifiable connection to the manufacturers servers. BSI clearly considers this connection to pose a potential risk and identifies a conceivable scenario in which Kaspersky itself is attacked, impacting its customers. All users of the virus protection software can be affected by such operations, it stated. However, BSI also urged organizations switching products to do so with caution because, If IT security products and in particular virus protection software were switched off without preparation, one might be exposed to attacks from the internet without protection.

Kaspersky claims no ties to Russian government

In a statement published on its website, Kaspersky responded to the BSIs warning, claiming its actions are politically motivated. We believe this decision is not based on a technical assessment of Kaspersky products  that we continuously advocated for with the BSI and across Europe  but instead is being made on political grounds. We will continue to assure our partners and customers in the quality and integrity of our products, and we will be working with the BSI for clarification on its decision and for the means to address its and other regulators concerns.

It added that the company believes that transparency and the continued implementation of concrete measures to demonstrate its commitment to integrity and trustworthiness to customers is paramount. Kaspersky is a private global cybersecurity company and, as a private company, does not have any ties to the Russian or any other government. We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument for resolving conflicts. War isnt good for anyone. The security and integrity of its data services and engineering practices have been confirmed by independent third-party assessments, the statement read, while customers can run a free technical and comprehensive review of Kaspersky solutions.

The question of whether businesses should continue to use Russian-made security products and technology along with the risks associated is one of notable significance given Russias continued invasion of Ukraine, and one that continues to raise discussions across the industry.

Update: On March 17, Kaspersky Lab founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky posted an open letter in response to the BSIs warning in which he stated that the reputational and business damage of the decision is quite significant. He also claimed that, despite continuous calls from Kaspersky to conduct a deep audit of its source code, updates, architecture, and processes at Kaspersky Transparency Centers in Europe, BSI is yet to do so.
We live in an always-on world of 24/7 websites, servers, help desks and internet connectivitythat is, until its not connected. The Ukrainian crisis shows that IT and security admins of Microsoft environments need to be aware of geographic and other risks they might not have considered yet.

As we move servers to the cloud, have we considered the impact of geographic and geopolitical issues and boundaries? Cases in point:

Microsofts Brad Smith recently announced it would shut down new sales of Microsoft services to Russia.

Apple and Google announced similar positions halting product and advertising sales, respectively.

VMWare has announced an immediate suspension of all business operations in Russia and Belarus.

Any international business must think about local security and privacy policies and regulations they must follow to be compliant everywhere they operate. If you do business in Germany, you must abide by the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which governs how personal data of individuals in the EU may be processed and transferred. Have customers in California? You are subject to security and privacy laws of both the United States and California.

Compliance with local data protection rules can be overwhelming. Layer on what is going on in Russia and overseas. Imagine if you or a critical third-party provider relies on a cloud service that is suddenly shut down or impacted by a geographic disruption. The disruption doesnt have to be from a military or political crisis. I live in an area of the United States that is under a constant threat of an earthquake. How can you limit all these risks?

Know where your data goes

Knowing the areas of the world your data travels through. Only by understanding where these geographic risks are can you plan ahead. Always plan on alternative locations to house the data. Ensure that your cloud deployments have redundancy or the ability to move to different data centers quickly and easily.

Consider using geo-zone-redundant storage (GZRS). As Microsoft notes, Data is replicated synchronously across three Azure availability zones in the primary region using zone-redundant storage (ZRS), then replicated asynchronously to the secondary region. For read access to data in the secondary region, enable read-access geo-zone-redundant storage (RA-GZRS). Microsoft recommends using GZRS/RA-GZRS for scenarios that require maximum availability and durability.

Work with compliance teams to meet local privacy and security requirements

Compliance and privacy, while necessarily security related, are often intertwined. Cloud security teams need to work with compliance teams to ensure that solution deployments meet a countrys requirements.

SharePoint and Teams is often the first online platforms that push your firm to start considering compliance needs. Start by planning your multi-factor authentication (MFA) needs and requirements on that platform. Whether you look to native Microsoft or third-parties, your best bet to control access is to roll out MFA.

Next, review external access in Teams. It enables external access by default, which means your organization will allow Teams messages from those outside of your domain. Attackers have also infiltrated Teams with bad actors sending Trojan-loaded documents and files on Teams via the chat section. Consider carefully your Teams access policies depending on your risks and business needs.

You can set conditional access policies that allow access to Microsoft cloud assets based on user location and IP addresses. SharePoint and OneDrive can limit access. You can also limit access to unmanaged devices so that only firm-approved technology assets can obtain access to your resources. Always review what security and compliance tools are being added to SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams. Limit user access to only the data they need.

Make sure you have the proper Microsoft licenses

You may need additional licenses to implement these conditional access policies. Many of Microsofts security and compliance offerings require additional licensing. For example, you need a license ranging from Office 365 E5/A5/G5, Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5, Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5/F5 Compliance, Microsoft 365 F5 Security & Compliance, or Microsoft 365 E5/A5/G5 eDiscovery and Audit to enable Advanced Audit in Microsoft 365. Advanced Audit provides one-year retention of audit logs for user and admin activities and provides the ability to create custom audit log retention policies. Many countries require you to maintain access logs.

Conditional access, one of the most powerful tools to ensure compliance with geographic needs, requires Azure Active Directory Identity Protection, which is tied to an Azure P2 license. Conditional access can be rolled out to specific groups of users that need the additional protection. Scope the use of conditional access by assigning risk policies to allow access for licensed users only. You may need to have different licenses for users located in a geographic region to better protect them and comply with local regulations.

You can always go back and add users to the data sharing, but its extremely hard to undo a link that was shared widely. That could end up not only in inboxes, but in cloud backups, persona devices and other platforms that you cant easily pull it back from.

Run simulations to better prepare for disruption

Use the Ukrainian situation to run what if analyses even if you arent impacted today. What if a datacenter in Texas was impacted by a power issue or natural disaster? What if a server overseas was impacted by a local issue? What if a cloud server cannot continue to operate? Can you pivot and move quickly to alternatives? Do you know right now where your servers are located? You need to ensure that you can answer these questions so you can then provide alternative plans for your organization.

We once used to be concerned about the risk of on premises servers and the reliance on one physical location. We need to do similarly for cloud services. Know the geographic risks and limit that risk accordingly.
The Republic of Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined Facebook parent company Meta 17 million (US$18.6 million) for violating multiple articles of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) related to a series of 12 data breach notifications that occurred in the latter half of 2018.

The GDPR is an EU regulation that sets comparatively strict standards for the management, processing and protection of user data that went into effect in May 2018. Specifically, the DPC stated, the company failed to institute measures that would allow it to demonstrate compliance with GDPR regulations, under Articles 5(2) and 24(1).

"The DPC found that Meta Platforms failed to have in place appropriate technical and organisational measures which would enable it to readily demonstrate the security measures that it implemented in practice to protect EU users' data, in the context of the twelve personal data breaches," the DPC said.

The practices under examination by the DPC involved cross-border processing of personal data, and so according to GDPR rules, all of the other European supervisory authorities were consulted, the DPC added.

The GDPR applies to almost all companies that handle the personal data of European residents, or have a physical presence in an EU country. Information explicitly covered by the GDPR includes names and addresses, health data, web identifiers like cookies, racial data, sexual orientation and political opinions. Critically, it also applies to third-party vendors providing services to companies subject to the law  meaning they have to be GDPR-compliant, as well, in order to avoid fines for the company directly subject to the law.

GDPR fines are determined by a multifactor legal test, which takes into account the gravity and nature of the infraction, whether it was intentional or negligent, what category of data was affected and more. Specific guidelines are provided for offenses under certain chapters of the GDPR, which are capped at either 10 million or 2% of a company's worldwide income from the previous year, whichever is higher, for lesser infractions, or 20 million or 4% of last year's income for more serious violations.

The 17m fine levied against Meta is the 11th largest ever handed out for violating the GDPR, according to list maintained by email security vendor Tessian. While the fine pales in comparison to the largest ever handed out  that distinction belongs to a 746 million levy against Amazon in 2021, for violating cookie handling policies  the Meta family of companies has previously earned larger fines than the one announced today, including a 255 million penalty for insufficiently well-defined privacy policies at WhatsApp issued by Ireland in 2021, and 60 million in June 2021 from French authorities for failing to obtain proper cookie consent from Facebook users.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress

The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame celebrates womens contributions to history year-round. From suffragettes to immigration advocates, the nonprofit organization has added nine Connecticut women to their list of 130 who have been trailblazers in their field since 1994.

"We use our inductees as role models for people, knowing the types of problems and the challenges that they ran into in their career, and how they went around those challenges and continued to achieve their goals," said Sarah Lubarsky, the Hall of Fame's executive director.
If Prince Harry does not want to face another court battle, this time against his own family, he will have to be extremely careful what he says in his memoir.

The royal family is thought to be worried about the contents of the Duke of Sussex's planned book. There are concerns that he may publicly humiliate Camilla and smear his father, Prince Charles.

Queen Elizabeth's Lawyers Allegedly Warn About Prince Harry's Memoir

According to The Telegraph's Associate Editor Camilla Tominey, despite his assurance that it will feature "wholly honest" stories of his life and experiences, he would still need to be "very very careful." After describing it as a "sensitive" memoir, she believes he must ensure that it is legally sound.

Tominey said this step is "a message to America to say don't think you can just write anything that you like as you said at Oprah Winfrey without being challenged on it, without offering a right of reply."

The book's contents might be altered as a result of the claimed warning from Queen Elizabeth II's attorneys. It might change the title to become "more tepid than we anticipated."

Penguin Random House, the Duke of Sussex's publisher, on the other side, wants an explosive to expose . It becomes a problem and may make for unpleasant reading for the Royal Family, according to Tominey, who hopes that Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebration will be as successful as the one in 2012 so that any negative attention around the biography would be overshadowed.

However, there is still fear that Prince Harry may ruin the family's reputation if he decides to unleash a slew of bombshells in his book in the autumn, and they are legally secure, so he may publish them without facing too much opposition. Regardless of the book's conclusion, she counseled the duke to avoid upsetting Queen Elizabeth II because of her weak health, according to Geo News.

Read Also: What to Expect When Caring for Someone with Dementia

Prince Harry Won't Return to UK for Prince Philip's Memorial Service

A representative for the Duke of Sussex stated on Friday that he will not be attending his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral ceremony in the United Kingdom. The decision comes amid a court tussle between the prince and the Home Office concerning his personal safety. Harry's legal team told a court last month that the Duke does not feel secure bringing his family to the United Kingdom without police protection.

Prince Harry will not attend Westminster Abbey with the rest of the Royal Family on March 29, but he will pay a visit to the Queen as soon as possible, according to a representative for the royal family.

Despite his departure from the Firm with his wife Meghan Markle in 2020, the Duke's connection with his grandmother is thought to have remained tight. There were rumors at the time that Prince Harry's decision to stand aside from his position as a senior royal had "blindsided" the Queen, as per Express.

In his new memoir, Prince Harry is said to have avoided criticizing the Queen. According to their friend and unofficial biographer Omid Scobie, he is about to release a tell-all book that will be his and Meghan Markle's "finale moment."

Many royal watchers were anxious about the contents of the book, which is expected to be released later this year. It was originally speculated that it would show the Prince's actual sentiments toward his stepmother Camilla while others speculated that it would "shake the monarchy to its core."

Prince Harry and his grandmother have always had a strong relationship, and royal watchers assume that any admissions he makes would exclude her. During Prince Harry and Meghan's contentious Oprah interview, he expressed his admiration for his grandmother and stated that he had just talked with her. Meanwhile, his wife spoke about how much she enjoyed being in the Monarch's presence, Mirror reported.

Related Article: Queen Elizabeth Pulls Out of Commonwealth Service; Is This Another Health Trouble-Related Cancelation?

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In an effort to stem the rise of mental health disorders among teenagers, state lawmakers this week advanced legislation that would require parental consent for children under the age of 16 to engage in social media.

The legislatures Childrens Committee gave unanimous consent to the bill on Tuesday after receiving supportive testimony from several childrens welfare organizations, including the Connecticut PTA and the states Office of the Child Advocate.

Supporters of the bill pointed to studies linking social media use to a rise in mental health and mood disorders impacting teenagers, such as depression, body dysmorphia and suicidal thoughts. Other issues, including cyberbullying and sexual exploitation, are also a concern as children begin using social media at younger ages.

The co-chair of the Childrens Committee, state Sen. Saud Anwar, D- South Windsor, said that social media platforms like Facebook have exacerbated the issue by using data collected from teens social media accounts to target them with advertising that encourages spending even more time online.

They make money on a young boy or girl spending more time on their website and increasing their screen time, Anwar said.

Social media companies that target their platforms to children under the age of 13 are currently regulated by the federal Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires parental consent for websites to collect personal information about children covered by the law.

In order to ease complaince with the law, many social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter already require that users be over the age of 13.

Advocates for tougher regulations, however, argue that the law and the platforms age restrictions are too easy for children to bypass by entering a different name or date of birth.

Anwar said lawmakers are seeking to address those concerns by establishing a new method for platforms to obtain a parents consent before allowing teenagers to create a profile, though they have yet to settle upon a solution.

We dont want it to be just a click, we want it to be more than that at the entry point, Anwar said.

None of the major tech platforms provided testimony on the bill to the Childrens Committee during a hearing last week, though Anwar said lobbyists for the companies are keeping track of the bills progress.

Representatives from The Connecticut Group, a Farmington lobbying firm that has previously represented Facebooks parent company, Meta Platforms, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The legislation received bipartisan support on its way out of committee this week, and is sponsored by three Republicans in addition to Anwar, the Democratic committee chairman.

Kids don't grasp the impact an online history can have on their future, '' said one of the co-sponsors, state Rep. Christie Carpino, R- Cromwell, in a statement. It also has the potential to expose them to difficult situations they may not be equipped to navigate. This bill would create a tool for parents to better protect their children and their sensitive information.

In addition to requiring parental consent for children under 16 to use social media, Anwar said the bill will be revised before heading to the Senate floor to include a provision allowing parents to request that a social media platform remove their childs account.

If passed, the legislation would go into effect on Oct. 1.
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WOODBRIDGE  The animal advocacy group Desmonds Army is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for tossing a lovable bulldog out of a truck on a busy road after a botched home surgery.

Its a vile case, said Desmonds Army president Robin Zilla Cannamela . Animal cruelty is a serious crime. Its a precursor to mass shootings, school shootings and directly linked to domestic violence.

The case of the bulldog, named Mary by staff at Woodbridge Regional Animal Control because the dog lived only through the grace of God, has drawn statewide attention after her story was featured in the New Haven Register.

By Monday afternoon the shelter had received at least 15 adoption offers for Mary  as well as interest in adopting each of the other dogs at the shelter, except for one American Bully breed named Penny, who didnt pique interest, Lombardi said. She said Penny, too, has had a traumatic life.

The phone has not stopped ringing, Lombardi said Monday.

Folks on social media have expressed outrage at whomever left Mary for dead after tossing her, bleeding internally, on the side of busy Racebrook Road in Woodbridge at dusk. Lombardi said someone had botched a makeshift cesarean section on Mary and left gauze inside.

Luckily, a woman behind the truck saw Mary get tossed, picked up the dog and went for help. Mary had surgery and antibiotics and now is ready for a forever home.

That woman, focused on rescuing Mary, didnt get a license plate number or details about the truck. Lombardi said Mary, a small dog, almost certainly would been hit by a vehicle in the dark if she had not been picked up  that is, if she didnt bleed to death first.

Lombardi was thrilled by the response from the public and will carefully vet the applications.

Shes said Mary, estimated to be 31/2 years old, is a love bug who adores attention and probably would do well as an only dog.

When Mary arrived at the shelter Oct. 25 she was covered in urine and bleeding heavily from the inside, gauze stuck in her wound. Despite all she went through, Mary was good-natured when she arrived and has stayed that way, Lombardi said.

Lombardi said Marys surgery was thousands of dollars and paid for out of the shelters nonprofit One Big Dog Animal Respite Fund, to prevent and alleviate animal suffering by providing medical care, spay and neutering services, food and placement assistance for stray and abandoned shelter animals.

Between Marys medical care, all the other dogs at the shelter with needs, and the inability to fundraise because of the pandemic, Lombardi said the fund is low and in need of donations. Any contributions are appreciated and checks can be made out to One Big Dog Animal Respite Fund, 135 Bradley Road, Woodbridge CT 06525.
I helped lead the effort in New York state to ban the sale of flavored vaping products. But thanks to a loophole insisted on by Big Tobacco, flavored e-cigarettes still pose a threat to New Yorks kids. To my neighbors in Connecticut fighting to ban these harmful products, I offer advice: Do not let Big Tobacco build a loophole into your law as it did in New York.

E-cigarettes are the tobacco product most commonly used by youths, and eight of 10 youths who have ever used a tobacco product started with a flavored product. The bill in the New York Legislature I introduced would have made one simple and easy-to-enforce change: It would have banned the sale of all flavored e-cigarette products. Flavors such as mango, cotton candy and banana split could no longer be sold to our kids.

One argument for e-cigarettes is that they are likely less harmful than combustible cigarettes and they may help some adult smokers quit those. I dont know what Papa Smurf vape juice tastes like (yes  thats a real product), but I do know that Big Tobacco didnt design Papa Smurf vape juice to help adults quit. They did it to hook kids and guarantee future customers. Big Tobacco always plays the long game.

My bill was part of the 2020-21 New York State budget. In the final days of negotiation on the budget, Big Tobacco won an exemption for vape products that received a Premarket Tobacco Product Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA has sat on the sidelines for years, watching as juuling became an epidemic among youth. Its inaction is partially responsible for that epidemic. There is a reason Big Tobacco asked for this change: It helps keep a window open for them to sell flavored e-cigarette products. Here in New York, its created a confusing landscape for store owners and state regulators; rather than having a simple ban (like Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island), New York has one with an ever-evolving loophole in it. Ive introduced new legislation to close the loophole, but much damage has already been done.

The ongoing inaction at the FDA coupled with its legal inability to regulate synthetic nicotine products have made this loophole all the more confounding. While the FDA says it has made decisions on most applications, the reality is that it hasnt made decisions on the vast majority of products, including the brands (and flavors) most popular among youth. When the FDA has acted, the industry has sued, delaying any clear resolution. And the pandemic has made enforcement much more difficult as well. In the meantime, retailers can use the loophole to claim that they are allowed to sell some ridiculously flavored products, parents dont know what the rules are, and their kids are still getting hooked.

Connecticut should follow the lead of Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island; these states did not include loopholes or exemptions in their legislation. Compromises like the one being proposed by Big Tobacco in Connecticut will allow lawmakers to walk away from the issue, saying, Weve done our jobs. When that happens, you have the worst of both worlds: you take the issue off the table as something to be dealt with, but you dont actually solve the problem.

My message to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Connecticut is this: Your kids are worth protecting. Pass a clean ban on the sale of flavored e cigarettes, without exemptions or loopholes.

Linda B. Rosenthal is a member of the New York State Assembly.
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WESTPORT  A few dolphins were recently spotted off the coast of Norwalk and Westport  a rare sight according to the people who live in the area.

It was very magical, said Patti Brill, who lives near where the dolphins were spotted.

She said they first saw them March 5 and then spent another two hours on March 6 observing their marine visitors in Bermuda Lagoon. Given everything going on the world, Brill said this moment of nature was a much welcome calm.

A newsletter from local marinas last week also shared photos of the dolphins swimming in Long Island Sound, saying there had been sightings over a few days.

There havent been any recent reports of the dolphins.

Brill suspects there were three or four of them but it was hard to tell based on how they were coming up out of the water and then disappearing below.

They seemed very healthy, not in distress or anything like that, Brill said.

The Maritime Aquarium received photos and videos of the dolphins, but didnt see them when the research vessel went out last Thursday and Friday.

Dylan Salamone, Norwalk Aquariums senior aquarist in the animal husbandry department, said he cant confirm the type of animal spotted in the water but suspects they might be white sided dolphins based on the photos and videos sent.

He said its hard to say how common it is for the dolphins to be here because they live in this part of the world. White sided dolphins, for example, are generally found in temperate waters in the north Atlantic, which spans from the middle of the U.S. up through Canada and the Greenland area. Not much is known about their migratory patterns either, though scientists are trying to learn more.

I think whats less common is how often people see them, Salamone said.

Thats changing a bit in recent years though with more people seeing dolphins off Connecticuts coast.

He said this could be a sign of the Long Island Sounds improving health. He said dolphins are likely to be seen more if the fish are good, which is what he suspects drew this group to this spot.

Dolphins hunt through echolocation, Salamone said, adding its common for them to hunt in areas like this where they can trap fish. He said its possible there was already good fishing there or they drove the fish into the lagoon to catch them.

He said its great to see dolphins in the Long Island Sound and peoples excitement over their presence.

Any moment when people are appreciating the wildlife in their backyards is great, he said.

It must be done at a safe distance though, like from the shore, and people shouldnt seek them out and approach them, especially since doing so is a federal offense. He said if people are approached by an animal while out on a boat, they should cut the motor and enjoy the nature around them.

Marine animals are extremely protected in the U.S. and thats good, Salamone said, adding the federal government takes any interruption to the animals lifestyle or habitat seriously.

Approaching them could scare the mother away from the young or distress the animal, he warned. People can call local organizations that specialize in rescuing wildlife if they suspect the animal is in trouble. In Connecticut, confusion can often arise over the seals lounging on the coast where the animal isnt actually in trouble.

Salamone welcomed people enjoying the animals through their cameras zoom feature or at zoos and aquariums.

He hopes seeing animals like this will inspire people to form a connection with the environment and care for the ecosystems in their backyards.

Its exciting but I hope people take that excitement and apply it to their daily lives, Salamone said.

This includes following reduce, reuse, recycle, as well as being conscious about the seafood they eat, ensuring its harvested sustainably, ensuring the amount is enough to feed humans and support the business or industry, but also leaving enough in the ocean for the other animals that rely on it. He recommended using Seafood Watch, which is an app out of Monteray Bay Aquarium that lets people see if what theyre eating is sustainable.

Salamone said sightings like these dolphins can help people realize the larger ecosystem underwater.

That animal is only there if there is a healthy ecosystem below them, he said, adding he hopes more come.

Brill said she hopes the dolphins are doing well wherever they are now.

I hope they come back again, Brill said.
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STRATFORD  Mayor Laura Hoydicks $249.1 million budget proposal for 2022-23 is a 3.37 percent increase from the current year. But thanks to state and federal funding, Hoydicks proposal includes a slight decrease in the mill rate, from 39.47 to 39.46.

I am proud of the ongoing collaboration of this administration and the Town Council, and this proposed budget will represent a fifth consecutive year without raising the mill rate, Hoydick said in her submission letter to Town Council. As our previous collaboration has resulted in effective budgets that have held the line on taxes and spending, and I am looking forward to continuing this work with the Town Council to achieve our collective goals for the residents of Stratford.

The proposed reduction in the mill rate would save a homeowner about $1 for every $100,000 in assessed property value.

This budget proposal includes a 2.5 percent increase for the Board of Education, short of the 4.57 percent it asked for in its budget proposal. In total, the school board had sought $125.7 million budget, but Hoydick proposed allocating just under $123.2 million.

Hoydick proposed a $5.1 million increase for the town departments, to a total of just under $125.5 million. That represents an increase of 4.25 percent, and fully funds town departments at the requested levels, according to Hoydick.

School board chair Andrea Corcoran called Hoydicks recommendation deeply concerning. The school board had passed what members called a maintenance budget, she said.

I think a number at that level that was something thats going to have a deep impact on not only our programs, but also our personnel, Corcoran said. Because theres really, outside of personnel, theres really not much that we can shave away at.

Corcoran said anything less than the 4.57 percent increase will result in some potentially difficult cuts to its budget.

Superintendent Uyi Osunde said this figure barely comes close to meeting the districts contractual obligations. He said any meaningful movement in the budget would likely come from personnel or large-scale programs.

The budget is not final though, and Osunde said he was scheduled to meet with town officials Wednesday morning on the issue.

Council chair Chris Pia said the council would be examining the school budget carefully.

Were gonna take a good hard look at what we gave the Board of Ed last year and what we feel is a fair increase, if any, would be for this upcoming year, Pia said.

Last year, the school board requested a 3.88 percent increase and received 2.25 percent after going through the budget process.

This year the town did not obtain funding from the state from the distressed communities program as it has in previous years, Hoydick said. This created a $4.7 million hole in the bueget. Despite gains in state funding elsewhere, this change will result in a reduction in overall state funding of $2.4 million from the current budget.

Stratford did receive $5.7 million in recovery funds from the federal governments American Rescue Plan, though. The town also increased its tax revenue collection to $201.7 million, a 3.81 percent increase.

Health insurance costs are projected to drive a $2.4 million increase in employee benefits, a 10.6 percent increase.

After the council holds a series of workshops, it will forward the budget to the Ordinance Committee, which will hold public hearings before sending it back to the council for a final vote.

The council is required by town charter to pass a budget by May 12.

mike.mavredakis@hearstmediact.com
Cullman, AL (35055)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
U.S. cant cover up its responsibility for Ukraine crisis by spreading anti-China disinformation

09:01, March 16, 2022 By Zhong Sheng ( People's Daily

Recently, some politicians and media outlets in the U.S. have repeatedly concocted and spread disinformation in order to smear and defame China over the Ukraine issue. The practice of fabricating rumors to shift the blame has been proven despicable and futile by facts. Such acts cant cover up Americas responsibility for the Ukraine crisis. Instead, they have further exposed the countrys dangerous intention of stirring up trouble and plunging the world into chaos.

Charity staff members deliver free food on the plaza of the Lviv railway station in Lviv, Ukraine, March 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Ren Ke)

The evolution of the Ukraine issue is something China does not want to see. As a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, China always adopts an objective, fair, and responsible attitude toward global events, makes judgments and takes its stand independently based on the merits of the matter itself.

There is a complex historical background and context behind the Ukraine issue, which needs to be solved with a cool head and a rational mind.

China believes that to resolve the current crisis, countries must uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and respect and protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, adhere to the principle of indivisible security and accommodate the legitimate security concerns of the parties involved, settle disputes by peaceful means through dialogue and negotiation, and keep in mind the long-term peace and stability of the region and put in place a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture.

Chinas stance on the Ukraine issue is open and straightforward, and its suggestions for resolving the Ukraine crisis positive and constructive.

At the moment, the top priority in resolving the Ukraine crisis is to promote peace talks, rather than adding fuel to the flames of tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

China stands, as always, on the side of peace, cooperation, fairness, and justice, supports any endeavor that helps ease the tense situation and bring a political solution to the crisis, and opposes any action that goes against diplomatic settlement of the issue and escalates the tensions.

China has maintained close communication with relevant parties and made efforts to facilitate peace talks. It is ready to continue playing a constructive role in promoting peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and work alongside with the international community to carry out necessary mediation when needed.

China has responded to the Ukraine issue in a responsible way. What it has done to help resolve the crisis has truly demonstrated the sense of responsibility a major country is supposed to have.

In contrast, certain country attempts to create a crisis, benefit from the crisis, and shift its burden of crises onto others, which will only harm both itself and others.

China does not agree to the idea of resolving the Ukraine issue with sanctions and opposes unilateral sanctions that lack the basis of international law.

Sanctions have never been an effective approach to solving problems, but only cause serious difficulty for the economy and peoples livelihood in countries concerned and worsen division and confrontation.

History has long proven that sanctions not only result in an economic situation where multiple players lose, but disrupt the process of political settlement.

According to data released by the U.S. Treasury Department, the number of sanctions imposed by the U.S. has climbed 10 times during the past two decades, and the last U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed 3,800 sanctions during his presidency, which means the administration wielded the big stick of sanctions about three times a day.

The unilateral sanctions imposed by the U.S. have inflicted a lot of trouble on the world and caused persistent and systemic human rights violations. The country should stop abusing sanctions and abandon the futile attempt to coerce other countries into doing things they oppose.

The fact that some politicians and media outlets in the U.S. cooked up and disseminated disinformation over the Ukraine issue has reminded people of Americas disgraceful record of using lies and rumors as pretexts to frequently wage wars.

Throughout its less than 250 years of history, there were only less than 20 years when the U.S. didnt launch military operations against foreign countries. And among the diverse pretexts for its military interventions abroad, some are even false information fabricated by the U.S. itself.

The U.S. once used a small tube of white powder as evidence of the so-called weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and launched military strikes against the latter, bringing terrible disasters to the Iraqi people.

It also used a video deliberately staged by the White Helmets, an organization funded by Western intelligence agencies, as evidence to conduct air strikes in Syria.

Such lessons are not long gone. The U.S. should reflect on its wrongful actions rather than repeat the same mistakes.

George Frost Kennan, former U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union, warned the U.S. government in the 1990s that expanding NATO up to Russias borders would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold-war era.

As the instigator of the Ukraine crisis, the U.S. should reflect on its role in the crisis and stop deceiving and confusing the public. Its about time the country shouldered its due responsibility, took practical actions to help alleviate tensions and solve problems and contributed to world peace.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by Peoples Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed optimism about the ongoing peace talks with Russia, despite the invaders' continued bombardment of Ukraine's major cities.

Zelensky said on Wednesday that the diplomatic talks were becoming 'more realistic' though it needs more time to further pursue the interests of Ukraine."

The Ukrainian leader's statement came after his team noted that a peace deal that will end Russia's attacks on Ukraine would be approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin within a week or two, considering that the Russian military is running out of supplies and new soldiers, as per Daily Mail.

Zelensky said in a video address that the "meetings continue" and the stances during the diplomatic talks "already sound more realistic," but the talks will be extended to make sure that Ukraine's interests will be protected and pursued.

However, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Oleksiy Arestovich warned that there is a possibility that Russia would send reinforcements to increase their attack that could lengthen the war.

Arestovich believes that a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia will be attained by "no later than May" or perhaps in a "much earlier " date.

Ukraine No Longer Joining NATO

Ukraine No Longer Wants To Become a NATO Member

Meanwhile, The Guardian reports that Zelenskyy has announced on Wednesday that Ukraine will not join NATO as Russian forces attacked the country's capital Kyiv that killed no less than five people.

While speaking to officials of the new Joint Expeditionary Force, a UK-led project gathering all ten north Atlantic countries to establish a force for responding quickly to emergencies, Zelenskiy mentioned "it is clear," and he understands that his country is not a NATO member.

The Ukrainian President added that for years there has been an "open door" for Ukraine, but they have already "heard" that the Eastern European country "will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged."

After Zelensky's announcements, aspirations for a diplomatic breakthrough, Ukraine's desire to join NATO have long been seen by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a danger to Russia, which the alliance rejects.

Read Also: Joe Biden's Nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin Withdraws Bid for Federal Reserve After Sen. Joe Manchin, Republicans Object Her Stance

Russian Military Continue Heavy Shelling in Ukrainian Cities

Russian troops bombarded Ukraine's major cities as they attempted to destroy a defense that halted the progress of their invasion that was going on for almost three weeks, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Despite the continued attacks, Russian ground troops failed to advance further towards Kyiv because of the Ukrainian defense, which frustrated the invaders.

Zelensky said that the Russian military could not move forward into the Ukrainian zone but sustained their heavy bombardment of cities, which drove civilians to hide in shelters and their homes. Media outlets reported that a 12-story apartment building in Kyiv caught fire when shrapnel hit the structure.

In a video message to the nation, Zelensky noted that "Efforts are still needed" in the peace talks with Russia. "Any war ends with an agreement," the Ukrainian leader said.

British and U.S. intelligence assessments supported the Ukrainian leader's view of the current war, saying Russian ground forces were still about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from the center of Kyiv.

Related Article: Biden To Announce Additional $800 Million Fund For Military Aid to Ukraine, Bringing Total Security Assistance to $1 Billion

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Keres Serpentine Pavilion in Montana. Photo: courtesy of Tippet Rise/Iwan Baan. Photo by Iwan Baan.

I met Francis Kere one summer morning in 2019 on a ranch in Montana. Coppery light filtered through the wooden pavilion that he had tucked into a gentle culvert. We sat on an undulating bench beneath a canopy of rough logs that were suspended vertically, like a levitating forest. He told me about the first time he left Burkina Faso, where he grew up in a village with no electricity, no roads, no schools, and no running water. Landing in Berlin, he recalled, was like being teleported to the moon, a thrilling but terrifying experience. The buildings! The climate! It was big, big, big! he marveled.

Now 56, Kere, the son of an illiterate village chief, has become the first African-born winner of architectures prestigious Pritzker Prize. Long before that, though, he was famous for work that few enthusiasts had ever seen. Though he remained in Germany to study and establish his studio, he has returned often to the town where he was born, transforming it into a showcase for architectures power to reshape and preserve. Gando, a four-hour drive from the capital, Ouagadougou (theres a road now), is home to the collection that made his reputation: three one-story school buildings and a row of teachers housing, all built out of handmade clay bricks. His list of works lies well off the usual architectural-pilgrimage routes: a national park in Mali, a medical center in rural Leo, Burkina Faso, a tech campus on the shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya, a German cultural center in Dakar. The irony of his career has been that though his work honors craftsmanship; depends on local earth, stone, and wood; and celebrates community participation and vernacular traditions, Keres celebrity is based almost entirely on a global circuit of disembodied images offering fantasies of distant treasures. Photos of sunlight raining through the perforated roof of the Gando school library and dappling the beaten-earth floor, an orderly row of boxlike doctors quarters curving around a plaza, low-slung structures in harmony with green-and-ochre plains  these visions of well-ventilated simplicity have entranced people who live behind sealed windows in steel-and-concrete cities.

So it was with a certain degree of skepticism that I approached Xylem, his open-sided arbor at Tippet Rise, an arts center an hours travel from Billings, Montana. Once I entered, I was entranced. The design had been like a set of treasure-hunt instructions. Woodworkers had to collect standing dead trees  no logging allowed  from forests near Yellowstone National Park. Kere specified the diameters and lengths of the poles, which were then grouped in bundles, held together with long screws, and threaded through a steel honeycomb. These simple elements came together in a work of staggering subtlety. Inside, you inhabit a surreal zone between two hilly landscapes: Benches, also made from standing logs, resolve into a continuous contoured terrain; the canopy above dips and lifts so that roof, ceiling, and structure are all part of the same undulating form. To this day, when a doctor is taking my blood pressure and tells me to think of something calming, I picture myself sitting in Xylem.

Its typical of Kere that he leaned heavily on local experts, including the timber-framing builders Chris Gunn and Laura Viklund, based in Cody, Wyoming. And its not coincidental that his first permanent North American project is in the middle of nowhere, because his approach is a difficult fit with the industrialized practices of Western cities. Though his Berlin studio is compact  just a dozen architects or so  for his African projects he relies on a vast supply of labor that passes through a web of trainee programs in Burkina Faso. Sometimes we may be 200 brickmakers, bricklayers, woodworkers, he told me. Now we have a branch specifically for working with eucalyptus wood. He once described the process of laying a Kere floor: Men pound the stone-and-clay composite with heavy mallets, women wet it and then beat it smooth with pallets, and a finishing crew polishes the surface by hand with rocks until its very fine, like a babys bottom.

Francis Kere. Photo: David M. Benett/Getty Images

The Pritzkers prestige carries the most weight in parts of the world where such practices are considered out of date. That luster will create new demands for his talent, and its hard to imagine him specifying prefabricated facade panels from China for an office building in Manhattan. Westerners urgently need to learn from that disjunction. Hazardous shipping, war, and a pandemic have snarled the supply chain of building materials. Conventional industrial-style construction has become a rolling environmental disaster. Technically advanced buildings outlive their purpose and sit unused or get torn down. Expensive air-conditioning systems age into public-health liabilities. Design gets co-opted as the dressing on a global money-laundering operation. Along comes an architect who, against crushing odds, shows the world how to build cheaply, beautifully, joyfully, and well; if we cant make room for him in our cities, then its our cities that should change.

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) new rocket boosters just got the classic NASA "worm" logo painted on them.

The Administration recently announced that it has finished painting its classic worm logo on the Space Launch System's (SLS) solid rocket boosters in preparation for the Artemis I mission to the Moon.

A CNET article added that the Orion capsule would also go into space with NASA's worm logo.

Artemis I Paintjob Details

According to NASA's post, the painters who added the iconic logo on the SLS' rocket boosters did so while the booster's segments were stacked on the mobile launcher in preparation for the Artemis I launch.

The paint job for the SLS' rocket boosters started in 2020 when NASA resumed work on the SLS after the halts and delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, per Space Flight Now. However, the paint job was only completed on March 15 to allow workers to fully assemble the boosters.

NASA mentioned in its post that the rocket boosters were fully assembled thanks to the installation of the tracks of cable lining in each of the rocket's dual sets of five segments, which enabled painters to finish NASA's worm logo.

Read more: How to Secure Your Social Media Accounts: Facebook, TikTok and More

Now with its paint job done and its rocket booster fully assembled, the SLS can be rolled out to NASA's launchpad for the wet dress rehearsal test on March 17.

The upcoming wet dress rehearsal consists of loading the rocket with a propellant which it must pass before NASA could set a more specific launch date for Artemis I.

Details on the SLS and Its Mission

According to the Administration, the SLS is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle that will serve as the foundation for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit. Thanks to its powerful twin boosters and four rocket engines, the SLS can send astronauts, NASA's Orion capsule, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

A previous iTech Post article also mentioned that the SLS was designed to be evolvable, allowing the rocket to possibly conduct more types of space missions from the Moon and beyond.

Meanwhile, NASA's Orion capsule, which will be attached to the SLS, will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry and sustain crew members in space while providing emergency abort capabilities and safe reentry from deep space return velocities, per a separate NASA article.

Both Orion and the SLS will be used for the Artemis I mission, the first of three Artemis missions that would pave the way for the first woman and first person of color to set foot on the Moon, per a previous iTechPost report.

According to NASA, the Artemis I mission is unmanned, and as such, it will be NASA's test to see if the rocket and its deep space exploration systems can takeoff, go around the moon, and return to Earth in one piece.

Related Article: NASA Will Take Your Name on a Trip Around the Moon
Dalton, GA (30720)

Today

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 57F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Google has just taken Google Domains out of its beta phase.

Alphabet, Inc.'s Google recently announced it had moved Google Domains to general availability in 26 countries after seven years of beta testing the service.

Additionally, Google will be offering new and returning users a 20% discount off any single domain registration or transfer-in to Google Domains using the code DOMAINS20 from March 15 to April 15.

Google Domains Details and Pricing

Google advertised Google Domains as the simplest place to find, buy, and manage a domain. According to Kinsta, it is a domain registration service that helps users register the domain name for their websites.

However, unlike other domain registrars, Google Domains does not offer any hosting, meaning users will have to pay for hosting separately.

Kinsta did note one advantage of using Google Domains: the service makes it easy to connect to other Google services like G-Suit and the Google Search Console. This ease of connection is due to Google Domains' integration of these services. This integration gives business owners who are using the service the ability to reach customers across the web and track where their visitors are coming from.

Read More: EA Cancels EA Play Live 2022

Additionally, Google mentioned in its announcement that Google Domains would have more than 300 domain endings available (.com, .org, .edu, etc.), a free Business Profile for businesses, and the ability to add custom email and collaboration tools with Workspace.

The pricing of Google Domains' domain endings ranges from $12-$60 depending on what users need for their website. However, keep in mind that these prices are only the starting prices per year, according to Google Domains' home page.

The company also mentioned that Google Domains users would not have to code to create a professional-looking website for free, thanks to Google Sites and the company's premium partners like Wix, Weebly, and Bluehost.

Google Domains also include a stable and reliable service with high-performance domain name systems and 24/7 customer support from real people as well as privacy and security features like two-step verification and one-clock DNSSEC for free. These were all confirmed by Kinsta.

"If you want to keep your information private, we also cover the cost of privacy protection," said Lorenzo Baloci, Google Domains Product Manager.

Google Domains' Supported Countries

Currently, only 26 countries can avail of Google's domain registry. These countries are:

Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam.

Google also mentioned that people should keep in mind that Cloud Domains is available in all countries where the Google Cloud Platform is available.

However, Google plans to expand Google Domains' coverage to different countries. The company is even asking people not from the supported countries to fill up a request form on its Support Country request page to inform them of their request.

Related Article: Google Announces 'Significant Price Increases' For Google Cloud's Services
Will China agree to give President Putin military aid? Or will the country use its influence over Russia to try to broker peace?

These are the questions to which the world is desperate for an answer as we appear to inch closer to catastrophe  just yesterday, a former RAF chief, Air Marshal Edward Stringer, warned we are only a few steps from nuclear war.

Shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin met President Xi Jinping at the Beijing Winter Olympics to announce a 'no limits' partnership. A partnership forged from a deep hostility to America's global power.

It is an open question as to whether the Russian president told Xi of his plans to attack Ukraine on that visit.

But what is beyond doubt is Xi will have been surprised and concerned that Russia's invasion has gone so awry, and has revived and strengthened the Western alliance so dramatically, not just bolstering defence spending but also resulting in perhaps the most punishing sanctions regime ever inflicted on any country.

As the West sends vast quantities of military supplies to Ukraine, and as the sanctions beggar Russia, Putin needs China as never before.

Moscow wants to boost its war-fighting capacity by importing Chinese-armed drones that have proved their worth on unsung battlefields in Yemen and North Africa  the drones could help Russia gain the air superiority that has been lacking in its campaign.

Putin needs Chinese banks and companies to help it circumvent Western financial and economic sanctions.

MARK ALMOND: As the West sends vast quantities of military supplies to Ukraine, and as the sanctions beggar Russia, Putin needs China as never before. (Pictured: Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk to each other during their meeting in Beijing, February 4, 2022)

And so far, the mood music from Beijing has been favourable for the Russian dictator.

Yesterday, China's state newspaper, the People's Daily, was highly critical of Western sanctions.

It reported how China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, said 'the wanton use of sanctions' won't solve the conflict but only create new problems.

China abstained in a UN vote on the invasion and has refused to condemn it.

At the weekend, official rhetoric on the conflict from Beijing appeared to back Russia's absurd claims that the U.S. was using Ukraine to research pathogens and biological weapons, saying the concerns raised by Moscow  almost certainly as a pretext for the potential use of their own chemical or biological weapons  should not be dismissed.

Now, on top of this, American intelligence officials are reported to have said Beijing is open to the idea of supplying weapons to Moscow  and a strong warning has been despatched from the U.S. to China not to get involved.

Terrifyingly, what we seem to be witnessing is a proxy war between China and the West. The West is behind Ukraine but there is now a giant shadow of the dragon across the conflict from East Asia.

And the fact is, China is well-placed to take advantage of the Kremlin's bloody misjudgment.

A glance at the map shows Russia is a vast resource-rich hinterland for China, which needs energy imports and metals to fuel its economy.

MARK ALMOND: Moscow wants to boost its war-fighting capacity by importing Chinese-armed drones that have proved their worth on unsung battlefields in Yemen and North Africa  the drones could help Russia gain the air superiority that has been lacking in its campaign. (Pictured: Chinese paramilitary policemen march past the Forbidden City on Friday, March 4, 2022)

Detailed map shows the latest battlegrounds in the Ukraine war

With Russia on the back foot, Beijing will drive a hard bargain for any support.

Moscow is already offering India discounted oil, for instance; Beijing will demand oil, gas, metals and foodstuffs at cut prices  and Putin will have to sell.

But because the Chinese regime has a good nose for the main chance and how to profit from Putin's blunder, it doesn't mean Beijing is certain to offer its help outright.

Although Xi may surprise us all by openly siding with Russia and supplying weaponry, shrewd China analysts think this is unlikely.

They point out that, having seen Western resolve on sanctions against Russia, China will be wary of invoking similar punishment.

It is true that trying to isolate China economically would be much harder than doing so to Russia  not least because so much of what is produced in China is essential to Western businesses.

But condemnation of Western sanctions on Russia's war machine as 'illegal' perhaps mirrors Beijing's concern that they could be a trial-run for how an isolated, if powerful, China could be ground down by the West in the future.

The most likely course of action by China, therefore, will be treading a fine line of covert Chinese support for the Russians while trying to appear an honest broker.

China, after all, backed North Korea in its war with the U.S. in the 1950s and then Vietnam as a proxy against the Americans in the 1960s without actually declaring war.

Although Beijing would have liked a clean and efficient war, in which Putin gained a swift military victory in Ukraine, it serves China's purpose now to keep a weakened Putin bogged down for a while in his invasion.

Until three weeks ago, Washington's strategists were obsessed with China's growing challenge to the Western world. Even as Vladimir Putin sealed his so-called partnership with China's President Xi Jinping, Western leaders were still reinforcing our naval presence in the Far East.

It wasn't foolish to think China's expansion into the Pacific Ocean was the most likely fulcrum of potential conflict.

But Putin's invasion has dramatically changed things to China's advantage as the West has shifted its gaze.

MARK ALMOND: Beijing's leaders see the conflict far to their west as very advantageous for them. (Pictured: Shelled building in Kyiv, struck on March 15, 2022)

Whatever concessions it squeezes out of the Kremlin in this crisis, Beijing doesn't want to see Putin beaten.

A defeated Russia could turn revolutionary as it did in 1917. And any successful uprising would almost certainly put a pro-Western government in power in Moscow.

That would be bad news for China. President Xi is the heir to the crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and has silenced dissent in Hong Kong himself.

A Russian dictatorship is a cosy bear on his northern border, but a Russian democracy would set a bad example for Xi's subjects.

What China might well try to do, while quietly supporting Putin, is act as peace broker between Moscow and Kyiv  allowing Putin to retreat wounded but with his dignity more or less intact.

Playing on its old political links as well as its economic ties to both states, Beijing may be able to bring the two sides together.

Because of our open siding with Ukraine and our sanctions, the West cannot be the mediator.

China's under-the-counter backing for Russia offers it a chance to shape the post-war peace in its interests, perhaps picking up valuable contracts and influence in helping to repair Ukraine's infrastructure after its devastation.

Ukraine's brave resistance so far has saved us from the risk of a Russian steamroller ploughing on into its neighbours.

But Nato countries including the UK will have to spend more on defence for the European continent.

No one will want to be caught by a Russian surprise attack in the future once Putin has licked his wounds.

Having America and allies focusing on Eastern Europe rather than East Asia suits China very well.

A pariah Russia will have nowhere to turn than to China. Such a vast vassal state will provide China with a huge, secure hinterland stocked with natural resources well away from American naval power that might enforce any future sanctions on Chinese sea-trade.

Beijing's leaders see the conflict far to their west as very advantageous for them.

Is Communist China's founder, Mao's prophecy that 'The East Wind is prevailing over the West Wind' coming true?

Let's hope not, but the West will have to struggle hard and smart against China's proxy headwinds to prevail.

Mark Almond is director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford.
The six-year ordeal endured by Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family has been the stuff of dystopian nightmares.

How could she be snatched from her life in this way? How could she find herself trapped, stranded, in the middle of a seemingly insoluble diplomatic stand-off?

It seemed so unfair, so unnecessary, so brutal  so out of the realms of possibility in a civilised world.

No wonder her plight garnered such huge support. Especially when it became clear that this was no ordinary woman. That she and her family were going to fight with every ounce of strength to get her back.

Through the many twists and turns of her incarceration, she somehow grew stronger even as her body grew weaker; the more they tried to crush her, the more determined she became. Her resolve never seemed to waver, even in the face of setback after setback.

It was truly admirable. In the end she became so much more than another unfortunate victim on the wrong side of a brutal regime.

Back with her family: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella, 7, at RAF Brize Norton minutes after the plane bringing her home had landed

Back with mummy: Gabriella cuddles in to Nazanin at the arrivals area at Brize. Nazanin's release is all the more poignant against the backdrop of the terrible events of the last few weeks in Ukraine

A wave for the cameras after disembarking the plane at Brize before Nazanin and fellow released detainee Anoosheh Ashoori met their respective families

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe after touching down in Oman on a Royal Air Force of Oman jet on Wednesday afternoon

She came to exemplify, for me at any rate, the struggle of the individual against the brute power of cruel, wicked men  a struggle that resonates within us all.

Ever since David picked up that rock and slung it at Goliath, stories like Nazanins have captured hearts and minds.

Her release is all the more poignant against the backdrop of the terrible events of the last few weeks in Ukraine.

There we have a whole nation going through what she went through. An entire people unjustly imprisoned and terrified, trapped by the rabid ambition of Vladimir Putin, families ripped apart yet refusing to give in.

Thats why her return feels like such a jubilant moment.

It is a ray of sunshine in the darkest of skies, and it fills all our hearts not just with happiness for Nazanin and her family, at last together and safe; but also hope for the world at large.

Hope that the bad guys dont always win; that the odds arent always and invariably stacked against the little people. And however much the bullies of this world try to snuff out the light, to wear down the human spirit, there are some flames that just keep on burning.

In this case not only Nazanins courage and resolve; but also the love of her husband, Richard, who moved mountains to get her home.

I hesitate to say it because the circumstances of their situation have been so serious and so wearing, but there is something deeply romantic about their plight.

Theirs is, yes, a tale of politics, diplomacy and, ultimately, cold hard cash. But its also a great love story, a tale of soulmates separated by adversity, and of their unstinting struggle to be reunited.

In particular there is something heroic about her husband, who never once wavered, never once tired of campaigning for her release.

Richard, who sat outside the Foreign Office throughout that freezing cold November last year, three weeks on hunger strike.

Richard Ratcliffe and daughter, Gabriella. Richard has been praised for his unwavering support of his wife

Richard Ratcliffe showing the picture of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as she waits for the plane to leave Iran

Richard, who had to choose between being at home with the couples seven-year-old daughter Gabriella and risking his life to help save his wife. What a man, what a hero.

Now they are finally together again, and I wish them all the happiness in the world. Im sure it wont be easy re-adjusting to a normal life after the agonies of the past six years.

Nor will it be straightforward for Nazanin getting to know her family again, catching up on all those lost opportunities and missed moments.

And then there will be the ghosts, the spectres of her ordeal, which will no doubt take time to banish.

But nothing can take away the joy of this moment, or the heartfelt good wishes of the millions of people who, together with Liz Truss and all the other agencies involved, helped secure her release. Welcome home.
Pianist Lim Dong-hyek sits at the piano during an interview with The Korea Times at Cosmos Art Hall in southern Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Acclaimed pianist to perform at The Korea Times' concert



By Dong Sun-hwa



Listing all the accolades that pianist Lim Dong-hyek has earned during his 20-year career would take a long time, but just to mention a few, he ranked second at the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Russia at the age of 12, as the youngest participant that year, and won the fifth prize at the International Busoni Piano Competition in Italy in 2000, before becoming the youngest pianist ever to ink a recording contract with EMI Classics  the classical music label behind internationally acclaimed artists like Nigel Kennedy, which later changed its name to Warner Classics  in 2005.



But the 37-year-old who is known as a piano genius still suffers from bad stage fright, which keeps him on his toes whenever he performs before an audience.



"Above all, I am the most nervous about performing in Korea, maybe because I get to read a lot of comments about me on the internet after holding a concert," Lim said during an interview with The Korea Times at Cosmos Art Hall in southern Seoul, Tuesday. "I think Korean audiences are not very generous to Korean musicians. They seem to think highly of performers from the West, believing that Asian musicians are no match for them. This prevalent belief or prejudice has not disappeared over the decades, and in my eyes, it is a sign of xenocentrism," he said, referring to the preference for a culture other than one's own.



He added that he has seen numerous online comments from Koreans criticizing a Korean artist when he or she replaced a Western musician in a performance.



"A slew of internet users have attacked Korean musicians without knowing how talented they are," he said. "I really want to stress that there are a lot of great Asian musicians around the world."





The poster for The Korea Times' "Spring Concert: New Era Brings New Hope," to be held at the Seoul Arts Center on March 26, where pianist Lim Dong-hyek will perform

Lim is scheduled to perform at The Korea Times' annual concert  with this year's title being "Spring Concert: New Era Brings New Hope"  at Seoul Arts Center at 5 p.m., March 26, while also holding six recitals nationwide from March 18 in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his debut.



The Spring Concert, which is co-hosted by the newspaper and its sister paper the Hankook Ilbo, intends to deliver a message of hope to the audience amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with conductor Hong Seok-won and the Korean Symphony Orchestra, Lim will play Bizet's Carmen Overture, Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 "From the New World."



"As always, I am quite nervous about the upcoming event, largely because I have to play pieces that I have not performed for many years," Lim said. "Tchaikovsky's work is not easy as well. But I am thrilled at the same time, as I might be able to play the pieces in a new and different way."





Pianist Lim Dong-hyek plays the piano after having an interview with The Korea Times at Cosmos Art Hall in southern Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Lim is often praised for his delicate touch at the piano, with many considering his sentimentalism and romanticism as the crown jewels of his performances. However, he is quite different offstage. This bold and outspoken man does not shy away from expressing his views on a range of hot-button issues, including politics.



During the interview, he weighed in with the cultural boycotts against pro-Vladimir Putin musicians like Valery Gergiev and Denis Matsuev, triggered by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is known as the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).



"I am not sure if it is appropriate to impose boycotts against musicians, but I think it is inevitable to put sanctions on Russia to deter it from committing more inhumane acts," commented Lim, who moved to Russia at the age of 10 and studied at the Moscow Central Music School and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory.



"The fact that Putin has played a pivotal role in reviving the Russian music and performing arts industry partly explains why there are so many pro-Kremlin artists. When I was studying in Russia in the late 1990s, Putin raised the monthly salary of orchestra members from $100 to $3,000 to help them make a living and built a new hall for them, lifting the overall quality of Russian music. But I believe this cannot excuse the atrocities being committed by the Russian government right now."





Pianist Lim Dong-hyek poses during an interview with The Korea Times at Cosmos Art Hall in southern Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Social media sites currently operate under no one's rules but their own.

This has led to an online world where teenagers' lives can be ruined by cyberbullying, suicide is encouraged, vulnerable people are radicalised by terrorists, kids are exposed to pornography and racist bile is shared without consequence.

What's worse  a lot of this vile stuff is actively promoted to huge audiences via algorithms simply because it makes social media firms more money.

CHRIS PHILP (pictured): Woke moderators in Silicon Valley can arbitrarily censor feeds and dictate the terms of political debate and journalism

The case for regulation couldn't be clearer: We have a moral duty to make big tech take action and clean up the internet once and for all. As a father, nothing could be more important to me.

Today our Online Safety Bill has its first reading in the Commons. This is Britain leading the world to force tech firms to tackle illegal and harmful content.

But we also need to make sure that these powerful companies do not try to muzzle people just because they have controversial opinions.

At the moment, woke moderators in Silicon Valley can arbitrarily censor feeds and dictate the terms of political debate and journalism.

Under this Bill, platforms will have to respect free speech and protect content of journalistic and democratic importance.

They will not be able to take down legal content where there is no breach of their own rules  something YouTube did last year to TalkRadio.

The Government will set out what constitutes the legal but still harmful material firms must address, and Parliament will approve it. And if people feel their posts have been taken down without good reason they will be able to appeal.

At the moment, woke moderators in Silicon Valley under Mark Zuckerberg can arbitrarily censor feeds and dictate the terms of political debate and journalism

Trusted news sites such as MailOnline will be exempt from the Bill's provisions, including its reader comment sections which inspire such lively debate.

Ofcom will hold tech giants to account with tough powers to issue multi-billion-pound fines and block them in the UK. The watchdog will be able to raid firms' offices to access data and interview employees  as well as lift the lid on algorithms pushing harmful content.

Today we are giving it even more tools. Ofcom will be able to prosecute rogue tech bosses who fail to cooperate  which could see them face jail sentences of up to two years.

Change is coming online and for the better. My message to the industry is: Act now to protect children and our fellow citizens. If they don't, this law will force them to do so.
Some celebrity couples make us go Awww, others make us think Wow! I bet THEYRE getting up to all sorts in bed!.

The way they look at each other, the erotic PDAs, the stories they tell about their sex life  all these things hint at which couples are having hot sexand which arent.

But can you really tell by looking at a couple how much sex theyre having? Can you trust those boastful claims?

Is it a case of the more demonstrative the better? Or are there more subtle signals that giveaway the couples who are red hot between the sheets.

I spent years analysing body language for TV dating shows and magazines.

Heres my take on the REAL sex power couples out there  and one that fails to make the grade.

WILL SMITH AND JADA PINKETT SMITH

Jada has admitted to indulging in spontaneous sex and claims good sex is the secret to a lasting marriage. Pictured: Will and Jada

Photos of the Will and Jada together have all the hallmarks of a couple who are both in love and lust, according to Tracey

Moving from intensely private to almost TMI on the love life scale, we have Will and Jada Pinkett.

Rumours about an open marriage sparked in 2003 and were confirmed in a GQ interview in 2021. Will confessed Jada had never believed in conventional marriage and both had engaged in sexual relationships with other people outside the marriage. Jada confirmed a relationship with August Alsina (though not his version of it) later.

Perhaps this explains why a couple in their 50s, whove been married for 24 years with kids, display such overtly sexual body language cues.

Tracey (pictured) revealed mate-guarding gestures are also a sign of having great sex

Jadas admitted to indulging in spontaneous sex (they had sex in a limo on the way to the Academy Awards), frequent sex (lots of sex was Jadas beauty secret), satisfying sex (really, really good sex is the secret to a lasting marriage, she told David Letterman) and sex in semi-public (sex outdoors, in cars, at friends houses and in costume were all admitted in another interview). On her talk show Red Table Talk, Jada frequently talks about her sex life with Will, nearly always in glowing terms.

Photos of the two of them together have all the hallmarks of a couple who are both in love and lust: they often kiss passionately in public (on the lips and sod the lipstick) and theres lots of full torso contact (a sign the couple connect on both a love and lust level). Interestingly, since they have an open relationship, Jada frequently places a hand on his chest when posing in public: a mate-guarding gesture usually used to warn others off.

Likelihood they arent just talking the talk: Im usually sceptical of couples who shout Were having great sex! from the rooftops. But their interviews appear searingly honest and are never contradictory, plus they present as one of Hollywoods happiest couples. I believe them! 9.5/10

KIM KARDASHIAN AND PETE DAVIDSON

Kim made it Instagram official days ago but has been dating Pete Davidson for five months - much to the wrath of ex Kanye West who is, lets just say unhappy about the hook up.

Some (me included!) dont quite get why the Saturday Night Live comedian has such pull but his romances with some of Hollywoods most beautiful women certainly appear intensely sexual.

If hes not intimately kissing Ariana Grande on the red carpet, hes tongue-kissing Kate Beckinsale (20 years older than him) at a ball game or snogging in a swimming pool with a supermodels daughter, Kaia Gerber. The body language in all the photos sends a clear message: were having hot sex.

Tracey claims it's unlikely that Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian (pictured) are having great sex as Kim's red carpet poses suggest she's lost connection with real passion

Kim  the worlds most bankable sex symbols  constantly advertises her sexuality in an unrelenting barrage of naked and half-naked suggestive poses. Pictured Kim K and Pete

And I believe it  just not with his latest conquest.

Kim  the worlds most bankable sex symbols  constantly advertises her sexuality in an unrelenting barrage of naked and half-naked suggestive poses.

Her infamous sex tape with Ray J reportedly made her millions for a reason: it wasnt just a celebrity having sex, it was a celebrity looking like she was authentically enjoying it.

The pairing of Pete and Kim in that period would have been sexual dynamite. Since then, Kims every move has been made in the public eye, to the point where I doubt she herself knows the difference between fantasy and reality.

Petes overtly sexual PDAs suggest he brings a lusty, animalistic edge to the bedroom. Kims staged Look at me red carpet poses, forcing ex Kanye to stand behind her like a bodyguard rather than partner, suggests she lost connection with any real passion years ago.

Likelihood of them having great sex: 5/10 If there is any hot sex happening, its going to be down to Pete. But while she might look like sex-on-legs, but I suspect Kardashian style sex involves a lot of spectatoring: Kim imagining how shes looking at every minute rather than losing herself in the moment.

JENNIFER LOPEZ AND BEN AFFLECK

The abundance of photos of Ben and Jen passionately kissing in umpteen places  both private and public  suggests to me that it certainly wasnt a lack of passion that made these two split first time around. Pictured: Ben and Jennifer Lopez

They met filming while J-Lo was still married and went public in 2002, quickly prompting the nickname Bennifer and just as quickly getting engaged after a proposal that involved rose petals spread over the entire house.

What started out as romantic, quickly crashed because of the excessive media attention Bennifer created.

They both married and divorced others, Ben publicly battling alcoholism, before a shock reunion last year.

Now Jennifer proclaims: Its a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.

Theyre certainly loved up: pictures of the pair show Ben, especially, displaying intensely adoring body language. He tips his head to rest on her cheek, closing his eyes and gazing dreamily into the distance and constantly kisses her on the forehead. She responds in kind by leaning into him while posing in front of the Marry Me backdrop of her latest rom-com.

Tracey said many people end up friends-with-benefits after the relationship is over because the sexual spark remains. Pictured: Ben and Jennifer Lopez

Love, clearly, isnt in short supply in this second-time-around relationship. But what about sex?

Ex-sex is a curious thing. People often split with exes they have the best sex of their lives with if other, equally as important qualities, arent there. The reason why lots of exes end up friends-with-benefits after the relationship is over is because the sexual spark remains. Theres also history: they know your body and your sexual triggers, you know theirs.

The abundance of photos of Ben and Jen passionately kissing in umpteen places  both private and public  suggests to me that it certainly wasnt a lack of passion that made these two split first time around. Im guessing its love AND lust thats going to keep them together.

Likelihood: Theres a such evident joy on both sides at the reunion and a willingness to show vulnerability (necessary to really let go sexually), Im awarding the perfect score 10/10.

MEGAN FOX AND MACHINE GUN KELLY

The couple are known for their outrageous PDAs, such as this snap from the VMAs, but Tracey argues that their body language seems posed

Married to Brian Austin Green for ten years with three sons, Megan met Kelly while filming.

They started out as friends, next thing shes left her husband and starring in his steamy music video.

Kelly is a complete change of type. Brian was clean cut and traditionally good-looking; Kelly is quirky, flashy, heavily tattooed.

She calls him achingly beautiful and her twin flame (one up from soulmate, for those not in the know: youre two halves of the same soul). She sat by his side during his drug addiction recovery. He wears a vial with her blood in it around his neck (aka Angelina and Billy Bob Thornton) and the two chained themselves together for one event.

Tracey said Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox (pictured) started out as friends, next thing shes left her husband and starring in his steamy music video

Just in case you didnt get the message that these two are wild childs, Megan boasted about having sex on a table in an Airbnb property (Im really glad thats not my table anymore) and that theyre having the kind of sex that would make Lucifer clutch his rosary.

He has a thing for feet (and hers are apparently very beautiful) and into a bit of toe-sucking.

Yet, their body language is curiously unreflective of a couple supposedly obsessed with each other, both sexually and emotionally. Youd expect to see lots of body draping (literally, all over each over), intense eye contact and cuddling.

Instead, theyre as posed as the Kardashians with everything done for effect. His arm over her shoulder, hand resting on her chest is as much to show off his pointed long nails than it is to show affection (seriously, how practical are those nails during sex, by the way?). They consistently pose for the camera with both facing it, rather than each other.

Even when theyre caught off-guard, the body language is unexceptional. Theres little evidence of the fierce, powerful bond theyre keen to boast of.

The likelihood of them having great sex: I dont doubt their sex is experimental, with each equally as eager to tick off (and talk about) as many out there sex practices as possible. I do doubt either are able to lose themselves in the moment and fully enjoy an intimate connection. Its a low 4/10 from me.

PENELOPE CRUZ AND JAVIER BARDEM

Separately, they both ooze sex appeal  but its when theyre together that the sparks really fly pictured: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem

Separately, they both ooze sex appeal  but its when theyre together that the sparks really fly.

Sex symbols Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem met in 1992 while filming the sexually charged Jamon, Jamon. They continued to steam onscreen, making movies together for years with fans willing them to get together in real life. That didnt happen until nearly a decade later.

Reclusive A-listers, even then photos were rare. Which is why risque photos of them, on a beach in Brazil 12 years ago. caused quite the stir. He was grabbing her buttock cheek, she reciprocates with a suggestive stroke between his. Some lusty lower torso pressing also suggested strong sexual connection.

Tracey Cox examined the chemistry of four celebrity couples to give her opinion on the likelihood that they are having great sex - including Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz (pictured)

Red carpet photos of the two of them show a lot of playfulness and face searching (looking intently at each others faces to check for underplaying emotions), fiercely protective cues on his side (an arm pulling her close, putting himself between her and the crowd) and numerous signs of couple synchronicity (both looking at the same camera and mirrored body language).

Marriage and two kids later, Javier concluded a recent interview with a sigh-worthy reaffirmation of why they dont expose their relationship to the public eye: Penelope and I, we have to protect the us.

Likelihood theyre having great sex in real life: All those years of unconsummated simmering onscreen tension! They have two small children but Im still giving them an 8/10 rating as a sex power couple.

SECRET SIGNS A COUPLE ARE HAVING GREAT SEX Heres how to spot whats really going on behind closed doors.. Face-searching and large pupils: The reason why lovers gaze into each others eyes is to subconsciously check for changes in pupil dilation. Our pupils dilate when we look at something attractive and shrink to pinpricks when we dont like what we see. Close pelvises: The hottest the sex life, the closer the pelvises  for obvious reasons. Though even better is A full torso press: Couples who lean in so their upper torsos connect, score high on the love rating. Couples whose lower torsos press tightly reveal their connection is highly sexual. Pressing the entire length of our body against a lover shows a high commitment to both. Fingers fully entwined and tightly closed when holding hands: We tend to do this at the start when you want to join together in every way possible. A few months in, when the sex hormones wear off, most couples move into a more relaxed loose palm-to-palm clasp which indicates affection and acceptance Glittery shiny eyes: Widened eyes with a sheen mean heightened emotion: liquid pools in our eyes when were excited. Hands placed close to erogenous zones: A hand so high on the waist, its grazing a breast. A hand so low on the stomach, its touching the groin. You cant quite stop yourselves grabbing at each others naughty bits. Possessive body language: If youre having great sex with someone, you want to hold onto them, right? Im talking things like a hand placed over their hand to show their love is reciprocated, an arm around their neck to direct their attention to you, snuggling close when in a crowd, to show youre a couple. Thumbs curling upwards: This is often a sign of pleasure. Closed eyes when kissing in public: Closing your eyes creates a private bubble, blocking out anyone around you, so you can focus entirely on each other and the kiss. Erotic kissing in public: Couples very quickly move from kissing with tongue action to a simple mouth-to-mouth peck, probably because its less cringey for those around them. If youre still kissing in public with eyes closed, head tipped back and mouths open with lots of tongue action, theres still a lot going on in private. Parted lips: Its a subliminal invitation to our partner that we want to be kissed. Team with a backwards neck tilt and an adoring gaze for full effect. Advertisement
A Stone Age expert revealed to Ben Fogle she contracted Lyme Disease from tick bites but is still determined to live like our ancestors in last night's New Lives in the Wild.

British-born Lynx Vilden, 56, first met Ben six years ago in Washington, where she was living wild by herself six months out of a year, and teaching people about the Stone Age way of life the rest of the time.

At the time she was living on a five-acre plot of land she bought with her $165,000 inheritance from her mother, and for last night's show, Ben revisited Lynx in Norway, where she now lives in a yurt with a stove, running water, electricity and an Internet connection,

She still hopes to teach people how to 'rewild' and live like our ancestors, but admitted it has not been plain sailing since her last meeting with Ben, and that she contracted Lyme Disease from hundreds of tick bites in France during a nomadic phase where she hopped from one country to the other.

She hopes to create her community, called Lithica, where people will leave behind their modern lifestyle to live like in the Stone Age and learn to reconnect with nature.

Viewers were deeply impressed with Lynx and called her 'incredible', saying her story of reconnecting with nature was just the tonic in troubled times.

Lynx Vilden, 50, who lives like a woman of the Stone Age in the wilderness of Norway, told Ben Fogle on last night's New Lives in the Wild on Channel 5 that she had to adapt her lifestyle and get the internet and running electricity in recent years

The survivalist told Ben, right, she wants to create a community of 'rewilded' people who have left the modern world behind to live like the people of the Stone Age like her

When Ben first visited six years ago, he'd enjoyed immersing himself in Stone Age living, and was surprised to see Lynx setteld in a yurt, with modern contraptions.

'I kind of need it,' she told him sheepishly, of her computer and internet connection.

'I was without electricity all winter, I was here alone and it was very hard so I wanted to have some interaction with people,' she said, adding the Internet allows her to 'visit people online'.

This intrigued Ben, who said: 'I'm still curious as to what she's actually doing here. Is this retirement? The place she has come to live forever or another temporary stop on her nomadic journey?'

British-born Lynx Vilden, 56, first met Ben six years ago in Washington state, where she was living wild by herself six months out of a year, and teaching people about the Stone Age way of Life the rest of the time, on a 5 acres plot of land she bought with $165,000 she inherited from herm mother

But Lynx told him there is a deep part of her that is 'nomadic', and that while she's embraced some aspects of modern life, her heart is set on teaching the Stone Age way of life more than ever.

'There is this sense inside me that wants to explore, wants to move,' she said.

Before buying the farm in Norway, she lived and taught in different countries, spending years living in caves in France.

While she found this time travelling amazing, she admitted to Ben she had faced some tough times since she last saw him.

'I'm not a plain-sailing kind of person, you're either in the calm, or the storm,' she said.

'Lyme disease is a bit of a storm,' she added.

Ben heard how Lynx contracted Lyme Disease from ticks in France but is still determined to build her community

The Stone Age expert admitted loneliness and her isolated way of life led her to experience depression and anxiety

'I got it via ticks, too many ticks in France, I got a hundred bites a year and finally my body couldn't keep up with the bacterial loads,' she explained.

She added that her isolated life in Norway had also led her to experience 'a lot of anxiety' and 'depression.'

However, in spite of these setbacks, Lynx told Ben she is as passionate as ever about creating a community of people set on 'rewilding.'

She wants to build a community called 'Lithica' where people can leave the modern world behind and learn to live like our ancestors.

'When you enter Lithica, you have to enter as a Stone Age person,' Lynx told Ben.

Lynx told Ben she wants to build her own community and keep teaching the ways of the Stone Age

WHAT IS LYME DISEASE? Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria that is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected black-legged ticks. The most common symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash called erythema migrans. The disease can typically be treated by several weeks of oral antibiotics. But if left untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous symptoms and be deadly. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE INFECTED? During the first three to 30 days of infection, these symptoms may occur: Fever

Chills

Headache

Fatigue

Muscle and joint aches

Swollen lymph nodes

Erythema migrans (EM) rash The rash occurs in approximately 80 per cent of infected people. It can expand to up to 12 inches (30 cm), eventually clearing and giving off the appearance of a target or a 'bull's-eye'. Later symptoms of Lyme disease include: Severe headaches and neck stiffness

Additional rashes

Arthritis with joint pain and swelling

Facial or Bell's palsy

Heart palpitations

Problems with short-term memory

Nerve pain Source: CDC Advertisement

She wants to create the community on 500 hectares of land where people will learn the basic skills she's been teaching around the world, including making fire and using stone tools, before immersing themselves further into Stone Age living.

'This idea sparked out of the concept pf modern of people like us being able to rewild and being able to go back into nature and realise how it is that we make impact and how it is that we can be part of nature, be within it and find that true wild self that is within each one of us,' she told Ben.

While she doesn't have the 500 hectares yet, Lynx's farm is currently located on 30 acres of land where she hopes to trial her idea.

'Sometimes you got to start small and then big dreams start out of small things,' she said.

Lynx has been running rewilding projects all around the world since 2001 (pictured) and is still running projects today

Like-minded people have travelled from around the world to complete courses with Lynx, right

Lynx hopes Lithica will be split into two zones, a 'Rewidling' zone and a Wilderness zone.

During his visit, Ben got to wear a skirt and a hood Lynx made out of animal skin, and stepped into the wilderness zone.

'Maybe it's time for some of us to remember our wildness,' Lynx cheekily told him.

While he was touched by Lynx's enthusiasm, Ben could see some obstacles in her way.

'The pragmatist in me sees that she's got the map. She needs the land, she needs the money to buy the land. You need to find people who have a similar vision, with deep pockets,' he said.

However, the presenter said Lynx's project does not feel impossible and added 'life's too short' not to follow your dreams.

The 56-year-old woman is an expert in wild living and has been dispensing her knowledge for the past twenty years

During his visit, he also got to meet three like-minded men and a woman who had come come from all over Europe to learn from Lynx.

Tessa, the only woman other than Lynx, who came from the Hague, in the Netherlands, told Ben she had been 'looking for a place like this' for a little while.

She said she found Lynx 'very impressive' and that seeing her in her prehistoric clothing 'speaks to the imagination'.

Founding her community was a direct answer to the loneliness Lynx suffered from during the hard Norwegian winter.

'It's so nice to have people to sing with, share stories with,' she told Ben.

The presenter said it felt like a 'very natural progression for Lynx to have a community'.

'She wants to share and she wants to learn, the more I see her with other community members the more I get a sense of satisfaction,' he said.

Viewers were deeply impressed with how Lynx was able to survive by herself in the wild.

Viewers were deeply impressed with Lynx story and thought the survivalist was 'absolutely incredible'

'Cracking programme tonight .keep them coming please,love these programmes,' one said.

'Such a lovely program. This is what we need at the moment. Getting away from everything that is going on in the world,' another said.

'Omg I'm going,' another enthusiastically said.

One called Lynx: 'an absolutely incredible person' and added they were 'mind-blown' by her story.

At the time of Ben's first visit, Lynx admitted she wasn't always an eco-warrier but had an epiphany in her twenties after a hedonistic period living in Amsterdam as a punk rocker.

She said: 'After abusing myself for a few years in Amsterdam I realised I had to clean up my act.

'I had a lot of family in Sweden and I decided to go and live in the forest up there. It was a soothing and nurturing place for me and very beneficial to my survival at that age.'

She then travelled through wilderness areas in America and attended a survival school to learn how to make her own tools, build a fire in less than 30 seconds and hunt.

She said it was then that she realised she wanted to do without mod cons for the rest of her life.

Lynx, left, had an epiphany in her 20s after experience a party phase as a rock band member in the 1990s

'I lay down on the earth and said "this is what I want to do, protect the earth and live as low impact as possible and help others live that way".'

She spent 25 years living in remote locations before making the mountain forest in the North Cascades of Washington state her home.

At the time of his 2016 visit, she lived in an 'Earth Lodge' she made herself underground.

She had also made herself a store room from wood, which she used to help her survive the harsh winters by stocking up on food during the summer months.

For food that needed to be kept cold, her 'fridge' was a hole in the snow.

She revealed her annual expenditure was $10,000 (8,000) a year, which mostly went to feeding the four horses she used to help her sustainable way of living and to plough her way through the snow in the winter.

She earned her money by training small groups of students in how to live off the land.
His mother and sisters are models. But it would seem Samuel Aitken could be the most successful of them all, if this new edgy photoshoot is anything to go by.

The 18-year-old half-brother of D&G muse Lady Kitty Spencer and Louis, Viscount Althorp, stars in a series of new shots alongside his brunette girlfriend, Noa Duckitt.

The couple, who are both signed to premium Cape Town agency Twenty Model Management, were snapped modelling edgy sportswear in the affluent wine-making suburb of Constantia in a series recently shared on Instagram.

In one eye-catching shot 6ft 1in Samuel poses in a single blue earring in a graphic jacket unzipped to reveal his bare torso. In another he lifts his lithe girlfriend on his shoulders as they lean casually against a tree.

Fashion-forward: Samuel Aitken, the 18-year-old brother of Lady Kitty Spencer, stars in a new shoot by famed photographer Jacques Weyers. Make-up & Grooming: Talia Barak

Power couple: The 18-year-old half-brother of D&G muse Lady Kitty Spencer and Louis, Viscount Althorp, stars in a series of new shots alongside his brunette girlfriend, Noa Duckitt

Bold and beautiful: The couple, who are both signed to premium Cape Town agency Twenty Model Management, were snapped modelling edgy sportswear in the affluent wine-making suburb of Constantia in a series recently shared on Instagram

Global attention: Samuel (right) and his brother Louis, Viscount Althorp (left) walked Kitty down the aisle during her Rome wedding to fashion tycoon Matthew Lewis, 62

Samuel garnered a global profile when he walked his model sister down the aisle at her lavish four-day Rome wedding to retail millionaire Michael Lewis.

He was quickly snapped up by Twenty Model Management and has since appeared in the pages of Tatler magazine.

Modelling is in the blood for the teenager, who graduated from Cape Town's prestigious Bishops Diocesan College last year and now has his sights set on following brother Louis to Edinburgh University.

His mother, Victoria Aitken, the first of Charles Spencer's three wife, had a successful career in front of the camera that serves as inspiration to her young son.

'I am an unashamed mummys boy,' he told Tatler. 'Im very grateful to her for providing me with this life and education; she is so giving. Im closest to her out of anyone. She has just done the most for me by miles.'

His father is Victoria's second husband, Jonathan Aitken, but he remains close to the children from his mother's first marriage: Kitty, twins Amelia and Eliza, 29, and Louis, 28, who will one day inherit Althorp, the childhood home of Princess Diana.

Back to nature: Sam and Noa pose in matching Adidas outfits in the trendy new shots

Casual: Noa, a budding performer, poses on her boyfriend's shoulders in South Africa's wine country

The bond he shares with his eldest sister was laid bare to the world when Kitty asked him and Louis to walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

'Kitty is so close to both of us, so it was natural that we were both by her side,' he told the magazine.

'I didnt expect it to be emotional, Im not really an emotional person, but walking her down the aisle was also one of the proudest moments of my life.

'I was very touched to have been asked, together with my brother, Louis. It was a spontaneous and beautiful moment.'

He added he was the 'little prince' of his family and was 'spoilt' by his siblings.

Bright future: Modelling is in the blood for Samuel, pictured, who graduated from Cape Town's prestigious Bishops Diocesan College last year and now has his sights set on following brother Louis to Edinburgh University

Poster boy: Samuel was signed to Twenty Model Management last year and has appeared in Tatler. Pictured, the talented teenager in a shot from his recent couple shoot

Brooding: Samuel is tipped for a modelling success, just like his mother and sisters

Sporty: Noa, who started dating Sam last year, shows off athleisurewear in the suit

Samuel, or 'Sam', to his friends. Has been dating Miss Duckitt since last year.

The couple went public on Instagram in October when he shared a gushing post in honour of his birthday.

'I will not let you have me without the madness that makes me. If our demons cannot dance, neither can we. Happy Birthday my Noa, I love you,' he wrote.

Noa, a budding performer who dabbled in modelling before signing with 20 Model Management, has the seal of approval from Samuel's siblings.

His sister Eliza posted on her Instagram: 'You guys look amazing.'

Amelia Spencer's fiance Greg Mallett added: 'Name a more powerful duo. I dare you.'
An ex-journalist and former US Representative for the state of Pennsylvania has opened up about her journey to becoming a mother  which happened in 1970, when she became the first single American woman to adopt a child internationally.

Marjorie Margolies, 79, was a reporter for WCAU in Philadelphia working on stories about children who were considered 'hard to place' when she connected with an adoption agency that specialized in Korean orphans.

She ended up traveling to Korea for the coverage, which where she met an orphaned seven-year-old girl named Lee Heh Kyung  who immediately won her over.

'I got way too involved in the story,' she admitted to Katie Couric Media.

Margolies adopted Lee Heh, and two years later adopted another daughter, six-year-old Holly, from Vietnam.

Now Margolies  whose biological son Marc is married to first daughter Chelsea Clinton  is sharing stories about her family in her new memoir, And How Are The Children?: Timeless Lessons from the Frontlines of Motherhood.

Former US Representative Marjorie Margolies, 79, claims to be the first single woman in the US to adopt internationally (pictured in 2016)

She adopted Lee Heh from Korea in 1970 and Holly from Vietnam in 1994. She had been turned away from US adoption agencies who wouldn't work with her as a single woman

She was a reporter for WCAU in Philadelphia working on stories about children who were considered 'hard to place' when she adopted Lee Heh

Margolies, who turned 28 in June 1970, told the Today show this week that she was sure that she wanted to be a mother  but less sure if marriage was the cards.

'I knew I wanted to parent,' she said. 'I didnt know if and when I would marry.'

She started looking into adoption when she was 25, but said agencies refused to work with a single woman.

'I ran into a lot of opposition. The adoption agencies basically said no,' she told UPI.

Then, while working as a reporter at WCAU, she was doing a series of stories on kids that adoption agencies considered 'hard to place' for a number of reasons.

'Many of them were African American, and local agencies strongly preferred to place these with a family of their own racial background,' she recalled to KCM.

'I also did a series on Korean adoptees who had settled in the Philadelphia area and got way too involved in the story, thinking I could adopt one of these children.

'I did a series on Korean adoptees who had settled in the Philadelphia area and got way too involved in the story, thinking I could adopt one of these children,' she recalled

'I wasn't kidding anybody. They knew that not only did I want to do the story, but I wanted to adopt. It was an excuse to get over there, and it worked,' she said

'These Korean orphans were handled by an adoption agency called Holt from Eugene, Oregon. I reached out to Holt, and they kindly decided to gamble on me,' she said.

She did admit to her bosses at the time that she had personal reasons for wanting to cover the story.

'I wasn't kidding anybody. They knew that not only did I want to do the story, but I wanted to adopt. It was an excuse to get over there, and it worked,' she said.

'I ended up doing a follow-up story in Korea on these children, and as I was getting ready to leave they asked me if I would like to meet a child whom they had picked for me,' she said.

Enter Lee Heh, who was seven in 1970.

'(She) stuck out her hand (and) said, "How do you do," and that was the only thing she knew how to say,' Margolies said, adding that the little girl 'made a graceful adjustment to life' in the US.

In 1974, Margolies was in Vietnam for another story when she adopted her second child, Holly

Already a smoker at just six years old - and a pickpocket to boot - Holly had a harder adjustment after being adopted

She and her mom eventually grew close and remained so until her death in 2016 at age 48

'I think I was the first single woman in the United States to adopt a child,' she told UPI in 1985.

About three years later, in 1974, Margolies was in Vietnam for another story when she adopted her second child, Holly.

Holly was born to a Vietnamese mother and American solider father. Her mother left her at an orphanage in Saigon in 1973.

'They were absolutely convinced that when the Vietcong came down, they were going to kill the mixture children,' Margolies told WPVI in 2012. 'She knew she had to protect her child; that's the reason she gave her up.'

Already a smoker at just six years old  and a pickpocket to boot  Holly had a harder adjustment after being adopted.

'Holly was like receiving a letter bomb,' Margolies said. 'She had been rejected, and she wasn't going to be rejected again.'

In 1975, she married Congressman Ed Mezvinsky, who already had four daughters. They went on to have two biological children together, including Chelsea's husband Marc

The couple later took in a family of Vietnamese refugees and became legal guardians to the three sons

'My stubbornness, my personality, I was a mess; very dominant, and I beat up people, kids who didn't play with me, had bedwetting problems and all this stuff,' Holly said.

But she and her mom eventually grew close and remained so until her death in 2016 at age 48.

Margolies' family continued to grow. In 1975, she married Congressman Ed Mezvinsky, who already had four daughters.

They went on to have two biological children together: Andrew Mezvinsky and Marc Mezvinsky, who would grow up to marry first daughter Chelsea Clinton.

'When people ask, "Which ones are your real children?" I say, without being flip, "I forget," because they are all ours,' she said.

Margolies was also the first woman to be elected to represent Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives

One of her sons, Marc, grew up to marry former first daughter Chelsea Clinton

Margolies is pictured with Marc, Chelsea, and President Clinton in 2012

'Mothering has nothing to do with biologically giving birth. It has to do with caring and sharing and loving and watching a child grow and give.'

She and Mezvinsky, whom she was married to until 2007, also took in a family of five refugees from Vietnam, who lived with them for 25 years. They became legal guardians to the family's three children.

'I could tell you if we ever had guests, Holly would walk in and shed say, "Are we gonna adopt any of these people?"' Margolies told Today. 'And it was fun. It was fun.'

Margolies was also the first woman to be elected to represent Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives.
Used underwear, high heels and cocktail dresses are among the items that have been donated to Ukrainian refugees, volunteers have revealed, as they urge the public to 'send money' instead.

Charities and community groups across the UK and Europe have set up donation points where people can bring essentials like nappies, medical supplies and sanitary products to be transported to Ukrainians fleeing Russian bombardment.

But some centres have been inundated with 'useless' items like used toothbrushes, mismatched flipflops and even pole-dancing dresses, which cannot be passed on. It wastes also valuable time because volunteers have to sort through the donations to weed out unwanted goods.

RTE journalist Emma O'Kelly, who is in Poland near the Ukrainian border, tweeted a photo of red high heels that had been donated in Ireland.

She wrote: 'This pair of shoes came today in a convoy of humanitarian aid that arrived in Poland from Ireland. Who on earth would send red stilettos to exhausted women who are fleeing for their lives?'

Used underwear, high heels and cocktail dresses are among the items that have been donated to Ukrainian refugees, volunteers have revealed, as they urge the public to 'send money' instead. RTE journalist Emma O'Kelly, who is in Poland near the Ukrainian border, tweeted a photo of red high heels that had been donated in Ireland, above

Hannah Murphy, a Dublin-based journalist for Virgin Media News, tweeted pictures of used underwear, worn bras, heels and cocktail dresses after visiting a donation drive by estate agent Keane Thompson. Pictured, a dress and pair of shoes donated

Hannah also came across pairs of used lace underwear that had been donated, pictured

Hannah Murphy, a Dublin-based journalist for Virgin Media News, tweeted pictures of used underwear, worn bras, heels and cocktail dresses after visiting a donation drive by estate agent Keane Thompson.

'Sandals, used underwear and dirty clothes will not be sent - they simply make more work for volunteers who have to sort through donations and figure out how to dispose of them.'

A spokesperson for the campaign told Sunday World: 'Obviously, we don't want any of that sort of stuff. It's their dignity as well, you want to be sending good stuff.'

Official Government advice urges people to consider donating cash through 'trusting charities and aid organisations' rather than donating goods.

'Cash can be transferred quickly to areas where it is needed and individuals and aid organisations can use it to buy what is most needed,' it reads.

'Unsolicited donations of goods, although well-meant, can obstruct supply chains and delay more urgent life-saving assistance from getting through.'

The message is reiterated by Cassandra Nelson, of Scottish organisation Mercy Corps, who told the i: 'Unless there is a very specific request for something like certain types of medicine, money donations are best.'

Another volunteer, based in Wales, added: 'Day spent shifting boxes and sorting donations for dispatch to Ukraine for the humanitarian effort

Ms Nelson said money also allows aid workers to buy what is needed cheaper and without transit costs from ferrying goods to Poland.

Kasia Lozinska, of Worcester-based charity LikeU said they've been sent dirty children's shoes and slippers, which won't be sent to Ukrainian border countries.

'The majority of people have been checking with us before donating, either through Facebook Messenger or coming in and writing it down on a bit of paper,' she told the Worcester News.

'What we don't want is old clothes that have been left at the bottom of a wardrobe. But we'll take military gear, that's like gold dust. And things like saline bags and medical aids, water bottles'.

Another volunteer, based in Wales, added: 'Day spent shifting boxes and sorting donations for dispatch to Ukraine for the humanitarian effort.

At the border town of Medyka, near Przemysl in Poland, volunteer Charlie Hannerton, 27, took photos of the piles of clothing and bedding in a cark park

'Incredible generosity of so many but who thinks I know what they really need is used underwear, used toothbrushes and used washing sponges.'

It comes as huge piles of donated clothes for refugees were left dumped in a car park on Poland 's border with Ukraine as aid workers have pleaded with the public to send money or essential supplies instead.

Unlike the labelled and sorted boxes with required items - like sanitary towels and nappies - which are given to refugees, unwanted items are ending up in car parks along the border, pictures show.

At the border town of Medyka, near Przemysl in Poland, volunteer Charlie Hannerton took photos of the piles of clothing and bedding in a car park.

Mr Hannerton, from Falmouth, Cornwall, said refugees are arriving on foot, and do not spend long enough at the border point to sort through clothes, and can only take what they can carry.

Every day thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war arrive at this shopping center adapted to be a refuge in Mlyny, Poland

Dan Walden, Unicef's senior emergencies specialist, said: 'Time is of the essence in Ukraine and we can get money transferred from our bank to a local bank in Ukraine within moments.' Pictured: Ukrainians pick clothes inside a cinema turned aid center in Lviv, western Ukraine on March 12

The 27-year-old saw the boxes abandoned on Wednesday, 9 March and Thursday, 10 March but he said other volunteers he met there reported similar mounds of dumped items at nearly every border crossing point.

He said: 'The point I think I was trying to make with the pictures is that when the volunteers on the border say no clothes donations, they really mean no clothes.

'The refugees and volunteers on the border simply don't have enough time to give them to people.

'When the refugees arrive, they're literally brought into the camp and then immediately put on a bus or ferried into Europe in a car.

'They just get slung on a bus, and there is barely any system.

'Volunteers just queue up, get a high vis vest on, and take whoever you can fit somewhere where they might have relatives or friends.'

Earlier this month, the Irish Red Cross advised against sending items to Ukraine, asking for physical donations instead.

'The Irish Red Cross would like to thank the Irish people for their generosity but with airports closed and transportation systems under pressure, sending physical goods is likely to add more stress to the situation on the ground.

'In circumstances of disaster, the Red Cross always advises against sending goods to affected areas as it is very difficult to get these goods into a country in crisis and to distribute them to right people.

'Experience from other crises shows that many of these items will end of up in landfill and will not help the people you wish to support.

'Providing cash contributions to organisations like the Red Cross or other organisations responding to the crisis in Ukraine allows the Red Cross to source solicited standardised emergency relief goods locally.

'This system means everyone in the affected communities gets the same, high-quality items.'
A foodie has revealed the location of a 'secret' hatted Asian smokehouse in Sydney's south, warning it is so inconspicuous would-be diners likely stroll right by it.

Adrian Widjy stumbled across Yan Restaurant in Wolli Creek 'by accident' and was delighted once he realised the restaurant buried under a huge apartment building was a 'hidden gem'.

'I randomly found this place which is located in a very inconspicuous location,' he said in a TikTok video showing off the eatery.

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A foodie has revealed the location of a 'secret' hatted Asian smoke house in Sydney's south

Adrian Widjy stumbled across Yan Restaurant in Wolli Creek by accident and was excited to announce the restaurant buried under a huge apartment building as a 'hidden gem' - The chilli prawns, pictures are a popular main

He went on to rave about the food he was served during his visit to the restaurant.

'The beef ribs are a must order, tender and flavourful,' he said.

He added that the squid was also great and he can't wait to go back 'to try their lamb'.

His video finished with a shot of a decadent coconut dessert which he insists is the best way to finish a meal.

'Dig deep to find treasure,' he said, showing off a jelly from the centre of the treat.

The restaurant, which was hit hard during the pandemic, has a modest following on Instagram - proving that it is a well-kept secret.

The team have been posting to social media to keep their customers up to date with opening hours, covid-related closures and to offer 'cook at home pack'.

The restaurant is barely noticeable from the street - despite taking up a corner of the building

The happy foodie said he came across the Asian smokehouse by accident

But now they are looking forward to people coming back through their well-hidden doors.

'It's been a slow start to the year, but we can feel things are changing! Can't wait to see you all in the dining room again,' they said.

The TikTok video went viral with people excited to try the menu for themselves.

'If it tastes half as good as it looks then I am in,' one woman said.

'This looks so good, so I will try it and see if I can trust your judgement on food,' said another.

He appeared to then recommend every dish he tried and said he would be back to sample the rest - the smoked pork cutlet with sticky soy glaze, calvo nero and an egg yolk is pictured

The restaurant survived through lockdown by offering 'cook at home' packs to regulars

The foodie recommended finishing with this dessert, coconut ice cream with coconut jelly served in a young coconut, it is 'filled with treats'

Another woman said Yan has been one of her favourite restaurants for years.

'The food is always incredible there,' she said.

And it appears it is well-known to the community in Wolli Creek.

'I used to live across the road and would go there all the time, I miss it,' said one foodie.

Adrian has 147,000 followers on TikTok and proudly shows off his food adventures across Sydney.
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Photographers from around the world are being honored for their breathtaking images capturing the wonder and raw emotion of childbirth, as well as heart-wrenching moments of loss.

The International Association of Professional Birth Photographers (IABP) have announced the winners of its 11th annual Birth Photography Image Competition, which celebrates the best labor and delivery images of 2021.

'We are incredibly proud of the entrants of this years competition because in spite of all we endured in our community in recent years, this contest represents the resistance birth photographers have to overcome unforeseen challenges,' IAPBP director Liz Cook said in a press release.

Winners were selected across five main categories: birth details, labor, delivery, postpartum, and hardship and loss  a new category that was introduced this year.

'We desire to honor the 1 in 4 birthing persons who experience miscarriage and/or loss and inviting images of these events into our celebration of birth photography is one way we can do this,' Cook explained.

'We are proud to present to you a breathtaking body of work that shares lifes most powerful moments from 2021.'

First place: Brazilian photographer Barbara Aviz of Barbara Aviz Fotografia won the competition with her heartwarming image titled 'A Touch of Love

Best in Labor: Sara Hunter, from the United States, was honored for her black and white photograph titled 'Ovarian Cancer Survivor - Hospital Transfer'

Best In Delivery: Australian photographer Ebony Allen-Ankins took a top spot with her emotional entry, 'The First Look'

Best In Postpartum: 'Twins First Latch' by U.S. photographer Jessica Miles captured the sweet moment a mother first nursed her babies

Members' Choice: U.S. photographer Sara Hunter documented a touching moment between a father and his newborn baby in her image 'Crying Dad'

Honorable Mention: Dora Barens, from the Netherlands, was honored for her photograph titled 'Touch of Love'

Best In Delivery: German photographer Danny Merz captured a waterbirth in his image titled 'The Blessed Exhaustion'

Best In Delivery: American photographer Sara Hunter documented a water birth in her black and white photo titled 'Dad Catches His Baby Girl'

Best In Postpartum: 'Love Till Infinity' by Inge Berken, from the Netherlands, captured a quiet moment between a mother and child

Honorable Mention: Australian photographer Jessica Henderson was honored for her heartwarming family photo titled 'Daughters Of A Midwife'

Best In Labor: 'Surrender' by Renate Van Lith, from the Netherlands, captured a transcendent water birth moment

Best In Delivery: 'Euforia' by Inge Berken, from the Netherlands, was one of the top photos in the competition

Best In Labor: Mexican photographer Sara Avila documented a mother-to-be making a tearful phone call in the delivering room in her image titled 'Accepting A New Plan'

Honorable Mention: U.S. photographer Lindsey Bartell was honored in the competition for her image 'Held'

Honorable Mention: 'Exhale' by U.S. photographer Natalie Broders captured a sweet postpartum moment

Honorable Mention: U.S. photographer Lindsey Ellis was honored for her black and white photograph titled 'Lean Into Me'

Best In Birth Details: Australian photographer Dania Lauren captioned an action-packed birthing moment in her image titled 'The Tiniest Feet'

Honorable Mention: U.S. photographer Jacinta Lagos captured a blissful postpartum moment in her image 'Ecstacy'

Best In Postpartum: 'Swimming Interstellar' by U.S. photographer Hayden Trace was taken from up above

Honorable Mention: Sadie Wild, from the United Kingdom, was honored for her photograph titled 'Womb World To Our World'

Members' Choice: Cindy Willems, from the Netherlands, got creative with her labor photo titled 'White Noise'

Best In Labor: 'My Sacred Birth Cocoon' by Jessica Innemee, Netherlands, was one of the top entries in the competition

Honorable Mention: Ebony Allen-Ankins, from Australia, was honored for her magical photo 'Into The Night'

Best In Birth Details: 'She Roars' by U.S. photographer Lindsey Bartell captured an intense labor moment

Honorable Mention: Russian photographer Lyubov Chaykovskaya documented a mother simultaneously breastfeeding her child and newborn in 'Life-Giving Nectar'

Best In Postpartum: 'Reunion' by U.S. photographer Rachel Utain-Evans was another top image in the competition

Honorable Mention: Vannessa Brown, from Canada, was celebrated for her black and white delivery photo titled 'Love And Support'

Honorable Mention: A crying mother was the subject of 'Transition Tears' by Canadian photographer Ashley Marston

Honorable Mention: German photographer Susanne Krauss was honored for her black and white image titled 'A Calm Birth In Times of Pandemic'

Best In Birth Details: U.S. photographer Brittney Hogue was celebrated for her post-birth image titled 'Nuchal'

Honorable Mention: U.S. photographer Natalie Weber was honored for her heart-rending image titled 'The Reach'
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A unique mansion that wowed thousands of online buyers when it was on the market has been sold to a 26-year-old Melbourne man.

Images of the one-of-kind Gold Coast property took Instagram by storm after it was transformed by owners and renovators Matt Jamieson and Emma Sweeny into an opulent cave-like palace that looks as if it is decked out with floor-to-ceiling marble.

Christopher Shao bought the 'Ruin X' home, which he calls his 'dream house', at an auction to the turn of $2.713888million on Sunday, March 13.

A one-of-kind Gold Coast property that took Instagram by storm has been sold to a 26-year-old Melbourne man, Christopher Shao, for the oddly-specific price of $2.713888million

According to realestate.com.au, more than 300 people attended the auction on Sunday March 13 at the Gold Coast property where Mr Shao placed the second bid of $2.505 million over the phone via a representative

The unique home took Instagram by storm after it was transformed by owners and renovators Matt Jamieson and Emma Sweeny (pictured left with real estate agents Michael Kollosche and Eoghan Murphy)

According to realestate.com.au, more than 300 people attended the auction at the Gold Coast property where Mr Shao placed the second bid of $2.505 million over the phone via a representative.

During negotiations, Mr Shao made an appearance at the house to increase his offer which eventually won him the rendered masterpiece and he subsequently celebrated the sale with champagne from the vendors.

Little is known about the property mogul however it is understood he recently sold his Melbourne penthouse for close to $15million.

The 26-year-old told realestate.com.au he had to have the house after seeing it on social media.

'It's one-of-a-kind, there's nothing like it in Australia,' he said.

'Being young, it's my kind of style.'

The house, dubbed 'Ruin X', is located in the southern Gold Coast suburb of Burleigh Heads, minutes from pristine beaches, and features a fully smooth rendered interior and exterior, very on-trend curves and a light earthy palette.

It was one of the hottest houses in Australia, becoming the most viewed listing on realestate.com.au when it was on the market and drew in hundreds of likes and comments on social media.

The opulent cave-like palace is fully rendered making it look as if it is decked out with floor-to-ceiling marble

Before: Owners and renovators, Matt Jamieson and Emma Sweeny, from Project X have made the original home completely unrecognisable from the work of art is it now

Mr Jamieson and Ms Sweeny from artisan rendering business Render X bought for $775,000 in 2020 and spent five months renovating it

A cave-like entry way with an arched glass door leads to the show-stopping kitchen, living and dining area inside

Mr Jamieson and Ms Sweeny from artisan rendering business Render X made the original home, which they bought for $775,000 in 2020, completely unrecognisable from the work of art is it now during a five-month renovation.

A cave-like entry way with an arched glass door leads to the show-stopping kitchen, living and dining area inside.

The spectacular kitchen has four-metre high ceilings, Italian marble benchtops and luxe brushed cooper fittings adding to the grandeur of the home and the statement crystal chandelier in the formal lounge room oozes Hollywood glamour.

The spectacular kitchen has four-metre high ceilings, Italian marble benchtops and luxe brushed cooper fittings adding to the grandeur of the home and the statement crystal chandelier in the formal lounge room oozes Hollywood glamour

Making stone look cosy is the stunning lounge room with warm bespoke lighting and Mediterranean-influenced quirky shaped recesses to display trinkets

The dining area opens out onto the incredible backyard with checkered pavers and grass, a sparkling rounded pool with its own rendered diving board and a covered arched alfresco area with a built-in bar

Making stone look cosy is the stunning lounge room with warm bespoke lighting and Mediterranean-influenced quirky shaped recesses to display trinkets.

The dining area opens out onto the incredible backyard with checkered pavers and grass, a sparkling rounded pool with its own rendered diving board and a covered arched alfresco area with a built-in bar.

Back inside the house, the palatial master bedroom has high angled ceilings and a statement built-in bedframe with a curved head in keeping with the home's aesthetic.

Back inside the house, the palatial master bedroom has high angled ceilings and a statement built-in bedframe with a curved head in keeping with the home's aesthetic

It also has arched doorways leading to a walk-in wardrobe that is every fashion-lover's dream with built-in shelving and a luxurious ensuite featuring golden sinks, taps and mirrors a huge free standing bathtub and open shower

It also has its own access to the outside bar and seating area, arched doorways leading to a walk-in wardrobe that is every fashion-lover's dream with built-in shelving and a luxurious ensuite featuring golden sinks, taps and mirrors a huge free standing bathtub and open shower.

There are also three more bedroom with bronzed glass built-in robes and a second lavish bathroom with a high end fit-out.

Images of the house on social media drew in hundreds of impressed comments from users who love the 'seriously stunning' style and likened it to The Flintstones.

There are also three more bedroom with bronzed glass built-in robes and a second lavish bathroom with a high end fit-out

Social media was abuzz after images of the one-of-a-kind home were posted on Instagram by real estate agents and the home's renovators

Images of the house on social media drew in hundreds of impressed comments from users who love the 'seriously stunning' style and likened it to The Flintstones

'Looks like something from Greece - wow. Amazing' one person said.

'Such a cool and unique look. Love the big palm trees!' commented another.

'Wow. What an amazing home. Reminds me of the flintstone era. I love it! This is what you call a home!,' wrote a third.
An Australian restaurant is bringing Japan's cherry blossom season Down Under with an incredible display of flowers and blossom-themed cocktails.

This year cherry blossoms are expected to flower from March in Tokyo and to celebrate Nobu and Yoshii's Omakase at Crown Sydney will be in full bloom.

The venue will have cherry blossom restaurant theming and installations as well as incredible, exclusive food and beverage specials for guests.

Guests can sip on limited edition cherry blossom-inspired cocktails at Nobu and a sake pairing menu and dessert special at Yoshii's Omakase amongst beautiful cherry blossom installations.

This year cherry blossoms are expected to flower from March in Tokyo and to celebrate Nobu and Yoshii's Omakase at Crown Sydney will be in full bloom

The event will be available for one week only - from March 25 to April 1 - and can be enjoyed alongside the beloved restaurant menus.

Some of the extraordinary ingredients used in the $25 cocktails include Roku gin, maraschino cherry and cherry blossom itself.

The O-Hanami cocktail contains nobu schochu, apple puree, yuzu, egg white, soda water and ginger beer.

The Sakura has yurra yurra sake, nobu shochu, umeshu, cherry blossom, yuzu and bitter and the Kanpai includes Roku gin, marachino cherry and cherry blossom.

The dinner option includes a special cherry blossom dessert and matching sake menu at $150 a head.
From left, actors Kim Dong-wook, Chae Jung-an and Kim Sung-kyu pose during an online press conference for Tving's new original series "The King of Pigs," Tuesday. Courtesy of Tving



By Lee Gyu-lee



Tak Jae-young, the writer of Tving's new original series "The King of Pigs," said that the series will send a message on the root of violence in society.



"Pigs are a symbolic representation of those who suffer the tragic fate of being controlled and dominated for the term of their life," the writer said during an online press conference for the series, Tuesday. "I hope this series can stir up questions and thoughts for viewers. The purpose of the series is to touch on why the world has the strong who commit violence against the weak, and where such violence came from."



Based on the animation of the same name by star filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, the thriller series revolves around Hwang Kyung-min (Kim Dong-wook), who still suffers from school bullying he experienced 20 years ago. Hiding his trauma, he tries to appear to have a happy life with his wife. But an incident triggers him, leading him to seek revenge.



Jung Jong-suk (Kim Sung-kyu) is a homicide detective who used to be friends with Kyung-min 20 years ago. One day, he receives a message at the crime scene of a murder, with the message sender naming himself Kyung-min. With the help of his colleague Kang Jin-ah (Chae Jung-an), Jong-suk traces the evidence to stop the serial murder that pulls him back to the violence that took place two decades ago.



Tak noted that the live-adaptation will have the core message of the original animation, but will add more thrills and suspense to the story.



"While the original work is more about devastated adults remembering their past, the series focuses on how those with a traumatic pasts live and how it has affected their lives," he said.





A poster of the series "The King of Pigs" / Courtesy of Tving
A woman who developed an addiction to cosmetic procedures admits she has spent more than $100,000 transforming her look.

Ashleigh Candela, from Sydney, said she 'never hated' the way she looked but she wanted to tweak her appearance to be the 'best version' of herself.

At the age of 20, she went under the knife for the first time - undergoing a breast augmentation with 500CC implants to enhance her natural B bust to a size E cup.

For the next 14 years, she had multiple lip and cheek fillers, botox, rhinoplasty, upper eye lid reduction, face lift, eyebrow feathering, skin tightening, pigmentation removal, porcelain veneers, Brazilian butt lift, liposuction and more.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, the 37-year-old - who now looks unrecognisable - said she has 'no regrets, I'm very happy with the way I look'.

Before and after: Ashleigh Candela pictured left at the age of 19 - and right now after undergoing an extensive list of cosmetic procedures over more than 10 years

The Sydney woman (pictured) said she has 'no regrets, I'm very happy with the way I look'

Ashleigh Candela's $100,000 transformation Breast augmentation

Multiple lip and cheek fillers

Botox

Liposuction

Rhinoplasty

Upper eye lid reduction

Face lift

Eyebrow feathering

Skin tightening

Pigmentation removal

Porcelain veneers

Teeth whitening

Brazilian butt lift Advertisement

'To be honest, I never thought of myself as ugly but I knew I wanted to fix things and once I got started I couldn't stop,' she previously told Daily Mail Australia.

'I sometimes get really horrible messages saying I must have hated myself or been very insecure but no... none of the above.

'I don't see any problem with making improvements and changes to your body or face. If you don't like something, you can change it if you like.'

The retail worker - who openly documents her procedures @the_cosmetic_diary_ - said she became fixated with her look after she experienced a tough upbringing.

'I was in and out of home from the age of 14. I was brought up in a family where I didn't feel loved,' Ms Candela said.

'I always had doubts in my mind where I thought I was not good enough, so that's where it all kind of started. I did little bits and pieces just to try and make myself feel better and it did.'

The 37-year-old said she had rhinoplasty (left) and upper eye lid reduction (right with stitches)

Ms Candela has been openly documenting her procedures online (pictured in February 2017)

Before and after: She underwent a liposuction and a Brazilian butt lift - a procedure in which she had excess fat transferred from her back and thighs to her bottom to make them fuller

During her transformation, she underwent a liposuction and a Brazilian butt lift - a procedure in which she had excess fat transferred from her back and thighs to her bottom to make them fuller.

'I wanted a better shape and to have a more cinched in waist so I could get that womanly curvy body,' she said.

'The operation wasn't painful - it was just uncomfortable for about a week but it was very bearable just like all my other surgeries.

'I have had rhinoplasty, upper eye lid reduction, porcelain veneers, cheek fillers, under eye fillers, lip fillers and Botox under my eyes and forehead.'

After completely transforming her look, she admitted she hasn't experienced any challenges except trying to find clothes to fit around her new bum.

'I don't really find anything that challenging especially after surgery,' she said.

After completely transforming her look, she admitted she hasn't experienced any challenges except trying to find clothes to fit around her new bum

What a transformation! Ashleigh underwent a Brazilian butt lift, fillers and Botox

Over the years, Ms Candela has been sharing a series of photographs on her Instagram account to document her remarkable 14-year transformation

'I think life is just challenging in general. No matter what you look like, it's just better to look better for yourself.

'I guess I don't struggle with challenges so I don't think anything is challenging at all. But the only challenge for me is trying to find clothes to fit around my bum.'

Over the years, Ms Candela has been sharing a series of photographs on her Instagram account to document her remarkable 14-year transformation.

'I'm very honest about all of my procedures and am totally fine sharing my experiences,' she said.

'I love my transformation and despite anyone's criticism, I'm truly blessed with the love and support I receive daily.

'I'm an open book, I have nothing to hide... Plastic on the outside, real on the inside - and that's what matters.'

Since unveiling her look, she has been met with mixed responses from strangers, especially nasty trolls on the internet.

When she looks at an old picture of herself at the age of 19 (left), she said now (right): 'I feel lost, it seems like a life time ago and so much has change. I don't know that person anymore'

She urges everyone to accept other people's appearances - as she adds if no one is getting hurt by her procedures, her choices should be respected (pictured in December, 2015)

But she urges everyone to accept other people's appearances - as she adds that if no one is getting hurt by her cosmetic procedures, her choices should be respected.

'Everyone has the right to live how they want to live,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I'm not here to judge anyone, I'm not hurting anyone and I also think if someone handed them the money, they would do it too. There is no reason to be judging.'

When she looks at an old picture of herself at the age of 19, she said: 'I feel lost, it seems like a life time ago and so much has change.

'I don't know that person anymore,' she said about her young teenage self.

Ms Candela - who currently has 500cc implants - said she's hoping to get more cosmetic procedures, including another boob job, saying 'I want to get 800cc breast implants next year'

Ms Candela said she's hoping to get more cosmetic procedures, including another breast augmentation.

'I have a vision of what I want to look like and I'm almost there... I want to get 800cc breast implants next year,' she said.

For anyone who feels judged, Ms Candela said: 'In life we are forever going to be judged by others - that's how society makes people these days.

'So just live your life with no regrets and be happy and grateful for everything you have to offer and what the world offers you.'
Princess Micaela, Dowager Countess of Paris, has died at the age of 83, following a fascinating career that saw her traverse the worlds of advertising, government and medical research.

The princess, born Micaela Ana Maria Cousino y Quinones de Leon in Vichy in central France in 1938, into a family of Chilean-Spanish nobles, passed away on Sunday.

She was the second wife of Henri d'Orleans, Count of Paris and pretender to the defunct French throne, who died three years ago on January 21, 2019, 45 years to the day after they met.

They first noticed each other in a restaurant in 1974. The princess was then a divorced mother-of-one but Henri quickly succumbed to the charm of the 'delightful young blonde woman with green eyes'.

He divorced his first wife, a German princess, and remarried Micaela without his father's consent, meaning he was stripped of his title and disinherited. He was instead referred to as Count of Mortain, a non-dynastic styling, but refused to accept post that addressed him as such.

Eventually, fraught relations were healed and in 1991, Henri was reinstated as his father's heir apparent. His Comte de Clermont title was returned and Micaela was named Princess of Joinville.

In a statement shared online on Monday, Prince Jean of Orleans, Count of Paris, said: 'Her Royal Highness Princess Micaela, whom my father married in second marriage, died this Sunday March 13, 2022. I assure her son Alexis Francis-Boeuf and his relatives of my sincere condolences.'

Princess Micaela (pictured left, in 2019), Dowager Countess of Paris, has died at the age of 83, following a fascinating career that saw her traverse the worlds of advertising, government and medical research. Pictured right, during her religious wedding in 2009 to Henri d'Orleans

The Dowager Countess was the second wife of Henri d'Orleans (pictured together in 1984), Count of Paris and pretender to the defunct French throne, who died three years ago on January 21, 2019, 45 years to the day after they met

Micaela was born to Luis Maximiliano Cousino y Sebire, heir to one of Chile's wealthiest families, dating back to the 18th century, and Antonia Quinones de Leon y Banuelos, the 4th Marquesa of San Carlos and a Grandee of Spain.

But the Dowager Countess didn't shy away from work despite her background, starting her career in media, at a French radio before being employed by a press agency under an advertising group based in Paris and Madrid.

She was also described as an 'art publisher' by French magazine Point de Vue.

In 1961, Micaela wed Jean-Robert Buf, with whom she had a child, named Alexis.

She eventually turned her hand to politics in the late 1970s, overseeing communications for French government minister Raymond Barre, who served as prime minister under president Valery Giscard d'Estaing.

The couple, pictured in October 2018, first noticed each other in a restaurant in 1974. The princess was then a divorced mother-of-one but Henri quickly succumbed to the charm of the 'delightful young blonde woman with green eyes'

He divorced his first wife, a German princess, and remarried Micaela (pictured together in 2014) without his father's consent, meaning he was stripped of his title and disinherited

In 1982, she worked for the Cancer Research Association, before marrying Henri d'Orleans in 1984.

Recalling his first meeting with his second wife in 2003, Henri told Paris Match: For me, it's love at first sight.

'The one who will become a real little soldier by my side seems quite disoriented, moved, makes me repeat my name several times. I invited her to dinner the next day.

Finally, we went dancing and woke up together. Our meeting took place on January 21. Date of the death of Louis XVI, read his admission, when translated from French to English.

Eventually, fraught relations were healed and in 1991, Henri was reinstated as his father's heir apparent. His Comte de Clermont title was returned and Micaela (pictured above in 2010) was named Princess of Joinville

Micaela took an active role within the family, appearing alongside her husband (pictured together in 2013) at engagements and attending events solo to represent the household

He divorced his first wife, nee Duchess Marie-Therese of Wurttemberg, and Micaela and her husband lived in an apartment in Paris until 1999, when on the death of his father, Henri became the head of the House of Orleans.

Vive la revolution: France and the monarchy France overthrew its monarchy in the revolution of 1789, briefly restoring it after the fall of Napoleon. The last French king, Louis Philippe, was toppled in 1848. In 1792, France's Legislative Assembly had voted to abolish the monarchy and establish the First Republic. The decision came a year after King Louis XVI reluctantly approved a new constitution that stripped him of much of his power. Louis ascended to the French throne in 1774. He struggled, from the outset, to cope with his country's financial hardship. The French Revolution had reached its first climax in 1789, exacerbated by food shortages. In August 1792, King Louis and his queen, Mary-Antoinette, were imprisoned, and the monarchy was abolished in September that year. In January 1793, Louis was tried for treason and condemned to death. He was beheaded, with Marie-Antoinette also guillotined nine months later. The Second French Revolution of 1830 - also known as the July Revolution - saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch. This led to the ascent of his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, who would be overthrown 18 years later, in 1848. Source: history.com Advertisement

Micaela took an active role within the family, appearing alongside her husband at engagements and attending events solo to represent the household.

In 2009, Henri had his first marriage annulled by the Vatican, meaning he could finally have a religious ceremony to Micaela after initially only having a civil service.

The couple tied the knot religiously on September 26, 2009 in Arcangues in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques.

In 2019, Henri died. The Dowager Countess largely kept to herself following the death of her husband.

Speaking to Point de Vue following his death, Micaela admitted: 'It's not good but sometimes I still blame him for not having taken me with him. For not being there. I relied on him a lot.'

'I had the feeling of having fallen, I no longer saw anything, I no longer understood anything,' she added.

Henri was descended from Louis Philippe I, the last king to have reigned in France, from 1830 to 1848.

He was also descended from the Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV - and if French royalists had had their way, Henri d'Orleans would have been dubbed Henri VII.

Henri's son, Jean d'Orleans, inherited his father's title upon his death and is the head of the House of Orleans, which is a branch of the House of Bourbon, whose kings first ruled France in the 16th century.

As well as the Louis XIV family connection, the male line of his family also descend from France's 'Citizen-King' Louis-Philippe d'Orleans (Louis Philippe I), who reigned from 1830 to 1848.

French royalists (also known as Unionists) recognise 53-year-old Jean as the legitimate claimant to the throne.

On 22 March, a Mass of A-Dieu commemorating the Dowager Countess' life will be held at the Saint-Germain-lAuxerrois church in Paris, according to Tatler.
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A devoted couple have welcomed their twelfth baby in 12 years, with her much-anticipated arrival transforming their family a real-life version of the classic comedy movie Cheaper by the Dozen.

Courtney Rogers, 37, and her church pastor husband Chris, 34, welcomed 6lb 12oz Cambria into the world on Monday, in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The stay-at-home mother, who lives with Chris and their 'perfect family' of six boys and six girls on a 12-acre farm with 140 animals said: 'It does feel special.'

It marked the end of 12 years in which the longest she has gone without being pregnant has been seven months.

Courtney - whose first child, Clint, was born in 2010 - was determined not to stop until she and Chris had 12 children, like the couple in the movie starring Steve Martin and Kate Baker.

She said: 'It is amazing how it worked out too because we had all our boys at the beginning and the last five have been girls, so it all evened out.'

A stay-at-home mother from New Mexico has just welcomed her twelfth child in 12 years, a baby girl to join six brothers and five sisters (pictured)

Congratulations! Courtney Rogers (pictured), 37, and her church pastor husband Chris, 34, live on a farm in Santa Fe with their large brood and also care for 140 animals

Cute: The couple welcomed 6lb 12oz Cambria into the world on Monday

New chapter: It marked the end of 12 years in which the longest Courtney (pictured with her husband and one of their children) has gone without being pregnant has been seven months

The couple, who will not be planning any more pregnancies, say they never set out to have a massive family when they tied the knot in 2008.

A miscarriage soon after their wedding, when she was 24 and Chris was 21, left them fearing they might not be blessed with any children at all.

But, after they had Clint, the babies kept coming and, once they hit 10, they decided to push to a dozen - with their older children's backing - because they were all keen to take the crown as the real-life Cheaper by the Dozen clan.

Courtney said: 'Clint was born three weeks before I turned 26 but, back then, I had no clue that I would have more children.

'I thought I was too old at 26 and I didn't know they would come so fast, plus include a set of twins.

'Then we said we would have 10 children maximum, but I still felt young and healthy enough, so we pushed it to 12.'

As well as sharing their farm with a host of animals including pigs, sheep, dogs and chickens, Courtney and Chris live with their children Clint, 12, Clay, 10, Cade, nine, Callie, eight, Cash, seven, twins Colt and Case, six, Calena, four, Caydie, three, Coralee, two, Caris, one, and now newborn baby Cambria.

Happy family: Courtney and Chris live with their children Clint, 12, Clay, 10, Cade, nine, Callie, eight, Cash, seven, twins Colt and Case, six, Calena, four, Caydie, three, Coralee, two, Caris, one, and now newborn baby Cambria

She said: 'We had 12 children under 12, as Clint turned 12 on Sunday, so Cambria was born just a week before his birthday'

Cheaper By The Dozen: The original film was released in 2003 and featured appearances from stars like Steve Martin, Hilary Duff, Alyson Stoner, and Piper Perabo

Settling in well, after staying in the hospital for a few days following her Cesarean delivery - Courtney's fourth - Cambria was given oxygen and monitored after swallowing too much fluid during her birth.

Still, her delivery was far easier than that of Caris, her nearest sister in age, who was born by emergency C-section, because she became distressed and doctors feared she was not getting enough oxygen.

Pleased as punch with their 12-strong brood, Courtney says she and Chris will be doing some family planning from now on, saying: 'We have ended up with six girls and six boys, so I don't think we will have any more, unless we get a surprise.

'We had 12 children under 12, as Clint turned 12 on Sunday, so Cambria was born just a week before his birthday.

'He was excited to have another birthday near him, with my husband's the week before too, so they are all together.'

She said: 'It is amazing how it worked out too because we had all our boys at the beginning and the last five have been girls, so it all evened out'

Pleased as punch: Courtney says she and Chris will be doing some family planning from now on, saying: 'We have ended up with six girls and six boys, so I don't think we will have any more, unless we get a surprise

With seven months being the longest she has gone without being pregnant in the last 12 years and the biggest gap between two of her children being 20 months, during which she had a miscarriage, it will feel foreign to Courtney not to be pregnant or considering having another baby.

She said: 'It is going to be strange not to have another baby. Pregnancy mostly treated me well, I didn't get sick and was never on bedrest, so I could always look after the kids. I have enjoyed having babies.'

And she is unfazed by the idea of having another newborn so soon after the last, as she is used to having several children in diapers at once.

Looking forward to seeing the personalities of the youngest additions develop, she said: 'The little girls know they are the youngest because they try to get away with everything.'

One positive about a year without any pregnancies on the horizon is that Courtney and Chris, who drive their family around in a 15 passenger van, should at last have time for some home improvements.

Non stop: Courtney - whose first child, Clint, was born in 2010 - was determined not to stop until she and Chris had 12 children, like the couple in the movie starring Steve Martin and Kate Baker

Settling in well: After staying in the hospital for a few days following her C-section delivery - Courtney's fourth - Cambria was given oxygen and monitored after swallowing too much fluid during her birth

With just four bedrooms at the moment, they plan to extend their house to create seven bedrooms, so they can have two children per room, with a room for themselves and they will be enlarging their living room to fit everyone in comfortably.

Courtney, who last had a night out with Chris on Valentines Day, when they got a friend to babysit, said: 'We are trying to get everyone situated properly at home.

'We used to worry about the boys, then all these girls came along, so we made more room for the girls. Luckily, they all like to 'pal up'.'

Not only does Courtney look after the smooth running of the household, she also home schools her brood, while Chris works with the church, on the farm and on the home improvements.

She said: 'We do everything together. We work together and do home-schooling together.

Courtney said: 'We used to worry about the boys, then all these girls came along, so we made more room for the girls. Luckily, they all like to 'pal up'

Jobs: The afternoon involves animal chores before an assortment of language classes, arts, reading and occasionally piano lessons over Zoom

Social media: When Courtney has the chance, she also documents her family life on her Instagram @littlehouseinthehighdesert, where she has amassed 34.6k followers

She said: 'When they are younger I help the children with all their schooling, but when they are older - from the age of 12 - we switch to online tuition'

'When they are younger I help the children with all their schooling, but when they are older - from the age of 12 - we switch to online tuition.'

The Rogers family shopping list  10 gallons of milk a week  80 disposable diapers a month for the two babies (with reusable cloth diapers predominantly used)  Five to six loaves of bread a week  24 eggs each meal  Huge bag of cereal a day Advertisement

Starting with breakfast of cereal or oatmeal at 8am, the morning is dominated with predominantly math and art classes.

Lunch is generally a free-for-all at around 11:30am/12pm, with the little ones having sandwiches and a nap, while the eldest make their own food - something like pasta - or have leftovers from the night before.

The afternoon involves animal chores before an assortment of language classes, arts, reading and occasionally piano lessons over Zoom, before wrapping up the day with one of Courtney's batch-cooked dinners at 5pm, which include spaghetti or home-made pancakes with their chickens' eggs.

In between schooling, Courtney is also on clean-up duty, to try and tidy the ever-growing mess around the children, who last enjoyed a trip away to South New Mexico where they rented a house for the family for three days in October 2021.

Once the kids head to bed at 8.30pm - to either sleep or quietly entertain themselves - the couple have their only free time of the day to wind down together in the evenings.

When Courtney has the chance, she also documents her family life on her Instagram page @littlehouseinthehighdesert, where she has amassed 34.6k followers, something she is keen to keep growing.

She said: 'I am content right now, but I am sure I will miss the baby stage, although I think Chris might have something to say if I get broody again'

Busy: Chris works with the church, on the farm and on the home improvements

The Rogers family birth chart 13 March 2010  Clint was born weighing 8lbs 14oz  age 11

26 July 2011  Clay was born weighing 7lbs 13oz  age 10

16 September 2012  Cade was born weighing 6lbs 9oz  age 9

25 July 2013  Callie was born weighing 4lbs 8oz  age 8

24 October 2014  Cash was born weighing 7lbs 6oz  age 7

12 September 2015  Colt was born weighing 4 lbs 6 oz  age 6

12 September 2015  Case was born weighing 3lbs 8oz  age 6

9 May 2017  Calena was born weighing 6 lbs 6oz  age 4

10 June 2018  Caydie was born weighing 7lbs 9oz  age 3

6 June 2019  Coralee was born weighing 8lbs 9oz  age 2

November 28, 2020  Caris, born 9lbs 3oz  age 1

7 March 2022  Cambria, born weighing 6lbs 12oz  newborn Advertisement

While she has a huge following from fans who have watched the family's journey over the years, she still faces some hostility from people who object to her having so many children.

She said: 'People ask if we are done now and we say yes, but I don't know if they will believe us till they see it.

'People we know don't say anything to our faces, but there are always those on the internet who have something mean to say.'

Courtney can feel lonely sometimes without many like-minded parents of large families to speak to.

But she's found support online, or in the most unlikely of settings.

'I was in the store the other day when I was pregnant and the cashier was talking to me about my family, when the lady behind me said she had 10 children,' she said.

'It is rare to find someone with that many children.

'I do find it hard sometimes, as most people think we are crazy for having so many, but I have several friends on the internet with big families.

Instead of projecting on what life will be like when her children start becoming teenagers, Courtney simply says she will 'see what happens' and, for now, her priority is making sure Cambria starts eating more and is welcomed into the family.

Just a week on from the tot's birth, she said: 'It will probably hit me later that she is baby number 12.

'Kids normally make you feel young, but the closer to 40 I get, I do feel a bit older.

'I am content right now, but I am sure I will miss the baby stage, although I think Chris might have something to say if I get broody again.'
Prince William proved he's really a Prince Charming when he stepped in to offer an umbrella to his wife after she got caught in the rain.

The couple were emerging from Westminster Abbey after the Commonwealth Day service on Monday when the heavens opened.

After getting a nod from the Duke, an aide darted over to the Duchess of Cambridge to offer her an umbrella while she was speaking to a group of schoolchildren but she politely declined.

Dutiful husband Prince William, 39, was seen holding out an umbrella for his wife Kate, 40, as they emerged from Westminster Abbey after the Commonwealth Day service on Monday

The adorable moment was captured by news cameras and shared on social media by one of the royal couple's fan accounts

Moments later she was joined by William, 39, who, not realising the exchange that had just taken place, asked the same aide if he could borrow the umbrella.

The dutiful Duke strode over to Kate and held it over her head as she continued chatting to the children.

The adorable moment was captured by news cameras and shared on social media by one of the royal couple's fan accounts.

One royal watcher wrote: 'All you need is true love. You can see how Prince William & Catherine are holding onto each other without even being physical every time when they are together. Their love for one another can be deeply felt. They complete each other.'

William, 39, asked an aide if he could borrow the umbrella before holding it over his wife at the Commonwealth Day service on Monday

The Duchess of Cambridge looked radiant as she left the annual service with William holding an umbrella over her on Monday

Another posted: 'Ahhhhh, SO romantic, swoon. & Prince Wiliam isn't even meant to hold an umbrella at formal occasions. He just wanted to.'

A third wrote: 'That is called a good husband who thinks about every tiny thing to protect the love of his life . It's called true love.'

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today joined Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and hundreds of dignitaries and schoolchildren for the annual event, which is an important date in the royal calendar.

Kate, 40, looked regal in the bespoke Catherine Walker coat dress, matching Lock & Co hat and blue Rupert Sanderson shoes.

Spring blooms! The Duchess of Cambridge was presented with a pretty posy as she left the Commonwealth Day service on Monday

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge shared a light-hearted moment as they left Westminster Abbey under an umbrella

The Duchess completed the monochrome look with a sapphire jewellery set that once belonged to Princess Diana. She wore the same necklace and earrings when she and William welcomed Ukraine's President Zelensky and his wife Olena to Buckingham Palace in October 2020.

The Queen, who has recently recovered from coronavirus and has been experiencing mobility issues, had hoped to attend in person but asked her son Charles to represent her at the service after discussing arrangements with members of the Royal Household.

Ensuring the comfort of the monarch, who now regularly uses a stick, is thought to have been an overriding consideration in her decision not to take part.
A period products company has come under fire for 'erasing women' in an Instagram post referring to 'bleeders' rather than women, which critics have described as 'insulting and dehumanising'.

London-based company Yoppie released a statement on Instagram which said the majority of 'bleeders' are not aware of the 'symptoms' which occur during the menstrual cycle.

Furious social media users were quick to point out the 'misogynistic and objectifying' language used, which company founder Daniella Peri told FEMAIL was designed to 'bust the social stigma' around period blood, as well as being inclusive to 'people who menstruate who are not women'.

Founded in 2016, Yoppie is a subscription-based period product company providing vegan and eco-friendly tampons, pads and liners, as well as supplements and skincare products.

Swedish-born entrepreneur Peri studied Marketing & Communications and Economics at Uppsala University before working for various London-based start-ups.

She worked for a privately owned high-level consulting firm in London before founding the company in 2016, leaving work to run the business full time in November 2019.

London-based company Yoppie came under fire after releasing a statement on Instagram which said the majority of 'bleeders' are not aware of the 'symptoms' which occur during their menstrual cycle

The Instagram post from the company's founder Peri, read: 'Most bleeders know how they are impacted by their period, but unfortunately aren't in touch with their feelings and symptoms in the other phases of their cycle. We're here to change that.'

In the caption to accompany the post, the company wrote: 'Our founder & CEO Daniella Peri wants to quit talking about that period and shine a light on the full menstrual cycle.

'Yoppie is here to empower women to take control of their menstrual journey through products and education to 'Ride Your Cycle'!'

The post was met with furious comments from Instagram users, with one writing: 'Are you having a laugh. Bleeder is a dated misogynistic term, why are you using it here??'

Furious social media users were quick to point out the 'misogynistic and objectifying' language being used to describe people who have periods, the majority of whom are women

'I find the term 'bleeders' offensive. Why are you dehumanising women - your client base?', agreed another user.

A third wrote: 'Bleeders? What is wrong with saying that girls and women get periods? As for symptoms, the menstrual cycle is not an illness! Beyond insulting.'

The post received further backlash after being shared on Twitter by author and women's rights campaigner Milli Hill, who claimed the language was 'erasing women'.

'As a copywriter I'm really genuinely bewildered by this... Are they some kind of naive startup with literally no clue into the minds of their demographic?! Did no one in the company consider that this language might be objectifying in the extreme? Did they do any market research?', wrote one user.

Another said: ''Bleeders'? My god, that's even more dehumanizing and insulting than 'menstruators'. FFS, they're adopting terms intended to cast women as sub-human and just running with it as if it's okay. This is NOT okay.'

The post received further backlash after being shared on Twitter by author and women's rights campaigner Milli Hill, who claimed the language was 'erasing women'

''Bleeders'?!!! Ugh! Just shown this to late teens daughter (aka 'bleeder') - nope, not a brand she wants to associate with, let alone purchase. What are these people on?!', wrote a third user.

Another commented: 'Calling women 'bleeders' is so disgusting. They can stick their period products where the sun doesn't shine with that language.'

Founder and CEO of Yoppie Peri said of the criticism: 'I recently referred to women as 'bleeders', but also in the same post used 'women'. I used the word 'bleeders' for our new campaign 'Ride your cycle' as I feel it best describes the point we are trying to make; that 'menstrual health' is so much more than the days you bleed.

'Yoppie is focussed on being a brand welcoming all those who have a menstrual cycle - it's what we do. But, being at the forefront of menstrual health, how we describe it and talk to our customers is fraught with challenges, mistakes and learnings. After all that's part of being a genuine brand.

Twitter users were quick to criticise the brand 'insulting and dehumanising' with one even suggesting the language depicts women as 'subhuman'

'We recognise the menstrual cycle is a biological function. We should be proud of this cycle, of bleeding from our uterus, it's what makes us different. So we want to have this conversation, to bust the social stigma of talking about it publicly.

'We strongly believe all women, girls and people with a menstrual cycle should feel welcome at Yoppie. We also understand there are many women who don't have periods, and some people who menstruate who are not women. We're proud to host a safe space for anyone wishing to take charge of their menstrual health.

'If this conversation increases discussion within families and friendship groups to the level that people now talk about mental health - surely this is a great thing? We must remove any stigma of the menstrual cycle and periods and open up the conversation.

'The big question is how can brands like Yoppie talk directly to their customers, simply and eloquently, without causing offense to many. Can we, is that even possible?

'I myself am a woman. But I understand many of our customers are not. I also understand it is neither my place nor that of Yoppie to tell anyone how they should identify.

'We're an open, straight talking and transparent brand that is trying to navigate the right language. We will continue to promote that discrimination prevents all people from having equal opportunities - and we make no apology for that stance. This is the hard conversation everyone needs to have and we're here to have it. Join the conversation'.
British socialite India Hicks has been criticised for using a post about helping Ukrainian refugees in Poland to also plug a 'posh framing company' she's previously been paid to collaborate with.

Prince Charles' goddaughter, 54, who lives on Harbour Island in the Bahamas with her husband David Flint Wood and their five children, told her 325,000 followers last night that she had travelled to the Eastern European country to help Ukrainians displaced by Russian attacks on the country.

However, in the same post, Hicks also mentioned a photo frame 'edit' she created for upmarket UK homeware company Addison Ross to mark International Women's Day last week - saying there was only one day left to buy one and pushing followers to the 'link in my bio'.

The post was branded 'awkward' by one person, while another responded: 'Are you really mixing a post about helping refugees with an advert for a posh framing company?!'

Scroll down for video

India Hicks, the 54-year-old socialite who is Prince Charles goddaughter, told her Instagram followers yesterday that she's travelled to Poland to work with a global disaster response charity in helping refugees - but she faced criticism for also featuring a homeware company she's been paid by in the past for promoting a sale of photo frames

A previous post promoting the photo frames from Northumberland based homeware company Addison Ross. The socialite has collaborated with the company on several occasions as part of a paid partnership

10 per cent of sales from Hicks' four-piece frame collection, where prices range from 28 to 45, are donated to the The Princes Trust.

A spokesperson for Addison Ross confirmed to MailOnline that Hicks has been paid as an influencer for previous posts - using the hashtag #ad for transparency - but said the company had no knowledge of yesterday's post.

Hicks revealed she had arrived in Rzeszow, a small city in southeast Poland - 65km from the Ukraine border - to begin charity work with Global Empowerment Mission, a global disaster response charity founded by US businessman Michael Capponi.

Offering glimpses into her first few hours in the city, Hicks, who served as bridesmaid at the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, shared a photo of herself outside a hotel in the city, and getting to grips with the local currency.

She wrote: 'I have arrived in Rzeszow, prounced Jeshooouf (I know, I had to practice that a lot ) to work with @globalempowermentmission.

'I am traveling with my Polish friend @marzenakosicka, thank goodness because no one here speaks much English, understandably.'

Also featured in the post about Hicks' arrival in Poland this week were two photos in frames by Addison Ross including one featuring Hicks with her husband husband David Flint Wood, who she wed after 26 years in September

A travel-weary Hicks updated her story with a photo of a meeting with US businessman Michael Capponi, who founded Global Empowerment Mission in 2011

The socialite's stories on Instagram also featured a map of how resources would be used to help Ukrainian refugees

She explained that her friend 'was also once a refugee, escaping Poland with her parents one Christmas Eve when she was 18 years old so understands more than most what is happening here.'

Hicks then took the opportunity to promote her International Women's Day frames, telling followers: 'Recently Ive been framing lots of memories with the help of @addisonrosshome and their brilliant phone-to-frame service.

'I edited a collection of frames for them (SWIPE) which are on sale only till the end of this week. Each one is marked with a silver plaque on the back #womensupportingwomen and part of the proceeds go towards @princestrust. The link to this is in my profile.'

Additional photographs on Hicks' Instagram included two photos in frames by Addison Ross including one that features Hicks with her husband husband David Flint Wood.

Her Instagram story also included a photo of a meeting with Capponi, who founded the Global Empowerment Mission in 2011, and a hand-written map of how resources would be used to help Ukrainian refugees. Nearly 3,000 people have liked the post.

A previous paid post featuring Addison Ross saw Hicks looking at photographs featuring the brand's frames; the 54-year-old told her followers the company did 'literally everything from framing to gift wrapping to sending which meant I could just sit on the sofa with my Mum on a chilly January afternoon and rediscover these stories with her' (Pictured: Hicks with her mother Lady Pamela Hicks)

Previous posts published by Hicks in a paid partnership with Addison Ross have included the hashtag #ad, including one which saw the socialite chatting to her mother Lady Pamela Hicks, 92, about her memories, saying: 'I snapped the photos on my phone, choose the frames and they did the rest.

'Literally everything from framing to gift wrapping to sending which meant I could just sit on the sofa with my Mum on a chilly January afternoon and rediscover these stories with her.'

Addison Ross, based in Northumberland, is owned by David and Sarah Ross and has been in business since 1978. A spokesperson for the company told MailOnline it had been 'delighted' to collaborate on previous paid campaigns with Hicks but said it was unware her edit of frames would be featured in the socialite's latest Instagram post.

A spokesperson said: 'We did not ask her to create the post which went up yesterday regarding her trip to Poland and supporting the charity and in no way would we want it to look like Addison Ross were commercialising a humanitarian crisis and we know that this also wasnt Indias intention. We support the amazing work that she is doing for a very worthy cause at this current time.'

In 2021, Prince Charles' goddaughter married her partner of 26 years, David Flint Wood. Three months after tying the knot officially in a traditional English country wedding in September, the couple held a second reception in the Bahamas.
These heartrending photos of surrogate babies in a makeshift basement clinic in Kyiv shine a light on the difficult situations faced by those involved in Ukraine's booming global surrogacy industry as the country is ravaged by war.

The 21 babies were all carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers for couples living overseas. They were born in maternity wards across the capital and taken to the 'clinic' - set up in the basement of a residential block - for safety.

Normally, parents re required to travel to Ukraine ahead of the birth and complete relevant paperwork before taking their children home.

But volunteer nurses said only two couples, one from Germany, one from Argentina, have so far made the journey to collect their children.

A handful of similarly happy endings have emerged, with couples from the US, the UK and Australia all safely making the journey.

Mother-of-two Jessie Miller Boeckmann, a cataract surgeon from Orange County, California, told how she walked eight miles to the Polish border with her four-day-old daughter strapped to her chest after she and her husband flew out to Ukraine to collect her days before war broke out.

The story of premature American twins who were evacuated in their incubators after being born to a Ukrainian surrogate also made headlines around the world.

But hundreds of other families are faced with the desperate situation of not being able to reach their newborns.

Scroll down to read the extraordinary stories of babies rescued from Ukraine

Waiting for their parents: These 21 babies were all carried by Ukrainian surrogate mothers for couples living overseas. They were born in maternity wards across the capital and taken to the 'clinic' - set up in the basement of a residential block in Kyiv - for safety

Surrogate-born babies awaiting pickup from shelter in Kyiv

One of the lucky ones: German couple Heka and Gerhard, who travelled 12 hours by train to collect their newborn son, Leonard. He was carried by a Ukrainian surrogate

Bravery: Mother-of-two Jessie Miller Boeckmann, a cataract surgeon from Orange County, California, told how she walked eight miles to the Polish border with her four-day-old daughter strapped to her chest after she and her husband flew out to Ukraine to collect her days before war broke out. The family are now home safe

Low costs, willing women and favourable laws: Why Ukraine has become a global surrogacy hotspot for foreign parents Commercial surrogacy has been legal for married heterosexual couples in Ukraine since 2000. It is now the second most popular destination behind the US. Mr Everingham said that a shortage of surrogates in the UK drives couples to look oversees. While the US is popular, the relatively high costs exclude some parents. In Ukraine, the process costs around $55,000. Costs rise to around $60,000 if the couple is using a donor egg or sperm. In contrast the US surrogacy services can range from around $100,000 to $200,000. Surrogates in the UK cannot be paid. Intended parents can only pay for expenses the surrogate incurs. Ukraine's laws are another factor. The Family code of Ukraine law states that where embryos created by IVF by the intended parents are returned to the womb of another woman, the intended parents are the legal parents. The law in Ukraine specifically states that the baby belongs to the intended parents and the surrogate mother has no prenatal rights. Both intended parents names appear on the Ukrainian birth certificate. This might appeal to British couples concerned over the UK laws that automatically grant rights to a surrogate. Laws in the US vary state to state. Countries including Thailand, India and Nepal, which used to allow compensated surrogacy for foreigners, have banned the practice out of fear it led to the exploitation of women. However there are restrictions on how Ukraine surrogacies can operate. Unlike in the UK, surrogacies in Ukraine can only be 'gestational', meaning the woman cannot be biologically linked to the baby. Meanwhile at least one of the intended parents must be biological. Advertisement

Ukraine is an international surrogacy hub. Growing Families, a charity working with parents seeking surrogacy, estimates there are 800 Ukraine surrogates pregnant with children to foreigners, with an estimated 40 carrying babies for British parents.

Its popularity is down to a number of reasons including the availability of surrogates, the high standard of medical care and the cost.

The entire process costs the equivalent of 42,000, roughly a third of what it costs parents pursuing surrogacy in the US.

The legal situation is also different to Britain, where the surrogate mother is automatically given legal rights. In Ukraine the 'intended parents' are the only ones with any legal rights.

Growing Families has been contacted by more than 100 couples from 12 countries seeking assistance. In addition to concerns surrounding their babies, there are also fears for the embryos they have in storage.

'It is such a difficult situation and we are getting many calls daily from couples who have got surrogates or embryos in Ukraine who are desperate for information,' Sam Everingham, global director of Growing Families, told i.

Volunteers: One of the nurses in the Kyiv bomb shelter told how she and her colleagues are working around-the-clock to care for the babies, pictured

Waiting for their parents: Four babies, all born to surrogates, lie on a mattress in the shelter while another is bottle fed by a volunteer

Round-the-clock care: Nurse Oksana Martynenko looks after surrogate-born babies inside a special shelter owned by BioTexCom clinic in a residential basement in Ukraine

How American premature twins born to a Ukrainian surrogate escaped the war in incubators A set of American premature twin brothers born in a Kyiv hospital made it to Poland after being evacuated from the war in incubators by a US military veteran and team of medical experts in an extraordinary mission dubbed operation Gemini. Lenny and Moishe Spektor were born on February 25th - hours after Putin launched his first assault on Russia - in a children's hospital in Kyiv. The hospital floor they were delivered on no longer exists: it was shelled days after they were moved to a different facility. The boys, who weighed 4lbs each when they were born, are the sons of Sasha Spektor and his wife. Evacuated: Lenny and Moishe Spektor were born on February 25th - hours after Putin launched his first assault on Russia - in a children's hospital in Kyiv. The hospital floor they were delivered on no longer exists: it was shelled days after they were moved to a different facility. They are shown above in the Polish hospital where they are gaining weight. The boys will return to the US with their father when they are strong enough Sasha, 46, was born in Ukraine but emigrated to Chicago as a Jewish refugee in 1989. He now teaches Russian literature at The University of Georgia. The couple worked with a Ukrainian surrogacy agency which matched them with Katerina, young Ukrainian mother with a six-year-old son of her own. In an interview with DailyMail.com, Sasha told how Katerina was rushed to the hospital while 27 weeks pregnant with the twins due to complications. Rescue mission: Sasha Spektor, the boys' father, is shown center in a medical gown next to Lt. Commander Bryan Stern, who arranged the mission to get them out. To the right is Olga, the head of the ambulance crew She was still there when the shelling began, and took shelter in the basement of a church with the premature babies at night. Katerina was transported in ambulances under shelling and made it across the border to Poland. Sasha flew out to meet his newborn children and his wife followed shortly afterwards. The babies were transported with the help of Project Dynamo founder Bryan Stern, a Lieutenant Commander of the US Army and Navy. It is not known whether the baby remain in Poland but it is thought they required more care before flying to the US. Advertisement

'They are panicking and worried about what will happen to their babies and about getting them to safety. But it is a terrifying situation for the surrogates too as they have their own lives and are frightened and it is not just about airlifting them out.

'Some of the surrogates don't have passports and many of them are unable to leave because the Ukrainian government has banned men aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country and they don't want to leave them behind.

'These women have their whole lives in Ukraine and some don't want to relocate from their social and support networks.'

Under Ukraine law, surrogates are not allowed to travel abroad to deliver, although they can be moved to a city further from the Russian border.

One of the nurses in the Kyiv bomb shelter told how she and her colleagues are working around-the-clock to care for the babies.

Waiting for their reunion: Babies waiting for their 'intended parents' are cared for by nurses in a Kyiv basement shelter as the war rages on

Desperate: These heartrending photos of surrogate babies in a makeshift basement clinic in Kyiv shine a light on the difficult and distressing situations faced by those involved in Ukraine's booming surrogacy industry as the country is ravaged by war

'It is not their fault that it happened,' Oksana Martynenko told Reuters of the babies in her care. 'It is not their fault that parents cannot come to take them. So we stay here, we are coping and helping them with what we can.'

So far, Kyiv has been spared the worst of the fighting, but the Russian military is slowly closing in on the city and the shelling has intensified. At least five people were killed in shelling and air strikes on the city on Tuesday.

An exhausted Antonina Yefymovych, also a nurse, said that staff were trapped and working around the clock to care for the children.

'We don't have time to rest now... We try to take short naps, to swap. It is tough, tough,' Yefymovych said.

Among the lucky ones are German couple Heka and Gerhard, who travelled 12 hours by train to collect their newborn son, Leonard.

'It's horrible. Horrible. We want to take him home to where he is safe,' Heka told the BBC.

Gerhard added: 'I can later tell him what happened at this time. We risked our lives for him.'

'I was afraid she would freeze or starve': American couple carried their newborn daughter eight miles to the Polish border four days after she was born to a surrogate in Kyiv

American couple Jessie and Jacob Boeckmann, both doctors in Orange County, California, have also been able to take their newborn baby home.

Their daughter, carried by a surrogate, was born in Kyiv on February 22, two days before Russia invaded Ukraine.

The couple made the journey to Kyiv a few days prior because the geopolitical situation was already so uncertain.

On February 24, the day of the invasion, Jessie and Jacob were still in hospital with their daughter when they woke to the sound of explosions. The airport closed, they phoned a driver to immediately begin the journey to a temporary US Embassy in the western city of Lviv, despite the protests of nursing staff.

Sharing her story on Instagram, Jessie wrote: 'What started off as a six hour car ride turned into a 27 hour trip. It took us four hours alone to get out of Kyiv because of the massive exodus of people.

Fleeing Ukraine: American couple Jessie and Jacob Boeckmann, both doctors in Orange County, California, have also been able to take their newborn baby home

'A few hours into our trip, we found out that the temporary US embassy had closed and that we would have to make the trip to Poland.

'Our driver, Val, who only spoke Russian, agreed to take us. We had many angels who helped us during our journey, and our driver was our first one. He could have dropped us off on the side of the rode, but he stuck with us despite the angry calls from his family and his uncertain return home.

'Once we approached the border, traffic came to a stand still. At this point it was 2am. We all slept in the car overnight for a few hours. The next morning, traffic started moving again, but at nine 9am it completely stopped again.'

Jessie and Jacob made the decision that they would brave the freezing temperatures and walk the remaining eight hours to the Polish border. Jacob pulled their suitcases while Jessie cared for their newborn daughter, who was strapped to her chest.

'The walk was like walking through a parking lot or the worst travel jam seven and a half miles long,' Jessie continued. 'No cars were moving for the entire three hours journey. We constantly stopped to make sure the baby was breathing and was warm.

'The smell of car exhaust was overwhelming. No cars moved the entire trip. We realized when we reached the end of the walk that the border had stopped letting cars pass, if we had stayed in the car, I think it would have taken us days or weeks to get across.'

Long journey: Their daughter, carried by a surrogate, was born in Kyiv on February 22, two days before Russia invaded Ukraine. When war broke out, they made the long journey to the Polish border, by car (pictured) and on foot

Strangers stopped to help the couple, carrying their luggage, offering support, and helping to make bottles for their baby.

The whole time, Jessie was worried her baby would 'freeze or starve'.

The mother continued: 'She was only four days old. If we had to stay outside the gate overnight, I am not sure what would have happened.'

Jessie and Jacob became separated while trying to cross the border into Poland.

'It was complete chaos. We somehow made it into the front area of the "line" which I will refer to as the death pit,' she wrote. 'People were desperate to cross the border. Children were crying, women were screaming. There was no order or crowd control.

'After waiting for about two and a half hours, the crowd pushed me and the baby through, but the border control was preventing males from passing. Jacob was unable to pass through the gates with me. As the crowd was pushing me through, I had to keep my arms out and push people to prevent the baby from being crushed.

'I made it through the gates only to find another line waiting. I got in line because I did not know what else to do, but Jacob was carrying the babys food and my passport.

'I waited for about thirty minutes when I realized that he was not going to get through the gates. I asked the people behind me if they spoke English, and I met my second set of angels. They agreed to save my spot in line so I could go back to the gate.'

With the help of new friends, Jessie was able to get the crowd to pass her the baby's food, suitcase and passport from Jacob, who was stuck further down the crowd and unable to pass.

'Walking into Poland, was a complete opposite situation,' Jessie continued. 'The Polish government and Red Cross set-up food stations, currency exchanges, and transportation.'

By the time Jacob crossed the border and joined his family, he had not eaten for 36 hours. They eventually made their way to Warsaw and are now safely home in the US with their two daughters.

Jessie added: 'My biggest saddest is for the people of Ukraine. As an American, I get to go home and watch my children play. These people are living in a nightmare. They have little food, no supplies and their homes are being destroyed because of a senseless war.'
Lauren Scruggs is showing off her baby bump on Instagram, as the mom-to-be is set to welcome her first child with husband Jason Kennedy in the coming weeks.

Lauren, 33, and former E! host Jason, 40, are excitedly awaiting the arrival of their little one, over two years since starting IVF after struggling with infertility.

Lauren, who famously lost an arm and an eye in a horrific plane propeller accident in 2011, has revealed that she's planning on a natural birth, and has been practicing 'learning how to open your body and rest into waves of discomfort' to get through childbirth.

'It takes practice to avoid tightening your body during pain,' she wrote on her blog. 'Sinking into it allows your body to innately undergo a smooth delivery.'

Lauren Scruggs is showing off her baby bump on Instagram, as the mom-to-be is set to welcome her first child with husband Jason Kennedy in the coming weeks

Lauren, 33, and former E! host Jason, 40, are excitedly awaiting the arrival of their little one, over two years since starting IVF after struggling with infertility

She has not shared an exact due date, though updates she has shared on Instagram indicate she is at about 38 or 39 weeks gestation

Laurne and Jason have been married since December 2014 (pictured 2015)

Jason recently shared a closeup of his wife's big bump

The couple, who have been married since December 2014, have not shared an exact due date, though updates Lauren has shared on Instagram indicate she is at about 38 or 39 weeks gestation  meaning their arrival is coming soon.

She has shared several mirror selfies as her bump has grown, and recently posed for professional photos with Jason.

Now just weeks  or even days  away from delivery, Lauren has shared details of her birth plan on her blog.

She admitted that she initially thought she'd give birth in a hospital with an epidural, but after she began 'not feeling totally comfy with my OB,' she turned to midwifery and met with a doula.

'First of all, midwives are just incredible. they take the place of an OB in the pregnancy and our two midwives will replace the nurses and doctors at birth,' she said.

Lauren's family recently hosted a baby shower for her, and she shared snaps on Instagram

Lauren has revealed that she's planning on a natural birth, and has been practicing 'learning how to open your body and rest into waves of discomfort' to get through childbirth

'It takes practice to avoid tightening your body during pain,' she wrote on her blog. 'Sinking into it allows your body to innately undergo a smooth delivery'

Lauren admitted that she initially thought she'd give birth in a hospital with an epidural, but after she began 'not feeling totally comfy with my OB,' she turned to midwifery

'Our doula is an angel on earth, and she teaches us about birth for about two hours a week  she covers everything from the physical happenings to the mind/body connection, and everything in between.'

'Our doula has helped me replace fear with the beauty of birth, letting go of control, accepting support, and sinking and opening into the pain because the joy is ahead,' she said.

She added her favorite part is that Jason 'has a major role the entire time instead of feeling slightly helpless on the sidelines cheering me on.'

Now, she is planning for a natural birth, and has been preparing with ayurvedic treatments, prenatal lymphatic drainage treatments, prenatal chiropractic care, and pelvic floor therapy.

She has also been drinking raspberry leaf tea 'to tone and strengthen the uterus,' eating up to six dates a day 'to soften the cervix,' and sitting on a bosu ball to 'open [her] hips and strengthen [her] back.'

'First of all, midwives are just incredible. they take the place of an OB in the pregnancy and our two midwives will replace the nurses and doctors at birth,' she said

When she learened she was pregnant, Lauren told her sister first. She and her sister were both conceived with IVF

'Our doula has helped me replace fear with the beauty of birth, letting go of control, accepting support, and sinking and opening into the pain because the joy is ahead,' Lauren said

Lauren and Jason first announced that they were expecting in September, a thrilling development after years of infertility and IVF treatments started early last year

Lauren and Jason first announced that they were expecting in September, a thrilling development after years of infertility and IVF treatments started early last year.

'PREGNANT!' Jason wrote on Instagram at the time. 'So many of you have prayed for us and wished us well on this 4 1/2 year journey. Our hope is that this news encourages anyone going thru IVF or any fertility struggle.'

'It's always tough when a doctor tells you you can't have kids naturally and you keep running into complications, but we didn't sit and wallow in that. We were really blessed to meet with some amazing doctors and specialists,' Kennedy added.

'And one time Lauren had to be rushed to the ER because of unbearable pain a few days after the egg retrieval. Not to sound cliche, but it really has brought us even closer together because we have never been through this before, and it's been really special supporting each other.'

Kennedy said their faith helped.

'It's always tough when a doctor tells you you can't have kids naturally and you keep running into complications, but we didn't sit and wallow in that. We were really blessed to meet with some amazing doctors and specialists,' Kennedy said

Lauren is pictured with her mom and her sister at her baby shower

Lauren and Jason pose in matching pajamas. Lauren has shared pregnancy updates on social media

'There is an overall sense of peace because of our faith in God, and then it just comes down to our incredible friends and family who walked closely with us through it all,' Jason said

In January 2021, they started IVF, and in March of that year, Jason discussed Lauren's egg complications on social medi

'There is an overall sense of peace because of our faith in God, and then it just comes down to our incredible friends and family who walked closely with us through it all,' he said.

They also shared that Lauren's twin sister  they were both conceived with IVF  was the first person they told they were expecting.

It had been a difficult journey to parenthood, with the couple starting to try to have a family four years after their 2014 nuptials.

In January 2021, they started IVF, and in March of that year, Jason discussed Lauren's egg complications on social media.

'Well this one right here gave me a scare last night,' he posted on Instagram. 'A trip to the ER for severe pain post egg retrieval but our doctor assured us this morning that everything will be ok.

'Shes STRONG and will be back on her feet in no time. This is where nurse Jason steps in with that 24/7 love and care. Oh and slide 2 is bunny, she requested he stay close at all times.'

In July 2021, Lauren told People that it was a 'blessing' to have IVF.

'I'm committed to this journey, and it's a blessing, no matter what, because this could result in something so incredible,' she said.

'I'm committed to this journey, and it's a blessing, no matter what, because this could result in something so incredible,' Lauren said

Scruggs' happy pregnancy news comes just months after the ten-year anniversary of her horrific plane propeller accident, in which she lost an eye and an arm. She is seen revealing her facial scars during an appearance on NBC in 2012

The model climbed out of a two-seater plane (similar is pictured) at Aero County Airport in McKinney and walked into the propeller

After the crash, Lauren opened up about how she was learning to use a prosthetic arm, which she continues to wear

'It's such an amazing method of enhancing your fertility and having a sweet baby come into the world ... [I'm] really just trying to make the best of it by being grateful and flipping the script and just embracing it fully.'

Scruggs' positive attitude has helped her through trials before.

In 2011, she had climbed out of a two-seater plane at Aero County Airport in McKinney, Texas, after a flight to see Christmas lights when she walked into one of the plane's propellers, which was still running.

She suffered a fractured skull, broken collarbone, and brain injuries, and lost her left hand. Two weeks after the tragic accident, doctors decided that they had to remove Lauren's eye.

After the terrifying incident, she started blogging and she wrote her first book, Still Lolo: A Spinning Propeller, A Horrific Accident, and a Family's Journey of Hope in 2012.

She also wrote a second book, Your Beautiful Heart, which was published in 2015.

She now heads up the Lauren Scruggs Kennedy Foundation, which raises money for girls and women to 'receive cosmetic silicone coverings for their prostheses, with the hope that they will experience both physical and spiritual restoration and healing.'
The Queen has met the Guyanese poet Grace Nichols as she carried out another face-to-face engagement - after missing Monday's Commonwealth Day service.

The monarch, 95, welcomed Nichols to the Oak Room at Windsor Castle home to present her with the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry on Wednesday.

Her Majesty opted for a cream dress for the occasion, which she paired with her favourite set of pearl earrings and a matching necklace.

The meeting is only the monarch's third engagement since recovering from Covid-19, with the Queen standing without her walking stick for the in-person audience.

The Queen, 95, has met the Guyanese poet Grace Nichols at Windsor Castle as she carried out another face-to-face engagement - after missing Monday's Commonwealth Day service

The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry was established by the Queen's grandfather King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John Masefield

They were joined by the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who chaired the Poetry Medal Committee, which unanimously recommended the writer as the winner of the prestigious award.

Nichols is being recognised for her body of work, in particular her first collection of poetry I Is A Long-Memoried Woman (1983), prose and several books for younger readers.

She previously described the honour as 'both wonderful and humbling'.

On being announced as recipient of the 2021 award in December, she added: 'In my own work I've celebrated my Guyanese/Caribbean/South American heritage in relation to the English traditions we inherited as a former British colony.

Nichols is being recognised for her body of work, in particular her first collection of poetry I Is A Long-Memoried Woman (1983), prose and several books for younger readers

'To poetry and the English language that I love, I've brought the registers of my own Caribbean tongue.

'I wish my parents who use to chide me for straining my eyes, as a small girl reading by torchlight in bed, were around to share in this journey that poetry has blessed me with.'

The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry was established by the Queen's grandfather King George V in 1933 at the suggestion of the then Poet Laureate, John Masefield.

Previous recipients include Philip Larkin, Siegfried Sassoon, WH Auden, and Nichols' husband John Agard.

It is awarded for excellence in poetry. Each year's recipient is from the United Kingdom or a Commonwealth country.

The Queen, dressed in an elegant cream dress for the occasion, beamed as she shook hands with the poet in the Oak Room

She has kept busy at her Berkshire base after missing the Commonwealth Day service on Monday due to issues over her comfort rather than a specific illness.

On Tuesday, she had afternoon tea with Canada's Governor General Mary Simon and her husband, the journalist Whit Fraser, and also held two virtual audiences with ambassadors.

The 95-year-old head of state, who reached her Platinum Jubilee last month, has faced a bout of Covid in recent weeks, and also spent more than three months from October under doctors' orders to only conduct light duties.

In her message on Commonwealth Day, the monarch said it had made her happy, during her Platinum Jubilee year, to reaffirm the pledge she made in 1947 as a 21-year-old to devote her life in service.

The Queen was back at work yesterday as she hosted the new Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon and her husband Mr Whit Fraser for tea in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle after missing Monday's Commonwealth Day service

The monarch also hosted a virtual audience on a screen via videolink from Windsor Castle, where she is in residence yesterday

She had been set to be joined at the Commonwealth Service on Monday by some 1,500 guests celebrating Britain and the international grouping based around its former colonies.

She is the queen and head of state in Britain and 14 other Commonwealth nations or realms around the world, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada - a group which comprises about a quarter of the world's population.

It is understood that the Queen, who contracted Covid last month, is determined to attend Philip's memorial and may even be 'pacing herself' in public so that she can.

Prince William, Camilla, Prince Charles and Kate speak upon their arrival at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday

Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks in front of Charles, Camilla, William and Kate at Westminster Abbey

Officials met at Windsor to discuss the situation with her and it was felt that 'discretion was the better part of valour'.

It was decided it would be 'impolite' and 'disruptive' to make a decision on Monday morning, hours before it was due to go ahead, so they decided to make a decision 'there and then'.

She is still expected to attend a service of thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years who died aged 99 last April, at London's Westminster Abbey at the end of March.
Prince Edward celebrated the Queen's platinum jubilee by planting a tree in Kenya today.

The Pondo tree was in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in Aberdare Open Field, Kenya - close to Treetops where his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was staying when she first learned she had acceded to the throne in 1952.

The tree planted by the Earl will form part of The Queen's Green Canopy - a unique tree planting initiative created to mark the Platinum Jubilee in 2022 which invites people to 'Plant a Tree for the Jubilee .

More than 60,000 trees have been planted across the UK since the Queen's Green Canopy project was kicked off in March 2021.

Edward ditched his usual formal suits for the look and dressed in a short sleeved beige shirt and matching trousers for the engagement, and wore a hat to keep off the sun.

He's travelled to Kenya solo, while his wife Sophie spends four days on an official visit to New York.

Prince Edward planted a tree in Aberdare Open Field, Kenya, today for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee

The Pondo tree will form part of The Queen's Green Canopy - a unique tree planting initiative created to mark the Platinum Jubilee in 2022

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles  a longtime conservationist  planted an oak tree together on the Windsor Castle grounds in secret that month.

The official start of the project was announced in May 2021, and Her Majesty will be given a map of where all the trees have been planted at the end of her Jubilee year.

The planting project, which is working to protect 70 ancient trees and heritage woodlands, continues throughout 2022 and runs through March 2023.

Despite The Queen's Green Canopy being a UK-based project, the organisation chose to plant a tree in Kenya to mark the place she she had acceded to the throne.

Prince Edward seemed in good spirits as he talked with Kenyan officials and celebrated the planting of the Pondo tree

On February 6, 1952, Elizabeth and Philip were on a tour of Kenya at Sagana Lodge when, after spending the night at the Treetops Hotel, a message was given to Philip that King George VI was dead.

Elizabeth was not originally destined to become Queen. However, she became heir presumptive after her father, King George VI, ascended to the throne following the abdication of his older brother, King Edward VIII.

The Princess and her husband had travelled there to relax and enjoy a short respite from their duties, while also intending to take in the variety of wildlife on offer.

Upon their arrival, the Princess soon got to work with her own camera, recording a number of animals including elephants, baboons and a warthog.

The Princess enjoyed herself so much that she asked for tea to be served outside to avoid missing any of the wildlife.

The official start of the project was announced in May 2021. The Queen will be given a map of where all the trees have been planted at the end of her Jubilee year.

Keen to capture more on her camera, the Queen awoke early the following day and saw two rhino fighting at a nearby waterhole.

She soon had to leave but happily promised 'I will come again' as she left for a fishing lodge known as Sagana, around 20 miles away.

As the Queen departed, several thousand miles away servants at Sandringham were preparing to wake the King for his morning bath.

His Majesty had seemed in good spirits the previous evening when he returned from a shooting party with his friend Lord Fermoy.

He spent time playing with his two grandchildren, Charles and Anne, and had dinner with his younger daughter Margaret, before retiring to bed.

The planting project, which is working to protect 70 ancient trees and heritage woodlands, continues throughout 2022 and runs through March 2023.

Despite The Queen's Green Canopy being a UK-based project, the organisation chose to plant a tree in Kenya to mark the place she she had acceded to the throne.

The King's valet James McDonald had prepared the bath, with the running water usually enough to wake him.

However that morning it did not, and McDonald, alongside page Maurice Watts, knew something was seriously wrong.

A doctor was called, and he confirmed that the King had passed away in his sleep.

'Hyde Park Corner' the codeword used in event of King George's death was enacted and Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill was informed at once.

The Kenyan safari lodge where Princess Elizabeth became Queen has been forced to close after nearly 90 years of welcoming royalty. Pictured, with Prince Philip in February 1952

However, with the site the Queen and her husband were visiting being almost cut off from the outside world, it would be four hours before the news reached her.

The source of the news from Sandringham came from a journalist called Granville Roberts, who worked on the East African Standard and was covering the royal visit.

He received the news from his office, who said that Reuters had run a flash simply saying: 'The King is dead'.

Roberts immediately asked a receptionist to fetch Lieutenant Colonel Martin Charteris, who was Elizabeth's private secretary, to inform him of the news.

Asked if the message was correct, he simply replied: 'Quite sure.'

When the Queen and Prince Philip stayed, their accommodation was a comfortable three-bedroom shack, with a small servants quarter, built in the upper branches of a giant fig tree

Roberts then telephoned Commander Michael Parker, Philip's private secretary to deliver the news, which was later confirmed by radio when Parker tuned to the BBC.

Commander Parker awoke the Duke of Edinburgh from an afternoon nap to tell him of the death. He is said to have reacted like he had been hit by a thunderbolt.

Philip decided to take his wife for a walk in the grounds where he told her of her father's death and that she was now Queen.

Her Majesty is said to have reacted with a sense of duty in discussing the practicalities of returning to England, but also spent an hour alone in her room.

Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the Treetops Hotel on November 13, 1983 in Nairobi, Kenya

Arrangements were quickly made for the Royal party to return to London, with a plane flying them from Nanyuki, a nearby town, to Entebbe where a plane was waiting.

The party was delayed by several hours after a storm broke in Entebbe but they left at around midnight.

During the flight, another problem arose in that the Queen's mourning outfit had already gone ahead and she only had a floral dress to wear.

The aircraft decided to land in North Africa where a message was sent ahead and a second black outfit was taken to London airport.

Upon the flight's arrival, the dress was taken aboard after it stopped in the remote area of the airport.

The Queen changed quickly before emerging, meeting a line-up including her uncle the Duke of Gloucester and Churchill.
gettyimagesbank





By Lee Min-hyung







Banks are conducting their recruitment for this year, giving more weight to those who have received a digital education or relevant certificates offered by third-party organizations. Banks have been desperate to hire digital professionals for the past few years due to the rise of digital banking after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020.







With more people preferring to make non-face-to-face transactions, demand for mobile banking platforms has been on a steep rise. Catching up with the new paradigm, banks have had to reduce recruitments of conventional bank clerks and hire more digitally-agile staff.







However, they have had a tough time hiring tech savvy applicants, as most IT specialists do not favor jobs at banks or financial institutions. As a result, banks are now moving to shift their eyes onto hiring those who have taken digital education courses from recognized organizations, even if they do not have an academic degree in computer engineering or computer science.







Woori Bank finished accepting applications for its 2022 recruitment on March 7, and one noticeable difference from last year was that the lender plans to offer more incentives to applicants who completed the Samsung Software Academy for Youth program. The course is aimed at providing basic software education  such as coding  to job seekers.







The decision by Woori displays its willingness to hire more working-level staff who are competent in handling IT and other digital work. Those with IT-related certificates  such as data processing  will also be preferred by the lender.







State-run lenders are also on track to increase employment of their IT manpower while reducing those handling traditional banking tasks.







The Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) said it plans to hire 150 new employees during the recruitment, and will employ almost a third of them in digital-related positions.







This is a twofold increase from last year. IBK will also offer incentives to those with IT certificates, which was not the case in 2021.







NongHyup Bank will finish its recruitment process by the end of March. The lender will hire a total of 450 people for conventional banking and IT positions.







Detailed recruitment schedules of other major commercial lenders such as KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank have not been finalized yet, but they will likely take a similar course of action by preferring candidates with IT-related backgrounds or skills.







Industry officials said such a hiring practice will persist for the time being as competition for digital banking is widely expected to increase moving forward.







"Banks are closing down their sales offices and replacing work traditionally done by people with IT devices or software programs," a bank industry analyst said.







"Banks will have to offer more incentives to recruit more IT manpower, as digital transformation is a keyword not just for the financial industry, but most other areas as well."


Queen Maxima of the Netherlands looked typically chic as she visited a humanitarian service point for Ukrainian refugees on Wednesday.

The royal, 50, exuded elegance in a bright yellow long sleeved top and matching trousers as she stepped out in the RAI, Amsterdam.

Donning the Ukrainian colours, she paired her ensemble with a blue longline coat.

Maxima was shown around the refugee centre by members of staff, and met with families who have fled Ukraine.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands looked typically chic as she visited a humanitarian service point for Ukrainian refugees on Wednesday in the RAI, Amsterdam

The royal, 50, exuded elegance in a bright yellow long sleeved top and matching trousers as she stepped

All Ukrainian refugees travel free of charge in the Netherlands upon presentation of a Ukrainian passport or identity card.

Nearly 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia invaded late last month.

Many international organisations are turning their focus and support towards the exodus of refugees who are fleeing and primarily going to neighbouring Poland, Moldova and other European states such as the Netherlands.

Inside the building the royal was spotted chatting to a mother who pushed her young child in a buggy.

Support: Placing an empathetic hand on one women's shoulder, Maxima looked concerned about the on-going crisis Ukraine

Inside the building the royal was spotted chatting to a mother who pushed her young child in a buggy

She later sat with another family as they eat lunch inside the refugee centre.

Placing an empathetic hand on one women's shoulder Maxima looked concerned about the on-going crisis in Ukraine.

Queen Maxima has been a royal since 2002, when she married King Willem-Alexander.

Willem-Alexander became king after his mother, Beatrix, abdicated in April 2013 after 33 years as reigning monarch.

Maxima has reportedly said that she had no inkling that Willem-Alexander was heir to the throne when they first met.

The couple share three daughters, Catharina-Amalia, 18, Alexia, 16, and Ariane, 14, married into the Dutch royal family in 2002.

She later sat with another family as they eat lunch inside the refugee centre
Its the last tolerated prejudice. But Femails had enough. Its time we called out those day-to-day moments when were patronised for no longer being young...

A beautiful, highly successful, multi-talented Korean friend of mine, 64, cant understand why women get het up about being in their 60s.

In her culture, she says, a person in their 60s is considered to be a mere stripling and ones seventh decade  yes, even if you are a woman  is when you are considered to be entering your most productive period.

UK-based columnist Christa D'Souza (pictured) says that the menopause has become an effective way to blame a woman of a certain age for just about anything

This is music to my ears, of course, but I dont live in Korea. And from where Im sitting thats very much not how society perceives women of my age (61).

Actually, lets put the bar lower. Too many people think were past it once we hit menopause.

The menopause  it has become an effective way to blame a woman of a certain age for just about anything.

I cite here the example of David Fletcher, a pet food boss who recently had to pay out 20,000 to a female employee, Leigh Best, 52, for doing just that.

And have you heard of this new phrase vibe shift, where a once-prevalent cultural norm suddenly shifts? Well, there needs to be a big vibe shift around this.
After years as one of British wine buffs established favourites, there are signs Sauvignon Blancs irrepressibly aromatic style might just be falling out of favour.

Once the preserve of the oenophile, in recent years it has been simply everywhere and as a result, those in the know have begun to turn their noses up, just as fashions front row once turned their backs on Burberrys signature check pattern .

Now, just as Chardonnay once prompted some wine lovers to declare themselves ABC drinkers  Anything But Chardonnay  the same seems to be happening with Sauvignon Blanc. One online retailer, Naked Wines, has even launched an Anything But Sauvignon mixed case of wine following customer feedback asking for less of the often overtly aromatic grape. Which might be just as well, given that New Zealands most recent harvest was hit by spring frosts that have left retailers facing a severe global shortage of Sauvignon Blanc, and, potentially, rising prices.

UK-based wine expert Helen McGinn reveals her favourites to help you fall back in love with Sauvignon Blanc. Pictured: Radacini Sauvignon Blanc Moldova

But the grape has come a long way since the days of the cats pee on a gooseberry bush style of some early New Zealand Sauv Blanc. One producer, Coopers Creek, gave its wine that very name in the late 1990s, but nowadays the style of Sauvignon Blanc wines is more varied than ever.

In fact, the grape has been popping up in plenty of other places in recent years, Chile and South Africa among them, and the choice is anything but boring  from cheek-sucking gooseberry aromas from cooler spots to full-on passion fruit flavours, often from the warmer regions.

So, might Anything But Sauvignon drinkers be missing out?

Femails wine expert Helen McGinn picks her favourites to help you fall (back) in love

GREEN AND FRESH

Radacini Sauvignon Blanc Moldova, 6.99, Waitrose

Moldova might not be the first place you think of when picking a country to buy Sauvignon Blanc from, but not only does it produce the grape, the winemaker behind this particular wine makes it really well.

With flavours firmly in the green fruit flavour camp  think gooseberry first, grapefruit after  its fresh and bright. 7/10

SIP OF SEA BREEZE

Leyda Single Vineyard Garuma Sauvignon Blanc 2020, 12, Tesco

Helen said Leyda Single Vineyard Garuma Sauvignon Blanc 2020 (pictured) packs a pure lime and grapefruit flavour punch without being over the top

A fantastic wine from the Leyda Valley, one of Chiles best cool-climate spots out by the coast where cooling sea breezes ensure the grapes ripen slowly over time.

This helps concentrate their flavour so the resulting wine, made by super-talented winemaker Viviana Navarrete, packs a pure lime and grapefruit flavour punch without being over the top. If you want a shot of pure Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, this is one to try. 9/10

SIMPLE AND CITRUSY

Buenas Vides Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc 2021, 5.99, Aldi

Helen said Buenas Vides Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc 2021 (pictured) has lovely cut-grass aromas and bright lemon fruit flavours

Hopping to the other side of the Andes mountains, this is a great example of how Argentina can also show the Sauvignon Blanc grape a good time.

Not surprisingly given the price, its a simple take on Sauvignon Blanc, but you still get lots of lovely cut-grass aromas and bright lemon fruit flavours for your money.

Dangerously drinkable, this makes for a great party white. 6/10

PUNCHY PASSIONFRUIT

Te Pa Sauvignon Blanc 2021, 9.75, Asda

Helen said Te Pa Sauvignon Blanc 2021 (pictured) has classic grape characters including nettle on the nose and passionfruit on the palate

New Zealands Marlborough region is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc and for good reason. The Te Pa estate covers vineyards across both the Wairau and Awatere Valley, top spots in Marlborough that get lots of sun and, crucially, wind.

This means cool nights and warm days, perfect for getting all those classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc characters out of the grapes including nettle on the nose and passionfruit on the palate. A real go-to. 8/10

CRISP AS CAN BE

Welmoed Sauvignon Blanc 2021, 7, Co-op

Helen said Welmoed Sauvignon Blanc 2021 (pictured) is loaded with citrus fruits, its crisp as fresh sheets and a real bargain to boot

As New Zealands Sauvignon shortage kicks in, retailers have been turning to South Africa to fill the gap and this Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosch, South Africas wine capital, is a great alternative.

Loaded with citrus fruits, its crisp as fresh sheets and a real bargain to boot. Exclusive to the Co-op, its also certified Fairtrade. 7/10

JUST LIKE SANCERRE

Taste The Difference Coteaux du Giennois 2020, 10, Sainsburys

Helen said Taste The Difference Coteaux du Giennois 2020 (pictured) has grapefruit and nectarine flavours

Much as I love a glass of chilled Sancerre, Frances most famous Sauvignon Blanc, the price of it has crept up in recent years.

But if you head to a region just north of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume in the Loire Valley, youll find this wine, made by brothers Clement and Florian Berthier from grapes grown in vineyards on similar silex (flinty) soils. Its classically crisp, but with a bit of weight to it too with grapefruit and nectarine flavours.

A real treat. 8/10

OAKY OOMPH

Bordeaux Blanc 2020, 7.90, M&S

Helen said Bordeaux Blanc 2020 (pictured) has classic green fruit aromas like guava and lime

Marlborough in New Zealand and Sancerre in the Loire Valley might steal the limelight when it comes to making great Sauvignon Blanc, but theres another region thats quietly flown the Sauvignon flag for years and thats Bordeaux. Here, its usually blended with another white grape, Semillon, but there are more Sauvignon-only wines around now.

This particular ones aged with a touch of oak giving the wine more oomph and body, but still it leads with those classic green fruit aromas like guava and lime. 8/10
Health chiefs have backtracked on controversial plans to record even a single glass of wine drank by mothers during pregnancy on their baby's medical certificate.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) bosses wanted to record all alcohol intake of mothers-to-be.

It claimed the move would help to identify children at risk of foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)  an array of mental and physical birth defects, such as organ issues and learning difficulties, caused by expectant mothers drinking.

Charities were outraged by the plans, claiming they would be a 'gross infringement' of data privacy and burn the trust between women and healthcare professionals.

But in final guidelines published today, NICE confirmed it has completely scrapped the recommendation.

Draft guidelines on diagnosing and preventing foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) by NICE outlined that all alcohol consumed by pregnant women should be logged on their child's health records. But in final guidelines published today, NICE confirmed it has backtracked on the recommendation

WHAT IS FOETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER? Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder refers to health complications in babies that are caused by their mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol in an expectant mother's blood can be passed to the baby through the placenta. Babies cannot process alcohol well, meaning it stays in their body for a long time. It can damage their brain and body and stop them developing normally in the womb. This can result in miscarriage, while babies who survive could be left with lifelong health problems. The risk of FASD increases in relation to how much alcohol is consumed during pregnancy. Symptoms of FASD include problems with movement, balance, vision, hearing, learning, speech, joints, muscles, bones and organs. Around 10 per cent of children with FASD have three facial features, including small eyes, a thin upper lip and a smooth philtrum - the area between the nose and mouth. There is no treatment for FASD and damage to a child's brain and body cannot be reversed. But health workers can provide support and advice. Advertisement

Dr Paul Chrisp, director of NICE's centre for guidelines, said the final version will 'improve the diagnosis and care offered to children and young people with FASD'.

They will also ensure women are given 'consistent advice about their alcohol consumption during pregnancy', he said.

'Helping women to drink less or no alcohol during their pregnancy will reduce the number of children and young people affected by FASD,' Dr Chrisp added.

Clare Murphy, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said it is 'absolutely staggering' that the original proposal 'which had no basis in evidence' was 'ever suggested by NICE in the first place'.

Mothers in the UK have been advised not to drink any alcohol when pregnant or planning a pregnancy since 2016.

Around four in 10 women drink during pregnancy, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. And four per cent of children are thought to be affected by FASD.

The original guidelines stated that maternity service providers had to ask expectant mothers how much alcohol they drank during pregnancy.

Under the plans, this information would have been recorded and transferred to their GP and health visitors after the birth to log on the child's health records.

Scotland has already adopted the measure, but NICE's recommendation would have seen them implemented in England and Wales.

Pregnant women are currently asked about what they have drunk since conception but medics are not obliged to record that information.

Ms Murphy, from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, said the 'vast majority of women' don't drink alcohol once pregnancy is confirmed.

She said: 'While we are pleased to see that the recommendation regarding the transferral of data from a woman's medical records on to those of her child has been dropped, we remain concerned about the routine questioning of women throughout pregnancy on this issue.

'Our research shows women find antenatal discussions about alcohol  even when they don't drink at all  can supercede other issues important to them, like their own mental health and wellbeing.

'Those supporting pregnant women must be able to provide care that meets the needs of the individual before them, not just to fill in boxes on a checklist.'
A revolutionary drug can drastically slash the risk of women with the 'Angelina Jolie gene' dying from breast cancer.

Scientists studied nearly 2,000 women with early-stage cancer, all of whom had the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.

Half were given olaparib tablets to take twice a day for a year, while the others were given a placebo.

Results showed death rates were 32 per cent lower among patients given the drug four years later.

Charities today called the findings 'hugely exciting', saying the discovery may spare the lives of thousands of women.

A team of UK and US researchers studied 2,000 women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 early-stage cancer and gave half of them tablets of olaparib (pictured) twice a day for a year. Results showed those who took the drug, which kills cancer cells, were 32 per cent less likely to die from the disease four years later

Angelina Jolie (left) brought the BRCA1 gene to attention in 2013 when she revealed she had chosen to have a double mastectomy and her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed aged 37. Jolie's mother Marcheline Bertrand (pictured right, with actress Jacqueline Bisset, right) died at 56 after battling with breast and ovarian cancer

Everyone has BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which normally protect against breast and ovarian cancer by repairing cell damage.

But mutations in the genes can cause cells to malfunction, raising the risk of women being struck down with the diseases.

Around five per cent of all breast cancers are linked to the pair of faulty genes, made famous by the Hollywood actress.

Jolie underwent a preventative double mastectomy in 2013 after testing positive for the mutated BRCA1 gene.

Olaparib, sold under the brand name Lynparza, has already been shown to slash the chance of the inherited cancer spreading.

But the new findings, by a team of British and American researchers, are the first to show the drug also reduces the risk of death by a third.

NHS drug watchdogs are assessing whether it should be made widely available for patients in the UK. Only a select group can currently access it.

WHAT ARE BRAC MUTATIONS, KNOWN AS THE 'JOLIE GENE'? BRCA1 and BRCA2 are examples of genes that raise your cancer risk if they become altered. We all carry certain genes that are normally protective against cancer. These genes correct any DNA damage that naturally happens when cells divide. Inheriting faulty versions or "variants" of these genes significantly raises your risk of developing cancer, because the altered genes cannot repair the damaged cells, which can build up and form a tumour. Having a variant BRCA gene greatly increases a woman's chance of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. They also increase a man's chance of developing male breast cancer and prostate cancer. Around one in 400 people have a faulty BRCA gene. For every 100 women who have the BRAC gene, 65 to 79 will develop breast cancer and 36 to 53 will develop ovarian cancer. Source: NHS Advertisement

The US last week approved olaparib, made by AstraZeneca and Merck, for those with breast cancer who have an altered BRCA gene.

Experts enrolled 1,836 women from 600 hospitals around the world who had breast cancer classed as HER2 negative  meaning it is less likely to grow.

All participants had a mutation in their BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and had undergone standard cancer treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Half received 300mg of olaparib twice a day for a year, while the others were given a placebo drug.

Cancer cells with a change in the BRCA genes rely on a protein called PARP to keep their DNA healthy.

Olaparib, which can cost in the region of 2,500 for a two-week course, stops PARP from repairing DNA damage in cancer cells, causing them to die.

Researchers, who have so far monitored the participants for four years, found those who took the drug were 32 per cent less likely to die.

The study was led by a team from the Institute of Cancer Research London (ICR), US research centre NSABP Foundation, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Edinburgh University.

Professor Andrew Tutt, chair of the study's steering committee, said the results show olaparib can 'keep more women with inherited breast cancer free of disease and alive and well after their initial treatment'.

He said the results show that olaparib can 'directly target the weakness' in the cancer of women with BRCA mutations and 'improve their survival'.

The oncologist said: 'I hope to see BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing used for more women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, so that we can determine who can benefit from this personalised treatment approach.

'Olaparib provides a much-needed new individualised and targeted treatment option to keep more women with inherited breast cancer free of disease and alive and well after their initial treatment.'

Professor Tutt presented the study findings today to the European Society of Medical Oncology congress.

Professor Kristian Helin, chief executive of the ICR, said the findings signal 'a major step forward in treatment of early-stage inherited breast cancer'.

He added: 'Olaparib has major benefits for this group of patients, increasing their chances of remaining cancer-free and potentially being cured after initial treatment.

'We hope olaparib will now be licensed in Europe and approved in the UK for NHS patients without delay.'

Dr Simon Vincent, director of research, support and influencing at charity Breast Cancer Now, said: 'Its hugely exciting this research shows olaparib could save lives and prevent recurrence in some women and men living with primary breast cancer with an inherited altered BRCA gene, often known as the "Jolie gene".'

He said the 'ground-breaking' results will hopefully drive a 'positive decision' from NICE on the use of olaparib on the NHS, so 'thousands of people with altered BRCA genes who may be eligible for the drug benefit from it as soon as possible'.

NICE in January rejected use of the drug on the NHS to treat prostate cancer after finding it was not value for money.

A trial of the drug found that men treated with olaparib lived 7.4 months before their cancer progressed, compared with 3.6 months when they received one size fits all hormonal treatments.
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Daily Covid cases have been falling for weeks in the U.S., but health officials warn that this could soon change based on wastewater data and the situation overseas, and as the Omicron 'stealth' variant now makes up 23 percent of all cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned on Tuesday that one third of wastewater sample sites showed a jump in cases during the first 10 days in March.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that global Covid cases are starting to reverse course after weeks of falling, as well.

These rises are being attributed to the 'stealth' variant, or the BA.2 lineage of the Omicron strain, as it is officially known.

The CDC reported Tuesday that the lineage now makes up around 23 percent of sequenced Covid cases in the U.S., up from 11 percent last week and six percent two weeks ago.

The BA.2 Omicron 'stealth' variant (pink) now makes up around 23% of U.S. COVID-19 cases, up from 11% last week and 6% the week before. The Omicron variant makes up every single sequence case in America

The stealth variant (pink) is most prevalent in the northeast and New York regions, making up around 40% of cases in each. The lineage is not dominant in any area of the U.S.

It is most prevalent in New Jersey and New York, and Northeastern regions of the U.S., accounting for around 40 percent of cases in both designated areas.

Stealth is not yet the dominant Covid strain anywhere in America, while it has taken over in many parts of Europe.

BA.2 is believed to be around 30 percent more infectious than BA.1, the original strain of Omicron that caused massive surges across the world during the winter months. Experts have found that infection from the lineage is not any more severe than BA.1 infection.

All lineages of the variant combined make up 100 percent of every single sequenced case in the U.S., with the vaccine-resistant strain totally snuffing out the Delta variant over the past few months.

Official case figures are still decreasing despite the rise of the stealth variant. The nation is recording 31,108 cases per day, a 21 percent drop in cases over the past week and a 96 percent drop from the mid-January peak of the Omicron variant-fueled surge.

The CDC is warning that the weeks-long run of dropping cases could soon end, though. The agency launched an enhanced wastewater tracking program last month, and the tracking is showing that cases could rise in some parts of the U.S. soon.

The WHO warns that global COVID-19 cases have jumped 8% over the past week to 11 million. The largest increases were in Africa and Asia (file photo)

Wastewater tracking works by using sewage samples to find virus prevalence within each community. Which people are actually testing positive for the virus cannot be determined, and exact case numbers cannot either, but it does give officials a general look at how cases are trending in certain areas.

The surveillance can be more accurate at judging Covid risk than raw case numbers, since many people - especially in a period where so many are vaccinated and boosted - are carrying an asymptomatic infection that they will never get tested for and unknowingly spread without being added to official totals.

Covid appears in waste before a person feels symptoms, as well, meaning there is a gap between wastewater figures increasing and official figures rising.

Dr. Amy Kirby, who leads the CDC's wastewater surveillance, assures the public that there is still nothing to worry about, but officials are keeping an eye on the situation.

'While wastewater levels are generally very low across the board, we are seeing an uptick of sites reporting an increase,' she told NBC.

'These bumps may simply reflect minor increase from very low levels to still low levels.'

The situation elsewhere in the world could be signaling a coming surge for the U.S., as well.

Global COVID-19 cases jumped eight percent to around 11 million last week, according to the WHO.

The biggest increase in cases was seen in the Western Pacific and Africa, where infections rose by 29 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Elsewhere, cases dropped by more than 20 percent in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Americas.

WHO said those numbers 'should be interpreted with caution.' It noted that many countries are changing their COVID-19 testing strategies as they exit the acute phase of the pandemic, and are testing far less than previously, meaning that many new cases are going undetected.

In Europe, the U.K., which often trends ahead of the U.S., has seen daily Covid cases spike over the past week. Like the U.S., cases began to crater across the pond in late January.

Dropping cases made health and government officials - and average Britons - confident the pandemic was nearing an end. Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted all Covid restrictions in February, declaring the nation as back to 'normal.'

Cases have since begun to rise, though health officials are not quite worried yet. Sajid Javid, the nation's health secretary, said that the recent increase in cases was expected by health officials after restrictions were lifted, and that there is no reason to panic.

A similar course of events has played out across other European countries such as Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy in recent weeks, with cases jumping once again after a laxing of pandemic-related mandates.

Cases inched up by about two percent across the continent, the WHO reported this week.

Daily Covid cases are currently at one of their lowest points during the pandemic so far in the U.S., so a slight increase would likely not be enough to disrupt daily life for Americans. Rises elsewhere still have American officials on high alert, though, especially as Spring should be a season where cases trend downward and life returns to 'normal.'
Raising the tax on tobacco could prevent more than 200,000 infant deaths every year, a study suggests.

Smoking kills more than 8million people around the world annually.

A higher tax on cigarettes would deter people from smoking, reducing levels of toxic chemicals expectant mothers and babies are exposed to, Imperial College London researchers said.

The UK has one of the steepest cigarette taxes in the world, which has remained above 75 per cent since 1992 and triggered a 51 per cent drop in cigarette sales.

But the UK is outlier, charging 12.55 for a packet of 20 cigarettes, compared to other countries where it can cost less than 1.

The academics analysed 4million fatalities among children younger than one and cigarette taxes in more than 150 countries.

The findings suggest every 10 per cent increase in cigarette tax is linked with around a two per cent drop in fatalities among babies aged one and younger.

They estimated that 230,000 baby deaths could have been prevented in 2018 if a 75 per cent tax rate recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) was imposed on tobacco products worldwide.

Almost all of the fatalities would have been prevented in low income nations.

Imperial College London researchers analysed deaths among infants younger than one (red bars) and younger than one month old (blue bars). If all countries implemented a 75 per cent tax on cigarettes, the World Health Organization's recommended level, there would be 231,220 fewer infant deaths around the world, including 181,970 fewer newborn deaths. The researchers said 99.2 per cent of these deaths, or 229,495, would have been prevented in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), while there would have been 1,725 fewer in high-income countries (HICs)

Pregnant women who smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke are more at risk of having a misscarriage, giving birth early and experiencing stillbirth. And babies who breathe in second-hand smoke are at a higher risk of chest infections, meningitis and death

Pregnant women who smoke or are exposed to second-hand smoke are more at risk of having a misscarriage, giving birth early and experiencing stillbirth.

And babies who breathe in second-hand smoke are at a higher risk of chest infections, meningitis and death.

Increasing the tax on tobacco products has been shown to be 'the most effective measure' to reduce tobacco use and the health problems linked with smoking, the researchers said.

The team said: 'We know that tobacco smoking continues to kill more than 8million people per year, and that increasing taxes on tobacco is an effective way to bring this number down.

WHAT ARE THE HEALTH RISKS OF SMOKING FOR CHILDREN? Babies and children are some of the most vulnerable to secondhand smoke. Youngsters exposed to passive smoke are at a higher risk of chest infections, meningitis and a persistent cough. Smoking during pregnancy also puts unborn babies at risk. It increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, a low birth rate and stillbirth. Advertisement

'This study highlights that if everywhere taxed tobacco at the levels recommended by the WHO, we would substantially reduce neonatal and infant deaths.'

Researchers examined data on newborn deaths  those that occur within 28 days of birth  and infant deaths, which include those within the first year of birth, as well as the tax placed on tobacco across 159 countries between 2008 and 2018.

Overall, there was an average of 14.4 newborn deaths and 24.9 infant deaths in each country per 1,000 live births.

But the rates were five times higher in the poorest nations compared to the wealthiest.

Countries with the highest smoking rates include Myanmar, Chile and Lebanon, where more than half of adults smoke.

Low and middle-income countries recorded 19 newborn and 33 under-one fatalities per 1,000 live births.

Meanwhile, high-income countries logged four newborn and 6 under-one deaths per 1,000 live births.

The data also shows only 11 per cent of the poorest countries follow the WHO recommendation of 75 per cent tax on tobacco, compared to 42 per cent of the wealthiest nations.

The findings, published in the scientific journal PLOS Global Public Health, suggest each 10 per cent increase in cigarette tax is linked with a 2.6 per cent drop in newborn deaths and a 1.9 per cent drop in infant mortality.

If all countries implemented a 75 per cent tax on cigarettes in 2018, this would have cut infant deaths by 231,220, including 181,970 fewer newborn deaths.

The researchers said 99.2 per cent of these deaths, or 229,495, would have been prevented in low and middle-income countries, while there would have been 1,725 fewer in high-income countries.

Implementing recommended levels of taxation in the poorest nations 'should be a priority since this is where the lowest levels of taxation and the largest potential infant mortality benefits exist', the researchers said.

This would be triggered by a drop in cigarette consumption due to the increased cost, which would reduce the amount of second-hand smoke expectant mothers were exposed to, as well as reducing smoking during pregnancy.
Experts fear that infectious diseases like Covid, polio and measles will rampantly spread among displaced Ukrainians amid the Russian invasion as their focus shift to survival at all costs amid the devastating invasion.

The war has leveled cities, killed hundreds and displaced millions from the Eastern European nation. Public health officials are warning that the lasting impacts of such a large-scale invasion will have long-reaching effects.

The rampant spread of infectious disease, especially Covid, is expected in the coming weeks as Ukrainians abandon virus-protocol and enter a survival mode.

Women who are pregnant or people who are dealing with tuberculosis (TB) or HIV will likely be in danger as well due to the lack of accessible treatment.

Destroyed infrastructure in the nation also leads to dangerously unsanitary conditions.

While there is little health officials and doctors can do to fight off the Russian invasion, some are still hoping they can help the Ukrainians affected by the war in different ways.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the nation's healthcare system, with hospitals and other facilities being destroyed in combat. The WHO reports at least 31 events of an attack against Ukrainian healthcare. Pictured: People receive treatment in the hallway of a Mariupol, Ukraine, hospital

Russian attacks have also destroyed many apartment buildings, and other facilities Ukrainians use in every day life. In the process, the people of the country have been put at risk

'I am very, very worried for Ukraine. First and foremost, that this may lead to a long-term conflict that will completely destroy the health system,' Lucica Ditiu, executive director of the Stop TB Partnership in Switzerland told nature.

The Russian invasion, which began in late February, has been brutal to the civilian population.

There are reports that apartment buildings, powerplants, airports and even hospitals have either been hit by airstrikes or been the site of military combat.

A hospital in Mariupol, along the southeast coast of the nation, was struck by a Russian attack last week.

Photos emerged of a pregnant woman giving birth in this hospital at the time of the attack being carried out on a stretcher, which became a symbol of the devastation facing Ukrainians.

This week, it was learned that the woman and her child died as a result of the strike.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 4,300 births have been performed in Ukraine since the war first broke out three weeks ago, and an estimated 83,000 women are expected to give birth in the coming months.

A woman who was giving birth in a Mariupol hospital (pictured) when it was attacked by the Russian military became a symbol of the suffering being faced by the nation's civilians amid the invasion. It was learned this week that she and her child had died as a result of the strike

Russian attacks have made the delivery of medical care to Ukrainians for all conditions a challenge due to limited supplies, destroyed facilities and dangerous circumstances. Pictured: An injured man is carried to a hospital in Mariupol

'Attacks on health care and health workers directly impact people's ability to access essential health services  especially women, children and other vulnerable groups,' the WHO wrote in a joint statement with UNICEF and UNFPA.

'We have already seen that the health care needs of pregnant women, new mothers, younger children and older people inside Ukraine are rising, while access to services is being severely limited by the violence.'

The destructions of hospitals and other medical facilities leave Ukrainians extremely vulnerable to infectious disease and other issues, even once this war eventually ends.

This week, the WHO condemned Russian attacks on Ukrainian health facilities.

'Today, we call for an immediate cessation of all attacks on health care in Ukraine,' the organization wrote in the statement.

'These horrific attacks are killing and causing serious injuries to patients and health workers, destroying vital health infrastructure and forcing thousands to forgo accessing health services despite catastrophic needs.

'To attack the most vulnerable  babies, children, pregnant women, and those already suffering from illness and disease, and health workers risking their own lives to save lives  is an act of unconscionable cruelty.'

The organization says it is aware of at least 31 attacks on health care services, including 24 examples of facilities being damaged or destroyed and five ambulances being attacked.

Health officials are worried that there will soon be rampant spread of infectious disease in the time following this invasion.

Many civilians have taken refuge in subway tunnels and other underground sites to avoid Russian airstrikes and the combat taking place on the surface. While it is likely to safest place to be at the moment, it is also an area ripe for the spread of infectious diseases like measles and Covid. Pictured: Ukrainian civilians shelter in a Kyiv subway station

Pictured: Nurses at a Mykolaiv maternity hospital carry newborn children to an underground bunker to protect them from incoming airstrikes

The most timely example is Covid. Ukraine was coming off of the backend of the massive Omicron surge when the Russian invasion began, and most recent data is not available as testing and tracking services have obviously been shut down during the war.

As of last count, only around one-third of the Ukrainian population was fully vaccinated, and it is unlikely that those who are still unvaccinated will have a chance to get the jab anytime soon.

Luckily for the people of Ukraine, the Omicron variant is a more mild strain of the virus, and is less likely to cause more severe infection.

Even a mild sickness combined with poor wartime living conditions and lack of access to food and clean water can turn deadly, though.

Measles proves to be an even larger concern. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warns that Ukraine's measles vaccination rate of only 82 percent leaves residents at risk of an outbreak.

The WHO calls for other nations to offer Ukrainians vaccines and medical care when they arrive as refugees in a new nation. Pictured: Women and children in a humanitarian aid tent located on the Polish border with Ukraine

Pictured: Rescue workers in Kharkiv work to remove debris from a building destroyed by a Russian attack

'Measles is one of the first concerns in any humanitarian crisis,' James Goodson, a measles specialist at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told nature.

The virus is extremely more dangerous than Covid, and spreads through respiratory droplets in the air too.

Scenes of Ukrainians huddled in underground bunkers and subway tunnels in fear of Russian airstrikes became the strongest imagery of the war's early days.

These close quarters with limited ventilation also create the perfect storm for a virus like measles to spread.

Ukraine dealt with an outbreak of the virus as recent as 2017, when a surge that included over 100,000 cases tore through the nation.

Polio is a concern as well. The virus spread through contaminated water, and a majority of people carrying it will not feel any symptoms.

Only around 80 percent of Ukrainian children are vaccinated against the potentially-devastating virus, though.

Pictured: A woman shelters in a subway station in Kyiv

Pictured: A woman speaks to a child on a train in a subway tunnel where they have sheltered in Kyiv

Russian attacks on infrastructure can destroy water treatment and sanitation, leaving the population's drinking water potentially contaminated with the virus.

'As people come in, we have to really scale up surveillance in surrounding countries for polio, measles, and also for COVID to make sure we prevent them,' Heather Papowitz, WHO's incident manager for Ukraine, said at a new briefing.

'Looking at providing vaccines for measles, polio and Covid is paramount.'

The nation has recorded a total of 112,000 Covid deaths since the pandemic first began in early 2020. A total of 31 Ukrainians died during the three-year measles outbreak that struck late last decade.

Polio is effectively non-existent in the nation, like it is in the rest of Europe.

People who suffer from chronic diseases like TB or HIV are at extreme risk as well.

Those infected require day-to-day treatment to manage their disease, whether it be drugs or treatment from a medical professional.

Medicine is likely to become few and far between in cities that are ruined by Russian attacks, and many medical professionals can no longer operate without their clinics or supplies.

People who suffer trauma injuries are at an extreme risk as well, as antibiotics and other supplies often used to clean, treat and manage these injuries are no longer available.

A person who is hurt in a war zone may die a preventable death due to lack of available supplies.

Pictured: A woman at a Mariupol hospital reacts to the situation

Pictured: A woman and a child sheltered on a subway train underground in Kyiv

The WHO calls on the rest of the world to help Ukrainians fleeing the nation by offering them medical assistance, vaccines and other services when they arrive.

'Humanitarian partners and health care workers must be able to safely maintain and strengthen essential health service delivery, including immunization against COVID-19 and polio, and the supply of life-saving medicines for civilians across Ukraine as well as to refugees crossing into neighboring countries,' the statement reads.

'Health services should be systematically available at border crossings, including rapid care and referral processes for children and pregnant women.'

More than anything, the WHO calls for the end of the war, and for the Russian invasion to have a peaceful ending that allows the people of Ukraine to return to a normal life.

'Finally, we call for an immediate ceasefire, which includes unhindered access so that people in need can access humanitarian assistance. A peaceful resolution to end the war in Ukraine is possible.'
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Frustrated that you can't take your Ferrari to the desert or drive your Lamborghini up the side of a mountain? If this is you, there's a new car coming to the market that will answer all your prayers.

Called the Hunter, it's a hypercar that can tackle any terrain a driver could throw at it. It is being produced by UK specialist company Prodrive and promises 'unrivalled ability and performance across any landscape'.

It is powered by a 600bhp 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo engine and has a chassis and suspension setup derived from its Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) Hunter T1 competition car piloted by nine-time rally champion Sebastian Loeb at this year's Dakar Rally.

Only 25 road-going examples will be built and the colossus of a car isn't cheap, costing from 1.5million in the UK (1.25million before taxes).

The world's first all-terrain hypercar: This is the new 600bhp Hunter, which is being produced by UK automotive specialist brand, Prodrive

The exclusive run of extreme hypercars will be produced at Prodrives headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire, over the next two years.

The UK performance brand promises it will be the 'fastest cross-country production car in the world'.

There have been 'super-SUVs' from past and present, dating back to Lamborghini's LM002 from the late eighties and early nineties right through to the Italian brand's Urus on sale today, which currently rivals the likes of Aston Martin's DBX, the Bentley Bentayga, Mercedes G-Wagon and others, none of these can compete with the Prodrive's off-road capabilities.

The Lamborghini LM002 was the original 4X4 supercar. It was built between 1986 and 1993, some 328 were produced and it cost around 100,000 in the late eighties

 Slide me  From the LM002 to today's Urus. Here are Lamborghini's 'super-SUV' offerings that are separated by three decades

It takes the same V6 Ford engine used in the Dakar racer, which has been rebuilt and modified by the Banbury team.

While the two-seat vehicle technically qualifies as front-engined, the powerplant is set so far back in the chassis towards the cabin - which is a bid to improve stability and weigh distribution - that part of the powerplant protrudes half a metre into the cockpit.

Only 25 road-going examples of the Prodrive Hunter will be built and the colossus of a car isn't cheap, costing from 1.5million in the UK (1.25million before taxes)

The Hunter road car is powered by a 600bhp 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo engine and has a chassis and suspension setup derived from its Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) Hunter T1 competition car (pictured)

The exclusive run of extreme hypercars will be produced at Prodrives headquarters in Banbury, Oxfordshire, over the next two years

The Prodrive Hunter spans 4.6 metres in length and is 2.3 metres wide. That makes it marginally shorter than a Range Rover but a tad wider - and far more competent off road

Will it fit in my garage? Prodrive Hunter Price: 1.25million plus local taxes (1.5million in UK) Production: 25 examples Built in: Banbury, Oxfordshire Length: 4600mm Width: 2300mm Engine: Tuned 3.5-litre Ford V6 twin-turbo Power: Over 600bhp Torque: 700Nm Drive: Permanent four-wheel drive Transmission: Six-speed paddle shift gearbox Differentials: Front, centre and rear differentials Chassis: High strength steel tubular structure Bodywork: Carbon fibre composite including recycled materials Suspension: Double wishbone with Prodrive's own ultra-long-travel twin-shock suspension, two adjustable dampers per wheel Brakes: Six pot calipers front & rear with vented discs Wheels: 17-in forged aluminium rims with off-road tyres

With the tweaks, Prodrive promises around 600bhp, which is actually 200bhp more than the FIA regulations allow for the rally-raid competition models.

The engine is linked to a six-speed paddle shift gearbox which sends power to all four wheels at all times - meaning no emissions or fuel-saving switches to two-wheel-drive when the vehicle is being used in less demanding scenarios.

The British maker says it should be able to hit 62mph in less than four seconds and have a top speed of around 186mph.

The body is closely designed on that of the racing model, which was penned by former Jaguar design boss Ian Callum, and spans 4.6 metres in length and is 2.3 metres wide.

That makes it marginally shorter than a Range Rover but a tad wider - and far more competent off road.

Platform upgrades over the racer includes improved absorption over harsh terrains from Prodrive's own ultra-long-travel twin-shock suspension attached to a high tensile steel space frame chassis.

It also features an FIA standard safety cage to protect occupants and has huge crash plates on the underside to spare the mechanical components when clambering across rocky terrains at pace.

The 25 road-going version will also get air jacks built in to allow for quick tyre changes when a driver is deserted in the middle of nowhere without assistance.

The wheels are bigger too, with 38-inch diameter offroad tyres wrapped around 17 inch wheels.

But while the car is even faster and more capable than the race car, it is also more refined, Prodrive claims.

Ian Callum has designed a new interior more in keeping with every day use over racing requirements - that sees the addition of a digital driver's display and a centre console that houses the traditional controls found on a road car.

Platform upgrades over the racer includes improved absorption over harsh terrains from Prodrive's own ultra-long-travel twin-shock suspension attached to a high tensile steel space frame chassis

It also features an FIA standard safety cage to protect occupants and has huge crash plates on the underside to spare the mechanical components when clambering across rocky terrains at pace

The UK performance brand promises it will be the 'fastest cross-country production car in the world'

Describing the Hunter, Prodrive chairman, David Richards, said: 'There are numerous hypercars on the market, however they all need good roads or even race tracks to show their performance.

'We identified that in certain parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, there are vast expanses still to be explored that go way beyond the access provided by asphalt roads.

'Therefore why not create a vehicle that gives the opportunity to explore these regions with performance way beyond that offered by any off-road vehicle before.'

While the two-seat vehicle technically qualifies as front-engined, the powerplant is set so far back in the chassis towards the cabin that part of the powerplant protrudes half a metre into the cockpit

Legendary Jaguar design boss Ian Callum penned its new interior that sees the addition of a digital driver's display (pictured) and a centre console that houses the traditional controls found on a road car.

Pictured: Sebastien Loeb at the wheel of his BRX Prodrive Hunter T1+ during stage 8 of the Dakar Rally 2022 between Al Dawadimi and Wadi Ad Dawasir on 10 January 2022 in Wadi Ad Dawasir, Saudi Arabia

Richards added: 'We took the deliberate decision to keep the Hunter Hypercar as close to the original as possible. Its about giving owners the opportunity to experience what it is like to drive Loebs Dakar car across the desert, but with all the comforts of a road car and the ability to drive it from your home, through a city, to any destination of your choice.'

All the bodywork is made from lightweight carbon fibre, which includes recycled materials produced by Prodrive's 'Composites' division. This includes the winged doors, which are hinged to open up rather than outwards.

Richards said: 'The first development vehicle is currently touring the Middle East where customers are being offered the opportunity of driving the Hunter and confirming their personal specification for production vehicles to be delivered later this year.'
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You can get a lot of car for over 100,000, but one collector of classic motors has just spent north of that amount on a vehicle that measures in at a mere 1.3 metres long.

A 1963 Peel P50 microcar - the worlds smallest passenger car - has sold for 111,000 in a British auction.

It's the second highest figure ever paid for the dinky three-wheeler, with the record amount of 122,000 achieved at a Florida auction six years ago.

A big price for a small car: This 1963 Peel P50 has recently been sold at auction for a sum of 111,000 - the second biggest price paid for one of the diminutive classic vehicles

The diminutive motor was sold last month by online auction specialist, Car & Classic.

The 1963 car with registration '747 UNN' is one of only 46 examples ever produced by Peel Engineering in the early sixties (1962-1965) and had just two previous keepers from new, according to the paperwork provided with the auction sale.

Around only half - believed to be 26 in total - are said to remain in existence today, making them highly sought after and particularly collectible.

Not only is the P50 just 1.3 metres long but also the same in height and less than a metre wide.

In 2010, the Peel was listed in the Guinness World records and given the title of the smallest production car ever made.

The 1963 car with registration '747 UNN' is one of only 46 examples ever produced by Peel Engineering in the early sixties and had just two previous keepers from new

Around only half - believed to be 26 in total - of the original production run are said to remain in existence today, making them highly sought after and particularly collectible

The Peel P50 is just 1.3 metres long, 13 metres high and less than a metre wide. In 2010, the Peel was listed in the Guinness World records and given the title of the smallest production car ever made

This particular example has a 'wild past', according to the auctioneer.

It was used for a May 1963 promotional stunt, with the vehicle lifted all the way to the top of the Blackpool Tower and subsequently driven around the observation gallery to mark its arrival to the market.

Experts believe it may also be the earliest model ever made, with it being a pre-production example sporting a lower fitment of the windscreen, early Lucas sidelights, a cream steering wheel and no rear roll bar.

'No other Peel has the same features,' says Car & Classic.

'Partly because of its glamorous history and totally unique features as well as its rarity as a model, the Peel was the object of brisk bidding until the winning 111,000,' the online auction site added, revealing some 99 bids were made during its auction session.

This particular example has a 'wild past', says selling auctioneer, Car & Classic. It was used for a May 1963 promotional stunt, with the vehicle lifted all the way to the top of the Blackpool Tower to mark its arrival to the market

Fitted with a puny 49cc single-cylinder petrol engine, the Peel is capable of a maximum speed of just 38mph and can return around 100mpg, thanks to its featherweight 59kg of bulk (minus a driver, of course)

Peel Engineering Limited on the Isle of Man launched the P50 - designed and built by Cyril Cannell and Henry Kissack - at the 1962 Earls Court Motorcycle Show, with the vehicle so small that it qualified as a motorcycle

The highest figure on record for a P50 is almost 122,000, achieved at an RM Sotheby's Florida sale in March 2016, with bidding for the car described as hotly contested at the time.

Fitted with a puny 49cc single-cylinder petrol engine, the Peel is capable of a maximum speed of just 38mph and can return around 100mpg, thanks to its featherweight 59kg of bulk (minus a driver, of course).

Peel Engineering Limited on the Isle of Man launched the P50 - designed and built by Cyril Cannell and Henry Kissack - at the 1962 Earls Court Motorcycle Show, with the vehicle so small that it qualified as a motorcycle.

An extremely basic motor, they have no onboard instruments or odometer and just three forward gears.

Experts believe it may also be the earliest model ever made, with it being a pre-production example sporting a lower fitment of the windscreen, early Lucas sidelights, a cream steering wheel and no rear roll bar

An extremely basic motor, they have no onboard instruments or odometer and just three forward gears

P50s don't have a reverse gear. The manufacturer fitted the rear with this metal grab handle so owners could lift the back of the vehicle and spin the three-wheeler to face the direction they want to go

The P50s were not fitted with a reverse gear, with owners expected to the rear of the car with a grab handle and hand turn it to face the desired direction.

The Peel shot to recent fame in the 2007 during season 10 of Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson driving the vehicle into the BBC's studios and around the broadcaster's head office.

The vendor is said to have sold it due to a lack of use over the years and in the hope it will take pride of place in a microcar collection.

Last year, 31-year-old Alex Orchin achieved the incredible feat of driving the length of Britain in his Peel P50, taking three weeks to travel from John OGroats in Scotland to Lands End on England's south coast.

At 5ft 11, he had to drive with knees jammed either side of steering wheel, though his escapade raised more than 8,000 for Children in Need.
The logo of Shinhan Financial Group, the country's second-biggest financial services provider, is seen at its headquarters in central Seoul, in this photo taken in 2018. Korea Times file



By Yi Whan-woo



The legal issues associated with major banking groups are expected to be a key topic at their shareholders' meetings scheduled for next week.



The defeat of Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo in an administrative suit over improper selling of high-risk derivative-linked funds (DLFs), Monday, surprised many as Woori Financial Group's Son Tae-seung won a similar DLF case back in August 2021.



Hana Financial Group finds the ruling will hardly influence Ham, the sole candidate for the group's next chairman position, from being confirmed during the shareholders' meeting on March 25.



Some analysts, however, say that concerns remain, noting that the group's two outside directors who sought to extend their term faced objections from 15 percent of the shareholders in their previous meeting in December. The two were involved in the DLF fiasco, as well.



In case of Woori, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has brought Son's case to an appeals court in protest at the previous ruling that revoked the FSS' reprimand warning on him, as a disciplinary measure.



Industry analysts view the FSS' actions can affect four outside directors and a non-executive director whose appointment will need the shareholders' approval, also on March 25.



In 2021, the Korea Teachers Pension, one of the group's shareholders, opposed the appointment of two out of the five previously mentioned figures. It argued that the two were particularly negligent regarding keeping an eye on the group related to the DLF case.



Concerning Shinhan Financial Group, its eight outside directors await approval from the shareholders in the March 24 meeting, to extend their tenure.



The meeting will come amid the ongoing trial of the group's chairman Cho Yong-byung over a hiring scandal, in which, he received a suspended jail term by the lower court in January 2020 but was found not guilty by the appeals court in November 2021.



Additionally, Shinhan Financial Group was sanctioned by the financial authorities over the sale of problematic funds structured by hedge fund firm Lime Asset Management.



Some eight outside directors were blamed for the two separate incidents and faced objections with regards to their approvals in the 2021 shareholders' meeting.


He died in a pool of blood with three bullets in his body, but Kumanjayi Walker's life unraveled years before he embedded a pair of scissors into a young cop's arm.

The Aboriginal teen, 19, was shot dead while resisting arrest in Yuendumu, 290km north-west of Alice Springs on November 9, 2019.

He was shot three times by Constable Zachary Rolfe, 30, who last week was found not guilty of murder, manslaughter, and engaging in a violent act causing death by a Northern Territory Supreme Court jury.

Those are the facts, as found by the court, but for his short life leading up to that point, Mr Walker led a troubled existence.

Given how his life was shaped before he was even born, many might say he never had a chance - but his girlfriend Rickisha Robertson was never given a chance by him either, with the horrific violence he allegedly inflicted on her.

Kumanjayi Walker (pictured), 19, who was shot dead by police in Yuendumu, NT on Saturday, November 9, 2019

Mr Walker was born in Alice Springs Hospital on October 13, 2000, to a mother, Selina Lane, who was a petrol sniffer and drank heavily while pregnant with him.

She very quickly gave the baby then known as Arnold to Leanne Oldfield and Sampson Anthony who raised him in an environment of 'alcohol abuse and severe domestic violence'.

Ms Oldfield was friends with Mr Walker's biological parents but was not related to either of them.

In April 2001, when he was six months old, he was living with his foster parents at a town camp on the edge of Alice Springs, while his maternal and paternal relatives were fighting over who should look after him.

The dispute also involved Ms Oldfield, with allegations of alcohol abuse and 'filthy' living conditions being thrown about.

By September 2002, just before his second birthday, Arnold - who was also sometimes known by his middle name Charles - was being cared for by a grandmother but had ear and chest infections, nits, and scabies.

During his early childhood, Arnold also spent time with two other families, before moving to Adelaide with Ms Oldfield and Mr Anthony in 2007.

There he went to McFarlane Primary School until 2010, where teachers recognised him as having 'special needs'.

Kumanjayi Walker (pictured left) and his girlfriend Rickisha Robertson (pictured right)

In 2010, Ms Oldfield left Adelaide and took Arnold with her to Yuendumu in the NT.

Mr Anthony followed later, but ended up in prison in Darwin, where he died in 2014.

By the age of 11, Arnold was committing break-ins. Aged 12, he was enrolled in the government-funded Mt Theo Program that aims to divert troubled indigenous youth away from crime and substance abuse.

The program's coordinator Kerri-Anne Chilvers recorded that he was a 'dysfunctional child with poor impulse control and inability to control his emotions'.

After a trip back to Adelaide followed by another return to the NT, Arnold was reenrolled at Yuendumu Primary School in October 2013, but his attendance was 'extremely low' and the principal there also believed he had 'special needs'.

Soon after returning to Yuendumu he was regularly drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.

In April 2014 he broke into the Yuendumu Medical Clinic and an early childhood learning centre, causing an estimated $130,000 worth of damage.

Zachary Rolfe (pictured) leaves the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin on Thursday, March 10, 2022

Kumanjayi Walker (left) and his girlfriend Rickisha Robertson (right). Mr Walker was killed by police in the NT in 2019

The clinic is the same one from where staff were evacuated, due to their fear of break-ins, on the morning of Mr Walker's shooting death in November 2019.

In 2015, after he moved in with his grandmother Margaret Brown at Yuendumu, he met Rickisha Robertson, who became his girlfriend.

He would later allegedly beat her head with a rock and punch, kick and choke her, and one time bashed her with a piece of steel, breaking her left hand.

But Ms Robertson blamed herself. 'It was really hard that he was assaulting me but he always said "I forgive you",' she told The Australian.

'I'm the one who was getting into his way. I was trying to stop him from getting mad at me.'

Mr Walker continued to get into trouble with the police and his neighbours. He got into fights, stole cars, and damaged property.

He again moved to other areas and was enrolled in other programs seeking to help him. But nothing worked.

Kumanjayi Walker (pictured) was rarely far from trouble in his short and violent life

Kumanjayi Walker (pictured) used several Facebook accounts to pose as a gangster

He had no interest in finding a job and spent his days watching TV and smoking. On Facebook accounts he posted photos of himself posing as a gangster.

On two occasions he cut off electronic monitoring devices while out on bail, leading the police to try to contact Ms Robertson to warn her he could be looking for her.

On Tuesday November 5, 2019, a warrant was issued for his arrest for breaching his suspended sentence.

On November 6, an attempt to arrest him led to Mr Walker chasing two police officers, armed with an axe.

But the officers did not draw their guns. Instead, they let Mr Walker run from his Yuendumu home into the bush, saying they wanted to de-escalate the situation.

On November 9, he was shot dead while resisting arrest in Yuendumu.

Constable Rolfe fired three shots at the teen, after the young man stabbed the officer in the shoulder with a pair of scissors.

He was found not guilty of all charges and his father, Richard Rolfe, called for the removal of the NT Police Commissioner Jamie Chalker from his position.

Mr Rolfe Sr also said Commissioner Chalker was 'lying continually to the Yuendumu community'.
They say blondes have more fun but, as these exclusive pictures show, Dana Blumberg knew how to enjoy herself just fine during her days as a red-headed medical student in Missouri.

Today she is a blonde Manhattanite, esteemed ophthalmologist, and the future Mrs. Robert Kraft with a ten-carat rock on her finger.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Blumberg's father, Nathan Blumberg, confirmed the engagement and said: 'She is very happy. I have met [Kraft] many times and he's a wonderful man.'

'He treats her like a princess and I'm just very happy they've found each other,' he added.

Dana Blumberg was known among her peers as a 'super friendly and super fun' redhead when she was a medical student in Missouri, DailyMail.com can reveal

Billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, 80, and the New York-based ophthalmologist, 48, were revealed to be engaged last week. It has been reported that Kraft proposed with a huge ring that is estimated to be '10 carats or more', with one source comparing it to his Super Bowl rings (one of which Blumberg is seen modeling back in 2017, before they began dating)

At 87 Nathan Blumberg is only six years older than Kraft, who turns 81 in June. But he said he is unconcerned by the 33-year age gap between Kraft and his daughter and described them as, 'like a couple of young love birds.'

They had been keeping their engagement under wraps until Kraft's designer friend Tommy Hilfiger, 70, let it slip at the inaugural amfAR Gala Palm Beach event two weeks ago.

Blumberg is one of the top ophthalmologists in the US and she is based at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She is pictured in 2012

Blumberg and Kraft were both chairs of the event of which Hilfiger was honoree.

Blumberg, 48, was first spotted with the Patriots owner - net worth $8.3billion - at an event for the Elton John AIDS foundation back in 2017, but they only started dating in 2019.

It is all a high octane and glamorous world away from Blumberg's time at St Louis University School of Medicine where, according to one who graduated with Blumberg, 'every major test deserved a raging party.'

The former student recalled Blumberg as a popular class member who was, 'super nice, super friendly and super fun.'

Pictured in the class of 2000's yearbook, Blumberg can be seen smiling and clutching a red solo cup.

Standing alongside friend and fellow medic Layla Ziace, the girls are featured on a page titled, 'Thank God it's Friday  Work HardPlay Harder.'

Yearbook photos obtained by DailyMail.com from St Louis University School of Medicine class of 2000 show Blumberg knew how to enjoy herself during her days as a red-headed medical student

Pictured alongside friend and fellow medic Layla Ziace (left), Blumberg can be seen smiling and clutching a red solo cup

A former student recalled Blumberg as a popular class member who was, 'super nice, super friendly and super fun'

Elsewhere she can be seen enjoying pitchers of cocktails at popular student haunt, Wild Flower bar and restaurant.

There in the thick of it, amid pages of social events and parties, Blumberg can be seen playfully sticking her tongue out at the camera in one shot and sucking an adult beverage from a baby bottle in another.

The picture bears the caption: 'Dana works through some childhood issues.'

In one image she cuddles up close to fellow student, Avi Gururaja, leaning into him as they enjoy drinks at the Cat's Meow, a downtown bar known by the students as simply 'the Cat,' that boasts 'cheap prices' to this day.

Ten minutes from the university campus the popular bar still caters to the student population, offering 'the Cat's Meow Trifecta'  three shots for $6  and hosting Mardi Gras and St Patrick's Day parties.

Blumberg studied at Brown University where she majored in biology and graduated with a BA in 1995 before going onto St Louis.

She graduated from medical school in May 2000, leaving her life of plastic cups and parties behind and moving to Ohio where she completed her residency at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland in 2004.

In another photo published on pages of social events and parties at the university, Blumberg can be seen playfully sucking an adult beverage from a baby bottle

Blumberg poses with fellow medical students in a group photo

Blumberg followed in the footsteps of her father, also a doctor, who confirmed the couple's engagement to DailyMail.com

After graduating from medical school in May 2000, Blumberg moved to Ohio where she completed her residency at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland in 2004

She finished her fellowship, specializing in glaucoma, at the Wilmer Eye Institute of John Hopkins University and practiced medicine in Baltimore and DC before returning to her hometown of New York.

Across an impressive career she has published numerous research papers, worked as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University and earned a reputation as one of the top ophthalmologists in the country.

Blumberg has earned a reputation as one of the top ophthalmologists in the country

In 2006 she received the Wilmer Eye Institute's Teaching Award. In 2009 she won an American Glaucoma Society's Clinician Scientist Award. And in 2013, while with Columbia University Department of Ophthalmology, she was listed in Super Doctors' list of Rising Stars.

The select honor means that Blumberg was nominated by fellow physicians as a doctor they themselves would choose in seeking medical care.

That same year she won a prestigious grant to fund her research into a glaucoma screening tool called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT).

Speaking at the time Blumberg said: 'We think of undiagnosed disease as something that happens in developing countries, not right here in the United States.

'In medical school we're trained to be clinicians and to think about patients on an individual level, but we're not taught about population health as a whole.'

She was previously working on screening strategies for disease detection, which could help to reduce vision loss caused by glaucoma. She is pictured in 2021 with Kraft

Going public: Kraft was spotted holding hands with Blumberg at the French Open in June 2019

Kraft was married to Myra Hiatt (left) from 1963 until her death from cancer in 2011. The couple share four sons, at least one of whom is older than Dr Blumberg. He later dated actress Ricki Noel Lander (right) now 42, for six years from 2012

Back then Columbia posted about their pride in Blumberg, but her bio has since been taken down from the website.

Blumberg has not been married before.

For his part, Kraft was married to childhood sweetheart Myra for 48 years before her death from ovarian cancer in July 2011. She was just 68 years old.

One year later Kraft began dating actress Ricki Lander. The couple split in 2018.

When DailyMail.com reached out to Lander her father answered the call and described his daughter as 'a very private person' who 'had no desire to comment.'

Blumberg's delighted father told DailyMail.com that the couple have yet to set a date for the wedding.
A Pentagon program meant to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction across 46 Ukrainian laboratories has helped fuel a propaganda war with the Kremlin accusing the US of funding bioweapons research  with some Russia proxies using the labs to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

The Pentagon says it has invested $200 million in Ukraine since 2005 through its Biological Threat Reduction Program  an offshoot of the Nunn-Lugar program enacted after the end of the Cold War - and now works on research projects based on birds carrying viruses and the spread of swine flu.

The program has 'improved Ukraine's biological safety, security and surveillance for both human and animal health,' according to the Pentagon, including by reducing the risk of the Soviet Union's biological weapons program.

The relationship began as part of a U.S. effort to lock down unsecured biological materials after the fall of the Soviet Union, working directly with Russia and former republics. There is little known about the location of the labs, but reports in the past have suggested they have been equipped to work with deadly pathogens such as anthrax.

But Russia has used the information to accuse the U.S. and Ukraine of planning to use biological weapons  something the Biden Administration could be a signal of a planned 'false flag' operation.

China have also jumped on the claims and tweeted on March 8: 'The US has 336 labs in 30 countries under its control, including 26 in Ukraine alone. It should give a full account of its biological military activities at home and abroad and subject itself to multilateral verification.'

But the U.S. has been open about the labs and on March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that they too had advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent 'any potential spills' that would spread disease among the population.

How US biolabs in Ukraine have sparked conspiracy theories for decades - and how these claims accelerated after Putin's invasion of Ukraine

Conspiracy theories about the 'biolabs' date back years  with the latest iteration surfacing just 10 days before Russia's invasion, according the threat intelligence company Pyrra Technologies. Postings proliferated on the day of the invasion.

The Defense Department said in a fact sheet on March 11 that since 2005, it has spent $200 million in Ukraine supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities and diagnostic sites.

It works with Ukrainian health and agriculture ministries and agencies. Those organizations have limited contact with Ukraine's military, providing mobile diagnostic labs in case of a public health emergency, according to the U.S. government.

'These are all public health and veterinary labs,' said Gregory Koblentz, director of the Biodefense Graduate Program at George Mason University, according to Poynter. 'None of them have been involved in biological warfare'.

The Pentagon, in its fact sheet, says it 'has worked cooperatively and peacefully with the government of Ukraine to increase biosecurity and biosafety at these sites to ensure pathogens do not pose a risk to the people of Ukraine or the region,' and says research has gone into topics like 'preparing for and controlling African Swine Fever.'

Postings about the 'biolabs' appeared online just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine and proliferated afterward, as Russia sought to justify an invasion it also claimed was required to 'deNazify' the country

Russia already illegally took possession of two such labs in 2014 and 'continues to deny Ukrainian access to these facilities,' according to the Defense Department.

'After Russia launched its unlawful invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health responsibly ordered the safe and secure disposal of samples,' according to the fact sheet. 'These actions limit the danger of an accidental release of pathogens should Russia's military attack laboratories, a real concern since they have attacked Ukraine's nuclear power plants and research facilities.'

A U.S. National Academy of Sciences report in 2012 stated that the Ukrainian facilities had been upgraded to work with some of the most dangerous substances in the world, including anthrax, which prompted the renewed fears of a spill.

Congress asks top State Department and National Intelligence officials about the labs and whether they have biological weapons

State Department official Victoria Nuland testified last week that 'Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of.'

State Department official Victoria Nuland testified last week that 'Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces, may be seeking to gain control of'

'So we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach,' she said under questioning by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R).

She referred to Russia's latest charges as the 'classic Russian technique to blame the other guy what they're planning to do themselves.'

The Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that Ukraine 'operates a little over a dozen' biolabs for biodefence and public health response. She said the US has, at least in the past, 'provided assistance' to the labs 'in the context of biosafety'.

'Which is something we have done with a variety of different countries,' she added.

She said the labs were not being used to develop weapons.

'We do not assess that Ukraine is pursuing either biological weapons or nuclear weapons. This influence campaign is consistent with long-standing Russian efforts to accuse the United States of sponsoring bioweapons. ... This is a classic move by the Russians.'

The website of the US Embassy in Ukraine says: 'The US Department of Defence's Biological Threat Reduction Programme collaborates with partner countries to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases.

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard starts asking questions about the labs

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard faced heavy pushback and was accused of pushing Kremlin propaganda when she posted comments about 'biolabs' in Ukraine  and claimed there was a risk of dangerous pathogens escaping from the war zone.

After getting in an angry spat with Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Gabbard sought to 'clarify' her remarks on Tuesday, and noted that in her latest comments she did not refer to biological weapons.

'I'm not convinced there are biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukraine  that's not what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about the existence of the 25+ biological labs in that war zone,' she said.

Then she spelled out differences between 'biolabs' and 'bio weapons'  although the Russians have not always made such distinctions in their online attacks, some of which appear designed to serve as a justification for the invasion of Ukraine.

The Pentagon says it has invested $200 million in Ukraine since 2005 through its Biological Threat Reduction Program  an offshoot of the Nunn-Lugar program enacted after the end of the Cold War

Tucker Carlson referred to a report authored by a Department of Defense director in February, warning that US-funded research in Ukrainian biolabs could be exploited by Russian invaders looking to develop a chemical weapon

'Biolabs', 'bioweapons labs', and 'bioweapons' are 3 very different things. But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them,' she tweeted. 'I recently experienced this myself. So let me clarify,' she began.

She went on to write that biolabs 'are facilities which contain and experiment with dangerous pathogens, ostensibly for the purpose of serving the public good (i.e. vaccines, etc.),' as distinct from biological weapons.

But that distinction sometimes gets lost.

'The 'biolabs' are serving as a false justification for why Russia invaded Ukraine. It's defensive,' Clint Watts, a senior fellow at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, told NBC. 'They create a situation where they go to a populist audience, push out talking points, get the audience primed and make it true later.'

Gabbard gained a platform following her 2020 presidential campaign. She did not seek reelection to her House seat that year.

She has since been promoted to a Lt. Col. in the Army National Guard. She now serves as a civil affairs officer in Special Forces Command, which oversees the Green Berets.

'Tulsi Gabbard's comments made in her civilian capacity represent her views and not those of 1st Special Forces Command,' unit spokesman Maj. Dan Lessard, said, Military.com reported.

She also posted a video in December 2021 while wearing her Army uniform. Some members of the military have faced discipline or gotten warnings for issuing political messages while in uniform.

Gabbard on Monday attacked Romney on Tucker Carlson's show, after the Utah Senator called her a traitor for querying US funding given to Ukrainian biolabs - now at the mercy of Russia.

Speaking to the Fox News host hours after she called on the Utah senator to resign, the former Democratic lawmaker said: 'First of all, I think it's important to point out here that this is not a matter of disagreement or holding a dissenting view.

'This is about facts and this is about the truth, so while senator Romney and all these different talking heads in the mainstream media are regurgitating Hillary Clinton's slanderous talking points, the facts remain.

'Number one is they are accusing me of saying that somehow there are bio weapons labs in Ukraine. I said no such thing at any point.'

Gabbard has raised questions about why the US funded labs in Ukraine that work with biological pathogens, some of which were once destined for Soviet-era bioweapons.

While that material can no longer be turned into weapons, it could still pose a great danger if it is allowed to defrost in the event of a Russian attack on labs where it is stored, causing the power to go off and it to defrost.

The Russians have put out information about the labs for years in what has been called a disinformation campaign, in statements tracked by EU vs. Disinfo

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard sought to clarify her comments, and said she is not convinced there are 'biological weapons' labs in Ukraine

Gabbard slammed Utah senator Mitt Romney on Tucker Carlson's show Monday after Romney blasted her for querying US funding to Ukrainian biolabs. The Biden Administration accuses Russia of referencing the labs as part of a disinformation campaign or even set up a 'false flag' chemical or biological attack

Gabbard continued: 'I have said that there are bio labs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contain dangerous pathogens that if those labs are breached, then we in the world is facing a potential future of pandemics, that this is a dangerous crisis that needs to be addressed immediate, these pathogens need to be destroyed.

'The second thing they are saying is they deny, even though there is a plethora of evidence that exists, they deny that these bio labs are even there, which is shocking to me, we heard over and over, you played so many clips from people in the mainstream media saying these bio labs, these supposed bio labs, as though they are some fantasy - when over and over and over again officials from our own government, department of state, department of defense, and so on, are saying these bio labs in Ukraine have dangerous pathogens and we are very concerned that they may be breached.

'That is the concern that I've continued to raise because it is not left or right, Democrat or Republican, this is serious safety and health and life concern for the American people and people around the world, and so the media is lying.'

She earlier called on him to resign after he labelled her 'a traitor' for questioning U.S. support for biolabs in Ukraine.

'.@MittRomney and others say that I'm treasonous because I called for a ceasefire around the 25+ biolabs in Ukraine to prevent the breach of such facilities & escape of pathogens, and prevent more pandemics,' she tweeted.

'Romney should resign.'

Gabbard initially sparked anger by asking on Sunday about the security of U.S.-backed laboratories in Ukraine.

The United States has for decades worked with scientists in Ukraine to transform their Soviet-era facilities, some of which were once used for bioweapons, into public health and research sites.

Gabbard asked what was happening in the labs, to prevent the pathogens escaping, and was described by Romney as backing Russian propaganda.

Romney attacked her despite a Department of Defense official warning last month that the labs could be vulnerable to a Russian attack. While the material stored within them could not be turned into weapons, the frozen pathogens could still prove very dangerous if the labs housing them are damaged and they're allowed to defrost.

Russia has accused the U.S. of running bioweapons plants in Ukraine - something that few outside of Russia believe, and which is widely believed to be a myth.

'Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives,' tweeted Romney.

Romney, a former Republican presidential nominee, has strongly criticized Gabbard for her remarks, which he saw as unpatriotic and supporting the Russian narrative

Gabbard was later asked by Tucker Carlson, Fox News host, about Romney's remarks, and calling her a traitor.

Gabbard insisted that she did not reference - as Carlson did - bio weapons.

She said she only referenced the labs, but said she was the victim of a smear campaign.

'I think it's important to recognize that facts exist, especially in this case, facts exist and the truth is the first casualty of war. And so this is exactly what we are seeing here,' she said.

'People have a very specific agenda, refusing to recognize the truth, refusing to have a conversation and instead were immediately resorting to their tactics of silence, smear, and anyone who dares to say anything they don't like.'

Gabbard is an Army Reserves Lieutenant Colonel posted to a Civil Affairs unit in California.

The report by Department of Defense director Robert Pope that sparked more theories and was behind Tucker Carlson's Fox News segments

The labs Gabbard referred to use material which may have once been used to develop Soviet-era bioweapons, according to a report shared by a Department of Defense director, Robert Pope, in February.

He warned that the same material, which is frozen, could be released into the air with devastating consequences if the labs are damaged during fighting, and it is allowed to thaw.

He stressed, however, that they were not bioweapons facilities, but rather laboratories for medical and other research.

Pope's report, and Carlson's subsequent remarks, have been seized on by Russian propagandists to claim that the United States was actually developing biological weapons in the war-torn nation.

Carlson on Monday said: 'The director of the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, a man who would know - a man called Robert Pope - has confirmed that scientists are keeping Soviet-era pathogens for research purposes in Ukraine.

'They told us they were destroying them. They should have destroyed them, but they haven't.

'What could go wrong in an active war zone? And they knew that those pathogens existed and were being experimented upon, researched.'

Pope's bulletin in February said that some of the biological material had previously been used for Soviet-era bioweapons programs, but that Ukraine no longer had the ability to develop such weapons.

Commenting on the significant of Pope's warning, Carlson continued: 'And they didn't secure them before the Russians invaded, though they knew the Russian invasion was coming because they told us.

'And then, Toria Nuland, the Under Secretary of State who oversees this disaster, testified under oath that, yes, Russian forces might seize those biolabs in Ukraine, and we should all be very worried about that possibility.

'Over the weekend, CBS News reported that Pentagon officials have confirmed that these biolabs in Ukraine are, in fact, conducting research on anthrax and other 'deadly pathogens.'

Carlson's broadcasts have been aired on Russian state television, furthering anger among his liberal detractors.

In response to questions from Reuters about its work with Ukraine ahead of and during Russia's invasion, the WHO said in an email on Thursday that it has collaborated with Ukrainian public health labs for several years to promote security practices that help prevent 'accidental or deliberate release of pathogens.'

'As part of this work, WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills,' the WHO, a United Nations agency, said.

The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine's laboratories.

The agency also did not answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed.

Carlson said on Monday: 'Tulsi Gabbard addressed and only addressed the danger that innocent people could die because these weapons, apparently these pathogens, these agents, exist in Ukraine.

'She didn't blame him in Russia - she didn't blame anybody. She just said this is a thing.

'Unsecured bio weapons in a war zone are a bad idea. That's not reasonable now? That's treason?

'Reason isn't part of the way people are thinking now.

'Everybody in leadership has completely lost the ability to think beyond the next week.

'Who is thinking about tomorrow or next month or 20 years from now? Not one person.

'And anyone who tries is an agent of Putin.'

Gabbard tweeted that her points were being misconstrued.

She said: 'I'm not convinced there are biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukrainethat's not what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about the existence of the 25+ biological labs in that warzone.

''Biolabs', 'bioweapons labs', and 'bioweapons' are 3 very different things.

'But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them. I recently experienced this myself. So let me clarify.

''Biolabs' are facilities which contain and experiment with dangerous pathogens, ostensibly for the purpose of serving the public good (i.e. vaccines, etc.).

''Biological weapons labs' are facilities which exist for the purpose of turning pathogens into weapons.

'So they can be used against an enemy (i.e. 'bioweapons').

'The danger of pathogens being released from biolabs in Ukraine is very real, and we need to take action immediately to prevent an impending catastrophe.'

Gabbard is known for courting controversy in foreign affairs.

In January 2017 she traveled to Syria to meet Bashar al-Assad, on a visit that was paid for and run by members of a Lebanese socialist-nationalist party that works closely with the Assad regime. She repaid the money later after criticism.

On the trip, she met only with the regime-approved 'opposition' who said they were against the rebellion against Assad, and she returned to the U.S. blaming Washington for the civil war in Syria.

Earlier this month, Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representing Illinois, went after Gabbard, reminding her of her support for Assad and saying she 'defends him today'.

He called her a 'defender of Russia' whose claims serve as 'Russian propaganda.'

Gabbard's questioning of biolabs on Sunday followed remarks Russia made at the United Nations on Friday.

Russia's claim, widely dismissed, that the U.S. is developing bioweapons in Ukraine raised alarm in the west, amid the suspicion that Russia could be plotting to use chemical or biological weapons as its invasion does not go as planned.

Gabbard's appearances on Fox News with Tucker Carlson have appeared in Russian state-controlled media and have been used in the Kremlin's misinformation campaign

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, accused Russia of 'lying and spreading disinformation' with its unfounded claims about biological weapons last week.

Russia has provided no evidence of the U.S. supporting Ukrainian bioweapons projects, although the U.S. embassy in Ukraine says the Defense Department's Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian Government 'to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities.'

The administration and Ukraine have vigorously denied Moscow's claims of funding weapons research in Ukraine.

Russia's ambassador to the UN on Friday accused the U.S. of funding into 'vectors or potential agents of biological weapon' including bats, birds, fleas, and lice.'

Russian state media has made use of Gabbard's claims, which come as Moscow is seeking to portray Ukraine as both controlled by Nazis and threatening Russia with dangerous weapons.

Russia's spokeswoman for the foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, also accused Ukraine of launching 'attacks against their own nuclear facilities.'

Zakharova tweeted: 'The blame for this lies squarely with Kiev, the American masters of Vladimir Zelensky and US vassals in @NATO.'

The administration fears Russia's highlighting the conspiracy theory could foretell a new stage in the conflict.

'The intent behind these lies seems clear, and is deeply troubling,' said Thomas-Greenfield.

'We believe Russia could use chemical or biological agents for assassinations, as part of a staged or false-flag incident, or to support tactical military operations.'

Russia has long raised the allegations, which it brought up again last week as Russian forces pummeled Ukrainian cities.
Part of a hill collapsed, causing a landslide that killed a 68-year-old man and crushed dozens of residences in the northern Peruvian province of Pataz on Tuesday.

A frightening video on social media showed rows of homes in the mining town being wiped out by sliding mud that rushed down the mountain.

President of Peru Pedro Castillo confirmed Wednesday that one person was killed.

At least eight people were injured and 15 others are still missing.

Defense Minister Jose Luis Gavidia told Peruvian network RPP Noticias on Wednesday that seven people, including three children, were trapped inside an apartment building.

One of the children is a newborn, another is between 2 and 3, and the third is a 14-year-old. It is unclear if the person killed was among the eight.

As many as 80 homes were reportedly damaged by a landslide in the Peruvian province of Pataz on Tuesday. Authorities said at least eight people, including a newborn, remained stuck inside a multi-family home as of Wednesday, but building tenants have provide their location to rescue workers.

First responders work through the rubble outside an apartment building in Pataz, Peru, after a landslide buried almost 80 homes on Tuesday

Gavidia said tenants have helped authorities find the section of the building where members of three families are stuck.

Manuel Llempen, the governor of the Peruvian region of La Libertad, told RPP Noticias that the incident took place around 8am local time. 'We estimate that between 60 and 80 homes have been affected by the landslide. There are many people trapped,' Llempen told news channel Canal N.

Rescue squads were still searching for people. At least 70 families were evacuated from their homes and placed in nearby shelters.

President Castillo said residents would be provided assistance in moving into new homes away from the hill area.

Llempen did not explain the cause of the collapse in Retamas, a village of 3,000 that is home to mining workers but not safe for the construction of homes.

'We have had a report for years where we ask the mayor of the respective district to prevent the construction of more houses in this area,' Llempen said. 'Construction licenses are granted by the respective municipalities.'

The area was struck by a deadly landslide that killed nine people in 2009. At the time, the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute issued a warning that the zone was inhospitable.

Screen grab of video footage that captured the shocking moment a hill collapsed in the Peruvian mining town of Retamas on Tuesday

Rescue workers dig in a building affected by a landslide that buried dozens of homes in Peruvian village of Retamas on Tuesday

Police and rescue workers dig through the rubble outside a building in Peru that was among almost 80 that were affected by a landslide Tuesday

The residences are mostly four-stories high and house as many as 10 families.

Peru has high rates of housing informality, with homes often built on the edges of rivers or on the sides of hills prone to landslides.

'We are drilling into the walls, and saving and rescuing people whose homes have been covered,' Llempen said.

Rescue workers dig in a building crushed by Tuesday morning's landslide that buried dozens of homes in Retamas, a village in the Peruvian province of Pataz

The Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute has issued a warning that the zone was inhospitable.
Senior Republicans on Tuesday urged President Joe Biden to speed delivery of desperately needed arms and equipment to Ukraine, after he approved another $13.6 billion in assistance, and called for the U.S. to work with partners to send Soviet or Russian-made air defense systems as quickly as possible.

Supplying arms to Ukraine has been a largely bipartisan cause, as lawmakers rally around the country's heroic fight against Russia.

And legislation signed by Biden on Tuesday included more than $3 billion for direct military aid.

Even as he did so, he acknowledged the difficulty in delivering aid.

'It's exceedingly difficult to get supplies into Ukraine while the Russian onslaught continues,' he said as he signed the legislation.

'But we're managing to get supplies into Ukraine regularly thanks to the bravery of so many frontline workers who are still at their post.'

In their letter, the top Republicans on the Senate and House intelligence, armed services and foreign affairs committees demanded he go faster and further with grenade launchers and rocket systems.

At top of their list for immediate help were anti-aircraft weapons and systems for keeping Russia out of Ukrainian airspace.

'Immediately deliver additional Stinger missile systems and munitions to the Ukrainian armed forces and engage with allies and partners to deliver Soviet- or Russian-made strategic and tactical air defense systems and associated radars to Ukraine,' they write.

'This should be followed by discussions regarding near-term U.S. force posture moves to mitigate air defense shortfalls in such allied and partner countries and eventual backfill with like capabilities.'

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed into law a spending bill that included $13.6 billion of aid for Ukraine - including $300 million of military assistance

Republicans urged Biden to go further, and ensure that crucial Stinger anti-aircraft missiles arrive in Ukraine immediately and that the U.S. work with partners to secure strategic and tactical anti-aircraft systems for Ukraine to protect its airspace

Senior Republican senators and U.S. representatives signed the letter

The government of Volodymr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for a N.A.T.O. no-fly zone to halt Russian bombing attack.

However, Biden has ruled out such a move, warning it would directly pit N.A.T.O.pilots against Russian pilots in combat.

That has not stopped Zelensky's pleas.

On Tuesday he used a virtual address to ask Canada's parliament: 'How many more of those missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?"

And he is almost certain to repeat the demand in a speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

In their letter, the signatories - Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Idaho Senator James Risch and Representatives Mike Rogers, Michael Turner and Michael McCaul - laid out a shopping list of priority items.

Grenade launchers, small drones, rangefinders, binoculars and thermal imaging cameras, secure communications, first-aid kits, artillery, mortar and multiple-launch rocket systems, gas masks and protective chemical clothing, should be seen as a priority.

They wrote that Ukraine had enjoyed success with weapons delivered so far - with the Pentagon assessing that much of the Russian advance had been stalled for days.

'This has been particularly evident for anti-tank and anti-air weapons systems,' they wrote.

'The expenditure rate for such munitions is high.

'As the invasion drags on, Russia will reorganize, resupply, consolidate its forces, and modify its tactics in an attempt to violently accelerate its advances.

'Ukrainian forces will likely have to expend munitions from these and other weapons at an increasing ratemeaning the need for restocking will only grow more urgent with each passing day.'

The Republicans asked the administration to think again about helping Poland send its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, after Washington vetoed the proposal last week

And they urged the administration to think again about working with Poland to deliver its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. A plan stalled last week after Warsaw asked for U.S. help to get them into the country - a request that Washington rejected for fear of escalating the conflict.

Some military officials believe Ukraine might be about to turn the corner in the war.

A senior British defense official told DailyMail.com that Ukrainian forces may only have to hold out for another ten to 14 days before Russia starts to lose the ground it captured.

In the meantime, Zelensky continues to use his international platform to ask for more help.

He told the Canadian parliament that the dire situation in his country has 'allowed us to see who our true friends are these past 20 days'.

He said: 'Can you imagine calling other friendly nations, and asking them 'please close the sky, close the airspace, stop the bombing'. And in turn they express their deep concerns about the situation.

'We talk to our partners and they say 'please hold on a little longer',' Zelensky said.

Military analysts have said a no-fly zone is unlikely because the U.S. and its allies believe it could escalate the war into a nuclear confrontation.
An elderly substitute teacher at a Texas middle school was left with a bloody face after a student threw a chair at him - and then retaliated by throwing two chairs back at the teenager.

A video circulating on social media from last week showed the fight in a classroom at DeSoto West Middle School, between the student and Larry Brumfield, 73, who was struck in the head, in front of a group of students. It is said to have erupted after the boy, who hasn't been named, refused to leave a classroom that he should not have been in.

'Damn!' one student yelled in shock after Brumfield felt the hit, the video shows.

The substitute teacher then could be seen lifting two chairs before hurling them back towards the student, who was not even enrolled in the class, as other students were stunned by what they were seeing.

Brumfield added that the fight broke out after the teen perpetrator refused to leave the classroom, KXAS reported, with the teacher and student then hurling foul-mouthed insults at one another.

'Fortunately I saw it out of my peripheral vision,' Brumfield said of the chair that struck him. 'It hit my leg. My leg and my head. It didn't hurt as much but I felt the blood on my face  I picked it up and threw it back at him.

DeSoto West Middle School substitute teacher Donald Brumfield (left), 73, was attacked by an unidentified student (right) who was throwing chairs at him last Wednesday before hurling back the chairs back at the teen

Brumfield, who was bleeding from his head after the incident, was later treated by paramedics called to the school

Other students were shouting and standing on the substitute teacher's desk in the corner of the classroom while the fight broke out, the footage shows. Near the end of the video, some students can even be heard yelling 'Stop!' while Brumfield gets closer to them to get a better angle at throwing the chair at the student.

'Oh, he's bleeding!' one girl yells at another student, realizing that the substitute teacher was injured.

Last Wednesday, the DeSoto Police Department said its investigation of the incident was 'ongoing'. While reinforcements at the middle school were called for to prevent more violent outbreaks on campus.

An announcement on behalf of school officials was released on Thursdays, just a day after the fight, stating that classes were canceled on Friday and that spring break would start a day earlier than expected.

'Students may have witnessed and filmed an assault that took place in a classroom on a district campus,' DeSoto ISD's statement read. 'The district makes clear that it does not condone or tolerate the behavior that took place in the incident and that all parties will be held accountable to the full extent of the district's ability to address the matter.'

The identity of the student in the fight has not yet been released. DailyMail.com has contacted DeSoto ISD and DeSoto Police for comment.

A DeSoto ISD official said the student, wearing pink shorts, attacked the teacher first after refusing to leave the classroom. Brumfield said the student wasn't even assigned to his class

Brumfield (left), who taught in the inner cities of Gary, Indiana, and Chicago, said the attack will not stop him from continuing to teach

One school district representative told WFAA that several students started the fight first, injuring their teacher in the process. Paramedics were eventually called to the school, where Brumfield was treated for his head injury.

It remains unclear what started the wild brawl and whether any students would face disciplinary action for their behaviors, WFAA reported.

Meanwhile, every school in the district will have a 'duty schedule that will place staff in all hallways and common areas of each building to monitor traffic and activity' after Spring Break, according to a district statement.

'DeSoto ISD is working to reset culture and behavior on campuses, and to refocus our system on effective instruction, learning, and student academic and social development,' district officials said last Thursday.

The fight took place last Wednesday at DeSoto West Middle School, which announced that classes were cancelled two days later to review security measures on campus

However, the attack won't force Brumfield into retirement, despite his daughter's wish for him to quit.

'I came up from the ghettos of Gary, Indiana, Chicago,' he told NBC Dallas Fort-Worth. 'I'm thinking as an idealist, I have some things up here I could share with people that might help them.'

He added that he needs the extra paychecks to raise both of his grandchildren, who are currently living him, despite having more than enough savings to retire now.

And that that there isn't a better place to work than in schools, where he can give back and guide kids to finding their paths.
The ABC's health commentator Dr Norman Swan has backed a fresh round of vaccines to combat a new strain of Omicron cases that he says will surge Australia-wide and had smashed hopes the pandemic is largely over.

He claimed 'high death rates' from Omicron infections in China shows the surging BA.2 strain is 'virulent' without proper vaccination and backed calls for a fourth round of jabs in Australia.

Dr Swan said the rapid growth in BA.2 cases worldwide will be repeated in every state in Australia, and that health authorities need to be alert to that threat for the rest of the year.

Norman Swan claimed 'high death rates' from Omicron infections in China shows the surging BA.2 strain is 'virulent' without proper vaccination and backed calls for a fourth vaccination dose in Australia

Dr Nick Coatsworth said a heavy-handed approach to restrictions to protect the vulnerable people in society wasn't fair on the rest of the community (pictured, shoppers wear masks in Sydney)

Dr Swan pointed to China as an example of how not to handle the current stage of the pandemic

'Were already seeing a surge of BA.2 in NSW and the health minister predicting a doubling of cases in the near future and youll see that in other states as well,' Dr Swan said.

On Wednesday NSW positive cases almost tripled to 30,402 from 10,689 the day before - although 10,000 of those extra cases were a belated adding of figures that should have been included in previous days.

Even allowing for those late additions, it represented a sharp increase in case numbers and indicated the prediction by Health Minister Brad Hazzard of 30,000 daily cases in April could come even earlier than that.

Victoria's case numbers have also ticked up slightly this week.

Dr Swan said surging cases should prompt a rethink on earlier doubts about the value of a fourth round of vaccines.

Each additional round of jabs was becoming less effective at combating a virus that had mutated significantly since the vaccinations were developed, and each subsequent strain of Covid was proving to be less potent even if more contagious, but yet Dr Swan backed a fourth injection.

'Pfizer say that they've developed an Omicron-specific vaccine which we were sceptical about... saying Omicrons going to be over, well maybe Omicrons not going to be over and therefore a fourth dose with an Omicron-specific vaccine might actually be quite handy this year,' he said.

Dr Swan made it clear he didn't foresee a fourth dose 'for the general public', but instead for 'a wider group' of vulnerable people such as over-65s and anyone with a suppressed immune system.

Dr Swan said Covid is 'not yet seasonal' - despite a widely-held perception that the virus spreads more when people are forced indoors by cooler weather, which is believed to have happened in Melbourne and western Sydney during last winter's Delta outbreak.

The former paediatrician has been regularly criticised for grim Covid predictions and calls for drastic restrictions, but on Wednesday he carefully avoided any mention of reinstating hated public health controls.

Dr Nick Coatsworth, Australia's former Deputy Chief Medical Officer, is among those to criticise Dr Swan's ongoing calls for tougher restrictions.

He said the focus needs needs to shift from 'mass community restrictions' to living with the virus and returning to normal life while protecting the vulnerable.

On Wednesday Dr Swan pointed to China as an example of how not to handle the current stage of the pandemic.

Dr Nick Coatsworth (pictured) has warned fellow health expert Dr Norman Swan to 'move with the times' rather than advocate for tougher Covid restrictions

The 7-day average for deaths in the Hong Kong, which is now officially controlled by China, surged to 285 on Monday

'Hong Kong showing us what happens when a virus to which youve got no background immunity comes in and you're either unvaccinated or poorly vaccinated,' he said.

The 7-day average for deaths in the city, which is now officially controlled by China, surged to 285 on Monday.

'Omicron only becomes mild when youve got a highly vaccinated population and in Hong Kong reportedly about 60 per cent of the elderly population are not vaccinated, especially people in aged care homes,' he said.

Hong Kong has vaccinated its population with Sinovac-CoronaVac and a locally-made version of the Pfizer jab produced by Fosun. Swan claimed Sinovac-CoronaVac has 'a much lower efficacy than the mRNA vaccines'.

Dr Swan also appeared to criticise the Chinese government for shutting down several cities due to BA.2 - including 17.5 million people in Shenzen.

'They've got a vulnerable population, probably similar to Hong Kong, there's a higher proportion of people immunised in China with Chinese vaccines which probably have about 60 per cent of Pfizer and Moderna, and therefore they're not adequately immunised.

'So China does have a problem here.'
Soaring petrol prices are putting pressure on the federal government to cut its fuel excise and reduce costs at the bowser, but motoring groups have warned such a short-term solution could do more harm than good.

Three Liberal premiers have weighed in saying a cut to the excise - charged at 44 cents per litre of petrol, raising $50 billion per year - is badly needed as prices at the pump soar past $2.10 per litre in many areas.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison for a cut ahead of this weekend's state election, and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and Tasmania's Peter Gutwein have echoed his call.

The federal government is thought to be considering their appeal, with Mr Morrison heading toward an election of his own under growing pressure to address sharp increases in cost-of-living.

'Higher fuel prices are having real impacts on businesses and consumers ... particularly in Tasmania,' Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein wrote in a recent letter to Scott Morrison

Rising fuel prices, tepid wage growth and increases in grocery prices have caused financial pain for Australians, heightened by recent devastating floods across New South Wales and Queensland.

The upcoming federal budget is tipped to include payments to offset cost-of-living rises.

A cut to the fuel excise would also be politically popular, but motoring groups say the the fuel tax is essential to keep roads and other transport infrastructure up to standard.

The current rate of 44.2 cents in excise for every litre of fuel that motorists purchase is used to fund the country's transport infrastructure.

Australian Automobile Association head Michael Bradley told Daily Mail Australia the country should be looking to spend more on its roads and transport, not less.

'Nobody likes high fuel prices but cutting excise also cuts funding for the new road and rail projects we need.' Mr Bradley said.

'As we move on from Covid, Australians want to travel, and they want to travel safely, meaning every dollar motorists pay in fuel tax needs to be spent on upgrading our road and public transport networks.'

'It's a short-term sugar hit for long-term economic pain', he said to The Australian about cutting the fuel excise.

Australian Automobile Association managing director Michael Bradley weighed in to the debate to cut the fuel excise: 'it's a short-term sugar hit for long-term economic pain'.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told Daily Mail Australia that the rise in oil prices associated with the Russia-Ukraine conflict was already easing, so the high prices of petrol could soon ease even without an excise reduction.

'There's been some real positive movements over the last few days, we have seen the international benchmark oil price fall by over $30 a barrel,' Mr Khoury said.

'And the benchmark price for diesel has fallen by over $60 a barrel, so that's huge.'

'The sorts of falls we are now starting to see need to be maintained, and if they are sustained we will start to see some meaningful relief at the bowser in the coming weeks.'

Mr Khoury has also pushed the need for maintaining the fuel excise so the country can have a 'consistent revenue stream from the very people who drive'.

Yet Liberal Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has written to Scott Morrison asserting the state's great need for the fuel excise cut.

'Higher fuel prices are having real impacts on businesses and consumers, and this is particularly the case in Tasmania,' he wrote.

He argued that the regional island economy faces challenges with petrol prices different to the mainland capital cities, including extra transportation costs over the Bass Strait.

The excise is 'designed to provide consistent revenue' for road networks and transport

Mr Khoury said the need for financial aid is crucial for businesses and transport, but cutting the fuel excise is a lever that should not be pulled.

'The excise is designed to provide consistent revenue for motorists, so the government can invest back into the road network to make it safe.'

These funds are funneled back into fixing highways, building new motorways, transport programs, and supporting local and regional councils for roadworks.
Notorious vegan activist Tash Peterson has held a topless protest on the courthouse steps minutes after facing trial for another racy stunt.

The 28-year-old stripped off outside Perth Magistrates Court on Tuesday with just pieces of tape over her nipples and 'dairy is rape' scrawled across her torso.

Behind her were accomplices with a speaker blaring what she said was 'mothers in the dairy industry crying for their babies'.

'I'm just trying to speak the truth about what's happening in the dairy industry, please hear their cries,' she said.

Peterson was flanked by another female activist who was also topless and covered in red paint, holding a sign reading 'killing animals for food is immoral'.

Notorious vegan activist Tash Peterson has held a topless protest on the courthouse steps minutes after facing trial for another racy stunt

The serial activist was on trial charged with disorderly behaviour for protesting inside the Boatshed Markets in Cottesloe, Perth, in December 2020.

She was again topless wearing a onesie that went up to her waist and had the top half of her body painted with a black and white cow hide pattern as she shouted to shoppers that cows had been raped so humans could drink their milk.

She waved a sign reading: 'They raped me and stole my babies so you can have my meat' and implored shoppers to watch animals rights documentary Dominion.

Peterson told the media on Tuesday that she didn't believe the protest was disorderly as she was just standing up for animals and telling Australians 'the truth'.

She was then asked if she believed her stunt outside the court could be considered disorderly.

'I mean, some people might view it as disorderly, and everyone has their own perception on what disorderly means, but that doesn't mean I should be charged for speaking the truth,' she responded.

Peterson said she was not concerned if her stunt affected the outcome of her trial, which is ongoing before a magistrate.

'I don't care what happens to me, I'm just here to speak up for the animals,' she said.

Peterson was on trial charged with disorderly behaviour for protesting inside the Boatshed Markets in Cottesloe, Perth, in December 2020

The 28-year-old walked up to reporters to talk about her campaign for animal rights as she was joined by two fellow activists holding signs, one of whom was also topless

Peterson railed against cows being 'raped' and then having their 'babies stolen' after birth, and the male calves killed as they had no financial benefit to farmers.

The animal rights advocates were eventually confronted by two police officers, who asked them to cover up their chests to obscure their breasts in public.

The trio refused, with Peterson claiming the order was 'sexist' towards women as men would not be asked to cover up.

Police negotiated with the activists for 45 minutes before issuing a move on notice, which prompted Peterson to rip off the tape and expose her bare nipples.

Ms Peterson proceeded to stand next to her two fellow activists, including a woman who was also topless and had red paint covering her torso

Peterson claimed in another video in her car with her boyfriend Jack Higgs that one of the officers got 'pretty aggressive' and had a 'massive personal issue' with the two women protesting topless.

'I swear he was standing within this distance of myself and the other female, like shouting at us, telling us that we should be putting a top on,' she said.

'It was just disgusting the way we were treated and the way that a police officer can just hand over a move on notice on someone, which basically means we have to leave the whole city of Perth for 24 hours otherwise we can face jail time.'

She later claimed in a video shared to her Instagram that one of the police officer's took serious issue with the fact that her and the other female activist were topless in public

In the clip, Tash, seen in a car with her boyfriend Jack Higgs, claimed the male officer got 'pretty aggressive' and had a 'massive personal issue' with the two women protesting topless

Earlier in court, prosecutors alleged Peterson's actions in the Boatshed protest were disorderly as they were offensive to shoppers and nearby business owners.

Ms Peterson responded that she was using her body 'creatively' to draw attention to her pro-animal rights message.

The courtroom were shown both CCTV footage and Peterson's social media posts of the protest.

During the protest, a store manager asked her partner Mr Higgs, who was shooting the stunt, to leave. The manager is later joined by Boatshed market owner Craig Skead.

During the trial, Ms Peterson claimed she was not offending shoppers or being disorderly when she entered the Boatshed Markets in December 2020

The animal rights advocate claimed that she was using her body 'creatively' to emphasise her message

Peterson told the court she was not asked to move on from the store but confessed that she did return twice anyway to continue her antics.

Mr Skead testified that he did ask the couple to leave, but said he only spoke to Mr Higgs inside the store.

He later told the court he ordered the pair to leave when they exited to the front courtyard.

'It was very confronting,' he said. 'It was disruptive. Customers were afraid. There were kids there. They were moved away by their mother. They were young children,' he said.

Magistrate Sarah Olive delayed her final judgement and adjourned the case to April 8.
Two Aussie surfers have recalled how they used 'all their strength' to take down a plane hijacker after he threatened to detonate a bomb over Melbourne.

Troy Joyner, 38, and friend Fabio Contu, 40, were settling into their flight to Kuala Lumpur on May 31, 2017, when a commotion erupted further down the plane.

Just seconds earlier, Manodh Marks had run past the pair holding a black device with flashing blue lights and uttered the chilling words: 'I have a bomb.'

Troy Joyner, 38, and friend Fabio Contu, 40, were settling in to their flight to Kuala Lumpur on May 31, 2017, when a commotion erupted further down the plane

Manodh Marks (pictured) threatened to detonate a bomb on a Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 222 innocent passengers in May, 2017

Mr Contu, a former military veteran with experience in disarming bombs, initially didn't believe his friend when he said an act of terrorism could be going down.

'I said, "Mate, that guy's got a bomb",' Joyner told news.com.au.

'He had a remote in his left hand that looked pretty legit. I thought, "This guy is pretty serious".'

It didn't take long for the pair to leap into action as Marks veered closer to them after airline staff stopped him from accessing the cockpit.

Mr Joyner said he mustered all his strength as he shot up from his seat and put the hijacker in a headlock, as his friend tackled the 26-year-old at the waist.

As his body hit the ground, Mr Contu bravely lifted the hijacker's singlet and was confronted with a large plastic device with wires hanging out of it.

'I put my hand on it and went 'stuff it'. I ripped it off him and it didn't go off. I gave it to a passenger and said to put it at the back of the plane,' the surfer said.

They secured the 26-year-old's hands and feet with cable ties and secured him to the frame of a seat so he couldn't move.

Armed police stormed the aircraft after it was able to return to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport with passengers forced to wait 90 minutes to disembark

As Marks regained consciousness he told the pair he was a recovering drug addict and had just come out of rehab.

The surfers wouldn't have a bar of it. 'I told him, "Shut the f*** up, you've just tried to take the plane down",' Mr Contu recalls.

Scottish man Robert Macdonald was in Australia visiting his family and responded when a flight attendant called for help.

'The girl called for help... (it's) the thing you do,' he told reporters at the time.

'He had four or five us, quite big guys, he didn't have a chance. (We put) knees on him, hands on him.'

The device turned out to be a bluetooth speaker, but the hijacker's claims he would 'blow the f***ing plane up' deliberately frightened passengers on flight MH128 who spent two hours believing they were going to die.

The aircraft was able to turn around and land back at Tullamarine Airport where heavily armed police stormed the plane and detained Marks.

It took 40 minutes for security to arrive with traumatised passengers forced to remain on board for nearly 90 minutes after the incident.

The surfers were thankfully able to live out their dream of riding 'the waves of the decade' in Indonesia and boarded another flight the very next day.

Governor-General David Hurley will honour the surfers with Australian Bravery Decorations on Wednesday to recognise their courageous acts.

Marks, (pictured) who is the first person in Australia to be jailed for attempting to take control of an aircraft, was initially jailed for 12 years with a non-parole period of nine years

Marks, who is the first person in Australia to be jailed for attempting to take control of an aircraft, was initially jailed for 12 years with a non-parole period of nine years.

His sentence was slashed to eight years with a non-parole period of five years after the Victorian Court of Appeal decided he was seriously 'psychiatrically unwell'.

Marks will be deported to Colombo when his release is granted.

He had used ice between his release from a psychiatric facility and boarding the flight to Kuala Lumpur, a decision his lawyer described as ill-advised.

The former trainee chef had travelled to Australia from Sri Lanka on a student visa.
In this Oct. 26 file photo, jobseekers look at an employment information bulletin board at a job fair in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap



Korea reported job additions for the 12th straight month in February on the back of a low base effect and the economic recovery, data showed Wednesday.



The number of employed people came to 27.4 million last month, up 1.04 million from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.



The tally was lower than an on-year increase of 1.14 million in January, the largest in almost 22 years, but the number of employed people grew by more than 1 million for the second straight month.



The number of employed people has also increased every month since March last year.



The statistics agency said job growth has continued amid robust exports and a low base effect.



The number of employed people fell 473,000 on-year in February last year, marking the 12th straight month of job losses, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



Despite the latest spike in virus cases, Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a recovery track as exports of chips and autos remain solid.



The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the Korean economy is expected to grow 3 percent this year after a 4 percent expansion last year, the fastest growth in 11 years.



The employment rate of people aged 15 and older rose 2 percentage points on-year to 60.6 percent last month. It marked the highest for any February since the statistics agency began compiling related data in July 1982.



The number of economically inactive people  those who are neither working nor actively seeking jobs or people outside the labor force  reached 16.9 million in February, down 412,000 from a year earlier. It marked the 12th consecutive month of an on-year fall.



The number of unemployed people declined 399,000 on-year to 954,000 in February.



The country's jobless rate fell 1.5 percentage points on-year to 3.4 percent last month, the lowest for any February.



Some in-person service segments are still suffering job strains due to the pandemic, indicating that the job recovery remains uneven across the sectors.



The number of employed people in the wholesale and retail sector fell 47,000 on-year in February, compared with a decline of 56,000 in January.



But the accommodation and food service sector reported job growth for the third straight month with an on-year gain of 55,000 jobs.



The manufacturing sector, a backbone of the country's economy, reported an on-year increase of 32,000 jobs.



The number of permanent workers grew 767,000 on-year in February and that of temporary workers rose 342,000. But that of day laborers fell 149,000 on-year, marking the 10th straight month of decline.



Last month, the BOK forecast the number of employed people to increase 280,000 this year, up from its earlier estimate of 250,000. (Yonhap)




Australia is making a $240 million push to break Beijing's supply chain dominance in the production of rare earth elements used in guided missile systems, fighter jets, electric cars, renewable energy components, and mobile phones.

The authoritarian power produces up to 80 per cent of the globe's critical minerals, making Western powers like Australia, the US, and UK vulnerable to the communist superpower.

Producing and refining the commodity in Australia has not proven economically viable despite 'massive reserves'.

Part of the reason for China's rare earth supremacy is due to its aggressive cost-cutting measures.

State-backed Chinese producers - who are often criticised by environmental groups for cutting corners - are able to offer prices far below what other nations can.

But with Canberra and Washington's relationship with Beijing souring in recent years, Australia and the West are now prepared to eat the extra costs if it means loosening Beijing's stranglehold.

Australia is making a $240million push to break China's supply chain dominance in the production of rare earth minerals used in guided missile systems, fighter jets, electric cars, renewable energy components and mobile phones. Pictured: Chinese soldiers in Xinjiang

The authoritarian power currently produces up to 80 per cent of the globe's critical minerals leaving Western powers like Australia, the US and UK vulnerable to the Communist superpower. Pictured: F-35 fighter jet which contains about 420kg of rare earths

What are rare earth minerals? Rare earth elements are a collection of 17 soft heavy metals metals found within the earth crust. The little-known minerals have a vast array of electronic and magnetic properties and are used in everything from guided missile systems, fighter jets, electric cars, renewable energy components and mobile phones. For example, an iPhone contains eight different rare-earth minerals while a F-35 fighter jet is made up of 420 kilograms of the commodity, according to the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. China currently produces about 70-80 per cent of the globe's rare earths. The communist superpower is able to dominate the market through state-backed financing and the countrys lax environmental regulations. Advertisement

Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced four rare earth projects would receive a $243 million cash splash to bolster the industry.

'This is not just an economic imperative. It is also a strategic imperative in areas vital to our national interests,' he told the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Western Australia.

'Our goal is to make Australia a critical minerals powerhouse in the new global economy. Critical minerals are key to a stronger economy for Australia, and key to a stronger future.'

Nearly half of the funding, $119.6 million, will go towards an integrated nickel manganese cobalt battery material refinery hub in Kalgoorlie.

A further, $49 million will be spent on processing high-grade vanadium from a Western Australian mine and transporting it to a plant powered by clean hydrogen.

There will be $30 million set aside for a rare-earth separation plant in the Northern Territory, the second of its type outside China and the first in Australia.

The fourth package will be $45 million to help construct a high-purity alumina production facility near Gladstone in Queensland to help meet rising demand for lithium-ion batteries and LED lights.

The four projects are expected to help create more than 3,400 jobs.

A similar situation is also playing out in global energy markets with Western democratic nations boycotting Russian oil and gas following Vladimir Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine.

Soaring petrol prices are expected to rise even higher in coming months as Australia looks to bolster its national stockpile of fuel reserves as the 'unprovoked and brutal invasion' drags on.

New reforms from July will compel fuel importers and refiners Down Under to hold at least 24 days worth of supply to shore up Australia's vulnerability to supply-side shocks.

Motorists are paying more than $2 a litre for unleaded petrol and diesel with Commsec analysts predicting the cost to increase to more than $2.50.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said once the Minimum Stockholding Obligations kicks in, prices could shoot up even further.

Scott Morrison (pictured) on Wednesday announced that four rare earth projects will receive a $243million cash splash to bolster the industry

Motorists are currently paying over $2 for unleaded petrol and diesel with Commsec analysts predicting the cost to increase to more than $2.50 (stock image)

'The MSO arrangements will impose additional costs on refiners and importers,' the ACCC said.

'These costs may include building additional storage capacity and importing fuels more frequently, and industry participants faced with additional costs are likely to pass them on in the form of higher wholesale and retail fuel prices.

'It is important that the design of the MSO arrangements does not have adverse implications for fuel prices and competition.'

Energy Minister Angus Taylor has disputed the claim.

'The net impact of our fuel security measures is to make sure we have the fuel we need when we want it,' he said.

'What we're also doing is making sure at times when there would otherwise be shortages of oil there's enough there that can be released onto the market that puts downward pressure on prices and creates competition.'

Before it all started: Labors are pictured working at a rare earth mine at Bayan Obo mine area on November 28, 2010

China made its breakthrough in rare earth mining in 1984 after experts in Baotou extracted seven rare earths elements

Influential to Beijing: A part of the Bao Steal later became Northern Rare Earths, the largest rare earth suppliers in China
A group of men have been charged after a home in Queensland was allegedly used to commit horrific child sexual abuse against girls as young as five years old.

Four men aged 19, 21, 22 and 49 attended Mackay Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with allegedly engaging in sexual practices against young girls.

Girls as young as five were allegedly exposed to a 'highly sexualised' environment inside a house owned by the 49-year-old off the Bruce Highway at Bakers Creek, south of Mackay.

Four men aged 19, 21, 22 and 49 attended Mackay Magistrates Court on Tuesday charged with allegedly engaging in sexual practices against young girls (pictured, a stock image)

The court heard the 49-year-old allegedly allowed the property to be used by the three younger men to procure sexual relationships with young girls, reported The Courier Mail.

The group of men allegedly supplied the girls with alcohol and instructed them not to fall pregnant.

One man allegedly told police he was a 'pimp and a player' and admitted he knew his girlfriend was aged 13 when he began a two year relationship with her.

Prosecutor Sheena Gravino alleged the 49-year-old exposed the victims to 'predatory behaviour' when rejecting his bail application bid.

She said the accused allegedly raped a then-13 year old girl in 2019 when he was aged 47 before later apologising to her.

The court heard when the girl discussed her relationship with the other men, the 49-year-old told her she was 'dirty', 'not innocent', and sniffed her underwear.

He also told the now 14-year-old he regretted 'not taking his chance with her' when she was vulnerable, Ms Gravino said.

The group of men allegedly supplied the girls with alcohol and instructed them not to fall pregnant (pictured, a stock image of an arrest)

Sex was openly discussed and pornography was played on a large TV, allegedly exposing a girl as young as five to a highly sexualised environment since 2014.

Ms Gravino told the court a 'significant number of devices' were seized from the property with one belonging to the 49-year-old.

She said the 49-year-old allegedly observed the group of men engage in sexual acts with young girls and digitally raped one of them from behind.

The court heard the 21-year-old laughed when the victim reacted in 'surprise and shock' during the incident.

Magistrate Bronwyn Hartigan said the incident suggested a level of degradation in the alleged offending by the men.

Ms Gravino said the girls, aged 13 and 15 at the time of the alleged offending, were exposed to practices outside the bounds of 'vanilla sex'.

'It was sex that involved role play with elements of BDSM where there is a witness who provides a version to police that she saw the victim child engaged in that role-play with elements of BDSM, walking the defendant around attached to a chain and collar,' she said.

The 21-year-old had also allegedly purchased sex toys including three bullet vibrators, a pink vibrator, a butt plug with a tail attached, nipple clips and a feather.

Sex was openly discussed and pornography was played on a large TV, allegedly exposing a girl as young as five to a highly sexualised environment since 2014, the court heard

Ms Hartigan said the purchase of sex toys added an 'element of sexual corruption' to the 21-year-old's offending.

He is charged with rape, possessing child exploitation material, involving a child in making child exploitation material and indecent treatment, and two counts each of carnal knowledge with or of children under 16 and grooming.

The 22-year-old man is accused of grooming a 12-year-old Sunshine Coast girl via Snapchat.

The man allegedly instructed her to commit sexual acts on herself before involving her pet dog, the court heard.

He then threatened he and his friends would travel to the Sunshine Coast to rape the girl if she didn't commit the acts involving her dog.

Naked images of the girl were found on the 22-year-old's devices by police.

Ms Gravino said the man knew she was aged 13 at the time of the alleged offending and the victim was 'extremely intoxicated' during the times the pair had sex.

The 22-year-old had told another person to tell the girl to shut up or he would spit on her, choke her and threaten to impregnate her if she spoke out against the abuse.

He is also alleged to have filmed girls undressing, engaged in daily sexual activity and group sex.

'The defendant appeared to have no remorse,' Ms Gravino said.

The 22-year-old is charged with 14 offences including five counts of observations or recording in breach of privacy, two counts each of possessing child exploitation material, involving child in making child exploitation material, and indecent treatment of a child under 16.

He is also charged with carnal knowledge with or of children under 16, grooming, indecent treatment of a child (indecent film), and using the internet to procure children under 16.

The 19-year-old man is alleged to have used handcuffs to restrain the girl's wrists and ankles, sometimes when she was asleep.

He is accused of engaging in degrading behaviour such as dragging her by the hair and arm and laughing at her when she cried.

It is alleged he was between 15 and 17 years of age when some of the offences took place.

The 19-year-old is charged with rape, observations or recordings in breach of privacy, three counts of indecent treatment of children under 16, and two counts deprivation of liberty.

All men were denied bail and face up to life imprisonment.

The group are remanded in custody until May.
The family of a handsome florist accused of defrauding Sydney's rich and famous have furiously defended him as new details emerge of his mounting debts.

Sydney's ritzy Double Bay has been rocked by the scandalous allegations against 'sweet' Brennon Mrzyk, 25, who ran the Mr Flamboyant florist.

The young Tasmanian allegedly used clients' credit card details to pay his own bills and left a trail of debt across the city including to flower suppliers and deliverymen.

He denied the fraud charge in court last month but was kicked out of his prime site premises in the glamorous shopping strip over an alleged $33,000 in unpaid rent

Now his family, still living in Tasmania, has rallied around him, with sister Cassandra Mrzyk branding the allegations 'a bunch of bulls**t'.

Brennon Mrzyk, 25, (pictured) florist to Sydney's glitzy rich and famous, is at the centre of a neighbourhood stoush over alleged unpaid debts and a fraud charge as new details emerge

Mrzyk's property developer mother Tania Mrzyk (pictured left) has furiously defended her son while sister Cassandra Mrzyk (right) branded the allegations a 'bunch of bulls***'

'We will all be there to support him in court, if that's what it comes to. There's been a lot of bullsh**tting,' she said.

His property developer mother Tania Mrzyk also responded angrily to the accusations against her florist son, who previously worked as a model and featured in a Vodafone ad campaign on the side of buses in Tasmania.

'My son has done nothing at all,' she insisted. She denied allegations of any family rift, adding: 'He does not owe his family any money whatsoever.'

Mrzyk bragged to Daily Mail Australia on Monday that he had a family trust fund and insisted the court allegations were part of a conspiracy against him.

However, Daily Mail Australia can reveal he is still being chased by Tasmanian state authorities for almost $10,000 in unpaid fines under his real name, Brendon Thomas Mrzyk.

Brennon Mrzyk previously worked as a model and featured in a Vodafone ad campaign on the side of buses in Tasmania

He is named in the island state's public list of state fine dodgers after running up a $9,905.40 debt from 42 unpaid fines.

Tasmania's Monetary Penalty Enforcement Service regularly publishes the names of fine dodgers until they are paid or the sanctions are dropped.

Its list of offenders - including Mrzyk - has the the warning: 'The following enforcement debtors have failed to pay their monetary penalties.

'[They] are now subject to enforcement action which can include: Publication of name, suspension of driver licence and vehicle registration, redirection of money (salary or savings), seizure and sale of assets.'

The Federal Court in Brisbane also made a court order against Mrzyk to allow BMW Australia Finance to repossess his BMW X3 SUV in 2017.

The court was told Mrzyk owed thousands on the upmarket car and was ordered to hand it over or BMW would take it from his family home in Tasmania.

Mrzyk was also ordered to pay BMW $7,627.44 with another $3,102 in costs. He did not appear at any of the three court dates to defend himself.

The Federal Court was told Mrzyk owed thousands on the upmarket BMW X3 (similar to the one pictured) and was ordered to hand over its keys and let BMW reclaim it from the family home in Tasmania

'That's to do with Brennon,' his sister Cassandra said. 'That's got nothing to do with me. That's it, that's all I'm saying.'

Mrzyk set up shop two years ago in Sydney's Ferrari and Bentley-studded Double Bay - beloved by social media influencers and the city's rich and famous - and was immediately embraced by locals.

He initially charmed local businesspeople who viewed the young Tasmanian as 'just the sweetest guy' for his quick wit and good looks, bringing wealthy customers flocking to his store.

However, it all came crashing down last month as Mrzyk faced court charged with alleged credit card fraud and was kicked out of his high street shop accused of failing to pay a $33,000 unpaid rent bill, which he disputes.

For his part, Mrzyk claimed he faced an orchestrated attempt by locals to bring him down after he split up with his boyfriend.

Double Bay real estate agent Renata Biller found she was allegedly fleeced after her book keeper allegedly spotted mobile phone charges on her credit card statements. Meanwhile rival florist Louise Jennings (pictured right) of neighbouring Mandalay florists revealed she had actually employed Mrzyk for just one day when he first arrived in Sydney

Mrzyk's store, Mr Flamboyant, before it was cleared out recently

Now furious locals hit out at the handsome young florist as a series of allegations were levelled against him, and his shop was cleared out.

Mrzyk was charged last November with dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, after a five-month investigation into fraudulent transactions on the credit card of Cole Hair Studios owner Mariah Rota.

Mrzyk is planning to fight the charge in court.

Local real estate agent Renata Biller, of Biller Property, separately claimed she noticed suspicious transactions on her bank accounts after buying flowers from Mrzyk's business.

'We're a village here and we all try to support each other so when a new young florist came in, we were keen to give him a go,' she said.

'The hairdresser next door said he was amazing so we started getting flowers for the office from him - but a while later... some transactions (allegedly appeared) on our accounts which were not ours.'

Mrzyk allegedly left a string of debts across the city, with one florist admitting the Tasmanian could be attacked if he set foot in Sydney's flower markets after he allegedly ran up unpaid bills

Mrzyk is also accused of leaving a string of other debts across the city, along with failed business deals.

One delivery man worked flat out for Mrzyk on Valentine's Day delivering roses to the rich and famous in Sydney's eastern suburbs and claimed he was made penniless.

Disability pensioner Frank, who asked for his surname not to be used, said he was desperately trying to contact all the clients he made deliveries to in the hope they could help recoup the $372 he claimed he was owed.

'I drove for nine hours straight delivering 28 bunches of flowers on Valentine's Day for him,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

Double Bay portrait photographer Mark Morffew briefly went into business with Mrzyk before abandoning the project after four weeks.

'The warning signs were there from the start,' he said. 'There were heavies at the door once for unpaid bills at the flower markets. He seemed like the sweetest guy.'

Mrzyk denied dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception at Downing Central Local Court last month

An ex-boyfriend of Mrzyk had his suspicions something was not right.

'It was all about looking like a success. He was always very determined and driven by looking like he was very successful,' he said.

'He could have had a very successful business. Everyone was gunning for him and supporting him.'

Rival florist Louise Jennings of neighbouring Mandalay florists said she actually employed Mrzyk for just one day when he first arrived in Sydney.

'He turned up three or four years ago and asked for some shifts... He didn't even put enough water in his vases for the flowers. It was just amateurish,' she said.

Double Bay portrait photographer Mark Morffew revealed how locals had allegedly been deceived

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Mrzyk claimed he faced an orchestrated attempt by locals to bring him down after splitting up with his partner.

'I've been in business more than five years now,' he said. 'And one thing I've learnt is don't mix with fake a**e bitches.

'I'm a good person, and always have been. I always put people first and was generous at the best of times and the right people who know me, know that.

'Everyone makes mistakes. I have a very successful business and we will continue to rise above this. I have a beautiful team of staff and we are about to open a new premises.'

Mrzyk denied his charge of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception at Downing Central Local Court last month. He will return to court in August.
A disgraced Navy nuclear engineer and his wife facing a combined 20 years in prison for to trying to sell secrets about American nuclear-powered warships approached Brazil with the classified information, it has been revealed.

Jonathan Toebbe, 43, and his Trump-hating teacher wife, Diana, were arrested last October after prosecutors said he approached a foreign government in an attempt to provide the nation with thousands of pages of stolen classified documents about the nuclear reactors that power the U.S. submarine fleet.

The identity of the foreign power had been concealed by federal prosecutors. It was widely speculated to have been France after investigators revealed the Toebbes had contacted a friendly foreign power, rather than an adversary.

However, a senior Brazilian official and others familiar with the investigation have since confirmed Toebbe approached their government during April 2020, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

Analysts allege Toebbe's outreach was an 'odd choice' given then-President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had strengthened the alliance between the countries. Some argue at that time U.S.-Brazilian relations were the closest they'd been in decades.

Sources familiar with the investigation confirmed that disgraced naval engineer Jonathan Toebbe (right) and his wife, Diana (left), had attempted to sell U.S. nuclear secrets to Brazil. The nation's identity had previously been concealed

And despite the Brazilian government being keen to develop its own military technology, the country's officials were in no mood to steal American secrets.

The Toebbes' plot quickly unraveled after officials there contacted the FBI, who then posed as their South American counterparts and devised a sting.

Confirmation that Toebbe contacted Brazil comes one month after he pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to a single count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. Diana, 45, still denies the charges against them.

He faces up to 17 years in jail, while she faces up to three years behind bars.

Analysts allege Brazil was an 'odd choice' for the Toebbes given that then-President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had strengthened the alliance between the countries and relations between the nations were the closest they'd been in decades. Bolsonaro and Trump are pictured at the White House in November 2019

According to officials familiar with the investigation, the Toebbes selected Brazil because they believed the nation was eager to acquire nuclear technology and wealthy enough to afford to buy their secrets, but not hostile towards the U.S.

The couple reportedly believed soliciting secrets to American adversaries - such as Russia or China - was immoral, text messages presented in court revealed.

'It's not morally defensible either,' Toebbe wrote, according to a transcript of the court proceedings. 'We convinced ourselves it was fine, but it really isn't either, is it?'

Diana responded: 'I have no problems at all with it. I feel no loyalty to abstractions.'

The couple ultimately chose Brazil because they believed the country would be eager for the information. They noted that there were only a few countries that were not 'overly hostile' to the U.S. and could also make use of the stolen designs Toebbe sought to sell.

Brazil, which began developing its own nuclear submarines in 1978, has been seemingly interested in the technology in recent years.

In 2008, during Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's presidency, the nation reinvested in its effort to create a nuclear submarine to better protect and patrol its economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean. The zone supplies the nation with fossil fuels and other resources.

Bolsonaro, just last month, allegedly brought up the nuclear reactor technology during a trip to Moscow, which took place a week before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Sources claim Bolsonaro has worked to maintain a positive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the ongoing war.

They allege he hopes to maintain relations with Russia in case an opportunity arises for a partnership on the nuclear reactor technology.

A senior official with Biden's Administration told the newspaper Tuesday that Bolsonaro's trip sparked criticism from U.S. leaders. The official also said seeking acquisition of Russian military technology 'is a bad bet for any country.'

According to officials familiar with the investigation, the Toebbes selected Brazil because they believed the nation was eager to acquire nuclear technology and wealthy enough to afford to buy their secrets, but not hostile with the U.S.

The couple (pictured in October 2021) reportedly believed soliciting secrets to American adversaries - such as Russia or China - was immoral (Left: Jonathan Toebbe, Right: Diana Toebbe)

Bolonsaro just last month, allegedly brought up the nuclear reactor technology during a trip to Moscow, which took place a week before Russia invaded Ukraine. Sources allege has worked to maintain a positive relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the ongoing war. The Brazilian leader is pictured with former President trump in March 2019

The FBI said the Toebbes' scheme began in April 2020, when Toebbe sent a package of Navy documents to a Brazilian military intelligence agency and wrote that he was interested in selling to that country operations manuals, performance reports and other sensitive information.

Upon receipt, the agency told FBI investigators of Toebbe's ploy promoting an undercover FBI agent to posed as Brazilian official in an elaborate sting which ended with the couple's arrests.

That package was obtained by the FBI last December through its legal attache office in Brazil.

That set off a monthlong undercover operation in which the agent made contact with Toebbe and agreed to pay $100,000 in cryptocurrency for the information Toebbe was offering. Toebbe was already paid $70,000 before he was caught.

According to the New York Times, Toebbe was initially hesitant to deliver the classified documents to the undercover agent and questioned their identity.

'I am concerned that using a dead drop location your friend prepares makes me very vulnerable,' Toebbe wrote to the agent, according to court records. 'For now, I must consider the possibility that you are not the person I hope you are.'

In effort to convince Toebbe he was speaking with a Brazilian official, the FBI agent instructed him to look for a signal placed in a window on a Brazilian government building in Washington D.C. during Memorial Day weekend.

After seeing the signal, Toebbe allegedly agreed to drop a sample of the stolen documents to the official. He had hidden them in a peanut butter sandwich.

The Toebbes are pictured in court sketches drawn during October 2021, and now face a combined 20 years behind bars for their treasonous behavior

Diana was accused of serving as an accomplice and a 'lookout' at several prearranged 'dead-drop' locations at which her husband deposited memory cards containing government secrets, concealing them in objects such as a chewing gum wrapper, a Band-Aid wrapper and the peanut butter sandwich. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case against her remains pending.

FBI agents who searched the couple's Annapolis, Maryland, home found a trash bag of shredded documents, thousands of dollars in cash, valid children's passports and a 'go-bag' containing a USB flash drive and latex gloves.

Diana previously said her husband only wanted to flee the country because she hated Donald Trump, a court has been told.

Her lawyers claim she only wanted to exit the U.S. because of her disdain for the former president, and not because she was worried about getting caught for allegedly trying to sell the classified information.

The attorneys made the claim in court papers filed last month, complete with an exchange of messages said to have taken place between Toebbe and her husband Jonathan in March 2019.

Those texts also allegedly saw Diana discuss fleeing to France.

Diana begins: 'We need to get out.' Toebbe appears bored with her statement, answering: '*sigh* where? To do what?'

His wife then says: 'To anywhere. To do something else. To teach in international schools. To take Macron up on his offer to harbor scientific refugees.'

In an apparent attempt to calm Diana, Toebbe says: 'Biden/Warren will curb stomp Trump/Pence.'

But Diana was undeterred, and replied: 'WE NEED TO GET OUT. Hilary (sic) was going to curb stomp trump. I'm done.'

Toebbe then touted then-unpublished Mueller Report into alleged collusion between Team Trump and Russia, which ended up posing no threat to Trump's presidency.

He wrote: 'The Mueller report is coming real soon.'

But Diana remained angry, answering: 'It's been too long. Nothing has changed. He's still in power.'

Toebbe replied: 'Nothing in government moves that fast  believe me, I speak from personal experience.'

Diana then said: '(Trump crony) Manafort got a slap on the wrist. It's a signal that the entire system is rigged.'

The chat then turned to escaping, with Jonathan saying: 'We've got passports, and some savings. In a real pinch we can flee quickly.'

And Diana answered: 'Right. Let's go sooner than later.'

The pair were arrested in October and charged with selling secret information about nuclear submarines to an undercover FBI agent who posed as an operative for a foreign country.

Shocking emails exchanged between Jonathan Toebbe and undercover FBI agent reveal his plot to sell US nuclear secrets

On December 26, 2020, the FBI initiated the first of several emails to 'ALICE' on ProtonMail. The FBI utilized a ProtonMail account utilizing the pseudo name 'BOB.' The email stated, 'We received your letter. We want to work with you. It has been many months, so we need to know if you are still out there. Please respond to this message, then we will provide instructions on how to proceed.'

On February 10, 2021, 'ALICE' responded and stated, 'Thank you for contacting me. I am still here. The covid disease has made it more difficult to find chances to check this email. Let us discuss how to proceed.'

On February 24, 2021, an FBI agent acting in an undercover capacity ('the UC') responded and stated, 'We understand the delay and hope you are well. Our experts reviewed the information you provided. We would like to sample your [US. Navy Information  Specific Sections].' We have a trusted friend in your country who has a gift for you to compensate for your efforts...

On March 5, 2021, 'ALICE' replied with the following. ' I am uncomfortable with this arrangement. Face to face meetings are very risky for me, as I am sure you understand. I propose exchanging gifts electronically, for mutual safety. I can upload documents to a secure cloud storage account, encrypted with the key I have provided you. You can send me a suitable gift in Monero cryptocurrency to an address I will provide. 100,000 usd should be enough to prove to me that you are not an unwelcome third party looking to make trouble for me. When I have confirmed receipt of your gift, I will provide you with the download link. We are both protected. I understand this is a large request. However, please remember I am risking my life for your benefit and I have taken the first step. Please help me trust you fully.'

On March 18, 2021, the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1 wrote, 'We understand a face to face meeting would be uncomfortable. We suggest a neutral drop location. When you visit the location alone, you retrieve a g~fi and leave behind the sample we request. We hope to have a very long friendship that benefits mutually.'

On March 22, 2021, 'ALICE' replied. 'I understand your proposal to start a dead drop. I am concerned that using a dead drop location your friend prepares makes me very vulnerable. If other interested parties are observing the location, I will be unable to detect them. I am not a professional, and do not have a team supporting me. I am also concerned that a physical gift would be very difficult to explain if I am questioned. For now, I must consider the possibility that you are not the person I hope you are. It would be very easy for the serial numbers of bills to be recorded. Tracking devices and other nasty surprises must be considered as well. I propose to mod~ your plan in the following ways:

1. I will place the sample you requested on a memory card and place it in a drop location of my choosing... . I am not a professional and I am sure that publicly available information on this subject is incomplete.

2. The samples will be encrypted using GnuPG symmetric encryption with a randomly generated passphrase.

3. I will tell you the location and how to find the card. I will also give you a Monero address. This form of gift protects both of us very well. I am very aware of the risks of blockchain analysis of BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies, and believe Monero gives both of us excellent deniability.

4. Once I confirm receipt of my gift, I will give you the passphrase.

Your friend and I will never go to the same drop location twice. I will give you a new Monero address each time. The decryption key will be different each time. No patterns for third parties to observe. The only electronic footprints will be Proton to Proton, so there is less risk of encrypted traffic being collected for future analysis by third parties. That part is not perfect. Perhaps as our friendship develops we will change addresses periodically?'

On April 1, 2021, the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1 responded to 'ALICE' and stated, 'We understand your concern and appreciate the thoughtful plan... as a sign of good faith and trust we wish to pay you the equivalent of 10,000 USD immediately on Monero to address you provided.

Drop locations are safest and allow us to make exchanges without coming in contact and of course leave no electronic footprint... Your proposed method of memory card with encryption/passphrases is acceptable. For the small sample we requested you will receive another 20,000 USD. Once you confirm Monero address we will activate payment. Our next step will be information on the drop location we have selected. This method will build trust between usfor a larger transaction in future. Our experts are interested in the information you have but we insist on maintaining our discretion and security as a priority.'

On April 9, 2021, 'ALICE' wrote, 'I am sorry to be so stubborn and untrusting, but I can not agree to go to a location of your choosing. I must consider the possibility that l am communicating with an adversary who has intercepted my first message and is attempting to expose me. Would not such an adversary wish me to go to a place of his choosing, knowing that an amateur will be unlikely to detect his surveillance? If you insist on physically delivering the package, then it must be a place of my choosing.

I ask you to consider the viability of an electronic dead drop. I can establish an encrypted online storage account without providing any identifying information and without provoking any suspicion...Another possibility occurs to me: is there some physical signal you can make that proves your identity to me? I could plan to visit Washington D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend. I would just be another tourist in the crowd. Perhaps you could fly a signal flag on your roof? Something easily observable from the street, but nothing to arouse an adversary's suspicion?... '.

On April 23, 2021, the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1 emailed the following: 'You do not need to apologize. We appreciate you being careful. That is much better than someone reckless. Your thoughtful plans indicate you are not amateur. This relationship requires mutual comfort. There is risk on both sides and we understand your need for safety assurance of who you are communicating with. As you suggest we can accommodate a signal in Washington D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend. We will set a signal from our main building observable from the street. It will bring you comfort with signals on display from the area inside our property that we control and not a [sic] adversary. If you agree please acknowledge. We will then provide more instruction about the signal. We hope this plan will continue to build the necessary trust and comfort of our identity.'

On May 5, 2021 'ALICE' wrote, 'I will make plans to be in the capitol [sic] over the Memorial Day weekend. It would be best to leave the signal visible for the entire holiday weekend so I can plan to pass by in the natural course of my tourist day. I may be on foot or passing by in a bus or car or bicycle, so please plan for something easy to spot.

On May 17, 2021, the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1 responded and said, in part, 'We are happy to set a signal to bring you comfort and build necessary trust between us. The signal will be inside our main building from Saturday morning until Sunday evening Memorial Day weekend.'

During the weekend of May 29-30, 2021, the FBI conducted an operation in the Washington, D.C. area that involved placing a signal at a location associated with COUNTRY1 in an attempted effort to gain bona fides with 'ALICE.'

On May 31, 2021, the FBI received confirmation via the ProtonMail from 'ALICE' that the signal was received. 'ALICE' also wrote that, 'Now Jam comfortably telling you your assumption that Pittsburgh would be a convenient location for me is incorrect.. for now I can tell you I am located near Baltimore, Maryland. Please let me know when you are ready to proceed with our first exchange. Once you have dropped location details for me, I will give you the Monero address and prepare the sample you have requested.' 'ALICE' went on to request clarity of the U.S. Navy information requested by the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1.

On June 4, 2021, the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1 requested the Monero address to provide 'ALICE' a payment of $10,000 USD as a sign of good faith and trust. The UC also informed 'ALICE' that new communication instructions would be provided at the exchange location.

On June 8, 2021, 'ALICE' wrote that, 'For maximum security it is very important that you do not send Monero to the same address twice.' 'ALICE' then provided the FBI with a payment address. 'ALICE' then went on to state, 'I will place information you have requested~ encrypted, on a memory card along with the address for the second payment you offered in a plain text file. After I confirm the second payment I will provide you with the decryption passphrase using the new communication method. I am also excited to continue our relationship...'

On June 10, 2021, the FBI paid 'ALICE' approximately $10,000 USD in Monero cryptocurrency.

On June 17, 2021, 'ALICE' thanked the FBI for the first payment and stated that he/she was 'eagerly waiting for your instructions.'

On June 18, 2021, the UC posing as a representative of COUNTRY1 emailed 'ALICE' to provide detailed instructions on servicing a dead drop location in Jefferson County, West Virginia to occur on June 26, 2021.

The UC discussed instructions regarding the next payment to 'ALICE' as well as additional assurance that 'ALICE' would be paid $20,000 upon the sample verification and authenticity of the information provided at the drop location.

On June 23, 2021, 'ALICE' sent the FBI a confirmation email stating, 'I understand your instructions and am ready to move forward.'

On June 26, 2021, at approximately 10.41 a.m., the FBI observed Jonathan Toebbe physically service a dead drop location in Jefferson County, West Virginia. Records show that Jonathan Toebbe is a government employee working as a nuclear engineer for the United States Navy and holds an active Top Secret Security Clearance through the United States Department of Defense and an active Q clearance from the United States Department of Energy.
A cartel leader responsible for overseeing a gang of assassins who unleashed terror throughout several Mexico border states has been extradited to the United States.

Juan Trevino, who is also known as 'El Huevo or 'The Egg,' was turned over to U.S. federal agents at the Tijuana International Bridge on Tuesday.

The extradition of the dual U.S.-Mexican citizen to the United States came after he was apprehended in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas on Sunday.

The Cartel del Noreste (Northeast Cartel) and Tropas del Infierno (Troops from Hell) leader is accused by U.S. authorities of crimes that include money laundering and drug trafficking.

Juan Trevino, leader of the Cartel del Noreste (Northeast Cartel) and Tropas del Infierno (Troops from Hell), is escorted through the Tijuana International Bridge on Tuesday before he was extradited to the United States. The Department of Justice accuses the dual U.S.-Mexican citizen of U.S. crimes that include money laundering and drug trafficking.

Mexican authorities process Juan Trevino prior to his extradition to the United States on Tuesday

Juan Trevino

Trevino's apprehension sparked a series of attacks by his criminal organizations on almost two dozen military installations and the U.S. consulate building in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas.

At least one person was reportedly killed.

Mexico's secretary of security Rosa Rodriguez hailed the capture as hurting the cartel power structure.

'It was a blow to one of the most important criminal organizations in the northeast of the country, with influence in at least five states and operations in the United States,' Rodriguez said.

The Northeast Cartel operates mainly out of Tamaulipas but also maintains its presence in the states of Coahuila, Veracruz, Monterrey and Zacatecas.

The capture of 'El Huevo' in one of the most violent regions of the country generated armed attacks by his gang, the Northeast Cartel, against 22 military installations, 16 road blockades and collateral damage to the U.S. consulate.

The consulate offices remain closed until further notice.

Authorities sent more than 700 military personnel and four helicopters to secure the area on Tuesday, following the attacks.

Northeast Cartel leader Juan Trevino was taken into custody in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on Sunday. He was extradited to the United States Tuesday

Vehicles were stolen and set on fire and roads were filled with spike strips by cartel and gang members responding to the arrest of Juan Trevino, leader of the Northeast Cartel and Troops from Hell gang

Trevino is connected to the family suspected of founding the Los Zetas cartel, whose leader, Heriberto 'El Lazca' Lazcano, a former military man, was killed by Mexican soldiers in October 2012.

He is also the nephew of imprisoned Zetas criminal organization leader, Miguel Angel Trevino, who was arrested by Mexican security forces in July 2013 and is facing extradition to the U.S.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Miguel Angel Trevino moved to North Texas, then moved back to Mexico after he was arrested from evading police during a car pursuit.

He joined the Zetas, a criminal organization mostly made up of former Mexican armed forces commandos who served as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel before eventually parting ways in 2010.

Miguel Angel Trevino, who once led the Zetas criminal organization, has been in a Mexican prison since 2013 and is awaiting extradition to the United States

Miguel Angel Trevino ascended in the ranks of a powerful cartel that operated drug smuggling routes that stretched from Central American nations through Mexico and all the way up to the border with the U.S.

During the October 2021 hearing of a former Zeta member who was sentenced by a Plano, Texas, court, Trevino was accused of murdering his mother-in-law.

Former leader Jose Guizar told the court that he saw Trevino overdose his wife's mother with a botox injection that led to a heart attack. He said that Trevino figured the coroner would rule the death was a cardiac arrest, but somehow was able to convince his wife that her mother has been killed by Mexico's federal police.

Under Trevino, the cartel was responsible for waging violence along the northern border region and trafficking cocaine into the North Texas region from 2010 to 2015.

Juan Trevino, the leader of the Northeast Cartel and Troops from Hell gang, was arrested in Mexico on Sunday

He instructed smugglers to return to Mexico with loads of cash from drug transactions as well as military-style weapons, like AR-15 and AK-47 rifles, that were bought in the United States and used to combat Mexican security forces and rival criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel.

U.S. citizens were also among the innocent bystanders killed by Trevino's cartel. David Hartely was shot dead in September 2010 while riding a scooter with his wife in Falcon Lake in Laredo, Texas. Authorities believed the couple were near a cartel narcotics transaction in progress.

In February 2011, Zetas gunmen intercepted a SUV driven by two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and fired almost 100 rounds, killing agent Jaime Zapata, 32, and wounding his partner, Victor Avila.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said one of his administration's main challenges is to combat violence in the country, which has been incessant for years.

He has faced criticism from his detractors for his security policy, based on the slogan 'Hugs, not bullets.'
A new TV advertisement is urging Aussies to report any suspicious activity that could be people, drug or weapons smuggling.

The Australian Border Force has launched the campaign amid fears of a crime wave after the international border finally opened following two years of Covid shutdown.

The advert shows two cyclists and a truck driver noticing suspicious activity. The cyclists move on saying 'it's none of our businesses' but the driver makes a report on the ABF website.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews launched the campaign with the tagline 'if it doesn't feel right, flag it' in Darwin on Wednesday.

'Our police and law enforcement agencies are preparing for those criminals who would seek to cross our borders and break our laws; but the public has an important role to play too,' she said.

'That's why the Border Watch campaign is so important  after two years of limited international travel, it encourages Australians to recognise and understand how they can help by reporting suspicious behaviour and activity that may need to be investigated.

'Locals are best placed to judge activities that may seem suspicious in their community. They know what stands out and what doesn't - that's why I'm encouraging everyone in Australia to engage with the campaign, help protect our borders, and flag anything that doesn't feel right.'

The advert shows two cyclists and a truck driver noticing suspicious activity (pictured). The cyclists move on saying 'it's none of our businesses' but the driver makes a report on the ABF website

The video shows ABF border workers tracking the suspicious activity reports on computers

It comes as the Government aims to increase sentences for gun traffickers.

Criminals who import guns to Australia will face up to 20 years in jail if Scott Morrison succeeds in his bid to double the maximum sentence.

The Government introduced a bill to Parliament last month which also includes a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for adult gun traffickers.

The bill passed the House after Labor supported it to avoid political backlash - but they may amend or block it in the senate after historically opposing minimum sentences.

The proposed changes come 26 years after the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre which sparked national gun law reform.

The Government estimates there are more than 260,000 unregistered guns in circulation in Australia.

In 2019 guns were used in 22.2 per cent of homicides in the country.

Under the proposed laws, courts will have the discretion to reduce the minimum five-year penalty if the offender pleads guilty or co-operates with law enforcement agencies.
Michael O'Keefe, who has taught at Oklahoma Christian University for 41 years, was fired last week for bringing a gay speaker to his class

Oklahoma Christian University has fired a tenured professor of 41 years after he brought a gay speaker to address his class about overcoming struggles in life.

Michael O'Keefe taught arts and design at the private facility in Oklahoma City, and led his students on a class entitled The Business of Branding Yourself.

One of the speakers at a session spoke about his personal journey as a Christian, and overcoming challenges in his life. The speaker happened to be gay.

He warned students that the start of the class that there would be explicit language used, and reportedly used the words 'd**k' and 'bitch'.

After the class, an investigation was launched, and O'Keefe was fired for gross misconduct, infuriating many of his students.

'It's embarrassing for a Christian university, and it doesn't sound like much of a university if you can't have a free exchange of ideas,' said his lawyer, Kevin Jacobs.

Jacobs told DailyMail.com that O'Keefe is 'a remarkable teacher', who built the design studies program from scratch.

'The graduates coming out of there had their pick of jobs,' said Jacobs, who also studied at the university.

'If you came out of O'Keefe's classes, you had his endorsement, and you could bet the students knew what they were doing.

'He was trying to help students transition from an academic environment to a real work environment.

'He was using alums to come in and speak to that, to continue the collegiality.'

His wife, Lori Osley, announced his firing on Saturday, in a Facebook post that was greeted with astonishment and anger, and an outpouring of support for O'Keefe.

Lori Osley on Saturday wrote about her husband's firing from the Christian university

Oklahoma Christian University has said O'Keefe was fired for the good of their students

'Normally spring break is an exciting time for my husband, Michael Okeefe; but, this year it is different,' she wrote.

'After 41+ years at Oklahoma Christian University he was let go this past week. The reason?

'Because he brought in a guest speaker, who was a former alum to visit with the students about how he overcame a personal challenge. He was one of several speakers brought in. However, he was gay.'

Osley said the speaker 'only spoke about his personal journey, not to promote any type of lifestyle.'

O'Keefe and his lawyer are assessing what their next steps could be after his firing

She said her husband had 'given his heart in soul to these kids at the school,' and noted that students would come to his door crying, and he would try and support them.

On his Facebook page, O'Keefe features two quotes.

The first states: 'Social justice should be linked to our worship.'

The second, from Sir William Osler, who co-founded John Hopkins Hospital, states: 'The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism.'

Jacobs confirmed to that O'Keefe was fired on March 7 for his 'gross misconduct, conduct contrary to the mission and values of Oklahoma Christian University and disregard of the policies and values of the university.'

The class was on March 1.

Jacobs added: 'It is our belief Mr O'Keefe was terminated for having a guest speaker for his senior level class. This speaker is also gay.

'Letting students expect a world where you may be different is the message Mr O'Keefe wanted his students to hear.

'That's the message this speaker delivered, not an advocacy of gay rights.

'Unfortunately, that's not permitted at Oklahoma Christian University today. It cost Mr O'Keefe his job.'

Jacobs told DailyMail.com the university's actions raised a lot of questions.

'What is the university's position now on gay faculty members or students?' he asked.

'A lot of their posted statements make it sound like an inclusive community.

'They have had posted statements saying that people have spoken to students about coming out, and made overtures to being inclusive.

'Which of course they should be, especially as a Christian center.'

O'Keefe is considering taking legal action against the university where he worked for four decades

O'Keefe and Jacobs are considering their next step.

On social media, former students of O'Keefe reacted with anger to his dismissal.

'As an alumni of Oklahoma Christian University's graphic design department, I am shocked and saddened to know that Michael O'Keefe has been fired,' wrote Julia Layne.

She said that she understood that 'two explicit words were used by the speaker', and named them.

Layne concluded: 'O'Keefe is the kind of professor who sets his students up for success in every way. I know for certain that I would not be where I am today without Michael O'Keefe.

'O'Keefe changed my life for the better, and it is my hope that this thread can, not only shred light on the facts of this situation, but more so, can memorialize Michael O'Keefe as the dedicated professor and mentor that he is.'

Another former student added: 'Michael O'Keefe saved me from a life of computer engineering. I remember visiting with him freshman year, so nervous to change my major.

'He believed in me before I did. These past four years O'Keefe exponentially grew my sense of design.

'I am embarrassed by my school's decision.'

Another, Brandon, described him as 'tough, but definitely one of the better professors'.

Cameron Dawson, who runs a design studio, commented: 'Michael brought his students to our agency each year and there is no question hes extremely devoted to his students and to his craft. IMO this exposes very poor leadership.'

Another praised him as an 'incredible professor and incredibly inspiring', saying he 'demanded excellence'.

Jodi Swanson thanked the former students and colleagues for their words, writing on Twitter: 'He is my brother-in-law. This means so so much. Thank you for sharing.'

The university's chief legal officer, Stephen Eck, confirmed that O'Keefe had been fired - and insisted it was for the 'wellbeing of our students'.

Eck said: 'The decision to end employment was made after a thorough review process.

'The university will always put first the wellbeing of our students in every decision we make.'
Photos have emerged of inside the seedy boarding house where three men died when they were trapped inside the hostel's tiny rooms as it became engulfed by flames around 1am on Tuesday.

The 12-room boarding house in Sydney's inner west, described to Daily Mail Australia as 'squalid' with rooms' you couldn't swing a cat in' was torched in what police allege was a deliberately-lit blaze started with accelerant splashed from a jerry can.

A flatmate of the three who died in the Newtown rooming house, 45-year-old Richard Hotoran, has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of destroying or damaging a property by fire or explosive.

Police are still searching the premises and fear there may be more bodies still inside.

The boarding house called Vajda House is owned by A & J Wong Holdings, whose 71-year-old Malaysian-born director Albert Wong is the proprietor of seven rooming houses in Sydney's inner suburbs.

Mr Wong also has multiple occupancy dwellings in nearby Enmore and Petersham and another in Surry Hills.

Phtoso of the inside of the seedy boarding house where three men died in a fatal fire on Tuesday.

Richard Hotoran, 45 (above) has been charged with the alleged murder of three of his flatmates in the boarding house

The rooming house was described as 'squalid' by a former resident of the premises in Sydney's Newtown

An ex-resident of Vajda House, a former barber shop named after its previous owners, described the its rooms as 'cramped' and the bathroom and toilet on the building's second floor as 'dirty, atrocious'.

The boarding house was allegedly set alight around 1am on Wednesday and quickly consumed by a fire neighbours say appeared to have started on the ground floor.

One elderly resident Ronald Serich, 80, escaped the flames by jumping from the second floor and injuring both his ankles.

He later suffered a heart attack in hospital and was placed in an induced coma.

Pastry chef Mark Warner, who was up early and watched the tragedy unfold from his room across the road in the Carlisle Castle Hotel, said he saw 'Ronnie' lying in the street 'with his legs on fire'.

Mr Serich was one of what was believed to have been 11 people living in the Probert Street boarding house when the fire broke out, sounding what Mr Warner described as a 'giant pop and crack ... like a bomb'.

Nearby residents felt the eruption of flames in the building reverberate through their houses.

Emerency services officers outside the seedy premises which was engulfed by flames in the early hours of Tuesday

Richard Hotoan was allegedly a flatmate of the three men who died and police say he lit the fatal fire with accelerant

Police are continuing to search the premises on Wednesday (above an officer climbs up a ladder to access an upper floor) in the fear there are more bodies of victims in the back rooms

Another man taken to hospital remains in a stable condition while a third has been released.

As police dusted cars parked in the street near the boarding house for fingerprints on Tuesday afternoon, a five-litre jerry can was found discarded under a nearby car.

Detectives were also searching for a mystery person reportedly seen lurking in surrounding streets around the time of the fire.

Police later confirmed traces of a flammable liquid were found at the scene and that the flames took hold 'extremely quickly'.

'Without going into the scientific evidence so far, it would be fair to say that some type of accelerant has been used,' NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter said on Tuesday.

The 14-room hostel reportedly had 11 men living in it at the time the fire was allegedly lit in the early hours of Tuesday with accelerant

Popular resident, Ronnie Serich, 80 (above left) jumped from the second floor with his legs on fire, which was witnessed by pastry chef Mark Warner (above right) who watched the tragedy unfold from across the street

'We are treating this as a murder. We are treating this as a maliciously lit fire.'

Assistant Commissioner Cotter said investigators were continuing to search the home on Wednesday.

'We still haven't been able to explore all the rooms in the boarding house so fingers crossed that the death toll won't rise but we still have some fears that people could be unaccounted for yet,' Mr Cotter told ABC Radio Sydney.

'We're hoping we will be able to get up into that first storey (today) and make sure that we recover what we know is there and then clearly look for any other people who might have perished.'
A leading medical scientist says Australians may need a fourth Covid vaccination shot by winter as case number begin to climb again in NSW and Victoria.

Professor Nathan Bartlett, from the University of Newcastle's School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, said in an opinion piece published on Wednesday that the coming wave of the new Omicron BA2 variant means 'the situation has changed again'.

Prof. Bartlett said a fourth shot will soon become necessary because third shot booster immunity is waning quickly.

'It's likely the coming surge means we'll need a fourth Covid vaccine as we hit winter,' Professor Bartlett wrote for The Conversation.

A fourth vaccine shot will soon become necessary because booster immunity is waning, it's hard to tell how vulnerable we are and it's too late for an Omicron-specific vaccine. Pictured is a woman getting a Covid-19 vaccination shot

NSW Health announced 30,402 new cases on Wednesday - a significant surge given cases had been hovering about the 9,000 mark.

About 10,000 of those cases were positive rapid antigen tests from Sunday and Monday that were accidentally not included in the figures for those days due to a data processing error and instead included in Wednesday's numbers.

However the remaining 20,000 still resembles the highest number of cases in NSW since January 23.

Victoria likewise reported 9,426 new cases on Wednesday - the highest figure for the state since February 4.

The BA.2 Omicron sub-variant is on the rise in Australia, and NSW expects it to overtake the original Omicron strain and for cases to more than double by the end of April.

Early estimates suggest BA.2 is 25 to 40 per cent more transmissible than Omicron (BA.1), and is already taking off in countries including Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

Experts expect BA.2 to become Australia's dominant strain in the coming months.

The basics on BA.2 and other Covid-19 variants BA.2 is part of the growing family of Omicron Coronavirus variants. It is a version of Omicron that has surged recently but it is not new. It was first detected way back in November 2021. There have also been also BA.1 BA.3 and B.1.1.529 strains of Omicron. BA.2 is understood to be more contagious than these but not deadlier. There have been over 10 main variants of Covid-19 but hundreds or even thousands of sub-variants. Delta, the strain many believe to have been the deadliest, had more than 200 sub-variants. The main Covid strains still designated 'variants of concern' are: Alpha: earliest sample documented sample from the UK in September 2020

Beta: South Africa, May 2020

Gamma: Brazil, November 2020

Delta: India, October 2020

Omicron: several countries November 2021 Advertisement

Though the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is not yet recommending fourth doses for everyone, people who are severely immunocompromised in Australia are already getting them.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows the immunity level provided by vaccines is quickly fading.

Vaccine effectiveness against Omicron dropped to around 45 per cent just ten weeks after a Pfizer third dose.

The available vaccines are based on the original Covid strain, but there have been many mutations since then, meaning Omicron is very different to the first strain.

Professor Bartlett said as research is only just beginning into BA.2, we don't yet know how effective existing vaccines are against it.

But he notes that 'three doses of a Covid vaccine are currently providing excellent protection from severe illness for most people'.

With winter  normally the height of cold and flu season  coming, most people will have had their third Covid vaccine dose more than four months ago, leaving them at greater risk of infection and needing a further boost to antibodies.

Professor Bartlett said that while millions of Australians have been infected with Covid - and some have been infected without knowing it - it is very hard for us to know what level of immunity the population has because of BA.2.

'In this environment of uncertainty, allowing Australians to get a fourth dose would increase collective immunity and help us weather the rise of BA.2 during a winter where other cold and flu viruses are expected to make a comeback,' he said.

There is also strong evidence that Omicron is good at evading the immunity we get from Covid vaccines as they were developed before Omicron existed.

A vaccine specifically designed for Omicron would, in theory, provide better protection, but by then BA.2 would already be dominant.

There is strong evidence that Omicron is good at evading the immunity we get from Covid vaccines as they were developed before Omicron existed. Pictured are people wearing face masks in Sydney

Professor Nathan Bartlett (pictured) said 'managing Covid is becoming more complicated now'

A 'universal or 'variant-proof' Covid vaccine could help, and are in development, but could take years, meaning existing vaccines are still the best option.

Nasal sprays could be another option, Professor Bartlett said, 'because it's very challenging for a vaccine injected into your arm to ward off a respiratory virus'.

His team has helped develop an immune-stimulating nasal spray that's entering phase 2 clinical trials for Covid and flu, which works by boosting innate immunity in the tissue lining airways to attack the virus at the point of entry in the nose and throat.

'Managing Covid is becoming more complicated now, and it's impossible to predict where we'll be a few months from now,' he said.

Australia could face a tough winter with the BA.2 Covid-19 strain becoming dominant and influenza and colds spreading
The Queens official art collection has joined a cultural boycott of Russia and refused permission for three antique swords to be displayed in Moscow.

The Royal Collection had been due to loan the 17th-century weapons as part of an exhibition about duelling at the Kremlin Museums.

It was being sponsored by Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who has had sanctions imposed upon him by the UK over his links to Vladimir Putin.

A cavalry helmet that is on its way back from Moscow after being recalled by the Queen's art collection

A 17th-century duelling gauntlet from the Royal Armouries museums, which is on its way back from Moscow after being recalled

A spokesman for the Royal Collection said the decision to postpone the loan was made in mid-February. Pictured: The State Historical Museum (centre) and the Kremlin's Towers in Moscow

But earlier this year the Royal Collection postponed permission for the swords to be sent to Russia after the countrys invasion of Ukraine.

The swords had included one that is believed to have belonged to King Charles I.

The exhibition has been delayed indefinitely because other European countries have refused to co-operate.

A spokesman for the Royal Collection said the decision to postpone the loan was made in mid-February.
People watch a TV report at a train station in Seoul, March 16, about North Korea's launching of an unidentified projectile. Yonhap





The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expressed concern Wednesday about North Korea's continued missile launches, stressing the moves posed a "serious risk" to international civil aviation.







The Montreal-based U.N. agency's governing body reiterated its concern over the North's recent "unannounced missile launches which pose a serious risk to international civil aviation," according to a statement posted on its website.






A BLM activist and her husband are accused of collecting approximately $33,426 in unemployment payments and using an unspecified amount of donation money to treat themselves to meals at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., vacations and trips to the nail salon.

Monica Cannon-Grant, 41, and her husband, Clark Grant, 38, of Taunton, Massachusetts, who founded the non-profit organization Violence in Boston, were charged in an 18-count indictment with wire fraud, conspiracy, and making false statements to a mortgage lending business, the U.S. attorneys office said in a statement Tuesday.

Cannon-Grant also faces a mail fraud count. She has denied all allegations made against her.

The indictment alleges the couple used the funds to pay for personal expenses including, hotels, car rentals, auto repairs, restaurant meals, nail salons and personal travel, prosecutors said.

Cannon-Grant also allegedly paid herself $2,700-a-week and treated herself to a $450,000 five-bed house in Taunton, Massachusetts, last year.

She is accused of using much of the $1 million raised by her nonprofit Violence in Boston for good causes. Her salary jumped from $25,000 in 2020 to $170,000 in 2021.

Cannon-Grant, once named a Bostonian of the Year by the prestigious Boston Globe newspaper, was arrested at her spacious home last week. She appeared in a federal court on Monday alongside husband.

Judge Judith Dein released Cannon-Grant on her own recognizance, stating that she could continue to work for Violence in Boston, but that she must not be involved in its finances.

Cannon-Grant is the founder and CEO of the organization that was founded in 2017, and Grant is a founding director.

The organization received significant attention at the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020, when the murder of George Floyd by police bolstered the nations racial justice movement.

But the BLM foundation has also faced intense scrutiny over financial transparency in recent months, and leaders admitted that they had not been clear about the movements finances and governance over the years.

BLM co-founder Patrisse Cullors, stepped down as executive director of the Black Lives Matter Global Network last year amid scrutiny of her $3.2 million property empire.

The foundation has since opened up about such matters. It says the fiscal sponsor currently managing its money requires spending be approved by a collective action fund, which is a board made up of representatives from official BLM chapters.

Monica Cannon-Grant is pictured outside a Boston federal courthouse Tuesday where she and her husband were charged with 18 counts of fraud totaling $1m

Cannon-Grant, 41, is also said to have paid herself $2,700-a-week and treated herself to a $450,000 five-bed house in Taunton, Massachusetts, last year

Grant, pictured at a September 2020 BLM rally, is said to have blown grants intended to help vulnerable young men on trips to restaurants and nail salons. She's also accused of fraudulently obtaining $100,000 in pandemic relief, and lying on a mortgage application

Monica Cannon-Grant and her husband Clark Grant are pictured together

After Floyds killing in Minneapolis, the surge of donations saw the BLM foundation go from small, scrappy movement to maturing institution. Other organizations, like Cannon-Grant's Violence and Boston, also saw growth.

Cannon-Grant and her husband are said to have misappropriated grants intended for their charity, including a $6,000 check given to them by Suffolk District Attorney's office in June 2019, intended to be spent on a retreat for young men feared to be at risk of falling into crime.

Instead, Cannon-Grant and Grant treated themselves to meals at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and Shake Shack, and a three-night trip to Maryland that included a $1,200 hotel stay, it is claimed.

Cannon-Grant is also said to have used some of the cash on multiple trips to a Boston nail salon, as well as car rentals, groceries and trips to Walmart.

The $6,000 retreat was supposed 'to give these young men exposure to communities outside of the violence riddled neighborhoods that they navigate daily' and give them exposure to activities focused on community-building and coping techniques,' according to her grant proposal.

Another alleged incident in 2017 saw $3,000 of a $10,000 donation for needy children spent on paying the couple's rent arrears, it is claimed.

Cannon-Grant and her husband also fraudulently applied for $100,000 federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits that they knew they were not eligible to receive because they had other sources of income at the time, it is alleged.

They also lied to a mortgage lender by saying Violence in Boston's assets were their own to help pay for mortgage fees and closing costs, prosecutors said.

Cannon-Grant, 41, and her husband Clarke Grant, 38, were arrested at their home in Taunton, Massachusetts last week. It is unclear if any money from donations provided to Violence in Boston was used to purchase the $450k and five-bedroom property

The couple also lied to a mortgage lender by saying Violence in Boston's assets were their own to help pay for fees and closing costs. Pictured: the interior of the Grants' Taunton home

Cannon Grant, a mother of six, was once given the 'Bostonian of the Year' award by The Boston Globe Magazine and hailed as the citys 'best social justice advocate' by Boston Magazine

The couple maintained exclusive control over organization finances, and did not disclose to other Violence in Boston directors, bookkeepers, or financial auditors that they had used the funds for their own purposes, prosecutors added.

Last Tuesday, the couple was arrested at their $450,000 Taunton residence. It remains unclear if funds given to the non-profit organization were used to buy the five-bedroom home, which was purchased in 2021, at the height of their alleged scamming.

Both were charged in an 18-count indictment with wire fraud, conspiracy, and making false statements to a mortgage lending business, according to prosecutors.

Cannon-Grant also faces a mail fraud count. She claims to have previously filed to the IRS and the state attorney general's charity division that she has not been receiving a salary. However, prosecutors said that in October 2020, Cannon-Grant was starting to pay herself $2,788 per week.

The organization runs a food pantry twice a week. Prior to Canon-Grant's arrival in court, her attorney, Robert Goldstein, said he expected her to be vindicated.

'We are extremely disappointed the government rushed to judgment here,' he said in an email. 'VIB and Monica have been fully cooperating and their production of records remains ongoing. Drawing conclusions from an incomplete factual record does not represent the fair and fully informed process a citizen deserves from its government, especially someone like Monica who has worked tirelessly on behalf of her community.'

Prosecutors did not reveal the total amount of money collected by Violence in Boston that was transferred into the Grants' personal accounts.

Here is Monica Cannon-Grant leaving the Moakley federal courthouse. She did not want to make a comment, and left in a black SUV. Her lead defense attorney Robert Goldstein says he is very disappointed by her arrest and theyve been cooperating fully with investigators. pic.twitter.com/GYjaThkgKV  Jonathan Hall (@JHall7news) March 15, 2022

Clarke Grant was previously charged in October with illegally obtaining an estimated $67,950 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits before claiming that the nonprofit's assets were his own in a mortgage application. He was working in a full-time job at a transportation company at the the time.

His court date on the new charges has not been scheduled.

Canon-Grant, in the meantime, received $33,426 in pandemic funds, the indictment read. She also received thousands of dollars in consulting fees, promoting 'diversity' programs at private companies. One of those payments included a $75,000 grant from a media company in Boston, called the Phantom Gourmet television program.

'Unemployment caught my ass. Asked me to provide documents by June unless I'll have to pay it all back,' Cannon-Grant told her husband through text message on March 26, 2021, after realizing she'd been busted, according to prosecutors.

Cannon-Grant's received thousands of dollars in consulting fees, promoting 'diversity' programs, public speaking forums and public appearances through her Link Tree

Violence in Boston was founded in 2017 with $1,000, according to its website. Donations poured into the non-profit throughout the years, as the group received more than $50,000 just for April 2020 and $53,977 on another months from Boston officials in the wake of George Floyd's May 2020 murder.

'Violence in Boston's mission is to improve the quality of life and life outcomes of individuals from underserved communities by reducing the prevalence of violence and the impact of associated trauma while addressing social injustices through advocacy and direct services,' the organization says on its website.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the nonprofit also distributed food.

Cannon-Grant's activism, including the organization of a rally in the city in 2020 to protest the killing of George Floyd has earned her numerous awards, such as The Boston Globe Magazine's Bostonian of the Year award, and a Boston Celtics Heroes Among Us award, both in 2020.

BLM leader Monica Cannon-Grant (R) speaks to protesters about their movement with the photos of people who have lost their lives, including George Floyd, to police racism across the US at Franklin Park in Boston, Massachusetts on June 2, 2020

The Cummings Foundation, which features prominently on Violence in Boston's website as a major donor for three-year, $100,000 grant last year, is cooperating with authorities and monitoring the situation, foundation Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes said.

'Because Violence in Boston's next grant installment (its second of three payments) is not scheduled to occur until late June, no decision on its potential distribution has yet been made. We will be following the investigation closely,' she said in an e-mail sent to the Boston Globe.

The foundation, established by the founder of the commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties, has distributed one-third of the grant amount, but no decision has been made on whether the next third will be distributed, she said.
There are those who would have us believe that Brexit has made this country a more selfish, inward-looking place. How then, do they explain the extraordinary outpouring of compassion for refugees from the bloody conflict in Ukraine?

On Monday, the first day of the Homes for Ukraine scheme, more than 44,000 people came forward, offering to take in those escaping the horrors of war. Last night it had topped 122,300.

Britain has a proud history of giving sanctuary to the dispossessed and this is just the latest chapter. It proves we are as welcoming as we ever were to those in need, putting the doubters and cynics to shame.

Daily Mail readers, too, are breaking all campaign records. You have helped raise an incredible 7.2million for our Ukraine appeal, vital funds which are already reaching the front line.

At a refugee centre on the Romanian border that has benefited from your donations, aid worker Nicoleta Daneliuc praised readers generosity. Without their help we could not manage, she said.

For your remarkable kindness and humanity, the Mail salutes you all.

Threat to a free Press

Never has the free Press and media been more important than at this pivotal moment in European history.

With Vladimir Putin throwing up a smokescreen of fake news to mask his barbaric war on Ukraine, Western journalists risk life and limb daily to tell the real story. Their heroics remind us that freedom of expression is not a given. It must be cherished and fought for.

Ukrainian police inspect the site of a Russian bombing attack in front of a destroyed apartment building in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday March 15

Even here in Britain the free Press is under threat. The revised Online Safety Bill due to be published on Thursday is designed to make social media firms responsible for tackling illegal content and protecting children from online harms.

But for all its undoubted good intentions, it contains a highly dangerous flaw.

Algorithms used by tech giants to remove harmful material could also block the online output of bona fide news organisations. For example, legitimate stories about terrorism or child abuse could be blocked by default  with crushing effect on press freedom.

Thankfully Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries recognises the problem and says she has every intention of further improving the requirements for platforms not to remove content from recognised media outlets.

This welcome acknowledgement must be followed by detailed proposals to amend the Bill. In an ideal world, legitimate online news outlets would be taken out of it altogether. Failing that, they must be fully protected against unintended censorship.

We simply cant allow algorithms dreamed up in Silicon Valley to dictate what the British public should, and should not, be allowed to know.

After Nottingham University withdrew the offer of an honorary degree from black charity boss Tony Sewell (pictured) after he suggested Britain may not be institutionally racist, the Mail took a look at those who have been honoured by that establishment

Degrees of hypocrisy

After Nottingham University withdrew the offer of an honorary degree from black charity boss Tony Sewell after he suggested Britain may not be institutionally racist, the Mail took a look at those who have been honoured by that establishment.

Glowing examples include various bigwigs from the freedom-loving Chinese Communist Party and a former Malaysian prime minister jailed for embezzling millions from the state.

By comparison Mr Sewell, whose principal mission is to help black youngsters into university, is a saint. Yet his eminently sensible views on race and education are deemed too controversial to qualify him for an honorary degree.

Universities are meant to be cockpits of ideas and debate. Sadly, many seem to have lost their way. As this travesty shows, they have caved in to cancel culture and the monochrome orthodoxy of the illiberal Left.
Scott Morrison has copped an intense grilling about his record on women's issues during a fiery pre-election interview.

The Prime Minister was confronted about his attempts at changing the culture towards women in parliament during an appearance on Perth radio show Mix94.5 on Wednesday morning.

Co-host Kymba Cahill accused Mr Morrison of 'missing the mark' with his response to Canberra's sexual assault crisis last year.

'When it comes to women's issues you've consistently missed the mark,' Cahill told the Prime Minister.

'Evidently you need to see women through the prism of your wife and your daughters - and in 2022 there's no excuse for that level of ignorance.'

Co-host Kymba Cahill accused Mr Morrison of 'missing the mark' with his response to Canberra's sexual assault crisis last year

The presenter was referring to Mr Morrison's comment last year that he understood the crisis better after his wife Jenny told him: 'What would you want to happen if it were our girls?'

'What needs to happen for you to recognise the inequality and bias women face?' Cahill asked.

'I don't share your view about that and I don't think that's how I see those issues. I see them individually,' Mr Morrison fired back, before the radio host cut him off.

'But you're the Prime Minister, you have people come to you every day because you're not on the ground and they tell you what's happening and you don't institute change.'

Mr Morrison replied that he had a strong record on equality in the workplace.

'I don't share your view about that and I don't think thats how I see those issues. I see them individually,' Mr Morrison fired back

'I have to disagree. We have got more women in work than we've ever seen, the lowest gender pay gap ever and I have more women in my cabinet than any other prime minister in Australia's history,' he said.

'On the women's domestic violence package, we've put more than a billion dollars into that. That's more than any federal government ever.

'When you look at the actual actions and my record I think that runs very contrary to what you've just put to me.'

He said to look at the 'reality' of his record and not listen to the 'critics', which again triggered Cahill.

'When you look at the reality, our government has delivered economically and socially like no other government before us,' the PM said.

'Except when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace. When they came to you with a plan and you gave them less than a week to turn it around,' the Mix host responded.

'Evidently you need to see women through the prism of your wife and your daughters - and in 2022 there's no excuse for that level of ignorance,' Cahill told the PM

Mr Morrison then again repeated and defended his policies, before he was asked a question about how his record on climate change will stack up in 50 years.

'We have reduced emissions more than most countries, but at the same time we need to work with other countries whose emissions are still rising,' the PM said.

'The planet doesn't care where the emissions come from, the real challenge is not only to get it right in Australia, which we are, but to get it right in most countries.'

The Mix hosts continued to rip into Mr Morrison after he left, with one saying they were sick of 'getting the same crap'.

'You listening right now, if it's just as frustrating to you hearing those same answers over and over again that don't go anywhere, it's just as frustrating coming up with questions to ask them without getting the same crap,' co-host Matt said.

'I don't have anything to add,' Cahill replied.
Queenslanders will be offered a $3000 subsidy if they buy an electric vehicle with a purchase price of less than $58,000 over the next three years.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the policy, which will cost the government $15 million a year, on Wednesday morning.

'This will help Queenslanders waiting for electric vehicles to become more accessible and affordable so they can make the switch,' she said in a statement.

'This announcement is a key part of our Zero Emission Vehicle Strategy: the goal is to reduce our emissions and reduce the impact of climate change.'

The $58,000 cap on the purchase price means the subsidy will only be available for buyers of six models: Hyundai's Ioniq and Kona model, Nissan's Leaf, MG's ZS Essence and BYD's new Atto models.

Queensland will commit $10 million to jointly fund charging stations with councils and companies.

Ms Palaszczuk said the government would also commit $10 million to jointly funding charging stations with local governments and companies.

The Sunshine State has long had one of the stingiest EV purchase incentives of any state or territory, offering buyers registration and stamp duty savings of about $350 over five years.

NSW, South Australia and Victoria already offer $3000 rebates for EV purchases.

Advocacy group Solar Citizens welcomed the subsidy because it would slash emissions and reduce the cost of living amid high fuel prices.

'The $3000 rebate is a practical step to reduce the cost of electric vehicles and puts Queensland on the same page as states like NSW and South Australia that are encouraging the uptake of cleaner cars,' strategist Stephanie Gray said.

However, she said the high purchase prices of many EV models remained a barrier for many people, so more government support and incentives were needed.

She said incentives for auto makers to build EVs locally and commitments to electric public transport would help.

'There's plenty more that both states and the federal government can do to slash the upfront cost of cleaner electric cars so that Australians can cash in on the fuel savings,' Ms Gray said.

A recent Australia Institute poll of 2600 Australians showed 71 per cent support of subsidies for EV purchases, while 74 per cent said the government should pay for a network of charging stations.

The Climate of the Nation poll found 64 per cent of respondents want all new cars sold in Australia to be required to be zero emissions by 2035.
The US Senate has declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and has called for him to be investigated.

A unanimous vote was passed late Tuesday seeking investigations into Putin and his regime over war crimes during the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The vote comes as Putin's invasion enters its 21st day and an estimated three million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict.

And Russian forces have started shelling the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol - and 500 hostages are being held in a hospital as human shields.

The bombardment came hours after an estimated 20,000 civilians arrived in Zaporizhzhia, the first port of call for those fleeing Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor - supposedly safe passages which allow civilians to leave Ukraine.

The bipartisan measure from Sen. Lindsey Graham (pictured), R-S.C., says the Senate strongly condemns the 'violence, war crimes. crimes against humanity' being carried out Russian military forces under Putin's direction

Russian President Vladimir Putin stands while waiting for Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko prior to their talks in Moscow, on March 11

Aftermath of shelling of a residential building by the Russian troops in Svyatoshyn district of Kyiv, capital of Ukraine yesterday

Russia rained shells on areas around Kyiv and within the city, where a 12-story apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel early on Wednesday

Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew amid warnings to brace for a 36-hour bombardment at the hands of Russian forces

Vladimir Putin's troops launched rocket strikes on the city near overnight, hitting a railway station, though there were no reports of casualties, the regional governor Oleksander Vasylyovych said in an announcement on Facebook.

Russian forces in Mariupol have rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and are refusing to let them leave, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Aid agencies have warned Mariupol is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, since heavy bombardment has left some 400,000 inhabitants with no running water or heating, and food running short.

And Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew amid warnings to brace for a 36-hour bombardment at the hands of Russian forces.

The bipartisan measure from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the Senate strongly condemns the 'violence, war crimes. crimes against humanity' being carried out Russian military forces under Putin's direction.

It encourages international criminal courts to investigate Putin, his security council and military leaders for possible war crimes.

'These atrocities deserve to be investigated for war crimes,' said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Aftermath of Russian shelling of a 12-storey residential building in Svyatoshyn district of Kyiv early on Wednesday, hours after the Ukrainian capital was placed under a 36-hour curfew

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, joined from left by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after a Republican strategy meeting at the Capitol in Washington

The measure was approved swiftly and without dissent as lawmakers in Congress continue to muscle a bipartisan show of force against the Russian war in Ukraine. First introduced almost two weeks ago, the Senate resolution would not carry the force of law, but is another example of Congress providing the Biden administration political support to take a tough line against Putin's aggression.

Last week, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris embraced calls for an international war crimes investigation of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, citing the 'atrocities' of bombing civilians, including a maternity hospital.

Speaking alongside Polish President Andrzej Duda at a press conference in Warsaw, Harris stopped short of directly accusing Russia of having committed war crimes.

'Absolutely there should be an investigation, and we should all be watching,' said Harris, noting that the United Nations has already started a process to review allegations.

The International Criminal Court had earlier announced it has launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes and other violations over the war in Ukraine.

The resolution approved by the Senate has been embraced by senators from both parties, Republicans and Democrats.

It says the Senate condemns Putin, the Russian Federation, the Russian Security Council, members of the Russian military and others of committing flagrant acts of aggression and other atrocities that rise to the level of war crimes.

The resolution calls for the U.S. and others to seek investigations of Putin and his regime at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice for potential war crimes.
Peter Dutton has blasted Vladimir Putin as 'paranoid, cynical and ruthless' after the Russian President's invasion of Ukraine.

As Russian troops struggle to make progress due to fierce Ukrainian resistance, the Defence Minister said Putin's war was a 'miscalculation' and may lead to his demise after 22 years in charge of the world's largest country.

Mr Dutton also launched a personal attack on the Russian leader who used to be a spy for the Russian secret service - the KGB - in Dresden, Germany and then at home.

Peter Dutton has blasted Vladimir Putin as 'paranoid, cynical and ruthless' after the Russian President's invasion of Ukraine

Peter Dutton is pictured next to PM Scott Morrison in Brisbane on Thursday

'He's never accepted the outcome of the Cold War. Indeed, he's best understood as an unreconstructed creature of the sword and shield of the Soviet Union, the KGB,' Mr Dutton said in a speech at the United States Studies Centre in Sydney on Wednesday.

'From the Dresden desk to the Kremlin, he's been a paranoid and utterly ruthless operator. His actions should come as no surprise.

It's becoming clear that Putin's Ukrainian gamble has been a miscalculation. It may very well destroy the man himself Peter Dutton

'He harbours a deep and enduring resentment toward the West and the United States in particular.

'And he wants more than anything to restore an imperial Russian empire with himself in absolute control. That much is totally clear.

'A successful, democratic, Europe-leaning Ukraine has no place in his utterly warped and cynical world view.

'And so he has set out to destroy it. It's becoming clear that Putin's Ukrainian gamble has been a miscalculation. It may very well destroy the man himself.'

Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24 after building up troops since November.

Despite having a far superior and bigger military force, his troops have struggled to take large cities due to Ukrainian resistance backed by Western equipment.

Kharkiv: Firefighters arrived in force at the residential building in the bombed city center on Monday

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy head of office of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said around 20,000 people have so far managed to leave the city of Mariupol

Mr Dutton's speech came as around 20,000 Ukrainians fled the besieged city of Mariupol on Tuesday along a humanitarian corridor.

After days of relentless Russian shelling, a mass exodus of civilians in at least 4,000 cars left the seaport via the designated route, which runs west for more than 160 miles to the Ukraine-held city of Zaporizhzhia.

But while families rushed to escape in their droves, there were desperate scenes in Mariupol's hospitals, which continue to be under attack from Putin's forces.

In the city's hospital number three, a heartbreaking picture showed tiny premature children who had been left without parents.

Meanwhile, the city governor said patients and staff were being held 'like hostages' at the city's hospital number two, also known as the intensive care hospital.

'It's impossible to get out of the hospital,' Pavlo Kyrylenko - head of the Ukrainian military administration in the Donetsk region - wrote in a Telegram post, reported by ITV.

Civilians, evacuating from Mariupol due to increased Russian attacks over region, are seen in a building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Tuesday

Civilians, evacuating from Mariupol due to increased Russian attacks over region, are placed at the circus building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Tuesday

But for some desperate civilians fleeing Mariupol, they travelled via a 'humanitarian corridor' set up by the Russian military to the Rostov region in Russia. It is unknown how many Ukrainians took this particular route. Pictured: A Russian soldier with people evacuated from Mariupol on a bus on the Ukraine-Russia border at the border crossing point Veselo-Voznesenka in the Rostov region, Russia, on Tuesday

He added: 'They're shooting hard, we sit in the basement. Cars can't drive to the hospital for two days already. High-rise buildings are burning around. Russians drove 400 people from neighbouring houses into our hospital. We can't get out.'

Some desperate civilians who did successfully flee Mariupol remarkably ended up in Russia - after travelling east via the 'humanitarian corridor', set up by the Kremlin, to the Rostov region. It is unknown how many Ukrainians took this particular route instead.

Russia has announced the establishment of safe corridors to allow civilians to leave Ukraine, but there have appeared to be few takers. Among those fleeing Mariupol on buses travelling to the Rostov region in Russia on Tuesday were mainly elderly people.

Evacuation routes established by Moscow have led mostly to Russia and its ally Belarus, drawing withering criticism from Ukraine and the West. And Russia has continued to pound the cities with rockets even after the announcement of corridors.

A chief Ukrainian official said around 20,000 people have so far managed to flee Mariupol via the humanitarian corridor, and 570 of the 4,000 vehicles that left the city have reached Zaporizhzhia while others will spend the night in various towns along the way.

Mariupol has been besieged by Russian troops for more than 10 days, facing heavy shelling that has killed more than 2,300 people and left residents struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.
The only firm to frack for shale gas in Britain could be offered a year-long reprieve for two of its wells.

Cuadrilla was told by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) last month to permanently seal the wells drilled near Blackpool by June 30.

But yesterday the regulator wrote to Cuadrilla asking them to confirm if they want an extension.

It is the second time the OGA has approached the energy company regarding an extension, but Cuadrilla has so far declined  urging the Government to reverse the order instead.

A moratorium on fracking  where liquid is pumped underground to fracture shale rock  was announced in 2019, but there have been calls for a U-turn amid soaring energy prices and the war in Ukraine.

Formed in the UK in 2007, Cuadrilla is a privately owned British exploration and production company focused on discovering and recovering natural resources, primarily natural gas, from shale rock

The Cuadrilla fracking site at Preston New Road in Blackpool, Lancashire

A spokesman for the regulator said last night: The OGA has informed Cuadrilla that it would consider a request to extend the Plug and Abandon notice on the Preston New Road wells, and the parties are now considering the objectives of a one year extension and the arrangements for eventual abandonment.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a process in which liquid is pumped deep underground at high pressure to fracture shale rock and release gas or oil trapped within it.

It has been mired in controversy since 2011 after it caused two minor earthquakes in Lancashire, prompting a temporary ban on fracking in the UK.

That was later lifted, but in 2019 the Government announced a moratorium on shale gas extraction - a few months after a tremor measuring 2.9 on the Richter scale was recorded at the Preston New Road site.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng last week said he agreed with Boris Johnson that it didnt necessarily make any sense to concrete over the wells in Lancashire as planned.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng last week said he agreed with Boris Johnson that it didnt necessarily make any sense to concrete over the wells in Lancashire as planned

And yesterday Tory MP Lee Anderson urged the Government to clarify whether Cuadrilla still needs to carry out the abandonment process of their wells.

Asking an urgent question in the Commons, Mr Anderson said: This House was assured last week that both the Business Department and Number 10 agree that these wells should not be filled.

However, Government rhetoric is not being matched by action on the ground, and Cuadrilla, the company that owns the wells have spent the last six days trying to get hold of anyone at BEIS (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) or the Oil and Gas Authority to receive confirmation that they no longer need to carry out this abandonment process.

But they are being ignored. Officials are dragging their heels and now with just days to go, Cuadrilla are still legally obliged to plug the wells by June 30 and the OGA keeps confirming this.

Business Minister Greg Hands said the Government has always been clear that the development of shale gas in the UK must be safe and cause minimal disruption and damage to those living and working nearby sites.
NYPD cops found a knifeman guarding a badly-beaten man lured to an abduction by a honeytrap while two other kidnappers went to meet the victim's brother to collect a $100,000 ransom, it was revealed.

Javier Vargas, 24, was arrested after cops discovered the unnamed abduction victim lying under a blanket in a van in Queens on February 7, after he'd endured 24 hours of horrific torture at the hands of the kidnap gang.

He'd been lured to an apartment in the Bronx by Valerie Rosario after being offered a hookup, it is alleged, only for a gang of abductors to kidnap him then FaceTime the victim's brother while beating him.

Vargas was nabbed while his two accomplices, who have not been named, took their victim's Honda to go and collect the cash from his stricken brother, the New York Post reported.

He'd been moved to Queens in his vehicle after several hours of torture in the Bronx. NYPD officials haven't said whether they've managed to track down Vargas's other two accomplices.

The hookup occurred at 1am on February 7 but within minutes of her 'date' arriving, the man was pistol whipped, bound and gagged by three other men

The victim was found close to death with tape over his mouth and nose 24 hours after his ordeal began, it was revealed.

The unidentified victim was discovered by cops dumped in the back of a van in Queens 24 hours after being lured to the Bronx, allegedly by Valerie Rosario, 22, with the promise of a hook-up.

His ordeal began on February 7, and only ended 24 hours later when cops found him shivering under a blanket that had been dumped inside the back of a van, according to new details obtained by the New York Post.

Inside the van was one of the victim's alleged kidnappers, 24 year-old Javier Vargas, who was armed with a knife, police sources said.

Throughout the night, the man was allegedly subjected to barbaric torture He was placed in a bathtub before being stripped, burned and stabbed while having a flammable liquid thrown over him

The victim was first lured to this Bronx apartment block under the false premise of a hookup

Rosarios has been charged with kidnapping and attempted murder

Bronx kidnappers nearly made good on their word to kill their victim after luring him to an apartment with the promise of sex only to cut, burn and nearly suffocate the man to death.

'Give us $100,000 or we will kill him,' the abductors told the victim's horrified brother over Facetime as they flashed a knife and proceeded to cut their captive.

Valerie Rosario, 22, the accused honeytrap in the plot, was indicted on Tuesday on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, attempted robbery and other charges.

Rosario used her seductive photos on Instagram to lure the 24-year-old victim to an apartment in the Marble Hill section of the Bronx where he was pistol-whipped, stripped naked, put in a bathtub, doused in flammable liquid then set on fire, according to the New York Post.

They then called his brother and streamed their torture and abduction while demanding their ransom.

Rosario is said to live at this Lower East Side residence together with her mother and brother

Two of the kidnappers took the victims car to a separate Bronx location to meet the brother for the money drop.

Police caught another accused kidnapper, Javier Vargas, 24, in the back of a van in Queens holding a knife to his unconscious prisoner who was wrapped in a moving blanket with duct tape over his mouth, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's criminal complaint. The victim was barely breathing, the Post reported.

Rosario allegedly worked with at least three other accomplices. The victim was later found in the back of a van in Queens

Suspect, Michael Candelario, 24, was also charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery and attempted assault, according to court records, according to court records, but his role in the brutal plot is not outlined in the criminal complaint.

Rosario's lawyer said she didn't do it.

'She denies all the charges that have been leveled against her and we're looking forward to address this in a court of law," her lawyer Raymond Loving told DailyMail.com

Rosario, who lives on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, allegedly set up the honeytrap scheme on Instagram and convinced the 'complete stranger' to come to an address in Marble Hill in The Bronx at 1am on February 7.

According to the New York Post, Valerie Rosario, 22, is alleged to have deliberately lured the unsuspecting 24-year-old man over to her apartment for the sadistic plot to be carried out with a group of others.

She allegedly picked out the victim after noticing that he would often flash money on his own personal Instagram account, and suggested they hook-up.

But it quickly turned into the date from hell as the man was tied up and gagged while his kidnappers forced him to call his brother to pony up $100,000 in ransom money to secure his release, Manhattan prosecutors allege.
Parents may be forced to teach their children at home because soaring fuel prices mean they can't afford to drive them to school, an MP has warned.

Families saw the average price of petrol at forecourts hit a record 163.5p per litre this week, up from 148.0p just a month ago - while diesel was at 173.4p, up from 151.6p a month ago.

This means the cost of filling up a family car has now surpassed 90 for the first time, according to motoring experts the RAC.

Meanwhile, pressure is growing for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to address the issue after it was calculated that the Treasury stands to receive a 2.9billion tax windfall as a result.

Prices of petrol and diesel have spiked in recent weeks but the wholesale cost has fallen this week, prompting hopes that prices at the pump could soon drop.

Experts said falling wholesale costs are failing to impact pump prices - the data for which is provided by Experian Catalist - after oil prices dropped last week following a surge due to supply fears amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is facing increasing calls to address the fuel crisis after analysis by the RAC revealed the Treasury is set to receive a 2.9billion windfall as a result of price increases

Now, Conservative MP Robert Halfon, who is chair of the education select committee, has warned that parents may soon not be able to afford to drive their children to school.

According to the Sun, the Conservative MP said: 'I have had constituents who have told me they have had to sleep in car parks overnight because they cannot afford to drive home.

'A mother has said to me she is thinking about home educating her child because of the cost of driving to school.

'It is the biggest cost for millions of people.'

Rishi Sunak is under growing pressure from Tory MPs to announce help for motorists hit by 'eye-watering' fuel prices when he delivers his Spring Statement next week.

Analysis for the Times newspaper revealed the Government is set to make up to 2.9billion as a tax windfall due to the fuel crisis.

The analysis, by the RAC, looked at the history of fuel prices since 2019 and calculated that the Treasury is set to benefit from the rising cost of fuel prices over the course of the last year.

Despite this, Mr Sunak has so far resisted calls to cut fuel VAT despite many other countries in Europe making concessions to mitigate the sharp increase in price.

The Chancellor will set out his plans for the UK economy on Wednesday March 23 and Conservative backbenchers want him to bring forward measures to counter the surging cost of filling up.

Tory MPs today urged Mr Sunak to cut fuel duty, increase business mileage rates from 45p to 60p and to give a 15 per cent discount to 'vital fuel users' like haulage firms.

Tory MP Jake Berry, the chairman of the Northern Research Group of Conservative backbenchers, challenged Mr Sunak on the cost of fuel during Treasury questions in the House of Commons yesterday morning.

Mr Berry said: 'With the cost of fuel now being an eye-watering 2 a litre in some areas, it has led to a huge VAT windfall for the Treasury.

'When the Chancellor thinks about his Spring Statement coming up will he not only look at cutting fuel duty but also look at mileage recovery rates.

'They have been at 45 pence per mile for over a decade. Now is the time to put them up to 60 at least.'

Mr Sunak said: 'I am grateful to my honourable friend for his suggestions. Of course, I will bear them in mind.

'He is right about the rise of the cost of fuel at the pumps although I am pleased to see that over the last few days the price Brent (crude oil) has fallen by about 25 per cent, just illustrating the volatility of the situation we are currently experiencing.'

Mileage Allowance Payments are what companies pay employees for using their own vehicles for business journeys.

Car and van drivers can currently be paid 45 pence per business mile for the first 10,000 miles they travel.

Fuel duty is currently set at just under 58 pence per litre for petrol and diesel. Standard rate VAT of 20 per cent is also applied to most fuel.

Tory MP Giles Watling told Mr Sunak: 'With the cost of fuel reaching record levels, we face a cost of living rise across the board, everything we consume has to be delivered and collected and that can be a long way.

'France is offering rebates, Germany a fixed price reduction. Has my right honourable friend considered special reductions, say 15 per cent, for vital fuel users such as haulage companies?'

Mr Sunak replied: 'My honourable friend is right to point out the importance of fuel as a cost both to business and to households.

'That is why I am proud that we have delivered the eleventh in a row freeze in fuel duty which has delivered huge savings to households and businesses over the past several years.'

Speaking to the Times, Simon Williams, fuel spokesman for the RAC, said it seemed 'wrong' that the Treasury gain nearly 3 billion extra in VAT this year.

He added: 'We strongly urge the chancellor to take action...to help drivers and businesses, whether that's purely by cutting fuel duty as some countries have already done or by reducing VAT.'
Thousands of American soldiers trained to use surface-to-air missile systems, High Mobility Artillery Rockets and unmanned aircraft are bound for Australia as tensions grow with China.

The rotational US Marine force of about 2200 servicemen and women will be based in the Northern Territory during the upcoming dry season from September.

It is the 11th deployment to the Top End and for the first time will include 250 US Army personnel, the Australian Defence Force announced.

The contingent is part of an ongoing US initiative in the Indo-Pacific region to prepare for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan in coming years.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton in September warned conflict with China 'shouldn't be discounted' and on Wednesday told the US Studies Centre Beijing may look to annex Taiwan while the world is preoccupied with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In September, Peter Dutton warned that the risk of fighting with China 'shouldn't be discounted' and was 'up to the Chinese'

The marine deployment will complement that Enhanced Air Co-operation program between the Royal Australian Air Force and United States Air Force.

About 1000 Marines have already landed in Darwin.

They will train with the ADF to ensure they are able to respond to crises in the region.

That could include humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, evacuation missions, and reinforcing US embassies or military operations.

Darwin's location just south of more than a dozen Asian countries and some of the world's busiest shipping lanes makes it a strategic stepping-off point.

The training will include live-fire military exercises to improve cohesion between Australian and US forces and those of other regional allies.

Commander of the ADF's northern force Colonel Marcus Constable said the US alliance was Australia's most important defence relationship and central to the nation's security plan.

Australia will acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines and a host of other advanced military technology from the UK and US after singing an historic deal aimed at countering China's growing power

'The (Marine rotational force) is a key way we increase regional co-operation with partners in the Indo-Pacific,' he said.

'Together we conduct a comprehensive range of training activities including humanitarian assistance, security operations and high-end live fire exercises.'

Colonel Christopher Steele, the US Marine Corps commander in Darwin, said the Marines from southern California were excited to contribute to regional security.

The Marines are expected to complete the rotation in October.

The announcement comes as Mr Dutton warned 'credible military force' would be used, if necessary, to deter the spread of authoritarianism in the Indo-Pacific.

In an address to the United States Studies Centre, Mr Dutton warned of 'ominous signs' stemming from a Chinese-Russian alliance, saying Australia and the US would step up to shape the Indo-Pacific around mutual interests.

'Australia and the United States are in lock-step in our commitment to regional stability,' he told the forum.

Australia admits war with China IS possible over Taiwan In September, Australia's defence minister admitted that war with China over Taiwan is a possibility and warned that his country needs to start preparing - just a day after signing an historic defence pact with the UK and US. Peter Dutton, speaking from Washington where he was meeting with US officials, insisted that the new alliance - which will give Australia at least eight nuclear submarines and other advanced military technology - was about securing 'peace' in the region but the odds of a conflict with China 'shouldn't be discounted'. China has transformed several uninhabited islands in the South China Sea into military bases and has begun warning ships away from them, including threatening rival naval vessels China has been rapidly expanding its military in recent years and has become increasingly bullish with its neighbours, leading to fears that it could start trying to seize territory 'The Chinese.. are very clear of their intent with regard to Taiwan [and] the United States has been very clear of their intention toward Taiwan,' he said. 'Nobody wants to see conflict but that really is a question for the Chinese.' President Xi Jinping has vowed to 'reunify' Taiwan with China in the near future, and in 2019 said he will use force if necessary. Meanwhile Joe Biden recently vowed to defend the island if it is attacked - though officials later said he 'misspoke' and that America's long-standing policy of 'strategic ambiguity' remains in place. Mr Dutton issued the grim warning as Beijing continues to fume over the submarine pact - dubbed AUKUS - with state newspapers penning furious columns while unnamed military sources warned the deployment of nuclear-powered subs could make Australia the target of a nuclear strike. Advertisement

The defence minister targeted China directly, saying the Communist Party chiefs may seek to use the cover of the conflict in Ukraine as 'a useful distraction and an opportunity to pursue their own acts of aggression and coercion.'

'This threat emanates chiefly from Beijing, which has its own openly stated territorial ambitions, and which recently entered a 'no-limits' cooperative partnership with the Kremlin,' Mr Dutton said.

To counter Beijing's growing aggression in the region the US, Australia and the UK announced the AUKUS pact which will see Canberra secure nuclear-powered submarines in the coming decades.

The move outraged the communist superpower with state-controlled media outlets warning the move could see Australia become the target of nuclear strikes.

Labor defence spokesman Brendan O'Connor told the USSC the ALP would seek to maintain strategic ambiguity over Taiwan - which China regards as its territory and not an independent nation.

It follows comments from the defence minister, who said it would be 'inconceivable' Australia would not back US troops in a military conflict over the island.

The United States will send 1,200 Marines to Australia in coming weeks amid increasing tensions between Western nations and China over COVID0-19. A Marine is pictured stepping off a flight to join the Marine Rotational Force - Darwin in April 2018

'This is because declaring intended military action in response to hypothetical situations only serves to tilt the strategic calculation in favour of those who seek to instigate conflict,' Mr O'Connor said.

But Labor leader Anthony Albanese said China needed to be called out for stance on Ukraine, after Beijing offered Russia economic lifelines that will enable it to withstand Western sanctions.

'China has a responsibility to call out Russia's behaviour and its aggression,' Mr Albanese said.

'It's outrageous. It's against international law and it should be called out by all countries, including China, which has a particular responsibility due to its closeness to Russia and also because it's a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.'

Mr Dutton further warned of the possibility Australia would be targeted by escalating cyber-attacks, following its support of Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion.

'The Kremlin has long sought to weaponise the internet as a means of conducting a form of asymmetric warfare in the post-Soviet era,' he said.

Mr Dutton also labelled Russia's invasion an 'unprecedented disaster' that could destroy President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president would be evaluating the costs and outcomes of the conflict in Ukraine to determine his next steps in the fight, he added.

A united West - in defiance of the response Mr Putin was expecting following the invasion - was the only thing standing between 'liberty and the abyss', Mr Dutton said.

'Today, it is the Ukrainian people fighting to defend their freedoms against extinction,' he added.

'If President Putin succeeds, all free nations will face a darker tomorrow.'

It comes as the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning President Putin as a war criminal.

Marine Rotational Force-Darwin is a US Force Posture Initiative designed to deepen inter-operability between the Australian Defence Force and US military. Members of the seventh rotation deployed in 2018 are pictured

The US has placed a fresh round of sanctions on Russian military leaders and suspected human rights abusers, as well as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

US President Joe Biden is also planning to visit European NATO allies for the first time since the invasion began.

But as Russian troops edge closer to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was unlikely the country would be joining the NATO military alliance.

Mr Putin has said steps toward integrating a Russian neighbour into NATO were the main trigger for the ongoing invasion.

'We have heard for many years about the open doors, but we also heard that we can't enter those doors,' Mr Zelensky said.

'This is the truth, and we have simply to accept it as it is.'

Mr Zelensky will address the US Congress on Wednesday (AEST), likely in a bid for more help.

The pact does not make the design of Australia's new submarines clear, but they will be based on previous US and UK designs. Pictured above is a cross-section of Britain's Astute-class nuclear attack subs, which is likely to mirror the new vessels
Sister Cristina Evelina Gal poses with children from multicultural backgrounds in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province in this undated photo. Courtesty of Sister Cristina Evelina Gal



By Lee Hyo-jin



Romanian nun, Sister Cristina Evelina Gal, has been awarded with Korean citizenship after her 15 years of dedication to supporting immigrants and refugees in the country.



"I feel so grateful. I was very surprised to hear that I was selected as the awardee. I didn't expect to be rewarded for fulfilling my duty, helping those in need," the 46-year-old nun said during a phone interview with The Korea Times.



Sister Gal was among three foreign religious activists selected by the Ministry of Justice earlier in February as "special contributors," in recognition for their years-long contributions to Korean society.



While it is mandatory for naturalized Korean citizens to renounce their existing citizenship, the awardees are granted the privilege of dual citizenship.



When Sister Gal was dispatched to Korea in 2007 by the Missionary Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit, she didn't speak any Korean nor was familiar with the culture, which made her feel isolated.



"The only things I could say in Korean were 'hello' and 'thank you.' Since I'm a foreigner, people preferred to consult with Korean nuns," she said.



After learning Korean, she served at a shelter for migrants in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province for over a year and then moved to Anyang shelter in the province, where she helped migrant workers, marriage immigrants and their children for over eight years.



She took care of the children who were left to fend for themselves, supported marriage migrants who were suffering from domestic violence and helped foreign workers facing unfair treatment.



"Receiving delayed payments is one of the most frequently experienced hardships among migrant workers who do not speak Korean fluently," said Sister Gal. "They also face difficulties in visiting hospitals not only because of this language barrier, but also due to a lack of money."



She still remembers a Cambodian migrant worker who used to work on a farm in Anyang, who was forced to work despite being seriously ill.



"She was very sick when she came to us, and was diagnosed with an acute disease requiring dialysis. It was so sad that she had felt unable to come forward and receive more timely treatment," recalled Sister Gal.



The worker was able to return to her home country through a fundraising campaign, but Sister Gal hasn't heard from her ever since.



On Christmas in 2017, Sister Gal moved to the Diocese of Jeju island in the southern part of the country, where she offered concrete help for asylum seekers from Yemen the following year.



In 2018, about 500 Yemenis who fled from a civil war in their home country arrived on Jeju seeking refugee status, but were met by a fierce public backlash.



Sister Gal arranged temporary housing for them, while helping them go through screenings in cooperation with the immigration authorities.



"The hostile sentiment was discouraging for the Yemenis who sought to begin a new life here. We should keep in mind that every one of us can become a refugee at any point in our lives..."



She also expressed hopes that Afghan children in Ulsan, who are currently unable to attend public school due to protests from some Korean parents, would be accepted immediately. She believes that cultural and language differences should not be a concern for the young children who are more open to new environments.



"In 2018, about 10 Yemeni children were able to study with Korean children. By hanging out with their peers, they were able to easily adapt to school life, and the progress they showed in Korean language development was amazing," she said.


Anthony Albanese has slammed 'disrespectful' reports claiming Labor senator Kimberley Kitching was under stress from being snubbed by ALP 'mean girls' before she suffered a fatal heart attack last week.

The federal Labor leader gave terse one-word answers when questioned about those reports by Ally Langdon on the Today show on Wednesday, as she asked whether the ALP has a culture problem.

Mr Albanese later said it was 'disrespectful' for senators Kristina Keneally, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher - named by The Australian as those hostile toward Senator Kitching - to be branded as 'mean girls'.

'It's astonishing in 2022 I get a question using the term "mean girls",' he told a press conference in Brisbane.

'I find that extraordinarily disrespectful to describe strong, articulate, principled women.'

Labor leader Anthony Albanese at a press conference in Brisbane on Wednesday. He said it was disrespectful for senators Kristina Keneally, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher to be branded as 'mean girls' in a report about late senator Kimberley Kitching by The Australian

He said senior male politicians would not be described in the same way and the term was a 'throwback from decades ago'.

Langdon had earlier in the day left the Opposition leader near speechless as she asked him to respond to the reports about the hostility Sen. Kitching faced from her three Labor colleagues in the Upper House.

'Is there a cultural problem with senior women within the Labor Party?' Langdon asked.

Mr Albanese replied simply 'no' - prompting Langdon to ask him again - before the Labor leader paused for several seconds.

'No - I'm very proud of the fact I lead a team that has 50 per cent female and male contribution in my shadow cabinet,' he said.

'I'm proud of all the people in the leadership team of the Labor party.'

A Nine spokesman declined to respond to Mr Albanese's comments when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.

The report on Wednesday claimed Ms Kitching was accused of leaking to the Liberals, benched from the party's tactics committee and ostracised by the senior leadership team.

Some details were attributed to an interview with the senator last month.

Mr Albanese said he respected Senator Kitching and appointed her as an assistant shadow minister when he became opposition leader.

'Out of respect for Kimberley, I think the idea that people go into who might have had a disagreement here or there is totally unbecoming,' he told Langdon.

Pictured left to right: Labor senators Katy Gallagher, Kristina Keneally and Penny Wong. Late Labor senator Kimberley Kitching felt ostracised by the three women, a new report has claimed

Ally Langdon Wednesday challenged the Labor leader on Wednesday, asking him if the party has a cultural problem after a report claimed senior female MPs ostracised late senator Kimberley Kitching before her death

'I'm going to pay respect to Kimberley Kitching by treating her with the respect that she deserves.

'She made a contribution for too short a time to the Labor party and to the Labor cause. Her family and friends are really hurting today.'

Senator Gallagher told the ABC 'many' of the assertions in the article were incorrect but refused to discuss the specifics.

Senator Kitching is pictured with Labor Senator Kristina Keneally. Ms Kitching was reportedly summoned to a meeting with the senior senator over her support for then-Liberal Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in the wake of the Brittany Higgins allegations

'I just don't think it's respectful for us to enter into commentary or disagreement of (the article) at this point in time,' she said.

'I don't think it's right.'

Senator Kitching, 52, died of a suspected heart attack on March 10.

Her close friend and former Labor leader Bill Shorten later said the Victorian senator had been under stress due to internal party politics and a pre-selection battle.
A sailor in the US Navy is alleged to have shot dead his wife's lover after he caught the two of them having sex in the couple's marital bed at their home in Virginia.

Tyler Lamar Jenkins, 26, was charged with second-degree murder in Friday's fatal shooting of Timothy Paul Talley III, 28 in Virginia Beach. His wife, who has not been named, was left unharmed.

She told police that she 'feared for her life' when Jenkins came into the bedroom where she was 'engaged in a sexual act' with her lover, who was an aviation machinist's mate in the Navy.

It led to her husband firing at Talley almost immediately, court documents as seen by the Virginian-Pilot state.

Tyler Lamar Jenkins, 26, was charged with second-degree murder after shooting Timothy Paul Talley III, 28, in Virginia Beach on Friday night

Timothy Paul Talley III, 28, was shot three times having been caught in bed with Jenkins' wife

The Virginia Beach homes where the Friday night shooting took place is pictured

Talley, who is originally from California was hit three times in the 'domestic related shooting death' just before 10pm, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jenkins was taken into custody at his home in the 4800 block of Crystalline Place in Virginia Beach, when police showed up having been summoned by his wife.

'What am I doing wrong?' Jenkins is said to have asked as police led him away, explaining that someone had been having sex with his wife in his house.

Jenkins admitted to the shooting with police finding the gun that he used, at the home.

Investigators have not revealed an official motive for shooting, nor is it clear whether the two men knew one another. It is unclear if Jenkins' wife is also in the Navy.

Jenkins had been serving in the Navy since 2014. He was arraigned on Monday and is being held without bond and is set to appear in court next on May 12.

Talley is pictured on the deck of an aircraft carrier. It is not known if the men knew one another
Gregory Bransgrove (pictured), 28, took 10 photos of the woman while sliding his mobile phone's camera underneath her cubicle as they put on official safety clothes at the high-security Porton Biopharma in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

A senior employee at a top secret government vaccine laboratory has avoided jail after 'upskirting' his female colleague as she got changed for work.

Gregory Bransgrove, 28, took 10 photos of the woman by sliding his mobile phone's camera underneath her cubicle as they put on official safety clothes at the high-security Porton Biopharma in Salisbury, Wiltshire.

The victim spotted the device and immediately confronted Bransgrove, who tried to claim he had dropped his phone and was picking it up when she saw it.

However he later pleaded guilty to voyeurism was handed a three-year community service order at Salisbury Magistrates Court.

He was also ordered to pay almost 500 in costs and fines - including 300 in compensation to his victim, who branded him a 'repulsive creature' in her impact statement.

His victim - who cannot be named - told the court how she was so appalled by his behaviour that she delayed having a baby.

'He had no right to do such a disgusting, cruel and vile thing,' she said.

'My partner and I had the news that we could start IVF but I was not in the right state of mind.

'I had been waiting five years for this, but how could I bring in a life to the world when it is full of repulsive creatures like Greg? The incident has stopped my life.'

The court heard Bransgrove and his victim worked together at the world famous Porton Down site near Salisbury, Wiltshire.

The high-security base is where the Ministry of Defence has top secret military scientific research facilities.

It is also the home of Porton Biopharma, the company which Bransgrove and his female victim both worked for, which is run by Public Health England and develops 'life saving biopharmaceutical therapeutics and vaccines'.

Outlining the incident, prosecutor Ryan Seneviratne told Salisbury Magistrates Court: 'Mr Bransgrove took some photos of [his female colleague] on his mobile phone whilst they were both getting changed. She was in her underwear.

'They changed into official clothing they have to wear before going to work..

'There are individual cubicles to change into. Mr Bransgrove enters one and [his female colleague] enters the one next to him.

The court heard Bransgrove and his victim worked together at the world famous Porton Down site (pictured) near Salisbury, Wiltshire

Bransgrove (pictured) was ordered to pay almost 500 in costs and fines - including 300 in compensation to his victim, who branded him a 'repulsive creature' in her impact statement.

'Upskirting' became a criminal offence in 2019 and is punishable by up to two years in jail 'Upskirting' is a colloquial term referring to the action of placing equipment such as a camera or mobile phone beneath a person's clothing to take a voyeuristic photograph without their permission. It is not only confined to victims wearing skirts or dresses and equally applies when men or women are wearing kilts, cassocks shorts or trousers. It is often performed in crowded public places, for example on public transport or at music festivals, which can make it difficult to notice offenders. The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 received Royal Assent on 12 February 2019 and will be implemented 12 April 2019. The new offences will apply to England and Wales and they will not be retrospective. These offences are triable either way and carry a maximum 2 year prison sentence. Prior of the creation of the new offences contained in the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 (the '2019 Act'), no specific offence of upskirting existed. Depending upon the particular circumstances, certain behaviour could be prosecuted under existing law such as the common law offence of Outraging Public Decency, or the existing Voyeurism offences under section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. However, this legislation doesn't cover all instances and as such some acts of upskirting could avoid prosecution. By creating a specific upskirting offence the legislation is strengthened and enables courts to ensure the most serious sexual offenders are made the subject of notification requirements. Source: Cps.gov.uk Advertisement

'Whilst she was changing, [the female colleague] noticed his mobile phone camera [underneath the cubicle partition].

'She was wearing a pyjama top and underwear. She challenged him immediately, saying, 'What are you doing? You better not have taken a photo of me'.

'He mumbled 'No' in reply. She escalated the matter immediately.

'Mr Bransgrove said the mobile phone fell out of his trouser pocket as he was changing - and he managed to catch it as it fell to the ground.'

Though Bransgrove had deleted them from his mobile, police were able to recover the ten images he took of his colleague in her underwear.

He was immediately suspended from work on full pay, but resigned five months later.

'Mr Bransgrove was suspended from work on the day [of the incident],' Mr Seneviratne continued.

'He was later arrested and his mobile phone, laptop and hard drive were seized.

'Police sent his mobile phone for forensic examination, and were able to find there were ten images on the phone [of his female colleague].

'All of these ten images had been deleted from the memory card, but could be found by forensic examination and matched with the date and time [of the offence].

'[This was] completely contrary to what he had told the police in his explanation. He was re-arrested and the images were put to him.'

The court also heard a victim impact statement from her in which she explained how Bransgrove's 'vile' and 'disgusting' actions had affected her.

The statement read: 'The actions of Gregory Bransgrove have greatly affected my life.

'I am unable to go into a changing room at work without [remembering what happened].

'At work I struggle to do my job. I am conscious about my body and lack confidence in my appearance. This should never have crossed his mind.'

Lead Magistrate Sarah Neish sentenced Bransgrove to a 36-month community order and ordered him to pay a total of 480 in fines and costs.

Included in the costs was 300 in compensation to be paid to his former colleague.
Australia has promised to follow in the footsteps of its allies and directly punish China if it decides to support Russia's unlawful invasion of Ukraine.

Senior Australian officials have advised the reprimand to China could come in the form of sanctions, after Russia this week asked Beijing for military and economic support.

If China was to oblige to such requests, Australia has agreed to work in coordination with the United States and its allies to deliver tough consequences.

A Western official and a US diplomat on Tuesday told CNN they had received word that Beijing was considering the request.

If China was to provide Russia with assistance, Australia has agreed to work in coordination with its allies to deliver tough consequences (pictured, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June, 2019)

A Western official and a US diplomat on Tuesday told CNN they had received word that Beijing was considering Russia's request for help (pictured, a destroyed building in Kyiv, Ukraine)

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has described the reports that China had been asked for help by Russia as 'extremely concerning' if they were true.

'Countries that directly support Russia in this unlawful invasion would face consequences,' Ms Payne said.

'And certainly in a country, in the example of a country like Belarus, we have already taken steps in relation to that, in terms of sanctions.

'I know that the United States has said that there would be coordination with partners and allies on any such response and Australia would be part of that coordination.'

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham had a similar response to China's potential support of the unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

The minister said Australia had acted in 'lockstep' with international allies and would continue to do so as the war dragged on.

Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne has described the reports that China had been asked for help by Russia as 'extremely concerning' if they were true (pictured, bomb damage in Kyiv)

Australia's finance minister said the country had acted in 'lockstep' with international allies and would continue to do so as the war dragged on (pictured, a woman weeps at a funeral held for fallen soldiers in Lviv, Ukraine)

Mr Birmingham said sanctions would be taken against 'actions that in any way support Russia's assault on the Ukrainians'.

'I hope that it doesn't come to that because I hope and trust that China does not supply weapons to Russia and does not support this,' he told Sky News.

'And as you've heard Coalition ministers say throughout this conflict, what we encourage China to do is stand up for the sovereignty of Ukraine.'

AUSTRALIA VERSUS CHINA TRADE WAR In October 2020, China imposed informal bans on Australian cotton and coal. A month later, Australian sugar, barley, lobsters, wine, copper and timber were added to the list. Six meat processors were banned from exporting beef to China. In December 2020, Australia lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China's 80.5 per cent tariffs on its barley exports. In the filing, Australia claimed China deviated from WTO rules 26 times. In March 2021, China imposed duties of between 116.2 per cent and 218.4 per cent on Australian wine, making it too expensive for Chinese consumers. This effectively killed the market. Advertisement

US President Joe Biden has similarly warned Chinese President Xi Jinping of 'potential implications and consequences' if they provided assistance.

It has been a rocky road for Australian-Chinese relations since April 2020, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for World Health Organisation investigators in Wuhan to have the same powers as UN-backed weapons inspectors.

The WHO was investigating the origin of the coronavirus pandemic that has dominated world headlines for more than two years.

China's response to Mr Morrison's call led to bans or huge tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Australian exports to China such as coal, cotton, wine and beef.

On Tuesday, Australia's foreign minister was asked by 2GB's Jim Wilson if the country was any closer to booting Russian diplomats from Australia.

Ms Payne said while it remained a viable option, it was important to keep lines of communication open with Russian representatives.

The minister said Australia would endeavour to maintain a 'constructive' relationship with Beijing after she met with the new Chinese ambassador last week.

'I certainly expressed our expectation that China does have influence, does have agency, to encourage and to advise Russia on ending this illegal invasion of Ukraine,' Ms Payne said of the meeting.

The minister said it was important for countries with influence to denounce the 'complete breach of international law' and the UN Charter.

'These are opportunities that Australia takes when we are engaged with countries who, as I say, have voice, to encourage them to make their views, and the views of the international community, explicitly clear to Russia,' she said.

It has been a rocky road for Australian-Chinese relations since April 2020, when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for World Health Organisation investigators in Wuhan to have the same powers as UN-backed weapons inspectors (pictured, President Xi Jinping in March)

It comes just over a week after Russia included Australia in a list of 50 countries that have taken 'unfriendly actions' against it following the invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow published the list on Monday after being hit by Western financial sanctions.

All corporate deals with companies and individuals from the so-called 'unfriendly countries' now have to be approved by a government commission.

Australia is on the list after placing travel bans and financial sanctions on President Putin and his cronies and also sending missiles and bullets to help Ukraine.

The list follows a presidential decree on March 5 allowing the Russian government, companies and citizens to temporarily pay foreign currency debts owed to overseas creditors from 'unfriendly countries' in roubles.

Hundreds of civilians have been pictured trying to flee the city of Irpin, to the west of Kyiv, which was the scene of heavy Russian bombardment last week.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has flagged his government will focus on fast-tracking visas for the relatives of the roughly 40,000 Australians of Ukrainian descent

In a third round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine last week, Russia revealed its demands.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality so it cannot join the EU or NATO, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and recognise the separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent territories.

It was the most explicit Russian statement so far of the terms it wants to impose on Ukraine to halt what it calls its 'special military operation' in Ukraine.

Mr Morrison has flagged his government will focus on fast-tracking visas for the relatives of the roughly 40,000 Australians of Ukrainian descent.

Australia has pledged $70 million in lethal and non-lethal military aid, which the prime minister said would include missiles and ammunition.
Former President Donald Trump admitted he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin was only trying to 'negotiate' when he sent troops to the Ukraine border and was 'surprised' when the Kremlin leader actually invaded the country.

'I'm surprised  I'm surprised. I thought he was negotiating when he sent his troops to the border. I thought he was negotiating,' Trump told the Washington Examiner during a Tuesday evening phone interview from his Mar-a-Lago estate. 'I thought it was a tough way to negotiate but a smart way to negotiate.'

Trump, who seemingly developed a close working relationship with Moscow during his presidency, said Putin has 'very much changed' since the pair last worked together.

'I figured he was going to make a good deal like everybody else does with the United States and the other people they tend to deal with  you know, like every trade deal. We've never made a good trade deal until I came along,' Trump said. 'And then he went in  and I think he's changed. I think he's changed. It's a very sad thing for the world. He's very much changed.'

The former American president has faced criticisms over his relationship with Putin and most recently for failing to criticize him in wake of the invasion.

Trump's fellow Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence and former White House national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien, have publicly denounced the Kremlin leader and said there would be no pity for Putin sympathizers in their party.

Similarly, Democrat President Joe Biden called Putin a 'tyrant' and responded to his invasion with responded with diplomatic and economic sanctions.

Former President Donald Trump admitted Tuesday that he misread Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions and said he was 'surprised' by the invasion of Ukraine

The ex-president claimed Putin (pictured last Thursday) has 'very much changed' since Trump was in office and argued that Moscow never would've invaded Ukraine if he was still in office

Trump on Tuesday rejected the notion that he was soft on the Russian leader and argued that Moscow never would've invaded Ukraine if he was still in office.

'I've been very, very tough on Putin. I get a bad rap on that,' Trump told the news outlet. 'At the same time, I got along with him very well. But I got along with most [world leaders] very well.'

The billionaire ex-president also argued that he often pushed against Putin's agendas while he was in office.

'When you think of it, who was tougher on Russia than me?' Trump asked, before adding: 'I got billions and billions of dollars' for NATO.

'Now, all that money is going against Russia, so I did that. I closed the pipeline. You know, the pipeline was closed, and Biden opened it. Plus, I did the biggest sanctions anybody's ever done on Russia,' he said.

'I've been very critical of Putin from the standpoint of the pipeline, from the standpoint of raising billions and billions of dollars in NATO to protect, primarily, Europe against Russia. Nobody else did that.'

Trump (center) also rejected the notion that he was soft on Putin, saying: 'I've been very, very tough on Putin. I get a bad rap on that. When you think of it, who was tougher on Russia than me?' He is pictured with Putin (right) and former First Lady Melania Trump (left) ahead of a meeting in Helsinki, Finland in July 2018

Trump added: 'I've been very critical of Putin from the standpoint of the pipeline, from the standpoint of raising billions and billions of dollars in NATO to protect, primarily, Europe against Russia. Nobody else did that.' Trump and Putin are pictured together in November 2017 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vietnam

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what has since become the largest assault on a European state since World War Two ended in 1945.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Wednesday that peace talks were sounding more realistic but leaders still needed more time. Officials are hopeful the war could end sooner than expected, possibly by May.

'The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine,' Zelensky said in a video address on Wednesday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks, noting: 'The work is difficult, and in the current situation the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive.'

Biden will make his first visit to Europe since Russia invaded Ukraine to discuss the crisis with NATO at the military alliance's headquarters in Brussels on March 24 the White House said. He is also expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday.

Meantime, Russian air strikes killed five people in the capital city of Kyiv on Tuesday as buildings were set ablaze and people were buried under rubble. Russia denies targeting civilians.

Just over 3 million have now fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations, with over 1.8 million arriving in Poland.

A Ukrainian soldier is seen inspecting the rubble of a destroyed apartment building in Kyiv on Tuesday

A woman walks with a bicycle next to a building damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha on Tuesday

Firefighters extinguish a fire in an apartment building in Kyiv on Tuesday

Trump's Tuesday night commentary came just days after he slammed Biden as being 'physically and mentally challenged' during a rally in South Carolina rally, tearing into the Democrat commander-in-chief's foreign policy in his first such event since Russia invaded Ukraine.

'You could take the five worst presidents in American history and they would not have done the damage Joe Biden has done in just 13 months. We have a president representing our country at the most important time in history, who is physically and mentally challenged,' Trump said on Saturday night.

He claimed Biden 'failed to deter Russia's outrageous invasion of Ukraine' and claimed he would have been able to prevent Putin from going to war.

'The fake news said my personality got us into a war. "I'm telling you, that guy's going to get us into a war." But actually, my personality is what kept us out of war. I was the only president in nearly four decades who did not get America into any new conflicts.' Trump claimed.

Trump's Tuesday night remarks came just days after he slammed Biden as being 'physically and mentally challenged' during a rally in South Carolina rally on Saturday (pictured)

Trump blasted Putin's invasion as a 'terrible atrocity' though he did not mention the autocrat by name. The condemnation is a far cry from his heavily-criticized remarks calling Russia's plan 'genius' late last month.

'The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a terrible atrocity that should never have been allowed to happen or would have never happened. I know I speak for everyone here tonight. When I say we are praying for the proud people of Ukraine. They are going through hell,' he said. 'Make no mistake, however, that Russia would not have dared to annex one inch of territory. If I was in the White House. In fact, they never did it when I was there.'

However, at one point during Saturday's rally Trump did describe the Kremlin's leader as being 'driven' in his attack.

'And for all the talk about violent conflict in Eastern Europe, and it's a terrible thing, and we're gonna help and we're gonna do whatever we can because nobody can look at the bloodshed much longer what's happening,' Trump said.

'It's a lack of respect for a lot of people, a lot of things but it's just a total lack of respect. And it happens to be a man that is just driven. He's driven to put it together and you look at it and it's just so ridiculous and so senseless and so horrible.'
A new poll has found the rising cost of living and Covid-19 are the two biggest issues of concern for Australian voters but action on climate change could potentially swing the upcoming election.

The YouGov poll of more than 15,000 people found 'Managing Covid-19' and 'Cost of Living' were ranked at equal first place with 21 per cent of voters choosing both as important issues.

Meanwhile, 14 per cent of voters selected climate change as the most important issue when determining their vote.

A recent poll reveals 14 per cent of voters selected climate change as the most important issue when determining their vote, a finding that could prove influential in the upcoming election (pictured, a farmer inspects his flooded property in Logan, south of Brisbane)

The survey revealed 107 out of the 151 lower house seats have more voters who want further action on climate change.

A majority of voters from all electorates - including in rural and coal-heavy seats - support the federal government's 2050 net zero target, or believe it should be doing more on climate change.

The poll was commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) in January before floodwaters devastated south-east Queensland and NSW.

The YouGov poll of more than 15,000 found 'Managing Covid-19' and 'Cost of Living' were ranked at equal first place with 21 per cent of voters choosing both as important issues (pictured, buyers, farmers and their families gather during a farm clearing sale in Judds Creek, NSW)

About 48 per cent of voters said the benefits of climate change action outweigh the cost, while 19 per cent said they were prepared to cover the costs.

Most Australians believe taking greater action against climate change will result in health benefits while 45 per cent believe it will help the economy.

Overwhelmingly, 70 per cent of voters believe Australia needs to commit to net zero by 2050, while 41 per cent said they were not convinced the action was enough.

However, 12 per cent of voters felt the government's net zero target was too much and 19 per cent said they did not know.

The results have sparked fresh concerns from the Coalition who fear blue ribbon seats could be challenged by independents campaigning on climate change policies.

In the Sydney seat of Wentworth held by Dave Sharma, 42 per cent of voters said the government's action against climate change is 'too little too late', in comparison to 29 per cent who support it.

The divide is larger in Tim Wilson's Melbourne seat of Goldstein which stands at 47 to 32 per cent, and worse in Josh Frydenberg's Kooyong electorate at 48 to 30 per cent.

Overwhelmingly, 70 per cent of voters believe Australia needs to commit to net zero by 2050, while 41 per cent said they were not convinced the action was enough (pictured, a blaze engulfs a fence near a property in south west of Sydney in December 2019)

The margin is slightly better at 48 to 31 per cent in Trent Zimmerman's North Sydney seat.

The Opposition faces a similar problem as the issue of climate change is less popular in working-class and multicultural Labor electorates.

More voters in Jason Clare's Blaxland electorate supported the government's target than those who thought it should do more by a margin of 31 per cent to 29 per cent, while Kristina Keneally's Fowler seat stands at 33 per cent to 28 per cent.

However, climate change could be the make or break issue in the upcoming election in regional and rural areas, rather than metropolitan seats.

In the seat of Richmond, which was recently ravaged by floods, 40 per cent of voters believe further action was needed, compared to 33 per cent satisfied with the current target.

Surprisingly in the coal-heavy seat of Hunter in NSW, 34 per cent want the government to do more and 30 per cent were satisfied with net zero by 2050.

A majority of voters from all electorates - including rural and coal-heavy seats - support the federal government's 2050 net zero target or believe it should be doing more (pictured, sheep move across drought-stricken grazing land in February 2019)

ACF Chief Executive Officer Kelly O'Shanassy said Australian voters wanted to see legitimate climate action and stronger targets for 2030.

'People across Australia want climate action because they know it's good for their health and will create future opportunities for young people,' she told The Daily Telegraph.

Poll author Campbell White said the results of the survey were indicative that a similar attitude towards climate change was carried across all electorates.

'In the post-Glasgow environment it is clear that Australians expect action on climate change,' he told the news outlet.

'What this method does is overcome the objection that this sentiment is limited to certain electorates.'

The Morrison government has promised to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 with a 26-28 per cent reduction by 2030.

The plan relies on a technology-led economic evolution to cut emissions, capture and store them, or offset them, while allowing coal and gas exports to continue as long as there is demand.

The Labor Party has made a similar commitment to net zero emission by 2050 and pledged to cut emissions by 43 per cent by 2030.
A third person has died within 48 hours while waiting for paramedics as the critical condition of an Australian state's ambulance ramping crisis worsens.

A man aged in his 50s died early Wednesday morning after waiting two hours for South Australian Ambulance Service (SAAS) paramedics to arrive.

A 94-year-old woman and 20-year-old man also died in separate incidents in Adelaide on Monday.

All three patients who died this week waited at least 45 minutes for an ambulance, sparking anger from the paramedics' union.

The ambulance ramping crisis in South Australia has worsened after a man died while waiting two hours for an ambulance, the fifth fatality within two weeks

Two more patients also died last week, putting extra pressure on Premier Steven Marshall ahead of this Saturday's state election.

In the latest incident, SAAS received a triple-0 call 11pm on Tuesday night about a patient who was semi-conscious after he suffered a fall.

The priority two case should have had an ambulance arrive within 16 minutes, according to Ambulance Employees Association of South Australia (AEA).

Two hours later, triple-0 operators received an update that the patient was unconscious and not breathing.

The case was upgraded to a priority one, which should have seen an ambulance within eight minutes.

Paramedics arrived nine minutes later and were unable to resuscitate the man.

The ramping crisis is taking a toll on South Australia's overworked paramedics (pictured early on during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020)

'Crews and communications staff are utterly devastated,' AEA posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

'To the question in all of our minds 'how many more people have to die before Premier Marshall will do anything other than apologise', the answer must be 'A few more'.

AEA claimed earlier this week all Adelaide emergency departments were at or over capacity, impacting patient safety.

Sixteen priority two cases arose on Monday night with no ambulances to send to the jobs. The AEA claims the shortage is 'a daily occurrence'.

'Our health system is not coping and lives remain at risk,' the union posted.

'Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics are all calling out calling for desperately needed resources, sadly Steven Marshall is not listening.'

The SAAS will conduct a full review into all five deaths in the last fortnight as Premier Marshall expressed his condolences to the family of the latest patient.

The latest tragedy adds to Premier Steven Marshall's woes ahead of Saturday's state election

'We can't just take the union's word for it. We know the type of campaign they're running at the moment,' Mr Marshall said.

'We don't have anything that suggests that the time delay was the cause of death in this circumstance.'

Health Minister Stephen Wade added: 'SAAS will do a full review  [and] we'll look at all the factors to see what could have led to a better outcome.

'SAAS always strives to meet its targets, always strives to meet the needs of the community. We apologise that, in this case, we didn't.'

Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas said paramedics are 'working tirelessly under extraordinary circumstances'.

'They are doing their level best but the government isn't, this government needs to do more and they've chosen not to,' he said.
The Northern Territory is rolling out the red carpet to international workers to help fill critical labour shortages that are also affecting the rest of the country, two years into the Covid pandemic.

Things have got so bad that a cafe in Western Australia has advertised six new positions with big salaries including a $92,000 package for a barista to make coffee.

And Australian farms have offered $100,000-a-year sheep shearing jobs as the industry battles to find enough workers due to border closures.

The Northern Territory government is in dire need of workers in many sectors, including hospitality (pictured)

Another sector where the NT has a shortage of workers is aged care. Pictured is an elderly woman and an aged care worker

A new global advertising blitz will launch on March 24 in a bid to lure skilled and semi-skilled workers to the territory.

The automotive, hospitality, education, aged care and disability services sectors desperately need workers, Minister for Jobs and Training Paul Kirby said.

There are also vacancies in the health, construction, manufacturing and veterinary services fields.

The campaign is part of a $12.8million workforce package to target workers aged 18 to 55 years.

It will feature people who moved to the NT for work and stayed for the lifestyle.

Making coffee in Western Australia for $92,000 A cafe in Broome, Western Australia is so desperate for staff it has advertised six new positions with big salaries including a $92,000 package for a barista to make coffee. A Western Australia cafe is offering $92,000 for a barista position Good Cartel is advertising for a barista, front-of-house staff and kitchen hands as staffing woes in the area push businesses to do more to attract staff. The town in the north-west of Western Australia is on a mission to revive its tourist industry after the state's extended lockout from the rest of Australia during the Covid pandemic. Advertisement

Advertisements will appear on social media, YouTube, cinema screens, large format billboards and television.

Workers will be targeted in New Zealand, the UK, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Vietnam, South Africa, Taiwan, Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil and other parts of Australia.

The campaign will run along side the Work Stay Play program, which will restart on May 2 to help employers attract interstate workers.

Businesses can apply for $1,000 in subsidies to help workers relocate to jobs in areas such as the construction, aged care, hospitality and tourism sectors.

It comes as 150 workers from Fiji and Timor-Leste get set to travel to Darwin and Alice Springs over the next two months.

They will work in tourism, hospitality, aged care, disability and agriculture businesses through the federal government's Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Scheme.

The NT's unemployment rate fell by 0.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent in the most recent publicly available figures in January.

It is the third lowest seasonally adjusted rate in the country, equal with Tasmania and behind Western Australia and the ACT.

The national unemployment rate for the same month was 4.2 per cent, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The NT government is also hoping a new $3million housing subsidy scheme will reduce rental stress for essential workers.

Under Rent Choice, eligible workers can lease a private house and get a subsidy of up to $12,000 over 12 months depending on their income, household size and location.

Workers in Greater Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs who are employed in the health, human services, hospitality, automotive, construction and transport and logistics sectors can apply.

Rental markets remain tight across the territory with a 0.9 per cent vacancy rate in Darwin, according to the National Australia Bank.
When a great white shark attacked and then circled a fellow surfer, Jess Woolhouse was one of three men who paddled straight towards the five-metre predator.

It was an act of courage off the coast of Western Australia that helped save the life of the stricken surfer, 28-year-old Phil Mummert. It also earned the three rescuers widespread recognition.

They are among 49 people from around the country to receive Australian bravery medals, commendations and citations for putting themselves in jeopardy to protect others.

On July 31, 2020, Mr Woolhouse, along with his best mate, Perth priest Liam Ryan, and fellow surfer Alex Oliver helped the injured surfer onto a longboard, and dragged him 100 metres to shore.

Phil Mummert (pictured) was saved by fellow surfer Jess Woolhouse after he was attacked by a five-metre great white shark. Woolhouse swam towards the great white to save Mummert. The stricken surfer was pulled onto a longboard by Woolhouse and two others

It was that act of courage off the coast of Western Australia that helped save the life of Mummert and earned the three rescuers Australian bravery medals. Pictured L-R: Jess Woolhouse, his mate Liam Ryan, fellow surfer Alex Oliver and Phil Mummert

Mr Woolhouse told AAP that it was only after the group had ferried Mr Mummert back to shore that they realised how dire the situation had been.

Others rushed to assist and stem the bleeding from a deep bite wound on Mr Mummert's thigh.

'To be perfectly honest, we had no idea,' Mr Woolhouse recalls of the incident at Bunker Bay, off the southwest coast of Western Australia.

'He wasn't missing any limbs, so that was a start.

'I don't really remember seeing any blood. There must have been a significant amount there.'

Mr Woolhouse told AAP that it was only after the group had ferried Mr Mummert back to shore that they realised how dire the situation had been. Others rushed to assist and stem the bleeding from a deep bite wound on Mr Mummert's thigh

The stricken surfer's board was completely torn up during the shark attack

Mr Mummert eventually made a full recovery after emergency surgery

Mr Mummert, whose surfboard was ripped in half during the attack, made a full recovery after emergency surgery.

Mr Woolhouse said many others had played a role in saving the surfer's life. He described his own actions as instinctive and adrenaline-fuelled.

'When you have kids, when you have a business, you get quite good at dealing with emergencies,' he told AAP.

'Seeing someone helpless with a five-metre shark trying to gnaw on them, I don't think there is any other choice ... you just have to go.'

Mr Woolhouse said many others had played a role in saving the surfer's life. He described his own actions as instinctive and adrenaline-fuelled. 'When you have kids, when you have a business, you get quite good at dealing with emergencies,' he told AAP. Pictured with Liam Oliver and Phil Mummert

It took some time for Mr Woolhouse, a father-of-three, to feel comfortable in the water again but over time, the fear has subsided. The ocean is once more a sanctuary.

Last year, on the anniversary of the attack, Mr Woolhouse drove to Bunker Bay and caught a few waves alone.

'It was something I had to do for myself,' he said.

The list of bravery award recipients includes people who saved others from vehicle accidents, often with the added threat of fuel and fire. Others rescued occupants from burning homes or from other life-threatening situations. Several recipients faced armed intruders.

'No one sets out to be brave. No one really knows how, when presented with a dangerous situation, they will act. The men and women that we are celebrating today acted bravely,' Governor-General David Hurley said in a statement on Tuesday.
An ex-Labor MP and close friend of Kimberley Kitching has exposed the treatment the late senator tolerated from a 'mean girl' gang within her own party.

Former ALP member Michael Danby said what his late friend endured had been 'nothing short of bullying' during an interview with Sky News on Wednesday.

'It's a fine line, people are entitled to fierce disagreements, but it was too much in my opinion, what was done crossed that fine line and people should say they're sorry and they regret it,' Mr Danby said.

Ms Kitching, 52, died from a suspected heart attack on March 10.

Former ALP member Michael Danby said what his late friend Kimberley Kitching endured had been 'nothing short of bullying' during an interview with Sky News on Wednesday

Ms Kitching, 52, (pictured) died from a suspected heart attack on March 10 after complaining to her husband Andrew Landeryou

Mr Danby hit out at the Labor right for 'dangling' her pre-selection over her head which he said had caused the politician undue stress.

He also slammed the party's left wing for being 'too strong' and claimed his friend had been punished for not agreeing with other people's 'ideological views'.

'What a disgrace that these people were able to cause her such stress,' he said.

It follows an exclusive report by The Australian that pointed to several instances of the senator being excluded from decision-making by senior party members.

The publication named senators Kristina Keneally, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher as the senior ALP members who were 'hostile' toward Ms Kitching.

Some details were attributed to an interview with the senator last month.

The report claimed Ms Kitching was accused of leaking to the Liberals, benched from the party's tactics committee and ostracised by the senior leadership team.

Ms Kitching was also reportedly summoned to a meeting with Ms Keneally over her support for then-Liberal Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in the wake of the Brittany Higgins allegations.

The report went on to suggest the treatment she received from some colleagues had taken a toll in the lead-up to her pre-selection, and ultimately her shock death.

Pictured left to right: Labor senators Katy Gallagher, Kristina Keneally and Penny Wong. Late Labor senator Kimberley Kitching felt ostracised by the three women, a report has claimed

Senator Kitching is pictured with Labor Senator Kristina Keneally. Ms Kitching was reportedly summoned to a meeting with the senior senator over her support for then-Liberal Defence Minister Linda Reynolds in the wake of the Brittany Higgins allegations

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday described the revelations as 'distressing' while paying tribute to Ms Kitching.

'These are very distressing [allegations] and I don't think they can just be dismissed, they obviously need to be addressed,' Mr Morrison said.

'These reports of her treatment are not ones that I can confirm, obviously, as the leader of the Liberal party, but they're certainly things that I would expect to be taken very seriously and addressed.

'The reason she had so many friends on our side is because she stood up very strongly for issues of our national security and sovereignty.'

It came after Anthony Albanese slammed 'disrespectful' reports that claimed Ms Kitching had been snubbed by the Labor 'mean girls'.

The federal Labor leader gave terse one-word answers when questioned about those reports by Ally Langdon on the Today show on Wednesday.

He said it was disrespectful for the three female senators to be branded as mean girls after he was asked whether the ALP has a culture problem.

Anthony Albanese (pictured) on Wednesday said it was disrespectful for three female senators to be branded as mean girls after he was asked whether the ALP has a culture problem

'It's astonishing in 2022 I get a question using the term 'mean girls',' he told a press conference in Brisbane. I find that extraordinarily disrespectful to describe strong, articulate, principled women.'

He said senior male politicians would not be described in the same way and the term was a 'throwback from decades ago'.

Langdon had earlier in the day left the Opposition leader near speechless as she asked him to respond to the reports about the hostility Ms Kitching faced from her three Labor colleagues in the Upper House.

'Is there a cultural problem with senior women within the Labor Party?' Langdon asked to which Mr Albanese simply replied 'no'.

'No - I'm very proud of the fact I lead a team that has 50 per cent female and male contribution in my shadow cabinet,' he finally continued.

'I'm proud of all the people in the leadership team of the Labor party.

Mr Albanese said he respected Senator Kitching and appointed her as an assistant shadow minister when he became opposition leader.

'Out of respect for Kimberley, I think the idea that people go into who might have had a disagreement here or there is totally unbecoming,' he told Langdon.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has described the revelations as 'distressing' while paying tribute to Ms Kitching for her service to Australian politics

'I'm going to pay respect to Kimberley Kitching by treating her with the respect that she deserves. She made a contribution for too short a time to the Labor party and to the Labor cause.

'Her family and friends are really hurting today.'

Senator Gallagher told the ABC 'many' of the assertions in the article were incorrect but refused to discuss the specifics.

'I just don't think it's respectful for us to enter into commentary or disagreement of (the article) at this point in time,' she said.

'I don't think it's right.'
Chinas sound governance has strong democratic foundations

09:05, March 16, 2022 By He Yin ( People's Daily

The annual two sessions of Chinas national legislature and top political advisory body offer the world an important opportunity to gain a better understanding of the essence and practice of Chinese democracy.

The closing meeting of the fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 10, 2022. (Peoples Daily/Lei Sheng)

During this years two sessions, namely the fifth session of the 13th National Peoples Congress (NPC) and the fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), NPC deputies and CPPCC members actively performed their duties and turned peoples voices and ideas into general consensus on state governance.

The annual meetings have showed the international community how Chinas democracy is an extensive and true democracy that works and Chinas sound governance has strong democratic foundations.

Democracy starts with the full expression of the peoples wishes. The Chinese government has solicited public opinions and suggestions via multiple channels for drafting the 2022 Government Work Report, and received thousands of opinions and suggestions from all walks of life. More than 1,100 pieces of representative suggestions from netizens were selected, and some key advice has been taken by the report.

Chinese netizens actively participated in the suggestion solicitation campaign called share your ideas at the two Sessions, which enabled different kinds of suggestions from the people to be directly fed to NPC deputies and CPPCC members before and during this years two sessions.

Through the two sessions, the world sees clearly that the Chinese people are showing greater interest in democratic participation, which is expanding in scope and depth and diversifying its forms and channels.

Deputies to the 13th National Peoples Congress (NPC) walk out of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing after the closing meeting of the fifth session of the 13th NPC, March 11, 2022. (Peoples Daily Online/Guo Junfeng)

Democracy can only be truly implemented through the fulfillment of the peoples wishes. Last year, offices and departments under the State Council handled 8,666 pieces of suggestions submitted by NPC deputies and 5,718 proposals submitted by CPPCC members during the 2021 two sessions, which accounted for 96.4 percent and 93.4 percent of the total numbers of motions and proposals, respectively, announced the State Council Information Office (SCIO) right before this years two sessions.

All the suggestions and proposals submitted by national lawmakers and political advisors during the two sessions last year have been handled on schedule, according to the SCIO.

After careful consideration of the suggestions from NPC deputies and CPPCC members, relevant departments adopted more than 4,300 pieces of advice and subsequently introduced over 1,600 policies and measures.

The detailed data has fully proven that China has ensured that its people have channels to express their aspirations, wishes and demands on issues ranging from important national strategies and policies to social governance and basic necessities of life, enabling their voices to be heard and their requests to be answered.

Discussions on the effectiveness of democracy have been mounting in the international community.

People are well aware that in some countries, practice of democracy has increasingly become empty promisethe people are only called upon to vote and then are forgotten once they have cast their votes; the people only hear high-sounding promises during an election campaign but have no say whatsoever afterwards; and they are wooed when their votes are wanted but are ignored once the election is over.

China always holds the belief that democracy is not a decorative ornament, but an instrument for addressing the issues that concern the people. A democracy that only provides people with channels to express their wishes but not ways to fulfill them is not a true democracy.

In China, the peoples status as masters of the country is the essence of peoples democracy. The countrys whole-process peoples democracy ensures that the peoples voices are heard and their wishes are represented in every aspect of Chinas political and social life.

Chinas democracy is a true democracy that works. It ensures that the peoples demands can be freely expressed and effectively fulfilled and that the Chinese people are both the builders and beneficiaries of democracy.

An official with the Communist Party of China (CPC) committee of Yinxi community, Nanqiao district, Chuzhou city, east Chinas Anhui province, asks local residents for advice on community governance, Jan. 3, 2022. (Peoples Daily Online/Dong Chao)

In recent years, China has achieved major strategic achievements in the fight against COVID-19, historically eliminated absolute poverty, and built a moderately prosperous society in all respects and resolved a series of major risks. The country has embarked on a new journey to fully build a modern socialist country and is marching toward the goal of common prosperity.

These achievements couldnt have been made without the efforts of the Chinese people empowered by the Chinese democracy.

Chinas tremendous achievements in development have proved that its whole-process peoples democracy is reasonable and effective, and has promoted the development and progress of the country and stimulated the creativity of the people, pointed out famous Egyptian jurist Shuki Said.

High-quality democracy in China has improved the system, capacity and efficiency of national governance.

Chinas whole-process peoples democracy, created and developed in line with the countrys national conditions, contributes a new model to the international political spectrum. Its believed that Chinese democracy will surely show stronger vitality and make greater contributions to the progress of human civilization.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Defense Minister Suh Wook / Yonhap





Defense Minister Suh Wook plans to meet his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart later this week to discuss defense cooperation, his ministry said Wednesday.







Suh will meet Mohammad Ahmed Al Bowardi, the UAE's minister of state for defense, Friday during his three-day visit to Korea, the ministry said.







The two ministers also plan to visit the Korea Aerospace Industries, Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, in Sacheon, 440 kilometers south of Seoul, as part of efforts to expand arms industry cooperation between Seoul and Abu Dhabi.







"The talks are expected to contribute to solidifying the mutually beneficial relationship with the defense authorities of the UAE, now Korea's key cooperation partner in the Middle East," the ministry said in a press release.







The two countries have held annual defense ministerial talks since 2011. Suh visited the UAE last year. (Yonhap)


Jacinda Ardern has been targeted by vile trolls online after a seemingly innocuous post welcoming a student representative into parliament.

The New Zealand prime minister posted an image posing alongside William Bell-Purchas, a junior MP from Mount Albert, an inner suburb of Auckland, on Wednesday afternoon announcing he would take her seat in a mock session.

'There's a few things about our parliament that I think are pretty special, including that every few years young people from around the country come to parliament as youth MPs and as members of the gallery, and take part in full mock sessions of the house,' Ms Ardern wrote.

Jacinda Ardern has been targeted by trolls online after a seemingly innocuous post welcoming a student representative into parliament

'Meet William who grew up in Mt Albert, and who will take on the role of youth MP for the electorate in July. William sent me a video full of the issues he was passionate about, and a plan of how he wanted to make sure more young people have a chance to engage in their democracy.'

The NZ PM said William's video was full of such 'passion' that she had to pick him to take her place in the junior mock parliament session, but instead online trolls took it as an opportunity to mock the Kiwi leader.

'I once was one of them humans that visited the parliament inside . But you Jacinda You have ruined our country I'd be ashamed to be you. My late nana fought for my freedom & today I will fight for our freedom,' one woman replied.

The New Zealand prime minister posted an image posing alongside William Bell-Purchas on Wednesday afternoon announcing he would take her seat in a mock session

Instead online trolls took it as an opportunity to mock the Kiwi leader

'May wanna rethink that William, that woman is actively destroying democracy in our country!! Run William, RUN,' another commented.

Many of the comments appear to be emanating from staunch anti-vaccine mandate groups, who have rallied in their hundreds at different protests around the country in recent months.

Last month, demonstrators clashed with a heavy police presence on parliamentary grounds in Wellington.

Ms Ardern's comment section shows there is still real animosity between officials and a portion of the New Zealand public.

'Wrong party Wrong person to teach you. But wish you luck hope your acricted,' a man replied to the picture.

'Another WEF puppet. Go to America. We don't want any of you here. The damage you've done is atrocious,' a woman added.

A man suggested William would be better off learning from the member of another party

Many of the comments appear to be emanating from staunch anti-vaccine mandate groups, who have rallied in their hundreds at different protests around the country in recent months

Ms Ardern announced on Wednesday that NZ would reopen its borders to vaccinated Australians from April 12, with vaccinated travellers able to skip the country's hotel quarantine system.

She also said from May 1 international travellers from certain countries would also be allowed to re-enter.

'We are a safe place to visit and New Zealand will be ready with open arms. In particular I look forward to welcoming back our Trans-Tasman friends,' the PM said in a press conference.

Ms Ardern said all travellers would need to prove a negative Covid test prior to boarding the flight, and would then need to produce negative results on day one and day seven of their trip.
China's economy will never 'dominate' the West because the communist superpower will run out of steam within three decades, a new report claims.

The authoritarian nation of 1.4 billion people is on track to surpass the US as the biggest economy in the world.

But top Australian think-tank the Lowy Institute suggests it won't hold top spot for long as decades of draconian political policies come back to bite it.

An aging population, declining birthrate, and further decoupling from advanced Western economies all point to a dramatic economic decline following more than 10 years of double-digit growth in the 2000s.

Though the prediction may be welcome news for Australian policymakers in Canberra fearful of Beijing's growing influence, the slowdown is also likely to hamper Australia's economic future.

A report by the Lowy Institute predicts China will overtake the US economy but won't hold top spot for long as decades of draconian political policies come back to bite it

An aging population, declining birthrate, and further decoupling from advanced Western economies all point to a dramatic economic decline for China's economy

'China would overtake the US to become the world's largest economy in nominal US dollar terms by about 2030,' report authors Roland Rajah and Alyssa Leng wrote.

'But it would never establish a meaningful lead over the United States and would remain far less prosperous and productive per person than America, even by mid-century.'

If China were to continue to grow at four to five per cent a year to 2050, it would cement itself as the 'dominant' global power, the report outlines.

But its authors say China's future 'looks very different' and that two to three per cent growth is much more realistic in the wake of Beijing's disastrous One Child Policy.

'China's working age population has been shrinking since the middle of last decade,' the report read.

'The fertility rate has fallen rapidly over the past decade to just 1.3 births per woman in 2020 - well below the replacement rate of 2.1.

'This is broadly in line with the lower-case projections of the United Nations, which suggest that by 2050 China's working age population will have shrunk by roughly 220 million people - about one-fifth of its current level.

'At the same time rapid ageing will see its demographic profile quickly converge on that in Europe, which is itself ageing.'

Report says China's future 'looks very different' and that two to three per cent growth is much more realistic in the wake of Beijing's disastrous One Child Policy

Over-65s will also make up more than a quarter of the Chinese population by 2050 putting significant strain on the healthcare sector and public services

Over-65s will also make up more than a quarter of the Chinese population by 2050 putting significant strain on the healthcare sector and public services.

China's economic miracle, which saw about 800 million citizens emerge from poverty in the largest-ever period of wealth creation in human history, was driven by its engagement with the global economy and liberal Western markets.

But since President Xi Jinping's rise in 2013, the communist country has reverted back to it's old ways becoming more paranoid and closed off.

'Whereas the previous East Asian miracle economies benefitted substantially from relatively unfettered access to Western markets and technologies, geopolitics means China can no longer do so,' the report read.

'[China] instead faces the prospect of intensifying 'decoupling' with the United States and potentially other advanced Western economies.'

China's economy was driven by its engagement with the global economy and liberal Western markets but President Xi Jinping's rule has seen the communist country has revert back to it's old ways becoming more paranoid and closed off

The United Nations predict China will lose a fifth of its working class by 2050 due to an ageing population

China has also relied heavily on debt to prop up its economy with exuberant public infrastructure projects often described as 'bridges to nowhere'.

Ghost cities have also become a problem in the real estate-obsessed nation where home ownership is the preferred way to build wealth due to stock market red tape.

One of the world's largest property developers, Evergrande, owes $400 billion, which threatens to unravel the property prices and catapult China into a recession.

Such a scenario could be detrimental for Australia as the resource-rich nation has prospered during China's rise feeding Beijing's endless demand for commodities like iron ore and coal.
Longtime Home Shopping Network host and 'Queen of Makeovers' Marilyn Miglin died on Monday at age 83.

The beauty mogul passed away at her Chicago home surrounded by family, according to a statement from her loved ones. She died of complications of a stroke.

Her family said they are 'heartbroken' and that Miglin will be 'greatly missed by all who knew her,' noting that 'her spirit will stay with us.'

Although Miglin was known for her signature fragrances, skincare products and luxury cosmetics line, the 83-year-old entrepreneur was an activist, philanthropist and served in local and state politics.

Her husband, real estate developer Lee Miglin, was murdered in their home in Chicago's historic Gold Coast district in May 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

Cunanan who was also responsible for the slaying of fashion designer Gianni Versace that same summer. Their story was detailed in season two of American Crime Story, with Miglin played by Judith Light in the popular 2018 drama.

Longtime Home Shopping Network host Marilyn Miglin died Monday aged 83. The beauty mogul passed away at her Chicago home surrounded by family. Her cause of death has not been disclosed

Her family confirmed her passing Tuesday in a statement shared on her website

Her husband, real estate developer Lee Miglin, was murdered in their home in Chicago's historic Gold Coast district in May 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who was also responsible for the slaying of fashion designer Gianni Versace. The Miglins are pictured together in 1993

QVC star died hours before rival's passing Beauty mogul Tova Borgnine, whose company was a top seller on QVC, died at the age of 80 at her home in Chester County, Pennsylvania on February 26 Beauty mogul Tova Borgnine, who made millions by plugging her products on QVC, has died at the age of 80. Born in Norway in 1941, Tova moved to the US at age seven and launched multiple beauty businesses during her lifetime, including Tova Beverly Hills. She found massive success on QVC, where she sold cosmetics, skincare, and fragrances  including the wildly popular perfume Tova Signature. A decade after being widowed by her Oscar-winning actor husband Ernest Borgnine in 2012, Tova passed away at her home in Chester County, Pennsylvania on February 26. 'With a Halo of Heaven she captured our hearts, minds, and senses, giving us a Signature that shared our beauty,' a statement on her company's Instagram page reads. 'With an eye for detail and design her jewelry brought sparkle to each and every day. With her stories we took a journey with her from Hollywood to distant lands feeling as though we stood beside her. 'From our hearts, thank you Tova for the grace, beauty, elegance and joy you brought to us all. It is with heavy hearts we share of the peaceful passing of Tova Borgnine, our Founder, Leader, and Friend,' the post concluded. Advertisement

Miglin was born in the Czech Republic city of Pilsen in 1938, and moved to the US as a young adult, where she became a model and dancer.

She started her eponymous beauty company in Chicago in 1963, which became a successful empire.

Miglin hosted Home Shopping Network for more than 25 years and brought in an audience of more than 65 million viewers.

She was recognized as a world-renowned beauty authority and is among America's top 500 women business owners.

Miglin also had a philanthropic side.

She provided beauty services to burn survivors and would make monthly visits to the University of Illinois Craniofacial Center, a trauma unit, to work with the facially disfigured.

She was also a founding member of the Craniofacial Center's advisory board.

Miglin founded and organized Chicago's Women of Destiny program, which recruited 200 the city's most successful women to serve as mentors for young women seeking careers in the mentor's given profession.

The entrepreneur received several awards and honors throughout her career, including the Raoul Wallenberg International Humanitarian Award.

The City of Chicago declared April 15 as Marilyn Miglin Day in honor of her generosity to the community. The Raoul Wallenberg Pediatric Day Hospital in Jerusalem also dedicated a burn and disfigurement unit to her in June 1998 in recognition for her work with children.

Mostly recently, she was bestowed with the Best Face Forward Award Humanitarian Award by the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine. She was the first ever recipient of the annual award.

Miglin's activism also included politics work. She served on Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daleys special committee on tourism, as an officer of the Chicago Convention, the State of Illinois Board of Economic Development and on the Board of Directors of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

She leaves behind two adult children, Marlena and Duke, whom she shared with Lee. It is unclear if she has grandchildren or other relatives.

Lee, 72, was the third victim in Cunanan's 1997 killing spree.

Lee, 72, was the third victim in Andrew Cunanan's 1997 killing spree

Cunanan's killings were detailed in season two of American Crime Story. Miglin and Lee's story is mostly depicted in episode three which was titled A Random Killing. Miglin is portrayed by actress Judith Light (pictured in the episode)

Lee, who owned a real estate company with partner J. Paul Beitler, was home alone in the familys Gold Coast residence when Cunanan arrived in Chicago after his two murders in Minnesota.

He was found in the garage of the home, wrapped in brown paper with his face covered in duct tape, leaving only openings by his nostrils. His ribs were broken and his throat had been cut.

Following the killing, investigators said, Cunanan slept in Lees bed, shaved and left whiskers in the sink, made a ham sandwich that was left half eaten and stole cash and expensive suits. Cunanan ultimately fled the home in Lees vehicle, a dark-green Lexus, and began driving east.

However, what led him to the Miglin residence remains a mystery. Rumors had circulated that Cunanan, in his typical name-dropping manner, had mentioned in passing that he was going to start a business with the Miglins' son, Duke.

But the shocked, horrified family insisted that none of them had ever seen the killer and had nothing whatsoever to do with him. The Chicago police ruled that there was no connection, which Duke Miglin reaffirmed in a 2017 interview with ABC 7.

A lot of false things were brought up, and they were very hurtful, and they were very painful for me personally  and there were attacks on me, as well, that I really did not appreciate and still dont, Duke said at the time. There was no relationship whatsoever between any of the family  never met him. None whatsoever.

Cunanan killed four men before he murdered Gianni Versace

Cunanan allegedly walked up to Versace as the designer was returning to his Miami mansion after buying magazines at a local store. As Versace was putting the key in the door lock, the spree killer shot 50-year-old Verace twice, once in the face at point-blank range and one behind the left ear in the neck

The bloodied steps of the Miami Beach home of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, shortly after his murder on July 15, 1997

A nationwide manhunt was launched after Versaces murder, and the Associated Press reported at the time that other people  including celebrities  could be on Cunanans hit list. Gianni Versace is picture in Rome in May 1985

Marilyn Miglin's husband was murdered by Versace's killer Andrew Cunanan's 1997 killing spree: From his first murder in April to the infamous shooting of Versace April 25, 1997: Andrew Cunanan arrives in Minneapolis from California to visit friend Jeffrey Trail and former lover David Madson, who also knew Trail April 29, 1997: The body of Jeffrey Trail is found in Madson's apartment, wrapped in a rug and badly beaten May 3, 1997: Madson's body is found outside of Minneapolis, shot three times, and his Jeep is gone May 4, 1997: The body of 72-year-old Chicago developer Lee Miglin is discovered beaten and stabbed in his own garage; his killer slept in his bed, shaved, took a bath and made a sandwich in the Miglin Gold Coast home before driving off in the victim's Lexus May 6, 1997: Madson's Jeep is found parked illegally near Miglin's home; inside are news clippings about the murders of Trail and Madson May 9, 1997: The body of cemetery care worker William Reese, 45, is found in Pennsville, New Jersey; Miglin's Lexus is parked outside and Reese's Chevrolet pickup truck has been stolen July 15, 1997: Gianni Versace is shot outside his mansion in Miami Beach after returning from purchasing magazines at a nearby store July 23, 1997: Cunanan fatally shoots himself on a houseboat in Miami, less than three miles from Versace's home, leaving no suicide note. Advertisement

Following Lee's murder, Cunanan would go on to kill one other man before fatally shooting famed fashion designer Gianni Versace outside his mansion in Miami Beach on July 15, 1997.

Cunanan allegedly walked up to Versace as the designer was returning to his Miami mansion after buying magazines at a local store.

As Versace was putting the key in the oor lock, the spree killer shot 50-year-old Verace twice, once in the face at point-blank range and one behind the left ear in the neck.

Cunanan took off as the designer died on the steps of his home.

A nationwide manhunt was launched after Versaces murder, and the Associated Press reported at the time that other people  including celebrities  could be on Cunanans hit list.

On July 23, a caretaker was checking on an unoccupied houseboat less than three miles from Versaces home when he found someone inside, heard a shot and called the police. Cunanan, they said, shot himself in the mouth  and left no note.

Cunanan's killings were detailed in season two of American Crime Story. Miglin and Lee's story is mostly depicted in episode three which was titled A Random Killing.

The episode followed the couple, portrayed by actors Judith Light and Mike Farrell, and track's Miglin's relationship with Lee.

It also focuses on how Miglin dealt with the loss of her husband and the strength she uses to keep her businesses together amidst the tragedy.

Light, in a 2018 interview with Vulture, said that as she prepared for the role she focused on convoying how much Miglin loved Lee.

'She loved this man deeply and was completely devoted to him. He was a man who allowed her to be all that she could be, and she was, in many ways, a woman ahead of her time,' Light said.

'And she had a man who supported her in her endeavors. She is a great businesswoman and he was a great businessman, and they had a very connected, deeply loving relationship.'
Disgraced former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo's Department of Health deliberately undercounted the number of COVID-19 nursing home deaths by more than 4,000, state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said in an audit released on Tuesday night.

Cuomo, who resigned over sexual harassment claims in August, is said to have known full-well about the undercount in May 2020, but continued to exclude the figures from his official totals of around 9,000 deaths until February 2021, when the mortality figure suddenly jumped above 13,000.

He faces a federal investigation into nursing home deaths, which is ongoing.

The former governor, since replaced by his former Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, came under fire for directing nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients at the start of the pandemic. That led to the virus to spread like wildfire in those facilities and leading to an estimated 15,000 deaths among vulnerable residents.

His alleged misleading behavior came as he was praised for his response to the initial COVID outbreak in New York City, and the publication of a controversial COVID memoir in late 2020, for which he was paid a $5 million advance.

Death counts which were inaccurate coupled with mismanagement led to a situation in which the true number of nursing home deaths is still not one hundred percent certain.

'While the Department's duty is to act solely to promote public health, we determined that, rather than providing accurate and reliable information during a public health emergency, the Department instead conformed its presentation to the Executive's narrative, often presenting data in a manner that misled the public,' the report states.

Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo had long faced criticism over his administration's handling of COVID-19, particularly in nursing homes

'The pandemic was devastating and deadly for New Yorkers living in nursing homes. Families have a right to know if their loved one's COVID-19 death was counted, but many still don't have answers from the state Department of Health,' DiNapoli said his report.

'Our audit findings are extremely troubling. The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth.

'The pandemic is not over, and I am hopeful the current administration will make changes to improve accountability and protect lives. An important step would be for DOH to provide the families who lost loved ones with answers as to the actual number of nursing homes residents who died. These families are still grieving, and they deserve no less,' DiNapoli said.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, pictured, released the findings of an audit Tuesday night

The audit, which runs to some 58 pages found the Department of Health 'used alternating methodologies to account for nursing home deaths' during the pandemic and 'consistently underreported the total number.'

For example, the audit states that between from May 3, 2020, to February 3, 2021, the Cuomo administration had internal data showing that 13,147 nursing home residents had died from COVID but they were only publicly reporting 9,076 resident deaths.

Among the key findings in the comptroller's audit was the 'understating' of nursing home deaths by at least 4,100.

The reported death counts differed between those that occurred inside of nursing homes and those which occurred in hospitals.

Throughout much of the pandemic, the Cuomo administration only counted residents who died in elder care facilities, not those who died in hospitals, when releasing information about nursing homes. Pictured, a patient is loaded into an ambulance by emergency medical workers outside Cobble Hill Health Center in Brooklyn

Throughout much of the pandemic, the Cuomo administration only counted residents who died in elder care facilities, not those who died in hospitals, when releasing information about nursing homes.

The comptroller suggested that at times during the crisis, the number was undercounted by more than 50 percent in order for Governor Cuomo to continue to push a narrative that would make it appear as though things in New York State were under control.

Officials at the Department of Health have been unable to explain the discrepancies in the figures, according to the audit which notes that the 'executive repeatedly reported incorrect data, inflating the perception of New York's performance against other states.'

Officials at the DOH even refused to submit auditors a breakdown of the nursing home residents who died from COVID.

Families who lost elderly loved ones to COVID-19 mock funeral for Governor Andrew Cuomo's leadership and integrity outside virus-hit nursing home in October 2020

People who've lost loved ones due to Covid-19 while they were in New York nursing homes attend a protest and vigil on March 25, 2021 in New York City

It means that the exact numbers of lives lost in nursing homes due to the virus may never truly be known.

Auditors also concluded officials were not prepared for the deadly outbreak of coronavirus in such care facilities and then the Department of Health then deliberately muddled the information so as Governor Cuomo sought to control what was made public.

'These are not routine actions by state agencies undergoing an Office of the State Comptroller audit and raise serious concerns about the control environment at DOH,' the audit said.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said that former Governor Cuomo had already addressed the scandal over nursing home death figures publicly while still in office.

'As the number of out-of-facility deaths were reported last January, this is not news,' Azzopardi said. 'However what is peculiar is the comptroller's release of this audit now - but no one has ever accused him of being above politics.'

State Attorney General Letitia James praised DiNapoli's audit noting that it tallied with her own January 2021 report into nursing homes which revealed how the DOH had 'misrepresented' the number of nursing home deaths

State Attorney General Letitia James praised DiNapoli's audit noting that it tallied with her own January 2021 report into nursing homes which revealed how the DOH had 'misrepresented' the number of nursing home deaths.

It led to then-Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to release rejigged statistics that included hospital deaths nearly doubling the previous death toll bringing it to more than 15,000 seniors.

'This audit affirms many of the findings that we uncovered last year about the state's response to COVID, most notably that DOH and the former governor undercounted the number of deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent,' James said in a statement.

'I am grateful to Comptroller DiNapoli for bringing much needed transparency to this critical issue. My office will continue to monitor nursing home conditions and ensure the safety of our most vulnerable residents.'

Dr. Howard A. Zucker, was commissioner of the New York State Department of Health at the time. Both Governor Cuomo and Zucker are blamed for the under-counting of deaths

The Health Department also responded to DiNapoli's findings arguing that any discrepancies were the fault of Cuomo officials.

'The scope of health data that was released to the public by the prior administration was determined by that executive chamber, not department personnel,' the agency stated.

In January, the Manhattan district attorney's office decided it would not be filing criminal charges in connection with the nursing homes deaths under Cuomo, but federal prosecutors are still probing the issue.

Cuomo, 64, a Democrat, was forced to resign among the mire of of scandal after a report by the attorney general last August found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women in direct violation of state and federal law.

Cuomo reluctantly announced his resignation soon afterwards.
A crying woman was in excruciating pain as she repeatedly asked a Sydney gynaecologist accused of raping her during an examination to stop, she has told a court.

Richard Ian Reid, who has since retired, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped a patient on eight occasions over four years and denies he ever improperly examined her.

The Crown alleges the man inserted his fingers into the woman's vagina on each occasion for his own sexual gratification.

The Crown alleges the doctor examined the patient without gloves and inserted his fingers into the woman for his own sexual gratification

The examinations of the patient - who suffers from endometriosis - were performed without gloves, while she was needlessly completely naked, the prosecutor said.

Some were unnecessary in the circumstances, while others were conducted in such a way that they had no diagnostic value, and Reid knew the complainant was not consenting, she said.

Giving evidence at the judge-alone trial in the Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday, the woman - who cannot be named - said she had begun seeing Reid after hearing he was a 'genius' at treating her condition.

Reid told her he was the only person in Australia who could do the surgery he was proposing, and at one point promised to make her vagina 'like a 17-year-old's', she said.

After the operation in November 2009, the woman complained of increased pain and a litany of other issues.

She was incontinent, regularly bleeding heavily, had developed blisters and was experiencing a 'rotting' smell.

Going to the toilet left her crying and screaming, she said.

But in February Reid told the woman she would heal with time.

'I tried to reason with him and say how can it heal when it is all blocked?' the woman told the court, crying.

'I've got no vagina.'

The woman says she 'didn't want to upset' Reid because she believed 'no one else could fix (her) up.'

At her next visit in May she again told the doctor the pain was making her life miserable.

Reid asked her to undress completely, the woman said, then lay down on the examination table.

'I felt extremely vulnerable. But at the same time, I didn't want to upset him.'

Reid - who the woman had noticed was not wearing gloves - then moved her legs around roughly, like she was a 'raggedy doll' and began examining her.

The examination was so painful she began crying and asked him to stop, but he didn't, she said.

Reid later asked the woman to get off the table, and while he was sitting and she was standing, pulled her between his legs.

He again began 'shoving' his fingers inside the woman, while making grunting noises, she said.

'He was so close eventually I could feel he was having an erection.'

The woman said she had begun seeing Reid because she had heard he was a 'genius' at treating her condition.

It was 'absolutely excruciating', the woman said, and she again asked him to stop while crying.

Reid then tried to kiss her, gazed at her with a 'wanting look', and at one point put his face between her breasts and said she smelled beautiful.

'It was like he was a robot. He didn't look human,' she said.

'My mind and my body was just so busy surviving, and at the same time not upsetting him.

'I knew he was the only one that knew what he had done to me with the surgeries and no one else could fix me up.'

Reid's lawyer earlier told the court the woman has 'falsified' her claims - reported years later in 2018 - and the doctor had never examined her while she was completely naked, had never put his head between her breasts, and had never penetrated her as described.

She was lying for financial reasons, she said.

'Her demonstrable motive to lie impugns her credibility such that the Crown cannot eliminate the real possibility that she has fabricated the substance of these allegations.'

The trial continues.
Victoria is urging residents to get their Covid booster jabs after the new Omicron variant appeared in half of wastewater sequencing results.

Victoria recorded its highest daily case number on Wednesday with 9,426 new infections as authorities warn people to protect themselves against the new contagious Covid variant, BA.2.

Covid Response Commander Jeroen Weimar said it is important Victorians to get their booster shots before winter moves in and BA.2 takes hold as the dominant strain.

Victoria recorded its highest daily case number on Wednesday with 9,426 new infections as authorities warn people to protect themselves against the new contagious Covid variant, BA.2

'It's really important that we use this time to get themselves protected with that third dose,' he said.

'Those numbers are starting to trickle up again and if we look at the sequencing we're doing, we're now seeing BA.2, the sub-lineage, in around half of our wastewater sequencing results.

'We would expect to see case numbers continue to trend upwards over March and April as people spend more time indoors and mix more.'

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley also said the BA2 strain could see case numbers rise again.

On Wednesday an Autumn Blitz vaccination program was announced that will target LGAs that have the lowest third dose vaccination rate

'In the space of a few weeks we've seen the Omicron BA.2 variant go from pretty much nowhere to be seen to the initial reports of at least half of cases,' he said.

'It is more infectious so we would see cases rise, so far there is no evidence that it is more virulent.'

On Wednesday an Autumn Blitz vaccination program was announced that will target LGAs that have the lowest third dose vaccination rate.

LGA's affected in the plan include Hume, Dandenong, Melton, Moreland, Casey and Darebin where 120 pop-up clinics will open.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard also urged NSW residents to 'roll up their sleeves' for a booster shot as the new variant increases case numbers.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said only 40 per cent of the state's eligible population over the age of 16 had received their booster shot

'We can see an uptick quite substantially very soon in Covid cases and that by the middle of April we could be looking at double the number of cases we've got now,' he said.

'It really does worry me and it should worry the individuals who haven't actually gone out and got their boosters.

'There's roughly 40 per cent of the eligible population over the age of 16 who have not gone and got a booster.

'It's about time that everybody got real and went and got vaccinated and got their boosters as quickly as possible.'

Mr Hazzard also reminded NSW residents that 'pandemic basics' - like wearing a mask - were still a vital part of reducing cases

Mr Hazzard also reminded NSW residents that 'pandemic basics' were still a vital part of reducing cases.

He said wearing a mask, social distancing, staying home when unwell, and good hand hygiene were all essential to good health.

'Doing all the basics that we've learnt in the two years of the pandemic,' Mr Hazzard said.

'What we've know from overseas is this pandemic hasn't gone away its well and truly amongst us, some people are kidding themselves that it's not around of course it's around.'
The handsome florist accused of defrauding Sydney's rich and famous has hinted he is heading to the US.

Brennon Mrzyk, 25, was kicked out of his prime site Mr Flamboyant florist's shop in ritzy Double Bay last month after allegedly failing to pay $33,000 in rent.

He's also been charged with fraud after a five-month police investigation into his alleged use of client's credit card details to pay his own bills.

But while Double Bay, beloved by Sydney's rich and famous, was abuzz with gossip about the florist, Mrzyk took to Instagram to hint at his next movement.

Alongside a picture of him working out in a gym posted at 1.30pm on Wednesday, he added the caption 'pre-flight pump' along with emojis of a bulging bicep, an aeroplane, and the American flag.

Handsome florist Brennon Mrzyk, accused of defrauding Sydney 's rich and famous, has hinted he's set to fly to the US in the wake of the scandal which has rocked ritzy Double Bay

Mrzyk - who previously worked as a model and featured in a Vodafone ad campaign on the side of buses in Tasmania - fronted Downing Central Local Court to deny the fraud charge last month and is due back in court in August.

His family, still living in Tasmania, has rallied around him, with sister Cassandra Mrzyk branding the allegations 'a bunch of bulls**t'.

'We will all be there to support him in court, if that's what it comes to. There's been a lot of bullsh**tting,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

Mrzyk's property developer mother Tania Mrzyk (pictured left) has furiously defended her son while sister Cassandra Mrzyk (right) branded the allegations a 'bunch of bulls***'

Brennon Mrzyk previously worked as a model and featured in a Vodafone ad campaign on the side of buses in Tasmania

His property developer mother Tania Mrzyk also responded angrily to the accusations.

'My son has done nothing at all,' she insisted. She denied allegations of any family rift, adding: 'He does not owe his family any money whatsoever.'

Mrzyk told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that he had a family trust fund and insisted the court allegations were part of a conspiracy against him.

Mrzyk told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that he had a family trust fund and insisted the court allegations were part of a conspiracy against him

Mrzyk set up shop two years ago in Sydney's Ferrari and Bentley-studded Double Bay and was immediately embraced by locals.

He initially charmed local businesspeople who viewed the young Tasmanian as 'just the sweetest guy' for his quick wit and good looks, bringing wealthy customers flocking to his store.

However, it all came crashing down last month as Mrzyk faced court charged with alleged credit card fraud and was kicked out of his shop accused of failing to pay a $33,000 unpaid rent bill, which he disputes.

For his part, Mrzyk claimed he faced an orchestrated attempt by locals to bring him down after he split up with his boyfriend.

Mrzyk is planning to fight the charge in court.

Brennon Mrzyk, 25, (pictured) florist to Sydney's glitzy rich and famous, is at the centre of a neighbourhood stoush over alleged unpaid debts and a fraud charge

Mrzyk's store, Mr Flamboyant, before it was cleared out recently

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Mrzyk claimed he faced an orchestrated attempt by locals to bring him down after splitting up with his partner.

'I've been in business more than five years now,' he said. 'And one thing I've learnt is don't mix with fake a**e bitches.

'I'm a good person, and always have been. I always put people first and was generous at the best of times and the right people who know me, know that.

'Everyone makes mistakes. I have a very successful business and we will continue to rise above this. I have a beautiful team of staff and we are about to open a new premises.'

Mrzyk denied his charge of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception at Downing Central Local Court last month. He will return to court in August.
The owners of collapsed construction giant Condev have broken down in tears as they described the devastation of losing the business they built from the ground up.

Steve and Tracey Marais spoke at the builders Gold Coast headquarters on Wednesday saying the 'ink isn't yet dry' but the company is formally in liquidation.

'We advised our staff there was no need to come to work today but there's so many here. It's like being at a funeral,' a tearful Ms Marais told the press conference.

She said the company had an excellent relationship with developers and were disappointed they could not 'come to the party' when it pleaded for a $25million bailout deal on Monday that would've kept the builder afloat.

Steve Marais (left) and Tracey Marais (right) have tearfully explained the collapse of the $1billion construction company Condev was due to the 'perfect storm' of issues

Soaring material prices, torrential rain, and Covid disruptions have plagued the industry and builders who have quoted projects with thin profit margins have been financially slammed

'We believe that if people stand together the impossible is possible we still believe that they [the developers] don't understand what they're doing [by not providing the bailout],' Ms Marais said.

'We really do believe that they don't understand the market enough.'

She said the builder had been battered by a 'perfect storm' of surging commodity prices, labour shortages, and work disruptions caused by Covid and torrential rains.

When asked if she considered other big builders to also be struggling, Ms Marais said this was definitely the case.

'I don't think potentially, I think for sure,' she said.

Developers on the firms projects have agreed to finish them and pay any outstanding subcontractor fees.

Ms Marais (pictured) said other builders in the industry were also struggling

While large companies are managing with big orders, small to medium businesses are really struggling - with extended waiting periods for materials impacting jobs

Prices of materials have been rising steadily since the start of the pandemic, but exploded in April and May last year (average prices of commodities - Arcardis statistics)

Ms Marais said the builder had enough cash to pay workers and suppliers for the next three months but, with the entire industry feeling the squeeze, it took the drastic step of going into liquidation to not 'hurt people more'.

A tearful Mr Marais added he had been in the building industry for more than four decades and 'loved every moment except the last 15 months'.

He added he 'hopes everything works out' for others in the construction sector.

Condev currently has 18 projects across southeast Queensland and northern NSW, with 14 in the Gold Coast where the builder is based.

They include the Cannes Waterfront in Surfers Paradise, The Brookes Residences in Varsity Lakes, Natura and Brake Street both in Burleigh, and the Jindi Apartments in Palm Beach.

Just a few weeks ago another Australian constructions giant Probuild was placed into voluntary administration after falling into tens of millions of dollars of debt, leaving hundreds unemployed and dozens of projects unfinished nationwide.

ProBuild owed 786 employees across 19 projects $14million, and even more to its 2300 creditors (pictured, a construction site in Darling Harbour)

ProBuild and several other construction businesses under the WBHO Australia Group umbrella went into administration after the parent company, WBHO South Africa, withdrew further financial support for them.

Probuild reportedly lost as much as $120million on a bungled 264 high-quality residential apartment project on Brisbane's Queen Street.

After Monday's bailout plea, two key developers for scrapped their contracts with Condev pushing the company into liquidation.

'It's heart breaking to advise that there is no requirement for you to come to work tomorrow,' Ms Marais told staff in an email on Tuesday night.

'We never dreamed the world would be affected by a coronovirus and price hikes that would put us out of business,' she said.

One subcontractor working with the company said he was owed about $1million but felt for the business because they had previously been good with payments.

The subcontractor claimed the company had quoted extremely competitive prices for some projects.

He said these thin margins combined with disruptions to the industry in the last two years, which include labour shortages, floods and soaring material costs, were responsible for company's problems.

Industry insiders have said skyrocketing prices of commodities are causing tradies to struggle across the sector, with hundreds of businesses at risk of going bust.

Staff and contractors for Condev Constructions, based in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, were emailed by co-founder Tracey Marais on Tuesday night

Supply chain issues and lack of stock from national and international sources led to a spike in demand and prices for materials, with tradies bearing the brunt.

Costs of metal ores, plastics, and timber have been consistently rising for years, but particularly through the pandemic as factories were forced to shut down for extended periods.

The trickle-down effect of these surging costs mean Australian workers are forced to cover the difference, with the country on the verge of a major crisis.

'I don't think a lot of companies are taking the cost increases seriously,' Matthew Mackey, executive director of engineering company Arcadis, said.

'Smaller businesses don't have the cash flow, they don't have the same safety net. They're going to feel the pain a lot sooner and a lot more harshly.'

Materials, including steel and timber, are having the most significant price surge due to international demand and lack of supply. Electrical products, PVC, and roofing materials are also getting more expensive.

Queensland construction giant Condev has been smashed by back-to-back issues, including labour shortages, rising material costs, and floods

While large companies manage big orders, small to medium businesses are struggling - with extended waiting periods for materials impacting jobs.

Margins are also significantly decreasing, with the construction industry generally only earning profits between two and four per cent.

'The market is trying to respond to the volatility. It's less now about supply availability, but energy costs are going through the roof, commodity prices continue to rise, material costs are still increasing.

'Contractors, particularly trades, are going to be struggling. If they've already signed a contract that doesn't allow for fluctuations in materials, they're going to be stuck with those prices.

'If costs have gone up in six months, they're going to have to wear those costs, and that's the issue.'
A frantic last push to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is under way today with British negotiators on the ground in Iran and ministers making clear an historic 400million debt will be paid.

As hopes rise of a breakthrough amid a wider push to bring Tehran in from the cold, Boris Johnson said talks on releasing the British-Iranian and two other dual nationals are 'moving forward'.

But both the PM - who is on a visit to Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia - and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss refused to be drawn further for fear of derailing the delicate compromise.

In a round of interviews, Ms Truss made a point of committing to settling the debt from tanks that were paid for four decades ago but never delivered due to the Iranian revolution.

'We've also made it a priority to pay the debt that we owe to Iran,' she told Sky News.

'We have been clear that this is a legitimate debt that we owe Iran, and we have been seeking ways to pay it.'

The apparent progress comes amid speculation of a strategic deal with Iran to ease dependence on Russian oil and gas, with claims that a new agreement on the Middle East state's nuclear ambitions is close.

A wider pact could trigger the end of sanctions and allow Tehran's massive oil and gas stocks to start flowing on to international markets, potentially easing the impact of the standoff with Russia that has sent prices spiralling.

It emerged yesterday that 43-year-old Zaghari-Ratcliffe's British passport had been returned to her.

She is at her family home in the Iranian capital, but not permitted to leave the country.

Her MP has revealed that Iranian authorities threatened Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family before handing her passport back, in what could have been an attempt to prevent her being critical if she is allowed to leave.

Speaking to broadcasters at Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel, Mr Johnson said: 'It is true and it has been for a long time that we're negotiating for the release of our dual nationals in Tehran.

'There are some very sad cases, including Nazanin. I really don't think I should say much more, I'm sorry, although things are moving forward.

'I shouldn't really say much more right now just because those negotiations continue to be under way and we're going right up to the wire.'

Negotiations with Iran to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (pictured with her daughter Gabriella) are 'going right to the wire', said Boris Johnson today amid claims a deal has been struck to repay a 400million 'debt'

Boris Johnson (pictured inspecting the Guard of Honour as he arrives at an airport for his visit to the United Arab Emirates today)said talks on Nazanin were 'moving forward'

Lawyer Hojjat Kermani said he was hopeful for Zaghari-Racliffe's (pictured in March 2020) release 'in the next few days' but that he had not been given an exact day as Tehran and London pressed on with talks about the long-standing debt

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 and later convicted of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment. Pictured: her husband Richard Ratcliffe hunger strikes outside the Foreign Office in London in November 2021

The Shah of Iran paid Britain 650million for 1,750 Chieftain tanks (file photo above) in the 1970s but only 185 had been delivered when he was toppled in 1979 and the new government cancelled the order

The British mother held on spurious charges by Iran regime Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature at the capital's university, before becoming an English teacher. Following a devastating earthquake in Iran in 2003, she went to work as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency. She then went on to work for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study for a masters in communication management. It was a month after her arrival in the UK that she met her future husband through mutual friends. Describing their first date, Richard Ratcliffe said they 'clicked' and he felt like he had 'come home'. The couple got married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter Gabriella, was born in June 2014, something Mr Ratcliffe said changed both their outlooks on life. 'It was very important for Nazanin to keep going back to Iran to show her daughter to her parents before she would always go once a year, but she tried to go twice after,' he said. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe began working at Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2011 as a project co-ordinator before taking on the role of a project manager. Mr Ratcliffe described his wife as very house-proud, meticulous and tidy, and said she has a 'pretty keen sense of justice', and is 'outraged' by what has happened to her and her daughter. Advertisement

Iran has long insisted Britain owes the money for 1,750 Chieftain tanks and other vehicles which were paid for but not delivered after the 1979 revolution toppled the Western-backed Shah.

Both Tehran and London have denied there is a link with the fate of Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

But in December, Ms Truss confirmed the 400million is a 'legitimate debt' that the Government wants to pay.

And experts said it is part of a much broader push to restore relations with the Gulf state, which went into the deep freeze over fears nuclear fuel it claimed was being enriched for power stations could be used for weapons.

Ms Siddiq said this morning there had been some 'scare tactics' when Zaghari-Ratcliffe was questioned in Iran at the weekend.

The Labour MP told Sky news: 'She went in for questioning and there was a long discussion.

'There were some scare tactics used, from what I can gather, about her family and threats to her family, but she wasn't quite sure what they were getting at until they gave her her passport - her British passport.'

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, from London, was arrested at Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport while travelling to introduce her daughter Gabriella - then not even two years old - to her parents in April 2016.

She was sentenced to five years in prison over spurious allegations of plotting against the Tehran government and served out most of her first sentence in Tehran's Evin prison.

She was released in March 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic and kept under house arrest.

In March 2021, she was released from house arrest but she was summoned to court again on the new charge of 'propaganda against Iran'.

She was then sentenced to a new one-year term in jail in April last year. However that sentence has not yet started and she is banned from leaving the country.

Local reports said she would likely return to London via Muscat following a phone call between Iran's foreign minister and his Omani counterpart.

Iranian officials did not comment when asked whether the amount has been paid by Britain as reported by some Iranian outlets.

There are also claims fellow British-Iranian prisoner Anoosheh Ashoori could be released in the coming days.

Ms Siddiq said: 'I am very pleased to say that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been given her British passport back.

'She is still at her family home in Tehran. I also understand that there is a British negotiating team in Tehran right now.'

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK's chief executive, warned that the latest reports should be treated with caution as there had been 'false dawn after false dawn' in the long-running process.

Mr Ratcliffe, pictured, has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office without food

Mr Ratcliffe, the husband of Iranian detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, ended his hunger strike because he said the pair's daughter 'needs two parents'

Mr Ratcliffe said he was starting to get pains in his feet overnight, and after a chat with a doctor the decision was made to end the hunger strike

He said: 'We sincerely hope these reports are correct. The detainees and their families have been suffering for years, and a resolution can't come quickly enough.

'It's been clear for a long time that the Iranian authorities have been targeting foreign nationals with spurious national security-related charges to exert diplomatic pressure.

'In the past we've had false dawn after false dawn over possible breakthroughs, so it's only right to be cautious at the moment.'

Efforts to strike a nuclear agreement with Iran have been going on for many years.

The so-called 'P5 plus one' group of powers, including the US, Britain and Russia, have been engaging with Tehran.

A deal was sealed when Barack Obama was president, but collapsed when Donald Trump took over in the White House.

Another pact has seemed close for several weeks, but Russia has been holding up the process by insisting its relations with Iran are not subject to the international sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.

Tory MP Bob Seely, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told MailOnline: 'I'm not sure exactly where it is going to lead but I do think one of the fallouts from Russia is that there will be a renewed emphasis on getting some kind of deal and understanding with Iran.

'This war clearly is reshaping the world and if you look at what is happening, with Boris off to Saudi, I think there are lots of things that are going to be playing out in the months to come.'

'For sure if you can get a lot of it back up and running and in, potentially very important.

'We are going to need to find a substitute in the short to medium term. Longer term is not so much of an issue with renewables and all that sort of stuff.

'But it is effectively the next two years.

'Assuming that Putin is going to stay in power there is going to need to be an answer about where we are going to get our supplies from.'

He added: 'Maybe the Iranians will see this as an opportunity themselves. They have got more leverage, but maybe there is a correlation of interests now to do something that everyone can live with and will take the situation forward.'

Asked about the development yesterday afternoon, Mr Johnson said he did not want to 'tempt fate' by commenting while 'delicate discussions' are still taking place

Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said of the Nazanin developments: 'We are very close to the nuclear deal being revived probably behind the scenes the Americans have been saying any part of this deal requires the release of Americans. This must have been part of the British deal.

'The Iranians will want to imply one has got nothing to do with the other. So this may be why the passport issue is being dealt with now.'

He added: 'The Americans are obviously looking actively at other sources of oil. Almost anywhere is preferable to Russia at this moment in time.

'If sanctions are going to be released anyway as a result of a nuclear deal, then obviously it is not too great a concession to include Iran in that.'

'Both the American sources as well as those from the Middle East suggest an agreement is ready to be signed.'

The British government have repeatedly said they are working hard to secure Zaghari-Ractliffe's release but diplomatic efforts have so far failed to yield results.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe held a 21-day hunger strike outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) late last year in a bid to kickstart diplomatic efforts once more.

There are also claims fellow British-Iranian prisoner Anoosheh Ashoori (pictured with his wife Sherry Izadi) could be released in the coming days

Pictured: Anoosheh Ashoori with his wife and daughter

Left to right: Aryan Ashoori, the son of Anoosheh Ashoori, Richard Ratcliffe, Sherry Izadi, the wife of Anoosheh Ashoori, MP for Lewisham East Janet Daby and Elika Ashoori, the daughter of Anoosheh Ashoori

He began his demonstration on October 24 after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was 'caught in a dispute between two states'.

In January, the daughter of another British-Iranian detained in Iran said her father was to begin a hunger strike due to a lack of progress in securing his release.

Retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori has been held at Evin Prison on charges of spying for Israel, which he denies, for more than four years.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation said that when Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested she had travelled to Iran a personal capacity and had not been doing work in Iran.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation is a charity organisation that is independent of Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News.

The Shah of Iran paid Britain 650million for 1,750 Chieftain tanks in the 1970s but only 185 had been delivered when he was toppled in 1979 and the new government cancelled the order.

Britain was told to pay back 450million by the International Chamber of Commerce in a 2009 ruling but sanctions on military equipment prevent payment.
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Russia has lost another of its generals in the war in Ukraine, Kyiv has said, along with seven members of an elite force under Vladimir Putin's direct command as Ukraine inflicts punishing losses on Moscow's war machine.

Major-General Oleg Mityaev, 47, commander of the army's 150th motorised rifle division, died fighting around the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine's interior ministry said late Tuesday as officials released a photo of what they claimed was his corpse on the battlefield.

It marks the fourth Russian general that Ukraine claims to have taken out and the 13th officer overall, as Putin's invading forces suffer heavy losses at the hands of dogged Ukrainian defenders.

Seven elite SWAT fighters from the feared Dzerzhinsky Division of Russia's national guard were also revealed to have died in the fighting.

A mourning picture was released in Russia showing the photographs of six elite 'maroon beret' special forces fighters from the Vityaz Special Purpose Centre of the Dzerzhinsky Division, named after Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky. It was later revealed that a seventh had been slain.

Meanwhile respected test pilot Captain Alexander Garnaev quit a number of positions over the 'completely incomprehensible' war. 'Sooner or later society will know the final number of losses [and] be horrified,' he added.

A Hero of Russia and Honoured Test Pilot, he launched a scathing attack on the way Ukrainian cities have been 'bombed and crushed with tanks'.

Major-General Oleg Mityaev, 47 (left and right), has been killed by Ukrainian troops near Mariupol - Kyiv has said - marking the fourth Russian general they claim to have killed in three weeks of fighting

Seven members of an elite SWAT unit under the direct command of Vladimir Putin were revealed to have died fighting in Ukraine, with pictures of six of them arranged at a funeral service back in Russia (above)

Russia's war casualties Major General Andrei Kolesnikov: Commander of the 29th Combined Army Army Major General Vitaly Gerasimov: First deputy commander of Russia's 41st army who took part in operations in Syria and Crimea Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky: Deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District killed during a special operation by a sniper Major General Andrei Kolesnikov of the 29th Combined Arms Army was killed last week in another blow to the Kremlin Major General Vitaly Gerasimov (left) was killed last week and was the first deputy commander of Russia's 41st army. Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky (Right), 47, deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, was also killed in Ukraine Colonel Andrei Zakharov: Killed in a Ukrainian ambush near Kyiv Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov: Leader of marine brigade killed after Ukrainian forces recaptured Chernihiv Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov: Leader of air assault troops killed in Chernihiv Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky: Leader of air assault troops killed in the south of Ukraine Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov (left) and Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov (right) died in a battle in Chuhuiv and Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky (left), who led air assault troops died in the south of Ukraine and Captain Alexey Glushchak (right), of the GRU intelligence service, who died fighting near Mariupol Colonel Andrei Zakharov (right, with Vladimir Putin) was killed in an ambush near Kyiv in the opening days of the war, while General Magomed Tushaev: Chechen special forces leader killed in an ambush near Hostomel Vladimir Zhonga: Leader of neo-Nazi Sparta Battalion backed by the Kremlin Georgy Dudorov: Deputy commander of the reconnaissance company for the 137th regiment of the 106th Tula Guards Airborne Division Aleksey Aleshko: Paratroop intelligence officer that was a graduate of the prestigious Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne School Vladimir Zhoga (left), the leader of a military group from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was killed in Volnovakha while Chechen general Magomed Tushaev (right) was reported killed in an ambush on an armoured column Georgy Dudorov (left), deputy commander of an airborne reconnaissance division, and Aleksey Aleshko (right), a paratroop intelligence officer, have also been killed Advertisement

Blunders early on in the campaign including poor planning and logistics that saw vehicles stall due to breakdowns, run out of fuel and get bogged down in mud are thought to be behind the eye-watering officer death toll - as commanders were forced to the front to fix the problems before being picked off by Ukrainians.

Moscow has remained tight-lipped about its losses in Ukraine, having only acknowledged the death of one general and around 500 men. Ukraine puts the figure at 13,500 troops including thousands of vehicles and tanks. Western estimates are slightly lower, between 2,000 and 6,000, but that would still amount to punishing losses for Putin.

To put the figures in context, it means Russian forces suffering the same casualties in three weeks of fighting in Ukraine as all US forces killed in Afghanistan and Iraq in two decades.

Putin is thought to have planned for a short and sharp invasion lasting only a few days, aimed at decapitating the government and installing a puppet regime. Instead he has found himself sucked into a hugely demanding war of attrition where the cost of victory - if he can still achieve it - may be too high to justify.

Among the elite SWAT troops to be killed was Major Viktor Maksimchuk, 44, commander of a motorised rifle regiment, who died fighting near Mariupol. A father and grandfather, his funeral is due today in Krasnodar region.

Mikhail Belyakov, a 30-year-old sergeant from Penza region, died fighting in Ukraine on February 27 with his death announced Tuesday. Belyakov, a father-of-two, was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Also killed was Alexey Blinkov, a graduate of the Novosibirsk Institute of National Guard Troops. The fourth SWAT fighter to be named was Maxim Pustozvonov, a native of Samara region.

The body of another Russian soldier Aslanbek Mukhtarov was reported to have been found on the battlefield two-and-a-half weeks after he died. Air force pilot Captain Alexey Belkov was killed when his plane was downed.

Two others from the same city, Bratsk, in Siberia, who had been moved 3,500 miles to fight in the war - Ilya Kubik, 18, and Pyotr Tereshonok were also confirmed to have died as their funerals were held. 'I bow my head before the valour of our soldiers and officers,' said the city's mayor.

Poor planning for Putin's 'special military operation' - which appears to have included keeping many commanders and soldiers in the dark about the invasion until the last minute - is thought to have contributed to the high toll.

Captured Russian soldiers have recounted how they were told before going into Ukraine that the government had already fallen or was about to fall, and they were being sent in as liberators and to expect light resistance - only to run straight into Ukrainian forces armed with Western weapons and determined to fight them off.

That has led to reports of desertions, with Russian troops walking off the battlefield, surrendering with barely a fight, or wounding themselves in order to get out of combat. Others have reportedly refused to carry out orders.

Garnaev, speaking out against the war on Tuesday, also hinted at disquiet in the Russian ranks - saying it is 'unbearable' to watch the invasion unfold. 'It is unbearable for me to see how much our men - including those I know personally - suffer,' he said as he quit as chairman of the board of Russia's Club of Heroes.

An apartment building in Kyiv takes heavy damage in the early hours of Wednesday after being struck by Russian artillery, as Putin's forces continue to bombard the Ukrainian capital

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze inside a Kyiv apartment block that was sparked after it was hit by a Russian rocket

Heavy damage is seen to the top floor of a Kyiv apartment block after it was struck by Russian artillery early on Wednesday

A plume of smoke rises into the morning sky as the sun rises over Kyiv, which has been under Russian bombardment for days

Two columns of smoke rise into the morning air in Kyiv, after another Russian artillery strike in the early hours

Amid the mounting death toll for Russia, there is increasing hope that some kind of peace deal can be struck in the coming weeks to either end or pause the fighting - allowing Ukraine to get much-needed humanitarian aid to besieged cities.

Volodymr Zelensky said on Wednesday peace talks with Russia were sounding 'more realistic' but more time was needed for any deal to be in the interests of Ukraine.

Zelensky made the early morning statement after his team said a peace deal that will end Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be struck with Vladimir Putin within one or two weeks because Russian forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.

'The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine,' Zelenskiy said in a video address on Wednesday, ahead of the next round of talks.

Meanwhile Oleksiy Arestovich, one of Zelensky's top aides, said the war would end within weeks and a peace deal struck when Putin's troops run out of resources, but warned that Russia could bring in new reinforcements to bolster their attack, which could prolong the conflict further.

'We are at a fork in the road now,' said Arestovich. 'There will either be a peace deal struck very quickly, within a week or two, with troop withdrawal and everything, or there will be an attempt to scrape together some, say, Syrians for a round two and, when we grind them too, an agreement by mid-April or late April.

'I think that no later than in May, early May, we should have a peace agreement. Maybe much earlier, we will see.'

The assessment echoes that of UK defence sources who say that Kyiv has Moscow 'on the run' and the Russian army could be just two weeks from 'culmination point' - after which 'the strength of Ukraine's resistance should become greater than Russia's attacking force.' Advances across Ukraine have already stopped as Moscow's manpower runs short.

Earlier, Zelensky said that Ukraine must accept it will not become a member of NATO - a statement that will be music to the ears of Vladimir Putin and could pave the way for some kind of peace deal between the warring nations.

Zelensky, who has become a symbol of resistance to Russia's onslaught over the last 20 days, said on Tuesday that 'Ukraine is not a member of NATO' and that 'we have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It's a truth and it must be recognised.'

His statement, while making no firm commitments, will be seen as further opening the door to some kind of peace deal between Ukraine and Russia after negotiators hailed 'substantial' progress at the weekend - without giving any idea what such a deal would look like.

Ahead of the invasion, Putin had been demanding guarantees that Ukraine would never be admitted to NATO along with the removal of all the alliance's troops and weapons from ex-Soviet countries. After being rebuffed by Kyiv, Washington and NATO he launched his 'special military operation' to 'demilitarise' and 'de-Nazify' the country.

Russian negotiators have softened their stance a little since then, saying they want Ukraine to declare neutrality, disarm, recognise Crimea as part of Russia and recognise the whole of the Donbass as independent. Ukraine has been demanding a ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces. Talks have been ongoing this week and Moscow has made no mention of wider demands on NATO in recent days.

The Ukrainians said the talks have included a broader agreement that would lead to the withdrawal of Russian troops, reports the Times.

Zelensky again urged Western allies to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine and deplored NATO's refusal to do so thus far, adding that the dire situation in his country has 'allowed us to see who our true friends are these past 20 days'.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed progress in peace talks with Russia as losses mount, but said more time is needed to get a deal that is 'in Ukraine's interests'

Speaking to the Canadian Parliament, Zelensky said: 'Can you imagine calling other friendly nations, and asking them 'please close the sky, close the airspace, stop the bombing'. And in turn they express their deep concerns about the situation.

'We talk to our partners and they say 'please hold on a little longer',' Zelensky said. Military analysts have said a no-fly zone is unlikely because the U.S. and its allies believe it could escalate the war into a nuclear confrontation.

Meanwhile, talks aimed at ending Russia's military attack on Ukraine face 'fundamental contradictions', while compromise is possible, a member of the Ukrainian delegation and presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, said Tuesday.

'We'll continue tomorrow. A very difficult and viscous negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise,' Podolyak tweeted after talks resumed earlier in the day, with both sides having signalled progress. He said the talks will continue Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, another aide to Zelenskyy, Ihor Zhovkva, struck a more optimistic note, saying that the negotiations had become 'more constructive' and that Russia had softened its stand by no longer airing its demands that Ukraine surrender.

Any deal between Moscow and Kyiv would face a myriad of difficulties, including whether troops would honour a ceasefire and whether Russia could be trusted to keep its end of the bargain.

In a further escalation of Putin's invasion, Russian troops seized a hospital in the city and are holding 500 Ukrainians hostage, using them as human shields.

Russian forces rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the seaport's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and are refusing to let them leave, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Conditions in other cities are also continuing to worsen. Shortly before Zelensky spoke, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko put a three-day curfew in place in the capital - barring civilians from going outside and warning them to prepare for heavy bombardment by Putin's men.

'Today is a difficult and dangerous moment,' Klitschko said in a statement on Telegram on Tuesday. 'This is why I ask all Kyivites to get prepared to stay at home for two days, or if the sirens go off, in the shelters.'

Zelenskyy later said Russian air strikes hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort.

Putin's stuttering invasion has forced even his close allies to admit, publicly, that things are not going to plan.

Russian National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov  once in charge of Putin's personal security  admitted Tuesday that 'not everything is going as fast as we would like'. But he still insisted Russia would achieve victory 'step by step'.

Moscow has not captured any of Ukraine's 10 biggest cities following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.

The Kremlin also said it may still opt to take control of large cities in Ukraine, despite false claims the purpose of its 'special military operation' is to 'liberate' the country.

But, as Russia's invasion falters, its methods become more brutal - with cities increasingly coming under indiscriminate rocket fire. Kyiv, the capital, suffered another round of bombing on Tuesday morning as apartment blocks were set on fire by early-hours strikes.

Kharkiv came under attack again on Tuesday, with the city's mayor saying that more than 600 buildings have been destroyed there since the start of Russia's invasion.

'Schools, nurseries, hospitals, clinics have been destroyed,' said Mayor Ihor Terekhov in a televised interview on Tuesday. 'The Russian army is constantly shelling (us) from the ground and the air.'

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday managed to repel the attack on Kharkiv, who tried to storm the city from their positions in Piatykhatky, a suburb 9 miles to the north, the head of the Kharkiv region said.

The Ukrainian army was able 'to push the enemy back beyond its previous position,' Oleh Synehubov said on the messaging app Telegram. He called it a 'shameful defeat.' There was no information about casualties on either side. But after dark, Russian forces increased their shelling of the eastern city, Ukraine's second largest.

Ukraine's military said four Russian helicopters, a jet, and a cruise missile were shot down by its forces which remained in control of all major cities - including the badly-hit southern port of Mariupol.




South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook on Wednesday visited a key U.S. military base south of Seoul to inspect the allies' combined defense posture, his office said, hours after North Korea's apparently botched missile launch.







During his visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of the capital, Suh met with Gen. Paul LaCamera, the chief of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), and other senior officials of the CFC and the U.N. Command.







Earlier in the day, the North fired an apparent ballistic missile, but it apparently exploded in midair, military sources here said.







"Under the grave security situation, I call on you to focus on the CFC's core mission of defending the Republic of Korea based on the solid combined defense posture," Suh was quoted by his ministry as saying.







He also stressed the importance of maintaining military readiness based on cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. at a time when Seoul is undergoing a presidential transition.







LaCamera said that the CFC will continue to maintain "unwavering" readiness based on close cooperation between the allies, as well as the spirit of the alliance's motto, "We go together," according to the ministry.







During the visit there, Suh was also briefed on progress in the project to relocate the CFC headquarters to Camp Humphreys later this year and met South Korean and U.S. troops stationed there. (Yonhap)


A 78-year-old retirement home resident who indecently touched four girls came to the attention of police when he confessed to being sexually attracted to children, a court has heard.

Peter Graham Stenhouse was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court on Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to 14 counts of indecent treatment of children under 12 years old.

He has previously been convicted of similar offences against eight girls.

The four recent victims were aged between three and nine when he touched them, one offence occurring in 2014 and the others in 2020.

Stenhouse met some girls through their grandmothers.

In the her sentencing Judge Vicki Loury took into account Stenhouse's previous convictions for similar offences against eight pre-pubescent girls and his confession that he is sexually attracted to children

He admitted some offences and being sexually attracted to children after voluntarily attending a police station in March last year saying he wanted to be interviewed, Judge Vicki Loury said.

No complaints had been made about him at the time.

Stenhouse's criminal history includes a conviction for aggravated assault on a girl under 17 when he was 28.

In 1988 he was convicted on nine charges of indecent assault and one of indecent dealing with a girl under 14.

Those offences involved six girls aged between eight and 10, Judge Loury said.

Stenhouse was also convicted in 1992 of aggravated assault after he kissed two eight-year-old girls on the lips.

He had previously been sentenced to probation.

No complaints had been made against Stenhouse, instead he attended a police station and confessed he was sexually attracted to children

Judge Loury said Stenhouse preyed on four very young girls with his very serious offending involving a significant breach of trust.

"It is now well understood that childhood sexual abuse has profound and long-lasting impacts on the lives of victims in their childhood and throughout their adult lives," she added.

Judge Loury took into account Stenhouse's previous convictions for similar offences against eight pre-pubescent girls and his confession that he is sexually attracted to children.

She handed Stenhouse a head sentence of three years behind bars, ordering he be eligible for parole in March next year.

The New Zealand citizen who has lived in Australia for more than 30 years is expected to be deported after serving his jail term.
A journalist in Mexico was executed at his home by gunmen Tuesday, becoming the eighth media member murdered in the country in 2022 - the latest in an unprecedented series of killings that has made Mexico the most dangerous place in the world for the press.

Monitor Michoacan director and reporter Armando Linares was shot dead at home in Zitacuaro, a city in the western state of Michoacan.

Reporters and photographers were murdered in the country this year at a rate of almost one a week, despite claims from the government that the situation is under control.

Linares' killing came six weeks after the murder of a colleague, Roberto Toledo, from the same outlet.

Armando Linares, a director-reporter for Mexican digital news outlet Monitor Michoacan, became the eighth journalist to be murdered in Mexico in 2022 when he was shot dead at his home Tuesday. No arrests have been reported

Police tape blocks the entrance to the Michoacan, Mexico, home of Armando Linares, the director and reporter for online news outlet Monitor Michoacan, who was shot dead Tuesday

It was Linares who announced Toledo's death on January 31 in a video posted to social media.

'We are not armed, we do not carry weapons,' Linares said. 'Our only weapon is a pen, a pencil.'

Zitacuaro is one of the closest towns to the monarch butterfly wintering grounds in the mountains west of Mexico City.

The area has been plagued by illegal logging and drug gangs, local governance disputes and deforestation linked to expanding avocado production. Logging has damaged the pine and fir forests where the butterflies spend the winter after migrating from the United States and Canada.

The Monitor Michoacan's website continued to show an article Linares had written Saturday about a cultural festival celebrating monarch butterflies.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive for his murder.

Toledo, a camera operator and video editor for Monitor Michoacan, was shot on January 31 as he prepared for an interview in Zitacuaro.

Linares previously told the Associated Press he had received several death threats after enrolling in a government journalist protection program.

Asked who he thought was behind the threats, Linares said: 'They pass themselves off as an armed group, they pass themselves off as a criminal gang. We can't verify whether it is true or not that they are this armed gang.'

Criminals in Mexico often claim they are part of a drug cartel in order to instill fear in their victims, whether or not they really are.

'We have organized crime, just like in the rest of the country, and Monitor worked on a lot of issues like illegal logging, given that we are near the monarch reserve,' Linares said in early February. 'We wrote a lot about illegal logging and also a lot of issues like corruption in the municipal government.'

Juan Carlos Muniz, a father-of-four, became the seventh journalist to be killed in Mexico in 2022, when he was shot dead in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, on March 4. Muniz was driving a taxi - his second job - when he was shot at least two times in the head

Mexican crime reporter Heber Lopez (pictured, right) became the fifth journalist to be murdered in the country in 2022 after an assassin walked into his office and opened fire February 10

Drug cartels in Mexico often make money by protecting illegal logging, or extorting protection payments from avocado growers.

'The nightmare continues for the press in Mexico,' the press group Reporters Without Borders wrote in its social media accounts.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reacted angrily to worldwide criticism of the killings. In February, he said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was misinformed, after tweeted, 'I join those calling for greater accountability and protections for Mexican journalists.'

Lopez Obrador said the government is investigating all of the killings and suggested Blinken received bad information from other U.S. agencies, mentioning the CIA, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.

'They're tricking him,' he said. 'We don't tolerate the impunity of anyone.'

Authorities stand guard outside the residence of murdered Mexican reporter Armando Linares, the eighth journalist killed in the country in 2021

Last week, the Mexican president issued an irate response to European Parliament's criticism of journalist killings in Mexico, calling it a 'colonialist mentality.'

He criticized the European Union's support for Ukraine, said European Parliament members were 'sheep.'

'It is unfortunate that you vote like sheep to join the reactionary and coup-mongering strategy of the corrupt group opposed to the Fourth Transformation,' as he calls his administration, he wrote in an open letter to the parliament.

The EU Parliament approved a resolution last Thursday urging Lopez Obrador to stop his harsh verbal attacks on reporters who criticize him, and ensure their safety.

Press groups said the president's daily criticisms of journalists, whom he calls 'conservatives' and 'mercenaries,' make them more vulnerable to violence.

In February, the Inter American Press Association called on Lopez Obrador to 'immediately suspend the aggressions and insults, because such attacks from the top of power encourage violence against the press.'

The EU resolution 'calls on the authorities, and in particular the highest ones, to refrain from issuing any communication that stigmatizes human rights defenders, journalists and media workers, exacerbates the atmosphere against them or distort their lines of investigation.'

Journalists are often the targets of Mexico's drug cartels, which seek to intimidate and manipulate coverage of their activities and their rivals.

Local politicians and government officials also are frequently linked to murders, according to the government, which has acknowledged that impunity in those killings runs above 90%.

On March 4, gunmen killed Juan Carlos Muniz, who covered crime for the online news site Testigo Minero in the state of Zacatecas.

Jorge Camero, the director of an online news site who was until recently a municipal worker in the northern state of Sonora, was killed in late February.

In early February, Heber Lopez, director of the online news site Noticias Web, was shot dead in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Reporter Lourdes Maldonado Lopez was found shot dead inside her car in Tijuana on January 23, less than a week after crime photographer Margarito Martinez was gunned down outside his Tijuana home on January 17.

Reporter Jose Luis Gamboa was killed in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz on January 10.
Shoppers are battling in Russian supermarkets as sanctions begin to hit vital supplies triggering a wave of panic-buying.

One sugar rush was seen after a consignment was wheeled into the Perekryostok store in the north of Moscow.

'People are fighting for sugar,' said an onlooker. 'Pensioners are fighting.'

Anna, a local resident who filmed the noisy scuffle, told Podyom media that people behaved aggressively because they are spooked by empty shelves amid a potentially grave economic crisis triggered by punishing sanctions which have seen the ruble currency plunge in value.

CCTV pictures shoppers searching in vain for salt, sugar, pasta, buckwheat and rice

Residents squabble for sugar amid shortages in the Primorye region, in the Far East of Russia

Empty shelves are pictured in Russia as shoppers rush to buy up food, anticipating shortages

The Russian ruble has lost nearly 50% of is value since the start of 2022, with the currency falling off a financial cliff after Putin declared the war in Ukraine.

'There were empty shelves - no salt, no sugar, no pasta, no buckwheat, and only expensive rice,' she said. 'People suddenly saw a cart with sugar and ran towards it.

'They attacked this cart, pushing each other away aggressively.

'They were grabbing as much as possible for themselves, not leaving sugar for the others.

'I wanted to share the horror of it. We must stay human.'

Another disturbing race for sugar was seen in Oryol, 230 miles south of the capital.

There is a rush of shoppers to grab bags of sugar before they sell out.

Russians have been urged not to panic-buy and hoard but there is a lack of trust in official assurances that supplies will hold up in light of the Western sanctions over Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine.

Russian prosecutors have begun checks in 26 regions over the suspicion of artificially high prices.

In Kiselevsk, Siberia a local said: 'There has been no sugar for three days.

'Ive been trying to shop for it all this time.

'Do we ask for too much?

'No sugar, no salt, but empty shelves. What is this? An artificially created deficit? Wild people panic buying?'

The shortages come amid western sanctions on Russia following its war in Ukraine

Russians have been urged not to panic-buy and hoard but there is a lack of trust in official assurances that supplies will hold up

In Primorsky region, demand for sugar rose by 400 per cent as the authorities pleaded for an end to panic-buying

Russian prosecutors have begun checks in 26 regions over suspicion of artificially high prices

In Primorsky region, demand for sugar rose by 400 per cent as the authorities pleaded for an end to panic-buying.

'500 tonnes of sugar is expected to be delivered to the region shortly,' said the local trade ministry.

'This amount should cover any possible shortfall.'

Despite this Russia has blocked exports of grain to ex-Soviet states and halted exports of both 'white and raw cane sugar to third countries'.

Some stores are rationing the amounts people can buy.

'There are no conditions for risks of a shortage or for a reduction in product range,' insisted deputy prime minister Viktoria Abramchenko.

'It is not worth driving up artificial demand with purchases for the future.

'We will reorient the market and establish mutually profitable trade, expand our partnership network with friendly countries.'
A woman who survived a run-in with one of Australia's most notorious rapists and child killers has pleaded with authorities to keep him behind bars.

Donna Rupp's encounter with Lloyd Clark Fletcher, 64, as a teenager in the early 1990s when she was riding her bike one afternoon in Bright in Victoria left her permanently scarred.

Ms Rupp, who is now 44, narrowly escaped being dragged off by Fletcher during the attack 31 years ago and describes him as an 'evil sadistic monster'.

'I will not forget his face. I will never forget the day, I'll never forget, you know, the trauma and how terrified I felt as a 13-year-old,' Ms Rupp told A Current Affair.

Lloyd Clark Fletcher, 64, has applied to be released from prison saying he has cancer

Ms Rupp said he jumped out at her as she was riding across a bridge on the outskirts of the town.

'He yelled at me to get off my bike and I tried to run in the other direction.'

She then fell, cutting her head, which is when Fletcher caught up to her pressed a knife into her back and tried to force her back into his car.

She was saved when a passing car spotted her and she mouthed the words 'help me' prompting Fletcher to flee.

He was later tracked down and arrested.

Ms Rupp said she did not realise how much danger she was in back then but that her fight or flight response had kicked in.

Retired Detective Inspector Mike McKay, who tracked and investigated Fletcher since his first crime as an adult in the late 1970s, describes him as a 'brutal psychopath'.

Fletcher (pictured) was convicted of the rape and murder of one woman and attacking another teenage girl at a train station

He had previously been in and out of jail as a teenager for sex attacks from the age of 14 before appearing on Mr McKay's radar.

He described the attack of another of his victims in Innisfail in North Queensland in which he raped and tried to kill a 23-year-old woman.

'He knocked her out and threw her into a crocodile-infested river,' he said.

But the woman woke up and managed to swim to shore before alerting police, which resulted in Fletcher ebing jailed for 15 years - of which he only served nine.

Within months of his release Janet Phillips vanished after leaving a party in Brisbane in 1987.

Her body was found dumped in a ditch days later, with DNA testing years later confirming her killer as Fletcher.

Two years after that attack Fletcher attacked Ms Rupp in Victoria.

In 1997 he had returned to Queensland where he brutally attacked a teenager at Wynnum train station.

Donna Rupp (pictured) narrowly escaped him as a 13-year-old when she was riding her bike and said he should never be released from jail

The 16-year-old girl was waiting for a train when Fletcher pounced, choking her with a rope but fled when a group of four other teenager confronted him.

Police, led by Det Insp. McKay, found blood on the rope matched forensic evidence from the scene where Ms Phillips was found in 1987.

This led to him being jailed for the rape and murder of Ms Phillips and the train station attack on the 16-year-old - for which he was deemed a threat to society and jailed indefinitely.

But Fletcher has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has asked authorities to release him from prison after serving a little more than two decades.

Janet Phillips (pictured) was raped and murdered by Fletcher in 1987 but he wasn't convicted until years later

His risk to the community was previously judged by a psychiatrist as 'severe to potentially fatal'.

The application is the latest in a string of attempts to be released from prison which have previously been knocked back.

This application was also knocked back but he is able to try again.

Ms Rupp has started a petition calling for him to never be released, saying she hopes he dies in prison 'where he should be'.
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Fourth Covid jabs could be dished out to the elderly and vulnerable as soon as next week following criticism that England has been too slow to respond to rising hospital rates.

No10's vaccine advisory panel recommended last month that all over-75s, care home residents and patients with weak immune systems should be given the top-up shots around six months after their original booster.

But it has now been more than six months since the rollout of third shots was launched and NHS England has yet to send out invites for fourth doses  despite Covid admissions and cases rising again. Scotland embarked on its fourth vaccination campaign more than a week ago.

A number of experts have expressed concern that the uptick in hospitalisations could be an early sign of waning booster immunity, with former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last week calling for 'more oomph on fourth jabs'.

Last night a health source told The Daily Telegraph: 'We expect the rollout of the next set of boosters for the over-75s and those in elderly care homes to start as soon as next week [in England].

'We are seeing cases increasing amongst the elderly and it's right that we crack on with it.'

Texts and letters could start to be sent out as soon as next week, the source said, with the NHS booking system set to open from Monday.

An NHS spokesperson said: 'The NHS continues to follow JCVI guidance accepted by Government, and in line with this, the NHS will be vaccinating eligible people with a spring dose six months after their first booster starting later this month for the small number of people eligible before April.'

Across the UK, Covid cases have risen 52 per cent in the last week with 70,000 people testing positive on average daily. At the same time, virus admissions have climbed by a fifth in that time, and are rising in older age groups.

However, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said increases in cases were to be 'expected' following England's Freedom Day on February 24, when all Covid laws were abandoned. He insisted there was 'nothing in the data at this point in time that gives us any cause for concern'.

Only a quarter of the rise in newly-occupied NHS Covid beds in the first week of March was down to patients actually ill with the virus, NHS England data suggests. Graph shows: Changes in the overall number of Covid patients and the number being primarily treated for the virus over time in England

The NHS England data show increase in overall Covid patients and those primarily for the virus varied wildly across the country. London has the lowest proportion of Covid patients that are primarily being treated for the virus, with only 27 per cent actually in hospital because of an infection

Graph shows: The number of Covid patients on ventilators in hospitals in England over time compared to the overall number of coronavirus patients over time

The rise in infections coincides with the rise of the more transmissible subvariant of Omicron, which is feared to be as contagious as measles.

BA.2 is now behind the majority of new cases in England, officials say. It became dominant within just three weeks of the first domestic case being spotted.

An ex-World Health Organization official warned yesterday it is 40 per cent more transmissible than its ancestor, making it around as contagious as measles  one of the most transmissible diseases scientists know of.

There are currently 1,451 daily Covid admissions across Britain, according to the latest data, compared to around 1,100 on Freedom Day in England.

But half of hospital patients with Covid are thought to be 'incidental' cases  those who test positive after being admitted for another reason, or beat the illness only to fall ill with something else.

It may mean the recent rise in hospital admissions is more likely to reflect infection rates in the community, rather than severe illness.

But there are still some concerns about waning immunity. Pfizer's booster drops from 90 per cent effectiveness against severe disease to around 75 per cent after 10 weeks, according to the latest data for Omicron.

The vaccine is believed to work just as well on BA.2 and the sub-strain is considered just as mild as its parent variant.

NHS England's data does not break down admissions by status, meaning it is impossible to tell how many patients who are actually ill with Covid need treatment every day. However, the agency does release a weekly report that lays bare the gap for 'inpatients'  the total number of infected patients who are on wards as of 8am that day. Although discharge figures can skew the data, the figures do still suggest the majority of the rise in pressure on hospitals is from patients who are not primarily being treated for the virus. Two areas actually saw a fall in the number of Covid patients who were primarily ill with the virus between March 1 and March 8  the Midlands and London  even though overall rates went up slightly

Pictured above is the R0 estimates for Covid variants against well-known diseases including the common cold, chickenpox and measles. The latter is estimated to be among the most infectious diseases to target humans

Omicron sub-variant BA.2 is just as contagious as MEASLES, says former World Health Organization official A substrain of Omicron spreading rapidly around the world may be as infectious as measles, according to a former World Health Organization (WHO) official. Professor Adrian Esterman, a leading epidemiologist in Australia, said BA.2 is 40 per cent more transmissible than the original variant. He claimed it would have a basic reproduction number (R0) of around 12, meaning if left to spread unchecked every infected person would pass it to a dozen others. It would make the sub-strain five times more infectious than the original Wuhan virus and one of the most contagious diseases known to science. The claim would explain why the mutant virus was able to outstrip its parent strain in the UK in about a month and undermine China's zero Covid policy, which has until now managed to suppress every version of the virus. Explaining his methodology, Professor Esterman said: 'The basic reproduction number (R0) for BA.1 is about 8.2, making R0 for BA.2 about 12. 'This makes it pretty close to measles, the most contagious disease we know about.' The R0 number is the average number of people each BA.2 patient would infect, if there was no immunity in a population or behavioural changes. But most scientists say there is no reason to be concerned over the variant because it is just as mild as the original Omicron. The BA.2 sub-variant is now behind almost every case in England, or 83 per cent of infections last week, according to official estimates. It became dominant three weeks beforehand, accounting for 52 per cent of all infections in the week to February 20. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates cases have been rising since mid-February, with one in 25 people in England estimated to have been infected last week. Hospitalisations are also creeping up, but the majority appear to be incidental  when someone tests positive after admission for another illness. Advertisement

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) last month recommended fourth doses to the most vulnerable age groups this spring, telling ministers they should be dished out around six months after their last vaccine.

A wider booster programme is due this autumn.

JCVI advisers originally recommended third doses on September 14, with over-75s, care home residents and patients with serious underlying health conditions first in the queue.

While BA.2 is not thought to have evolved to be more severe, scientists say it has rapidly outstripped the original Omicron because it is the significantly more infectious.

Professor Adrian Esterman, a leading epidemiologist in Australia and former WHO official, claimed the subvariant has a basic reproduction number (R0) of around 12, meaning if left to spread unchecked every infected person would pass it to a dozen others.

It would make the sub-strain five times more infectious than the original Wuhan virus and one of the most contagious diseases known to science.

Explaining his methodology, Professor Esterman said: 'The basic reproduction number (R0) for BA.1 is about 8.2, making R0 for BA.2 about 12.

'This makes it pretty close to measles, the most contagious disease we know about.'

The R0 number is the average number of people each BA.2 patient would infect, if there was no immunity in a population or behavioural changes.

But most scientists say there is no reason to be concerned over the variant because it is just as mild as the original Omicron.

In Scotland, where Nicola Sturgeon has opted to keep compulsory face masks until April, officials are predicting that the BA.2 outbreak could peak in the next couple of weeks.

Dr Christine Tait-Burkard, of the University of Edinburgh, said keeping the requirement for face coverings is in line with dealing with the surge and is a 'relatively easily-achieved measure'.

Masks on public transport, restaurants and other indoor settings were slated to be downgraded from a legal requirement to advice on March 21.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs that with the 'current spike' in cases, ministers had agreed it was 'prudent' for this measure to remain in place and the legal requirement will be reviewed again in two weeks' time.

Asked whether it was prudent to keep the requirement for face coverings, Dr Tait Burkard told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'It is indeed kind of line with what we are seeing with the new sub-variant of Omicron which is a very big spike in cases, in fact we have the most cases in the population at this point than ever before in the pandemic.

'It's also realistic to look at this from about a two-week perspective because what we are seeing in the numbers is that we could probably peak this week or the week thereafter in terms of cases, and we would actually see an easing and a clear indication before lifting face masks, and that's kind of our last barrier to go, and also our last reminder to go.

'And at the same time it is a relatively easily-achieved measure that has less impact on the economy. Whilst it might deter some people from going out, it might incentivise others for going out. I think there's a difficult balance to take there.'

There were 1,996 people in Scottish hospitals on Monday with recently confirmed Covid, up 191 on the previous day, with 33 in intensive care, up six.

That is higher than the Omicron peak of 1,571 which was recorded in January this year, with more patients in hospital than at any time since January 27 last year when the total was 2,016.

Dr Tait Burkard, a research fellow at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute and an expert on coronaviruses, said that while masks help reduce virus levels in public places, they are less effective against Omicron and BA.2.

She suggested that vulnerable people should be advised to upgrade their masks to FFP2 or N95 masks for more protection.

The academic said: 'The impacts that the mask wearing makes without many of the other restrictions in place is small, or it's smaller than it ever was before.

'One (reason) is that unfortunately with Omicron the kind of less protective masks, the simple surgical masks, the thin ones that you just ring round your ears, the fabric ones, they're not as protective as they were against the previous variants, just because we need to inhale less of the virus to get infected, so both time of exposure needed to get infected is less, but they still help reducing virus level in public places, and especially for vulnerable people that can make the difference.

'But there should be also the advice that for vulnerable people it might be a good moment, or probably a very pertinent moment, to upgrade masks to so-called FFP2 or N95 masks, the thicker ones that fit very closely around your face to protect yourself more than others.'
North Korea launched a projectile earlier today but it 'immediately failed' after liftoff, according to Seoul.

The failed launch, which sent debris and toxic rocket fuel raining out of the sky close to the capital Pyongyang according to NK News, was likely a test of Kim Jong Un's so-called 'monster missile' according to analysts.

The Hwasong-17, first unveiled to the North Korean public in October 2020 in a huge military parade, is thought to be able to carry multiple war heads and is intended to have a maximum range of 9,000 miles (15,000km), which would allow the pariah state to strike any target in the United States.

This morning's unsuccessful launch - North Korea's tenth suspected weapons test this year - comes after the US said the nuclear-armed country was preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'at full range' for the first time since 2017.

'North Korea fired an unknown projectile from the Sunan area around 09:30 today but it is presumed that it failed immediately after launch,' Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said: 'Signs indicate the North test-fired Hwasong-17 today,' before warning more tests of the 'monster missile' are likely to follow in quick succession.

'I expect the North to conduct one or two more test-launches before April 15.'

The Hwasong-17, first unveiled to the North Korean public in October 2020 in a huge military parade, is thought to be able to carry multiple war heads and is intended to have a maximum range of 9,000 miles (15,000km), which would allow the pariah state to strike any target in the United States

The failed launch, which sent debris and toxic rocket fuel raining out of the sky close to the capital Pyongyang according to NK News, was likely a test of Kim Jong Un's so-called 'monster missile' according to analysts (Kim Jong Un pictured Feb 2022)

This morning's failed launch - North Korea's tenth suspected weapons test this year - comes after the US said the nuclear-armed country was preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'at full range' for the first time since 2017 (pictured: an earlier version of a North Korean ICBM, Hwasong-14, during its second test-fire, July 2017)

Despite biting international sanctions over its weapons programs, Pyongyang conducted seven missile tests in January and twice launched components of what it claimed were a 'reconnaissance satellite' - which South Korea and the US believe were in fact tests of the Hwasong-17.

The February 27 and March 5 'satellite' tests were also from the Sunan area in Pyongyang, according to South Korea's military.

But today's unsuccessful test launch will come as a humiliating failure for Kim Jong Un, and could also pose a significant health risk to North Korean citizens.

The missile suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after launch and exploded close to Pyongyang, sending debris from the missile and toxic rocket fuel spraying back towards the ground, according to NK News.

If the remnants of the missile were to land on a populated area, they could pose a severe health risk, both in terms of the damage caused by falling debris and the toxicity of the missile propellant.

Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the missile likely used a liquid-fuel propellant which could cause severe burns to anyone exposed to it.

'I hope it didn't crash near or in Pyongyang,' he said.

The nuclear-armed North has long coveted an ICBM that can carry multiple warheads, and the US said last week the recent tests marked a 'serious escalation' of the country's weapons programs.

The US military this week said it had 'enhanced' missile defence systems in South Korea.

It has also 'increased the intensity' of air defence drills, as well as conducting a carrier-based air demonstration in the Yellow Sea following the recent North Korean launches.

The North has carried out three ICBM tests - the last in November 2017 of a Hwasong-15 - deemed powerful enough to reach Washington and much of the United States.

But the country has been observing a self-imposed moratorium on testing long range and nuclear weapons since 2017 when leader Kim Jong Un embarked on a flurry of high-level diplomacy.

Negotiations with then US president Donald Trump collapsed in 2019 and since then Kim has doubled down on his plans to modernise his military while ignoring US offers of talks.

The North has carried out three ICBM tests - the last in November 2017 of a Hwasong-15 - deemed powerful enough to reach Washington and much of the United States

A view of the Hwasong-15's test that was successfully launched is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang November 30, 2017

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un celebrates a successful test firing of the Hwasong-15 missile

North Korea will mark the 110th anniversary of the birth of founding leader and Kim's grandfather Kim Il Sung in April and likes to mark key domestic anniversaries with military parades or launches.

'The Kim regime wants to demonstrate new technical achievements around the 110th birth anniversary of its founder, Kim Il-sung,' Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.

'If the most recent missile launch was indeed a failure, North Korea will almost certainly continue to test,' he added.

Satellite images indicate that North Korea is preparing for a military parade for the April anniversary.

The fact that the Wednesday launch failed indicates it was not just 'an ordinary missile', North Korean studies scholar Ahn Chan-il told AFP.

The timing, during a South Korean presidential transition and while the world is focused on Ukraine, also indicates Pyongyang is seeking maximum leverage, he added.

A fresh ICBM launch would be an early challenge for South Korea's new president-elect, Yoon Suk-yeol, who has vowed to take a harder line against the North's provocations.

Yoon has not ruled out the possibility of dialogue with Pyongyang, but analysts say his hawkish position puts him on a completely different footing to his liberal predecessor and significantly reduces the prospect of substantive engagement.
Five men aged 20 to 54 have been released in the murder probe of journalist Lyra McKee who was shot dead during rioting in Londonderry.

Ms McKee, 29, suffered a fatal gunshot wound as she observed rioting in the Creggan area in April 2019.

An extremist group styling itself the New IRA previously claimed it was responsible for killing the journalist and author.

Five suspects - aged 20, 21, 21, 41 and 54 - were arrested in the Cityside area of Derry under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday and were taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Musgrave police station in Belfast for interview.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has now confirmed the men have been released pending a report being submitted to the Public Prosecution Service.

Police say a sixth man, 26, also arrested on Tuesday remains in custody.

Journalist Lyra McKee, pictured, was shot dead in Derry while she was covering riots in the Creggan area of the city

The Real IRA later claimed responsibility for Ms McKee's murder. Three people have so far been charged with her murder. A further five have been charged with rioting associated offences

Three men have previously been charged with Ms McKee's murder, and another five have been charged with rioting and associated offences.

A BBC Newsnight investigation into dissident republicanism was found to have invaded Ms McKee's privacy after they broadcast footage from the immediate aftermath of Ms McKee's murder.

The footage showed Ms McKee's shoes as she was on the ground mortally wounded.

Nichola Corner, her sister, complained to Ofcom that Ms McKee's privacy had been infringed upon.

She said Ms McKee's family had not been made aware that the images would be broadcast and the programme had been extremely distressing for them, according to Ofcom.

The watchdog said the report represented a 'very significant intrusion into Ms McKee's right to privacy'.

It added: 'Ms McKee was largely obscured by people standing around her and only a brief glimpse of her trainers was visible.

'However, Ofcom considered that although no explicit detail of injuries was shown, the footage was still of a highly sensitive nature because it showed the final moments of someone who was dying.'

Ms McKee's murder prompted massive criticism across the city, pictured Free Derry Corner

Ofcom said it had factored into its decision the fact that the BBC had apologised for broadcasting the footage.

The report, titled The Real Derry Girls And The Dissidents, which was shown on November 5 2019, looked at terrorism in Northern Ireland.

An Ofcom spokeswoman said: 'Our investigation found this footage amounted to an unwarranted intrusion into Ms McKee's right to privacy, and we have upheld this complaint.'

A spokeswoman for the BBC said they 'reiterate our sincere apology to Lyra McKee's family'.

She added: 'It was never our intention to cause them any further distress, and after we heard from them we removed the footage from the programme and from any further reports.

'The original decision to include the footage was a finely balanced one and we accept Ofcom's finding that we should not have used it.

'We had reason to believe Lyra's family had been informed about the film, but we accept the ruling that we should have spoken to them directly.'
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Britons have started to plunder the final stocks of free lateral flow tests ahead of them being axed in a fortnight, leaving scores complaining that they can't get any.

One train driver said they'd spent the past three days failing to get hold of any of the rapid swabs. Others fumed they had to fill out pages of personal details only to discover none were available.

Lateral flows will no longer be free in England from April 1, as part of Boris Johnson's 'Living With Covid' strategy. Stocks will be limited to vulnerable people. High street giants such as Boots and Superdrug will sell the kits for as little as 2.

Scientists questioned the decision to scrap free mass testing, saying the move was premature and that swabbing was essential to keep tabs on any future flare-ups and help curb the spread of Covid.

But business leaders, Tory MPs and some experts all backed Boris Johnson's decision to scale back the expensive programme, which the Prime Minister claimed cost up to 2billion a month.

Scotland will stop handing out free lateral flow tests in May, while Wales will keep the swabs available until the end of June. Northern Ireland is yet to iron out its plans.

The above shows the number of lateral flow tests registered in England every day. It reveals that the number done each day is beginning to rise again, alongside an uptick in Covid cases

Britons trying to get hold of free lateral flow tests are often greeted with this message on the Government site

The above shows alerts for when lateral flows are available to order online. It reveals today's batch went out of stock just three hours after they were released

The above tweets appear to be from worried Britons who are struggling to get hold of free lateral flow tests

Stockpilers shared pictures of their towers of free NHS lateral flow tests that are being phased out from April 1 last month

Fury as Nicola Sturgeon KEEPS Scotland's mask laws in place for WEEKS longer than expected Nicola Sturgeon sparked fury yesterday as she U-turned on plans to remove Scotland's last remaining Covid laws by keeping mask rules in place. The First Minister told Holyrood the face covering restrictions would be kept for at least two more weeks amid a spike in cases. She had been under pressure to bring Scotland into line with England by scrapping all remaining social restrictions, including laws demanding masks be worn indoors in public places. Other measures still in place, like forcing businesses to collect customer contact details, next Monday as planned. The First Minister also confirmed plans to stop widespread Covid testing by the end of April. Opponents had urged the First Minister not to backtrack but chief medical officer Sir Gregor Smith had advised a cautious approach amid concern over a recent rise in case numbers. Advertisement

One Twitter account, created to ping out alerts when lateral flows are in and out of stock, claimed that today's pile ran out at 9.51am. Kits for home delivery were replenished shortly after 7am, it said.

A similar trend has emerged over the past few days, with swab supplies drying up close to 10am all week.

Kits also regularly ran out at the height of the Omicron wave, when millions were ordering the swabs in order to ensure they were free of Covid.

Some Britons began to brag of stockpiling 'towers' of the boxes containing seven kits at a time, even as the official website showed none were available for order.

Ministers then began to ration deliveries, tweaking rules to allow people to only order them every 72 hours instead of the initial 24 hours offered.

On the latest shortage, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) admitted supplies may become temporarily unavailable but said it was working hard to keep replenishing stocks.

A spokesman said: 'To ensure an even distribution of lateral flow tests across the country, people can order one pack of seven tests within a 72 hour period from gov.uk.

'This reflects the recent changes to testing as outlined in the Living with COVID plan.

'We would encourage people to only order test kits if they need them and only after they have used up any kits they already have at home.'

It comes after MailOnline this week revealed how health officials admitted that the Covid testing regime did not cost 2billion-a-month.

Mr Johnson told MPs in February the Test and Trace programme cost that amount 'in January alone' at the height of the Omicron wave.

UKHSA bosses later sneaked out a document to say the figure quoted by the PM was just a 'volatile' estimate and 'may not reflect the true expenditure'.

Senior officials then wrongly portrayed the 2bn as the monthly cost, with Business Minister Paul Scully saying on LBC the day after the PM's statement that the country could not bear the ongoing testing bill.

He said: 'The PM was right when he said yesterday that we clearly can't go on forever paying 2billion a month for the testing regime. You could only imagine what other things that money may be spent on.'

MPs said the UKHSA document, published on March 3 during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, raised questions about the Government's decision to axe free swabs.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, told MailOnline: 'If the financial justification ministers have used for dropping free testing is inaccurate, it exposes this was an ideological decision driven by a PM desperate to change headlines.'

Mr Johnson's announcement on testing and dropping restrictions came as he faced intense pressure following a series of revelations about lockdown-busting parties in No10.

It was widely seen as a political move to appease libertarian backbench Tory MPs who opposed Covid restrictions in an attempt to avoid a flurry of no confidence votes.

Critics said scrapping free testing and scaling down other Covid surveillance programmes was like 'turning off the headlights at the first sign of dawn'.
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Boris Johnson insisted he pressed Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman over his country's human rights abuses during a visit to the Gulf today - as Riyadh revealed it executed three more prisoners during the Prime Minister's short trip.

Mr Johnson faced criticism over his decision to visit the autocratic state to beg it to increase oil production, in the hope that it will lower UK petrol prices and help British consumers hit by increases linked to the war in Ukraine.

He was accused of going from 'dictator to dictator' to shore up UK energy supplies, with Saudi Arabia criticised for killing 81 'criminals over the weekend'.

After speaking to Crown Prince Mohammed this evening Mr Johnson said he had 'expressed the longstanding view of the UK Government' on human rights, adding that 'things are changing' in the secretive kingdom.

However, Saudi officials later revealed the country had executed three more people while the PM was meeting and greeting the ruler and his ministers.

Labour and some Tory MPs have sounded alarm at the idea of cosying up to the Saudis, even though families are struggling with soaring pump prices and household bills amid the Ukraine standoff.

The encounter will be seen in some quarters as having echoes of Tony Blair's notorious 'deal in the desert' with Colonel Gaddafi in 2004.

But Mr Johnson said he was optimistic Saudi Arabia could increase oil production. Speaking to broadcasters at the Sabic manufacturing facility in Riyadh after meeting the prince for around an hour and 45 minutes, he said: 'We discussed everything that you would expect, so I raised human rights, but we also talked about what we can do to stabilise oil prices, to fight inflation, to help consumers, to help people at the gas pumps, at the petrol pumps.

'A lot of agreement that it's important to avoid inflation, to avoid the damaging economic consequences, an agreement that we need to work together to bring peace to Ukraine. Both agreed that we need to see an end to Putin's war.'

Maya Foa, the director of human rights advocacy group Reprieve, said: 'By travelling to meet Mohammed bin Salman so soon after a mass execution, Boris Johnson clearly signalled that in return for oil, the UK will tolerate even the gravest human rights abuses.

'Carrying out these executions while the leader of a western power is on Saudi soil was a provocative act, designed to flaunt the crown prince's power and impunity to the world.'

After speaking to Crown Prince Mohammed this evening Mr Johnson said he had 'expressed the longstanding view of the UK Government' on human rights, adding that 'things are changing' in the secretive kingdom.

The PM put on a friendly show with Mohammed bin Salman - with whom he is said to exchange regular Whatsapps - as they sat down for talks in the opulent Royal Court

Mr Johnson and the Crown Prince chatted easily as they greeted each other before the discussions today

Mr Johnson has pledged he will raise human rights issues in the talks with bin Salman (pictured) - days after the Kingdom staged a mass execution of 81 'criminals'

Boris Johnson arrived in Saudi Arabia today saying he was 'glad to be back' despite being accused of going from 'dictator to dictator' to shore up UK energy supplies

In bruising clashes with deputy PM Dominic Raab (right) in the Commons this afternoon, Angela Rayner (left) said ministers seemed to be going 'cap in hand from one dictator to another' - adding: 'Is their only plan to keep on begging?'

In his first stop in Abu Dhabi, Boris Johnson insisted he has raised human rights in the Middle East 'many, many times', adding: 'I'll raise them all again today.'

But Mr Johnson downplayed his chances of managing to secure greater oil production from the Middle East in an attempt to lessen the severity of the cost of living crisis facing the UK

Why is the PM's trip to Saudi controversial? Mohammed bin Salman has been de facto leader of Saudi Arabia since 2017 when he was made Crown Prince following a brutal round of intrigue. But he split opinion from the start with alleged his ruthless treatment of rivals. And has been shunned by much of the West since the US intelligence community alleged he ordered the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. The US-based journalist was a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's rulers before his slaying and dismemberment in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018. The wider human rights record of the Kingdom has also been called into question. Mr Johnson's trip also comes just days after the execution of 81 people, the largest mass execution in the kingdom in modern history. Thousands of civilian deaths have also been linked to airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the war against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Amnesty International UK has warned that Saudi Arabia has become 'increasingly repressive' under Prince bin Salman. Polly Truscott, the organisation's foreign affairs human rights adviser, added: 'The key point is that Saudi oil shouldn't be allowed to buy the world's silence over Saudi Arabia's terrible human rights record.' Mike Davis, the chief executive of the Global Witness human rights organisation, said Mr Johnson is 'absolutely right' to take action against Russia but said it 'does not mean we should be subjected to the grotesque spectacle of the British Prime Minister cosying up to Mohammed bin Salman'. Tory former minister Crispin Blunt urged Mr Johnson to make clear Britain's concerns to the crown prince, calling the executions a 'new low for human rights' in the kingdom. Conservative Julian Lewis, who chairs Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, called on the Government to assure that 'in seeking to lessen our dependence upon one source of oil and gas, we do not end up creating a source dependency on another unreliable and sometimes hostile regime'. Advertisement

In bruising clashes with deputy PM Dominic Raab in the Commons this afternoon, Angela Rayner said ministers seemed to be going 'cap in hand from one dictator to another' - adding: 'Is their only plan to keep on begging?'

Mr Johnson has also sounded a downbeat tone on the prospects of securing an increase in oil production, as he stressed that more investment from the Middle East in renewable energy would help.

In his first stop in Abu Dhabi earlier, Mr Johnson insisted he has raised the two countries' poor human rights records 'many, many times', adding: 'I'll raise them all again today.'

But Mr Johnson downplayed his chances of managing to secure greater oil production from the Middle East in an attempt to lessen the severity of the cost of living crisis facing the UK.

He pointed towards Saudi Arabia announcing a 1billion investment in green aviation fuel in Teesside.

'That's the kind of thing we want to encourage  doesn't in any way mean we can't stick to our principles and raise those issues that we all care about,' he told broadcasters from under the rapidly warming sun on a terrace at the Emirates Palace hotel.

But he appeared pessimistic that he will be able to open up the spare capacity of the Saudi-led Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to soften the blow of divesting from Russian fossil fuels.

'It's not just a question of looking at the Opec countries and what they can do to increase supply, though that is important. There's also the issue of Emirati investment in UK wind farms, already huge; what more can they do?' he said.

'When we look at the dependency the West in particular has built up on Putin's hydrocarbons, on Putin's oil and gas, we can see what a mistake that was because he's been able to blackmail the West and hold western economies to ransom. We need independence.'

Mr Johnson pledged that his long-awaited energy strategy will come 'next week' and include a 'massive jump forward on renewables, more nuclear, using our own hydrocarbons more effectively' and sourcing fuel from outside Russia.

After his interview, Mr Johnson met the UAE's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed before heading to Riyadh.

Downing Street's account of the talks did not state whether the the PM raised human rights concerns.

A No10 spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister set out his deep concerns about the chaos unleashed by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and stressed the importance of working together to improve stability in the global energy market.

'The leaders welcomed the longstanding partnership between our two countries and discussed opportunities to increase collaboration between the UK and UAE on energy security, green technology, and trade.

'They also agreed on the need to bolster our strong security, defence and intelligence co-operation in the face of growing global threats, including from the Houthis in Yemen.'

Critics have particularly questioned the move to strengthen ties with Mohammed bin Salman, with the Saudi leader linked to the assassination of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Keir Starmer said 'going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy'.

On a visit to Huddersfield, Keir Starmer said 'going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy'

Speaking to reporters in Huddersfield, the Labour leader said: 'The Prime Minister says we can't rely on Russia, so now he goes to Saudi Arabia.

'We need to make sure we've got security for our energy and that means lessening our imports and not going cap in hand frankly, from dictator to dictator.'

Asked whether he would visit the same region if he was PM, Sir Keir said: 'I've got nothing against measures to try and bring prices down in the short term but Liz Truss was saying only the other day, we've got to stop relying on malign actors and that's why they want to wean us off Russia, but you can't do that and go cap in hand to Saudi Arabia.

'What we need is an energy strategy that has security, less imports, rely on renewables here, ramp up onshore and offshore wind, get nuclear going much more quickly and have retrofit like we're seeing here in Kirklees, so we drive down the need for energy in the first place.'

He added: 'If there's one lesson we've learned in the last few weeks and months, it's that we need to stop this reliance, dependency, on oil and gas from overseas, Russia in particular, but you don't do that by jumping from Russia to Saudi Arabia and recreating the exact same problem.'

Conservative MPs and human rights watchdogs are among those calling on the Prime Minister to question the nations on their track records, with Saudi Arabia executing 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups on Saturday.

Mr Johnson arriving in Riyadh today during his visit to the Middle East

Mr Johnson is hoping to enlist the help of Gulf states in weaning the West off oil and gas supplies from Vladimir Putin (pictured)

Prince Mohammed bin Salman has largely been shunned by the West after US intelligence alleged he ordered the murder of Mr Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul, something the Saudi ruler denies.

One person who did embrace him, however, was the Russian president, with the prince and Mr Putin sharing a high-five and a laugh at a G20 summit in the month after Mr Khashoggi's death.

Mr Johnson, who will be deputised at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday by Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, has argued he needs to 'build the widest possible coalition' to address Mr Putin's attack on Ukraine.

The Prime Minister is expected to discuss the importance of allies increasing the diplomatic and economic pressure on the Kremlin while mitigating the global fallout from the war.

Conservative MP Julian Lewis, who chairs Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, called on the Government to ensure that 'in seeking to lessen our dependence upon one source of oil and gas, we do not end up creating a source dependency on another unreliable and sometimes hostile regime'.

Mr Johnson, who travelled overnight before starting the trip in the UAE on Wednesday morning, is being joined by investment minister Lord Grimstone.
Ukraine has today rejected a Russian plan to become 'neutral' like Sweden or Austria as the warring sides try to hash out a deal to end the bloodshed in eastern Europe.

Moscow is thought to be demanding that Ukraine refuse to join any military alliance or host foreign military bases on its soil in exchange for a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops currently terrorising the country.

But Kyiv has said any deal will need to include security guarantees underwritten by 'international partners' who would agree to come to Ukraine's defence in the event it is attacked again.

Mikhailo Podolyak, Ukraine's top negotiator, said the international community cannot be allowed 'to stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today' should fighting restart.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today confirmed that neutrality is taking centre stage with Moscow and Kyiv 'close to agreeing' the wording of an agreement, as it was revealed a 15-point plan for peace is being discussed.

The plan includes 'limits' on Ukraine's armed forces in return for Russia withdrawing from areas captured since the start of war on February 24, including along the Black Sea coast in the south, and Ukraine's northern and eastern borders.

But it is unclear what would become of Crimea - which Russia insists must be recognised as part of its territory - and Donetsk and Luhansk - which the Kremlin says should be recognised as independent.

Putin insists that the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk - known as the Donbass - should split from Ukraine, and not just the parts occupied by pro-Moscow rebel forces before fighting broke out. It is unclear if Kyiv would agree to such terms.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv agreed to discuss neutrality

Ukraine (pictured, President Vlodymyr Zelensky) on Wednesday demanded guarantees that international forces will 'prevent attacks' in the future and rejected Russia's proposal for Kyiv to become 'neutral' like Austria or Sweden

What is the 'Austrian model' of neutrality? In 1955 Austria signed the Moscow Memorandum - a deal with the Soviet Union that guaranteed it would remain neutral, having just reestablished itself as a sovereign nation in the aftermath of the Second World War. As part of the deal, Vienna wrote into its new constitution that it would not join any military alliances or host foreign forces on its territory, and would not declare or participate in wars or invasions. The deal has been amended since, allowing Austria to join the UN and commit troops to 'peacekeeping' missions ordered by the Security Council - such as in the Iraq-Kuwait conflict of 1990-91. In 1995, Austria became part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme - allowing it to contribute to NATO peacekeeping forces - though only signed up after Russia joined. Austria has also joined the EU, whose treaties do include a common defence policy though it is not active and would require a unanimous vote of the European Council to activate. Neutrality for Austria was a Soviet precondition for granting the country - which had been occupied by Allied forces since the end of the Second World War - its sovereignty. It was based on the Swiss model of neutrality which dates back to the 1640 Peace of Westphalia - and closely mirrors a similar historical agreement in force in Sweden. Finland, which directly borders Russia and fought the Soviets in the run-up to the Second World War, is another European nation committed to neutrality in a pact with the USSR signed in 1948 - the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. As with the Austrian model, Finland's neutrality agreement forbids joining military alliances seen as hostile to Russia, hosting foreign troops on its soil, or allowing an attack on Russia to pass through its territory. Advertisement

Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukraine's chief negotiator, said the 15-point plan - which was obtained by the FT - only lays out Russia's negotiating position, and does not take into account Ukrainian demands.

'The only thing we confirm at this stage is a ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees from a number of countries,' he tweeted.

Summing up peace talks from the Russian side, one senior official told Reuters that there is 'a small chance of a peaceful resolution,' adding: 'Something will be decided in the next three days to a week.'

Another senior Russian source said Putin is willing to consider a peace on Russia's terms and that there is a window of opportunity for some sort of deal.

But the officials spoke amid warnings from British and American intelligence that the Kremlin is also looking to move reinforcements to the frontlines in order to free up combat forces for fresh attacks.

It means that Putin, who went on state TV before the invasion to say that Ukraine has no right to exist as a country, could also be looking to press ahead with the war with the aim of uniting Ukraine and Russia under one banner.

News of a deal inching closer came a day after President Zelensky said his country must accept it will not become a member of NATO - a key Russian demand that was used to justify the Kremlin's decision to attack.

The two sides have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at finding common ground and bringing the hostilities launched by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in late February to a halt.

The latest bout ended late Tuesday with Kyiv pointing to 'fundamental contradictions' in the delegations' standpoints.

Both sides had earlier raised hopes of a breakthrough, referring to agreements that were close to being put to paper and signed.

Lavrov on Wednesday cautioned that the negotiations were not easy but that there was 'some hope of reaching a compromise'.

Russia's negotiator Medinsky echoed the line to reporters on Wednesday that talks were 'slow and difficult' but said the Kremlin wants peace, 'as soon as possible'.

He reiterated that the core issue at the talks is a 'neutral' Ukraine, citing the status of Austria and Sweden as possible examples to follow.

It would mean Ukraine could retain its armed forces but that Kyiv would not be allowed to have any foreign bases, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

'A whole range of issues tied with the size of Ukraine's army is being discussed', Medinsky said, having earlier mentioned the sides are discussing an idea for a future Ukraine with a smaller, non-aligned military.

Sweden officially is militarily non-aligned in peacetime and neutral in times of war, having ended its policy of neutrality in 1992 at the end of the Cold War. It is not a member of NATO, but it has been a partner to the alliance for nearly 30 years.

At the end of the Cold War, Sweden slashed its military spending, but began reinvesting in its defence following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Meanwhile, Medinsky said that other issues were being discussed, including the status of the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as territories held for years by pro-Moscow separatists.

Lavrov on Wednesday said the list of priorities included the security of people in eastern Ukraine, the demilitarisation of Ukraine and the rights of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have also made cautious positive statements about the status of peace talks. Zelensky on Wednesday described the negotiations as 'more realistic' but warned that more time was needed for any deal to be in the interests of Ukraine.

Zelensky made the early morning statement after his team said a peace deal that will end Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be struck with Vladimir Putin within one or two weeks because Russian forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.

Moscow's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky (left) said his delegation was pushing for Ukraine to assume a status comparable Sweden or Austria. But Ukraine's chief negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak (right) has said he wants the country's security to be guaranteed by international forces

The apparent breakthrough has come a day after Zelensky appeared to confirm that Ukraine will not join NATO.

Speaking on Tuesday, he said that 'we have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It's a truth and it must be recognised.'

Ahead of the invasion, Putin had been demanding guarantees that Ukraine would never be admitted to NATO along with the removal of all the alliance's troops and weapons from ex-Soviet countries.

After being rebuffed by Kyiv, Washington and NATO Putin said there was no option but to launch the military operation because Russian-speaking people in Ukraine had been subjected to genocide by 'nationalists and neo-Nazis' since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Russian negotiators have softened their stance a little since then, saying they want Ukraine to declare neutrality, disarm, recognise Crimea as part of Russia and recognise the whole of the Donbass as independent.

Ukraine has been demanding a ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces.

It comes as Russia forces started shelling the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol.

The bombardment came hours after an estimated 20,000 civilians arrived in Zaporizhzhia, the first port of call for those fleeing Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor - supposedly safe passages which allow civilians to leave Ukraine.

Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew.

Three loud explosions were heard in western parts of the capital just before dawn, partially destroying the top corner of one building, damaging and scorching the other as thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.

Meanwhile battles continue to rage in cities like Mariupol, Kharkhiv and Mykolaiv, as well as in suburban towns just outside Kyiv overnight.

Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings (pictured, a woman with a child evacuates from an apartment block which was hit by Russian shelling early Wednesday)

Aftermath of Russian shelling of a 12-storey residential building in Svyatoshyn district of Kyiv early on Wednesday, hours after the Ukrainian capital was placed under a 36-hour curfew

Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew amid warnings to brace for a 36-hour bombardment at the hands of Russian forces

A family are seen inside a building in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, after they were evacuated from Mariupol on Tuesday
From left are Kang Seog-hoon, Kim Hyun-sook and Jang Sung-min. Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol made an appointments of his policy advisers, Wednesday.



According to his spokesperson Kim Eun-hye, Yoon has named Kang Seog-hoon, a professor of economics at Sungshin Women's University, and Kim Hyun-sook, an economics professor at Soongsil University, as special advisers for policy.



In addition, Jang Sung-min, the president of the World and Northeast Asia Peace Forum who competed with Yoon in the conservative People Power Party (PPP) primary, has been tapped to serve as the special assistant for political affairs. Jang was a vocal critic of Yoon.



"Kang and Kim are perfect fits to the positions given that they served as senior presidential secretaries for economic affairs and employment and welfare, respectively, under the Park Geun-hye administration," the spokesperson said.



"Since the party primary, they have provided pieces of advice in the areas of economy, society and welfare to the president-elect. Yoon has comfortably exchanged opinions with them during the election period," Kim added.



Jang was critical of Yoon during the primary. But since Yoon became the flag-bearer for the PPP, Jang, a former lawmaker who served as political affairs secretary for former President Kim Dae-jung, has given advice to him, according to the spokesperson.



"Following Jang's elimination from the primaries, the president-elect asked Jang Sung-min to tell him the hard truths and is said to have heard unfiltered advice from him and communicated during the presidential campaign," Kim said.



Under the Presidential Transition Act, the presidential transition committee consists of a chairperson, a vice chairperson and up to 24 committee members. The committee is in charge of forming a blueprint for the new administration and is permitted to run for a period of 30 days after the new president is inaugurated.






The Metropolitan Police has been ridiculed online over Scotland Yard's response to a break-in at Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska's Knightsbridge mansion.

The property, on Belgrave Square, west London was targeted by a group of anarchists in the early hours of Monday morning.

Police swiftly deployed several dozen officers, including the Territorial Support Group, a special negotiator and a JCB cherry picker.

The forced later responded to criticism, insisting they responded in the same manner as they would any other incident in London.

But they were met with a furious backlash from victims of crime.

One man told MailOnline that after three bikes were stolen from his south London property, the Met told him to 'take a burly friend and confront someone selling the stolen bike on Gumtree.' The call handler suggested he could ring 999, if 'things go pear-shaped'.

Dr Alison Webster said someone tried to break down her front door and it took an hour for the first officers to respond, by which time the suspects had fled.

Another Londoner claimed police refused to act when known criminals occupied his house for a month.

And Svenja O'Donnell said when her mother and stepfather had been burgled, the Met said she should send an email and only sent an officer to take statements after repeated calls.

The Metropolitan Police claimed the break in at oligarch Oleg Deripaska's house was dealt with in exactly the same manner as any other similar incident

Londoners complained about the size of the Metropolitan Police's response to reports of a break in at an unoccupied home

Crime writer David Beckler said he is a novelist who 'makes up stuff all the time' but said the Met's response was 'too far-fetched'. He said: 'Nobody will believe it and they'll just laugh at you'

People on Twitter soon responded claiming the Met's statement might not be entirely accurate

Dr Alison Webster said someone tried to break down her front door and it took an hour for the first officers to respond, by which time the suspects had fled

People asked the Met for details involving similar incidents over the past month where they would have deployed equivalent resources

More than 30 police including members of the Territorial Support Group were called to oligarch Oleg Deripaska's Belgravia home on Monday

The Met also sent a JCB cherry picker to lift an officer up to the mansion's balcony to talk directly with the protesters.

However, dozens of people on Twitter rejected the claim and suggested ordinary Londoners who have fallen victim to a break in are lucky to receive any response at all.

One Londoner told MailOnline: 'The Belgravia Square response stands in stark contrast to the police response to a break-in at my South London home, when three bikes were stolen.

'No one has so far taken a statement, the crime scene wasnt investigated and even when I found one of the bikes on an online advert and supplied the police with the mobile phone number of the suspect selling it, I was told the police didnt have the resources to investigate.

I spoke to a 101 officer who suggested I could always go and meet the suspect myself and get two friends to discreetly film him  and dial 999 if anything went pear-shaped. DIY policing. I should add, though, that the police, after I wrote to my local MP about the matter and nudged them a bit, have finally launched an investigation.

One person claimed police refused to act when known criminals occupied his house for a month

Others said they had to repeatedly contact the police for a response having first been told to 'send an email'

Other anonymous commentators claimed they or their friends received a poor response from the Met Police

Dr Alison Webster said someone tried to break down her front door and it took an hour for the first officers to respond, by which time the suspects had fled.

Crime writer David Beckler wrote: 'Mate, I'm a novelist and make stuff up all the time. The secret is to make it believable.

'This is just too far-fetched. Nobody will believe it and they'll just laugh at you.

'Tone it down a bit so at least some people, those from outside the UK, might think, "could be true".'

The squatters broke into the property at around 1am on Monday declaring the mansion 'belongs to Ukrainian refugees'.

At least 10 police vehicles and 30 officers were used during the operation to clear the property.

Officers wearing harnesses first tried to deploy a ladder to access the balcony but after the squatters sat in the way to obstruct them, a JCB crane was moved in to lift them up instead.

Police wearing riot gear used a drill to break open the front door and enter the house.

The squatters call themselves the London Mahknovists, after Nestor Makhno, who led an anarchist force that attempted to form a stateless society in Ukraine during the Russian Revolution of 1917-23.

They hung a Ukrainian flag and two signs which read 'this property has been liberated' and 'Putin go f*** yourself#.

Another person suggested Greater Manchester Police ignored him after he reported his car stolen from outside his house

The Metropolitan Police eventually cleared the building after drilling through the lock on the front door

They also danced, played music and one man sang lines from the Dirty Dancing song (Ive Had) The Time Of My Life.

Mr Deripaska has been described as 'a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch' who is 'closely associated' with the Russian government and President Vladimir Putin.

His wealth is estimated to be 2.3 billion and he has a multimillion-pound property portfolio in the UK which includes the house at 5 Belgrave Square, according to a 2007 High Court judgment.

Records indicate it has not changed hands since and is owned by an offshore British Virgin Islands company.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who holds the Metropolitan Police to account, questioned whether the forces response to protesters breaking in to the Belgravia home of Oleg Deripaska was 'proportionate'.

On Monday a series of Tweets was sent from the Mets @MPSWestminster account defending the action, saying: 'Officers were initially called to reports of people breaking into a house just after 1am. This led to an immediate response and would do so anywhere in London.

'Once at the property officers were told the intrusion was for the purposes of a protest. However, squatting in a residential property is a criminal offence.

The Metropolitan Police hired a cherry picker to lift a negotiator up to the first floor balcony to negotiate with the anarchists

The group of anarchists have claimed to have 'liberated' the property

'In addition, officers faced difficult decisions as they had not independently verified what was taking place inside the property, who was present and whether there were other risks.

'Over the following hours we deployed the resources necessary to resolve the situation swiftly but safely, both for our officers and the protesters.'

Footage posted on social media showed some of the protesters shouting abuse at the officers as they made their way to the building.

Speaking to LBCs Tonight With Andrew Marr programme on Monday, Mr Khan said the police response  which included deploying a JCB crane to gain access to the mansion and cordoning off the street  'does raise questions'.

'Im unclear what the police were responding to because we know no-ones living there,' he said.

'But Im not sure if there were concerns about any crimes being done to any neighbouring properties, so those are the questions.'

He said he would raise the issue with the outgoing Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick or another senior officer.
A Chinese student has appeared in court charged with murdering an activist lawyer when he said he would stop working with her by stabbing him to death.

Xiaoning Zhang, 25, is said to have stabbed Jinjin Li, 66, to death on Monday in New York City where he worked as an immigration lawyer.

Queens County Criminal Court heard that two knives were found at the scene and one was in Zhang's pocket. She told police that she carries a knife for protection.

The murder took place on 39th Avenue near 138th St in Flushing, Queens, at about 11.40 am, before Li was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital where he died from wounds to neck and chest later in the same day.

Xiaoning Zhang, 25, was taken into custody and faces a murder charge and weapon possession.

Xiaoning Zhang (pictured at Queens county court) , 25, is said to have stabbed Jinjin Li, 66, to death on Monday in New York City where he worked as an immigration lawyer

The murder took place on 39th Avenue near 138th St in Flushing, Queens, at about 11.40 am, before Li (pictured) was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital where he died from wounds to neck and chest later in the same day

Xiaoning Zhang, 25, is led away at Queens county criminal court where she was remanded pending following her arraignment for the murder of attorney Jim Li

She is said to have attacked Li during a prior visit to his office last week, after the student - who arrived in Los Angeles on an F1 visa last year - was told by Li that he would not help her apply for asylum.

Zhang is said to have claimed that she was raped by Beijing police, and that her life was in danger if she was forced to return home.

Chuang Chuang Chen, the CEO of the China Democracy Party, and lawyer Wei Zhu, a friend of Li's, both told The New York Daily News that the killing might have stemmed from Li's refusal to take Zhang on as a client due to her possibly having mental health issues.

'He even told the police not to arrest her. "She is young. Let her have a future." He was a great man,' Zhu said. 'He was a free union counsel at Tiananmen. He was arrested and detained for over a year and a half.'

Zhang came to the U.S. in August on an F-1 student visa to go to school in Los Angeles, Chen told the Daily News.

Li was murdered at his office on Queens, two days after Zhang had caused a scene at his law practice and fled from police

Xiaoning Zhang, 25, at Queens county criminal court where she was arraigned for the murder of attorney Jim Li

'But she didn't attend. She came straight here. She came directly and applied for asylum. She claimed she was raped by police in Beijing who sent her to a mental facility,' he added.

Li's friends said that the lawyer, who rarely refused a case, didn't want to help Zhang after she made a scene on Friday during a visit to his office. Police was even called to the scene before she ran away.

'That probably triggered her anger. Today she came with a knife, with the intent to kill him,' Zhu alleged.

NYPD officers were seen in front of Zhang's apartment building on Monday evening as they waited for a search warrant to enter, possibly leading to motives behind the murder.

'He was one of the best men I have ever known,' Zhu said of Li, who was studying to become a lawyer at Peking University during the Tiananmen protests. 'If he hadn't left China he could have been a famous lawyer, he could have been a judge.'

Li, who also went by the first name Jim, was often quoted in recent years by news organizations looking for insight or commentary on the Chinese dissident community or on relations between China and the West.

She is said to have attacked Li (pictured) during a prior visit to his office last week, after the student - who arrived in Los Angeles on an F1 visa last year - was told by Li that he would not help her apply for asylum

Li was a Tiananmen Square protester back in 1989, and was jailed just days after the June 4th massacre before seeking asylum to come to the U.S. in 1993

As an immigration lawyer, he also represented some Chinese expatriates living in the U.S. who were considered fugitives by that country.

Prior to his imprisonment for protesting, Li had been a legal adviser to an independent labor union that had challenged China's government on worker rights.

'I can't believe it. She not only destroyed his life, but the hope of our community,' Zhu told the newspaper. 'He wanted to realize democracy in China. He will never realize that dream.'

Li, whose last message on Instagram was one of support towards freeing Ukraine, took part in the six-week protest movements at Tiananmen Square and on the streets of Beijing in 1989.

Back then, he worked as a legal counsel for the Workers Autonomous Federation union.

He was arrested just days following the June 4 massacre, when hundreds, if not thousands of innocent protestors were killed in the square and in nearby areas by the Chinese army.

As of today, no precise figures have been confirmed by the Chinese Communist Party, and estimates vary from hundreds to several thousands, both military and civilians.

As a consequence of hid participation in these protests, Li was jailed for 22 months before moving to the U.S. as an asylum seeker in 1993.
Women's groups have claimed they have been excluded from a 'flawed' NHS review into mixed hospital wards as a leading 'trans advocate' has said the rules that allow patients to self-identify their gender will continue.

Dr Michael Brady, the national adviser for LGBT health at NHS England and who is said to be involved in the review, has reportedly written to campaign groups and told them he has 'no plans to reduce the existing rights of transgender people' during the review, which began in December.

In an email, he said the 'commitment from the team leading on the review is supporting the maintenance/strengthening of trans rights in the update'.

However NHS England deny Dr Brady's involvement and say he only 'attended engagement meetings' with women's and LGB groups and Chief Nursing Officer Ruth May is leading the process.

Dr Bradby, who is an HIV and Sexual Health consultant at Kings College Hospital in London, is alleged to have 'excluded women and LGB groups' from the review, with emergency meetings having to be set up two-weeks later.

Rhona Hotchkiss, a retired nurse and volunteer at LGB Alliance told MailOnline: 'Often when matters effect trans people, other groups are not considered. We had to contact the NHS regarding the process and subsequently had a meeting set up two-weeks later with Dr Brady.

'It is shocking that we were excluded in the first place. When reviews like this are conducted, you need to include the people speaking up for women, men, the elderly and religious minorities. It is utterly flawed and now LGB Alliance alongside several other groups are calling for it to be abandoned.'

Campaigners also believe many trusts are removing mixed-sex wards under the Equality Act of 2010 NHS England guidance, which states that 'trans people should be accommodated according to their presentation, the way they dress, and the name and pronouns they currently use.'

Dr Brady told the Trans NHS Staff Network in emails seen by The Telegraph that controversial LGBT charity Stonewall and Mermaids had contributed 'very helpfully' to the ongoing review.

The review is part of NHS England's process, which makes sure its guidance is correct and up-to-date, and looks to see if there is any way to improve it.

Meanwhile, Baroness Nicholson, 80, has called for an end to the review which she called a 'safeguarding disaster' adding that patient safety must 'trump trans rights in hospital wards'.

Dr Michael Brady, who is the national adviser for LGBT health at NHS England, has allegedly written to campaign groups and told them he has 'no plans to reduce the existing rights of transgender people' during the process, which began in December. Pictured: Prince Harry talks to sexual health and HIV doctor Dr Brady

Baroness Nicholson, 80, has called for an end to the 'safeguarding disaster' and said patient safety must 'trump trans rights in hospital wards'

Writing in The Times , she said: 'A key element of the debate on women's rights is the stealthy erosion of single-sex spaces, particularly single-sex wards in hospitals. These hard-won rights are vital for patients at their most vulnerable.

'Yet we have sleepwalked into a situation where gender self-identification, elevated by NHS policy in defiance of the law, trumps sensible decisions about patient dignity and safety.

'Men who declare themselves women, even without the legal fiction of a gender recognition certificate, are being allowed into women's wards.

'A fiction is being imposed on other patients, their concerns disregarded, even being smeared as bigotry. Nurses are left in a difficult position. This is insulting to patients and a safeguarding disaster.'

The Tory peer debated the Health and Care Bill with ministers and asked for an amendment to be added that asks for trans people in mixed hospital wards to be reviewed.

She added: 'Tonight in the House of Lords I will debate on the Health and Care Bill, Lord Blencathra and I have introduced an amendment with cross-party support.

Dr Brady told the Trans NHS Staff Network in emails seen by The Telegraph that controversial LGBT charity Stonewall and Mermaids had contributed 'very helpfully' to the ongoing review (Stock image)

'This requires that NHS guidance for trans people in single-sex wards be reviewed. It must take proper regard of the opt-outs included in the 2010 Equality Act, and not wilfully ignore them.'

LGB Alliance volunteer Ms Hotchkiss said that groups including Fair Play for Women, Womans Place UK and Sex Matters have all written to Sajid Javid and Baroness Nicholson to stop the review.

She added: 'When we met Dr Brady, my colleague Kate Harris asked "Do you believe trans women are women?" and he couldn't even answer.

'We have since written to the Health Secretary because this review needs to be abandoned imminently.'

An NHS spokesperson said: 'The review, which is currently ongoing, is being led by England's Chief Nursing Officer, Ruth May.

'The engagement phase of the review closed this week with a wide range of groups involved and every organisation or individual who requested a meeting as part of this process was offered one.'
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich may never be able to return to the UK following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Liz Truss suggested today.

The Foreign Secretary warned oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin 'there will need to be a reckoning' over their backing for his despotic regime.

Abramovich is scrambling to rescue his crumbling business empire and personal effects after being hit by UK and EU sanctions.

His UK assets, including the current European and World Champions, have been frozen and he is finding is hard to travel as more countries ban him from arriving.

Ms Truss warned this morning there was no guarantee sanctioned oligarchs would be free to return to the UK after the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine ends.

The Foreign Secretary also said she did not think the conflict was 'near the end', in comments made on Sky News.

Put to her that Mr Abramovich could return once Russian troops had withdrawn, Ms Truss said: 'No, I haven't said that.

'Because I'm saying even if the war was to end - and I fear we are not near the end, at this stage - huge devastation has been caused, lives have been lost as a result of this war.

'And there will need to be a reckoning with all the people who supported Putin, including Abramovich.'

Abramovich is scrambling to rescue his crumbling business empire and personal effects after being hit by UK and EU sanctions.

The Foreign Secretary warned oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin 'there will need to be a reckoning' over their backing for his despotic regime.

How Roman Abramovich's steel firm is accused of supplying materials for Russian tanks bringing death and destruction to Ukraine Roman Abramovich now exercises effective control of Evraz, a steelmaker which potentially supplies steel for Russian tanks, according to the UK Government. His stake is worth 420million. He moved his large shareholding in a Russian steelmaking firm eight days before Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The Chelsea owner transferred his shares in Evraz, the Russian steelmaking giant, directly to himself from an offshore company on February 16, just over a week before Vladimir Putin ordered the Ukraine invasion. Analysts have said that the transfer of the 28.64 per cent shareholding, from Virgin Islands-registered Greenleas International Holdings Ltd, could make it less vulnerable to the sanctions which have followed the invasion. It could also make the shareholding easier to sell. The value of the shares have plummeted since Putins forces attacked Ukraine. Grzegorz Kuczynski, director of the Eurasia Program at the Warsaw Institute, told Sportsmail: There was a risk that this offshore company would become a subject of sanctions. Mr Kuczynski also said that the steel companys material was used to make tanks and was a significant part of Russias military campaign in Ukraine. He said: Evraz steel is used to build tanks, amongst other things. The company is important for the Russian arms industry, in this sense. It is important for Russia's war plans, including with regard to Ukraine. But a spokesperson for Abramovich insisted that Evraz steel manufactured in Russia was not used for military. The spokesperson said the Russian produced steel was only used for rail and construction. Advertisement

She said the UK was working with allies 'in the G7 and beyond' to ensure oligarchs have 'nowhere where it is legitimate for them to live their lifestyles, have their yachts or have their planes'.

Last night it was reported that ownership of an investment company linked to Mr Abramovich was transferred to one of the 55-year-old billionaire's closest allies the day that Russia invaded Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal said that Norma Investments Ltd - which has been linked to Abramovich in the past in financial filings in the US and UK - was transferred on February 24 to a man described by Forbes as Abramovich's 'right hand man'.

David Davidovich, 59, is himself worth an estimated $1.6 billion (1.2billion).

A source close to Davidovich, who was photographed walking with Abramovich in Scotland in 2015, confirmed to The Journal that he had taken control of Norma, but denied that Abramovich was the ultimate owner.

Davidovich's investment in Norma 'is part of his overall investments and interest in the startup sector,' the person said.

Norma's interests include investments in US and UK-based renewable energy firms.

It also helped fund cancer research, as well as tests on an anti-aging drug by US-based biotech firm Cleveland BioLabs Inc, according to the WSJ.

Britain hit 350 more Russians with sanctions yesterday as it stepped up the economic fight against Vladimir Putin - with swingeing new taxes on vodka.

Ministers said the new wave of sanctions meant that more than 1,000 Russian firms and businesses have been prevented from making money in or visiting the UK.

The new wave of around 370 today includes more than 50 oligarchs and their families, plus politicians including puppet prime minister Mikhail Mishustin, defence minister Sergei Shoigu and former president Dmitry Medvedev.

Individuals added to the list including Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, the men behind the company which owns Holland & Barrett and who have resigned from its advisory board after being sanctioned internationally.

A notorious internet 'troll farm', the Internet Research Agency, has also been sanctioned.

It came after the Department of International Trade slapped huge new punitive import taxes on Russian luxury goods and economic staples to increase the pressure on Moscow's war machine.

Sales of booze, furs, white fish and a host of other commodities will be hit with a 35 per cent increase in levies, the Department for International Trade revealed.

The tax will also apply to sales of metals including iron, steel, copper and silver, as well as cereals, machinery and machinery.

At the same time the sale of luxury items to Russia is to be blocked, ending sales of items including luxury vehicles like Rolls-Royces, designer clothing and art.

G7 Governments have said they will impose punitive tariffs on trade to further isolate Moscow from the global economy.

The group of wealthy nations said it would strip Russia of its 'most favoured nation' status under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
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Putin has a problem. His invasion of Ukraine, intended as a days-long operation, is now grinding into its third week and becoming a bloodbath. Attacks across the country are stalled amid predictions that Russia will soon struggle to hold the territory it has - let alone capture more. In short: he needs more men for the meat grinder.

But where to find them? America estimates Russia has committed somewhere between half and three quarters of its total land forces to Ukraine, and all of those are already involved in the fighting. Some 'spare' units will be involved in active missions elsewhere, while others will be for territorial defence - leaving the country vulnerable to attack if they are sent abroad.

That conundrum has forced the Kremlin to reach far from the frontlines in search of men, according to Britain's Ministry of Defence, which says reinforcements are now being drawn from as far afield as eastern Siberia, the Pacific Fleet, and Armenia. That is in addition to Syrian fighters and paid mercenaries - hundreds of the from the shadowy Wagner Group - which have already been committed to the fight.

The UK believes such reinforcements would likely be used to hold Ukrainian territory already captured by Russia which would then free up regular units for fresh assaults - almost certainly targeting major cities like Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa and Chernihiv. Another goal would likely be to encircle a large number of Ukrainian forces in the Donbass, spread out along the old frontline with Russian-backed rebel groups.

But it is unclear whether those reinforcements will be effective. Some could take weeks to reach the front, while Syrian mercenaries are likely to be poorly trained and un-used to the terrain and climate of eastern Europe. In the meantime, Ukraine claims it is successfully counter-attacking Putin's men and 'radically changing' the battlefield.

Russia is looking to reinforce its armies in Ukraine after suffering heavy losses, British intelligence believes, but is being forced to draw men from its Eastern Military District, the Pacific Fleet, Armenia and Syria because it has committed such a large number of troops to the conflict already

There are also fears that Russia could use mass conscription to turn the tide of battle in its favour. Such fears sparked rumours two weeks ago that Putin was about to declare martial law to stop men from leaving the country before press-ganging them into service in Ukraine.

The Russian strongman subsequently denied any such plans, saying no conscripts were being sent to the front - though shortly afterwards the military was forced to admit otherwise, with conscripted troops among those killed and captured. While mass conscription appears unlikely, regular conscripts could still be used.

Ben Hodges, a retired US general writing for the Center for European Policy Analysis, points out the next round of conscription is due on April 1 when around 130,000 young men will be inducted into the armed forces. Russia has also reportedly changed conscription rules to make the draft harder to refuse.

Accurate estimates of Russian casualties from the frontlines are almost impossible to come by. Ukraine says 13,800 men have been lost, while the US and Europe put the figure lower - at up to 6,000. Moscow itself has acknowledged just 500 casualties, a figure that it has not updated for weeks.

Assuming three times as many have been wounded, captured or deserted - based on historical trends - that could mean anywhere between 24,000 and 55,200 Russian troops are out of action. Or, to put it another way, between a fifth and a third of the total 150,000-strong army Putin amassed before he attacked.

That has led some to predict that Putin's invasion could soon be a spent force. Yesterday, UK defence sources said that 'culmination point' for the Russian army is likely to come within the next 14 days - meaning the point at which the might of Ukrainian forces will outweigh the strength of the attackers.

Russia would then be at risk of losing territory to Ukrainian counter-attacks with signs of cracks already appearing. At the weekend, Ukraine said it had successfully attacked towards the city of Volnovakha, north of Mariupol, with fighting ongoing there Tuesday.

News of the attack came just before civilians began successfully evacuating the city, having been held up by Russian attacks for more than a week beforehand. Some 2,500 managed to flee in 160 vehicles on Monday, before another 25,000 fled in 2,000 vehicles yesterday.

While Ukraine has not linked its attack with the evacuations, the very fact they are now going ahead does suggest the city - though still surrounded by Russian forces - is no longer fully besieged.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, also tweeted Wednesday morning that Ukraine was counter-attacking in 'several operational areas' which he said 'radically changes the parties dispositions' - without giving any further details.

American intelligence paints a similar picture to the British, though has been more cautious. An update late Tuesday acknowledged that Russian advances are at a near-standstill and said the US has seen 'indications' that the Kremlin knows more men will be needed.

Russia's Defense Ministry TV channel shared clips of supposed Syrian combatants ready to 'volunteer' in Ukraine - as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Vladimir Putin for hiring foreign 'murderers'

Russia may believe it needs more troops and supplies than it has on hand in the country and is considering ways to get resources brought in, said the official, but added that there has been no actual movement of reinforcement troops currently in Russia going into Ukraine.

According to the official, Russian ground forces are still about 9-12 miles northwest of Kyiv and 12-19 miles east of the city, which is being increasingly hit by long-range strikes. The official said Ukrainian troops continue to put up stiff resistance in Kharkiv and other areas.

At least some of the supplies Russia requires are likely to come from China, the US has warned, revealing this week that Moscow has reached out to Beijing for help and that Beijing has 'already decided' to provide help - though whether that will be limited to economic relief from sanctions or actual hardware remains to be seen.

The Pentagon said that Russia has requested ration packs to feed its troops, drones, armoured vehicles, logistics vehicles and intelligence equipment.

Meanwhile estimates of Ukrainian losses are even harder to come by. President Zelensky has admitted that 1,300 soldiers have been killed, though the actual toll is likely far higher. Losses are likely to be highest in the south of Ukraine, where the Russian military has captured the most territory.

Without knowing the size of the Ukrainian force - which started around 250,000 troops - it is difficult to know how much longer the country can hold out, or what its ability to counter-attack is.

Certainly, Kyiv is also facing manpower issues. That much is clear from Zelensky's appeal to overseas fighters to join the Ukrainian foreign legion, pleading for anyone with military experience to sign up and fight - with the promise of citizenship at the end.

Ukraine claims some 20,000 people have registered their interest, and foreign fighters are already known to be on the frontlines while others train for war at bases in the west of the country - one of which was hit by missile strikes at the weekend. Soldiers from the US, UK, Canada, Israel, Poland, and Croatia are known to be among them.

Zelensky has also called up the entirety of Ukraine's reservists - estimated at around 220,000 men - and has put in place laws preventing any man aged between 18 and 60 from leaving the country in case they need to be conscripted into the military.

Ukraine has also been pleading with the West to send more equipment - particularly fighter jets. A plan for Poland to donate its entire fleet of MiGs to Kyiv's forces and have them replaced with F-16s fell flat amid fears it could prompt Russia to escalate, to the frustration of the Ukrainians.

Kyiv has also been asking for more armed drones, anti-ship missiles, electronic jamming equipment and surface-to-air missiles that can strike aircraft and rockets at high altitude to help shield against withering Russian bombardments that are increasingly targeting cities.

The Biden administration will discuss today what extra equipment it is willing to give Ukraine, including whether to include Switchblade 'suicide drones' in its next aid package.

Switchblades are cheap, remote-controlled aircraft that act as a kind of missile that can be pre-programmed to strike a target or else flown to targets by controllers. They are known as 'loitering munitions' because they can circle their targets for up to 40 minutes before striking.

Russia is thought to have lost hundreds of tanks, thousands of vehicles, and up to 13,800 men in Ukraine in the last 21 days - more than the US lost fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan in two decades (pictured, a destroyed Russian tank in Volnovakha)

Ukrainian troops from the Azov battalion stand next to destroyed Russian tanks in Mariupol, where Putin's men have suffered heavy losses including the death of a general

Kyiv has closely guarded its total losses in the conflict, but has also been reaching out for reinforcements - asking overseas fighters to sign up via the foreign legion and calling up its reserves (picture, a Ukrainian soldier in Mariupol)

Smaller versions of the drones are designed to take out infantry, while larger versions are designed to destroy tanks and armoured vehicles. The move comes after Turkish-made Bayraktar drones proved surprisingly effective at taking out Russian armour. The only country currently authorised to buy the drones is the UK.

Western nations have already supplied thousands of weapons to Ukraine including American Javelin anti-tank missiles, UK/Swedish NLAW anti-tank launchers, and Stinger anti-aircraft systems. But Zelensky has warned that supplies intended to last for months are being eaten up in a matter of hours.

As both sides grind each-other towards a military stalemate, so talk has grown of 'significant progress' in peace talks - with aides to Zelensky saying a deal to end the fighting could be in place within weeks.

Zelensky said on Wednesday peace talks with Russia were sounding 'more realistic' but more time was needed for any deal to be in the interests of Ukraine.

Zelensky made the early morning statement after his team said a peace deal that will end Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be struck with Vladimir Putin within one or two weeks because Russian forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.

'The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine,' Zelenskiy said in a video address on Wednesday, ahead of the next round of talks.

Meanwhile Oleksiy Arestovich, one of Zelensky's top aides, said the war would end within weeks and a peace deal struck when Putin's troops run out of resources, but warned that Russia could bring in new reinforcements to bolster their attack, which could prolong the conflict further.

'We are at a fork in the road now,' said Arestovich. 'There will either be a peace deal struck very quickly, within a week or two, with troop withdrawal and everything, or there will be an attempt to scrape together some, say, Syrians for a round two and, when we grind them too, an agreement by mid-April or late April.

'I think that no later than in May, early May, we should have a peace agreement. Maybe much earlier, we will see.'

Vladimir Putin has reportedly reached out to China's Xi Jinping for support, including economic relief from sanctions along with military supplies including ration kits, drones, armoured vehicles and intelligence equipment

The assessment echoes that of UK defence sources who say that Kyiv has Moscow 'on the run' and the Russian army could be just two weeks from 'culmination point' - after which 'the strength of Ukraine's resistance should become greater than Russia's attacking force.' Advances across Ukraine have already stopped as Moscow's manpower runs short.

Earlier, Zelensky said that Ukraine must accept it will not become a member of NATO - a statement that will be music to the ears of Vladimir Putin and could pave the way for some kind of peace deal between the warring nations.

Zelensky, who has become a symbol of resistance to Russia's onslaught over the last 20 days, said on Tuesday that 'Ukraine is not a member of NATO' and that 'we have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It's a truth and it must be recognised.'

His statement, while making no firm commitments, will be seen as further opening the door to some kind of peace deal between Ukraine and Russia after negotiators hailed 'substantial' progress at the weekend - without giving any idea what such a deal would look like.

Ahead of the invasion, Putin had been demanding guarantees that Ukraine would never be admitted to NATO along with the removal of all the alliance's troops and weapons from ex-Soviet countries. After being rebuffed by Kyiv, Washington and NATO he launched his 'special military operation' to 'demilitarise' and 'de-Nazify' the country.

Russian negotiators have softened their stance a little since then, saying they want Ukraine to declare neutrality, disarm, recognise Crimea as part of Russia and recognise the whole of the Donbass as independent. Ukraine has been demanding a ceasefire and the immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces. Talks have been ongoing this week and Moscow has made no mention of wider demands on NATO in recent days.

The Ukrainians said the talks have included a broader agreement that would lead to the withdrawal of Russian troops, reports the Times.
A group of British Airways pilots are suing their bosses for more than 250,000 claiming they strained their necks repeatedly turning round to check cockpit security cameras for terrorists.

The 16 veteran fliers, spearheaded by Cpt Jonathan Parry, say they were left with painful neck and spinal conditions caused by constantly swivelling round to check a CCTV screen at the rear of the cockpit showing air crew buzzing to be let in.

The three-camera security system was brought in after the 9/11 attacks to stop terrorists invading the plane's cockpit, giving pilots a clear camera view of anyone wishing to gain entry before buzzing them in.

Captain Jonathan Parry is suing British Airways after he claimed his neck was injured because of the constant need to twist around in the cockpit to review CCTV footage of people trying to access the flight deck

He is among 16 pilots who are claiming the CCTV displays should have been located in the front of the cockpit to allow them to view the footage without having to twist awkwardly

The British Airways pilots complained the monitors were not viewable from the pilot's seat, pictured, left

But lawyers for the 16 say screens displaying those outside the cockpit should have been positioned at the front of the cabin, preventing fliers from having to crane their necks around.

They are now claiming compensation payouts ranging from 10,000 to 100,000 - and lawyers say there could even be health and safety issues if a pilot was to suffer an injury mid-flight due to twisting their neck.

The aviation giant denies liability for the pilots' injuries, claiming it did not breach its duty to keep them safe from injury, as well as contesting the size of their claims.

The case is being spearheaded by Cpt Parry, 57, of Camberley, Surrey, who joined the airline in 2006 following a stint in the Royal Navy, and spent years flying Boeing 757 and 767 jets up to 2014.

In court documents, his barrister Christopher Edwards says Cpt Parry claims to have been strapped so tight into his cockpit chair that it was awkward to switch his whole body round to check the cockpit door security surveillance system (CDSS) monitor.

Instead he had to twist his neck up to five times each hour before operating the flight deck door release, which he has totted up amounted to a total of around 5,000 'neck twists per year'.

'CCTV enables a pilot to see a screen mounted behind him or her on the rear wall of the flight deck,' the explained barrister explained in papers filed at Central London County Court.

The pilots were flying either the Boeing 757 or the Boeing 767 pictured here in New York

The pilots claim the location of the CCTV screens forced them to twist uncomfortably up to 5,000 times per year causing an injury

'When the buzzer sounds, the pilot twists his neck to look at the image from the first camera and he then turns forward again to use the controls positioned in front of him to cycle to the second view from the camera.

'The pilot then twists his neck again to look at the CDSS screen to see the image displayed by the second camera.

'Then the same process is repeated for the third camera. Finally he operates the controls to open the door.

'The pilot is strapped into a large high-backed chair which doesn't swivel. It's therefore very difficult to swivel the body round rather than twist your neck.

'Mr Parry's best estimate is that he twisted his neck to use the CDDS 5,000 times per year. '

Cpt Parry says he suffered a slipped disc and spinal damage due to his repeated neck twisting, and had to undergo spinal surgery to treat his condition in 2015.

He and his 16 colleagues are now suing BA for compensation, alleging fault by their bosses in not positioning the screen at the front of the cockpit.

But the aviation giants deny all fault - as well as disputing the amount of damages claimed.

The case reached Central London County Court last week as lawyers hammered out pre-trial issues involving legal costs and quantifying the 16 claims.

No date has yet been fixed for the trial, which will focus on whether BA breached its duty of care towards its pilots and the precise causes of their conditions.

After the short court hearing, a lawyer for the group said some of the pilots suing had been forced to transfer to flying different jets due to the effects of their injuries.

And he said there was a more general concern about the flight risks linked to the neck strains, with the potential for health and safety issues if a pilot sustained an injury while in the air.

MailOnline has approached British Airways for a comment.
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New Chinese lockdowns prompted by President Xi's zero Covid policy risk sparking another global supply chain crisis and causing shortages of iPhones, cars and other electronic gadgets in Britain, experts warned today.

Authorities across China are trying to stem the spread of the country's worst Covid outbreak in two years, putting tens of millions of people under harsh restrictions, curbing transport and shutting factories.

Some of the toughest measures have been applied in the key manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen, Dongguan and Changchun, as well as the Chinese financial centre of Shanghai, which is home to the world's busiest container port.

Shenzhen's port, Yantian, handles about 90% of all China's electronics shipments. Foxconn, which produces Apple iPhones, had to close down its factories in Shenzhen, although these have been allowed to reopen under strict Covid controls.

Other companies which have warned Covid curbs are impacting their businesses include Toyota, Volkswagen and KFC operator Yum China. Electronic goods that could see supply issues include everything from electric scooters and toys to air conditioning units and USB sticks.

Experts warned the shutdowns could cause yet more disruption to global supply chains that have already been stretched to their limit by Covid - but said the situation would only become critical if they last for more than a few weeks.

Last year, a global logistics crisis caused by Covid and a shortage of HGV drivers saw hundreds of ships unable to dock and unload their goods, and vast piles of empty containers appearing in fields near major UK container ports.

As a result, businesses were left with huge delays to shipments, with retailers struggling to import popular Christmas gifts.

Some of the toughest measures have been applied in the key manufacturing hubs of Shenzhen, Dongguan and Changchun, as well as the Chinese financial centre of Shanghai, which is home to the world's busiest container port

Laura Foll, from Janus Henderson Investors, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'Shenzhen is one of the biggest manufacturing hubs in China, particularly for consumer electronics and consumer goods more generally.

'We need to remember this comes off the back of existing supply chain disruption over the last two years. At the margin this is very unhelpful, but the extent of the disruption depends on how long these lockdowns go on for.

'This is not a peak trading period for retailers but if it were to extend into the summer selling season that would be far more potentially disruptive than if they last one or two weeks at this time of year.'

Shenzhen's 17.5million residents have been ordered not to leave their homes unless necessary and public transport has been halted as the country battles its worst virus outbreak in two years.

Shenzhen's port, Yantian, handles about 90% of all China's electronics shipments. Foxconn, which produces Apple iPhones, had to temporarily close some of its factories. Pictured are staff at an Apple store in Hong Kong

A source with knowledge of the global logistics industry said the lockdowns may persuade British companies to begin looking for alternative sources for their products and different ways to import them, such as via air freight.

'The majority of goods that come out of Shenzhen go to the west coast of America, so we won't see a huge knock on immediately in Britain - but it's something we're keeping a close eye on,' the source told MailOnline.

'It could have an impact if these lockdowns go on for a long time.

Xi Jinping's zero Covid policy has led to a wave of lockdowns in China

'The minute a lockdown happens somewhere, the industry will look for alternative ways to move goods and alternative sources for their products. So currently there's no reason for panic.'

Fabien Gaussorgues, who provides contract manufacturing services from a factory in Dongguan on China's south coast, said he was struggling to procure parts needed for electric scooters, warehouse robots and electric toys because of the shutdowns.

'It's not critical yet but it's getting more difficult every day,' Mr Gaussorgues said. 'Suppliers in Shenzhen cannot produce, so they're not delivering goods. So next week we don't have material for production,' he added.

Lens Technology, which supplies lenses and glass material to customers such as Apple, said on Monday the production and delivery of some products would be impacted after it suspended work at its plant in Dongguan - a northern city.

Laurence Dellicott, Director of Supply Chain Services at MySupply by Avnet Silica, warned Apple users in the UK could see delays to the launch of the new iPhone latest this year if the disruption continues.

'The Apple supply chain can expect delays to production, which are on top of existing global supply problems, however, we can't be certain how big the impact of this lockdown will be for the global tech giant,' he told Metro.

'This could mean delays for the launch of the new iPhone later in the year, or a severely reduced output.'

Netac Technology, which makes portable hard drives and USB flash drives, similarly warned of shipment delays as its factory in Shenzhen had to stop work.

Workers set up beds inside a stadium to convert it into a makeshift hospital after China saw a surge in Covid cases which has forced nearly 30 million people back into lockdown (picture taken yesterday in Changchun)

While major ports in Shenzhen and Shanghai said they were operating normally, logistic providers said there were trucking delays due to road and testing restrictions and some firms in Shenzhen had stopped their warehouses from accepting deliveries.

Refinitiv data showed increased container congestion at key Chinese shipping hubs, with the number of vessels awaiting docking in the outer anchorages of the Yangtze Estuary, Pearl River Delta, Zhoushan and Qingdao port more than double the average of March 2021.

Chinese share prices, which plunged on Monday, slumped to close at 21-month lows yesterday as surging coronavirus cases threatened the outlook for the world's second-largest economy.

Zhaopeng Xing of ANZ Research said he believed Chinese officials 'can manage Omicron' as well as before within a month or so.

'The shock is short-lived,' he said, adding that it would be unlikely to hit the long-term outlook.

China reported 5,280 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, more than double the previous day's tally, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spread across a country that has stuck tightly to a zero-Covid strategy.

China reported 5,280 new Covid cases yesterday, more than double the previous day's tally, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spread across a country (a woman takes a Covid test in Shenyang, north-eastern China)

Workers in protective suits disinfect themselves amid the snow at a nucleic acid testing site in Changchun yesterday

That approach, which pivots on hard localised lockdowns and has left China virtually cut off from the outside world for two years, appears stretched to the limit as Omicron finds its way into communities.

At least 13 cities nationwide were fully locked down as of yesterday, and several others had partial lockdowns, with some 15,000 infections reported nationwide in March.

Scenes of closed neighbourhoods, panic buying and police cordons cast back to the early phase of the pandemic, which first emerged in China in late 2019.

Although cases from the chaotic initial outbreak in Wuhan in early 2020 are widely believed to have been under-reported, life since then had largely returned to normal in China under its strict zero-Covid approach.

Health officials have urged people over 60 to get vaccinated - including the third booster jab - as soon as possible.

Around 80 percent of people in that age group are double-vaccinated, according to official data - but Beijing is anxiously watching the situation over the border in Hong Kong, which now has the world's highest virus death rates due to low inoculation among its oldest residents.

Hazmat-wearing officials patrol the streets of Shanghai yesterday after some areas were locked down following a surge of cases

Health official Jiao Yahui said at a press briefing Tuesday that 'the risk of severe illness is very high' for people in that age group.

The northeastern province of Jilin has been worst-hit by Omicron with over 3,000 new cases on Tuesday, according to the National Health Commission.

Residents of several cities there including the provincial capital of Changchun - home to nine million people - are under stay-at-home orders.

Health officials said over 8,200 Jilin residents have now been hospitalised, with the vast majority showing mild or no symptoms.

Shenzhen is three days into a lockdown, with gaps seen on supermarket shelves, while China's largest city Shanghai is under a lattice of restrictions.

City officials said at a press conference yesterday that 'it is not necessary to lock down Shanghai at present', instead opting for more 'precise' measures.
Women can pass Covid on to their babies but the phenomenon is rare, a study has confirmed.

Birmingham University researchers estimate roughly 2 per cent of babies born to infected mothers test positive for the virus shortly after birth.

This can be passed on in the womb, during labour or delivery, or during the first few days of a baby's life, they said.

Experts reviewed nearly 500 international studies involving 18,000 children born to Covid-positive mothers during the pandemic.

University of Birmingham researchers looked at 14,000 babies born to Covid-positive mothers in Europe and the Americas up to August last year for the study (stock image)

Just 1.8 per cent went on to test positive for the virus, highlighting the 'low risk' of mothers passing on the virus.

But further analysis suggested just a tiny fraction of those likely caught the virus in the womb.

When proper preventive steps are taken after a mother tests positive, such as the use of face masks, 'infection of newborn babies is unlikely', they concluded.

Mothers can pass Covid antibodies onto their babies via breastmilk for up to 10 MONTHS, study finds New mothers who survive Covid can pass antibodies onto their babies through their breastmilk for up to 10 months, an American study suggests. Researchers collected milk donated by 75 women who had recovered from the virus and screened them for the virus-fighting proteins. They found 88 per cent of them tested positive for an antibody that blocks the virus from causing infection in the respiratory tract. Further lab tests revealed the majority of Covid-positive milk samples neutralised the virus, suggesting breastfed children gain at least partial protection. Academics from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York said further work is being done to see if immunity can be passed on via breastmilk after vaccination. The study was carried out in March, before vaccines were being routinely offered to pregnant American women or females of childbearing age. It follows a study last week which found pregnant women who have a Covid vaccine pass on their protection to their unborn babies in the womb. Advertisement

Previous studies have detected pieces of the virus in the placenta, amniotic fluid  which surrounds babies in the womb  vaginal fluid and breast milk.

The study  published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)  confirms previous research suggesting Covid could be passed on to babies.

Academics reviewed data from 472 global studies, which looked at data on 952 mothers and 18,237 babies.

Among the positive cases studied, there was data on 592 babies which suggested they may have picked up the virus from their mothers.

There were 14 documented mother-to-child transmissions.

In affluent countries, like the US, the risk of mother-to-baby transmission was below 0.1 per cent.

In a linked editorial, Catherine McLean Pirkle, an associate professor at the University of Hawaii, wrote: 'Overall, findings from this review seem reassuring.

'Although the results indicate that mother-to-child transmission is possible in utero during the antenatal period, during labour or delivery (intrapartum), and after delivery (postpartum), rates of positivity among infants born to mothers with Sars-Cov-2 are low.

'Furthermore, in affluent world regions such as North America, positivity among exposed infants appears to be extremely rare (0.1 per cent).

'Combined, the results suggest that when proper preventive measures are taken during intrapartum and early postpartum periods, such as consistent and appropriate use of personal protective equipment, infection of newborn babies is unlikely.'

Ms Pirkle said just seven instances of the virus being passed on during pregnancy were identified, indicating that 'in utero transmission is possible but exceedingly rare'.

After babies are born, infections can potentially develop from a 'variety of exposures' but are still rare, she added.

There was no association between breastfeeding and infection in newborns.

While the study suggests mothers rarely pass on Covid to their children, medics said having the virus in pregnancy can still pose a risk, particularly if the mother is unvaccinated.

Other studies have suggested mothers who are vaccinated or have previously had Covid pass on Covid-fighting antibodies to their babies.
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Covid death rates at the peak of England's Omicron wave were up to 14 times lower among triple-jabbed people, official data shows.

Along with Omicron being intrinsically mild, the country's booster campaign is thought to have played a key role in blunting a winter surge in severe illness and death  despite infections spiralling to record highs.

An Office for National Statistics (ONS) report published today showed elderly groups who are most vulnerable to Covid saw the biggest drops in death rates after a third jab.

There were 155 fatalities per 100,000 triple-jabbed people in their seventies in January, compared to 2,248 deaths among those still only double-vaccinated  a 14-fold difference. A similar effect was seen in people in their 60s, 80s and 90s.

No10's vaccine advisory panel originally recommended booster doses for the elderly and vulnerable in September 2021, gradually opening the rollout to everyone over the age of 40 by November.

The advice came amid early signs that two-dose vaccine protection started to wane after six months  which was later exacerbated by the rise of the vaccine-resistant and extremely transmissible Omicron strain.

Health chiefs are currently facing pressure to speed up the rollout of a second booster in response to rising Covid cases and hospitalisations in recent weeks. Sources say the fourth-dose campaign, which will initially target over-75s, care home residents and adults with weakened immune systems, will kick off in England next week.

People in those vulnerable groups will be invited six months after their third shot. Scotland embarked on its fourth vaccination campaign last week.

But Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advisers insist three vaccines still offer high enough protection for the vast majority of people. Illustrating just how effective three jabs are, the ONS data revealed just 30 triple-vaccinated people under the age of 50 had died from Covid by the start of February.

The above graph shows how boosters (yellow) made every age group significantly less likely to die from Covid at the peak in January. The difference in death rates between being boosted and double-jabbed was up to fourteen times lower in people in their 60s and 70s. Experts caution that multiple variables mean some death rates in unvaccinated people are lower than in people who have had one or two doses. Statistician Professor Kevin McConway says people who did not get vaccinated may have acted more cautiously during the Omicron wave, for example

Fatality rates were 13 times lower between the same groups for people in their 60s, with 42.9 deaths per 100,000 after a booster compared to 571.4 after two jabs.

For people in their 80s, the death rate was 620 per 100,000 among the triple-vaccinated, 10 times lower than the 6,624 in those relying on protection from two doses. Over-90s were roughly six times less likely to die if they had been boosted compared to two vaccines, according to the ONS data.

Middle-aged adults also saw improvements in death rates following a booster, with people in their 50s roughly 10 times less likely to die from Omicron.

MAIN REASON PEOPLE GOT VACCINATED WAS TO END RESTRICTIONS The main reason Britons got their Covid jab was to end lockdown curbs, an official survey suggests. Sixty-five per cent of people said their driving motivation was for 'restrictions to ease and life to return to normal'. It was closely followed by 61 per cent who got jabbed to protect themselves from Covid and 57 per cent who wanted to protect others. Four in 10 people said the main reason they got jabbed was because they believed it would make it easier to go on a holiday abroad. The Office for National Statistics surveyed hundreds of vaccinated and unvaccinated people in September 2021. Worrying about side effects was the most common reason people did not choose to get vaccinated, reported by 58 per cent of people. Concerns about the jabs being developed too quickly (55 per cent) and long-term health impacts (54 per cent) were the second and third most common reasons. Advertisement

There were just 10.3 fatalities per 100,000 fifty-somethings, compared to 99 among double-vaccinated people of the same age.

For those in their 40s, the rate was 4.1 for the triple-jabbed compared to 19.9 in the double-jabbed.

The difference was less pronounced in people aged 18 to 39, who are at a lower risk of Covid and had received their second dose more recently than older groups.

There were only 2.4 Covid deaths per 100,000 young adults who had been boosted in January compared to 6.5 who had two vaccines.

Overall, just 30 people aged 12 to 50 who were triple vaccinated have died from Covid since the boosters were rolled out, the figures suggest.

They include 20 people in their 40s, five people in their 30s, four people in their 20s and one teenager. The data does not say how many had underlying health conditions.

In some elderly age groups, the Covid mortality rate was slightly lower among the unvaccinated compared to those who had one or two vaccines.

The ONS stressed that the rates 'are not equivalent to measures of vaccine effectiveness', because they do not account for other nuances that may skew the rates.

Professor Kevin McConway, a statistician from the Open University, told MailOnline that calculating the rate in unvaccinated elderly people was difficult because uptake is so high.

'It's actually quite difficult to work out how many people haven't been jabbed when you're working out these rates,' he told MailOnline.

'While there are public records on who has been jabbed, to calculate who hasn't you need to subtract vaccine uptake from population estimates, which are not always very accurate, meaning the estimated rate might not be that good.'

He said social factors which are not considered in the analysis may also be skewing the rate. 'One difference might be that people who weren't vaccinated [during Omicron] were probably being more careful in terms of their behaviours and had less chance to be exposed.'

The ONS said its data showed deaths involving Covid had been 'consistently lower' since autumn 2021 for people who had received a third dose or booster.

The main reason Britons got their Covid jab was to end lockdown curbs. The Office for National Statistics surveyed hundreds of vaccinated and unvaccinated people in September 2021

Worrying about side effects was the most common reason people did not choose to get vaccinated, reported by 58 per cent of people

Fourth Covid jabs could be rolled out from NEXT WEEK Fourth Covid jabs could be dished out to the elderly and vulnerable as soon as next week following criticism that England has been too slow to respond to rising hospital rates. No10's vaccine advisory panel recommended last month that all over-75s, care home residents and patients with weak immune systems should be given the top-up shots around six months after their original booster. But it has now been more than six months since the rollout of third shots was launched and NHS England has yet to send out invites for fourth doses  despite Covid admissions and cases rising again. Scotland embarked on its fourth vaccination campaign more than a week ago. A number of experts have expressed concern that the uptick in hospitalisations could be an early sign of waning booster immunity, with former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last week calling for 'more oomph on fourth jabs'. Last night a health source told The Daily Telegraph: 'We expect the rollout of the next set of boosters for the over-75s and those in elderly care homes to start as soon as next week [in England]. 'We are seeing cases increasing amongst the elderly and it's right that we crack on with it.' Texts and letters could start to be sent out as soon as next week, the source said, with the NHS booking system set to open from Monday. An NHS spokesperson said: 'The NHS continues to follow JCVI guidance accepted by Government, and in line with this, the NHS will be vaccinating eligible people with a spring dose six months after their first booster starting later this month for the small number of people eligible before April.' Across the UK, Covid cases have risen 52 per cent in the last week with 70,000 people testing positive on average daily. At the same time, virus admissions have climbed by a fifth in that time, and are rising in older age groups. Advertisement

It also acknowledged that protection from two doses may only be providing 'limited protection'.

Overall, among all age groups in January, the Covid mortality rate for booster-vaccinated people in England was 102.7 per 100,000, compared to 497 in people who were doubled jabbed up to six months prior or even longer (789.6).

Just over seven in 10 adults in England are estimated to have had three Covid vaccines. The figure is higher among older age groups, at more than 90 percent of people aged 70 and over, while for 18 to 39-year-olds it currently stands at just under half (49 per cent).

The report is the latest to highlight the success of the nation's booster rollout in keeping rates of severe disease at manageable levels during the Omicron wave.

As well as the jab rollout and intrinsically milder variant, high levels of natural immunity following a period of high Delta infection rates is thought to have also played a role.

Officials estimate that 98 per cent of people in England have antibodies against Covid through natural and jab immunity.

Around 27million people in England  or half of the population  are thought to have had Covid now, according to official estimates. And 52m Brits have had at least one jab, with 38.5m receiving three.

The wall of immunity meant gloomy warnings from the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) of up to 6,000 Omicron deaths per day never materialised. In fact, average daily deaths did not rise above 300.

It comes as fourth Covid jabs are already being rolled out in Scotland and are slated to be dished out in England next week as Covid cases and hospital admissions start to rise nationally again.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said that all over-75s, care home residents and patients with weak immune systems should be given top-up shots around six months after their original booster.

Across the UK, Covid cases have risen 52 per cent in the last week with 70,000 people testing positive on average daily. At the same time, virus admissions have climbed by a fifth in that time, and are rising in older age groups.

A number of experts have expressed concern that the uptick in hospitalisations could be an early sign of waning booster immunity, with former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last week calling for 'more oomph on fourth jabs'.

However, the current Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said increases in cases were to be 'expected' following England's Freedom Day on February 24, when all Covid laws were abandoned. He insisted there was 'nothing in the data at this point in time that gives us any cause for concern'.

The rise in infections coincides with the rise of the more transmissible subvariant of Omicron, which is feared to be as contagious as measles.

BA.2 is now behind the majority of new cases in England, officials say. It became dominant within just three weeks of the first domestic case being spotted.

An ex-World Health Organization official warned yesterday it is 40 per cent more transmissible than its ancestor, making it around as contagious as measles  one of the most transmissible diseases scientists know of.

There are currently 1,451 daily Covid admissions across Britain, according to the latest data, compared to around 1,100 on Freedom Day in England.

But half of hospital patients with Covid are thought to be 'incidental' cases  those who test positive after being admitted for another reason, or beat the illness only to fall ill with something else.

It may mean the recent rise in hospital admissions is more likely to reflect infection rates in the community, rather than severe illness.

But there are still some concerns about waning immunity. Pfizer's booster drops from 90 per cent effectiveness against severe disease to around 75 per cent after 10 weeks, according to the latest data for Omicron.

The vaccine is believed to work just as well on BA.2 and the sub-strain is considered just as mild as its parent variant.
Britain's 120million 'Festival of Brexit' has been blasted for 'lacking vision' and called an 'irresponsible use of public money' in a scathing report by a committee of MPs.

Formerly given the title when it was unveiled in 2018, the government-funded project was coined as a way of championing Britain's decision to leave the EU.

The national event, since renamed 'Unboxed: Creativity in the UK', was launched in Paisley, Scotland, last week and runs until October this year.

It will host 10 'creative' programmes across the UK, including a 'grow your own' food initiative in Scotland, an art exhibition dubbed 'see monster' on a disused oil rig in Weston-super-Mare, and open-air live shows in Luton and Hull.

Unboxed's Galwad project, based in Wales, is set in a dystopian 2052 future that uses futuristic streets as a backdrop to live performances and television dramas.

But the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee has slammed the plans, saying they are a 'prime illustration of an event with aims that have been vague from the start'.

The MPs wrote: 'The desire for it to seemingly cater to everyone, everywhere, is a recipe for failure and investing 120m in something when the Government, by their own admission, 'did not know what it was' is an irresponsible use of public money.'

Britain's 120million 'Unboxed', formerly called the 'Festival of Brexit', has been blasted for 'lacking vision' and called an 'irresponsible use of public money'. Pictured: the event's 'grow your own food' initiative in Scotland

The national event, since renamed 'Unboxed: Creativity in the UK', was launched in Paisley, Scotland, last week and runs until October this year. Pictured: The 'See Monster' exhibition on a disused oil rig in Weston-super-Mare.

DCMS Committee Chair, Julian Knight, said: 'The Unboxed festival acts as a prime illustration of an event with aims that have been vague from the start.

'That it took three years to come up with a rather nebulous name, which will mean little to the few that are even aware of its existence, does not bode well for its chances of delivering a true lasting legacy.'

He added: 'Such a muddled approach is a sure-fire recipe for failure and we have no confidence that it can meet its ambitious targets for engagement or deliver a return on the substantial investment from the public coffers.'

The project was renamed after its chief creative director Martin Green shared his vision of orchestrating an 'original, open and optimistic' party.

He said at the time that, although 'Unboxed' makes no clear reference to Brexit, the commissions 'explore ideas that will define our futures'.

Commenting on the latest findings, Mr Green said: 'Unboxed is an ambitious programme of ten free major multi-site and digital creative projects designed to bring people together in a UK-wide celebration of creativity, delivered in partnership with the four nations of the UK.'

The 'Tour de Moon' event, described as a 'cosmic journey into the possibilities of tomorrow: live shows, nightlife, digital experiences and more created in collaboration with the Moon'

'Storytrails', consisting of AR and VR shows hosted at local libraries, which are described as a 'deep dive into our collective history'

He continued: 'Unboxed opened in Paisley on March 1 with an overwhelmingly positive public response, underpinning a commitment to bring large-scale cultural programming to places often underserved.'

Former Prime Minister Theresa May gave the green light to plans to celebrate Britain's exit from the EU in 2019 - quickly gaining support with Conservative MPs across Parliament.

The scheme was dubbed the 'Festival of Brexit', with Jacob Rees-Mogg echoing similarities to the 1951 Festival of Britain.

Speaking last October, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: 'Next year we will celebrate creativity in all four corners of the UK in what is set to be a huge year for the nation.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said last October: 'Everyone should have the opportunity to experience world-leading arts and culture no matter what their background or where they're from - and that's what Unboxed is all about'

'Everyone should have the opportunity to experience world-leading arts and culture no matter what their background or where they're from - and that's what Unboxed is all about.

'In 2022 we're also preparing to host the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and mark Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Together, these events will be at the heart of a year of celebration that will showcase the best of the UK to the world.'

A DCMS spokesperson said: 'We disagree with the committee's findings.

'The UK has a strong history of hosting incredible international events that deliver huge benefits for the nation, creating jobs and increasing investment in towns and cities across the country.

'2022 will be no different with Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee, the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the Women's Euros, the Rugby League World Cup and UNBOXED bringing people together and leaving a strong legacy that will benefit communities for years to come.'
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol moves to a restaurant in Tongui-dong, Jongno District, Seoul, Wednesday, after his scheduled luncheon with President Moon Jae-in was postponed. Joint Press Corps



By Nam Hyun-woo



The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration's clash with the outgoing Moon Jae-in government in a number of areas during the transition flared up on Wednesday with the abrupt postponement of their first one-on-one meeting just hours before the scheduled event.



Even before that, signs of their prickly relationship were apparent as officials of the Moon government began to comment on President-elect Yoon's moves to fulfill some of his campaign pledges, including abolishing the office of the senior secretary for civil affairs and relocating the presidential office.



Yoon and Moon were scheduled to have lunch on Wednesday, but both sides announced that the event had been postponed, just four hours before the meeting.



"The meeting between President Moon and President-elect Yoon will be rescheduled, as there were issues that remained unresolved during working-level consultations," presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said. "The two sides will continue engaging through working-level talks."



Yoon's spokeswoman, Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), made similar remarks, adding, "We cannot disclose" why the meeting was postponed.



PPP Rep. Chang Je-won, who is Yoon's chief of staff, told reporters on Wednesday that the meeting needed to be rescheduled due to a "lack of time," and that the two sides will continue working-level talks, but also refused to disclose more detailed reasons.





Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno District, Seoul / Yonhap



Although the two sides did not reveal the specific reason for the postponement, it has been interpreted as a clash between the current and incoming administrations over the agenda of the meeting  including a pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak as well as President Moon's appointments for the heads of public institutions during what's left of his single, five-year term.



While announcing the Yoon-Moon meeting a day earlier, the PPP spokesperson dropped a hint that Yoon would ask Moon to grant a presidential pardon for the conservative former president, and that he expected him to accept the request in the name of national unity.



However, disagreements could have erupted in the working-level negotiations because talks concerning a pardon for former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo also emerged as a possible exchange among the ruling liberal bloc. Former Governor Kim is one of the closest aides to Moon, and is now in jail for his involvement in the manipulation of online comments in favor of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Moon.



The two sides also clashed over the transition committee's demand for "a consultation" when Cheong Wa Dae names the next Bank of Korea governor and other heads of public institutions.









A Cheong Wa Dae official said on Tuesday that she is "not aware of the transition committee's demand for a consultation" and "it is clear that the Moon government's term will last until May 9, and it is natural for President Moon to exercise his right to name heads of public institutions until then."





President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting with his secretaries at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday. Yonhap



Inevitable collision



The power struggle between the President-elect and the President was also detected in the two sides' battle over Prosecutor-General Kim O-su.



PPP Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, who is known as one of Yoon's closest aides, said in a radio interview on Tuesday, "There are doubts as to whether Kim is properly commanding the prosecution's investigations into the Seongnam land development scandal." Kweon added, "I personally believe Kim should make a decision about keeping his post, if he continues to do so."



He was referring to a development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, in which the PPP claims that DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was involved.



Despite the indirect pressure, the prosecutor-general said in a statement that he will "fulfill his duty in accordance with the laws and principles."



Kim was appointed by President Moon in June as the successor to Yoon, after the President-elect resigned from his post to become the candidate of the main opposition party. Kim's term will last until May 2023.



The two sides are also clashing over Yoon's pledge to abolish the post of the senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.



While announcing his promise on Monday, Yoon said that the office of the civil affairs secretary has played a role in "controlling opposing political groups under the guise of conducting legal activities, as well as running secret investigations as if it is reviewing public opinions."



Over Yoon's remark, the Cheong Wa Dae official said, "It seems inappropriate to cite practices which are not done by the current government as the grounds for abolishing the office of civil affairs secretary," and, "The Moon government's civil affairs secretary office has faithfully done its duty as prescribed by the law."



Yoon's plan to relocate the presidential office is also a source of conflict.



Since his campaign, the president-elect has been promising that his office as the president will not be in the current Cheong Wa Dae building in Samcheong-dong. His spokeswoman said that the transition committee is reviewing multiple places, including the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan District, Seoul.



However, the former head of the ministry's National Defense Policy Office, Yeo Suk-joo, said in a radio interview that the plan is "very unrealistic," given the place's purpose of storing arms and potential traffic problems that will be caused by the presidential motorcade.



Also, doubts are growing over the purpose of moving the presidential office, because Yoon has pledged to move the office for "better communication with the people." The defense ministry building is located in a relatively unpopulated area of Yongsan District.




A notorious fugitive nicknamed the 'Running Man' was finally caught after evading cops for 13 years - and the incredible arrest captured on film.

Ambrose Nicholas O'Neill, 42, was given the nickname for his ability to stay one step ahead of police after going on the run in 2008 following a violent robbery.

The crook frequently changed his appearance and visibly piled on the pounds while avoiding detection.

O'Neill's luck finally ran out when he was arrested last January by award-winning TV cop PC James Gill.

Bodycam footage of O'Neill's arrest at his hideout in Lincolnshire has been released by Nottinghamshire Police after he was jailed for eight years earlier this year.

PC Gill said: 'The 'Running Man' had been laughing at cops and had been on the run for years and years.

'A piece of intel dropped late in 2020 and that was enough to fine tune an address for him.

Ambrose Nicholas O'Neill, 42, went on the run in 2008 following a violent robbery

The fugitive had dropped off the radar but surrendered when caught by determined police

'You're only going to get one shot at it.

'We arrived at work at 2am in the morning and all sat around the briefing table.

'There were maps and detailed explanations of what was expected from each individual, because absolutely nobody wanted this to go wrong.

'It was a tense atmosphere but really exciting nonetheless.

'We knew that he was in because of the vehicle, we knew that we were going to find him.

'It felt good to be calling out his name. We said to him, 'the newspapers are calling you Running Man'.

'He looked at himself and said 'I haven't been doing any running for quite some time'.'

O'Neill was originally arrested for a violent robbery of a 67-year-old antiques dealer and his wife while posing as a pizza delivery man in 2007.

O'Neill was originally arrested for a violent robbery of a 67-year-old antiques dealer and wife

In 2020 intelligence was passed to PC James Gill who tracked him down to his new lair

He knocked on the front door of the couple's home in Seagrave, Leics., and when the man answered, he punched him in the face.

He then forced his way inside the house and threatened to kill the man unless he opened the safe.

When the antique dealer's wife tried to intervene, O'Neill brutally hurled her to the floor and kicked her in the face.

O'Neill fled empty-handed and was arrested weeks later and granted bail.

He attended the first day of his trial at Leicester Crown Court in July 2008 but failed to turn up for the rest of the case.

Despite being jailed in his absence for eight years, he dropped off the radar and left 'no footprint whatsoever' or any details of his existence.

Chief Inspector Chris Pearson said: 'He had effectively disappeared from all the places you would usually leave a trace of yourself.

'This naturally caused significant distress for the victims.'

A breakthrough came following an anonymous tip-off that Ambrose may be living with a woman in the Wyberton area, near Boston, Lincs.

The information didn't include an exact address so the officers kept watch on the area before identifying O'Neill's home.

On February 1, he was ordered to serve an extended sentence for the robbery and going on the run.

Sentencing him at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Timothy Spencer QC told him: 'Your day of reckoning is here.

'You deliberately and cynically evaded justice.'
China's ambassador to the US has insisted that the 'sovereignty and territorial integrity' of Kyiv 'must be respected' in the latest example of cracks in Beijing's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Qin Gang also said 'conflict between Russia and Ukraine does no good for China' in an op-ed in the Washington Post on Tuesday where he sought to clarify Beijing's position on Putin's war.

Gang said China would have tried to prevent 'the imminent crisis' had it known of the Kremlin's plans beforehand and warned that 'the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter must be fully observed'.

This, he added, meant 'the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected'.

'The legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously; and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported,' Gang wrote.

Moscow and Beijing have drawn closer in recent times, in what Washington sees as an increasingly hostile alliance of the authoritarian nuclear powers.

Beijing has refused to outright condemn Putin's invasion and abstained from a vote at the United Nations calling out Russian aggression last month.

The Communist state has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the start of the war on February 24 in order to preserve vital trade links with Russia which is now facing serious economic woes have being targeted by sanctions.

But Gang's latest comments appear to show Beijing's backing for Putin is wavering.

Chinese ambassador to the United States Qin Gang has written an op-ed in the Washington Post outlining China's position on the war in Ukraine,

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (left) and China's President Xi Jinping before Russian-Chinese talks . China's ambassador

Russian President Vladimir Putin made multiple visits to China over the past few years, the most recent of which came weeks before the war, but Chinese president Xi Jinping has not yet repeated his claims of a 'limitless' friendship with Russia since the war in Ukraine began

In his op-ed, Gang pointed out that there were more than 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine when the war broke out. China - the biggest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine - would gain little economic benefit from a war between the two countries, he said.

China is also the world's largest importer of crude oil and natural gas, a market hit by Western sanctions.

'Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation,' he added, going on to say that Beijing is making real efforts for peace.

But Gang then took the opportunity to emphasize the 'one China policy' - China's view that the democratic nation of Taiwan is an inseparable part of the People's Republic.

'Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinas territory,' said Gang, calling the alternative view separatist. 'The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair.'

During the Chinese civil war, the Kuomintang nationalists were beaten back by Mao Zedong's Communist armies - with the remainder of the Kuomintang army fleeing to Taiwan.

The future of Taiwan lies in the reunification of China, Gang said.

Gang warned against using sanctions as a weapon against Chinese businesses while simultaneously seeking China's support, adding that threats against Chinese entities and businesses were unacceptable.

Echoing the same language used when Vladimir Putin met with Xi Jinping in Beijing weeks before the war, Gang said the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously.

China has teetered between supporting Russia or the West since the crisis began, voicing hopes for a peaceful resolution to the war but refusing to join in with sanctions.

Chinese president Xi Jinping met virtually with the leaders of France and Germany on March 8, hinting the country could act as peacemaker between Russia and Ukraine.

On the question of peace, Gang used a Chinese proverb: It takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice .

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping takes part in a video summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, bottom left and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, bottom right, seen on a screen in Beijing on March 8

Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi met with his US counterpart in Rome after US intelligence suggested China was planning to supply Russia with weapons to fight Ukraine

Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs in China, just met with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Rome, after US intelligence suggested China was planning to supply weapons to Russia.

How China's tone has changed on Ukraine February 4 China 'opposes further enlargement of NATO and calls on the [alliance] abandon its ideologized Cold War approaches' - Beijing statement after Xi-Putin summit at Winter Olympics February 23 US is 'raising tensions, creating panic, and playing up the schedule of war' - foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, a day before Russia invaded February 24 'Russia launched a special military operation in eastern Ukraine. Russia says its armed forces will not... strike cities. China... calls on all sides to exercise restraint' - Hua Chunying, declining to call it an 'invasion' on the day Russia invaded March 7 Beijing 'laments' the conflict and is 'extremely concerned' about civilian casualties, but relationship with Russia 'rock solid' - Foreign minister Wang Yi March 11 'We hope to see fighting and the war stop as soon as possible,' Wang Yi, describing the conflict as a 'war' for the first time March 15 China 'must not be affected' by sanctions because it 'is not party to the crisis' - Wang Yi March 16 China says 'sovereignty and territorial integrity' of Kyiv 'must be respected' Advertisement

State Councilor Wang Yi has also maintained close communication with Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares on Tuesday, said that China 'must not be affected' by the West's sanctions because the country 'is not party to the crisis '.

China has 'always opposed using sanctions to solve problems, let alone unilateral sanctions that has no basis in international law, which will... harm people's livelihood in all countries', Wang said.

Almost three weeks after Russian troops marched into Ukraine, Moscow's forces have bombarded and besieged several towns and cities. Fighting has killed thousands and destroyed infrastructure, as well as causing millions to flee the country.

Wang's comments were published after a seven-hour meeting between high-ranking US and Chinese officials in Rome, at which Washington said the US had expressed concern about 'alignment' between Russia and China.

Moscow and Beijing have drawn closer in recent times, in what Washington sees as an increasingly hostile alliance of the authoritarian nuclear powers.

Beijing has refused to condemn Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine and abstained from a vote at the United Nations calling out Russian aggression last month.

The Communist state has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the start of the war on February 24 in order to preserve vital trade links with Russia which is now facing serious economic woes have being targeted by sanctions.

In the Rome meeting on Monday with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, China's senior diplomat Yang Jiechi reiterated China's stance that Beijing is 'committed to promoting peace talks', the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

China called on all parties to exercise 'maximum restraint' and 'protect civilians' in the Ukraine crisis at the meeting.

The international community should support such talks to achieve substantive results as soon as possible, Yang said. Washington hopes Beijing can use its influence on Putin.

Although Beijing does not back Western sanctions, the White House is pressuring the world's second-largest economy to refrain from rescuing Russia from potential default or sending weaponry.

US intelligence reports published Sunday claimed Moscow had requested military equipment from Beijing after Russian forces started 'running out' of weapons during their sluggish invasion of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden announces a ban on Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The White House has been trying to corner the Chinese on their position on the war, hinting at similar sanctions if it should side with Putin

China on Monday accused Washington of spreading 'disinformation' over Beijing's role in the Ukraine war, without directly addressing US media reports of a Russian request for help.

Beijing has struggled to maintain a facade of neutrality and has repeatedly blamed the United States and NATO's 'eastward expansion' for worsening tensions.

It is a view that reverberates across state newspapers and television - as well as social media - in China's tightly controlled news environment.

When Putin announced an assault on Ukraine on February 24, China's official Xinhua news agency maintained it was a 'military operation' and Moscow had 'no intent' of occupying Ukrainian territory.

Days later, state broadcaster CCTV echoed a false Russian claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had left Kyiv - a story quickly repeated by other domestic outlets.

And some Chinese reports also state that there has been a surge of 'neo-Nazi' ideology among the Ukrainian army and people, a claim supported by Putin.

A directive to a state-affiliated outlet, circulating online last month, appeared to instruct that posts unfavourable to Russia or containing pro-Western content should not be published.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits an injured Ukrainian serviceman at a military hospital, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues in Kyiv on March 13

A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an airstrike in the early morning hours on the outskirts of Kyiv on Sunday

A Ukrainian serviceman guards his position in Mariupol on Saturday, March 12

State media reports on Ukraine avoid terms like 'invasion', instead describing the situation as a 'conflict' or 'fighting'.

'This is not a struggle to find the right message,' Justyna Szczudlik, China analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, told AFP.

'China purposely uses very vague language,' she added, noting that this was to reduce diplomatic risks in its relations with Western countries.

Officials, too, have rebuffed the term 'invasion' when questioned by foreign journalists - accusing them of biased reporting - while giving the contradictory statements that China respects every country's sovereignty but won't take sides.

A fierce condemnation of war at the opening of the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing was not translated on Chinese TV.

Meanwhile Britain's junior foreign office minister James Cleverly on Tuesday warned that Beijing should not support Russia over the invasion.

An aeriel view shows a military vehicle shoot rounds amidst rising smoke next to a building, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Maripuol

Firefighters work in a bombed building in Kharkov on March 13 as the Russians advance

A Ukrainian soldier stares at the destroyed government building in Kharkov on March 13

A directive to a state-affiliated outlet, circulating online last month, appeared to instruct that posts unfavourable to Russia or containing pro-Western content should not be published.

State media reports on Ukraine avoid terms like 'invasion', instead describing the situation as a 'conflict' or 'fighting'.

'This is not a struggle to find the right message,' Justyna Szczudlik, China analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, told AFP.

'China purposely uses very vague language,' she added, noting that this was to reduce diplomatic risks in its relations with Western countries.

Officials, too, have rebuffed the term 'invasion' when questioned by foreign journalists - accusing them of biased reporting - while giving the contradictory statements that China respects every country's sovereignty but won't take sides.

A fierce condemnation of war at the opening of the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing was not translated on Chinese TV.

Meanwhile Britain's junior foreign office minister James Cleverly on Tuesday warned that Beijing should not support Russia over the invasion.

Pro-Russian separatists patrol with armored vehicles in the pro-Russian separatists-controlled Donetsk, Ukraine on March 11

Ukrainian servicemen help an elderly woman, in the town of Irpin, on March 6
Two serving Met Police officers and a former PC have denied sharing 'grossly offensive' messages with Sarah Everard's murderer Wayne Couzens.

PC Jonathan Cobban, 35, PC William Neville, 34, and ex-officer Joel Borders were in the dock together at Westminster magistrates court this morning.

They were charged over WhatsApp messages on a group chat which were sent between April and August 2019.

The court heard they did not deny sending them but argue they were not 'grossly offensive'.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said: 'The evidence as currently served will largely be omitted, there is likely to be certain evidence from the officer in the case about the phrases used.

'The fact that these officers undertook certain kinds of training is in the evidence, the content of the training course has been gathered as best as can be done.'

Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring asked: 'So they should have known the content of the messages they were sending were grossly offensive - that's the point of the evidence?'

Ms Ledward replied: 'Exactly.'

Serving Metropolitan police officer Pc William Neville, 33, arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court

Serving Metropolitan police officer Jonathon Cobban arrives at Westminster Magistrates' Court where he is charged with sharing 'grossly offensive' WhatsApp messages

A third man, former PC Joel Borders, 45, has also been charged with sharing the offensive messages between April and August 2019

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of (left to right) serving Metropolitan police officers Pc William Neville, and Jonathon Cobban, along with former police officer Joel Borders appearing in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court, in London

Nicholas Yeo, defending, said: 'The issues are, firstly whether or not the messages were grossly offensive and secondly whether the jokes were intended to be grossly offensive or whether they were not aware.'

Judge Goldspring said: 'It's a straight enough issue for the trial judge to determine whether the messages are grossly offensive.'

The three officers were initially afforded anonymity by the Crown Prosecution Service who claimed they were not being identified for 'operational reasons'.

But following complaints from open justice campaigners, the CPS said it had been decided to put the names into the public domain.

The besuited defendants were granted unconditional bail ahead of a trial on July 28 and 29.

Judge Goldspring told them: 'If you are not here I will continue in your absence and given that you've got something to say about the case that's not a good idea is it.'

Couzens, part of the Met's Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection unit, is serving a whole life sentence for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard in March last year.

Wayne Couzens in Folkestone when he worked for Kent Police before the Metropolitan force

Couzens used Covid powers to conduct a fake arrest of marketing executive Ms Everard as she walked home from a friend's house in March last year, in a crime that appalled the nation and undermined confidence in the police.

He is now serving a whole-life order in prison, meaning he will never be released from jail.

The Met has faced a wave of criticism over missed opportunities to expose Couzens as a sexual predator before he went on to murder Miss Everard.

It emerged the 48-year-old was known as 'the rapist' by staff at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary because he made female colleagues feel so uncomfortable.

He had been accused of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015 and in London in the days before Ms Everard's murder, but was allowed to continue working.

An ongoing inquiry investigating how he was able to abduct, rape and murder Sarah Everard will look at whether any 'red flags were missed' earlier in his career.

Home Secretary Priti Patel published the terms of reference for the first phase of the Angiolini Inquiry, named after Dame Elish Angiolini QC who is leading it, which will consider the 'systemic failures' that allowed Miss Everard's killer to be employed as a police officer.

Ms Patel said: 'I am determined to understand the failings that enabled a serving officer to commit such heinous crimes - we owe an explanation to Sarah's family and loved ones, and we need to do all in our power to prevent something like this from ever happening again.'
Watch the tearful moment one-year-old Misha is reunited with his London-based parents after spending three weeks in a war zone.

Misha, 1, was staying with his paternal family in Ukraine when the war broke out on February 24.

Vasyl Kucherka, 24, and Tatiana Zavyalova, 39, burst into tears as they hugged their young boy, who they thought could be lost for ever after they heard the news that Vladimir Putin's soldiers had invaded the country - cutting off contact with their extended family.

Russian-Ukrainian couple Vasyl Kucherka (left) and Tatiana Zavyalova (centre), who live in central London, are reunited their one-year-old son Misha Kucherka, who was staying with family relatives in Ukraine

Ukrainian-born Vasyl Kucherka (centre) hugs his brother Misha Kucherka, as his sister Halyna Kucherka watches on after Vasyl travelled from London to be reunited with them

The couple had an emotional reunion with their one-year-old son Misha Kucherka and five other family members who are now seeking a visa to live with the couple in the UK after escaping from Ukraine

Extended family members include mother Olha Kucherka, third left, sister-in-law Vita Kucherka, nephew Stanislav Kucherka, and sister Halyna Kucherka, along with one-year-old Misha

The one-year-old had never met his Ukrainian family, having been born in lockdown.

When his first birthday came and went, his parents thought 2022 would be a good time for him to finally meet his grandmother, aunts, uncle and cousin in Ukraine.

The Russian-Ukrainian couple live in north-west London, where Covid-19 lockdown restrictions had begun to ease in early 2022, allowing visits to family members cut off by the pandemic.

For weeks they were left worrying what was happening in Ukraine, where their son was trapped.

Zavyalova, who runs a property development business and lives in north-west London with Kucherka, added: 'Its been such a horrible last couple of weeks in terms of waiting, travelling and going through the borders.

'So its been dramatic, very dramatic. But finally, were all here and were very happy.'

But instead of sitting by, the couple decided to travel to Poland to meet their son, hoping their extended family could escape the war zone and meet them.

Nearly 1,500 miles away, the family in Ukraine meanwhile had to walk and drive through the country to escape, with little to carry other than a small amount of clothes in a backpack each.

They queued at the border for 10 hours before crossing over to Poland, where the whole family were finally united - having gone through a pandemic and a Russian invasion in the time since they all saw each other last.

The family were crying as they embraced, safe at last, reuniting outside the visa centre in Rzeszow on Tuesday.

Kucherka  who had not told his family he was also coming to the visa centre to meet them  appeared after hiding, running up with a smile and prompting his 48-year-old mother Olha Kucherka to break down in tears.

Kucherka, a builder, said it was 'amazing' to see everyone again.

He told the PA news agency: 'Im really, really happy. I hadnt seen them in a long time, and it was too much for me and my family. Todays a big day for me and my family. But theyre still here and we want them to be in London.'

Tatiana Zavyalova from London, holds her one-year-old son Misha Kucherka, who was staying with family relatives in Ukraine, as she is reunited with him in Poland

She smiles as she holds the boy, who was carried through a war zone to get return to her

It had been weeks of worrying since they had seen him last, with the couple deciding to travel to Poland to reunite with the family trying to escape from Ukraine during Russia's invasion

'It was super emotional (to see each other). Im happy the whole family is reunited and together. I cannot describe it, its just super emotional.'

Zavyalova, originally from Yekaterinburg in Russia, said she could not believe a war had broken out between the two nations.

'I cannot put into words, to be honest,' she said. 'In the 21st century, there shouldnt be a war.

'If somebody told me that a year or six months ago (that it would happen), I would have never believed that was going to happen.'

Ukrainian-born Vasyl Kucherka, Tatiana Zavyalova, and their one-year-old son Misha Kucherka, leave the visa centre in Rzeszow, Poland

The family said they would have a big feast to celebrate with cake and a glass of wine

The couple had been trying to sort out visas for their extended family so they could come to the UK.

They are staying there temporarily in rented accommodation until the visas are approved  a decision which is expected in the next few days.

Zavyalova said the family were going to have a large dinner to celebrate being together again.

'Were going to have a big feast, a big, reunited feast, maybe with a cake, maybe with a glass of wine,' she said.

'Next step is getting the visas sorted and going back to the UK.'
Only Chinas despot Xi Jinping can influence Putin and stop his murderous war on Ukraine, the former head of MI6 has said.

Sir Alex Younger, former head of the Secret Intelligence Service from 2014 to 2020, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Of all the people in the world that can assert influence on Vladimir Putin, who is in his bunker and who is obsessed by achieving greatness through the restoration of the Russian Empire... of all the people that can talk sense to him, its Xi.

Vladimir Putin needs Xi and of course Xi while he feels he has to align himself at the high level with what Russia is doing because of their new alliance, must be deeply disturbed by what is going on.

He added that the war in Ukraine is seriously compounding the economic problems that China face and carries a huge reputational risk for China if they continue to associate themselves with the murderous activities in Ukraine.

Putin does not have a reverse gear. He gambled, Sir Alex added.

He has hit extraordinary difficulties early on but hes going to keep going and he has to, because he went into this war with a false premise, and he needs to be seen to be bringing something back from it.

Moscow and Beijing have drawn closer in recent times, in what Washington sees as an increasingly hostile alliance of the authoritarian powers. Beijing has refused to condemn Putins war and abstained from a vote at the United Nations calling out Russian aggression last month.

China has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the start of the war on February 24 in order to preserve vital trade links with Russia which is now facing serious economic woes have being targeted by sanctions.

But in recent days, signs have emerged of growing Chinese frustration over the consequences of the war, with Beijing declaring it is always opposed to using sanctions to solve problems because they harm peoples livelihoods in all countries.

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, June 5, 2019

Only Chinas despot Xi Jinping can influence Putin and stop his murderous war on Ukraine, the former head of MI6 Sir Alex Younger (pictured) has said

Debris carpets the ground outside a ten-storey apartment block affected by a shelling that took place in the Podilskyi district of Kyiv, March 15, 2022

A Ukrainian serviceman guards his position in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 12, 2022

How China's tone has changed on Ukraine February 4 China 'opposes further enlargement of NATO and calls on the [alliance] abandon its ideologized Cold War approaches' - Beijing statement after Xi-Putin summit at Winter Olympics February 23 US is 'raising tensions, creating panic, and playing up the schedule of war' - foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, a day before Russia invaded February 24 'Russia launched a special military operation in eastern Ukraine. Russia says its armed forces will not... strike cities. China... calls on all sides to exercise restraint' - Hua Chunying, declining to call it an 'invasion' on the day Russia invaded March 7 Beijing 'laments' the conflict and is 'extremely concerned' about civilian casualties, but relationship with Russia 'rock solid' - Foreign minister Wang Yi March 11 'We hope to see fighting and the war stop as soon as possible,' Wang Yi, describing the conflict as a 'war' for the first time March 15 China 'must not be affected' by sanctions because it 'is not party to the crisis' - Wang Yi Advertisement

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Albares on Tuesday, said that China must not be affected by the Wests sanctions because the country is not party to the crisis.

China has always opposed using sanctions to solve problems, let alone unilateral sanctions that has no basis in international law, which will... harm people's livelihood in all countries, Wang said.

Almost three weeks after Russian troops marched into Ukraine, Moscows forces have bombarded and besieged several towns and cities.

Fighting has killed thousands and destroyed infrastructure, as well as causing millions to flee the country.

Wangs comments were published after a seven-hour meeting between high-ranking US and Chinese officials in Rome, at which Washington said the US had expressed concern about alignment between Russia and China.

In the Rome meeting on Monday with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Chinas senior diplomat Yang Jiechi reiterated Chinas stance that Beijing is committed to promoting peace talks, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

China called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and protect civilians in the Ukraine crisis at the meeting.

The international community should support such talks to achieve substantive results as soon as possible, Yang said. Washington hopes Beijing can use its influence on Putin.

Although Beijing does not back Western sanctions, the White House is pressuring the worlds second-largest economy to refrain from rescuing Russia from potential default or sending weaponry.

US intelligence reports published Sunday claimed Moscow had requested military equipment from Beijing after Russian forces started running out of weapons during their sluggish invasion of Ukraine.

China on Monday accused Washington of spreading disinformation over Beijings role in the Ukraine war, without directly addressing US media reports of a Russian request for help.

Beijing has struggled to maintain a facade of neutrality and has repeatedly blamed the United States and NATOs eastward expansion for worsening tensions.

It is a view that reverberates across state newspapers and television  as well as social media  in Chinas tightly controlled news environment.

When Putin announced an assault on Ukraine on February 24, Chinas official Xinhua news agency maintained it was a military operation and Moscow had no intent of occupying Ukrainian territory.

Days later, state broadcaster CCTV echoed a false Russian claim that Volodymyr Zelensky had left Kyiv  a story quickly repeated by other domestic outlets.

And some Chinese reports also state that there has been a surge of neo-Nazi ideology among the Ukrainian army and people, a claim supported by Putin.

A directive to a state-affiliated outlet, circulating online last month, appeared to instruct that posts unfavourable to Russia or containing pro-Western content should not be published.

State media reports on Ukraine avoid terms like invasion, instead describing the situation as a conflict or fighting.

Neither Beijing nor New Delhi have condemned the invasion in Ukraine and both abstained from a vote at the United Nations calling out Russian aggression last month

This is not a struggle to find the right message, Justyna Szczudlik, China analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, told AFP.

China purposely uses very vague language, she added, noting that this was to reduce diplomatic risks in its relations with Western countries.

Officials, too, have rebuffed the term invasion when questioned by foreign journalists  accusing them of biased reporting  while giving the contradictory statements that China respects every countrys sovereignty but won't take sides.

A fierce condemnation of war at the opening of the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing was not translated on Chinese TV.

Britains junior foreign office minister James Cleverly on Tuesday warned that Beijing should not support Russia over the invasion.

We continue to call upon China and indeed all countries to cease any support they may have to Russia, Cleverly told the BBC.

We want to build as broad a coalition of opposition to Russia as possible so of course we will have those conversations with the Chinese.

India on Monday became the latest country to hand Russia a sanction-busting lifeline after the government indicated it may accept Moscows offer to buy oil and other commodities at a discount price.

Media outlets have also started explicitly pushing Russian conspiracy theories. 'There is no smoke without fire,' state-run tabloid Global Times wrote while repeating Russian claims that US-funded biological labs in Ukraine were experimenting with bat coronaviruses

Days later, state broadcaster CCTV echoed a false Russian claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had left Kyiv - a story quickly repeated by other domestic outlets

Russia is offering oil and other commodities at a heavy discount. We will be happy to take that, an Indian government official said, declining to elaborate on how much oil was on offer and what the discount was.

The official added that such trade required preparatory work including transportation, insurance cover and getting the right blend of crude, but once that was done India would take Russia up on its offer.

India, which imports 80 per cent of its oil needs, usually buys only about 1 per cent from Russia. But with oil prices up 40 per cent so far this year, the government is looking at increasing this if it can help reduce its rising energy bill.

New Delhi, which has refused to condemn the Ukraine war, follows Beijing which last month lifted restrictions on wheat imports from Russia.

Imports had been restricted amid concerns over Russias measures to prevent plant diseases, particularly in agricultural crops.
A Russian journalist who defied Vladimir Putin's crackdown on free speech to denounce his war on Ukraine on live TV has said she fears for her safety but does not plant to leave the country.

Marina Ovsyannikova, 43, dubbed the 'bravest women on television', said she is 'extremely concerned' after being handed a 210 fine by a Russian court - a mere fraction of the retaliation expected, raising fears that more punishment awaits her.

Ovsyannikova, speaking today, said that 'I absolutely don't feel like a hero' after the stunt and did it to 'open people's eyes' - including her own mother who she said has been 'zombified' by state propaganda.

The mother-of-two also revealed she was unsure she would be able to go through with the protest until the last moment, and had to bypass several layers of security to get in front of the cameras with her sign denouncing the war.

Marina Ovsyannikova, a Russian journalist who hijacked prime-time TV news to denounce the war in Ukraine, has spoken of fears for her safety after walking free from court

'It was really scary - scary is not even the word for that,' she said. 'I wasn't sure whether I could go through with it right until the last moment.

'On Channel One - and the main news programme in the country - there are several layers of security, and it's not that easy to get into the studio.

'And theres a member of law enforcement sitting right in front of the studio who makes sure that these kinds of incidents dont happen. I wont go into details because it was a loophole in Channel Ones security arrangements.'

She added: 'The protest had two goals: show the whole world that Russians are against the war, and to show Russian people directly: "Don't be such zombies; don't listen to this propaganda; learn how to analyse information; learn how to find other sources of information, not just Russian state television."

'I am concerned for my safety, if I'm honest. I'm quite I believe in what I did, but now I understand the scale of the problems that I'll have to deal with.'

Putin has strong-armed state channels into referring to a 'special military operation' instead of a 'war' or 'invasion', has denied suffering mass casualties, and sought to paint Ukraine as the aggressor with 15 years in jail for anyone who defies him.

But Ovsyannikova decided to flout the law on Monday night, stormed on to the set of state-controlled Channel One waving an anti-war sign.

A highly regarded employee of the channel, the mother-of-two held a placard reading 'Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They're lying to you'.

She then released a pre-recorded video statement calling on ordinary Russians to protest and 'stop the madness'.

Miss Ovsyannikova's exceptional act of defiance against Putin quickly went viral, winning praise from world leaders and sparking calls for her to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

But once she was arrested, there were fears she would disappear, as many critics of the Kremlin do.

Ovsyannikova, 43, was arrested following her protest, in which she interrupted a live Channel One broadcast with an anti-war placard (pictured behind broadcaster Ekaterina Andreeva)

Ovsyannikova, a former editor for Channel One, was fined just 210 by a court over the protest - sparking fears that more punishment could still await her

Do not be afraid: Marina's message to her fellow activists What is happening right now in Ukraine is a crime and Russia is the aggressor. And the responsibility for this aggression lies on the conscience of only one person. This man is Vladimir Putin. My father is Ukrainian. My mother is Russian. And they were never enemies. And this necklace on my neck is a symbol of the fact Russia must immediately stop the fratricidal war. And then our brotherly peoples will still be able to reconcile. Unfortunately, in recent years I have been working on Channel One, working for Kremlin's propaganda. And I am very ashamed of it. I'm ashamed that I was letting them tell those lies from the screen. I am ashamed that I allowed Russians to be turned into zombies. We kept silent in 2014 when all this was just beginning. We didn't go to the rallies when the Kremlin poisoned Navalny. We just silently watched this inhumane regime. And now the whole world has turned away from us. And even 10 generations of our descendants will not be enough to wash away the shame of this fratricidal war. We are Russian people  thoughtful and smart. It's up to us to stop this madness. Come out to the rallies. Don't be afraid of anything. They can't imprison all of us. Advertisement

Her lawyer said he could not make contact with the journalist or find her at the notorious police station she was said to be held in, raising concerns for her safety.

Then yesterday afternoon, Miss Ovsyannikova suddenly appeared at Moscow's Ostankino district court, where a judge ordered her to pay a 210 fine (30,000 rubles) and released her.

She could have faced a maximum punishment of 10 days in detention for calling for illegal protests.

However, the charge was based only on the video  not her interruption of the news broadcast.

So it is feared that her ordeal is far from over as Kremlin cronies yesterday called for her to be locked up for several years.

Miss Ovsyannikova could still be slapped with the more serious new criminal charge brought in to stamp out 'fake news' about Russia's invasion.

The new law has made it a crime to call the conflict a 'war' instead of military operation and carries a jail sentence of up to 15 years.

Or, she could face more serious consequences that have been meted out to those who challenge the Kremlin's authority directly.

Poisonings and assassination attempts are not uncommon fates among Putin's critics, with prominent examples including Alexei Navalny, Alexander Litvinenko and Sergei Skripal.

Russia's state-run Tass news agency reported that Moscow's Investigative Committee, a major crime unit, had opened a case on the journalist,

It was said to be gathering evidence against her for 'knowingly spreading false information' about the use of Russia's armed forces.

On the steps of the court after her release, Miss Ovsyannikova, who was previously married to a director at state-controlled Russia Today, revealed that she had been barred from contacting her lawyers during a 14-hour interrogation.

'It's been a really difficult day in my life,' she said, looking very tired.

'I've gone two days without sleep, more than 14 hours in custody, they didn't allow me to contact those close to me or to receive any legal counsel... so I found myself in a really tough situation.

'I want to thank everyone for their support,' Miss Ovsyannikova said, adding that she was too exhausted to answer any more questions and 'needed to rest' before she could reveal more.

She had been swiftly detained after interrupting Russia's most famous anchor, Ekaterina Andreeva, on its main nightly news programme, Vremya, which is watched by 250million people.

A friend of the journalist, who was able to bypass security as an employee at the directorate of information programs at the channel, said that she had been planning her protest for days.

Miss Ovsyannikova, whose father is Ukrainian and mother is Russian and is believed to have been born in Odessa, is said to have grown increasingly angry over the bloody invasion.

'The anger has been building up with her ever since the war started. Two days ago, she told me how she was going to do it,' the friend told The Guardian.

Miss Ovsyannikova's outstanding act of defiance yesterday saw the Ukrainian president personally thank her for her brave efforts and even saw France offer her sanctuary as a refugee.

British MPs are also lobbying for her to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, while almost 50,000 social media users showered her Facebook page with messages of support and praise.

Pictured: Miss Ovsyannikova's status as a senior television editor at the station meant she was able to get access to the broadcasting centre, and was not stopped by any armed guards

Last night, French president Emmanuel Macron said his country would be willing to give Miss Ovsyannikova diplomatic protection and asylum and would personally raise her case with Putin.

During his morning video address yesterday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the journalist for her brave efforts to tell the 'truth'.

'I am grateful to those Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth... To those who fight disinformation and tell the truth, real facts to their friends and loved ones.

'And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war,' he said. A pre-recorded video was released after the protest in which she called the events in Ukraine a 'crime' and said she was ashamed to work for what she called Kremlin propaganda.

'I'm ashamed that I allowed myself to tell lies from the television screen. Ashamed that I allowed Russians to be turned into zombies,' she explained.

'We just silently watched this inhumane regime.'

State-controlled Russian media refer to the war as a 'special military operation', painting Ukraine as the aggressor, and have been spewing anti-Ukraine rhetoric, including calling its elected government neo-Nazis.

The Kremlin has also blocked social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook in it efforts to control the country's citizens with its propaganda.

Pictured: Marina Ovsyannikova, the editor at the state broadcaster Channel One who protested against Russian military action in Ukraine during the evening news broadcast at the station late Monday, leaves the Ostankinsky District Court after being fined for 30,000 rubles

Miss Ovsyannikova called on the Russian people to protest against the war, saying that only they could 'stop the madness'.

'Don't be afraid of anything, they can't imprison all of us,' she signed off, wearing a necklace bearing the colours of both Russian and Ukrainian flags.

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said the stunt, along with other demonstrations in Russia, demonstrated a 'huge degree of bravery'.

He told BBC Breakfast that such acts were 'incredibly important', adding: 'It shows a huge degree of bravery for those individuals to protest against what we know is an oppressive, authoritarian state, but it's really important that the Russian people understand what is being done in their name.

'They have been systematically lied to by Vladimir Putin and it's really important they understand the truth of what's going on.'

Bernie Sanders, the left-wing US senator, said her protest showed 'an incredible act of courage'.

Channel One said it was investigating the incident, while the Kremlin yesterday branded Miss Ovsyannikova's valiant protest as an act of 'hooliganism'.

'As far as this woman is concerned, this is hooliganism,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said and he praised Channel One for what he called its quality, objective and timely programming.

Before her TV career, Miss Ovsyannikova was a competitive swimmer who crossed the Volga river in Russia and the Bosphorus waterway in Turkey.

She graduated from Kuban State University before achieving a master's degree from Russia's Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

Almost 15,000 people have been detained across Russia during anti-war protests while media outlets and journalists who deviate from Mr Putin's narrative are being targeted.

One of Russia's top presenters, Liliya Gildeyeva, 45, was among at least three other journalists to quit their jobs on state-controlled media in defiance in recent days.

She had been the leading anchor on Gazprom-Media's NTV channel since 2006, where she had worked for more than a decade-and-a-half.

'At first I left, I was afraid they wouldn't let me go, then I wrote my resignation letter,' she told blogger Ilya Varlamov.
A husband 'murdered his maths teacher wife at their pizza takeaway before burying her body in a shallow grave which police missed for six months', a court has heard.

Nezam Salangy, 44, is alleged to have killed partner Zobaidah Salangy, 28, at the takeaway they ran together in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on March 29, 2020.

A court heard how the former maths teacher 'vanished off the face of the earth' after telling her family she was gong out jogging.

Her body was finally found covered in branches and wrapped in a duvet cover and bin bags on October 16, 2020.

Prosecutors opened the trial at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday telling jurors how Zobaidah lay undiscovered for more than six months because police did not dig deep enough at the burial location.

As a result, the body was too decomposed to identify a cause of death, despite a number of post mortem examinations being carried out.

The court heard that the defendant reported his wife, whom he had been married to for eight years, missing on April 1.

Police attended Prego Pizza, the shop they owned together, and he told officers he had no knowledge of her whereabouts.

He said she had recently left him and she was with a new boyfriend intending to return to Afghanistan.

However, officers found Zobaidahs belongings stuffed on a shelf normally for pizza boxes in the back of the takeaway and immediately launched a murder probe.

Zobaidah Salangy (pictured) was found covered in branches and wrapped in a duvet cover and bin bags on October 16, 2020

The prosecution argue Salangy used the cover of darkness to bury his wife with the help of his two brothers after killing her at their pizza shop.

His two younger brothers, Mohammed Yasin Salangi, 34, and Mohammed Ramin Salangy, 31, are charged with assisting an offender.

Simon Denison QC, prosecuting, told the court: 'In March 2020, Nezam Salangy and his wife Zobaidahs marriage was very unhappy and they argued bitterly on March 27.

'The next day, on March 28, Zobaidah Salangy vanished off the face of the earth. In the days after, Nezam Salangy told a number of people that she had left him.

'He showed them text messages on his phone that he said she had sent him saying she was with her new boyfriend and intended to leave the UK, which she hated, and return to Afghanistan.

'On April 2020 police officers searched the premises at Prego Pizza. On a shelf, used for pizza boxes, police found a black box - it contained photographs of Zobaidahs children, items of jewellery, her driving licence and 10 in cash.

'Inside the box, they also found an iPhone. That iPhone was used by Zobaidah to speak to her family in Afghanistan. It was the same phone used by Nazem to contact his brothers.

'The missing person inquiry quickly became a murder inquiry and uncovered the truth of what happened to Zobaidah.

'He was asked two questions as a matter of urgency: "how did she die?" Nazem replied "I dont know". He was also asked "where is she?", he replied: "I dont know."

The prosecutor said Zobaidahs body was found in a grave 'remote enough and deep enough that they thought her body would not be found'.

The court also heard it was an 'unfortunate fact' that her body was originally missed by officers digging at the site.

Prego Pizza in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, which Nezam Salangy and Zobaidah Salangy ran together

Mr Denison continued: 'When they dug that grave out, they mistook a hard layer of soil to be a natural base.

'So they abandoned the search there and they didnt find the body at that stage.'

Jurors heard a number of post mortems were carried out on Zobaidahs body, but due to the extent of decomposition, it was not possible to establish how she died.

Mr Denison said: 'This was not unexpected due to the passage of time between when the body was discovered. It was not possible to ascertain how she had been killed.

'Nezam swears to this day that she left him that weekend and has no knowledge of what happened to her.

'The prosecution relies on a number of sources of phones, call records, CCTV footage and documents recovered. It paints a picture that is truly shocking and desperately sad for those closest to her.

Salangy, of Bromsgrove, denies murder while his brothers, both of Cardiff, deny helping dispose of Zobaidahs body.

The trial continues.
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Antony Blinken claims U.S. sanctions on Russia will only be reversed when Vladimir Putin totally withdraws from Ukraine and warned China to avoid getting involved in the conflict as the U.S. sent thousands of troops to Australia because of the threat posed from Beijing.

'China's already on the wrong side of history when it comes to the Ukraine,' the State Department secretary told NPR in an interview published Wednesday.

He added: 'If China actually provides material support in one way or another to Russia in this effort, that would be even worse, and that's something we're looking very carefully at.'

The warning comes after President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with his Chinese counterpart in Rome on Monday  and as the U.S. reveals Russia requested equipment and economic assistance from China after invasion.

Blinken said in the interview that Russian sanctions would 'go away' when Russia fully withdraws from Ukraine for good, claiming the punishments against Putin were 'not designed to be permanent.'

He said the pull back would need to be 'in effect, irreversible' so that 'this can't happen again, that Russia won't pick up and do exactly what it's doing in a year or two years or three years.'

Blinken's comments come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky prepares to address Congress via video from Kyiv Wednesday morning. He is expected to seek more aid from the U.S., including a request for fighter jets and help in the development of a no-fly zone above Ukraine.

American troops are also being deployed to Australia as fears heighten of war between China and Australia. Tensions are on the rise in the Indo-Pacific, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine, as worries also mount that China could be preparing to invade Taiwan in coming years.

About 2,200 troops with the rotational U.S. Marine force will be based in Australia's Northern Territory during the upcoming dry season. The deployment will also include 250 Army personnel, according to the Australian Defense Force.

Washington says it will lift sanctions on Russia if it 'irreversibly' withdraws from Ukraine. Pictured: Rescuers work at a site of a warehouse burned after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 16, as Russia's attack on Ukraine goes on 20 days

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian sanctions would 'go away' when Russian President Vladimir Putin fully withdraws from Ukraine for good, claiming the punishments against Moscow were 'not designed to be permanent'. Pictured: An abandoned house seriously damaged by Russian bombing in the Saltivka district in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Blinken also warned China against helping Russia in its attack against Ukraine. Putin (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) have met dozens of times as they tried to forge an alternative to American hegemony

Workers load high thermal blankets inside a U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warehouse in Rzeszow, Poland on Wednesday to be transported into Ukraine for people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address Congress on Wednesday to ask for additional military and humanitarian aid

Those being deployed are trained in surface-to-air missile systems, High Mobility Artillery Rockets and unmanned aircraft.

Defense Minister Peter Dutton warned in September that conflict with China 'shouldn't be discounted' and on Wednesday told the U.S. Studies Center that Beijing may look to annex Taiwan while the world is preoccupied with Russia's attack in Eastern Europe.

'China's already on the wrong side of history when it comes to the Ukraine,' Blinken told NPR. 'If China actually provides material support in one way or another to Russia in this effort, that would be even worse, and that's something we're looking very carefully at'

Sources familiar with conversations told Bloomberg News that the U.S. told allies Russia had requested armed combat drones from China in the days after it invaded Ukraine.

It comes as Washington continues to step up warnings to Beijing that it will face 'significant consequences' if it supports Moscow with arms or other aid.

After 19 days, Russian forces have failed to capture the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and their advances have mostly stalled, according to senior U.S. officials.

In the meantime, a string of reports has described how Moscow is turning to friends in Beijing for key supplies to keep its invasion running - including M.R.E.s, or 'meals ready to eat.'

On Tuesday, it emerged that American diplomats had told European capitals that they had intelligence that Moscow had asked for combat drones.

China has a growing drone industry, and has supplied unmanned aerial vehicles to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. It is known to have a supersonic model in development.

U.S. allies have been told that Washington believes China has expressed enthusiasm for supplying help to Russia, with whom it has developed an anti-West alliance in recent years.

That has prompted American officials to step up their warnings to Beijing that it would face action if it met the requests, including during a seven-hour meeting between National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and China's top diplomat on Monday.

But White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stopped short of laying out President Joe Biden's red lines on what would trigger action, or describe what those consequences might be, despite repeated questions during the daily briefing.

'I think what we have conveyed and what was conveyed by our national security adviser in this meeting, is that should they provide military or other assistance that of course violates sanctions or, or supports the war efforts, that there will be significant consequences,' she said.

'But in terms of what the specifics look like, we would coordinate with our partners and allies to make that determination.'

A Wing Loong II unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, on display at Air Show China. The U.S. has told European allies that Russia asked China for armed drones just days after it launched its invasion of Ukraine

The mayor of Kyiv announced today a 36-hour curfew from 8pm on Tuesday until 7am on Thursday at the 'decision of the military command' after an apartment building in Kyiv was hit this morning, killing at least four people (pictured)

Vladimir Putin's stuttering invasion has forced even his close allies to admit, publicly, that things are not going to plan but, as Russia's invasion falters, its methods become more brutal - with cities increasingly coming under indiscriminate rocket fire (pictured, a Ukrainian soldier inspects the rubble of a destroyed apartment building in Kyiv on Tuesday)

Sullivan met Yang Jiechi, a member of the Chinese Communist Party's politburo, at a Rome hotel on Monday morning.

A senior administration official characterized it as a 'frank exchange' of views and said the 'intense' meeting was long planned.

'What I would say in general is that we do have deep concerns about China's alignment with Russia at this time,' said the official, 'and the national security adviser was direct about those concerns and the potential implications and consequences of certain actions.'

The official said it had not been set up to discuss concerns that Russia had asked China for military help.

Either way it put Beijing at the center of the latest diplomatic push.

Last week senior U.S. intelligence officials said they believed Chinese leaders may be worried that Moscow's invasion, and President Vladimir Putin's increasingly brutal tactics, will reflect badly on them if they offer diplomatic cover.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said China will face 'significant consequences' if it sends military to aid to Russia but declined to set red lines or describe what sort of action would be taken

President Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan (l) was meeting with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi (r) at a Rome hotel on Monday morning as part of a diplomatic push to ensure Beijing does not prop up Moscow

The Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria hotel in Rome Sullivan was meeting Jiech to discuss the war in Ukraine

A Ukrainian soldier helps fire crews search the ruins of a Kyiv apartment building for survivors and victims after Russia resumed its bombing campaign early Monday

A child looks on as she stands in front of a destroyed apartment building following shelling in Kyiv on March 14

Two people were killed on Monday during a Russian missile attack on a Kyiv apartment block. One person died when a rocket struck the residential complex while a second was killed by debris from a second missile being intercepted

Against that background, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Monday morning reported that Yang Jiechi had met Sullivan in Rome, but offered no further details.

American officials and allies have repeatedly said that China risks facing secondary sanctions if it sides with Russia.

And on Sunday, they claimed that Putin had asked his ally for military help for his faltering invasion.

But that triggered accusations of disinformation by Chinese officials.

Zhao Lijian, spokesman for Beijing's foreign ministry, said that America was 'targeting China on the Ukraine issue with malicious intentions.'

A day earlier, Sullivan warned Beijing of 'consequences' if it tried to bail out Putin by, for example, providing ways to skirt international economic sanctions.

'We will ensure that neither China, nor anyone else, can compensate Russia for these losses,' Sullivan told NBC ahead of the meeting.

'In terms of the specific means of doing that, I'm not going to lay all of that out in public, but we will communicate that privately to China, as we have already done and will continue to do.'

And he told CNN that Washington was watching closely to see how far China provided economic or material support.

'We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences for large-scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill them,' he said.

'We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world.'

Russia on Monday denied it needed China's help.

'No, Russia has its own potential to continue the operation, which, as we have said, is unfolding in accordance with the plan and will be completed on time and in full,' said Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman.

It all puts China at the heart of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in its third week.

American officials believe Putin expected to take the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a two-day lightning offensive.

Instead, almost three weeks later, his forces are still battling Ukrainian forces who have used hit-and-run attacks - and an influx of foreign weapons, including anti-tank grenades - to lethal effect.

Rescuers work next to a residential building damaged by shelling by Russian forces in the early hours of Monday

A view of damaged area after fragments from a Tochka missile which was allegedly launched by Ukrainian forces has fallen in Donetsk region, killing 20 civilians, injured 9 others, on March 14

A view of damaged buildings and streets due to the ongoing Russian shelling and missile strikes in Kharkiv on March 13

A Ukrainian firefighter drags a hose inside a large food products storage facility which was destroyed by an airstrike in the early morning hours on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 13

American officials, speaking anonymously, say the Kremlin has reached out to Beijing for help replenishing its military supplies - though they did not say exactly what Putin had requested or when the request was made. Western nations have been supplying Ukraine with a steady stream of anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons.

'China is deeply concerned and grieved on the Ukraine situation,' Liu Pengyu, the Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington, said, adding that he was not aware of any suggestions China might be willing to help Russia.

'We sincerely hope that the situation will ease and peace will return at an early date.'

Intelligence officials have hinted there may be a chance to harness Chinese influence over Moscow, perhaps by advocating for a ceasefire.

China abstained from a United Nations General Assembly vote to condemn Russia's invasion - rather than voting against it - and officials have used the term 'war' to describe what Moscow insists is a 'special military operation.

And last week C.I.A. Director Bill Burns said Chinese leader Xi Jinping may be worried about the way the war was unfolding and that its ugly nature risked guilt by association.

'President Xi is probably a little bit unsettled as he watches the way in which President Putin has driven Americans and Europeans more closely together and strengthen the Transatlantic alliance in ways that would have been a little bit hard to imagine before the invasion began,' he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has said he is willing to meet Putin in person for talks, said last week that he was willing to 'discuss and find a compromise' with Russia over the future of Donbas - a region of eastern Ukraine comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk where many ethnic Russians live.

Russian and Ukrainian representatives held talks by video link on Monday. Ukraine's negotiator said he wanted to secure a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees for Ukraine.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said the talks would resume on Tuesday after what he described as a 'technical pause.'

They were the first talks to be held for a week.

Ukrainian authorities earlier said two people died and seven were injured after Russian forces struck an airplane factory in Kyiv, sparking a fire. The Antonov factory is Ukraine's largest aircraft manufacturing plant and is best known for producing many of the world's biggest cargo planes.

Russian artillery fire also hit a nine-story apartment building in the northern Obolonskyi district of the city, killing two more people, authorities said.

Firefighters worked to rescue survivors, painstakingly carrying an injured woman on a stretcher away from the blackened and still smoking building.
A jealous man who shot at his love rival before recklessly ploughing his car into a crowd of people outside a pub, including a pregnant woman, has been jailed for over five years.

Jack Richardson, 25, fired a BB pistol at his former partner's new boyfriend before mowing him down with a silver Volvo on June 18 last year.

He tried to reverse the car into him a second time but instead rammed the vehicle into a crowd of people outside the Gigmill Pub in Stourbridge, West Midlands.

A pregnant woman was left trapped under the car and had to be rescued.

She was taken to hospital and underwent surgery but both she and her unborn child survived.

Jack Richardson, 25, has been jailed for five years and three months after shooting his love rival with a BB gun before driving a car into a crowd - including a heavily pregnant woman - outside a pub in Stourbridge, West Midlands

Richardson mowed down the man once with his silver Volvo, before attempting to reverse into him and instead ploughing into a crowd outside The Gigmill pub on June 18 last year

Richardson, of Stourbridge, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to two counts of grievous bodily harm, two counts of actual bodily harm, possession of an imitation firearm with intent, possession of cannabis and driving without a licence and insurance.

He was jailed for five years and three months and was also given a restraining order, as well as banned from driving for four years.

Richardson's ex's new partner suffered a broken ankle and two other people were hurt in the shocking attack.

He abandoned his Volvo at the pub and ran off but handed himself into police two days later.

His ex's new partner suffered a broken ankle and two others sustained minor injuries (pictured: the scene of the collision)

A heavily pregnant woman was left trapped under the car. She was taken to hospital for surgery and is now doing well with her baby

The pub was packed with revellers who had watched England's match against Scotland in the Euros when the incident happened.

One witness said: 'The guy lost the plot. It all kicked off. He had a massive row and all hell broke loose.

'He started firing shots and then just drove at a group of people. One of the women was six months pregnant.

'People were lucky to be alive. It was carnage.'

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: 'Our thoughts are with everyone who was involved and affected by what happened.

'Were pleased that justice has been served and hopefully Richardson will reflect on the severity of his actions while he spends time behind bars.'
The trial of a 75-year-old man for the rape and murder of a teenage girl nearly 50 years ago has collapsed after the defendant fell ill.

Dennis McGrory was allegedly fuelled by rage when he sexually assaulted, stabbed and strangled 15-year-old Jacqui Montgomery in her home in Islington, north London in 1975.

Justice finally caught up with McGrory after swabs from Jacquis body produced a one-in-a-billion DNA match, jurors had been told.

The trial at the Old Bailey began on March 3 but, on Wednesday, judge Mr Justice Bryan discharged the jury, which was told the case could not continue because McGrory had been taken ill.

Jacqui Montgomery, pictured, was murdered at her home in Islington, north London in June 1975. Her body was discovered by her father Robert. Police arrested Dennis McGrory at the time of the killing but had insufficient evidence to charge him in connection with the crime

McGrory's trial at the Old Bailey in London collapsed today after he fell ill last week. The matter will be raised in a case management hearing on October 7, with a trial scheduled for three weeks in November

The judge fixed a three-week retrial for November 30 at Huntingdon Crown Court.

A further case management hearing will take place on October 7.

McGrory was arrested nearly 50 years later when a cold case review matched his DNA to the teenager's body.

Jacquis body was found by her father, Robert Montgomery, lying on the floor of their living room in Offord Road, Islington, in the early hours of June 2, 1975.

She had been stabbed repeatedly and strangled with the iron flex, the court heard.

The court heard McGrory was trying to find ex-partner Josie Montgomery, who had been having an affair with his friend John Malloy, it was said.

Scientific analysis showed McGrory is between 33,000 times and one billion times more likely to have contributed to DNA samples from the victim's vaginal swabs, the court had heard.

Mr Justice Bryan discharged the jury and explained McGrory was admitted to hospital over a week ago and is still undergoing medical treatment.

He added: 'It is important to fairness that he will be able to participate in this trial.'

McGrory of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire denies murder and rape.

He was appearing via videolink from his solicitor's office in Milton Keyes.

He remains on unconditional bail.
Prosecutor-General Kim O-su speaks to journalists at Jeju April 3rd Peace Park in Jeju Island, November 2021. Newsis



By Ko Dong-hwan



Korea's Prosecutor-General Kim O-su, appointed by the liberal Moon Jae-in administration, has rejected pressure from President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's conservative People Power Party (PPP) to resign before his term ends next year. Kim's decision shows his intent to stay in the role despite the PPPs hawkish stance against him.



Arriving at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in Seoul's Seocho District on Wednesday morning, Kim briefly told journalists that he will "faithfully perform his duty as the top prosecutor in accordance with the laws and principles."



Kim's statement came after some PPP lawmakers have been pressuring him to quit. PPP Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, considered as one of Yoon's closest aides, said Tuesday on a MBC radio show that it has come to a point where Kim may be faced with the need to make decisions on his course of action going forward.



"Kim assured the public (during a national audit on the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in October 2021) to trust him, as he was leading investigations into Lee Jae-myung's alleged involvement in the land development scandals in Daejang-dong and Baekhyun-dong in Seongnam, but he hasn't made any progress as of yet," Kweon said, referring to the presidential candidate from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) who lost to Yoon in the March 9 election.



If Kim maneuvers toward more thorough investigations than before and sticks to the letter of the law  and principles  from now on, he will complete his term, said Kweon on the show.



Kweon remarked that Kim will have to consider resignation if he doesn't speed up the investigations, though he doesn't think Yoon will press Kim to resign.



Rep. Kwon Young-se, the vice-chairperson of the Presidential Transition Committee, who was the former head of Yoon's presidential election camp, also said Tuesday that any official appointees who took their positions as appointed by President Moon would now need to consider their future courses. Kwon's comment seemed to be aimed at Kim.



"If Kim and his prosecutors show their true investigative skills and prove that their investigations are non-partisan and neutral, then Kim might not need to worry about his current position," Kwon told TV broadcaster MBN, Tuesday.





President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol heads to a restaurant for lunch after leaving his office in Tongui-dong in Seoul's Jongno District, March 16. Newsis
A toddler's playtime ended in the emergency room after she swallowed one of the toys.

Chloe Ngyuen, four, was playing with her older sister's magnetic balls at her family's home in Cabramatta West, Sydney, when her parents heard her crying.

'I looked at her hand and she was holding a bunch of these magnet balls and I said, Chloe, did you swallow that?' her dad, Bill Nguyen told 9News.

Chloe Ngyuen, four, was playing with her older sister's magnetic balls at her family's home in Cabramatta West, Sydney, when her parents heard her crying

Once Chloe had calmed down she told her dad she had swallowed one rainbow ball.

Her parents were alarmed because the balls are individual solid colours.

Chloe was taken to the Children's Hospital at Westmead where an x-ray confirmed the little girl had swallowed a clump of eight magnets - or one 'rainbow' ball.

'We were like, oh my god, eight of them, how did she swallow eight of them?,' Chloe's mum Amy Ngyuen said.

Chloe was taken to the Children's Hospital at Westmead where an x-ray confirmed the little girl had swallowed a clump of eight magnets - or one 'rainbow' ball

Luckily the magnetic balls were still in Chloe's stomach and could be removed using a camera inserted down her throat

Luckily the magnetic balls were still in Chloe's stomach and could be removed using a camera inserted down her throat.

While the procedure wouldn't have been much fun for the four-year-old, it was a much better outcome than what could have happened if she had been treated later.

Dr Michael Storman head of gastroenterology at the Children's Hospital at Westmead said if the magnetic balls had moved further through Chloe's system they could have caused a lot more damage.

'If they come apart or a loop of bowel gets caught up between them, you could end up with a bowel perforation and that can be a life-threatening emergency,' he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today revealed that Ukraine has captured almost 1,000 Russian prisoners of war in less than three weeks since the invasion began on February 24.

Zelensky made the declaration during a conference call with International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan, one of the world's leading authorities on international human rights law who earlier this month opened an investigation into the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader told Khan: 'We have already almost 1,000 prisoners and their video testimonies,' before adding that he is looking forward to working with the ICC to ensure that 'those who invaded our territory for nothing are punished'.

Zelensky's revelation comes as footage emerged of a group six Russian soldiers calling President Vladimir Putin a 'd**khead' on the orders of their Ukrainian captors and declaring they did not want to go to war after surrendering south of Chernihiv.

The group, lead by Major Viktor Blyudin, was a reconnaissance team located in the forest near to the town of Sribne in the southern part of Chernihiv oblast.

They surrendered on March 14 to civilians in Sribne after learning that a neighbouring Russian cohort was killed, according to Sribnyanshchyna newspaper which posted a video of the soldiers on Facebook.

In the video, several of the soldiers can be heard repeating after their Ukrainian captors: 'Putin is a d**khead', before asking the people of Ukraine for forgiveness and telling their family and friends that they are being treated well.

Russian forces have already incurred heavy losses as their invasion nears its third week, with the Ukrainian army and territorial defence forces putting up a bitter fight to repel the invaders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today revealed that Ukraine has captured almost 1,000 Russian prisoners of war in less than three weeks since the invasion began on February 24

Zelensky made the declaration during a conference call with International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan (pictured), one of the world's leading authorities on international human rights law who earlier this month opened an investigation into the war in Ukraine

The group, lead by Major Viktor Blyudin, was a reconnaissance team located in the forest near to the town of Sribne in the southern part of Chernihiv oblast

They surrendered on March 14 to civilians in Sribne after learning that a neighbouring Russian cohort was killed, according to Sribnyanshchyna newspaper which posted a video of the soldiers on Facebook

One soldier, wearing hooded fatigues and a black hat, said: I really love [my wife] and I hope that she will forgive me for coming here,' before labelling Putin and the Russian government as 'scumbags'

Another, who gave his name as Anton Nikulkov, told his family and kids: 'Don't worry, I'm fine, everything's going to be okay. Putin is a d**khead!,' the soldier exclaimed, before repeating after the Ukrainian cameraman: 'Glory to Ukraine. Death to Russia'

One soldier, wearing hooded fatigues and a black hat, said: I really love [my wife] and I hope that she will forgive me for coming here,' before labelling Putin and the Russian government as 'scumbags.'

Another, who gave his name as Anton Nikulkov, told his family and kids: 'Don't worry, I'm fine, everything's going to be okay.'

'Putin is a d**head,' he said, and the Ukrainian cameraman told him to repeat it louder.

'Putin is a d**khead!,' the soldier exclaimed, before repeating after the Ukrainian cameraman: 'Glory to Ukraine. Death to Russia.'

Soldier Dmitry Kamyanikov seemed to express genuine remorse when asked what he'd like to tell the people of Ukraine.

'I stand in front of them guilty, I didn't want to go to war here. I haven't killed anybody, I swear. I'm asking for your forgiveness for coming here,' Kamyanikov said.

He then told his Russian colleagues: 'Resign from your army posts and get out of here.'

Major Blyudin, the leader of the group, appeared far more reluctant to respond to questioning, but ultimately joined his subordinates in announcing 'Putin is a d**khead'.

The soldiers insisted they were in Sribne 'to learn and observe' and promised they had not fired on any Ukrainians, though Sribnyanshchyna newspaper speculated this may have been a tactic to avoid being punished or killed.

Ukraine's army has released a variety of videos showing Russian prisoners of war (POWs) captured in fighting across the nation, taking the opportunity to show mercy to their invaders while encouraging them to denounce the war, and criticise Putin and their military leaders.

Many of the Russian POWs have been permitted to call their families, provided they tell them what they have done and admit that they are taking part in an invasion, as opposed to a 'special military operation' as it is described in Russian media.

On March 14, six Russian servicemen, led by Major Viktor Blyudin, laid down their arms in Sribne. Three members of the cohort are pictured blindfolded

Soldier Dmitry Kamyanikov seemed to express genuine remorse when asked what he'd like to tell the people of Ukraine. 'I stand in front of them guilty, I didn't want to go to war here. I haven't killed anybody, I swear. I'm asking for your forgiveness for coming here,' Kamyanikov said

The passports of the Russian soldiers who surrendered in Sribne are pictured

Kyiv meanwhile announced last night that Russia has lost another of its generals along with seven members of an elite force under Vladimir Putin's direct command in recent fighting.

Major-General Oleg Mityaev, 47, commander of the army's 150th motorised rifle division, died fighting around the besieged city of Mariupol, Ukraine's interior ministry said late Tuesday as officials released a photo of what they claimed was his corpse on the battlefield.

It marks the fourth Russian general that Ukraine claims to have taken out and the 13th officer overall, as Putin's invading forces suffer heavy losses at the hands of dogged Ukrainian defenders.

Seven elite SWAT fighters from the feared Dzerzhinsky Division of Russia's national guard were also revealed to have died in the fighting.

A mourning picture was released in Russia showing the photographs of six elite 'maroon beret' special forces fighters from the Vityaz Special Purpose Centre of the Dzerzhinsky Division, named after Soviet secret police founder Felix Dzerzhinsky. It was later revealed that a seventh had also been killed.

Meanwhile respected test pilot Captain Alexander Garnaev quit a number of positions over the 'completely incomprehensible' war. 'Sooner or later society will know the final number of losses [and] be horrified,' he added.

A Hero of Russia and Honoured Test Pilot, he launched a scathing attack on the way Ukrainian cities have been 'bombed and crushed with tanks'.

Major-General Oleg Mityaev, 47 (left and right), has been killed by Ukrainian troops near Mariupol - Kyiv has said - marking the fourth Russian general they claim to have killed in three weeks of fighting

Seven members of an elite SWAT unit under the direct command of Vladimir Putin were revealed to have died fighting in Ukraine, with pictures of six of them arranged at a funeral service back in Russia (above)
Food delivery company DoorDash said it will refund drivers 10 percent of their U.S. gas purchases to help offset soaring costs at the pump as prices hit a record $4.43 per gallon this week.

The San Francisco-based company said its drivers will earn 10 percent cash back on gas through prepaid Visa debit cards, even when they're not working on deliveries.

'Over the last few weeks, prices at the pump have increased all across the world, and for Dashers who deliver by car, this economic reality presents unique and unprecedented challenges,' the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Unlike Uber, which announced a surcharge of 45 cents for a ride and 35 cents for UberEats deliveries, DoorDash said it was not passing the buck to customers.

'We know Dashers aren't the only ones facing pain at the pump, and we're not passing the cost of these programs on to consumers at this time,' a DoorDash spokesperson told CNBC.

DoorDash said it will refund its drivers 10 percent of their gas purchases to help workers as prices at the pump hit a record $4.43 per gallon this week

California leads the nation in highest gas prices with an average of $5.77 cents per gallon. One gas station in California (above) had prices set at $5.99 per gallon on Tuesday

On Monday, President Biden's Climate Task Force met to discuss bringing down gas prices, while the administration struggles to cast the surges as Russia's fault.

Even after reaching a record high last Friday, the average cost per gallon in the U.S. continues to linger in the mid $4.00 range  nearing $6.00 in the hardest-hit areas, like California.

Gas prices on Wednesday morning averaged $4.30 a gallon - up from $2.86 just one year ago.

Republicans have laid blame on President Biden for policies they say 'killed' the oil and gas industry in the U.S. - canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, pausing new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and removing subsidies for the fossil fuel industry

But gas prices had already been on the rise well before Putin's invasion - in November Biden released 50 million barrels of oil to alleviate rising prices - which had just reached $3.39 a gallon, up $1.27 from the year prior.

To help accommodate the rising costs, DoorDash said its delivery drivers would also be eligible for a weekly gas bonus if they complete more frequent deliveries.

'Dashers who accept and complete orders totaling 100 miles in a motor vehicle will earn an extra $5,' the company said, adding that the cash back and bonus program will begin on Wednesday and last 'at least through April.'

The news was a sign of relief for Art Valencia, an DoorDash driver in Columbus, Ohio, who said he had no plans to slow down on deliveries despite the soaring gas prices.

'Paying a little bit extra at the tank isn't going to hurt me that much,' Valencia told ABC 6. 'It's one or two extra deliveries. It's an extra 15 minutes or half-hour of my day.'

Valencia, who pays about $61.13 to fill up his car, said the increasing gas prices has changed how drivers pick up delivery requests as they calculate how much they stand to make against how much gas they'll need to buy.

'It's strategic planning. How is this going to best benefit me? If I have to drive six miles even though It's only two miles away from the restaurant. I am spending a lot of time and gas just to do a short order,' he said.

San Francisco DoorDash driver Rondu Gantt echoed the need for drivers to calculate their cost-benefits, especially in California, which leads gas prices at $5.77 per gallon.

Gantt told ABC 7 that he's now considering something drastic: 'Not drive anymore and take other jobs because of how high gas prices are? Of course. Without an increase in our pay. Nobody is that dumb.'

Gig delivery drivers said DoorDash, Uber and Lyft's changes would help, but would not do enough to ease the cost of soaring gas prices

Other drivers have noted that the cash back rewards program does not do enough to help and comes with the caveat that drivers have to sign up for a DasherDirect card, which diverts earnings from their main back accounts.

Uber's surcharge will also go into effect on Wednesday, with all the money going directly to drivers, the company said. It added that the new fee isn't meant to cover the entire cost of gas, but to 'soften the burden.'

The surcharge will be in effect for at least 60 days, after which Uber said it will assess gas prices and driver sentiment.

The surcharges are based on the average trip distance and the increase in gas prices in each state, Uber said.

'We know that prices have been going up across the economy, so we've done our best to help drivers and couriers without placing too much additional burden on consumers,' Liza Winship, head of driver operations for Uber US and Canada, said in a statement.

Rival Lyft said it would be implementing a similar surcharge, but did not specify how much the charge would be.

Many on social media have called on customers of the gig driver economy to provide adequate tips to help the workers hits hard by the soaring gas prices.

One Twitter user with the handle EdythVoidling wrote: 'If you're able to, remember to doordash something today and tip aggressively. If someone is door dashing with these gas prices they are gonna need it.'

Another Twitter user with the name Seth echoed the plea, tweeting, 'If you ordering doordash u better be tipping at least $5-7 with these gas prices.'

A Twitter user with the handle SpadeTheGhost added, 'Gas prices way to high for this nonsense, customers gotta tip or its gonna get spooky.'

Michael Roady, another Twitter user, was much more frank, writing, 'If you don't tip your doordash driver when gas prices are this bad you deserve the worst fire pit in hell.'
Fifty six people - including the wife of a former Transport for London director - have been charged over Insulate Britain protests on the M25 in September.

Cathy Eastburn, 54, is among the massive number of people who have had action taken against them by the Met Police today.

Her husband public transport boss Benedict Plowden, 58, left TfL and his 170,000-a-year job at the end of October.

Cathy Eastburn, 54, is married to former TfL public transport boss Benedict Plowden, 58

An Insulate Britain protester arrested for blocking the M25 is married to Benedict Plowden, a Transport for London director in charge of public transport Covid recovery scheme

The Met said 12 people are each accused of two counts of causing a public nuisance at junction 14 of the M25 on September 13 last year, and at junction 25 of the M25 on September 15.

They are due to appear at Stratford Magistrates' Court on Friday April 22.

And 50 people are charged with causing a public nuisance at junction 14 of the M25 on September 27, and will appear at the same court on April 29.

Some defendants have been charged as part of both cases.

Eastburn speaks to protesters from Extinction Rebellion, from the top of a boat, placed outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London on July 15, 2019

Protesters from Insulate Britain blocking a road near Manchester Airport on November 2 last year

The announcement follows separate charges brought by Kent Police earlier this month against 74 people, which marked the first criminal cases brought against Insulate Britain protesters.

They had previously only faced legal action in the civil courts, with several jailed for breaching injunctions.

Insulate Britain, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion, wants the Government to insulate all UK homes by 2030 to cut carbon emissions.

It repeatedly blocked major roads between September and November, causing long traffic jams.

Activists often glued their hands to roads or each other to make it harder to remove them.
A Sainsburys worker has won a discrimination case after being fired for repeatedly harassing female colleagues, including calling a Pakistani co-worker Bin Ladens mistress and another a yummy mummy.

Chris Kelly faced a series of complaints from fellow staff that he had groped one of them, talked about giving his wife multiple orgasms, and called female colleagues b***h and w***e.

After being found guilty of gross misconduct, he was sacked by the supermarket giant for sexual harassment.

Mr Kelly has now won a case for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal after an employment tribunal heard supermarket bosses had failed to consider that his behaviour was caused by a head injury that he suffered following a car crash. He is now in line for compensation from the retailer.

The tribunal heard Mr Kelly began working at Sainsburys as a trainee manager in 2000 and was promoted to duty manager in 2002. He had good prospects at the supermarket, the hearing was told.

Chris Kelly faced a series of complaints from fellow staff that he had groped one of them, talked about giving his wife multiple orgasms, and called female colleagues b***h and w***e (pictured, stock picture of a Sainburys store)

In 2004, Mr Kelly was involved in a serious road traffic accident which left him in an induced coma for a month and in hospital for a few months after that.

The Norwich tribunal heard Mr Kellys career stalled when he returned to work and he was unable to continue with his training as manager as he suffered from memory loss problems.

In 2010, a Mr Kelly was accused of calling female colleagues b***h and w***e. In a disciplinary hearing regarding the complaints, Mr Kelly apologised and said his behaviour had changed since the accident.

In 2015, Mr Kelly was spoken to for calling a female colleague a yummy mummy and asking for her phone number.

In 2020, Sainsburys received a complaint from a woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, about Mr Kellys behaviour at the store in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

She said: My first ever encounter with Chris was towards the end of December 2017. Soon after he was addressing me by misogynistic names such as w***e and b***h completely unprovoked.

A couple of days later, I was condensing down cardboard from the yoghurts I had replenished and I felt him grope my backside.

On April 9 2020... I was in the general office... I said I was relieved how I didnt book to go away this year given the current circumstances with Covid-19 and Chris interrupted and said how he was disappointed because he was looking forward to giving his wife multies.

Mr Kelly has now won a case for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal after an employment tribunal heard supermarket bosses had failed to consider that his behaviour was caused by a head injury that he suffered following a car crash (pictured, stock picture of a Sainburys store)

...he came over twice and rubbed my shoulders.

The tribunal heard multies was a reference to multiple orgasms.

Mr Kelly was also accused of standing behind other female colleagues and customers and rubbing their shoulders. His behaviour was then investigated and no action against him was taken. But the woman appealed this decision and he was re-investigated.

During this second investigation, Mr Kelly was accused of several incidents of sexual harassment against different female colleagues.

Sainsburys worker Ian Heggs said he supported a young female colleague aged 18-20 who was upset over the way Mr Kelly had spoken to her.

The tribunal heard: Mr Heggs said he had seen Mr Kelly go up behind the woman and put his hand on her back and had heard him make comments to her, Youre really hot, I wouldnt turn you away and If my wife knew what I was thinking about you I would be in trouble.

He said that he had witnessed this on numerous occasions two or three times a week.

A Pakistani woman, referred to in the proceedings, said Mr Kelly touched her on her hips, her shoulder and her back.

The tribunal heard: She said that he had said stuff to her about her butt. She said he had sent her a weird video on Facebook and had referred to her as Bin Ladens mistress. She said that this has been going on for four years or so.

The tribunal heard the video Mr Kelly had sent the woman was racist, appalling and obscene.

Mr Kelly was fired for sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour. He then sued his employers for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal as he said he was prone to child-like behaviour after his accident.

Employment Judge Martin Warren ruled in Mr Kellys favour despite saying it was very obvious that an employer could not have a worker behaving in the way he did.

Judge Warren added that Sainsburys did not consider a 2011 report from a psychologist that said some of Mr Kellys inappropriate behaviours may be because of his head injury.

Sainsburys disregarded (Mr Kellys) disability, it had the 2011 report on file and did not consider it, the judge said.

Sainsburys did not appear to even consider the possible, (in our view obvious) impact of Mr Kellys injury on his behaviour.

Mr Kellys compensation will be decided at a later date.

A Sainsburys spokesperson said: We are an inclusive retailer and do not tolerate abusive behaviour. We are very disappointed by this judgment and are reviewing our next steps.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is going through its own version of September 11th and Pearl Harbor every day since Russia invaded and he urged the US to protect his skies while invoking Martin Luther King and the Founding Fathers in a heart-wrenching speech to Congress on Wednesday morning.

He also confronted President Joe Biden and told him to become the 'leader of the free world', demanded more sanctions for Russia to stop the 'war machine', asked for fighter jets and shared devastating footage of civilians being maimed in Kyiv as he called on lawmakers to 'do more' to protect his country.

'I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,' he told members in the sobering address to Congress.

He received multiple standing ovations from lawmakers during his appearance.

Biden, for his part, gave his own speech after Zelensky's where he announced a $800 million military assistance package. He also, for the first time on Wednesday, called Russian President Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal.'

'I think he is a war criminal,' Biden said to reporters at the White House.

Zelensky also called for a new alliance outside of NATO to prevent future attacks and protect from Vladimir Putin's bullying and invoked the civil rights leader MLK by saying 'I have a dreamI have a need. I need to protect our sky. I need your decision exactly the same you feel when you say I have a dream.'

He included in his remarks a graphic video, showing the death and destruction that Ukraine has endured. The images included the deaths of young children and mass graves for civilian and military casualties. Several lawmakers were in tears as it played.

Zelensky repeated the plea he has made to countries around the world - including in addresses to the Canadian and British parliaments - to enforce a no-fly zone over his country. The U.S. and its allies fret such a move would escalate into World War III.

He switched to English to make his dramatic, final, closing appeal where he said the deaths of his country's children and the destruction Russia brought was making him lose the will to live.

'Being the leader of the means to be the leader of peace,' he said in halting, accented English.

'I am almost 45 years old. Today when the hearts of more than 100 children stopped beating, I see no sense in life,' he added.

'I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,' he said in his closing.

American lawmakers gave him a standing ovation.

Zelenskly has been a personal appeal tour to Western nations as he tries to ramp up their response to Russia's invasion. Using the power of his personality, appearing before lawmakers in green military fatigues with shades of stubble on his cheek, the Ukrainian president has pushed his country's cause.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a heartfelt plea for President Joe Biden and America to 'be the leader of the world' and help his country against Russian attacks in a speech where he appealed to U.S. heartstrings by comparing the crisis to the tragedies of 9/11 and Pearl Harbor and invoked Martin Luther King Jr. by saying: 'I have a dream... I have a need'

Zelensky showed a video montage to Congress of the destruction and death in Ukraine (pictured), and said his country is facing a 9/11-like attack every day

Lawmakers watch in stunned silence as Zelesnky showed the graphic video and then concluded his address in English. He asked for something bigger than sanctions against Russia, saying: 'Peace is more important than income'

A grab from the video montage played by Zelensky shows babies huddles together on a couch

In part of the video Zelensky played, it showed people moving bodies into a mass grave as the death toll climbs and Russia continues to target civilians in the now-20-day conflict

During the address to Congress, Zelensky pleaded that the U.S. help set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine and said if that's 'too much to ask' then send fighter jets to allow them to defend against Russia. Zekensky received a standing ovation from Congress as Pelosi (on stage right) introduced the Ukrainian leader

Lindsey Graham insists he STANDS BY his call for Putin to be assassinated and adds that 'if John McCain were here, he'd be saying the same thing' Lindsey Graham on Wednesday reiterated his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be assassinated despite criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for pushing the drastic step. 'Yeah, I hope he'll be taken out, one way or another. I don't care how they take him out. I don't care if we send him to the Hague and try him, I just want him to go,' Graham said of the Russian president. And the Republican senator from South Carolina said he wants the Russian people to do it. 'Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate leader, he is a war criminal. He needs to be dealt with by the Russian people,' he said. He also said his late friend, the well-respected Senator John McCain, who died in 2018, would agree with him. 'If John McCain were here, he'd be saying the same thing, I think,' said Graham. 'It's time for him to go. He's a war criminal. I wish somebody had taken Hitler out in the [1930s].' Senator Lindsey Graham reiterated his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be assassinated Sen. Graham originally suggested in early March that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be assassignated and was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for it Graham's remarks came after the joined his fellow lawmakers listen to Volodymyr Zelensky's address to Congress. In his remarks, the Ukrainian president painted a picture of the devastation Russian troops have caused in his country and pleaded with America to send more aid, particularly in the form of military equipment. The senator was promoting his resolution that would encourage President Joe Biden to transfer Polish MiG planes to Ukraine. The Biden administration had ruled out such a move, saying it could cause escalation with Russia and lead to World War II. Graham floated the idea to take out the Russian president earlier this month, which drew the ire of Republicans and Democrats alike. 'The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service,' Graham said in early March. Advertisement

In his nearly 20-minute remarks, Zelensky invoked some of the memorable moments in American history, comparing them to what his country is going through: the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 that brought the U.S. into World War II and the September 11th attacks in 2001 that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

'Democracy, independence, freedom for every person, everyone who works diligently, who lives honestly, who respects the law,' Zelensky described the United States.

'We in Ukraine want the same for our people. All that is normal part of your own life. Ladies and gentlemen, friends, Americans, in your great history you have pages that have allowed you to understand Ukrainians and understand us now when we need you right now.'

Zelensky added a new twist to his remarks to Congress. He called for a new alliance outside of NATO to prevent future attacks.

'The destiny of our country is being decided,' he told lawmakers, adding a plea to the U.S.: 'We need you right now. I call on you to do more.'

Zelensky joined the body by live video feed streamed in the Capitol's CVC auditorium as the leader remained in Ukraine following Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022.

The auditorum was packed with members of both parties. Many lawmakers sported a pin in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

Just as Zelensky was preparing to speak with lawmakers, Russian forces shot and killed 10 civilians standing in line for bread in the north central city of Chernihiv, Ukraine.

'We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine,' the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said in a statement following the attack.

President Biden made his own speech following Zelensky's address. Biden will head to Brussels next week for a hastily arranged NATO meeting to discuss the situation in the Ukraine.

During his remarks on Wednesday, Biden provided a detailed laundry list of a new tranche of $800 million in deadly arms the U.S. is providing to Ukraine.

'Were going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead,' Biden pledged, as he faces pressure from Congress and from Zelensky to provide Ukraine with a means to defend itself.

He also spoke in unusual detail about the latest package of aid, which brings U.S. military assistance to $1 billion just this week.

It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems, portable 'high accuracy' shoulder mounted missiles, and 7,000 small arms, plus machine guns, shotguns, and grenade launchers.

He said the package would include drones, 'which demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.' He didn't specify if he meant the latest kamikaze killer drones that the administration had been considering.

Biden said the package included 'additional longer range anti-aircraft systems,' which he described as coming at Zelensky's request.

One thing Biden didn't mention and didn't want to talk about were MiG fighter jets Zelensky is pleading for and his administration has refused to authorize the transfer of.

He didn't comment when reporters asked him about it.

On Capitol Hill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced Zelensky to the packed auditorum. Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation before he spoke a single war. The Ukrainian president was visibly moved, putting his hand on his heart and smiling in gratitude.

'Glory to heroes,' Zelensky started his address.

Zelensky asked the body if it was 'too much to ask for' Washington's help in establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine  and said an OK alternative was to send fighter jets so they could defend their own air space against Vladimir Putin.

The White House have warned against developing a no-fly zone above Ukraine, claiming it could lead to World War III. Ahead of Zelensky's speech on Wednesday, Pelosi echoed that argument.

Pelosi sat with Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova during Zelensky's speech and escorted her out through the Capitol building afterward.

Senator Elizabeth Warren told DailyMail.com that the mood in the room was 'very sober and very supportive', claiming Congress is 'looking for the right ways' to be able to support Ukraine.

And Senator Angus King aid there was a 'collective holding of the breath' in the room as Zelensky spoke.

After the speech, lawmakers exited the auditorium in droves, talking quietly among themselves about what they heard.

Reaction among them was split down the party line.

Democrats were cautious in their words, tempering the desire to help Ukraine without going to far in pledging direct military assistance, which the Biden administration has worried could lead to escalation with Russia and World War III.

President Joe Biden outlined details the latest package of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine Wednesday as the country battles Vladimir Putins 'depraved onslaught'

Footage published by Ukrainian website Public and corroborated by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv shows the lifeless bodies of ten people sprawled on the street after they were shot and killed by Russians while waiting in line for bread outside the northern city of Chernihiv, Ukraine on Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Members of Congress rise to their feet to give Zelensky a standing ovation during his remarks on the US response to Putin's invasion and the atrocities on his people

'There's not any member of Congress left that room without thinking what more the United States can do to stop this carnage. Just a gut wrenching speech,' said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.

He noted the U.S. 'wants to do everything in coordination with our allies, which sometimes means it takes a couple extra days.'

But he and other Democrats appeared hesitant on Zelensky's call for a no-fly zone.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumethal made a plea for time, saying the harsh economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and its allies needed time to work.

'I think he's making an argument that he needs to make I don't necessarily believe that it will spiral in that way that fast. I think. I mean, it's hard to say when people are dying, but erring on the side of caution for something that doesn't spiral out of control, and allow some of the tools that we've put in place, because Russian economy has cratered,' he said.

Republicans focused the blame on President Biden.

'My advice to him was to provide the arms earlier,' said House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy on his conversations with Biden. 'The problem is this administration has delayed time and again.

And Republican Rep. Michael McCaul said it was time to start considering what a 'red line' would be for America.

'I think we need to start looking at red lines' over chemical weapons and tactical nuclear weapons, he said, referring to concerns Russia could escalate its arms use against Ukraine.

'We don't want to sit back and let the bully hit the little kid on the playground. At what point is the red line crossed,' he noted.

And he added: 'This is a time to unify the nation behind Ukraine against one of the most evil forces we've seen since my father's war. And that's World War Two, Adolf Hitler.'

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had said ahead of the address that he wants to hear Zelensky tell Congress 'what we need to send him', as Republicans push for a proposed deal with Poland to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.

The Pentagon poured cold water on the idea last week after Putin warned any further involvement in Ukraine by the U.S. would be an escalation that could result in dragging the west into the conflict.

McConnell said after Zelensky's remarks that 'the message to President Biden is that he needs to step up his game.'

And Republican Senator Rick Scott called on Biden to decide to today if he's going to send additional miltary equipment to the Ukraine.

'President Biden needs to make a decision today: either give Ukraine access to the planes and anti-aircraft defense systems it needs to defend itself or enforce a no-fly zone to close Ukrainian skies to Russian attacks.'

Russian forces have been targeting civilians in Ukraine, including women and children. On Wednesday, forces ruthlessly gunned down ten Ukrainian civilians waiting in line for bread outside the northern city of Chernihiv.

Footage published by Ukrainian website Public, which was corroborated by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, shows the lifeless bodies of ten people sprawled on the street after they were apparently executed in cold blood.

'Today, Russian forces shot and killed 10 people standing in line for bread in Chernihiv. Such horrific attacks must stop,' declared the US Embassy in a statement on Twitter, adding they were considering options to 'ensure accountability' for the 'atrocity'.

It comes after drone footage emerged of a group of Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian who was trying to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.

The slaughtering of civilians, particularly those who do not pose a threat, is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.

Yet Russian authorities continue to insist that their forces have only targeted strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine.

Moment Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't applaud Zelensky's speech and reaches for her cell phone - while Madison Cawthorn misses HALF the remarks and says 'emotion shouldn't guide foreign policy' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned speech to Congress on Wednesday morning left most lawmakers in the chamber in awe of his bravery and some were even nearly reduced to tears -- but two Republican firebrands seemed largely unaffected. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was spotted checking her phone while her colleagues gave Zelensky a standing ovation ahead of his remarks. Meanwhile Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) missed that portion altogether, along with most of the Ukrainian president's speech, according to the New York Times. Though after the brief portion he attended, the freshman lawmaker declared 'emotion shouldn't guide foreign policy' despite the majority of his caucus calling for more weapons and aid to be sent to Kyiv. Greene and Cawthorn, who both took office in 2021, have been among the minority of Republican lawmakers who have called for less US involvement in Ukraine's resistance to a Russian invasion. 'Emotion should never guide our foreign policy. The United States must be extraordinarily careful to implement logical, rational foreign policy that tactfully strengthens the Ukrainian people while simultaneously putting America first,' Cawthorn told the Times after Zelensky's speech. The North Carolina congressman was caught on video earlier this month disparaging Zelensky as a 'thug' and calling his democratically-elected government 'corrupt' and 'evil.' Nearly every lawmaker in Congress stood up to applaud Ukrainian President Zelensky when he appeared via video link on Wednesday morning. Greene (right, brown dress) can be seen keeping her hands still while her colleagues applaud At one point she bent down to check her phone, apparently uninterested in joining fellow lawmakers' praise Greene, however, appears to have attended the entire speech. Shortly before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) brief introduction to Ukraine's leader, he appeared via videolink and was welcomed by enthusiastic applause from nearly the entire chamber. The outspoken Georgia Republican stood along with the other lawmakers but instead of clapping, reached for her phone. Greene engaged on a Twitter rant on Tuesday night, accusing the US and NATO of funding 'neo-Nazis' in Ukraine. Her claims are centered around a nationalist paramilitary group based in Ukraine called the Azov Battalion. The fringe group, which has no widespread influence over Ukraine's multi-ethnic society led by a Jewish president, has fueled Russian leader Vladimir Putin's claims that he is attacking the country to rid it of 'Nazi' rule. Advertisement

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova (left) attended the address and was escorted out by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (right)

'The destiny of our country is being decided,' Zelensky, sporting a green t-shirt and several-days-old beard, said during his address as he urged the U.S. help establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine

The CVC Auditorium in the Capitol, where Zelensky's live speech was played on screen, was completely filled with both Democrat and Republican members of Congress eager to hear what the Ukrainian president had to say

Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware, spoke to reporters Wednesday morning, saying: 'I suspect that what he will say will weigh very heavily on the hearts of a lot of folks here. He makes an incredibly compelling case that Putin will only stop when we stop him.'

'Why wait until he rolls over Moldova and Georgia and the Baltics? Why wait until he finishes destroying a proud and independent nation to act?' Coons said of Putin's potential ambitions in Europe.

'It really is just a fundamental question of how much risk are we willing to take  that a cornered authoritarian with one of the world's largest nuclear arsenals will use it?'

A senior US official told CNN that the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are sending several surface-to-air missiles systems to Ukraine, including Soviet-era SA-8, SA-10, SA-12 and SA-14 mobile air defense systems.

Ahead of Zelensky's remarks to the U.S. legislative body, news emerged that Biden is considering sending U.S.-made kamikaze 'Switchblade' drones to Ukraine as part of a $1 billion defense package aimed at answering pleas for help.

The small, lightweight and comparatively cheap 'kamikaze' weapons, which are effectively remote-controlled bombs, come in two versions which have been designed to take out tanks or artillery positions. They are believed to be the same missiles that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani under Donald Trump's administration in 2020.

They are designed by Washington DC-based AeroVironment, and would be part of a huge package of military aid approved for Ukraine by Biden, which the president is set to discuss on Wednesday.

Ukraine rejected on Wednesday a Russian peace talk proposal to become a 'neutral' state like Sweden or Austria. Zelensky's administration instead demanded guarantees that international forces will 'prevent attacks' in the future.

'Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia,' Kyiv's top negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said in comments published by President Volodymyr Zelensky's office. 'As a result, the model can only be 'Ukrainian' and only on legally verified security guarantees.'

Podolyak called for a legally binding security agreement, signed by international partners, who would 'not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today.'

Putin says the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end and its 'economic blitzkrieg' of sanctions will only 'strengthen Moscow'

Vladimir Putin said today that the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end as he warned it is trying to 'cancel Russia' with an 'economic blitzkrieg' of sanctions.

The Russian President, speaking in a televised government meeting in Moscow, said that keeping Russia in check was a long-term policy of the West, and that its economic measures were short-sighted as 'most countries do not support sanctions'.

Putin claimed that the conflict had merely been a pretext for the West to impose sanctions because 'they just don't want a strong and sovereign Russia'.

'The West doesn't even bother to hide the fact that its aim is to damage the entire Russian economy, every Russian,' he said, adding that the West's actions would 'only strengthen' Moscow.

He said Russia was ready to discuss Ukraine's neutral status in talks aimed at ending hostilities, but it would still meet the objectives of its military operation, which was 'going to plan'.

But he also told Russians, in words ironically reminiscent of Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky's speeches, that 'we are fighting for our sovereignty and the future of our children'.

It is the latest in the propaganda pushed by Moscow in a bid to justify their invasion of Ukraine to Russian citizens - including claims the war is about 'de-nazifying' the country and preventing a genocide of minorities waged by Kyiv.

Vladimir Putin said today that the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end as he warned it is trying to 'cancel Russia' with an 'economic blitzkreig' of sanctions

It comes as new allegations of war crimes were hurled at Putin after video emerged that purported to show at least 10 Ukrainian civilians gunned down while they were queueing for bread outside Chernihiv.

New drone footage appeared to show Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian as he held his hands up to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.

Russian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine but it comes after two residential apartment blocks in west Kyiv were hit in shelling overnight.

And Moscow's men started pounding the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia hours after around 20,000 refugees arrived through a humanitarian corridor from Mariupol.

If the West thought that Russia would step back, it did not understand Russia, Putin said on the 21st day of the war against Ukraine.

He claimed the the operation in Ukraine is unfolding 'successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans' and warned the West is trying to stoke up civil conflict.

In his most explicit acknowledgment of the pain inflicted by Western sanctions, he said inflation and unemployment would rise, but promised support to families with children.

Structural changes to the economy would be needed, Putin said, as he accused the West of trying to 'squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.'

Meanwhile Russian state TV Rossiya aired a segment on battle plans to invade the Baltic states, showing a white board with potential routes on live television.

Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew amid warnings to brace for a 36-hour bombardment at the hands of Russian forces

It came as reports emerged overnight that Russian forces in Mariupol had rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and were refusing to let them leave in a bid to use civilians as human shields.

The number of people who have fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict topped three million this week, according to the UN whose human rights body said 691 civilians have been killed and 1,143 injured, thought it has acknowledged those numbers were likely an undercount.

Vladimir Putin was last night unanimously declared a war criminal in a vote late Tuesday night by the US Senate, which called for an investigation into the Russian president and his authoritarian regime amid the invasion of Ukraine.

'I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths': Zelensky full, gut-wrenching speech to Congress and Biden pleading for help Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a nearly 20-minute speech to Congress on Wednesday, speaking via video conference from Kyiv. Here are his full remarks: [Zelensky speaking through translator] Thank you very much. Madam speaker, members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen, Americans, friends, I'm proud to greet you from Ukraine, from our capital city of Kyiv, a city that is under missile and air strikes from Russian troops every day. But it doesn't give up, and we have not even thought about it for a second. Just like many other cities and communities in our beautiful country which found them shelves in the worst war since World War II. I have the honor to greet you on behalf of the Ukrainian people, brave and freedom-loving people, who for eight years have been resisting the Russian aggression. Those who give their best sons and daughters to stop this full-scale Russian invasion. Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided -- the destiny of our people, whether Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities, it went on a brutal offensive against our values -- basic human values. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom, against our right to live freely in our own country, choosing our own future. Against our desire for happiness, against our national dreams, just like the same dreams you have, you Americans. Just like anyone else in the United States. I remember your national memorial in Rushmore, the faces of your prominent presidents, those who laid the foundation of the United States of America as it is today: democracy, independence, freedom and care for everyone, for every person, for everyone who works diligently, who lives honestly, who respects the law. We in Ukraine want the same for our people. All that is normal part of your own life. Ladies and gentlemen, friends, Americans, in your great history, you have pages that would allow you to understand Ukrainians, understand us now when you need it right now. When we need you right now. Remember Pearl Harbor. Terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you. Just remember it. Remember September 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, in battlefields. When innocent people were attacked from air, yes. Just like nobody else expected it, you could not stop it. Our country experienced the same every day. Right now, at this moment, every night, for three weeks now, there are various Ukrainian cities Odesa [names long list of Ukrainian cities], Russia has turned the Ukranian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs, they use drones to kill us with precision. This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for our life for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask? Humanitarian no-fly zone, something that Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need: S-300 and other similar systems. You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft, powerful, strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land. Aircrafts that can help Ukraine help Europe and you know that they exist, and you have them, but they are on Earth, not in the Ukrainian sky. They do not defend our people. 'I have a dream' -- these words are known to each of you. Today I can say, 'I have a need.' I need to protect our sky. I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words 'I have a dream.' Ladies and gentlemen, friends, Ukraine is grateful to the United States for its overwhelming support, for everything that your government and your people have done for us for weapons and ammunition, for training, for finances, for leadership in the free world which helps us to pressure the aggressor economically. I'm grateful to President Biden for his personal involvement for his sincere commitment to the defense of Ukraine and democracy all over the world. I am grateful to you for the resolution which recognizes all those who commit crimes against Ukraine, against the Ukrainian people as war criminals. However, now, it is true in the darkest time for our country, for the whole Europe, I call on you to do more. New packages of sanctions are needed, constantly, every week until the Russian military machine stops. Restrictions are needed for everyone on whom this unjust regime is based. We propose that the United States sanctions all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties with those who are responsible for the aggression against Ukraine, from state Duma members to the last official who has lack of moral to break this state terror. All American companies must leave Russia from their market, leave their market immediately because it is flooded with our blood. Ladies and gentlemen, members of Congress, please take the lead if you have companies in your district who finance the Russian military machine leaving business in Russia, you should put pressure. I'm asking to make sure that the Russians do not receive a single penny that they use to destroy people in Ukraine. The destruction of our country, the destruction of Europe all American ports should be close for Russian goods. We're -- peace is more important than income, and we have to defend this principle in the whole world. We already became part of the anti-war coalition, a big anti-war coalition that unites many countries, dozens of countries, those who reacted in principle to President Putin's decision to invade our country, but we need to move on and do more. We need to create new tools to respond quickly and stop the war, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24th. And it would be fair if it ended in a day, that in 24 hours, that evil would be punished immediately. Today, the world does not have such tools. The war of the past have prompted our predecessors to create institutions that should protect us from war, but they unfortunately don't work. We see it, you see it, so we need new ones, new institutions, new alliances and we offer them. We propose to create an association, 'U24,' 'united for peace,' a union of responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflicts immediately, provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours, if necessary, even weapons, if necessary, sanctions, humanitarian support, political support, finances, everything you need to keep the peace and quickly save the world, to save lives. In addition, such association, such union would provide assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, man-made disasters who fell victims to humanitarian crisis and epidemic. Remember how difficult it was for the world to do the simplest things, just to keep vaccines, vaccines against Covid to save lives, to prevent new strains? The world spent months, years doing things like that much faster to make sure there are no human losses, no victims. Ladies and gentlemen, Americans, if such alliance would exist today, that is U24, we would be able to save thousands of lives in our country, in many countries of the world those who need peace, those who suffer inhumane destruction. I ask you to watch one video, video of what the Russian troops did in our country, in our land. We have to stop it. We must prevent it, preventably destroy every single aggressor who seeks to subjugate other nations. [Video] [No longer speaking through translator, Zelensky speaking in English] And in the end, to sum it up, today, today it's not enough to be the leader of the nation. Today, it takes to be the leader of the world, being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country doesn't depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong. Strong doesn't mean big. Strong is brave and ready to fight for the lives of his citizens and citizens of the world. For human rights, for freedom, for the right to live decently and to die when your time comes, and not when it's wanted by someone else, by your neighbor. Today, the Ukrainian people are defending not only Ukraine, we are fighting for the values of Europe and the world [inaudible] in the name of the future. That's why today, the American people are helping not just Ukraine but Europe and the world to keep the planet alive, to keep justice in history. Now, I'm almost 45 years old. Today, my age stopped when the heart of more than 100 children stopped beating. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths. And this is my main issue as the leader of my people, great Ukrainians and as the leader of my nation, I'm addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Thank you. [In Ukranian] Glory to Ukraine. Advertisement
An Indiana man charged with the attempted murder of his infant granddaughter is accused of attacking her 'out of nowhere', leaving her severely injured and stunning his family.

On March 7, police arrested 48-year-old Christopher D. Allen in connection with the brutal beating of his five-month-old granddaughter Bryleigh Adams while he and other relatives were at the family's Greensburg home.

The attack left Bryleigh with a fractured eye socket, a fractured skull and a swollen-shut eyelid. She was in a neck collar for several months because of neck injuries, including torn ligaments and a sprain, WXIN reported.

Bryleigh's family said she had to be revived at the scene by emergency personnel.

Five-month-old Bryleigh Adams was left with a fractured eye socket, a fractured skull, a swollen shut eyelid, and in a neck collar for several months following an alleged attack from her grandfather

Christopher D. Allen, 48, (pictured) was charged with attempted murder accused of beating his five-month-old granddaughter Bryleigh Adams

The infant currently remains on a feeding tube as she recovers at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. She is still unable to swallow

Bryleigh is expected to undergo multiple surgeries in the coming weeks as she recovers from the brutal, 'unfathomable' attack

The infant, who also suffered a brain bleed, currently remains on a feeding tube as she recovers at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. She is still unable to swallow and is expected to undergo multiple surgeries in the coming weeks.

As the infant recovers, the family is left coping, wondering how Bryleigh's maternal grandfather could do this.

'This is a man who's in the baby's life every day. They never thought anything of it. My son, who is the father, he said he would have never thought he would have done this, it just came out of nowhere and he just attacked her,' Bryleigh's paternal grandmother, Jennifer Powers said.

Although the family understands what Allen allegedly did was 'unfathomable' they still say the actions were out of character.

'What he did is horrendous, not OK in any way, but that's not the man that he is,' the infant's mother and Allen's daughter Madalynn Hadley told WXIN.

'What he did is horrendous, not OK in any way, but that's not the man that he is,' the infant's mother and Allen's daughter Madalynn Hadley (pictured) said

In the latest update, the family said that Bryleigh is still not able to swallow and that doctors might surgically add a more permanent feeding tube

Madalynn Hadley said she believes something is wrong with her father and that he has only been a loving father and grandfather up until the incident

Hadley said she believes something is wrong with her father, and said that he was a loving father and grandfather up until the incident.

'For this to happen, it's hard for people on the outside to look at our story and understand, because we can't even understand how something like this could happen,' Hadley said. 'It's definitely pretty difficult because we want to know what's wrong with him, we want to know how this happened and we want to understand and get those answers.'

As the family searches for answers, Bryleigh's recovery remains the focus and an online fundraiser was started to cover medical expenses.

In the latest update Monday, the family said Bryleigh is still not able to swallow and doctors might perform surgery to place a more permanent feeding tube.

'From the outside shes looking better! Im grateful for that, but on the inside we have a bit longer of a road ahead of us than anticipated,' the family posted. 'We also need to wait for the brain bleeds to hopefully heal and go from there. We will continue to help Bry fight and gain all of her strength. Keep the prayers coming! Thank you all!'

In the meantime, the infant's grandfather was charged with attempted murder and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

He is currently being held on $10 million bail and his next court date is set for June 7.
Pope Francis on Wednesday evoked the spectre of a nuclear war, where whoever is left of humanity would have to start all over again on 'the day after', and appeared to ask God to stop the aggressor in Ukraine.

The 85-year-old Francis dedicated his address at his weekly general audience to ageing and corruption in society, telling the Biblical story of the Great Flood that God used to punish a sinful and corrupt humanity and which only Noah and his family survived.

'Our imagination appears increasingly concentrated on the representation of a final catastrophe that will extinguish us,' he said, then departing from his prepared text to add: 'such as that which would happen with an eventual atomic war.'

Pope Francis greets the crowd prior to reciting the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican

'The day after, if there will still be days and human beings we will have to start again from nothing,' he said, without specifically mentioning the Ukraine war in that part of the audience, held before several thousand people inside the Vatican.

Minutes later, however, he lowered his voice and using a sombre tone, read a prayer about the Ukraine war written by an Italian archbishop.

'Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, we implore you to stop the hand of Cain,' he said, referring to the Biblical character who turned on his own brother, attacking and killing him.

Francis, who has previously called the war an 'unacceptable armed aggression', did not name any countries on Wednesday.

Cityscape of Kyiv after authorities announced a 35-hour curfew from 8pm until 7am

The prayer continued, saying: 'When you (God) have stopped the hand of Cain, take care of him also. He is our brother.'

Moscow says its action is designed not to occupy territory but to demilitarise and 'denazify' its neighbour.

Russia calls its action a 'special military operation'. Previously, Francis implicitly rejected that term, saying it could not be considered 'just a military operation' but a war that had unleashed 'rivers of blood and tears'.

The prayer which the pope read on Wednesday, written by Naples Archbishop Domenico Battaglia, portrayed Jesus as 'born under the bombs of Kyiv,' and 'dead in the arms of a mother in Kharkiv,' or as 'the 20-year-old sent to the front lines.'

Earlier in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope met several hundred Italian school children and asked them to think about their counterparts in Ukraine 'who have to escape from the bombs. They are suffering so much and it is cold there'.

Firefighters respond the fire at a damaged residential building that was hit by a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 15
Hillary Clinton lauded Eric Adams for putting more police on the streets and ignoring opposition from left-wing critics  despite crime in the Big Apple surging 38% in the past month.

During a Tuesday interview with the New York City mayor on her podcast, 'You and Me Both,' Clinton said the New York City mayor's disregard for criticism on Twitter is 'music to my ears.'

Adams and Clinton discussed the mayor's recent policies to bolster public safety, which include deploying 1,000 additional officers and health workers into the city's subway system and his reinstatement of a plainclothes anti-gun unit.

During the interview, the mayor called out progressive Democrats that don't want to focus on intervention when it comes to fighting crime. Even with the best preventative resources and long-term plans, Adams argued that a strong police force is necessary to address ongoing violence throughout NYC.

'I am not going to allow the numerical minority that our the loudest to dictate how we are going to keep my city safe now and what we are going to do in the long term,' he said.

'I tell people all the time, it is not what happens in tweets, it is what happens on our streets,' Adams added, to which Clinton replied, 'Amen! Oh, preach, preach mayor. That is music to my ears!'

But just as Clinton gushed over Adams' public safety approach, crime in the Big Apple remains up by 45% compared to this time last year, with robbery up by 43.5% and assault up by 17.2%, according to NYPD statistics.

Hillary Clinton lauded Eric Adams' approach to policing and putting more cops on the street during an interview on her podcast 'You and Me Both'

Adams hit back at left-wing critics of his plans to bolster law enforcement and said: 'I am not going to allow the numerical minority that our the loudest to dictate how we are going to keep my city safe'

Clinton's podcast launched last September and features 'candid interviews with guests from a wide range of backgrounds,' reads a press release from iHeartMedia.

The former U.S. senator and Secretary of State also spoke with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday's episode, focusing on her commitment to better her city's public services, including 'affordable housing, accessible transportation, and better health outcomes for all.'

During her conversation with Adams, Clinton commended the first-year mayor for 'building trust between communities of color and police officers, while at the same time supporting our police department.'

She also praised Adams for his dedication to finding a balance between social justice and supporting law enforcement.

'To go just in one or the other direction is just short-sighted and it just doesn't work,' the former first lady and presidential candidate added.

'So thank you for helping to educate, not only the city, but literally the country about how you can't separate safety and justice; they have to go hand in hand.'

Adams also spoke about his background during the 30-minute appearance, including the story of how he was beaten by two white cops inside an NYPD precinct when he was 15 and how he 'reluctantly' became a police officer to inspire change from within the department.

'When I think about Mom, her third-grade education, she was filled with so much wisdom and I remember the day after I was arrested and I went home and she said, 'Baby, you're going to find yourself in dark places. You decide if that dark place is a burial or a planting, and any pain that you receive, you have to turn it into a purpose.' And I always remember that over and over again,' he said.

Clinton's 24-episode show launched on September 29 and features 'candid interviews with guests from a wide range of backgrounds,' reads a press release from iHeartMedia

Clinton also spoke of the 'scourge' of gun violence and the murders of NYC police officers. 'I'm afraid mayor that this Supreme Court and the other political party are heading in the wrong direction,' she said. 'What are we gonna do about guns and gun violence that stalks to many neighborhoods?'

Adams, who in January released his plan to combat recently surging gun violence, agreed and said: 'We are moving in the wrong direction.'

He specifically decried the passage in several states of open carry and constitutional carry gun laws. 'That is extremely dangerous for New York City to have open carry in a city as dense as New York and other places like Chicago. It's a real crisis,' he said.

He also condemned the 'mass production of guns,' saying 'we are actually feeding the gun and the crime crisis in the entire hemisphere and that's just extremely dangerous.'

When it comes to surging transit crime, Adams rolled out his Subway Safety Plan initiative on February 17 - deploying 1,000 additional officers, as well as teams of health workers, into the city's intricate subterranean network to crack down on the influx of crime.

'No more smoking. No more doing drugs. No more sleeping. No more doing barbecues on the subway system. Not more just doing whatever you want,' Adam said at a press event announcing the plan alongside New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

'Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard. Ride the system. Get off at your destination.'

A number of high-profile violent crimes have horrified residents, including one recent incident in which a 60-year-old man stabbed two employees at New York City's Museum of Modern Art after they refused him entry.

Crime in the city is up by 45 percent compared to this time last year, with robbery up by 43.5 percent and assault up by 17.2 percent

During the month of February, the NYPD reported a 58.7 percent increase in total crime

The suspect, 60-year-old Gary Cabana, was arrested in Philadelphia after he was found sleeping on a bench at a Greyhound bus terminal at around 1.30 a.m, the NYPD said on Tuesday.

In local news footage of his arrest, Cabana can be heard proudly proclaiming himself 'public enemy number one' from inside a police cruiser - and mocking the NYPD by praising the Philadelphia officers who finally located him as the 'best cops in the United States.'

In another shocking crime, in which the suspect is still at large, an 87-year-old Broadway singing coach who was placed on life support died on Tuesday after she was shoved to the pavement during an unprovoked attack in Manhattan last week.

Barbara Maier Gustern's grandson, AJ, posted a photo of himself clutching his grandmother's hand as she lied in a hospital bed Tuesday morning.

'Today, at 11:15AM, we have lost one of the brightest little flames to ever grace this world,' he wrote from Gustern's Facebook page. 'I ask that you all give me a little time and space, but I want to make time for anyone and everyone who wants to know more about her final moments.

'Bobbob, I love you, you are and always will be my heart.'

Broadway singing coach Barbara Maier Gustern died in a hospital Tuesday morning after she was put on life support following a random shoving attack last week

The suspect is described by police as a red-haired woman wearing a black jacket, black leggings, a white skirt and dark colored shoes

Gustern, above with her grandson AJ, was an acclaimed teacher who was on her way to Joe's Pub to watch one of her students perform, which she did often, according to one report

AJ posted a photo of himself clutching his late grandma's hand shortly after her death Tuesday

Gustern, who once coached Blondie singer Debbie Harry, was pushed from behind in front of her building at West 28th Street and Eighth Avenue in the trendy Chelsea neighborhood at around 8.30pm on Thursday.

She was on her way to watch a student perform at Joe's Pub, which she did often, according to the New York Times.

Surveillance footage released Sunday shows the suspect leaving the scene towards Ninth Avenue. She is described as a red-haired woman, likely in her 30s, wearing a black jacket, black leggings, a white skirt and dark colored shoes. She has not been caught.

The city was also hit in recent days by a string of attacks on homeless men, which left two dead. The suspect, Gerald Brevard III, 30, was arrested Tuesday for the cold-blooded killings and shootings, some of which were caught on shocking video.

Following his arrest, it emerged that Brevard had a lengthy rap sheet including armed robbery, assault with a firearm, destruction of property and theft - and that he was previously found to be 'psychotic' and not fit to stand trial for at least one violent crime.

Gary Cabana, 60, the man accused of carrying out a stabbing on two front desk workers at the Museum of Modern Art, had been known for losing his temper and lost his job working in a Broadway theater after allegedly attacking his boss

A man is shown brutally attacking the two women in the museum Saturday before going on the run

One of the stabbing victims was a 24-year-old woman working behind the reception desk

His father, Gerald Brevard Jr., told DailyMail.com in a statement that his son 'suffers from mental illness' and complained that 'the system has failed regarding the treatment of so many, including my son.'

And the son's record, reviewed by DailyMail.com, bears out that assessment.

Brevard III was subject to a psychological evaluation during a 2019 trial for unlawful entry and assault. A report from the DC Department of Behavioral Health said he had been diagnosed with 'Major Depressive Disorder with Psychotic Features.'

During an interview by a clinical psychologist he 'continued to present with illogical/irrational ideations', and prison staff said he 'demonstrated bizarre behaviors', the June 2019 report said.

Dr. Teresa Grant also noted in her report that he had 'lodged paperwork in his buttocks' that was found when he was searched at the courthouse, and Brevard told her 'It was my rap songs I did not want anyone to steal them.'

Dr. Grant concluded he was 'incompetent' to stand trial and recommended he be sent to hospital for a month, which was granted by the judge.

'At this time, it does not appear that the defendant is able to make reasoned choices regarding his plea options nor is he able to consult with defense counsel in a rational manner,' she wrote. 'There was nothing to suggest the defendant would be able to modulate his behavior in the courtroom.'

By July 2019 the DC Superior Court Judge found Brevard competent to stand trial, but he was released that month after agreeing to a plea deal with prosecutors.

In the last month, at least five homeless men were shot - two of them fatally - and one has been found dead in what police fear may be a string of attacks by the same person

Gerald Brevard III, 30, was arrested in the early hours of Tuesday in Washington, D.C., for five shootings of homeless men in D.C. and New York

After prodding the man with his foot several times, Brevard walked up to a homeless man and shot him dead

In another shocking incident caught on video Friday, a black man was seen punching a 67-year-old Asian woman more than 125 times and stomping on her as she tried to get into her Yonkers apartment.

Tammel Esco, 42, was arrested at the scene and taken to Westchester County Jail on Friday at around 6.15 p.m.

Esco, who spent time in prison for assault and criminal sale of a controlled substance, allegedly yelled a racial slur at the woman when she walked by him on her way home.

Surveillance footage shows the victim fiddling with her keys while trying to unlock her front door when Esco creeps up behind her and knocks her down with a punch to the head. He beat her repeatedly with alternating fists and stomped on her before walking out as she writhed in pain in front of her apartment.

The woman, who is in stable condition at a local hospital, suffered cuts to her head and face, facial bone fractures and bleeding on the brain, according to Yonkers police.

Police arrived at the building to find the unidentified victim bloodied in the vestibule while Esco was still outside. He has been charged with attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime.

Career criminal Christian Jeffers, 48, who identifies as a woman, faces hate crime charges for allegedly striking an Asian man with a hammer in a Manhattan subway station

The 29-year-old victim was left with blood pouring down the side of the face after being smashed in the head at the 14th Street station on Tuesday

In another subway crime, an Asian man was attacked last Tuesday evening by an assailant in a wig and purple lipstick on the 14th Street subway platform.

Christian Jeffers, 48, who identifies as a woman, was arrested last Wednesday for allegedly assaulting the 29-year-old victim.

Jeffers, who has been held on $300,000 bail, was charged with assault, aggravated harassment, menacing, all as hate crimes, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

At her arraignment hearing on Friday morning, the judge ordered Jeffers to be held on $300,000 bail.

Prosecutors said that Jeffers' alleged attack was done with 'little to no provocation'.

The on-camera attack shows Jeffers, wearing a black wig and purple lipstick, smashing the victim in the head with a hammer just after the strangers had bumped into one another.

They exchanged words before Jeffers can be seen launching a brutal attack on the 29-year-old Asian man.

Police said that Jeffers has a vast criminal history that stretches back to 2007 and includes 47 prior arrests, charges of prostitution, grand larceny, public lewdness, theft of service and drug possession.

Jeffers was released from prison in last June after serving six years for second-degree robbery, and just a week after release, she was arrested for petit larceny.

Her post-release supervision for this conviction was set to expire in September 2024.
Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers have now claimed a second juror lied about their experience with sexual abuse before serving on her case, as they call for a new trial.

In a newly unsealed motion filed last month, attorneys for the disgraced socialite said that the juror 'denied having been a victim of sexual abuse or assault.'

The jury member, who was not identified, is separate from 'Juror No. 50, known as Scotty David, who sat on the panel of 12 and has admitted to not disclosing his own history of abuse on his jury questionnaire.

The court filing claims that Maxwell only had 10 'fair and impartial jurors', adding bitterly: 'Not the 12 guaranteed to her by the United States Constitution.'

The allegation is the latest twist in the controversy involving the jury who convicted Maxwell, 60, in December of recruiting and trafficking underage girls for the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Last week Judge Alison Nathan, who presided over the case, hauled David back to her court in New York to explain why he did not answers truthfully on three questions on his jury questionnaire.

Pictured: Scotty David, a juror in the trial of the Jeffrey Epstein associate accused of sex trafficking Ghislaine Maxwell, walks on his way to the United States Courthouse in Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., March 8, 2022

Maxwell (pictured in a court sketch during her trial) was convicted in December of recruiting and trafficking underage girls for the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and is facing up to 65 years in jail at her sentencing in June

Maxwell's lawyers have said the errors - which David claimed was an 'honest mistake' after he 'flew through' the question sheet - are grounds for a retrial.

The New York Times had previously reported that a second juror who served on the Maxwell case had also been a victim of sexual abuse.

However, this is the first time it has been suggested that the juror may not have disclosed that fact.

'It appears that, at best, Ms. Maxwell had 10 fair and impartial jurors, not the 12 guaranteed her by the United States Constitution,' defense attorneys stated in a footnote of the filing.

'We know at least one other juror in addition to Juror No. 50 falsely denied having been a victim of sexual abuse or assault.'

Maxwell's lawyers did not specify where in exactly in the questionnaire the juror lied in their motion, which was filed on February 9 but only unsealed after David's hearing last week.

The filing added: 'Although this court need not hold a hearing since the record already establishes that Ms. Maxwell was deprived of her Sixth Amendment right to trial by an impartial jury, any such hearing must also serve to identify this other juror.

'Such a hearing likely would also show that Juror No. 50 was actually biased, in addition to being impliedly and inferably biased.'

In a newly unsealed court motion filed last month, Maxwell's attorneys said they 'know at least one other juror in addition to Juror No. 50 falsely denied having been a victim of sexual abuse or assault'

Judge Nathan did not grant the request and the issue of the second juror was not raised or identified at the hearing during which she grilled David for an hour about his actions.

During the March 8 hearing, David told the judge that he was distracted when he quickly filled out the form used to screen prospective jurors.

He said he 'skimmed' the questionnaire and incorrectly answered three questions, calling it 'one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made.'

A chastened David, 35, an executive assistant, said that he 'never thought' he would get chosen to be on the jury and that he had been distracted during the process because he was thinking about a recent breakup with his ex partner.

David only agreed to testify after Judge Nathan gave him immunity under a deal with prosecutors because he initially threatened to refuse to answer questions.

Describing how he filled out the questionnaire, David said: 'I had been sitting there for three hours. I didn't have my phone, I didn't have a book, I was sitting there twiddling my thumbs thinking about a break up that had just happened', adding that it was a few weeks prior.'

David added that he did not 'set out to be on this jury', but admitted that he thought to himself: 'If I'm going to serve jury duty it might as well be something interesting'.

After last week's hearing Judge Nathan has requested briefing documents from Maxwell's lawyers and prosecutors to determine whether to request a new trial.

Prosecutors acknowledged in court filings that David failed to disclose his own history as a victim of abuse but have argued that the error didn't prevent Maxwell from receiving a fair trial.

Judge Alison Nathan, who presided over the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, questioned the juror over the answers he submitted during the jury selection process, at a public court hearing on March 8 (pictured)

During the March 8 hearing, David told the judge that he was distracted when he quickly filled out the form used to screen prospective jurors

Prosecutors have argued that David, seen above leaving federal court, last week, made an 'honest mistake' when filling out the questionnaire

Legal experts have told DailyMail.com that there is a 'very high bar' that must be met for a new trial to be ordered.

Maxwell is due to be sentenced in June, assuming she does not get a second trial, and is facing up to 65 years in jail.

Maxwell's lawyers argued that testimony during the post-trial hearing showed that because of his experiences, the juror saw himself as an advocate for the victims, not 'a neutral arbiter of the facts.

Attorney Bobbi Sternheim wrote scathingly that David's testimony was 'tortured and thoroughly unbelievable.'

She claimed his responses 'alternated between inconsistent, implausible, and contradictory, and at all times lacked credibility' adding they were 'self-serving and not believable.'

The idea that nobody would find out about his abuse - as David claimed, citing the fact he didn't use his last name to the media - was 'utterly implausible.'

The defense attorney also pointed to the series of media interviews in which David revealed the abuse and how it influenced his deliberations.

The juror 'reveled in the attention' he received as a member of the jury and 'was looking to soak up his 15 minutes of fame' by talking to the media - including one interview with the DailyMail.com - Maxwell's lawyers argued.

Sternheim wrote, 'If there is one thing we learned from Juror 50 (David) at the hearing, it is this: he should never have been a member of this jury.'

She added that the abuse David suffered was 'remarkably similar' to that of Maxwell's victims in the trial and would have formed the basis for a challenge during jury selection.

David 'was not capable of setting his experiences aside and impartially deciding the case solely on the evidence at trial,' she continued.

Maxwell, who is said to have been fiancier Jeffrey Epstein's madam as well as his one-time girlfriend, is seen posing with the pedophile in evidence photos shown in court

'Excusing Juror 50's false answers because he believes his concealed history of sexual abuse did not affect his ability to serve as a fair and impartial juror does not satisfy the appearance of justice,' the filing stated. 'Only a new trial would.'

In their filing, prosecutors said that during his hour-long grilling by Judge Nathan, David 'credibly explained how he came to make unintentional mistakes.'

'It is crystal clear that the defendant received a fair trial,' the prosecutors wrote.

'Juror 50's sworn testimony at the hearing made evident that he did not deliberately lie in completing the questionnaire, but that he instead made an honest mistake.'

They also praised the juror for being 'candid' and said that 'jurors cannot be held to the standard of trained lawyers.'

Prosecutors said there was a good reason why David didn't tick yes when asked in the questionnaire if he was the victim of a crime.

A bruised Ghislaine Maxwell is seen in this photo of her alleged mistreatment in prison

They wrote: 'Lay persons often may not think of themselves as victims of a crime even where lawyers and judges would.'

Lawyers for both sides had until Tuesday to submit their arguments on the motion for a new trial. Maxwell's sentencing is scheduled for June.

Earlier this month, the juror testified about his answers on the questionnaire after Nathan granted him immunity from prosecution.

He repeatedly expressed regret as the judge asked him dozens of questions about why he didn't reveal repeated incidents of sexual abuse by two people at age 9 and 10.

'This is one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made in my life,' he told the judge.

'I flew through the questions,' he said, adding that he was 'super distracted' by nearby conversations and the movements of other prospective jurors who dropped off their completed questionnaires just a few feet from him.

All potential jurors in the case had been asked to fill out a screening form in early November that asked: 'Have you or a friend or family member ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault? (This includes actual or attempted sexual assault or other unwanted sexual advance, including by a stranger, acquaintance, supervisor, teacher, or family member.)'

The juror checked 'No.' The juror said in the interviews he didn't remember being asked that question, which was No. 48 on the form.

Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges after a monthlong trial that featured testimony from four women who said she played a role in setting them up for abuse by Epstein.

Epstein, 66, killed himself in August 2019 as he awaited trial at a federal jail in New York on related sex trafficking charges.

Maxwell says she's innocent.



In interviews after the trial, including with DailyMail.com, David said that telling the other jury members about his own abuse was a turning point in their deliberations and the room fell 'silent'.

The 35-year-old executive assistant explained to them that in his own case he could remember some details but not everything - a key point of contention in the case.

David said: 'I know what happened when I was sexually abused. I remember the (color) of the carpet, the walls. Some of it can be replayed like a video.'

David, one of the 12 men and women who convicted Ghislaine Maxwell on five of the six counts of sex trafficking in December, revealed he had told fellow jurors he was a victim of sexual abuse during deliberations

In his interviews, David also described how in vivid detail serving on the jury of six men and six women which took 40 hours to convict Maxwell.

David said that at one point he 'locked eyes' with Maxwell from his third row seat in the jury box.

He said: 'There were times when it felt like she was staring right at me and we would lock eyesit didn't feel real'.

David said that after hearing all the evidence he was convinced of Maxwell's guilt.

He said: 'After all I've learned, she's just as guilty as Epstein. I don't want to call her a monster, but a predator is the right word.

'She knew what was happening. She knew what Epstein was doing and she allowed it to happen. She participated in getting these girls comfortable so that he could have his way with them'.

David said he went into the trial firmly believing that Maxwell was 'innocent until proven guilty' and viewing the victims with a skeptical eye.

But, he said, 'After all I've learned, she's just as guilty as Epstein. I don't want to call her a monster, but a predator is the right word.

'She knew what was happening. She knew what Epstein was doing and she allowed it to happen. She participated in getting these girls comfortable so that he could have his way with them.

'And, to me, them returning repeatedly for the money has nothing to do with anything because these girls were minors, and it doesn't matter what incentivized them. It matters what happened to them.'




Bang Si-hyuk, founder and chairman of K-pop powerhouse HYBE that manages BTS, will receive an honorary doctorate from Seoul National University (SNU), school officials said Tuesday.



The 49-year-old Bang is a music producer best known for launching BTS in 2013 and turning the K-pop group into a global superstar in recent years.



Bang resigned from his CEO position last July to focus on his role as the chairman of the board of directors and to dedicate more effort towards music production.




The body of a rare shark that may have been born when King Henry VIII was on the throne has been found off the coast of Cornwall.

The Greenland shark, which has the longest known lifespan of all vertebrate species at between 250 and 500 years, was spotted by a walker on a beach at Newlyn Harbour near Penzance, on Sunday.

Staff from local charity the Cornwall Wildlife Trust were contacted and arrived on the beach within an hour, but the tide had come in and washed the shark's body back out to sea.

This sparked an urgent appeal to search for the shark.

A crew from tourist firm Mermaid Pleasure Trips found the animal's body again on Wednesday and took it ashore.

Although experts have not yet carried out a post-mortem examination to get a firm idea of its age, the shark could conceivably been born during Henry VIII's time as King, from 1509 to 1547.

The body of a rare shark that may have been born when King Henry VIII was on the throne has been found off the coast of Cornwall. The Greenland shark, which has the longest known lifespan of all vertebrate species at between 250 and 500 years, was spotted by a walker on a beach at Newlyn Harbour near Penzance, on Sunday

Staff from local charity the Cornwall Wildlife Trust's were contacted and arrived on the beach within an hour, but the tide had come in and washed the shark's body back out to sea. A crew from Mermaid Pleasure Trips found the animal's body again on Wednesday and took it ashore

Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Marine Strandings Network thanked the crew for their efforts.

They said: 'We are absolutely delighted to update you that the superb crew from Mermaid Pleasure Trips, Penzance, Trev and Kingsley, this evening found and brought ashore the dead Greenland shark which previously stranded on Sunday and then washed back out to sea.

'Well well done Trev and Kingsley you complete legends!'

Greenland sharks are native to the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans.

While they can be found in deep waters around the UK the Marine Conservation Society says it is very rare for humans to come across them in British waters.

Although experts have not yet carried out a post-mortem examination to get a firm idea of its age, the shark could conceivably been born during Henry VIII's time as King, from 1509 to 1547

Prior to the new discovery, there has only ever been one other Greenland shark found in UK waters - in 2013. This shark which was also dead.

Marine Strandings Network said the shark will now undergo a post mortem by a vet pathologist as part of an investigation into the strandings of sea mammals, which also include dolphins and whales.

The Cetaceans Strandings Investigation Programme coordinates the investigation of all whales, dolphins and porpoises, marine turtles and basking sharks that strand around the UK coastline.

A spokesman for Mermaid Pleasure Trips, said: 'Well yesterday evening turned into quite the eventful trip for the crew onboard the Vanessa Jane.

'A Greenland shark has the longest known lifespan of all vertebrate species estimated to be between 250 and 500 years.

'Cast your minds back in time a few hundred years.

'Around about the time Henry the VIII was getting bored of his first wife this shark was just being born.

Greenland sharks are native to the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. While they can be found in deep waters around the UK the Marine Conservation Society says it is very rare for humans to come across them in British waters. Above: The shark is seen being lifted in the air by a fork lift truck after being found for the second time

'The crew managed to safely get a tow established with the shark and bring the shark gently back into the harbour.

'It was then handed over to the team at Marine Strandings Network to be sent off for a Post Mortem to hopefully establish the facts and figures about this gracious granddad/grandma shark.'

In 1522, King Henry was 13 years into his marriage to first wife Catherine of Aragon.

In 1533, he had his marriage to the Spaniard declared null and void so he could marry Anne Boleyn, whom he later beheaded.
Morgues in Hong Kong are overflowing with bodies after a deadly Covid wave has forced workers in hazmat suits to dump corpses in shipping containers.

Workers in full PPE gear were seen moving bodies covered in black tarpaulin from a truck into rows of shipping containers outside Fu Shan Public Mortuary on Wednesday.

Hong Kong has recorded nearly a million infections and more than 4,600 deaths less than three months after the highly transmissible Omicron variant broke through.

The bulk of the deaths has been from the city's unvaccinated elderly population.

A funeral industry representative told local media the soaring death toll had seen a crunch in the city's coffins supply, with only 300 remaining and expected to be gone by the weekend.

Leader Carrie Lam acknowledged the supply issues during a press conference Wednesday, and said two more shipments of coffins will arrive in Hong Kong from the mainland soon.

The shocking images come just five days after bodies were seen lying abandoned on stretchers next to living patients in a Hong Kong hospital.

A medic working at the hospital told Hong Kong Free Press the photo was taken inside the Accident & Emergency ward of Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong and circulated on Friday.

The photo, reportedly taken in early March, showed six body bags lying on stretchers as bed-bound patients struggled to prop themselves up.

Workers move a dead body from a truck into a refrigerated container at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary in Hong Kong on March 16

Hong Kong has recorded nearly a million infections and more than 4,600 deaths less than three months after the highly transmissible Omicron variant broke through. Pictured: Hospital workers move dead bodies on to shipping containers

Leader Carrie Lam acknowledged the supply issues during a press conference Wednesday, and said two more shipments of coffins will arrive in Hong Kong from the mainland soon. Pictured: Workers move corpses into a refrigerated container at the Fu Shan Public Mortuary

'I learned from the Food and Health Bureau last night that they are endeavouring to arrange transportation (of coffins) by water,' she said.

She added that officials have been trying to help families concerned about post-mortem affairs, including how to retrieve bodies already transported to public morgues without a doctor issuing a death certificate.

'We will try to find a way for the family to take the body back so that they can arrange the funeral soon. The crematoriums... have also been working day and night at full capacity,' Lam said.

Outside Fu Shan Public Mortuary on Wednesday, workers in full PPE gear moved bodies covered in black tarp from a truck into rows of shipping containers.

Researchers estimate the infection toll in Hong Kong is significantly higher than official figures, likely already reaching half its 7.4 million population.

Lam has taken hits from all sides on her handling of the crisis, with her administration blamed for the spiralling deaths and unclear messaging about a potential lockdown and mass testing.

Outside Fu Shan Public Mortuary on Wednesday, workers in full PPE gear moved bodies covered in black tarp from a truck into rows of shipping containers

Researchers estimate the infection toll in Hong Kong is significantly higher than official figures, likely already reaching half its 7.4 million population

Lam has taken hits from all sides on her handling of the crisis, with her administration blamed for the spiralling deaths and unclear messaging about a potential lockdown and mass testing

Deaths are shown spiking in mid February and continuing to rise, prompting further lockdowns

Cases appear to have peaked in early March, but deaths remain high across Hong Kong

Chinese social media users have reacted angrily in the past few days, saying the spread of Covid in the mainland is due to Hong Kong's sluggish epidemic response.

Tens of millions in mainland China were abruptly placed under stay at home orders this week, after the emergence of more than 3,000 daily new cases as Beijing battles to maintain its zero-Covid strategy.

In nearby Shenzhen, all 17.5-million residents were locked down on Monday after an Omicron flare-up in factories and neighbourhoods linked to Hong Kong.

After photos emerged of maskless Hong Kong residents sunning at a beach - which drew vitriol from Shenzhen's netizens - authorities announced Wednesday that government-managed beaches will be cordoned off starting Thursday.

A shocking photo emerged of bodies stored on the ward of a Hong Kong hospital five days ago, forcing China's Hospital Authority to apologize

A person is transferred onto a bus outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on March 10, 2022, as the government announced the hospital will be used only for Covid-19 patients

Hospital workers dispose medical waste outside Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong on 10 March 2022

'As we see a surge of people going to beaches, we have to take appropriate measures in order...to reduce the public's movements to ensure safety,' Lam told reporters.

This new measure adds to Hong Kong's already strict distancing rules, including wearing masks while hiking and a ban on gatherings of more than two.

The embattled chief executive - whose job is up for grabs in a few months - has so far declined to say if she will run for another term.

The selection process was postponed to May because of the wave of Covid cases, and any further postponement would be up to Beijing, Lam said.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who perplexed even Joe Biden with her moderation, asked the president not to come to Arizona after he signed the $1.9T American Rescue Plan and put up a fight against wearing a mask at the White House, according to a new book.

In spring 2021, the Arizona Democrat 'became the first-ever lawmaker to argue with White House aides when they asked her to wear a face mask in the company of the president, repeatedly asking why that was necessary when she had been vaccinated,' New York Times reporters Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin write in their new book 'This Will Not Pass.'

On Tuesday, Sinema joined seven other Senate Democrats in voting to void a CDC rule mandating masks on public transportation and in hubs like airports.

Sinema also reportedly discouraged Biden from visiting her state after Democrats pushed through the massive Covid relief package despite voting for the legislation and publicly touting its benefits.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema reportedly put up a fight about wearing a mask in front of the president in spring 2021, asking why it was necessary if she was vaccinated

President Biden is reportedly perplexed by the Arizona Democrat, a stalwart against his legislative agenda

The senator privately characterized herself as anti-tax and anti-government at a fundraiser in D.C. in front of a group of lobbyists.

She reportedly mocked Biden while she spoke warmly of far-right Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, Ariz.

'I love Andy Biggs,' she said, according to an excerpt of the book published by Axios. 'I know some people think he's crazy, but that's just because they don't know him.'

Biden meanwhile did not understand the Arizona Democrat who together with Sen. Joe Manchin stood in the way of some of his biggest legislative promises.

Biden met with and called both Democrats numerous times as he lobbied for them to get behind his Build Back Better plan. Neither ultimately did - Sinema concerned about corporate tax increases and Manchin concerned about the cost, and the legislation fell by the wayside.

One person close to the president likened his confusion by Sinema to his 'difficulty grasping his grandchildren's use of ... TikTok.'

Aides reportedly said she sounded more like Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, than a Democrat.

Sinema said that there were five or six moderate Democrats 'hiding behind my skirt' as she pushed back on the left.

Aides reportedly said Sinenma sounded more like Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, than a Democra

Sinema, together with Sen. Joe Manchin, stood in the way of Biden's Build Back Better plan

The Republican-friendly centrist has taken heat from across her party, in January facing a censure from Arizona Democrats for her opposition to ending the filibuster, the 60-vote hurdle needed to pass most legislation. Democrats had sought to end the filibuster to pass voting rights reform - the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Manchin too opposed eliminating the filibuster, which forces Democrats to court 10 Republican votes to get through most legislation.

The book's authors also reveal that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a back-and-forth Trump ally, called White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Jan. 6 and told him that if President Trump did not more aggressively order rioters to stand down 'we'll be asking you for the 25th Amendment' to remove him from office.

Graham even suggested that Jan. 6 could be a turning point for his party, and that President Biden was the right person to take over the White House at the time.

He told the authors on the day of the riot: 'People will say, 'I don't want to be associated with that' ... There will be a rallying effect for a while, the country says: We're better than this.'

Suggesting Biden's takeover could be for the best, he reportedly added: 'I mean, how mad can you get at Joe Biden?'
Dominic Raab took aim at Labour counterpart Angela Rayner over her support for Jeremy Corbyn today as she attacked Boris Johnson's decision to hand a peerage to a Russia-born newspaper tycoon.

The two deputies clashed in the Commons as they stood in for their leaders at a Prime Ministers Questions dominated by the war in Ukraine and its impact on the West.

Mr Johnson - who is in Saudi Arabia - and the Conservatives are facing questions over the seat in the Lords handed to Evening Standard and Independent proprietor Evgeny Lebedev despite objections from the security services.

Lord Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia, 41, is the Moscow-born son of a former KGB agent. Reports claim the intelligence services considered his ennoblement a national security risk, and the head of MI6 refused to meet him.

The Prime Minister's former aide, Dominic Cummings, said he was in the room when Mr Johnson was told by Cabinet Office officials that the 'intelligence services and other parts of the deep state' had 'serious reservations' about the PM's plan to appoint the media mogul to the Lords.

Facing Mr Raab in the Commons today, Ms Rayner asked if the Prime Minister 'ever asked anyone to urge the security services to revise, reconsider or withdraw their assessment' of his suitability to sit in the upper chamber.

Facing Mr Raab in the Commons today, Ms Rayner asked if the Prime Minister 'ever asked anyone to urge the security services to revise, reconsider or withdraw their assessment' of his suitability to sit in the upper chamber.

But Mr Raab drew attention to Ms Rayner's service in the shadow cabinet of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying the hard Left icon had 'sided with Putin' in the past.

Mr Johnson and the Conservatives are facing questions over the seat in the Lords handed to Evening Standard and Independent proprietor Evgeny Lebedev (left) despite objections from the security services.

'Boris is coming': Ex-Tory minister Rory Stewart claims he turned down invite to Lebedev party 'with girls' attended by PM Former Tory minister Rory Stewart today claimed he turned down an invite to a party hosted by Evgeny Lebedev, only to be told that Boris Johnson was going. The former Foreign Office minister said he was told there would 'be girls' at the event hosted at the newspaper proprietor's Lake Como mansion. Speaking to Alastair Campbell's 'The Rest Is Politics' podcast he said he rejected the approach and was told that it didn't matter because Mr Johnson, his boss at the time, was going. Mr Stewart told the podcast: 'Somebody came up to me at party conference and said ''would you like to spend the weekend with Lebedev?'' 'Lovely mansion I think on Lake Como, there were going to be girls, ''it's gonna be great, you'll be flown over''. 'I said you've gotta be kidding me, I've just become the foreign minister. There's no way I can possibly go. 'The guy's father is a KGB agent, I've never met the man in his life. I don't want to be flown off to some villa. 'At which point the person said 'oh no no don't worry  Boris Johnson the Foreign Secretary is coming'. Advertisement

'There are now widespread reports that the Prime Minister did not accept warnings from our own intelligence services, granting a Russian oligarch, the son and business partner of a KGB spy, a seat here in this Parliament,' she said.

'It shouldn't matter if such a warning was about a close personal friend of the Prime Minister. It shouldn't matter if he gave the Prime Minister thousands of pounds of gifts. And it shouldn't matter how much champagne and caviar he serves. There is no ifs or buts when it comes to the safety of the British people.'

But Mr Raab drew attention to Ms Rayner's service in the shadow cabinet of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying the hard Left icon had 'sided with Putin' in the past.

Pointing out she had described Mr Corbyn as a 'very strong leader, he added: 'Can I just gently say to her that when she was campaigning as the rest of them were to make the member for Islington North (Corbyn) prime minister, this Prime Minister was foreign secretary, leading the response to the nerve agent attack on Salisbury.'

'The suggestion she's making is sheer nonsense. But if she wants to talk about national security then I remind her that she and her shadow cabinet colleagues not so long ago wanted the honourable member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn)... a man who wanted and talked about abolishing the Army, pulling out of Trident - she voted for that.

'Has there ever been a more ridiculous, reckless, naive moment to call for unilateral nuclear disarmament and pulling out of Nato?

'A Labour government would put at risk our security. We're doing everything we can to protect it.'

In response to Mr Raab's 'sheer nonsense' comment, Mr Cummings wrote on his website: 'This is false.

'I know it's false because I was in the room when the PM was told by Cabinet Office officials that the intelligence services and other parts of the deep state had, let's say serious reservations, about the PM's plan.

'I supported these concerns and said to the PM in his study explicitly that he should not go ahead.

'He was very cross and as he does when cross he blustered nonsense.

''This is just ... You're just ... (pause) ANTI-RUSSIAN!''

'He did his usual trick when I told him not to do something dumb. He stopped talking to me about it and got a stooge to creep into the Cabinet Office labyrinth and cut a deal.'

Labour MP Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) later channelled his inner Mrs Merton when he asked Mr Raab: 'What first attracted the Prime Minister to the billionaire Russian oligarchs?'

During an appearance on The Mrs Merton Show in the 1990s, Caroline Aherne famously asked TV star Debbie McGee: 'What attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?'

Communities Secretary Michael Gove has previously said there is a 'distinction to be drawn' between Lord Lebedev and his ex-KGB father, oligarch Alexander Lebedev.

Lord Lebedev acknowledged last week that his father was 'a long time ago' a KGB officer but denied being 'a security risk to this country'.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Rayner said: '(Mr Raab) was foreign secretary on March 17 2020 when British intelligence reportedly warned against the granting of peerage to the Prime Minister's close friend.

Labour last night faced questions over whether Sir Keir had welcomed a peerage Lebedev - who has used his papers to criticise the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Yet yesterday Sir Keir insisted that Boris Johnson had 'serious questions' to answer over the peerage, following claims that the intelligence services considered it a national security risk, and the head of MI6 refused to meet him

The Opposition Leader privately congratulated him when he was elevated to the House of Lords, sources told the Daily Mail.

He is believed to have sent the message to the phone of the media tycoon, who owns The Independent and London's Evening Standard newspapers, when the political honours list was published in August 2020.

Yet yesterday Sir Keir insisted that Boris Johnson had 'serious questions' to answer over the peerage, following claims that the intelligence services considered it a national security risk, and the head of MI6 refused to meet him.

The Labour leader has written to the House of Lords appointments commission in light of the 'worrying reports' and called on it to publish its advice to Mr Johnson on the vetting process for the peerage.

Sir Keir told Sky News yesterday: 'Of course, we shouldn't just demonise people from Russia, I completely agree with that, but that isn't the Lebedev case. The media today are saying there were further reservations by the security and intelligence services which were known before this appointment was made and we know that concerns were raised apparently with the Prime Minister.

'In light of the further revelations today, I think the Prime Minister has got serious questions to answer: What did he know? And did he override security advice?'

Tory backbencher Andrew Bridgen said it was another example of double standards from the Labour leader, who was pictured drinking a beer in an office during lockdown despite condemning staff gatherings in Downing Street at the same time.

'Once again Keir Starmer has been caught out for his hypocrisy,' he added. 'He is Captain Hindsight, just a political weathervane who stands for nothing.' He called on Sir Keir to fully disclose all his previous contacts with Lord Lebedev.
Trump has noticeably shifted his tone on NATO since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began. Rather than undercutting the organization as obsolete and a drain on US cash, the ex-president has since begun touting the defense alliance's increase in defense spending when he was in office

Donald Trump bragged about making the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 'rich' in a statement that was sent on the heels of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned address to the United States Congress on Wedensday.

'People forget so quickly, with the help of the Fake News, that it was me that got the 20 out of 28 delinquent NATO countries to start paying the money that they owed in order to rebuild a floundering NATO,' the ex-president said through his Save America PAC.

'Nobody knew things would happen so rapidly, but NATO was poor and now it is rich, and all of the Fake News commentators that said Trump was tearing down NATO should be ashamed of themselves for telling lies.'

He reiterated his past grievances that the US's European trading partners were taking 'advantage' of it.

Even before he entered office the former president frequently criticized NATO, the western defense alliance that rose up in response to the Soviet Union, as 'obsolete.'

It was reported in 2019 that Trump wanted to pull out of NATO altogether, a move that would have drastically undercut and could have destroyed the alliance.

'Not only was the United States being taken advantage of by the EU on trade, but it was forced to pay the costs of the many delinquent NATO countries. Bush and Obama did nothing but make speeches and talkI acted, and acted strongly,' Trump continued.

'I said to them, if you dont pay up, no protection. They all paid up, and paid up quickly. Its a story thats never reported, but thats only because we have a corrupt press in our Country!'

NATO has been a main theme amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's devastating and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Cities like Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkov and others have been under near-constant Russian bombardment, reducing whole apartment blocks and public structures to rubble and slaughtering civilians on sight.

His statement was sent just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensly was wrapping up an impassioned plea to the US Congress and other western nations to impose a no-fly zone over his country

Some of the ex-president's strongest critics have blamed his public disparagement of NATO as having further emboldened Putin to attack.

Ukraine has long looked to join NATO, though allied nations have been hesitant to extend their protection over fears of provoking Russia.

Moscow officials have made clear that Ukraine joining NATO would be seen as a threat to its national security. A guarantee that it would never happen is among Russia's main demands for ending its aggressive assault.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly maintained that no American troops would confront Russian soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, citing Kyiv's non-NATO status.

During his speech to American lawmakers on Wednesday morning, Zelensky pushed for a US and NATO-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine -- something he has been begging for since nearly the start of Putin's attack.

'Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs, they use drones to kill us with precision,' Kyiv's leader told Congress.

'This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people?'

Warehouse storing products is seen on fire after shelling, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine March 16

Ukraine has long sought NATO membership, something Russia has declared would be a threat to its national security

He said during a speech to the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force on Tuesday that Ukraine must realize it will not join NATO and has to 'count on ourselves and our partners who are helping us.'

Trump's statement was sent out just as Zelensky wrapped up his plea to the US Congress.

The ex-president was impeached for holding up nearly $400 million in military aide for Ukraine in 2019, attempting to pressure Zelensky into announcing an investigation into then-candidate Biden and his son Hunter.

However he claimed at a rally in South Carolina last weekend that Russia's inhumane invasion of Ukraine was actually Biden's fault.

'I'll say it again and again -- it should've never happened if he respected our president,' Trump said.

Biden is due to attend a NATO summit in Brussels next week, which was called for world leaders to 'discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts' in Ukraine.

He'll be at the summit on March 24 and also join a European Council meeting, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

The central focus will be 'concerns about Ukraine, including trans-Atlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence and address other challenges related to the conflict,' Psaki said.

However the former president's son, Donald Trump Jr., believes his father would be better suited for the negotiations.

'Sending Biden to Europe for 'High Stakes' NATO talks will only embolden our enemies further. If you want to get something done right send Trump,' Don Jr. wrote on Twitter.
This is the shocking moment an outraged American Airlines passenger is tased by police at a Dallas airport terminal after he became irate when he couldn't board his flight.

On Tuesday, at gate E25B at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, the man who told police his name is 'Quidley' was prevented from boarding.

A video uploaded on Twitter by user @crazykarens shows the man, who is wearing a white hat and a black hoodie, arguing with an American Airline staff member before chaos ensues.

'Two thousand dollars for a f****** flight. Two thousand dollars to be sitting in that flight right now. I don't give a f**** about a single person in here, I gave your airline two thousand f****** dollars,' the raging man yells at a worker behind the counter.

Moments later, the man is seen continuing his rant, then he is tackled and tased by police.

It apears the man was arrested. But it is unclear if charges were brought against the man and why he was not allowed to fly. He hinted that American Airlines had issues with his luggage.

DailyMail.com contacted American Airlines and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Department of Public Safety for comment.

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A man, who said his last name is 'Quidley,' was tased by police after he became irate when he wasn't allowed to board his American flight

The incident happened on March 15 at the E25B departure terminal of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

He was tased by a female officer as fellow passengers witnessed the incident, some laughing

'I have two fucking bags that American Airlines says you can fucking have,' the man said.

American Airlines allows one carry-on bag and one personal item on domestic flights, but passengers can check their first extra bag for $30, according to the company's website.

The man continued: 'Hey, if I spent two thousand f***** dollars for a flight round trip... why the f*** am I not on a flight back? Q-u-i-d-l-e-y. Put me on a f****** flight. F*** the airport, f*** you.'

The unidentified man then wrestles with three police officers until he is tackled.

When he gets up once again, he is tased by a female officer as fellow passengers watch, some laughing and recording the ordeal.

It is unclear if charges have been brought against the man or why he was not allowed to flight, but he hinted that American Airlines had issues with his luggage

The unidentified man then wrestled with three police officers until he was tackled down

Video of the incident has quickly gone viral with nearly 2,000 likes in less than 24 hours.

Twitter users condemned the man's reaction and said he should have researched the company's luggage policies.

'Wow. Who pays $2,000 for a flight? Or, better question, where the hell was he going? Also, why didn't he check his luggage in? Did he really not know the rules or did he just believe that he was exempt?' one user wrote.

Another said: 'I'm sure his cellmate tonight is going to be very interested to hear how much he paid for his plane ticket.'

Others defended the actions of police, saying they were forced to tase the man after 'listening to his rant for long enough.'

'This was not excessive force at all. They ask him to turn around, and he chose to fight. They listed to him yell long enough, it was time just to arrest him.'

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced earlier this year that it would begin to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for unruly passengers after a rise in reports of aggressive behavior on flights and at airports.

The agency said in August it issued more than $1 million in fines to unruly passengers in 2021, and revealed there already have been 4,941 unruly passenger reports this year alone.

Assaulting a flight attendant is a felony and could land an offender years in prison.
A Texas student left badly disfigured after two dogs she was hired to care for bit her 800 times says she wasn't sure her boyfriend would want to stay with her afterwards.

Jacqueline Durand, 22, said she immediately feared her injuries would end her relationship with boyfriend Nathan, 24, after she was attacked two days before Christmas last year - but that he instantly vowed to stay with her.

Speaking to CBS News journalist David Begnaud on an Instagram livestream Wednesday, Durand recalled: 'I think (the attack) has grown us even closer.

'I was skeptical if he was going to stay with me. I asked him straight up, "Do you still want to be with me,? I've changed forever", and he said "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

'I know there's no reason not to believe him because he speaks the truth.' Durand revealed that she met Nathan after getting a job at her local PetCo in Coppell, a suburb of Dallas. She quit her job there because she disliked working with crickets and rodents - but Nathan asked for her number on their last shift together.

Their relationship was cemented when she stood by him through a cancer diagnosis and successful treatment which concluded shortly before she was bitten.

Speaking to CBS News for a segment that was broadcast on Wednesday morning, Durand's boyfriend Nathan, 24, said he was standing by her.

'I'm so grateful that I get the same opportunity to show the same level of love and care that she showed me during that time,' he said.

'I'm glad that I get the chance to.

Jacqueline Durand is pictured speaking during an Instagram livestream Wednesday night, where she shared how she feared her boyfriend Nathan would end their relationship after she was disfigured by a dog attack

Jacqueline Durand is pictured with her boyfriend Nathan, 24, who just beat cancer. He said he is glad to be able to take care of her

'And I'm glad I get to be there for her.' Nathan said he'd recently overcome cancer, was moved by how Durand had supported him, and now wants to support her through the grueling reconstructive surgery she must endure.

During Wednesday's livestream, Durand also told of her anger that the dog's owners Dr Justin Bishop and his wife Ashley hadn't been in contact with her since much of her face was torn off.

She said: 'I wanted to hear from them. It just kind of breaks my heart that they didn't reach out.'

Durand had been hired to dog sit for the pair, and went to see the pets for a meet-and-greet before agreeing to do so, during which time the animals appeared well-behaved.

She says the Bishops promised her the animals would be in their crates when she came over - but that they'd texted her on the day of the booking to say the pets were actually loose in the house. Durand was mauled the moment she let herself in, and is now suing the Bishops, who have not been hit with criminal charges, for $1 million.

Durand's dad John also vented his fury at the Bishops during the livestream, saying the ordeal inflicted on his daughter was entirely preventable.

He said: 'We really learn in life that incidents can be prevented when there's some forethought. This is a terrible tragedy and I know the homeowners feel terrible, but this absolutely did not have to happen and that's probably the feeling and this could have been prevented.'

Durand's father John also appeared during the livestream, and blasted the couple who owned the dogs for what he said was the entirely preventable horror inflicted on his daughter

Wednesday's interview saw Durrand reveal that she is booked in for reconstructive surgery on her nose next week, and work on her eyes shortly after. She says she can have surgery as often as the required recovery periods allow, and is hopeful that the operations can restore her appearance.

One viewer asked if she'd consider a face transplant, but Durrand said her skin grafts had taken very well, meaning she was unlikely to need one.

She also told of how she was seeing a psychiatrist and therapist to help her cope with the mental anguish wrought by her injuries.

And Durrand said that she still wants to be a dog sitter - but that the sight of German Shepherd and pit bull-type dogs like the two that mauled her trigger her, and that she does not go near them. Both animals responsible for her injuries were destroyed.

The attack on Durrand happened a day before her 22nd birthday.

Before going to the home, she was assured the two dogs - a German Shepard mix, Lucy, and a Pitbull mix named Bender - would be in their crates and kennels.

However, when she arrived, the animals were roaming around the house freely.

Durand, 22, (pictured before the attack) was violently mauled by a German Shephard mix named Lucy and a Pitbull mix named Bender, a day before her 22nd birthday, and only a few days before Christmas

Durand, a supply chain management student at the University of Texas at Dallas, had met the dogs in the days before the attack, and had described the animals as 'lovely.'

But as soon as Durand entered the home on December 23, they pounced and mauled her, leaving behind 800 bite marks.

The dogs ripped off Durand's ears, nose, and face, leaving nothing but bone behind, and she lost 30 per cent of the blood in her body, leaving her hospitalized for 60 days.

She faces several surgeries and is undergoing intense physical therapy sessions which include having her mouth stretched by 1mm at a time so she can eat.

In the interview with CBS Mornings, she said: 'When I felt the skin hanging from my face, I thought I was going to die.'

During the attack, Durand was unable to call for help - but 911 was alerted because the property's front door was left open when the dogs pounced, triggering an alarm.

When first responders arrived, they weren't able to enter the home for 37 minutes because the dogs were so aggressive.

A representative told CBS News they were 'only able to see Jacqueline Durand's legs and were not immediately aware of the extent of her injuries'.

Despite the horrific attacks and the multiple reconstructive surgeries she underwent, Durand said she is ready for the world to see her face.

'It's time to show who I am now, and I can't be scared of it,' she said.

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After spending 60 days in the hospital - where she underwent multiple reconstructive surgeries using skin from her buttocks on her face - and extensive therapy, Durand is now home with her family and their dogs and is ready to 'show who I am now'

Lucy (left) and Bender (right) have been ordered to be euthanized after the attack

The floor was left covered in blood after the attack, as seen on bodycam footage from police, who were unable to enter the home for 37 minutes because they felt unsafe

The dogs dragged Jacqueline from the entryway into the property. Photographs taken after the attack show a bloodied rug and dog bed. Jacqueline lost 30 per cent of her blood in the mauling and now faces several surgeries and has frequent physical therapy sessions

One day before her 22nd birthday, Jacqueline Durand was attacked by two dogs she was dog-sitting. Her face was changed forever  but she survived.



She says it is still her dream to work with animals, and she isnt afraid of showing off her scars. pic.twitter.com/0Qp75lnC6T  CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 16, 2022

Despite her horrific injuries, she said she wants to be an example for what dog owners should do to prevent such attacks.

'I want dog owners to know their animals and be able to communicate with their sitters how they are,' she told CBS News.

The dog-sitter of seven years also said she was still 'speechless' about the dogs' change in behavior from the first time she met them to the day of the attack.

'After every meet and greet I had, I always felt the same with those other dogs and they don't change their attitude from the time that I met them to the time that I go there for the first time.'

Durand's lawyers say that as soon as she opened the door to their home, the dogs pounced.

The owners, who have three children - including a three-year-old - claimed the dogs were never violent, telling investigators that they had 'zero' problems with them.

However, they reportedly had a sign on their home claiming to have 'crazy dogs' and to not 'ring the doorbell'.

The front door sign read: 'Crazy Dogs. Please Don't Knock or Ring the Bell. Call or Text Instead.'

'The warning on the door suggests that the Bishops knew that both of these dogs have acted aggressively to people arriving at the front door,' Durand's lawyer Chip Brooker told CBS Mornings.

Durand is accusing Dr Bishop and his wife of negligence for allegedly failing to control, secure and train the animals, as well as 'failing to provide a safe environment for their invitees,' according to the suit.

He also said they planned to prove the couple's negligence through the results they received after examining the dogs after they were removed from the property.

Brooker said the expert team's results show 'that the dogs were dangerous and had vicious propensities'.

'We suspect the Bishops knew that.

'We suspect everybody who came across these dogs, particularly Lucy, knew that,' he told CBS News.

Durand (seen being pushed by a nurse at the hospital) had met the dog prior to the attack, but was told they would be in their kennels before she arrived. The owner later told her that she failed to put them in the kennel

The dogs ripped off her nose, lips, and ears after rushing at her when she opened the front door

After she went inside, the dogs then proceeded to maul her 'catastrophically,' tearing off and eating both of her ears, her nose, her lips, and most of her face below her eyes, the lawsuit states.

'The owner assured Jacqueline that the dogs would be crated,' Brooker said in a statement.

'But, shortly before her first visit, the owner texted Jacqueline to tell her that she failed to crate the dogs before leaving town.'

After the dogs pushed the door open, Durand claims they knocked her off balance, causing her to fall and drop her cell phone.

The dogs were allegedly so violent and bloodthirsty that they pulled all of Jacqueline's clothes off, including her blue jeans.

The attack happened one day before her 22nd birthday and just few days after she had already been to meet both dogs at their home with their owner, specifically to get to know them and their routines.

The suit argues that the situation Durand was entering was made even more dangerous by virtue of the fact the dogs were not in their kennels, as had been promised.

Police bodycam footage shows the bloody dog beds and Durand's blood pooled on the floor.

She was laying on her stomach naked when police were finally able to enter the home and rescue her.

She can be heard crying as medics inspected her body and told her to 'keep breathing'.

The Coppell Police Department later posted a picture with Durand on February 21 on its Facebook page, welcoming her home after her two-month hospital stay.

'Jacqueline, you have been in our thoughts and prayers and we are so grateful that you are back home. You're such a beautiful warrior and an inspiration to us all,' the department wrote.

Durand is seeking a jury trial and compensation of more than $1 million.

The Bishops, who have not contacted or fully paid Durand, told CBS News that they were 'heartbroken' by the attack, stating: 'We know that she was injured severely, and are devastated by what she and her family are going through.

'We would never knowingly put anyone in harm's way, and were shocked by what happened at our home.

'Due to pending litigation we have been advised not to give any interviews, however, we want Ms. Durand and her family to know that we fervently pray for her recovery daily.'

Jacqueline Durand, (pictured) a 22 year-old student University of Texas at Dallas, went to the home of Dr. Justin Bishop and his wife Ashley after being hired to dog sit

A sign on the door warns: 'Crazy Dogs. Please don't knock or ring the bell. call or text instead.'

The attack happened at the Bishop family home, pictured, in the northwest suburbs of Dallas, Texas

After the attack, emergency services were immediately called and Durand was taken straight to a Level 1 trauma center, equipped to handle the most serious of conditions.

She had to be revived on the trauma room table.

She was also in the trauma center for seven hours before her parents were even notified, CBS News reported.

Her parents also said their daughter had to be resuscitated multiple times and was placed in a medically induced coma during the first week.

'It was clear that he was saying she's in for a fight for survival,' her father John told CBS News.

He called her a 'miracle.'

The officers that responded to the call posted a pictured with Durand on February 21, welcoming her home and wished her luck on her long recovery. 'Jacqueline, you have been in our thoughts and prayers and we are so grateful that you are back home. You're such a beautiful warrior and an inspiration to us all,' the police department wrote

John and Shirley Durand (pictured together) said they didn't know she was in the hospital for seven hours after the attack

In a January 18 Facebook post, Durand thanked people for their well-wishes from her hospital bed.

'I am so blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support as I go through this hard time in my life,' she wrote.

'Thank you everyone who is supporting and loving me every step of the way since the beginning!

'I am making good progress every single day that I'm here.

'Prayers are being answered! Thank you.'

The dogs were captured and placed in the care of the City of Coppell before a municipal judge decided that both dogs should be euthanized, the suit said.

Durand (pictured) was left with hundreds of puncture wounds and remains hospitalized after undergoing multiple reconstructive surgeries, with more to go

The attack happened days after the 22-year-old met both dogs in their home with their owner to get to know them and their routine (Durand pictured before mauling)

She thanked her well-wishers on Facebook in January

The lawsuit lays the blame directly at the Bishops who allowed the animals to remain on their property while 'knowing they had dangerous propensities'.

It alleges the Bishops knew of the dog's tendencies towards violence because of the 'crazy dogs' warning sign that was visible to anyone walking up to the front door.

'Jacqueline will forever measure her life in terms of before and after opening that door,' Brooker said.

'She will be permanently disfigured for the rest of her life, and we filed this lawsuit to make sure all the responsible parties are held accountable.'

Between 2005 and 2017, there were a total of 433 deaths caused by dogs in the US

Pit bulls continue to top the list of America's most dangerous dog breeds, having been responsible for 284 fatal attacks on humans from 2005 to 2017.

The second breed on the list, Rottweilers, came a distant second with 45.
Gangs of South American 'crime tourists' are being blamed for at least two home burglaries in California this week - as well as similar raids across the country in recent months, including sprees in Indiana, Texas, New York, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

The criminals target wealthy neighborhoods in places with lax criminal justice laws to conduct their home burglaries, before returning home with the loot while out on bail, according to police.

The San Francisco suburb of Hillsborough is just the latest community plagued by similar schemes, with previous groups hailing from Chile, Colombia and elsewhere in South America.

Hillsborough Police said it suspected the 'crime tourists' were behind at least two brazen burglaries that took place recently in the affluent Bay Area community, where the average home price sits around $5.4 million, according to Zillow.

Security footage from the home captured the moment a thief walked up to one of the homes and appeared to notice the camera as he quickly backed away.

The footage, shared by police, cuts to a scene later in the night as a black car rolls up to the driveway and two thieves walk out of the house with bags full of stolen goods.

One of the thieves appears to have trouble closing the door behind him as a third crook comes to assist him.

The thieves load up the car and return to the house to make off with more - before returning to steal the homeowner's SUV and make their getaway.

The suspects have not yet been apprehended.

A home camera captured the moment a group of thieves, who police believe are 'crime tourists' from South America, robbed a San Francisco Bay area home

The thieves made of with bags full of stolen property and an SUV from the luxe home

Cameras at the home caught close-ups of two masked suspects at the front door

The robbery was the latest to hit the affluent Hillsborough community, where homes average around $5.4 million, according to Zillow

Police in California, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, New York and New Jersey have all reported robberies they believe were conducted by the so-called 'crime tourists'

Police said the suspects were likely behind another robbery earlier this month where four thieves allegedly stole a safe from a home near the Hillsborough Country Club. They said credit cards in the safe were used in Modesto and Los Angeles County.

Hillsborough resident Matt Gouley told KPIX 5 said the robberies have left the neighborhood afraid, with neighbors constantly worried that anyone they don't recognize could be a robber.

'Recently I was stopped by a woman thinking I was a burglar  thief  and asking me what I'm doing here,' Gouley said, adding that suspicion only grows when if someone is driving a dark van.

Hillsborough Police said the stolen car was recovered and that the thieves getaway vehicle was identified as a 2018 or newer Honda Civic.

They added that were working with other agencies in Southern California to investigate the robbery and crackdown on what they've taken to calling South American Theft Groups, or SATGs.

One such group is believed to behind at least six burglaries in Atherton, along with several other robberies screeching from Northern California to San Diego.

'Of the eight burglaries this month, we suspect six were committed by organized Chilean gang members operating out of the Los Angeles area,' Atherton Police Chief Steven McCully told KPIX. 'Chilean gang member burglaries have been a problem throughout San Mateo County and nationwide.'

Law enforcement experts say the foreign cells of professional burglars - mostly from Columbia and Chile - enter the country illegally or exploit a 2014 visa waiver program intended to spur tourism from dozens of trusted countries.

The Electronic System for Travel Authorization allows citizens from 40 nations to be prescreened to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa, a process that lets travelers undergo less scrutiny to enter the country

After entering the country, they reportedly carry out strings of break-ins and other crimes, bringing home up to hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen goods, the FBI estimates.

FBI Special Agent Daniel Gimenez said members of a criminal tourist gang in Texas made between $20,000 to $100,000 per jobs.

Earlier this year, the FBI busted one of the groups in Virginia who exploited the state's lax bail laws to steal more than $2 million in a string of burglaries targeting high-end homes of Asian and Middle Eastern families before skipping bail and fleeing back home.

The network of thieves were also connected to a series of burglaries at homes across the Carolinas, Georgia and Texas, as well as a $1.2 million jewelry heist in Southern California.

The FBI say the investigation began after a string of break-ins in homes in Fairfax County, near Washington DC. But they were unable to make any arrests.

The agency didn't get its first real break in the case until two of the suspected criminals tied to the ring were discovered after their car broke down in a suburb in Atlanta, Georgia in 2019.

Upon pulling over, a sheriff's deputy questioned the two men, who were Puerto Rican. The two told the officer that they were heading back from one of the mens girlfriends houses.

However, twigs stuck in one of the mens clothing made the officer suspicious of their story, putting the pair on the local police's radar.

The men, who were not arrested at the time, were later caught in a break-in attempt in the area, and were handed over to federal investigators who eventually linked them to the suspected syndicate.

The break in the case soon led investigators to a number of other burglars who used underhanded tactics like using jammers to block key fobs to break into cars, or cutting security systems and letting the batteries drain on back ups before looting stores.

The FBI is cracking down on 'crime tourists' from South America who have exploited Virginia's low bail laws to steal more than $2 million in a string of burglaries targeting high-end homes of Asian and Middle Eastern families before skipping bail and fleeing back home or to target homes in other states. Pictured is one of the affluent Virginia neighborhoods, near DC, which was targeted by the thieves

Feds then arrested four thought to be involved with the syndicate: Mario Valencia Asprilla, Jhonny Valencia-Valencia, Diego Montano Chasoy and Freddy Hernandez Angulo. All four are Colombian and thought to be behind the Fairfax robberies, police said.

A fifth member of the group, Josue Rodriguez Rolon, was also arrested in June. It remains unclear how any of the suspects came to enter the country.

With that said, Rolon has since been freed on bond, and is now considered a fugitive, court documents reveal. Montano Chasoy, meanwhile, was deported, but the other three remain in custody.

All three are scheduled to stand trial this year in Fairfax court on multiple burglary charges and other counts.

Detectives said Asian and Middle Eastern homeowners were targeted because the thieves believe that people of those cultures keep a lot of high value jewelry at home and have cash-oriented businesses.

Dan Heath, a supervisory special agent with the FBI's criminal investigations division, said 'South American theft groups,' are a growing plague throughout the United States - and in countries including India , Britain and Australia, where they often employ similar tactics.

In January, British authorities took down dozens of crime tourists from Chile who stole more than $200,000 in a spring of robberies across the UK.

Police in Fischer, Indiana, also reported a series of home burglaries targeting expensive jewelry believed to be linked to criminal tourists.

'A lot of these burglaries have been targeted specifically around jewelry, so more high-end homes, their jewelry is stored out in the open and they can be really high-valued items,' Fischer Officer Jessica Stout told Fox 59.

Police in Nassau County, New York arrested their own band of criminal tourists earlier this month after police caught six men, all from Chile, breaking into a wealthy home, stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry and cash.

The visiting criminals are emboldened by their discovery of a 'sweet spot' in the American criminal system because their offenses don't meet the requirements for federal investigation, and are often overlooked because the country is focusing on a frightening rise in homicides.

What's more, no cash or low bail law allow the repeat offenders endless opportunities to continue to the brazen heists, even after being caught.

Like Virginia, California is one such state that criminals take advantage of due to its controversial 2014 law - Proposition 47 - that barred prosecutors from charging suspected shoplifters accused of stealing less than $950 worth of merchandise with felonies.

Many claim the law is what has led to a rise in burglaries and crimes throughout the state, especially in the San Francisco Bay area.

Larceny has seen a dramatic uptick in San Francisco, with police reporting 5,770 cases so far this year, a 27 percent rise since the same period last year.

Assaults have also gone up by 6.6 percent, with 434 cases reported so far compared to the 407 last year, and rape has also shot up by 11.4 percent, with 39 cases reported.

Although homicides remain the same at eight cases reported so far this year and robberies seeing a 10.6 percent drop, overall violent crime has gone up by 6.3 percent.
A Los Angeles deputy fire chief who was investigated by a private law firm on allegations of being drunk during a blaze last May received a $1.4 million payout and while the firm found he was likely impaired, it cleared him of any wrongdoing because he 'was technically off duty.'

Fred Mathis, who worked for the LAFD for more than 35 years, retired in January just days before the firm's investigation ended, avoiding being disciplined.

But the fire department veteran who made more than $350,000 a year, left with the $1.4 million payout, on top of his annual pension of about $225,000, according to the investigative summary by the Los Angeles Fire Department, first obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The retirement payout included nearly $293,000 for unused time off, illness, holidays and vacation. He also received about $1.1 million that was put aside by the city while he was enrolled in a controversial program that aims to keep police officers and firefighters on the job past retirement age, according to the summary.

Before Mathis' retirement in January, he spent his last seven months with the LAFD on paid leave for 'continuous trauma to an extremity,' according to the summary. But details of the 'trauma' were not released.

Former Los Angeles deputy fire chief Fred Mathis was investigated on an allegation that he was intoxicated during the massive Palisades fire last May, but cleared of any wrongdoing

Mathis was investigated on allegations that he was drunk while overseeing the LAFD's operations of the massive fire in the Palisades last May

A Los Angeles Fire Department helicopter is seen making a water drop on the Palisades fire in Topanga State Park, North West of Los Angeles on May 15, 2021

Last spring, a high-ranking official in the Los Angeles Fire Department alleged that Mathis appeared to be intoxicated while overseeing operations during the Palisades fire, and that he admitted he had been drinking.

But the law firm hired by the city concluded that Mathis 'was technically off duty while he was likely intoxicated as he had put himself out sick that day' on May 18, according to the investigative summary.

The Times reported last July that an entry was retroactively made in Mathis' timekeeping record four days after the May 18 incident, showing he was on sick leave the day he was alleged to be drunk on duty at City Hall East.

In an email to the Los Angeles Times, Mathis admitted that he struggles with alcoholism, but denied ever being impaired while on duty.

'Did I make mistakes dealing with my alcoholism?' Mathis wrote in the email. 'Certainly, but I don't apologize for having a disease that I continually fight everyday. I never reported to duty impaired and my work was never impacted by my addiction.'

An outside investigation found that then-Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Deputy Fred Mathis was likely intoxicated during the Palisades fire in May 2021 but cleared him through a rationale that has outraged department insiders

Several people at the department criticized the handling of the Mathis investigation, the Times reported, including two members of the Fire Commission.

Leaders of organizations for the black, Latino and women firefighters were among the many outraged over Mathis' seven months of paid leave, telling the Times that his case is another example of how the department grants special treatment to high-ranking officials, especially if they are men or white.

'If it were me, as an African American female. I would be put on 60 days off leave  suspension  with no pay,' Battalion Chief Kris Larson, who is the department's highest-ranking black woman and president of the Los Angeles Women in the Fire Service, told the Times.

Mathis was also cleared of allegations that his misused his LAFD credit card and confidential information after going on leave last year.

'There is no evidence that Mathis used the Voyager Card to fuel his personal vehicles, or otherwise improperly used the Voyager card. Accordingly, it follows that this allegation is unfounded,' according to the investigative summary.
A Florida man who police say slashed the throats of a couple as they returned home from Daytona Bike Week activities, killing them, was arrested last week after a waitress at a local restaurant recognized him as a former customer and provided a receipt to the cops that helped them track him down.

Jean Macean, 32, was arrested in Orlando last Thursday and faces two counts of first-degree murder and a charge of being an illegal immigrant, according to jail records.

The arrest came less than 24 hours after police announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the double homicide of Terry Aultman, 48, and Brenda Aultman, 55.

The married couple were found brutally stabbed in the early hours of March 6 near a Daytona Beach intersection, police said.

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Jean Macean, 32 (left), faces two counts of first-degree murder for the brutal killings of Terry and Brenda Aultman (right) in Daytona Beach, Florida

Valerie Court, a waitress at a Johnny Rockets, recognized Macean as a customer and called the cops

Court provided police with a copy of Macean's credit card receipt (pictured) bearing his initials, which helped them track him down

Two days after the killings, police released surveillance video showing a person of interest, who was later identified as Macean, walking along Seabreeze Boulevard just hours before the attack on the Aultman couple.

Valerie Court, who, according to court documents, works at the Johnny Rockets restaurant in Ocean Walk in Daytona Beach, said she recognized the wanted man in the video as a customer she had served on March 5 and had a credit card receipt from him, reported WESH.

Court said Macean arrived at the eatery for a late lunch, wearing the same outfit as was seen in the surveillance video, and carrying a backpack.

'I thought maybe he wanted to be left alone because he was short-worded with me so I just kept his tea filled up,' she said.

Court said she later remembered that the tight-lipped diner paid for his meal with a credit card.

Court saw surveillance video that was released by the police and realized that the man seen in the footage had lunch at her eatery the day before the killings

Macea was spotted walking along Seabreeze Boulevard just hours before the attack on the Aultman couple

Passersby found the couple lying motionless in a blood-drenched patch of grass near the intersection of North Wild Olive Avenue and Riverview Boulevard

Police captured Macean, a native of Haiti, at a gym in Orlando on March 8

'It didn't have his name on it. It said my temporary pay card but he did initial sign it and initial it JM,' she said.

After Court reached out to the police, she handed them the receipt, and they were able to track Macean to an Planet Fitness gym in Orlando, where he was arrested last week.

'I'm very happy that I was able to help them get a dangerous person off the street,' Court said.

Macean was due back in court on Wednesday afternoon to face charges of murder and being an illegal immigrant.

Court documents indicate that the suspect is a native of Haiti, but that he is a US citizen, so it is unclear at this time why he has been accused of living in the US illegally. DailyMail.com reached out to the prosecutors on Wednesday seeking comment.

The Aultmans had just relocated to Daytona Beach six months before their violent deaths

The Aultmans, who had just relocated to Daytona Beach six months ago, were walking their bikes from a bar on Main Street when they were killed.

Passersby found the couple lying motionless in a blood-drenched patch of grass near the intersection of North Wild Olive Avenue and Riverview Boulevard just before 2am.

'This is probably one of the most vicious and gruesome incidents that Ive witnessed in my 20 years,' Police Chief Jakari Young said at the time. 'We can't rule out that this may be totally random, but if it is totally random, the person responsible has to be deranged.'
By Shim Jae-yun





In my column titled, "Can Yoon become Korea's Macron?" for May 27 of last year, I pointed out some similarities between the two leaders, such as their political inexperience and maverick characters in defiance of the political establishment. As Yoon has become the head of state against all odds, expectations are growing for him to inject fresh air into leading Korea in the right direction for the better.







Despite some upbeat expectations, however, President-elect Yoon is bracing for a plethora of daunting challenges ahead in carrying out his duty as the new president beginning May 10. Most of all, he needs to unite the nation and repair the extreme sense of division, which deepened during the campaign, marred by negative character attacks between the leading candidates. Yoon beat his rival, Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), by only 0.73 of a percentage point. He now faces staunch resistance from the majority party with 172 parliamentary seats.







In addition to these weighty challenges at home, the political novice must also tackle the thorny issues of foreign affairs and security. The most imminent threat comes from North Korea, which recently fired missiles in apparent preparation for launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICMBs) and even nuclear weapons. On Friday, the Biden administration made this assessment, saying that the North is developing its ICBM capabilities. Should Pyongyang cross the line by renouncing its self-imposed moratorium, it would drive the Korean Peninsula into a vortex of extreme security uncertainty







North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seems to have learned lessons from the ongoing Ukrainian crisis with regard to Ukraine's fragile security, since it gave up nuclear weapons in 1994 in return for security assurances from other countries, including Russia and the U.S. Yet, Ukraine should have listened carefully to what Sir Michael Howard, an English military historian, said, "War in itself is inescapably an evil. But those who renounce the use of force find themselves at the mercy of those who do not."







The war in Ukraine proves the significance of alliances in the case of contingency. Ukraine has not yet joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the United States and NATO member countries are reluctant to send troops there, relying mainly on economic sanctions for fear of a potential expansion of the war, possibly toward World War III.







The reality of the current situation points to the need for Yoon to reinforce the country's alliance with the U.S. and possibly with other Asia-Pacific countries, including Japan, in particular. Towards the end of the Moon Jae-in administration, the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. has ebbed to some extent, due to the Moon government's lukewarm attitude, given its interest in pursuing peace with the North and balancing with China. For starters, Seoul has been passive about conducting joint military exercises with the U.S. and joining U.S.-led regional security alliances comprising major Asia-Pacific countries.







In this vein, it is encouraging that Yoon had telephone conversations with U.S. President Joe Biden, agreeing on the need to strengthen the bilateral alliance to cope jointly with the threat from Pyongyang. Also noteworthy is Yoon's telephone call with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, agreeing to improve relations between the two countries, which have been at a low point. As they stressed in the phone conversations, Yoon should meet Biden and Kishida soon to solidify trilateral cooperative relations and rejuvenate ties.







What is worrisome is how Yoon will set up the nation's ties with China. On the one hand, Chinese media outlets reportedly showed negative reactions to Yoon getting elected, shedding light on his seemingly anti-China pledges, such as his proposed additional deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system..



Yet, on the other hand, Beijing extended the olive branch to Yoon with its leader Xi Jinping sending a congratulatory message via its envoy to Korea, Xing Haiming, expressing hope to improve bilateral ties. Xi also noted that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.







The Moon administration has been taking flak for sitting on the fence with regards to China. Yoon should not repeat such a policy. He needs to employ policies that are square and straightforward. Instead of adopting "strategic ambiguity," Yoon should employ "strategic clarity." Yoon should not attempt to appease the North Korean leader as Moon did, in the name of pursuing the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. Besides inter-Korean cooperation, international rules should sometimes be applied to curb North Korea's possible military provocations.







Despite such new and different approaches toward North Korea, the previous agreements reached by the South, the North and the U.S. should be respected, as they can be the basis for future efforts toward enhancing detente and peace on the peninsula.









The author (

) is an editorial writer of The Korea Times.




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Ukrainian refugees with family in America are having their asylum requests rejected and are stuck in Europe or at the southern border despite President Biden's promise to welcome them with open arms.

Since war broke out on February 24, European countries have flung open their borders to welcome the 3million refugees who have already fled the warzone.

Some 100,000 British households have volunteered to welcome them into their own homes. Spain has pledged to accept 12,000 refugees. Germany has already taken in 18,000 and France says it expects at least 7,000 to be there soon.

But the US has not yet confirmed how many refugees have asked for asylum or received it. In the meantime, Ukrainian-American families are waiting anxiously as their loved ones bounce from European country to European country, waiting for the greenlight to board a plane to the US and join them.

Among them is the Semenkova family who live in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Married couple Igor and Galyna Semenkova are desperate to bring their daughter Kseniia and her husband Oleksandr Isaienko over to the US along with her new husband.

The pair were living in Kyiv but fled under bombing.

Kseniia and her husband Oleksandr Isaienko are stuck in northern Italy despite her entire family living in Long Island with green cards. They had their ESTA visa applications rejected

The Semenkova family live in Oyster Bay, Long Island, and are desperate for their youngest daughter to join them

At the southern border, Ukrainians and Russians are being questioned over their plans to enter the country. Some are being rejected under Title 42 - a COVID rule to block the spread of the virus

A group of people from Ukraine wait for US authorities to let them in at San Ysidro Crossing port in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on March 12, 2022. Homeland Security has not confirmed how many people have entered - or tried to enter - the country so far

Ukrainian citizens walk along with advocates on the Mexican side of the border after being rejected from entering the United States under Title 42 by Customs and Border Protection authorities, at the San Ysidro crossing port, in Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico, on March 9, 2022

A Ukrainian family interact with an U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent as they seek for a humanitarian visa at the San Ysidro Port of Entry of the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico March 15, 2022

An U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent gestures toward a Ukrainian family seeking for a humanitarian visa at the San Ysidro Port of Entry of the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico March 15, 2022

REFUGEE COUNT BY COUNTRY - HOW MANY IS AMERICA TAKING IN? USA: 514 Ukrainians have entered the US from the southern border in January and February Biden promised to take in refugees but didn't specify how many. It is unclear how many have actually entered the country so far. UK: 100,000 Britons offer up their homes to Ukrainian families. The UK's Secretary for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid, promised 'no cap' on the number they will take France: 7,000 expected Spain: 12,000 promised Germany: 18,000 taken in so far Advertisement

Now, they are stuck in northern Italy.

They had their requests for ESTA visas turned down because they could not tell the US 'when they would be returning home', they said.

'We left our home because it was a bomb attack near our apartment,' Kseniia told NBC news.

Her sister Jenya added to Newsday: 'My sister and her family has to bounce from European country to European country to European country  driving how many miles, not speaking the language, not knowing what to do  (when) we're here.

''All were asking is for the government to give them a visa, any kind of visa.'

Separately, other Ukrainians are being turned away at the southern border under a controversial COVID measure called Title 42.

It was brought in by Trump and still exists under Biden's presidency and it stops the influx of asylum seekers to America citing COVID as the reason why.

It applies to all asylum seekers at the southern border, but is being noticed now because of the Ukrainian crisis.

Among those who were originally told they could not get into the country was a Ukrainian mother who gave her name only as Sofia, who was turned away at the border with her young children.

She has now been allowed into the country after immigration lawyers campaigned on her behalf.

The exact number of people seeking asylum in the US from Ukraine as a result of the war is unclear.

In January and February, Customs and Border Patrol allowed 514 refugees across the border. Since October, some 1,300 have presented themselves at the border.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to inquiries about the number of Ukrainian refugees who have been granted asylum or visas in the US.

Ukrainian and Russian refugees were told they could not enter the US at the southern border because of Title 42 - a COVID rule that blocked refugees from entering the country to stop the spread of the virus

Democrats are urging Biden to drop the Title 42 rule to allow more refugees - of all nationalities - enter the US.

Immigration advocates have been calling for an end to enforcing Title 42  even though the U.S. is still in a state of emergency  and calls have increased this week as Ukrainians begin to arrive and request asylum, according to San Diego affiliate CBS8.

The outlet said Tijuana journalists have witnessed dozens of Ukrainian and Russian families gathering outside the U.S. southern border and families in Tijuana claim Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents are selective of who they let in.

Vicente Calderon, editor for Tijuanapress.com, said: 'Even people with humanitarian parole, it would take a long time for them to get a waiver. Some are allowed to get in, but not others.'

In February alone, CBP encountered 164,973 migrants at the southern border  up more than 10,000 from January figures of 154,745.

Since Biden has taken office, the crossing per-month has massively increased. In 2020, the last year of Donald Trump's presidency, a total of 458,088 migrants were encountered at the border. In 2021, that number spiked to 1.73 million with Biden in the White House.

As the administration struggles to find ways to deter migration and stop the surge at the southern border, now Ukrainian refugees are seeking asylum in the U.S.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, leading to a massive refugee crisis in Eastern Europe with millions fleeing the conflict. While many are going to neighboring countries like Poland, more and more are arriving in the U.S. now that Ukraine faces its 19th day of attack from Vladimir Putin.

Immigration lawyers in San Diego argue the Title 42 policy is no longer needed and is leading to inhumane treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers at the border as the administration claims it's necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Biden administration already ended the policy for children crossing without their parents, but as restrictions in the U.S. ease, there are increased calls to ditch the policy altogether.
A law firm boss has been ordered to pay out nearly 45,000 by a tribunal after sexually objectifying a young paralegal seeking her first job by making demeaning comments about her appearance.

Solicitor Victor Nwosu, 48, told the young woman, 'Mmm, I like what I see' and told her to 'only wear skirts and high heels', a disciplinary hearing was told.

Nwosu interviewed the 22-year-old for a position at London-based DCK Solicitors in April 2018.

She described how he told her 'you're very pretty' and 'I only employ beautiful women' among other unwanted compliments, before quizzing her over whether she had a boyfriend or a brother.

Now, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has fined him 20,000 for his conduct and ordered him to pay additional costs of 23,550.

At the tribunal, Nwosu claimed 'female activism' was the problem and insisted he was the victim.

Solicitor Victor Nwosu, 48, has been ordered to pay out nearly 45,000 by a tribunal after sexually objectifying a young paralegal in a job interview

The young woman, who has a first class degree and a masters, said she was the first woman in her family to go to university and sobbed after the 'traumatic' interview.

'I felt like a piece of meat', she said, adding that she rejected his job offer and reported him to regulators the next day to prevent other women being put in a similar position.

The tribunal found that Nwosu, a solicitor of 17 years' standing, was 'sexually motivated' in his behaviour towards the woman, named only as Person A, when he interviewed her.

The woman said Nwosu arrived 20 minutes late for the interview and quickly began making inappropriate comments to her.

She said that she was so 'horrified' that when he briefly left the room, she messaged her friends and boyfriend, saying 'I don't know if I want to work here' adding that she felt 'scared'.

In messages to friends, she wrote: 'He said that I was very, very beautiful. He told me that I have to wear skirts when I come into work, he doesn't like it when women wear trousers.

'He was undressing me with his eyes and he kept leaning forward and I'd lean back. I felt like an object. I felt so small. God I'm actually crying.

'The owner of the firm is disgusting.'

The woman rejected a role as a paralegal at DCK Solicitors in northwest London after her interview with Nwosu

She described how she was wearing smart trousers, professional short heels, a white shirt and a black blazer.

'I felt like my attire was appropriate for the interview,' she said. 'But Mr Nwosu told me he hated trousers and that he expected me to wear a skirt the next day.'

Nwosu offered the woman a role which she turned down, telling him: 'This is in no small part due to the unprofessional conduct displayed throughout the interview which led to me feeling uncomfortable.'

The young woman said: 'The interview was quite traumatic for me, it was the first paralegal role that I had ever applied for

'I felt so violated as he was in a position of power as I was in an interview... I went home and cried.'

Nwosu, who said he is 'happily married with teenage children', denied all of the allegations and insisted Person As motive was related to the salary he offered her and the allegations were 'brought about by malice'.

He told the hearing: 'She has the power, her female activism, it's female activism gone wrong, she has the power, that's why I am here [because] she's applied overt activism [and] I am the victim.

'She's embarrassed me and brought me here, she has the power.'

Nwosu said he always had 'four to six women working for him' and added: 'I'm a very humble person, I hoover my own carpet in front of [the] staff.

'You want to put the words of Person A over the words of a solicitor of the Supreme Court, trained, qualified for 15 years, [who] employs six staff?

'For you to insinuate this is very rude and upsetting. Person A is not someone you can believe.'

The tribunal panel said they were 'deeply concerned' by Nwosu.

In their judgment, they stated: 'Referring to Person A's physical appearance in terms of "pretty", "beautiful" and "mmm, I like what I see" could only, in the Tribunal's view, be considered to have sexual connotations.

'Asserting that women should wear "skirts and heels" were opinions which, in the Tribunal's view, could only be held for sexual gratification.

'Enquiring as to Person A's personal relationships with regards to a boyfriend and whether she had brothers was designed to ascertain the viability or otherwise of a future sexual relationship.'

The panel also said Nwosu's company's memo on work clothing 'revealed outdated attitudinal shortcomings predicated on the objectification of women in a sexual manner'.
Jake Sullivan spoke with his Russian counterpart Wednesday demanding Moscow stop targeting civilians and warned against using chemical or biological weapons as President Vladimir Putin continues his 20th day of invasion in Ukraine.

Biden's national security adviser spoke with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was delivering an address to Congress just after Russian troops shot and killed 10 Ukrainian civilians waiting in line for bread.

'Mr. Sullivan told General Patrushev that if Russia is serious about diplomacy then Moscow should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns,' NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne said in a readout of Sullivan's call with Patrushev.

The U.S. and western allies have levied crippling economic sanctions on Russia that has severely depleted worth of the ruble and left the country and its people in economic disarray. These deterrences, however, have not stopped Putin from his full-scale attack.

Zelensky played a video Wednesday for Congress showing bombings in Ukraine that reduced infrastructure to rubble and have left thousands of civilians dead.

'Mr. Sullivan also warned General Patrushev about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine,' Horne wrote of the national security adviser's Wednesday call.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told Russia if they want a shot at diplomacy, they need to stop targeting civilians and bombing Ukrainian cities. Pictured: A building is severely damaged by Russian shelling in Berdychiv, in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine on the 20th day of invasion Wednesday, March 16, 2022

In a call with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, Sullivan said 'if Russia is serious about diplomacy then Moscow should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns,' according to a readout of the call

Zelensky made an address to Congress on Wednesday (pictured) where he said Europe has a need for a new alliance outside of NATO that would prevent future attacks in Europe and stop Putin's bullying in the region

The latter warning comes after Russia claimed as justification for invasion that the U.S. was funding bio labs in Ukraine aimed at developing biological weapons, including the Black Death, anthrax and rabbit fever. China has backed up these claims.

The U.S. has called it just a 'preposterous' attempt at 'misinformation'.

The readout of Sullivan's call reiterated that the U.S. portrayed to Russia 'the United States' firm and clear opposition to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.'

'Mr. Sullivan clearly laid out the United States' commitment to continue imposing costs on Russia, to support the defense of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to reinforce NATO's eastern flank, in continued full coordination with our Allies and partners.'

Russia tried to strike a deal with Ukraine this week for the former Soviet-bloc country to become 'neutral' like Sweden or Austria after several rounds of peace talks have done nothing to quell the violence and bloodshed in Eastern Europe.

Moscow is reportedly demanding Ukraine refuse to join any military alliance or host foreign military bases on its soil as conditions for a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian troops who have been in the country since February 24, 2022.

Russia continues to target Ukrainian civilians and their homes. Here a firefighter works to extinguish a fire in Kharkiv on Wednesday following Russian shelling

Ukraine has pleaded they be admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance, and recently Zelensky has admitted his country would have to realize that would never happen.

He did, however, proposed during his Wednesday speech that he 'has a dream' for creation of a new military alliance to work for 'peace' in Europe amid fears Russia may want to retake its Soviet-era territories.

'I have a dreamI have a need. I need to protect our sky,' Zelensky said by invoking the words of civil rights leader Matin Luther King Jr.

'I need your decision,' he continued, 'exactly the same you feel when you say 'I have a dream.''

He said the new alliance would be aimed at preventing future attacks in Europe and stop Putin's bullying in the region.

Kyiv has said it would not make a deal with Moscow unless there were security guarantees underwritten by 'international partners' who would agree to come to Ukraine's defense in the event it is attacked again.

Footage published by Ukrainian website Public and corroborated by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv shows the lifeless bodies of ten people sprawled on the street after being executed in cold blood while waiting in line for bread

Ukraine's top negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said the international community cannot be allowed 'to stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today' should fighting restart.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Wednesday that neutrality is taking center stage with Moscow and Kyiv 'close to agreeing' the wording of an agreement, as it was revealed a 15-point plan for peace is being discussed.

The plan includes 'limits' on Ukraine's armed forces in return for Russia withdrawing from areas captured since the start of war on February 24, including along the Black Sea coast in the south, and Ukraine's northern and eastern borders.

But it is unclear what would become of Crimea - which Russia insists must be recognized as part of its territory - and Donetsk and Luhansk - which the Kremlin says should be recognized as independent.

Putin insists that the whole of Donetsk and Luhansk - known as the Donbass region - should split from Ukraine, and not just the parts occupied by pro-Moscow rebel forces before fighting broke out. It is unclear if Kyiv would agree to such terms.
Netflix has secured the rights to turn five Dr. Seuss books into animated shows that will look at 'themes of diversity', the company has said.

The shows will include 'Horton Hears a Who!,' 'The Sneetches,' 'One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,' 'Wacky Wednesday' and 'Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose,' the company said in a joint announcement with Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

The streaming giant is looking to broaden its pre-school offering, and it will be hoping the rights acquisition will give it more content to compete with rival Disney+.

'The new Dr. Seuss line-up will serve as a true anchor for Netflixs expanded focus on pre-school,' the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

'Introducing concepts of foundational learning, this new slate of programming will explore themes of diversity and respect for others all told through fun and engaging stories that incorporate the whimsical humor, distinctive visuals and rhythmic style of Dr. Seuss,' it added.

Netflix has secured the rights to turn five Dr. Seuss books into animated shows that will look at 'themes of diversity', the company has said. Adaptations of 'The Sneetches' (left) and 'Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose' (right) will both be 45-minute special episodes

Series of 'One Fish, Two Fish,' 'Wacky Wednesday' and 'Horton Hears a Who!' will all vary in length, Netflix said.

Series of 'One Fish, Two Fish,' 'Wacky Wednesday' and 'Horton Hears a Who!' will all vary in length, Netflix said.

The 'One Fish, Two Fish' series will comprise of seven minute episodes and two minute music videos, while episodes of both 'Wacky Wednesday' and 'Horton Hears a Who!' will run for 11 minutes.

Meanwhile, 'The Sneetches' and 'Thidwick The Big-Hearted Moose' will both be 45-minute special episodes.

Netflix and Dr. Seuss Enterprises - the company responsible for the author's legacy - collaborated first in 2019, creating an animated series of 'Green Eggs and Ham.' A second season of the show is expected to be released in April.

While Netflix dominates the streaming landscape, Disney+ gives its subscribers access to all of Disney's back catalogue and family friend intellectual property, giving it the edge in terms of content for younger viewers.

Netflix will be eager to compete more in this category, with Digital TV Research last year predicting Disney+ could overtake Netflix's overall subscribers by 2026.

'These beloved stories have been a core part of families' libraries for many years and it gives me great pride that we are bringing them to our catalog of Netflix shows, in a fresh and modern way that resonates with audiences today,' Heather Tilert, Netflix's Director of Preschool Content, said in the company's statement.

Susan Brandt, President and chief executive of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, added: 'We are always looking for new and engaging ways to share our stories, characters and messages with the next generation of fans, and Netflix has a unique ability to create original, delightful adaptations of our timeless classics with an emphasis on imagination, fun, and education.'

In recent years, the works of Dr. Seuss have been at the centre of a cultural battleground, with the publishing of a number of the artist's books being discontinued for including racist caricatures - with critics of the decision saying the beloved children's author was a victim of cancel culture.

Unpublished Dr. Seuss works will be edited by an 'inclusive' panel of writers and artists from 'diverse racial backgrounds,' the company announced Wednesday

Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced last year it would no longer print the following six books: 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street', 'If I Ran the Zoo', 'McElligot's Pool', 'On Beyond Zebra!', 'Scrambled Eggs Super!', and 'The Cat's Quizzer'.

And earlier this month, the company announced that a series of characters from unpublished Dr. Seuss works will be featured in an upcoming line of books written and illustrated by an 'inclusive' panel of writers and artists from 'diverse racial backgrounds.'

The new authors and illustrators will 'represent a diverse cross-section of racial backgrounds to represent as many families as possible,' said Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which was founded by the family of Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel, and manages his archives at the University of California San Diego.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises has not released the names of any of the authors or artists working on the project and it is not clear how they were selected. Requests for comment from DailyMail.com were not immediately answered.

The new authors and illustrators will 'represent a diverse cross-section of racial backgrounds to represent as many families as possible,' said Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Above is one of the sketches, showing a four-legged animal with humongous ears

Dr. Seuss Enterprises has not released the names of any of the authors or artists working on the project and it is not clear how they were selected. Above is another sketch, showing three multi-colored hummingbirds

The first two titles in the new line of books, dubbed Seuss Studios, will be released in 2023 and published by Random House Children's Books. Like Dr. Seuss's other works, they will be geared towards readers aged 4 to 8.

Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in a statement that it would announce additional details about the project later this year.

'We look forward to putting the spotlight on a new generation of talent who we know will bring their unique voices and style to the page, while also drawing inspiration from the creativity and imagination of Dr. Seuss,' Susan Brandt, the president and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, said in a statement.

Among the characters included is a small four-legged animal with humongous ears and a group of three multi-colored hummingbirds.

'The original Dr. Seuss sketch that serves as the inspiration for each of the new Seuss Studios books will be included in the book, along with a note from the creators explaining how they were inspired, and their process,' the San Diego-based company said.

The move to give unpublished Dr. Seuss sketches a woke rework came just one day after President Biden omitted Dr. Seuss from Read Across America Day, which is held annually on the children's author's birthday on March 2.

It comes a year after Dr. Seuss Enterprises said it was ceasing publication of six titles for including racist images

This image appears in the 1937 book 'And To Think I Saw It On Mulberry Street', which shows an illustration of a 'Chinaman who eats with sticks' - a caricatured picture of an Asian man carrying a bowl of rice

'If I Ran the Zoo', which was published in 1950, includes a drawing of two bare-footed African men wearing what appear to be grass skirts with their hair tied above their heads

Biden broke presidential tradition when he left out any mention of Dr. Seuss during his proclamation on Monday. Both former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump have recognized Dr. Seuss' contributions several times in their proclamations each year.

This year, however, the White House included the legendary author again, announcing that the 'path to literacy' for young readers 'begins with timeless traditions: being read to at bedtime, gathering in classrooms for story time, and attending events at local libraries with family and friends.'

'Children's classics such as Dr. Seuss' 'Green Eggs and Ham' and 'Oh, the Places You'll Go!' Have inspired a passion for reading and endless creativity that spans generations,' the White House's proclamation said Tuesday.

Explaining last year's decision to stop the publication of the six books, Dr. Seuss Enterprises said: 'These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.'

In 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,' an Asian person is portrayed wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl. 'If I Ran the Zoo' includes a drawing of two bare-footed African men wearing what appear to be grass skirts with their hair tied above their heads.

'We look forward to putting the spotlight on a new generation of talent who we know will bring their unique voices and style to the page,' Susan Brandt, the president and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, said in a statement

The White House included Dr. Seuss in this year's 'Read Across America' celebration after President Joe Biden omitted him last year

There has been increasing criticism in recent years over the way blacks, Asians and others are drawn in some of Theodor Seuss Geisel's most beloved children's books, as well as in his earlier advertising and propaganda illustrations

'Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises' catalog represents and supports all communities and families,' the company said.

The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made two years ago after months of discussion, the company said.

'Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles.'

Random House Children Books, Dr. Seuss' publisher, issued a brief statement on the matter last year: 'We respect the decision of Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the work of the panel that reviewed this content last year, and their recommendation.'

Dr. Suess, who was born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts, began his career in 1927 as an illustrator for magazines like Vanity Fair and Life and a political cartoonist for New York publication PM.

He wrote his first children's book, 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street'  which was one of his canceled publications, in 1937.

During World War II, he took a brief hiatus from children's literature to create political cartoons condemning Nazi Germany and worked in the animation and film department of the United States Army.

Dr. Seuss founded the Beginner Books imprint at Random House in 1957, publishing 'The Cat in the Hat' and 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' that same year.

Presidents Clinton, Obama and Trump have all mentioned Dr. Seuss in conjunction with Read Across America Day, which is designed to encourage school children to read more. The Obamas are pictured in April 2010

In 2017, a school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, criticized a gift of 10 Seuss books from first lady Melania Trump, saying many of his works were 'steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.'

Dr. Seuss earned about $35 million in 2021 and was named the fifth-highest paid dead celebrity of the year by Forbes, with Roald Dahl as number one, followed by Prince, Michael Jackson and Charles Schulz. He was number two on the list in 2020, earning $33 million that year, preceded by Michael Jackson.

His books have been translated into dozens of languages, as well as in Braille, and are sold in more than 100 countries.

The National Education Association, which launched Read Across America Day in 1998 and made Dr. Seuss the face of the celebration, has for several years steered away from the author and encouraged a more diverse reading list for children.

School districts across the country have also moved away from Dr. Seuss, prompting Loudoun County, Virginia, schools just outside Washington, D.C., to douse rumors last month that they were banning the books entirely.

'Research in recent years has revealed strong racial undertones in many books written/illustrated by Dr. Seuss,' the school district said in a statement.

In 2017, a school librarian in Cambridge, Massachusetts, criticized a gift of 10 Seuss books from first lady Melania Trump, saying many of his works were 'steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.'

In 2018, a Dr. Seuss museum in his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts, removed a mural that included an Asian stereotype.
President Biden promised he would veto legislation passed by the Senate that would undo a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) health order mandating masks on public transit and in transportation hubs.

The Senate voted 57-40 to go against the Biden administration's recommendations, with eight Democrats siding with all Republicans but one - Sen. Mitt Romney - to pass the legislation.

That was far more than the number of Democrats who have joined prior efforts to get rid of masks and vaccine mandates. The eight Democrats were: Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Ariz., Maggie Hassan, N.H., Joe Manchin, W. Va., Michael Bennet, Colo., Catherine Cortez Masto, Nev., Jacky Rosen, Nev., and Jon Tester, Mont.

While Biden has honed in on a message of moving on from the pandemic, the CDC last week recommended TSA extend the transportation mask mandate one more month until April 18th.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., forced a vote on the resolution under the Congressional Review Act, which allows senators to overturn federal agencies' regulations within a certain time frame by simple majority voter rather than needing to clear a 60-vote filibuster.

'Public transportation and transportation hubs are places where people across communities congregate, often for extended periods and in close quarters. The determination of the timeline and circumstances under which masks should be required in these settings should be guided by science, not politics,' the White House said in a statement ahead of the vote. 'If Congress were to pass this resolution, the President would veto it.'

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., forced a vote on the resolution under the Congressional Review Act which allows senators to overturn federal agencies' regulations within a certain time frame by simple majority vote

Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema were two of the eight Democrats who voted to end the transportation mask mandate

Eight Democrats, including Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jon Tester, voted to end the transportation mask mandate

The legislation is unlikely to take effect as there is still not enough support from Democrats to override a veto.

Last month under the Congressional Review Act the Senate passed a measure striking down Biden's Covid-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers employed at facilities that receive federal funding. With six Democrats absent from voting, the measure passed the Senate 49-44.

Biden himself has underscored a message of moving on from the pandemic.

'We can end the shutdown of schools and businesses,' Biden said during his State of the Union address on March 1. 'We have the tools we need.'

'It's time for Americans to get back to work and fill our great downtowns again,' he continued. 'People working from home can feel safe to begin to return to the office.'

Early this month the CDC drastically updated its guidelines to end indoor mask recommendations for Americans living in most regions of the country. The White House followed suit and ended its own mask rule, and hundreds of mostly maskless lawmakers gathered together with the president at the State of the Union.
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President Joe Biden finally called Vladimir Putin a war criminal on Wednesday after watching 20 days of atrocities in Ukraine and announcing an $800million military package including drones to to be sent to Volodymyr Zelensky's fighters.

Biden said 'I think he is a war criminal' when asked by reporters about Putin's relentless attacks on civilians following an event on Wednesday afternoon and just hours after Zelensky urged him to be the 'leader for peace' and asked the US for more help in an impassioned speech to Congress.

The President's condemnation of Putin's actions came after he provided a detailed laundry list at the White House Wednesday of a new tranche of $800 million in deadly arms the U.S. is providing to Ukraine as it it continues to fight against Russia's brutal invasion.

The Kremlin responded later on Wednesday by condemning Biden's 'unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric,' according to Russian state media.

'We consider unacceptable and unforgivable such rhetoric of the head of state, whose bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people around the world,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Kremlin's clapback came after horrifying footage appeared to show Russian soldiers killing 10 civilians waiting in a bread line and video emerged of a Russian tank apparently shooting an elderly man in the street following numerous strikes on hospitals and residential targets.

On Wednesday Ukraine said Russians bombed a theater in Mariupol that had been used as a shelter for people hiding from Moscow's attacks.

'The plane dropped a bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding,' the Mariupol City Council said according to CNN, adding the Russians 'purposefully and cynically destroyed the Drama Theater in the heart of Mariupol.'

U.S. officials are also concerned Putin could soon use chemical weapons on Ukrainians, which was internationally outlawed by the Geneva Protocol. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan spoke with his counterpart in Russia on Wednesday, where he warned him 'about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine,' according a White House statement.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked about Biden's comment at her Wednesday press briefing, to which she said the president was 'speaking from his heart' and 'responding to what he has seen on television.'

'The president's remarks speak for themselves, he was speaking from his heart and speaking from what he'd seen on television -- which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country,' Psaki said.

But she added, 'There is a legal process that continues to -- is underway, continues to be underway at the State Department.'

Moscow's autocratic leader, meanwhile, sent a chilling warning to the West on Wednesday that its 'attempts to have global dominance' were coming to an end.

The president's condemnation comes amid mounting calls to declare Putin a 'war criminal' over gruesome reports of Russian soldiers slaughtering civilians. Ukrainian officials previously said that more of its innocents were killed during the nearly three-week conflict than soldiers.

Biden addressed Americans hours after Zelensky's pleaded for more assistance.

The president acknowledged Zelensky's 'significant speech' that showed Ukraine's 'remarkable courage in the face of brutal aggression,' before turning to the contents of the package.

Facing pressure from members of both parties to do more, Biden cast Ukraine's struggle in broad strokes. 'Its about freedom. Its about the right of people to determine their own future. Its about making sure that Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin,' he said of the Russian president.

'Were going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead,' Biden pledged, as he faces pressure from Congress and from Zelensky to provide Ukraine with a means to defend itself.

He also spoke in unusual detail about the latest package of aid, which brings U.S. military assistance to $1 billion just this week.

After announcing $800 million in new military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday following Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned address to Congress, Biden told reporters he believes Vladimir Putin is a 'war criminal'

It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems, portable 'high accuracy' shoulder mounted missiles, and 7,000 small arms, plus machine guns, shotguns, and grenade launchers.

He said the package would include drones, 'which demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.' He didn't specify if he meant the latest kamikaze killer drones that the administration had been considering.

Biden said the package included 'additional longer range anti-aircraft systems,' which he described as coming at Zelensky's request.

One thing Biden didn't mention and didn't want to talk about were MiG fighter jets Zelensky is pleading for. The administration scuttled a plan to have Poland transfer the jets to the U.S. for transfer.

The lethal arms and equipment in Biden's new $800m Ukraine package The Biden administration says it has committed $2 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden unveiled another $800 million in arms and support. It includes: 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems 2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems 100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems - or drones Stinger missiles have helped prevent Russia claiming air superiority over Ukraine 100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns, and 400 shotguns Over 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds 25,000 sets of body armor 20 million rounds of ammunition 25,000 helmets Advertisement

When signing a document directing the transfer, Biden wouldn't comment when asked about the jets.

Congress carries on calls for Biden to give jets to Ukraine over White House fears it could lead to escalation with Putin - while attacks on civilians continue

A number of lawmakers, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Wednesday, have called on Biden to provide the planes, despite the administration's concern it could lead to escalation.

'This could be a long and difficult battle,' Biden predicted, as the invasion approached the end of its third week.

He denounced 'Putins immoral and unethical attacks,' and said the world was 'united in our abhorrence of Putins depraved onslaught.'

Biden also cited international efforts to put pressure on Russia's 'crumbling' economy, while 'isolating Putin' on the global stage. Zelensky also urged more action on that front, urging sanctions not only on Putin but on cronies deep within his government.

'That's our goal. Make Putin pay the price, weaken his position, while strengthening the hand of the Ukrainians on the battlefield and at the negotiating table. Together with our allies and partners, were going to stay the course. and were going to to push for to push for and end this tragic and unnecessary war,' Biden said, while flanked by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.

Biden calling Putin a war criminal is not the first such denunciation by a world leader. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said earlier this month that Putin's targeting of civilians 'already fully qualifies as a war crime.'

Russia has so far denied deliberately targeting innocents, though reports from Ukraine paint a far more sinister picture.

New footage published by Ukrainian outlet Public appears to show Moscow's soldiers gunning down 10 civilians assembled in a bread line outside Chernihiv in northern Ukraine.

'This is not the first such incoming shell [in the city] nor is it the first shelling of civilians by the enemy. The Russians are shelling and destroying mostly civilian infrastructure in the city of Chernihiv and other cities in the region,' a local official named Vyacheslav Chaus said.

And drone video from last week shows Russian troops shooting and killing a Ukrainian civilian who held up his hands in surrender on a highway outside of Kyiv. A woman and child were pulled out of the car but it's not clear what their fates were.

The soldiers can be seen callously dragging the motorist's lifeless body to the side of the road and leaving it there.

Russian troops also bombarded the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia hours after roughly 20,000 civilians arrived there via humanitarian corridor.

They had come from Mariupol, where officials say thousands of civilians have perished as Russians surrounded the city and cut it off from power and supply lines.

Zelensky said last week that a young girl died of dehydration there, alone in the ruins of her home, after Moscow's shelling killed her mother. The report has not been verified by western media outlets.

The eastern Ukrainian city has also seen one of its maternity hospitals attacked. At least one pregnant woman and her baby died after the health facility was bombarded by Russian missiles.

Moscow had claimed the Mariupol hospital was being used by the Ukrainian military and that no civilians were present during the assault -- adding that images of wounded and bloody mothers were staged using crisis actors.

Russia has been accused of attacking humanitarian corridors where refugees are escaping several times, breaking agreed-upon ceasefires to slay civilians in cold blood.

The U.S. Senate unanimously voted to condemn Putin as a war criminal late on Tuesday, a rare show of unity in an otherwise highly divided Congress.

The resolution, introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), demands that the International Criminal Court in The Hague investigate the Russian military for war crimes, backing Ukraine's earlier request for the body to do so.

Canada also announced earlier this month that it would lend support to Kyiv by also referring Putin and his troops to the ICC.

On March 3 the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan announced his intention to probe reports of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Biden spoke at the White House shortly after Zelensky addressed American lawmakers in the first virtual address.

'I need to protect our skies. I need your help, which means the same you feel when you hear I have a dream,' he said.

'We need you right now,' Zelensky said, adding: 'I call on you to do more.'

Right as Kyiv's leader delivered his gut-wrenching address, Putin shared his own speech that was notably darker and more threatening.

In addition to the West, the autocrat also took aim at Russian oligarchs who have been increasingly opposed to the war.

He disparaged Moscow's elite who are frustrated at the West's targeted sanctions as 'traitors' as they find more and more of their assets in the U.S. and Europe seized by foreign authorities over their close ties to Putin.

Biden is not the first world leader to accuse Putin of committing war crimes. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he carried out such atrocities in remarks earlier this month, as reports grew of Russian troops slaughtering civilians (pictured: Dead bodies are put into a mass grave on the outskirts of Mariupol, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 9)

The invasion has also created a refugee crisis, with the United Nations stating that more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Putin first ordered the attack on February 24 (pictured: Women rest as children play in a humanitarian aid tent, where refugees are coming to warm up and rest, after crossing from Ukraine into Poland at the Medyka border crossing, southeastern Poland on March 16)

'I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera, or who can't get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called "gender freedoms." The problem is they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,' he said. 'The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors... to divide our society.. to provoke civil confrontation... to strive to achieve its aim. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia.'

Putin claimed the West's sanctions were being levied only to prevent a 'strong and sovereign Russia.'

He added that Moscow was 'fighting for our sovereignty and the future of our children,' even as Ukrainian officials condemn him for slaughtering their own.

On Tuesday Biden signed a $13.6 billion package into law that provides military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

His speech followed reports the administration was considering providing U.S.-made kamikaze 'Switchblade' killer drones to Ukraine.

The small, lightweight and comparatively cheap 'kamikaze' weapons, which are effectively remote-controlled bombs, come in two versions which have been designed to take out tanks or artillery positions.

They are believed to be the same missiles that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani under Donald Trump's administration in 2020.

U.S. military officials have noted the Ukrainians have been highly effective at using weapons to take out Russian tanks, trucks, and other armored vehicles.

Biden provided details on the deadly military equipment the U.S. was providing, which follows previous aid packages. He was joined by Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L), Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a heartfelt plea for President Joe Biden and America to 'be the leader of the world' and help his country against Russian attacks in a speech where he appealed to U.S. heartstrings by comparing the crisis to the tragedies of 9/11 and Pearl Harbor and invoked Martin Luther King Jr. by saying: 'I have a dream... I have a need'

Zelensky showed a video montage to Congress of the destruction and death in Ukraine (pictured), and said his country is facing a 9/11-like attack every day

Biden's speech followed reports the administration was considering providing U.S.-made kamikaze 'Switchblade' killer drones to Ukraine

Biden said the package would include 'Cutting edge' drones, without providing specifics

Vladimir Putin said today that the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end as he warned it is trying to 'cancel Russia' with an 'economic blitzkrieg' of sanctions

The drones can be used to take out tanks and artillery positions, but can only be used once

There have been reports of a rising death toll among Russian troops  as the staggering toll of civilian Ukrainian losses also rises.

The new aid package Biden just signs includes $6.5 billion to fund Pentagon troop deployments so the nation can bolster its presence in the region, plus $4 billion pays for humanitarian aid.

Although the aid package has been in the works for days, Biden set up his remarks to follow Zelensky's.

Zelensky concluded his speech with a personal appeal to Biden.

'I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,' he said.

The two leaders spoke on a day when Russian President Vladimir Putin inveighed against 'scum' traitors and fifth columnists, after western officials have hoped openly that he might face an internal schism.

'I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera. Or who can't get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called 'gender freedoms,' Putin said in a TV address. 'The problem is they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,' he said.

'The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors... to divide our society.. to provoke civil confrontation... to strive to achieve its aim. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia,' he claimed.
A former senior officer in the Russian army laid out a battle plan on state TV which includes the Russian army invading the NATO Baltic states and parts of Sweden, a politically neutral country.

Speaking live on TV channel Rossiya 1, retired Russian military Colonel gestured to the map showing Gotland, Sweden's largest island with a population of around 58,595, circled in red.

Pointing a the map, Colonel Igor Korotchenko, formerly of the Russian General Staff and air force and currently a reserve officer, said at the start of the invasion 'a massive Russian radio-electronic strike is inflicted' as 'all Nato radars go blind and see nothing', according to the Sun.

This was how the scenario for capturing the countries might look, he added.

Colonel Igor Korotchenko, formerly of the Russian General Staff and air force and currently a reserve officer, outlined on TV channel Rossiya 1 how a Russain invasion of the Baltic states might look

The map shows a plan where Russian forces would push up from Kaliningrad and close the Suwalki corridor separating Poland and Lithuania, blocking NATO reinforcements

Sweden has been politically neutral throughout its recent history, but Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought the prospect of the Nordic country joining NATO to the fore of political discussion.

Russia has threatened Sweden and Finland over NATO membership repeatedly since the invasion began.

'At this time, on the Swedish island Gotland, Russian military planes land, delivering S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, and Bastion coastal anti-ship systems,' said Colonel Korotchenko.

In the video, a border area labelled the 'Suwalki gap' is shown - the gap between Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, a leftover territory annexed from Germany after the Second World War.

Colonel Korotchenko explained how Russia would push up from Kaliningrad towards the Suwalki corridor separating Poland and Lithuania, blocking NATO reinforcements from the West.

'The astonished West and NATO will know that Russia declares a no-fly zone of 400km,' added the enthused Colonel.

The entire Baltic Sea would then by open to Russian forces, he said on live TV.

The scenario ends with the new Baltic states governments pledging allegiance to Moscow while Sweden agrees to perpetual neutrality and a 99-year lease on Gotland.

The program went out on Russian television as the end of last year but was posted by Ukrainian government advisor Anton Gerashchenko.

NATO forces take part in the Cold Response drills in Norway, which happen every two years

Armoured vehicles of NATO's rapid reaction force brigade in Norway for the military exercise Cold Response 22 arrive at Borg Havn in Fredrikstad, Norway

Only days ago, NATO sent tens of thousands of troops, including Royal Marines, an aircraft carrier, a destroyer ship and a nuclear-powered attack submarine to Norway, which borders Russia.

Troops from 28 countries in Europe and North America are involved in war games on Russia's border set to last around a month, beginning in northern Norway on Monday.

The drill was named Cold Response, and is being held just a few hundred kilometres from the Russian border, as Vladimir Putin's forces continue to wage war in Ukraine.

Around 35,000 troops, 200 aircraft and 50 vessels are involved in Cold Response, including roughly 900 Royal Marines who will spearhead the UK involvement.

They will raid along the jagged Norwegian coastline from an amphibious task group led by HMS Albion.

Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales will also take part and will be joined by frigate HMS Richmond, Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker and a nuclear-powered attack submarine escorting her.

HMS Prince of Wales is pictured taking part in Cold Response 22

An Aircrewman looks out the door of his Merlin Mk2. F35's from 207 Squadron RAF Marham conducted a flyby of the NATO Flagship HMS Prince of Wales whilst in the area conducting training with the ship

NATO UK ships join the largest Arctic exercise in 30 years

US Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron are taking part in the exercise

The HMS Prince of Wales Task Group will operate in the harsh cold weather environment with allies and partners from across NATO

The drills aim to show how a unified multilateral force would defend Norway and Europe's northern flank from a modern adversary.

The UK's participation in the exercises underlines Britain's commitment to security in Europe and forges closer bonds between NATO allies and partners.

NATO said the drill, was not linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It said the drill was planned long before alleged war criminal Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.

Russia has declined to be an observer at the exercise, which aims at having NATO members and partners practicing working together on land, in the air and at sea.

The drill, which is held every other year, is due to finish in April.

US Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, pose for a photograph during a training event in preparation for Exercise Cold Response 2022

US Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division, simulate engaging a target in preparation to Exercise Cold Response 2022 in Norway

The Norwegian-led exercise is designed to enhance military capabilities, test US Marines ability to work alongside NATO allies and partners and adapt to challenging climates while training on offensive and defensive tactical operations
Disney workers are planning walkouts during their breaks every day this week to protest CEO Bob Chapek's 'slow response' in publicly criticizing Florida legislation that critics have dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill.

The act of protest will culminate next Tuesday with a larger walkout by LGBTQ workers and their supporters at Disney worksites in California, Florida and elsewhere, the group of Disney employees said this week on their website.

Organizers asked Disney workers to respond online whether or not they were planning to participate in the full-scale walkout next week.

'We must make sure we have large enough numbers to be successful,' they said.

The Parental Rights in Education bill bars instruction on 'sexual orientation or gender identity' in kindergarten through grade three. Introduced by two Florida lawmakers and backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, they say the bill's aim is to 'empower parents' in their children's education, and make teachers recognize the distinction between 'instruction' and 'discussion.'

Statements by Disney leadership over the Florida legislation 'have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation,' the group said.

The walkouts come as the Human Rights Campaign, the latest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the U.S., announced that it will not be accepting any more funding from Disney without 'greater commitment to LGBTQ+ rights.'

Marvel, which Disney owns, issued their own statement of support for the LGBTQ community and came out against the bill on Wednesday.

'We strongly denounce any and ALL legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community,' the company said. 'Today, we pledge to continue our strong commitment as allies who promote the values of equality, acceptance and respect.'

Protests have erupted throughout Florida over the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill, with Disney workers setting up their own protests over the company's 'slow response'

Disney workers at the magical kingdom have planed protests during their breaks this week, with a large walkout planned for next Tuesday

The walkout organizers expressed their dissatisfaction with Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who they say failed to act quickly to speak out against the bill. He later apologized

Joni Madison, interim president of the Human Rights Campaign - the latest LGBTQ civil rights organization in the U.S. - said the group would not accept funding from Disney unless it fights to get rid of the bill days after Disney pledged $5 million to the HRC

What is the Parental Rights in Education bill? HB 1557 was introduced by two Republican members of the Florida Legislature - Representative Joe Harding and Senator Dennis Baxley. They say the bill's aim is to 'empower parents' in their children's education, and make teachers recognize the distinction between 'instruction' and 'discussion.' 'What we're prohibiting is instructing them in a specific direction,' Baxley said about how teachers lead students in a classroom. 'Students can talk about whatever they want to bring up, but sometimes the right answer is, ''You really ought to talk to your parents about that.''' The bill applies to children in kindergarten through third grade. It states that 'classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur.' It also requires districts to 'adopt procedures for notifying a student's parent if there is a change in the student's services or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being,' something LGBTQ advocates argue could lead to students being outed to their parents without the student's knowledge or consent. It was passed on March 8 in a 22-17 vote. The state House had approved the bill late last month. DeSantis has said he will sign it into law. It will come into effect on July 1. Advertisement

'HRC is not going to take any funding from Disney until we see them take real action to defeat hateful legislation in Florida,' said Joni Madison, the HRC interim president.

The statement came after Chapek announced last week that Disney would pledge $5 million to the organization to help the LGBT community, a donation the HRC rejected the same day, Hollywood Reporter reported.

Disney had paused all political donations in the state last week following liberal outcry over the bill.

Republican lawmakers pushing the legislation argue that parents, not teachers, should be the ones talking to their children about gender issues during their early formative years.

The bill prohibits 'classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity.'

It also requires districts to 'adopt procedures for notifying a student's parent if there is a change in the student's services or monitoring related to the student's mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being,' something LGBTQ advocates argue could lead to some students being outed to their parents without the student's knowledge or consent.

The legislation has attracted scrutiny from President Joe Biden, who called it 'hateful,' as well as other Democrats who argue it demonizes LGBTQ people.

The legislation has been sent to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it.

Those leading the walkouts at Disney said that while walkouts during breaks are 'protected' actions, workers taking part in the larger March 22 walkout will not be protected from consequences.

'Take your own situation into account before choosing to participate,' their website noted.

Disney on Wednesday didn't respond to an email inquiry about whether the walkouts during breaks were having any impact on operations this week.

As the state's largest private-sector employer - Walt Disney World outside Orlando had more than 75,000 workers before the coronavirus pandemic - Disney has contributed huge amounts of money to Floridas political parties and politicians and has wielded incredible influence on the states government.

At the beginning of last week, Chapek sent a message to Disney workers affirming the company's support for LGBTQ rights, while also saying that corporate statements often don't do much to change minds and can be 'weaponized' by either side.

Chapek said he had the backs of his LBGTQ employees but admitted that he 'missed the mark'

Rather than make an early public statement against the legislation, company officials had been working behind the scenes with Florida lawmakers 'to achieve a better outcome,' Chapek told Disney shareholders a few days later. He later admitted that the efforts hadn't been successful, despite 'our longstanding relationships with those lawmakers.'

With his public responses being panned by some Disney workers and supporters, Chapek last Friday apologized and said the company was pausing all political donations in Florida.

'I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community,' Chapek said in a message to Disney workers. 'I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on - and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve.'

Florida House Rep. Michele Rayner delivers an impassioned speech vowing to challenge the controversial 'Don't say gay' on Saturday

Protesters in St. Petersburg, Florida, rallied in front of city hall on Saturday

Opponents and LGBTQ rights activists lobbied against what they call the 'Don't Say Gay' law, which will affect kids in kindergarten through third grade

The controversial bill has been sent to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it. If it become law, it will take effect on July 1

The Florida legislation, championed by DeSantis, is part of nationwide effort by Republicans who feel they are wresting back control from liberal policies they say undermine traditional family values.

Similar moves are afoot in other Republican-led or Republican-leaning states, chiefly in the south.

They include a plan by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to label as 'child abuse' medical treatments considered in progressive states to be standard care for transgender teenagers.

Liberals, such as White House spokeswoman Jen Pskai, have slammed the bill, calling it 'horrific' and a 'form of bullying.'

DeSantis has hit back at Democrats for exaggerating the scope of the bill.

Psaki said the bill 'would discriminate against families, against kids, put these kids in a position of not getting the support they need at a time where that's exactly what they need.'

Its text says that 'classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.'

DeSantis has repeatedly emphasized that it only bans formal lessons on LGBT topics for children aged from kindergarten to third grade. Teachers who breach these rules can then be sued by parents.

If signed, it will become law on July 1.
Actor William Hurt spent his last few weeks in excruciating pain as he refused to take opiates and break his decades-long sobriety, a source close to the Oscar-winning actor has revealed.

He only eventually agreed to hospice care when the pain got too much to bear, the close friend told DailyMail.com exclusively.

'His death was not so much tragic as a gift, the source said. He was experiencing so much pain and suffering, and he went out peacefully.

One of the last pictures of William Hurt was with his youngest son Will that Will posted to Facebook following his death

Hurt won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Luis Molina in the 1985 movie Kiss of the Spider Woman

He was totally against taking opiates because he had been sober for decades, the source said.

Thats why he sought out alternative treatments. And he had been doing really well for so long. He even did a couple of movies in between all of this.

'But the cancer just got the best of him. He succumbed to getting morphine just in the last week.

Hurt announced he was suffering from prostate cancer which had metastasized to his bones in May 2018. He said at the time it was terminal.

But he battled bravely on before finally succumbing on March 13. He was one week shy of his 72nd birthday.

He died, surrounded by his family, in his modest four-bedroom home in Portland, Oregon, where he had lived since 2015.

Weve talked a lot in the last year, and he was still his same self, the source said.

When he was on his deathbed, he was a little confused, but he was still really sharp, right up to the end.

Hurt first announced he had prostate cancer in 2018 when researchers at Berkeley unveiled a new chemotherapy said to be without side effects. Here he speaks to an LA TV station at the event

By 2019 Hurt was walking with the aid of a cane. He is pictured on the set of his penultimate movie Black Widow in Macon, Georgia

William Hurt died, a week shy of his 72nd birthday, at his modest four-bedroom house in Portland, Oregon, where he had lived since 2015

His son Alex told DailyMail.com there will not be a funeral. 'That's what he wanted.

'My dad wanted to keep things private.'

Hurt won his Best Actor Oscar for his starring role in 1985's Kiss of the Spider Woman. He was then nominated for the next two years for Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News. He also starred in movies including The Big Chill, Body Heat and Into the Wild.

In a statement to DailyMail on the day of Hurt's death, Alex Hurt, the oldest of his four children, said: 'This morning, early and still dark, my father passed peacefully in the comfort of his home, held by the love of his children and surrounded in the rich green of the Northwest that he cherished.

'The world knew him as an incredible artistic force, a vessel for his many characters, a shapeshifter with an unbending willingness to seek out truth in story, a hunger to peel back what has been forgotten in our humanity, and a passion for the ways that art can validate our living experiences.

Sandrine Bonnaire, the mother of Hurt's daughter Jeanne was with him at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012

Hurt was accompanied by second wife Heidi Henderson at the Golden Globes in January 2012. He was nominated for his role as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in the HBO movie Too Big to Fail

Sandra Jennings, the mother of two of William Hurt's sons accompanied him to the Oscars in 1982

'The world knew him as an artist who dove deep and who will be celebrated and remembered for his talents and tenacity,' Alex continued.

'His children and his grandchildren will remember him for his vibrant curiosity, for his storytelling, his playfulness, his wildness, his unmatched sense of light and dark both, and his sea-crashing love.

His marriage to Mary Beth Hurt did not produce any children

The star's son Will said in a statement on Sunday: 'It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar winning actor,' adding, He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes.

Hurt had four children, Alex, now 39, Sam, 32, Will, 31 and Jeanne, 28. Alex was from his relationship with Sandra Jennings, Will and Sam from his six-year marriage to Heidi Henderson and Jeanne from his relationship with French actress Sandrine Bonnaire.

His first marriage to actress Mary Beth Hurt lasted from 1971-1981 but 10did not produce children.

He also had a two-year relationship with Marlee Matlin, his co-star in Children of a Lesser God. Her allegations that he raped and abused her have resurfaced since the actor's death.

There was a tribute to him on CBS yesterday morning, and it was so beautiful, the source said, and then they had to go f**k it up by talking about Marlee Matlin and the abuse she wrote about in her book.

He was not so kind at times, the source acknowledged.

It was complicated. I think he had demons. He had real demons, and thats what made him such a wonderful actor. But as a human being, he was challenged. And he really did try.

Hurt in his iconic role as news anchor Tom Grunick in the classic 1987 movie Broadcast News. He was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars but beaten out by Michael Douglas's portrayal of Gordon Gecko in Wall Street

Hurt won his Oscar playing the role of Luis Molina opposite the late Raul Julia in Kiss of the Spider Woman

His third Oscar nomination came for Children of a Lesser God. Co-star Marlee Matlin won the Academy Award for best actress and started a relationship with him which ended in accusations of rape and abuse

'I know he loved his children. I know that.

During their conversations in recent times, Hurt talked a lot about his time as an actor.

I think he wanted to be remembered for his work, and that he was an artist, the friend said. He resented media conglomerates because of their making actors feel like prostitutes.

One particular movie he was really upset about was The Doctor, the source added, about the 1991 movie in which he played a successful surgeon suddenly struck down by cancer.

He used to rant and rail that they would never give enough time to rehearse because everything was about the money and getting things done quickly and on time.

He needed time to rehearse, to learn about the other actors he was working with, the friend said. That was very important to him.

Hurt starred with Christine Lahti in The Doctor in 1991. According to a source he complained about not having enough time to rehearse. That was very important to him, the source said

Hurt and Kathleen Turner steamed up the screens in 1981's Body Heat

Hallmark's The Flamingo Rising was a 2001 film about a feud between a funeral parlor owner and a man who wanted to build a drive-in theater opposite. Hurt starred alongside Elizabeth McGovern

Hurt (center) was in the made-for-TV 1976 movie Verna, USO Girl which filmed in Germany

He didnt want to be remembered as some lackey, somebody who sold their soul to make a buck, the source continued.

He once turned down a million dollar offer to do a voiceover for a Mercedes commercial. People thought he was arrogant to do that.

'But that wasnt what he was about. He was about the craft.

Hurt spoke about his cancer in 2018 when researchers at Berkeley unveiled a new chemotherapy said to be without side effects.

He said no-one could know what it feels like to be told you have cancer until it happens.

He didnt want to be remembered as some lackey, somebody who sold their soul to make a buck

Speaking to the doctors, he said: 'I didnt want to hear the word chemo out of your mouth.

I had fought tooth and nail for five years to change my life so that word didnt happen to me.

'But here it was and I was really upset.'

Speaking about acting with People in 1985, Hurt described himself as 'a character actor in a leading-man's body.

'I want more mask than, say, Spencer Tracy did. But I don't "pretend" to be somebody else. Acting isn't schizoid like that. Acting is about telling the truth. And it's an adventure. It isn't about what I know before I do it. It's about what I can discover while it's happening.'

He fought to keep his personal life private.

He told The New York Times in 1989, 'It's not right that my privacy is invaded to the extent that it is. I'm a very private man, and I have the right to be.

'I never said that because I was an actor you can have my privacy, you can steal my soul. You can't.'
A Ukrainian man has been caught attempting to flee the country by hiding in a pile of baby clothes after president Volodymyr Zelensky announced all men must stay and fight for their country against Russia.

Photos show a children's cloth luggage with the man inside at the Ukraine-Moldova border, where he was attempting to smuggle himself through.

But the guards at the Rososhany checkpoint stopped the Renault, driven by a woman with her two children.

After initiating a thorough check of the vehicle, the guards found an unusual passenger inside.

A man was caught trying to smuggle himself across the Ukraine-Moldova border to avoid fighting in Ukraine

He was found at the Rososhany checkpoint in a Renault car driven by a woman with her two children

Border guards put a lock on the wheel, stopping the woman from driving away.

The man appeared to be fleeing the command from Ukrainian authorities that all men stay and fight in the country's war against Russia.

Zelensky imposed martial law on Ukraine on February 24, imposing a period where male citizens of Ukraine aged from 18 to 60 are not allowed to leave the country.

There are exceptions if a person is ineligible on medical grounds, if the person is looking after three children or more, raising a child alone, or raising a child with a disability.

it also does not apply to a parent who has adopted a child, according to Visit Ukraine.

With two children, a Ukrainian man would not meet the exception standard, requiring him to stay in the country.

After the ordered attack from Vladimir Putin's forces, authorities began handing out weapons to any citizen wanting to protect Ukraine.

It is not clear whether or not the man will be sent back to fight for Ukraine after being detained.

Photos show the man struggle to wriggle out of the pile of clothes after pulling himself out of the luggage box, while bemused guards look at the ground

The armed border guards put a lock on the car while deciding what to do with the man

Online users shook their proverbial heads at the photos, pouring shame on the man.

'He is afraid of war, I understand his behavior, but it's not honorable,' said an online user.

'Is it a shame for the head of the family to behave like that? Life is certainly priceless, but dignity is even more valuable,' said one user in Ukrainian.

'If its his young family I cant blame him  not all are born to be soldiers,' said another.


By John J. Metzler





Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered a rising tsunami of refugees fleeing their beleaguered homeland and heading for neighboring Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. As the winds of war sweep across the Ukrainian steppe, this growing humanitarian wave of civilians, young and old with legions of children among them, have headed for safety.



More than two million civilians have now fled their country in the first two weeks of fighting.



We have seen this all before, albeit it in slower motion in war torn Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Congo and so many other places which are etched into the headlines only to be supplanted by yet another often more horrible tragedy.



Europe's most recent refugee exoduses came from the bloody Balkan wars during the 1990's following the breakup of Yugoslavia and the painful aftermath of the 1956 Hungarian revolution.



Now Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have opened their hearts and homes to the displaced Ukrainians; many of the refugees have already headed for Germany, France, the United Kingdom as well as the United States and Canada. Many will indeed return home to Ukraine if and when the time is right, but in the meantime they need refuge from the Russian Bear.



The U.N. Security Council has addressed this clear and present danger to stability, especially relating to a growing humanitarian wave. The alphabet soup of global relief agencies has gone into overdrive to help Ukraine. There's an amazing outpouring of support thus far.



The U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched an emergency appeal for $1.7 billion to urgently deliver humanitarian support to people in Ukraine and refugees. "The U.N. estimates that 12 million people inside Ukraine will need relief and protection, while more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees may need protection and assistance in neighboring countries in the coming months." This presents a stunning humanitarian and security challenge for Europe, despite NATO's unprecedented political unity.



An exasperated Martin Griffiths, the U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council, "We already had enough on our hands, many other unnecessary and unwanted conflicts leaving misery in their wake  We had no need for another war." He lamented, "Simply put, millions of lives have been shattered."



American U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that she's increasingly concerned about civilian protection, especially women, and girls affected by "Putin's war."



Apartment buildings, villages, hospitals and civic centers have been wantonly targeted by the Russian military causing deliberate grief and fear. Civilian causalities are mounting.



But this tragedy is not entirely new. In 2014 Russia began to dismember sovereign Ukraine and detach the Donbas and Luhansk with pseudo-republics and more significantly seized Crimea. U.N. relief agencies have been feeding and caring for 1.5 million Ukrainian civilians displaced by the fighting which has droned on for the past eight years, largely unnoticed by the outside world.



Now Vladimir Putin's massive military invasion of all Ukraine, has thrown new light and urgency to a simmering conflict and unleashed calamitous carnage in a country the size of France, known as the breadbasket of Europe.



Putin's war has come to Ukraine and through its invasion of a sovereign country, has now unleashed the largest single refugee exodus since the Second World War!



As strange and surrealistic as it may seem, my calendar says 2022, not 1942.



The United Kingdom's U.N. Ambassador, Barbara Woodward, stated poignantly, "Putin is directing a campaign of violence and cruelty against civilians." Then speaking directly to the Russian representative she beseeched, "Vassily Alekseevich  The great Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote, 'Man is given not only one life, but also one conscience.'" She implored the Russian delegate to "report faithfully back to Moscow what you have heard today."



The U.N.'s Martin Griffiths stated, "above all, the parties must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian homes and infrastructure in their military operations. This includes allowing safe passage for civilians to leave areas of active hostilities." Russia has often blocked establishing secure humanitarian corridors for fleeing civilians.



Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya underscored the international community is "responding to the worst humanitarian crisis we have ever seen since the end of the World War II in Europe."



Importantly there's an urgency for an immediate ceasefire to mitigate causalities and damage. This is a key first step. Moreover, there's a very real potential for the conflict spilling over from Ukraine into a wider war through design, miscalculation or blunder with a nuclear armed Russia.



Thus military de-escalation and political decompression through focused diplomacy becomes crucial before the crisis spills any farther beyond Ukraine's borders and deeper into Europe.





John J. Metzler (jjmcolumn@earthlink.net) is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues. He is the author of "Divided Dynamism  The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China."








A music expert has given evidence to the High Court that Ed Sheeran's under-fire hit song Shape Of You is 'coincidentally' similar but has 'distinctive differences' to a song by another artist he is accused of copying.

American forensic musicologist Anthony Ricigliano wrote in his report to the ongoing copyright trial that it was 'objectively' unlikely that any similarities between Sheeran's 2017 track and the song Oh Why by Sami Chokri are the result of copying.

Mr Sheeran denies that Shape Of You rips off the 2015 song by Mr Chokri - a grime artist who performs under the name Sami Switch.

Mr Chokri and his co-writer Ross O'Donoghue claim that a central 'Oh I' hook in Mr Sheeran and his co-authors' song is 'strikingly similar' to an 'Oh Why' refrain in their own composition.

Musician Ed Sheeran pictured arriving at the Rolls Building, High Court in central London, as he defends the copyright trial against him over song Shape Of You

Musicologist Mr Ricigliano answered questions about his analysis of the two songs at the trial in London today.

Lawyers for Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue allege that when the two songs' melodies are transposed into the same key 'the progression of notes is the same'.

They also claim the rhythm of the tracks' melodies are 'almost identical', their use of instrumentation 'creates a strikingly similar sound and texture' and the vowel sounds in the chanted tune 'further enhances the similarity in musical sound and texture'.

Mr Ricigliano, who was instructed by the Shape Of You co-writers' lawyers but told the court he was 'completely impartial', said in a report that he considered the extent of the alleged similarities between the two songs to be 'overstated'.

Mr Ricigliano added: 'Such similarities as there are, when placed in context, in my view lack significance in relation to the allegation of copying from Oh Why.

'They are commonplace forms of expression, both in terms of use by other writers and by Mr Sheeran himself.

'My view is therefore that it is objectively unlikely that any similarities result from copying.'

Sami Chokri (pictured) and Ross O'Donoghue claim that an 'Oh I' hook in Shape Of You is 'strikingly similar' to an 'Oh Why' refrain in their own composition

The three Shape Of You co-authors - Sheeran, Snow Patrol's John McDaid (pictured) and producer Steven McCutcheon - launched legal proceedings in May 2018, asking the High Court to declare they had not infringed Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue's copyright

Mr Sheeran has argued in his written evidence that his song's Oh I phrase uses 'a basic minor pentatonic pattern' which is 'entirely commonplace'.

In his report Mr Ricigliano paraphrased a quote from composer Leonard Bernstein, writing: 'The pentatonic scale is humanity's favourite scale and is so well known that one can find examples of it from all corners of the Earth.'

In court, Andrew Sutcliffe QC, representing Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue, asked the expert: 'You accept don't you Mr Ricigliano that despite all your research you have not found any examples in any corner of the earth over the past 200 years which sound phonetically the same as the chorus in Oh Why and the post chorus in Shape Of You.'

'That's correct,' Mr Ricigliano said.

'Do you not find this extraordinary?' Mr Sutcliffe asked, with the expert replying: 'No'.

The barrister described the two song phrases as appearing 'within months of each other' and suggested they sound 'almost the same'.

'I would disagree with the characterisation,' Mr Ricigliano said, adding that the two are 'coincidentally similar' and there are 'distinctive differences'.

The expert said that from his analysis of Mr Sheeran's work there was 'nothing in there that he did which doesn't reflect back on what he had done before', adding that his conclusion was that 'this was written by him and his associates'.

Producer Steve Mac, who co-wrote the track with Sheeran (pictured) and songwriter John McDaid, said the session, was so intense that he was left with 'a headache'

Another music expert, Christian Siddell, who was instructed by Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue's lawyers, is due to give evidence this afternoon.

The three Shape Of You co-authors - Mr Sheeran, Snow Patrol's John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon - launched legal proceedings in May 2018, asking the High Court to declare they had not infringed Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue's copyright.

In July 2018, Mr Chokri and Mr O'Donoghue issued their own claim for 'copyright infringement, damages and an account of profits in relation to the alleged infringement'.

The trial before Mr Justice Zacaroli continues, with judgment expected at a later date.
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At least 100 migrants have been picked up in the Channel, a day after more than 400 men, women and children packed into 12 dinghies in France and sailed to Britain.

More than 900 men, women and children were intercepted in small boats crossing the Channel on Tuesday to seek asylum, in what is thought to be the largest number of migrants attempting to reach Britain in a single day so far this year.

UK Border Force authorities brought 405 people to shore at Dungeness, Kent in 12 dinghies yesterday, while the French stopped another 538 people in 11 small boats. Among those to arrive were several children, including a baby.

Around 100 are thought to have already crossed the Channel on Wednesday. More than 50 people were among the second group detained so far on board large Border Force vessel Valiant as it docked around 10.30am.

More than 2,500 people have crossed the Channel since the start of the year, with 28,526 making the crossing in 2021.

A Home Office spokeswoman said joint operations with the French had prevented more than 23,000 migrant attempts in 2021 and 19 small boat organised criminal groups had been dismantled with 400 arrests since July 2020.

It comes as the National Crime Agency warned the UK maritime industry to beware of organised crime groups targeting them to obtain small boats for people smugglers.

Tom Pursglove, minister for justice and tackling illegal migration, said: The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.

Migrants wearing life jackets sit in a dinghy as they cross the Channel from France to Britain, March 15, 2022

Migrants wearing life jackets sit in a dinghy as they cross the Channel from France to Britain, March 15, 2022

Migrants are seen on the UK Border Force vessel HMC Alert, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

A coast guard helps migrant women and her child to disembark from the UK Border Force vessel Vigilant, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, March 16, 2022

A coast guard carries a child in his arms as he helps migrants to disembark from the UK Border Force vessel Vigilant, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the Channel, March 16, 2022

More than 2,500 people have crossed the Channel since the start of the year, with 28,526 making the crossing in 2021

A UK coastguard helps migrants to disembark from the UK Border Force vessel Alert, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

Migrants disembark from the UK Border Force vessel HMC Alert, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

RECORD NUMBER OF ASYLUM CLAIMS AS BACKLOG SOARS Last year, there were 48,540 asylum applications (relating to 56,495 people) in the UK, up 63 per cent on the previous year and the highest for a calendar year since 2003. The increase was 'likely linked in part to the easing of global travel restrictions that were in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and to a sharp increase in small boat arrivals to the UK,' the Home Office said. At the end of 2021, there were 81,978 cases awaiting an initial decision, 60% higher than the previous year and around 12 times the 6,800 at the end of 2011. There were 125,216 cases in the asylum system as of June 2021, up from 109,456 in June 2020 and more than three times the 37,903 in June 2011, the latest available data shows. The number of people offered protection in the UK last year - in the form of asylum, resettlement and other types of leave - was 14,734. This is up 49 per cent on 2020, when figures were affected by the start of the pandemic which saw resettlement schemes paused and fewer decisions made on applications. This is below the total for 2019 and similar to levels in 2015-18. A total of 13,147 people were granted protection following an asylum claim in 2021, up 45 per cent on 9,072 in 2020 but below the 15,080 in 2019. Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of the initial decisions in 2021 were grants - the highest rate in more than 30 years, since 82 per cent in 1990. Meanwhile, 2,830 people were deported from the UK in the year to September 2021 - 61 per cent fewer than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The vast majority of enforced returns were for foreign offenders. The release also confirms the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme relocated its first person on January 6 2022, after opening at the start of the year - almost six months after it was launched when Taliban forces took control of the country's capital Kabul in August. Advertisement

Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes. Rightly, the British public has had enough.

Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, were cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.

Our targeted work with French authorities led to over 500 people [being] intercepted before attempting this treacherous journey to reach the UK.

More than 100 migrants had arrived on Tuesday in three boats by 9am. Around 40 people were the first to be brought in to Dover Marina on the back of the Dover Lifeboat at 2.30am. The group of predominantly men huddled together on the hull before being escorted up the gangway.

Another 25 were brought in on the RNLIs 13-12 lifeboat Casandra at 7.30am.

Border Force cutter Hunter rescued a further 40 and brought them to harbour shortly after 9am.

A young family including a mum carrying her little girl wearing a pink coat and her son aged around 10 were among them.

Around 50 migrants were brought to shore from two boats on board the Dover Lifeboat at 10.30am.

Men were seen leaning against the railings ahead of disembarking while Border Force officers cradled multiple young infants and helped women up the gangway.

Shortly afterwards, a sixth migrant boat was intercepted by Border Force vessel Hunter with around 20 people on board.

Around 40 migrants also landed on the beach at Dungeness, Kent around 11am and were escorted up the shingle by officials. One man was seen taking a selfie on his phone as he reached dry land.

A further 50 people were on board huge Border Force vessel Seeker when it docked shortly after 2pm.

Many of the young men huddled light blue blankets for warmth after they were intercepted making the dangerous journey.

Another group of migrants also managed to land on the beach near Folkestone, Kent around 2.30pm.

Women were among around 50 people queuing to get into Immigration Enforcement vans to be driven off for processing.

French Navy public service patrol boat Pluvier also rescued 41 migrants from a boat in difficulty 18 miles off Gravelines and returned them to Calais.

The NCA has warned that boat owners should take extra security measures to protect vessels and equipment while reporting suspicious behaviour following thefts.

Retailers are also asked to report unusual purchases of untreated plywood boards, PVC tarpaulin sheets and duct tape as these materials are often used to reinforce and modify inflatables.

Intel has led the NCA to believe OCGs are using ever more dangerous and un-seaworthy boats to smuggle people across the Channel with no regard for increasing the risk to life.

Its new appeal, backed by Border Force and charity Crimestoppers, will see striking leaflets and social media posts issued.

NCA Deputy Director Andrea Wilson said: As the weather starts to improve, making small boat crossings more likely, we are taking this opportunity to reinforce our appeals to those within the marine and maritime industries to help us stop those involved in organised people smuggling.

Migrants are seen on the UK Border Force vessel HMC Alert, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

A migrant man prepares to disembark from UK Border Force vessel HMC Alert, after being picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

A UK coast guard carries life jackets used by migrants after they were rescued and picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

Migrants disembark from the UK Border Force vessel Vigilant, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

Migrants are seen on the UK Border Force vessel HMC Alert, after they were picked up at sea while attempting to cross the English Channel, and brought to the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

UK coast guards paddle on a dinghy inflatable boat used by migrants to cross the English Channel, as they bring it into Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

UK Border Force officers are pictured on their boat Athena as they bring a dinghy inflatable boat used by migrants to cross the English Channel, into the Marina in Dover, southeast England, March 16, 2022

Crossing the channel in these types of vessels is extremely dangerous, but the criminals involved dont care about safety, they just see people as a commodity to be exploited. Tragically, in the last year we have seen the fatal consequences of that.

Appeals like this are an important part of our activity to disrupt these gangs and go hand in hand with law enforcement activity to stop them.

We continue to work with partners to target the supply of these vessels but we need the help of those in the UK maritime industry and coastal communities to do that, and Id ask them to report any suspicions they may have.

Lesley Robinson, CEO of British Marine, the trade association for the UK leisure, superyacht and small commercial marine industry, said: We are pleased to be continuing our partnership with the NCA to help raise awareness of organised crime linked to the supply of small boats; and highlight the steps businesses and boat owners should take to protect themselves and others.

As a trade association, safety is at the heart of what we do and I am confident that our members will continue to take the lead in this area by reporting suspicious activity and familiarising themselves with the red flags to be mindful of when selling boats and marine equipment.

This is a vitally important campaign from the NCA and I would encourage all leisure marine businesses and boat owners to report any signs of suspicious activity and take additional security measures to prevent them becoming the victims of theft.
A 'British pilot' has died after a Leonardo military training jet crashed during a 'test flight' in the mountains north of Lake Como.

The M-346 trainer aircraft went down near the town of Colico in Lombardy, Italy at approximately 12:00pm this afternoon after it was 'conducting tests for the Italian Armed Forces'.

The two pilots reportedly ejected the plane before it crashed at an altitude of about 8,200 feet and caught fire on the Lecco mountainside.

The 'British' victim's body was recovered by emergency services this afternoon whilst the Italian co-pilot remains in serious condition with 'serious facial trauma' at a hospital in Milan, according to reports from local newspaper La Repubblica.

A 'British pilot' has died after a Leonardo military training jet (pictured) crashed during a 'test flight' in the mountains north of Lake Como

Black smoke was seen bellowing near the top of the mountain after the tragic crash as emergency services attended the scene.

The military jet, which has a distinctive blue and black nose, had been 'flying for about twenty hours' and was believed to be returning to base before it crashed, according to newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Eyewitnesses took to social media to describe the 'fireball' in the mountains and how when the plane crashed it made a 'terrifying huge roar'.

Leonardo, which makes the military-grade aircraft, released a statement shortly after the crash saying they 'express their most heartfelt condolences' to the pilot who was tragically killed.

They said the cause of the accident is under investigation.

They said: 'This morning, at approximately 12:00pm, an M-346 aircraft crashed in the area above Colico (Monte Legnone) near Como in Northern Italy.

The M-346 trainer aircraft went down near the town of Colico, near Lake Como (Pictured) in Italy at approximately 12:00pm this afternoon after it was conducting tests for the Italian Armed Forces

'Emergency vehicles are now operating in the area and Leonardo, as per its established practice, has immediately activated an internal investigation committee. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

'Unfortunately, the rescue teams arriving at the site of the accident ascertained the loss of one of the two pilots. Leonardo expresses its most heartfelt condolences.

'Leonardo reserves the right to provide further updates on the event in the next few hours.'
An inquest into the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life after looking at self-harm posts on Instagram, has been delayed after Facebook owner Meta submitted 36,000 pages of data to the coroner.

The schoolgirl, from Harrow in north west London, viewed material linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide before taking her own life in November 2017.

Her inquest will look at how algorithms used by social media giants to keep users hooked may have contributed to her death.

However, her family have today vented their 'frustration and regret' at the interested parties, including themselves, having not being sent the posts earlier - resulting in the full inquest, which was due to begin next month, having to be delayed again.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook and the parent company that owns Instagram and WhatsApp, has delivered thousands of harmful posts that the schoolgirl saw on her account.

The company said it did not accept the family's criticism raised in open court, adding that its delivery of more than 12,500 posts, including some hidden behind private accounts, was 'unprecedented'.

It came after a coroner ordered Meta to divulge the data at a pre-inquest review last month, despite protestations over privacy and data protection obligations.

Meta was also ordered to disclose documents and data in relation to research it had conducted into the harm that may be caused to children by using its platforms.

Molly Russell (pictured) took her own life after viewing 'dreadful' self harm posts on social media

The 14-year-old (pictured in 2009), from Harrow in north-west London, viewed material linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide before ending her life in November 2017

Oliver Saunders QC, representing Molly's family, said: 'Can I start with our submissions to say that frustratingly and regrettably we are in a position that the hearing in 12 working days is not going to be viable.

'There are a number of reasons for that: there are too many unresolved matters for an inquest to go ahead. Meta has issued a second statement which appears on the face of it does not address all of the issues raised.

'The material as ordered by you at the last hearing has been provided to you but not any of the interested persons: the 12,500 posts.

'You have a volume of material that we have not yet seen. I understand Meta wishes to make further submissions on these images. We don't know what's in that material and don't know what those submissions might be so we can't deal with them.

'There is a considerable volume of material that we need to be able to view, assess and follow through before the hearing can go ahead.

'Before Mr Russell can finalise his witness statement, he wants to reflect on full disclosure on what he has learned and give evidence on behalf of the family which is, of course, an important matter.

'I should say this is unfamiliar territory for all the advocates. By comparison with a more commonplace death such as one in custody, we would have a certain background on the procedures enabling preparation to take place much more quickly.

'For everyone involved, it's going to take a long time to get to where we are and what questions we needed to put to the witnesses.'

An earlier hearing was told Molly used her Instagram account more than 120 times a day.

She liked more than 11,000 pieces of content and shared material more than 3,000 times, including 1,500 videos.

The teenager also used picture-sharing platform Pinterest more than 15,000 times over the same period.

At North London Coroner's Court today, Senior Coroner Andrew Walker adjourned the inquest until at least mid-September.

The court heard new coding had to be created to view the documents of Instagram posts and videos which would run to 36,000 pages if printed out and over 50 binders if printed double-sided.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC (CORR), representing Meta, said the material will be presented in the chronology in which Molly interacted with it, rather than the dates in which the posts were made - creating further delays lasting at least a month.

She said: 'I do think it is important to put on the record the criticism by the family is not accepted by Meta. Meta has genuinely sought to engage throughout the process following the Section 5 notice in February 2020 [the order to provide Instagram posts].

Molly's father Ian Russell (pictured in 2017) has campaigned for social media reform since her death and has set up charity the Molly Rose Foundation

Molly (pictured in 2015) liked more than 11,000 pieces of content and shared material more than 3,000 times, including 1,500 videos

'It was only in December 2021 that Meta was made an interested [party] and Meta has engaged at great speed in order to meet disclosure requirements.

'It was on February 18 that the notice was given to provide these posts. This was unprecedented, even going beyond criminal matters, and in order to comply has required a laborious effort with individuals writing new specific scripts of code specifically for this task.

'There are multiple people engaged in this task in order to provide these documents quickly and as accessible as possible. Meta of course did not provide specifically the private accounts due to privacy and GDPR considerations.

'That is to balance the requirements of the court and respecting Instagram users' choice to have a private account, including children.

'Much of the material is from children with innocuous posts, posts by children with Snapchat filters that were liked by Molly.

'We are committed to ensure that we can provide for you, the family, and other interest persons in an easy-to-follow format in notices that you have made today.'

Molly's father Ian Russell attended the 40-minute hearing remotely on Wednesday.

He has campaigned for social media reform since her death and has set up a charity named the Molly Rose Foundation.

Interested parties at the inquest will next convene on a suitable time, when a date will be fixed at the next pre-inquest hearing - which was not set today.

Molly's death is one of the reasons the government is seeking to clamp down on abuses of power by social media giants in a new Online Safety Bill.

The bill seeks to impose a duty of care on tech giants to stop them allowing users to view harmful material.

A White Paper outlining the legislation was first drafted in 2019, but the bill is still going through Parliament.

For confidential support, log on to samaritans.org or call the Samaritans on 116123.
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst confessed to feeling 'helpless' after the Ukrainian president's speech to Congress and urged the Biden administration to send Kyiv all the equipment it needs to create its own no-fly zone against Russia's much larger air force

Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) said Ukrainian President Zelensky's Wednesday address to Congress moved her so much that she wanted to 'throw on' her military uniform to 'go help.'

The first female combat veteran elected to the Senate held back tears as she spoke to reporters after Kyiv's leader made an impassioned plea to United States lawmakers for more military aid and a no-fly zone to help his people withstand a devastating and brutal invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hours later President Joe Biden denounced Putin as a 'war criminal,' his strongest condemnation of the autocrat yet.

After one journalist commented on her emotional state, the Iowa Republican replied: 'Oh my gosh, how could you not be?'

'It's hurtful to see anything like, you know, thinking about if it were my child, if that were my family, that were my people. You know, I'd be doing the exact same thing that President Zelensky is,' Ernst said.

'I would be appealing to every nation possible to get whatever it takes to defeat the Russians and get them the heck out of my country. You know, it makes me want to throw on my uniform, you know, and go help.'

Ernst, a retired lieutenant colonel who served a 12-month tour in Iraq and Kuwait as a company commander, confessed to feeling 'helpless' and urged the Biden administration to ramp up its aid to Ukraine.

'I know we're helping how we can here, but I think many of us feel helpless. There's just a lot more that we can be doing and I think we should be doing,' Ernst said.

She called on Biden to tell Zelensky 'we're sending whatever aircraft you need.'

Biden announced on Wednesday afternoon an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine today, which is coming from a mammoth $1.5 trillion spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law on Tuesday.

The package includes $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine.

'This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people?' Zelensky asked American lawmakers on Wednesday morning, adding that they should at least send planes for Ukrainians to guard their own skies more effectively

But a point of conflict between federal lawmakers and the White House is the sending of MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv's Air Force.

US and other NATO officials have repeatedly said a no-fly zone over Ukraine is off the table, citing the potential for direct conflict with Russia. Though it has not deterred Zelensky from trying, he also asked western leaders to at least ramp up their air defense support and send planes so Ukraine can guard its skies on its own against Russia's larger air force.

Poland offered to transfer MiG-29 jets to the US's Ramstein Air Base in Germany, then leaving it to American forces to get them into Ukraine.

The Pentagon, seemingly caught off-guard when Poland announced the plan, has rejected it out of hand.

Since then Biden's seen a barrage of GOP-led pressure to reverse the decision.

'Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs, they use drones to kill us with precision,' Zelensky told Congress.

'This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is it too much to ask for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people?'

He added that if it was, then the US should send its planes for Ukrainians to man.

'Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine, countless bombs, they use drones to kill us with precision,' Zelensky said (Pictured: A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces assists a woman to cross the street in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 16)

Damaged vehicles and buildings in Kharkiv city center in Ukraine, Wednesday, March 16. Ukrainian officials are saying thousands of civilians have already been killed by Moscow's troops

'You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft, powerful strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land, aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. You know they exist and you have them, but they are on Earth not in the Ukrainian sky,' he said.

Ernst said Zelensky's emotional appeal made her 'even more steadfast' in her belief they should get the MiGs.

'What they don't get at the Pentagon, and what I think all of us see here, is that send a signal to Putin -- I'm sorry, I don't care if it takes you a while to do the process of transferring, or whatever. Send a signal to Putin,' Ernst said.

She criticized the Pentagon of failing to send a strong message to Putin and blasted its concerns about an 'escalatory' situation.

'I'm sorry, how is it any more escalatory than what [Putin] is doing to Ukraine right now. So get over it. We have got to do more to help the Ukrainian people,' Ernst said.

As has been the case with most lawmakers, the Iowa senator unambiguously ruled out Zelensky's request for a no-fly zone.

'We can't because we can't directly engage Russia. That's a whole 'nother level that does set up a much more widespread conflict,' she explained.

Ernst (center, during training at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin) is the first female combat veteran elected to the United States Senate

'But what we can do, the alternative that Zelensky brought up was, "Help us establish our own no fly zone." I've been saying this for weeks now. Provide him everything possible to secure his skies.'

He also confronted President Joe Biden and told him to become the 'leader of the free world', demanded more sanctions for Russia to stop the 'war machine', asked for fighter jets and shared devastating footage of civilians being maimed in Kyiv as he called on lawmakers to 'do more' to protect his country.

'I am addressing the President Biden. You are the leader of the nation, of your great nation. I wish you be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace,' he told members in the sobering address to Congress.

He received multiple standing ovations from lawmakers during his appearance.

Zelensky also called for a new alliance outside of NATO to prevent future attacks and protect from Vladimir Putin's bullying and invoked the civil rights leader MLK by saying 'I have a dreamI have a need. I need to protect our sky. I need your decision exactly the same you feel when you say I have a dream.'

He included in his remarks a graphic video, showing the death and destruction that Ukraine has endured. The images included the deaths of young children and mass graves for civilian and military casualties. Several lawmakers were in tears as it played.
Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko has been praised after his blunt answer to a question about Vladimir Putin's claims to only fire upon military targets during his invasion of Ukraine.

Klitschko, who was leading a group of journalists around a badly bombed street in Kyiv, responded 'bullsh*t' when asked about the Kremlin's claims.

The former heavyweight boxer turned and pointed towards the shell of an apartment building destroyed by Russian munitions and asks 'is this a military target'.

Russia claims its only hitting military targets. What does the Kyiv Mayor say to that? "BULLSHIT!" he spits. A former boxing champion, Vitale Klitschko delivers knockout sound bites that get straight to the point. Feel free to share #Ukraine #Kyiv pic.twitter.com/GvFs7ZWIUz  Chris Reason (@ChrisReason7) March 16, 2022

Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, centre, responded to Kremlin suggestions that they are only hitting military targets by claiming it was 'bullsh*t'

The former heavyweight boxer pointed towards the shell of an apartment complex before asking whether it was a 'military target'

The short video, which was posted online, has been viewed my more than two million people.

The Klitschko brothers have been using their profile to highlight the plight faced by people in Ukraine

The short video, which was posted online, has been viewed my more than two million people.

Russia has increased the intensity of its attack on Kyiv despite diplomatic efforts of brokering an end to the conflict.

Yesterday's strikes on the 20th day of Russia's invasion targeted a western district of Kyiv, disrupting a relative calm that had returned after an initial advance by Moscow's forces was stopped in the early days of the war.

A senior US defence source said the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets within Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian forces were still about nine miles from the centre of Kyiv.

Ukrainian presidential aide Ihor Zhovkva said Russia has stopped airing demands for Ukraine to surrender, and the Ukrainian representatives felt 'moderately optimistic' after the latest talks. Discussions are expected to continue tomorrow.

In a statement that seemed to signal potential grounds for agreement with Moscow, Mr Zelensky told European leaders gathered in London that he realises Nato has no intention of accepting Ukraine.

'We have heard for many years about the open doors, but we also heard that we can't enter those doors,' he said. 'This is the truth, and we have simply to accept it as it is.'

Nato does not admit nations with unsettled territorial conflicts.

The UN said close to 700 civilians in Ukraine have been confirmed killed, but the true figure is probably much higher.

The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia travelled to Kyiv by train despite the security risks, in a visit EU officials said was not sanctioned by other members of the 27-nation bloc.

Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, left, and his brother Wladimir, centre, have been patrolling the city streets despite the risk posed by Russian forces

'The aim of the visit is to express the European Union's unequivocal support for Ukraine and its freedom and independence,' Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a tweet.

He was joined by fellow Janez Jansa of Slovenia and Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, as well as Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's de facto leader.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a tweet that the leaders had arrived, lauding 'the courage of true friends'. He said they were discussing support for Ukraine and further sanctions against Russia.

New efforts to take civilians to safety and deliver aid were under way around the country. The Red Cross said it was working to evacuate people from the north-eastern town of Sumy, near the Russian border, in about 70 buses.

One of the most desperate situations is in Mariupol, the southern city of 430,000 where officials say a weeks-long siege has killed more than 2,300 people and left residents struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.

The Russian military has intensified the level of attacks on civilian areas in Kyiv over the past 24 hours

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a deputy head of Mr Zelensky's office, said that 570 out of about 4,000 vehicles that left Mariupol have reached the city of Zaporizhzhia, 160 miles to the north west, while others will spend the night in towns along the way.

Fighting has intensified on Kyiv's outskirts in recent days, and air raid sirens wailed inside the capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a 35-hour curfew extending until Thursday morning.

Tuesday's artillery strikes hit the Svyatoshynskyi district of western Kyiv, adjacent to the suburb of Irpin, which has seen some of the worst fighting of the war.

Flames shot out of the 15-storey apartment building and smoke choked the air as firefighters climbed ladders to rescue people. The assault blackened several floors of the building, ripped a hole in the ground outside and blew out windows in neighbouring apartment blocks. Rescue workers said at least one person was killed.

The Russians have been accused of deliberately targeting civilian areas with missile and artillery attacks

A 10-storey apartment building in the Podilsky district of Kyiv, north of the government quarter, was damaged. Russian forces also stepped up strikes overnight on Irpin and the north-west Kyiv suburbs of Hostomel and Bucha, said the head of the capital region, Oleksiy Kuleba.

'Many streets have been turned into a mush of steel and concrete. People have been hiding for weeks in basements, and are afraid to go out even for evacuations,' he said on Ukrainian television.

In the east, Russian forces launched more than 60 strikes overnight on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, according to regional administration chief Oleh Sinehubov. The strikes hit the city's historical centre, including the main marketplace.

Ukraine's parliament voted to extend martial law for another month, until April 24. Under the measure, requested by Mr Zelenskyy, men between 18 and 60 are barred from leaving the country so they can be called up to fight.
Authorities in Chicago have denied that Empire actor Jussie Smollett was ever restrained to his bed - 'or anything else' - before being moved to a different cell within the Cook County jail.

The Cook County Sheriffs Office said in a statement on Tuesday that Smollett was relocated to a new cell within Division 8 Residential Treatment Unit, which houses inmates in need of medical care, including mental health conditions.

The news comes after Smollett's attorneys filed a motion, asking an appeals court to suspend his jail term immediately and release him on bond while they appeal his conviction - a process that could take many months.

Smollett was moved to a different cell on Monday when medical professionals determined that another inmate needed his old cell more, the agency said.

'Mr. Smollett was never restrained to a bed or anything else in the cell. The bed was never equipped with restraints,' the statement read, addressing allegations that were made by Smollett's brother on social media.

Jocqui Smollett claimed in an Instagram video on Monday that Jussie had been sleeping on a 'restrained bed' before being moved to a cell with a regular bed.

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The Cook County Sheriffs Office disputed claims that Jussie Smollett had been restrained to a bed in a jail cell, saying his bed had no restraints

Smollett has been moved to a new cell within the Cook County jail's Division 8 Residential Treatment Unit, which houses inmates in need of medical care

The disgraced actor's brother even suggested that the seemingly routine prisoner movement was the result of a groundswell of support for Jussie.

Jussie Smollett, 39, is just six days into his 150-day sentence for lying about being a victim of a hate crime in 2019.

In a recent video, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said she also visited Smollett and confirmed that he was sleeping on a restrained bed. She urged viewers to call the jail and tell them that he should be freed.

The sheriff's office said that the high-profile inmate has officers stationed at the open door of his cell around the clock 'to ensure that he is under direct observation at all times.'

Smollett is entitled to have 'substantial time' out of his cell in the common areas, which are cleared of other inmates when he is there.

Jocqui Smollett said his brother Jussie has been moved from a psychiatric unit at Cook County Jail and into a jail cell that 'actually has a bed' in an Instagram video Monday night

They'll try anything! Jussie Smollett's family maintains his innocence in an attempt to garner public support for the disgraced actor The family, with 92-year-old grandmother Molly seated far right, in court Thursday Jussie Smollett's family has been outspoken in their support for the convicted hate crime faker. March 10: After his sentencing on Thursday, Jussie's oldest brother Jocqui said he was 'very disappointed' with the verdict. His sister Jazz Smollett called the case a miscarriage of justice. Taking the stand, his grandmother Molly, 92, told journalists in the courtroom: 'The Jussie I know and love does not match up to the media's betrayal. You have not done a good job of investigative reporting.' Hours after the sentencing, the family posted to Instagram, 'OUR BROTHER IS INNOCENT AND WE WILL KEEP FIGHTING.' March 11: The family posts a graphic with the hashtag #FreeJussie. March 13: Jussie's brother Jocqui says the actor was placed in a psych ward at Cook County Jail and that a note had been pinned to his cell claiming that he was in danger of harming himself. March 14: Black Lives Matter founder Patrisse Cullors confirms that Smollett is in a psych ward and sleeping in a restrained bed. She calls on supporters to call the jail and demand his freedom. The family also posts an interview featuring activist and sister duo Angela and Fania Davis, who believe Smollett. 'This is a story so crazy only the cops would make this up,' they said. Hours later, Jocqui said Jussie has been moved to a regular cell thanks to supporters' repeated calls. Advertisement

'These protocols are routinely used for individuals ordered into protective custody who may potentially be at risk of harm due to the nature of their charges, their profession, or their noteworthy status,' the sheriff's office stated. 'The safety and security of all detained individuals, including Mr. Smollett, is the Sheriffs Offices highest priority.'

A spokesperson for the agency stressed that while Division 8 at the jail, where Smollett is being held in protective custody on a judge's orders, frequently houses inmates who requires high level of supervision for mental health needs, it is also used 'solely for security reasons due to the enhanced monitoring that can occur in this setting, and it would be inaccurate and irresponsible to make any assumption about his mental or medical condition based on where he is currently housed.'

The sheriff's office added that Smollett 'is not currently on suicide watch.'

On Monday, Smollett's family filed an emergency motion in appellate court that included a note from a doctor. The physician said that Smollett has 'compromised immunity' and should be released because of the COVID-19 pandemic, though he didn't clarify what makes Smollett immunocompromised.

Smollett's attorneys have asked the First District Court of Appeals to suspend the jail sentence and allow Smollett to post bond so that he can be out of custody during the appeal process. And they asked the court to postpone Smollett's ordered payment of $140,000 in fines and restitution that Cook County Judge James Linn ordered as part of his sentence.

The way Smollett's attorneys see it, such an order is justified because it's almost certain that Smollett would complete his 150-day jail sentence - which could shrink to 75 days if he behaves himself in jail - before the appeals on the conviction and sentence are decided.

They also say it's important that Smollett be released because they are worried about his mental health if he remains in protective custody in jail and are concerned that he could be attacked by other inmates.

Smollett's brother Jocqui on Monday encouraged supports to keep the pressure on Cook County authorities and demand Jussie's release from jail.

'Unfortunately, Cook County doesn't really move until they get bad publicity and so we have to just keep applying pressure, y'all. So keep reposting with #FreeJussie. Keep continuing to call Cook County Jail checking in on him and keep saying that you believe he should be free,' Jocqui said, adding that his brother has read all of his fan mail in jail and will reply to 'every single one.'

Smollett was convicted last year of five felony counts of disorderly conduct for lying about a staged hate crime that he committed with the help of Nigerian brothers Ola and Abel Osundairo.

He was sentenced to 150 days in jail but was granted day-for-day eligibility, which means he could be out in as little as 75 days.

But despite his light sentence, TMZ reported that Smollett told his attorneys before his Thursday court appearance that he would get a harsher sentence than most people convicted of a non-violent offense because he is black, calling it proof of systemic racism in the court system.

On Thursday, Smollett protested, 'I am innocent! I am not suicidal,' as he was led away in handcuffs.

He said it was a ploy to ensure if something happened to him in jail, the public would know it was foul play - a reference to Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell hanging that many claim was an 'inside job.'

Smollett's family said they have received threats about him.

Smollett's attorneys have filed a motion, asking an appeals court to release him from jail while appealing his conviction and sentencing

Members of the Chicago's Black Lives Matter group protest outside of Cook County Jail in support of Jussie Smollett on March 13

They received one over voicemail and released it to the media on Monday.

The caller used racist and homophobic slurs, calling Smollett the N word and a 'f****t'.

They said they hoped someone 'takes care' of him in jail.

The sheriff's office on Monday addressed these reports concerning threats allegedly targeting Smollett.

'Regarding reports of threatening, hateful, and racist calls received by the family, the Sheriffs Office strongly urges the family to report these alleged calls to local law enforcement,' wrote an agency spokesperson. 'As with all individuals in custody, the safety and security of Mr. Smollett is the Sheriffs Office primary concern.'
The Biden administration will shield tens of thousands of Afghans from deportation after deeming the security conditions too dangerous under Taliban rule, as lawmakers ramp up calls for the president to allow Ukrainian refugees to come to the U.S.

The Department of Homeland Security designated Afghanistan under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), meaning immigrants in the U.S. who are eligible for TPS can be shielded from deportation for 18 months.

'Armed conflict that poses a serious threat to the safety of returning nationals is ongoing in Afghanistan as the Taliban seeks to impose control in all areas of the country and Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) conducts attacks against civilians,' DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas noted in an announcement.

Many of the more than 76,000 Afghans who came to the U.S. during the frenzied withdrawal can breathe a sigh of relief under the new order. The evacuees came to the U.S. under a humanitarian classification known as parole rather than under traditional refugee status. Under parole the evacuees cannot apply for permanent residence and are at risk of deportation if their asylum claims are rejected.'

The Biden administration will shield tens of thousands of Afghans from deportation after deeming the security conditions too dangerous under Taliban rule

Many of the more than 76,000 Afghans who came to the U.S. during the frenzied withdrawal can breathe a sigh of relief under the new order

Only about 37,000 Afghanistan evacuees who were granted Special Immigrant Visas are allowed to apply for permanent residence because they or their immediate family members helped the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan.

The TPS program is only available to Afghans who arrived in the U.S. as of March 15, and those who have committed certain crimes are ineligible.

After the Trump administration tried to end TPS protection for hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the U.S., the Biden administration has since expanded the program to an estimated 500,000 people in the U.S. - immigrants from Venezuela, Honduras, Sudan and now Ukraine. Biden offered Ukrainians TPS a week after Russia invaded.'

Ukrainian refugees wait to board buses after crossing the border during snowfall to Medyka, Poland on March 9

As the Biden administration bolsters protections for Afghans, many are stepping up calls to open U.S. borders to some of the more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine in recent weeks

And as the Biden administration bolsters protections for Afghans, many are stepping up calls to open U.S. borders to some of the more than 3 million people have fled Ukraine in recent weeks. According to United Nations data, the U.S. has only admitted several hundred Ukrainians so far.

Biden has said the U.S. stands ready to accept refugees if needed, but Europe should the lead. He tweeted on Monday that the U.S. 'will welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms.'

'We're going to welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms if, in fact, they come all the way here,' Biden said days earlier during a meeting of Democrats in Philadelphia.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have made their way to Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia as Russian missiles have pounded residential areas across the country.

'More needs to be done for the refugees, for the protection of the people. And I hope this can all be done in a bipartisan way,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on the House floor on Wednesday.

'Given the unabating scale of the refugee crisis, the Biden administration should consider a bolder and more direct role in offering safe haven to those seeking safety in the U.S.,' Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in a statement.

The State Department has said it will work with the United Nations to bring Ukrainian refugees to the U.S. in the event they lack protection in Europe, 'bearing in mind that resettlement to the United States is not a quick process.'
The UN's top court has ordered Russian to stop hostilities in Ukraine in a move designed to further isolate Moscow on the world stage.

Kyiv brought a case at the International Court of Justice immediately after Putin ordered his men to attack on February 24, saying his justification - that genocide was being committed in Donbass - was unfounded and in breach of international law.

Judges today ruled in Ukraine's favour, ordering Russia to call off its forces and stop attacks by troops that it supports - referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk 'republics'.

The court has no power to enforce the ruling and Vladimir Putin is likely to ignore it, but President Volodymyr Zelensky warned today that doing so will 'isolate Russia even further' from other nations.

Vladimir Putin has been ordered to call off his invasion of Ukraine by the UN's highest court, in a ruling meant to isolate him further on the world stage

'Ukraine gained a complete victory in its case against Russia at the International Court of Justice,' he tweeted after the ruling.

'The ICJ ordered to immediately stop the invasion. The order is binding under international law. Russia must comply immediately. Ignoring the order will isolate Russia even further.'

At the hearings, Ukraine said there is no threat of genocide in Eastern Ukraine, and the United Nations' 1948 Genocide Convention, which both countries have signed, does not allow an invasion to prevent one.

Putin has described the invasion as a 'special military action' needed 'to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide' - meaning those whose first or only language is Russian - in eastern Ukraine.

Russia said it skipped World Court hearings on March 7 'in light of the apparent absurdity of the lawsuit'.

However, Moscow did file a written document with the court saying the ICJ should not impose any measures.

Kyiv brought the case saying that Putin's justification for attacking - that genocide was underway in Donbass - breached international law (pictured, journalists listen to the ruled

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is now entering its third week, having caused widespread devastation and killed thousands of people - including many civilians

Russia had argued that Putin's use of the word 'genocide' does not automatically imply that it is basing its actions on the Genocide Convention.

Without a dispute over the interpretation of the treaty, the court has no jurisdiction, Russia argued.

But Presiding judge Joan Donoghue said the court had enough information that the two countries do disagree about the interpretation of the Genocide Convention to make the preliminary decision. Actual jurisdiction would only be decided later.

Russia snubbed a hearing last week at which lawyers for Ukraine accused their powerful neighbor of 'resorting to tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare' in its brutal assault.

If a nation doesn't abide by an order made by the court, judges could seek action from the U.N. Security Council, where Russia holds veto power.

In the days since the March 7 hearing, Russia has intensified its military strikes on towns and cities across Ukraine hitting civilian infrastructure across the country.

That includes deadly strikes on a maternity hospital in Mariupol, and sending more than 3million refugees fleeing across borders.

Ukrainian soldiers are pictured attending the funeral of a comrade killed during Russia's invasion of the country, in Yaorviv

As part of a wider case that could take years to complete at the Hague-based ICJ, Ukraine asked judges to order Russia to 'immediately suspend the military operations' launched Feb. 24.

Kyiv said the attacks 'that have as their stated purpose and objective the prevention and punishment of a claimed genocide' in the separatist Donbass.

David Zionts, a lawyer in Ukraine's legal team, called that claim 'a grotesque lie.'

The request for an order to halt Russia's attack is linked to a case Ukraine has filed based on the Genocide Convention, which has a clause allowing nations to take disputes based on its provisions to the World Court.

The success of Ukraine's request will depend on whether the court accepts it has 'prima facie jurisdiction' in the case.

Before last week's hearing, the court's president, U.S. judge Joan E. Donoghue, sent a message to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on March 1 pressing home the necessity to act ' in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects.'
Lindsey Graham on Wednesday reiterated his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be assassinated despite criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for pushing the drastic step.

'Yeah, I hope he'll be taken out, one way or another. I don't care how they take him out. I don't care if we send him to the Hague and try him, I just want him to go,' Graham said of the Russian president.

And the Republican senator from South Carolina said he wants the Russian people to do it.

'Vladimir Putin is not a legitimate leader, he is a war criminal. He needs to be dealt with by the Russian people,' he said.

He also said his late friend, the well-respected Senator John McCain, who died in 2018, would agree with him.

'If John McCain were here, he'd be saying the same thing, I think,' said Graham. 'It's time for him to go. He's a war criminal. I wish somebody had taken Hitler out in the [1930s].'

Senator Lindsey Graham reiterated his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be assassinated

Sen. Graham originally suggested in early March that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be assassignated and was criticized by both Republicans and Democrats for it

Graham's remarks came after the joined his fellow lawmakers listen to Volodymyr Zelensky's address to Congress. In his remarks, the Ukrainian president painted a picture of the devastation Russian troops have caused in his country and pleaded with America to send more aid, particularly in the form of military equipment.

The senator was promoting his resolution that would encourage President Joe Biden to transfer Polish MiG planes to Ukraine. The Biden administration had ruled out such a move, saying it could cause escalation with Russia and lead to World War II.

Graham floated the idea to take out the Russian president earlier this month, which drew the ire of Republicans and Democrats alike.

'The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service,' Graham said in early March.

At the time, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden and his administration would not support that.

'That is not the position of the United States government and certainly not a statement you'd hear come from the mouth of anybody working in this administration,' she said.

And lawmakers on opposing sides of the political spectrum disagreed with Graham, including progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar and conservative Sen. Ted Cruz.

'I really wish our members of Congress would cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWlll. As the world pays attention to how the US and it's leaders are responding, Lindsey's remarks and remarks made by some House members aren't helpful,' Omar tweeted when Graham made his original statement.

'This is an exceptionally bad idea,' Cruz also tweeted at the time. 'Use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves. But we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state.'

Sen. Lindsey Graham also said his late friend, the well-respected Senator John McCain, who died in 2018, would agree with him about taking out Putin - above McCain and Graham in the Senate together in 2007

Assassination during military conflict is specifically forbidden by the Lieber Code, which President Abraham Lincoln issued as a general order for U.S. forces in 1863.

Section IX of the code states that the laws of war forbid declaring a member of a hostile force or a citizen or subject of a hostile government to be an outlaw 'who may be slain without trial.'
Han Jong-hee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, speaks during a shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Baek Byung-yeul



Han Jong-hee, the vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, offered an apology to company shareholders and customers, Wednesday, for a controversy over its game optimizing service (GOS), which adjusts a smartphone's performance when users play games. He vowed to provide customers with the best products and services.



"I would like to apologize again for not understanding consumers' feelings," the vice chairman said during a meeting with the company's shareholders at its headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.



Samsung recently began selling the Galaxy S22, its newest high-end smartphone. But the company has been embroiled in the scandal over the GOS application installed in its Galaxy devices.



Although the company advertised the high performance of its S22 phones, it was confirmed that the GOS application is automatically run in the background to avoid the phones overheating.



The GOS is designed to optimize the performance of Galaxy devices when playing games, but users found that the service cannot be turned off manually, which has resulted in lower quality while playing.



Some of the device's performance test results showed that the S22 devices running the GOS were found to show around half the performance that Samsung had initially advertised. Facing a backlash from consumers, the company provided a software update that does not limit device performance until the phones start to heat up.



"The GOS was designed to optimize smartphone performance by reflecting the various characteristics of games. We decided that consistent performance for a long time is important and tried to minimize heat generation. Many consumers said that they want the best performance from the beginning, so we distributed a software update in the direction of giving users choices," the vice chairman said.



"We will pay more attention to consumers' voices to prevent such issues from recurring and try to offer the best products and services," Han added.



Shareholders also raised questions over appointing Roh Tae-moon, the president and head of the company's smartphone business, as a board member. In response to their questions, Han said, "Roh is a manager who has succeeded in the development of the Galaxy S series and foldable smartphones. He is the right person to create new growth opportunities that combine foldables, 5G and AI in the mobile market."



When asked about how to deal with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Han said, "The product supply to the Russian market has been suspended. We are closely monitoring the situation of economic sanctions on Russia and taking measures to minimize the impact on the company."



But when asked about the risks the damages to the company because of the Ukraine issue, Han declined to comment, saying only, "We will do our best."



As a measure to enhance shareholder value, the vice chairman said, "The company will pay dividends of 9.8 trillion won annually."



Touching on the outlook for the firm's semiconductor business, Kyung Kye-hyun, the president and head of the firm's Device Solutions division, said its chip business division is expected to display over 9-percent growth year-on-year, which exceeds the market average.



Regarding the foundry sector, which Samsung is focusing on, Kyung said, "We are optimizing line operations by improving the yield rate and minimizing wafer losses. We will simultaneously improve profitability and improve supply."


A personal trainer has been convicted today of blackmailing a retired businessman she met on a dating app after threatening to reveal his 'degrading' sex secrets unless he paid her 10M in hush money.

Jennifer Mbazira, 50, told the court the businessman, who she believed was a billionaire, subjected her to physical, racial and sexual abuse during the two-and-a-half years she was in a relationship with him.

Mbazira met him on an exclusive dating app where she called herself Delilah and when the relationship ended she threatened to tell the man's family, friends and business contacts he made her perform 'sickening' sex if he did not pay.

The businessman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denied ever abusing Mbazira.

He sent her 2,000, and when she demanded more money he offered her 20,000 but Mbazira wanted 10million.

A jury at Portsmouth Crown Court found her guilty of blackmail following a five day trial with the judge warning her she could face a prison sentence.

Jennifer Mbazira, 50, pictured, called herself Delilah on an exclusive dating app where she met the former company director

Judge William Ashworth remanded her in custody and told Mbazira she is likely to be jailed.

'It's likely you will receive an immediate custodial sentence of two years or more,' he said.

Asked if she understood, Mbazira, from Clapham, south-west London, said: 'I don't have to comment on anything about my life any more.'

In a series of emails and WhatsApp messages after the relationship ended, Mbazira demanded the 10m hush money after accusing the retired businessman of subjecting her to degrading sexual acts.

He described her allegations as ridiculous and said their relationship was consensual and fun.

Mbazira told Portsmouth Crown Court, Hampshire, she first demanded 20,000 from the businessman so she could start a business importing baskets from Morocco and selling them on eBay and Amazon.

The mother from London claimed he had mentioned talking to someone who worked for online fashion brand Asos and wanted to back her desired career in that industry.

She told the jury: 'He asked about my eBay shop and I talked to him about the things I sold.

'He said to me, 'why don't you make it big?' and I tell him I would love to make it big, I have lots of other ideas, but all my ideas remain as ideas because you need money to bring it forward.

'Of course I had visions and plans but i couldn't, I explained that to him.'

Speaking about a later date, Ms Mbazira added: 'He said, 'you are quite good at fashion... I would like to do that for you, I would like to make you big'.

Mbazira, pictured, claimed dating the businessman had cost her a lot of money in dresses, waxing, nails, hair and train tickets

She told the court he used the alleged promise to 'control the relationship', adding: 'I felt he was holding on to that offer. He made it clear I needed him and without him I would not get this, he called it a lifestyle.

'He had made this beautiful, wonderful offer but somehow I couldn't talk about it with him... any mention of money he would call me a gold digger.'

The couple broke up in February 2018 and in June 2018 she said she finally plucked up the courage to demand 20,000 from him to fund her business, despite telling the court 'I don't like asking people for things'.

Prosecutor Orlando Gibbons told Mbazira she knew exactly what she was doing when she demanded 10m from the businessman after lawyers she consulted told her he had no case to answer.

'You thought you were entitled to money from him and you knew you were not,' he told her.

When the businessman said he did not have that kind of money and did not think it was 'sensible' to be in a business relationship together he instead offered her 1,000 on the condition she didn't ask for money again.

In a rambling email, Mbazira asked the businessman why he had not taken her on holiday or bought her a Channel hand bag.

Mbazira claimed dating the businessman had cost her a lot of money in dresses, waxing, nails, hair and train tickets.

She wrote: 'Thanks for the offer of 20,000. However, I cannot accept.

'You say you want me gone, to leave you alone and keep our relationship quiet.

'I need a new home and business and to help my son with his studies.

'I'll scrap plans for my memoir and never contact you again. I'm looking at 10 million.

'This will enable us to peacefully move on with our lives.'

His Honour Judge William Ashworth told Mbazira at Portsmouth Crown Court, pictured, she would be back in court next month for sentencing

Asked by Mr Gibbons for the prosecution how he felt after reading the January 2019 email, the businessman said: 'I took it totally seriously.

'I felt it was absolutely unjust and unwarranted and bore absolutely no relation to the reality of the situation.

'It simply bore no relation to anything we had ever done together.

'I felt it was totally unwarranted.

'The allegation she was making against me were untrue.

'I seemed to have become a fictional person in her mind. She could not take on board I was not a billionaire and I felt intensely threatened by it.'

The businessman said he was worried Mbazira would mention it to famous people and a member of the Royal Family.

The businessman had attended an event with Prince Edward and he was worried she would bring his name into it.

Theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber was also mentioned in the emails from Mbazira.

Mr Gibbons said Mbazira made an unwarranted demand of 10m in 2019 in order to make financial gain for herself and to deprive the businessman of his money and reputation.

Single mum Mbazira met the company director on a dating app advertised in The Times and Sunday Times called Encounters.

The site describes Encounters as a forum where singles who are serious about dating can match, meet and find love.

Mbazira was arrested in London in February 2019.

His Honour Judge William Ashworth told Mbazira she would be back in court next month for sentencing
A Catholic boarding school which charges nearly 38,000 a year has been rated 'inadequate' after a report found sex between pupils, boozy parties, class A drugs and concerns around safeguarding pupils from monks.

A number of concerning incidents at Ampleforth College, in North Yorkshire, were uncovered by Ofsted inspectors who visited the school in November.

During one incident last year, the report said, 81 children, aged 17 to 18, held a 'graduation' party in a nearby countryside, with one pupil being found unconscious in an orchard after disappearing for an hour and another required hospital treatment due to alcohol consumption.

School leaders also located class A drugs in a boarding house on the same day as the party, according to the report.

Inspectors also said vulnerable students were having sex in PE changing rooms during lesson time and that school leaders could do little to stop 'monks of concern' - including those suspected of sexual abuse - being allowed to live at the neighbouring abbey.

The school has been dogged by an ongoing scandal involving abuse by monks and staff for decades and in 2020 was ordered to stop admitting new pupils as a result of 'serious failings'.

Ampleforth College disputed the findings in the Ofsted report and headteacher Robin Dyer said they were 'deeply disappointed that Ofsted should have produced a report based on a number of incorrect assumptions and factual inaccuracies regarding our safeguarding'.

Ampleforth College (pictured), which charges nearly 38,000 a year, has been rated 'inadequate' after a report found sex between pupils, boozy parties, class A drugs and concerns around safeguarding pupils from monks

The new Ofsted report, published today, said: 'The arrangements to safeguard pupils, including the most vulnerable, at Ampleforth College remain ineffective.'

Inspectors said they were contacted by 'whistleblowers' before and after the inspection due to concerns about a 'serious safeguarding incident'.

They said that on their last day of school 81 students in Year 13 left their individual boarding houses at 2.30am, frustrated that Covid restrictions had deprived them of a 'graduation party'.

According to the report, the students disabled locks and alarms and took a pre-planned route in order to avoid CCTV cameras.

Meeting at an 'agreed destination', the report said, these 'unsupervised students consumed alcohol that had been brought onto site in secret'.

The report added: 'One student was found unconscious and alone in an orchard. Another student was hospitalised because of excess alcohol consumption.

'At the same time, leaders located, and alerted police to, Class A drugs found on the schools site.

'Staff, who were alert to the possibility of end-of-term celebrations, were not sufficiently vigilant.

'They did not take action to prevent these dangerous behaviours. Since this incident, leaders have started to use sniffer dogs and thermal-imaging cameras to prevent any recurrences.'

The new report also revealed that the school, which is now co-educational, failed to deal with reports of sex between vulnerable pupils.

It added: 'On another occasion, very recently, some younger pupils with identified SEND (special educational needs) engaged in penetrative sexual activity during the school day while not supervised sufficiently well.

'This sexual activity was witnessed by one of their peers. The schools staff knew of risk factors in relation to these children.

'They did not take proper account of the information they had when organising changing facilities for physical education lessons.

'Their risk assessments and subsequent actions were insufficient to prevent harmful behaviour.

'They remain unsure about how to protect vulnerable children who show overly sexualised behaviours.'

Handing out an 'inadequate' rating to the school, Ofsted also claimed there are new concerns about convicted paedophile monks residing at the nearby abbey.

It said: 'At the time of the last inspection, in March 2021, the headteacher had a veto over which monks could or could not reside at the abbey.

'This agreement is no longer in place. This means that there is now little that leaders can do if the abbey decides to admit monks of concern onto the Ampleforth Abbey site.

'Monks of concern would include those who have been accused, and any found guilty of, child sexual abuse in the past and any who are under investigation currently.'

In a lengthy statement, Ampleforth College disputed the findings by Ofsted inspectors.

Ampleforth College disputed the findings in the Ofsted report and headteacher Robin Dyer said they were 'deeply disappointed that Ofsted should have produced a report based on a number of incorrect assumptions'

The college said: 'Ofsteds conclusions rest on four cases or issues. In each instance, Ofsteds report contains factual inaccuracies and draws judgements which are not substantiated by the evidence base.

'Ofsted describe a case of two students who engaged in penetrative sexual activity, despite being contrary to the statements of those involved and a witness.

'The police report states "no implication of penetration" and "no further action for police". The witness described "a three second incident in which both [students] were laughing". A third student was in the room.

'Ofsted states that students were not supervised sufficiently well. They were getting changed for sport and in line with usual safeguarding procedures staff are not allowed in a room while students change. Staff were on duty in the corridor outside the changing room.

'Ofsted also says the school knew the risk factors around these children and that our risk assessments were insufficient. However, nothing in the previous behaviour of the students known to the school suggested there was a risk of physical sexual behaviour.

'In the case of the Year 13 incident, Ofsted implies this was brought to their attention by whistleblowers whereas the school fully reported to the appropriate agency that same day and immediately undertook an exercise to learn lessons.

'Ofsteds assertion that a student was missing for an hour and was unconscious in an orchard is simply incorrect. A logged phone call with the student and other evidence demonstrate that they were absent for a total of 15 minutes and were not unconscious.

'A trace of Class A drugs was found in one students room but there was no evidence of drugs being consumed.

'In recognition that this was the Year 13 students last night at school and there had been some frustrations about Covid restrictions, boarding House staff stayed up until 1.30am and were on duty all night.

'Established and maintained security procedures were in place including on-site security personnel, CCTV alarm systems, security stays on windows and other security devices.

'The students planned and co-ordinated their departure from the boarding houses after 2am, and damaged or disabled the security systems in order to evade detection. This is a matter of great regret and they were disciplined in a manner which reflected the seriousness of the incident.

'Long before Ofsteds inspection, the school commissioned and had implemented additional security measures.'

The school also said the inspectors' finding that monks found guilty of child sexual abuse could live in the neighbouring monstary was 'incorrect'.

'In line with arrangements put in place in recent years, the School and the Abbey have become two separate institutions with delineated sites and marked boundaries,' the school added.

'This separation is monitored and controlled by CCTV, fences, risk assessments, a robust visitor policy, and security personnel.

'Nine of the monks at Ampleforth Abbey work in the college as chaplains. They have gone through all the usual checks for staff required by safer recruitment regulations.

'The College has no right to control who lives in the nearby monastic community. However, to make safeguarding as robust as possible, the college has agreed a draft safeguarding protocol with the abbey and enlisted the support of local statutory agencies to maximise the effectiveness of these measures.'

Robin Dyer, headteacher of Ampleforth College, added: 'We are deeply disappointed that Ofsted should have produced a report based on a number of incorrect assumptions and factual inaccuracies regarding our safeguarding.

'We have made repeated attempts to correct the facts before the report was published. We do not lightly stand up to our regulator but in this instance the injustice cannot be allowed to stand.

'Ampleforth is a safe school. Our students know it and our parents and staff know it too.'
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Scores of people are feared dead after Russian forces last night bombed a theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in the encircled port city of Mariupol, the city council said.

Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city, meaning rescuers can't reach those trapped in the rubble.

Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word 'children' written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the theatre building, where up to 1,200 civilians are believed to have been sheltering, in an apparent effort to stave off any attack by Vladimir Putin's forces.

But two days later, Russian forces bombed the theatre where hundreds - including sick children and women - were sheltering.

The targeting of civilians drew strong condemnation, with US President Joe Biden for the first time branding Putin as a war criminal and Ukraine saying the attack was a war crime.

After Russia's bombs hit the theatre, the central part of the building collapsed, burying large numbers of people under rubble, Ukrainian officials said. The debris also blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located inside the building.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy condemned the attack on the theatre, saying: 'My heart is broken because of what Russia does with our people.'

Petro Andruishchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said the theatre was the city's largest shelter 'in number and size'. He told CNN: 'More than a thousand people were hiding there but the probability of getting there to dismantle the rubble is low due to constant shelling and bombing of the city.'

The number of people inside the theatre at the bombing is currently unknown. Ukrainian authorities said as many as 1,200 civilians had sought refuge in the building, while Human Rights Watch said the theatre had been housing at least 500 civilians.

Last week, footage showed scores of people - mainly women and children - sheltering inside the theatre. 'There are so many children,' a volunteer told the Times. 'All the children have a fever, I don't know what to do. Help us.'

Russian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine. But there have been repeated attacks on residential areas by Putin's forces, with three people killed and five wounded after Russian shelling on Wednesday in Kharkiv.

Putin faced further allegations of war crimes on Wednesday after video of an attack that was later confirmed by Ukraine's prosecutor general showed at least 10 civilians gunned down while they were queueing for bread outside Chernihiv.

Ukraine's prosecutor general confirmed in a statement the attack by Russian forces who 'fired at people standing in line for bread near a grocery store.' While new drone footage appeared to show Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian as he held his hands up to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.

Russian rocket attacks also targeted a convoy of people fleeing Mariupol, killing civilians, including children, on Wednesday after earlier strikes targeted a nearby hub for displaced people. It is not yet known how many were killed in the shelling but an image from the scene showed a burnt out car, with a damaged door blown open.

Russian forces bombed a theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in the encircled port city of Mariupol on Wednesday, the city council said

Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre (pictured before the attack) because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city, meaning rescuers can't reach those in the rubble

Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word 'children' written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the theatre building in an effort to stave off any attack by Putin's forces

Russian rocket attacks also targeted a convoy of people fleeing Mariupol, killing civilians, including children, after earlier strikes targeted a nearby hub for displaced people. Pictured: A car from a convoy of people fleeing from Mariupol, destroyed by shelling, is seen on a road in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Wednesday

A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces assists a woman to cross the street in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, after she was evacuated from a burning building hit in a Russian missile strike

Three people were killed and five wounded in shelling in Kharkiv city centre on Wednesday - despite Moscow maintaining its forces are only targeting strategic military infrastructure

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire broke out at the Saltivka construction market, hit by 6 rounds of Russian heavy artillery in Kharkiv, on Wednesday

Russia has in recent days begun a sustained bombing campaign of Kyiv, targeting civilian buildings as well as administrative centres to inflict considerable damage on the city's infrastructure, as has been observed in other urban centres such as second city Kharkiv (pictured)

Ukrainian firefighters sift through the rubble of an apartment building in Kharkhiv after it was hit in sustained Russian shelling of the city

The Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline UKRAINE REFUGEE APPEAL Readers of Mail Newspapers and MailOnline have always shown immense generosity at times of crisis. Calling upon that human spirit, we are now launching an appeal to raise money for refugees from Ukraine. For, surely, no one can fail to be moved by the heartbreaking images and stories of families  mostly women, children, the infirm and elderly  fleeing from Russia's invading armed forces. As this tally of misery increases over the coming days and months, these innocent victims of a tyrant will require accommodation, schools and medical support. All donations to the Mail Ukraine Appeal will be distributed to charities and aid organisations providing such essential services. In the name of charity and compassion, we urge all our readers to give swiftly and generously. TO MAKE A DONATION ONLINE Donate at www.mailforcecharity.co.uk/donate To add Gift Aid to a donation  even one already made  complete an online form found here: mymail.co.uk/ukraine Via bank transfer, please use these details: Account name: Mail Force Charity Account number: 48867365 Sort code: 60-00-01 TO MAKE A DONATION VIA CHEQUE Make your cheque payable to 'Mail Force' and post it to: Mail Newspapers Ukraine Appeal, GFM, 42 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex CO2 8JY TO MAKE A DONATION FROM THE US US readers can donate to the appeal via a bank transfer to Associated Newspapers or by sending checks to dailymail.com HQ at 51 Astor Place (9th floor), New York, NY 10003 Advertisement

The attacks are among dozens expected to be investigated by the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who said there is 'zero tolerance' for crimes targeting civilians.

Khan, who travelled to Ukraine on Wednesday, said: 'No person with a gun, or a missile, or a plane, or a mortar has a licence to target civilians.'

Meanwhile, the UK, US, Albania, France, Norway and Ireland have requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Thursday in response to the attacks on civilians.

'Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians,' the British diplomatic mission to the UN said. 'Russia's illegal war on Ukraine is a threat to us all.'

In a further blow to Putin, a senior U.S. defense official said Wednesday that the Russians continue to make little tangible progress across most of Ukraine. The official said Russian forces are still stalled outside Kyiv while continuing to bombard the capital city with missiles.

UK defence sources also said that Kyiv has Moscow 'on the run' and the Russian army could be just two weeks from 'culmination point' - after which 'the strength of Ukraine's resistance should become greater than Russia's attacking force.'

Zelenksy on Wednesday night warned Putin that if he continues with his invasion with Ukraine, his forces will continue to face losses.

'Russian forces have such losses in Ukraine that they didn't have in Syria and Chechnya, that Soviet forces didn't have in Afghanistan,' Zelensky said. 'If your war against Ukrainian people continues, Russian mothers will lose more children than they did in the Afghan and Chechen wars combined.'

But, as Russia's invasion falters, its methods become more brutal - with cities increasingly coming under indiscriminate rocket fire.

The Ukrainian military on Wednesday said Russian troops had fired at civilians who had been travelling from the besieged port city of Zaporizhzhia through a humanitarian corridor - supposedly safe passages for citizens to flee.

'[On Wednesday] at around 3.30pm (13.30 GMT), a column of civilians being evacuated from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia was fired on by inhuman Russian occupiers,' the military said, adding that 'the number of victims is being clarified'.

'Heavy artillery of the enemy forces fired on a convoy of civilians moving along the highway towards Zaporizhzhia,' said governor Oleksandr Starukh in an online post.

Nowhere has suffered more than the encircled city of Mariupol, where local officials say missile strikes and shelling have killed more than 2,300 people.

The southern seaport of 430,000 has been under attack for almost all of the three-week war in a siege that has left people struggling for food, water, heat and medicine.

Meanwhile, rescuers in Mariupol were unable to reach the hundreds of civilians who had been hiding in the Drama Theatre when Russia bombed the building.

Serhiy Taruta, a local politician, said fierce battles were ongoing in Mariupol and said no one could get the civilians out of the rubble.

Taruta told Interfax news agency: 'We don't know if there are survivors. And the worst thing is that we can't get them out of the rubble. Many Mariupol residents were hiding in the theater with small children.

'We undertake an obligation. To the dead and survivors of the Russian bombing.

'The obligation to find every pilot who drops bombs on Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities. We will find everyone. We will find and destroy.

'We will not stop until at least one of them breathes. This is our sacred duty.'

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry accused Russia of committing war crimes by indiscriminately bombing a building that was hosting hundreds of civilians.

'The theatre building served as a shelter for hundreds of Mariupol residents who had lost their homes as a result of Russian armed forces bombing and shelling the city,' the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added: 'The bomb strike demolished the central part of the theatre building, causing large numbers of people to be buried under the debris. The assessment of the exact number of persons is currently impossible due to ongoing shelling.

'By delivering a purposeful bomb attack to the place of mass gathering of civilians Russia has committed another war crime.'

The Russian defense ministry denied bombing the theatre or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday.

People fleeing from Mariupol amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine stand next to a police officer, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Wednesday

Evacuees from Mariupol are seen upon arrival at the car park of a shopping centre on the outskirts of the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is now a registration centre for displaced people, on Wednesday

A multiple rocket launcher belonging to the Russian armed forces lays abandoned on the side of the road after it was destroyed in close quarter fighting with Ukrainian soldiers

Volunteers play with children at a shelter in Lviv as one child covers his face with his hands on Wednesday

Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces load magazines during tactical exercises near Lviv in western Ukraine as they prepare to face Russian forces advancing from the east

Women weave a camouflage net on March 16 in Lviv, Ukraine. Lviv has served as a stopover and shelter for the millions of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, either to the safety of nearby countries or the relative security of western Ukraine

Russian forces in Mariupol have rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and are refusing to let them leave, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Over 28,800 civilians have managed to escape Mariupol through several humanitarian corridors, but thousands are still stuck in the city, Ukrainian officials said.

Around 20,000 reached Zaporizhzhia but within hours of them arriving, Moscow's men started pounding the southern Ukrainian city.

Vladimir Putin's troops launched rocket strikes on Zaporizhzhia overnight, hitting a railway station, though there were no reports of casualties, the regional governor Oleksander Vasylyovych said in an announcement on Facebook.

It came as three people were killed and five wounded after Russian shelling caused a fire at a market in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, emergency services said.

Three people were killed and five wounded after Russian shelling caused a fire at a market in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, emergency services said.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire broke out at the Saltivka construction market, hit by 6 rounds of Russian heavy artillery in Kharkiv, on Wednesday

A firefighter works to extinguish a fire at a market after it was hit by six rounds of Russian heavy artillery in Kharkiv on Wednesday

A view of destruction in Alexeyevka district after bombing by Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine on Wednesday

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went before the U.S. Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: ' We need you right now.' He said the Russian invasion was 'a terror that Europe has not seen, has not seen for 80 years.'

'Remember Pearl Harbor, [that] terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you,' he said.

'Remember September the 11th, a terrible day in 2001 when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories, into battlefields, when innocent people were attacked from air,' he said. 'No one expected it, no one could stop it.'

'Our country experiences the same, every day, right now at this moment.'

U.S. President Joe Biden announced the U.S. is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones. He also called Vladimir Putin a 'war criminal' in his sharpest condemnation of the Russian leader since the invasion began.

'More will be coming as we source additional stocks of equipment that... we are ready to transfer,' Biden said, adding that Putin 'is a war criminal'.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comment was 'unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric', according to Tass news agency.

Zelenksy on Wednesday night praised Biden for giving Ukraine the 'powerful support' of $800million in military aid, but added that sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow must go further and Kiev needed more weapons to stop Russia's onslaught.

'Ukraine received powerful support of our American friends,' Zelensky said in his regular evening address on Wednesday night. 'I'm thankful to President Biden for it. I'm thankful for leadership that united the democratic world.

'But the war doesn't stop. Russian war crimes don't stop. The Russian economy is still capable to feed their military machine.

'The most important [thing] is that Ukraine must get more support, more than we get now. Air defence systems, jets, sufficient amount of lethal weapons and ammunition to stop the Russian occupiers.'

Meanwhile, international pressure against the Kremlin mounted and its isolation deepened as the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ordered Russia to stop attacking Ukraine. Also, the 47-nation Council of Europe, the continent's foremost human rights body, expelled Russia.

Kyiv brought a case at the International Court of Justice immediately after Putin ordered his men to attack on February 24, saying his justification - that genocide was being committed in Donbass - was unfounded and in breach of international law.

Judges on Wednesday ruled in Ukraine's favour, ordering Russia to call off its forces and stop attacks by troops that it supports - referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk 'republics'.

The court has no power to enforce the ruling and Vladimir Putin is likely to ignore it, but President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that doing so will 'isolate Russia even further' from other nations.

While Moscow's ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Putin said the operation was unfolding 'successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans.' He also decried Western sanctions against Moscow, accusing the West of trying to 'squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.'

A senior U.S. defense official said the Russians were still making little tangible progress in much of the country, but said a key development has been increased Russian naval activity in the northern Black Sea, where ships were shelling suburbs of Odesa.

Meanwhile Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went before the U.S. Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: ' We need you right now'

Children playing at a government children's shelter in Lviv on Wednesday. According to the United Nations, more than three million Ukrainians have become refugees and another two million have been internally displaced since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire broke out at the Saltivka construction market, hit by 6 rounds of Russian heavy artillery in Kharkiv, on Wednesday

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. military assessments, said it's not clear what the Russians intend to do, but the shelling could be the start of preparations to launch a ground assault on Odesa, Ukraine's third largest city. Russia has warships and landing ships that carry troops and tanks in the Black Sea.

The source said the Russians have launched more than 980 missiles in Ukraine, and they are still flying around 200 sorties per day, although the total goes up and down. Ukrainians are still flying between five and 10 sorties a day.

The official added that Ukraine continues to control Brovary and Mykolaiv, but the Russians have largely isolated Chernihiv and Mariupol. Roughly 75% of all of Russia's battalion tactical groups - which make up their ground forces - are committed to the fight in Ukraine, the official said.

The number of people who have fled Ukraine since the start of the conflict topped three million this week, according to the UN whose human rights body said 691 civilians have been killed and 1,143 injured, thought it has acknowledged those numbers were likely an undercount.

Vladimir Putin was last night unanimously declared a war criminal in a vote late Tuesday night by the US Senate, which called for an investigation into the Russian president and his authoritarian regime amid the invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, there appeared to be movement in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday as Zelensky said that the negotiations with Russia were sounding 'more realistic', but the goodwill fell apart into the afternoon as questions of neutrality arose.

Moscow earlier Wednesday said that a neutral Ukraine along the lines of Sweden or Austria was being discussed at talks with Kyiv to end three weeks of fighting in Ukraine.

'This is an option that is being discussed now and that can be considered as a compromise,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov's comments came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said neutrality was taking centre stage at the talks and that Moscow and Kyiv were 'close to agreeing' the wording of an agreement on neutrality.

But Kyiv rejected the proposal and instead called for legally binding guarantees that international forces signed by international partners, who would 'not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today', to 'prevent attacks' in the future.

'Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. As a result, the model can only be 'Ukrainian' and only on legally verified security guarantees,' its top negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said in comments published by President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.

Zelensky reaffirmed his priorities in the talks in an evening address on Wednesday night, saying: 'The talks on Ukraine continue. My priorities at the talks are crystal clear: end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoring territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection of our country.'

Zelensky, speaking in his early morning address on Wednesday, had said that a deal could be struck with Vladimir Putin within one or two weeks because Moscow's forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.

It comes after footage emerged of a man allegedly being executed on a road outside of Kyiv by Russian troops while attempting to surrender.

The slaughter of civilians, particularly those who do not pose a threat, is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.

The video, obtained by German broadcaster ZDF and filmed on March 7, shows a silver car driving along the E40 European expressway west of Kyiv.

The car was heading towards Kyiv, but upon seeing a Russian tank and a group of soldiers parked by the side of the road, the driver made a rapid U-turn before braking and coming to a stop.

The man exited the car and immediately raised his hands above his head, turning to face the Russian soldiers in a clear show of surrender. But within seconds he was gunned down in cold blood.

Moments later, a gang of soldiers are seen grabbing the civilian's lifeless body and dragging him away into the trees nearby.

The drone operator, a member of the Ukrainian territorial defence force in Kyiv, said a woman and child were also travelling in the car and were subsequently taken captive by the Russian forces.

The civilian's execution took place mere yards from another car, which appears to have been abandoned on the road outside a petrol station on the E40 expressway west of Kyiv after sustaining damage.

The silver car was later towed away and burnt according to the Ukrainian drone operator, who gave his name only as 'Zanoza' and explained he was tasked with using the Mavic III drone to observe Russian tank positions.

The incident took place outside the petrol station located a mere 10 miles from the towns of Irpin and Bucha, both of which been decimated in recent days by brutal Russian bombing campaigns, resulting in many civilian deaths and mass evacuations.

In the city's hospital number three, a heartbreaking picture showed tiny premature children who had been left behind by their parents who made the decision to flee the city, which aid agencies have warned faces a humanitarian disaster

In Mariupol's hospital number two (pictured from above), also known as the intensive care hospital, Russian troops are using those inside as human shields, Kyryklenko said, adding: 'It's impossible to leave the hospital, they are shooting hard.'

Zaporizhzhia is the first safe port of call for those fleeing Mariupol (pictured, a baby shelters in a circus building in Zaporizhzhia after fleeing Mariupol) but evacuees now face a new terror after Vladimir Putin's troops launched rocket strikes on the city overnight on Tuesday, hitting a railway station

Servicemen pay tributes on Tuesday over the coffins of three members of the National Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Land Forces Academy who died as a result of shelling in Lviv

The Ukrainian capital remains firmly under the control of Ukraine's military and territorial defence forces, and all Russian attempts to breach the city centre have been successfully repelled.

But Russia has in recent days begun a sustained bombing campaign of Kyiv, targeting civilian buildings as well as administrative centres to inflict considerable damage on the city's infrastructure, as has been observed in other urban centres such as second city Kharkiv and southern port city Mariupol.

In Mariupol, there were harrowing scenes in the hospitals on Tuesday as premature children were abandoned by their parents who fled the city as medical centres continued to come under attack from Putin's forces.

Kyrylenko said the main building of hospital two in the seaport has been heavily damaged by shelling, but medical staff are continuing to treat patients in makeshift wards set up in the basement.

He called on the world to respond to these 'gross violations of the norms and customs of war, these egregious crimes against humanity.'

The Ukrainian army's General Staff says Russian troops are trying to block off the city from the western and eastern outskirts of the city. 'There are significant losses,' it said in a Facebook post.

Putin's chilling warning to the West and oligarchs: Ranting president tells 'scum' traitors Russians will 'spit them out like a midge that flew into their mouths' and says Western 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end

By Lauren Lewis for MailOnline

Vladimir Putin today sent a chilling warning to the West and oligarchs telling 'scum' traitors that Russians will 'spit them out like a midge that flew into their mouths' - as he claimed Western 'attempts to have global dominance' is coming to an end.

The Russian President, speaking in a bombastic televised address from the Kremlin nearly three weeks into Moscow's invasion, warned the West would use 'those who earn their money here, but live over there' as a 'fifth column' to 'divide our society'.

'I do not judge those with villas in Miami or the French Riviera. Or who can't get by without oysters or foie gras or so-called 'gender freedoms.' The problem is they mentally exist there, and not here, with our people, with Russia,' he said. 'The West will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors... to divide our society.. to provoke civil confrontation... to strive to achieve its aim. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia.'

He claimed that the conflict was merely a pretext for the West to impose sanctions because 'they just don't want a strong and sovereign Russia' and insisted the 'military operation' in Ukraine is going to plan despite his troops' advance remaining largely stalled on the outskirts of Kyiv. But he also told Russians, in words ironically reminiscent of Zelensky's speeches, that 'we are fighting for our sovereignty and the future of our children'.

It is the latest in the propaganda pushed by Moscow in a bid to justify their invasion of Ukraine to Russian citizens - including claims the war is about 'de-nazifying' the country and preventing a genocide of minorities waged by Kyiv.

In a coordinated move last month Britain, the US, Canada and the EU, barred Moscow from the Swift international banking system to prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves 'in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions'.

The states have since imposed a sweeping range of sanctions on exports of champagne, high-end cars, fashion apparel, expensive electronics, sports gear and even vodka among other things as they attempt to bring the Russian economy to its knees in a punishment over Putin's war in Ukraine.

And in the most recent measures, hundreds of Russian oligarchs, organisations and individuals are set to be hit with sanctions from the Government after a fast-tracked bill to target 'dirty money' in the UK is passed. Several oligarchs, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovitch, have already been targeted with sanctions.

Vladimir Putin said today that the West's 'attempt to have global dominance' is coming to an end as he warned it is trying to 'cancel Russia' with an 'economic blitzkreig' of sanctions

At least four yachts and a private jet owned by sanctioned Russians or their families have escaped the grasp of European officials in recent weeks, a Daily Mail investigation can reveal

If the West thought that Russia would step back, it did not understand Russia, Putin said on the 21st day of the war against Ukraine.

He claimed the the operation in Ukraine is unfolding 'successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans' and warned the West is trying to stoke up civil conflict.

He claimed the West's economic measures were short-sighted as 'most countries do not support sanctions'.

'The West doesn't even bother to hide the fact that its aim is to damage the entire Russian economy, every Russian,' he said.

But in his most explicit acknowledgment of the pain inflicted by Western sanctions, he said inflation and unemployment would rise, but promised support to families with children.

Structural changes to the economy would be needed, Putin said, as he accused the West of trying to 'squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.'
Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn says he was waterboarded 80 times

A Guantanamo Bay detainee believed to be one of the first people waterboarded by the CIA can use English law in his case against the UK Government, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn, a Saudi-born Palestinian who is widely known as Abu Zubaydah, is bringing a claim against the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Home Office and the Attorney General over alleged complicity in his torture.

Mr Zubaydah has been detained by the US authorities since his capture in Pakistan in 2002 and in 2006 was sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where he has been held ever since.

The High Court previously heard that he was 'arbitrarily detained' at CIA-run 'black site' prisons in Thailand, Poland, Morocco, Lithuania and Afghanistan where he was 'subjected to extreme mistreatment and torture'.

Mr Zubaydah's lawyers have said he was waterboarded on more than 80 occasions and subjected to extreme sleep deprivation, confinement inside tiny boxes, beatings, death threats as well as denial of food, sanitation facilities and medical care while held in the 'black sites' between 2002 and 2006.

Shortly after his capture, then-US president George W Bush described Mr Zubaydah as 'al Qaida's chief of operations'.

But a report by the US Senate Committee on Intelligence, which was published in 2014, said: 'The CIA later concluded that Abu Zubaydah was not a member of al Qaida.'

He was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and in 2006 was sent to Guantanamo Bay (pictured) in Cuba where he has been held ever since

Mr Zubaydah does not suggest that UK forces were involved in his capture, rendition to the 'black site' facilities or were present during his mistreatment and torture.

However, he claims that security services MI5 and MI6 were aware that he was being subjected to extreme mistreatment and torture at the hands of the CIA from at least May 2002 and still sent 'numerous' questions to the agency to be used in interrogations.

'It is, the claimant says, to be inferred that the services sent the questions to the CIA in the knowledge and with the expectation and/or intention, or at the very least not caring, that the CIA would subject him to torture and extreme mistreatment in order to obtain information from him in response to their questions,' Lord Justice Males said.

Mr Zubaydah argues that the FCDO, Home Office and Attorney General are 'vicariously liable' for multiple wrongs against him, including conspiracy to injure and false imprisonment.

The Government departments have neither admitted nor denied that they knew where Mr Zubaydah was being held from time to time or that they knew how he was being treated, arguing they cannot do so for national security reasons.

Lord Justice Males said: 'Their position, in summary, is that they do not plead to allegations made against the United States authorities, in particular the allegations concerning rendition and torture, and that they neither confirm nor deny the matters relied on by the claimant to establish their liability.'

Shortly after his capture, then-US president George W Bush described Mr Zubaydah as 'al Qaida's chief of operations'

At a preliminary hearing, the High Court was previously asked to decide whether English law applies to Mr Zubaydah's claim - as his lawyers argue - or whether it should be the law of the six countries in which he was detained.

In a judgment in February last year, a High Court judge ruled the law of the six countries in which he was detained applied to his case.

However, three senior judges overturned this decision on Wednesday.

Lord Justice Males, sitting with Lady Justice Thirlwall and Dame Victoria Sharp, said there were 'strong connections' connecting the claim with England and Wales, despite Mr Zubaydah himself having no connection with the UK.

He continued: 'He could reasonably have expected, if he had thought about it during the 20 years in which he has been detained, that the conduct of any country's security services having to do with him would be governed by the law of the country concerned.

'As for the services, they would reasonably have expected that their conduct here would be subject to English law. That seems obvious, but the judge did not mention t.'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's impassioned speech to Congress on Wednesday morning left most lawmakers in the chamber in awe of his bravery and some were even nearly reduced to tears -- but two Republican firebrands seemed largely unaffected.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was spotted checking her phone while her colleagues gave Zelensky a standing ovation ahead of his remarks.

Meanwhile Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) missed that portion altogether, along with most of the Ukrainian president's speech, according to the New York Times.

Though after the brief portion he attended, the freshman lawmaker declared 'emotion shouldn't guide foreign policy' despite the majority of his caucus calling for more weapons and aid to be sent to Kyiv.

Hours after the speech President Joe Biden issued his strongest condemnation of Vladimir Putin yet, calling the autocrat a 'war criminal.'

Greene and Cawthorn, who both took office in 2021, have been among the minority of Republican lawmakers who have called for less US involvement in Ukraine's resistance to a Russian invasion.

'Emotion should never guide our foreign policy. The United States must be extraordinarily careful to implement logical, rational foreign policy that tactfully strengthens the Ukrainian people while simultaneously putting America first,' Cawthorn told the Times after Zelensky's speech.

The North Carolina congressman was caught on video earlier this month disparaging Zelensky as a 'thug' and calling his democratically-elected government 'corrupt' and 'evil.'

Nearly every lawmaker in Congress stood up to applaud Ukrainian President Zelensky when he appeared via video link on Wednesday morning. Greene (right, brown dress) can be seen keeping her hands still while her colleagues applaud

At one point she bent down to check her phone, apparently uninterested in joining fellow lawmakers' praise

Greene, however, appears to have attended the entire speech.

Shortly before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) brief introduction to Ukraine's leader, he appeared via videolink and was welcomed by enthusiastic applause from nearly the entire chamber.

The outspoken Georgia Republican stood along with the other lawmakers but instead of clapping, reached for her phone.

Greene engaged on a Twitter rant on Tuesday night, accusing the US and NATO of funding 'neo-Nazis' in Ukraine.

Her claims are centered around a nationalist paramilitary group based in Ukraine called the Azov Battalion.

The fringe group, which has no widespread influence over Ukraine's multi-ethnic society led by a Jewish president, has fueled Russian leader Vladimir Putin's claims that he is attacking the country to rid it of 'Nazi' rule.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn, who previously called Zelensky a 'thug,' only came into the chamber toward the end of the speech

Azov was absorbed into Ukraine's National Guard in 2014, when the country's then-underfunded and inadequately trained military sought the help of militia groups to fight off Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region.

'Democrats have been calling Republicans, President Trump, and his supporters Nazis since 2015. But the Dems have been funding *actual* Nazis since the Obama/Biden administration. Funding to neo-Nazis in Ukraine only stopped under President Trump,' Greene tweeted on Tuesday night.

She pointed out that the US and Ukraine both voted against a resolution criticizing the glorification of Nazism at the United Nations. American diplomats had explained they voted down the resolution over concerns it would limit free speech protected by the Constitution.

Greene also brought up the $1.5 trillion government funding bill that President Joe Biden signed into law on Tuesday.

She incorrectly stated that the package, which included nearly $14 billion in humanitarian and military aid for Ukraine, only contained cash for 'lethal' aid.

'Last week, Congress voted to fund Ukraine with $13.6 BILLION in lethal aid. How much U.S. taxpayer cash will end up in the hands of the neo-Nazis in Ukraine?' Greene questioned.

Her final explosive tweet was that NATO was directly supplying 'neo-Nazis in Ukraine' with weapons and training.

'And to top it all off, NATO has been supplying the neo-Nazis in Ukraine with powerful weapons and extensive training on how to use them. What the hell is going with these #NATONazis?'

She added a link to a Belarusian media outlet called NEXTA, which shared images of Ukrainian fighters being trained with grenade launchers. At least one person pictured had the Azov Battalion's patch on his shoulder.

'A shipment of NLAW grenade launchers and instructors from #NATO countries arrived in #Kharkiv. The Azov regiment was the first to learn about new weaponry.

Right-wing think tank Atlantic Council once accused NEXTA of 'occasionally spread[ing] misinformation that appeared credible at face value but turned out to be inaccurate.'

Zelensky's Wednesday morning speech was widely lauded by lawmakers, who commended him on Ukraine's impressive resistance against a much larger and better-equipped Russian military.

He referenced infamous American tragedies like Pearl Harbor and the September 11 terror attacks to hammer home the scope of the devastation his country is grappling with as Putin's invasion continues for a third week.

'Our country experiences the same every day,' Zelensky said.

Zelensky made an impassioned plea for more US aid during his emotional address, invoking comparisons to Pearl Harbor, September 11 and Martin Luther King Jr. 'Right now, this moment, every night for three weeks, in various Ukrainian cities, Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have fired 1000 missiles at Ukraine. They use drones to kill us with precision,' he said

'Right now, this moment, every night for three weeks, in various Ukrainian cities, Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people. Russian troops have fired 1000 missiles at Ukraine. They use drones to kill us with precision.'

The wartime president also invoked Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech to reiterate his request for a no-fly zone over Ukraine -- something US and NATO officials have repeatedly ruled out over fears of a direct confrontation with Russia escalating into World War III.

'If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative,' he said of the no-fly zone.

'You know what kind of defense systems we need. You know how much depends on the ability to use aircraft to protect our people, our freedom. aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe.'

He continued, 'I have a dream. I have a need. I need to protect our skies. I need your help, which means the same you feel when you hear the words I have a dream.'

Zelensky ended with a direct appeal to Biden and the US's traditional role as leader of the free world.

On Tuesday night Greene engaged in a tirade on Twitter where she accused the US and NATO of funding Nazis in Ukraine, apparently referencing the nationalist fringe group the Azov Battalion. The neo-Nazi group has been fighting Russia alongside Ukraine's defense forces but has no widespread influence over its government

'In the end, to be the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country does not depend only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you, on those who are strong,' he concluded.

Combat veteran and Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) acknowledged the speech made her emotional, adding 'it makes me want to throw on my uniform and go help.'

Pelosi said on the House floor following the remarks, 'In the face of Russias cruel and unprovoked invasion, the Presidents fearless, heroic leadership has rallied his nation and inspired the entire world. And our Members were very moved by his powerful remarks today -- as well as the heart-wrenching footage he shared showing Putins inhumane terror, brutally committing war crimes against children.'

Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) called on the Biden administration to ramp up its aid to Ukraine.

'President Zelensky challenged our nation that if you want to be a leader of the world you have to be the leader of peace. But, you cant obtain peace if you are leading from behind -- we need President Biden and Europe to step up and lead,' he said during a press conference after the speech.

His fellow Kansas Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said Zelensky's address was 'a powerful and moving reminder that the United States must continue to take action to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russias unprovoked attack, assist refugees fleeing Ukraine, support our NATO allies and make certain Vladimir Putin pays for his aggression.'
A Syrian refugee who punched an 86-year-old veteran after being subjected to racist insults has been sentenced to four years in a young offenders' institution for manslaughter.

Frank Fishwick died in hospital after being hit by Mohammed Al Araaj during a row with the teenager and his friends outside his home in Preston, Lancashire.

Al Araaj, 19, who came to the UK as a refugee at 15, was one of four students smoking cannabis in a stairwell on the Paddock estate on the afternoon of September 10 last year, Preston Crown Court was told on Wednesday.

Francis McEntee, prosecuting, said Mr Fishwick, who he called a 'feisty older man', confronted the group, first through his window and then by going out to them.

In police body-worn camera footage shown to the court, Mr Fishwick was seen in his flat, holding his bloody nose and telling an officer he asked the group to move but they had refused.

One of the defendant's friends taunted the pensioner, who served in the Royal Engineers, and called him an old man with no teeth, the court was told.

Retired serviceman Frank Fishwick (pictured here with one of his grandchildren), 86, died in hospital less than 24-hours after suffering a fractured nose in the incident outside his home

Police say they were called at around 3pm on Friday to The Paddock, Fulwood, following a report of an assault. Pictured: Police at the scene

Mr Fishwick was said to have replied: 'Come here and I'll give you no teeth.'

The grandfather admitted directing racist insults at Al Araaj, telling officers: 'I will admit I said something that I shouldn't do.'

Mr McEntee said: 'He used comments and admitted language which shouldn't really see the light of day nowadays.'

Honorary recorder of Preston, Judge Robert Altham, told the court: 'They probably never should have seen the light of day.'

Sentencing, the judge said: 'The comments made by Mr Fishwick do form part of the background in this case, however even the making of those comments cannot begin to excuse the defendant, a young man, punching an 86-year-old man in the face.'

Mr Fishwick initially refused medical treatment but called for an ambulance that evening, when his nose continued to bleed, and was taken to hospital, the court was told.

Mohammed Al Araaj was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to four years in a young offenders

He had suffered a number of breaks to his nose and a bleed on the brain, Mr McEntree said.

He died the next day.

Al Araaj was arrested on September 12 and initially claimed Mr Fishwick kicked him and threatened him with a knife, Mr McEntee said.

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a hearing in December.

In a statement, Mr Fishwick's daughter, Judith Taylor Fishwick, who lives in America, said her relative's lives were 'turned upside down' by the attack.

Her father was taken from his loved ones by a 'cruel act of violence', she added.

Officers attended and found a man, aged 86, with a facial injury, later diagnosed as a fractured nose. Pictured: Police at the scene

Chris Hudson, defending, said Al Araaj was born in Syria and saw his sister killed by a fighter jet's bullet, which came through their bedroom wall.

He said: 'He has had a terrible upbringing.'

Al Araaj moved to Blackpool as a refugee and was able to finish his GCSEs despite experiencing racism at school, Mr Hudson said.

He had also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, the court was told.

Mr Hudson said: 'He is an intrinsically decent young man.'

Judge Altham said: 'Whilst this must be a sentence of some considerable length, the mitigating factors outweigh the aggravating factors.'
Ryan Herbert, now aged 30, (pictured) was 16 when he and a group of friends viciously beat Robert Maltby in a park in Bacup, Lancashire, in 2007, before turning on his girlfriend Sophie Lancaster, who was fatally attacked while trying to defend him

A thug who savagely beat a young woman to death because she looked like a goth is being released from jail after 15 years behind bars.

Ryan Herbert was 16 when he and a group of friends viciously beat Robert Maltby in a park in Bacup, Lancashire, in 2007, before turning on his girlfriend Sophie Lancaster as she rushed to defend him.

Sophie, 20, spent her last moments cradling her partner's head in her lap as thugs kicked and beat her unconscious. She died in hospital two weeks later.

Witnesses claimed the attackers celebrated afterwards, boasting: 'There's two moshers nearly dead up there - you wanna see them - they're a right mess.'

Herbert, now aged 30, pleaded guilty to Sophie's murder and to assault causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to Mr Maltby.

He was given a minimum term of 16 years and three months - later reduced to 15-and-a-half years on appeal.

In 2020, Herbert had his tariff cut to 14-and-a-half years when a High Court judge concluded he had made 'exceptional progress' in jail.

And this week, the Parole Board decided he can now be released on licence, 15 years after he took part in the attack, after ruling he had made 'significant changes to his life which reflected his remorse, his insight and increased maturity'.

'After considering the circumstances of his offending and examining the evidence for the progress made while in custody, the panel was satisfied that Mr Herbert was suitable for release,' a document setting out the decision said.

Brendan Harris, who was found guilty of Sophie's murder in 2008 and admitted the attack on Mr Maltby, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years.

He, Herbert and four other teenage boys 'savagely and mercilessly attacked' Mr Maltby in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, during the early hours of August 11 2007.

Sophie Lancaster (pictured), 20, spent her last moments cradling her partner's head in her lap as thugs kicked and beat her unconscious. She died in hospital two weeks later.

Herbert pleaded guilty to Sophie's murder and to assault causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to Robert Maltby (pictured ahead of Sophie's funeral)

Sophie Lancaster's mother reveals the horror of seeing her tragic daughter's injuries for the first time Sylvia Lancaster, described the horrifying extent of her daughter's injuries in an episode of Quest Red series Britain's Deadliest Kids, which aired in 2021. She told interviewers: 'She had trainer marks down both sides of her face, her ears were massive; they were black and yellow and running with pus. 'They'd obviously ripped a big chunk of her head out. She had a long neck, and it was black, and crinkly, and shiny like a binbag. 'The only other marks were on both arms, both legs, and one on her back. 'The one on her back was where they had booted her across the tarmac, and she obviously tried to defend herself. 'I'd never seen anybody being beaten up and it was shocking. Really, really shocking.' Advertisement

Gap-year student Sophie rushed to help her boyfriend as he lay unconscious and shouted at his attackers to leave him alone.

Herbert and Harris then turned on her, subjecting her to a 'sustained and vicious attack' which involved her head being kicked and stamped on until she too lost consciousness.

Sophie never regained consciousness and died in hospital 14 days later.

It appeared the couple were attacked because they looked and dressed differently and Herbert later told people there were 'two moshers nearly dead' in the park, according to court hearings.

At the time of his crimes Herbert lived an 'anti-social lifestyle' and spent time with 'negative friends' who he had a 'misguided sense of loyalty' towards and drank and took drugs with, the parole papers said.

Herbert's behaviour behind bars had 'initially been poor' but this changed once he moved into an adult prison and he had taken part in rehabilitation programmes.

After being moved into an open prison in November 2020, he 'improved his education with studies to degree level' and had 'fully engaged with resettlement activities' including spending time on temporary release from jail.

He had a job and there was 'positive feedback about his work'.

The document added: 'No concerns about compliance had been identified and Mr Herbert had good working relationships with professional staff.'

Witnesses, including his probation officer, recommended he be released on licence.

Herbert, who became eligible for release in February, will be subject to restrictions on his movements, where he lives and who he contacts.

In declaring Herbert had made 'exceptional progress' in February 2020, Mr Justice William Davis previously said that he had also received a letter from the chiefs of the Learning Together programme at the University of Cambridge, where Herbert had taken a law course which involves inmates and students working together.

He added: 'The way in which Herbert has developed since his arrival at HMP Warren Hill some two-and-a-half years ago does amount to exceptional progress.

'The way in which he is described by the senior staff at that establishment goes significantly beyond what would be expected of any inmate making good progress.

'The material from the Learning Together programme shows extraordinary progress, even from the point reached by Herbert at the time of the review conducted.

Brendan Harris (pictured), who was found guilty of Sophie's murder in 2008 and admitted the attack on Mr Maltby, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years.

(Left to right) Daniel Mallett, Danny Hulme and Joseph Hulme who were also convicted for their part in the assault on Robert Maltby and Sophie Lancaster

'In 2008, Herbert was a young person whose only contribution to education was to disrupt and who saw no purpose in learning.

'In 2020 he is someone who has a profound interest in his own education and the education of others.'

A year later, Sophie's mother worked with Coronation Street producers on a hard-hitting storyline about hate crime.

In the show, characters Nina Lucas and Seb Franklin were violently attacked because of the former's appearance by a gang of drunken youths.

The storyline had many similarities to what happened to Sophie , and the 20-year-old's mother Dr Sylvia Lancaster OBE, secretly worked with soap bosses for over 18 months to develop the plot.

She told The Sun last April that she wouldn't wish Sophie's injuries 'on her worst enemy', saying she wanted to be involved in the storyline so that people could understand Sophie's personality.

She explained: 'I thought kids would see her and they will see shes different, but theyll also see she was funny, she was kind, she was caring...with Coronation Street and Nina people will now see that.

'They will see people are different but you dont need to hate that.'
Donald Trump definitively said that if he runs again for president he wouldn't have his former Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket, according to a Wednesday report from The Washington Examiner.

'I don't think the people would accept it,' Trump said in a Tuesday evening interview when asked about potentially running with Pence for a third White House bid.

'Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. We had a very good relationship,' he added. 'I haven't spoken to him in a long time.'

Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, which doubles as his club and political headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said there has been friction between him and his former No. 2 since the 2020 election.

Trump has consistently blamed Pence for his loss against Joe Biden, claiming he could have overturned the outcome of the 2020 presidential election by delaying certification of the Electoral College results on January 6, 2021.

Former President Donald Trump (left) told the Washington Examiner Tuesday that if he runs for president again in 2024, he will not be adding ex-Vice President Mike Pence (right) to the ticket

Instead on that day Pence certified the results as was his duty as vice president, after the Capitol was stormed by thousands of pro-Trump supporters who objected to the results.

Earlier this year during a speech to the Federalist Society, Pence gave his strongest rebuke of Trump yet, claiming he had 'no right' to overturn the election. He also said at a separate event over the summer, he said that he would never see 'eye to eye' with Trump on the events of January 6.

Trump said Pence acted as a 'human conveyor belt' sending the 'fraudulent votes' to 'Old Crow' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

'I was disappointed in Mike,' Trump said.

The former president also suggested to the Examiner Tuesday that his differences with Pence are too much to overcome for another run on the same ticket.

Pence has distanced himself from Trump in the months between the election and leaving the White House, and has further done so in the year plus since Biden's inauguration.

Trump repeated his claim that the election was stolen and that he wanted Pence to delay certification so that the outcome could be contested in court and ultimately overturned. All court cases so far involving the claims of fraud in the 2020 election have been dismissed or otherwise ruled out of the former president's favor.

When speaking with the Examiner in a wide-range interview in Florida this week, Trump called Pence a 'really fine person' but said their relationship is broken past repair.

Pence is considering a 2024 bid for president and in further distancing himself from his former boss has made it clear that he would not automatically end those ambitions if Trump ran again.

'There is no room in this party for apologists for Putin,' he said during remarks to donors at a RNC retreat.

He also said, 'We cannot win by fighting yesterday's battles or by relitigating the past,' in obvious reference to Trump repeating claims that 2020 was stolen by Democrats who he claims cheated to get him out of the White House.

Trump will likely never forgive Pence for alluding to his scheme to send electoral votes from Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin back to their respective Republican-controlled legislatures.

The former president believes sympathetic state lawmakers would have awarded him the Electoral College votes he needed to ultimately defeat Biden.
Ukraine and Russia are making 'significant' progress towards agreeing a ceasefire and a withdrawal of troops with a 15-point draft agreement for peace.

The document would see Kyiv agree to neutrality and accept limits on its military to stop the barbaric attacks against its civilians by Putin's forces.

It would also see Volodymyr Zelensky renounce his NATO ambitions and promise not to host Western military bases or weaponry in exchange for protection.

Sources briefed on the talks told the Financial Times that another provision includes enshrining rights for the Russian language in Ukraine.

But the biggest sticking point remains Russia's insistence that Ukraine recognises the annexation of Crimea and the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Putin insists that the whole of the Donbass should split from Ukraine, and not just the parts occupied by pro-Moscow rebel forces before fighting broke out.

Ukraine and Russia are making 'significant' progress towards agreeing a ceasefire and a withdrawal of troops with a 15-point draft agreement for peace

The proposals were discussed in full for the first time on Monday, and both sides said progress had been made.

But Ukrainian officials are sceptical Putin will observe the terms of the agreement, and the Kremlin may be buying time to regroup before another offensive.

A Ukrainian source briefed on the talks said: 'There's a likelihood this is trickery and illusion. They lie about everything  Crimea, the build-up of troops on the border, and the "hysteria" over the invasion.

'We need to put pressure on them until they have no other choice,' they added.

But a Russian source said the proposed settlement could give both sides a way to declare a victory from the brutal war.

Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said any deal would include the removal of Russian troops from Ukraine captured since the invasion began.

Despite the positive signs, Ukraine today rejected a Russian plan to become 'neutral' like Sweden or Austria.

Kyiv said any deal will need to include security guarantees underwritten by 'international partners' who would agree to come to Ukraine's defence in the event it is attacked again.

Podolyak said the international community cannot be allowed 'to stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today' should fighting restart.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today confirmed that neutrality is taking centre stage with Moscow and Kyiv 'close to agreeing' the wording of an agreement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv agreed to discuss neutrality

Ukraine (pictured, President Vlodymyr Zelensky) on Wednesday demanded guarantees that international forces will 'prevent attacks' in the future and rejected Russia's proposal for Kyiv to become 'neutral' like Austria or Sweden

What is the 'Austrian model' of neutrality? In 1955 Austria signed the Moscow Memorandum - a deal with the Soviet Union that guaranteed it would remain neutral, having just reestablished itself as a sovereign nation in the aftermath of the Second World War. As part of the deal, Vienna wrote into its new constitution that it would not join any military alliances or host foreign forces on its territory, and would not declare or participate in wars or invasions. The deal has been amended since, allowing Austria to join the UN and commit troops to 'peacekeeping' missions ordered by the Security Council - such as in the Iraq-Kuwait conflict of 1990-91. In 1995, Austria became part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme - allowing it to contribute to NATO peacekeeping forces - though only signed up after Russia joined. Austria has also joined the EU, whose treaties do include a common defence policy though it is not active and would require a unanimous vote of the European Council to activate. Neutrality for Austria was a Soviet precondition for granting the country - which had been occupied by Allied forces since the end of the Second World War - its sovereignty. It was based on the Swiss model of neutrality which dates back to the 1640 Peace of Westphalia - and closely mirrors a similar historical agreement in force in Sweden. Finland, which directly borders Russia and fought the Soviets in the run-up to the Second World War, is another European nation committed to neutrality in a pact with the USSR signed in 1948 - the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance. As with the Austrian model, Finland's neutrality agreement forbids joining military alliances seen as hostile to Russia, hosting foreign troops on its soil, or allowing an attack on Russia to pass through its territory. Advertisement

Summing up peace talks from the Russian side, one senior official told Reuters that there is 'a small chance of a peaceful resolution,' adding: 'Something will be decided in the next three days to a week.'

Another senior Russian source said Putin is willing to consider a peace on Russia's terms and that there is a window of opportunity for some sort of deal.

But the officials spoke amid warnings from British and American intelligence that the Kremlin is also looking to move reinforcements to the frontlines in order to free up combat forces for fresh attacks.

It means that Putin, who went on state TV before the invasion to say that Ukraine has no right to exist as a country, could also be looking to press ahead with the war with the aim of uniting Ukraine and Russia under one banner.

News of a deal inching closer came a day after Zelensky said his country must accept it will not become a member of NATO - a key Russian demand that was used to justify the Kremlin's decision to attack.

The two sides have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at finding common ground and bringing the hostilities launched by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in late February to a halt.

The latest bout ended late Tuesday with Kyiv pointing to 'fundamental contradictions' in the delegations' standpoints.

Both sides had earlier raised hopes of a breakthrough, referring to agreements that were close to being put to paper and signed.

Lavrov on Wednesday cautioned that the negotiations were not easy but that there was 'some hope of reaching a compromise'.

Russia's negotiator Medinsky echoed the line to reporters on Wednesday that talks were 'slow and difficult' but said the Kremlin wants peace, 'as soon as possible'.

He reiterated that the core issue at the talks is a 'neutral' Ukraine, citing the status of Austria and Sweden as possible examples to follow.

It would mean Ukraine could retain its armed forces but that Kyiv would not be allowed to have any foreign bases, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

'A whole range of issues tied with the size of Ukraine's army is being discussed', Medinsky said, having earlier mentioned the sides are discussing an idea for a future Ukraine with a smaller, non-aligned military.

Sweden officially is militarily non-aligned in peacetime and neutral in times of war, having ended its policy of neutrality in 1992 at the end of the Cold War. It is not a member of NATO, but it has been a partner to the alliance for nearly 30 years.

At the end of the Cold War, Sweden slashed its military spending, but began reinvesting in its defence following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Meanwhile, Medinsky said that other issues were being discussed, including the status of the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as territories held for years by pro-Moscow separatists.

Lavrov on Wednesday said the list of priorities included the security of people in eastern Ukraine, the demilitarisation of Ukraine and the rights of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have also made cautious positive statements about the status of peace talks. Zelensky on Wednesday described the negotiations as 'more realistic' but warned that more time was needed for any deal to be in the interests of Ukraine.

Zelensky made the early morning statement after his team said a peace deal that will end Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be struck with Vladimir Putin within one or two weeks because Russian forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.

Moscow's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky (left) said his delegation was pushing for Ukraine to assume a status comparable Sweden or Austria. But Ukraine's chief negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak (right) has said he wants the country's security to be guaranteed by international forces

The apparent breakthrough has come a day after Zelensky appeared to confirm that Ukraine will not join NATO.

Speaking on Tuesday, he said that 'we have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It's a truth and it must be recognised.'

Ahead of the invasion, Putin had been demanding guarantees that Ukraine would never be admitted to NATO along with the removal of all the alliance's troops and weapons from ex-Soviet countries.

After being rebuffed by Kyiv, Washington and NATO Putin said there was no option but to launch the military operation because Russian-speaking people in Ukraine had been subjected to genocide by 'nationalists and neo-Nazis' since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Russian negotiators have softened their stance a little since then, saying they want Ukraine to declare neutrality, disarm, recognise Crimea as part of Russia and recognise the whole of the Donbass as independent.
The body of an Alaska woman strangled by her boyfriend was found 13 hours after she called 911 pleading for help in bad weather that prevented police from reaching her remote village, authorities said.

Marie Unok, 37, was found dead by State Troopers around 2pm Thursday at her home in the isolated village of Kotlik, Norton Sound coast in Southwest Alaska,

She had called 911 shortly after 1am that day and told a dispatcher that her 44-year-old boyfriend, Pius Teeluk, 'had gone crazy on her' and threatened to shoot her.

Police said in a statement that the call cut off and they were not able to reach Unok, or travel to the village - only accessible by air and water - because of inclement weather.

Teeluk called police around 11am Thursday, claiming he had woken up to find Unok dead.

Unok was found lying on a type of 'bed and/or couch'. Underneath the body, there was blood from a pet dog who Teeluk is accused of also killing. The medical examiner determined Unok died by strangulation, People reported.

Teeluk was arrested Saturday and charged with murder.

The couple had a well-documented history of domestic disturbances, police said. But in late February, Unok shared a picture of her and Teeluk on Facebook, and captioned it: 'We are doing good.'

Marie Unok, 37, was found dead at her home in the isolated village of Kotlik, Norton Sound coast in Southwest Alaska, by State Troopers around 2pm Thursday

Unok had called 911 shortly after 1am that day and told a dispatcher that her 44-year-old boyfriend, Pius Teeluk (pictured together), 'had gone crazy on her' and threatened to kill her with a gun

Kotlik is a small city in Alaska with a population of fewer than 700 people

Unok attempted to get help in the early morning hours Thursday, dialing 911.

According to a criminal complaint, dispatchers could hear Teeluk denying that he was trying to kill Unok, before arguing with her.

The report added that both Unok and Teeluk sounded intoxicated. When the call cut off, police tried to call Unok again but did not reach her.

Troopers were then 'unable to immediately respond due to inclement weather issues.'

Around the time that Unok called, the temperature in Anchorage - near Kotlik - was approximately 31 degrees, with winds at 5-6mph.

After Teeluk called police to report Unok's death, 'weather subsided enough' for police to arrive 'via state aircraft,' the complaint alleges.

Kotlik is a small city in Alaska with fewer than 700 people.

The couple had a well-documented history of domestic disturbances, police said, but in late February, Unok shared a snap of her and Teeluk and captioned it: 'We are doing good'

Teeluk has a long history of crimes and convictions dating back from 2005. In 2019, he was jailed on harassment and drug charges

Teeluk later told police they drank 'at least a gallon' of home-brewed beer and had a heated argument over Facebook posts.

He claimed that he 'grabbed [Unok] by the neck to stop her from punching him,' and found her dead hours later.

Blood found near Unok was initially thought to be hers but police later found out it belonged to Unok's dog, Boo. Boo's body was found outside the home, police said.

Unok's family have started a fundraiser to bring immediate family home for a funeral.

'This will help so much with getting our sister back home to put her to rest. Anything will help. Any help will mean so much also. Even if its just sharing,' Karolyn Unok wrote on Facebook.

'No words can describe how much this pain feels inside. Growing up we were inseparable. I love you Marie Jean.'

Teeluk has a long criminal history dating back from 2005. In 2019, he was jailed on harassment and drug offenses charges.

He also violated parole in 2015, after being charged with assault in the fourth degree on 2014, and vehicle theft in 2013.
A new logo of Renault Korea Motors / Courtesy of Renault Korea Motors





Renault Samsung Motors, the Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Wednesday it has dropped the Samsung brand from its new company name as the deal with the conglomerate over the brand's use ends in August.







Starting Wednesday, the company will use the new name of Renault Korea Motors while pushing ahead with the procedure to change the corporate name by August, a company spokesman said over the phone.







From January to February, its vehicle sales jumped 84 percent to 24,827 from 13,496 a year earlier, helped by strong demand for the XM3 and QM6 SUV models.







Samsung Group first entered the automotive industry with Samsung Motors in 1994 but was acquired by Renault in 2000 following the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.







Renault currently holds an 80.1 percent stake in Renault Korea Motors.







Samsung's deal with Renault over the use of its brand ended in August 2020 but they agreed on a two-year probation period that ends in August this year.







Samsung has received a royalty from Renault Samsung Motors' domestic earnings each year in exchange for the use of its brand in the company's name. (Yonhap)






Katie Price has been charged with harassing the fiancee of her former husband Kieran Hayler and will appear in court when she returns home from Thailand.

MailOnline has learned Katie, currently on holiday with fiance Carl Woods, will appear before magistrates in Crawley next month for allegedly breaching a restraining order against Michelle Penticost.

The troubled model was arrested on January 21 over claims she sent an abusive text to Michelle.

She spent the night in a cell after being quizzed by officers at Worthing Police station who had earlier picked Katie up from her home in Horsham after a report was made.

Katie allegedly branded flight attendant Michelle a 'c***ing w***e piece of s***' and a 'gutter s**g.

MailOnline understands that 43-year-old Price may have breached the order a second time when she sent an anonymous letter attacking Michelle to a relative just before flying out to Thailand.

Katie Price has been charged with harassment of her ex-husband's fiancee. Pictured: Katie Price with her boyfriend Carl Woods enjoying their holiday in Thailand earlier this month

The couple were pictured holding hands in personalised shorts during the Thailand trip

A source said: 'Katie is playing a dangerous game and her actions have led her into deep trouble.

'Kieran and Michelle were deeply concerned after a relative received a letter, believing Katie is ignoring the rules of the restraining order as this is the second time it's happened in three months.

'It was sent anonymously from Heathrow on the day she left for Thailand.

'They know it's her and are concerned by her unpredictable behaviour.'

A police source told MailOnline: 'Katie Price was arrested a few weeks ago for breaching a restraining order placed against her following an argument with the fiancee of her former partner, Kieran Hayler.

'Now she is believed to have written an anonymous note attacking Michelle Penticost via one of her family members.

Katie Price pictured with boyfriend Carl Woods lock lips on their holiday in Thailand

'As such Katie has been charged with harassment and will appear before Crawley magistrates next month.'

Mother of five Katie was banned from contacting Michelle, 39, 'directly or indirectly' after swearing at her in a school playground in 2019.

Breaking the terms of the restraining order carries a maximum prison sentence of five years.

Katie also risks jail time for being arrested while still on licence for her drink-drive shame.

Michelle has grown close to Katie's two children she shares with Kieran, son Jett, eight, and daughter Bunny, seven.

She also has her own child with the ex-stripper, seven-month-old son Apollo, and a ten-year old son Valentino from a previous relationship.

Kieran Hayler with fiancee Michelle Penticost whom Katie is alleged to have harassed

The couple met in 2018 and got engaged the following year.

Former Loose Women host Katie travelled to the Far East with Carl for her latest bout of cosmetic surgery - a boob job and full body liposuction procedure - and has remained there for over two weeks.

The couple, who got engaged last April, have experienced a tumultuous 12 months.

Katie avoided jail in December when she was handed a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for a year, as well as a two-year driving ban after admitting drink-driving while disqualified in December.

She also tested positive for cocaine after she rolled her BMW near her home in Horsham.

Last month, fiance Carl issued a public denial on Instagram over abuse claims, saying he 'didn't lay a finger' on Katie and said he had 'black and white proof' to clear his name after he was charged with using threatening and abusive behaviour towards her in an incident at their house in Essex.

Carl is Katie's first serious major relationship since her split from Kieran in 2019.

They were together for seven years, marrying in 2013 in the Bahamas, but their romance was marred by Kieran's two flings with two of Katie's close pals.

She was previously married to Peter Andre, father of her two children Junior, 16, and Princess, 14, for four years, before her ill-fated marriage to husband No2 Alex Reid, which lasted just 11 months.
This is the shocking moment a Russian tank appears to shoot and kill an elderly Ukrainian man walking down a street in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

Video purports to show a civilian walking along down an empty street in the city, before a Russian military vehicle opened fire and killed the man.

The footage, which has not been independently verified, firstly shows a Russian tank positioned among what appears to be the remains of a destroyed civilian building.

The video then pans wider and shows the civilian, believed to be an elderly man, calmly walking on the opposite side of the street - without making any attempt to hide or show any aggression.

The Russian tank then opens fire, allegedly killing the civilian instantly as the shell hits the building right behind him, in an explosion of flame and smoke.

The footage, which has not been independently verified, firstly shows a Russian tank (circled) positioned among what appears to be the remains of a destroyed civilian building

The video then pans wider and shows the civilian (circled), believed to be an elderly man, calmly walking on the opposite side of the street - without making any attempt to hide or show any aggression

The Russian tank then opens fire, allegedly killing the civilian instantly as the shell hits the building right behind him, in an explosion of flame and smoke

Ukraine's Azov Battalion unit, which released the footage, said: 'Cruel footage of the murder of a resident of Mariupol by Russian tankers.

'The elderly man drew attention to himself so that he would not be shot, and Putin's villain shot at a defenceless civilian man. This is what the 'Russian world looks like'.'

Mariupol has been one of the hardest-hit cities in Ukraine, with the city under a near constant barrage of Russian bombs.

Video purports to show a civilian (centre right) walking along down an empty street in the city, whilst a Russian tank is positioned nearby (top left of image)

Video purports to show the Russian military vehicle opening fire and killing the man

A black plume of smoke is seen rising up into the air after the explosion

Russian forces bombed a theatre in the city where hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering on Wednesday, the city council said.

Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city, meaning rescuers can't reach those in the rubble.

After the Russian bombing, the central part of the theatre collapsed and debris blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located inside the building, the city council said.

Russian rocket attacks also targeted a convoy of people fleeing Mariupol, killing civilians, including children, after earlier strikes targeted a nearby hub for displaced people. It is not yet known how many were killed in the shelling.

Russian forces bombed a theatre where hundreds of civilians, including children, were sheltering in the encircled port city of Mariupol on Wednesday, the city council said

Officials said it is impossible to know how many people were killed or injured in the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre (pictured before the attack) because the shelling of residential areas continues in the city, meaning rescuers can't reach those in the rubble

The Ukrainian military said the civilians had been travelling from Mariupol to the city of Zaporizhzhia through a humanitarian corridor - supposedly safe passages for citizens to flee - when they were fired on by Russian troops.

An image from the scene of the shelling showed a burnt out car, with a damaged door blown open.

Over 28,800 civilians have managed to escape Mariupol through several humanitarian corridors, but thousands are still stuck in the city, Ukrainian officials said.

The evacuation of civilians in Mariupol came even as Russian forces have renewed their shelling on the coastal city, where hundreds of thousands of civilians have struggled to stay alive without heat, food and clean water.

Russian rocket attacks also targeted a convoy of people fleeing Mariupol, killing civilians, including children, after earlier strikes targeted a nearby hub for displaced people. Pictured: A car from a convoy of people fleeing from Mariupol, destroyed by shelling, is seen on a road in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Wednesday

Russian forces in Mariupol have rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and are refusing to let them leave, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Humanitarian convoys again failed to make it into Mariupol because of the Russian assault but managed to deliver aid and set up evacuation corridors from Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region.

The head of the Red Cross, which has helped organize the evacuations, arrived in Kyiv Wednesday to push for better humanitarian aid access and protection for civilians.

Overall, more than 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the U.N. said - Europe's largest refugee crisis since WWII.

Meanwhile, the UN's top court has ordered Russian to stop hostilities in Ukraine in a move designed to further isolate Moscow on the world stage.

Kyiv brought a case at the International Court of Justice immediately after Putin ordered his men to attack on February 24, saying his justification - that genocide was being committed in Donbass - was unfounded and in breach of international law.

Judges today ruled in Ukraine's favour, ordering Russia to call off its forces and stop attacks by troops that it supports - referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk 'republics'.

The court has no power to enforce the ruling and Vladimir Putin is likely to ignore it, but President Volodymyr Zelensky warned today that doing so will 'isolate Russia even further' from other nations.
The widow of an NYPD officer assassinated in 1971 slammed a New York college for hosting the man convicted of killing him to talk about his experience as a 'political prisoner'



Diane Piagentini, the widow of officer Joseph Piagentini, is demanding SUNY Brockport cancel an upcoming talk with 70-year-old Jalil Muntaqim, formerly known as Anthony Bottom, one of the men convicted of killing her husband in 1971.

SUNY Brockport assistant professor Rafael Outland is scheduled to host April 6, 'History of Black Resistance, U.S. Political Prisoners & Genocide: A Conversation with Jalil Muntaqim'. It is advertised as an 'intellectual conversation' with Muntaqim, who served nearly 50 years as a 'political prisoner'.

The April 6 event has been advertised as an 'intellectual conversation' with Muntaqim, (pictured) who served nearly 50 years as a 'political prisoner'

Upon learning of the event, Piagentini (pictured with her husband on their wedding day) wrote a letter to the event's sponsor, demanding they cancel it

Diane Piagentini's husband, Joseph Piagentini (left), and his partner, officer Waverly Jones (right), were shot dead in 1971

The event ad mentions Muntaqim's involvement in a 1971 shoot-out with San Francisco police officers, but does not mention his conviction in the murders of Piagentini, then 28, and his partner, Waverly M. Jones.

The event highlights Muntaqim's AP placement in math and chemistry programs in high school as well as his activism on behalf of the NAACP as a teen and his role as an 'avid educator' of inmates as a prisoner.

The event glowingly refers to Muntaqim as a 'grandfather, father, mentor to many, and loving human being.'

Upon learning of the event, Piagentini wrote a letter to the event's sponsor, demanding they cancel it, PIX 11 reported.

'While my husband lay on the ground pleading with them not to kill him, pleading he had a wife and children,' Piagentini wrote in her letter. 'Bottom took his service revolver and emptied it into his body. There were 22 bullet holes in his body.'

'While my husband lay on the ground pleading with them not to kill him, pleading he had a wife and children,' Piagentini wrote in her letter. 'Bottom took his service revolver and emptied it into his body. There were 22 bullet holes in his body'

SUNY Brockport President Heidi Macpherson issued a statement on the controversial event, acknowledging the backlash but saying the school believes in 'freedom of speech'

Assistant professor Rafael Outland (pictured) is hosting 'History of Black Resistance, U.S. Political Prisoners & Genocide: A Conversation with Jalil Muntaqim'

She noted Muntaqim, known then as Bottom, showed no mercy, saying 'a pig is a pig' when asked why he killed a cop.

In 1971, Muntaqim was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for ambushing and killing Piagentini and Jones. Herman Bell also was sentenced, then released on parole in 2018; Albert Washington was sentenced and died in prison.

In 2018. Piagentini was featured in an ad for Republican gubernatorial nominee Marc Molinaro slamming then Governor Andrew Cuomo for not doing more to keep Bell behind bars.

Cuomo granted conditional pardons to every parolee in the state to restore their voting rights.

'It betrays the trust of police families everywhere and devalues the life of my brave husband,' Piagentini said in the 30-second ad.

At the time of the murder, the Black Liberation Army was targeting interracial 'salt and pepper' patrol officers.

Muntaqim and two other members of the group lured Jones, who was black, and Piagentini, who was white, to Colonial Park Houses, a public housing project at 159th Street and Harlem River Drive, with a bogus 911 call.

As the two were returning to their cruiser around 10pm, Bottom, Bell and Washington sneaked up behind them and opened fire.

Jones was struck in the back of the head and killed instantly.

Piagentini begged for his life as Muntaqim and the other members shot him 22 times, using, in part, his own gun. Piagentini had served with the NYPD for five years and was assigned to the 32nd Precinct.

In 1971, Muntaqim (pictured) was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for ambushing and killing Piagentini and his partner along with Herman Bell and Albert Washington

Muntaqim, who joined the Black Panthers at 16 and the Black Liberation Army at 18, was released on parole in 2020

Muntaqim, who joined the Black Panthers at 16 and the Black Liberation Army at 18, was released on parole in 2020.

The decision to host Muntaqim drew backlash from more than just Piagentini's widow.

On Monday, New York State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt sent a letter to Macpherson, asking her to rescind Muntaqim's invitation.

'This proposed event on SUNY Brockport's campus is absolutely shameful. Let's be very clear: Anthony Bottom was not a 'political prisoner.' he's a convicted cop-killer. Calling this an 'intellectual conversation' on a taxpayer-funded state campus is intellectually dishonest. It's an insult,' he said.

Macpherson said in her statement that the school does not sanction violence and that the event will go on as planned.

'We do not support the violence exhibited in Mr. Muntaqim's previous crimes, and his presence on campus does not imply endorsement of his views or past actions,' she said in a statement to the Brockport Community.

'However, we believe in freedom of speech. Mr. Muntaqim joined the Black Panthers at age 16 and the Black Liberation Army at 18. In 1971, he was convicted in the killing of two New York City police officers. He spent nearly 50 years in prison for this crime before being released on parole in 2020.'
American lawmakers left Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech on Wednesday determined to help but differing on how to do so with Republicans pushing for fighter jets and Democrats more cautious in their words.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said after Zelensky's remarks that the message to President Joe Biden 'is that he needs to step up his game.'

Republicans have push for a proposed deal with Poland to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. But Biden's administration poured cold water on the idea last week after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned any further involvement in Ukraine by the U.S. would be an escalation that could result in dragging the west into the conflict.

McConnell agreed with the Biden administration that the U.S. shouldn't send in troops or man a no-fly zone over the Ukraine but he said the United States should send any weapons Ukraine needs..

'There are other ways to make the air dangerous for the Russians with all kinds of different weapons. Dealing with low-flying planes, with high-flying planes we need to get them everything they need to try to prevent carnage from the air,' he said.

'There are other ways to make the air dangerous for the Russians with all kinds of different weapons,' said Republican Leader Mitch McConnell

Republican Senator Mitt Romney pushed for the Ukraine to receive jets

And Republican Senator Rick Scott called on Biden to decide to today if he's going to send additional miltary equipment to the Ukraine.

'President Biden needs to make a decision today: either give Ukraine access to the planes and anti-aircraft defense systems it needs to defend itself or enforce a no-fly zone to close Ukrainian skies to Russian attacks,' Scott said.

Senator Mitt Romney, who is also pushing for fighter jets to be sent to Ukraine, said it makes more sense for the West to help the Ukraine enforce peace over its own skies.

'I think it's pretty clear that it's not a good idea for NATO to be in a combat in the skies with the Russians and shooting at each other. That has the potential really becoming a World War III type scenario,' he said. 'But we can create safe skies by getting MiGs that are available in Poland to the folks in Ukraine to fly themselves.'

And Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus who stationed in Kyiv during his time as an FBI agent, supports what he calls a limited no-fly zone.

He said technology - like electro-magnetic pulse and sonar radar - could enforce it instead of shooting down planes.

'We've got to support a humanitarian no-fly zone,' said Fitzpatrick. 'Otherwise, the only other outcome is slaughtering innocent people.'

But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he wanted to send the fighter jets despite the risk of escalation with Russia.

'We're not going to have a nuclear war over this. This is a bluff by Putin,' Graham said. 'He may be a murderer but he is not suicidal.'

In his remarks, Zelensky repeated his plea for the western nations to enforce a no-fly zone over his country. The U.S. and its allies fret such a move would escalate into World War III.

'This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for our life for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people? Is this too much to ask? Humanitarian no-fly zone, something that Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities,' he said.

'I need to protect our sky. I need your decision, your help,' he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a video to Congress where he asked for helpl protecting his country's skies

President Joe Biden outlined details the latest package of U.S. military assistance to Ukraine Wednesday as the country battles Vladimir Putins 'depraved onslaught'

President Biden made his own speech following Zelensky's address. Biden will head to Brussels next week for a hastily arranged NATO meeting to discuss the situation in the Ukraine.

During his remarks on Wednesday, Biden provided a detailed laundry list of a new tranche of $800 million in deadly arms the U.S. is providing to Ukraine.

'We're going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead,' Biden pledged, as he faces pressure from Congress and from Zelensky to provide Ukraine with a means to defend itself.

He also spoke in unusual detail about the latest package of aid, which brings U.S. military assistance to $1 billion just this week.

It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems, 9,000 anti-armor systems, portable 'high accuracy' shoulder mounted missiles, and 7,000 small arms, plus machine guns, shotguns, and grenade launchers.

He said the package would include drones, 'which demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.' He didn't specify if he meant the latest kamikaze killer drones that the administration had been considering.

Biden said the package included 'additional longer range anti-aircraft systems,' which he described as coming at Zelensky's request.

One thing Biden didn't mention and didn't want to talk about were MiG fighter jets Zelensky is pleading for and his administration has refused to authorize the transfer of.

He didn't comment when reporters asked him about it. But the president later called Putin a 'war criminal,' which is the first time he's used that term.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday defended the administration's position, saying the support the president outlined 'is exactly what we feel is effective' in fighting Russia.

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire broke out at the Saltivka construction market

Democratic lawmakers were cautious in their words, tempering the desire to help Ukraine without going to far in pledging direct military assistance, which the Biden administration has worried could lead to escalation with Russia and World War III.

'There's not any member of Congress left that room without thinking what more the United States can do to stop this carnage. Just a gut wrenching speech,' said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.

He noted the U.S. 'wants to do everything in coordination with our allies, which sometimes means it takes a couple extra days.'

But he and other Democrats appeared hesitant on Zelensky's call for a no-fly zone.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumethal made a plea for time, saying the harsh economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and its allies needed time to work.

'I think he's making an argument that he needs to make I don't necessarily believe that it will spiral in that way that fast. I think. I mean, it's hard to say when people are dying, but erring on the side of caution for something that doesn't spiral out of control, and allow some of the tools that we've put in place, because Russian economy has cratered,' he said.

And Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer didn't make calls for specific types of military aid to Ukraine.

'As we have said from the start of the war, the Senate, the Congress, and the American people stand unequivocally behind the people of Ukraine,' he said.

Russian forces have been targeting civilians in Ukraine, including women and children. On Wednesday, forces ruthlessly gunned down ten Ukrainian civilians waiting in line for bread outside the northern city of Chernihiv.

Footage published by Ukrainian website Public, which was corroborated by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, shows the lifeless bodies of ten people sprawled on the street after they were apparently executed in cold blood.

'Today, Russian forces shot and killed 10 people standing in line for bread in Chernihiv. Such horrific attacks must stop,' declared the US Embassy in a statement on Twitter, adding they were considering options to 'ensure accountability' for the 'atrocity'.

It comes after drone footage emerged of a group of Russian soldiers executing a lone Ukrainian civilian who was trying to surrender on a highway west of Kyiv last week.

The slaughtering of civilians, particularly those who do not pose a threat, is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law.

Yet Russian authorities continue to insist that their forces have only targeted strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine.
A former prosecutor says a lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's family against Brian Laundrie's parents is 'meritless', but believes they should be 'crucified in the court of public opinion' if it's proven that they helped him flee.

Gabby's parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito filed the civil lawsuit against Chris and Roberta Laundrie last week in Sarasota County, Florida - seven months after their daughter was killed. The lawsuit seeks damages of at least $30,000.

They argue that Brian's parents were aware that their son had killed Gabby - assisting him in several attempts to evade authorities that ultimately culminated in his suicide in a Florida swamp. No evidence was included to back up this claim.

Mark Eiglarsh, a criminal defense attorney and former Miami-Dade County prosecutor, told Dailymail.com that the filing of the lawsuit is not a surprise as a family in mourning continues to seek justice. But added that without evidence, the lawsuit is meritless.

'In a court of public opinion, this lawsuit may have significant value,' he said. 'But in a court of law, it's meritless.'

Eiglarsh said if he were representing Gabby's family, he would request they hand over their phones, which could possibly show evidence like texts or location history that prove one way or another if Brian's parents were aware of the murder.

'The big question is, did they know?' he said. 'I don't know what that answer is, and I don't think the Petitos do either.'

He said he believes the lawsuit is only causing further emotional trauma, adding that the Laundries are not at legal fault for the lack of communication with the Petitos, as alleged in the lawsuit.

He said: 'Even if what's alleged happened, it doesn't mean they are at legal fault. It's not against the law for them to not be in communication with the Petito's, like what's alleged.

'It's morally offensive, but it's not unlawful.'

The attorney added: 'But if they aided and abetted their son in this crime, then yes they should be crucified in the court of public opinion.'

Chris and Roberta Laundrie (pictured) were aware that their son had killed Gabby Petito - and still tried to help him flee the country before he committed suicide, a suit filed by Gabby's parents claims

Laundrie vanished on September 13, six days before the body of his fiancee Gabby Petito was found in Wyoming. He was found on October 20 with a gunshot wound to the head

Mark Eiglarsh (pictured here on Megyn Kelly Today in 2017) said a lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's family against Brian Laundrie's parents is 'meritless', but believes they should be 'crucified in the court of public opinion' if it's proven that they helped him flee

An attorney for the Laundries, Steven Bertolino, said in a text message to WFLA Friday that his clients were fully within their rights not to talk. He also denied the lawsuit's claims in general.

'This lawsuit does not change the fact that the Laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third party including the Petito family,' Bertolino said. 'This fundamental legal principle renders the Petitos' claims to be baseless under the law.'

Eiglarsh echoed Bertolino's sentiment that the Laundries have the right to remain silent.

'Our right to remain silent is a cherished privilege,' he said, adding that silence does not warrant a lawsuit.

'It's morally offensive,' he said. 'But it's not unlawful.'

Eiglarsh said if the alleged evidence does exist, and if it can be proven, the details would be released during the discovery process.

The suit, filed in Sarasota County, Florida, also claims that Gabby suffered blunt force injuries to the face and neck

The Laundries are accused of acting with malice by 'hiding the whereabouts of their son, knowing Gabby's parents were suffering'

Nichole Schmidt and Joseph Petito are suing Brian Laundrie's parents, claiming they acted with malice and withheld information about his whereabout after Gabby's disappearance

The suit also claims that Gabby suffered blunt force injuries to the face and neck. A previous report by the coroner's office had determined she died by strangulation, but made no mention of other injuries.

The Laundries' response to their son's actions was 'shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable,' the lawsuit, which was filed in Sarasota County, Florida, states.

The entire saga began when Petito embarked with Laundrie on a cross-country road trip in July, with the pair hoping to become 'van life' influencers documenting their daily lives on social media.

But their dreams seemed to vanish during a brush with police in August, when authorities in Utah responded to a domestic violence incident between the two.

Just a few days later on September 1, Laundrie, 23, returned to Florida without her. He was named a person of interest in her disappearance on September 15, but himself vanished two days after that.

Petito was found strangled to death near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 19. Authorities later said that she had been dead for three to four weeks before the discovery.

Laundrie's remains weren't discovered until October, well after his several weeks on the run garnered coast-to-coast headlines.

Petito's parents are now seeking damages of at least $100,000 from the Laundrie family.

Gabby had embarked with Laundrie on a 'van life' cross-country road trip in July and had a brush with the law in August, when police in Utah responded to a domestic violence incident between the two

The lawsuit claims that while Petito's parents struggled to locate her in early September, Roberta and Chris went on a vacation to Fork DeSoto Park.

Roberta then went on to block Nichole's number to avoid her calls and messages pleading for information to help her find Gabby. She also blocked Nichole on Facebook soon after.

The Laundries then issued a statement through their lawyer on September 14 saying it was their hope that Gabby 'was found safe and could return to her family' - though the suit claims that they were fully aware their son had already killed her.

'Despite the fact that Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt implored Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundire to tell them if their daughter was alive, and if she was not, where her remains were located, [they] refused to responds to [Gabby's parents] and law enforcement,' the filing said.

The Laundries are accused of acting with malice by 'hiding the whereabouts of their son, knowing Gabby's parents were suffering.'

'Christopher and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior, under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,' the lawsuit reads.

The Laundrie's attorney, Steve Bertolino, told local news station WFLA that his clients were under no obligation to speak to law enforcement.

'As I have maintained over the last several months, the Laundries have not publicly commented at my direction, which is their right under the law,' Bertolino told the outlet.

'Assuming everything the Petitos allege in their lawsuit is true, which we deny, this lawsuit does not change the fact that the Laundries had no obligation to speak to law enforcement or any third-party, including the Petito family. This fundamental legal principle renders the Petitos' claims to be baseless under the law.'

Last month, an FBI agent raised questions about Laundrie's suicide after an autopsy revealed that he shot himself on the left side of the head - even though he was right-handed.

Retired agent Jennifer Coffindaffer called the finding 'bothersome.'

'Because it does not fit with a right-handed person committing suicide with their off hand,' she told RadarOnline.

In an autopsy report released by the Sarasota Medical Examiner's office on February 14, investigators observed that Laundrie's 'personal belongings' - including a notebook in which Laundrie confessed to killing his fiance as they traveling the country in a van - 'were surrounded by apparent skeletal human remains that were scattered on top of the dirt ground in plain sight.'

Coffindaffer posits that Laundrie, 23, may have been ambidextrous - or that someone may have helped him kill himself.

'I'm not a conspiracy theorist at all but I cannot ignore facts, nor can I ignore statistics,' she said. 'And statistics would say a predominantly right-handed person does not commit suicide with their left hand.'

Laundrie's remains were found north of the entrance to Myakkahatchee Creek, in the Big Slough Preserve, off an unpaved trail near a bridge where Brian's parents said he liked to visit. It is four miles north of their home in North Port, Florida

'On October 20, 2021 at approximately 0820 hours, search groups found a backpack and shoes that were identified as belonging to Brian Laundrie,' his autopsy report reads. Above, the scene where his body was located

The clearing in the Carlton Reserve where DailyMail.com believes the skeletal remains of Brian Laundrie were recovered

Aside from the notebook, several other items were recovered from a 'drybag' near Laundrie's remains, which were found near his parents North Port home, including a wooden box containing the journal as well as several photos.

Both 'the skeletal remains and personal effects were in plain sight and scattered upon the dirt ground,' it said.

According to the report, one of the snaps was a shot of Laundrie. It is not clear what the other photos showed.

The report confirmed that Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, as police frantically searched for the man as the primary 'person of interest' in the disappearance of Gabby.

Brian Laundrie took responsibility for killing Gabby Petito in a notebook that was found near his remains, a report revealed

A forty-seven page document, released in February by The Sarasota Medical Examiner's office, noted that Laundrie had been subjected to 'moderately extensive carnivore activity evidenced by multiple gouging and gnawing marks' on his corpse

Near Laundrie's corpse, at an adjacent 'secondary' scene, authorities recovered animal skeletal remains that suggested the self-professed killer had been hunting before his death.

Lawmen also found a incomplete, handwritten note at the 'secondary' site, but did not detail its contents, as well as a 'MOAB Coffee Roasters' hat belonging to Laundrie, that advertised the same Utah coffee shop where they were pulled over by police for a domestic incident on 12 August - approximately two weeks before Petito was killed.

The search for Petito began after Laundrie had returned to his parent's Florida home from their trip without her on September 1.

On September 11, Gabby's family reported her missing and two days later, her boyfriend Brian Laundrie vanished from his parents' home.

The young couple had been on a cross-country van trip but it turned sour and in August, just a few weeks before she died.

Chris and Roberta Laundrie, Laundrie's parents, have been widely condemned for not talking with Petito's family or turning their son in to police when he returned home from his trip, especially after she was reported missing.

He left their home on September 13, two days after her family on Long Island reported her disappearance.

Petito's family criticized the Laundries for not helping them. Her remains were soon uncovered in a Wyoming campground on September 19.

Before Gabby's disappearance, she and Laundrie were pulled over by Utah police officer in Moab after visiting the 'MOAB Coffee Roasters' on August 12, 2021.

They had been responding to a call from a witness who saw the couple involved in a domestic fight.

Last week, an independent investigator has that the officers who pulled them over should have been suspended for not citing Gabby following the violent encounter where she admitted to being the aggressor.

Officers Eric Pratt and Daniel Robbins had pulled the couple over after they responded to a call from a witness who saw the couple involved in a domestic fight.

Bodycam footage showed a visibly shaken Gabby admitting to being the aggressor in the public argument. During the conversation, Pratt had noted that Gabby should have been arrested for her actions as stated in the Utah state law.

An independent investigator revealed that Gabby Petito should have been cited for being the aggressor in a domestic dispute with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie (pictured left). Moab City PD Eric Pratt (right) is seen speaking with Laundrie

The couple, however, managed to dispute the allegations and the officers let them go following a 75-minute conversation on the promise that they spend the night away from one another.

After the bodycam footage emerged, the Price City Police Department launched its own independent investigation and said that the officers should have pressed charges in the incident.

'I believe the officers responded to a domestic violence call and had probable cause an act of domestic violence had been committed,' Price Police Capt. Brandon Ratcliffe.

'This should have meant an arrest was made, either by citation or custody.'

Despite evidence pointing towards Petito as the aggressor, Ratcliffe noted that she had probably been the victim of violence in the relationship.

As a result of the investigation, Ratcliffe recommended that Pratt and Robbins be put on probation for how they handled the incident.

He also concluded that he couldn't be certain that the officers could have changed the outcome of Petito's fate if they acted accordingly.

'Would Gabby be alive today if this case was handled differently?' the report said, according to CNN. That is an impossible question to answer despite it being the answer many people want to know.

'Nobody knows and nobody will ever know the answer to that question.'
The nine-year-old Ukrainian girl who lost an arm after being shot escaping her home from a Russian attack has been inundated with messages of support as her slow progress to recovery started.

The youngster, known only as Sasha, was allowed to leave the hospital ward and take a stroll in the sunshine just days after surgeons amputated her left arm to save her life.

With the left sleave of her new pink coat tucked into her pocket, and wearing black leggings and new trainers, the blonde-haired child smiled into the camera as she posed for a picture.

Sasha will undergo another operation tomorrow to help her recovery.

She was pictured undergoing a medical examination by her doctor ahead of the procedure, wearing a black Tommy t-shirt and green jogging bottoms.

Sasha thanked the doctors, nursing staff and everyone else who helped in her treatment.

Nine year old Sasha, who had to have her arm amputated after she was shot trying to evacuate her home in Gostomel, a suburb of Kyiv

The youngster, known only as Sasha, was allowed to leave the hospital ward and take a stroll in the sunshine just days after surgeons amputated her left arm to save her life

Sasha was pictured undergoing a medical examination by her doctor ahead of the procedure, wearing a black Tommy t-shirt and green jogging bottoms

Her sister Ivanka said: Sasha is grateful to everyone and everyone for your support, she reads messages with words of support and smiles, says thank you to everyone.

She added: Sasha underwent medical examinations today and we are staying at the hospital preparing for tomorrow's operation.

Sasha was fleeing from fighting in the Kyiv suburb of Hostomel with her stepfather, mother Yuliia and sister last week when the family car was hit by bullets.

Her stepfather was killed and the other three escaped into the street before taking shelter in a cellar.

Sasha drifted in and out of consciousness for two days before she was carried to a nearby hospital on a make-shift stretcher by volunteers waving a white flag.

The nurse who treated Sasha on Ward 5 of the Central Irpen Hospital, in Bucha, has praised her for her strength and courage. Pictured: Sasha before the war

Speaking from her hospital bed before her operation Sasha said: 'I don't know why the Russians shot me. I hope it was an accident and that they didn't mean to hurt me.

'I was shot in the arm. I ran after my sister. My mum she fell over. I thought it was the end. But she was not dead she was just sheltering from the gunfire. She was hiding.

'Then I lost consciousness. Someone carried me to a cellar. I was given some treatment there. And then some people carried me on a towel to the hospital.'

The north-western suburbs of Gostomel, Irpin, and Bucha are on the front line of the battle for Kyiv.

The Russian Army launched a massive assault on these satellite towns in the hope of busting through the Ukrainian defence and capturing the capital.

At the Central Irpin Hospital, Bucha, vascular surgeon Dr Vladislav Gorbovec, discovered gangrene had taken hold and he took the decision to amputate her left arm above the elbow. Sasha would have died otherwise.

Flowers are placed around the graves of Ukrainian military servicemen in Starychi, western Ukraine

Dr Gennadiy Druzenko, of the First Volunteer Mobile Hospital, told MailOnline Sasha is one of a number of children who suffered terrible injuries in the battle for Kyiv.

He explained: 'This girl was brought to the Central Irpin Hospital with terrible injuries.

'She had been shot while she was evacuating from Gostomel with her parents.

'Her father was shot dead as he drove them away from the fighting in his car.

The girl, her sister and her mother found safety in a cellar. They stayed there for two days while there was fighting in the streets above them.

'She was badly injured, lost consciousness and became delirious.

'Russian soldiers tried to break into the cellar. They shot at the door and screamed at the people to come out.

'Finally the girl was brought to the hospital by civilians waving a white flag as they ran through the battle zone.

'She given emergency treatment at the Central Irpin Hospital which was under gunfire.

A woman with a child evacuates from a residential building damaged by shelling, as Russia's attack on Kyiv continues

Rescuers remove debris from a building damaged by shelling in central Kharkiv on March 16

'The doctor discovered gangrene was spreading up her arm from her injury.

'He had to amputate her left arm to save her life.

'The girl was then transferred to a private clinic Kyiv.

'She is one of a number of children who have suffered terrible injuries. All of them have lost at least one of their parents.'

Now the youngster, who celebrated her ninth birthday the day before Russia invade on 24th February, has asked for a new pink artificial arm that is covered in flowers.

The nurse who treated Sasha on Ward 5 of the Central Irpen Hospital, in Bucha, has praised her for her strength and courage.

Sasha, who celebrated her ninth birthday the day before Russia invade on 24th February, has asked for a new pink artificial arm that is covered in flowers. Pictured: Sasha before the war

She said: 'The first thing Sasha said to me was; 'please be honest do I have a left hand or not?'

'I didn't know what to say. I didn't know whether not to say anything, to lie or to tell her the truth.

'What do you say to a child who is in pain but who knows that she put up with it.

'She asked if she would be healthy and if she can have a new pink artificial arm coloured with flowers.

'She is so strong. She does not cry because she knows only weak people cry.

'She thanked us for saving her life and caring for us.'

The nurse added: 'I am so angry, and I feel so much hate towards whoever shoots and maims children.'
A long line of People's Convoy drivers with cars covered in American flags blocked traffic around the U.S. capital Wednesday while blaring their horns.

The People's Convoy - which picked up steam in the U.S. after Canadian truckers' Freedom Convoy protesting vaccine mandates blocked the border earlier this year - completed its 2,600-mile, 11-day journey across the U.S., rolling into Washington just days ago.

On Wednesday, the caravan blocked traffic in endless lines outside the National Mall and painstakingly blared horns, causing locals driving by to scream 'go home' at them and to block public buses.

Many protesters decorated their cars with variations of the American flag, particularly the Betsy Ross and Confederate flags - both of which are frequently used by the far-right and have been embroiled in racist controversy. They also painted '2022 convoy,' 'faith over fear, your choice,' 'freedom,' and 'the people are united' on their windows as they persistently honked, antagonizing locals trying to drive through the city.

The protesters originally planned to make it to DC by the State of the Union March 1, but the convoy started out too late. Although its message has become unclear in recent days, hand-painted signs on car windows indicated most are there still for the original reason in both the U.S. and Canada: protesting COVID-19 mandates.

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The People's Convoy - which was originally dubbed as the Freedom Convoy and started after Canadian truckers protested against vaccine requirements when entering the border - has completed its 2,600 miles, 11-day journey across the US, rolling into the capital just days ago

A truck had the 'people are united' and 'love all' written on his truck as he blocked traffic with other protesters. On Wednesday, the People's Convoy blocked traffic in endless lines outside of the National Mall and painstakingly blared their horns

A truck had 'Let's go, Brandon' written on his back window, as well as the Marine Corps and US flags. Many vehicles also displayed the Betsy Ross and Confederate flags, which have been embroiled in racist controversy and are used by the far-right

DC resident Michael Wille, who posted a video on social media of the convoy honking and snarling traffic Wednesday, is a rideshare driver. He told DailyMail.com that he 'agrees with their right to protest as long as they dont block the free flow of goods, services and people.'

'We all really dont need any more traffic than we already have here,' he told DailyMail.com on Wednesday.

The vehicles have taken to driving through the streets after the National Mall Park Service denied their permit application, submitted by lead organizer Brain Brase, 37, to turn the Mall into a trucker encampment. Brase apparently made outlandish demands, according to the Daily Beast which viewed his application. The application was rejected.

When asked on the application if Brase believed there was 'any information indicating that any individual, group, or organization might seek to disrupt the activity,' Brase wrote: 'Antifa,' a left-wing anti-fascist, anti-racist group.

The convoy attempted to get a permit for the National Mall to create a trucker encampment, as well as have from 12th Street to 3rd Street between Madison and Jefferson Drives blocked off for 12 days for demonstrations. The permit for the almost mile of ground was denied

Organizer Brian Brase, 37, (pictured in red next to Senator Ted Cruz) submitted the permit and cited that Antifa - a left-wing anti-fascist group - might disrupt the protest

Brase also claimed that '10,000 to 100,000' protesters would show up to the National Mall, despite reports that the number of participants had thinned out to around 500 in Maryland, the stop before DC, according to the Daily Beast.

In addition, the group requested a large area be blocked off for protesting from 12th Street to 3rd Street, between Madison and Jefferson Drives, which covers almost a mile off the National Mall and would block several Smithsonian museums. It also requested the blockade to last 12 days from March 14 to 26. It is unclear how long the caravan plans to stay and what it will do while in DC.

Truckers Convoy are making their way to DC. pic.twitter.com/LsWP8098yH  Mack (@beingrealmac2) March 15, 2022

Protesters have been causing DC's already heavy traffic to jam even more, causing locals to scream 'go home' at them

The People's Convoy has been attempting to slow down traffic near the US Capitol

Despite the rejection, protesters have been jamming up DC's already terribly congested on I-395.

In addition to causing a loud ruckus in the streets, they have tied up the DC Police's phone lines. At a meeting on Tuesday - where organizer Mike Landis said the idea of 'tear[ing] the fence down at the White House and hang[ing] politicians' was 'extremely enticing' - other organizers called instead for protesters to 'break' the police's phone lines by calling constantly.

It is illegal to make a false emergency call. It is also unknown if the protesters have been 'breaking' the police lines through phone calls.

DC Police tried to block the People's Convoy from entering Washington by blocking highway exits to the city and boxing in cars they thought were a part of the convoy, but to no avail.

Senator Ted Cruz was seen supporting the convoy earlier this week, riding shotgun in a truck and later was pictured with Brase as he thanked the COVID-19 mandate protesters for 'standing up for every man, woman, and child in America.'

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz joined the People's Convoy trucker protest on Thursday as he rode shotgun

'Petty government tyrants shouldn't force people to make private health care decisions,' Cruz said as he rode with protestors, who were demonstrating against federal COVID-19 mandates much like the Canadian Freedom Convoy

The Texas Republican spent the day with the truckers on Friday and video from the protest shows Cruz waving to fellow demonstrators as he thanked them for showing up while the truckers let their horns blare.

'Thank you to The People's Convoy for speaking out for freedom,' Cruz said in a statement.

'Petty government tyrants shouldn't force people to make private health care decisions.'

Cruz also stood alongside Brase, who said the protest was not just a Republican movement, but a demonstration by a wide range of Americans who want to remind the government that it works for the people.

'Now is the time for the American people around the county... to stand up for your personal freedoms,' Brase told reporters on Wednesday.
A hundred Chernobyl technicians are being held 'like prisoners in a Russian concentration camp' to maintain the defunct nuclear plant amid fears of a new disaster after it was seized by Putin's forces.

The staff are working at gunpoint and had been working the night shift when Russia captured the site of the 1986 disaster on the first day of the invasion.

A Chernobyl engineer told AFP that employees themselves are 'deeply worried that they will be on the front line if an accident happens', after power was cut to the site multiple times.

The pool where the spent fuel is stocked is 'overpacked by 40 per cent' she added, and 'backup pools should be empty but they are also filled with other spent fuel.

The pool (pictured in 2017) at Chernobyl where the spent fuel is stocked is 'overpacked by 40 per cent', a source has said

Russian forces seized the nuclear site on the first day of the invasion and have been keeping workers there at gunpoint

'This situation is against international nuclear safety regulations.'

Relatives and colleagues say the crew members have been unable to return to their homes in nearby Slavutych, the city built to house Chernobyl workers after the disaster.

A protest in the city was held against their treatment on Sunday and the potential safety risks.

'Our boys are not just hostages but prisoners in a Russian concentration camp,' one woman at the protest told local television.

'Physically and morally, they are exhausted,' said the wife of one technician, who like others at the site can communicate with the outside world only via telephone.

'They think that no one cares about them, neither the Russian government nor the Ukrainian government,' she said, adding that they are getting only two small meals a day.

The staff are working at gunpoint and had been working the night shift when Russia captured the site of the 1986 disaster on the first day of the invasion

A view of the containers and tip of fuel assemblies submersed at a wet spent fuel storage facility (ISF-1) in Chernobyl in 2017

'They can take a shower, but with no soap, no shampoo, they can't brush their teeth. They can't change their clothes or wash them. There is no supply of medicines. They are sleeping on the floor, on some desks or on chairs.'

Around 100 other people, including security personnel, are also being detained at the site.

It is unclear why Russian soldiers seized Chernobyl, where the destroyed reactor is kept under close supervision within a concrete and lead sarcophagus, and the three other reactors are being decommissioned.

In 2017, the site was one of several Ukrainian targets hit by a massive cyberattack thought to have originated in Russia, which briefly took its radiation monitoring system off-line.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said Tuesday that the Chernobyl technicians and guards were being forced to work 'under enormous stress without the necessary rest'.

A view of fuel assemblies in water with a sign reading 'Radioactivity' at a wet spent fuel storage facility

To ensure against radioactive risks, 'operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure,' he warned.

Russian forces also shelled and captured the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant, Europe's biggest, on March 4, causing a fire that raised alarm in Europe over a possible nuclear catastrophe.

For Karine Herviou, deputy director general France's IRSN nuclear safety watchdog, 'there is no risk of an explosion at the site.'

'Unlike at nuclear plants that are in operation, a sustained loss of electricity supply to the site will not cause an accident,' she said.

But the risks of war remain, with the relative of one technician saying that Russia has effectively built 'a military base' at Chernobyl complete with missile-launching batteries.

'The strategy is brilliant on the war side, but for humanity it is absolutely insane - no one will fire a missile on Chernobyl to destroy' Russian forces, said the relative, himself a former employee at the site.

He said the chances of a disaster were high, not least because of alleged safety breaches by Ukrainian authorities - which he claims to have seen first-hand - and because the soldiers guarding the employees 'don't know what's going on'.

'In nuclear safety, you always try to forecast the worst scenario and try to avoid it. Right now, they are trying to hide it, like the USSR did in 1986,' the relative said.
Michael O'Leary today claimed it is 'completely untrue' that Ryanair has hiked prices for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The 60-year-old said that when his carrier's flights fill up, the prices naturally increase due to the drop in supply, but insisted there are still 'loads of cheap flights out there.'

His comments came after the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland, Larysa Gerasko, accused the low-budget airline on Tuesday of increasing prices on flights from Poland - where the majority of the three million-plus Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin's forces have escaped to.

She said she had written a letter to Ryanair and had not heard back, adding that she would be raising the issue at a meeting with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan.

But speaking at Cheltenham racecourse today, Mr O'Leary responded: '[It's] completely untrue, we have very low fare fights coming to and from Poland.

'All of the airports, we've checked into it, and all the flights are filling up and as they fill up they pay the highest fares.

Michael O'Leary said that when his carrier's flights fill up, the prices naturally increase due to the drop in supply, insisting there are still 'loads of cheap flights out there.'

The Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland, Larysa Gerasko (pictured), accused the low-budget airline on Tuesday of increasing prices on flights from Poland - where the majority of the three million-plus Ukrainians fleeing Vladimir Putin's forces have escaped to

Refugees from Ukraine who fled to Poland queue to enter a registration point at the Tauron Arena in Krakow

'But we have on today, tomorrow and in the coming days fares of 20 one fair, 50 one way. There's loads of cheap flights out there.'

Asked whether people are paying the higher fares because the flights are in demand due to the war, he told Independent.ie: 'Every flight when it fills the last few seats are the higher fares, that's how we get to sell so many seats at 20 and 30.'

Ms Gerasko made the allegations at the European Union Affairs committee at Leinster House yesterday.

She was praising the idea of charters being officially arranged to carry refugees from Poland, which had been suggested by Sinn Fein TD John Brady.

'We would be very grateful for that, because it is very difficult to buy tickets from Warsaw or from Krakow to Dublin,' she said.

'And moreover, may I address this issue to Ryanair because they raised the prices and it's unfortunate.'

It was then that Independent Senator Sharon Keogan chimed in: 'That's unforgivable. It's actually unforgivable.'

Ms Gerasko said she would raise the point with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan once he gets back from St Patrick's Day duties abroad.

She added: 'Unfortunately our request, or our letter (to Ryanair) never received any response, I'd say, from Ryanair, because we sent this letter, it seems to me, one week ago.'

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail Senator Gerry Horkan suggested Ryanair make flights free to refugees fleeing the war zone.

However, when asked today whether there was anything extra Ryanair would do to help refugees travel across the continent, Mr O'Leary said: 'We are already carrying thousands of refugees around Europe.'

It comes as the latest figures show more than three million people have fled Ukraine since Russia launched its assault last month, with the UN estimating there to be at least 1.9 million civilians internally displaced within the eastern European country.

The majority of those fortunate enough to make it out are heading to Poland, but hundreds of thousands have also poured into Moldova, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

On Wednesday, Russian forces started shelling the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, where thousands of refugees are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol - where 500 hostages are being held in a hospital as human shields.

The bombardment came hours after an estimated 20,000 civilians arrived in Zaporizhzhia, the first port of call for those fleeing Mariupol along a humanitarian corridor - supposedly safe passages which allow civilians to leave Ukraine.

Putin's troops launched rocket strikes on the city overnight, hitting a railway station, though there were no reports of casualties, the regional governor Oleksander Vasylyovych said in an announcement on Facebook.

Russian forces in Mariupol have rounded up 400 people from houses neighbouring the city's hospital number two, along with 100 doctors and patients who were already inside, and are refusing to let them leave, according to regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Aid agencies have warned Mariupol is facing a humanitarian catastrophe, since heavy bombardment has left some 400,000 inhabitants with no running water or heating, and food running short.

And Kyiv was rocked overnight by new explosions which wounded at least two people and damaged two residential buildings hours after the city was placed under curfew amid warnings to brace for a 36-hour bombardment at the hands of Russian forces.

Aftermath of Russian shelling of a 12-storey residential building in Svyatoshyn district of Kyiv early on Wednesday, hours after the Ukrainian capital was placed under a 36-hour curfew

Three loud explosions were heard in western parts of the capital just before dawn, partially destroying the top corner of one building, damaging and scorching the other as thick clouds of smoke billowed into the sky.

Battles continue to rage in cities like Mariupol, Kharkhiv and Mykolaiv, as well as in suburban towns just outside Kyiv, nearly three weeks after Putin ordered an all out invasion of its western neighbour.

Taking Mariupol, which is situated 34miles (55km) from Russia's border, would mark a strategic breakthrough for Putin.

The city lies between territory held by Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region and the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014 and from where it has launched its assault on key southern towns.

Ukraine on Wednesday demanded guarantees that international forces will 'prevent attacks' in the future and rejected Russia's proposal for Kyiv to become 'neutral' like Austria or Sweden as peace talks to end the war continued.

Russian forces have started shelling the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia where thousands of refugees (pictured) are sheltering after fleeing Mariupol - where 500 hostages are being held in a hospital as human shields

Zaporizhzhia is the first safe port of call for those fleeing Mariupol (pictured, a baby shelters in a circus building in Zaporizhzhia after fleeing Mariupol) but evacuees now face a new terror after Vladimir Putin's troops launched rocket strikes on the city overnight on Tuesday, hitting a railway station

'Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. As a result, the model can only be "Ukrainian" and only on legally verified security guarantees,' its top negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said in comments published by President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.

He called for a legally binding security agreement, signed by international partners, who would 'not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today.'

The Kremlin earlier Wednesday said that a neutral Ukraine along the lines of Sweden or Austria was being discussed at talks with Kyiv to end three weeks of fighting in Ukraine.

'This is an option that is being discussed now and that can be considered as a compromise,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

His comments came after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said neutrality was taking centre stage at the talks and that Moscow and Kyiv were 'close to agreeing' the wording of an agreement on neutrality.

Zelensky, speaking in his early morning address on Wednesday, had said that peace talks with Russia were sounding 'more realistic' and that a deal could be struck with Putin within one or two weeks because Moscow's forces will run out of fresh troops and supplies by then.
The White House on Wednesday blamed former President Donald Trump for the way Iran has made strides towards acquiring atomic weapons, as talks to revive a nuclear deal remain stalled.

Trump pulled the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions.

Since then, Iran has stepped up the production of enriched uranium leading analysts to say Tehran has reduced the 'breakout time - the time to produce enough for a weapon - to a matter of months.

This week Russia said it had received guarantees from the U.S. that sanctions on Moscow won't affect its role in the deal, potentially signaling that talks on renewing the 2015 deal can resume.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked whether Washington was prepared to remove Iran's Islamist Revolutionary Guard Corps from the terrorism list in order to secure a deal - and pivoted to blame Trump for the urgent threat now posed to the world.

'The deal is not finalised,' she said.

'What I would note and I would just go back to why we're negotiating this deal.

And right now we're negotiating this deal because Iran's nuclear gains are threatening U.S. interests.

'There's urgency to taking steps to contain that, which is why we've been engaged so closely.

'And that is all the result of President Trump pulling out of the deal and Iran moving closer to having the capacity and acquiring a nuclear weapon and speeding up their breakout time.

'So we are here thanks to the actions of the last president and the last administration and it is in our interest, it is in the global interest, to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.'

With nuclear talks at a critical moment, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said former President Donald Trump's decision to leave the 2015 deal had increased the danger of Iran acquiring atomic weapons, threatening U.S. interests

New generation Iranian centrifuges are seen on display during Iran's National Nuclear Energy Day in Tehran. Iran is now enriching uranium up to 60 percent  its highest ever rate

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last month unveiled a new missile - the 'Khaibar-buster' - with a range of about 900 miles

The 2015 agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, imposed limits on the production of enriched uranium.

But the US withdrew after Trump called it the 'worst deal ever.'

Conservatives said Iran was not respecting the spirit of the agreement by fomenting unrest in the Middle East and developing missile technology.

They also warned that sunset clauses meant Iran would eventually be freed to produce as much uranium as it wanted.

Talks on reviving the deal resumed in Vienna at the end of last year and have now reached what all sides agree is a critical moment.

In the meantime, Iran has stepped up enrichment. By some accounts they would now need up to six months to produce enough uranium enriched to 90 percent U235 - the isotype needed in weapons - to produce a bomb.

Republicans are already preparing their arguments for a new version of the deal.

In particular, they have attacked any prospect of Washington delisting the Revolutionary Guard - which at the weekend claimed responsibility for launching ballistic missiles at a U.S. Army base and a Kurdish news channel office in Erbil, Northern Iraq.

As DailyMail.com reported earlier this month, U.S. negotiators are trying to persuade President Joe Biden to remove the terror designation, which is one of Tehran's demands.

During her daily briefing, Psaki did not rule out the prospect.

'We're still in negotiations,' she said.

'So I'm not going to speculate or outline from here what the final details look like.'

Iran's arsenal was on display at the weekend when missiles slammed into a U.S. Army base and a Kurdish news channel office in Erbil, Northern Iraq in retaliation for an Israeli attack

A day earlier the top U.S. general in the Middle East said Iran remained the greatest threat to the region and that it had 3,000 ballistic missiles, some of which could reach as far as Israel's Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv.

'My concern is, first of all, that they not have that nuclear weapon but I am also very concerned about the remarkable growth in number and efficiency of their ballistic missile force, their [unmanned aerial vehicle] program, their long-range drones and their land-attack cruise missile program,' said Gen Kenneth McKenzie, head of Central Command.

'All of those concern me.'

Asked for more details, he said Tehran had 3,000 ballistic missiles.

'None of them can reach Europe yet, but over the last five to seven years they have invested heavily in their ballistic missile programme,' he added

'Their missiles are of greater - significantly greater - range and significantly enhanced accuracy.'

Iran unveiled the latest weapon in its arsenal last month.

The Khaibar-buster, a reference to a Jewish castle overrun by Muslim warriors led by Prophet Mohammed in the early days of Islam, has a range of 900 miles and runs on solid fuel, state media reported.
RTHK: Seoul says N Korean projectile launch 'failed'

North Korea fired an "unknown projectile" on Wednesday which appeared to fail immediately after launch, South Korea's military said after Japanese media reported a suspected missile launch by the nuclear-armed North.

The suspected missile was fired from an airfield outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea's defence ministry said in a statement.

The airfield has been the site of several recent launches, including two of what the United States and South Korea said were tests of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system. North Korea said those tests were for developing components of a reconnaissance satellite.

A source at Japan's Ministry of Defence called the projectile a potential ballistic missile, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Reclusive North Korea has fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year, conducting its ninth weapons test on March 5, drawing condemnation from the United States, South Korea and Japan.

North Korea used what would be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system in two recent launches, and appears to be restoring some tunnels at its shuttered nuclear test site, US and South Korean officials said last week. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian, Russian delegations resume peace talks

Xinhua) 09:06, March 16, 2022

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Tuesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Ukrainian and Russian delegations resumed peace talks on Tuesday, local media outlet Ukrayinska Pravda reported, citing David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation.

"The talks are already underway," Arakhamia said without giving further details.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations started the fourth round of their talks via video link on Monday.

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said the two sides took a technical pause in the negotiations until Tuesday for "additional work in the working subgroups and clarification of individual definitions."

- - - -

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has submitted a bill to the parliament, proposing the extension of the current martial law in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Tuesday.

If the lawmakers pass the bill, the martial law in Ukraine will be extended for another 30 days starting from March 26.

Ukraine imposed the martial law after Russia started a special military operation on Feb. 24.

- - - -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said his country has to maintain close ties with both Kiev and Moscow.

He made the remarks while responding to a question as to whether Turkey will comply with international sanctions against Russia at a joint press conference here with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Turkey has to maintain friendship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan said, adding "as for the sanctions issue, we did what was necessary so far within the framework of UN rules."

For his part, Scholz said Turkey and Germany have common concerns regarding the Ukraine crisis and agree on the necessity for a ceasefire.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelenskyy, center, and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, center right, meet with the Czech, Polish and Slovenian prime ministers, left, in Kyiv, March 15, in a handout photo made available by Zelenskyy's official Telegram channel. EPA-Yonhap





The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to the embattled Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukraine even as bombardments by the Russian military edged closer to the center of the city.







The three leaders went ahead with the hours-long train trip despite worries within the European Union about the security risks of traveling within a war zone.







''It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance,'' Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter.







The long journey over land from Poland to Kyiv by Morawiecki, Poland's deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Prime Ministers Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia sent the message that most of Ukraine still remains in Ukrainian hands.







But underlining the deteriorating security situation in Kyiv, a series of strikes hit a residential neighborhood in the city again Tuesday.







Zelenskyy posted a video on Facebook of him sitting around a table with the leaders briefing them on the war's developments. After the meeting, he said he was sure ''with such friends'' Ukraine would be able to defeat Russia.







''And most importantly, we absolutely trust the leaders of these countries and, therefore, when we speak of security guarantees, of our future in the European Union, or speak of sanctions policy, we know 100 percent that everything we are discussing will really lead to that positive goal for our country, for our security and for our future,'' Zelenskyy said.







Fiala said the main purpose of the visit was to tell Ukraine it is not alone.







''We know you're fighting for your lives ... but we also know you're fighting for our lives, our freedom,'' Fiala said. ''Probably the main goal of our visit, the main message of our mission, is to say that you're not alone. Our countries stand by you. Europe stands by you.''







The Central European leaders said they were on an EU mission. But officials from the 27-nation bloc insisted that the trio had undertaken the trip independently.







All three countries were once part of the communist bloc and now belong to both the EU and NATO.







Jansa described the visit as a way to send a message that Ukraine is a European country that deserves to be accepted one day into the EU. Two weeks earlier, Zelenskyy made an emotional appeal to the European Parliament on that very subject.






Jetstar have launched a massive flight sale across 58 domestic and 28 international routes.

Fares start at $29 for a ticket from Melbourne to Sydney, cheap domestic routes also include a flight from Sydney to Perth for $99.

International routes include Perth to Bali for as little as $115 and Sydney to Queenstown from $189.

Aussie travellers are flocking back to Bali after the holiday hotspot reopened to tourists after two years of Covid border closures.

The first flight from Australia to Bali left Melbourne on Monday with holidaymakers warning they're planning to hit as many bars as possible.

It was the first time Aussie tourists have flown to Bali since planes were grounded in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

Three tourists headed for a 'much needed girls trip' said they will be 'wherever the alcohol is' on their Bali trip after the Indonesian government opened international borders

Fully-vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to isolate on arrival in Bali after the Indonesian government lifted the previous five-day quarantine order

CHEAP FLIGHTS FROM YOUR CITY DOMESTIC Melbourne (Avalon) to Sydney from $29^ Adelaide to Hobart from $44^ Brisbane to Uluru (Ayers Rock) from $79^ Darwin to Sydney from $99^ Gold Coast (Coolangatta) to Sydney from $39^ Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Ballina Byron from $49^ Sydney to Melbourne (Tullamarine) from $39^ Sydney to Perth from $99^ INTERNATIONAL Perth to Bali (Denpasar) from $115^ Gold Coast (Coolangatta) to Wellington from $159^ Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Auckland from $175^ Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Honolulu from $199^ Melbourne (Tullamarine) to Singapore from $159^ Melbourne (Tullamarine)-Ho Chi Minh City from $159^ Sydney to Nadi (Fiji) from $169^ Sydney to Phuket from $159^ Sydney to Queenstown from $189^ Advertisement

Excited jetsetters packed the airport on Monday morning ready for a much-needed holiday.

A group of girls awaiting to board the flight boasted about the bars and restaurants they planned on visiting, with one admitting: 'Wherever there's alcohol, that's where we'll be.'

The much anticipated Jetstar flight left Melbourne's Tullamarine airport with more than 300 passengers on board following the company's announcement of flights leaving other Australian cities for Bali from April 8.

Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans said they were excited to get travellers back to Bali and that sales for the tourist hotspot were through the roof.

The much anticipated Jetstar flight to Bali left Melbourne's Tullamarine airport with more than 300 passengers on board on Monday

'We are very excited to return to Bali today after two long years, and we are confident that Bali will quickly regain its position as our most popular international tourist destination now that borders are open,' he said.

'Our recent Bali sale saw the biggest surge in bookings we've seen since 2016, and our recent surveys have consistently shown that Bali is still the top international destination people want to travel to.'

Flights from Australia to Bali returned following the Indonesian government's decision to relax quarantine rules for tourists arriving from a list of approved countries.

International travellers waited for registration at Ngurah Rai airport after arriving in Bali

Flights from Australia to Bali returned following the Indonesian government's decision to relax quarantine rules for tourists arriving from a list of 23 approved countries

COVID RULES TO ENTER BALI International travellers must undergo a PCR test upon arrival

Tourists from approved countries will need to pay $47 for a visa at the airport

Visitors must take out insurance that would cover them for up to 20,000 Singaporean dollars (about $20,200 AUD) if they returned a positive Covid test

Double vaccinated tourists from the list of 23 approved countries will not need to quarantine upon arrival

Your last vaccination dose must have been received at least 14 days prior to arrival Source: Smart Traveller Advertisement

Qantas will resume flights from Melbourne to the Balinese capital Denpasar from April 14, followed by Sydney on April 15

These countries include Australia, the US, UK, Italy, Germany, and ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries - including Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The Indonesian government also announced fully-vaccinated travellers will no longer be required to isolate on arrival, lifting the previous five-day quarantine order.

Now tourists arriving from approved countries will only need to pay $47 for their visa, rather than $300, which can be paid at the airport.

However international visitors will still be required to undergo a PCR test upon arrival and self isolate until they receive a negative result.

For the rest of Indonesia travellers must enter hotel quarantine for one day and undergo another test on day three.

Tourists must also take out insurance that would cover them for up to 20,000 Singaporean dollars - about $20,200 AUD - if they returned a positive Covid test.

Several Balinese resorts closed during the lockdown and used the time to renovate and refurbish due to a lack of guests

Qantas will resume flights from Melbourne to the Balinese capital Denpasar from April 14, followed by Sydney on April 15.

Bali's economy was hit hard by the pandemic's lockdown as more than 70 per cent of residents work in tourism and the industry accounts for 52 per cent of the island's GDP.

More than two million Aussies flew to Bali each year before the pandemic hit, contributing more than $2billion to the Balinese economy annually.

At least 90 per cent of Balinese tourism-related businesses closed during the pandemic with just 45 overseas visitors reportedly holidaying at the island in 2021.

Several resorts also closed during the lockdown and used the time to renovate and refurbish.
Vital smart motorway safety technology has broken down on one of the countrys busiest stretches of road  sparking fears for drivers lives.

The radar system that should flag up a stopped car within 20 seconds has been severely compromised on a section of the M25 since Tuesday, internal emails seen by the Daily Mail show.

Nine out of 51 of the Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD) radar posts that detect broken-down vehicles on the 18-mile stretch of Londons orbital motorway between junctions 23 and 27 are understood to be out of action.

With one in six of the posts broken, affecting both carriageways, it means there are several blind spots and it could take several days to repair them.

National Highways managers said traffic officers were planning to patrol the roads for the next few days.

Vital smart motorway safety technology has broken down on one of the countrys busiest stretches of road  sparking fears for drivers lives. Pictured, a crash on a smart motorway in 2019

Pulvinder Dhillon, 68, pictured, died in a crash after the car in which she was a passenger broke down on a smart stretch of the M4 near Reading earlier this month

Claire Mercer, 45, who started the campaign group Smart Motorways Kill after her husband Jason was killed on a stretch on the M1, said: When the tech is failing so widely, it massively increases the chance of a cataclysmic accident'

SVD is supposed to help alert officers to vehicles marooned in live traffic, which happens on all lane running smart motorways as their hard shoulders are permanently removed.

The revelations come four days after the Mail revealed SVD had not been working for almost a week before Pulvinder Dhillon, 68, died in a crash after the car in which she was a passenger broke down on a smart stretch of the M4 near Reading earlier this month.

This newspaper first revealed a raft of lethal problems with smart motorways  including radar system failures  in an investigation six months ago.

Last night politicians and families of victims killed on the death trap roads called for an end to the fatal scheme.

Labours transport spokesman Louise Haigh said: It is horrifying that safety-critical technology is still not working and more lives are being put at risk. This botched roll-out has cost lives and lessons are still not being learnt

Labours transport spokesman Louise Haigh said: It is horrifying that safety-critical technology is still not working and more lives are being put at risk. This botched roll-out has cost lives and lessons are still not being learnt.

A National Highways boss emailed all staff working at the South Mimms control room on Tuesday afternoon warning SVD was out of action on the M25 in Hertfordshire and Essex.

We are currently experiencing some faults with SVD radar heads on the M25 J23 [for A1(M)] to J27 [for M11] across a few sites, he said.

He urged the control room to help by increasing virtual patrolling of the roads through CCTV, adding: I am authorising the use of overtime on every single shift.

A National Highways boss emailed all staff working at the South Mimms control room on Tuesday afternoon warning SVD was out of action on the M25 in Hertfordshire and Essex. Pictured: The M25

Another technology failure hit the feature of the online system used by control room staff which sends a banner alert when there is a new incident report, with the manager telling staff it was not helping the situation.

The boss sent another email on Wednesday asking staff to report every SVD failure, writing: I have seen and had over the last few days many complaints about SVD but it would seem many of these are not being reported.

Staff said they dont have time to report every incident as they are so frequent and they do not see improvements when they do.

Claire Mercer, 45, who started the campaign group Smart Motorways Kill after her husband Jason was killed on a stretch on the M1, said: When the tech is failing so widely, it massively increases the chance of a cataclysmic accident.

Duncan Smith, of National Highways, said: The vast majority of SVD units, signs and signals and CCTV remain in operation and we have deployed extra traffic officer patrols. We are working to repair the faulty units as a priority.
Kamala Harris is losing her ninth staffer since June in deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh, who is moving to the Defense Department.

Singh worked with the vice president for over two years, joining the then-senator's team in March 2020 during the presidential campaign to run communications after working on the campaigns of Michael Bloomberg and Corey Booker.

Staffers in the vice president's office have been jumping ship after a year full of messaging blunders and a barrage of personal attacks on the VP, combined with viral rumors of toxicity within the office and tensions between Harris's and President Biden's offices.

The vice president's office could employ up to around 50 staffers at any given time.

Of the four-person senior press shop that began with Harris, only one remains - Herbie Ziskend. Ziskend will be promoted to senior advisor for communications, according to an email sent to an internal email shared with DailyMail.com.

Vice President Harris' deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh is leaving for the Pentagon

Harris has lost nine staffers since June

Of the four-person senior press shop that began with Harris, only one remains - Herbie Ziskend

VP forced to cancel St Patrick's Day breakfast with Irish Taoiseach after second gentleman contracts COVID-19 Kamala Harris has been forced to cancel the traditional St Patrick's Day breakfast for the visiting Irish Taoiseach, after her husband tested positive for COVID-19. Instead, she wished Micheal Martin a happy St Patrick's Day in a phone call on Wednesday. 'The vice president expressed her regret that she will be unable to host the St. Patricks Day Breakfast in honor of the Taoiseach and Mary Martin,' the White House said in a readout. 'The breakfast at the Naval Observatory was canceled out of an abundance of caution following the second gentleman testing positive for COVID-19.' They also discussed the Ukraine crisis and Harris thanked Martin for Ireland's humanitarian assistance. He is still due to visit the White House for a reception on Thursday. Advertisement

Singh's departure follows that of communications director Ashley Etienne and senior adviser and chief spokesperson Symone Sanders, both of whom left at the end of 2021.

Ernesto Apreza, Harris' senior adviser for public engagement, will become deputy press secretary. Assistant press secretary Rachel Palermo, who worked on the transition team after serving on Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign, will serve as deputy communications director.

The shakeup of the vice president's press team comes under the direction of new communications director Jamal Simmons. The reset came as both the president and vice president sought to step up public engagement to battle low poll numbers.

President Biden sent Harris on a high-stakes trip to Munich at the end of February as world leaders met to attempt to divert Russia from invading Ukraine. Then last week, she visited Poland and Romania to reassure the U.S.'s commitment to their security after an awkward back-and-forth over providing MiG-29 jets to Ukraine.

Harris then spoke at her party's winter meeting in Philadelphia late last week, where she told Democrats they must ensure Americans they 'got what they ordered.'

'Our task is to show people that, in many ways, they got what they ordered,' the vice president said Saturday. 'A lot of what they demanded they got and so let's get out there as we do and remind thembecause we know that they will show up again.'

In February, the vice president lost the head of her speechwriting team, Kate Childs Graham.

Ziskend paid tribute to his departing colleague on Twitter.

'Kate is committed, hard-working, hilarious  a great colleague and friend,' he said.

'I'll miss working with her every day, but excited for her next adventure.'

It follows a string of farewell messages as staffers leave the office, many of them vacating public facing roles in the press office.

Kate Childs Graham is the latest official to leave the vice president's office. She is expected to leave her role as director of speechwriting around the end of February

Last July, Vice President Kamala Harris sang 'Happy Birthday' to Childs Graham (l) and domestic policy adviser Rohini Kosoglu aboard Air Force Two

Aides chafe at the idea of a reset, but reports suggest Harris is looking to rebuild her public image by doing more to promote her work at the White House

Herbie Ziskend, deputy communications director to the vice president, gave his colleague a glowing review on Twitter

The most high profile was Sanders, who has since taken up a role with MSNBC.

But it began after Harris's widely criticized visit to Central America in June - when she was mocked for delivering a simple message of, 'Do not come,' in her role as point person for tackling the root causes of migration from the area.

That trip also featured a case of mistaken identity at a press conference.

Harris called on 'Maria Fernanda of Univision' to ask a question, only it turned out to be a fan with the same name as a reporter based in Miami.

The vice president's director of advance Karly Satkowiak and deputy director of advance Gabrielle DeFranceschi - responsible for planning travel and making arrangement with local officials and media outlets - left the office shortly after the trip.

Next to leave was Rajan Kaur who was Harris' director of digital strategies but quit in July after opting not to relocate to Washington D.C. from Brooklyn.

Etienne left in November.

Sanders, one of the main public faces for Harris, left at the end of the year, at about the same time as director of press operations Peter Velz and Vince Evans, who said he was leaving to become executive director with the Congressional Black Caucus.

Spokesperson Symone Sanders and Communications Director Ashley Etienne both left last year. In all, eight officials have left since Harris visited Central America last June

The year began with a slew of reports that Harris was planning to meet negative coverage head on, with a busier media schedule and a campaign schedule that her supporters say will better suit her political skills.

Her first year in office reached its lowest point in December, when she was branded a 'bully' who inflicted 'constant soul destroying criticism' on her staff by insiders quoted in the Washington Post.

Former staffers said the vice president was exhibiting the same aggressive management style that had dogged much of her political career.

At the same time she has been a lightning rod for Republican criticism.

Conservatives have focused on her role trying to tackle the root causes of migration to the U.S. from Central America, which so far appears not to have stemmed the numbers arriving at the southern border.

And her poll numbers remain mired below 40 percent. A Real Clear Politics rolling average shows 38.6 percent of respondents give her a favorable rating, while 53.7 percent have an unfavorable view of the vice president.
They will arrive exhausted and possibly traumatised. But as thousands of Ukrainians reach the safety of Britain, they will be met with compassion and practical help.

The Refugee Council is already gearing up to welcome them  and today the Mail Force charity is announcing a 500,000 donation to make it possible.

The charity is the leading organisation that helps thousands of people seeking shelter in the UK from war and other terrors.

Ukrainian refugees are welcomed by a family member upon arrival with a ferry from Gdansk in Poland to the port of Nynashamn, about 60 km south of Stockholm, Sweden

Women rest as children play in a humanitarian aid tent, where refugees are coming to warm up and rest, after crossing from Ukraine into Poland at the Medyka border crossing, southeastern Poland

Last night its joint patron Dame Emma Thompson said: This is a fantastic and generous response from the Mail readers, and typical of the citizens of the UK who would open their arms to those fleeing the murderous carnage in Europe.

The Oscar-winning actress added: When refugees come and are helped by the Refugee Council, it will be a proud thing to tell them  how many helped and how many care deeply about them.

After an arduous journey across Europe, the victims of Putins invasion will arrive in Britain needing all the help they can get. And get it they will  thanks to our readers who have donated with exceptional generosity to the Mail Force Ukraine Appeal.

Lord Dubs, who arrived in Britain in 1939 as a six-year-old refugee fleeing the Nazis, is the other joint patron of the Refugee Council.

He said the money raised by Mail readers is testimony to the compassion and generosity of the British people... My personal thanks go to everyone who donated.

The charity is preparing to drastically expand its services ahead of the expected surge of Ukrainians on their way.

It will use the Mail Force money to invest in extra therapeutic services for traumatised children and adults and expand its information hotline, which provides refugees with basic advice about how to use the NHS, get children into local schools and find help with translation.

Ukrainian people board a train at Lviv railway station because the station is considered a military target

The Refugee Councils Enver Soloman said: It is so important that those who come to the UK are welcomed with open arms... These vital funds will help us to do this.

The Mail Force charity has so far raised 7.5million thanks to donations from our readers.

At the request of Lord and Lady Rothermere, the Mails parent company DMGT has donated 500,000.
I am sitting in my car in Kyiv, watching people trying to carry on with their lives. I can see perhaps a dozen of them strolling along the streets of a European capital in the spring sunshine.

Yet there is nothing normal about these scenes. Many people are wearing military uniforms, the streets are filled with roadblocks and there are checkpoints everywhere. For Kyiv is being bombed, my fellow citizens are dying  and I am armed with a gun.

I am a lawyer and former prime minister who served under President Volodymyr Zelensky, but there is nothing unusual in bearing arms these days. It is my duty  like all Ukrainian men  to protect my country as a member of the territorial defence forces, as Ukraine comes under Russian attack.

Prepared to fight: Former Ukrainian prime minister Oleksiy Honcharuk (right) has joined the territorial defence forces

Our people are not scared. There is no panic, just firm resolution as the country unites to fend off the horrifying assault unleashed by President Vladimir Putin. All Ukrainians know that we must fight for our freedom, our future and our nation.

Putin wants to destroy Ukraine. He wants to wipe my country from the earth, folding us into his repressive regime as part of his despotic Russian empire and banishing our independence to the history books.

Yet Ukraine has never attacked anyone, we have never invaded any neighbour and we have never carried out atrocities that might merit a military response. We are peaceful people.

But our 'crime' in the eyes of this Russian dictator was to desire democracy, cherish freedom and embrace Europe's liberal values. Now he wants to crush our country, smash our culture, kill our elites, dismantle our institutions and impose his cruel ideology.

He justifies his attack with talk of 'denazification'  although our president is Jewish and we have no extremists holding weird views in government. Like all countries, of course, there are some people with strange outlooks among us, but they hold no sway in our society.

Having served in office under President Zelensky, I am not surprised that he has performed so well in these dark times (pictured together in 2019)

For Putin, the question of 'denazification' is no different to when another dictator called Adolf Hitler raised the 'Jewish question'  it is used to provide an excuse to target innocent people and to commit the most barbaric deeds to eliminate them.

I was born in a small place in central Ukraine near Vinnytsia  a city that was struck by missiles earlier this month in a salvo that killed civilians and soldiers alike.

Then I spent a wonderful childhood in a northern town called Horodnya. It lies near the border, so was quickly captured by the massive Russian military machine that invaded Ukraine.

This is a Russian-speaking area. Yet do not fall for the propaganda that speaking the same tongue as Putin means you must desire his rule from Moscow. Such is the spirit of defiance in Horodnya that people have been marching under our flag to demonstrate their loyalties  and tragically, as reported by The Mail on Sunday, one local businessman killed himself rather than run the town as a Russian stooge.

For the past 20 years, I have lived in Kyiv. I have seen it blossom after Ukraine threw off the shackles of Russia's Communist rule and, despite complex internal issues, moved towards the beauty of democracy and freedom.

But now people are dying in Kyiv from the hideous hail of bombs and missiles falling from the skies.

This war began eight years ago when Putin stole Crimea and invaded the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine

Having served in office under President Zelensky, I am not surprised that he has performed so well in these dark times. I knew he was a bold and brave man, so I never expected him to shirk his duty or run away from difficulties.

He has shown real leadership of Ukraine. If only his courage, determination and unflinching desire to fight for freedom was being matched by presidents and prime ministers across the West.

This war began eight years ago when Putin stole Crimea and invaded the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine. This was the first annexation of sovereign terrain in Europe since the defeat of Hitler. Yet the Western response was weak.

This is why Putin felt emboldened to go so much further by launching his attempted blitzkrieg on the whole of Ukraine.

He looked at the West and saw that it was possible to invade other countries. He told himself Western values were empty and that he could get away with mass murder. Ukrainians are fighting heroically. Our military response has been perfect, despite the billions spent by Putin on the powerful weapons that are killing our soldiers and civilians, devastating our homes and destroying our cities.

But even as this modern-day Hitler commits such evil crimes, the West looks on scared. It has imposed some economic sanctions. But this is not enough. We need military support to protect our nation, support our troops and defend the democratic values for which people are dying in cities such as Kharkiv and Kyiv.

In the besieged port city of Mariupol, more than 80 per cent of homes have been destroyed while innocent families cower in basements and bodies lie on the streets. How can this be happening in 21st century Europe?

This is, incidentally, a predominantly Russian-speaking city  filled with precisely the people Putin claims he is fighting to protect. Yet again, we see the hypocrisy and hollowness of his self-serving ideology.

Putin is looking at the West and smelling the fear as he seeks to redraw borders and destroy one of Europe's biggest nations. He can take economic pain while it lasts. There is only one thing he understands: Power.

Here is my plea. First, impose total economic and trade isolation on Russia, rather than just freezing assets of corrupt oligarchs and ending sales of burgers. The aggressor must be entirely isolated economically.

Second, we urgently need protection from the skies with a no-fly zone. I am not a military man, so others can debate the best tactics  whether to use your aircraft or provide us with many more  but this is crucial to save thousands of lives.

Third, deliver an ultimatum to Putin that he has a maximum of 48 hours to stop his troops killing people and end the carnage. If not, Nato should respond with its own forces to drive the Russian invaders from our land.

Or will you let him destroy Finland next, arguing the risks of intervention are too great against a nuclear-armed tyrant? Then Lithuania? Perhaps even Poland? This is the salami-slicing approach of the Russians  which was highlighted in a scene in your fine 1980s political satire Yes, Prime Minister, when Jim Hacker was asked about the point of nuclear deterrence.

Western leaders can keep running from the bully for fear of his weapons. But like it or not, we are engaged in a third world war. This is the struggle of our era between democracy and dictatorship  and we are fighting valiantly on the frontline.

Western leaders should not be scared because Putin, like any dictator, feeds off fear. It should be unacceptable to slaughter thousands of Ukrainians. And the longer you restrain your forces, the fiercer the struggle they face in the future.
President Joe Biden a took a rhetorical turn down the dark alleys of the Internet during remarks on the Violence Against Women Act at the White House Wednesday when he spoke about people who have a 'revealing picture' taken only to be blackmailed or humiliated when it got posted online.

He was championing provisions of the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act, which he had a hand in creating in 1994.

He spoke about establishing 'a new civil rights cause of action for those whose intimate images were shared on public screen'  then went into detail about how it works, telling the audience of lawmakers and women who had benefitted from the law about how compromising images can be exploited online.

'How many times have you heard  I bet everybody knows somebody somewhere along the line  that in an intimate relationship, what happened was the guy takes a revealing picture of his naked friend, or whatever, in a compromising position, and then literally sends blackmails or mortifies that person  sends it out, put it online,' he said.

'Were giving survivors real resources against abuse now. Ex-partners and stalkers who seek to humiliate and hurt them,' he added.

According to the National Association of Attorneys General, 2 per cent of Americans reported being victims of nonconsensual porn in 2016. By 2017, it jumped to 12 per cent among those in the 18-29 group. A 2019 study had a 400 per cent increase from 2016.

'Taken as a whole, these statistics show the number of victims continues to rise at an alarming rate even though both the legal system and society as a whole have attempted to address the issue,' according to the association.

Biden's comments came during a speech in the East Room in the White House where he occasionally banged on the podium, other times lowering his voice to a whisper to describe the trauma that people in abusive relationships suffer.

'I bet everybody knows somebody somewhere along the line  that in an intimate relationship, what happened was the guy takes a revealing picture of his naked friend ... in a compromising position,' and it gets used for blackmail or to mortify the person, President Biden said at an event for reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act

Biden also said 'literally, the most oft-asked questions for the first three years of the act' that he got asked was, "Well, why are you so passionate about this? Was your mother a victim of domestic violence? Was your sister or your wife? Were they -- were they victims?" I swear to God. That was the most oft-asked question of me,' he said.

But he said it was not any form of family trauma that drew him to it.

'And I'd say, "No, that's not the answer." I happened to be raised by a gentle, decent man, who taught all of his children -- and I mean this from the bottom of my heart -- Lisa, you know this; you knew my dad. My dad would say the greatest sin of all that anyone could commit was the abuse of power, and the cardinal sin was for a man to raise his hand to a woman or a child.'

President Joe Biden shares a moment with Kathy Sherlock (L), whose daughter Kayden was killed by her biological father during an unsupervised weekend visit that was ordered by the court, after an event to mark the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act at the East Room of the White House on March 16, 2022 in Washington, DC

President Joe Biden (R), with actress and advocate for victims of domestic abuse

Actress and advocate for victims of domestic abuse attended the event in the East Room

Biden helped to write the original piece of the legislation in 1994 when he was a senator on Capitol Hill. He held the event to make the reauthorization of the law that helps to protect women from violence

Biden said it is time to change the culture and not just U.S. law to stop violence against women as he celebrated expanded protections for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

A day earlier, Biden signed a spending bill that included a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which also provides more resources and training programs for law enforcement, among other steps.

Every month, an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner in the United States, according to a new report that claims intimate partner violence and gun violence in the U.S. are inextricably linked.

Experts say stay-at-home orders linked to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak appear to have contributed to a spike in domestic violence.

"Change the culture, not just the law," Biden said at a White House event attended by advocates, survivors of abuse and lawmakers.

"It really wasn't so long ago this country didn't want to talk about violence against women, let alone it being a national epidemic - something government had to address. As a society, we literally looked away."

Biden said the law will now do more for survivors in rural areas and in underserved communities. For example, tribal courts will now be able to exercise jurisdiction over non-native perpetrators of sexual assault and sex trafficking, he said.

As a senator, Biden helped craft the bill, which was originally signed into law in 1994. It expired under then-President Donald Trump in 2019.

In 2018, the United States was named as the only Western nation among the 10 most dangerous countries for women in a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of global experts, after the #MeToo campaign triggered a flood of complaints about sexual harassment and assault.
More than two decades ago I met Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg.

Back then, he was a Western-oriented leader, wanting to reform Russia.

He turned into an autocrat, accumulating personal wealth and unfettered power.

Now, I fear we are seeing a third incarnation of Putin  one that is detached from reality.

I have visited Ukraine at least once a year since 2007 and my Institute for Global Change has a long-standing project there.

Anyone who knows Ukrainians  particularly the young  will know the idea of them wanting to live under the heel of Putins Russia is an absurdity.

They have said from the start they will fight to the last drop of blood and they mean it.

So, to what extent is Putin conducting policy rationally  is there any method in what, to many, seems madness?

Tony Blair, former Prime Minister, is now Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Pressure

Did he launch this war to extract concessions on Ukraines future or its territory, or does he seriously believe he can govern a nation of 45million people against their will?

Comparisons with World War II are easy to make  but differences matter more.

Hitler led a Europe-wide fascist movement. Putins war is a one-man mission.

Britain and the U.S. committed armed force to destroy Hitler.

We have not made that commitment in respect of Putin: the fighting is being done by Ukrainians and they have thwarted Putins plans for a swift invasion and capitulation.

But if the Russian army were to use its full military might, the likelihood is that the Ukrainians will be crushed.

The West therefore needs to push hard a two-pronged strategy: ratchet up maximum pressure and, at the same time, push for negotiation.

These should include further economic sanctions  in effect complete exclusion from the international financial community; the fastest possible adjustment to our energy mix to relieve Europe of dependence on Russian gas and oil and a ban or hefty taxes on Russian exports.

If this requires changes to European and American policy around fossil fuels and the development of nuclear energy, so be it.

Above all, we need to increase the supply of weapons to Ukraine, particularly its SAM (surface-to-air missile) capacity  and give a commitment that arming Ukraine will be ongoing.

I accept that there is no political support for direct military engagement by Nato with Russia, but we should be clear-eyed about what Putin is doing.

He is using our correct desire not to provoke escalation alongside his willingness to escalate as a bargaining chip.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin being greeted by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, in 2005

When Putin is threatening Nato and stoking fear of nuclear conflict, there is something incongruous about our repeated assurance to him that we will not react with force.

Suppose he uses chemical weapons or a tactical nuclear weapon, or tries to destroy Kyiv as he did Aleppo, in Syria, without any regard to the loss of civilian life.

Is it sensible to tell him in advance that whatever he does, we will rule out any form of military response?

The other prong of our strategy must be a concerted and structured push for a negotiated settlement.

There will be those who say, rightly, that Putin deserves nothing but total defeat.

But the burden of this struggle is being borne by Ukrainians, not us.

The next two weeks are crucial  possibly the last chance to achieve a negotiated settlement before the assault on Kyiv becomes worse and Putin faces a binary choice between double down or retreat.

The representatives of Ukraine and Russia are meeting.

Israel and Turkey have been trying to mediate.

The U.S. and China are in discussion. Germanys Chancellor Scholz and Frances President Macron have directly engaged Putin.

But the efforts appear quite ad hoc.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has rightly kept open a negotiated agreement as the only alternative to a bitter, bloody and protracted guerrilla war.

We know Putins stated issues: Nato vs neutrality; the stationing of offensive Western weapons systems in Ukraine; the disputed territories of Crimea and the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

On the first two a deal is conceivable. Mr Zelensky said on Tuesday that the country has to accept it must give up its ambition to join Nato.

In response to Russias demand that Ukraine become neutral, like Sweden, Ukraine said it would require security guarantees underwritten by international partners who would agree to come to the countrys defence if it was attacked again.

On the disputed territories, it may be possible to construct a process by which their future will be decided  provided Putin doesnt add a demand to keep the territory he is currently taking  as internationally recognised, self governing regions.

Security

The final decision in any negotiation, of course, rests with Ukraine, but all the various initiatives for peace need to be aligned.

Europe and America must stand behind Ukraine in a structured negotiation which continues until agreement is reached  or is clearly unreachable.

Ultimately, Europe and the U.S. will need to think through new security arrangements for its future relationship with Russia.

But this should be part of a much wider recalibration of Western policy.

Those opposed to our way of life, based on liberal democracy, have for well over a decade seen us as weak, divided and, in a literal sense, decadent, decaying.

For example, we promised to act if chemical weapons were used in Syria  where Russia backed the government of Bashar al-Assad  but failed to do so. In 2014, following the annexation of Crimea, limited sanctions were imposed by the West but Putins actions were largely accepted as a fait accompli.

We did the hard military part in Afghanistan (and to a degree Iraq) and achieved some form of stability, only for fatigue with our commitment to lead to us removing our presence.

Foothold

In the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara, terrorism has been allowed to grow.

Western engagement there is fitful, and we have seen burgeoning Russian influence including from the Wagner Group, a private military company with close links to Putin.

We have also failed to expose, counter or punish Russian internet activity, despite clear evidence of interference with Western countries democratic processes.

China is a very different country from Russia, but it, too, has smelt weakness.

The Wests uncertainty has led President Xi to proclaim to the Chinese people the superiority of his system over ours, a claim never made by previous Chinese leaders.

Yet we cannot afford to disengage as the Wests relationship with China defines 21st century geopolitics.

Chinas One Belt One Road initiative, aimed at improving trade links with Asia, Africa and Europe, and the strong promotion of Chinese companies has already given China a foothold over large swathes of the world, operating at speed and with the minimum of bureaucracy while the West has been lacklustre and bureaucratic.

The personal relationship between Putin and Xi is strong and the two nations work closely together, and although the U.S. has the worlds highest military spending, over the past ten years China and Russia have been rapidly building their military capability.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a video address in Kyiv today

On a more positive note, in responding to the attack on Ukraine, the Wests transatlantic alliance has been revived and Nato has a new sense of purpose. Germany has cast off the shackles self-imposed after World War II, while President Biden has united with European and UK leaders to real effect.

Nonetheless, the crisis must be the starting point for the wholesale rebuilding of Western strength, unity and combat capability.

This will require increases in defence spending and the U.S./Europe transatlantic alliance must be revived in full vigour.

The UK should create the means, despite Brexit, of European cooperation on defence and foreign policy, and there must be a tough response to cyber-attacks and other interference with our political process.

This alliance should embrace other democratic nations; India, both despite and because of its close ties with Russia, will require special focus.

In the Middle East and elsewhere, we need to take a strategically intelligent view towards protecting our own interests in supporting countries who are allies and deterring those who arent.

And there should be an agreed Western strategy for supporting Africa, whose population will likely double in the next 30 years to more than two billion.

Soft power should be used with the maximum effect and minimum bureaucracy to bolster Western interests, with the private sector playing a major part.

Ultimately, however, resetting Western policy starts from an understanding that its problems stem from the dysfunction in Western politics.

A strong centre ground where, at least on foreign and defence policy, politics tended to follow a reasonable path of consensus, has collapsed and given way to rampant populism of Left and Right.

Damaged vehicles sit among debris and in Kharkiv city center in Ukraine

It is no coincidence that the two most prominent UK voices attempting to pin responsibility on Nato for Putins aggression were Nigel Farage and Jeremy Corbyn. Fifteen years ago, both were fringe figures.

Similar elements are at play in the politics of the U.S. The result has been an American policy which has been inconsistent, unpredictable, disconcerting for allies and encouraging for opponents.

I dont believe the West will fully regain its confidence until its politics does.

We must re-discover conviction in our democratic values and stop demonising our institutions and our history.

We can accept our shortcomings and correct them, but we must not let them be used to suggest there is no difference between the values we represent and those of hostile dictatorships.

The tragedy of Ukraine is our wake-up call. We are awake. Now we must act.
News content will be protected against censorship by tech giants under toughened up internet laws, Nadine Dorries vowed yesterday.

Search engines and social media platforms will have to notify publishers if they seek to remove any posts and submit it to an appeals process, the Culture Secretary said.

She added that under the measures  expected to be added to the Online Safety Bill as an amendment  tech companies would not be allowed to take down content until an appeal had been heard.

News content will be protected against censorship by tech giants under toughened up internet laws, Nadine Dorries vowed yesterday

The 'world-leading online safety laws', to be brought before Parliament today, will impose a duty of care on firms to protect users.

Ofcom will have the power to impose fines of up to 10 per cent of their annual global turnover for any breaches  or even block the sites from being used in the UK.

Yesterday, it was announced that tech bosses whose companies fail to cooperate will now face up to two years in jail within two months of the Bill becoming law.

Under changes to the Bill, ministers revealed social media platforms will no longer be able to decide what content is deemed 'legal but harmful' in a bid to protect freedom of speech.

Instead, a list will be drawn up by the Government  which is set to include self-harm, harassment and eating disorders  and will have to be approved by Parliament.

The Government has brought in a raft of updates since the draft Bill was published last year, including adding scam ads and online porn to its scope. News industry chiefs however have raised concerns that the Bill could jeopardise free speech by incentivising tech bosses fearful of criminal sanctions to set their algorithms too strictly.

They warn it could lead to legitimate news content being taken down inadvertently.

While the Bill has an explicit exemption for news sites and their comment sections, this does not apply when its content appears on social media or in searches.

Miss Dorries told ITV's This Morning yesterday: 'What this Bill does, if those platforms remove something which a journalist or a news outlet puts online, they have to notify that journalist that they're about to remove that content, they have to say why they're going to remove it, and they have to give the journalist the right to appeal, and the content remains online while that happens.'

A spokesman for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport yesterday said: 'Obviously the Government will need to take a collective position on that and we will need to ensure it is legally compliant, but I'm fairly confident of where we're going to end up on this position'.

It is understood it will be introduced to the Bill as an amendment in the coming months. The Government has also sought to allay free speech concerns over the proposed requirement for tech companies to curb 'harmful' content that fell below the threshold of a criminal offence.

Ministers revealed social media platforms will no longer be able to decide what content is deemed 'legal but harmful' in a bid to protect freedom of speech

Under the draft Bill, what fell within this category would be decided by the tech companies.

But ministers yesterday announced the Government would now draw up a list of specific categories that met the criteria, which will be subject to approval by both Houses of Parliament.

The Bill will also give Ofcom powers to demand data from tech companies, such as how their algorithms work. Officials will be able to enter company premises, interview employees and require firms to undergo external assessments.

Why we must act now to protect our children, writes Tech and Digital Economy Minister CHRIS PHILP

Social media sites currently operate under no one's rules but their own.

This has led to an online world where teenagers' lives can be ruined by cyberbullying, suicide is encouraged, vulnerable people are radicalised by terrorists, kids are exposed to pornography and racist bile is shared without consequence.

What's worse  a lot of this vile stuff is actively promoted to huge audiences via algorithms simply because it makes social media firms more money.

CHRIS PHILP (pictured): Woke moderators in Silicon Valley can arbitrarily censor feeds and dictate the terms of political debate and journalism

New rules for tech giants Adult websites must have robust checks to stop under-18s accessing them.

Paid-for scam adverts  including those using bogus celebrity endorsements  brought within the Bill to combat online fraud.

Firms must proactively take down the worst illegal content such as terrorism.

Clamp down on vile internet trolls by giving users more control over who can contact them.

Cyberflashing  sending an unsolicited sexual image online  to be made a criminal offence.

Tech bosses could face up to two years in jail if their firm breaches the law. Advertisement

The case for regulation couldn't be clearer: We have a moral duty to make big tech take action and clean up the internet once and for all. As a father, nothing could be more important to me.

Today our Online Safety Bill has its first reading in the Commons. This is Britain leading the world to force tech firms to tackle illegal and harmful content.

But we also need to make sure that these powerful companies do not try to muzzle people just because they have controversial opinions.

At the moment, woke moderators in Silicon Valley can arbitrarily censor feeds and dictate the terms of political debate and journalism.

Under this Bill, platforms will have to respect free speech and protect content of journalistic and democratic importance.

They will not be able to take down legal content where there is no breach of their own rules  something YouTube did last year to TalkRadio.

The Government will set out what constitutes the legal but still harmful material firms must address, and Parliament will approve it. And if people feel their posts have been taken down without good reason they will be able to appeal.

Trusted news sites such as MailOnline will be exempt from the Bill's provisions, including its reader comment sections which inspire such lively debate.

At the moment, woke moderators in Silicon Valley under Mark Zuckerberg can arbitrarily censor feeds and dictate the terms of political debate and journalism

Ofcom will hold tech giants to account with tough powers to issue multi-billion-pound fines and block them in the UK. The watchdog will be able to raid firms' offices to access data and interview employees  as well as lift the lid on algorithms pushing harmful content.

Today we are giving it even more tools. Ofcom will be able to prosecute rogue tech bosses who fail to cooperate  which could see them face jail sentences of up to two years.

Change is coming online and for the better. My message to the industry is: Act now to protect children and our fellow citizens. If they don't, this law will force them to do so.

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Defending journalism

The Mail welcomes Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries' promise yesterday of changes to the Online Safety Bill designed to protect recognised news publishers from being censored by social media.

There were deep concerns that in rightly forcing tech giants to remove harmful content from their platforms on pain of huge fines, these companies' algorithms may also take down legitimate stories on issues such as terrorism and child abuse.

Miss Dorries now pledges three key changes. There will be notification before any material is taken down. There will be a right of appeal. And the material concerned will not be removed until the appeal is completed.

Questions remain to be answered, not least about the appeal process itself. But as long as these changes are written into the Bill, they will go a long way towards limiting the threat to free expression.
We now have proof, as I had suspected, that the TV industry has given up on us oldies.

A survey shows that the over-50s are among the most under-represented groups on TV.

Despite constituting a solid 31 per cent share of the adult workforce  i.e. those who arent children or (for the moment) staring into space in a care home  the over-50s clock up only 25.4 per cent of programme credits.

And its even worse when it comes to the disabled: they have a 17 per cent share in the workplace yet just 8.3 per cent of the adults appearing on television are disabled.

Its time they re-made Ironside. Do you remember him? Raymond Burr, the tough-talking, crime-cracking police inspector in a wheelchair.

A survey shows that the over-50s are among the most under-represented groups on TV. Roger Lewis, who says he struggles to find anything worth watching, said the last thing he enjoyed without reservation was Timothy West and Prunella Scales on their narrowboat

In recent weeks we have lost buxom Lynda Baron (centre), Nurse Gladys Emmanuel from Open All Hours. Roger Lewis says TV was better in the 1970s

If you are a member of an ethnic minority, on the other hand, you may feel you are well represented. Black and Asian citizens now account for 20.9 per cent of adult appearances on television and play a quarter of all the roles in drama productions  though they make up just 13 per cent of the national workforce.

Its similar for gay people. According to the report by the Creative Diversity Network, they form a 6.4 per cent presence in the population, yet are twice as likely to fill our screens  14.2 per cent of the characters on the box are gay.

Im old enough to remember when it was only Larry Grayson.

As for the elasticated-waistband generation, forget it.

In the real world, in Hastings where I live, I am frequently mown down and flung into oncoming traffic by OAPs on mobility scooters. Yet the only mobility scooter I can think of in any drama belongs to the chain-smoking matriarch Madge in ITVs Benidorm, who hasnt a civil word to dispense and is mostly flicking V-signs. What a horror.

For many years I was TV columnist at The Oldie magazine. In the end I chucked in the towel. There was nothing I wanted to watch, nothing that appealed, nothing I could identify with. The programme makers have forgotten us.

I am not interested in puerile game shows, cakes, mending clocks, dancing, rescue dogs or anything involving smug people moving house. I am bored by cookery shows and medical shows, with which the schedules are crammed.

Older folks on television today mean Joanna Lumley pulling faces, or the personalities in The Real Marigold Hotel talking about hip operations and flatulence.

Whatever happened to Mavis Nicholson? Why no modern equivalent? Mavis filled her afternoon shows by talking in-depth to Elizabeth Taylor, Kenneth Williams and Nina Simone.

The legendary Michael Parkinson, too, had actual conversations with his illustrious guests  see the interview on iPlayer he did with Orson Welles. Today, chat shows are nothing but mediocre banter and piffle.

The best place to see the over-50s is in a hospital bed in Casualty or Holby City. All we are good for is being poorly.

We also hang about sheepishly in the background in Antiques Road Show, doing our best not to look dead jealous when an old trout starts showing off her Faberge and Lalique, which had been scooped up for a song in a car boot sale.

The last thing I enjoyed without reservation was Timothy West and Prunella Scales on their narrowboat. There was something soothing about the Britishness of that, the lovely landscapes, the pace (4mph), the human warmth.

Otherwise, documentaries nowadays always have to be presented by brash comedians trying to be young  who cares what Sue Perkins thinks on any subject? I stopped watching Call The Midwife when I worked out the plot  women have babies.

Roger Lewis said he is nostalgic for Kojak the bald copper and The Generation Game

As much as I appreciated beautiful Lucy Boynton in her colourful 60s coats, I gave up on the new Ipcress File because it just dragged on and on. There are always too many episodes of everything, dont you find?

The Michael Caine film of The Ipcress File is brisk and brilliant  todays format is to be sluggish. Documentaries are dragged out. Every time we return from a commercial break the information we have already received is repeated all over again, as if audiences are amnesiacs.

During my insomniac hours I watch shows about mighty cruise ships and lost railway lines.

In the time it takes to impart one or two facts and move to the next phase, I could qualify as a sea captain or rebuild the Brecon to Merthyr train track with my bare hands.

In recent weeks we have lost buxom Lynda Baron, Nurse Gladys Emmanuel from Open All Hours, and Anna Karen, the immortal Olive from On The Buses. I grew up with these people and I can honestly say TV was better in the 1970s, because it was free of the woke agenda and political correctness.

Im aware my world has gone the way of Spangles and acid drops, but I am nostalgic for Hanna-Barbera and DePatie-Freleng cartoons, Kojak the bald copper, characterful kangaroos (Skippy) and dolphins (Flipper).

The recent survey showed disabled people are the worst represented group on television. They have a 17 per cent share in the workplace yet just 8.3 per cent of the adults appearing on television are disabled. Pictured: Peter Kay as Brian Potter in Phoenix Nights

I used to enjoy Jackie Pallo and Giant Haystacks in the wrestling ring and the classic advertisements starring the PG Tips chimpanzees.

In one of them, the chimps, dressed as a father and son removals team are taking a piano downstairs and the little one complains: Dad, do you know the pianos on my foot? Like the advert of Terry Scott dressed as a schoolboy saying Hands off my Curly Wurly it summed up how things were back then  innocent and alarming simultaneously.

Yes, we had Jimmy Savile and Rolf Harris, but we also had Please, Sir!, Doctor At Large, Up Pompeii! and The Generation Game.

Who needed the parody Austin Powers when there was the authentic Peter Wyngarde, as Jason King, who dressed in a bizarre 1970s manner but had a sonorous voice?

Actually, thats another thing I miss  nobody mumbled.

Actors and actresses enunciated perfectly, because theyd learned their craft on the classical stage.

Alan Titchmarsh dropping his aitches was another reason I relinquished my Oldie gig.

Maybe thats why television executives would prefer it if the over-50s didnt exist. We grew up in a cultural environment that was both psychedelic and sordid, with roots in Victoriana.

Roger Lewis said he used to enjoy the classic advertisements starring the PG Tips chimpanzees

There was Benny Hill and crumpet, as lovely women were called. We had Les Dawson, who remains hilarious, and Charlie Drake, who is a goblin out of Freudian nightmares.

There was the daftness of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop and the surrealism of Tiswas.

Tim Davie, the Director-General, said recently: The BBC has prioritised 100 million of our TV content budget to drive change over three years which, with our 20 per cent off-screen diversity expectation for all new commissions, will permanently shift the dial.

Can anyone fathom what that may mean in plain language? The only dials I know of are the ones on my parents telly for increasing the colour contrast  Kenneth Kendall used to be orange.

It seems a shame to have a Director-General whose first tongue evidently isnt English. The corporate jargon is revolting.

But what I will bet good money on is that the changes and shifts the BBC want to bring about will very definitely not favour oldies like me.
Free at last! After nearly six years of detention in Iran on trumped-up spying charges, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe finally returned home to Britain last night.

For husband Richard, her release was the culmination of a tireless campaign to make sure her plight was not forgotten  including two hunger strikes.

For seven-year-old daughter Gabriella it is the chance to throw her arms around the mother she has barely seen since she was so cruelly wrenched away by the Revolutionary Guard in April 2016.

After nearly six years of detention in Iran on trumped-up spying charges, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe finally returned home (pictured landing in Oman)

And for Nazanin herself, the end of a Kafkaesque injustice.

A happy day indeed, and an enormous relief. Their ordeal is over  but at a price.

Nazanin and another British-Iranian detainee, Anoosheh Ashoori, were freed after the UK agreed to pay a 400million debt relating to the sale of Chieftain tanks to the Shah's regime in the 1970s.

It was the right thing to do, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss deserves credit for thrashing out the deal. But she was effectively paying a ransom to kidnappers  which inevitably sticks in the craw.

And while Miss Truss was negotiating with Iran, her boss Boris Johnson was visiting the de facto ruler of that country's deadliest enemy, Saudi Arabia.

While Iran is a brutal theocracy and major sponsor of Middle East terrorism, Saudi publicly beheads, cuts off hands, oppresses women and sanctions the murder of dissident journalists. In a perfect world, we'd keep both at arm's length.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tuts and blusters about the PM 'going cap in hand to dictators'. But what would he do?

But this isn't a perfect world, especially since Putin's crazed war on Ukraine. It's a new and very precarious world, in which we have to live by our wits as well as our principles. That can lead to some unpalatable compromises.

Saudi is among the world's biggest producers of oil. If Europe is to wean itself off Russian energy and punish Putin without going broke, it must be encouraged to boost production. That is why Mr Johnson is there.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tuts and blusters about the PM 'going cap in hand to dictators'. But what would he do?

He doesn't want to use Russian gas, or deal with an oppressive Gulf regime, or exploit new North Sea fields, or frack for shale gas. And his party's support for nuclear is less than resounding.

If he ever gets into power, you will need a massive stockpile of candles and a very large coat.

Iran is the villain in the Nazanin saga, first and last. It is a contemptible gangster regime with sinister nuclear ambitions. But to bring our hostages home, ministers had to dance with the devil. They call it Realpolitik  and it must also be brought to bear in our dealings with Saudi Arabia.

For all the geopolitical ramifications, however, today let's simply celebrate the return home of a truly courageous woman.
A man dressed as Santa Claus smokes a cigarette before a gathering for the World Santa Claus Congress, an annual event held every summer in Copenhagen, July 23, 2018. Denmark unveiled plans on Tuesday to ensure that future generations are tobacco-free. Reuters-Yonhap





Denmark unveiled plans on Tuesday to ensure that future generations are tobacco-free, and is considering banning the sale of cigarettes and other nicotine products to anyone born after 2010.







"Our hope is that all people born in 2010 and later will never start smoking or using nicotine-based products," Health Minister Magnus Heunicke told reporters.







"If necessary, we are ready to ban the sale (of these products) to this generation by progressively raising the age limit," he said.







Currently, Danes must be 18 years old to buy cigarettes or e-cigarettes.







According to the health ministry, around 31 percent of 15-to-29-year-olds smoke.







Smoking is the main cause of cancer in the Nordic country of 5.8 million people, and responsible for 13,600 deaths per year.







A poll commissioned by the Danish Cancer Society showed that 64 percent of people surveyed were in favor of the Danish government's plan, and 67 percent among those aged 18 to 34.







New Zealand in December announced a pioneering plan to ban the sale of tobacco by progressively raising the age limit from 2027.







In Denmark, the Social Democratic government said it also plans to address youths' alcohol consumption.







It will raise the legal age for purchases of drinks containing less than 16.5 percent alcohol from 16 to 18. (AFP)


A girl of ten told yesterday how she finally feels safe after journeying across Europe with her mother to Britain.

Sofiia Slokvenko and 39-year-old Oksana fled from their home town of Cherkasy near Kyiv.

They are among the first refugees to benefit from the Government's fast-track scheme for relatives of Ukrainians who have settled status in Britain.

They were settling in at their new home in Dalgety Bay in Fife after an emotional reunion with grandparents Larysa and Oleksiy Mishchenko.

But Sofiia's father, Oleg, remained behind to fight after dropping his family at Ukraine's border with Poland.

Mrs Slokvenko and her daughter spent more than a week on their journey to Warsaw and then Krakow before finally touching down in Edinburgh on Monday night.

Sofiia Slokvenko (pictured front and centre), 10, and her 39-year-old mother Oksana (pictured far right) fled from their home town of Cherkasy near Kyiv

Tatiana Zavyalova from London, holds her one-year-old son Misha Kucherka, who was staying with family relatives in Ukraine, as she is reunited with him in Rzeszow, Poland

Their journey included a 12-hour walk over the border at Krakovets where scores of women, children and the elderly waited in freezing temperatures to cross.

Accompanying mother and daughter was Mrs Slokvenko's sister, Alice, who had travelled from her home in London to help them secure visas by using her and her parents' permanent residency status.

Last night Sofiia said: 'I am grateful to be here with my mummy, my grandparents and my aunt. I feel safe.'

Mrs Slokvenko said: 'It's very hard to see what is happening in our country. It's something like a nightmare, it feels like you will open your eyes and it will be OK. But, it's not.'

Meanwhile, a London-based couple broke down in tears when they were reunited with their one-year-old son Misha in Poland after he was evacuated from Ukraine with his extended family.

Tatiana Zavyalova, 39, and Vasyl Kucherka, 24, said they were 'super emotional' after meeting their family at a visa centre in Rzeszow.

Misha had been staying with his paternal family in Ukraine when war broke out and the couple, who live in north-west London, were unable to collect him.

Miss Zavyalova said: 'Finally, we're all here. It was super emotional. Next step is getting the visas sorted and going back to the UK.'
The remains of a new type of dinosaur with spiked armour have been discovered in southwestern China.

Paleontologists said the species is a thyreophoran, a group which also includes Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus, and it lived around 192174 million years ago during the Early Jurassic period.

Named Yuxisaurus kopchicki, it is the earliest well preserved armoured dinosaur found in Asia to date.

The new species had a heavy build, distinctive spiked armour and numerous unusual features of its skull, particularly with respect to the bones that would have surrounded its brain.

Scientists led by the Natural History Museum in London described it from specimens found in Yunnan Province, in southwestern China.

Scary: The remains of a new type of dinosaur with spiked armour, named Yuxisaurus kopchicki (pictured in an artist's reconstruction), have been discovered in southwestern China

Paleontologists said the species is a thyreophoran, a group which also includes Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus, and it lived around 192174 million years ago during the Early Jurassic period. It was described from specimens (pictured) found in Yunnan Province, in China

KEY FACTS ABOUT YUXISAURUS KOPCHICKI Lived: About 192174 million years ago Location: Yunnan Province, in China Scientific name: Yuxisaurus kopchicki Main features: Distinctive spiked armour and numerous unusual features of its skull, particularly with respect to the bones that would have surrounded its brain Family: The new species is a thyreophoran, a group which also includes Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus Advertisement

First author Professor Paul Barrett said: 'Although we've had tantalising fragments of early armoured dinosaurs from Asia, this is the first time we've had enough material to recognise a new species from the region and investigate its evolutionary history.

'I hope it's the first of many new dinosaurs from the localities being discovered by my colleagues in Yunnan.'

The remains were made up of a single incomplete skeleton, including parts of the skull, jaws, vertebral column, shoulder girdle, limbs and large numbers of armour spines and plates.

Professor Barrett and colleagues from Yunnan University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania named the new species Yuxisaurus kopchicki.

Yuxisaurus refers to the discovery site in Yuxi Prefecture, China, and kopchicki to the molecular biologist Dr John J. Kopchick, in recognition of his contributions to biology and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Dr Shundong Bi, a professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and senior author on the paper, said: 'Yuxisaurus was possibly a facultative quadrupedal.

'It was primarily adapted for walking on four legs, but also able to walk on two legs.'

The researchers said their discovery confirmed the rapid geographic spread and diversification of this group of dinosaurs after the species' first appearance around 200 million years ago.

The remains were made up of a single incomplete skeleton, including parts of the skull, jaws, vertebral column, shoulder girdle, limbs and large numbers of armour spines and plates

The new species had a heavy build, distinctive spiked armour and numerous unusual features of its skull, particularly with respect to bones that would have surrounded its brain

'A partial skeleton collected from the Lower Jurassic Fengjiahe Formation of Yunnan Province, China, represents a new taxon of early diverging thyreophoran dinosaur, which we name Yuxisaurus kopchicki,' they wrote in their paper.

'It can be distinguished from all other thyreophorans by a suite of autapomorphic cranial, axial and appendicular character states, as well as a unique combination of character states.

'Yuxisaurus represents the first unambiguous armoured dinosaur to be recovered from the Lower Jurassic of Asia that is based on associated, diagnostic material and is the first that is complete enough to be incorporated into a phylogenetic analysis.'

The researchers added: 'Yuxisaurushelps to emphasise the pan-Laurasian (and possibly global) distribution of early thyreophorans, their diverse morphology and ecology, and the rapidity of their initial radiation.'

The study has been published in eLife.

Experts identified the species from remains found in Yunnan Province, in southwestern China
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Saharan dust moving across Europe has started to hit the UK, with cars across the south pictured covered in fine red dust. Although temperatures in Britain could reach up to 62F by the weekend.

The Met Office earlier warned the dust cloud, which is 1.2 miles (2km) above ground level, could fall during showers in southern parts of the country in the afternoon.

The fine sand drawn into the atmosphere has been blown north amid a south to south-easterly airflow which could bring temperatures of up to 17C on Saturday.

While the warmest places are likely to be west of high ground, more widespread temperatures of 14-15C (57-59F) are possible - compared with a UK average of 10C (50F) in March.

A Saharan dust cloud pictured from Waterloo Bridge in central London. It comes as parts of southern Spain have been blanketed following a thick plume which has turned skies orange

Saharan dust deposited over the front of a Range Rover today. Vehicles across the UK have been hit with unwelcome the dusty deposits

The Saharan dust cloud has turned skies over London an eerie shade of orange. Pictured: Tower Bridge and St Paul's

One user in London posted a photo of a black Bentley, showing how it had been covered in red dust this morning thanks to the Saharan dust cloud

Sediment left on a car in south east London today this afternoon following rainfall as the skies above turn eerily orange

A slightly 'off-colour' sky seen above Sheerness, Kent this morning, with a orangey tinge as the Saharan dust cloud moves over the UK

Earlier, the Met Office shared maps showing how the dust cloud is moving towards the UK

Met Office forecasters say the impact is 'unlikely' to be significant, with the dust potentially most visible at sunset. Pictured: skies over Sheerness, Kent

The Saudi Arabian just put an orange / pink glow into the sky looking into the city from Waterloo Bridge

The Met Office has said the dust cloud, which is 1.2 miles (2km) above ground level, may fall during showers in southern parts of the country in the afternoon

How does Saharan dust get to the UK? As in other parts of the world, the wind can blow strongly over deserts - whipping up dust and sand high into the sky. If the winds in the upper part of the atmosphere are blowing north, the dust can be carried as far as the UK. Once it is lifted from the ground by strong winds, clouds of dust can reach very high altitudes and be transported worldwide, covering thousands of miles. In order for the dust to get from up in the sky down to the ground, you need something to wash it out of the sky - rain. As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust. Saharan dust is relatively common in the UK often happening several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly wind patterns. In certain weather situations, Saharan dust can also affect air pollution and pollution levels. Source: Met Office Advertisement

While there are no air quality warnings, the Met Office also said that drivers can expect to find their cars blanketed in red dust.

'There are no air quality warnings. People in the south might find a bit of dust left on their cars as the rain washes it out of the skies today,' the forecaster said.

Yesterday, parts of southern Spain were blanketed, following a thick plume which turned skies orange, with satellite images clearly showing the dust over France.

Forecasters say the impact of the cloud in the UK is 'unlikely' to be significant, with the dust potentially most visible at sunset.

Earlier, the Met Office shared maps showing how the dust cloud is moving towards the UK.

'Storm Celia has already brought strong winds and travel disruption to the Canaries and will continue to move gradually eastwards over the coming days,' the forecaster explained.

'Strong southerly winds on the eastern flank of Storm Celia have already lofted Saharan dust into the atmosphere.

'Whilst this dust is mostly about 2km above ground level, some deposits of dust may fall to the ground, especially during any rain in southern parts of the UK over the next 24 hours.'

The Met Office has said that it doesn't expect significant impacts in the UK.

Richard Miles, of the Met Office, said: 'Storm Celia over Spain is indeed pulling a dust cloud up from the Sahara, which could potentially reach as far as the south of the UK.

'However, we don't expect significant impacts  the most likely would be on the cloudscapes at sunset, but as conditions are likely to be generally overcast and wet for much of the day this is unlikely to amount to much.

'There are no air quality warnings.

'People in the south might find a bit of dust left on their cars as the rain washes it out of the skies today.'

Wednesday is expected to be cloudy for most of England, Wales and eastern Scotland; with rain becoming heavier and more widespread later in the day in central and eastern areas.

Rain in England will then begin to clear as many regions turn cold, with patchy frost and some rural mist, the Met Office has said.

The fine sand drawn into the atmosphere has been blown north amid a south to south-easterly airflow which could bring temperatures of up to 17C on Saturday.

Canary Wharf is pictured against an orange sky, as blood rain starts to hit the south of England

James Cosgrove shared a photo of the skies from his home in London, writing: 'The Saharan dust from North Africa has added a natural sepia filter to the skies above London. It's all very eerie'

The skies over High Street Kensington in Central London have started to turn a shade of orange-grey - although the cloud will affect regions further south more strongly

High levels of #SaharanDust are being transported across the Iberian Peninsula towards northern Europe.

The #CopernicusAtmosphere Monitoring Service is predicting the path of the dust transport and tracking its progress



Learn more https://t.co/kXpdt7dvFw pic.twitter.com/tUS8WceGx1  Copernicus ECMWF (@CopernicusECMWF) March 16, 2022

It comes as parts of southern Spain have been blanketed following a thick plume which has turned skies orange, with satellite images clearly showing the dust over France. An orange sky is seen over a building in Navares, south-eastern Spain

As in other parts of the world, the wind can blow strongly over deserts - whipping up dust and sand high into the sky. If the winds in the upper part of the atmosphere are blowing north, the dust can be carried as far as the UK

Hayfever warning issued by Met Office According to the Met Office hayfever sufferers may face problems in the coming days The Met Office said 'Tree pollen occurs first, typically until mid-May, and affects around 25 per cent of people. 'Most people are allergic to grass pollen, which actually has two peaks, and the season lasts until July. 'Weed pollen can be released at any time but the season typically covers the end of June to September.' Advertisement

Showers, frost and fog will continue to hit parts of the UK for the rest of the week.

Saharan dust is a mixture of sand and dust from the Sahara, the vast desert area that covers most of North Africa.

As in other parts of the world, the wind can blow strongly over deserts - whipping up dust and sand high into the sky.

If the winds in the upper part of the atmosphere are blowing north, the dust can be carried as far as the UK.

'Once it is lifted from the ground by strong winds, clouds of dust can reach very high altitudes and be transported worldwide, covering thousands of miles,' The Met Office explained.

'In order for the dust to get from up in the sky down to the ground, you need something to wash it out of the sky - rain.

'As raindrops fall, they collect particles of dust on the way down. Then when the raindrops land on something and eventually evaporate, they leave behind a layer of dust.'

While the skies turning orange can be rather eerie, the Met Office reassures that Saharan dust is relatively common in the UK.

'[It] often [happens] several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly wind patterns,' it added.

'In certain weather situations, Saharan dust can also affect air pollution and pollution levels.'

Pictured: People are seen as dust from the Sahara Desert blown by storm Celia affects the city in Madrid earlier this week

View of the Almeria fortress covered in orange as result of the airbone dust from Sahara desert in Almeria, southeastern Spain
Forget the latest Apple Watch or Fitbit, scientists are now developing a t-shirt that can 'hear' your heartbeat and monitor your cardiac rhythm in real time.

It has been created using an 'acoustic fabric' that works like a microphone, first converting sound into mechanical vibrations and then into electrical signals, in a way that is similar to how our ears hear.

When woven into a shirt's lining, the fabric can detect a wearer's subtle heartbeat features, according to engineers at MIT and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD).

No details have been released about how much it might cost as the idea is still in the development stage.

Forget the latest Apple Watch or Fitbit, scientists are now developing a t-shirt which can 'hear' your heartbeat and monitor your cardiac rhythm in real time. The 'acoustic fabric' is pictured

This graphic shows how scientists have created a t-shirt that can 'hear' your heartbeat. It works by first converting sound into mechanical vibrations and then into electrical signals, in a way that is similar to how our ears hear

When woven into a shirt's lining (pictured), the fabric can detect a wearer's subtle heartbeat features, according to engineers at MIT and the Rhode Island School of Design

HOW CAN A T-SHIRT 'HEAR' YOUR HEARTBEAT? The t-shirt that can 'hear' your heartbeat 1. Scientists have created an 'acoustic fabric' that works like a microphone 2. It first converts sound into mechanical vibrations, then into electric signals, in a similar way to how our ears hear 3. The fabric's fibre is designed from a 'piezoelectric' material that produces an electrical signal when bent 4. This allows the fabric to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals 5. The fabric is woven into a shirt's lining to monitor a person's cardiac rhythm Advertisement

The fabric's fibre is designed from a 'piezoelectric' material that produces an electrical signal when bent, providing a means for the t-shirt to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals.

'This fabric can imperceptibly interface with the human skin, enabling wearers to monitor their heart and respiratory condition in a comfortable, continuous, real-time, and long-term manner,' said lead author Wei Yan, of MIT.

His team took inspiration from the human auditory system to create a fabric 'ear' that would be soft, durable, comfortable, and able to detect sound.

Audible sound travels through air as slight pressure waves.

When these waves reach our ear, a sensitive and complex three-dimensional organ, the tympanic membrane, or eardrum, uses a circular layer of fibres to translate the pressure waves into mechanical vibrations.

These vibrations travel through small bones into the inner ear, where the cochlea converts the waves into electrical signals that are sensed and processed by the brain.

All fabrics vibrate in response to audible sounds, but these vibrations are on the scale of nanometers  far too small to ordinarily be sensed.

To capture these imperceptible signals, the researchers created a flexible fibre that, when woven into a fabric, bends with the fabric like seaweed on the ocean's surface.

It can capture sounds ranging in decibel from a quiet library to heavy road traffic, and determine the precise direction of sudden sounds like handclaps.

The fibres can also be made to generate sound, such as a recording of spoken words, that another fabric can detect.

Yan, who is now an assistant professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, added: 'Wearing an acoustic garment, you might talk through it to answer phone calls and communicate with others.'

The researchers' design involves a specialised electrical fibre that is woven into fabric yarns and can convert pressure waves at audible frequencies into mechanical vibrations.

The fibre is then able to convert these mechanical vibrations into electrical signals, similar to the process that occurs in the cochlea.

The garment can detect the direction from which a clapping sound originates; facilitate two-way communication between two individuals, each of whom is wearing the acoustic fabric; and monitor the heart when the fabric is touching the skin.

'It feels almost like a lightweight jacket  lighter than denim, but heavier than a dress shirt,' said co-author Elizabeth Meiklejohn, an RISD graduate student who wove the fabric using a standard loom.

She sewed one panel to the back of a shirt, and the team tested the fabric's sensitivity to directional sound by clapping their hands while standing at various angles to the shirt.

The fabric's fibre is designed from a 'piezoelectric' material that produces an electrical signal when bent, providing a means for the t-shirt to convert sound vibrations into electrical signals

The fabric (pictured) can capture sounds ranging in decibel from a quiet library to heavy road traffic, and determine the precise direction of sudden sounds like handclaps

It can also be made to generate sound, such as a recording of spoken words, that another fabric can detect

The researchers envision that a directional sound-sensing fabric could help those with hearing loss to tune in to a speaker amid noisy surroundings.

The team also stitched a single fibre to a shirt's inner lining, just over the chest region, and found it accurately detected the heartbeat of a healthy volunteer.

In addition to monitoring one's own heartbeat, the study's co-author Yoel Fink, of MIT, sees possibilities for incorporating the acoustic fabric into maternity wear to help monitor a baby's fetal heartbeat.

In addition to wearable hearing aids, clothes that communicate, and garments that track vital signs, the team sees applications beyond clothing.

'It can be integrated with spacecraft skin to listen to (accumulating) space dust, or embedded into buildings to detect cracks or strains,' Yan said.

'It can even be woven into a smart net to monitor fish in the ocean. The fibre is opening widespread opportunities.'

Fink added: 'The learnings of this research offers quite literally a new way for fabrics to listen to our body and to the surrounding environment.'

The research has been published in the journal Nature.
Allergy sufferers could be in for a tough time over the next few decades, as scientists warm that global warming could cause the pollen season to start up to 40 days earlier.

As well as happening sooner, the team, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, says the pollen will be 250 percent more intense than it is today.

The team looked at 15 different plant pollens found throughout the U.S., then created computer simulations using different climate change predictions, to estimate how bad pollen season is going to get, and ways it is likely to change up to 2100.

As the world warms, allergy season will start weeks earlier and end later - and it'll be worse while it lasts, with pollen levels that could as much as triple in some places.

This is because warmer weather allows plants to start blooming earlier and keeps them blooming later, the team explained.

It will be up to 40 days earlier under the most extreme, and increasingly unlikely, climate change scenario, but even under the best-case scenario, where global average temperatures will rise by 2.7F, pollen season will be 20 days earlier, the team found.

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Allergy suffers could be in for a tough time over the next few decades, as scientists warm global warming could cause the pollen season to start up to 40 days earlier

As well as happening sooner, the team, from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, say the pollen will be 250 per cent more intense than it is today

The team from Michigan say pollen season in the U.S. has already moved earlier in the year over the past three decades.

They found that from 1990 to 2018 the start of the pollen season shifted from starting around Valentine's Day, to beginning on St Patrick's Day each year.

The new study found that allergy season would stretch even longer and the total amount of pollen would skyrocket over the coming 80 years.

How long and how much depends on the particular pollen, the location and how much greenhouse gas emissions are put in the air over the next 80 years.

If the world manages to reduce its reliance on greenhouse gasses even a moderate amount, cutting emissions from oil, coal and natural gas - pollen season would still start about 20 days earlier than it does today - putting it at the end of January.

In the most extreme and increasingly unlikely warming scenario, pollen season in much of the U.S. will start 40 days earlier than when it has generally started in recent decades - putting it towards the end of December, early January.

The team looked at 15 different plant pollens found throughout the U.S., then created computer simulations using different climate change predictions, to estimate how bad pollen season is going to get, and ways it is likely to change up to 2100. Pollen spores were found in the hood of this car during pollen season in 2020

About 30 per cent of the world and 40 per cent of American children suffer pollen allergies, many of which are linked to the most common pollen types.

These hurt the economy through lost work days and medical costs, said University of Michigan climate researcher Yingxiao Zhang, lead author of the new study.

Allergies are especially difficult for the 25 million Americans with asthma, as it makes symptoms worse, and some anti-allergen medications can also make asthma worse.

Stronger pollen, and an earlier season, could make the problem much worse for them than is already the case, said Amir Sapkota, a University of Maryland environmental health professor, who wasn't part of the research.

While allergy suffering will increase across the U.S., the Southeast will get hit hardest, said study co-author Allison Steiner from the University of Michigan.

As the world warms, allergy season will start weeks earlier and end later - and it'll be worse while it lasts, with pollen levels that could as much as triple in some places. Stock image

It will be up to 40 days earlier under the most extreme, and increasingly unlikely, climate change scenario, but even under the best case scenario, where global average temperatures will rise by 2.7F, pollen season will be 20 days earlier

The start of alder tree pollen season will move most dramatically, an issue in the Pacific Northwest. Cypress tree pollen - which is especially bad in Texas - will see among the biggest increases in pollen counts.

Ragweed and grasses - common pollen allergies - will also have longer seasons and higher pollen counts in the future, Zhang said.

The projections for pollen changes from the University of Michigan team would be twice as large a jump in pollen problems than has been seen since 1990, according to University of Utah biologist and climate scientist Bill Anderegg.

The scientist, not involved in this study described it as important research.

'It tells us that the historical trends of longer and more severe pollen seasons are likely to continue, driven by climate change, and this will absolutely have substantial health consequences in allergies and asthma for Americans.'

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
A slow-moving central section of the 800-mile San Andreas Fault line in California could play host to much larger earthquakes than previously thought, according to a new study.

Situated between Parkfield and Hollister, the section undergoes aseismic fault, with two sides of the fault moving imperceptibly slowly, releasing stress over time without causing a large earthquake.

Whereas the main two sections sit, almost unmoving, grinding against each other slowly building up energy - until one day it comes out as a giant earthquake.

However, a new study by Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, found that this slow-moving region is also capable of producing large earthquakes on a similar scale as those elsewhere on the line.

They discovered this by looking back through the geological record for the fault, and found it has experienced earthquakes of magnitude seven and higher, which is on a par with the 1906 quake that destroyed San Francisco - the late 'Big One'.

The monster San Andreas Fault splits California from south to north, caused by two tectonic plates slowly grinding against each other over 800 miles.

This new discovery will only add to the risk of a 'Big One' happening, as many believe the region is long overdue for a quake on the scale of the 1906 event.

A new study by Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York, found that this slow moving region is capable of producing very large scale earthquakes on a similar scale as those elsewhere on the line

The monster San Andreas Fault splits California from south to north, caused by two tectonic plates slowly grinding against each other - always on the edge of producing 'The Big One' - a large scale earthquake that would cause death and destruction. Stock image

Genevieve Coffey, an earthquake geologist at GNS Science in New Zealand, who did his undergraduate study at Columbia, examined the three sections of the fault.

Each of the three sections can move independently, and in each case they are trying to move past each other in opposite directions.

In the most southerly and northerly sections of the fault, the plates are locked most of the time, stuck together in an immovable embrace, that causes stress to build up over years, decades and centuries that 'has to come out at some point'.

When it finally releases this built up stress, it results in violent earthquake, caused by the two sides lurching past each other after years of being stuck.

The central section is different - it sits between these two unmoving zones - and in this middle area the plates slip past one another at a steady 26mm per year, preventing extreme stresses from ever building up.

At least that has been the case as long as humanity has been monitoring this section of the San Andreas Fault. But the latest theory suggests it poses just as big of a risk as the static portions of the fault line.

Rocks drilled and removed from two miles below the surface suggest the central section has hosted many major earthquakes throughout history.

Some could have been fairly recent, at least within hundreds of years, rather than millions, according to the researchers.

In the most southerly and northerly sections of the fault, the plates are locked most of the time, stuck together in an immovable embrace, that causes stress to build up over years, decades and centuries that 'has to come out at some point'

The central section is different - it sits between these two unmoving zones - and in this middle area the plates slip past one another at a steady 26mm per year, preventing extreme stresses from ever building up

IS CALIFORNIA AT RISK OF A DEVASTATING MEGAQUAKE? The U.S. Geological Survey has warned the risk of 'the big one' hitting California has increased dramatically. Researchers analysed data from the state's complex system of active geological faults, as well as new methods for translating these data into earthquake likelihoods. The estimate for the likelihood that California will experience a magnitude 8 or larger earthquake in the next 30 years has increased from about 4.7% to about 7.0%, they say. 'We are fortunate that seismic activity in California has been relatively low over the past century,' said Tom Jordan, Director of the Southern California Earthquake Center and a co-author of the study. 'But we know that tectonic forces are continually tightening the springs of the San Andreas fault system, making big quakes inevitable.' Seismologist Lucy Jones from the US Geological Survey warned that people need to accept the fact catastrophe is imminent, and prepare themselves. Dr Jones said our decision to not accept it will only mean more people suffer as scientists warn the 'Big One' is now overdue to hit California. Advertisement

They subjected the ancient rocks to a new type of chemical-analysis method that allowed them to gauge the heating of rocks during prehistoric quakes.

It allowed them to predict how large these quakes would have been, finding evidence of quakes up to a magnitude seven within the central zone.

'This means we can get larger earthquakes on the central section than we thought,' said Coffey, adding 'we should be aware that there is this potential, that it is not always just continuous creep.'

California has been on edge, waiting for the next 'Big One', which many assume is long overdue, with increasing build-up of stored energy from the fault line.

The northern section hosted the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco magnitude 7.9 earthquake, which killed 3,000 people and leveled much of the city.

It also caused the 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta quake, which killed more than 60 and collapsed a major elevated freeway.

The southern section caused the 1994 magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake near Los Angeles, also killing about 60 people.

Many scientists believe it is building energy for a 1906-scale event.

The central section, by contrast, appears harmless. Only one small area, near its southern terminus, is known to produce any real quakes - and at most magnitude 6.

These lower-level quakes are thought to occur every 20 years, and because of this regularity, the team behind this study hope to look for clues that might signal a coming quake - setting up an observatory above the city of Parkfield.

This includes a two mile deep borehole, which was used to extract the cores used in this study, as well as above and below ground monitoring instruments.

They found changes to biomarkers in sediment surrounding the fault line in this area towards the southern border of the central section, going back hundreds, thousands and millions of years, that point to changes in the fault line.

Study co-authors Pratigya Polissar and Heather Savage, found many such altered compositions in a band of highly disturbed sedimentary rock over 10,000ft below the surface - with evidence of more than 100 earthquakes.

They subjected the ancient rocks to a new type of chemical-analysis method that allowed them to gauge the heating of rocks during prehistoric quakes

It looks like the fault jumped by more than five feet, suggesting the largest earthquake was at least magnitude 6.9 - similar to the destructive size of the Loma Prieta and Northridge events.

However, the team say there could have been much larger quakes in this 'quiet' central region, that they hope to detect as they improve their detection methods.

They say quakes along the central section may have been similar to other large San Andreas events, including the one that destroyed San Francisco in 1906.

California earthquake hazard models, used to set building codes and insurance rates, already includes the 'remote possibility' of a big quake in the central section.

The new study appears to be the first to indicate that such quakes have in fact occurred here. The authors say they could have originated in the central section, or perhaps more likely, started to the north or south, and migrated through the central.
The wheel is often hailed as the most important invention of all time, having had a massive impact on transport, agriculture and industry.

But a new study claims the greatest creation of early humans may actually have been the handle, because it made stone tools much more energy efficient when chopping and smashing.

It did this by increasing the 'force and precision' that could be applied, according to researchers at the University of Liverpool.

Invaluable: A new study claims the greatest creation of early humans may have been the handle, because it made stone tools much more energy efficient when chopping and smashing. University of Liverpool recruited volunteers (pictured) to come to their conclusion

The emergence of tools with handles, known as 'hafted' implements, did not happen until about 500,000 years ago, while it would be another half a million years before the wheel was invented  around 6,000 years ago

WHAT IS HAFTING? Hafting is the action of attaching a handle or strap to a tool. Examples of these tools include scrapers and axes. In 2016, the world's oldest hafted axe was unearthed in Australia, which experts think may have been created by early Aborigines almost 50,000 years ago. Archaeologist Professor Sue O'Connor of the Australian National University said the axe dated to between 46,000 and 49,000 years ago, shortly after people first arrived in Australia. Researchers believe it would have been used as a tool to cut down trees and sharpen wooden spear heads. Advertisement

The use of tools by our ancient ancestors dates back around 2.6 million years, when early humans created implements from pieces of flint and stone to acts as knives or scrapers.

However, the emergence of tools with handles, known as 'hafted' implements, did not happen until about 500,000 years ago, while it would be another half a million years before the wheel was invented  around 6,000 years ago.

'The transition from hand-held to hafted tool technology marked a significant shift in conceptualising the construction and function of tools,' the researchers wrote in their paper.

'It is assumed that addition of a handle improved the (bio)mechanical properties of a tool and upper limb by offering greater amounts of leverage, force and precision.'

The University of Liverpool recruited 40 volunteers, 24 men and 16 women, and gave them a range of tools, including a chopping implement in the form of a hatchet with a steel head and a wooden handle.

They were also given a shavehook used for stripping paint as a scraping tool.

The participants were then told to use the tools with their handles, as well as after the handles had been removed.

They used the hatchet to chop thick wooden dowels, while the scraping tool was used to scrape away the fibres from a carpet that resembled the thickness of animal hide.

Each volunteer was given a track to wear which followed the motion of their upper arms and forearms.

Researchers also measured their muscle contractions and oxygen consumption, as well as the velocity of the tools being used.

The participants were told to use the tools with their handles, as well as after the handles had been removed. They used a hatchet to chop thick wooden dowels (pictured left is an example of hafted tools being used, and right when the handle had been removed)

'Results show that hafted tool use elicits greater ranges of motion, greater muscle activity and greater net energy expenditure (EE) compared with hand-held equivalents,' the authors wrote.

'Hafting results in significantly different biomechanical strategies, that ultimately works to offer an energetic benefit compared with hand-held equivalent tools.

'Most notably, during the chopping task it has shed light on the mechanism whereby the energetic benefit is achieved through increases in joint motions and muscle use which resulted in an increase in velocity and force that ultimately made the hafted tool used more effective per unit of energy applied to a task.'

The researchers concluded: 'The energetic and biomechanical benefits of hafting [adding handles] arguably contributed to both the invention and spread of this technology.

'These reductions in physiological and biomechanical demands, as well as demands on energy and time budgets, would enhance both individual and group survival.'

The study has been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
It has been 30 years since the first planet beyond the solar system was discovered, and to date more than 5,000 have been found - but are they all alien worlds?

Scientists have been examining the thousands of exoplanet discoveries confirmed within the Milky Way Galaxy, and three of them have turned out to be stars.

A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, looked through planets discovered using the NASA Kepler Space Telescope, double checking the measurements to see which match known planet sizes.

They identified three objects that are simply too big to be planets, based on new, more accurate measurements taken by the European Space Agency Gaia telescope.

They found that the three objects, which are known as Kepler-854b, Kepler-840b, and Kepler-699b, are now estimated to be between twice and three times Jupiter's radius - for comparison a brown dwarf star is roughly the radius of Jupiter.

These objects also have 200-300 times more mass than Jupiter, and with the larger radius and mass combined, it means they are well beyond 'planetary boundaries'.

It has been 30 years since the first planet beyond the solar system was discovered, and to date more than 5,000 have been found - but are they all alien worlds?

Artist impression of Kepler-854 b. Based on original measurements, it was thought this was a very large planet. New research shows it is a dwarf star, at three times Jupiter radius

A fourth planet, known as Kepler-747b, was found to be about 1.8 times Jupiter's radius, which is comparable to the very largest confirmed planets, but also larger than many brown dwarf stars.

This means that it sits between a star and a planet - although it is relatively far from its star, so the amount of reach it receives is too small to sustain a planet this size.

The team behind the study came to the conclusion that while Kepler-747b's planetary status is suspect, it is not entirely implausible it is an alien world.

'Most exoplanets are Jupiter-sized or much smaller. Twice [the size of] Jupiter is already suspicious. Larger than that cannot be a planet, which is what we found,' says the study's first author Prajwal Niraula from MIT.

Rooting out planetary imposters was not the team's initial goal. Niraula originally intended to look for systems with signs of tidal distortion.

'If you have two objects close to each other, the gravitational pull of one will cause the other to be egg-shaped, or ellipsoidal, which gives you an idea of how massive the companion is,' Niraula explains.

They found that the three objects, which are known as Kepler-854b, Kepler-840b, and Kepler-699b, are now estimated to be between twice and three times Jupiter's radius - for comparison a brown dwarf star is roughly the radius of Jupiter

'So you could determine whether it's a star-star or star-planet system, just based on that tidal pull.'

'Overall, this study makes the current list of planets more complete,' says study co-author Avi Shporer.

STARS: THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS Stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects, and represent the most fundamental building blocks of galaxies, NASA explained. The age, distribution, and composition of the stars in a galaxy trace the history, dynamics, and evolution of that galaxy. Stars are also responsible for the manufacture and distribution of heavy elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. Their characteristics are intimately tied to those of the planetary systems that may coalesce about them. They range in size from a small city, to one covering half the solar system. The smallest stars - neutron stars - pack a lot of mass into a small object. They contain twice the mass of the sun, but are just 30 miles wide. White dwarf stars are a bit bigger - often similar in size to our planet Earth, but again, with the mass of the sun. The largest supergiant stars can be more than 1500 times larger than our Su, over 2,000 million miles across. Brown Dwarfs Advertisement

'People rely on this list to study the population of planets as a whole. If you use a sample with a few interlopers, your results may be inaccurate. So, it's important that the list of planets is not contaminated.'

The research also helps further pin down the upper and lower boundaries for what is a planet - helping create a fuller image of the concept of an alien world.

When combing through the Kepler catalog, the team came upon a signal from Kepler-854b that appeared too large to be true.

'Suddenly we had a system where we saw this ellipsoidal signal which was huge, and pretty immediately we knew this could not be from a planet,' Shporer says. 'Then we thought, something doesn't add up.'

The team then took a second look at both the star and the planetary candidate.

As with all Kepler-detected planets, Kepler-854b was spotted through a transit detection - a periodic dip in starlight that signals a possible planet passing in front of its star.

The depth of that dip represents the ratio between the size of the planet and that of its star. Astronomers can calculate the planet's size based on what they know of the star's size.

But as Kepler-854b was discovered in 2016, its size was based on stellar estimates that were less precise than they are today, the team explained.

This was before large datasets were released by the European Space Agency Gaia mission, a space based observatory that is precisely measuring and mapping the properties and paths of all the stars it can see in the Milky Way galaxy.

In 2016, Gaia's measurements of Kepler-854 were not yet available. Given the stellar information that was available, the object seemed to be a plausible-sized planet.

But Niraula found that with Gaia's improved estimates, Kepler-854b turned out to be much larger, at three times the radius of Jupiter and over 200 times its mass.

'There's no way the universe can make a planet of that size,' Shporer says. 'It just doesn't exist.' That is the minimum size for a star.

Artist impression of Kepler-699 b. These objects also have 200-300 times more mass than Jupiter, and with the larger radius and mass combined, it means they are well beyond 'planetary boundaries'

For comparison, Brown dwarfs, failed stars, are objects with masses 1380 times that of Jupiter, but roughly the same radius - between 0.7 and 1.4 times Jupiter.

However, these are still small companion dwarf stars, as most are two the three times the radius of Jupiter, where Jupiter is only a tenth the radius of our sun.

The team confirmed that Kepler-854b was a planetary 'false positive' - that is an object that is not a planet at all, but instead, a small star orbiting a larger host star.

Niraula then searched through the Kepler catalog's more than 2,000 planets, this time for significant updates to the size of stars provided by Gaia.

He ultimately discovered three stars whose sizes significantly changed based on Gaia's improved measurements - all bigger than first thought.

Kepler-840 b artist impression from NASA. They don't expect there to be many more corrections to existing exoplanet catalogs, and even this was only a tiny correction - with just three out of thousands

From these estimates, the team recalculated the size of the planets orbiting each star, and found them to be about two to four times Jupiter's size.

'That was a very big flag,' Niraula says. 'We now have three objects that are now not planets, and the fourth is likely not a planet.'

They don't expect there to be many more corrections to existing exoplanet catalogs, and even this was only a tiny correction - with just three out of thousands.

'This is a tiny correction,' Shporer says. 'It comes from the better understanding of stars, which is only improving all the time.

'So, the chances of a star's radius being so incorrect are much smaller. These misclassifications are not going to happen many times more.'

In the case of these three, and possibly four objects, it means they are a binary system - but the secondary star is tiny, and so is in orbit around its host.

The findings have been published in the Astronomical Journal.
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Booze and boisterous beach behaviour are the traditional ingredients for a spring break in the USA, an annual rite of passage for American college students, who swarm golden strips of sand in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean for the occasion.

However, what are the options in this part of the world for families should a spring break holiday appeal, but living la vida loca (i.e the crazy life) not?

Here's one that's extremely enticing  The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach hotel, right on the cusp of where trendy bars and restaurants line Miami Beach's Art Deco District and where spring break partying can be intense.

The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach hotel is an enticing option for a spring break in Miami Beach - without the boisterousness. Pictured is the hotel's inviting pool

Pictured here is the terrace area of the Latin American restaurant at The Ritz-Carlton, Fuego Y Mar

Upon arriving at The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach James was presented with two coconuts (left). A sure sign that paradise was close. Younger guests were welcomed with a chocolate-and-cookie turtle

We headed there in 2021. At the time, mask-enforcing was dropped and the main drag, Ocean Drive, was closed to traffic (it's now open to one-way traffic), meaning partygoers could spread out. It meant the city was able to hold an even bigger party than in previous years along the neon-light-bathed boulevards.

But just a couple of blocks north at the corner of Lincoln Road and Collins Avenue, all was serene and luxurious at The Ritz-Carlton, sparkling from a recent $90million renovation.

The hotel occupies one of the Art Deco buildings Miami is so famous for, with crisp white lines sitting against the clear blue Floridian sky.

The hotel bade my family and me a warm welcome as we arrived for a few days of rest and relaxation. A huge seating area greets guests as they walk into the main entrance with a classic cocktail lounge, the Lapidus Bar, situated at the rear of the lobby.

The Ritz-Carlton occupies one of the Art Deco buildings Miami is so famous for, with crisp white lines sitting against the clear blue Floridian sky

The imposing lobby makes an impressive statement to all guest arriving at the South Beach property

Partying in paradise: Miami Beach, pictured, is a popular pilgrimage for spring breakers

Partygoers (and seagulls) pictured enjoying Miami Beach on the weekend of March 11 this year

Coming of age: Spring break is a rite of passage for college students in America

The 376 guest rooms have all been meticulously designed with hard-wood flooring running throughout. Bathrooms complete with double sinks and marble floors add to the exuberance, and thankfully for this busy period, enhanced soundproofing meant I couldn't hear a thing from the parties and revelers on the streets outside.

One thing to note is that not all rooms face the ocean. I was actually surprised that my room did not have a balcony nor an ocean view. I was under the impression most rooms in Miami Beach must only face one direction.

I was able to secure a large room, however, and upon weighing up whether I'd have a balcony sea view over the pool and beach or some extra space for a family of four - space won.

Upstairs, the pool area overlooking the Atlantic has plentiful seating - deckchairs and daybeds  and the water is heated to a balmy 90F, so that when you enter, you feel as though you're getting into the warmest of baths.

The view of Miami Beach from The Ritz-Carlton South Beach, which sits at the corner of Lincoln Road and Collins Avenue

Many of the 376 newly renovated guest rooms and suites have ocean views together with a balcony

The Atlantic Ocean is just a few steps away from the rear of hotel, with direct access to the beach and boardwalk

The Miami Beach Architectural District is home to the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world and is a mesmerising neon-lit rainbow of colours in the evening

Early in the morning, South Beach can feel like an abandoned movie set with everyone on the beaches and streets traffic-free

A tree-lined passageway leading to the soft white sands of Miami Beach's South Beach

While sitting around the pool area, we had lunch brought to our beds, with a mahi mahi sandwich, burger and pizza all served by the friendly staff. Why do all of these food items instantly taste better when sitting by a pool?

The soft white sands of South Beach are just steps away and although the beach is public, guests at the hotel are given two sunbeds and an umbrella as part of their room rate. This is a welcome perk. Some hotels in the area charge between $10-20 for sunbeds on the beach and a little extra should you require an umbrella for shade.

Another benefit is the Club Lounge. It is an additional $350-750 a day for guests, but it offers culinary delights throughout the day, essentially covering the bulk of all foodstuff while at the property, with a buffet breakfast each morning, snacks and sandwiches served from 11am until after lunch, evening hors d'oeuvres served from 5pm and dinner from 8pm onwards.

On my visits up to the lounge, I would often see the same people sitting in the same chairs as the offerings came and went around them.

One of the colorful lifeguard stations on the sands of Miami Beach's South Beach

Ritz-Carlton guests are given two sunbeds and an umbrella as part of their room rate

Mouthwatering prospect: This picture shows The Ritz-Carlton's elegant French bistro, Bagatelle

The luxury hotel's classic and lavishly furnished cocktail lounge, the Lapidus Bar, which is situated at the rear of the lobby

Some rooms at The Ritz-Carlton South Beach have a view of downtown Miami and spectacular views at sunset

It essentially means you'll want for nothing while staying at the hotel because the lounge will always have something tasty on offer. The staff will even go out of their way to fetch something extra if what you see is not exactly what you were craving.

If traveling with young children, where mealtimes can be haphazard at the best of times, this is a brilliant perk.

Other dining options at the hotel include elegant French bistro Bagatelle, a beach bar restaurant close to the pool, DiLido Beach Club, and a Latin American restaurant, Fuego Y Mar, where fresh, simple ingredients bring guests flavours from coastal Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela and Colombia. At night, the restaurant is bathed in a warm, orange glow, making it an invitingly romantic spot to enjoy quality cuisine.

The icing on the Ritz-Carlton cake were the staff, or Ladies and Gentlemen as they liked to call themselves.

It's a big hotel, yet they make sincere efforts to get to know guests by name, learn their food preferences and generally help make the property the perfect spot to be a spring break party pooper.
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Knuckle-whitening footage has been released of passengers enjoying new 'dive coaster' Emperor at SeaWorld San Diego  with their facial expressions testament to its power to thrill.

Named after the emperor penguin, the world's largest penguin, the Emperor coaster 'mimics this species' amazing underwater diving ability'. It does this by taking riders along 2,500ft (762m) of track that includes a 14-storey vertical drop that they hurtle down at 60mph and various loops and inversions.

The reactions of the passengers in the footage confirm that the plan has worked  and SeaWorld has also released a POV clip of the ride, which opened this week, to give armchair riders an unmistakably clear idea about the excitement that lies in store.

Knuckle-whitening footage has been released of passengers enjoying new 'dive coaster' Emperor, pictured, at SeaWorld San Diego  with their facial expressions testament to its power to thrill

The first big adrenalin rush comes when the car climbs to a height of 153ft (46m) and stops at the crown of the 14-storey drop

Riders experience Emperor in floorless cars that hold up to 18 people in three, six-person rows.

The first big adrenalin rush comes when the car climbs to a height of 153ft (46m) and stops at the crown of the 14-storey drop, suspending riders at a 45-degree angle with their feet dangling in the air before they hurtle downwards.

Then they experience inversions, a barrel roll, an Immelmann loop, a hammerhead turn and a flat spin before coming to a halt.

SeaWorld San Diego partnered with penguin research and conservation nonprofit Penguins International for the opening of Emperor, billed as the 'tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster in California, as well as the only floorless dive coaster on the West Coast [of America]'.

SeaWorld has released a POV clip of the ride (still from this above), which opened this week, to give armchair riders an unmistakably clear idea about the excitement that lies in store

Passengers cannot contain their composure as they hurtle down Emperor's 14-storey drop

As part of the partnership, SeaWorld San Diego said it would donate a portion of Emperor merchandise sales to Penguins International to support its conservation, education, and research efforts.

The park said that after riding Emperor, 'guests are encouraged to visit Penguin Encounter, the only place in North America where you can see Emperor penguins in-person'.

'We're so excited to partner with SeaWorld San Diego for the opening of this thrilling new ride inspired by the majestic emperor penguin,' said Penguins International Executive Director David Schutt.

'SeaWorld has been a longtime proponent of penguin research and education, providing important research opportunities for scientists at their facilities and generating awareness for these amazing birds through their presentations and learning opportunities. We see this as yet another way the company is helping advance the public's understanding of this species and are eager to see where this partnership takes us.'

Jim Lake, Park President, said: 'Emperor brings all-new thrills to the park, being the tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster in California and our first ever dive coaster at SeaWorld San Diego. We're so grateful to our guests for their patience and we can't wait to have them come take the dive and experience Emperor firsthand.'

Riders experience inversions, a barrel roll, an Immelmann loop, a hammerhead turn and a flat spin before coming to a halt
This undated image courtesy of Fox News shows cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, left, U.S. journalist Trey Yingst and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova reporting in Ukraine. The U.S. network said that Zakrzewski and Kuvshyno had been killed in Ukraine outside Kyiv, March 15. AFP/FOX NEWS-Yonhap





A French-Irish cameraman for Fox News and a Ukrainian working as a producer for the U.S. television network have been killed in fighting near Kyiv, Fox News said Tuesday.







Cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova died and correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded when their vehicle was struck Monday by incoming fire in Horenka, outside the capital.







Hall, a Briton who works as the network's State Department correspondent, remains hospitalized in Ukraine, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said.







Zakrzewski, 55, who was based in London, had dual French and Irish citizenship and been working in Ukraine since February.







"He was a warm-hearted traveler who provoked beautiful encounters, he was very humble and human and had not lost any of his sensitivity over the years," a member of his family told AFP.







Last week Zakrzewski "had helped to shelter a newborn baby found after a bombing, named Prince Charlie," the family member said.







He knew Pakistan and India well and took "particularly remarkable images of the conflict in Kashmir," she said.







Zakrzewski also had a long relationship with Afghanistan, where he had covered decades of conflict, from the war against the Soviets to the return of the Taliban, she said.







Fox News said Zakrzewski had played a "key role" in getting the network's Afghan freelance associates and their families out of the country after the U.S. withdrawal.







It also said he was given an "Unsung Hero" award at the company's annual employee Spotlight Awards in December.







"Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us," Scott said.







"His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched."






Aussie influencers are preparing for significant changes to the regulations surrounding how they promote health and skincare products online.

And the brands and celebrities most at risk of having their bottom line impacted have been revealed in a new report by influencer analytics firm HypeAuditor.

Ada Nicodemou, Jules Sebastian and Chris Hemsworth are three of the most notable ambassadors for health and beauty brands likely to come under scrutiny by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Changes: Aussie influencers are preparing for significant changes to the regulations surrounding how they promote health and skincare products online. Pictured: Ada Nicodemou

Home and Away star Ada and Guy Sebastian's wife Jules both spruik products for Nature's Way, the vitamin brand which engages the most influencers in Australia, with 100 used in the past six months.

Next is Swisse, which has engaged 76 Australian influencers in the last six months alone.

The brand's biggest ambassadors are Hollywood power couple Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky.

Hit list: The brands and celebrities most at risk of having their bottom line impacted have been revealed in a report by influencer analytics firm HypeAuditor. Pictured: Jules Sebastian

Big player: Swisse has engaged 76 Australian influencers in the past six months. The brand's biggest ambassadors are Hollywood couple Chris Hemsworth (right) and Elsa Pataky (left)

The vitamin brand has also enlisted Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), the model wife of actor Sam Worthington.

Meanwhile, Blackmores recruited 31 celebrities in the same time frame, including Bachelor star Sam Wood and The Project host Carrie Bickmore.

Sunscreen brands, including Ultra Violette, enlist even more influencers, using 327 in the past six months.

The 676 posts made by these influencers during this period reached an estimated audience of 2.6 million people.

Another one: The vitamin brand has also enlisted Lara Worthington (nee Bingle), the model wife of actor Sam Worthington

The report comes as local influencers have been up in arms over a new law allegedly prohibiting them from promoting certain health and skincare products online.

But most will still be able to earn money from health and beauty brands, provided they make one adjustment to their sponsored posts, a TGA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

They can still promote therapeutic goods with their social media followers, the TGA explained, but they just can't offer any personal testimonials.

Overblown: Aussie influencers have been up in arms over a new law allegedly prohibiting them from promoting certain health and skincare products. Pictured: Abbie Chatfield

'Businesses can continue to engage influencers in their marketing strategies, if the influencer does not provide a personal account of their experience,' said the TGA.

The simple workaround means influencers can broadly endorse therapeutic goods, so long as they don't claim to have personally found them effective.

The TGA added that 'before and after pictures are also likely to be a testimonial'.

The changes were made because 'personal testimonials can be inappropriately persuasive to a vulnerable audience who are seeking products for their health and sometimes very serious health conditions'.

Livelihood intact: Most influencers will still be able to earn money from health and beauty brands, provided they make one adjustment to their sponsored posts, a TGA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia. Pictured: Ruby Tuesday Matthews

The TGA also addressed the issue of sunscreen being included in the list of products influencers are now prohibited from promoting.

Bachelor star Laura Byrne had been particularly vocal in her criticism of its inclusion in the list of 'banned' items.

However, the TGA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'If an influencer was paid by a sunscreen company to be pictured holding that product, without any personal testimony, that would be an endorsement and permitted under the Code.'

Easy fix: 'Businesses can continue to engage influencers in their marketing strategies, if the influencer does not provide a personal account of their experience,' said the TGA. Pictured: influencer Laura Byrne

When asked if an influencer could circumvent the rules banning personal endorsements by obtaining a medical qualification in skincare, the TGA said this wasn't possible.

'There is not a qualification or accreditation that someone could obtain, for example a skincare qualification, that would vary the rules in the Code. This is because under the Code health professionals are not permitted to publicly endorse therapeutic goods in advertising,' said the governing body.

The new rules came into effect on January 1, 2022.

Up in arms: Former Bachelor star Byrne had been particularly vocal in her criticism of sunscreen's inclusion in the list of 'banned' products

WAG Sarita Holland, 39, was one of many influencers to lash out at the new rules, telling the Herald Sun the regulations on sponsored posts '[take] the mickey out of the general public' by insulting their intelligence.

'People can make up their own minds and this is in a way inferring that people are dumb,' said the wife of former Collingwood and Fremantle player Brodie Holland.

Influencer manager Genevieve Day of Day Management added that the new rules put undue responsibility on influencers as opposed to brands.

'I wish the same emphasis was on the brands making the claims as the influencers promoting it,' Ms Day said.

Desperate: WAG Sarita Holland, 39, (pictured) told the Herald Sun the regulations on sponsored posts '[take] the mickey out of the general public' by insulting their intelligence

Rationale: 'People can make up their own minds and this is in a way inferring that people are dumb,' said the wife of ex-Collingwood and Fremantle player Brodie Holland (both pictured)

Ruby Tuesday Matthews also spoke out against the rules.

The 27-year-old shared an article about the TGA regulations on Instagram on Sunday, alongside her opinion on the subject.

'Whilst I completely agree the need for more regulation, structure (rules) and accountability by brands and influencers within these industries, it makes me sad to think how many great small businesses/start ups this will affect,' she wrote.

Anger: Matthews was another influencer who spoke out against the new rules

'It also blows my mind that we are targeting health and wellness brands encouraging a healthy lifestyle but not alcohol or junk food,' Ruby added.

The influencer is known to endorse a number of 'wellness' and beauty brands online.

Just last month she endorsed Krumbled Foods, which is touted as a 'functional beauty snack' with five 'clinically proven anti-ageing ingredients'.

She has also spruiked Nutra Organics, a superfoods brand, revealing she likes their bone broth and miso ramen chicken.

Having her say: 'Whilst I completely agree the need for more regulation, structure (rules) and accountability by brands and influencers within these industries, it makes me sad to think how many great small businesses/start ups this will affect,' she wrote

Ruby has likewise thrown her support behind The Daily Co. skincare, which offers 'clean cosmeceuticals', and ran a giveaway featuring the company.

On Saturday, The Australian reported influencers are being banned from receiving benefits to spruik health products.

The new Therapeutic Goods Administration advertising code only allows influencers to promote products if they receive nothing in return.

It applies to sunscreens, protein powers, vitamins, supplements, skincare, medicines and skin lightning products.
He recently passed out on stage during his theatre show's opening night, leading to a doctor in the audience rushing to his aid.

But that didn't stop Taron Egerton from getting back on stage for the press night performance of Cock at the Ambassador theatre in London on Tuesday alongside his co-star Jonathan Bailer.

The Rocketman actor, 32, performed with his fellow cast members Jade Anouka, 31, Phil Daniels, 63, and Bailey, 33.

Back at it: Taron Egerton returned to the stage for the press night performance of Cock at the Ambassador theatre in London on Tuesday

Taron went for a smart casual look as he donned a blue shirt over a white t-shirt. He sported a pair of black jeans and teamed the look with some trainers.

The Golden Globe winner looked in high spirits for the event after his recent bad experience which left him missing out on Cock's opening night.

Cock focuses on a gay man (Bailey) who becomes torn on his same-sex relationship with Taron's character when he falls in love with a woman (Anouka) who he spots on his commute through London, and after having sex with her struggles to decide who he wants to be with.

Friends: The Golden Globe winner looked in high spirits as he pranced around the stage with co-star Jonathan Bailey, who plays his partner in the play

Looking good: Taron went for a smart casual look as he donned a blue shirt over a white t-shirt. He sported a pair of black jeans and teamed the look with some trainers

The cast then head out to a Cock after party to celebrate the successful night at The Londoner Hotel at Leicester Square

Jonathan dressed to impress at the luxury event as he donned a pair of wide brown trousers and bundled up in the matching coat.

The Bridgerton star looked dapper as he sported a pink blazer and a black t-shirt. He completed the look with a pair of black dress shoes.

He beamed alongside co-stars Jade and Phil who were also dressed up for the occasion.

The actor cut a casual figure as he performed with his fellow cast members Jade Anouka, 31, Bailey, 33, and Phil Daniels, 63 (picture left to right)

Chic: Jonathan Bailey dressed to impress at the luxury event as he donned a pair of wide brown trousers and bundled up in the matching coat

Stars: Jade looked radiant in a colourful bandeau dress and Phil looked dapper in a brown checked blazer and matching trousers

Taron recently revealed he passed out on stage during his theatre show's opening night, leading to a doctor in the audience rushing to his aid.

Fortunately, understudy Joel Harper-Jackson was at the ready to step in to replace him in the final part of the play.

Luckily, Taron is 'completely fine', and took to Instagram to reassure his fans and announce he would be returning to the stage 'with a vengeance'.

Oh no! Taron passed out on stage during his theatre show's opening night, leading to a doctor in the audience rushing to his aid (pictured on Graham Norton show in February)

He wrote: 'As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night.

'I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego, but I'm fine.

'I've decided to put a positive spin on it and I would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn't handle it and check out.

'That being said, apparently you're meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. So I'll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night.

'That you to the amazing team at the theatre and my wonderful cast mates for being so lovely.

'But mainly I wanted to say thanks to Joel Harper Jackson who stepped in to do the last bit of the play.

'Joel is an amazing actor and a lovely person. Thank you, Joel. T x.'

Phew! Luckily, Taron is 'completely fine', and took to Instagram to reassure his fans and announce he would be returning to the stage 'with a vengeance' on Monday evening

A statement from the plays production released last night said: 'During this evenings first preview of Mike Bartletts play Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre, Taron Egerton fainted towards the end of the performance.

'A doctor who was in the audience attended to Taron immediately after the incident, and whilst he felt fine, it was decided that Tarons understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson would continue in the role to complete the performance.'

Taron was seen for the first time since the incident on March 8 for the show's opening night.

He later informed his 2.6million Instagram followers with a self-deprecating video: 'Got to the second preview, didn't pass out!'
Colourful Sydney identity John Ibrahim has finally found his on-screen 'king' in ex-Home and Away heartthrob Lincoln Younes.

After an exhaustive search spanning almost two years, it's understood Younes - who is half Australian and half Lebanese - beat out a number of other actors vying to play Ibrahim in the book-turned-mini-series Last King Of The Cross.

Sources close to the production say that Ibrahim - who was 'very particular' about who will play him - was impressed with Younes' acting ability and his similarly dark complexion and light eyes.

Production on the multi-part series is due to start next week in Sydney.

Aussie actor Lincoln Younes is set to play John Ibrahim in the autobiographical Last King of the Cross TV mini-series. He is pictured above portraying a surfer in the ABC drama Barons

Younes impressed Ibrahim with his acting ability and his similar dark complexion and light eyes

The real John Ibrahim pictured recently (with partner Sarah Budge and friend Mim Salvado at Kyle Sandilands' baby shower

Ibrahim was born in Tripoli, Lebanon and emigrated to Australia in the early 70s before making his way in Sydney's nightlife scene - a rise which will form the backdrop of the upcoming series.

Younes, meanwhile, was born and raised in Australia by his single mother but his biological father hails from Lebanon.

While still just 30 years old, Younes is something of a small screen veteran in Australia and has appeared in string of popular shows including Home and Away, Tangle, Doctor Doctor and Love Child.

He recently filmed a supporting role in the Channel Nine series After The Verdict (which is yet to air) and a smaller role in the ABC surf drama Barons.

Younes (L) shot to fame as Casey Braxton on Home and Away

Younes' biggest role to date was in the US film Grand Hotel (pictured) starring Eva Longoria

His casting in the Paramount + drama Last King of the Cross follows something of a tireless search for a lead star according to a source close to the production who says Ibrahim initially had his sights set on US actor Oscar Isaac.

Focus then shifted to Zac Efron however both men are said to have passed.

Rumours swirled earlier this year that Firass Dirani, who played Ibrahim in the 2010 Underbelly Series The Golden Mile, may even return to reprise his breakout role.

However Dirani shut down the rumours, telling The Daily Mail Australia back in February how 'that chapter is closed'.

Meanwhile it is not the first time Younes has gotten in touch with his Lebanese roots for a screen role.

He played a young Lebanese man Hassim in the 2015 Sydney Film Festival dark comedy Down Under.

Zac Efron was one of a handful of actors who passed on the lead role due to scheduling conflicts

Star Wars star Oscar Isaac rumoured to have been John Ibrahim's dream pick

Speaking about the part at the time, Younes told The Daily Mail Australia he was proud to explore his ethnic background while filming the movie based on the aftermath of the Cronulla Riots.

'It was something that I wanted to explore, it meant I could research that side of myself,' he said.

'I've been fortunate, I haven't really been affected by racism but I have a lot of friends that have been,' Lincoln added, before explaining the film definitely intends to challenge cultural stereotypes.

'There's a lot of Lebanese (people) in Lebanon if you go there, who look like I do... so it's actually about approaching those stereotypes and realising they are stereotypes,' he said.

Last King Of The Cross is set to play out across three episodes and explore John's relationship with his brother Sam as they ascend to power in Sydney's nightclub scene during the nineties and beyond.

John Ibrahim recently welcomed his third child - Elvis - his first with partner Sarah Budge

Paramount + series Last King Of The Cross based on Ibrahim's self-penned book of the same name

Produced by former Endemol Shine CEO Mark Fennessy, the series is based of the autobiography of the same name published back in 2017 that went on to become a bestseller for Pan Macmillan.

The series has been penned by acclaimed screenwriter Kieran Darcy-Smith who is best known for his work on Animal Kingdom and Wolf Creek. Ibrahim himself will be a producer.

Filming is due to begin in and around Sydney next week with a purpose-built set - a complete recreation of Kings Cross' infamous 'Golden Mile' - believed to have been painstakingly pieced together for the production.

It's believed the shoot will take place over several weeks and that much of the production crew involved were a part of the massive team involved recently worked on Thor: Love and Thunder.
She has been married to husband Michael Willesee Jr for 13 years.

But on Wednesday, Allison Langdon's Today show co-host Karl Stefanovic hinted there's 'trouble in paradise' for her marriage.

The pair were discussing how the ban on cruise ships in Australia is likely to end on April 17 with Queensland correspondent Jess Millward, when Karl made a joke about Ally's marriage to Michael.

'That's interesting': Today show host Karl Stefanovic has hinted there's 'trouble in paradise' for Allison Langdon's marriage

'I've cleared all of June and July [for a trip]. We've have spoken to our husbands and they are so happy to stay at home with the kids,' Ally said.

Karl questioned: 'Why wouldn't you want to take your husbands without the kids? That's interesting.'

'It's just girl time,' she explained, before Karl added: 'Trouble in paradise maybe.'

'Trouble in paradise?' The pair were discussing how the ban on cruise ships in Australia is likely to end on April 17 with Queensland correspondent Jess Millward, when Karl joked about Ally's marriage to Michael

'Yes that's it,' Ally said before the pair burst into laughter.

Allison and Michael, who is the son of late journalist Mike Willesee, tied the knot in Noosa, Queensland, in 2008.

They are parents to two children, son Mack, five, and daughter Scout, three.

Love story: Allison and Michael, who is the son of late journalist Mike Willesee, tied the knot in Noosa, Queensland, in 2008

Mike died in 2019 at the age of 76 following a battle with throat cancer.

Michael used to be a journalist and TV producer but is now an executive at Westpac.

The Willesee family legacy is well-known, with Mike Sr helping create Channel Nine's A Current Affair program.
Embattled influencer Jade Tuncdoruk is back to doing what she does best - spruiking expensive brands on Instagram.

The Instagram model, 27, recently apologised for a racially insensitive Facebook post from 2017 about Uber Eats drivers, and was also criticised for 'demanding' a small business give her a refund for a deposit after ignoring the terms and conditions.

After a blizzard of negative headlines, she was dropped as an ambassador for Cadbury, but it seems some brands are still willing to work with her.

Sell, sell, sell! Embattled influencer Jade Tuncdoruk, 27, (pictured) is back to doing what she does best - spruiking expensive brands on Instagram

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Jade, who previously boasted of earning $3,000 per advert, shared a gushing post promoting a $350 perfume by Guerlain.

Jade uploaded a photo of herself posing with the luxury fragrance, making sure to plug the brand by tagging Guerlain in the image and caption.

The scandal-prone socialite also recently plugged a designer sunglasses brand and a luxury swimwear label.

Cha-ching! Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Jade, who previously boasted of earning $3,000 per advert, shared a gushing post promoting a $350 perfume by Guerlain

Double tap: The scandal-prone socialite also recently plugged a designer sunglasses brand (left) and a luxury swimwear label (right)

This week, she also promoted a vintage fashion reseller, tagging the company in a photo of her red Chanel handbag.

It comes after Jade was dropped as an ambassador for Cadbury following her recent Uber Eats rant and travel refund saga.

'We have no plans to engage this influencer in the foreseeable future,' a Cadbury spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph on Monday, adding that Jade's opinions 'don't reflect our values'.

Expensive taste: This week, she also promoted a vintage fashion reseller, tagging the company in a photo of her red Chanel handbag

Bittersweet ending: On Monday, it was reported Jade had been dropped as an ambassador for Cadbury following her recent Uber Eats rant and travel refund saga

In January, Jade was forced to apologise for a racially insensitive Facebook post about Uber Eats drivers.

The resurfaced post from 2017 saw Jade complaining about the company's 'annoying non-English speaking delivery drivers'.

'I order off you guys all the time and I'm starting to find it really annoying that you have so many non-English speaking delivery people who can't follow basic delivery instructions,' she wrote.

Dropped: 'We have no plans to engage this influencer in the foreseeable future,' a Cadbury spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph , adding that Jade's opinions 'don't reflect our values'

Controversy: In January, Jade was forced to apologise for a racially insensitive Facebook post about Uber Eats drivers

'I got a notification today saying my food was arriving and it took the person a further 20 mins to get to my door because he didn't read my delivery instructions properly and when I called him to explain he didn't understand a word I was saying.'

She continued: 'Your GPS is consistently sending drivers to the wrong address which I've explained in my instructions which most people read and have no problem with but when foreigners are delivering it takes twice as long for me to receive my then cold food. Sort it out.'

Jade later apologised for her 'hurtful comments' after her post was uploaded by the Celeb Spellcheck Instagram page.

'I'm sorry to anyone I've hurt with my comments. I hold myself accountable for my actions,' she wrote.

Travel refund saga: The rant came after she faced backlash for demanding that a small business refund her $2,000 honeymoon deposit

The rant came after she faced backlash for demanding that a small business refund her $2,000 honeymoon deposit.

The company, Weekenda, accused Jade of trying to 'bypass' their policies after ignoring the terms and conditions.

'It doesn't excuse anything but know that I have grown immensely in the past several years. I always do my best to be someone others can look up to and I know I've let people down and for that I'm truly sorry,' she later said.
Married at First Sight's Daniel Holmes and Carolina Santos are officially still an item, after secretly hooking up during filming last year.

And while their 'affair' saw them kicked out of the experiment on Sunday, the drama was clearly worth it - because they're more loved-up than ever four months later.

Carolina, 34, and Daniel, 30, looked positively smitten as they put on a tactile display outside the KIIS FM studios in North Ryde, Sydney, on Tuesday morning.

Still going strong! Married At First Sight's Daniel Holmes (right) and Carolina Santos (left) are officially still an item, after secretly hooking up during filming last year. They are pictured outside the KIIS FM studios in North Ryde, Sydney, on Tuesday morning

The couple had just been interviewed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, where they spoke candidly about their 'cheating' scandal and sex life.

The glamorous brand manager couldn't wipe the smile off her face as her personal trainer boyfriend wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

The Brazilian beauty looked effortlessly stylish in a white Moschino shirt which she teamed with a pair of skimpy denim shorts.

She completed her look with an oversized white jacket, a $5,500 Dior Saddle bag and Gucci shoes.

Loved up: The glamorous brand manager, 34, couldn't wipe the smile off her face as her personal trainer boyfriend, 30, wrapped his arms around her shoulders

Cute: At one stage, Carolina kissed Daniel on the cheek as they stood outside the radio station

Daniel dressed for comfort in a navy T-shirt, denim shorts and white sneakers.

During their interview with Kyle and Jackie O, Carolina revealed Daniel had asked his friends for advice before making a move on her.

'He made this cute little video telling his friends, "Oh, my God. I met this chick,"' she said, clearly flattered by the gesture.

Glamazon: The Brazilian beauty looked effortlessly stylish in a white Moschino shirt which she teamed with a pair of skimpy denim shorts

Casual: Daniel dressed for comfort in a navy T-shirt, denim shorts and white sneakers

Daniel also didn't hold back when he proudly told hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson the pair consummated their relationship on the night they filmed their last episode.

'[We did it] as soon as we walked out of the commitment ceremony,' he said.

Carolina added they wanted to hook up in the back of their Uber, but managed to wait until they got back home to finally do the deed.

Sexy: During their interview on Kyle and Jackie O, Daniel and Carolina revealed they raced back to her apartment to have sex just moments after Sunday's commitment ceremony

Naughty! 'We went back and had a drink, I looked at her in the eyes and said, "We are evicted from the experiment. Let's have sex,"' Daniel said

'We went back and had a drink, I looked at her in the eyes and said, "We are evicted from the experiment. Let's have sex,"' Daniel said.

'I said, "Of course!"' Carolina laughed.

Daniel hastened to add their relationship isn't just sexual chemistry, saying they also share hobbies including a mutual love of fitness.

Married At First Sight was plunged into chaos on Sunday night's episode when Daniel and Carolina interrupted proceedings to announce they'd recoupled and wanted to continue in the experiment together.

Surprise! MAFS was plunged into chaos on Sunday when Daniel and Carolina interrupted proceedings to announce they'd recoupled and wanted to continue the experiment together

'I've had enough for one night': Carolina's 'husband' Dion Giannarelli (pictured) left the room in protest, which prompted a group walk-out

'We are genuine and real about this experiment and how we feel about each other. So yes, there's a part of us that would like to continue to experiment together,' Daniel told the trio of experts.

Carolina's 'husband' Dion Giannarelli then left the room in protest, which prompted a group walk-out.

The experts, led by John Aiken, unanimously rejected Daniel and Carolina's request.

Married At First Sight continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine and 9Now
She's the self-described 'human Barbie doll' who transformed herself by spending $200,000 on cosmetic procedures - including five breast augmentations, six nose jobs, and endless rounds of Botox and filler.

And Australian nurse Tara Jayne McConachy was hard to miss as she flaunted her surgically enhanced look in Melbourne on Tuesday.

The Instagram model, 33, who found fame last year after appearing on E! reality show Botched, was joined by her mother as they arrived at Crown Melbourne's upmarket Nobu restaurant for lunch.

Odd: Botched star Tara Jayne showed off her bizarre look during a rare sighting in Melbourne on Tuesday, after she admitted to spending $200,000 on cosmetic procedures

Turning heads as she strolled down the footpath, Tara left little to the imagination in a sheer plunging bodysuit and hot pink sandals.

The tattooed medical worker completed her look with a pink and blue Louis Vuitton handbag worth $8,650 and a set of blue fake nails.

For makeup, Tara emphasised her cosmetically altered features with dark pink blush, taupe lipstick and dramatic eyeliner.

Family outing: Tara, 33, who found fame last year after appearing on E! reality show Botched, was joined by her mother as they arrived at Crown Melbourne's Nobu restaurant for lunch

Odd: Tara has admitted to spending $200,000 on cosmetic procedures, pictured right before her surgery

Tara sported a deep bronze tan and styled her jet-black hair loosely.

At one stage, she was spotted tapping away on her mobile phone, perhaps updating her popular Instagram account, which boasts more than 147,000 followers.

In August, Tara appeared on Todd Sampson's headline-making documentary series Mirror Mirror, which followed a group of Australians obsessed with going under the knife.

Sheer daring: Turning heads as she strolled down the footpath, Tara left little to the imagination in a sheer plunging bodysuit and hot pink sandals

Expensive taste: The tattooed medical worker completed her look with a pink and blue Louis Vuitton handbag worth $8,650 and a set of blue fake nails

In the show, Tara described herself as an 'upgraded limited-edition Barbie doll', while also bemoaning the inadequacy of her E-cup breasts.

'I think I want to get my boobs bigger,' she said.

She had previously featured on E! reality show Botched in the hope of convincing Drs Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow to give her bigger implants.

Go big or go home! For makeup, Tara emphasised her cosmetically altered features with dark pink blush, taupe lipstick and dramatic eyeliner

Bronzed ambition: Tara sported a deep bronze tan and styled her jet-black hair loosely

'Everything is tiny on me except for my tatas... I'm on a quest for a bigger chest!' she told producers.

'I currently have 540 CCs [of breast implant silicone], and I'm just not happy with them at all,' she said.

Tara said she'd noticed a 'rippling effect' on the skin on her breasts and hoped 'filling out the space more' would fix the issue.

Keeping fans up-to-date? At one stage, she was spotted tapping away on her mobile phone, perhaps updating her popular Instagram account, which boasts more than 147,000 followers

Brand new me! Tara has transformed her looks courtesy of a myriad of cosmetic procedures - including five breast augmentations, six nose jobs, and endless jabs of Botox and filler

But she was left disappointed when the doctors said her weight was 'dangerously low' at 45kg, making her far too slim to carry larger implants.

'I'm really concerned about Tara's overall wellbeing', Dr Nassif said.

'Not just as it relates to surgery, but she really needs to get both physically and mentally healthy.'

Express yourself: 'I think in this day and age, it's very important for a woman to be able to express the way they feel,' she told The Morning Show last year

Documentary: In August, Tara appeared on Todd Sampson's headline-making documentary Mirror Mirror, which followed a group of Australians obsessed with going under the knife

Obsessed: During her appearance on Mirror, Mirror, Tara was shown using a solarium - which are banned commercially but can be still privately owned in Australia

Tara said she'd stop at nothing to maintain and even enhance her 'knockout' 37-inch bust, 17-inch waist and 29-inch hips'.

'There is no limit for me when it comes to plastic surgery. It is incredibly addictive and I already want bigger breasts,' she added.

'As soon as travel is permitted, I have plans to go back overseas to visit my surgeon and get my breast size increased to 1500cc [from their current 1050ccc].'

'I'm on a quest for a bigger chest': Tara once appeared on E! reality show Botched in the hope of convincing Drs Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow to give her bigger implants

'I think in this day and age, it's very important for a woman to be able to express the way they feel and just express everything about beauty,' she told The Morning Show last year.

'Plastic surgery is how I do that and that's what makes me happy. It gives me the confidence to be the best version of myself.'

Tara recently joined adult subscription website OnlyFans to help fund her lifestyle and future cosmetic work during the Covid pandemic.

She charges $25 for a monthly subscription, and previously boasted of making $10,000 in her first three days on the platform.
Aaron Paul was snapped with expecting wife Lauren Parsekian and daughter Story taking a walk in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday along with family friend Cory Tran and his baby son Rumi-Ray.

The 42-year-old actor wore a button-down grey sweater coat over a white shirt with black pants and white sneakers on the daytime outing.

The Westworld actor held daughter Story, four, who wore a khaki wide brimmed hat with a black shirt and brown pants and floral patterned shoes.

The latest: Aaron Paul, 42, was snapped with expecting wife Lauren Parsekian, 35, and daughter Story, four, taking a walk in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles on Tuesday

The Breaking Bad star's wife Parsekian, 35, donned a white top with a Prince 1999 graphic over her baby bump, with black sweatpants and white sneakers. She had her brown locks down and parted on the sunny day.

Parsekian in December took to Instagram with a heartwarming image of her daughter patting her baby bump in front of a fireplace.

'We can't wait to meet you baby!' Parsekian, who's been married to Paul since 2013, captioned the shot. 'We love you so much already.'

Paul and Parsekian opened up about raising Story while chatting with US Weekly in November of 2019.

Paul and his family were joined by friend Cory Tran and his baby son Rumi-Ray. Tran welcomed his son with his wife, Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, last November

Parsekian in December took to Instagram with a heartwarming image of her daughter patting her baby bump in front of a fireplace

'Everything is just about communicating our love for one another and having mommy-daddy time,' Parsekian told the outlet. 'Its important to have that, and its important to have daddy-daughter time solo, or mommy-daughter time. You need to have your own private moments together. I never forget where it all began and that was with Lauren and I, so hold onto that, cherish it [and] never let it go.'

Said Paul: 'You never think you could love them any more but then all of a sudden your heart explodes in a way that you never imaged possible and then you do and it just keeps growing.'

On Tuesday's walk, the couple was joined by family friend Cory Tran, 34 - the husband of Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, 37 - who held their three-month-old son Rumi-Ray in a baby carrier.

Tran was clad in a black T-shirt with mustard yellow shorts and black sneakers on the outing.

Pinto, appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show last October, detailed how Paul had introduced her to Tran, who is a photographer.

Pinto, appearing on The Kelly Clarkson Show last October, detailed how Paul had introduced her to Tran, who is a photographer

Paul was seen at a fashion show in Los Angeles last month

'For some reason, Aaron, who loves love and loves the idea of people being together  he was like, "I want you forever in my life, Frieda, so Im going to introduce you to my friend."'

Pinto said she 'did not want to be hooked up with anybody, but [Paul] still did it, and turns out I got engaged to Cory - his friend!'

In the appearance last fall, Pinto revealed that she and Tran had wed at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California after their plans for an Indian-style wedding in Big Sur, California were scuttled due to the pandemic.

'We just realized we were going to be planning this for the rest of our lives and probably never doing it,' Pinto said. 'We got married and then we got to go home and take an afternoon nap.'

Pinto and Tran announced they had welcomed their son in November, which Tran said coincided with his own birthday.

'Best birthday gift you could ever ask for,' Tran said in a November 21 Instagram post. 'Thank you for our sweet boy. I'm in awe of you more and more every day. Watching you give birth to Rumi-Ray was truly a miracle, you are such a warrior.'

Watch Breaking Bad only on Stan in Australia.
A first look trailer at the six-part series of Time Traveler's Wife was released on Tuesday- and it looks set to rival Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana's 2009 film.

Starring Game Of Thrones actress Rose Leslie, 35, as Clare and Theo James, 37, as time traveler Henry, the Sky Atlantic show will follow their complicated romance.

Set for release on NOW in May, the teaser follows Clare detailing how hard it is having Henry there one minute and disappear the next.

Romance: A first look trailer at the six-part series of Time Traveler's Wife was released on Tuesday- and it looks set to rival Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana's 2009 film

She says: 'The bed sheets will go slack or the shower will keep running and you realise that he's gone. He's just a pile of clothes.'

The camera then pans to her realising the kitchen sink has overflowed because Henry has travelled back in time after running the taps.

It also follows Henry's journey as he struggles with living in the present as he finds himself travelling back to the past of his childhood and future.

Time travel: Starring Game Of Thrones actress Rose Leslie (Clare) and Theo James as time traveler Henry, the Sky Atlantic show will follow their complicated romance

Remake: The book was previously adapted into a movie starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana (pictured)

Science fiction: Set for release in May, the teaser follows Clare detailing how hard it is having Henry there one minute and disappear the next

Six part series: She says: 'The bed sheets will go slack or the shower will keep running and you realise that he's gone. He's just a pile of clothes'

He says: 'It's not a superpower. It's what's wrong with me. I can't keep hold of a current moment, I just slide off. And I fall back in time

He says: 'It's not a superpower. It's what's wrong with me. I can't keep hold of a current moment, I just slide off. And I fall back in time.'

Scenes flash including one of Henry as a child in the back of a car with his mother, moments before a car accident and him as an adult running naked through the streets being chased by police.

Clare, who appears to be having therapy, adds: 'When he's gone, I wait and I worry. I wonder where he is, when he is. If he's in danger.'

It also follows Henry's journey as he struggles with living in the present

Hnry finds himself travelling back to the past of his childhood and future

She adds: 'I married a time traveler. It's complicated.'

The show is based on the 2003 Audrey Niffenegger novel, The Time Traveler's Wife, a story about a married couple who deal with time travel in their romance.

The network described the upcoming series as an 'intricate and magical love story,' which has been adapted by executive producer Steven Moffat (Sherlock, Doctor Who) and director David Nutter (Game Of Thrones).

Leslie's character Clare has been described as 'fiery, clever and unstoppable' with a longtime imaginary friend  who she will come to learn is James' character Henry, a time traveler from her future.

Concerned: Clare, who appears to be having therapy, adds: 'When he's gone, I wait and I worry. I wonder where he is, when he is. If he's in danger'

The duo meet by chance in the library where he works, and as he boasts a 'condition' that causes him to fall 'into the past or the future,' at any given moment, he has no sense of who she is despite her knowing him very well.

The book was previously adapted into a movie starring Rachel and Eric, but after Moffat and Nutter got their hands on it it was given a straight-to-series order three years ago.

Moffat said to Deadline at the time: 'All these years later, the chance to adapt the novel itself, is a dream come true.

'The brave new world of long form television is now ready for this kind of depth and complexity...It's a story of happy ever after - but not necessarily in that order.'
She hasn't been afraid to discuss her post-pregnancy liposuction and weight loss.

And Amy Schumer showed off her results on Tuesday when she posted a cheeky video of herself dancing topless to Instagram.

The 40-year-old comedian and actress was having some fun during downtime while she was being fitted for outfits to wear to the Oscars ceremony later this month, which she's set to co-host.

Do a little dance: Amy Schumer, 40, wasn't afraid to get a little risque as she danced around a changing room topless in a video she posted to Instagram on Tuesday

Amy was pictured from behind while standing inside a dressing room where she was totally nude aside from a pair of plain black panties.

She had her blond hair tied up casually in a messy bun as she turned her head back toward the camera, revealing that she was going makeup-free for the fitting.

The view also highlighted the Trainwreck star's lower back tattoo, which she has previously poked fun at.

'Oscar and @lifeandbethhulu fitting. Cant stop dancing,' she wrote in her caption, adding the hashtags, '#badtattoo' and '#baddancing.'

Having fun with it: 'Oscar and @lifeandbethhulu fitting. Cant stop dancing,' she wrote in her caption, adding the hashtags, '#badtattoo' and '#baddancing'

Showing off: Amy was pictured from behind and was nude aside from black panties. She had her blond hair tied up in a messy bun as she turned her head back toward the camera, revealing that she was going makeup-free for the fitting

No shame: The view also highlighted the Trainwreck star's lower back tattoo, which she has previously poked fun at in her memoir The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo

The woman filming couldn't hold back a giggle as Amy threw her hands in the air and gyrated her hips.

She strutted forward with little baby steps in rhythm with hip hop that was playing faintly in the background.

Amy hasn't been shy about her lower back tattoo in the past, and even featured in prominently in the title of her memoir The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo.

In that book, she recounts how her mother drove her and her sister Kim to get the 'tribal' ink when she was 20, and even though she's not afraid to make fun of it, she stressed that she doesn't regret the experience.

'Now that all of my work, my relationships, my tweets, my body parts, and my sandwiches are publicly analyzed, Im proud that I labeled myself a flawed, normal human before anyone else did,' she wrote. 'Ive been called everything in the book, but I already branded myself a tramp, so the haters are going to have to come up with something fresh.'

Amy was working on her preparations for her Oscars hosting gig, in which she'll be joined by fellow comedian Wanda Sykes and actress Regina Hall.

On stage: Amy was working on her preparations for her Oscars hosting gig, in which she'll be joined by fellow comedian Wanda Sykes and actress Regina Hall. She told THR last week that her lawyers forced her to tone down her material; seen in 2018

In her Hollywood Reporter profile  published last week  Amy said she was planning on fitting in as much raunchy humor into the iconic ceremony as she could, even though her lawyers had already instructed her to tone it down.

'I emailed my lawyer about two jokes the other day, and he was like, "No!"' she admitted.

Although Amy seemed to think her material was up to snuff, it didn't initially go off well when she tried out some ideas with Oscars producers via Zoom about a month ago and they just responded with silence.

Outfit: Amy opted for an all-black look as she was interviewed on Good Morning Britain on Wednesday

Casual: The star wore a black top with a waist strap along with matching trousers

Laid back: The comedian completed her look for the day with a pair of sunglasses

'I was like, "Can you guys hear me?"' she recalled, though she found it funny in hindsight.

The standup comic considers herself a connoisseur of 'p***y jokes,' though she admitted her longtime fans weren't likely to hear any on ABC when the iconic awards show is broadcast on Sunday, March 27.

She recounted the start of one graphic nominee-themed joke that might have launched her introductory set: 'My husband is going down on me, or as he calls it, Squid Game. So, hes in my Nightmare Alley'

Although she still planned to take 'a couple risks,' warnings from her legal team kept her away from the kind of jokes she would normally tell on stage.

Love story: She was also being fitted for her Hulu series Life & Beth, which is inspired by her romance with husband Chris Fischer, who is on the autism spectrum; seen in October in NYC

Amy also mentioned that she was getting fitted for her series Life & Beth, which premieres on March 18.

The series is inspired by her romance with husband Chris Fischer, a chef, who is on the autism spectrum.

She costars with Michael Cera, who plays a version of her husband and was ideal because of his ability to incorporate some of Chris' mannerisms without simply copying him.

Amy joked it helped that he wasn't just 'some British lumberjack.'

She recounted how some of her husband's behaviors  which were likely related to him being on the spectrum, even though he didn't know it at the time  seemed like warning signs initially.

'Are these red flags? Am I ignoring red flags?' she remembered asking herself, which her character Beth will also ask.
Jedward have spoken out on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, by blasting Vladimir Putin as a 'crazy mofo'.

The former X Factor twins, John and Edward Grimes, 30, took to their TikTok to post a video giving their support to those affected in the war-torn country, while slamming Putin.

The duo spoke of how watching the devastating scenes unfold has left them in tears as they told citizens to 'stay strong'.

Speaking out: Jedward have spoken out on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, by blasting Vladimir Putin as a 'crazy mofo'

Edward said: 'We are sending strength and love to everybody affected. It's an upsetting time. I found myself crying when I watch the news.

'I am getting emotional right now. But hopefully everyone's focussing on their lives and stay strong.'

The video is no longer available on the pair's TikTok account, which has racked up more than 151,000 followers and 4.2 million likes.

Firing shots: The former X Factor twins, John and Edward Grimes, 30, took to their TikTok to post a video giving their support to those affected while slamming Putin (pictured Tuesday)

Upset: Edward said: 'We are sending strength and love to everybody affected. It's an upsetting time. I found myself crying when I watch the news'

The world was left in total shock three weeks ago, when Russian forces invaded Ukraine, sparking a refugee crises with citizens travelling to nearby countries such as Poland for sanctuary.

Jedward are not alone in voicing their denouncement of Putin and have been joined by several other celebrities in speaking out in support of Ukraine.

Ashton Kutcher and his Ukrainian-born wife Mila Kunis revealed that they've now raised over $20 million for the people of Ukraine following the unprovoked attacks.

Major milestone: Ashton Kutcher and his Ukrainian-born wife Mila Kunis revealed that they've now raised over $20 million for the people of Ukraine following the unprovoked attacks

Emilia Clarke, meanwhile, detailed her heart was 'breaking' over the continued 'suffering and pain' as she shared how her fans could get involved and 'show some love.'

And Sandi Toksvig has united with 40 other British comedians calling on the UK government to 'take faster action' helping refugees feeling the war in Ukraine.

At the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, host Rebel Wilson slammed Putin, by giving him the finger.

After she discussed how Emilia Jones musical performance on the show would be aided by a pair of sign language interpreters, she then said: 'And in all sign languages, this is the gesture for Putin,' before raising her middle finger.

On the red carpet, Benedict Cumberbatch told how the suffering of millions of people can't be ignored as the war is 'something that hangs over us.'

He explained: 'It is a really shocking time to be a European two and a half hours flight away from Ukraine, and it's something that hangs over us' before going on to note the 'civilians who are being shelled and shot at, and killed and made homeless without power, without water, without food'.

And Benedict, who wore a Ukraine pin on his smart black tuxedo to show his support, continued: 'And while tonight is a celebration and this might look like tokenism, were celebrating the moving image, were celebrating pictures this is what Im trying to do.

Taking a stand: At the BAFTA Film Awards on Sunday, host Rebel Wilson slammed Putin, by giving him the finger

'To show Im standing side-by-side with my brothers and sisters who are going through this.

'But we all need, as we know, to do more than wear a badge. We need to donate, we need to pressure our politicians to continue to create some kind of a refugee safety and haven here for people who are suffering.

'I know thats ongoing, I know thats happening but everyone needs to do as much as they can.'

As Russia's invasion falters, its methods become more brutal - with cities increasingly coming under indiscriminate rocket fire.

Kyiv, the capital, suffered another round of bombing on Tuesday morning as apartment blocks were set on fire by early-hours strikes.

Kharkiv came under attack again on Tuesday, with the city's mayor saying that more than 600 buildings have been destroyed there since the start of Russia's invasion.

'Schools, nurseries, hospitals, clinics have been destroyed,' said Mayor Ihor Terekhov in a televised interview on Tuesday. 'The Russian army is constantly shelling (us) from the ground and the air.'

Ukraine's military said four Russian helicopters, a jet, and a cruise missile were shot down by its forces which remained in control of all major cities - including the badly-hit southern port of Mariupol.
She has campaigned to abolish the aristocratic tradition of male primogeniture, and now Charlotte Carew Pole is determined to prove that driving to a war zone is not just the preserve of macho men.

Just as novelist Ernest Hemingway drove an ambulance for the American Red Cross on the Italian front in World War I, Carew Pole is part of a convoy of six medical vehicles stashed with life-saving gear in a 48-hour mad dash to the Ukraine border.

Charlotte, 45, who lives on the 2,000-acre Antony estate in Cornwall, is among 12 drivers selected to take on the arduous 1,300-mile voyage with no breaks, which was organised by Ambulances for Ukraine and management consultant Khaled El Mayet from Cheltenham who was even recognised for his efforts by the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Charlotte will take it in turns with co-driver Mary Macleod, a former Tory MP who helped her introduce a private members' bill to end hereditary titles passing only to men.

Charlotte Carew Pole (pictured) is leading a convoy of six medical vehicles stashed with life-saving gear in a 48-hour mad dash to the Ukraine border.

Ukrainian refugees crowd into the various support points of the train station in Krakow, Poland on March 14, 2022

A Ukraine soldier inspects the rubble of a destroyed apartment building in Kyiv on March 15, 2022

The mother-of-two, whose father-in-law, Sir Richard Carew Pole, is a baronet, can drive the ambulance thanks to her licence for horse boxes.

'We're going to plough on through the night to get there,' she told me before setting off from Cheltenham yesterday.

'We'll cross the Channel, then onto Germany and down into Poland to the border. We can't say where exactly, just in case.

'It will be exhausting, but I couldn't have a better co-driver. From there, we'll link up with the Global Outreach Doctors charity, who will take the ambulances and all the gear into Ukraine.'

Keith Richards isn't letting the world's current troubles spoil his outlook.

'I'm sitting on a tropical island, I can see the ocean, and palm trees. I'm doing all right, I'm trying to see the winter out,' says the guitarist, 78, who will celebrate the Rolling Stones' 60th anniversary with two Hyde Park shows this summer.

Stay safe, Keef! In 2006, he needed surgery after falling out of a coconut tree in Fiji.

Is Cats composer going to the dogs?

Is West End star Samantha Barks really barking?

The actress, who plays Elsa in Disney's 10 million stage production of Frozen, took her cavapoochon, Ivy, when she met Lord Lloyd-Webber at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

West End star Samantha Barks enjoys afternoon tea with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and their dogs at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane

'Ivy was thrilled to be having afternoon tea at The Lane with Andrew Lloyd Webber and his lovely dog, Mojito [a Havanese puppy],' she says.

Surely, it's only a matter of time before Lloyd Webber, who composed Cats, creates a musical about dogs...

A very cosy siesta for sleepy Sienna

A night of tireless revelling took its toll on former party girl Sienna Miller, who found a comfortable place to rest her weary head.

The British actress, 40, fell asleep on the ample bosom of her friend and fellow Hollywood star Salma Hayek, 55, after the Bafta awards.

Mexico-born Salma, who's married to French luxury goods heir Francois-Henri Pinault, 59, shared this touching photograph with her fans yesterday next to the caption: 'Sienna siesta.'

Sienna Miller, 40, fell asleep on the ample bosom of her friend and fellow Hollywood star Salma Hayek, 55, after the Bafta awards

Both actresses, who were promoted by disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, have spoken out about the abuse they suffered while working with him.

Sienna claimed Weinstein reduced her to tears early in her film career after he told her to stop socialising.

She said: 'He called me into his office. He sat me down, stood up, and said: 'You're not partying any more.' '

The Queen's Platinum Jubilee concert tonight will see the Royal Albert Hall 'covered in blue and yellow lights' to create an image of Ukraine's flag as the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra plays the country's national anthem.

Soprano Laura Wright, a royal favourite since she performed at the Diamond Jubilee, tells me she's 'incredibly honoured' to be singing God Save The Queen tonight while 'heavily pregnant'.

Interestingly, the royals in attendance will be Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. He has come under scrutiny for his cosy links with Russia.

Love in the air for Mr Darcy

He made hearts flutter emerging from a lake in breeches and a dripping wet cotton shirt as dashing Mr Darcy in Pride And Prejudice, but Colin Firth failed to be recognised in his newsboy cap and thick-rimmed specs.

The Oscar winner, 61, was visiting an outdoor cafe with girlfriend, Maggie Cohn, a U.S screenwriter thought to be in her 40s.

Colin Firth with girlfriend and US screenwriter Maggie Cohn

Firth  who separated from his wife of 22 years, Livia Giuggioli, in 2019  has been courting Cohen since they met last year on the set of forthcoming American crime drama The Staircase.

Could this be love, actually?

When Georgia Toffolo won I'm A Celebrity, her prize was just a crown of flowers and the Queen of the Jungle title.

Yesterday, she had much better luck at Cheltenham.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, predicted the winner and runner-up in the Supreme Novices Hurdle race, returning 37,500 on a 2,500 bet.

'Beginner's luck,' Toff exclaims. 'Generous donation incoming to both the British Red Cross and The Disasters Emergency Committee.'

Fury at attack on nude statue of feminist icon

Most people are inspired by Ukraine flags at the moment, but one has infuriated the mother of actress Saffron Burrows after it was wrapped round a nude statue of feminist campaigner Mary Wollstonecraft.

'My husband saw these silly bloody women had stuck a Ukrainian flag over the statue's naked body and covered it with placards with aggressive messages,' Susie Burrows says of the art work by Maggi Hambling in a North London park.

Speaking at a preview of an art show by her actress friend Lorien Haynes at Burgh House, Hampstead, Susie tells me: 'My husband helped pay for this  we are very upset.

'He donated 10,000 because we believe in women's equality, so this is a disgrace. It is not feminism.

'There are plenty of male naked statues out there [the vandals could have chosen].'
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Michelle Keegan has given fans a glimpse into her holiday of a lifetime to Los Angeles alongside her husband Mark Wright.

The couple lived in the lap of luxury for their California trip as Michelle shared snaps of the stunning views they had from the mansion they stayed in in the Hollywood Hills.

The Our Girl actress walked the length of the terrace as she filmed the sun setting over the Los Angeles basin.

Phenomenal: Michelle Keegan showed off her sun-kissed glow as she slipped into a mint green blazer for a girls night out after returning from LA with husband Mark Wright

Michelle and Mark also met up with some pals during their time in the city and went for drinks in Malibu.

Mark shared a snap of him and Michelle posing with their friends before they headed out on Saturday, gushing in the caption: 'Gang gang. Last night in LA, trip of a life time. I love my crew!!'

The pair also visited Universal Studios where Michelle asked her followers: 'Am I the only one never to have watched the Harry Potter films?'

The couple also kept up with their fitness routine as they went for a bike ride on the beach while they also enjoyed a ski day at California's Big Bear Lake.

Wow: The couple lived in the lap of luxury for their California trip

Cheers: Michelle and Mark also met up with some pals during their time in the city and went for drinks in Malibu

Mark previously lived in LA when he was working as an entertainment correspondent for showbiz news show Extra.

He returned to the UK in 2019 after deciding he wanted to be closer to his family, with the door said to be left open for him to return to the show if he wants.

Mark previously told The Sun: ''m no longer living in LA. I was there for nearly two years and had the most amazing time.

'It just feels like the right time to come back to the UK and live here with my wife and family. I'll always be grateful to the show Extra for the opportunity they gave me.'

Sun-soaked: The couple also kept up with their fitness routine as they went for a bike ride on the beach

After touching back down in the UK, Michelle showed off her sun-kissed glow as she slipped into a mint green blazer for a girls night out.

The actress looked sensational in the stylish number that put her long legs on full display.

Elevating her height in a pair of strappy nude heels, she carried her essentials in a small green handbag.

Trip: The pair also visited Universal Studios where Michelle asked her followers: 'Am I the only one never to have watched the Harry Potter films?'

Her chocolate locks were styled in loose waves, and she wore a full face of glamorous makeup to accentuate her pretty features.

Captioning the stunning snap on Instagram, the Our Girl star wrote: 'Girls night ready'.
Nadia Bartel faced court for alleged driving offences on Wednesday afternoon.

And just hours before her judgement was passed down, the former WAG-turned-fashion designer, 36, looked downcast as she grabbed a takeaway coffee in Melbourne.

Nadia clad her slim pins in black leggings for the morning outing.

Why the long face? Former WAG-turned-fashion designer Nadia Bartel looked downcast as she grabbed a takeaway coffee in Melbourne on Wednesday

The businesswoman and ex-wife of AFL player Jimmy Bartel teamed the garment with a tight white singlet.

She kept light on her feet in a pair of black sneakers and carried her mobile phone in her free hand.

The mother of two styled her wavy ombre hair loosely across her shoulders.

Legs for days: Nadia, 36, clad her slim pins in black leggings for the morning outing

White on the mark: The businesswoman and ex-wife of AFL player Jimmy Bartel teamed the garment with a tight white singlet

Later in the day, Nadia was fined $1,100 after she was caught driving while suspended and failing to update her address last year.

She was intercepted by Prahran Highway Patrol officers on Dandenong Road in the Melbourne suburb of Windsor at about 12.30pm on August 25, 2021.

This was just a week before she was filmed snorting white powder from a Kmart plate at an illegal party during Melbourne's lockdown.

Well-heeled: She kept light on her feet in a pair of black sneakers and carried her mobile phone in her free hand

Nadia previously said she was 'not aware' her driving licence had been suspended.

'In August I was pulled over by the police who advised me that I was driving on a suspended licence,' she told the Herald Sun.

'The suspension was due to exceeding my demerit point balance,' she added.

In trouble: Last year, Nadia was charged by police for allegedly driving while her licence was suspended and failing to update her address

'I was not aware of the suspension as communication had been sent to my previous residential address which I didn't receive.

'I would never have driven had I been aware of the suspension and my residential details have now been updated.'

Long arm of the law: She was intercepted by Prahran Highway Patrol officers on Dandenong Road in the Melbourne suburb of Windsor at about 12.30pm on August 25, 2021

Big year: This was just a week before she was filmed snorting white powder from a Kmart plate at an illegal party during Melbourne's lockdown

The now-infamous video of Nadia breaching Covid restrictions was posted online by her friend Ellie Pearson on September 1, during Victoria's sixth Covid-19 lockdown.

In the video, she was surrounded by other women who laughed as she leaned over a $1.50 Kmart plate and snorted a line of white powder, during what was an illegal gathering due to lockdown restrictions.

Nadia, Ellie and two other women were fined $5,452 each for breaching lockdown rules, but they weren't charged with any drug offences.

Scandal: The now-infamous video of Nadia breaching Covid restrictions was posted online by her friend Ellie Pearson on September 1, during Victoria's sixth Covid-19 lockdown

After the incident was widely reported, Nadia lost well paid sponsorship deals.

At the time, she said she was 'embarrassed and remorseful'.

'I have let you all down by my actions,' she said. 'I take full responsibility and I am committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure I make better choices in future.'
Five of Australia's most celebrated filmmakers will feature on a series of new postage stamps in honour of their achievements.

George Miller, Gillian Armstrong, Baz Luhrmann, Peter Weir and Warwick Thornton have been recognised in the Australia Post Legends Awards.

Each of the winners will be presented with a 24-carat gold replica of the stamp they feature on.

Legends: Five of Australia's most celebrated filmmakers will feature on a series of new postage stamps in honour of their achievements including,George Miller, who is pictured on set directing Mad Max Fury Road

Hitmaker: Pictured is the stamp celebrating George Miller, who is famous for the hugely successful Mad Max movies

'Each year since 1997, we've celebrated living Australians who have made a unique contribution to the Australian way of life,' Australia Post Group philatelic manager Michael Zsolt told Inside Film.

Past winners of Australia Post's Legends include Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett.

The group of filmmakers being honoured this year have produced between them some of Australia's most awarded and successful film and television, including Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, Miller's Oscar winner Fury Road and Thornton's Mystery Road.

Excited: Gillian Armstrong, 71, whose very first film, My Brilliant Career, became an instant classic in 1971, said she was thrilled to win the prize

'The films created by our 2022 Legends all tell powerful stories that connect strongly with Australian audiences,' Zsolt said.

Gillian Armstrong, 71, whose very first film, My Brilliant Career, became an instant classic in 1979, said she was thrilled to win the prize.

'It's wonderful that our film directors are being recognised for the powerfully unique and heartfelt Australian stories we make,' Armstrong said.

Armstrong, who grew up in suburban Melbourne in the 1950s and 1960s, said she used to collect stamps as a child because she liked 'the little pictures.'

Style king: Pictured is the stamp honouring Baz Luhrmann, one of Australia's most successful director whose films include the top grossing Strictly Ballroom

She added: 'It feel particularly full circle to be honoured in this way.'

Peter Weir, 77, who like Miller and Armstrong started his feature filmmaking career in the 1970s is best known for the 1981 classic Gallipoli with Mel Gibson and the Dead Poet's Society starring the late Robin Williams.

The 2022 Australian Legends of Filmmaking is now on sale.
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Julianne Hough put on a glamorous display as she graced the red carpet for the National Board of Review Awards.

The 61-year-old actress looked younger than her years in a white off-the-shoulder number that she paired with silver heels.

The Oscar winner dazzled with her red locks styled in a center part and loose cascading waves.

Glam! Julianne Hough put on a glamorous display as she graced the red carpet for the National Board of Review Awards

She wore silver-toned drop earrings that played off her footwear and she sported a glossy black manicure.

Moore displayed her many freckles on her exposed shoulders and arms in the lovely evening wear.

She flaunted a smoky eye and rosy cheeks that matched perfectly with her lip stain.

The Still Alice star oozed confidence as she showed off her expertly-tailored dress at the star studded event in New York City.

Hair look: The Oscar winner dazzled with her red locks styled in a center part with loose cascading waves

Effortlessly stylish: Julianne looked chic as always during the event

Also at the awards show was Will Smith, who looked typically handsome in a brown layered look.

The Bel-Air producer sported a plaid suit jacket with velvet trim along the collar and pockets.

Underneath it he wore a double-breasted plaid vest in a lighter shade of brown. And under that he had on a light blue shirt.

He accessorized with a blue and brown patterned tie. He wore deep brown velvet pants.

The ensemble was rounded out with a pair of glossy dress shoes and the King Richard star had a goatee.

Fashion forward: Also at the awards show was Will Smith, who looked typically handsome in a brown layered look

Dapper: The Bel-Air producer sported a plaid suit jacket with velvet trim along the collar and pockets

Handsome: Trevor looked handsome in a black paid suit jacket and matching fitted trousers

Star-studded: Will posed up a storm with his peers, including actress and producer Aunjanue Ellis

Will posed up a storm with his peers, including actress Aunjanue Ellis, music artist Questlove, and director Spike Lee.

Ellis made a statement in a royal purple pantsuit and matching silk blouse. She added pointy lavender pumps to her monochrome look.

The Roots musician arrived in a forest green tunic with a gold belt buckle on the front.

It was paired with black trousers and black shoes that were designed with multicolor specks resembling splashed paint.

Stepping out: Bradley Cooper was also present for the celebrity-filled gathering, which was held at Cipriani

Glamour: Alana Haim stunned a vintage-inspired green satin gown

Co-stars: She hit the red carpet with Licorice Pizza co-star Cooper Hoffman

Hitting it big: Hoffman, who made his film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson's critically-acclaimed film Licorice Pizza, suite dup for the occasion in all-black

The founder of Philadelphia's Roots Picnic wore a long beaded blue necklaced and a watch.

He sported large, square-shaped, black-rimmed glasses and was seen in his signature beard and afro combination.

His raven locks were defined, styled in tight ringlets that flowed over his ears. He posed alongside Will and Spike.

The Do the Right Thing director wore a beige cap and circular white-rimmed eyeglasses.

He wore a casual button-up black jacket with a large number seven printed on one side.

Gorgeous: Aunjanue Ellis and Ebony Obsidian posing together in the press room

Wow: Ellis wowed in a purple satin suit and lavender stilettos

Dark side: Obsidian smoldered as she took the awards show carpet in an edgy black leather dress

Bradley Cooper was also present for the celebrity-filled gathering, which was held at Cipriani.

He looked great as ever with his dark hair slicked back for the occasion.

The Silver Linings Playbook actor had a shadow of a beard as he smiled for photos in a very sleek navy blue suit.

The father-of-one wore it with a black button-up shirt and skipped a tie, rounding out the outfit with black dress shoes.

Alana Haim stunned a vintage-inspired green satin gown as she hit the red carpet with Licorice Pizza co-star Cooper Hoffman.

Showstopper: Zazie Beetz, star of Childish Gambino's hit HBO show Atlanta, turned heads in a black and white number

Killer combo: She paired her skirt with a long, black, satin skirt with strings that tied over her midsection all the way up to her neck

Team win: Danielle Deadwyler and Zazie posed with the award for Best Ensemble for The Harder They Fall

She paired her gorgeous gown with some eye-catching gold metallic heels.

The musician also sported an understated makeup look and styled her brunette hair in soft waves that cascaded down her back.

Hoffman, who made his film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson's critically-acclaimed film Licorice Pizza, suite dup for the occasion in all-black.

The actor gave his look a preppy touch by layering his jacket over a polo shirt.

Zazie Beetz, star of Childish Gambino's hit HBO show Atlanta, turned heads in a black and white number.

Happy pair: Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie attended the ceremony together, making a handsome couple in complementary looks

Classy: The Brazilian-born entertainer pulled her dark hair into a textured updo and wore dangling earrings

Beautiful: Encanto star Stephanie Beatriz and West Side Story actress Ilda Mason also attended the event

Twirl: Mason twirled to show off her stunning gown

The German-American actress kept things sexy in a tiny white bra top that revealed some underboob.

She paired it with a long, black, satin skirt with strings that tied over her midsection all the way up to her neck.

The unique design revealed her flat stomach and showed off her toned back.

Morena Baccarin and Ben McKenzie attended the ceremony together, making a handsome couple in complementary looks.

The two actors walked the carpet arm-in-arm, with Morena in a metallic silver gown and her husband in a charcoal grey suit.

Signature style: Questlove arrived in a forest green tunic with a gold belt buckle on the front

Proud: Tony Shalhoub seen posing with his trophy

Husband and wife: Kenneth Branagh and longtime wife Lindsay Brunnock stepped out for Monday night's event as well

The Brazilian-born entertainer pulled her dark hair into a textured updo and wore dangling earrings.

Her dress was asymmetrical, boasting two different straps that plunged for a sexy cleavage-baring look.

Ben wore a white shirt under his suit blazer and slicked his short crop of hair back.

Encanto star Stephanie Beatriz also attended the event, turning heads in a fitted black dress with a deep neckline.

The look had sequined black and white trimming along the neckline, framing her pert cleavage.

Proud moment: Julianne joined Paul Thomas Anderson and Sara Murphy in the press room as they showed off their awards to the cameras

Stunning: Danielle Deadwyler turned heads in a white dress and metallic strappy heels

Jovial: Anderon wrapped one arm around comedian Chris Rock as they posed backstage with his award

She wore her dark hair in a sided part and slicked back for a classic, sleek style.

Ilda Mason looked pretty in a strapless dress with a 3D floral pattern throughout.

She wore her curly hair in an updo, leaving a side bang out to frame her face.

Ebony Obsidian smoldered as she took the awards show carpet in an edgy black leather dress.

It was low-cut and featured cutouts right below her chest. The body-hugging number had dramatic, short, ruffled sleeves.

She contrasted the dark look with a white manicure and pedicure that was displayed in open-toe heels with flashy stone designs along the strap.

Dynamic duo: Joachim Trier and Renate Reinsve showed off their fashion sense on the red carpet

Movement: Reinsve eagerly twirled her skirt for the cameras before heading inside

She wore her hair arranged on top of her head in a large tussle of soft and flirty curls, putting her stunning visage front and center.

Kenneth Branagh and Lindsay Brunnock made an appearance at the award show together.

Married since 2003, they complemented each other nicely as their photos were taken at the gala.

Kenneth wore a navy three-piece suit with a lighter blue shirt underneath, while his spouse looked beautiful in a black frock.

Three industry giants: Will Smith, Questlove, and Spike Lee gathered in for a photo op

Joyous: Julianne Moore, Bradley Cooper, and Paul Thomas Anderson looked beyond thrilled to be reuniting

Mingling: Bradley Cooper, Zazie Beetz, and Spike Lee posed for a photo ahead of the ceremony

She pulled her brunette hair into a sophisticated topknot.

Tony Shalhoub hit the red carpet in a stylish velvet suit before accepting his trophy during the star-studded ceremony.

Chris Rock made an appearance as he posed on the red carpet with Licorice Pizza director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Laidback appearance: Renowned movie director Spike Lee took the stage and showed off his signature casual style

Recognition: Will and Aunjanue each won awards for roles opposite each other in King Richard

Memorable: Paul Thomas Anderson was awarded a trophy by Julianne Moore, who famously starred in his 1997 film Boogie Nights

Honored: Anderson looked honored as he took to the stage to accept his trophy

Gathered: Cooper, who starred in Anderson's Licorice Pizza, took the stage during the ceremony, as well as Haim and Hoffman, to seemingly honor Anderson

The comedian and the auteur donned near-identical suits for the evening.

Anderson was awarded a trophy by Julianne Moore, who famously starred in his 1997 film Boogie Nights.

He graciously accepted the honor from her before addressing the star-studded crowd.

Cooper, who starred in Anderson's Licorice Pizza, took the stage during the ceremony, as well as Haim and Hoffman, to seemingly honor Anderson.

Grateful: Haim and Hoffman spoke about Anderson in front of the audience

Speaker: Trevor Noah got the crowd roaring as he took to the stage during the ceremony

Gracious: Shalhoub seen speaking on stage
Sofia Richie was spotted cutting a casually fashionable figure while out and about in sunny Los Angeles this week.

The 23-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie was accompanied by her dashing boyfriend Elliot Grainge for a spot of retail therapy.

They were spotted enjoying a bit of chitchat on a sidewalk outside of a local Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills on Tuesday.

Looking fab: Sofia Richie was spotted cutting a casually fashionable figure while out and about in sunny Los Angeles this week

Sofia slid herself into a billowing, loose-fitted pair of black trousers that were nevertheless cinched in at the waist to emphasize her petite frame.

She warded off the continuing wintertime chill with a cozy-looking charcoal sweater for her latest outing in Beverly Hills.

The little sister of Nicole Richie let her luxurious blonde hairdo tumble freely over her shoulders and accessorized with large black shades.

Sofia and her current boyfriend have apparently been an item for over a year, having first set off dating rumors at the start of 2021.

Out and about: The 23-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie was accompanied by her dashing boyfriend Elliot Grainge for a spot of retail therapy

Elliot, whose father Lucian Grainge is the CEO of Universal Music Group, has joined the family business and started an indie record label.

Back in 2020 Sofia had ended her relationship with the reality TV heartthrob Scott Disick, 38, who has three children with Kourtney Kardashian.

Sofia dated Scott for more than two years before they broke up in 2020, briefly reunited and then split for good.

Kourtney and Scott have retained a famously close and amicable relationship as they co-parent their children Mason, 12, Penelope, nine, and Reign, seven.

Mover and shaker: Sofia slid herself into a billowing, loose-fitted pair of black trousers that were nevertheless cinched in at the waist to emphasize her petite frame

During the last season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians Scott revealed that his close co-parenting bond with Kourtney caused problems for him and Sofia.

Now Kourtney is engaged to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and Scott is in a swirl of relationship rumors with Too Hot To Handle alumna Holly Scarfone, 23.

Holly has been noted for her striking resemblance to Kourtney's little half-sister Kylie Jenner, the 24-year-old cosmetics tycoon.
Sam Frost is set to make her return to TV in a new lifestyle show, three months after quitting Channel Seven's Home and Away.

The 32-year-old will be joining her sister Kris Ross on a new series named My Road to Adventure.

The sisters will travel in a motorhome down Victoria's iconic Great Ocean Road.

New role: Home and Away's Sam Frost (pictured) set to make her return to TV in new lifestyle show after quitting the Channel Seven soap

'We are so excited to join the My Road to Adventure crew again  and this time we'll be making the trek to the Great Ocean Rd in Victoria,' Sam told the Herald Sun.

'The Great Ocean Road means a lot to our family and holds a special place in my heart. I can't wait to revisit.'

Sam and Kris previously travelled to Hervey Bay and Fraser Island in Queensland on the previous season of the show.

Coming soon: The 32-year-old will be joining her sister Kris Ross on the new series named My Road to Adventure

It comes after Sam, a former Bachelorette, filmed her last scenes for Home and Away in December at Sydney's Eveleigh Studios, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The actress then moved to Melbourne to be closer to her friends and family.

Sam also recently called restrictions on the unvaccinated 'segregation' after revealing she was unvaccinated at the time.

In an emotional video posted to Instagram in October, Sam said: 'I was really hesitant about doing a video or even speaking up about this sort of thing, but I feel like it's getting to a point now in the world where there's a lot of segregation.'

Final scenes: It comes after Sam, a former Bachelorette, filmed her last scenes for Home and Away in December at Sydney's Eveleigh Studios, according to The Daily Telegraph

'There's a lot of harsh judgement and opinions being thrown around a lot and it's taking its toll on my mental health for sure, and I know people around me are struggling - particularly if they're on the side of they don't want to get vaccinated, for whatever reason.'

'There are lots of different reasons why people are not getting vaccinated and it might be because of their medical history, their concerns, they might have family history, it could be religious reasons.'

Sam then said she hadn't been vaccinated, but claimed she had spoken to her medical doctor as well as a psychologist about her decision.

Comments: Sam also recently called restrictions on the unvaccinated 'segregation' after revealing she was unvaccinated

She added tearfully: 'It's a really hard time to be in society right now and you feel like you are less of a human and you feel like people judge you.

'And you're too scared to talk about your opinion or your feelings and part of you wants to go, 'Well it's none of your damn business why I'm not! And there's good reasons why I'm not and I don't want you to judge me'.'

She explained it was important for the unvaccinated to look after their mental health, especially as freedoms return for fully vaccinated Australians.

After facing widespread criticism for her video, Sam deactivated her main Instagram account and blocked all comments on the account for her mental health charity Believe By Sam Frost.
Teresa Giudice and Luis 'Louie' Ruelas celebrated their one-year anniversary as a couple on Tuesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey on Bravo.

The 49-year-old reality star excitedly got ready to go out with Louie to celebrate the major milestone. She asked her daughters Gabriella, 16, and Gia, 20, for their opinion on what she should wear.

'You were very excited when you first met Louie,' said Gabriella.

Major milestone: Teresa Giudice and Luis 'Louie' Ruelas celebrated their one-year anniversary as a couple on Tuesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of New Jersey on Bravo

'I was very skeptical,' said Gia.

Teresa said you can't base things on what you hear. She said 'look at me, I went away.'

'But that means nothing, you didn't go to jail because you did it,' said Gia.

'I know that,' said Teresa.

Tender moment: Louie and Teresa kissed after gushing about each other

'And you didn't look like a psychopath,' said Gia.

Teresa said, 'Louie's an amazing guy. You guys know or else I wouldn't be doing this. Your mom's pretty smart and you see how he treats me.'

'I love him,' said Teresa.

Getting ready: Teresa asked her daughters Gabriella, 16, and Gia, 20, for their opinion on what she should wear

Gia said in a confessional that her family had been through a lot.

'It's just so nice to see her so in love and so happy after she was alone for so long,' said Gia in a confessional.

Teresa started crying and said she asked her deceased parents to help her and then the next week she met Louie, 47.

Tough times: Gia said in a confessional that her family had been through a lot

At Melissa's house, Melissa planned her daughter Antonia, 15, a sweet 16 party. Melissa said in a confessional that she didn't have a sweet 16 party because her father died that year in a car accident.

'I just remember feeling sad and alone,' she said. 'It's one of those things you want to give her everything that you never got to have.'

Antonia was not happy at Melissa that she had to switch schools.

Birthday party: At Melissa's house, Melissa planned her daughter Antonia, 15, a sweet 16 party

'You don't move someone in the middle of high school that was cruel,' said Antonia. 'You did not consider my feelings at all.'

Antonia told her after injuring herself and switching schools that she didn't want to do cheer anymore.

'Well that's not an option,' said Melissa.

Hard line: 'Well that's not an option,' said Melissa after Antonia said she was done with cheer

At Teresa's house, she showed Gia that bracelet that she got for Louie as a gift. Then a driver came to pick her up and took her to a dock that was covered with rose petals. She boarded a yacht and a man serenaded them with a saxophone.

'I used to play the saxophone,' said Teresa.

A chef came out and told them what he would be serving them for dinner. Teresa gave him the bracelet and the card which said 'every day and every night with you is a blessing that I do not take for granted.'

Saxophone serenade: Teresa boarded a yacht and a man serenaded them with a saxophone

Louie and Teresa both said 'I love you' to each other.

Teresa said in a confessional that 'in the year that we have been together I have never been shown so much love in my life. Never an unkind word, Louie is a dream come true.'

Louie then presented to her a giant scroll that he had made that had all the things that he loved about her.

Dream guy: Teresa said in a confessional that 'in the year that we have been together I have never been shown so much love in my life. Never an unkind word, Louie is a dream come true'

'You, Teresa, are my soulmate and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,' read Louie from the scroll.

Jennifer Aydin, 44, meanwhile was questioning her marriage during the episode after news of her husband's old affair had become public.

'I don't think it's fair for anyone to stay in a relationship where they are not happy,`` said Jennifer in a confessional. 'I'm questioning my marriage, the trust we have for each other and that's scary for me.'

Huge scroll: 'You, Teresa, are my soulmate and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,' read Louie from the scroll

Anniversary scroll: The anniversary scroll from Louie documented his love for Teresa

Jennifer discussed the devastating impact that the news of Bill's old affair was having on her life with her brother Steven. Steven asked if she told their mother about the affair and she told him that she did and that she was cursed at Margaret. Steven asked if their mother was mad at Bill and she said 'I'm sure that some middle eastern part of her thinks that men do this sometimes and it's okay.'

'But it's not okay,' said Steven.

Steven asked Jennifer how she was doing about everything.

Family talk: Jennifer discussed the devastating impact that the news of Bill's old affair was having on her life with her brother Steven

'It was one thing living through it privately,' said Jennifer, who met her brother at a bagel place to try to make her feel better while the other housewives were at a spa day that she wasn't invited to. 'Now that it's out there and I have to be forced to deal with it, it's really hard.'

Steven asked her how things were with Bill and she said 'honestly, I don't know. We don't talk about it.'

Steven asked if Bill was willing to go to a therapist and she said no.

Therapy question: Steven asked if Bill was willing to go to a therapist and she said no

'He was almost like if we go to a space where we can tell each other everything, I'm afraid that we are going to open Pandora's box and not be able to close it,' said Jennifer.

'At this point in my marriage I'm suffering,' said Jenifer and that she didn't want to turn into Mom. 'I don't want to be married for 50 years to him and then think that my life passed me by.'

The episode titled 'Allegation Aggravation' picked up at the boys' night when Bill Aydin stormed out of the restaurant after his wife Jennifer's character was attacked.

Stormed away: The episode titled 'Allegation Aggravation' picked up at the boys' night when Bill Aydin stormed out of the restaurant after his wife Jennifer's character was attacked

Frank Catania ran out to try to stop him from leaving but Bill said 'No, I'm done. There are lines that shouldn't be crossed.'

Back at the table, Joe Gorga, 42, said Jennifer 'digs in everyone's life.' Evan Goldschneider, 46, said he didn't care about a 'guy code' about bringing up that Jennifer went digging for dirt on him.

Bill said to Frank at the valet that 'Jen is not the one who came up with the rumor of Evan cheating. Teresa started the rumor and it comes back to blow up on Jen because Jen asked a question to someone. That's a complete insult, I can't take that.'

Fed up: Evan Goldschneider, 46, said he didn't care about a 'guy code' about bringing up that Jennifer went digging for dirt on him

Bill told Frank 'I'm not staying somewhere I'm not welcome.'

Frank told him that wasn't true but Bill said he was done and got into his red Ferrari and drove off.

Frank got back to the table and told them that Bill was just defending his wife.

Sticking up: Frank got back to the table and told them that Bill was just defending his wife

Frank said in a confessional that 'when we are out there's a man code. Drama is for the ladies. Fun's for the men.'

The men did shots and then Teresa Giudice's boyfriend Louie showed up. Joe Gorga told him that Bill stormed out already. Teresa called and Louie told her that everything was good.

Louie told the other men that they might think that Teresa yells at him but that things between them were actually 'amazing.'

Relationship talk: Louie told the other men that they might think that Teresa yells at him but that things between them were actually 'amazing'

Joe then brought up the allegations that were going on about Louie on social media.

'Yeah, I've had a couple of bad relationships,' Louie said. 'But I'm sure every guy at this table has had a girl that will talk bad about you and say something different or the opposite of the truth.'

Louie told them they could ask him whatever they wanted.

Social media: Joe then brought up the allegations that were going on about Louie on social media

NFL star Tiki Barber, 46, asked him about the allegations of physical violence.

'There's no physical violence,' said Louie.

'But we keep hearing it, what do we make of it?' said Tiki.

Physical violence: NFL star Tiki Barber, 46, asked him about the allegations of physical violence

'There's no truth to that,' said Louie. 'There's a couple of angry exes very thirsty for attention. So no. No.'

Louie said of the girl they were referring to that 'I heard a rumor that she stabbed her husband with a butcher knife.'

Louie said he heard that rumor about her when they were dating and Joe asked him why he didn't run.

Angry exes: Louie said of the girl they were referring to that 'I heard a rumor that she stabbed her husband with a butcher knife'

'I didn't want to believe it,' said Louie.

'Wow,' said Joe.

Frank said in a confessional that the least they could do was to give Louie the benefit of the doubt unless proven otherwise.

Benefit extended: Frank said in a confessional that the least they could do was to give Louie the benefit of the doubt unless proven otherwise

'This is a little weird,' said Joe in a confessional. 'But Teresa has made up her mind that she wants to stay with Louie and if I wanna stay in my sister's life, I'm going to keep my mouth shut.'

The men all toasted to Louie.

The next morning all the men were hug over. Margaret Josephs, 54 asked her husband Joe if anyone brought up the allegations against Louie and he said Tiki did. Joe said Louie then told them about how supposedly that this ex-girlfriend stabbed her ex-husband with a knife.

Little weird: 'This is a little weird,' said Joe in a confessional. 'But Teresa has made up her mind that she wants to stay with Louie and if I wanna stay in my sister's life, I'm going to keep my mouth shut'

'What the f*** does that have to do with anything,' said Margaret. 'So now discredit the victim. This guy's slick.'

Jackie Goldschneider, 45, told her husband Evan that she thought Louie's comments were weird. 'I don't like discounting women like that,' she said.

Joe told his wife Melissa, 42, that the situation was uncomfortable for him because Louie might be his brother-in-law.

'He's going to be your brother-in-law 100 percent unless there's some proof,' said Melissa.

Not comfortable: Joe told his wife Melissa, 42, that the situation was uncomfortable for him because Louie might be his brother-in-law

Louie told Teresa about how Tiki asked about the allegations and said that his wife was asking questions.

'I don't even know her,' Teresa said in a confessional of Tiki's wife Traci Johnson, 46. 'Now she is using her husband to do detective work? Back the f*** up.'

Teresa told Louie not to worry and that she would protect him and their 'love bubble.' Louie laughed.

Catching up: Louie told Teresa about how Tiki asked about the allegations and said that his wife was asking questions

Evan also told Jackie about what happened with Bill leaving the dinner. Jackie said she didn't think that Bill was the bad guy.

'His wife is a disaster,' said Jackie of Jennifer.

At Jennifer's house, Bill told his wife that he defended her character and left the diner.

Character defender: At Jennifer's house, Bill told his wife that he defended her character and left the diner

'I'm happy you stuck up for me,' said Jennifer.

'I have your back,' said Bill.

Jennifer said to him she had never heard him be vocal like this and he had a tendency not to show emotion.

No emotion: Jennifer said to him she had never heard him be vocal like this and he had a tendency not to show emotion

'I'm an imperfect human being and not everyone has the personality to be able to show emotion,' said Bill.

In a confessional, Jennifer said she was frustrated because she had all this anger about the affair that was resurfacing and he was sitting there not showing any emotion.

'I want dialogue, emotion, communication and you are telling me that you're incapable of that?' Said Jennifer in a confessional. 'As if I didn't feel alone already.'

Imperfect human: 'I'm an imperfect human being and not everyone has the personality to be able to show emotion,' said Bill

Dolores Catania, 51 spent time with her son Frankie, 22, and her daughter Gabby, 25, who had moved into her now renovated house. Dolores told them she was worried about her mother.

'It's a very scary time for us,' Dolores said. 'The surgery is pretty intense.'

Frankie and Gabby said David has been there for them and that they speak to him often. Dolores told them she hadn't spoken to him, but during this difficult time appreciated his help.

Family time: Dolores Catania, 51 spent time with her son Frankie, 22, and her daughter Gabby, 25, who had moved into her now renovated house

Margaret called Dolores and asked how her mother Valerie was doing. She said she was at her house because she was on bed rest before her surgery. Margaret said she wanted to take her for a spa day with the other women except Jennifer.

The next day, the women arrived at a spa for Margaret's adult spa party. Melissa, Jackie, Teresa, Traci showed up and changed into their spa robes and drank mimosas. Teresa told them about how Louie organized a sunset cruise for their anniversary and then presented her with a scroll of all of the things he loved about her.

'Was gullibility on the scroll?' said Margaret in a confessional.

Spa day: The women had a spa day together

When Teresa went to change into her robe, Margaret wondered if she was upset that the other guys asked Louie about his past.

'I want her to stay in her love bubble,' said Melissa in a confessional about not engaging Margaret in her conversation about Louie. 'They should too if they know what's good for them. Doesn't everybody want to enjoy the f***ing spa day?'

When Teresa walked back with a mimosa in her hand, the women were still talking about what happened on the guy's night out. Teresa said she called Jennifer before she came about the spa day before she realized that she wasn't invited.

Love bubble: 'I want her to stay in her love bubble,' said Melissa in a confessional about not engaging Margaret in her conversation about Louie. 'They should too if they know what's good for them. Doesn't everybody want to enjoy the f***ing spa day?'

'She just burned every bridge that night, and I don't understand why she would do that,' said Margaret of when they kicked them out.

'She does what she does because she is miserable in her marriage,' said Traci. 'I think she projected.'

'You just met Jennifer, you don't know her relationship,' said Teresa.

Speaking up: 'You just met Jennifer, you don't know her relationship,' said Teresa

Teresa said she was going to let Traci's comments and those of her husband Tiki go because it was a day for Dolores.

Dolores arrived and they asked her how her mother was doing.

'My mother cannot be left alone for a minute because she is in danger of a heart attack,' said Dolores. 'David has been with her at every appointment but I haven't spoken to him. I think it's better at this point.'

Dolores, Teresa and Jackie went for their treatments. Margaret said that the situation with David for Dolores was great on one hand because he wanted to take care of Valerie.

Pampering session: The women rallied to support Dolores

'But it's also very hurtful,' said Margaret to Melissa and Traci. 'He hasn't called her.'

'It's sad for me that David can be there for everybody in Dolores' family besides Dolores,' Melissa said in a confessional. 'But Dolores would never admit how much this hurts. That's the old school Italian way 'swear you're okay till it hurts so much that you just explode on everyone else.'

Melissa shared that her daughter Antonia seemed a little depressed after she tore her ACL. She said she thought it also had to do with the move. Melissa said compared to her life she thought her daughter had it easy.

Sharing stories: Melissa shared that her daughter Antonia seemed a little depressed after she tore her ACL

Melissa said in a confessional that she moved at the same age to get away from her father but that 'right after we moved there my dad died.'

Melissa told Margaret and Tracie that she was so depressed going into her Florida high school.

'They bullied me like you wouldn't believe,' Melissa said.

In a confessional, Melissa said 'I'm walking down the hall with black curly hair and a Jersey accent. I was fish out of water. It was so rough.'

Melissa said she felt bad about putting her daughter through anything.

Teresa, Dolores, and Jackie sat down after their treatments. Teresa asked them what they thought about Tracie and Jackie said she liked her.

Spa treatments: Jackie joined the group at the spa day

'I think she is a little much,' said Teresa. 'She is very in everybody's business. At Melissa's pink party the other day she was into my business with my brother.'

Teresa brought up how Tiki asked questions about Louie and said that his wife was saying things to him.

'Nobody should pry into your business,' said Teresa.

Teresa said that Traci was talking about Jennifer even though she just met her. Jackie said that Jennifer comes after people very hard.

Not happy: Teresa brought up how Tiki asked questions about Louie and said that his wife was saying things to him

'Margaret comes after people, too!' said Jennifer.

Margaret and Traci returned and heard that they were talking about Jennifer.

'The problem with Jennifer is that she takes it to the next level,' said Margaret.

'But you said that about her husband because you were trying to hurt her,' said Teresa.

'I wasn't trying to hurt her, I was trying to say she was a hypocrite,' said Margaret.

Dolores said she spoke to Jennifer and that she is very hurt about the news of the affair coming out.

'She's a f***ing mess,' said Dolores.

'The Real Housewives Of New Jersey will return next Tuesday on Bravo.
ABC made history during Tuesday night's After The Rose special that wrapped up Season 26 of The Bachelor, revealing the TWO women who will be The Bachelorette: Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey.

The 26-year-old Recchia, a commercial airline pilot and flight instructor, and the 31-year-old Windey, an ICU nurse and former Denver Bronco cheerleader, were both stunned when host Jesse Palmer revealed they were the hosts.

Palmer had earlier teased that the new Bachelorette is not Gabby and it's not Rachel... before revealing, 'it's Gabby AND Rachel!'

Bachelorettes: ABC made history during Tuesday night's After The Rose special that wrapped up Season 26 of The Bachelor, revealing the TWO women who will be The Bachelorette: Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey

Both: Palmer had earlier teased that the new Bachelorette is not Gabby and it's not Rachel... before revealing, 'it's Gabby AND Rachel!'

Both Recchia and Windey were finalists on this season of The Bachelor, who were both brutally dumped by Clayton Echard after he admitted sleeping with both of them and Susie Evans, and deciding to pursue Evans over them.

While the finale ended with a Bachelor first - Evans rejecting Echard's last-minute proposal, she appeared at the After the Rose special revealing Clayton was her boyfriend.

He revealed that he's moving to Virginia to be with Susie, before she accepts his final rose on the special.

Dumped: Both Recchia and Windey were finalists on this season of The Bachelor, who were both brutally dumped by Clayton Echard after he admitted sleeping with both of them and Susie Evans, and deciding to pursue Evans over them

Clayton and Susie: While the finale ended with a Bachelor first - Evans rejecting Echard's last-minute proposal, she appeared at the After the Rose special revealing Clayton was her boyfriend

After Clayton seemingly got his happy ending, Palmer - who will return to host The Bachelorette in Season 19 - revealed the dual Bachelorettes, as the ladies embraced in the audience.

After they embraced, Recchia said, 'You deserve this,' as Windey replied, 'No you do! Oh my God!'

They both went over to join Palmer, who said, 'That is right. This is crazy. For the first time ever, we will have two Bachelorettes for the entire season.'

Embraced: After Clayton seemingly got his happy ending, Palmer - who will return to host The Bachelorette in Season 19 - revealed the dual Bachelorettes, as the ladies embraced in the audience

First time: They both went over to join Palmer, who said, 'That is right. This is crazy. For the first time ever, we will have two Bachelorettes for the entire season'

Windey asked if they, 'date the same guys,' but Palmer wouldn't answer, though he did say, 'we beat ourselves up' about this decision.

'At the end of the day, watching you both support each other in Iceland, and also have you have tonight, that was really the big reason why we decided to give you the shot. You really are deserving of this,' Palmer said.

He also asked, 'how is this thing going to work?' though he admitted, 'I honestly have no idea. But I do want to tell you, Gabby, Rachel, we are going to figure this whole thing out together. This is going to be amazing. This is your journey.'

Same guys: Windey asked if they, 'date the same guys,' but Palmer wouldn't answer, though he did say, 'we beat ourselves up' about this decision

Jesse: 'At the end of the day, watching you both support each other in Iceland, and also have you have tonight, that was really the big reason why we decided to give you the shot. You really are deserving of this,' Palmer said

When he asked Rachel how she was feeling, she said, 'I am so happy for her. I truly am! It's crazy. This is insane and I'm excited to do this journey with you. We did it once together. We've been to the most crazy experience together.'

Jesse added that he thinks they will both be, 'connected forever based on what you went through in Iceland.

'I'm a girl's girl through and through, so having a friend by my side is the best thing I could ask for,' Gabby added as they embraced again.

So happy: When he asked Rachel how she was feeling, she said, 'I am so happy for her. I truly am! It's crazy. This is insane and I'm excited to do this journey with you. We did it once together. We've been to the most crazy experience together'

Friends: 'I'm a girl's girl through and through, so having a friend by my side is the best thing I could ask for,' Gabby added as they embraced again

When Jesse asked Rachel what she's looking for in her perfect man, she said, 'Well, someone that is supportive and someone that loves me. Let's start there.'

Gabby said that she's looking for, 'someone who is emotionally intelligent, mature, who can challenge me.'

ABC has yet to announce when the new season of The Bachelorette will premiere.

Perfect man: When Jesse asked Rachel what she's looking for in her perfect man, she said, 'Well, someone that is supportive and someone that loves me. Let's start there'
Gigi Hadid didn't seem flustered amid a busy day for her family Tuesday.

The 26-year-old star was seen in New York City as her sister Bella Hadid, 25, made headlines after a number of revelations in a new Vogue story, in which she said that she underwent a nose job at the age of 14, and had an inferiority complex to her older sister.

The A-list model donned a dark brown jumpsuit with reddish highlights and off-white shoes on the outing in the city.

The latest: Gigi Hadid, 26, was seen in New York City as her sister Bella Hadid, 25, made headlines after a number of revelations in a new Vogue story, in which she said that she underwent a nose job at the age of 14, and had an inferiority complex to her older sister

Gigi, who is mother to daughter Khai, one, with ex-boyfriend Zayn Malik, 29, had her blonde locks pulled back.

She wore black sunglasses with an orange purse on her shoulder as she clutched a bottled beverage while on her walk.

Bella, in a feature article for Vogue's April issue, spoke candidly about self-image issues, specifically in relation to Gigi.

'I was the uglier sister,' Bella told the publication. 'I was the brunette. I wasnt as cool as Gigi, not as outgoing ... thats really what people said about me.'

The A-list model donned a dark brown jumpsuit with reddish highlights and off-white shoes on the outing in the city

She wore black sunglasses with an orange purse on her shoulder as she clutched a bottled beverage while on her walk

She continued: 'And unfortunately when you get told things so many times, you do just believe it  I always felt like I had something to prove.

'People can say anything about how I look, about how I talk, about how I act. But in seven years I never missed a job, canceled a job, was late to a job. No one can ever say that I dont work my a** off.'

In the article, Bella also said she had undergone a nose job at the age of 14, adding, 'I wish I had kept the nose of my ancestors. I think I would have grown into it.'

Bella was seen on the runway earlier this month in Paris

Bella, in a feature article for Vogue's April issue, spoke candidly about self-image issues, specifically in relation to Gigi. She said, 'I was the uglier sister'

In the wake of the story, a number of social media users were critical of their mother Yolanda Hadid, 58, for allowing Bella to undergo the procedure.

One user wrote: 'At 14, you are just too young to have a nose job Yolanda should have never had kids!'

Another said, 'Bella Hadid got a nose job at 14???? There is a special place in Hell for Yolanda,' said someone else.'
Sunrise host David 'Kochie' Koch has revealed he is being trolled by anti-vaxxers since he tested positive to Covid-19 following the Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal telethon.

The 66-year-old, who has been in isolation since Sunday, told The Daily Telegraph that his social media has been jammed with comments from people 'getting stuck into him' for his pro-vaccine stance.

The breakfast TV star, who has been double vaccinated and boosted, said trolls are leaving comments like, 'so much for the vaccine, Kochie has got it'.

Trolled: Sunrise's David Koch (pictured) has revealed anti-vax trolls have 'come after him' after testing positive for COVID following the Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal telethon

Kochie, who is a strong advocate for vaccination, was quick to dismiss the criticism.

'I try and only deal with facts,' he told the publication.

'I just say, "read the facts, don't take my word for it".

'That's why I retweet all of the top epidemiologists...I take the advice from the experts.'

Protest: Kochie, who is a strong advocate for vaccination, was quick to dismiss the criticism

The UK and US have recently released new data that indicates 'beyond any doubt' that vaccination is critical in dealing with the Covid crisis, added Kochie.

'I say to people, if our grandparents took your view now, we would still have polio or measles that could be affecting out kids,' he said.

Koch returned a negative test on Saturday afternoon before doing the Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal telethon.

Happier times: Koch returned a negative test on Saturday afternoon before doing the Australia Unites: Red Cross Flood Appeal telethon. Pictured with Nine's Sylvia Jeffries (centre) and Ten's Dr. Chris Brown (right)

On Sunday morning, he woke feeling 'shaggy' and returned a positive result.

He now believes he probably contracted the virus during an event he hosted on Friday night.

'There were a lot of people all wild taking selfies,' he said.
Kristen Stewart hinted at her enviably taut midriff when she was spotted stepping out in Los Angeles this week.

The 31-year-old Twilight actress has lately been scooping up awards show nominations for her performance as Princess Diana in the biopic Spencer.

Sweeping her blonde hair back tightly back into a ponytail, she threw on a fashionably ripped cut-off white t-shirt for her latest outing.

Stepping out: Kristen Stewart hinted at her enviably taut midriff when she was spotted stepping out in Los Angeles this week

She clashed the top with a high-waisted pair of charcoal slacks and slipped into a complementary pair of black shoes.

Warding off the California rays with a pair of burnt-orange sunglasses, she added a splash of dazzle with a couple of necklaces.

Kristen had a massive smile on her face as she headed to tape an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for that evening.

She has just starred as Princess Diana in a new biopic called Spencer from Pablo Larrain, the director of the Natalie Portman vehicle Jackie.

Smile and wave: The 31-year-old Twilight actress has lately been scooping up awards show nominations for her performance as Princess Diana in the biopic Spencer

Peace to the world: Warding off the California rays with a pair of burnt-orange sunglasses, she added a splash of dazzle with a couple of necklaces

The movie takes her through a fateful Christmas at Sandringham where she realizes her marriage to Prince Charles is beyond repair.

As the festivities roll along she experiences major psychological distress and sees visions of Anne Boleyn whom she comes to regard as a kindred spirit.

Kristen has received a slew of award nominations for her performance, including the Academy Award for best actress.

Workaday: Kristen had a massive smile on her face as she headed to tape an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! for that evening

Incidentally; Two nights earlier she attended the Critics Choice Awards where she had also earned a nomination but lost to Jessica Chastain for The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

Two nights earlier she could be spotted on the red carpet for the Critics Choice Awards where she had also earned a nomination.

She wound up losing out to Jessica Chastain who played Tammy Faye Bakker in the new biopic The Eyes Of Tammy Faye based on a documentary of the same name.

As far as her personal life is concerned Kristen has a fiancee named Dylan Meyer, a screenwriter who has worked on such projects as the show Miss 2059.
Zoey Deutch made it a family affair on Tuesday evening as she attended a special screening of her latest feature The Outfit at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles.

The rising star, 27, was joined at the event by her actress mother Lea Thompson and film director father Howard Deutch.

Zoey turned heads in an edgy lace gown as she struck poses with Lea, 60, on the red carpet.

Family affair: Zoey Deutch made it a family affair on Tuesday evening as she attended a special screening of her latest feature The Outfit at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles; Zoey seen with mother Lea Thompson

The Politician starlet's dress featured a shimmery lilac bodice with long sleeves and high neckline while the skirt was black lace with a dramatic slit up one leg.

She slipped her feet into a pair of black strappy heels and accessorized with some understated earrings.

Zoey had her nails painted a gunmetal shade and she styled her brunette tresses in waves.

As for makeup, the actress sported a wash of warm pink eyeshadow on her eyelids and muted her pout with some pale pink lipstick.

Head turner: Zoey turned heads in an edgy lace gown

Dynamic duo: She was seen striking poses with Lea, 60, on the red carpet

Lea stunned in a black velvet mini dress with cut-outs on the shoulders and white cuffs.

The Back To The Future star's auburn hair was styled in an effortless updo and she was dolled up with false eyelashes.

After posing with their youngest daughter, Lea cozied up to her husband of 33 years, Howard Deutch.

The couple married back in 1989 and also shared 30-year-old daughter Madelyn.

Chic: Zoey had her nails painted a gunmetal shade and she styled her brunette tresses in waves

Understated: She slipped her feet into a pair of black strappy heels and accessorized with some understated earrings

Monochrome: As for makeup, the actress sported a wash of warm pink eyeshadow on her eyelids and muted her pout with some pale pink lipstick

Later, Zoey was seen mingling on the red carpet with the film's director Graham Moore.

The auteur, 40, looked spiffy in a grey suit styled with a white dress shirt and a green tie.

Zoey's co-star Dylan O'Brien was notably absent from Tuesday's screening as he was recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Stunner: Lea stunned in a black velvet mini dress with cut-outs on the shoulders and white cuffs

Effortless: The Back To The Future star's auburn hair was styled in an effortless updo and she was dolled up with false eyelashes

Longtime love: After posing with their youngest daughter, Lea cozied up to her husband of 33 years, Howard Deutch

Sparkling: She accessorized with silver earrings and a ring

The 30-year-old star revealed his diagnosis on Twitter.

'Got the vid,' he wrote in the tweet which included line breaks between each statement. 'All good mild symptoms. Being vaxxed & boosted (and having it with Obama) is v much helping.

'Sobering reminder that we are still in a pandemic. Stay safe be mindful x.'

Iconic: The screening was held at the iconic Ace Hotel

Director: Later, Zoey was seen mingling on the red carpet with the film's director Graham Moore

Coming soon: The Outfit hits theaters on Friday, March 18; (L-R) Amy Jackson, Johnathan McClain, Zoey Deutch, Graham Moore, Scoop Wasserstein and Ben Browning pictured

Moments before: Just moments before the film commenced, Lea and Zoey were seen posing for photos with Graham Moore

Chatty: Graham and Zoey seen having a conversation inside the theater

Just a few days before he tested positive for the disease, Dylan was in New York City at a screening of the new crime drama co-starring Zoey Deutch.

The pair stood in close quarters, without masks, as they posed for numerous photos together.

The Outfit follows a tailor, forced to relocate from London to Chicago after a personal tragedy, who has to outwit the mafia.

Academy Award winner Mark Rylance stars as the tailor in the film with Zoey and actor Dylan playing characters named Mable and Richie respectively.

Positive: Zoey's co-star Dylan O'Brien was absent from Tuesday's screening as he was recently tested positive for COVID-19; the pair pictured Wednesday, March 9

Earlier in the month on the Today Show, Deutch told Hoda and Jenna about her latest project, which she described as 'a crime thriller set in the '50s.'

'It's about an expert tailor played by Mark Rylance who has to outwit a bunch of very dangerous gangsters to survive one fateful night,' she said.

She added: 'It's like a chess match amongst all the different characters. It's fun cause it leads the audience having to guess who's telling the truth, who's not.'

The Outfit hits theaters on Friday, March 18.

Coming soon: The Outfit hits theaters on March 18 and follows an expert tailor (played by Mark Rylance) who must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive and fateful night, as per the film's synopsis
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Black Panther actresses Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira enjoyed a reunion at the star-studded latest Alexander McQueen show in New York City this week.

The runway extravaganza for the autumn-winter 2022 collection was held at Brooklyn Navy Yard and welcomed a glittering array of celebrity guests.

Danai, 44, who played one of Black Panther's bodyguards, and Letitia, 28, who played his inventor little sister, sidled up to one another for the photographers at the glamorous event.

Black Panther actresses: Letitia Wright (right) and Danai Gurira (left) enjoyed a reunion at the star-studded latest Alexander McQueen show in New York City this week

Looking fab: Danai, 44, who played one of Black Panther's bodyguards, and Letitia, 28, who played his inventor little sister, sidled up to one another for the photographers at the glamorous event

For her latest outing Danai slipped into a bra-lette that threw her cleavage into relief and allowed her to show off her enviably sculpted midriff.

The Iowa-born thespian's top featured swirling jeweled accents over a black background, matching the dapper pair of high-waisted slacks she had selected.

She accentuated her features with makeup including a slick of crimson lipstick and added a subtle touch of glitz to the look with an understated pair of earrings.

Danai accessorized the ensemble with a long black coat that she threw fashionably over her shoulders without putting her arms through the sleeves.

When you got it: For her latest outing Danai slipped into a bra-lette that threw her cleavage into relief and allowed her to show off her enviably sculpted midriff

Style: Danai accessorized the ensemble with a long black coat that she threw fashionably over her shoulders without putting her arms through the sleeves

Meanwhile Letitia emphasized her petite frame with a long black leather skirt that was cinched in around her waistline that played up her flat midsection.

Slipping into a black and white print top, she wrapped herself in a leather jacket that matched her skirt and featured a pair of wide-set split half sleeves.

Garnishing the getup with a sleek black clutch, the Guyanese-born actress balanced expertly on a high-heeled pair of gleaming black leather boots with metallic tips.

Legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour encased her legendarily svelte frame into a black and white dress, adding a splash of color with a costume necklace and warding off the chill with a leather jacket.

Meanwhile: Letitia emphasized her petite frame with a long black leather skirt that was cinched in around her waistline that played up her flat midsection

There she is: Legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour encased her legendarily svelte frame into a black and white dress, adding a splash of color with a costume necklace and warding off the chill with a leather jacket

Anna could be seen settling onto a front row seat at the show, keeping her large black sunglasses on as what has become a somewhat famous technique of hers.

'Well, they're seriously useful,' she said on 60 Minutes. 'I mean, I can sit in a show and if I'm bored out of my mind, nobody will notice, and if I'm enjoying it, nobody will notice. So, I think at this point they've become really armor.'

Grace Coddington, who used to be creative director at large for Vogue under Anna for years, could also be seen making her presence felt at the event in head-to-toe black.

Showbiz legacies abounded at the fete, including Lauryn Hill's daughter Selah Marley who wore a canary yellow party dress with tulle straps that fell off the shoulders.

Pride of place: Anna could be seen settling onto a front row seat at the show, keeping her large black sunglasses on as what has become a somewhat famous technique of hers

'Really armor': 'Well, they're seriously useful,' she said on 60 Minutes: 'I mean, I can sit in a show and if I'm bored out of my mind, nobody will notice, and if I'm enjoying it, nobody will notice'

Scion of stardom: Showbiz legacies abounded at the fete, including Lauryn Hill's daughter Selah Marley who wore a canary yellow party dress with tulle straps that fell off the shoulders

Fashion plate: Grace Coddington, who used to be creative director at large for Vogue under Anna for years, could also be seen making her presence felt at the event in head-to-toe black

As the day began to get dark, Selah could be seen posing up outside the fashion show with her black leather coat flung over her shoulders in preparation for a drop in temperatures.

English actress and writer Yrsa Daley-Ward slipped into a dress with a cloudy sky print, while Helena Christensen made a splash in a powder pink trouser suit.

Helena, who shot to fame as one of the 1990s Supermodels alongside such names as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, was agelessly glamorous at the fashion extravaganza.

The former Victoria's Secret Angel opted for a plunging outfit that flattered her slender figure and complemented her pink clutch as she posed up for the photographers.

What a guest list: English actress and writer Yrsa Daley-Ward (left) slipped into a dress with a cloudy sky print, while Helena Christensen (right) made a splash in a powder pink trouser suit

Radiant: Helena, who shot to fame as one of the 1990s Supermodels alongside such names as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford, was agelessly glamorous at the fashion extravaganza

Making it happen: The former Victoria's Secret Angel opted for a plunging outfit that flattered her slender figure and complemented her pink clutch as she posed up for the photographers

Confidence: Helena leaned languorously against the wooden backdrop and pulled a look of elegant hauteur

Sweeping her dark hair into an updo, she wore scarlet lipstick that went elegantly with the clothes and rounded off the look with a pair of open-toed shoes.

Tilda Swinton's daughter Honor Swinton Byrne swanned about in a psychedelic trouser suit while 18-year-old actor Jaden Michael was, like Honor, in blue and white.

Sarah Burton is now the creative director for Alexander McQueen, the brand whose namesake designer tragically committed suicide over a decade ago at the age of 40.

Here and there: Tilda Swinton's daughter Honor Swinton Byrne (left) swanned about in a psychedelic trouser suit while 18-year-old actor Jaden Michael (right) was, like Honor, in blue and white

'America and New York have always been so much a part of McQueen,' Sarah told Vogue while discussing the new show. 'It feels part of our creative community. Its great to honor that.'

Sarah explained to the fashion magazine that nature - such as mulch and the sort of fungus she referred to as the 'wood wide web' of forests - formed the creative inspiration for the setup of the show.

As far as the clothing itself is concerned Sarah dished: 'I wanted it to have a pace to it and an energy to it and there to be color. I wanted it to have a vibrancy.'

Who's behind the new designs: Sarah Burton is now the creative director for Alexander McQueen, the brand whose namesake designer tragically committed suicide over a decade ago at the age of 40

Inspiration: As far as the clothing itself is concerned Sarah dished: 'I wanted it to have a pace to it and an energy to it and there to be color,' adding: 'I wanted it to have a vibrancy'
The Project host Carrie Bickmore announced she was leaving the show for 'several months' on Tuesday's episode, in order to relocate to the UK to be with her family.

And now, rumours are running rife as to who might replace the veteran presenter while she's away from hosting duties and follows her dream of living abroad.

The Daily Telegraph reported this week that the gig could fall to fellow host Lisa Wilkinson, which would require her 'taking on extra days' to fill in for Carrie.

Questions: Rumours are running rife as to who might replace veteran presenter Carrie Bickmore (pictured) after she announced she was stepping away from hosting duties on The Project to relocate to the UK to be with her family

But former Channel 10 executive producer Rob McKnight also told the publication they could opt to bring in some fresh blood from the network, pointing at Studio 10's Sarah Harris.

'As far as replacement hosts go, Lisa Wilkinson certainly brings headlines and has done some compelling interviews but will she bring the much-needed ratings the show needs?' he said.

'If I were 10 I would put Sarah Harris in the role. Shes wasted in the morning and is capable of so much more than what she is currently doing.'

Could it be? The Daily Telegraph reported this week that the duties could fall to fellow host Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) which would require her 'taking on extra days' to fill in for Carrie

Candidate: Former Channel 10 executive producer Rob McKnight also told the publication they could opt to bring in some fresh blood from the network, pointing at Studio 10's Sarah Harris (pictured)

He added that if they didn't give her the opportunity, they might 'lose her' when her contract comes to an end at the end of the year.

The show currently has an abundance of hosts and panellists, including Hamish MacDonald, Peter Helliar and Waleed Aly, all of whom could take over her role on rotation.

The network has yet to make an official announcement as to who will be replacing Carrie.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel 10 for further comment.

Options: The show currently has an abundance of hosts and panellists, including Hamish MacDonald, Peter Helliar (lefy) and Waleed Aly (centre) all of who could take over her role on rotation

Time off: The TV host, 41, revealed the news of her exit during Tuesday's show, becoming emotional as she explained she and her husband Chris Walker would be taking their family to the UK

The TV host, 41, revealed the news of her exit during Tuesday's show, becoming emotional as she explained she and her husband Chris Walker would be taking their family to the UK.

'In April I'm going to be taking a few months off The Project desk. Chris and I and the kids are heading off on a family adventure together,' she said.

'We've been wanting to do it for a while but lots of reasons, timing hasn't been right, but we figure it's never going to be the perfect time to go'.

'In April I'm going to be taking a few months off The Project desk. Chris and I and the kids are heading off on a family adventure together,' Carrie said

She continued: 'It's something we really want to do before my son starts his final years at school so we're doing term two in the UK. So I will be off for a couple of months.'

She did not, however, mention the recent sale of her five-bedroom property, which sold at auction for an undisclosed price on March 3.

Carrie also explained that she had been inspired by her co-star Kate Langbroek, 56, who spent two years living abroad in Bologna, Italy, with her family.

Inspired: Carrie explained that she had been inspired by her co-star Kate Langbroek (right) who spent two years living abroad in Bologna, Italy, with her family

'You are a big inspiration for heading overseas with a family and we had some big conversations after living through the world's longest lockdown,' Carrie said.

'One of the things that my son Ollie said was how much he was going to miss the family time when we were coming out of lockdown which kind of surprised us because we had a lot of family time!

'But we thought, gosh, he still wants to spend time with us and while he does he only has a few years left and then he will fly away so we thought we would seize the moment and do it,' she concluded.

Family: Carrie has two children, daughters Evie, six, and Adelaide, three, with her partner Chris Walker, as well as her son, Oliver Lange, 14, who she shares with her late husband Greg Lange, who died of brain cancer in 2010. All pictured

Time away: 'We've been wanting to do it for a while but lots of reasons, timing hasn't been right, but we figure it's never going to be the perfect time to go' she said

Carrie has two children, daughters Evie, six, and Adelaide, three, with her partner Chris Walker.

She also has a son, Oliver Lange, 14, who she shares with her late husband Greg Lange, who died of brain cancer in 2010.

The television host has been a core part of The Project for over a decade - since 2009.

Part of the family: The television host has been a core part of The Project for over a decade - since 2009. Pictured with Peter Helliar, Waleed Aly and Steve Price

Back then: Carrie recently shared a throwback photo of the original cast in their late 2000s finery. In the image, Carrie stood beside former panelist Dave Hughes and a young Charlie Pickering, as well as MasterChef star Julie Goodwin

Along with being awarded an Order of Australia for her service to media, Carrie has also been nominated for multiple Logie Awards, and won three.

The award-winning television and radio presenter took home the coveted Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Television in 2015.

She got her start on television in 2006, reading the news bulletin on Channel Ten's popular variety show Rove Live.

Winner: The award-winning television and radio presenter took home the coveted Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Television in 2015

Carrie's exit comes as ratings for The Project continue to dwindle to all-time lows.

Channel Ten's flagship current affairs show has lost almost a third of its audience since 2011, OzTAM ratings revealed in November.

The program saw its metro ratings plummet to an all-time low of just 367,000 in 2021.

Low yield: Carrie's exit comes as ratings for The Project continue to dwindle to all-time lows. Pictured: Carrie with Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Peter Helliar

That's a 30 per cent decline from its five-city audience of 538,000 a decade ago.

The national audience, which includes regional viewers, has also seen a similar percentage drop from 725,000 in 2011 to 490,000 in 2021.

These figures have made The Project commercial TV's worst-performing nightly premium program.

Losses: Channel Ten's flagship current affairs show has lost almost a third of its audience since 2011, OzTAM ratings revealed in November

Despite disappointing ratings, a Channel 10 spokesperson denied rumours late last year that The Project would soon be facing the axe.

'The Project has just celebrated its 12th birthday and is here to stay,' they said.

'At a time when information, context and understanding is more important than ever, The Project will continue to provide Australians with their dose of news delivered differently.'

Lasting? Despite disappointing ratings, a Channel 10 spokesperson denied rumours late last year that The Project would soon be facing the axe. Pictured with Carrie are Tommy little, Peter Helliar, Hamish Macdonald, Waleed Aly, Lisa Wilkinson and Gorgi Coghlan

A leading TV commentator claimed Channel 10 was losing viewers because of The Project's left-wing agenda.

Rob McKnight, a former 10 executive who now runs industry website TV Blackbox, said the views expressed on The Project don't resonate with everyday Aussies.

He told Daily Mail Australia that despite its slick production and top-tier talent, The Project is 'very woke and that doesn't connect with mainstream Australia'.
Fans got their first glimpse of the young Luke Skywalker in last week's first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Mark Hamill showing his support for the actor, Grant Feely.

The trailer shows Skywalker playing by himself on the top of of a sand structure, and that he was being watched from afar from Ewan McGregor's title character.

The 70-year-old Hamill took to Twitter to show his support for Feely, while a new report from The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Star Wars: Episode I character Darth Maul, played by Ray Park, has been written out of the show.

Support: Fans got their first glimpse of the young Luke Skywalker in last week's first trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, with Mark Hamill showing his support for the actor, Grant Feely

The THR report was the first to reveal that the young Luke is being played by Grant Feely, which lead to Hamill showing his support, retweeting a tweet revealing Feely as the young Luke with a supportive message.

'Grant Feely looks like a perfect Luke Skywalker and I am wishing him all the very best!' Hamill said, adding the hashtag #TheForceIsWithFeely.

Feely himself responded to Hamill's tweet, stating, 'I am so honored to take on this role @HamillHimself! You set the bar high and I hope to make you proud. Your support means so much!'

Support: 'Grant Feely looks like a perfect Luke Skywalker and I am wishing him all the very best!' Hamill said, adding the hashtag #TheForceIsWithFeely

Response: Feely himself responded to Hamill's tweet, stating, 'I am so honored to take on this role @HamillHimself! You set the bar high and I hope to make you proud. Your support means so much!'

While it's unclear how large of a role Feely will have as Hamill, it's clear he has the support of the originator of the iconic character.

The news of Feely playing the young future Jedi master came buried in a THR report that focused on the villainous Darth Maul being written out of the show.

Darth Maul was the Sith apprentice to The Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Darth: The news of Feely playing the young future Jedi master came buried in a THR report that focused on the villainous Darth Maul being written out of the show

Apprentice: Darth Maul was the Sith apprentice to The Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

While the character was thought to have been killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi towards the end of the first prequel, it was later revealed that he managed to survive somehow, despite being cut in half by Obi-Wan.

The character returned in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with a pair of robotic legs.

Park also returned in the 2018 movie Solo: A Star Wars Story, with sources claiming that Park was in 'active prep' to return as Darth Maul.

Survive: While the character was thought to have been killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi towards the end of the first prequel, it was later revealed that he managed to survive somehow, despite being cut in half by Obi-Wan

Clone wars: The character returned in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, with a pair of robotic legs

At the time, Hossein Amini (McMafia) was set to write the series with director Deborah Chow, though when they handed the scripts to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, they were worried it covered too similar ground of The Mandalorian.

In Amini's version, Maul would be one of the villains that would go on the hunt for Kenobi and Skywalker.

Filoni and Favreau reportedly pushed Chow to 'go bigger,' with Amini ultimately leaving the project and Joby Harold coming aboard as the new writer.

While Harold was overhauling the script, Maul was scrapped as Filoni found a way to bring Hayden Christensen's Darth Vader back, along with the Grand Inquisitor.

Worried: At the time, Hossein Amini (McMafia) was set to write the series with director Deborah Chow, though when they handed the scripts to Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau, they were worried it covered too similar ground of The Mandalorian
Brittany Snow put on a glamorous display on Tuesday night as she attended the premiere of A24's slasher flick X at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles.

The actress, 36, slipped into a black satin off-the-shoulder gown with a thigh-high slit that showcased her toned legs.

She was joined on the red carpet by co-star Martin Henderson and the forthcoming film's director Ti West.

Premiere: Brittany Snow put on a glamorous display on Tuesday night as she attended the premiere of A24's slasher flick X at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles

Snow, who plays the role of Bobby-Lynne, paired her gown with some see-through vinyl heels that showcased her black polish pedicure.

Snow accessorized for the evening with a diamond choker necklace and several sparkly statement rings.

Her shoulder-length auburn hair was parted down the middle and styled in loose waves.

The John Tucker Must Die star drew attention to her bright blue eyes by rocking bronze eyeshadow and a glossy nude lip.

Glamour girl: The actress, 36, slipped into a black satin off-the-shoulder gown with a thigh-high slit that showcased her toned legs

Henderson, who plays the role of Wayne, looked handsome in a pitch black suit styled with a white dress shirt.

The actor, 47, posed for several snapshots beside Snow on the red carpet.

The duo made sure to sneak in a snap with director Ti West, who also wrote and edited the soon-to-be released horror film.

Trendy touch: Snow, who plays the role of Bobby-Lynne, paired her gown with some see-through vinyl heels that showcased her black polish pedicure

Co-stars: She was joined on the red carpet by co-star Martin Henderson

Ti, 41, also rocked a classic black suit but accessorized with a thin black tie and slipped on a pair of brown lace-up boots.

Carmela Zumbado, known for her role in Netflix's hit series You, put on a busty display in a light pink corset top.

She styled the eye-catching top with a pair of brown suede pants and nude heels.

Multihyphenate: The duo made sure to sneak in a snap with director Ti West, who also wrote and edited the soon-to-be released horror film

Suited up: Henderson, who plays the role of Wayne, looked handsome in a pitch black suit styled with a white dress shirt

Hayley Law wowed in the same corset top but in a neon green color for the night's premiere.

The 29-year-old actress, who plays the role of Valerie Brown on the CW's Riverdale, threw on a pair of black vinyl trousers and some heeled sandals.

Jane Adams paid homage to the late Betty White by donning a surreal Golden Girls tee on the red carpet.

Bombshell: Carmela Zumbado, known for her role in Netflix's hit series You, put on a busty display in a light pink corset top

Fashionista: Hayley Law wowed in the same corset top but in a neon green color for the night's premiere. The 29-year-old actress, who plays the role of Valerie Brown on the CW's Riverdale, threw on a pair of black vinyl trousers and some heeled sandals

Big fan: Jane Adams paid homage to the late Betty White by donning a surreal Golden Girls tee on the red carpet

The 50-year-old star paired her graphic T-shirt with some blue skinny jeans and a brown fringe jacket.

X is set in 1979 and follows a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas.

But their project is derailed when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act - forcing the cast into a fight for their lives, as per the film's synopsis.

The forthcoming slasher flick also stars Mia Goth and and Jenna Ortega in leading roles.

Retro: X is set in 1979 and follows a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas; Mia Goth pictured on the X poster

A24's X hits theaters on Friday, March 18.

Speaking to NBC, Snow said the film as 'escapism at its finest' and promised that it 'gives everybody what we need right now' amid so much global unrest.

'Theres a lot of levity and charming people and characters in this movie, as well,' she added.

Following its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival over the weekend, X reportedly received first rave reviews - a difficult feat for many films tackling the horror/slasher genre.

An escape from reality: Speaking to NBC, Snow deemed the film as 'escapism at its finest' and promised that it 'gives everybody what we need right now' amid so much global unrest; Snow pictured with co-star Scott Mescudi
She is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber.

And Kaia Gerber cut a casual figure as she arrived at the Alexander McQueen fashion show in New York City on Tuesday.

The model, 20, sported a black blazer along with a matching pair of trousers ahead of her turn on the runway.

Show: Kaia Gerber cut a casual figure as she arrived at the Alexander McQueen fashion show in New York City on Tuesday

Kaia also wore a white v-neck top for the day while she added height to her frame with a pair of boots.

The star accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup and wrapped her locks in a hair net.

While Kaia's career has been busy lately, she's also spent quite a bit of time on her personal life as well.

Kaia has been out and about with her beau Austin Butler. They were first linked last December, one month after she split from The Kissing Booth star Jacob Elordi after a year of dating.

Outfit: The model, 20, sported a black blazer along with a matching pair of trousers ahead of her turn on the runway

Last summer, Austin was seen packing on the PDA with Lily-Rose Depp, 22, in London, though the two never confirmed their relationship status.

The Switched at Birth actor was in a relationship with Vanessa Hudgens, 33, for nine years before they went their separate ways in January 2020.

A source told E! News that the Elle cover star is 'not seeing anyone else' and is 'going with the flow' as she and Austin spend more time together.

Casual: Kaia also wore a white v-neck top for the day while she added height to her frame with a pair of boots

Casual: The star accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup and wrapped her locks in a hair net

The insider added, 'It's been really effortless and they are both enjoying it. Kaia thinks Austin is charming and likes that they are both low-key.

Austin first made waves in Hollywood when he appeared in several series for Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel as a teenager, including Hannah Montana (2006-2007), Ruby & the Rockits (2009) and Zoey 101 (2007).

In more recent years he starred in the drama fantasy miniseries The Shannara Chronicles (2016-2017), and the Quentin Tarantino comedy-drama film Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019).
Chloe Grace Moretz opted for a laid back look on Tuesday as she stepped out in West Hollywood.

The Kick-Ass actress, 25, looked relaxed in a pair of black leggings and a $330 Hardcore Raver hoodie as she departed the Remedy Place social club.

Following an afternoon of tranquillity, Chloe Grace appeared to be all business as she took some important phone calls on her mobile.

Relaxed: Chloe Grace Moretz opted for a laid back look on Tuesday as she stepped out in West Hollywood in a pair of black leggings and a $330 Hardcore raver hoodie

The Desperate Housewives star looked radiant as the Californian sun beamed down on her while carrying a pink water bottle to have on hand to quench her thirst.

She stepped out in a pair of classic white Nike trainers while toting her essentials in a Louis Vuitton over the shoulder bag leather bag.

Chloe Grace kept the sunshine at bay beneath a pair of oversized black sunglasses.

Busy lady! Following an afternoon of tranquillity, Chloe Grace appeared to be all business as she took some important phone calls on her mobile

The blonde beauty looked typically beautiful as she went makeup free and showed off her flawless complexion.

She wore her hair slicked back in a high pony tail after enjoying an afternoon of holistic wellbeing.

Her outing comes after the release of her her latest sci-fi feature film Mother/Android in December.

Chloe stars as an expectant mother at war with AI 'killing machines' in the Mattson Tomlin-directed film.

The trailer begins with a pregnant Georgia (Chloe) hiding out in a tent in the wilderness as her boyfriend Sam, played by Algee Smith, 27, approaches.

The duo is faced with one goal in the sci-fi mystery: get to safety from a pack of androids intent to kill, in order to give their child a fighting chance.
Rupert Friend and his wife Aimee Mullins cut very stylish figures in black and white outfits on Tuesday as they attended the Alexander McQueen AW22 Runway Show at Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.

The actor, 40, opted for a fashionable look in a black coat with leather sleeves, which he teamed with a crisp white grandad collar shirt.

While Paralympian Aimee, 46, wowed in a billowing white belted shirt dress as she arrived with her film star husband.

Style: Rupert Friend and his wife Aimee Mullins cut very stylish figures in black and white outfits on Tuesday as they attended the Alexander McQueen AW22 Runway Show at Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York

Her voluminous gown covered her toned frame and featured ruched sleeves with tassels and a silver zip detail.

Aimee teamed her look with a chic cream clutch bag, a silver necklace and chunky silver bangles.

While the beauty and her husband of almost six years both styled their showstopping looks with box fresh white trainers.

The loved-up couple appeared in good spirits as they held hands while posing for snaps at the fashion event.

Looking good: The actor, 40, opted for a fashionable look in a black coat with leather sleeves, which he teamed with a crisp white grandad collar shirt

Rupert and Aimee confirmed their engagement in late 2014, when the English actor called American fashion model Aimee on stage during the L'Oreal Paris Women Of Worth Awards in New York. They married in secret in May 2016.

Aimee first made waves in the fashion world, having featured on the cover of Dazed & Confused in an iconic image in 2008.

She was born with medical condition fibular hemimelia (missing fibula bones), resulting in the amputation of both of her lower legs at the age of one and has since become a prominent speaker on the topic of prosthetic innovation.

Fashionista: While Paralympian Aimee, 46, wowed in a billowing white belted shirt dress as she arrived with her film star husband

Meanwhile at the Alexander McQueen show, Kaia Gerber cut a casual figure in a black blazer along with a matching pair of trousers ahead of her turn on the runway.

The model, 20, also wore a white v-neck top for the day while she added height to her frame with a pair of boots.

The star accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup and wrapped her locks in a hair net.

While Kaia's career has been busy lately, she's also spent quite a bit of time on her personal life as well.

Kaia has been out and about with her beau Austin Butler. They were first linked last December, one month after she split from The Kissing Booth star Jacob Elordi after a year of dating.

Show: Meanwhile at the Alexander McQueen show, Kaia Gerber cut a casual figure in a black blazer along with a matching pair of trousers ahead of her turn on the runway

Outfit: The model, 20, also wore a white v-neck top for the day while she added height to her frame with a pair of boots

Last summer, Austin was seen packing on the PDA with Lily-Rose Depp, 22, in London, though the two never confirmed their relationship status.

The Switched at Birth actor was in a relationship with Vanessa Hudgens, 33, for nine years before they went their separate ways in January 2020.

A source told E! News that the Elle cover star is 'not seeing anyone else' and is 'going with the flow' as she and Austin spend more time together.

Casual: Kaia flashed a small smile as she made her way inside in her casual outfit

Casual: The star accentuated her natural beauty with a light pallet of makeup and wrapped her locks in a hair net

The insider added, 'It's been really effortless and they are both enjoying it. Kaia thinks Austin is charming and likes that they are both low-key.

Austin first made waves in Hollywood when he appeared in several series for Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel as a teenager, including Hannah Montana (2006-2007), Ruby & the Rockits (2009) and Zoey 101 (2007).

In more recent years he starred in the drama fantasy miniseries The Shannara Chronicles (2016-2017), and the Quentin Tarantino comedy-drama film Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019).
Katie Holmes nailed off-duty chic as she took a stroll through New York City with her new dog.

The 43-year-old Dawson's Creek actress sported a mustard boxy shirt and a pair of blue straight leg jeans on Tuesday

And she continued wearing a mask as she stood out from the crowd in her bold look.

Off-duty: Katie Holmes took a stroll through New York City with her new dog in a mustard shirt and jeans on Tuesday

She paired the casual look with cream trainers for the stroll, holding on to her pup's pink lead.

Katie kept her brunette tresses scraped up into a bun, showing off her tanned complexion as she wore a taupe mask over the bottom half of her face.

Often enjoying strolls with her furry friends, Katie has been spotted in NYC with her daughter, Suri Cruise, and their other dogs in the past.

Casual: Katie kept her brunette tresses scraped up into a bun, showing off her tanned complexion as she wore a taupe mask over the bottom half of her face

Suri, who she shares with ex-husband Tom Cruise, is set to turn 16 next month.

Katie recently completed filming on an untitled Fox television movie in which she will play a FBI special agent.

Another one of her untitled projects, set for release later this year, is currently in post-production while she's in the process of filming the movie Rare Objects.

The movie is based on the novel about a young woman who tries to rebuild her life by working in an antiques store.

Holmes will serve as the lead actress and director. She also co-wrote the script along with Phaedon A. Papadopoulos and the novel's author Kathleen Tessa.

Earlier this month the TV star attended the grand opening of RiseNY, an attraction that gives visitors a bird's-eye view of the city, located in Midtown Manhattan.

She oozed sophistication as she strutted around in a white power suit and pair of hot pink slingback heels.

The actress wore her beautiful brown tresses in textured waves for her fun night in the city.

The Iconic Series, Dawson's Creek is available to stream only on Stan in Australia.
Alton Towers crash amputee Leah Washington landed in the UK on Monday after announcing her engagement to boyfriend Joe Pugh - six years after they survived rollercoaster crash on their first date.

The newly-engaged couple shared the happy news that Joe had popped the question during a romantic getaway to Venice, sharing a smiley snap on Instagram and flashing her dazzling diamond ring.

After touching down in Manchester following the trip, Leah, 24, looked in high spirits as she was seen walking through the airport with her new fiance, 25.

Landed: Alton Towers crash amputee Leah Washington landed in the UK on Monday after announcing her engagement to boyfriend Joe Pugh - six years after they survived rollercoaster crash on their first date

Leah was dressed casually in a white hoodie, oversized black blazer and nude leggings with trainers for her trip home.

Her husband-to-be Joe opted for a similarly low-key look in a black T-shirt and grey plaid shirt, which he was wearing with grey joggers and trainers.

The courageous amputee, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, who has gained almost 26,000-followers on Instagram by sharing her progress since the shocking accident that summer, shared a picture of the couple's happy announcement on Monday.

Happy news: The newly-engaged couple shared the happy news that Joe had popped the question during a romantic getaway to Venice, sharing a smiley snap on Instagram and flashing her dazzling diamond ring

Love: After touching down in Manchester following the trip, Leah, 24, looked in high spirits as she was seen walking through the airport with her new fiance, 25

Showing off her diamond ring, she smiled as Joe, 25, beamed behind her, after proposing in Venice, with Leah writing: 'So this happened yesterday I SAID YES'.

Joe also shared a snap of their Italian short getaway, writing: 'What a great end to a long weekend in Venice SHE SAID YES.'

As congratulatory comments rolled in, Joe's mother publicly gave her blessing, saying: 'Fabulous news . Lots of love to you both'.

Engaged! The courageous amputee, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, who has gained almost 26,000-followers on Instagram by sharing her progress since the shocking accident that summer, shared a picture of the couple's happy announcement on Monday

Wow! Leah shared a photo of her sparkling diamond ring alongside perfectly manicured nails during the couple's trip to Venice

The engagement comes after the decision to buy a Yorkshire bungalow together, which the happy couple have been enjoying since November last year.

Leah was on her first proper date with boyfriend Joe when the Smiler rollercoaster carriage smashed into a stationary train at Alton Towers, in Staffordshire, in June 2015.

Leah, was one of two young passengers who lost a leg while Joe, suffered devastating injuries himself including two shattered kneecaps.

Joyful: The couple beamed as Leah shared their exciting news to her 25,000-strong Instagram following

In spite the trauma of the crash, the pair have stayed together and often post pictures of their days out on social media.

Despite having a state-of-the-art 60,000 prosthetic leg which allows her to walk unaided, she still suffers crippling pain and fatigue after standing for long periods.

An investigation into the accident concluded that the crash was due to human error; an engineer had wrongly restarted the ride while a stationary carriage was on the track in front of it.

Alton Towers owner Merlin Attractions were fined 5million for health and safety breaches which were blasted by Judge Michael Chambers QC as a 'catastrophic failure'.

Interim payments have covered Leah and Joe's medical and physio bills to date - but the pair have also submitted a 'substantial' compensation claim.

Leah's prosthetic leg - which contains a microprocessor knee - will need replacing every few years, which will amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds over her lifetime.
Michael Flatley has reflected on performing a Riverdance routine called Warlord for the president of Russia Vladimir Putin.

The Irish-American dancer, 63, joked that he 'is Irish and so not afraid of anything' when he was part of the show playing for the leader.

He delivered a special routine titled Warlord in front of world leaders in St Petersburg in 2003, in a move widely considered a slight to the assembled dignitaries.

Brave: Michael Flatley has reflected on performing a Riverdance routine called Warlord for the president of Russia Vladimir Putin

Michael also said he had met Putin only briefly during the visit.

Speaking on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain, he also condemned Russia's war with Ukraine as 'disgraceful'.

He said of the show: 'I am Irish I'm not afraid of anything. This war is disgraceful and it needs to end somehow. I think it is brutal. If you murder normally it is prison but in war it doesn't matter.

Having his say: The Irish-American dancer, 63, joked that he 'is Irish and so not afraid of anything' when he was part of the show playing for the leader (pictured)

'I performed with Pavarotti on the show for Putin. Ukrainians and Russians are all great performers and they are beautiful people. But in terms of this war, why are sons and daughters killing other sons and daughters?

On raising money for Ukrainian refugees with show tickets for his new tour he added: 'We all feel strongly about this, why is this murder legal? The people in the field don't want to be there.'

He also touched on his upcoming tour more, saying: 'We have 25 dates in the UK, we are all excited. We had 2 years of this bl**dy lockdown and now they are finally able to perform.'

Performer: He delivered a special routine titled Warlord in front of world leaders in St Petersburg in 2003, in a move widely considered a slight to the assembled dignitaries

On Wednesday Russia claimed that parts of a peace deal with Ukraine are close to being agreed with 'neutral' status for Kyiv under 'serious' consideration.

It comes a day after Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky said his country must accept it will not become a member of NATO - a statement which was expected to pave the way for some kind of peace deal with Russia.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said told RBC news on Wednesday: 'Neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees. Now this very thing is being discussed in negotiations - there are absolutely specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement.'

Upset: Speaking on Wednesday's Good Morning Britain, he also condemned Russia's war with Ukraine as 'disgraceful'

Opinions: He said of the show: 'I am Irish I'm not afraid of anything. This war is disgraceful and it needs to end somehow. I think it is brutal. If you murder normally it is prison but in war it doesn't matter'

He said that President Putin had spoken about neutrality, along with security guarantees for Ukraine without NATO enlargement, as one possible variant in February.

Separately, Moscow's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said his delegation was pushing for Ukraine to assume a status comparable Sweden or Austria, two neutral countries in western Europe - though Zelensky has rejected the proposal.

Medinsky said: 'We need a peaceful, free, independent Ukraine, neutral - not a member of military blocs, not a member of NATO.'

The two sides have held several rounds of negotiations aimed at finding common ground and bringing the hostilities launched by Russian leader Vladimir Putin in late February to a halt.
Andrew Garfield put on a dapper display as he stepped out at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old actor looked sharp in the baby blue suit with satin shirt and white Scarosso shoes for his sell out Film Independent event at the Beverly Hills campus.

The star received a standing ovation as he walked out on stage for his hotly anticipated show - An Evening With Andrew Garfield.

Showman: Andrew Garfield put on a dapper display as he stepped out for his sell out Film Independent event at The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills on Tuesday

The Tony Award-winning actor cut a smart figure as he took to the stage for the intimate event as he wore his signature curly hair combed back.

Andrew oozed confidence as he gave diehard fans a glimpse of his successful career to date.

The cosy evening saw the Spider-Man actor rewind through his career leading up to and including the incredible year of performances hes graced movie screens with so far.

Handsome: The 38-year-old actor looked sharp in the baby blue suit with satin shirt for his sell out show

The stars resume has seen him appear in several independent films to blockbusters  topping it all off with an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Rent creator Jonathan Larson in Lin-Manuel Mirandas tick, tick BOOM!.

The Oscar nominee has captivated global audiences with his transformative performances spanning feature films and notable theatre productions.

Attending Arts Circle Members got to enjoy an intimate pre-reception on The Wallis campus ahead of the hotly anticipated event.

Ready to go: The Tony Award-winning actor cut a smart figure as he took to the stage for the intimate event as he wore his signature curly hair combed back

Star: Andrew, who paired his suit with white Scarosso shoes, oozed confidence on stage as he gave diehard fans a glimpse of his successful career to date

Winner: The stars resume has seen him appear in several independent films to blockbusters  topping it all off with an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Rent creator Jonathan Larson in Lin-Manuel Mirandas tick, tick BOOM!

Born to be a star: The Oscar nominee has captivated global audiences with his transformative performances spanning feature films and notable theatre productions

Enthusiastic: The actor appeared to be on his best form on the night

Interaction: The actor appeared to be happy to get involved with attendees on the night

Imitate: Andrew spoke candidly to Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger on the night

The momentous night comes as Andrew had to wipe away the tears while accepting the Spotlight Awards at the 24th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards earlier this month.

The film producer was announced to receive the award in early February, honoring his career that personifies, 'an enduring commitment to excellence, including a special awareness of the role and importance of costume design.

Andrew broke down in tears while accepting the award at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Tearful Andrew had to wipe away the tears while accepting the Spotlight Awards at the 24th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards earlier this month

Tears: The actor is one of the front runners for Best Actor for his performance as Rent creator Jonathan Larson in tick, tick... BOOM!, and he broke down in tears while accepting the award at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica

Andrew stepped out in a stylish black-on-black suit with a black coat featuring a silver lapel pin.

He also wore a black dress shirt with a silver watch on his left wrist and a silver bracelet on his right wrist.

He completed his look with black pants and shiny black shoes.

Andrew's look: Garfield stepped out in a stylish black-on-black suit with a black coat featuring a silver lapel pin

Andrew was presented the award by his tick, tick... BOOM! co-star Judith Light, who called him, 'extraordinary, infinitely talented and wildly generous.'

The actor began his speech by saying he was, 'so angry' and 'so upset' because he, 'wasn't supposed to cry this evening,' while wiping tears away.

'To be honored by the angel on Earth that is Judith Light is a moment that will keep me going for the next 30 years,' he continued.

Presenter: Garfield was presented the award by his tick, tick... BOOM! co-star Judith Light, who called him, 'extraordinary, infinitely talented and wildly generous'

Moment: 'To be honored by the angel on Earth that is Judith Light is a moment that will keep me going for the next 30 years,' he continued

He kept wiping tears away and said he was, 'just so surprisingly overwhelmed and touched' by receiving the honor.

Garfield won a Golden Globe for his performance as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick... BOOM! and he's a front runner for the Best Actor Oscar.

He will go up against Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos), Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Will Smith (King Richard) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog).

Overwhelmed: He kept wiping tears away and said he was, 'just so surprisingly overwhelmed and touched' by receiving the honor

Globe winner: Garfield won a Golden Globe for his performance as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick... BOOM! and he's a front runner for the Best Actor Oscar

Andrew also starred in the critically-acclaimed The Eyes of Tammy Faye earlier this year, and had a beloved return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

The actor will be returning to the small screen with new series Under the Banner of Heaven, where he stars as a devout detective whose faith is tested.

He also stars in the miniseries Brideshead Revisited with Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Joe Alwyn.

Recent roles: Andrew also starred in the critically-acclaimed The Eyes of Tammy Faye earlier this year, and had a beloved return as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: No Way Home

Coming soon: The actor will be returning to the small screen with new series Under the Banner of Heaven, where he stars as a devout detective whose faith is tested

New role: He also stars in the miniseries Brideshead Revisited with Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Joe Alwyn

Andrew and Judith: Andrew and Judith Light pose on the red carpet at the 24th Annual CDGA Awards
She's known for looking glamorous in the office.

But Christine Quinn traded real estate for a glitzy PrettyLittleThing shoot on Monday, posting a behind-the-scenes video to Instagram a day later.

The 33-year-old sported a bright pink, PVC mini dress from the brand for the Barbie themed photoshoot - showing off her cleavage with a low neckline.

Barbie girl: Christine Quinn traded real estate for a glitzy PrettyLittleThing shoot on Monday, posting a behind-the-scenes video to Instagram a day later

The look was for her upcoming Christine Quinn x Galore collection with PLT, with Christine sporting platformed perspex heels and accessorising with extreme drop silver earrings.

The beauty had her blonde locks in a sleek bob, donning a radiant pink-toned makeup look.

She was a real life Barbie doll for the shoot, walking around in a plastic-like manner as she moved her arms in formation.

Gorgeous: The 33-year-old sported a bright pink, PVC mini dress from the brand for the Barbie themed photoshoot - showing off her cleavage with a low neckline

Accessories: Christine sported platformed perspex heels and accessorising with extreme drop silver earrings

Seemingly taking a hit at people who have branded her 'fake', Christine captioned the image: 'Him: "You are so fake!" Me: '

The Selling Sunset star posted the reel to her 2.7million Instagram followers, playing the fitting song Barbie Girl.

The Barbie-doll style dress is currently available on PrettyLittleThing for 28

The look was created thanks to her glam squad - stylist Kathryn Gosik, hairstylist Glen Coco, make-up artist Gilbert Estrada, and spray tan artist Isabel Alysa.

Reality star: Christine rose to fame on Selling Sunset as an employee of prestigious real estate agent The Oppenheim Group in 2019, which has recently been renewed by Netflix

Coming soon: The look was for her upcoming Christine Quinn x Galore collection with PLT

Barbie: Christine channelled her inner barbie doll, even mimicking the toy's movements

On Monday, Christine posted some other behind-the-scene peaks from the Barbie-themed shoot, showing digital proofs on a laptop whilst on set.

Christine rose to fame on Selling Sunset as an employee of prestigious real estate agent The Oppenheim Group in 2019.

And last year, Netflix renewed Selling Sunset for a fifth season, which will likely premiere in late 2022 or earlier 2023.

Adam DiVello's series also spawned two spin-offs - Selling Tampa, which follows the Allure Realty firm in Florida and the upcoming Selling the OC, which follows the Oppenheim Group branch in Newport Beach.

PLT: The Barbie-doll style dress is currently available on PrettyLittleThing for 28

BTS: On Monday, Christine posted some other behind-the-scene peaks from the Barbie-themed shoot, showing digital proofs on a laptop whilst on set.
Oksana Platero has thanked her Strictly partner Judge Robert Rinder after he finally found her grandmother and aunt in Ukraine after a week-long search.

The criminal barrister, 43, has been reporting from the front line and told last week how he was heading to the war-torn country in search of his former dance partner's family members.

The TV star has been documenting his trip to the Poland/Ukraine border where he has met many other refugees - he has not yet given details about how he tracked Oksana's family members down.

Rob told Talk Radio that Oksana's grandparents and aunt are currently staying in 'one small room' in a 'chalet bungalow' in Tuchow, Poland. He said her uncle and cousin are on their way to join them.

Incredible: Judge Robert Rinder has finally found his Strictly partner Oksana Platero's grandmother and aunt in Ukraine after week-long search

Sharing snaps hugging the two women, Rinder wrote in the caption: 'Oksana's family: Auntie Lidya and Grandma Zoya.

'We managed to reach them this morning with a wheelchair & some medical supplies.

'Despite having nearly nothing.. they are 'grateful for everything'.'

Oksana's auntie looked visibly emotional in the snap as he hugged auntie Lidya and kissed her on the forehead.

Love: Sharing snaps hugging the two women, he wrote in the caption: 'Oksana's family: Auntie Lidya and Grandma Zoya'

Helping: He wrote in the caption: 'We managed to reach them this morning with a wheelchair & some medical supplies...'

In the second snap he hugged her grandma Zoya - who isn't able to walk without a wheelchair - as she sat in bed covered by blankets.

Professional dancer Oksana, who has not been able to make the journey herself because she has work commitments in America, took to Instagram on Wednesday to thank Rob.

In a heartfelt caption, she wrote: 'I can't say thank you enough to my wonderful SCD partner @robrinder and his team for being there for my family and so many others.

'You are a truly remarkable man and my love for you is limitless. The world needs more people like you.'

Speaking to Talk Radio, Rob said Oksana's family are hopeful that they will be able to return to their home in Ukraine, as he described their journey to Poland.

'You are a truly remarkable man': Oksana, who has not been able to make the journey herself because of work commitments in America, took to Instagram on Wednesday to thank Rob

In another post, Rob revealed Oskana's family also had their puppy Tesla with them, as he shared a snap of the dog and wrote: 'He brings us so much love that we forget the bad things'

He added: 'It really drives into sharp focus what happens when you need to leave your home suddenly, you're left without a wheelchair, without the basic needs, you know the basic things that are required for people's human dignity - going to the loo and so and so forth - and things you need if you are disabled.

'All of that had to be left, as they journey for seven days, sometimes without water, fleeing shelling to arrive here.'

In another post, Robert revealed Oskana's family also had their puppy Tesla with them, as he shared a snap of the dog and wrote: 'He brings us so much love that we forget the bad things'.

On Instagram, Robert shared another heartwarming picture of him hugging a woman and said the 'women of Ukraine' were 'safeguarding' their nation.

Sweet: On Instagram, Robert shared another heartwarming picture of him hugging a woman and said the 'women of Ukraine' were 'safeguarding' their nation

He wrote: 'Tonight is Purim, the story of Queen Esther, a Jewish Queen who learned that Haman (the king's adviser) was planning to destroy the Jewish people.

'Esther revealed the plot & saved her people. Thousands of years on, the women of Ukraine are safeguarding the future of their nation.'

Robert and Oksana reached the quarter-final stage of Strictly, when they competed together in 2016.

And announcing he was going to the Ukraine last week, Rob said: 'Oksana Platero my Ukrainian dance partner on @bbcstrictly gifted me so much.

'Right now her grandparents are a week into their struggle to find sanctuary in a safe country.

Dynamic duo: Robert and Oksana reached the quarter-final stage of Strictly, when they competed together in 2016

Hope: Rob said Oksana's family are hopeful that they will be able to return to their home in Ukraine. Pictured: Oksana with her mother and younger brother

'I'll be trying to meet them on the border next week. They're just a few of the millions who need us.'

Robert added at the time that it was unclear where he could meet Oksana's grandparents, but he was hoping to meet them somewhere on Ukraine's border with Poland.

He added: 'Depends on where they make it to but I'll be at the Polish border from Monday.

'If they cross into Hungary the next step will be getting them to safety with their family.'

Robert and Oksana reached the quarter-final stage of Strictly, when they competed together in 2016.

Family: Robert announced that he was going to the Ukraine last week. Pictured: Oksana with her family member Rosita

Worrying: In a series of tweets last week Robert explained he was travelling to Ukraine's border with Poland to hopefully meet Oksana's grandparents

The dancer herself also took to Instagram last Wednesday pleading for help from her followers, and explaining how her family fled their hometown last week to reach safety.

She wrote: 'Dear Friends, as you already know, many families are going through such hardship with the war in Ukraine. My family and my cousins, @kateryna_klishyna, family are escaping and close to the border.

'My mother, my 10 year old brother, and Kateryna's sister, left their home the morning of March 2nd and arrived to safety March 6th.

'As you can imagine, the journey there was brutal but all that matters is that they made it, and they are safe. We are forever grateful to still have them as we know so many who can't say the same.

'The rest of our family which include our 3 grandparents, 2 who are not able to walk, and Kateryna's mom and dad are still in danger as they are currently still trying to escape. We are praying that they will make it out of Ukraine and into safety soon.

'What's next is unclear, unpredictable, and terrifying. This is where we'd like to ask for any support as they spend their time away from home.

Worrying: The dancer herself also took to Instagram last Wednesday pleading for help from her followers, and explaining how her family fled their hometown last week to reach safety

Help: Posting a series of snaps of her family (left: her auntie Lidya and grandma Zoya), she wrote: 'What's next is unclear, unpredictable, and terrifying'

'They will be in need of accommodations, food, and medical attention for quite some time. We are raising money to send to them and keep them in good hands. Anything you can do to help would be much appreciated.

'From the bottom our our hearts we thank you and please keep our family and the rest of Ukraine in your thoughts and prayers. Oksana and Kateryna.'

It's thought around two million Ukranian citizens have now fled their country in the wake of the Russian invasion, but the Government has come under fire for handing out just 500 visas to refugees.
Coleen Rooney cut a pensive figure on Wednesday as she stepped out for a low-key outing in Cheshire.

The WAG, 35, looked lost in her thoughts amid the ongoing 'Wagatha Christie' legal battle with Rebekah Vardy as she went about her business near her home.

Despite her mind seemingly elsewhere, Coleen still managed to nail casual chic as she donned a smart green checked blazer over gym wear.

Something on your mind? Coleen Rooney cut a pensive figure on Wednesday as she stepped out for a low-key outing in Cheshire

Coleen teamed her blazer with a grey hoodie, form-fitting black leggings and black trainers.

With the mother-of-four highlighting her natural beauty by going make-up free for the day.

It was no doubt a busy day for Coleen, who swept her locks into a simple ponytail, as she clutched hold of her keys and mobile phone and tucked a water bottle under her arm as she hurried along the street.

Solo outing: The WAG, 35, looked lost in her thoughts amid the ongoing 'Wagatha Christie' legal battle with Rebekah Vardy as she went about her business near her home

It comes after Coleen has reportedly hired a former Scotland Yard detective amid her ongoing Wagatha Christie legal case against Rebekah.

According to The Mirror, she has brought investigator Matt Blackband onto her legal team after a judge called for the disclosure of further WhatsApp messages between Rebekah, 39, and her agent Caroline Watt.

Coleen's move comes after the judge at a recent two-day hearing ruled that she had to pay 20 per cent of Vardy's legal fees, expected to be around 30,000.

Looking good: Despite her mind seemingly elsewhere, Coleen still managed to nail casual chic as she donned a smart green checked blazer over gym wear

And as the case continues, it's emerged that ex cyber-crime detective Matt is fighting Coleen's corner as it came to light at the recent hearing that he'd been named as her 'digital information expert'.x

The Mirror reports that Matt has 30 years experience as an investigator, 21 of which was with the Met Police, while he also helped found the multi-agency National Hi-Tech Crime Unit.

A source told the publication: 'Coleen believes the damning WhatsApp messages revealed in court last week between Rebekah and her agent Caroline Watt were the tip of an iceberg.

Generous: Meanwhile, Rebekah will reportedly donate any money she wins in her and Coleen's 1million 'Wagatha Christie' court case to charity (Pictured this month)

'Understandably, having been put in this position, she is leaving no stone unturned. Shes confident of winning the court case as more evidence emerges.'

While a legal insider said: 'Matt is one of the most outstanding operators in the business. He is a great weapon to have.'

Meanwhile, Rebekah will reportedly donate any money she wins in her and Coleen's 1 million 'Wagatha Christie' court case to charity.

Amid the news Coleen will have to pay for legal fees, the judge said Coleen's bid to add her rival's agent Caroline Watts to the lawsuit was brought too late, and that previous opportunities to make the claim had not been taken. The WAG also had to cough up 65,000 for Caroline's legal costs.

Now, sources say Becky plans to give away any money she wins in the messy court case to charity and is 'well aware people are horrified' by the spiraling costs of the court case.
Joanna Krupa discussed her plan to head to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees during an interview with TMZ that was released on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old television personality, who was born in Warsaw, spoke about how her husband, Douglas Nunes, had previously flown to her country of birth in order to participate in humanitarian efforts.

The model also noted that she would soon trade places with her husband and begin assisting refugees as soon as he returned home to take care of their young daughter Asha-Leigh, aged two.

Looking to the future: Joanna Krupa discussed her plan to head to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees during an interview with TMZ that was released on Wednesday; she is seen in 2018

Krupa began the interview by noting that she was sympathetic to the feelings of Poland's residents, many of whom had been greatly affected by the ongoing conflict.

'I think everybody that's, you know, Polish and lives there, of course they're worried what's next, what's going to happen,' she said.

The model then expressed that she greatly admired the charitable efforts of the Polish people to date.

'I'm just so proud of the Poles, the whole Polish community and everyone's just volunteering, doctors, nurses, people are making food, people are organizing toys for the kids,' she stated.

Making a difference: The 42-year-old television personality, who was born in Warsaw, spoke about how her husband, Douglas Nunes, had previously flown to her country of birth in order to participate in humanitarian efforts; they are seen in 2019

Krupa then noted that 'my husband just went there on Saturday so he's there trying to organize some transportation.'

She did express, however, that she 'can't say too much because of... safety.'

The supermodel then remarked that 'it just warms my heart to see how much good is being done during this really emotional and critical and sad time.'

The former Real Housewives of Miami cast member stated that Nunes had previously grown fond of her country of birth and that he would be doing everything he could to assist in relief efforts.

Being honest: The former Real Housewives of Miami cast member stated that Nunes had previously grown fond of her country of birth and that he would be doing everything he could to assist in relief efforts; she is seen in 2015

'We go there often and he fell in love with it, and when the whole war started he said, "I can't just sit back and do nothing"...he has a lot of connections so I know he could be very helpful,' she stated.

Krupa went on to note that she would also assist in the efforts when Nunes returned to take care of the couple's child.

'We decided I'll stay here with my daughter and then we'll probably switch when he gets back and I'll go over there,' she stated.

The former Dancing with the Stars cast member added that 'I just want to hug these kids and these families.'

Timeline: Krupa went on to note that she would also assist in the efforts when Nunes returned to take care of the couple's child

Krupa also expressed that she was previously concerned about the safety of relief workers, although she had overcome her fear and was ready to go and help refugees.

'At the beginning of the war, I was worried, but I think, you know, we can't just sit back and be worried,' she said.

She added: 'I'm sitting with my daughter cuddled up in bed with a warm blanket and a pillow and these families, like, their lives have changed overnight.'
Amy Schumer combined business and casual as she arrived for an early morning interview in New York.

The actress chose a sleek black, long sleeve jumpsuit with a V-neck and empire waist paired with some equally sleek black sneakers for her chat on Good Morning America Wednesday.

The 40-year-old funny lady was there to dish with hosts Amy Robach, Michael Strahan and George Stephanopoulos about her upcoming hosting duties at the 94th Academy Awards March 27. Amy will share the stage with fellow comedians Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall.

Business casual: Amy Schumer combined business and casual as she arrived for an early morning interview in New York on Good Morning America

The I Feel Pretty star has worked with Sykes in the past, but this is her first time working with Hall.

'Were troublemakers. Were really having fun together and we, you know, playing off each other. Its just, like, I think of them a such comedy royalty,' she said.

Schumer has had several offers to host Hollywood's biggest night, but has turned them down in the past.

She explained her change of mind saying, 'I just feel like were coming out of this pandemic and I think we all have this new lease on life and Im like, I want to host the Oscars. I want to perform and I feel like telling jokes and and getting to do it with Wanda and Regina is beyond my wildest dreams.'

Funny lady: The comedian will share co-hosting duties at the 94th Academy Awards with Regina Hall and Wanda Sikes. The actress said the pandemic helped change her mind about taking the job, saying, 'I want to perform and I feel like telling jokes and and getting to do it with Wanda and Regina is beyond my wildest dreams'

When asked why she's been so open about her life including surgery to treat endometriosis, difficulties in her pregnancy and getting liposuction, The Humans star said it's because she can't lie.

I can not lie. Really, I think a big part of why I wanted to be open about getting liposuction is, and people are going to see me and go she looks the same to me, I just got it, you know after a c-section, and my endometriosis surgery and all this stuff, my uterus never contracted and I really wanted to do this to feel good about myself and I couldnt imagine lying,' she said.

Amy also used the appearance to talk up her new series on Hulu, Life & Beth.

Being honest: The mom of one said she's opened up about health issues, including endometriosis, pregnancy and liposuction because she 'can't lie." Schumer said to had lipo after giving birth because she wanted to feel good about herself

New lease on life: Amy Schumer says coming out of the pandemic, she feels she has a new lease on life and that her new TV series has helped her learn more empathy

The show debuts Friday (March 18) and focuses on a woman who begins to have flashbacks to her teen self after an unsettling incident in her life.

'Shes kind of stuck and I think, you know, I can definitely relate to that and its really made me be more empathetic to myself as a teen.'

Michael Cera co-stars as the love interest, and Amy said his character is loosely based on her husband, Chris Fischer, who, like Cera's character, is a chef and a farmer.

Life & Beth: Amy's new series debuts on Hulu Friday March 18. The actress says Michael Cera's character is similar to her husband, Chris Fischer

The Trainwreck star's son, Gene, will turn three in May.

The multi-talented star said motherhood and her Beth character have increased her appreciation of others.

'Becoming a mom now, Im a lot more empathetic to my mom, which will happen, whether you believe it or not.'
Jennifer Lopez was once again seen transforming into her character while filming for her upcoming action thriller The Mother in Gran Canaria on Wednesday.

The actress, 52, who plays an assassin whose comes out of hiding to protect her estranged daughter, was dressed in a khaki tank to and combat trousers.

JLo wore a shirt over her top and a pair of chunky walking boots, while her long brunete locks were tied back in a ponytail off her make-up free face.

Shooting scenes: Jennifer Lopez was once again seen transforming into her character while filming for her upcoming action thriller The Mother in Gran Canaria on Wednesday

Jennifer could be seen filming on the streets of the Spanish Island with a crew of producers andd camera men alongside her co-star Omari Hardwick.

Omari, 48, was wearing a tight-fitting long sleeved top and a pair of grey/blue trousers with chunky black lace up boots.

His character appeared to have been involved in some sort of altercation judging by the bleeding wound on the side of his face.

The Mother is directed by Niki Caro, who is also behind Whale Rider, 2020's live action version of Disney's Mulan and The Zookeeper.

On set: The actress, 52, who plays an assassin whose comes out of hiding to protect her estranged daughter, was dressed in a khaki tank to and combat trousers

Co-star! Jennifer could be seen filming on the streets of the Spanish Island with a crew of producers andd camera men alongside her co-star Omari Hardwick (pictured)

While Jennifer's character has not been divulged, the plot centres on an assassin who comes out of hiding, while feeling fleeing from dangerous assailants, to protect her daughter she left earlier in life.

Other famous faces starring in the future big screen feature include Joseph Fiennes, Omari and Gael Garcia Bernal.

Filming commenced last October but was halted on January 11 2022 due to the COVID variant outbreak.

JLo was forced to head back to the U.S. after just four days in the country. Other than Spain, production also took place in both Vancouver and Smithers, British Columbia.

Dressed down: JLo wore a shirt over her top and a pair of chunky walking boots, while her long brunete locks were tied back in a ponytail off her make-up free face

Jennifer was spotted back on the Spanish island on March 2 where she appeared to be in rehearsal and learning her lines with fellow actors on a hotel balcony.

Written by Misha Green (Spartacus), Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) and Peter Craig (The Town), the film is scheduled for release in 2022 by Netflix.

During her downtime between filming, Jennifer has been hanging out with her boyfriend Ben Affleck, who has joined her on the filming trip.

Jennifer and Ben were spotted looking as loved up as ever during an afternoon at the Plaza de Santa Ana this week.
Teresa Giudice is in the throes of planning her wedding to fiance Luis Ruelas after the couple became engaged last fall when he proposed during a romantic trip to Greece.

And the Real Housewives of New Jersey star admitted that she did not ask her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, to stand by her side when she says 'I do' later this summer during a big wedding celebration.

Giudice stopped by to chat with Andy Cohen and comedian Loni Love on Watch What Happens Live Tuesday night where she revealed that her brother's wife and longtime RHONJ co-star would not be part of bridal party.

Teresa Giudice is in the throes of planning her wedding to fiance Luis Ruelas after the couple became engaged last fall when he proposed during a romantic trip to Greece

When Teresa was asked about a few of her plans while in town, she admitted to having a meeting set up with Oprah's florist Preston Bailey.

'How many bridesmaids will you have?' Loni asked the longtime Bravo star.

'Eight bridesmaids,' Teresa quipped, with Love coming back: 'Any of the housewives and your castmates?'

'No,' Giudice sternly responded.

Shocked to hear the news, Andy chimed in: 'Melissa will not be a bridesmaid?'

Oh no: The Real Housewives of New Jersey star admitted that she did not ask her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, to stand by her side when she says 'I do' later this summer during a big wedding celebration

Family forever? Melissa has been married to Teresa's brother, Joe, since 2004, and began starring on RHONJ in its third season; seen in 2018

That's awkward: Shocked to hear the news, Andy chimed in: 'Melissa will not be a bridesmaid?'

'Don't make a big deal of it,' Teresa assured everyone. 'I mean come on.'

Andy asked: 'Will this be news to her, hearing this now?'

'I mean, I guess so,' she said over her signature nervous laughter. 'I mean, hello, we're on national TV.'

Melissa has been married to Teresa's brother, Joe, since 2004, and began starring on RHONJ in its third season.

'Don't make a big deal of it,' Teresa assured everyone. 'I mean come on.'

'Eight bridesmaids,' Teresa quipped, with comedian Loni Love coming back: 'Any of the housewives and your castmates?'

Their at-times tense relationship has played out in front of the cameras as Teresa and her ex husband Joe were indicted on 39 counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, mail and wire fraud, and making false statements on loan applications

They both served time in prison (she served a year while he was behind bars for 41 months), and Joe was deported back to his home country, Italy, before Teresa made the difficult decision to divorce her husband of 20 years, which was finalized in September 2020.

Teresa since rebounded with Luis and the couple began dating in 2020, roughly one year before he proposed in Greece. Their relationship is currently under fire as the cast questions his intentions with Giudice on this season of RHONJ.
Olivia Jade Giannulli made a daring fashion move on Tuesday evening when she attended the Sunny Vodka party in West Hollywood to celebrate Stas Karanikolaou becoming a co-brand director for the label.

The 22-year-old daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli wore a slender black bra top that showed off her very toned tummy as she added a blazer and painter pants.

This comes after the YouTube favorite talked about how bullying is 'the most cowardly form of human interaction.'

Flashing the flesh: Olivia Jade Giannulli made a daring fashion move on Tuesday evening when she attended the Sunny Vodka party in West Hollywood

Olivia looked to have a brand-new beach tan as she flashed the flesh in the little black top that showed off her cleavage and abs.

The jet black jacket she wore was oversized with big shoulders and not buttoned.

And she added painter pants in off-white that had pockets everywhere with blue top stitching.

The star held onto a black purse with a silver chain strap as well as her cell phone.

Glam slam: Her brunette hair was worn down and in soft waves for a feminine glam look. She was seen walking into the event and also on the carpet where there was a faux green plant backdrop and the Sunny logo

Skin zone: Olivia looked to have a brand-new beach tan as she flashed the flesh in the little black top that showed off her cleavage and abs

Fashion finds: The jet black jacket she wore was oversized with big shoulders and not buttoned. And she added painter pants in off-white that had pockets everywhere with blue over stitching

Her brunette hair was worn down and in soft waves for a feminine glam look.

She was seen walking into the event and also on the carpet where there was a faux green plant backdrop and the Sunny logo.

The Sunny Vodka event was thrown for Kylie Jenner's close pal Stassie Baby, who seems to be going by Stas Karanikolaou these days.

Stas is now a co-brand director for Sunny Vodka and was the belle of the party on Tuesday as she looked stunning black dress with crystals sewn on from Dolce & Gabbana.

And Justin Bieber's ex Chantel Jeffries, who is a model and DJ, looked slender in a black dress for the big night.

Olivia recently launched a podcast called Conversation with Olivia, a show where she discussed online trolls.

Easy on the eyes: The Sunny Vodka event was thrown for Kylie Jenner's close pal Stassie Baby, who seems to be going by Stas Karanikolaou these days. Stas is now a co-brand director for Sunny Vodka and was the belle of the party on Tuesday as she looked stunning black dress

Back in black: And Justin Bieber's ex Chantel Jeffries, who is a model and DJ, looked slender in a black dress for the big night

GG: Also present was Gigi Gorgeous in a little black dress with sparkly heels

She pointed to the phenomenon of bullying as she stated, 'I hope that one day our society starts to judge people based on personal experiences instead of this band wagon bullying effect.'

Olivia added that 'Nine out of ten times [there] is an extremely insecure and sad person sitting behind the screen. Bullying is the most cowardly form of human interaction, ever.'

Speaking on the subject of online criticism the star said, 'Id be a complete liar if I said negativity and comments dont hurt my feelings. I am a pretty sensitive human.'

And the star touched on 'themes of authenticity, acceptance, and vulnerability.'

She shared: 'I want everyone listening to be able to resonate with a guest or even take some of the tools that I am being taught and apply them in their own lives,' she said about her new endeavor.
Mike Myers is back bringing the laughs in The Pentaverate.

The comedy legend plays an astonishing eight different roles in the upcoming Netflix limited series, and a new trailer for the show teases all the hilarity awaiting viewers.

'An unlikely Canadian journalist finds himself embroiled in a mission to uncover the truth and just possibly save the world himself,' reads a description of the series on IMDb.

Cast of characters! A new trailer has been released for The Pentaverate, in which Mike Myers plays eight different characters

From the journalist to a conspiracy theorist intent on exposing the secret society, Myers showcases his comedic and acting talent in an array of hilarious roles.

The trailer begins with the story of The Pentaverate, a secret society formed after the outbreak of the Black Plague.

'In 1347, five learned men realized that the Black Plague was caused by fleas on rats. However the church believed the plague to be god's punishments, labelling these five men heretics. So they formed a benevolent secret society to influence world events known as The Pentaverate.'

'The Penta-what-the-f**k!?' Skip Cho, a casino mogul played by Ken Jeong, suddenly interrupts.

The truth is out there! Myers plays eight different roles in The Pentaverate, including Anthony Lansdowne, a conspiracy theorist

Range: From the journalist to a far-right radio host, Myers showcases his comedic and acting talent in an array of hilarious roles

A lot on his plate! 'An unlikely Canadian journalist finds himself embroiled in a mission to uncover the truth and just possibly save the world himself,' reads a description of the series on IMDb

Big names: Ken Jeong is among the comedic greats appearing in the mini series

Next, video of all the hilarity awaiting viewers flashes on screen as journalist Ken Scarborough (Myers) attempts to uncover the truth behind the mysterious organization.

In addition to Scarborough, Myers will be playing Anthony Lansdowne, a conspiracy theorist, Rex Smith, a far-right radio host and noted conspiracy theorist, Lord Lordington, the oldest and highest ranked member in The Pentaverate, Bruce Baldwin, a former media mogul, Mishu Ivanov, an ex-Russian oligarch, Shep Gordon, a former Rock-N-roll manager, and Jason Eccleston, a tech genius and inventor of the secret society's super computer MENTOR, according to Deadline.

Ken Jeong and Keegan-Michael Key will also be bringing their comedic talents to the show.

Mysterious: The trailer tells the story of the secret society influencing world events since the Black Plague

'The Penta-what-the-f**k!?' Skip Cho, a casino mogul played by Ken Jeong, suddenly interrupts

Key will be playing a nuclear physicist who has been recruited into the secret society to fix the climate change catastrophe.

Debi Mazar will also be appearing in the show as Patty Davis, Pentaverate's executive assistant who some believe is the 'brains' behind the society, according to Deadline.

The series will also be narrated by Jeremy Irons, according to Deadline.

The Myers-created show will debut on Netflix on May 5.

Big role: Key will be playing a nuclear physicist who has been recruited into the secret society to fix the climate change catastrophe
First look images of the new series The Essex Serpent were released on Wednesday, showing stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston in their roles.

The series follows London widow Cora Seaborne (Danes) who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent.

She forms an unlikely bond with the village vicar (Hiddleston), but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.

New show: First look images of the new series The Essex Serpent were released on Wednesday, showing stars Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston in their roles

The first look images show Tom wearing a long dark coat and green scarf as he whimsically strolls along a beach beside Claire who wears a grey jacket and hat.

The much-anticipated six-episode Apple Original limited series based on Sarah Perry's bestselling novel of the same name will debut globally with its first two episodes on Friday May 13.

Stars Frank Dillane, Clemence Poesy and Hayley Squires will also feature in the show.

Mother-of-two Claire, who is married to British actor Hugh Dancy, replaced Keira Knightley in the role when the actress had to withdraw for 'family reasons'.

Plot: The series follows London widow Cora Seaborne (Danes) who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent.

A representative for the star confirmed that she decided to pull out of the project over childcare concerns for two daughters, Edie and Delilah

The spokesperson told the Daily Mail at the time: 'There wasn't a comfortable scenario for Keira that could be put in place for an extended period of childcare required for the four-and-a-half-month production.'

Maldon District Council confirmed that filming would be taking place in the area, telling Essex Live in a statement: 'We are delighted that the production company has chosen the Maldon District as one of their locations for a new six-part drama.

'They have a sizeable base on Promenade Park, and they will minimise any disruption during their filming and ensure safety can be maintained at all times.

Star of the show: The first look images show Tom wearing a tweed suit and blue jumper as he walks in the wind

'We would remind everyone that while this is clearly exciting, social distancing must still be maintained at all times.'

Set in the Victorian era of the 1890s, the drama follows Cora, a newly widowed woman relishing her newfound freedom from an abusive husband, who moves from London to a small village in Essex.

Not long after arriving, she becomes intrigued by a local superstition: a mythical sea serpent known as the Essex Serpent that has returned to the area.

Change: Mother-of-two Claire, who is married to British actor Hugh Dancy, replaced Keira Knightley in the role when the actress had to withdraw for 'family reasons'

The See-Saw production is being directed by Clio Barnard, who's best known for her work on film The Selfish Giant (2013), and produced by Andrea Cornwell.

Anna Symon will serve as the lead writer. Her resume includes penning the British historical drama series, Mrs. Wilson (2018).

Both Barnard and Symon will also play serve as executive producers alongside Jamie Laurenson, Patrick Walters, Hakan Kousetta, Emile Sherman, and Iain Canning, according to Deadline.

Apple gave the green light and ordered The Essex Serpent to series in August 2020.
Vicky Pattison has revealed she was 'so shocked' when her fiance Ercan Ramadan proposed, which came just days after a 'pretty terrible' Valentine's Day.

The media personality, 34, recently announced her longterm boyfriend, 38, popped the question while they were on holiday in Dubai.

Vicky is this week's guest on The Moments That Made Me podcast with Roxie Nafousi where she told how the proposal came after the couple's lacklustre Valentine's where they had a disastrous date in a 'fancy restaruant'.

Couple: Vicky Pattison has revealed she was 'so shocked' when her fiance Ercan Ramadan proposed, which came just days after a 'pretty terrible' Valentine's Day

The former Geordie Shore star: 'We had a pretty terrible Valentine's, it was just a shocker.

'Everything that could've gone wrong, went wrong. We sat in this restaurant for three hours without getting anything to eat and then I said, "should we just get a McDonald's and leave?"'

For their date where Ercan popped the question, he had the restaurant decorated with rose petals but insisted it was only to make up for their Valentine's date.

Vicky said: 'The place where he was going to propose, there was rose petals everywhere. He said, "because we had a really bad Valentine's I thought I'd do something special."

Romance: The media personality, 34, recently announced her longterm boyfriend, 38, popped the question while they were on holiday in Dubai

'I was fully believing his lies and having a nice time and didn't expect anything. It was a lovely surprise.'

Elsewhere during the interview, Vicky spoke about finding fame on MTV's raunchy reality series Geordie Shore.

The star told how she doesn't like being 'constantly reminded' about her time on the show because she feels like she is a different person now.

She said: 'I get quite a bit of stick from people saying, "you forget where you came from." I haven't forgot where I came from.

Proposal: Vicky told how the proposal came after the couple's lacklustre Valentine's after a disastrous date in a 'fancy restaruant'

To our forever: The reality star took to Instagram to show off the moment the couple got engaged

'I'm so aware that without that chapter, I wouldn't be where I was now. I don't like to be constantly reminded of it as such and the person that I was then but I've got to call a spade a spade.

'If I hadn't taken that leap of faith and done Geordie Shore. That was my first big moment.'

Vicky took to Instagram to show off the moment the couple got engaged with Ercan proposing on the beach.

She captioned the snap: 'I choose you and I'll choose you over and over without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat... It'll always be you. To our forever @ercan_ram.'

Candid: Elsewhere during the interview, Vicky told how she doesn't like being 'constantly reminded' about her time on Geordie Shore because she feels like she's a different person now

Vicky also gave fans a peak at her engagement ring, which is thought to be worth around 200,000.

The star previously sparked rumours she will walk down the aisle after sharing a loved-up post of herself kissing Ercan, alongside the caption: 'I love you - tonight was everything!'

Now that the couple are back to reality after their getaway, they have been celebrating another milestone - their pet dog Milo's first birthday.

Vicky and Ercan celebrated the Labrador's birthday on Saturday with a lavish party, held at their Essex home, after taking Milo for a pampering session at a local dog grooming salon.
Teresa Giudice has wedding planning on her mind as she revealed seeing visions of her dream guest list while hallucinating on ayahuasca, which included the Bravo patriarch, Andy Cohen, and his best friend, Sarah Jessica Parker.

Giudice, 49, admitted she recently safely 'journeyed' on the plant medicine which is known for its psychedelic effects on the senses, and one stand-out moment was seeing Andy and SJP at her summer nuptials to Luis Ruelas.

'I journeyed and I saw you,' she said during Tuesday night's appearance on Watch What Happens Live where she guest-starred alongside comedian Loni Love.

Deep rooted: Teresa Giudice has wedding planning on her mind as she revealed seeing visions of her dream guest list while hallucinating on ayahuasca, which included the Bravo patriarch, Andy Cohen, and his best friend, Sarah Jessica Parker

'Hold on. Do you want to explain what journeyed means,' Andy asked.

'At first Teresa was hesitant to reveal more details, but Cohen coaxed her into sharing her experience with ayahuasca, which is commonly used as ceremonial spiritual medicine for indigenous people in the Amazon.

'It was guided with Oprah Winfrey's person that we met with, and I saw you at my wedding,' she said. 'And do you know who your date was? Sarah Jessica Parker, I swear to God.'

Andy, along with the audience, began laughing as Teresa insisted she saw the duo in her visions of her big wedding day.

'I had, what's it called, a blindfold on,' she recalled. 'I had my headphones on and I'm like, "Oh my God, I see my wedding!"

Andy sat back in his chair, ' And I was there with Sarah Jessica'

'It was guided with Oprah Winfrey's person that we met with, and I saw you at my wedding,' she said. 'And do you know who your date was? Sarah Jessica Parker, I swear to God'

'Because, you know why, I wanted an answer,' Teresa insisted, 'to know if I should do my wedding in Italy or New Jersey. And, you know, I put intentions out.'

Andy sat back in his chair, ' And I was there with Sarah Jessica.'

'Because, you know why, I wanted an answer,' Teresa insisted, 'to know if I should do my wedding in Italy or New Jersey. And, you know, I put intentions out.'

Teresa told Andy she finally chose New Jersey and Cohen responded that he had heard Italy was the actual wedding location. 'I wanted to, but then it was like, I was so torn,' she said.

'So me and SJ were at the wedding,' Andy circled back. 'Yes,' Teresa said.

Loni Love tried to tell Andy that she knew he used to date the Sex and the City star, but he insisted that was never true and they were simply the best of friends.

'We've been on many red carpets, but we've never dated,' he assured her. 'I'm gay.'

Much to Teresa's dismay, Andy said there's a 'decent chance he won't be at the wedding with Sarah Jessica if I get invited.'

Not so fast: Loni Love tried to tell Andy that she knew he used to date the Sex and the City star, but he insisted that was never true and they were simply the best of friends

'We've been on many red carpets, but we've never dated,' Andy assured the room of his relationship with Sarah Jessica Parker (seen in 2019.) 'I'm gay'

Cohen asked if Teresa 'liked' seeing Andy and SJP at her wedding in the vision, to which Giudice said she was 'just happy you were there.'

Andy added that he was 'fascinated' by ayahuasca and begged Anderson Cooper to try the plant medicine when they went to Brazil.

Loni spoke for many people in the room when she said: 'I don't understand what the hell is going on.'

Teresa also told the audience that her big wedding party with eight bridesmaids would not include her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga.

'No,' Giudice sternly responded. Shocked to hear the news, Andy chimed in: 'Melissa will not be a bridesmaid?'

When Teresa was asked about a few of her plans while in town, she admitted to having a meeting set up with Oprah's florist Preston Bailey.

'How many bridesmaids will you have?' Loni asked the longtime Bravo star.

'Eight bridesmaids,' Teresa quipped, with Love coming back: 'Any of the housewives and your castmates?'

'No,' Giudice sternly responded. Shocked to hear the news, Andy chimed in: 'Melissa will not be a bridesmaid?'

Oh no: The Real Housewives of New Jersey star admitted that she did not ask her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, to stand by her side when she says 'I do' later this summer during a big wedding celebration

Family forever? Melissa has been married to Teresa's brother, Joe, since 2004, and began starring on RHONJ in its third season; seen in 2018

'Don't make a big deal of it,' Teresa assured everyone. 'I mean come on.'

Andy asked: 'Will this be news to her, hearing this now?'

'I mean, I guess so,' she said over her signature nervous laughter. 'I mean, hello, we're on national TV.'

Melissa has been married to Teresa's brother, Joe, since 2004, and began starring on RHONJ in its third season.

'Don't make a big deal of it,' Teresa assured everyone. 'I mean come on.'

'Eight bridesmaids,' Teresa quipped, with comedian Loni Love coming back: 'Any of the housewives and your castmates?'

Their at-times tense relationship has played out in front of the cameras as Teresa and her ex husband Joe were indicted on 39 counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, mail and wire fraud, and making false statements on loan applications

They both served time in prison (she served a year while he was behind bars for 41 months), and Joe was deported back to his home country, Italy, before Teresa made the difficult decision to divorce her husband of 20 years, which was finalized in September 2020.

Teresa since rebounded with Luis and the couple began dating in 2020, roughly one year before he proposed in Greece. Their relationship is currently under fire as the cast questions his intentions with Giudice on this season of RHONJ.
Jared Leto claimed cinemas 'wouldn't exist' without Marvel films like his long-delayed superhero flick Morbius, which exclusively hits UK theaters on March 31 and US theaters on April 1.

'If it wasn't for Marvel films, I don't even know if theaters would exist,' the 50-year-old Oscar winner said in his Variety cover story that dropped Wednesday.

'It doesn't seem like there's room for everyone, and that starts to become a little heartbreaking.'

Blockbusters: Jared Leto claimed cinemas 'wouldn't exist' without Marvel films like his long-delayed superhero flick Morbius, which exclusively hits UK theaters on March 31 and US theaters on April 1

Jared portrays biochemist-turned-vampire Dr. Michael Morbius in Daniel Espinosa's long-delayed, $75M-budget superhero flick, which marked his first solo starring role in a major Hollywood movie.

'It's time,' Leto stated.

'I feel ready for the challenges that come along with this sort of thing. I have perspective and balance now that I don't think I had when I was younger. I'll never regret taking a swing.'

The Justice League action star added: 'I loved that it was the very first time this character was going to be on screen [unlike Joker]...He's not the quintessential superhero.'

The 50-year-old Oscar winner said in his Variety cover story that dropped Wednesday: 'If it wasn't for Marvel films, I don't even know if theaters would exist. It doesn't seem like there's room for everyone, and that starts to become a little heartbreaking'

'It's time': Jared portrays biochemist-turned-vampire Dr. Michael Morbius in Daniel Espinosa's long-delayed, $75M-budget superhero flick, which marked his first solo starring role in a major Hollywood movie

Leto said: 'I feel ready for the challenges that come along with this sort of thing. I have perspective and balance now that I don't think I had when I was younger. I'll never regret taking a swing'

The Justice League action star added: 'I loved that it was the very first time this character was going to be on screen [unlike Joker]...He's not the quintessential superhero'

The PG-13 movie also features Michael Keaton, Matt Smith, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Al Madrigal, and Adria Arjona.

Jared also chatted about executive producing and starring in the Apple TV+ eight-episode series WeCrashed, which marked his first starring role in a TV series since My So-Called Life back in 1994-1995.

But when the cast of the ABC teen drama reunited via Zoom during the pandemic in April 2020, Leto - who portrayed illiterate heartthrob Jordan Catalano - Leto was not in attendance.

'No idea,' the Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman shrugged when asked why.

Up next! Jared also chatted about executive producing and starring in the Apple TV+ eight-episode series WeCrashed, which marked his first starring role in a TV series since My So-Called Life back in 1994-1995

No nostalgia about his breakout role? But when the cast of the ABC teen drama reunited via Zoom during the pandemic in April 2020, Leto - who portrayed illiterate heartthrob Jordan Catalano - Leto was not in attendance

The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman shrugged when asked why: 'No idea. I hope everyone had a good time without me. I'm sure I was [invited]. I would've hoped. Maybe I wasn't. No, I'm sure I was. What a crazy time we're in. Not everyone's able to make everything'

'This happened the other night!' Instead, fans got to catch up with Wilson Cruz, Bess Armstrong, Devon Odessa, Tom Irwin, creator Winnie Holzman, her husband Paul Dooley, Mary Kay Place, Devon Gummersall, A.J. Langer, and Claire Danes

'I hope everyone had a good time without me. I'm sure I was [invited]. I would've hoped. Maybe I wasn't. No, I'm sure I was. What a crazy time we're in. Not everyone's able to make everything.'

Instead, fans got to catch up with Wilson Cruz, Bess Armstrong, Devon Odessa, Tom Irwin, creator Winnie Holzman, her husband Paul Dooley, Mary Kay Place, Devon Gummersall, A.J. Langer, and Claire Danes.

Jared and Anne Hathaway executive produced and starred as disgraced married couple - WeWork CEO Adam Neumann and WeWork chief brand/impact officer Rebekah Neumann - in the new series premiering on Friday.

Ever the committed actor - Leto met the real-life Neumann, wore a wig and prosthetic nose, participated in Shabbat dinners, and hired five Israelis in order to immerse himself in the accent.

Premiering this Friday! Jared and Anne Hathaway executive produced and starred as disgraced married couple - WeWork CEO Adam Neumann and WeWork chief brand/impact officer Rebekah Neumann - in the new series

Not really Jewish: Ever the committed actor - Leto met the real-life Neumann, wore a wig and prosthetic nose, participated in Shabbat dinners, and hired five Israelis in order to immerse himself in the accent

The House of Gucci actor admitted: 'A couple of times, strangely towards the end of shooting WeCrashed, Paolo [Gucci's accent] started to come out a little bit. It was very bizarre. I don't know if it's because I got tired or if Paolo was just demanding my attention, but that can happen'

WeCrashed: Showrunners Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello's series is based on David Brown's 2020 Wondery podcast about the greed-filled rise and inevitable fall of the $50B commercial real estate startup

'A couple of times, strangely towards the end of shooting WeCrashed, Paolo [Gucci's accent] started to come out a little bit,' the House of Gucci actor admitted.

'It was very bizarre. I don't know if it's because I got tired or if Paolo was just demanding my attention, but that can happen.'

Showrunners Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello's series is based on David Brown's 2020 Wondery podcast about the greed-filled rise and inevitable fall of the $50B commercial real estate startup.
Emily Ratajkowski turned the streets of New York City into her personal runway on Wednesday.

The toned Versace model looked stylist in a revealing outfit that consisted of a crop top and matching mini skirt with a denim jacket on top.

The 30-year-old mother-of-one was taking her dog Colombo for a walk.

Stepping out: Emily Ratajkowski turned the streets of New York City into her personal runway while taking her dog Colombo for a walk on Wednesday

Ratajkowski wore a dark gray denim jacket on top of a white turtleneck shirt that showed off a slight portion of her toned tummy during her walk.

The fashion industry personality also rocked a cream-colored skirt that prominently displayed her toned legs, as well as a dual-tone pair of sneakers.

The Gone Girl actress accessorized with a pair of earrings and wore a gold BREDA watch on her wrist; she also carried a chic pair of sunglasses.

Her voluminous brunette locks fell onto her shoulders and contrasted with the lighter shades of her outfit.

Dressed to impress: Ratajkowski wore a dark gray denim jacket on top of a white turtleneck shirt that showed off a slight portion of her toned tummy during her walk

Showing off: The fashion industry personality rocked a cream-colored skirt that displayed her toned legs, as well as a dual-tone pair of sneakers and a gold BREDA watch

Ratajkowski shared several images and videos to celebrate Colombo's third birthday to her Instagram Story on Wednesday.

The supermodel made sure to post a photo of her pooch during his puppy days to give her followers a bit of insight into his former look.

Her husband, Sebastian Bear-McClard, was also seen relaxing with the dog in the family's bed in another shot.

The fashion industry figure herself was pictured spending time with Colombo in her first image, and she referred to her canine companion as her 'first born.'

Special occasion: Ratajkowski shared several images and videos to celebrate Colombo's third birthday to her Instagram Story on Wednesda

Intense connection: The fashion industry figure herself was pictured spending time with Colombo in her first image, and she referred to her canine companion as her 'first born'

Ratajkowski was also seen spending time with her young son Sylvester in a set of images that were shared on her account on Tuesday.

In the first of her photos, the model and her baby boy, aged one, relaxed in bathrobes as they enjoyed a majestic sunset.

The model also shared a shot of her son spending a bit of time on a beach and playing with sand.

The social media personality initially announced that she and her husband were expecting to start a family in an essay that was published by Vogue in October of 2020.

Making it known: The social media personality initially announced that she and her husband were expecting to start a family in an essay that was published by Vogue in October of 2020

Ratajkowski previously married Bear-McClard in 2018 after only having dated for several weeks.

The model later gave birth to her baby boy in March of last year, and she announced that he had joined their family with a post that was shared on her Instagram not long after his arrival.

The fashion industry personality's son has since made several appearances in photos that she has posted to her account.
Ashley Walters has spoken about his decision to publicly condemn his former friend Noel Clarke after sexual harassment allegations, saying 'it's not something I condone'.

The Top Boy actor, 39, described himself as a loyal friend but said he felt he had to speak out as his 'heart went out' to the women who made allegations against Noel.

Noel, who starred alongside Ashley in his police series Bulletproof - which was cancelled by Sky One last year, has been accused by 20 women of either sexually inappropriate behaviour, bullying or harassment.

Co-star: Ashley Walters has spoken about his decision to publicly condemn his former friend Noel Clarke following sexual harassment allegations, saying 'it's not something I condone'

The producer, 46, has denied sexual misconduct or criminal behaviour, but apologised for his actions and said he would seek professional help.

At the time, Ashley said he was 'deeply saddened' by the allegations in a lengthy statement posted to Twitter.

Reflecting on his stance, Ashley said he felt that he couldn't stay silent while speaking to Elizabeth Day on her How To Fail podcast.

He said: 'It was an emotional time for me, I'll say that first and foremost, because like you said I am a loyal person. I take my friendships really seriously, but I'm learning to speak up for what I believe in, at the end of the day.

Allegations: Noel, who starred alongside Ashley in his police series Bulletproof, has been accused by 20 women of either sexually inappropriate behaviour, bullying or harassment

'I couldn't stand by and not say what I said, bottom line. A lot of those cases seem quite historical, obviously there were some recent ones, I didn't witness anything like that, but what I said was I would never agree with anything like that.

'It's not how I've been brought up, it's not something I condone.'

The rapper said many people were 'upset' by his stance, but he added that he felt he had to stand by what he believed in.

He added: 'My mum wouldn't have any of it, I've been brought up by some really strong women and I've got some really beautiful strong women in my life, and I would never want them to have to experience anything like that or go through anything like that.

'My heart went out to the people making those accusations, allegedly obviously, but bottom line is that I had to stand on the side that I'm on, and I'm sure that upset a lot of people as much as a lot of people were happy that I did but it was my stance, I stuck with it. Whatever the consequences are for that, then so be it.'

Condemn: The Top Boy actor, 39, described himself as a loyal friend but said he felt he had to speak out as his 'heart went out' to the women who made allegations against Noel

Last year, Ashley spoke out against Noel in a lengthy Twitter statement, saying he was 'in shock and deeply saddened' by the allegations.

He wrote: 'My thoughts are with the women who have come forward and told their awful stories, I am in shock and deeply saddened by what I have heard on a multitude of levels.

'I could never condone behaviour of this nature in nor out of the workplace, and whilst Noel has been a friend and colleague for several years, I cannot stand by and ignore this allegations.

'Sexual harassment, abuse, and bullying have no place in our industry. Every woman has the right to a safe workplace and moving forward I pledge my dedication to this.'

Walters has starred as Ronnie Pike in all three seasons of Bulletproof, an east London crime drama.

At the time, Ashley said he was 'deeply saddened' by the allegations against his former co-star (both pictured in March 2020) in a lengthy statement posted to Twitter

In a statement at the time, Noel denied any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing but issued an apology.

He said: 'In a 20-year career, I have put inclusivity and diversity at the forefront of my work and never had a complaint made against me.

'If anyone who has worked with me has ever felt uncomfortable or disrespected, I sincerely apologise. I vehemently deny any sexual misconduct or wrongdoing.'

Elsewhere on the podcast, Ashley spoke about his experience in prison at the age of 19, describing it as 'tough' and 'stressful'.

He added: 'I woke up every day not wanting to be there. There was no moment that I felt comfortable, or relaxed, but I am used to surviving. I knew the attitude that I had to have in there [was] just kind of keeping out of the way.'

Jail: Elsewhere, Ashley (pictured in September 2019) spoke about how he ended up in prison at age 19 after buying a firearm, after a gun was pulled on him and his infant son

The father-of-four said he ended up in prison after buying a firearm, after a gun was pulled on him and his son, who was not even one-year-old at the time.

He said: 'It was actually pulled on my son, I don't even think he was one at the time. He was in a sling on my chest, so I guess it was me as well. It was the prompt for me to buy my own gun, back in the day.'

Speaking about his children, Ashley said he had his first child when he was around 17 years old and said they grew up 'as my friends'.

'If I'm honest with you, there wasn't that authority or hierarchy in our relationship, it was more like I was bringing them along on the journey with me,' he said.

'They saw a lot of things that they shouldn't have but I was very very open with them from an early age.'

Ashley - who is a father to China, 20, Shayton, 19, Paniro, 19, and Rive - admitted that he still makes mistakes and said he can be 'selfish' with his career as it takes up a lot of his time.

Career: Ashley is best known for his role as Dushane in Top Boy, a crime drama series set on housing estates in east London

He explained: 'I'm making mistakes pretty much every week with everything I've got going on. Obviously with being a dad, my relationships with my kids, sometimes not having time to be there with them, sometimes not understanding.

'Sometimes being a bit selfish as well because my career takes up so much of my time, so much of my day, in the back of your mind, your life, I've gotta work, I've gotta work, I've gotta provide, I've gotta pay bills. I sometimes forget they just need a hug.'

Ashley is best known for his role as Dushane in Top Boy, a crime drama series set on housing estates in east London.

Following the shocking 2019 season three finale, fans have eagerly been awaiting the return of Top Boy.

Netflix recently revealed that fans won't have to wait much longer as the next series is set to air on March 18.

The new series will see Ashley Walters, Kano, Micheal Ward and Little Simz reprise their roles as Dushane, Sully, Jamie and Shelley.
Claire Sweeney has revealed her weight loss secrets ahead of starring in Cabaret All Stars in April.

The actress, 50, has opened up about her plans to look her 'physical best' as she is set to wear a 'fabulous catsuit' in the show.

The theatre star recently confessed the upcoming show is 'out of her comfort zone' despite having appeared in Chicago and 9 To 5 The Musical.

New show: Claire Sweeney has revealed her weight loss secrets ahead of starring in Cabaret All Stars in April (pictured last week)

Claire said in an interview with Closer: 'This show has got a really raunchy feel to it, laced with lots humour.

'I wear a fabulous catsuit! I find it really liberating that I'm going to get completely outrageous and I am going to sing the song Light My Fire with a big band arrangement - and I think they're actually going to set fire to me while I'm doing it.'

The mother-of-one added: 'This does all mean that I want to look my physical best. So the plan is to start going to the gym and hot yoga five days a week, because it's amazing for weight loss and strengthening my core.'

Claire also revealed she's having the time of her life since turning 50. She celebrated by having a fancy meal at Little Italy in Soho with her friends and also was surprised with a small party.

Weight-loss journey: The actress has opened up about her plans to look her 'physical best' as she is set to wear a 'fabulous catsuit' in the Cabaret show

The theatre star said: 'This show has got a really raunchy feel to it, laced with lots humour'

The former Brookside star has been promoting her new Cabaret show on Instagram as she posted the poster photo with the caption: 'Cant wait to host @proudcabaret from April 2nd with Cabaret all stars. Best night out in London.'

Proud recently announced Claire will be joining Cabaret All Stars from April 2nd for a limited run of dates.

She is the latest celebrity to lead this all-star cast of spectacular acrobatic, circus, aerial and fire breathing acts. 

Cabaret show: Claire is the latest celebrity to lead this all-star cast of spectacular acrobatic, circus, aerial and fire breathing acts

The night involves indulging in fine dining, and choose from a decadent cocktail menu whilst you are amazed by jaw-dropping feats of death-defying skill and bewitched by the burlesque beauties.

Celebrities such as Amber Davies, Denise Van Outen and Duncan James have also taken the famous stage.

It comes a month after revealing she is 'embracing being a stone overweight' during an appearance on Lorraine.

Host Lorraine Kelly asked her: 'You look terrific - you really really do. How do you stay that way? How do you age gracefully and happily?'

Claire replied: 'I think it's just dressing appropriately, I changed my hair slightly. Just embrace it and enjoy being you.

Routine: The former 9-5 musical star said: 'The plan is to start going to the gym and hot yoga five days a week, because it's amazing for weight loss and strengthening my core'

'I'm a stone overweight at the moment but that'll come off. Don't beat yourself up over things.'

Loraine replied: 'You're a wise woman. Far too many of us put things off - thinking I'll wear that when I lose a stone. Wear it now!'

Laughing, Claire said: 'Get your suck-in knickers on and wear a frock!'
Grammy winner Britney Spears shocked her 40M Instagram followers by mysteriously deleting her entire account on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old semi-retired pop star deactivated the account herself as Instagram officials told TMZ that they did not remove it.

Curiously, Britney - who favored Instagram - did not delete her Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, or SoundCloud accounts.

Gone! Grammy winner Britney Spears shocked her 40M Instagram followers by mysteriously deleting her entire account on Wednesday (pictured Tuesday)

'Sorry this page isn't available': The 40-year-old semi-retired pop star deactivated the account herself as Instagram officials told TMZ that they did not remove it

Spears' most recent post from Tuesday was about her returning to Las Vegas as a tourist for the first time since the January 2019 cancellation of her residency Dominion.

'The only thing I've known when I used to go to Vegas was a hour long meet and greets with 40 people every night getting the worst pics of me and then a two hour show!' the former Mouseketeer wrote.

'Let's just say this time visiting it gave me a whole new perspective on what it means to live! Being able to go to the spa was a highlight as well and you know what? Don't ever pity me like my masseuse does.

'"People do love you!" Huh? Huh? I don't want to be loved. I want to be feared! Being loved and being nice got me taken advantage of so take [your] pity and go f*** yourselves!'

Still up! Curiously, Britney - who favored Instagram - did not delete her Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, or SoundCloud accounts

'I don't want to be loved, I want to be feared!' Spears' most recent post from Tuesday was about her returning to Las Vegas as a tourist for the first time since the January 2019 cancellation of her residency Dominion

On Monday, Britney shared a close-up snap of her cleavage and mused about being a bountiful breastfeeder and parlayed that into how her estranged father Jamie 'stripped my womanhood from me.'

And on Sunday, Spears lamented over how her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James 'don't need me anymore' and ban her from 'showing recent pics of us' but she 'respects their wishes.'

In August 2018, the Mississippi-born beauty was downgraded from 50-50 to 30-70 custody of 16-year-old Sean and 15-year-old Jayden from her two-year marriage to former back-up dancer Kevin Federline, which ended in 2007.

'I was never the same': On Monday, Britney shared a close-up snap of her cleavage and mused about being a bountiful breastfeeder and parlayed that into how her estranged father Jamie 'stripped my womanhood from me'

'I respect their wishes': And on Sunday, Spears lamented over how her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James 'don't need me anymore' and ban her from 'showing recent pics of us'

2021 family portrait: In August 2018, the Mississippi-born beauty was downgraded from 50-50 to 30-70 custody of 16-year-old Sean and 15-year-old Jayden from her two-year marriage to former back-up dancer Kevin Federline, which ended in 2007

Last month, Page Six reported that Britney signed a $15M deal with Simon & Schuster to publish her tell-all memoir.

Spears' 13-year conservatorship officially ended on November 12 and she got engaged to her boyfriend Sam Asghari on November 13.

The Matches singer might be 'free' but her legal battle against her father Jamie is far from over as her lawyer Mathew Rosengart alleged he and his team gradually took $36M from her $60M estate.

The former federal prosecutor has been arranging for depositions to take place this month with his famous client as well as the 69-year-old former building contractor.

'Shall I start from the beginning?' Last month, Page Six reported that Britney signed a $15M deal with Simon & Schuster to publish her tell-all memoir

'This man has turned my life around': Spears might be 'free' but her legal battle against her father Jamie is far from over as her lawyer Mathew Rosengart (R, pictured February 2) alleged he and his team gradually took $36M from her $60M estate
Dawn French has revealed doctors feared she had a brain tumour when she battled vertigo, which left her feeling like her head was 'collapsing inwards'.

The Vicar of Dibley star, 64, said she was diagnosed with vertigo during her 30 Million Minutes tour in 2014 and had to take a stick on stage as she became scared of falling over.

Dawn said the condition left her terrified because she couldn't understand 'what is up and what is down', adding that it was triggered by the harsh lighting on stage.

Illness: Dawn French (pictured) said she was diagnosed with vertigo during her 30 Million Minutes tour in 2014 and had to take a stick on stage as she became scared of falling over

Speaking on Michelle Visage's Rule Breakers podcast, she explained: 'It is like my skull is a room and the whole of the top is collapsing inwards, and everything starts spinning.

'It's like being very drunk and not understanding what is up and what is down.

'And for a while they thought I might have a brain tumour.'

Vertigo: The comedian (pictured in 2014), 64, said the condition left her scared as she couldn't understand 'what is up and what is down', adding that doctors thought she had a brain tumour

WHAT IS VERTIGO? Vertigo is a symptom, rather than a condition. It's the sensation that you, or the environment around you, is moving or spinning. This feeling may be barely noticeable, or it may be so severe that you find it difficult to keep your balance and do everyday tasks. Attacks of vertigo can develop suddenly and last for a few seconds, or they may last much longer. If you have severe vertigo, your symptoms may be constant and last for several days, making normal life very difficult. Other symptoms associated with vertigo may include dizziness, feeling or being sick or loss of balance. Vertigo is commonly caused by a problem with the way balance works in the inner ear, although it can also be caused by problems in certain parts of the brain. Source: NHS Inform Advertisement

The comedian said a neurologist told her the condition was triggered by the side-lighting on stage, explaining that she had nothing to 'latch' her eyes on to due to the darkness in front of her where the audience were.

She said performing on a raked stage, which sloped downwards towards the audience, made the condition worse as it made her body feel that she wasn't 'upright'.

She added: 'I took a stick on stage with me and I would make my two legs very wide on stage and I would put the stick in front of me like a tripod so that I had something to stand up to.

'It was like being on a buffeting boat or something. It was awful, absolutely awful.'

She said she used to tell her crew that they would have to 'drag' her off stage if she fell over, warning them that she wasn't 'dying' but might fall as 'I don't know which is upright'.

Dawn said she was given Beta blockers to calm her fear of falling over on stage, which exacerbated the condition, as she added that the vertigo disappeared three weeks after she finished the tour.

The star, who is preparing to return to stand-up in September for her new tour Dawn French Is A Huge T**t, said she is scared her vertigo may return when she takes to the stage.

She said: 'I have a slight fear that that [vertigo] might come back.

'So when you ask me if I have nerves, I have good nerves about the show, I have not so good nerves about that kicking off again because if it kicks off I know that I'm in hell, holding on to walls.'

Her comments come after she revealed that her 'prejudice against posh people' meant that Jennifer Saunders had to 'prove her worth' when they first met.

Too posh: It comes soon after Dawn revealed that her 'prejudice against posh people' meant Jennifer Saunders had to 'prove her worth' when they first met

During an interview on the Finding the Funny podcast, Dawn revealed to Ange and Ruth Corden that she 'didn't really like Jen that much at the very beginning'.

The comedian explained: 'Because she's quite posh or at least I thought she was, she's not really.'

'But I thought she was, and she already had a friendship group of very beautiful way out of my league people.'

She went on to explain how her and Jennifer ended up living together and what she thought was a huge sacrifice turned out to be amazing.

The best-selling author said: 'I had to share a flat with her, I really want that flat, it was an ace flat, but I have to share it with her!

Duo: Dawn and Jennifer first met in 1978 before going on to become comedy partners in the early 80s (Pictured in 2016)

'As soon as I got past my prejudice, I thought she's actually great, we just were children together.

'We enjoyed show off for each other and we were sort of in love really.'

The loving mother of one also gushed over her friendship and shared that they had been through thick and thin from marriages to funerals.

Dawn and Jennifer first met in 1978 before going on to become comedy partners in the early 80s.

They began their now iconic French and Saunders sketch show in 1987, which went on for six series before eventually ending in 2007.

Known as early trailblazers in the UK's comedy scene, French and Saunders were well known for their hilarious movie spoofs including Thelma and Louise, Misery and Titanic.

The comedy duo will be reuniting for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day with a fabulous skit featuring revived roles and The Repair Shop.

Dawn, who was previously married to Comic Relief co-founder Lenny Henry, shared her love for the organisation.

She said: 'I know that the money is spent correctly and I know that there are projects that are ongoing that need us to be ongoing and I wouldn't ever want to let anyone down.'
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Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Nancy Shevell looked relaxed as they took a dip in the Caribbean sea while holidaying in St Barts on Tuesday.

The former Beatle, 79, and businesswoman Nancy, 62, hit the beach with Nancy's son Arlen, 29, from her relationship with politician Bruce Blakeman.

Protecting his fair skin from the strong sunshine, Sir Paul wore a navy blue T-shirt as he headed for a swim, while Nancy put on a leggy display in black thigh-skimming shorts.

Fun in the sun: Sir Paul McCartney, 79, and his wife Nancy Shevell, 62, looked relaxed as they took a dip in the Caribbean sea while holidaying in St Barts on Tuesday

Paul teamed the look with tie-dye blue and white swimming shorts as he played about in the clear water and at one point dived into a wave as it crested before crashing onto the golden sandy beach.

The Beatles legend was dripping from head to toe as he headed back to his group of pals and roughly towel dried his hair, while Nancy chatted away.

The businesswoman was in good spirits as she strolled across the beach, in her all black ensemble which comprised of a black long-sleeve top, a pair of matching shorts and a straw hat.

Beach day: Protecting his skin from the strong sunshine, musician Sir Paul wore a navy blue T-shirt and dried himself off after swimming in the warm sea

Sporty: He wore a pair of tie-dye blue and white swimming shorts as he played about in the clear water, at one point diving into a wave as it crested before crashing onto the golden sandy beach

Relaxed style: Nancy was in good spirits as she strolled across the beach, smiling as she stood on the soft sand while watching Sir Paul in the water

American Nancy, who is the vice president of her family transportation services business the Shevell Group, sheltered her eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

Nancy looked content watching her partner Paul as he went for his swim, with the star almost falling into the water at one point before catching his balance.

He looked relaxed as he lay on the surface of the azure sea before later performing a variety of swimming strokes as Arlen swum nearby.

Fashion focus: She wore a black long-sleeve top and a pair of matching shorts, while she had a straw hat on her head, stretching her arms out to her side as she stood in the sun

Heading in: Nancy accessorised with a pair of sparking earrings which were clear to see as they glistened in the bright sunshine

Going for a stroll: American Nancy, who is the vice president of her family transportation services business the Shevell Group, sheltered her eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses

Nancy waved at her family as she stood in the shallow surf before Paul returned to the shore to wrap himself in a towel.

Sir Paul and Nancy have been together since 2007 and married in a ceremony held in Marylebone four years later in 2011.

It's thought Sir Paul and Nancy first met thanks to both owning homes in the Hamptons.

Heading in: Sir Paul could be seen walking alongside his son Arlen as they made their way to the water for a swim

Sir Paul was previously married twice before - he wed first wife Linda in 1969 and the pair were married until Linda died, aged 56, in 1998, following a battle with breast cancer.

Paul and Linda share four children; daughters Heather, Mary and Stella, and son James.

He later wed second wife Heather Mills, who he shares daughter Beatrice with, in 2002 - they split four years later in 2006 and their divorce, costing the star 24.3 million, was finalised in 2008.

Sir Paul and Nancy's holiday comes after it emerged Sir Paul is being considered for a peerage to mark his 80th birthday this summer.

Making waves: Paul went for his swim, with the star walking tentatively into the water at one point

The Beatles legend could be made a Lord in recognition of his lifetime of musical achievements and service to British culture.

The Sun reports that sources are saying the prestigious honour is in the pipeline, 25 years after he was first knighted by The Queen.

If he is awarded with the title, he will join a very select group of musicians, including theatre mogul Andrew Lloyd Webber, 73, composer the late Benjamin Britten and late violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin.

Rock and roll: Sir Paul was seen almost falling into the water at one point before catching his balance during his relaxing holiday

Surf's Up: The Beatles legend ran along the sand, ready to jump into the water as the waves broke onto the shore

Keeping active: The star seemed to enjoy the challenge of diving into the waves as they approached

A source told the publication: 'Paul is already in an extraordinarily exclusive set of people at the very top of the honours system.

'There is now quiet talk among officials about how to mark his 80th with something truly special. The idea of offering him the chance to sit as a cross-bencher in the Lords has been mooted.

'He has given incredible service to British culture, so it could be a very fitting tribute and mark of all that he has done for his country.'

Letting the world go by: Sir Paul looked relaxed as he lay on the surface of the water and let the world go by around him

Fighting fit: He got some exercise in and performed a a variety of swimming strokes as Arlen swum nearby during their break away

Putting their feet up: Arlen bobbed along as he floated on the water next to his step-father Sir Paul as the pair spent some quality time together

Coming up for air: He gasped for air as he swum in the warm water which gently rippled around him

MailOnline contacted reps for Sir Paul for comment.

His knighthood was upgraded in 2018 to admit Sir Paul to the even rarer Order of the Companions of Honour - of which there are only 61 living members.

At the time Sir Paul said: 'I see this as a huge honour for me and my family and I think of how proud my Liverpool mum and dad would have been to see this.'

Honoured: The Beatles legend could be made a Lord in recognition of his lifetime of musical achievements and service to British culture in time for his 80th birthday this summer

Doting wife: Nancy brought Sir Paul a towel so he could keep himself warm and a pair of sandals as he headed back onto the beach with Arlen

Family day out: Nancy was on hand to help Paul dry off after his swim

All smiles: Sir Paul and Nancy smiled as they stood alongside one another on the beach

It comes as Sir Paul is set to headline at Glastonbury a week after turning 80 making him the oldest act to ever headline the west country festival.

He confirmed he will headline the prestigious festival by sharing a cryptic post on his Twitter page last month.

The musician's tweet showed a score for popular online puzzle Wordle along with six green squares, which read: 'Wordle 121 25/6'.

Eagle-eyed music fans noted that Wordle scores only consist of five letters, sparking speculation that the word Macca was referring to was in fact 'Glasto'.

Others noticed that it is 121 days from today until the festival and 25/6 was predicted to represent Saturday June 25 - the day the star will perform.
She won an incredible 37,500 at Cheltenham Festival after betting on the first race on the first day of Cheltenham.

And Georgia Toffolo had plenty to smile about as she returned to Cheltenham on Wednesday after her big win.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, looked incredible as she wrapped up warm in a cream oversized scarf and donned a matching cape coat as she beamed in the rain.

Fashionista: Georgia Toffolo cut a chic figure in an all cream ensemble as she returned to Cheltenham on Wednesday after her big win

Georgia showcased her sensational style in a pair of figure-hugging nude leggings and sported a pair of leather brown knee-high boots.

The reality star wore her glossy blonde locks in a sleek middle-parting and teamed the look with a stylish nude headband.

She donned a minimal amount of make-up to highlight her flawless complexion and paired it with a nude lip as she flashed her dazzling white smile.

Looking good: The presenter looked incredible as she wrapped up warm in a cream oversized scarf and donned a matching cape coat as she beamed in the rain

The This Morning presenter accessorised with an over-the-body small satchel and had a copy of the Racing Post tucked under her arm as she hoped to win big again on the second day of the festival.

Georgia won an incredible 37,500 at Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday after betting on the first race.

In an excitable social media post she said how she had 'beginners luck' after betting 5,000 on the opening run.

Wow! Georgia won an incredible 37,500 at Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday after betting on the first race

Happy! The former Made In Chelsea star, 27, told in an excitable social media post how she had 'beginners luck' after betting 5,000 on the opening run

She then promised to make 'generous donations' to the British Red Cross and The Disasters Emergency Committee after winning the huge sum.

Sharing a picture of her ticket she wrote: 'OH MY GOD beginners luck. Bloody hell can't believe it. Generous donation incoming to both the @BritishRedCross and @decappeal.'

The Disasters Emergency Committee - currently largely supporting the victims in Ukraine - replied: 'Thank you so much for supporting our appeal Georgia!

'Your contribution will help aid reach our member charities in Ukraine and neighbouring countries!'

She split her bet with 2,500 on Constitution Hill to win the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Jonbon to finish second at 14-1, with returns of the 37,500.

The other 2,500 went on Jonbon to pass the post followed by Constitution Hill at 18-1 which would have pocketed her 47,500.

Georgia looked incredible in a brown tweed dress that was cinched in at the waist and was worn with sheer tight and long boots.
Timothee Chalamet was seen spending time with his sister Pauline in New York City on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Dune star and his sibling appeared to be making the most of the winter weather while taking the 30-year-old actress' dog for a walk.

Chalamet recently returned to the United States after spending the past three months overseas shooting the upcoming Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory prequel film Wonka.

Bonding time: Timothee Chalamet was seen spending time with his sister Pauline in New York City on Wednesday

Chalamet kept it casual in a tie-dye hoodie worn underneath a zip-up sweater during the walk.

He also rocked a pair of Adidas track pants that were tucked into a set of high-top boots.

The performer kept a hat on underneath his hood for the length of his walk, and he also donned a pair of headphones.

He kept a black facial covering on to keep himself protected from COVID-19 during his time in public.

Comfy clothing: Chalamet kept it casual in a tie-dye hoodie worn underneath a zip-up sweater during his walk

Wonka entered the development stage in 2016, when the rights to the character were secured by Warner Bros. Pictures.

It was also announced at the time that the production company had selected producers to bring the new story to life.

The project was confirmed as a prequel in 2018, and it was also revealed that performers such as Ryan Gosling and Donald Glover had been considered for the role.

Gene Wilder previously played Willy Wonka in the 1971 musical film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Hard at work: Chalamet recently returned to the United States after spending the past three months overseas shooting the upcoming Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory prequel film Wonka; Chalamet picured in October 2021

Longtime coming: The project was confirmed as a prequel in 2018, and it was also revealed that performers such as Ryan Gosling and Donald Glover had been considered for the role. After a lengthy casting process, Chalamet was confirmed to have been involved with the movie in May of last year; Chalamet pictured

The chocolatier was later portrayed by Johnny Depp in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

After a lengthy casting process, Chalamet was confirmed to have been involved with the movie in May of last year.

Other cast members in the upcoming movie include Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Colman and Rowan Atkinson.

Wonka is centered on the character of the same name and will chronicle the years before he opened up his famous chocolate factory.

Big shoes to fill: Gene Wilder previously played Willy Wonka in the 1971 musical film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Physical production on the project began in September of last year, with several locations in the United Kingdom being used for filming.

Chalamet returned to the feature's set in December and February to film additional scenes for the feature.

The actor previously shared a first look of himself in costume as the chocolatier to his Instagram account last October.

The movie was previously set to make its debut in March of 2023, although its release date was ultimately pushed back.

Wonka is currently scheduled to be released to the public on December 15th of next year.
Olivia Munn got real about her postpartum struggles on Wednesday.

The Newsroom actress, 41, revealed she was suffering from 'horrible' postpartum anxiety and her hips were still feeling 'wonky' from giving birth last year.

Olivia, who shares nearly four-month-old son Malcolm with boyfriend John Mulaney, candidly discussed her challenges in a selfie she posted to her Instagram Stories.

'My post partum anxiety is still here': Olivia Munn revealed she was suffering from 'horrible' postpartum anxiety and her hips were still 'wonky' from giving birth last year

Fortunately, she found some relief taking a capoeira class.

'My hips still feel wonky from pushing out a human being, my post partum anxiety is still here (and horrible), but I got myself up and took my first capoeira lesson today. Getting back to martial arts made me feel a little bit more like myself. Hope I can keep it up.'

Despite the struggles, Olivia looked in good spirits in the selfie.

Her hair worn in a low ponytail, Olivia flashed a smile and a thumbs up for the camera.

'Big biscuit baby': Last week, Munn posted this precious snap of her son Malcolm

While she did not show her son on Instagram, Olivia often shares photos of her bundle of joy to her Instagram account.

Last week, Olivia shared a sweet snap of her doting on her child as he rested in her arms in a striped onesie and beanie.

'Photo by @baemnguyen. Big biscuit baby by me,' Olivia captioned the photo.

Aww! Olivia also posted sweet video of her friend, film director Bao Nguyen, holding her son

Olivia was all cuddled up in a flannel outfit as she rested on her couch with her straight raven locks worn down and a pair of smart spectacles over her eyes.

She gently placed one hand on the back of her child's head as he lay next to her on the couch.

Olivia also posted sweet video of her friend, film director Bao Nguyen, holding her son.

So cute: The director gently bounced the child in his arms before the baby flashed a smile and Olivia squeezed his little leg

The director gently bounced the child in his arms before the baby flashed a smile and Olivia squeezed his little leg.

Olivia shares her son with her boyfriend John, who was not pictured in the videos or photo.

The couple welcomed their son November 24.

Munn brought Malcolm from their home base in Southern California to New York last month as Mulaney hosted the February 26 edition of Saturday Night Live.

Munn last week shared a shot of the adorable baby on her Instagram account

The Hit-Monkey star on Instagram shared a shot of Mulaney as he held his son while in the dressing room at SNL.

'Malcolm visited SNL Thursday afternoon,' Munn captioned the shot. 'Here he is looking like your uncle being carried out of a wedding because he went too hard.'

Mulaney opened up about becoming a parent in his appearance on the NBC comedy staple last month.

Munn last month shared a shot of Mulaney as he held his son while in the dressing room at SNL

'Since I last hosted, different things have happened - life is a lot better and happier now - I have a 12-week-old son,' he said. 'I'm very excited, he is a pretty cool guy for someone who can't vote. His legs are like little calzones, and I want to eat him.'

Mulaney last July filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Anna Marie Tendler, 36, and the split was finalized in January.

Mulaney in September opened up on his relationship with Munn on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

'I got into this relationship that's been really beautiful with someone incredible,' Mulaney said. 'And we're having a baby together. I was nervous when I was about to say the news!'
She's the former Bachelorette star known for her love of health and fitness.

And Ali Oetjen was seen attending a wellbeing conference on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland on Monday.

The 34-year-old showed off her trim pins in a thigh-split miniskirt and also went braless in a white knit top.

Stepping out: The Bachelorette's Ali Oetjen went braless in a knit crop top as she attended a wellbeing conference on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on Monday

Ali teamed her look with a pale blue linen shirt, which matched her knitted blue skirt.

She kept things casual and comfortable in a pair of tan slides, and pulled her bleached blonde locks back into a low bun.

Ali showed off a golden tan and wore simple makeup, including dewy foundation and some mascara.

Healthy: She was seen leaving the conference holding a parcel of goods and some broccoli

Her passion: Ali, a meditation and yoga teacher, is known for her passion for health and fitness

She was seen leaving the conference holding a parcel of goods and some broccoli.

Ali, a meditation and yoga teacher, is known for her passion for health and fitness.

Last month, she revealed why she was still single almost two years after her split from Taite Radley, her chosen suitor from The Bachelorette.

Relaxed: She kept things casual and comfortable in a pair of tan slides

'Ever since The Bachelorette I haven't looked [for a boyfriend],' she said.

'"Looking" indicates there's a need to find a man and when there's a need it creates resistance to what you need as it infers there's a "lack" in that area.'

'Be the woman you love, life the life you love, and you'll attract love and a man that will complement your life,' she added.

Single and not wanting to mingle: Last month, she revealed why she was still single almost two years after her split from Taite Radley (right), her chosen suitor from The Bachelorette

Ali and Taite, 31, announced their split on Instagram one year and seven months ago, saying they were 'taking time apart' and giving each other 'some space'.

Just weeks later, Ali joined the cast of Seven's military-style show SAS Australia.

During an interrogation scene, she tearfully explained to the drill sergeants how 'empty' she felt after losing the man she considered her 'soulmate'.

While Ali is happily single, Taite went public with girlfriend Chelsea Fenech last June.
She is expecting her first child with husband William Lee-Kemp.

And Jess Wright looked nothing short of sensational as she attended the launch event for her Dorothy Perkins edit at Restaurant Ours in South Kensington, London, on Wednesday night.

The former TOWIE star, 36, cradled her blossoming baby bump as she posed in a chic black midi dress, which she paired with a cream blazer.

Wow! Jess Wright looked nothing short of sensational as she attended the launch event for her Dorothy Perkins edit at Restaurant Ours in South Kensington, London, on Wednesday night

Pregnant: The former TOWIE star, 36, cradled her blossoming baby bump as she posed in a chic black midi dress

She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of beige strapped heels and clutched her essentials in a brown Fendi bag.

The bombshell styled her chocolate tresses in glamorous waves across her shoulders, while she accentuated her striking features with a smokey-eye make-up palette.

Denise Van Outen and Ashley James both looked effortlessly chic as they made the star-studded guest list for Jess's edit's much-anticipated launch.

Presenter Denise, 47, put on a vibrant display in a pink shirt adorned with red love hearts, which she paired with a leather-look pencil skirt and black strapped heels.

Gorgeous: She gave herself a few extra inches in a pair of beige strapped heels and clutched her essentials in a brown Fendi bag

Beauty: The bombshell styled her chocolate tresses in glamorous waves across her shoulders, while she accentuated her striking features with a smokey-eye make-up palette

Expecting: Jess has not revealed the date her baby is due but previously said it was in Spring

Glowing: Jess looked radiant as she arrived for her much-anticipated clothes launch on Wednesday with a cream blazer slung over her figure-hugging dress

She flaunted her natural good looks with a light dusting of make-up and a slick of pink lipstick while she styled her golden tresses in loose waves.

Meanwhile, former Made In Chelsea star Ashley, 34, showcased her sensational figure in a black satin-style midi dress with puffed sleeves.

The blonde beauty paired her all-black ensemble with a pair of ankle strap stilettos and accentuated her natural beauty with a golden make-up palette.

She was all smiles as she struck a series of poses at the event, while she styled her golden locks in natural waves.

Exciting! Jess and her husband William announced their pregnancy in November, just two months after their glamorous Mallorca wedding

Mother-to-be: Jess appeared to be in excellent spirits as she was seen beaming while arriving at her launch event

Pals: Denise Van Outen looked effortlessly chic as they made the star-studded guest list for Jess's edit's much-anticipated launch

Pretty in pink: Presenter Denise, 47, put on a vibrant display in a pink shirt adorned with red love hearts, which she paired with a leather-look pencil skirt and black strapped heels

Love: The presenter flaunted her natural good looks with a light dusting of make-up and a slick of pink lipstick while she styled her golden tresses in loose waves

Also supporting Jess at her Dorothy Perkins edit launch were her sister Natalya and her mother Carol.

Natalya showed off her bronzed pegs in a wrap around sand blazer with a chocolate belt, which she paired with brown suede boots.

While Carol looked effortlessly chic in a blue polka dot off-the-shoulder dress and a pair of white heeled sandals as she posed with her pregnant daughter Jess.

Jess has not revealed the date her baby is due but previously said it was in Spring.

Glamorous: Meanwhile, former Made In Chelsea star Ashley, 34, showcased her sensational figure in a black satin-style midi dress with puffed sleeves

Grinning: The blonde beauty paired her all-black ensemble with a pair of ankle strap stilettos as she posed with Jess

Having fun: She was all smiles as she struck a series of poses at the event, while she styled her golden locks in natural waves

Beauty: Ashley accentuated her natural beauty with a golden make-up palette

Night out: The mother-of-one looked sensational as she struck a series of poses at the event

Natural beauty: The TV personality opted for a bronzed makeup palette which she teamed with a nude lip

Incredible: Jess celebrated the launch of her edit as she posed for stunning snaps on Wednesday

Family: Also supporting Jess at her Dorothy Perkins launch were her sister Natalya and her mother Carol

Looking good: Her mother Carol cut a chic figure in a blue polka dot midi dress which she teamed with a white blazer

Stunning: Carol opted for a pair of white Gucci heels and accessorised with a nude handbag

Jess and her husband William announced their pregnancy in November, just two months after their glamorous Mallorca wedding.

It seems to be a family affair, as Jess's brother, Josh, and his wife Hollie have just welcomed their first child.

Josh and Hollie welcomed their baby boy four weeks early, with Jess sharing a picture of herself cuddling up to her new nephew.

In the Instagram post, she also revealed how excited she was for her son and his cousin to be 'friends forever'.
Kendall Jenner is the top American supermodel and she proved why with two new photos shared to her 200M followers.

The 26-year-old pinup looked incredibly toned as she modeled a bra top that flashed her abs for the brand Alo.

This comes after the daughter of Kris Jenner was seen storming off during a lunch meeting with her family in the first official trailer for the Hulu series The Kardashians which debuts in April.

Yoga ready: Kendall Jenner looked incredibly toned as she modeled a bra top that flashed her abs for the brand Alo. The images were shared to Instagram on Wednesday

At rest but at work: The star looked incredibly toned with a deep California tan as she sat in a living room in the new Alo images

Kendall appeared fit with a deep California tan as she sat in a living room in the new Alo images.

The bra top was light on fabric as it flashed her chest and tummy. She added matching shorts and white socks.

The TV star was heavily made up with black eyeliner and mauve lipstick as she wore her reddish dyed hair down.

There was also an image where her legs, bottom and chest were on display, but her head was out of frame.

Jenner has been a brand ambassador for yoga wear brand Alo since November 2021 and has even gotten her sister Kylie, and her pals Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber to collaborate with her.

A closer look: There was also an image where her legs, bottom and chest were on display, but her head was out of frame

Kendall appeared in a closeup photo with the top of her head cut off, which highlighted the high-waisted and matching bra top while she continued to lean against the chair.

Her sister Kourtney Kardashian's former partner Scott Disick appeared to have been present during her Alo photoshoot, as he shared a behind-the-scenes image to his Instagram Stories later in the day.

'Photo shoot 4 no reason,' he captioned a photo of Kendall lying on her side on a cream-colored sofa while resting her head on her hand and rocking a soft smile.

Closer look: Kendall appeared in a closeup photo with the top of her head cut off, which highlighted the high-waisted and matching bra top

'Photo shoot 4 no reason': Her sister Kourtney Kardashian's ex Scott Disick was apparently present at the photoshoot, as he shared a behind-the-scenes snap of her posing on a sofa

The photos were released shortly after The Kardashians trailer was shared.

The clip featured some blockbuster insights, such as Kim Kardashian revealing that Kanye West informed her that her 'career was over' after their split.

And Khloe Kardashian was seen telling love rat Tristan Thompson that they needed to build 'trust,' while Kourtney Kardashian announced she is trying to have a baby with fiance Travis Barker.

But Kendall had her moment in the spotlight too as she threw a mini tantrum, which was probably for good reason, as she is one of the more level-headed members of the family.

Kendall first said that fans will see a 'whole new side of the family' in the beginning of the trailer.

Calm before the Kenstorm: Kendall is seen in her back yard before she blows her top

Snap away: And the leggy lady is also seen being photographed in a brown dress

Yes she has a pooch: Kenny is also seen in someone's house with her black dog

And next, the siren said she feels like she was being chased when in a car with Kylie, who at the time was pregnant with her second child, son Wolf (she already has daughter Stormi).

'Family is forever,' it says in on-screen text.

But then Kendall blew her cool as she sat next to mom Kris Jenner at a long wood table.

'I'm out, this is so f***ing ridiculous,' said Kendall as she got up from an outdoor table as someone said, 'Oh my God!'

Kenny had on a beige sweatshirt from her tequila line 818.

The Hulu series The Kardashians debuts on April 14, 2022.

Thar she blows! When at an outdoor table in her 818 top, she gets mad

Done thanks: 'I'm out this is so f***ing ridiculous,' says Kendall as she is noticeably peeved
Some of the best years of my life  I miss those people.

Good times and memories, but I have moved on.

Not my best days, but I have made peace with them.

Glad to be away from those people  I dont miss the high school experience.

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Real Housewives super fan Rihanna praised the parenting skills of Heather Dubrow and Teresa Giudice ahead of the birth of her first child with her rapper boyfriend A$AP Rocky.

On Tuesday, the expecting 34-year-old - who's in her third trimester - was at her Fenty launch at ULTA Beauty when she told ELLE beauty director Chloe Hall how much she admired both of the mothers-of-four.

'Heather Dubrow is so chic while being a mom,' Riri (born Robyn Fenty) gushed.

Mother figures: Real Housewives super fan Rihanna praised the parenting skills of Heather Dubrow and Teresa Giudice ahead of the birth of her first child with her rapper boyfriend A$AP Rocky

'Just love the way that she just allows her kids to be who they are. And that's really inspiring to me.'

The 53-year-old RHOC star - who boasts 1M social media followers - replied on Instagram on Wednesday: 'OMG. Totally fan girling out! Thank you for the kind words @badgalriri! You're going to be an amazing mom!'

Heather is mother to - twins Nicholas & Maximillia, 18; daughter Katarina, 15; and daughter Collette, 11 - from her 22-year marriage to Botched producer-star, Dr. Terry Dubrow.

And while Dubrow's son Nick was accepted into Loyal Marymount University, her bisexual daughter Max co-wrote the book I'll Give It to You Straightish Dr. Judy Ho which hit shelves on November 9.

In her third trimester: On Tuesday, the expecting 34-year-old was at her Fenty launch at ULTA Beauty when she told ELLE beauty director Chloe Hall (L) how much she admired both of the mothers-of-four

Riri (born Robyn Fenty) gushed: 'Heather Dubrow is so chic while being a mom. Just love the way that she just allows her kids to be who they are. And that's really inspiring to me'

The 53-year-old RHOC star - who boasts 1M social media followers - replied on Instagram on Wednesday: 'OMG. Totally fan girling out! Thank you for the kind words @badgalriri! You're going to be an amazing mom!'

'I think that they have mixed feelings about it,' the Bronx-born former actress told Watch What Happens Live on February 16 about her kids appearing on the show.

'But I'm incredibly proud of them and I think that they all feel that they are helping people and helping to start conversations in other households and that means a lot.'

And the nine-time Grammy winner told ELLE she liked 'Teresa from Jersey' because she 'does not play about her kids.'

'She will fight for those little girls,' Rihanna stated.

March 8 family portrait: Heather is mother to - twins Nicholas & Maximillia, 18; daughter Katarina, 15; and daughter Collette, 11 - from her 22-year marriage to Botched producer-star, Dr. Terry Dubrow

Proud mama: And while Dubrow's son Nick was accepted into Loyal Marymount University, her bisexual daughter Max (pictured November 28) co-wrote the book I'll Give It to You Straightish Dr. Judy Ho which hit shelves on November 9

The Bronx-born brunette told WWHL on February 16 about her kids appearing on the show: 'I think that they have mixed feelings about it. But I'm incredibly proud of them and I think that they all feel that they are helping people and helping to start conversations in other households and that means a lot'

'She will flatten you about those kids. And that resonates with me a lot because I feel like that's the type of mom I'm going to be. Psycho about it...You talk about my kids, it's over.'

The table-flipping 49-year-old has four daughters - Gia, 21; Gabriella, 17; Milania, 16; and Audriana, 12 - from her 20-year marriage to high school sweetheart Joe Giudice, which ended in 2020.

Teresa currently stars in the 12th season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which airs Tuesdays on Bravo.

Heather currently stars in the 16th season of The Real Housewives of Orange County, which airs Wednesdays on Bravo.

'She will fight for those little girls': And the nine-time Grammy winner told ELLE she liked 'Teresa from Jersey' because she 'does not play about her kids'

Rihanna stated: 'She will flatten you about those kids. And that resonates with me a lot because I feel like that's the type of mom I'm going to be. Psycho about it...You talk about my kids, it's over'

February 8 family portrait: The table-flipping 49-year-old has four daughters - Gia, 21; Gabriella, 17; Milania, 16; and Audriana, 12 - from her 20-year marriage to high school sweetheart Joe Giudice, which ended in 2020

'Forest of Fury': Teresa currently stars in the 12th season of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, which airs Tuesdays on Bravo
Married at First Sight's Ella Ding rushed to support her friend Domenica Calarco after her nude photo scandal erupted during Wednesday night's dinner party.

And the bestie brides proved they've still got each other's backs - both figuratively and literally - as they hit the beach in Sydney last month.

Clad in skimpy bikinis, the glamorous duo were seen applying tanning oil to each other's bodies as they prepared for a scorching day in the sun.

Forget OnlyFans! Married At First Sight's Domenica Calarco (right) and Ella Ding (left) rubbed tanning oil on each other's bodies at the beach in Sydney on February 26

Makeup artist Domenica, 28, stunned in a tangerine two-piece which featured a triangle top and G-string bottoms.

She shielded her eyes behind white-framed sunglasses and allowed her blonde locks to fall in natural waves by her shoulders.

Domenica crouched down as she meticulously sprayed Ella's back, derriere and upper thighs with the tanning liquid.

What are friends for? Ella, 27, had rushed to support her BFF Domenica, 28, after her nude photo scandal erupted during Wednesday night's dinner party

Tangerine dream! Makeup artist Domenica stunned in a tangerine two-piece which featured a triangle bikini top and G-string bottoms

Bathing beauties: She shielded her eyes behind white-framed sunglasses and allowed her blonde locks to fall in natural waves by her shoulders

Helping hand: Domenica crouched down as she meticulously sprayed Ella's back, derriere and upper thighs with the tanning liquid

Beautician Ella, 27, followed suit, making sure to rub the oil thoroughly into Domenica's lower back and shoulders.

Putting her sprawling tattoo collection on display, she left little to the imagination in a strapless purple bikini top and black G-string bottoms.

Her body art includes an elaborate floral tattoo across her hips and right thigh.

Fun in the sun! The genetically blessed duo giggled during the rather intimate encounter

Thanks, girl! Beautician Ella made sure to rub the oil into Domenica's lower back and shoulders

Tatt's a lot of ink! Putting her sprawling tattoo collection on display, Ella left little to the imagination in a strapless purple bikini top and black G-string bottoms

Intricate: Ella's body art includes an elaborate floral tattoo across her hips and right thigh

Shaded: Ella completed her look with a pair of large black sunglasses and secured her raven locks with a yellow hair clip

She also has the words 'heavy soul' inked across her bikini line, and 'love her but leave her wild' on her right thigh.

Ella completed her look with a pair of large black sunglasses and secured her raven locks with a yellow hair clip.

The genetically blessed duo giggled during the rather intimate encounter.

Bond girl moment! Domenica had her very own Bond girl moment as she emerged from the water in her barely there swimwear

Svelte: Domenica looked toned and terrific in the skimpy bikini

Slick: She slicked her hair back from her face as she strolled towards the shore

After oiling up, the women hit the surf for a swim before returning to the beach for a tanning session.

Ella and Domenica formed a close friendship on Married At First Sight, and this was no better illustrated than during Wednesday's dinner party.

During the episode, fellow bride Olivia Frazer revealed she had been the one to tell the group there was a naked photo of Dom circulating online, after claiming her 'friends' had googled her rival and uncovered her OnlyFans account.

Catching rays: After oiling up, the women hit the surf for a swim before returning to the beach for a tanning session

Bosom buddies: The women lay next to each other on their stomachs

Solidarity: Ella and Domenica formed a close friendship on Married At First Sight, and this was no better illustrated than during Wednesday's dinner party

Every participant except for Ella, Mitch Eynaud and Domenica's 'husband' Jack Millar was aware the image of Dom was doing the rounds.

'I don't think I regret sharing the information about Dom's OnlyFans,' an unremorseful Olivia later told producers.

She also offered a scathing response after Brent Vitiello said Dom was 'copping punches from every angle' at the dinner party, saying: 'She kind of deserves it.'

Controversy: During the episode, fellow bride Olivia Frazer revealed she had been the one to tell the group there was a naked photo of Dom circulating online, after claiming her 'friends' had googled her rival and uncovered her OnlyFans account

Out of the loop: Every participant except for Ella, Mitch Eynaud and Domenica's 'husband' Jack Millar was aware the image of Dom was doing the rounds

No empathy: 'I don't think I regret sharing the information about Dom's OnlyFans,' an unremorseful Olivia later told producers

Domenica eventually stormed out of the dinner party, and Ella rushed to her side to console her.

The women were seen privately discussing the fact Olivia had distributed the image among the cast rather than approaching Domenica first.

Domenica later saw red when she overheard Olivia telling the rest of the group behind her back: 'She did it to herself, she dug that hole herself.'

Support: Domenica stormed out of the dinner party, and Ella rushed to her side to console her

How could she? The women were seen privately discussing the fact Olivia had distributed the image among the cast rather than approaching Domenica first

Enraged: Domenica later saw red when she overheard Olivia telling the rest of the group behind her back: 'She did it to herself, she dug that hole herself'

Smug: Things really kicked off when Dom returned to the table and Olivia (pictured) slyly said, 'It's not private. It's on the internet', before trying to argue her actions weren't 'malicious'

Things really kicked off when Dom returned to the table and Olivia slyly said, 'It's not private. It's on the internet', before trying to argue her actions weren't 'malicious'.

'I put it out on the internet. I'll wear it. [What] I can't accept is you [saying] sending it is not out of malice,' Domenica raged.

As the argument escalated and it became clear most of the cast had seen the nude photo of Dom, she said: 'I have nothing else to say to these people. I'm done.'

Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Channel Nine and 9Now

Standing up for herself: 'I put it out on the internet. I'll wear it. [What] I can't accept is you [saying] sending it is not out of malice,' Domenica raged

Bombshell: Ella looked visibly concerned throughout the dinner party
Denise Van Outen has revealed she was a victim of revenge porn when a former boyfriend claimed he had a tape of her having sex aged just 15.

The West End stage star and former EastEnder, 47, said the ex failed to sell the tape to a newspaper in the 1990s because a date on the video showed she was below the legal age of sexual consent.

She said the man, referred to as Mike, was questioned by police who found he had recorded dozens of girls.

The case went to court, but he was not jailed. The judge warned him he would be sent to prison if any of the tapes contents ever surfaced.

Revealing the nightmare in her new autobiography, Miss Van Outen said: Revenge porn is talked about a lot these days, but it wasnt a widespread term back then.

Looking back, Mike could be manipulative  cruel, even. We dated for over a year and in the end Mike was the boy I lost my virginity to.

Pictured: The West End stage star Denise Van Outen has revealed she was a victim of revenge porn when a former boyfriend claimed he had a tape of her having sex aged just 15

She said of the tape which emerged years later: At the time, I felt shocked and mortified.

'Mike had calculated the whole thing. Hed been waiting for me to make it big so he could peddle his grubby tape.

The tape is understood to have been made in 1989, when Denise was just 15.

The Essex-born Strictly Come Dancing stars new book, A Bit Of Me: From Basildon To Broadway And Back, also tells how she split from her husband-to-be in January after she discovered he had been cheating.

She said she caught Eddie Boxshall, 47  her boyfriend of seven years  flirting sexually with three women and described his behaviour as disrespectful and devastatingly hurtful.

They had frequently starred together on Channel 4s Celebrity Gogglebox.

Miss Van Outen said she found pictures and Instagram messages on Mr Boxshalls iPad, saying: Among photos was a screenshotof a womans breasts  and they definitely werent mine!

Miss Van Outen, 47, (pictured aged 16) said the ex failed to sell the tape to a newspaper in the 1990s because a date on the video showed she was below the legal age of sexual consent

'Also, there was a flirty text exchange between Eddie and this woman, which, of course, set off alarm bells.

The star, who had success both here and in the US in the musical Chicago, said the exchange happened in a week she had booked a Spanish holiday.

She added: Eddie decided not to come to Spain because he didnt feel well. While sympathetic, I was slightly confused about why he couldnt chill with me beside the pool but could still manage to go to the pub.

Next Miss Van Outen discovered selfies of Mr Boxshall with a woman in a bar on a day he had told her he was in London for business.

She realised by looking at the outline of the womans chest she was not the same one in the first photos. She also found messages which suggested phone sex with a third woman called Tracy.

Miss Van Outen decided to contact Tracy and said: Theyd never met in person, but she said the conversations had become sexual in nature reasonably quickly  some of the stuff I found on the phone seemed to support that.

She added: To me, sexual chats and continued communication over a long period of time amount to cheating.

Denise Van Outen found out Eddie Boxshall (pictured together on Gogglebox) her boyfriend of seven years  flirting sexually with three women and described his behaviour as disrespectful

Especially when its done from a home Id strived to build for us as a family. A home that Eddie found and I bought for us.

'A home wed only just moved into when it all started. It was disrespectful and devastatingly hurtful.

Miss Van Outen confronted her fiance about the women, but he denied doing anything wrong and she told him to leave.

The star, who has an eight-year-old daughter with ex-husband Lee Mead, insisted: The thing I battled with most was that it wasnt just one person, one mistake or drunken night. This was something that had gone on for more than three years. I felt betrayed.

She cried her heart out to her mother, adding: I was in pain and shock. Id thought we had the perfect life.

'Any relationship has to be built on trust and once thats gone, theres no way forward.

If I hadnt found those pictures, Id be planning a wedding right now. Instead, Ive simply got to move on.
Until I broke the story last month that Chelsy Davy had given birth to her first child, virtually no one knew that she had even been pregnant.

And Prince Harrys ex-girlfriend is still keeping things close to her chest.

The former City lawyer, 36, was spotted taking her dog for a walk by the Thames in West London with her son, Leo, strapped to her chest in a baby carrier.

Leo, who was born at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in January, was kept cosy with a hat and a blue blanket, while Chelsy wore casual gym gear.

Chelsy Davy, 36, was spotted taking her dog for a walk by the Thames in West London with her son, Leo, strapped to her chest in a baby carrier

Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy sit in the Royal Box as they attend the Cartier International Polo Match at Guards Polo Club, Smith's Lawn on July 30, 2006

Chelsy Davy with Sam Cutmore-Scott - baby Leo's father - in Mauritius in January 2020

As I later revealed, Leos father is Sam Cutmore-Scott, 37, a successful hotelier, who was in the year above Harry at Eton College.

Chelsy went out with the Prince, on and off, for seven years until they split in 2011 because she didnt want to be a royal bride.

She was the snobby neighbour Margo in The Good Life, and a High Sheriff of Surrey for the Queen in real life, but Dame Penelope Keith swears like a sailor, according to comedian Dara OBriain.

Have you met Penelope Keith? asks the Irishman, who claims to have met her in a television studio.

Swears like a sailor. Shes very, very earthy, very down-to-earth.

OBriain adds of the actress, who played upper-class Audrey fforbes-Hamilton in To The Manor Born: Shes fabulous, a wonderful woman.

Is the race to replace Laura Kuenssberg as BBC political editor cursed?

First her deputy, Vicki Young, withdrew from consideration, then frontrunner Jon Sopel quit the BBC along with Emily Maitlis.

ITV News deputy political editor Anushka Asthana was the new favourite ahead of final interviews due to take place on Friday.

Think again. Despite thinking I had crazy super immunity (after dodging it twice when infected kids came into my bed and coughed on me repeatedly . . .) Ive finally succumbed to Covid, Asthana announces.

Surely the role wont go to the ubiquitous Amol Rajan after all?

Lady Henriettas padlock protest at pals stately home

This sounds dangerous: aristocratic writer Lady Henrietta Rous has chained herself to the gates of a friends stately home in a desperate effort to stop diggers moving in to widen a road that runs through his estate.

We need more green space in this country, not less, the 74-year-old daughter of the 5th Earl of Stradbroke tells me.

The surveyor drove up the other day, took one look at us, and just got straight back in his car and left. Ive never seen somebody drive off so quickly.

Lady Henrietta Rous has chained herself to the gates of a friends stately home in a desperate effort to stop diggers moving in to widen a road that runs through his estate

Anthony Mockler is being forced to hand over land on his Milton Manor estate in Oxfordshire so the A4130 can be turned into a dual carriageway, via a compulsory purchase order.

He says: Im obviously not comparing this to the horrific situation in Ukraine, but the way the council behaves is like Putin. Its invasion and then annexation.

Oxfordshire County Councils planning director, Susan Halliwell, says the roads expansion is essential to support and enable housing and economic growth.

Jessie and Eddies awards bash clash

Well, this is certainly a case of checkmate.

Co-stars Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley seemed to be co-ordinating their outfits like a married couple when they attended the launch of the 2022 Olivier awards in London yesterday.

Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley attend The Olivier Awards 2022

Redmayne, 40, sported a checked suit, while Buckley, 32, wore checked trousers.

The pair are nominated for Oliviers for their performances in West End show Cabaret.

Old Etonian Redmayne played the same role, Emcee, in a student production in Edinburgh. He recalled: I didnt really see daylight and became skeletal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi minced no words when he spoke about an uneasiness among a section of people over the truth of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits shown in the movie The Kashmir Files. While addressing BJPs Parliamentary meeting, the PM said, A constant effort is being made to discredit the movie [The Kashmir Files] instead of discussing the merits of it based on reasoning.

PM Modi said that the issue wasn't not discussing the movie, but that efforts were made to suppress the truth.

PM Modi, during his speech, also made a mention of the Richard Attenborough-directed movie Gandhi. The PM said that the world talked about Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, but not about Gandhi back then.

The world rarely mentions Gandhi. Had anyone portrayed the life of Gandhi [on film] back then, maybe we would have been able to spread his message, said PM Modi. He said that it was only when an English filmmaker made a movie on Gandhi and the movie won several awards that the world came to know of a figure called Gandhi.

But what was the movie about?

GANDHI, THE MOVIE

Still from the movie Gandhi. Photo: Gandhi

Late English filmmaker Richard Attenborough made a period biographical movie Gandhi in 1982. The movie won eight Oscars then and received 11 nominations. Ben Kinsley, who played Mahatma Gandhi in the movie, won the Best Actor award. Besides this, the movie also won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography awards.

The movie didnt only fetch national but international positive reviews also. It was reviewed in Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Public Historian, Cross Currents, The Journal of Asian Studies, Film Quarterly, etc.

But in Pakistan, the movie was banned.

WHY WAS THE MOVIE BANNED IN PAKISTAN?

A historical depiction of a personality is bound to get mixed reactions from viewers. The same happened with Gandhi (1982) in Pakistan. It angered the whole community on several issues. A negative portrayal of Pakistan's founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah, distortion of history and of Gandhis image were some reasons why it faced a huge backlash.

Here are some reasons why Gandhi the movie was banned in Pakistan.

WORSHIPPING OF GANDHI

That Gandhi single-handedly led the independence of India was never how Pakistanis perceived 1947. For them, the liberation and creation of the separate state of Pakistan was a gift bestowed to them by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The movie Gandhi showed the opposite of this.

Instead, it shows him in negative light, as someone who led to the division of the country, someone who instigated Muslims and a haughty personality who was always ignorant of the ground reality.

For many Pakistanis, Gandhi was not less than an inimical leader who crossed paths with their Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah. Stanley Wolpert in his book Jinnah, writes about Gandhi telling Jinnah, You have mesmerised the Muslims, with Jinnah shooting back, You have hypnotised the Hindus. What the movie showed was Gandhi as a heroic figure and Jinnah as not quite.

A large section of the Pakistani audience perceived it as whitewashing of Gandhi's image; one of the biggest reasons why they disliked it.

DEMONISING JINNAH

Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Photo: Getty Images

The director Richard Attenborough made efforts to show Jinnah in a negative light in the movie. For example, theres a scene where Gandhi urges to make Jinnah the Prime Minister of Independent India with Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Lal Bahadur Shastri watching it.

The scene portrays Jinnah as a dominating personality, with Gandhi being subservient to his wild ambitions and eventually sacrificing the aspirations of his own partymen.

But for Pakistan, Jinnah is not less than a sacred personality who fought for them even in his last days when his ailing health and worsening bronchitis didnt deter him from going for an independent state for Muslims.

The villainisation of Jinnah in the movie was something Pakistani cinemas couldnt afford to show.

NO ROLE OF JINNAH IN INDEPENDENCE

Apart from his negative portrayal, the movie doesnt show the efforts of the English barrister in securing independence of a country from British rule. Though Gandhi and Jinnahs methods were different, with the former inclining more towards non-violence, non-cooperation movements; Jinnah was more towards working under the legal bars set by the British government.

The film fails to show Jinnah as someone who ever wanted the country free. And the resentment is genuine. Jinnah championed Hindu-Muslim unity in his early days and only after 1940, became resistant to the idea of an Independent India which included both Muslims and Hindus. Jinnah had his own reservations with Gandhi and the Congress, and thereby both decided to walk away.

GANDHI, JINNAH AND KALAM

Mohandas Gandhi. Photo: Getty Images

The relationship between Gandhi and Jinnah in the last years did grow tumultuous. Their goals were the same but their paths different. Not only Gandhi, Jinnah had a special disdain for Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, who Jinnah called a mere showbow of the Congress. At the meetings, the London barrister would not even shake hands with Maulana.

When the movie Gandhi tried to completely whitewash the image of Gandhi and even Azad, it was bound to invite the wrath of the Pakistani audience. The relationship between Jinnah with several of his political counterparts were glossed over, and only a negative image of Jinnah was put out in front of the audience. There were several layers behind the personality of Jinnah which the movie didnt show. Hence, the movie was banned in Pakistan.
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Carrier rocket preparing for its debut flight

By ZHAO LEI (China Daily) 09:15, March 16, 2022

Ship-based launch will increase carrying capacity, reduce costs, scientist notes

Smart Dragon 3, a new model of solid-propellant carrier rocket, is scheduled to make its debut flight in September, according to a senior rocket scientist.

Engineers at the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, the country's major rocket maker, are building the first Smart Dragon 3, which will be launched for the model's first mission, said Jiang Jie, a senior rocket scientist at the academy and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The first flight will be launched from a platform at sea, which means Smart Dragon 3 will become the second Chinese rocket capable of liftoff both on the ground and at sea, she said.

China has so far carried out two ship-based rocket launches using its Long March 11 solid-propellant rocket.

Compared with conventional land-based launches, a sea mission has a lower risk of causing trouble for densely populated areas along the rocket's trajectory, Jiang said.

The method also allows launches to be made near the equator, which increases the rocket's carrying capacity, lowers launch costs and extends the life span of some satellites.

"We have arranged two to three launch missions by Smart Dragon 3 within this year. We estimate that at least five launches of this rocket will be made each year starting in 2023, as the demand will keep increasing," the scientist said.

Jiang made the remarks during the fifth session of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which recently ended in Beijing. She is a member of the CPPCC National Committee, the nation's top political advisory body.

With a diameter of 2.64 meters and a liftoff weight of 140 metric tons, the rocket will become the largest and strongest in China's solid-propellant rocket fleet.

It will be capable of putting multiple satellites with a combined weight of 1.5 tons into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers.

The second in the Smart Dragon family to enter service, Smart Dragon 3 will be suitable to clients who wish to launch large quantities of satellites within a short period of time to establish space-based commercial networks as soon as possible, according to Long Wei, deputy project manager for the rocket.

Smart Dragon 1, the first model in the family, conducted its debut flight in August 2019 from northwestern China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

It is 19.5 meters tall, has a diameter of 1.2 meters and weighs 23.1 tons.

Speaking about Long March 11's launch schedule for this year, Jiang said four to five flights are expected, to transport small satellites into space.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
We are saddened by the court verdict. Wearing Hijab is an important practice in our religion, the girls said. (Representational image: PTI)

Udupi: The Udupi Muslim girls who had approached the High Court seeking permission to wear Hijab in classrooms, said that they will not attend class without Hijab and continue their legal fight.

The High Court upheld the Karnataka Governments dress code and ruled that Hijab does not form part of essential religious practice.

Following the order, five girls except for Shifa held a press conference in Udupi on Tuesday evening.

Almas AH, one of the students from Government Womens PU College said that she was saddened by the HC order.

Our lawyers had placed all the necessary argument before the High Court. We had great hope in the court. But we are saddened by the court verdict. Wearing Hijab is an important practice in our religion, she said.

When asked about approaching Supreme Court, she said that it would be decided after consultation with the lawyers.

Wearing Hijab is Constitutional right and we want to follow the rights. Both religion and education are important for us. Our struggle is to get permission to attend classes wearing Hijab. We will not go to college without it, Aliya Assadi, another girl, said.

This is issue which should have been solved within the college campus. But the College principal and teachers denied our rights. It is because of the college authorities approach that the Muslim girls across the entire Karnataka have been denied the right to wear Hijab, she added.

Meanwhile, Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat, who is also the head of the College Development Committee, asked the girls to respect the High Court judgment and attend the classes.

 The college will treat the students without any discrimination. We request the girls to return to the campus and focus on education by following the court order, Raghupathi Bhat said.

He added that their attendance issue will be taken care of and teachers have been asked to provide the notes and prepare them for the exams.
The CLP leader said the TRS government failed to respond to the unemployment allowance issue, he said. (Facebook)

HYDERABAD: Congress legislature party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that restricting the budget session to seven days did not help in having a fruitful discussion on the states financial position.

By suppressing the voices of the Opposition parties, the TRS government scuttled a chance for them to present the peoples problems. The government wanted to avoid a detailed discussion on budget and hence curtailed the session, he said.

Bhatti along with Congress MLAs Jayaprakash Jagga Reddy, Sridhar Babu and Seethakka addressed the media.

The CLP leader criticised that TRS government, saying it was not observing financial discipline and Telanganas debts will swell to `5 lakh crore by 2024-25. As of now, the state is reeling under a debt of 4.70 lakh crore, he said.

Bhatti said the ruling TRS MLAs disrupted the speeches of Congress MLAs. They tried to divert the attention of the members and sought to drown the Opposition voice when it tried to point out the lapses of the government, he said.

We had already suggested at the business advisory committee that the government continue the assembly session for more days, he said.

The CLP leader said the abrupt adjournment of the session posed a threat to the system of democracy. He demanded zero interest loans, input subsidy, seeds and fertilizers for farmers apart from the Rythu Bandhu benefits. The double bedroom house scheme should be continued, he said.

The TRS government failed to respond to the unemployment allowance issue, he said.

Bhatti Vikramarka said chief minister Chandrashekar Rao agreed to restore the services of field assistants in MGNREGS due to the agitation of the Congress party for the last two years. The Congress party also forced the government to provide better pay scales for IKP, Mepma staff, he said. The VRAs issue was also discussed in the assembly, he said.
It was a rare sight in recent years  more than 1,000 babus protesting outside the department of personnel and training (DoPT) at North Block over caste-based reservations in promotions. The officers from the Central Secretariat Service (CSS), who are the functionary staff in ministries, the Central Secretariat and other government offices, claim that the reservation issue has been dragging on in the Supreme Court for six years, and several babus had retired from service without getting their last promotions. Others have seen their careers stall due to the prolonged litigation

The DoPT secretary P. K Tripathi however has assured a delegation of CSS officers that the department is fast-tracking the issue of promotions. Those in the know say that it is a departmental conflict in which one faction of CSS babus claiming that the Constitution gives states the right to give reservation in promotion. But now the department has reportedly urged the attorney general to pursue the case urgently in the apex court. Whichever way it goes, it will affect some 12,000 CSS officials.

Will Foreign Secy Shringla get an extension?

There is a growing buzz in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) that in view of the international situation the government could give an extension to foreign secretary Harsh Shringla and Indias permanent secretary to the UN, T.S. Tirumurti, both of whom are slated to retire in April. So even though the MEA officials are speculating about the likely successors to these diplomats, the view is growing that, for now, the government is quite likely to favour continuity in the current circumstances, than bring in new faces.

However, an extension to either or both diplomats would stymie the chances of at least half-a-dozen senior IFS officers who are in line for consideration to replace Shringla and Tirumurti. But with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar is keeping his cards close, its hard to say what course he will choose.

Meanwhile, the MEA has announced the elevation of Ausaf Sayeed, ambassador to Saudi Arabia, to the rank of secretary. He will now look after the consular, passport and visa division, besides handling West Asia and North Africa. He will replace Sanjay Bhattacharya who now heads to Switzerland as Indias new ambassador.

Mayors to have their say in Haryana babus ACRs IAS officers in Haryana are unlikely to be pleased with the new move in which mayors and zila parishad chiefs can now have a say in writing the annual confidential reports (ACRs) of IAS and HCS officers. It is certainly a major departure from the past.

Sources have informed DKB that reporting authorities for the CEOs of zila parishads and Commissioners of municipal corporations will consult mayors and zila parishad chairpersons for writing the ACRs of babus. Usually, junior IAS officers and mid-level and senior HCS officers are appointed commissioners of municipal corporations and CEOs of zila parishads.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, we are told, asserts that the new system of writing ACRs will lead to better accountability in the functioning of babus at the grassroots level. But knowing how sensitive babus are to any disruption in the way they function, such noble intentions may not have the desired outcome. Or will it?

Let us know your thoughts.
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US e-commerce giant Amazon on Wednesday filed a plea in the Supreme Court to restrain Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail from opening any new stores in place of Future Group's Big Bazaar.

It also asked the top court to stop the Future group from alienating or transferring any of its retail assets till the final disposal of its arbitration petition by the Singapore tribunal.

It sought protection in terms of a direction to FRL to maintain the status quo on creating third party rights on its retail assets during the pendency of such proceedings before the Singapore tribunal, scheduled to resume hearing between April 18 to May 13.

Also Read | Amazon comes up with a big 'no sale' in India

A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli fixed the matter for hearing on March 23, for passing an interim order. The court said the proceedings before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) may resume where Amazon could press for relief in its feud with Future Group.

Amazon led by senior advocate Gopal Subramanium expressed readiness to go back to the arbitral tribunal but only after getting protection from the top court.

The tribunal had already granted protection against alienation of Future groups assets and if there has been no adherence of the order passed in 2020 till now, then there is no point to file another application before the tribunal, he said.

The Future group led by senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi also showed their willingness to resume the arbitration process that was stayed by Delhi High Court in January.

The 370-page application by Amazon was filed in the backdrop of Reliance Retail changing the FRLs brand name Big Bazaar after taking over the hundreds of Big Bazaar stores, citing non-payment of rent.

Also Read | Future Retail says will act to reverse store takeovers by Reliance

Over 400 such stores are likely to be rebranded as Reliance Retail stores. Apart from this, even FRLs employees have started on the payroll of Reliance. Reliance had suddenly taken control of hundreds of Future stores, the plea by Amazon said.

"This was in clear breach of the restraint orders of the arbitral tribunal and were suppressed before the SC, the Delhi High Court and also the statutory authorities and regulators like CCI and Sebi, thus are clearly null and void, it asserted.

Amazon accused the Future group of committing fraud, as it had transferred its stores to Reliance after giving assurance to the SC on September 9, 2021, that its retail assets will continue to vest with it till the final order on sanctioning of the merger scheme comes from the National Company Law Tribunal.

The FRL on March 9 in its filing to stock exchanges admitted for the first time that it was no longer the lessee of its stores and had surrendered around 900 stores (contributing 55% - 65% of the total revenue of FRL) to Reliance, Amazon said,

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India is rolling out ambitious measures over the coming weeks to try to establish the country as a dominant exporter of high-quality wheat as importers scramble for supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two government sources said.

The measures, which should be implemented over the course of around two weeks, include ensuring government-approved laboratories test the quality of wheat for export, making extra rail wagons available for transport and working with port authorities to give priority to wheat exports.

India, the world's biggest wheat producer after China, has been pursuing deals to export wheat and take advantage of surplus stocks at home and a sharp rise in global prices.

Also Read | India signs deals to export 500,000 tonnes of wheat, as global prices surge

It sees the disruption caused by the conflict involving Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter and Ukraine, another leading supplier, as an opportunity to sell its wheat on the world market.

Despite surplus wheat stocks, logistical bottlenecks and quality concerns have previously stymied India's efforts to sell large volumes on the world market.

Exports picked up last year to reach 6.12 million tonnes of wheat from 1.12 million tonnes a year earlier.

Government sources told Reuters the new measures could result in the export of 10 million tonnes of wheat after the new season harvest begins later this month.

They said the changes follow extensive consultations with ministries, state governments, port and railway authorities, export promotion bodies and big export houses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is keen to help farmers and traders export higher-quality grain to show global buyers that India can provide a steady supply of high-protein wheat, the sources said, asking not to be named as they are not authorised to talk to the media.

Modi's administration has recruited 213 government-approved laboratories to test the quality of wheat for export and has also asked the Bureau of Indian Standards to monitor quality, the sources said.

They said extra warehousing capacity was being created near ports to ensure faster turnaround times for railway wagons that transport grain from major wheat-producing states.

India exports wheat primarily through two ports on the west coast, but the country will soon be able to use other ports, especially in the east to handle wheat cargoes, the sources said.

In addition to raising farmers' incomes, higher exports from India would reduce the amount the government spends on domestic wheat, which it buys to support local growers.

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Donning traditional 'basanti' turbans and stoles, tens of thousands of people, comprising women and the elders, on Wednesday morning started converging ahead of AAP Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann's swearing-in ceremony in this village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, who laid down his life for country's Independence.

Officials expect a gathering of some 4 lakh audience for the oath of Punjab's 18th Chief Minister

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party's top functionaries will participate in the ceremony.

Also Read  AAPs win is big, so is its governance task

Mann's ex-wife Inderpreet Kaur and both their two children, Seerat Kaur and Dilshan Manna, have flown all the way from the US to attend the ceremony. They were separated in 2015 after which the children shifted to the US with their mother.

The 'pandal' of the venue with yellow drapes and 1 lakh chairs has been set up on 40 acres near the Bhagat Singh memorial.

In an appeal, Mann has requested the people across the state to reach Khatkar Kalan, some 80 km from the state capital Chandigarh on the highway to Jalandhar in Nawanshahr district, for the swearing-in ceremony by wearing 'basanti' (yellow) turbans and draping yellow shawls or stoles.

"We will colour Khatkar Kalan in 'basanti rang' that day," Mann said in a message.

What is the relevance of 'basanti', the colour of spring?

A 'basanti' turban or 'dupatta' is associated recently with a year-long agitation of farmers against now repealed three farm laws, but also with sacrifice and patriotic spirit. Also the colour signals celebrations, a springtime kite-flying festival.

Activists inspired by the thoughts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh were shouting slogans 'Inquilab Zindabad' at the venue. Many of them were seen carrying a photo of the freedom fighter.

AAP registered a landslide victory, winning 92 seats in the 117-seat Punjab Assembly. Mann, who was contesting from Dhuri in Sangrur district, won by a margin of 58,206 votes.

With the deployment of over 10,000 security personnel, the oath-taking venue spreads over 150-acre.

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Women voters and caste consolidation of Brahmins, Rajputs and upper castes helped the BJP sail through in Uttar Pradesh, where the party stormed back to power for a second consecutive term.

A post-poll survey of the recent elections released by polling agency Axis MyIndia states that the biggest difference between the BJP and the SP is in the number of female voters.

Women voted in huge numbers for the BJP, according to data. If one takes into account the number of male voters who voted for the two main parties, the difference is only 4 per cent. This incredibly widens to 16 per cent when it comes to women voters.

Also Read | With BJP back in power, Uttar Pradesh man burns his certificates

A closer look at the voter percentage reveals that men constituted 44 per cent of the voters of the BJP and its allies, while 48 per cent were women. Among the voters of the SP-RLD combine, 40 per cent were male and 32 per cent were female.

The survey was conducted among a sample size of 1,21,034 people in interviews with people in all the 403 constituencies.

Pradeep Gupta of Axis MyIndia said the reason behind this is the delivery of welfare schemes.

Women were at the forefront of beneficiaries, and gas, toilet and most importantly the housing schemes were important to them. These schemes were minimising their dependency on male members, Gupta said.

Also Read | BJP to eye 2024 polls in new UP cabinet formation

The elections also saw a realignment of caste consolidation, with Muslims and Yadavs standing firmly behind the SP and the Rajputs and upper castes behind the BJP. An overwhelming majority of Muslims (83 per cent) and Yadavs (86 per cent) voted for the Samajwadi Party. The Jat vote was split in half among the SP and the BJP, with the BJP gaining 47 per cent of their votes and the SP, 44 per cent.

Over 71 per cent of the Rajputs voted for the BJP and the party garnered the support of 70 per cent of upper caste votes.

What is worth noting is the transfer of upper caste votes from the Congress to the BJP. The upper castes who stood by the Congress traditionally left the party for the BJP. Only 2 per cent of upper caste votes came to the Congress, Gupta said.

Also Read | 'Bulldozer baba', 'Tiger': The uncaring use of epithets

In a similar fashion, the BSP's loss was the BJPs gain. While the BSP managed to maintain its Jatav base, with 62 per cent of them voting for the party, the non-Jatav SC vote bank went to the BJP, with 51 per cent voting for them. Only 16 per cent of non-Jatav voters voted for the BSP.

A closer look has revealed that the Muslim SC votes that came to the BSP last time went back to the SP this time. In addition, the non-Jatav votes went to the BJP, Gupta said.

The survey also revealed that 45 per cent of the rural votes went to the BJP and the party managed to pocket 49 per cent of the urban voters. For the SP, the figure was 36 per cent and 35 per cent respectively.

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Amid a roar of engines and clouds of dust, Sattar Amiri clambers into a pickup truck with his wife and infant son in a remote Afghan frontier town, ready for a perilous drive through the desert.

Like the thousands of desperate migrants around him, he has only one goal -- to reach Iran.

"I have no choice," says 25-year-old Sattar.

"There is no future in Afghanistan."

In Zaranj, a border town in southwestern Afghanistan, people smugglers say the flow of would-be exiles now reaches 5,000 to 6,000 a day -- four times more than before the Taliban's return to power in August.

At night, the most daring try to scale the imposing wall that separates this arid city from Iran, despite the risk of being shot by border guards. But when the sun comes up, thousands of men, women and children pile into old four-wheel-drive vehicles on a longer journey through mountains and deserts via Pakistan.

Also Read  Don't forget Afghanistan, UN reminds to world as Ukraine crisis worsens

Afghanistan has been plunged into financial crisis following the Taliban takeover six months ago, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation after decades of war.

Many Afghans are scrambling to leave the country for Iran or beyond in search of work to send money back to their families. Others fear being targeted by the Taliban because of their association with the previous Western-backed regime or the US-led foreign forces who finally withdrew on August 31.

Sattar lost his job as an army mechanic when Afghanistan's military collapsed six months ago and since then says he has "not even managed to earn 1,000 Afghanis" -- about $10. In desperation, he sold his house in Mazar-e-Sharif to finance his family's escape to Iran, where he plans to take any job he can get.

Nearly a million Afghans left their homes between August and December last year in an attempt to flee, according to a recent report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

This exodus has transformed Zaranj into a people-smuggling den of misery.

In the city's dilapidated hotels, migrants sleep on carpets while waiting their turn to cross, despair and fear etched into their faces.

Mohammad, a former policeman, is trying to reach Iran after having twice been beaten by the Taliban, who demanded a service weapon he had already handed in. "If they come a third time, they will really kill me," says the 25-year-old from Daikundi province, declining to reveal his full name.

While widespread retaliations have so far not been reliably reported, the UN says more than 100 people with links to the former regime -- mostly security personnel -- have been killed by the Taliban.

The city's smugglers are rubbing their hands with glee at the steady stream of clients -- which could become a flood with the arrival of spring and more favourable weather.

Behind the wheel of his 4x4 pick-up, Hamidullah has doubled the price for driving migrants across the desert. "We used to take three million (Iranian) tomans (about $120), now it's six million," says the grinning 22-year-old, who pays the Taliban a cut to operate.

Every day, hundreds of drivers park their vehicles in a Zaranj lot, where they pile the men into the bed of the pickup, and cram women and children into the cab. The gathering is carried out in full view of the Taliban, who charge each vehicle 1,000 Afghanis ($10) -- even providing an "official" stamped receipt.

AFP counted around 300 trucks in the lot one day last month, each filled with about 20 people -- or about 6,000 migrants a single day.

The Taliban denied people were leaving in those numbers, and called such reports "propaganda". "The claims that 6,000 Afghans are leaving (daily) for other countries only through one border on one day is propaganda," said Mohammad Arsala Kharutai, Deputy Minister for Refugees and Repatriations.

"This many Afghans are not leaving," he told AFP in response to a direct question at a news conference, adding "neither are there exact numbers that anyone can prove".

Still, AFP filmed the battered vehicles making their way for hours along rutted desert tracks -- sometimes reaching speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour).

When they reach the Pakistan border, the migrants are handed over to smugglers on the other side, and a treacherous journey by foot begins to the Iranian border.

For Maihan Rezai, the longer journey in unthinkable. As a member of the minority Shiite Hazara ethnic group, the 20-year-old design student would be easy prey for fighters from Jundallah, a radical Sunni operation responsible for numerous kidnappings in the desert.

"Before, they used to behead people, but now they hold people and demand a ransom," he says.

So Rezai and his friends aim to climb the border wall, which stretches from Zaranj as far as the eye can see.

It is a formidable barrier -- a five-metre (16-foot) concrete wall topped with barbed wire and dotted with watchtowers manned by armed guards.

The people smugglers who know the best place to cross are supposed to bribe the guards to turn a blind eye to those scaling the walls at night, but sometimes they cut corners to save money.

"The smugglers lie to us," says Maihan, who has already made several failed attempts.

In the last six months between 70 and 80 people have been killed by Iranian bullets, several Taliban fighters guarding the area told AFP on condition of anonymity. But even if you make it over, the euphoria is often short-lived.

Iran, already hosting 3.4 million Afghans in 2020 -- mostly illegal migrants rather than genuine refugees -- has been expelling more than 2,000 people a day recently, according to the Taliban.

Still, Sadat Qatal and Waheed Ahmad plot their attempt from their spartan Zaranj hotel room, their four children alongside them.

Waheed's brother made it across in January -- one of only a handful among 80 who tried that night, he said -- and phoned from Iran to tell of his success.

"He told me that many died," the 30-year-old shudders.

"All this is because of hunger... if we still had hope, we would never leave the country."

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The United States subtly nudged India to publicly call out Russian President Vladimir Putin for launching military operations in Ukraine, reminding that history would remember where the nations stood on the issue of the aggression against the East European nation.

President Joe Biden's administration, however, also stated that if New Delhi accepted Moscow's offer to supply crude oil at a discounted rate, it would not be a violation of the sanctions the United States had imposed on Russia in the wake of its aggression against Ukraine.

Well, our message to any country continues to be that, obviously, abide by the sanctions, but  that we have put in place and recommended. I dont believe this would be violating that, Biden's Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

She was responding to a question on the US response to reports about the possibility of India accepting Russia's offer to supply crude oil at a discounted price.

I dont believe this would be violating that, she said.

But also think about where you want to stand when the history books are written in this moment in time. And support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact. added Psaki.

Also Read | India keen on taking Russian oil on discount but working on nitty-gritties

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that he had a discussion at the appropriate level of the government of the Russian Federation regarding India importing crude oil from Russia at a discounted rate. He earlier had a phone-call with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.

India is considering to buy at least 35 lakh barrels of crude oil from Russia at a heavily discounted price.

Biden's administration banned oil imports from, Russia to the US. The European Union issued sanctions against some companies but refrained from banning the purchase of oil from Russia.

Also Read | Why so many countries want to sit out the new Cold War

Puri said that India and Russia were holding discussions on several other issues to remove the hurdles in the way to import oil from the sanction-hit nation, including insurance, freight and payment arrangement.

Delhi has been treading cautiously on Russias build-up against Ukraine over the past few weeks, notwithstanding pressure from the US and other western nations. Just hours before Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, India reiterated at an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council that it was in favour of urgent de-escalation of tension and sustained and focused diplomatic efforts to bridge divergent interests.

But even after Putin announced the launch of military operations in Ukraine, New Delhi did not condemn the move  ostensibly in view of decades-old strategic partnership between India and Russia and India's continued dependence on military hardware from Russia.

India has also been abstaining from voting on resolutions sponsored or supported by the US and other western nations at the United Nations Security Council and the General Assembly against Russia.

New Delhi also rejected the US bid to draw a parallel between China's aggression against India and Russia's military operations in Ukraine.

Dr Ami Bera, an Indian-American member of the US Congress, of late opposed to India contemplating buying oil from Russia at a discounted rate.

If reports are accurate and India makes this decision to buy Russian oil at a discounted price, New Delhi would be choosing to side with Vladimir Putin at a pivotal moment in history when countries across the world are united in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russia's deadly invasion, said Bera, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party's lawmaker said.

"As the world's largest democracy and as a leader of the Quad, India has a responsibility to ensure its actions do not directly or indirectly support Putin and his invasion," Bera said in a statement.

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NATO allies refused Wednesday to back a Polish call for the alliance to send an armed peace mission to Ukraine, but vowed to keep supplying arms despite threats from Moscow.

Poland's Vice Premier, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, suggested a peacekeeping deployment in Ukraine to provide humanitarian aid during a visit to Kyiv on Tuesday.

But NATO defence ministers were wary over the idea as they arrived in Brussels for urgent talks on Russia's war against its neighbour.

"I'm afraid we're still in too early stages to talk about that," said Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren.

"First we have to have a ceasefire. We have to see a withdrawal from Russia. There has to be some kind of agreement between Ukraine and Russia, and I think the talks are still going on."

Follow live updates of Russia-Ukraine crisis here

She added: "It's always good to think about what comes after that, but first, we need to achieve that."

Estonian Defence Minister Kalle Laanet said that a proposed peacekeeping mission was "one of the possibilities and, of course, we have to look to all the possibilities which can help Ukraine".

But he said a deployment would need the backing of the United Nations Security Council where Russia holds a veto.

Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace said he would need to "look at the details first before making any decisions about what happens".

NATO has rebuffed pleas from Ukraine to intervene in the conflict, including imposing a no-fly zone to help halt Russian bombings.

The US-led alliance says its direct involvement in non-member state Ukraine could spark a confrontation with Russia that may spill over into nuclear war.

NATO allies have instead been sending weapons to help Ukrainian forces to defend their country, especially vitally needed portable anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems.

Moscow has warned that any deliveries are legitimate targets for its military to strike.

But NATO defence ministers insisted they would keep arms flowing to Ukraine.

"We support their ability to defend themselves and we'll continue to support them going forward," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.

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Haider Ali dabs a brush with an iridescent glob of paint and gets to work on a pair of sparkling white trainers -- his latest canvas for a carnival of colour celebrating Pakistani culture.

Pakistan's lorries are renowned for "truck art": candy-coloured murals depicting South Asian animals, celebrities and religious icons.

The tradition transforms the highways and cities into kaleidoscopic processions. And now Ali -- a veteran truck artist -- has transposed the painting onto sneakers.

"A client came to me from the US asking me to paint shoes," he explained.

"I told him an exorbitant fee to discourage him but he agreed, so I decided to get on with it."

He labours on each pair for up to four days, charging select clients $400 for a set featuring bespoke patterns and motifs. Since he started painting trainers in January, he has dispatched eight pairs -- to places in Pakistan and abroad -- with new orders arriving every four days after a surge of social media interest.

"The ideas keep coming to me," the 42-year-old mused.

"It's in human nature to decorate ourselves and the things around us."

Cross-legged in his Karachi rooftop studio, he flips a pair of high-top Nikes to reveal the image of a luminous pink hawk and a gazing yellow eye, framed by hypnotic bulbous fringes. Another pair ready for shipping bears a shimmering peacock.

Some say the practice of adorning trucks began in the 1940s when hauliers crafted vibrant logos communicating their brand identity to a largely illiterate public. Others claim the artistic one-upmanship began with bus drivers competing to lure passengers.

Today, the trade is one of Pakistan's most famous cultural exports, cutting against the country's more austere reputation for social conservatism.

Ali comes from a family of truck artists, who eked out a living at the roadside yards where drivers eagerly surrender slim pay packets to decorate their vehicles.

Strolling through the Yusuf Goth truck yard, his tinted glasses and slight swagger lend him an air of celebrity. "I get in the zone when I feel a connection to the art," he said. "If I pause, the ideas stop flowing." He came to fame outside Pakistan when his work was exhibited at the US Smithsonian Museum in 2002, helping him hone a reputation as an international ambassador for truck art. He has applied his craft to a plane, a VW Beetle, and even a woman's body at the Burning Man festival in the United States.

Ali's cottage industry offers numerous advantages. He is stowed away from the din of the roadside yards, and his fashion clients give him full creative freedom, unlike truck drivers who peer over his shoulder. But as with trucks, the decoration on shoes will not last forever.

After three or four years, it will chafe, crack and fade -- offering a fresh canvas for yet more artwork.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the US Congress on the Ukraine situation, seeking further help to stop the Russian machinery. Around 20,000 people were also evacuated from Mariupol on Tuesday through a humanitarian corridor. The southwestern city has been subject to relentless shelling by Russian forces. Meanwhile, the US approved $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine and may send an additional $800 million. Stay tuned to DH for live updates.
More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since Russia invaded on February 24, according to United Nations data, but the United States has only admitted several hundred Ukrainian refugees so far, leaving some critics questioning US government policy.

Why hasn't the US taken in more Ukranian refugees?

US President Joe Biden and his top officials have said the United States stands ready to accept refugees if needed, but the administration has repeatedly signaled that Europe should be the primary destination for Ukrainians.

"We're going to welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms if, in fact, they come all the way here," Biden said on March 11 during a meeting of fellow Democrats in Philadelphia.

Also Read  Peace talks more 'realistic', says Ukraine president; Biden to visit NATO

Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki have made similar comments. Psaki said on March 10 that the administration believes the "vast majority" of refugees will want to remain in neighboring countries where many have family, friends and former employers.

The US State Department has said that it will work with the United Nations to bring refugees to the United States in the event Ukrainian refugees lack protection in Europe, "bearing in mind that resettlement to the United States is not a quick process."

Refugee resettlement can take years, though the Biden administration sped up the process for Afghans following the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan last August. Lessons from that experience could help expedite the resettlement of other refugees, three US officials told Reuters.

Who is calling for more refugee admissions?

A group of more than three dozen Democratic lawmakers urged Biden in a March 11 letter to increase refugee admissions and allow Ukrainians with family members in the United States to enter faster through a temporary mechanism known as "humanitarian parole."

Representative Raul Ruiz, a physician trained in emergency medicine and chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which wrote the letter, traveled to the Poland-Ukraine border earlier this month as part of a delegation of Democrats and Republicans.

"The crisis could overwhelm the countries currently hosting many of the Ukrainian refugees, and the United States must lead in the effort to assist these countries in helping the vulnerable escape war," he wrote in the letter to Biden.

Representative Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Indiana and Ukrainian immigrant, was in the delegation and told Fox News that the humanitarian response cannot be neighbor Poland's "problem alone."

Also Read | Deadly blasts rattle Kyiv; talks with Russia to resume

The urgency of the crisis was underscored by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's wife Olena Zelenska, who told ABC News she was calling on American women to support Ukrainian women and children seeking refuge.

A coalition of more than two dozen Jewish-American organisations also pressed Biden last week to increase admissions of Ukrainian refugees, saying that "our community knows painfully too well what happens when America shuts its doors to refugees."

Could the US accept more Ukranian refugees?

No data is publicly available yet for March although the United States admitted only 514 Ukrainian refugees in January and February during Russia's build-up to the war, according to US State Department data.

Biden set the overall refugee ceiling for this year at 125,000 after his predecessor Donald Trump, a Republican, slashed admissions to a record-low 15,000, which gutted the program and led to processing delays already worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Biden has set aside 10,000 of the 125,000 refugee slots for people from Europe and Central Asia, which encompasses Ukraine, but that allotment can be expanded if needed, and is expediting certain cases.

What happens to Ukranians who try to enter the US from Mexico?

Thousands of Ukrainians and Russians have been traveling to the US-Mexico border to seek asylum, a trend that could accelerate as the humanitarian crisis worsens, Reuters reported earlier this month.

During the first five months of this fiscal year, which began last October, US authorities at the southwest border encountered about 1,300 Ukrainians, mostly at ports of entry, compared to about 680 for all of the last fiscal year.

Most Ukrainians have been allowed into the United States to pursue their immigration cases, unlike migrants from other countries who are often expelled to Mexico or other countries under a pandemic-era order known as Title 42.

Anecdotal reports have surfaced, however, of a handful of Ukrainians arriving at the southwest border in recent days and being refused entry.

If the US isn't accepting many Ukranion refugees, what is it doing?

The US government is devoting significant economic aid to assist the European countries receiving refugees.

Biden signed into law a spending bill on Tuesday that provides $13.6 billion to help Ukraine and European allies, including about $4 billion to aid people fleeing.

The US government also announced earlier this month that it will grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to an estimated 75,000 Ukrainians already in the United States.

The status will offer them deportation relief and work permits for 18 months and can be renewed at the end of that period, but will not apply to people who arrived after March 1.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has changed his name on Twitter to "Elona Muska after his challenge to fight Russian president Vladimir Putin grabbed the attention of Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Chechen Republic.

In a statement on Telegram, which was shared by the Tesla and Space X chief executive, the Chechen leader cautioned him against seeking out a challenge with the Russian president, reports The Independent.

"Elon Musk, a word of advice: Don't measure strength against that of Putin's," wrote Kadyrov.

Also Read | Elon Musk challenges Putin to fight, with Ukraine as the prize

"Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin's middle name) will look unsportsmanlike when he beats the hell out of you, a much weaker opponent. Therefore you will need to pump up those muscles in order to change from the gentle (effeminate) Elona into the brutal Elon you need to be. I propose training at one of several centres in the Chechen Republic," Kadyrov added.

Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage. If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed. Elona  Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022

He then offered Musk training in three Chechan institutes: The Russian Special Forces University, the Akhmat Fight Club and the Grozny Chechen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company.

"You will return from the Chechen Republic a completely different person Elona, that is, Elon," he said.

"Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage," Musk, in response, wrote on Twitter.

"If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed," Musk added and signed off the message as "Elona".

On Monday, Musk had challenged the Russian president to a "single combat" fight over his invasion of Ukraine.

He had tagged the official Kremlin Twitter account in one of the posts, asking in Russian whether it would "agree to this fight". He is yet to receive any official response from the Russian government.

Musk has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, both on his Twitter feed and through his companies. He has also mocked Russian officials on social media, as well as providing Starlink space internet equipment to Ukraine.

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An Irish cameraman for Fox News and a Ukrainian working as a producer for the US television network have been killed in fighting near Kyiv, Fox News said Tuesday.

Cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova died and correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded when their vehicle was struck Monday by incoming fire in Horenka, outside the capital.

Hall, a Briton who works as the network's State Department correspondent, remains hospitalized in Ukraine, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said.

Also read: Deadly blasts rattle Kyiv; talks with Russia to resume

Zakrzewski, who was based in London, had been working in Ukraine since February.

"Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us," Scott said. "His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched."

Fox News said he had played a "key role" in getting the network's Afghan freelance associates and their families out of the country after the US withdrawal.

It also said he was given an "Unsung Hero" award at the company's annual employee Spotlight Awards in December.

Interactive | How many Ukrainian refugees are seeking refuge and where?

Scott also paid tribute to Kuvshynova, 24, saying she had earned a reputation for being "hard-working, funny, kind and brave" while working with the Fox crew to cover the conflict.

"Her dream was to connect people around the world and tell their stories and she fulfilled that through her journalism," Scott said, adding confirmation of her death had been delayed out of respect for her family.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he was "deeply disturbed and saddened" by the deaths of Zakrzewski, who had Irish nationality, and his colleague.

"My thoughts are with their families, friends and fellow journalists," Martin said on Twitter. "We condemn this indiscriminate and immoral war by Russia on Ukraine."

Scott Griffen, deputy director of the International Press Institute, said the journalists had "bravely risked their lives to make sure the world understood the true horror of what is happening in Ukraine."

"We renew our call on military forces to do everything in their power to ensure the safety of journalists, whose work is essential to documenting this war," he said.

UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay, in a press statement, echoed the call for journalists to "never be targeted," and for "international humanitarian norms" to be respected.

On Sunday, a US journalist was shot dead and another wounded in Irpin, a frontline suburb of Kyiv that has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Video documentary maker Brent Renaud, 50, was working for Time Studios on a project about global refugee issues.

The International Federation of Journalists identified the wounded journalist as American photographer Juan Arredondo.

A Ukrainian who had been in the same car as the Americans was also wounded, according to a medic at the scene.

According to Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights chief, at least two other Ukrainian journalists have also been killed.

Evgeny Sakun died in a Russian strike on a Kyiv television tower and Viktor Dudar died in fighting close to the southern port city of Mykolaiv, Denisova said on Telegram.

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The Ukrainian authorities accused Russian forces of firing artillery at a convoy of civilians fleeing the city of Mariupol on Wednesday, wounding at least five people including a child on their way to the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Reuters could not independently verify the allegations. Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.

Also Read | World Court orders Russia to cease military operations in Ukraine

The governor of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region shared photos and videos of the aftermath of the alleged attack that showed the blackened shell of a white car. Reuters could not immediately confirm their authenticity.

"Heavy artillery of the enemy forces fired on a convoy of civilians moving along the highway towards Zaporizhzhia," said governor Oleksandr Starukh in an online post.

In a separate statement, Ukraine's military also reported the strike, saying work was underway to confirm the number of casualties. It also shared a photo of a child it said was wounded in the attack.

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A popular destination for grilled and frozen treats is for sale in Williams Township.

The Canalside Cup, a longstanding walk-up restaurant at 1610 S. Delaware Drive, is in transition as current ownership looks to sell the business, according to a message posted Wednesday morning on the eaterys Facebook page.

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The roadside food stand, operating spring through fall with shaded picnic tables along the Delaware Canal, is known for its more than 50 varieties of soft-serve ice cream, including noteworthy flavors such as apricot, black raspberry, creme de menthe, maplenut, peanut butter, pistachio and teaberry, which are mixed on-site.

Other menu highlights include other frozen treats such as hard ice cream, milkshakes, sundaes and water ice, along with savory selections such as burgers, cheesesteaks, gyros, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, fried shrimp platters, pierogies and fries.

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Owner Deb Kozik has been operating the business for 17 years on South Delaware Drive, also known as Route 611, which was damaged by Hurricane Ida last summer.

Business Buzz Daily The daily update for the Lehigh Valley business person. >

A portion of the roadway, between Browns Drive south and Raubsville Road, reopened in early March after six months of being closed and negatively impacting businesses along the normally well-traveled stretch. The Canalside Cup was situated near the northern end of the closure.

As I sit here with tears rolling down my cheeks and a lump in my throat, its time for the next page to turn, in the next chapter in my familys life and my own, Kozik writes in the Facebook message. I had full intentions of opening The Canalside Cup on schedule this year, but after many obstacles that have surfaced, its time for me to hand over the reins to a new owner.

As of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Facebook announcement had garnered more than 300 reactions, 80 shares and 70 comments, mostly from longtime customers extending warm wishes and expressing hope for a new owner.

So sorry to hear you are having problems and going through a bad time, one person wrote. Best wishes to you and your family. We will miss you. Hopefully you will find another owner as wonderful as you.

My little ones and I just discovered you during these crazy times, it was such a pleasure to sit at those picnic benches and enjoy ice cream outside, another person commented. I do hope you find wonderful new buyers! Its such a gem of a spot! Best wishes to you!

Individuals interested in purchasing the business are asked to message Kozik through the business Facebook page.

We loved being a part of the Williams Township community and being able to employ many over the past 17 years, the post continues. Thank you for all your support and generosity for making The Canalside Cup what was, is, and hopefully what it will continue to be.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cited Pearl Harbor and the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, on Wednesday as he appealed to the US Congress to do more to help Ukraine's fight against Russia, but acknowledged the no-fly zone he has sought to close the sky over his country may not happen.

Livestreamed into the Capitol complex, Zelenskyy said the US must sanction Russian lawmakers and block imports, and he showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers an emotional video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war.

We need you right now, Zelenskyy said, adding, "I call on you to do more.

Also Read | European leaders return safely after Kyiv visit amid attacks

In urging a steeper economic hit to the Russians, he said: Peace is more important than income. Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.

I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, he told them.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy is using the world's leading legislative bodies as a stage to implore allied leaders to stop the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country. It has also put Zelenskyy at odds with President Joe Biden, whose administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighbouring Poland as the US seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Instead, Biden will deliver his own address following Zelenskyy's speech, in which he is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official. That would bring the total announced in the last week alone to USD 1 billion. It includes money for anti-armour and air-defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and speak on the condition of anonymity.

Also Read | Will the Ukraine war end the age of populism?

Appearing in his now-trademark army green T-shirt as he appeals to world leaders, Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many views as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump's first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelenskyy spoke on the giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamouring for military aid to Ukraine.

He thanked the American people saying Ukraine is grateful for the outpouring of support, and Biden in particular, even as he urged Biden to use his office to do more.

"You are the leader of the nation. I wish you be the leader of the world," he said Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.

Also Read  Ukraine war censorship exposes Vladimir Putin's leaky internet controls

Invoking Shakespeare's hero last week, Zelenskyy asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is to be or not to be. On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine's membership  and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

Biden has insisted there will be no US troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyy's relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

US defence officials say they have been puzzled by Zelenskyy's demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isn't often flying the planes it has now while making good use of other weapons the West is providing, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.

Also Read  In Russia-Ukraine conflict, an opportunity for India

The Biden administration is looking to send Ukraine more of what's been working well, according to an official who was not authorized to comment publicly and speak on the condition of anonymity.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armour systems, an unmanned aerial system tracking radars; grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armour, helmets, and other tactical gear, the official said.

Even though Zelenskyy and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

This won't be the first time he has appealed directly to members of the House and Senate, who have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelenskyy delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

Also Read | Mariupol evacuation an 'open question' on March 16: Ukrainian deputy PM

Congress has already approved $ 13.6 billion in the military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelenskyy asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week. It was in that call that Zelenskyy asked to address the US Congress, something the Democratic leader readily agreed to.

The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine, said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

Zelenskyy's next stop could be Spain. The speaker of Spain's Congress of Deputies has invited the Ukrainian president to address Spanish lawmakers via video link.

In a letter to Zelenskyy, Speaker Meritxell Batet wrote that the address will be a magnificent opportunity for the chamber, all Spanish people and the thousands of Ukrainians living in Spain to listen to your message and express our firmest support.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the leaders of three NATO-member countries who traveled into the war-torn capital of Ukraine for an extraordinary meeting Tuesday and urged others to do the same.

The leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia who traveled to Kyiv fear nothing, Zelenskyy said after the meeting, adding, I am sure that with such friends, with such countries, with such neighbors and partners, we will really be able to win.

The leaders discussed not only increasing sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, which began Feb. 24, but also plans to rebuild our country after the end of hostilities, Zelenskyys office said, projecting an air of confidence despite a brutal campaign that has already driven more than 2 million Ukrainians to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

Zelenskyy has sought to rally international support through nightly videos that he posts on social media, as well as virtual meetings with world leaders  including a speech to US lawmakers Wednesday.

Also Read  Peace talks more 'realistic', says Ukraine president; Biden to visit NATO

But Tuesdays meeting in Kyiv, which Russian forces have targeted, was a rare, in-person gathering for Zelenskyy and outside leaders. At least one attendee wore a green protective vest while sitting at the table with Zelenskyy, according to a photograph posted on the presidents official website.

Zelenskyy also invited other world leaders to join him in Kyiv, and once again pressed Western leaders to enforce a no-fly zone over the country, which they have resisted out of concerns of being drawn into a direct conflict with Russia.

I invite all friends of Ukraine to visit Kyiv, Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on his official Telegram channel. It can be dangerous here. Because our sky is not yet closed to Russian missiles and planes.

He add: You know for sure that the eyes of all the people of the world are now focused on our capital, on Ukrainians.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday called for a film on the Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed after being run over by a vehicle in which union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra was present in October last year, on the lines of The Kashmir Files.

Speaking to reporters in Sitapur, Akhilesh also said that his party had registered a "moral victory" if not an electoral victory in the recently concluded assembly polls. "If Kashmir Files can be made then so can Lakhimpur Files... the people should know about the violence in Lakhimpur Kheri also," he said.

Akhilesh, whose party managed to increase its seats from 47 in 2017 polls to 111 in the recent polls, said that the seats of the BJP had decreased. "It's a moral victory for us," he added.

Also Read  Centre weaponising pain of Kashmiri Pandits by promoting Kashmir Files, says Mehbooba

The SP leader said that the BJP government would still need to answer to the real issues like rising prices and joblessness. "We will continue to seek answers to these questions from the BJP," he said.

Eight people, including four farmers and a local scribe, were killed in the violence at Tikonia in the district in October last year when hundreds of farmers held protests against Ajay Mishra over the latter's remarks threatening them of dire consequences if they continued to oppose the new farm laws.

The incident had triggered nationwide outrage and the opposition parties had demanded the sacking of AjaiyMishra from the union cabinet. Ashish Mishra, who was later arrested by the police, was last month granted bail by the Allahabad High Court.

The BJP was able to win all the seats in the district in the recent polls contrary to the perception that its prospects could be hit owing to the killing of the farmers.

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The sitting CMs of Goa and Manipur, Pramod Sawant and Biren Singh are likely to get second terms after the Bharatiya Janata Party was voted back to power in their respective states.

Both Sawant and Singh met prime minister Narendra Modi, as well as party president JP Nadda on Wednesday at the Parliament. BJP leaders said that their names were finalised.

In an indication to the development, PM Modi took to twitter to tweet about his meeting with both the CMs.

Met @DrPramodPSawant and the team of @BJP4Goa. Our party is grateful to the people of Goa for blessing us yet again with the mandate to serve the state. We will keep working for Goas progress in the times to come, Modi tweeted after meeting Sawant.

Met Shri @NBirenSingh Ji and congratulated him on @BJP4Manipurs stupendous victory in the recently concluded Assembly Polls. Our Party is committed to working even harder to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Manipur, read a similar tweet after Modi met Singh.

Singh, who moved to the BJP from Congress in 2016, led the BJP to victory a second time with 32 seats in the 60-member assembly. Naga Peoples Front and National Peoples Party have said that their respective five and seven MLAs will ally with the BJP if the saffron party wants. The MLAs were sworn in on Tuesday, and BJP MLA Sorokhaibam Rajen Singh was named the protem speaker.

Sawant took over the mantle of the CM after the passing away of former Goa CM Manohar Parikkar in 2019. The BJP won 20 of the 40 seats in Goa, and the BJP had declared union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan as the observers to Goa, to help in the selection of Goa chief minister.

The party, however, is facing an acid test in the hill state of Uttarakhand where the sitting chief minister Pushkar Dhami lost from the Khatima seat. Senior marty leaders including Nadda and party general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh on Wednesday held a long meeting with Dhami and other party leaders from the state including BJP media chief and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni, partys Uttarakhand poll incharge Prahlad Joshi and state party president Madan Kaushik. The meeting, sources said, ran into two and a half hours.

The party is yet to take a final call, and party sources said that swearing in of the governments in the four states will take place after Holi.

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The CBI has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam against former Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.

The CBI filed the charge sheet in a special court in Delhi after getting the nod from the government to prosecute Sharma, who was the defence secretary between 2011 and 2013 before being appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The central probe agency also named the then Air Vice Marshal Jasbir Singh Panesar (now retired), Deputy Chief Test Pilot S A Kunte, the then Wing Commander Thomas Mathew and Group Captain N Santosh, they said. Kunte and Santosh retired as air commodores.

The case pertains to alleged bribery to swing a deal to procure 12 VVIP helicopters in favour of AgustaWestland, which was ineligible as its helicopters did not meet the 6,000-metre operational ceiling parameter set by the Indian Air Force.

Also Read  Govt withdraws ban on Italian defence firm Leonardo SpA

The need for new helicopters to ferry VVIPsthe president, the prime minister, the vice president and the defence ministerwas felt in 1999 when a proposal was moved to find an alternative to the IAF's Soviet-era Mi8s.

The CBI has accused then IAF Chief S P Tyagi of recommending a reduction in the operational ceiling of the helicopters from 6,000 metres to 4,500 metres, which brought AgustaWestland into the race, the CBI has alleged. The IAF was strongly opposed to the changes but when Tyagi became the chief, he recommended it, the agency has alleged.

This, according to the CBI, was allegedly done at the behest of Finmeccanica and AgustaWestland top executives who engaged the services of three middlemenChristian Michel, Guido Haschke and Carlos Gerosawho allegedly paid bribes to Tyagi and his cousins Rajiv, Sandeep and Julie.

The agency has alleged that Michel's firms received about 42.27 million euros, approximately seven per cent of the deal amount, from the companies to swing the Rs 3,600-crore deal in their favour. The bribes were allegedly routed through companies of Michel and an advocate, Gautam Khaitan, in the form of multiple contracts through layered transactions to camouflage them.

The first charge sheet in the case was filed in September 2017 naming former IAF chief Tyagi and others. It was followed by another charge sheet in September 2020 against Michel and others.

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The aggressive manner in which the Centre is promoting The Kashmir Files film and weaponising the pain of Kashmiri Pandits makes its ill intention obvious, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said on Wednesday.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief said instead of healing old wounds and creating a conducive atmosphere between the two communities, the Centre is deliberately tearing them apart.

Also read: The Kashmir Files to make way for James in most theatres

The manner in which GOI (government of India) is aggressively promoting Kashmir Files & is weaponising pain of Kashmiri Pandits makes their ill intention obvious, Mehbooba wrote on Twitter.

Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in the 1990s.

It stars Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi among others.

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The construction of two 700 MW nuclear power units at Kaiga in north Karnataka is likely to start next year with the Department of Atomic Energy officials informing the lawmakers that Kaiga 5 and 6 may witness the first pour of concrete in 2023.

The two new units at Kaiga would mark the beginning of construction in ten 700 MW nuclear power units that were approved by the Union Cabinet in 2017 in a fleet mode.

Kaiga would be followed by first pour of concrete at Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojana Units - 3 and 4 at Gorakhpur in Haryana and four such units at Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan in 2024 followed by two units at Chutka in Madhya Pradesh in 2025. All are 700 MW units  the biggest home made nuclear reactors.

Construction of ten reactors in fleet mode at a cost of Rs 1,05,000 crore was approved by the Union government in June 2017. The purpose of the fleet mode clearance was to carry out parallel pre-project activities so that construction can start at once as soon as all the ground work is completed at any of the sites.

In its report tabled in the Parliament earlier this week, the Standing Committee on Science and Technology said moving of reactors from pre-project stage (including excavation) to under construction stage is marked by placement of first pour of concrete (FPC) and based on the present status of projects, the FPC of Kaiga 5 and 6 would be expected in 2023.

While the land is available at Kaiga, the environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change as well as wild life clearances have been obtained. The site consent from Atomic Energy Regulatory Board has also come and excavation consent is at an advanced stage of review at AERB.

India presently has 22 nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 6,780 MW in operation. One reactor, a 700 MW unit at Kakrapar near Surat was connected to the grid on January 10, 2021. But even after one year, the unit is not generating commercial electricity.

Officials at Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited didnt respond to DH queries on why KAPP-3 wasnt producing commercial electricity. Department of Atomic Energy Secretary K N Vyas in January said that the data from KAPP-3 was under AERB review.

The NPCIL officials also didn't answer questions on why the construction of Rs 20,594 crore GHAVP 1 and 2 - the first two 700 MW units at Haryana - remained stalled.

All the ten nuclear reactors are to be completed by 2031.

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Assam minister Atul Bora on Wednesday informed the assembly that the government is taking various steps for the resolution of boundary disputes with the neighbouring states.

Besides taking to legal recourse in some cases, discussions are being held between the states, he said.

In reply to a written question by Leader of Opposition Debabrata Saikia of the Congress, Bora, the border protection and development minister, said that talks at various levels, including with the chief ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland, have taken place in the last five years.

The construction of roads, buildings and border outposts, wherever necessary, has been taken up in the last five years, he said.

In the case of the dispute with Nagaland, Bora said that hearing in the original suit no. 2 of 1988 before the Supreme Court filed by Assam is progressing and summoning of witnesses from Assam side is almost over. Once it is completed, witnesses from Nagaland will be examined, he said.

In the original suit no. 1 of 1989 before the apex court in the case against Arunachal Pradesh, the examination of witnesses from Assam has been completed, Bora said.

There are no cases in the Supreme Court regarding the border disputes with Mizoram and Meghalaya, the minister said.

He said that 58,945.56 hectares of forest land and 281.94 hectares of revenue land of Assam have been encroached by Nagaland.

Regarding recommendations of the regional committees formed by Assam and Meghalaya to propose a solution for six points of difference between the two states, Bora said the opinion and willingness of the border residents have been taken into consideration, along with other factors, before coming up with the reports.

In reply to another unstarred question by Congress MLA Bharat Chandra Narah, the minister said the chief ministers of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh held a meeting here on January 24 this year for "harmonious resolution of the boundary dispute through negotiation outside the court".

Replying to a query by BJP legislator Dharmeswar Konwar, Bora said no steps are being taken at the moment for out-of-court settlement of the border row with Nagaland.

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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari Wednesday expressed optimism about the adoption of electric and alternative fuel-powered vehicles, saying the scenario will change in the next five years.

Replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister stated that sales of petrol and diesel vehicles will fall by the day, while that of electric and alternate fuel-powered vehicles will increase. The minister, however, refrained from fixing a target for alternative fuel and electric vehicles. "It (alternate fuels and electric vehicle) should be natural choice of the consumers...we don't want to commit (or fix any target for EV)," Gadkari said.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had asked the minister to fix a target in terms of the proportion of electric vehicles (EV) by a particular year for a focussed approach in the direction.

"Total game will be changed in next three years. Sales of petrol and diesel vehicles will reduce day by day. Alternate fuel and electric vehicle sales will increase. After five years total scenario will change," Gadkari replied.

Also Read  Gadkari 'dreams' of Delhi-Jaipur electric highway

He cited an example that if a customer has to choose between an EV and a petrol car where the cost is the same at Rs 15 lakh, with a fuel cost of Rs 50,000 (petrol) and Rs 2,000 (for EV), then one would go for a more economical option.

The minister dismissed the issue of lack of EV charging infrastructure and stated that the day will come in a year when EV charging arrangements will be everywhere including in all offices. "I never understand this (issue of shortage of EV charging infra). There is a lot of discussion... NHAI is making 650 charging stations. Every 40 km (on highway) with roadside amenities."

He also told the House that scooter and car manufacturers are providing small chargers and one can use a car for an entire day and plug it for charging in the evening at home. "It will be charged (overnight). There will not be any problem in the morning," he said.

The minister acknowledged that battery cost is a major challenge. "Presently, lithium-ion is a big challenge. We don't have lithium-ion. About 81 per cent of batteries we manufacture here in India. Now lithium-ion is available in the world. Government is in the process to acquire some mines," he stated.

He also told the House that presently crude oil imports of India are worth Rs 8 lakh crore which will rise to Rs 25 lakh crore five years down the line. "This is time for us to shift to alternate fuel, electricity, ethanol, methanol, bio CNG, green hydrogen in the interest of nation, economy, ecology and environment. We are on the path," he said.

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Union Road Transport Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that the government will soon implement a Rs 7,500-crore scheme with the help of the World Bank to reduce road accidents by rectifying black spots on national and state highways. "We will soon get cabinet approval on this scheme, which will help improve upon accident-prone and black spots on national highways and state roads," Gadkari said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.

With 1.5 lakh deaths a year, India registers the world's highest fatalities from road accidents, he said. Gadkari said that it was unfortunate that 65 per cent of those dying every year were in the 18-45 age group.

Also Read  EV sales will shoot up in five years, says Gadkari

The minister said the scheme has been implemented in Tamil Nadu with the help of the World Bank and that there has been a 50 per cent reduction in accidents and deaths. The minister pitched for creating awareness, observance of rules, and improving road engineering and automobile engineering.

He pointed out that states such as Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh have helped reduce road accidents by around 50 per cent, while in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Nagaland, accidents have increased by 47 and 40 per cent respectively.

The minister also said the record of states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra is not good and needs to improve.

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Heres a collection of the best of whats arriving on TV and streaming services this week.

Deep Water

Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas play a picture-perfect couple prone to playing mind games in Deep Water, an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel directed by Adrian Lyne. The film has been a subject of much intrigue and anticipation thanks in part to its stars short-lived relationship that was feverishly covered in the tabloids as well as its rocky release plans. Originally intended as a theatrical release, Deep Water starts streaming on Hulu on Friday. But beyond the off-screen gossip, a film directed by the man behind Fatal Attraction and Unfaithful thats based on a story from the author of The Talented Mr. Ripley and Strangers on a Train at a time when the so-called erotic thriller has all but disappeared from mainstream movies is not a hard sell.

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Before Regina Hall takes to the Oscars stage at the end of the month as one of the three co-hosts, she has a new film, Master, coming to Amazon Prime Video on Friday. (Jack Plunkett/Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)

Master

Before Regina Hall takes to the Oscars stage at the end of the month as one of the three co-hosts, she has a new film, Master, coming to Amazon Prime Video on Friday. Halls character is the head of students at an elite New England school built on a Salem-era lot. She and two other women, a Black professor and student, start experiencing visions of its haunted past. Master is the directorial debut of Mariama Diallo, who also wrote the script, and explores topics like race at a supposedly enlightened liberal arts school within a genre construct.

Windfall

Jason Segel plays a desperate man who breaks into the supposedly empty vacation house of a tech billionaire in the new Netflix film Windfall, coming to the streamer on Friday. But he gets a surprise when the owners, played by Jesse Plemons and Lily Collins, appear at the house and he has no choice but to kidnap them. The film is directed by Charlie McDowell, the son of Mary Steenburgen and Malcolm McDowell, who made a name for himself as a director with the 2014 relationship mind-bender The One I Love. Offscreen hes also married to Collins.

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Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto star in "WeCrashed," coming to Apple TV+ (Peter Kramer/AP)

WeCrashed

Series about high-flying businesses that fail to sustain their promise are all the rage (Hulus The Dropout among them), and here comes another. Apple TV+s WeCrashed, starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, is based on the podcast WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork, which promoted the concept of shared workspaces. The company grew into a multibillion-dollar global sensation over a decade, with a love story to boot, until, suddenly, its value plunged. Kyle Marvin, America Ferrera and O-T Fagbenle also star in the eight-episode series, with the first three episodes out Friday and the rest arriving weekly.

The Julia Child Challenge

The great Julia Child has inspired movies, books, a classic Saturday Night Live sketch  and now a TV competition series. The Julia Child Challenge gives eight home cooks and fans of the late cookbook author and TV host the chance to prove their skills. Theyll work in a kitchen that replicates Childs, with the addition of an oversized TV screen showing clips of her in action. Rotating judges including Dorie Greenspan, Francis Lam and Jacques Pepin will decide who gets a trip to France to study at Le Cordon Bleu. The series debuts Monday on Food Network and streams on discovery+.

Welcome to Flatch

Sure, you can get your mockumentary series fix by watching reruns of The Office or Parks and Recreation. But how about giving Welcome to Flatch a try? The series, debuting Thursday on FOX, has the right pedigree, produced by Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City) and Paul Feig (The Office). The premise: A film crew intent on digging into the lives of young, small-town Americans lands in Flatch, where eccentricity is the norm. That includes cousins Kelly (newcomer Holmes) and Shrub Mallet (Sam Straley). Seann William Scott co-stars as Father Joe, whos looking for love.

AP writers Lynn Elber and Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.
By Sudhi Ranjan Sen and Faseeh Mangi

An accidental missile fired by India last week prompted Pakistan to prepare a retaliatory strike, people familiar with the matter said, showing how close the nuclear-armed neighbours came to blows over a potentially disastrous mistake.

Pakistan had prepared to launch a similar missile to strike India but held back because an initial assessment indicated something was amiss, people familiar with the matter said. The Indian missile ended up damaging some residential property but caused no casualties.

The Indian Air Force fired the BrahMos medium-range cruise missile on March 9 from the garrison town of Ambala, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital New Delhi, according to people familiar with the matter in India. The mishap occurred due to human and technical errors during a routine exercise to check systems capable of taking offensive action in the war, the people said.

Also Read | Missile firing: Act to restore Indias credibility

Still, after the launch India didnt use the direct hotline between the top army commanders on both sides to inform Pakistan, the people said, asking not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the information. Instead, Air Force officials moved to shut down the missile systems to avoid any further launches, they said.

Pakistan held a briefing to publicize the incident a day later after failing to hear an explanation from India, the people said. India finally offered a response Friday following the Pakistani protest over the launch.

Pakistans Air Force said it tracked the flight path of the missile from the northern Indian town of Sirsa to its landing spot in Mian Channu city in Pakistans Punjab province, military spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar told reporters in Rawalpindi, home to the countrys military headquarters.

While all cruise missiles have designated targets, the one fired didnt arm itself because it failed to reach the intended destination, the people said. The Indian Air Force is currently reviewing what went wrong as well as any changes to standard operating procedures for missile launches, the people said.

The Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Defense Ministry didnt respond to requests for comment. The Pakistan Army and Foreign Ministry also didnt immediately respond to queries.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said an inquiry would reveal the exact reasons that led to the accidental launch. India gives utmost priority to the safety and security of its missile systems and any gap revealed by the probe will be addressed, he said.

Also Read | Pakistan moves UN demanding joint probe into accidental missile firing by India

'Very serious'

In a statement over the weekend, Pakistan called on the international community to take serious notice of this incident of grave nature in a nuclearized environment.

If Pakistans Air Force didnt pick it up inside India and it was matched with an accident reaction, do people realize the implications, consequences of that, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a briefing in Islamabad on Tuesday. Thats very serious.

Indias nuclear warheads and delivery mechanisms are always kept separate in peacetime. The countrys nuclear-armed missiles are under the Strategic Forces Command headed by the prime minister, and several layers of permissions are required before they can be even moved.

Also Read: Missile misfire: What is India-Pakistan missile testing notification pact?

Relations between Hindu-dominant India and Muslim-majority Pakistan have been hostile since both gained independence from British rule in 1947. Tensions have centred on the border region of Kashmir, an area in the Himalayas claimed in full -- and ruled in part -- by both countries. Theyve fought two of their three wars over control of the region.

Tensions have been elevated since 2019 when a suicide bomber killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Prime Minister Narendra Modis government responded with Indias first airstrikes on Pakistani soil since 1971, which led to an aerial dogfight.

The countries have an agreement in place to notify each other ahead of flight tests of ballistic missiles and military exercises. That deal doesnt extend to tests of cruise missiles.

Any cruise missile flight, especially for a faster than average cruise missile, such as BrahMos, occurs very quickly, said Christopher Clary, a nonresident fellow with Stimson Centers South Asia program. Even if Pakistani air defence radars observed the missile, which is by no means clear, there would have been only a few minutes or even a few seconds to coordinate a response to the intrusion.

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Track latest updates from India and around the world here!
The Karnataka High Court has held that wearing of Hijab does not form part of essential religious practice of Islamic faith. Pronouncing its judgment in a batch of petitions over hijab controversy, a three-judge full bench of the court also held that prescription of school uniform is only a reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to.

Insofar as the challenge to the Government Order dated February 5, 2022, the court said that the state government has power to issue order and no case is made out for its invalidation.

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CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday claimed that the aggressiveness of Hindutva forces has sharpened after the BJP's victory in assembly elections in four states.

He claimed that the objective of the RSS is to rewrite the history of India and deepen communal polarisation. "Post the assembly polls, the aggressiveness of Hindutva forces has sharpened," Yechury said at a press conference at the CPI(M) state headquarters.

Claiming that the RSS is making aggressive posturing to generate a grand narrative of Indian history, he alleged that the saffron brigade's objective is to reduce the study of Indian history to that of Hindu mythology only.

Yechury pointed to the recently-released film The Kashmir Files stating that many BJP-ruled states were making the movie tax-free. The film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990.

Condemning the terrorist attacks in Kashmir over the years and the migration of Pandits from the Valley, he said that the CPI(M) was among the foremost to have worked for their rehabilitation. "The Jammu and Kashmir government has now put out that during these terrorist attacks, the number of Kashmiri Pandits killed was 89, while that of other faiths were 1,635," he said.

Also Read  Karnataka HC's hijab verdict on 'blow' to right to education sans discrimination: CPI(M)

The CPI(M) general secretary alleged that religious divides were being highlighted by the BJP and RSS to keep the attention of the people away from pressing issues of price rise of essentials and joblessness.

Noting that the repeal of the three controversial farm laws, which saw nearly a year-long protests by farmers, was only an electoral gimmick to help BJP win the assembly polls, he claimed that they are being "brought in again in a different form."

Yechury claimed that the hijab controversy has been unnecessarily created only to create a divide between the people of India. "Wearing headgear is a centuries-old custom not only due to religious reasons but owing to regional issues, due to identity reasons," he said.

Taking on the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, he alleged that it is adopting the policies of the BJP and functioning in a manner that amounts to the complete murder of democracy. "They have gone to the extent of murdering their own in order to control the local body," he said.

Also Read  Challenges to Hindutva juggernaut

He claimed that the TMC is functioning in a manner similar to that in BJP-ruled Tripura, where he alleged that the CPI(M) cadres and party offices were being attacked. "Not allowing opposition candidates to contest or file nominations and intimidation have become the standard techniques of murder of democracy in West Bengal," he said.

He said that this is a big challenge for the CPI(M) in West Bengal and the party can rise to it and defeat "this politics of terror and violence" being practised by the TMC in West Bengal and BJP in Tripura.

Yechury, who is attending the three-day 26th state conference of CPI(M) here that began on Tuesday, said that there will be lots of new faces in the new committee to be announced on Thursday.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to give a date for an urgent hearing on a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court order, that upheld the ban on wearing hijabs in classrooms as it was of the opinion that hijabs did not form part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith.

Senior advocate Sanjay Hedge, representing the petitioners, mentioned the plea before a bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana.

He said the matter was urgent as several girls had to appear for their exams.

The bench, also comprising Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli, said that others too mentioned the matter and the court would look into it.

Also Read | DH Deciphers | What is the essential religious practices test?

Hedge reiterated that exams were starting and the matter was urgent. The bench, however, responded that it needed time and would post the matter for hearing after Holi holidays.

"Give us time, we'll post the matter after vacations (Holi)," the bench said.

On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court's three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi dismissed a plea seeking permission to wear hijab in classrooms, saying prescription of uniform was a reasonable restriction.

Hours after a plea was filed in the top court by students led by Niba Naaz, contending that wearing of hijab was protected under the fundamental right to privacy, expression and conscience guaranteed under the Constitution.

Also Read | A timeline of the hijab row in Karnataka

It also claimed the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, and the rules made thereunder, do not provide for any mandatory uniform to be worn by students.

A plea filed through advocate Adeel Ahmed and Rahamathullah Kothwal said the High Court order created an unreasonable classification between the non-Muslim female students and Muslim female students and thereby was in straight violation of the concept of secularism which forms the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.

The petition filed by Mohamed Arif Jameel and others, said, "The HC's order is also in sheer violation of the Article 14, 15, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution and also violates the core principles of the International Conventions that India is a signatory to."

It also claimed the HC sought to curtail the fundamental rights of Muslim student-women by upholding the February 5 Government Order which bars Muslim women from wearing the hijab and pursue their education.

It said that the right to wear a hijab is an 'essential religious practice' and falls within the ambit of the right of expression guaranteed by Article 19 (1) (a), the right to privacy and also the Freedom of Conscience under Article 25 of the Constitution.

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Caretaker Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant has reached the national capital for final discussion about the formation of a new government in the state.

Sawant is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief J P Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior leaders, including central observer Narendra Singh Tomar and L Murugan.

A party insider said that the key agenda of Sawant's visit is consultation and discussion about the next course of action in Goa.

"Formation of the BJP government and composition of the new cabinet is the main issue for discussion during meetings," he said.

It is learnt that Goa BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade also reached the national capital to attend for the purpose.

Before declaration of the results, Sawant had met Prime Minister Modi and briefed him about party electoral chances on March 8.

While incumbent Sawant is the front runner for the post, many other aspirants are also trying their luck to become chief minister in the coastal state.

"With extra time everyone is trying to become chief minister and pushing their candidature before seniors," a party leader in Goa said.

Late Monday evening, top BJP leadership met at Prime Minister Modi's residence to discuss the formation of the party's government in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur.

The BJP has won 20 of the 40 assembly constituencies of Goa. The BJP has won in four out of five states where polls were held.

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The Opposition in Lok Sabha on Wednesday pressed for increasing the budget for maintenance of roads and stringent laws to deal with overloading of vehicles and reducing incidents of road accidents.

Initiating a debate on demand for grants of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Congress member A R Reddy said India has only one per cent of the vehicles while it accounts for 11 per cent of road accidents globally.

He said the government should increase the budget for the maintenance of roads to prevent such accidents.

He also criticised the government for not being able to attract private investments in the highways sector.

Besides, Reddy demanded that the government speed up the implementation of the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

Participating in the discussions, Kalyan Banerjee (AITC) suggested that the government should come out with stringent laws to deal with the overloading of vehicles as they create heavy traffic congestions.

A modern nation is built upon a smart and efficient transportation system, he said adding this will require measures that can address problems ranging from infrastructure challenges to governance inefficiencies.

A holistic traffic management approach is necessary for a sustainable solution and IT-enabled smart traffic management and transportation can be a game-changer for the country, he said.

"Kindly bring stringent laws under the motor vehicles act in respect of over burdening the trucks and vehicles...This is causing traffic congestion... (Bring) stringent, very stringent provisions," Banerjee said.

He also said that officers from motor vehicles departments should be on the field to stop overloading.

DMK Member G S Pon asked the government to speed up the highway projects in Tamil Nadu.

He said that the finance minister made several announcements about highways in the Budget but did not talk about the completed projects.

Jagdambika Pal (BJP) said that the government has taken a series of measures to boost the development of roads in the country.

He said that Budget allocations have jumped significantly during the Modi government as compared to that in the UPA regime.

Today India's road network is the second largest after the US in the world, he said adding there was a significant increase in capital expenditure.

Pal said during the UPA's time, per day road construction was only 11.7 km and now it has increased to over 37 km.

"This budget should be passed with voice vote," he added.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Karnataka government on a plea questioning appointment of an only Muslim community member to the post of chairman, State Minority Development Corporation since its inception, disregarding claims of other minority groups.

A bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Aniruddha Bose sought a response from the Karnataka government's Department of Minority Welfare Haj and Wakf, Chairman Karnataka State Minority Corporation and MD, Minorities Development Corporation in the matter.

The court decided to examine the plea filed by a Karnataka state Christian minority community person, Anil Antony.

The petitioner's counsel G S Mani challenged the arbitrary appointment of IAS officers as chairman of Karnataka State Minority Corporation only from the Muslim minority community right from the inception in 1986 and till date, without giving equal participation and representation of other minorities communities like Christian, Sikhs, Jain and Buddhist.

The plea challenged the validity of the High Court's order of January 18, 2021, which had dismissed the PIL in this regard.

It said this was a duty of the state government to prevent discrimination and violation of fundamental rights of other minority groups in appointment to the corporation, meant for economic and social development of such minorities.

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The assault on a woman activist of the Kerala Students' Union (KSU), the students' wing of the Congress, by the activist of CPM's student's wing, Students' Federation of India (SFI), has triggered a row in Kerala.

The state Assembly witnessed a heated debate over the issue. Safna Yakub, a KSU leader of Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram, was roughed up allegedly by SFI activists on Tuesday night following a dispute in the college campus. Video footage of the incident went viral on social media.

While the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) raised the issue in the Assembly, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Opposition leader V D Satheesan of lowering to the standards of a former youth activist.

Also Read  A history of violence: Making sense of political rage in Kerala and West Bengal

He also said that the opposite political camps were upset over SFI's growing acceptance among students. This triggered a heated debate with Satheesan accusing Vijayan of speaking like a CPM leader and accusing him of giving a licence to those unleashing violence.

The state also witnessed violent protests by KSU and Youth Congress workers over the incident. Yakub alleged that earlier also the KSU activists suffered similar attacks from the SFI. But the college authorities and the police were not taking action on their petitions.

Three KSU workers and one SFI worker suffered injuries in the clashes. Police registered separate cases in connection with the incidents.

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The Madras High Court has termed the usage of mobile phones and taking videos inside government office as "a grave misconduct," and directed the Tamil Nadu government to issue appropriate instructions regulating their use during office hours.

Justice S M Subramaniam also directed that strict action be initiated against violation of the circular/instructions in this connection.

The court's directions came while hearing into the plea by a state government official challenging her suspension for filming her colleagues during work hours that allegedly led to a dispute, leaving one person injured.

However, the Court cannot conduct enquiry in respect of such allegations, which all are to be gone into by the Disciplinary Authority at the time of enquiry. Since there were allegations and counter allegations, the competent authority has to conduct a detailed probe based on the documents and evidences available as the charges are serious in nature, the court said.

"This Court is of the considered opinion that using mobile phones by the public servants during office hours has become nowadays a normal scenario. Using mobile phones and taking videos inside the office is a grave misconduct. The officials working in the Government Departments should never be allowed to use mobile phones inside the office for their personal use," the judge noted. If any emergency call has to be attended, proper permission must be obtained from superiors to go out from the office and use mobile phones. "In all circumstances, the mobile phones must be either switched off or kept in vibration/silent mode, without causing any disturbance or nuisance to public, who all are attending the office as well as the other officials working in the office. This must be the minimum discipline to be followed in the Government Offices. Such allegations of using mobile cameras inside the office very frequently is causing disturbance and no doubt, this will disrupt the functioning of the public offices in the departments," he added.

The Government should take serious note of this and the first respondent--Secretary to Government, Health, Medical and Family Welfare Department--has to issue appropriate circular/instructions to all the government offices to ensure the mobile phones are either kept in a common cloakroom at the time of entering into the office and for emergency calls, the official numbers kept in the office are to be utilised.

"In the event of allowing the employees to use mobile phones, without any restriction inside the office or allowing them to use mobile cameras inside the office, the same will result in serious consequences, even amongst the employees and the public, who all are attending the office," the court said.

On being informed that that many public servants were using mobile phones and cameras in the government offices, the judge expressed surprise over the same, wondering "whether the employees are using mobile phones during office hours or performing their duties and responsibilities as allotted to them."

"If such indiscipline and misconduct are allowed to be continued, no doubt, they are committing the greatest sin to the public by getting tax payers' money as huge salary," he said.

In its orders, the court rejected any relief to the petitioner.

It also directed the respondents to issue appropriate circular/instructions to all the subordinate officers/officials across Tamil Nadu regulating the usage of mobile phones and mobile cameras inside the office premises during office hours.

"In the event of any violation of the Guidelines/Instructions to be formulated, strict actions are to be initiated under the relevant Tamil Nadu Government Servants' Conduct Rules, 1973," the court said.

Exceptions are to be carved out for usage of official mobile phones and telephones by the Field Officers and those authorised for such purpose, the judge added.

"The above exercise is directed to be done by the respondents 1 to 3, within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order," the judge said and disposed of the petition.

The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and The Director, Tamil Nadu State Health Transport Department were the second and third respondents, respectively.

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Allentown will host the fifth annual Pennsylvania Latino Convention this fall, organizers announced.

The convention will take place at the Renaissance Allentown Hotel from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, according to a news release. Agenda items include a Latina Womens Conference, a Latino Health Equity summit and professional development workshops.

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A news release describes the convention as a non-partisan event that aims to help public officials learn better ways to serve the community or to formulate public policy that impacts Pennsylvania Latinos.

As the states third-largest city, Allentown plays a pivotal role in the economic and political future of the commonwealth and more so during such a consequential gubernatorial and U.S. Senate election year, Norman Bristol Colon, president and founder of the convention, said in a news release.

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The conventions theme is 1 million strong, referring to the states Latino population, which is just over 1 million according to the 2020 census. Allentowns population is 54% Latino, and residents elected the citys first Latino mayor, Matt Tuerk, last year. City Council also appointed Cynthia Mota to be Allentowns first Latina council president earlier this year.

The convention has previously been held in Lancaster, Bethlehem and Reading.

Morning Call reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at 610-820-6681 and liweber@mcall.com.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Tamil Nadu government to give 50 per cent reservation in Super Speciality seats (DM/M Ch) for in-service candidates in government medical colleges in the state in the 2021-22 academic year, in terms of an order issued on November 7, 2020.

A bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai rejected a plea by Dr N Karthikeyan and others, for granting interim protection as issued by the top court for the academic year 2020-2021.

The top court said it found prima facie, difficult to accept a proposition made on behalf of the petitioners, that the Constitution bench judgement in 'Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association' case, which clearly allowed the state to provide a separate channel or source of entry or reservation for in-service candidates in postgraduate degree/diploma courses, cannot be made applicable to Super Speciality seats.

Also Read  Ensure 50% medical seats to government doctors: PMK urges Tamil Nadu government

The bench, however, clarified that the present order was being passed only on prima facie considerations and the matter would be taken up for final hearing after Holi vacations.

The state government, for its part, said on account of the non-availability of the candidates with degrees in super specialisation, as many as 49 vacancies for the posts of Professors/Associate Professors and 58 vacancies for the posts of Assistant Professors could not be filled up.

"All the candidates selected through in-service channels for the super speciality courses at the time of joining are required to execute a bond that they will serve the government till their superannuation," it said.

The state government also said most of the candidates selected through an open channel leave after serving a bond period of two years or even prior to that by paying the bond money.

The Union government, however, supported the petitioners against granting any reservation for in-service candidates in super speciality courses.

The petitioners, in their plea, submitted that there cannot be any reservation for admission in super speciality courses as per a nine-judge bench decision (1992) in Indra Sawhney (Mandal Commission) case.

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Eleven TDP members were suspended from the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for a day on Wednesday even as they moved a privilege motion against Leader of the House Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for misleading the House regarding the death of 18 people in West Godavari district.

For the third consecutive day, the Telugu Desam Party opposition legislators raised the issue regarding the deaths in the Assembly and said the Chief Minister misled the House by claiming the deaths were natural when they were in fact caused by spurious arrackThey moved a privilege motion against the Chief Minister over this and raised slogans.

Speaker T Seetaram then announced the suspension of 11 TDP MLAs for the second day in a row. On Monday, five TDP MLAs were suspended from the Assembly for the duration of the Budget session till March 25.

Also Read | TDP members suspended for disrupting house

Deputy Chief Minister K Narayana Swamy, who handles the Excise portfolio, said he would expose the TDP in the House tomorrow. I will quit politics if you could answer my charges, he said.

The Assembly then continued the discussion on the Budget after the TDP members suspension Talking to reporters outside the Assembly, the TDP members alleged that the Chief Minister spoke: "complete lies" regarding the deaths in the Jangareddygudem area of West Godavari district.

While it is clear that these people died upon consuming spurious arrack, the Chief Minister claimed the deaths were due to natural causes. This is totally misleading and hence we moved the privilege motion, they said. TDP general secretary and member of Legislative Council Nara Lokesh wondered why the police registered cases if the deaths were "natural", as claimed by the Chief Minister.

"The Chief Minister should in fact resign and order a judicial inquiry into the deaths, Lokesh said
The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the plea for interim bail of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh, who, along with others, is accused of misappropriating Rs 2,397 crore of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL) funds.

Singh had sought interim bail for a short period on humanitarian grounds for helping his ailing mother take part in the last rituals of his maternal uncle, who died on March 8 in Haryana. We are of the opinion that the presence of the accused was not a must..., said a bench of justices M R Shah and B V Neurasthenias while dismissing the plea.

The bench heard the submissions of senior lawyer Gopal Jain, appearing for the jailed accused, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of Delhi Police, and senior advocate R Basant, representing the complainant in the case.

It took note of the seriousness of the crime in which Singh is facing the charges and the pendency of another case of money laundering in which he was accused of paying a bribe to the tune of Rs 200 crore to get bail.

At the outset, the senior lawyer representing Singh said that his mother had suffered a stroke and he be granted bail on humanitarian grounds to be with her mother in the last rites of her brother.

The solicitor general said that Singh is accused of a financial scam to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore and he is a flight risk. The law officer said that as per records, it seemed that Singhs mother suffered a stroke a few years ago and sought dismissal of the interim bail plea.

Also Read  SC orders status quo on bail to ex-Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh

Earlier, the apex court had asked the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police to conclude a probe by December 15, last year in the case of misappropriating Rs 2,397 crore of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL) funds. The police had said that the investigation was at an advanced stage and sought time by the end of this month to complete the probe.

In May, the Delhi High Court cancelled Singh's bail, noting that his detention was necessary to unearth the conspiracy hatched by him" and trace the alleged siphoned off money.

The EOW recently said that it would need four more months to complete the probe in the fund embezzlement case. "How much time should it take to complete the investigation? It cannot be an unending story," the bench had observed while asking the police to give a timeline for concluding the probe.

The counsel for Singh had said that he has been in jail for the past two years and his custody is not needed for the investigation as two charge sheets have already been filed.

The high court order, cancelling the bail, was passed on a plea by Religare challenging the March 3 order of the trial court granting bail to Singh in the case registered against him by the EOW under charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust.

Singh has moved the top court against the Delhi High Court cancelling the bail granted to him by the trial court in the case.

The EOW registered an FIR in March 2019 after a complaint from Suri against Shivinder, former CMD of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), Sunil Godhwani and former CEO of RFL Kavi Arora and others, alleging that loans were taken by them while managing the firm but the money was invested in other companies.

According to the prosecution, RFL's authorised representative Suri alleged that these accused put RFL in poor financial condition by disbursing loans to entities having no financial standing and wilfully defaulted on repayments, causing it a loss of Rs 2,397 crore.

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A team bus of the Indian Premier League (IPL) parked near a five-star hotel in Mumbai was vandalised by people belonging to the transport wing of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The MNS-Vahatuk Sena was annoyed as the contract for the bus was given to a Delhi-based company instead of businessmen/transport companies from Maharashtra.

The incident took place on Tuesday night.

The Colaba police station has registered a case and five persons were arrested.

According to MNS-Vahatuk Sena President Sanjay Naik, buses from outside the state were hired for the purpose of IPL matches, depriving the locals of employment opportunities even though they can provide similar vehicles as needed.

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The world's oceans are suffocating from a lack of oxygen caused by global warming and human pollution from sewage and industrial waste, and we are running out of time to fix the problem, experts and diplomats warned on Wednesday.

At a preparatory meeting in Brasilia for the United Nations Ocean Conference in June, they stressed that saving the oceans requires solving drinking water and sanitation needs on land to stop uncontrolled dumping in the sea.

"The life of one depends on the health of the other," said Catarina de Albuquerque, head of Sanitation and Water for All, a U.N.-hosted partnership dedicated to achieving availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.

Rising water temperatures are accelerating the loss of oxygen that sustains marine life, she warned.

Besides global warming, increasing loads of nutrients from agriculture, sewage and industrial waste, including pollution from fossil fuel power generation, are speeding up the reduction of oxygen in coastal areas that become "dead zones" for fish.

Sewage and waste management are essential to save oceans from catastrophe, but governments still do not see the inter-relation with the fate of the oceans, said Albuquerque, former United Nations special rapporteur on water and sanitation.

"Coastal ecosystems have become reservoirs of wastewater and nutrients, creating vast dead zones. Plastic waste is choking the seas," Silvia Rucks, U.N. resident coordinator in Brazil, said at the meeting organized by Portugal's embassy.

The UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) will be held in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1 and will be co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya.

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Regardless of how much you love your fur babies, grooming them can sometimes feel like a task. But since your pet is not just another animal but a part of your family, you want them nurtured in the best way possible. Who doesn't want their pet's hair and nails neatly clipped, fur shampooed, and paws massaged?

Not surprisingly, it's a boom time for pet care and pet-related services. According to a ResearchAndMarkets.com report, India's pet care market is expected to hit Rs 7,500 crore by the end of 2026.

More people are becoming pet parents in India, with the trend being driven partly by the pandemic when people adopted furry companions to beat isolation blues.

An average of 600,000 pets are adopted every year, according to India International Pet Trade Fair (IIPTF).

Other reasons for the rise in pet ownership are double-income households, lifestyle changes, the rise of nuclear families and delayed parenthood. There has been a subsequent and manifold increase in the sale of commercially packaged pet foods, eye and ear care products, oral hygiene products, new apps and trainers, groomers, nutritionists, and pet food deliveries.

"The pet market is still evolving and is huge. Everyone in this industry currently is not competing with each other but are just trying to meet the huge demand," says Nishita Agarwal, Co-Founder of Papa Pawsome. This brand offers natural pet grooming products for pets.

Not just pet care stores, there are now mobile grooming parlours that you can call to give your furry friends some TLC. They are everywhere, from Furry Fairy to Wag-Ville in Bengaluru to Paw Leash in Kolkata and Wiggly Tails in New Delhi.

Papa Pawsome, in association with Pet Precious, another pet care startup offering doorstep services, launched Mumbai's first mobile grooming van for pets in December last year.

"Pet parenting is increasing at 21 per cent year on year in India, so there is immense scope of growth for the entire grooming sector," said Agarwal. This boom has bolstered the growth of several pet care startups.

Ahmedabad-based retail chain Just Dogs, a pet care startup, recently raised $7 million in an unknown funding series to create an online experience for the pet parent. Supertails, a digital platform for pet care and supplies, raised $2.6 million in July 2021 with actor Deepika Padukone as an investor. Heads Up For Tails, an omnichannel pet care company and pioneer in premium pet care since 2008, raised $37 million (Rs 277 crore) Series A funding in 2021.

Some other pet-focused startups in India include Wiggles, Collar Folk and Doggie Dabbas.

(Gurpreet Kaur is a journalist who writes about lifestyle, entertainment and culture)

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Vasudeo S Gaitonde's Painting 4, oil on canvas from 1972, is the top draw at Sotheby's upcoming Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction in New York on March 21.

It is estimated between $1.5 m and $2 m (approx. Rs 11.4 crore  Rs 15.2 crore). It will not be a surprise if it is eventually sold for more because Gaitonde has been the biggest draw at auctions for more than a decade now; an Untitled oil by this late modernist holds the record of the most expensive Indian painting at Rs 39.98 crore.

The Sotheby's auction is part of the much-anticipated spring Asian Art Week in New York, traditionally held for about a fortnight annually in March, when top auction houses, museums and galleries in the Big Apple present the best of Asian art. The chief focus of the Asian Art Week remains China, given the prime position our neighbour enjoys in the global art market.

During the same period, Christie's would be hosting the other big auction of Indian art on March 23, featuring the Mahinder and Sharad Tak Collection of Indian Art. In this auction as well, it is a Gaitonde work at the top of the table, estimated between $2 m and $3 m (approx. Rs 15.2 crore  Rs 22.9 crore).

"Like most paintings by the artist, there is a Zen aesthetic that permeates the work (Painting 4)," said Meera Menezes, known for her seminal book on the reclusive artist, titled V. S. Gaitonde: Sonata of Solitude (2016).

She adds that from the late 1960s, Gaitonde's paintings were often executed in a subdued palette. The soft neutral tones continued to dominate Gaitonde's work in the 1970s, the period when this work was made.

Born in Nagpur in 1924 and trained at Sir J J School of Art, Bombay, Gaitonde was a close associate of the Progressive Artists' Group. He won the John D Rockefeller III fellowship in 1964 and shifted to New Delhi for good in the early 1970s, where he lived till his passing in 2001.

Bhupen Khakhar (1934-2003), the Baroda artist whose work is increasingly attaining big-ticket prices at auctions, is one of the top-billed artists at the Sotheby's auction. Three of his works are on offer, of which a 1977 oil, Sheikh Shoe Mart, is the most expensive. It is estimated between $300,000  $500,000 (approx Rs 2.2 crore  Rs 3.8 crore).

An artist to watch would be the sculptor Amar Nath Sehgal (1922-2007), who has not had his due at the auctions. In a rare offering, two of his modernist works are coming up for sale at Sotheby's; Nari, a 1986 bronze by Sehgal is estimated at $24,000 - $34,000 (approx. Rs 18.38 lakh  Rs 26.04 lakh).

While the regular auction favouritesM F Husain, F N Souza, Jamini Roy, Ram Kumar, Rameshwar Brootaare present with their seminal works; an interesting addition is the Madhubani artist Baua Devi (b 1940), two of whose works are on offer. BothUntitled (Radha Krishna) and Sita Harana (Abduction of Sita)are priced at $700  $900 (approx Rs 53,000  Rs 68,900).

This sale marks the return of folk art to the auction circuit after a long while, which should augur well for India's rich variety of folk and tribal art.

Besides Indian artists, works by six Pakistani artists are also part of the auction. These are the most well-known Pakistani masters M A R Chughtai (1897-1975), Anna Molka Ahmed (1917-1994), Zubeida Agha (1922-1997), Tassaduq Sohail (1930-2017), Mansur Aye (1941-2008), and Adeela Suleman (b. 1970).

(The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist, editor and arts consultant.)

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Udupi Deputy Commissioner Kurma Rao visited Government PU College in Udupi where the hijab controversy had erupted in the last week of December.

The DC appealed to parents and students to maintain peace.

Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC will remain in effect with restrictions on processions, celebrations and protests till March 21 to avoid any untoward incident.

Also Read | Denied entry to college over hijab, girl students return home in Kalaburagi

The six girls who had approached the high court over hijab did not attend the classes on Wednesday.

All the schools and colleges in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada had remained closed on Tuesday in the wake of the High Court pronouncing judgement on hijab.

The UG internal exams at Dr P Dayananda Pai - P Sathisha Pai Government First Grade College in Carstreet in Mangaluru will resume from Thursday. Hence, the students were given leave on Wednesday. However, the PG classes resumed on Wednesday.

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Sandalwood filmmaker-actor S Narayan joined the Congress on Wednesday, in the presence of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar.

Pre-university teachers unionist Thimmaiah Purle, who was with the JD(S), also joined Congress.

Theres a long list of people waiting to join the Congress. We have to fix dates for their induction, Shivakumar said. On the possibility of some Congress leaders joining the BJP, he said, I know with whom the chief minister has spoken. I ask the BJP president to immediately induct MLAs his party is in touch with.

Shivakumar expressed confidence that the Congress was far from over in Karnataka, notwithstanding the recent election results in five states. People of the state want change. We will stand on our own feet, he said.

People are saying things like the Congress is over and that itll bite the dust. Priyanka Gandhi held over 200 meetings, which will help us with the next steps. In Punjab, we lost power because of our internal squabbles, he added.

Narayan is expected to mobilise the film industry in the Congress favour in the run-up to the 2023 Assembly elections. Purle will use his past experience of heading the pre-university teachers association to work for the party. In 2020, Purle was the JD(S) candidate for the Karnataka North East Teachers constituency election of the Legislative Council.

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December 27, 2021: Six girls of government womens PU college, Udupi launch a protest by sitting outside classrooms after college authorities prohibited them for wearing hijab and attending classes.

January 31, 2022: The girls file a writ petition in the High Court against the decision of the college administration, contending that wearing hijab is a fundamental right of Muslim women.

February 2: Hindu boys start wearing saffron stoles at few colleges in Kundapur, Udupi district.

February 3: A day after the boys wore stoles, video of a principal from government college Kundapur shutting college gates on hijab-clad students goes viral. The Kundapur college becomes the second college to ban hijab clad women from attending classes.

February 4: Bhandarkars college in Udupi becomes the first private institute to bar entry to hijab-clad girls. The students later maintain that college rules did not prohibit hijab - provided it matched the uniform, until then.

February 5: Education department issues an order mandating the government-approved uniform in schools, and uniform decided by the College Development Council in PU colleges.

February 7: Protest against hijab in college campuses spread to different parts of the state. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who was in Delhi, appeals for peace.

February 8: Bommai orders a 3-day holiday for all classes beyond ninth standard and colleges even as a video of a burkha-clad student being heckled at PES College, Mandya goes viral and the Hijab row attracts global attention.

February 9: Justice Krishna Dixit refuses to provide interim relief in the petition filed by Udupi students, refers the case to a 3-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, Justice Dixit and Justice J M Khazi.

February 11: The High Court passes an interim order prohibiting students from wearing religious clothing - hijab, saffron stoles, scarves etc. Also, Supreme Court declines urgent hearing of the issue saying it will only get involved at an appropriate time. Security beefed up in Udupi.

February 12: PU colleges ordered to remain closed till February 15.

February 17: Government says that the hijab row is restricted to only eight high schools and PU colleges.

February 18: FIR filed against 15-20 students by the principal of a private college in Tumakuru for violating prohibitory orders as government had banned protests around colleges.

February 24: HC order not applicable to turban-wearing Sikh students, says Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh.

February 25: HC concludes hearing on the case after 11 days; reserves verdict.

March 15: HC rules that wearing hijab is not essential religious practice.

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Members of Pennsylvanias congressional delegation praised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday after his virtual address to Congress.

Sen. Pat Toomey

Toomey, the Lehigh Valley Republican who is retiring from the Senate next year, said in a statement, President Zelensky and the Ukrainian peoples bravery and resolve has shown the world that Ukraine will do everything they can to stand up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. But today, President Zelensky once again made clear that the Ukrainian people need our help, including by ensuring the Russians do not receive a single penny to fund the killing of Ukrainians.

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America can lead the rest of the world in answering Zelenskys call by imposing secondary sanctions on the entirety of Russias financial sector. These sanctions would effectively prohibit foreign banks anywhere in the world, under the threat of U.S. sanctions, from making payments to Russian banks, including for oil and gas. Stopping these funds from flowing to Putins war machine is a critical lifeline for the Ukrainian people.

The American people stand with Ukraine, and we must help them as they heroically fight for their lives.

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President Zelensky and the Ukrainian peoples bravery and resolve has shown the world that Ukraine will do everything they can to stand up to Putin.  Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) March 16, 2022

Sen. Bob Casey

Democrat Casey said, I just watched @ZelenskyyUas address to Congress. He spoke clearly and eloquently about Putins brutality and outlined the support he needs from the world. The United States stands by the Ukrainian people and we will work with our allies to support their needs.

I just watched @ZelenskyyUa's address to Congress. He spoke clearly and eloquently about Putin's brutality and outlined the support he needs from the world. The United States stands by the Ukrainian people and we will work with our allies to support their needs.  Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) March 16, 2022

Rep. Susan Wild

The people of Ukraine continue to bravely fight for their home and democracy.



It was an honor to listen to @ZelenskyyUA, and I am even more determined to continue giving defensive and humanitarian support to Ukraine. https://t.co/zGh6fcdMYa  Rep. Susan Wild (@RepSusanWild) March 16, 2022

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Wild, a Democrat who represents the Lehigh Valley-based 7th District, who recently traveled with a contingent of lawmakers to Poland, said: The people of Ukraine continue to bravely fight for their home and democracy. It was an honor to listen to @ZelenskyyUa, and I am even more determined to continue giving defensive and humanitarian support to Ukraine.

Rep. Dan Meuser

Meuser, a Republican who represents the 9th District, which includes parts of Berks County and all of Carbon and Schuylkill counties, said, Congress heard a powerful message from President @ZelenskyyUa this morning. His words and the images he presented demonstrate Ukraines resilience in the face of a devastating war against innocent people. We must provide every tool we can to help Ukraine defeat Putins invasion.

Congress heard a powerful message from President @ZelenskyyUa this morning. His words and the images he presented demonstrate Ukraines resilience in the face of a devastating war against innocent people. We must provide every tool we can to help Ukraine defeat Putins invasion.  Congressman Dan Meuser (@RepMeuser) March 16, 2022

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick, a Republican who represents Bucks County in the 1st District, tweeted that he joined @foxandfriends with my colleague @RepHoulahan this morning to discuss President Zelenskyys address before Congress and the dire need to deliver additional humanitarian and defensive military resources to Ukraine.

Joined @foxandfriends with my colleague @RepHoulahan this morning to discuss President Zelenskyys address before Congress and the dire need to deliver additional humanitarian and defensive military resources to Ukraine.



Watch here https://t.co/QUIaTO84up  Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick  (@RepBrianFitz) March 16, 2022

Chrissy Houlahan

Houlahan of the 6th District, a Democrat, tweeted, President Zelenskyy delivered a powerful and sobering address not only to the Congress but also to all who value peace and democracy. We must all ask ourselves how long we can delay providing the aircraft and weapons Ukrainians need. I say we cannot delay one moment longer.

Madeleine Dean

Another Democrat, Dean, of the 4th District, tweeted that President Zelenskyys address to Congress this morning was deeply moving and very clear about what Ukraine needs. We must do all we can to support Ukrainians in the fight to protect their democracy. Slava Ukraini.

Mary Gay Scanlon

Scanlon, of the 5th District, another Democrat, tweeted Today, @ZelenskyyUa reminded us: Ukraine is not fighting just for Ukraine. His nations battle is a fight for freedom and democracy in Ukraine  and around the world. The U.S. stands with Ukraine in its pursuit of peace.

Scott Perry

Perry of the 10th District, a Republican, tweeted Inspiring message from President Zelensky  reminding us that you dont have to be a big nation, you have to be a courageous nation to remain free. To that end, Congress and @POTUS need to work TOGETHER to help Ukraine defend themselves against criminal Putin regime. #Zelensky
On March 15, 2022, the High Court of Karnataka dismissed petitions filed by a group of Muslim girls seeking permission to wear hijab (headscarf) in classrooms. The petitioners argued, unsuccessfully, that the wearing of hijab is a part of the "essential religious practice" in Islam and therefore protected under Article 25 of the Constitution. Here's a closer look at the essential religious practices test and how it is linked to Article 25:

How did the essential religious practices test come about?

Essential religious practices mean all those practices that are fundamental to a religion and not following them would result in the change of religion itself. Further, denying the essential religious practices would violate Article 25, which talks about the freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion.

Also Read | A timeline of the hijab row in Karnataka

In Tuesday's judgement, the high court said that the doctrine of essential religious practices can plausibly be traced to Dr B R Ambedkar's famous statement in the Constituent Assembly during the debates on the codification of Hindu Law: "The religious conceptions in this country are so vast that they cover every aspect of life from birth to deaththere is nothing extraordinary in saying that we ought to strive hereafter to limit the definition of religion in such a manner that we shall not extend it beyond beliefs and such rituals as may be connected with ceremonials which are essentially religious..."

Can the government curtail essential religious practices?

The government can impinge upon essential religious practices on three grounds under Article 25(1): public order, morality or health. For example, during the pandemic, the government shut down mosques, temples and other places of worship.

Additionally, Article 25 (2) says "nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the state from making any law,

a) regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice;

b) providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus...

The judicial view of Article 25 (2) has been that whatever law the state might make regulating economic, financial, political, secular activity with religious practice or law for social welfare or reform of that religious practice, it cannot keep the religion out of its existence.

How have courts dealt with the question of essential religious practices?

Some of the cases dealt with by the Supreme Court on the question of the essential religious practices include:

1) The Shirur Mutt case, 1954: A seven-judge bench held that the essential part of a religion is primarily to be ascertained with reference to the doctrines of that religion itself.

2) Sardar Syedna Taher Saifuddin Saheb vs the State of Bombay, 1962: A five-judge, with a majority of 4:1, upheld the right and power of the head priest of the Dawoodi Bohra community to excommunicate members. The court reiterated that essential practice is to be gathered from the texts and tenets of the religion.

3) Acharya Jagadisharananda (Tandava Dance), 2004: The Supreme Court ruled that Tandava dance was not an essential practice of the Ananda Marga faith. It again said that what determines if a practice forms an essential part of the religion is whether the absence of the practice fundamentally alters the religion.

4) Shayara Bano (Triple Talaq), 2017: The Supreme Court held that Triple Talaq was against the basic tenets of the Qur'an and violative of the Shariat. A practice merely permitted or not prohibited by religion cannot be considered an essential or positive tenet sanctioned by religion, it said.

5) Sabarimala, 2018: A five-bench bench ruled that the ban on women aged 10-50 from entering the Sabarimala Temple was not an essential religious practice.

What has the high court said in the hijab case?

Citing different rulings of the Supreme Court and various high courts and drawing upon from the Qur'an and other sources of Islamic law, a three-judge bench of the High Court of Karnataka was of the "considered opinion that wearing of hijab by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practice in Islamic faith".

It said: "The Holy Quran does not mandate wearing of hijab or headgear for Muslim women. Whatever is stated in the above suras, we say, is only directory, because of absence of prescription of penalty or penance for not wearing hijab, the linguistic structure of verses supports this view."

The court also said: "It is not that if the alleged practice of wearing hijab is not adhered to, those not wearing hijab become the sinners, Islam loses its glory and it ceases to be a religion."

What's the way forward?

In 2019, hearing review petitions in the Sabarimala case, a five-judge bench, by a 3-2 majority, referred to a larger bench seven different issues. Among them are:

a) The extent to which the court can enquire into whether a particular practice is an integral part of the religion or religious practice of a particular religious denomination or should that be left to be determined by the head of the section of the religious group alone.

b) Whether the essential religious practices of a religious denomination or even a section thereof have constitutional protection under Article 26.

In 2020, a nine-judge bench was set up to examine these issues but a hearing is yet to take place.

(With inputs from Ashish Tripathi in New Delhi)

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Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri on Wednesday rejected an adjournment motion moved by Congress seeking a discussion on the law-and-order situation in the state.

Making a case for the motion, the deputy leader of the opposition UT Khader alleged that the government and its ministers were unaware of what was happening at the ground level.

"There have been incidents of hate speeches and murder out of vengeance. There is no point in imposing Section 144 after an incident every time. The government needs to put an end to this problem," Khader said, adding that people "are living in fear". He also alleged that police stations had become politician-friendly and not people-friendly.

Law Minister JC Madhuswamy objected to the motion. "The government is not saying that there should be no discussion on law and order. But, this does not qualify as an adjournment motion as there is no urgent issue here. It's not like something happened," he said.

To this, Kageri said that the issue did not qualify for an adjournment motion. "Bring it under a different rule and I'll allow it," he said.

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Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has announced details of a public exhibition event as part of the Departments ongoing pre-application community consultation for the proposed new Park and Ride at Dungiven.

The facility, which will be located to the southwest of Dungiven town, at the new Feeny Road Junction along the A6 Dungiven to Drumahoe dual carriageway, will provide 207 spaces, (including 10 disabled spaces) as well as bus shelters and cycle racks. The consultation launched on January 24.

Due to public health guidance at the time an online engagement event for the local community was held. In light of the recent changes in the health advice, the Department now plans to hold a public exhibition and officials will be available on Wednesday, March 23 to speak face to face to the local community and interested stakeholders.

Minister Mallon said: Last year I was delighted to announce plans for a new Park and Ride at Dungiven and in January we moved to the next phase of delivery with the opening of a pre-planning application community consultation to allow us to share more detail with the local community and respond to any comments.

My officials held an online engagement event due to the public health advice at the time so I am pleased to confirm that we are now in a position to host a public exhibition event where members of the public and other interested parties will have the opportunity to speak directly to my officials.

A public exhibition of information about the proposed Park and Ride will be on display at Dungiven Library from Monday 21 March to Saturday 26 March.

Representatives from my Department will be in attendance at a public drop-in event on Wednesday 23 March from 2pm to 7pm, so I would encourage anyone who is interested in or has any questions or comments about the proposed development to come along.

The development of the Dungiven Park and Ride is one of a number of schemes I am committed to progressing across Northern Ireland.

"Moreover, as I work to deliver the change our society needs, I want citizens to work in partnership with us to transform our local communities and deliver that lasting change.

"Therefore I would urge the local community to respond to the consultation process, by coming along to the event or responding online through my Departments website by 5pm on 25 April so we can deliver more together.

SDLP East Derry MLA Cara Hunter has welcomed the exhibition event and has encouraged the public to have their say as part of the ongoing community consultation.

Ms Hunter said: I am glad that as a result of the change in Covid-19 guidance we are now able to have a public exhibition for the new Dungiven Park and Ride.

"This will allow local people to come along and find out more about the plans for the new park and ride that will be a significant boost to this community and to engage with Department for Infrastructure officials and ask any questions they may have.

This is an important project for this area, it will make it easier for people to decide to use public transport by providing improved accessibility and facilities for both pedestrians and drivers and have knock on benefits for our environment by removing vehicles and the harmful emissions they produce from our roads.

People in Dungiven often rely on public transport to travel to Belfast, Derry and other parts of the North for everything from work to university or to socialise with friends and this new park and ride will result in a much-improved experience for them.

Id like to thank SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon for continuing to drive this project forward and Id encourage everyone in our community to have their say.

Further information about the proposed development and how to respond to the consultation is available on the Departments website.

The public exhibition will be at Dungiven Library which is located at 107 Main Street, Dungiven from Monday, March 21 to Saturday, March 26 (subject to library opening hours). The public drop-in event is on Wednesday, March 23 from 2pm to 7pm.
Five friends and members of a County Derry GAA club are set to scale the highest peaks in each of Ireland's provinces to rise vital funds for a local mental health charity.

Paul Downey, Anthony Letters, Jarlath McLaughlin, Fergal Scullion and Barry Loughlin will take on the Four Peaks Challenge later this week.

The men, who are all from Greenlough, plan to climb Slieve Donard in County Down, Lugnaquilla in County Wicklow, Carrauntoohil in County Kerry and Mweelrea in County Mayo, over four days.

Some of the men pictured during training ahead of the challenge.

They will kick off their challenge in the early hours of St Patrick's Day and hope to finish on Sunday, March 20.

The friends, who are all committee members of St Oliver Plunkett's GAC in Greenlough, made the pact to take on the challenge back in September.

Ever since, they have put in hours and hours of training climbing different hills including Charn Tochair, Slieve Gallion and Slemish.

As a result of their efforts, the men have raised more than 5,500 so far for charity ALPS (All Lives Are Precious) which has a branch in nearby Portglenone.

The charity offers support to the community on all things wellbeing, mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

Paul Downey said the friends initially came together with a view to get fit but decided to push themselves further by taking on the challenge for charity.

It started off as a fitness drive and then one of the fellas said 'why don't we do something for charity', said former club secretary Paul.

We met one evening and threw a few different ideas out there and somebody then came up with the Four Peaks Challenge, which entailed a bit more climbing and hiking rather than walking, so it took off from there.

The five have hired out a camper van and plan to set off in the early hours of Thursday morning to begin their challenge.

We are actually planning to climb two of the mountains on Thursday, one on Friday and one on Saturday, leaving Sunday as a recovery day if we can, but if it doesn't pan out that way with daylight and that, we have left it that we have that day to finish it.

We are planning to start Slieve Donard at half three in the morning. It'll be a different St Patrick's Day for us. A couple of the boys normally go to Cheltenham so they'll be missing that this year, laughed Paul.

The men, who are all novices when it comes to mountain climbing, plan to do live Facebook feeds throughout their challenge, and hope that the public will dig deep to support the charity.

Because suicide is so rife at the minute and the fact that ALPS have a wee office beside us in Portglenone, we thought it would be an ideal charity to raise money for. The club has done bits and pieces for them before. One of the fellas is a teacher and Frank Diamond, who works with ALPS, comes into his school to do talks also. They do good work in the community and the money raised will be used locally, said Paul.

Looking forward to the challenge, he added: We are all friends so I'm sure it will be good craic as well as being fairly gruelling but we will all push each other on.

Donations to the challenge can be made via https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/4peakchallange.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin unveiled a bust of Derry's John Hume in Washington on Tuesday.

Mr Martin, who is in Washington for the St Patricks Day celebrations, said the former SDLP leader was committed to peace and reconciliation around the world, and not just in Northern Ireland.

Referencing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Taoiseach said Mr Hume would have been a powerful voice defending democracy, defending European values and insisting on the right of all people to be free.

The ceremony was attended by members of Mr Humes family, as well as Congressman Richard Neal and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.

The bust is by Dublin-based sculptor, Elizabeth O'Kane, who was commissioned to create a bronze portrait bust.

Four replicas were cast, the first which was unveiled in the Embassy of Ireland in London in February. The third will be installed in The European Parliament and the fourth will be in Iveagh House, Dublin, the Headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Pribhleid ab ea e dealbh de John Hume a nochtadh i ngairdin aras na hAmbasaide inniu i Washington DC. Cuimhnimis ar John agus Pat, agus orthu siud go leir a oibrionn go trean ar son na siochana. #Ukraine @IrelandEmbUSA @HumeFoundation @LizOKane1 #SnaG22 #StPatricksDay22 pic.twitter.com/t0wZaNo5pX  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 15, 2022

By any measure John Hume was a great Irishman who devoted his life to his community, to his country and to the international cause of peace and reconciliation, Mr Martin told the gathering in Washington.

That is why it is a particular honour to be here today to unveil this magnificent sculpture, a mark of respect from a grateful country and fitting reminder of the extraordinary work he undertook in this city.

John was a force of nature who used his immense energy and talents as a relentless servant in the cause of civil rights, peace and reconciliation.

The late John Hume.

At the darkest moments of the conflict, he provided irreplaceable leadership, never losing faith that justice and peace would prevail.

There is simply no doubt that without John Hume providing the roadmap, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 would have been impossible.

We felt a great loss when John left us two years ago, and again last year at the passing of his beloved wife Pat, who, like John, was an extraordinary agent and advocate for peace.

Mr Hume, as part of his efforts to secure peace in Northern Ireland, spent a considerable amount of time and energy among political leaders in Washington.

Throughout his four decades of public action, John was determined that the rights and voices of all of the people of Derry, Northern Ireland and Ireland would be heard, Mr Martin said.

By any measure John Hume was a great Irishman who devoted his life to his community, country, peace and reconciliation. Thats why its a great honour to unveil this magnificent sculpture, a mark of respect from a grateful country and fitting reminder of his extraordinary work. pic.twitter.com/2ztf4kQZ44  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 15, 2022

Just like all truly historic figures he wanted to change the debate and break the cycle of division and misunderstanding which too often lay at the foot of conflict.

That is what brought him to this city and helped him build and renew deep connections with Ireland in Congress and various administrations.

The Taoiseach said the conflict in Ukraine could not ignored, even as Ireland celebrates its patron saint.

The peace we now enjoy on Ireland is something that we cherish. However, this St Patricks Day our celebrations are tempered by the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and by the reminder that peace and democracy can never be taken for granted.

Across Ireland and the world, we are marking this St Patricks Day in solidarity and in communion with Ukraine.

John was never the loudest voice but he was always the clearest and most powerful.

From left, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, Daniel Mulhall (Ireland's Ambassador to the USA), Mark Durkan, Taoiseach Micheal Martin, John Hume's grandson Darragh Hume (10), and Aidan (John's son) at the unveiling of the bust to former SDLP leader John Hume.

At this moment, and always, we should be proud to have known him and determined to honour his service.

Mr Martin also issued a warning that peace cannot be taken for granted in Northern Ireland.

Johns work is as vital as ever. Perhaps above all it teaches us the importance of patience and persistence in the search for political agreement. As Yeats wrote in a different context, peace comes dropping slow.

The peace process in Northern Ireland has been transformative but it remains a work in progress.

Northern Ireland continues to grapple with painful and unresolved legacies, a still urgent need for tackling poverty and disadvantage, and now the disruptive consequences of Brexit.

Unfortunately, the generous, open and inclusive vision which John worked so tirelessly for is too often missing.
A Derry businessman detected driving a Ferrari at 193 kms an hour in Donegal has been banned from driving the vehicle in the Republic.

Niall Heaney (40), of Groarty Road, appeared at Buncrana District Court charged in connection with an incident at Bohillion, Burt, on November 22 last year.

SGarda Sergeant Jim Collins told the court a black Ferrari FF was observed passing three cars at a speed of 193 kms an hour and upon seeing the lights of the Garda patrol car, Heaney pulled over about half-a-mile to the Donegal-Derry border.

Did he get to the sound barrier? Judge Alan Mitchell asked.

The court heard that the location is around half-a-mile from the border.

Solicitor for Heaney, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said his client, a father-of-two who employs around 30 people, made one split second stupid mistake.

He accepts his wrong doing, Mr Gallagher said He has apologised profusely.

This whole situation was totally out of character. He is very much involved in valuable organisations. He didnt think the Gardai were coming after him. He pulled in once he saw the blue lights.

Mr Gallagher said the Ferrari in question, a special edition model, was with a specialised dealer in England and was up for sale with Heaney now driving a Ford Ranger.

Sergeant Collins told the court that Heaney was fully co-operative and was very close to the border when the incident occurred.

Judge Mitchell said: I am told time and time again that people are co-operative, but it seems to me as if the eleventh commandment is: Thou shalt not get caught.

Judge Mitchell said it was in Heaneys favour that he had pulled in for Gardai.

It is in his favour that he was so close to the border, Judge Mitchell said. If he wished to evade, he was very close. He could have kept going and that would have been the end of the matter.

Judge Mitchell added that he was not impressed by the event.

A charge of dangerous driving was reduced to one of careless driving.

Heaney, who made a 1,500 donation to the Donegal Hospice, was fined 400.

Judge Mitchell asked if Heaney would agree not to drive the car in the Republic of Ireland again and he agreed.
From September, two County Derry schools will be joining forces to offer students the opportunity to study engineering at their new 11 million technology facilities.

Limavady High School and neighbouring St Marys will be partnering with industry to support the new qualification by launching a practical mentoring programme which will structure lessons around real-life examples of how engineers work and how they develop products.

In the cross-community launch event on Thursday, students from Year 10 were introduced to engineering at the schools joint building where Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (or STEM subjects for short) will be taught.

Students had the opportunity to investigate some of the detailed engineering that is developed for Heavy Goods Vehicles and to talk to some of the engineers from Sensata Technologies that develop them.

Nathanael Murphy, Application Design Manager at Sensata Technologies, explains: At Sensata, we develop sensor products that are used in the automotive and Heavy Goods Vehicle industries to make them safer. We do this by monitoring the tyre pressure which in turn can alert the driver or fleet managers if there is a problem.

Like many engineering companies, we manufacture products that are used every day to make our lives easier or safer and yet most people never notice them unless there is a problem!

"We wanted to get involved with this initiative to open young peoples eyes and minds to the opportunities that engineering presents and lift the bonnet  literally  on what it could do for them.

Mr D Mornin, Principal of Limavady High School, has been one of the driving forces behind the introduction of an Engineering GCSE.

We want to inspire and prepare our students for the future and when we look at the job opportunities available in Northern Ireland at present, we know that there are real career prospects with this qualification, he said.

Students will be required to study mechanical, software and process engineering and we are lucky to be partnering with a local company like Sensata Technologies which builds all of these disciplines into its products.

"It is also valuable for students to see that products designed, engineered and manufactured in Northern Ireland are exported throughout the world.

The multi-million pound Shared STEM facilities which have been built on Irish Green St, Limavady, provide easy access for both schools and a modern and practical building for teaching practical subjects like engineering.

Speaking about the facilities, Mrs R Moore, Principal at St Marys Limavady, said: We have been working together for many years to offer our students improved facilities and are delighted to be opening the building soon.

"This new space offers our students the opportunity to learn together and the space to take engineering ideas from concept to creation  via lots of different prototypes of course.

The Shared STEM facilities opened officially on February 21 and students will start the GCSE Engineering course from September 2022.
Statement by Minister Coveney on the exclusion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe

Statement

From today, the Russian Federation will cease to be a member of the Council of Europe. This follows a decision this morning by the Councils Committee of Ministers, which Ireland will chair from May, and the Russian Federations announcement of its intent to withdraw and denounce the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision is unprecedented in the 73-year history of the Council of Europe, of which Ireland is proud to be a founding member. It reflects the strongest possible condemnation of Russias unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, another Council of Europe member, and its disavowal of the values, principles, and legal obligations which membership of the Council of Europe entails.

I echo Italys Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Luigi Di Maio, current chair of the Committee of Ministers, and other leaders across the Council of Europe, in expressing regret that, through their actions in Ukraine, the Russian authorities deprive the Russian people of the benefit of the worlds most advanced human rights protection system. But regrettable as it is, the exclusion is necessary.

As I have stressed repeatedly, Irelands support for Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders, and its right to choose its own foreign and security policy path, is unwavering. At the Council of Europe, as at the UN Security Council, and across other multilateral organisations, we remain at the forefront of efforts to bring the violence to an end and hold the Russian authorities to account.

I once again urge the Russian Federation to cease hostilities immediately, unconditionally withdraw its forces from the entire territory of Ukraine and refrain from further threat or use of force of any kind against Ukraine or any other Member State

ENDS

Note for editor

Established in 1949, the Council of Europe is an international organisation, headquartered in Strasbourg, and now comprising 46 member states, including all of the member states of the European Union. Ireland is one of its ten founding members. It plays a leading role in the protection and promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Europe, notably through the European Court of Human Rights, which ensures the observance by the member states of their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Council of Europe comprises two main organs: the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly. The Committee of Ministers consists of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of each of the member states. The Parliamentary Assembly comprises national parliamentarians from all Council of Europe members. Ireland has a national delegation of four Oireachtas members, with four alternates.

The Committee of Ministers is the principal intergovernmental decision-making body of the Council. Chaired on a rotating basis by the member states over six month terms, Ireland has chaired the Committee on six previous occasions, most recently in 2000. Ireland will assume the Presidency of the Committee of Ministers again from 20 May, succeeding Italy, with Minister Coveney chairing relevant meetings in Strasbourg.

The Council of Europes press release confirming the decision to exclude the Russian Federation is available here.

Any Irish citizen requiring emergency consular assistance in Ukraine should contact the Department of Foreign Affairs dedicated consular telephone line, on +353 1 613 1700. The Department continues to issue regular updates online and on the @dfatirl twitter account on the evolving situation.

The safety and security of Irish citizens and their dependents in Ukraine is our priority.

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By JOCELYN NOVECK

AP National Writer

The Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Diebedo Francis Kere, a Berlin-based architect, educator and social activist, for a craft that is sustainable to the earth and its inhabitants in lands of extreme scarcity, especially in Africa and his native Burkina Faso, organizers said Tuesday.

He is equally architect and servant, improving upon the lives and experiences of countless citizens in a region of the world that is at times forgotten, said Tom Pritzker in announcing this years prize, seen as the highest honor in the field, to Kere, a citizen of both Burkina Faso and Germany. Pritzker is chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award.





. . .
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BOISE, Idaho (AP)  Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Republican Attorney General Lawrence Wasden have filed a lawsuit to end a tent city encampment protest on the old Ada County Courthouse lawn near the Statehouse in Boise.

The lawsuit filed Monday in 4th District Court in Ada County contends the tent city isn't symbolic but instead is being used by people illegally as a place to live. The lawsuit requests a judge to order the tent city's removal.





. . .
The Hellertown Area Library has been in the center of a dispute over a new agreement with the library and its sponsoring communities, Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township. (Monica Cabrera / The Morning Call)

The dispute between Lower Saucon Township and Hellertown Area Library and Hellertown has played out in strong words between the two sides.

It began when Lower Saucon Township Council in early December postponed voting on a five-year agreement worth more than $500,000. Six weeks later, Lower Saucon Council voted 4-1 on Jan. 19 not to sign the deal. Instead, council voted to donate $50,000, and to donate $50,000 to Southern Lehigh Public Library as a way to expand services to residents, some on council said.

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Hellertown Area Library refused the offer and forged a new agreement with Hellertown, the other municipality that is part of the library. Southern Lehigh has not yet accepted the money.

Lower Saucon liaison: Were working on it

Feb 3: Council member Jennifer Zavacky, who became Lower Saucons library liaison when she took office at the start of the year, issues a letter describing outreach efforts, and is hopeful about working toward a solution on providing library services to residents with HAL in mind.

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We continue to be optimistic in working toward a resolution to the issues at hand and provide clarity in how we can move forward in providing library services to [township] residents with HAL in mind, she said.

It was Zavacky who on Jan. 19 introduced the motion, which council passed 4-1, to shift from a written agreement to an arrangement with the library, and a $50,000 donation for 2022, less than half of what the library board had sought.

Please see the attached statement from Council Vice-President and HAL liaison Jennifer Zavacky regarding library services for the Township. Posted by Lower Saucon Township on Thursday, February 3, 2022

Hellertown Area Library statement: Full library services to continue

Feb. 14: Solt sends a two-paragraph statement Feb. 14 saying services for township residents that are under the librarys control will continue through Feb. 28 (since amended to be uninterrupted beyond that date).

He notes the librarys 2022 agreement and funding is being provided solely by Hellertown. The borough approved a nearly $60,000 allocation last fall, then in January agreed to appropriate an additional $75,000 to help the library through the rest of the year.

Southern Lehigh Public Library: This is not our fight

First Call Daily Leading local stories delivered on weekday mornings >

Feb. 16: Bruce Eames, Southern Lehigh Public Library board president, releases a statement updating its patrons and the public on the librarys involvement. Basically, there is no involvement, at least for now, said Eames, who also stressed Southern Lehigh has no intention to shop around for additional communities.

You may have seen recent social media and newspaper reports regarding the disagreement between Lower Saucon Township... Posted by Southern Lehigh Public Library on Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Hellertown Library board president issues truths

Feb. 16: Solt issues a four-page letter, just before a Lower Saucon council meeting, during which the library and funding were discussed at length without a resolution. He wants to clarify the record on the library, entitling the letter HAL Truths.

Solt refutes Lower Saucon officials concerns about how the library handles its finances, noting its financial books are fully audited every three years and are subject to annual reviews by the two communities and the state. He said the library did not seek a conflict, and he said none of the allegations of the lack of accountability and transparency is true.

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The Office of Commonwealth Libraries officials are reviewing information submitted by the library and township. Solt said a situation in which a participating municipality ceases regular funding of library services is unprecedented.

Lower Saucons questions

Later in February: Zavacky provides The Morning Call with a list of questions she said she had been trying to get answers to after several meetings regarding the hows and whys behind the librarys funding request without success. They include:

Why is Hellertown Area Library (HAL) requesting/demanding $9.66 per person? How is this figure calculated? Who did the calculation? Whats inside of this rate and the increase of 15% in per capita since the initial five-year agreement? Why was Lower Saucon Township (LST) not involved to provide input and feedback?

Why was HAL demanding/requiring that the township sign a written agreement initially for a five-year term, and now is recommending a one-year term while removing LST appointment of board members? State Library Code does not require a written agreement. Many libraries in Pennsylvania operate without an agreement with a municipality.

Are single libraries going to be able to survive given the prevalence of internet research, internet accessibility, and Amazon deliveries? If only 30% of township residents use HAL, shouldnt we at least be considering a different plan for the future? Wouldnt a cooperation between libraries and municipalities create a better and more financially sustainable future for everyone?

Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.
Citing his health and a desire to spend time with family, state Sen. Mario Scavello of Monroe County has decided to retire and endorse a fellow Republican, Rep. Rosemary Brown, for his seat representing the 40th district.

The plans of both lawmakers were laid out in a news release issued by Brown on Wednesday, and represented a change of course in a year where legislative maps are being redrawn.

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Scavello has been a fixture in northeastern Pennsylvania politics for decades.

He is larger than life in Monroe County. He has been in the middle of almost everything for the last 25 years, said Republican Rep. Jack Rader, who lives in Monroe.

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Josephine Ferro, head of the Monroe County Republican Committee, said replacing Scavello would be hard shoes to fill.

Scavello consistently pushed for property tax relief in a county where the burden is far above average. Democratic Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County, another property tax-reform advocate, said he fought hard for his district.

He was in touch with constituents constantly, Boscola said.

A senator for more than seven years, Scavello previously served in the state House for 12 years, was mayor of Mount Pocono for five years and a Monroe County commissioner for two.

Due to some unexpected health reasons, I feel it is in the best interests of myself and the public to complete my career in public service, Scavello said in the news release. While it has been my honor and opportunity to serve the people for over 20 years and at many levels, the time has come for me to spend more time with my wife and family.

Scavello had previously indicated he would seek another term in the Senate.

Attempts to contact him Wednesday for further comment were not successful.

State Rep. Rosemary Brown of Monroe County intends to seek election to the state Senate following Sen. Mario Scavello's announced retirement. (Courtesy of Pennsylvania House of Representatives )

Brown, a House member for 12 years, previously indicated she would not seek reelection to the House.

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While this was not planned, Senator Scavellos sudden retirement announcement ignited my desire to apply my experience and proven ability at a larger level, Brown said in the news release. The opportunity to help even more of my neighbors and our community within the northeast is one that I cannot ignore.

The announcements come on the same day as the state Supreme Court rejected a series of challenges to a newly approved set of legislative maps that would have affected Scavello.

Last Call Daily Get top headlines from The Morning Call delivered weekday afternoons. >

A longtime resident of Mount Pocono, Scavello recently bought a home in Roseto, in Northampton County. The site is still in the 40th District he now represents, but the newly approved maps put it in the 18th District, represented by Boscola, whom he described as a good friend.

When the purchase came to light, Scavello said that if the new maps were approved he would likely sell the newly purchased home and look for something different.

Along with Boscola, Scavello pushed for Senate Bill 22, which called for a nonpartisan commission in 2018 to take over the once-a-decade job of redrawing state and congressional district maps. The bill died after Senate Republicans amended it to include a provision calling for regional elections of state appellate court judges.

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Scavello served in various leadership capacities in the Senate, including chair of the Senate Majority Policy Committee; and vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee.

Scavello, on his website, described himself as a proponent of school property tax reform, infrastructure investment and tourism. He also pushed for support for all-day vocational-technical school to help address a skills gap in the state.

Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com.
Harrisonburg, VA (22801)

Today

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 51F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 51F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
A decorated soldier who sexually abused three neighbourhood boys up to 40 years ago and used his position of trust to his advantage when he targeted them has been jailed for two years.

Michael McGuinness (61), who served for 21 years as a driver in the army, was trusted in his local area when he sexually abused three young neighbours over an 11-year period, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court at a previous sentence hearing last November.

The boys were aged between seven and 13 when the abuse occurred, while McGuinness was aged in his twenties. The three complainants waived their right to anonymity, meaning McGuinness can be named.

One of his victims told the sentence hearing in November that McGuinness disguised himself as a friend. In reality he was a predator.

He was seen as trusted in the area because he was in the army, the man said in his victim impact statement.

Another man told the court he had a lifelong distrust of uniforms and those in positions of authority after he was abused by McGuinness. He said McGuinness put the fear of God in me. He destroyed all my trust of people, particularly people in uniform.

Another complainant said McGuinness deprived him of achieving his full potential, after he turned to drugs and alcohol to deal with the abuse. Your actions not only destroyed my life, but destroyed the lives of those around me, he told McGuinness in his victim impact statement, which was read out in court by counsel.

McGuinness, with an address in Main Street, Borrisokane, Tipperary, pleaded guilty to five counts of indecently assaulting the three boys in Dublin and in unknown locations in the state between 1979 and 1990.

The court heard that after he was honourably discharged from the army in 2000, McGuinness worked as a driver for the Irish Wheelchair Association for a number of years. He was suspended when the abuse allegations came to light.

When interviewed by gardai in 2019, McGuinness immediately admitted the abuse, describing what he had done in the past as his dark dirty secret. It's haunted me all my life, he told gardai, adding: It's not me. It doesn't define me.

He said he had confessed everything to his wife and adult children, who continue to support him. He has no previous convictions.

The maximum sentence for each of the counts is two years, except for the final count which took place after a change in sentencing laws. That count carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Sentencing McGuinness on Tuesday Judge Melanie Greally said it was evident from the victim impact statements before the court that the impact of the set of offences had been profoundly damaging and profoundly lasting and the men were very significantly influenced by this offence at such a young age.

Judge Greally noted that a probation report before the court indicated that McGuinness was remorseful for his actions and has engaged with the relevant therapeutic interventions. The report concluded that McGuinness was at a low risk of re-offending.

Judge Greally said the abuse was humiliating and degrading and had life changing effects on McGuinnesss victims.

She acknowledged that McGuinness had been described as a good brother, father and grandfather and had served as a solider in the Irish Army for three tours of duty.

Judge Greally imposed consecutive sentences totalling three years. She suspended the final 12 months of the sentence on strict conditions and backdated the sentence to when McGuinness first went into custody last November.

Judge Greally thanked the injured parties for your engagement in what was a difficult process.

Detective Garda Bevin Meaney told Eoghan Cole BL, prosecuting, at the initial hearing last November, that McGuinness and his victims all lived in the Crumlin area of Dublin during the period in question.

The court heard McGuinness befriended the boys, two of whom were brothers, by offering to bring them on drives up to the Dublin Mountains or for walks with his dog.

He sexually abused the two brothers on a number of occasions, mostly by forcing them to masturbate him. The abuse took place in his car and in his home. On one occasion, McGuinness abused one of his victims in his parked car in the driveway in the middle of the day.

The two brothers only found out they had both been abused by McGuinness when they were adults, with the older brother saying he felt just as guilty as his abuser because he was unable to save his little brother from the same fate.

The abuse came to light when one of the complainants met McGuinness through work and reported him to gardai.

Kathleen Leader SC, defending, said that when interviewed by gardai, McGuinness accepted responsibility for what he had done. He told gardai he wished to apologise wholeheartedly to his victims, the court heard.

Ms Leader said McGuinness was decorated by the army and served a number of tours of duty with distinction, including in Lebanon and former Yugoslavia. He attempted to take his own life last year and has been undergoing counselling, the court heard.
Writers Notes: The Converse County Library in Douglas will host the annual spring WyoPoets workshop and meeting April 29-30.

In honor of the event, for the next few weeks we will highlight some seniors in the county who contribute to the literary world as writers, bookstore owners/managers, librarians, and others, people who bring words to individuals, families and communities in this series titled Senior Stories - Wise Words.

As a young child, writing and reading became ingrained in Lee Ann Siebkens mind and heart, so much so that decades later, she continues to share her love of literature with others.

When I was in first grade, I had to memorize 10 poems, Siebken recalled. I nearly lost them all walking home from school. They were on note cards, and the Casper wind blew them out of my hand.

Exposure to poetry, including those on the note cards, made an impression on the young girl.

I think the schools used to do a lot more with poetry, she reflected. You know, its just like music  its so much easier to remember stuff if it rhymes or if its in a rhythm, so thats how I got indoctrinated (to poetry).

Letter-writing also took root in her life. She exchanged missives with friends, especially during the summer when school wasnt in session. After her family gave her a typewriter, she took to the invention easily, and she began composing poems and stories as well as correspondence. Her creativity with compositions led her to help found Wyoming Writers, Inc., the state-wide writers group, in 1974.

I had a friend named Midge Farmer who lived in Gillette, and Gillette had a writers group, Siebken recalled. We had a workshop  a really big gathering of writers, and from that Wyoming Writers started. We had a wonderful time and made a lot of friends. Weve been friends ever since.

Poets within the group branched into their own entity in 1979 after someone planted the seed of an idea for a state-wide poetry group. The name Poets of Wyoming Writers was originally chosen; the group adopted the name WyoPoets almost a decade later. Siebken has been active in the group since inception, including serving on the board as president and vice-president and volunteering as editor for the organizations bi-annual chapbook. Shes also won awards for her work and had many of her poems published.

Her creations revolve around life in the west, nature, and family.

If youre a writer, you just write, and sometimes you look at something and you think Huh, that doesnt really make sense, but if it were a poem it doesnt have to make sense. Writing doesnt limit you, whether its writing letters at home or writing poetry or stories.

I think nurturing literary kinds of things is really important, Siebken added.

In a home filled with books, Siebken shares her enjoyment of reading and writing with her family. Her daughter, Cindy Bower, who lives in Casper, is also a writer and a member of both Wyoming Writers, Inc., and WyoPoets, and another daughter, Nancy, creates a Christmas poem for the family every year. Some of her adult children even still write letters, she added.

Siebken wove literature and history to create a book with activities for children; third grade students in Converse County use her creation.

Her enjoyment of history brought Siebken to serve on the county Historic Preservation Commission and prompted her to write a book about the prisoner-of-war (POW) camp found in Douglas during World War II. Her research provided enlightening discoveries.

Theres all kinds of dimensions to the prisoner of war camp, Siebken said. We had 3,000 prisoners here in Douglas, and Douglas was only 1,900 people, so there were more prisoners than people. They went out and worked on the ranches, and they went down to the forests and built railroad ties for the railroad during the war. We had a USO here, too.

High Plains Press in Glendo will publish the book upon completion, she added.

Siebken and her husband plan to help the county library when it welcomes the WyoPoets spring workshop in Douglas April 29 and 30. Her husband Duane, a member of the Moose Club, may provide lunch for the attendees, Siebken said.

Hes been a member of the Moose since weve been in Douglas, so hes going to cook, I think, she said. I told the folks at the library to let me know if they want me to do something (to help with the workshop).

Lee Ann and Duane moved to Douglas in 1962 and operated the Culligan Water company for many years.

He always wanted to be a business owner, so he bought a business, she said.

She also owned a business, operating a pre-school for nearly 30 years.

She admires the education system in Douglas and believes that is one of the communitys assets. She recalled the science teacher who accepted the Siebkens blind daughter into his class despite administrators apprehension; their daughter went on to graduate high school, attend college, and serve as a counselor.

Living in Douglas, involved in the community in multiple ways, and serving on state-wide writers groups endears Siebken to not only her immediate family, but to people around her. Daughter Cindy nominated Lee Ann and Duane for the Jefferson Volunteer Award sponsored by ServeWyoming. She concluded her nomination by saying, (this) is a far cry from the real scope of what the Siebkens have done quietly without ever caring to be noticed or acknowledged.

Lee Anns wise words and caring actions speak volumes to numerous people.
Rimmer to host Secretary of State March 24 at EWC

With conspiracy theories and political debates raging within the Republican Party both in Converse County and Wyoming about election security, Converse County Clerk Karen Rimmer decided it was time to address the issue head on.

Most recently, the issue arose once again at the Converse County GOP precinct meetings earlier this month with resolutions calling for a return to paper ballots and rejection of electronic voting passing at the precinct level, according to those attending. Rimmer, who was there and argued that the electronic voting was secure, said having someone else explain the security and integrity would be a good idea locally.

So she invited Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan to present information and data regarding election security and integrity. The presentation, which is being sponsored by the Converse County Clerks Office, is open to the public and will be held at the Douglas Branch of Eastern Wyoming College March 24. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with the presentation to begin at 6 p.m. sharp.

Buchanan will present prepared remarks and provides an opportunity for citizens to ask questions and learn more about Wyomings elections and how they can be involved in the process, Rimmer said.

We will address the most common topics that arose in the 2016 and 2020 elections. We will dispel common myths and discuss how we continue working to improve our elections here in Wyoming.

Election integrity is essential to our republic and to the strength of, and trust in, our democracy, she said in a press release.

Secretary of State Buchanan and all 23 Wyoming county clerks are your first points of contact for true and accurate election information. It is our goal to partner with you to continue to keep Wyomings elections safe and secure.

Buchanan was appointed Secretary of State in 2018 and elected to the position in the 2018 general election. He is Wyomings chief elections officer and serves as a member of the State Loan and Investment Board, State Lands Commission and State Building Commission.

For questions about the presentation, contact the Converse County Clerks office at 307-358-2244 or email karen.rimmer@conversecountywy.gov
HARRISBURG  The state Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a series of challenges to a newly approved set of legislative maps, clearing the way for the start of a shorter-than-usual election season leading to the May 17 primary.

The court ruled that a plan including the new maps  approved by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission and using 2020 census data  did not violate the state or federal constitutions and is not contrary to law.

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The court laid out an 11-day period for House and Senate candidates to circulate nominating petitions, starting Friday.

That period is half the 22-day period available to candidates to circulate petitions in the 2018 and 20 legislative elections. Candidates will hit the campaign trail with their petitions less than nine weeks before the May 17 primary.

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In 2018, the stretch between the start of the petition period and the primary lasted 13 weeks. In 2020, when the primary was pushed back because of the pandemic, the stretch lasted 18 weeks.

Nine challenges were filed to the maps that got final approval from the commission Feb. 4. The court rejected all of them in a single order issued Wednesday afternoon.

One challenge came from Republican House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County, who said the House map unnecessarily split at least eight municipalities  including Allentown and South Whitehall Township in the Lehigh Valley.

Benninghoff called the decision a reflection of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court majoritys continued shift from a fair arbiter of fact and law to a rubber stamp for liberal special interests and left-wing partisan political positions.

Fair Districts PA, a coalition that has pushed for an overhaul of the redistricting process, said in a statement, While the maps are not perfect, they are far better than maps in recent decades.

The group noted that this years process produced nine court challenges, while previous rounds of redistricting produced 11-29.

Democratic state Sen. Lisa Boscola of Northampton County filed one of those challenges.

Allentown in spotlight

The commission made major changes in Allentown, dividing the city between three House districts rather than the current two, and also dividing the city between two Senate districts rather than one.

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The three House districts including parts of the city are the 22nd, 132nd and 134th. The 22nd  which also includes part of Salisbury Township  was drawn in such a way that it has no incumbent living in its borders.

The commission called it an opportunity district where 67% of the voting-age population is part of a minority community, creating a significant opportunity for a minority candidate.

That figure includes a Hispanic community that encompasses 53% of the voting-age population.

Norberto Dominguez, a member of that community who is a teaching artist and works in private security, said he will seek the Democratic nomination. Dominguez, 54, launched a campaign for an Allentown state House seat in 2016 but withdrew before the primary.

At least one other Democrat, Allentown City Council member Joshua Siegel, has announced his candidacy. Siegel, 28, works as assistant operations manager in the Lehigh County controllers office.

Siegel ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2017 and won his seat on council in 2019.

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On the Republican side, former Allentown School Board member Robert Smith said he plans to seek the nomination.

Smith, 60, served on the school board for 16 years.

The new Senate map puts a new district  actually the 14th, whose current version in Carbon and Luzerne counties will be eliminated  in the middle of the Lehigh Valley.

It has no incumbent. At least one candidate, Democrat Tara Zrinski, a Northampton County commissioner, has announced she will seek the 14th district seat.

In Lehigh County, the district includes part of Allentown; Hanover, Salisbury and Whitehall townships and part of South Whitehall Township; and Catasauqua, Coplay, Emmaus and Fountain Hill. In Northampton County, it includes Allen, Bushkill, East Allen, Hanover, Lehigh, and Moore townships; and Bath, Chapman, North Catasauqua, Northampton and Walnutport.

Two-incumbent district

In an unusual turn of events, the redrawn 187th House District will see a primary contest between two Republican House members, Ryan Mackenzie and Gary Day.

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The incumbent-versus-incumbent scenario came about because the commissions new lines put Mackenzies home  currently in the 134th district  into the 187th.

It is one of four situations where the new House map pits a Republican incumbent against another Republican incumbent, while there is only one case of incumbent Democrats facing off. That was one of the complaints in the court challenge filed by Benninghoff.

Day is a 14-year incumbent who chairs the House Aging & Older Adult Services Committee. Mackenzie has been in the House for nearly 10 years and chairs the House Government Oversight Committee.

The newly drawn 187th includes Heidelberg, Lower Macungie, Lynn, Washington and Weisenberg townships; part of Upper Macungie Township; and Alburtis and Macungie.

Hours before the court decision was announced, the retirement of state Sen. Mario Scavello was announced in a news release issued by state Rep. Rosemary Brown, who intends to seek the 40th Senate district seat Scavello will vacate.

Both are Republicans who live in Monroe County.

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Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner can be reached at fturner@mcall.com.
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Representatives of Louth County Council, who are in New York for the St Patricks Day period, met with senior executives from Tourism Ireland on Tuesday. They were briefed on Tourism Irelands extensive promotional programme in the United States for 2022, which is in full swing right now.

This year, Tourism Ireland is rolling out its biggest ever programme of promotions in the United States, to restart overseas tourism to Ireland. Following a devastating two years for the tourism and travel sector, the programme will allow Tourism Ireland to upweight its campaigns, punch through the noise and convert lookers to bookers, in order to save businesses and create jobs.

Tourism Irelands message is that "Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back our American visitors".

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Irelands Head of North America, said: We were delighted to meet with the representatives of Louth County Council and to have the opportunity to brief them about the extensive promotional programme we are undertaking in the United States this year.

"We are rolling out our Green Button campaign right now  urging American travellers to press the Green Button and book their trip to Ireland this year. Our extensive programme of high impact campaigns and promotions is targeting those consumers with the greatest potential to travel to Ireland. Our message is very simple: Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back visitors from the United States.

Our St Patricks Day programme includes an extensive programme of trade, media and consumer activity to restart overseas tourism this year. Our aim is to remind American holidaymakers that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage. We are taking every opportunity to capitalise on Irelands heightened profile around this St Patricks Day period.
The prosecution case against former soldier Lisa Smith, who denies membership of terrorist group Isis, will finish next week, the Special Criminal Court has heard.

The court has been listening to thousands of messages between Ms Smith and other Muslims sent in 2013 and 2014 using Facebook Messenger or uploaded to a Facebook group called, "We hear, we obey".

In the messages Ms Smith discussed issues relating to Islam, Islamic law, Isis and the conflict in Syria and Iraq.

Sean Gillane SC for the prosecution said that he expects to complete the prosecution evidence on Monday following the St Patrick's Day break.

Defence counsel Michael O'Higgins SC said the defence may make an application at the close of the prosecution case which will require a ruling from the court.

The trial began on January 25 and was originally expected to last 12 weeks.

Ms Smith (40), from Dundalk, Co Louth, an Islamic convert and former Irish soldier, travelled to Syria after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on all Muslims to travel to the Islamic State.

She has pleaded not guilty to membership of an unlawful terrorist group, Islamic State, between October 28th, 2015 and December 1st, 2019.

She has also pleaded not guilty to financing terrorism by sending 800 in assistance, via a Western Union money transfer, to a named man on May 6th, 2015.
A gambling addict who sold two fake self-print Electric Picnic tickets with a reference number for an Ed Sheeran concert to a buyer from Galway, has been sentenced to six months at Dundalk district court.

James Carpenter with an address at the time of Irish Street, Ardee admitted the charge of deception at Carrick Road Service Station, Carrick Road, Ardee on May 15th 2015 and selling counterfeit tickets bearing a mark identical to or nearly resembling Ticketmaster on the same date.

The court heard that the victim of the scam had seen the 2015 Electric Picnic tickets advertised on Toutless - an Irish based fan to fan ticket resale website, three days before she met James Carpenter at the filling station.

She paid 320 in cash for two tickets and sought a hard copy but the defendant told her the self-print tickets were genuine.

However, when she contacted Ticketmaster she was told that the reference number related to an Ed Sheeran concert.

The court heard James Carpenter had 20 previous convictions, including fraud offences recorded at Edinburgh Sheriff's Court last summer.

The Defence barrister said his client, who has a masters degree in Business and IT, had a significant gambling addiction and while in a well paid job at the time, he had accumulated some significant gambling debts.

He went to Scotland and returned to this jurisdiction after a European Arrest Warrant was issued.

Judge Eirinn McKiernan imposed a six month sentence for the deception charge, backdated to when the defendant went into custody in October.
Senior church leaders on the island of Ireland have called on the UK Government to do more to help Ukrainian refugees.

The all-Ireland primates of the Catholic Church and Church of Ireland came together to urge London to follow the lead of EU nations and waive visas for those fleeing the conflict.

Delivering a joint message in Armagh ahead of St Patricks Day, Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin and Church of Ireland Archbishop John McDowell encouraged people across the island to consider welcoming Ukrainians into their homes.

The Republic of Ireland as an EU member state has waived visa requirements for Ukrainians, with no limit on arrivals. However, he UK has taken a different approach, setting up a visa sponsorship scheme where people can offer to accommodate refugees.

The number of Ukrainians entering the UK will depend on the response to the scheme, which saw 100,000 sponsors sign up on the first day alone.

Catholic Archbishop Eamon Martin raised concern about issues that might emerge from having different approaches on both sides of the Irish border.

We were very pleased to note how quickly many of the European governments immediately pledged their support for refugees and indeed in Ireland the waiving of the visas and we have called upon the UK Government to be equally generous, he said.

I think, personally, that more could be done at government level in the United Kingdom. I also think we need to look at the cross-border situation. There will be people arriving south of the border who may wish to travel north. I think these are complex issues and I would really be encouraging our elected leaders to take a look at these situations and do what we can.

It would be terrible if bureaucracy was another barrier in front of these people who must be awfully traumatised at the moment.

Asked by reporters if he thought the UK Government was not doing enough, Archbishop McDowell said:

I think rather than saying it should have done more, its to urge it to do more now.

The Home Office is not a notoriously sympathetic department and has maybe difficulty processing these matters. But we would certainly urge them to do at least as much as other countries in the European Union and others all around the world and to do that with good grace and a good heart and quickly so that people who are already extraordinarily anxious dont have a further anxiety added when theyre coming to the borders.

Archbishop Martin added: I think at the end of the day, governments will be moved by the will of the people. I have noticed over the last few weeks, people are deeply disturbed by what theyre seeing (in Ukraine), they instinctively want to reach out to help and they will look to their elected representatives to make that possible.

So I certainly would join with Archbishop John and others in the many Christian churches on these islands who have been calling for more action from the United Kingdom government.
A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit on behalf of Lehigh County voters whose mail-in ballots were not counted in the November election because they lacked a date on the return envelopes.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania filed suit on behalf of five voters whose ballots were among 257 set aside when county election officials counted vote-by-mail ballots. Although the board of elections and a Lehigh County judge decided the ballots should be counted, a state appeals court found that the law allowing voters to cast ballots by mail without an excuse requires ballots to be dated.

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The ACLU said it would soon announce if the voters decide to appeal the ruling. It said the outcome has the potential to have a significant impact in future Pennsylvania elections, noting that more than 1% of Lehigh County voters in the last election forgot to date their return envelopes. If that happened in an election with a turnout comparable to the 2020 presidential election, 27,000 ballots in a statewide race could be disqualified.

Counting every vote needs to be a fundamental principle for everyone who cares about democracy, regardless of party or who they vote for, said Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. We need less barriers to voting, not more. Unfortunately, this ruling leaves a ridiculous barrier in place, one that does not serve any useful purpose.

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The uncounted ballots have the potential to decide the outcome of a narrow race between the third- and fourth-place candidates in a race for three seats on the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas. Republican David Ritter holds a 74-vote lead over Democrat Zachary Cohen. The board of elections agreed to delay certification of the results while the lawsuit is pending. Lawyers for the board could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Cohens lawyer, Adam Bonin, said they were disappointed with the courts decision.

These ballots were received on time from registered voters and they should be counted, he said. Lawyers for the county and Ritter did not return calls.

In the federal lawsuit filed Jan. 31, the ACLU argued that discarding the ballots amounts to disenfranchisement that will cause irreparable harm for the voters whose ballots would not be counted. It claimed the decision not to count the ballots violated the voting rights provisions of the Civil Rights Act, and the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The Civil Rights Act says voters cannot be denied the right to vote because of a paperwork error that has no impact on whether a person is qualified to vote. The ACLU argued the undated ballots should be counted because all parties agreed they were received in the voter registration office by the Election Day deadline and that the absence of a date on the ballot envelopes is not relevant to the voters eligibility.

Dating the return envelope is an irrelevant technicality and is a foolish reason to disenfranchise someone. This is a basic principle of democracy, and it is disappointing that the court failed to understand it, said Reggie Shuford, executive director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania.

Last Call Daily Get top headlines from The Morning Call delivered weekday afternoons. >

In his opinion granting summary judgment for the board of elections, U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson found that Congress intended the voting rights provisions in the Civil Rights Act to be enforced by the U.S. attorney general and did not provide for individuals to have the right to sue under the law.

The ACLU also argued that the government lacked sufficient interest to justify the limitation on voting created by the requirement to hand-write the date on the ballot envelope. Leeson wrote that he found that the government does have a weighty interest in requiring ballots to be dated, drawing on a decision by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

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In that 2020 case, Justice Kevin Dougherty wrote that the requirement to date the envelope provides proof of when the ballot was completed and of the voters intent to vote by mail rather than at a polling place. It also prevents the tabulation of fraudulently back-dated ballots, Dougherty said.

A Commonwealth Court panel relied on the 2020 Supreme Court decision in its 2-1 ruling in January that the Lehigh County ballots should not be counted. The Supreme Court later that month declined to revisit the issue.

While not required to follow the state Supreme Court decision, Leeson said he found it persuasive in his analysis of the issue. He said undated ballot envelopes heighten the potential for fraud, as those who come into contact with an undated ballot could fill in a date that is not representative of when the ballot was actually completed.

Morning Call reporter Peter Hall can be reached at 610-820-6581 or peter.hall@mcall.com.
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Xi congratulates Serdar Berdimuhamedov on election as Turkmen president

Xinhua) 09:52, March 16, 2022

BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message to Serdar Berdimuhamedov on his election as the president of Turkmenistan.

In his message, Xi pointed out that as a friendly neighbor and strategic partner of Turkmenistan, the Chinese side is sincerely delighted at the rapid progress Turkmenistan has made in nation building and national rejuvenation since its independence 30 years ago.

Noting that he attaches great importance to the development of China-Turkmenistan relations, Xi said he is willing to work with president-elect Berdimuhamedov to take the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries' diplomatic ties as a new starting point, build on past achievements and forge ahead into the future so as to jointly write a new chapter of the China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
When prices on a commodity go up, some people will go to even greater lengths to get it for free; in Allentown, that led to someone drilling into a parked cars gas tank to steal gasoline.

A security camera mounted outside a residence recorded someone walking around the car with a drill and bucket Friday evening in the 500 block of Fifth Street, Allentown police Capt. Kyle Pammer said. The vehicle owner later discovered a hole drilled into her gas tank.

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Weve received this complaint and are actively investigating as well as making efforts to ensure the community is aware of incidents like this, Pammer said Tuesday.

Other Lehigh Valley police departments said they havent received reports of similar incidents in their jurisdictions, but wouldnt be surprised if they did.

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Unfortunately, the current environment lends to criminals finding new ways to steal commodities in demand, gas being the latest, Salisbury Township Chief Kevin Soberick said. Drilling a hole in a vehicles gas tank is not only a crime but its also dangerous and expensive. The risk of a fire is high and the repair to the tank most of the time is replacement.

Police warned residents to be alert.

Weve definitely been noticing an uptick in fuel thefts, Lehigh Township Chief Scott Fogel said. We suggest residents keep their vehicles in well-lit areas and keep night lights on in their homes to deter people from coming around. And certainly any home surveillance is always a big benefit.

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Bushkill Township Chief Michael McLouth advised people to park in garages if possible.

Avoid parking in public places for extended periods of time, McLouth said. Try positioning your vehicle so that the fuel tank lid is visible from the road. Installing a locking gas cap would help.

Soberick encouraged neighbors to look out for each other and report anything suspicious.

Parking where there are cameras monitoring the lot or street is not a bad idea either, he said. People also need to make sure to report if theyre a victim of a gas theft.

Police suggested owners also be aware of anything looking different about their vehicles when returning to them.

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Dont drive the car if theres an odor of gasoline or evidence of signs of tampering, Lehigh University police Chief Jason Schiffer said. Call emergency services if there are any concerns of damage to a gas tank or a theft of gasoline.

Morning Call reporter Andrew Scott can be reached at 610-820-6508 or ascott@mcall.com.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court denied ExxonMobils attempt to stop the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts from investigating whether the company lied about its knowledge of climate change.

The decision was handed down by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, which said Exxon couldnt sue Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey because it was already doing so in the state court system, as reported by Reuters.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York rejected a 2018 lawsuit Exxon had filed against New York, claiming the state violated the companys rights for its investigations.

ExxonMobil first sued New York and Massachusetts in 2016, when it received subpoenas for shareholder communications and documents related to climate change. The company has since tried to prevent the two states from moving forward with the investigation.

During the pendency of this appeal, the New York Attorney General closed the New York investigation and commenced an enforcement action, which resolved in Exxons favor and is not being appealed by the state. Because these events have mooted Exxons claims against the New York Attorney General, we lack jurisdiction over those claims, the court explained in its decision. As to Exxons claims against the Massachusetts Attorney General, Exxon could have pursued the relief it now seeks in an earlier Massachusetts state court proceeding arising from the same events that underlie the present suit; its claims against the Massachusetts Attorney General are thus barred under the doctrine of res judicata.

The oil giant wanted to appeal the lower court decisions to revive the case, ultimately to have its documents that had been given to New York for the state investigation either returned or destroyed. The new decision stops Exxons attempt to prevent these investigations.

We are pleased with the Second Circuits decision today, which rejected Exxon Mobils baseless attempts to challenge state law enforcement efforts, New York Attorney General Letitia James said. We will continue our efforts to protect New York consumers and investors from any harm or deceit.

Chloe Gotsis, spokeswoman for Healey, said their office looks forward to obtaining the required documents and continuing the investigation.

This is just one of many lawsuits Exxon has been facing, as it has tried to minimize how its fossil fuel products impact climate change to boost profits and assure investors.
The iconic Starbucks coffee cup may soon be a thing of the past.

The company announced Tuesday that it would make it possible for coffee drinkers to use their own reusable cups for all cafe, drive-thru and mobile orders in the U.S. and Canada by the end of next year.

Our goal, by 2025, is to create a cultural movement towards reusables by giving customers easy access to a personal or Starbucks provided reusable to-go cup for every visit, making it convenient and delightful to reuse wherever customers are enjoying their Starbucks Experience, the company said.

The announcement is part of a company push to cut its waste in half by 2030. Currently, the chain tosses around seven billion disposable cups every year, CNBC reported. The cups and their lids account for 40 percent of the companys packaging waste and 20 percent of its global waste footprint, chief sustainability officer Michael Kobori told CNBC. But they also have important symbolic value.

Our cup is ubiquitous, and we love that, Kobori told CNN. But it is also this ubiquitous symbol of a throwaway society.

Starbucks has already taken steps towards phasing out disposable cups globally. A little less than a year ago, it said it would phase out disposable cups entirely from South Korea stores by 2025. At the same time, it tried a reusable cup program at five Seattle cafes that allowed customers to borrow a reusable cup that they could then return to the store.

Customers were just so excited to try something new and my partners had a lot of pride in testing it and giving that feedback to make the program even better, Kim Davis, manager of one of the first U.S. stores to test the program, said in the announcement. I do think that everyone really does want to contribute to a better world, and if we can help them do that one cup at a time, that is our mission right there.

Starbucks continues to trial the borrow-a-cup program in Japan, Singapore and London, according to CNBC.

It is also experimenting with different incentives to encourage customers to choose reusable cups. The store has offered a 10-cent discount to customers who bring their own mugs since the 1980s, but few people actually do this. The company is now going to try out a 10-cent fee for disposable cups and a 50-cent discount for personal thermoses. A previous goal of getting a quarter of customers to use reusable mugs by 2015 did not materialize.

What weve learned from our consumer research is that even the most ardent champions of sustainability really do not claim that they carry a reusable cup around with them, Amelia Landers, Starbucks vice president of product innovation, told CNBC.

Because of this, the future of sustainability at Starbucks likely lies with the borrow-a-cup model.

I think that will take the lead, Landers told CNN.

Greenpeace also seemed to lean towards the borrow-a-cup model. The environmental group has previously criticized Starbucks for phasing out waste too slowly at its U.S. stores. However, it responded favorably to Tuesdays announcement, but argued that Starbucks needed to make reusable options easy and accessible for customers.

Responding to the millions of people who have demanded Starbucks end its throwaway business model, the company has taken a significant step towards embracing reuse, Greenpeace USA plastics project lead Kate Melges said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. To truly succeed at its reuse goals, Starbucks has to take it one step further and ensure the onus is not just on their customers; reusable cups must be accessible, making a single-use cup swap doable for all customers. The companys shift towards reuse should prevent billions of pieces of plastic from ending up in the environment and sends a clear signal to the fossil fuel industry that there is no future for their disposable plastic.
Pittsburgh comms. director to keynote annual student PR day at Edinboro

The communications director at the largest sheriffs office in Pennsylvania and a speed-networking session with top regional public relations professionals will highlight the 2022 Student Day, hosted by the Northwest Pennsylvania branch of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and Edinboro University.

The event, scheduled for Wednesday, April 13, is open to all local college students interested in public relations, communications and journalism. Attendance at the event is free, but registration is required by emailing Thomas Taylor, president of Edinboros Public Relations Student Society of America.

Tony Griffith, communications director at the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office in Pittsburgh, will launch the event with his talk at 2 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Frank G. Pogue Student Center.

NWPA PRSA is delighted to be able to bring back an in-person PR Student Day this spring, and Edinboro University is happy to host it, said Dr. Tony Peyronel, Edinboros executive director for entrepreneurial development and an NWPA PRSA board member. College students from the area will have a chance to hear from one of Pittsburgh's rising young public relations practitioners and to interact with some of the top PR professionals in the region during the ever-popular speed networking session.

The keynote will immediately be followed by a speed-networking session between students and more than 25 regional PR professionals.

"The Public Relations Student Day provides a valuable opportunity for college students to learn more about the field of public relations and communication along with networking with professionals working in the field," said Taylor, first-year graduate student in Edinboro's Communication Studies program. "This is great for students looking for internships and career opportunities after graduation since they are engaging directly with public relations professionals."

Griffith is responsible for managing all communications at the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office, including media and constituent relations, graphic and web design, social media, public events and publications.

He was included in the 2019 class of "Who's Next" by The Incline, a digital news organization that identifies Pittsburgh's most successful young professionals. Griffith holds a bachelor's degree from Westminster College and a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Policy and International Affairs.
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Ive never seen the public more engaged with their government than now.

In the past few years, citizens have spoken out loudly about mask mandates and Critical Race Theory before school boards. Theyve questioned the fairness of the 2020 election. Theyve challenged the decisions of state officials to shut down the economy amid the pandemic.

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To dig for evidence supporting their positions, citizens have given the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law quite a workout.

Thats fabulous.

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This week is Sunshine Week, a national effort promoting open government and freedom of information. I always celebrate the week by reminding people about the power of the law and encouraging them to use it.

The more people who use it, the better. Public officials must be reminded that what they do is a matter of public record. The Right-to-Know Law is a deterrent to backroom deal making and political gamesmanship.

[ A Pennsylvania lawmaker spent $1,623 on breakfast with Eagle Scouts, then tried to keep it secret ]

Now, I think some people are wasting their time trying to prove conspiracy theories about the election being rigged and about students being indoctrinated with Critical Race Theory.

But Im still glad they are using the law.

The beauty of the law is it doesnt allow government to consider why someone wants records. Governments must provide records to everyone, without regard to how the information may be used.

The law presumes all records of local, county and state government agencies are public, unless they specifically are excluded. Examples of excluded records are those about security, trade secrets, personal financial information and criminal investigations.

Its difficult to say how many Right-to-Know requests are filed annually in Pennsylvania. No agency tracks that. To get a tally, youd have to ask each school district, municipality, county and state agency.

One way to gauge the volume is by how many appeals are handled by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records. It adjudicates disputes over access to government files. In 2021, it received the most appeals ever, 2,990.

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Thats not only an indication that many people are seeking access to government records, but an indication that they arent giving up when the government refuses to hand over documents.

Citizens are keeping a closer eye on how all levels of public government are acting and are often unwilling to accept an agencys public remarks as the final answer, Office of Open Records Executive Director, Liz Wagenseller wrote in her agencys 2021 annual report released Monday..

Based on the record-breaking number of appeals our office decided, the Right-to-Know Law appears to now have a permanent place in the toolbox for active citizens.

Here are a few shining examples of how the law exposed questionable government actions last year. They are mentioned in Mondays annual report.

* An internal Pennsylvania Turnpike report revealing that $104 million of tolls went uncollected as the agency switched to all-electronic tolling.

* Records regarding the termination of two Lancaster police officers for submitting forged COVID-19 vaccination forms.

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* Documentation that Philadelphia transferred $5 million in foster childrens Social Security benefits to the citys general fund.

* Inspection reports revealing 229 smoke detector violations at Pennsylvania child care facilities.

[ Some of the things you know about because of Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law ]

Morning Call senior reporter Peter Hall uses the Right-to-Know Law a lot. In the past year he discovered:

Northampton Community College paid a former administrator $185,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging he was not considered for a promotion because he is Black.

Allentown paid $400,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a city resident who alleged police beat him and conducted a sham investigation to cover it up.

There were two previous incidents on a ski lift at Camelback Ski Area where a chair plunged to the ground, injuring a father and two children.

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Morning Call Capitol correspondent Ford Turner used the law to obtain documents that raised questions about how the state tracked drug overdose deaths.

Unfortunately, not all governments are interested in cooperating with people who ask for records.

Sometimes, they ignore requests. Or, they play games, figuring the average citizen isnt familiar enough with the law to know they are being given the runaround.

Its not hard to find examples. I found several in the Office of Open Records rulings issued on just one day, Monday.

Locally, Salisbury Township blew off a request.

Joseph Kuzo asked for emails between township workers. The law requires a government to answer a request within five business days. It can take 30 days if time is needed to gather documents or conduct a legal analysis about whether requested documents are public.

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Salisbury told Kuzo it would need 30 days. Then it never got back to him.

That means the request was considered to be denied. Kuzo appealed to the Office of Open Records. The township ignored the appeal, too, and Kuzo won his case Monday.

There is no dispute that the records requested  emails between agency employees  are public records, appeals officer Erin Burlew wrote.

She ordered Salisbury Township to give Kuzo the records within 30 days, or send him a letter saying the records he asked for dont exist.

Its important to know your rights and responsibilities under the law, including how to file a request for records, who to send it to and the timeline to receive a ruling and file an appeal.

That information is on the Office of Open Records website at openrecords.pa.gov, and the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalitions website at pafoic.org/.

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Morning Call columnist Paul Muschick can be reached at 610-820-6582 or paul.muschick@mcall.com

[ Some Pennsylvania agencies still hiding government records ]
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Washington, MO (63090)

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This August 2016 file photo shows peaches from Isom's Orchard available at the Athens Saturday Market. Following a recent 4-0 vote by the Limestone County Commission, Athens Main Street is now managing two weekly markets for patrons at the Green Street Farmers Market Pavilion. Farmers interested in becoming a vendor or would like more information about the Athens Farmers Market should visit https://athensmainstreet.org/athens-farmers-market/ or https://www.facebook.com/AthensALFarmersMarket.
Cherry Lee Ward Yeager age 87 of Athens died Monday at Athens Limestone Hospital. Mrs. Yeager was born October 21, 1934 in Giles County Tennessee. She was a longtime member of First Baptist Church Athens where she sang in the chrior, and was active in the WMU. Mrs. Yeager was a Red Cross vol
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Its new-phone season again, between all the announcements at Mobile World Congress last month and the inevitable release of new iPhones and Pixels looming in the fall. Which means you'll be faced with a hard choice: upgrade or stick it out another year with your current device. The annual cycle of new flagship handset releases can be a little tough on your wallet, though, which is why you might want to offset the cost by putting your old device up for sale. But which trade-in service will yield you the biggest bang for your buck? And how much of a pain will it be? We've rounded up some of the leading contenders for offloading your old electronics. Not just phones, either  perhaps you have an old laptop that isn't quite cutting it anymore, or maybe you've got some other stuff sitting in the closet collecting dust.

Trade-in sites

If you're looking for the littlest hassle and want your money as soon as possible, there are plenty of sites that will automate the trade-in process. You'll select your device from a list, get a quote within a minute and send the device back for cash in a matter of days.

Decluttr

Decluttr definitely lives up to its name. Not only can you sell phones from a number of manufacturers, including Apple, Samsung and HTC, but the site also takes lots of physical media, including CDs, DVDs, video games and books. For devices, you'll be asked for a general assessment of its condition, and given a quote immediately. Once you complete your order the site will send you a free shipping label. Decluttr also reaches back pretty far like with sales of the iPhone 6, though it'll offer you only $5 for an 16GB model in good condition.

uSell

uSell operates as a broker, searching other sites for their best offers on a given device and taking care of the rest. Like most buyback sites, it's big on iPhones, but you can still sell off other manufacturers' devices; it really depends on who's buying them at that point. The selection is a bit of a grab bag  newer phones like the Galaxy S21 aren't listed, though you can get a quote for the iPhone 11 ($305 for an unlocked, flawless 64GB model). Once you complete your order the site will send you a free shipping kit to send out your phone, and you can get paid for the item via PayPal or an old fashioned check.

ecoATM

If you don't want to have to worry about packaging up your old device and mailing it off, or would like to receive your payout right away, there's always ecoATM. It's literally there in the name: an automated machine that you place your device into and it examines the handset and pays you on the spot. It accepts the biggest brands (i.e., Apple and Samsung), along with devices from a wide variety of manufacturers, including LG, Motorola and ZTE. If the machine determines that your device isn't worth anything at all, you can still use ecoATM to responsibly recycle your old gadget. You'll find ecoATM kiosks in Walmart stores and malls across the country.

Amazon

While browsing Amazon listings, its likely youve come across products marked as refurbished. Well, if youve ever wondered where those come from, a lot of them likely hail from Amazons trade-in program. The company will put its own products, like Kindle readers and Fire tablets front and center, but you can also send in phones and gaming products in for an Amazon gift card as well. Its not great if you want cash, but if youre looking to upgrade an Amazon device this option is your best bet, as trading in an older device also nets you a 20 percent discount in addition to the store credit.

Apple

This is a good option if youre looking to upgrade to a newer Apple device. You can trade in iPhones, iPads, Macs and even Apple Watches. Thats notable as wearables are a device category you dont often see on trade-in sites. Apple will even take your old Android phone if you were thinking of making the switch. The trade-in values are on par with other sites, and you can get your payout in the form of a gift card instead if youd rather wait before making a new purchase, put it toward media purchases or even just use it in an Apple Store. Which, by the way, also accepts trade-ins in case youre not comfortable shipping your old but still expensive device.

It'sWorthMore

The nice thing about ItsWorthMore is that its on-site forms handle a larger variety of gadgets than other sites, incorporating companies such as Microsoft, Sonos and even GoPro in addition to standards like Apple, Samsung and Google. Youll answer a few standard questions about your devices condition and whether you still have the original box  obviously, the more youve kept from the original packaging, the better. Youll then get a ballpark estimate of its worth and a prepaid shipping label to print out. Once your device is received youll generally receive the assessment and payment via check, PayPal or Zelle within two to three business days.

BuyBackWorld

The appeal of BuyBackWorld is that device assessment is a streamlined process: Instead of having to answer a barrage of detailed questions for your device you can just give it a general assessment and let the site handle the rest. Just like with ItsWorthMore, BuyBackWorld will provide a printable shipping label in your confirmation email but, if you dont have a printer or boxes to pack your device up, you can always have the site send you a free shipping kit, which can handle every gadget the site takes except desktop computers.

GadgetGone

If youve read through the other site descriptions, GadgetGones modus operandi should be familiar: To sell a product, youll have to answer a few questions about what type of device you have and what condition its in, after which the site will generate a prepaid shipping label. At least here you can find brands like OnePlus included among the options, and you can also sell MacBooks and Mac Minis here. The sites biggest gimmick is that you can also send in photos of your pets; you wont get any additional money but your fur baby (or scaled or feathered friend) may be featured on social media.

Store trade-ins

Sometimes you need your money right now, or just don't want to trust your device to the vagaries of various shipping companies. There are a few nationwide retailers that accept trade-ins for cash or store credit. Additionally, wireless carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and Sprint will all give you credit toward a new phone.

Best Buy

Best Buy also offers trade-ins both by mail and in-store  with more than 1,000 locations, this might be extremely convenient for you. You fill out the form online and bring that to customer service. It's easy, but there's one big downside: You can get your payout only via a Best Buy gift card. This is great if you spend a lot of money with them anyway, but less good if you really need cash.

GameStop

GameStop is infamous for buying games back at ridiculously low prices and flipping them at near retail, but don't let that stop you from making some quick cash when you need to quickly clear your closet of old electronics and games. And yes, I said cash: GameStop offers store credit, a Visa prepaid card or actual money if you want to take your bounty elsewhere. For example, you can trade in Animal Crossing for the Switch and get $21 in store credit or $17 cash, which isn't bad when new copies are going for $50 on Amazon. GameStop also accepts phones and connected home devices, though the prices aren't going to match what you'd get from an online trade-in site.

Consumer to consumer

Sometimes you prefer to cut out the middleman and get a bit more personal  a transaction where you're selling your device directly to another person instead of letting a faceless site flip it for you as a "refurbished" unit. In those cases, you want a site that's more user-to-user, though a few will still automate certain bits to make your sale as smooth as possible.

Swappa

Swappa is a marketplace site, which means sellers can set their own price. So if you're getting rid of a newer phone, this is probably the best way to go  the iPhone 13 fetches around $729, for example. That's a huge improvement over what you'd get selling through a site like Decluttr, which is offering only $506 for a 128GB unit.

Amazon

When shopping on Amazon, you've probably been tempted by some of those marketplace deals in the past and, chances are, if you list an item on there, someone will give your old device a look. Since almost everyone on earth seems to have an Amazon account, your potential customer base is huge, and it costs only $0.99, plus a percentage based on category, to sell an item through the site. The downsides are that Amazon isn't really optimized for individual sales; you'll be competing with wholesale companies and even bots that will tweak the price of a product automatically in response to the competition.

eBay

eBay is sort of the Wild West of sales sites, but the biggest advantage is that you can sell anything there and hopefully find a buyer, regardless of how old a product is. Even so, the site has come a long way in the past decade or so, adding structured categories that can help lead customers to your product  for phones, you can search by network, color or storage capacity, and even filter for features like 4K video or fingerprint sensors.

In the end, it still works as it always did: You list a product and set an end date for the listing with a minimum price, or just set a "Buy It Now" price if you don't want to wait to see how an auction turns out. Chances are you already have an eBay account with a feedback score, so there's no extra setup required on your part. Your first 50 listings are free every month, and you'll pay 10 percent of the purchase price only if an item sells. The biggest downside is that you're competing with a lot more sellers, and chances are there's always someone willing to undercut you on price.

Cash-back comparison

Ultimately, the site you go with should be whatever's most useful and convenient, but if you just care about how much money you'll end up with, we've priced out a few recent flagship handsets just to give you an idea of what each site offers. We've also thrown in the Xbox One X, because it might be time to sell yours off and finally upgrade to an Xbox Series X.

All phone prices are for the lowest storage capacity, either 64GB or 128GB. The prices are for the unlocked models when available, or the carrier where it's being traded. These are only estimates, and were valid the day this post was written. Prices will fluctuate daily or, in the case of sites like Amazon and eBay, hourly.

Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G Google Pixel 5 Xbox One X (1TB) Decluttr $446 $292 $287 $190 uSell $480 N/A N/A $120 ecoATM $265 $140 $90 N/A Sprint $330 $225 $205 N/A Verizon $338 $288 $195 N/A T-Mobile $360 $225 $190 N/A AT&T $330 $290 $200 N/A Best Buy $380 $275 $250 $200 GameStop $369 cash / $461 credit $252 cash / $315 credit N/A $188 cash / $237 credit Swappa $594 $540 $280 $245 Amazon $536 $537 $309 $430 eBay $445 $525 $300 $150 BuyBackWorld $450 $300 $175 $125 It'sWorthMore $463 $303 $203 $180 GadgetGone $465 $335 $290 $160

If you were looking to sell some games, we've also got a shorter list, because not every site accepts game trade-ins. GameStop will offer you more money than what's listed below if you're a member of its Elite or Elite Pro programs.

Battlefield 2042 (Xbox Series X/S) Horizon Forbidden West (PS5) Pokemon Legends Arceus (Switch) Decluttr $7.62 $28 $28 GameStop $1.76 cash / $2 credit N/A $26 cash / $33 credit Amazon $50 $68 $51 eBay $10 $46 $53

Once you've picked a site and listed your item, there are a few important things to remember before you ship off your device. The most important, when disposing of a phone or laptop or any other device containing personal data, is to do a full factory reset of your device. That also means turning off "Find My iPhone" and the activation lock on iOS devices. See if you can unlock the phone, too; you'll actually get more money selling a carrier-free device. And finally, make sure you've backed up any important data you may have, like contact info, game save data and, of course, photos. Cash is great, but it won't save your memories.

Images: Mike Blake / Reuters (ecoATM); Alamy (Gamestop); Getty Images for eBay (eBay)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Tesla is suspending production at its Shanghai factory for two days, according to a notice sent internally and to suppliers, as China tightens COVID restrictions to curb the country's latest outbreak.

The Shanghai factory runs around the clock, and suppliers and Tesla staff were told on Wednesday in the notice, reviewed by Reuters, that production would be suspended for Wednesday and Thursday.

It did not give a reason for the stoppage at the plant, also known as the Gigafactory 3, which makes the Tesla Model 3 sedan and the Model Y crossover sport utility vehicle.

Many cities across China, including Shanghai, have been rolling out strict movement controls to stem the country's largest COVID-19 outbreak in two years. The measures have also caused factory shutdowns in parts of the country, putting pressure on supply chains.

Tesla did not have immediate comment.

Its Shanghai factory produces cars for the China market and is also a crucial export hub to Germany and Japan. It delivered 56,515 vehicles in February, including 33,315 for export, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

That amounts to an average of around 2,018 vehicles a day.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspension of work would apply to other plant operations over the two days.

Two people briefed on the notice said they understood it applied to Tesla's general assembly lines. They declined to be identified because the information was not public.

The notice did not specify whether the measures would correspond to a loss of production, or whether Tesla could make up for any lost output.

Authorities in Shanghai have asked many residents not to leave their homes or work places for 48 hours to as long as 14 days as they conduct COVID tests or carry out contact tracing.

In a separate notice issued on Wednesday that was also seen by Reuters, Tesla asked suppliers to estimate how many workers were needed to achieve full production and to provide details of workers affected by COVID restrictions.

It also asked suppliers to prepare workers to live, sleep and eat at the factories in an arrangement similar to China's "closed-loop management" process. Apple supplier Foxconn was allowed to resume some operations at its Shenzhen campus on Wednesday after it set up such an arrangement.

Tesla was alerted by one supplier last weekend that its production had been affected by COVID measures, said a person familiar with the matter. That supplier told Tesla that its stockpiles could only last for two days, the person said.

Any protracted China lockdowns will further rattle Asian supply chains, OCBC economist Wellian Wiranto said in a research note, noting the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen alone produces 11% of China's exports.

(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Kim Coghill)
Foxconn, which is perhaps most known for assembling Apple's devices in its factories, has partially restarted operations in Shenzhen. The company closed its factories in the city a few days ago after the government imposed new lockdowns and restrictions in an effort to curb the country's worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years. According to Bloomberg, two of Foxconn's campuses in Shenzhen, one of which makes iPhones, won approval to partly restart their operations by adopting a "closed loop" management process.

Shenzhen is one of China's special economic zones and is known for serving as home to many electronics manufacturers. The tech hub has experienced tremendous economic growth over the past 10 years or so and contributes immensely  to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars  to China's GDP. A long lockdown could lead to considerable economic loss for the country, which is most likely why Shenzhen said it would allow companies to operate, so long as they implement a "factory bubble" approach.

In this closed loop or factory bubble system, workers would have to live on site and can only travel from company housing to their workplaces. They also have to be tested regularly. Wuhan adopted similar measures when it went under a lockdown that lasted for months at the beginning of the pandemic. It's also similar to the bubble system used to protect athletes and locals during the Beijing Winter Olympics.

It's unclear if the factory shutdowns will have a huge effect on Apple's production rates, though it's worth noting that the tech giant has been grappling with supply chain issues and has been struggling to keep up with demand since last year.
Google might come to your rescue the next time you need to write a carefully-worded email. The company is rolling out a Google Docs update that lets Workspace and legacy G Suite users collaborate on Gmail drafts. Open the email draft template (Insert > Building Blocks > Email draft) and your colleagues can comment or make suggestions. You won't always need to know recipients' email addresses, either, as you can mention people by name.

When you're ready to send the email, you just need to click a button to open a Gmail compose window and finalize the message. Docs will automatically populate all the relevant fields.

The feature will take up to 15 days to reach companies on Rapid Release domains, and will start reaching more cautious Scheduled Release customers on March 22nd. There's no mention of availability for personal use. At work, however, this could prove very handy  lawyers could use it to produce an airtight email to a client, while marketers might work together on their ideal sales pitch.
Before he gained widespread acclaim for his leadership of Ukraine following Russia's invasion, president Volodymyr Zelensky was a famous actor and comedian. He starred in a satirical comedy series called Servant of the People, which is now once again available to view on Netflix in the US.

You asked and its back!



Servant of the People is once again available on Netflix in The US. The 2015 satirical comedy series stars Volodymyr Zelenskyy playing a teacher who unexpectedly becomes President after a video of him complaining about corruption suddenly goes viral. pic.twitter.com/Pp9f48jutF  Netflix (@netflix) March 16, 2022

Zelensky played a teacher who is unexpectedly elected president of Ukraine after a video of him ranting about government corruption goes viral. As The New York Times notes, the series, which ran from 2015 to 2019, proved successful in Russia as well as Ukraine. The show has previously been on Netflix in the US, and the service suggested it was bringing Servant of the People back by popular demand.

It's not surprising that subscribers are interested in watching the show that helped propel Zelensky to the presidency. It'll be interesting to see if Netflix shares viewership figures in the coming weeks.

Still, Netflix is touting the return of the show amid a conflict in Ukraine in which thousands of people have been killed. The number of refugees who have fled the country is in the millions, according to the United Nations.

Netflix is one of many companies that have cut ties with Russia over the last few weeks. Its streaming platform is no longer available there. It reportedly suspended production and content acquisitions in the country too.
Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM CDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Oklahoma and northern Texas, including the following counties, in Oklahoma, Alfalfa, Atoka, Blaine, Bryan, Caddo, Canadian, Carter, Cleveland, Coal, Comanche, Cotton, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Hughes, Jefferson, Johnston, Kay, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, Love, Major, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Noble, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Stephens and Tillman. In northern Texas, Archer, Clay, Wichita and Wilbarger. * WHEN...From 6 AM CDT this morning through Thursday morning. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations. Creeks and streams may rise out of their banks. Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Extensive street flooding and flooding of creeks and rivers are possible. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Showers and thunderstorms will develop Wednesday morning over a broad swath of the watch area. Another round of rain and thunderstorms is expected later in the afternoon and will last much of Wednesday night before ending Thursday morning. Storm total amounts of 2 to 5 inches are expected. Given recent rainfall, these additional amounts may cause flooding. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
The Alamo Regional Mobility Authority could decide Wednesday whether to pursue one of two proposals  including one from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musks tunneling company  to shuttle visitors between San Antonio International Airport and downtown.

Austin-based The Boring Co., backed by Musk, is proposing twin underground tunnels that would accommodate Teslas to transport riders, according to a January presentation to the RMA board. The estimated cost would be between $241 million and $298 million.

Bexar Automated Transport (BAT) proposed an autonomous bus traveling via a combination of elevated and underground tracks, according to the presentation. It would cost an estimated $330 million.

BAT is a consortium that includes SAK Construction LLC, a Missouri pipeline services and tunneling firm, North Carolinas Thalle Construction Company Inc. and ModuTram Mexico, a software company in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Praetor Capital

Two weeks after Alamo RMA board members held closed-door interviews with the competing groups, theyre set to discuss financial and build-out plans at a public meeting 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Bexar County Public Works Department.

Alamo RMA Chairman Michael Lynd Jr. said the seven-member board could select a finalist and start negotiating a development agreement. Or the board could postpone its decision  or scrap the idea altogether.

Even if we decide to move forward with a group this week, theres no assurance that well get to a point that were comfortable that the concept is viable, said Lynd, CEO of Kairoi Residential.

The Boring Co. would self-finance its project before turning it over to the RMA, according to county officials. The company probably is looking to generate income by operating the loop.

On ExpressNews.com: Elon Musks Boring Co., four other submit proposals for airport-to-downtown routes

BAT said it would require a public subsidy for construction and recommended that VIA Metropolitan Transit operate the system.

The RMA said it could sell bonds to help finance such projects.

Ultimately, its got to be financible, Lynd said. As the RMA, we dont have a bunch of money sitting in a bank account that we can throw at a project like this.

On the cusp of the decision, he said the RMA didnt set out to take on a large airport-to-downtown project.

In October 2019, the board invited public and private groups to submit ideas regarding new delivery methods for transportation projects and development of new revenue sources.

The Boring Co. responded last July.

After staff reviewed the proposal, the RMA formally asked contractors to submit plans for a transportation project that can efficiently and economically transport people between the general vicinity of the San Antonio International Airport and the downtown area of San Antonio.

The RMA received five proposals by the Dec. 1 deadline. The board named the finalists in January.

By car, the 9.6-mile trip between the airport and downtown area takes about 15 minutes, mostly on U.S. 281  not exactly a long haul.

Still, Lynd said the RMA has been seeking creative moneymaking projects.

Created by the county, the independent agency works on transportation projects, but its funding is scant, limited to vehicle registration fees. The RMA could bring in revenue from the operation of toll roads, but it has no such projects  largely because of fierce opposition to toll plans in the past.

Toll roads are the main source of revenue for most other RMAs in Texas.

What were trying to do is ask, Is there some way that were not thinking about that we can get into a venture with someone to get into a revenue stream? Lynd said.

He also said there appears to be a need for an alternative to the airport-to-downtown transportation provided by the VIA buses, cabs and Uber and Lyft rideshares. Many visitors landing at San Antonio International stay downtown for business, conventions or leisure.

The RMA  whose members are appointed by Bexar County commissioners, and its chair by Gov. Greg Abbott  has refused to release The Boring CO.s and BATs full plans.

Two weeks ago, Lynd selected three board members, including himself, and staff to a hold private interviews with the groups. Four board members wouldve made a quorum, which would have made the interview open to the public.

Bexar County spokeswoman Monica Ramos said both finalists requested that their interviews be closed to the public because they were concerned about disclosing private financial information.

Neither The Boring Co. nor BAT responded to requests for comment.

Because we were able to be behind closed doors, we could ask some pretty significant detailed questions about specifics of their operations that they felt like were proprietary, Lynd said.

The Boring Co. built a 1.7-mile, 3-station transportation loop that opened in June beneath the Las Veges Convention Center, at a cost to taxpayers of $52.5 million. But its unclear what the company would charge local passengers or how much revenue the system would generate for the RMA.

BATs plan calls for passengers paying $6.50 per trip, according to documents provided by Praetor Capital, a firm that invests in automated transit networks and thats partnering with the consortium. Passengers could catch rides from several stations between the airport and downtown. Theyd board eight-passenger electric vehicles that run at 45 mph for a trip from the airport to the Convention Center. BAT estimates ridership at about 500,000 per year, for revenue of $13.7 million.

eric.killelea@express-news.net
Billionaire Larry Fink founded BlackRock  with an estimated $10 trillion under management, its the worlds largest asset manager  and has emerged over the past four years as the embodiment of a set of debates about capitalism. His self-appointed role is both important and controversial.

We should understand what he says he is trying to do, what he is capable of doing, and the problems that arise from the extraordinary concentration of power in one mans hands.

Fink was already a titan of Wall Street 20 years ago when I was working as a mortgage bond salesman. In the 1980s he had been a key architect of the mortgage market with First Boston, then founded BlackRock in 1988. His firm grew steadily, then expanded massively as a big player in the resolution of failed companies like Bear Stearns and AIG after the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. And BlackRocks assets under management ballooned when it acquired the ETF and index fund business from Barclays.

Now, because of its outsize role as an index-fund manager, BlackRock wields an unusual amount of power over the levers of capitalism. It is typically either the largest or second-largest shareholder (usually with fellow index-fund giant Vanguard) in big U.S. public companies.

On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Billionaire philosopher king Peter Thiel loves monopolies  democracy not so much

In theory, shareholders of public companies can vote on decisions that influence the corporate board. And boards hire and fire the CEO. In practice, such shareholder democracy is rarely that straightforward. But its worth noting the company Fink runs is the largest owner of shares in the largest companies in the country. Its quite a perch of power.

All of that is background to his transition from successful Wall Street CEO to philosopher king in 2018.

Jessie Wardarski, STF / Associated Press

Benefit all

That year, Fink wrote a letter addressed to the CEOs of the S&P 500 firms, the largest public companies in the country. His big idea: They needed to expand their responsibility beyond pure profits for shareholders. Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers and the communities in which they operate, he wrote. Stakeholder capitalism, Fink has argued in each annual letter to CEOs since, measures success by much more than profits.

In 2019, he urged businesses to make a positive contribution to society. In 2020, he leaned in to climate change, saying BlackRock would exit investments that present a high sustainability-related risk.

In addressing his fellow captains of industry, Fink wants to clarify between what he advocates with stakeholder capitalism and what he is not doing.

Stakeholder capitalism is not about politics, he writes in his 2022 letter. It is not a social or ideological agenda. It is not woke. It is capitalism, driven by mutually beneficial relationships between you and the employees, customers, suppliers, and communities your company relies on to prosper. This is the power of capitalism.

Because of his unique role, if Fink pushes BlackRock to consider a wider range of issues than mere shareholder profit, he effects a revolution in capitalist shareholder governance.

For my part, I begin with an openness to stakeholder capitalism because it seems humane, nuanced and realistic. Hes right that capitalists need to be concerned with more than just profitability. Governance, social norms, ethical concerns and the environment all matter tremendously. Powerful corporate leaders in particular have an obligation to seek out a balance of interests in a modern-day version of the Biblical passage from Luke 12:48: To whom much is given, much will be required.

Not all agree

I do not embrace the alternative view that capitalists should stick to a narrower, more traditional, set of goals. The late economist Milton Friedman argued for limiting the purview of a company to maximizing profits and profits alone and letting the rest sort itself out.

But not everyone is happy with Fink and his philosophy. Criticisms range from cynicism to hostility. Ultimately, I remain open to and glad for the critics because Im a skeptic of all billionaire philosopher kings. I mistrust unchecked concentrations of power, however well-meaning.

On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Ray Dalio, the hedge-fund fortune philosopher king who advocates for automatons

In practice, Finks stakeholder capitalism has most notably played out as BlackRock publicly leaning in on climate change, the most prominent issue in ESG  environmental, social and governance  investing. Naturally, there are those who think firms are doing too little and those who think Fink is asking too much.

The toughest critic of his stakeholder capitalism came from inside his own house. Tariq Fancy, BlackRocks own former chief investment officer of sustainable investing, left the firm in disgust. A year ago he began speaking to the media about his frustrations. He wrote in an opinion piece in USA Today:

In truth, sustainable investing boils down to little more than marketing hype, PR spin and disingenuous promises from the investment community. Existing mutual funds are cynically rebranded as green  with no discernible change to the fund itself or its underlying strategies  simply for the sake of appearances and marketing purposes.

This is the criticism from the side that supports the vision of stakeholder capitalism but that finds the implementation at BlackRock and other investment managers weak and hypocritical.

On ExpressNews.com: Taylor: Allowable, still unwise: Values investing category known as ESG has its ups and downs

And then theres the other side, pushing back on Finks call-outs to CEOs.

Real Estate billionaire Sam Zells zinger about the stakeholder approach: I didnt know Larry Fink had been made God.

Billionaire Warren Buffett chimed in: I dont believe in imposing my political opinions on the activities of our businesses.

Michael Nagle / Bloomberg

New bunch of emperors

Billionaire Charlie Munger  Buffetts right hand man  complained in February about Finks potential power to vote index shares to enact political views:

We have a new bunch of emperors, and theyre the people who vote the shares in the index funds, Munger told The Wall Street Journal. I think the world of Larry Fink, but Im not sure I want him to be my emperor.

This is Clash of Titans stuff, these debates among the billionaire class. But they also are articulating authentic differing sides of the debate on capitalism.

On balance, I do think we can do better than chasing pure profits. Im glad Fink has made a few of his fellow billionaires uncomfortable. But we should all be just as uncomfortable about the undemocratic way in which Fink can make consequential decisions that impact all of us.

The idea that someone should have this kind of extraordinary concentrated power to decide what is best for all stakeholders in capitalism is  troubling? Dangerous? Scary? I keep returning to the fact our system is poorly equipped to defend itself from the kind of power wielded by our billionaire overlords, however well-intentioned they may be.

Michael Taylor is a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, author of The Financial Rules for New College Graduates and host of the podcast No Hill For A Climber.

michael@michaelthesmart

money.com | twitter.com/michael_taylor
An enormous steel sculpture depicting a tiny Mao Zedong balancing atop the enormous head of Vladimir Lenin started people talking in San Antonio even before it was fully assembled in its new home downtown.

Both the subject matter and the timing of the installation, during Russias brutal, ongoing invasion of Ukraine, fueled the discussions.

Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenins Head is tucked into the courtyard of a vacant building owned by developer James Lifshutz in the 300 block of Commerce Street. There is some construction around the site right now, though the gleaming sculpture, which is about 20 feet tall, is visible from Commerce. The process of bringing the piece to San Antonio started last year.

Miss Mao was delivered in segments on two trucks last week. As it was being assembled, a long discussion about the sculpture began unspooling on the Texas Freedom Coalitions Facebook page, and a string of comments that would surpass 100 had begun on an Express-News Instagram post about the artwork. Most of the comments were negative, though some supported the piece.

Im sorry that some people are angered by it in their misinterpretation, Lifshutz said. Thats unfortunate. But I suppose thats indicative of the world we live in.

I think you have to engage with it, you have to become educated about the artists and their intent, but that takes a little time and effort. The original piece was made about 15 years ago, and the world has changed in that period of time. And the world has changed in the last month. So theres all sorts of permutations of metaphor and original intent that might emerge or have emerged.

Most of the posts about the sculpture do not say whether the writers had seen it in person.

In the comments on the Express-News Instagram post, a poster with the handle Javalin1000 wrote, This does not belong in San Antonio  truck this trash back to Moscow or Beijing, especially now. Very disappointing. Meme.n.cheese.taco wrote, Cause nothing says San Antonio like a chromed out Lenin head. And southtexas guy wrote, We shouldnt have this in our city.

A few comments here and there defend the work. Wyliepainterly wrote, The sculpture is satirical, and paytongkane wrote, Do any of you commenting understand symbolism or modern art? This piece is a criticism of communism.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

An Express-News Facebook post about the sculpture has been widely shared via a handful of pages, including the group Texan Conservatives and the Texas Freedom Coalition, which defines itself as a network of activists who advocate for constitutional government.

I am offended and want it torn down, Susan Shindler commented on the Texas Freedom Coalition post. Put up a statue of Reagan on one side and Trump on the other, Beverly Emerson proposed.

The online conversation shows that the Miss Mao is doing precisely what public art is supposed to do, said Andi Rodriguez, vice president of cultural placemaking for Centro San Antonio.

Kin Man Hui /Staff photographer

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Public art is out in the public realm so anyone can engage with it and anyone can have a dialogue with it, said Rodriguez, who helped facilitate the placement of the sculpture as part of Centros Art Everywhere initiative to bring more art downtown. We live in a democracy, and public art is the most democratic form of art because you dont have to pay to go into a museum.

Miss Mao was created by the Gao Brothers, Chinese siblings Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang. Much of their work is politically charged, according to Artnet, an international art market website. Their work often features Mao, the Chinese Communist revolutionary.

Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenins Head premiered as part of the 2009-2011 Vancouver Biennale, then ended up back in Vancouver after being displayed in front of a gallery in Los Angeles until the gallery went bankrupt in 2017.

So how did it find its way to the courtyard of Lifshutzs building?

It all started with a plea for help.

San Antonian Laura Tuttle, a composer and singer-songwriter who uses the name Laura Stark for her artistic endeavors, said she got a call in July from an art dealer friend. The friend asked if she could possibly tap into her art world contacts here and abroad to find a home for Miss Mao.

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The friend told her that the piece was in danger of being seized and potentially destroyed by Chinese authorities. The Gao Brothers, who are based in Beijing, have had their studio raided and exhibitions of their work shut down in China, according to The New York Times.

This was his story, that the authorities could decide to repatriate the sculpture or even destroy it, and he wanted to save it from that fate, said Tuttle, who added that she later learned that her friend may have overstated the urgency of the situation.

Tuttle has contacts in London, where she lived for more than 20 years and spent a lot of time in the art world. She also has plenty of contacts in San Antonio, her hometown, where she was involved in the early days of the Blue Star Arts Complex in the 1980s.

After brainstorming with San Antonio artists about who might have the will and the financial ability to bring Miss Mao here, she reached out to Lifshutz.

She did put it on my radar, he said. I stepped forward because I think its a super-interesting and beautiful piece and wanted to have it in San Antonio.

The Deborah Colton Gallery in Houston arranged for him to take the piece as an indefinite consignment.

Miss Maos new home is in an area of downtown, dubbed the Zona Cultural, that is undergoing a rebirth, including the ongoing renovation of the Alameda Theater and the nearby extension of the San Pedro Creek Culture Park. The building where Miss Mao resides is vacant. Lifshutz said he hasnt yet decided what to do with it, adding that its in the midst of a construction site right now.

Angry online comments that describe Miss Mao as being pro-communism are missing the mark, he said.

The Gao Brothers themselves are gentle people, and they stand for peace, and theyre pretty well-known for that, he said. So this is sort of anathema to their intent and demeanor. But Im hopeful that as people discover more about it as a piece of art, some of that anger will wane and understanding emerge.

Centro is hoping to facilitate discussion of Miss Mao with programming around the piece, including food trucks, local vendors and performances, including live music.

People can come out and listen to music and hang out and experience it, she said.

She said the online responses to Miss Mao remind her of comments made about Elevated Melanin, a street mural Centro facilitated around three sides of Travis Park in 202,0 also as part of Art Everywhere. It was painted in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and featured text by San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea Vocab Sanderson.

There were a lot of people who thought it was awesome, and there were a lot of people who thought it was terrible, Rodriguez said. But thats OK. Thats what art is. Its OK to disagree.

dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
After months of controversy, the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District voted to officially donate a $600,000 historic school building to a Hispanic-centered nonprofit education group, raising ire from community members who said the donation was a waste of taxpayer resources.

The former Bonham Prekindergarten School campus hasnt been used as a San Marcos CISD school since the early 2000s. But for the past 12 years, its been rented by the Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos as a center for education and outreach to the regions Mexican-American community.

Centro, as its commonly called, has rented the building from the school district for $6,650 per year, under a lease agreement that was set to expire in 2042.

Now, with last weeks 5-1 board vote, Centro will own the building in perpetuity.

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Amanda Rodriguez, Centros board president, said the donation is defining what equity means and represents a symbolic shift in Mexican-American student education in San Marcos.

That building was there because Hispanic kids were not deemed worthy enough to go to school alongside their white peers, she said.

The 13,000-square-foot former preschool building was built in 1949 to teach San Marcos Mexican-American children. It was a time when the idea of racial integration in schools was beginning to take off with the contemporary civil rights movement. But despite communitywide protests asserting that the new building would only perpetuate segregation between Mexican-American children and other racial groups, the city moved forward with educating exclusively Hispanic children there.

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The building was called Southside School until 1965, when it changed to Bonham and became one of the first Texas schools to offer bilingual education. It continued housing pupils until the early 2000s, when it sat vacant for a year, and Centro began renting the building in 2009.

It was designated a Texas Historic Landmark in 2005.

San Marcos Superintendent Michael Cardona said at the March 7 San Marcos CISD meeting that the school district no longer needs the property or the building for educational purposes.

But the donation of the school building to Centro was not without controversy.

The building is part of a larger complex that is appraised for approximately $2.4 million, although the value of the two lots specifically on which the school sits is $600,000.

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Given how quickly the city of San Marcos is growing  and given the increasing financial constraints associated with the growth that is being placed on the school district  about 100 community members spoke or wrote in to last weeks school board meeting and a meeting in September 2021 to sound off.

Many taxpayers were of the opinion that the building should not be donated.

Larkin Smith, a San Marcos resident who said hes paid taxes in the district for over 50 years, said giving away school buildings is a highly questionable tactic for the school trustees.

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You were not voted in to discuss giving away property that belongs to the taxpayers of this community, Smith said at the March 7 meeting.

Mitchell Hoffman, another San Marcos taxpayer whose entire family has worked for or attended schools in the district, pleaded with the trustees to not make an emotional decision.

What are you elected to do? Give away district assets? he asked, addressing the trustees. I dont think so.

But others supported the donation, given Centros many contributions over the years to the local Hispanic community.

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Taxpayer Ida Miller said she supported the donation because Centro supports families historically disenfranchised due to skin color, language and culture.

The board ultimately voted 5-1 to approve the donation, with Trustee Margie Villalpando abstaining since she is one of the founding members of Centro.

District 4 Trustee Kathy Hansen was the lone dissenter, siding with voters who said the former school shouldnt be donated.

Were going into our budget with a $7 million deficit, she said. These are taxpayer funds that we are donating.

With the school boards vote, the building will now be Centros home base for the foreseeable future. The nonprofits educational curriculum includes arts, literature, music, food and multimedia.

This opportunity seemingly severed our ties with San Marcos CISD, but if anything, we are going to continue to reach out to them more now, Rodriguez said.

Annie Blanks writes for the Express-News through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. ReportforAmerica.org. annie.blanks@express-news.net.
AUSTIN  The three-bedroom, 2 -bath house recently built in east Austin has all the earmarks of a mid-century modernist Texas ranch: clean lines, large windows, a flat roof and plenty of wood, inside and out.

But the house, designed by the Austin office of San Antonio-based Lake | Flato, was built using a large-scale 3D concrete printing system developed by Icon, an Austin-based home-building company. It was constructed as a demonstration project to illustrate the promise of Icons 3D printing technology to build high-end yet sustainable and energy-efficient homes.

The houses most arresting design elements are the curved exterior walls that have been compared to tree trunks and elephant legs. Theyre made from Icons proprietary cementlike material called Lavacrete that is extruded by the printing machine like a thick squeeze of toothpaste and stacked in layers like a coil. The result looks unlike anything constructed using traditional building materials.

3D printing technology uses a computer-created designs to build three-dimensional objects such as furniture, automotive parts, toys and sculptures in layers out of a variety of materials. In this instance, the technology was used to form both the interior and exterior walls, like an adobe house. The rest of the house was finished out using more traditional construction methods.

This is the first time Lake | Flato has designed a 3D-printed house, according to Ashley Heeren, an architect in Lake | Flatos Austin office and co-lead on the project with associate partner Lewis McNeel.

Were involved because Icon invited us, and we loved their aspiration to take the concrete printing technology that theyd been working with into a different market, a different aesthetic, she said.

Dubbed House Zero and owned by Icon, the house is a showcase for how the companys 3D wall printing system can be used to more sustainably construct single- and multi-family homes. It is also intended as a potential answer to societal issues such as chronic homelessness and the need for fast, emergency housing following natural and man-made disasters.

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My hope is that this home will provoke architects, developers, builders, and homeowners to dream alongside Icon about the exciting and hopeful future that robotic construction, and specifically 3D printing, makes possible, said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Icon in a statement. The housing of our future must be different from the housing we have known.

When the house opened for tours during this years South by Southwest conference and festival, it was so popular, there was a wait list.

Icon

After the house foundation was poured, a large gantry, a bridgelike structure that supports the Lavacrete nozzle, was brought to the job site and fixed onto rails. Moving side to side and up and down, the computer-controlled nozzle extruded the Lavacrete layers, building the walls according to the architectural plan.

Building a house this way eliminates five to six steps of a typical sticks and bricks home construction, according to Cara Caulkins, a spokeswoman for Icon.

There is not an ounce of Sheetrock in this home, so from a sustainability point, theres way less waste on a home thats 3D printed, she said.

The process also improves a homes energy efficiency. R-value is a generally accepted measure of a materials insulating properties and the Energy Star programs recommendations for exteriors walls are R-13 to R-23. The Lavacrete walls are rated at R-40.

And the rest of the wall systems within the home are well above minimum code requirements, Caulkins said.

The undulating walls serve both aesthetic and structural purposes. While they help support the structure, they are also used to create ground-level planters on the outside of the house. Inside, they formed three small niches off the large central living area, one for a dining nook, another a small seating space and a third for a tidy home office.

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This was one of those opportunities to use the technology to create different types of spaces, Heeren said. That would not make sense with any other material.

Richard A. Marini /Staff

Inside the house, walls that are not made of Lavacrete are Douglas fir, hung as panels that provide a softer, richer counterpoint.

The Lavacrete can be painted, but in this house it retains its raw, gray color, although subtle differences in each days batch of concrete creates slight variations in the shading of the individual layers.

The only room in the house without walls at least partially 3D printed is the kitchen, which has large windows overlooking the small backyard and will soon be screened from the neighbors once the vines planted along the fence grow in.

We let the kitchen stand on its own as one other experience within the overall house, explained Heeren who added with a laugh, although actually, the countertop is concrete  but not 3D printed.

In several places, including the powder room and the owners suite shower, a plaster product was applied inside of the curved inner walls of the Lavacrete.

The plaster smooths out the surface and creates a more continuous curve with a different finish, Heeren said. It was fun to play with the plaster. With the shower, we were like, Why not make it round? It showcases the shower in a different light, and with no hard corners, its easier to clean.

The house also includes a separate, 350-square-foot casita that has a full bathroom, a small kitchen and Murphy bed to convert the living area into a bedroom. Its walls also were built with the 3D-printed Lavacrete.

Icon would not disclose the construction cost of the house, and representatives say they have no plans to sell it. Instead, it will continue to be used as a proof-of-concept demonstration project. Similarly sized, albeit traditionally constructed homes in the east Austin neighborhood are valued at $700,000 and up, according to the real estate website Zillow.

House Zero is not open to the general public, although it is visible from its location on Riverview Street. Those involved in the building industry can reach out to the company at https://www.iconbuild.com/contact to inquire further.

rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini
An international investigation targeting numerous people suspected of exchanging child pornography online has resulted in the arrest of a graduate student and research assistant at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Homeland Security Investigation agents in San Antonio last week charged Tom Jeffrey McKissick V, 30, with distributing, receiving and possessing child porn. They also raided his apartment and seized electronics that included his cellphone, which an agent said had images and videos of child pornography.

At a hearing Wednesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry Bemporad ordered McKissick held without bond after listening to an agent testify that McKissick sought like-minded users via an unnamed website, and then exchanged, via an encrypted messaging application, images and videos depicting or discussing the sex abuse of children.

The judge also received information that listed McKissick as a summer camp counselor for a program at UTSA called Educating Youth in Environmental Science, or EYES.

The outreach program, according to UTSAs website, includes visits to elementary school classrooms and a summer camp, and seeks to engage participants with opportunities for hands-on scientific discovery and inspiration with activities designed around monarch butterflies.

Most of the testimony focused on McKissicks activity online, but the hearing revealed agents are working with child welfare agencies to verify if McKissick abused any kids, given the images and statements he allegedly made that he abused children who are not part of the program.

UTSA is aware of the matter and is in close coordination with federal law enforcement authorities, said Joe Izbrand, UTSAs chief communications officer. The university is also pursuing all appropriate internal actions.

Izbrand added that unrelated to McKinnicks status as a student, McKissick served as a volunteer presenter at one of the EYES summer camps held at UTSA in 2019.

He was required to submit to and pass a criminal background check, which is mandatory for anyone associated with our camp programs, Izbrand said. During the camps themselves, it is required that multiple adults be present with the students at all times.

The judge found McKissick had not overcome hurdles to show he is not a danger to the community, and Bemporad rejected a request from his lawyer, Jeff Mulliner, that McKissick be released temporarily on restrictions, including ankle monitoring, so he can finish his degree.

He was two weeks away from completing his final courses and (thesis) to receive his masters degree, Mulliner told the judge. If he does not complete these things, he will not receive it at all. He has everything he needs to complete it within his computer seized by the agents.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson argued that its too risky to set McKissick free.

There are horrifying statements made by the defendant about what he wants to do and has done to...satisfyhis urges, Richardson said.

Homeland Security Investigations agent Narciso Retana testified that the case was referred to his office by police in Australia. Agents identified McKissick as a user of an unnamed website and as a person suspected of sharing images and videos in February with other users  and unknowingly with an undercover officer  through a messaging app.

A criminal complaint affidavit said McKissick shared with the officer 18 images and four videos of children in explicit sexual positions or being sexually assaulted. The affidavit said McKissick also shared a photo of himself, clothed, and told the undercover officer he had molested two boys when they were 2 and 4, and continued molesting one of them.

The affidavit said that a search of McKissicks phone turned up images and videos he exchanged with other users, including some of infants being abused. In a chat session Feb. 2 with one user, McKissick shared a photo of himself in a bed with a fully dressed infant, the affidavit said.

The affidavit quotes McKissick as saying, in part, I want to rape a baby with you.

After the other user responded, McKissick replied: Hell yeah, Id hold a baby down for you... Make sure he screams, the affidavit said.

McKissick faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
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Family and activists are calling for the release of police body camera footage that could clarify what happened Monday afternoon when officers fatally shot Kevin Johnson on the West Side while trying to execute warrants for his arrest.

Three police officers opened fire on the man, whom San Antonio police have not named, after he reached for a gun while they were chasing him along a creek near West Laurel and North Elmendorf, police said. The mans family, who has identified him as Kevin Donel Johnson Jr., 28, dispute the polices account.

Police Chief William McManus, who spoke briefly after the incident, did not provide specifics of the shooting, saying he had not seen the body camera footage. He said three officers were on patrol when they recognized a man wanted on warrants for assault of a peace officer and felon in possession of a firearm. The man ran when officers attempted to stop him, and they chased him to the creek, McManus said.

The shooting resulted in tense confrontations between police and family members, who were angry that they could not approach the scene or get answers from police. Dozens of police officers formed a line in front of the shooting scene, standing in front of family, onlookers and protesters, some of whom threw objects at the police.

Courtesy of Jasmine Johnson

Investigators recovered a gun at the scene. The officers  who have four, five and 16 years of experience  were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

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Speaking to the San Antonio Express-News on Tuesday, Johnsons older sister Jasmine Johnson said she was angry and in shock, saying her brother suffered from mental illness and had sought to get his life together after being released from prison.

Kevin Johnsons mother, sisters, cousins and community friends were at the scene, trying to get answers as to what occurred. Word spread quickly from people who witnessed the shooting to cousins who notified Jasmine Johnson within minutes of her brothers death.

William Luther /San Antonio Express-News

Witnesses have told the family that Johnson was riding his bicycle when he was hit by a police SUV near West Laurel and North Elmendorf. They said he got back on his bicycle and rode to the creek, where he dismounted and ran down the slope, with officers behind him.

He hopped over the small stream of water and was shot as he was on the other side, witnesses told the family. The family is disputing whether Johnson was reaching for a gun when he was shot.

Jasmine Johnson said warrants issued for her brothers arrest were not from a recent incident but one that occurred April 17, 2018. She also said her brother had severed his electronic ankle monitor, though she did not specify when.

It is unclear whether the arrest warrants that McManus referred to stemmed from new charges of assaulting an officer and felon in possession or whether he meant that police had warrants to arrest Kevin Johnson for violating terms of his release stemming from similar charges in the past.

William Luther /San Antonio Express-News

Police declined to answer any questions Tuesday or to release a report regarding the prior assault on an officer.

According to Kevin Johnsons criminal record, he was released from prison for the prior offenses March 5, 2021. He had been serving a four-year sentence.

Jasmine Johnson, however, recounted the 2018 incident, which appears to coincide with the date listed in online court logs.

She said her brother had been in an argument with his girlfriend when police were called. She said they placed her brother in a police vehicle and that while inside, Johnson became impatient and began banging his head on the vehicles wall.

An officer called for a paddy wagon and attempted to restrain Johnson. While he was being restrained, his sister said, her brother complained that he couldnt breathe and bit an officers vest, trying to break free.

Courtesy of Jasmine Johnson

Kevin Johnson had one year left on parole and had been working at a produce market on De Zavala, his sister said.

She said he cut his electronic ankle monitor because he was stressed from being under house arrest and that his work was not making allowances for his travel restrictions.

She said he told her that he would let police arrest him if they came looking for him.

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The killing has sparked outrage from family, friends and community activists.

Tommy Acosta, with Homies United Network, called it an example of formerly incarcerated people being profiled by police.

William Luther /San Antonio Express-News

People need to know that just because youve been through the system doesnt mean that you have a lifelong punishment, Acosta said. Its a reputation that you have just because of an error. Re-entry has to improve to help individuals who are out here.

Ananda Tomas, executive director of ACT 4 SA, believes that all three officers opening fire on Johnson was excessive.

No matter what the circumstances are, no person deserves to be murdered by firing squad when they are running in fear of their life, she said.

She compared Mondays shooting to one between Bexar County deputies and a white man who was armed and wearing full tactical armor while allegedly stealing a vehicle two days prior.

Deputies used a stun gun on the man as he was reaching into his pocket, Tomas said.

The police departments us-versus-them mentality crosses the boundaries of excessive policing, Tomas said in a statement.

Immediately after the incident, confrontations arose between police and family members who were angry that they could not approach the scene or receive answers regarding Kevin Johnson. Jasmine Johnson said an officer spat in her face in anger. Police also pepper sprayed a group of people were apparently attempting to move a police vehicle.

William Luther /San Antonio Express-News

We are extremely disappointed to learn that they pepper sprayed mourners and family members of the victim, including the victims mother, Thomas said.

A tire on a police SUV was slashed, and a windshield appeared to have been broken. Some people could be seen throwing objects at police, such as sodas and water bottles.

Police reportedly used a stun gun on one person. They did not answer questions as to what led to the incident.

Tomas said Mondays incident demonstrates the need to reform the San Antonio Police Departments body camera policy to release critical incident footage sooner than 60 days, citing the Austin Police Departments policy to release footage within 10 days.

The Johnson family deserves to know what happened to Kevin, Tomas said. We are calling on Chief McManus to release the body cam footage within the next 72 hours for accountability and transparency to both Kevins family and the community.

Fourteen people died last year while in San Antonio police custody or as police attempted to take them into custody, according to reports submitted to the Texas attorney generals office. Of those, 11 were shot and killed by SAPD officers. The remaining deaths were ruled suicides, or the cause of death was pending.

In the year prior, 2020, 13 people died while in police custody or as police attempted to apprehend them, according to the reports. Of those, nine were shot and killed by police officers.

Staff writer Emilie Eaton contributed to this report.

jbeltran@express-news.net
A Mexican drug cartel boss whose arrest this week set off rounds of violence in Nuevo Laredo and led to the temporary closure of international bridge crossings has been indicted on federal drug trafficking, gun and money laundering charges in San Antonio.

An 11-count indictment was unsealed Tuesday charging Juan Gerardo Trevino Chavez, alias Huevo, or Egg, for his alleged role as the leader of the Cartel del Noreste, the Northeast Cartel. It is a remnant of the feared Zetas organization that was splintered upon the arrest of his relatives who led it.

Trevino, who was born in the United States, was arrested early Monday in Nuevo Laredo, and Mexican authorities quickly transported him to Tijuana, on Mexicos west coast. They deported him Tuesday, handing him over to U.S. agents across the border in California, records show.

At a news conference, Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard called Trevinos arrest one of the most important ... of the past decade. The arrest coincided with a visit to Mexico by a U.S. delegation that included Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose agents with Homeland Security Investigations led the multiagency case resulting in the indictment in San Antonio.

Trevino is the nephew of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, better known as Z-40 or Cuarenta, and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, also known as Z-42. Miguel Trevino was the leader of the feared Zetas cartel  which was once the enforcement arm of Mexicos Gulf Cartel  and he was known to torture and kill his rivals or those who crossed him in guisos, or stews, by bathing them in barrels of oil and setting them on fire. His cartel also was known for hanging the tortured bodies of enemies on overpasses or displaying them in public squares in Mexico.

The Mexican military arrested Miguel Trevino in 2013, and his brother took the reins until he too was arrested in 2015, former drug agents said. Both are in custody in Mexico.

Some veteran law officers said the arrests of the brothers led the Zetas to split off into factions  the Northeast Cartel and the Zetas Vieja Escuela or Vieja Guardia, (Old Guard). Juan Trevino took over the Northeast Cartel and its armed enforcers, Tropa del Infierno, or Hells Troop, officials said.

Timothy Tubbs, who retired recently as deputy special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Laredo, said Trevinos organization changed course, rebranding itself to get away from the Zetas name and focusing on specifically controlling the Nuevo Laredo area because it is the most important entry point into the U.S. for legitimate commercial traffic. The cartel uses the existing commercial and personal vehicular traffic as cover for its contraband.

Courtesy / City of Laredo

The Zetas were really focused on taking over more territory in Mexico, said Tubbs, whose area of responsibility stretched to the Rio Grande Valley. When they rebranded, they focused on that very small territory (Nuevo Laredo) because its so valuable, and thats also why it made him such a great leader.

He also noted that Trevinos group generally attacks rival cartels if they try to move into their turf, and not ordinary citizens, and that generally made Nuevo Laredo safe.

Theyre the authority in Nuevo Laredo, Tubbs said. If it comes to a rival cartel trying to enter their territory, theyre absolutely ruthless.

Trevinos arrest came during an armed battle with the Mexican military. It led to further violence in which cartel operatives set off explosives and fired high-caliber weapons, leaving 18-wheelers on fire and blocking streets in Nuevo Laredo. International bridges leading to Laredo were closed after the arrest as a security precaution, officials said.

Tubbs said the violent outbursts after Trevinos arrest werent against residents; they were a means to try to prevent Mexican authorities from removing him from the city.

Once he was removed, the violence and fighting and blockades went away, Tubbs said.

Courtesy photo

The indictment accuses Trevino of conspiring to traffic large quantities of marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine and using firearms  including machine guns  to facilitate those crimes. It also charges him with conspiracy to commit money laundering and said he used juveniles to commit some of those crimes.

The indictment adds that before the arrests of his relatives who ran the Zetas, he had worked for the cartel as a drug trafficker, enforcer, weapons procurer and, for a period of time, as a plaza leader.

In furtherance of the conspiracy, the defendant ordered, counseled, commanded, induced, procured and caused the deaths of multiple people.

Trevino is in custody in San Diego, pending his transfer to Texas to face the charges, many of which leave him facing up to life in prison.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Bexar County and San Antonio each have an official coat of arms.

The countys heraldic bearings are on the uniforms of sheriff's deputies and the fire marshal. San Antonio used to have the original coat of arms in the mayor's office, but it's been lost for 50 years. Both are officially recognized by Spain.

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These coats of arms, however, werent implemented during a time of royalty and nobility. They were officially adopted in 1971, when Richard Nixon was president and Spain was still under the rule of a fascist dictator.

Canary Islanders, who settled in the region in 1731, were promised a coat of arms by the king of Spain. Somehow it was forgotten in Spains conquest of the New World.

But thanks to Thomas A. Wilson, a former board member of the Texas Hispanic American History Foundation, that promise was finally fulfilled nearly 250 years later.

Courtesy of the city of San Antonio

Wilson designed both the city and countys coat of arms. San Antonios coat of arms includes the Alamo. Bexar Countys heraldic shield has a cannon that represents the battle for Texas independence from Mexico and the Texan support of the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Wilson also had them officially cataloged and filed in the Spanish heraldic archives. Wilson and Fernando Munoz Altea of Madrid, the Spanish King of Arms, even presented them in San Antonio on Dec. 18, 1971.

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So thats kind of like a big deal, said Dr. David C. Carlson, a Spanish archivist with the Bexar County clerks office. And so for that reason, we cant really make changes to it at all unless we were to go through the whole rigmarole and process again.

Coats of arms were a significant Spanish tradition that could be found throughout the New World. Cities in Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and Spain have one. As do Germany and other European cities. But its fairly uncommon in the United States.

The city of Albany, New York, has one. So does St. Augustine, Florida, a former Spanish settlement on the states east coast. St. Augustines coat of arms is over 300 years old. San Antonio and Bexar County appear to be the only governments in Texas to have an official coat of arms recognized by Spain.

Tom Reel/San Antonio Express-News

Seeking to halt the French from expanding into Spanish-held territory in Texas, King Philip VI agreed to send volunteers from the Canary Islands to establish a permanent settlement in Texas.

After a voyage across the Atlantic and a four-month trip over land from Veracruz, Mexico, the 16 families, including four single men, arrived at the Presidio San Antonio de Bejar on March 9, 1731. They named the settlement Villa de San Fernando de Bejar.

A decree was issued in 1730 to establish a coat of arms for the village that was to be named San Fernando de Bejar in honor of Prince Ferdinand, the prince of Asturias.

On ExpressNews.com: Leader of violent drug cartel indicted in San Antonio

It would take 241 years before the creation of the respective coat of arms for the city an county.

Other than on deputies' uniforms, the county's coat of arms can be seen on sheriff's office vehicles and as a patch worn by animal control officers. Its also on the countys folksy and colorful marriage license.

In the upper left corner are the arms of Don Alvaro de Zuniga, a former duke of Bexar in Spain. The upper right corner features Mission San Franciso de Espada and represents the works of the four other Spanish missions.

With few exceptions, the city of San Antonio rarely uses its coat of arms, opting instead to use its official seal.

John Davenport/San Antonio Express-News

Courtesy of the city of San Antonio

Through a city spokesman, an employee with the municipal archives and records department said San Antonios official coat of arms has been missing for 50 years.

According to the city, the coat of arms has not been seen since 1972, when it was placed in the mayor's office for display.

In 2017, a copy of San Antonios coat of arms was used for the signing of the sister cities agreement with Darmstadt, Germany. Photos of the ceremony show the Alamo Citys coat of arms on a tram, which was named in honor of San Antonio.

The following year, the coat of arms was used at the official dinner to honor Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, who visited San Antonio in 2018.

Timothy.Fanning@express-news.net
The family of Kevin Johnson  the man fatally shot Monday by police during a West Side chase  gathered Tuesday evening where he died to mourn and continue calls for police to release body camera footage of the shooting.

Meanwhile, police have identified the three officers involved in the incident, in which police say that Johnson had pulled a gun when they fired.

Arlene Garcia, Johnsons mother, was flanked by family and friends Tuesday as she addressed more than 100 people along the bridge in the 1200 block of Lombrano Street, just south of the spot along Alazan Creek where her son was killed.

They took my son away from me, Garcia cried, clinching her chest.

Police Chief William McManus has so far said the three officers  Adam Rule, Gus Vallas and James Quintanilla  were working with the street crimes unit on directed patrol Monday near North Elmendorf Street and Carter when they recognized Johnson, 28. Rule has six years of service with the department, Vallas has four years, and Quintanilla has 13.

The chief said Johnson was wanted on two warrants for assault of a police officer and felon in possession of a firearm, but it was not immediately clear whether the warrants stemmed from recent crimes or from violating parole related to similar charges in the past.

On ExpressNews.com: Family of man shot by police demands bodycam footage

Johnson ran when he was approached by the officers, was chased to the creek and was fatally shot by the three officers, who said he had pulled a gun from his waistband, the chief said. A police statement issued late Wednesday afternoon added that the officers saw Johnson turn and point the firearm in the officers direction. All three are on administrative duty pending a police investigation into the shooting.

The police statement also noted that the officers saw Johnson leave his residence before their encounter with him.

Family members and friends dispute the police account of the shooting, saying that Johnson would not have pulled a gun after jumping across the stream at the base of the creek.

Johnsons family members also accused police of leaving out details of the chase, including whether he was hit by a police vehicle at the start of the encounter, and whether he was limping as a result.

He was running, Jasmine Johnson said of her brother. No ones putting any light on the fact that a cop hit him with a car.

Other than its statement on Wednesday, police have so far deferred to the chiefs initial briefing of the incident when asked clarifying questions. During his first statement, McManus declined to go into specifics because he had not yet seen body camera footage of the incident.

Pointing to a spot on her chest, Johnsons mother said she attempted to get answers from officers at the scene of Johnsons death moments after he was killed. She and several others were pepper sprayed as police attempted to control civil unrest near the scene as tensions flared among a crowd that had gathered.

One of those officers put their hands on me, just for trying to ask questions, Garcia said. I still havent seen my son, and I cant either.

Jasmine Johnson said she and other family members were upset that neither police nor the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office had called to notify them of his passing as of Tuesday evening.

The family said they want police to release body camera footage of the shooting as soon as possible.

We want answers. We need them, Johnson said, demanding the footage sooner rather than later when police are ready.

On ExpressNews.com: Wear something dark to hide the blood splatter: Former Judson ISD officer convicted over text to Biden campaign

Jasmine Johnson described her brother as a handsome, caring younger sibling who always spent time with her five children, three of whom have special needs. She said Kevin Johnson was loved by her 9-year-old son who has autism.

My brother had a lot of patience to take care of someone who was nonverbal, she said. He was more of a caregiver, and now my son is going to be left without someone to help.

Community activists and family members of other black men killed in police shootings also attended Tuesdays vigil, including relatives of Charles Roundtree Jr. and an aunt of Marquise Jones.

Im angry. Im mad. Im tired of it, Jones aunt Debbie Bush said. How they treated this mother, how do you treat a mother like that?

She said it brought up memories of how her family was treated after Jones, a 23 year-old father of one, was killed Feb. 28, 2014, at the Chachos and Chaluccis on Perrin Beitel Road. Robert Encina, who was working as an off-duty security guard, shot Jones in the back as he ran from the scene of a fender bender after he said Jones was brandishing a gun, an account that was challenged by several witnesses.

In October 2018, Roundtree was a bystander sitting on a sofa when he was killed as officer Steve Casanova opened fire into a home in response to another man who was reaching for a gun in his waistband and had ignored commands to drop the weapon. That shooting occurred in the 200 block of Roberts Street, less than a mile south from where Johnson was killed Monday.

People are tired of hearing it across the county, and theyre tired of hearing it here, Bush said. Until this city gets together and realizes we have the same issues as other major cities, its going to keep escalating.

jbeltran@express-news.net
Rebeca Barrera and Merri Gutierrez are San Antonio cultural translators of sorts.

In retirement, the bilingual-bicultural educators formerly with Scholastic are devoting themselves to learning more about Mexicos cultural and culinary contributions and interpreting them at home.

They operate as teachers-at-large and are behind the nonprofit SOMOS Cultura y Mas. Its an initiative in which they write, speak and put on events focused on all things Mexican, from the enveloping rebozo to the ancient molcajete.

Lately, theyve focused on one of Mexicos most valued contributions to the worlds palate  outside of tequila  the humble cacao bean.

In February, it took them to southernmost Mexico, where Mars Wrigley has invested $1 million in assisting cacao farmers restore production.

The project is just one piece of a $1 billion investment Mars has made in sustainability projects worldwide.

Barrera has shared videos on Facebook that show the duo climbing slippery mountainsides and crossing creeks to get to a region in Pichucalco, Chiapas, where about 150 farmers have been part of Mars Por Amor Al Cacao project.

Courtesy photo

Its a nursery that grows cacao plants more resistant to pests, and that yield crops in half the time. The plants are gifted to farmers, along with fertilizer and information on how to fight off monilia, a fungus that cut Mexicos cacao production in half in 2005, said Yelile Habib, project manager of Por Amor Al Cacao since 2013.

The disease, also known as frosty pod rot, led some Mexican cacao farmers to abandon their farms, she said. Some of their Theobroma trees had grown too old to produce.

The industry faces other challenges today. Farmers are aging, and new generations arent drawn to the works demands.

The project seeks to reverse those trends by helping farmers achieve decent livelihoods in a place that has grown cacao for generations.

They dont have technology on their farms, Habib said. Its all manual labor. Farmers have to grow other crops to make a living.

The project has made an environmental impact. Healthy trees put nutrients back in the land, she said.

Over the last nine years, she has seen transformations and not just in the farms. I dont have the words to describe what it has done to the farmers lives, she said.

Gabriel Fernandez, general manager of Mars Wrigley Latinoamerica Norte, which covers Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, said the project is part of a broader investment in Mexico. Mars operates three manufacturing facilities in the country, two in Nuevo Leon and one in Toluca, he said.

Fernandez also said Mars electricity consumption in Mexico now relies 100 percent on wind energy.

With annual sales of $44 billion globally, Mars holds a litany of iconic brands, including M&Ms, Snickers and Milky Way. In 2016, it acquired the Mexican chocolate brand Turin.

Though Fernandez said Turin doesnt yet use significant amounts of Mexican chocolate, someday Mars hopes it will. Africa remains the primary source of most of its cacao now, he said.

Hopes for the Mexican cacao bean remain strong.

The irrepressible duo of Barrera and Gutierrez like to remind their audiences that the Aztecs used cacao as currency and to produce what they called a drink of the gods.

Habib, wholl be in San Antonio this week, adds that Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortes introduced cacao to Europe, where it was mixed with milk and sugar.

But the world has yet to thank Mexico properly for the real source of such confections.

SOMOS has put on several events centered on chocolate that have received the attention of local foodies whod like to see them grow into a chocolate festival.

On Friday, Barrera, Gutierrez and Habib will speak about cacao and the Mars project at SOMOS sold-out event at the Guadalupe Theater. Its called El Encanto del Chocolate: Enjoy an Enchanted Evening with the Gods.

The event raises money for SOMOS annual Dia de los Ninos festival at Guadalupe Plaza. It will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 30.

The festival honoring children has been a holiday in Mexico and other Latin American countries since 1925.

Thanks to Barrera, it has been recognized in parts of the United States since 1998. Thats when San Antonio became the first city to pass a resolution in its honor.

The festival is free and designed for parents and children to learn about the traditions and crafts of Latin America.

Its very hands-on, the way Barrera and Gutierrez like to teach.

eayala@express-news.net
More than a year into the Biden presidency, Vladimir Putin has invaded a sovereign neighboring country and, of course, everyone knows whos to blame  Bidens predecessor.

In an instance of misdirection for the ages, a spate of commentary has pointed the finger at Donald Trump for supposedly creating the predicate for Putins brutalizing of Ukraine.

Theres no doubt Trump has long had an apparently uncontrollable reflex to say warm things about Vladimir Putin. He foolishly mused about pulling out of NATO. And his withholding of aid to Ukraine for a partisan political purpose  to pressure the Ukrainian government to uncover dirt related to the Bidens  was a tawdry abuse of power (and led to his first impeachment).

No one should hold Trump up as a paragon, but to blame him for sparking a delayed-fuse geopolitical cataclysm that just happened to explode on Bidens watch is wholly ridiculous.

Trump critic retired Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, who had a star turn as a witness at Trumps first impeachment, says Trump emboldened Putin and left Ukraine unprepared to defend itself. Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, says Trump sent the world the message that Ukraine was a mere pawn. A piece in the New York Review of Books says Trump paved Putins way.

There is no support for this argument in a world where facts and logic  or basic chronology  mean something.

First, Russia had grabbed Crimea and started a long-running war in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, long before anyone had any idea that Donald Trump would run for president, let alone win. It clearly didnt take Trump to give Putin the idea that he could get away with invading Ukraine  he invaded Ukraine and got away with it under the administration of Barack Obama, when, by the way, Joe Biden was vice president.

It is now widely acknowledged that the sanctions back then were too timid, a concession that Obama officials let Putin off too lightly. Surely, that must have figured into the Russian leaders calculation whether to invade yet again.

Then, theres the fact that Barack Obama steadfastly resisted providing Ukraine lethal aid  after it had already been invaded. Bipartisan opposition to Obama didnt move him. He believed deeply in the appeasers logic that it would be too provocative to give Ukraine weapons simply to defend itself.

Again, Trump had nothing to do with this misbegotten decision; indeed, he criticized it.

Trumps offense in 2019 was to delay military aid  including Javelin missiles  that Congress had approved for Ukraine, in a reversal of Obamas policy. If Trump never should have engaged in this self-interested gamesmanship, he released the assistance by September 2019.

Another line of argument is that Putin didnt invade Ukraine during the Trump administration because the Russian leader was already getting everything he wanted from Trump, including the destabilization of NATO. The outward expression of Trumps doubts about the alliance, though, largely took the form of loud complaints about European countries skimping on defense spending, which were completely justified.

Indeed, its perverse that Angela Merkel was made into a great heroine of Western statesmanship at the same time she maintained a pathetic level of defense spending and deepened Germanys energy dependence on Russia in a way that was more dangerous than anything Trump said or tweeted.

And it wasnt Trump who told Biden to execute a humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan, to give Putin the gift of a summit after he menaced Ukraine the first time, to remove sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, to speak forthrightly about Western divisions at a pre-invasion press conference, or to forgo pre-emptive sanctions.

All of that is on Biden, and all of it  especially the Afghan fiasco  had to make an impression on Putin. Now, it may well have been that Putin was undeterrable, but that makes it all the more outlandish to blame a former U.S. president for his depredations.
Compared with the all-out verbal warfare of the 2014-16 collective bargaining process between the city and the San Antonio Police Officers Association, the latest round of negotiating  which concluded two weeks ago with a tentative agreement  has been a love-in.

If there was a sticking point to negotiations over the past year, however, it involved what to do about the appeals process for officers who have been disciplined for misconduct or abuse of power.

Police Chief William McManus has long expressed frustration over the way arbitrators routinely reverse his decisions in such cases. From the citys perspective, it was important to strengthen the chiefs power to hold officers accountable for their actions.

Emilie Eaton has covered the collective bargaining process for the Express-News and she visited the Puro Politics podcast this week to talk about how the new deal places new parameters on the discretion of arbitrators.

On ExpressNews.com: The making of a deal: How San Antonio officials, police union shaped new contract in roughly a year

It used to be that the city had very limited options after an arbitrator made a decision, Eaton said. A police officer had a lot of different options. They could appeal to a district court, but the city couldnt.

Eaton said that under the new agreement, the city has more leeway to appeal arbitrator decisions in district court.

But beyond that, she said, If the city proves that the misconduct occurred and the officers conduct is in some way detrimental to effective law enforcement or the needs of the department  or fails to meet community expectations  the arbitrator can not reinstate the officer.

So, basically as long as the city proves that this officer isnt good for the police force, or that the community would not be pleased with the police officer being on the force, the arbitrator has no authority to reinstate them.

Hear more about the new collective bargaining agreement on the latest edition of Puro Politics.

ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
LOT Polish Airlines will commence operations between Warsaw and Sarajevo this coming summer season, marking its entry onto Bosnia and Herzegovinas market, its sixth in the former Yugoslavia. Flights between the two capital cities will be inaugurated on May 30 and operate five times per week, each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Services will be maintained with the 82-seat Embraer E175 aircraft. In keeping with its strategy for the remainder of its network in the former Yugoslavia, the carrier will offer transfer options to a number of destinations via its Warsaw hub for Sarajevo passengers. LOTs arrival in Bosnia and Herzegovinas capital further strengthens Star Alliances presence at the airport, complementing Austrian, Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines.





This summer LOT will also commence charter flights between Katowice and Mostar on behalf of the Rego-Bis tour operator. The Mostar charters will cater for religious pilgrims visiting the Medjugorje sight and will commence in June. Local authorities in Mostar concluded a three-year agreement with the tour operator, which foresees LOT as the operating carrier for its entire duration.





On top of launching flights to Sarajevo, during the upcoming summer season, the airline also plans to operate up to eleven weekly flights from its base in Warsaw to Zagreb, nine weekly to Belgrade, as well as six weekly rotations to Ljubljana, Skopje and Podgorica. In addition, the carrier will run services from the Polish capital to the Croatian coast, which includes six weekly flights to Dubrovnik, three weekly to Split and one weekly rotation to Zadar. Although LOT previously served Rijeka as well, flights are yet to be scheduled for the coming summer. Flights to Skopje, which are currently suspended, will be restored on May 17, following the airports runway overhaul. Previous plans to serve the Macedonian capital through Ohrid during this time have been dropped.

Further flight details for the new Warsaw - Sarajevo service can be found here
Sterling, VA (20165)

Today

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 55F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
A diverse group of Montanans came together a half-century ago to create the states constitution.

Ranchers, urbanites, car dealers, lawyers and a beekeeper took roles as delegates at Montanas Constitutional Convention in 1972. Montana State University and the Montana Free Press plan to commemorate their ultimate accomplishment  the Montana Constitution  on the conventions 50th anniversary next week.

A panel will be held at the Strand Union Building on the university campus on March 22 at 7 p.m.

Former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, former U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus, former State Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, longtime political journalist Chuck Johnson and Constitutional Convention delegate Mae Nan Ellingson are set to discuss their experiences in and around the construction of Montanas Constitution.

Author Sarah Vowell and Montana Free Press founder and editor-in-chief John Adams will moderate the panel.

Vowell said that the main thrust of the anniversary celebration is a series of oral history interviews that she and a team of Montana Free Press reporters conducted.

The team interviewed six delegates from the convention and three research analysts  Ellingson, Baucus and Johnson included.

Ultimately that was the main goal of this project, to hear from these people who are living historical figures, and catch them at this moment a half-century later, Vowell said.

The 1972 Constitutional Convention produced what is technically the states fourth constitution. The first was written in 1866, but it was lost. The second came in 1884, but Montana had not been granted statehood by Congress and therefore the document was not official.

The third was ratified in 1889 when Montana became a state, and became the states constitution for nearly a century.

That document was written by and for the Copper Kings, Vowell said. It was more for the corporations, and not the people.

Adams, of the Montana Free Press, said that its important that people today understand the circumstances that led to the Constitutional Convention.

He said when he was a young reporter new to covering state politics, he didnt appreciate the document like he does today. That began to change in 2008 when Missoula delegate Bob Campbell gave him a copy of a worn Montana Constitution with hand-written notes.

Ink stars and underlined words highlighted which delegate had a hand in certain aspects of the document.

As Ive seen this document come to bear on so many important debates, discussions, Ive really come to just appreciate the power of it and what a unique and amazing document it is, Adams said.

That era of the Constitutional Convention was similar to today, filled with international and domestic conflicts and ideological polarization.

But convention delegates cut through the divisive noise of the time. Vowell said that a key innovation of the convention was that delegates, who ran as party members, sat alphabetically to get rid of notions of partisanship.

Johnson, the longtime Montana political reporter, covered the convention for the Associated Press. He said the diverse group of Montanans and their willingness to compromise was critical  they only had 60 days to debate, write and vote on the document.

The Montana Supreme Court decided in 1971 that legislators and other elected officials could not run to be a delegate. That opened the door to a slew of people who had never run for office before, including 19 women.

Native Americans, however, were absent. Delegates were elected from legislative districts, and at the time, those districts were multimember, Johnson said. That means that typically people voted on a countywide basis for a representative.

The new constitution changed that, switching to the single-member districts in place today  Montana icon Jeanette Rankin made the suggestion for the change.

That change is Vowells favorite provision of the constitution. She said that switching to single-member districts created more equitable representation by helping minority populations get elected and giving more representation to small towns.

The Right to Know portion is Adams favorite section. Bozeman delegate Dorothy Eck introduced that provision to what would become the states Bill of Rights, Adams said.

That provision aimed to solve the problem of closed meetings and lack of transparency by government officials. That issue appears to not have gone away.

Weve really got a problem right now where government agencies at all levels of the state where they think people elected them to do business behind closed doors, Adams said.

The oral history project, with transcripts for each interview, will be available in unedited form through the Archives and Special Collections at the MSU Library and on the archive collections website.

Head of Archives and Special Collections Jodi Allison-Bunnell said the project will be a long-term research resource for the public and students.

And in that oral history is a breadcrumb trail. The constitution has a provision that every 20 years a convention can be called. Adams, Johnson and Vowell all agreed that another convention was not likely.

Vowell said that in case there were a push for a new convention, she wants younger Montanans to be armed with the information to make a decision of that magnitude.

Should the winds of change bring that to the voters, this archive will be waiting for them, Vowell said.

This story misstated the name of Constitutional Convention delegate Bob Campbell.
Farm groups and advocacy organizations filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Deere & Company over the right to repair their own equipment or have equipment repaired by independent mechanics March 3.

In the complaint, the groups said the company has deliberately restricted access to diagnostic software and other information needed to repair Deere equipment. They said Deeres practices violate federal antitrust and consumer protection laws, and asked the commission to investigate those repair restrictions.

The trade commission said in 2021 it would ramp up enforcement against illegal repair restrictions. If the trade commission investigates and finds that Deeres repair restrictions violate antitrust and consumer protection laws, it could take action against Deere.

Manufacturers have far too much control over what farmers are allowed to do with their own equipment, said Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, in a March 3 press release. The Federal Trade Commission should take action to ensure that farmers and independent mechanics have the freedom to fix their equipment in a timely and cost-effective way.

Right to repair

The right to repair has become more of an issue in farming as agriculture equipment becomes more technologically advanced.

Equipment manufacturers say farmers have what they need to repair equipment in most cases. They also cite concerns about intellectual property and about people tampering with software in ways that could make equipment unsafe.

Farmers, however, say they often dont have access to software tools they need to make repairs or diagnose issues, and are sometimes forced to take equipment back to dealers for repairs.

Deere is estimated to hold more than 50% of the U.S. market share for large tractors and combines, the complaint says. And large ag equipment can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. That means the stakes are high for farmers who buy that equipment.

Complaint

The complaint was submitted by Fairmark Partners, LLP, on behalf of Farm Action, the National Farmers Union, Ohio Farmers Union and multiple other state farmers unions, the Digital Right to Repair Coalition and several other groups that advocate against repair restrictions.

The complaint states in many cases, when a machine stops working, farmers cant repair it or, sometimes, even tell what the issue is, without software that Deere only gives its authorized technicians.

It says this harms farmers both because they then have to pay whatever the Deere-authorized technician charges, and because there are sometimes long wait times and travel times to get equipment in to those technicians  which can be a huge issue during harvest season.

John Deere found out that by controlling the who, what, where and when of tractor repair, they can squeeze more profit out of farmers than they can with new equipment sales, said Joe Maxwell, president of Farm Action, in a March 3 press release. Farmers  can lose tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars when a tractor sits useless in a field at harvest time.

Diagnostic tools

In an emailed statement to Farm and Dairy, Deere said it supports customers rights to safely maintain, diagnose and repair their own equipment, and already offers some tools to help farmers maintain and repair equipment.

John Deere does not support the right to modify embedded software due to the risks association with safe operation of equipment, emissions compliance and engine performance, the statement read.

The complaint alleges, however, that the company has not lived up to its statements about supporting customers rights to repair their equipment.

Deere has made additional diagnostic tools available only through dealerships that often resist selling the tools and only when farmers pay a separate, costly fee; even then, Deere withholds many of the most crucial tools required to implement key repairs, such as even simply replacing certain necessary parts, the complaint reads.
Thousands of harmful man-made chemicals could be lurking in your drinking water  but you wouldnt know it, because water utilities arent required to test for them.

A bill introduced last summer by two state representative seeks to change that. Ohio House Bill 365, sponsored by state reps. Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, and Mary Lightbody, D-Westerville, would set a maximum level for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called PFAS, in public drinking water systems. If the legislation were to pass, Ohio would join a handful of other states that have set limits on PFAS in drinking water.

Ohio should not wait to set limits on PFAS chemicals, said Melanie Houston, interim water director with the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund, during a March 8 statehouse press conference highlighting several water quality bills.

Instead we should join a growing number of states taking action to protect our residents, especially our children, from the known health impacts. The longer we fail to act, the more health and treatment costs will continue to grow.

Background

PFAS are a group of more than 5,000 chemicals found in a variety of consumer goods. They make things waterproof, stain resistant or nonstick. The substances are found in paper and cardboard packaging, carpeting, textiles, paints, medical devices, personal care products and cookware. Theyre also a component of firefighting foam.

Often called forever chemicals because they do not readily break down in the environment, PFAS are found in the soil, ground water and even rainwater.

The chemicals accumulate in human and animal tissues and have been connected with a variety of health issues. Research suggests high levels of PFAS exposure could lead to testicular and kidney cancers, decreased birth weights, pregnancy-induced hypertension, high cholesterol and liver damage.

The first PFAS chemicals were developed and used in the 1940s. One of the first uses was by DuPont in nonstick Teflon pans. Decades later, DuPont would become the center of a scandal for allegedly leaking perfluorooctanoic acid, a PFAS often called PFOA, from its Parkersburg, West Virginia plant, and contaminating the water.

A farmer near Parkersburg was the first to raise the alarm about possible contamination issues from DuPont when his cattle started becoming sick and dying, after DuPont put a landfill adjacent to his farm.

In 2001, residents living near the plant filed a class action lawsuit against DuPont, after people became sick. Documents revealed DuPont knew for years the health risks associated with PFOA. According to Ohio EPA documents, the Washington Works plant, in Parkersburg, West Virginia, also contaminated drinking water in parts of Washington, Athens and Meigs counties in Ohio. The company paid more than $600 million to settle thousands of lawsuits in 2017.

The DuPont case is what thrust PFAS into the public consciousness, said Ben Frech, public relations and government affairs manager with the National Groundwater Association, based in Westerville, Ohio.

The reason this stuff wasnt being found is because it wasnt being looked for, he said.

PFAS in Ohio

There is no federal standard for PFAS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 recommended a non-enforceable health advisory of 70 parts per trillion for PFAS in drinking water and promised to set stricter national standards for two types of PFAS  PFOA and PFOS  by 2023.

At the direction of Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Ohio Department of Health in 2019 developed an action plan for dealing with PFAS in drinking water. As part of that plan, the Ohio EPA tested more than 1,500 public drinking water systems for PFAS and found 106 water sources had a detectable level of PFAS present.

The plan also adopted the federal guidance levels for PFAS and instructed the Ohio EPA to set up protocols for when those levels are exceeded, including public notification and issuance of drinking water advisories.

Other water quality legislation in Ohio House Bill 349 would prohibit new concentrated animal feeding operations from being built in the Maumee River watershed unless certain water quality goals are met. Its sponsored by state Rep. Michael Sheehy, D-Toledo, and Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo. The bill was referred to the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee last June, but has not had any hearings yet. House Bill 579, sponsored by state Rep. Lightbody, D-Westerville, will prohibit the surface application of brine from oil and gas wells on Ohios roads. The legislation was referred to the House Energy and Natural Resources committee on March 1. Ohio is one of 10 states that permits the use of wastewater from oil and gas wells as a de-icing or dust inhibiting application by spraying it on roads and earth surfaces.

Establishing a maximum contaminant level, as House Bill 365 seeks to do, would require public drinking water systems to stay within those limits. This could be done through treating the water and by limiting the discharge of contaminants through permitting.

Ohio bill

Setting a maximum contaminant level would cost the state nothing, said Russo, during an Ohio House Agriculture and Conservation Committee hearing Feb. 15 where she and Lightbody presented sponsor testimony on House Bill 365.

These proposals direct existing regulatory agencies to set state level standards, Russo said. These are Ohio-specific standards based on the evidence for drinking water based on a review of the best scientific evidence, nor is there a cost to companies or manufacturers.

Still, some committee members were concerned about the potential added cost for water treatment facilities to test for and treat water if PFAS is found, particularly in communities that are already struggling with older public water systems.

We have many filtration systems in Ohio that are outdated, that are struggling to take the amounts into their system and clean it and get it back out, said state Rep. Joe Miller, D-Amherst. How do you pull these forever chemicals out?  Do the treatments plants have the capability to do that currently?

Russo pointed to money available through last falls federal infrastructure bill to improve water quality. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act set aside $10 billion to address PFAS contamination, including $5 billion to help rural and disadvantaged communities purchase point-of-entry or point-of-use filtration systems and $4 billion to help water utilities remove PFAS from drinking water supplies. Ohio is set to receive $24 million in 2022 towards PFAS treatment.

Russo also emphasized in her sponsor testimony that the legislation would provide clear guidance to Ohios companies on how to maintain a healthy environment while continuing to participate in a thriving economy.

The lack of a federal standard for PFAS creates regulatory whiplash and uncertainty for businesses that operate in multiple states, Frech told Farm and Dairy. The states that have regulations have a range of values. Michigan set its maximum contaminant level for the substance PFNA at 6 parts per trillion. Massachusetts and Vermont both set their PFNA standards at 20 parts per trillion.

The National Groundwater Association advocates for a uniform federal standard, as well as more federal support to remediate PFAS in both public and private water systems. The two things need to be done together to have a meaningful impact, Frech said.

The good news is theres a wide variety of technology to remediate PFAS, to clean it out of the water and soil, he said. The bad news is that its going to take a lot of time and a lot of money.

For Lightbody, there was a more important question to consider than cost.

Its a question of how do you balance the health of humans versus the cost to provide safe drinking water, she said, during the committee hearing. It seems to me that safe drinking water is a right and that we have every obligation to do everything we can to not only identify where there are problems, but then to mitigate them when they occur.

(Reporter Rachel Wagoner can be contacted at 800-837-3419 or rachel@farmanddairy.com.)
Egg industry leaders have again raised concerns about foreign imports after the UK government announced the signing of a post-Brexit trade deal with New Zealand.

The government said the trade deal would remove trade barriers on a huge range of UK goods and services and provide new opportunities for British businesses.

But NFU president Minette Batters said there was 'little in the deal to benefit British farmers' and, over time, there would be no limit to the amount of goods New Zealand could export to the UK.

The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) said it had raised concerns over this and other proposed trade agreements and would continue to do so.

In announcing the deal, the government said the UK-New Zealand trade relationship was worth 2.3bn in 2020 and was now expected to increase by almost 60%, boosting the UK economy by 800m and increasing wages.

It said that, under the new deal, tariffs would be eliminated on all UK exports to NZ, including current tariffs of up to 10% on clothing and footwear, 5% on buses and up to 5% on ships, bulldozers and excavators.

Smaller businesses would also find it easier to break into the NZ market as a result of modernised customs procedures, such as digital documents and customs clearance as quick as six hours, it said.

A spokesman for the BEIC said: The BEIC has submitted evidence to UK government to raise concerns about this and several other proposed trade agreements, including India, Australia and the CPTPP trading block, and will continue to do so.

It is imperative that our producers are not undercut, and our high standards are not undermined, by eggs or egg products from any countries with welfare standards or production processes that would be unacceptable or illegal in the UK.

Mark Williams, chief executive of the BEIC, has repeatedly expressed fears that government could be prepared to allow imports produced to lower environmental and animal welfare standards in order to secure trade agreements.

A study by Wageningen University in the Netherlands indicated that, compared to the EU average, the production cost of shell eggs in 2017 were 24% lower in the USA, 22% lower in Ukraine, 14% lower in Argentina and 11% lower in India, he said.

Production costs of whole egg powder in 2017 were 21% lower in the United States, 20% lower in Ukraine, 13% lower in Argentina and 13% lower in India.

The study said that, because the cost of transportation of powder was low, the offer price of whole egg powder from third countries was relatively low, but current import levies protected EU production.

Minette Batters responded to the announcement of the New Zealand deal by saying: As expected, this deal takes the same approach as the UK-Australia deal in eliminating tariffs for agricultural products.

"Even for sensitive sectors like beef and lamb, dairy and horticulture, in time there will be no limit to the amount of goods New Zealand can export to the UK.

I have consistently pointed out that the real risk to UK farmers, and longer term for people wanting to buy British food, from the governments approach to trade deals is not the individual deals themselves but the cumulative impact of each deal when added together. This deal today shows I was right to be concerned.

UK farm businesses face significantly higher costs of production than farmers in New Zealand, and margins are likely to tighten further in the face of rising input costs, higher energy bills and labour shortages."

International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said the deal would slash red tape, remove all tariffs and make it easier for services companies to set up and prosper in New Zealand.

Our trade with New Zealand will soar, benefiting businesses and consumers throughout the UK and helping level up the whole country, she said.

Like all our new trade deals, it is part of a plan to build a network of trade alliances with the most dynamic parts of the world economy, so we set the UK on a path to future prosperity.

The government said the agreement was one of a series of advanced deals with leading nations that would update trade rules for the digital age, building on the groundbreaking digital trade principles agreed by G7 countries under the UKs presidency.
Rural insurer NFU Mutual has announced a 150,000 emergency donation to support communities affected by the war in Ukraine.

Across the UK, farmers, rural communities and farming unions have unveiled extraordinary efforts to support and show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, an independent charity NFU Mutual set up to support charitable initiatives, is the latest to do so.

The charity has announced a 150,000 donation to support Ukrainians affected by the devastating crisis as a result of Russia's invasion.

The Trust said it would be making the donation to the Disasters Emergency Committees Ukraine Appeal.

In addition to this, NFU Mutual confirmed that it would be divesting from all Russian holdings 'as soon as practically possible'.

It has also signed up to the ABIs pledges, which commit to allowing customers to use their private and commercial vehicles to deliver humanitarian aid into neighbouring countries.

Jim McLaren MBE, chairman of the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, said: This devastating crisis has touched everyone and people are desperate to help.

"Some will have worked alongside Ukrainian colleagues on British farms and are deeply concerned for their Ukrainian friends and their families.

"Others will be watching the terrible events unfold at home and want to do all they can to support the victims of the crisis.

We hope our special donation of 150,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal will help further the incredible support shown by farmers across the UK."

Many farms are already supporting Ukrainians through their own efforts with a range of activities, from setting up donation stations to fundraising in the communities they serve.
The Oxford Sandy and Black Pig Group kicked off this year with their first ever awards event, recognising the UK's independent producers of the rare pig breed.

The awards were a time to celebrate the charity's 2,400 supporters, and all the hard put into raising, keeping, producing and valuing what they do.

The OSBPG, a registered charity seeking to boost the Oxford Sandy and Black pig breed, asked its supporters to participate and nominate individuals.

The charity said the participation and recognition was overwhelming, with votes coming in from countries across the globe.

Thirty four individuals and farms were put forward for the final, whereby supporters voted again for their finalists for the two categories: OSBPG Pig Excellence Award and OSBPG Pork Producer Award.

The 2021 OSBPG Award winners are: Kathryn Green - OSBPG Pig Excellence Award; and Catherine and Kieran Roseblade, Ruaircs Farm, Ireland - OSBPG Pork Producer Award.

The winners rootled off with a plate, an OSBPG fleece, OSBPG Plaque, and 200 prize money, which was donated by four supporters of the charity.

The OSBPG Charity helps and supports their keepers, breeders and independent producers creating a better future for the breed, its existence and its breeding potential.

To connect with like minded people and be apart of the charity, visit oxfordsandyblackpiggroup.org or follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Podbean.

To find out more email secretary@oxfordsandyblackpiggroup.org.
Farmers have criticised Oxfordshire County Council after it voted to approve a proposal to provide entirely plant-based food at meetings and civic events.

Despite protests outside from local farmers, including Jeremy Clarkson, the council's cabinet voted in favour of officers' recommendations to ensure that food provided is entirely vegan.

Plant-based food options will also make an appearance on school menus across the county.

Pete Sudbury, the Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, told councillors: Nobody is forcing anything down peoples throats.

There are two main justifications for this motion: the health of our planet and the health of our people."

He added: Oxfordshires farmers are part of the solution, not the problem.

Jeremy Clarkson, who farms and films his hit TV series in Oxfordshire, told the BBC: "It's the principle of it. You can't dictate.

"You might be a vegetarian but you can't make everyone else a vegetarian just because you are."

AHDB had challenged Oxfordshire County Council prior to the vote, as such a proposal 'failed to reflect' the true impact of British farming.

For example, the carbon footprint of milk produced in the UK is nearly a third lower than the global average, the levy organisation pointed out.

Responding to the vote, the Countryside Alliance said councillors "don't appear to have listened to the important concerns raised by their local farming community".

Mo Metcalf-Fisher, a spokesman for the rural campaign group said: "Oxfordshire's County Councils Cabinet talk about leading by example to justify their decision to prohibit meat.

"The only thing they appear to be leading on, is fundamentally misunderstanding the incredibly important work our UK farmers do to enhance and protect our countryside."

He added that the council claimed farmers were part of the solution, but he questioned: "How can that be the case when they introduce a blanket ban on providing their local produce?

"Oxfordshire taxpayers want to see councillors dealing with local issues, not grandstanding on what people can and cannot eat."
ISLAMABAD, March 15 (Xinhua) -- At the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, Syeda Rimsha Ali Shah and her friend Muhammad Irfan have been rehearsing a Chinese pop song to present it in front of Chinese and Pakistani audiences.

"Chinese is my major, but I found the song very difficult. The notes were hard to catch," Shah said after her performance.

The event, which was held here Monday, welcomed the spring season through performances of complex Chinese songs and classic dance by students from the university. Pakistani students also performed traditional tea ceremonies for Chinese guests.

For Khadija Hassan, studying Chinese is about learning Chinese culture, not just reading books to understand the language. She started learning about Chinese culture from videos, documentaries and movies in her second semester. She wore hanfu, the traditional dress of China's Han ethnic group, to the event. It took her a lot of time to find a suitable style of the unfamiliar garment, and a lot more time practicing before she could carry it off.

Some of the audiences noticed similarities between Pakistani and Chinese cultures, including a fondness for tea, a love for vibrant colored costumes, and welcoming the spring season with joy and celebrations.

"Students take a lot of interest in every Chinese event at the auditorium. The Chinese department is one of the healthiest in the university in terms of the number of students," Syed Nadir Ali, director general of the school, told Xinhua.

Pakistan and China were close friends, said Ali, explaining that it was good for ordinary Pakistanis to get a chance to know more about China through its cultural diversity. 
NFU President Minette Batters has spoken to her counterpart in Ukraine to discuss the impact of the war on farms and food security.

Mariia Didukh, director of the Ukrainian National Agrarian Forum (UNAF), discussed the ongoing invasion and its consequence for agriculture.

The meeting outlined the big challenges Ukrainian farmers are facing while they still look to grow food, look after livestock and secure their livelihoods.

The knock-on effects of Russia's invasion will be felt globally, as Ukraine is famously the breadbasket of the world.

Around 400 million people rely on Ukrainian crops, some living in the poorest parts of the world.

During the meeting, Ms Didukh explained that though the winter crops were good, they had witnessed lower yields than in previous years.

She added that ports were blocked and railways damaged, with fuel also scarce. She said the lack of fuel was one of the main areas where support was needed.

The discussion touched on how farmers there were tackling a shortage of farm workers, as more and more citizens joined the fight to defend their country.

Ms Didukh highlighted how there was also a shortage of vets and veterinary medication, and with imports blocked, there was also a need for herbicides and seeds.

She added that many Ukrainian farmers had been killing their livestock to supply the army and civilians with food.

Following the meeting, Minette Batters said there were 'massive implications' for the world and global food security as a result of the war.

She said UK farmers were keen to help Ukrainian refugees, with many already indicating they would like to give shelter and house them under the new government scheme.

"It's going to be a huge issue when I look to the countries that Russia and Ukraine provide 100% of their grain," the NFU President said.

"She explained that the best thing we can do is to try and get money to them to help them get the fuel, vet meds, herbicides and seeds they need."
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As the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, the Ukrainian capital Kiev is to impose a 35-hour curfew in the city.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the curfew will be effective from Tuesday evening local time until Thursday morning.

People will be prohibited to move around the city without special permission, except to go to bomb shelters.

It's been nearly three weeks since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, air raid sirens could be heard in Kiev as was shown by the footage filmed at Kiev's Independence Square.

Meanwhile, in Fastiv, a town about 60 km from the capital, repeated air raid sirens were also heard.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rennova Health, Inc. (OTC: RNVA), today announced that effective at 5:00 pm, Eastern Time, on March 15, 2022 (the "Effective Time"), the Company will effect a 1 for 10,000 reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock. The Company's common stock will open for trading on Wednesday March 16, 2022, on a post-split basis.



As a result of the reverse stock split, every 10,000 shares of the Company's common stock issued and outstanding on the Effective Time will be consolidated into one issued and outstanding share, except to the extent that the reverse stock split results in any of the Company's stockholders owning a fractional share, which fractional share will be in that case paid in cash. In connection with the reverse stock split, there will be no change in the nominal par value per share of $0.0001.

Trading of the Company's common stock will continue, on a split-adjusted basis, with the opening of the markets on Wednesday March 16, 2022. Based on the number of shares currently outstanding on March 9, 2022, the reverse stock split will reduce the number of shares of the Company's common stock outstanding from approximately 44 billion pre-reverse split shares to approximately 4.4 million post-reverse split.

All outstanding preferred shares, stock options, warrants, and equity incentive plans immediately prior to the reverse stock split generally will be appropriately adjusted by dividing the number of shares of common stock into which the preferred shares, stock options, warrants and equity incentive plans are exercisable or convertible by 10,000 and multiplying the exercise or conversion price by 10,000, as a result of the reverse stock split.

The Company has retained its transfer agent, Computershare, Inc., to act as its exchange agent for the reverse stock split. As necessary, Computershare will provide stockholders of record as of the Effective Time a letter of transmittal providing instructions for the exchange of their stock certificates. Stockholders owning shares via a broker or other nominee will have their positions automatically adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split, subject to brokers' particular processes, and will not be required to take any action in connection with the reverse stock split.

The reverse stock split was approved by the directors of the Company on March 9, 2022, pursuant to a resolution adopted by written consent of the holders of the majority of the total voting power of the Company's securities on December 15, 2021.



About Rennova Health, Inc.

Rennova is a provider of health care services to rural communities. The Company owns one operating acute care hospital in Oneida, Tennessee known as Big South Fork Medical Center (classified as a critical access hospital), an acute care hospital and physician's office located in Jamestown, Tennessee that it plans to reopen and operate, and a rural clinic in Kentucky. For more information, please visit www.rennovahealth.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors are contained in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in their expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law.

Contact:
SINGAPORE, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian Telecom Awards, which aims to recognise the achievements of telecommunication companies has announced Plintron as the winner of Cloud Initiative of the year 2022 in its latest awards ceremony. This was awarded for successful implementation of Plintron's cloud based platform for MVNOs in Italy by the delivery team based out of India.

Subhashree Radhakrishnan. Vice Chairman and Co-Founder , Plintron Group said,"Plintron is honoured with this recognition from the Asian Telecom Awards 2022 for our Cloud based Platform for MVNOs and is committed to further excellence and will be rolling out more innovative features this year."

Plintron-'s platform for MVNOs features several innovations such as a cloud-based solution with elastic scalable capacity & flexibility, complete Telco SaaS suite including NSS/BSS/OCS/OSS/GW Suites, support for aggregator MVNO model which allows launch of independent sub-branded MVNOs, amongst others.

Plintron's Telco as a Service (TaaS) model enables any brand to extend into mobile services and increase customer loyalty and engagement apart from adding an additional revenue stream & improving brand value.

Brands can focus on their core competence of sales and marketing while Plintron provides all the telecom domain expertise, GTM consulting, end to end technical solution/support and management of the entire telecom operations and regulatory compliances. This is useful for any brand having a significant footfall at its stores or visitors at its e-stores. Communities, ethnic groups and sporting clubs can also start their own MVNOs to increase member engagement.

Plintron platform also supports all market models of MVNOs from Light to Full MVNO and necessary customisations. Plintron is focused on R&D and will be rolling out more innovative platform features this year,

About Plintron

Plintron is an innovative SaaS company offering MVNE, MVNA, CPaaS and IOT solutions using its cloud communications platform. It is the world's largest multi Country end to end MVNA & MVNE provider with a client base in 6 continents. With mobile network services in 30+ countries spanning 6 continents supported by 1000+ telecom professionals, Plintron has launched 143+ MVNOs and 165 million+ mobile subscribers.

Visit www.Plintron.com

Media Contact:

Shamik Biswas

marketing@plintron.com
Richmond Hill, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 15, 2022) - Notox Technologies Corp. (OTC: NTOX) ("Notox" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an amendment with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (the "Clinic") and Notox Bioscience Inc., the Company's wholly owned subsidiary ("NBI"), regarding the exclusive license agreement between the parties (the "License Agreement").

The License Agreement, as amended, grants NBI the exclusive license to certain patented intellectual property of the Clinic relating to the treatment of a neuromuscular defect developed by Dr. Frank Papay, and in particular, the ability to produce, sell, improve and modernize products that incorporate such intellectual property in the fields of aesthetics, drug free pain management, body contouring and perspiration control.

The material terms of the amendment, which follows previous amendments dated effective July 30, 2013 and July 1, 2016, extend the deadline for NBI to achieve the first commercial milestone (the submission of regulatory filings to applicable authorities) to December 31, 2023, and require NBI to begin completing partial reimbursements of the Clinic's approximately US$215,000 in accrued patenting costs as of February 2, 2022 at the rate of US$25,000 per calendar quarter.

The License Agreement is valid until the expiration of the last to expire of certain patents. Pursuant to the License Agreement, we are required to pay the Clinic a royalty based on the sale of certain products, a milestone payment upon the first commercial sale of the first such product and a percentage of any sublicensing revenues.

"I am extremely proud of Notox's progress during the past 24 months in the face of numerous COVID-19 restrictions and related limitations," commented Zoran Konevic, the Chairman and CEO of Notox. "This amendment indicates that our primary partnerships are stronger than ever and it has also been comforting to receive such fantastic support. In particular, I would like to thank David Weinrauch for his leadership and loyalty, as well as all our key shareholders."

In addition, Notox is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated December 15, 2021, the Company has appointed the first two members of its new Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Frank Papay and Dr. Tyler Kendall.

Dr. Frank Papay, MD

Dr. Papay is a biomedical engineer and surgeon who holds dozens of U.S. patents and has received more than 50 industry honors-including the Medal of Merit from Ohio University, the WebMD Health Hero Award in Science and the George and Grace Crile Surgical Award. Currently, Dr. Papay is professor of surgery at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and Chairman of the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

Throughout his career, Dr, Papay has made many important contributions to invention and innovation in surgery and medicine. His patents have been licensed to many prominent biotech companies, he is a co-founder of several Cleveland Clinic startups, and he has published more than 215 peer-reviewed pieces and currently serves on the editorial review boards of several medical journals. He has served in several executive positions for the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Association of Plastic Surgeons, American Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Society, Fellow American College of Surgeons and Fellow American Academy of Pediatrics. Most recently, he was inducted as a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors.

Dr. Tyler Kendall, MD

Dr. Kendall is a neurologist who specializes in cellular and molecular biology. He has demonstrated strong leadership throughout his career and has received a number of memberships, nominations, recognitions and awards from the American Society of Anesthesiology, the American Academy of Neurology, and other organizations. Dr. Kendall is currently a neurology resident at the Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida.

"Dr. Papay brings decades of experience and creativity to Notox, as well as his stellar reputation and connections, all of which we expect will benefit the Company and its shareholders," stated Mr. Konevic. "We are also eager to leverage Dr. Kendall's knowledge and perspective in order to ensure Notox's success. To date, we have established a strong team of talented experts and gained access to over 1,000 engineers, PhD's, scientists, designers and administrators through our relationship with Ximedica, a Veranex company, and we look forward to making Notox a better company in the coming months."

About Notox Technologies Corp.

Notox Technologies Corp. (OTC: NTOX) is in the business of developing and commercializing innovative technologies primarily through its wholly owned Nevada subsidiary, Notox Bioscience Inc. The Company is seeking to build its distribution capabilities for medical and aesthetic products around the world, and to market a credible, non-toxic alternative to Botox and subsequently develop other features of its Notox technology such as drug-free pain management, body countering, skin tightening and anti-perspiration.

For more information, please contact:

Zoran Konevic - Chairman & CEO

(519) 421-1900

info@hellonotox.com

Safe Harbor Statement and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, information related to: anticipated operating results; relationships with customers and strategic partners; consumer demand; financial resources and condition; the ability to list any securities for trading on a recognized exchange; changes in revenues; changes in profitability; changes in accounting treatment; changes in management; cost of sales; selling, general and administrative expenses; interest expense; the ability to produce the liquidity or enter into agreements to acquire the capital necessary to continue operations and take advantage of opportunities; and legal proceedings and claims. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116958
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, Mar 16, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi Energy has won an order from Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG), Germany's biggest municipal public transportation company, to supply its Grid-eMotion Fleet smart charging infrastructure to help BVG transition to sustainable mobility in Berlin, the country's capital.Hitachi Energy will provide a complete Grid-eMotion Fleet grid-to-plug charging infrastructure solution for the next two bus depots to be converted in the bus electrification program. Hitachi Energy's solution offers the smallest footprint for both the connection, as well as low noise emissions and high reliability - three key requirements for bus depots in a densely populated urban environment, where space is limited and flawless charging is vital to ensure buses run on time.The solution comprises a connection to the distribution grid, power distribution and DC charging infrastructure with charging points and smart charging systems. Hitachi Energy will perform the engineering and integrate, install and service the entire solution. The solution has a compact and robust design that requires less equipment than competing infrastructure, which results in a small footprint, lower operating and maintenance costs, and higher reliability. Typically, Grid-eMotion Fleet requires 60 percent less space and 40 percent less cabling than alternative charging systems; it also provides superior overall system reliability."We are delighted to help the City of Berlin in its transition to quiet and emission-free transportation and a sustainable energy future for the people of this iconic capital," said Niklas Persson, Managing Director of Hitachi Energy's Grid Integration business. "We feel the urgency and have the pioneering technology and commitment to advance sustainable mobility, thus improving the quality of life of millions of people."BVG operates Germany's biggest city bus fleet of around 1,500 vehicles, which it aims to make completely electric and emission-free by 2030. This requires the installation of charging infrastructure in its large network of bus depots.About Grid-eMotionGrid-eMotion comprises two unique, innovative solutions - Fleet and Flash. Grid-eMotion Fleet is a grid-code compliant and space-saving grid-to-plug charging solution that can be installed in new and existing bus depots. The charging solution can be scaled flexibly as the fleet gets bigger and greener. It includes a robust and compact grid connection and charging points, and is also available for commercial vehicle fleets, including last-mile delivery and heavy-duty trucks that require high power charging of several megawatts. Grid-eMotion Flash enables operators to flash-charge buses within seconds at passenger stops and fully recharge within minutes at the route terminus, without interrupting the bus schedule.Both solutions are equipped with configurable smart charging digital platforms that can be embedded with larger fleet and energy management systems. Additional offerings from Hitachi Energy for EV charging systems consist of e-mesh energy management and optimization solutions and Lumada APM, EAM and FSM solutions, to help transportation operators make informed decisions that maximize their uptime and improve efficiency.In the past few months alone, Hitachi Energy has won orders from customers and partners all over the world for its smart charging portfolio - a sign that Grid-eMotion is changing the e-mobility landscape for electric buses and commercial vehicles. Grid-eMotion solutions are already operating or under development in Australia, Canada, China, India, the Middle East, the United States and several countries in Europe.About Hitachi Energy Ltd.Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We serve customers in the utility, industry and infrastructure sectors with innovative solutions and services across the value chain. Together with customers and partners, we pioneer technologies and enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. We are advancing the world's energy system to become more sustainable, flexible and secure whilst balancing social, environmental and economic value. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 38,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of approximately $10 billion USD.https://www.hitachienergy.comAbout Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, contributes to a sustainable society with a higher quality of life by driving innovation through data and technology as the Social Innovation Business. Hitachi is focused on strengthening its contribution to the Environment, the Resilience of business and social infrastructure as well as comprehensive programs to enhance Security & Safety. Hitachi resolves the issues faced by customers and society across six domains: IT, Energy, Mobility, Industry, Smart Life and Automotive Systems through its proprietary Lumada solutions. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2020 (ended March 31, 2021) totaled 8,729.1 billion yen ($78.6 billion), with 871 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 350,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
SINGAPORE, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading tech leadership search firm Purple Quarter today announced its foray into the Southeast Asia market to address the technology talent gap in the region. The Bangalore-based firm currently is in the process of setting up an entity in Singapore and has received the initial nod from the Ministry.

Southeast Asia's technology start-ups had a combined valuation of $340 billion as of last year and that figure is estimated to grow more than threefold by 2025, according to Jungle Ventures, a VC firm. Purple Quarter aims to capitalize on this trend by being the strategic tech talent scouting firm for these companies with their upcoming Singapore office.

Commenting on the expansion, Roopa Kumar , Founder & CEO of Purple Quarter shared, "As a company, we have been closely monitoring SEA's booming startup landscape to solve gaps that organizations face locally in finding suitable Tech Leaders. We already have several regional companies expressing the need for leadership hiring assistance and the entry in SEA is only the natural progression. Today, I am beyond thrilled to announce our operations in Southeast Asia with our upcoming Singapore office. It is a small but vital step in our larger journey of becoming the go-to Tech Head Search Partner globally."

Once established, the company's Singapore office will act as the doorway for its operations in the diverse SEA region and cater to clients' needs in a more efficient process. Having successfully closed 65+ Tech Head roles in just 4 years, Purple Quarter has catered to numerous companies across FinTech, EdTech, Healthcare, SAAS, InsurTech and other verticals. SEA's burgeoning FinTech industry and the explosion of startups in the region make it ideal for Purple Quarter to act as the bridge between tech talent and startups with its expertise and wide talent pool.

About Purple Quarter

Purple Quarter is a Bespoke CTO Search firm based out of Bangalore. In less than four years, it has mapped over 4000+ leaders across the globe. Its singular approach to tech leadership hiring has given Purple Quarter a detailed acumen into the Tech Leadership hiring space, especially in the startup ecosystem. Its robust clientele includes early-stage to mature startups such as Inmobi, Swiggy, ACKO, PharmEasy, hike, Urban Company, and many more.

For tech leadership requirements, contact us interact@purplequarter.com

www.purplequarter.com

Contact

Arijita

Senior Manager Communications & Strategy

arijita.bhowmik@purplequarter.com

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TOKYO, Mar 16, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has completed investment into Marindows Inc., a Tokyo-based firm aiming to utilize the revolution in information technology to build an integrated digital platform for the marine industry. Amid the current energy revolution, this partnership will accelerate efforts to achieve a carbon neutral world in areas from electrification and autonomous operation to the marine industry, create new value by merging the physical and digital, and establish a "win-win" relationship with substantial benefits for both companies.Electrification and autonomous operation in the coastal vessel industry has become increasingly widespread, particularly in the small and mid-sized vessel market. This investment will provide a network with the small and mid-sized coastal vessel market, fishing boat market, and pleasure boat market that will support Mitsubishi Shipbuilding's efforts for the commercialization of standard electric propulsion vessels, and furthering the adoption of a safe and efficient navigation support system utilizing real-time data.Marindows Inc. was established in March 2021 by e5 Lab Inc., a firm jointly founded by four companies representing shipping firms and a trading company to promote the electric propulsion and digitalization of ships. Marindows has adopted a vision to "Utilize the revolution in information technology to solve the issues of safety, productivity, and environmental conservation facing the marine industry, and transform the marine sector into one of the leading growth industries of the 21st century." The company aims to create a better work environment for crews and all personnel in the marine industry by providing a range of applications utilizing the "Marindows" marine operating system it provides as a platform. The launch of marine broadband in 2022 is expected to make possible ship to shore communications and crew support services in real time, which up to now had been unattainable because of the unreliability of such communications.Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has built more than 5,000 vessels, including passenger ships, ferries, oceanographic research vessels and patrol boats, and has actively adopted new technologies as a pioneer in the construction of energy carriers including coal carriers, oil tankers, and liquified gas carriers (LPG and LNG carriers). In recent years, as a marine systems integrator generating innovation in the marine-related engineering and services business, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding has been pursuing initiatives that go beyond the conventional shipbuilding business model of just building and selling products. Through this investment, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will continue to respond to the demands of customers and society, and work toward solutions to achieve its "MARINE FUTURE STREAM" growth strategy.About MARINE FUTURE STREAMMitsubishi Shipbuilding has established the MARINE FUTURE STREAM vision for 2050 in the ship and marine sector, setting the goals of "effective utilization of the marine space" and "a decarbonized marine world," and working to generate ideas for marine-related innovation and achieving them through backcasting. For the effective utilization of the marine space, in order to stablish a safety society in which people work comfortably with the sea, and everyone is able to live well and with peace of mind, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will utilize digital technologies and service businesses that extend beyond the confines of shipbuilding to establish a sound material-cycle society. For "a decarbonized marine world," in order to focus on the decarbonization of ships, as well as the use of renewable energy and CO2 capture at sea, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will pursue the decarbonization of society through the marine business.Source: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Illustration of Hanyusuchus sinensis. (Photo provided to Xinhua)

HEFEI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- In 819 A.D., Han Yu, a relegated politician from Tang Dynasty, issued a proclamation against the crocodiles living in today's Han River Delta in south China's Guangdong Province.

After giving sacrifices of a pig and a goat, Han, known for his exemplary prose style in the ancient Chinese literature history, read aloud a "croc prose," asking the six-meter-long predators to leave the area within seven days or he would show no mercy.

More than 1,200 years later, an international team of researchers from China, Japan and the United States studied partially fossilized remains of the crocodilian found in southeast China, naming the new species after Han Yu -- Hanyusuchus sinensis.

The researchers said that Hanyusuchus sinensis could serve as a missing link to settle the debate on the crocodilian evolution family tree and may impact the knowledge of ancient Chinese civilization.

Three families of crocodilians are still roaming Earth today, namely sharp-nosed crocodiles, blunt-nosed alligators, and lesser-known gharials that are crocodile-like creatures with thinner snouts.

The researchers studied crocodilian remains housed in four museums in Guangdong Province. All the bones were found at a dig site in southeast China and labeled for years as crocodile skeletons.

3D scans of the Hanyusuchus sinensis skeleton described by the team and a size comparison with a 1.8-meter tall human. (Photo provided to Xinhua)

According to the paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers found Hanyusuchus sinensis share some significant skull features with gharials and had a vocal structure only known in male Indian gharials. Carbon dating showed the bones dated back some 3,000 years, during China's Bronze Age.

Genetic evidence found that alligators were the first to split from the original crocodilian, followed by gharials and later crocodiles. While the timeline may go against intuition due to crocodiles and alligators resembling each other more than gharials, the researchers said that Hanyusuchus sinensis is intermediate in body shape between gharials and the other two, filling the gap in the evolution tree.

The researchers also found chop marks on the skulls of Hanyusuchus sinensis, indicating that it had been killed or even beheaded by heavy bronze weapons. Crocodilians play a key role in maintaining the freshwater ecosystems as top predators, said the researchers, noting that humans were responsible for the extinction of Hanyusuchus sinensis about 300 years ago.

Liu Jun from China's Hefei University of Technology is the corresponding author of the research. He said that crocodilian bones had been found in many archaeological sites in China. The bones were thought to belong to Chinese alligators, which today only live in east China's lower Yangtze River area. Their discovery could challenge this.

Liu said that as the only reptile feasting on humans in Ancient China, Hanyusuchus sinensis may have left marks on ancient Chinese civilization, such as legends about dragons.

In future studies, the researchers hope to extract ancient DNA samples from soft tissue preserved in the partially fossilized bones, which may provide a more accurate picture of the crocodilian evolution tree. 








































Amanda Benfell Head of PR & Press amanda.benfell@warc.com

LONDON, Mar 16, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - WARC Rankings - Creative 100, the ultimate independent global benchmark for marketing celebrating creative excellence, is now released featuring the most awarded campaigns and companies in the world. The top ten most highly ranked campaigns and companies in the 2022 WARC Creative 100 are:Compiled by WARC, the international marketing insights company, the Creative 100 (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100) Ranking is produced by combining the results of the industry's most important global and regional creative award shows tracked throughout 2021. The awards tracked are determined by a worldwide industry survey and in consultation with the WARC Rankings Advisory Board (www.warc.com/rankings/about).#1 Campaign: wombstories for Bodyform/Libresse/Libra by AMV BBDO LondonThe most creatively celebrated campaign of 2021, wombstories for feminine hygiene brand Bodyform/Libresse/Libra, used the power of storytelling to embrace the complexity and reality of womanhood. Whilst heartbreaking, the campaign by AMV BBDO London, is designed to tackle taboos and make women proud of their bodies.Nicholas Hulley and Nadja Lossgott, Chief Creative Officers, AMV BBDO, said: "Wombstories has been our most profound and complex undertaking - both emotionally and technically. Daring to listen and dive into the darker side of people's experiences with their wombs and wrestling an octopus of a campaign with so many arms that all had to live up to our ambition of creativity and empathy. But complexity is worth it, to leave millions of people feeling understood and, in many cases, reach out to each other to finally share their womb stories."In second place is True Name for Mastercard by McCann New York. The campaign demonstrated its support for the LGBTQIA+ community in the USA by launching the first payment product where people could feature their chosen name on their card. Third, is Donation Dollar, a campaign for Royal Australian Mint by Saatchi & Saatchi Melbourne, whereby a donation coin was created to support charities.#1 Creative Agency: Publicis MilanUp from third place last year, crowning agency Publicis Milan has four campaigns in the top 100: for Diesel (x2), Heineken and Barilla. AMV BBDO London follows closely behind with two campaigns, one for Macmillan Cancer support as well as the highest ranked wombstories. Africa Sao Paulo is in third place with four campaigns for House of Lapland, SporTV, Folha de SP and Associacao Brasileira de Psiquiatria.Bruno Bertelli, Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Worldwide, said: "Being ranked number 1 Agency of the Year in the WARC Creative 100 Ranking is testament to hard work, a proven model of data and creativity and the bravery of our people and clients. We continue to push each other to go further and be better and it is paying off. Congratulations to everyone at Publicis Italy.#1 Creative Network: OgilvyRetaining its top spot for a second consecutive year is Ogilvy, with four agencies in the top 50 contributing points to its total, including DAVID Miami and DAVID Madrid both ranked in the top five. Publicis Worldwide and DDB Worldwide follow in second and third place respectively.Liz Taylor, Global Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy, said: "It's thrilling to be named the most creative network in the world by WARC. Earning this designation for the second consecutive year speaks to the hard work and dedication of our teams across the globe who continuously deliver unforgettable ideas that have an impact for our clients. This accomplishment is also a testament to the borderless creativity that unites our network across geographies, capabilities, and cultures. I want to thank everyone at Ogilvy for their contributions, and our brave and valued clients for their partnership, collaboration, and trust."#1 Holding Company: Omnicom GroupOmnicom Group moves up one place to take pole position. WPP drops to second place and Interpublic Group remains in third.#1 Brand: Burger KingFast-food chain Burger King is top creative brand for the fourth consecutive year, with six campaigns ranked in the top Creative 100 for four markets - Mexico, Spain, UK and USA. Bodyform/Libresse/Libra follows in second place, and Mastercard is in third, up from #25 last year.#1 Advertiser: AB InBevBrewing giant AB InBev, which has steadily climbed the Creative 100 Rankings over the past few years, takes top spot this year. Restaurant Brands International drops to second, and Unilever climbs to third place up from seventh last year.Pedro Earp, Chief Marketing Officer, AB InBev, said: "We are humbled to be ranked number one in creativity. Our journey over the last five years has embedded creativity into our core resulting in significant business growth. This transformation has defined AB InBev by its creative excellence, strategic boldness and accelerated innovation. While our work is not over, today, we raise a glass to our people and our partners who have made it their mission to create a future of more cheers."#1 Country: USAUSA retains its place as the most creatively awarded market in the world by far. The UK remains second, and France moves up to claim third place.Summing up, David Tiltman, SVP, Content, WARC, said: "The top campaigns from the Creative 100 Ranking show how marketers are increasingly trying to highlight untold stories. Many give a voice to sections of society that may not have been properly represented in the past - for example, wombstories and The Bread Exam focus on women's health and the conversations around it. We've also seen campaigns addressing the LGBTQIA+ community's need for individual recognition, amplifying the voices of Black youth, and showing the danger that Mexican journalists face daily. All explored important issues that have historically been ignored."The WARC Creative 100 has been compiled by applying a rigorous, unbiased and transparent methodology (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100/methodology).The WARC Creative 100 Ranking can be viewed in full here (www.warc.com/rankings/creative-100). It includes the world's top 100 awarded campaigns for creativity, top 50 creative agencies, agency networks, brands, advertisers, countries and top holding companies. The campaigns, case studies, credits and subsequent insights reports are available to WARC Rankings subscribers.About WARC - The global authority on marketing effectivenessWARC is an Ascential company. Ascential delivers specialist information, analytics and ecommerce optimisation platforms to the world's leading consumer brands and their ecosystems. Our world-class businesses improve performance and solve problems for our customers by delivering immediately actionable information combined with visionary longer-term thinking across Digital Commerce, Product Design and Marketing. We also serve customers across Retail & Financial Services. With more than 2,000 employees across five continents, we combine local expertise with a global footprint for clients in over 120 countries. Ascential is listed on the London Stock Exchange.For over 30 years WARC has been powering the marketing segment by providing rigorous and unbiased evidence, expertise and guidance to make marketers more effective. WARC services include 96,000+ case studies, best practice guides, research papers, special reports, advertising trend data, news & opinion articles, as well as webinars, awards, events and advisory services. WARC operates out of London, New York, Singapore and Shanghai, servicing a community of over 75,000 marketers in more than 1,200 companies in 100+ markets and collaborates with 50+ industry partners.About WARC Rankings - Creative 100The WARC Creative 100 is a ranking of the world's most awarded campaigns and companies for creativity. It compiles the results of award shows that ran the year prior to its publication (e.g. the 2022 rankings reflect the results of award shows that ran in 2021). The Creative 100 (formerly the Gunn Report) has run since 1999 and sits alongside the WARC Media 100 and the WARC Effective 100.To compile the WARC Creative 100, WARC tracks different creative advertising competitions around the world. Campaigns and the brands and agencies behind them are awarded points based on the prizes they win in those competitions.The WARC Creative 100 methodology follows the approach of the WARC Effective 100 methodology, which was developed in consultation with an independent third party: Douglas West, professor of marketing and programme director at King's College, London.In order of overall show weighting, the following shows are included in this year's rankings:Global:Cannes Lions International Festival of CreativityD&ADThe One ShowClio AwardsLondon International Awards (LIA)Regional:APAC: Spikes Asia, AdfestEurope: Eurobest, Golden DrumMiddle East & Africa: Dubai Lynx, LoeriesLATAM: El Ojo de IberoamericaSource: WarcContact:Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
All digital flexible packaging company doubles down on growth strategy

Austin, Texas USA, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Established in 2016, and just 6 years old, ePac Flexible Packaging is doubling down on the aggressive growth strategy it has deployed since the company's creation. ePac will continue to focus on helping small and medium brands achieve big brand presence, recognizing the importance of this sector in driving economic growth in all corners of the globe.

2021 was a strong year for the company, again seeing sales growth in excess of 50% YoY, and an increase in production capacity of over 30%. In North America new plants were successfully opened in Portland, Toronto, and Kansas City, and internationally in the UK, France, Poland, and Australia. ePac now operates 17 plants in North America and 6 more in Europe and Asia Pacific.

Looking forward into 2022-2023, ePac will continue expansion in North America, adding plants in the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and a second location in the Mountain region. Additionally, print and pouch making capacity will be increased in existing ePac operations.

On the international front, ePac has brought on 2 senior executives, Sanjit Menezes and Paul Rason to lead growth initiatives in the Asia Pacific and MENA regions. Focusing on these markets will complement ePac's growth in Europe, overseen by Managing Director, Johnny Hobeika.

To provide easy access to ePac's services the company has begun to roll-out its own e-commerce platform, coupled with web-to-print and automated workflow. These technological advancements are unique to ePac and will greatly simplify how customers order flexible packaging while opening up ePac's services to new market segments.

The company will also launch several new flexible packaging product lines, as well as an expanded roll-out of its connected packaging solution, ePacConnect.

According to ePac's Chief Operating Officer, Virag Patel: "Although we are navigating through uncharted waters from a global economic perspective, we continue to see broad market acceptance for our services. With 6 years of operation under our belt, we are more convinced than ever that ePac can continue to help brands of all sizes grow while being accretive to the communities we serve".

About ePac Flexible Packaging

Founded in 2016 with a mission to help small and medium sized companies grow and compete with larger brands, ePac has 23 locations across the United States, Canada, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. ePac is 100% digital and built on the latest in digital printing and workflow technologies, providing fast time to market and low minimum orders. ePac offers a full complement of sustainable film options, while its print technology platform is carbon-neutral and inherently eco-friendly. Further, the company offers true order to demand capability, helping brands reduce inventory and obsolescence.

For more information, please visit? ?epacflexibles.com.

Attachment
Kuros Biosciences AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Kuros Biosciences reports results for the full year 2021



16-March-2022 / 07:00 CET/CEST

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



Financial highlights CHF 30.7 million cash & cash equivalents, trade and other receivables at December 31, 2021



Product sales increased more than 100% to CHF 8.3 million



Received USD 6 million (CHF 5.5 million) milestone payments from Checkmate Pharmaceuticals



Received USD 7 million (CHF 6.4 million) up front with USD 166.5 million in potential future revenues under royalty purchase agreement with XOMA



Total revenues of CHF 13.8 million (versus CHF 4.0 million in 2020), supported by Checkmate agreement Operational highlights Commercial rollout MagnetOs in U.S. and Europe on track



Enrolled more than 50% of patients in first stage of in Phase II spine clinical study of Fibrin-PTH



Over 90% of patients enrolled in MaXa clinical study with MagnetOs Schlieren (Zurich), Switzerland, March 16, 2022 - Kuros Biosciences closed the year with outstanding results for 2021, increasing product sales by 107% and continuing to enroll the Phase II spine study for Fibrin-PTH, confirming its successful transition into a fully-fledged orthobiologics company with scientific, clinical, and commercial excellence in bone regeneration. MagnetOs achieved strong sales growth in the U.S. and was successfully launched in additional European countries, despite the worldwide pandemic, and its very significant impact on the elective surgeries MagnetOs is primarily used in. Joost de Bruijn, Chief Executive Officer, said: 'The Kuros team has delivered an outstanding performance in a complex environment, making significant progress on all fronts in 2021. The impressive sales growth of MagnetOs confirms our successful transformation into a commercial company. Combined with our Fibrin-PTH clinical program which has tremendous commercial potential, we are well-postioned to become a leader in orthobiologics. Beyond this we have received USD 6 million in milestone payments from the agreement with Checkmate Pharmaceuticals and successfully monitized the agreement with Checkmate for an upfront payment of USD 7.0 million while retaining potential additional income of USD 166.5 million.' Key developments in 2021 and so far in 2022 March 2, 2021 Announces MagnetOs sales and distribution agreements across Northern Europe April 6, 2021 To receive $2 million milestone payment from Checkmate Pharmaceuticals April 8, 2021 Treatment of first patient in Australia with MagnetOs for spine fusion April 13, 2021 Treats first patient in clinical trial of MagnetOs Putty for posterolateral spine fusion May 17, 2021 To receive $4 million milestone payment from Checkmate Pharmaceuticals June 2, 2021 Commercial roll-out of MagnetOs bone graft exceeds expectations June 22, 2021 Publication of data on MagnetOs in eCM Journal linking MOA to enhanced predictable bone regeneration July 15, 2021 To receive $7 million up front and potentially $166.5 million in future revenues under a royalty purchase agreement with XOMA related to Kuros's license agreement with Checkmate Pharmaceuticals September 9, 2021 FDA 510(k) Clearance for MagnetOs Easypack Putty January 20, 2022 Publication of first-in-human clinical data for Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) in treatment of open tibial shaft fractures February 3, 2022 MagnetOs Granules cleared by FDA for expanded spinal indications Financial position Cash and cash equivalents (including trade and other receivables) as of December 31, 2021, amounted to CHF 30.7 million, compared to CHF 29.8 million as of December 31, 2020. Net operating costs increased to CHF 18.8 million (2020: CHF 13.4 million) primarily due to increased marketing and sales costs of CHF 7.7 million (2020: CHF 4.3 million), including personnel and administration and maintenance costs. Research and development costs increased to CHF 5.0 million (2020: CHF 4.0 million), primarily through the ongoing clinical phase 2 trial of Fibrin-PTH. Other income amounted to CHF 0.2 million (2020: CHF 0.3 million) and mainly consisted of patent recharges to Checkmate. The group's revenues amounted to CHF 13.8 million (2020: CHF 4.0 million), originating from product sales and collaborations. The net loss for 2021 amounted to CHF 7.5 million, compared to CHF 11.5 million in 2020. Key figures 2021 2020 In TCHF, IFRS - Revenue from product sales 8,341 4,039 - Revenue from collaborations 5,474 - Total Revenue 13,815 4,039 Cost of Goods sold (3,749) (2,368) - Research and development (4,989) (4,005) - General and administrative (6,329) (5,392) - Sales and marketing costs (7,723) (4,263) - Other income 208 310 Net operating costs (18,833) (13,350) Operating loss (8,767) (11,679) Net financial loss (787) (415) Income taxes 2,013 574 Net loss (7,541) (11,520) Net loss per share (in CHF) (0.23) (0.47) Cash and cash equivalents, trade and other receivables 30,670 29,790 Events after the reporting period The Group has no significant events after the reporting period and up to the date of this report. Outlook Kuros' products are advancing according to plan, with MagnetOs generating sales in the U.S. and in Europe and expected to become cashflow positive by the end of 2022. Kuros is financed to accelerate the commercial roll-out of MagnetOs in the U.S. and to complete the Phase II clinical study of Fibrin-PTH in spine, with the first data expected to be available by mid 2023. The annual report 2021 is available on our corporate website under the following link: https://kurosbio.com/resources/kuros-annual-report-2021/ We will discuss the results of 2021 in a zoom call on March 23, 2022, at 2pm CET. If you wish to participate, please register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kp0K1XHnSz24Wp2wOm8rJg After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For further information, please contact: Kuros Biosciences AG

Michael Grau

Chief Financial Officer

T: +41 44 733 47 47

E: michael.grau@kurosbio.com LifeSci Advisors

Hans Herklots

Media & Investors

T: +41 79 598 7149

E: hherklots@lifesciadvisors.com About MagnetOs

MagnetOs isn't like other bone grafts. It grows bone even in soft tissue thanks to its unique NeedleGrip surface technology which provides traction for our body's vitally important 'pro-healing' immune cells (M2 macrophages). This in turn, unlocks previously untapped potential to stimulate stem cells - and form new bone throughout the graft. The growing body of science behind NeedleGrip is called osteoimmunology. But for surgeons and their patients it means one thing: a more efficient and predictable fusion.*1-3 About Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) The latest candidate in our pipeline is based on proprietary controlled-release technology that combines the well-established mechanism of the bone growth factor parathyroid hormone (PTH) with the natural healing matrix, fibrin. Once implanted, the released PTH promotes spinal fusion by increasing the number and lifespan of bone-forming (osteogenic) cells in the fusion space. Fibrin-PTH is the first ever investigational drug-biologic candidate to be evaluated for spinal fusion; and the first to be compatible with narrow gauge cannulas for truly non-invasive surgical procedures. Fibrin-PTH is undergoing a Phase 2 clinical trial in the U.S. as part of a de-risked pre-market clinical program. Investigational Product Candidates Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) is an investigational drug/biologic combination product candidate and is not approved by FDA for the indications mentioned in this release. The safety & efficacy of Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) has not yet been evaluated for spinal fusion in humans. About Kuros Biosciences Kuros Biosciences is a fast-growing leader in the development of spinal fusion biologics that ease the burden of back pain. With locations in the United States, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the company is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The company's first commercial product, MagnetOs, is a unique synthetic bone graft that has already been used successfully across three continents and in over 5,000 spinal fusion surgeries. The next candidate in the Kuros pipeline is Fibrin-PTH - the first drug-biologic combination for interbody spinal fusions, currently undergoing a Phase 2 clinical trial in the US. For more information on the company, its products and pipeline, visit kurosbio.com. Forward Looking Statements This media release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You are urged to consider statements that include the words 'will' or 'expect' or the negative of those words or other similar words to be uncertain and forward-looking. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements include scientific, business, economic and financial factors, Against the background of these uncertainties, readers should not rely on forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no responsibility for updating forward-looking statements or adapting them to future events or developments. References: 1. Van Dijk, et al. eCM. 2021;41:756-73. 2. Duan, et al. eCM. 2019;37:60-73. 3. Van Dijk, et al. Clin Spine Surg. 2020;33(6):E276-E287. *Results from in vivo laboratory testing may not be predictive of clinical experience in humans. For important safety and intended use information please visit kurosbio.com. MagnetOs is not cleared by the FDA or TGA as an osteoinductive bone graft. MagnetOs has been proven to generate more predictable fusions than two commercially available alternatives in an ovine model of posterolateral fusion. Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) is an investigational drug-biologic combination product candidate. Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) has been evaluated in animals for use in lumbar interbody fusion. The safety & efficacy of Fibrin-PTH (KUR-113) has not yet been evaluated for spinal fusion in humans.

End of ad hoc announcement
STOCKHOLM, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT AB (publ) ("EQT") has reached an agreement to acquire Baring Private Equity Asia ("BPEA") (the "Transaction"), a leading private markets investment firm in Asia with EUR 17.7bn of assets under management ("AUM").

Transaction highlights

The combination with BPEA, a leading Pan-Asian private markets firm, provides a step-change to EQT's presence in Asia , and ideally positions EQT to execute on the structural growth opportunity in Asian private markets

, and ideally positions EQT to execute on the structural growth opportunity in Asian private markets Asian private markets are expected to grow at almost twice the rate of global private markets and investors are set to materially increase their private markets allocations in the region

With an exceptional cultural fit, a strong performance track-record, aligned approach to thematic investing, and a commitment to accelerate digitalization and sustainability, the combination provides an opportunity to leverage the strengths of both organizations to create one of the leading players in active ownership in Asia

Following the combination, EQT will be local-with-locals in 25 countries, representing ~80% of global GDP, thereby creating a truly global platform poised to expand EQT's active ownership strategies across its core markets

The combined Asian Private Capital business will be rebranded as BPEA EQT Asia and will continue to be led by BPEA CEO Jean Eric Salata and BPEA's senior management team

and BPEA's senior management team Total consideration of EUR 6.8bn , consisting of 191.2m new ordinary EQT shares, valued at EUR 5.3bn , plus EUR 1.5bn in cash

, consisting of new ordinary EQT shares, valued at , plus in cash The combination is expected to be immediately high single digit accretive to EQT's EPS

Expanding in Asia is a strategic priority for EQT, as the region accounts for more than a third of global GDP today and is expected to contribute 40%+ of global GDP growth by 20301. With 24% CAGR since 2015 and reaching ~USD 2.1tn in 2021, Asia is the growth engine underpinning global private markets (compared to 14% CAGR for Europe and North America combined). This trend is expected to continue as Asian private markets benefit from favorable long-term structural tailwinds. Global private markets firms are increasingly taking share in the underpenetrated Asian private markets, but still only represent 34% of the total market. With this combination, EQT is ideally positioned to take market share in and capitalize on the Asian growth opportunity with its truly global reach and scaled active ownership platform in Asia.

BPEA is a top-3 private markets investment manager2 in Asia with EUR 17.7bn AUM, currently investing from its flagship Private Equity Fund VIII, which had its first close in September 2021. Operating since 1997, BPEA has built a platform with deep sector-based expertise and a value-driven active ownership approach, investing in mid to large-cap companies in Asia, mainly focused on Private Equity, but also Real Estate and more recently Growth. With 10 regional offices, BPEA combines local execution with a Pan-Asian reach (236 FTE+ as of 2021), mirroring EQT's local-with-locals approach. BPEA has made 100+ Private Equity investments since its inception and has a track-record of generating strong returns for its clients, with 2.6x realized gross MOIC since inception3. With its deep, long-standing relationships with 300+ clients and best-in-class fundraising ability, BPEA is well positioned to capitalize on the outsized Asian growth opportunity.

The combination represents a step-change in EQT's global reach with immediate Pan-Asia presence at scale and with its thematic investment approach, supporting companies from early stage to maturity, EQT will continue to scale and expand its range of strategies across its European, North American, and Asian core markets and deliver for its clients.

Strategic rationale

Transformative to EQT's presence in Asia : Expansion into Asia was one of EQT's key strategic objectives set out at the time of its IPO. BPEA is the perfect partner and will create a step-change for EQT in Asia

Expansion into was one of EQT's key strategic objectives set out at the time of its IPO. BPEA is the perfect partner and will create a step-change for EQT in Creates a global leader in active ownership strategies: EQT will become a top 3-player 4 in active ownership strategies globally, and with a scaled Asian platform, EQT now has truly global reach

EQT will become a top 3-player in active ownership strategies globally, and with a scaled Asian platform, EQT now has truly global reach Strong performance track-record: BPEA's success and scale is reflected through its AUM growth at 25% CAGR (2019-2021) and an outstanding 2.6x realized gross MOIC since inception 5

BPEA's success and scale is reflected through its AUM growth at 25% CAGR (2019-2021) and an outstanding 2.6x realized gross MOIC since inception Exceptional cultural fit: BPEA's corporate culture is aligned with EQT's core values: high-performing, respectful, entrepreneurial, informal, and transparent. Both firms have grown through a local-with-locals approach, with decentralized decision making and a deep drive to learn and continuously improve

BPEA's corporate culture is aligned with EQT's core values: high-performing, respectful, entrepreneurial, informal, and transparent. Both firms have grown through a local-with-locals approach, with decentralized decision making and a deep drive to learn and continuously improve Similar ambitions and approach to future-proofing and value creation: Utilize EQT's Digitalization, Sustainability and thematic investing toolboxes will accelerate the value creation opportunity in Asia

Utilize EQT's Digitalization, Sustainability and thematic investing toolboxes will accelerate the value creation opportunity in Turbo-charges Real Estate growth in Asia : BPEA Real Estate further extends EQT Exeter's on-the-ground footprint in Asia and positions the platform to continue to scale its business in the region

BPEA Real Estate further extends EQT Exeter's on-the-ground footprint in and positions the platform to continue to scale its business in the region Clearly identified value creation opportunities: Leverage the combined platform and BPEA and EQT's strong brands to rapidly scale Private Equity, and over time launch EQT's other Private Capital strategies in Asia (e.g., Public Value, Ventures, Life Sciences and Future)

Leverage the combined platform and BPEA and EQT's strong brands to rapidly scale Private Equity, and over time launch EQT's other Private Capital strategies in (e.g., Public Value, Ventures, Life Sciences and Future) Broader client access: BPEA brings a wide range of high-quality client relationships to the EQT platform, with over 300 existing clients, of which 100+ are new clients for EQT

BPEA brings a wide range of high-quality client relationships to the EQT platform, with over 300 existing clients, of which 100+ are new clients for EQT Highly strategic combination, while being immediately accretive: The Transaction is expected to be immediately high single digit accretive to EQT's EPS

Christian Sinding, CEO and Managing Partner of EQT:

"We are very excited to join forces with BPEA, which represents a step-change in our global reach with immediate Pan-Asian presence at scale. Expanding our footprint in Asia is part of the strategic objectives we set out at the time of our IPO, and BPEA represents a unique opportunity, as a well-established and top-performing firm in the region, to enhance our global platform and position us to capitalize on the structural growth opportunity in Asian private markets. With its thematic sector-based approach, strong track-record in value creation, and most importantly, a learning culture and long-term partnership approach, we feel deeply aligned with BPEA. We are truly impressed by what Jean and the BPEA team have built over the past 25 years. A perfect cultural and ideological fit with EQT, and a unique opportunity to establish EQT as a world-leading private markets platform with a scaled Asian platform and truly global reach"

Jean Eric Salata, CEO and Founder of BPEA:

"We are thrilled to embark on this journey with EQT and by the possibilities that this combination creates. It is a game-changer for both our firms and will accelerate our ability to deliver superior returns for our clients. The cultural fit between our two firms is remarkable and the strategic fit is very powerful. Combining our strong position in Asia with EQT's world-class capabilities in sectors, such as Healthcare and Technology, their proprietary digital transformation and data analytics resources, and their leadership in sustainability, will create a highly differentiated and extremely competitive private markets firm in Asia and globally. The future of Private Equity is about the ability to truly transform companies through active ownership strategies that deliver superior returns to clients throughout the cycle, regardless of the external environment. This combination positions us extraordinarily well to do exactly that at an industry leading-level."

Organizational set-up and governance

EQT Private Capital will have two divisions post-Transaction - BPEA EQT Asia, comprising the combined BPEA Private Equity and EQT APAC Private Equity teams, and EQT Private Capital Europe & North America. Over time, BPEA EQT Asia is expected to provide the full suite of Private Capital strategies, from Ventures through Future, similar to what EQT Private Capital Europe & North America offers today. Mr. Salata will become Head of BPEA EQT Asia and will oversee EQT's Private Capital business in Asia, reporting directly to Christian Sinding. Mr. Salata will also join EQT's Executive Committee.

BPEA's Real Estate business will be integrated into EQT Exeter, operating as one global platform. Since the acquisition of the Exeter Property Group in April 2021, EQT Exeter has been growing globally, including into Asia through the acquisition of Bear Logi in January 2022. The combination with BPEA Real Estate will significantly enhance EQT Exeter's local presence across the region.

EQT Infrastructure will continue to operate on a global basis (including Asia) but is expected to benefit from BPEA's strong local footprint to generate increased deal flow.

The combined EQT footprint in Asia will consist of more than 300 FTE+ across 9 regional offices, creating a large-scale Pan-Asian platform. EQT will have more than EUR 20bn of invested AUM in Asia across Private Capital and Real Assets.

Key transaction details

EQT will acquire 100% of the BPEA management company, the BPEA general partner entities which control the BPEA funds, and the right to carried interest in selected existing funds (including 25% in BPEA Fund VI and 35% in BPEA Fund VII)

EQT will invest in and be entitled to 35% of the carried interest in all future funds, starting with BPEA Fund VIII, in line with existing EQT policies

Total consideration of EUR 6.8bn on a cash and debt free basis (with a normalized level of working capital), of which approximately EUR 5.3bn to be paid through the issue of 191.2m new EQT ordinary shares (corresponding to a dilution of approximately 16%), plus EUR 1.5bn in cash

on a cash and debt free basis (with a normalized level of working capital), of which approximately to be paid through the issue of new EQT ordinary shares (corresponding to a dilution of approximately 16%), plus in cash EQT has cash and facilities in place to fund the cash consideration. In addition, EQT may review long-term financing options

The Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including anti-trust, regulatory approvals and certain BPEA fund investor consent approvals, as well as EQT majority shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting ("AGM") in June 2022 , granting the Board of Directors of EQT the authority to issue the consideration shares; major EQT shareholders representing in total more than 50% of EQT's share capital have irrevocably committed to vote in favor of the share issue authorization

, granting the Board of Directors of EQT the authority to issue the consideration shares; major EQT shareholders representing in total more than 50% of EQT's share capital have irrevocably committed to vote in favor of the share issue authorization The Transaction is expected to close in Q4 2022

Share consideration lock-up

Share consideration for Mr. Salata and other key members of BPEA's management will be subject to customary lock-up provisions, consistent with those of current senior EQT partners (10% released in September 2023, the remaining shares are then released in equal annual instalments of 20% per year in September 2024, September 2025, September 2026, September 2027 and September 2028), while also including a share forfeiture mechanism. Share consideration for Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. ("AMG"), which owns 15% of BPEA, will have 75% of the EQT shares released at closing and 25% subject to a lock-up period of 180 days on the basis of a customary lock-up agreement for an institutional investor.

Selected financial information for BPEA6

EURm 2019 2020 2021 Fee-generating AUM (EoP, EURbn) 11.3 10.7 17.7 Revenue 215 227 309 - Of which management fees 215 222 236 EBITDA 117 129 206 EBITDA margin (%) 54% 57% 67%



Standalone, and subject to the ongoing fundraisings, BPEA fee-generating AUM is expected to be at EUR 20bn at year-end 2022, generating EUR 350-375m in management fees during 2022.

Advisers

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc is acting as financial adviser to EQT in relation to the Transaction, while Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and Vinge are acting as legal counsel. J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are joint lead advisers to BPEA, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Mannheimer Swartling are acting as legal counsel to BPEA and Mr. Salata.

EQT Contacts

Olof Svensson, Head of Shareholder Relations, olof.svensson@eqtpartners.com, +46 72 989 09 15

Rickard Buch, Managing Director Communications, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 72 989 09 11

EQT Press Office, +46 8 506 55 334

For international media inquiries

Greenbrook: Andrew Honnor, James Madsen, Alex Jones, eqt@greenbrookpr.com, +44 (0) 20 7952 2000

Presentation

Financial analysts and media are invited to participate in a conference call, including a presentation at 08:30 CET.

The presentation and a link to follow the webcast and conference call live can be found here and a recording will be available afterwards.

To participate by phone, please use the following dial-in details below, at least 10 minutes in advance.

Sweden: +46 856642651

UK: +44 3333000804

Finland: +358 981710310

Denmark: +45 35445577

Norway: +47 23500243

Confirmation code: 93509653#

This is information that EQT AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 07:30 CET on 16 March 2022.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward- looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," or "potential" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond EQT's control, which may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward- looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect EQT's good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. Furthermore, EQT disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes.

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc ("Morgan Stanley"), which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority in the United Kingdom, is acting exclusively as financial adviser to EQT and no one else in connection with the Transaction. In connection with such matters, Morgan Stanley, its affiliates and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents will not regard any other person as their client, nor will they be responsible to anyone other than EQT for providing the protections afforded to clients of Morgan Stanley nor for providing advice in connection with the Transaction, the contents of this announcement or any matter referred to herein.

1 Source: Euromonitor

2 By AUM, excluding international private markets peers with presence in Asia

3 Since inception defined as the timing of creation of the independent firm (from Fund III and onwards)

4 Source: Preqin, Pitchbook, Desk research. Based on fee-paying capital raised for funds closed in 2017 or later (excluding funds closed prior to 2017 and passive funds)

5 Since inception defined as the timing of creation of the independent firm (from Fund III and onwards)

6 USD/EUR exchange rate as of each year end for AUM and as an average of the calendar year for income statement figures. Financial information includes BPEA Credit

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/eqt/r/eqt-takes-the-next-step-on-its-strategic-journey---joins-forces-with-baring-private-equity-asia--cre,c3525684

The following files are available for download:
Jeito Capital co-leads EUR 80 million Series B financing in

European oncology company, Precirix



Jeito Capital chooses Precirix, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision radiopharmaceuticals in oncology as its ninth investment.

The financing will allow Precirix to advance its pipeline of precision radiopharmaceuticals.

Paris, France, 16 March 2022 - Jeito Capital ("Jeito"), a leading independent private equity firm dedicated to biotech and biopharma, today announces that it has co-led an investment of 80 million in Precirix, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision radiopharmaceuticals in oncology. The Belgian biotech company was created in 2014 as a spin-off from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), one of the best European centers for medical research, and is dedicated to extending and improving the lives of cancer patients by designing and developing precision radiopharmaceuticals.

Jeito has co-led this investment with INKEF Capital and Forbion, two other leading European Life Sciences funds. Sabine Dandiguian, Managing Partner at Jeito, will join Precirix's Board of Directors.

The proceeds will fund the development and expansion of Precirix's pipeline. The company will advance its lead product candidate, CAM-H2, through its ongoing Phase I/II study, and plans to bring additional novel radiopharmaceuticals to the clinic.

While radiopharmaceuticals have proven clear clinical benefits for several decades, the field is advancing significantly in recent years and Precirix's innovative and differentiated platform aims to provide a new hope to many new patient populations. Precirix's platform brings together several unique features and facilitates the development of radiolabelled single domain antibodies (sdAbs) for multiple targets, in combination with different isotopes and applicability in various settings. Precirix's lead product candidate, CAM-H2, is currently in a Phase I/II study for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast and gastric cancer. Following the absence of any dose-limiting toxicities in the first cohort and a positive review from the Safety Review Committee, patients are now being enrolled in the second cohort of the dose-escalation phase.

With this new and ninth investment, Jeito Capital continues its mission to build a diversified portfolio of future European leaders with potentially groundbreaking therapies for the benefit of patients in areas of unmet needs.

Dr Rafaele Tordjman, Founder and CEO at Jeito Capital, said: "We are pleased to have co-led this financing in Precirix alongside other high-quality European investors. At Jeito, we are continuing to identify and invest in companies in Europe that have the potential to be market leaders in the development of new and improved therapies for patients in areas of unmet need. Precirix is a clinical stage company which has the potential to significantly improve the lives of new patient populations with its targeted precision radiopharmaceuticals. We look forward to supporting the growth of the company in the long term as it builds its disruptive pipeline and accelerates the development and approval of next generation therapies for patients."

Sabine Dandiguian, Managing Partner at Jeito Capital, said: "We are thrilled to co-lead this round with the ambition to support the company to bring a new alternative to patients suffering from advanced cancer, in total coherence with Jeito's mission which is to "go faster to the patient, further with the entrepreneur."

Ruth Devenyns, CEO of Precirix, added: "We are delighted to announce this major milestone and are grateful for the strong investor support. The addition of Inkef, Jeito and Forbion, three leading VC-funds in the healthcare sector, significantly reinforces our international shareholder base. The investment will allow Precirix to accelerate its growth trajectory and to further validate and broaden the technology platform."

***

About Jeito Capital

Jeito Capital is a global leading investment company with a patient benefit driven approach that finances and accelerates the development and growth of ground-breaking medical innovation. Jeito empowers and supports entrepreneurs through its expert, integrated, multi-talented team and through the investment of significant capital to ensure the growth of companies, building market leaders in their respective therapeutic areas with accelerated patients' access in Europe and the United States. Jeito Capital has 534 million under management and has already built a strong portfolio of diversified companies, rapidly growing. Jeito Capital is based in Paris with a presence in Europe and the United States. For more information, please visit www.jeito.life, or follow on Twitter @Jeito_life or LinkedIn.

About Precirix NV

Precirix is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2014 as a spin-off from the VUB, dedicated to extending and improving the lives of cancer patients by designing and developing precision radiopharmaceuticals, using camelid single-domain antibodies labelled with radioisotopes. The company has a broad pipeline with one product candidate in a Phase I/II clinical trial and two in advanced preclinical stage. Research on multiple isotopes, linker technology and combination therapies further expand the platform. Precirix' technology also allows for a theranostic approach, where patients can be selected using a low dose/imaging version of the product, followed by a therapeutic dose for treatment.

For more information please contact:

Jeito Capital

Rafaele Tordjman

Assia Mouhout, Executive Assistant

assia@jeito.life

Tel: +33 6 76 49 37 94



French media: TBWA Corporate

Marion Bougeard

Marion.bougeard@tbwa-corporate.com

Tel: +33 6 76 73 57 31

International media: Consilium Strategic Communications

Mary-Jane Elliott / Melissa Gardiner / Davide Salvi / Kris Lam

Jeito@consilium-comms.com

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700

Please click HEREfor press release in French
Bilia has reached an agreement to acquire LBs Lastbilar AB, a company who conducts repair and service of Mercedes transport vehicles and trucks. The operation is conducted in its own property in Norrkoping. Bilia is expected to take over the operation on 1 April 2022.

The acquired business reported for 2021 a turnover of about SEK 40 M

and the average number of employees was 11. The operation's capital employed plus property and agreed surplus values amount to about

SEK 30 M, which will increase the Bilia Group's net debt.

In the future, Bilia will conduct sales of trucks and service business for transport vehicles and trucks.

Per Avander, Bilia's MD and CEO, comments:

"I'm happy that Bilia through the acquisition of LBs Lastbilar AB can expand the strategically important Service Business for our new car brand Mercedes."

Henrik Brunius, MD LBs Lastbilar AB, comments:

"I look forward to being a part of Bilia and will work together with Bilia to develop our business."

Gothenburg, March 16, 2022

Bilia AB (publ)

For information please contact:

Per Avander, Managing Director and CEO, +46

Kristina Franzen, CFO, +46

Facts about the Bilia Group

Bilia is one of Europe's largest car dealers with a leading position within service and sales of cars, transport vehicles and trucks. Bilia has about 150 facilities in Sweden, Norway, Luxembourg and Belgium. Bilia sells cars of the brand Volvo, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes, Renault, Lexus, MINI, Porsche, Nissan, Dacia, Smart and Alpine and transport vehicles of the brand Renault, Toyota, Mercedes, Nissan and Dacia and trucks of the brand Mercedes.

Bilia has today a fully expanded business with sales of new cars, e-commerce, spare parts and store sales, service and repair workshops, tyres and car glass and financing, insurance, car washes, fuel stations and auto salvage under the same roof, which gives a unique offer.

Bilia reported a turnover of about SEK 35 bn in 2021 and had about 5,300 employees.

Attachment
FLSmidth has been awarded the contract to build Gladstone Ports Corporation's (GPC) new shiploader 1 on site in Queensland, Australia. The contract also includes the decommissioning of the old shiploader, which will be done in a safe and sustainable manner.

The deal has been booked in Q1 2022 and is valued at approximately DKK225 million.

The new shiploader will replace GPC's existing shiploader 1, which has loaded bulk material onto ships for 43 years. As part of the contract, FLSmidth will build the new shiploader within Gladstone Ports Corporation's Port Central Precinct, where it will then be transferred via a heavy lift ship a short distance to its new home for operation.

The award comes after GPC's Board approved the project and endorsement was provided by the Queensland Government to proceed with the project. FLSmidth and its antecedent companies have supplied Gladstone Ports with the two other existing shiploaders at the port.

FLSmidth's Regional President Tamer Eid said: "We are delighted to have been selected by Gladstone Ports Corporation to supply a shiploader to their port operations. A happy, returning customer proves the value and efficiency delivered by FLSmidth and underlines our strong position in the bulk material handling arena. The shiploader will be fully compliant to Australian standards, meet all technical specifications for load limits and will be produced locally in Gladstone."

GPC Chair, Dr Anthony Lynham, added that the shiploader project was a significant achievement for local and regional manufacturing: "Traditionally, machines of this size are constructed overseas and imported into Australia, so to be able to have FLSmidth build one right here at our Port Central Precinct is a win for manufacturing in our state and a win for local jobs. It not only shows confidence in future market demand for exports, but it's great news in terms of local and regional jobs, trade capacity, and the region's prosperity as GPC plans for the next 50 years."

The contract commenced in March 2022 with a scheduled completion date of Q2 2024.





Contacts:

Investor Relations

Jannick Lindegaard Denholt, +45 21 69 66 57, jli@flsmidth.com

Therese Mollevinge, +45 41 37 16 38, tmo@flsmidth.com

Mikkel Johansen, +45 23 30 29 50, mjoh@flsmidth.com

Media Relations

Rasmus Windfeld, +45 40 44 60 60, rwin@flsmidth.com





About FLSmidth

FLSmidth provides sustainable productivity to the global mining and cement industries. We deliver market-leading engineering, equipment and service solutions that enable our customers to improve performance, drive down costs and reduce environmental impact. Our operations span the globe and we are close to ~10,100 employees, present in more than 60 countries. In 2021, FLSmidth generated revenue of DKK 17.6 billion. MissionZero is our sustainability ambition towards zero emissions in mining and cement by 2030. FLSmidth works within fully validated Science-Based Targets, our commitment to keep global warming below 1.5C and to becoming carbon neutral in our own operations by 2030. www.flsmidth.com

Attachment


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Centamin Plc (CEY.L), a gold mining company, on Wednesday posted a sharp decline in earnings for the fiscal 2021, amidst a fall in the yellow metal production, sales, and increased costs.



For the fiscal 2021, the Saint Helier-headquartered firm reported a pre-tax profit of $153.64 million, compared with $315 million, reported a year ago.



After tax, the miner's income for the period was $101.52 million, compared with $156 million, reported for 2020.



Centamin recorded its earnings per share at 8.73 cents, compared with 13.45 cents, reported a year ago.



Adjusted EBITDA for the year was at $328.60 million, versus $437.55 million, on year-on-year basis.



The company reported its gold production for the 12-month period at 415, 370 Oz, compared with 452,320 Oz, reported a year ago. It also sold 407, 252 Oz of the precious metal, lower than 468, 681 Oz of last year.



The mining firm's cost of sales increased to $487.37 million, from $449.44 million, a year ago.



For the full year, the company has proposed a final dividend of 5 cents per share.



For the fiscal 2021, the miner generated revenue of $733.30 million, compared with $828.73 million, reported a year ago.



Looking ahead, for the fiscal 2022, the company expects its yellow metal production to be in the range of 430,000 Oz - 460,000 Oz and a capital expenditure of $225.5 million.







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Latest advances empower businesses to exceed heightening consumer expectations while encouraging sustainable practices

MINNEAPOLIS, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Korber will launch new software solutions and capabilities spanning warehouse management, warehouse control, robotics, voice and simulation to empower businesses worldwide to further digitize and automate warehouses in light of today's immense supply chain pressures.

"Supply chain has moved from a back-office function to a boardroom imperative," said Richard Stewart, Executive Vice President of North America at Korber Supply Chain Software. "The pandemic, labor shortages, cost increases, fuel prices, material shortages, and beyond - these challenges are real and here to stay. Unlike anyone else, Korber brings to market an unmatched depth of digital technologies that conquer these complexities."

"Digitization is a strategic priority for more than 80% of supply chain executives," said Sean Elliott, Chief Technology Officer for Korber Supply Chain Software. "Yet, many businesses struggle to digitize at the pace they need. From handling the rapid expansion of e-commerce to the increasing interconnectivity of the global economy, major technology advances are pivotal. Korber will enhance its already unrivaled portfolio of software solutions to empower businesses to drive even more value for their customers and consumers around the globe."

In a rapidly growing industry, businesses need a full portfolio provider with a wide range of technologies to tackle supply chain complexity. Focused on rising consumer expectations, labor challenges and a growing emphasis on sustainability, Korber plans the current solution advances for 2022:

The cloud: As part of the Korber One platform strategy, Korber will continue bringing its solutions to the cloud to increase efficiency, reliability, resilience, green practices and cybersecurity. This includes the K.Motion Warehouse Management System (WMS), K.Sight CLASS for warehouse modelling and simulation, and Korber's series of add-ons spanning visibility to data analytics - the K.Motion Essentials.

As part of the Korber One platform strategy, Korber will continue bringing its solutions to the cloud to increase efficiency, reliability, resilience, green practices and cybersecurity. This includes the K.Motion Warehouse Management System (WMS), K.Sight CLASS for warehouse modelling and simulation, and Korber's series of add-ons spanning visibility to data analytics - the K.Motion Essentials. Unified Control System (UCS): Already boasting globally successful voice solutions and the most extensive network of AMR partnerships worldwide, Korber will solidify its leading voice and robotics practice with a unified control system. The UCS will uniquely integrate and control different working models - fixed automation, voice systems, and 3rd party AMR systems - under a single tool. Availability is expected the second half of 2022.

Already boasting globally successful voice solutions and the most extensive network of AMR partnerships worldwide, Korber will solidify its leading voice and robotics practice with a unified control system. The UCS will uniquely integrate and control different working models - fixed automation, voice systems, and 3rd party AMR systems - under a single tool. Availability is expected the second half of 2022. K.Sight CLASS for operations: New advances connect data on daily operations from the WMS for real-time planning and design. The result is immediate visibility into operational health and stronger strategic planning. This includes effectively handling disruptions, e-commerce growth and heightening consumer expectations.

During the conference, customers spanning all industries, sizes and needs, will present how they are revolutionizing supply chains with Korber. Selective examples include:

SanMar discusses its journey modernizing operations with Korber's WMS and voice solutions for a more sustainable supply chain.

discusses its journey modernizing operations with Korber's WMS and voice solutions for a more sustainable supply chain. Lineage Logistics elaborates on how Korber's WMS enabled them to achieve efficient and sustainable operations - all while optimizing its warehouse layout.

elaborates on how Korber's WMS enabled them to achieve efficient and sustainable operations - all while optimizing its warehouse layout. Big Rock Sports, joined by Korber's partner enVista, shares best practices and experiences implementing Korber's WMS.

joined by Korber's partner enVista, shares best practices and experiences implementing Korber's WMS. ISN displays how it improved working conditions and bolstered productivity with a robotics solution from Korber and Locus Robotics.

displays how it improved working conditions and bolstered productivity with a robotics solution from Korber and Locus Robotics. Biagi Bros showcases how it improved agility and resilience while driving innovation with the Oracle Cloud and Korber's WMS.

showcases how it improved agility and resilience while driving innovation with the Oracle Cloud and Korber's WMS. Kenco Group describes its AMR deployment for e-commerce fulfillment, focused on productivity and labor dependency.

describes its AMR deployment for e-commerce fulfillment, focused on productivity and labor dependency. Nassau Provisions , using Korber's WMS and voice technology, shares how it scaled food distribution operations in light of rapid growth.

, using Korber's WMS and voice technology, shares how it scaled food distribution operations in light of rapid growth. Ariat speaks to its combination of Korber's WMS and AMR solution from Geek+ to improve customer and employee experiences and enable workforce flexibility.

speaks to its combination of Korber's WMS and AMR solution from Geek+ to improve customer and employee experiences and enable workforce flexibility. Bimbo Bakery overviews how it is revolutionizing retail execution with a smarter and more efficient frontline through direct-store delivery with K.Motion OmniTech.

Further information on Korber's solution roadmap and customer success stories is available at Elevate Americas, held virtually from March 14-16, 2022. Registration is available now and throughout the event, with content available on demand for 90 days.

About the Korber Business Area Supply Chain

Supply chains are growing more complex by the day. Korber uniquely provides a broad range of proven, end-to-end supply chain solutions fitting any business size, strategy or appetite for growth. Capable of delivering software, automation, voice, robotics, and materials handling - plus the expertise to tie it all together. We are a global partner not just for today, but also as the needs of supply chains continue to evolve. Conquer supply chain complexity - with Korber. The Business Area Supply Chain is part of the global technology group Korber. Find out more on www.koerber-supplychain.com.

Contact:

Heather Smith

Director Corporate Communications

Korber Supply Chain

Heather.smith@koerber-supplychain.com

T +1 800 3283271

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Industry-Leading Automotive AI Software Now Available on World-Class Automotive Grade AI Perception, Fusion and Central Processing Platform

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and MENLO PARK, Calif., March 16, 2022, a developer of next-generation AI software, today announced a new perception software release for the Ambarella CVflow AI SoC architecture that makes Helm.ai's high-end advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) software available to the strong ecosystem of customers and partners built around the Ambarella platform. This new integration allows both companies to rapidly iterate on technical approaches that meet the latest automotive market needs, while offering combined hardware and software solutions to joint customers.







"We found it easy to integrate into Ambarella's CVflow hardware, and this platform has enabled us to dramatically lower power consumption while achieving new benchmarks in overall system efficiency for running our cutting edge, high-end ADAS software," said Helm.ai CEO Vlad Voroninski. "Ambarella's CV2FS automotive grade SoC platform achieves cutting edge performance for a 5.5 TOPS solution when running our software. We are also planning to port our software to the latest CV3 domain controller SoC family as part of the ongoing offerings for our joint customers and partners."

Helm.ai and Ambarella first demonstrated the initial integration of Helm.ai technology at CES 2020. At this year's event, the two companies demonstrated an integration of the Helm.ai full 360 surround-view camera perception stack for L2+/L3 and autonomous driving on Ambarella's automotive grade CV2FS SoCs. Today's new integration leverages all hardware capabilities of the Ambarella CVflow architecture to optimize the performance of Helm.ai's AI algorithms while meeting the accuracy goals expected from an automotive grade solution.

"Helm.ai's novel approach to training AI systems for computer vision, called Deep Teaching, offers far-reaching implications for the future of computer vision and autonomous driving, as well as other industries such as robotics, aviation, manufacturing and even retail," said Ambarella President and CEO Fermi Wang. "This new integration combines Helm.ai's high-end ADAS software and our CV2FS automotive grade AI SoC platform to offer industry-leading performance per watt. In the next stage of this collaboration, we are using Ambarella's scalable CVflow platform to port Helm.ai's advanced ADAS software onto our new CV3 SoC for single-chip perception of multiple sensors. This central domain controller SoC family can simultaneously process HD radar and vision captures, while providing fusion and path planning for ADAS to L4 autonomous vehicles."

About Helm.ai

Helm.ai is building the next generation of AI software for high-end ADAS, L4 autonomous driving and robotics. Founded in November 2016 in Menlo Park, CA, the company has re-envisioned the way AI software is built to make truly scalable autonomous driving a reality. For more information on Helm.ai, including its products, SDK and open career opportunities, visit https://www.helm.ai/ or find Helm.ai on LinkedIn .

About Ambarella

Ambarella's products are used in a wide variety of human and computer vision applications, including video security, advanced driver assistance systems.

Ambarella Contacts

Media contact: Eric Lawson, elawson@ambarella.com (mailto:elawson@ambarella.com), +1 480-276-9572

(mailto:elawson@ambarella.com), +1 480-276-9572 Investor contact: Louis Gerhardy, lgerhardy@ambarella.com (mailto:lgerhardy@ambarella.com), +1 408-636-2310

(mailto:lgerhardy@ambarella.com), +1 408-636-2310 Sales contact: www.ambarella.com/about/contact/inquiries (http://www.ambarella.com/about/contact/inquiries)



Helm.ai Contacts

Media contact: Vanessa Camones, vanessa.camones@helm.ai (mailto:vanessa.camones@helm.ai), +1 415-412-2856

(mailto:vanessa.camones@helm.ai), +1 415-412-2856 Sales contact: Seung Yang, seung.yang@helm.ai (mailto:seung.yang@helm.ai), +1 248-925-2437

All brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Ambarella reserves the right to alter product and service offerings, specifications, and pricing at any time without notice.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/420e51ff-2171-421d-bfa2-61bf19527253
A medical worker collects a swab from a woman for a COVID-19 test at a health center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

BRASILIA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been monitoring the spread of Deltacron since early March, after it was first identified in France.

"Our genomic surveillance service has already identified two cases in Brazil. One in Amapa, another in Para," said Queiroga, referring to two northern states.

Despite a decline in the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Brazil, health authorities must remain vigilant, said Queiroga, urging the public to get fully vaccinated.

Brazil on Monday reported 11,287 new cases of COVID-19 and 171 more deaths from the disease in 24 hours, accumulating 29,380,063 confirmed cases and 655,249 deaths since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest data from the Health Ministry. 

A medical worker works for a COVID-19 test at a health center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

A medical worker works for a COVID-19 test at a health center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

A man prepares to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

A medical worker works for a COVID-19 test at a health center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

A medical worker collects a swab from a woman for a COVID-19 test at a health center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

People get vaccinated at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)

A man receives the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 16, 2022. Brazil has confirmed two cases of infection with the new Deltacron variant of the coronavirus, which combines genetic characteristics of the Delta and Omicron variants, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong)
H.I.G. WhiteHorse, a credit affiliate of global investment firm H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G.") is pleased to announce that it has arranged a financing package for RUF Group ("RUF" or the "Company"), backing its buyout by Waterland, a leading top-tier European private equity investment group.

Founded in 1926, RUF is a leading premium manufacturer in the German bed market with a broad product portfolio consisting of beds, sofa beds, and smaller accessories. The Company sells its products via two brands "RUF Betten" and "BRUNO", a leading online brand.

Dr. Carsten Rahlfs, Managing Partner at Waterland, said:"Implementing our envisioned buy and build growth requires highly efficient cooperation with a financing partner that can be flexible and adapt very quickly to the needs of a company. We are confident that H.I.G. WhiteHorse will make a significant contribution to the success of our buy build strategy at RUF Group."

Pascal Meysson, Head of H.I.G. WhiteHorse Europe, said:"We are very excited to support Waterland with flexible capital that not only supports the acquisition of RUF, but also meets the Company's growth aspirations."

Sebastian Lorenz, Principal at H.I.G. WhiteHorse Europe, said:"With its more than 90-year history, RUF has established itself as a leading premium brand in the brick-and-mortar retail segment of the German bed market and is a leader in the direct-to-customer segment via its "Bruno" brand. We are thrilled to support RUF and its new owner Waterland in this new chapter of its development and contribute to the continuation of its ambitious growth plan."

About H.I.G. WhiteHorse

H.I.G. WhiteHorse is the credit affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, focused on providing flexible debt financing solutions to middle market companies in Europe and the United States. Operating a broad investment mandate, H.I.G. WhiteHorse provides unitranche, senior and subordinated debt capital for refinancings, growth capital, acquisitions, buyouts, and balance sheet recapitalizations. Credit facilities typically range from 50 million to 175 million for companies with revenues of 30 million or more. For more information, please refer to the WhiteHorse website at: www.higwhitehorse.com.

About H.I.G. Capital

H.I.G. is a leading global alternative assets investment firm with $48 billion of equity capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 300 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $30 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com.

Based on total capital commitments to funds managed by H.I.G. Capital and its affiliates.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220315006367/en/

Contacts:

Pascal Meysson

Head of H.I.G. WhiteHorse Europe

pmeysson@higcapital.com

Sebastian Lorenz

Principal

slorenz@higcapital.com

H.I.G. WhiteHorse

10 Grosvenor Street

2nd Floor

London W1K 4QB

P +44 (0) 207 318 5700

F +44 (0) 207 318 5749

www.higwhitehorse.com
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French stocks were sharply higher on Wednesday as investors cheered further signs of progress in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that peace talks were sounding more realistic but more time was needed for the decisions to be in the interests of the country. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks. Investors were also reacting to a broad rebound in Chinese tech stocks after the country pledged support for its slowing economy. Shares of Alibaba Group Holdings and Tencent Holdings saw a reprieve from recent heavy selling today after China's government tried to reassure jittery investors by promising support for its struggling real estate industry, internet companies and entrepreneurs. The benchmark CAC 40 jumped 148 points, or 2.3 percent, to 6,503 after closing 0.2 percent lower the previous day. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, with miners and financials leading the surge amid optimism about ongoing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decision later in the day. The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 83 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,259 after declining 0.3 percent in the previous session. Miners Glencore and Antofagasta rallied around 3 percent after China promised to roll out more stimulus. Lender Barclays gained more than 2 percent and Lloyds Banking Group was up 1.6 percent. Gold mining firm Centamin slumped 7 percent after its 2021 profit halved as a result of lower production and higher costs for the year. IG Group shares fell nearly 3 percent. The online trading platform said it expects full-year revenue to 'moderately exceed' market expectations on strong trading volumes. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Boatim, Inc. (OTCQB:BTIM), is pleased to announce that the Boat International Marketplace now serves over 20,000 boating businesses. The International Marketplace includes hard-to-find marinas and service providers, giving boaters direct access to the information, services, and goods they need, in one easy to navigate site, with over $1 billion in boat and yacht inventory. In addition to becoming the definitive directory and international marketplace for the recreational boating industry, Boatim is now offering customized branded websites to boat manufacturers, dealers, service providers, marinas, and everything boat related. In doing so, Boatim provides small businesses a competitive advantage that they have not had before in the boating industry.

In addition to the newest service offered by Boatim, the company has launched its "Women in Boating" series on Boatim.com. As a company dedicated to being "everything boat, everywhere" Boatim strives to include not only every business, but every member of the recreational boating community. CEO Joseph Johnson has said that, "by giving all professionals a voice, highlighting their careers and hobbies, and encouraging others to go boating, we are advancing the industry."

While Boatim continues to build digital tools that are disrupting the leisure boating industry, Boatim has also dedicated resources to help the victims of the conflict in Ukraine. Boatim is currently working with artists and other professionals on a project to raise funds for those affected by the tragedy.

About Boatim Inc.

Boatim Inc. (OTCQB:BTIM) is an innovative software company that hosts a recreational boating platform for consumers and provides professional software as a service (SaaS) business tools to the industry. Boatim is building the digital recreational boating products of tomorrow and connecting the global boating community. Boatim operates a worldwide online marketplace directly connecting boaters with the products and services they need on its website, Boatim.com.

Boatim Inc. was founded in 2018 and currently operates with offices in Miami (USA) and Barcelona (Spain). The publicly traded technology start-up provides industry-specific software, aimed at facilitating the process of buying and selling boats and providing digital maritime services online.

On BOATIM.com the boating industry can sell and promote products and services directly to boaters, while boaters can easily find and acquire the products, boats, and services they are looking for. Boatim allows boaters to connect with one another, share information, and provide reliable reviews and tips on the goods and services they use. The platform, which can be accessed through both mobile devices and desktops, generates revenues through listing placements and subscription plans, as well as on-platform ads. Boatim strives to compliment the recreational boating industry with its suite of digital tools and services by introducing innovative solutions to decrease industry costs and waste. Boatim is for boaters by boaters and always puts the consumer first.

Boatim has been trading at the OTCQB Venture Market under the trading symbol BTIM since August 2019.

Boatim Inc

7950 NW 53rd Street, Suite 337

Miami, Fl 33166

United States

To learn more about Boatim, visit https://investor.boatim.com

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors including: our ability to retain or increase users and engagement levels; our reliance on advertising revenue; our dependency on mobile operating systems, networks, and standards that we do not control; risks associated with new product development and their introduction as well as other new business initiatives; our emphasis on user growth and engagement and the user experience over short-term financial results; competition; litigation; privacy and regulatory concerns; risks associated with acquisitions; security breaches; and our ability to manage growth and geographically-dispersed operations. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on January 3, 2022, which is available via the SEC website at www.sec.gov . Additional information has also been set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Aug 31, 2021. In addition, please note that the date of this press release is March 16, 2022, and any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on assumptions that we believe to be reasonable as of this date. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

Boatim is registered trademark of Boatim, Inc. All product names, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE: Boatim, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693239/Boatim-Now-Serves-Over-20000-Businesses-and-Showcases-Over-1-Billion-in-Worldwide-Boat-and-Yacht-Inventory
LONDON and BENGALURU, India, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) has shown that the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is the highest-rated public sector organisation in the UK for customer satisfaction. The report was published by the Institute of Customer Service and details an increase in DBS' customer satisfaction score from January 2021, to January 2022. DBS works with Hinduja Global Solutions in the UK, with the latter providing customer contact centre services and back-office services in support of DBS processes.

Within the report, DBS was benchmarked against 10 other public sector organisations with DBS receiving a customer satisfaction score of 81.4 out of 100, while the average score for public sector organisations stood at 76.9.

DBS helps employers make safer recruitment decisions each year by processing and issuing over 5 million DBS checks for England, Wales, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. It also maintains the Adults' and Children's Barred Lists for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Eric Robinson, CEO of DBS, said: "We are incredibly proud that DBS has been recognised as the highest-rated public sector organisation for customer satisfaction in the UK. The result demonstrates the organisation's strong commitment to providing high quality services and the dedication and hard work of DBS staff, which has been even more important during the pandemic for the customers we serve. I also want to acknowledge the efforts of staff in HGS, who support our frontline customer services. We welcome feedback from the survey, and we will use the findings alongside responses from our own DBS customer survey to ensure we continue to further improve services for our customers."

Adam Foster, CEO, HGS Europe added: "I am delighted HGS has supported DBS to achieve the accolade of highest-rated public service organisation for customer satisfaction in the UK. This is a huge testament to the teams at HGS who support DBS and their focus and dedication to delivering the best customer experience. The DBS service is critical to the UK economy with DBS issuing certificates to safeguard vulnerable groups. It helps companies to apply safe recruitment procedures and it also allows organisations (including voluntary groups) to appoint people suitable for certain types of roles".

Jo Causon, CEO of The Institute of Customer Service, added: "Through this challenging period, some businesses have adapted well and responded to changes in their customers' circumstances and needs. DBS' strong showing in the UKCSI is encouraging and shows that public sector organisations - much like those in the private sector - who build trust and deliver on their promises will be rewarded with customer loyalty."

The latest UKCSI results incorporate data collected between 8 March to 6 April 2021, and 13 September to 8 October 2021. The independent index is calculated using feedback from around 10,000 consumers in an online survey covering 13 different sectors, and over 260 public and private organisations.

More information about the index and the main UKCSI report can be found on the Institute of Customer Service website.

About Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS):

A global leader in optimising the customer experience lifecycle, digital transformation, and business process management, HGS is helping its clients become more competitive every day. HGS combines automation, analytics, and artificial intelligence with deep domain expertise focusing on digital customer experiences, back-office processing, contact centres, and HRO solutions. Part of the multi-billion-dollar conglomerate Hinduja Group, HGS takes a "globally local" approach. HGS has over 19,100 employees across 34 delivery centres in six countries, making a difference to some of the world's leading brands across verticals. For the year ended March 31, 2021, HGS had revenues of Rs. 55,889 million (US$ 753.9 million). Visit https://hgs.cx to learn how HGS transforms customer experiences and builds businesses for the future.

HGS continues to invest in public sector expertise, delivery capability, and infrastructure and its unique ability to compete with and in many cases outperform key competitors in the UK public sector space. To find out more about HGS works with Public Sector in the UK market, visit https://hgs.cx/industries/public-sector

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1736627/HGS_Logo.jpg
OTCQX: SHWZ

Continues to Go Deep, Adding to Retail and Product Footprint in Colorado

DENVER, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Schwazze, (OTCQX: SHWZ) ("Schwazze" or the "Company"), announced that it has signed definitive documents to acquire all the assets of Urban Health & Wellness, Inc. ("Urban"). The proposed transaction includes the adult use Urban Dispensary, located at West 38th Avenue and Clay Street, in Denver's vibrant Highlands neighborhood as well as a 7,200 square foot indoor cultivation facility (2,700 square feet of canopy) located in Denver, Colorado. This purchase continues Schwazze's aggressive expansion in Colorado and upon close will bring the Company's total number of Colorado dispensaries to 23 and grow facilities to four.

The consideration for the proposed acquisition is US$3.2 million and will be paid as $1.3M cash and $1.9M stock at closing. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022 after the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and local licensing approval.

"We look forward to the addition of the Urban group, including the strategically located Urban Dispensary and its Denver grow facility to our expanding pipeline of assets in Colorado. Delivering our brands and our excellent customer service into new neighborhoods is a Schwazze hallmark as we continue to go deep in the state. We also look forward to welcoming the Urban team to our growing Schwazze family," said Nirup Krishnamurthy, Schwazze's COO.

Since April 2020, Schwazze has acquired or announced the planned acquisition of 33 cannabis dispensaries as well as seven cultivation facilities and two manufacturing assets in Colorado and New Mexico. In May 2021, Schwazze announced its BioSciences division and in August 2021 it commenced home delivery services in Colorado.

About Schwazze

Schwazze (OTCQX: SHWZ) is building a premier vertically integrated regional cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico and will continue to take its operating system to other states where it can develop a differentiated regional leadership position. Schwazze is the parent company of a portfolio of leading cannabis businesses and brands spanning seed to sale. The Company is committed to unlocking the full potential of the cannabis plant to improve the human condition. Schwazze is anchored by a high- performance culture that combines customer-centric thinking and data science to test, measure, and drive decisions and outcomes. The Company's leadership team has deep expertise in retailing, wholesaling, and building consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies as well as in the cannabis sector. Schwazze is passionate about making a difference in our communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and doing our part to incorporate climate-conscious best practices. Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. was Schwazze's former operating trade name. The corporate entity continues to be named Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. Schwazze derives its name from the pruning technique of a cannabis plant to enhance plant structure and promote healthy growth.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "plan," "will," "may," "continue," "predicts," or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and cannot be predicted or quantified. Consequently, actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) our inability to manufacture our products and product candidates on a commercial scale on our own or in collaboration with third parties; (ii) difficulties in obtaining financing on commercially reasonable terms; (iii) changes in the size and nature of our competition; (iv) loss of one or more key executives or scientists; (v) difficulties in securing regulatory approval to market our products and product candidates; (vi) our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy in Colorado and outside the state, (vii) our ability to consummate the acquisition described in this press release or to identify and consummate future acquisitions that meet our criteria, (viii) our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, including the acquisition described in this press release, and realize synergies therefrom, (ix) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, (x) the timing and extent of governmental stimulus programs, and (xi) the uncertainty in the application of federal, state and local laws to our business, and any changes in such laws. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

Investors: Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations, Joanne.jobin@schwazze.com, 647 964 0292; Media: Julie Suntrup, Schwazze, Vice President | Marketing & Merchandising, julie.suntrup@schwazze.com, 303 371 0387
DUBLIN, Ireland, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meridian Global Services, a global provider of tax technology solutions, announced today that its Arco Tax Determination Solution is certified by SAP for integration with SAP S/4HANA, and also SAP as Built on SAP Business Technology Platform. The integration enables customers to achieve fully automated and consistent value added tax (VAT) treatment with their SAP S/4HANA software using SAP Business Technology Platform. The Business Technology Platform is SAP's next generation enterprise architecture.



"Meridian has partnered with SAP for over 20 years to help deliver a best-in-class customer experience," said Adam Smith, Commercial Director, at Meridian. "The SAP-certified integration of Arco Tax Determination with SAP S/4HANA and SAP S/4HANA BTP Cloud underscores our commitment to evolve Meridian tax solutions with the SAP enterprise architecture roadmap. Customers can be confident Meridian's innovative tax solutions will integrate smoothly with SAP systems, without custom application development. More importantly, as seen with Arco supporting SAP BTP Cloud, customers can be confident their investments will be future proofed on a global basis."

The SAP Integration and Certification Centre (SAP ICC) has certified that the interface software Arco Tax Determination for SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) integrates with SAP S/4HANA. It should be noted that Arco Tax Determination Solution is certified by SAP for global implementation on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP).

Copyright  2022 Meridian Global Services. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is intended for information purposes only, may change at any time in the future, and is not legal or tax advice. The product direction and potential roadmap information is not a guarantee, may not be incorporated into any contract, and is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality. This information should not be relied upon in making purchasing, legal, or tax decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Meridian's products remains at the sole discretion of Meridian Global Services.

About Meridian

Meridian Global Services is a leading global provider of indirect tax solutions for SAP. Meridian has a strong background in global tax compliance and consultancy services, and this expertise is reflected in our tax technology solutions. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, provides tax determination technology to companies across the globe.

For more information, visit www.meridianglobalservices.com or follow on Twitter and LinkedIn.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.




Vingroup

Vingroup: VinFast and NAS Academy welcome more than 5,000 candidates



16-March-2022 / 11:45 CET/CEST



VinFast and NAS Academy welcome more than 5,000 candidates

for 'Go Boundless' contest HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach - March 16th, 2022 - The 'Go Boundless' Contest, held by VinFast and Nas Academy, received over 5,000 applications from around the world after only three weeks. This far exceeds expectations, affirming the strong interests of young talents in the green and environmentally friendly transportation trend.

The 'Go Boundless' video contest officially began on February 17, 2022. As of March 9, 2022, VinFast and Nas Academy received an astounding 5,139 applications from 156 countries. The US, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Nigeria account for approximately 50% of the applicants. Of the 5,000+ applications, hundreds of videos have already been submitted with unique ideas showcasing an appreciation for the sustainable electric mobility trend that VinFast is accelerating globally. VinFast and Nas Academy are hopeful in the bold inspiration for society's creativity and progress towards adopting cleaner renewable sources of energy and applying environmentally friendly mobility solutions. In addition to receiving an all-expense-paid trip to Vietnam to compete for the Grand Prize, the top ten candidates from the first round will also receive a $2,000 cash prize. The final winner of the 'Go Boundless' challenge will receive a $30,000 cash Grand Prize. About the contest, Mr. Nuseir Yassin, CEO and Founder of Nas Academy, shared: "We are extremely excited with the huge interest coming from our young talents. Going boundless together, we, the future content creators, will inspire and make a significant impact on the green revolution." Ms. Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chairwoman and VinFast Global CEO, stated: "The great resonance coming from across the globe to the contest give VinFast motivation to continue its mission of driving the movement of the global electrified mobility revolution. We are so grateful to welcome thousands of wonderful talents on this journey towards a greener, safer, and more efficient tomorrow for all." Creating the video is undoubtedly an exciting challenge as it requires creativity, storytelling, and an understanding of the importance of sustainable mobility. Valid entries must be 1-3 minutes in length and attempt to inspire audiences to switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles with at least one compelling reason. Entries also must satisfy stringent audio, lighting, and language (English) requirements. Deeply motivated by this resonance, VinFast and Nas Academy have decided to carry this momentum until March 25, 2022, to welcome more talents to the contest. Candidates can register for the contest and learn more on the website: https://nasacademy.com/vinfast. 'GO BOUNDLESS' VIDEO CONTEST The 'Go Boundless' video contest has two rounds. In the first round, candidates create and publish 1-3-minute-long videos to inspire audiences to switch from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles. Applicants who submitted the top ten entries will be invited on a fully paid trip to Vietnam to create one more video to compete for the Grand Prize. About the prize scheme, creators of the first 1,000 qualified videos will be awarded a USD $100 each cash prize and a $200 reservation payment for a VF 8 or VF 9. Each e-voucher has a payment value of $3,000 towards a VF 8 or $5,000 towards a VF 9 and other exclusive benefits for VinFirst's members. After the first round, the top ten candidates from the first round will also receive a $2,000 cash prize and an all-expense-paid trip to Vietnam to compete for the Grand Prize. The final winner of the Go Boundless challenge will receive a $30,000 cash Grand Prize. As part of the contest, two seminars about brand inspiration delivered by VinFast experts and three Q&A sessions for consultation with Nas Academy experts will also be organized. About VinFast VinFast - a member of Vingroup - envisioned to drive the movement of global smart electric vehicle revolution. Established in 2017, VinFast owns a state-of-the-art automotive manufacturing complex with globally leading scalability that boasts up to 90% automation in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Strongly committed to the mission for a sustainable future for everyone, VinFast constantly innovates to bring high-quality products, advanced smart services, seamless customer experiences, and pricing strategy for all to inspire global customers to jointly create a future of smart mobility and a sustainable planet. Learn more at: https://vinfastauto.com. About Vingroup Established in 1993, Vingroup is one of the leading private conglomerates in the region, with a total capitalization of $35 billion USD from three publicly traded companies (as of November 4, 2021). Vingroup currently focuses on three main areas: Technology and Industry, Services and Social Enterprise. Find out more at: https://www.vingroup.net/en. About Nas Academy Nas Academy is the world's first creator school for the skills of the future. Headquartered in Singapore, Nas Academy raised $11 million Series A led by Lightspeed Venture Partners to help creators build their own academies through cohort-based learning experiences. Motivated by the mission to empower content creators on the internet, Nas Academy has worked with over 100 creators to productize their knowledge, making education accessible to over 200,000 students across 160 countries. Nas Academy has partnered with some of the world's leading companies to train, upskill, and tap into the creator economy for sustainable brand advocacy on social media - through corporate workshops, fellowships and other training programs.

Dissemination of a CORPORATE NEWS, transmitted by EQS Group.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.




NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Automotive shock absorbers are hydraulic devices that absorb damp shock impulses from vehicles. Increase in production of vehicles and growing vehicle parc are driving demand for automotive shock absorbers across regions. Increased use of advanced shock absorbers such as regenerative shock absorbers is boosting market growth. Demand for hydraulic shock absorbers will continue to remain high over the next ten years, with this type holding more than two-third market share through 2031.

As per Persistence Market Research analysis, the global automotive shock absorbers market is estimated to be valued at US$ 23.7 Bn in 2021, expanding at a CAGR of more than 5% over the forecast period of 2021-2031.

Key Takeaways from Market Study

The global automotive industry has seen significant growth in recent times, which, in turn, has increased demand of automotive shock absorbers. Increase in number of vehicles on road and rise in demand for comfort level in vehicles are driving sales across regions.

The market is expected to grow significantly in Asia Pacific due to expansion of the automobile industry in Japan , India , and China . India is manufacturing and exporting automotive shock absorbers and struts on a large scale.

due to expansion of the automobile industry in , , and . is manufacturing and exporting automotive shock absorbers and struts on a large scale. Many manufacturers are using an innovative approach for suspension design. For example: The Lexus ES uses Swing Valve Automotive Shock Absorbers that provide an appropriate damping force even when the slightest movement is experienced in the car's wheels and suspension.

Hydraulic automotive shock absorbers to remain most sought-after over the coming years.

Use of automotive shock absorbers to remain highest in passenger vehicles across the world.

Twin tube design automotive shock absorbers to enjoy over 80% market share by 2031-end.

The market in the U.S. is expected to expand at close to 4% CAGR through 2031. For China , Japan , and India , expected CAGRs are 5.4%, 5.2%, and 6.5%, respectively.

, , and , expected CAGRs are 5.4%, 5.2%, and 6.5%, respectively. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for automotive shock absorbers has been badly hit, with 2020 growth rate being -14.4%, and 2021 expected growth rate being -6.3%.

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"Rising demand for different types of vehicles in recent years and increase in electric vehicle sales are driving factors for the automotive shock absorbers market,' says a Persistence Market Research analyst.

Competitive Landscape

The market is moderately fragmented, and is highly dependent on automotive sales. Leading players contribute significant market share. Small regional players might make this market even more competitive over the forecast period. Many key players are using the strategy of partnerships and mergers & acquisitions for acquiring maximum market share. Some of the key players in the market are KYB Corporation, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Tenneco Inc., Hitachi Group, and SHOWA Corporation. They are expected to contribute a prominent market share as they have made significant innovative advancements over the years.

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Market Projections

This is projected to be a fast-growing market over the forecast period due to expected increase in vehicle production and sales. However, as this is a matured market with high competition among manufacturers and suppliers, companies are expected to concentrate on research & development activities for the development of innovative automotive shock absorbers to suit the requirements of different vehicles. Demand for automotive shock absorbers is increasing in luxury vehicles due to adoption of electronically controlled adaptive damping systems in them, which gives excellent suspension control to vehicles as compared to ordinary automotive shock absorbers.

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More Valuable Insights

The research report analyzes demand trends of automotive shock absorbers. The global automotive shock absorbers market report is based on the COVID-19 impact, macroeconomic factors, market trends, and market background. As per Persistence Market Research's scope, the market studied and analyzed on segments such as vehicle, design, product type, sales channel, and region. The report gives qualitative and quantitative information of automotive shock absorber companies. The report also tracks the market from both, supply side and demand side.

Related Reports:

Automotive Gas Charged Shock Absorbers Market

Railway Shock Absorbers Market

Industrial Shock Absorber Market

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Golden Independence Mining Corp. (CSE: IGLD) (OTCQB: GIDMF) (FSE: 6NN) (the "Company") is pleased to provide an update from ongoing exploration activities at the Company's Independence Oxide Heap Leach project (the "Project") which adjoins Nevada Gold Mines' Phoenix-Fortitude mining operations in the Battle Mountain-Cortez trend of Nevada.

Since tabling a PEA for near-surface heap-leach operation at the Project, the Company has been focused on improving the metrics of the project which yielded an after-tax NPV5% of US$45M and IRR of 22%. Specifically, exploration has been focused on delineating additional near-surface oxide resources to expand the open pit and reclassify waste with mineralized material. Both of the aforementioned would have the possibility to increase the production profile, extend the mine life, and improve project economics from a cost and valuation perspective (i.e., NPV and IRR).

Jeremy Poirier, CEO and Director of Golden Independence, commented "We continue to explore for opportunities to improve upon the December 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment. The objective of the ongoing exploration program is to identify locations for potential follow-up drilling to expand the near-surface oxide resource. We are encouraged by the initial results from sampling within the proposed open-pit as it not only has the potential to increase the number of oxide ounces but these ounces would already be largely costed into the economics as they are currently classified as waste material, notwithstanding the potential for additional 'high-grade' feed."

The exploration program consists of surface sampling both within the current open-pit and to the east and west of the pit boundary, in addition to sampling of previously-unsampled drilling done by previous operators.

Surface Sampling

A total of 152 grab samples were taken, with 76, or half of the samples taken, returning values of 0.4 g/t gold or better, the assumed average grade from the PEA. Forty-five returned values in excess of 1 g/t gold, sixteen returned values in excess of 5 g/t gold, and eight returned values in excess of 10 g/t gold to a maximum of 43.9 g/t gold.

The sampling has loosely defined three target areas:

Central Hill - largely undrilled 200 metre in diameter area between the north and south pits

Structural zone - a probable linear structure along the eastern boundary of the south pit, some 500 metres in length

Rebel Zone - a loosely defined 300 metre long trend near the eastern boundary of the property





Figure 1. Independence Surface Sampling



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7273/116891_img.jpg

As clearly demonstrated in Figure 1, a number of the 0.4 g/t gold or better samples lie within the boundaries of the PEA pits, largely in the Central and South. The Company is very encouraged with the assay results as the sampling suggests the Company may find additional mineralization, and potentially additional ounces, within the PEA pit, thereby potentially enhancing the project economics.

Table1. Surface Sampling Highlights

Structural Zone Rebel Zone Central Zone Sample g/t gold Sample g/t gold Sample g/t gold I32 23.2 IDD16 43.9 RDI-26 7.72 I31 21.5 RDI-29 16.55 I35 6.97 RDI-15 13.75 RDI-30 14.45 I34 3.74 I3 11.4 IDD32 7.03 I33 2.66 I4 3.41 RDI-28 6.01 RDI-18 2.6 I10 3.13 IDD33 5.91 I50 2.54 I13 2.69 IDD18 1.4 I41 1.89 I5 2.35 IDD19 1.05 I40 1.575 I16 1.11 I48 1.305 I21 1.06 I38 1.085



The Company has a further 47 samples currently at ALS Elko awaiting analysis.

The Company cautions investors grab samples can be "selected" samples and may not necessarily be representative of mineralization on the property.

Core Resampling and Logging

The Company is also revisiting the seven deep core holes, drilled by previous operators in the southern portion of the claim block to evaluate the deep skarn, which forms the basis of the Company's Inferred Resource of 3.8 million tonnes grading 6.53 g/t gold (796,200 ounces of gold) which ranges in depth from 2800 to 2900 feet (850 to 880 metres). Only one of the seven holes was sampled through the top section (0 to 500 feet) of these holes, while the near surface potential of the remaining holes in unknown.

The core has been stored on site and the Company plans to relog and sample the upper + 500 feet of the holes.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by R. Tim Henneberry, P.Geo. (BC), a Director and President of Golden Independence Mining Corp. and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Golden Independence Mining Corp.

Golden Independence Mining Corp. is a development company currently focused on the advanced-stage Independence project located adjacent to Nevada Gold Mine's Phoenix-Fortitude mine in the Battle Mountain-Cortez Trend of Nevada. The Independence project hosts an M&I resource of 334,300 ounces of gold and an Inferred resource of 847,000 ounces of gold with a substantial silver credit. A 2021 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlined a low-cost heap leach operation focusing on the near-surface resource with total production of 195,443 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,078 per ounce of gold.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Jeremy Poirier, Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: 1.604.722.9842 Email: info@goldenindependence.co

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operating or financial performance of the Company, are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things, the timing of the permitting of the Project, the completion and timeline for the submission of an engineering study to the BLM, the potential for development of the Project and the potential attractiveness of the Project to a strategic partner. Statements concerning mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking information to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the Independence project is developed. Actual future results may differ materially. 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. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the occurrence of unexpected financial obligations, fluctuations in the price of gold or certain other commodities; fluctuations in the currency markets; changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining and employee relations. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116891
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Police announced on Tuesday that they had arrested a suspect in connection to a series of shootings targeting homeless individuals in Washington, D.C. and New York City earlier this month.

Gerald Brevard, 30, was believed to have committed three offenses in Washington, D.C., between March 3 and 9, injuring two men and killing another, according to a press release. The victims appear to be homeless adult males.

Brevard, of Southeast, D.C., has been charged with assault with a gun, assault with intent to kill and first-degree murder while armed, the Washington, D.C. police said.

In New York City, police believe Brevard shot two homeless men in Lower Manhattan on March 12, killing one man.

"We want to thank everyone in Washington, D.C., New York City, and elsewhere who sent in tips about this suspect," Mayor Muriel Bowser of the U.S. capital said in a statement.

"This man targeted those experiencing homelessness with no regard for life," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. "Gun violence against anyone, let alone our most vulnerable populations, is sick."

According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 10,000 people have died or been injured due to gun violence in the United States so far this year. 
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.
Spring update to support tax, revenue recognition and regional compliance mandates to help customers expand globally

San Francisco, CA, March 16, 2022, the leading subscription management platform, today announced the industry's first e-invoicing service for high-performing SaaS and subscription-model businesses as the centerpiece of its Spring 2022 Product Release. The release includes updates geared towards enabling growth and efficiency for Chargebee customers, including taxation and revenue recognition features and a new Marketplace to automate billing workflows through a library of customizable integrations.

E-Invoicing

Countries across the world, including Brazil, France, Finland, Germany and India, are already mandating e-invoicing for Business to Governmentwill allow businesses seeking to expand operations globally to easily comply with local e-invoicing mandates and serve B2G and B2B customers in new regions.

"Chargebee has solved a huge problem for us," said Gabriele Proni, co-founder and CTO of Voxloud, an Italian-based communications company. "Italy has some of the strictest e-invoicing mandates in the entire world, and without Chargebee's e-invoicing service, we would have had to spend countless hours sending them out manually. Chargebee came in and helped automate the process, saving our team from spending unnecessary time and power and allowed us to focus on doing what we do best."

Marketplace

Automation is key to ensuring that modern billing systems are able to remain flexible and adaptable for businesses to succeed, especially for SaaS and subscription models, and is taking on a large role in Chargebee's 2022 Spring Product Release.

Chargebee's Marketplaceenables businesses to build their billing systems on top of Chargebee, allowing for more and better integrations by connecting merchants with a wide catalog of available integrations to choose from. Marketplace improves integrations with other apps end-to-end, from discovery to sign-up, automating billing workflows and use cases.

Taxation and Revenue Recognition

In addition to e-invoicing and Marketplace, Chargebee adds taxation and revenue recognition capabilities to handle real-time changes based on customer demands. Through automation, Chargebee is providing subscription businesses with a new way to sync billing information and improve an organization's financial efficiency and enabling them to meet the growing list of compliance requirements, including Value-Added Tax ("VAT" in Europe) and Tax Deduction at Source ("TDS" in India).

Compliance

As Chargebee continues to support expansion into new and different geographies, customers need not worry about the growing list of regional and local compliances they will face. Chargebee is now certified as HIPAA compliant with the "Privacy Rule", "Security Rule" and "Breach Notification" as per the HIPAA Portability and Accountability Act to support customers in the healthcare industry. In addition, Chargebee is also compliant with PCI and GDPR standards and adheres to ISO, SOC1, SOC2 and MFA standards.

Global Growth

"Global and product expansion is a big part of Chargebee's 2022-and-beyond roadmap, and we know that our customers are always looking to scale up, increase capabilities and enter new territories," said John Pearce, Vice President of Product Management at Chargebee. "There are tons of constantly changing rules and regulations that could inhibit growth, and our new offerings are designed to help our customers offload these concerns and focus on building and maintaining business."

The Chargebee Spring 2022 Product Release full list of features includes:

E-invoicing for India and the European Union

Tax Withholding (TDS)

Subscriptions Marketplace

New Salesforce Integration UX

GST Breakdown (Australia)

Revenue Recognition through acquisition of RevLock

Retention through acquisition of Brightback

Receivables through acquisition of numberz

HIPAA Compliance

SOC-2 Compliance

These latest product enhancements come on the heels of a $250 million funding roundthat valued the company at $3.5 billion and was geared towards Chargebee's global expansion. Recent acquisitions of Brightback), RevLock) and numberz) will also strengthen Chargebee's offerings to enable end-to-end management of subscriptions and revenue data.

To learn more about Chargebee's Spring 2022 Product Release, please visit https://www.chargebee.com/blog/spring-release-2022.
ST. JOHN'S, NL / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV:SIC)(OTCQB:SICNF) ("Sokoman") and Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV:BEX) ("Benton") together (the "Alliance"), are pleased to announce the results from the maiden drill program at Grey River, Newfoundland. The Alliance reports that the drilling has returned multiple intersections in drill holes covering 5.0 kilometers of strike length and is open in all directions. The results are highlighted by GR-21-01, the easternmost hole drilled, that intersected three distinct gold zones including a high-grade interval of 10.58 g/t Au over 1.80 m including 50.13 g/t Au over 0.35 m.

Program highlights include:

DDH # Target From (m) To

(m) Length m* Au (g/t) GR-21-01 Historical Au - 0.25 g/t 33.40 35.00 1.60 1.40 and 45.30 48.35 3.05 2.64 and 74.50 76.30 1.80 10.58 incl 74.50 74.85 0.35 50.13 GR-21-02 Surface chip - 134 g/t Au 77.00 77.70 0.70 2.04 and 81.90 84.00 2.10 0.80 and 98.00 105.40 7.40 1.14 incl 101.00 101.75 0.75 8.22 GR-21-03 Historical Au - 3.80 g/t and 124.00 126.00 2.00 1.78 and 164.00 168.00 4.00 1.37 GR-21-04 Surface grab - 0.80 g/t Au 115.50 115.80 0.30 1.25 and 128.10 131.00 2.90 1.36 GR-21-05 Test EM Anomaly 93.00 99.40 6.40 0.29 incl 95.90 96.80 0.90 1.67 * Core lengths - believed to be 90% of reported lengths.

Grey River 2021 Drilling Program Map

Timothy Froude, P. Geo., President and CEO of Sokoman states; "The first drilling that tested the gold potential of this huge system has exceeded our expectations. It is hard to believe that the area has never been drilled for gold even though gold was first reported from the property in the 1980s. In addition to the assays in the table, broad zones of anomalous Au mineralization, from 5 to 250 ppb, were intersected in all holes. More exploration is required to understand the controls on the gold mineralization particularly the high-grade zones which are found in two areas on the property over four kilometers apart. The highest-grade results are from the easternmost hole (GR-21-01) and all the mineralized zones are open in every direction."

Stephen Stares, President and CEO of Benton states; "It is important for shareholders to understand the scale and potential of this project. We've essentially tested random areas of a huge silica zone to see if the system was carrying gold mineralization at depth. This maiden drill program has exceeded our expectations, and not only did we hit gold in every hole over 5 km, but we've also confirmed high grades which is open in all directions. The alliance is very excited to get back working on this project and permitting for a more extensive exploration program including 25 to 30 drill holes is underway. I truly believe this very large (>10 km) silica system could be host to a very significant gold deposit and I can hardly wait to get drills turning again."

Field setup for GR-21-01 - Grey River JV Property

Gold mineralization is associated with extensive silica zones containing 2%-20% disseminated and stringer pyrite in the >10 km quartz/silica body in the eastern half of the property. The higher grades appear to be associated with discreet quartz-sulphide veins that cut the silica body at a low angle. Historic grab samples, and recent grab samples taken by Sokoman and Benton personnel (see September 2, 2021 press release), have given gold values ranging from 5 ppb to 225 g/t Au and drilling has confirmed the gold mineralized zones are extensive. Previously released assay values from GR-21-01 (37.65 g/t Au over 0.35 m) have increased to 50.13 g/t Au over 0.35 m due to re-assaying using the metallic screen method suggesting that free gold is present.

Previous workers have compared the gold mineralization at Grey River to the high-grade Pogo gold mine in the Tintina district of Alaska. The Pogo mine, to the end of 2019, produced 3.9M oz gold at 13.6 g/t Au (Northern Star Resources, November 22, 2021).

Noteworthy of the Grey River project is:

No previous drilling for gold in the silica zone which has been mapped over a 10 km strike length and remains open - most holes collared in, and ended in, the silica zone

Gold mineralization has been located in five holes over a 5 km strike length

Gold zones in multiple drill holes with grades up to 50.13 g/t Au

25-30 drill holes planned to start spring/early summer 2022

QP

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Froude, P.Geo., President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp., a 'Qualified Person' under National Instrument 43-101.

COVID-19 Protocols

To ensure a working environment that protects the health and safety of the staff and contractors, Sokoman and Benton are operating under federally and provincially mandated and recommended guidelines during the current COVID-19 alert level.

About Sokoman Minerals Corp.

Sokoman Minerals Corp. is a discovery-oriented company with projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The Company's primary focus is its portfolio of gold projects including the flagship, 100%-owned Moosehead Project, currently the focus of an ongoing 100,000 m drill program, as well as the Crippleback Lake (optioned to Trans Canada Gold Corp.) and East Alder (optioned to Canterra Minerals Corporation) projects along the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt, and the district-scale Fleur de Lys project in northwestern Newfoundland, which is targeting Dalradian-type orogenic gold mineralization similar to the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland, and Cononish in Scotland. In 2021, the Company entered into a strategic alliance with Benton Resources Inc. through three large-scale joint venture properties in Newfoundland including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope and the Kepenkeck Properties. Sokoman now controls independently and through the Benton alliance over 150,000 hectares (>6,000 claims - 1,500 sq. km), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, Canada's newest and rapidly-emerging gold districts. The Company also retains an interest in an early-stage antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to White Metal Resources Inc., and in Labrador, the Company has a 100% interest in the Iron Horse (Fe) project that has Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) potential.

About Benton Resources Inc.

Benton Resources Inc. is a well-funded mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BEX. Following a project generation business model, Benton has a diversified, highly prospective property portfolio in Lithium, Gold, Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum Group Elements and currently holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets. Whenever possible, BEX retains Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalties for potential long-term cash flow. Benton has also recently entered into a 50/50 strategic alliance with Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) through three large-scale joint-venture properties including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland that are now being explored

Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Alliance's property.

For further information, please contact:

CHF Capital Markets

Cathy Hume, CEO

Phone: 416-868-1079 x 251

Email: cathy@chfir.com

Sokoman Minerals Corp.

Timothy Froude, P.Geo., President & CEO

Phone: 709-765-1726

Email: tim@sokomanmineralscorp.com

Benton Resources Inc.

Stephen Stares, President & CEO

Phone: 807-475-7474

Email: sstares@bentonresources.ca

Website: www.sokomanmineralscorp.com, www.bentonresources.ca

Twitter: @SokomanMinerals , @BentonResources

Facebook: @SokomanMinerals , @BentonResourcesBEX

LinkedIn: @SokomanMinerals, @BentonResources

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Alliance's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Alliance's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Alliance's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Alliance does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Alliance's expectations or projections.

SOURCE: Sokoman Minerals Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693249/Sokoman-Benton-Intersect-Gold-in-all-Five-Drill-Holes-over-5-km-Strike-Length-Confirming-Extensive-Gold-System-at-Grey-River
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a letter to all shareholders, Peter Huntsman, Chairman of the Board of Huntsman Corp. (HUN), urged shareholders to vote for all of the company's Director nominees. The company does not believe it needs to replace any members of a Board that is already fully refreshed. 'Although Starboard seeks to replace directors who it believes lack true independence or qualifications for the board, not only do we find insufficient cause to remove current directors, we also aren't convinced that Starboard's nominees have particularly relevant, timely or incremental experience to add to the board at this time,' Peter Huntsman stated. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - As Russian forces continue to pound residential areas of Ukrainian cities, Ukraine has claimed significant damage to Russian military, and their personnel. Ukrainian officials say four Russian generals have so far been killed in intense fighting. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported the death of a Russian general while addressing the nation Tuesday night. Ukraine's interior ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko claimed that Ukrainian forces killed Russian Major General Oleg Mityaev on the outskirts of Mariupol. In an update released on Wednesday morning, Ukraine's Armed Forces claimed its army inflicted 'devastating blows' on Russian soldiers. The air force says it destroyed Russian war planes and shot down missiles. In a video address late Tuesday night, President Zelensky said peace talks are beginning to 'sound more realistic.' He is set to address US Congress virtually on Wednesday. 'As war rages on in Ukraine, it is with great respect and admiration for the Ukrainian people that we invite all Members of the House and Senate to attend a Virtual Address to the United States Congress delivered by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Wednesday, March 16th at 9:00 a.m,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a letter to members. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak, who is part of the Ukraine's negotiation delegation, said there are 'fundamental contradictions' during peace talks with Russia. However, he expressed hope that there is 'certainly room for compromise.' Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov echoed this sentiment, according to Reuters. Talks between negotiators of the two sides will resume Wednesday, according to Ukraine's negotiator. Mariupol's Deputy Mayor said 400 people in a hospital in the south-eastern city, including doctors and patients, are being held hostages by Russian troops. According to reports, Russia has continued to attack civilian areas in capital Kyiv and the south-eastern city of Zaporizhia. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
Appointment further builds on KKR's position as one of the largest global private equity investors in software and technology

KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced the appointment of Chano Fernandez, co-CEO at Workday, as a Senior Advisor to KKR's global technology team.

Mr. Fernandez will advise the KKR team on its investment activities in the technology sector globally, with a focus on the enterprise application software segment in Europe and North America. In his role, Mr. Fernandez will help to identify and assess new opportunities, and provide guidance to the management teams of KKR's portfolio companies on operations and growth strategies.

Mr. Fernandez brings over 20 years of global leadership and entrepreneurial experience in the technology sector, with a focus on cloud, SaaS and enterprise software solutions. During his career he's demonstrated an exceptional ability to scale businesses in a profitable and accelerated fashion, in close collaboration with his teams. As Workday's Co-CEO, Mr. Fernandez is also a member of the company's board of directors. Prior to joining Workday, Mr. Fernandez held senior leadership positions at several companies including SAP, Infor, Blue C, and McKinsey Company. Mr. Fernandez is also focused on building a more sustainable world, most notably through a solar renewable energy project in which he's held an interest for over 10 years, as well as through his volunteer work supporting talented young women in Kenya from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Jean-Pierre Saad, Head of Technology for Private Equity in EMEA, Stephen Shanley, Head of Technology Growth in Europe, and John Park, Head of Technology for Private Equity in North America at KKR, said, "We are delighted to have someone of Mr. Fernandez's caliber work with KKR; the experience and track record he has cultivated over more than two decades will be of great value to our teams and portfolio companies. Mr. Fernandez has an impressive record in growing businesses and hiring and nurturing talent at some of the world's leading enterprise software solutions businesses. His expertise will be extremely complementary to our global technology team at a time when technology solutions have become a critical part of every business."

Chano Fernandez said, "KKR stands out as a leader in technology investing, with a unique culture of partnership with the companies it invests in, helping them to achieve sustainable growth. I have been impressed by the depth of expertise within the firm, and look forward to working with the team to help them to identify and grow global technology champions."

KKR Senior Advisors bring leadership skills, knowledge-sharing and deep industry expertise. They help drive value creation by providing advice and best practice to KKR's investment teams and the executives, entrepreneurs and management teams of its portfolio companies. Mr. Fernandez's appointment follows those of technology Senior Advisors Ajay Kavan in 2021, Adam Warby in 2020 and Diego Piacentini in 2019.

KKR is one of the most active investors focused on building leading global technology enterprises, with global tech investments including Korber's supply chain software business, o9, Leapwork, Cegid, Exact Software, Cloudera, Outsystems, Darktrace, MYOB, among others.

--ends--

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005597/en/

Contacts:

Media Contacts

Alastair Elwen Sophia Johnston

Finsbury Glover Hering

Telephone: +44 20 7251 3801

Email: kkr@fgh.com
Oral presentation will focus on interim efficacy and safety data from the Phase 1/1b AURELIO-03 study of SOT101 in combination with pembrolizumab

Poster presentations will feature preclinical data on SOTIO's immunocytokine SOT201 and the BOXR CAR-T cell therapy BOXR1030

PRAGUE, Czech Republic and BASEL, Switzerland and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 16, 2022, a clinical stage immuno-oncology companyowned by PPF Group,announced today that it will deliver an oral presentation featuring interim safety and efficacy data from its Phase 1/1b AURELIO-03 study with its IL-15 superagonist, SOT101, in combination with pembrolizumab, as well as two poster presentations at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022, taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 8-13, 2022.

SOT101 is an interleukin 15 (IL-15) superagonist currently being evaluated in an open-label Phase 1/1b study to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with selected relapsed/refractory advanced/metastatic solid tumors. Interim data from AURELIO-03 will be delivered by Dr. Stephane Champiat, Assistant Professor at the Drug Development Department of Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus and principal investigator of the study.

Poster presentations will focus on preclinical results obtained with SOTIO's clinical stage, GPC-3 targeting, CAR-T cell therapy candidate, BOXR1030 and lead immunocytokine candidate, SOT201.

Details on the upcoming presentations are below:

Oral Presentation Details:

Title: SOT101, an IL-2/IL-15 R? superagonist, in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors: interim safety and efficacy results from the AURELIO-03 dose escalation trial

Presenting Author: Stephane Champiat, M.D., Ph.D.

Location: La Nouvelle Orleans A-B, Convention Center

Session Type: Clinical Trials Minisymposium

Session Title: Immunotherapy Combination Strategies in Clinical Trials

Session Date: April 12, 2022

Session Time: 2:30pm - 4:00pm CT

Poster Presentation Details:

Title: Glypican-3 immunohistochemistry precision, validation, and prevalence in selected solid tumors to identify target populations for CAR T cell therapy

Presenting Author: Glen Weiss, M.D., M.B.A.

Abstract Number: 5415

Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics

Session Title: Molecular Targets

Date: April 8, 2022

Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm CT

Title: SOT201 is a novel targeted IL-15Rbg agonist to alleviate PD-1-mediated immune cell suppression and potentiate anti-tumor efficacy

Presenting Author: Irena Adkins, Ph.D.

Poster Number: 4958

Location: Section 37

Topic Track: Immunology

Session Title: Immunomodulatory Agents and Interventions

Date: April 12, 2022

Time: 1:30pm - 5:00pm CT

Selected presentation materials will be made available on the SOTIO Biotech website once the presentations conclude.

About AACR Annual Meeting 2022

The AACR Annual Meeting is the focal point of the cancer research community, where scientists, clinicians, other health care professionals, survivors, patients, and advocates gather to share the latest advances in cancer science and medicine. From population science and prevention; to cancer biology, translational, and clinical studies; to survivorship and advocacy; the AACR Annual Meeting highlights the work of the best minds in cancer research from institutions all over the world.

Company contact: Media contact: Richard Kapsa Michael Tattory Head of Communication LifeSci Communications T:(+420) 224 174 448 T:+609-802-6265 M:(+420) 603 280 971 mtattory@lifescicomms.com (mailto:mtattory@lifescicomms.com) kapsa@sotio.com (mailto:kapsa@sotio.com)

About SOTIO Biotech

SOTIO Biotech is shaping the future of cancer immunotherapies by translating compelling science into patient benefit. The robust SOTIO clinical pipeline includes a differentiated superagonist of the attractive immuno-oncology target IL-15, SOT101, currently being tested in phase II clinical trials. Three programs will enter phase I clinical testing within the next 12 months, including SOT201, and IL-15-based immunocytokine, BOXR1030, a GPC3-targeted CAR-T based on proprietary technology designed to improve on the efficacy of CAR T therapies in the tumor microenvironment and SOT102, a next generation Claudin18.2-targetedantibody-drug conjugate.

SOTIO is a registered trademark of SOTIO Biotech a.s. in selected countries.
JACKSON CENTER, PA / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Halberd Corporation (OTC PINK:HALB) announces its entry into the next stage of research. To guide it, having successfully eliminated the Top 10 Target Antigens associated with neurodegenerative diseases in vitro, Halberd is pleased to announce the addition of Ravi Venkata Durvasula, M.D., a renowned infectious disease specialist and educator, to its team of technical experts and consultants. Dr. Durvasula will guide Halberd's efforts in applying its patented extracorporeal elimination of disease antigens to infectious diseases through this most critical stage of eliminating disease antigens in animals and then humans.

Dr. Durvasula is currently the Chair of Infectious Diseases at the Mayo Clinic Florida in Jacksonville. He earned his Doctorate and Undergraduate Degrees in Biology at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Previously he was Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Chicago, IL. Additionally, Dr. Durvasula held various positions at a number of prestigious medical colleges and hospitals from the University of New Mexico, to Yale, to Baylor.

Dr. Durvasula authored/co-authored 100 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters covering a wide range of topics in the field of biology and infectious diseases. He was awarded numerous postgraduate Fellowships, Research Funding Awards and Grants, and several Professional Honors.

Dr. Durvasula commented, "I am delighted to join the Halberd Corporation at this very exciting time in development of new technology. Infectious diseases continue to inflict great suffering around the world, and innovative solutions to conditions such as sepsis and COVID-19 are desperately needed. I look forward to working with the Halberd Team."

William A. Hartman, Chairman, President & CEO of Halberd Corporation, stated, "We are extremely pleased to have Dr. Ravi join our team, as we continually add to our tremendous team of experts. He will be an invaluable asset as we expand application of our patented extracorporeal treatment of diseases as we prepare for animal testing. The fact that Halberd has been blessed with such talented individuals is a testimony to the strength of our intellectual properties and the dedication of our staff. Application of our technology to curing a range of diseases will be our goal in the foreseeable future."

To get the latest news on Halberd's exciting developments, subscribe by submitting this form.

(https://halberdcorporation.com/contact-us/)

For more information please contact:

William A. Hartman

w.hartman@halberdcorporation.com

support@halberdcorporation.com

www.halberdcorporation.com

Twitter:@HalberdC

About Halberd Corporation.

Halberd Corporation (OTC PINK:HALB), is a publicly traded company on the OTC Market, and is in full compliance with OTC Market reporting requirements. Since its restructuring in April of 2020, Halberd has obtained exclusive worldwide rights to three issued patents and has filed twenty related provisional, PCT, or utility patent applications to enhance its value to its stockholders and to attract the interests of potential development partners.

Safe Harbor Notice

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). The Companies caution that statements, and assumptions made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. The Companies undertake no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release.

SOURCE: Halberd Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693252/Infectious-Disease-Specialist-Will-Guide-Halberds-Extracorporeal-Elimination-of-Disease-Antigens-in-Animals-and-Then-Humans
M12 and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund played leading roles in the funding round, marking Microsoft's first joint investment that meets both sustainability and venture growth objectives

Nautilus's Voyage Optimization addresses longstanding inefficiencies and necessity for lower emissions across the ocean shipping leg of the supply chain

Nautilus Labs will use the investment to grow its talent and global footprint, as well as develop new product capabilities

Nautilus Labs (the "Company" or "Nautilus"), the technology firm advancing the efficiency of ocean commerce through artificial intelligence with hubs in New York, Singapore, Paris, and London, today announced $34 million in Series B funding. Microsoft played a leading role, with M12, Microsoft's venture fund, and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund co-investing for the first time. This round brings Nautilus's total raised capital to over $48 million. The company will use the investment to develop and deploy new product capabilities that support client goals to drive decarbonization while maximizing profits, attract fresh tech talent, and open and expand new offices in key shipping hubs worldwide.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005164/en/

Nautilus Labs Voyage (Photo: Business Wire)

Nautilus's collaborative flagship solution, Voyage Optimization, is transforming how voyages are run by addressing long-standing inefficiencies and creating a pathway to lower emissions that the ocean shipping industry at-large can immediately adopt. The company is enabling collaboration among stakeholders in the ocean supply chain by connecting previously siloed owners and operators. The solution leverages machine learning-based predictions to reduce fuel waste and emissions while maximizing commercial returns by analyzing IoT data, weather patterns, arrival and departure times, and commercial needs. Clients using Nautilus's technology gain an unprecedented level of predictive insight and confidence into voyage economics and are empowered to collaborate with historically siloed stakeholders in the ocean supply chain. Voyage Optimization also benefits crews onboard vessels through highly accurate predictive decision support.

The announcement comes at a critical time for the industry. Shipping accounts for 3% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), approximately 1 gigaton of CO2 every year. If left unchecked, shipping will account for 17% of GHG by 2050. The sector's inefficiency is rooted in legacy structures that impact the entire supply chain. Just-in-time arrival does not exist in ocean shipping in the same way it does in aviation; ships leave port at high speeds only to slow down prior to reaching their destination and waiting for berth availability. The net impact is damaging: fuel waste, excess emissions, lost capital for ship owners and charterers alike and supply chain inefficiency for everyone. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set in place carbon intensity standards that commence in 2023, while the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will also cover ocean commerce starting next year.

"Economic efficiency and environmental efficiency are best solved in unison. Today, we're able to empower ocean shipping companies with a path to creating the most profitable business that at the same time helps them reduce carbon intensity immediately. The firms winning in the market are mobilizing resources now to adopt a collaborative, data-driven approach to transforming their voyages. By focusing on the underlying economics, they're stripping wasted fuel and time out of their operations," said Matt Heider, Chief Executive Officer at Nautilus Labs. "The potential for Voyage Optimization is huge: our clients have seen 10-12% savings per journey, with overall savings potential reaching up to 30%, as we address the root cause of this hurry-up-to-wait paradigm. We're excited to leverage this funding to grow our crew around the world and continue to solve this global problem with a great deal of urgency."

"Microsoft is committed to accelerating global progress towards a more sustainable future and supporting our partners to deliver outcomes that go beyond exceptional financial returns to drive catalytic environmental and social impact. That's why M12 and the Climate Innovation Fund are co-investing for the first time in Nautilus, a business that can be both high-growth and deliver on significant decarbonization targets at scale," said Mark Kroese, General Manager, Sustainability Solutions at Microsoft.

The Series B round also saw participation from new and existing investors, including NSS Advisors, Systemiq Capital, Root Ventures, Quiet Capital, TMV, and Amplifier. The company partners with energy major TotalEnergies, Eastern Pacific Shipping, and Emirates Shipping Line among others, and recently announced its expansion to London.

ABOUT NAUTILUS LABS

Nautilus Labs is a maritime technology company that reduces emissions while maximizing commercial returns. The company's collaborative Voyage Optimization solution offers the most accurate real-time prediction of voyage outcomes in the market. Powered by millions of data points, Nautilus leverages machine learning and naval architectural models to generate ship-specific recommendations. The solution empowers ocean shipping leaders to transform how voyages are run, unlocking decarbonization, profitability, and just-in-time arrival. With hubs in New York, Singapore, London, and Paris, the company is backed by the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and M12. To learn more about Nautilus's mission or request a demo, visit nautiluslabs.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005164/en/

Contacts:

Vanessa Roettger

Nautilus Labs

vanessa@nautiluslabs.com

Isaac Steinmetz

Antenna for Nautilus Labs

NautilusLabs@antennagroup.com
Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukrainian negotiator says to continue peace talks

Xinhua) 09:55, March 16, 2022

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Wednesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Ukraine and Russia will continue their peace talks on Wednesday, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said Tuesday.

"We'll continue tomorrow. A very difficult and viscous negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise," Podolyak tweeted.

The work in subgroups will continue during the break, he added.

- - - -

Russian President Vladimir Putin and European Council President Charles Michel discussed the Ukrainian situation during a phone conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders exchanged views on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and measures to evacuate civilians, said the statement.

Putin outlined his assessments of the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on a possible settlement of the crisis, it said.

- - - -

The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday has extended the current martial law for another 30 days from March 26, Yaroslav Zheleznyak,a lawmaker, said on Telegram.

The legislation to extend the martial law, which was submitted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was supported by 343 lawmakers out of 345 present in the parliament, Zheleznyak said.

Kiev imposed the martial law after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on Feb. 24.

- - - -

Russia will table its own draft Security Council resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine after France and Mexico announced their intention to move their draft to the General Assembly, said the Russian UN ambassador on Tuesday.

France and Mexico, which were working on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine for adoption at the Security Council, announced on Monday that they would move to the General Assembly for action.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
SANAA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia on Wednesday said they advanced in the strategic district of Hayran in the northwestern province of Hajjah following a week long battle.

"We seized another 11 villages in the strategic district of Hayran, which stretching along 26 km square, and killed 200 soldiers in the offensive," Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a military statement from the Houthi militia as saying.

The militia said their advance came despite heavy airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government army.

There has been no confirmation yet from the government army.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have been fighting the Iran-backed Houthi militia for nearly seven years, with Hajjah as one of the critical battlegrounds.

In February, the Houthi militia drove the government forces out of Harad, a city in Hajjah, and has since controlled large areas of the province.

Hayran and Harad are located few miles away from the southern border of Saudi Arabia.

The escalation in Hajjah came after the militia lost several strategic districts in the oil-rich provinces of Shabwa and Marib in central Yemen.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis, displaced 4 million people and caused what the United Nations says the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. 
VIENNA, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Support for economic recovery, new infrastructure funding and boosting food security are some of the highlights of the projects the OPEC Fund for International Development has approved at the 179th session of its Governing Board in Vienna today. The US$233 million in new funding will benefit public sector projects promoting sustainable development around the world.

Kosovo: A US$40 million loan for the Public Finances and Economic Growth Program will support the government's priorities set out in its National Development Strategy 2030 aimed at strengthening partnerships, transitioning to a greener economy and improving socio-economic indicators. The program, developed with the World Bank Group, will improve fiscal transparency, promote private sector development by streamlining the country's regulatory framework, and enable environmental reforms in the energy and waste management sectors.

Pakistan: A US$72 million loan for the Mohmand Dam Multipurpose Project will finance the construction of a hydropower dam and the provision of equipment. The dam will have a 1.6 million m3 reservoir and diversion tunnels that will feed into new and existing irrigation canals. Once completed, the Mohmand Dam will increase the country's installed renewables capacity by 800 MW and provide sustainable potable water to two million residents in Peshawar city. The project will also enhance food security through higher crop yields on almost 15,000 hectares of farmland, while improving the region's resilience to floods.

Uzbekistan: A US$100 million loan for the Accelerating Uzbekistan's Transition Program will support the country's transition to a market economy by improving resource allocation and enabling private sector investment. The program includes enhancing the role of the private sector, improving the management of state-owned enterprises, enhancing fiscal transparency and accountability, and increasing economic and social inclusion, particularly for women and people with disabilities.

Zimbabwe: A US$15 million loan for the Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project aims to increase household incomes, and improve food security and nutrition of more than 390,000 people in five provinces of the country through value chain development and provision of infrastructure. The OPEC Fund's loan will finance the construction of small-scale, climate-resilient irrigation schemes, the repair of 90 kilometers of feeder roads and the installation of water supply and sanitation facilities.

The Governing Board also approved three grants totaling US$6 million for joint OPEC Fund technical cooperation facilities with three co-financing partners: the Asian Development Bank (US$3 million), the Development Bank of Latin America (US$1 million) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (US$2 million). The facilities will primarily be used to finance project preparation related activities, such as feasibility studies, in order to help ensure improved project readiness, and build a strong pipeline of bankable sovereign and non-sovereign operations. Potential sectors will include agriculture, energy, transportation, water & sanitation, and manufacturing and services.

About the OPEC Fund

The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is the only globally mandated development institution that provides financing from member countries to non-member countries exclusively. The organization works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international development community to stimulate economic growth and social progress in low and middle income countries around the world. The OPEC Fund was established by the member countries of OPEC in 1976 with a distinct purpose: to drive development, strengthen communities and empower people. Our work is people-centered, focusing on financing projects that meet essential needs, such as food, energy, infrastructure, employment (particularly relating to MSMEs), clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. To date, the OPEC Fund has committed more than US$22 billion to development projects in over 125 countries with an estimated total project cost of US$187 billion. The OPEC Fund is rated AA+/Outlook Stable by Fitch and AA/Positive Outlook by S&P in 2021. Our vision is a world where sustainable development is a reality for all.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Rritual Superfoods Inc. (CSE: RSF) (FSE: 0RW) (OTCQB: RRSFF) ("Rritual" or the "Company") is pleased to announce today that its common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") in the United States. The Company's common shares are quoted in the United States on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol "RRSFF."

DTC is a subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, a United States company that manages the electronic clearing and settlement of publicly-traded companies. Securities that are eligible to be electronically cleared and settled through DTC are considered "DTC eligible." This electronic method of clearing securities speeds up the receipt of stock and cash and thus accelerates the settlement process for investors and brokers, enabling the stock to be traded over a much wider selection of brokerage firms.

In addition to trading in the United States on the OTCQB Venture Market, the Company's common shares will continue to trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol "RSF" and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "0RW."

"We are very pleased with obtaining DTC eligibility which represents an important step forward in increasing liquidity, broadening our shareholder base and building a strong presence for our company within the US capital markets," said Warren Spence, Rritual CEO and director.

About Rritual

Rritual Superfoods is the first award winning, premium brand in the emerging functional superfood market. At the forefront of innovation in the space, we have entered the market with plant-based elixirs and smoothies and continue to consistently expand our offering to meet and exceed our customer's needs. As a company, we believe in the power of plant-based nourishment and the vital life force that adaptogens, superfoods, and mushrooms can offer our bodies. Our products are made with mindfully-selected, organic functional mushrooms and adaptogenic herbs, traditionally consumed for their ability to support a healthy response to stress and help optimize mental, cognitive, digestive, and immune health. For more information, visit www.rritual.com.

Follow Rritual on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

For further information please contact:

Warren Spence - Chief Executive Officer and Director

Investor Relations:

E-mail: investors@wearerritual.com



Telephone: (844)-809-5709





Functional Foods Market

According to Grandview Research*, it is estimated that the global functional food market is projected to reach $275 billion by 2025, growing at 7.9% each year with consumers putting more emphasis on health and wellness.

*https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-functional-foods-market

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements") that relate to Rritual's current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as "will likely result", "are expected to", "expects", "will continue", "is anticipated", "anticipates", "believes", "estimated", "intends", "plans", "forecast", "projection", "strategy", "objective" and "outlook") are not historical facts and may be forward-looking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company's plans to leverage third party manufacturing and logistics, the Company's broader retail distribution plans and the Company's other plans, focus and objectives.

Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Rritual's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact and progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors set forth under "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the final long form prospectus of the Company dated February 26, 2021 and available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Rritual 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 Rritual 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 news 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/116895
WilsonHCG, a global talent leader, today announced the acquisition of Claro Analytics as it continues to grow its talent intelligence capabilities.

Claro Analytics, which was established in 2014 by Michael Beygelman, is a leading talent intelligence technology platform with unique capabilities to provide real-time talent market insights to help organizations make more evidence-based, strategic decisions about talent.

Commenting on the acquisition, John Wilson, CEO at WilsonHCG, said: "WilsonHCG identified a gap in the market for talent intelligence insights delivered 'as a service' that Claro Analytics was filling. In this competitive talent landscape, global organizations need access to real-time labor market data more than ever before, but many lack the resources to be able to collect and action the insights. This acquisition means we're able to provide even more comprehensive real-time talent insights to help organizations attract and retain talent." He added: "I've known Michael for a number of years and his passion for innovation is unmatched."

This acquisition of Claro Analytics will pave the way for WilsonHCG to officially launch its highly anticipated offering that will provide on-demand and outsourced talent intelligence services.

Michael Beygelman, CEO at Claro Analytics, added: "I'm excited to be joining forces with John and the WilsonHCG team at a unique moment in history when data has become the only credible currency that can help organizations hire and retain diverse talent." He continued: "Our partnership with WilsonHCG will enable Claro Analytics to make investments in innovation and product development, and we can leverage WilsonHCG's global footprint to accelerate our growth."

About WilsonHCG

WilsonHCG is an award-winning, global leader in total talent solutions. Operating as a strategic partner, it helps some of the world's most admired brands build comprehensive talent functions. With a global presence spanning more than 65 countries and six continents, WilsonHCG provides a full suite of configurable services including recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), executive search, contingent talent and talent consulting.

TALENT. It's more than a solution, it's who we are.

https://www.wilsonhcg.com/

About Claro Analytics

Claro Analytics' mission is to organize all the world's workforce-related information and to make it easily accessible so that organizations can make more strategic decisions about talent. Claro Analytics' innovative talent intelligence platform is helping organizations that hire both professional and hourly workers with strategic initiatives like employee retention, diversity metrics and benchmarking, workforce supply and demand planning, competitive talent benchmarking and real-time salary information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005098/en/

Contacts:

Kirsty Hewitt

+44 7889901517

813-418-4479

kirsty.hewitt@wilsonhcg.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) announced Kevin Johnson, president and chief executive officer, plans to retire. Johnson will transition from his current role on April 4, 2022, and will continue to serve as a Starbucks partner and special consultant to the company and Board through September. The Starbucks Board anticipates selecting a new leader by the Fall. Johnson, who has served on the Starbucks Board since 2009, joined the Starbucks leadership team in 2015 as president and chief operating officer. In 2017, Johnson was named president and chief executive officer. The Board has appointed Howard Schultz as interim chief executive officer, effective April 4, 2022. Schultz will also rejoin the company's Board. The company's Board has formed a working committee to oversee the CEO search process. Schultz will participate in the search process. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - White Metal Resources Corp. (TSXV: WHM) (FSE: CGK1) (OTC Pink: TNMLF) ("WHM" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has optioned its interest in the Okohongo Copper-Silver Property (the "Okohong") in northwestern Namibia to Himba Metals (Pty) ("Himba"), a privately held company incorporated pursuant to the laws of Nambibia, by way of a letter of intent dated March 10, 2022 (the "LOI") among the Company, Himba and P & C Ventures Inc. ("P & C"). Pursuant to the LOI, Himba or its assigns has the option to acquire the Company's 95% interest in Aloe Two Hundred and Thirty -Eight (pty) Ltd.("Aloe 238"), a company incorporated in Namibia and which holds the exploration license associated with the Okohongo (the "Option"). In accordance with the terms of the LOI, to exercise the Option Himba or its assigns is required to:

Pay to the Company US$50,000 as a non -refundable deposit upon execution of the LOI; Pay to the Company US$50,000 upon completion of a 45 day due diligence period in favour of Himba; Pay to the Company US$400,000 on or before May 31, 2022; Cause a public company, which Himba intends on assigning its interest in the Option to ("Pubco"), to issue to the Company US$1,000,000 worth of shares of Pubco (the "Pubco Shares") by May 31, 2022, subject to the Company consenting to an extension to that date if required by Himba or Pubco, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld but subject to the Company's right to require that exploration work be commenced on the Okohongo. In the event that the Pubco shares are not issued by August 31, 2022 (the "Outside Date"), P & C has agreed, pursuant to a limited guarantee, to pay to the Company US$1 million in cash within 15 days of the Outside Date in lieu of the Pubco Shares. If, within 3 months of the Outside Date, Pubco is in a position to issue the Pubco Shares, the Company will have the option of exchanging the US$1.0 million in cash for US$1.0 million of shares of Pubco; Pay to the Company US$500,000 by November 30, 2022; Grant to the Company a 1.0% Net Smelter Return royalty ("NSR") over Himba's or its assign's interest in the Okohongo with the right of Himba or its assigns to purchase 0.25% of the NSR for US$1.0 million; and Pay to the Company US$1.0 million and cause Pubco to issue US$1.0 million of shares if a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate is outlined on the Okohongo exceeding 50 million tonnes of copper at greater than or equal to 1.0% Cu equivalent.

About the Okohongo Project and Deposit

The Okohongo Copper-Silver Deposit is known to cover an area that is 720 m (north-south) in strike length, 740 m wide (east-west), and continues at least 400 metres down-dip (east-dip). Situated within the Kaoko Belt and hosted by metasedimentary strata, the Cu-Ag deposit is considered analogous with the stratiform sediment-hosted Central African Copperbelt deposits of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Using a cut-off grade of 0.30% Cu and assuming 10% geological loss, the Inferred Mineral Resources ("MRE") are reported as approximately 7.7 Mt grading 1.55% Cu and 26.77 g/t Ag with a calculated copper equivalent (CuEq) of 1.82% Cu. The effective date of the Mineral Resource Estimate is August 11, 2021.

The MRE was prepared by Caracle Creek International Consulting MINRES (Pty) Ltd. ("CCIC MINRES"), South Africa, in accordance with current (2014) CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves.

The Okohongo Project shows excellent potential to expand the copper-silver resources along strike toward the north and south, where multiple copper-silver surface occurrences are known. Future exploration will follow up on these target areas.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Scott Jobin-Bevans (P.Geo.), Vice President Exploration and a Director of White Metal, who is a Qualified Person under the definitions established by NI 43-101.

About White Metal Resources Corp.

White Metal Resources Corp. is a junior exploration company exploring in Canada and southern Africa. The Company's two key properties are the flagship Tower Mountain Gold Project in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and the Okohongo Copper-Silver Project in Namibia, Africa. For more information about the Company please visit www.whitemetalres.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Scott Jobin-Bevans" President & CEO (Interim)

For further information contact:

Scott Jobin-Bevans

White Metal Resources Corp.

684 Squier Street

Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 4A8

Phone: +1-647-405-3632

scott.jb@caraclecreek.com

Elliot Strashin, Director

+1-416-504-0077 ext 22

elliot@strashindevelopments.com

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116954
PARIS, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Agorapulse, a leading social media management platform, announced today the launch of a game-changing new feature for communicating the business impact of social media, a first in the industry. The announcement was made by Emeric Ernoult, Founder and CEO of Agorapulse, during a keynote speech at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, California.

Agorapulse's new feature gives digital marketers and agencies the ability to prove the business impact of social media including sales, leads, and visitor behavior. This information is critically important for marketers, their clients, and brands because it allows them to know exactly which content, platforms, and strategies have the best ROI so they can make data-driven decisions. Until now, gathering this data has involved wrestling with Google Analytics, managing multiple spreadsheets, and keeping track of hundreds of UTMs.

Automated UTMs and easy-to-read reports make it easy to share a cohesive social media success story with stakeholders - without being a Google Analytics expert. Gone are the days when putting a number on the value of a company's social media efforts was impossible. This new feature proves-once and for all-the value social media brings to a company's bottom line.

"Being able to prove the ROI of social media means more than counting likes and comments," said Emeric Ernoult, Founder and CEO of Agorapulse. "Social media leaders can now draw a clear line between their efforts and the revenue they generate. That means bigger budgets, more team members, and a seat at the table when strategic plans are made."

About Agorapulse

Connection is at the center of the human experience. In ancient Greece, those connections took place in public spaces, or agora, and our name celebrates the importance these gathering places play in our lives. Today, social media platforms serve as a modern-day village square, where people from all over the world go to shop, find love, create art, and meet others that share their passions. These millions of interactions each day form the beating heart of our modern lives, the pulse that binds us all together. To make the most of these moments, social media professionals rely on Agorapulse, a powerful social media management platform that makes it easy to post, listen, and engage so they can focus on what they love: turning everyday interactions into meaningful connections.

Media Contact:

Theresa Anderson

407.505.8549

Theresa@Agorapulse.com
INDIANAPOLIS (dpa-AFX) - Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) said the EMPA-KIDNEY trial evaluating the effect of Jardiance in adults with chronic kidney disease will stop early as the formal interim assessment met prespecified criteria for positive efficacy. Detailed results are expected to be presented later in the current year. EMPA-KIDNEY is a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, academic-led trial, including more than 6,600 adults with chronic kidney disease. The trial is being conducted, analyzed and reported by the MRC Population Health Research Unit at the University of Oxford. In March 2020, the FDA granted Fast Track designation to the clinical investigation of Jardiance to reduce the risk of kidney disease progression and cardiovascular death in adults with chronic kidney disease. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
HungerRush 360 OrderAI enables Jet's Pizza to streamline ordering processes and better service the needs of customers

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / HungerRush , the leading cloud software provider for the restaurant industry, today announced that Jet's Pizza , a leading pizza franchise brand servicing hundreds of locations, has fulfilled 2 million text orders with HungerRush 360 OrderAI Text, the innovative automated ordering solution offered by HungerRush.

HungerRush 360 OrderAI Text simplifies the ordering process for customers, allowing them to submit, review and pay for their order - or simply reorder - with a text to their local Jet's Pizza establishment. Jet's Pizza was the first company to introduce text ordering via AI to its customers, and since rolling out in 2020, the platform has generated nearly $54 million in sales by enabling customers to order via text, submitting directly to Jet's online ordering system. That growth is anticipated to continue, with text order sales generating as much as $100 million over the next two years.

"Using digital to create experiences that are just as good as our pizza has been a high priority for us, said Aaron Nilsson, CIO of Jet's Pizza. "We have expanded to more than 400 stores in 19 states, and this is the first experience that many customers have with us. They love it."

"Since beginning to leverage HungerRush 360 OrderAI Text in 2020, text and our other enhancements have helped us triple our digital sales in 30 months. Currently, our stores average 350 orders per month over text and we continue to be shocked at how many new customers it helped us get."

Nilsson continued, "Compared to a phone call, and with labor rates being what they are, text orders are profitable on day one, and the program has added on average double-digit growth to stores. Our customers love it, and we now have a new marketing opportunity with great extensions to the technology, such as party ordering, curbside delivery, reviews, and phone bots-- all on the same platform."

Nilsson said, "We have pulled off a technological and marketing feat that brands 10 and 20 times our size have yet to accomplish, and we have a 2-year head start."

Jet's Pizza is also currently piloting HungerRush 360 OrderAI Talk solution, which gives customers the freedom to place orders over the phone by interacting with an AI voice bot. By empowering locations with talk AI technology, Jet's Pizza has been able to reduce labor shortage and ensure customer orders are fulfilled in a timely fashion. The voice bot is currently operating in 72 stores, and Jet's Pizza plans to launch it across all stores this year.

"We're thrilled to see how Jet's Pizza has been able to increase sales with HungerRush 360 OrderAI Text," said Perry Turbes, CEO of HungerRush. "OrderAI Text was developed to provide the easiest, most user-friendly order experience to all customers. With a simple text message, any customer can use their mobile device to order or reorder their favorite Jet's pizza. For Jet's, the text-to-order technology makes receiving orders seamless, as processing, payment, and confirmation are all handled within the system. It's exciting to see how OrderAI Text has helped Jet's connect with its customers, boosting operations and building a loyal following through curated marketing and reward programs."

The HungerRush 360 OrderAI Text solution helps restaurants drive more orders and stay in touch with customers via text message. Harnessing the predictive power of artificial intelligence on the mobile phone, OrderAI Text anticipates and automates every order while curating offers based on history and preferences. By offering an out of the box solution without additional software additions or downloads, OrderAI Text helps restaurants achieve profitable digital transformation.

About Jet's Pizza

Jet's Pizza is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. It was founded as Jetts Party Shoppe and Pizzeria in 1978 by brothers Eugene and John Jetts, which has now grown to nearly 400 stores in 19 states. Jet's Pizza is known for its Detroit-style, deep-dish pizzas, and fresh, high-quality ingredients. Every morning the dough is prepared by hand, premium mozzarella is grated, vegetables are hand-cut, and sauce is made with fresh vine-ripened tomatoes mixed with Jet's proprietary spice and herb blend. For more information, please visit www.jetspizza.com.

About HungerRush

HungerRush is a leading provider of integrated restaurant solutions. HungerRush 360 is our flagship cloud POS system that makes it easier to delight guests, drive loyalty, and manage restaurants from anywhere. The all-in-one system integrates digital ordering, delivery, customer engagement, restaurant management, and payment processing features with flexible software designed to give operators of all sizes more insight into their customers, more control over their operations, and more power to profitably grow their business. Visit HungerRush.com.

CONTACT:

Michelle Doss

HungerRush

512.365.9358

Michelle.Doss@hungerrush.com

Kelli Fletcher

PAN Communications

910.538.2183

Kfletcher@pancomm.com

SOURCE: HungerRush

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693241/Leading-Pizza-Chain-Jets-Fulfills-2-Million-Text-Based-Orders-with-HungerRush-360-OrderAI-Text
Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

CHESAPEAKE BAY, the United States, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States.

Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website.

The cargo ship became stranded on Sunday night after departing the Port of Baltimore. It was en route to Norfolk, Virginia.

There were no reports of injuries, pollution, or damage to the 334-meter vessel but it is a "logistical challenge" to have it refloated, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The agency added the ship, stuck in about 7-meter of water, is not blocking traffic in the bay's deep-water channel.

Ever Forward is believed to be owned by Evergreen Marine Corp., whose Ever Given got stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal in March 2021, blocking the waterway for days and causing delays in global shipping. 

Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. The giant container vessel has been stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States. Ever Forward remains "aground" in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay as of Tuesday afternoon, according to VesselFinder, a vessel tracking website. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
Lunit's latest study provides evidence for Lunit SCOPE IO's ability to predict immunotherapy response

This is the first study that adopted AI technology to define the tumor immune phenotype and to demonstrate its ability in predicting treatment outcomes of anti-PD-L1 therapy

SEOUL, South Korea, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lunit, a leading startup in AI-based cancer solutions, announced today the publication of its study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). Findings from the study validate the effectiveness of Lunit's AI biomarker, Lunit SCOPE IO, in predicting clinical outcomes of immunotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The JCO is an international, peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), with an impact factor (IF) of 44.54. This is the first time that research on AI biomarkers has been published in an international SCI-grade journal of JCO's prestige.

"Immune phenotyping of tumor microenvironment is a logical biomarker for immunotherapy, but objective measurement of such would be extremely challenging," said Professor Tony Mok from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, co-senior author of the journal. "This is the first study that adopted AI technology to define the tumor immune phenotype, and to demonstrate its ability in predicting treatment outcomes of anti-PD-L1 therapy in two large cohorts of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer."

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are a standard therapy method for advanced NSCLC with programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression. However, outcomes vary depending on the patient's tumor microenvironment.

Assessing the PD-L1 tumor proportion score (TPS) can bring predictive benefit for patients with high expression (over 50%), who show superior response to ICI therapy over standard chemotherapy. However, ICIs lose their potency in patients with PD-L1 TPS between 1% and 49%, showing outcomes similar to chemotherapy. Therefore, the development of an accuracy-enhanced biomarker to predict ICI response in NSCLC patients with low PD-L1 expression is highly warranted.

While tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are promising biomarkers for predicting ICI treatment outcomes apart from PD-L1, clinical application remains challenging as TIL quantification involves a manual evaluation process bound to practical limitations of interobserver bias and intensive labor. Employing AI's superhuman computational capabilities should open new possibilities for the objective quantification of TIL.

To validate immune phenotyping as a complementary biomarker in NSCLC, researchers divided 518 NSCLC patients into three groups based on their tumor microenvironment: inflamed, immune-excluded, and immune-desert. As a result, clinical characteristics based on each immune phenotype group showed statistically significant differences in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

Furthermore, analysis of NSCLC patients with PD-L1 TPS between 1% and 49% based on their immune phenotype found that the inflamed group showed significantly higher results in objective response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS), compared to the non-inflamed groups. This shows Lunit SCOPE IO's ability to supplement PD-L1 TPS as a biomarker by accurately predicting immunotherapy response for patients with low PD-L1 TPS.

"Lunit has demonstrated through several abstracts the credibility of Lunit SCOPE IO as a companion diagnostic tool to predict immunotherapy treatment outcomes," said Chan-Young Ock, Chief Medical Officer at Lunit. "This study is a proof-of-concept that compiles all of our past research that elucidates Lunit AI's ability to optimize cancer treatment selection."

Last year, Lunit announced a strategic investment of USD 26 million from Guardant Health, Inc., a leading precision oncology company. Following this major collaboration intended to reshape and innovate the precision oncology landscape, Lunit continues to refine its global position by validating the effectiveness of its AI technology through various studies.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767756/Lunit_s_AI_biomarker_platform_Lunit_SCOPE_IO.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1576401/Lunit_CI_Logo.jpg
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Fathom Nickel Inc. (CSE:FNI) (FSE: 6Q5) (OTCQB: FNICF) (the "Company" or "Fathom") announces that pursuant to its stock option plan and the policies of the Canadian Stock Exchange, it has granted incentive stock options to certain consultants of the Company for the right to purchase up to an aggregate of 150,000 common shares of the Company, exercisable at a price of $0.30 per share for a period of 60 months.

About Fathom Nickel Inc.

Fathom is a resource exploration and development company that is targeting high-grade nickel sulphide discoveries for use in the rapidly growing global electric vehicle market.

The Company is accelerating exploration on its flagship Albert Lake Project, host to the historic Rottenstone mine, which is recognized as one of the highest-grade (Nickel, Copper, Platinum group metals) deposits of its type ever mined in Canada. The Albert Lake Project consists of over 90,000 ha of mineral claims located in the Trans-Hudson Corridor of Saskatchewan, which is home to numerous world-class mining camps.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Brad Van Den Bussche"

President and CEO, Director

For Further Information Please Contact:

Brad Van Den Bussche, President and CEO

OR

Manish Grigo, Director of Corporate Development

+1-416-569-3292

Email: ir@fathomnickel.com

Neither the Canadian Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "seek", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the enhancement of the Company's geologic model and extending the areas of known mineralization and the Company's work towards defining a resource base. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to, the results of exploration activities; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. ANY FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THIS RESTRICTION MAY CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF U.S. SECURITIES LAWS.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116994
85% Say Mixed Messages Make Vaccination Decisions Difficult

LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A survey report released today by the nonprofit European Alliance for Patient Access reveals that, two years into the pandemic, autoimmune patients still don't have the necessary information to make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccination. The online survey captured responses from 400 people living in Germany, France, U.K., Italy and Spain who have an autoimmune condition such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, systemic sclerosis, pemphigus or Graves' disease.

Some medications for autoimmune diseases suppress the immune system, leaving patients with a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 or breakthrough cases. Survey questions about COVID-19, risk awareness and vaccination revealed that autoimmune patients need health information tailored to their specific condition and the medication they take to manage it.

Key Findings

Patients reported confusion on various vaccination topics, and their responses identified a clear need for customized information.

COVID-19 Exposure and Risks

While 81% of patients said they knew someone who contracted COVID-19, they did not necessarily recognize the full extent of their own vulnerability.

Only 37% were very aware that, by taking medications that weaken their immune system, they may not be fully protected from COVID-19 even if they are fully vaccinated.

Only 28% were very aware that immunocompromised people who contract COVID-19 are more likely to transmit the virus to household contacts.

Vaccine Concerns

While the majority of patients reported being fully vaccinated, the 16% of patients who were partially vaccinated or unvaccinated expressed several major concerns:

Concerns about side effects or safety of the vaccines

Concerns about triggering a flare-up of their autoimmune disease

Concerns about potentially having to suspend autoimmune disease treatment to get the full benefit of the vaccine

Vaccine Confusion

Patients' responses revealed particular confusion about vaccine brands, boosters and third doses.

41% are uncertain about whether they need a third vaccine dose or when to get it.

59% are uncertain about the difference between a third dose and a booster.

58% don't understand if a booster is needed after a third dose.

48% don't understand if a third vaccine dose needs to be the same brand.

Across the board, patients reported that the information they were receiving about COVID-19 vaccinations was often confusing.

85% said mixed or unclear messages from the media and government complicate decisions about vaccination.

Needs Assessment

Patient responses highlighted a desire for personalized care.

82% want to explore which medications for their condition are most compatible with COVID-19 vaccines.

Many reported wanting policymakers to provide clear, correct and concise information that is centrally located and tailored to individual conditions and medications. They also underscored the importance of working with informed health care providers to navigate life as COVID-19 becomes endemic.

International patient advocacy organizations participated in a virtual roundtable discussion of the survey results. Their insights are highlighted throughout the report.

About the Survey

The survey ran January 12-24, 2022 and collected 400 responses.

READ THE REPORT

The European Alliance for Patient Access is a division of the Global Alliance for Patient Access, an international platform for health care providers and patient advocates to inform policy dialogue about patient-centered care.

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LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcemi and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are pleased to announce a partnership for the development, construction and operation of a 4GW portfolio of energy storage assets deployed across the UK, supporting the integration of renewable energy capacity and the transition to net zero by 2050.

The projects, currently in late-stage development, have planned energy storage capacities of between 300MW and 500MW each, with a storage duration of up to four hours, making them some of the largest energy storage projects in Europe. They are being developed at strategic locations that will support the transmission system by limiting the impact of network constraints. This will help reduce the overall cost of energy for consumers as well as lower the carbon intensity of the UK power sector, ensuring better utilisation of the available renewable energy resource and limiting the need for fossil fuel (primarily gas-fired) power generation during periods of peak demand.

Alcemi originated and will continue to develop the projects with the support of CIP and Alcemi's founding investor Susgen. Procurement activities will be primarily led by CIP and initiated later this year ahead of construction of the first project, which is scheduled to start in 2023. Further projects are expected to go into construction regularly and then energise throughout the second half of this decade.

"We are thrilled to work with such a significant and strategic partner as CIP. This is an important step to enable the build-out of our portfolio of energy storage projects, making a significant contribution towards achieving net zero by 2050", said Mark Williamson, CEO of Alcemi.

"We are pleased to partner with Alcemi on such an exciting portfolio of large-scale battery energy storage projects. We expect these projects to enable a cost-efficient transition towards the low carbon, highly resilient power generation sector in the UK. We look forward to supporting Alcemi in the development of these projects and adding value through our own activities", said Christian Skakkebk, Senior Partner at CIP.

About Alcemi

Alcemi's mission is to facilitate a zero-carbon power system through the development and operation of innovative network solutions. With 4GW of battery storage capacity under development, Alcemi aims to deliver at least eight large-scale transmission connected storage and network support projects across the UK. For more information on Alcemi, visit www.alcemi.com.

About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S is the world's largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments, and a leader in offshore wind globally. At COP26 CIP announced the ambition and a roadmap for increasing and accelerating its role in delivering on the energy transition by deploying EUR 100bn into green energy investments by 2030.

CIP manages nine funds and has approx. EUR 16 billion of assets under management focused on investments in energy infrastructure, including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity and storage, and other energy assets like Power-to-X. Today CIP's funds have approximately 100 international institutional investors from the Nordics, Continental Europe, the UK, Israel, Asia, Australia, and North America and multi-lateral organizations such as EIB. CIP has approximately 300 employees and offices in Copenhagen, London, Hamburg, Utrecht, New York, Tokyo, Singapore and Melbourne. For more information on CIP, visit www.cip.dk.

About Susgen

Susgen is a market leading funder and partner to sustainable energy development companies. Since 2012, Susgen has focused on investing in, developing, and managing strategic, scalable portfolios of sustainable-energy assets to combat climate change.

Susgen has successfully invested in companies that have originated and fully developed 2GW to date and that have active pipelines in excess of 20GW. They have aspirations to invest in a further 15GW of project opportunities over the next three years. Susgen's current portfolio includes JBM Solar and Alcemi. For more information on Susgen, visit www.susgen.com.
CHEYENNE, WY / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Marketing Worldwide Corporation, (OTC PINK:MWWC), 'the Company', has released its Data Breach Response Toolkit ('DBRT') via the 'ARC' Network and through its Partnership with Global Digital Forensics 'GDF'.

Advanced Risk Control 'ARC':

The 'ARC' platform branded within the MINOSIS $MNS family, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marketing Worldwide has launched its new website introducing the new 'DBRT' product at https://www.advancedriskcontrol.com/.

The 'DBRT' utility focuses on four major categories:

Critical Infrastructure (XDR, SCADA, IC Networks)

Block Chain (NFT, DeFi and Smart Contracts)

Industrial Controls (PLCs, SCADA Networks)

Transportation and Internet of Things (IOT)

'DBRT' software contains patent pending source code, which uses capture sensors aligned with Artificial Intelligence (AI) similar to an anti-virus program that has adaptive capabilities working behind the scenes to detect, compartmentalize, and contain security threats in real time; as well as, identifying over 50,000 known and unknown behaviors mapped through a cyber-security kill chain.

'ARC' maintains a Virtual SOC infrastructure, where analysts monitor client networks using the 'DBRT', and is currently available in the USA, Europe and Australia through its international partnerships within the 'GDF' and MINOSIS teams. By minimizing the SOC time, 'ARC' has been able to recruit some of the top Incident Responders "Threat Hunters", and maintain regulatory compliance in the countries of operation.

"We are stepping into new territory here by releasing a first-of-its-kind product that will surely be a useful tool in real-time cyber security. 'DBRT' provides the company with a significant additional source of revenue. This product ties in nicely with the Minosis family and the cryptocurrency industry, which precedes the full global launch of the Minosis platform very soon." stated Jason Schlenk $MWWC CEO.

Contact Information

Twitter: @MWWCOfficial

Email: LetsConnect@marketingworldwide.co

Website: www.marketingworldwide.co

Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words 'believe,' 'may,' 'estimate,' 'continue,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'should,' 'plan,' 'could,' 'target,' 'potential,' 'is likely,' 'will,' 'expect' and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The Company has based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Some or all of the results anticipated by these forward-looking statements may not be achieved. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

SOURCE: MARKETING WORLDWIDE CORPORATION ("MWWC")

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693330/Marketing-Worldwide-Corporation-Launches-Its-Data-Breach-Response-Toolkit-DBRT-Via-Advanced-Risk-Controls-ARC
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Flying Nickel Mining Corp. (TSXV: FLYN) ("Flying Nickel" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has commissioned a Feasibility Study ("FS") in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") in respect of its Minago nickel project, located in the Thompson nickel belt, Manitoba, Canada.

The FS will be prepared in collaboration amongst Lycopodium (project cost estimate, processing and infrastructure), AGP Mining Consultants (mineral reserves, pit optimization), Mercator Geological Services (geology and mineral resource), and Trek Geotechnical (geotechnical, tailings and waste management). The FS is expected to take nine months to complete.

Minago currently has an NI 43-101 compliant Measured and Indicated resource of 722Mlbs contained nickel grading 0.74% and Inferred resource of 319Mlbs contained nickel also grading 0.74%. This technical report, completed by Mercator and AGP, has an effective date of July 2, 2021, and is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR. A majority of the resource is open pit optimized.

The FS will adhere to the parameters in the approved 2011 Environmental Act License ("EAL"), which permits a 10,000 tonne-per-day open-pit mining operation at Minago. The EAL is currently valid, pending the approval of a Notice of Alteration ("NOA") involving a minor change to the plant layout. The NOA was submitted in late 2021, and the EAL is expected to be reissued to Flying Nickel in Q2 2022. This is the final permitting hurdle for Flying Nickel to commence Minago mine construction. No federal permit is required for Minago.

Dan Oosterman, CEO, commented: "Minago is one of the few open-pit optimized nickel sulphide projects in North America with an excellent nickel grade of 0.74% that is a pure nickel play. Minago is in the Thompson nickel belt in Manitoba, North America's second largest historic nickel camp with excellent infrastructure. The potential future Minago operation could possibly have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world as the Province of Manitoba is 97% hydro-powered, producing concentrate for Class 1 nickel products that are an ideal fit for automakers' green EV initiative."

Rob van Drunen, COO, commented: "Flying nickel is well on its path to complete the FS and achieve full permitted status in 2022, a significant lead over other greenfield nickel projects in North America. The company is fully financed for its 2022 work program from its recent $8.6 million equity offering."

Qualified Person

The technical contents of this news release have been prepared under the supervision of Danniel Oosterman, CEO. Mr. Oosterman is not independent of the Company in that he is employed by it. Mr. Oosterman is a qualified person as defined by the guidelines in NI 43-101.

About Flying Nickel

Flying Nickel Mining Corp. is a premier nickel sulphide mining and exploration company, which was spun out from Silver Elephant Mining Corp in January 2022. The company is advancing its 100% owned Minago nickel project in the Thompson nickel belt in Manitoba, Canada.

Further information on the Company can be found at www.flynickel.com.

FLYING NICKEL MINING CORP.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Danniel Oosterman"

Chief Executive Officer

For more information about the Company, please contact:

Phone: 1-604-569-3661 ext. 101

Email: info@flynickel.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116996
CHANGSHA, China, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has carved out a path for the world to consolidate economic cooperation by creating a platform for promoting multilateralism, inclusive growth, peace and cohesion. In line with the vision of BRI, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zoomlion", 1157.HK), a leading high-end equipment manufacturing enterprise, is advancing its pledge to bring commercial and economic prosperity to the rest of the world through BRI, building a global community with a shared future.

While BRI is evolving into a beacon of economic growth for participating countries, Zoomlion has set up multiple R&D hubs and trade platforms across the globe and has been providing products and services in over 80 countries, serving customers in sectors including hydropower, nuclear power, road, and bridge construction. Its ongoing construction of BRI projects, designed for both commercial and cultural purposes, have been game-changers in those countries where they have fuelled connectivity, creativity, and trade activities. Landmark projects include Padma Bridge which is dubbed "the Dream Bridge of Bangladesh," Colombo Lotus Tower, and Iconic Tower in Egypt.

Zoomlion has made six acquisitions over the past few decades, through which the company has forged a greater creative synergy to drive innovation in the global machinery industry, unleashing new possibilities brought by its state-of-the-art technology to boost productivity and efficiency. Despite the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, all the companies acquired by Zoomlion have achieved 30 percent year-on-year increase in revenue, helping the local government to boost employment and tax revenue.

Zoomlion's acquisition of Compagnia Italiana Forme Acciaio SpA (Cifa), a leading machinery innovators and manufacturers based in Italy, demonstrated Zoomlion's five pillar management strategy of inclusiveness, rules, responsibility, co-creation, and sharing.

Cifa has been incorporated into Zoomlion's management system while maintaining its operational independence, which enabled the two companies to strengthen their mutual ties and respective prowess on the front of technology development, market expansion and production. Working in conjunction with Cifa's engineers, Zoomlion developed the world's tallest concrete pump with a 101-meter boom that still holds the Guinness World Record today.

"To generate sustainable growth and create a shared future, we need to deepen our localization strategy, respect and further integrate with local culture and regulations," said Zhan Chunxin, Chairman and CEO of Zoomlion.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767691/Padma_Bridge_which_is_dubbed__the_Dream_Bridge_of_Bangladesh.jpg
Selecta Group, a Swiss-based Foodtech leader with a world-class distribution network in Europe, announces its results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2021:

Full year 2021 Adjusted EBITDA 2,3 of 199.3 million, increased 114.1 million compared to 2020 and overachieved by 26 million the noteholder plan, despite continuous headwinds from lockdowns and work from home policies.

of 199.3 million, increased 114.1 million compared to 2020 and overachieved by 26 million the noteholder plan, despite continuous headwinds from lockdowns and work from home policies. Adjusted EBITDA 2,3 margin of 19.2%, increased 10.7pp compared to 2020. Strong improvement in profitability driven by significant cost savings whilst investing in commercial initiatives, enabling the Group to preserve a strong liquidity position 4 of 154.1 million.

margin of 19.2%, increased 10.7pp compared to 2020. Strong improvement in profitability driven by significant cost savings whilst investing in commercial initiatives, enabling the Group to preserve a strong liquidity position of 154.1 million. Full year 2021 Group's sales1 of 1,039.7 million, increased by 3.2% compared to 2020. Sales have been impacted by the pandemic throughout 2021, although with a gradual increase quarter on quarter, reaching 79% of 2019 levels in Q4 2021.

Q4 2021 performance summary1

Sales2 of 286.3 million, representing an increase of 15.7% compared to the Group's sales for Q4 2020, was the highest sales quarter in the year. Despite restrictions due to new COVID variants, the Group continued to see activity gradually picking up reaching 79% of Q4 2019 Group's sales.

Four key markets (France, UK and Ireland, Spain and Italy), which were the most affected by the pandemic, due to the impact of working from home policies in the Private segment and client attrition, saw a strong sales increase year on year. Other countries' sales performance showed a significantly narrowed gap in the quarter compared to 2019.

Group sales growth compared to last year driven by a strong increase in SMD in all segments, more than offsetting machine park reduction, with strongest performance seen in the Semi-Public and the Public segments:

In the Private segment, sales improvement driven by both Services and Administration and Manufacturing and Logistics.

In the Semi-Public segment, strong sales improvement was driven by Education, Healthcare and HoReCa with Retail slightly lagging.

In the Public segment strong sales improvement driven by all business areas.

Group SMD recovered but not yet to pre-pandemic level mostly due to the remaining gap in the Private segment, whilst Semi-public and Public SMD, fully recovered to 2019 levels.

Adjusted EBITDA2,3 of 64.7 million, up 36.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA2,3 margin of 22.6%, up 11.2pp driven by strong cost savings whilst investing in commercial initiatives.

Reported EBITDA2,3 of 48.2 million and free cash flow of -9 million have been impacted by one-offs due to a deeper rightsizing.

Liquidity headroom4 of 154.1 million, reflects a resilient liquidity position which was maintained ahead of noteholder plan due to strong cash discipline.

Full year 2021 performance summary1

Sales2 of 1,039.7 million, increased 3.2% compared to 2020 have been impacted by the pandemic throughout the year, reached 73% of 2019 Group's sales.

Adjusted EBITDA2,3 of 199.3 million, up 114.1 million compared to 2020 and overachieving by 26 million the noteholder plan. Adjusted EBITDA2,3 margin of 19.2%, up 10.7pp compared to 2020 driven by strong cost savings whilst investing in commercial initiatives.

Reported EBITDA2,3 of 158.1 million and free cash flow of 15.7 million have been impacted by one-offs due to a deeper rightsizing.

Joe Plumeri, Executive Chairman, said:

"In 2021, we achieved significant progress in the execution of our One Selecta vision and strategy accomplishing and overdelivering against our objectives for the year. We continue to focus on best-in-class sales and service, using technology like our world-class CRM and Power BI platforms to deliver innovative solutions that address our clients' underlying needs and optimizing service to our clients."

Christian Schmitz, Group Chief Executive Officer, said:

"As European countries begin removing their Covid restrictions, we remain convinced that Selecta has the solutions needed to address the needs of the post-Covid world. Our 24/7, flexible, scalable food beverage options cater beautifully to the new hybrid working models in place across companies. Combined with our strong partnerships with the A-brands in food, beverages and machine technologies, we have the foundation in place for sustainable future growth."

ENDS

About Selecta Group

Headquartered in Switzerland since 1957, Selecta Group is a Foodtech company with a leading route based, self-service distribution network in Europe, offering innovative convenience food services and world-class quality coffee brands in the workplace and public spaces. Active in the food tech business we continuously push on new innovations and solutions, we serve premium coffee and beverages, snacks, and fresh meals to more than 10 million people in 16 countries across Europe every day. With an annual turnover of 1.2 billion in 2021, we owe our success to our c.7,000 highly skilled, dedicated, and passionate Selecta employees who are committed to creating millions of moments of joy for our clients and their consumers every day. Sustainability is an integral part of the way we do business, focused on the key areas in which we can make a positive difference. For more information, please visit www.selecta.com

Cautionary Statement

We are providing this information voluntarily, and the material contained in this announcement is presented solely for information purposes and is not to be construed as providing investment advice. As such, it has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any recipient. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, completeness, accuracy, correctness or reliability of the information contained herein or the assumptions upon which the information is based. It should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment. Neither Selecta, nor any of its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, direct or indirect shareholders, advisors or agents accepts any liability for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on all or any part of this announcementand any liability is expressly disclaimed.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" that involve risks, uncertainties and otherfactors, many of which are outside of Selecta's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning Selecta's plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance or other information that is not historical information. All statements other than statements of historical fact referred to in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give Selecta's or the Group's current expectations and projections relating to its financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as "target," "believe," "expect," "aim," "intend," "may," "anticipate," "estimate," "plan," "project," "will," "can have," "likely," "should," "would," "could" and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Such forward-looking statements, as well as those included in any other material, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about Selecta, its present and future business strategies, trends in its operating industry and the environment in which it will operate in the future, future capital expenditure and acquisitions. In light of these risks, uncertaintiesand assumptions, the events in the forward looking statements may not occur or Selecta's or the Group's actual results, performance or achievements might be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. None of Selecta, its affiliates or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers undertake to publicly update or revise forward- looking statements to reflect subsequentevents or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.

1 At actual exchange rates. There is no material difference from constant currency rates

2 Sales: Revenue after payment of vending fees

3 Adjusted EBITDA: Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization and prior to one-off items (external and internal costs which are not related to the on-going business). Include the effects of IFRS 16

4 Cash at Bank of 52.2 million plus 101.9 million available RCF

Note: Full year 2019 figures have been adjusted for one-time impacts

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005691/en/

Contacts:

Selecta Group Contacts

Investor Relations

Philippe Gautier, Chief Financial Officer

Angela Cinelli, Investor Relations

investor.info@selecta.com

Media

Sarina Kunzli, Communications

sarina.kuenzli@selecta.com
LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the leading medical cannabis companies in the UK, GROW, announced today that a GROW branded medical cannabis extract has been launched in Germany by Nimbus Health GmbH on the basis of a licensing agreement. Nimbus is a pharmaceutical distributor that specialises in the distribution, registration, sales and marketing of medical cannabis in Germany.

The launch marks GROW's engagement in the largest medical cannabis market in Europe and the only market worldwide with reimbursement for an estimated 60% or more of patients who apply for special approval with their insurance companies.1,2 Nimbus has received its first orders from pharmacies, signaling that first German patients have received prescription for GROW medical cannabis extract.

This first GROW trademark medical cannabis product has the cannabinoid ratio THC10:CBD15. This product offers an oral, non-inhalative prescription option for physicians with patients who could benefit from a combination of these two cannabinoids. As CBD is not intoxicating, or psychoactive, products with a higher ratio of CBD are an option physicians consider with patients who are sensitive to the effects of THC.6 Publications, insurance companies and medical experts report that physicians in Germany prescribe medical cannabis products with THC and CBD to manage symptoms such as chronic pain, spasticity, anorexia/wasting and chemo-induced nausea, as well as symptoms of neurological and psychological disorders.2,3,4,5

Ben Langley, CEO GROW, said "We're thrilled that patients in Germany, Europe's largest legal medical cannabis market, are now benefiting from GROW branded cannabis medicines. At GROW, we understand the unmet need faced by many patients living with chronic pain and palliative conditions. This licensing agreement with Nimbus is a further positive step towards our purpose of bringing new and innovative solutions to physicians and their patients. We seek to make these products more affordable and more accessible within the healthcare systems of all countries where GROW operates."

Cannabis medicines offer various therapeutic options with many different concentrations of THC and CBD. To cater to the wide variety of patient needs, GROW is partnering with leading medical cannabis companies and developing the cannabis medicines and technologies of the future via biotechnological research and development.

Linus Weber, CEO Nimbus Health, said "At Nimbus Health, we're excited about our collaboration with GROW, with the short-term goal of offering a broad range of GROW trademark extracts, including various THC CBD formulations, as well as unique strains of medical cannabis flower, ranging from lower to higher THC strains, THC CBD balanced strains and later CBD dominant strains."

About Nimbus Health

Nimbus Health is a fully licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler and manufacturer from Germany with own warehouse facilities and an independent sales force to promote medical cannabis-based products to pharmacists. Its mission is to supply seriously ill patients with the highest grade medical cannabis products from reliable sources consistently and sustainably. Nimbus Health is a wholly-owned step down subsidiary of the global pharma company Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd.

About GROW

GROW is a biopharmaceutical company focused on cannabis based medicines. A market leader in the UK, GROW seeks to offer the best range of cannabis based medicines to patients globally and is working to create the technologies that will improve the cannabis medicines of the future through cutting edge biotechnological R&D. GROW's regional medical education specialists and first class supply chain seek to ensure that cannabis based medicines are always made available to the millions of patients globally who would have their lives improved by them.

W: https://growgroupplc.com/

Sources:
Leading charities, NGOs and individuals in the fight against human trafficking say that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is feeding instability and dramatically raising the risk of human trafficking in the region

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 50 British and global anti-trafficking charities and leaders have come together to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the impact it is having on the risk of human trafficking in the region.

They have signed an open letter that reads in part: "As long as the military invasion of Ukraine continues, the vulnerability of displaced people in the country to human trafficking will increase due to deteriorating rule of law and impunity, further forced displacement, humanitarian need, and socio-economic stress and social fragmentation. Human trafficking will also escalate in the countries to where people from Ukraine are fleeing. There have also been deeply concerning reports of attempts to traffic women and girls fleeing Ukraine in neighboring countries, including Poland and Romania."

Signatories include the leaders of major anti-trafficking charities like Hope for Justice, Unseen, Justice & Care, The Freedom Fund, ECPAT, The Exodus Road, and others from across the UK, the USA and Europe. MPs Harriet Baldwin and Karen Bradley (former Minister for Modern Slavery) are also signatories.

The letter calls on Russian authorities to withdraw their troops immediately from Ukraine, and for investigations into potential war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights violations associated with human trafficking. It calls on the countries that are welcoming refugees to implement prevention measures against human trafficking.

This includes training for frontline agencies; safe, legal routes for those who flee; measures to enable potential victims to be identified; trauma-informed care for survivors; and steps to ensure perpetrator accountability. With these countries already doing so much to assist refugees, the signatories ask the international community to help shoulder the financial burden of these vital measures.

The letter-writers say: "Human trafficking and conflict feed each other. By promising stability, security and employment, traffickers often appear to offer a greater prospect of hope for individuals who might have left everything behind."

A study by the ILO estimated that human trafficking generates $150bn (115bn) in illicit profits every year for criminals, fuelling global instability and insecurity.

To see the letter and list of signatories, click here.

Adam Hewitt

Head of Digital and Communications

Hope for Justice

press@hopeforjustice.org

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767474/Hope_for_Justice_Anti_traficking.jpg
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese high-thrust oxyhydrogen rocket engine has completed a 520-second test in preparation for the upcoming launches of space station lab modules, its maker said on Wednesday.

Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the engine is designed for the core stage of the Long March-5 carrier rocket series, which will be used to launch two lab modules of China's orbiting Tiangong space station this year.

The long-range test, lasting 520 seconds, has verified the reliability of the engine, and there will be more than 20 experimental tasks that the rocket engine will undergo to further test its performance, the company disclosed.

China plans to have six more missions, including the launch of the Wentian and Mengtian lab modules, two cargo spacecraft and two crewed spaceships, in 2022 to complete the construction of the space station. 
EUREKA, UT / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Applied Minerals, Inc. (the "Company" or "AMI") (OTC PINK:AMNL), a producer of halloysite clay, under the trade name DRAGONITE, and natural iron oxides under the trade name AMIRON, is pleased to provide an update with respect to the U.S. Department of Energy Phase I, Release 2 Small Business Technology Transfer ("STTR") award it received in June 2021 to develop a nano-structured silicon from its halloysite clay resource for use as a low-cost, high-performance anode material replacement for graphite in lithium-ion battery ("LiB") formulations for electric vehicles.

The STTR award amount granted to AMI was $200,000. Brigham Young University ("BYU") and Argonne National Laboratory ("ANL") are sub-awardees (partners). BYU is AMI's technology development partner, focused on the development of a low-cost process to synthesize nano-structured silicon from halloysite. ANL is the application-testing partner. ANL is the U.S. Department of Energy's lead laboratory for electrochemical energy storage research and development. AMI's CTO, Sharad Mathur, is the Co-Principal Investigator of the project.

To date the results of the work carried out under the STTR award have been very promising. BYU has developed a scalable, low-cost process through which high-purity nano-structured silicon can be synthesized from AMI's halloysite clay resource. AMI has the exclusive license to the intellectual property developed by BYU related to the conversion of halloysite into nano-structured silicon.

Building upon BYU's work, ANL has recently formulated electrodes comprised of halloysite-derived silicon at 70 wt% that have yielded, over multiple cycles, large specific capacity of 2,000 mAh/g when cycled between 10mV and 1.5V, good rate performance up to a 2C discharge and high Coulombic efficiency. Previous results of ANL's work can be viewed on Slides 12 and 13 of the following presentation link ANL Presentation.

Despite silicon having close to 10x the energy storage capacity of graphite, the loading rate of standard silicon in electrodes has been typically limited to less than 10%. The limitation is due to standard silicon's propensity to swell and eventually pulverize upon the absorption of lithium ions, causing the battery to quickly fail. We believe the nano-porosity of halloysite-derived silicon significantly minimizes the swelling issue experienced by standard silicon and will allow for higher loadings of silicon in the electrode, resulting in significant increases in the range of electric vehicle batteries, a top priority of the industry. Electrodes with higher loadings of silicon will also be required by other battery applications requiring greater energy density.

In April 2022, AMI plans to submit an application for a $1 million STTR Phase 2 award that would be used to scale-up the technology developed during Phase I. In parallel, AMI will explore additional commercialization options based on the final results of the Phase 1 work, its exclusive license to BYU's intellectual property and its ownership of a large, domestic source of high grade halloysite clay.

Management looks forward to providing additional Company updates when appropriate.

About Applied Minerals

Applied Minerals is a producer of halloysite clay and advanced natural iron oxides from its wholly-owned Dragon Mine property in Utah. Halloysite is aluminosilicate clay that forms naturally occurring nanotubes. The Company markets its halloysite clay products into application areas such as carriers of active ingredients in paints, coatings and building materials, environmental remediation, ceramics, agricultural applications and high-performance additives and fillers for plastic composites. Applied Minerals markets its halloysite products under the DRAGONITE trade name.

From its Dragon Mine property the Company also mines and processes iron oxide for technical applications. Applied Minerals markets its iron oxide under the AMIRON trade name.

Safe Harbor Statements

The following are safe harbor statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for Applied Minerals, Inc. Some statements contained or implied in this news release may be considered forward-looking statements, which by their nature are uncertain. Consequently, actual results could materially differ. For more detailed information concerning how risks and uncertainties could affect the Company's revenue pipeline, please refer to Applied Minerals' most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information.

IR Contact:

Chris Carney

info@appliedminerals.com

SOURCE: Applied Minerals, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693335/Applied-Minerals-Provides-Update-on-US-DOE-STTR-Award-to-Develop-Halloysite-Derived-Silicon-for-Use-in-Lithium-Ion-Batteries
London, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Cannabis industry leaders from around Ontario are expected to gather in London, Canada, for the inaugural CannabisWiki Conference & Expo set in South Western Ontario's agricultural epicenter.

The CannabisWiki Conference and Expo, presented in partnership with the Western Fair District, features cannabis-related industry panel discussions covering a wide range of timely cannabis topics, innovative exhibitor booths, and B2B networking opportunities to explore options and foster connections in the rapidly evolving space. Special themes for the conference will include sustainability of the industry, barriers to entry and sustained success for licensed producers, stigma and solutions from the legacy industry and bringing together thought-leaders for collaboration, problem solving, and education.



The conference will also feature a Cannabis Research Symposium hosted by Fanshawe College's Centre for Research & Innovation, and will focus on how research institutions can learn from industry and how Fanshawe can best support the cannabis industry as it brings new products to market.



Keynote speakers include CEO and COO of HRVSTR Cannabis, Ashley Athill and Michael Athill; Regulatory Affairs Officer at Health Canada, Ika Washington; CEO of Kronic Relief, Steven Conville; Founder of Hyde Advisory & Investments, David Hyde and more.



Show organizers wish to thank the following sponsors of this event, including: Greenway Greenhouse, Entourage Health, White Ash Group, A&L Canada Labs, Fanshawe College's Centre for Research & Innovation, Kalvara Beverages, Indiva, The Budtenders Association, and more.

"As multi-generational members of the Southwestern Ontario agricultural community and industry, Carl Mastronardi and myself are proud to support opportunities for growth, innovation and collaboration in the region," says Jamie D'Alimonte, CEO of Greenway Greenhouse. "This part of Canada is a traditional agricultural and trade hub, it's inevitable and heartening to see cannabis cultivation weaved into that tradition."



"Hyde Advisory and CannaNavigators are delighted to be involved in Cannabis Wiki's inaugural Conference and Expo on June 15-16, 2022 in London, ON. We're proud to support the organizers in convening an event focused on industry education, best practices, and other themes aimed at industry improvement and collaboration. We look forward to a great cannabis community event in June!" says David Hyde.



"The CannabisWiki partnership with the Western Fair District is a milestone in the evolution of our industry and will be one of the most important signs to the country that we can work together to bring economic recovery, advance support for medical patients and safe recreational cannabis to our communities. I am so proud to be a part of this great event and look forward to meeting you there!" says Barry Davidson of Davidson Global Advisory Group, and the event MC.

The 2-day event will be held June 15 & 16 at The Western Fair District, which offers outstanding trade and consumer show exhibition facilities and is located just minutes from Downtown London.



To learn more about the CannabisWiki Conference and Expo, including how to purchase tickets, become a sponsor or reserve a booth, visit: https://expo.cannabis.wiki



ABOUT THE CONFERENCE

The first annual CannabisWiki Conference and Expo is hosted by, and presented in partnership with, the Western Fair District and will offer a premier cannabis-related event to Southwestern Ontario, Canada's Eastern Agri-Food hub and innovation centre. The conference will reach a larger global audience through the option for virtual attendance, and is expecting strong attendance from partnerships with the Budtenders Association. The CannabisWiki Conference & Expo is set to forge new relationships and usher in a reinvigorated era for the cannabis & hemp expo space.

ABOUT CANNABISWIKI

With diversity and depth when it comes to understanding different perspectives of cannabis, from business to international relations. The team is medicinal patients, cannabis enthusiasts and recreational users who understand the important need to educate. Amidst complex and ongoing changes in regulations, Cannabis Wiki is a seasoned team of dedicated writers, podcasters, photographers, social media influencers and producers, engaging and collaborating with our community, creating original cannabis content. Follow Cannabis Wiki on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

ABOUT WESTERN FAIR DISTRICT

The Western Fair Association (WFD) is a multi-faceted, not for profit, Agricultural Society, based in the heart of London, Ontario. It strives to be a leader in the Agricultural industry by supporting the agriculture community with programming and facilities that meet the business needs of the sector. Its latest strategic plan is focused on a re-commitment to agriculture initiatives and includes fostering relationship-building and promotion of local agri-food producers and production.

Main Contact:



Cannabis Wiki Conference & Expo

Janelle Powell

Chief of Staff

janelle@cannabis.wiki

Western Fair Association

Greg Blanchard

Director of Sales & Retail Operations

gblanchard@westernfairdistrict.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116997
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - On March 8th, International Women's Day, from 8 PM to 10 PM EST, organized by Tianjiang Pharmaceutical, Healoonow, and Blue Light.Inc., the third session of the World Chinese Medicine Forum, Infertility Experts from China: Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Ovulation Infertility, was successfully held. TCM knowledge for female healthcare and treatment was spread worldwide - a gift presented by this forum for participating experts in women's health around the world.





Figure 1

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8404/116980_b401f9e2f4ff0960_001full.jpg.

World Chinese Medicine Forum has been one of the largest academic events of TCM in North America since 2010. Although the forum was moved online due to the pandemic, the forum's popularity remains unabated. In the first two sessions, the forum invited well-known TCM gynecological experts in China, Dr. Tan Yong and Dr. Wang Biqin. Starting with the two topics, "Comprehensive Application of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Assisted Reproductive Medicine", and "Four-Step Infertility Therapy with Century-Old Features of Traditional Chinese Medicine" respectively, the two experts brought professional and practical courses to TCM practitioners all over the world, making the forums warmly welcomed by acupuncturists.

This forum attracted nearly 400 licensed acupuncturists from 14 countries and regions, including America, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Indonesia, and China, among whom 70% are non-Chinese speakers.

The forum was organized by Tianjiang Pharmaceutical, Healoonow, and Blue Light.Inc., and co-hosted by 17 leading unions/associations of acupuncturists in North America, including ASA, CSOMA, FSOMA, NCSAAM, and NYCTCM. Among them, ASA is the largest Association of Hispanic Acupuncturists in America, and in alliance with members in 34 states. Healoonow is the number one brand of TCM health services on the Internet.

As an important event in response to export TCM industry overseas and expanding TCM culture, World Chinese Medicine Forum has provided an excellent platform for practitioners in North America to exchange views and learn from each other. World Chinese Medicine Forum has achieved this by simultaneously interpreting the professional and practical TCM teachings from top experts since its launch in January 2022. In the North American TCM industry, the forum has gained an excellent reputation, especially among non-Chinese speakers. As a result, its influence continues to increase.





Figure 2

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

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The forum was co-hosted by Nell Smircina, Chairwoman of CSOMA and Development Director of the American Acupuncture Council, as well as Yang Lei, Founder and President of the University of California, Silicon Valley.

The keynote speaker of the forum is Professor Wang Biqin, apprentice to the famous contemporary gynecologist Guo Zhiqiang, Chief Physician of Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, postgraduate tutor, visiting scholar of Massachusetts Medical School, Head of National Heritage Studio of Professor Guo Zhiqiang, Executive Vice President of the first Beijing Imperial Medical Research Institute of Guo Zhiqiang's Academic Thought. She is also the chief editor or deputy chief editor of 12 books and has published more than 20 papers.

The content of this course is "Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Treatment of Ovulation Infertility". During the two hour forum, Dr. Wang expanded on TCM treatment ideas and cases of ovulation infertility, while introducing the inheritance path and classic theory of Guo's TCM infertility treatment to North American acupuncturists, in detail.





Figure 3

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

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After the forum, acupuncturists from different countries expressed their gratitude to organizers and Professor Wang. They also showed a greater confidence in the value of TCM.

It is understood that in the future, World Chinese Medicine Forum will be held once a month, and the fourth session will be held in April.

About World Chinese Medicine Forum

World Chinese Medicine Forum is an independent, non-profit platform for academic exchanges. The purpose of the forum is to follow the latest news, frontier development trends and research hotspots in the field of modern TCM research, and to serve academic discussions and development of the industry.

The forum brings together top experts, professors, and scientific researchers in the field of TCM, focuses on specialties and unique diseases by harnessing TCM advantages, and shares achievements of TCM research to promote the globalization of TCM.

The forum, together with universities, colleges, enterprises, professional societies, and other organizations, integrates TCM academic resources to help form a collaborative, efficient, and open academic innovation body in the global field of TCM; and realize the vision of TCM serving human health ultimately.

Company: Healoonow

Contact Person: Dociee

Email: contactus@healoonow.com

Website: www.healoonow.com

Telephone: +1 (425) 520-6915

City: New York/Los Angeles/San Francisco/Seattle

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116980
"Brain Assessment" is an online periodic checkup for dementia risk from a healthy age.

Developed by Research Institute of Brain Activation and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Technology, Brain Assessment is an online cognitive function test for healthy individuals that compares the average rate of cognitive decline with aging. This new system makes it possible to detect rapid decline in cognitive function at an early stage. The system also shows correlations between existing cognitive function tests, and we are pleased to announce that the results of this research were published twice in the international medical journal Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders (Impact Factor: 2.959) in June and December of 2021.

Summary

Existing cognitive function tests are limited to determining whether or not a person has dementia, and early detection of rapid decline in cognitive function remains difficult to detect.

Based on data from 5,740 healthy Japanese subjects, the research team identified age-specific norms for cognitive function and also found that the decline in cognitive function with age is a linear decline, unlike the gradual curve presented by the Alzheimer's Association in US. Based on the results of this research, we developed Brain Assessment, an online test with five subtests and five versions in Japan.

In 2021, we published papers in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, which will show the quality of this test and the correlation with MMSE, RCPM, RBMT, TMT-A, TMT-B and other tests.

What to expect from the results of this research

In this year, English and Chinese versions will be released, not only as a tool for individual self-management, but also as a tool for experiencing effects that accompanies supplements and as a tool for measuring the efficacy of clinical tests, etc. We are seeking a wide range of business partners as we plan to expand overseas.

Source Article Information

Online Tool (Brain Assessment) for the Detection of Cognitive Function Changes during Aging

URL https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/516564

The Correlation between a New Online Cognitive Test (Brain Assessment) and Widely Used In-Person Neuropsychological Tests

URL https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/520521

Brain Assessment (Nouken)

https://www.nouken.jp/

Research Institute of Brain Activation

http://nokatsusoken.co.jp/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220309006047/en/

Contacts:

Yoshinori Ota

yossy@nokatsusoken.co.jp
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Dash Capital Corp. (TSXV: DCX.P) ("Dash") and Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd. ("SSC") wish to provide an update on the previously announced business combination, which will constitute the "Qualifying Transaction" of Dash (the "Transaction") as such term is defined under TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") Policy 2.4 - Capital Pool Companies ("TSXV Policy 2.4"). As previously disclosed on August 9, 2021, Dash, SSC and 2366191 Alberta Ltd. ("Dash Subco"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Dash, entered into an amalgamation agreement dated August 6, 2021 (the "Amalgamation Agreement"), which, among other things, sets forth the terms and conditions of the Transaction. On February 3, 2022, Dash announced that Dash, SSC and Dash Subco entered into an amending agreement (the "Amending Agreement") to the Amalgamation Agreement dated January 31, 2022, which, among other things, extended the outside date for completion of the Transaction. Upon completion of the Transaction, it is intended that Dash (the "Resulting Issuer") will continue SSC's business in the cannabis industry. Details of the Transaction, including the amount and type of proposed consideration, were previously disclosed in the news releases of Dash dated June 11, 2021, August 9, 2021, and February 3, 2022.

A copy of the Amalgamation Agreement, the Amending Agreement and the previous news releases of Dash detailing the Transaction have each been filed on Dash's SEDAR profile and are available for viewing at www.sedar.com.

The completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions precedent, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions customary to transactions of the nature of the Transaction, obtaining all requisite shareholder and corporate approvals, approvals of all regulatory bodies having jurisdiction in connection with the Transaction, and the final approval of the TSXV, including the satisfaction of its initial listing requirements. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. A filing statement in respect of the Transaction will be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the TSXV and will be filed under Dash's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Update on the Health Canada Licence Application and Directors and Officers of the Resulting Issuer

SSC is pleased to announce that it has made significant progress in its efforts to obtain a standard processing and cultivating licence under the Cannabis Act (Canada) (the "HC Licence"). The initial submission for the HC Licence was made in November, 2021.

Given the timing of the HC Licence application, Jeff Swainson, the proposed President & Chief Executive Officer and director of the Resulting Issuer, and James Nerland, the proposed Chief Financial Officer of the Resulting Issuer, are not expected to be security cleared by Health Canada in time to be appointed to such roles on closing of the Transaction. Accordingly, Tara Johnson-Ouellette and William Macdonald are expected to fill the roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Resulting Issuer, respectively, on an interim basis until Mr. Swainson and Mr. Nerland are security cleared by Health Canada.

Currently, Mr. Swainson is serving as special adviser to the sole director of SSC and Mr. Nerland is acting as Controller of SSC.

Subject to TSXV and other regulatory and corporate approvals, it is expected that the board of directors and management of the Resulting Issuer will be comprised of the following individuals upon closing of the Transaction:

Officers:

Tara Johnson-Ouellette - Chief Executive Officer

William Macdonald - Chief Financial Officer

Gordon Cameron - Corporate Secretary

Directors:

Tara Johnson-Ouellette

William Macdonald

Colin Davison

Hugh Porter

The backgrounds of each of the proposed directors and officers of the Resulting Issuer were previously disclosed in the news release of Dash dated February 3, 2022.

About Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd.

SSC is a private company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta). SSC's mission is to provide pure, potent, terpene-rich solventless concentrates to discerning cannabis consumers. For more information regarding SSC, please see www.simplysolventless.ca.

About Dash Capital Corp.

Dash is a public company incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta). Dash's principal business is the identification and evaluation of assets or businesses with a view to completing a Qualifying Transaction. Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

Further Information

Dash and SSC will provide further details in respect of the Transaction in due course by way of press release in accordance with the requirements of TSXV Policy 2.4. However, Dash and SSC will make available to the TSXV all information, including financial information, as required by the TSXV and will provide, in a press release to be disseminated at a later date, required additional disclosure.

All information contained in this press release with respect to Dash and SSC was supplied by the respective party for inclusion herein, without independent review by the other party, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, acceptance of the TSXV and if applicable pursuant to the requirements of the TSXV, majority of the minority approval. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

This press 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 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 unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

For further information:

Dash Capital Corp.

Darrell Denney, Chief Executive Officer

Phone: 403-651-9009

Email: darrellgdenney@gmail.com

Simply Solventless Concentrates Ltd.

Tara Johnson-Ouellette, Chief Executive Officer

Email: tara@simplysolventless.ca

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.

Notice on Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends" "expects" and similar expressions which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward looking statements concerning the Transaction, receipt of the HC Licence and the expected composition of the board of directors and management of the Resulting Issuer. Dash cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, assumptions and expectations, many of which are beyond the control of Dash and SSC, including expectations and assumptions concerning Dash, SSC, the Resulting Issuer, the Transaction, the timely receipt of all required shareholder, court and regulatory approvals (as applicable), including the acceptance of the TSXV, the satisfaction of other closing conditions in accordance with the terms of the Amalgamation Agreement and Amending Agreement, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Dash's final prospectus dated April 26, 2021 filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Alberta Securities Commission, the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan, and the Ontario Securities Commission and available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Dash and SSC. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Dash and SSC do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by securities law.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/117004
Maha Energy AB (publ) ("Maha" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Maha Energy (Indiana) Ltd., a wholy owned subsidiary of Maha, has signed a land lease in Indiana for up to 23 drilling locations.

The Company has signed a 463 acre land lease in Indiana, USA. The lease provides Maha the opportunity to drill up to 23 production wells on the leased land. The land is adjacent to land already held by Maha in the area and is a very good extension of the existing production from the Illinois Basin ("IB") asset. The lease requires Maha to drill at least one well during the first three years of the lease and then at least one well every year thereafter to retain the land.

Jonas Lindvall, CEO of Maha Energy AB stated: "We are very happy that we were able to add the 463 acres of land directly north and adjacent to our solid Fifer wells. This is another example of Maha's value driven strategy, where we pick up underdeveloped assets at ground floor pricing."

The recently spudded Glaze 11-5 well reached Total Depth on March 11 and is now undergoing stimulation. Preliminary drilled geological indications confirm the anticipated reservoir thicknesses.

Maha Energy AB, through its subsidiaries owns and operates a legal and beneficial 75% Working Interest (WI) in the SES-107D Block (Tartaruga) onshore Sergipe State Brazil, a 99% WI in the LAK Ranch heavy oil field in Wyoming USA, a 100% Working Interest (WI) in the Tie Field onshore Bahia State Brazil, an initial 100% WI in the Block 70 Mafraq field under the Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement with the Government of Oman and approximately 96% WI in the acreage in the Illinois Basin.

The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out below, at 16:15 CET on 16 March, 2022.

For more information, please contact:

Jonas Lindvall



Victoria Berg



About Maha

Maha Energy AB). The head office is in Stockholm, Sweden with a technical office in Calgary, Canada, as well as operations offices in Grayville, Illinois, USA and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For more information, please visit our website www.mahaenergy.ca .

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M&Co's global growth includes firm in Power List for fifth year

Montieth Company (M&Co), a global strategic communications consultancy, has been selected by the New York Observer for The Best PR Firms in America 2022 list. This is the fifth year in a row M&Co was placed on the Observer's Power ListThe company was recognized for its cross-border business model that, like its peers this year, "surpassed normal" by using creativity and intelligence to blaze new trails.

"We've built a global specialist PR agency that empowers companies to seize their biggest opportunities and prevail in the face of their greatest challenges," said Montieth Illingworth, CEO and Global Managing Partner. "Whether it's launching a SPAC, delisting from U.S. exchanges, advancing on ESG investing, helping a client prevail in a litigation dispute, or executing a rebranding campaign, our worldwide clients see the power of our integrated set of services and solutions."

M&Co's milestone achievements included establishing a foothold in key Latin American media markets, Brazil and Mexico, while also expanding the work of its joint venture in Hong Kong, Montieth SPRG, which serves the APAC region. M&Co further diversified its offering by adding new sectors and capabilities, including a branding and website design practice group with a growing expertise in multi-media marketing, influencer strategies, video, and podcasts.

M&Co operates across three hubs in New York, London and Hong Kong, and provides clients with integrated, flexible and efficient PR strategies and programs. With a diverse, multi-cultural team that speaks 10 languages, M&Co reaches into dozens of media markets. It serves clients in financial and professional services, emerging technology/AI, and the energy transition sector, and is a leading provider and crisis, issues management and litigation PR solutions.

M&Co's corporate values are reflected in its work and client base as well as in the way the company supports and treats its employees and the communities in which it operates. The firm's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion remains strong as it reached another milestone in increasing women's and minority access to media this past year by continuing to offer complimentary media training.

In 2021, Montieth Illingworth was appointed by Of Home, Family and Future (OHFF) to its Board of Directors. OHFF is a non-profit organization that provides survivors of domestic violence and college-bound foster youth with the support and resources they need to overcome challenges and build stable lives. M&Co also provided pro bono work to a citywide initiative in St. Louis, Missouri, that includes the International Institute of St. Louis, to support the settlement of hundreds of Afghan refugees in the community.

Last year, M&Co was named among the Top 20 financial PR firms for revenue growth in O'Dwyer's 2021 ranking out of 137 global firms that were considered as well as among the Top 18 Boutique PR Firms by Insider

About M&Co

Montieth Company is a global communications consultancy that helps you seize opportunity and prevail in the face of your biggest challenges. M&Co has global hubs in New York, London, and Hong Kong and provides services and solutions in multiple money and media center markets throughout the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005754/en/

Contacts:

Erika Leigh

eleigh@montiethco.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Business inventories in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday. The report showed business inventories jumped by 1.1 percent in January after surging by an upwardly revised 2.4 percent in December. Economists had expected business inventories to shoot up by 1.1 percent compared to the 2.1 percent spike originally reported for the previous month. Retail inventories continued to lead the way higher, leaping by 2.0 percent in January after soaring by 4.7 percent in December. The report showed wholesale and manufacturing inventories also increased by 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said business sales spiked by 3.7 percent in January after falling by 0.5 percent in December. Retail and wholesale sales skyrocketed by 5.7 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively, while manufacturing sales jumped by 1.2 percent. With sale surging by much more than inventories, the total business inventories/sales ratio dropped to 1.25 in January from 1.29 in December. Copyright(c) 2022 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.
With the theme, "Grow Together", ViewSonic will Feature the Latest Solutions and Technologies

BREA, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ViewSonic Corp. , a leading global provider of visual solutions, will be presenting its newest technologies at the British Educational Training and Technology Show (BETT) 2022 in London from March 23 to 25. With this year's theme, "Grow Together", ViewSonic will display its latest education solutions centered around the myViewBoard ecosystem, as well as launch initiatives to help drive greater collaboration across the industry.

"The events of the last few years have truly demonstrated the importance of working and learning together in an ever-more connected world. ViewSonic is committed to making a difference in education and helping the industry succeed in the new normal," said Bonny Cheng, COO of ViewSonic. "This year, we are launching a raft of collaboration solutions and exciting initiatives to build a more open and accessible ecosystem for all. From the students, teachers, education leaders, to our channel partners, we hope to grow together and drive momentum within the industry."

As a leading EdTech solutions provider, ViewSonic's ViewBoard interactive displays and myViewBoard platform are being adopted by educational institutions around the world. At BETT 2022, ViewSonic will showcase its latest product lines. Visitors can experience the innovative ViewBoard 52 Series with a multimedia soundbar, which brings a more immersive learning experience, and the brand new 24" ID2456 touch podium, which digitalizes the podium. Outside the classroom, the 135" All-in-One LED Display LD135-152 is an ideal solution for large venues, like auditoriums and lecture halls. Whereas, the 13" ID1330 pen display and 16" TD1655 portable monitor work together to support teaching and learning anywhere. In addition, ViewSonic will launch its new myViewBoard for iOS and showcase its comprehensive features.

Over the course of the event, ViewSonic will host the EdTech Talks with education and technology experts, featuring presentations across 18 sessions. The sessions will cover a range of topics, including the use of EdTech for teaching STEM, integrating new technologies into existing classrooms, and case studies of schools that created innovative learning spaces.

ViewSonic's Highlights of Showcases at BETT:

Engage students with active in-Class Experiences

Harnessing ViewSonic's EdTech solutions helps teachers better connect with students, whether they're in-person, remote, or both. Attendees will experience how these technologies are geared towards delivering a highly active and intuitive teaching-learning experience - from digital whiteboarding, wireless presentation, content sharing, and group discussions, like puzzles and quizzes.

Harnessing ViewSonic's EdTech solutions helps teachers better connect with students, whether they're in-person, remote, or both. Attendees will experience how these technologies are geared towards delivering a highly active and intuitive teaching-learning experience - from digital whiteboarding, wireless presentation, content sharing, and group discussions, like puzzles and quizzes. Enrich with Engaging Learning Content

Bringing classes to life, rich digital content becomes an integrated part of the lesson-rather than simply being an "add-on". Attendees will be able to experience content-focused solutions with tools that help teachers create digital classes efficiently with designed templates, 3D materials and videos, while also saving the files on the cloud for easy access and sharing.

Bringing classes to life, rich digital content becomes an integrated part of the lesson-rather than simply being an "add-on". Attendees will be able to experience content-focused solutions with tools that help teachers create digital classes efficiently with designed templates, 3D materials and videos, while also saving the files on the cloud for easy access and sharing. Elevate with Comprehensive Support

ViewSonic also provides advanced tools to bring better insight to shape and administer their unique learning environments. Take myViewBoard Manager, for example, the IT administrators are supported to oversee, control, and troubleshoot their institution's interactive displays remotely, making device management and maintenance more efficient. Through the new-generation of myViewBoard Sens and with the AI technology, it can detect environmental factors such as occupancy rate, temperature, humidity, audience masked and close contact index. As a result, schools and teachers can get more insights to optimize environment for better wellness and safety for quality learning outcomes. Moreover, ViewSonic will kick off a series of programs to assist teachers in developing digital teaching skills with partners.

Visit ViewSonic at BETT 2022, ExCel London, booth No. SF40. To find more info and arrange a meeting with ViewSonic's educational experts at BETT 2022, please visit https://www.viewsonic.com/uk/bett2022.

About ViewSonic

Founded in California, ViewSonic is a leading global provider of visual solutions and conducts business in over 100 countries worldwide. As an innovator and visionary, ViewSonic is committed to providing comprehensive hardware and software solutions that include monitors, projectors, digital signage, ViewBoard interactive displays, and myViewBoard software ecosystem. With over 30 years of expertise in visual displays, ViewSonic has established a strong position for delivering innovative and reliable solutions for education, enterprise, consumer, and professional markets and helping customers "See the Difference." To find out more about ViewSonic, please visit www.viewsonic.com.

Photo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1765560/Image_1_BETT_Booth.jpg

Logo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1587181/Logo.jpg
Users earn money for completing free courses on fashion, finance and more

NEWPORT BEACH, CA and LYNBROOK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Mixology Clothing Company and Learn & Earn have teamed up to create an online course that teaches vital skills for working in the fashion industry - AND pays users for completing the course.

The Mixology "Want to Work in Fashion?" class is the first-of-its-kind to teach actionable job skills for pursuing a career in fashion, while also providing free access to other educational courses that promote financial literacy and career development. Mixology built the course to help its 300 employees become familiar with investing as well as saving for education, homeownership, and retirement. The course is now available to the general public in the Learn & Earn app.

"With the rise in popularity of investing apps like Robinhood, many of our Mixology employees - most of whom are young women - expressed interest in both investing and advancing their fashion careers. When we heard about Learn & Earn and the amazing courses they offer, we decided to team up and develop our own," said Jordan Edwards, CEO of Mixology. "Our Mixology mission is to inspire confidence in women, and this new course absolutely accomplishes that."

Mixology Clothing Company sells their women's clothing to customers around the country via their online shop, operates 11 brick-and-mortar locations in the metropolitan New York region, and has hundreds of thousands of social media followers. Since launching the Mixology fashion course last month, more than six thousand people have completed it, allowing the company to increase brand exposure, while also educating and enriching users.

"We are thrilled to partner with Mixology Clothing Company, a forward-thinking brand dedicated to female empowerment. The fashion industry course we have created with them joins many other existing courses that teach skills for careers in medicine, music, hospitality, agriculture, engineering and more. Plus, users earn real money for every course completed," said Walter Cruttenden, the chairman of Ant Money, the developer of Learn & Earn. To celebrate the launch of the Mixology course, Cruttenden gave a presentation to Mixology employees during the company's "Mix U: Personal Finance Week" in February.

Learn & Earn, developed in collaboration with Junior Achievement USA, allows students to select bite-sized courses and earn money from sponsors and parents upon the successful completion of each course. Students then invest that money in their investment account with Robo-Bumpers to keep their portfolio diversified and growing over time. Students have a "Core" portfolio of the world's largest diversified ETFs, and they can also select up to ten separate large cap stocks or ETFs from a curated portfolio. Sponsored courses are funded by for-profit and non-profit entities. Existing Learn & Earn partners include Junior Achievement USA, TGR (Tiger Woods) Foundation, Ark Invest, Gemini, and others.

"Our 'play-to-earn' model is a truly innovative hybrid of FinTech, EdTech and AdTech: Consumers learn skills, earn money and invest, while our sponsors get an entirely new avenue for connecting with users that guarantees increased audience engagement and brand awareness," said Mike Gleason, CEO of Ant Money.

About Learn & Earn

Learn & Earn is the app that pays users to learn. Covering real-world topics, the bite-size courses reward students with funds from sponsors and parents. These funds are then invested, opening up a whole world of savings and investments. Working with pre-eminent partners and sponsors, Learn & Earn combines the best of FinTech, EdTech and AdTech to redefine remote learning with courses that cover topics such as financial literacy, potential careers, and life skills. www.learnandearn.com

Investment advisory services are provided by Ant Money Advisors, LLC ("AMA"), an SEC-registered investment advisor. AMA's terms and policies can be found at www.antmoneyadvisors.com or through www.adviserinfo.sec.gov . AMA facilitates trading through DriveWealth, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and member FINRA and SIPC. Check the background of this firm on FINRA's BrokerCheck.

Media Contacts:

Learn & Earn:

Brian Byrnes

press@antmoney.com

Mixology Clothing Company:

Rebecca Oestreicher

becca@shopmixology.com

SOURCE: Learn and Earn

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693364/Mixology-launches-fashion-focused-finance-course-on-Learn-Earn-app
by Xu Chi

GENEVA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A former Pentagon analyst said the U.S. military complex stands to benefit from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as it ramps up defense spending for what could be a protracted affair in Europe.

"The American Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC) will benefit from this war (the Russia-Ukraine conflict) because it is setting the stage for a second Cold War that will increase tensions over the long term," said Franklin C. Spinney, a former Pentagon analyst.

An increase in tensions over the long term "is needed to fund the bow wave of future defense spending that is already programmed in the Pentagon's computers ..." Spinney said in a recent interview with Xinhua, warning that militarization bodes ill for the U.S. economy.

The MICC refers to the network of multisectoral individuals and institutions promoting militarization, arms sales and political power. U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower made its creeping influence public in his 1961 farewell speech.

The MICC is partly responsible for and actively benefiting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Spinney, who served for nearly 30 years as an analyst at the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation.

He faulted the MICC's post-Cold War business strategy and its supporting lobbying activities for expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after the end of the Cold War.

For Spinney, thanks to the lobbying activities by special interest groups towards expansion, NATO has not only outlived its purpose to contain the Soviet Union but enjoyed five expansions since the demise of the latter.

Spinney believed that the conflict and the ensuing fear would be permanently politicized to justify more weapon sales.

The Pentagon has been rushing new weapon programs and their engineering and manufacturing, said Spinney. Since contracts will spread to hundreds of congressional districts, weapon production becomes virtually unstoppable.

Moreover, because manufacturers routinely over-promise performance and understate costs, the demands for more military spending beget further demands for even greater spending, Spinney said.

According to Spinney, the peculiar characteristics of the MICC reduce the U.S. foreign policy elite into an endless search for new enemies abroad, which is why the United States violated its promise not to expand NATO and has no empathy for the legitimate security concerns of others, especially Russia.

"The way we have handled the end of the Cold War with NATO expansion conducted by a succession of U.S. presidents, establishing the Committee to Expand NATO headed by a Lockheed vice president, encouraging the color revolutions, particularly in Georgia and Ukraine, demonizing our adversaries, have combined to inflame tensions," he said.

Spinney referred to the humiliation the United States inflicted on Russia since the demise of the Soviet Union, amplified by the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, and the U.S. withdrawals from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, all of which are perceived as critical threats by Russia.

Spinney believed the domestic politics shaped by the MICC commands the U.S. foreign policy. The MICC shapes domestic political agendas by engineering electoral district dependency on the arms industry.

He is convinced that the politico-economic addiction to defense spending makes the U.S. economy less competitive through anti-competitive contracting that incentivizes parasitic rent-seeking behaviors and corruption as well as poor engineering.

Spinney also said he sees the MICC as the result of processes that reward dysfunctional practices, like lying, cheating, bureaucratic gamesmanship, unfair appraisal practices, and corrupt personnel practices, including the infamous "revolving doors," as well as an utter absence of congressional oversight and sound accounting practices in accordance with the U.S. Constitution.

As a way forward, Spinney urged the United States to strive for peace instead of perpetually preparing for war.

He also recommended that foreign policy strategists learn a little empathy and acknowledge the legitimate concerns of other nations, warning that a domestic politics addicted to weapon purchases foments insecurity.

He summed up the political problem in America's defense addiction by quoting American writer and social crusader Upton Sinclair: "It's difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." 
- The Foundation will provide long-term solutions to improve healthcare access in Africa and South Asia, while contributing to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Evercare Group today announced the launch of the Evercare Foundation, a non-profit organization working towards equitable health for all and the development of more resilient health systems across the low- and middle-income countries in Africa and South Africa.

The Foundation will serve as the philanthropic arm of the Evercare Group and will build on the footprint of Evercare Group of 29 hospitals, 13 clinics, 88 diagnostic centres and have access to 11,400 caregivers, serving over 3.3 million people in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Kenya.

Speaking at the 18th Dubai International Humanitarian Aid & Development Conference & Exhibition (DIHAD), Massimiliano Colella, CEO of Evercare said: "The Foundation presents another key avenue through which we can continue to deliver meaningful change and positive impact to traditionally underserved communities. Through focused partnerships and deliberate investments, the Evercare Foundation will continue to build sustainable development across our areas of operation."

Low and middle-income countries continue to suffer from insufficient investment in healthcare, leading to often highly strained and burdened systems that are unable to keep up with demands of patients, especially in these times of the pandemic. According to the World Bank, if current trends continue, up to 5 billion people will be unable to access health care by 2030 with 56% of the population lacking sufficient health-care coverage in rural areas globally.

Joumana Atwani, Director of Partnerships and External Affairs of the Evercare Group and Lead of Evercare Foundation said: "The Foundation is driven by an ambition to create long-term positive social change for vulnerable communities who have a fundamental right to good health and wellbeing. Through the Evercare Foundation, we aim to focus on communities who have limited or no access to quality healthcare.'

To realize our vision of 'a world with equitable health for all,' the Foundation will primarily focus on women and children - with priority being on women and girls' adolescent health and wellbeing, including ante and post-natal care, screening for non-communicable diseases such as breast and cervical cancer. In children's health the Foundation will focus on treatment and rehabilitation for congenital birth defects and trauma related conditions and children related disease prevention and immunization.

One example is of 5-year-old Abdul Rehman from Pakistan, who was born with congenital deafness and whose family could not afford the treatment. Surgeons at Evercare Hospital Lahore successfully inserted a cochlear implant free of cost and now Abdul can hear for the time and able to attend school.

The Foundation will equally invest in initiatives related to human resources in health and leveraging the Evercare Group's integrated healthcare corridor to strengthen health systems by supporting clinical trials and complex healthcare cases across borders.

About the Evercare Foundation

The Evercare Foundation is an independent philanthropic organization established to support the impact driven initiatives of the Evercare Group. The Foundation provides vulnerable communities with equitable access to quality healthcare and create long term positive social change.

The priority areas of the Foundation are vulnerable communities in low and middle-income countries, with a primary focus on women and children who are marginalized by health and socio-economic inequities.

About the Evercare Group

The Evercare Group believes access to healthcare is a fundamental right and invests in emerging markets to bring private, quality-driven healthcare to meet the needs of local people.

Evercare has responded to a global challenge to ensure well-being at all ages is provided to those living in emerging markets as a pillar to support sustainable economic development. With this, the Group is leading the way in transforming the traditional healthcare model through its integrated cross-continents platform, its impact-driven model, and quality-driven hospitals.

The Evercare Group operates as an integrated healthcare delivery platform in emerging markets across Africa and South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Evercare is wholly owned by the Evercare Health Fund, a US $1bn emerging markets healthcare fund managed by TPG and backed by its global impact investing platform TPG Rise. The Evercare Health Fund is comprised of the world's leading impact investors and global development finance institutions.
Oxitec, a developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, has been contracted by Socicam, operator of Brazil's major travel hubs, to protect thousands of travelers each day from biting mosquitoes.

major travel hubs, to protect thousands of travelers each day from biting mosquitoes. Oxitec's safe, proven and effective technology uses non-biting, self-limiting male mosquitoes to suppress Aedes aegypti, a dangerous mosquito that spreads dengue and other diseases.

OXFORD, England and CAMPINAS, Brazil, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Oxitec Ltd, the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock, announces today that Socicam, leader in the mobility infrastructure segment in Brazil, has chosen Oxitec's Friendly Aedes solution to protect passengers in the world's second largest bus terminal, the Tiete Terminal in Sao Paulo.

Tiete Terminal hosts 90,000 travelers each day, connecting Sao Paulo with more than 1,000 cities in 21 Brazilian states, as well as cities in Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

Oxitec will deploy its Friendly Aedes - an environmentally-friendly and effective alternative to pesticides to control the dengue-transmitting mosquito, Aedes aegypti - across Tiete Terminal, running with immediate effect through the end of the 2021-22 mosquito season, with the aim of resuming deployments over the 22-23 season at the Tiete terminal and expanding to other bus terminals in Sao Paulo and other cities.

Aedes aegypti is an invasive mosquito responsible for transmitting diseases such as dengue, Zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. Unlike some other mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti readily flies and bites during the day, colonizes urban communities, and is difficult to control using conventional methods such as insecticide spraying. Between December 2021 and January 2022, the State of Sao Paulo recorded 4,961 cases of dengue. Chikungunya has also been a concern in the State, and an alert was issued by the Department of Health when the number of affected jumped from 281 in 2020 to 18,200 in 2021, an increase of more than 6,000%.

Grey Frandsen, Oxitec's CEO, said, "We're immensely proud of this vote of confidence in our Friendly mosquito solution from one of Brazil's most forward-thinking companies, which highlights the demand in Brazil for highly effective, environmentally sustainable alternatives to pesticides for the management of disease-spreading mosquitoes."

Natalia Verza Ferreira, Oxitec's Country Director in Brazil, said, "Socicam and Oxitec share values and principles, as both companies prioritize sustainable practices while working day and night in the service of communities. Deploying our Friendly Aedes solution to control the dengue mosquito in a highly urbanized area like the Tiete terminal will benefit thousands of people every day while they commute between work and home, to visit friends and family or to leave for well-deserved holidays. It will be an honor to deploy our technology with the Socicam team to protect this important public space and its community from the dangerous Aedes aegypti."

About Oxitec

Oxitec is the leading developer of insect-based biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class partners. Learn more at oxitec.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767969/Oxitec_bus_terminal.jpg
The new executive leads research and development operations for the air purification company

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / ActivePure, the global leader in continuous surface and air purification, today named Vincent Lyons as its new Chief Technology Officer. Lyons brings over 30 years of engineering and product development experience to the position, expanding the company's expertise in product innovation in air and surface disinfection. Lyons will be based at the company's global headquarters in Dallas and report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joe Urso.

In his new role, Lyons will help direct ActivePure's technology and innovation strategy, manage and implement a technology infrastructure and will play a key role in analyzing trends and innovations that will directly impact the company's products and performance.

"Innovation is the cornerstone of ActivePure. The addition of Vincent's enormous talent, intelligence and breadth of experience at this critical time of growth will undoubtedly strengthen our company," said Urso. "Vincent brings passion, leadership and product development and is the right person to drive ActivePure's innovation and growth."

For over three decades, Lyons has been making significant moves in the engineering industry, including his previous position as an engineering leader for Raytheon Technologies. Prior to Raytheon, Lyons spent 10 years as the VP of engineering & technology and president of the machinery & technology group at Leggett. Lyons is well recognized for his work and received the national 1989 Black Engineer of the Year Award.

"ActivePure is the leader in indoor air quality, and I am proud to be joining the team. The company is actively working to advance and expand their line of disinfection devices for air and surfaces. Their work to educate and share the importance of clean air is especially crucial during these times," said Lyons. "The opportunity to work alongside a team of professionals and industry experts like Dr. Deborah Birx allows me to focus on sharing technology backed by science."

An Arkansas native, Lyons has worked his way to the top from a senior engineer to his new position in a C-Suite position as ActivePure's chief technology officer. Lyons' experience includes working in various fields as an engineer and manager. His hands-on experience extends to the automotive, refrigeration, machinery and product innovation industries.

Lyons attended Stanford University where he graduated with honors with a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and was a member of the Stanford Society of Black Engineers. He later got his Master of Business Administration in management from the University of Phoenix, graduating with the highest honors.

Over the last two years, ActivePure has significantly increased executive leadership with the addition of new C-Suite-level roles. Patented ActivePure Technology provides 24/7 air and surface disinfection that seeks and reduces pathogens while improving indoor air quality. Devices powered by ActivePure are used worldwide in educational and healthcare institutions, commercial and public facilities, and hospitality and residential applications.

ActivePure is dedicated to innovating and providing products and technologies to seek and reduce safe and clean indoor environments, to create protected indoor air and surfaces. To learn more about ActivePure, visit ActivePure.com or call (888) 217-4316.

ABOUT ACTIVEPURE:

Privately held?ActivePure?has been the global leader in active, continuous surface and air disinfection systems for health care and educational institutions, commercial and public facilities, hospitality and residential applications since 1924. Patented ActivePure Technology has been proven in independent university and laboratory testing to effectively control and neutralize indoor contaminants. It is the only product in its class recognized by the Space Foundation as Certified Space Technology and inducted into the Space Foundation Hall of Fame. The ActivePure Medical Guardian is registered and cleared as an FDA Class II Medical Device. ActivePure was developed for use in the space program and has since evolved for use in commercial and consumer products used to reduce exposure to pathogens, including RNA and DNA viruses, bacteria and molds, by up to 99.9% in the air and on surfaces. For more information, please visit?ActivePure.com or call (888) 217-4316.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jo Trizila, TrizCom Public Relations on behalf of ActivePure

Email: Jo@Trizcom.com

Office: 972-247-1369

Cell/Text: 214-232-0078

Or

Tonie Auer, TrizCom Public Relations on behalf of ActivePure

Email: Tonie@TrizCom.com

Office: 972-247-1369

Cell/Text: 817-925-2013

SOURCE: ActivePure Technology

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693372/ActivePure-Appoints-Vincent-Lyons-as-Chief-Technology-Officer
Regulatory News:

Azelis (Brussels: AZE), a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, announces the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Whitfield Chemical Group Limited, the ultimate parent company of WhitChem, a well-regarded distributor focused on CASE (coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers) and R&PA (rubber plastic additives) in the UK.

This acquisition reinforces Azelis' position in industrial chemicals, and specifically in the CASE and R&PA market segments in the UK. WhitChem's long-standing relationships with blue-chip principals and product portfolio strengthen Azelis' lateral value chain in the UK, whilst their wide customer base and strong local technical sales team further expands the Group's product offering and customer reach.

WhitChem employs 30 staff and generates the vast majority of their sales in the UK, with some exports to Ireland. Following the closing, the WhitChem management will stay and support the integration into Azelis, remain committed to growing the business, and further strengthen Azelis' CASE R&PA team.

Anna Bertona, CEO President Azelis EMEA, adds:

"We're thrilled to welcome WhitChem into Azelis. Their exemplary expertise, strong relationships and a diverse customer base complement the organic growth of Azelis, while at the same time providing a valuable addition for our lateral value chain for this growing market. Over the years, they have proven to be an important technical sales extension for their principals, having grown their market share significantly, and they continue to show strong growth prospects."

Charles Hawley, Managing Director at WhitChem, comments:

"We look forward to combining our talents with Azelis and leveraging our synergies. We see many cross-selling opportunities with our complementary product portfolios. CASE and R&PA are exciting markets that have seen significant growth of late and we are eager to expand our product offering and innovative services to the combined customer base. Together we form a great cultural fit and we will continue working on adding value and creating continued growth."

END

About Azelis

Azelis is a leading global innovation service provider in the specialty chemical and food ingredients industry present in over 50 countries across the globe with over 3,000 employees. Our knowledgeable teams of industry, market and technical experts are each dedicated to a specific market within Life Sciences and Industrial Chemicals. We offer a lateral value chain of complementary products to more than 51,000 customers, supported by ~2,300 principal relationships, creating a turnover of 2.8 billion (2021). Azelis Group NV is listed on Euronext Brussels under ticker AZE.

Across our extensive network of more than 60 application laboratories, our award-winning staff help develop formulations and provide technical guidance throughout the customers' product development process. We combine a global market reach with a local footprint to offer a reliable, integrated and unique digital service to local customers and attractive business opportunities to principals. EcoVadis Platinum rated, Azelis is a leader in sustainability. We believe in building and nurturing solid, honest and transparent relationships with our people and partners.

Impact through ideas. Innovation through formulation.

www.azelis.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005584/en/

Contacts:

Azelis

Meredith Wood

Corporate Communications Business Partner

T: +32 485 293 665

E: meredith.wood@azelis.com
747 aircraft departed Chicago on Monday headed for Amsterdam, Netherlands to provide much-needed medical supplies and essential curative aid for more than 300,000 refugees

Following a request for medical supplies from the Moldovan authorities, World Hope International (WHI), Lift Non-Profit Logistics, Globus Relief, Airlink, and Flexport.org partnered to provide humanitarian relief for more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees currently seeking safety and protection in the border country of Moldova.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005835/en/

Following a request for medical supplies from the Moldovan authorities, World Hope International (WHI), Lift Non-Profit Logistics, Globus Relief, Airlink, and Flexport.org partnered to transport $7M in humanitarian relief for more than 300,000 Ukrainian refugees. (Photo: Business Wire)

The partnership provided over 220,000 pounds of medical supplies valued at over $7 million, to serve a specifically requested need from the Moldova Ministry of Health. With the support of Flexport.org, air carrier Atlas Air, and cargo handler Alliance Ground International, these supplies have been moved from Utah and airlifted via a Boeing 747 from Chicago to Amsterdam, where Flexport.org then arranged for trucking partners to transport the cargo to Moldova. Fulfilling the Moldovan authorities request for assistance required multi-faceted project coordination and experience managing complex supply chains. This relief effort demanded specialized skills to source the requested supplies and transport them from Utah to Moldova via Chicago and Amsterdam.

"In these difficult times, Moldova is helping Ukrainian refugees with needed shelter and assistance. Given this context, we are highly appreciative of the efforts our American friends have put towards gathering an impressive amount of medical supplies. This support will be used and distributed by the Ministry of Health for the Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, and we are so thankful for it," said Moldova's Ambassador to the U.S., Eugen Caras.

CEO of WHI, John Lyon, adds, "The events unfolding in Ukraine and the escalating violence across the region is beyond tragic on many levels and is quickly becoming one of the largest refugee events of our lifetime. While we are looking at ways to scale up our support, we hope this week's effort will make a large impact on those who receive these critical supplies."

"Humanitarian responses are incredibly complex and demand a wide range of coordination from nonprofits. By providing strong airfreight solutions and funding support, we aim to help our nonprofit partners focus on what they do best and respond immediately when disaster strikes," said Susy Schoneberg, Head of Flexport.org.

"Airlink is delighted to be part of this coalition of organizations using their resources and expertise to deliver humanitarian aid to Moldova in support of Ukrainian refugees," said Steven J. Smith, Airlink President and CEO. "There are considerable and growing supply chain difficulties in the region, so partnership and coordination are vital to ensuring Ukrainian refugees get the aid they need."

Shaimaa Al Wassiti, President, Globus Relief Humanitarian adds, "Globus Relief is equipped to supply needs for all forms of medical care. This initial shipment includes more immediately needed items such as bandages, syringes, IVs, and any sort of emergency supplies that are used in first response medical care."

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005835/en/

Contacts:

Jeanne Hoffa

Coast PR for World Hope International

949-233-5372

jeanne@coastprgroup.com
HBM Healthcare Investments AG / Key word(s): Monthly Figures

Key Figures 15.03.2022



16.03.2022 / 17:46



in CHF Performance in % 15.03.2022 MTD FYTD CYTD NAV 280.64 -6.3 -5.2 -16.5 Share Price 260.00 -9.7 -18.0 -23.3 Total Net Assets (in million) 1'952 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 abbestellen. 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 or subscribe for securities. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results, prices of shares and the income from them may fall as well as rise and investors may not get back the amount originally invested. The investor must be aware of the investment risk and personal risk ability. 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. If the email looks unformatted, please use this alternative link.

End of Media Release


TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Roscan Gold Corporation ("Roscan" or the "Company") (TSXV:ROS)(FSE:2OJ)(OTCQB:RCGCF) announces that Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan ("Venkat") will not be standing for re-election at its forthcoming Annual General Meeting scheduled to take place on April 26, 2022, to assume Chairmanship of Endeavour Mining Plc (LSE:EDV, TSX:EDV), a leading global gold producer and the largest in West Africa, in May 2022. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Venkat will continue to assist Roscan in an advisory role, for a period to be mutually agreed.

Sir Sam Jonah, Chairman, stated, "We would like to thank Venkat for his contributions to Roscan. Venkat's mentorship during his tenure has helped management build a strong foundation, as Roscan grows its highly prospective exploration land package in Mali."

About Roscan

Roscan Gold Corporation is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on the exploration and acquisition of gold properties in West Africa. The Company has assembled a significant land position of 100%-owned permits in an area of producing gold mines (including B2 Gold's Fekola Mine which lies in a contiguous property to the west of Kandiole), and major gold deposits, located both north and south of its Kandiole Project in West Mali.

For further information, please contact:

Nana Sangmuah

President & CEO

Tel: (902) 832-5555

Email: info@Roscan.ca

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, changes in the state of equity and debt markets, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in obtaining required regulatory or governmental approvals, and other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, including those risks set out in the Company's management's discussion and analysis as filed under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including that all necessary governmental and regulatory approvals will be received as and when expected. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Roscan Gold Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693378/Roscan-Gold-Announces-Change-to-the-Board-of-Directors
Forbo Holding AG / Key word(s): Share Buyback

Forbo completes current share buyback program



16.03.2022 / 19:00





MEDIA RELEASE

As of March 16, 2022, Forbo Holding Ltd has repurchased a total of 165,000 shares as part of the current share buyback program.

Baar, March 16, 2022

Completion of the 2019-2022 share buyback program

Under the share buyback program authorized by the Ordinary General Meeting of April 5, 2019, Forbo repurchased a total of 165,000 shares between March 22, 2021, and March 16, 2022, either via the second trading line of the SIX Swiss Exchange (90,165 shares) or at a fixed price (74,835 shares). This corresponds to 10% of the share capital of Forbo Holding Ltd as currently entered in the commercial register.

The share buyback program 2019-2022 is thereby completed and the Board of Directors of Forbo Holding Ltd will propose to the Ordinary General Meeting of April 1, 2022, to cancel the 165,000 repurchased shares and reduce the share capital of Forbo Holding Ltd accordingly.

MEDIA RELEASE (PDF FILE)

Forbo is a leading producer of floor coverings, building and construction adhesives, as well as power transmission and conveyor belt solutions. Forbo's linoleum floor coverings are made from natural raw materials. They are biodegradable and CO 2 -neutral (cradle to gate), without offsetting. In the manufacture of its heterogenous vinyl floor coverings, Forbo uses phthalate-free plasticizers of the latest generation. Vinyl floor coverings also contain up to 25% recycled material in relation to their total product weight. The BioBelt is a biologically degradable conveyor belt made largely from renewable, plant-based materials. The AmpMiser conveyor belt enables energy savings and therefore also a reduction in CO 2 emissions of up to 50%. For Forbo as a responsible manufacturer, the careful use of all resources for a sustainable future is a guiding principle.

Forbo employs about 5,500 people and has an international network of 25 sites with production and distribution, 6 fabrication centers, and 49 sales organizations in a total of 39 countries around the world. The company generated net sales of CHF 1,254.0 million in the 2021 business year. Forbo is headquartered in Baar in the canton of Zug, Switzerland. Forbo Holding Ltd is listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (security number 354151, ISIN CH0003541510, Bloomberg FORN SW, Reuters FORN.S).

Contact person:

This E. Schneider

Executive Chairman

Phone +41 58 787 25 49

www.forbo.com

www.forbo.com -> sustainability

End of Media Release


Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Michichi Capital Corp. (TSXV: MCCP.P) ("Michichi"), a "Capital Pool Company" under TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV" or the "Exchange") Policy 2.4 (the "CPC Policy") is pleased to provide an update further to its announcement dated August 13, 2021, regarding the proposed transaction (the "Proposed Transaction") with PsiloTec Health Solutions Inc. (rebranded as "Zylorion"), which is intended to be Michichi's "Qualifying Transaction" as such term is defined in the CPC Policy. Michichi and Zylorion remain committed to and continue to work towards completing the Proposed Transaction. It is anticipated that, upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, the Resulting Issuer will meet the Tier 2 listing requirements of the TSXV for a life sciences issuer.

Zylorion, a mental health care and psychedelic therapy focused innovator, continues to advance and execute on its strategic priorities, which in the normal course of business include periodically evaluating various financing alternatives to support the ongoing growth and development of its business. Should any such financing activity be undertaken by Zylorion prior to closing of the Proposed Transaction, the Board of Directors of both Zylorion and Michichi will jointly review same, to ensure the interests of all stakeholders are considered.

"We are supportive and pleased with Zylorion's progress and on-going efforts, and both Michichi and Zylorion remain committed to the completion of the Proposed Transaction," commented Mr. Elson McDougald, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Michichi.

"The Zylorion team continues to execute on our strategic priorities and move our business forward, and we are dedicated to working with the Board of Directors of Michichi and the regulatory authorities to continue to advance the Proposed Transaction," commented Dr. Peter Silverstone, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Zylorion.

Trading of the common shares of Michichi will remain halted in compliance with the policies of the TSXV, subject to the successful close of the Proposed Transaction and pending the review of and the satisfaction of conditions of the Exchange for resumption of trading.

About Michichi Capital Corp.

Michichi was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) on March 16, 2021, and its head office is located in Calgary, Alberta., and its registered office is located in Vancouver, B.C. The common shares of Michichi are listed for trading on the TSX-V under the stock symbol MCCP.P, and Michichi is a reporting issuer in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

About Zylorion

Zylorion is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and delivery of integrated mental health therapies to address psychological and neurological mental health conditions. Zylorion is focused on the research, development and commercialization of psychedelic-based compounds coupled with therapeutic treatment programs targeting a continuum of mental health conditions, such as MDD (major depressive disorder), TRD (treatment resistant depression), PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), general depression, anxiety disorders, and a number of addictive tendencies. Zylorion aims to leverage leading technologies to support the scalability and accessibility of its integrated therapy programs in its mission to enable those experiencing mental health challenges to thrive. Zylorion was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) on December 9, 2020.

Additional information

Upon the execution by Michichi and Zylorion of a final definitive agreement in respect of the Proposed Transaction, in accordance with the policies of the TSXV, Michichi will issue a more comprehensive press release containing additional details of such definitive agreement and the terms of the Proposed transaction. Michichi and Zylorion will also make available to the TSXV all information, including financial information, as required by the TSXV and the CPC Policy.

All information contained in this press release with respect to Michichi and Zylorion was supplied by the parties, respectively, for inclusion herein, without independent review by the other party, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

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 securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "will", "estimates", "believes", "intends", "expects" and similar expressions, which are intended to identify forward-looking statements. More particularly and without limitation, this press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Proposed Transaction, including the structure by which the Proposed Transaction is expected to be completed.

These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that Michichi has made in respect thereof as at the date of this press release regarding, among other things: Michichi; Zylorion; the Proposed Transaction; the negotiation of a definitive agreement in respect of the Proposed Transaction on satisfactory terms; the timely receipt of all required shareholder, regulatory, corporate and third party approvals, including TSXV approval, for the Proposed Transaction; and those described in Michichi's final prospectus dated June 23, 2021, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although Michichi believes the expectations and material factors and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that these expectations, factors and assumptions will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: the ability of Michichi and Zylorion to consummate the Proposed Transaction in a timely manner and on the necessary terms; the ability of Michichi and Zylorion to obtain all required shareholder, regulatory, corporate and third party approvals and to satisfy the other conditions to the consummation of the Proposed Transaction on the proposed terms and schedule; changes in general economic, competitive, business, political and social conditions, including changes in the financial markets; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; the ability to access various sources of debt and equity capital on favourable terms; changes in applicable laws and regulations and costs associated therewith; actions by governmental or regulatory authorities and costs associated therewith; technology and cyber security risks; natural catastrophes; and certain other risks detailed in Michichi's final prospectus dated June 23, 2021, a copy of which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

This list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date of this document. Michichi does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this document are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

For further information contact:

Elson J. McDougald

CEO, Michichi Capital Corp.

p: 403-998-7595

e: mcdougaldelson@gmail.com

Dr. Peter Silverstone

CEO, PsiloTec Health Solutions Inc.

p: 780-982-4001

e: peter.silverstone@psilotec.com

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 have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

As the date of this press release, Michichi has not entered into a definitive agreement with PsiloTec with respect to the Proposed Transaction, and readers are cautioned that there can be no assurances that such a definitive agreement will be executed.

Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, TSXV acceptance and, if applicable pursuant to TSXV requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Proposed Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative.

The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/117060
HAPPINESS FOR ALL, UKRAINE is the official 2022 International Day of Happiness campaign announced today by HappinessDay.org, the campaign arm of UNIDOHappiness, the official home and secretariat of the United Nations International Day of Happiness, a program of the United Nations New World Order Project launched in 2006.

Today, HAPPINESS FOR ALL, UKRAINE is announced by HappinessDay.org as the 2022 United Nations International Day of Happiness InternationalDayOfHappiness official theme, in solidarity with the people, country and government of Ukraine, against Russian President Putin's invasion, act of war, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and overall attack on Ukraine and its people, as well as, democracy, freedom, all of humanity, all of civilization, and all of us.

"HAPPINESS FOR ALL, UKRAINE is a call to all people, all nations, and all humanity, to stand with Ukraine against Russian President Putin's invasion and act of war against the people of Ukraine, the United Nations, and the 7.8 billion strong global human family. Putin's attack on Ukraine, and all of us, has led to the greatest refugee crisis in Europe since world war 2, threats of nuclear war, and has placed humanity on the edge of a cliff staring down into the abyss of an expanded 3rd world war, self destruction, and extinction all now the greatest present threat to the global happiness and wellbeing of all life on earth, as called for in UN resolutions 66281: International Day of Happiness, 65309: Happiness Toward a Holistic Approach to Development, and the UN High Level Meeting On Happiness and Wellbeing: Defining A New Economic Paradigm," said United Nations International Day of Happiness Founder Jayme Illien.

To celebrate the HAPPINESS FOR ALL, UKRAINE 2022 United Nations International Day of Happiness, HappinessDay.org is calling on all people, all nations, and all humanity, to honor and celebrate the bravery and resilience of the people of Ukraine leading the fight on the front lines for democracy, freedom, and the happiness and wellbeing of all humankind, for all of us, with the annual 10 steps to global happiness, ten easy steps any individual, organization, or country, can take to celebrate the International Day Of Happiness and World Happiness Week, while also standing with Ukraine and advancing the global happiness of all life on earth by 2050, when the United Nations forecasts global population to reach ten billion. TenBillionHappyBy2050

2022 HAPPINESS FOR ALL, UKRAINE Ten Steps to global happiness are as follows:

Tell Everyone: Tell everyone about the international day of happiness and Russian President Putin's war against democracy, freedom, Ukraine, the United Nations, all of humanity, all of civilization, and all of us. Do what makes you happy: Do what makes you happy on this day and every day, and especially if you are a refugee from Ukraine or any country, or still in Ukraine fighting on the front lines for democracy, freedom, and happiness for all. As anyone in war knows, humor, laughter, and meditation are some of the best ways to break the anxiety of conflict. Give and Spread Happiness to others: Give and spread happiness to others, especially refugees displaced and/or fleeing any country including Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Myanmar, Venezuela, DR Congo, and more. Attend a World Happiness Week event such as the 10th World Happiness Report launch, and World Happiness Week by the World Happiness foundation. Celebrate Your Own Happiness Day Event Let The World Know! Share What Makes You Happy On Social Media, as well as information about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and others worldwide so people around the world, and especially in Russia know the truth. Promote The United Nations "Happiness Resolutions" UN 65 309, and UN 66 281 Advance The United Nations Global Goals For Sustainable Development Connect with Mother Earth, Enjoy Nature, And The Environment Spread And Adopt Happytalism As A New Economic, Political, and Human Development System.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005962/en/

Contacts:

press@happinessday.org

Sydney Kyle, Media Communications
Wildlife conservation workers rescue Asian elephant "Longlong" in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province in July of 2021.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua)

Xu Yunfeng, a wildlife conservation worker, carries out a trial of wild exercising on Asian elephant "Longlong" in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Xu Yunfeng, a wildlife conservation worker, prepares food for Asian elephant "Longlong" at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Wildlife conservation workers measure the tail of Asian elephant "Longlong" at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Xu Yunfeng, a wildlife conservation worker, checks the leg of Asian elephant "Longlong" in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Xu Yunfeng, a wildlife conservation worker, leads Asian elephant "Longlong" back after a trial of wild exercising in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)

Xu Yunfeng, a wildlife conservation worker, feeds Asian elephant "Longlong" at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Cao Mengyao)

Wildlife conservation workers measure the ear of Asian elephant "Longlong" at the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, March 15, 2022.

A baby elephant in Xishuangbanna was abandoned by its herd only about two months after its birth due to severe injuries of its leg in July of 2021.

The elephant was rescued and sent to the Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center in Xishuangbanna for treatment and was named "Longlong". Under the care of wildlife conservation workers, "Longlong" has recovered health.

The Asian Elephant Breeding and Rescue Center has successfully rescued more than 20 wild Asian elephants since its establishment in 2008. (Xinhua/Chen Xinbo)
Regulatory News:

Gecina (Paris:GFC):

The Universal Registration Document for 2021 was filed with the French securities regulator (Autorite des marches financiers, AMF) on March 16, 2022.

It may be consulted on or downloaded from the following internet sites:

Gecina (www.gecina.fr), in the section Investors Publications and press releases Financial reports and universal registration documents;

- AMF (www.amf-france.org).

It is also available free of charge to the public on request:

by mail: Gecina 16, rue des Capucines, 75002 Paris, France;

- by email: actionnaire@gecina.fr;

- by telephone: 0 800 800 976 (toll-free number only available in France).

The following documents are included in the Universal Registration Document:

the annual financial report for 2021;

- the 2021 integrated report

- the Board of Directors' report on corporate governance;

- the statutory auditors' reports;

- information on the statutory auditors' fees;

- the non-financial performance statement.

About Gecina

As a specialist for centrality and uses, Gecina operates innovative and sustainable living spaces. The Group owns, manages and develops Europe's leading office portfolio, with over 97% located in the Paris Region, and a portfolio of residential assets and student residences, with over 9,000 apartments. These portfolios are valued at 20.1 billion euros at end-2021.

Gecina has firmly established its focus on innovation and its human approach at the heart of its strategy to create value and deliver on its purpose: "Empowering shared human experiences at the heart of our sustainable spaces". For our 100,000 clients, this ambition is supported by our client-centric brand YouFirst. It is also positioned at the heart of UtilesEnsemble, our program setting out our solidarity-based commitments to the environment, to people and to the quality of life in cities.

Gecina is a French real estate investment trust (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris, and is part of the SBF 120, CAC Next 20, CAC Large 60 and Euronext 100 indices. Gecina is also recognized as one of the top-performing companies in its industry by leading sustainability benchmarks and rankings (GRESB, Sustainalytics, MSCI, ISS ESG and CDP).

gecina.fr

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005968/en/

Contacts:

GECINA

Financial communications

Samuel Henry-Diesbach

Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 52 22

samuelhenry-diesbach@gecina.fr

Virginie Sterling

Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 48

virginiesterling@gecina.fr

Press relations

Julien Landfried

Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 65 74

julienlandfried@gecina.fr

Armelle Miclo

Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 51 98

armellemiclo@gecina.fr
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE/ March 16, 2022 / The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews Leucrotta Exploration, West Island Brands, Sirios Resources, and Eloro Resources on their latest news.

The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.

Leucrotta Exploration (TSXV:LXE) announces 2021 year-end reserves

Leucrotta Exploration (LXE) has announced its 2021 year-end reserves as independently evaluated by GLJ Ltd. effective December 31, 2021. Highlights include a 43 per cent increase in total proved reserves and a $261 million increase in net asset value. President & CEO Rob Zakresky sat down with Dave Jackson to discuss the news.

For the full interview with Rob Zakresky and to learn more about Leucrotta's news, click here.

West Island Brands (CSE:WIB) announces first shipment of OUEST brand cannabis to the Ontario Cannabis Store

West Island Brands (WIB) subsidiary, West Island Culture, has delivered its first shipment of OUESTTM brand cannabis to the Ontario Cannabis Store. The Ontario Cannabis Store has approved the listing of West Island's Platinum Cake and Grandpa's Stash strains. CEO Boris Ziger sat down with Dave Jackson to discuss the news.

For the full interview with Boris Ziger and to learn more about West Island Brands' news, click here.

Sirios Resources (TSXV:SOI) shares the final set of assay results from the Cheechoo Gold Project

Sirios Resources (SOI) has released the final set of assay results from the drilling program on the Cheechoo Gold Project. The Cheechoo gold property, wholly-owned by Sirios, is located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec. Founder & CEO Dominique Doucet sat down with Dave Jackson to highlight the results.

For the full interview with Dominique Doucet and to learn more about Sirios' news, click here.

Eloro Resources (TSXV:ELO) reports latest high-grade assays from Bolivia

Eloro (ELO) has intersected up to 599.26 g/t silver equivalent from its Iska Iska Project. The recent drilling intersected major new extensions of the Santa Barbara mineralized zone. Bill Pearson, Executive VP of Exploration, spoke with Dave Jackson about the encouraging results.

For the full interview with Bill Pearson and to learn more about Eloro Resources' results, click here.

Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald.

About The Market Herald

The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.

DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

CONTACT:

The Market Herald

Brianna Anthony

brianna.anthony@themarketherald.ca

themarketherald.ca

SOURCE: The Market Herald

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693393/The-Power-Play-by-The-Market-Herald-Releases-Interviews-With-Leucrotta-Exploration-West-Island-Brands-Sirios-Resources-and-Eloro-Resources
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 14, 2022) - Sugarbud Craft Growers Corp. (TSXV: SUGR), a leading Canadian craft cannabis producer, will be participating in the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, which will take place on April 20 and April 21 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

John Kondrosky, President and CEO will be speaking at 3:00pm ET on April 21st. Interested parties can register to attend here.

Members of the Sugarbud Craft Growers Corp. management will also be holding one-on-one investor meetings throughout the day.

"Why head out West when you can attend the biggest cannabis event to hit the East Coast? The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference will bring more than 1,000 of the top movers and shakers in the cannabis industry to your backyard," said Chief Zinger Jason Raznick. "We've kept the pedal to the metal during COVID-19 and continue to be very excited to shine the spotlight on the cannabis industry. This conference will be the best place to raise money, create partnerships, and expand media visibility for all involved."

To register and access please follow this link.

About Sugarbud Craft Growers Corp.

Sugarbud is a leading consumer-driven craft cannabis company focused on the cultivation and production of superior, select-batch, craft cannabis products. The Sugarbud Craft Cannabis Collection offers consumers "Hand-Crafted Cannabis for a New Era." We strive to define the intersection of product craftsmanship, quality, and value for consumers in the Canadian craft cannabis space.Our vision and mission are to become a trusted and leading consumer brand renowned for providing exceptional high-quality craft cannabis products to legal markets by delighting the most discerning of cannabis consumers. Sugarbud Craft Cannabis products are currently available to adult recreational consumers in the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and nationally to registered medical patients through MendoCannabis.ca. We Take Pride. We Take Our Time.Experience The Difference.

About The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference

The premier gathering of cannabis entrepreneurs and investors in North America is returning to Miami.

The next iteration of the famed Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference will gather industry insiders and investors from around the world once again on April 20 and 21 in Miami. Attendees can expect a two full days of keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, networking, company presentations, celebrity appearances, and more.

The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference is guaranteed to offer participants all the benefits of an immersive and robust in-person conference from any remote location. The conference will feature an interactive forum of live and on-demand presentations from top CEOs, investors and leaders in the cannabis space.

INVESTOR CONTACT

Chris Moulson

7783888700

chrism@sugarbud.ca

MEDIA CONTACT

John Kondrosky

6044997847

johnk@sugarbud.ca
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Cassiar Gold Corp. (TSXV: GLDC) (OTCQX: CGLCF) (the "Company") is pleased to release the results of its Annual General Meeting of shareholders held on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 (the "Meeting").

A total of 20,908,267 common shares were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting, representing 32.74% of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares. All directors nominated as listed in the Management Information Circular dated February 11, 2022, were re-elected, as shown in the following table below:

Nominee Votes For % Votes For Votes Withheld % Votes Withheld Marco Roque 16,727,424 99.92% 13,301 0.08% Stephen Letwin 16,395,592 97.94% 345,133 2.06% Christopher Stewart 16,215,424 96.86% 525,301 3.14% Stephen Robertson 16,715,424 99.85% 25,301 0.15% Wenhong Jin 14,170,472 84.65% 2,570,253 15.35% Michael Wood 16,710,425 99.82% 30,300 0.18%

At the Meeting, the shareholders of the Company also approved:

the appointment of MNP LLP, Chartered Accountants, as the auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and to authorize the directors to fix their remuneration; and

the Company's Rolling Share Option Plan, Share Unit Plan, Share Unit Grants and Deferred Share Unit Grant as described in the information circular dated February 11, 2022.

Details of votes on all matters of business considered at the Meeting are available in the Company's report of voting results on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

About Cassiar Gold Corp.

Cassiar Gold Corp. is a Canadian gold exploration company holding a 100% interest in its flagship Cassiar Gold Property located in British Columbia, Canada. The Cassiar Gold property spans 590 km2 and consists of two main project areas: Cassiar North, which hosts a NI 43-101-compliant inferred resource estimate of 1Moz at 1.43 g/t Au (cutoff grade of 0.7 g/t) known as the as the Taurus Deposit (see National Instrument 43-101 Technical report on the Cassiar Gold property, amended Nov. 12, 2019, by S. Zelligan, posted to SEDAR); and Cassiar South which hosts numerous gold showings, historical workings, and exploration prospects. Historical underground mines in the Cassiar South area have yielded over 315,000 oz of Au at grades of between 10 and 25 g/t Au (BC Minfile), underscoring the high potential for further discovery and expansion of bonanza-grade orogenic gold veins.

The Company also holds a 100% interest in the Sheep Creek gold camp located near Salmo, BC. The Sheep Creek gold district ranks as the third largest past-producing orogenic gold district in BC with historical gold production of 742,000 ounces gold at an average grade of 14.7 g/t gold from 1900 to 1951. Minimal exploration work has been conducted since the 1950s.

Cassiar Gold acknowledges, respects, and supports the rights of Traditional First Nations in the lands and communities where we operate.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Cassiar Gold Corp.

Shirley Anthony

VP Investor Relations & Communications

1-778-999-2771

Shirley@cassiargold.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including those describing Cassiar Gold Corp.'s future plans and the expectations of management that a stated result or condition will occur. Any statement addressing future events or conditions necessarily involves inherent risk and uncertainty. Actual results can differ materially from those anticipated by management at the time of writing due to many factors, the majority of which are beyond the control of Cassiar Gold Corp. and its management. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining, directly or indirectly, to the following: regulatory conditions and the Company's ability to receive permits and regulatory approvals, mineral resource estimates and the assumptions underlying such estimates, the Company's plans for exploration and development, and economic factors, business and operations strategies. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to be materially different from expectations. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ, there is no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that actual results will not vary materially from such statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements except as expressly required by applicable securities laws. 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.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/117100
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (TSXV: LEO) (OTCQB: LCGMF) ("Lion CG" or the "Company") issues an update to prior news releases dated October 21, 2021 and January 31, 2022 to confirm the final terms of its previously announced option agreement (the "Agreement") with Houston Minerals Ltd. to acquire a 100% interest in the Chaco Bear Property and the Ashton Property located in British Columbia, Canada (collectively, the "Properties").

The term of the Agreement has been extended from a four year period to a ten year period, and the annual advance royalty payments in the amounts of C$250,000 on the Chaco Bear Property and C$150,000 on the Ashton Property are to be paid starting on the fifth year from closing through to the ninth year, rather than in the fourth and fifth year only. All other terms, as disclosed in the news release dated October 21, 2021 are unchanged.

The Properties are subject to a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty (the "NSR"), which may be bought-down as follows: (a) for the Chaco Bear Property, 1.5% NSR may be bought down in consideration for a cash payment of C$6,000,000 on or before the date that the Company publicly files a National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report that qualifies as a "feasibility study" (the "Feasibility Date") in respect of the Chaco Bear Property, or a cash payment of $12,000,000 after the Feasibility Date in respect of the Chaco Bear Property; and (b) for the Ashton Property, 1.5% NSR may be bought down in consideration for a cash payment of $3,000,000 on or before the Feasibility Date in respect of the Ashton Property, or a cash payment of $6,000,000 after the Feasibility Date in respect of the Ashton Property.

The Chaco Bear Property is located in northern British Columbia, within the Stikine Terrane and hosted in similar rock formations as the Eskay Creek deposit, a precious metals volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia that was in production from 1994 to 2008.

The Ashton Property is located within the Spences Bridge Group, a narrow, northwest-trending belt of early cretaceous volcanic rocks covering nearly 3,200 square kilometers from Princeton to Lillooet in British Columbia that are highly prospective for epithermal style gold mineralization.

About Lion CG

Lion Copper and Gold Corp. is a Canadian-based company advancing its flagship MacArthur Copper Project in Mason Valley, Nevada, in addition to advancing its exploration projects including the Chaco Bear and Ashton properties in highly prospective regions in British Columbia, Canada, and the Blue Copper Project in Montana, USA.

Further information can be found at www.lioncg.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Stephen Goodman

President

For more information, please contact

Karen Robertson

Corporate Communications

778-898-0057

Email: info@lioncg.com

Website: www.lioncg.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/117103


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Tesla Inc. (TSLA) has reportedly decided to stop its production on Wednesday and Thursday at its Shanghai-based facility Gigafactory 3.



According to Reuters, the company did not give a reason for the pause, experts believe that it is related to the recent outbreak of covid cases in the country.



The factory stays open 24 hours and produces Tesla Model 3 sedans and Model Y crossover SUVs. China is currently in the middle of a massive COVID outbreak, the largest since the first wave, causing multiple companies and industries to shut down their operations across the country.



Gigafactory 3 was one of the biggest production facilities of the company that was responsible for making cars for China, Japan and Germany. According to the China Passenger Car Association, the factory has produced a massive 56,515 cars in February alone which means that every day, roughly 2,018 evs make it through the doors of the factory.



The company has kept the lips pursed regarding the issue and not specified whether this halt creates a supply gap in any other market. Shanghai governance has asked the citizens to stay indoors for a period of 48 hours initially which can also extend to 14 days if the situation is not contained.



The company is communicating with the suppliers to set up a 'closed-loop management' process where a certain number of employees live inside the facility, thus, not hampering the flow. Another big tech company, Apple Inc. (AAPL) is also doing the same thing with its suppliers Foxconn.







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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 16, 2022) - Solution Financial Inc. (TSX: SFI) (OTCQX: SLNFF) (the "Company") a leading provider of luxury automotive and yacht leasing in Canada, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ending January 31, 2022.

Earnings Highlights for the Quarter:

Net income for the quarter increased to $226,724 from $94,133, an increase of 140% over the prior comparative quarter.

Adjusted net income (1) increased to $308,751 from $267,451, an increase of 15% over the prior comparative quarter.

increased to $308,751 from $267,451, an increase of 15% over the prior comparative quarter. Net revenue increased 36% over the prior comparative quarter to $5,287,514.

Total operating and finance lease portfolio decreased moderately to $27,663,008.

"Business remained very consistent through our first quarter of 2022," began Bryan Pang, Solution's CEO. "Our dealership partners saw the arrival of some new vehicles that have been backlogged for some time due to the COVID microprocessor supply challenges. These arrivals supported new lease originations which were relatively consistent during the quarter. In addition, high demand for quality end-of-lease vehicles lead to higher vehicle sales. Although we are happy with our continued results, we are concerned about continued challenges with new vehicle releases out of Germany where the war in Ukraine is causing further supply chain issues. The timing of these issues remains unclear, but we are all certainly hoping for a speedy resolution to this conflict. To support the courageous people of Ukraine, we donated to the Canadian Red Cross on behalf of our employees, customers and shareholders," concluded Bryan.

Financial Results

Solution is reporting net income of $226,724, or $0.003, per share for the quarter ending January 31, 2022. This compares to net income of $94,133 or $0.001 per share for the quarter ending January 31, 2021.

Adjusted net income, which is more reflective of actual cash earnings, for the quarter ending January 31, 2022, was $308,751(1) or $0.004 per share compared to $267,451 or $0.003 per share for the quarter ending January 31, 2021. Adjusted Net Income excludes the non-cash accretion expense related to the convertible debentures and right of use assets of $25,811, income tax provision of $45,000 and amortization expense of $11,216.

Solution's operating cash flow for the quarter ending January 31, 2022 increased moderately to $1,420,812 compared to $1,403,042 during the first quarter of 2021.

Lease Portfolio

At January 31, 2022, Solution had 326 vehicles in its lease portfolio, a net increase of 39 vehicles amounting to $4.7 million of value during the quarter offset by the sale of 55 existing vehicles in the Company's lease portfolio to bring the total lease portfolio to $27.7 million.

At January 31, 2022, the average remaining lease term for the portfolio was 1.8 years, weighted by net book value for each vehicle. At January 31, 2022, Solutions' 326 leases were generating annualized gross rental and lease revenue of approximately $8.2 million.

About Solution

Solution Financial Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Solution specializes in sourcing and leasing luxury and ultra luxury vehicles, yachts, and other limited-edition assets that tend to hold their value over time. The company pioneered an innovative leasing program that has helped make Metro Vancouver the luxury car capital of North America. Solution utilizes a unique leasing model that contains elements of both a rental and loan agreement that gives consumers more flexibility to upgrade or downgrade their vehicles more quickly than traditional automobile leases. This leasing alternative has proven extremely popular with affluent immigrants, international students, and business owners who may have limited credit histories in Canada or prefer more flexible vehicle ownership options.

Note 1- Non-IFRS Financial Metrics

Solution provides all financial information in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with IFRS, we are also providing with this press release, certain non-IFRS financial measures, including Adjusted Net Income. In calculating these non-IFRS financial measures, we have excluded certain transactions that are not necessarily indicative of our ongoing operations or do not impact cash flows. These measures are not recognized measures under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. These measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. This information includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning our objectives, our strategies to achieve those objectives, as well as statements made with respect to management's beliefs, plans, estimates, projections and intentions, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "outlook", "objective", "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "should", "plans" or "continue", or similar expressions suggesting future outcomes or events. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Although forward-looking information contained in this press release is based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with this forward-looking information. Certain statements included in this press release may be considered a "financial outlook" for purposes of applicable Canadian securities laws, and as such the financial outlook may not be appropriate for purposes other than this press release.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release is made as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as representing Solution's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Except as required by applicable law, management and Solution's Board of Directors undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For further information please contact Sean Hodgins at (778) 318-1514.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

(signed) "Bryan Pang"

Brian Pang

President, CEO and Director

Neither TSX 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.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/117076
The Deadline for Filing the 1040 Individual Income Tax Return is April 15, 2022

HERNDON, VA / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Tax2efile is pleased to announce that taxpayers can now efile Form 1040 on their safe and secure website.

To learn more about the IRS Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Return and how to go about e-filing it at Tax2efile, please visit https://www.tax2efile.com/efile-1040-form

As a company spokesperson noted, the deadline for filing taxes, including the IRS Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Return, is April 15, 2022. United States residents are required to file the 1040 Form for the previous year.

Whether taxpayers prefer to file their taxes themselves, or get help from from professionals on how to properly fill out Form 1040, the friendly and experienced team at Tax2efile is ready and able to assist.

Tax2efile helps in e-filing personal federal income tax returns for United States residents for the filing status Single.

"We understand the importance of filing tax returns and the complexities it entails. Our approach to your tax-filing needs is top-class," the spokesperson noted, adding that at Tax2efile, they incorporate years of experience with modern tax-filing resources to offer fast and rewarding services.

"We will help to explain the various requirements, fields, and other essential aspects of the form."

As an accredited and experienced tax-filing firm, Tax2efile is also happy to help taxpayers get a refund whenever possible. Prior to efiling Form 1040, they will make sure everything is properly filled out and that the taxpayer is getting the maximum amount of money back.

Tax2efile also understands that missing the deadline to efile Form 1040 involves penalties assessed by the IRS. This is why the team is devoted to filing the form in a timely manner.

Taxpayers who work with Tax2efile will also have access to unlimited customer support regarding their filing. People can reach out to Tax2efile at any time to check on the progress of their tax filing or to set up an appointment.

"We have the resources to help you handle all your tax filing needs, and we have integrity and understand the confidentiality of you tax details," the spokesperson noted.

About Tax2efile

Tax2efile offers an IRS approved online tax filing service to help individuals and businesses file their federal tax returns and extensions. With Tax2efile, taxpayers are able to file their taxes electronically without hassle and are expedited through the taxing process. For more information, please visit https://www.tax2efile.com/efile-1040-form

Media Contact

Wilfredo Reyes

support@tax2efile.com

703-229-0326

SOURCE: Tax2efile

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693430/Taxpayers-Can-Now-Efile-Form-1040-at-Tax2efile
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / EonX Technologies Inc. (CSE:EONX), ("EonX" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement with Mastercard Asia Pacific Pte Ltd ("Mastercard") to support the development of its account-to-account capabilities in Australia.

Pay by Account powered by Mastercard will support local Australian banking and fintech partners in providing a safer, simpler, smarter way to make, receive and manage everyday payments using a bank account. The solution will utilize the country's new open banking framework combined with Mastercard's tokenisation, cyber and anti-fraud technology - enabling partners to provide a more streamlined and secure alternative to traditional account-to-account payment methods.

President & Group CEO of EonX Technologies Inc. Andrew Kallen says, "We are honored to be expanding on our partnership with Mastercard and are truly excited to work with the team on these game changing capabilities. This solution will redefine the real-time payments landscape whilst offering a high level of consumer confidence with bank transfers as a safe and trusted payment channel".

EonX also confirms the appointment of award-winning fintech leader Kristofer Rogers, as CEO of the group's Australian subsidiary, EonX Services Pty Ltd. Rogers, who has over 18 years' experience, has led financial technology companies such as Zepto (formerly Split Payments) through their growth stage, to his most recent success at Mambu, the $5 billion-valued core banking platform giant. Kris was named CEO Magazine's Start-Up Executive of the Year in 2019.

Kallen says "Kris brings unrivalled experience to the table which will accelerate our technology development and increase our delivery capabilities globally. As EonX continues to secure some major client wins, this is the perfect time to bring in someone of Kris' calibre to lead and grow the Australian team, whilst I continue to focus on our international market expansion and M&A opportunities".

On his appointment, Rogers says "I've been watching the EonX journey for some time and have been impressed with their ability to strategically and effectively deliver large scale programs for major enterprize clients. Their strong culture of innovation has delivered what I think are the best digital wallet and loyalty solutions in market today".

On the future, Rogers commented, "I am so excited to lead the Australian team through a period of strong growth and also focus on the EonX payments division, where there are some truly ground-breaking projects to come in 2022 and beyond".

About EONX

EonX is a financial technology company powering the next generation of eWallet, Payments & Loyalty platforms which enable business, consumers and employees to better engage and transact in today's digital world.

On behalf of the board of directors of

EONX TECHNOLOGIES INC.

"Andrew Kallen"

President & Group CEO

For more information about EonX please contact:

Andrew Kallen

President & Group CEO

EONX Technologies Inc.

Telephone: +18036767776

Email:investors@eonx.com

Website: www.eonx.com

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties as described in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators. 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. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

SOURCE: EonX Technologies Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693400/EonX-Technologies-Inc-Signs-Agreement-with-Mastercard-to-Support-Development-of-Local-Pay-by-Account-Solution-and-Appoints-New-CEO-in-Australia
LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian artist Andrei Molodkin has produced a portrait of Vladimir Putin filled with Ukrainian blood as a protest against the invasion of Ukraine. The sculpture has been made in collaboration with his Ukrainian friends and co-workers, based with him at The Foundry in France, who donated their blood before returning to their home country to fight. Since, their wives and children have fled the war and are living with Molodkin at The Foundry.

An eight metre-high projection of 'Putin Filled with Ukrainian Blood' was installed briefly as an icon at the altar of a church in central London on Wednesday 16 March.

Texting from outside Lviv, Oleksandr Turchynets, who donated his blood said - "I had to return to protect my homeland. I gave my blood before I came to fight to show whose blood is being spilt at the hands of one man."

Andrei Molodkin said: "I created this work as an act of solidarity between the Russian and Ukrainian people. It's the dream of any criminal regime to silence discussion. It's time for us to use art to send a clear message about war and who Putin really is."

Notorious for his use of blood and oil, Molodkin has dedicated his life to deconstructing broken concepts of Democracy, Government and Imperialism. As a result, he has been subject to extensive censorship. In 2009 Molodkin represented Russia at the 53rd Venice Biennale with 'Le Rouge et Le Noir', consisting of two figures of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, filled with the blood of Russian soldiers and Chechen oil. Speaking out about the Russian regime and oil politics, a scandal unfolded with the curator censoring the work the night before the public opening and prohibiting Molodkin from communicating with the press.

Andrei Molodkin (b. 1966) grew up in northern Russia and served in the Soviet Army convoying missiles through Siberia. His artistic practice is distinctive for his approach to material, almost exclusively working in human blood, crude oil, steel and biro. His installation 'Liquid Modernity', 2009 entered the Tate Collection, UK in 2012. Since 2014, Molodkin has been reconstructing The Foundry, a production site for the radical underground. In 2019 Molodkin collaborated with Drill rappers Skengdo & AM and Drillminister on the track 'Political Drills' fighting for freedom of expression.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1768210/Andrei_Molodkin.jpg
UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths speaks at a Security Council meeting on Yemen at the UN headquarters in New York, on March 15, 2022. Martin Griffiths on Tuesday warned against inertia and fatigue on the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. (Eskinder Debebe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths on Tuesday warned against inertia and fatigue on the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen.

After more than seven years of war, Yemen is becoming what humanitarians often refer to as a "chronic emergency," he told the Security Council in a briefing. "And, as aid workers know, there are grave risks in chronic emergencies, namely inertia and fatigue. We have to avoid giving in to those forces."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, together with the president of Switzerland and the foreign minister of Sweden, will host a high-level pledging event for Yemen on Wednesday. Aid agencies are seeking nearly 4.3 billion U.S. dollars to help more than 17 million people across Yemen for this year, said Griffiths.

Yemen suffers globally from the terrible statistic that it has the highest rate of the percentage of its overall population in need. New nationwide assessments done by humanitarians in Yemen confirm that 23.4 million people now need some form of assistance. That is three-quarters of the overall population, he said.

Among them, 19 million will go hungry, and that is an increase of almost 20 percent since last year. More than 160,000 of these people will face famine-like conditions, he said.

Despite many calls for dialogue and a cease-fire, hostilities persist along nearly 50 front lines. Last year, hostilities killed or injured more than 2,500 civilians and forced nearly 300,000 people to flee their homes, bringing the number of internally displaced to 4.3 million people, said Griffiths.

The war has also accelerated Yemen's economic problems, pushing more families into destitution. This collapse is among the largest drivers of humanitarian needs, he said.

Yemen relies on commercial imports for about 90 percent of its food and nearly all its fuel and other essential goods. Many of these goods could soon be much harder to obtain and at a greater cost. About a third of Yemen's wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine, where the current conflict may restrict supply and push up food prices, he warned.

Fuel imports have also fallen sharply through Hodeidah port. Fuel volumes last month were less than half the average. This drop is contributing to fuel shortages and price rises, which are likely to become even more acute as the energy prices globally continue to rise, he said.

All this means that Yemen's import-dependent economy, because of events that have nothing to do with Yemen, is even more fragile now than just a few weeks ago. The Yemeni economy needs the support of the international community, including through foreign exchange injections and other measures, as well as to avoid risking further damage, he said.

Two-thirds of major UN programs have already scaled down or closed in recent months for lack of money, including deep cuts to core services like food aid, water, health care and relief for people fleeing the violence in Marib and elsewhere, said Griffiths.

"So, if we have one message here today, if I have one message today for the world, it is this: Don't stop now. The UN and its members must keep working together to help the millions of Yemenis who urgently need it and who deserve it. They must show that being out of the headlines does not mean being left behind," he said. 
RICHMOND, ON / ACCESSWIRE / March 16, 2022 / Helix BioPharma Corp. (TSX:HBP), (" Helix " or the " Company "), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing unique therapies in the field of immuno-oncology based on its proprietary technological platform DOS47, today announced fiscal 2022 second quarter results for the period ending January 31, 2022.

OVERVIEW

The Company reported a net loss and total comprehensive loss of $2,019,000 and 3,832,000 for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2021. For the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2021, net loss and total comprehensive loss totalled $2,492,000 and $2,714,000, respectively. The net loss and total comprehensive loss for the three-month period ending January 31, 2021 included a net loss of $626,000 and for the six-month period ending January 31, 2021 a net gain of $1,536,000 as a result of the loss of control of a subsidiary and ultimately, a final tranche disposition on December 22, 2020 for gross proceeds of $2,308,000.

On March 11, 2022, the Company announced the closing of a private placement for gross proceeds of $1,001,000 from the issuance of 3,850,000 common share at a price of $0.26 per common share. In addition, the Company also announced that it has applied to the Toronto Stock Exchange (the " TSX ") to introduce an early warrant exercise incentive program (the " Incentive Program ") to temporarily reduce the exercise price of its issued and outstanding common share purchase warrants that are not held by insiders of the Company, or non-arm's length parties, including all such warrants expiring on March 31, 2022 to May 12, 2026, from their current respective exercise prices to a reduced exercise price of $0.26 up until April 28, 2022. The implementation of the Incentive Program is subject to the approval of the TSX.

Earlier today, the Company also announced the unexpected, sudden, passing of its Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, Dr. Slawomir Majewski. The Board is currently considering the Company's options with respect to the potential appointment of one or more individuals to assume Dr. Majewski's responsibilities as Interim Chief Executive Officer in the near term. The Board also continues the process of identifying a permanent candidate for the position of Chief Executive Officer.

Clinical development

Phase I combination therapy study in lung cancer (LDOS001): The Company completed the LDOS001 Phase I LDOS-47 pemetrexed/carboplatin combination study clinical report and expects to notify the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and update the results into the www.clinicaltrials.gov portal by the end of April 2022.

Phase II combination therapy trial in lung cancer (LDOS003): The recent escalation of war in Ukraine, where the Company has enrolled virtually all its patients in this clinical study, has complicated matters. It is currently uncertain as to when the clinical study reports will be completed, if at all, due to the potential inability to access or verify certain key data.

The Company ceased patient enrolment into the trial in 2020 and sites were notified to conclude final patient survival follow-up visits.

As previously announced, the Company will not be advancing the randomized portion of the study without third-party partner funding. To date, no third-party partner has been identified.

The Company continues to be in discussion with the CRO over billings concerning the LDOS003 Phase I LDOS-47 vinorelbine/cisplatin combination study.

Phase Ib/II combination trial in pancreatic cancer (LDSOS006): On March 3, 2022, the Company submitted an additional protocol amendment, updating exclusion criteria to further restrict patients with cardiac medical histories that would put them at higher risk of adverse events from doxorubicin treatment, which is a chemotherapy agent with known cardiotoxicities. The clinical study has completed Cohort 1 and will open Cohort 2 in April 2022, as soon as regulatory and local ethics approval are received.

Clinical drug product strategic review: In August 20221, the Company retained the services of Cello Healthcare (Cello"), a highly experienced oncology consultancy group, to assess the Company's drug product candidate with a focus on identifying value propositions and positioning strategies that would enable clinical adoption of L-DOS47, including broad clinical development key opinion leader input on the positioning of possible combination therapies and the prioritization of current and/or any additional clinical indications.

Interviews conducted by Cello with key opinion leaders since its engagement with the Company helped validate the utility of certain of the clinical work completed by Helix to date and has assisted the Company identify additional opportunities to further strengthen and de-risk the Company's clinical drug candidate program, including optimal selection of patients for trials (stratification) based on objective biomarkers, among other criteria. The Company anticipates that these activities may assist to initiate dialogue with potential market participants in cancer treatment, and that the additional preclinical data obtained could further enhance the Company's clinical program design.

Research and development

Research and development expense for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2022, totalled $1,506,000 and $2,767,000, respectively, as compared to $1,086,000 and $2,170,000 respectively for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2021, respectively.

Components of research and development expenses: For the three-month For the six-month

periods ended January 31 periods ended January 31

2022 2021 2022 2021









Research and development programs, excluding below items $ 767,000 $ 705,000 $ 1,586,000 $ 1,394,000 Salaries and benefits $ 290,000 $ 299,000 $ 554,000 $ 613,000 Consultants $ 258,000 $ 32,000 $ 421,000 $ 32,000 Stock-based compensation expense $ 188,000 $ 7,000 $ 200,000 $ 11,000 Amortization of property, plant and equipment $ 3,000 $ 17,000 $ 6,000 $ 34,000 Amortization of right of use assets $ 26,000 $ 58,000 Research and development investment tax credits $ 28,000

$ 1,506,000 $ 1,086,000 $ 2,767,000 $ 2,170,000



Research and development expenditures for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2022, when compared to the three and six-month period ended January 31, 2021, were higher by $420,000 and $597,000, respectively. The increases in spend are mainly the result of higher expenditures associated with research and development consulting services and stock-based compensation expense of stock options granted to consultants. When compared to the six-month period ended January 31, 2021, the Company also incurred increased contract manufacturing expenses of $185,000 on a new production lot of Polysorbate 80 and stability/assay activity on repolished old drug substance and lyophilization of new drug product.

The Company hired biotechnology consultants to assess the Company's drug product candidate with a focus on identifying value propositions and positioning strategies that would enable clinical adoption of L-DOS47. See " Overview " above for additional information.

Operating, general and administration

Operating, general and administration expenses for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2022, totalled $420,000 and $855,000 respectively (2021 - $818,000 and $2,121,000).

Components of operating, general and administration expenses for the three-month periods ended October 31:









For the three-month For the six-month

periods ended January 31 periods ended January 31

2022 2021 2022 2021









Operating, general and administration (excluding below items) $ 203,000 $ 537,000 $ 425,000 $ 931,000 Salaries and benefits $ 78,000 $ 105,000 $ 176,000 $ 212,000 Director fees $ 81,000 $ 57,000 $ 120,000 $ 119,000 Investor relations $ 23,000 $ 343,000 Stock-based compensation $ 58,000 $ 95,000 $ 110,000 $ 515,000 Amortization of property, plant and equipment $ 1,000 $ 1,000 $ 1,000

$ 420,000 $ 818,000 $ 855,000 $ 2,121,000



Operating, general and administration expenditures for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2022, when compared to the three and six-month period ended January 31, 2021, were lower by $398,000 and $1,266,000, respectively.

The decreases in spend are mainly the result of expenses incurred in the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2021 which were not incurred in the current three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2022 associated with various third-party advisory services such as legal, accounting and investment banking related to the Company's attempt to raise additional capital as part of a transaction to list its common shares on a U.S. stock exchange, the termination of an investor relations agreement with ACM Alpha Consulting Management EST and stock-based compensation expenses of stock options granted to directors.

The Company's Statements of Financial Position as at January 31, 2022 and July 31, 2021 in addition to the Statements of Net Loss and Comprehensive Loss for the three and six-month periods ended January 31, 2022 and 2021 are summarized below:

Statements of Financial Position



31-Jan-22 31-Jul-21





Current assets:



Cash $ 471,000 $ 3,565,000 Accounts receivable $ 319,000 $ 353,000 Prepaids $ 112,000 $ 100,000

$ 902,000 $ 4,018,000 Non current assets Property, plant & equipment $ 42,000 $ 47,000

Total assets $ 944,000 $ 4,065,000

Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 1,579,000 $ 1,466,000 Accrued liabilities $ 493,000 $ 380,000 Convertible note payable $ 1,940,000 $ 2,028,000

$ 4,012,000 $ 3,874,000 Non-current liabilities: Convertible note payable $ 1,024,000 $ 1,584,000 Total Liabilities $ 5,036,000 $ 5,458,000

Shareholders' deficiency $ -4,092,000 $ -1,393,000 Total liabilities & shareholders' deficiency $ 944,000 $ 4,065,000



Statements of Net Loss and Comprehensive Loss



Three-month periods ended Six-month periods ended

31-Jan-22 31-Jan-21 31-Jan-22 31-Jan-21









Expenses:







Research and development $ 1,506,000 $ 1,086,000 $ 2,767,000 $ 2,170,000 Operating, general & administration $ 420,000 $ 818,000 $ 855,000 $ 2,121,000

Results from operating activities before finance items $ -1,926,000 $ -1,904,000 $ -3,622,000 $ -4,291,000

Finance items: Convertible note FV adjustment $ -58,000 $ -175,000 Finance income $ 1,000 Finance expense $ -9,000 $ -4,000 $ -12,000 $ -8,000 Foreign exchange gain (loss) $ -26,000 $ 42,000 $ -23,000 $ 48,000

$ -93,000 $ 38,000 $ -210,000 $ 41,000 Loss from continuing operations $ -2,019,000 $ -1,866,000 $ -3,832,000 $ -4,250,000 Gain (loss) from discontinued operations $ -626,000 $ 1,536,000 Net loss & total comprehensive loss $ -2,019,000 $ -2,492,000 $ -3,832,000 $ -2,714,000 Loss per share $ -0.01 $ -0.02 $ -0.02 $ -0.02

The Company's Interim Condensed Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis will be filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com , as well as on the Company's website at www.helixbiopharma.com .

About Helix BioPharma Corp.

Helix BioPharma Corp. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing unique therapies in the field of immune-oncology for the prevention and treatment of cancer based on our proprietary technological platform DOS47. Helix is listed on the TSX under the symbol "HBP".

For more information, please contact:

Helix BioPharma Corp.

9120 Leslie Street, Suite 205

Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3J9

Tel: 905-841-2300 x 233

Frank Michalargias, Chief Financial Officer

ir@helixbiopharma.com

Forward-Looking Statements and Risks and Uncertainties

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements and information that are not historical facts but instead include financial projections and estimates, statements regarding plans, goals, objectives, intentions and expectations with respect to the Company's future business, operations, research and development, including the focus of the Company's primary drug product candidate L-DOS47 and other information relating to future periods.

Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements concerning (i) the Company's ability to operate on a going concern being dependent mainly on obtaining additional financing; (ii) the Company's priority continuing to be L-DOS47; (ii) the Company's development programs, clinical studies, trials and reports for DOS-47 and L-DOS47; (iii) the Company's development programs for DOS47 and L-DOS47; (iv) future expenditures, the insufficiency of the Company's current cash resources and the need for financing; (v) future financing requirements, and the seeking of additional funding, and (vi) forecasts and future projections regarding development programs and expenditures. Forward-looking statements can further be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "ongoing", "estimates", "expects", or the negative thereof or any other variations thereon or comparable terminology referring to future events or results, or that events or conditions "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved, or comparable terminology referring to future events or results.

Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain and are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that are also uncertain. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Forward-looking statements, including financial outlooks, are intended to provide information about management's current plans and expectations regarding future operations, including without limitation, future financing requirements, and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Certain material factors, estimates or assumptions have been applied in making forward-looking statements in this news release, including, but not limited to, the safety and efficacy of L-DOS47; that sufficient financing will be obtained in a timely manner to allow the Company to continue operations and implement its clinical trials in the manner and on the timelines anticipated; the timely provision of services and supplies or other performance of contracts by third parties; future costs; the absence of any material changes in business strategy or plans; and the timely receipt of required regulatory approvals and strategic partner support.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release as a result of numerous known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the risk that the Company's assumptions may prove to be incorrect; the risk that additional financing may not be obtainable in a timely manner, or at all, and that clinical trials may not commence or complete within anticipated timelines or the anticipated budget or may fail; third party suppliers of necessary services or of drug product and other materials may fail to perform or be unwilling or unable to supply the Company, which could cause delay or cancellation of the Company's research and development activities; necessary regulatory approvals may not be granted or may be withdrawn; the Company may not be able to secure necessary strategic partner support; general economic conditions, intellectual property and insurance risks; changes in business strategy or plans; and other risks and uncertainties referred to elsewhere in this news release, any of which could cause actual results to vary materially from current results or the Company's anticipated future results. Certain of these risks and uncertainties, and others affecting the Company, are more fully described in the Company's annual management's discussion and analysis for the year ended July 31, 2021 under the heading "Risks and Uncertainty" and Helix's Annual Information Form, in particular under the headings "Forward-looking Statements" and "Risk Factors", and other reports filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com from time to time. Forward-looking statements and information are based on the beliefs, assumptions, opinions and expectations of Helix's management on the date of this new release, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement or information should those beliefs, assumptions, opinions or expectations, or other circumstances change, except as required by law.

SOURCE: Helix BioPharma Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/693429/Helix-Biopharma-Corp-Announces-Fiscal-2022-Second-Quarter-Results
4G Capital, a Nairobi, Kenya-based African neobank, completed its $18.5m Series C funding round.

Lightrock invested in the round.

The company intends to use the funds to scale its last-mile finance and enterprise training solutions to micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Kenya and Uganda, expanding its use of digital channels and data science to complement its hybrid touch-tech approach. 4G Capital will expand its Kuza retail finance service to help store-owners, FMCGs and distributors boost their sales.

Kuza is a pure fintech plug-and-play service, allowing distributors to stock entrepreneurs using 4G Capitals credit, rather than traditional cash on delivery. Partnerships with P&G, Diageo and other brands adopting the service have proven.

Founded in 2013 by Wayne Hennessy-Barrett, CEO, 4G Capital is a neobank that provides clients with customized business training programs and credit guidance via mobile apps and in-person via a nationwide network of branches. The company employs over 700 employees across Kenya and Uganda. Since its inception in 2013, the company has agreed over 1,750,000 small business working capital loans valued at over $230 million. It has over 240,000 clients, 81% of whom are female, and 77% are running micro and SME enterprises in rural areas. 4G Capital is now scaling in and expanding its suite of products and services in East Africa.

In conjunction with the funding, Shakir Merali, Partner at Lightrock, joined 4G Capitals Board.

FinSMEs

16/03/2022
Putting your financial reports and records in order is vital for proper financial management. Therefore, it is important to monitor your performance on financial matters, especially with creditors.

Paying your debts in time is good practice to stay in good books. Otherwise, you may need the help of the best credit repair companies to help you fix your defaults on payments and amend your credit score.

So, what is a credit repair company? In simple terms, a credit repair company offers to help you improve your poor credit score at a fee. However, you may want to learn a few things before considering them as an option to fix your poor credit. While they offer good service, you could consider doing it yourself. It is also another way out of your poor credit performance.

Important things to know about Credit Repair Companies

As you plan to fix your bad credit score, it is always advisable to weigh all the available options. One of these methods is by using credit repair companies. Are they worth the effort and money? Well, here are important things to note about them:

They charge fees for the job.Remember that you are trying to fix a financial problem and do not have a lot to spare. Therefore, you may need to rethink your approach before engaging credit repair services. If you are working on a budget, it may not be the best option for you.

Credit repair companies will not remove accurate negative issues from your report. By law, a credit repair company cannot remove the accurate information contained in your report. That is not the way to repair your credit score.

In addition, you cannot close your affected accounts to solve the problem. Even if you do so, the details will still show in credit reporting agencies records. Therefore, do not accept to work with any company promising you these offers.

Credit repair services act on your behalf. They will get the credit records from credit reporting agencies and advise you on what to do. The first thing they should do is to look for any errors in the report and dispute them in consultation with your creditors and the agencies.

Next, credit repair services will guide you to deal with the correct negative information in your report. They will advise you to pay off your existing balances and work out a plan to start paying your bills in good time.

Do not pay any fees upfront. Make sure you are not desperate about improving your credit score. Therefore, ensure you understand how your preferred credit repair service will handle your case before making any commitment.

Genuine credit repair services will be honest with you. They will not advise you not to contact bureaus for your credit reports because there is nothing to hide. Avoid anyone promising to give you a new identity to run away from your current debts. You will not solve your problem by taking that route.

You can repair your poor credit rating

The first thing that consumers want to do is to contact credit repair companies to fix their poor credit scores. Well, this may not be the wisest decision to make especially because you will pay for the services. Why take such an approach while you can do the credit report fixing all by yourself.

Do not listen to anyone saying you cannot contact the credit bureaus for your credit report. The fact is, you can get your reports for free from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Therefore, you can proceed with the process of amending your records after receiving the report. That means you will file any disputes for any errors in your report and start fixing the negative items on it.

Repairing your credit report will not happen overnight. However, you will start seeing positive changes when you clear your debts and start paying your bills in time. It is as simple as that.

Final Thoughts

You can choose to work with a credit repair company or not to improve your credit score. The choice is all yours. The good thing is that you can do this on your own in liaison with credit bureaus and your existing creditors.
metaMe Health, Inc., a Chicago, IL-based Prescription Digital Therapeutics (PDT) company, raised $2.2M in a bridge funding round.

The round was led by Hyde Park Angels (HPA), with participation from some individuals. With the funding, Ken Greisman, the deal lead from HPA and a veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, joined the metaMe board of directors.

The company intends to use the funds to continue preparation for Reguloras market launch and to build out its commercial infrastructure.

Led by Tim Rudolphi, CEO, metaMe Health is advancing Regulora, a FDA-authorized Prescription Digital Therapeutics (PDT specifically for abdominal pain associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in adults. It provides relief to these patients through Gut-Directed Hypnotherapy (GDH) through a smartphone app. The app guides patients through seven treatment sessions and additional practice sessions over the course of three months, helping promote healthier control of digestive tract function and mitigate pain sensation. GDH has been shown to produce positive outcomes for those living with IBS, but has previously been inconvenient for many patients, as it has required in-person visits with licensed therapists. With Regulora, patients can access treatment privately from anywhere at any time, empowering them to improve their quality of life without hassle or fear of stigma.

FinSMEs

16/03/2022
Rutter co-founders Eric Yu (left) and Peter Zhou (right)

Rutter, a San Francisco, CA-based startup that is building a universal commerce API, raised $27M in Series A financing.

The round was led by a16z with participation from Comma Capital, Basis Set Ventures, Haystack, Mischief Capital (CEO of Plaid), The Chainsmokers and founders and executives from Plaid, Modern Treasury, RedHat, Airwallex and more. In conjunction with the funding, Kristina Shenfrom a16z will be joining the Rutter board.

The company intends to use the funds to build out its team to 80-100 people by the end of the year focused on building out its engineering, customer success and go-to-market teams and continue to develop the data infrastructure layer to power all of commerce.

Led by Peter Zhou, Co-founder & CEO, and Eric Yu, Co-Founder & CTO, Rutter provides universal APIs for accounting systems and payment processors to help companies read and write data from notable commerce platforms like Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Quickbooks, Xero, Stripe, Paypal and more.

Today, the company works with fintech companies like Ramp, Airwallex, Uncapped, Lenkie and more and supports a variety of ecommerce enablement companies including CJ Dropshipping, Gelato, Shirtsy, Moonshot Brands and more.

Rutter plans to support over 100+ integrations by the end of the year.

FinSMEs

15/03/2022
Talent.com, a Montreal, Canada-based global player in next-generation job search platforms, raised $120m US in Series B funding.

The round was led by Inovia Capital, with participation from existing investor Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), and new investors Investissement Quebec, Climb Ventures, BDC Capital, Fondaction, and HarbourVest Partners. This brings total recent investments to $150m US, including $30m US in new debt financing from the Technology & Innovation Banking Group at BMO Financial Group.

The company intends to use the funds to further expand its user-centric, programmatic job search platform by improving the relevancy and efficiency of the job search experience for job seekers, to hire new team members globally, invest in product development, further establish the brand and scale its newest solutions for SMBs.

Co-founded by Maxime Droux, Lucas Martinez, and Benjamin Philion, Talent.com is a next-generation job search platform enabling businesses to find candidates no matter their budget, number of job openings or technological capabilities. The proprietary technology matches job seekers with relevant job opportunities while its pay-per-click model helps recruiters adjust their job advertising campaigns based on performance. It is available in 78 countries and 29 languages and currently employs 400 people in 8 offices globally.

FinSMEs

16/03/2022
Twelve Labs, a San Francisco, Califbased video search and understanding company, raised $5m in seed funding.

The round was led by Index Ventures with Index partner Kelly Toole joining the board of directors. Radical Ventures, Expa and Techstars Seattle also participated, along with angel investors Dr. Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University, Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon, Silvio Savarese (Stanford), Oren Etzioni (AI2), and Aidan Gomez (co-creator of Transformer), as well as founders from innovative companies like Alexandr Wang (Scale), Aaron Katz (Clickhouse), John Kim (Sendbird), Dug Song (Duo Security), Jean Paoli (Docugami), etc.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach.

Led by Jae Lee, CEO and co-founder, Twelve Labs provides a video search and understanding platform which enables the discovery of valuable moments within an organizations vast sea of videos so that users can do and learn more. The companys proprietary video understanding AI system can locate exact moments almost instantly across massive video archives  and makes video search fast.

Twelve Labs also has an APAC office in Seoul.

FinSMEs

16/03/2022
Kenan Lecture Series Speaker Joe Hartman Presents Winslow Homers Bahamas Paintings: Bodies and Climates in Crisis

The Flagler College Kenan Lecture Series will present a lecture by assistant professor of art history and Latinx and Latin American studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Joe Hartman on March 30, 2022, at 6 pm in the Crisp-Ellert Art Museum.

Joe Hartman

Hartmans presentation, which is part of a series of Kenan lectures titled Ways of Seeing Climate Change, will explain how hurricanes have shaped art history in the greater Caribbean.

Hurricanes are not solely catastrophic meteorological events. They also effectively made the complex visual cultures of the greater Caribbean. This essay examines, in particular, how hurricanes have framed modern art histories of the region. The discussion will open with Winslow Homers series of watercolor paintings which were created in the Bahamas circa 1899, including a particular piece of work titled After the Hurricane.

Watercolor of a man laying on a beach next to the debris of a wrecked boat.

As a professor, Hartman specializes in the visual culture and built environments of the greater Caribbean. He is the author of Dictators Dreamscape: How Architecture and Vision Built Machados Cuba and Invented Modern Havana (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), and editor of the volume Imperial Islands: Art, Architecture, and Visual Experience in the US Insular Empire after 1898 (University of Hawaii Press, 2021).

His research has been recognized and supported among others by the University of Missouri Research Board, the Graham Foundation and the American Philosophical Society.

Ways of Seeing Climate Change is a series of talks and exhibitions to take place at Flagler College between 2021-2024. The series intends to foster critical and timely discussions on how visual representation informs our understanding of climate change, environmental justice, and our hopes and fears about the planets future. Finally, Ways of Seeing Climate Change aims to be a venue for generative and localized conversations about the creative, social, and ethical questions surrounding climate change.

Kenan lectures are free and open to the public. If you are a person with a disability and need reasonable accommodations, please contact Phil Pownall at 904-819-6460. Sign Language Interpreters are available upon request with a minimum of three days' notice. Call 904-826-8677 or visit www.flagler.edu/kenanlectureseries for more information.

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If you are tired of winter, then start planning to get outdoors during PRIDE Spring Cleanup Month in April.

Throughout April, Floyd County residents are encouraged to volunteer to pick up litter across the community. The annual Spring Cleanup is an opportunity to enjoy and care for this areas natural beauty, which is a treasure for residents and attraction for tourists.

The annual PRIDE Spring Cleanup is hosted by Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental cleanup and education, as well as economic development through tourism, in southern and eastern Kentucky. The 2022 PRIDE Spring Cleanup sponsors are Outdoor Venture Corporation and Fibrotex, USA.

We would like to see a large turnout of volunteers to celebrate PRIDEs 25th anniversary this year, said Tammie Nazario, PRIDE President and CEO. Since 1997, 445,827 people have volunteered with PRIDE, and more than 985,128 bags of trash and 972,103 old tires have been pulled from hillsides and waterways. Those are amazing numbers, but our region always needs one more volunteer  you.

After you pick up litter, dispose of it with your own trash and then call your local PRIDE Coordinator. Your volunteer hours will be added to the city or countys Spring Cleanup tally, Nazario said.

PRIDE coordinators are volunteers who are appointed by mayors and judge-executives. They work with the PRIDE staff to organize cleanup activities, recruit volunteers and track cleanup results.

PRIDE coordinators now are preparing for Spring Cleanup Month. They will schedule cleanups and recruit volunteers to participate. They also will assist volunteers who want to plan their own cleanups.

In Floyd County, the PRIDE Coordinators are:

 Teddy Pack, Floyd County PRIDE Coordinator, 606-886-2838, teddypack@kycourts.net

 Isabella Jacobs, City of Prestonsburg PRIDE Coordinator, 606-886-2335, isabella@prestonsburgcity.org

 Elmer Parsons, City of Allen PRIDE Coordinator, 606-874-9859, cityofallencityhall@gmail.com

 Kathy Mills, City of Wayland PRIDE Coordinator, 606-254-9366, kathy_Mills2000@yahoo.com

PRIDE, which stands for Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment, was founded in 1997 by Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5) and the late James Bickford, who was the Kentucky secretary for natural resources and environmental protection. The PRIDE mission is to contribute to the economic and cultural growth of southern and Eastern Kentucky by improving water quality, cleaning up solid waste problems and advancing environmental education, in order to improve living conditions for its residents while enhancing the potential for tourism industry growth in the region.

To learn more about PRIDE and Spring Cleanup events near you, visit, www.kypride.org.
A Pikeville man who was found guilty of using his drug treatment clinics to bilk patients out of millions of dollars will spend the next 10 years behind bars, a federal judge ruled in U.S. District Court in Pikeville March 8.

U.S. District Judge Robert Wier sentenced Eugene Sisco, 36, of Flora Street, to a total of 125 months in prison, plus three years of supervised release, during a hearing which went for hours, as testimony and arguments by both sides of the case established that Sisco could face between 11 and 14 years in prison on the charges of wire fraud and healthcare fraud. In addition, Wier ordered that Sisco pay $5.7 million in restitution and forfeit $3 million seized during the investigation.

According to court records, Sisco owned medication assisted treatment (MAT) clinics in Pike Floyd and Harlan counties which offered services to people struggling with addiction to opioids. Prosecutors charged, and it was established at trial, that Sisco had come up with a scheme by which he charged patients $200 to $300 per month in cash for treatment, even though many patients had Medicaid insurance. Sisco, prosecutors charged, falsely claimed his clinics were not allowed to bill Medicaid for some services. The total in cash collected through the course of the scheme, documents said, was approximately $5 million, while Sisco continued to bill Medicaid for the services, as well.

The jury also found that Sisco engaged in a health care fraud scheme, by causing his laboratory, Toxperts, LLC, to bill for medically unnecessary urine drug testing of samples collected from patients at his clinics, according to a statement from the office of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky Carlton S. Shier IV, The physician witnesses at trial testified that they did not order this urine drug testing, and that some of it was done at Siscos direction for billing purposes, as opposed to any medical reason. Sisco is not a doctor or medical professional. At sentencing, Judge Wier found that this fraud caused a loss of more than $2 million to the Medicaid and Medicare programs.

Wier said that he decided on the sentence after considering a number of various factors, including the jurys recommendation, past convictions, Siscos actions, the scope of the crime, the length of time that the crime occurred, economic loss caused by the crime, detail and implementation and the lack of oversight that Sisco had during the operation.

The sentence has to reflect the seriousness of the crime. This is high-dollar fraudulent conduct, Wier said, referring to Siscos operation. The whole thing was founded on falsity  It was a calculated cynical way to profit off of these clinics.

Wier acknowledged that Sisco has a history of mental illness, that he is a family man and that he has served his community in the past. However, he said that the sentence must be appropriate to rectify the losses that it caused for its 1,700 victims. He said Sisco called all the shots in the operation and did not demonstrate remorse or guilt for his actions, adding that Sisco blamed several people besides himself for the events that took place.

What Ive not heard is Mr. Sisco admitting his blame in what happened, Wier said. He called all the shots.  These people were exploited and taken advantage of. These people were trying to solve an economic problem that was created by Mr. Sisco.

Siscos attorney, Justin Cory Hamilton, argued during the hearing that Sisco should be given probation or allowed to remain free pending appeal on several grounds, including that Sisco was a good person who would not be made better by time in prison.

Hamilton said that Sisco was transparent in his activities and that Sisco had made mistakes in using an illegal loophole to make money.

It was wrong and he knows that, Hamilton said. What Eugene was doing, he thought it was legal.

Hamilton also argued that those paying the money did receive full treatment for their drug addiction problems.

No one said they received subpar treatment at Eugenes clinics, Hamilton said.

Hamilton read a letter that Sisco wrote, in which he apologized to his family, specifically his wife and children, and said that he had discovered early that his calling was to be a servant soldier helping people to fight the toughest battle of their lives.

In the letter, Sisco asked to be granted an opportunity to right these wrongs that I have committed.

Hes thankful nobody was hurt and, in some way, he was able to help, Hamilton said.

Wier determined during the hearing that the victims in the case could be classified as vulnerable because of several factors, which increased the potential penalties Sisco faced.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul McCaffrey, who prosecuted the case, said during the hearing that a victim in the case testified at trial that they were so fearful of a relapse that, faced with the need to come up with the cash for the services, they sold prescriptions on the street to have the cash to pay for the testing at Siscos clinic.

Some, he said, didnt have the means to travel to another clinic.

There is an inherent vulnerability in these patients, he said, adding that because of their addiction and fear of relapse, they had less willingness to challenge Siscos scheme.

McCaffrey said the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky has attacked the opioid epidemic from every angle, but that Siscos criminal scheme was particularly egregious.

It preyed upon the weaknesses of drug-addicted people, McCaffrey said, adding it wasnt a Robin Hood-type case where the poor was stealing from the rich. We had a well-off individual stealing from the poor.

McCaffrey also raised issues during the hearing about how much money Sisco has access to. FBI Agent Randolph Copley testified that one witness, who did not testify, had told him that, at a dinner on the date of the raids on the clinics, Sisco had asked a friend, Jarrad Tyler Smith, to move $2 million in cash for him.

However, Smith testified during the hearing that he did not recall Sisco asking him that.

McCaffrey also raised the issue by pointing out that Sisco and family members traveled to Los Angeles for the recent Superbowl, an event for which tickets sold at prices around $6,000. However, McCaffrey pointed out, in his presentence report, Sisco presented that he only had $1,500 in his bank account.

That this defendant is transparent about anything is laughable, McCaffrey said.

The case was investigated by the FBI, Kentucky State Police and the Office of Attorney General, Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse.

Under federal law, Sisco will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. He was immediately taken into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese government spokesperson on Wednesday warned that the crackdown on separatist elements advocating "Taiwan independence" will be intensified through the power of law.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in the 17 years since its implementation, the Anti-Secession Law has played and will continue playing a vital role in creating a strong deterrent against separatist elements seeking "Taiwan independence," safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, promoting peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and advancing the process of China's reunification.

Through joint efforts of the people on both sides of the Strait, the complete reunification of China will be and can be realized, Zhu added. 
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WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- China did not know in advance about Russia's plan for a military operation against Ukraine, nor did Beijing support it, wrote Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, in an opinion piece appearing Tuesday in The Washington Post.

"Let me say this responsibly: Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation," Qin said in the article, which he said aims to explain "fully" to the American people China's stance on the Ukraine conflict and "dispel any misunderstandings and rumors."

"All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China," the ambassador said.

Noting that there were over 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine and that China is the biggest trading partner of both Ukraine and Russia, Qin said that conflict between Russia and Ukraine "does no good for China" and that China would have tried its best to prevent the war had it known about it in advance.

"On Ukraine, China's position is objective and impartial," the ambassador said. "The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter must be fully observed; the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected; the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously; and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported."

Regarding threats from some U.S. officials about sanctioning Chinese entities and businesses in a scenario -- purported by Washington -- where China provides assistance to Russia, Qin said the threats are unacceptable.

"Neither war nor sanctions can deliver peace. Wielding the baton of sanctions at Chinese companies while seeking China's support and cooperation simply won't work," he said.

The ambassador also denounced those who have been trying to link the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, saying doing so "is a mistake" and the two "are totally different things."

"Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair. It does not make sense for people to emphasize the principle of sovereignty on Ukraine while hurting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Taiwan," Qin said.

The ambassador reiterated China's resolve for national reunification, saying China is "committed to peaceful reunification, but we also retain all options to curb 'Taiwan independence.'"

"We hope the United States earnestly abides by the one-China principle and does not support "Taiwan independence" separatism in any form. To ensure long-term peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, China and the United States must work together to contain 'Taiwan independence,'" he said.

Qin also highlighted China's efforts to push for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and prevent a humanitarian crisis induced by the conflict.

The long-term peace and stability of Europe, the veteran diplomat said, "relies on the principle of indivisible security," adding that China, whose ultimate purpose in the ongoing crisis is to seek an end to the war and support regional and global stability, "will continue to coordinate real efforts to achieve lasting peace." 
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Galveston, TX (77553)

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When Russia invaded Ukraine last month, a spate of wishful thinking ran through the West that China, a great power with friends on both sides, might step in to mediate a cease-fire.

China's government struck a pose of neutrality, called for a peaceful resolution and said it supported the principle of "territorial integrity." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a public plea to China's Xi Jinping to intervene.

But Xi has been missing in action  and in practice, his policies have been far less neutral than advertised.

China hasn't condemned the invasion and initially didn't even call it a war. It still hasn't acknowledged which country's tanks crossed the other's borders.

Xi has talked by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he hasn't talked with Zelenskyy.

"China supports Russia in resolving the issue through negotiation," China's official summary of the Xi-Putin call said.

Last week, China's foreign minister called Russia his country's "most important strategic partner" and said their relationship was "ironclad."

Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry has endorsed Russian propaganda claims that the U.S. military is running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine. The charge is false; the U.S. has funded programs to destroy old bioweapons, not produce new ones.

There's a contradiction at the heart of China's foreign policy. China wants to be seen as a neutral power. But the way it calculates its interests  giving top priority to reducing the global influence of the United States  makes neutrality on issues involving Russia, its biggest ally, almost impossible.

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Less than three weeks before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Xi welcomed Putin at a summit meeting in Beijing and declared that their partnership had "no limits."

"China's policy is based on Xi Jinping's view of China's interests, and he sees the United States as implacably hostile," Bonnie Glaser, a China scholar at the German Marshall Fund, told me. "He sees Russia as his only ally against the United States and the other democracies. ... I don't think China can in any way be neutral."

"At a strategic and diplomatic level, they've clearly leaned toward Russia," agreed Evan Feigenbaum, a former State Department official now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "It's a deliberate choice."

The war in Ukraine may have "unsettled" China's leaders, but it doesn't appear to have shaken the Xi-Putin partnership, CIA Director William Burns told Congress last week.

China "has invested a lot in the relationship," Burns said. "I don't expect that to change anytime soon."

Still, two big factors limit how far China is willing to lean in Russia's direction.

Economics is the first: China's prosperity depends on global trade, not trade with Russia, so it wants to avoid running afoul of the massive sanctions the U.S. and its allies have put in place against Moscow.

Last week, Russian officials reported that China had turned down an emergency request for aircraft parts, apparently to maintain Chinese access to Western suppliers like Boeing and Airbus.

But on a less visible level, Chinese banks are working with Russian banks to use China's UnionPay to replace Visa and Mastercard, shut down by sanctions.

The pattern, Feigenbaum said, is an attempt to "straddle" the sanctions: complying where necessary, but still looking for opportunities to make deals with Russia.

A second limit involves China's desire to maintain a good relationship with Europe, where most countries have been quick to support Ukraine.

"There's a potential for China's relationship with the European Union to get much worse," Feigenbaum said. "China may want to avoid that."

One limit that hasn't seemed to affect China's policies, though, is Beijing's long-standing adherence to principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. "They have essentially jettisoned those principles," Feigenbaum said.

For all those reasons, the idea that China might serve as a neutral mediator to help end the war never had much of a chance.

In any case, it probably wasn't very workable. China's diplomats have little experience mediating international disputes, least of all in Europe.

And while officials from Ukraine and Russia have met three times, their positions have been too far apart to produce even a temporary cease-fire.

Several international leaders have offered their services as mediators  France's Emmanuel Macron, Israel's Naftali Bennett, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan  without success. Putin appears intent on pursuing his military offensive as far as he can before entering serious negotiations.

But China was never neutral to begin with.

And that reflects what may be the most important fact about the new world disorder that Putin's invasion has unleashed:

China's Xi has made a choice. He believes the coming decades will be dominated by confrontations between the United States and China, with Russia as China's sole important ally.

For anyone pondering the parallels between this new period and the Cold War, there's an eerie echo of the Sino-Soviet alliance that once sought to dominate Eurasia  only this time, with China as the senior partner.

Doyle McManus is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Readers may send him email at doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com.

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Artists perform at the pavilion of Indonesia at the 18th China-ASEAN Expo in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Sept. 11, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Jiayi)

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo.

China and Indonesia are both representatives of major developing countries and emerging economies, Xi noted in the phone talks.

In the face of major global changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, both rarely in a century, Xi said, the two countries have moved forward hand in hand and risen to challenges, established a new pattern of bilateral cooperation on the "four-wheel drive" of political, economic, cultural and maritime affairs, and carried forward the main theme of solidarity against the pandemic and common development.

The two countries have set the general direction for jointly building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future, and set up a model of sincere cooperation between major developing countries, Xi added.

China stands ready to maintain close communication with Indonesia to push for new development of bilateral friendly cooperation and inject even greater stability and positive energy into regional and global development, Xi said.

A member of medical staff prepares a dose of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine from China during a mass vaccination program with health workers as a main priority group in Surabaya, Indonesia, Jan. 31, 2021. (Photo by Aditya Hendra/Xinhua)

Xi stressed that the two sides should implement the consensus reached on issues such as deepening COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, and continue to strengthen cooperation in fighting the pandemic.

Both sides, he said, should ensure that the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway can start to operate on schedule, well implement such key projects as the regional comprehensive economic corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks," and jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, so as to help accelerate Indonesia's development and bilateral cooperation.

China holds a positive attitude towards the projects as long as they are conducive to Indonesia's development and cooperation between the two countries, Xi added.

He called on both sides to maintain a stable global market and smooth supply chains worldwide, promote the concrete implementation of the Global Development Initiative, firmly safeguard the ASEAN-centered regional architecture which is open and inclusive, and stay committed to unity and cooperation for mutual benefits and win-win results.

China supports Indonesia in playing its role as the president of the Group of 20 (G20), and focusing on the theme of "Recover Together, Recover Stronger," so as to ensure the 2022 G20 Bali Summit a success, Xi added.

For his part, Widodo congratulated China on the successful conclusion of the annual "two sessions" as well as the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Aerial photo shows the construction site of the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway (HSR) in Indonesia, Dec. 29, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

Noting that bilateral trade and investment cooperation between the two countries is growing rapidly, he said Indonesia is ready to work with China to complete the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway as scheduled for the benefits of the two nations.

Indonesia looks forward to carrying out tripartite cooperation with China to help build the new capital city of Indonesia, and hopes that China will continue to support Indonesia in building the regional comprehensive economic corridor and green industrial parks, he added.

Indonesia fully supports the Global Development Initiative proposed by Xi, which is conducive to the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Widodo said, stressing that Indonesia is ready to maintain close communication with China to push forward the implementation of the initiative and contribute to the common development of the world.

Indonesia is ready to maintain close communication and coordination with China to make sure that the G20 focuses its work on economic recovery and global development, and to work together to address pressing global issues, he noted.

The two sides exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and agree that all parties should stick to promoting peace talks, prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis, control the negative impact of sanctions on the world economy and avoid dragging down the world economic recovery process. 
Gettysburg, PA (17325)

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Braden Manning, Gettysburg baseball: Braden went 9-for-13 with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 7 RBI over 4 games. He also struck out 11 batters in a win over South Western.

Amy Anderson, Delone Catholic softball: Amy went 5-for-12 with 6 RBI, 3 runs scored and a triple over 3 games. She also struck out 17 batters and went 2-1 in those games.

Parker Sanders, Bermudian Springs Tennis: Parker won 3 matches on his way to a fourth-place finish in the YAIAA Class 2A Singles Tournament.

Andrew Koons, Fairfield baseball: Andrew went 5-for-11 with 8 RBI, 4 runs scored and 2 home runs over 3 games, including a grand slam. He was also the winning pitcher against Biglerville.

Ben Angstadt, Biglerville baseball: Ben went 8-for-17 with 7 RBI, 4 runs scored, a double and a home run over 4 games for the Canners.

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NEW YORK, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. experts are warning sun-seeking revelers that even being unmasked outdoors isn't enough to protect them from respiratory illnesses like the coronavirus and the flu, particularly on the currently crowded coastline, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.

"Right now my message would be that COVID is not gone," Jill Roberts, associate professor of public health at the University of South Florida, was quoted as saying in an interview with ABC affiliate WFTS in Tampa Bay.

The United States saw a daily average of nearly 37,000 new cases of COVID-19 during the past week, according to epidemiological data compiled by the nonprofit CovidActNow.org. People in coastal states such as Florida, the Carolinas, Virginia, New Jersey and California are currently at medium to high risk for COVID-19.

"Overall, deaths and hospitalizations from the disease are falling nationwide, but some researchers expect those numbers to creep up again as mask mandates are lifted. In addition, a 'stealth' subvariant of Omicron, BA.2, has raised concerns both abroad and in the U.S.," said the report.

"The good news for this year is the Omicron wave has really crashed out. The bad news is it's not gone and it still actually has some significant transmission in our area," Roberts said of Sunshine State beaches, where an estimated 570,000 students will flock this spring, according to a recent report by the Tampa Bay Times. 
NEW YORK, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Big Idea Ventures (BIV), the global leader in early-stage alternative protein and food technology investing has welcomed five new university collaborators to its Generation Food Rural Partners fund.



Cornell University  Cornell is the federal land-grant institution of New York State, a private endowed university, and a partner of the State University of New York. Cornells 1600 faculty include world leaders in engineering , computer science , food science , agriculture and life sciences , and many other fields. This quality and breadth combined with a collaborative and innovative culture is yielding solutions to some of the worlds most pressing challenges and enhancing the lives and livelihoods of people in New York and around the world.

 is the federal land-grant institution of New York State, a private endowed university, and a partner of the State University of New York. Cornells 1600 faculty include world leaders in , , , , and many other fields. This quality and breadth combined with a collaborative and innovative culture is yielding solutions to some of the worlds most pressing challenges and enhancing the lives and livelihoods of people in New York and around the world. The Ohio State University  Ohio States research and creative inquiry community is creating new knowledge, solving critical societal challenges, and driving the prosperity of Ohio, the nation, and the world. The university is one of the most comprehensive in the nation and one of only a few universities that, in a single location, house 15 different colleges, including seven health sciences colleges, a world-class medical center and a college of agriculture. Named one of the nations and the worlds most innovative universities, Ohio State is a leader in research spending at more than $1.2 billion and consistently ranks in the top five for industry-sponsored research. With agriculture as Ohios top industry, helping farmers, growers and producers stay efficient and productive is an important goal for researchers in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), where more than $90 million in research is conducted each year. That research is translating into innovation - at the end of the last fiscal year, CFAES 39 new invention disclosures, 18 patent filings, 56 active licensing deals and 7 active startup companies.

 research and creative inquiry community is creating new knowledge, solving critical societal challenges, and driving the prosperity of Ohio, the nation, and the world. The university is one of the most comprehensive in the nation and one of only a few universities that, in a single location, house 15 different colleges, including seven health sciences colleges, a world-class medical center and a college of agriculture. Named one of the nations and the worlds most innovative universities, Ohio State is a leader in research spending at more than $1.2 billion and consistently ranks in the top five for industry-sponsored research. With agriculture as Ohios top industry, helping farmers, growers and producers stay efficient and productive is an important goal for researchers in the (CFAES), where more than $90 million in research is conducted each year. That research is translating into innovation - at the end of the last fiscal year, CFAES 39 new invention disclosures, 18 patent filings, 56 active licensing deals and 7 active startup companies. Rutgers University  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , stands among Americas highest-ranked, most diverse public research universities. Innovation Ventures, the technology transfer office within the Rutgers Office for Research , partners with the Rutgers community to encourage deliberate innovation, protect and leverage Rutgers intellectual property, foster collaboration with industry, and enable entrepreneurship. Rutgers cutting-edge research had a record year in 2021, receiving $907.9 million in funding from federal and state agencies, corporations, and foundations; generating $47 million in licensing revenue; and increasing the number of active startups to 87. By transforming its research into products, services and partnerships, Rutgers helps New Jerseys economy grow and improves lives around the world.

 , stands among Americas highest-ranked, most diverse public research universities. Innovation Ventures, the technology transfer office within the , partners with the Rutgers community to encourage deliberate innovation, protect and leverage Rutgers intellectual property, foster collaboration with industry, and enable entrepreneurship. Rutgers cutting-edge research had a record year in 2021, receiving $907.9 million in funding from federal and state agencies, corporations, and foundations; generating $47 million in licensing revenue; and increasing the number of active startups to 87. By transforming its research into products, services and partnerships, Rutgers helps New Jerseys economy grow and improves lives around the world. University of Maryland  Founded in 1856, University of Maryland, College Park is the states flagship institution. Our 1,250-acre College Park campus is just minutes away from Washington, D.C., and the nexus of the nations legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. This unique proximity to business and technology leaders, federal departments and agencies, and a myriad of research entities, embassies, think tanks, cultural centers, and non-profit organizations is simply unparalleled. Synergistic opportunities for our faculty and students abound and are virtually limitless in the nations capital and surrounding areas. Our partnerships with federal agencies, national laboratories, and industry fortify our ability to conduct groundbreaking research in a multitude of fields, including: environmental adaptation and sustainability; national and global security; advanced computing, data analytics and visualization; quantum science; transportation analytics; and human health.

 Founded in 1856, is the states flagship institution. Our 1,250-acre College Park campus is just minutes away from Washington, D.C., and the nexus of the nations legislative, executive, and judicial centers of power. This unique proximity to business and technology leaders, federal departments and agencies, and a myriad of research entities, embassies, think tanks, cultural centers, and non-profit organizations is simply unparalleled. Synergistic opportunities for our faculty and students abound and are virtually limitless in the nations capital and surrounding areas. Our partnerships with federal agencies, national laboratories, and industry fortify our ability to conduct groundbreaking research in a multitude of fields, including: environmental adaptation and sustainability; national and global security; advanced computing, data analytics and visualization; quantum science; transportation analytics; and human health. Washington State University  Washington State University (WSU) is a public research university committed to its land grant mission to provide research and service relevant to the 21st century. WSU inspires and challenges the next generation of problem solvers with faculty that encourage discovery and spark creativity among civic-minded students. As a leading federal research university, rated in the top 11% of research institutions nationally, WSU drives practical research and education into our communities to support and grow the states economy. WSU has campuses in Pullman, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Vancouver and Everett, as well as online through the Global Campus, four research centers, and Extension services in all 39 counties.



These new university collaborators join the existing group of GFRP participating schools:

University of Hawaii

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign

Louisiana State University

University of Massachusetts Amherst

North Carolina State University Oregon State University

Penn State University

Purdue University

Tufts University

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

When we designed this investment platform, our goal was to get 5 universities to collaborate with us. To have secured collaboration commitments from 15 world class research universities is an incredible vote of confidence and a testament to the power of innovation at the university level, said Tom Mastrobuoni, chief investment officer for Big Idea Ventures.

The GFRP fund team will evaluate intellectual property developed at collaborating universities to identify and evaluate new developments with the strongest commercialization potential. The GFRP fund will then invest in new companies formed around the groundbreaking research. These new companies will be headquartered in rural communities near the collaborating universities.

The GFRP Fund will ignite research innovation at our partner universities in agriculture, food and protein sciences which will create new companies located in rural America, added Frank Klemens, Managing Director of the GFRP Fund at BIV. Rural America has always been the center for innovation in food and agriculture production and this partnership between these world class Universities and GFRP Fund will create the next generational growth in rural America.

About Big Idea Ventures



Big Idea Ventures (BIV) is solving the world's greatest challenges by supporting the worlds best entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers. Big Idea Ventures develops the most globally strategic funds, delivering significant investor returns while addressing real world challenges. BIV is focused on alternative protein with its New Protein Fund and commercialization of university intellectual property with its Generation Food Rural Partners fund. www.bigideaventures.com
SAN FRANCISCO, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman urges CIRCOR International, Inc. (NYSE: CIR) investors with significant losses to submit your losses now. The firm is investigating the companys admitted improper accounting and possible securities law violations.



Visit: https://www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/CIR Contact An Attorney Now:

CIR@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895

CIRCOR International, Inc. (CIR) Investigation:



The investigation focuses on the propriety of CIRCORs accounting and reported financial performance.

Specifically, in past years, CIRCOR has repeatedly assured investors that its financial reporting and financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP.

But, on Feb. 6, 2020, after the market closed, CIRCOR announced its CFO resigned effective Mar. 2, 2020.

Then, on Mar. 2, 2020, after the market closed, CIRCOR announced it would not timely file its year end 2019 financial report, it has identified material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting, and it is investigating accounting and reporting matters at one of its domestic business units that has been classified as discontinued operations.

Finally, on March 14, 2022, within months after the abrupt departures of the Companys CFO and its CEO, CIRCOR announced that it and its auditor uncovered accounting irregularities in the financial statements with respect to the Companys Pipeline Engineering business unit, which is a part of its Industrial reporting segment.

CIRCOR revealed the irregularities preliminarily appear to account for balance sheet and income statement entries in the range of $35 to $45 million of pre-tax income on a cumulative basis over a period of at least five years.

The Company also disclosed it would restate its 2019  2021 financial statements and investors should no longer rely on them.

In response, the price of CIRCOR shares fell sharply lower.

Were focused on investors losses and whether CIRCOR cooked its books to conceal the extent of its losses, said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.

If you invested in CIRCOR and have significant losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firms investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding CIRCOR should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email CIR@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.
China encourages Europe to build 'indivisible security' mechanism with Russia

By Yang Sheng (Global Times) 10:12, March 16, 2022

The European Union flags in front of EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Xinhua

China recently encouraged European countries to establish an indivisible, sustainable, effective and balanced security mechanism on different diplomatic occasions, with analysts saying that since the Ukraine crisis has brought serious damage to the security of Europe, the relevant parties need to realize that it is the US, an external superpower, that manipulates the security situation in Europe, and benefits the most, while the EU, Russia and Ukraine have all paid a heavy price under the current unbalanced and ineffective security mechanism.

Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said on Monday that the Ukraine crisis has further raised the question of how to maintain the stability of the international system and focus more on the real pathway toward universal security and common development.

He made the remarks at the UN Security Council briefing by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chairperson-in-office. "The world is indivisible, and security is indivisible. In the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, the important principle of indivisible security was first established. This principle carries special significance under the current circumstances," he said.

China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi made similar remarks on Monday while mentioning the Russia-Ukraine conflict at his meeting with US National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan in Rome.

Yang said "we should take a long-term perspective, to actively promote common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable views of security based on the principle of indivisible security, to seek construction of balanced, effective and sustainable security mechanism."

Chinese President Xi Jinping in his virtual meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on March 8 said that "China supports France and Germany in promoting a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework for the interests and lasting security of Europe, and by upholding its strategic autonomy. China will be pleased to see equal-footed dialogue among the EU, Russia, the United States and NATO."

These frequent calls from China to the parties directly involved in the Ukraine crisis showed that China has found that the root cause of the current tragedy in Europe is that the existing security mechanism in Europe established by the US, with the US-led NATO having a dominant position, is problematic, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict just proved that the US-built security mechanism for Europe makes everyone in Europe insecure, said Chinese analysts.

Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday that "Europeans have realized that the security of Europe is not in the hands of Europeans. The eastward expansion of NATO is dominated by the US, and such view of security is based on the sacrifice of Russia's security. In other words, the absolute security of the West makes Russia absolutely insecure."

"So Russia decided to fight back and the ongoing crisis brings refugees and a series of problems to Europe in the fields of economy and energy. Who's the biggest winner? It's the US. Europeans need to pay the US military industrial companies for weapons. US military presence is getting more legitimate in the continent, and without resolving Russia's security concerns, the EU will get increasingly insecure, and then the US military industrial giants will get more clients again," Wang said.

A Beijing-based expert on international relations who requested anonymity said "Some might believe that Russia is too aggressive, so Europe needs the protection of the US. But the fact is that with the so-called protection, Europe is getting increasingly insecure."

Russia is the one receiving pressure from NATO, not the one who is threatening the West. And the EU has complementarities with Russia. So without the US-led NATO, maybe the EU and Russia can form a community of shared future, and Russia wouldn't even need to spend that much money on defense, which is a win-win situation for both the EU and Russia, the expert said.

The current tragedy in Ukraine is a chance for Europe and Russia to consider reestablishing a new security mechanism to prevent the replay of any of such conflict in the continent, but the challenge is to what extent the EU can exclude the influence of the US, and if Europe can independently think out of the hostile stereotype toward Russia, he noted.

Wang said in the Asia-Pacific region, the US is trying to impose the similar view of security to regional countries, and to establish a NATO-like alliance to build a divisible and unbalanced security mechanism in Asia, to target China just like what it did to Russia in Europe.

"We don't want to see any country repeat the tragedy that Ukraine has experienced, so we hope US allies in Asia, such as South Korea, Japan and some Southeast Asian countries can make wise and independent decisions on security and diplomacy, to stay away from being used as a pawn to serve US strategy in containing China on the geopolitical chessboard," said the anonymous expert, noting that China has a tradition to solve problems with its neighbors through diplomacy. But when some countries miscalculated China's kindness as weakness, they have also paid a heavy price when China decided to retaliate.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Efforts are underway to refloat a giant container vessel stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States.

William Doyle, executive director of the Port of Baltimore, tweeted on Wednesday that technical experts boarded the Ever Forward Monday and Tuesday to evaluate its condition.

"A salvage team, Naval architects, and divers are working to determine the best course of action to free the ship," Doyle wrote, adding that the U.S Coast Guard is lead federal agency in this matter.

The 334-meter cargo ship became stranded on Sunday evening after departing the Port of Baltimore for Norfolk, Virginia. There have been no injuries or pollution-related spills.

The ship's location is just off Gibson Island near the Craighill channel in the Chesapeake Bay. According to vessel tracking website VesselFinder, it remains "aground."

The "grounding has not prevented other ships from transiting into or out of the Port of Baltimore," Doyle continued. "Business and commerce-related activities at the Port of Baltimore continue as normal."

The U.S Coast Guard has put in place a safety zone around the Ever Forward. Nearby vessels are required to slow down and conduct one-way traffic.

The Ever Forward is believed to be operated by Evergreen Marine Corp., whose Ever Given got stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal in March 2021, blocking the waterway for days and causing delays in global shipping. 
LONDON, England, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Michael Wu is co-founder and CEO of Amber Group, a leading global digital asset company. Prior to founding Amber Group, Michael was a quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs, a macro trader at Morgan Stanley, and a portfolio manager at a billion-dollar hedge fund. Michael is a member of Mensa International and a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia honoree.

Founded in 2017, Amber Group is a leading global digital asset company operating globally with offices in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Amber Group provides a full range of digital asset services spanning investing, financing, trading, and spending. Its 24/7 trading desk serves over a thousand institutional clients globally while the integrated digital asset platform WhaleFin serves the individual investors via mobile and desktop applications.

To date, Amber Group has raised a total of $328 million in funding from world-class investors including Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Paradigm, Tiger Global Management, Dragonfly Capital, Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures and Blockchain.com. Amber Group's Series B + funding round of $200M valued the company at $3B.

In recognition of Amber Group's advancement of the digital assets management industry, World Biz Magazine has awarded Michael Wu a position within the Top 15 of the global list of 100 distinguished honorees.

Michael Wu was also interviewed in World Biz Magazine where he shared insights into Amber Group's mission and factors driving the company's phenomenal growth. Read the interview.

"At Amber Group, we want to help create a future where digital assets empower people with opportunity and agency. This is at the heart of our mission. The road ahead is still long but we are honoured to be selected as a winner of this award," said Michael Wu, co-founder and CEO of Amber Group.

World Biz Magazine's Top 100 Innovation CEO Awards celebrates business leaders across the globe that are making major strides in their industries. It recognizes product, service, functional, strategic, and managerial innovation. It also recognizes individuals showing exceptional commercial insight and market integrity. Sustainability forms a key cornerstone of the awards and is an integral part of the selection criteria. Every year over 40,000 leaders are shortlisted and following a stringent evaluation process, only 100 winners are selected.

Mike Walters, Editor in Chief of World Biz Magazine: "We are pleased to announce Michael Wu as a recipient of the Award. To be highlighted within the Top 15 of the 100 winners is a testament to the pivotal role of Amber Group under Michael's leadership in shaping the future of the crypto industry. Aside from its innovative technologies and exciting growth, the company is uniquely focused on transforming the financial ecosystem to be one that is more progressive, inclusive, transparent and sustainable."

-----------------------------

About World Biz Magazine

World Biz Magazine is the leading global C-Suite business journal with a readership spanning 32 countries, WBM focuses on leadership, innovation, investment and social responsibility. www.worldbizmagazine.com

Contact WBM at: awards@worldbizmagazine.com

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About Amber Group

Amber Group is a leading digital asset company operating globally with offices in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The firm provides a full range of digital asset services spanning investing, financing, and trading, servicing over 1,000 institutional clients and a growing number of individual investors worldwide. For more information about Amber Group, please visit www.ambergroup.io

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Image 1: Michael Wu, co-founder and CEO of Amber Group









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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FEEL FOODS LTD. (CSE: FEEL) (OTC: FLLLF) (FSE: 1ZF) announces that Mr. Anthony Chan tendered his resignation as a director of Feel Foods Ltd. effective March 15th, 2022.



The company wishes Mr. Chan the best in his endeavors.

About Feel Foods Ltd.

FEEL is an agri-food holdings company focused on innovative products and technologies in the food services industry. They include its wholly owned Black Sheep Vegan Cheeze Company, which offers a variety of 10 unique vegan dairy substitute products currently available in over 70 retail and foods services locations and its 100% owned Be Good Plant-based Foods line of plant-based chicken, pork and beef products. FEEL is currently investing in the research and development of keto-friendly plant-based candy products.

Company Contact:

Joel T Warawa

Corporate Communications

E-mail: jw@feelfoodsco.com

Corporate Contact:

Website: www.feelfoodsco.com

E-Mail: info@feelfoodsco.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/feelfoodsco

Phone: 604-235-0010

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding the Company. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future, including with respect to: the entry of the Consulting Agreements, the completion of the Acquisition and the acceptance of the Acquisition and terms thereof by the CSE. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control of the Company. The risks include the following: the unknown magnitude and duration of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the inability of Feel Foods to close the Acquisition and other risks that are customary to transactions of this nature. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Feel Foods undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information or statements, other than as required by applicable law.

This press release is not an offer of the securities for sale in the United States. The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The CSE (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.
Washington, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman , head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for Americas 32.5 million small businesses in President Bidens Cabinet, issued the following statement to commemorate Equal Pay Day.

Equal Pay Day is our annual reminder of how much longer  and harder  a woman has to work to earn the same amount as a man. In nearly every job, in nearly every industry, women still earn less than men, and the numbers are even more disparate for women of color.

The pay gap has a real impact on women and their families, and it is just one of many historic inequities women must battle. Its no different for women entrepreneurs, who have long faced extra hurdles accessing capital and resources they need to start and grow their businesses. And women business owners are less likely to take a salary, with just 42 percent of them paying themselves, compared to 57 percent of their male peers.

At the SBA, were working to eliminate barriers for women entrepreneurs and make sure they can get their businesses funded, access strong networks, and take advantage of market growth opportunities to build resilient businesses. Weve saved millions of women-owned businesses with critical COVID financial relief, worked across the Biden-Harris Administration to simplify access to federal contracts, and expanded our networks through the American Rescue Plans Community Navigator Pilot Program and the largest ever network of Womens Business Centers, including at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions. Our goal is to provide targeted support to the women who are opening and operating businesses at record rates and helping to drive our historic economic recovery.

Im committed to working with the entire Biden-Harris Administration to help address the many challenges faced by women business owners and women in the workforce, including equal pay, access to childcare and care for aging loved ones, equitable health care, and so much more. Our entire economy suffers when women arent able to fully and equally participate. We must make sure the future generations of women  our daughters, our granddaughters  will have the same opportunities as our sons and grandsons.

###

About the U.S. Small Business Administration
Texarkana, TX, United States, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



According to announcements released by CampShores and Tom Smith, this established resource for online camping and kayaking guides has acquired CampVec.org, another reputed camping and kayaking equipment reviewer.

The merger of the two websites gives camping enthusiasts better access to researched reviews and guides on camping equipment, tools, and kayaking equipment.



The content on CampShores is updated regularly to include the latest developments in technology, new products, and breakthroughs in equipment. The guides are written in an easy-to-understand language and provide actionable information. The reader can act to purchase camping, beaching, and kayaking equipment that's value-for-money and safe.

The merger of CampShores and CampVec allows the new brand to deliver specific content in camping advice, tent reviews, canoeing advice, and kayak reviews. The combined resources of both brands will allow CampShores to give its readers cogent information for enjoyable and safe outdoor activities.



Campers and kayakers are presented with many choices and equipment with features that may or may not be relevant. Narrowing down the selection to the best product is not easy unless one asks the right questions and is provided with dependable answers. CampShores does both for its readers. It compares brands and models and presents their salient features so that an interested buyer can make the right decision.



The "camping advice" category is frequently perused because of the available depth and breadth of content. It covers useful and essential topics such as staying warm during camping, maintaining skin health outdoors, and essential stuff to carry.



For more information, go to https://campshores.com/



Tom Smith of CampShores said, "We're the CampShores, website team. We are campers like you, and we have done tons of camping throughout California and the US at large. Our story started when our trusted tent failed us at a beach. Since then, we have tried all sorts of camping shelters (such as campervans, RVs, and even sleeping under the stars). Also, in our quest for the holy grail of camping, we have tried several camping sites. Now, we have gathered our experiences to help you.



In essence, CampShores is a resource bank by campers and for campers. We can all have the perfect camping experiences, and this guide (CampShores) will pave the way! In the beginning, we often suffer shortcomings regarding camping aids. Today, it might be our tent, and the next day could be the gears not functioning adequately.



At CampShores, we understand what you are going through. We have undergone the same process. But we are here now to help you. Since we experienced our setbacks, we have since reviewed gears, tents, and even camping sites. While we might not be scientists here at Camp Shore, we have a pretty taste. Also, we value interesting and helpful designs. As such, we know what excellent camping gear entails. More importantly, we go out camping often. So, we learn every day to bring you insightful reviews and guides."



About the Company:

CampShores aims to provide its audience with information on the best camping gear and tools for their needs. The recommendations and tips put up by experienced campers enable people to plan for and enjoy camping with fewer hassles. CampVec is now a part of CampShores.



Website: https://campshores.com/
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Christina Lake Cannabis Corp. (the Company or CLC or Christina Lake Cannabis) (CSE: CLC) (OTCQB: CLCFF) (FRANKFURT: CLB) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Jay McMillan, an accomplished corporate development and mergers/acquisitions (M&A) executive with a strong product development acumen, to its Board of Directors.



We are pleased to welcome Jay McMillan to CLCs Board of Directors, said Joel Dumaresq, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Christina Lake Cannabis. Jay's deep industry experience will be invaluable to CLC as we grow our business and continue to pursue our mission. On behalf of the Company, Id like to welcome Jay to the team  we couldnt be more excited to have him on board.

Leveraging 25 years of international markets experience, Mr. McMillan has an extensive background in new market development and strategic engagements with Fortune 500 organizations in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG), technology, and consumer electronics spaces. Mr. McMillans most recent role was as Chief Development Officer with HEXO Corp. (HEXO), a leading Canadian Licensed Producer of cannabis, where he played a pivotal role during the 2010s and 2020s in growing HEXO to be the top Licensed Producer in the country by market share. At HEXO, Mr. McMillan identified strategic business development opportunities by way of M&A, joint ventures, and key partnerships. Furthermore, Mr. McMillan was responsible for research and development (R&D), innovation, and commercialization. Mr. McMillan continues to participate in the expanding cannabis market as a Principal of UberGreen; a cannabis consulting firm focused on growth strategies, business model innovation, market consolidation, and product development.

Ive been impressed by both the knowledge of the Christina Lake Cannabis team and the great products that they have created. Im looking forward to leveraging my experience and governance as well as several other facets of the cannabis industry with CLC, said Jay McMillan.

The Company announces that it has issued an aggregate of 200,000 restricted share units (RSUs) and 675,000 stock options (Options) to directors and employees of the Company in accordance with the Companys Option and RSU plan. 300,000 Options have been granted with an exercise price of $0.20 and 375,000 Options have been granted with an exercise price of $0.25. Each Option will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one additional common share of the Company for a period of 5 years from grant, at its respective exercise price. The Options are subject to various vesting restrictions. The RSUs will vest upon various agreed upon milestones and shall entitle the holder the ability to acquire one common share of the Company underlying each such RSU by delivering a notice of acquisition to the Company in accordance with the RSU plan. The RSUs were priced at $0.20 based on the closing price of the common shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange on March 15, 2022.

Additionally, CLC hereby announces that it has amended the terms of the following unsecured convertible debentures (the Convertible Debentures):

358 Convertible Debentures issued on March 13, 2020 in the principal amount of $1,790,000;

158 Convertible Debentures issued on March 23, 2020 in the principal amount of $790,000;

20 Convertible Debentures issued on April 7, 2020 in the principal amount of $100,000

5 Convertible Debentures issued on May 14, 2020 in the principal amount of $25,000;

50 Convertible Debentures issued on May 25, 2020 in the principal amount of $250,000; and

38.5 Convertible Debentures issued on August 20, 2020 in the principal amount of $192,500.

The Convertible Debentures mature twenty-four (24) months from the date of issuance and bear interest at a rate of 12% per annum. Under the amended terms, the Convertible Debentures will now mature forty-two (42) months from the date of issuance and the debenture holder will have the option to convert unpaid and accrued interest into conversion shares at a price of $0.20, and, regardless of the date of conversion, such holder will receive interest payable in conversion shares that is an amount equal to the unpaid interest for the period from the issue date (or date of last interest payment, if later) up to and including the maturity date, on a non pro rata basis. All other terms of the Convertible Debentures remain unchanged. The total principal amount outstanding under the Convertible Debentures is $3,147,500.

Convertible Debentures that have not been extended will remain subject to the original terms from issuance.



The amendment to the Convertible Debenture will allow the Company to preserve its capital for operational activities.

The Company would also like to announce that all motions that were presented at the Special Meeting for Class B Preferred Shareholders held on March 11, 2022 were carried.

ABOUT CHRISTINA LAKE CANNABIS CORP.

Christina Lake Cannabis is a licensed producer of cannabis under the Cannabis Act. It has secured a standard cultivation licence and corresponding processing amendment from Health Canada (March 2020 and August 2020, respectively) as well as a research and development licence (early 2020). Christina Lake Cannabis facility consists of a 32-acre property, which includes over 950,000 square feet of outdoor grow space, offices, propagation and drying rooms, research facilities, and a facility dedicated to processing and extraction. Christina Lake Cannabis also owns a 99-acre plot of land adjoining its principal 32-acre site, which allows for future expansion. Christina Lake Cannabis cultivates cannabis using strains specifically developed for outdoor cultivation and in its second harvest season produced over 38,000 kg (83,776 lb) of dried biomass. For more information, please visit www.christinalakecannabis.com and www.sedar.com (CLC.CN).

On behalf of Christina Lake Cannabis Corp.:

Joel Dumaresq

Joel Dumaresq, CEO and Director

For more information, please contact:

Jamie Frawley

Investor Relations and Media Inquiries

(e) jamie@clcannabis.com

(m) 416-268-9432

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE, NOR HAS OR DOES THE

CSES REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER.

Forward-Looking Information: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words anticipate, continue, estimate, expect, may, will, would, project, should, believe and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 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. These statements speak only as of the date of this News Release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Companys disclosure documents which can be found under the Companys profile on http://www.sedar.com .

Statement Regarding Third-Party Investor Relations Firms
New York, NY, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The tenth annual global Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report, launched today, reveals that while companies continue to invest in animal welfare, they are too slow in delivering meaningful welfare impacts on the ground.

BBFAW  the leading global measure of policy commitment, performance and disclosure on animal welfare in food companies  is supported by founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and supporting partner, FOUR PAWS, and is designed to help drive higher farm animal welfare standards in the worlds leading food businesses and provide a benchmark to inform investor choices.

Worldwide, the 2021 report reveals that of the 150 companies evaluated:

134 (89%) now acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue (compared to 71% of the 68 companies evaluated in 2012)

122 companies (81%) have formal policies on farm animal welfare (compared to 46% of companies in 2012)

119 companies (79%) have published formal objectives and targets for animal welfare (compared to just 26% of companies in 2012).

The benchmarks top tier comprises two food retailers and two food producers  Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Noble Foods, and Premier Foods.

Despite these positive outcomes, the new BBFAW Impact Rating introduced in 2021  where companies are ranked A-F on the 10 performance impact questions  shows that the implementation of animal welfare improvements continues to lag policies and governance. For example, while the most widely reported performance impact data relates to cage- free production for laying hens  where 88 companies (59%) report some data  only 23 companies (15%) report that 60% or more of the laying hens in their global supply chains are cage-free.

There remains a stark disconnect between many companies disclosure of management processes and the subsequent impact on farm animal welfare in their supply chains. None of the evaluated companies achieved an A Impact Rating and only five companies  Greggs PLC, Marks & Spencer PLC, Noble Foods, Premier Foods PLC, and Waitrose  achieved a B Impact Rating. This indicates that companies are declaring improved welfare impacts for a significant proportion of farm animals in their global supply chains. In fact, 85% of the 150 companies evaluated achieve an E or F Impact Rating, suggesting that these companies are failing to demonstrate improved welfare impacts for farm animals in their global supply chains.

The 2021 benchmark doubled down on companies Performance Reporting and Impact by increasing the weighting of this section to 45% of the total score available. This increased focus on impact resulted in 36 companies dropping a tier. However, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, it is noteworthy that six companies improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier.

Nicky Amos, Executive Director of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare and Managing Director of Chronos Sustainability said: The BBFAW set out in 2012 to put farm animal welfare on the business and investor agenda and to significantly advance corporate management practice and disclosure on the issue. Ten years on, these objectives have been realized. Today, around 80% of the 150 companies assessed by BBFAW have strengthened their governance of farm animal welfare through formal policy commitments, objectives and targets. While this provides a strong foundation for action, companies need to demonstrate that their investments in farm animal welfare are delivering positive welfare impacts for animals on the ground.

Ben Williamson, U.S. Executive Director at Compassion in World Farming, said: A decade on, its great to see BBFAW continue to deliver against its mission and make significant progress in getting companies to invest in animal welfare. Yet, its disappointing that these policy commitments are not delivering meaningful improvements for animals as quickly as they should. Our focus now must be on ensuring that companies in the U.S. and across the globe really do drive forward and deliver substantial and measurable welfare improvements for farm animals. This means making demonstrable progress in their supply chains: for example, moving away from keeping animals in confinement systems such as cages and crates, and towards more humane and sustainable husbandry practices, to help create a food system that works for animals, people, and the planet.

Josef Pfabigan, CEO, FOUR PAWS, said:

The tenth Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is out  this marks ten years of crucial work on improving farm animal welfare in the worlds leading food businesses. FOUR PAWS is proud to be a supporting partner of BBFAW, and to be working closely on this with the BBFAWs founding partner, Compassion in World Farming. Ten years in, an increasing number of companies have at least formal policies in place to better take care of animals in their supply chains. Whats missing is evidence on how they are translating this into concrete actions towards animal welfare. This is an urgent matter, as livestock farming is a major driver of the climate crisis. The industry therefore has a responsibility to lead the way so consumers can follow, for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding.

ENDS

For further information please contact

Amanda Williams

Chronos Sustainability (BBFAW Secretariat)

T: 07725 329 314

amanda@chronossustainability.com

Notes to Editors

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the globally recognized investor framework for assessing the quality of companies practices, processes and performance on farm animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, founded in 2012, is supported by its founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and its supporting partner, FOUR PAWS. BBFAW provides an annual, independent assessment of farm animal welfare management and performance in global food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare. More information on the program can be found at www.bbfaw.com Through the annual benchmark, extensive engagement programs with investors and with companies, and the production of guidance and other materials for companies and investors, BBFAW has driven higher farm animal welfare standards across the worlds leading food businesses. BBFAW 2021 is the tenth annual report from the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare. It analyses the farm animal welfare management and performance of 150 of the worlds largest food companies, across 37 distinct, objective criteria. As such, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of corporate practice on farm animal welfare. The 2021 Benchmark covers 150 global food companies across 24 countries:

53 Retailers and Wholesalers, 63 Producers and Manufacturers, and 34 Restaurants and Bars. The list includes listed and non-listed companies.

Companies were assessed on their approach to managing farm animal welfare in four areas: (1) Management Commitment, (2) Governance and Management, (3) Innovation and Leadership, and (4) Performance Reporting and Impact. In line with the BBFAWs objective to drive improvements in the welfare of animals farmed for food, the overall weighting of the Performance Reporting and Impact section was increased to 45% of the total score in 2021. The scoring approach for the 10 Impact questions (Q28-37) was also modified to provide additional points for companies who reported partial but substantial performance data. Additionally, the focus of two questions (Q14 and Q27) was changed to remove the potential for double scoring. Specifically, Q14 was focused on explanations of progress against objectives and targets, and Q27 was focused on explanations of progress in performance related to welfare outcome measures. These changes to the BBFAW methodology have resulted in 36 companies dropping a tier. Noteworthy, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, six companies have improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier. Company assessments were based on information published by companies on the date of their assessments. All companies were assessed during the period from 1st August to 30th September 2021.

About The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the leading global measure of farm animal welfare management, policy commitment, performance and disclosure in food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare, and it drives  directly and through the efforts of others  corporate improvements in the welfare of animals reared for food.

The BBFAW Secretariat maintains the Global Investor Statement on Farm Animal Welfare and convenes the Global Investor Collaboration on Farm Animal Welfare, a collaborative engagement between major institutional investors and food companies on the issue of farm animal welfare. In addition, the BBFAW Secretariat manages extensive engagement programs with companies and with investors and provides practical guidance and tools for companies and for investors on key animal welfare issues.

The program is supported by the BBFAWs founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and supporting partner, FOUR PAWS, who provide technical expertise, guidance, funding and practical resources, alongside supporting the assessed food businesses with training, programmatic expertise and consultancy engagement.

More information on the program can be found at www.bbfaw.com

About Compassion in World Farming

Compassion in World Farming is the leading farm animal welfare charity advancing the wellbeing of farm animals and their integration into a more humane sustainable food system, through advocacy, political lobbying and positive corporate engagement. The Food Business program works in partnership with major food companies to raise baseline standards for animal welfare throughout their global supply, and to rebalance their animal footprint in a food system fit for the future. The team offers strategic advice and expert technical support for the development, implementation and communication of higher welfare policies and practices, and, increasingly, solutions and frameworks for a more humane sustainable food system.

Compassion engages directly with many of the companies evaluated in the BBFAW to highlight and support with policy development, welfare improvement and transparent reporting. The Food Business team uses the Benchmark alongside Compassions other tools such as the Supermarket Survey, its Awards program, EggTrack, and its advisory services to help companies understand how they are performing relative to their peers, to identify areas and mechanisms for continuous improvement, and to highlight sources of risk and advantage.

More information on Compassion in World Farming can be found at: www.ciwf.com. More information on the work of the Food Business team at Compassion in World Farming can be found at: www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com

About FOUR PAWS

FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. FOUR PAWS sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals  such as bears, big cats and orangutans  kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions.

More information on FOUR PAWS can be found at: www.four-paws.org.

ENDS ALL
Dublin, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Global Market Report 2022 by Type, Mode, Property Type" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report provides strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global real estate agency and brokerage market as it emerges from the COVID-19 shut down.



Reasons to Purchase

Gain a truly global perspective with the most comprehensive report available on this market covering 50+ geographies.

Understand how the market is being affected by the coronavirus and how it is likely to emerge and grow as the impact of the virus abates.

Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis.

Identify growth segments for investment.

Outperform competitors using forecast data and the drivers and trends shaping the market.

Understand customers based on the latest market research findings.

Benchmark performance against key competitors.

Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing.

Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis

Description:

Where is the largest and fastest growing market for the real estate agency and brokerage? How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets? What forces will shape the market going forward? The Real Estate Agency and Brokerage market global report answers all these questions and many more.



The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market's historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider real estate agency and brokerage market, and compares it with other markets.

The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market.

The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market, the impact of the COVID-19 virus and forecasting its recovery.

Market segmentations break down market into sub markets.

The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers the impact and recovery trajectory of COVID-19 for all regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets.

Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified.

The trends and strategies section analyses the shape of the market as it emerges from the crisis and suggests how companies can grow as the market recovers.

The real estate agency and brokerage market section of the report gives context. It compares the real estate agency and brokerage market with other segments of the real estate market by size and growth, historic and forecast. It analyses GDP proportion, expenditure per capita, real estate agency and brokerage indicators comparison.

Major companies in the real estate agency and brokerage market include Realogy Holdings Corp., Mitsui Fudosan Co. Ltd., Berkshire Hathaway Inc., CBRE Group, FirstService Corporation, Sekisui House, Savills plc, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., Colliers International and Shimizu Corporation.



The global real estate agency and brokerage market is expected to grow from $1221.82 billion in 2021 to $1344.45 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.0%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $1912.99 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 9.2%.



The real estate agency and brokerage services market consists of sales of real estate and brokerage services by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that act as agents and/or brokers for real estate activities.



The main types of real estate agency and brokerage are residential buildings and dwellings brokers, non-residential buildings brokers, mini warehouses and self-storage units brokers and other brokers. A real estate broker is a licenced real estate dealer who has completed further schooling and obtained a local real estate broker licence. The different modes include online, offline and involves various property types such as fully furnished, semi-furnished, unfurnished.



Economic growth and a rapidly growing urban population is expected to increase the demand for residential and commercial buildings brokers, during the forecast period. The increasing number of rural residents migrating into cities is resulting in increasing demand for access to affordable housing and commercial spaces. This provides a significant opportunity for real estate service providers to improve housing, retail and other commercial services. Globally, around 60% of urban settlements remained to be built. According to the World Bank, the urban population in South Asia is expected to grow by 250 million by 2031. This rapid urbanization is expected to boost the demand for real estate agencies and brokers and drive the real estate agency and brokerage market going forward.



The outbreak of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has acted as a massive restraint on the real estate agency and brokerage market in 2020 as the need for services offered by these establishments declined due to lockdowns imposed by governments globally. COVID-19 is an infectious disease with flu-like symptoms including fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing. The virus was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei province of the People's Republic of China and spread globally including Western Europe, North America and Asia. Steps by national governments to contain the transmission have resulted in a decline in economic activity with countries entering a state of 'lock down' and the outbreak had a negative impact on businesses throughout 2020 and into 2021. However, it is expected that the real estate agency and brokerage market will recover from the shock across the forecast period as it is a 'black swan' event and not related to ongoing or fundamental weaknesses in the market or the global economy.



Real estate companies are investing in artificial intelligence applications to perform various functions such as property search, building management and design. Artificial intelligence is helping real estate companies to find people looking to buy or sell properties, find a suitable property based on customer requirements, redesign office spaces based on user behavior. According to the research conducted by Drooms, AI technology provider around 54% of property professionals surveyed already use artificial intelligence to improve keyword search and 69% believe AI gives their companies competitive advantage by enabling high speed search of documents. For instance, REX, a real estate company analyses data from third parties such as Google to determine willingness of a person to buy or sell a house. WeWork, a startup that provides shared workspaces is using artificial intelligence to design its office spaces. Skyline, an Israeli company's artificial intelligence platform recommends properties to real estate investors by using data from more than 130 sources and taking into account over 10,000 different attributes on properties.



Asia Pacific was the largest region in the real estate agency and brokerage market in 2021. North America was the second-largest region in the real estate agency and brokerage market. The regions covered in the real estate agency and brokerage market are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Report Structure



3. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Characteristics

3.1. Market Definition

3.2. Key Segmentations



4. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Product Analysis

4.1. Leading Products/ Services

4.2. Key Features and Differentiators

4.3. Development Products



5. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Supply Chain

5.1. Supply Chain

5.2. Distribution

5.3. End Customers



6. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Customer Information

6.1. Customer Preferences

6.2. End Use Market Size and Growth



7. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Trends And Strategies



8. Impact Of COVID-19 On Real Estate Agency and Brokerage



9. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Size And Growth

9.1. Market Size

9.2. Historic Market Growth, Value ($ Billion)

9.2.1. Drivers Of The Market

9.2.2. Restraints On The Market

9.3. Forecast Market Growth, Value ($ Billion)

9.3.1. Drivers Of The Market

9.3.2. Restraints On The Market



10. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Regional Analysis

10.1. Global Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market, 2021, By Region, Value ($ Billion)

10.2. Global Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, Historic And Forecast, By Region

10.3. Global Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market, Growth And Market Share Comparison, By Region



11. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Segmentation

11.1. Global Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

11.2. Global Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Mode, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

11.3. Global Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market, Segmentation By Property Type, Historic and Forecast, 2016-2021, 2021-2026F, 2031F, $ Billion

12. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Metrics

12.1. Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Size, Percentage Of GDP, 2016-2026F, Global

12.2. Per Capita Average Real Estate Agency and Brokerage Market Expenditure, 2016-2026F, Global

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/4u2deo

Attachment
Dublin, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Power Discrete and Modules Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Type (Power Discrete and Power Module), Application (Industrial, Consumer Electronics, IT & Telecom, Automotive, and Others), Material (Si, SiC, and GaN), and Wafer Size" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global power discrete and modules market is expected to grow from $23,572.48 million in 2021 to $36,716.68 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% during 2021-2028.



A high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system utilizes direct current for transmitting electrical power in contrast with the other common alternating current systems. The system is also known as an electrical superhighway or power superhighway. The high power insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) module is one of the crucial components required for the flexible power transfer through an HVDC transmission system. The overhead HVDC power transmission system infrastructure can transmit more power than a high voltage alternating current (HVAC) system. The 3,300 V 1,500 A power IGBT modules are used in flexible HVDC projects in China and are expected to serve up to almost 30 to 40 years.



In 2021, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) played a significant role in the implementation of the +800 kV, 6,000 MW ultra-high voltage direct current (UHVDC) link between the Southern Region Grid (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu) and the Western Region Grid (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh). In 2020, the state government of Maharashtra in India unveiled its plans to build a 1 GW underground high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission network by investing almost US$ 1.08 billion. Thus, the increasing investments in the HVDC system are anticipated to create lucrative opportunities for respective power modules in the future.



The power discrete and modules market is segmented based on type, application, material, wafer size, and geography.



Based on type, the market is bifurcated into power discrete and power module. The power discrete segment represented a larger share of the overall market in 2020. In terms of application, the power discrete and modules market is segmented into industrial, consumer electronics, IT & telecom, automotive, and others. In 2020, the consumer electronics segment accounted for a substantial market share. Based on material, the market is categorized into Si, SiC, and GaN. The Si segment represented a larger share of the overall market in 2020. Based on wafer size, the market is bifurcated into up to 200 mm and 300 mm. up to 200 mm segment represented a larger share of the overall market in 2020. Geographically, the market is broadly segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), the Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM). In 2020, Asia Pacific (APAC) accounted for a significant share in the global market.



In 2020, the impact of COVID-19 differed from nation to nation across the European region. In the region, the major countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic were Germany, France, Italy, the UK, and Russia. Due to the increasing number of recorded cases, some of these nations had to impose stringent and longer lockdowns, along with social isolation in 2020. The lockdown affected automotive electronics sales and caused disruptions across the value chain.



However, according to the number of market research surveys, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European power discrete & modules market has been positively affected. However, the unavailability of skilled labor has further affected the market growth across the European power electronics sector due to the government regulations across major countries such as Germany, the UK, and France.



The major players operating in the global power discrete and modules market include INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Toshiba Corporation; ON Semiconductor Corporation; STMicroelectronics; NXP Semiconductors; Renesas Electronics Corporation; Texas Instruments Incorporated; ROHM CO., LTD.; and Semtech Corporation.



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Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it

Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology



4. Power Discrete and Modules Market Landscape

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.2.1 North America - PEST Analysis

4.2.2 Europe - PEST Analysis

4.2.3 Asia-Pacific - PEST Analysis

4.2.4 Middle East and Africa - PEST Analysis

4.2.5 South America - PEST Analysis

4.3 Ecosystem Analysis

4.4 Expert Opinion

4.1 Market Drivers

4.1.1 Increasing Demand for Power Modules Across Medical, Defense, and Aerospace Industries

4.1.2 Growing Requirement for SiC-Based Power Devices

4.2 Market Restraints

4.2.1 Limited Availability of Gallium Nitride (GaN)

4.3 Market Opportunities

4.3.1 Increasing Investments in HVDC Power Systems

4.4 Future Trends

4.4.1 Rising Use of Intelligent Power Modules

4.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints



5. Power Discrete and Modules Market - Global Analysis

5.1 Power Discrete and Modules Market Global Overview

5.2 Power Discrete and Modules Market - Global Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

5.3 Market Positioning - Five Key Players



6. Power Discrete and Modules Market Analysis - By Type

6.1 Overview

6.2 Power Discrete and Modules Market, By Type (2020 and 2028)

6.3 Power Discrete

6.3.1 Overview

6.3.2 Power Discrete: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

6.3.3 Thyristor Market

6.3.3.1 Overview

6.3.3.2 Thyristor : Power Discrete and Module Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

6.3.4 Rectifier Market

6.3.4.1 Overview

6.3.4.2 Rectifier: Power Discrete and Module Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

6.3.5 IGBT Market

6.3.5.1 Overview

6.3.5.2 IGBT: Power Discrete and Module Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

6.3.6 MOSFET Market

6.3.6.1 Overview

6.3.6.2 MOSFET: Power Discrete and Module Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

6.3.7 Others Market

6.3.7.1 Overview

6.3.7.2 Others: Power Discrete and Module Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

6.4 Power Module

6.4.1 Overview

6.4.2 Power Module: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



7. Power Discrete and Modules Market Analysis - By Application

7.1 Overview

7.2 Power Discrete and Modules Market, By Application (2020 and 2028)

7.3 Industrial

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Industrial: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

7.4 Consumer Electronics

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 Consumer Electronics: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

7.5 IT & Telecom

7.5.1 Overview

7.5.2 IT & Telecom: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

7.6 Automotive

7.6.1 Overview

7.6.2 Automotive: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

7.7 Others

7.7.1 Overview

7.7.2 Others: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



8. Power Discrete and Modules Market - By Material

8.1 Overview

8.2 Power Discrete and Modules Market, by Material (2020 and 2028)

8.3 Si

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.2 Si: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4 SiC

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 SiC: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.5 GaN

8.5.1 Overview

8.5.2 GaN: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



9. Power Discrete and Modules Market - By Wafer Size

9.1 Overview

9.2 Power Discrete and Modules Market, by Wafer Size (2020 and 2028)

9.3 Upto 200 mm

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Upto 200 mm: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

9.4 mm

9.4.1 Overview

9.4.2 mm: Power Discrete and Modules Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



10. Power Discrete and Modules Market - Geographic Analysis



11. Power Discrete and Modules Market- COVID-19 Impact Analysis

11.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.3 APAC: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.4 MEA: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.5 SAM Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic



12. Industry Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 Market Initiative

12.3 New Product Development



13. Company Profiles

13.1 INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG

13.1.1 Key Facts

13.1.2 Business Description

13.1.3 Products and Services

13.1.4 Financial Overview

13.1.5 SWOT Analysis

13.1.6 Key Developments

13.2 Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

13.2.1 Key Facts

13.2.2 Business Description

13.2.3 Products and Services

13.2.4 Financial Overview

13.2.5 SWOT Analysis

13.2.6 Key Developments

13.3 Toshiba Corporation

13.3.1 Key Facts

13.3.2 Business Description

13.3.3 Products and Services

13.3.4 Financial Overview

13.3.5 SWOT Analysis

13.3.6 Key Developments

13.4 ON Semiconductor Corporation

13.4.1 Key Facts

13.4.2 Business Description

13.4.3 Products and Services

13.4.4 Financial Overview

13.4.5 SWOT Analysis

13.4.6 Key Developments

13.5 STMicroelectronics N.V.

13.5.1 Key Facts

13.5.2 Business Description

13.5.3 Products and Services

13.5.4 Financial Overview

13.5.5 SWOT Analysis

13.5.6 Key Developments

13.6 NXP Semiconductors

13.6.1 Key Facts

13.6.2 Business Description

13.6.3 Products and Services

13.6.4 Financial Overview

13.6.5 SWOT Analysis

13.6.6 Key Developments

13.7 Renesas Electronics Corporation

13.7.1 Key Facts

13.7.2 Business Description

13.7.3 Products and Services

13.7.4 Financial Overview

13.7.5 SWOT Analysis

13.7.6 Key Developments

13.8 Texas Instruments Incorporated

13.8.1 Key Facts

13.8.2 Business Description

13.8.3 Products and Services

13.8.4 Financial Overview

13.8.5 SWOT Analysis

13.8.6 Key Developments

13.9 ROHM CO., LTD.

13.9.1 Key Facts

13.9.2 Business Description

13.9.3 Products and Services

13.9.4 Financial Overview

13.9.5 SWOT Analysis

13.9.6 Key Developments

13.10 Semtech Corporation

13.10.1 Key Facts

13.10.2 Business Description

13.10.3 Products and Services

13.10.4 Financial Overview

13.10.5 SWOT Analysis

13.10.6 Key Developments



14. Appendix

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/osz6sa

Attachment
Pune, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry."

Global Brain Health Supplements Market Research Report 2022-2028 is a historical overview and in-depth study on the current & future market of the Brain Health Supplements industry. The report represents a basic overview of the Brain Health Supplements market share, competitor segment with a basic introduction of key vendors, top regions, product types, and end industries. This report gives a historical overview of the Brain Health Supplements market trends, growth, revenue, capacity, cost structure, and key drivers analysis. The report further investigates and assesses the current landscape of the ever-evolving business sector and the present and future effects of COVID-19 on the Brain Health Supplements market.

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Brain health products can promote brain blood circulation, nourish the brain nerves, prevent and improve senile dementia, strengthen brain activity, promote brain development and prevent memory loss in the elderly.

Market Analysis and Insights: Global Brain Health Supplements Market

The global Brain Health Supplements market size is projected to reach US$ 6644.9 million by 2028, from US$ 4225.8 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 6.6% during 2022-2028.

In terms of production side, this report researches the Brain Health Supplements capacity, production, growth rate, market share by manufacturers and by region (region level and country level), from 2017 to 2022, and forecast to 2028.

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The Major Players in the Brain Health Supplements Market include: The research covers the current Brain Health Supplements market size and its growth rates based on 5-year records with company outline of key players/manufacturers:

Accelerated Intelligence

AlternaScript

HVMN

Liquid Health

AurobindPharma

Natural Factors Nutritional Products

Onnit Labs

KeyView Labs

Purelife Bioscience

Quincy Bioscience

TO UNDERSTAND HOW COVID-19 IMPACT IS COVERED IN THIS REPORT

The report thoroughly covers evaluation of current opportunities along with the assessment of demand to supply ratio and major challenges and business threats. In terms of sales side, this report focuses on the sales of Brain Health Supplements by region (region level and country level), by company, by Type and by Application from 2017 to 2022 and forecast to 2028.

On the basis of product type, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share, and growth rate of each type, primarily split into:

Herbal Extract

Vitamins and Minerals

Natural Molecules

On the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share, and growth rate for each application, including:

Memory Enhancement

Controlling Mood and Depression

Attention

Longevity and Anti-Aging

Sleep and Physical Recovery

Other

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The Brain Health Supplements Market competitive landscape provides details and data information by players. The report offers a comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on revenue by the player for the period 2017-2022. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on revenue (global and regional level) by players for the period 2017-2022. Details included are company description, major business, company total revenue and the sales, revenue generated in Brain Health Supplements business, the date to enter into the Brain Health Supplements market, Brain Health Supplements product introduction, recent developments, etc.

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Comprehensive analysis of the global as well as regional markets of the Brain Health Supplements market.

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The growth matrix presents an analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.

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Some of the key questions answered in this report:

What is the global ( North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa ) sales value, production value, consumption value, import and export of Brain Health Supplements?

) sales value, production value, consumption value, import and export of Brain Health Supplements? Who are the global key manufacturers of the Brain Health Supplements Industry? How is their operating situation (capacity, production, sales, price, cost, gross, and revenue)?

What are the Brain Health Supplements market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Brain Health Supplements Industry?

Which application/end-user or product type may seek incremental growth prospects? What is the market share of each type and application?

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Years considered for this report:

Historical Years: 2017-2021

Base Year: 2021

Estimated Year: 2022

Brain Health Supplements Market Forecast Period: 2022-2028

With tables and figures helping analyse worldwide Global Brain Health Supplements market trends, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.

Some Points from TOC:

1 Report Business Overview

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Market Analysis by Type

1.2.1 Global Brain Health Supplements Market Size Growth Rate by Type, 2017 VS 2021 VS 2028

1.2.2 Herbal Extract

1.2.3 Vitamins and Minerals

1.2.4 Natural Molecules

1.3 Market by Application

1.3.1 Global Brain Health Supplements Market Size Growth Rate by Application, 2017 VS 2021 VS 2028

1.3.2 Memory Enhancement

1.3.3 Controlling Mood and Depression

1.3.4 Attention

1.3.5 Longevity and Anti-Aging

1.3.6 Sleep and Physical Recovery

1.3.7 Other

1.4 Study Objectives

1.5 Years Considered

2 Global Growth Trends

2.1 Global Brain Health Supplements Market Perspective (2017-2028)

2.2 Brain Health Supplements Growth Trends by Region

2.2.1 Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Region: 2017 VS 2021 VS 2028

2.2.2 Brain Health Supplements Historic Market Size by Region (2017-2022)

2.2.3 Brain Health Supplements Forecasted Market Size by Region (2023-2028)

2.3 Brain Health Supplements Market Dynamics

2.3.1 Brain Health Supplements Industry Trends

2.3.2 Brain Health Supplements Market Drivers

2.3.3 Brain Health Supplements Market Challenges

2.3.4 Brain Health Supplements Market Restraints

3 Competition Landscape by Key Players

3.1 Global Top Brain Health Supplements Players by Revenue

3.1.1 Global Top Brain Health Supplements Players by Revenue (2017-2022)

3.1.2 Global Brain Health Supplements Revenue Market Share by Players (2017-2022)

3.2 Global Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Company Type (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3)

3.3 Players Covered: Ranking by Brain Health Supplements Revenue

3.4 Global Brain Health Supplements Market Concentration Ratio

3.4.1 Global Brain Health Supplements Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)

3.4.2 Global Top 10 and Top 5 Companies by Brain Health Supplements Revenue in 2021

3.5 Brain Health Supplements Key Players Head office and Area Served

3.6 Key Players Brain Health Supplements Product Solution and Service

3.7 Date of Enter into Brain Health Supplements Market

3.8 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans

4 Brain Health Supplements Breakdown Data by Type

4.1 Global Brain Health Supplements Historic Market Size by Type (2017-2022)

4.2 Global Brain Health Supplements Forecasted Market Size by Type (2023-2028)

5 Brain Health Supplements Breakdown Data by Application

5.1 Global Brain Health Supplements Historic Market Size by Application (2017-2022)

5.2 Global Brain Health Supplements Forecasted Market Size by Application (2023-2028)

6 North America

6.1 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size (2017-2028)

6.2 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type

6.2.1 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2017-2022)

6.2.2 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2023-2028)

6.2.3 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Type (2017-2028)

6.3 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application

6.3.1 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2017-2022)

6.3.2 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2023-2028)

6.3.3 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Application (2017-2028)

6.4 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country

6.4.1 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2017-2022)

6.4.2 North America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2023-2028)

6.4.3 U.S.

6.4.4 Canada

7 Europe

7.1 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size (2017-2028)

7.2 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type

7.2.1 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2017-2022)

7.2.2 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2023-2028)

7.2.3 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Type (2017-2028)

7.3 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application

7.3.1 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2017-2022)

7.3.2 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2023-2028)

7.3.3 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Application (2017-2028)

7.4 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country

7.4.1 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2017-2022)

7.4.2 Europe Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2023-2028)

7.4.3 Germany

7.4.4 France

7.4.5 U.K.

7.4.6 Italy

7.4.7 Russia

7.4.8 Nordic Countries

8 Asia-Pacific

8.1 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size (2017-2028)

8.2 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type

8.2.1 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2017-2022)

8.2.2 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2023-2028)

8.2.3 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Type (2017-2028)

8.3 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application

8.3.1 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2017-2022)

8.3.2 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2023-2028)

8.3.3 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Application (2017-2028)

8.4 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Region

8.4.1 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Region (2017-2022)

8.4.2 Asia-Pacific Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Region (2023-2028)

8.4.3 China

8.4.4 Japan

8.4.5 South Korea

8.4.6 Southeast Asia

8.4.7 India

8.4.8 Australia

9 Latin America

9.1 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size (2017-2028)

9.2 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type

9.2.1 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2017-2022)

9.2.2 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2023-2028)

9.2.3 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Type (2017-2028)

9.3 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application

9.3.1 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2017-2022)

9.3.2 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2023-2028)

9.3.3 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Application (2017-2028)

9.4 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country

9.4.1 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2017-2022)

9.4.2 Latin America Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2023-2028)

9.4.3 Mexico

9.4.4 Brazil

10 Middle East & Africa

10.1 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size (2017-2028)

10.2 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type

10.2.1 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2017-2022)

10.2.2 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Type (2023-2028)

10.2.3 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Type (2017-2028)

10.3 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application

10.3.1 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2017-2022)

10.3.2 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Application (2023-2028)

10.3.3 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Share by Application (2017-2028)

10.4 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country

10.4.1 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2017-2022)

10.4.2 Middle East & Africa Brain Health Supplements Market Size by Country (2023-2028)

10.4.3 Turkey

10.4.4 Saudi Arabia

10.4.5 UAE

11 Key Players Profiles

Continue..

Detailed TOC of Global Brain Health Supplements Market @ https://www.industryresearch.biz/TOC/20332893

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Market is changing rapidly with the ongoing expansion of the industry. Advancement in technology has provided todays businesses with multifaceted advantages resulting in daily economic shifts. Thus, it is very important for a company to comprehend the patterns of the market movements in order to strategize better. An efficient strategy offers the companies a head start in planning and an edge over the competitors. Industry Research is a credible source for gaining the market reports that will provide you with the lead your business needs.
Dublin, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Type (Best-of-Breed Solutions, Enterprise Solutions), Application (Order Entry, Clinical Documentation, Patient Tracking, E-Prescribing, Others), and End User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global emergency department information system (EDIS) market is expected to grow from US$ 744.73 million in 2021 to US$ 1,698.03 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.5% from 2021 to 2028.



Key factors such as the surge in patient flow at emergency departments and the high adoption of emergency department information systems drive the global emergency department information system (EDIS) market growth. However, the need for huge investments and lack of skilled healthcare IT professionals restrain the market growth.



Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for emergency department information systems has slumped. The emergency department information system (EDIS) market in Asia-Pacific is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. China and India are major contributors to the market growth owing to a few factors such as the rising adoption of emergency department information systems and the surging patient flow at emergency departments.



Emergency department information system (EDIS) is a database system used by emergency response services to track patients in emergency rooms and aid with other aspects of the ED workflow. To ensure the secure availability of sensitive healthcare information, these solutions are used to streamline patient care delivery, conform to applicable data interoperability requirements, and adhere to privacy and protection policies. It is a comprehensive electronic health record used to keep track of patient information.



Emergency medical services (EMS) involve the acute care of patients. The EMS departments manage patients with medical complications, and obstetrical and surgical emergencies. These departments also treat injuries, infections, heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and acute pregnancy complications. Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) is a software tool that assists in entering medical orders into computer systems in ambulatory and inpatient settings. Many former ways of enlisting medicine orders, such as verbal communication (in person or over the phone), written (paper prescriptions), and fax, are being replaced by CPOE.

The growing number of traumas, burns, and critical cases worldwide has increased the need for emergency procedures. The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) reported that trauma is the leading cause of death in individuals up to 45 years of age in the US. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most significant causes of death in the US, and around 1,000,000 people suffer from this per year accounting for 23,000 hospitalizations. The National Inter-Ministerial Observatory of Road Safety (ONISR) published that 6,520 people were injured in road accidents in France in 2018. According to the data published in 2021 by WHO regarding road injuries, about 1.3 million deaths are reported due to road accidents every year.



The increasing number of road accidents and critical cases eventually leads to the rise in emergency surgical procedures, which, in turn, boosts the growth of the emergency department information system (EDIS) market.



Based on end user, the emergency department information system (EDIS) market is segmented into small hospitals, medium-sized hospitals, and large hospitals. The medium-sized hospitals segment held the largest share of the market in 2021. However, the small hospitals segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 13.1% during the forecast period.



Reasons to Buy

Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) market.

Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.

The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies.

Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.

Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.

Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin security interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology



4. Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market - Market Landscape

4.1 Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.2.1 North America PEST Analysis

4.2.2 Europe PEST Analysis

4.2.3 Asia Pacific PEST Analysis

4.2.4 Middle East and Africa PEST Analysis

4.2.5 South and Central America PEST Analysis

4.3 Experts Opinion



5. Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market- Key Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Increase in Patient Flow at Emergency Departments

5.1.2 High Adoption of Emergency Department Information Systems

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 Need for Huge Investments and Lack of Skilled Healthcare IT Professionals

5.3 Market Opportunities

5.3.1 Progress in Digitalization of Healthcare Services

5.4 Future Trends

5.4.1 Emergence of Cloud-Based EDIS Services

5.5 Impact Analysis



6. Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market- Global Analysis

6.1 Global Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis

6.2 Global Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis

6.3 Market Positioning of Key Players



7. Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Analysis - By Type

7.1 Overview

7.2 Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market, By Type, 2021 & 2028 (%)

7.3 Enterprise Solutions

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Enterprise Solutions: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2028 (US$ Million)

7.4 Best-of-Breed Solutions

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 Best-of-Breed Solutions: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2028 (US$ Million)



8. Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecasts To 2028 - Application

8.1 Overview

8.2 Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Share by Application - 2021 & 2028 (%)

8.3 Patient Tracking

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.2 Patient Tracking: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4 E-Prescribing

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 E-Prescribing: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.5 Clinical Documentation

8.5.1 Overview

8.5.2 Clinical Documentation: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.6 Order Entry (CPOE)

8.6.1 Overview

8.6.2 Order Entry (CPOE): Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.7 Others

8.7.1 Overview

8.7.2 Others: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



9. Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Analysis - End User

9.1 Overview

9.2 Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Share by End-user - 2021 & 2028 (%)

9.3 Small Hospitals

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Small Hospitals: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

9.4 Medium-Sized Hospitals

9.4.1 Overview

9.4.2 Medium-Sized Hospitals: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

9.5 Large Hospitals

9.5.1 Overview

9.5.2 Large Hospitals: Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



10. Global Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market - Geographic Analysis



11. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market

11.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.3 Asia-Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.4 Middle East and Africa: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.5 South and Central America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic



12. Industry Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 Growth Strategies in the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) Market, 2019-2021

12.3 Organic Developments

12.3.1 Overview

12.4 Inorganic Developments

12.4.1 Overview



13. Company Profiles

13.1 Allscripts Healthcare, LLC

13.1.1 Key Facts

13.1.2 Business Description

13.1.3 Products and Services

13.1.4 Financial Overview

13.1.5 SWOT Analysis

13.1.6 Key Developments

13.2 Cerner Corporation

13.2.1 Key Facts

13.2.2 Business Description

13.2.3 Products and Services

13.2.4 Financial Overview

13.2.5 SWOT Analysis

13.2.6 Key Developments

13.3 eHealth-Tec

13.3.1 Key Facts

13.3.2 Business Description

13.3.3 Products and Services

13.3.4 Financial Overview

13.3.5 SWOT Analysis

13.3.6 Key Developments

13.4 Epic Systems Corporation

13.4.1 Key Facts

13.4.2 Business Description

13.4.3 Products and Services

13.4.4 Financial Overview

13.4.5 SWOT Analysis

13.4.6 Key Developments

13.5 Medical Information Technology, Inc.

13.5.1 Key Facts

13.5.2 Business Description

13.5.3 Products and Services

13.5.4 Financial Overview

13.5.5 SWOT Analysis

13.5.6 Key Developments

13.6 Q-nomy Inc.

13.6.1 Key Facts

13.6.2 Business Description

13.6.3 Products and Services

13.6.4 Financial Overview

13.6.5 SWOT Analysis

13.6.6 Key Developments

13.7 Picis

13.7.1 Key Facts

13.7.2 Business Description

13.7.3 Products and Services

13.7.4 Financial Overview

13.7.5 SWOT Analysis

13.7.6 Key Developments

13.8 Vital

13.8.1 Key Facts

13.8.2 Business Description

13.8.3 Products and Services

13.8.4 Financial Overview

13.8.5 SWOT Analysis

13.8.6 Key Developments

13.9 EMIS Health

13.9.1 Key Facts

13.9.2 Business Description

13.9.3 Products and Services

13.9.4 Financial Overview

13.9.5 SWOT Analysis

13.9.6 Key Developments

13.10 sublimd

13.10.1 Key Facts

13.10.2 Business Description

13.10.3 Products and Services

13.10.4 Financial Overview

13.10.5 SWOT Analysis

13.10.6 Key Developments

13.11 Medsphere Systems Corporation

13.11.1 Key Facts

13.11.2 Business Description

13.11.3 Products and Services

13.11.4 Financial Overview

13.11.5 SWOT Analysis

13.11.6 Key Developments

13.12 MEDHOST

13.12.1 Key Facts

13.12.2 Business Description

13.12.3 Products and Services

13.12.4 Financial Overview

13.12.5 SWOT Analysis

13.12.6 Key Developments



14. Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/lmaezw

Attachment
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Wednesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Following are the latest developments of the situation:

Ukraine and Russia will continue their peace talks on Wednesday, Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said Tuesday.

"We'll continue tomorrow. A very difficult and viscous negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is certainly room for compromise," Podolyak tweeted.

The work in subgroups will continue during the break, he added.

- - - -

Russian President Vladimir Putin and European Council President Charles Michel discussed the Ukrainian situation during a phone conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders exchanged views on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and measures to evacuate civilians, said the statement.

Putin outlined his assessments of the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on a possible settlement of the crisis, it said.

- - - -

The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday has extended the current martial law for another 30 days from March 26, Yaroslav Zheleznyak,a lawmaker, said on Telegram.

The legislation to extend the martial law, which was submitted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was supported by 343 lawmakers out of 345 present in the parliament, Zheleznyak said.

Kiev imposed the martial law after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on Feb. 24.

- - - -

Russia will table its own draft Security Council resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine after France and Mexico announced their intention to move their draft to the General Assembly, said the Russian UN ambassador on Tuesday.

France and Mexico, which were working on a draft resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine for adoption at the Security Council, announced on Monday that they would move to the General Assembly for action. 
Pune, India, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global market for solar water pump is expected to rise during the projected period due to increasing utilization of solar pumps in improving livelihood. Fortune Business Insights publishes this information in a report titled, "Solar Water Pump Market, 2021-2028". As per the report, the solar water pump market size was USD 2.38 billion in 2020. The market size is expected to rise from USD 2.86 billion in 2021 to USD 5.64 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 10.2% during the forecast period.

Solar water pump is a system that works on solar energy and pumps water for various purposes such as potable drinking water, community water supply, and irrigation. Using solar water pumps has decreased the resource utilization of energy-dependent resources such as diesel, gas, and coal. Increasing investment in agriculture application is expected to propel market growth in the coming years.

Request a Sample Copy of Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/solar-water-pump-market-101754

Companies Profiled in the Market Report:

Alpex Solar Pumps

Aqua Group

Bright Solar Limited

C.R.I. Pumps Private Limited

Crompton

LORENTZ

Dankoff Solar

Duke Plasto Technique Private Limited

EcoSoach

Ecozen Solutions

Franklin Electric

Grundfos

Jackson Group

K.S.B.Limited

Novergy Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Shakti Pumps

SunEdison Infrastructure

Surya International

Tata Power Solar

Waaree Energies Ltd

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 10.2% 2028 Value Projection USD 5.64 Billion Base Year 2020 Market Size in 2020 USD 2.38 Billion Historical Data for 2017 to 2019 No. of Pages 190 Segments covered Type, Motor Type, Power Rating, Application and Regional Growth Drivers Rising Government Initiatives to Propel Market Growth Product Development Allows Key Players to Expand Market Reach Asia Pacific Dominates Market Due to Rising Agriculture Sector

COVID-19 Impact:

Restricted Workforce Affected Production Rate of Companies

The outbreak of COVID-19 has affected various industries, which affected the sales of solar pumps. The global lockdown and stringent restrictions imposed by governments created a long halt on the production operations of several companies. This affected the major key players' sales and revenue generation rate. To maintain social distancing norms imposed by governments, various companies have reduced the operating workforce that affected their production and supply chain.

To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market,

Please Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/industry-reports/solar-water-pump-market-101754

Report Coverage:

The report focuses on factual data and statistical information regarding market development and recent trends in the industry. Also, drivers and restraints affecting the market are highlighted further in the report. Furthermore, the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on market growth and expansion is elaborated along with recent trends in the industry. The report sheds light on major key players in the market and their business development strategies.

Drivers & Restraints:

Rising Government Initiatives to Propel Market Growth

The market is expected to witness prominent growth during the forecast period due to emerging government initiatives and subsidies to bolster market development. Rising demand for clean and renewable energy sources is expected to boost the market in the segmented regions. Increasing solar pumps in the agriculture sector and improving livelihood are anticipated to drive the market. These factors are expected to ensure the solar water pump market growth in the coming years.

However, high costs and lack of awareness about solar energy may hamper the market growth.

Competitive Landscape:

Product Development Allows Key Players to Expand Market Reach

Key players in the market focus on introducing a new product range by implementing innovative strategies to enhance their product portfolio. Further, the companies implement various business development and expansion strategies such as forming strategic alliances, mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships. These strategies allow key players to expand their business reach globally.

Industry Developments:

September 2021 : Grundfos introduced the SQFlex Large, extending its long-standing SQFlex solar-powered submersible pump range. The company expanded the product offering across Asia Pacific with the rise in demand for solar energy pumps as well as withstanding the diverse weather conditions spanning the region.

: Grundfos introduced the SQFlex Large, extending its long-standing SQFlex solar-powered submersible pump range. The company expanded the product offering across Asia Pacific with the rise in demand for solar energy pumps as well as withstanding the diverse weather conditions spanning the region. June 2020: SunEdison entered into a framework agreement to restructure and transfer its solar business. Under the proposed restructuring plan, the completed projects and under completed projects will be separated, focusing mainly on residential and small commercial rooftop solar segments.

Quick Buy: Solar Water Pump Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/101754

Segmentation:

Agriculture Segment Dominates the Market due to High Utilization of Pumps

By type, the market is bifurcated into the submersible pumps and surface pumps.

Based on motor type, the market is divided into AC pump and DC pump.

On the basis on power rating, the market is segregated into upto 5 HP, 5 HP to 10 HP, 10 HP to 20 HP, and more than 20 HP.

According to the application, the market is trifurcated into agriculture, water treatment, and others.

By region, the market is categorized into Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East & Africa, and rest of the world.

Regional Insights:

Asia Pacific Dominates Market Due to Rising Agriculture Sector

Asia Pacific dominates the global solar water pump market share during the forecast period due to increasing installation of these pumps in the agriculture sector. Also, increasing the utilization of these water pumps in rural areas is expected to propel market growth.

Latin America holds the second-largest global market share due to the growth of clean energy, which is anticipated to acquire a high market share.

Major Table of content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions & Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Insight on Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis

Qualitative Analysis  Impact of COVID-19 Impact of COVID-19 on the Solar Water Pump Market Steps Taken by the Government to Overcome the Impact Key Developments in the Industry in Response to COVID-19 Potential Opportunities and Challenges due to COVID-19 Outbreak

Global Solar Water Pump Market (USD Billion) Analysis, Insights, and Forecast, 2017-2028 Key Findings Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Submersible Pump Surface Pump Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Motor Type AC Pumps DC Pumps Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Power Rating Upto 5 HP 5 HP to 10 HP 10 HP to 20 HP Above 20 HP Market Analysis, Insights, and Forecast  By Applications Agriculture Water Treatment Others Market Analysis, Insights, and Forecast  By Region Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East & Africa Rest of the World



TOC Continued!





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Dublin, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Botulinum Toxin Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product Type, Application, and End User" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The botulinum toxin market is expected to reach US$ 8,977.62 million by 2028 from US$ 5,307.71 million in 2021. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2021 to 2028. The factors responsible for the botulinum toxin market's growth are increasing aesthetic procedures and the use of botulinum toxin, and the rising number of non-invasive cosmetic procedures. However, the side effects of botulinum toxin hamper the market growth.



Botulinum toxins are neurotoxins that attack nerves and cause muscle paralysis. A bacterium known as clostridium botulinum makes these neurotoxins. Healthcare providers use specific bacteria for medical injections. Injections of botulinum toxin block nerve signals to the muscle injected into it. Without a signal, the muscle cannot contract. The result is a reduction in unwanted facial lines or features. Botulinum toxin injections like Botox and Dysport improve the appearance by relaxing the muscles that cause wrinkles. These injections also treat migraines, hyperhidrosis, overactive bladder, and eye problems.



There is a significant rise in non-surgical procedures and dermal injectables across France. According to the Global Aesthetics Consensus, in 2016, ~258,438 non-surgical aesthetic procedures were performed in the country, out of which more than 101,400 were botulinum toxin (BTX) procedures. Moreover, the expansion of cosmetology clinics and the increase in the number of cosmetology practitioners are expected to drive the botulinum toxin market further in the coming years. People from countries, such as Switzerland, Romania, and Russia, visit France for aesthetic procedures due to advanced medical services available in the country. Moreover, in Italy, every 10th patient applying for cosmetic surgery is a tourist. The Italian Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (AICPE) had announced an "aesthetic alliance" with the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) to develop high-quality cosmetic surgeries with enhanced patient safety.



Similarly, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), a total of 4,401,536 botulinum toxin Type A (Botox, Dysport, Xeomin) minimally-invasive cosmetic procedures were performed in the US, in which 4,136,289 were female, and 265,247 were male. In 2020, Aesthetic Neural Network (ANN) data reported total revenue of over US$ 9 billion spent on aesthetic plastic surgery.



In addition, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), in 2019, the total number of cosmetic procedures were performed in India was 643,752, in which total non-surgical procedures were 249,024, out of which botulinum toxin procedures were 70,248. Similarly, in 2019, the total number of cosmetic procedures were performed in Brazil was 2,565,675, in which total non-surgical procedures were 1,072,002 - among them, botulinum toxin procedures were 507,869.



Therapeutic uses of BTX include treating diseases, such as chronic migraines, muscle spasticity, over-reactive bladder, and hyperhidrosis. The cosmetic and clinical application of BTX offers a comprehensive and in-depth review of aesthetic procedures and medical applications for standalone treatment, as well as combination therapy. According to ISAPS, approximately 321,702 BTX procedures were performed in Germany in 2018. Due to the increase in the geriatric population and the desire to look young, the number of BTX-based procedures being performed in Germany is on the rise.



As per ISAPS, Germany accounts for ~4% of the total number of cosmetic procedures performed worldwide. Moreover, there are more than 500 plastic surgeons in the UK, and the number is expected to increase in the future. Thus, with the rise in the number of aesthetic service providers, practitioners, and plastic surgeons, the number of aesthetic procedures performed in Europe is increasing, thereby boosting the demand and sales of botulinum toxin, which is contributing to the growth of the botulinum toxin market.



Reasons to Buy

Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global botulinum toxin market.

Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.

The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the global botulinum toxin market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long-term strategies.

Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.

Scrutinize in-depth market trends and outlook in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South & Central America coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.

Enhancing the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin security interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology



4. Botulinum Toxin Market - Market Landscape

4.1 Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.2.1 North America PEST Analysis

4.2.2 Europe PEST Analysis

4.2.3 Asia Pacific PEST Analysis

4.2.4 Middle East and Africa PEST Analysis

4.2.5 South And Central America PEST Analysis

4.3 Experts Opinion



5. Botulinum Toxin Market - Key Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Increasing Aesthetics Procedures and Use of Botulinum Toxin

5.1.2 Rising Number of Non-invasive Cosmetic Procedures

5.2 Market Restraints

5.2.1 Side-Effects of Botulinum Toxin

5.3 Market Opportunities

5.3.1 Increasing Therapeutic Applications of Botulinum Toxin

5.4 Future Trends

5.4.1 Rise in Product Approvals

5.5 Impact Analysis



6. Botulinum Toxin Market - Global Analysis

6.1 Global Botulinum Toxin Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis

6.2 Global Botulinum Toxin Market, By Geography - Forecast and Analysis

6.3 Market Positioning of Key Players



7. Global Botulinum Toxin Market Revenue and Forecasts To 2028- by Product Type

7.1 Overview

7.2 Global Botulinum Toxin Market Revenue Share, by Product Type (2021 and 2028)

7.3 Type A Botulinum Toxin

7.3.1 Overview

7.3.2 Type A Botulinum Toxin: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

7.4 Type B Botulinum Toxin

7.4.1 Overview

7.4.2 Type B Botulinum Toxin: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



8. Global Botulinum Toxin Market Analysis - By Application

8.1 Overview

8.2 Global Botulinum Toxin Market Revenue Share, by Application (2021 and 2028)

8.3 Medical

8.3.1 Overview

8.3.2 Medical: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.3.2.1 Chronic Migraine

8.3.2.1.1 Overview

8.3.2.1.2 Chronic Migraine: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.3.2.2 Muscle Spasm

8.3.2.2.1 Overview

8.3.2.2.2 Muscle Spasm: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.3.2.3 Over Reactive Bladder

8.3.2.3.1 Overview

8.3.2.3.2 Over Reactive Bladder: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.3.2.4 Hyperhidrosis

8.3.2.4.1 Overview

8.3.2.4.2 Hyperhidrosis: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.3.2.5 Others

8.3.2.5.1 Overview

8.3.2.5.2 Others: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4 Aesthetic

8.4.1 Overview

8.4.2 Aesthetic: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4.2.1 Crow's Feet

8.4.2.1.1 Overview

8.4.2.1.2 Crow's Feet: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4.2.2 Forehead Lines

8.4.2.2.1 Overview

8.4.2.2.2 Forehead Lines: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4.2.3 Frown Lines/ Glabellar

8.4.2.3.1 Overview

8.4.2.3.2 Frown Lines/ Glabellar: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4.2.4 Square Jaw/ Masseter

8.4.2.4.1 Overview

8.4.2.4.2 Square Jaw/ Masseter: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

8.4.2.5 Others

8.4.2.5.1 Overview

8.4.2.5.2 Others: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)



9. Global Botulinum Toxin Market Analysis - By End User

9.1 Overview

9.2 Global Botulinum Toxin Market Revenue Share, by End User (2021 and 2028)

9.3 Specialty and Dermatology Clinics

9.3.1 Overview

9.3.2 Specialty and Dermatology Clinics: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

9.4 Hospitals and Clinics

9.4.1 Overview

9.4.2 Hospitals and Clinics: Global Botulinum Toxin Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2028 (US$ Million)

9.5 Others

9.5.1 Overview

9.5.2 Others: Global botulinum toxin market - revenue and forecast to 2028 (us$ million)



10. Botulinum Toxin Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2028 - Geographical Analysis



11. Impact Of COVID-19 Pandemic on Botulinum Toxin Market

11.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.3 Asia-Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.4 Middle East and Africa: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic

11.5 South and Central America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic



12. Botulinum Toxin Market-Industry Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 Growth Strategies Done by the Companies in the Market, (%)

12.3 Organic Developments

12.3.1 Overview

12.4 Inorganic Developments

12.4.1 Overview



13. Company Profiles

13.1 AbbVie Inc.

13.1.1 Key Facts

13.1.2 Business Description

13.1.3 Products and Services

13.1.4 Financial Overview

13.1.5 SWOT Analysis

13.1.6 Key Developments

13.2 Merz Pharma

13.2.1 Key Facts

13.2.2 Business Description

13.2.3 Products and Services

13.2.4 Financial Overview

13.2.5 SWOT Analysis

13.2.6 Key Developments

13.3 Medytox

13.3.1 Key Facts

13.3.2 Business Description

13.3.3 Products and Services

13.3.4 Financial Overview

13.3.5 SWOT Analysis

13.3.6 Key Developments

13.4 Sanofi

13.4.1 Key Facts

13.4.2 Business Description

13.4.3 Products and Services

13.4.4 Financial Overview

13.4.5 SWOT Analysis

13.4.6 Key Developments

13.5 Ipsen Pharma

13.5.1 Key Facts

13.5.2 Business Description

13.5.3 Products and Services

13.5.4 Financial Overview

13.5.5 SWOT Analysis

13.5.6 Key Developments

13.6 Galderma

13.6.1 Key Facts

13.6.2 Business Description

13.6.3 Products and Services

13.6.4 Financial Overview

13.6.5 SWOT Analysis

13.6.6 Key Developments

13.7 Revance Therapeutics Inc.

13.7.1 Key Facts

13.7.2 Business Description

13.7.3 Products and Services

13.7.4 Financial Overview

13.7.5 SWOT Analysis

13.7.6 Key Developments

13.8 Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd.

13.8.1 Key Facts

13.8.2 Business Description

13.8.3 Products and Services

13.8.4 Financial Overview

13.8.5 SWOT Analysis

13.8.6 Key Developments

13.9 Candela Medical

13.9.1 Key Facts

13.9.2 Business Description

13.9.3 Products and Services

13.9.4 Financial Overview

13.9.5 SWOT Analysis

13.9.6 Key Developments

13.10 DAEWOONG PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD

13.10.1 Key Facts

13.10.2 Business Description

13.10.3 Products and Services

13.10.4 Financial Overview

13.10.5 SWOT Analysis

13.10.6 Key Developments



14. Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vqj5nj

Attachment
English French

OAKVILLE, Ontario, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With pandemic restrictions lifting, more Canadians are likely to be out celebrating this upcoming St Patricks Day. MADD Canada is urging everyone to help prevent impaired driving and keep roads safe by planning ahead for a sober ride home.



If youre gathering with family and friends to raise some green pints in honour of St. Patricks Day, please leave the driving to someone sober, said MADD Canada National President Jaymie-Lyne Hancock. Count on good planning, not good luck, to get home safely.

MADD Canadas latest statistics show that nearly 87,000 federal charges and provincial short-term suspensions are laid for impaired driving annually. That averages out to about 10 charges and short-term suspensions handed out to drivers every hour.

Worst of all, impaired driving kills hundreds of people, and injures thousands more every year. These tragedies are 100% preventable.



Help prevent impaired driving this St. Patricks Day, and every day, by:

Never driving impaired; call an Uber or a cab, take public transit, arrange a designated driver or call a sober friend or family member;

Never riding with a driver who is impaired;

Calling 911 to report suspected impaired drivers.



Those looking for a safe, sober and reliable ride home at the push of a button can check out Uber, MADD Canadas Official Designated Driving App. Visit https://www.uber.com/ca/en/ for more information.



About MADD Canada

MADD Canada (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) is a national, charitable organization that is committed to stopping impaired driving and supporting the victims of this violent crime. With volunteer-driven groups in more than 100 communities across Canada, MADD Canada aims to offer support services to victims, heighten awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and save lives and prevent injuries on our roads. To learn more, visit www.madd.ca.
CALGARY, Alberta, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carbeeza Inc. (the "Company"; TSX.V: AUTO) is pleased to announce that the Company has officially launched in Manitoba.



The launch of Carbeeza in Manitoba demonstrates continued discipline in executing the Companys strategic plan. The Company continues to add franchised dealers across western Canada and has now set its sights on the large market of Ontario.

Carbeeza continues to add new franchised dealership locations across western Canada, providing consumers access to hard-to-find vehicle inventory. The Carbeeza platform provides dealerships with vetted, pre-qualified customers that are deep in the sales funnel and is differentiated from other on-line listing and lead services that simply provide leads. Consumers can find a vehicle on their terms and determine their best potential options for financing before deciding whether to do a deal.

Carbeeza is focused on continuous product improvement and is excited about some of the new features under development designed to assist its growing dealership partners.

Sandro Torrieri, CEO of Carbeeza, commented: With the launch of Carbeeza in Manitoba, we have successfully launched across western Canada. We are excited to be able to offer consumers access to scarce vehicle inventory, coupled with a transparent and easy way to assess financing options. Dealerships will be pleased with the increased deal flow as consumers increasingly turn to on-line marketplaces., and some of the added functionality under development.

The Carbeeza platform is accessible on the web at www.carbeeza.com and the app is available for download on the Apple App and Google Play stores.

Carbeeza Inc.

Carbeeza is a Canadian-based software company whose platform is targeted to the automotive marketplace. It is the first application to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to accurately predict the best financing scenario for consumers, all while keeping the consumer anonymous. Using state-of-the-art technology, Carbeeza brings the process of buying a car right to the phone, tailor-made for the consumer. Carbeeza is highly beneficial to both consumers and auto dealers.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CARBEEZA INC.

Sandro Torrieri, Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, anticipations, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance, or other similar statements that are not statements of fact. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, and may be based on assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. The Company's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

For further information please contact:



Investor Relations

Email: investorrelations@carbeeza.com

Telephone: 1-855-216-8802

Website: www.carbeeza.com
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American: INUV), a leading provider of marketing technology powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), was named Business of the Year at the 34th annual Arkansas Business of the Year Awards in Little Rock.



Arkansas Business Publishing Group presents the awards each year to honor businesses, nonprofits, and executives in Arkansas and recognizes innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of top companies and individuals that make up the Arkansas business community. Selected by an independent panel of judges, Inuvo was named Business of the Year in Category III (56-100 employees).

Arkansas has a long and storied history of launching category leading companies like Walmart, Tyson and information technology pioneer, Acxiom, said Rich Howe, Chief Executive Officer of Inuvo. These great companies have spawned a talented ecosystem of individuals and businesses which over the last decade has been combined with State-based economic development initiatives that are driving technology education and startup programs that produced many of the companies who were equally up for this honor alongside Inuvo.

Inuvos IntentKey Artificial Intelligence technology has benefited from those State-based economic development programs, which have in turn allowed us to completely reimagine how advertising should be executed in a world where consumers do not want their information being used to support that advertising, said Howe. Rather than focusing on who people are, we decided to invent a technology that can prospect for new clients based on the answer to the more valuable question of why people are interested in a product, service, or brand to begin with.

In an acceptance speech, Howe attributed the companys success to the wonderful people of Inuvo.

About Inuvo

Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American: INUV) is a market leader in Artificial Intelligence built for advertising. Its IntentKey AI solution is a first-of-its-kind proprietary and patented technology capable of identifying and actioning to the reasons why consumers are interested in products, services, or brands, not who those consumers are. To learn more, visit www.inuvo.com.

Inuvo Company Contact:

Wally Ruiz

Chief Financial Officer

Tel (501) 205-8397

wallace.ruiz@inuvo.com

Investor Relations:

KCSA Strategic Communications

Valter Pinto, Managing Director

Tel (212) 896-1254

Valter@KCSA.com
NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quit Genius , the worlds first digital clinic for treating multiple substance addictions, announced today that it has named Justin Yang, MD, MPH as its new Medical Director.



Dr. Yang is a Harvard-trained, dual Board-certified Assistant Professor of Medicine with more than ten years of academic and healthcare industry leadership, as well as clinical and research experience in population health and wellness with a focus in addiction medicine, evidence-based clinical strategy and digital health innovation.



Prior to joining Quit Genius, Dr. Yang was the medical director for an award-winning medication assisted treatment (MAT) program at Manet Community Health Center where he oversaw the clinical team and clinical operations across 7 clinics in the Greater Boston area. During his time at Manet, Dr. Yang received the Barbara A. Morris Award and the Edythe B. Donkin Award for his excellence in providing addiction medicine care to the community. He also served as the US Commercial Chief Medical Officer at Kaia Health, a digital health company focusing on providing digital multimodal pain management programs to members, and was the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer at the medical device company MobioSense.

In addition to his experience in addiction care, Yang is Board-certified in occupational medicine, with expertise in helping organizations understand the impact of employee health and the consequences of an unhealthy employee population, both direct and indirect costs, to the employer. He is the Medical Director of Employee & Occupational Health at Atrius Health/ Harvard Vanguard Medical Association where he established the brand-new Employee & Occupational Health Department to protect and improve the health and wellness of 5,000+ employees.

Dr. Yang is currently a Faculty Instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University.

As a clinician-founded organization, we are thrilled to bring Dr. Yang on board as our Medical Director, said Yusuf Sherwani, M.D., co-founder and CEO of Quit Genius. His academic and hands-on work experience in addiction care as well as employee health and digital health is a tremendous asset. Coming out of the pandemic we are witnessing a mental health and addiction epidemic and a growing number of people in need of more accessible options for care. Our digital clinic is growing quickly to meet the needs of employers and payers who are looking for safe, evidence-based options to take care of their employees and members.

Ive seen first-hand how SUDs impact employees on the job, and I wanted to work with an organization that tackles the alcohol and opioid addiction crisis head-on, said Justin Yang, MD, MPH, Medical Director at Quit Genius. Im excited to work with the Quit Genius team because they are dedicated to evidence-based Medication-Assisted Treatment and making addiction treatment more accessible, and look forward to working with our clients who are putting their employees health and safety first.

Quit Genius delivers the industrys most complete virtual clinical care model for addiction. The program combines virtual behavioral therapy with approved medication and connected devices to help people overcome addiction from the comfort and privacy of their own home. To date, Quit Genius has helped more than 750,000 people improve their lives and conquer their addictions. The average success rate for people in the Quit Genius tobacco program is 52 percent, far higher than traditional methods. Members enrolled in the Quit Genius alcohol program have a 62 percent reduction in alcohol use frequency within the first 30 days of care.

Already recognized as the #1 digital clinic for substance addictions, Quit Genius grew revenue by 10x in 2021, and now partners with more than 100 employer and health plan clients, covering 2.5M lives. Its headcount grew by 4x in the past year. Quit Genius is the only such solution with 8 peer-reviewed studies and a randomized controlled trial demonstrating best-in-class outcomes.

About Quit Genius

Quit Genius is the world's first digital clinic for treating nicotine, alcohol and opioid addictions. Built on the evidence-based practice of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT), Quit Genius combines virtual behavioral therapy with approved medication and connected devices to help employers tackle the high cost of addiction in the workplace while improving the lives of their employees. To-date, Quit Genius has helped more than 750,000 people improve their lives and quit their addictions. The company integrates with health plans, pharmacy benefit managers and wellness platforms to deliver a turnkey implementation experience. Visit quitgenius.com for more information.

Media contact:

Kerry Metzdorf

978-463-2575

kerry@big-swing.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ae071fc4-94c3-4c21-8ca0-c17234620376
COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lane Bryants exclusive intimate apparel brand Cacique Intimates has introduced a bra that is the ultimate top drawer game-changer. A bra that is the answer to a style struggle many women have faced for years: visible bra lines under her outfit of the day. Meet the new Totally Smooth Full Coverage Bra: 360 degrees of smoothing support combined with the ultimate all-day comfort for which Cacique Intimates is known.



The Totally Smooth Full Coverage Bra is an essential solution that provides support yet is practically invisible under more fitted tops and dresses, ensuring the wearer looks incredible from every angle. A combined ultra-thin neckline, raw cut invisible edges, and higher wings for no side spill make the Totally Smooth Full Coverage Bra a disappearing act in the best way.

With a Fit for Curves philosophy, its Cacique Intimates mission to ensure customers look and feel beautiful by providing intimate apparel that is as insanely comfortable as it is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Caciques secret to ensuring the perfect fit is a fit database of 2,000 women who wear test every Cacique bra and panty in the design phase to ensure they are worthy of customers curves.

Cacique Intimates has an experienced and passionate team with a reputation for creating gorgeous intimate apparel that loves our customers curves, said Gill Heer, SVP of Intimate Apparel Design for Cacique. The proof is in the more than 150 million bras sold. We know curvesand were confident that customers will fall in love with the new Totally Smooth Full Coverage Bra.

The Totally Smooth Full Coverage Bra is available in band sizes 36-50 and cup sizes C-H. The bra retails for $54.95 (solid colors) $62.95 (prints).

Continue to stay in the know regarding whats new at Lane Bryant and Cacique Intimates by following along on social media:

Lane Bryant & Cacique Intimates

Facebook: facebook.com/lanebryant & facebook.com/caciqueintimates

Instagram: @lanebryant & @caciqueintimates

Hashtag: #CreateYourLane

About Lane Bryant: Lane Bryant is the nation's leading women's special size apparel brand, empowering customers to create their lane, their own way by providing stylish and high-quality fashion in sizes 10-40. The Lane Bryant assortment includes a wide selection of fashion-forward apparel as well as accessories, footwear, hosiery, LIVI activewear and Cacique intimate apparel. Cacique offers beautiful, sexy and modern intimates for women including everyday panties, bras and sleep, lounge and swimwear, as well as Seriously Sexy intimate apparel. Cacique offers sizes 12-36; bras are offered in band sizes in 34-54 and cup sizes B-K.

Lane Bryant fashions and Cacique Intimates are available nationwide at nearly 450 Lane Bryant stores and online at lanebryant.com and cacique.com .

Lane Bryant Press Contact:

PublicRelations@lanebryant.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b993774d-12c8-460e-8bdc-820281382b20
NEW YORK and VANCOUVER, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Appnovation, a global digital consultancy, has been recognized by the International Awards Associate for its standout work on behalf of its client, ASCD. ASCD empowers educators to achieve excellence in learning, teaching, and leading so that every child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

The new ASCD.org is a user-first, engaging web presence centered around their passionate community of life-changing educators, giving them the information, tools and support they need, when and how they need it.

Appnovation earned seven 2022 MUSE Awards for:

Platinum Winner: Corporate Identity - Brand Identity

Gold Winner: Corporate Identity - Logos

Gold Winner: Branded Content - Non-Profit

Gold Winner: Website - Best User Experience

Gold Winner: Website - Education

Silver Winner: Branded Content - Website Content

Silver Winner: Website - Nonprofit

Taking over 6,000 entries from around the globe, the MUSE Creative Awards competition is one of the leading programs honoring excellence in the creative and design fields. The awards program honors professionals in both creative and design spaces, promoting the entrants excellent works in spite of the changing times wrought by the pandemic.

Appnovation partnered with ASCD to reimagine their overall digital experience and transform it into a modern web presence with a clean, streamlined design. The new platform improves the ways that ASCD members connect with its products and services, including subscription packages, publications, events and professional learning services, reimagined with the user in mind, giving educational leaders the information, tools and support they need when and how they need it. Appnovation and ASCDs creative teams collaborated to create the brand refresh for ASCDs bold new visual identity.

--

About Appnovation

Appnovation helps brands thrive through innovative, people-inspired experiences and solutions. By embracing the powerful combination of technology and agility, we seamlessly integrate strategy, experience, design, development and analytics.

We create standout digital experiences by collaborating with brands to understand the individual challenges and goals for every initiative. Focusing on our clients customers, we effectively combine empathy, evidence and real-world insight so that solutions are derived from truth and meaning. Appnovation is an award-winning team dedicated to inspiring possibility.

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March 16, 2022

Philips Vue PACS interoperability enhances access, quality of care, and patient experience in Scottish Breast Screening Program

Image sharing across regional breast screening centers helps better manage the post COVID-19 backlog of screening appointments

Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Orlando, Florida, USA  Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and NHS National Services Scotland, a non-departmental public body that provides advice and services to National Health Service (NHS) Scotland, today revealed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Scottish Breast Screening Program (SBSP), and the measures taken to deal with the backlog of delayed appointments. Philips vendor-neutral Vue PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) allows the SBSPs six breast screening centers and its mobile screening units to interoperate with Scotlands national PACS system, increasing access to breast screening for Scotlands rural communities, enhancing patient choice, and streamlining diagnostic and treatment workflows.

Female breast cancer is the worlds most common form of cancer, with approximately 2.26 million new cases in 2020 [1]. Nearly 1,000 women per year die from the disease in Scotland alone [2]. Through the partnership between Philips and NHS National Services Scotland, as many as 270,000 women in Scotland between the ages of 50 and 70 are invited for breast screening (mammography) every year [3]. However, according to Public Health Scotland (PHS), between April 2020 and December 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a 19% fall in the number of women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer (down 35% at stage 1 and 15% at stage 2 diagnosis) [4]. This drop was largely attributed to the SBSP being paused between March 30 and August 3, 2020, creating a backlog of appointments, diagnoses, and treatments.

Philips Picture Archiving and Communication System (Vue PACS) is a scalable and modular image management solution that provides hospitals and related institutions with scalable (local and wide area) PACS functionalities. The interoperability of Philips Vue PACS has been a key factor in reducing that backlog, offering enhanced connectivity between the screening programs regional screening centers, as well as interoperability with Scotlands Global PACS system.

The national reporting function enabled by the Global PACS solution allows centers to report and support each other. For instance, in the case of a staffing issue due to absences from sickness amongst readers, cases for reporting can rapidly pile up. The use of this function allows readers from across Scotland to provide mutual aid and assistance in ensuring all centers are at a similar level in reporting, said Dr. Gerald Lip, Clinical Director of NE Scotland Breast Screening Service.

Streamlining workflows, improving access to better care

The interoperability of Philips Vue PACS with Scotlands Global PACS system makes an individual patients current and prior mammography images available to all NHS Scotland hospitals, enabling clinicians to compare new scans with prior studies irrespective of where they were performed in Scotland. It also allows the programs regional screening centers to support one another - for example, when staff shortages limit the ability of any one center to cope with the volume of images that need to be read. As a result, patients benefit from faster diagnoses and better-informed treatment plans.

This latest collaboration with the NHS in Scotland further demonstrates our commitment to deliver patient-centric solutions designed to deliver the right information at the right time to help improve the patient experience and help advance the path to precision care, said Kees Wesdorp, Chief Business Leader of Precision Diagnosis at Philips. The Scottish Breast Screening Program has revolutionized breast cancer care in Scotland, ensuring that no matter where patients live, they have a better chance of receiving an early diagnosis and timely treatment. Philips is proud to be working with the team at NHS Scotland to continually improve the technology, scope and scale of the program.

Philips diagnostic informatics portfolio supports hospitals and imaging centers with intelligent, scalable, secure and interoperable solutions which connect people, technology and data to support clinical decisions at every point of care. Philips end-to-end portfolio of enterprise informatics solutions enables patients, clinicians and hospital administrators to fully harness the power of information and translate data into actionable insights  a critical next step to advance precision care.

Philips will be showcasing its enterprise imaging solutions that securely connect and facilitate the sharing of information among patients and their care teams across health systems at the upcoming HIMSS Global meeting, March 14  March 18 in Orlando, Florida, USA. For more information on how the companys advanced analytics and intelligent informatics support clinicians at the point-of-care by providing clinical insights and improving collaboration among clinical care teams, visit www.philips.com/himss and follow @PhilipsLiveFrom for #HIMSS22 updates throughout the event.

[1] Ferlay J, Colombet M, Soerjomataram I, Parkin DM, Pineros M, Znaor A, Bray F. Cancer statistics for the year 2020: An overview. Int J Cancer. 2021 Apr 5. doi: 10.1002/ijc.33588. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33818764. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33818764/

[2] https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/screening/breast/breast-screening

[3] https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-topics/Cancer/Breast-screening/

[4] https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-staging-data-using-2018-to-2020-dce-data-the-impact-of-covid-19/cancer-staging-data-using-2018-to-2020-dce-data-the-impact-of-covid-19/

For further information, please contact:

Kathy OReilly

Philips Global Press Office

Tel.: +1 978-221-8919

E-mail: kathy.oreilly@philips.com

About Royal Philips



Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people's health and well-being, and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum  from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2021 sales of EUR 17.2 billion and employs approximately 78,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter .

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Scottsdale, Arizona, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emerge, the leading platform for freight procurement, has been named the second-fastest-growing private company in the Southwest region by Inc. Created as part of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at independent small businesses.

"We are pleased to be ranked so highly in this prestigious list," said Andrew Leto, Founder and CEO. "Emerge was created to fill a major gap in the transportation industry, and the demand for our innovative value proposition and services continues to grow exponentially.

Companies on Inc. List Are Leaders, Names to Remember

According to Inc., the companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Southwest region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 141 private companies had a growth rate of 154 percent, and in 2020 alone, they added 10,563 jobs and nearly $10.9 billion to the Southwest regions economy.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disruptors and job creators, and all delivered impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, said Scott Omenlianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

Complete results of the Inc.5000 Regionals Southwest include company profiles and an interactive database that are sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/southwest.

Emerge was also named one of Americas Best Startup Employers recently. Leto noted, The ability to achieve dramatic growth while maintaining a positive culture for employees speaks volumes about the caliber of leaders that Emerge is attracting.

New Leadership and Continued Platform Growth in 2022

The Emerge Freight Procurement Platform continues to experience rapid growth, with interest from the country's most-preeminent shippers and carriers. New leaders join the organization from the supply chain's most recognized brands and Emerge plans to significantly scale its internal team in 2022. "We are attracting top freight leaders and talent," said Leto. "From operations to the executive suite, we are bringing in freight's heaviest hitters to create something truly revolutionary for our industry."

Rethinking Procurement: The Emerge Freight Procurement Platform

Emerge empowers meaningful logistics relationships by transforming the $800 billion freight industry, through its award-winning Freight Procurement Platform. The Emerge platform helps streamline the disjointed and cloudy procurement landscape, bringing shippers and carriers together in one space to create and build mutually beneficial relationships.

With freight procurement and optimization becoming a common boardroom conversation, companies are increasingly looking for creative ways to find new efficiency in their supply chain. The Emerge platform is the premier choice for carriers and shippers within the procurement ecosystem, which inherently creates a powerful "network effect"  opening new opportunities for all participants as the network grows and becomes more robust. With every carrier and shipper added, the Emerge marketplace becomes even more powerful  creating better, innovative opportunities and win-win scenarios for all.

Built for freight professionals, Emerge is the only platform designed and led by freight experts with decades of direct, hands-on procurement experience. The Emerge executive team and board members include some of transportation's most prominent names, having previous experience leading companies like UPS Freight, GlobalTranz, Coyote Logistics, Transplace, J.B. Hunt, and FreightWaves. This expertise allows Emerge to offer solutions that enhance contract and spot procurement, enabling shippers and carriers to make more empowered, strategic decisions.

Shipper and Carrier Collaboration, Evolved

Founded by industry veteran Andrew Leto, Emerge has seen tremendous success since opening its doors in 2017. In addition to securing over $150 million in investor funding, the Emerge platform has enabled shippers to procure over $6 billion in freight by leveraging the Dynamic RFP and Spot platform. In September of 2021, Emerge announced its latest Series B funding round of $130 million, led by investment partners 9Yards Capital, Tiger Global Management, and The Spruce House Partnership, with additional participation from existing backers New Road Capital Partners and Greycroft.

"This funding will allow us to scale our business efficiently  from creating new opportunities for our current employees to filling needs from the outside where necessary," Jack Holmes, Emerge Executive Chairman and former President & CEO of UPS Freight, said. "We have been fortunate to have great partners including financial, shipper partners, and carrier partners. Andrew [Leto's] vision has continued to evolve, and we're confident that our platform will be regarded by our partners as the most influential in transportation."

About Emerge

Transforming the $800 billion freight industry, Emerge empowers meaningful logistics relationships through its award-winning Freight Procurement Platform. Built by freight professionals for freight professionals, Emerge offers solutions that enhance the procurement process, enabling shippers and carriers to make more empowered, strategic decisions. Founded in 2017 and located in Scottsdale, Arizona, Emerge is one of the fastest-growing technology startups in the U.S. Visit www.emergemarket.com to learn more or view current open positions.

Inc. 5000 Regionals Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to the percentage of revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent - not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies - as of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds most trusted business-media brand, Inc. offers entrepreneurs the knowledge, tools, connections, and community to build great companies. Its award-winning multi-platform 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.

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/EmergeMarket/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/emerge-market

https://twitter.com/Emerge_Market

Media Contact:

Debra Phillips, Marketing Manager

dphillips@emergemarket.com

904-955-1008







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THE High Court has removed from the roll a case where former First Lady Grace Mugabe is challenging an order to exhume the remains of her late husband former President Robert Mugabe for reburial at the National Heroes Acre.

The case was expected to kick off yesterday, but Grace engaged a new lawyer, Tawanda Zhuwarara, who asked for postponement to allow him to familiarise with the matter.

High Court judge Amy Tsvanga removed the matter from the roll, saying a new date will be set for the hearing of the appeal.

Grace approached the High Court after Chinhoyi magistrate Ruth Moyo dismissed an appeal by her daughter, Bona Chikore to stop the exhumation.

She is seeking an order to nullify the magistrates ruling, which she says is not fair.

Grace also wants the High Court to review Chief Zvimbas directive to exhume Mugabes remains, arguing that Moyo had shown bias.

I am advised that the appeal process can take within six months to even two years depending on how inundated the High Court will be to accommodate appeals. This delay in time will be gravely unfair on me and my family as we have to be subjected to intense mental torture each day with the uncertainty of the resting place of my late husband and the former President of Zimbabwe, Grace submitted.

She cited the magistrate and Chief Zvimba as the first and second respondents, respectively.

Village head Tinos Manongovere filed an application at the High Court for a joinder, saying he was privy to the case.

His application is also yet to be head. Newsday
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CHALK RIVER, Ontario, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canadas premier nuclear science and technology organization, and the University of New Brunswick, one of Canadas top universities, are pleased to announce that they have entered into a partnership to pursue commercial opportunities for the nuclear power industry. The new agreement formalizes what was already a strong working relationship between the two organizations, who have collaborated on research related to reactor chemistry and other technologies in recent years through UNBs Centre for Nuclear Energy Research (UNB CNER).



Nuclear reactor chemistry provides an indication of the reactors operating conditions, as well as the condition of the materials and components within the reactor. Electricity generated through nuclear reactors is low carbon, does not emit any greenhouse gases, and will continue to help Canada move towards a net-zero energy system in the future. Under terms of the agreement, CNL and UNB CNER will explore business opportunities and pursue commercial contracts related to water-cooled nuclear power plant operations. Specifically, the organizations will focus on the delivery of chemistry support to power plant operators on a commercial basis, in the form of consulting and operational support services.

CNL is very excited to enter into this partnership with the University of Brunswick, which combines the resources of both parties to fill a key void in chemistry services for water-cooled nuclear power reactors, commented Joe McBrearty, CNLs President and CEO. Together, CNL and UNB have the collective expertise, infrastructure, equipment and technology to service water-cooled reactors, so this is a very natural fit for both parties. The partnership builds on a longstanding relationship with an organization that shares our commitment to technical excellence and customer service.

We are committed not just to deepening our knowledge, but to sharing that knowledge with our partners and colleagues, and to helping solve the complex challenges we face in our communities, said Dr. Paul J. Mazerolle, president and vice-chancellor of UNB. This partnership recognizes the expertise and innovative solutions found here at UNB, and the specialists of tomorrow that we support. Congratulations to Dr. Cook and the CNER team, and welcome to our new partner, CNL.

As part of the agreement, CNL and UNB have identified specialty areas that makes use of both organizations industry expertise and other resources, including reactor chemistry specifications, purification system optimization, emerging plants issues, and research and development work. In addition to these focus areas, CNL and UNB will also investigate other opportunities where their complementary capabilities could be used to service nuclear power plants and develop and execute business plans to pursue these commercial opportunities.

As Canadas national nuclear laboratory, CNL manages and operates a licensed nuclear campus and some of the most unique nuclear research facilities in the world on behalf of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), many of which can be leveraged in support of this agreement. CNL is also home to some of the worlds leading experts in a wide range of scientific and technical focus areas. In turn, CNL will benefit from the multi-disciplinary work that is delivered by UNBs CNER, a diverse, multidisciplinary research institute that is home state-of-the-art testing facilities, including high-pressure, high-temperature test loops that can simulate a variety of nuclear process systems.

Reactor sustainability is one of CNLs core programs that helps to ensure the safe and continued operation of nuclear reactors across Canada and around the world, commented Dr. Jeff Griffin, CNLs Vice-President of Science and Technology. In certain key areas, we recognize that working with a like-minded partner can expand the capabilities that we offer and provide better service to our customers. That is certainly the case with the University of New Brunswick, and we look forward to working with them to establish and grow this new business venture.

For more information on CNL, including its reactor sustainability services, please visit www.cnl.ca. To learn more about the University of New Brunswick, including its Centre for Nuclear Energy Research, please visit www.unb.ca.

About CNL

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a world leader in nuclear science and technology offering unique capabilities and solutions across a wide range of industries. Actively involved with industry-driven research and development in nuclear, transportation, clean technology, energy, defence, security and life sciences, we provide solutions to keep these sectors competitive internationally.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories has the expertise and experience to sustain safe, reliable and efficient nuclear reactors. We support utilities, their suppliers, and industry research organizations by providing extensive research into operations and maintenance practices; life extension initiatives; and, innovation that develops technologies to support reactor modernization.

With ongoing investments in new facilities and a focused mandate, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is well positioned for the future. A new performance standard reinforced with a strong safety culture underscores every activity.

For more information on the complete range of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories services, please visit www.cnl.ca or contact communications@cnl.ca.

About the UNB Centre for Nuclear Energy Research

UNBs Centre for Nuclear Energy Research (CNER) was established in 1991 as a technical and research and development support for Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) and NB Power, with support from the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council (RPC). Over the past three decades, CNER has established and maintained technical expertise in the areas of chemistry and corrosion and has recently expanded into new areas, including supporting the research and development of small modular reactors (SMR). CNER operates numerous test systems that simulate the coolant circuits in nuclear power plants. As university research institute, CNER advances academic research, provides expertise in these core areas to the nuclear industry in Canada and abroad, and actively trains the next generation of highly qualified professionals that will lead the industry into the future.

CNL Contact:

Patrick Quinn

Director, Corporate Communications

1-866-886-2325
LOUISVILLE, Ky., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Finding hope in times of uncertainty is never easy, but Dr. Hope Zoeller and Dr. Joe DeSensi believe it's possible. The two leadership experts have teamed up to co-author a new guide on navigating challenging times in HOPE for Leaders in the 2020s: New Issues to Face, New Problems to Solve, New Hope for the Future.

The last two years have required everyone  including professionals  to shift their expectations and approaches to business. It's no secret that organizations of all kinds are dealing with the realities of a world forever changed by the lessons, traumas, innovations, and culture shifts of the era we'd just survived. Many are left asking, "now what?"

"When we first began writing the second volume in this series, we had no idea how relevant and necessary the tools in these pages would be to modern leaders looking to navigate the uncertainty of today's world," said Dr. Hope Zoeller, co-author of HOPE for Leaders in the 2020s. "This book takes readers from aspiration to action. We would like to dedicate it to the teams with whom we have worked over the years."

Many of the answers to modern leaders' most pressing new questions lie in the pages of HOPE for Leaders in the 2020s. The book challenges its readers to open their minds to the possibility of building and adapting their leadership skills for a new era, and for a workforce with newly articulated needs, by digging into the stories, tips, frameworks, and practical exercises of a book that was written for this decade and beyond. HOPE for Leaders in the 2020s offers new ways to think about and address contemporary business issues, including leadership mindsets, project management, organizational culture, and workplace communications.

Dr. Hope Zoeller is founder and president of HOPE (Helping Other People Excel), LLC, a firm that specializes in facilitating leader success at every level of an organization. She is also a professor at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky, instructing in the Master of Business Communication program. She has a Doctorate in Leadership Education from Spalding, a Master of Education in Training and Development from the University of Louisville, and a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Psychology from Bellarmine University.

Dr. Joe DeSensi has a Doctorate in Leadership Education with a focus on managing technology from Spalding University, a graduate degree in Computer Resource Management from Webster University, and an undergraduate degree from Bellarmine University. Dr. DeSensi has worked with Fortune 100 companies and federal and local government and has started several businesses, including his educational consulting company Educational Directions.

HOPE for Leaders in the 2020s can be purchased in paperback on Amazon. Learn more about the HOPE for Leaders book series at www.HopeForLeaders.com.

Media Contact:

Rachel Albritton

502.905.5170

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Image 1: HOPE for Leaders in the 2020s









This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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LONDON, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recently, Solidbit announced the launch of its IB partnership program. Solidbit is a digital asset exchange designed for both retail and institutional investors. The platform provides a safe environment where financial institutions and individual clients can trade assets securely through an online trading platform. Retail traders can enjoy the same high level of service as professionals and whales, even with an investment of just $100.



The institutional clients are becoming increasingly important to the crypto industry. Despite this ever-increasing interest, there is still a lot of hesitation in accepting cryptocurrencies as a viable asset. For instance, institutional investors require high liquidity that typical crypto exchanges cannot provide. They also expect a higher level of security and transparency than most exchanges could currently offer.

Solidbit offers customers high liquidity with more than 100 BTC on the top 20 levels in BTC/USD order book. Professional investors and traders use the grouping feature to evaluate the depth of liquidity within the exchange's order books. In addition, the platform offers high withdrawal limits of up to $250,000.00 per transaction. The exchange has integrated a wide range of payment methods, including SWIFT and SEPA bank transfers. In addition, fiat funds are deposited with a regulated bank and 98% of crypto assets are held in cold storage to ensure that customers' funds are kept safe in a regulated or offline environment.

Solving the need for regulated exchanges

Regulation of cryptocurrencies could be a positive development for the industry as it will reduce the volatility and will make the technology more mainstream. In addition, the lack of laws and guidelines in this emerging space has created room for widespread fraud or scams. Regulation will protect long-term investors, prevent fraudulent activity, and provide clear guidelines that will allow companies to innovate in the crypto economy. Since institutional investors play a critical role in shaping the future of the crypto industry, they will help pave the way for rapid growth in the crypto economy.

Solidbit can respond to this clear market demand, by offering an innovative regulated crypto trading platform whose activities fall within the scope of EU legislation. In addition, the exchange offers the possibility to whitelist withdrawal addresses, thus preventing withdrawals to unconfirmed wallets.

Streamlining daily operations with crypto debit cards

The increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies stimulated people to use them for their daily expenses. Crypto investors should convert coins into fiat money via payment providers to make daily payments. This process is usually time-consuming and inefficient.

The launch of crypto debit cards has revolutionized the crypto movement, sparking consumer interest and ultimately driving an ever-increasing public adoption. Solidbit offers a prepaid crypto card that allows users to easily load funds from one of their wallets and use the card anywhere. It can act as a regular debit card at merchants. Furthermore, it allows platform customers to make quick withdrawals from ATMs around the world.

IB partnership program as a new revenue stream

The IB Partner Program offers users the opportunity to earn rewards from others who referred them to sign up on the platform. Customers can now earn extra income by referring friends and family members to sign up on the Solidbit exchange platform.

The IB partnership program is a great way for investors to earn extra income by promoting cryptocurrency investments in their communities. All participants receive a 40% commission on their affiliates' trading commissions. So, once the person makes a trade, the Solidbit client who invited the user to trade will receive a portion of the commission paid to the exchange. The rewards are changed in USD to the user account on the website.

The IB affiliate program will increase Solidbit's exposure to businesses and individuals worldwide while rewarding users of the platform. This is a great way for individual traders, crypto communities, and influencers to generate additional revenue in the crypto space.

About Solidbit

Solidbit is a professional digital asset exchange designed for both retail and institutional clients. Headquartered in Seychelles, the advanced trading platform offered an extensive range of trading products, including major cryptocurrencies and trusted fiat currencies, to provide the safest and strongest trading opportunities. Solidbit is a high-end trading platform committed to providing its clients with a safe environment for trading. The platform strives to become a leading global exchange for digital assets with its excellent product features, fast transaction speed, high level of security, and excellent customer service.

Media contacts

Brand: Solidbit

E-mail: pr@solidbit.io

Website: https://solidbit.io/

SOURCE: Solidbit
Washington, D.C., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), UNCF (United Negro College Fund), and Partnership for Education Advancement have launched a landmark collaboration to drive tangible, long-term progress across historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and impact the Black economy.

Dubbed the HBCU Transformation Project, this first-of-its-kind collaboration aims to increase HBCU health and sustainability, improve student outcomes in retention and graduation rates, expand enrollment, and increase capacity building with faculty and staff. Flexible support from the coalition focuses resources to highest priorities at each institution.

The overall initiative is structured around six interdependent sub-initiatives that work in service of supporting all HBCUs:

Institutional improvement and innovation via TMCF, UNCF, and the Partnership for Education Advancement

Institutional and intermediary capacity building to lead and sustain ongoing improvements

Pursue increased public funding for HBCUs to rectify historic inequities

Private capital campaign for endowments and sustainable reserves

Community and regional economic development partnerships

Reorienting the narratives surrounding HBCUs toward their outsized impact on social and economic mobility outcomes

Blue Meridian Partners, a pioneering philanthropic model for finding and funding scalable solutions to problems that limit economic and social mobility for Americas young people and families in poverty, committed an initial $60 million to support the HBCU Transformation Project.

Although they represent just three percent of all Higher Education institutions, HBCUs produce nearly 20% of all African American college graduates. HBCUs have produced more than 1 million associate, bachelor, master and doctoral degrees combined since 1984.

HBCUs produce 40% of all Black engineers, 40% of Black Congress members, 50% of all Black lawyers, 50% of all Black doctors, and 80% of Black judges. These professions are critical for closing the wealth gap between Black and White workers.

While HBCUs overproduce relative to their better-resourced counterparts, they have remained underfunded. Historical underfunding has led to a myriad of financial issues for HBCUs, particularly much smaller endowments relative to their peers.

Our country has under-invested in HBCUs which have a proven track record for unlocking student potential, driving socioeconomic mobility, and serving as significant community assets, said James Runcie, President, Partnership for Education Advancement.

Recent data from McKinsey & Company shows that investing in HBCUs would profoundly affect the US economy and help fill the social and economic gaps Black Americans experience. HBCUs are uniquely positioned to foster such advancement given their assets, experience, and cultural and historical significance.

This collaboration offers a powerful opportunity to drive positive socioeconomic impact, said Thurgood Marshall College Fund President & CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams. We are proud to partner on this unique, capacity-focused strategy that brings together HBCU institutional relationships and the capacity building experience of TMCF, UNCF, and the Partnership for Education Advancement.

UNCF and Thurgood Marshall College Fund have worked together for many years, and this collaboration is a continuation of our efforts to amplify support for the needs of HBCUs and the students they serve, said UNCF President and CEO Dr. Michael L. Lomax. Blue Meridian Partners support is very important and will significantly enhance the HBCU innovation and transformation work that UNCFs Institute Capacity Building team has been pioneering for nearly two decades. This high-profile campaign will make the case to donors and to the government to elevate the profile of HBCUs and raise the support they deserve.

HBCUs have long overperformed as engines of opportunity," said Jim Shelton, Blue Meridian Partners chief investment and innovation officer. With this investment, we aim to significantly strengthen these institutions and student success at scale, contribute to closing racial gaps in access to opportunity, and boost economic mobility and wealth-building among Black people and communities now and for generations to come.

The initiative will be executed using a cohort model of select institutions. The inaugural participating HBCUs are listed below.

Cohort/Participating HBCUs



Alabama State University Morehouse College Benedict College Norfolk State University Claflin University North Carolina Agricultural &Technical State University Clark Atlanta University South Carolina State University Delaware State University Spelman College Dillard University Talladega College Florida A&M University Tuskegee University Hampton University University of Maryland Eastern Shore Huston-Tillotson University Wiley College Johnson C. Smith University Winston-Salem State University

###

About UNCF

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nations largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding nearly 20% of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.

About the Thurgood Marshall College Fund

Established in 1987, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the nations largest organization exclusively representing the Black College Community. TMCF member-schools include the publicly-supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly Black Institutions, enrolling nearly 80% of all students attending black colleges and universities. Through scholarships, capacity building and research initiatives, innovative programs, and strategic partnerships, TMCF is a vital resource in the K-12 and higher education space. The organization is also the source of top employers seeking top talent for competitive internships and good jobs.

TMCF is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization. For more information about TMCF, visit: www.tmcf.org.

About the Partnership for Education Advancement

The Partnership for Education Advancement (Ed Advancement) is a 501(c)(3) committed to working with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to advance their institutional capability and performance. Ed Advancement develops sustainable solutions to improve enrollment, student retention, graduation rates, career outcomes and institutional health in close collaboration with HBCU partners.

By developing deep partnerships with institutions and encouraging collaboration on shared services, Ed Advancement spurs individual and collective success across HBCUs.

Founded in 2018 by Tony James, Chairman of Jefferson River Capital, former Executive Vice Chairman of Blackstone Group, and Jim Runcie, former Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA), Ed Advancement is currently partnering with 17 institutions that serves over 90,000 HBCU students, with a commitment to serve the entire HBCU community.

For more information: www.edadvancement.org.

About Blue Meridian Partners

Blue Meridian Partners is a pioneering philanthropic model for finding and funding scalable solutions to problems that limit economic and social mobility for Americas young people and families in poverty. To meet the scale of the problem, we provide transformative capital paired with capacity-building support and strategic guidance, empowering visionary leaders to dream bigger and vastly expand their impact, influence, and reach. With an investor mindset, we support strategies that address challenges from cradle to career, working both nationwide and within specific communities. We recognize that economic mobility is inextricably tied to racial equity. Therefore, we make investments that tackle systemic inequities that both hinder opportunity for Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color and limit the flow of capital to social sector leaders of color. Ultimately, Blue Meridians goal is to transform the philanthropic marketplace in order to improve the life trajectories of millions of young people and families across America.

To date, Blue Meridian Partners has raised over $3 billion across its partnership group, which includes The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, The Ballmer Group, and several others.
Los Angeles, CA, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OvareVentures is adding to its portfolio of outdoor and active brands with an investment in Toronto carbon fiber bicycle manufacturer BRIDGE Bike Works. Bike sales boomed by as much as 120 percent during the pandemic, with consumer expectations refocusing on locally made products. BRIDGE is aiming to take advantage of this industry growth with the launch of its manufacturing facility and the introduction of its Surveyor all-road model, available later this summer.

Co-founders Frank Gairdner and Mike Yakubowicz are the visionaries behind BRIDGE. Frank is a serial outdoor product entrepreneur who previously co-founded TriggerTech, a patented trigger mechanism for firearms and crossbows that was one of Canadas fastest-growing manufacturing companies in 2020. In 2018 he helped launch Carbon Marine, the first company in the world to manufacture high-performance fully carbon fiber power boats. Michael Yakubowicz is an internationally recognized boutique bike curator and designer and the owner of Blacksmith Cycle, a Toronto shop specializing in sourcing, building, and servicing dream bikes for clients.

"BRIDGE is one of the only carbon bike brands made in Canada," said Frank Gairdner. "The biggest benefit of making your own bikes is that you can control every element of the process, from tooling and layup to total quality control. Our carbon framesets are for cyclists who demand the quality that locally made requires. Authentic full cycle means design, engineering, production, and community, all under one roof. BRIDGE is aiming to stand out from the crowd with a thoroughly modern customer-centric focus, uncompromising performance, and a lifetime warranty on all products.

OvareVentures is part of OvareGroup, a private holding company that brings together a venture capital firm with specialty firms in content development, marketing technology and strategic services.

OvareGroup Chairman and CEO Jordan F. Reber noted, "This is a particularly exciting investment for our outdoor and active lifestyle portfolio. The BRIDGE founders have a track record of success in carbon fiber and custom bike manufacturing.

Kara Anastasiadis, President of OvareGroup Outdoor added, In partnership with proven engineers and channel partners, we envision BRIDGE becoming one of the most well-known brand names in the carbon frame category made locally in Ontario, Canada. We are committed to supporting manufacturing and innovation."

BRIDGE will debut with an all-road handmade carbon model called the Surveyor, offered as part of the Origin 100 collection that is limited to 100 frames for 2022. Component partners include top-tier suppliers, including Shimano, SRAM, Enve, Fizik, Lightweight, Zipp, and SILCA. The $4,999 CAD frameset is currently available for preorder at BridgeBikeWorks.com with bikes available for delivery in the U.S. and Canada in summer of 2022. BRIDGE will also have up to 20 premium international dealers in 2022.

About OvareVentures

OvareVentures is a dedicated growth initiative of OvareGroup. OvareVentures builds, acquires and invests in businesses that can benefit from the working synergy of the OvareGroup suite of services. OvareVentures aligns with companies through direct investment or work equity positions to realize business opportunities and increase ROI. Learn more at ovareventures.com.

About BRIDGE Bike Works

The bike frame is a bridge on wheels, built to carry people over the ground  The Modern Bicycle and its Components, 1898

BRIDGE was founded with a vision to create a better carbon bike. One that is designed, precision-engineered and built locally. One that is handcrafted in North America by a team with an unparalleled passion for attention to detail, from product to experience. One that celebrates the relationship between rider and bike, the places you choose to ride, and the community that riders create. Learn more at BridgeBikeWorks.com.

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Chicago, IL, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Falcon Moving, LLC, the top Elgin Movers are gearing up for the moving surge in 2022 by taking its efforts to the next level.

It is understandable that moving homes or offices for that matter is a time of much trepidation. On one hand, people are excited about moving to a new location, but they are stressed and overwhelmed with the responsibility of moving their belongings safely and securely. Thats why those looking to move their residential or commercial premises in Elgin, IL, and surrounding areas have come to trust the services offered by Falcon Moving, LLC.

Established in 2016, the top Movers in the area have consistently built on their growing reputation. With founder and lifelong entrepreneur Jason Rosko focused on assembling an all-star team while growing a sustainable business, the company has risen to every challenge along the way. It has gone from strength to strength and its strong customer reviews are proof of the impeccable quality of services it is known to provide.



Falcon Moving, LLC

Those looking for a residential or commercial Moving Company in the area can simply reach out to Falcon Moving, LLC via its website or phone call. It has made the entire process of booking convenient for clients. They also receive valuable information and recommendations suited to their needs from the experienced and reliable customer support team working with the company.

Thats how it can cater to its clients needs exactly according to their requirements. The fact that Falcon Moving, LLC is fully insured and a part of Better Business Bureau where it holds an A+ rating puts clients minds at rest. The company is also fully licensed and all its professionals are background checked, so clients know that their precious belongings are going to be in safe hands.

As one of the leading Moving Companies in Elgin IL, it understands the value of its customers time. Thats why its professionals are always on time and carry out the packing and moving tasks safely and on scheduled time. Their efforts are complemented by state-of-the-art equipment Falcon Moving, LLC has invested in. Hence all packing and moving tasks are handled without causing any inconvenience to clients and lead to a stress-free experience.

The reliable Elgin Movers are also a one-stop solution for all clients moving needs. The residential and commercial movers can handle local as well as long-distance moving tasks. People can also opt for in-home moving services or labor-only solutions. Its impeccable packing services are sustainable and 100% secure for clients. Thats also true for storage services that people in the area can benefit from.

By once again raising its game to deal with the moving surge in 2022, Falcon Moving, LLC has stayed the only reliable, safe, stress-free and affordable moving service for clients in Elgin IL, and surrounding areas.

About Falcon Moving, LLC

Established by lifelong entrepreneur Jason Rosko in 2016, the company has become the no. 1 name for all commercial and residential moving needs of people in Elgin and surrounding areas.

###

Media Contact

Falcon Moving, LLC

Address: 651 Martin Dr South Elgin, IL 60177

Phone: 630-492-1640

URL: https://falconmoving.com/





Newsroom: news.38digitalmarket.com

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Johnstown, PA, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) Board of Directors has elected Linda R. Thomson as its newest board member.

For nearly 22 years, Ms. Thomson has served as president and CEO of Johnstown Area Regional Industries (JARI), a robust economic development organization with services extending into Cambria and Somerset counties. She leads the team in services such as financing, site selection, business retention and recruitment, procurement technical assistance, small business technical assistance, and workforce development. Her many professional achievements include being recognized as Economic Developer of the Year by the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association. Thomson is active in local and regional nonprofit and charitable organizations as well as in her field, where she has served as the first president of the PA Economic Development Institute, past president of the PA Economic Development Association, past director of the Northeastern Economic Development Association, and member of the International Economic Development Council. She also engages with senior state and federal employees as well elected officials at all levels of government.

We are fortunate to have Ms. Thomsons expertise on the CTC board, said Edward J. Sheehan, Jr., CTC President and CEO. She is a very successful leader who continually demonstrates her commitment to the region through her many professional and personal endeavors. We welcome her knowledge and passion for cultivating successful businesses through her engagement with the public sector, which will complement our outstanding Board of Directors.

The other CTC Board of Directors members are: The Honorable Jeffrey K. Harris, Board Chair; Dale M. Mosier, Board Vice Chair; Dawn R. Eilenberger; Robert J. Eyer; Retired U.S. Army Major General Camille M. Nichols; Daniel T. Perkins; Retired U.S. Air Force Major General John F. Phillips; Sean P. Roche; Edward J. Sheehan, Jr.; Gary C. Slack; and Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Joseph Yakovac.

Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) is an independent, nonprofit, applied scientific research and development professional services organization. CTC collaborates with its technology transition affiliate, Enterprise Ventures Corporation, to leverage research, development, test and evaluation work to provide transformative, full lifecycle solutions. To best serve our clients needs, we offer the complete ability to fully design, develop, test, prototype and build. We deliver robust, technical, and innovative solutions that safeguard our national security, retain U.S. technological advantage, and ensure the primacy of American manufacturing. For more information about CTC, visit www.ctc.com.

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NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA



TORONTO, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Goliath Resources Limited (TSX-V: GOT) (OTCQB: GOTRF) (FSE: B4IF) (the Company or Goliath) is pleased to announce that the second and final tranche of an oversubscribed non-brokered private placement of flow-through units $778,400 has closed for an aggregate total of $14,609,749 inclusive of tranche one with the participation of strategic and institutional investors; inclusive of Crescat Capital LLC (Crescat). The flow-through units were sold at $1.19 each.

These funds will be used for a significantly larger 2022 drill campaign from a planned 18,000 meters to ~24,000 meters at its Surebet Zone at its 100% controlled Golddigger property located in the Golden Triangle, BC. The drill campaign planned will include ~85 holes from 24 pads to test the outer extremities of Surebet Zone to determine the potential size of the system as well as the newly discovered adjacent Extension Target to the southeast.

Crescat a strategic investor in Goliath, will have an option to participate in future financings of the Company to maintain its interest as long as it holds greater than 3 percent of the issued and outstanding common shares.

"This financing has put Goliath Resources in an excellent position to undertake an aggressive 2022 diamond drill program at Surebet," commented Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Geologic and Technical Director to Crescat Capital. "This year's program is designed to delineate a very large footprint, 1-1.5M square meters, of the moderately west-dipping Surebet Zone with the aim of generating an initial resource. As seen in the 2021 drilling, true width of this mineralized zone averages around 6 meters and the weighted average grade of drill intercepts is 6.3 gpt AuEq. It is readily apparent this is a big prize and justifies a big drill program. We are very excited to see this next drill program commence in June."

On February 11, 2022, Goliath announced a $11,000,000 non-brokered flow through financing of units priced at $1.19 each (FT Units) with the involvement of strategic and institutional investors. It subsequently increased the financing on February 22, 2022 and again on March 7, 2022 for up to $14,610,000. Each FT Unit will consist of one flow-through common share plus one warrant to purchase one non-flow through common share at $1.30 for a 24 month period.

The Company will pay finder's fees equal to 7% of the gross proceeds from a portion of the financing in cash, and 7% finders warrants equal to the number of units sold in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The proposed private placement and finder's fees are subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance. All shares issued pursuant to the offering (including shares issued to finders) and any shares issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants will be subject to a four-month hold period from the closing date. The Company paid a total of $461,792 in Finders Fees and 645,710 in Finders Warrants. The warrants have the same terms as the warrants attached to the units sold.

In addition, the Company has granted stock options for a total of 1,455,000 common shares of the Company to board members and consultants. These stock options are exercisable at CDN $1.00 and will all expire on March 17, 2027. All stock options are governed by the terms and conditions of the Company's stock option plan.

About Crescat Capital LLC

Crescat is a global macro asset management firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Crescats mission is to grow and protect wealth over the long term by deploying tactical investment themes based on proprietary value-driven equity and macro models. Crescats goal is industry leading absolute and risk-adjusted returns over complete business cycles with low correlation to common benchmarks. Crescats investment process involves a mix of asset classes and strategies to assist with each clients unique needs and objectives and includes Global Macro, Long/Short and Precious Metals funds.

Crescat is advised by Dr. Quinton Hennigh, its geologic and technical director, on investments in gold and silver resource companies. Dr. Hennigh became an economic geologist after obtaining his PhD in Geology/Geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines. He has more than 30 years of exploration experience with major gold mining firms that include Homestake Mining, Newcrest Mining and Newmont Mining. Recently, Dr. Hennigh founded Novo Resources Corp., and is currently serving as Co-Chairman. Among his notable project involvements are First Mining Golds Springpole gold deposit in Ontario, Kirkland Lake Golds acquisition of the Fosterville gold mine in Australia, the Rattlesnake Hills gold deposit in Wyoming, and Lion Ones Tuvatu gold project in Fiji, among many others.

Qualified Person

Rein Turna P. Geo is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, for Goliath Resources Limited projects, and supervised the preparation of, and has reviewed and approved, the technical information in this release.

About Goliath Resources Limited

Goliath Resources Limited is an explorer of precious metals projects in the prolific Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia and the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Quebec. All of its projects are in world class geological settings and geopolitical safe jurisdictions amenable to mining in Canada.

For more information please contact:

Goliath Resources Limited

Mr. Roger Rosmus

Founder and CEO

Tel: +1.416.488.2887

roger@goliathresources.com

https://goliathresourcesltd.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange), nor the OTCQB Venture Market accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements contained in this news 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 Goliaths current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the ability of Company to complete the financings and its ability to build value for its shareholders as it develops its mining properties. 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 Goliath. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the proposed transactions will occur, or that if the proposed transactions do occur, will be completed on the terms described above.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof and Goliath 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.

This announcement does not constitute an offer, invitation, or recommendation to subscribe for or purchase any securities and neither this announcement nor anything contained in it shall form the basis of any contract or commitment. In particular, this announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such an offer would be illegal.

The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be 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 a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

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TORONTO, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Urbana Corporation (Urbana) (TSX & CSE: URB & URB.A) announces today that it has increased its valuation of the CNSX Markets Inc. (CNSX) common shares that it owns from $4.10 per share to $7.20 per share, as a result of the significant growth and performance since the most recent transaction in CNSX shares. This change amounts to an approximately $36.2 million or 12.3% increase in Urbanas net assets.

CNSX is Urbanas largest private equity holding representing approximately 25% of its portfolio.

The CNSX operates the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE).

Urbana currently owns 13,460,878 common shares of CNSX, representing 49.92% of the outstanding common shares of the company.

With the continued support of Urbana, the CSE has achieved record levels of trading, new companies listing, company finance and market capitalization over the last year, said Richard Carleton, CEO of the CSE.

On behalf of Urbanas Board of Directors

Thomas S. Caldwell, C.M.

For further information contact:

Elizabeth Naumovski

Investor Relations

(416) 595-9106

enaumovski@urbanacorp.com




SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International students wholeheartedly recommend studying in the United States but are more skeptical that an American education will pay off in their careers, according to a recent survey. These somewhat contradictory findings were the result of research commissioned by the company Interstride. Interstride is a digital platform that supports the educational and career goals of international students.

The company commissioned higher-education consultant Anna Esaki-Smith of Education Rethink to survey more than 1,000 students from over 100 countries about their experiences and perceptions involving their American education. Esaki-Smith published her results in a paper titled "Is studying in the U.S. worth it?"

The survey, Esaki-Smith said, revealed a "distinct dynamic."

"We have international students who value the U.S. study abroad experience, drawn to the country by the stellar reputation of U.S. colleges and universities," she said. "But what we offer in terms of tangible value to students through the lens of career outcomes is not as clear to these students."

Eighty-four percent of respondents said they would recommend studying in the U.S. to friends and peers back home. This is good news for U.S. institutions, given that word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful recruitment tool among international students. Yet, only 49% of respondents said that the value of a U.S. education from a career perspective justifies the cost.

Esaki-Smith said the higher-education community must close the perceived "value gap." She identified recommendations that included:

More outreach by career centers to engage international students in career readiness services.

Build upon students' existing positive attitude towards the U.S. study experience by providing both emotional and professional support.

Develop closer relationships with U.S. employers that could potentially hire international graduates.

Interstride commissioned the research to learn about international student sentiment heading into a post-pandemic environment.

"At Interstride, we pride ourselves on keeping a finger on the pulse of what international students are thinking," CEO Nitin Agrawal said.

Read the entire report here.



About Interstride

Interstride is a platform that supports students with their international endeavors. Interstride provides real-time Country Insights on 150+ countries, including travel and health guidance, jobs and opportunities in 80+ countries, a global network and community of students and alumni, along with other tools and features for international students in the U.S. Interstride has partnered with more than 130 universities and colleges to help them better support their students.

About Anna Esaki-Smith

Anna Esaki-Smith is Co-Founder of Education Rethink, a global research consultancy that provides advice on international strategies to higher education institutions, private companies and governmental organizations. Anna specializes in helping universities develop and maximize their global outreach activities, including international student recruitment, partnership development, content creation and global branding.

For media inquiries, contact:

Judy Chen | Interstride

415-534-9010

judy@interstride.com

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"Is studying in the U.S. worth it?"









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GOVERNMENT has doubled application fees for nurses confirmation letters and certificates from US$150 to US$300 amid speculation that the move is meant to frustrate them from leaving the country for greener pastures.

Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) president Enock Dongo told NewsDay that the fee hike was beyond the reach of most nurses whose salaries are paid in local currency.

In a letter dated March 11, 2022, Nurses Council of Zimbabwe registrar Mercy Chaka said nurses should pay US$300 for the certificate.

The Nurses Council of Zimbabwe wishes to advise nurses that the approved fees for application for certificate of good standing (CGS) and application for the confirmation letters for all the nurses residing in Zimbabwe and outside Zimbabwe is now US$300 and is with effect from January 1, 2022, Chaka said.

A CGS is a confirmation letter issued by a professional body to a sister body as clearance for a health worker with no hanging disciplinary issues regarding patient care and relations with colleagues.

It also confirms that the holder has qualified as a nurse after training.

The country has been experiencing brain drain in the health sector, with 2 200 health workers having left the country in 2021.

Dongo said the fees were meant to block health workers from leaving the country.

This is the most expensive verification.

In some of the countries, it is actually free to get a letter of good standing and now Zimbabwe charges US$300, which is not being given as salaries to the civil servants themselves.

Nurses will need three to four months without eating to raise such an amount.

That is really ridiculous, they are punishing health workers, Dongo said.

Health workers have left the country due to poor working conditions and salaries.

We now have a lot of practitioners who have left the country in search of greener pastures and we have shortages in our hospitals, so its a strategy that they have come up with to stop that.

This is totally wrong and unacceptable in a democratic country. There is no way that you can force workers to work for you. People have the right to work for the employer of their choice.

Last year, government set up an inter-ministerial committee to look into the brain drain in the health sector after experiencing a sharp rise in the number of health professionals leaving the country for greener pastures. Newsday
Fort Myers, Fla., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Overshadowed in recent years by the pandemic, cancer remains the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1.8 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year and 600,000 die from the disease. Out of those 1.8 million Americans, many continue to face barriers to receiving care.

Despite the rapid advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, long-standing health inequities such as access to care caused by geographical location and income are just a few of the factors that can negatively impact cancer care.

Community oncology practices, where most Americans battling cancer receive treatment, are key to this effort in closing the gap in cancer care. Research has shown that having easy and convenient access to expert physician care and a comprehensive range of treatments and support services close to home is vital to a cancer patients well-being. In addition to providing a comfortable, more personalized environment, community oncology practices provide innovative therapies including immunotherapy, precision medicine and access to research, all at a lower cost to patients and payers.

American Oncology Network, LLC (AON), a high-growth medical oncology provider with a focus on supporting the long-term viability of oncology treatment in community-based settings remains committed to closing the gap in cancer care ensuring every patient has access to the care needed to help fight their cancer.

Just over three years since its inception, the AON network has expanded to include more than 190 physicians and advanced practice providers in over 70 clinics across 16 states. With practices in some of the most densely populated cities to more rural areas where medical resources are scarce, AONs mission is to provide the best cancer care that is affordable and close to where patients live.

We have made great strides in just three years, noted AON Chief Executive Officer Todd Schonherz. Close to 160,000 patients have received treatment at AON clinics across the country and weve welcomed over 70,000 new patients. Our in-house laboratory has processed over 7.7 million clinical lab tests and almost 6,100 pathology specimens. And our specialty pharmacy has delivered over 63,540 scripts.

While diagnostic and therapeutic advances have led to increased cancer survival and remission rates, as well as a higher quality of life, these advances can too often result in exorbitant treatment costs, particularly when delivered by a hospital system. According to data by Health 2018, 62% of cancer patients report being in debt due to their treatment, 55% accrue at least $10,000 in debt, while 3% file for bankruptcy. In fact, each year cancer costs in America exceed $80 billion.

AON practices are focused on providing the best oncology care while also responsibly controlling cancer costs for patients and associated insurance plans. This combination ensures the best possible outcomes while reducing financial burdens. Through strategic partnerships, AON and its practices continue to help patients with rising out-of-pocket costs. In 2021 alone, as patients endured even greater financial difficulties resulting from the pandemic, AON sourced over $26 million in free medications and $22 million in financial assistance for patients.

As the Oncology Care Model terms this year with no clear replacement in sight and as pharmacy benefit managers continue their extortion of oncology pharmacies, I am thankful to be part of a larger team such as AON with the resources and talent to navigate these waters, said Genesis Cancer and Blood Institute Medical Oncologist Dr. Stephen Fred Divers. AONs visionary drivers are founded on helping community oncology practices thrive ensuring patients have access to exceptional cancer care close to home.

Dr. Divers also serves on the Board of Directors for the Community Oncology Alliance dedicated to advocating for community oncology practices and the patients they serve and is Chairman of the AON Advisory Board.

###

About American Oncology Network, LLC: (AONcology.com)

American Oncology Network, LLC (AON) is an alliance of physicians and seasoned healthcare leaders partnering to ensure the long-term success of community oncology. Launched in 2018, the rapidly expanding AON network represents 107 physicians and 85 nurse practitioners and physician assistants practicing across 16 states. The executive management team of AON encompasses more than three decades of oncology practice management experience, enabling physicians to focus on what matters most  providing the highest quality care for patients.

The organization provides unique and comprehensive protocols for managing administrative procedures and enhancing ancillary services for its affiliates. AON is able to aggregate volume and attain economies of scale, as it guides its member physicians and practices through the transition to value-based reimbursement models that improve the patient experience and help to reduce the per-capita cost of cancer care.

AON also provides a unique model of physician led, community-based oncology management. With services such as a centralized specialty pharmacy, diagnostics, pathology, fully integrated electronic medical records, a care management team and a variety of financial assistance programs, an alliance with AON ensures that patients experiences will be at the very pinnacle of cancer care today.

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Richmond, Virginia, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- March 16, 2022  London, UK, Stafford, VA USA Device Authority, a global leader in identity and access management (IAM) for the Internet of Things (IoT), and Crossroads Innovation Group, a Virginia-based consulting firm dedicated to emerging technologies, today announced their inclusion in a critical project focused on IoT Security Standards. Led by the Virginia Innovative Partnership Corporation with funding from the Virginia Smart Community Testbed and the Department of Homeland Security, this project will evaluate best-practices and technology standards related to securing IoT infrastructure at the Edge.

The Virginia Smart Community Testbed in Stafford County, Virginia, is home to developing smart technology for the Commonwealth. It is the first Smart City Testbed involving an IoT platform, fully integrated with 5G and other new and emerging technologies for Smart Cities around the country. The Testbed will accelerate smart technology growth in the Commonwealth while addressing the known and emerging challenges of securing critical infrastructure.

The testbed is a shared knowledge platform to develop practical and relevant smart technologies solutions. As a living laboratory, it is a true public-private partnership involving multiple industry partners who will focus on relevant and practical use cases to produce innovative solutions using emerging and smart technologies, focused on ensuring that the economic and social benefits of digital transformation are realized to the fullest extent.

Along with other industry, federal and state partners, Device Authority was selected to participate in the Testbed, leveraging its Keyscaler Platform to automate standards-based device onboarding and identity lifecycle management for both new and legacy device deployments, helping protect IoT assets by preventing breaches at scale. Crossroads Innovation Group has been a leader in promoting industry standards and is providing leadership in the evaluation of best practices related to important guidelines from NIST, IEEE, and emerging standards like FIDO.

The combined solution approach, which includes multiple participants, will provide critical Cybersecurity proof points across the range of technologies involved in the deployment of diverse IoT technologies and use-cases. Importantly and particularly as it relates to the securing the digital environment, the testbed group will also develop architectural guidance and best-practice recommendations for the procurement and secure deployment of IoT technologies by federal, state, local, and civilian agencies.

As noted by David Ihrie, CTO and Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at VIPC: Todays Cybersecurity threat landscape requires a strong partnership between public and private sectors. This project in the Stafford Test Bed gives us the opportunity to provide a best-in-class approach to securing the broad universe of IoT devices that is growing daily, and that without adherence to important standards like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework will continue to be a major threat to security.

About Device Authority

Device Authority is a global leader in identity and access management (IAM) for the Internet of Things (IoT) and focuses on medical/healthcare, industrial, automotive, and smart connected devices. Our KeyScaler platform provides trust for IoT devices and the IoT ecosystem to address the challenges of securing the Internet of Things. KeyScaler uses breakthrough technology, including Dynamic Device Key Generation (DDKG) and PKI Signature+ that delivers simplicity and trust to IoT devices. This solution delivers automated device provisioning, authentication, credential management, policy-based end-to-end data security/encryption and secure updates.

With offices in San Ramon, California, and Reading, UK, Device Authority partners with the leading IoT ecosystem providers, including AWS, Ericsson, Entrust, HID Global, Microsoft, PTC, Thales, Venafi, Wipro and more. Keep updated by visiting www.deviceauthority.com, following @DeviceAuthority and subscribing to our BrightTALK channel.

About XIG

Based in Virginia, Crossroads Innovation Group supports public-private partnerships pursing emerging technology deployment and adaptive workforce professionalization. XIG brings unique experience to support collaborative partnerships with best-of-breed technology companies, academic institutions and public sector entities.

About Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation (VIPC)

Connecting Innovators with opportunities. The nonprofit operations arm of the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority (VIPA), VIPC is the commercialization and seed stage economic development driver in the Commonwealth that leads funding, infrastructure and policy initiatives to support Virginias innovators, entrepreneurs, startups and market development strategies. VIPC collaborates with local, regional, state, and federal partners to support the expansion and diversification of Virginias economy.

Programs include: Virginia Venture Partners (VVP) | Virginia Founders Fund (VFF) | Commonwealth Commercialization Fund (CCF) | Smart Communities | Unmanned Systems | Entrepreneurial Ecosystems | Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) | Federal Funding Assistance Program (FFAP) for SBIR & STTR | University Partnerships | Startup Company Mentoring & Engagement. For more information, please visit www.VirginiaIPC.org. Follow VIPC on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

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LAS VEGAS, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eagle Eye Networks, the global leader in cloud video surveillance and artificial intelligence, will demo its newly launched Eagle Eye LPR (license plate recognition) and preview its upcoming Eagle Eye Smart Video Search at ISC West taking place at the Venetian Expo March 23-25. Eagle Eye Smart Video Search is the first-of-its-kind deployment of smart search across a global enterprise without the need for local hardware changes or local labor.

Current and prospective partners and customers are invited to stop by Booth 25051 or book a meeting in advance using this link.The Eagle Eye Networks team will be on hand to show its new AI + Cloud offerings and discuss how a true cloud video surveillance platform can address customers security needs, while delivering cybersecurity assurance, business intelligence, and the flexibility to change and scale systems to ensure investments are future-proof.

Stop by Booth 25051 for demonstrations of:

Eagle Eye LPR (license plate recognition), which uses our AI + Cloud for very high accuracy in challenging conditions and it operates on any security camera.

Eagle Eye Smart Video Search, allows users to search for people, vehicles, or objects and immediately find the exact video across all cameras in all sites saving time and money. All customers will get this AI capability without any change to their installationsat no extra subscription costin the Eagle Eye Cloud VMS (video management system).

Join us for an education session:

Cloud Video Surveillance Makes Cities Smarter Discuss the Mexico City Smart City project with integrator Jaime Abad Valdenebro of Omnicloud, security consultant Ray Bernard of RBCS, and technology provider Ken Francis of Eagle Eye Networks. It's a multi-year smart city project58,000 fixed cameras and 16,000 cameras in public transport, and body cameras as well. Thursday, March 24, 1 p.m. Venetian 304, Level 1. More details here.

Business leaders interest in cloud video surveillance and subscription-based services is on the rise. According to a January 2022 Novaira Insights survey, 68.3% of respondents in the US and Canada thought their organization will move to managing or storing more of its video surveillance data in the cloud in the next two years.

The combination of true cloud-based video surveillance systems and a subscription-based business model can offer advantages for end-users and systems integrators, said Josh Woodhouse, report author and founder of Novaira Insights. It can offer a flexible pay-as-you-grow scalability  such as adding new cameras or locations  or to try out new artificial intelligence (AI) featureswith low friction configuration and only short-term commitments.

Chris Gilbert, president of Indiana security integration firm Security Pros, said the "Eagle Eye Networks team has been great to work with, helping us adapt our business to focus on recurring monthly revenue (RMR) creation through technology. ISC West is a great place to see how our industry is changing, see new technology demos in person, and make connections with partners, like Eagle Eye Networks, that keep their finger on the pulse of the industry."

Eagle Eye Smart Video Search will be globally available in Summer, 2022. Please contact us at info@een.com if you are interested in exploring its capabilities in advance of the global release.

ABOUT EAGLE EYE NETWORKS

Eagle Eye Networks is the global leader in cloud video surveillance, delivering cyber-secure cloud-based video with artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics to make businesses more efficient and the world a safer place. The Eagle Eye Cloud VMS (video management system) is the only platform robust and flexible enough to power the future of video surveillance and intelligence. Eagle Eye is based in Austin, Texas with offices in Amsterdam, Bangalore, and Tokyo. Learn more at een.com.

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Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In Today Is Different, coming this spring from Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, debut author Duoa Muoa and debut illustrator Kim Holt tell the story of two girls standing together with their communities to protest systemic racism and injustice. This gentle, exploratory title shows young readers the importance and necessity for solidarity and understanding.

Mai, a young Hmong girl, and Kiara, a young Black girl, are best friends. They do everything togetherriding the bus, eating lunch, playing at recess. But one day Kiara misses school and Mai goes looking for answers. When she learns that her best friend is protesting an act of police violence against the Black community, Mai decides to join the protest too. At first, her parents want to protect her by keeping her at home, but with the help of her siblings she shows them that standing together makes all of us stronger. The rich and vibrant art invites readers to join Mais world and march alongside her community.

Doua Moua, who played Po in Disneys live-action Mulan, wrote this story in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, which took place in Douas home state of Minnesota. After seeing intergenerational divisions within the Hmong community and recognizing the historical relationships between the Hmong and Black communities, Doua wanted to create a book honoring the value of solidarity. Today Is Different provides the perfect opportunity to begin a conversation with young readers about allyship and unity with Black Lives Matter.

Praise for Today Is Different:

[O]ffers a reassuring and relatable narrative for kids who have been confused by recent news coverage.Booklist

Moua positively portrays a cross-cultural friendship and explores how racial violence impacts children. . . . An important story about how marginalized groups can work together for social justice . . .Kirkus Reviews

Today Is Different speaks to overcoming fears, the importance of coming together as community, and the strength derived from young people being engaged, and I highly recommend it. Alan Page, author, retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice, and retired NFL player

[W]ritten with both nuance and directness by Doua Moua, and beautifully illustrated by Kim Holt, Today is Different adds to a very necessary conversation we should all be having. Bao Phi, author of A Different Pond

With simple yet poignant prose, Today Is Different fosters compassion and connection among young readers. Carole Boston Weatherford, author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winning book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre and Newbery Honor-winning book Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom

About the Author and Illustrator

Doua Moua is an actor and writer based in Los Angeles, California. Moua recently played Chien Po in Disney's live-action remake of Mulan. As a writer, he has received recognition for his movie script The Harvest on the Cape List/ Black List, a We Screenplay Finalist, and an Academy Nicholl Fellowship Semi-Finalist. Today Is Different is his debut picture book.

Kim Holt is an artist and children's book illustrator. Her passion for art and drawing started at an early age, fueled by her family's love for the arts. She received her BBA in Marketing from Howard University and her BFA in Animation from the Academy of Art University. Her goal as an artist is to create images that bring back memories and create pictures that make children wish they were inside the scenes. She lives in Maryland with her family.

About the Publisher

Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, has been publishing high-quality, award-winning books since 1969. Our picture books spark childrens imaginations and offer new ways of looking at the world. Our middle-grade books stand out not only for their quality, but also for the breadth of genres encompassed, from coming-of-age stories to exceptional nonfiction to mysteries. Carolrhoda authors and illustrators have been honored with awards such as the Coretta Scott King Book Award, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, and the Jane Addams Childrens Book Award. We believe that all children should be able to find themselves in the pages of a book.

For more information, follow Lerner Books online:

Blog: lernerbooks.blog

Twitter: @LernerBooks

Facebook: Lerner Publishing Group

Instagram: @LernerBooks

Look inside at lernerbooks.com.

Today Is Different

April 5, 2022

$17.99 Hardcover

eBook Also Available

Ages 5-9

HC: 978-1-7284-3029-4

32 Pages  10 5/8 x 8 7/8

To Purchase: Visit your local bookstore, order by phone at 800-328-4929, or visit us at lernerbooks.com.

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Palos Hills, Illinois, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



Palos Hills, IL based Insurance Navy Brokers (INB) is pleased to introduce their new mascot to the community: the Admiral. Keeping in theme with their navy branding and deep commitment to their community, the Admiral stands to help Insurance Navy Brokers become a much more recognizable name in the world of affordable and reliable auto insurance.

According to Insurance Navy Brokers, insurance companies set themselves apart from their peers via colorful, memorable mascots as much as they do via their products and auto insurance services. A mascot that makes an impression on the customer can help make an insurance product feel more unique, in turn giving the insurer itself more character. In time, the propagation of such mascots and their associated brand identity can lead to the insurance company becoming a household name.

Understanding this, Insurance Navy Brokers set out to create a mascot that represented their insurance companies values and goals. Notably, the purpose of the mascot should not be to show off the artists skill. Instead, it should make it easy for the customer to remember the brand (and what it stands for) with a single glance. As a result, simple, yet evocative characters are preferred for this purpose (though some exceptions do exist). After many iterations and internal discussions, the insurer is delighted to introduce the Admiral to the world.

Even when Insurance Navy was just getting started, states Insurance Navy CEO Fadi Sneineh, our mission statement has always been to provide our policyholders a level of service as if they have a naval fleet at their command. In a way, the Admiral isnt just representing our company but also the customer. Mascots are among the most effective ways to advertise a service, as businesses in a variety of industries around the world have discovered. As virtual brand ambassadors, they can make it easier for a customer to connect with the business products and insurance services  and Insurance Navy saw an opportunity here to help make car insurance both more accessible and understandable for their community.

Customers can already find the Admiral all over the insurers online platforms, inviting them to engage with Insurance Navys representatives on social media, online campaigns and so on. The company adds that plans are in motion to feature the Admiral even more prominently in the future, such as on billboards around the Chicagoland area. Further, the Admiral is being prepped to make a full animated appearance in online ads on multiple platforms, and Insurance Navy plans to roll him out in celebration posts and so on during upcoming holidays. Naturally, the Admiral will also attend all future company and community events. Those who wish to see the Admiral today are invited to visit the companys official website. He is currently welcoming visitors to the Insurance Navy Auto Insurance page.

Other aspects of the car insurers online presence paint a similarly positive picture of the insurance services they provide. For instance, customers routinely share highly positive feedback regarding Insurance Navy and their car insurance policies, and their Palos Hills location has received hundreds of glowing reviews online on their affordable car insurance and other insurance products.

In their 5-Star Google review, F. Almusa says, Ive been to numerous insurance agencies for car insurance quotes for some time now and have never had a better experience. Linda was very informative, and I felt very comfortable dealing with someone who really knows what theyre doing. She had no hesitation with her answers to any and all of my questions regarding my auto insurance! Really happy with my experience!

J. Geraci also says here, I was standing outside nearly afraid to finally get car insurance so I could reinstate my license. Linda and their coworker were amazing and truly encouraged [me to take] this step toward progress and help me feel better about myself. I feel so comfortable and welcome here too. It's like a blessing.

Insurance Navy Brokers comments that their team has always tried to make it easier for their community to understand their car insurance options and what opportunities lay before them. The Admiral is the companys latest effort in this regard, and they look forward to receiving input from their customers as this mascots rollout continues.

Along with the Admiral, more information on Insurance Navys auto insurance products and services can be found on their official website. Customers are encouraged to contact their insurance agents to discuss their car insurance and other insurance needs in greater detail as well.

Insurance Navy is a provider of non-standard auto insurance, selling products in over 30 storefronts, a call center, and online (www.insurancenavy.com) in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, and California. In addition to auto insurance, the company sells other financial products and services, including homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and roadside assistance.





Insurance Navy provides non-standard car insurance to drivers for liability coverage that meets their states minimum limits. Insurance Navy specializes in providing SR22 insurance, which is a certificate of financial responsibility for high-risk drivers. They also offer homeowners insurance, renters insurance, and roadside assistance to complement their auto insurance offerings.

###

For more information about Insurance Navy Brokers, contact the company here:



Insurance Navy Brokers

Agnes Zabawa

3125006903

customerservice@insurancenavy.com

10338 S Harlem Ave, Palos Hills, IL 60465
PHILADELPHIA, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Working with an experienced provider of eCommerce consulting services like 1Digital Agency, which has more than ten years of experience, can offer businesses in a wide range of industries many significant benefits.

Chiefly, business strategy services unite company vision and strategic decision-making. Too often, businesses' practical efforts are stymied by a lack of adherence to a common goal. Without a clear vision for branding, targeting, development, procurement, and distribution, a business's core competencies can quickly become diluted by inefficiency.

Companies that offer business strategy services invest the time in learning about their partners' brands, positioning, and long-term goals. Only after these are well established - and agreed upon - can an online business hope to develop an effective digital strategy for targeted marketing.

These services can help administrators of online stores determine what mix of marketing strategies to pursue; what the breakdown in allocation between organic methods like social media and SEO, and paid methods, like PPC, will be. Consulting services can also help establish consistent positioning and targeting procedures for products and services across all marketing channels.

Another advantage of eCommerce consulting services is in setting goals for profitability, market share, and revenue growth. A third-party's outside perspective may be able to offer a fresh take on operational inefficiencies that can be eliminated or adjusted, to the benefit of the client's eCommerce store.

Business strategy service providers may also have design specialists on hand that can conduct disinterested audits of an eCommerce business client's website. These sorts of online brand appraisals can help consulting firms and their clients identify areas of weak branding, inconsistent messaging, or website features that hinder customer engagement or the user experience.

Oftentimes, these same management consultants even have experienced web designers and developers on-hand, experienced in reimagining and rebranding online stores in order to improve customer experiences to drive more profitable growth.

Most importantly, strategic planning with a business consulting partner can help an eCommerce business free up internal resources to commit to the day-to-day activities of an online business, relinquishing time-consuming, resource-intensive projects like data analysis and creative planning to strategy consulting providers whose core competencies are those very attributes.

The decision to work with an eCommerce consulting company can also constitute a long-term relationship in which both parties work together to their benefit, creating business-transforming eCommerce solutions along the way.

1Digital Agency has helped countless businesses with digital marketing, design, development, migration, and even consulting over the years. If your business needs a strategic partner to help you uncover lucrative opportunities for growth, contact them at 888-982-8269 or at Info@1DigitalAgency.com.

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Business strategy services can help eCommerce merchants in a variety of industries experience long-term, sustainable growth.









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LAS VEGAS, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gb Sciences, Inc. (OTCQB:GBLX), a leading cannabis- and plant-inspired biopharmaceutical research and development company, today issued a letter to shareholders from President, Chief Science Officer, and Director Dr. Andrea Small-Howard and Chairman and CEO John Poss, summarizing key developments from 2021 and providing strategic plans for 2022. Full text of the shareholder letter follows.

A MESSAGE FROM BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND THE CHAIRMAN OF GB SCIENCES, INC.

To Our Shareholders:

2021 was a transformational year for Gb Sciences.

In December 2021, we sold our last cannabis production facility to become a pure-play biopharmaceutical company specializing in cannabis- and plant-inspired medicines for the prescription drug market. This sale greatly reduced our debt-burden and enables Gb Sciences to invest all of its resources into the development of our biopharmaceutical medicines. We made this strategic decision because of the immense shareholder value within our biopharmaceutical pipeline of products, which is estimated to be worth billions in the future if we are successful in demonstrating their safety and efficacy to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA).

Additionally, the pivot away from cannabis production helps remove some of the barriers to up listing on a national stock exchange that we would have faced as a marijuana-touching company. The ability to up list increases the opportunities for Gb Sciences to attract investment and development partners to bring our promising formulations into human clinical trials.

Our lead program in Parkinson's disease is being prepared for a first-in-human trial through the following essential steps: a) creating clinical prototypes by combining our proprietary Parkinson's formulas with a convenient oral delivery system; b) performing a dose response study in rodents to establish the correct range of active ingredients for our first-in-human trial; c) performing necessary ADMET tests on the clinical prototypes; and d) selecting a Contract Research Organization (CRO) to prepare an Investigational New Drug (IND) application to the U.S. FDA to begin our first-in-human trial.

This year, we are working with Catalent Pharma on the preparation of clinical prototypes of our proprietary cannabinoid-based formulations for Parkinson's disease in Catalent Pharma's proprietary Zydis delivery system. Catalent Pharma's Zydis delivery system is an Orally Disintegrating Tablet format that should be ideal for delivering our cannabinoid-ratio controlled formulations to Parkinson's patients. More than 50% of Parkinson's patients have trouble swallowing, but the Zydis format delivers the active ingredients into the mouth by dispersion without needing water or the ability to swallow.

We have selected the University of Lethbridge to start our dose response study in rodents, which will establish the correct dosing for our first-in-human trial. Prior to filing our Investigational New Drug (IND) application, we must conduct ADMET (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion, and Toxicology) testing on the clinical prototypes being formulated for us by Catalent Pharma. In the Investigational New Drug (IND) application, the ADMET testing data will be combined with the Chemistry Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) data prepared by Catalent Pharma and our Proof-of-Concept data (National Research Council Canada). In the near future, we expect to announce the selection of the Contract Research Organization that will write the IND-application and run the first-in-human trials for our novel treatment for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

In addition, Gb Sciences has other promising late-preclinical stage programs, including our COVID-related cytokine release formulations and our time-released oral nanoparticle formulations for chronic pain. The novel strategy behind our COVID-related CRS program was reported in last month's Future Healthcare Today. Our chronic pain formulations are being validated in animal trials at the National Research Council of Canada. Our cell-based proof-of-concept data for the chronic pain nanoparticles was published this month in collaboration with the University of Seville in Spain.

In closing, we would like to thank those shareholders who have made this transition from the cannabis to the biopharma industry with us. Our goal is to produce maximum shareholder value while also providing innovative new therapeutic options for patients that need them.

To learn more about Gb Sciences, visit www.gbsciences.com.

About Gb Sciences and GbS Global Biopharma

Gb Sciences, Inc. is a plant-inspired, biopharmaceutical research and development company creating patented, disease-targeted formulations of plant-inspired therapeutic mixtures for the prescription drug market through its Canadian subsidiary, GbS Global Biopharma, Inc. The "plant-inspired" active ingredients in its therapeutic mixtures are synthetic homologues identical to the original plant compounds but produced under current Good Manufacturing Practices. Gb Sciences' intellectual property portfolio contains six issued U.S. and three issued foreign patents, as well as 18 U.S. and 49 foreign patent-pending applications. In its drug development pipeline, Gb Sciences has five preclinical phase product development programs. Gb Sciences' lead program for Parkinson's disease is being prepared for a first-in-human clinical trial. Gb Sciences' formulations for chronic pain, anxiety, and depression are currently in preclinical animal studies with researchers at the National Research Council Canada. The company also recently received positive preclinical proof-of-concept data supporting its complex mixtures for the treatment of Cytokine Release Syndrome related to COVID-19, and its lead candidates will be optimized based on late-stage preclinical studies at Michigan State University. Gb Sciences' productive research and development network includes distinguished universities, hospitals, and Contract Research Organizations. To learn more, visit www.gbsciences.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain statements relating to future results or events, which are forward-looking statements. Words such as "expects," "intends," "plans," "may," "could," "should," "anticipates," "likely," "believes" and words of similar import may identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts, but instead represent only the Company's belief regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. It is possible that the Company's actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Further, information concerning the Company and its business, including factors that potentially could materially affect the Company's business and financial and other results, are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur or of which we hereafter become aware.

Media Contact

Savannah Muir

savannah@newswire.com

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WESTPORT, Conn., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HMG Strategy, the Worlds #1 digital platform for enabling technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world, is excited to be hosting its 2022 Dallas CIO Executive Leadership Summit on April 7 at the Brookhaven Country Club. HMG Strategys highly interactive events bring together the worlds most distinguished and innovative security and business technology leaders to discuss the most pressing leadership, strategic, cultural, technology and career challenges and opportunities that they face today  and into the future.



The 2022 Dallas CIO Executive Leadership Summit will focus on the role of technology executives in inspiring trust and taking an inclusive approach to drive innovation.

The summit will also feature bestselling author Stephen M.R. Covey who will share how a Trust and Inspire leadership style can help engage employees and enable technology executives to win the global war for talent.

Technology executives are playing a deeper role in guiding the social fabric of the organization, said Hunter Muller, President and CEO at HMG Strategy. CIOs and technology executives who can inspire employees and foster an inclusive environment of trust can stimulate a collaborative and innovative culture and help attract and retain the people needed to succeed in the modern enterprise.



World-class technology executives and industry experts speaking at the 2022 Dallas CIO Executive Leadership Summit will include:

Mike Anderson , Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope

, Chief Digital and Information Officer, Netskope Renee Arrington , President, COO & Director, Pearson Partners International, Inc.

, President, COO & Director, Pearson Partners International, Inc. Nellson Burns , VP, IS, BU CIO, Mohawk Industries (Dal-Tile)

, VP, IS, BU CIO, Mohawk Industries (Dal-Tile) Kevin Christ , Partner, Concentre

, Partner, Concentre Mark Connelly , Global Information Security Senior Director, CISO, Boston Consulting Group

, Global Information Security Senior Director, CISO, Boston Consulting Group Patricia Connolly , CEO, Founding Partner, SMC Squared

, CEO, Founding Partner, SMC Squared Mignona Cote , Chief Security Officer, NetApp

, Chief Security Officer, NetApp Stephen M.R. Covey , Bestselling Author, Global Practice Leader, Speed of Trust, FranklinCovey

, Bestselling Author, Global Practice Leader, Speed of Trust, FranklinCovey Jamey Cummings , Partner - Cybersecurity and Technology, JM Search

, Partner - Cybersecurity and Technology, JM Search John Ferguson , Senior Director, Solutions Architecture, Americas, OutSystems

, Senior Director, Solutions Architecture, Americas, OutSystems John Foley , Founder & CEO, John Foley Inc.

, Founder & CEO, John Foley Inc. Chris Gates , Group CIO and SVP Hosting Services, Allstate

, Group CIO and SVP Hosting Services, Allstate Ebele Kemery , Managing Director, Head of Global Technology Diversity & Inclusion, JPMorgan Chase & Co.

, Managing Director, Head of Global Technology Diversity & Inclusion, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Janya Kieffer , CIO, Austin Industries

, CIO, Austin Industries Maria Lensing , SVP & CTO, McKesson Corporation

, SVP & CTO, McKesson Corporation Gerry Mecca , CIO, Tropicana Brands

, CIO, Tropicana Brands Claire Pendleton , Marketing Specialist, Insight

, Marketing Specialist, Insight Mark Polansky , Senior Partner, Technology Officers Executive Search, Korn Ferry

, Senior Partner, Technology Officers Executive Search, Korn Ferry Angela Venuk, Former CIO  Gamestop, President, SIM DFW



Valued Partners for the 2022 Dallas CIO Executive Leadership Summit include Aisera, Akamai, BetterCloud, Darktrace, Centripetal, Fortinet, Globant, Insight Cloud + Data Center Transformation, Moveworks, Netskope, NPower, Nutanix, OutSystems, Palo Alto Networks, ReliaQuest, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, SentinelOne, SIM Dallas Fort Worth, Skybox Security, SMC2, Strata, Tonkean, Upwork, Zoom, and Zscaler.

To learn more about the 2022 Dallas CIO Executive Leadership Summit and to register for the event, click here.

HMG Strategy is also excited to be hosting its 2022 New York CIO Summit of America on April 5 at Pier 59 at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. World-class CIOs and industry executives at the industrys top CIO conference will share insights on the role of the tech leader as enterprise change agent in fostering cultural change and enabling the digital business enterprise.

The summit will also feature bestselling author Stephen M.R. Covey who will sharing autographed copies of his new book Trust and Inspire and share how a Trust and Inspire leadership style can help engage employees and enable technology executives to win the global war for talent.

Prominent technology leaders and industry executives speaking at the 2022 New York CIO Summit of America will include:

Bashir Agboola , VP & Chief Technology Officer, Hospital for Special Surgery

, VP & Chief Technology Officer, Hospital for Special Surgery Roota Almeida , CISO, Delta Dental of NJ and CT

, CISO, Delta Dental of NJ and CT Timicka Anderson , Head Consumer Products & Retail Sector -U.S. Commercial Bank  Global and National Industries, Citi; Co-Chair Command Shift, NPower

, Head Consumer Products & Retail Sector -U.S. Commercial Bank  Global and National Industries, Citi; Co-Chair Command Shift, NPower Wolfgang Bauriedel , Practice Lead, Technology Sector, Russell Reynolds Associate s

, Practice Lead, Technology Sector, Russell Reynolds Associate Christopher Bernard , VP Digital Employee Experience, Wheels Up

, VP Digital Employee Experience, Wheels Up Candice Dixon , Coalition Development Director, NPower

, Coalition Development Director, NPower David Fairman , Chief Security Officer APAC, Netskope

, Chief Security Officer APAC, Netskope Steve Fernandez , Global CTO, AIG

, Global CTO, AIG Scott Glenn , Partner, BearingPoint

, Partner, BearingPoint Rocco Grillo , Managing Director - Global Cyber Risk Services & Incident Response Investigation, Alvarez & Marsal

, Managing Director - Global Cyber Risk Services & Incident Response Investigation, Alvarez & Marsal Fred Harris , Head of Cybersecurity Risk, Data Risk and IT Risk, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking

, Head of Cybersecurity Risk, Data Risk and IT Risk, Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking Yvonne Hyland , Head of Portfolio Business Development, B Capital Group

, Head of Portfolio Business Development, B Capital Group John Iannarelli , Former FBI Special Agent and Senior Executive Advisor FBI

, Former FBI Special Agent and Senior Executive Advisor FBI Tony Leng, Managing Director, Practice Lead and OMP, Diversified Search

Managing Director, Practice Lead and OMP, Diversified Search Shola Oyewole , VP Digital Innovation, United Therapeutics

, VP Digital Innovation, United Therapeutics Mark Polansky , Senior Partner, Technology Officers Executive Search, Korn Ferry

, Senior Partner, Technology Officers Executive Search, Korn Ferry Anna Ransley , CIO, GODIVA

, CIO, GODIVA Shantala Sadananda , EVP & Regional Managing Director, Globant

, EVP & Regional Managing Director, Globant Scott Strickland , EVP & CIO, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts

, EVP & CIO, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Hugo Vliegen , VP, Product Management, Aryaka

, VP, Product Management, Aryaka Gabrielle Wolfson, CIO & CDO, Quest Diagnostics



Valued Partners for the 2022 New York CIO Summit of America include Aisera, Akamai, Apptio, Aryaka, BearingPoint, B Capital Group, BetterCloud, Centripetal, Darktrace, Genesys Works, Globant, Moveworks, Netskope, NPower, Nutanix, Palo Alto Networks, RingCentral, SafeGuard Cyber, SIM New York Metro, Skybox Security, SnapLogic, Software Improvement Group, Strata, Tonkean, Upwork, Zoom, and Zscaler.

To learn more about the 2022 New York CIO Summit of America and to register for this custom event, click here.

To learn about all of HMG Strategys Upcoming CIO & CISO Summits, click here .

About HMG Strategy

HMG Strategy is the world's leading digital platform for connecting technology executives to reimagine the enterprise and reshape the business world. The HMG Strategy global network consists of more than 400,000 CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, CDOs, senior business technology executives, search industry executives, venture capitalists, industry experts and world-class thought leaders.

HMG Strategys global media model generates more than 1 million impressions per week, providing vast opportunities for business technology leaders and sponsor partners to promote themselves and their brands.

HMG Strategy was founded in 2008 by Hunter Muller, a leadership expert who has worked side-by-side with Fortune 2000 executives with strategic planning and career ascent for the past 30+ years.

HMG Strategys regional and virtual CIO and CISO Executive Leadership Series, authored books and Digital Resource Center deliver unique, peer-driven guidance from CIOs, CISOs, CTOs, CDOs and technology executives on leadership, innovation, transformation and career ascent.

HMG Strategy offers a range of peer-led research services such as its CIO & CISO Executive Leadership Alliance (CELA) program which bring together the worlds top CIOs, CISOs and technology executives to brainstorm on the top opportunities and challenges facing them in their roles.

HMG Strategys Global Peer Actionable Insights Services Stack is a unique set of research services that are designed to keep business technology executives up to speed on the latest leadership, business, technology and global geo-economic trends that are impacting businesses and industries.

HMG Ventures is a venture capital unit thats designed to connect CIOs, CTOs, CISOs and other technology executives with innovative early-stage technology companies from Silicon Valley to Tel Aviv. HMG Ventures provides technology executives with a window into hot emerging technology companies that can help move the needle for their businesses while also offering these executives unparalleled personal investment opportunities. One early-stage investment in an enterprise-level AI-powered service management provider has generated a 100X return.

HMG Strategy also produces the HMG Security Innovation Accelerator Panel, a new webinar series thats designed to connect enterprise technology and security leaders with the most innovative technology and cybersecurity companies from across the world.

To learn more about the 7 Pillars of Trust for HMG Strategy's unique business model, click here .

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7c96e423-3bc3-4a35-b1fb-512d00b8e24d
MONTERREY, Mexico, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CEMEX Ventures, CEMEX's corporate venture capital, and open innovation unit, announced today the open call for their sixth edition of Construction Startup Competition, the biggest challenge for startups in the construction industry. This 2022 edition reunites previous partners Dysruptek by Haskell, Ferrovial, GS Futures, Hilti, VINCI Group's Leonard, and NOVA by Saint-Gobain, and welcomes Black & Veatch, a global engineering, construction, and consulting leader, Procore Technologies, leading US cloud-based construction software, and Zacua Ventures, a fund focused solely on the construction sector.

The global challenge is open for startups in their early stages up to their commercialization phase who have developed innovative solutions that help solve the industry's main challenges. All participants will be able to apply under four categories: Green Construction, Enhanced Productivity, Construction's Supply Chain, and Construction Future is Now. The application phase of the competition will remain open until Sept. 4, 2022.

Construction Startup Competition serves as a shortcut for all entrepreneurs who wish to knock on the doors of potential business partners that can help develop their solutions. "Participants can expect to engage with any of the host companies even before the competition comes to an end, going as far as receiving investment or setting up agreements in the months following their application," said Gonzalo Galindo, Head of CEMEX Ventures. "This competition has served as a shortcut for many startups to connect with top industry investors and begin their successful collaborations, and this years lineup guarantees it will be no exception."

The ten companies will thoroughly evaluate the applications before choosing the winners that will participate in a final Pitchday event in November 2022. The entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to showcase their solution to the competition's jurors, as well as leading companies and investors from the construction and technology industry.

Construction Startup Competition has seen over 2,000 startups from more than 80 countries participate since its first edition. With more partners joining CEMEX Ventures in the call to disrupt the construction industry, and with investment blooming in the Contech ecosystem, the 2022 edition is calling for all startups in the sector to take on the challenge and participate by applying at www.cemexventures.com/constructionstartupcompetition.

Media Relations: Jorge Perez, +52 (81) 8259-6666, jorgeluis.perez@cemex.com

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CALGARY, Alberta, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (Birchcliff or the Corporation) (TSX: BIR) is pleased to announce that it has filed its annual audited financial statements (the Financial Statements) and related managements discussion and analysis and its annual information form (the AIF) for the financial year ended December 31, 2021 (collectively, the Annual Filings) on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR).



The Financial Statements are consistent with the unaudited financial results disclosed in the press release issued by Birchcliff on February 9, 2022. The AIF includes the disclosure and reports relating to reserves data and other oil and gas information required pursuant to National Instrument 51-101  Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities. The Annual Filings are available electronically on Birchcliffs website at www.birchcliffenergy.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

2021 HIGHLIGHTS

2021 was a record year for all of the Corporations cash flow metrics. Highlights included:

Annual average production of 78,520 boe/d ( 1 ) , a 3% increase from 2020. Liquids accounted for 21% of Birchcliffs total production in 2021.

, a 3% increase from 2020. Liquids accounted for 21% of Birchcliffs total production in 2021. Record annual adjusted funds flow ( 2 ) of $539.7 million, or $2.03 per basic common share ( 3 ) , an increase of 192% and 194%, respectively, from 2020. Cash flow from operating activities was $515.4 million, a 174% increase from 2020.

of $539.7 million, or $2.03 per basic common share , an increase of 192% and 194%, respectively, from 2020. Cash flow from operating activities was $515.4 million, a 174% increase from 2020. Record annual free funds flow ( 2 ) of $309.3 million, or $1.16 per basic common share ( 3 ) .

of $309.3 million, or $1.16 per basic common share . Significantly reduced total debt ( 4 ) at year-end to $499.4 million, a reduction of $262.6 million (34%) from $762.0 million at December 31, 2020.

at year-end to $499.4 million, a reduction of $262.6 million (34%) from $762.0 million at December 31, 2020. Record annual net income to common shareholders of $310.5 million, or $1.17 per basic common share.



______________________________

(1) Consisted of 2,899 bbls/d of light oil, 5,715 bbls/d of condensate, 7,705 bbls/d of NGLs and 373,217 Mcf/d of natural gas. See Advisories  Boe Conversions and Advisories  Production.

(2) Non-GAAP financial measure. See Advisories  Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures.

(3) Non-GAAP ratio. See Advisories  Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures.

(4) Capital management measure. See Advisories  Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures.

2022 UPDATE



Birchcliff has had a strong start to 2022. Our production and capital expenditures guidance is on target and our initial 2022 drilling results are very encouraging. Our cash flow has been very strong as a result of the higher than anticipated commodity prices that we have seen year-to-date. Birchcliff has been able to benefit from these prices as none of our production is subject to fixed price commodity hedges. We remain committed to maintaining capital discipline, maximizing free funds flow and reducing indebtedness. Birchcliff looks forward to announcing our first quarter results on May 11, 2022, commented Jeff Tonken, Chief Executive Officer of Birchcliff.

Birchcliffs 2022 capital program is focused on the development of its low-cost natural gas and condensate production in Pouce Coupe and Gordondale. The 2022 capital program is designed to utilize two drilling rigs in order to bring 35 new wells from 4 large pads onto production during the year (26 wells in Pouce Coupe and 9 wells in Gordondale).

Birchcliff has successfully completed its 6-well 13-29 pad in Pouce Coupe, which was drilled in late Q4 2021 and early January 2022. Flowback operations are complete and Birchcliff has recently brought the pad onstream, with production flowing through Birchcliffs existing owned and operated infrastructure. The Corporation has been encouraged by the initial flowback performance of the pad. Four wells on the 13-29 pad were drilled in the Montney D1 interval offsetting several of Birchcliffs existing high-productivity, low-cost natural gas wells, and two wells were drilled in the Basal Doig/Upper Montney interval.

Birchcliff currently has two drilling rigs at work in Pouce Coupe, drilling low-cost, condensate-rich natural gas wells on the 10-well 01-08 pad. Wells on the 01-08 pad are being drilled in three intervals (5 in the Montney D1, 4 in the Basal Doig/Upper Montney and 1 in the Montney C). The 01-08 pad demonstrates Birchcliffs commitment to using scale and repeatability to drive down per well costs and utilizing enhanced completions techniques to improve well performance.

ADVISORIES

Abbreviations

bbl barrel bbls/d barrels per day boe barrel of oil equivalent boe/d barrel of oil equivalent per day condensate pentanes plus (C5+) GAAP generally accepted accounting principles for Canadian public companies, which are currently International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board Mcf thousand cubic feet Mcf/d thousand cubic feet per day NGLs natural gas liquids consisting of ethane (C2), propane (C3) and butane (C4) and specifically excluding condensate $000s thousands of dollars

Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures

This press release uses various non-GAAP financial measures, non-GAAP ratios and capital management measures (as such terms are defined in National Instrument 52-112  Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures Disclosure (NI 52-112)), which are described in further detail below. These measures facilitate managements comparisons to the Corporations historical operating results in assessing its results and strategic and operational decision-making and may be used by financial analysts and others in the oil and natural gas industry to evaluate the Corporations performance.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

NI 52-112 defines a non-GAAP financial measure as a financial measure that: (i) depicts the historical or expected future financial performance, financial position or cash flow of an entity; (ii) with respect to its composition, excludes an amount that is included in, or includes an amount that is excluded from, the composition of the most directly comparable financial measure disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity; (iii) is not disclosed in the financial statements of the entity; and (iv) is not a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation. The non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are not standardized financial measures under GAAP and might not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Investors are cautioned that non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as alternatives to or more meaningful than the most directly comparable GAAP measures as indicators of Birchcliffs performance. Set forth below is a description of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release.

Adjusted Funds Flow and Free Funds Flow

Birchcliff defines adjusted funds flow as cash flow from operating activities before the effects of decommissioning expenditures and changes in non-cash operating working capital. Birchcliff eliminates settlements of decommissioning expenditures from cash flow from operating activities as the amounts can be discretionary and may vary from period to period depending on its capital programs and the maturity of its operating areas. The settlement of decommissioning expenditures is managed with Birchcliffs capital budgeting process which considers available adjusted funds flow. Changes in non-cash operating working capital are eliminated in the determination of adjusted funds flow as the timing of collection and payment are variable and by excluding them from the calculation, the Corporation believes that it is able to provide a more meaningful measure of its operations and ability to generate cash on a continuing basis. Adjusted funds flow can also be derived from petroleum and natural gas revenue less royalty expense, operating expense, transportation and other expense, net G&A expense, interest expense and any realized losses (plus realized gains) on financial instruments and plus any other cash income sources. Management believes that adjusted funds flow assists management and investors in assessing Birchcliffs financial performance after deducting all operating and corporate cash costs, as well as its ability to generate the cash necessary to fund sustaining and/or growth capital expenditures, repay debt, settle decommissioning obligations, repurchase common shares and pay common share and preferred share dividends.

Birchcliff defines free funds flow as adjusted funds flow less F&D capital expenditures. Management believes that free funds flow assists management and investors in assessing Birchcliffs ability to further generate shareholder returns through a number of initiatives, including but not limited to, potential debt repayment, preferred share redemptions, common share repurchases, dividend increases and acquisitions.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash flow from operating activities, as determined in accordance with GAAP, to adjusted funds flow and free funds flow for the periods indicated:

Twelve months ended

December 31,

($000s) 2021 2020 Cash flow from operating activities 515,369 188,180 Change in non-cash operating working capital 21,161 (5,977) Decommissioning expenditures 3,203 2,323 Adjusted funds flow 539,733 184,526 F&D capital expenditures (230,479) (287,967) Free funds flow 309,254 (103,441)



Non-GAAP Ratios

NI 52-112 defines a non-GAAP ratio as a financial measure that: (i) is in the form of a ratio, fraction, percentage or similar representation; (ii) has a non-GAAP financial measure as one or more of its components; and (iii) is not disclosed in the financial statements of the entity. The non-GAAP ratios used in this press release are not standardized financial measures under GAAP and might not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies where similar terminology is used. Set forth below is a description of the non-GAAP ratios used in this press release.

Adjusted Funds Flow Per Basic Common Share

Birchcliff calculates adjusted funds flow per basic common share as aggregate adjusted funds flow in the period divided by the basic common shares outstanding at the end of the period. Management believes that adjusted funds flow per basic common share assists management and investors in assessing Birchcliffs financial strength on a per common share basis.

Free Funds Flow Per Basic Common Share

Birchcliff calculates free funds flow per basic common share as aggregate free funds flow in the period divided by the basic common shares outstanding at the end of the period. Management believes that free fund flow per basic common share assists management and investors in assessing Birchcliffs financial strength and its ability to generate shareholder returns on a per common share basis.

Capital Management Measures

NI 52-112 defines a capital management measure as a financial measure that: (i) is intended to enable an individual to evaluate an entitys objectives, policies and processes for managing the entitys capital; (ii) is not a component of a line item disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity; (iii) is disclosed in the notes to the financial statements of the entity; and (iv) is not disclosed in the primary financial statements of the entity. Set forth below is a description of the capital management measure used in this press release.

Total Debt

Birchcliff calculates total debt as the amount outstanding under the Corporations revolving term credit facilities plus adjusted working capital deficit (surplus). Management believes that total debt assists management and investors in assessing Birchcliffs overall liquidity and financial position at the end of the period. The following table provides a reconciliation of the revolving term credit facilities, as determined in accordance with GAAP, to total debt:

As at December 31, ($000s) 2021 2020 Revolving term credit facilities 500,870 731,372 Working capital deficit 53,312 93,988 Fair value of financial instruments (16,517) (23,479) Capital securities (38,268) (39,930) Adjusted working capital deficit (surplus)(1)(2) (1,473) 30,579 Total debt(2) 499,397 761,951

(1) Capital management measure. Management believes that adjusted working capital deficit (surplus) assists management and investors in assessing Birchcliffs short-term liquidity requirements.

(2) Previously classified as a non-GAAP measure under CSA Staff Notice 52-306 (Revised)  Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Boe Conversions

Boe amounts have been calculated by using the conversion ratio of 6 Mcf of natural gas to 1 bbl of oil. Boe amounts may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of 6 Mcf: 1 bbl is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. Given that the value ratio based on the current price of crude oil as compared to natural gas is significantly different from the energy equivalency of 6:1, utilizing a conversion on a 6:1 basis may be misleading as an indication of value.

Production

With respect to the disclosure of Birchcliffs production contained in this press release: (i) references to light oil mean light crude oil and medium crude oil as such term is defined in National Instrument 51-101  Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities (NI 51-101); (ii) except where otherwise stated, references to liquids mean light crude oil and medium crude oil and natural gas liquids (including condensate) as such terms are defined in NI 51-101; and (iii) references to natural gas mean shale gas, which also includes an immaterial amount of conventional natural gas, as such terms are defined in NI 51-101. In addition, NI 51-101 includes condensate within the product type of natural gas liquids. In certain cases, Birchcliff has disclosed condensate separately from other natural gas liquids as the price of condensate as compared to other natural gas liquids is currently significantly higher and Birchcliff believes presenting the two commodities separately provides a more accurate description of its operations and results therefrom.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forwardlooking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to as forwardlooking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release relate to future events or Birchcliffs future plans, operations, strategy, performance or financial position and are based on Birchcliffs current expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements have been made by Birchcliff in light of the information available to it at the time the statements were made and reflect its experience and perception of historical trends. All statements and information other than historical fact may be forwardlooking statements. Such forwardlooking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seek, plan, focus, future, outlook, position, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, forecast, guidance, potential, proposed, predict, budget, continue, targeting, may, will, could, might, should, would, on track and other similar words and expressions.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forwardlooking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Although Birchcliff believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct and Birchcliff makes no representation that actual results achieved will be the same in whole or in part as those set out in the forward-looking statements.

In particular, this press release contains forwardlooking statements relating to the following: Birchcliffs plans and other aspects of its anticipated future financial performance, results, operations, focus, objectives, strategies, opportunities, priorities and goals; that Birchcliffs production and capital expenditures guidance is on target; that Birchcliff remains committed to maintaining capital discipline, maximizing free funds flow and reducing indebtedness; that Birchcliff will announce its first quarter results on May 11, 2022; statements relating to the Corporations 2022 capital program and its exploration and development activities and the timing thereof (including: that Birchcliff is focused on the development of its low-cost natural gas and condensate production in Pouce Coupe and Gordondale; the number of wells expected to be brought on production in 2022; and the Corporations commitment to using scale and repeatability to drive down per well costs and utilizing enhanced completions techniques to improve well performance).

With respect to the forwardlooking statements contained in this press release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the degree to which the Corporations results of operations and financial condition will be disrupted by circumstances attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic; prevailing and future commodity prices and differentials, exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates, royalty rates and tax rates; the state of the economy, financial markets and the exploration, development and production business; the political environment in which Birchcliff operates; the regulatory framework regarding royalties, taxes, environmental, climate change and other laws; the Corporations ability to comply with existing and future environmental, climate change and other laws; future cash flow, debt and dividend levels; future operating, transportation, marketing, general and administrative and other expenses; Birchcliffs ability to access capital and obtain financing on acceptable terms; the timing and amount of capital expenditures and the sources of funding for capital expenditures and other activities; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures to carry out planned operations; the successful and timely implementation of capital projects and the timing, location and extent of future drilling and other operations; results of operations; Birchcliffs ability to continue to develop its assets and obtain the anticipated benefits therefrom; the performance of existing and future wells; reserves volumes and Birchcliffs ability to replace and expand reserves through acquisition, development or exploration; the impact of competition on Birchcliff; the availability of, demand for and cost of labour, services and materials; the ability to obtain any necessary regulatory or other approvals in a timely manner; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations to Birchcliff; the ability of Birchcliff to secure adequate processing and transportation for its products; Birchcliffs ability to successfully market natural gas and liquids; the results of the Corporations risk management and market diversification activities; and Birchcliffs natural gas market exposure. With respect to statements of future wells to be drilled and brought on production, such statements assume: the continuing validity of the geological and other technical interpretations performed by Birchcliffs technical staff, which indicate that commercially economic volumes can be recovered from Birchcliffs lands as a result of drilling future wells; and that commodity prices and general economic conditions will warrant proceeding with the drilling of such wells.

Birchcliffs actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of both known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: the risks posed by pandemics (including COVID-19) and epidemics and their impacts on supply and demand and commodity prices; actions taken by OPEC and other major producers of crude oil and the impact such actions may have on supply and demand and commodity prices; general economic, market and business conditions which will, among other things, impact the demand for and market prices of Birchcliffs products and Birchcliffs access to capital; volatility of crude oil and natural gas prices; fluctuations in exchange and interest rates; stock market volatility; loss of market demand; an inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources on terms acceptable to the Corporation; risks associated with Birchcliffs credit facilities, including a failure to comply with covenants under the agreement governing the credit facilities and the risk that the borrowing base limit may be redetermined; fluctuations in the costs of borrowing; operational risks and liabilities inherent in oil and natural gas operations; the occurrence of unexpected events such as fires, severe weather, explosions, blow-outs, equipment failures, transportation incidents and other similar events; an inability to access sufficient water or other fluids needed for operations; uncertainty that development activities in connection with Birchcliffs assets will be economic; an inability to access or implement some or all of the technology necessary to operate its assets and achieve expected future results; the accuracy of estimates of reserves, future net revenue and production levels; geological, technical, drilling, construction and processing problems; uncertainty of geological and technical data; horizontal drilling and completions techniques and the failure of drilling results to meet expectations for reserves or production; uncertainties related to Birchcliffs future potential drilling locations; delays or changes in plans with respect to exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; the accuracy of cost estimates and variances in Birchcliffs actual costs and economic returns from those anticipated; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions and exploration and development programs; changes to the regulatory framework in the locations where the Corporation operates, including changes to tax laws, Crown royalty rates, environmental laws, climate change laws, carbon tax regimes, incentive programs and other regulations that affect the oil and natural gas industry; actions by government authorities, including those with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic; an inability of the Corporation to comply with existing and future environmental, climate change and other laws; the cost of compliance with current and future environmental laws; political uncertainty and uncertainty associated with government policy changes; dependence on facilities, gathering lines and pipelines; uncertainties and risks associated with pipeline restrictions and outages to third-party infrastructure that could cause disruptions to production; the lack of available pipeline capacity and an inability to secure adequate and cost-effective processing and transportation for Birchcliffs products; an inability to satisfy obligations under Birchcliffs firm marketing and transportation arrangements; shortages in equipment and skilled personnel; the absence or loss of key employees; competition for, among other things, capital, acquisitions of reserves, undeveloped lands, equipment and skilled personnel; management of Birchcliffs growth; environmental and climate change risks, claims and liabilities; potential litigation; default under or breach of agreements by counterparties and potential enforceability issues in contracts; claims by Indigenous peoples; the reassessment by taxing or regulatory authorities of the Corporations prior transactions and filings; unforeseen title defects; third-party claims regarding the Corporations right to use technology and equipment; uncertainties associated with the outcome of litigation or other proceedings involving Birchcliff; uncertainties associated with counterparty credit risk; risks associated with Birchcliffs risk management and market diversification activities; risks associated with the declaration and payment of future dividends, including the discretion of Birchcliffs board of directors to declare dividends and change the Corporations dividend policy; the failure to obtain any required approvals in a timely manner or at all; the failure to complete or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions and the risk of unforeseen difficulties in integrating acquired assets into Birchcliffs operations; negative public perception of the oil and natural gas industry and fossil fuels; the Corporations reliance on hydraulic fracturing; market competition, including from alternative energy sources; changing demand for petroleum products; the availability of insurance and the risk that certain losses may not be insured; breaches or failure of information systems and security (including risks associated with cyber-attacks); risks associated with the ownership of the Corporations securities; and the accuracy of the Corporations accounting estimates and judgments.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists of factors are not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other risk factors that could affect results of operations, financial performance or financial results are included in the AIF and in other reports filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

Management has included the above summary of assumptions and risks related to forward-looking statements provided in this press release in order to provide readers with a more complete perspective on Birchcliffs future operations and managements current expectations relating to Birchcliffs future performance. Readers are cautioned that this information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release. Unless required by applicable laws, Birchcliff does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Birchcliff:

Birchcliff is a Calgary, Alberta based intermediate oil and natural gas company with operations focused on the Montney/Doig Resource Play in Alberta. Birchcliffs common shares and cumulative redeemable preferred shares Series A and Series C are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols BIR, BIR.PR.A and BIR.PR.C, respectively.
The killer boss of the Bonanno crime family hid his face and refused to answer Daily News questions after he was released on a $500,000 bond Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn accused Michael The Nose Mancuso, 67, of associating with members of organized crime, violating the terms of his supervised release, which came after served 15 years in prison for his role in the 2004 death of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo.

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Dont you have something better to do? asked a woman standing with Mancuso in a park across from the courthouse when a reporter with The News tried Tuesday to question the Bonanno head honcho.

Michael Mancuso, the reputed boss of the Bonanno crime family. (Noah Goldberg/New York Daily News)

Go cure cancer, she added.

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Mancuso did not respond to questions and hid his face behind his black leather coat.

He was not much more loquacious in court, responding only deny when asked by Judge James Cho whether the allegations that he had associated with other members of La Cosa Nostra were true.

Mancuso got caught up twice in federal wiretaps related to a separate investigation of the Colombo crime family, which resulted in 14 arrests, a law enforcement source told The News.

The 67-year-old Bonanno skipper has been out of prison for nearly three years after serving his 15-year stretch for helping carry out former Bonanno boss Vincent Bascianos order to kill Pizzolo, who had botched a construction project for Basciano.

The hit man who carried out the killing, Anthony (Ace) Aiello, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a 30-year minimum term.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

The feds say he twice violated the terms of his supervised release  in Aug. 2020 and again in June 2021  by associating with organized crime figures.

Law enforcement officials filed a petition charging him with the violations on March 9, two days before his supervised release term was to expire.

Michael Mancuso, the reputed boss of the Bonanno crime family. (Noah Goldberg/New York Daily News)

Associating with organized crime  though it violates the terms of his supervised release  is nothing new for Mancuso. He was already running the Bonanno family while locked up with five years left on his federal sentence, sources told The News in 2013.

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Mancuso also served a ten-year state sentence for fatally shooting his wife in The Bronx in 1984.

He sat in court during the hearing Tuesday with his arm around the woman who snapped at the reporter.

His wife and two daughters signed onto his bond.

Mancusos attorney, Stacey Richman, declined to comment.
WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, National Fuel Gas Company (National Fuel or the Company) (NYSE: NFG) announced that Michael Kasprzak, President of National Fuel Gas Midstream Company, LLC (Midstream), will retire on April 1, 2022. Kasprzak has been with the Company for more than 40 years in numerous leadership positions. He was appointed President of Midstream in 2018.



Justin I. Loweth, President of Seneca Resources Company, LLC (Seneca Resources), has been appointed as President of Midstream. Loweth will have responsibility for both organizations and will focus on maximizing efficiencies and coordination between Seneca Resources and Midstream. He retains his role at Seneca Resources.

James Welch has been promoted to Vice President of Midstream, responsible for the day-to-day management, strategic planning and operations. Welch began his career with National Fuel in 2002 as a Management Associate and since has worked for various departments and divisions, holding positions such as Director of Investor Relations and Marketing Manager for the East Division of Seneca Resources. In 2017, he was promoted to General Manager of Midstream and elevated in 2018 to Assistant Vice President. Welch earned a bachelors and a masters degree in Business Administration from the University at Buffalo.

Jeffrey F. Hart, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility, will retire effective June 1, 2022. He joined the Company in 1984 and has held numerous management and executive-level positions throughout the Companys Consumer Business, Operations and Energy Marketing areas.

Sarah J. Mugel, National Fuels General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, has been appointed as the officer with oversight for the Companys Corporate Responsibility function. Additionally, Meghan A. Corcoran has been named General Manager of Corporate Responsibility, accountable for ongoing efforts to strengthen and enhance the Companys Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures and identifying sustainable business practices across the organization. Together they will regularly update both the Corporate Responsibility Executive Committee, which is responsible for integrating applicable sustainability practices and the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee of the Companys Board of Directors, which provides board-level oversight and guidance for corporate responsibility strategy and reporting.

Corcoran will maintain her existing responsibilities as Deputy General Counsel for National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation and Assistant General Manager of the Land Department. She joined National Fuel in 2013 as a law clerk and transitioned to a full-time attorney a short time later. Meg has an undergraduate degree from LeMoyne College and a juris doctorate from the University at Buffalo School of Law.

National Fuel is a diversified energy company headquartered in Western New York that operates an integrated collection of natural gas and oil assets across four business segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. Additional information about National Fuel is available at www.nationalfuel.com.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4d0f9d95-ffa5-47d2-9964-96726df31c56

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4f4f6527-632b-4552-9882-fb52761eb01d

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5ede9ab6-9d75-4d1d-b74f-841a2655bed4

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dde4dde4-d803-45da-a3c0-5fdf45ea500b

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b526df2b-3c69-4478-8e45-236628b81626

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SEOUL, Korea, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GIG INTERNATIONAL (https://www.giginternational.net) (CEO KANG, GI-BONG) is proud to announce the release of its all-in-one solution O2L, the smart automatic breathing aid. The company specializes in manufacturing medical devices and is a global corporation operating businesses for quarantine and military supplies. It continues to develop strategic business models by exporting products in multiple areas such as leisure, construction, energy, medicine and healthcare, security, special military training, defense while building value chains for manufacturing, material and parts, casino, and infrastructure businesses.



Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been exporting O2L products globally. In particular, it has collaborated with more than 30 embassies in Korea while accelerating the exportation of medical devices.

As the number of respiratory-related patients increases around the globe due to Covid-19, O2L is developed by installing an automatic device to the manual ambu bag to minimize the process of helping the patient breathe using the existing BVM.

This simple-to-use device is designed and manufactured for anyone to easily and quickly install, even in an emergency that can occur anytime, anywhere. Since it can control the breathing capacity and number of breaths, it can be used by all people, from children to the elderly. In addition, with its intuitive and smart design, it's very easy to use even for those who use the device for the first time.

The existing ventilators have high barriers in terms of technology. It is also difficult to produce its parts and for mass production. The bag valve mask is designed to supply oxygen to patients by an assistant responsible for pressing the silicone bag when the number of patients' breaths decreases or when they cannot breathe independently. In these cases, experts are needed to help them to supply oxygen with a certain force and pattern. In addition, various sizes of ambu bags are needed for infants and adults, and there is a risk of secondary infection in patients or assistants.

The CCV ventilator for critically ill patients uses a method to control the patients' breaths fully. Even though it can automatically control air pressure and tidal volume according to patients' conditions, it may not be suitable for patients with spontaneous breathing. In addition, since it costs more than 30 million won, it's challenging to distribute them.

GIG INTERNATIONAL's O2L is a smart automatic pumping device to tackle such problems as an all-in-one solution that can also reduce the number of medical staff. It doesn't need assistants so that it doesn't raise concerns over secondary infections. In addition, it can be sold at a very competitive price compared to CCV.

Not only that, this O2L automatic device presents its simple structure and excellent durability, helping users to operate the device easily.

An official from GIG INTERNATIONAL said, "O2L products are basically equipped with an oxygen mask and filter to help patients to use them by themselves. In addition, it has the system to adjust the lung capacity for patients covering from infants to the elderly." He also added, "Since it's equipped with a lithium battery, it's possible to use them outside for 3 to 4 hours. In particular, I believe it could help 911 rescue teams to help many patients immediately."

He also mentioned that the products are expected to help both patients and medical staff by presenting preventive measures against infectious viruses around the globe.

Media Contact

Company: GIGINTERNATIONAL Co., Ltd

Email: info@giginternational.net

Website: https://www.giginternational.net

Telephone: +82-2-6949-1303

SOURCE: GIGINTERNATIONAL Co., Ltd
Waxahachie, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Waxahachie, Texas -

The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center, in Dallas-Fort Worth, recently published an article that aims to shed light on the condition known as diastasis recti. Led by Dr. Mazen Iskandar, MD, FACS, the center focuses on repairing recurring or complex hernias, and their insight on the subject can be invaluable due to their extensive experience.

Also known as diastasis rectus abdominis, this term describes a separation between the right and left rectus abdominis muscles. According to Dr. Iskandar, this condition typically presents in pregnant and postpartum women as the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis) stretch during pregnancy (often in the second or third trimester). However, it can also occur to men and even newborns in certain situations, caused by wear and tear, obesity, and genetic factors.

The article explains, Along the front of your stomach, the rectus abdominis runs vertically. It is separated into left and right sides by a longitudinal band of connective tissue called the linea alba. The abdominal wall is stretched when the uterus swells and pushes on internal organs during pregnancy, and the linea alba thins and pulls apart. As this band of connective tissue is pushed outward, it becomes wider. A pregnant patients linea alba may retract into place following delivery, but this tissue sometimes gets less flexible due to the stretching, preventing it from retracting completely into place. This results in a stomach that may protrude below or above the belly button, and is known as diastasis recti.

About two-thirds of pregnant women have diastasis recti, which may lead to them appearing pregnant well after delivery. Furthermore, having multiple children increases the likelihood of it occurring, and Dr. Iskandar notes this likelihood increases if successive pregnancies occur close together.

The vertical bulge, which may appear above the belly button when the patient rises from laying or sitting down, is the main symptom, but there are other signs as well. This may include constipation, lower back pain, urinary or fecal incontinence, difficulty breathing, discomfort in body movements and a generally weakened core. In addition to affecting the patients emotional and mental health as a result of a negative body image, it can also affect their quality of life.

Since this article was published by The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center, Dr. Iskandar acknowledges that many might assume diastasis recti is a type of hernia, especially since it is true that a hernia is defined by a gap in the muscular wall that allows the abdomens contents to protrude. However, the difference here is that diastasis recti is not caused by a tear or defect. The muscles are still intact, they are simply not in the proper position. However, it is true that a coexisting hernia can also be present, and this is precisely the type of complex clinical issue that Dr. Iskandar is trained to address. Most patients who have diastasis recti, notably, do not experience pain and are treated with core strengthening exercises alone.

Patients will typically be given a thorough physical exam by an experienced surgeon in order to diagnose diastasis recti. During the exam, the surgeon will also look for signs of associated hernias, following which they may perform a CT scan to confirm and grade the rectus muscle separation. Ultrasounds have also been shown to be effective in this regard.

Some patients with diastasis recti can rectify the condition with core strengthening exercises. Surgery is typically warranted for patients who also have an associated hernia or more severe separation. Notably, it may also be performed on patients who desire the procedure for cosmetic reasons or have significant weakness in the function of the abdominal wall.

The success rate for laparoscopic surgery is high, the article states, as most studies report a 0% recurrence rate 6 months after laparoscopic surgery. A laparoscopic technique is commonly used when diastasis and ventral hernia coexists but the method can also be used when only treating abdominal rectus diastasis. It is worth noting that patients may report greater improvements following surgery than with physiotherapy.

The article provides a great deal more insight on diastasis recti and its treatments. Patients are welcome to read the article in full on The Iskandar Complex Hernia Centers website. Alternatively, they may contact Dr. Mazen Iskandars team to inquire further or schedule a consultation.

###

For more information about The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center, contact the company here:



The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center

Mazen Iskandar

info@iskandarcenter.com

The Iskandar Complex Hernia Center

2460 I-35E Suite 215-B

Waxahachie, TX 75165
More than half of Brooklyns small businesses are still struggling with the devastating financial impact of the pandemic over the past two years, according to a new study released Wednesday.

The numbers reported by the borough Chamber of Commerce were stark: 72% of small businesses continued to suffer from lower sales than in 2019, 68% suffered a decrease of customers over the same period, and staffing issues caused 25% of businesses to either close temporarily or shut down for good.

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Annie's Blue Ribbon General Store in Brooklyn preparing for Small Business Saturday on Nov. 3, 2020. (Diane Bondareff/AP)

Optimism wont pay the bills or ensure there is a path for continued growth for so many small businesses that at a point over the last two years probably were not sure whether they would survive another week or month, said Randy Peters, president and CEO of the borough Chamber of Commerce.

The report reflected input from a cross-section of 185 borough businesses, from retailers to bars and restaurants, from construction companies to retailers and manufacturers.

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A cafe in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

Keeping employees on the job presented a challenge to the businesses, with the report indicating 41% experienced labor shortages and difficulties filling job openings. One-third of the local operations were still suffering from problems paying the rent during the second year of COVID-19 restrictions.

And the report indicated 40% of those surveyed reported a reduction in their hours of operation. The Jan. 15 end of the states moratorium on evictions poses an additional threat to cash-strapped businesses going forward, the report noted.

A "For Rent" sign in a Red Hook, Brooklyn storefront on May 12, 2020. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

The ray of economic light in the study was the success of the outdoor dining and alcohol-to-go programs in effect last year. Nearly two-thirds of restaurants and bars saw a substantial increase in revenues thanks to the policy change.

The only way we survived was with the seating outside, said one business owner quoted in the report. With each wave of the virus, everyone moved outdoors  even in the winter.

Peers said borough businesses are seeking aid via rent relief, marketing support and additional financial grants.

What our end-of-the-year survey definitely shows is that business owners are continuously facing ongoing challenges roadblocking the truly robust recovery New York City deserves and is capable of achieving, said Peters.
Governor Glenn Youngkin Announces Supply Chain Solutions Company to Open Three Service Centers in Virginia, Creating 75 Jobs

~ A. Duie Pyle to establish cross-dock service centers in the Cities of Manassas, Richmond, and Roanoke ~

RICHMOND, VA - Governor Glenn Youngkin today announced that A. Duie Pyle (Pyle), a premier provider of asset and non-asset-based supply chain solutions, will establish three cross-dock service centers in the Cities of Manassas, Richmond and Roanoke, creating a total of 75 new jobs in the Commonwealth.

Pyles Manassas facility located at 10461 Colonel Court will have 30 doors and create 30 new jobs.

The Richmond operation located at 3609 East Belt Boulevard will have 50 doors and create 25 new jobs.

The Roanoke facility at 3348 Salem Turnpike Northwest will have 16 doors and create 20 new jobs.

Global supply chains are experiencing unprecedented pressure and we are pleased that A. Duie Pyle will take advantage of Virginias infrastructure and transportation network as a vital provider of supply chain solutions, said Governor Youngkin. Manassas, Richmond and Roanoke all offer key logistics assets, and we welcome Pyles new operations that will create a total of 75 jobs across the Commonwealth.

A. Duie Pyles new facilities will be a substantial addition to Virginias diverse logistics sector and bring valuable jobs and an economic boost to three cities, said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick. Securing a project that spans several regions of the Commonwealth says a great deal about our strategic location, competitive operating costs and top-notch workforce, and we look forward to partnering with Pyle.

With a long history of providing our customers throughout the Northeast with premier transportation and logistics services, expanding our footprint with three new facilities across the Commonwealth of Virginia has positioned us to directly reach key metropolitan areas along the Eastern Seaboard, said Peter Latta, Chairman and CEO of A. Duie Pyle. This strategic expansion enables us to improve shipping and schedules, while strengthening our overnight delivery capabilities to neighboring states. We are also excited about contributing to economic growth and creating new career opportunities in each of the three cities and to the great Commonwealth of Virginia overall.

Manassas is a regional employment center with a diverse economy and an even more diverse population, said Manassas Mayor Michelle Davis-Younger. We welcome the investments by companies like A. Duie Pyle that create well-paying jobs in traditional industries. It is these jobs which enable many of our residents to support their families and realize their dreams.

Reliable transportation and distribution logistics are more important than ever to the success of our economy, and good jobs are vital to the success of our residents, said Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney. Were grateful to A. Duie Pyle for investing in Richmond and welcome this family-owned, industry leader to our city.

The City of Roanoke appreciates A. Duie Pyle's significant new investment in our city, said Roanoke Mayor Sherman P. Lea, Sr. For 98 years, this reputable, family-owned company has provided significant services in the transportation and logistics arena, and we welcome them to our great city. The new jobs created by this expansion demonstrate a continuing commitment by this company to the Commonwealth of Virginia and will be a great boost to the Roanoke economy.

The Greater Richmond Partnership welcomes A. Duie Pyle to the robust supply chain and logistics community in the region, said Jennifer Wakefield, President and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership. As a community that prides itself on ESG factors, were thrilled to welcome such a leader in sustainable supply chain practices.

I am excited to welcome A. Duie Pyle to the Roanoke Region, said John Hull, Executive Director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. With a strategic location on the Interstate 81 corridor, the Roanoke Region is primed for investment from companies seeking a location with strong market access. Investment from A. Duie Pyle is both a testament and a complement to the regions logistical advantages.

Im thrilled to see the partnerships between the City of Manassas and the private sector continue to strengthen our local economy, said Senator Jeremy S. McPike. I look forward to working with A. Duie Pyle as we continue to close the gap in the supply chain shortage, create lasting jobs in the Greater Manassas area, and continue building on Virginias incredible economy.

As a Delegate who is passionate about creating jobs and an economy that works for everyone,

I am excited to welcome A. Duie Pyle to the City of Manassas with its enterprise supply chain solution business model and technology, said Delegate Michelle L. Maldonado. It will bring jobs to our constituents and efficiency to transportation and distribution services available in our community. This project is an excellent way to collaborate at both the state and local levels and encourage industry growth through job creation. I thank A. Duie Pyle for its investment in our people and Commonwealth!

At a time when we see all too clearly the consequences of failures in supply chain management, I am thrilled to hear that A. Duie Pyle will be making this investment in Virginia, said Senator Joseph Morrissey. These are exactly the sort of well-paid jobs that I am fighting to bring to Richmond. I am pleased to see more and more companies taking advantage of the citys skilled workforce.

I'm so pleased that A. Duie Pyle has chosen to open three sites in Virginia, creating job opportunities for Virginians, said Delegate Betsy Carr. Virginia has frequently been ranked as the No.1 state to do business and this is one more example. I thank Pyle for its smart decision to come here, and I commit to continuing to work hard to bring new, good-paying jobs for Virginians.

I am happy to welcome A. Duie Pyle to Roanoke, the Gateway to Southwest Virginia, said Senator John Edwards. Building a 21st-century supply chain is vital to the future economic success of our nation and our Commonwealth. The City of Roanoke has a long history as a transportation hub, connecting the Northeast Corridor to points south and west, and investments such as this show the future will run through Roanoke as well.

We are excited to welcome A. Duie Pyle, a supply chain solutions company, to the Roanoke Valley, said Delegate Sam Rasoul. As our economy grows in the coming months, these jobs come at a good time to uplift workers. I look forward to seeing the employees flourish in Roanoke with good-paying and well-benefited jobs.

Based in West Chester, Pennsylvania, A. Duie Pyle, a family-owned-and-operated business for almost 98 years, provides a range of integrated transportation and distribution services supported by 27 less-than-truckload (LTL) service centers and 16 warehouses strategically located throughout the Northeast region, which includes the companys expansion into the Commonwealth of Virginia. Pyle provides a variety of asset and non-asset-based services offering uniquely engineered logistics solutions, including LTL, dedicated fleet operations, warehousing and distribution services through 3.5 million square feet of public and contract warehousing space, and specialized services through its brokerage solutions.

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Manassas, the City of Richmond, the City of Roanoke, the Greater Richmond Partnership, and the Roanoke Regional Partnership to secure the project for Virginia. The company is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, for the City of Richmond location.

# # #
Governor Glenn Youngkin To Deliver Remarks at 2022 Governors Conference on Agricultural Trade

RICHMOND, VA  Governor Glenn Youngkin is pleased to announce the 2022 Governors Conference on Agricultural Trade taking place Tuesday, March 29, 2022. This annual event brings together policymakers, agriculture and forestry businesses, and academic leaders to highlight the vital role of agriculture and forestry in Virginias international trade landscape. The conference is a partnership between the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), Virginia Port Authority, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, and the Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics. The Governor will also announce final figures for agricultural and forestry exports from Virginia for 2021.

The export market is bright for Virginias agricultural and forestry industries. As the Commonwealths first and third largest private sector industries, agriculture and forestry have a lead role in stimulating economic growth in the Commonwealth, said Governor Youngkin. Im looking forward to discussing the importance of agriculture exports for the Commonwealths economy, our efforts to strengthen trade partnerships and developing export opportunities for Virginia agriculture and forestry products.

The Honorable Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, USDA Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, will provide an update on trade and domestic policies to strengthen the American agricultural economy.

The importance of Virginias agricultural exports continues to grow and this annual conference is an important gathering place and educational forum for both experienced exporters and those wanting to break into the export market, said Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Matthew J. Lohr, I am eager to work with Virginia agriculture and forestry businesses and connecting them with programs and services that help get their products into the global marketplace.

Other conference speakers include Global Situation Room, Inc. President Brett Bruen, U.S. Department of Agriculture Chief Meteorologist Mark Brusberg, AgTrade Strategies, LLC, Agricultural Affairs Sharon Bomer Lauritsen, U.S. Soybean Export Council Senior Director of Market Access Rosalind Leeck, and William Westman & Associates, LLC, Bill Westman.

For more information about the conference or to register, please visit https://vafb.swoogo.com/govag2022

# # #
A retired Chinese secret police officer was charged Wednesday with a plot to undermine the congressional campaign of a Tiananmen Square protester running for Congress on Long Island.

The agent, Qiming Lin, 59, hired a private investigator in the United States to research the Democratic candidate running for Congress in Suffolk County. The complaint did not identify the candidate, but details matched Xiong Yan, 57, a former student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who later served in the U.S. military.

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Democratic candidate Xiong Yan, who was running for congress in Suffolk County but may switch his campaign and run in Brooklyn, is a former student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests from 1989, who later escaped to the United States and served in the U.S. military.

The agent allegedly suggested digging into Yans sex life and determining whether he was gay or viewed child porn. Lin even proposed forcing the candidate into a car crash if the private eye failed to find dirt on him, according to the complaint.

The charges against Lin  who is in China and was not arrested  came as the Department of Justice announced two other busts involving Chinese agents surveilling pro-democracy Chinese activists in America. Prosecutors charged a Queens resident and former New York City college professor, Shujun Wang, 73, with conducting surveillance for the Chinese Communist Party since at least 2005 while posing as a pro-democracy advocate. In the other case, prosecutors said three men plotted to destroy a sculpture in California of Chinese President Xi Jinping depicted as a coronavirus molecule. The sculpture by California-based artist Chen Weiming burned down in July.

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All three cases involve campaigns to silence, harass, discredit and spy on U.S. residents for simply exercising their freedom of speech, Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said.

Lin allegedly launched his six-month scheme to undermine the congressional candidate in September.

Right now we dont want him to be elected, Lin, a former officer in the Chinese Ministry of State Security, wrote in a message to the private investigator, according to the complaint unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

While Lin was retired from his law enforcement career in China, an FBI agent wrote in the complaint said that he continued to act on behalf of the [Ministry of State Security] even if ostensibly retired.

He was desperate to prevent Yan from winning the race.

If you dont find anything after following him for a few weeks, can we manufacture something? Lin texted.

Qiming Lin, a Chinese former law enforcement official who the feds say tried to undermine the candidacy of Xiong Yan, a former Chinese dissident running for congress.

Yan was detained for 19 months after participating in the Tiananmen protests before coming to the United States as a refugee in 1992. He served in the military from 1994 to 2003.

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Lin indicated that he wanted the [private investigator] to see if there could be a scandal about the Victim that could be publicly released, such as an extramarital affair or stealing water, wrote FBI agent Jason Moritz, noting that stealing water is Cantonese slang for stealing money.

Lin asked the investigator to dig up any dirt on Yan from 1989, including on extramarital affairs, sexual harassment, child porn, and homosexual activity, prosecutors wrote.

In the same conversation, Lin suggested arranging a compromising sexual encounter.

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FILE - Chinese troops and tanks gather in Beijing, one day after the military crackdown that ended a seven week pro-democracy demonstration on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on June 5, 1989. (Jeff Widener/AP)

If they couldnt find any negative information on Yan, Lin suggested injuring the candidate in a car wreck, prosecutors said.

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In the end, violence would be fine too, Lin allegedly said in a voicemail.

On Tuesday, the private investigator and Lin spoke a final time. Lin slowed the operation down, saying he hadnt gotten full approval on certain aspects from his bosses, according to the feds.

They have not given the final approval yet, he allegedly said. Because the Communist party, as you know... Its not just one person who can call the shots.
Mattia Binotto is optimistic ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Ferrari seemed to be in good shape during the winter tests in Barcelona and Bahrain, but the team boss of the Italian outfit does not want to cheer too early.

After a title fight in 2017 and 2018, Ferrari fans have had to wait a long time for a competitive car. All of the team's arrows have been focused on 2022 for the past two years, so that will be an important measuring point for Binotto. The team boss has been protected by Ferrari's top brass in recent years, but will now have to perform.

Read more F1 Social Stint | Total chaos with extreme form of porpoising in F1 2021

Verstappen in the lead

Binotto knows and wants that too, because in conversation with Corriere.it the Italian reveals that he will not settle for second place this year. ''We are not signing up for second place now. We want to be the best in every race.'' With Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, Binotto also has two hungry drivers who are ready to fight for the title.

Binotto sees Red Bull Racing as the biggest challenger and does not mention Mercedes. ''I think we will be competitive from the start. How the proportions are I don't know. Red Bull is very strong, especially Max (Verstappen). Maybe Max will be in front of us, we will drive behind him and only then will the other one (Sergio Perez ) come,'' Binotto predicts the ranking.

Engine backlog caught up

The Italian team has worked hard on a new car in recent years, but that is not the only thing with which the team wants to make the step to the top. In addition to the car, the engine has also been vastly improved. After scaling back the engine at the end of 2019, the team lacked a lot of power, but in 2022 that gap to Honda and Mercedes has been regained.

''Last year we were about 25hp behind the competition. We tried to calculate that now on the data (from the winter test). For now we are at the same level, maybe a bit better. We are very happy with what we have achieved'', concludes the proud team boss.

Read more FIA changes regulations around safety car after Abu Dhabi GP
Max Verstappen starts the new season this coming weekend. As reigning world champion, all eyes are on him in 2022. However, the Dutchman does not seem to be worried about this at all, as he has arranged all aspects very well.

Although Verstappen has set all his sights on racing, he is also making sure that he looks like a top athlete on the track and that he meets his fans. The simple world champion let it be known in conversation with Verstappen.com that he intends to come up with several special helmet designs for next season as well.

Verstappen is working with a childhood friend for this purpose. "That has worked out very well for me: I don't have to give much input, because he immediately chooses catchy designs and colors that suit a Grand Prix," Verstappen explains in the interview. "Also this year we have a few special helmet designs coming up."

Marko expects a strong Red Bull in Bahrain

Red Bull Racing has had an excellent preseason, so it seems to be ready to perform immediately at the first race in Bahrain. Helmut Marko is also confident that the Austrian racing team will start strongly.
The Dutch Grand Prix was a great success last season. The organization, however, is keen to raise the level even further in the coming racing year, counting on more visitors, among other things.

Due to the corona measures, the organization of the Dutch GP in 2021 was not yet allowed to admit all fans. In September of the current calendar year, however, this does seem to be the case, so the organization is preparing for more visitors. " There will be 30,000 to 35,000 extra people," says Zandvoort director Robert van Overdijk to the NOS. "That's over 105,000 people a day."

Where Verstappen managed to grab the victory last season, the Dutch GP will have to wait and see if the Dutchman can do it again. Nevertheless, the organization is confident that it will have another great weekend. "Of course Max is a huge driver in that. If you see what kind of enthusiasm is already here again in the paddock."

Teams open this weekend in Bahrain

This coming weekend the first GP is on the program. The drivers will then appear at the start in Bahrain to battle it out with the competition. For now, Ferrari and Red Bull Racing seem to have the best papers for victory.
A McDonalds customer whose anger with the restaurants automatic ordering system allegedly led him to stab an employee was ordered held on $150,000 bail Wednesday.

Ezekiel Dunn-Jennings sobbed loudly with his head on his lawyer Matt Daloisios shoulder during an appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court. The hearing paused multiple times as Dunn-Jennings wept.

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Dunn-Jennings, 28, turned himself in to cops in East New York, Brooklyn, about 9 p.m. on Monday to face charges in the March 9 attack.

NYPD 25th Precinct Detectives walk Ezekiel Dunn-Jennings to face charges of stabbing a 31-year-old MacDonalds worker during dispute at the fast food restaurant on March 9. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

He is accused of attempted murder and assault in the attack on Angel Miguel Salazar, 31, who came to the defense of two co-workers at an East Harlem McDonalds.

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According to police, employees advised Dunn-Jennings to place his food order at an automated kiosk instead of at the restaurants counter.

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When a worker who was changing the paper in the kiosk sent Dunn-Jennings to another screen, he allegedly flipped out.

Salazar saw Dunn-Jennings with the knife, threatening to cut two female employees.

He sprang into action  grabbing a plastic pole from a sink and stepping in between them.

Angel Miguel Salazar, of the Bronx, who was stabbed repeatedly by an unhinged customer when he came to rescue of his fast food co-worker. (J. Bisla-Rodriguez)

He was threatening them, so I grabbed the pole from the sink and went out, Salazar told the Daily News. I hit him in the leg. If I wanted to hurt him, I would have hit him in the head.

I [wanted] him to go outside and chill, Salazar said. He said he was going to kill me. He stabbed me twice in the face. When I saw the blood I went back to the kitchen and collapsed on the floor.

Medics rushed Salazar to Harlem Hospital, where he underwent surgery. Prosecutors said Salazar suffered a punctured lung in the attack.

Prosecutors said Dunn-Jennings has two misdemeanor convictions for separate incidents in which he assaulted a hospital worker and threatened someone with a box cutter.
The museum madman accused of stabbing two people and fleeing to Philadelphia torched a hotel room there after staffers told him he couldnt extend his stay, authorities said Wednesday.

Gary Cabana, 60, is awaiting extradition to New York City, where he will answer to charges that he flew into a rage and stabbed two Museum of Modern Art workers who denied him entry because of past disruptive behavior, police said.

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Cabana spent two days on the lam after the shocking museum melee, taunting cops and defending himself on social media, and was arrested in Philadelphia early Tuesday after cops found him sleeping on a bench in a Greyhound bus station.

Gary Cabana (AP)

Cops said Cabana blew his top after hotel workers told him he had worn out his welcome. When Cabana was told on Monday he could not extend his stay, he trashed his fifth-floor Best Western hotel room, and set fire to the place about 6 p.m.

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There were no injuries, but the room was badly damaged and the hotel was evacuated.

Cabana racked up several charges in Philadelphia, where police hit him with arson, risking catastrophe, criminal mischief, possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangerment.

He was being held without bail, and was scheduled to undergo a mental health evaluation, officials said.

According to Philadelphia cops, staff at the Best Western helped them track Cabana down. He had checked in under his middle and last names, and used his Best Western rewards card with his full name, cops said.

After the fire, a staffer Googled the name, spotted the museum connection, learned that he was wanted, and immediately contacted police. There was also surveillance video of the suspect from the hotel, police said.

Gary Cabana, 60, was enraged that his membership to MoMA had been canceled when he rushed through the W. 53rd St. movie theater entrance and jumped over the counter on Saturday, repeatedly stabbing a man and woman working behind the desk, video shows.

Units were dispatched to local transportation centers, and Cabana was found sleeping on a bench inside the bus station, cops said.

Later, as he was being led away for processing, the handcuffed stabbing suspect had plenty to say.

Best cops in the United States right here, buddy, Cabana said, wearing a black surgical mask, boots, jeans and a dark-colored hoodie under a flannel shirt. They just made the United States safe  Im public enemy number one.

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Front page for March 16, 2022: Suspect in homeless killings nabbed in D.C. Philly cops: We got MoMA stabbing maniac. Gary Cabana (above) was arrested Tuesday morning in Philadelphia and faces charges of stabbing two workers at the Museum of Modern Art Saturday. Gerald Brevard III (left) was arrested in Washington in connection with the shooting of five homeless people, two fatally, one of whom was in New York. (New York Daily News)

When a reporter asked why he stabbed the MoMA workers, Cabana shot back, Man, read my Instagram.

Why do they ask these questions? he continued. Read the f---ing Instagram.

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Praying for all the haters who believe the Moma/media LIES, Cabana commented on one of his Instagram posts Monday, part of a back and forth with IG users taunting him and telling him to turn himself in.

In a Facebook post, Cabana claimed he was the victim of a frame job by museum staff who had revoked his membership after prior disruptions.

THERE WERE NO DISRUPTIONS, Cabana claimed online. Security NEVER escorted me from MoMA on the 2 supposed days I acted up 2/24 + 3/9. Total blind side ...

He insisted his membership was unfairly revoked because he laughed in a movie.

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NOTE to catty beeyotches of the world, words are sharper than knives, he wrote. Bipolar is a tough road to hoe. Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. THEN U get framed and evicted from MoMA (not just the movies, ALL THE ART too) by a bitter old woman who shushes U when U LAUGH during a comedy.

NYPD officers investigate a double stabbing inside the lobby of MOMA Saturday, March 11, 2022 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)

On Saturday afternoon, Cabana allegedly barreled through the museums revolving door, leaped across a counter and stabbed the victims.

The museum workers  a woman, 24, stabbed in the neck and back and a man, also 24, stabbed in the collarbone  are both recovering.
The homeless man accused of stalking and butchering Christina Yuna Lee in her Chinatown apartment, told cops on the scene that he was trying to protect her from a mystery murderer, prosecutors revealed at his Manhattan Supreme Court arraignment Wednesday.

I tried to help my friend out. I was trying to help this female getting hurt by other people. I was trying to help the lady, new court filings quote Assamad Nash telling police inside Lees Chrystie St. apartment on Feb. 13.

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Assmad Nash in Manhattan Supreme Court. (Curtis Means/Curtis Means for DailyMail.Com)

The dude stabbed us up, the dude stabbed me in the leg. I was trying to protect the lady. The dude went out on the balcony. He escaped too, Nash claimed.

He made the statements after police found him cowering under Lees bed, prosecutors said. It took cops more than an hour to get into the barricaded apartment after neighbors reported hearing screaming.

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Earlier, Nash impersonated the dying Lee, according to court papers.

I am alone in the apartment. We are OK. No one is bleeding. We dont need help. You broke my door. Go away. We dont need the police, I am fine, Nash allegedly told cops.

Once inside, a grisly scene awaited officers. Lee, 35, was in a blood-filled bathtub, stabbed more than 40 times in her torso, head and neck. A bloodied yellow knife from her kitchen was hidden behind a dresser.

Assamad Nash being escorted out of the 5th Precinct stationhouse after his arrest for the murder of Christina Yuna Lee on Feb. 14, 2022. (Shawn Inglima/for New York Daily News)

Nash, 25, had three ziplock bags of cocaine, 10 pieces of the drug K-2, soaps, shower gels, lotion and deodorant, authorities said.

He also admitted he was just released from jail, rambled about being from Chinatown and claimed he had a producer who lives in Harlem, the court documents revealed.

Nash pleaded not guilty to murder, burglary and burglary as a sexually motivated felony at his Wednesday arraignment.

Todays indictment marks the beginning of our pursuit of justice in the name of Christina Yuna Lee, a bright and beloved New Yorker who should not have had her life cut short in such a violent, shocking manner in her own home, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

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Mayor Adams, in a separate statement, reassured members of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community and all New Yorkers... that we are working around the clock to put an end to this violence and ensure that people in every neighborhood can feel safe in our city.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Prosecutors said CCTV captured Nash following Lee up six flights of stairs  staying a floor behind her  after she arrived home after a night out. Her neighbors called 911 within minutes of him entering the building, and cops arrived almost immediately.

They, too, heard the victim scream for help but they could not breach the door, and she stopped screaming, Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran said in court.

Christina Yuna Lee (Handout)

Lees murder is among a series of recent killings and unprovoked assaults on Asian-Americans.

The city saw 131 targeted attacks on New Yorkers of Asian descent in 2021, up from 27 in 2020, according to NYPD data.

Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy organization that collects data on attacks against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, says it has received more than 11,000 reports nationwide of hate incidents from March 2020 through the end of last year.
Toyota Motor Corporation has developed a storage module that integrates multiple 70 MPa automotive hydrogen tanksalready proven in the Mirai fuel cell vehicle (FCEV)and safety devices such as a hydrogen detector and an automatic shut-off switch.

Toyota has been working on initiatives toward realizing a hydrogen-based society, such as the sale of FCEVs and FC systems. As part of this, the 70 MPa resin high-pressure hydrogen tank developed forand certified forautomobiles is now being requested for other applications in railways, shipping, and port cargo handling, as well as for FC generators.





Conceptual model of hydrogen tank storage module

However, using the same tanks in a variety of types of applications requires meeting different safety standards and adjusting to each environment. For this reason, they are not currently used for a wide range of purposes. The government is working on a range of studies to promote the early adoption of hydrogen while ensuring safety, and Toyota and its business partners are ready to offer cooperation and support. Toyota developed this hydrogen storage module as a way to answer these demands and expand the use of hydrogen.

The module unit is integrated with various safety devices that automatically monitor operation status to ensure the module is extremely safe. As storing and transporting hydrogen more safely and efficiently can be done through high-capacity hydrogen loads, it is possible to use hydrogen-based energy in a range of locations where hydrogen filling is difficult, such as ports or mountain areas.

Starting last year, Toyota has been carrying out repeated verification testing with its business partners throughout the whole phases of producing, transporting, and using at the Super Taikyu Series venue, a place for agile development that embodies the idea of making ever-better motorsports-bred cars. This is also connected to the development of this conceptual model. This year too, starting with the Super Taikyu Race in Suzuka (March 19 to 20), Toyota will be working on connecting with new business partners and carrying out verification testing with the idea of expanding hydrogen use even further.

This race will be used to verify the transport of large amounts of hydrogen by an FC truck that will carry resin high-pressure hydrogen tanks for automobiles with large volumes (2 sets of 16-tank packages) filled at 45 MPa.

This verification will be implemented upon the certification of the vessels by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and is an initiative that will also contribute to the studies being carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism for encouraging the use of hydrogen. In keeping pace with studies by the government, Toyota will continue to use opportunities such as the Super Taikyu races to verify its capabilities in utilizing the 70 MPa tank which is currently certified only for use in automobiles.





In addition to the three variations of hydrogen capacity based on the resin high-pressure hydrogen tank used in the Mirai, large modules that use tanks with enlarged capacities are also included in the lineup.
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Chinese envoy calls for diplomatic solution to Yemen crisis

Xinhua) 13:19, March 16, 2022

UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to seek a diplomatic solution.

The seven-year-old war has brought irreparable harm to the people of Yemen and caused immeasurable losses to national development, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations on Tuesday.

Over the past seven years, the fighting has repeatedly proved that a military approach cannot achieve the expected goal. Instead, a Yemeni-led peace process is the only way forward, Dai said.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg recently held consultations with the relevant parties on political, security and economic issues. China welcomes this development, he said.

"Having noted that the parties emphasized the need for a nationwide cease-fire and the urgency to resume negotiations, China calls on all parties to the conflict to heed the call of the Yemenis from all sectors of society" to end the fighting and commit to a diplomatic solution to the crisis, he said.

Last month, the Security Council adopted a resolution on Yemen sanctions and the extension of the mandate of the Panel of Experts that assists the Sanctions Committees. China's position on sanctions is consistent, and it will pay close attention to the impact of sanctions, Dai said, noting China hopes that these restrictive measures will help encourage the parties to the conflict to renounce military solutions and return to the right track of political negotiations at an early date.

Dai said China condemns all the attacks targeting civilians and civilian facilities and calls for the immediate cessation of cross-border attacks and security threats against the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The government and people of Yemen need the international community's help as the country is mired in a humanitarian crisis, he said. China supports the Yemeni government's efforts to stabilize the currency and build back its economy, he added.

Dai urged the parties to the conflict to guarantee the import, transport and supply of oil and essential commodities, and allow and facilitate humanitarian operations.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
A Manhattan subway rider, in a lawsuit against the NYPD, says there was nothing fair about his beating by city cops who pepper-sprayed and robbed him.

Mark Chapman alleges Sgt. John Zorrilla, along with two police colleagues, stole $850 from his wallet during the 2 a.m. attack that left him hospitalized on July 31, 2021. In its place, Chapman later found a summons left behind by one of the cops  for a charge that was later dismissed, according to a 27-page Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed Tuesday.

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A screen shot of a video that allegedly shows NYPD Sgt, John Zorrilla grabbing a womans leg and forcing her to the ground for jumping a turnstile at a Lower East Side train station in September 2020. (@alwaysfilmthepolice/Instagram)

The officers assault of my client was horrific, depraved and a clear abuse of power, said Chapmans attorney Tahanie Aboushi. Officers like Sgt. Zorrilla are dangerous to the public and should not be permitted to serve in the NYPD or have any authority over civilians.

He must be held accountable and I will make sure that happens.

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The other two defendants involved in the alleged Chapman assault were identified as Officers Xavier Reyes and Jonathan Rivera, with court papers adding three John Doe police officers who were at the Lower East Side station.

Chapman, after buying a MetroCard, spotted the three identified officers swearing at another man as he approached the turnstile and began shooting cell-phone video. When Chapman then tried to head down to the tracks, Zorrilla allegedly told him, You got a lot of money, go take a cab home. Youre not getting on a train.

And then the officers made good on that threat, court papers said.

NYPD Sgt. John Zorrilla was allegedly caught on camera arresting a woman for jumping a turnstile in Manhattan, in the same clothes, on the same night Mark Chapman claims he was assaulted by Zorrilla. Chapman filed a lawsuit against Zorrilla and other cops in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday. (@alwaysfilmthepolice/Instagram)

Without provocation or basis, defendant Zorrilla pepper-spayed (Chapman) at close range in plaintiffs face, the document continued. Defendant Reyes grabbed plaintiff and defendant Zorrilla pulled his legs, causing his head to slam into the ground. Plaintiff yelled ... that he could not breathe and feared he would die.

As Chapman suffered a seizure, the officers removed his wallet and took the money, court papers alleged. Paramedics arrived and injected him with anti-seizure medication before rushing Chapman to the hospital, court papers alleged.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

According to the lawsuit, Zorrilla refused to remove Chapmans handcuffs even after medics began to treat Chapman.

Zorrilla, in plainclothes during the subterranean crackdown when he confronted Chapman, wore a red T-shirt with the phrase Billionaire in Waiting.

The court documents detailed the unprovoked assault on Chapman inside the Delancey St. station on the same summer night last year when a viral video showed a woman suspected of fare evasion getting yanked to the ground by Zorrilla.

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The court papers, along with a Daily News story last year, also reported that Zorrilla faced 21 allegations of misconduct and abuse with the Civilian Complaint Review Board  including one for use of pepper spray without cause.

Three of those charges were substantiated, and the city paid out more than $280,000 in six lawsuit settlements involving Zorrilla, according to 50-a.org.

A spokesman for the New York City Law Department declined comment on the court filing.

Chapman suffered an assortment of physical injuries, including headaches, dizziness, lacerations, bruises and problems walking, the lawsuit said, along with severe and permanent emotional, physical and psychological damage.
A new zoning bill would allow denser housing development around Connecticuts train stations, with goals of making housing more affordable and providing easier access to transportation, experts said during a public hearing Monday.

House Bill 5429, backed by advocacy group Desegregate Connecticut, would require towns to allow housing with at least 15 units per acre within a half mile of a passenger, commuter rail or bus rapid transit station. At least 10 percent of the units would have to be designated as affordable.

Several local officials and legislators spoke against the bill, saying it would primarily increase density, not affordability. They also said the bill doesnt take into account the unique needs of Connecticuts towns.

Under the bill, which would go into effect Oct. 1, developers wouldnt need to undergo the public hearing process to build in those areas, and decisions on permit applications must be issued within 65 days of submission.

Supporters say that the bill, which supports a concept often called transit-oriented development, would increase overall housing stock in Connecticut and allow people to easily use public transportation for commutes.

Access to transportation is often particularly challenging for people with lower incomes, many of whom dont have cars. Public transportation also benefits the environment if fewer people drive.

Supporters also said the zoning would increase foot traffic to local businesses close to the stations.

Rent and house prices have spiked nationwide as demand has outpaced available supply. And in Connecticut, new development for multi-family housing is particularly tough because of restrictive local zoning laws, advocates have said.

The more housing that is created, the more affordable it is overall, said Sara Bronin, founder of Desegregate CT. Its a sort of economics argument. That goes both for purchase prices and rental prices.

Alan Cavagnaro, a college sophomore and a planning and zoning commissioner for South Windsor, spoke in favor of the bill, saying hed seen graduates forced to leave the state because they couldnt afford housing in Connecticut.

Whether it be an affordable place to live, or increased use of public transit, there is more that we can do, Cavagnaro said in written testimony. Whats the point of having job opportunities in CT if our state isnt affordable to live in for the next generation of leaders and innovators?

His testimony led to an exchange with Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, a Republican who represents Greenwich and Stamford, about whether housing is a right or a want.

Cavagnaro said in response to a question from Fiorello that it was a right  that its a habitat that humans need, and that there are lots of people in Connecticut who are having a hard time finding an affordable place to live. Thats a problem that needs to be addressed, Cavagnaro said in testimony.

Housing is not a right, because housing is built by other people, Fiorello responded. Its a want, and theres a variety of different housing that people may want. But housing is not a right. You dont have a right to other peoples labor.  People will offer it at a certain price, and you are either willing to pay for it or not.

Other officials said they thought the bill would negatively impact particular towns.

Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, expressed concern with his towns train stations, which he said werent suitable for housing development. Theyre surrounded by wetlands, near a beach and a school, he said.

Certain types of land are exempt from the requirement, including wetlands, steep slopes and areas necessary for protecting drinking water, among other classifications.

Steinberg said that while he supports more affordable housing development, this bill is not the way to do it.

It ignores the basic facts on the ground, Steinberg told members of the Planning and Development Committee.

And Danielle Dobin, planning and zoning commissioner for Westport, echoed sentiments brought up last week during a public hearing for another affordable housing bill that Connecticut should wait to see the effects of a 2017 law. She said that towns, including Westport, are already working on their affordable housing development plans required under a 2017 law.

The law, 8-30j, requires towns to develop affordable housing plans every five years. The first is due in July.

Fred Camillo, Greenwichs first selectman, said the bill would hurt property values. There are other ways to make it less expensive to live in Connecticut, Camilo argued.

I would focus on jobs, he said. Lower the taxes. Make it easier to live here.

Karen DuBois-Walton, president of Elm City Communities/the Housing Authority of New Haven, said in written testimony that the bill would make it easier to live in Connecticut for many families.

Im here to support HB 5429 because, in an era of spiking gas prices and a rapidly warming climate, housing is not affordable if it is not close to affordable transit, DuBois-Walton wrote.

Supporters of the bill reiterated the urgency of the need for more housing in Connecticut.

Our current zoning system, with individual towns left to determine how and where to develop such housing if at all, has left us with this housing shortage, Kiley Gosselin, executive director at the Partnership for Strong Communities, wrote in her testimony. Our families and our state economy are suffering as a result.
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GREENWICH  Lisa Small was picking up her son from Parkway School on Monday afternoon when she noticed something moving in the corner of her eye in the South Stanwich reservoir.

The eagle-eyed mother realized it was an owl  later identified as a great horned owl  stuck and hanging on a fishing line over the water, according to David Chass, the president of the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company.

My heart was breaking watching it try to free itself, Small said in a statement.

Animal control was closed for the day, so Small called Chass, her husband. Chass then called Greenwich Police, who contacted the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Meanwhile, the bird had been struggling for at least 45 minutes and its wing was clearly in bad shape, Chass said.

He enlisted Round Hill Assistant Chief Sharon Strain and Glenville Captain Jeff Raiente to help free the female owl.

While Chass and Strain held the bird, Raiente cut the fishing line. Chass then held onto the owl until DEEP officers arrived.

Its a shame that someone was fishing off the causeway and left their line caught up in the trees for something awful like this to happen, Strain said. The owls talons cut the assistant chief during the rescue, prompting her to get treatment at Greenwich Hospital.

The owl is now being cared for by Christines Critters, a Weston-based non-profit that rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured birds of prey.

A veterinarian checked on the owl Tuesday and she is doing well, Chass said.

Only time will determine if there is lasting damage, Chass added.

Great horned owls are one of the earliest nesting birds in the state, according to the Connecticut Audubon Society. Since the owl is a female, there is a good likelihood there are babies or eggs being unattended, according to Christines Critters.

Any birders or nature lovers who know of or see evidence of a nest in the South Stanwich reservoir area should contact Chass at David.Chass@RoundHillFireGreenwich.org. If contacted, Chass will work with DEEP and Christines Critters to ensure their safety.
SEOUL, South Korea - It's about to be a volatile few months on the Korean Peninsula and much of the world is riveted on the crisis in Eastern Europe.

Pyongyang is showing mounting signs it may be gearing up for a major weapons test - potentially its first since 2017 of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could threaten U.S. cities. On Wednesday, it tested a suspected ballistic weapon that appeared to have exploded mid-air after reaching an altitude of less than 20 kilometers (12 miles).

South Korea, meanwhile, is planning its own solid-fuel space rocket test this month, in line with its plans to develop military satellites, which would be used to monitor North Korea. In April, there will also be joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, which North Korea view as "hostile."

With a presidential transition underway in South Korea, where the president-elect vows to take a tougher stance toward Pyongyang, the next few months may lay the foundation for rocky inter-Korean relations during a time when U.S. attention is focused on the Russian invasion, with fewer resources to divert elsewhere.

South Korean officials are warning that a successful ICBM system test by North Korea may be imminent, joining U.S. officials in raising concerns about Pyongyang's two ballistic missile tests on Feb. 27 and March 5 - which were described at the time as space launches by the North Koreans - that were apparently intended to try out parts of the new missile system ahead of a full launch of a large new ICBM.

On Wednesday morning, North Korea launched a projectile that Japanese defense and U.S. military officials said may have been a ballistic missile. The test was conducted near Pyongyang's Sunan area, South Korean military officials said, which was the location of the two recent ICBM-related launches.

"Their recent SLV [space launch vehicle] launches make a lot of analysts suspect that they are testing new ICBM capabilities without the political burden of calling them ICBM tests," said Melissa Hanham, a researcher at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation in California. "North Korea genuinely fears for its security from the South, the U.S., and Japan. ICBMs and a nuclear program makes them feel they can deter regime change and forced reunification."

More than four years have passed since Pyongyang tested an ICBM capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Since then, Kim Jong Un's regime has shifted his focus to building a range of short- to intermediate-range missiles that can strike U.S. allies in the region and the U.S. forces stationed there - a strategy that has allowed Kim to advance his ballistic missile program and signal progress without directly threatening the U.S. homeland or engaging in diplomacy.

Since last fall, Pyongyang has conducted a flurry of tests as part of leader Kim's five-year weapons plan. But in January, North Korea signaled it may lift its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range weapons, as the United States issued fresh sanctions in response to the missile tests.

This is a momentous year for the Kim family, which often marks special occasions with major weapons tests. April 15 is the 110th anniversary of the birth of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader. This year is also the 80th anniversary of the birth of Kim Jong Il, the father of the current leader, who is celebrating his 10th year in power.

With such upcoming occasions, leader Kim may be facing domestic pressure to show off his accomplishments - of which there are few, given the deteriorating economy caused by the strict, self-imposed covid border lockdown that has strained food and cash flow amid sustained economic sanctions.

"Under the prolonged sanctions regime, North Korea finds it increasingly hard to sustain itself and is desperately seeking a way out," said Cha Du-hyeogn, an analyst at Seoul's Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "North Korea hopes an ICBM launch will effectively send its threat across to the United States and even extract concession from President Biden while his foreign policy resources are directed to Ukraine."

U.S. and South Korean officials are raising alarm about the ballistic tests on Feb. 27 and March 5, which they believe are involved with the Hwasong-17, a new ICBM system revealed at North Korea's October 2020 military parade.

The Hwasong-17 has never been tested before, and its length and diameter are much larger than the previously tested Hwasong-15, which already had the range to deliver a single nuclear warhead anywhere in the U.S., said Hanham, of Stanford University. The larger size likely means the missile is intended to carry a heavier payload the same distance.

"Thus, I am anticipating North Korea's goal is to deliver multiple nuclear warheads to the U.S.," she said, adding that such a capability would make it harder for missile defense systems to intercept.

South Korean media reported on Wednesday that officials were analyzing whether the morning's test could have been the anticipated Hwasong-17. North Korean state media usually issues a statement about its weapons test the following day, but it is unclear whether it would acknowledge a failed test.

Meanwhile, South Korean President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol has vowed to pursue weapons systems that would allow South Korea to attack the north if there is a credible and imminent military threat, and to strengthen the security alliance with the United States. He also pledged to expand the anti-missile system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) as a defensive measure. Yoon takes office on May 10.

In a statement on Tuesday, North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs again blamed inter-Korean tensions on the United States and its "hostile policy."

"The issue of the Korean peninsula has resulted from the hostile policy of the United States towards the DPRK," the statement read, "and it is a truth illustrated by the history that unless the 'root cause' is completely eliminated, durable peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the region as a whole cannot be thought of."

- - -

The Washington Post's Julia Mio Inuma in Tokyo contributed to this report.
A woman who fatally stabbed a Chinese dissident and immigration lawyer was carrying two knives when she stormed into the victims office, claiming the weapon was for protection, prosecutors said Tuesday night.

At her arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, Xiao Ning Zhang, 25, was ordered held without bail after prosecutors described how shed been ejected from the law office of Jinjin (Jim) Li, on 39th Ave. near 138th St. in Flushing on Friday only to return armed and outraged on Monday.

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I carry a knife for protection, Zhang told police after her arrest in the stunning assault, Assistant District Attorney Antonio Vittiglio said, quoting from her statement, adding she also claimed: I was laying on the floor on the office floor and the male employee grabbed me with both hands.

Lawyer Jin Jin Jim Li was stabbed to death by a spurned client on March 14. (Grace Wong)

Vittiglio said Zhang stabbed Li in the neck and torso multiple times, and that a witness to the bloodshed took the knife from Zhang while the NYPD later recovered a second knife from the defendants pocket.

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Li had asked police not to arrest Zhang when she barged into his law office Friday, his friends told the Daily News. They said Li wouldnt take her case and that enraged her.

Judge Jerry Iannece ordered Zhang remanded and set her return court date for Friday. Her Legal Aid lawyer Kenneth Deane did not request bail.

Xiao Ning Zheng appears in court. (Jesse Ward/Daily Mail / Pool)

Zhang came to the U.S. in August on an F-1 student visa to go to school in Los Angeles, according to Chuang Chuang Chen, the CEO of the China Democracy Party, for which Li served as chief legal counsel. But she didnt attend. She came straight here. She came directly and applied for asylum. She claimed she was raped by police in Beijing who sent her to a mental facility.

Li, 66, was a leader in the 1989 student democracy movement at Tiananmen Square as a graduate law student, and worked as counsel for the Workers Autonomous Federation union. He was arrested days after the June 4, 1989, massacre and jailed by the Chinese government for 22 months. He came to the U.S. seeking asylum in 1993.
Google promised to deliver deeper integration of Android apps with Windows and is now launching the beta program for its Google Play Games. The company is sending out invites to Samsung Galaxy Book owners in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.

The beta for Google Play Games for PC is now available! Google announced the beta test in January for three markets (Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan), and I'm told it recently went live. Here's a video showing the PC client, courtesy of @BakaChocolate. pic.twitter.com/KBQo0XF4BT  Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 13, 2022

A Twitter post shows the interface of Google Play Games on Windows along with some of the supported titles as not all games are supported at launch. You can expect most of the popular games to be playable on your PC, though.

Google also revealed the minimum requirements for running those Android games. Windows 10, an SSD with at least 20GB of free space and one of the approved gaming GPUs on this list.
Mes CHamoru will end with a huge celebration at the Guam Museum, where Selebra I Kutturata yan I Hinanaota (Celebrate our Culture and our Journey) will feature family-friendly activities throughout March 31.

The event is sponsored by the Guam Department of CHamoru Affairs, Guam Museum, Guam Museum Foundation Inc., Valley of the Latte, Para i Probechun i Taotao-Ta and the Pacific Daily News.

From 9 a.m.-2 p.m. the Guam Museum is providing tours of the Hinanao-ta exhibit, with curated artifacts and displays across seven galleries:

Gallery 1: I Tinituhon (Fona Creation Story, The Beginning)

Gallery 2: I Tasi Yan I Tano (The Sea and the Land)

Gallery 3: Ginen I Manain-ta (Our Ancient Heritage)

Gallery 4: Fanatahguiyan I Haane (A Time of Change)

Gallery 5: Ti Geran Mami (A War Not Of Our Making)

Gallery 6: Humuyong-na I Gera (The Cost of War)

Gallery 7: I Finaloffan Yan I Mamaila (Our Past and Our Future).

There will also be a special exhibit in the rotating gallery: Fanohge CHamoru Put I Tano-ta (Charting Our Collective Future).

Only 25 people will be admitted per time slot. You must register in advance. General admission is $3, $1 for students and free for kids 5 years and younger and manamko 55 years and older.

The museum will strictly adhere to social distancing and capacity restrictions applied to indoor activities. Face masks must be worn in all museum areas and visitors must undergo a temperature check upon arrival. Visitors with temperatures above 100.3 wont be permitted to enter.

From 2-4 p.m., learn to weave baskets from coconut leaves, make mwarmwar (flower crowns) and make coconut oil and coconut candy during cultural demonstrations at Skinner Plaza, brought to you by Valley of the Latte.

Cost to participate is $10 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Guam Museum. Register in advance at www.valleyofthelatte.com.

From 4-9 p.m., Skinner Plaza will be abuzz with free cultural performances by Para i Probechun i Taotao-Ta and music from the Guam Territorial Band, among others. Take home memories of Mes CHamoru and purchase artisan crafts and products from local vendors. Get dinner for the family from the amazing food trucks surrounding the park.
From left: Camilo Lorenzo, account executive for Matson; Bernadette Valencia, vice president and general manager for Guam and Micronesia for Matson; Wilfred P. Leon Guerrero, UOG Endowment Foundation chairman and UOG president emeritus; Patrick Bulaon, operations manager for Matson; Katrina Perez, executive director of the UOG Endowment Foundation; and Stephen Gatewood, operations support for Matson.
Katrina Schaller, a Guam resident who sued the federal government after she was denied disability benefits, died late last year, according to her attorneys.

They have asked a federal appeals court to uphold Schallers June 2020 court victory, which is related to whether Guam residents with disabilities are entitled to participate in the federal Supplemental Security Income program.

Schaller sued the Social Security Administration in December 2018, challenging the inability of Guam residents to receive support payments under the SSI program.

Congress excluded residents of Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the SSI program, which provides financial assistance to the elderly and people with disabilities.

District Court of Guam Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood in June 2020 ruled the federal SSI policy is discriminatory and violated Schallers constitutional right to equal protection under the law.

The Justice Department appealed Tydingco-Gatewoods decision, but the case was paused because the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing a similar case related to a Puerto Rico resident who lost his SSI payments when he relocated from New York.

Justices heard oral arguments in the Puerto Rico case last November, but have not yet issued an opinion.

Schaller died in November of muscular dystrophy, according to her attorneys. Her twin sister, Leslie Schaller, who had the same debilitating disorder, died in October.

Dismissal sought

Because of Katrina Schallers death, the Justice Department has asked the Ninth Circuit to dismiss her case, finding it moot, since she was suing for future benefit payments.

The Justice Department also asked the appeals court to reverse Tydingco-Gatewoods ruling that it is unconstitutional to exclude Guam residents from the SSI program.

According to the Justice Department, it is established practice for an appeals court to vacate or reverse judgments when a case becomes moot.

Schallers attorneys this week objected, calling Tydingco-Gatewoods decision a landmark ruling about the equal rights of American citizens with disabilities living on Guam.

The District of Guam decided a key question of equal protection for some of the most vulnerable citizens of this county, they stated. The District of Guams decision safeguards necessary benefits for Guams population with severe medical needs.  This court should preserve the District of Guams decision.
The capital of Hagatna has been the cultural, social and historical heart of Guam since it first was settled thousands of years ago, said Lasia Casil, executive director of the Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Authority.

The bombing during World War II left us with just a shell of what it once was over 70 years ago. We need to protect and restore what is left and restore as much as we can, she told lawmakers Wednesday morning.

Bill 246

Lawmakers held a public hearing for Bill 246, submitted by the governor, which would adopt the Hagatna Master Plan.

A 1997 law, the Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Act, requires the nine-member Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Authority to submit a plan to the governor, which then goes to the Legislature to be adopted, changed or rejected. A draft master plan was created in 2005 but never was adopted.

The proposed plan divides the capital into several districts with different purposes:

The city center district, which includes public buildings, parks and most existing commercial businesses.

The waterfront district, which is the entire shoreline of the village, including the Paseo De Susana.

The West Hagatna district, which includes the homes and apartments between the city center and Adelup.

The riverwalk district, along the banks of the Hagatna River.

The plan states that relocating several government of Guam offices to a new civic center complex near the Plaza de Espana, with the Palacio as its epicenter, is important to revitalizing the capital.

Casil said the Legislature is being asked to approve a map atlas, design guidelines and regulations and a master land use plan.

The atlas shows the existing conditions in Hagatna, Casil said, such as current zoning and the location of roads and infrastructure.

The design guidelines provide landowners and developers with guidance and the types and quality of design expected in Hagatna, Casil said. Its a blueprint for development that will instill a sense of civic pride throughout the community by emphasizing the citys identity, creating a safe and connected urban environment for all residents and visitors.

Living document

The land use plan contains the goal and policies which will guide the future land use and development decisions within Hagatna and it identifies the actions that will be used to accomplish these goals and policies, Casil said.

An approved plan will make Hagatna eligible for federal programs and funding for municipal development, said Maria Leon Guerrero, chairwoman of the Hagatna Restoration and Redevelopment Authority.

The master plan is a broad community vision and is meant to guide decision-making relating to land use, roads, housing, utilities and other community needs in order to achieve the vision, Leon Guerrero told lawmakers. It is a living document designed to adapt and flex as conditions and priorities change.

We are excited to put the plan in motion and set our capital city on a path to realizing its unlimited potential as a center of government, culture and commerce on our island, Leon Guerrero said.

Full potential

Hagatna has existed for about 3,800 years, since Guams CHamoru ancestors first settled here from Asia, said Melvin Won Pat Borja, executive director of the Commission on Decolonization.

This document influences new development and redevelopment projects in a manner that builds on Guams historic cultural and social assets while forging a path that realizes the lands full economic potential, he said.

Casil during the hearing criticized a proposed hotel and resort development near Two Lovers Point, in Tumon, calling it an example of irresponsible development.

Having this master plan in place is taking proactive steps to ensure that things like this will not happen in our capital city of Hagatna, Casil said. If we dont set the standards for future development, if we dont have a common thread of continuity that brings it all together, then were going to end up with a mishmash of a city without an identity.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptor missile launcher, operated by the U.S. Army's 3rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, in place at Andersen Air Force Base's Northwest Field in Yigo in November 2021. No immediate threat was assessed after a reported North Korea missile launch March 16.
Years after they were indicted on about a 100 charges connected to the use of unworthy aircraft to defraud the government, the trial of Hansen Helicopters Inc. officials began at the District Court of Guam.

Whoever loves money never has enough, prosecuting attorney Marie Miller said in her opening statements.

The evidence in this case is going to show that these defendants loved money more than they loved life, justice and truth. And their love of money lead to the death of nine people, the serious bodily injury of 16 people, the cheating of the people of Guam and the American people, the defrauding of the government and the cheating out of $400 million from fishing companies, Miller said.

Miller spent the next hour telling the jury that Hansen Helicopters officials, including owner John D. Walker, Director of Maintenance Phillip Turner Kapp and Director of Operations Kenneth Rufus Crowe, intentionally hired uncertified mechanics and pilots, bought counterfeit helicopter parts and illegally rebuilt helicopters for their financial gain.

Miller said evidence will show the men bribed members of the Federal Aviation Association to certify Frankenstein helicopters, or illegally rebuilt helicopters.

They bribed the FAA inspectors who were giving them airworthiness certificates, said Miller. They gave him all sorts of stuff, but one of the things they gave him, they bought him an airplane.

Defense

Attorney Mack Martin, who is representing Walker, said he anticipates the prosecution team will come up short on every count for his client.

Martin explained Hansen Helicopters had contracts with tuna boat companies, which leased helicopters to assist in fishing. That was something the FAA had no part in.

The documents between John Walker or Hansen Helicopters and the fishing companies outline that they will provide them a helicopter, they will provide a pilot, they will provide a mechanic, Martin said. Not one of the people in this courtroom, not one of them saw the contracts, approved the contracts, signed the contracts, paid the contracts or went out on the fishing boats. The evidence will be that the FAA had nothing whatsoever to do with the contracts between Hansen and the tuna boat companies.

Martin ended his statements by saying the government wont be able meet its burden of proving any count beyond a reasonable doubt.

This entire case is based upon overzealous government investigation trying to prosecute and punish innocent, hard-working, good people.
The Contractors License Board will allow Samsung E&C America to pay $300,000 to settle its case for erosion problems at the Mangilao Solar Project.

Originally, the board voted for a $25.5 million fine. The board is one of several agencies taking action against Samsung after a lack of proper erosion and sediment controls led to sludge contamination at Marbo Cave last year.

The Guam Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation and the attorney generals office filed a lawsuit against Samsung and Korea Electric Power Company LLC.

Contractors License Board acting Executive Director Linda Ibanez told board members during a meeting Wednesday that Samsung offered to settle its case with the board for $250,000 and her recommendation was $300,000.

In good faith, Samsung had come to the government and apologized. They are doing their cleanup. They have this whole crew in. Theyre working to accept the responsibility, she said. Both government and contractor are working in good faith.

Kyle Dahilig spoke during the public comment period of the meeting in support of taking strong action against the contractor.

Dahilig described the cave as a beautiful and iconic cultural site.

Because of reckless behavior and destructive actions, the ... site has been closed off to the people, he said. This unjust and reckless activity underscores the importance of having strong leaders who hold our environmental protection virtues to heart.

Also during Wednesdays meeting, board members voted to accept the resignation of Chairman James M. Casallo. The board will ask the governor to appoint a new board member.
The 33 billion investment is the first installment of Intel's 10-year European semiconductor strategy. Intel intends to invest up to 80 billion euros on a "next-gen ecosystem" for European CPUs over the next decade.

At least 17 billion of the initial 33 billion will go toward the construction of a new factory in Germany, which is slated to be completed near Magdeburg by 2027. In addition, a $12 billion investment will be made to expand the present plant in Leixlip, Ireland. This would allow for the short-term fabrication of Intel 4-nodes (7 nm) in Europe, among other things. Intel aims to continue investing in France's R&D centers, as well as larger laboratories and factories in Italy, Poland, and Spain. Over the next five years, Intel expects to create roughly 10,000 new permanent jobs in the EU.

Intel's EU growth plans also include Belgium and the Netherlands. Intel acknowledges IMEC's long-standing association with Belgium, while ASML of the Netherlands is recognized as a supplier of high-end lithography machines. With the launch of the European initiative, Intel has shown its support for Europe's green transition. Intel will be "on track" to satisfy both its own and the EU's 2030 climate goals. In the (construction of) European plants, Intel pledges to use renewable energy and contribute zero to landfills.






Cops on Wednesday released images of the suspect they say stabbed two teens outside a Queens high school, leaving one victim in critical condition.

The suspect, also in his teens, and a teenage girl walked up to two boys, ages 16 and 17, as they stood across the street from John Adams High School on Rockaway Blvd. in Ozone Park about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, cops said.

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The suspect pulled a sharp cutting instrument and lunged at both victims, stabbing the 17-year-old in the stomach and the 16-year-old in the leg and the back, cops said.

The bleeding teens hobbled over to the high school and told staffers they had been attacked.

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Police released images of two teens suspected in the stabbing of two other teens outside a Queens school. (NYPD)

The older victim was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, cops said. Medics took the younger teen to Long Island Jewish Medical Center in stable condition.

An Education Department spokeswoman declined to say if the victims were students at the school, which briefly locked its doors, preventing anyone from entering as cops investigated outside.

No arrests have been made.

Cops released images of the teenage assailant and the girl who was with him in the hopes someone recognizes them.

The suspected stabber was wearing a black hoodie, black pants and light-colored slippers with dark colored socks. The girl, about 5-feet tall, was wearing a light-colored sweatshirt, light-colored sweatpants and a red hat. She was carrying a purple jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
A Manhattan grand jury returned a Tuesday indictment against a woman accused of luring a would-be suitor to his kidnapping and near-death.

Valerie Rosario, 22, was held without bail after her initial Manhattan court appearance last month, and was indicted on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, attempted robbery, and attempted assault after she and her co-conspirators took the man hostage for more than 12 hours, prosecutors said.

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Her next court date was set for April 14 in the blind date turned brutal assault.

The kidnapping victim first met Rosario via Instagram, with the two agreeing to meet at a Marble Hill apartment for a Feb. 7 rendezvous, court documents showed.

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He was instead surprised by three men who burst inside shortly after his arrival, intent on shaking the mans family down for $100,000 to secure his release in return for his life.

(Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

But as detailed in court papers, his captors  before making their demands  first tortured and set their captive afire inside a bathtub as they held the helpless man in the apartment.

The gruesome details, laid out in court documents, also detailed how one of the captors inflicted a pistol-whipping on the stunned man. The helpless victim was also stabbed to the face, body, back and legs before the heartless conspirators contacted the mans brother via FaceTime.

Give us $100,000 or we will kill him, one of the kidnappers demanded. The kidnapped man was unconscious inside a van, with taped covering his mouth and wrapped in a blanket, when the call was made.

Cops later arrested conspirator Javier Vargas, 24, after tracking the suspect down in Queens, court papers said. Vargas, holding a knife, was inside the van with the victim, the document indicated.

Vargas was paroled last July after a Brooklyn attempted gun possession conviction. His rap sheet included prior robbery and transit arrests, officials said.




Haiti - Justice : A former pastor charged in the USA with pedophilia in Haiti





A former pastor, Corrigan Clay, 43, living in Pittsburgh was arrested on March 10 by federal agents after being charged with having sex with a minor in Haiti from January 2014 to December 2017.



Clay and his ex-wife had co-founded "The Apparent Project" which had the mission of training artisans to create art from waste in Haiti with the stated aim of stimulating the Haitian economy and helping poor children in Haiti. The couple had adopted two orphans and opened an evangelical kindergarten.



The case is being prosecuted by the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department.



Corrigan Clay was scheduled to appear in Pittsburgh court Tuesday, March 15, for a detention hearing, but the case was pushed back to Monday, March 21 at the request of his lawyer.



TB/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Diaspora Covid-19 : Daily Bulletin #726





GLOBAL SITUATION 2019-2022:

Epidemiological situation:



On Wednesday March 16, 2022 the number of people infected worldwide with the Covid-19 coronavirus and its variants since the start of the pandemic (March 11, 2020) amounts to 462,110,959 cases (+1,842,346 in 24 hours ), the day before (+1,358,655)



Number of infected countries: 224



*Healings: 395,312,368 people have been cured of Covid-19 worldwide (+1,634,138 in 24 hours), the day before (+1,633,061)

*Deaths: 6,074,603 people died of Covid-19 worldwide (+6,232 in 24 hours), the day before (+1,557)

*Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries) in the world is currently 60,723,988 cases (+201,976 in 24 hours), the day before (+4,063)



Average cure rate in the world: 85.54% (+)



Average mortality rate in the world: 1.31% (=)



World: Number of daily confirmed cases:





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 11.06 billion doses of vaccine injected (+10 million doses injected in 24 hours. Updated March 15, 2022 (latest data available).



HAITI:

Epidemiological situation:

Warning: The Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) did not make available daily data on the Covid-19 situation in Haiti after March 10, 2022. Accordingly, the data below on the situation in Haiti are the latest available.



According to the Ministry of Public Health, +15 new cases of Covid-19 and its variants have been confirmed in Haiti as of March 10, 2022 (latest partial data available ) for a total of 30,461 confirmed cases throughout the national territory (48.7% women and 51.3% men), since the first case (March 19, 2020 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html ). Previous update (+8 cases as of March 9, 2022).



Healings: 26,538 (+236)



Cure rate: 87.12% (+)



Deaths: 827 deaths (+0) ()



Death rate: 2.71% (=)



5th Wave (Omicron Dominant):

Total of the 5th wave (starting December 27, 2021) 4,466 confirmed cases and 61 deaths



Haiti: Active Cases Trend: (less recoveries and deaths)





(Day-1)



Screening since the start of the pandemic: 182,367 tests (+253 in 24 hours) since March 19, 2020, latest data available. Note that the very small number of people screened every day at the national level out of a population estimated at 11.6 million citizens, does not statistically allow us to make a representative estimate of the situation in Haiti, which translates into a < B>number of daily confirmed cases largely underestimated.



TOP 5 of the most affected municipalities in the West (2022):

Delmas: 736 (+2); Petion-ville 613 (+0); Port-au-Prince 405 (+0); Tabarre 286 (+1); 233 (+0)



Confirmed cases by department (2022 / 2021 / 2020):

West: 2022: 2,527 cases; (2021: 9.890); (2020: 6,945 cases)

North: 2022: 263 cases; (2021: 664); (2020: 677 cases)

Center: 2022: 221 cases; (2021: 1.001); (2020: 508 cases)

Artibonite: 2022: 170 cases; (2021: 855); (2020: 593 cases)

Northeast: 2022: 147 cases; (2021: 404); (2020: 314 cases)

Southeast: 2022: 238 cases; (2021: 768); (2020: 274 cases)

South: 2022: 213 cases; (2021: 891); (2020: 262 cases)

North West: 2022: 249 cases; (2021: 383); (2020: 229 cases)

Grand'Anse: 2022: 158 cases; (2021: 861); (2020: 176 cases)

Nippes: 2022: 35 cases; (2021: 249) (2020: 149 cases)



Cumulative deaths by department (2022-2021):

West: 293 deaths (2020: 104 deaths)

North: 54 deaths (2020: 34 deaths)

Center: 78 deaths (2020: 13 deaths)

Artibonite: 40 deaths (2020: 39 deaths)

North East: 7 deaths (2020: 6 deaths)

South: 51 deaths (2020: 6 deaths)

Southeast: 14 deaths (2020: 9 deaths)

North West: 15 deaths (2020: 12 deaths)

Grand'Anse: 7 deaths (2020: 13 deaths)

Nippes: 27 deaths (2020: 5 deaths)



Distribution of deaths by age (since the start of the epidemic):

0-9 years: 15 deaths

10-19 years: 10 deaths

20-29 years: 31 deaths

30-39 years: 54 deaths

40-49 years: 78 deaths

50-59 years: 133 deaths

60-69 years: 186 deaths

70-79 years: 181 deaths

80 years and over: 137 deaths



Vaccination:

159,320 Haitians (1.37% of the population) +2,318 in 4 days have received a 1st dose of vaccine since July 16, 2021, date of the first injection through 149 open vaccination centers and 108,450 Haitians are fully vaccinated (2 doses, 0.93% of the population) +2.336 in 4 days. Update March 10, 2022 latest information available (source MSPP).



List of the 149 Vaccination Centers open in Haiti (and hours) by department:

(updated October 20, 2021, latest informations available)

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35051-haiti-covid-19-list-of-149-vaccination-centers-open-in-the-country.html



DIASPORA:

Epidemiological situation:



USA:

*Cases since the first case (February 29, 2020): 81,244,936 cases (+28,668 in 24 hours), the day before (+41,591)

*Healings: 56,456,450 healings (+174,444 in 24 hours), the day before (+210,903)

National Cure Rate: 69.48% (+)

*Deaths: 992.302 deaths (+1.264), the day before (correction)

National death rate: 1.22% (=)

*Active cases (minus deaths and recoveries): 23,796,184 (-147,040 in 24 hours), the day before (-166,539)

Tests: 967,406,638 last data available.



USA: Number of daily confirmed cases





(Day-1)



Vaccination: 557.46 million doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, the date of the first injection in the United States (+160,000 doses in 24 hours). Updated March 15, 2022 (latest data available).



DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:

Confirmed cases since March 1, 2020: 576,698 cases (+57 in 24 hours) the day before (+147 in 24 hours). First case (March 1, 2020)

Healings: 572,006 healings (+109 in 24 hours), the day before (+146)

National Cure Rate: 99.18% (+)

Deaths: 4,374 deaths (+0), previous (+0)

Death rate: 0.75% (=)

Positivity rate over 4 epidemiological weeks: 1.58% (-)

Active cases: (excluding deaths and recoveries) 318 cases (-52 in 24 hours) the day before (+1)



Dominican Republic: Trend of active cases: (minus recoveries and deaths)





(Day-1)



TOP 5 Provinces with the most new cases in the last 24 hours:

National District: +20 new cases in 24 hours (+)

Santo Domingo: +10 new cases in 24 hours (-)

Santiago: +5 new cases in 24 hours (-)

La Altagracia: 5 new cases in 24 hours (-)

La Vega: +3 new cases in 24 hours ()



Tests (since the 1st case): 3,170,542 tests (+4,721 in 24 hours), the day before (+4,923)



Vaccination: 15.37 million doses of vaccine injected since February 16, 2021, date of the first injection in the Dominican Republic (+10,000 doses injected in 24 hours). Updated March 15, 2022 (latest data available).



QUEBEC:

Confirmed cases since the first case (February 27, 2020): 938,270 (+1,023 in 24 hours), previous (+2,625 in 72 hours)

Healings: 911,890 people (+1,094 in 24 hours), previous (+3,438 in 72 hours)

Cure rate: 97.18% (+)

Deaths: 14,202 deaths (+20 in 24 hours), previous (+28 in 72 hours)

Death rate: 1.51% (=)

Active cases: (excluding death and recovery) 12,178 cases (-91 in 24 hours), previous (-841 in 72 hours)



Quebec: Trend of daily confirmed cases:





(average weekly trend)



Test: 16,894,022 people tested since the first case (+9,972 in 24 hours)



Vaccination: 18,532,758 doses of vaccine injected since December 14, 2020, date of the first injection (+3,643 doses in 24 hours), latest data available - MSSS as of March 15, 2022)



FRANCE:

*Confirmed cases since the first case (January 24, 2020): 23,649,615 cases (+116,618 cases in 24 hours), previous (+18,853)

*Heals: 22,327,799 heals (+66,502), previous (not available)

National Cure Rate: 94.41% (-)

Deaths: 140,440 deaths (+146 in 24 hours), previous (+185)

Death rate: 0.59% (=)

Active Cases: 1,181,376 (+49,785 in 24h), previous (+18,853)

Test: 246,629,975 (last data available February 27, 2022)



France: Number of daily confirmed cases:





(day 1)



Vaccination: 141.32 million doses of vaccine injected since December 27, 2020, date of the first injection in France (+30,000 doses injected in 24 hours. Update March 14, 2022 (latest data available)



Previous bulletin : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36184-haiti-diaspora-covid-19-daily-bulletin-725.html



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30319-haiti-health-origin-of-the-first-2-cases-of-covid-19-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-30165-haiti-flash-first-case-of-covid-19-in-the-dominican-republic.html



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Quincy, IL (62301)

Today

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 53F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with periods of rain late. Low 53F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
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The lone gunman busted for killing two homeless men and wounding three more in a terrifying two-city shooting spree was held without bail Wednesday as prosecutors detailed damning evidence against him.

Murder suspect Gerald Brevard III, wearing a white Tyvek jumpsuit and handcuffs, was led quietly from the courtroom to his jail cell after Magistrate Judge Tanya Jones Bosier affirmed the prosecutions call for his continued imprisonment in the deadly Washington and Manhattan attacks.

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Looking at the totality of what the court has before it, I cannot fashion any condition that will ensure hell return to court and ensure the safety of the community so Im going to grant the hold, ruled the judge.

Gerald Brevard (DC Police Department)

Washington prosecutor Sara Santiago, speaking at Brevards first court appearance since his D.C. arrest around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, urged the judge to consider the nature and circumstances of the crimes and the weight of the evidence.

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She described the defendants disturbing escalation of violent behavior between March 3 and March 12 as the shootings continued, with the gunman targeting the most vulnerable Washingtonians and New Yorkers living on the streets.

Prosecutors, in calling for Brevards incarceration, cited evidence including an eyewitness identification, the recovery of five matching .22-caliber shell casings and cell phone tracking that placed Brevard in both New York and the nations capital at the same time as the shootings.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Bosier, before holding the suspect without bail, noted the defendant had a pending bench warrant from June 2021 and a prior failure to appear in another case. Brevard was already on probation for a previous conviction, she added.

The suspects dad told the Daily News after his sons arrest that Brevard was dealing with untreated mental illness.

I can only speak to the issue of the failure of the judicial system identifying that my son suffers from mental illness, but not treating him, said Gerald Brevard II. The system has failed regarding the treatment of so many, including my son.

Brevard left the court in silence after the hearing. Defense attorneys noted in vain that the murder weapon was not recovered as Brevard stood mutely with his head down and hands in front of him.

The court session, live-streamed to accommodate the media, drew more than 50 reporters to watch the defendants first appearance since his arrest early Tuesday morning at a Washington gas station.

The gunman, captured wearing an all-black outfit on surveillance video during his deadly assaults, shot three men in Washington between March 3 and March 9. One of those victims died after being shot and stabbed multiple times before his tent was set on fire.

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Brevard then came north to New York, likely via train, to kill another homeless man and wound a fifth victim this past Saturday. The latest killing ramped up the police pursuit of the shooter, with police in both Washington and New York chasing the suspect.
Hastings, NE (68901)

Today

Overcast with showers at times. Low near 45F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Overcast with showers at times. Low near 45F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Thousands of firefighters have continued to slow the advance of destructive wildfires in the Southwest. But they're bracing for the return of the same dangerous conditions Friday that sparked and spread the wind-fueled blazes a week ago. At least 166 residences have been destroyed in one rural county in northeast New Mexico since the biggest U.S. fire started racing through small towns northeast of Santa Fe last Friday. Winds gusting up to 50 mph are forecast Friday in the drought-stricken region. Fire behavior experts say it's a recipe for disaster where timber the size of a 4-by-4 piece of lumber has a fuel moisture drier than kiln-dried wood.
Editor: Today I had coffee with the man who will probably be my candidate for US C
On Monday, March 14, a delegation from the Kingdom of Sweden, headed by Ambassador Fredrik Florn, Head of the Consular Affairs and Civil Law Department, and his deputy, Mrs. Christine Hedenberg, arrived at the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Relations in Qamishlo.

He was received by the co-chair of the Department of Foreign Relations, Abdul Karim Omar, Shewaz Khalil, the head of the European department in the department, and Lana Hussein, the head of the YPJ relations office.

The two sides discussed the current situation in the region, in north and east Syria in particular, and the economic and humanitarian situation in general.

During the meeting, the department's co-chair, Abdul Karim Omar, said: "The recent attack by ISIS on Hasaka prison caused dozens of martyrs from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), prison workers and some civilians. The operation was large and complex, and preparations were made for it. For months, intelligence circles outside the borders, especially Turkey, have been aiming to spread chaos, strike the components of the region together and destabilize the region, thus reviving ISIS and taking control of Hasaka and other areas.

Abdul Karim Omar indicated, according to the website of the Department of Foreign Relations, that "the international community must assume its responsibilities, by providing political, economic, relief and security support to the Autonomous Administration areas," explaining: "The importance of rehabilitating the communities that remained under the rule of the Islamic State (ISIS) for years. In order to block the way for ISIS to enter these areas and organize them again.

For his part, Ambassador Frederick said: "We would like to express once again our appreciation for the sacrifices made by the Autonomous Administration and the people here. We have discussed important issues in the security and humanitarian aspects and ways to combat terrorism in north and east Syria, and we affirm our continued support for the Autonomous Administration in its struggle against terrorism."

At the end of the meeting, two women and their two children were handed over from the families of ISIS mercenaries, according to an official handover document between the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Kingdom of Sweden.

T/S

ANHA
Ingram resident David Hofer performs at the Iowa Rock N Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in September, after being inducted alongside his Hot Jam band mates.
One man was killed and his twin brother was wounded in a shooting outside a Bronx courthouse Tuesday night, cops said.

Police investigate a shooting on E. 161st St. and Morris Ave. in the Bronx on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

A gunman walked up to the 30-year-old siblings and shot one in the chest and the other in the leg about 7:20 p.m. outside the Bronx County Hall of Justice on E. 161st St. near Sherman Ave., cops said.

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Shell casings are marked on the street after a shooting on E. 161st St. and Morris Ave. in the Bronx on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

The brother struck in the chest was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, but he couldnt be saved. His sibling was hospitalized in stable condition.

Police investigate a shooting outside a Bronx courthouse on E. 161st St. and Morris Ave. in the Bronx on Tuesday. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

The shooter let loose at least five rounds, police sources said.

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A search for the gunman was underway. The brothers names were not immediately released.
County hires engineer to guide sewer plant permit application

Citing a tight timeline to win a state permit for a wastewater treatment plant, the Henderson County Board of Commissioners moved quickly on Wednesday to select a local engineering firm to guide a permit application through numerous regulatory hoops.

Commissioners voted 4-0 to hire Hendersonville-based WGLA Engineering and two subcontractors  a wastewater treatment specialist and environmental engineering firm  to submit the application to the state Department of Environmental Quality for permission to build a wastewater treatment plant on Clear Creek.

County Engineer Marcus Jones said the county had publicized a request for qualifications on March 4 and received one response by the Tuesday deadline, from WGLA, the firm that had already done substantial preliminary work on the feasibility of an Edneyville sewer system. The county contacted local engineering firms and posted the job on an American Rescue Plan hub "that had hundreds of engineering firms on it," Jones said. Estimated cost of the permitting work is $225,000.

The county has a deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, to commit a $12.7 million state grant to the Edneyville-Fruitland sewer system project.

"We're on track but we are tight," Jones said.

Besides the state grant, the county also plans to use American Rescue Plan money and cash left over from the Edneyville Elementary School construction to fund the $21 million sewer system.

Lapsley, who sold his WGLA firm (William G. Lapsley & Associates) to three other civil engineers when he retired, recused himself from the discussion and vote "because I have a family member who's part of this submittal," he said.
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New DNA testing has been ordered in the case of Adnan Syed, which became internationally known after it was chronicled on the podcast Serial.

Syed, now 40, has spent 23 years behind bars after being convicted of killing his high school classmate and ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, in 1999. Syed was 17 when he was arrested; hes serving life in prison plus 30 years.

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Prosecutors agreed with Syeds defense team on the DNA testing, and Baltimore judge Melissa Phinn signed off on the agreement Monday. Lees clothes, shoes and hair are among the items being tested, according to local NBC affiliate WBAL.

In this Feb. 3, 2016 photo, Adnan Syed enters Courthouse East prior to a hearing in Baltimore. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/AP)

Forensic Analytical Crime Lab in Northern California will do the testing. The specific tests were not mentioned in the order, but prosecutors admitted in the joint petition that DNA technology has vastly improved since Syed was convicted in 2000.

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Previous unofficial DNA testing, conducted in connection with a 2018 HBO documentary on the case, found no DNA from Syed on any evidence. The items covered in Mondays order were not tested in 2018, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Lee was 18 years old when she disappeared in January 1999. Her body was found in a shallow grave in West Baltimores Leakin Park on Feb. 9, 1999.

The case against Syed hinged on testimony from one of his friends, who said Syed confessed the murder to him and that he helped hide Lees body.

Syeds defense could have been aided by a woman who said she was with Syed on the night of the murder, but his defense attorney never called the alibi witness. Syed has maintained his innocence the entire time and argued that he should get a new trial because his attorney was incompetent.

Serial drew renewed attention to the case with its debut season in 2014. A new trial was ordered in 2016 and upheld in 2018. But the ruling was tossed in 2019 by the Maryland Supreme Court, so Syed is still attempting to get a new trial.
Attorneys have requested a competency hearing for a Wisconsin woman accused of murdering her lover during a drug-fueled tryst, and then dismembering him before hiding his remains as part of a gruesome scavenger hunt left for responding officers.

Taylor Schabusiness is facing counts of first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and third-degree sexual assault in connection with the slaying of Shad Thyrion. Authorities responded to a residence in Green Bay after receiving a 911 call from the 25-year-old victims mother, who discovered some of her sons remains in their basement last month.

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In court documents obtained by WBAY, Schabusiness attorneys said they do not believe she has the ability to grasp the legal proceedings in requesting the competency hearing. Should a judge approve, the 24-year-old suspect will undergo an outpatient examination to determine whether she is competent to proceed.

Taylor Schabusiness was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, mutilating a corpse and third-degree sexual assault in connection with the grisly attack.

On Feb. 23, authorities searching the basement of the crime scene discovered both a head and a male organ hidden in a bucket that was covered up with a towel, as well as a torso stashed inside a storage tote, according to a criminal complaint. Police said they also recovered bloody knives at the scene near a mattress that was also drenched with blood.

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In wake of the grisly attack, Schabusiness allegedly confessed to spending the day with Thyrion, alleging to officers that they smoked meth in the hours before a drug-induced romp, which also involved chains. She said she never meant to murder the man, but that she enjoyed strangling him  so she didnt stop.

I liked it, ya, she reportedly told them.

Shad Thyrion was killed on Feb. 23.

Schabusiness was also still covered in blood when police found her. She told investigators they were going to have fun trying to find all of the organs.

The suspect is also accused of sexually abusing the corpse before she used a bread knife she found in the kitchen to chop him up.

Police also discovered Thyrions legs in a crockpot box behind the drivers seat of Schabusiness car. The rest of his remains were hidden in bags and other various containers in the basement of his mothers home.

The suspect is being held on $2 million bond. She is due back in court on March 22.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we've all known individuals who have done more than their share to help their neighbors and communities with food, comfort, care, companionship and dozens of other needs. If you know of such a person, you can nominate them to be featured in our upcoming H
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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A longtime friend of Alex Murdaugh has been charged for his role in the $3 million insurance scam that robbed the sons of the legal familys longtime housekeeper.

Cory Fleming has been indicted on 18 charges, including money laundering, criminal conspiracy, breach of trust with fraudulent intent and false statement or misrepresentation in connection with an insurance transaction, the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office announced Wednesday.

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Fleming has been accused of surreptitiously delivering to Murdaugh a share of the proceeds obtained from the insurance payout for housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, whose sons Fleming was supposed to be representing. According to prosecutors, Fleming directed more than $3.4 million to Murdaugh and kept another $140,000 for himself.

Murdaugh also faces four new charges in the same con, bringing the total to 75.

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[ The Murdaugh family mysteries: a timeline of murders, cryptic deaths, scandals and power ]

Alex Murdaugh's longtime friend has now been charged in his alleged insurance scam. (Orange County Corrections)

This is the first time that Fleming, Murdaughs college roommate, has been charged in the ever-growing scandal that has enveloped Murdaughs life. Fleming was hired, on the advice of Murdaugh, by Satterfields sons after she died following a slip and fall at their South Carolina estate in 2018. But the heirs never saw a dime of the insurance payout.

Instead, Murdaugh pocketed almost all of it, according to prosecutors.

Fleming, 53, has since been suspended from practicing law.

Murdaughs world began unraveling in June, when he came home to find wife Maggie and his 22-year-old son Paul fatally shot on their Hampton County property. Three months later, Murdaugh staged his own botched murder in an ill-fated attempt to direct his own $10 million life insurance policy to his remaining son, Buster.

After admitting to planning the assisted suicide, Murdaugh resigned from his law firm and entered rehab for an opioid addiction.

His law firm has since accused him of stealing more than $1 million.

Murdaugh remains in jail on a $7 million bond.
Fewer than 1 in 5 Americans are familiar with the condition of cognitive impairment, and 72% of primary care doctors struggle to distinguish its early symptoms from normal aging, contributing to what could be a potentially harmful delay in diagnosis, according to a report released by The Alzheimers Association.

With an estimated 12-18% of adults 60 and over suffering mild cognitive impairment, quickly identifying the condition has become more important than ever.

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Most doctors agree that early intervention can slow the mental decline for those diagnosed with MCI  an early stage of memory loss or other cognitive ability loss, like language or visual/spatial perception. In total, 1 in 10 older adults have early stage memory or cognitive problems, with numbers for each demographic increasing with age.

(Shutterstock)

Whats more, an estimated one-third of people with the condition go on to develop dementia due to Alzheimers disease, which is caused by distinct biological changes that lead to the damage and death of nerve cells in the brain, according to research published on Tuesday. About 85% of adults said they would want to know sooner if they had Alzheimers disease so they could better plan and their treat symptoms earlier as well as take steps to preserve cognitive function, the research said.

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Overall, about 6.5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimers disease.

Signs of the condition can range from subtle to severe. Depending on the type of MCI, early symptoms can include a difficulty remembering conversations, maintaining and keeping track of a train of thought as well as struggling with day-to-day tasks and navigating routes that are usually familiar.

The figures in the study were based on a survey provided to more than 2,400 adults and 801 primary care physicians at the end of last year. More than 80% said they had little to no familiarity with MCI, and about 40% expressed serious concern when they learned about the condition.

The research also revealed about 60% of doctors were unfamiliar with administering tests such as spinal taps or brain scans aimed at measuring disease markers like amyloid or tau  hallmarks of Alzheimers disease.
Interview: U.S. military complex to benefit from Russia-Ukraine conflict: ex-Pentagon analyst

13:23, March 16, 2022 By Xu Chi ( Xinhua

GENEVA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A former Pentagon analyst said the U.S. military complex stands to benefit from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as it ramps up defense spending for what could be a protracted affair in Europe.

"The American Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex (MICC) will benefit from this war (the Russia-Ukraine conflict) because it is setting the stage for a second Cold War that will increase tensions over the long term," said Franklin C. Spinney, a former Pentagon analyst.

An increase in tensions over the long term "is needed to fund the bow wave of future defense spending that is already programmed in the Pentagon's computers ..." Spinney said in a recent interview with Xinhua, warning that militarization bodes ill for the U.S. economy.

The MICC refers to the network of multisectoral individuals and institutions promoting militarization, arms sales and political power. U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower made its creeping influence public in his 1961 farewell speech.

The MICC is partly responsible for and actively benefiting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Spinney, who served for nearly 30 years as an analyst at the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation.

He faulted the MICC's post-Cold War business strategy and its supporting lobbying activities for expanding the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after the end of the Cold War.

For Spinney, thanks to the lobbying activities by special interest groups towards expansion, NATO has not only outlived its purpose to contain the Soviet Union but enjoyed five expansions since the demise of the latter.

Spinney believed that the conflict and the ensuing fear would be permanently politicized to justify more weapon sales.

The Pentagon has been rushing new weapon programs and their engineering and manufacturing, said Spinney. Since contracts will spread to hundreds of congressional districts, weapon production becomes virtually unstoppable.

Moreover, because manufacturers routinely over-promise performance and understate costs, the demands for more military spending beget further demands for even greater spending, Spinney said.

According to Spinney, the peculiar characteristics of the MICC reduce the U.S. foreign policy elite into an endless search for new enemies abroad, which is why the United States violated its promise not to expand NATO and has no empathy for the legitimate security concerns of others, especially Russia.

"The way we have handled the end of the Cold War with NATO expansion conducted by a succession of U.S. presidents, establishing the Committee to Expand NATO headed by a Lockheed vice president, encouraging the color revolutions, particularly in Georgia and Ukraine, demonizing our adversaries, have combined to inflame tensions," he said.

Spinney referred to the humiliation the United States inflicted on Russia since the demise of the Soviet Union, amplified by the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, and the U.S. withdrawals from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002 and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019, all of which are perceived as critical threats by Russia.

Spinney believed the domestic politics shaped by the MICC commands the U.S. foreign policy. The MICC shapes domestic political agendas by engineering electoral district dependency on the arms industry.

He is convinced that the politico-economic addiction to defense spending makes the U.S. economy less competitive through anti-competitive contracting that incentivizes parasitic rent-seeking behaviors and corruption as well as poor engineering.

Spinney also said he sees the MICC as the result of processes that reward dysfunctional practices, like lying, cheating, bureaucratic gamesmanship, unfair appraisal practices, and corrupt personnel practices, including the infamous "revolving doors," as well as an utter absence of congressional oversight and sound accounting practices in accordance with the U.S. Constitution.

As a way forward, Spinney urged the United States to strive for peace instead of perpetually preparing for war.

He also recommended that foreign policy strategists learn a little empathy and acknowledge the legitimate concerns of other nations, warning that a domestic politics addicted to weapon purchases foments insecurity.

He summed up the political problem in America's defense addiction by quoting American writer and social crusader Upton Sinclair: "It's difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
A Maine teen and his fellow students are being hailed as heroes after stopping their bus when the driver suffered a medical emergency Monday. The driver later died.

Connor and Shamus Collins, brothers who were among the 14 Mt. Ararat Middle and High School students aboard the bus at the time, got up and pressed on the brake when 77-year-old Arthur McDougall, who was still behind the wheel, fell to the ground, Connor told WGME.

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Connor, who only has a drivers permit, then told his younger brother to call 911 and managed to grab the wheel and stop the bus, which was heading off the highway and into a ditch, according to the outlet. The students school district is headquartered in Topsham, about 27 miles northeast of Portland.

This photo provided by the Topsham Police Department shows a school bus that students steered to safety after the 77-year-old male driver suffered a medical event that left him incapacitated, Monday, March 14, 2022, in Topsham, Maine. (AP)

Everyones screaming. Freaking out. Panicking. Connor goes and hits the brake to stop the bus, Shamus told WGME.

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Connor recalled thinking, I need to stop this bus before it goes into the ditch. more or before anyone else gets hurt.

After successfully stopping the vehicle just before it crossed the bridge above the Cathance River, some students alerted passersby and got help while others turned their attention to McDougall.

Had they not been able to get that bus stopped, we dont know what could have happened, said Topsham Police Chief Marc Hagan, according to WGME.

McDougall died at the hospital that afternoon, as Interim Maine School Administrative District 75 Superintendent Bob Lucy confirmed via Facebook.

It is with great sadness that I write to inform you that Arthur McDougall, our bus driver who was transported to the hospital this morning, has passed away, Lucy addressed staff and families this week.

We offer our deepest condolences to Arthurs family, friends, and colleagues, continued Lucy, noting the loss was very difficult ... to share and process.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants Disney to rethink plans of relocating 2,000 jobs from Southern California to central Florida in light of a growing dissatisfaction of some company employees with its response to Floridas Dont Say Gay bill.

Disney, the door is open to bring those jobs back to California  the state that actually represents the values of your workers, the Democratic governor wrote on Twitter over the weekend.

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In this Friday, April 30, 2021, file photo, visitors exit The Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

Newsom was sharing a report by the Los Angeles Times, in which a group of LGBTQIA+ employees of [Disney-owned] Pixar and their allies expressed anger and frustration at the companys inaction regarding its position against the bill.

Slammed as hateful by critics, the bill forbids discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in primary schools classrooms. It has passed both the state House of Representatives and the Senate. The states Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, is expected to sign it into law.

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In a letter sent to Disney leadership, the group wrote that they were disappointed, hurt, afraid, and angry with the company for its financial involvement with Florida legislators behind the bill.

Disney, the door is open to bring those jobs back to California - the state that actually represents the values of your workers. https://t.co/kbCi7Zgs90  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 13, 2022

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Newsoms tweet comes less than a year after the House of Mouse announced that it would relocate more than 2,000 jobs from the Golden State to the Sunshine State.

In July, the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Division, Josh DAmaro, announced that most Southern California-based jobs not fully dedicated to Disneyland would be asked to relocate to a new campus near Orlando International Airport.

The move was set to take place over the following 18 months, the Orlando Business Journal reported at the time.

California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom interacts with fans while marching in the annual LGBTQI Pride Parade on June 25, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, Disney-owned Marvel Studios came out strongly against anti-LGBTQ legislation, amid Disneys lackluster response to the bill.

We strongly denounce any and ALL legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, Marvel, whose headquarters are in Burbank, Calif., said in a statement shared on social media.

Marvel Studios stands for hope, inclusivity and strength; and we proudly stand with the community. Today, we pledge to continue our strong commitment as allies who promote the values of equality, acceptance and respect, the studio added.

Late last week, Disney CEO Bob Chapek issued a statement acknowledging that the company was wrong for not speaking out. He also apologized for not being a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights.
ROOST Apartment Hotel, the high design extended stay concept from Method Co., the Philadelphia-based hospitality company, announces today, March 15th, as the official opening of ROOST Cleveland at the May Company building on historic Euclid Avenue in downtown. The opening marks the first location outside of Philadelphia for the ROOST brand and the first high-design extended-stay hotel concept for the city of Cleveland.

The newest ROOST, a concept known for bridging a boutique hotel with apartment-style living, offers 62 beautifully-designed loft-like apartments, unique public spaces, and custom guest amenities for travelers looking for both short and long-term accommodations in Cleveland. In partnership with Bedrock, a Cleveland and Detroit real estate developer, this will be the fourth ROOST to open from Method Co., who is doubling their portfolio with additional forthcoming ROOST locations opening in Tampa and Detroit later this year. The newest location introduces the brand's signature studio, one and two-bedroom apartments to three floors within the May Company building, an adaptive restoration of the iconic department store built by world-renowned architect Daniel Burnham.

Designed and curated by Morris Adjmi Architects & Method Studios, Method Co.'s in-house design firm, all of the ROOST Cleveland apartments are strikingly appointed with contemporary furnishings such as vintage Oushak rugs, functional custom workspaces, unique artwork from Lumas, coffee tables by Danish design house Gubi, and modern light fixtures by Original BTC, among other high-end design sources. ROOST Cleveland guests have access to the brand's custom amenities, including an in-room artisanal coffee program with La Colombe, a high-end cocktail kit, and signature bike share program, in addition to The May's amenities, including a three-story open-air atrium, panoramic rooftop terrace with gas grills and city views, a state-of-the-art fitness center, private yoga studio, and a makerspace.

Acquired by Bedrock in 2017, the May Company building has anchored Cleveland's Public Square for more than 100 years, when the department store opened in its namesake building in 1915 and where it operated until 1993. It remained primarily vacant until Bedrock commenced an extensive transformation of the property, seeking to restore its most definitive features such as the iconic pediment clock and terra cotta facade. The May welcomed its first residents in August 2020.

Considered a leader in the high-design extended stay hotel movement, the ROOST brand currently operates three locations in Philadelphia, in addition to the new ROOST Cleveland. The brand's significant expansion plans across the United States include a ROOST outpost at the Water Street development in Tampa this spring, while another 118 beautifully furnished apartments are coming later this year within Bedrock's Book Tower, as part of the rehabilitation of one of Detroit's most beloved architectural landmarks.

Hotel website
Opening next Spring in the iconic Le Suquet neighbourhood, guests at Canopy by Hilton Cannes will enjoy spectacular views of the Old Port from the hotel's enviable rooftop terrace.

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) has today confirmed a franchise agreement with SNC Societe dExploitation Nouvelle du Soleil dOr, a subsidiary of SDPNE, to open a new hotel under its growing lifestyle brand Canopy by Hilton. Canopy by Hilton Cannes will include 143 guest rooms and be located in central Cannes, a short walk from the city's beaches, Old Port and the world-famous Palais des Festivals. The hotel is expected to welcome its first guests in 2023, and marks Hilton's first property in Cannes.

A brand that has grown rapidly in recent years, opening hotels in Reyjkavik, Zagreb, Madrid, London and Paris, Canopy by Hilton hotels are inspired by the local neighbourhood, with elements of the design, food & beverage and service all reflecting the very best of the surrounding area. For example, Canopy by Hilton Cannes will boast a roof terrace with sweeping views of the ocean and the Old Port while being centrally located moments from Promenade de la Croisette.

The hotel is comprised of a mixture of guest rooms and suites, with most featuring balconies and sea views of the French Riviera. Led by acclaimed designer Ramy Fischler, the hotel's design aesthetic takes inspiration from the soft, glamour of Cannes, with organic tones used throughout to reference the tree-lined boulevards and enduring beauty of Provencal architecture.

From the hotel's 400 square meter rooftop terrace, bar and restaurant, guests can enjoy a morning coffee watching over the city or a refreshing cocktail in the evening as the cobbled side streets light up from the glow of wine bars, seafood restaurants, bistros and jazz clubs. During the day, guests can move between the hotel's combined indoor and outdoor pool, work out in the hotel's fitness facilities, indulge with a treatment in the hotel's spa or lounge in Canopy Central, an inviting space serving food and drink all day. With zones that seamlessly adapt to both work and play, Canopy Central is perfect as both a relaxation spot and a space to work through a few business emails. For more formal business needs, the hotel's 380 square meters of conference and events space are available, with rooms offering an incredible sea-view backdrop to professional meetings and conferences.

Canopy by Hilton Cannes will offer some of the area's most desirable hotel amenities, and its central location means guests can also explore Cannes on foot or take advantage of the hotel's complimentary Canopy bicycles. The hotel is flanked on one side by Cannes' Old Port, the home of superyachts and world-class restaurants, while on the other by some of Cannes' finest beaches, such as the 700m long Plage du Midi. Just across the marina, the home of international events such as Cannes Film Festival, MIPIM and more, Palais des Festivals is a 5-minute walk, or three-minute cycle away. "Canopy Enthusiasts" (hotel team members) are also available to connect guests to the best of the neighborhood from city tours to suggesting a hidden gem to visit. Each Canopy by Hilton offers conscious touches for the environment and pets, including filtered water stations, recycled keys and its Paws in the Neighborhood pet program.

Canopy by Hilton Cannes is part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton's 18 world-class hotel brands. Members who book directly on the hotel's website will have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider allowing members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount, free standard Wi-Fi and the industry-leading Hilton Honors mobile app. Members also have access to contactless technology exclusively through the app, where Hilton Honors members can check-in, check-out, select and access their room using the innovative Digital Key.

Hotel website
Kate Kuttruff has made countless contributions to the company throughout her 32-year career at DelMonte Hotel Group. Newly appointed as Chief Operating Officer, Kate will oversee Accounting, Information Systems, Human Resources, Compensation and Benefits, Legal Compliance, Hotel Operations, Facilities, and the Sales, Revenue, & Marketing division. In 2018, she was elevated to the role of Senior Vice President of Operations and transformed the way the company does business through her focused approach on "people, systems, and processes". DelMonte Hotel Group's responsibilities have grown to an organization entrusted with third party hotel management agreements as well as third party capital. Her leadership has allowed the company to deliver on those expectations from their partners.

DelMonte Hotel Group

Rochester, New York

United States Website
As Alexander DelMonte accepts the role of CEO, he looks forward to the continued recovery of the hotel industry, as well as the success and growth in the company and associates futures. Over the past decade in his role as President, Alexander's goal has been to build a first class leadership team to allow DelMonte Hotel Group to grow their hotel portfolio and improve their management company. The transition to the CEO role will enable him to work closely with the leadership team to position the company for scalability that supports future growth plans.

DelMonte Hotel Group

Rochester, New York

United States Website
John DelMonte is moving exclusively into the role of Chairman of the Board and passing on the role of CEO. As Chairman, John will continue to be involved in the business strategy and advise and guide the leadership team for ongoing success. His depth and breadth of knowledge of the business - from Development, Operations, Sales, and Finance to creating high-performing teams and solving problems - will continue to benefit and inspire long-range goals.

DelMonte Hotel Group

Rochester, New York

United States Website
Despite the Covid pandemic, the Ukrainian tourism industry was showing signs of recovery and we expected more tourists to come in 2022. But those plans were totally ruined on February 24 when Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine.

No one could believe it would look like this a month ago. The price Russia pays for this tourism is thousands of dead Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, the price Ukraine pays is thousands of civilians killed while beautiful towns, historical buildings and museums have been destroyed.

Is this kind of tourism we all were looking for?

Ukrainians are united like never before despite the fact that we are living in our hardest period ever. Our hospitality industry cannot do what it always did the best  welcome tourists. Now they are doing what they have to do  feed our army in the hot areas and host refugees in the western part of the country. We are grateful to the global hospitality industry for hosting Ukrainian refugees all around Europe. It is not the way we wanted to travel, but its a new reality where women and kids have no place to stay.

Things Tourism Can Do

We are confident that very soon Ukraine will prevail and and open the doors for tourists again. There will be a lot of people who want to understand the nation that stopped Mordor. In addition, a lot of historians, military specialists and politicians will look for answers.

The world should not make a mistake now while Ukrainians pay the highest price for your freedom. A lot of people blame crazy Putin for starting the war. It is not true. Its not the tsar that is bombing our cities and shooting at the maternity hospital in Mariupol. Its not the tsar that keeps the city under siege and destroys the green corridors. This is done by Russian citizens. They could simply choose not to execute these criminal orders but they enjoy it.

Read the full article at skift Inc.
Stock up on those tissues and decongestants  and inhalers if you need them.

Allergy season is about to get lengthier and nastier as climate change stimulates trees, grasses and weeds to produce more pollen, a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications shows.

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Pollen emissions could start 40 days earlier in spring and drag on for 19 days longer by the end of this century, according to the results. Not only that, but more pollen will be produced during that time, fostered by rising temperatures and increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere, the researchers at the University of Michigan said.

A study published Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in the journal Nature Communications details how warmer temperatures and extra carbon dioxide in the air will make pollen season even more of a bother than it is now. (Kate Seaman/AP)

For the study, researchers examined 15 of the most common types of pollen and developed a computer model to predict the effects of projected temperature and precipitation changes on the plants that emit those pollens. Combining climate data with socioeconomic scenarios and correlating that with data from 1995 through 2014, they used the model to extrapolate pollen emissions for the last two decades of the 21st century.

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Pollen-induced respiratory allergies are getting worse with climate change, lead author Yingxiao Zhang, a U-M graduate student research assistant in climate and space sciences and engineering, said in a statement. Our findings can be a starting point for further investigations into the consequence of climate change on pollen and corresponding health effects.

In some places, pollen levels could triple, said the authors of the study.

Its a very solid piece of science, Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist and associate professor at Columbia University who was not involved in the study, told CNN. Looking at forecasting, particularly for both the high and low projections, its a very good indication of the kind of impact that climate change can directly have with respect to peoples health. I was impressed by the granularity of the study that it was looking at more on a very specific regional basis and also looking in regard to specific plant species.

The findings track with what allergy experts have been seeing for decades as later freezes and earlier blooms keep pollen production high for longer, said Kenneth Mendez, president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, a nonprofit organization.

We have later freezes  which basically kill off ragweed pollen  and earlier springtimes, and more intense release of tree pollen, Mendez told the Daily News. Weve already seen the growing season double since 1970.

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Compounding that is increased ground-level ozone, fueled by air pollution that drives increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which contributes to rising temperatures, he said. CO2, in turn, fuels tree pollen growth, he said.

When you add to that the increased carbon dioxide, that only intensifies the pollen release [to] create a steroid impact amplification on pollen releases, Mendez told the News.

Moreover, increased allergies are more than a nuisance, Mendez cautioned. Allergies can trigger asthma, which afflicts more than 25 million Americans and kills more than 3,600 people per year. People need to know their triggers, and make sure they are managed. About 30% of the worlds children and 40% of American children suffer pollen allergies, Zhang told The Associated Press.

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Added to that is the environmental justice component  inequity means that people of color suffer the most, and will bear the brunt of such changes, he said.

Black Americans are three times more likely to die from asthma, five times more likely to be treated in emergency rooms for asthma, Mendez said. And Black women have the highest mortality rate of any ethnic group from asthma.

The hope, said study co-author Allison Steiner in the researchers statement, is that pollen emissions can be incorporated into air-quality forecasting models in future.

Pollen is something that is on peoples radar because it influences their daily lives if you are allergic, Steiner, a professor at the University of Michigan, told CNN. A huge component of the population is affected by these allergies, and people are really interested in understanding how [their allergies] might change so they can manage their symptoms better.
Key Takeaways

Airbnb's co-founders - Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk and his wife Elizabeth - are today committing to match up to $10 million in donations to Airbnb.org through March, in support of the effort to offer housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

To date, approximately 14,000 people across Europe have signed up to share their home with refugees since this program launched on February 28.

Two weeks ago, Airbnb and Airbnb.org announced that Airbnb.org will offer free, short-term housing to up to 100,000 refugees fleeing Ukraine. These stays will be funded by Airbnb, Inc., donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund, and the generosity of Hosts through Airbnb.org.

Today, to further support Airbnb.orgs important work, Airbnbs co-founders  Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk and his wife Elizabeth  are personally committing to match up to $10 million in donations to the organization, beginning today through March 31, 2022.

Brian, Joe, Nate and Elizabeth have been inspired by the eagerness of the Airbnb community to get involved in Airbnb.orgs effort to provide housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine. To date, more than 21,500 people around the world have signed up to share their home with refugees since this program launched on February 28  including 14,000 across Europe, where the need for Airbnb.org Hosts is currently the greatest. More than a quarter of these people were not existing Hosts on Airbnb.

In the past two weeks, Airbnb.org has also received more than $5.2 million in small-dollar, direct donations from a total of more than 59,000 individual donors across 92 countries. Airbnb and its founders have contributed $17 million so far to Airbnb.org to help cover costs associated with providing stays for refugees fleeing Ukraine, and Airbnb employees have donated a total of more than $625,000 to support Airbnb.orgs effort as well as other nonprofits working on the ground in Ukraine. The Utah Jazz Foundation is working with Airbnb.org to provide more than 32,200 nights of temporary housing to refugees fleeing Ukraine.

Airbnb.org is working with partners across Europe to begin connecting refugees fleeing Ukraine to housing, including the International Organization for Migration, as well as the government of Germany.

Anyone who is interested in supporting Airbnb.orgs initiative to help refugees fleeing Ukraine can go to airbnb.org/help-ukraine to get involved, including by participating in this matching campaign or offering free or discounted stays.

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals across over 220 countries and regions. Travel on Airbnb keeps more of the financial benefits of tourism with the people and places that make it happen. Airbnb has generated billions of dollars in earnings for Hosts, most of whom are individuals listing the homes in which they live. Among Hosts who report their gender, more than half are women, and one in five employed Hosts are either teachers or healthcare workers. Travel on Airbnb also has generated more than $4 billion in tax revenue around the world. Airbnb has helped advance more than 1,000 regulatory frameworks for short-term rentals, including in 80% of our top 200 geographies. In late 2020, to support our continued expansion and diversification, we launched the City Portal to provide governments with a one-stop shop that supports data sharing and compliance with local registration rules. We continue to invest in innovations and tools to support our ongoing work with governments around the world to advance travel that best serves communities.

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
Let the music move you. W Hotels Worldwide, part of Marriott Bonvoys portfolio of 30 extraordinary hotel brands, today announces a collaboration with Cercle, the renowned French music media company known for producing some of the most jaw-dropping performances ever staged. Through a series of livestreamed concerts, exclusive moments, and Cercle Records parties at and around W Hotels across the globe, W and Cercle will celebrate the compelling, emotional connection between music and travel.

Monolink live at Gaatafushi Island, in the Maldives for Cercle and W Hotels

Music is a universal language and powerful source of memory, said Carly Van Sickle, Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing, W Hotels. It can instantly transport you back to a time and place, which is why sound has always been such an important part of the W Hotels experience. As the world opens up, were excited to team with the visionaries at Cercle to inspire people to travel, dance together and explore the world once more.

From the Great Pyramids of Giza to a hot air balloon above Cappadocia and Glacier 3000 in the Swiss Alps, Cercle honors cultural heritage sites and landmarks through electronic music and video. W and Cercle will continue this legacy by celebrating five W destinations throughout 2022. At each stop, Cercle will stage one of their iconic livestreams at a cultural landmark, with W playing host to an in-person party at a nearby W Hotel.

The World is Our Stage: The W Hotels x Cercle Lineup

W Hotels x Cercle Soundtrack: W Goa + Jatayu Earths Center, Kerala, India

W Hotels x Cercle launched the series on March 5 with a Cercle Records Live Experience on the breathtaking beaches of W Goa. Artists included Colyn, Teho, W Goa Music Curator Ayush Avo, and Cercle Duo Phil & Derek. On March 7, a set by Colyn was livestreamed from Jatayu Earths Center in Kerala, India - a park which sits 1200 feet above sea level and features the worlds largest bird sculpture, a representation of the Hindu demi-god Jatayu who took the form of an eagle. The livestreamed performance can be viewed here.

W Hotels x Cercle Soundtrack: W Amman + Petra, Jordan

Today, W Hotels x Cercle announce they are heading to Jordan for a livestreamed performance by Bedouin at the archaeological wonder of Petra on March 21. That evening, W Amman will play host to a Cercle Records Live Experience featuring performances by Bedouin and Sebastien Leger. A Cercle Story with Emmit Fenn will be filmed atop the W Amman helipad two days later and livestreamed. For event tickets or to book a stay at W Amman, click here.

W Hotels x Cercle Soundtrack: ?, ?, ?

As with all Cercle shows, things are kept under wraps until several weeks before the music starts. The final three W Hotel destinations, cultural landmarks, and performers will be announced through both brands social media channels as well as on the W Hotels website .

For more information and to reserve your once-in-a-lifetime musical journey with W Hotels, please visit theangle.whotels.com/cercle. All Cercle performances are livestreamed on Facebook @cerclemusic and Twitch @cerclemusic; relive all performances on Cercles YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date with the latest and find exclusive, behind-the-scenes content on Instagram at @whotels and @cerclemusic. For more information, visit w-hotels.marriott.com and cercle.io.

About Marriott International

Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of nearly 8,000 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 139 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy, its highly-awarded travel program. For more information, please visit our website at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com. In addition, connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram.
The company is expanding in both the US and UK, as hotel owners look for conversion solutions backed up by best-in-class distribution and revenue management.

CEO Thomas Magnuson said: Jeremie will oversee the daily operations of Magnuson Hotels as well as promoting the company culture and vision."

As we grow, hell bring a fresh pair of eyes and his many years of experience in the hotel industry to bear. Jeremie has excellent management skills and the right temperament for the job and were thrilled to promote him as we help more owners achieve the best possible performance for their hotels.

Dardard is based in the UK, and has been with Magnuson for four years, most recently as global head of corporate revenue strategy. He said: What I like the most about Magnuson is the culture. There is no politics and that is very rare."

We have been signing hotels throughout the pandemic and been beating record after record with performance, but there is still more to achieve. I believe that owners are increasingly drawn to our model, which offers standards without standardization and no costly PIPs to join our growing portfolio.

Magnuson Hotels is expanding across its brands, including an increased focus on franchising in the USA.

The group signed 80 hotel agreements in 2021, in the US and UK and reported a 40.5% increase in RevPAR (revenue per available room) in 2021 for its Independent Collection over same period 2019.

Magnuson said: As the industry enters a bumpy recovery phase, we anticipate a strong growth pipeline in 2022 as Magnuson focusses on capturing essential business in local markets and helping upper-economy and midscale hotels reposition to higher revenue segments.

About Magnuson Hotels

Magnuson Hotels is a global flag which offers a variety of routes to market for owners, both branded and unbranded, at a fraction of the cost of traditional franchises, underpinned by the Magnuson Cloud, a comprehensive technology solution which includes global distribution. Magnuson Hotels never requires renovations, but insists upon an aggregate review score to meet guest expectations. Learn more at www.magnusonhotelsworldwide.com

Magnuson Hotels press information and images:

Emily Newman or Katherine Doggrell at NewDog PR [email protected] or [email protected]

Thomas Magnuson

Chief Executive Officer

+1 509 994 2048

Magnuson
Franklin, Tenn. - Quore, the leading provider of workflow management and productivity tools for hotels, today introduced new features to its Cleanings Plus application as the company reaches a milestone of serving 5,000 hotels. The expanded application includes new functionality that will help executive housekeepers balance workloads and staffing needs more accurately, drive efficiency into hotel operations and create a better guest experience as the hospitality industry begins to bounce back from pandemic lows.

As the hospitality industry gets back on its feet, Quore is expanding support for our customers to create more efficiency, said Scott Schaedle, Founder and CEO of Quore. Our goal has always been to provide innovation that inspires others to deliver the best guest service possible. Its gotten us here to 5,000 hotels and the improvements we are driving into Cleanings Plus will continue to provide our customers more supportive resources and options so they can assemble the best team to service their guests.

The hospitality industry was deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Hotel & Lodging Association reported that in 2020, hotel room revenue fell by nearly 50% across the U.S. and it is projected to take 15 quarters to recover, which is Q1 2024. Quore remained committed to its customers, offering specialized programs and support to help customers navigate business operations in a time of crisis. Quore retained 80% of its customers in 2020 and it experienced 34% year-over-year customer growth from 2020 to 2021. The new Cleanings Plus features will enable its growing customer base to drive more efficiency into daily processes, continue to grow business and create better experiences for hotel guests.

Quores Cleanings Plus application uses real-time, cloud-based technology that automates notifications and tracks cleaning performance. Until now, cleaning progress has been tracked by the time it takes to complete a room cleaning. Quores new features provide users with a second option to track progress in creditsunits that are weighted by room size and cleaning type, such as stayover, deep clean, etc. This enhancement enables executive housekeepers to create a more accurate and customizable measurement for housekeeping efficiency, determine staffing needs and equally distribute workloads.

Quore has allowed our properties to push efficiency even further throughout our entire team, said Dev Patel, Co-Founder at Mission Hospitality. Each property is unique in its staffing and service model, but Quore enabled us to streamline operations throughout our portfolio by allowing fluid communication amongst the front desk, engineering and housekeeping team. The housekeeping team is able to communicate to the front desk when a room is guest-ready and engineering is notified when a work order needs to be completed in real time, allowing property-wide communication without using cell phones or walkie-talkies. Cleanings Plus is highly customizable and has thorough reporting that helps visualize productivity and how that translates to our guests experience. The new capabilities better support the way we operate today and support growth in real-time.

Were incredibly proud to have reached this milestone and simultaneously be in a position to deliver product improvements for our customers, said Richard Bradbury, Vice President of Product at Quore. This new functionality empowers our customers to add a deeper layer of quality optimization that will lead to better time management across every level of housekeeping operations and create better guest experiences as these hotels start to reach capacity once again.

Beyond the option to use credits as a unit of measure, Cleanings Plus now also features new reports, including Productivity Report By Credits Assigned, Minutes Per Occupied Room (MPOR) Variance By Room Type, Cleaning Times By Room Type, Minutes Variance By Room Type, and an automated End of Breakout Report generated and emailed to the propertys general manager, assistant manager, operations manager and executive housekeeper at the end of each breakout.

To learn more about the expanded Cleanings Plus features, visit https://www.quore.com/products/cleanings-plus/.

About Quore

Quore is an award-winning, cloud-based hotel operations solution, supporting hotels of any size to be more efficient and improve guest experiences. Founded in 2012, Quore manages all aspects of the guest experience, including preventative maintenance, guest requests and complaints, work orders, housekeeping and workforce/shift communication. Quore's software is used by more than 5,000 hotels, including hotels from the industry's largest brands, like IHG, Marriott, Hilton and Choice. The Tennessee based company is privately owned and was named one of America's Best Startup Employers by Forbes.

Katie Adgent

Media Contact

+1 615 551 8166
LOS ANGELES - The Standard Hotels and Bunkhouse Hotels, part of Standard International, joined BLLAs distinguished program for authentic boutique and lifestyle hotels. CEO of Standard International, Amber Asher, also rejoins the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association as an Advisory Board member for 2022.

Through BLLAs vetted application process, the following properties were accepted into the exclusive program:

The Standard, Bangkok Mahanakhon - Bangkok, Thailand, The Standard, East Village - New York, USA, The Standard, High Line - New York, USA, The Standard, Hua Hin - Hua Hin, Thailand, The Standard, Ibiza - Ibiza, Spain, The Standard, London - London, England, The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives - Huruvalhi, Maldives, The Standard Spa, Miami Beach - Florida, USA, Austin Motel - Texas, USA, Carpenter Hotel - Texas, USA, Hotel Havana - Texas, USA, Hotel Magdalena - Texas, USA, Hotel Saint Cecilia - Texas, USA, Hotel San Cristobal Baja - Todos Santos, Mexico, Hotel San Jose - Texas, USA, Phoenix Hotel - San Francisco, USA, Shady Villa Hotel - Texas, USA.

BLLAs Founder & CEO, Frances Kiradjian, and Partner & COO, Ariela Kiradjian, are honored to welcome The Standard Hotels to the boutique community. We warmly welcome all the individual Standard and Bunkhouse properties into the BLLA family to be promoted as a cherry-picked hotel on our StayBoutique booking site which follows a direct-booking procedure to the hotels PMS and additionally, a live chat feature for travelers coming to the site to book their hotel stays, stated Frances Kiradjian. Additionally, the properties will be promoted to all the global travel advisors who follow BLLA directly or through one of our divisions.

We have a very special relationship with Amber Asher and are excited to have her rejoin the 2022 Board of Directors bringing her invaluable experience and insight to BLLA members and the global community, stated Ariela Kiradjian who leads the BLLA Board and Committees.

Amber Asher, who will continue her term on the BLLA Board of Advisors, states for The Standard, boutique means design forward hotels that serve as community driven cultural hubs and social destinations. Defined by creativity, authentic hospitality and sense of place, we build teams and find local ambassadors to maintain uniqueness and individuality, maintain a common thread for guests and loyalists, and embrace local cultures. Our unconventional approach promotes a certain kind of freedom, where guests are immersed in our unique approach to lifestyle. We are not for everyone, but everyone is welcome.

Standard International will unite with the best in boutique to continue the global mission of BLLA which is:

To counteract corporate monotony and champion creativity. To forget the forgettable and forge the once-in-a-lifetime. To break down doors and link the most brilliant minds in the industry. To build on our now 10-year legacy of reimagining the multifaceted future of boutiquetogether.

About the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA)

Founded in 2009, the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) is the official association for the world's top visionaries in the boutique lifestyle industry. Membership with the BLLA includes not just a strengthened sense of communityit offers all the resources necessary for small and independent businesses to thrive in this growing sector, including access to distribution channels, marketing tools, webinars, white papers, reports about the evolving boutique landscape, and more. The organization promotes connection, education, and advocacy. As a pioneer in forecasting the boutique movement, the BLLA's network has grown beyond its hotel foundation to welcome more passionate entrepreneurs, businesses, and purveyors that amplify the boutique lifestyle. BLLA is a catalyst for trends and the future of boutique. blla.org

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ROCKVILLE, Md. - Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, today announced its Suburban Extended Stay Hotel brand is getting a new look. Rebranded as Suburban Studios, the next-generation product builds on Suburban's longtime commitment to providing travelers with simple, enjoyable accommodations, while offering growth-minded hotel owners the opportunity to reposition their property into the high-performing economy extended stay segment.

"When we added Suburban, one of the first extended stay brands on the market, to our portfolio nearly two decades ago, we did so with the intent of fulfilling an emerging need in the industry for hotel owners and longer-staying guests. Today, the travel landscape has evolved with demand for extended stay products at an all-time high, and our commitment to innovating new ways to drive value for our franchisees and guests remains," said Patrick Pacious, president and CEO, Choice Hotels. "The modernization of Suburban signals that the brand is poised for growth, and that Choice is dedicated to expanding its foothold in the extended stay segment with the best investment opportunity for franchisees and experience for guests."

In addition to its low-cost, flexible conversion model, Suburban Studios offers several benefits to help savvy developers diversify their portfolios and take advantage of growing opportunities within the highly sought-after extended stay segment, including:

Turnkey development support and flexible prototypes to bring projects to market quickly.

An efficient operating model to help keep hotels easy and affordable to run.

Proprietary kitchen-in-a-box design and modular building options, designed to streamline the repositioning process.

Operational, training, marketing, and technology programs, tools and resources tailored to the unique aspects of extended stay.

Support from a dedicated conversion sales team with proprietary site scoring tool to identify markets with the highest return on investment.

"Economy extended stay has always been a developer favorite because of the category's demonstrated resiliency and returns, but the fact remains: there is a significant imbalance between demand and current market supply. So, when our development community asked for another product to capitalize on this industry white space more efficiently, we listened," said David Pepper, chief development officer, Choice Hotels. "The refreshed Suburban Studios offers an industry-first opportunity for owners to transform existing assets in transient markets into an extended stay property backed by the segment leader in Choice Hotels, while also providing exactly what guests want during longer stays."

Designed to appeal to extended stay travelers of today and tomorrow, Suburban Studios provides a "Welcome Home" experience strategically optimized for longer-term guests, including:

Clean, spacious guestrooms equipped with extra space needed to unwind and relax or to catch up on some work.

In-room kitchens with all the essentials to cook like you are at home.

Modern design and friendly service.

The flexibility to book longer stays on the go.

"Suburban Studios is all about delivering the basics in a better way  for guests and franchisees," said Anna Scozzafava, vice president and general manager, extended stay, Choice Hotels. "As longtime leaders in the extended stay segment, Choice knows what travelers want most during extended periods away from home and the next generation of Suburban delivers on precisely that with its "Longer Stays Made Easy" promise of all the comforts of home at a welcoming price point."

Choice Hotels currently has more than 70 Suburban Extended Stay properties in its portfolio, with plans to open the first Suburban Studios hotel in Chicago, Illinois later this year. In addition, more than 27 Suburban Studio hotels are in the development pipeline.

For more information on development opportunities, visit choicehotelsdevelopment.com/

About Suburban Studios

Suburban Studios, a next generation extended stay product from Choice Hotels, offers developers access to the extended stay category through flexible conversion options. Suburban's Longer Stays Made Easy philosophy provides value-conscious, long staying guests with friendly service and clean, spacious guestrooms equipped with in-room kitchens. Guests have access to free high-speed internet, 24/7 laundry facilities and bi-weekly housekeeping. There are more than 70 Suburban Extended Stay Hotels open, with 27 Suburban Studios in the pipeline. For more information, visit choicehotelsdevelopment.com/brands/#suburban.

About Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With more than 7,000 hotels, representing nearly 600,000 rooms, in 35 countries and territories as of December 31, 2021, the Choice family of hotel brands provides business and leisure travelers with a range of high-quality lodging options from limited service to full-service hotels in the upscale, midscale, extended-stay and economy segments. The award-winning Choice Privileges loyalty program offers members benefits ranging from everyday rewards to exceptional experiences. For more information, visit www.choicehotels.com.

 2022 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.

SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statement

This communication includes "forward-looking statements" about future events, including anticipated hotel openings. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including construction delays, availability and cost of financing and the other "Risk Factors" described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, any of which could cause actual results to be materially different from our expectations.

Addendum

This is not an offering. No offer or sale of a franchise will be made except by a Franchise Disclosure Document first filed and registered with applicable state authorities. A copy of the Franchise Disclosure Document can be obtained through contacting Choice Hotels International at 1 Choice Hotels Circle, Suite 400, Rockville, MD 20850, [email protected].

 2022 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Amanda Allen

Choice
Hotel workers deserve to have the confidence that they are operating in a safe environment. Providing safety and security to hotel staff is getting even more difficult with fewer workers on property, making it even more important to have a plan in place in case of an emergency. Fortunately, technology is available to help protect hotel workers regardless of who is on property  and depending on your hotels location, it may become mandatory soon.

In 2018, the American Hotel & Lodging Association was joined by several hotel leaders in signing the 5-Star Promise, a voluntary commitment to bolster policies, resources, and training to improve employee safety, including an investment in worker safety devices. This commitment was originally scheduled to go into effect by the end of 2020, but the deadline has been extended considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, hotels that have committed to the 5-Star Promise are expected to fulfill their commitment by the end of 2022, and the requirements are beginning to spill out into other cities and states that have chosen to pass their own independent safety mandates. Illinois passed a statewide act requiring employee safety buttons in January 2020, while hotels in Washington State were expected to adopt this technology by the end of 2021. Other cities such as Chicago, Sacramento, and Miami Beach have followed through with their own ordinances and requirements for installing safety buttons.

These new mandates are becoming more common each year in major cities across the U.S., and pressure may force national requirements in time. For these reasons, and to protect their workers, hotels should prepare to adopt a tech solution for employee safety.

Protecting Yourself

The how behind addressing worker safety has been a concern in hospitality for many years. Hotel workers are not assets to be tracked and micromanaged by an invisible software; they should instead be empowered by technology to protect themselves in the event of a crisis. As a result, the industry has embraced safety buttons for their ability to give workers a way to always protect themselves.

When activated, safety buttons send alerts to hotel operators as well as the relevant authorities. From there, the technology can track a workers location movements in real time to relay this information to responders. This way, the technology retains the ability to track worker movements in the event of an emergency, without snooping on their location during day-to-day activities. Advanced systems can even provide reporting on each e-alert to improve response times and potentially identify security vulnerabilities.

Hotels must demonstrate the value their employees represent by always ensuring their protection. The reason panic button technology works so well in hospitality is that it provides worker protection and oversight without infringing on their personal space. These buttons enable hotel workers to provide the service and high-level interactions that make hotels so successful with the knowledge that support can arrive at a moments notice. Workers take note when employers act and provide self-governance over safety sends a positive message.

Small Barriers

Hotels are using the rebuilding period brought on by the pandemic to invest in massive infrastructure shifts, changing the way their hotels handle check-in, manage operations, and interact with guests. An investment in worker safety buttons is nowhere near as significant as these massive shifts and are necessary to fulfill safety obligations.

To deploy reliable, effective safety buttons across your hotel requires the installation of location beacons able to relay information from individual buttons to a centralized system. From there, the most important element in a successful deployment of employee safety technology is a consistent, fast internet connection and cloud-based hosting in the event of a network outage. The best way to fulfill these obligations is for hotels to meet with technology partners to ensure their properties have taken the necessary steps to support safety technology.

Operating in the industry right now is extremely strenuous and adding a new process onto that can seem like an insurmountable challenge. However, implementing safety buttons does not require infrastructure, time, or a massive shift to IT. An investment into worker safety pays more than revenue, it can ease the minds of operators.

Promise Keeper

Technology is only one part of a comprehensive safety plan, which is substantiated by training for what to do in the event of a crisis and ongoing reinforcement. The AH&LAs 5-Star Promise additionally mandates anti-sexual harassment policies, education, and training for employees to help spot and report instances of sexual harassment, and partnerships with national and local organizations to help promote worker safety.

The 5-Star Promise was signed by the hotel industry four years ago, and since then strides in the sophistication and affordability of worker safety technology have made them a natural part of operating in the industry. Addressing this issue has become even more critical as staff sizes shrink and worker accountability increases.

The pandemic has shifted the timetable for the adoption of worker safety technology, but now the clock is ticking. The AH&LA is unlikely to release a second extension amid an ongoing labor crisis, and hotel workers need the reassurance that their leaders are watching out for them. Fortunately, there are many quick, easy, and effective ways to comply with the 5-Star Promise and protect hotel workers with confidence. The tools are here, and they are saving lives.

About React Mobile

Founded in 2013, React Mobile is a global leader in providing panic button solutions for hotels. Our best-in-class hospitality safety platform helps hotels keep their employees safe. The React Mobile system is an open and flexible platform that allows management to deploy response resources to the exact location of an emergency within seconds of an alert, getting help to where it's needed anywhere on or off property. In an emergency quick response times are essential and React Mobile provides the tools for a rapid response. For more information, visit www.reactmobile.com.

Barbara Worcester

PRPRO

4409305770

React Mobile
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that it charged Crosby ISD and its former chief financial officer with misleading investors about the financial condition of school district as it sold $20 million in bonds in 2018.

The SEC charged that the school district and former CFO Carla Merka knowingly included false and misleading statements about the districts finances when it offered the bonds in January 2018, falsely claiming $5.4 million in general fund reserves and failing to report $11.7 million in construction and payroll liabilities. Seven months later, the SEC said, the district disclosed its financial woes, acknowledging a deficit that led to downgrade of Crosby ISDs bonds by rating agencies.

The financial problems also led to the layoffs or departures of more than 100 employees in the fall of 2018.

The SEC is committed to holding bad actors in municipal securities offerings accountable for their misconduct and will continue to provide protections for investors, David Peavler, regional director of the SECs Fort Worth Regional Office, said in a statement.

The SEC also charged the school districts former auditor, Shelby Lackey with unprofessional conduct. Crosby ISD, Merka and Lackey all agreed to settlements with the SEC, without admitting wrongdoing.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Crosby ISD ends financial emergency, works to create sustainable budget

Merka, now chief financial officer of Pasadena ISD, will be required to pay $30,000 and is barred from involvement in municipal bonds in the future, the SEC said. Merka did not respond to requests for comment and has declined to comment on the controversy in the past. Deanna Powell, superintendent of Pasadena ISD, said Tuesday night she was not aware of the SEC charges against Merka.

Crosby and Merka misled municipal bond investors regarding the truth of Crosbys financial health, and Shelby Lackeys deficient auditing practices further exposed investors to harm, LeeAnn G. Gaunt, chief of the SECs Division of Enforcement's Public Finance Abuse Unit, said in a statement.

Lackey will be suspended from practicing before the SEC as an accountant for at least three years, the SEC said. The SEC charged that Lackey failed in several ways to perform her professional duties, including failing to perform procedures necessary to verify the accuracy of the school districts payroll and construction liabilities, failing to properly supervise the audit, and failing to obtain enough evidence to support the audit opinion.

Lackey could not be reached for comment.

Crosby ISD, which serves about 6,400 students, was charged administratively, meaning the charges were not brought in federal courts, the SEC said. The district will not face penalties or fines and will not have to admit to wrongdoing as the SEC enters an order finding the district violated anti-fraud provisions.

In a statement, Crosby ISD Superintendent Paula Patterson, who joined the district last year, said, Crosby ISD is glad to resolve this SEC investigation of a prior administrations actions, and the current board and administration are committed to being good stewards of our community's tax dollars for the benefit of our communitys children.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Auditors: Former Crosby ISD administrators did not monitor spending, hid cost overruns

Its relatively rare for school districts to be charge by the SEC for misleading investors in bond sales. The SEC has brought only about 20 actions against school districts, charter schools, colleges, universities, boards of education, or individuals with ties to schools, the agency said. Texas Education Agency officials said they were unaware of any previous instances in which the SEC charged a Texas school district or district CFO with misleading investors while floating bonds.

The districts financial problems were first discovered in June 2018, when former Superintendent Scott Davis, who was selected for the post in late May 2018, found cash-flow issues that dated back to 2017. Months later, independent auditors hired by Davis and the school board found that former Crosby ISD administrators, including Merka and former Superintendent Keith Moore, failed to keep track of construction spending from a $86.5 million bond approved by voters in 2013, and left out nearly $8 million in cost overruns from some 2017 financial statements.

Ultimately, the cost overruns swelled to $16.1 million more than was raised by the bond issue.

On July 24, 2017, the Crosby ISD's school board voted 4-2, with one trustee absent, to cover the cost overruns by issuing more bonds. Later that year, voters approved raising $109.5 million through a bond issue. The school district and Merka later made false and misleading statements as they sold $20 million of the bonds to investors in early 2018, the SEC charged.

In 2019, Moore, who led the district as the financial problems mounted, made a surprise appearance at a school board meeting. He said he was led to believe that financial maneuvering would allow the district to finish its 2013 bond projects as promised, but he realized in summer 2017 the district could be heading toward financial peril.

"I don't blame you for being angry with me or upset with me; I'll take it," Moore told dozens of community members at the meeting. "I can honestly go to my grave knowing I did not lie; I did not try to hide things or do things wrong. I just did a very bad job."

Ultimately, Moores successor, Davis, cut $5.5 million in payroll and ordered all departments to cut budgets by 10 percent. Thirty-four teachers and contract employees, campus employees and administrators were laid off. Twenty-three teachers resigned or retired. More than 45 at-will employees, including bus drivers, custodians and paraprofessionals, also were laid off.

Kris McGinty, whose family has lived in Crosby for three generations, said it will be hard for residents to trust the district if it seeks another bond issue. Friendships were ruined as people argued over whom to blame for the debacle, he said. More than 100 people lost jobs or income as a result, McGinty added, yet those directly involved escaped with relatively minor consequences.

Id rather it be more harsh he said. To me, that was dishonest and completely unethical.

shelby.webb@chron.com
Independent proxy advisory firms have taken opposing sides in a battle for power that will be decided next week at Huntsman Corp., the Houston-area chemical company run by the prominent family of the same name.

Conflicting recommendations made by Glass Lewis and ISS set up a difficult choice for shareholders, who are scheduled to vote for directors during the companys annual meeting March 25.

Allegations of underperformance and poor management are at the heart of the proxy contest launched in January by Starboard Value, a New York hedge fund and well-known activist investor. While Huntsman shifts its portfolio to meet changing demands for its products, Starboard and its supporters say it isnt happening fast enough.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Power battle at Huntsman heats up, with activist investor Starboard raising the stakes

Starboard can count ISS among its backers, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that said the firm favors two of Starboards board picks  former LyondellBasell CEO James Gallogly and Starboard CEO Jeffrey Smith.

The dissident has made a compelling case for further change, ISS said in the filing. In combination with other independent voices already on the board, the addition of these two dissident nominees should be sufficient to ensure independent oversight of management and ensure that the interests of shareholders are prioritized.

It said the board failed to evolve after CEO Peter Huntsman was named chairman in 2018, just before the death of his father, company founder Jon Huntsman Sr., and the board did not hold management accountable to the extent that shareholders would have preferred.

Glass Lewis, on the other hand, recommends that shareholders vote for all of Huntsmans nominees. It said the companys recent financial performance shows that the company is on the right track and, ultimately, we fail to see a compelling case for change.

The company is in the midst of shifting its product mix toward higher-margin materials used in aerospace and wind energy industries, such as composites used to make wind turbines.

Despite pandemic headwinds in the aerospace and automotive sectors and soaring energy costs, the company made $597 million in the last three months of the past year, a 74 percent increase from the $343 million it made during the same period in 2020. Revenue jumped 38 percent to $2.31 billion from $1.67 billion in the last quarter of 2020.

Replacing any of our directors with Starboard nominees would disrupt our continued progress and put our momentum and success at risk, the company said Tuesday in a statement. Starboard did not respond to a request for comment.

While Glass Lewis said its happy with the January additions of former Eastman Chemical executive Curtis Espeland and Hyundai Motor Co. Chief Operating Officer Jose Munoz to the board, ISS said they were appointed only after Starboard began its activist push. Given the timeline, it appears that the dissident deserves a portion of the credit for prompting these changes, it said.

Both firms questioned whether the current board was able to think independently of Peter Huntsman and his family, Starboard said. Still, Glass Lewis said Huntsman is in the process of making meaningful improvements. It said it believes the current composition of the board aligns well with Huntsmans business portfolio, strategy and positive trajectory.

But ISS said there was room for improvement in free cash flow conversion and profit margin since the company began to shift its portfolio in 2017.

The notoriously aggressive Starboard, which has won seats at companies such as Yahoo, eBay and Papa Johns, owns about 8 percent of the company. CEO Huntsman and the familys J.K. Huntsman Foundation also own a combined 8 percent.

amanda.drane@chron.com
The Houston restaurant community that has stepped up to help humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine continues its efforts this week with new fundraising initiatives. Local bakers and a major restaurant chain have jumped in with programs that will help fund aid in the Ukrainian crisis:

Three Brothers Bakery: The iconic Houston bakery with three locations has created a sugar cookie iced with the colors of the Ukrainian flag for its initiative to help raise funds for relief efforts. For each $4.99 cookie sold, the bakery will donate half the proceeds to a fundraiser by the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. The Jewish Federations of north America are collectively trying to raise $20 million to help with relief efforts. Walk-in sales in addition to special orders and shipping are available.
Vice President Kamala Harris husband, Doug Emhoff, tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday.

Though Harris tested negative, she canceled a Tuesday night appearance out of an abundance of caution, her office said in a statement.

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Both Harris and Emhoff have received three doses of a COVID vaccine.

Doug Emhoff at a panel discussion during a March 11 visit to Mi Casa Resource Center in Denver. (Jason Connolly/AP)

My symptoms are mild and Im grateful to be both vaccinated and boosted, Emhoff wrote in a tweet. If you have yet to get vaccinated and boosted, please dont wait.

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Harris will be tested multiple times in upcoming days, according to her office. She was supposed to participate in an Equal Pay Day event at the White House on Tuesday. The COVID results came in minutes before the event.

Former President Barack Obama announced Sunday that he also had tested positive for the virus.
Champagne corks popped at some of the citys top restaurants and bars as the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its 2022 awards.

With Houston still basking in the culinary limelight brought by the ongoing Top Chef series set in the Bayou City, the prestigious Beard award nominations provided even more reason for the city to celebrate its melting pot food culture.

After two years of not having the awards  2020 and 2021 were skipped amid the pandemic and an internal foundation controversy  and a disastrous 2019 season when local chefs and restaurants failed to score a single nomination for what is often called the Oscars of the food world, Houston triumphed Wednesday with finalists in major categories including three chefs up for Best Chef Texas.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: Houston scores multiple James Beard Award finalist nominations

Its like a dream. I cant contain myself, said bar owner Alba Huerta, whose Julep on Washington Avenue scored a nomination for Outstanding Bar Program. Its our first year nominated, so theres a lot of emotions. The struggles of coming back to work from the pandemic are still real. To have this recognition is wonderful. Its a recognition for Houston. We love this city.

Julie Soefer / Julie Soefer

As the finalists were announced via Twitter, Alba found herself in the elite circle and called her friend, pastry chef Ruben Ortega, to offer her congratulations at his nomination as Outstanding Pastry Chef. Ortega, the pastry chef for H-Town Restaurant Group, said he had forgotten about the finalist announcement.

I was looking at my phone because Alba was calling. I was wondering whats going on. It caught me by surprise, said Ortega for his first-time nomination for his work at the Oaxacan-inspired Xochi restaurant downtown where his Mexican chocolate desserts include a cocoa pod that diners break open at the table. Im overwhelmed and so very proud.

Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Ortega said he wanted to pop a bottle of champagne but realized he had none at home that was already chilled. Im waiting for it to cool down, he said with a laugh.

For his brother and sister-in-law, chef Hugo Ortega and restaurateur Tracy Vaught, Wednesday was also a joyous day. Their flagship Hugos restaurant was tapped as a finalist for one of Beards top awards, Outstanding Hospitality, a category that recognizes the highest standards of restaurant service in the nation.

Gary Fountain, Houston Chronicle / Contributor

Its an award for the very thing we all try to achieve. All restaurants and service businesses in general want to be hospitable, welcoming, and warm, said Vaught, who along with Hugo Ortega (a James Beard winner for Best Chef Southwest in 2017) operate the restaurant group that includes Hugos, Backstreet Cafe, Caracol, Xochi and Urbe. Hospitality is what we all strive for. There are days we get it wrong. Its a continuous effort. Its never perfect. Youre always trying to get as close to correct as you can.

Vaught was quick to credit director of operations Carlos Neri for the finalist nod. Neri, she said, worked his way up from busboy to general manager at Hugos.

MORE FROM GREG MORAGO: Here are the Houston restaurants helping in the Ukraine humanitarian crisis

Chris Williams, chef/owner of Lucilles restaurant in the Museum District, wasnt even in town when he learned he was nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur. On vacation in Portugal, he said his phone began lighting up fire emojis from friends and colleagues congratulating him for his work at the 10-year-old restaurant named for his maternal great-grandmother, culinary pioneer Lucille Bishop Smith. The Outstanding Restaurateur nomination isnt just a major coup for Lucilles, it also recognizes the philanthropic work of Lucilles 1913, the nonprofit foundation that Williams founded to help feed underserved Houston communities.

Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Its a tribute to the team, he said. Its a group effort.

For the first time, the Beard awards will include a new category, Best Chef Texas, recognizing the work of chefs in the Lone Star State who traditionally competed in the Best Chef Southwest category along with chefs from New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. The Best Chef Texas category was created in 2019, although James Beard has yet to make awards in that field.

Out of a long semifinals list chock full of Houston hopefuls, three chefs emerged as finalists for Best Chef Texas: the team of Christine Ha and Tony J. Nguyen of Xin Chao, and Quy Hoang, the celebrated pitmaster of Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire.

J.R. Cohen / J.R. Cohen

For Ha, the Houstonian who was the first blind contestant on the cooking competition MasterChef, which she won in 2012, the Beard nomination was bittersweet. She returned to Houston Tuesday after a trip to Vietnam for a memorial service for her father, who died in January. Tired, a little groggy, and full of emotion, Ha said she expected the worst and hoped for the best on Wednesday. But she and chef/partner Nguyen pulled out the nomination.

Im just really proud. Its very hard work. Im just one of thousands of people who are doing the daily grind, said the chef who operates The Blind Goat and the modern Vietnamese restaurant Xin Chao, which she opened with Nguyen in 2020. Being a woman of color and a disability, it means even more to me to break that barrier.

Karen Warren/Staff photographer

Its putting a sharp lens on Houston and showing the rest of the nation that maybe the Michelin Guide needs to come here next, she added.

Hoang was already at work manning the smokers at Blood Bros. when he got word of his nomination.

Its surreal. Even when I made the semifinalist list, we never thought wed make any kind of list, he said. I dont have culinary training, so I dont consider myself a chef. We started this thing cooking and having fun, and its grown into something really awesome.

That thing obviously impressed Beard judges who tapped the pitmaster for his work with partners Terry and Robin Wong in creating distinctive, Asian-style barbecue that reflects Houstons foodways. Blood Bros., which opened in Bellaire in December 2018, struck a chord not just here but nationally: the partners opened an outpost in a snazzy Las Vegas casino last summer.

I think barbecue has grown so much. Everything is elevated. Its not just brisket, ribs and sausage: People are doing composed dishes using smoked meats. It shows the diversity of what barbecue can be, Hoang said.

The Houston finalists  winners will be announced June 13 in Chicago  bring culinary distinction back to the city still struggling with the restaurant industry disruptions brought by the pandemic. The awards program itself also is emerging after a dark time of introspection.

After scrapping the 2020 awards, the Beard Foundation conducted an internal audit after accusations of lack of transparency and an absence of racial inclusion in its nominations and awards process. The foundation stated it heard calls from the restaurant community and the public for a more inclusive and transparent awards process that recognized broader issues within the restaurant industry including racial injustice and inequities. The audits objectives were to remove any system bias and increase diversity within the voting body.

Huerta said it was a time to celebrate. Theres a lot of good energy today. A lot of happy people, she said. Were going to throw a party in Chicago and have a good time.

greg.morago@chron.com
Houston restaurants and food professionals made an impressive showing when the finalists for the 2022 James Beard Awards, considered the nations top culinary honors, were announced Wednesday morning.

Chris Williams, chef/owner of Lucilles restaurant in the Museum District was named one of six finalists for Outstanding Restaurateur, a major score for the founder of Lucilles 1913, the Houston nonprofit that since the pandemic has created food distribution events to help feed people in the citys underserved communities.
HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake became the first hospital in the Bay Area to perform a minimally invasive peripheral lung biopsy using robotic assistance on March 1.

The procedure, designed to access the lung through natural openings like the mouth, enables doctors to sample tissue from difficult-to-reach areas. This in turn allows the earlier diagnosis of lung cancer, according to a statement from the hospital.

The technology allows us to go through the natural airways of the lung, so there is no puncturing of the lung tissue from the outside of the lining of the lung, said Dr. Alfred Maksoud, who performed the first two procedures at the hospital. It is a safer way to approach lesions that are in the periphery of the lung for patients who have fairly advanced underlying lung disease.

Previously, the preferred method to reach abnormal spots in the periphery of the lung was to use a live CT scan image and a needle, entering the chest wall and lung from outside the body. For some patients, this presented a risk of lung collapse. Visit HCAhoustonhealthcare.com/clear-lake to learn more.

Friendswood student graduates from UW

The University of Wyoming granted a bachelors of science in mechanical engineering to Adarsh Puthiya Parambath, of Friendswood, at the end of the fall 2021 semester.

Learn more about the school in Laramie at www.uwyo.edu.

UTMB names med school in honor of $1 billion donor

The University of Texas Medical Branch is naming its medical school in honor of 19th century Texas entrepreneur and philanthropist John Sealy and the foundation established decades after his death.

In the past 100 years, the Sealy & Smith Foundation has contributed more than $1 billion to UTMB, one of the largest cumulative contributions in history to an American institution, according to a statement from the school.

We are deeply grateful to John Sealy, his family and the Sealy & Smith Foundation for their role in establishing, sustaining and growing UTMB. They have always been committed to supporting health sciences education, medical research and clinical advances, with a vision rooted in the health of Galveston but also benefitting our state, nation and world, said Dr. Ben Raimer, UTMB president.

The Sealy familys contributions to UTMB and Galveston date back to 1884, when a bequest by the businessman and banker was dedicated to building the first John Sealy Hospital. Construction of the hospital played a critical role in the states decision to establish a medical school in Galveston, which would later become UTMB. Sealys descendants formed the Sealy & Smith Foundation in 1922 for the support of a charitable undertaking in the City of Galveston, Texas. The foundation is the largest single-entity contributor to a University of Texas System institution, according to a statement from UTMB Health. In 2010, it contributed $170 million toward construction of the $438 million Jennie Sealy Hospital. In 2015, the organization committed $100 million for a major interior and exterior modernization of the adjacent John Sealy Hospital.
In the fashion world, Ralph Lauren is likely one of the least offenders in the industry's failure to celebrate diversity. He has featured some models of color on the runways and in his campaigns. Still, there's always room to grow.

The designer known for shaping how we see American fashion with his Americana aesthetic is now reshaping the American Dream when it comes to fashion. This week, his Polo Ralph Lauren brand debuted a collaboration with two historically Black colleges - Morehouse (for men) and Spelman (for women), both in Atlanta - for a limited-edition collection inspired by the institutions' heritage and stylish tradition.

It's the brand's first-ever collegiate collaboration.

The collection debuted with Lauren's short film, "A Portrait of the American Dream," which tells the historical significance of HBCUs. The clothes are inspired by the colleges' historical photos and archives of students back through the 1920s.



But Lauren's new American Dream comes in the wake of tragedy - George Floyd's murder and the racial turmoil that ensued globally. Many companies rushed to address the lack of diversity in their own backyards, while attempting to prove to Black Americans that they were doing the right thing or, at least trying.

The latter is significant given the spending power of Black Americans, who are often an afterthought with big companies. Black people make up 14 percent of the population and earn about 60 cents for every dollar compared to white households, but have $1.3 trillion in buying power annually, according to Nielsen.

The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation last year pledged $2 million to support scholarships for students at Morehouse and Spelman colleges and 10 additional HBCUs through United Negro College Fund. It also pledged to expand recruitment efforts to include HBCU students for internships and staff positions.

"Ralph Lauren has always been a designer that Black culture has embraced," said Andrea Bonner, chair of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Houston Community College, who recalled buying her first Ralph Lauren Polo shirt as a teen. "I think it's good that Ralph Lauren recognizes the cultural significance of HBCUs, but I would like to have seen to him celebrate or further elevate the Black designers on his team who actually designed the collection."

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To that point, the press information for the collection mentions that it was "conceptualized and designed by Morehouse and Spelman alumni at Ralph Lauren," but there's no mention of any names.

The release also states this marks the first time the brand has produced a campaign with an all-Black crew, including its photographer, creative directors, cinematographer and talent  predominantly comprising students, faculty and alumni at both institutions. The release mentions by name acclaimed fashion photographer Nadine Ijewere, who shot the campaign.



There are 100 pieces, including white silk wrap dresses, which are part of the Spelman collection. Women at the college participate in a white-attire ceremony to celebrate becoming part of the Spelman sisterhood. As an homage to the Morehouse men, the collection features wool-flannel blazers, which reflect the garments bestowed to the young men during their first year on campus. There are also knits, outerwear, suits, shoes and accessories that capture the aesthetic worn by students from the 1920s through the 1950s.

The collection will be available in an exclusive presale for students, faculty and alumni to purchase on March 28, and open to the public on March 29.

According to the Washington Post, James Jeter, the company's design director and 2013 Morehouse graduate, help to educate Lauren about the fashion aesthetics of HBCUs, as well as Black college experience and the history of the "Divine Nine" Black sororities and fraternities.

He is the one credited with crafting this new American look. We should see his face and know his name.

Given Lauren's lack of knowledge about HBCUs prior to the collaboration, I can understand the feeling of cultural pandering. There's been no better time to come out with a Black-focused collaboration than now, as the nation grapples with its own race reckoning. No better time to capitalize on Black culture.

Shouldn't we expect more from brands than to have them take our culture and sell it back to us? Truth is, most Black people know about the legacy of HBCUs. There also have been a number of Black-owned brands inspired by the Black collegiate experience. But I can't imagine non-Black people buying the collection.

This could have been a ripe opportunity to truly celebrate Black designers by showcasing their faces with collection, elevating their talent and even launching an effort to nurture emerging designers with both financial and creative support.

"Ralph Lauren's legacy would have been more impactful if he had helped to pull up the next Ralph Lauren," Bonner said.

I suppose there's still time.
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South by Southwest, an annual festival celebrating film, interactive media and music, roared back into Austin last week after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to the usual conferences, panels and concerts, parties also bounced back  this year, with an unanticipated twist.

At previous SXSW events, flashing an official badge or pass guaranteed entry. Not anymore. Luxury brands including Chanel and Gucci hosted exclusive, invitation-only pop-ups that more closely resembled Hollywoods award season gifting suites or fashion week parties. Only celebrities, industry folk or influencers need apply.

On Music Lane, home to Austins recently opened Soho House  a members only club with outposts in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and all over Europe  Chanel celebrated the opening of Atelier Beaute Chanel, a one-of-a-kind beauty and fragrance workshop, with one of the weekends most Instagrammable parties.

The South Congress-area store itself is an extension of the flapship Atelier Beaute in New York and is now accessible to the public through April 24. For context, an Hermes boutique is opening up a few doors door later this spring.

To kick things off, influencers and industry leaders had first dibs to enjoy complimentary services and consultations with Chanel celebrity makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown and brow artist Jimena Garcia. Reiko Brown is a red carpet favorite; her clients include Lupita Nyong'o, Michael B. Jordan, Alicia Keys and Gabrielle Union.

On Friday, Houston transplants Kathleen Jennings, Erin OLeary Stewart, and Kristen Nix were among the first to experience Chanels branded beauty land.

Across town, Gucci and Bumble took over Sammies Italian Restaurant, an old-school eatery which took over the West Sixth District space previously occupied by Huts Hamburgers. On March 4, Gucci opened its first Austin location in The Domain.

Actresses Elle Fanning and Lena Headey cut striking figures inside the jammed-packed dining room. Fanning stunned in Gucci bralette and oversized faux-fur coat, accessories with a cowboy hat. Headey attempted to make a quiet entrance, but proved impossible to miss.

Martinis swirled. Sir Woman performed, also clad in Gucci. Houstons Gillian Sarofim, City Boots founder Lizzy Bentley and hotelier Liz Lambert were spotted in the crowd.

amber.elliott@chron.com
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The German Festival returns to its usual March timeslot this year, and with it brings the return of German exchange students to Tomball.

This is the first Tomball German Festival to be held in March since 2019, after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic and then held in June last year to match the postponement of the Houston Rodeo. It will be the 21st festival since it first began to raise money to send exchange students to Tomball from Telgte, Germany, Tomballs sister city.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Sam Houston Trail Riders welcomed in Tomball on way to Houston Rodeo

Telgte does most of the vetting of exchange student applicants for Tomball, German Festival General Manager Craig Bogner said. This year, four exchange students will be sent to Tomball in August and stay in town for almost an entire year, attending class at Tomball schools and staying with a host family.

We usually only take three (applicants) and this year they were like, we have four great applicants, and we said just send them, Bogner said. We havent had any in a couple years.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Honky Tonk Chili Challenge returning to downtown Tomball

Bogner said they still have to find host families who will be willing to take in the exchange students.

They treat them like theyre their own kids, Bogner said about host families. They go on vacation with them, they do everything with them. If theyve got chores to do, they do chores.

The festival itself will be free to attend, he said. Parking will also be free and free shuttle transportation will be provided for those not wanting to drive to the festival.

Four music stages will be set up at the festival grounds in the downtown streets of Tomball featuring mainly German-style music as well as dance groups. There will also be more than 200 vendors set up selling German food and other goods, as well as a carnival and a kids activity area.

Contests will be held for attendees as well, he said, including a beard contest, a yodeling contest and a stein-hoisting contest.

The German festival also hosts some of the lowest beer prices for a festival, Bogner said, at $6 for a 16-oz. beer.

$6 seems high but go to another festival and theyre $8 to $10, Bogner said.

The festival sees people coming in from all over the state, Bogner said, with most of the hotels seeing people stay overnight.

Were a young festival compared to some of the other ones, but we do alright, he said.

Bogner said the festival was important for celebrating the towns German roots and for bringing the community together.

Its important to have a community togetherness that we have around here and to be able to do and enjoy things close to home, he said.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Local businesses hitting the greenway for annual chamber golf tournament

The festival will run three days from March 25 to March 27 with shuttles provided from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. It kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday and will feature a parade at 11 a.m. Saturday followed by a tapping of the keg.

For more information and shuttle parking locations, visit www.tomballgermanfest.org.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
A fake soldier may have committed real crimes.

Sarah Jane Cavanaugh, 31, was charged Monday with using forged or counterfeited military discharge certificates, wire fraud, fraudulently holding herself out to be a medal recipient with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department said in a release.

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Cavanaugh, a Warwick, R.I., resident, presented herself as a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and stole about $250,000 from veterans charities while lying about having lung cancer. She claimed to have served between 2009 and 2016 and to have been wounded in both Iraq and Afghanistan. She also claimed to have received both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

US Marines (Shutterstock/Shutterstock)

She claimed to have been honorably discharged after achieving the rank of corporal.

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Employed at a Veterans Administration hospital in Providence, she used her work email to buy a Marine uniform as well as the medals.

She then submitted falsified military discharge documents, medical diagnosis, and medical bills to defraud a number of veterans charities and organizations, including HunterSeven, CreatiVets, Code of Support and Wounded Warrior. She also collected several thousand dollars through internet-based fundraising.

Among her falsehoods, Cavanaugh claimed to have been exposed to toxic fumes by burn pits while abroad and to have inhaled particulate after an IED went off.

According to military veterans news website Task & Purpose, Cavanaugh also joined her local VFW before abruptly resigning at the end of January.

Chelsey Simoni, executive director of the HunterSeven Foundation, told Task & Purpose, that Cavanaugh diverted financial resources from real combat veterans who are suffering from cancer.
Readers in this edition of the Chronicle were learning a little more about Capt. Gary L. Herod's sacrifice over southwest Houston the night before.

Herod had just left Ellington Air Base the night of March 15 for San Antonio when he reported engine trouble and was losing altitude.
Kim Ogg has frequently been at the podium in the lobby of 500 Jefferson during her tenure as Harris County district attorney, announcing aggressive and high-profile prosecutions  of corrupt cops involved in a botched raid, of executives at a chemical firm accused of allowing poisonous fumes to be released, of a doctor charged with stealing vaccine doses and giving them to his family.

But after those cases ended in quiet dismissals or high-profile losses, Ogg has found herself politically isolated and battling criticism on all sides as she strives to navigate a dysfunctional judicial system.

No one denies Ogg has had bad luck: a longstanding case backlog cemented into gridlock by Hurricane Harvey damage at the courthouse, a pandemic; inability to pry desired funds from county commissioners; rising crime; court settlements and judicial decisions beyond her control. But self-inflicted wounds have plagued her tenure and muted recognition of her achievements.

Ogg came into office as a progressive reformer in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. Shes promised, and delivered on, a number of reforms. Shes lost the backing of many who propelled her to office and say she hasnt fulfilled her campaign promises of reform and decarceration. At the same time shes battled headwinds from critics on the right, who say she is not tough enough on crime. The exoneration of an accused cop killer and prosecutions of officers have strained relations with police.

Shes turned into a politician and not a DA, said Dan Cogdell, a longtime defense attorney and former supporter, and not a very good politician.

Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Starting at a disadvantage

Courthouse veterans argue that Ogg has faced two unprecedented challenges: the destruction of the Harris County Criminal Justice Center during Hurricane Harvey and the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis at the courthouse forced prosecutors into offices spread across the county, rushing from impromptu courtroom to impromptu courtroom. The pandemic brought work to a crawl and caused the backlog of old cases to explode.

She had extraordinarily bad luck for things outside of her control, said Scott Durfee, who spent 32 years at the DAs office before retiring in June.

Defenders said the department never really recovered from those disasters. They argued that when Ogg took office as the first Democratic DA in 40 years, she entered a politicized office with a toxic work culture, and was subject to even more criticism than the office usually draws.

You get a lot of arrows shot at you in that position, said Grant Scheiner, past president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.

Defense attorney Jimmy Ardoin praised Oggs use of pretrial diversion  a system where those charged with crimes have cases dismissed after completing certain requirements  saying its been a great tool for resolving cases that doesnt give people a free pass.

Victims of crime say theyve found a vocal ally who can fight for them in the Texas Legislature.

I see her at every crime event that I go to, said Jessika Goehring, whose boyfriend was killed in an argument at his apartment complex. Shes very supportive of the victims families that I know, especially in unsolved cases.

Civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen praised Oggs decision to reduce marijuana prosecutions and the increase in meritorious cases filed against abusive cops.

It provides vindication for citizens who have been the victims of excessive force, he said, and discourages other officers from abusive practices.

Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Clearing the decks

Oggs critics say a pattern of hasty actions started right away, with her decision not to retain dozens of veteran prosecutors when she first took office.

I also came in with the clear intent to change the culture, Ogg said. And to do that, I brought my own leadership, no different than a CEO of any company.

Interviews with numerous current and former prosecutors  as well as defense attorneys and courthouse observers  say the decision had an unintended consequence: It left a hollowed out workforce of less experienced attorneys.

When she wiped out all that knowledge, she set herself at a deficit, said Bill Exley, one of the prosecutors Ogg let go.

They also point to her decision to reform the Intake Division, the unit that reviews cases from police officers and determines whether they are worth seeking charges. Previously, that work was done by some of the departments seasoned attorneys paid with overtime money.

Critics say the change has led to poor evaluation of cases by less experienced attorneys, which has fueled higher dismissal rates and cases falling apart.

When you take experience out of intake, then youre going to cause numerous problems down the line, Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association president Joe Vinas said.

Ogg said she staffed the unit (which works around the clock) with full-time employees to ensure more consistent decisions when dealing with law enforcement and avoid having police shop cases to prosecutors they thought might be more willing to press charges.

They have consistently performed in spite of every disaster that they've been faced with, she said. And it's the equivalent of running the emergency room of the justice system.

Her defenders argue that much of the angst with that decision comes from prosecutors who no longer can earn extra money screening cases.

About this story This story is based on interviews with dozens of current and former prosecutors, community leaders, defense attorneys, crime victims, police officers and others. It relies on internal records from the DA's Office and court documents. See More Collapse

Dismissal rates

As the countys criminal case backlog has grown, dismissal rates have jumped, with records showing nearly half of all felonies ending in dismissals, according to statistics from the Office of Court Administration. In 2021, for example, prosecutors worked about 38,000 active felony cases. Some 14,000 ended with convictions, nearly 6,500 in deferred adjudication probation, and 50 in acquittals. Another 46 percent  about 17,500 cases  were dismissed. That same year, prosecutors dismissed about 73 percent of the nearly 49,000 misdemeanor cases they worked.

That same year, prosecutors dismissed about 73 percent of the nearly 49,000 misdemeanor cases that were resolved.

Misdemeanor Trial Bureau Chief Nathan Beedle said the number failed to account for other cases that prosecutors worked  but werent resolved that year  and that nearly a third of dismissals were from defendants who successfully completed a pretrial diversion.

The perception there are tons and tons of illegitimate cases, that we're just dismissing cases, is totally false, he said. A successful diversion requires a dismissal. A defendant has taken advantage of a program, and earned a dismissal, meaning they have done something or a series of things in return for it ... thats criminal justice reform at work.

Defense attorneys also said high dismissal rates were not necessarily a sign of bad prosecutions  that justice might require a different outcome than a conviction.

Cases have to be looked at individually, Scheiner said. The only thing I have a problem with is if someone investigates a case, brings an indictment, calls a press conference, makes a lot of noise, and quietly dismisses it later on.

But others took the increase as an indicator of something else  poor selection and screening of viable cases by intake prosecutors. The office needs to do a better job of picking cases it can win in court, they say.

It seems to me that this administration is missing the boat on what cases need to be prosecuted and what cases need to be let go, Vinas said.

Texas Appleseed spokesman Brennan Griffin said hed been disappointed in Oggs approach response to the spike in the criminal case backlog.

After the hurricane, consultants from the Justice Management Institute, a Virginia-based criminal justice think-tank, reviewed the case backlog and recommended how to deal with it, he said. Ogg reviewed thousands of low level cases but only selected 140 to dismiss, he said.

She has been completely unwilling to take actions she needs to do to get courts moving and back on track, he said.

'A parade of horrible people'

Before she sought the job as Harris Countys top prosecutor, Ogg spent years working in Harris Countys legal community: first as a prosecutor, then leading Houstons Anti-Gang Task Force under Mayor Bob Lanier, and as executive director of Crime Stoppers of Houston. After two unsuccessful bids for office  first as a Republican candidate for a district judgeship and later as a Democrat for DA  Ogg was elected DA in 2016. She came to power amid a political shift in Harris County from Republican to Democratic  and as part of a wave of progressives elected by voters reacting to incidents of police violence.

Ogg promised major reforms, including better adjudicating of cases involving mentally ill and nonviolent offenders, providing more pretrial release opportunities and diverting misdemeanor marijuana cases from prosecution. She also pledged to increase transparency in police shootings and ramp up prosecutions of burglars and white-collar criminals. Shes been criticized for not following through on all the promises, even as shes taken heat for not being tough enough on criminals.

Ogg argued that shes been hindered by understaffing and underfunding at a time when the countys criminal case backlog has skyrocketed. She touted the modernization of her offices intake division and a digitization of millions of documents. She said shes followed through on campaign promises to change how the office seeks the death penalty (ruling it out in cases with intellectually disabled defendants), and overturned a slew of wrongful convictions.

That includes the overturning of the sentence of Alfred Brown, who was wrongfully convicted for killing a police officer  a move that caused enormous strain with the Houston police union.

I took a huge hit politically for it, she said. When a lawyer has to go against the agencies that we work with, with their version of the facts, it's just ugly. And it's hard, professionally, and it's hard personally.

That clash, and others, so provoked former Houston Police Officers Union Joe Gamaldi that he labeled Ogg the most criminal-happy district attorney in history.

Ogg pointed to her agencys Misdemeanor Marijuana Diversion Program efforts to stop prosecuting misdemeanor marijuana possession cases, moves to prosecute more police accused of misconduct, and convictions of gang members. She touted convictions against two mass murderers, Ronald Haskell, who was sentenced to death, and David Conley, and lengthy sentences against numerous others. And her proponents pointed to dozens of lengthy prison sentences won against aggravated robbers, sexual abusers, and other violent offenders.

We've convicted a parade of horrible people, Ogg said. From machete murders to contract killings, or gang executions, to random murders.

She blamed some of the setbacks her office has faced on misconduct by subordinates, a lack of support from county commissioners, bad rulings from local judges, or juries that came to a different conclusion from those of her prosecutors.

The attitude of the city and the country is reflected in our jury pools and they control the results. And so I trust that system, she said. I'm supposed to keep the process fair.  We've had no malicious prosecution findings by any court, our prosecutors have worked really hard. They worked ethically.

Arkema

As Hurricane Harvey lashed Houston in 2017 floodwaters inundated a chemical plant operated by Arkema in Crosby. Several trailers filled with chemicals caught fire, spewing toxic smoke that injured 21 people, including two sheriffs deputies.

Ogg announced charges against the company and, in an unusual move, against its executives. Companies dont make decisions, people do, she said, at the time.

Prosecutors experienced their first setback after the chemical companys lawyers accused them of withholding evidence from defense attorneys and grand jurors about another chemical company that had behaved similarly to Arkema during the storm. As trial approached, prosecutors dismissed two charges against Arkema and its executives, saying they did not feel there was enough evidence to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt of the defendants guilt.

Dan Cogdell, who represented now-retired Arkema vice president Mike Keough, initially supported Oggs campaign, to which he donated thousands of dollars. He particularly resented Oggs decision to announce indictments against Keough the same day she attended a fundraiser held for her by plaintiffs attorneys suing Arkema.

Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Shes turned into a politician and not a DA, he said, and not a very good politician.

When prosecutors finally brought the case against Arkema to trial, Judge Belinda Hill ruled prosecutors failed to prove the facts outlined in their indictment. She took the unusual step of issuing a directed verdict, meaning she found that the special prosecutors hadnt proved claims made in their indictment of the company and dismissed the remaining charges against Arkema and its executives.

Ogg batted away Cogdells criticism, suggesting hed been swayed by high payments for his representation of Keough. As she did in response to questions about other prosecutions that collapsed, she blamed the result not on a faulty prosecution, but on an adverse decision from the judge overseeing the case.

It's a bad ruling, Ogg said. It doesn't mean it was a bad case.

Cameron Brewer

The March 2018 shooting of Danny Ray Thomas by Harris County Sheriffs Deputy Cameron Brewer drew national attention after a video spread on social media showing him wandering the street with his pants around his ankles in the moments before he was shot and killed.

This is a common-sense case, Ogg said, at the time.

In trial, however, prosecutors and defense attorneys clashed repeatedly, with defense attorneys accusing prosecutors of failing to turn over important evidence, including a bombshell statement in prosecutors notes, in which an investigator on the case said it appeared justified.

After several hours of deliberation, jurors acquitted Brewer.

Poker rooms

In mid-2019, police officers arrested nine men accused of a multi-million dollar laundering scheme at two west Houston poker rooms.

Ogg said authorities were changing the paradigm regarding illegal gambling and pursuing felony money laundering and engaging in organized crime charges against owners and operators.

Later that month, she announced a potential conflict of interest involving Amir Mireskandari, a campaign donor and former contract employee hired to help investigate and prosecute complex financial and economic crimes.

Ogg said she hadnt known about Mireskandaris relationship with game room operators. She dismissed the cases  torpedoing years of work by Houston vice cops  and referred the investigation to the U.S. Attorneys Office. She also temporarily shut down her financial crimes unit. She blamed the scandal on political enemies trying to scandalize her by association, but the fiasco muddled the message shed intended to send to the dozens of private Houston-area poker rooms that have opened in the past three years: If you are operating outside the law, we will shut you down.

Harding Street

The Harding Street raid is the highest-profile case Oggs office has handled. Members of Squad 15, a street level narcotics squad, got into a gunfight that killed homeowners Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle during a drug raid in January 2019. It turned out then-Officer Gerald Goines had lied about ever buying drugs from the home, according to police investigators.

Federal prosecutors charged Goines with violating the couple's civil rights. They also charged Goines and his former partner, Steven Bryant, with lying on government paperwork. Oggs civil rights prosecutors brought state charges, hitting Goines with felony murder, and charging him and 10 other current and former officers with paperwork crimes such as tampering with government records, engaging in criminal organized activity and overtime theft.

To say these officers abused the public trust is a gross understatement, she said during a press conference.

But defense attorneys and the police officers supporters scoffed at the paperwork charges against the officers, which they compared to administrative errors.

As the case unfolded, Ogg held news conferences telling reporters that prosecutors would probe Goines past cases and his squad mates. Dozens of cases in which Goines was involved were dismissed and at least four convictions overturned.

But three years after the troubled operation, none of those defendants have had their cases go to trial. Her prosecutors came under withering criticism from the defendants lawyers after a prolonged discovery battle. A judge first told Oggs prosecutors to turn the material over in August 2020. The prosecutors refused, taking the case to the states highest criminal court, which in September affirmed past courts rulings and ordered prosecutors to turn over the evidence.

After Ogg announced murder charges against Felipe Gallegos, the officer who had shot Dennis Tuttle, his attorney accused Ogg of withholding critical evidence about the Harding Street shooting, including a statement from a Texas Ranger who told defense attorneys in an August hearing that during an outside probe of the shooting, he hadnt found sufficient evidence to charge Gallegos with a crime.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully attempted to have the record of the hearing sealed, saying they hoped to re-present the case to another grand jury.

Ogg said the disputes came down to competing legal strategies, and werent evidence of any misconduct.

With Gallegos trial nearing last August, Ogg abruptly announced prosecutors were dismissing the case and firing a prosecutor whod handled the case, blaming it on unrelated misconduct and poor performance.

Ogg accused the prosecutor of lying about hours he worked (the same behavior he was investigating the cops for), and refusing to allow Gallegos to testify before the grand jury.

Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Because of that decision, and because what I learned about his judgment and character, I fired him, she said, adding that shed also referred her findings to the Attorney Generals Office for possible prosecution.

The prosecutor disputed the charge in open court and accused Ogg of firing him to delay Gallegos murder trial, which was likely to be more difficult to prove than the overtime cases. The case has not been re-presented to another grand jury.

In late February, prosecutors were preparing for the next case to go to trial, that of the Squad 15 supervisor Robert Gonzales. He was charged with misapplication of fiduciary responsibility, meaning the now-retired lieutenant violated policy by failing to authorize payments to confidential informants before police actually gave them the money. Prosecutors tried to add charges against the former cop; the judge denied their request. The week before the case was set to go to trial, without notifying Gonzales or his attorney, prosecutors dismissed the charges.

Gonzales attorney, Paula Goodhart, described the charge as nothing more than political grandstanding.

Now, when forced to go to trial, when they realized they were going to lose, they dismissed the case, Goodhart said.

Ogg said the crime that Gonzales was initially charged with was not as strong as what weve got, blaming the dismissal on a judges refusal to allow her prosecutors to amend an indictment against the former lieutenant. She plans to re-present the case to a grand jury, she said.

Gokal

In early 2021, with COVID raging, vaccines finally arrived. Initially they were welcome and scarce.

It was against that backdrop that on Jan. 21, 2021, Ogg accused Dr. Hasan Gokal of stealing vaccine doses and giving one to his wife.

Gokal said hed ended a work day with nine unused doses, offered them to police and health workers but all declined or were already vaccinated. He found eligible recipients for several doses, but after 11 p.m., with the drug about to expire, he gave the final dose to his wife, an older woman with a serious lung condition. He entered the patients into the state immunization database the following day, as required.

County officials investigated Gokal, fired him, and reported his actions to the DAs Office. Prosecutors charged him without ever interviewing him, according to his defense attorney.

In her news release, Ogg accused Gokal of placing friends and family above others who had gone through the lawful process to be there."

What he did was illegal and hell be held accountable under the law, she said.

Four days later, a judge dismissed the case and rebuked Ogg for attempting to criminalize a doctors documented administration of vaccine doses during a public health emergency, and criticized the prosecutors case for being riddled with sloppiness and errors.

The Texas Medical Board ultimately cleared Gokal and a grand jury that reviewed the case in September declined to indict.

Ogg blamed the cases failure on a decision by Judge Franklin Bynum, a jurist she said is trying to dismantle the justice system.

Gokal, she said, got a good result.

It doesn't mean that what he did was right. And it certainly doesn't mean that he's a victim.

Gokal is now suing Harris County.

This story has been updated to clarify a description about reforms Ogg made to how her office handles misdemeanor marijuana possession.

st.john.smith@chron.com
A man was fatally shot Tuesday night outside a west Houston hotel, according to authorities.

Officers responded to the shooting around 9:07 p.m. to the HomeTowne Studios at 2100 block of S Highway 6 and found a man  in his early 30s  shot multiple times, Houston police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

More on HoustonChronicle.com: Brief tornado in Santa Fe damages residential buildings, trees

The girlfriend of the victim told officers he had gotten into a verbal altercation with some men in the parking lot days prior, police added, although there is no indication the incidents are related.

Police believe the suspect's car is a black Acura MDX.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Houston Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.

No other details are available at this time.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

leah.brennan@chron.com

Joel.Umanzor@chron.com
People eager to cruise from Galveston will gain a new option later this year - but it's one Houstonians might recognize.

Carnival Corporation's Princess Cruises will bring its 3,080-guest Ruby Princess ship to Galveston from December 2022 to April 2023, the cruise line announced Tuesday.

Princess Cruises is taking up residence in Galveston six years after it left Texas with the closure of Houston's Bayport Cruise Terminal. The cruise line had relocated to Houston from the Port of Galveston in 2012, lured by millions in financial incentives.

The Ruby Princess will offer voyages ranging from 5 to 11 days with ports of call in the western Caribbean. But cruisers will also have a chance to sail two 16-day trips through the Panama Canal to San Francisco. Tickets for these cruises go on sale April 7, 2022.

Princess Cruises requires passengers 5 years or older to show proof of full vaccination, with few exceptions, along with a negative PCR or antigen test before boarding. Masks, however, are no longer required. The restrictions are similar to Ruby Princess' larger cousins from Carnival Cruise Line, the Carnival Vista, Breeze, and Dream, which are permanently based in Galveston.

Along with the Ruby Princess, other cruise ships coming to the Port of Galveston include the Carnival Jubilee in 2023 and Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Prima in Oct. 2022.

LOOK INSIDE: See Royal Caribbean's upcoming $125M cruise terminal in Galveston

But the largest investment in Galveston is being made by its other year-round cruise line Royal Caribbean, which is constructing a $125 million cruise terminal opening later this year. The terminal will allow Royal Caribbean to relocate its behemoth 6,780-guest Allure of the Seas cruise ship to Galveston.

charlie.zong@chron.com
Harris Countys criminal courts backlog has decreased by 1,580 cases this month with the help of a $3.5 million pilot program where prosecutors are paid overtime to triage cases, District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

While some defense attorneys have criticized the program, pointing to exhaustive efforts that only slightly move the needle, Ogg on Tuesday told Harris County Commissioners Court that her plans are working and necessary. The backlog is at a crisis point, with almost 98,000 cases on misdemeanor and felony court dockets as of late July and thousands of cases being filed per month, according to the most recent county data available.

This phase in our strategic backlog reduction plan is critical to restoring order in our streets by reducing the case backlog choking the local court system, Ogg said.

Ogg also told the commissioners she will eventually ask for more prosecutors - a familiar refrain which defense attorneys have repeatedly panned and the county has previously rejected.

Some of those defense lawyers said Tuesday that money for the triage program - coming from rollover dollars in the DAs offices budget - would be better spent elsewhere when prosecutors should be able to make the same discretionary decisions in court or at the start of the case filing process.

When youre talking about six prosecutors needed to get rid of class B misdemeanors  it reminds you of the joke, How many Aggies does it take to screw in a lightbulb? said Murray Newman, a defense attorney and vocal critic of the district attorney.

Ogg in June announced the plan for the DAs office to review again more than 30,000 misdemeanors and state jail felonies, clearing the way for other prosecutors to focus more attentively on harder, serious cases. The goal was initially to start with nonviolent cases that typically dont involve a victim, Ogg said. To date, her office has spent $69,000 of the allotted $3.5 million on the program, according to her office.

Since June 14, the new triage section has again reviewed 10,437 criminal cases and disposed of 6,608 of them, meaning the defendants were convicted, diverted through community programs or dismissed, Ogg said.

Through the program, 4,629 plea offers have been sent to the Harris County Public Defenders Office and private defense attorneys. Of those, about 800 were accepted, 216 are in progress and most of the others received no response, Ogg said.

Joe Vinas, president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, said defense attorneys learn of plea offers through automated emails, some of which end up in spam folders. Those messages direct them to an online system where they can view the plea, creating a series of hoops to jump through that can be time consuming and easily missed, he said.

This administration has made it very difficult on us to get the things done that it used to be very easy to do, Vinas said.

DAs office representatives discounted the attorneys criticisms and said the point of the triage program is to not waste resources down the line.

With triage we are assigning priorities and allocating precious resources as we seek ways to get appropriate resolutions to every case -- we believe in not wasting precious court time with low level non-violent cases when there are rapes, robberies and murders that need attention, they said in a statement. Many defense attorneys are incredibly responsive to our plea offers, but others are not.

In total, the triage program has taken 891.8 hours of work, the district attorney said. About 4,600 new cases were filed between Aug. 3 and Aug. 20, and the backlog has decreased by 1,580 in that time, Ogg said.

Ogg spoke to commissioners court members as she awaited their vote on a request to extend funding for 22 intake positions. That initiative started later than intended, causing the need for an extension, Judge Lina Hidalgo said.
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The family of a 27-year-old man shot and killed by Houston police officers during an attempt to arrest him have lodged a lawsuit contending that false statements fueled the warrant.

Police shot and killed Charion Lockett on Feb. 7 at his mothers north Harris County home, three days after the arrest warrant on an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge was issued. The warrant set into motion a court appearance the following Monday for which Lockett was a no-show, records show.

Police have said they believe that Lockett and an accomplice robbed a man identified in court records as a high school acquaintance. The first attempt to obtain a warrant in December failed, officials said. Investigators tried again in February and garnered a judges signature.

In the lawsuit filed Wednesday, lawyers for Locketts mother, Shanetta Lewis, reference the botched Harding Street narcotics raid, adding that the Houston Police Department has a history of obtaining warrants based on false premises.

The lawsuit does not elaborate on how the warrant may have been based on false statements.

The attorneys claim that Lockett was never interviewed by police to hear his side of the story or whether Charion Lockett had an alibi.

Additionally, the complainant in the robbery case had animosity toward Lockett, the lawsuit continues.

An email sent Wednesday seeking comment from a city of Houston spokesperson was not returned.

The warrant led authorities to Lewis home in the 800 block of Oak West Drive around 10:45 a.m., about an hour after a phone call that Lewis said she received from police alerting her to the warrant. Lockett received a similar call, she said.

She told the official that Lockett would retain an attorney and surrender later that day, records show.

A marked Houston police vehicle arrived at the home nearly simultaneously with plainclothes officers in a red car, according to body-worn camera footage from the encounter. Police have accused Lockett of firing first in an exchange of fire spanning seven seconds.

Police officials did not identify themselves as law enforcement by the time gunfire erupted, footage shows.

Mr. Lockett likely saw the red vehicle pull up suddenly with Detective (Devin) Inocencio pointing the Glock directly at him  and immediately became in fear of his life as would anyone, lawyers Taft Foley and Randall Kallinen wrote in the lawsuit.

Footage from nine body-worn cameras, made public in February, does not clearly show Lockett brandishing a gun or firing the initial shots.

A single gunshot was heard as two plainclothes officers approached the home.

From the perspective of Inocencio  in the passenger seat of the red vehicle  the gunshot can be heard while he pointed his gun outside of the moving car. The video then shows him pulling his arm back into the car quickly.

Inocencio can then be seen opening fire with both hands on the gun, with a noticeable recoil.

Police Chief Troy Finner said he spoke with Locketts family after the shooting.

We dont know whats going on in these times, dont know whats going on in peoples heads but we have to pray for everybody involved, Finner said then.

nicole.hensley@chron.com
Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

The Harris County Clerks office reopened for walk-in service Wednesday, one week after Judge Lina Hidalgo lowered the county's COVID threat level to yellow.

Residents now can apply for a marriage license, file a deed or submit other personal records without an appointment at any of the clerks 11 offices across the county. Filing for maps and paternity acknowledgments still will require an appointment, the clerks office said.
As a rainstorm drew near, Naomi Nchama searched for something resembling shelter, moving all of her things to a stretch of sidewalk protected by an overhang. Before the pandemic, she had an apartment of her own, which she paid for with the income she earned cleaning homes. But when a stay-at-home order was issued across Houston as the pandemic swept the nation in 2020, her clients shut their doors, and with no local family, she found herself on the street.

The pandemic threw many like Nchama into financial straits, with hundreds in the Houston area becoming homeless. But it also released a surge of federal dollars, which Houston, Harris County, the Coalition for the Homeless and their partners have used to move people into housing. And this years annual survey of the areas homeless population  the first to use standard methodology since the survey in 2020, conducted weeks before the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the Houston area  suggests that interventions have been successful at moving people into housing faster than they have become homeless.

Roughly 3,200 people were counted as living in shelters, cars and tents or places not meant for habitation, such as sidewalks, on the night of Jan. 24  a 19 percent decrease from the count in January of 2020. The count uses the Department of Housing and Urban Developments definition of homelessness, which does not include those couch-surfing with family or friends because they have no stable living situation of their own. The drop in people living outdoors was smaller than the drop in people living in shelters, many of which are still at a reduced capacity as a precaution against the spread of COVID.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Kiki goes in search of her stuff, gone from her place on a Houston sidewalk

The Coalitions chief executive, Michael Nichols, said the result showed the local homeless response system, called the Way Home, is effective. The Way Home continues to prove how collaboration among governments, nonprofits and philanthropy can provide long-term fiscally and morally responsible solutions to homelessness, he said in a statement. At the same time, we know that we have more work ahead of us as we strive to solve homelessness in Houston.

Counting the homeless population in a three-county area the size of Rhode Island and Delaware combined is no easy feat. To carry it out this year, the Coalition amassed 480 volunteers, along with staff, and hit the pavement around dawn for three days in a row. Two of the counters were Jonathan Danforth and Jess DiManno, who both work in outreach for the Coalition. They set about canvassing a portion of downtown on Jan. 25, armed with an app that tracked their location.

Even in the suburbs, Danforth explained, You have to drive every neighborhood, every back alley, everything. If theres a street thats missed, theyll see that in the app and say, Hey, we need to get someone out there  we need eyes on everything.

Right away, a man pulling two suitcases with sleeping bags and rolled blankets tied to the top stopped and asked Danforth what he was doing. Danforth began to explain and took out his phone to show the man the information he was entering in.

One of the first questions was where the person had been sleeping the night of Jan. 24. Then came personal information, then the persons history. For example: Are you homeless as a result of a natural disaster? As a result of COVID? Do you have any family or friends you would like to connect with but dont know how?

On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston, Harris County aim to cut homelessness in half with $100 million investment

The count found that 13 percent of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness indicated they were homeless because of the pandemic. Whats more, Hurricane Harvey has cast a long shadow over the lives of many in the region, with another 13 percent of unsheltered people indicating they were homeless due to a natural disaster, with the vast majority citing Hurricane Harvey specifically.

Chronic health conditions continue to play a major role in homelessness, with 30 percent of unsheltered people self-reporting serious mental illness, a statistic that is likely under reported because of the stigma associated with mental illness.

And many without homes in the Houston area are children under the age of 18. Children accounted for 11 percent of those included in the count, and 21 percent of those living in shelters.

For each of the questions volunteers ask in the survey, there are some that demur. In such cases, they may ask to have a persons initials instead of their full name, or mark the answer as having been refused. As Danforth carried out his interview, another man swaddled in blankets lay nearby. Hello! DiManno said loudly, gauging whether he was awake. He didnt stir. She quickly logged whats called an observation  an entry for someone who did not do an interview, which is included in the count but does not include information such as cause of homelessness. That means some statistics  such as the number reporting that they lost housing because of a natural disaster  may skew low.

It is not possible to locate and survey every single person experiencing homelessness across the Houston area, acknowledged Catherine Troisi, associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, who co-authored the report. Nonetheless, she said in a statement, when the same methodology is used consistently, we can analyze those numbers year-over-year to identify trends.

While the count followed the same methodology it had in 2020, other factors had changed, a major one being the capacity of shelters, many of which are still serving a reduced number of people as a precaution against the spread of COVID. While the number of people counted in shelters plummeted a dramatic 26 percent, to 1,700 from 2,300, the number of people sleeping in cars, tents, sidewalks and other unsheltered locations declined a more modest 9 percent, to 1,500 from 1,700.

Nonetheless, Houston, Harris County and their partners are using $165 million in COVID-related funding and private dollars to ramp up the rate at which they are housing people. Between October of 2020 and September of 2021, they had increased the number of people they had moved into permanent housing or whats known as rapid-rehousing  short-term rental assistance paired with services  by three quarters from the same period before the pandemic. The strategy includes moving people into homes from encampments  by offering them permanent housing, then clearing the site, usually with fencing, to prevent the camp from reforming  and providing resources to people in danger of becoming homeless.

In its report, the Coalition called its use of COVID-related funds, which it calls the Community COVID Housing Program, a model for other cities and counties looking to use federal funding for maximum impact for people experiencing homelessness.

Godofredo A. Vasquez contributed to this story.

rebecca.schuetz@chron.com;

twitter.com/raschuetz
Authorities on Tuesday arrested a Houston police officer who is accused of knowingly possessing child sexual abuse material, according to a charging document.

Police said in a statement the officer, 29-year-old Justin Weber, has been relieved of duty.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Jan. 7 gave information about the allegations to the police departments Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, which then started an investigation, per the police departments statement.

Material obtained through search warrants served to Yahoo and Snapchat showed images of children with their genitals or breasts exposed, per a charging document. The document said Weber admitted to possessing those Yahoo and Snapchat accounts, having sole access to them and knowingly possessing child sexual abuse material in an interview with law enforcement.

When an officer presented the images to Weber, he initially denied ever seeing the images but later confessed to recognizing the images presented to him, a charging document read.

Online court records Tuesday night did not show a lawyer listed for Weber.

Theres also an administrative probe being conducted by the police departments internal affairs division, according to the statement.

Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, the Houston Police Department will not comment further at this time, the departments statement read.

leah.brennan@chron.com
As the University of Houston chases one title in the NCAA Tournament, it is also eyeing another  but it has nothing to do with basketball.

The university this year was named a top producer of Fulbright U.S. students, and administrators already have a larger goal: to funnel more Cougars into the prestigious international educational exchange program than any other school in Texas.

Fulbright participation is just one reflection of UHs broader goal to increase the schools global reach, and also an indicator of the universitys success, said Michael Pelletier, executive director of the UH Institute for Global Engagement.

That helps us achieve our goals of making sure all that all UH graduates have had that opportunity to have an international or global experience, or have that brush with internationalization, Pelletier said. Thats such a huge push in higher ed across country and really across the world right now.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Students in any major can learn to battle health inequity in new UH program

Fulbright is the U.S. flagship cultural exchange program for teaching, conducting research and pursuing projects in other countries. Sponsored and funded in part by the U.S. Department of State, the organization  which also includes scholarships for scholars and professionals  has produced 40 heads of state or government, 61 Nobel Prize laureates, 76 MacArthur Foundation fellows and 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, according to Fulbright.

UHs participation has skyrocketed in the past few years: Thirty-six students have earned grants since 2018, which is one more student than in the previous 51 years combined, according to the university. Ten UH graduates and recent alumni received grants for the 2021-2022 academic year alone.

The university is one of 28 top producers of Fulbright students in the country and is only behind the University of Texas at Austin in the state. (Twelve UT students received grants in the last cycle, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education). UH was also one of 35 Hispanic-Serving Institutions to be named a Fulbright leader in that area.

Dr. Ben Rayder, UHs director of undergraduate research and major awards, said the university in recent years renewed its focus on the program, tapping into a large pool of eligible students and providing them with dedicated help in the application process.

Theres always been fertile ground for University of Houston to have a lot of students apply for the Fulbright program and have competitive applicants, because we are one of the most diverse campuses in the country, Rayder said.

Last year marked Fulbrights most competitive application year to date, with applications nationwide increasing by nearly 12 percent, he said. Fulbright evaluated current and previous applications because of pandemic-induced program cancellations in 2020, meaning 46 UH students applied in the last cycle, Rayder said.

Current UH grant recipients are conducting research and teaching in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Latvia, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and Turkey, according to the university. Students also ranged across disciplines, coming from liberal arts and social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics, business, education and engineering backgrounds.

Saajan Patel, a 2021 recipient who is an English teaching assistant in France, said he plans to continue teaching after he is done with his Fulbright scholarship. Helping students give the words to speak about American culture - and then learning about French culture outside the classroom  has been perhaps the most valuable part of the program, he said.

Some people see this opportunity as just a job. Theyre going to a place, theyre working in a school for a set number of hours and theyre going back to America, Patel said. Its a lot more than that. It really makes you aware of the way that other people live that you wouldnt normally understand from a movie or a show.

samantha.ketterer@chron.com
Men living in involuntary celibacy, widely known on message boards as incels, typically raise dozens of red flags before their deep-seated resentment toward women turn violent, according to the Secret Services National Threat Assessment Center.

In a 28-page case study released on Tuesday, the agency analyzed the history and behavior of Scott Beierle. The 40-year-old Florida man used a semi-automatic handgun to open fire inside Hot Yoga Tallahassee on Nov. 2, 2018. He killed two women and wounded another four before he turned the weapon on himself and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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If I cant find one decent female to live with, I will find many indecent females to die with, Beirele wrote in a note he left behind.

FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Leon County Sheriff's Office shows Scott Paul Beierle. (AP)

Amid their investigation into the deadly attack, authorities learned that Beierle had a long history of hatred toward women, sexual assault allegations, as well as a tendency to spew homophobic and racist comments. They later concluded the shooting was spurred by his inability to develop or maintain relationships with women, along with his perception of womens societal power over men, according to the report. Such anger is often associated with the incel movement, a group well-known for espousing anti-feminist and misogynistic beliefs.

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The latest case study by the National Threat Assessment Center examines the background of an attacker who displayed decades of disturbing misogynistic behavior, ranging from inappropriate comments and touching, to stalking and assaults, said U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center Chief Dr. Lina Alathari.

Communities must remain aware of misogynistic extremism, while pursuing prevention efforts that are designed to identify and intervene with those who pose a risk of violence.

Beirle initially started displaying an intense hatred toward women in his teen years, when he penned an 81-page revenge fantasy about a middle school boy who hated his female classmates because he felt shunned and humiliated by them. The novella, titled Rejected Youth, ended with the main character killing several people before dying by suicide, according to the report. He continued writing, with aspirations of being a screenwriter, but eventually moved into his parents home, where he penned songs and stories researchers described as dark, violent and misogynistic.

He was also an open admirer of Hitler and the Aryan Nations while in high school, according to the report. In college, Beirle was fired from an insurance call center for harassing a female co-worker and then later dismissed from a substitute teaching job for searching for pornography on school computers. He was also discharged from the Air Force for unacceptable conduct, the report said.

While his behavior often proved frightening to his co-workers and loved ones, little was done to address the pattern of increasingly aggressive behavior he exhibtied toward women. As a result, the NATC researchers have called for better assessments to identify such red flags in addition to early intervention tactics and training.

Since 2014, attacks inspired by the incel movement have left dozens of women dead across the U.S. and Canada. The recent report also examined a 2014 shooting and stabbing spree, during which 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and wounded 14 near the University of California at Santa Barbara. Before the violence, police said he shared a video to social media, expressing frustrations over his lack of girlfriend.

And in 2020, 72-year-old Roy Den Hollander, a self-proclaimed an anti-feminist lawyer, killed the son of a federal judge and wounded her husband.
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter is getting another extension on life.

The agency announced Tuesday that its 4-pound helicopter, which weighs just 1.5 pounds on Mars, will continue flying through September. It has already taken 21 flights on the Red Planet.

ONE YEAR ON MARS: Here's what NASA's Perseverance rover has accomplished so far

Less than a year ago we didnt even know if powered, controlled flight of an aircraft at Mars was possible, Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASAs Science Mission Directorate, said in a news release. Now, we are looking forward to Ingenuitys involvement in Perseverances second science campaign. Such a transformation of mindset in such a short period is simply amazing, and one of the most historic in the annals of air and space exploration.

The Ingenuity helicopter began its life as a technology demonstration with just one month to prove that flight was possible in Mars' thin atmosphere. It traveled to the Red Planet with NASA's Perseverance rover.

But its first month was so successful that NASA decided to keep flying the helicopter to support Perseverance's mission, which is to find signs of past microbial life. Ingenuity has since flown for more than 38 minutes and traveled 2.9 miles.

Ingenuity will now support Perseverance's exploration of the ancient river delta in Jezero Crater. The helicopter will help the rover determine which route to take when climbing to the top of the delta. It will also collect data could help Perseverance's science team select rocks to sample, and it might take images of geological features the rover cannot reach.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just delivered one of the most remarkable addresses ever given to a joint session of Congress, and he did it wearing a t-shirt from behind the battle lines in Kyiv as his homeland valiantly fights to repel an invasion from Russia. The former actors sense of stagecraft coupled with a powerful script full of searing imagery helped establish an emotional connection with his audience. As Zelenskyy showed a 3-minute graphic, gut-wrenching video of war-torn Ukraine, lawmakers sat riveted.

The images on the giant screen showed Russian missiles blasting residential and government buildings. The soundtrack included bone-chilling wails of small children as first responders cared for tiny infants bloodied by the attacks. Bodies were splayed among debris.

By the time the video concluded, many members of Congress were in tears. Then came Zelenskyys denouement: Switching to English, he made a final appeal to the United States for more robust military aid, including the will to enforce a no-fly zone that would protect his nations airspace from deadly Russian warplanes. To be the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace, Zelenskyy said in a speech full of references to Americas democratic ideals and its role as global leader after World War II.

The power of Zelenskyys appeal was felt immediately on Capitol Hill, where pressure on President Biden to expand the United States support for Ukraine will only grow. Already, lawmakers from both parties have pressed Biden to increase military assistance to Ukraine, with 42 GOP senators signing a letter this week calling for the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine. Some have also championed Zelenskyys request for a no-fly-zone.

Biden has been wise, however, in resisting the most aggressive requests. Hes insisted that a direct confrontation with Russia risks escalating the Ukrainian war into an all-out confrontation between nuclear-armed forces, a development America and its allies sought to avoid all through the long Cold War. He should continue to refuse to establish a no-fly zone, despite Zelenskyys heartfelt appeal. Such a zone would need to be patrolled by NATO jets willing to shoot down any Russian warplane entering the protected airspace. Thats a recipe for escalation if ever there was one.

But there is much that Biden and a bipartisan consensus in Congress have already accomplished for Ukraine, and more still they can do without unreasonably raising the risks of escalation. Saying no to the no-fly-zone and fighter jets doesnt mean turning a deaf ear to Zelenskyys urgent appeal. We need you right now, he told Congress.

Just last week, Biden signed into law a bill sending $13.6 billion in defense and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. He has previously authorized NATO allies in Eastern Europe to transfer Stinger anti-aircraft weapons and Javelin missile systems and has also redirected helicopters meant for Afghanistan to Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Biden announced additional aid for Ukraine, including lethal drones and vowed the administration is fully committed to seeing the weapons authorized reach fighting forces in Ukraine.

This assistance is aimed at providing Ukraine enough firepower to slow Russias advance toward its capital. That in turn is designed to give time for the sweeping sanctions America and its allies have imposed on Russia to work. Together, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom have imposed sanctions on hundreds of members of the Russian regime, including oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United States is banning all Russian oil and gas imports and western countries have frozen the assets of Russia's central bank. A growing number of international companies including McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Starbucks have suspended operations in Russia. Experts now warn that Russia is in danger of defaulting on international debt obligations.

Whether this pain will be enough to convince Putin to change course and end his invasion is impossible to know at this point. Already, Ukraines stiffer-than-expected resistance has led Russia to speak of a negotiated end to the conflict. The world has watched in awe of the bravery displayed Ukrainian troops in repelling Russias invasion on multiple fronts. Even as Russian missiles have leveled residential buildings throughout Kyiv and a 40-mile Russian convoy moves artillery and rocket launchers within range of the Ukrainian capital, soldiers and civilian volunteers continue to build up physical defenses for the city, barricading city blocks with concrete barriers and sandbags to slow the incursion. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, Ukrainians have proven to be formidable opponents.

Congress is right to push Biden to do everything possible to stiffen Ukraines resistance without dragging America into a direct confrontation with Russia. Some senators, for instance, including Sen. John Cornyn, have called for a direct lend-lease agreement with Ukraine to provide military equipment. Texas lawmakers such as Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Michael McCaul have pushed Biden to continue sending weapon systems to Ukraine, especially defensive anti-air systems (though each have wisely stopped short of supporting a U.S.-enforced no-fly-zone).

Zelenskyy has galvanized support for his underdog nation. Hes refused to accept a defeat that once seemed inevitable. His self-shot videos have helped Ukraine hold its own in the public information war and to rally his people. His pleas for the democracies of the world to safeguard his nations sovereignty must be heeded.

But Biden is wise to balance help for Ukraine  providing billions in military and other aid  against the very real risk of this war widening into the kind of global conflagration so many of his predecessors worked to prevent. Russia is already being made to feel the pain of international isolation, and pressure on Putin to negotiate should only increase in the coming days. Its impossible to say whether that strategy will repel the Russian troops in time to prevent an even greater humanitarian disaster in Ukraine. But directly participating in a war with Russia wont end the conflict, it will only make it worse.
For more than a decade, U.S. District Judge Janis Jack has tried to drag the state of Texas into a state of enlightenment and concern for some of the most vulnerable among us: our foster children. Its been a long, frustrating slog, and were nowhere near the goal of making sure were providing these children the care they deserve.

A couple of months ago, Jack was forced to threaten yet again to slap Texas Child Protective Services with fines for placing some of the states most troubled foster children in substandard group facilities, in Texas and in other states. Three times in recent years she has had to hold the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in contempt of court, because the agency has continued to betray the interests of children in its care.

Nothing seems to improve the situation, as the most recent foster-care outrage underscores. Last week, Jack revealed that employees of a facility that contracts with the state to provide care and shelter for female foster children who have been preyed upon by sex traffickers had a little sideline going. They were sex-trafficking the very same children.

Its hard to comprehend the depth of perversity here, so let us repeat: Seven girls between the ages of 11 and 17, children with no families to protect them, no adults looking out for them, had endured being rented out during their young lives for the sexual pleasure of unspeakably evil adults, until the state of Texas presumably came to their rescue by placing them in a self-described faith-based facility located in Bastrop, east of Austin. In their new home - a place called the Refuge, by the way -- nine employees picked up where their abusers on the outside left off: They continued to subject the children to sexual and physical abuse, as well as medical neglect and inadequate supervision. Whats more, the children were forced to remain at the facility for several weeks after the abuse was first reported.

The state has shut the shelter down. In a statement, Gov. Greg Abbott said the Texas Rangers will investigate, arrest and pursue charges against any suspects related to the Refuge allegations.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced the formation of a special committee that will pull no punches with agency leadership and consider changes in its oversight of the department. The work to reform DFPS has been ongoing for some time, but after this story, the Texas Senate could not wait any longer to address the serious issues at the agency, Patrick said.

Meanwhile, the governor and Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton have been more than willing to threaten to remove children from homes, although not necessarily so-called homes like the one in Bastrop. They have in mind homes where loving and dedicated parents are helping their children negotiate the immensely fraught and complicated issues surrounding transgender choices. These two paragons of political divisiveness know a potent issue when they see one.

In February, Abbott unleashed the investigative hounds of the DFPS on families, directing them to brand parents as child abusers if theyre assisting their transgender teens in seeking medically recommended care. A non-binding legal opinion from Paxton cleared the way for Abbotts directive. CPS investigators were soon knocking on doors and asking intrusive questions about whether teens dealing with transgender questions were victims of abuse. At least nine Texas families were under investigation. The threat was implicit: We can take your kids away from you.

The judges statewide injunction remains in effect until the case is heard in July. Im appealing, Paxton tweeted. Ill win this fight to protect our Texas children.

If only Paxtons zeal to protect our Texas children extended to our foster kids. But then again, he and Abbott are running for reelection and addressing the knotty, long-term issues of foster care doesnt carry the same political punch as the transgender obsession of the far right.

Its little wonder that Judge Jack has expressed frustration that her injunctions and fines and rulings dont solve the problem. Despite the efforts of state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, and a handful of other lawmakers who have made sincere efforts in recent years to reform a broken system, the judge continues having to intervene.

We still are sending foster children to shelters in other states, because we dont provide enough beds here at home, or else were putting them up in motels or in CPS offices. Children in the system still dont get the mental-health care they desperately need. Dozens of facilities with state contracts have closed or had their license revoked during the last several months after investigators discovered they were subjecting children to dangerous and damaging environments. From the summer of 2019 through May of last year, court monitors discovered that at least 23 foster-care children died in shelters and facilities licensed by the state.

More than six years after ruling in late 2015 that Texas treatment of foster children violated the U.S. Constitution, Jack continues to castigate the state for not coming into compliance with the federal Family First program, which emphasizes preventive services designed to avoid having to remove children from their families in the first place. As the judge pointedly noted, the states stubbornness means were missing out on millions in federal funds, money that could be used to attract caregivers trained to help the most troubled kids. We could use the money to create mobile mental health crisis-intervention teams. We could build more facilities. As the Texas Tribune reported, the state is expected to lose $17.4 million in 2022 and $25.6 million in 2023 by refusing to comply.

In a Chronicle article last fall, staff writer Edward McKinley reported that Oklahoma faced similar foster-care woes just a few years ago, but, unlike Texas, Oklahoma addressed the problem head-on. The solution involved - surprise, surprise - money. The Sooner State more than doubled its funding for its foster care system from 2008 to 2018, and, as McKinley reported, it is now vastly improved. For the first time the state settled the lawsuit against it in 2012, the state has made progress in all 30 metrics identified by court-appointed monitors.

It has been a different story south of the Red. Texas launched a decade-long legal battle to defend itself, and to oppose court-ordered reforms. And the system is still a mess.

Even Jack took note of our shortsightedness. I want to tell you, she said during a hearing last fall, that in Oklahoma when there was a remedial order for heightened monitoring, 40 percent of the (facilities) were closed, 40 percent. If anybody in the State of Texas had looked around at the other states, we could have anticipated this.

Our foster-care crisis is an old story in more ways than one. In years past, it took a judge to force us to fix public-school finance, a judge to clean up our criminal-justice system. In addition to hoping voters this fall turn out elected officials with misplaced priorities, we pray for the health and well-being of Judge Janice Graham Jack. For 11 years and counting, this caring and conscientious jurist has tried to get her fellow Texans to do the right thing for our vulnerable children. One can hardly blame her for running out of patience.
Attorney General Ken Paxton is pushing to overturn a key U.S. Supreme Court decision that hamstrings states from enforcing federal immigration law, a move that could dramatically expand Texas offensive against President Joe Bidens policies at the southern border.

Paxton has said for months that he is looking for a legal path to challenge the 2012 ruling in the case, known as Arizona v. United States. At a committee hearing last week, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster  Paxtons top deputy  encouraged state legislators to consider passing laws that could spur a legal case so that once again Texas could be enabled through federal law to enforce immigration.

Under the Biden administration, the Republican attorney general has emerged as a chief antagonist on immigration, using a barrage of lawsuits to kill several of the presidents high-profile policies and force the reinstatement of Trump-era measures such as the Remain in Mexico program. Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republican state officials have also spearheaded construction of a wall covering portions of the U.S.-Mexico border and sent thousands of state police and soldiers to apprehend migrants in South Texas  an approach that critics and defense attorneys argue is already blurring the line between legitimate enforcement and state overreach.

RELATED: Gov. Abbott is extending border arrest program into three new South Texas counties

The precedent established in the Arizona case has been among the biggest obstacles for Texas Republicans, limiting the scope of their state-sponsored border crackdown and serving as the legal justification behind a sweeping attempt to toss out misdemeanor charges against hundreds of migrants arrested under the governors catch-and-jail program. The Arizona decision also underpinned a Biden administration lawsuit last year that blocked the Texas governors order for state troopers to pull over drivers who they suspect of transporting migrants.

Republican leaders have been careful to insist they are not enforcing federal law themselves since states are generally prevented from taking such action under the 2012 decision.

A spokesman for Paxton, who is running for re-election this fall, said the attorney general does not necessarily want Texas to enact its own immigration policies, but rather regain the authority to enforce federal immigration laws as a backstop to the federal government failing or refusing to do their job.

Arizona v. United States needlessly limits what Texas can do to pick up the slack, and it absolutely should be overturned, Paxton said in a statement. Over the course of the remainder of Bidens first term, there may be facts giving rise to a challenge to Arizona. I welcome it.

The Arizona decision arose from an Obama administration challenge to the states 2010 immigration law that sought to crack down on immigrants living in the country without legal authorization.

In a 5-3 ruling, the court upheld the laws core provision, later modeled by Texas, that requires state authorities to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or detain if they suspect the person to be in the country illegally. But over the objection of three justices, the court struck down three other provisions of the law, including one that authorized police to arrest anyone suspected of being in the country illegally. The dissenting trio included sitting Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

In the majority opinion, then-Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the federal government has broad discretion in setting immigration policy, including decisions involving the removal of migrants who are in the country illegally. He noted that despite Arizonas understandable frustrations with the problems caused by illegal immigration  the state may not pursue policies that undermine federal law.

The court very clearly stated that immigration enforcement is exclusively within federal jurisdiction, said Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the immigration clinic at the University of Houston Law Center.

In a town hall last October, Paxton made clear that he feels emboldened to bring the case back before the Supreme Court at least in part because of its bolstered conservative wing. Former President Donald Trump appointed three conservative judges to the court during his term, including two who took over for more liberal justices.

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Kate Huddleston, an attorney with the ACLU of Texas and a frequent critic of Abbotts border initiative, said overturning the Arizona decision and granting states power to deport or expel immigrants would be an unprecedented and outrageous shift from all of modern immigration law.

I really cannot overstate how legally outrageous it is, she said, adding, The power to admit and expel individuals has always been understood as under the purview of the federal government.

Conservatives have pushed state leaders to test the legal boundaries of state immigration powers, arguing such an approach is needed to counter an array of Biden administration policies that they view as overly lenient toward asylum-seeking migrants and drug cartels alike.

Shortly before the governor launched his plan last year to round up migrants on state trespassing charges, the Heritage Foundation, a leading conservative policy group, published an op-ed  co-authored by the former acting deputy homeland security secretary under Trump  that urged Abbott to do everything that is constitutionally permissible to handle an invasion of illegal immigrants.

Biden administration officials have said their approach focuses on deporting immigrants living in the United States without legal authorization who have been convicted of serious crimes, mirroring early guidance from Biden that Paxton challenged in court. During the 2021 fiscal year, U.S. immigration officials reported sharp decreases in deportations and immigration arrests within the country, despite encountering a record number of migrants crossing the southern border without legal authorization.

That may take him into some gray areas, like using state officials to enforce portions of immigration law not in clear contravention of federal law, the Heritage Foundation piece said. The governor has an obligation to exercise every option available. If the Biden administration then tries to limit a governors attempt to deal with an invasion, it will be up to the Supreme Court to decide what the proper bounds are.

jasper.scherer@chron.com
WASHINGTON  U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reporting an increase in encounters with migrants on the southern border as recent court rulings reignite debate over President Joe Bidens use of a Trump-era public health order to expel most of those seeking to enter the United States.

The administration reported slightly fewer than 165,000 encounters with migrants in February, about 10,000 more than it reported in January, when encounters had begun to decline. The increase was driven by more than 126,000 encounters with single adults, the most in a single month since 2006. It came even as encounters with families seeking to enter the U.S. fell for the second straight month, to 26,582, the lowest point in a year.

Experts say the figures offer evidence that the pandemic-era health order, known as Title 42, is leading to more border encounters, not less, since single adults who are expelled are simply returning to try and cross again.

HAITIAN ODYSSEY: Inside the brutal 10,000-mile journey Haitian migrants make to Texas

Nearly a third of the single adults stopped by Border Patrol  30 percent  tried to cross at least once in the 12 months prior, CBP reported. That was more than double the average rate at which Border Patrol encountered repeat crossers from fiscal years 2014 to 2019. The Trump administration issued the controversial health order in 2020, arguing it was necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Under the rule, migrants are denied the opportunity to plead their asylum case. The administration has used Title 42 to expel migrants 426,819 times so far in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, according to CBP data.

This kind of gets to some of the issues that were continuing to see with Title 42, which is that since it was implemented, it has continued to incentivize migration of single adults, said Jessica Bolter, an analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. I think this month is one of the clearest examples of that.

The Biden administration has argued the rule is a key tool in handling a surge of migration to the southern border that started in spring 2021. It has also sought to scale it back some by excluding unaccompanied children  a move that Texass Republican leaders have so far successfully sued to block.

The Centers for Disease Control says it is reviewing the policy and will decide by the end of March whether to keep using it to expel single adults and families.

South Texas officials have lined up in favor of extending the Trimp-era order, noting the influx.

We are only five months into the fiscal year and already on track to hit 1 million crossings at the southern border in March, said U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, a San Antonio Republican. He called Title 42 one of the only effective measures in our Border Patrol agents tool belts.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat and early critic of Bidens handling of the migration surge, said Border Patrol agents have told him they fear ending the policy will spark another wave.

Its going to be almost a green light for people to say, nows the time to come in, because theyre not using Title 42, Cuellar said. The 17-year incumbent is in a Democratic primary runoff with progressive immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros, who has called for an end to Title 42.

Other members of Bidens own party have ratcheted up pressure on the president to scrap the policy in recent days, pointing to a significant decline in coronavirus cases that were the basis for the order, as well as Bidens campaign promises to restore the asylum system they say it undermines.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier this month renewed calls for Biden to end the order, saying nows the time to stop the madness.

The continued use of Title 42 has created life-threatening conditions for vulnerable migrants, enriched human smugglers, and significantly increased the number of dangerous border crossings, the New York Democrat and other senators from his party said in a statement.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

We all watched in horror as thousands of Haitian families, including infants, were returned to Haiti without the opportunity to seek asylum in Del Rio, Texas, and remain concerned as thousands of Haitians have been expelled from the United States in the months since, the statement said. Turning away families seeking protection from torture or persecution is not who we are.

Their calls came after a federal appeals court panel in D.C. ruled the administration must stop using the policy to expel migrant families to countries where they may face persecution or torture. The appeals panel upheld the policy, but said it is far from clear it serves any purpose.

That same day, a federal judge in Texas ruled that the administrations decision not to apply Title 42 to unaccompanied children was arbitrary and capricious. Texas had argued in its lawsuit that the increased migration burdened the state with health care, criminal justice and other costs.

Border states such as Texas now uniquely bear the brunt of the ramifications of the policy, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman wrote in his ruling.

In response, the CDC, which first issued the 2020 public health order, issued a new memorandum terminating the governments ability to use it to expel children.

ben.wermund@chron.com
High Point, NC (27260)

Today

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, with mainly clear skies after midnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 59F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, with mainly clear skies after midnight. Gusty winds and small hail are possible. Low 59F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
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Idahos state legislature passed the its own version of Texas contentious anti-abortion bill Monday, making it first state to formally copy the Texas legislation.

The bill cruised through Idahos Republican-dominated state senate and house, and will head to Republican Gov. Brad Little. The governor hasnt spoken publicly about his feelings on the newest bill, but has supported anti-abortion legislation in the past and is expected to sign it.

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Many women dont even realize theyre pregnant six weeks into their pregnancy. Idaho only has three abortion clinics.

Unlike the Texas bill, which allows anyone to sue any person who even tangentially helps a woman receive an abortion after six weeks, the Idaho bill targets only abortion providers and only allows family members to sue.

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The Texas law rewards successful lawsuits with $10,000, the Idaho bill would bump that reward to $20,000. Texas also removed exceptions for rape and incest, which are common even in anti-abortion bills. Idahos bill includes exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies.

The ban wont just deny Idahoans their constitutional right to abortion care, but also effectively eliminate care entirely for many residents who are financially unable to travel out-of-state to obtain the care they need, Planned Parenthood said Monday in a statement.

Several federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have left the Texas law in place, which emboldened Idaho lawmakers to go ahead with their own crackdown.

[ Texas clinics lawsuit over abortion ban effectively over ]

State Rep. Barbara Ehardt said the Texas law withstood three challenges and therefore she expected the Idaho bill to have no problems, the Washington Post reported.

If Little signs the Idaho bill into law, it will take effect next month. Abortions in Texas have dropped by more than 50% since that law passed in September.
BCC to Host Admissions Info Sessions

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Community College (BCC) will host two free virtual information sessions to be held in the month of April: Monday, April 4 at 6 pm and Wednesday, April 6 at 4 pm.

The 30-minute info sessions, presented by admissions counselors on Zoom, are designed to familiarize prospective students with the application and registration process.

To register for a session, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/openhouse

Information session participants can:

Ask questions about the admissions process: how to apply, register, and choose classes

Learn about BCC's affordability and its financial aid options

Hear from staff about quality programs and student support services

Discover how classes will transfer to hundreds of schools or prepare graduates for an immediate career

For more information, contact the Admissions Office at (413) 236-1636.
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Theres not a colonel of truth to that title.

Outspoken Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert claims that a few parents of U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan reached out to support her after she interrupted President Bidens nationally televised State of the Union Address earlier this month. One of them, she claimed, was the mother of a lieutenant corporal.

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Rep. Lauren Boebert has a lot to learn about military ranks. (Pool/Getty Images)

[ SEE IT: Lauren Boebert challenger launches campaign with ad full of cow feces ]

As critics including retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman pointed out on Twitter, theres no such thing as a lieutenant corporal in the U.S. military.

So what was the nationality of the mother who thanked her? Vindman asked.

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The U.S. military doesnt have a rank of lieutenant corporal so what was the nationality of the mother who thanked her? https://t.co/nuKGtFTOKF  Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) March 15, 2022

Boebert, along with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, became the subjects of bipartisan condemnation after acting out during the presidents March 1 address to the nation.

Perhaps Boeberts most poorly timed heckle came while President Biden was talking about troops being subject to potentially toxic burn pits while deployed overseas. He wondered if the death of his son, former Army Maj. Beau Biden, may have been caused by the time he spent in Iraq in service to his country.

Boebert thought that was a good time to loudly blame Biden for the death of 13 U.S. troops who were killed by an ISIS-K terrorist while trying to leave Afghanistan in August 2021.

[ Adam Kinzinger blasts evil Tucker Carlson, then zaps Marjorie Taylor Greene with space laser zinger ]

The 35-year-old Republican did not serve in the military. She does however operate a Colorado eatery where staffers carry firearms.

More than four hours after posting her lieutenant corporal tweet, Boebert clarified on Twitter that she meant to say the woman who allegedly thanked her was the mother of a lance corporal.
Marilyn Miglin, the queen of the Home Shopping Networks beauty counter, died Monday at age 83.

She was at home and surrounded by her family, reads a statement on her website. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her but her spirit will stay with all of us.

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Marilyn Miglin on the Home Shopping Network.

Miglin, who was born in the Czech Republic, grew up in Chicago, launching her cosmetics empire in 1963 and eventually expanding it to more than 35 fragrances, including her signature smell, Pheromone.

For 25 years, she hocked her wares on the Home Shopping Network, selling her goods to more than 65 million viewers.

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Miglin is considered one of the top women business owners in the country and Marilyn Miglin Cosmetics has been valued at $50 million.

At home in Chicago, Miglin also made a name for herself as a philanthropist, co-founding the University of Illinois advisory board for the Craniofacial Center to help facially disfigured and burn survivors and founding the Women of Destiny program, which connects Chicago professionals to young women in the same industry.

Miglins husband, Lee, was murdered in 1997 by Andrew Cunanan, who went on to kill fashion designer Gianni Versace two months later. Judith Light played Miglin in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
Marvel Studios is using its Twitter superpowers to tell the world where it stands in the fight for LGBTQ equality.

On Tuesday, the studio released a statement denouncing legislation targeting the LGBTQ community, amid parent company Disneys controversial response to Floridas Dont Say Gay bill.

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We strongly denounce any and ALL legislation that infringes on the basic human rights of the LGBTQIA+ community, Marvel said in a statement shared on social media.

Marvel Studios stands for hope, inclusivity and strength; and we proudly stand with the community. Today, we pledge to continue our strong commitment as allies who promote the values of equality, acceptance and respect.

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The Walt Disney Company has been under fire lately for failing to promptly denounce Floridas controversial bill, which is designed to ban discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation in primary schools classrooms.

Slammed by critics as hateful, bigoted, homophobic and transphobic, the legislation has passed both the state House of Representatives and the Senate.

Breaking News As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. >

Disney initially side-stepped over the issue, failing to condemn lawmakers behind the legislation and reaffirming its commitment to treat everyone with dignity and respect while producing inspiring content.

The companys inaction sparked protests in front of its Florida and California parks, as well as a growing backlash on social media, with the hashtags #cancelDisney and #boycottDisney populating timelines.

On March 9, Disney CEO Bob Chapek said that the company had actually stood against the bill all along, but chose not to take a public position on it because we thought we could be more effective working behind the scenes, engaging directly with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

That same day, a group of LGBTQIA+ employees of [Disney-owned] Pixar and their allies expressed anger and frustration at the companys inaction regarding its position against the bill.

In a statement, the group wrote that they were disappointed, hurt, afraid, and angry with its parent company for its financial involvement with Florida legislators behind the bill.

Protests against Disneys tepid response continued, and on Friday Chapek issued a statement acknowledging that the company was wrong for not speaking out.

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He also apologized for not being a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights.
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has partnered with Naselle Youth Camp on assistance during wildfire season. (dcyf.wa.gov)
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in calling on European Union Member States to set a global example of support for media freedom in crisis by extending emergency shelter and visa exemption to Russian journalists fleeing the country, as well as to Belarusian journalists seeking refuge from war and repression.

Independent journalists and media in Russia are currently experiencing the most severe and wide-ranging crackdown in the last thirty years. Leading broadcasters have been silenced or shuttered; dozens of news websites have been blocked; use of the word invasion or war have been banned; and a new law criminalizing what authorities deem to be fake news or information about the armed forces could see journalists jailed for up to 15 years.

More than 150 Russian journalists have since fled the country fearing for their safety and their liberty. With the crackdown showing no signs of abating, more are likely to follow. So far, most journalists have travelled to neighbouring countries with visa-free entry for Russian citizens: Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan. Some have been arbitrarily turned away, transferred on and, in the case of Dozhd TVs Mikhail Fishman, detained. Those that do get in are faced with working in exile in states with repressive environments for independent media.

Action is urgently needed to ensure Russias independent media is not destroyed altogether. Our organisations call on all EU Member States to provide safe havens for dissident Russian journalists to re-establish their bases of operations and continue reporting. Exemptions must be made by EU states to provide emergency visas to journalists and their families. In addition to financial support to Ukrainian media, EU governments should provide funding to help Russian newsrooms relocate to safety.

Visa exemptions should also be extended to independent Belarusian journalists, who over the past year and a half have undergone a similarly repressive crackdown under President Alexander Lukashenko. Mass arrests and the threat of criminal prosecution led to an exodus of Belarusian journalists, including into neighbouring Ukraine. While Ukrainian journalists fleeing the war currently enjoy visa waivers, their Belarusian colleagues are trapped and are unable to seek safety within the EUs borders.

The European Union has already shown remarkable unity in its response to the bloody invasion of Ukraine. Though much more needs to be done, the support from Member States to help relocate Ukrainian journalists fleeing the bloodshed has been commendable. A similar show of European unity in helping independent Russian and Belarusian journalists is now needed. If allowed to relocate inside the democratic legal framework of the European Union and rebuild their newsrooms in exile, these independent media may stand a chance of survival.

Signed:

ARTICLE 19

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)

International Press Institute (IPI)

OBC Transeuropa

This statement was coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. This project provides legal and practical support, public advocacy and information to protect journalists and media workers. The MFRR is organised by a consortium led by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) including ARTICLE 19, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Free Press Unlimited (FPU), the Institute for Applied Informatics at the University of Leipzig (InfAI), International Press Institute (IPI) and CCI/Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT). The project is co-funded by the European Commission.
Profile: Thai "granny professor" forges bridge of cross-cultural friendship

13:49, March 16, 2022 By Chen Qianci ( Xinhua

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The distance from Chiang Mai to Beijing is nearly 3,000 km, and Kuapan Nakbubpa never imagined that she would one day throw herself into educational work in a place so faraway from home.

The 77-year-old Thai assistant professor has been working in China for 18 years since she retired in 2005. She now considers Beijing her second home and spares no effort to spread knowledge here.

Kuapan started teaching in Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in 1992, during the late winter and early spring in the Chinese capital, yet "it was much colder than the coldest time in Chiang Mai."

"I love teaching so much," said the Thai teacher, adding that she was so excited that she woke up at 3:00 a.m. on the first day of the new semester this year, and kept teaching for four hours straight that morning without taking any break, "I don't feel tired at all."

The thin and silver-haired professor seems no different from any ordinary old Chinese lady except that she knows little Chinese, nor does she know anything about a mobile phone or computer. Her teaching "weapons" are only chalk and blackboard.

Though being a "low-tech" teacher according to Kuapan's self-mockery, she tried everything to get her class on track, such as learning Chinese pinyin and using English expressions and gestures to communicate with her Chinese students.

Kuapan recalled that when she first arrived in Beijing, she inevitably encountered some difficulties in life, including language barriers, but there was always someone to lend a helping hand.

"It is the kind help from teachers and students at BFSU that has supported me in Beijing for so many years," Kuapan said with emotion.

In the eyes of students enrolled in the Thai major at BFSU, Kuapan is like a "perpetual motion machine." She always arrives in class earlier than students and can even lecture through a two-hour class without rest.

Kuapan is more than willing to spend her spare time tutoring students, to the extent that her students jokingly call her residence their "second classroom," as it is where she teaches them everything from pronunciation, word combination, sentence-making, dialogue, speech, and composition, to thesis writing.

Whether it is day or night, weekdays or weekends, Kuapan welcomes students whenever she has time. "My spare time is not that important. If students make progress, I will be happy."

Most students realize how lucky they are to have such a dedicated teacher and prefer to affectionately address Kuapan as "granny," which is to the foreign professor's delight, as she considers every Chinese student her own child.

Kuapan is also trusted by teachers of BFSU. Whenever they encounter any problems related to Thailand or the Thai language, they can always turn to the knowledgeable "granny" for help.

Kuapan also answers questions even for graduates on the phone, which she calls "after-sales service". With her tireless cultivation, the graduates are now active in various fields such as diplomacy, journalism, education, economy, and trade.

Kuapan also contributed to the compilation of Thai literature textbooks and dictionaries, all of which have won her many awards from the Chinese government, such as the Friendship Award for 2005, the title of "the most favorite foreign teacher of Chinese students" in 2014, and the 2016 International Educator in China Award.

No matter how many awards she has received, she still considers herself "an ordinary Thai teacher," and her only reason to stay in China is "for the students."

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuapan has not been able to return to Thailand for more than two years. Given her advanced age, she plans to return to her hometown next year.

"I won't just walk away. If teachers in BFSU need to name freshmen in Thai, they can contact me one day in advance," Kuapan said.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
A Pittsburgh man will not be charged under the states Stand Your Ground law for fatally shooting his coworker on a camping trip in December.

Peter Spencer, a 29-year-old Jamaican immigrant, was drunk and high on psychedelic mushrooms when he began firing his AK-47 assault rifle into the air at a Rockland Township cabin on Dec. 12, District Attorney Shawn White said Tuesday at a press conference.

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Spencer then began screaming about being a god and creator, master and manipulator of his own reality, witnesses said.

He continued firing the gun into the air until one of the other campers stopped collecting firewood.

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Youre not going anywhere, an erratic Spencer told the camper, according to the district attorney, then ordered him at gunpoint to get on the ground and kneel.

Peter Spencer (Paul Jubas)

Thats when his coworker, who has not been publicly identified, shot Spencer nine times.

Despite criticism from Pittsburghs Black community, White said there was no bias by the shooter, who is white. Instead, he said, the man was acting in self-defense.

All witness statements confirmed what the evidence and ballistics reports determined, White said.

These individuals were solely friends, Cpl. Aaron Allen of the Heritage Affairs unit said Wednesday. They were here for a camping trip. And thats why we indicated there was no hate and/or bias attached to this.

An attorney for Spencers family said they disagreed with the decision but were not surprised by it.

Im dead right now, Spencers mother, Icilda Spencer Hunter, told WTAE. Thats how I feel: dead, no emotion, nothing.
Today, ConsenSys announced the close of a $450 million USD financing round, bringing its valuation to $7 billion USD. ParaFi Capital led this raise after participating in ConsenSys Series C round in November 2021. They were joined by new investors, including Temasek, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Microsoft, Anthos Capital, Sound Ventures, and C Ventures. Series C investors  Third Point, Marshall Wace, True Capital Management, and UTA VC, United Talent Agencys venture fund  also participated in this round. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as ConsenSys legal advisor in this transaction.

ConsenSys has been a pioneer in creating the foundational software for the next wave of the internet, Web3. Our mission is to unlock the collaborative power of communities by making DAOs, NFTs, and DeFi universally easy to use, access, and build on.

The acceleration of Web3 adoption globally is also illustrated by the rise of leading self-custodial wallet, MetaMask, which now supports more than 30 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), growing 42% in only four months. A global user base relies on MetaMask to mint and collect NFTs, join DAOs, and participate in DeFi protocols. The United States, the Philippines, Brazil, Germany and Nigeria represent some of MetaMasks most active markets.

All proceeds from the round will be converted to ETH to further build ConsenSys ultra sound money position as a rebalance to its ETH to fiat ratio in line with ConsenSys treasury strategy. ConsenSys has long maintained a significant treasury of ETH, stablecoins and other crypto tokens, and is actively using its own financial infrastructure, such as MetaMask Institutional and Codefi Staking, to put these assets to work in DeFi protocols and via staking in anticipation of Ethereums upcoming merge to Proof of Stake.

Joseph Lubin, Founder and CEO of ConsenSys said, I think of ConsenSys as a broad and deep capabilities machine for the decentralized protocols ecosystem, able to rapidly capitalize at scale on fundamental new constructs that emerge, such as developer tooling, wallets, security audits, DeFi, NFTs, Layer-2 scaling, DAOs, and more. This view has resonated with our crypto native and growth investors in a Series D that will enable us to execute exciting growth strategies. This round takes in digital assets as well as fiat and converts all immediately to ETH. Next round will be our Series ETH where we will assist investors in getting fully crypto native and contributing ETH as a symbol of and commitment to the ongoing paradigm shift.

Funding will also support the rapid expansion of MetaMask with a major redesign scheduled for release later in 2022, as well as the roll out of a plug-in extensibility system that will allow integration with a wide variety of blockchain protocols and account security schemes. This roadmap expansion also builds on ConsenSyss recent acquisition of MyCrypto, which will enable MetaMask to bolster its industry-leading security infrastructure and create a cohesive user experience across desktop, mobile, extension, and browser wallets.

Funding will be used to accelerate the global adoption of Infuras development toolsuite as well as ConsenSyss efforts to drive NFT adoption for artists, content creators, brands, intellectual property owners, game publishers, and sport leagues.

With nearly 700 full time employees at present, ConsenSys hiring will surge this year as it is on track to scale to over 1,000 employees by the end of 2022. ConsenSys maintains a core objective to be an industry leader when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, partnering with organizations like Work180, CryptoChicks and the Black Women Blockchain Council. Since September 2020 ConsenSys has increased gender balance in the workforce from 19% to 25% as of December 2021. Its belonging scores also continue to trend up, reaching 91% in the latest survey. ConsenSys is proud to be a major driver of the transformation to the age of community.

ConsenSys has emerged as one of the most important companies in the blockchain space, said ParaFi Capital Founder and Managing Partner, Ben Forman. In particular, Metamask is the gateway for over 30 million users to access web3 and DeFi applications every month, making it one of the most widely used blockchain products in the world for consumers and businesses. As a long-time power user of ConsenSys products and services, ParaFi is thrilled to be an investor and thought partner as the company continues to operate at the forefront of decentralized infrastructure.

Neil Cunha-Gomes, investor for SoftBank Investment Advisers said, Were delighted to partner with Joe and the team in their mission to power access to the decentralized web. We believe ConsenSys ecosystem of simple, neutral, and secure Web3 products continues to foster unprecedented levels of engagement and were excited to help them take Web3 adoption to the next level.
Some good news for any business that took out a Covid Economic Injury Disaster Loan ( EIDL): The Small Business Administration is extending deferment periods for disaster loans once again.

With no further Covid-related relief funds from Congress in sight, the SBA is allowing those who sought disaster loans from the Covid-relief program to extend the deferment period for 30 months from when the loan was first approved. Those seeking this deferment will still need to pay interest--around 3 percent--on the loans, which is generally considered inexpensive.

The extension applies to all EIDL loans approved since 2020. Some disaster loans previously had deferment periods for either 18 months or 24 months.

SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman said in a Tuesday statement that the extended deferment for the loans will help millions of small-business owners.

The announcement arrives just days after a group of 16 senators asked the SBA to extend the deferment period. In their letter, the senators emphasized the challenges that small businesses faced amid the surge of the Omicron variant, which included staffing crunches and drops in revenue. Those same challenges continue to linger for many businesses today.

Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who chairs the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in the Senate, praised the SBA's decision to extend the deferment period. "Washington cannot mistake our signs of recovery for proof that small businesses have recovered from the pandemic," Cardin said in a statement. "Millions of small businesses, especially restaurants, bars, and other hard-hit sectors, are being sandwiched between past-due bills and increasing supply and labor costs."
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Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region.
Nepal joined Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2017 in a bid to reduce its dependence on India and improve regional connectivity infrastructure. Since then, Nepal and China have entered a period of strategic partnership. Nevertheless, a close look at the status of proposed BRI projects show that implementation has lagged due to various reasons.

As of March 2022, the flagship BRI project in Nepal is the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network (THMCN), which includes a cross-border railway connecting Chinas Tibet Autonomous Region with Nepals capital, Kathmandu, and the China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park (also known as Damak Clean Industrial Park) in Jhapa.

While there has been local pushback over fears of Chinas debt trap economic diplomacy, the environmental impact assessment of proposed projects, and Prime Minister KP Sharma Olis perceived closeness to Beijing, preparatory work on some of the projects have been underway.

Recently, on March 10, President Bidya Devi Bhandari urged that movement on these BRI projects be expedited as Nepal and China had signed their Memorandum of Understanding five years ago. Bhandari was, however, also quoted saying, We have deep cultural links across the Himalayas. It goes without saying that we have kept this amity for centuries because Nepal-China relations are founded on time-tested mutual trust.

What is the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network?

The Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network includes infrastructure projects, such as the Trans-Himalayan Railway project and the Damak Clean Industrial Park, a joint venture undertaking in Jhapa, eastern Nepal.

On October 21, 2021, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Nepals major political parties set up a consultation mechanism for political parties on the Trans-Himalayan Connectivity Network and held their first virtual meeting.

Participants in the meeting included Song Tao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, Timir Sina, Chairman of the Nepalese Federal House, Prachanda, Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal, and Batraei, the leader of the Nepal Peoples Socialist Party.

Nepal-China railway

Discussion had been underway for some time on constructing a railway connecting the hilly areas of Nepal with Tibet to create alternative logistics routes. A pre-feasibility study of the Kathmandu-Kerung railway line undertaken in 2018 proposed connectivity through a series of tunnels below Langtang National Park.

The Nepali section is supposed to be 72.25 km long and will need to overcome major topographical challenges posed by the Himalayan terrain; 98.5 percent of the section will reportedly be bridges or tunnels. There are four stations planned along the line, with the terminal at Sankhu in Kathmandu. A further extension to Pokhara and Lumbini was also discussed in 2018.

So far engineering difficulties due to the gradient terrain from the Tibetan Plateau to the low Nepal valleys, daunting costs, and geopolitical factors have prevented this rail connection from materializing. Critics have also mentioned that successive Nepal governments have failed to maintain the conditions of existing highway routes to Kodari and Rasuwagadi to international standards.

How the Fuxing bullet train in Tibet could improve connectivity with Nepal

While delays have plagued the development of necessary Nepal rail infrastructure, steady progress has been achieved on the China-Tibet side. In June 2021, China inaugurated the 435 km section of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Electrified High-speed Rail (HSR), which passes through 47 tunnels and 121 bridges along the Brahmaputra (Tsang Po) River. The bullet train is part of the new Sichuan-Tibet Railway. According to media reports, if this railway section gets connected to Kerung via Lhasa and Shigatse, it would put Lhasa within six hours distance and Chengdu within 19 hours from the Nepal border.

China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park

Another important project under the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network is the China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park. It is a Nepal-China joint venture (JV) undertaking.

Key stakeholders

The industrial park will be jointly developed by China Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone Investment And Development Co. Ltd., China Ping An Group Trust Co. Ltd., Nepal Industrial Zone Management Co. Ltd., and the Daomuke City government. Construction work began October 2020 as per a Chinese report.

Location

The China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park is about 270 kilometers away from Kathmandu and covers nearly 1600 hectares. Its proximity to highways, airports, and ports in the Indian Ocean offer unique advantages in terms of foreign trade.

Project plan

According to the project plan, infrastructure investments would amount to a total of US$1 billion and will be developed in four phases. The first phase plans to develop, over a period of three years, an area of 424.81 hectares, including 133.33 hectares of core area, with an estimated investment of US$586 million. A total of 192 small, medium, and large factories are expected to be set up inside the industrial park in the first phase.

The next two phases will be a period of rapid development of the industrial park layout; the second phase will develop 363.74 hectares and the third phase 372.04 hectares. Living facilities will be improved simultaneously, to secure industrial and urban symbiosis. The fourth and final phase will see 436.21 hectares of land planned for commercial real estate development, science, education, research and development industries, improving industrial structure, and establishing supporting facilities. The industrial park is projected to achieve US$5 billion output value at scale by 2030, employ 60,000 people, and house 100,000 permanent residents.

Types of industries

The China-Nepal Friendship Industrial Park is expected to host modern industries for transportation equipment, production of white goods, textile and garments, and food processing, among others. Supporting industries are logistics and scientific and technical innovation and training.

Status of work

Ongoing activities in the industrial park as reported March 2021:

Cadastral survey

Improvement of the land

River training works

Extension of industrial land

Bridge construction

Road construction

Design of civil works

Scoping of environmental impact assessment (EIA)

Nepal-China Transit Transport Treaty

In 2019, Nepal and China signed a protocol to operationalize their 2016 Transit Transport Treaty, giving the landlocked Himalayan country access to Chinese seaports in Tianjin (northern China), Shenzhen (southeast China, Guangdong Province), Lianyungang (northeast China, Jiangsu Province), and Zhanjiang (southeast China, Guangdong Province) and three land ports in Lanzhou, Lhasa, and Shigatse for third-country imports. The protocol also enabled Nepal to export via six dedicated transit points between Nepal and China. Consequently, the Transit Transport Treaty was to offer Nepal an alternative to India for its third-country trade. Yet, years have passed, and Nepal and China have still not developed a standard operating procedure to implement the transit agreement.

With inputs from Qian Zhou.


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The fraud trial for former Theranos President Ramesh Sunny Balwani, already long-delayed by the global health pandemic, was again put on hold Wednesday due to a possible COVID exposure among the jurors.

Lawyers for both sides were scheduled to make opening statements in the case against 56-year-old Balwani, the ex-boyfriend and former business partner of disgraced tech wunderkind, Elizabeth Holmes. But U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered everyone to clear out of the packed courtroom in San Jose, Calif., emphasizing that the delay was out of an abundance of caution. He said he would decide Thursday whether or not it would be safe to relaunch the legal proceedings on Friday.

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Davila added that it was limited, limited exposure and that he hoped to return sooner rather than later.

Former Theranos COO Ramesh Balwani leaves the Robert F. Peckham U.S. Federal Court on April 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Both Holmes and Balwani were each indicted in June 2018 on counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They were accused of defrauding investors, doctors and patients by claiming Theranos, once valued at $9 billion, could revolutionize medical lab testing with a unique technology, created to administer tests for more than 200 diseases and conditions with just the prick of a finger.

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Jurors in January concluded Holmes was fully aware her test, nicknamed The Edison, did not work as she claimed and that it often yielded inaccurate results, including for pregnant patients, some of who were wrongfully told they were miscarrying.

She was found guilty on three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy while the jury returned no verdict on three counts of wire fraud, which were ultimately dropped.

In this Nov. 2, 2015 file photo, Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, speaks at the Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco. (Jeff Chiu/AP)

Holmes, in a surprise turn, took the stand during her months-long fraud trial and delivered an emotional testimony, primarily placing the blame on Balwani for the high-profile scam. A Stanford dropout, Holmes said she was raped before leaving university to launch her startup at the age of just 19 years old. That experience, she noted, made her all the more susceptible to the manipulation she claimed Balwani used to brainwash and control her.

Even before he joined Theranos as chief operating officer, a position he held from 2009 to 2016, Homes claimed he was emotionally abusive and would berate her to the point where she could not make effective decision regarding her business. Holmes, who is facing 20 years behind bars, remains free on $500,000 bail and is slated to be sentenced in September.

Prosecutors have not said whether she will testify against Balwani, though her low bail amount has sparked speculation that she may indeed take the stand against her former second-hand man. Should prosecutors agree, she could be granted leniency in exchange for her cooperation.

Balwani has plead not guilty to each of the charges against him. He has also denied all allegations of abuse raised by Holmes.

With News Wire Services
India may buy 3.5 million barrels of crude oil from Russia at deep discounts, sources have told TOI.



As a part of the deal that India is likely to close soon, Russia will also take care of shipping and insurance for delivering the crude to India.



Oil minister Hardeep Puri on Monday had told the Rajya Sabha that India was looking into a Russian offer of discounted oil. As per TOIs report, the said oil will be delivered over a few months.



Unsplash/Representational image

However, the Centre is yet to work out the payment mechanism. Reports suggest that a Rupee-Rouble arrangement may have been finalised. A decision is expected over the next few days.



So far, India has abstained from taking any stand in the Russia-Ukraine war except that of resolution via dialogue. The White House earlier on Tuesday had said that if India were to take up the Russian offer of discounted oil, it would not violate sanctions deployed by Washington.



US comments on the deal

Officials of the Biden administration have shown an understanding of India's position and have told lawmakers that New Delhi has a major dependence on Russian military supplies for its national security.

AFP/Representational image

"Our message to any country continues to be that abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday.



Psaki further said, "I don't believe this would be violating that (sanctions)."



"But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time. Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact," Psaki added.



What experts say

Indian-American Congressman Dr Ami Bera expressed disappointment over reports that India is contemplating buying Russian oil at a steeply discounted rate.



AFP/Representational image

"If reports are accurate and India makes this decision to buy Russian oil at a discounted price, New Delhi would be choosing to side with Vladimir Putin at a pivotal moment in history when countries across the world are united in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russia's deadly invasion," he said.



India and its oil needs

India depends on imports to meet 85% of its oil need. At 3.6 million tonne, Russian crude accounted for 2% of 176 million tonnes imported by India between April 2021 and January 2022.

In what has turned out to be a volatile streak, oil has tumbled into a bear market after losing more than 20% since closing at the highest level since 2008 just over a week ago. Caught between Chinese lockdown, Russia-Ukraine war & Iran nuclear talks, oil futures in New York declined for a second session and closed below $97 a barrel while Brent settled below $100.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


Google, in its most recent doodle, celebrates the 200 birth anniversary of renowned French artist Rosa Bonheur whose successful career in the field of arts was an inspiration to the future generations of women.

Google

Also Read: Pablo Picasso's Hidden Painting Finally Revealed Thanks To Cutting-Edge AI

The doodle shows Bonheur painting a flock of sheep over bright green pastures on a blue spring day. The doodle is reminiscent of the art style that was adopted by Bonheur in her paintings.



As per the official release shared by Google, Bonheur was born in 1882, in Bordeaux, France. Her interest to pursue a career in art came at a time when it was seen as unconventional for women. She had her earlier education in art from her father, who himself was a minor landscape painter.

Bonheur would follow closely the development of artistic traditions by studying them carefully for years and preparing her own sketches before putting them forever on a canvas.

She was known for her animal paintings and sculptures and her popularity grew in the 1840s with her work being exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon from 1841 to 1853.

Wikimedia Commons

Also Read: At 45,500 Years, This Could Be The Oldest Animal Painting In Human History

Scholars are of the belief that an 1849 exhibition of Plowing in Nivernais -- a government commission that is now a part of Frances Musee Nationale du Chateau de Fontainebleau -- brought her into the limelight, establishing her professional career.



She further received international acclaim for her painting, The Horse Fair, which showed the horse market that use to be held in Paris. This painting today remains on exhibit in New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art and is regarded as her most well-known work.

Keep visiting Indiatimes.com for the latest science and technology news.
Besides the endless bizarre things billionaire Elon Musk talks about, his recent attempt to be the talk of the town was to challenge Russian President Vladimir Putin to a combat.

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Not just that, he also agreed with a Twitter user who said that the fight among the two would be over in 10 seconds. Now, adding another twist to the challenge, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov has offered to help Musk train to battle Putin.

Elon Musk challenges Putin to a fight

The tech billionaire challenged the Russian President to a fight this week, and now Kadyrov, who is one of Putin's firmest loyalists with a terrifying reputation, has cautioned Musk against the combat with the Kremlin leader.

"I would not advise you to compete with Putin," he wrote in a lengthy Telegram post.

Telegram post by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Chechen Republic! pic.twitter.com/UyByR9kywq  Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022

Ramzan Kadyrov offers help to Elon Musk

Kadyrov tried to sound mocking in his response, and also referred to the SpaceX founder as a female called 'Elona', because according to him, women are obviously weak.

He also offered up his 'personal assistance' to help Musk prepare for the fistfight and added that it "would look unsportsmanlike [for Putin to beat] a weaker opponent."

Besides that, he pointed out that the Russian president has a black belt in judo, but that it was his experience of being a "world politician, strategist, a scourge of the West and the US" that would see him defeat Musk.

AFP

Ramzan Kadyrov mocks Elon Musk

He described the Tesla founder as a 'businessman and Twitter blogger'. He advised him to train at three different facilities to prepare for the fight with Putin.

The tech billionaire was invited to the Russian Special Forces University to get firearms training. After that, he was encouraged to attend Fight Club Akhmat, named after Karyrov's father and former Chechen ruler Akhmat Kadyrov, where Elon could be 'trained to take a punch'. Last but not the least, Musk was then told to go to Gronzy Chechen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company to learn about 'black PR'.

Elon Musk changes name to 'Elona' on Twitter

However, these threats only seem to amuse the American billionaire who even changed his Twitter name to 'Elona'. He also added: "Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage. If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed."

Earlier this week, Elon Musk called out the Russian leader in a post on Twitter by tagging the president's official Twitter account.

I hereby challenge   [Vladimir Putin] to single combat, he wrote.

I hereby challenge

 

to single combat



Stakes are   Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 14, 2022

Kadyrov has repeatedly expressed his desire for more aggression towards Ukraine ever since the invasion began. He also claimed to be near Kyiv on Sunday with his soldiers but there is no evidence to back it up.

According to Human Rights Watch, Kadyrov is responsible for a crackdown on LGBTQA+ rights and is infamous for his extensive use of torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings.

Tylaz

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Woodbridge, VA (22192)

Today

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 55F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low around 55F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
The state cannot be held liable for injuries sustained in a parking lot that is regularly used by people accessing a public building, the Maine Supreme Court has ruled.

On March 15, in Klein v. University of Maine System, the court ruled against the plaintiff, Karen Klein, who was injured when she fell on untreated ice in a parking lot at the universitys Orono campus.

The states high court agreed with the Superior Court in granting the University of Maine summary judgment and relieving it of liability because the parking lot where the injuries occurred is not an appurtenance or fixture to a public building, a condition that might qualify the incident for an exception to the states general grant of immunity for governmental entities,

The court stressed that to deem a parking area appurtenant to a public building merely because someone parks her vehicle in it to gain access to another public building would constitute an impermissible extension of the statutory exceptions to governmental immunity.

In January 2019, Klein drove her vehicle to the Orono campus to conduct business at Fogler Library. Klein was instructed by the university to use a parking lot that is contiguous to nearby Holmes Hall and across the road from the library. The parking lot is used primarily by faculty and staff working at Holmes Hall and by faculty, staff, and visitors using Fogler Library.

After her fall, Klein filed a complaint in the Superior Court alleging that the university was negligent in its maintenance and operation of the parking lot. The university filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming immunity from Kleins suit under the Maine Tort Claims Act (MTCA). Klein opposed the motion, arguing that the parking lot fell within the public building exception to the MTCAs otherwise comprehensive grant of immunity.

On February 5, 2021, the court granted the universitys summary judgment motion on the grounds that the parking lot was not an appurtenance as that term has been defined and therefore that no exception to governmental immunity applied.

The MTCA expressly provides that, as a general rule, governmental entities are immune from suit on any and all tort claims seeking recovery of damages. However, a public building exception to this immunity provides that a governmental entity is liable for its negligent acts or omissions in the construction, operation or maintenance of any public building or the appurtenances to any public building.

The MTCA does not define the term appurtenance, and the state courts have adopted a restrictive definition of the term.

The plaintiff cited a 2020 case (McDonald v. City of Portland), involving a brick plaza leading to the entrance to the Portland Police Department building. In this case the court found a public building exception after applying a three-part definition. The court concluded, first, that the plaza was annexed to the Department building because it serve[d] as the roof to the portion of the building underneath it and [could not] be freely moved or relocated. Second, the court said that the plaza was adapted to the unique needs of the Department building because the buildings lobby would be wholly inaccessible without [it]. Third, the court said that the annexation and essential nature of the plaza displayed the citys intent to make it an irremovable part of the Department building.

The fact that the plaza was physically annexed toformed the roof of a portion ofthe Portland Police Department headquarters building was critical to the outcome in McDonald, the court said of its previous analysis in McDonald.

In analyzing Kleins case, the high court decided that the parking lot is quite different from the brick plaza at the police building and the parking lot does not qualify as an appurtenance or fixture. Although the parking lot shares a common border with Holmes Hall, the court said the parking lot is not an object or thing that is physically annexed to Holmes Hall or Fogler Library. The parking lot is not attached to either Holmes Hall or Fogler Library nor is it incorporated into these public buildings in any way, the court said, adding that since the parking lot is not annexed to either university building, it cannot be an irremovable part of either building. Thus, the court found no evidence to support two of the three necessary factors in McDonald.

The court continued that even if the parking lot were annexed to one of the public buildings, it would not satisfy the remaining factor necessary to the definition of a fixture. The parking lot is not adapted to the realty because it is not unique or integral to Holmes Hall or Fogler Library in any way.

Many buildings border parking areas that facilitate the arrival and departure of visitors to the building, and there is no factual basis upon which to determine that this parking lot serves any special purposeit does not serve as an entryway to any building, and it has no designated purpose other than parking, the court wrote.

Because the parking lot is not an appurtenance, Kleins injury is one for which the university is afforded governmental immunity from suit, according to the 6-1 opinion written by Justice Ellen Gorman.

Topics Legislation Education Universities Maine
A shooting was reported Tuesday afternoon in Fort Lauderdale near a restaurant called Shooters.

According to Local 10, a 911 call was made around 4 p.m. after a man was found with a gunshot wound.

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Shooters is in Ft. Lauderdale. Fla. (Google )

An employee at Shooters, a popular tiki-themed spot nearby, told the station that the victim also worked there as a server.

A witness told the station that the victim was in a verbal altercation with a former employee before gunfire started.

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No other information was provided.
Last year, Virginia lawmakers passed one of the most restrictive bans in the country on the use of facial recognition technology, barring local police departments and campus police from purchasing or using the technology unless explicitly authorized by the legislature.

Last Thursday, just eight months after the measure took effect, lawmakers approved a bill to lift the blanket ban. The legislation would allow police agencies to use the technology in certain circumstances, including to help identify an individual when they have reasonable suspicion that the person committed a crime. Under the bill, facial recognition also could be used for a variety of other uses, including to help identify crime victims or witnesses, sex trafficking victims and unidentified bodies in morgues.

The legislation explicitly bars the use of facial recognition for surveillance or monitoring. Cities and states around the country moved to limit its use after some law enforcement agencies applied facial recognition technology to images taken from street cameras during racial justice demonstrations in 2021 and used those to make arrests in some cases.

Several lawmakers said they viewed the ban passed last year as a temporary measure to allow the legislature to evaluate facial recognition technology. Democratic Sen. Scott Surovell, whose bill was approved Thursday, said the technology  when used with appropriate restrictions  can be an important investigatory tool for police.

I think it will help police not only solve, but prosecute crime more efficiently, said Surovell.

Some lawmakers were vehemently opposed to ending the ban, citing concerns about privacy, civil rights violations and studies that found higher error rates for facial recognition software used to identify people of color.

This technology can be very important to law enforcement for different types of investigatory situations, but it can also be used for a tremendous amount of bad things  is is dangerous, said Republican Sen. Ryan McDougle.

It is not right, it is not as restrictive as it should be, he said.

Democratic Del. Marcia Cia Price cited the case of Robert Williams, a Black man who was arrested by Detroit police when facial recognition technology mistakenly identified him as a shoplifting suspect. Williams said his Michigan drivers license photo _ kept in a statewide image repository _ was incorrectly flagged as a likely match to the suspect. Investigators had scanned grainy surveillance camera footage of a 2018 theft inside a watch store.

When he said he didnt do it, the officer said, `Well, the computer said you did,  Price said.

Why should we allow law enforcement to use it? she said.

The ban applied to local and campus police departments, but not to Virginia State Police. State police use the Centralized Criminal Image System, which allows them to compare an unknown image of a person to a database of mug shots of people who have been arrested. The software returns images that have a similarity to the subject in question, but police investigators are required to confirm the official identification.

Several lawmakers said the new legislation includes guardrails to ensure that police have to follow clear rules on when and how the technology can be used. Republican Del. Glenn Davis said police already routinely use publicly available photos on social media sites during investigations.

All were doing here is instead of having law enforcement officers sit there and look through hundreds of photos to try to make that match, we use this technology, Davis said.

Surovell said the legislation prohibits police from including any information obtained through facial recognition when applying for a search warrant or arrest warrant. Police can use the technology to develop leads, but they must have corroborating evidence before they can apply for a warrant, he said.

The bill also requires that the facial technology to be used by police must be evaluated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and have an accuracy rating of at least 98% across all demographic groups. The legislation directs Virginia State Police to develop a model policy on the investigative uses of facial recognition technology. Local local police departments must adopt the state police standards or come up with their own policies that meet or exceed those standards.

Youngkin has not indicated whether he will sign the bill. His spokesperson, Macaulay Porter, declined to comment, saying only that Youngkin will review the legislation when it gets to his desk.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Tech Virginia
LONDON  Environmental lawyers ClientEarth said on Tuesday they were preparing legal action against the directors of Shell over the companys climate transition plan, in what they said would be the first such case of its kind.

The ClientEarth lawyers said they are seeking to hold the directors personally liable for what they consider to be a failure to adequately prepare for the global shift to a low-carbon economy, claiming an alleged breach of the directors duties under the UK Companies Act.

ClientEarth said it had written to Shell notifying it of its claim and was waiting for it to respond before filing papers at the High Court of England and Wales. For the case to proceed, ClientEarth would then need permission from the court to do so.

In a written response to Reuters, Shell said it was delivering on its global strategy that supported the Paris Agreement on climate, including by transforming our business to provide more low-carbon energy for customers.

Addressing a challenge as big as climate change requires action from all quarters. The energy supply challenges we are seeing underscore the need for effective, government-led policies to address critical needs such as energy security while decarbonising our energy system. These challenges cannot be solved by litigation, Shell said.

Energy companies are facing a challenge to their business model as countries look to cut use of fossil fuels, a major cause of man-made global warming, and reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

Shell has pledged to halve the emissions from its operations by 2030, but its net-zero target to reduce those from the use of its products  the bulk of emissions from an oil and gas company, was not far-reaching enough, ClientEarth said.

Shells net-zero target was also not reflected in the companys operating plans or budgets, ClientEarth added.

The quality of the companys climate transition plan has already been challenged by a court in the Netherlands which last year ordered it to go further. Shell is appealing the ruling.

U.N. climate scientists have reiterated the need for faster global action and said failure to hit the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial norms would cause irreparable damage.

ClientEarth said it was pursuing Shells directors for an alleged breach of the UK Companies Act, which requires them to act in a way that promotes the companys success, and to do so whilst exercising reasonable care, skill and diligence.

ClientEarth said it was bringing the action as a shareholder in Shell on behalf of all stakeholders to help protect the long-term viability of the company.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Bermudas aviation regulator said it is suspending certification of all Russian-operated airplanes registered in the British overseas territory due to international sanctions over the war in Ukraine, in a move expected to affect more than 700 planes.

The regulator said it was unable to confidently approve the planes as airworthy due to the impact of sanctions on its ability to conduct safety oversight. Manufacturers are no longer providing parts to Russian airlines as part of the sanctions.

Aircraft Lessors Face Legal Quagmire on Russia Jet Repos. Will Insurers Provide Relief?

The decision by Bermudas Civil Aviation Authority announced on its website late on Saturday would normally lead to the planes being grounded as of its deadline of 2359 GMT on Saturday.

No plane is permitted to fly without a certificate of airworthiness, which is issued by the civil aviation authority in the country where the plane is registered.

In this case, however, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed a few dozen Bermuda-registered planes were flying over Russias airspace as of 1550 GMT on Sunday.

Of the nearly 1,000 planes in the Russian fleet, 745 were registered in Bermuda, aviation consulting firm IBA said on March 1. Of those, 713 were leased and 32 owned.

Russias government said on Thursday it had proposed allowing foreign planes leased by Russian airlines to be registered as the airlines property, and for them to be given Russian airworthiness certificates.

The move followed Russias state aviation authority recommending that Russian airlines with foreign-leased aircraft suspend flights of passengers and cargo abroad, making it harder for lessors to repossess the planes.

Global leasing companies staring at an imminent deadline to repossess more than 400 jets worth almost $10 billion from Russian airlines have received mostly radio silence as experts warn of legal wrangling that could last a decade.

Mutual air closures by the European Union and Moscow over the war in Ukraine have left Russian aviation in near isolation.

Sanctions imposed by the EU in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine give leasing firms until March 28 to free themselves from deals with Russian airlines.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a special operation that it says is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbors military capabilities and de-Nazify the country.

(Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Jamie Freed in Sydney; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Cynthia Osterman and Daniel Wallis)

Topics Russia
A leading Generali shareholder on Tuesday proposed naming the Italian insurers head of Austria as its new chief executive, in a challenge to the reappointment of Philippe Donnet.

Generalis outgoing board has put forward Donnet for a third mandate as CEO ahead of a shareholder vote to elect a new board at the end of April.

Generali Activist Investors Urge Open Dialog to Overcome Perceived Growth Issues Generali Proposes Candidates for New Board as Battle Rages On With Leading Investors

Italian tycoons Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Leonardo Del Vecchio who are, respectively, Generalis second- and third-largest investors, are opposing the reappointment as they challenge the insurers single largest investor, investment bank Mediobanca.

Unveiling his own slate of nominees for the board, Caltagirone on Tuesday said in a statement he was proposing Luciano Cirina, Generalis current head of Austria and central and eastern Europe, for the position of chief executive.

Under his leadership, that area has posted the stronger growth in recent years, Caltagirone said.

Hailing from (Generalis hometown of) Trieste, Cirina has more than 30 years of experience in insurance and is considered by many within the group as the natural successor to the current CEO, enjoying great respect by all staff.

Under Donnet, Generali has delivered higher total returns for shareholders than rivals such as AXA and Allianz and analysts had said Caltagirone needed a strong name to challenge a CEO who has delivered on targets.

Strengthening Donnets hand, Generali on Tuesday posted a record operating profit for 2021.

Caltagirone also proposed Claudio Costamagna, a former Goldman Sachs banker and former chairman of Italian state investor CDP, to chair Generalis board.

Calatagiorne has a stake of just under 8% in the insurer, according to latest available data. After stepping down from Generalis board earlier this year he is no longer obligated to disclose his stakebuilding unless he crosses the 10% threshold.

A representative for Del Vecchio has also quit Generalis board. The two tycoons and a third smaller Generali investor held a combined 16% stake in Generali and had struck a shareholder pact which they have now dissolved to avoid drawing regulatory scrutiny.

To counter their weight at the April AGM, Mediobanca has secured a temporary 17.2% voting stake for the April meeting by borrowing shares to beef up its 12.8% holding.

(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei; writing by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Valentina Za and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

Photograph: A sign sits on the wall of the Rome headquarters of Assicurazioni Generali SpA in Rome, Italy, on Friday, Jan. 27, 2017. Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg

Topics Carriers Generali Life Assurance (Thailand) Plc.
Munich Re is joining other insurers, reinsurers and brokers that have withdrawn from business with Russia.

Condemning Russias attack on Ukraine and supporting the sanctions, Munich Re said it will not renew existing contracts in Russia and Belarus, and new business has been suspended. The group will do the same with its investments in the region.

Swiss Re, Allianz, Other European Financial Services Firms Turn Their Backs on Russia

The events of the last few days have shaken us all deeply. Especially at this moment, it is the task of all peace-loving people to show unity and support, said Munich Re CEO Joachim Wenning.

Our full solidarity goes out to the people affected in Ukraine and their families. Munich Re stands for a peaceful and democratic world. Russias invasion is an act contrary to international law, he added.

The attempt to place the law of the strongest above international law is completely unacceptable. We expressly support the sanctions initiated by the Western community of shared values  also in the knowledge that they will not remain without consequences for our economies.

Munich Re said it will only make exceptions to this rule  sanctions regulations permitting  if the suspension of business negatively affects persons or companies in need of protection.

Munich Re has joining the growing ranks of companies that are withdrawing from Russia: insurers Swiss Re and Allianz, brokers Marsh, Aon and Willis Towers Watson as well as banks and ship classification societies, such as Lloyds Register, which certify that ships are seaworthy for securing insurance.

Munich Re said it is making a contribution to alleviate the hardship of the hundreds of thousands of war refugees. The group donates to the international aid organizations Save the Children, Red Cross, and SOS Kinderdorfer so that particularly vulnerable groups such as families and children can be quickly provided with essentials such as shelter.

As people are now primarily fleeing the battle zone via the Polish border, Munich Re is currently concentrating its aid on this region.

Source: Munich Re

Topics Russia
A magnitude-7.4 earthquake struck northern Japan near Fukushima prefecture late on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring dozens, as well as disrupting power and some factories.

About 2,000 buildings were still without power as of 4:25 p.m. in Japans northeastern region, while some factories were forced to suspend production. A total of 161 people were injured, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference Thursday. He revised an earlier death toll of four after concluding two were not caused by the quake.

The quake, which also shook buildings in parts of Tokyo, hit at a depth of 60 kilometers and struck at 11:36 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to the the Japan Meteorological Agency. An initial magnitude reading of 7.3 was later raised to 7.4.lay Video

The affected area was devastated by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 which left nearly 20,000 dead or missing, and triggered a nuclear crisis. The Fukushima disaster led to the shutdown of all of Japans nuclear plants, forcing the country to rely on other sources of energy such as coal and natural gas. The latest quake also triggered a tsunami warning, which was later lifted.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. halted operations at factories in the area. Some equipment was damaged at Denso Corp.s Fukushima plant, a spokeswoman for the Toyota supplier said. Memory-chip maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. said some systems have been halted at one of its plants and is looking into possible impact on its production.

A Tohoku bullet train has derailed on a stretch of track linking Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, although there were no injuries, East Japan Railway Co. said. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said around 2 million buildings in its service area lost electricity, although power was restored by the morning.

Nuclear regulators said a fire alarm went off at Fukushimas Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, although it was later determined there was no fire. Water pumps used to cool spent fuel pools at the Dai-Ni plant were also halted, before coming back online.

The intensity of the shaking was estimated at an upper 6 on Japans shindo scale of 7 in parts of Miyagi prefecture, according to JMA. A tsunami of 20 centimeters (8 inches) was recorded in the prefecture and residents of some towns were told to evacuate Thursday night, the broadcaster NHK reported.

With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski, Lily Nonomiya, Kyung Bok Cho, Ken McCallum, Sophie Jackman, Shoko Oda, Gareth Allan and Yuko Takeo.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Earthquake
Local officials and area representatives gathered recently in a sunroom by Lake George to discuss the need to invest in local infrastructure as more frequent and heavy rain events caused by climate change strain aging stormwater systems and cause more flooding in St. Cloud.

Gov. Tim Walz is proposing new legislation that would establish a $21.1 million grant program for stormwater infrastructure upgrades around the state.

Communities across our state are facing a common threat. Extreme weather events like mega-rains are intensifying because of climate change, said Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Katrina Kessler. Minnesota is becoming warmer and wetter. In fact, the 2010s were Minnesotas wettest decade on record, and these mega-rain events are now four times more likely to occur than just four generations ago.

A mega-rain is described by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as an event where six inches of rain or more covers more than 1,000 square miles in 24 hours or less, with at least eight inches of rainfall somewhere else in that area. According to the DNR, from 2000-2021 Minnesota saw twice as many mega-rains than in 1973-1999, the St. Cloud Times reported.

More frequent downpours result in more flooding, which threatens homes, businesses and critical infrastructure including roads and hospitals, Kessler said.

Today, more than 155,000 homes and apartment buildings,13,000 commercial buildings and 29,000 miles of roads in Minnesota are at risk of severe flooding, she said. This type of flooding takes an incredible toll on our local economies and our individual pocketbooks. According to the Insurance Federation of Minnesota, extreme weather events have caused insurance premiums to increase by 366% in our state since 1998. If Minnesota cities are not prepared for climate change, our residents and businesses will continue to bear the brunt of these devastating weather events.

The grant money would go toward upgrading critical stormwater infrastructure around the state to mitigate flood damage and help cities adapt to the changing climate, Kessler said. Local governments will be able to identify issues in their own community, put plans together and propose solutions that make sense for them, she said.

Once the legislative session ends in May, theyll know the fate of this bonding request, and if it passes, six months later cities would be able to apply for grants through the MPCA, Kessler said.

The way that it is currently set up is each project could receive up to $5 million, so that would pay for one project here. And depending on the scope of the project, were hoping to fund four to 20 projects across the state, she said. Obviously, that is not addressing the entire need. But again, I think that this sends a signal that we are needing to invest in this and prepares the state and communities to think about how we can use the federal dollars coming to the state more efficiently through the bipartisan infrastructure investment.

Weve got 200 miles of stormwater pipes in this city, 24,000 structures. And a lot of those pipes, by the way, are 100 years old and they were put in the ground in the 20s, said Mayor Dave Kleis at the meeting. So not only are they aged, but the material that was used (is not what wed use now).

Although people can see projects such as road improvements for themselves, they forget about all the pipes that are in the ground that really increase their (property) value, he said.

We dont get calls until their neighborhood is flooded, Kleis said. But what we put in the ground to protect that is extremely important.

One of the projects the city is looking to get funding for is a $3 million stormwater infrastructure project on Highway 23s lift station, which is over 60 years old deteriorating. A lift station is used to move wastewater from lower to higher elevation.

The lift stations 100-acre watershed includes important area waters like Lake George. Past failures of the lift station have resulted in significant flooding of nearby roads.

Other St. Cloud infrastructure projects include a project to reroute stormwater away from a 1900s brick storm sewer that has served as a home for local bats, stormwater infrastructure improvements in the Pantown neighborhood and stormwater improvements by Spirit Lake and Point Pleasant.

Sartell is looking for funding too, to fix roads that have prematurely failed and stop flooding, said Sartell Public Works Director John Kothenbeutel.

Sartell City Engineer April Ryan said some residents have had their homes flooded over a number of years as extreme weather worsens, and flooding is making roads icy in the winter and slimy in the summer.

Treatment systems around Sartell also need maintenance and are full of sediment, which has been causing flooding too, she said.

Sartell took a couple interns and put them in kayaks the last couple of summers and put some sonar equipment and measured the amount of sediment that was in those ponds. And we need to remove over 6,500 tons of sediment, which equates to about 930 elephants worth of sediment that Sartell alone needs to take out of their ponds, Ryan said. And those costs associated with that, theyre estimating $6 million to $8 million in just removing sediments alone. So its just compounding with the amount of money needed to address stormwater infrastructure.

Both Rep. Tama Theis, R-St. Cloud, and Sen. Aric Putnam, DFL-St. Cloud, expressed the need to address flooding in the area.

Many of us have driven down Ninth Avenue and seen it flooded. Have you ever stopped to think that thats where any ambulance has to go? Thats where a firetruck has to go? Putnam said. This is not just an issue of our quality of life, though it absolutely is that. Its not just an issue of preparing for growth and for the general infrastructural needs of our community. Its an issue of public safety, to be able to take care of these kind of deeper structural concerns, prepare our community for an average day and for an awful one at the same time.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Flood Minnesota
Erie Insurance announced that Parthasarathy Partha Srinivasa has been named the companys next executive vice president and chief information officer (CIO), effective April 4.



Srinivasa comes to Erie from Verisk Analytics, one of the worlds largest data analytics firms with customers in the insurance, financial services and energy sectors. At Verisk, he served as senior vice president and chief data officer (CDO), responsible for the companys insurance segment data and technology as well as enterprise-wide data and analytics. Prior to Verisk, he held multiple technology leadership roles as a global CIO and CTO at companies including Zurich Financial Services, Tokio Marine HCC, Farmers Insurance and Safe Auto. His appointment at Erie follows the December 2021 retirement of Bob Ingram, who served in the CIO role at ERIE for more than nine years.



Srinivasa will report to NeCastro in the CIO role and become a member of the companys executive council. He brings more than 25 years of IT experience to Eries executive team, including insurance expertise in platform modernization across multiple legacy systems, digital transformation, cloud strategy and development, innovative technology solutions for claims support, talent upskilling and customer analytics and insights.

Srinivasa began his career in technology consulting before transitioning to the financial services and insurance industry.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the number of cyber incidents in the U.S. has increased, and underwriters will need to adapt, according to a panel of experts at the PLUS Cyber Symposium.

Theres no doubt that attacks overall are up, whether theyre coming from individual groups or nation-states, said Nick Graf, vice president of cyber risk control at CNA, during the event held earlier this month in New York City.

He pointed to conversations that hes had with colleagues as an example.

A colleague of mine that works at a large U.S.-based manufacturing companyjust yesterday [Feb. 28], they experienced the most phishing attacks theyve ever experienced from as long as theyve been keeping records, he said. This has been a huge uptick starting about a week ago, and yesterday was the high point of that.

Concerns about increased cyber incidents across borders have been raised since Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The Harvard Business Review reported that while Ukraine has been a target of Russian cyber attacks for years, incidents resulting from Russias recent invasion could quickly spread beyond Ukraine.

The recommendation really is to double-check everything, batten down the hatches, start on the outside, look at your external perimeter, your web servers, your firewalls, things like that, Graf said. You need to be doing all the things you should have been doingmake sure MFA [multi-factor authentication] is in place, make sure your systems are patched, make sure you have conducted training with your employees and that theyre aware these attacks are out there.

Manish Karir, vice president of data at CyberCube Analytics, said based on historical data analysis, organizations that tend to have data breaches are the ones that exhibit symptoms of mismanagement. As a result, underwriters are exercising more caution.

The minimum acceptable standards have certainly been raised, and that would apply to everybody, even a Main Street shop, said Patrick Thielen, senior vice president of cyber insurance at Chubb.

The challenge for these Main Street shops and small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is that historically, they havent given much thought to cyber control, panelists said.

They bought the coverage that they needed to, that they were contractually obligated to, but many times, it was not their focus, Graf said. Many of them are just struggling to survive; theyre focused on surviving, on acquiring customers and doing what their business takes. But obviously, we need more than that.

He said expectations for small businesses differ from larger firms, but underwriters are still carefully scrutinizing even the smallest companies before granting cyber coverage.

Im not expecting them to have a chief information security officer or 15 people on staff and all of these expensive tools, Graf said. But there still are some basic things that they can be doing that will greatly reduce their risk. Its never going to be zero, but we want to greatly reduce it to a point where we probably can offer them a limit of some reasonable amount.

He said steps small business can take include implementing MFAan authentication method that requires multiple verification factors, such as a password or a thumbprintto gain access to a system or account; ensuring their websites are housed on secure platforms; and carefully vetting third-party vendors.

Those choices that theyve made even as a small business will make all the difference when it comes to risk assessment and what premiums they should be charged as well, Graf said.

Thielen said that its important for businesses, large and small, to also consider their peripheral exposures.

We have this conversation all the time, where we hear that [this asset] over there doesnt matter for whatever reason, either because it has compensated controls layered on top of it or there are no critical operations tied to that asset, he said. But getting into the perimeter management around access vectors to your organization is becoming a more prominent focus for CSOs [chief security officers].

Another big topic among underwriters this year has been end-of-life systems, according to Graf, or hardware that is in its final stages of existence and no longer has the needed support available.

That has been probably one of the most frequent, painful conversations that we have had this year in talking to insureds, he said. There are a lot of insureds that have end-of-life systems that have been kicking around the network for years, sometimes coming up on a decade. The perspective that were taking is that it is difficult to get off these systems, but at some point, you have to rip off the Band-Aid because its not getting any better.

Despite these challenges, he said the good news is that a change in awareness is occurring regarding the importance of cyber risk even among the smallest businesses.

Five years ago, it was pretty common that most agents and their small customers would have had myths in mind about how theyre not a target. [They would say], Because Im a small company in Des Moines, nobodys targeting me or, Ive outsourced my security responsibilities to some combination of vendors. You know, weve all heard those objections, right? he said.

As ransomware has proliferated, cybersecurity awareness has also grown.

In this day and age, anybody in this room without technical controls or technical know-how, if you are so inclined, can go buy an exploit kit on the dark web and go buy a list of vulnerable assets and focus on exploiting a particular vulnerability, Graf said. And the worlds woken up to that reality, right? So, I think small businesses and their agents are more receptive to these conversations now than they have been.

Karir agreed, adding that because of the recent increase in cyber incidents, cyber insurance coverage is becoming a standard part of risk management for insureds. Additionally, underwriters are far more knowledgeable than they have been in the past.

Were finding that we have to do a much more diligent underwriting process, and we thought [insureds] would be thinking, Well, who are these insurers? They are asking me all these questions, but really, we found that it was the opposite, he said. Theyre saying, and Im very often hearing, Yeah, youre asking the right questions. We should be doing those things. But we have limitations. We have limitations on resources and funding and priorities, but they are working with us and engaging with us. And I think they value getting the feedback.

The ongoing challenge with cyber, Thielen said, is that while many other lines of insuranceproperty being one exampleare limited to certain geographies or time frames, cyber threats tend to be more widespread and ubiquitous.

I think that two constants that were going to see is No. 1, were always going to be playing catch-up with regard to how we underwrite and how we price the business, he said. And No. 2 is that the threat of systemic risk is fundamentally different for cyber than it is for practically all other lines of insurance.

With this in mind, he said it will take collective action among the tech, government and insurance sectors to adjust to the threats and address these challenges.

There is no one company, theres not even one industry, thats going to ever solve cyber risk because its always evolving, he said. Really, cyber underwriting has changed forever.

Topics Cyber Underwriting Ukraine
The $1.5 trillion government funding package that President Joe Biden signed Tuesday includes sweeping cybersecurity legislation that will require critical infrastructure operators to quickly report data breaches and ransomware payments.

The new law mandates that companies report hacks to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within 72 hours of discovery of the incident, and 24 hours if they make a ransomware payment. FBI officials last year estimated that the bureau has visibility into a quarter of cyber incidents, resulting in a government-wide lack of information about the nature of many data breaches, the tactics of cybercriminals and the U.S. industries that are most vulnerable.

The laws mandatory requirement is expected to give U.S. officials deeper insight into the nature of global hacking.

The legislation positions DHSs Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency as a central hub for receiving private sector incident response reports, sharing threat data and tracking the evolution of ransomware, a pernicious issue for American business that has been difficult to quantify. Victims reported $29 million in ransomware-related losses to the FBI in 2020, the most recent figures available, compared to $406 million in extortion payments observed by the cryptocurrency-tracking firm Chainalysis Inc. during the same year.

CISA Director Jen Easterly praised the Senates passage of the bill, saying it gives her agency the data and visibility we need to help better protect critical infrastructure and businesses across the country from the devastating effects of cyberattacks.

Put plainly, this legislation is a game-changer, Easterly said.

The agency lists 16 broad sectors spanning health, energy, food and transportation as critical to the U.S., although the new legislation is yet to spell out precisely which companies would be required to report cyber incidents.

CISA has not said how it will use data gleaned from breach reports, but has been seeking to build its capabilities and work more closely with the private sector on a voluntary basis. In recent months, it has established emergency real-time Slack channels to swap information on hacks with affected companies.

CISA also is funding the Cyber Safety Review Board, an advisory body created this year to study major cyber incidents with the hope of minimizing the fallout from future attacks.

Brock Dahl, cybersecurity counsel at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, said the legislation was well-intentioned, though cautioned that it would take time for specific regulations to come into focus.

There is already a vehicle for sharing information with DHS, but theres never been any significant motivation for voluntarily sharing that threat information, said Dahl, formerly deputy general counsel at the National Security Agency.

The current impact of the legislation also remains unclear due to lack of definition over exactly which companies will fall under the reporting requirements, which will be clarified in regulation, he said, adding it was unclear what obligations this placed on the federal government to help combat the ransomware scourge and whether companies would get valuable information back.

Top Justice Department officials, meanwhile, have expressed concern that the bill gives investigators less insight into potential cybercrime because companies dont have to directly report intrusions to federal law enforcement.

In its current form, it would make the public less safe from cyber threats  slowing aid to victims, hampering identification of other companies the same attackers are targeting, and undercutting disruption operations against cyber threats, FBI Director Chris Wray said of the bill in a statement to Politico.

In a series of tweets, CISA Director Jen Easterly pledged to share relevant details with law enforcement immediately.

The law also comes into effect as U.S. firms, particularly in the financial sector, are bracing for potential blowback in cyberspace stemming from Russias invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions levied on Moscow as punishment.

While there are no specific or credible cyber threats to the U.S. at this time, Russias invasion of Ukraine, which has involved cyber-attacks on Ukrainian government and critical infrastructure organizations, could impact organizations both within and beyond the region, to include the U.S. homeland, CISA warned. Every organization  large and small  must be prepared to respond to disruptive cyber activity.

Photo: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks before signing H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.
Chicago police officers who fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo last March, then 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez just days later will not be charged.

Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx announced Tuesday that her office will not file charges, saying there was not sufficient evidence in either shooting.

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There are no winners in this situation, Foxx said during a press conference.

On March 29, Officer Eric Stillman chased Adam on foot while investigating a Shotspotter alert. Stillmans bodycam footage shows the teenager reach into his waistband and pull out a gun, Foxx said. When Stillman ordered him to drop it, Adam tossed the gun and turned around with his arms raised. Stillman shot him once in the chest, then attempted life-saving measures.

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Anthony Alvarez and Adam Toledo were fatally shot by Chicago police officers in March 2021. (Chris Sweda/TNS)

A gun was found a few feet away.

Officer Stillman reacted to the perceived threat presented by Adam Toledo who he believed at the time was turning toward him to shoot him, Foxx said.

Adams family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Tuesday morning, hours before Foxxs public announcement, saying that the teenager never posed an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to Stillman or any other person.

Adam never brandished, pointed or otherwise threatened Stillman with a firearm or any other weapon whatsoever, the lawsuit argues.

Two days after Adam was killed and just 10 miles away, Officer Evan Solano chased Alvarez, who was carrying a gun in one hand and a cell phone in the other, after he fled an attempted traffic stop.

No charges will be filed in either death. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/AP)

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Alvarez slipped once, then again as he tried to get up, according to Foxx. Thats when Solano caught up to him and saw the man crouching on the ground with a gun.

The officer believed Alvarez was waiting to ambush him, as he did not observe Mr. Alvarez slip and fall, Foxx said Tuesday.

Solano ordered Alvarez to drop his weapon, but the 22-year-old fled instead. Solano fired five times, hitting Alvarez in the back and thigh.

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Why are you shooting me? Alvarez yelled, according to body cam footage.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Foxx said she met with the families of both Adam and Alvarez before the press conference.

The grief on their mothers, their fathers, family members faces was almost unbearable, she said Tuesday. To lose a child is beyond what any of us would want to imagine. To lose a child at the hands of law enforcement was unfathomable for them.
Plaintiffs are decrying potential delays involved in law firms ditching sanctioned clients mid-litigation

Leaving clients in court is ultimately up to a judge, and timing matters

Several major law firms have said they will stop working for sanctioned Russian companies after the invasion of Ukraine. But some lawyers suing Russian banks in U.S. courts are raising alarms, saying their adversaries retreat could wind up delaying justice for their own clients.

In one of the cases, lawyers for family members of an American killed in the 2014 downing of a passenger plane over eastern Ukraine said Monday that sanctioned Russian bank Sberbank was improperly looking to stall the case to find new counsel.

Sberbanks attorneys at White & Case and Debevoise & Plimpton on Friday said they will stop defending the bank, which is fighting claims that it helped facilitate the attack on the Malaysian Air jet. The plaintiffs do not directly oppose the firms bid to withdraw but accused the bank of using the opportunity to hold up their New York federal lawsuit.

In another case, law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer last week asked a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., to pause a case over the return of Jewish texts from Russia while its client VEB, another sanctioned Russian bank, finds new counsel.

The plaintiff, Jewish organization Agudas Chasidei Chabad of United States, is pressing for information about VEBs assets, as the religious group determines how to force Russia to return thousands of sacred books or pay a $150 million judgment. It is fighting Freshfields request in part because it is unclear how long it will take VEB to secure new lawyers.

This is VEBs problem. Its not our problem. Its not the courts problem. VEB has got to find a lawyer, the groups lawyer Steven Lieberman of Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck told Reuters.

Representatives for Freshfields and Debevoise & Plimpton had no immediate comment on the cases. A White & Case spokesperson declined to comment.

Lieberman said law firms take risks representing certain clients, including certain Russian entities. Just like a criminal defense lawyer who defends a drug dealer  you run the risk of the U.S. government might seize the drug dealers assets. Its a risk the lawyer takes, he said.

But the number of law firms willing to take on such clients from Russia has quickly dwindled amid global sanctions and overwhelming criticism sparked by the war in Ukraine.

Most international law firms operating in Russia have announced the closure of their Moscow offices by now, and several said they would no longer work for entities with ties to current Russian leadership. While there are smaller law firms and lawyers specializing in representing sanctioned clients, none has publicly stepped in to replace a larger firm in ongoing litigation since the war started.

In U.S. federal courts, judges have the final word over law firms efforts to withdraw from a clients case. In other legal matters that dont require a judge to sign off, the burden falls on law firms to make sure their exit complies with ethics rules and doesnt harm their former clients.

Ethics rules generally require U.S. lawyers to make sure clients dont face a material adverse effect if they decide to stop representing them. Failure to do so could lead to disciplinary complaints, but malpractice lawsuits are less likely without evidence of actual harm to the client, experts said.

Renee Knake Jefferson, a law professor with the University of Houston, said timing is important as judges weigh lawyers requests to exit a case, particularly if a trial or another key proceeding is imminent.

(Reporting by Jacqueline Thomsen and Mike Scarcella. Editing by David Bario.)

Topics Russia
San Antonio police clashed with a crowd that gathered after three police officers fatally shot a man they said pulled out a gun while they tried to arrest him.

The man was wanted on two felony warrants, including assault of a police officer and possession of a firearm, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. Patrol officers were trying to execute the warrants the afternoon of March 14 when the man fled, he said.

Officers opened fire when he pulled a gun from his waistband, the police chief said. The man died at the scene, where a handgun was recovered, McManus said.

Police did not immediately release the mans name, but family members identified him as Kevin Johnson.

McManus said he didnt know how many rounds the officers fired or how many times the man had been shot. But Jasmine Johnson, who identified herself as Johnsons sister, said witnesses told the family that her brother had been shot nine times in the back.

Hes not a bad person so theres no reason why this should have happened, Jasmine Johnson said. Nobody deserves to get shot in the back nine times.

A crowd that gathered after the shooting clashed with police, who at one point used pepper spray on the group. Johnsons mother, Arlene Garcia, told San Antonio TV station KSAT that family members wanted answers about what happened.

They shot my son from behind, and thats wrong. They shot him nine times, and nobody here has nothing to say to me. Nobody has nothing to say, Garcia said, gesturing to police officers.

The three officers who were involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duty, according to department policy, McManus said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Law Enforcement
Louisiana-based company Power Performance Enterprises Inc. (PPEI) and its President and owner, Kory B. Willis, pleaded guilty to criminal charges March 15 in federal court in Sacramento, California. Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and to violating the Clean Air Act by tampering with the monitoring devices of emissions control systems of diesel trucks.

In addition to the criminal charges, the United States also filed a civil complaint against PPEI and Willis March 15 in federal court in the Western District of Louisiana, alleging violations of the Clean Air Acts prohibition against the sale or manufacture of devices that bypass, defeat, or render inoperative emissions controls. Under the criminal plea agreements and a proposed civil consent decree, PPEI and Willis agreed to pay a total of $3.1 million in criminal fines and civil penalties. Under the civil settlement, both Willis and the company agree not to manufacture, sell or install any device that defeats emissions controls.

According to court documents, from PPEIs incorporation in 2009 until 2019, PPEI and Willis were among the nations most prominent developers of custom software known as tunes, and in particular, delete tunes. Generally, tunes can alter a diesel trucks fuel delivery, power parameters and emissions. PPEI and Willis were well known for their custom delete tunes, software which allows a deleted truck to appear to run normally. A deleted vehicle is one that has had emissions controls removed or disabled, resulting in vastly increased emissions of air pollution.

Willis and PPEI reached the top of the illegal delete tuning market, tuning over 175,000 vehicles according to Willis. Willis also stated that PPEI was the biggest custom tuning company in the world, had over 100,000 customers, and tuned more than 500 vehicles a week. According to internal PPEI records, PPEI typically sold well over $1 million dollars of product a month. According to EPA calculations of the estimated emissions impact, PPEIs sales of delete tunes between 2013 and 2018 alone are anticipated to cause over 100 million excess pounds of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions over the life of the diesel trucks equipped with those products.

Deleting a diesel truck causes its emissions to increase dramatically. For example, for a fully deleted truck, which has had all emissions equipment removed or disabled, EPA testing quantified the increased emissions as follows: NOx increased 310 times, non-methane hydrocarbons increased 1,400 times, carbon monoxide increased 120 times, and particulate matter increased 40 times. EPAs Air Enforcement Division released a report in November 2020 finding that more than half a million diesel pickup trucks in the United States  approximately 15% of U.S. diesel trucks that were originally certified with emissions controls  have been illegally deleted.

Diesel emissions include multiple hazardous compounds and harm human health and the environment. Diesel emissions have been found to cause and worsen respiratory ailments such as asthma and lung cancer. One study indicated that 21,000 American deaths annually are attributable to diesel particulate matter. Exposure to polluted air in utero also has been associated with a host of problems with lifelong ramifications including low birth weight, preterm birth, autism, brain/memory disorders and asthma.

Under the proposed civil settlement, defendants PPEI and Willis will pay $1,550,000 in civil penalties and agree not to manufacture, sell, or install any device that bypasses, defeats, or renders inoperative motor vehicle emissions controls. The defendants will not sell or transfer the intellectual property associated with these products, and will destroy illegal products still in inventory, cease warranty support for previously sold products, revise marketing materials, notify customers and dealers of the law and the settlement, and train employees and contractors. According to civil court documents, Willis and PPEI halted sales of specified delete devices in the fall of 2019 following enforcement activity by EPA.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in the criminal case by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on Aug. 23. Willis faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years of incarceration on the conspiracy count, two years of incarceration on the tampering count, and for each count a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense. PPEI faces for each count a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the offense. Under the plea agreements, the defendants agree to jointly and severally pay a $1,550,000 criminal fine. The sentences will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of all applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The criminal case was the product of an investigation by the EPAs Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine T. Lydon of the Eastern District of California and Senior Counsel Krishna S. Dighe and Trial Attorney Stephen J. Foster of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justices Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) are prosecuting the criminal case. The federal civil case is being handled by Senior Counsel Nicole Veilleux of the Environmental Enforcement Section of ENRD and Attorney-Advisor Ed Kulschinsky of the Air Enforcement Division of the EPA.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Topics Louisiana
A payment of the policy limits is not always enough to settle a vehicle accident. The insurer must also agree to all other requirements in a settlement offer for an agreement to be enforceable, the Georgia Court of Appeals has decided.

In Ligon vs. Hu, the appeals court reversed the trial court and found that despite the insurer writing a check for $100,000, the matter was not resolved and a negligence lawsuit may continue.

Motorist Li Na Hu was insured by American Standard Insurance Co. After the accident, in which Hu allegedly struck bicyclist Robert Ligon and crushed his leg, Ligons attorney made a settlement offer: $100,000 from American Standard  but with the stipulation that the insurer must comply precisely with the offer. The settlement agreement should include a release, along with signature lines only for Ligon and his wife.

Most importantly, the returned agreement must include an affidavit stating that no other insurance coverage was available, Ligons offer stated.

Instead, American Standard delivered a check, but the release documentation included more signature lines and did not include the affidavit. Ligon promptly returned the check and filed suit against Hu. Hus lawyers then asked the trial court to enforce the settlement offer and to dismiss Ligons complaint.

The trial court in 2020 sided with Hu and her insurer. Ligon appealed. The appeals court in its March 11 decision noted that Georgia statutes and case law mandate that settlement agreements must meet the same requirements of enforceability as do other contracts.

An acceptance must comply with the requirements of the offer as to the performance to be rendered, the appeals court wrote, quoting from previous court decisions. An offerees failure to comply with the precise terms of an offer is generally fatal to the formation of a valid contract.

Attorneys for the insurance company could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But Ligons lawyer, Ben Brodhead of Atlanta, said that the insurers attorneys should have known what they were getting into.

The defense attorneys took a frivolous position by filing a motion to enforce a settlement that they know never occurred, Brodhead said. This topic is literally covered in the first five minutes of law school: for a contract to form, the acceptance must be identical to the offer.

Brodhead, known for winning a number of major injury verdicts in recent years, said he did not know why the insurer changed the settlement agreement and left out the affidavit. But he said it raises the possibility that Hu may have had other applicable insurance coverage that could have been tapped to help compensate the victim.

Ligons leg injury was so severe that, years later, his doctors are still talking about amputation, and the $100,000 policy limit was not enough to cover the mans needs, Brodhead said. The insurers request for two notary signatures on the settlement agreement would have meant unnecessary time, pain and expense for the injured Ligon, the lawyer said.

Many personal injury attorneys have long argued that insurance companies sometimes look for seemingly minor acts or omissions by policyholders, or a lack of strict adherence to policy exclusions, to justify a claim denial or to limit a settlement.

Unfortunately, insurance companies often play games by attempting to change the terms of a claimants offer and then attempting to force the claimant into a contract that is different from the claimants offer, Brodhead said. Here, the insurance company refused to include all of the consideration in the release.

Some insurers might argue that, in this case at least, a plaintiffs attorney was the one who rejected a policy-limits settlement offer because of the exact wording of a document.

Ligons negligence lawsuit against Hu will now proceed. If Ligon prevails, Hu may owe far more than the insurance policy would have paid, and she may end up suing her carrier to cover the damages, Brodhead said.

The appeals court decision was written by Presiding Judge Christopher McFadden. He pointed out that the strict contract adherence was required by Georgia statutes that have since been altered by the state legislature. The current law, as amended in 2021, may not shine so favorably on plaintiffs demanding that insurers hue closely to the terms of a settlement offer.

The law was changed in a way that creates tremendous ambiguity and uncertainty, Brodhead said.

Topics Georgia
McGriff, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based insurance broker and a subsidiary of Truist Holdings, announced new appointments and new roles for managers at the company.

Kyle Samuel, who previously was president of M&T Insurance Agency in Buffalo, New York, has been named chief operating officer at McGriff. Before M&T, Samuel was a managing director for USI Insurance Services and its predecessor, Wells Fargo Insurance Services, and was with Aon Risk Solutions for 17 years, the company said in a news release.

Four others at McGriff also assumed new roles:

Rocco Orlando was named carrier relations executive, with responsibility for coordinating McGriffs P/C carrier contracts.

Mike Breedlove has been appointed national director, middle market, and will work closely with the business specialty and industry practice leaders to provide middle market clients with access to subject matter specialists when needed.

Patrick Maguire is assuming the role of national director, specialty practices, in addition to continuing to lead McGriffs energy practice.

Carolyn Littlefield has been named director, strategic projects, with responsibility for overseeing large corporate projects.

Dorothy Holland, formerly with Ametros, an administrator of Medicare set-aside plans, has been named vice president of business development at Tower MSA Partners, based in Delray Beach, Florida.

Hollands role will be to develop new business opportunities and assist with Medicare secondary payer compliance in workers compensation and other claims.

Holland graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in business administration with a concentration in insurance and risk management. She has 16 years experience in the industry, including time with One Call Care Management, according to a news release from Tower.
Washington state has fined two construction companies a combined $20,000 after a construction worker was killed at the downtown Seattle convention center expansion.

Bryan Phillips, 31, died in an accident at the site in September, the Seattle Times reported.

In citations, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries said an employee was operating an 11,000-pound scissor lift extended about 27 feet into the air.

As the employee maneuvered the lift, a wheel of the lift went over a hole that was fitted with a 3/4? piece of plywood, the citation said. The plywood collapsed causing the lift to tip and fall.

The two companies did not ensure employees operating lifts kept a safe distance from the holes and did not ensure that the coverings could support the heavy equipment being used, the agency said.

The state ordered Performance Contracting Inc., or PCI, to pay $13,000 and ordered Clark Construction Group to pay $7,000.

In an emailed statement, Clark Construction Vice President Ben Eitan said the company has instituted new measures to underpin our existing jobsite safety program

PCI did not respond to a request for comment.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Washington Contractors
A La Pine, Oregon, man is suing St. Charles Health System in Bend for $43.5 million after complications from brain surgery left him paralyzed.

Jackie Dale Yeley filed the lawsuit in Deschutes County Circuit Court, through attorneys with the Barton Law Group, The Bulletin reported.

The lawsuit alleges medical malpractice and also names Bend-based surgery provider Northwest Brain and Spine. St. Charles was served with the lawsuit on Friday, according to spokeswoman Lisa Goodman.

We feel deep compassion for Mr. Yeley and his family managing this situation, she wrote The Bulletin. But we believe St. Charles caregivers provided excellent care, and we are confident that any factfinder will agree.

On Jan. 8, 2020, Yeley underwent a neurological procedure at St. Charles Bend to address numbness in his left foot and vague left leg pain.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Kent Yundt with several other doctors and nurses. During the procedure, Yeley suffered an accidental dural tear, which Yundt noted and repaired, according to the lawsuit. The dura is a tough, fibrous membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

The next day, Yeleys condition worsened and he complained of severe pain, according to the lawsuit.

On Jan. 10, another surgeon performed emergency procedures to drain fluid and relieve pressure on Yeleys brain.

Yeley never recovered sensation in his lower extremities or the use of his legs.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Oregon
A jury awarded more than $100 million this week to some of the victims of a tower crane collapse that killed four people in Seattle in 2019.

Workers were disassembling the 300-foot crane in strong wind gusts when it fell from the roof of a Google building under construction in the South Lake Union neighborhood.

Two ironworkers fell to their deaths. The crane crushed cars below, killing Sarah Pantip Wong, a 19-year-old Seattle Pacific University student, and Alan Justad, a 71-year-old former city worker.

The jurys verdict on Monday concerned cases brought by the families of Wong and Justad, as well as three others who were injured or had their vehicles struck by the crane or debris _ including Wongs friend Brittany Cadelena, who was with her in an Uber on the way to a shopping mall, and the Ubers driver, Ali Edriss.

When your work affects the public, your job is to protect the public, David Beninger, an attorney for Justads family, said in a news release. Hopefully this will also bring some closure for the families and individuals hurt by this preventable collapse.?

The families of the ironworkers who died, Travis Corbet, 33, and Andrew Yoder, 31, have filed separate lawsuits.

Investigators found that some of the companies involved had cut corners by failing to review the cranes disassembly instructions and prematurely removed large pins securing sections of the cranes mast, a procedure that was commonly done in the industry to save time.

The jury said three companies  Omega Morgan, Northwest Tower Crane Service and Morrow Equipment Co.  had caused $150 million in damages. However, Morrow  assigned 25% of the blame by the jury, was not involved in the trial and does not have to pay as a result of the verdict; lawyers for the victims said separate claims are being pursued against that company.

Northwest Tower Crane, which supplied the crew of iron workers, and Omega Morgan which supplied a large mobile crane used to disassemble the tower crane, were held responsible for 75 percent of the damages. The companies did not immediately respond to messages.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs credited Northwest Tower Crane and Morrow for acknowledging some responsibility and changing practices in response to the tragedy. Omega Morgan consistently denied it was to blame, which forced the case to go to trial rather than settle, they said.

You had Northwest Tower Crane pulling too many pins too fast, creating an opportunity for disaster, said Todd Gardner, an attorney for Wongs family. You had Omega Morgan deciding they were going to continue to work despite the winds.  Had either of them done their job, this wouldnt have happened.

Wongs family is entitled to $54 million, Justads to $39 million under the verdict. Cadelena and Edriss will each receive $9 million.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Washington
Austin, TX., March 16, 2022  The National Alliance announces leadership changes to the Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) and Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) Board of Governors.

Serving on the CIC Board of Governors are Chair  Philip T. Kramer, CIC, CPCU; Vice Chair  Jack H. Elliott, Jr., CIC, CISR, SOTP, CBCP, MPM, CFE; Member-at-Large  Gabriel Gabe Portillo, CIC; Member-at-Large  R. Kevin Ray, CIC, CPCU, AU, AINS, AIS, API; Immediate Past-Chair  Aimee E. Kilpatrick, MBA, CIC, CRM.

Taking up CISR officer positions for 2022, Board of Governors are Chair  Suzanne Sue M. Baillargeon, CIC, CISR, AIC; Vice Chair Donna W. Wilson, CIC; Secretary  Lyndsay R. Kooistra, CIC; Treasurer  Amber M. Bosma, CIC, CISR; Immediate Past-Chair  Mary K. Russell, CIC, CISR, CPRIA.

In addition, the organization announces that Gary S. Broesch, CISR, AINS, Cheri E. Green, CIC, CISR, Lindsey Hamielec, CIC, CISR, Claire Richardson, CISR, Teresa Teri Rstom, CIC, CRM, CISR have also accepted nominations to serve on the CISR Board of Governors.

The newly appointed members bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will support the organizations vision to become the indispensable, transformative learning resource for risk and insurance professionals through adaptive technology and practical instruction.

William J. Hold, MBA, CRM, CISR, President & CEO of The National Alliance, stated,

We welcome our new Board members, and we are thrilled individuals with this level of industry expertise and experience will help us reach our goals in the coming years. With the addition of these new board members, this diverse and capable team will help create new and innovative learning experiences for The National Alliance and our amazing participants nationwide.

You can view The National Alliance Board of Governors and Directors [here].

The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, the nations premier provider of advanced educational opportunities for insurance and risk management professionals, includes the Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) Program, the Certified Risk Managers (CRM) Program, the Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) Program, the Certified Personal Risk Managers Program (CPRM), the Certified School Risk Managers (CSRM) Program, the Dynamics Sales Training Series, and The National Alliance Research Academy. For more information, contact The National Alliance, P.O. Box 27027, Austin, Texas 78755-2027; 800-633-2165; website: www.TheNationalAlliance.com.

Media Contact:

Bettie Duff

bduff@scic.com

512-349-6130

Topics Training Development
Chicago, IL USA, March 16, 2022  Rick J. Lindsey, President, CEO and Chairman of Prime Insurance Company recently announced Richard Bryant to the position as President of Underwriting. Richard joined Prime Insurance Company in May of 2021. Lindsey stated, I am looking forward to working closely with Richard and the underwriting team as they continue to provide excellent underwriting expertise and solutions to the marketplace.

Bryant stated, I was inspired by Primes expertise and iron will in dealing with claims that was the overwhelming rationale for joining. The level of underwriting expertise, and leadership that not only understands the business at a granular level still actively works in the underwriting and claims field. 

Richard Bryant has been involved with Prime Insurance Company, for twenty plus years, offering support by way of capacity in the early years. Richard started his career at a Lloyds Syndicate in 1985. Most recently he was Head of Specialty at Mid-size Syndicate writing and building a book of $100m that included Product recall, General liability, Contingency, and a broad range of professional classes including Allied Medical, A & E and Specialty.

Additionally, the company promoted other talented and dedicated members of the underwriting team. Senior VP Underwriting: Laura Andersen, Pete Andersen, Micheal Fennell, Logan Fitzgerald, Michael Hayman, Maria Martin, Terry Rowley, Heather Taylor, and Daniel Tew. VP Underwriting: Kenneth Favero, Joshua Jensen, and Laura L. Tonelli. Promoted to AVP Underwriting: Karen Glover, Jeff Hankins, Matthew Hoch, Jamie Marvidakis, Wyatt Middaugh, Benjamin Nichols, and Alex Wiltsie.

Prime Insurance Company (PIC) provides specialty solutions to the property and casualty excess and surplus lines marketplace. Prime Property & Casualty Inc. (PPCI) is an affiliate of PIC and offers commercial auto coverage on an admitted basis. Prime Insurance Company is rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best and writes business in all 50 states, US Virgin Islands and Guam.

Contact: Barbara Malkowski, Marketing barbaram@primeis.com

For the latest rating visit www.ambest.com

Topics Carriers Underwriting Leadership
Robert Peterson misses spending Sundays with his mother, cooking and running errands. Dana Toole plays a video of her sister over and over just to hear her voice. Michael Webb has started speaking out about gun control since his ex-wifes fatal shooting.

A year after a gunman killed eight people at three Georgia massage businesses, their family members and friends are struggling with grief and trying to heal while dealing with the intense public attention focused on the horrific slayings.

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Robert Peterson holds a photo of his late mother, Yong Ae Yue, who was one of eight people shot and killed at various massage businesses on March 16, 2021, in the Atlanta area. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) (Ron Harris/AP)

Our whole world just changed. It blew up in that moment, said Peterson, whose mother, Yong Ae Yue, was among the dead. It was a bit overwhelming. We didnt ask to be here. It was weird to have people so interested.

Robert Aaron Long, 22, shot and killed four people  Xiaojie Emily Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54  and seriously injured a fifth person at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County on March 16, 2021. Authorities say he then drove about 30 miles south to Atlanta, where he killed three women  Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51  at Gold Spa, crossed the street and killed Yue, 63, at Aromatherapy Spa.

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Xiaojie Tan is seen in a 2004 photo taken on the Lee River in China. Tan was one of eight people killed in shootings at three Georgia massage businesses on March 16, 2021. (Michael Webb via AP) (Michael Webb/AP)

Two of the Cherokee County victims and all of the Atlanta victims were women of Asian descent. The killings heightened anger and fear among Asian Americans already experiencing a rise in hostility, which has continued. The shootings brought increased awareness to that trend and galvanized more people, including non-Asians, to get involved in the movement to fight it.

Many Asian Americans and their allies bristled at suggestions that Long, who told investigators he felt ashamed of sexual urges and saw the spas as a source of temptation, wasnt motivated by racial bias.

The Cherokee County district attorney, citing the racial diversity of the victims there  two of whom were white and one Hispanic  among other things, did not find evidence of racial animus. But the Fulton County district attorney is pursuing a sentencing enhancement under the state hate crimes law, saying she believes race and gender played a role in the Atlanta killings.

Webb  who was still very close to Tan, his ex-wife  said the shootings opened his eyes to anti-Asian violence and made him worry for his two daughters, who are both of Asian descent.

Noting that Long bought his gun the day of the shootings, Webb speculated that if there had been a waiting period, theres at least a reasonable likelihood (Tan) would still be alive.

A gun owner for decades, Webb said hes long had moderate views on gun control. Background checks, mandatory safety classes and waiting periods make sense to him and, since the shootings, hes spoken out about that publicly.

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Long pleaded guilty in July to murder and other charges in the Cherokee County shooting. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Toole said she felt angry watching him in court because she didnt see any remorse. But she agreed with the district attorneys decision not to seek the death penalty.

Just because he took other peoples lives that day, to me it didnt give us the right to take his, she said.

Webb said he and his daughter, Jami  Tans daughter whom he adopted after they married  favored the death penalty for Long. But after the district attorney explained the lengthy process for a death penalty case, they quickly came around to the idea of locking him up for life and putting it behind them.

We really felt a relief it was over, he said.

Long still faces charges including murder in the Atlanta killings and has pleaded not guilty. The Fulton County district attorney is seeking the death penalty in addition to a hate crime sentencing enhancement.

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With a background in sociology and social justice, Peterson wants to start an organization in his mothers honor to fight discrimination and promote social equity.

Its the small things about his mother  her laughter, her cooking and the way she loved hearing about her sons lives  that Peterson misses. Hed get annoyed when shed call and ask him to drive from Atlanta to her home in the suburbs to change a smoke detector battery or update her computer. But now he lives in his mothers house and doing the same little tasks for his widowed neighbor fills me with joy, he said, tears welling in his eyes.

Toole hasnt visited her sisters grave since her funeral because she doesnt want to believe shes gone. She breaks down when she drives past the cemetery or the spa. On Tooles 30th birthday, seven weeks after the shooting, she stayed in because her sister wasnt there to celebrate as planned.

In this undated photo provided by Dillion Toole, Dana Toole, left, poses for a photo with her older sister Delaina Yaun at a party. (Dillion Toole via AP) (Dillion Toole/AP)

The close pair loved going to Six Flags amusement park and had water fights at family parties. Toole even recalls Yauns faults with affection: She was always late, but it didnt matter because she always showed up.
Locals have been assured that a "vital" Limerick road will not be left half-finished, despite the construction company completing the project entering receivership.

Last week, Roadbridge Holdings requested Bank of Ireland to appoint receivers, a move that could threaten the 630 people employed at the company.

In addition, concerns turned to the projects the company is working on, including the Coonagh to Knockalisheen road, which is a project the community had fought hard to see completed. The road has been presented by many as a vital project for the community of Moyross. It is believed that it would help to attract new jobs to the area and connect those living there with the rest of the city.

Tracy McElligott, development worker with Moyross Residents Forum, said that on Friday, when they heard the announcement, the feeling on the ground was one of anxiety. However, she says that they have since received assurances that the project will be completed.

We deal in facts, so we had to wait until the facts came out. But the road will be built, it may take a bit longer, but it will be finished, Ms McElligott said.

We are working closely with the council for a resolution on getting the road completed as soon as possible.

The road and the residents' campaign surrounding it came to a head last February when Transport Minister Eamon Ryan included the project in part of a review of the National Development Plan.

Speaking at the time, Tiernan O'Neill, former principal of Corpus Christi school in Moyross, asked why does it always have to be a battle for the people of Moyross?

This most recent update in the saga may have left many feeling as if that battle was beginning all over again; however, Fianna Fail TD Willie ODea said he is certain the project will be finished.

We're going to make sure it is completed. You cant leave a project like that half-done. It's vital to the economic development of the northside of Limerick City, Mr ODea said.

He said the future of the road can go one of two ways.

Either the receiver finds a buyer to step in, in place of Roadbridge, and I have asked the department that this effort is facilitated.

Or if you can't get a buyer, it would mean that a new contractor would have to be put in place. But I have asked the Government for assurances that this would be done as quickly as humanly possible, he added.
For some, its taken more than 50 years to see the site protected, so to have to sit through a five-and-a-half-hour local authority meeting to finally see it happen was worthwhile.

Bessborough campaigners were applauded by Corks city councillors on Tuesday after the politicians agreed to afford a level of protection to a sensitive site on the former mother and baby home estate in the new city development plan.

Councillors have designated an area of land near the Bessborough folly, identified as a children's burial site on a 1950s Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSi) trace map, as a landscape preservation zone.

While such a zoning doesnt rule out residential development, it means such development will only be considered where it safeguards the value and sensitivity of the particular landscape.

Many Bessborough mothers and their supporters from the Cork Survivors and Supporters Alliance (CSSA) watched the meeting from the public gallery in City Hall as councillors spent five hours debating various contested zonings and amendments.

They had to wait until the very end of the meeting to see the specific Bessborough site being dealt with.

In the end, it passed almost unnoticed - a virtually anonymous line of text in a batch of around 170 uncontested amendments to the plan which were to be effectively rubber-stamped as one group.

They were, as expected, adopted as a batch.

The significance of the move in relation to the Bessborough site would have passed without the knowledge of many following the proceedings were it not for Cllr Lorna Bogues intervention following the formal adoption process.

She stood to formally acknowledge the women in the public gallery who had sat through the long meeting to witness it and explained what had happened.

There is one particular line in this section that some women here have waited to hear for five hours today, and for 50 years before. This is democracy at work, and its thanks to you that this land has been rezoned, she said.

She thanked her fellow councillors for listening to the women, for standing up for them, helping them, and welcoming them into City Hall.

Lord Mayor Cllr Colm Kelleher also addressed the women directly and echoed what Ms Bogue had said.

You can see that we are united and delighted that we were able to do this for you this evening. This is the peoples house - so its your house, he said.

The specific site at Bessborough was at the centre of a controversial planning application for apartments which was shot down following a Bord Pleanala oral hearing last year.

Lord Mayor Cllr Colm Kelleher with Cork Survivors & Supporters Alliance members, Maureen Sullivan, Mary Dunlevy, Catherine Coffey O'Brien, Ann O'Gorman, Maureen Considine, Phil Kinsella and Sheila O'Byrne.

In its ruling last May, the board said it would be premature to grant planning before establishing the presence, and the extent of, any such burial site.

The board said it made its decision having regard to the fifth interim report and the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes, which was unable to account for the burial places of some 859 infants who died at Bessborough between 1922 and 1998.

Various submissions were made by developers in relation to the Bessborough estate during the drafting of the city development plan.

But councillors agreed unanimously to change the zoning of this specific area of land to the northwest of the Bessborough folly as landscape preservation zone.

Retired OSi cartographer Michael Flynn, who gave evidence to the oral hearing last year on behalf of the developers, said he was satisfied the label 'children's burial ground' referred to a nearby smaller area next to a graveyard for nuns.

But OSi expert mapper John Clarkin, who gave evidence on behalf of the CSSA, told the hearing that he believes the placement of words indicates the actual location of the burial ground.

Just last week, OSi said there is an alternative interpretation of the historic maps of Bessborough which could suggest that children were buried away from this site.

But the agency said it cant be more definitive about the precise location of the burial site and that a definitive view can only be determined by information beyond its available records.
The government leased a luxury executive jet to bring the Taoiseach to a series of key meetings in Paris and London despite having its 8m Learjet available and on standby at Baldonnel Airport.

The decision to charter the executive jet from Luxaviation was made because of concerns over the reliability of the Learjet, which has been used for ministerial air transport for over a decade.

The government jet has, in recent times, been plagued by technical problems and was unavailable on 60% of days in January, with further service issues encountered in February and early March.

It is understood concerns were raised over whether it could be relied on to get Taoiseach Micheal Martin to a series of crucial meetings over recent days in Paris and London.

Mr Martin travelled from Dublin to Paris on March 10, flew from France to London the following day, and returned to Ireland from the UK on March 13.

A seven-passenger Cessna Citation CJ3 was chartered from the Belgian operator Luxaviation to transport the Taoiseach and his delegation.

The executive jet has a range of around 1,875 nautical miles and cruises through the air at 765 kkm/h at an altitude of up to 45,000 feet.

Cost of leasing jet not revealed

The Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Defence remained tight-lipped on how much the use of the jet had cost for the three journeys.

However, air charter websites suggest that its cost per hour is generally in the region of around 2,000 to 2,550 depending on the specification.

According to sources, the Learjet was in Baldonnel and serviceable at the time of the outgoing flight to Paris on March 10.

A crew was also available with the actual government jet acting as standby in case there was a last-minute hitch with the provision of the charter aircraft.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Defence said the Learjet had been purchased in 2004, has been in operation for 17 years, and is now approaching the end of its natural life.

She said: While back-up service is sometimes provided by the Air Corps in the form of CASA fisheries patrol aircraft when other operational demands permit, these aircraft have also faced ongoing serviceability challenges.

In the context of this trend towards reduced serviceability and, therefore, the effective loss of a reliable, independent means of air transport for the President, Taoiseach and ministers, contingency measures have been examined by the Department of Defence and the Air Corps.

Ad-hoc solutions required

The spokeswoman said this meant ad hoc solutions were sometimes required for key missions and that these could be sourced from commercial suppliers if needed.

The Learjet was out of commission on nearly one in every three days last year, according to records previously released under FOI.

It was available for use just 68% of the time during the first 11 months of last year, according to an analysis that the Air Corps carried out.

Its data showed that the jet was out of service for 103 days  67 of them classified as unplanned  up until mid-November 2021.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin unveiled a bust of John Hume in Washington on Tuesday.

Mr Martin, who is in Washington for the St Patricks Day celebrations, said the former SDLP leader was committed to peace and reconciliation around the world, and not just in Northern Ireland.

Referencing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Taoiseach said Mr Hume would have been a powerful voice defending democracy, defending European values and insisting on the right of all people to be free.

The ceremony was attended by members of Mr Humes family, as well as Congressman Richard Neal and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.

The bust is by artist Elizabeth OKane.

Pribhleid ab ea e dealbh de John Hume a nochtadh i ngairdin aras na hAmbasaide inniu i Washington DC. Cuimhnimis ar John agus Pat, agus orthu siud go leir a oibrionn go trean ar son na siochana. #Ukraine @IrelandEmbUSA @HumeFoundation @LizOKane1 #SnaG22 #StPatricksDay22 pic.twitter.com/t0wZaNo5pX  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 15, 2022

By any measure John Hume was a great Irishman who devoted his life to his community, to his country and to the international cause of peace and reconciliation, Mr Martin told the gathering in Washington.

That is why it is a particular honour to be here today to unveil this magnificent sculpture, a mark of respect from a grateful country and fitting reminder of the extraordinary work he undertook in this city.

John was a force of nature who used his immense energy and talents as a relentless servant in the cause of civil rights, peace and reconciliation.

At the darkest moments of the conflict, he provided irreplaceable leadership, never losing faith that justice and peace would prevail.

John Hume (Niall Carson/PA)

There is simply no doubt that without John Hume providing the roadmap, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 would have been impossible.

We felt a great loss when John left us two years ago, and again last year at the passing of his beloved wife Pat, who, like John, was an extraordinary agent and advocate for peace.

Mr Hume, as part of his efforts to secure peace in Northern Ireland, spent a considerable amount of time and energy among political leaders in Washington.

Throughout his four decades of public action, John was determined that the rights and voices of all of the people of Derry, Northern Ireland and Ireland would be heard, Mr Martin said.

Just like all truly historic figures he wanted to change the debate and break the cycle of division and misunderstanding which too often lay at the foot of conflict.

That is what brought him to this city and helped him build and renew deep connections with Ireland in Congress and various administrations.

The Taoiseach said the conflict in Ukraine could not ignored, even as Ireland celebrates its patron saint.

The peace we now enjoy on Ireland is something that we cherish. However, this St Patricks Day our celebrations are tempered by the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and by the reminder that peace and democracy can never be taken for granted.

By any measure John Hume was a great Irishman who devoted his life to his community, country, peace and reconciliation.



Thats why its a great honour to unveil this magnificent sculpture, a mark of respect from a grateful country and fitting reminder of his extraordinary work. pic.twitter.com/2ztf4kQZ44  Micheal Martin (@MichealMartinTD) March 15, 2022

Across Ireland and the world, we are marking this St Patricks Day in solidarity and in communion with Ukraine.

John was never the loudest voice but he was always the clearest and most powerful.

At this moment, and always, we should be proud to have known him and determined to honour his service.

Mr Martin also issued a warning that peace cannot be taken for granted in Northern Ireland.

Johns work is as vital as ever. Perhaps above all it teaches us the importance of patience and persistence in the search for political agreement. As Yeats wrote in a different context, peace comes dropping slow.

The peace process in Northern Ireland has been transformative but it remains a work in progress.

Northern Ireland continues to grapple with painful and unresolved legacies, a still urgent need for tackling poverty and disadvantage, and now the disruptive consequences of Brexit.

Unfortunately, the generous, open and inclusive vision which John worked so tirelessly for is too often missing.
Plans for 191 build-to-rent apartments in a large scheme which included the renovation of an historic former distillery mills in Cork City have been shot down.

In its ruling, An Bord Pleanala cited concerns about the impact of renovations on the historic character and architectural quality of the former Hewitts Mills structure in Blackpool  one of three adjacent sites flanking the N20 in Blackpool earmarked for the Distillery Quarter strategic housing development (SHD).

It also cited the lack of communal public open space across the overall scheme.

Planning board cited the lack of communal public open space across the overall scheme.

The vacant and boarded-up mills building, a recorded monument which is also listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, is one of the larger, more significant industrial buildings in Cork and retains much of its original internal and external features.

It was part of the extensive Watercourse Distillery complex, once one of the largest distilleries in Ireland in 1836, reflecting Corks importance in 18th and 19th century whiskey manufacture in Ireland and Northern Europe.

Eichsfeld Ltd, care of Fehily Timoney, Cork, applied to An Bord Pleanala last November for permission for an SHD to include 191 apartments, 10 parking spaces and 448 bike spaces on three adjacent sites along the N20  a vacant site at Assumption Road, the vacant and boarded-up mills building, and a site at Shandon Villa, Popes Hill Road.

The apartment building on the first site was to comprise 99 units in two blocks, up to nine storeys high, the mills building was to be retained and adapted at its existing height, with the incorporation of an additional building of four to seven storeys to the rear to provide 69 apartments, and a single three to six-storey apartment building on the third site.

Computer-generated image of the proposed development.

Some 16 submissions were made, including from the Cork Foyer and An Taisce. While the re-development of the sites, and the mills building in particular, was welcomed, several concerns were raised about the treatment of the mills building.

In a 161-page report, Bord Pleanala inspector Lorraine Dockery, said she was very cognisant of the balance that was required to be achieved between protecting architectural heritage while accommodating growth and development within a thriving city.

The re-development of the mill building is welcomed in principle, she said.

I consider that an appropriate re-development of this site would add significantly to the amenity of the area.

However, while the retention and re-use of the mill structure is welcomed, I am not convinced that the design proposal in this instance (in particular to the western elevation) reflects and/or is sensitive to the historical importance of the site.

An option to grant planning for the other two sites was deemed inappropriate so the planning board refused planning for the entire scheme.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her nation was ready to welcome the world back with most tourists allowed to return by May as the nation continues to ease its coronavirus restrictions.

The announcement bought forward the date that tourists from countries including the US, Canada, Britain and much of Europe can visit from the previously announced date of October.

International tourism used to account for about 20% of New Zealands foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.

But when the pandemic began, New Zealand enacted some of the worlds strictest border controls and tourism evaporated. The measures were initially credited with saving thousands of lives and allowed New Zealand to eliminate or contain several outbreaks.

But with the Omicron variant now spreading throughout the country, the border restrictions have become largely irrelevant.

Ms Ardern said the move would boost the economy.

Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop Cobid-19 over two years ago, and its reopening will spur our economic recovery throughout the remainder of the year, she said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (Mark Mitchell/Pool Photo via AP)

Under the new timeline, tourists from Australia will be able to visit from April 12 and tourists from other visa-waiver countries can visit from May 1. Tourists from non-waiver countries  including India and China  will need to wait longer, unless they already have valid visitor visas.

Tourists must be vaccinated and test negative for the virus before leaving their home country and again after arriving in New Zealand.

I know from visiting tourism operators, and talking to their staff, how tough these past two years have been, Ms Ardern said. And not only because of the massive loss of tourism revenue, but because we lost something we derived so much of our identity from.

New Zealand is renowned for its beautiful scenery and adrenalin-inducing adventure tourism. The announcement comes as a timely boost to ski fields trying to plan for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere winter.

Tourism operators finally have confirmation they can get back to business, said Ann-Marie Johnson, a spokesperson for Tourism Industry Aotearoa. Tourism was the first industry to be affected by the pandemic and will be the last to recover. Tourism operators both large and small have made huge sacrifices but can now focus on rebuilding their businesses.

Over the past couple of weeks, New Zealand has been reporting about 20,000 new virus cases each day, its biggest outbreak since the pandemic began. The nations Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins on Wednesday became the latest high-profile person to test positive.

But experts expect the Omicron outbreak to fade quickly from its peak, as it has in many other countries.
A United Nations appeal for Yemen is aiming to raise 4.27 billion US dollars to alleviate what it describes as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, with 161,000 people likely to experience famine there in 2022.

The virtual pledging conference on Wednesday is being co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will address donors on the dire needs of the Arab worlds poorest country.

The conference comes as world attention is gripped by the war in Ukraine, which has overshadowed other humanitarian crises across the world since the Russian invasion on February 24  raising concerns that Yemens plight may be forgotten.

More than three million people have fled Ukraine, which has seen Europes heaviest fighting since the Second World War.

Last years conference raised only 1.7 billion dollars for Yemen, out of the 3.85 billion (2.95 billion) the UN had appealed for as the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating consequences hit economies around the globe.

Mr Guterres called the 2021 result disappointing.

Yemens war started in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebel Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the countrys north.

A Saudi-led, US-backed coalition intervened months later to dislodge the rebels and restore the internationally recognised government.

The conflict has in recent years become a regional proxy war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including some 14,500 civilians.

The war has also created the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.

The majority of Yemens 32 million people live in Houthi-held areas. The rebels have for years been implicated in aid theft and withholding for extortion.

UN experts earlier this year said they documented that the rebels provided or denied humanitarian aid to families solely on the basis whether their children participated in fighting or to teachers on the basis of whether they taught the Houthi curriculum.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) has warned that a total of 19 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity by the second half of this year  an increase of around 20% compared with the first six months of 2021. Of those, 161,000 people are likely to experience famine, it said.

Katharina Ritz, of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said the world must not shift its attention from the plight of those in Yemen amid the war in Ukraine (Kamran Jebreili/AP)

Ocha said half of the countrys health facilities have been shut down or destroyed.

The Yemeni currency, the rial, lost 57% of its value in 2021 in government-run areas, while persistent fuel shortages drove up the prices of food and other basic commodities in the Houthi-controlled north.

Ocha said 4.3 million Yemenis have been driven from their homes  around one-fifth of those displaced in 2021 were in the energy-rich province of Marib which Houthis have targeted for more than a year.

With the 4.27 billion dollars for Yemen, the UN aims to provide support to 17.3 million people in 2022, out of the 23.4 million who need aid, Ocha said.
The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia safely returned to Poland on Wednesday after a visit to Kyiv intended to show support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russias military onslaught.

The leaders met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday to convey a message of solidarity with Ukraine and of support for the nations aspirations to one day join the European Union.

They went ahead with the hours-long train journey despite concerns about risks to their security while traveling through a war zone.

All three countries are members of the European Union and NATO. Although pronouncing their trip to be an EU mission, officials in Brussels cast it as something the three leaders had undertaken on their own. Natos secretary-general said it was good for allies to engage closely with Zelensky, but also did not clearly endorse it.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the European leaders in Kyiv (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

At home, they won widespread praise, hailed as brave for travelling into a war zone when other Western leaders dare not. There were some, however, who criticized the leaders of Nato states for making a risky trip that was largely symbolic without a clear international mandate.

For his part, Zelensky voiced his appreciation for the show of support from members of the EU, which he hopes Ukraine will one day be able to join.

Prime ministers Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia, were joined by Polish deputy prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski  the chief of the ruling conservative party and the countrys most powerful leader.

The leaders crossed safely by train back into Poland on Wednesday morning. They then had a phone conversation with European Council President Charles Michel, according to Fiala. He tweeted a photo of the three prime ministers sitting around a phone as they informed Michel about the results of the mission in Kyiv.

In Brussels, European Commission spokesman, Eric Mamer, did not criticise the visit, but said that solidarity is expressed in different ways through different channels.

Our solidarity with Ukraine is absolute. It has been repeated on numerous occasions. But more importantly, it is extremely tangible

Our solidarity with Ukraine is absolute. It has been repeated on numerous occasions. But more importantly, it is extremely tangible, he said, citing the blocs financing for refugees and military equipment.

And I can assure you that this solidarity is very well understood by the Ukrainian authorities.

At a news briefing late on Tuesday in Kyiv, Kaczynski said he believed that a Nato peacekeeping mission is needed in Ukraine.

He suggested that a Nato peacekeeping mission is needed, possibly some wider international structure, but a mission that will also be able to defend itself and that will operate in Ukraine.

The remark generated some discussion in Poland on Wednesday, with some commentators saying the prospect could risk drawing Nato into a war with Russia.

Morawieckis chief-of-staff, Michal Dworczyk, insisted on Wednesday, however, that neither Poland nor anyone else is talking about getting involved in the war.

Dworczyk told Polish Radio 24 that it is an appeal not only to Europe but to the whole free world, to work out a solution that would realistically have the ability to suppress the Russian aggression.

Dworczyk said a solution must be discussed at the North Atlantic alliance level.

In Slovenia, where Jansas right-wing SDS party faces a parliamentary election on April 24 amid decreasing popularity, some saw the trip as a public relations stunt.

The Ukrainian crisis comes in handy for Jansa to improve his image in front of his voters and divert attention from domestic political debates, wrote the independent Vecer newspaper on Wednesday.
Burma Ethnic Taang Politician and Family Killed in Eastern Myanmar

The funeral of Mai Noam Han and his family on March 13. / Shwe Phee Myay

An ethnic Taang politician and his family were murdered in southern Shan State by ethnic Shan armed group the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), according to an investigation committee.

Mai Noam Han, the chairman of the Mongkai Township branch of the Taang National Party (TNP), was found dead last week along with his wife and seven-month-old daughter, after all three went missing two months ago.

He was a respected figure in Mongkai and had taken an active part in the development of Taang people in the region.

Political analysts in Shan State said that the RCSS is unhappy that the TNP has grown in popularity in Mongkai Township.

Mai Noam Han, 39, his 26-year-old wife and their seven-month-old daughter went missing on January 10, on their way back to Mongkai from the funeral of Mai Noam Hans mother. They were allegedly abducted by the RCSS near the village of Tong Lew.

Their bodies were found on March 9 in a pit in a remote part of the forest. Mai Noam Han was tied up with rope. His wife was discovered next to him with their baby on her back.

The corpses had decomposed and it was not clear if they were pushed into the pit dead or alive. Some 30 bullet casings were found near the bodies, suggesting that they were shot after being pushed into the pit, according to the committee investigating their deaths. The committee is comprised of TNP members, community elders and representatives of civil society organizations.

All that was left of the baby was its skeleton, said a member of the investigation team.

Local residents also alleged that Mai Noam Han and his family were killed by the RCSS. According to an RCSS soldier who recently deserted the armed group, the TNP chairman and his family members were held captive before being murdered.

Mai Noam Han was held in bamboo stocks, but his wife and their daughter were not bound, said the RCSS soldier. He added that he fed rice to the baby, who was crying.

Shan political analysts said that Mai Noam Hans mother was also killed in a politically motivated crime plotted by the RCSS and designed to lure the politician to the area he was killed in.

His mother, younger brother and nephew were riding a tricycle motorbike and returning from shopping in a nearby village when a vehicle hit their tricycle from behind, killing Mai Noam Hans mother.

They were intentionally rammed from behind, a source close to the family told The Irrawaddy. According to the account of Mai Noam Hans brother, it is obvious that the vehicle was following them intentionally.

An investigation committee member said: Mai Noam Han had not returned to his [native] village since the election was cancelled [voting for the 2020 general election in the region was cancelled due to security concerns]. So, [the RCSS] apparently assumed that he would return to his village only if something happened to his family members.

When the TNP asked the RCSS about their missing politician and family, the RCSS denied abducting him in a letter sent back on January 29 and signed by a Colonel Sai Ngin.

The RCSS also called for further investigations, saying that other ethnic armed groups are also active in the area and could have abducted Mai Noam Han and his family. However, locals said that troops from the Northern Alliance only arrived in the region on January 24, and that only RCSS soldiers were active in the area prior to that date.

Mongkai Township, which is part of Loilem District in southern Shan State, has seen frequent clashes over territory between the RCSS, also known as the Shan State Army-South, and the rival Shan State Army-North, the armed wing of the Shan State Progress Party (SSPP).

The Taang National Liberation Army is fighting alongside the SSPP. There have also been frequent reports of disputes between the RCSS and other ethnic political organizations representing the Taang and Pa-O, ethnic minorities with a sizeable population in the region.

In the run up to the 2015 general election, the RCSS abducted and detained the then TNP chairman Mai Aung Kham, who stood as a candidate in Mongkai, for nearly two months. He was released only after local residents found out about his detention.

During campaigning ahead of the 2020 general election, the RCSS publicly threatened TNP candidates in Mongkai, forcing the party to stop campaigning before the poll was subsequently cancelled in the region.

In 2018, five Pa-O villagers were killed by RCSS fighters in dispute with residents of Taung Nauk Village-tract in Loilem District.

The Irrawaddy was unable to obtain a comment from RCSS spokesperson Major Sai Kham San.



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Myanmar Junta Forces Badly Injure Female Teenage Protesters in Yangon

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Burma Myanmar Junta Forces Badly Injure Female Teenage Protesters in Yangon

Mingalar Taung Nyunt protesters seen before the crackdown. / CJ

Teenage girls who participated in an anti-coup protest on Sunday in Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township in Yangon were badly injured after being arrested and beaten by junta security forces, according to a source close to their families.

Young protesters gathered on Sunday evening in Mingalar Taung Nyunt to mark the 34th anniversary of the death of Ko Phone Maw and Ko Soe Naing, who were shot dead by riot police on the night of March 13, 1988 on the campus of the Rangoon Institute of Technology [now Yangon Technological University].

As the protesters were about to disperse, a group of men armed with batons emerged from private vehicles and beat and arrested the demonstrators, said one protester who escaped arrest.

They beat me first and my head was bruised. As I turned away and ran, they tried to arrest my friends. I managed to push some of them away and pulled one of my friends out. At that time, they arrested three teenage girls by pulling their hair from behind. They also kicked the girls, he said.

A witness said he saw some ten men in civilian clothes dragging three girls aged around 15 by their hair while beating them.

Another university student who participated in the protest and escaped arrest said one of the girls is just 14 and the other two are 16.

We tried to save as many protesters as possible. But, unfortunately, the three girls were detained. We are concerned as they are the youngest among us. We hope they will be released as soon as possible, said the student.

The three girls were taken to Mingalar Taung Nyunt police station before being sent to the Latha Township police station, according to a source close to their families.

One of the girls was knocked out in the beating and only regained consciousness the next morning. Another of the girls lost four teeth, while the other one was badly bruised, said the source.

One of the girls only regained consciousness around four or five in the morning the next day. She was kicked in her head and ribs, said the source.

On March 12, junta soldiers raided apartments at the corner of 45th Street and Bogoyoke Road in Yangons Botahtaung Township following the explosion of a stun grenade. Four university students who rent an apartment on 46th Street were arrested and taken to an interrogation center.

Two of the students were men from the Yangon University of Economics, one was a male student from West Yangon University, and the other a graduate of the Monywa University of Economics.

The military regime has stepped up its crackdown on urban resistance fighters in Yangon, as well as anti-coup protesters. A number of innocent civilians have also been arrested.

Since last years coup, the junta has detained over 12,600 people. Around 9,600 remain in detention, with 844 of them given prison terms. Of those, 45 were handed death sentences, including two teenagers.

Some 1,676 people have been killed by the regime since the military takeover.



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Ukraine said it saw possible room for compromise Tuesday in talks with Russia, while Moscows forces stepped up their bombardment of Kyiv, and an estimated 20,000 civilians fled the desperately encircled port city of Mariupol by way of a humanitarian corridor.

The fast-moving developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground came on the 20th day of Russias invasion, as the number of Ukrainians fleeing the country amid Europes heaviest fighting since World War II eclipsed 3 million.

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A firefighter walks outside a destroyed apartment building after a bombing in a residential area in Kyiv on Tuesday. (VADIM GHIRDA/AP)

A top Ukrainian negotiator, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, described the latest round of talks with the Russians, held via videoconference, as very difficult and viscous and said there were fundamental contradictions between the two sides, but added that there is certainly room for compromise. He said the talks will continue Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, another aide to Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy, Ihor Zhovkva, struck a more optimistic note, saying that the negotiations had become more constructive and that Russia had softened its stand by no longer airing its demands that Ukraine surrender.

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In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv. (AP)

In other developments, the leaders of three European Union countries  Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia  visited the embattled capital, arriving by train in a bold show of support amid the danger.

Meanwhile, large explosions thundered across Kyiv before dawn from what Ukrainian authorities said were artillery strikes, as Russias bombardment of the capital appeared to become more systematic and edged closer to the city center, smashing apartments, a subway station and other civilian sites.

Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens. The strikes disrupted the relative calm that returned after an initial advance by Moscows forces was stopped in the early days of the war.

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagons assessment, said that the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 9 miles from the center of the capital.

The official said the U.S. has seen indications that Russia believes it may need more troops or supplies than it has on hand in Ukraine, and it is considering ways to get more resources into the country. The official did not elaborate.

Before Tuesdays talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would press its demands that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO, adopt a neutral status and demilitarize.

In a statement that seemed to signal potential grounds for agreement with Moscow, Zelenskyy told European leaders gathered in London that he realizes NATO has no intention of accepting Ukraine.

We have heard for many years about the open doors, but we also heard that we cant enter those doors, he said. This is the truth, and we have simply to accept it as it is.

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NATO does not admit nations with unsettled territorial conflicts. Zelenskyy has repeatedly said in recent weeks that he realizes NATO isnt going to offer membership to Ukraine and that he could consider a neutral status for his country but needs strong security guarantees from both the West and Russia.

An elderly woman is helped by policemen after she was rescued by firefighters from inside her apartment after bombing in Kyiv on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (Felipe Dana/AP)

The UN said close to 700 civilians in Ukraine have been confirmed killed, with the true figure probably much higher.

Two journalists working for Fox News were killed when the vehicle they were traveling in was hit by fire Monday on the outskirts of Kyiv, the network said. Fox identified the two as video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshynova, who was helping Fox crews navigate the area. Another journalist was killed Sunday in Ukraine.

New efforts to bring civilians to safety and deliver aid were underway around the country. The Red Cross said it was working to evacuate people in about 70 buses from the northeastern town of Sumy, near the Russian border.

The exodus from Mariupol marked the biggest evacuation yet from the southern city of 430,000, where officials say a weekslong siege has killed more than 2,300 people and left residents struggling for food, water, heat and medicine. Bodies have been buried in mass graves.

Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers carry a man injured during a shelling attack into hospital number 3 in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Tuesday. (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior aide to Zelenskyy, said that about 20,000 people managed to leave Mariupol in 4,000 private vehicles via a designated safe corridor leading to the city of Zaporizhzhia.

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Fighting has intensified on Kyivs outskirts in recent days, and air raid sirens wailed inside the capital. The mayor imposed a curfew extending through Thursday morning.

Tuesdays artillery strikes hit the Svyatoshynskyi district of western Kyiv, adjacent to the suburb of Irpin, which has seen some of the worst fighting of the war.

Flames shot out of a 15-story apartment building and smoke choked the air as firefighters climbed ladders to rescue people. The assault blackened several floors of the building, ripped a hole in the ground outside and blew out windows in neighboring apartment blocks. Rescue workers said at least one person was killed.

Firefighters extinguish flames in an apartment building after being hit by shelling in Kyiv on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (Felipe Dana/AP)

Yesterday we extinguished one fire, today another. It is very difficult, a firefighter who gave only his first name, Andriy, said outside the building, tears falling from his eyes. People are dying, and the worst thing is that children are dying. They havent lived their lives and they have already seen this.

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City authorities also tweeted an image of the blown-out facade of a downtown subway station that had been used as a bomb shelter and said trains would no longer stop at the station.

A 10-story apartment building in the Podilsky district of Kyiv, north of the government quarter, was damaged. Russian forces also stepped up strikes overnight on Irpin and the northwest Kyiv suburbs of Hostomel and Bucha, said the head of the capital region, Oleksiy Kuleba.

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Many streets have been turned into a mush of steel and concrete. People have been hiding for weeks in basements, and are afraid to go out even for evacuations, Kuleba said on Ukrainian television.

In the countrys east, Russian forces launched more than 60 strikes overnight on Ukraines second-largest city, Kharkiv, according to regional administration chief Oleh Sinehubov. The strikes hit the citys historical center, including the main marketplace.

Sinehubov said the bodies of dozens of civilians were pulled from destroyed apartment buildings.

In Mykolaiv, a strategic southern city near the Black Sea where airstrikes killed nine people Sunday, residents braced for more attacks. Volunteers prepared food and sorted donated clothes. Molotov cocktails for use against the invaders were stockpiled.

We are bombed during the day and during the night, said Svetlana Gryshchenko, whose soldier son was killed in the fighting. Its a nightmare what Russia is doing on the territory of Ukraine.
Burma Thai Firm Takes Over Myanmar Gas Field After Withdrawal of Chevron, Total

Thai oil company PTTEP's topside jack-up rig in Batam, on Indonesia's Riau Island. / AFP

Thai energy company PTTEP has said it will take over the running of Myanmars vital Yadana gas field following the withdrawal of global giants Chevron and TotalEnergies in January.

The US and French firms said they would pull out of Myanmar following growing international pressure from human rights groups to cut financial ties with the junta after last years military coup.

The Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea provides electricity to Myanmar and Thailand, one of a number of gas projects that Human Rights Watch says make up Naypyitaws single largest source of foreign currency revenue, generating more than US$1 billion annually.

After the decision of TotalEnergies to withdraw from Yadana project, PTTEP has thoroughly considered to take a step as the successor operator in order to ensure [there is] no interruption of natural gas supply, PTT Exploration and Production Public Company (PTTEP) said in a statement Monday.

PTTEPa unit of Thailands majority state-owned energy firm PTTwill take control of operations from July 20, saying continuity in gas production and preventing disruption to energy demand was of utmost importance.

The field accounts for roughly 50 percent of Myanmars gas demand, PTTEP said, and around 11 percent of Thailands.

In recent weeks, Myanmar has been hit by a series of power outages, forcing people in commercial capital Yangon to queue for water, with the junta blaming rising gas prices and attacks by anti-coup fighters on infrastructure.

The junta has interests in large swathes of the countrys economy, including oil and gas.

Other international firms, including British American Tobacco and French renewable energy firm Voltalia, have also pulled back from Myanmar since the coup last year.

More than 1,600 people have died in the subsequent military crackdown and 11,000 have been arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

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Wrestling with a decision to propose a possible change to the election procedure for Village Council members, last week the Key Biscayne Charter Revision Commission  in a split-decision vote  opted to let voters decide if they would prefer a primary, similar to the mayoral election.

The idea of voting for specific seats was put off until at least five years, when another Commission would meet again.

The decision to revert back to primaries for Council members will be one of eight questions voters can anticipate in either an August election or the November general election, thanks to the microscopic examination of the Village Charter by the selected five-member staff, chaired by Council member Allison McCormick.

If voters approve, the process would begin in the 2024 election.

Village Attorney Chad Friedman will come back with official language for each of the proposed revisions to the Code of Ordinances at the Final Report meeting, set for 6 p.m. on March 28. From there, those documents will be presented to Village Council verbally at its April 12 meeting. Ballot wording would take place likely in May or June, and the Council would have to approve and decide which election it would be part of.

Among the other proposed revisions  which still would have to be approved by voters  would be to allow Council members the authority to approve legitimate reimbursements tied to their roles as elected officials; raising the Village debt cap from 1% to 2% and/or not allowing an increase in debt unless approved by voters in a referendum election; zoning or land use decisions could be amended with the approval of 5 out of 7 Council members (or a majority in case of recusals); and requiring Councils  after each election cycle  to adopt transparent, open government policies.

The election process (Section 2.03) was the most-discussed subject over the past three meetings, in hopes of getting a more representative percentage of votes to the winners.

Jennifer Stearns Buttrick had brought up the idea of voting for specific seats to give voters an easier understanding of two or three platforms rather than, say, a collective 10  as in 2020, when 10 candidates ran for three vacancies. It also might protect a first-term Council member who was doing such good work, no one would likely challenge that seat. But there was no real appetite from the other members this time around.

Marco Gomez pointed out unless he had a crystal ball, he really couldnt figure how many candidates would run for office each election in the Village. In 2018, we had five; in 2020, there were 10 ... what if we have 15 runs? he asked.

Up until 2020, we wouldnt have a need for a primary ... the whole process might be to get from seven to six, which is not effective.

With that, Gomez said, We might consider a primary with a large number of candidates, but that hasnt been our history.

Buttrick said that likely could change.

I think more people will be running with more issues, she said, pointing out sewer and GO Bond issues in previous crowded elections. I think youre going to see more candidates, she added, referring to numerous resiliency projects on the horizon.

The argument was enough to sway Jud Kurlancheek toward a primary election for Council candidates.

Im leaning that way ... if its good enough for the mayor, why not? he asked.

Then, the community will have three years from the 2024 election to evaluate the process before the next Charter Revision Commission meets.

The struggle, McCormick had at the onset, would now be extending the voting process to almost six months, doubling the time and costs associated with two elections, and also campaigning on street corners in the July and August heat.

Ill make an argument six different ways, she said, admitting this was a tough decision.

The way a primary would work would be to get down to twice as many candidates as there are vacancies on the Council, meaning if there are 10 candidates for three vacancies, for example, the primary would trim that field of contenders to six.

Joe Rasco has won elections in the past  with a primary and without.

You have a room of 10 people  how does the electorate figure out what theyre all saying? Its certainly problematic when you cant discern, he said. if you have a primary, you have a second look, rather than looking at it once ... I dont have the right answer, but we need a better way (than the current process of simply top vote-getters).

The Commission did decide on staying away from run-offs.

Holding a primary would mean Council members would have to qualify in June for a usually low-turnout August primary to precede the November general election.

Kurlancheek made the motion to hold a primary and Rasco seconded it.

The motion passed 3-2, with Yes votes from Buttrick, Kurlancheek and Rasco; and No votes from Gomez and McCormick.

Here are other actions addressed by the group:

Borrowing money: Giving Village voters the best government solution, Commission members raised the debt cap from 1% to 2% and also placed a second option, should that not pass, of raising the debt if approved by voters in a referendum election.

Both items passed unanimously.

I feel with the ($100 million) GO Bond, were compelled (to change Section 4.10), Kurlancheek said.

The 2% ceiling doubles the debt capacity to about $180 million, said Village Manager Steve Williamson and Chief Financial Officer Benjamin Nussbaum, who added if there were exceeded debt, youd have to increase the millage to balance the budget (per state law).

Williamson felt comfortable with the hike to 2% of all the total assessed properties within the Village. It meets our financial capacity as well as our staff capacity, he said.

The Commission decided not to touch the revenue sharing code in the Charter. Attorney Roger Pou pointed out in 1996, there was a motion by the Key Biscayne Revision Commission to adopt a policy that does not allow the Village to enter a revenue sharing pool in the county (which is based on population).

Land regulations: Not wanting to delve into specifics, such as a recently discussed assisted living facility or Montessori school, Commission members decided to provide an option by getting five of seven Council members  called a supermajority  to vote on approvals allowing for such additions or zoned changes.

I like this, McCormick said. We talked about this being one of those reactionary amendments ... its extremely constricting (currently, a long process requiring a referendum vote).

At first, Buttrick wanted the entire wording removed because, she explained, Village citizens are not zoning experts.

Friedman said in a previous election the removal of Section 4.15 was tried. It was close, but failed, he said, which convinced Buttrick to remove her first option.

This is the importance of electing the right people, Rasco said. If you want things to function properly ... were giving them that power (to exercise it correctly).

The item passed unanimously, but Friedman will come back with proper wording in case there are recusals on the Council regarding a particular vote that would leave perhaps less than five Council members available.

Compensation for Council: Buttrick pointed out, historically speaking, Once it goes to voters, its always failed. Look at the (Miami-Dade) County Commission, theyre still making what they made in 1956, $6,000 a year.

Gomez said the Charter, the way its written, is too restrictive. ... Im in favor of expanding the wording, but leaving it up to Council.

This revision to Section 2.07, calling for authorized expenses incurred with their role for those who serve without compensation, and to be approved only by a recommendation from Village Council, was unanimously approved.

Open government: Pou, the attorney who works closely with Friedman, explained that the majority of nearby municipalities echo Miami-Dade Countys Citizens Bill of Rights, although he found one instance of an ordinance in Jacksonville that laid out permissible areas for Sunshine Law meetings with convenient public access.

McCormick and Buttrick both thought it wouldnt be appropriate to be as specific, and also agreed to propose an amendment to the Charter to include a provision for each Council, after each election, to pass an ordinance regarding its policies and procedures on how it will be transparent with open government and/or Sunshine meetings.

Amending the Charter: Simply adding the Charter Revision Commission to the options in Section 6.02 is another way language can be amended in the Code of Ordinances.

Click here to view the current Village of Key Biscayne Charter.
Ithaca, NY (14850)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 44F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

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Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 44F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
Lenovo introduces IT infrastructure solutions for medium businesses with services to help them achieve intelligent transformation.

The new IT infrastructure solutions includes new server, storage, and service offerings to overcome resource limitations and offers remote work optimisation and innovation.

Lenovo says midsize businesses make up the majority of the worldwide economy and workforce, with 70% projected by IDC to significantly increase their IT spending by 2026.

As digital transformation continues to accelerate globally, growing businesses must be able to adapt to ever-changing market demands, achieve faster deployment, manage resources and reduce security risks.

Today, many organisations face limitations in IT staffing, skills and funding, creating barriers to infrastructure transformation.

Lenovos on-prem server-based solutions provide improves workforce productivity and allows businesses to start small, remain competitive and grow.

"From affordability and flexibility to global services and a wide partner ecosystem, our solutions will continue to support businesses in Australia and New Zealand to improve productivity and respond to an ever-evolving business environment. Investments in digital capabilities and infrastructure are key in enabling start-ups and larger ecosystem to fuel innovation and sustaining business growth, says Lenovo president APAC ISG Sumir Bhatia.

Future-ready transformation with flexible IT

Lenovos expanded portfolio features new single-socket ThinkSystem V2 Servers, Lenovo TruScale Infinite Storage and a range of services.

With robust reliability, the new ThinkSystem V2 servers provide solution for constrained spaces inside and outside the data centre. The new single-socket ThinkSystem ST50 V2, ST250 V2 and the SR250 V2 servers offer companies solutions tailored for running their business, including support for business-critical applications in retail, manufacturing and financial services.

In combination with ThinkSystem servers, the Lenovo ThinkSystem DM5100F storage system features SAN storage solution that adapts to new workloads over time, allowing businesses to start small and grow, as well as manage data from the edge to the cloud.

As Lenovo services handles our infrastructure management, we now devote more resources to building new digital services for clients, says STGT CEO Pedro Ramirez.

With Lenovo TruScale Infrastructure Services, we are becoming a more agile company, delivering higher-quality services to clients while significantly reducing our costs. In the years ahead, the Lenovo solution will help us to achieve sustainable growth.

Management made easy

Lenovo helps customers and simply manage their data and infrastructure solutions, using the built-in Lenovo XClarity management software.

Companies using the Lenovo XClarity will have a dashboard that can standardise, simplify, and automate IT management tasks, enabling systems to be configured in as little as three minutes and preventing up to 90% of service calls.



Enabling remote work is challenging. Lenovo TruScale for Hosted Desktops enables remote workers to be productive with enhanced security from anywhere.

To make it even easier, Lenovo offers Professional Services Tokens, which can be purchased for hourly increments of IT technical expertise and service support.

Enhanced recovery and protection

Historically, 43% of cyberattacks target small and midsize businesses. Of those that experience a security breach or cyberattack, nearly 60% go out of business.

Lenovos solutions for business continuity help reduce the risk of downtime. Lenovo offers ThinkSystem V2 servers with ThinkShield Security and ThinkSystem DM storage solutions with built-in automatic ransomware protection.

For example, with Lenovos backup and recovery solution, businesses can help better protect themselves from security risks, data loss and unforeseen disruptions.
The REA Group, a global online real estate advertising company, has said it will cancel a number of sex-associated domain names which have been acting to redirect traffic to its site.

Founded in 1995, REA Group is a public company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and majority-owned by News Corp Australia, a subsidiary of News Corp. The company's market value was more than $17 billion as of this writing.

iTWire was told by a reliable industry source that REA owned numerous domain names with sex-related names which redirected traffic to realestate.com.au.

Two of these names are FindNudeDude.com and FindNudeDude.com.au. A third is SexOnline.com.au. As seen from the registration details, they are owned by REA Group. Both were redirecting to realestate.com.au on Tuesday, but the redirects now appear to have been removed. The company, however, contests the fact that the sexonline domain offered a redirect to the realestate.com.au website.

Asked about this, an REA Group spokesperson responded: The domain names in question were part of the Groups domain name portfolio as a result of historic activity or acquisitions dating back 10 to 20 years."

The domain findnudedude.com was registered on 19 February 2009 and expires only next February.

The sexonline.com.au domain was also redirecting to realestate.com.au at the time iTWire looked at it on Tuesday, the redirection had ceased by the time the REA Group reacted.

The spokesperson added: "They [the domain names] are not required and weve instructed our domain name registrar to cancel them.

Both domains were updated two days ago, as can be seen from the two screenshots in this article.
Local media in Shenzhen are reporting that Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) was forced to halt production at its factories the day after the city imposed a lockdown in an effort to curb a rise in Covid 19 cases.

Foxconn is a contract manufacturer with a workforce of 200,000 in Shenzhen. The company manufactures iPhones for Apple amount other electronic goods. The South China Morning Post reported that Foxconn said it was complying with Government rules. It is not certain as to the impact on the supply of Apple products as the largest iPhone assembly line is in Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan province.

The city of close to 18 million people announced a seven day shutdown on 13 March, ordering the shut-down of public transport and directing government and non-essential business employees to work from home. It is also requiring residents to take three Covid-19 tests per week.

The city of Shenzhen's lock-down order could further disrupt the supplies of electronic components and devices driven by the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It seems that while many other countries are learning to live with Covid-19, China is still trying to contain the virus.

Given the rising numbers here, 33,939 new cases and 272,819 active cases, nationally, perhaps we are being a bit too liberal in our approach.
Chinese smartphone manufacturer realme is being touted as the "fastest-growing major 5G grand globally", in the last quarter of 2021, but its shipments for the quarter are very small, coming in at about 5.3 million units.

That this equated to 165% growth over the corresponding quarter in 2020 when shipments were about two million, puts the claim, made by the technology analyst firm Counterpoint Research, in even better context.

The actual figures were missing from the Counterpoint statement, but a company spokesperson told iTWire, in response to a query: "realme's global 5G shipments grew from 2 million in Q4 2020 to just over 5.3 million in Q4 2021, which equates to the growth of 165% noted in the release." The increase was mainly in Western Europe and South America.

By contrast, Xiaomi shipped 45 million units in the final quarter of 2021, while the other Chinese brands in the top five [as listed by IDC] were OPPO (30.1 million units shipped) and vivo (28.3 million units shipped).

Apple, the top-selling brand for the quarter, shipped 84.9 million units, with Samsung second at 68.9 million units.

realme is a brand partly owned by the electronics giant B.B.K. Elctronics, which owns the OPPO, vivo and OnePlus brands outright.

Percentages do not tell the whole story, only actual figures do.

Regarding realme's showing in the final quarter of 2021, senior analyst Harmeet Singh Walia said: realme has been offering a broader 5G portfolio since 2020, having grown from just two 5G smartphones at the beginning of 2020 to 15 at the beginning of 2021 and well over double that by Q4 2021.

"Simultaneously, the average selling price of these devices has declined too  from close to US$270 (A$375) in Q1 2020 to US$250 in Q4 2021.

"This is despite the uptick in 5G ASP seen in the last couple of quarters due to price increases in the GT Neo Flash, Q3 Pro Carnival and V5 5G in Q3 2021 and the launch of the GT Neo 2 at $350 (wholesale price) in Q4 2021.
GUEST RESEARCH: A study of more than 1,500 human resources professionals has revealed the cost to hire an employee has more than doubled in the past year to an average of $23,860 per candidate, up from an average of $10,500 the year prior.

The hiring costs are just some of the insights that have been gleaned in the HR Industry Benchmark Survey, an annual Trans-Tasman survey of more than 1,500 Australian and New Zealand human resources professionals conducted by ELMO Software and the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).

Now in its third year, the HR Industry Benchmark Survey explores the core challenges, priorities and opportunities for HR professionals in Australia and New Zealand.

While the survey found the cost to hire is skyrocketing, businesses also report that the time to hire new employees is increasing to an average of 40 days in Australia and 50 days in New Zealand. This is up from 33.4 days in Australia and 36.5 days in New Zealand in 2021.

The costly and time-consuming recruitment process comes at a difficult time for employers with recent research by ELMO finding 43 per cent of workers plan to actively search for a new role in 2022.

However, the high cost to hire isnt deterring employers with 54 per cent stating they are planning on growing their workforce while 38 per cent say they expect it to stay the same size. The hiring intentions also signal a welcome return to pre-COVID hiring patterns after last years decline to just 39 per cent of organisations anticipating headcount growth.

Small-to-medium sized businesses with fewer than 200 employees were expecting the greatest headcount growth with an anticipated growth rate of 26 per cent. This was followed by enterprise size firms with more than 2,000 employees at 24 per cent. Mid-market organisations with between 200-1,999 employees expected a growth rate of 17 per cent.

The lofty growth targets and the high cost to hire may be behind employee wellness initiatives taking out the top spot in the stated priorities for HR professionals in 2022 as employers seek to retain top talent by focusing on wellbeing. Employee wellness initiatives were the top or medium priority for 88 per cent of HR professionals in 2022 followed by compliance (84%) and learning and development (82%).

ELMO Software CEO Danny Lessem says the cost to hire new employees is a great incentive for employers to do all they can to retain their talented workforce.

After two years of ups and downs, employers may have been hoping for some semblance of stability in the year ahead. Unfortunately, they are going to face some significant cost increases as the cost of the war for talent looks like it will be paid by businesses.

It will be hard enough for organisations to try to recruit talented people to fill the roles that have originated due to growth of the business, let alone trying to replace departing employees.

Employers have seen the cost to hire employees more than double in just twelve months as a skills shortage, inflated wage growth and a historically low unemployment rate create a perfect storm for hiring businesses.

Having a clear dollar amount for the cost to hire new people may just be the reminder some organisations need to prioritise their people.

AHRI CEO Sarah McCann-Bartlett said that the research confirmed that the biggest issues facing organisations over the next 12 months are recruitment, followed closely by skills and leadership development.

This isnt surprising, with anticipated higher turnover, increased hiring intentions and skills shortages all coming to the fore at the same time , she said.
Health technology companies are calling for fairer procurement processes and improved funding, according to a report by the Medical Software Industry Association.

However, according to MSIAs Beyond the Pandemic  Future Proofing Australias Health Technology Industry report, it claims the sector remains unsung and invisible.

On the heels of the government announcing the federal budget and upcoming election, the report found that health companies overwhelmingly believe the government stifles innovation (59%) while almost 61% said companies are at a disadvantage compared to international companies in federal government contracts.

More than half (53%) see the government's ICT procurement processes as unfair and 74% feel unsupported by government.

Thirty-five percent of respondents received government funding for pandemic-related work but, of those, only 6% said it covered expenditure.

The report claims health tech has replaced the stethoscope as the single most important tool of general practitioners.

The report reads: Health information and how it is collected, delivered and stored, is possibly the most essential service any Australians use. Yet to most, it is invisible.

Any interaction with immunisations, GPs, hospitals, allied health, aged care, Indigenous care, drug and alcohol addiction care providers, disabilities care, specialists, prescriptions medications, radiology, pathology and more will depend on the efficacy  and indeed the operation  of health software.

It works quietly in the background converting data into valuable information.



Health technology companies have contributed by conducting telehealth consultations, prescribing e-scripts, vaccine booking platforms, virtual hospitals, testing and much more:



Since March 2020, more than 96 million telehealth services have been delivered to more than 16.7 million patients, the report estimates.

As of 9 February, more than 38 million e-Prescriptions had been issued.

More than 62 million COVID-19 tests had been processed by 14 February.

Ninety-five percent of Australians aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated.

The MSIA suggested five recommendations to the federal government to ensure the success of Australia's health technology industry. These include the development of a sustainable business case, funding to enable the thousands of healthcare systems to be safely interconnected, a fair go in selling products to government, co-design of a scheme that allows Australian companies to compete against generic/non-health specific multinationals, and greater commitment to skills development.

With the smallest of investments, considerable differences can be achieved now. There is much start-up funding but there also needs to be investment in the digital health products that are currently world class and can evolve, the report recommends.

MSIA CEO Emma Hossack says the pandemic saw a breathtaking evolution of healthcare in an accelerated time frame

Industry and government are now trusting in their ability to work together to create an environment where that momentum can be leveraged to ensure the health system is more effective, safer and cost effective.

The last two years have seen extraordinary cooperation between the industry and federal government agencies, but they have also exposed fault lines, Hossack says.

Companies need an environment free of red tape that is built on fair procurement processes, providing a level playing field between international companies and world-class Australian innovators.

Beyond the Pandemic says MSIA member companies hold 95% of the health information of Australians within their systems, yet those companies remain largely invisible because what they do works and is often taken for granted.
The appointment brings together the combined capabilities of Envestnet | Yodlee, Envestnet Analytics (Wheelhouse), and Abe AI.

The new role will see Ferchichi advance the data and analytics arm of Envestnets financial wellness ecosystem.

As our financial lives become more digital, data-powered, and intelligent, Envestnet Data and Analytics is incredibly well positioned to drive the industry change that is immediately ahead, and Farouk is the best person to lead us on our path forward, comments Envestnet CEO Bill Crager.

Envestnet uses data and technology to support millions of decisions people make about money every single day. Farouk and his team will drive the execution of our global data strategy, and further strengthen our leadership in the data and analytics industry.

Ferchichi joined Envestnet in March 2021 as chief data and analytics officer, focusing on transforming Envestnets data strategy and laying the foundation to introduce innovative solutions to new markets.

Prior to Envestnet, Ferchichi held global chief data analytics roles at USAA and Toyota, global consulting partner roles at Accenture and Gartner, as well as functional roles in risk management, manufacturing and non-profit.

Across Envestnet, we have a shared mission of helping our customers guide their clients toward financial wellness, and our data and analytics business is the foundation by which we can create and deploy personalised and actionable insights and intelligence into the Envestnet ecosystem, concludes Ferchichi.
ALBANY  Disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo isnt just looking to clear his name; now he wants his old job back.

Cuomo, who resigned of his own volition last year in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations, is eying a potential primary run against Gov. Hochul, CNBC first reported Wednesday.

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A source close to the ex-governor confirmed to the Daily News that Cuomo has fielded calls from supporters and longtime friends about a run and is commissioning internal polling as he weighs a potential showdown with his one-time lieutenant governor.

Rumors have swirled in recent months that Cuomo, who stepped down with a hefty $18 million in campaign cash in his war chest, may be interested in running for his old attorney general post.

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A poll released last week by Emerson College and The Hill found Cuomo would be a formidable challenger for Hochul should he enter the race ahead of the June primary.

Hochul received 37% of Democratic voter support in a hypothetical matchup, while Cuomo garnered 33%. Neither Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Nassau, Suffolk, Queens) nor city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams could register even double-digit support.

That survey sparked interest from former colleagues and friends, an insider said.

The man who won an Emmy for his COVID briefings and once commissioned a papier-mache mountain symbolizing the stark toll the pandemic took on New York has made clear he has no intention of staying out of the spotlight.

Cuomo made his first public remarks since his resignation earlier this month at a Brooklyn church, where he claimed in a speech that cancel culture was to blame for his political downfall.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pictured leaving Fresco by Scotto Thursday, March 3, 2022 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)

The 64-year-old, who maintains his innocence, took aim at state Attorney General Letitia James during his sermon, claiming that her office engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by releasing a report corroborating allegations that he sexually harassed 11 women, many of them younger aides.

Cuomo said recently he regrets stepping down, although he would have faced certain impeachment had he remained in office, and is attempting to clear his name by airing campaign-style TV commercials and making more public appearances.

As the governor has said since the beginning this was the weaponization of politics to do what couldnt get done at the ballot box, and its important to him and his family that the record get set straight and efforts to rewrite history dont succeed, spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.

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Still, his political fate remains unclear despite the Cuomo-positive Emerson poll. A Siena College survey from last month found that a majority of voters dont buy the fallen Dems claim of vindication after prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges against him.

Hochul, who has taken great strides to distance herself from her former running mate, remains popular among Democrats and has the backing of the party.

State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs is among the scores of top Dems in Hochuls corner.

I think it would be a bad mistake for Cuomo to oppose Hochul, Jacobs told CNBC, adding that he doesnt believe the ex-governor is going to run for anything in the 2022 election cycle.

The latest report came hours after Hochul signed off on a package of sexual harassment and retaliation-related bills written in response to the scandals swirling around her predecessor.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks during an event at Alice Tully Hall announcing the David Geffen Hall re-opening in Oct. Wednesday, March 9, 2022 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/for New York Daily News)

One new law will prohibit the release of personnel files as a retaliatory action against employees.

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The bill was penned after Cuomo aides released confidential personnel files related to former adviser Lindsey Boylan, the first of nearly a dozen women to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.

Still, the ex-governor has his supporters. He recently dined with both Mayor Adams and former New Jersey Gov. Christie on separate occasions and will appear at a Bronx church on Thursday at the invite of controversial ex-City Councilman Ruben Diaz Sr.

A group that Cuomo diehards formed in the wake of his downfall, dubbed New Yorkers for Justice, gathered at a Queens hotel last month for a roundtable talk and encouraged the disgraced Democrat to enter the race to clear his name.
This Week in Review

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.
Compiling reviews from IMDb and Metacritic, Stacker composed a list of the 50 best space movies of all time, from classic hits to new releases. Click for more.
ALBANY  The Cuomo administration undercounted COVID deaths in nursing homes by at least 4,100 as the pandemic raged across the Empire State, according to an audit released Tuesday by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

The audit details how health officials undercounted deaths in nursing homes by more than 50% at certain points during the height of the crisis, echoing similar findings reported by Attorney General Letitia James office last year.

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Auditors also found that officials were ill-prepared for such a deadly outbreak in elder care facilities and that the Department of Health intentionally obfuscated information about fatalities as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo sought to control what data was made public.

The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth, DiNapoli said in a statement.

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The comptrollers office also faced resistance from Department of Health officials who refused to provide auditors with a breakdown of the nursing home residents who died from COVID, meaning the true toll the deadly virus took on nursing home residents remains unknown.

New York significantly trailed other states in surveying nursing homes and developing strategies to stop infections from spreading in facilities, DiNapoli said.

The audit found that Cuomo officials routinely reported incorrect data, inflating the perception of New Yorks performance against other states.

Throughout much of the pandemic, the Cuomo administration only counted residents who died in elder care facilities, not those who died in hospitals, when releasing information about nursing homes.

In this file photo, Theresa Sari, left, and her daughter Leila Ali look at a protest-memorial wall for nursing home residents who died from COVID-19, including Sari's mother Maria Sachse, March 21, 2021, in New York. (Seth Wenig/AP)

James office first accused the Cuomo administration of drastically undercounting nursing home deaths in a January 2021 report that questioned how officials were reporting data to the public.

That prompted then-Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to release revamped statistics including hospital deaths that nearly doubled the previously available death toll and brought it to more than 15,000 seniors.

New York Comptroller Tom DiNapoli speaks during the New York State Democratic Convention in New York, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (Seth Wenig/AP)

James applauded DiNapolis team for digging into the issue.

I am grateful to Comptroller DiNapoli for bringing much needed transparency to this critical issue, she said in a statement. My office will continue to monitor nursing home conditions and ensure the safety of our most vulnerable residents.

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Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at Rochdale Village Community Center in Queens, New York, on April 5, 2021. (BRENDAN MCDERMID/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Health Department pushed back on the findings of DiNapolis report and in a formal response argued that any discrepancies were the fault of Cuomo officials.

[T]he scope of health data that was released to the public by the prior administration was determined by that executive chamber, not department personnel, the agency responded.

Family members of seniors who died of Covid-19 in nursing homes attend a vigil and press conference denouncing Governor Andrew Cuomo at Foley Square in Manhattan, New York City on Thursday, March 25, 2021. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Cuomo resigned last August following a bombshell report from James office that detailed multiple allegations of sexual harassment made by young staffers and even a state trooper on the disgraced Democrats security detail.

A separate impeachment inquiry conducted by the Assembly corroborated many of the accusations against Cuomo, who has been attempting a comeback of sorts in recent weeks, and found his administration openly manipulated nursing home death data.

DiNapolis report comes as Cuomo attempts to rehabilitate his image with TV ads and appearances at churches in both Brooklyn and the Bronx.

FILE - Dr. Howard A. Zucker, commissioner of the New York State Department of Health, speaks during a news conference on coronavirus vaccination at Suffolk County Community College on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Brentwood, N.Y. (Michael M. Santiago /AP)

Cuomo claims he has been vindicated and cleared with regards to the sexual misconduct claims after district attorneys across the state declined to bring criminal charges against him. He and his legal team have argued that James was part of a political conspiracy that plotted to bring him down.

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Still, it may be his administrations handling of the pandemic that may come back to haunt the former governor awarded an Emmy for his near-daily televised COVID briefings.

In January, the Manhattan district attorneys office decided not to file criminal charges in connection with the handling of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes Cuomos tenure. However, federal prosecutors have also been probing the issue.
Jacksonville, TX (75766)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

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Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.




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Mayor Adams waxed poetic about cryptocurrencies during a visit to Miami on Tuesday, touting the non-government-backed currencies as an antidote to historical inequalities in the U.S. economy.

Adams, a vocal crypto booster who promised last year to convert his first three City Hall paychecks into Bitcoin and Ethereum, offered the effusive praise while attending a cryptocurrency conference at a swanky Miami hotel.

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Theres historical inequalities. Its time for them to stop, and what were going to do is going to improve on that, Adams said when asked what he thinks New York can learn from Miamis promotion of cryptocurrencies, according to video provided to the Daily News.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (Seth Wenig/AP)

Miami has been at the forefront of crypto  even launching its own currency, MiamiCoin  and Adams drew a curious comparison to the Amazon Rainforest earlier on in his response to the question about what the Big Apple can learn from the Florida city.

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When you go to the floor of the Amazon, you see all those trees and plants that have died, he said. But the death of something is not really the destruction of energy  energy can never be destroyed, and when you see the death of the way we are doing things, you see that its bringing life to what we can do.

And I think thats what Miami has shown us, the mayor continued. It has shown us that the death of the way we conduct business has become the fertilizer of the life we are going to produce to show how we can do business, and more people are going to benefit from that. And that is the spirit were going to bring in New York.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who also attended the conference, did not use as elaborate a metaphor as Adams, but agreed crypto can be democratizing.

(It) could help us with some of these generational problems with income inequality, Suarez said, the video showed.

Critics counter that the unregulated nature of the new currency system is actually a threat to economic equality  and slammed Adams for his vow to make New York a crypto center.

This idea that cryptocurrency is a way to address inequalities is really laughable, said Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy For All Coalition, a New York-based advocacy group.

If you look at asset ownership in cryptocurrencies its even more extreme than the profound inequalities in the rest of the economy. Theres a tiny, tiny group of very rich people who own most of it, Kirk said.

I think that the entire sector is rife with fraud and corruption. I think that a wise recommendation to everyday New Yorkers would be to stay the hell away from it.
Dozens of City Council members and advocates pushed back hard against Mayor Adams budget plan Wednesday, arguing that cuts hes proposing to housing and education would hurt New Yorkers still struggling with the pandemics fallout.

In a moment where our city requires robust and significant investments in marginalized communities, austerity isnt the answer, Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa, vice chairwoman of the bodys Progressive Caucus, said. We must safeguard housing, sanitation services, education and worker justice. Its time for our budgets to invest in people.

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New York City Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa (D-Washington Heights), vice-chair of the bodys Progressive Caucus. (Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News)

Last month, Adams unveiled a $98.5 billion spending plan that marked a stark departure from his predecessor former Mayor Bill de Blasio, who upped city spending to record-breaking levels during his eight years in office.

Adams proposal  which ultimately must be approved by the City Council to be enacted  includes cuts across most city agencies. But some of those agencies  and the people they serve  are likely to feel the cost-saving measures more profoundly than others, Council members and advocates argue.

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Under Adams plan, the Health Department would lose $194 million compared with the 2022 fiscal year, Health + Hospitals, the citys public hospital system, would see a $400 million cut, and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development would lose nearly $1 million in funding.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (right) presents the city's $98.5 billion Preliminary Budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, at City Hall in Manhattan, New York on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022. (Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

To fight cuts like those, 10 Council members and dozens of community leaders signed on to what they described as the Peoples Response to the budget.

Included among them are Council members De La Rosa (D-Washington Heights), Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights), Crystal Hudson (D-Prospect Heights) and Tiffany Caban (D-Astoria) among others. Along with the advocates who signed on to the statement, the group is calling itself the Peoples Plan.

Put simply, the mayors austerity budget cuts funding for or underfunds education, health and hospitals, and other vitally necessary services that New Yorkers need  all while maintaining or increasing funds for institutions that criminalize and destabilize communities of color, like the NYPD and the jails system, they contend in their written response to the budget.

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Jonah Allon, a spokesman for Adams, pushed back on detractors and said that the mayor is increasing investment for New Yorkers in the greatest need.

The budget that the mayor proposed last month is fiscally responsible while making upstream investments to promote an equitable recovery, Allon said. The truth is that for too long, New Yorkers have not gotten their moneys worth from our government, and we need to make it better and more efficient. Were also increasing investment for New Yorkers in the greatest need  adding 30,000 summer youth jobs, expanding the citys Earned Income Tax Credit, baselining funding for the Fair Fares program and investing in affordable childcare.
Johnson City, TN (37604)

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Partly cloudy. Low 51F. N winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph..

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Partly cloudy. Low 51F. N winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.
Joplin, MO (64801)

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Showers and thundershowers early, then overcast overnight with occasional rain. Low 53F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

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Shanghai renders earnest care to infants amid epidemic resurgence

Xinhua) 13:57, March 16, 2022

SHANGHAI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Wearing white protective clothing, a doctor and two nurses stood by the bed of a new mom and congratulated her, as the newborn slept soundly draped in a cozy quilt.

The mother gave birth on March 13 at the Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital Affiliated with Tongji University. Despite stringent COVID-19 prevention measures, everything went smooth.

"Due to the latest resurgence of infections, our community has been put under closed-loop management but there was no trouble at all," said Xia Quangen, father of the newborn.

"It only took about 20 minutes to reach the hospital from home. We made a call for assistance and were quickly escorted through a special channel arranged by the community and the hospital to a designated delivery room in the hospital," he said.

The increasing number of imported COVID-19 cases and locally transmitted infections since early March have posed new challenges to pregnancy check-ups and delivery in Shanghai.

The metropolis reported nine locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 130 locally transmitted asymptomatic carriers on Monday, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.

Shanghai has opened green channels to ensure remote guidance, timely treatment, and other medical services for pregnant women, including those under closed-loop management.

Xia's wife gave birth smoothly. "At the most critical time, the prompt action by doctors and community workers significantly minimized the pain and risks," the new mom said.

Among the recent COVID-19 cases in Shanghai, the youngest is only three months. The baby is given all due care and treatment. A medic in a protective suit can be seen interacting with the baby in an attempt to put him to sleep in a video of the ward.

Xia Aimei, head nurse of the pediatric COVID-19 wards, said cases under the age of three are looked after by medics around the clock, and food is provided in accordance with their nutritional requirements.

(Web editor: Peng yukai, Liang Jun)
President Biden vowed to stand even more firmly behind Ukraine and its inspirational leader on Wednesday by announcing a new package of $800 million in new defense aid to help repel the God awful Russian invasion.

Hailing the dramatic video speech by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Congress, the president said the brave leader and his nation stand as a beacon of hope to Europe and the whole world.

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He speaks for a people who have showed remarkable courage and strength, courage that has inspired the entire world, Biden said in a speech from the White House.

Flanked by Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, Biden said the U.S. will send Ukraine 800 new anti-aircraft defense systems, 9,000 shoulder-mounted anti-tank weapons and 40 million rounds of ammunition.

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The new trove of arms means the U.S. has allocated more than $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine in the past week alone.

Biden continues to rule out direct involvement of American forces in the war, including the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

America stands with the forces of freedom, Biden said. Wr always have, and we always will.

He credited the American people and lawmakers from both parties with uniting to give him a virtual blank check to assist Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in their fight.

The American people are responding to President Zelenskyys call for help, he said. Theyre giving us the tools we need.

President Joe Biden speaks in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The president used some of his harshest language yet to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin as the invading forces have repeatedly targeted civilian targets, including hospitals and apartment buildings.

Putin is inflicting appalling devastation on Ukraine. Its God awful, he said. These are atrocities. They are an outrage to the world.

The White House had already sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars, grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition. The U.S. official said that the military aid also includes helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear.

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The White House also seeks to get Ukraine access to U.S.-made Switchblade drones that can fly and strike Russian targets.

Congress had already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday.

Even as he talked tough, Biden steeled the American people for a tough fight against what he derided as appalling aggression from Russia.

This could be a long and difficult fight, Biden said. We will continue to have their backs as they fight for their freedom.
Students from Saint Joseph School recently placed in an American history essay contest sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Bottom row, from left: Noah Harding and Victoria Knapp. Second row: Lorna Cramaro-Foulkes, Freyja Dreflak and Jackson Allen. Third row: Rebecca Par and Thu Hoang. Fourth row: Arabella Cole, Bailey Summers and Brandon Stuart.
President Biden on Wednesday publicly called President Vladimir Putin a war criminal for the first time, using a loaded phrase that the White House had avoided throughout Russias 21-day-old invasion of Ukraine.

Asked at a crowded White House event whether he would call Putin a war criminal, Biden said no, but returned moments later to change his answer.

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I think he is a war criminal, Biden said, waving his right hand, and then turning away from reporters blurting out questions.

President Joe Biden speaks about additional security assistance that his administration will provide to Ukraine in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Other world leaders have leveled the charge against Putin, who is waging a savage war on his democratic neighbor.

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After Russia bombed a maternity ward in Mariupol last week, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, called the act barbaric but declined to call it a war crime.

Theres a legal review process that the United States undergoes to make considerations of labeling something as a war crime, Psaki told reporters last week. We need to go through the legal assessment and review in order to make a formal conclusion.

On Wednesday, Psaki suggested Bidens proclamation was the product of the presidents sincere opinion, not a legal analysis.

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Presidential Press Service, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting on measures of socio-economic support of the regions via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP)

The presidents remarks speak for themselves, Psaki said. He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what hes seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country.

There is a legal process that is underway, Psaki added, noting that the State Department is continuing its review.

President Andrzej Duda of Poland has said it is obvious that Russia is committing war crimes in Ukraine. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that the Kremlins use of munitions fully qualifies as a war crime.

President Joe Biden signs a delegation of authority in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, Wednesday, D.C. on March 16, 2022. From left, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The International Criminal Court said two weeks ago that it would begin a probe of the invasion.

The courts prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in a statement at the time that there was a reasonable basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in Ukraine.

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The invasion has gotten far bloodier since then, with more civilians targeted by Russian artillery.
Wharton, TX (77488)

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Partly cloudy and windy this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. SE winds at 20 to 30 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
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Susan covers the towns of Somers and Enfield. She joined the JI in May 2021 and graduated from Skidmore College. She recently completed docent training for the Wadsworth Atheneum and hopes to start giving tours some time next year.
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Chris Powell has worked for the Journal Inquirer since 1967, first as a reporter, then as an editor, and now as a columnist. He was managing editor from 1974 until retiring from that position in 2018.
President Biden will visit Europe next week for an emergency NATO summit to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden will join leaders of the transatlantic alliance for the March 24 meeting that is designed to showcase NATO unity in defending Ukraine.

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Biden will ... discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russias unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies, said Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary.

The president lauded the growing U.S. effort to confront Russian strongman Vladimir Putin as he signed a stopgap spending bill that will keep the government open and allocates $13.6 billion in aid to Ukraine and Eastern European allies.

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Putins aggression against Ukraine has united people across our country, said the president, who was joined by congressional leaders. Its united our two parties in Congress and united freedom-loving people around the world.

President Biden speaks at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, Monday, March 14, 2022, in Washington. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

He praised Congress for upping the ante against Putin by delivering billions in humanitarian aid to the neighboring countries that have been swamped by about 3 million refugees from Ukraine.

Were acting with urgency and resolve that you have enabled me to do, he added.

The presidential visit dramatically raises the stakes for the summit that Ukraine hopes will result in more concrete backing for the embattled nation as it seeks to repel the Russian attack.

Biden has already ruled out sending American or NATO troops to fight directly in the conflict, which he warns could lead to World War III with Russia.

He has also flatly rejected imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, which would effectively force American jets to confront Russians in the skies.

President Biden @POTUS comes to @NATO HQ next week to participate in an extraordinary meeting of the leaders of all #NATO Allies. #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/Pd08Tk2KTs  US Mission to NATO (@USNATO) March 15, 2022

But Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has eloquently demanded more military aid and has pushed Biden and other Western leaders to do even more to help.

Those calls could put Biden on the spot, particularly as he journeys to attend the summit in person.

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Ukraine has been extraordinarily successful at rallying global public opinion to its side.

The charismatic Zelenskyy addressed Canadas parliament Tuesday via video in his latest pitch for help, and will speak virtually to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

Three leaders of Eastern European allies were planning to make a daring journey to meet in person with Zelenskyy in the besieged Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

Underlining the danger of traveling into a war zone, the leaders of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic were taking a train to Kyiv for the meeting, even as Russia attacks the city with missile and rocket fire.

Polands Mateusz Morawiecki, Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia are the first foreign leaders to travel to Ukraine since Russia unleashed its invasion last month.
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Long-promised national reconciliation talks will take place next week in the perennially restive Central African Republic between the government and unarmed opposition groups and civil society, a presidential decree said Tuesday.

The CAR was plunged into bloodshed along sectarian lines in 2013 when the then president, Francois Bozize, was toppled by a predominantly Muslim militia.

Military intervention by France, the countrys former colonial ruler, helped stabilise the situation, enabling the deployment of the MINUSCA UN peacekeeping force.

The Republican Dialogue will be convened from Monday 21 to Sunday 27 March 2022 in Bangui, said the decree, signed by President Faustin Archange Touadera.

Peace still remains elusive and powerful armed groups that arose during the conflict retain significant clout.

A coalition of these armed groups tried to topple Touadera ahead of elections in December 2020 but were thwarted after Russia flew in hundreds of paramilitaries and Rwanda sent its own military contingent.

The Kremlin describes the Russians as unarmed instructors, while the UN and France say they are Wagner personnel who have carried out repeated abuses.

Touadera was re-elected, but with the participation of less than a third of the electorate due to the vast rebel offensive.

The president had promised a national reconciliation dialogue but has so far been unable to deliver on that promise.

Last October the main Central African Republic opposition parties rejected his dialogue plans, with the Coalition of the Democratic Opposition (COD-2020) saying that Touadera doesnt want peace, or the return of security, or reconciliation.

It remains to be seen how much can be achieved in the seven days allotted for the reconciliation talks.

More than 450 participants from the nations active forces, opposition and civil society are to meet at the National Assembly, government spokesman Albert Yaloke Mokpeme told AFP, with the talks focused on peace and security.

We do not want any more armed groups and rebellion in our country, he added.

Opposition leaders said the deadline was hasty.

We would like it to take place in April as it would give the participants a little more time to organise, said Martin Ziguele, a lawmaker.

It is a little hasty. We have important topics to address. I have not received an invitation and right up until this morning, they were drawing up the list of participants, said Anicet-Georges Dologuele, a former prime minister and founder of the main opposition platform.

The announcement came a day after Chadian authorities handed over to the International Criminal Court a former Central African Republic militia leader accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka is suspected of crimes committed in 2013 and 2014 in Bangui and other locations in the Central African Republic, the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, said in a statement.
Ukraine on Wednesday dismissed Russian neutrality proposals, refused to surrender and vowed prosecution of war crimes three weeks into an invasion that is drawing ever-increasing Western support against Moscow.

On the ground, fresh blasts hit the capital Kyiv, which was under a total curfew, and Russian rocket fire hit a train station in southern Ukraine used by thousands of fleeing refugees.

Regional officials reported no casualties as Russian strikes blew out windows at the railway station in Zaporizhzhia, where people have been arriving from the besieged city of Mariupol.

Some 20,000 residents have been allowed to leave Mariupol. But exhausted, shivering evacuees speak of harrowing escape journeys and rotting corpses littering the streets.

Hours before he was to give a landmark virtual speech to the US Congress, President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the hacking of Ukrainian TV news with a message demanding Russia lay down its arms.

The hack was the latest childish provocation from Moscow, he said, claiming the invasion had killed 103 Ukrainian children.

We are defending our land, our children, our families. So we are not going to lay down any weapons until our victory, Zelensky said.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was in Ukraine to investigate Russian atrocities, the president added.

So the occupiers will be held responsible for all of the war crimes against Ukrainians.

The conflict has already sent more than three million Ukrainians fleeing across the border, and a peaceful resolution still seems beyond reach.

Kyiv braced for an offensive from Russian forces trying to encircle the capital, although their progress has been slow due in part to resistance from Ukrainian troops using high-tech Western weaponry.

The city was subjected to a fresh round of bombardment overnight close to its centre, including on a 12-storey residential building, with columns of smoke rising high into the morning sky.

Ukraines State Emergency Service said at least two people were injured and 37 evacuated from the apartment block.

The attacks came as Ukraine and Russia continued stop-start peace talks, after Zelensky conceded that NATO membership was not on the table, in an apparent concession to Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a compromise outcome would centre on Ukraine becoming a neutral state comparable to Sweden and Austria.

But Zelenskys office gave the idea short shrift.

Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. Consequently, the model can only be Ukrainian and only on legally verified security guarantees, Kyivs negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said.

 Enormous suffering 

In an earlier overnight video address, Zelensky said all wars end with an agreement as he pointed to the difficult but important ongoing round of talks.

But in his virtual speech to the US Congress, the president was also expected to intensify pleas for NATO allies to intervene against Russia.

The alliance will hold an emergency summit next week in Brussels with US President Joe Biden attending  but it has so far resisted Zelenskys pleas for direct involvement for fear of starting World War III.

Indirectly, however, Biden and other NATO leaders have been stepping up military support for Ukraine including anti-tank weapons that have helped to stall Russian forces north of Kyiv.

Coinciding with Zelenskys speech, a White House official said Biden would unveil another $800 million of military aid, expected to include more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

After a morale-boosting train journey to Kyiv by the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, International Committee of the Red Cross president Peter Maurer came for a five-day visit.

He noted the enormous suffering by the civilian population in Ukraine and stressed it was utterly important for the ICRCs neutral humanitarian work to be recognised on the ground.

Punishing Western sanctions against President Vladimir Putins regime have also stepped up this week, pushing Russia to the brink of default on its foreign debts.

Moscow was due Wednesday to pay $117 million on two dollar-denominated bonds  the first interest payment that has fallen due since it was largely shut out of the Western financial system.

The Kremlin has sought to shut down domestic opposition to the war, blocking access to at least 15 Russian and foreign-based media including the investigation website Bellingcat.

Isolated internationally, Putin has turned to Chechnya and Syria to replenish his invasion force  and to China for economic support.

 Plan C for Russia? 

But facing stern US threats against helping Russia to bypass the sanctions, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing was acting objectively and impartially.

We urge the US not to damage Chinas legitimate rights and interests in any form. If the US continues down this path, China will certainly take strong counter-measures, he added.

Western military experts believe Russia is increasingly turning to aerial bombardments after its ground invasion stalled  and as possible leverage in the negotiations with Kyiv.

They have found that their ground operations are not succeeding very well and where they are making gains they are at massive costs that are not sustainable, Mick Ryan, a retired Australian major general, told AFP.

They have had to change to Plan C  which is bombard cities and terrorise civilians in the hope that the Ukrainians will reach some kind of political accommodation, he said.

What the Russians are doing is using our own humanity against us and Zelenskys humanity against him.

burs-jit/dk/bp
Ukraines leader on Wednesday issued an emotive appeal to US lawmakers for greater Western intervention against Russia, which insisted its invasion was going successfully despite the West rallying to Kyivs side via arms and sanctions.

In a landmark virtual address to Congress, President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 attacks and Martin Luther King Jr as he showed a video of the destruction inflicted on his cities by three weeks of Russian attacks.

Ukrainian officials said 10 people had been killed while queuing for bread in the northern city of Chernigiv, and an unspecified number died in a Russian strike on civilians fleeing the besieged city of Mariupol.

Dull booms echoed across the deserted streets of Ukraines capital Kyiv, with only an occasional vehicle passing through sandbagged checkpoints, and very few permits granted to break its latest curfew.

Kyiv has been emptied of around half of its 3.5 million people but Eduard Demenchuk, a private-security employee in his 50s, was among those who have stayed.

Its worrying, of course. Its war after all. But we try to stay calm, we wont allow panic, he told AFP by telephone, after stocking up on groceries for the duration of the curfew.

To tell the truth, I wasnt planning to leave Kyiv anyway, Demenchuk added. If need be, we will take arms and will stand to defend the city.

Russian rocket fire also hit a train station in Zaporizhzhia, used by refugees fleeing Mariupol, regional authorities said.

Some 20,000 residents have been allowed to leave Mariupol. But exhausted, shivering evacuees speak of harrowing escape journeys and rotting corpses littering the streets.

Kyiv rejected Russian demands to impose neutrality on Ukraine, and Zelensky demanded the United States and its NATO allies impose a no-fly zone, so that Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities.

Switching to English, Zelensky addressed US President Joe Biden in saying: I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

 Putin warns West 

The speech received standing ovations from the members of Congress, much like Zelenskys prior addresses to the UK and EU parliaments  which were also rich in historical references most likely to strike a chord with their influential audiences.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, also reached back to history as he denounced the Wests pogroms against Russia and its sanctions blitzkrieg, which he said had failed.

At a televised government meeting, Putin insisted the invasion was developing successfully, in strict accordance with plans.

And we will not allow Ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against Russia, he added.

NATO will hold an emergency summit next week in Brussels with Biden attending  but it has so far resisted Zelenskys pleas for direct involvement for fear of starting World War III.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would put substantially more forces on its eastern flank, but was not planning to deploy forces to Ukraine.

Biden and other NATO leaders have instead been stepping up military support for Ukraine including anti-tank weapons that have helped to stall Russian forces north of Kyiv.

Coinciding with Zelenskys speech, a White House official said Biden would unveil another $800 million of military aid, expected to include more anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

 No surrender 

Zelensky had earlier responded to the hacking of Ukrainian TV news with a message demanding Ukraine lay down its arms.

The hack was the latest childish provocation from Moscow, he said, claiming the invasion had killed 103 Ukrainian children.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was in Ukraine to investigate Russian atrocities, the president added.

So the occupiers will be held responsible for all of the war crimes against Ukrainians.

Russia was meanwhile ordered to end its invasion by another tribunal, the International Court of Justice, which deals with disputes between UN countries.

Ukraine and Russia held another round of peace talks, after Zelensky conceded that NATO membership was not on the table, in an apparent concession to Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a compromise outcome would centre on Ukraine becoming a neutral state comparable to Sweden and Austria.

But while the talks remained ongoing, Zelenskys office gave the idea short shrift.

Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. Consequently, the model can only be Ukrainian and only on legally verified security guarantees, Kyivs negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said.

 Enormous suffering 

After a morale-boosting train journey to Kyiv by the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, International Committee of the Red Cross president Peter Maurer came for a five-day visit.

He noted the enormous suffering by the civilian population in Ukraine and stressed it was utterly important for the ICRCs neutral humanitarian work to be recognised on the ground.

The conflict has already sent more than three million Ukrainians fleeing across the border.

Punishing Western sanctions against Putins regime have also stepped up this week, pushing Russia to the brink of default on its foreign debts.

Moscow was due Wednesday to pay $117 million on two dollar-denominated bonds  the first interest payment that has fallen due since it was largely shut out of the Western financial system.

The Kremlin has sought to shut down domestic opposition to the war, blocking access to at least 15 Russian and foreign-based media including the BBC and investigation website Bellingcat.

Isolated internationally, Putin has turned to Chechnya and Syria to replenish his invasion force  and to China for economic support.

But facing stern US threats against helping Russia to bypass the sanctions, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing would take strong counter-measures if Washington retaliates.

Russian Patriarch Kirill  who has supported Putins war  and Pope Francis meanwhile agreed in talks on the need for a just peace, Kirills office said.

burs-jit/dk/rlp
Ukraines leader on Wednesday made an emotive appeal to US lawmakers for greater Western intervention against Russia, which insisted its invasion was going successfully despite the West rallying to Kyivs aid with arms and sanctions.

In a landmark virtual address to Congress, President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked Pearl Harbor, the 9/11 attacks and Martin Luther King Jr as he showed lawmakers the aftermath of three weeks of Russian attacks.

Ukrainian officials said 10 people had been killed while queuing for bread in the northern city of Chernigiv, and an unspecified number died in a Russian strike on civilians fleeing the besieged city of Mariupol.

The Mariupol mayors office later said Russian forces had struck a theatre sheltering hundreds of civilians.

Dull booms echoed across the deserted streets of Ukraines capital Kyiv, with only an occasional vehicle passing through sandbagged checkpoints, and very few permits granted to break its latest curfew.

Kyiv has been emptied of around half of its 3.5 million people but Eduard Demenchuk, a private-security employee in his 50s, was among those who have stayed.

Its worrying, of course. Its war after all. But we try to stay calm, we wont allow panic, he told AFP by telephone, after stocking up on groceries for the duration of the curfew.

To tell the truth, I wasnt planning to leave Kyiv anyway, Demenchuk added. If need be, we will take arms and will stand to defend the city.

Russian rocket fire also hit a train station in Zaporizhzhia, used by refugees fleeing Mariupol, regional authorities said.

Some 20,000 residents have been allowed to leave Mariupol. But exhausted, shivering evacuees speak of harrowing escape journeys and rotting corpses littering the streets.

Kyiv rejected Russian demands to impose neutrality on Ukraine, and Zelensky demanded the United States and its NATO allies impose a no-fly zone, so that Russia would not be able to terrorize our free cities.

Switching to English, Zelensky addressed US President Joe Biden, saying: I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Biden later announced the United States unprecedented latest package of new weapons aid to Ukraine added up to $1 billion and that the US would help Ukraine acquire longer range anti-aircraft weapons.

 Putin warns West 

Zelenskys speech received standing ovations from the members of Congress, much like his prior addresses to the UK and EU parliaments  which were also rich in historical references.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, also reached back to history as he denounced the Wests pogroms against Russia and its sanctions blitzkrieg, which he said had failed.

At a televised government meeting, Putin insisted the invasion was developing successfully, in strict accordance with plans.

And we will not allow Ukraine to serve as a springboard for aggressive actions against Russia, he added.

NATO will hold an emergency summit next week in Brussels with Biden attending  but it has so far resisted Zelenskys pleas for direct involvement for fear of starting World War III.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would put substantially more forces on its eastern flank, but was not planning to deploy forces to Ukraine.

Biden and other NATO leaders have instead been stepping up military support for Ukraine including anti-tank weapons that have helped to stall Russian forces north of Kyiv.

The new aid announced by Biden on Wednesday adds $800 million to the $200 million allocated over the weekend from an aid package approved last week by Congress.

 No surrender 

Zelensky had earlier responded to news that hackers had targeted Ukrainian TV news and inserted a bogus message demanding Ukraine lay down its arms.

The hack was the latest childish provocation from Moscow, he said.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court was in Ukraine to investigate Russian atrocities, the president added.

So the occupiers will be held responsible for all of the war crimes against Ukrainians.

Russia was meanwhile ordered to end its invasion by another tribunal, the International Court of Justice, which deals with disputes between UN countries.

Ukraine and Russia held another round of peace talks, after Zelensky conceded that NATO membership was not on the table, in an apparent concession to Moscow.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a compromise outcome would centre on Ukraine becoming a neutral state comparable to Sweden and Austria.

But while the talks remained ongoing, Zelenskys office gave the idea short shrift.

Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. Consequently, the model can only be Ukrainian and only on legally verified security guarantees, Kyivs negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said.

 Enormous suffering 

After a symbolic journey to Kyiv by rail of the leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, International Committee of the Red Cross president Peter Maurer embarked on a five-day visit.

He noted the enormous suffering by the civilian population in Ukraine and stressed it was utterly important for the ICRCs neutral humanitarian work to be recognised on the ground.

The conflict has already sent more than three million Ukrainians fleeing across the border.

Western sanctions against Putins regime have also stepped up this week, pushing Russia to the brink of default on its foreign debts.

Moscow was due Wednesday to pay $117 million on two dollar-denominated bonds  the first interest payment that has fallen due since it was largely shut out of the Western financial system.

The Kremlin has sought to shut down domestic opposition to the war, blocking access to at least 15 Russian and foreign-based media including the BBC and investigation website Bellingcat.

Isolated internationally, Putin has turned to Chechnya and Syria to replenish his invasion force  and to China for economic support.

But facing stern US threats against helping Russia to bypass the sanctions, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Beijing would take strong counter-measures if Washington retaliates.

Russian Patriarch Kirill  who has supported Putins war  and Pope Francis meanwhile agreed in talks on the need for a just peace, Kirills office said.

burs-jit/dk/rlp/gw
French prosecutors have opened a war crime probe into the death of Franco-Irish Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski who was shot near Kyiv while covering the war in Ukraine, an official statement said Wednesday.

The probe by Frances specialised anti-terror prosecutors will investigate possible charges of causing deliberate harm to a person protected by international law and a deliberate attack against a civilian who was not taking part in hostilities.

French prosecutors routinely open cases into the violent deaths of citizens overseas.

Zakrzewski and Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova died and Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded when their vehicle was struck Monday by incoming fire in Horenka, outside the capital.

Zakrzewski was an experienced war zone cameraman who had previously covered conflicts for the US network in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian sent his condolences on Wednesday, adding that armed forces have an obligation to protect journalists in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Other media workers have been killed in the three weeks of conflict so far, including US documentary maker Brent Renaud and Ukrainian reporter Evgeny Sakun.

The Ukrainian parliaments human rights chief Lyudmyla Denisova said Tuesday that another Ukrainian journalist, Viktor Dudar, was killed in fighting around the southern port city of Mykolaiv.
The United States, Britain, France, Albania, Norway and Ireland have requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting Thursday because of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine, diplomatic sources said.

Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians, the British diplomatic mission to the UN said Wednesday on its Twitter account. Russias illegal war on Ukraine is a threat to us all.

Earlier in the day, Russia asked to again postpone a UN Security Council vote on a resolution it drafted about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

The vote, first scheduled for Wednesday and then pushed to Thursday afternoon, is to be set for Friday morning  unless the draft is dropped altogether due to lack of support from Moscows allies.

Discussions are also underway, according to other diplomatic sources, to allow Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak to the United Nations General Assembly.

France and Mexico, which drafted a resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine, have given up presenting their text to the Security Council, where Russia  which holds the rotating presidency for March  can veto it.

They were instead to present it to the General Assembly, where no country alone can block a text.

On February 25, the day after Russia invaded its neighbor, 11 of the Security Councils 15 members voted in favor of a text condemning the invasion, although Russia vetoed it.

On March 2, the General Assembly massively approved a resolution condemning Russias invasion. That resolution received 141 votes in favor, five votes against and 35 abstentions.

US President Joe Biden condemned Vladimir Putin as a war criminal Wednesday, while the International Court of Justice (ICJ)  the UNs highest court  ordered Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine.
A federal judge revived a proposed class action that alleged Aetna Life Insurance Co. violated its own contractual obligations by using an overly restrictive definition of medically necessary, in order to avoid paying for physical therapy.

US District Court of Connecticut Judge Michael P. Shea gave the greenlight for the proposed class action on Tuesday, leaving Aetna to defend itself from accusations that its coverage limits violated the Employment Income Retirement Security Act. The potential class action includes anyone who is insured through an employment plan administered by Aetna.

The insurer did not respond to an interview request.

The case comes on behalf of Dennis Curtis, who was insured through his spouses health plan under Yale University. The school hired Aetna to serve as the plans third-party administrator and manage its benefits.

In July 2016, Curtis physician referred him to physical therapy to treat balance, strength and mobility issues caused by neurological conditions and past surgeries. Aetna initially approved the coverage; however, in September 2017, it began denying the service, saying it only approved physical therapy if the treatment had the potential to significantly improve a patients mobility, according to the initial lawsuit filed in 2019.

Curtis appealed the decision and Aetna ultimately reversed its denials and approved payment for the service through April 2018, the complaint said. Since then, the insurer has refused to pay for the treatment, saying that because Curtis condition will not significantly improve through the service, it fails to meet its definition of medically necessary, the suit said.

Lawyers initially argued that Aetnas denials violated the terms of Yales plan, which did not require the promise of specific patient outcomes to deem a treatment medically necessary, the complaint said. As a third-party administratorCurtis said Aetna did not have the right to impose its own coverage limits, as well as interpretation of the benefits to deny claims.

Judge Shea initially disagreed, saying the physical therapy in Curtis case constituted maintenance care that he was not entitled to under his plan. He approved Aetnas motion to dismiss in March 2021.

A month later, Curtis updated his complaint to argue that physical therapy was covered as a short-term rehabilitation service under the Yale Plan, and that the service was prescribed by a doctor with the expectation that it would help develop an impaired function , which meets contractual standards, the complaint said. Aetna argued that Curtis reply suffered from undue delay, prejudice and futility, and that his failing to categorize his treatment as rehabilitative therapy in the initial complaint represented a legal strategy on his part.

On Tuesday, Judge Shea disagreed, saying the amended complaint represented a plausible claim for wrongful denial of benefits under ERISA and that it should move forward.

Curtis is allowed to plead different, even contradictory, theories that he was wrongfully denied benefits, Shea wrote. And I find that this inconsistency is not indicative of bad faithCurtis had attempted to plead that his therapy qualified as an eligible health service but failed.

Curtis aims to permanently enjoin Aetnas policy, and seeks reimbursement attorneys fees, along with the unjust enrichment Aetna pocketed by denying his services.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) still wants Vlad gone for good.

The senior Republican lawmaker stood by his controversial call on Wednesday for the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which drew widespread condemnation from both sides of the aisle.

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Asked if he still thinks Putin should be bumped off, Graham said: Yeah, I hope hell be taken out one way or another.

Asked if he still stood by his earlier calls for Putin to be assassinated, Graham replied, Yeah, I hope hell be taken out, one way or another. I dont care how they take him out. I dont care if we send him to the Hague and try him, I just want him to go, per @morgan_rimmer  Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 16, 2022

Graham did offer an alternate scenario in which Putin would be arrested and tried for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

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I dont care how they take him out. I dont care if we send him to The Hague and try him; I just want him to go, Graham said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks during a news conference about Ukraine on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

The conservative senator stirred a hornets nest earlier this month when he called on Russias ruling elite to assassinate Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine.

The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out, Graham tweeted.

He later said he would also support jailing Putin as punishment for ordering the invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to St. Petersburg's governor Alexander Beglov during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, March 1, 2022. (Alexei Nikolsky/AP)

The call prompted widespread pushback from across the political spectrum including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) in which he said calls for the killing of Putin is a dangerous and impulsive call that could cause the Russian leader to lash out.

The White House says it doesnt support the assassination of Putin, or any other world leader, due to an executive order first signed by then-President Gerald Ford, which prohibits any member of the U.S. government from engaging or conspiring to engage in any political assassination anywhere in the world.

The order was enacted in response to the post-Watergate revelations that the CIA had staged multiple attempts on the life of Cuban President Fidel Castro.

The ban against assassinations, which remains an undefined term, was established by presidential order and not legal statute, thanks to a compromise made between Congress and the White House in 1976.
Conservative MP Dan Albas, who was among most Canadian parliamentarians banned Tuesday from entering Russia, had a light-hearted response to the alphabetized list: "I am glad to see my name near the top of people banned from Russia."
Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote those words in 1913, in an article for Harpers Weekly. Nearly 110 years later, they remain a touchstone for the concept that government records belong to the people, not the government.

This is Freedom of Information Week, and today is Freedom of Information Day. Were using this space to discuss the vital importance of government records being made public.

Its a simple concept: If a government agency refuses to make its records public, its a reasonable presumption that that agency is trying to hide something, whether merely embarrassing or plainly illegal.

The federal Freedom of Information Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967, requires full or partial disclosure of unreleased information and documents controlled by the federal government upon request.

At the state level, the Wisconsin Open Records Law, enacted in 1982, is a series of laws intended to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels. The Badger State defines record as any document, regardless of physical form, that has been created or is being kept by an agency. In general, any requester has a right to inspect any record.

Bill Lueders is president of Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, a private watchdog agency. On Thursday, Lueders announced the winners of the Councils annual Openness Awards, or Opees.

They include:

Christine Brenann, who asked to see the records of communications between Fond du Lac officials and backers of a park redevelopment project.

When the city asked her for $6,888 on top of the $1,000 she had already paid to locate these records, she balked. Her experience helped raise public awareness of abusive location fee costs and led to better methods for archiving records in Fond du Lac, Lueders wrote in a news release announcing the awards.

The Winnebago County District Attorneys Office, which has charged the Town of Omro for open records violations.

Douglas Oitzinger, a city of Marinette alderperson in the city of Marinette, who filed suit against his fellow council members, alleging that they had improperly gone into closed session to discuss water supply options.

This is about open government, he told the local paper. Thats all its about.

The WFIC also has awarded a Nopee, as in No Friend of Openness, to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and his appointed investigator, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, for their slowness in regard to releasing records of Gablemans probe of the 2020 Wisconsin election.

What exactly is Gableman, a former state Supreme Court justice, doing for the $676,000 in taxpayer funds that Vos, the speaker of the state Assembly, agreed to pay him? Lueders wrote. Neither Gableman nor Vos seem to want people to know, despite a judges finding that their denials, delays, and refusals violate the records law.

In fact, so few records have been provided in response to records requests that there is speculation that records are being destroyed. So is the states tradition of open government.

Speaker Vos and Mr. Gableman can, of course, make a case for being unworthy recipients of the Nopee by taking a stronger stand in favor of transparency and making more of the probes records publicly available.

This newspaper regularly files Open Records request to investigate the activity of local government agencies. Any citizen can do the same.

Because the records of government belong to all of us.

Wisconn Valley Media Group Editorial Board

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In a historic video address to Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the U.S. to direct more economic and military might to deter Russias invasion on Wednesday, invoking the Sept. 11 and Pearl Harbor attacks, and showing a grisly video from his war-torn nation that jerked tears from lawmakers.

With Russian strikes raining on Ukraine, the charismatic Zelenskyy continued his pleas for the U.S. to enforce a missile-stopping no-fly zone over his country, but acknowledged American resistance to a move that President Biden has said could unleash World War III. Zelenskyy suggested the U.S. send surface-to-air missile systems as an alternative.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The carefully collaborated remarks  which appealed to American aspirations of global leadership and provided an intimate picture of the invasion  came on a brutal 21st day of war in Eastern Europe that ended with Russians apparently decimating a theater serving as a civilian shelter in Mariupol.

Speaking in both Ukrainian and English, Zeleneskyy urged Biden to be the leader of the world, saying that Ukrainians are fighting not only for their 30-year-old sovereign nation, but also for global values of justice. Biden responded quickly, announcing a new package of military assistance for Ukraine and publicly calling Russias president, Vladimir Putin, a war criminal for the first time.

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Zelenskyy, a former actor and comic, reached for searing memories in American history to hammer his message home, asking Congress to remember, just remember.

Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of December 7, 1941, when your sky was black from the planes attacking you, said Zelenskyy, who wore his signature olive drab T-shirt as he addressed a crowded auditorium of U.S. lawmakers.

Remember September 11, a terrible day in 2001, when evil tried to turn your cities into battlefields, added Zelenskyy, who previously delivered rousing, tailored speeches to the British and Canadian parliaments. Our country experiences this every day, right now.

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on early Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP)

The 16-minute speech marked the first time a foreign leader has addressed both chambers of Congress via video. And it arrived just hours ahead of remarks by Biden on additional steps the U.S. would take against Russia.

Zelenskyy offered his gratitude to Biden, who predicted the cruel invasion before it began and worked with European leaders to institute sanctions that have crippled the Russian economy. But the 44-year-old Ukrainian leader made clear he believes Biden can go further to blunt Russias onslaught.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace, Zelenskyy concluded his speech, as lawmakers in Washington rose as one in a lengthy standing ovation.

Members of the Congress watch and react to video footage of the war in Ukraine being displayed as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy begins to deliver a video address to members at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (SARAH SILBIGER/AP)

There was little doubt that Zelenskyy held rare near-unanimous support in Congress. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) introduced him by declaring Slava Ukraini! which translates to Glory to Ukraine in English and is a salute to national unity in Ukraine.

But there was also bipartisan opposition to the no-fly zone Zelenskyy craves, a step that would all but guarantee that American and Russian forces would be shooting at each other.

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Is that a lot to ask for  to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, to save people? Zelenskyy asked. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative: You know what kind of defense systems we need. S-300s and other similar systems.

Later in the day, Biden said the U.S. was working to improve Ukraines access to long-range anti-aircraft systems at Zelenskyys request. Biden also outlined a new $800 million military assistance package for Ukraine that included drones, 9,000 anti-armor systems and 7,000 small weapons and firearms.

The United States and our allies and partners are fully committed to surging weapons of assistance to the Ukrainians, and more will be coming, Biden said in his own speech from South Court Auditorium at the White House complex. We are united in our abhorrence of Putins depraved onslaught.

President Joe Biden speaks about additional security assistance that his administration will provide to Ukraine in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

The president, who said American military assistance committed to Ukraine in the last week alone came out to $1 billion, praised Zelenskyys speech, describing it as convincing and significant.

Zelenskyy summoned the words of William Shakespeare and Winston Churchill in his speech to the British Parliament last week and packed his remarks to his American audience with a variety of familiar references, too.

I have a dream, these words are known to each of you, Zelenskyy said, referencing the speech the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered during the March on Washington. Today I can say, I have a need. I need to protect our sky.

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The basis of Zelenskyys request was crystallized later in the day, when the Ukrainian government said Russia has launched an attack on a theater in the besieged city of Mariupol. Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said hundreds of civilians had sheltered in the building, but there was no immediate count of deaths or injuries.

This photo released by Donetsk Regional Civil-Military Administration Council on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, shows the Drama Theatre, damaged after shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine. (Donetsk Regional Civil-Military Administration Council)

The word CHILDREN was written in Russian in large white letters on the ground in front of and behind the six-decade-old theater, according to Maxar Technologies, a space technology company. The Mariupol City Council said that continued shelling made it challenging to assess the scale of the casualties, but that the structure was decimated by a bomb.

Zelenskyy has remained in Kyiv, Ukraines battered, half-empty capital, despite whispers that his life is in grave danger. Posting constantly on social media  sometimes selfie videos  and keeping in close contact with world leaders, he has emerged a resolute face of Ukrainian resistance.

This photo released by Donetsk Regional Civil-Military Administration Council on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, shows the Drama Theatre, damaged after shelling, in Mariupol, Ukraine. (AP)

In New York, home to the largest Ukrainian population in the U.S., Mayor Adams issued a statement cheering Zelenskyys continued bravery. Locals said the speech had caused them to swell with emotions.

His main message is that united with the whole world, we can stand against Russian aggression, Dmytro Kovalenko, 41, said as he worked at Streecha, a restaurant in the East Village where Ukrainian news played on a TV in the corner. We can succeed in the war.

Minutes after watching Zelenskyys speech in Washington, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) described the address as very inspiring and praised the Ukrainian president for doing everything he can to protect his people, and to show strength in the face of terror.

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And on the floor of the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Zelenskyy had spoken not just to American ears, but to Americas very soul.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y. (left) talks with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., (right) as they listen to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy address Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (SARAH SILBIGER/AP)

It is unheard of to hear from a leader fighting for his life, fighting for his countrys future and fighting to preserve the very idea of democracy, said Schumer, a New York Democrat. I cannot remember the last time a foreign leader united a room full of members from both sides so quickly and so intensely.

In a news conference, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the No. 5 House Democrat, described a conflict roiling Europe that pits peace versus war and freedom versus tyranny.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy showed this powerful video to Congress, depicting Ukraine before and during the invasion.



The video ends with a familiar call for a no-fly zone: "Close the sky over Ukraine." pic.twitter.com/8nG0w9sv4y  The Recount (@therecount) March 16, 2022

Ukraine, home to a peacetime population of some 44 million, has been rattled by Europes largest invasion since World War II. More than 3 million people have fled the country, according to the UN. But the Ukrainian military  and armed citizens  have surprised the Kremlin with their resistance, preventing the enormous Russian Army from taking key cities.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy has managed to unite a sometimes fractious European continent against Putin. On Wednesday, Zelenskyy brought his pitch to Washington and left lawmakers eyes misty and their typically divided chamber united.

I had to hold back tears, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told the Daily News. It showed his resolve to make sure that democracy is protected not only in Ukraine, but all over the world.
This condition is unseen but affects millions

Manhattan: Time can crawl when dealing daily with the often hidden disability of a brain injury (BI). This August marks 25 long years since I became the first survivor, ostensibly so, on reported public record at least, of Con Edison-related negligent stray voltage. Mundanely making a call at an unexpectedly short-circuited street-corner payphone site, my brain got horrifically forever-fried.

Brain scan. (Shutterstock/Shutterstock)

Recently, comedian Bob Sagets brain injury, possibly stemming from a fall (the most common cause of BIs), resulted in his death in a short time, unfortunately. Other common causes are drunk-driving crashes and violence. Some COVID long-haulers are now facing the virus nagging brain symptoms, hoping that these will resolve, as they well may.

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BI, a costly epidemic with a vast array of origins, often means a life-lasting series of daily projects for survivors and caregivers. Their chronic challenges are largely systemic, overwhelming, confusing, even contradictory, and too often are undetectable, misdiagnosed, mistreated and disrespected by any less-than-sensitive observers. Anyone, even you or a loved one  not just athletes or combat veterans  can be susceptible to this often-preventable catastrophic injury.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. We can help ourselves and others by utilizing information or assistance from organizations like the Brain Injury Association of America and its local chapters. Also, please press media sources to create more regular, broader and more diverse presentations of the issue. Urge legislators and professional care services to offer better and more affordable, or covered, care as well as sensitive, respectful treatment. Finally, support much-needed research. Phil Vanaria

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Headache relief

Chicago: More than 40 million American adults suffer from migraine. With a multitude of advances made in treating and preventing a disease that can create excruciating pain and disruption to their lives, often lasting for days, why make them take medications that are ineffective and outmoded? For too long, migraine patients have been treated differently than others as it relates to access to prescription medications. Clinicians are often forced to use outdated prescription drugs in a stepwise approach to all patients without considering individual needs. As a result, clinicians are using older medications, some of which are not even designed for the specific treatment of migraine, even though new migraine-specific therapies exist. The National Headache Foundation advocates that payers adopt patient-centric care models where the clinician, in collaboration with the patient, is the primary decision-maker and selects a treatment that addresses the patients treatment goals and needs. Thomas Dabertin, executive director

Classic racket

Brooklyn: Your March 14 front page, Harboring mobsters, immediately brought to mind Elia Kazans 1954 Academy Award-winning classic On the Waterfront. The film, from a Budd Schulberg screenplay, details rampant corruption and extortion on the waterfronts of Hoboken. Lets hope theres someone with the moxie of the character played by Marlon Brando to expose the ongoing racketeering. Neil S. Friedman

Belongs in the past

Manhattan: Thanks to Barbara Stagno for her excellent piece about barbaric, unnecessary and unethical live animal experiments (Elon Musk, monkeys and our human responsibility, op-ed, March 14). Animals are not people  their DNA is very different  but they feel pain just as humans do. In the 1950s and 60s, the infamous drug thalidomide was tested successfully on animals. But when given to pregnant women, it resulted in more than 10,000 children with serious birth defects. As the article points out, there are more effective non-animal research methods that are much more accurate, so it is up to the scientific community to move forward as some already have. I hope that one day, we can look back on this barbarity in medical science as we now look upon the use of snake oil, lobotomies and leeches to draw blood. Elizabeth Forel

String wizard

Wallingford, Conn.: I have been a Daily News customer for a number of years and have seen you run articles about different celebrities who have passed away. A case in point is the March 6 paper reporting the passing of Mitchell Ryan, Johnny Brown and Tim Considine. One of the greatest rhythm guitar players in rock, Don Wilson, passed away and I didnt see any mention of it. Was that a missed article on your part? RIP Don Wilson, a founding member of The Ventures, the greatest instrumental rock band in the world. Ed Gerosa

All mouth

Utica, N.Y.: It is such a MAGA-type move for the Fox News elite to bloviate and lie about Putins war from thousands of safe miles away while their real journalists get killed and wounded on-site. We long to see Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters or any of these other seditionist collaborators report for one day from Putins war zone! Jeff and Joan Ganeles

Throwing weight around

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Manhattan: Some have said that Americans want to be loved, whereas Russians want to be feared. Neither side is succeeding. Are Russians feared? Probably not, or not as much as they were previously  particularly in light of the Russian militarys abysmal performance in the invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian resistance, in its determination and vigor, has inspired the world. There have been reports of Russian soldiers eating expired food, using old equipment, exhibiting low morale, surrendering in large numbers and neglecting to collect the remains of their dead. Russias ground forces are seemingly not up to par with those of China or the United States. Thats why, perhaps, Putin has utilized nuclear saber-rattling as a means to threaten his geopolitical foes. Daniel Dolgicer

Domestic dissent

Brooklyn: To Voicer Richard Warren: It is not wise to bite the hand that feeds you. June Lowe

Remembers it differently

Bronx: Im sorry that I was in a bubble back in 1970, Voicer John MacKinnon. I guess the hardhats in Manhattan who attacked students made up the majority of American sentiment when Kent State occurred. There was even a song by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young at the time that included the words four dead in Ohio, which showed how Americans felt. You stated that 2/3 of Americans blamed the students. I beg to differ. Polls can be manipulated. Charles Lavorerio

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Gone too far?

Morganville, N.J.: To Voicer Jimmy OGorman Jr.: Thank goodness you brought it up! I was beginning to think it was me. Now we are in overcorrection mode! It is not prejudicial to have men and women in same-race relationships shown on TV commercials and in print ads. A little balance, please! Debra Giordano

Police over party

Manhattan: In spite of the anti-police posturing by local politicians, exemplified by Democratic leadership in Albany in the refusal to reverse their ruinous no-bail legislation, dedicated police officers nonetheless protect us all with recent arrests in NYC, D.C. and Philadelphia  the alleged McDonalds slasher, homeless person killer and MOMA attacker, respectively. Gov. Hochul only wins election if she carries what she perceives to be the anti-cop NYC crowd and thus will not support more sensible bail laws that go against fellow Albany Democrats. Mayor Adams: Yes, they ignored you in Albany, but how about showing your political courage by telling Hochul that she either aggressively fights for tougher bail laws or you will support a Republican for governor next election? Take a stance. Is your love for the welfare of the citizens of this city greater than your love for political niceties? John Brindisi

Better days

Manhattan: As we emerge from the pandemic and the virus becomes more endemic, there is what I call a crime pandemic in New York City. I hope that Mayor Adams is able to quell it so that tourists will return to New York, and that New York will be safe again soon  subway, streets and all. Amy Rosenfeld-Kass

A job well done

Huntington Station, L.I.: I must second Voicer Cindy OConnor, who thanked Dave Chokshi for his service. What a fine gentleman he is and what a calming influence he was in the dark days of the past few years. We thank you, Dr. Chokshi, for the time and dedication you gave to us all. You seem like a very kind man. New York was blessed to have you in our homes. May you be blessed in your next venture. Nancy Macri Kennedy
Murphy said the driver of the other truck was trying to pass on a double yellow on the highway. The two trucks barely missed each other, and damage was only done to Murphy's mirror.
A Bonner County Sheriff's Office deputy and his K9 were involved in a crash west of Sandpoint. They were pulled over, attending to an abandoned car, when a driver suspected of being under the influence hit the back of their car. Right now, it's unclear when either of them will be able to ret
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Reporting about Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine has invariably raised questions about Vladimir Putins mental state. The words unhinged, delusional, unbalanced, sociopathic and narcissistic appear regularly.

Because Ukraine itself and the specter of World War III horrify many, people have asked me whether, as a psychologist, I think Putin is insane. I begin by saying I dont know, and then explain my reasoning, beginning with the simplistic Sad/Mad/Bad guide to understanding seemingly pathological behavior.

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Sad entails anxiety and depression  so-called neurotic states. The person experiences mental distress, but maintains a reasonable degree of contact with reality and is unlikely to harm others. The magnitude of Putins barbaric acts suggest that neurosis doesnt contribute much if anything to them.

Mad refers to psychotic processes, such as schizophrenia. Mental distress may be present, but symptoms like hallucinations and delusions diminish contact with reality and hence rationality. Although many believe that severely mentally ill people are dangerous to others owing to well-publicized cases, they are more likely to be a victim of crime than a perpetrator. Of course, this finding is not based on the behavior of dictators like Putin.

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Bad includes sociopathic and narcissistic behavior and carries a moral connotation, as do other personality/character disorders. Should people of bad character be considered mentally ill/mad? This is an especially thorny question in legal settings, as personality-disordered defendants have usually been judged to have sufficient contact with reality to be held accountable for their crimes. Insanity is a legal term, not a psychological one.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin (Pavel Golovkin/AP)

As University of Virginia Professor of Law and Medicine Richard Bonnie writes, the insanity defense hinges on whether the defendant experienced a legally relevant functional impairment at the time of the offense. Was the defendant able to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct or conform her conduct to the requirements of the law. These criteria constitute the cognitive and volitional prongs of the defense, respectively. The former implicates ones rationality, the latter ones willful control. Personality disorders usually dont conduce to a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdict.

Many wonder whether someone who commits mass murder can be sane. Can someone be that horrifically bad (with or without a personality-disorder diagnosis) without being mad? The law says yes. Consider Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber. He was judged sane and received the death penalty. And surely there are many people who wage war against an enemy, killing thousands, and arent technically crazy.

This brings us to the ubiquitous questions about Putins rationality. By all accounts, he misjudged the ease of his mission, and shows no remorse about his massive killing in Ukraine. But poor judgment and moral callousness alone dont constitute legal insanity or madness in the psychological sense.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Putins mental state is of keen interest to intelligence officials and heads of state: Determining whether hes a rational actor in his ongoing decision-making in Ukraine and beyond carries grave implications for NATO members decision-making in responding to his relentlessly brutal actions.

Our commonsense folk-psychology method of assessing someones rationality entails considering the relation between an act and the beliefs and desires that guide it. If someone is thirsty and turns on the faucet believing it will spout water, theyll be judged rational. If they believe they can quench their thirst by drinking dish detergent and do so, theyll be judged irrational.

Regarding Putin, try this thought experiment: Suppose Putin knows his campaign in Ukraine is doomed and he sees no point in living without reconstituting the Soviet Union under his rule. Assume he wants to end his life knowing his mission will fail, and starting World War III would satisfy his narcissistic desire for greatness. His desire will be judged profoundly defective by many. His methods are nothing short of pure evil.

Yet depending on ones conception of rationality, some might suggest that (given these hypotheticals) Putins actions are rational. His desires and beliefs about how to fulfill them line up with his actions, however horrific. An individual judged rational in this way doesnt ensure that the actions taken to achieve their goals are moral actions.

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My point is to suggest that Putin could be seen as a rational actor and still push the nuclear button, depending on his goals. This puts President Biden and our NATO allies on the horns of a dilemma: how to save as many lives as possible without increasing the likelihood that Putin will plunge us into a new world war, whatever his degree of rationality.

I cant imagine Putins mental state mattering to the Ukrainian people. As Ukrainian Parliament member Kira Rudik put it, We are already all in World War III and it is an illusion that we are not. Watching from afar, we must not only offer support. We must press our leaders to achieve the delicate balance that maximizes both the morality and the rationality on which the fate of Ukraine  and the world  hinges.

Held is a clinical psychologist and emeritus psychology professor at Bowdoin College.
As psychiatrists and leaders of one of New Yorks largest health-care systems, it is painful and disheartening to see increasing suicides, New Yorkers dying of overdoses and reports of individuals with presumed mental illness who allegedly commit assaults or even homicides. We are therefore encouraged that New York leaders have announced new investments in behavioral health, including Gov. Hochuls and Mayor Adams new plan to increase mental health services and supports to homeless persons.

New Yorkers  particularly those on Medicaid  have struggled with access to behavioral health care for decades. The driving reasons for this crisis are complex and interconnected, but we will not see substantive changes unless we address the core fact that most behavioral health providers cannot meet their basic costs. Behavioral health services have been underfunded for decades, particularly by Medicaid, and cannot meet direct costs of care from payments alone. According to the Greater New York Hospital Association, in 2019, Medicaid covered only 64% of costs of psychiatric hospitalization in New York, and Medicare covered only 75% of costs. In 2020, these percentages deteriorated even further.

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Fortunately, one of the investments in the Subway Safety Plan is a 20% increase in Medicaid rates for inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations. We applaud Hochul and Adams for taking this critical first step. But we need to increase Medicaid rates for all types of behavioral health services so that they all fully meet the cost of providing care.

New York States Medicaid program covers a very robust continuum of behavioral health services  much more than many other states. But many of these services are still not adequately reimbursed. Hospital-based mental health clinics have not had an increase in the base Medicaid rate in New York in more than 10 years. Many other outpatient and community-based services rely on deficit funding, grants and philanthropy to provide basic treatment services. Moreover, the behavioral health care system can be very confusing to navigate (even for health care providers).

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We increasingly talk about how we have to treat mental illness the same as physical illness, but we dont actually value it in the same way. Think about heart disease. You need an inpatient stay if you have a heart attack, but the goal is to not have a heart attack at all. This means going to an outpatient cardiologist regularly for medications and stress tests. It means nutritional counseling, exercise, stress reduction and support services to decrease your risk of having a heart attack.

Similarly, inpatient care for mental illness focuses on treatment after a bad outcome, like after a suicide attempt or after the onset of severe psychotic symptoms, rather than trying to prevent the suicide attempt or the psychotic episode. We need to make sure that outpatient and community-based behavioral health services are valued just as much outpatient cardiac care. The best way to demonstrate this is to make sure that payment rates for these services fully meet their costs.

Thats why we are building a new Mount Sinai Comprehensive Behavioral Health Center, scheduled to open in early 2023. The center is focused on not only caring for people when they are at their sickest, but on preventing people from becoming severely ill and promoting recovery, all in one location. The center includes a robust continuum of inpatient, crisis and outreach, intensive outpatient, community-based services, and outpatient mental health, substance abuse and physical health care. Moreover, it will include special teams who will help our most vulnerable patients stay connected to all the different types of health and social services they need on an ongoing basis.

We believe that this kind of center will help people get the care they need and we hope it is replicated nationwide. But unless these kinds of innovative models are fully and fairly paid for, we will continue to have the same conversation and bad outcomes repeatedly, with no real change.

Because of stigma, and sometimes because of the nature of the illness itself, people with mental illness and substance use disorders largely remain unheard and in the shadows. We must recognize that underfunding behavioral health care is tantamount to treating people with mental illness and substance abuse as second-class citizens. New Yorks leaders have already taken a major step toward ensuring that inpatient psychiatric care is reimbursed more fairly. We must now make sure that critical outpatient and community-based services are fully funded as well. We must focus on not just reacting to bad outcomes, but preventing them.

Davis is the chief executive officer of Mount Sinai Health System and a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Lim is the vice president for behavior health safety and quality and the medical director of regulatory and government affairs at the Mount Sinai Health System, and a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

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A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

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A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
A second semester is on the way for Abbott Elementary.

The hit ABC sitcom  created by and starring Quinta Brunson  has been renewed for a second season, the network confirmed.

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The school-set series principal Ava Coleman, played by comedic actress Janelle James, shared the news in memo form on Instagram Monday.

The camera crew I hired to showcase all that Ive made happen at our beautiful school thinks Im a star, the sarcastic and self-absorbed character wrote. With that said, it is with great pleasure that I share theyll be returning for the 2022-2023 school year! Thats right -- Abbott Elementary Season Two is coming to a screen near you.

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The mockumentary-styled workplace comedy, which also stars Tyler James Williams, Lisa Ann Walter, Chris Perfetti, and Broadway great Sheryl Lee Ralph, was ABCs strongest comedy telecast of a new or returning series among the much coveted 18-49 demographic in nearly two years, with 9 million viewers tuning in for its early December premiere.

From left: Quinta Brunson, Chris Perfetti and Tyler James Williams as teachers working at Abbott Elementary. (Raymond Liu/ABC)

Brunson, a former BuzzFeed Video producer who garnered high marks for co-starring in HBOs A Black Lady Sketch Show, also shared the exciting news on her social media channels with the caption, Lets get it.

The 32-year-old comedic superstar based the show on her experiences and named the fictional school Willard R. Abbott Elementary in honor her favorite teacher Joyce Abbott and fellow West Philadelphia native Will Smith.

Abbott Elementary is not only a ratings juggernaut for the Disney-owned broadcast network, but a critical darling boasting a rare 100% rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

New episodes return March 22 at 9 p.m. EDT.
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Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo is reportedly asking for $125 million from the cable channel that he accuses of unlawful termination in December.

Cuomo has been damaged in countless ways, according to an arbitration demand from the former newsman, published by Deadline.

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That filing also claims Cuomo had his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared to the point of where he will find it difficult if not impossible to find work in his field.

Former CNN correspondent Chris Cuomo (Kevin Hagen/AP)

The 51-year-old Queens native has been criticized for advising his brother, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, who resigned amid a slew of sexual misconduct allegations. A sole criminal charge against the elder Cuomo was dropped and he, too, denies wrongdoing.

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[ Chris Cuomo was accused of assaulting young woman who denied his sexual advances before CNN fired him: report ]

Attorneys for Cuomo are asking for $110 million in consequential damages as well as $15 million they say are still owed under the former prime-timers TV contract. The arbitration demand also mentions former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who allegedly claimed he was unaware Cuomo was in contact with aides for the former governor and misrepresented the extent to which he was offering support.

According to Cuomos lawyers, thats not accurate and it was Zucker leading the charge to disparage their client at the network.

Cuomo was on suspension at the time of his dismissal. He has been accused of sexual misconduct by two women with whom he worked at ABC. He denied one of those claims and apologized for the other, which occurred in 2005.

Zucker resigned from CNN last month after admitting that he had been in a consensual relationship with a colleague.

CNN had no comment. Deadline said Wednesday the network would likely respond to Cuomos claims filing paperwork of its own.
A final report has been issued in the investigation of Bob Saget's death. Saget, seen here attending an event in Beverly Hills on November 03, 2021, died in January.
China's anti-epidemic fight cannot and will not 'lie flat'

By Global Times editorial (Global Times) 14:15, March 16, 2022

On Tuesday, at a press conference of the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19, a spokesperson of China's National Health Commission said that local COVID-19 clusters have occurred in many places in China recently. Since March, the country has seen a rapid increase in the frequency of the outbreaks and the number of infections. This wave of the epidemic has affected 28 provinces and regions in the country. The current wave of the outbreak is characterized by more clusters, a wide area, and a high frequency of the emergence of new cases. Data shows the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past three months has already exceeded the total number of last year. China is facing a serious and complicated challenge in the prevention and control of the epidemic.

At a time like this, we should even more firmly adhere to the general strategy of targeting both imported cases and domestic epidemic rebound and the general policy of dynamic zero-COVID. Even though the Omicron variant has spread forcefully, overall, it remains controllable. The number of new infections in China is at a record high in two years, but the percentage of the infected population is still extremely low if we compare the figure with other countries. More importantly, almost all Chinese are confident that the epidemic will eventually be eradicated, the number of confirmed cases will drop to zero in China, and a large-scale humanitarian disaster will not occur in the country.

Such a common expectation is based on the success of China's general strategy and approach to COVID-19 prevention and control. It has safeguarded people's lives and health to the greatest extent possible, as well as people's normal work and daily life, and the safety of the industrial supply chain. Prevention and control measures of the dynamic zero-case policy have proved to be effective in dealing with outbreaks caused by the Omicron variant. Of course, the highly transmissive and insidious nature of the Omicron variant requires us to take earlier, faster, stricter, and more solid control measures. In other words, we can't relax our epidemic prevention and control measures, and especially not in special times. Otherwise, all that has been achieved may go down the drain.

During the recent outbreak of COVID-19 cases in China, some Western media outlets again made waves of questioning China's dynamic zero-case policy. Some netizens in China were influenced by such hype and think China should act as the West to give up the dynamic zero-COVID policy and "lie flat" for the economy. But they won't mention that Western countries are not capable of taking a dynamic zero-COVID policy rather than not willing to. And they won't say how big a price of lives West has paid for its choice to "lie flat." Chinese people cannot afford to have tens of millions of infected people, China's healthcare system cannot withstand that while people have no normal socioeconomic life.

The dynamic zero-case policy is not tantamount to "no infections." Instead, it is aimed at putting the epidemic under control as soon as possible with maximum efforts and minimum costs through a precise prevention network. China's success in COVID-19 prevention is unquestionable no matter whether it is measured with data of infections, deaths or economic development. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that China's main economic indexes recovered in January and February, showing a better economic recovery than expected. That is to say we have accumulated abundant experiences in epidemic control and prevention and taken effective measures to block the spread of the virus. The epidemic's impact on the economy will be gradually put under control.

It has been proven that the approach and its effects of China's anti-epidemic fight are good. In the fight against COVID-19, the state is able to integrate resources, the government is responsible to the people, and the people are willing to cooperate in epidemic fight methods - these are the biggest differences between China and the West. Of course, the dynamic zero-COVID policy is not unchangeable. Different-level governments are subject to higher-standard demands: They cannot take no action and cannot take wrong action. As the governments build defense lines against the epidemic, they must minimize the impact on enterprises and people's work and daily life while maximizing the social and economic development impetus.

In a word, China's epidemic fight cannot and will not "lie flat." Certainly, we have always been adjusting COVID-19 prevention and control measures according to the situation. On Tuesday, the National Health Commission released the latest version of the diagnosis and treatment protocol, with many significant updates in terms of COVID-19 testing, management and treatment. There is also much work to be done, including continuing to increase vaccination rates, accelerating the development of anti-COVID medicine, and establishing more comprehensive emergency response plans. We don't fight a battle without any preparation, and only by taking action beforehand will we be able to take the initiative in the COVID-19 prevention and control.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Kanye West used a racial slur in an online post about Trevor Noah, who had referenced the rappers contentious divorce on his late-night show.

Noah spoke about Wests public acrimony with ex Kim Kardashian, who is now dating comedian Pete Davidson, during Tuesdays episode of The Daily Show, calling it terrifying to watch.

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Early Wednesday, West shared images of Noah on Instagram with a caption that read in part, All in together now... K--n baya my lord k--n baya.

Kardashian filed for divorce from West last year after marrying the All of the Lights artist in 2014. They have four kids together who range in age from 2 to 8.

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Kanye West, left, and Trevor Noah. (Getty Images)

A judge agreed last month to declare Kardashian legally single while other aspects of their divorce are resolved.

West, 44, has been public with his desire to reconcile with Kardashian, and last month shared a music video for his song Eazy that depicted a cartoon Davidson being kidnapped and buried alive from the neck down.

[ Pete Davidson tells Kanye West hes in bed with your wife as rapper rants about custody of kids with Kim Kardashian ]

Noah contended Tuesday that West is harassing Kardashian.

Theres also an element of a woman saying to her ex, Hey, please leave me alone. ... This story keeps on escalating. Youve got Kanye West, whos harassing Kim Kardashian, and then youve got Pete Davidson, whos now embroiled in the whole thing.

Comedian Dave Sirus shared since-deleted screen shots of text messages over the weekend that allegedly showed Davidson telling West to grow the f--k up.

The images show Kanye then asked Davidson where he was, and the comedian allegedly responded with a shirtless photo and a message reading In bed with with your wife.

The 38-year-old Noah, who is from South Africa, has not responded to Wests Instagram post on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum presides over a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting at the Government Complex in Sejong, Wednesday. Yonhap



By Nam Hyun-woo



Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will make a five-day visit to Turkey and Qatar with the aim of improving Korea's economic ties with the two countries.



According to the prime minister's office, Wednesday, Kim will visit Turkey from Thursday to Saturday and then travel to Qatar from Saturday to Sunday.



Kim will visit Turkey on the invitation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he will be the first Korean prime minister to visit the country in nine years.



In Turkey, Kim will attend the opening ceremony of the Canakkale 1915 Bridge, which will be the longest suspension bridge in the world with a total length of 3,563 meters. The bridge was constructed to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey's founding, and Korean companies, including SK ecoplant and DL E&C, have participated in the landmark project.



Kim will then have a meeting with Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and a seminar with local businesses to explore ways to improve the two countries' relations on the occasion of the 65th anniversary of bilateral ties and the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between the two countries.



"Kim's visit to Turkey will promote Korean companies' technological prowess in regards to completing the longest suspension bridge amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and will create more opportunities for domestic companies to participate in subsequent local large-scale infrastructure projects," an official at the prime minister's office said.



In Qatar, Kim will have a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, to discuss methods to elevate the comprehensive partnership between Korea and Qatar.



During the meeting, Kim is anticipated to focus on Korea's energy cooperation with Qatar amid growing uncertainties in the global energy market. Qatar is the largest liquefied natural gas supplier for Korea.



"Following President Moon Jae-in's trip to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in January, Prime Minister Kim will visit Turkey and Qatar, which has been retaining cooperative and friendly relations with Korea," the official said. "This visit will contribute to Korea's efforts to diversify its diplomatic relations."


Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the company's new factory in Indonesia's Deltamas industrial complex near Cikarang, Wednesday. Yonhap





By Park Jae-hyuk







Hyundai Motor held a ceremony, Wednesday, to celebrate the completion of building its first Southeast Asian factory in Indonesia's Deltamas Industrial Complex near Cikarang, 40 kilometers east of the capital city of Jakarta.







The new plant will provide a foothold for the company to expand its presence in the Southeast Asian market, where its Japanese competitors have so far dominated, according to the carmaker.







Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who attended the ceremony with the country's top government officials, offered his congratulations for the completion of the factory's construction and the beginning of its production of the IONIQ 5, the first electric vehicle (EV) produced in Indonesia.







"I hope that this IONIQ 5 from Hyundai will become an important milestone in the development of Indonesia's electric vehicle ecosystem, and to further accelerate the electric car ecosystem that is more advanced," he said.







Indonesian President Joko Widodo waves Hyundai Motor's flag at the new Deltamas industrial complex factory near Cikarang, Wednesday. Yonhap





Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun emphasized that the world's fourth-most populous country is a key hub for his company's future mobility strategy.







"This plant will play a key role in the automotive industry and specifically in the field of electric vehicles," he said. "Hyundai Motor will keep contributing to the establishment of the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia through synergies with the battery plant that we are currently developing. This will boost Indonesia to play an important role in the global landscape."







Hyundai Motor plans to invest $1.55 billion to increase the Indonesian factory's annual production capacity to 250,000 units.







The new plant has produced the Creta subcompact crossover SUVs since January and started manufacturing the IONIQ 5 EVs after Wednesday's completion ceremony. It will begin producing the Santa Fe SUVs during the first half of this year, as well as small strategic multi-purpose vehicles tailored for Southeast Asian customers in the second half.







The made-in-Indonesia vehicles can be exported to other ASEAN countries without tariffs, in accordance with the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreements.







Considering that the Indonesian government is spearheading the expansion of an EV ecosystem, with its plan to convert 130,000 government vehicles to EVs by 2030, Hyundai Motor is also working with LG Energy Solutions to finish building a battery cell factory in the other Indonesian city of Karawang by the first half of 2023 and to start production there from 2024.







Hyundai Motor expects battery cells produced at the factory to support Indonesia's EV transition by providing a supply of sustainable batteries.







"The locally produced batteries will be sourced to produce EV models in the Indonesian plant, further enhancing EV models' price competitiveness," the company said in a press release.







Hyundai Motor's factory in Indonesia's Deltamas industrial complex near Cikarang is seen in this file photo. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor





For Indonesian and other Southeast Asian consumers, Hyundai Motor also aims to take a customer-centered approach in terms of production and sales, based on a build-to-order scheme, which allows customers to choose product specifications when ordering vehicles and lowers inventory costs.







Its click-to-buy online platform in Indonesia will also enable customers to carry out all stages of the vehicle purchase experience from home, according to the company.


During International Education Week this past November, East Nobles AFS students spent a day with Randy Handshoe of Central Noble and his high school students. From left are Jan of Germany, Handshoe, Abbas of Lebanon and Medyen of Bethlehem. Not pictured is Eldar of Kyrgyzstan. East Nobles four AFS students will be at the Kendallville Public Library Thursday night, March 17.
A new generation of college students will now have a chance to learn about a famous college dropout.

For the fall 2022 semester, Montreals Concordia University will offer what it is being referred as the first university-level course all about Kanye West, also known as Ye.

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In this Nov. 17, 2019, file photo, Kanye West appears on stage during a service at Lakewood Church in Houston. (Michael Wyke/AP)

The class, entitled Kanye vs. Ye: Genius by Design, will be instructed by lecturer Yassin Narcy Alsalman, who previously taught coursework on A Tribe Called Quest, Black Star and Lauryn Hill since beginning his teaching work in 2013.

I want to bring something new and fresh to students, Alsalman explained in a Twitter post. An opportunity to bring more amazing guests to the University and to discuss the world through the lens of one of the most influential artists of our generation.

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He added: This class isnt only about Kanye. Its about community, creativity, responsibility, accountability, fame and mental health, dreams and nightmares  and more importantly, self-[actualization].

A musician and multimedia artist himself, Alsalman hosts the The Iraqafella Show, which he says focuses primarily on diaspora creatives. Launched last fall, the podcast has featured conversations with guests such as comedian Hasan Minhaj, OVOs Noah 40 Shebib and rapper Talib Kweli.

Higher education, or the lack thereof, was once a source of inspiration for Wests music.

Early in his rap career, the Chicago-reared Atlanta native  who considers himself the greatest artist that God ever created  titled his first three full-length studio albums The College Dropout, Late Registration and Graduation. Considered some of his best work, all three projects won the Grammy Award for best rap album and sold millions of copies and became platinum-selling successes.

According to the course description Alsalman posted, students will dissect Yes art, design, music, celebrity-life, and cultural impacts in the age of information.

The class will explore Kanyetive Dissonance, is described as the unique, complex and controversial natures and contexts of Kanyes body of work and impacts.

Also studying the evolution of his genius, the 13-week course is open as a free elective to Fine Arts students.
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The first of the Indiana Humanities nine-city film tour screenings featuring six short documentary films about Indianas waterways will be New Harmony on March 31. Kendallville is also a featured stop, on April 20.
Jungkook has changed his iconic Instagram username, and now fans are whining!

Keep on reading to know more.

BTS Jungkook Changes His Iconic 'Alphabet' Instagram Username and ARMYs Are Whining

On March 16 KST, BTS' youngest member Jungkook changed his personal Instagram account from "@abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz," to "@jungkook.97."

His previous Instagram handle consists of all the letters in the English alphabet, except for the letters "J" and "K," which is the acronym of his name Jungkook.

While on the platform, aside from the usual Instagram Stories or new photos and videos, Jungkook decided to surprise fans by changing his username instead!

Now, when fans hop onto Instagram and search Jungkook's account, they will find that his username has been changed to a simple "@jungkook.97." The number represents the year he was born in, 1997.

Upon finding out that Jungkook has changed his username from the unique and witty "alphabet username," BTS fans, known as ARMY, took to their social media to express their thoughts on the change.

Over on Twitter, many fans expressed their sadness and began to "mourn" for the "death" of "abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz." Along with their posts, they also shared numerous hilarious memes that they created.

In addition, many also "whined" about Jungkook's new Instagram username. They hilariously explained how they can't call Jungkook "user alphabet" anymore. They also expressed their hope that the other members do not change their Instagram username, because they have grown attached to it.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Former Big Hit Trainee Shares What BTS Jungkook Was Like as Teen

Some comments from fans read, "Not the TL (timeline) crying because Jungkook changed his username. jungkook.97 is hot tho."

"Me giggling with Jungkook's IG story but noticed he's not user alphabet anymore."

"Can't call Jungkook 'user alphabet' anymore it's a terrible terrible day for me i'll need a minute."

"Today, on March 15, 2022, we lost an iconic username to jungkook.97... moment of silence please."

"Jungkook changed his username into jungkook.97, user abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz you were a legend. It was the most iconic, unique, creative, genius, & most Jungkook username ever," and similar others.

Following his username change, Jungkook began trending on several social media platforms worldwide, with keywords "Jungkook" and "JUNGKOOK CHANGED HIS USERNAME," among others.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: BTS Jungkook Becomes First K-pop Idol to Break THIS Record on iTunes With 'Stay Alive'

Jungkook Garners Praise for Witty Alphabet Username

In fact, Jungkook's alphabet username was so iconic. Several global brands even joined in on the fun by changing their handles similar to the idol's account. The most prominent one being McDonald's, who changed their Twitter name to "ab__efghijkl_nopqrstuvwxyz" and removed the letters "C," "D," and "M."

Many also could not help but shower the BTS member with praise for being able to come up with such a witty username, despite how long it is.

MTV UK said, "Imagine reinventing the alphabet like Jungkook," while journalist and music publicist Nicholas Daniel said, "I wish I had like 3% of the brain cells that Jungkook has. The IG name just confirmed him being a genius for me."

What are your thoughts on Jungkook's new username?

Meanwhile, rest in peace, abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz. You will be missed!

For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Robyn Joan
In a recent video, Jay Park expresses his true feelings after deleting his Instagram account that earns him at least 50 million KRW.

Keep on reading to know more.

Jay Park Shares True Feelings After Deleting 50 Million KRW Worth Instagram Account

Back on March 9, a new video called "Jay Park's recent update after leaving AOMG" was shared on the Youtube channel "jisoujang."

In this video, channel owner Jang Ji Soo had asked the former AOMG CEO if he had any regrets deleting his previous Instagram account, "jparkitrighthere," which had over 5.8 million followers at the time of its deletion.

"Don't you regret deleting your Instagram account?" Jang Ji Soo asked.

The reason why Jang Ji Soo asked this question may be because Jay Park's social media accounts could be worth billions of Korean won. With his Instagram account alone, it is rumored to cost at least 50 million won (around $40,500 USD) per promotional post.

To this question, Jay Park folded his arms and calmly said to the camera, "No, I don't regret doing it [deleting account]. It is nothing to me."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Jay Park Shares Honest Thoughts on Collaborating with IU for 'GANADARA'

However, in the next scene, Jay Park can be seen kneeling down and hilariously sobbing on the floor, making everyone around him laugh.

Back in December 2021, Jay Park had announced through his social media that he was retiring as the CEO of the labels he founded--AOMG and H1GHR Music. Following his resignation, Jay Park deleted his Instagram account.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Jay Park Reveals Something Unexpected Was Captured While Recording 'GANADARA' With IU

According to an interview Jay Park had with HYPEBEAST magazine, he had wanted to deliver the message that resigning as the labels' CEO was a difficult decision for him, and that "deleting my Instagram was one of my plans."

Not long after deleting his Instagram, however, Jay Park drew attention by creating a new account on the platform, with the handle "moresojuplease."

Meanwhile, Jay Park made headlines after deciding to launch his own soju brand "Won Soju." This was launched on the same day as his new Instagram account.

Check out the full video here: *Topic starts at the 8:56 minute mark

Jay Park's 'GANADARA' Lands Atop Several iTunes Charts

Back on March 11, Jay Park released his first single under his new label MORE VISION called "GANADARA," which features IU.

Shortly after the release of "GANADARA," the single debuted at No. 27 on the Worldwide iTunes Songs Chart. The song also landed atop the iTunes charts in seven different countries and regions, including the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Macau, and Sri Lanka.

Over on domestic music charts, "GANADARA" entered the daily top 100 on Flo and MelOn, and topped the real-time charts on Bugs and Genie upon its release.

Congratulations to Jay Park and IU!

For more K-Pop news and updates, always keep your tabs open here on KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Robyn Joan
And you think your parents are embarrassing.

Seth Rogens mom just gave overbearing mothers everywhere a run for their money after trying her motherly magic in Hollywood.

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Did my mother just email the head of a major movie studio to get them to hurry up and green light our movie? the 39-year-old funnyman tweeted. Yes. Yes she did.

Seth Rogen arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "How It Ends" on July 15, 2021. (Richard Shotwell/Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Some of the This is the End stars more than 9 million Twitter followers were applauding the actions of one Sandy Rogen.

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Me getting my kid into the JCC preschool in my neighborhood, author and Yearly Departed writer and executive producer Bess Kalb quote tweeted.

The Daily News Flash Weekdays Catch up on the days top five stories every weekday afternoon. >

Others hoped the project in question could be Pineapple Express 2.

Did my mother just email the head of a major movie studio to get them to hurry up and green light our movie? Yes. Yes she did.  Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) March 15, 2022

This isnt the first time Rogens moms antics have left him feeling super bad  or just plain awkward.

Back in 2017, Sandy Rogen alerted her now more than 120,000 followers that, Falling asleep after sex is like shavasana after yoga.

Jesus f--king Christ mom, her son retweeted.

Its just an observation of life ! Sandy defended at the time, to which her son promptly responded, Whatever!!

Rogen is currently gearing up for the June 2022 third season premiere of Amazon Prime Videos superhero series, The Boys, which he executive produces.
Adults adopted as kids should have access to their birth certificates, some lawmakers say
MISSOULA, Mont. - It's been three years since Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer was ambushed and shot multiple times.

In the late hours of March 15th 2019, MHP Trooper Palmer was trying to chase down a homicide suspect when the ambush happeened.

He was shot several times in his face, head, and neck. That evening's event, forever left its impact on those who put their lives on the line to protect and serve everyday.

One MHP Captain telling Montana Right Now, "I think we expect to respond to a call like that, but it's such a personal level when it's one of our troopers one of our own, one of our guys that we work with everyday, we know their family, their kids, it just became a lot more personal.".

It's known as one of the most challenging situations an officer could respond to, that's why law enforcement continue to provide information and trainings to better prepare everyone putting their life on the line.

As our communities move forward, MHP asks everyone to keep Trooper Palmer and his family in our thoughts as he continues his life-long recovery.
From here on out, he shall be addressed as Sir Steve McQueen in the United Kingdom.

The Oscar, BAFTA , Golden Globe and Turner Prize-winning 12 Years A Slave director officially received his knighthood on Tuesday.

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Sir Steve McQueen, poses after he was made a Knight Bachelor by the Princess Royal during a investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on March 15, 2022 in Windsor, England. (Steve Parsons/Getty Images)

During an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle in England, McQueen was knighted by Princess Anne for his services to art and film.

Queen Elizabeths daughter, Anne, also known as Princess Royal, bestowed the honor in her absence.

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The Buckingham Palace shared a photo from the ceremony through its official Royal Family Twitter and Instagram accounts with the Queens message, saying Congratulations Sir Steve McQueen!.

Congratulations Sir Steve McQueen!



The Oscar, @BAFTA and Golden Globe winning director today received his Knighthood from The Princess Royal during an Investiture Ceremony at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/vJwZI3aCQy  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) March 15, 2022

McQueen reportedly told the regions PA Media news agency he was very happy that his mother was able to attend the momentous occasion.

Sir Steve McQueen poses with his mother Mary. (Steve Parsons/Getty Images)

McQueen, who also directed the acclaimed films Hunger, Shame, Widows and the Amazon series Small Axe, made history as the first Black person to win the Academy Award for best picture for 2013s 12 Years A Slave.

The 52-year-old London native was previously made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2011 for his services to the visual arts.

McQueens next project, Blitz  described as a World War II-era film  is expected to start production later this year.
The woman accused of killing her housekeeper in McHenry, Illinois, then dumping her body in a cornfield in central Racine County in 1999 had her fate handed to her in Racine County Circuit Court on Wednesday.

LaRoche, 67, was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Peggy Lynn Johnson-Schroeder, 23. First-degree intentional homicide carries with it a guaranteed sentence of life in prison.

The defendant also was convicted of hiding a corpse for dumping Johnson-Schroeders body.

Assistant District Attorney Diane Donohoo said during closing statements that LaRoche she believed was jealous of Schroeder, who was loved by the family. LaRoche had hired Schroeder to be a housekeeper after Schroeders own mother died.

LaRoches children described Peggy as kind, sweet and quiet. The defendants only daughter said: Everybody loved Peggy.

In contrast, LaRoche was described as somewhat of a screamer and one of her younger sons said: We had a rocky relationship. Several of her children said LaRoche was abusive to Schroeder over several years.

She was jealous, Donohoo said of the defendant. This is the classic jealous woman case.

LaRoche also told people that Schroeder was sleeping with her husband, although there was no evidence of that.

Donohoo quoted the old saying: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Linda LaRoche was the woman scorned and hell hath no fury like Linda Laroche, she said.

History

The Racine County Sheriffs Office was dispatched to Raymond on July 21, 1999, after a passerby found a young womans body in the first row of a cornfield.

The woman was badly beaten, had broken bones, was malnourished and evidence suggested she had probably been tortured. The medical examiners report indicated Schroeder had multiple injuries that all contributed to her death, but it was an infection from the injuries that ultimately led to her death. The infection was necrotizing fasciitis, a rare bacterial infection that is sometimes referred to as flesh-eating.

The young woman had never been arrested, so her fingerprints did not turn up any identification. She was buried in a Jane Doe grave and went nameless for 20 years until modern methods of DNA testing turned up an identification.

Once she was identified, investigators learned that Schroeders father had abandoned his family when she was young and her mother was deceased. She was described in court as cognitively slow.

She met LaRoche at a free clinic where the older woman was working as a nurse.

LaRoche offered the young woman a job helping at her house with housework and her six children, according to testimony.

LaRoche told investigators she took Schroeder in because she identified with her situation. She, too, had lost her mother while she was still quite young.

I had a troubled childhood, LaRoche told investigators. I didnt have anyone, either.

When Schroeder moved into the home, she brought almost nothing with her besides a two-person tent.

Closing statements

The case presented by the Racine County District Attorneys Office was largely circumstantial. It has been almost 23 years, so there were no witnesses to Schroeder being dumped in a cornfield, no DNA, fingerprints or surveillance video.

Complicating matters was the fact Schroeder was not killed by a gunshot or knife wound. While she had many injuries that contributed to her death, it was the untreated infection that ultimately killed her.

Donohoo acknowledged the circumstantial nature of the case, noting the defense used the word as if circumstantial was a dirty word.

She explained circumstantial evidence is evidence from which the jury could draw a reasonable conclusion and is admissible in court.

Donohoo added the circumstances, when taken together, points to who the killer is, which is the defendant.

The states case rested on two points.

The first is that the witnesses painted a picture of ongoing and escalating violence against Schroeder by the defendant, in what the state called a chronic abuse situation.

We dont know what the final blow was, and we dont have to prove that, Donohoo said. We have to prove the actions of the defendant were a substantial factor that led to the death.

The second point is that Schroder had lied for years about Schroeders whereabouts, going so far as to fabricate a social message supposedly sent by Schroeder two decades after she had actually died.

After years of lying to her family, Dohohoo continued, LaRoche began lying to the police about the circumstances of Schroeder leaving the Johnson household, telling various people at various times that she (LaRoche) dropped Schroeder off at the hospital, at the train station, with her grandmother.

Donohoo added, LaRoche was the substantial actor that caused those injuries that led to the chain of events of Peggy Johnsons body in a cornfield dead in Racine

Defense closing

Carl Johnson, who was on the team that represented LaRoche, argued that there were flaws with the states case.

He pointed out when Schroeders body was found in the cornfield, 25% of the upper body was covered in burns, a V had been carved into the victims forehead, her nose was broken and her ear was damaged.

Some of the injuries were 3 to 8 days old; yet, no one in the house reported seeing her like that.

When are all those things supposed to have occurred? he wondered.

Despite those questions, the jury came back with a guilty verdict in fewer than 4 hours. They could have found LaRoche guilty of a lesser charge, but concluded the heaviest charge was appropriate.

In a statement issued after the guilty verdict was announced, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said The Sheriffs Office will never forget or stop working a cold case homicide. While the deaths of Peggy Johnson, Amber Creek and Juanita Zdroik were once cold case homicides, these cases are shining examples of the hard work and dedication of the members of the Sheriffs Office in creating closure for the victims families. I would like to thank all the professionals who assisted in bringing Peggys killer to justice.

"For anyone involved in any other homicide, you need to worry. It is not a matter of if, but when, you are held accountable.

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Visitors to Riviera Beach may have an option to pay for their beach passes with cash after all this summer.

Since the Lake Geneva City Council eliminated the cash payment option for passes Jan. 24, several city officials expressed concerns.

The action by the council would only allow beachgoers to pay for passes with a credit card or through the Viply app.

But on March 8, Harbormaster Steve Russell presented to the council's piers, harbors and lakefront committee an idea on how to let people still pay with cash.

Russell proposed a gift card to be available from Riviera vendors that could be used as a daily pass to enter the beach. The city would need to develop a consignment agreement with the vendors to sell the gift cards.

Russell believes such an agreement would benefit both the vendors and beachgoers because people would have an option to pay for their passes with cash, and they would purchase additional items from the vendors.

"I think it's a way to draw customers in to buy a pass," Russell said. "If you're there with three kids, you end up buying ice cream cones and candy, so I think it's a win-win for both," Russell said. "It would be a way for people to use cash and at the same time allow vendors to make a little bit more money."

Russell said he still has to discuss the idea with City Attorney Dan Draper and the Riviera vendors, but he wanted to obtain feedback from city aldermen first.

"I didn't want it to go anywhere until I discussed it here," Russell said. "My next step would be to talk to them."

Alderman Ken Howell favored the proposal and encouraged Russell to discuss the idea with the Riviera vendors to determine if they would be willing to sell the gift cards.

"I think it's a wonderful idea. I think it's really good," Howell said. "Come back if it's still a go."

Alderman Richard Hedlund said the gift card option would benefit both the beach visitors and the vendors.

"I would like to see you pursue that," Hedlund said.

Draper said the option would be available if the city and the vendors develop a consignment agreement.

"I think if we had a consignment agreement with the vendors and the city for what they can charge, then we go from there," Draper said.

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A long-running nightmare on Elm Street for Town of Linn supervisors and residents is nearing an end.

The Linn Town Board cast a unanimous March 14 vote approving an agreement with Burlington-based firm RLP Diversified, Inc. for asbestos abatement and demolition of three adjacent blighted properties on Elm Street.

The properties came to our attention about two years ago, town chairman James Weiss noted. Once they were brought to our attention, we took action and, working through the court system, it takes time.

Weiss said the town has been working to obtain approval to raze the buildings at N1718, N1712 and N1708 Elm St.

This has been a long time coming with a very complicated and convoluted set of properties due to deceased individuals and bank-owned properties, said Weiss.

The board unanimously denied a request from 30-year town resident Brett Slansky, who purchased the foreclosed, bank-owned property at N1718 Elm on March 2. Slansky wanted to raze the property with a company of his own choosing.

In discussions, board sentiment was for staying the course with the RLP Diversified bid package. Weiss estimated the project will cost around $50,000.

Weve worked for about two years to get this together as a packet, Weiss said. It hasnt been a mystery that all three of these properties were gonna be razed and that we were putting a packet together in an effort to raze all of them.

Supervisor Jim Livingston shared concerns about deviating from the plan to have RLP Diversified perform the work.

Im concerned about this property owner following all of the specifications, he said. We went into a lot of detail about asbestos content, dry wells on site, water wells that have to be capped, septic systems that have to be taken care of. Someone just offering to raze it on their own, it doesnt say that all of thats gonna be taken care of.

Livingston also expressed concerns about the possible impacts of stripping one of the properties out of the RLP Diversified bid.

I would also be concerned that our successful bidder could retract his bid because he doesnt have all the work anymore, Livingston said, with Weiss noting a change in scope would require a rebidding of the project.

Supervisor Kathy Leith expressed concerns about the timeline for razing the property acquired by Slansky at N1718 Elm St.

He doesnt have a timeline for getting this completed, she said. I dont know how quickly he could get his affairs in order to handle this in a timely manner. I think hed be hard pressed to get it done as quickly as we would like to have it done.

Supervisor Maureen Zimmerman indicated her preference for keeping the scope of RLP Diversified asbestos abatement and razing bid intact, saying it was unknown whether Slansky might run into difficulties in the razing process.

Keep it as a package, she said. We worked very hard on it.

Town administrator Jim Hurley noted the RLP Diversified contract also included provisions for site restoration encompassing all three properties  backfilling to the existing grade and property slope, laying three inches of topsoil and grass seeding.

RLP Diversified will subcontract the asbestos abatement work to Berlin-based Wisconsin Asbestos Removal and Demolition.

The costs for asbestos abatement and razing will be assessed to the affected property owners.

New fire/EMS officersAlso on March 14, Linn Fire Chief Pete Jones introduced the fire and EMS departments new officers  deputy chief Kim Pillman, second assistant chief Grant Winger, fire captain Jim Morris, water rescue captain Cody Pillman and EMS captain Ryan Jolly.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, Weiss told the officers. We do appreciate everything you do for us.

Other newsIn other developments at March 14 board meeting, Linn town supervisors:

Awarded acceptance of a bid from Payne & Dolan at a cost not to exceed $634,205 for road surfacing work on Fair Oaks Road, Wooddale Drive, Springbrook Road, Wildwood Road, Linden Road, Orchard Road, Old Farm, Hill Road, Forest Street, Black Point Road and Summit Road, and subdivision patching on Wooddale Drive and Fair Oaks Road.

Awarded acceptance of a road crack fill and sealing bid from Farhner Asphalt Sealers, LLC at a cost not to exceed $125,795.

Approved a 6% increase in boat slip fees for 2022, which rise to $24,407 for medium slips and $36,090 for large slips.

Approved a renewal 1,100-ton contract with Overland Park, Kansas-based Compass Minerals America, Inc. for 2022-23 road salt  straight rock salt and treated salt priced at $81.28 per ton and $110 per ton respectively.

Approved the issuance of pier permits for N1507 Chicago Club, W4632 Basswood, W2865 Swinghurst Lane, W3328 Burr Oak and W3594 Maple Lane.

On a split 3-1 vote, with supervisor Maureen Zimmerman dissenting, approved a special event request from Brookfield-based Peak Performance Professionals for the Sept. 17 Fontana Triathlon on Geneva Lake. The triathlon, which takes place in Fontana, Walworth, Williams Bay and the Town of Linn, is expected to draw 550, about half of which will be doing the full bike course in Linn.

Approved $4,087 in emergency management purchases of traffic cones, barricades and signs from Madison-based Decker Supply Co.

Approved a planned spring prescribed burn by Milton-based Tallgrass Restoration, LLC at the Town of Linn Nature Park, at a cost not to exceed $11,730.

Took no action on a parking plan submitted by Jose Hernandez for Zenda Tap, N560 Zenda Rd.

Scheduled an April 25 public hearing for a Meadowview Estates petition requesting that the Town of Linn adopt roads within the subdivision.

Took no action on a proposed amendment of the towns docking facility rental ordinance.

Took no action on a proposed revised boat slip lease.

Held first readings, waived second readings and approved amendments to the towns Pier Revocation of Permits, Boat Launching and Room Tax ordinances.

At the recommendation of public accounting and consulting firm Baker Tilly, approved creation of a separate fund to segregate federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies from the towns general fund. In June, the Town of Linn will receive $125,759 in ARPA funds, with a similar amount received in fiscal 2021. To date, no ARPA funds have been allocated or expended by the town.

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Movie theaters across the nation are standing with Ukraine.

On Friday, a group of U.S. movie exhibitors will screen Ukrainian director Oles Sanins 2014 feature film The Guide with proceeds going to relief efforts for his war-torn native country.

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The filmmaker, reportedly locked down in Kyiv, added a new introduction to the acclaimed film imparting the urgent need for assistance to the eastern European country under attack by Russia.

Ukrainian Film The Guide

A growing list of national and regional movie chains, and independent cinemas have agreed to show the 127-minute foreign film about an American boy and a blind minstrel amid the mid-1930s Soviet Ukraine.

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 The Guide tells a story of tragedy that parallels what we see today, Sanin wrote in the introduction.

Donations from cinemas will go toward to a special Ukraine Relief Fund that is being managed by Human & Civil Rights Organizations of America, Inc., which supports the International Red Cross and the International Organization for Migration, an official announcement stated.

Less than two weeks ago, I offered my cinema in suburban Boston to show The Guide as a fundraiser for Ukraine relief, the organizations president Marshall Strauss said in a statement on Tuesday. Almost instantly, the effort exploded in size and key industry leaders joined the project, donating their services. Now, cinemas across the country are agreeing to show this milestone movie. The director and I agreed on only one condition: TICKET PROCEEDS are to go to humanitarian relief for Ukraine. Americans have this unique opportunity to stand with the people of Ukraine. We are all looking for a way to help. We now have it.
After being rejected in the Town of Walworth, a proposed hospitality academy heads to Walworth County for further action Thursday, March 17.

The Walworth County Zoning Agency will discuss the requests for the Lake Geneva Hospitality Academy at about 5:35 p.m. The Abbey Resort in Fontana wants to buy the retreat center behind Inspiration Ministries, N2118 Highway 67, Town of Walworth, to create the academy.

The agency will discuss rezoning over 4 acres from park land use to upland resource conservation. There is also a request for a conditional use permit to allow almost 21 acres of "an existing recreational camp to operate as the Lake Geneva Hospitality Academy."

On the March 17 agenda, the owner of the land is listed as Christian League for the Handicapped, Inc., doing business as Inspiration Ministries. The applicant is Abbey Provident Venture, LLC.

Town of Walworth residents expressed concerns about the project at a Feb. 16 Walworth Town Board meeting.

On March 15, the board rejected the conditional use permit request on a 2-1 vote. However, county officials have the final say on such land use matters.

Walworth Town Chairperson David Rowbotham did not elaborate on his board's actions during a March 16 phone call.

"There are multiple issues and reasons and concerns," Rowbotham said.

Representatives from the Abbey Resort want to purchase a retreat center behind Inspiration Ministries to establish a training academy for people who are planning to enter the hospitality industry.

The students would also live at the academy during the training.

Inspiration Ministries would retain about 30 acres of property on the north side of the site, and officials from Abbey Provident Venture would obtain about 20 acres of property on the south side as part of an agreement.

During previous town meetings, several residents expressed concern that the training academy would attract workers from foreign countries as part of the J-1 visa program.

Members of the town's plan commission also did not endorse the conditional use permit during their Feb. 7 meeting. There was a 2-2 vote on the proposal during that meeting.

The County Zoning Agency has its March 17 meeting at the Walworth County Government Center, County Board Room 114, 100 W. Walworth St., Elkhorn.

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Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote those words in 1913, in an article for Harpers Weekly. Nearly 110 years later, they remain a touchstone for the concept that government records belong to the people, not the government.

This is Freedom of Information Week, and Freedom of Information Day is March 16. Were using this space to discuss the vital importance of government records being made public.

Its a simple concept: If a government agency refuses to make its records public, its a reasonable presumption that that agency is trying to hide something, whether merely embarrassing or plainly illegal. The federal Freedom of Information Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967, requires full or partial disclosure of unreleased information and documents controlled by the federal government upon request.

At the state level, the Wisconsin Open Records Law, enacted in 1982, is a series of laws intended to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels. The Badger State defines record as any document, regardless of physical form, that has been created or is being kept by an agency. In general, any requester has a right to inspect any record.

This newspaper has not hesitated to file Open Records requests to investigate the activity of local government agencies. Any citizen can do the same.

Because the records of government belong to all of us.

The Regional News editorial board consists of General Manager Robert Ireland, Editor Stephanie Jones and community members Patrick Quinn and Elizabeth Lupo DiVito. A version of this also ran in the Racine Journal Times and Kenosha News.
According to Dutch researchers, if farmers could use facial recognition technology they could better understand the emotional well-being of their cows. With the whites of the eyes showing and ears pointing forward, this Holstein heifer calf is telling the world she is excited.
Once Dana Frymoyer, who works for Sullivan Poultry, found Teddy Bear, the two climbed the charts in cutting, ranch sorting and team penning.
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI/PRNewswire): IFI Techsolutions (www.ifi.tech), a Microsoft Cloud Solution & Managed Services Provider, recently expanded its services in 2021 to cater to the needs of the Indian public sector.

This diverse segment consists of various Government Ministries, Departments, PSUs, government owned companies and government education institutes. Within a short span, the company's clientele boasts of renowned organisations like Indian Army, CSIR, CDAC, SAIL, Indian Post, Ladakh Police, Dedicated Freight Corridor, Power Grid, ICAR and Delhi University amongst others.

Also Read | LOSC Lille vs Chelsea, UEFA Champions League 2021-22 Round of 16, Leg 2 Live Streaming Online: Get Free Live Telecast of UCL Football Match in IST.

As a Microsoft Managed Partner, IFI Techsolutions has helped accentuate the vision of 'DIGITAL INDIA' by providing various solutions for datacentre transformation, data analytics, security, productivity, DevOps & Automation etc. One of its marque wins this year is Qbot, an AI-infused teaching and learning solution enabling the personalized learning experience for Delhi University's School of Open Learning (DUSOL) students. This is one of its kind solutions in the Indian education domain that will accelerate the learning potential of 3 Lakh+ students across 150+ degrees and 200 Faculty members.

Datacenter transformation is one of the most sought after solutions as it is an obvious first step for any digital transformation along with large scale adoption of productivity tools like Microsoft 365 and Teams.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: 20-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death on Suspicion of Theft in Bhiwandi.

Interestingly Data Analytics is 2nd but the most exciting solution in demand. India has a unique opportunity to analyze the massive data generated via various government programs thus providing granular insights and enabling the Public Sector leadership & Ministries in making data-driven decisions for the welfare of our country.

A close collaboration with Microsoft sales along with earning Microsoft Gold competencies, numerous Azure Advanced Specializations for Windows Virtual Desktop, Modernization of Web Applications, Windows Server & SQL Server Migration has helped IFI Techsolutions differentiate itself from the competition, demonstrate their knowledge, and gain traction in the Public Sector, all while ensuring that its solutions are both innovative, scalable and secure.

Adheer Singh, Director - Public Sector Sales, leads this entire program. He comes with an overall experience of 25+ years consistently delivering results across diverse geographies and business in India and abroad.

Commenting on this expansion, Adheer Singh said, "As IFI Techsolutions reaches its 1-year milestone of selling cloud solutions to public sector organisations, we have acquired more than 70+ customers pan India. We are excited to see how every government organisation is embracing the power of cloud to provide faster, better and secure solutions to serve the nation and its citizens. At this pace, India will soon be able to provide digital-enabled services at par or even better than most developed nations and we as IFI Tech will always be proud of our contributions in it."

IFI Techsolutions has been catering to various industry mix and aims to provide the much needed thrust to empower organizations, communities and citizens in Public Sector in order to create a digitally empowered society.

IFI Techsolutions (www.ifi.tech) is a Microsoft Gold Partner, Cloud Solution and Managed Services Provider founded by ex-Microsoft employees Ankur Garg and Puneet Bajaj to help global customers with their digital transformation journey.

IFI Techsolutions has delivered more than 70 projects for Public Sector, 400+ corporate projects, and 60,000+ consulting hours, migrated 5,000+ servers for more than 350 global customers.

This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Banda (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 16 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav came to the rescue of a party sympathiser who lost his bike in a bet over Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections result.

The SP supporter Awadesh had entered into a bet with a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sympathiser, each placing bet with bike and tempo respectively. The SP supporter lost the bet after the BJP retained power in the state.

Also Read | Central Sector Scheme Promoting Women Farmers, Says Report.

"After the (poll) result, I handed over my bike...Akhilesh Yadav called me, can't forget the respect with which he treated me; also gave me a chain (ornament) and told me not to indulge in bets," Awadesh told ANI.

"Had I won the bet, I would have gotten his (BJP supporter's) tempo, but I lost it...," said the SP supporter.

Also Read | Encounter Breaks Out Between Militants and Security Forces in Srinagar.

The BJP emerged victorious, winning 255 seats, in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The SP won 111 seats and its ally SBSP bagged six constituencies. Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) could win just one Assembly seat. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kochi, Mar 16 (PTI) Actor Dileep has contended in the Kerala High Court that the Crime Branch has levelled false and fabricated allegations of destruction of evidence against him and others, who are accused of conspiring to kill and threaten officials probing into the 2017 actress assault case as well as their lawyers.

Also Read | Shab-E-Baraat 2022: Delhi High Court Allows Reopening of 4 Floors of Nizamuddin Markaz.

The actor, in his reply to a recent statement filed by the Crime Branch, claimed that the agency and its officers investigating into the latest case against him were peddling lies after lies.

Also Read | The Kashmir Files: Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Rejects the Demand of BJP Legislators To Waive Tax on Vivek Agnihotri's Film.

The statement of the Crime Branch was filed in response to Dileep's plea to quash the FIR on murder conspiracy or transfer the probe to the CBI.

Denying the allegations in the statement, the actor contended that baseless accusations have been fabricated by the investigating agency with regard to the phones submitted by him and others, including his brother and brother-in-law, for forensic analysis.

In his reply, filed through advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese, the actor said the purpose of the forensic examination of the phones presently and recently used by the accused was not to find out material regarding the 2017 case, but to conduct a roving enquiry into the data contained in them for making allegations.

"The dishonest nature of the investigation, which has become the trademark of the respondents 2,3 and 5 (police officials), is evident from the stories planted by them in the media about the phones of the accused. The allegation that the petitioner (Dileep) and other accused removed and concealed their mobile phones within a few days of disclosure of offences by Balachandra Kumar is an incorrect and misleading statement," the actor said in his reply.

The actor claimed that the mobile phones were sent to a mobile forensic expert to extract data from them regarding communications with Kumar to confront him with the same if he was made a prosecution witness and the decision to do so was taken much before the fresh case was registered.

He claimed that extraction, restoration or deletion of data from a phone by its user was neither clandestine nor illegal and regarding the clearing of 12 WhatsApp messages from his phone, the actor contended that the same is a regular process adopted by many users of the messaging platform.

The actor contended that no tampering of any of the phones or shredding of any data from the phones has been detected by the Forensic Science Laboratory, contrary to the vague and false claims by the Crime Branch.

He further claimed that the allegation of Crime Branch that the actor's lawyers assisted in destruction of prosecution evidence was fanciful, preposterous and baseless.

"Such an allegation has been recklessly and irresponsibly fabricated so as to scandalise them," Dileep claimed.

Meanwhile, the actress-victim lodged a complaint with the Bar Council of Kerala against senior advocate B Raman Pillai and the other lawyers who represent Dileep and the other accused, and sought an enquiry into whether they were involved in influencing witnesses and tampering with evidence in the case.

The actress claimed she has come to know from news reports as well as various other sources that Dileep's lawyers were not assisting the court in the matter, as they are required to, and instead were acting contrary to the rules of the legal profession.

She urged the Bar Council of Kerala to take appropriate action in the matter.

On March 8, the Crime Branch filed a statement alleging that Dileep's plea to quash the FIR was a bundle of lies and distorted facts.

The agency claimed that the actor and the other accused as well as their lawyers were involved in tampering or destruction of the evidence in the case.

The actor and five others were booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 116 (abetment), 118 (concealing design to commit offence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (criminal act done by several people).

The actress-victim, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some people who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017 and later escaped in a busy area. The entire act was filmed by those persons to blackmail the actress.

There are 10 accused in the 2017 case and police have arrested seven. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail. PTI

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Four years ago, the only property Tracy Freeman owned was her house, but the idea of investing intrigued her.

I had always known you could grow wealth in real estate, but I never knew how, said Freeman, who lives in Orlando.

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A nurse for 30 years, Freeman now manages 14 properties throughout Central Florida and works as a mortgage broker for Empire Financial in Orlando. I just dove right in, she said.

While women work in every facet of the real estate industry, investing in properties to rent or flip is still a male-dominated space. But women investors say the culture is changing.

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Women make up 64% of the membership of the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, mostly in sales. Pinning down exact numbers for how many are investing, however, isnt easy, but investor and attorney Hope Richards says there arent a lot in her sphere.

Hope Richards, manager at RTR Title Central Florida, is pictured at her office building in downtown Orlando on Monday, March 14, 2022. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)

As the co-owner of Orlando-based RTR Title and the head of the real estate law division at RTR Law, Richards, 41, says roughly 90% of the 60 contracts she averages per week are investor related, so she is plugged into the community.

I only work with a steady two or three women investors, she said.

The employment data website Zippia.com puts the number of women in real estate investment at 30%.

Desiree Patno, president and CEO of Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem, says women are held back from investing by the three-P taxes. The first is the pink tax, the upcharge on necessary consumer products for women, from clothes to toiletries to medical expenses.

Then there is the poor tax, the extra charges on goods and services for people without savings, such as check cashing fees and rent-to-own furniture. As women still make 16% less than men, according to a 2020 Pew Research study, poverty among women remains an endemic problem.

Last, theres the provider tax, the time and money spent taking care of children, relatives, and other uncompensated housework that often falls to women. If anyone gets sick or has any challenges, guess who takes care of it, Patno said. The woman does.

Getting started

Access to capital is a key first ingredient in becoming an investor, and often that takes a bit of luck for any gender. Freeman, 54, got her first loan from another investor she met at a womens luncheon in 2019.

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She normally only loaned money to seasoned investors, Freeman said. But she saw the initiative in me  and thats how I got my first house.

Freeman parlayed $66,000 into a three-bedroom, one-bath house in Cocoa, which she rents for $700 a month. After fixing up the house, she refinanced, paid off her first loan and bought her second property, a duplex in Lakeland.

But before even the need for money to get started, Richards says the first obstacle women encounter is just not being shown the path.

I dont know of a single woman that Ive worked with whose dad ever took them to Home Depot and taught them about drywall or plumbing, she said. That kind of knowledge, she said, leads to the confidence women need to maintain properties. I think theres a level of familiarity that men get at a young age with fixing things.

Freeman got inspired by the 1997 book Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter about building wealth through investment.

Richards got introduced to the industry in 2008 by her then-husband.

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I married into it, she said. That kind of speaks to the whole issue.

Its the nature of the profession that the investment properties that can be bought cheaply are often found in bad neighborhoods. I think that keeps a lot of women out, Richards said.

Back at the start of the recession, Richards was buying what were known as zombie houses  empty, unsold homes that often attracted squatters. Nobody wanted the mother of their children crawling through a window to see what the house looked like, she said.

Like running a frat house

Once in the industry, all three women agreed one of the biggest challenges is dealing with the attitudes of men.

The really good agents in real estate have a huge ego, Richards said. Having a full-service brokerage is like running a frat house.

Many times, the male culture around real estate can be exclusionary to women, Patno said. They say things like, Oh, shes wearing heels at the construction site. She cant handle the gutter talk, she said.

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Richards says the women shes sees that become the most successful are the ones that run with the boys.

Desiree Patno, CEO of Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem, says women who want to invest need to get comfortable doing it their own way. (Courtesy photo/Women in the Housing & Real Estate Ecosystem) (Desire Patno / Courtesy photo)

And past dealing with other investors and agents, the problem persists when hiring contractors, most of whom tend to be men.

A lot of men look down on the women in this business, Freeman said, likening it to the experience many women have with mechanics who talk down to them. Ive had to watch a lot of YouTube video on how to fix things myself.

Richards says a lot of it is based in unfair assumptions. A lot of women dont know how to lay tile, she said. All the men that started here, none of them knew how to lay tile either. But if youre having a conversation with your [contractor], the conversation he has with a guy is different than the conversation he has with women.

Tenants, too, male and female, can be aggressive or try to manipulate their landlords, according to Freeman. Ive grown a thick skin, she said.

A changing environment

Some companies are pushing to close the gender gap. Sundae, an online real estate investing platform, launched an online educational program for women looking to get into the business.

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Before recognizing that the field of women investors is growing, Patno says its important to recognize the ways in which women are already real estate investors. Single women, for example, have outpaced single men in home ownership since 1986, according the U.S. Census Bureau.

She says one of the most common ways women invest is to run businesses out of their homes. So are they not investing or is it that youre not seeing it because theyre turning properties into the investments for themselves? she posited.

She wants women not to follow the pattern laid out by men, but instead to embrace their own ways of thinking. We dont need to imitate the mans investment portfolio, she said. We need to know what we as women and as mothers need to make our lives easier and more successful.

With her properties, Freeman likes to cater to low-income residents. As a nurse, Im very nurturing, she said.

Freeman also encourages women who are interested to join local groups for women, and to mentor in the community, which she has started doing. We want to empower each other as were trying to grow, she said. Im always willing to help other women who want to get into this.

Patno says that motherly instinct is one of the reasons women can be vital to the industry. Real estate is not just about the brick and mortar, she said. Its about the concept, about the experience of a development that women can shape.

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But Richards resents the idea that, as a woman, she has to bring some special skill to the table.

Women have nothing extra to offer, she said. Were just as capable, but theres nothing extra.

For her, its a simple question of fairness.

Theres no reason a man should have financial security over a woman, she said.

Want to reach out? Email tfraser@orlandosentinel.com. Follow TIFraserOS on Twitter.
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 16 (ANI): As COVID-19 vaccination began for those aged between 12-14 years, children in the age group who received their first dose on Wednesday expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Everyone who is eligible should get vaccinated. We thank PM Modi. We are all getting vaccinated as a precautionary measure," Tanu said at a COVID vaccination centre for the 12-14 age group here.

Also Read | Delhi: 34-Year-Old Man Arrested For Cheating Two Women on Pretext of Giving Free LPG Cylinder.

Another student Priya, while thanking PM Modi, said vaccination is for the safety of people against COVID-19.

"I request all the children of my age group to get vaccinated. We thank our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This vaccination is for our safety," she added.

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Dr Rajnikant Contractor, Medical Officer in charge of Municipal Urban Health Centre in Chandlodiya, Ahmedabad, said, they are getting a good response from children in the age group.

"All schools were informed. We are getting a good response. Children are excited to get vaccine. This is a good step, we all appreciate this," he said.

India has expanded its COVID-19 vaccination drive with the inclusion of children in the age group of 12-14 years starting on Wednesday while those aged above 60 years are also eligible now for the precaution dose.

The children in the said age group will be administered Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E. It is India's first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the co-morbidity clause for administering precaution doses to those aged 60 years has been removed and all above 60 years of the age can be administered with precaution dose starting today. (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 16 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed reopening of four floors, including ground floor as well as three other floors, of the Masjid premises in Nizamuddin Markaz for offering of prayers on the festival of Shab e-Barat.

The Court on Wednesday allowed the reopening of the Masjid Bangle wali at Markaz premises for Shab-e-Barat after removing the condition of limiting the number of devotees proposed by the SHO Hazrat Nizamuddin Police station.

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Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri allowed to reopen the ground and three other floors of the Masjid after hearing the contentions of the counsels of the applicants. The counsels had opposed the conditions proposed by the SHO for reopening of Masjid including limiting the number of devotees to less than 100 on each floor.

The Court allowed the application modifying the conditions regarding the bar on foreign devotees, CCTV camera, Tablighi activities including others. "Now the matter will be heard on March 31, on the issue of opening for namaz during Ramzan," he said.

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The Court has asked the Delhi Waqf Board and Management Committee to follow the COVID-19 protocol and social distancing and to deploy volunteers with thermal scanner to check the temperature of the visiting devotees. "It is also asked the applicants will arrange the thermal scanners. Besides, it information regarding the conditions for foreigners will be displayed at every gate," he said.

The Court had asked the Delhi Waqf Board and others to file application before SHO police station Hazrat Nizamuddin for opening the Masjid Bangle Wale on Markaz premises. The parties on Wednesday apprised the court that the SHO has proposed certain conditions for the period of opening the Masjid including ensuring the people coming for prayers are fully COVID-19 vaccinated or asymptomatic.

The Counsels for the applicants opposed the conditions proposed by the police saying these are humiliating and not possible for devotees to be fulfilled.

The Bench called the counsel for the central government Rajat Nair to appear physically.

Advocate Rajat Nair submitted that he has no objection on what was allowed in previous order of April 2021. It was allowed to offer namaz at first floor with 50 per cent capacity. This time the number can be increased, he said.

Earlier, he had submitted that the offering of namaz by five people were allowed earlier. This can be done this year also in the religious festival, he added.

The counsel for the applicant/petitioner Delhi Waqf Board placed in record the order of February 26, 2022 issued by DDMA withdrawing all the COVID-19 restrictions.

Advocate Wajeeh Shafiq counsel for the applicant had argued that the Markaz premises should be reopened according to the recent order issued by DDMA. "What DDMA has said about other religious places will govern this place also. It has been lying closed since 2020," he said.

Senior Advocate Rebecca John appearing for Management committee argued that there no reason why there should be a restriction on the opening of the premises.

Petitioner Delhi Waqf Board through advocate Wajeeh Shafiq has sought to reassess the necessity of keeping the Waqf premises, situated at Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin between Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin and police Station Hazrat Nizamuddin, under their locks.

The petition said that the respondents have put the Waqf premises Masjid Bangle Wali, Madarsa Kashif-Ul-Uloom and the attached hostel situated as Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, Delhi under their locks since March 31 2020. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Gariaband (Chhattisgarh) [India], March 16 (ANI): Five people were killed and 17 injured after a tractor-trolley collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on Tuesday, informed the police.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has expressed deep condolences to the bereaved families and announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.

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According to the police, the accident took place near Joba, around 8 kilometres from Gariaband, when the victims, all from Majarkatta, were returning from a function at Mohlai village.

Vishwadeep Yadav, Sub Divisional Magistrate, Gariaband said, "The tractor-trolley collided with a truck while taking a turn. The collision left the tractor-trolley in two parts. The driver had to be removed from the tractor-trolley with the help of JCB machine."

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Yadav further added, "Five people died in the accident and 17 were injured, 14 of whom have been referred to another hospital for further treatment."

The entire staff of the administration including Superintendent of Police (SP) JR Thakur, Additional SP, Additional Collector and SDM reached the spot and arrangements were made for immediate assistance of Rs 2,000 to the families of the injured. (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, March 16: With 2,876 fresh COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 42,998,938, informed the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday.

The total positive cases stands at 0.08 per cent while the active cases dipped to 32,811.

The country's death toll climbed to 5,16,072 with 98 fresh fatalities in the last 24 hours. COVID-19 Vaccination For Children Aged 12-14 Years to Start From Today.

A total of 3,884 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients since the beginning of the pandemic is now at 4,24,50,055.

India's recovery rate stands at 98.72 per cent while the fatality rate stood at 1.20 per cent.

The weekly positivity rate in the country currently stands at 0.44 per cent and the daily positivity rate is reported to be 0.38 per cent.

As per the health ministry, a total of 7,52,818 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative tests to 78,05,06,974 in the country.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive have exceeded 180.60 crore.

(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 16 (PTI) Asserting that India's Covid vaccination drive is science-driven and people-powered, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the country is in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic but people must keep following all precautions.

Modi noted that today is an important day in India's efforts to vaccinate its citizens as now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group were eligible for vaccines and all those above 60 were eligible for precaution doses.

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"I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated," he said in a series of tweets.

Modi asserted that India's vaccination drive, which is the largest in the world, is science-driven.

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Highlighting the journey of India's vaccination drive, Modi said, "We began work to create vaccines in early 2020, to protect our citizens and strengthen our fight against the pandemic."

"The manner in which our scientists, innovators and the private sector rose to the occasion is commendable. In late 2020, I had visited three of our vaccine manufacturers and got firsthand details of their efforts to protect our citizens," he said.

In January 2021, India began its vaccination drive for doctors, healthcare and frontline workers, he noted.

The aim was to ensure those at the forefront of the fight against Covid get proper protection at the earliest, he said.

In March 2021, vaccination was opened to those above 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities, he pointed out. Later, the vaccination opened for all those above 18, he said.

Modi said it should make every Indian proud that the vaccines are free of cost for those who want it.

"Today, India has administered over 180 crore doses, which includes over 9 crore doses in age group of 15-17 and over 2 crore precaution doses. This forms an important protective shield for our citizens against COVID-19," he said in another tweet.

Over the last year, India's vaccination drive has been people-powered, he said.

Unlike other nations where we are witnessing a lot of vaccine hesitancy, people here have not only taken their doses but also urged others to get vaccinated as soon as possible, the prime minister said, adding that this is "heartening to see".

"I would like to appreciate our state governments for their support towards India's vaccination drive. Several states, especially the hill states and those where tourism is important, have achieved near total vaccination coverage and several big states have also done well," he said.

Modi asserted that India's vaccination efforts have made the global fight against COVID-19 stronger.

"In line with India's ethos of caring for the entire planet, we sent vaccines to several nations under the Vaccine Maitri programme. I am glad that India's vaccination efforts have made the global fight against COVID-19 stronger," he said.

He pointed out that India has many Made in India' vaccines, and the government has also granted approval to other vaccines after a due process of evaluation.

"We are in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic. At the same time, we have to keep following all COVID related precautions," Modi said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], March 16 (ANI): An encounter started between the security forces and the terrorists in the Nowgam area of Srinagar in the wee hours of Wednesday, informed the Jammu and Kashmir police.

"Encounter has started in Nowgam area of Srinagar. Police and security forces operation underway," Kashmir Zone Police said in a Tweet.

Also Read | Samsung Galaxy F23 5G Smartphone To Go on Sale Tomorrow at 12 PM Via Flipkart.

Further details are awaited. (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 16 (ANI): Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused Kapil Sibal of deliberately trying to weaken Congress and said that he may be a good lawyer but he is not a mass leader as he is not aware of the ground realities about politics.

Congress G-23 includes Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad among others, who have been raising demand for organization rehaul in the party leadership for the past two years since the defeat in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

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Attacking Sibal, Kharge said, "He has never been to any village, district or state and worked for the Congress party. So he does not know the desire of the Congress workers. Therefore he does not know anything about the party."

He also urged the party's Interim president Sonia Gandhi to take action against the leaders who are not working for the betterment of the party, adding that Sibal is deliberately weakening the party.

Also Read | Bhagwant Mann Takes Oath As Punjab CM Amid Wave of 'Basanti' and Chants of 'Rang De Basanti'.

He further said, "In the wake of poll debacle in five states, Sonia Gandhi has asked resignation from all the state party chiefs in order to facilitate overhaul of the local units. Sibal is scripting unnecessary controversy. CWC has given full power authority to take necessary action against those who are holding the party posts and not working for strengthening the party."(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 16 (ANI): Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh arrived at the Parliament on Wednesday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the formation of the new government in the state.

"I have come to meet the Prime Minister and Home Minister," said Manipur CM N Biren Singh.

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When asked if the formation of the new government in the state will be taken up for discussion, Singh said, "Yes."

The Bharatiya Janata Party won a clear majority in the recently-concluded Assembly elections in Manipur by securing 32 seats in the 60-member House.

Also Read | COVID-19 Vaccination in India: PM Narendra Modi Urges Children in 12-14 Age Group to Get Vaccinated and Above 60 Years to Take Precautionary Jabs.

Biren Singh, who arrived in Delhi on Tuesday, met the BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda.

According to sources, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju will visit Manipur in the coming days for the party legislature meeting. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 16 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Tuesday summoned Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik's son Faraz Malik for questioning in connection with Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case, however, he failed to appear before the agency for the second consecutive time.

According to ED, Faraz will soon be sent a third summon asking him to appear for questioning.

Also Read | Delhi: 34-Year-Old Man Arrested For Cheating Two Women on Pretext of Giving Free LPG Cylinder.

ED wants to question Faraz about the deals and payments regarding Goawala Building in Kurla, Mumbai.

Earlier, ED had summoned Faraz, then Faraz sent his lawyer and asked for a week's time, to submit documents to the investigative agency related to the Dawood Ibrahim money laundering case but the ED denied the request.

Also Read | Mumbai: Police Commissioner Meets BMC, Hawkers' Association To Discuss Encroachment.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday denied any interim relief to Nawab and refused to pass an order for his release from judicial custody.

Malik in his plea has demanded that the FIR against him be cancelled. The plea also calls the Enforcement Directorate against him illegal and wrong.

Malik was arrested on February 23. He is currently in judicial custody. (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, March 16: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday engaged five senior leaders to assess the post-poll situation in five states and suggest organisational changes following its electoral debacle, a day after the state unit chiefs were asked to resign.

Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil has been asked to assess the situation in Goa, Jairam Ramesh in Manipur and Ajay Maken in Punjab, where the Congress lost power to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Congress leader Jitendra Singh will to asses the post-poll situation in Uttar Pradesh and suggest changes, while Avinash Pandey has been asked to do so in Uttarakhand.

"Congress president has appointed leaders to assess the post-poll situation and suggest organisational changes in the states (with inputs) from MLA candidates and important leaders with immediate effect," an official communication said.

The Congress fared poorly in the just-concluded assembly elections by failing to win back any of the BJP-ruled states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur and losing Punjab to the AAP. 'G-23' Leaders Meet at Azad's Residence.

The Congress Working Committee had discussed the reasons for the poll debacle and authorised Sonia Gandhi to initiate necessary changes in these states after the drubbing. Gandhi Tuesday had asked the chiefs of its Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur units to submit their resignations.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Olena Blagodar and David Natlia, owners of Lacomka Bakery, a grocery store, deli, bakery and cafe that sells Eastern bloc foods from Poland, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and more in Winter Park. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

The golubtsi at Lacomka bakery is meticulously made by co-owner Olena Blagodar  petite and packed with perfectly seasoned meat. Each delicate roll of stuffed cabbage, a dish common in virtually every Eastern bloc nation, is two bites worth of solid home cooking that instantly evokes the kitchen of my Grandma Minnie, who never plated so artfully, but certainly with just as much love.

Thats my wife, says David Natlia of Blagodars special touch with the dish. Shes here, 9 a.m. every morning and rolls the cabbage and cooks everything and finishes at 4 p.m. sometimes. Everything here is homemade.

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Golubtsi (stuffed cabbage) is handmade daily by co-owner Olena Blagodar, who hails from Ukraine. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)

Blagodar hails from Ukraine. Grandma Minnie did not  not at the time, anyway. The Austro-Hungarian town my grandmother left at age 16 for Ellis Island is now Chernivtsi  a city in southern Ukraine. She later settled in Brooklyn, which is where Natlia, a Georgian native, met Blagodar.

In New York, it is different than here, Natlia explains. There are communities. A lot of population together. There are not that many people from there in Orlando and it is all spread out.

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Many, though, have found a home at the couples Winter Park store, a combination bakery-grocery-deli-cafe thats been around for about 20 years. Natlia and Blagodar bought it from its original owner in 2020, something she predicted the first time the couple came in.

Sardines at Lacomka Bakery. Products in the grocery come from all over Eastern Europe. Most of the bakery fare is made in-house. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

We were in Orlando visiting family at the time, Natlia explains. His sister, 16 years a Central Floridian, lives in Avalon Park. We came to the store to shop and started talking to the lady. The store wasnt for sale yet, but she was thinking about it. And she told us, I know you are going to buy it.

Natlia spent 26 years working as a dispatcher for a Brooklyn transportation company. I can only imagine the great loss felt by those at the other end of the radio when this cheery chap, who peppers darling into every third sentence, chose to pack up for family and warmer climes in Central Florida.

He and Blagodar werent quite ready when they returned home from that trip, but she caught us at the right time. It stuck in our minds. Theyd need new jobs when they moved, after all.

On a return visit, they stalked the shop. Though unimpressed at the number of customers they saw coming in, they were undaunted. We knew we could do better, he tells me.

And so, in October of 2020, they took the plunge, keeping the name to simplify things, but expanding the offerings across the board. Lacomka sells Russian products, yes, but we are not a Russian store.

Indeed, merch here comes from all over Eastern Europe:  Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Belarus, Poland, Serbia  We have about 30% Russian products, 30% Ukrainian and the rest falls all around.

People come here from Tampa and Daytona, he tells me, once a month trips to stock up on products they cant find in other shops.

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I grew up eating red borscht, but had never tried the green variety, a wonderfully homey chicken soup rich with mellow sorrel and hunks of egg and potato. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)

I go from shelf to shelf, grabbing up goodies  smoked sardines in oil from Ukraine, chocolate truffles from Russia  then to the deli counter. Three cake slices (chocolate, sour cream, honey) and a half-pound of beet salad later  plus two Ukrainian beers, Im headed for check out. The next day, Im back to hit the cafe.

Customers flit in and out. Natlia and Blagodar know most quite well. The store is busy now, but thats not by accident.

To make people know you, you have to work, says Natlia. The grocery business is hard. You have to be ready to move every minute, every second, every day. Now, I know what it is. I understand. But I am happy.

Matryoshka, or nesting dolls. The shop is mostly grocery items, but there are some standout pieces reflective of eastern European culture, as well. (Willie J. Allen Jr./Orlando Sentinel)

After a year plus of building the business, he estimates 60 percent of the grocery customers are American. In the cafe, its closer 90.

Many people come here to try this food for the first time, he says. Friends have told them about Lacomka to come try. Or they have visiting friends from another country who bring them. Every time they come back they have something different. Some Google us and come.

Lacomkas Google ratings are notably high, though they had to make some adjustments a couple of weeks back. When Russia invaded Ukraine, a small group of people began leaving one-star reviews, making disparaging remarks. Google admins were able to remove the false entries.

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Lacomka serves housemade delicacies from throughout Eastern Europe. This plate, with Georgian khachapuri (the flaky, cheese-filled pastry) and Ukrainian zrazi (a knish-like dish of fried mashed potato filled with seasoned meat) reps the owners' backgrounds. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)

There have been phone calls, too, from a blocked number, says Natlia. Get out of the country. Close your business. Go back to Russia, that sort of thing. He sighs and shrugs. What am I going to say? I just hang up.

Journalists, too, have come knocking for opinions. (They see the store has Russia in the name. They think I am Russian.) But Natlia prefers to avoid politics and run his business, which he says has been otherwise unaffected by the conflict overseas.

Blagodar is video chatting with friends and family in Ukraine nearly every day, he says. She loves to see their faces, to talk and know they are OK.

Natlia is consummate host, welcoming guests as I sip the best coffee Ive had outside my kitchen in ages, waiting in the small cafe for my food.

Like most soup dumplings, what Georgian khinkali lack in color they more than make up for in flavor. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)

Two men sit adjacent, a regular whos brought in a friend to try the food. They coo over the chicken cutlet and creamy Hungarian paprikash. A young woman, alone in the next booth, enjoys green borscht as she reads the paper. All three are Americans, though its nice to hear different languages amid the tight aisles of the grocery. It feels very much like home to me.

So, too, does the Georgian khinkali  a toothy, hearty soup dumpling you can enjoy here or bring home, frozen, to boil up yourself. Hold them by the stem, bite a hole in the thick noodle, slurp out the broth and finish off the dumpling  a nicely spiced ball of lamb, beef and pork.

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Eating khinkali is a hands-on experience. (Amy Drew Thompson / Orlando Sentinel)

This is Georgias most famous food, alongside the cheesy pastry known as khachapuri. And if you call ahead, the Lacomka team  kitchen staff includes one woman from Kyrgyzstan and another from Georgia  will make you the grand Imeruli version of this flaky delight, a massive cheese-stuffed creation, hot from the oven and topped with runny eggs.

Natlia greets more customers as we talk. He knows them all. They stand near the counter, catching up. Orlando may lack the concentrated neighborhoods of New York City, but in Lacomka, Natlia and Blagodar have created their own little community a little block for folks from the bloc.

More info: 2050 S.R. 436 in Winter Park; 407-677-1101; lacomkaorlando.com

[ Check out the 2022 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Award winners ]

Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Lets Eat, Orlando Facebook group or follow @fun.things.orlando on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
New Delhi [India], March 16 (ANI): Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with the MPs of Punjab at the party's office in the national capital on Wednesday.

The meeting comes hours after, Navjot Singh Sidhu resigned from the post of Punjab Congress chief.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: 20-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death on Suspicion of Theft in Bhiwandi.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought the resignations of state party chiefs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resignations in order to facilitate the reorganization of the Pradesh Congress Committees.

Congress high command's move comes after Congress Working Committee's meeting on Sunday.

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The meeting was held after the party's crushing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in five states.

The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. (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 16 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin extended greetings to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann, who took oath as Punjab Chief Minister on Wednesday.

"My hearty wishes to Thiru. Bhagwant Mann, who is swearing in as Chief Minister of Punjab today. Tamil Nadu & Punjab share a long history of being vocal about linguistic rights & rights of the state in the Indian Union. Wishing the new government in Punjab, a successful tenure," Stalin tweeted.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: 20-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death on Suspicion of Theft in Bhiwandi.

The ceremony took place at Khatkar Kalan, Bhagat Singh's ancestral village, in the presence of the party convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

The AAP registered a landslide victory in recently concluded Punjab Assembly polls, winning 92 seats, pushing most of its rivals to the margins. Congress won 18 seats in the 117-member Assembly.

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Mann, who was contesting from Dhuri Assembly constituency in Sangrur district, won by a margin of 58,206 votes over Congress' Dalvir Singh Goldy. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 16 (ANI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called the meeting of Muslim organisations to discuss the issues related to Wakf board appointments.

The meeting will be held in Thiruvananthapuram on April 20.

Also Read | Mumbai Shocker: 20-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death on Suspicion of Theft in Bhiwandi.

Earlier the state government had decided to hand over the appointments of Wakf board to PSC but various Muslim organisations have raised their concern.

Following this, the Chief Minister assured Muslim organisations that the government will discuss it with them later and till that the status quo will be maintained. (ANI)

Also Read | Apple App Store in Russia Loses Nearly 6,982 Apps Since Ukraine Invasion: Report.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Geneva [Switzerland], March 16 (ANI): A Europe based Kashmiri activist group held a demonstration at the 'Broken Chair' monument in Geneva here on Tuesday against Pakistan's illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.

The United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) held the demonstration attended by about 40 people. The main agenda of the protest was to condemn Pakistan's forcible occupation of Kashmir and denial of basic rights.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

"We are here today to protest against serious human rights violations in Pakistan and its occupied Kashmir. We are here to ask the international community and the United Nations (UN) to intervene and to provide relief to the people who are victims of the (Pakistani) state policies," a protestor said while addressing the gathering.

"Pakistan has no locus-standi on its occupied Kashmir. It has illegally occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan," he added.

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The group leaders also called for the exit of Pakistan from Kashmir, while highlighting human rights violations against ethnic minorities in the country.

"There are thousands of people who have been forcefully disappeared from different parts of Pakistan, especially from Sindh, Balochistan, (Khyber) Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan occupied Kashmir," the protestor said.

The protests against Pakistan's occupation comes at a time when the country faces heavy internal turmoil, while its sponsorship of terrorism in India's Kashmir provides ever-diminishing returns.

Earlier this month, citizens in Srinagar held a sit-in protest against the continued terror attacks and disturbances in the state. The protests came following a grenade attack in the city that left two people including a 19-year-old student dead.

The protestors raised slogans holding placards reading "Akhar Kab Tak?" (For How Long We Must Suffer?) The echo of "Save Youth, Save Kashmir" reverberated in the capital. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kabul [Afghanistan], March 16 (ANI): Dozens of women protesters held anti-Taliban demonstrations in Afghanistan on Monday as they distanced themselves from prominent women's rights activist Fatima Gailani, stating that she does not represent them.

Fatima Gailani is the daughter of the late Ahmed Gailani, leader of one of the mujahideen resistance groups that fought the Soviet invasion in 1979. Fatima Gailani is also a member of the negotiating team for women's rights in Afghanistan.

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"Fatima Gailani is not our representative, do not recognize the Taliban," one of the female protesters was quoted as saying by Aamaj News.

Since seizing power in August year, the Taliban have rolled back women's rights in virtually every area, including crushing women's freedom of movement.

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Media reports say the vast majority of girls' secondary schools are closed. "Universities recently reopened, with new gender segregation rules. But many women are unable to return, in part because the career they studied for is off limits now as the Taliban banned women from most jobs," the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a press statement.

With the new rules in place, women and girls are blocked from accessing health care as some healthcare facilities require them to bring a mahram, the rights group said.

This protest came a few days after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last week underlined the need to empower women in Afghanistan, saying that they are "not passive bystanders" and should contribute to the future of their country.

Delivering a statement on Women's Rights in Afghanistan, Bachelet said women of this country are often portrayed in the international fora and media as victims. "In fact, Afghan women have - in the face of war, extreme poverty and unspeakable violence and discrimination - been working tirelessly to protect and provide for their families and communities," she said.

The UN rights chief stated how Afghan women have been attacked for speaking up and excluded from positions of power and decision-making. "They are not passive bystanders," Bachelet said.

For this Afghanistan to find peace and progress, Bachelet argued that Afghan women should be active agents for change and be given the space to lead peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development processes. (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 [US], March 16 (ANI): US President Joe Biden will travel to Belgium to attend an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 along with participating in a European Council Summit, a White House statement informed on Tuesday.

"President Biden will join an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defence efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO Allies," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

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"President Biden will also join a scheduled European Council Summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence, and address other challenges related to the conflict," she further said.

"In these testing times, our transatlantic action is more important than ever. @POTUS [Biden] will join EU leaders Thursday 24 March to discuss support for #Ukraine and its people, strengthening transatlantic cooperation in responding to Russia's aggression against Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa [Volodymyr Zelenskyy]," European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet.

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However, whether President Biden would travel to Poland to meet his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy could not be confirmed with Press Secretary Psaki saying that "We are still working through the final details of President Biden's trip," Sputnik reported.

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg informed on Tuesday that he is convening an extraordinary summit of the alliance on March 24 over the situation in Ukraine.

"I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at #NATO HQ. We will address #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence & defence. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together," Stoltenberg tweeted.

The development comes as the fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine resumed in Belarus.

"Consultations on the main negotiation platform renewed. General regulation matters, ceasefire, withdrawal of troops from the territory of the country," Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's aide tweeted.

Meanwhile, Russia has imposed sanctions against US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US officials. Russia is also imposing sanctions against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and over 300 lawmakers. Moscow also imposed sanctions against Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly and Defense Minister Anita Anand.

As Russian troops continued their advance towards Kyiv, the city imposed a new curfew from 8 pm (Local Time) on March 15 until 7 am on March 17. Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that the residents are only allowed to go outside to head to the bomb shelters. (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, Mar 16 (AP) Historically Black colleges and universities, many of which recently received bomb threats, are eligible for grant funding under a US Education Department program designed to help improve campus security, Vice President Kamala Harris was set to announce on Wednesday.

A day after the White House said her husband had tested positive for COVID-19, Harris was set to appear with Attorney General Merrick Garland, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary John Tien to discuss steps to improve public safety across the United States.

Also Read | Pakistan Lifts All COVID-19-Related Restrictions.

Harris was expected to announce that historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs, are now eligible for grant funding under the Project School Emergency Response to Violence program at the Education Department to improve campus security and provide mental health resources.

The FBI has been investigating bomb threats against at least 17 of these schools in late January and February, which was Black History Month. No devices were found at the schools that were threatened.

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The White House said Harris will make clear that everyone should be able to learn, work, worship and gather without fear.

She will discuss spikes in instances of violence and hate against Jewish, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and LGBTQ communities, the White House said in previewing the event.

Last March, Harris and President Joe Biden visited Atlanta after the fatal shootings of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at area spas. Wednesday is the anniversary of those killings.

After husband Doug Emhoff's positive COVID-19 result was announced on Tuesday, Harris tweeted that he was doing fine and that she had tested negative and would continue to be tested. She later skipped a previously scheduled Tuesday evening appearance with Biden. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Beijing [China], March 16 (ANI): China has emerged as a key financial player in Iraq amid its policy of fostering deeper economic ties with the Middle East in recent years.

Valentin Popescu, writing in a think tank, Policy Research Group (POREG) said that China is strategically leveraging Iraqi reconstruction efforts by building energy and connectivity infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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It is also constructing schools and opening language training centres in Iraqi Universities. With the end of the US combat mission in Iraq, Beijing is pushing its energy projects with Baghdad under the BRI with overall investment to the tune of USD 10.5 billion, making Iraq the third most important partner of Chinese energy engagement.

Chinese companies, Power Corporation of China and Sinotech, are currently finalizing the sub-contracting to build 1000 schools in Iraq under the 'oil for reconstruction' programme signed with the Iraqi government in December 2021, reported POREG.

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Beijing is also promoting the Chinese language and culture in Iraq. The Chinese Language Department in Salahaddin University, Erbil, offers language training and education to Iraqi students and also conducts events that create a positive image of China.

These efforts are apparently part of Beijing's policy of fostering deeper economic ties with Middle East countries by taking advantage of a growing perception among Arab leaders that the US is disengaging from the region, said Popescu.

It is also attributed to Beijing's growing appetite for Middle Eastern energy and increasing trade with the Gulf States. Iraq is already the third-biggest exporter of oil to China. Baghdad appears more than willing to receive Chinese investment to help upgrade war-ravaged and decaying infrastructure.

Beijing views Iraq as a less controversial investment destination in the region with a great deal of untapped potential and easy access. For China, the Iraqi government and people are easier to negotiate and to do business as the country is trying hard to rebuild infrastructure and push up economic growth. China also sees Iraq as a fertile base for its expansion plan in the Middle East, said Popescu. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Beijing [China], March 16 (ANI): After the Russian aviation sector was hit by crippling Western sanctions for war against Ukraine, China refused to supply Russia with aircraft parts.

For the supply of aeroplane parts, Russia now plans to seek assistance from India, Turkey and other countries, reported Global Defense Corp.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

Russia's air transport agency Rosaviatsiya was considering various alternatives for aircraft parts supply after China refused to supply aircraft parts amid sanctions, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Rosaviatsia official Valery Kudinov was quoted by Interfax as saying, "We have tasked airlines with looking for a possible supplier of parts on their own. As far as I know, there is information that a request has been made to China, but China has refused to do it.

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"We will be looking (for opportunities) in other countries. Perhaps, via our partners, Turkey, or via India. Every company will reach an agreement on its own while we (Rosaviatsiya) will merely help legalise these parts."

Most of the aircraft used by Russian airlines are manufactured by Boeing and Airbus. Earlier this month, Boeing and Airbus announced that they will stop aircraft spare parts supply to Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Apart from these two, many other companies in the aviation sector have cut off their ties with the country, reported Global Defense Corp.

Recently, Russia's foreign ministry expressed its concerns over the safety of Russian passenger carriers. Earlier this week, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot temporarily suspended all its international flight services, excluding neighbouring Belarus.

Meanwhile, in retaliation to the mounting sanctions imposed on it by the West, Russia has now banned exports of aircraft and drones, among others, reported TASS. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu [Nepal], March 16 (ANI): Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is set to visit Nepal this month to push for the implementation of China's infrastructure development strategy Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

During his visit, Wang Yi will look to sign at least two projects, The Kathmandu Post reported.

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"We have already received the text of the project implementation plan of the BRI from China," a senior Nepali government official told the Post, adding, "During the visit, both sides are expected to agree on the text of the project implementation plan, which will pave the way for the execution of BRI projects."

Nepal signed the BRI agreement back in 2017. Back then it was regarded as a watershed moment in Nepal and China bilateral ties. However, no project took off over concerns regarding the Chinese infrastructure programme.

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Last December, internal consultations were held with regard to BRI projects in Nepal during which it was recommended that both countries should set up a joint mechanism for the selection of projects.

According to a Nepali government official, the recommendations also include avoiding commercial loans for the implementation of BRI projects because "they are too expensive."

"In our recommendation, we have clearly stated that we should seek preferably a grant from China or concessional loans at less than 2 per cent annual interest to fund the projects under the BRI. Our economy is too small to be able to afford commercial loans, so we should avoid such loans," a senior Nepali Finance Ministry official told the Post.

Since its launch in 2013, the BRI has been well received across the globe due to its easy loan parameters. However, these concessions facilitated economic and military expansion for the Chinese, allowing them to build infrastructure, establish military bases in BRI- recipient countries.

Several of these sovereign loans are in fact extended to developing countries and are negotiated in secret. A few of these loans use resources as collateral. This dept trap diplomacy, the lack of transparency and unreasonable loan conditions have made these schemes extremely unpopular and have earned the BRI a lot of bad press.

BRI has left scores of lower- and middle-income countries (LMIC) saddled with "hidden debts" totalling USD 385 billion, according to new research released last September.

The findings are part of a report published by AidData, an international development research lab based at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. According to this report, China has used debt rather than aid to establish a dominant position in the international development finance market.

The report has analyzed more than 13,000 aid and debt-financed projects worth more than USD 843 billion across 165 countries. According to AidData, over 40 LMIC now have levels of debt exposure to China higher than 10 per cent of their national gross domestic product. (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  In 2020, a U.S. naval engineer and his wife made the fateful decision to try to sell some of Americas most closely guarded military secrets, the technology behind the nuclear reactors that power the U.S. submarine fleet.

Then the couple faced another important choice: To which foreign government should they try to peddle the stolen secrets?

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The engineer appeared to believe that soliciting U.S. adversaries like Russia or China was, morally, a bridge too far, according to text messages released in court. Instead, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe thought of a country that was rich enough to buy the secrets, not hostile to the United States and, most importantly, increasingly eager to acquire the very technology they were selling: Brazil.

The identity of the nation approached by the Toebbes has until now remained shielded by federal prosecutors and other government officials. But, according to a senior Brazilian official and other people briefed on the investigation, Jonathan Toebbe approached Brazil nearly two years ago with an offer of thousands of pages of classified documents about nuclear reactors that he had stolen from the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington over the course of several years.

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The plan backfired almost as soon as it began. After Jonathan Toebbe sent a letter offering the secrets to Brazils military intelligence agency in April 2020, Brazilian officials handed the letter over to the FBI legal attache in the country.

In undated booking photos provided by West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, Jonathan Toebbe, right, and his wife, Diana Toebbe. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, who pleaded guilty last month in an espionage case, tried to sell nuclear secrets to Brazil. (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority via The New York Times)

Then, beginning in December 2020, an FBI undercover agent posed as a Brazilian official to win Jonathan Toebbes trust and persuade him to deposit documents in a location chosen by investigators. Jonathan Toebbe eventually agreed to provide documents and offered technical assistance to Brazils nuclear submarine program, using classified information he had learned from years working for the U.S. Navy.

Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, who lived in Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested in October and pleaded guilty to espionage charges last month. He faces up to 17 1/2 years in prison; she faces up to three.

Brazil has continued to struggle with its submarine nuclear reactor program and has approached Russia to seek a partnership on the nuclear reactor design, said a Russian military official who, like all the people interviewed for this article, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the classified material and delicate diplomacy involved.

Last month, just a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil even brought up the technology during a trip to Moscow.

Bolsonaro has tried to maintain a positive relationship with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, even amid his aggressions toward Ukraine. Analysts in Brazil believe that Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is in part hoping to keep the door open for a partnership on the nuclear reactor technology.

The Brazilian presidents trip to Russia drew criticism from the Biden administration. Asked about Brazils efforts to acquire Russian nuclear reactor technology, a senior administration official said Tuesday that seeking to acquire Russian military technology is a bad bet for any country.

In some respects, Brazil was an odd choice for the Toebbes. While Brazil and the United States have a limited military relationship, Jonathan Toebbes outreach came during a period of some of the closest Brazil-U.S. relations in decades, as Bolsonaro and then-President Donald Trump strengthened the countries alliance.

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While the U.S. government initially wanted to release the name of the country the Toebbes had tried to sell the secrets to, Brazilian officials insisted their cooperation not be publicly disclosed, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The White House, Justice Department and FBI declined to comment. U.S. officials have repeatedly said the couple had not tried to sell the secrets to the United States chief adversaries, nor to its closest NATO allies, like France.

In encrypted messages from 2019 recovered by the FBI, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe discussed what appear to be different plans to sell the secrets. One plan, Jonathan Toebbe wrote, was wrong to even consider. Another plan, presumably to sell to a friendlier country, was also questionable for Jonathan Toebbe, but his wife pushed for it.

Its not morally defensible either, Jonathan Toebbe wrote, according to a transcript of the court proceedings. We convinced ourselves it was fine, but it really isnt either, is it?

Diana Toebbe responded: I have no problems at all with it. I feel no loyalty to abstractions.

Jonathan Toebbes public defender has said government rules prevent him from answering questions. A lawyer for Diana Toebbe declined to discuss the case before her sentencing, set for August. She has repeatedly said in court that the government has presented selected messages out of context.

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There were only a few countries that were not overtly hostile to the United States and could make use of the technology and designs Jonathan Toebbe had to sell. Only a country able to build a nuclear reactor and ready to invest billions in a nuclear submarine fleet would be willing to funnel him the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency that he was seeking.

Brazil began work on developing nuclear submarines in 1978, originally motivated by its rivalry with Argentina. In 2008, under the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil reinvested in an effort to create a nuclear submarine, to better patrol and protect its exclusive economic zone in the Atlantic Ocean, a source of fossil fuels and other resources.

The country aims to launch its first nuclear-powered submarine in 2029, part of a $7.2 billion submarine program. Brazil is building four more traditional submarines with the help of France, but it has been attempting to develop a fifth submarine powered by a nuclear reactor on its own  a project it has struggled with.

As a result, Jonathan Toebbes expertise, on how to make nuclear reactors even quieter and harder to detect, as well as other design elements of Virginia-class submarines, would have been of enormous value to Brazil.

While the Brazilian Embassy declined to comment, a senior Brazilian official said the country had cooperated with U.S. investigators because of the two nations partnership and friendly relations between Brazils intelligence service and the CIA

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Had Brazil gotten caught seeking to purchase U.S. secrets, the relations between the two countries, including intelligence sharing, could have been thrown in jeopardy.

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Instead, Brazilian officials worked with the FBI after Jonathan Toebbe was initially hesitant to deposit the classified information at a prearranged secret location, called a dead drop.

I am concerned that using a dead drop location your friend prepares makes me very vulnerable, Jonathan Toebbe wrote, according to court records. For now, I must consider the possibility that you are not the person I hope you are.

To trick Jonathan Toebbe into believing he was speaking with a Brazilian official, the undercover agent told him to look for a signal placed in a window in a Brazilian government building in Washington over Memorial Day weekend last year. Such an operation could only have been carried out with the cooperation of Brazilian officials in Washington.

After seeing the sign, Jonathan Toebbe agreed to drop a sample of the nuclear secrets he stole from the Navy hidden in a peanut butter sandwich in West Virginia, setting off a chain of events culminating in the October arrest of the couple.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

c.2021 The New York Times Company
By Reena Bhardwaj

Washington [US], March 16 (ANI): The United States on Tuesday (local time) said India would not be violating US sanctions by purchasing discounted Russian oil but added that such a move would put the world's largest democracy on the "wrong side of history".

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Asked about the reports of India considering a Russian offer to buy crude oil and other commodities at discount prices a week after the US banned all Russian energy imports, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Joe Biden administration's message would be for countries to abide by US sanctions.

"I don't believe this would be violating that, but also think about where you want to stand," Psaki said. "When the history books are written at this moment in time, support for Russia - the Russian leadership - is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact".

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India has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from voting at the United Nations calling out Russia's aggression. US officials have said in recent weeks they would like India to distance itself from Russia as much as possible, while also recognizing its heavy reliance on Moscow for everything from arms and ammunition to missiles and fighter jets.

Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri in a phone call that the country is keen to increase its oil and petroleum product exports to India along with Indian investments in the Russian oil sector, according to a statement issued by Moscow.

A Russian government release last week had said that Russia's oil and petroleum product exports to India have approached USD 1 billion, and there are clear opportunities to increase this figure.

"We expect to continue cooperating in the development of peaceful nuclear power, in particular, in building the nuclear power units at Kudankulam," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was quoted as saying in the statement following a phone conversation with Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

According to some media reports on Monday, India's largest refiner, Indian Oil Corp, purchased 3 million barrels of Russian crude oil, the first such transaction since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.

India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer and one of the few countries not to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, currently imports 80 per cent of its oil, but only about 2 per cent to 3 per cent of those purchases come from Russia. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jakarta [Indonesia], March 16 (ANI): In an effort to raise awareness in Indonesia about China's human rights violations in Xinjiang and expose why some developing countries indebted to China turn a blind eye towards it, the Center for South-East Asian Studies (CSEAS) organized an international webinar titled "China's Atrocities On Uyghur Muslims: Why Do Many Countries Remain Silent?" in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Prominent leaders at the webinar noted that China is trying to eliminate the Uyghur's culture from the country. The webinar was moderated by Dr Asep Setiawan from Muhammdiyah University Jakarta. It featured very prominent speakers, including Omer Kanat (executive director of Uyghur Human Rights Project, Washington), Professor James Leibold (from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia), Dinna Prapto Raharjo (from Binus University, Jakarta) and Dr Ayjaz Wani (Research Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai, India).

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Omer Kanat while addressing the webinar said, "Lack of response from the Muslim world has been demoralizing for the Uyghurs. The leadership of many Muslim-majority countries have been silent, while others vocally approved the Chinese government's actions".

"Economically, indebted to China and toeing China's strategy of political Islam, some Muslim countries in South Asia like Pakistan and Bangladesh have turned a blind eye to the atrocities on Muslims in Xinjiang," noted Dr. Ayjaz Wani during the webinar.

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Moreover, Prof. James Leibold pointed out that people are not aware of the human rights situation in Xinjiang as less information is present. "There is a general, a genuine knowledge gap. There is simply less information available about what is happening in Xinjiang and to the Uyghur people in the media and social media landscape of the Muslim world," he said.

Dr Dinna Prapto Rharjo hoped that solidarity sentiment could be generated for the repressed Uyghurs. "Hopefully, we can build the feeling of solidarity (for Uyghurs) again all of us," said Rharjo.

Notably, the US State Department and parliaments of Canada and the Netherlands have determined that China's conduct constitutes genocide under international law. Many countries have imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and companies as a result.

But many countries from Asia, Africa and Latin American countries remained silent about atrocities in Xinjiang. Many Muslim-majority countries strongly supported China's repressive actions on Uyghurs.

Communist leaders generally do not like religion. Likewise, communist China does not like its largest province-level division, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), and its people, who are mostly Uyghur Muslims.

Xinjiang, which has vast natural resources, is a landlocked autonomous region with some 25 million people. In area-wise, Xinjiang is four times bigger than Germany. Locals call Xinjiang East Turkistan and it was an independent country, which was occupied by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1949.

The people of East Turkistan are called Uyghurs, or Uighurs, and are ethnically and culturally Turkic people. They practice a moderate form of Islam. The Xinjiang region has been under China's repressive rule for many years, with deliberate policies opposing centuries-old traditions, culture, and religion. Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2013, Chinese atrocities on Uyghur Muslims have increased sharply.

China has imposed a ban on growing a long beard and wearing an Islamic dress. Owning a holy Quran or a prayer mat will land you in jail in Xinjiang. Even parents cannot give Islamic names to their own children. There is a strict surveillance system everywhere.

According to the Human Rights Watch 2021 report, total arrests in the Xinjiang region accounted for about 21 per cent of all arrests in China in 2017. But the fact is the population of the Xinjiang region constitute only 1.5 per cent of China's 1.44 billion people.

Two-thirds of mosques were destroyed by authorities. Since 2017, around 16,000 mosques were either partially or fully demolished in Xinjiang. More than one million Uyghurs were put in internment camps in Xinjiang. It is an open jail.

Last year, an unofficial Uyghur Tribunal in Britain ruled that China has committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. It cited birth control and sterilisation measures allegedly carried out by the Chinese state against Uyghur as the primary reason for its conclusion. However, China denies all accusations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tehran [Iran], March 16 (ANI): Iran claimed that it had thwarted a plot by an Israeli-recruited ring to sabotage the country's Fordow nuclear site.

Iranian state television reported on Monday that its security forces have also reportedly made several arrests in the case, reported HAARETZ.

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The Israeli spy agency, Mossad had also recruited a neighbour of a facility technician, who underwent special training to carry out the operation, the report stated.

Iran has accused Israel of carrying out several attacks on facilities linked to its nuclear program and of killing its nuclear scientists over the past years. Israel has neither denied nor confirmed the allegations, reported HAARETZ.

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On Sunday Iran fired as many as 12 missiles toward the US consulate in Iraq's northern city of Erbil, Iraqi security officials said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards released a statement later on Sunday saying they were targeting Israeli "strategic centres" in Erbil, state media reported.

"Any repetition of attacks by Israel will be met with a harsh, decisive and destructive response," the statement added, reported HAARETZ.

Israel killed two Iranian members of the Revolutionary Guards in an airstrike earlier this week in Syria vowing to "make the Zionist regime pay for this crime."

Meanwhile, the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal is in its final stages with State Department spokesman Ned Price saying on Thursday that America was "close to a possible deal -- it's really down to a very small number of outstanding issues." (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Mexico City, Mar 16 (AP) Another journalist was shot to death in Mexico Tuesday, the eighth murdered so far this year in an unprecedented spate of killings that has made Mexico the most dangerous place in the world for the press.

Reporters and photographers have been murdered this year in Mexico at the rate of almost one a week, despite claims from the government that the situation is under control.

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Prosecutors in the western state of Michoacan said reporter Armando Linares was shot to death Tuesday at a home in the town of Zitacuaro. Zitacuaro is one of the closest towns to the monarch butterfly wintering grounds in the mountains west of Mexico City.

The area has been plagued by illegal logging and drug gangs, local governance disputes and deforestation linked to expanding avocado production. Logging has damaged the pine and fir forests where the butterflies spend the winter after migrating from the United States and Canada.

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Linares served as director at the Monitor Michoacan website, which on Tuesday continued to show an article he had written about a cultural festival celebrating monarch butterflies.

There was no immediate information on a possible motive in the killing, but Linares was the second employee at Monitor Michoacan to be killed this year.

Roberto Toledo, a camera operator and video editor for Monitor Michoacan, was shot Jan. 31 as he prepared for an interview in Zitacuaro.

At the time of Toledo's death, Linares told The Associated Press he had received several death threats after enrolling in a government journalist protection program.

Asked who he thought was behind the threats, Linares said they pass themselves off as an armed group, they pass themselves off as a criminal gang. We can't verify whether it is true or not that they are this armed gang.

Criminals in Mexico often claim they are part of a drug cartel in order to instill fear in their victims, whether or not they really are.

We have organized crime, just like in the rest of the country, and Monitor worked on a lot of issues like illegal logging, given that we are near the monarch reserve, Linares said in early February.

We wrote a lot about illegal logging and also a lot of issues like corruption in the municipal government.

Drug cartels in Mexico often make money by protecting illegal logging, or extorting protection payments from avocado growers.

The nightmare continues for the press in Mexico, the press group Reporters Without Borders wrote in its social media accounts.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has reacted angrily to worldwide criticism of the killings.

In February, Lopez Obrador said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was misinformed, after Blinken wrote I join those calling for greater accountability and protections for Mexican journalists."

Lopez Obrador claims the government is investigating all of the killings and suggested Blinken received bad information from other US agencies, mentioning the CIA, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration.

They're tricking him, he said. We don't tolerate the impunity of anyone.

And last week, Lopez Obrador issued an irate response to European Parliament criticism of journalist killings in Mexico, accusing the Europeans of having a colonialist mentality.

The Mexican president criticized EU support for Ukraine, and called European Parliament members sheep.

It is unfortunate that you vote like sheep to join the reactionary and coup-mongering strategy of the corrupt group opposed to the Fourth Transformation, as Lopez Obrador calls his administration, he wrote in an open letter to the parliament.

The EU Parliament approved a resolution last Thursday urging Lopez Obrador to stop his harsh verbal attacks on reporters who criticize him, and ensure their safety.

Press groups say Lopez Obrador's daily criticisms of journalists, whom he calls conservatives and mercenaries, make them more vulnerable to violence.

In February, the Inter American Press Association called on the president to immediately suspend the aggressions and insults, because such attacks from the top of power encourage violence against the press.

The EU resolution calls on the authorities, and in particular the highest ones, to refrain from issuing any communication which could stigmatize human rights defenders, journalists and media workers, exacerbate the atmosphere against them or distort their lines of investigation.

Journalists are often the targets of Mexico's drug cartels, which seek to intimidate and manipulate coverage of their activities and their rivals.

Local politicians and government officials are also frequently linked to murders, according to the government, which has acknowledged that impunity in those killings runs above 90%.

In early March, gunmen killed Juan Carlos Muniz, who covered crime for the online news site Testigo Minero in the state of Zacatecas.

Jorge Camero, the director of an online news site who was until recently a municipal worker in the northern state of Sonora, was killed in late February.

In early February, Heber Lopez, director of the online news site Noticias Web, was shot to death in the southern state of Oaxaca.

Reporter Lourdes Maldonado Lopez was found shot to death inside her car in Tijuana on January 23.

Crime photographer Margarito Martinez was gunned down outside his Tijuana home on January 17.

Reporter Jose Luis Gamboa was killed in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz on January 10. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kyiv, Mar 16 (AP) The mourning began with a pair of caskets, one open, one shut.

Lined in white fabric, they held two of the Ukrainian fighters killed in Russia's invasion. Here, in a gray village under a gray sky near the western border with Poland, they were the first reminder that the war could come this far.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: UN Court Orders Russia to Cease Hostilities in Ukraine.

The men were killed Sunday when Russian missiles struck a military base in nearby Yavoriv, a hub of military cooperation between Ukraine and NATO countries. At least 35 people died in all.

Until then, this part of Ukraine had been spared, a witness only to the exhausting flow of hundreds of thousands of refugees heading for the border.

Also Read | Earthquake in Japan: Quake of Magnitude 7.3 Hits Coast of Fukushima, Tsunami Alert Issued.

Bright billboards urging war readiness had been raised.

On lonely roads between winter's barren fields of sunflowers and corn, villagers erected sandbagged checkpoints, bottles for Molotov cocktails stacked behind them.

Then the missiles came. On Wednesday, three days later, the villagers gathered in Starychi to bury Roman Rak and Mykola Mykytiuk. They were soldiers, men in their late 40s and early 50s.

Loved ones and fellow soldiers, many their age or older, with paunches and fraying hair, were the first to mourn.

They entered a small room in the cold churchyard holding the caskets and made the sign of the cross. A soldier knelt.

Slowly, more villagers arrived. A teenage boy with close-cropped hair, not too far from military age, carried red roses. Men in flat caps gathered on a bend in the road and spoke among themselves. Women, some in headscarves, stood in silence.

The crowd grew to scores of people. At a signal, fellow fighters carried the caskets across the yard and into the wooden church, and a loudspeaker crackled. The service began. The crowd gathered, standing outside the door.

These guys were like angels for us, said a local deacon, Taras Hlova.

They died protecting us. Even he, living seven kilometers from Sunday's attack, was woken up by it. He saw the glow in the sky. His wife, a nurse, spent the next full day treating the wounded.

I thought they'd be crazy to attack so close to NATO countries, he said of Russia. I hope God has mercy on us.

Even a priest at Wednesday's funeral wore military uniform.

The main priest spoke about the war. He recalled the village's ancestors who lived here beginning more than a millennium ago, the people of Kievan Rus, considered the first Slavic state.

They were fighters, he said, and they were brave enough to look in the face of their enemy.

The war we have now is a cruel one, with nothing fair in it, the priest said, the dead soldiers before him. But we won't let anyone seize our lands. God is with us because we are at home.

These are heroes, he said. Our heroes. Ukraine's heroes. The people's heroes. And he echoed a phrase that is now constantly repeated at funerals across Ukraine: Heroes never die.

The caskets were draped with flags. Fighters carried them out. The church bell began to ring. And the villagers, hundreds now, walked the two men to their graves.

Past the empty metal playground. Past the brick homes with lace curtains. Past an old woman standing in her yard, crying, her hands together in prayer. Past a line of residents kneeling along the sidewalk near the shops.

A brass band led the way, the caskets in a drab green military vehicle behind it.

The procession stopped at an empty corner of the graveyard. There was the flash of a golden cross, the thud of dirt, the national anthem. Hands on hearts, the murmur of song. A line of soldiers with rifles fired in salute. More prayer.

And then the digging began in earnest. The crowd left the mounds of earth carefully placed with the men's photos, flowers, candles. The family were the last to leave.

There would be no questions. The son of one of the dead men waved away a request.

It was not a good time for him. It would not be for a while. The son was a fighter, too. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Melbourne, Mar 16 (360info) The geopolitics around nuclear arms control is rapidly becoming more complex, and so too is the technology behind the weaponry.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reignited discussions on the power of nuclear weapon states.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

Thrusting the issue into the spotlight, Russian President Vladimir Putin reminded the world in February 2022 that his country remains one of the most powerful nuclear states with a certain advantage in several cutting-edge weapons".

But a lot has changed since the US and Russia last engaged in nuclear brinkmanship. While the nuclear weapon stockpiles may have reduced since the height of the Cold War, more states than ever possess nuclear weapons and many have modernised their arsenals.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Fox News Videographer Pierre Zakrzewski Killed in Ukraine After Vehicle Struck.

The situation is another challenge to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)  a 1968 pledge by 191 states to not spread nuclear weapons beyond the states that had already tested.

An animated map of the estimated nuclear stockpiles held by nations each year from 1945 to the present day.

Despite being NPT signatories, the world's superpowers have ramped up the capabilities of their nuclear arms: the United States has poured trillions into modernisation, China has expanded its warheads and delivery systems, and Russia has put its upgraded nuclear forces on high alert.

Meanwhile, non-NPT states such as North Korea, India and Pakistan shape regional relations, alongside Israel  a secret nuclear power with a policy of deliberate ambiguity .

The rest of the world is drawing their own lines. Some 86 states, tired of empty disarmament rhetoric from nuclear states, have signed the UN's Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Others are siding with their powerful nuclear allies  Australia's AUKUS pact with the US and UK aims to equip them with nuclear propulsion submarines within the coming decades.

360info is looking into the role of contemporary nuclear weapons and how it is shaping 21st century geopolitics.

REALITY CHECK

The first nuclear test took place in New Mexico in 1945, creating a crater of 300 metres wide. (CTBTO)

Approximately 90 percent of the world's nuclear warheads are owned by the United States and Russia. (Federation of American Scientists)

As of October 2021, there are 441 nuclear power reactors in operation in 30 countries. There remains only nine states with nuclear weapons. (Statista)

BIG IDEAS

Quote attributable to Joelien Pretorius, University of the Western Cape "Using nuclear weapons to deter or compel action is effectively holding humanity at ransom."

"The world has come very close to nuclear war, miscalculation and accidents have happened, and the fact that there has not been a major nuclear disaster since 1945 is basically down to luck'."

"Disarmament seems to be reversing: nuclear weapon states are modernising their arsenals and some are increasing their warheads, renewing the nuclear arms race." (360info.org)

(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, March 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the Finance Minister of Sri Lanka Basil Rajapaksa on Wednesday where Rajapaksa thanked PM Modi for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy.

Rajapaksa briefed the Prime Minister on initiatives being taken by both countries to increase bilateral economic cooperation and conveyed his thanks for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy, wrote the Ministry of External Affairs in its press release.

PM Modi spoke about the central role that Sri Lanka occupies in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and its S.A.G.A.R (Security and Growth for all in the Region) doctrine. He reiterated that India would continue to stand with the friendly people of Sri Lanka. PM Modi to Address Foundation Course Function at LBSNAA.

Finance Minister Rajapaksa noted the deepening of people-to-people relations between both countries, including in the cultural sphere. Prime Minister pointed to the potential for increasing tourist flows, including through the joint promotion of Buddhist and Ramayan tourism circuits.

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla also called on the visiting Rajapaksa and discussed bilateral economic cooperation and opportunities post-pandemic. "Sri Lanka is integral to our Neighbourhood First policy. India will always be a reliable partner for Sri Lanka", said the Ministry of External Affairs.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington [US], March 16 (ANI): The United States is providing over USD 186 million in additional humanitarian assistance to support internally displaced persons and the more than three million refugees affected by Russia's war in Ukraine, a US State Department statement said on Tuesday (local time).

"This will provide further support for humanitarian organizations responding to the crisis and complement the generosity of the neighbouring countries that are welcoming and supporting refugees," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the statement.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

The statement called for an immediate cessation of hostilities so as to facilitate humanitarian efforts in war-torn Ukraine. The statement further said that humanitarian aid delivery must be allowed to continue without interference and humanitarian workers must have safe passage to deliver aid and assistance to those in need.

The statement further commended the hospitality of the neighbouring countries of Ukraine which have accepted refugees from the conflict-ridden country.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Fox News Videographer Pierre Zakrzewski Killed in Ukraine After Vehicle Struck.

"The United States commends the hospitality of the neighbouring countries that are hosting those fleeing Ukraine. As with any refugee situation, we call on the international community to respond to the needs of those seeking protection in a way that is consistent with the principle of non-refoulement and states' respective obligations under international law."

The latest tranche of assistance brings the total amount of humanitarian aid from the US to Ukraine to nearly USD 293 million since the beginning of the conflict. In addition, the US has also been providing significant assistance to the Ukrainian government to buy defence equipment in its war effort against Russia.

Earlier on Tuesday, Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2022, which funds the federal government through September 30, 2022, and provides USD 13.6 billion in humanitarian, economic and defence assistance for Ukraine, Sputnik reported.

"We will make sure Ukraine has weapons to defend against the invading Russian force. We will send money and food and aid to save Ukrainian lives. We will welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms," US President had announced on Monday, taking to Twitter.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Blinken held a phone call with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and reiterated Washington's commitment to providing humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine and discussed ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop the conflict with Russia, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Tuesday.

"We welcome the contributions of other donors toward this crisis response and urge still others to generously support the immediate humanitarian needs in Ukraine and the region," the statement said. (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, Mar 16 (AP) The US Senate unanimously approved a resolution seeking investigations of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his regime for war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine.

The bipartisan measure from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says the Senate strongly condemns the "violence, war crimes. crimes against humanity being carried out Russian military forces under Putin's direction. It encourages international criminal courts to investigate Putin, his security council and military leaders for possible war crimes.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

"These atrocities deserve to be investigated for war crimes," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The measure was approved swiftly and without dissent late Tuesday as lawmakers in Congress continue to muscle a bipartisan show of force against the Russian war in Ukraine.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Fox News Videographer Pierre Zakrzewski Killed in Ukraine After Vehicle Struck.

First introduced almost two weeks ago, the Senate resolution would not carry the force of law, but is another example of Congress providing the Biden administration political support to take a tough line against Putin's aggression.

Last week, US Vice President Kamala Harris embraced calls for an international war crimes investigation of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, citing the atrocities of bombing civilians, including a maternity hospital.

The resolution approved by the Senate has been embraced by senators from both parties, Republicans and Democrats.

It says the Senate condemns Putin, the Russian Federation, the Russian Security Council, members of the Russian military and others of committing flagrant acts of aggression and other atrocities that rise to the level of war crimes.

The resolution calls for the US and others to seek investigations of Putin and his regime at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice for potential war crimes. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Atlanta, Mar 19 (AP) President Joe Biden on Wednesday remembered the victims of shootings at three massage businesses in Georgia a year earlier and decried racism, misogyny and gun violence.

Six women of Asian descent were among the eight people killed on March 16, 2021.

Also Read | Earthquake in Japan: Quake of Magnitude 7.3 Hits Coast of Fukushima, Tsunami Alert Issued.

Though prosecutors disagree about whether the shootings were motivated by racial animus, the slayings contributed to fear and anger among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders already experiencing a rise in hostility and motivated many people to join the fight against it.

Asian American organisations in cities across the country planned rallies Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the shootings and to promote awareness about ongoing violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Also Read | Miss World 2021 Final Date, Time & Live Streaming Online: Watch Live Telecast of Miss India World Manasa Varanasi Participating at 70th Miss World Beauty Pageant!.

Robert Aaron Long, then 21, shot and killed four people  Xiaojie Emily Tan, 49; Daoyou Feng, 44; Delaina Yaun, 33; and Paul Michels, 54  and seriously injured a fifth person at Youngs Asian Massage in Cherokee County.

Authorities say he then drove about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south to Atlanta, where he killed three women  Suncha Kim, 69; Soon Chung Park, 74; and Hyun Jung Grant, 51  at Gold Spa, crossed the street and killed Yong Ae Yue, 63, at Aromatherapy Spa.

These horrific murders shook communities across America and underscored how far we have to go in this country to fight racism, misogyny, and all forms of hate  and the epidemic of gun violence that enables these extremists, Biden said in a statement.

The president recalled a meeting he and Vice President Kamala Harris had with Asian American community leaders during a visit to Atlanta shortly after the shootings.

We heard about the terror and anguish that too many Asian Americans have felt since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when anti-Asian xenophobia, harassment, and violence skyrocketed to alarming levels, Biden said.

Prejudice and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the US are not new, but racist verbal and physical attacks increased sharply after the coronavirus first appeared in China just over two years ago. Many believe that former President Donald Trump's use of racial terms to talk about the virus, which first appeared in China, contributed to the trend.

Stop AAPI Hate has been tracking incidents nationwide based on victims self-reporting. From March 19, 2020, through the end of last year, it recorded a total of 10,905, with 4,632 occurring in 2020 and 6,273 in 2021.

Incidents reported by women made up 61.8% of the total.

Shortly after the Georgia shootings, police said Long blamed his actions on a sex addiction, which isn't recognized as an official disorder, and targeted the spas as a source of temptation.

That explanation rankled many Asian Americans and their allies, who saw the killings as hate crimes.

When he pleaded guilty in July to murder and other charges in the Cherokee County shootings, the district attorney there said investigators did not find evidence that Long was motivated by racial bias.

Among other things, the prosecutor noted the diversity of the people shot there  in addition to two women of Asian descent, two victims were white and one Hispanic.

But in Atlanta, where all four victims were women of Asian descent, the Fulton County district attorney is pursuing a sentencing enhancement under the state hate crimes law, saying she believes race and gender played a role.

In the weeks and months following the shootings, rallies were held to protest violence against those of Asian descent.

Prominent figures, including lawmakers and former federal prosecutors, spoke out against the violence and called for solutions.

Initial figures from individual police agencies indicate anti-Asian hate crime overall in the U.S. increased 339% in 2021, compared with a 124% rise in 2020, according to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. But the actual numbers could be much higher since many victims hesitate to report and not all incidents are charged as hate crimes.

Preliminary figures released by police in San Francisco in January show reported hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders rose by 567% last year.

The initial count shows 60 victims in 2021, up from nine in 2020. Half of last year's victims were allegedly targeted by one man.

In New York City, the number of alleged hate crimes against Asians logged by police climbed from 28 in 2020 to 131 last year.

Earlier this month, a 28-year-old white man was charged with hate crimes after police said he randomly punched seven women of Asian ethnicity over two hours.

At least two people of Asian descent have died in New York City this year from injuries sustained months ago in attacks that authorities said were likely racially motivated: GuiYing Ma, 61, who was beaten in November while she swept a sidewalk in Queens, and Yao Pan Ma, 61, who was beaten into a coma in April while he collected bottles and cans in Manhattan.

There have been other recent attacks on Asian women in the city that authorities aren't sure are linked to racial bias, including the stabbing death of a woman in her Chinatown apartment building last month by a homeless man who followed her inside and the January death of a woman who was pushed in front of a subway train by a mentally ill homeless man.

In the nearby city of Yonkers, New York, this week, police charged a man with attempted murder as a hate crime after he attacked a 67-year-old Asian woman in an apartment building vestibule, punching her more than 125 times in assault recorded on security video.

Police and prosecutors said the Black man used an anti-Asian slur before assaulting her. (AP) VM

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohamed Al-Manfi, Wednesday reiterated that the Council would not allow a return to institutional division or any armed confrontation in the country
Washington, Mar 16 (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the US Congress on Wednesday, the actor-turned-turned-wartime leader's latest video stop as he employs the West's great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russia's crushing invasion.

Zelenskky's livestreamed address into the US Capitol will be among the most important in a unique and very public strategy in his fight to stop Russia.

Also Read | Russia Exits European Human Rights Council Amid Moscow-Kyiv Crisis.

Invoking Winston Churchill and Hamlet last week, he asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is to be or not to be.

On Tuesday, he appealed to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Trudeau. Appearing in his now trademark olive green T-shirt, Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine's membership  and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Fox News Videographer Pierre Zakrzewski Killed in Ukraine After Vehicle Struck.

It was a man showing leadership while at the same time keeping his calm in the toughest of circumstances," said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte about the address to the Europeans. "I have to say, it had an enormous impact on all the leaders.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used his public campaign to help ensure a global spotlight that might have faded amid the coronavirus pandemic and fatigue after the end of the long US war in Afghanistan.

Instead, Zelensky's video appearances are beaming the boyish but unshaven president into households and smartphones around the world as he speaks form undisclosed locations in Kyiv wile Russia bombards his country, a heroic figure at the centre of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

When Zelenskyy is live-streamed into the US Capitol, his speech could very likely put him at odds with President Joe Biden who has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or facilitating the transfer of military planes from neighbouring Poland that Zelenksyy has been pleading for since the outbreak of the war.

Zelenskyy wants the West to to close the sky  a rallying cry now in pop culture  to prevent the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country, perhaps most dramatically in the attack last week on a maternity hospital as pregnant women fled for their lives.

I know he will ask for more help, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Congress has been ready to push on economic sanctions.

At first, the White House resisted calls from Congress to ban Russian oil imports to the US. Then it hit the brakes on legislation to revoke Russia's normal trade status  before going ahead on both. It rejected efforts in Congress to stop the Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline, then led allies in halting it.

Can Zelenskyy's address generate more?

Biden has a very difficult line to walk here, and that is that no one wants to trigger a World War III, Sen. Warren said. You have to keep options on the table. The Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, and they are also fighting for democracy all around.

Biden has insisted there will be no US troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyy's relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, Biden has said.

The Pentagon has rejected an offer from NATO ally Poland to transfer its Soviet-era MiGs to a US base in Germany for re-transfer to Ukraine. And US defence officials say they are puzzled, at any rate, by Zelenskyy's demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isn't often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of Stingers and other weapons the West is providing.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday, The president has to look at decisions that are made through the prism of what is in our national security interests and global security interests. And he continues to believe that a no-fly zone would be escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia."

Even though Zelenskyy and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

Nearly two weeks ago, Zelenskyy delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

"We think the United States needs to do more," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., returning from a weekend visit with other lawmakers to Poland. "We need to do what we can to facilitate the delivery of the Russian-made MiGs to the Ukrainian fighter pilots so that they can wage this war themselves.

Congress has already approved USD13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelenskyy asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week.

Zelenskky's next stop could be Spain. On Tuesday, the speaker of Spain's Congress of Deputies invited the Ukrainian president to address Spanish lawmakers via videolink. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Khatkar Kalan (Punjab), March 16: Donning traditional 'basanti' turbans and stoles, tens of thousands of people, comprising women and the elders, on Wednesday morning started converging ahead of AAP Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann' swearing-in ceremony in this village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, who laid down his life for country's Independence.

Officials expect a gathering of some 4,00,000 audience for the oath of Punjab's 18th Chief Minister. Punjab CM Swearing-In: 40 Acres of Wheat Crop Being Ploughed for Bhagwant Manns Oath Taking Ceremony.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party's top functionaries will participate in the ceremony.

Mann's ex-wife Inderpreet Kaur and both their two children, Seerat Kaur and Dilshan Manna, have flown all the way from the US to attend the ceremony. They were separated in 2015 after which the children shifted to the US with their mother.

The 'pandal' of the venue with yellow drapes and 1,00,000 chairs has been set up on 40 acres near the Bhagat Singh memorial.

In an appeal, Mann has requested the people across the state to reach Khatkar Kalan, some 80 km from the state capital Chandigarh on the highway to Jalandhar in Nawanshahr district, for the swearing-in ceremony by wearing 'basanti' (yellow) turbans and draping yellow shawls or stoles.

"We will colour Khatkar Kalan in 'basanti rang' that day," Mann said in a message.

What is the relevance of 'basanti', the colour of spring?

A 'basanti' turban or 'dupatta' is associated recently with a year-long agitation of farmers against now repealed three farm laws, but also with sacrifice and patriotic spirit. Also the colour signals celebrations, a springtime kite-flying festival.

Activists inspired by the thoughts of Shaheed Bhagat Singh were shouting slogans 'Inquilab Zindabad' at the venue. Many of them were seen carrying a photo of the freedom fighter.

AAP registered a landslide victory, winning 92 seats in the 117-seat Punjab Assembly. Mann, who was contesting from Dhuri in Sangrur district, won by a margin of 58,206 votes.

With the deployment of over 10,000 security personnel, the oath-taking venue spreads over 150-acre.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 16, 2022 11:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Tamil Nadu | Two persons have been arrested in the Uthangudi area in Madurai for selling lottery tickets banned by the government. 527 lottery tickets and Rs 6000 recovered from them: Police ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2022

(SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter, Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
San Francisco, March 16: The new iPhone SE (2022) could generate $20 billion in its first year, says a new report. Analyst Amit Daryanani has predicted an upswing in shipments and sales of Apple products, driven mainly by the iPhone SE (2022) which was officially unveiled a few days back, reports GizmoChina.

The budget iPhone SE is the third iteration of the product and its price is just above $400, while it comes with several premium-grade features. Daryanani said the iPhone SE 3 launch will provide the much-needed tailwind to surpass the shipment of 35 million units of the model within its first year.

This projection is driven by some key fundamentals which indicate that the latest iPhone SE will draw traditional older iPhone users to the budget-friendly smartphone, the report said. Apple App Store in Russia Loses Nearly 6,982 Apps Since Ukraine Invasion: Report.

Apart from its 5G capability, the iPhone SE 3 is powered by Apple's premium A15 bionic chip, which is also present in the iPhone 13 series. This puts the iPhone SE 3 on a higher pedestal performance-wise, with most of the budget phones in the segment, as well as older iPhone models.

Even with shipment costs, the new iPhone SE 3 will hover around $450-$500 and that could yield up to $20 billion in annual revenue for the Cupertino-based tech giant. The quantum of units of the iPhone SE 3 sold could account for up to 5 per cent of the revenue projections of Apple by the end of 2022, which is impressive.

Daryanani sees the iPhone SE 3 as well-priced for the features it comes with, together with the fact that it outperforms some of the older iPhone models like the iPhone 8, as well as its 5G capabilities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 16, 2022 05:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
California Chick-fil-A has become a public nuisance in the state, with the fast-food chain causing drive-thru lines that often have cars filled with hungry customers backed into the street for hours at a time.

In addition, Chick-fil-A's drive thru lane amplifies the chances of traffic accidents, as well as pedestrians getting injured, according to a CBS News report.

The drive-thru blocks one lane of traffic for as long as 90 minutes on weekdays, and even longer on Saturdays for as much as 155 minutes based on the city traffic report.

The report noted that the City Principal Transportation Engineer had analyzed the situation and issued the engineering report on Jan. 11, 2022.

The engineering report concluded that the operation of the drive-through causes persistent back-ups of traffic on State Street.

In addition, the report stated that earlier attempts to provide solution on the matter "have been unsuccessful."

It also cited that there are traffic control signs posted that urge motorists not to stop in the travel lane. However, this is being "routinely ignored" by Chick-fil-A customers.

Chick-fil-A has also tried several methods of reducing the traffic back-ups by changing its on-site queuing and stationing mobile take orders.

However, none appeared to be effective, and traffic continued to persists.

READ NEXT: Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Up to $1,200 Payments for 70,000 Californians Set to Go Out

California Chick-fil-A a "Public Nuisance"

The backlash against drive-thrus in California started in the 1990s, citing complaints about traffic and noise, which prompted cities to enforce moratoriums on the lanes.

Environmentalist regulators had also said that cars idling in long lines contributed to air pollution, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

Chick-fil-A has operated a location in Santa Barbara since 2013, with the city in discussion with the store's operators for years.

In 2020, the city recommended Chick-fIl-A to hire a security firm to manage traffic at the location.

The fast-food is also looking into using a nearby parking lot for its employees' cards, according to Chick-fil-A.

Santa Barbara City Councilmember Kristen Sneddon said that it is not about the goodness of the company or the goodness of the owners, and "certainly not about the goodness of the employees."

Sneddon added that Chick-fil-A has a "good problem," with the traffic queue meaning they are successful and have outgrown their site.

The city councilmembers added that it is also possible that Chick-fil-A were oversized for that site to start with, according to a KIRO 7 News report.

On a March 1 meeting, the city council agreed to give the company 90 days to show its solutions before voting on whether to designate the site as a public nuisance.

Chick-fil-A released a report saying that the company strives to serve not only their guests but as well as their communities at large.

In January 2021, Chick-fil-A submitted a development application to the Community Department to expand its drive-thru from one lane to two lanes to increase its capacity.

The queuing of vehicles were also reported to routinely block access to business next to it, which can affect customer and delivery access to these business.

READ MORE: SNAP Benefits 2022 Schedule for California, Florida, Texas and More: When to Get Food Assistance Each Month

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WATCH: Santa Barbara could declare Chick-fil-A a 'public nuisance' - FOX 11 Los Angeles






Russia has announced a set of sanctions on more than a dozen Americans, including U.S. President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and State Secretary Antony Blinken, among others.

The imposed sanctions are retaliation for sweeping economic penalties from the Biden administration, which focused on Russian entities over the invasion of Ukraine, according to a CBS News report.

The list has also included 12 current and former government officials namely Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, and CIA Director Bill Burns.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki was also sanctioned, as well as Deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh and USAID Director Samantha Power.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, and Export-Import Bank Chairman Reta Jo Lewis are also on the list of sanctioned officials.

U.S. officials sanctioned by Russia from entering the country, with any assets they told there are frozen.

READ NEXT: TikTok Influencers Receive White House Briefing on Russia-Ukraine Crisis; Jen Psaki Also Tells Them Russia Hacked 2016 Election

U.S. Officials Sanctioned by Russia

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that starting March 15, the sanctions will be effective on people included in the list.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the response measure is the inevitable result of the extreme Russophobic policy of the current U.S. administration, which they described as a desperate attempt to maintain American hegemony, according to a Breitbart News report.

The foreign ministry of Russia said that despite the sanctions, they do not oppose maintaining official ties when it is in their national interest.

It added that they will address the issue arising from the status of the black-listed individuals to organize high-level contacts.

The foreign ministry said that it will be taken in harmony with the major decisions of the Government of the Russian Federation in finance, banking, and other areas to protect the Russian economy.

Psaki attempted to mock the sanctions during a press briefing, noting that Russia has missed the "Junior" in Hunter's name.

She added that she herself was not planning to go to Russia.

Russia also announced the same sanctions on 313 Canadians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministry officials, according to a New York Post report.

Russia-Ukraine Crisis

Top Ukrainian advisers to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy implied on Tuesday that there might be room for compromise even as Russian forces had upped their bombardment of Kyiv, according to an NBC News report.

One aide said that the negotiations had become "more constructive" while one described the talks as "very difficult and viscous" with contradictions between the two sides.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that there is certainly room for compromise.

Around 29,000 people have fled from Ukrainian cities, using nine humanitarian corridors that had been previously created.

Meanwhile, a new 35-hour curfew went into effect in Kyiv as its mayor warned that the city faced a "difficult and dangerous moment."

Russian forces have seized a hospital in Mariupol and took about 500 people, hostage, during another assault, according to the regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko.

The regional leader added that about 100 doctors and patients are believed to be inside. He said that the troops are using those inside as human shields and are not allowing anyone to leave.

READ MORE: Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky Says if Pres. Joe Biden Acted Sooner 'There Would Be No War'

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WATCH: Russia imposes sanctions against United States President Joe Biden: Andrey Sheptisky - from SABC News






Elon Musk on Tuesday clapped back on Chenchen Republic's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who called him "effeminate" following the Tesla CEO's call to fight Russia's Vladimir Putin in single combat.

On Tuesday, Kadyrov took to Telegram to give a piece of training advice to Musk following his challenge on the Russian president, per New York Post.

"Elon Musk, a word of advice. Don't measure your strength against that of Putin's. You are in two completely different leagues," Kadyrov said in a translated Telegram post.

The Chenchen Republic leader also called Musk "effeminate" and called him "Elona," as he suggested the Tesla CEO train in several institutions before going up against Putin. However, the advice did not sit well on Musk.

The Tesla CEO took to Twitter to reject the advice by the Chenchen Republic leader.

Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage.



If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand and I am not even left-handed.



Elona  Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022

"Thank you for the offer, but such excellent training would give me too much of an advantage," Musk pointed out.

Elon also noted that if Putin is afraid to fight him, he will agree to use only his left hand, underscoring that he is not left-handed.

Musk also retaliated after he was called "effeminate." The Tesla CEO addressed himself as "Elona" at the end of his tweet, and he even replaced his Twitter name with Elona Musk.

READ NEXT: Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy Pens Condolences to the U.S. Journalist Who Died Amid War; Another American Reporter, Injured

Chenchen Republic Leader Explains Difference Between Elon Musk and Vladimir Putin

The Chen Chen Republic leader did not only call Musk effeminate, but also highlighted the difference between the Tesla CEO and teh Russian presdient in his Telegram post.

On Monday, Musk also shared a translated version of Kadyrov's full telegram post. In the statement, the Chen Chen Republic leader said that the challenge the Tesla CEO threw is not "even about martial arts or judo."

Telegram post by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Chechen Republic! pic.twitter.com/UyByR9kywq  Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022

Kadyrov pointed out that Elon Musk is only a businessman and a Twitter user while Vladimir Putin was a "politician and strategist" that gathers awe in the West and in the U.S.

The Chechen Republic leader went on to say that it will look "unsportsmanlike" to Putin if the Russian President beats "the hell out" of Elon Musk.

Kadyrov then proposed that Elon train in several institutions in the Chenchen Republic.

According to Kadyrov, Musk should attend the Russian Special Forces University to undergo firearms training, the Akhmat Fight Club to learn how to "take a punch," and the Grozny Chenchen State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company to learn about the American methods of "black PR."

"You will return from the Chenchen Republic a completely different person Elona, that is, Elon," Ramzan Kadyrov said.

Elon Musk Wants to Fight Vladimir Putin

The advice from the Chenchen Republic leader came a day after Elon Musk challenged Vladimir Putin in single combat, where Ukraine was at stake.

He then tagged Vladimir Putin's official Twitter account if he agrees to his plea.

Musk's challenge to Putin was supported by Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Federov saying that he was confident that the Tesla CEO can "send Putin to Jupiter."

Professional Boxer and social media personality, Jake Paul, also said that he would make the fight against Vladimir Putin and Elon Musk possible in exchange for 10,000 retweets. As of this writing, Paul's tweet gathered 4,405 retweets from people online.

READ NEXT: Uruguay: Premier League Star Edinson Cavani Wants to Leave Manchester United

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WATCH: Elon Musk's Incredible Challenge for Ukraine: "I Hereby Challenge Vladimir Putin to Single Combat" - From news.com.au
Mexico had deported a suspected drug trafficking leader identified as Juan Trevino,a.k.a. El Huevo. His deportation was made after his arrest drove armed attacks by his organization on almost two dozen military installations and a U.S. consulate.

El Huevo was arrested on Sunday in the northern Mexico border of the state of Tamaulipas. He was wanted for crimes such as drug trafficking and money laundering, according to a U.S. News report.

Rosa Rodriguez, Mexico's secretary of security, noted in a press conference that it was a blow to one of the most important criminal organizations in the northeast of the country, with influence in at least five states and operations in the United States.

READ NEXT: Mexico Sends 500 Additional Mexican Army Troops to Jalisco Amid Surge in Violence

El Huevo's Arrest

El Huevo's arrest was done in a region that was considered to be one of the most violent areas of the country, with his gang members generating an armed attack.

The gang was identified as the Northwest Cartel, who attacked with 22 military installations, 16 road blockades, and collateral damage to the U.S. consulate in Nuevo Laredo, according to authorities.

More than 700 military personnel and four helicopters were deployed to secure the area after the attacks.

El Huevo was reported to be connected to the family that allegedly founded the Los Zetas cartel. Its leader was Heriberto Lazcano "El Lazca," who is a former military man.

El Lazca was killed by Mexican soldiers in October 2012.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that one of his government's main challenges is to fight the violence in the country.

Lopez Obrador has also faced criticism from his detractors for his policy, "hugs, not bullets," according to a Today Online report.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Response to Drug War

In 2018, Lopez Obrador entered the office, stating his commitment to end the corruption and crony capitalism that was related to his predecessors.

He promised to implement new programs that would address poverty and social problems from the ground up while also cleaning up the government from the top to bottom.

During his campaign, he also promised to end the militarized war against drug trafficking organizations, according to a Forbes report.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration noted that the Jalisco Cartel dominates fentanyl and methamphetamine trafficking in Mexico and is now ahead of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Jalisco Cartel is now the main drug trafficking group operating in three-quarters of Mexico's 32 states, according to an NPR News report.

Vidal Romero, a political scientist at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, described Lopez Obrador's response on drugs as having no strategy to combat the drug cartels.

Lopez Obrador has touted the new National Guard. However, Romero said that it is still the same Mexican army, "doing the same inadequate job."

The Mexican president said that his administration had inherited the drug cartels. However, he did not announce any new police offensive against cartels.

He earlier said that his administration will fight cartels with "intelligence, not force." He added that he will not declare war against the drug trafficking organizations.

READ MORE: Jalisco Cartel in Mexico Is Creating Homemade Bombs Similar to Those Use by Islamic Militants Amid Drug War

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WATCH: Extraditan a EEUU a 'El Huevo', presunto lider del Cartel del Noreste - Expreso de la Manana - from Noticieros Televisa






Authorities from Peru released the estimated number of homes affected by the recent landslide that hit the region of La Libertad on Tuesday.

La Libertad Governor Manuel Llempen told News channel Canal N that around 60 to 80 homes were tragically affected by the landslide, per Reuters.

Newsweek noted that the landslide occurred around 8:30 a.m. at the province of Pataz, as a hill suddenly collapsed in the area.

Llempen did not further on the cause of the landslide. However, the governor pointed out that the collapse occurred in an area that houses mining workers and is not safe for home construction, according to Reuters.

The said video of the tragedy was shared online.

One user with the handle @AdrianzenJuanjo posted a news report showing the hillside suddenly gave way, prompting trees, rock, and mud to rush down and fall on the town below. A cloud of dust also rose after the rubbles rushed down the said hillside.



READ NEXT: Elon Musk Denies Training Advice of Chenchen Republic's Leader Who Called Tesla CEO 'Effeminate'

Peru Landslide: Missing People Reported Following the Tragedy

According to Newsweek, at least seven people were reported missing after the Peru landslide occurred.

Meanwhile, the risk management director at Peru's health ministry, Jorge Luis Escobar, told AFP that six people were missing, and among them were three children, per Barons.

Reuters mentioned that there were no reported fatalities as of Tuesday afternoon. However, rescue crews are in the area to search for missing people.

On Tuesday, Governor Llempen also confirmed that there were people trapped under the rubbles of the landslide.

National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) Coordinator Rolando Capucho told Newsweek that at least 15 people were reportedly trapped and three people have been rescued so far. Capucho emphasized that the number he mentioned were only "preliminary" numbers and that more reports are coming in.

"It is presumed, based on information provided by the residents, that there are more people (trapped and disappeared), but in the COEN, we only handle official information. It is important to validate what they tell us," Capucho added.

Meanwhile, Retamas Commissioner Carlos Alberto Valderrama told RPP that they do not have enough support to rescue the people.

"The relatives of those who are distressed risk their lives by going there, trying to dig," Valderrama added.

Peru's Pedro Castillo

On Tuesday, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced that help is underway.

He dispuesto que el jefe del @indeciperu y el ministro de Defensa acudan a la zona afectada por el deslizamiento de tierra en la provincia de Pataz en la region La Libertad. Apoyaremos a las familias damnificadas y articularemos diversas acciones con las autoridades locales.  Pedro Castillo Terrones (@PedroCastilloTe) March 15, 2022

"We will support the affected families and coordinate various actions with the local authorities," Castillo noted.

Peru's President also noted that he instructed the country's minister of defense to go to the area where the landslide occurred.

Junto a un equipo de respuesta rapida de @indeciperu nos dirigimos de emergencia a la localidad de Retamas, distrito de Parcoy (La Libertad) para atender la emergencia ante el deslizamiento de una ladera del cerro. Brindaremos toda la ayuda necesaria a las familias afectadas.  Jose Gavidia (@JoseGavidia_) March 15, 2022

Meanwhile, Peru's Minister of Defense Jose Gavadia assured that they will provide "all the necessary help" to the affected families.

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WATCH: Hillside Collapse Buries at Least 15 Houses in Peru - From No Comment TV
Florida lawmakers have promised a condo reform bill aimed at preventing another Surfside collapse tragedy. However, they failed to pass any new safety measures during the recent legislative session.

Rep. Daniel Perez was eyeing ordering condo associations to set aside cash for repairs. However, Sen. Jennifer Bradley said it could create financial burdens for condo owners, according to WFLA.

Martin Langesfeld, who lost his sister and brother-in-law in the collapse, said it just shows that in the state of Florida, money is more important than life. It has been less than a year since 98 people were killed in the Surfside condo collapse in South Florida.

Lawmakers have vowed to take up the issue again next session, with the executive director of the Florida Engineering Society, Allen Douglas, saying that the delay could cost lives. Douglas added that their concern was that many establishments out there are ready to fall now.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was very receptive to seeing some reforms, adding that it has taken so long to review it. DeSantis acknowledged that it was an elaborate process.

READ NEXT: Florida Condo Collapse: Architect Suspended Over Toppling of Other Structures in Miami

Florida Condo Reform Bill After Deadly Surfside Condo Collapse

Florida lawmakers could not reach a common ground to address problems in Florida's troubled property-insurance market.

The House and Senate disagreed throughout the session about how far to go in making changes in the industry. The Senate was more aggressive in trying to bolster private insurers, according to Tallahassee Democrat.

The Senate proposed allowing up to two percent new deductibles on roof-damage claims. As an example, a homeowner with $300,000 in overall coverage could have faced a $6,000 deductible to replace a damaged roof.

However, the House rejected the idea, which would have led to increased out-of-pocket costs for homeowners who need to replace damaged roofs.

Perez said they came up with one goal in creating the bill, which was to pass legislation regarding condo reform that was "going to make a difference." Perez sponsored the Florida House version of the bill.

Both Senate and the House agreed upon requiring more safety inspections and transparency measures. But they could not agree more on the reserve issue.

Surfside Condo Collapse

On June 24, 2021, Champlain Towers South, a 12-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida partially collapsed. Ninety-eight people died.

Rescuers had worked for days trying to find survivors under the rubble of the collapsed Surfside condo. But eventually, the mission shifted to recovery from finding surviving victims.

According to ABC News, a trail of documents that federal investigators pieced together for evidence noted that the 12-story, 136-unit oceanfront condo building had substantial concrete structural damage to its pool deck area and was overdue for repairs. The Surfside condo was built in 1981 in a neighborhood that sits just north of Miami.

Peter Dyga, the president and CEO of Associated Builders & Contractors, Florida East Coast Chapter, said the most common problems are weather intrusions, which could have been prevented with good quality solid weatherproofing and paint.

In 2018, the condo association hired Morabito Consultants, a structural engineering firm. The firm had estimated that the repairs would cost more than $9 million. However, those repairs were never completed.

READ MORE: Oceanside Condo Partially Collapses in Miami; At Least 1 Dead

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WATCH: Surfside Condo Collapse: What We Know So Far - from Practical Engineering






Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The co-chairs of the International Monitoring Committee's Political Working Group on Libya have stressed the importance of maintaining calm and stability on the ground and the imperative of rebuilding a consensus among political actors
With the possibility of reopening the southern border to asylum seekers, the U.S. government is urging Latin American allies to tighten immigration controls and expand their own asylum programs.

President Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure from leaders of his own party to lift broad asylum limitations that have been in place since March 2020 in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19.

A day after holding talks in Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with officials in Costa Rica Tuesday. The support of allies would be crucial in limiting a surge of migration once the restrictions are lifted, Al Jazeera reported.

According to ABC News, both nations are key due to their own asylum systems and being transit routes to the U.S. for immigrants from South America and outside the Americas.

Overall, the Customs and Border Protection reported that U.S. authorities encountered 164,973 migrants along the border in February, down from a record of more than 200,000 in August but up from 154,745 in January and 101,099 in February 2021.

Joe Biden Calls Latin American Allies to Secure Their Borders

In his State of the Union Address early this month, Joe Biden said they were securing commitments and supporting South and Central America partners to host more refugees and secure their own borders.

Last week, Biden elaborated on those remarks when he hosted Colombian President Ivan Duque at the White House.

The president noted that he was calling for a new framework of how nations in the region can collectively manage migration in the Western Hemisphere, with the main goal of signing a regional declaration on migration and protection in June when the U.S. hosts the Summit of the Americas.

According to Alan Bersin, a former Homeland Security assistant secretary for international affairs, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia could be deemed safe havens under a more regional approach to asylum.

Bersin added that in order to bring the border migration surges under control, the U.S. should "offshore asylum" to other countries.

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Asylum Systems in Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Overwhelmed in Years

In recent years, even nations with reasonably capable asylum systems, like Mexico, Costa Rica, and Colombia, have been overwhelmed.

In Mexico, 131,448 people applied for asylum last year, nearly double the previous high of 70,000 recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

Costa Rica has received tens of thousands of Nicaraguans each year since a political crisis erupted in Nicaragua in 2018. Costa Rica went from 68 asylum applicants in 2016 to 59,450 last year. Just in January, Costa Rica accepted 5,350 applications.

Colombia is hosting 1.8 million Venezuelans due to the country's political and economic crises. Colombia has offered them temporary protected status. On the other hand, Panama has a very limited capacity for asylum seekers, handling fewer than 10,000 applications in pre-pandemic 2019.

Due to violence and a lack of economic opportunities, Mexico and Colombia remain significant migrant-producing countries.

Maureen Meyer, vice president for programs at the Washington Office on Latin America, said these are not necessarily countries that can absorb a lot of people that would need a lot of support.

Meyer believes that any solution should include strengthened asylum processes and alternatives for those who do not qualify for asylum yet urgently need to migrate.

U.S. Ends Asylum Restrictions for Children Traveling Alone

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lifted an order that had denied a chance at asylum for unaccompanied child migrants last Friday.

But for adults and families traveling with children, the Trump-era Title 42 authority remains in effect. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has long called for the U.S. government to stop using Title 42 at the border and restore asylum access for the people whose lives depend on it, in line with international legal and human rights obligations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer earlier said he was confused why the CDC continues "this draconian policy" despite strong signs of pandemic recovery. According to AP, Mayorkas' visits could pave the way for lifting the policy.

READ MORE: Jayson Tatum Spoils Kevin Durant's 25K Club Party, Shares Perfect Reaction to 54-Point Outburst for Celtics vs. Nets

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WATCH: Ukrainian Family Turned Away at Mexico Border Allowed Into U.S. - From Al Jazeera English
The effort to make the Daylight Saving Time permanent across the U.S. got a boost Tuesday when Senators passed a bill that will end the annual clock switching.

According to Wall Street Journal, the biannual ritual of changing the clocks forward in the spring for Daylight Saving Time and backward in the fall to standard time has been a source of debate and consternation for decades.

Although most Americans agree that it is time to end the tradition, politicians and the public are still divided on whether it would be best to permanently "spring forward" or "fall back."

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously approved the measure called the Sunshine Protection Act. It reportedly earned 17 cosponsors from both Republican and Democratic parties in the upper chamber.

According to CNN, the bill would still need to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a sponsor of the legislation, said he does not have any assurance that the House will take it up, but "it's an idea whose time has come."

If the bill is signed into law, "we don't have to keep doing this stupidity anymore," added Rubio.

Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema, who represents Arizona, a state that does not observe Daylight Saving Time, could be heard on the mic saying, "Ooh, I love it," following the bill's passage.

Senator Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican, also supported the bill, saying that the extra hour at the end of the day was "consistently better than having it dark when kids go to school" and when getting home.

Daylight Saving Time to Be Implemented Next Year?

Daylight Saving Time makes up about eight months of the year, with the remaining months called standard time. It starts every second weekend of March and ends the first weekend of November.

Under current federal law, states are allowed to opt-out of Daylight Saving Time and remain on standard time but are not allowed to stay on daylight time.

In the Senate proposal, states would have to choose between using Daylight Saving Time or standard time all year round and could not switch between them.

According to Rubio, the bill's implementation is delayed to November 2023 because the transportation industry has already built up schedules based on the current time and requested additional months to make adjustments.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 18 states have passed laws or resolutions to maintain permanent Daylight Saving Time in the last four years. Only Hawaii and Arizona, aside from the Navajo Nation, do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

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Does Daylight Saving Time Affect One's Health In Any Way?

Though Daylight Saving Time is good news for some people who enjoy extra hours of sunlight later in the day, experts said there's growing evidence that shows that the annual time shift is bad for a person's health.

Experts noted that changing the clocks disrupt sleep and circadian cycles, leading to a higher immediate risk of heart attacks, atrial fibrillation, strokes, and even potentially car accidents.

In 2019, the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms published a study that found the acute effect of Daylight Saving Time in the days after the change was an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

According to Life Science, Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea of the time change in 1784. However, Daylight Saving Time was not used in the U.S. until World War I in 1918 and again in 1942 for World War II.

READ MORE: Jayson Tatum Spoils Kevin Durant's 25K Club Party, Shares Perfect Reaction to 54-Point Outburst for Celtics vs. Nets

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WATCH: Senate Approves Permanent Daylight Saving Time - From CBS Evening News
Criminals are using drones to check if homes are occupied, according to a Laois councillor.

Laois councillor Caroline Dwane Stanley said, "we actually know that criminals were using drones to see if people were home or not."

She sought clarification on the use of drones at a recent Joint Policing Committee meeting in Portlaoise .

Addressing invited members of the Data Protection Commission, Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley asked: Is it illegal to have a drone over someones property?"

Assistant Commissioner at the Data Protection Commission, Gary Russell outlined the difficulty involved in taking action against drone misuse.

While there may be an offence in such cases, until we know data processing is taking place theres not really much we can do, he remarked.

Mr Russell said the Irish Aviation Service(IAA) are working on the issue of drone use. At the moment the IAA is looking at a framework for drones and it includes a register of owners, he explained.

He said that drone operators must obey certain height restrictions and other rules. He pointed out that not all drones were equipped with cameras. Mr Russell urged people using drones to be aware of their obligations under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

If people believe that their data is being used they are more than welcome to make a complaint to the Data Commissioner, he told the meeting. He noted however, that regulations are unlikely to stop criminal use of drones and the problem is identifying the controller.
Seeking approval for community CCTV schemes was an appalling journey" for many community groups, Muintir na Tires Conor OLeary claimed.

He was speaking at the Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting in Portlaoise on Monday, March 14th.

Mr OLeary called for clear information in written form in the future. He said a number of schemes in Laois are still trying to get set up. It has been an appalling journey for them. They have gone out in good faith, probably on the wrong road and they needed better advice, he said.

Mountmellicks Bobby Delaney described the process as frustrating. He said they had set up church gate collections and gathered funding. Most businesses and the community were behind the initiative, he said.

All this red tape, who are we protecting? We are protecting people who are breaking the law, he remarked.

Speaking of the experience of setting up a scheme in Mountmellick, Cllr Paddy Bracken said, it has been awful to say the least. Stating that it has gone on and on he said, it has been very frustrating in terms of the process. He expressed disbelief that there wasnt clarification long ago.

Deputy Data Protection Commissioner Tony Delaney said from now on every one of the community schemes has to be under the joint control of the Council and Gardai.

In light of the clarity, Cllr Padraig Fleming said a six month target should be set for community CCTV schemes. That should be a target to be set, he remarked.

Council CEO John Mulholland admitted schemes had struggled but said we are not experts and the process has certain foibles. He said in 2018 all the groups were brought together and the council accepted the role of data controller.

He described the role of data controller as always a misfit for the council but said the council had accepted it.

Mr Mulholland insisted any comparison with Limerick, where the council had taken the lead on community CCTV schemes, was unfair given the difference in scale and budget. We dont know the true cost, he remarked. He also said, we are not going to put any scheme in jeopardy because of fraught legal basis.

However, he added, we are the data controller. It is going to help that the gardai are with us.
A journey of 3,000 kms from war torn Ukraine to Laois started with a leap of faith for one Ukraine mum and her seven-year-old daughter.

The brave duo, who spent six nights in a bomb shelter before making their escape, heard of a lift going to Ireland.

We travelled for five days to get here  it was a sudden decision. I was looking for the opportunity to go to an English-speaking country and I heard that there was a lift going to Ireland, said Iryna Britanova-Listratenko who arrived in Ireland on Saturday, March 12.

I left my parents, relatives, and my husband all back in the Ukraine. They cant leave their home, but it is not safe to stay in Ukraine- so I had to go with my daughter Sasha. I come from the East of Ukraine, and this is part of my country that is being bombed- the war started in my hometown of Kharkov, and it is being bombed every single day since. A lot of people have died already, including kids.

We had to stay in a bomb shelter for six days and after that we were lucky to leave. When they started bombing houses, we left the city very early in the morning. We found some safe roads and drove to another part of the country where it was safe and where we heard about the lift to Ireland through the Red Cross. My parents worried about taking the lift, but we were assured that we would be safe, and this decision is what saved us.

Iryna, who is currently staying locally with a family outside Abbeyleix, says she is still in a state of disarray since fleeing for their lives but very thankful to be here. She had heard of Ireland through her love of U2 before taking a chance to come here.

She is a fluent English speaker as well as Primary school teacher with a masters degree so the first thing she wants to do is to find a job teaching and accommodation for herself and Sasha.

"I dont feel comfortable here without a job as I don't have enough money with me so first I would like to find a job and a place to stay.

Until then they have found a novel way to fundraise and give back to the Red Cross by selling prints of Sashas art. Sasha not only speaks English and plays the piano, but she is also an accomplished artist. Sasha's paintings will go on display at the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise from Friday, March 18 until April 1 and all proceeds will go to the Red Cross to support their humanitarian efforts in war torn Ukraine.

When she was smaller, we noticed her gift for painting, said Iryna. She had a private teacher and has done some amazing pictures. This is a way for us to say thanks and to give back to those still in need in Ukraine."

(Read more below paintings)

Meanwhile since their arrival the local community has rallied around the pair since they arrived with a school place for Sasha at Raheen primary school as well as a free uniform and seat on the local bus.

Sasha is starting school here and I believe she will be ok as when she was only 3 years old, I took her to live in China where I worked for 5 years. She was surrounded by Chinese children at her nursery and had to learn to speak the language. She is more comfortable here in Ireland speaking English.

Iryna still talks with her family every day since arriving in Ireland.

For now, they are in a safe place, and we can get in touch every day, she said. Sasha still cries every single day. She is only seven and she cries because her dad is staying in Ukraine. I tried to tell her that we will reunite again in the future, but nobody knows when.

And as for Sasha she already sees the similarities between her home country and Ireland telling her mum that both countries have 'a lot of goodness and kind-hearted people'.

To donate or buy a piece of art by Sasha please visit her exhibition where you can order a print directly, prices start at 10 but higher donations will be gladly accepted. Sasha's exhibition will be on display at the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise from Friday, March 18 until April 1.
Castletown House in Celbridge will be one of 41 locations to be illuminated with Ukraine colours nationwide for St Patricks Day. Outside of Kildare, iconic locations such as Leinster House, Four Courts, and the Rock of Cashel will be all be lit in blue and yellow across the coming days.

Minister Patrick ODonovan said on illuminating key Irish landmarks in the Ukrainian colours on St Patricks Day: In Ireland and abroad, we take pride in the wearing and displaying of the green on St Patricks Day. The colour is an intrinsic part of our pride in our roots and the joint celebration of Irishness on our national holiday. Over many years, the Office of Public Works has set the mood for this important day by symbolically greening our most iconic heritage sites, government buildings and national cultural institutions."

"This year is different, however, and even as we look forward to marking St Patricks Day with our friends and loved ones, we think of the people of Ukraine whose lives, safety and sovereignty are at risk. For them and for the eyes of the world, we send a message of solidarity by illuminating 41 Irish landmarks across the country in the colours of Ukraine tonight and over the St Patricks Day weekend to underline that the people of Ireland stand with Ukraine," Minister O'Donovan said.
South Africa: North West recommits to reduce housing backlog

The North West Human Settlements department has reiterated its commitment to reduce the housing backlog and fast track the process of delivering houses to legible beneficiaries across the province.

The commitment was part of the resolutions taken during the recent strategic retreat session held in Rustenburg, where the department undertook to up the momentum and deliver on its mandate to close the gap that was created in the past three years.

Departmental Acting Head, James Mashigo, said the department has, in the past few weeks crisscrossed the province introducing over 30 contractors to municipalities, to start on new housing projects or to unblock blocked projects.

Mashigo said that among the major projects that has been on hold for some time include Bokamoso Project in Rustenburg, under Bojanala District.

The project is part of developing houses around the mining areas and to eradicate informal settlements.

The objective of the project was to bring about sustainable human settlement in the area and provide around 4 000 fully serviced units. However, due to challenges brought by external and internal challenges, the project was put on hold, Mashigo explained.

He said the department has so far managed to install internal services and further developed top structures.

According to Mashigo, the department has since taken a decision to install services first so that beneficiaries have full services, when moving in their houses.

We have taken a different approach as a department to prioritise bulk services first to ensure that we hand over houses with full services. We do this in conjunction with local municipalities, mainly because they will have to further take care of the services.

Dimakotso constructions has been appointed to complete the remaining 977 sites. In addition to the said appointment, the department is at an advanced stage in appointing the developer for 320 units and 200 units, which will complete the 1 600 units of Phase 1 for construction of the top structure, Mashigo said.

He added that the department has also appointed developers in municipalities, including Moses Kotane where the construction of over 2 000 houses is expected.

Unblocking new projects for housing delivery

Mashigo said other municipalities that will see blocked projects unblocked and new projects started include Naledi, Ditsobotla, Lekwa Teemane, Maquasi Hills and others.

During her visit in North West last week, Human Settlements Minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, made an undertaking to the community members that governments priority in housing the nation will also focus on urgently unblocking projects for accelerated housing delivery.

The communities raised concern about various blocked projects in Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality.

The Minister also handed over 1 300 title deeds to beneficiaries of fully subsidised government houses in Itsoseng, Ditsobotla Local Municipality.

The provincial department has vowed to turn the province into a construction site and further create more jobs through all the projects.

It called on municipalities to work closely with appointed contractors to ensure that the projects are being completed on time, and local traditional leaders work closely with municipalities and contribute to the successful completion of houses for beneficiaries in tribal lands.

The department has also committed to put at the helm, women, child headed households, youth and people with disability, in terms of appointment of developers and beneficiaries. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Wildlife under better protection in China thanks to rollout of new technologies

People's Daily Online) 15:14, March 16, 2022

Thanks to the introduction of various technological innovations, China is now protecting wildlife in a more efficient way, with over 80 percent of the nature reserves across the country having been installed with infrared cameras.

Photo taken on Jan. 15, 2022 shows Siberian tigers at the Siberian Tiger Park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Jianwei)

A national park in northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, which was among the first batch of national parks in the country, is equipped with a monitoring system incorporating new technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, artificial intelligence, real-time information transmission, as well as 42 base stations and over 3,000 wireless cameras.

Covering most sections of the park, the monitoring system is able to monitor wildlife abundance and diversity in the park, and has provided a means to collect a great deal of information that serves as a precious database resource. The footage captured by infrared cameras and high-resolution cameras helps the parks rangers to look out for creatures living in the area, study their behaviors, and combat any illegal hunting. So far, over 4,000 instances of movements by Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, and over 1 million cases of different wild animals, such as sika deer, and related scenes in the natural environment have been recorded by the system.

Similarly, a smart management platform supported by the Internet, IoT, remote-sensing satellites, drones and a geographic information system (GIS) is in place at the Wuyishan National Park in southeast China's Fujian Province. With 10 sub-platforms, it provides a variety of functions that include monitoring natural resources, issuing warnings on and preventing forest fires, and guarding against the presence of harmful biological organisms.

The cameras guarantee the 24-hour monitoring of forest fires, introduced an official from the national park's management bureau. Thanks to automatic smoke detection, a sub-platform can identify and report a wildfire and provide the location.

In the past, it was hard to locate rangers patrolling in the forest, let alone trying to cope with any emergencies. But now these kinds of problems no longer exist. Chinese telecom equipment supplier ZTE Corporation, for example, has developed a system for predicting extreme weather and tracking rangers on patrol tours. Empowered by 5G technology, it is now in use in the Deyang section of the Giant Panda National Park in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province. With its precise positioning function, it can effectively protect rangers in the wild. Besides, rangers can send messages, photos and videos to relevant experts to report their findings during patrolling, in this way dealing with incidents in a more timely manner while out on a patrol.

These advanced technologies have also made conservation efforts more targeted, as evidenced by the protection of big cat populations in the wild. According to Feng Limin, deputy director at a monitoring and research center for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards under the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, researchers will record and study the conditions of different tigers by analyzing their stripes with the help of a technology-powered monitoring system, with these tiger stripes being unique like human fingerprints and with no two tigers sharing the same stripe patterns.

Collecting data such as the facial images of tigers was very time-consuming in the past, said Feng. Now assisted by new technologies like artificial intelligence, researchers can locate tigers more easily, and identify each individual, which makes our conservation efforts more targeted, Feng added.

Moreover, technologies have made it possible for wildlife conservation efforts to go beyond the scope of nature reserves. Chinas Internet giants Alibaba and Baidu launched a program promoting wildlife protection called the green net plan. Users searching for ivory tusks and pangolin scales on Taobao, Alibaba's main e-commerce site will be directed to a page with knowledge on relevant species that promotes the protection of wild animals.

Similarly, Tencent, another Chinese tech giant, developed a mini program about snow leopards on WeChat, a popular messaging app in China, together with several partners, such as the World Wildlife Fund. The mini program provides pictures and knowledge on the species and enables users to help protect the species as a one-time forest ranger while venturing into some of the countrys nature reserves with their smart phones, helping raise public awareness on the importance of protecting wild animals.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Juba, South Sudan (PANA) - Climate change-driven flooding and drought are threatening to aggravate an already precarious situation in vulnerable parts of South Sudan, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned, stating that concerted action is needed to mitigate its worst impacts
A Deputy Minister has said that he will assist any Kildare school who has queries regarding Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme.

Schools in the DEIS programme avail of a range of targeted supports aimed at tackling educational disadvantage, including additional classroom teaching posts, home-school community liaison coordinator posts, DEIS grant funding and access to the School Completion Programme.

Deputy Martin Heydon TD recently made the announcement on his official Facebook account, where he said: "Seven Kildare schools have been included for the first time or have been upgraded under an expansion of the DEIS Schools programme announced this week."

"Primary schools in Kilmeade, Suncroft, Ticknevin, Athy (Gaelscoil Atha I) and Newbridge (St Patricks NS Morristown) have been included in the DEIS programme for the first time with schools in Athy (Scoil Mhichil Naofa) and Derrinturn reclassified and eligible for increased supports."

Deputy Martin Heydon TD, Fine Gael

The Fine Gael politician continued: "Schools in the DEIS programme avail of a range of targeted supports aimed at tackling educational disadvantage, including additional classroom teaching posts, home school community liaison coordinator posts, DEIS grant funding and access to the School Completion Programme.

"I had the opportunity to discuss the revised model in the Seanad this week, and I am aware that there are some Kildare schools who are disappointed not to be included and details of an appeals mechanism will be published shortly.

"I am happy to assist any Kildare school who has queries on the results or the process involved," he concluded.
The Russian Federation 'belong in the International Criminal Court, not the Council of Europe' (COE).

That's according to Kildare Fianna Fail Senator Fiona O' Loughlin in a recent statement.

Senator O' Loughlin, who is also the Leader of the Irish Delegation to the COE, said she has welcomed the firm condemnation of the Russian Federations aggression against Ukraine by COE leaders.

The Newbridge native said: "The COE was born in aftermath of World War II to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law: these are three things that clearly the Russian Federation have no regard for.

"The Russian Federation should no longer be afforded membership of the COE and that opinion was made strongly in the Chamber in Strasbourg last night by myself and my colleague Dara Calleary TD."

Senator Fiona O' Loughlin, Fianna Fail

She continued: "The Committee of Ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting today in the light of the notification by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation of the Russian leaderships decision to withdraw from the COE... but lets be clear here: it was a simple case of jump or be pushed."

Senator O' Loughlin added that she has been engaging with 'the 9 incredibly brave MPs who make up the Ukrainian.

"To hear the stories in person, to see the devastation on another persons face really brings what we are seeing on TV screens into the realm of reality.

"The Russian Federation belong in the International Criminal Court, not the COE," she concluded.

Earlier this month, Senator Fiona O' Loughlin attended a gathering of Ukrainian nationals who reside in Kildare to discuss the Putin regime's invasion of Ukraine, and the best ways to donate aid to Ukrainians who need it most.
Irish people are being warned to avoid attending emergency departments in the coming days, if possible, amid rising hospital admissions ahead of the St Patricks Day bank holiday weekend.

The HSE warned on Tuesday that 1,047 patients with Covid-19 are in hospital  the highest number since mid-January.

With 101 Covid-19 outbreaks across Irish hospitals and nearly 600 in community care facilities, officials have described the situation in the healthcare system as extremely challenging.

Ahead of the St Patricks Day celebrations, the HSE has asked people to consider other options before attending emergency departments.

The HSE said March 17 was usually a very busy day for medical staff.

Chief operations officer Anne OConnor said: Anyone who suspects they may be facing an emergency situation should of course come to the emergency department and they will be seen and treated.

However, we would ask those who may be in a non-urgent situation to help our staff through a challenging time by looking at other healthcare options where possible.

Another 6,284 positive cases of Covid-19 were confirmed by PCR testing in Ireland on Tuesday.

A further 9,735 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.
Irish landmarks will be lighting up with the colours of the Ukrainian flag this St Patrick's Day.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) today (Wednesday March 16) announced the change from the typical green Ireland is known for to blue and yellow to express solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

The OPW has for many years symbolically "greened" Ireland's most iconic heritage sites on St Patrick's Day, but called this year "different".

Traditionally, #OPW has set the mood for #StPatricksDay by symbolically greening our most iconic Irish landmarks. This year we send a message of solidarity by illuminating 41 sites in the colours of Ukraine.

Read Minister @podonovan's statement here: https://t.co/gcC0RK5TH2 pic.twitter.com/REQxGgR4Pb March 16, 2022

In a statement released today, Minister for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Patrick ODonovan, said, "This year is different, however, and even as we look forward to marking St Patricks Day with our friends and loved ones, we think of the people of Ukraine whose lives, safety and sovereignty are at risk.

"For them and for the eyes of the world, we send a message of solidarity by illuminating 41 Irish landmarks across the country in the colours of Ukraine tonight and over the St Patricks Day weekend to underline that the people of Ireland stand with Ukraine."
The work of Irish craft producers will be exposed to millions of shoppers in the United States and beyond as part of a collaboration with ecommerce shopping channel QVC.

It's part of a 24 hour St Patrick's Day broadcast called 'Made in Ireland' which will showcase Irish producers and promote Ireland as a tourist destination.

Some of Irelands most iconic traditional brands are among the producers who will be showcased, including Killarney Crystal, Charles Gallen Irish Linen, and Fado.

Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, called it "an incredible opportunity" for Irish designers and creators.

He said, "This is an incredible opportunity for Irish designers and creators. The QVC Made in Ireland broadcast reaches millions of people in the U.S., giving Irish entrepreneurs the chance to showcase the quality and uniqueness of their products to a huge audience. As well as raising the profile and increasing the sales of those businesses featured, its also a great opportunity to promote Ireland as a tourist destination and reinforce our reputation for exceptional craftsmanship."

It's the 33rd event of its kind, broadcasting this year from the historic Slane Castle in Co Meath.

It will kick off at 12am ET on March 17 and can be viewed at QVC.com or from any of the QVC apps.

Tourism Ireland CEO, Niall Gibbons, said, "Tourism Ireland is delighted to collaborate with QVC and Enterprise Ireland on this event. As well as showcasing high-quality Irish craftmanship, this important opportunity will also bring the iconic and historic Slane Castle to millions of homes around the world.

"This annual broadcast is of particular significance in the context of tourism this year, as it offers a chance to showcase Irelands Ancient East and the broader destination to potential visitors as leisure travel returns."
THERE was a cupla focal at a Limerick school this week, as students took part in a unique St Patrick's Day celebration for a very good cause.

Pupils at Corpus Christi primary school in Moyross marched behind St Patrick on Wednesday, while also raising money for Milford Hospice in memory of former teacher Declan Bromell.

Continue reading below or click 'Next' for more photos

The March for Milford saw the whole school follow the grand marshal in their Seachtain na Gaeilge parade.

A giant ceili followed with all children dancing traditional Irish dances and singing O Ro se do bheatha bhaile, Sean South and Irelands Call.

The march was lead by a band of teacher musicians, while St Patrick was on hand to banish the snakes!

Corpus Christi's imaginative school council organised the charity event and collected donations from children, parents and teachers. The students were inspired by similar events at a number of other schools in the city.

Tomorrow, we will have reporters and photographers out & about at parades and events across #Limerick to capture the excitement of the first #StPatricksDay celebrations since 2019. We also want to hear from you across the day so send us your photos and videos #LLStPatrick pic.twitter.com/KTXlfXiI9a  Limerick Leader (@Limerick_Leader) March 16, 2022

Catherine McAuley school held its own 'Trek for Dec' in memory of teacher Mr Bromell, and were joined in their fundraiser by St Patricks girls national school and St Michaels infant school.

They marched in their own school playgrounds yesterday morning, with a lot of fun had among the students and the teachers equally!
A MASSIVE 28m investment for Limerick's Foynes Ports has been announced this morning.

The Shannon Foynes Port Company has announced that the multi-million boost - from itself and Europe - will be used to deliver a significant expansion of quayside area through the joining and infilling of two existing jetties, in what's been described as a "game changer" of a project.

It's anticipated this will deliver an additional 117m of set down/storage areas by linking the existing east and west jetties at the port, substantially boosting existing quayside set down space.

Also included in the investment programme is the development of one of the countrys largest logistics buildings in a significant boost to national bulk and unitized freight supply chain infrastructure.

The 127,000 square ft facility will be the key element in a new 38 hectares port logistics park that will have the potential for a future 400,000 sq ft of modern logistics warehousing over the coming decade and a half.

Planning permission and foreshore consents for the developments, which amount to the largest ever financial commitment in civil works by the port company, have been secured, with work already underway on the new jetty and associated set down area following construction procurement.

Work on the logistics park, which will become the largest building, will kick off after June this year, with all works expected to be completed in the first half of 2024.

The Connecting Europe Facility, which is co-funding the project, is a key European Union (EU) funding instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level.

It supports the development of high performing, sustainable and efficiently interconnected trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services. CEF investments fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone.

Shannon Foynes Port Company chief executive Pat Keating said: "This investment reflects the unprecedented opportunity for the Shannon Estuary and Shannon Foynes Port Company. It represents the next stage of implementation of our investment programme and, importantly, lays the foundation for further required scalable capacity investments to accommodate growth in both the offshore renewable sector and the transport sector. For example, our objective to be the supply chain facilitator for an Atlantic floating offshore wind energy hub and related hydrogen production will be transformational in terms of our climate action targets, our national economy and energy security."

"We have some of the most consistent winds in the world off the west coast, the technology now in place to harness those winds through floating offshore wind and, in the Shannon Estuary, the deep and sheltered waters necessary to build the floating devices before they are brought out into open ocean waters. The worlds leading players in this space want to invest here and leading nations, such as Germany, want the green hydrogen we can generate from this almost limitless renewable energy. But for all this to happen, we need to invest heavily in our infrastructure and the plans we are announcing today are significant step in that regard," he added.

The Shannon Foynes Port Companys offshore floating wind study conservatively estimates that up to 12bn in associated supply chain investment could be located on the Shannon Estuary by 2050, with an opportunity to create up to 30,000 jobs.

John Carlton, engineering and port services manager at Shannon Foynes Port Company added: "Our new logistics park will be a game changer for bulk and containerised goods in Ireland. There is unanimity around the need to counterbalance and build resilience in the national supply chain and, in keeping with the National Development Plan , a key facilitator of this is to promote regional development by optimising capacity outside the congested east coast. Developing modern logistics facilities at the deep-water port of Foynes provides new logistics solutions for the western half of the country, offering more efficient and sustainable market access for importers and exporters alike by reducing the ton per kilometre travelled."
THE SUPREME Court has refused to hear an appeal against a finding that several properties in the Mid-West were bought with the proceeds of crime.

The houses were acquired by John McCormack with previous addresses in Shannon, Co Clare; Roxboro, Co Limerick and the Canary Islands.

The Criminal Assets Bureau claimed that the three of MR McCormack properties, located at Purcell Park, Cloontra West and Claughan Fort, were funded from the proceeds of crime.

In 2020 Mr Justice Alexander Owens in the High Court said he was satisfied to make orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 1996 restraining Mr McCormack or any person having notice of the making of the order from disposing or otherwise dealing with the properties identified.

Mr McCormack appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal, which upheld the findings.

He sought to appeal to those decisions, on the grounds that the actions raised issues of general public importance that required determination, to the Supreme Court.

In a written decision the Supreme Court, comprised of the Chief Justice Mr Justice Donal O'Donnell, Mr Justice Peter Charleton and Ms Justice Marie Baker said it did not consider that the applicant has established that the CoA's decision contained any issue of general public importance.

The Supreme Court also held that it was not in the interests of justice that an appeal to the Court should be permitted.

In his application to the Supreme Court Mr McCormack had argued that some of the properties involved here are residential properties in which it is said the applicants wife and adult daughter were living and which it is said are accordingly family homes.

It is argued that CAB should have joined Mr McCormacks spouse and daughter to the proceedings and that a failure to do so deprived those potential notice parties of the opportunity of asserting that the making of the order would constitute an injustice.

He also argued that while the 1996 Act permits a senior garda officer to offer evidence of belief, this does not permit what was described as hearsay upon hearsay .

This, it was claimed arose in this case when a relevant witness stated that he relied in part upon the evidence of individual identified members of the gardai who also gave evidence in the case.

He further contended that the refusal to grant him legal aid to defend the claim meant that the proceedings were unfair.

The Supreme Court held that there had been an extensive hearing of this matter in the High Court and a detailed and comprehensive judgment delivered.

A further careful review was carried out in the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Court said that Mr McCormack also wants to restrain a receiver from taking charge of the properties.

The High Court order had made an order in June 2021, appointing a receiver.

However, that that is not the order made by Mr Justice Owens in 2020, nor was it the subject of the appeal to the CoA and the application to the Supreme Court.

The reference to an obligation to put his spouse and daughter on notice of the proceedings appears misconceived, the Supreme Court added.

It had not explained how this is a matter of which Mr. McCormack can complain or how this can affect this issue between him and the CAB, the Supreme Court said.

The Court of Appeal had pointed out that the supposed notice parties were unaware of the existence of CAB's proceedings.

The admission of evidence of belief before the High Court was in accordance with settled law, as upheld by the CoA, the Supreme Court added.

The question of legal aid was fully canvassed and considered by the High Court and the CoA.

The lower courts had found that Mr. McCormack had failed to adduce sufficient evidence to establish that he was unable to secure legal assistance from his own resources, the Supreme Court concluded.

Both the COA and the High Court heard that the properties were acquired between 1995 and 2011 and were at the time of the institution of the proceedings were unencumbered.

CAB claimed that during that period Mr McCormack did not have any lawful source of income that would have accounted for his expenditure on these and other assets.

The High Court found that the evidence adduced on behalf of CAB established that Mr McCormack "had for many years been involved in serious criminal activity, that the nature of that activity was such that it was likely he gained financially from it and that the income generated was likely to have been the source of the funds with which each of the properties was acquired".

During the proceedings, a detective sergeant said from confidential sources he knew Mr McCormack "to be one of the biggest suppliers of illegal drugs based in the mid-west of Ireland and that, with others he had been responsible for the importation into Ireland of vast quantities of drugs since the late 1990s."
APPLICATIONS are now open to acquire an affordable home in Newcastle West, with prices ranging from 96,000 to just over 157,000.

The houses at Woodfield Manor are part of a new government scheme, the Incremental Purchase Scheme, which aims to give certain groups of people the chance to buy their own starter homes at discounted prices.

Woodfield Manor is the second such scheme to be launched in Limerick and has been welcomed by Limerick County TD and Minister of State, Niall Collins.

Its great to see Limerick City and County Council launch the Incremental Purchase Scheme again providing starter new-build homes at a discounted price, he said.

The objective of the scheme is to give working households approved for social housing or households who are already tenants of the housing authority, an approved housing body, HAP or RAS, an opportunity to own a new build home, if their income supports it, at a discounted price and strengthen mixed-tenure in communities.

The houses at Woodfield Manor are a mix of three-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses and will range in price 96,502.18 to 157,728.28, depending on the property type and income band.

Minister of State Collins has urged people to apply for the scheme.

Applications opened last week and the deadline for receipt of applications has been fixed for 5pm on Friday, April 29.

A dedicated webpage gives full information on who is eligible as well as floor plans, three-dimensional photomontages and the different prices.
Ireland's Minister for Defence has condemned the killing of journalists following an Irish cameraman's death in Ukraine.

Minister Simon Coveney offered condolences to the family of Pierre Zakrzewski, who was working for US network Fox News when the vehicle he was travelling in was hit by Russian shelling.

The minister said, "The loss of life of all citizens through this reckless war is deplorable, and I also wish to strongly condemn the killing of journalists who have been working bravely to shine a light on the plight of Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities.

"Ireland once again calls on Russia to bring an end to this war and we stand ready to support any initiative which can deliver peace. We will continue to demand accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law."

Minister Coveney offered his "deepest condolences" to Mr Zakrzewski's family and confirmed officials from his Department are in touch to provide consular assistance.

It is great sadness that St. Conleth's College acknolwledegs the tragic passing of Past Pupil Pierre Zakrzewski (Class of 1984) in the Ukraine. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. (Pierre stands in the back row of his graduating class, third from right.) pic.twitter.com/z1VNPzjhco  Stconleths (@Saintconleths) March 15, 2022

Mr Zakrzewski reportedly came to Ireland in the 1970s, with former school St Conleth's College in South Dublin stating, "It is [with] great sadness that St. Conleth's College acknolwleges the tragic passing of past pupil Pierre Zakrzewski (Class of 1984) in the Ukraine. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."

In a statement issued by Aras an Uachtarain, President Higgins offered his deepest sympathies to the man's family and said, "The indiscriminate killing of civilians, including journalists, must be brought to an end."

Taoiseach Micheal Martin also commented on the death of Mr Zakrzewski, stating, "Deeply disturbed and saddened by the killing of Irish citizen and journalist Pierre Zakrzewski and one of his colleagues today. My thoughts are with their families, friends and fellow journalists. We condemn this indiscriminate and immoral war by Russia on Ukraine."
The East Carolinian has created a forum that centers around topics within the community where readers can express their experiences and concerns. With Valentine's Day coming up, do you think the ECU community and the City of Greenville is doing all they can to make people feel loved and supported?

Survey
For those of you who will be giving St Patrick's Day parades a miss, there are plenty of movies on TV over the four-day weekend.

Film guru Ronan O'Meara has been scouring the schedules and has picked 10 to choose from.

Breadwinner: St Patrick's Day, RTE2 @ 10.35am

Growing up under Taliban control in Afghanistan is an awful way to live as little Parvana finds out when her father is arrested. Now to support her family she must pretend to be a boy and brave the outside world. Cartoon Saloon's third feature length animated film steps away from Ireland and into a warzone. It's a scary, stressful but gorgeous and heartfelt look at the hardships of being a woman in a man's world. Saara Chaudry adds amazing voicework to glorious animation.



Appointment With Danger: St Patroick's Day, Film4 @ 2.40pm

Gary, Indiana. A postal officer has been murdered and Inspector Goddard is on the case. There's a single witness, a nun by the name of Sister Augustine. She's in danger and he must go undercover to save her and solve the crime. Every film list needs a film noir and here is a prime example. It's familiar stuff as noir goes but there's a subtle streak of humour running through it, Alan Ladd hits the spot as the lead and we get an likably off kilter turn from Phyllis Calvert as the witness.

The Guard: St Patrick's Day, RTE 2 @ 9.30pm

In darkest Connemara a stubborn, set in his ways policeman finds himself working with the FBI to stop a big drug deal going down. Will their differing styles blend? A darkly hilarious film shot through with a unique Irish sensibility that will have you in tatters laughing one minute and upset the next. Brendan Gleeson is as good as he's ever been and Don Cheadle supports him ably. Liam Cunningham is wicked craic as always as the baddie.

Knives Out: Friday, RTE One @ 9.30pm

The morning after his 85th birthday the patriarch of the Thrombey family is found dead and suspicion has fallen on the many troubled members of his family. Sons, daughters, nieces, grandchildren, who could it be? Private eye Benoit Blanc is here to find out. Rian Johnson's comedy thriller is a twisty turny joy that only a misery guts could hate. Daniel Craig, Jamie Lee-Curtis, Christopher Plummer, Ana De Armas and many others have a whale of a time putting all the pieces together.

Squirm: Friday, Talking Pictures TV @ 11.05pm

A hefty storm in the skies over Fly Creek has awoken something in the soil. Something unsettling. Something dangerous. Something with a taste for human meat. Jeff Lieberman's 1976 cult classic isn't one for the squeamish but there's an awful lot of enjoyment to be had here, especially with Rick Baker's wonderful practical effects, if you're willing to put aside the friday evening snacks and dive in. Don Scardino and Patricia Pearcy are a pair of game leads.

The Elephant Man: Saturday, Virgin Media Three @ 9.15pm

The story of John Merrick, a lovely & gentle man, despised by the society he grew up in because of the way he looked, and Frederick Treves, the doctor who treated him like a human. David Lynch's justifiably lauded 1980 drama is a heartbreaking look at a life ruined by a birth defect. A terribly sad but strangely beautiful film. John Hurt in the lead role does career best work while Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft excel in support.

Burning: Saturday, BBC4 @ 10pm

Jong-Su bumps into an old friend of his while working and she asks him for help while she's travelling. On her return she brings back a new partner who Jong-Su quickly becomes suspicious of. Burning's slowburn (hehe) pace might be off putting to some but stick with it and you'll find it's a very well put together Korean drama/thriller that will knock around your head for quite a while after it's finished. Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yuen and Jeon Jong-seo make quite the trio.

Bridge Of Spies: Saturday, BBC Two @ 11.30pm

Cold war intrigue abounds in this gripping drama from Steven Spielberg. An American lawyer hired to deal with a Russian spy finds himself sucked into a negotiation involving a downed U.S. pilot in a Berlin that's divided in two. Initially slow moving and confusing, but when it settles it turns into both a very entertaining watch and a history lesson. Tom Hanks, Mark Rylance and Amy Ryan are all in fantastic form.

Climax: Sunday, Film4 @ 1.50am

A company of dancers get together for one big celebration. All is going well, laughs are being had, until someone realises that something has gone very very wrong. This is French director Gaspar Noe's tamest film but if this is your first experience of his you might find that hard to believe. It lacks the graphic sex of his better known work but more than makes up for it in intensity and brutality. You won't forget this one for a while. Sofia Boutella is a solid lead.

Brewster's Million's: Sunday, ITV4 @ 2.35pm

Montgomery Brewster's uncle has died and has left him $300 million. But there's a catch. He must first spend $30 million in 30 days and not have anything to show for it. A tough task in the days before bitcoin. Director Walter Hill leaves aside the macho thrillers and westerns he's known for here and while it wasn't well received on release it's actually a charming and funny vehicle for leading man Richard Pryor with John Candy in back up as his usual sparkling self.

Notorious: Sunday, Talking Pictures TV @ 7pm

To atone for the sins of her father a woman called Alicia Huberman delves into the world of espionage to investigate nazis living in South America. Of course, being that this is a Hitchcock film, she falls for her government handler too. 75 years old this year and still as enjoyable as it ever was, this thriller starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant is smooth as silk and full of tension, romantic and otherwise. Keep an eye out for one of the most famous kisses ever filmed.l

As always visit hamsandwichcinema.blogspot.com/ for more film and tv chat.
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday directed government officials and experts to maintain heightened surveillance as Covid-19 cases are spiking in some Asian and European countries again.

Chairing a high-level meeting, the minister reviewed the decision to resume scheduled international flights from 27 March, the vaccination situation and the level of genomic surveillance.

Given the rising cases in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and some European countries, a high-level meeting was held by the Union health minister with senior government officials and experts," news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.

"The minister has directed aggressive genomic sequencing, heightened surveillance and a high level of alertness," it added.

Senior government officials, including health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, department of biotechnology secretary Dr Rajesh Gokhale, secretary in the department of pharmaceuticals S Aparna, NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul, ICMR director-general Dr Balram Bhargava and AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr NK Arora, the chairman of the Covid-19 working group of NTAGI, attended the meeting.

WHO alarm

Meanwhile, World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has sounded a warning regarding another massive coronavirus wave and asserted after several weeks of declines, reported cases of Covid-19 are once again increasing globally, especially in parts of Asia.

These increases are occurring despite reductions in testing in some countries, which means the cases we are seeing are just the tip of the iceberg. And we know that when Covid-19 cases increase, so do deaths," said Tedros.

Continued local outbreaks & surges are to be expected, particularly in areas where measures to prevent transmission have been lifted, he said.

International flight resumption

This comes as the central government on Sunday said that regular international flights will resume from 27 March as the coronavirus situation in India has improved.

Due to the outbreak of Covid -19, scheduled international flight services were suspended on 23 March 2020. However, special international flights have been operating between India and about 35 other countries since July 2020 under air bubble.

Covid situation in country

India logged 2,876 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 4,29,98,938, while the active cases dipped to 32,811, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday.

The death toll climbed to 5,16,072 with 98 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

The active cases comprise 0.08% of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate further improved to 98.72%, the ministry said.

A reduction of 1,106 cases has been recorded in the active Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it said.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 4,24,50,055 and the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.20%, the ministry said.

The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 180.60 crore, it said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today said a business-like spirit" is emerging at talks with Ukraine that are now focused on a neutral status for the war-torn country. Russia said a Ukrainian proposal to become a neutral country but retain its own armed forces could be viewed as a compromise. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the idea of Swedish or Austrian-style neutrality is under discussion in the talks now underway between Russia and Ukraine to try to end the war thats now in its 21st day.

Here are 10 updates:

The latest round of Russia-Ukraine talks, which started on Monday, and are set to continue today.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees," Lavrov said on Russian channel RBK TV. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed."

Only a Ukrainian" model with enforceable security guarantees is acceptable to Kyiv, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said by text message. This means that the signatories do not stand aside in case of attack against Ukraine as they do now."

The Russian foreign minister however didn't elaborate, but said the business-like spirit" starting to surface in the talks gives hope that we can agree on this issue."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that the country realizes that it can't join NATO.

Ukraine's bid to join the Western military alliance has been a sore point for Moscow.

Ukraine however has said that 'security guarantees' must be focus of talks with Russia.

Oil prices fell today after the Kremlin hinted at progress in peace negotiations. Futures in London fell as much as 1.7% to near $98 a barrel, after earlier rallying close to $104. Eurozone equity markets rallied by more than three percent on Wednesday, extending early gains on Ukraine peace hopes, traders said.
KRAKOW (POLAND) : In three weeks, nearly two million people have left Ukraine for Poland, half of them children, hundreds of thousands of them headed into the largest Polish cities.

Now, basic services are buckling under that avalanche of refugees from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In Warsaw, the local government is registering so many new Ukrainian arrivals that the citys computer system crashed. In Krakow, housing is in such short supply that refugees are being sent to lodging as much as 5 hours away.

And officials in both cities are now begging other countries to take in more people fleeing Ukraine.

Help us out. Help us out. You need to accept as many people as you can," said Warsaw Mayor Rafa Trzaskowski.

He said he had spoken by phone with the mayors of Paris, Florence and Berlin, and met with Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, to ask for more assistance. He told Mr. Trudeau: We cant do it alone. We need an international system. We are slowly becoming overwhelmed."

Some 1.9 million people have arrived in Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three weeks ago, according to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. More than 400,000 of them are staying in Warsaw and Krakow, Polands two largest cities, and local officials estimate that number could double.

So far, Poland has absorbed the refugees without the large-scale refugee camps that popped up across Europe during the 2015 refugee crisis. Before the war, as many as two million Ukrainians already lived in Poland, and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians refugees are now staying with friends and family, as well as Poles who have offered up space for strangers in their homes.

The flood of people into major Polish cities is putting immense pressure on housing stocks, schools and transportation systems, with trains arriving in Warsaw and Krakow jammed with passengers and suitcases in the aisles. Roughly half of the refugees are children, while many others are elderly.

City psychologists are all working with refugees, leaving no appointments for locals. Government housing intended for needy Poles is now occupied by Ukrainians.

These are the people who usually in every city in the world need assistancethis is going to cause problems," Mr. Trzaskowski said. We need relocation in Poland. Please start sending trains all over. Not just to Warsaw."

Last week, when Polish President Andrzej Duda met with Vice President Kamala Harris, he asked her to speed the visa process for Ukrainians who wish to join family in the U.S.

Many of the refugees want to remain in Europe and, often, in Poland, which is close to home and has a similar language to Ukrainian. Efforts to send refugees to other European countries have also been clouded by stringent Covid-19 regulations in many European Union countries, Mr. Trzaskowski said. Poland, for now, has lifted Covid-19 regulations for those coming from Ukraine.

The conditions for refugees in some countries have also been a deterrent.

We already sent a few trains of people to Germany," Krakow Mayor Jacek Majchrowski said. But Germany put them in refugee camps. So people who went are now letting the ones coming now know not to go to Germany."

Located less than three hours from the busiest border crossing with Ukraine, Krakow is carrying one of Europes heaviest refugee burdens. A city of less than 800,000 before the war began, it is now home to about 110,000 refugees, Mr. Majchrowski said, a 14% jump in population in less than a month. Warsaw, home to about 1.6 million before the war, has received 300,000 refugees, an even bigger leap. If they stay, one out of every six residents in the capital will be a recently arrived Ukrainian.

Hotels in both cities, and increasingly in their surroundings, are overbooked. Old shopping malls and hospitals are being turned into refugee housing. Rules limiting classroom size have been tossed out, and schools are swelling with new Ukrainian students.

Krakow has already spent all its entire crisis reserve fund, a sum of roughly $4.6 million, and now were spending money from other sources," Mr. Majchrowski said.

The Polish government has promised to repay cities for their costs, city officials said, though they acknowledge getting 100% of their money back is unlikely.

Beginning Wednesday, the Polish government will start to issue government ID numbers to Ukrainian refugees. Although city officials said the ID numbers would help refugees access services, they also worried the medical system could be overwhelmed as a result, as more Ukrainians become eligible for treatment.

Theres a feeling of powerlessness as the city has reached its limits," said Antoni Fryczek, Krakows city manager. Not only in terms of housing, but education, medical supplies. Everything is just full."

Mr. Fryczek starts each day with a meeting to evaluate ongoing fires." On Monday, the first order of business was getting food and specialized medical supplies to Lviv, Ukraine, which Krakow and Warsaw have been doing regularly. They stocked five transport buses with medical and sanitary supplies and sent them off.

After that meeting, Mr. Fryczek checks supplies for refugees. The city has enough food and too much clothing, but almost nowhere for people to stay.

Refugees looking for food and shelter gather under Platform 4 at Krakows central train station. Volunteers in safety orange vests can hardly walk 10 feet before someone grabs them, asking where to find diapers, how to sign up for housing, where they can find a hot meal. Signs in Polish, English and Ukrainian offer housing all over Europe and numbers to call. Families sit on top of suitcases, waiting for rides to places they have never heard of.

Whereas two weeks ago arrivals frequently had friends and family to stay with and could afford plane tickets, those arriving now often have little money and no contacts.

I have no one in Europe," said Viktoriia Svichkar, a 25-year-old from Kharkiv, who arrived in Krakow on Sunday, as she stood in line waiting to register for housing. Her two cats sat in a carrier on the floor next to her. I just want a place to sleep. Im alone. I dont care how long I can stay."

Inside the makeshift housing office, staff maintain a database of several thousand beds. The options are getting farther from Krakow by the day. Over the weekend, the city of Gorzow Wielkopolski offered up accommodation for 40 people, plus buses to transport them there. The catch: It is 5 hours from Krakow.

Concerned about security and the potential for human trafficking, city officials arent directing refugees to beds in private apartments. But just outside the housing office, an unofficial market for places to sleep in the city has popped up.

On Sunday afternoon, a Ukrainian woman emerged in tears after city workers told her they had nothing to offer in Krakow. Immediately, Monika and Robert Kosaka approached her, offering a couch at their apartment in the city.

Complaining that there was no way to officially register to host refugees, Ms. Kosaka said: Everything is so messy."

Although Krakowians remain eager to help refugees, with hundreds of them volunteering at the station and offering up rooms in their own apartments to strangers each day, city officials said that if the flood of Ukrainians into the city continues, local residents could grow resentful.

Already, they are hearing some grumbling that Ukrainians driving fancy cars get free public transit, while the Krakowians who pay taxes to support the trains dont.

Situations like that are increasing," Mr. Majchrowski, the mayor of Krakow, said. Things that were supposed to be for Krakow residents are being taken away and given to refugees."
The Stela of Amenophis III, shown here at the Cairo Museum, Egypt. This enormous stela, hewn out of black granite, bears the earliest mention of Israel of any of the exhibits in the National Museum of Egypt.

The term "ancient Israel" is used by scholars to refer to the tribes, kingdoms and dynasties formed by ancient Jewish people in the Levant (an area that encompasses modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria).

Scholars draw mainly on three sources to reconstruct the history of ancient Israel  archaeological excavations, the Hebrew Bible and texts that are not found in the Hebrew Bible. The use of the Hebrew Bible can be challenging for scholars  while some of the accounts are thought by many scholars to be mystical, others, such as Nebuchandezzar II's conquest of Jerusalem are known to have happened.

Early history

The earliest mention of the word "Israel" comes from a stele (an inscription carved on stone) found in Thebes (modern day Luxor ) and erected by the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah, who reigned from around 1213 B.C. to 1203 B.C. The inscription mentions a military campaign in the Levant during which Merneptah supposedly "laid waste" to "Israel" among other kingdoms and cities in the region.

The Hebrew Bible claims that the Jewish people fled Egypt as refugees before arriving (with some divine help) in the Levant, where they started conquering territory from the local population  such as the Canaanites . When exactly this would have happened is unclear although it would have been more than 3,000 years ago. Whether there is any truth to this biblical account is a point of contention among modern-day scholars. Some scholars think that there was no exodus from Egypt, while others believe that some Jewish people could have fled Egypt in the second millennium B.C.

James Hoffmeier, an archaeologist and professor at Trinity International University in Illinois, pointed out in papers and lectures that people from the Levant did live in ancient Egypt at different points in Egypt's history. He also noted that the ancient city of Ramesses, mentioned in the exodus stories told in the Hebrew Bible, did exist, and archaeologists have discovered that it flourished for several centuries during the second millennium B.C., before it was abandoned about 3,100 years ago.

King David

King David bearing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, in the early 16th century. (Image credit: Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

According to the Hebrew Bible, a man named David rose to become Israel's king after slaying a giant named Goliath in a battle that led to the rout of a Philistine army. King David then led a series of military campaigns that made Israel a powerful kingdom centered at Jerusalem, according to the Hebrew Bible.

After King David's death, possibly around 3,000 years ago, his son Solomon took over the kingdom and constructed what is now called the First Temple  supposedly the first purpose-built temple in which to worship God. The temple was located in Jerusalem and contained the Ark of the Covenant , which held tablets inscribed with the 10 Commandments. Recent archaeological excavations show that smaller temples also existed in Israel at the time the First Temple was flourishing.

Most of what scholars know about King David comes from the Hebrew Bible. However, fragments of an inscription found at the archaeological site of Tel Dan in 1993 mention a "House of David." The fragmented inscription dates back over 2,800 years. Although the meaning of the words is debated by scholars, many think it's evidence that a ruler named David really existed.

However, a number of archaeologists have noted that evidence for King David's supposedly vast kingdom is scarce. Jerusalem appears to have been sparsely populated around 3,000 years ago, Israel Finkelstein, a professor at Tel Aviv University, wrote in 2010.

"Over a century of archaeological explorations in Jerusalem  the capital of the glamorous biblical United Monarchy  failed to reveal evidence for any meaningful 10th-century building activity," Finkelstein wrote in a paper published in 2010 in the book " One God? One Cult? One Nation: Archaeological and Biblical Perspectives " (De Gruyter, 2010). Finkelstein wrote that King David's kingdom was likely a more modest state than the one described in the Hebrew Bible.

Over the last decade, a 3,000-year-old site called Khirbet Qeiyafa has been excavated by a team of archaeologists. The site is located west of Jerusalem, and the excavators believe it was controlled by King David. They even claim to have found a palace that may have belonged to King David , Live Science reported in 2013.

Northern & southern kingdoms

After King Solomon's death in around 930 B.C., the kingdom split into a northern kingdom, which retained the name Israel, and a southern kingdom called Judah, named after the tribe of Judah that dominated the new kingdom. Accounts in the Hebrew Bible suggest that grievances over taxes and corvee labor (free labor that had to be done for the state) played a role in the breakup.

The Hebrew Bible says that at the time of the breakup an Egyptian pharaoh named Shishak launched a military campaign in the Levant , where he carried out a successful raid of Jerusalem (capital of the kingdom of Judah) and took war booty back home.

Ancient Egyptian records say that around this time a pharaoh named Sheshonq I ruled Egypt. Sheshonq launched a military campaign into the Levant and conquered a number of settlements, according to these records. However, it's unclear from the surviving evidence whether he successfully attacked Jerusalem. Many scholars believe that the names Shishak and Sheshonq refer to the same pharaoh.

Israel and Judah co-existed for about two centuries, although they often fought each other. Israel also fought against a non-Jewish kingdom called Moab, which was located largely in modern-day Jordan. A ninth-century B.C. stele created by a Moabite king discusses the conflict between Israel and Moab; it is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Assyrian involvement

Here, one of a series of panels showing Tiglath-pileser III campaigns in southern Iraq. (Image credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Between the ninth and seventh centuries B.C., the Assyrian Empire, originally from the region that is now northern Iraq, grew in size and conquered an empire that stretched from modern-day Iraq to the borders of Egypt. As the Assyrian Empire grew, it came into contact with both Israel and Judah. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III claims that an Israeli king named Jehu was forced to pay tribute to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (reign 859 to 824 B.C.); the obelisk is now in the British Museum.

The Hebrew Bible states that during the rule of Israel's King Pekah (who reigned around 735 B.C.), the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (who reigned from 745 to 727 B.C.) launched a military campaign that conquered several cities from Israel. Pekah was assassinated around 732 B.C. as Israel's losses mounted, and a new king named Hoshea took control of what was left of Israel.

Accounts recorded in the Hebrew Bible suggest that the Assyrian campaign against Israel was part of a larger war in which Israel and Judah fought against each other  the Assyrians sided with Judah, while a kingdom named Aram sided with Israel.

Hoshea was forced to pay tribute to the Assyrians, the Hebrew Bible says. He later rebelled but was crushed by Assyrian forces around 723 B.C. (the exact date is not clear). The kingdom of Israel then came to an end, and its remaining territory was incorporated into the Assyrian Empire. Many Israelites were deported to Assyria. The Hebrew Bible says that Judah was the last Jewish kingdom standing, although it was forced to pay tribute to Assyria.

In 705 B.C., Sennacherib ascended the throne of Assyria, and launched a military campaign against Judah that culminated in the siege of Jerusalem in 701 B.C. Both the Hebrew Bible and cuneiform texts tell of the siege. The Hebrew Bible says that Taharqa, a ruler who controlled both Nubia and Egypt, marched against Sennacherib, which may have helped end the siege. The Hebrew Bible also says that at one point, "The angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning  there were all the dead bodies!" (2 Kings 19:35 and Isaiah 37:36)

Cuneiform texts written by the Assyrians also say that Sennacherib failed to take Jerusalem. They don't specify why, only saying that Sennacherib trapped Hezekiah, the king of Judah, in Jerusalem "like a caged bird" and that the Assyrian king captured other cities that Hezekiah had controlled. The Assyrian texts claim that Hezekiah paid an enormous tribute to Sennacherib before the Assyrian king went home.

Fall of Judah & Babylonian exile

A painting showing the burning of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar's Army. (Image credit: VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

Ultimately, it wasn't the Assyrian Empire that destroyed Judah. Nearly a century after Sennacherib's unsuccessful siege of Jerusalem, a Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar II conquered much of Assyria's former empire and laid siege to Jerusalem. His forces conquered the city in 587 B.C., destroyed the First Temple, along with much of the rest of Jerusalem, and deported many of Judah's inhabitants to Babylonia (modern-day southern Iraq). Both the Hebrew Bible and cuneiform tablets that were written in Nebuchadnezzar II's time recorded these events.

The fate of the Ark of the Covenant, which was housed in the First Temple is unknown. Some ancient writers said that the ark was brought back to Babylon, while others suggested that it was hidden away. In the millennia after the destruction of the First Temple, a number of stories were spun about the supposed location of the lost Ark .

In recent years, a number of cuneiform tablets have emerged from Iraq that reveal details of the lives of some of the Jewish deportees. Many of these tablets were purchased by private collectors on the antiquities market, raising concerns that some of the tablets may have been looted.

The tablets give details on Jewish people who lived at a village called Al-Yahudu, which in Akkadian means the "village of Judea." The tablets were "written by Babylonian scribes on behalf of the Judean families that lived in and around Al-Yahudu," Kathleen Abraham, a professor at the University of Leuven in Belgium, wrote in a paper for an exhibition catalog, "Light and Shadows: The Story of Iran and the Jews" (Beit Hatfutsot, 2011).

The "tablets show that the exiles and their descendants had, at least to some extent, adopted the local language, script and legal traditions of Babylonia a relatively short time after their arrival there," Abraham wrote.

The Babylonians were eventually conquered by the ancient Persians in 539 B.C., and the Persian king Cyrus the Great (died circa 530 B.C.) gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem.

The Hasmonean Dynasty

The Persian Empire was virtually destroyed in the fourth century B.C. after suffering a series of stunning defeats at the hands of Alexander the Great , who went on to conquer an empire that stretched from Macedonia to Afghanistan. Even before Alexander's time, Greek forces launched raids on Persian territories, including Israel; a 2,500-year-old helmet that may be from a Greek raid was found in Haifa harbor in 2007.

Alexander's empire rapidly fell apart following his death in 323 B.C.. One of his generals, Seleucus Nicator, formed an empire that eventually controlled ancient Israel. The "Seleucid Empire" as it is called by modern-day historians, was passed down through the Seleucid family line for about 250 years.

The Seleucid Empire began to weaken during the 2nd century B.C., and a line of Jewish rulers descended from a priest named Simon Maccabeus gained semi-autonomy and eventually full independence from the Seleucids. This line of rulers is called the Hasmonean dynasty by modern-day scholars. By 100 B.C., the Hasmoneans had gained control of the territory that was once controlled by Israel and Judah, as well as territories that those kingdoms had never controlled, such as some areas of Jordan.

However, the Hasmonean dynasty's success proved short-lived. Roman power grew in the eastern Mediterranean during the first century B.C., taking territory in Anatolia during the late second and early first centuries B.C  gradually inching closer to Hasmonean territory. The Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, more commonly known as Pompey the Great, took advantage of a Hasmonean civil war to launch a military expedition into Hasmonean territory. Jerusalem fell to Pompey in 63 B.C. and from that point on the territories that the Hasmoneans controlled were effectively under Roman rule  with Herod the Great eventually being named as a client king.

Herod the Great

The Masada Plateau in Israel (Image credit: Walter Bibikow/Getty Images)

While the Romans held sway over the former Hasmonean territories, they didn't impose Roman rule directly. Instead, a number of Jewish rulers controlled the territories as client kings of Rome.

The most famous of these client kings was Herod the Great (who lived circa 73 B.C. to 4 B.C.). The Roman general Mark Antony was a key supporter of Herod and supplied the military strength necessary to cement Herod's position as king of Judea, Barry Strauss, a professor of history and classics, wrote in his book "The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian at Actium" (Simon & Schuster, 2022). Despite this, Antony also forced Herod to cede land to Cleopatra VII, Strauss wrote.

Herod became well known for his building achievements. "Without a doubt he [Herod] was the greatest builder in the Holy Land, planning and overseeing the execution of palaces, fortresses, theatres, amphitheatres, harbours and the entire city of Caesarea, and to crown them all, he organized the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem," Geza Vermes, who was professor emeritus of Jewish Studies at Oxford University in the U.K., wrote in his book "The True Herod" (Bloomsbury, 2014).

Herod built what is today called the Second Temple in Jerusalem, a replacement of sorts for the First Temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Herod also constructed a series of palaces at Masada.

Biblical literature often vilifies Herod, claiming that he tried to seek out and kill Jesus when he was a baby, as he supposedly perceived the infant as a threat to his rule. One biblical story claims that he killed all the infants living in Bethlehem in hopes of killing Jesus. Scholars are generally skeptical of these biblical claims and doubt that they actually happened.

Some scholars think that a group called the Essenes established a retreat at Qumran during or shortly after King Herod's reign. The Dead Sea Scrolls  thousands of fragments from 900 manuscripts  were found in 11 nearby caves near Qumran in the 1940s and 1950s. An additional scroll was found blank inside another cave in 2017. Some of the scrolls contain parts of the Hebrew Bible while others include calendars, community rules and astronomical texts.

Rebellions against Rome

After Herod's death around 4 B.C., Rome asserted more control over the area and ruled parts of Israel directly. These parts were governed by prefects who were appointed by Rome  such as Pontius Pilate .

Tensions between the region's Jewish inhabitants and Roman rulers increased and came to a head in A.D. 66. A rebellion in A.D. 70 culminated in the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman forces. Resistance continued after the city's fall  the rebels' last major stronghold was at Masada; it didn't fall until A.D. 73 or A.D. 74, after a protracted Roman siege.

Masada's defenders were part of a group that modern-day scholars often refer to as the "Zealots." The ancient Jewish writer Josephus (who lived from A.D. 37 to 100) wrote that the Zealots took their own lives rather than surrender to the Romans. "For the husbands tenderly embraced their wives, and took their children into their arms, and gave the longest parting kisses to them, with tear in their eyes," before they committed suicide, Josephus wrote.

Further rebellions occurred over the decades. The final rebellion was crushed in A.D. 136. The Roman writer Cassius Dio (who lived circa. A.D. 155 to A.D. 235) wrote that this last rebellion led to the desolation of the Jewish population.

"Five hundred and eighty thousand men were slain in the various raids and battles, and the number of those that perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding out  thus nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate," Dio wrote. (Translation by Earnest Cary, from volume VIII of the "Loeb Classical Library" published in 1925). Archaeologists are still finding treasure hoards buried by people who lived during this rebellion.

In the millennia afterward, the Jewish diaspora spread throughout the world. The modern state of Israel was established in 1948, with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Israel Museum in Jerusalem holds many of the Dead Sea Scrolls and numerous artifacts from Israel's ancient and modern history. Archeologists plan to restart excavations at Masada in 2023  more information on their finds and plans can be found on the excavation's website .

Additional resources

The site study.com has a video and resources on daily life in ancient Israel.

The Biblical Archaeology Society has loads of features on ancient Israel, along with information about live events and digs.

The World History Encyclopedia provides an in-depth look at Herod the Great.

Bibliography

Yeroushalmi, David, ed, "Light and Shadows: The Story of Iran and the Jews" Fowler Museum at UCLA, 2012

Hoffmeier, James. "Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Narrative" Oxford University Press, 2005

Kratz, Reinhard G. and Spieckermann, Hermann (eds) "One God? One Cult? One Nation: Archaeological and Biblical Perspectives" De Gruyter, 2010

Strauss, Barry "The War That Made the Roman Empire: Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian at Actium" Simon & Schuster, 2022

Vermes, Geza, "The True Herod" Bloomsbury, 2014
Acid rain, or acid deposition, is a broad term that includes any form of precipitation that contains acidic components, such as sulfuric acid or nitric acid. The precipitation is not necessarily wet or liquid; the definition includes dust, gases, rain, snow, fog and hail. The type of acid rain that contains water is called wet deposition. Acid rain formed with dust or gases is called dry deposition.

The precipitation is not necessarily wet or liquid; the definition includes dust, gasses, rain, snow, fog and hail. The type of acid rain that contains water is called wet deposition. Acid rain formed with dust or gasses is called dry deposition.

Causes of acid rain

The term acid rain was coined in 1852 by Scottish chemist Robert Angus Smith, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry, which calls him the "father of acid rain." Smith decided on the term while examining rainwater chemistry near industrial cities in England and Scotland. He wrote about his findings in 1872 in the book "Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology."

In the 1950s, scientists in the United States started studying the phenomenon, and in the 1960s and early 1970s, acid rain became recognized as a regional environmental issue that affected Western Europe and eastern North America.

Though manmade pollutants are currently affecting most acidic precipitation, natural disasters can be a factor as well. For example, volcanoes can cause acid rain by blasting pollutants into the air. These pollutants can be carried around the world in jet streams and turned into acid rain far from the volcano. After an asteroid supposedly wiped out the dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago, sulfur trioxide was blasted into the air. When it hit the air, it turned into sulfuric acid, generating a downpour of acid rain.

Even before that, over 4 billion years ago, it is suspected that the air may have had 10,000 times as much carbon dioxide as today. Geologists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison backed up this theory by studying rocks and publishing the results in a 2008 issue of the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. "At [those levels of carbon dioxide], you would have had vicious acid rain and intense greenhouse [effects]. That is a condition that will dissolve rocks," said study team member John Valley.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) released into the air by fossil-fuel power plants, vehicles and oil refineries are the biggest cause of acid rain today, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Two thirds of sulfur dioxide and one fourth of nitrogen oxide found in the atmosphere come from electric power generators.

A chemical reaction happens when sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides mix with water, oxygen and other chemicals in the air. They then become sulfuric and nitric acids that mix with precipitation and fall to the ground. Precipitation is considered acidic when its pH level is about 5.2 or below. The normal pH of rain is around 5.6.

Environmental affects of acid rain

Acid rain affects nearly everything. Plants, soil, trees, buildings and even statues can be transformed by the precipitation.

Acid rain has been found to be very hard on trees. It weakens them by washing away the protective film on leaves, and it stunts growth. A United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study showed that acid rain is particularly hard on trees.

"By providing the only preserved soil in the world collected before the acid rain era, the Russians helped our international team track tree growth for the first time with changes in soil from acid rain," said Greg Lawrence, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist. "We've known that acid rain acidifies surface waters, but this is the first time we've been able to compare and track tree growth in forests that include soil changes due to acid rain."

Acid rain can also change the composition of soil and bodies of water, making them uninhabitable for local animals and plants. For example, healthy lakes have a pH of 6.5 or higher. As acid rain raises the level of acidity, fish tend to die off. Most fish species can't survive a water pH of below 5. When the pH becomes a 4, the lake is considered dead, according to National Atmospheric Deposition Program .

It can additionally deteriorate limestone and marble buildings and monuments, like gravestones.

Solutions and prevention

There are several solutions to stopping human-caused acid rain. Regulating the emissions coming from vehicles and buildings is an important step, according to the EPA. This can be done by restricting the use of fossil fuels and focusing on more renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power.

Related: How do solar panels work?

Also, each person can do their part by reducing their vehicle use. Using public transportation, walking, riding a bike or carpooling is a good start, according to the EPA. People can also reduce their use of electricity, which is widely created with fossil fuels , or switch to a solar plan. Many electricity companies offer solar packages to their customers that require no installation and low costs.





A helicopter dumps lime into a lake to neutralize the acid, in the vicinity of Gothenburg, Sweden (Image credit: Getty Images / Universal Images Group )

It is also possible to prevent acid rain forming, by adding lime deposits to major water sources. This method has been used to neutralize the Ph levels in the water, which reduced the acidity, for thousands of years, the LA Times reported. These so-called "liming" operations have also been used to restore wildlife. In Wales, a liming operation was conducted in 2003 to restore salmon to the Wye river. The water had become too acidic for the fish to survive, causing them to disappear from the river 18 years earlier, Young People's Trust for the Environment, a U.K. non-profit organization, reported.

Additional resources

Discover key facts about acid rain on Young Peoples Trust for the Environment, watch this National Geographic video about the role of fossil fuels and pollution in creating acid rain, and learn more about what the WWF is doing to reduce emissions.
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The Berlin Film Festival has issued a strongly worded statement that condemns Russias invasion of Ukraine, but has taken a stance against boycotting filmmakers based on their origin.

The Berlinale staunchly condemns Russias war of aggression, which violates international law, and expresses its solidarity with the people in Ukraine and all those who are campaigning against this war, the festival said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Russian invasion and attacks on civilian targets such as hospitals, schools and homes have caused a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in Ukraine. Our thoughts and sympathy are with the victims, the suffering population, and the millions who have fled Ukraine.

The Berlinale has developed into a setting for intercultural encounters and a platform for critical discussion of current or historical world events. Art and culture are key elements of democratic societies, and film festivals are places where artists from all over the world  regardless of their country  can showcase their work and enter into dialogue. It is only in open, creative spaces for reflection that (film) culture can continue to develop.

On this basis, the festival has not joined the rash of boycotts against Russian-origin filmmakers.

Even in face of the criminal Russian war of aggression, therefore, it cannot be the intention to exclude filmmakers or cultural workers from the Berlinale on the basis of their nationality, or to isolate them, the festival said. All too often, it is precisely their works that convey criticism of the respective regimes. Consequently, the Berlinale takes a clear stand against a general boycott of cultural works on the basis of their origin, as this would also suppress many critical voices. And the world needs those critical voices.

State-funded projects on the other hand could be boycotted by the festival.

It is a different matter to exclude official state institutions and, in this case, Russian institutions or delegations as well as supporting actors of the regime from participating in the Berlinale as long as the Russian government is waging this cruel war against Ukraine, the festival said.

The Berlin International Film Festival hopes for an early end to Russian aggression and peace for Ukraine, the statement concluded.

Earlier, the Cannes Film Festival took a position on Russia, saying that official Russian delegations or anyone linked to the Russian government were not welcome.

Venice plans to bar Russian delegations but not independent Russian filmmakers and their works.

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A testament to her fearless nature and boundless determination, Croatian-American filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic was nine months pregnant when she traveled from New York to present her feature debut Murina at the Cannes Film Festival.

At the end of the festival, Kusijanovic tool a 12-hour road trip with her husband to her homeland in Croatia, where she gave birth to her first child Petrus, right before scooping Cannes Golden Camera award with Murina, a double feast which earned her newborn son a lifetime festival accreditation.

Eight months later, she sat with Variety to tell us how her life has changed since winning the coveted award and looked back at her journey getting there. Vibrant, bright, restless and forceful like her first feature Murina, Kusijanovic hasnt wasted any time. Shes already well advanced on her sophomore outing, a daring English-language film which she co-wrote with Yinuo Wang (90 Days) and will shoot in Mexico. As with Murina, one of the overriding themes of her next project will be motherhood.

Recently acquired by Kino Lorber, Murina will bow on the opening night of the First Look Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York on Wednesday. A tense and sensual coming-of-age tale, the movie follows Julija (Gracija Filipovic), whose urge to break free from her oppressive father and isolated existence in coastal Croatia is triggered by the visit of a family friend. Filipovic also gained critical acclaim with her performance and was one of the 10 Shooting Stars at this years Berlinale.

Kusijanovic was signed by UTA on the heels of her Cannes victory and has started reading scripts, as well as taking meetings with U.S. studios and top-notch producers for some other projects.

Unlike many young writer-directors, Kusijanovic comes with a strong background in production, having worked as a producer on many projects back in Croatia. Shes also gained a deep knowledge about the U.S. film biz since moving to New York at the age of 22 and working for several film companies.

Martin Scorseses involvement as executive producer (through his banner Sikelia) on her debut movie underscores Kusijanovics pedigree. Her short Into the Blue was nominated for a Student Academy Award, and won awards at Berlin and Sarajevo, among other festivals.

Like her protagonist in Murina, Kusijanovic grew up in Croatia with an urge to fulfill her big dreams and knew that it wouldnt happen back home where she felt limited by patriarchal expectations. Although she had always wanted to become a filmmaker, she assumed it wasnt an option even if she was a child actor in Croatia from the age of 6.

There was no place for a woman to direct films in Croatia when I was younger. Even now, after winning the Golden Camera, people in Croatia are saying, who is she and where did she learn directing and how come she can make movies? said Kusijanovic. Although Murina is the first Croatian movie to have won a major international prize at a festival in recent history, it wasnt selected to represent the country in the Oscar race.

She continued acting until her late teens and got a degree in production from the Film Academy in Zagreb, where she produced many shorts, TV formats and commercials. It wasnt until she moved to New York and forged deep bonds within the local film community that she realized she had it in her to become a director.

Kusijanovics first venture into filmmaking started out unexpectedly with a rodent. Every day on my way to school or work, Id see a big inflated rat and I was very intrigued by it. I decided to produce a documentary about it and realized that there was a war with the construction union and the non-union which was very comedic, she said.

Since no one wanted to direct the documentary because everybody was scared of the Construction Union, Kusijanovic started shooting it herself but ultimately had to abandon the project after getting attacked and threatened by union members. Police arrived on the scene and they told me, youre very young and beautiful. And theres many other different things that you can shoot, for example shoot Bergdorf Goodman windows or flowers in Central Park, she said with a laugh.

From this odd and perilous experience, Kusijanovic realized that she truly wanted a direct films. I showed my rough draft to a dear friend, Dylan Leiner (from Sony Pictures Classics), who said, You are director. You should study directing, and I followed his advice, I enrolled into Columbia where I got an MFA in Screenwriting and Directing.

Reflecting her dual citizenship, Kusijanovic brings together the sensibility of a European auteur with the goal-oriented approach of an American filmmaker, which give her a competitive edge to achieve critical and commercial recognition.

European directors often say that they dont care about the audience but I think its not true because if you dont care about the audience, then you can just write a poetry, paint or do anything else that doesnt require millions of dollars and hundreds of people to support your vision, she says.

Its important to have an audience in mind when you make a film  and every good European film does it  because if you have an idea, an emotional state that you want to express, you want to make sure that other people can follow that and reach that emotional place, she added.

A perfectionist at heart, Kusijanovic also places a large emphasis on the script to give her storytelling a strong foundation and a particular pace. I dont believe in the first idea. I always believe in rewriting an idea over and over to come up with the essence of the first idea, she said. For Murina, she wrote countless drafts and exploring multiple variation of the story.

As much as I allow improvisation, only structure can give me that confidence and precision to lead the audience and build the rhythm to convey the sensuality you see in the film, said the helmer.

While making Murina back home in Croatia, Kusijanovic also experienced a coming of age as a feminist, being confronted with what she described as misogyny, chauvinism and violence perpetrated by both men and women.

Yet, Kusijanovic said she didnt make Murina to attack men, politics or tourism, even though movie somehow does all of that, but rather to remind every one of us of the resilience and faith in life you have as a 16-year-old boy or a girl. It was at that tender age that she got her first glimpse at life abroad, as an exchange student in a middle school in a sub-Arctic Circle area of French Canada where it was -40 Celsius every day.

Another event that had a profound impact on her was a close encounter with war and death. Shell always remember that day when she was with her family driving to get a Christmas tree and they found themselves in the middle of a massive car explosion.

We were in such a proximity of explosion, almost in its bubble, strangely nothing happened to us but I dont know how anybody could survive this, because around us all was left was a crater in the ground, the person who was driving the other car was burned to the engine decapitated, it was really an image that will never leave me, said Kusijanovic.

She said this trauma defined how she thinks about life and her work. I wont do any project or film if I dont think that its an important story to tell in the face of death, she said, adding nevertheless that she believes you can also find that in other peoples work and adaptations as long as you have that visceral connection.

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Germanys Beta Film has picked up international distribution rights to two anticipated Movistar Plus originals, Canneseries-bound El Inmortal  Gangs of Madrid and Galician crime drama Rapa.

Sneak peeked at Series Mania, Rapa screens at the Malaga Festival on March 22.

The acquisitions form part of an ongoing multi-year distribution-production alliance unveiled in 2019, giving Beta exclusive international distribution rights to about six Movistar Plus series a year.

A Movistar Plus co-production with Telemundo Streaming Studios in collaboration with Banijays DLO Producciones, El Inmortal inspired by true events, marks a deep dive into a figure and gang which reshaped Madrids 1990s criminal underworld.

There, Jose Antonio, played by Alex Garcia (Riot Police, If I Were Rich), rises up the ranks to drug lord, through a combination of burning ambition, innocence, and merciless elimination of rivals. But what he cherishes most may just cause his downfall, the synopsis runs.

Created by DLO head Jose Manuel Lorenzo, eight-episode series see its world premiere in main competition during this years edition of Canneseries, which runs April 1-6.

Rapa is produced by Movistar in collaboration with Portocabo, the outfit led by enterprising producer Alfonso Blanco, whose thriller series Hierro was the most successful Movistar Plus TV fiction last year.

The six-seg drama is set in the most north-western corner of Galicia, where Amparo Seoane, mayor of a small town for the last 30 years and most powerful woman of the region, is murdered.

In the series, Hierro and Riot Police actress Monica Lopez plays Maite, a sergeant in the Civil Guard who investigates the crime, which will become an obsession for her and for Tomas (Talk to Her, Sentimental and Venga Juan star Javier Camara), the only witness to the murder.

Kicking in with Camera trapsing over mist-veiled grass headlands plunging to the sea, as in Hierro, the series looks set too make telling use of landscape as metaphor, while portraying a community where everybody seems viscerally frustrated and wants to be somebody or something else. Its no coincidence that Tomas, a school teacher, begins the series teaching Madame Bovary.

Created by Hierros Pepe Coira and Fran Araujo, Rapa will celebrate its world premiere on March 22 as part of the Pantalla TV section of the 25th Festival de Malaga.

We at Beta are thrilled with the variety of series entrusted to us once again by our partners from Movistar Plus, said Peter Lohner, Betas VP acquisition hispanic and international.

Both series will be highlighted at Betas traditional Brunch taking place at this springs MipTV on April 5.

The six-hour dramedy Supernormal and task force thriller La Unidad are both set for new seasons on Movistar Plus, with the latter premiering on March 18. New seasons on both La Unidad  produced by Movistar in collaboration with Buendia Estudios  and Supernormal -in collaboration with Secuoya  are also part of Beta Films MipTV line-up.

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In Master of Light, Rosa Ruth Boestens superbly intimate portrait of painter George Anthony Morton, shadows matter as much as light. The documentary, which won the grand jury prize at the SXSW Film Festival, deals with Black trauma, gently acknowledging change without over-trumpeting resilience.While serving time in federal prison for selling drugs, Morton studied the works of Rembrandt and other classical painters. Unlike too many formerly incarcerated people, he found work when he was released after a 10-year stint. He painted the portrait of the Black owner of a gym, which led to more painting.

Master of Light makes clear that just because Morton  who lives in Atlanta with his partner and young daughter  has found his calling doesnt mean hes at peace. And the film toggles between Atlanta and the Kansas City neighborhood of his ruptured youth, where he returns to paint portraits of some of his family members, using the style of the Dutch Masters he so admires.

When we meet Morton, hes got a well-earned grasp of the outrages perpetrated by systemic racism, starting with mass incarceration. As a kid, he received encouragement in school to nourish his artistic talent, but the streets called. His critique of the setup that keeps people like him  and those who arent  perpetually hustling and failing is honed, even if it strikes familiar beats at times. In an energetic exchange with a sister who lives in Kansas City, the two talk about the schooling they received in the drug trade from their mother and grandmother. She showed me how to cook that shit, he says of his mother.

Boesten and cinematographer Jurgen Lisse make their own deft use of shadow and light. The documentary might have been called The Chiaroscuro of George Anthony Morton. There are moment when a shadow settles on Mortons face like a cloud, like a thought darkening. Sometimes it is the latter; he has plenty of exchanges with his mother that put him in a grim mood. Other times, that shade is simply how the artist looks when sitting in front of a canvas amid painterly concentration.

In a contemplative moment, he recalls the effect of the Dutch Masters paintings on him. Wheres that light coming from, he wonders. Why does it make me feel so alive and present?

The light here emanates from Morton. His curiosity about art, about his place in the world after his incarceration, makes visible the darkness hes experienced. Theres a reason were in the car with him as he drives to get his mother out of jail, or accompanying him around the Kansas City neighborhood of his youth or sitting in stillness as he talks with his therapist: He is our guide. The credits read A film by Rosa Ruth Boesten & George Anthony Morton, and Master of Light is a work of collaboration more than portraiture. (Also significant to the movies careful grace: producer and Oscar-winning documentarian Roger Ross Williams.)

The filmmaking is attentive and emotionally respectful. After a particularly volatile phone call between Morton and his mother, the camera quietly eyes Mortons young daughter, who is standing at a remove in the hallway. There is a great deal of pain in the frame.

Conversations between Morton and his supportive partner, Ashley, occasionally grow prickly. When she says something critical about his mothers selfishness, he shuts her down, saying she cant know what his mothers life has been like. Ashley did not grow up in the same devastating economic circumstances. In some sense their back-and-forth about his mothers recurring troubles is a microcosm of the tensions around personal agency and the devastating effects of generational and communal trauma that are not carried by Black Americans equally.

Mortons mother, who had him when she was 15, is a deeply complicated figure for him. Early in the film, he calls to ask if she saw him mentioned on a TV news program. Her disinterest is damning. Later, he learns that the story he went to prison believing about her role in his incarceration may not be the truth. That, too, is damning. They were arrested at the same time and did not see each other again for 13 years. That Morton wants to understand his mother, forgive his mother, makes for the films remarkably tender ache.

Many of the revealing moments in Master of Light arent about watching but about listening. Morton expresses doubt about visiting a therapist. But in their initial meeting, Morton shares that he likely has survivors guilt and that hes experienced a pretty unique form of trauma. As their sessions deepen, Morton declares, I want to be more light, less serious. I wonder if life has hardened me.

A Black man with a vibe of equilibrium, the therapist gentles a young man who wasnt brought up to seek  or trust  the profession. (Rap is our talking cure.) Therapy is about transformation. Not about being fixed, he tells Morton.

Master of Light is also about transformation. The exchanges that take place as Morton paints his mother, his romantic partner and 11-year-old nephew Treshon are their own form of working through. After Treshon recites a rap hes written, Morton tells him, I turn my pain into art too.

The film concludes with Morton working on the portrait of his mother. Theres a hint of his face in hers in the not quite completed painting. The film ends with a subtle yet magnanimous gesture, making it clear Mortons remarkable story is not yet finished  in the best possible sense.

Reviewed online, March 13, 2022. In SXSW Film Festival (Documentary Feature Competition). Running time: 83 MIN.

Production

(Documentary) A Vulcan Prods., One Story Up Prods. presentation, in collaboration with Docmakers. Producers: Roger Ross Williams, Anousha Nzume, Ilja Roomans. Executive producers: Jody Allen, Ruth Johnston, Rocky Collins, Jannet Gargi, Geoff Martz.

Crew

Director: Rosa Ruth Boesten. Camera: Jurgen Lisse. Editor: Ephraim Kirkwood. Music: Gary Gunn.

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Yalitza Aparicio is heading to the small screen thanks to the first all-Spanish-language series on Apple TV+. The Mexican actress, who starred as the beloved Cleo in Alfonso Cuarons Roma, takes a lead role in Familia de Medianoche. The series is based on the documentary Midnight Family, according to Variety.

The cast includes Joaquin Cosio (Narcos: Mexico, Gentefied), Oscar Jaenada (Luis Miguel: The Series), and Renata Vaca (Dale Gas). The drama series will follow Marigaby (Vaca) whos studying medicine during the day but helps her familys private ambulance business by night. Alongside her father (Cosio) and siblings Marcus (Diego Calva) and Julito (Sergio Bautista), she helps chilangos in Mexico City in need of medical attention. What excitement! Vaca wrote on Instagram.

The show is one of the first major acting gigs for Aparicio, who was nominated for best actress at the 2019 Oscars for her role as a loving housekeeper in the Golden Globe-winning film, Roma.

Aparicio is also set to appear in horror film Presencias via TelevisaUnivisions Vix+ streaming service this year. This is a story about a man who, after his wifes murder, launches his own investigation to find her killer, she said about the series, per Deadline. His investigation takes place at the scene of the crime: a cabin in the woods where he spent a large part of his childhood. Before long, he notices many strange occurrences taking place and is forced with facing a terrifying reality.

Familia de Medianoche  developed by Gibran Portela and Julio Rojas  is currently filming in Mexico City. Fabula, the company that produced Academy Award winner A Fantastic Woman, is executive producing the series.
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The Oscars will talk about Bruno, yes, yes, yes.

The 94th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 27, will feature the first live performance of We Dont Talk About Bruno, the breakout sensation from Disneys animated musical Encanto. This years telecast will also include tributes to James Bond and The Godfather, which is turning 50.

Encanto, a nominee for best animated film, opened in theaters last year and generated $250 million at the global box office. The movie about a Colombian family who lives in a magical house turned into an internet favorite after premiering on Disney Plus. We Dont Talk About Bruno, a group number in which the Madrigals lament about their estranged relative, Bruno, isnt nominated at this years Oscars. In fact, the musical-theater bop was not even in the running for best original song because Disney decided to instead submit the love song Dos Oruguitas for awards consideration. But the Academy Award producers couldnt deny the songs ubiquity in popular culture and arranged to bring the animated tune to life at this years telecast in the hopes that it would inspire fans to tune in.

Dos Oruguitas will compete against Beyonce Knowles-Carters Be Alive from King Richard, Van Morrisons Down To Joy from Belfast, Billie Eilish and Finneas OConnells No Time To Die from No Time to Die, and Diane Warrens Somehow You Do from Four Good Days for best original song.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music for Encanto, has defended Disneys decision to push Dos Oruguitas for awards contention. Mirandas Oscar nomination for best original song puts him one step closer to achieving EGOT status, having previously earned an Emmy, Tony and Grammy.

Im still proud of Dos Oruguitas as the submission, Miranda previously told Variety. When those are the parameters, you have to pick the thing that best exemplifies the spirit of the movie, and it contains all of it inside this song  as opposed to a journey of a particular character. Its the foundational story, but Im not going to say it wasnt hard [to choose].

Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes will host this years Academy Awards. Jane Campions revisionist Western The Power of the Dog is going into the night with a leading 12 nominations, followed by Denis Villeneuves sci-fi adaptation Dune with 10 and Steven Spielbergs West Side Story remake, Kenneth Branaghs semi-autobiographical Belfast each with seven.

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The cartel leader who was arrested reportedly leading to violence and explosions in Nuevo Laredo is in the United States.

Juan Gerardo Trevino Chavez, also known as El Huevo, has been deported.

The Attorney General's Office, Fiscalia General de la Republica, confirmed the news Tuesday. It added that as Trevino is a U.S. citizen, he was not extradited.

Trevino was reportedly handed over to authorities from the U.S. after reportedly arriving at the Tijuana International Airport  which sits directly on the border  just after midnight and was handed over to U.S. Marshalls and the FBI by FGR and SEDENA.

He was taken into the country through the Cross Border Xpress  which is described as a faster, more comfortable, one-of-a-kind way to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, exclusively for passengers of the Tijuana International Airport.

Trevino was arrested on Sunday, leading to gun battles, explosions and blockades around the Sister City during the early hours of Monday morning.

Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador met with Secretary of Security of the United States Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday to discuss immigration. And during the visit, the arrest of Trevino was discussed.

It was at that point that Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, described the arrest as one of the most important arrests of the last decade.

Mexican authorities expressed their excitement for the capture of Trevino, who they stated was the leader of the criminal organization of the Cartel Del Noreste  an offshoot of Los Zetas  and a group of assassins called Tropas del Infierno.

He is also the nephew of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales  known as Z40, the former Zetas leader currently serving a life sentence  and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, alias Z42. He is also the brother of Juan Francisco Kiko Trevino Chavez, who the Mexican government says is linked to drug trafficking.

The Mexican government stated that Trevino had three arrest warrants. One was in Tamaulipas for extortion and criminal association, a second in Coahuila for intentional homicide and terrorism, and the last for extradition purposes for drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.

Following Trevinos arrest, Nuevo Laredo suddenly became an area described by many on social media as a scene from Ukraine, as the country currently is being invaded by Russia. Burning blockades and explosions around the city due to major gunfire reported Monday morning.

The Tamaulipas Public Security Secretariat confirmed that shots were fired against military installations and the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo.

Initial reports indicated that suspected cartel members set commercial vehicles on fire to block two main avenues, according to the Department of Public Safety in Tamaulipas.

Nuevo Laredo Mayor Carmen Lilia Canturosas addressed the public on Monday afternoon, describing the situation.

We have experienced moments of tension due to the unfortunate events that took place early this Monday morning, Canturosas said. These events have affected our peace of mind and our daily work, but I am convinced that at times like these is when we show the greatness of our people. Despite how complicated it was for you to go to work or wake up with the uncertainty of taking our children to school. Today we remain firm and united working to move our city forward.

Family, you are not alone, we are united in this and nothing and no one is going to stop us from making the city the place we all want. I send you a sincere hug, my admiration for your strength and my solidarity. Together we will get ahead as we have always shown.

It is my priority, it is a priority of my government, to ensure the safety of all citizens, so we will continue to report promptly so that the necessary measures are taken to take care of the lives and assets of my fellow citizens.
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The cartel leader whose arrest reportedly led to a chaotic early Monday morning in Nuevo Laredo featuring gunfire and flaming tractor-trailers has been indicted.

Juan Gerardo Trevino Chavez, also known as El Huevo, has been indicted on numerous charges in San Antonio. The indictment was unsealed Tuesday.

Trevino, 39, is stated as the leader of the criminal organization of the Cartel Del Noreste  an offshoot of Los Zetas  and a group of assassins called Tropas del Infierno.

He is also the nephew of Miguel Angel Trevino Morales  known as Z40, the former Zetas leader currently serving a life sentence  and Oscar Omar Trevino Morales, alias Z42. He is also the brother of Juan Francisco Kiko Trevino Chavez, who the Mexican government says is linked to drug trafficking.

Trevino has been charged with 11 counts including:

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana.

Conspiracy to Import Marijuana.

Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substances.

Conspiracy to Employ a Person Under 18 in Drug Operations.

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Cocaine.

Conspiracy to Import Cocaine.

Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.

Conspiracy to Import Methamphetamine.

Conspiracy to Possess Firearms in Furtherance of Drug Trafficking.

Possession of a Machine Gun in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.

Money Laundering.

Trevino faces up to life in prison on seven of the charges, including all of the conspiracy to possess marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamine charges, the conspiracy to import cocaine and methamphetamine charges, the unlawful distribution charge and the employment of a person under 18 in drug operations charge.

Additionally, the firearm charges and the money laundering charge all carry a maximum 20-year sentence while the conspiracy to import marijuana charge has a maximum 10-year sentence.

The Mexican government previously stated that Trevino had three arrest warrants. One was in Tamaulipas for extortion and criminal association, a second in Coahuila for intentional homicide and terrorism, and the last for extradition purposes for drug trafficking and money laundering conspiracy.

Mexican authorities said Monday that Trevino was arrested in Nuevo Laredo. The incident kicked off a frightening scene for locals in the early hours of that morning sparking gun battles, explosions and blockades around the Sister City.

The Tamaulipas Public Security Secretariat confirmed that shots were fired against military installations and the U.S. Consulate in Nuevo Laredo, leading to international bridges being closed for a few hours. Reports also indicated that suspected cartel members set commercial vehicles on fire to block two main avenues, according to the Department of Public Safety in Tamaulipas.

Being a U.S. citizen, Trevino was then deported as he was taken across the border in Tijuana and arrested in San Diego. He is in custody there, and records state he is pending a transfer to Texas to face the charges.

Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, described the arrest as "one of the most important arrests of the last decade." He discussed the arrest during a previously scheduled visit to Mexico Monday by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the U.S. Marshals Service were said to be investigating the case by the U.S. Attorney's Office, while receiving assistance from the FBI and the Justice Departments Office of International Affairs.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said the arrest was said to have been a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. It states that OCDETF "identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach."
Just as the weather has started to warm up locally, the first brush fires along the Rio Grande stemming from Nuevo Laredo reached parts of the United States as they reached areas near El Cenizo on Tuesday.

Residents in the community were worried about the situation and quickly began taking pictures of the huge billows of smoke seen from residences and through drone pictures taken by several citizens. One concerned individual quickly took photos at around 2:15 p.m. when he states the fire began across the river.

According to the 5 p.m. update by City of Rio Bravo Fire Department Chief Juan C. Gonzalez the fire was still ramaging brushes on the Mexican side of the river all morning and early afternoon as fighterfighters on the American side near El Cenizo, Texas prepared to intervene if any gusts of winds cause brushes on the Americna side to catch fire. Nevertheless, this did not happen as winds seemed to go westward and away from the border area.

"The fire almost done by the river banks but it's spreading west," Gonzalez updated.

This means that the fire does not present much as a danger to the El Cenizo community but it continues burning rampantly through the Mexican brush and is growing. The latest update said that the fire was about five to six miles in length but all on the Mexican side.

Gonzalez states that no Mexican firefighters have been seen in the area trying to control its spread nor stopping it.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gonzalez confirmed to LMT that the fire started on the Mexican side and it did reach the American side by catching several of the brushes along the Zachary Ranch, which is adjacent to the end of the El Cenizo area behind Hernandez Street. Although the fire was already under control, Gonzalez did state that there were several hotspots that they were still working to extinguish.

"We went to check it (the fire) by El Cenizo, and then we saw that it was on the Mexican side, so we came back, and then a couple of hours later they called us," Gonzalez said. "We were the first ones on the scene, and a few minutes later Webb County (Fire Department) got there."

Gonzalez attributes the spread of the fire to the warmer temperatures and the fact that vegetation in the area is dead.

The cross fire was confirmed by City of El Cenizo Mayor Elsa Degollado, who said that it did not reach the city but rather the surrounding areas. Volunteers were at the scene and on standby to make sure that the fire did not get any bigger.

One of the first residents of the community to notice the fire crossing was Jerry Mata, who took out his drone in efforts to see if the fire had already crossed the river.

"What happened is we noticed smoke building up, so we decided to drive over and we witnessed flames and decided to fly the drone to get a better view," Mata said. "At the moment, we werent worried since it was on the Mexican side where there is empty (farms). But it appeared that it had made it to the U.S. side, so we decided to fly the drone even closer and we were able to confirm that it indeed in fact crossed the river through the islands in the middle of the river."

As the fire crossed, Mata states that he did see firefighters form the American side that were already on standby shut down the fire immediately as it crossed into the American side.

"Thankfully, we saw the Rio Bravo Fire Department shut down the fire on the U.S. side," Mata said. "Unfortunately, El Cenizo has not had a working fire truck for over six months. My brother is a volunteer, and even if the local firefighter wanted to help, we couldnt due to lack of help by the city on fixing and funding the fuel for the fire trucks."

Gonzalez states that they have the enough resources to control the fire at the moment as they do have one fire engine and another truck ready to combat the flames. However, they state that a huge gust of wind can cause the fire to spread even greater, which is why he appreciates the support of the Webb County Fire Department on the scene as well.

He alerts the community to make sure they do not cause any local fires that can cause the vegetation in the area to spread and cause brushes to cause large fires in and around the cities of El Cenizo and Rio Bravo

"On these hot days, if people are burning trash, please don't because we have gusts and crosswinds here in El Cenizo and in Rio Bravo, and sometimes they catch by surprise," Gonzalez said.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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President Joe Biden speaks at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference on March 14 in Washington.
US has 'significant' cyber vulnerabilities, but a sweeping Russian cyberattack is unlikely
220311 Clerk of YearJames Neiss/staff photographerBarker, NY - Amanda M. Detschner, has been awarded Clerk of the Year, when at NYCOMM. She is the first clerk to be awarded from Niagara County.
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People are being urged to exercise extreme vigilance to the rising prevalence of online investment scams after a local man saw his entire life savings wiped out overnight.

Terence Keighran from Gortletteragh was left with just 50 in his bank account and forced to rely on his elderly mothers pension on more than one occasion in the aftermath of an incident which is now subject to a major garda investigation.

An engineering teacher by profession, Terence told of how he began investing money with a company he initially believed was both fully transparent and legitimate.

It started in November 2020, recalled Terence.

I began by transferring a five figure sum via bank transfer and it just went from there.

After seeing his initial investment sizably increase within a matter of months, Terence opted to advance further money.

His faith in the authenticity of the company he had invested in gained further credence when Terence decided to withdraw a large five figure sum soon afterwards.

I decided to invest more and just kept putting more money in over the next six months.

Terence, however, suddenly became uneasy when attempting to withdraw over half of the money he had originally invested.

It was really to try and develop a business I had started up, but to this date I have not received my money and I cant get through to anybody by phone, on email or by any other means, he said.

With nowhere to turn, Terence contacted and lodged a formal complaint to gardai with the investigation currently being handled by the National Economic Crime Bureau in Dublin.

Terence said the episode has had a catastrophic effect on his mental health and resulted in his mortgage falling into arrears.

He also told of how his own feelings of shame and embarrassment have only now started to subside almost eight months later.

I have had sleepless nights, panic attacks and severe depression, he said.

During the week when I am working or doing something I am 100 per cent, but its my free time in the evenings and weekends especially thats the hardest. Its torture.

Terence said another reason behind his decision to speak out was to issue a veiled warning to others over the dangers that come with suspected online investment fraud.

You can be just one click away from disaster and total wipeout because that is what I am faced with, he said.

He reserved particular mention for gardai in Mohill and Carrick-on-Shannon for their professionalism in dealing with his situation while also issuing a profound pledge to those clients still awaiting for projects to be completed.

I also have a few jobs to complete through my business and I want to tell those people they will be completed given time and space please.

I have no intention of closing my business. Things are bad now but they will, I know, get better.

Just remember, you are only one click away from disaster.
This week marked two years since the first lockdown due to Covid-19 in Ireland, meaning two years since St Patricks Day was well and truly celebrated in the country.

So it goes without saying that this St Patricks Day will be an extra special celebration in Ballymahon. And, with the double bank holiday, it seems right that the festivities be stretched out over Thursday and Friday to give locals and visitors alike that extra bit of enjoyment.

The parade, as always, will take place on St Patricks Day, March 17, starting at 4pm, and there will be a host of floats and groups marching from Creevaghbeg road up the towns Main Street which will hopefully be lined with people coming out to celebrate the festival we have missed throughout the pandemic.

Cllr Pat OToole of the Ballymahon St Patricks Day Parade organising committee said that this years festivities will have something for everyone over the course of two days.

Arrangements for this years St Patricks Day Parade are well advanced as we look forward to big turn out on the day and hopefully good weather, he explained.

The parade will commence from the Creevaghbeg Road at 4pm and will be led by the Longford Pipe Band and a colour party from the Peter Keenan branch Longford ONE.

Those entering floats from business, the community, voluntary and sporting sector and our schools are asked to assemble on the Creevagh- beg Road from 3.15pm.

Regarding traffic management and parking we request that everyone work in tandem with the Gardai, Civil Defence, and our stewards, he added.

Friday, March 18, will see a host of musical talents perform in Ballymahon, which will extend the celebrations to the weekend.

On Friday March 18th the St Patricks Day Parade Committee in collaboration with Longford Live and Local will welcome the Gig Rig to town from 3pm to 5pm for a host of live music, Cllr OToole revealed.

The Gig Rig will be located at the new Artisan Market space at Finnegans Garage so come along and enjoy some of Longfords many musical talents.

Finally to round up the St Patricks Day festivities, Still Voices Film Society will host a Feature Film, Arracht, directed by Tomas OSuilleabhain in Ballymahon Library at 8pm on the Friday night.

There is something for everyone over the two days of March 17th and 18th so come along lend your support and enjoy, he concluded.
The much-loved Longford St Patricks Day Parade returns on Thursday (March 17th) in what will be a fantastic celebration to mark the reopening of society.

The theme of this years parade is Ar Ais Aris, and the event will form part of a wider St Patricks Festival with a series of music and cultural events due to take place across the county to mark the national holiday.

Over 70 floats are expected to participate, with 15 awards up for grabs. Prizegiving will take place at 3pm at Longford County Library.

The parade will be followed by a trad concert on the Market Square, and a pop-up art exhibition at 12 Main Street.

A brand new sensory area at Ballymahon Street, which is being organised in cooperation with Longford Autism Awareness, aims to provide a safe and comfortable space for children and adults with disabilities to enjoy the festivities. The sensory area will be a bright and colourful space, with seating and standing room, for individuals with disabilities to enjoy the parade without having to join the crowd.

Attendees will receive a pre-event schedule with locations and timings of when to expect the floats. Parade participants will be advised to lower their volume as their floats pass the sensory space.

A new viewing area for wheelchair users is also being set up near AIB on Main Street.

The Grand Marshals for this years parade will be Evelyn and Enda Neary of local charity Cians Kennels. The Killashee couple set up the charity in March 2020 in memory of their son Cian, who lost his battle with cancer at just 15 years old. Evelyn and Enda have recently begun work on their kennels at Crumlin Childrens Hospital in Dublin where Cian was treated, in a bid to bring sick children comfort by allowing their beloved family pets to be close by while they are in hospital.

The parade is proudly sponsored by Longford County Council and the main commercial sponsor is Mulleady Properties & Co. Ltd., who have previously supported the event before the onset of the pandemic.

Longford Chamber is asking Longford natives who are currently overseas to send a short video message to loved ones at home by emailing their clips to office@longfordchamber.ie  a selection of messages will be shown at the review stand during the parade.

During tomorrows festivities, spectators are invited to join the conversation online by tagging Longford Chamber in their photos and posts and using the hashtag #ArAisAris
The historic practice of illegal adoptions in Ireland will again be in the spotlight, a year on from an initial documentary by RTE Investigates, with the latest documentary due to reveal how 12 months later many adoptees are still searching for answers and struggling to discover their true identities.

The programme, which will air on Wednesday night, will also highlight the treatment of illegal adoptees by State agencies that are supposed to protect them, and the lengths the State is going to, to fight those seeking justice through the courts.

Brian's Story

In January 2020, TUSLA told Brian Webster who is now living in Co Tipperary that the people whod raised him were not his biological parents. Brians birth was registered as if he had been born in May 1961 in Dublin to a Catholic couple living in New York. At almost 60 years of age Brian learned he had in fact been born to a young Irish woman three weeks earlier than the date on his birth cert. The placement was organised by the Sisters of Charity at St Patrick's Guild in what was an illegal adoption and happened at a time when sending babies abroad for adoption had long been outlawed.

This time last year Brian told RTE Investigates: "My whole world sort of just changed in an instant at that point because I couldnt believe what I was being told so thats where I was then. Im just hoping that somebody out there is looking for me, you know somebody wants me."

In a statement to RTE Investigates last year, TUSLA said the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR prevented it from sharing what it considered to be third party information. In Brians case that included his birth mothers details, leaving him in the dark about his biological family. Following the broadcast of the documentary there was no further progress with TUSLA, but just weeks after the programme he did get some worrying news that his birth mother was in hospital.

"That left me wondering did she have Covid, did she have a broken leg. Its really difficult to explain because you dont know who the person is, you dont know anything about them, all you know is they gave birth to you and thats it, thats where it ends and of course you want to reach out to them, youd want to meet them, youd want to talk to them."

Conscious that time for making contact was slipping away and knowing that the few documents TUSLA had shared with him had largely being redacted, Brians wife Eilis turned detective.

"She actually found out who I am. She wasnt going to let this rest, she wasnt going to say ok Im waiting on somebody else to find out, Im going to help you and Im going to try and find out. On the index card for the dioceses of where my birth mother was from, protruded from the bottom of the redacted portion looked like the back down portion of the letter G. Looking at that then we realised that there was only I think four dioceses in the country with a G in it." Eilis and Brian had discovered his birth mother was from the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin.

But Brians joy at having narrowed his search was short-lived when he got another phone call from TUSLA during lockdown. "It wasnt good news, it was that my birth mother had died and it was said that the door to me meeting her is now shut, and I thought thats an awful thing to say to someone."

Eilis searched the local death notices and within minutes shed found the woman they believed was Brians biological mother.

"It was fabulous to know thats what she looked like you know, I mightnt get to talk to her but I now know what she looks like - I mean its like the birth of a child, its the first time you see them except its in reverse, you get to see your mother for the first time.

But the death notice also revealed something much more upsetting. "The worst part of reading RIP.ie was that she was buried at twelve oclock that day. I was called two and half hours after she had been laid to rest to tell me that she was gone  she had died two days previously to that. So even the opportunity of even looking in on Zoom at her funeral that was taken away from me as well."

A week later Brian and Eilis made the journey to visit his mothers grave. "I lit a candle and put it on the grave but I was so conscious of other people in the graveyard that any time I heard voices or heard a car door close I scampered away from the grave, I just didnt want to be seen, I felt like an intruder, like a criminal being there because nobody knows me, nobody knows anything about me."

Sixteen months had passed since Brian was first told of his illegal adoption. Having been denied crucial personal information by TUSLA during that time, meant any opportunity to be reunited with his birth mother was lost. "Im angry that the information that relates to me is being withheld from me, its my information, she was my mother and its not fair that somebody else can look at it and know who she was, somebody thats not even related to her knows who she was and I dont, thats just cruel."

Having spent his entire life as an only child, Brians searches online also revealed his birth mother had gone on to have more children and he had three half siblings. "My Mam and Dad that raised me, they were fantastic people, I loved them, I'll never ever forget them, but these people are different - these are blood relatives, these are my real family."

In recent days, Brian has had contact with a half-sister for the first time, they plan to meet next week.

In an exclusive interview with RTE Investigates, Professor Conor O'Mahony, pictured above, the State's Special Rapporteur on Child Protection said:

"There needs to be some urgency about this. Many of the individuals affected are now getting older. Some of them need help. And already the delays which have happened over the decades and addressing this have created a situation where the opportunity for people to re-establish contact has now been taken away by the fact that people have died along the way."

"Where the State has delayed for decades in adequately addressing the issue, and that the direct consequence of that has been to significantly exacerbate the trauma of the people affected and to deny any possibility of rectifying that violation, it's a well-known legal phrase that justice delayed is justice denied."

"Doing nothing on illegal birth registrations is not an option for the State. It's very clear that there is a legal obligation on the State to rectify a violation of the rights of identity, which occurred in respect of considerable numbers of people and in circumstances in which the State was aware that that violation was taking place. So doing nothing is certainly not an option."

In March last year, RTE Investigates acclaimed documentary told the story of some of the thousands of children who were illegally adopted in Ireland  innocent babies who were registered at birth as if they were the biological children of the parents who raised them.

The investigation revealed some of the high-powered individuals who facilitated the once common practice, showed how despite being alerted to the issue the authorities did little to intervene and how many decades later those children, now adults, were still battling bureaucracy to find their identities. The programme featured moving accounts from some adoptees who were desperately seeking to find out who they are.

For the last year RTE Investigates has continued to follow some of their stories  against the backdrop of the recently published Birth Information and Tracing Bill this latest documentary observes the struggle of illegal adoptees as they attempt to trace and connect with biological family members, their ongoing fight to access the most basic personal information and whether they believe the promised legislative change will help their unique situations.



Watch: RTE Investigates: Ireland's Illegal Adoptions - Still Searching, tonight, Wednesday at 9.35pm on RTE One and RTE Player.
Food, Wine, & Dining, Music, Movies & Entertainment, Hot Spots & Night Life

By Catherine Eve Published: March 15 2022

Celebrate St. Patricks Day with traditional and not-so-traditional Irish food and beverage favorites at these Long Island restaurants and pubs.

Corned beef and cabbage and other authentic Irish foods

Paddys Loft in Massapequa

1286 Hicksville Rd, Massapequa

If you love authentic Irish foods, youre in for a treat when you visit Paddys Loft in Massapequa. Dine in or take out traditional Irish appetizers and entrees, including Irish potato soup, corned beef, cabbage, carrots and potato, shepherd's pie, chicken Killarney, bangers and mash, Irish soda bread, and more. Drinks to go are also available - pick up four draught beers for $20. Enjoy traditional Irish music March 15 and 16 from 5 - 7 p.m.

Traditional Irish beef stew and Irish poutine

The Nutty Irishman

323 Main St., Farmingdale

Its always a fun time at The Nutty Irishman, a busy, friendly pub in downtown Farmingdale. On St. Patricks Day, enjoy traditional Irish dishes such as Irish beef stew, Irish poutine, corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots or try the burgers, including the Danny Boy burger with American, Swiss, and cheddar cheeses, a Guinness burger blend, onions, bacon, and garlic mayo. 12X will be performing live with dance sets by DJ Billy starting at 7 p.m.



Irish-style ale and Irish stout

Long Ireland Beer Company

817 Pulaski Street, Riverhead

Long Ireland, a craft brewery specializing in Irish ale, is opening doors early for St. Paddys Day revelers. Stop by from 12-9 p.m. to celebrate with beer bucket specials, giveaways, Irish favorites from the Grillin Villain Food Truck, and Irish tunes from 4-7pm with Danny Donnelly. 21+ event. Try their flagship brew, Long Ireland Celtic Ale, a classic example of a traditional Irish-style ale and Hooligan Irish Stout, described as a rowdy, in your face version of the traditional dry Irish stout you grew up with.



Green bagels

Bagel Boss

Locations throughout Long Island

Green bagels are back at Bagel Boss, home of the traditional New York bagel made by fourth generation bagel makers. Stop by your local Bagel Boss and grab a dozen (or two) - with cream cheese of course.
Local News, Health & Wellness, Politics

By Chris Boyle Published: March 16 2022

Northport VAMC hiring a female OB/GYN is an important and much needed step forward for our heroic female veterans on Long Island, said Congressman Zeldin.

Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), a United States Army veteran, has applauded the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC) hiring of a part-time female obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN). Dating back to 2018, Congressman Zeldin has been consistently advocating for VAMC to hire a woman OB/GYN to better serve female veterans who experienced sexual harassment or assault while serving in the military and understandably would feel more comfortable with a female OB/GYN.

Northport VAMC hiring a female OB/GYN is an important and much needed step forward for our heroic female veterans on Long Island, said Congressman Zeldin. Northports female patients made tremendous sacrifices, some of them at great physical and emotional costs, on behalf of our nation. They deserve to have access to high quality care as well as providers with whom they have the highest levels of comfort.

With so many female veterans dealing with issues from military sexual trauma, it seemed archaic to me that we were being forced to have a male doctor when we were not comfortable. I am grateful to Congressman Zeldin for his tireless efforts and for the strong support of women veterans, ranging from ages 27 to 87, who expressed their desire to have a choice of healthcare providers at Northport VA. I am ecstatic with this news that a female OB/GYN has finally been hired. This is a huge win for female veterans in Suffolk County. I hope the many women veterans who were not comfortable obtaining care at Northport will now feel heard and receive the quality of care they deserve, said Cathie Norton Doherty, U.S. Navy Veteran, Women Veterans Advocate, LAOH National Military and Veterans Affairs.

Suffolk County is home to the largest veterans population in New York State, many of whom are female veterans that have sacrificed immensely for our freedoms, said County Executive Bellone. Our female veterans deserve to feel safe and comfortable with their doctors, especially when it comes to their most personal healthcare. With the hiring of a female OB/GYN for the Northport VA Medical Center, we are hopeful that more women veterans will access these critical healthcare services.
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(Alliance News) - Avacta Group PLC on Wednesday said it sold its veterinary division Avacta Animal Health to veterinary company Vimian Group AB.

The Cambridge, England-based drug developer and diagnostics company said that Avacta Animal Health was acquired by Nextmune Holdings BV, one of Vimian's subsidiaries. The division was merged into Vimian's Specialty Pharma segment on Tuesday.

Avacta will receive GBP900,000 up front, plus an additional deferred payment of up to GBP1.4 million. The second amount is dependent on the performance of the merged businesses.

Avacta Animal Health made an operating loss of GBP300,000 in 2020. As at December 31, 2020, the carrying value of the business in Avacta books was GBP1.0 million.

Avacta said the sale proceeds will provide further funds for the development of its Diagnostics and Therapeutics divisions.

"The sale of the Avacta Animal Health business allows the group to focus entirely on growing its core businesses; diagnostics and therapeutics. Having had our Animal Health division since 2009, we are delighted that Vimian will be retaining the entire Avacta Animal Health team and are well placed to grow the business," Chief Executive Alastair Smith said.

Magnus Kjellberg, the chief executive of Nextmune, added: "This acquisition significantly strengthens Nextmune's competitive position in the UK. With our own laboratory for veterinary allergy diagnostics in the country and a full-service offering covering all veterinary dermatology needs, we see significant opportunities to accelerate sales and improve customer experience in the UK. The cross-selling opportunities via this business existing customer base as well as the increased laboratory capacity for Nextmune are also key components in driving incremental growth."

Shares in Avacta were up 3.1% at 56.75 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.

By Abby Amoakuh; abbyamoakuh@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
(Alliance News) - The Lloyd's of London insurance market on Wednesday announced it had hit one of its members, insurer Atrium, with a record fine of GBP1.1 million for sexual harassment and bullying.

The historic institution, whose origins date back to the 17th century, said it issued its "largest fine ever" to demonstrate "that we will not tolerate poor conduct in our market".

Atrium admitted the three charges, which Lloyd's said "precipitated a culture which tolerated instances of unacceptable conduct involving discrimination, harassment and bullying."

Atrium bosses were found to have allowed, until 2018, an annual "Boys' Night Out", during which "some male members of staff - including two senior executives in leadership roles - engaged in unprofessional and inappropriate conduct," Lloyd's said in a report into the case.

This included "initiation games, heavy drinking and making inappropriate and sexualised comments about female colleagues, which were both discriminatory and harassing to female members of staff."

Senior managers also ignored the conduct of one employee who engaged in "a systematic campaign of bullying against a junior employee over a number of years."

"We are deeply disappointed by the behaviour highlighted by this case, and I want to be clear that discrimination, harassment and bullying have no place at Lloyd's," CEO John Neal said in a press release.

As well as the fine, Atrium will also have to pay the costs of the proceedings to the tune of more than GBP560,000.

Christopher Stooke, independent non-executive chair at Atrium, said: "We fully accept the rulings made by Lloyd's of London.

"With deep regret, it is clear that Atrium failed to live up to its values and serious errors were made when handling these matters. We are sorry for the hurt that this caused and how difficult this (has) been for those affected," he added.

The centuries-old insurance market in 2019 stepped up action on tackling workplace sexual harassment after an internal survey which Neal said left him feeling "appalled".

Neal said at the time that Lloyd's was also addressing excessive drinking of alcohol in the market.

Bloomberg Businessweek had earlier reported on "a deep-seated culture of sexual misconduct" at Lloyd's after hearing the experiences of 18 women alleging sexual harassment.

source: AFP

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
CIP Merchant Capital Ltd - Guernsey-based investment company - Says latest "hostile" offer by Corporation Financiere Europeenne SA still undervalues company. CIP says: "The board, having consulted with Strand Hanson as to the financial terms of the final offer, continues to believe that the final offer still undervalues CIP and its future prospects. Accordingly, the directors unanimously recommend that shareholders reject the final offer." Company also notes that at 1.3%, current acceptances level for CFE offer is low, demonstrating the new offer is "similarly unattractive". CFE lifted its takeover offer by 9.1% to 60 pence per share from 55p. It said the cash offer, worth GBP33.0 million in total, is final. CIP has a GBP33.3 million market capitalisation.

Current stock price: 60.50, up 6.1% on Wednesday

12-month change: up 20%

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Weather Alert

...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Louisiana... Mississippi River At Red River Landing affecting West Feliciana, East Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee Parishes. For the Lower Mississippi River...including Red River Landing, Baton Rouge, Donaldsonville, Reserve, New Orleans...Minor flooding is forecast. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Caution is urged when walking near riverbanks. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov/lix. Click on the Rivers and Lakes menu for forecasts and observations. The next statement will be issued when updates are needed. && ...FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL EARLY SATURDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Mississippi River At Red River Landing. * WHEN...Until early Saturday morning. * IMPACTS...At 51.0 feet, All river islands along the reach from Red River Landing to Baton Rouge will be inundated. Recreational camps and river bottom farm land will be under water. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 11:00 AM CDT Wednesday the stage was 49.6 feet. - Recent Activity...The maximum river stage in the 24 hours ending at 11:00 AM CDT Wednesday was 49.7 feet. - Forecast...The river is expected to fall below flood stage Friday evening and continue falling to 41.5 feet Wednesday, June 01. - Flood stage is 48.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 48.8 feet on 04/22/2014. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
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Plug & play. Easy to use,powered by USB port. No external driver and Power needed. Just plug it into your USB port and the DVD driver will be detected

High speed. Compatible with USB3. 0 and backwards compatible with USB2. 0 , bringing faster data transmission speed (up to a maximum of 5Gbps) and stable performance with strong fault tolerance

Intelligent tech. Designed with eject button so that you never have to worry about your disc getting stuck inside this external CD/DVD drive. The copper mesh technology of this external component, you can be rest assured of stable data transmission

Trendy design. Brushed texture shell brings trendy sight and touch enjoyment. Embedded cable design, worry- off cable missing any when and where

Wide compatibility. Ideal for various devices. It supports Windows XP/2003/Vista/7/8. 1/10, Linux, all version Mac OS system. For the desktops, Please connect the device to the back USB port of the motherboard for normal use

Top Reviews:

My new little laptop does not have a built-in drive but this Rioddas External CD Drive is the perfect solution for my occasional needs. It is small, reasonably priced and has the features and capacity I want. My Amazon order was delivered quickly. When it arrived, I opened the box, plugged the drive into my Windows 10 laptop and was ready to go. Literally plug and play with no delay and no special handling! My initial use is to manage some classic music CDs that had not been stored in the cloud previously. Thanks Rioddas - now I am rocking out with some old "friends": AC/DC, Queen, Pink Floyd, The Who, ...

The device works as it should. The only problem I have with it, as stated by others, is the length of its cord. Its impossible to hold the drive in front of me when inserting and removing a CD. This means that I have the computer in front of me and the drive off to the side, something that not only is uncomfortable, but also makes the act a bit difficult.That was about the drive. Then, theres the rest. The instructions arent really necessary unless troubleshooting is required. Thats a good thing since the font is so tiny that a magnifying glass is probably necessary for most people. Also, it came with a scratch off card. I scratched it and got a $10 Amazon gift card. Im going to have to play guessing games to use it and hope I dont input someone elses registration. Thats because the last two digits or letters may each be either of two numbers or letters; even with a magnifying glass I dont know.Also, this comes with a two-year warranty; however, it's absolutely impossible to contact the manufacturer. The website listed to redeem a scratch-off coupon first required a person to download a browser; two days late it "couldn't be reached." A search for their regular website yielded one with a contact form ; however, they aren't accepting written contact at this time. The area code on that site for their phone number is listed as a spam area code.

This external cd drive works very well, has a very sleek and convenient form factor that makes it very portable and easy to store when not in use. It's also rather fast- as it uses USB 3- and doesn't skip when the drive is jossled or on a slightly uneven surface.When I first got it I was a little confused as to how to plug it in before I turned it upsidedown and found that the cord was convienently stowed in a compartment on the bottom of the body of the drive. It was a little bit confusing to figure out how to pull it out and put it back away when I was done with the cord/drive but I figured it out. The trick is that there is a small piece of plastic in the place where the usb goes- and you need to make sure to put it in the right way and to slot it in first before putting in the rest of the cord.While this storage and formfactor makes the external drive very portable, sleek, and storable it- however- makes it very difficult to find a good place to place it while in use. As the cable is increadibly short that does not give many options for locations you can put it while it's plugged into your computer. Especially if your using a tower computer- like you see my my picture here- there just really isn't any good place to place it other than ontop of the tower which makes it not very good if you have fans on the top of your computer. And also, another thing that I found issue with the drive was that the usb plug itself was very snug when I was plugging it in and especially as I was taking it out.I imagine that the connection will break sooner than most devices and, unfortunately, the form factor and convienence factors will be null as the drive won't even work anymore and you won't be able to aquire a replacement cable for the drive. However, if you don't unplug and plug it back in again alot/don't overly use it then it'll likely be fine. Just be aware and use precaution and always unplug it with the main part of the USB to avoid damaging the connection with that main part and the wire.TL:DRPros;*Convenient*Portable*Sleek pleasing form factor*All one device without any extraneous cables*Quick to use (no extra drivers or downloads of anything- a simple plug in and use)*Doesn't need to be completely flat to work*Dvd inside doesn't really get effected by anything but extreme disturbancesCons;*Very very short cable(see pictures)*A little confusing to figure out where the cord is and how to put it back away at first(I don't really count this one but I'm including it in my cons in case that's a factor for you)*Stiff usb plug in so be careful when unplugging/it's a little annoying to plug in*All one device- so if the cord gets disconnected from the usb plug you can't replace it only get a new one.---I recommend buying this product

Dell USB DVD Drive-DW316 , Black

Style:Single The Dell DW316 allows you to enjoy clear color picture & sound clarity of CD's & DVD's Ability to read/write CDs & read DVDs

This product is compatible with the following systems Latitude 5285 2-in-1

Overview:

Operating System:USB storage

Hardware Interface:USB

Brand:Dell

Optical Storage Write Speed:8x

Optical Storage Read Speed:8x

Top Reviews:

If this is really new, why did it have a used DVD on stress management in it when I opened it. Seems to work ok, but I have only watched part of one movie. Very disturbing to get something advertised as new like this.

Excellent. Plug and play. So glad to find this, and even saved a bit by buying it on an Amazon Warehouse deal. I couldn't see any reason anyone would have returned it.Laptop computers don't have built-in CD/DVD drives anymore, which is a problem for a lot of people in a lot of ways. Many of us still need to install software from a CD because we paid for a license or play a DVD or music CD that we've had for a while and value.I had bought some off brand external drive on Amazon, because it was the only thing I could find when I first got my laptop, but that drive required installing some weird software to run it at all. It probably copied everything on my drive, including all passwords, and sent it to some Eastern European company, China or Russia. Even after I was stupid enough to try that, it didn't work, so I returned it.A lesson I've learned and should always stick to: Stick to known and trusted brands.

For $30, you can't go wrong. You get Dell reliability and you only need a low-power USB2 port to connect and power it; no power cord is needed. I run this drive plus a 4 TB USB hard drive from a USB 3.0 hub attached to the single USB 3.0 port of a Microsoft Surface Pro (the new one) with no problems whatsoever.I have so far used the unit to rip several hundred CDs, HDCDs, and HRx discs via dbpoweramp with zero operational problems. According to the dbpoweramp program, this also seems to be one of the rare current external CD/DVD drives which will detect C1 errors.Playing discs playing live from this drive and monitoring the sound via NAD Viso HP50 headphones plugged into the Surface Pro's headphone jack sounds equivalent to the files made from the drive played back from the Surface Pro's solid-state 1 TB internal drive.At the price, even if it fails after a thousand or so CD rips, it's still a bargain.

External DVD Drive, USB 3.0 Portable CD/DVD-RW Drive/ DVD Player for Laptop CD ROM Burner Compatible with Laptop Desktop PC Windows Linux OS Apple Mac White

Overview:

Operating System:Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows Vista, Chrome os, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows 10

Hardware Interface:USB 3.0

Brand:Gotega

Color:White

Hardware Platform:Laptop, PC

Top Reviews:

With new computers not having built in CD drives, an external unit like this is essential for installing older Disk-based programs or listening to your antique Cd's! My first drive arrived dead on arrival. Perhaps that it was shipped in a padded envelope instead of a padded carton may have been a factor. Amazon sent a replacement unit that finctioned properly. Returned the DOA item to Kohls for return to Amazon.

Plug and play, easy to use and small enough to store out of the way when not in use. Had no need for tech support using Windows 10. Love that the white color matches my PC case. The short cable that comes with it is more suitable to a laptop than a desktop computer. I suggest purchasing a usb extension cable for use with a desktop. The only downside is that its fairly loud and I dont think it would be acceptable for watching movies. I dont really watch movies on my computer and my fans are louder than the DVD player most of the time, so it doesnt bother me and its a great deal at this price. Would probably need to spend about 5x more $ if you want something quiet.

Dislike: the ridiculous cable is 1 foot long.. come on, this could be better. I can't even put it on my crammed desk with monitor, several power supplies, backup disk, books... I'd rather have it with a connector on the back and I'd add my own cable.More to come on an update later on.

Sabrent USB External Stereo Sound Adapter for Windows and Mac. Plug and Play No Drivers Needed. (AU-MMSA)

Size:USB Type-A Description: This Sabrent AU-MMSA 2

1 Audio Sound Card Adapter is a highly flexible audio interface, which can be used with either laptop or desktop system

No driver required, plug-and-play for instant audio playing and compliant with all mainstream operation systems

Simply Plug the Sound Adapter into your USB port, and then plug your headphones into the Adapter

Features 3D stereo USB audio adapter

USB 2

0 Hi-Speed specification

Backward compatible with USB 1

1 Connectors: USB type A, stereo output jack, microphone input jack

No external power required

Plug & Play, no drivers needed

System requirements Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8

1 ,10 Mac OS 8

6 or above What's in the box? USB audio sound adapter

Overview:

Brand:SABRENT

Hardware Interface:USB

Audio Output Mode:Stereo

Platform:Mac OS X, Linux

Hardware Platform:Headphones, PC, Laptops

Top Reviews:

Device recognized immediately in both Windows and Mac OS. Sound quality is good for the livestream / Zoom setup used in my church. Two minor issues:1. Mic and phone jacks not identified so there's a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong. They depend on the old color scheme employed on legacy desktop ISA/PCI which I am sure most laptop users have long forgotten.2. Body is too wide to fit in a MacBook adapter, or anything with close USB spacing. Plan on purchasing an extension pigtail for these applications.

I got this adapter for setting up a Christmas light show using a raspberry pi 2B. I have a pi cap board installed that overrides the 3.5mm audio output from the pi, so I needed usb audio. It works well, but originally I was getting a loud hum along with the source audio from the pi. I had to scale down the audio output from the pi to below 50% and depend on the speakers for volume control from there. I am perfectly happy with doing this, but just a little disappointed that it couldn't handle 100% audio level from the pi.

I purchased two new XPS computer from Dell, and the sound on one computer would not work. The tech support people suggested it was a windows software problem. Even though I had just peeled the protection plastic off the computer, Dell wanted another $127 to correct the problem, and were unmoved by my suggestion that the sound card was bad. So, I cured the problem for $8. The USB device did just what I hoped it would do. I plugged in the USB adapter, attached a 3.5 mm jack, and voila, it worked perfectly. The Win10 volume control also operated perfectly. It connects to powered speakers, so there are no volume/quality issues.I made the mistake of ordering two USB adapters, intending to use the second one as a headphone jack. This did not work, or at least I could not make it work. Some else might know if it is possible? Be warned that this product does not qualify for an Amazon return. So, for the time being, I have two.If it sounds like I'm dissing Dell, then my work is done.

External DVD Drive USB 3.0 USB C CD Burner Amicool CD/DVD +/-RW Optical Drive,Slim Portable DVD CD ROM Rewriter Writer Duplicator for Laptop Desktop PC Windows 10/8/7 MacBook Mac Linux OS Apple

Overview:

Operating System:Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Hardware Interface:USB 3.0 Type A, USB 3.0 Type C

Brand:Amicool

Optical Storage Write Speed:16x

Optical Storage Read Speed:24x

Top Reviews:

These drives are made in China and may not be that reliable. The tray does not close very easily, there isa snap when you try to close the tray, like it gets stuck and you have to force it closed. These drives are not that expensive, you get what you pay for.

Nobody uses CD/DVDs anymore, so new computers don't always come with optical drives. But that doesn't mean we don't still have a ton of CD/DVDs that we may need to use from time to time. I had to get an old TurboTax CD to reinstall on my current machine, which has no optical drive. I was gonna buy one from the computer manufacturer, but then I said to myself, "Self, they want like $45. Why pay that much for something without checking Amazon?" So I did. And this was the first one I saw, and decided to go for it. Nothing to lose for the price. So got this in the mail and it works fine. It's pure plastic, and so the tray/door is a little goofy. But the speed was impressive using the USB 3.x with a USB-c adapter that comes with it. The cable it comes with tucks in to the bottom of the plastic case, very neatly. So no dangle. But it's pretty short, may 7", so fortunately, I had a longer USB 3.0 cable with a coupler to connect and extend it to bring it up onto my desktop. I've installed two application programs, and am very satisfied with the performance. I'll tuck it away after today, and may never see it again. But I'm glad I found this one.

This drive arrived on time in new condition but was DOA. Tested it on various ports on several different computers but no results. Our contact with Amicool support resulted in prompt courteous replies. They offered troubleshooting advice (which we'd already done. Amicool offered to replace or refund the drive, and when the replacement arrived, it worked on the first try; the drive light/eject button made this truly a plug and play proposition..The drive is passively powered and current is supplied by your USB port. If you have a newer computer or robust power supply there should be no issues. We found that whenever writing to a CD/DVD disk or when installing ISOs (operating systems) to a new computer build, the unit draws more current, and takes longer for data transfer, which at times interrupted the data transfer. This issue was easily resolved by connecting the drive to an active (powered) USB 3 extension or a powered USB 3 hub. When playing music files or showing photos, the drive works fine. One minor gripe, the skinny USB cord is very short and permanently attached to the drive, so the active USB solution is highly recommended (YMMV). Manythanks to Amicool for their great customer support.

DUKABEL USB to 3.5mm Jack Audio Adapter, USB to Aux Cable with TRRS 4-Pole Mic-Supported USB to Headphone AUX Adapter Built-in Chip External Sound Card for PC PS4 PS5 and More [9.8 inch]

Top Reviews:

I needed a good headset at work. I had a pair of astro A10's at home but required usb connection for our software. All the 'good' headsets for office work were several hundred or had horrible reviews. I bought the adapter and everything works perfectly for the software and my headset. I have sent links to several coworkers for both the headset and adapter as the sets provided are murderous. THANK YOU for this adapter for opening doors to headsets we personally love and can now use at work!!

I use this adapter with my Mac desktop. Just plug in the USB adapter and plug in your headphones. Just make sure you're ordering the correct adapter (look at the number of poles). Whenever I use the adapter, I go into settings and change to USB audio. When I'm done, I change it back to the system setting. It's easy.

For what this little thing does, there's not much out there to compare it with. You could get a bigger DAC/AMP, or another type of USB DAC but the costs are anywhere from $30+ to $100's... This is all you really need if for stereo sound in gaming. Most games do not produce actual 5.1 or 7.1 sound anyway so all those little dongles that say 7.1 are just reproducing the sound, similar to windows sound virtualization...which can be good or bad, depending on your opinion needs.Put simply, this is a great product. My HyperX "7.1" inline USB dongle wore out, so I needed something to boost the sound after realizing just plugging straight into mobo wasn't good enough. This works. It is high quality, produces amplified sound without scrubbing or virtualizing it.Protip: When I had the USB end plugged directly into my computer, I would sometimes hear a buzz for a minute or then it wouuld go away. I realized this was some sort of interference and moved it to a USB 3.0/1 powered switch that sits a few feet away from my pc, no more random buzz, it's really nice.

USB 3.0 Switcher Selector 2 Computers Sharing 4 USB Devices KVM Switch Hub Adapter for Keyboard Mouse Printer Scanner U-Disk, Hard Drives, Headsets, KVM Console Box Compatible with Mac/Windows/Linux

USB 3

0 Switcher Selector 2 Computers Sharing 4 USB Devices KVM Switch Hub Adapter for Keyboard, Mouse, Printer, Scanner, Computer, U-Disk, Hard Drives, Headsets, KVM Console Box Compatbile with Mac/ Windows/ Linux USB 3

0 Switch supports ultra-fast USB 3

0 data transfer rates of up to 5Gb/s (10 times faster than USB 2

0) Package: USB 3

0 KVM Switch * 1pc USB 3

0 Data Cable 1

5m* 2pcs, 5V 2A 1m USB 2

0 to Micro USB Cable for devices needs extra power supply

Features:

This USB 3.0 Switcher Selector allows one button swapping between 2 computers to share 4 USB peripheral devices without constantly swapping cables or set up complicated network sharing software;

Ideal for sharing devices such as printer, scanner, mouse, keyboard, card reader, flash drive and other USB deivce between 2 computers; If the switcher doesn't work on external hard disk, please connect the device with Micro USB Cable for extra power.

Plug and Play, driver-free for Windows 10/8/8.1/7/Vista/XP and Mac OS X, Linux, and Chrome OS; External Power is unnecessary.Fast data transfer up to 5 GB/s and backward compatibility USB 2.0 and 1.1 specifications.

Button and LED indicate lights, you can easily switch between 2 computers by a single click on the button with LED indicating the active computer;

Package includes: usb 3.0 switcher*1pc, 1.5m USB 3.0 Cable*2pcs, 1m USB 2.0 Micro USB Cable(5V 2A) for extra power. Important Note: Please use Standard 5V Adapter( Not Included ) for powering. Any charger with higher voltage output is NOT allowed and may affect the product performance.

Top Reviews:

Works fine. All ports should be on one side. It's really awkward.

I've got a TESmart KVM switch from Amazon to switch between a desktop and laptop computer. The problem with the TESmart is that it is only USB2.0 and it is limited in the number of ports. I wanted a way to switch high speed USB 3.0 ports between PC's, and this box works perfectly.On the back it has two USB type A inputs (and it includes 2 USB A-A cables), plus a micro USB port for auxiliary power input. A button on the top selects which device is used as the source. On the front it has 4 USB type A ports.I've got three of the four ports connected to portable HDD's, and the fourth connected to a USB-Serial adapter. I was pleasantly surprised that the unit does not have power saving code that interferes with USB-Serial adapters and industrial type communication software; some have software that puts a port to sleep if there are no comms for a set time period, but that is a major problem for industrial equipment.I am very happy with the purchase. It cost no more than a standard 4 port powered USB hub, and it has the switching capability as well.

Overall it works fine and good for the money. Its lacking an auto-switch function - meaning if computer 1 is turned off, the switch should automatically activate computer 2.

UGREEN USB Switch Selector KVM Switch 2 Computers Sharing 4 USB Devices USB 2.0 Peripheral Switcher Box Hub for Mouse Keyboard Scanner Printer PCs with One-Button Swapping and 2 Pack USB A to A Cable

Overview:

Brand:UGREEN

Switch Type:Push Button Switch

Material:Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene

Item Dimensions LxWxH:4.13 x 2.09 x 0.63 inches

Mounting Type:Plug-In Mount

Actuator Type:Push Button

Controller Type:Push Button

Top Reviews:

This product has saved me an amazing amount of money and headache! I needed to connect my desktop computer (which I rarely use, but still need access to) and my laptops with one keyboard, one mouse, one USB connector for my speakers and microphone, and my WD Drive. Now, that was a headache and I was wondering how to find a KVM that would work when I stumbled across this product.Installing this is easy peasy. Computer 1 is my desktop; Computer two is actually my laptop dock, which has my personal computer and my work computer attached to it. I ran those USB cords first, then connected the keyboard, mouse, USB connector for sound, and my WD drive. Everything connected easily except my sound connector. I needed to update my drivers for that, but otherwise, everything was instant.I highly recommend this product!

UPDATE2: Had the replacement for a while now with no problems. Hoping it'll last, but so far so good.UPDATE: Seller reached out to me and offered a replacement, which just arrived. Bumped to 3 stars based on proactive support, which I appreciate. Will update if I have more problems with the replacement.I've had it less than a month, and it's already started to intermittently fail.Worked great up till now.Failure modes in 2 ways:1. The mouse will "stick" and stop responding for about 1-2 seconds, once very 30-60 seconds. This comes back to normal by itself.2. Intermittently (once every few minutes), it will stop working completely, and I have to switch the device setting to the other output, and back. During this failure, the device stops providing power and the light on the optical mouse goes out.Note that I only have 2 devices connected:1. MS Natural Keyboard 40002. MS optical Intellimouse

The first unit I received was completely broken and only worked for 30 seconds before refusing to switch anymore. The replacement works great. However, both devices have to be on or it won't switch my m&k over. For example, if I had it set to my PC before I turned it off and decided to plug my laptop in and use that it wouldn't switch over until I turned my PC back on. So, I have to essentially run my PC while running my laptop or do some ridiculous workaround (this device is supposed to make sharing peripherals convenient, not a hassle). Overall, I guess it works? But I'm disappointed by its consistency. If I could get my money back for this I'd fork out for something better.

ROOFULL External CD DVD Drive USB 3.0 & USB-C, Premium Portable DVD/CD ROM +/-RW Optical Drive Player Reader Writer Burner for Mac MacBook Pro/ Air, iMac, Windows 11/10/8/7 Laptop Desktop Computer

Overview:

Operating System:Windows 8.1, Linux, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS, Windows 11, Windows 10

Hardware Interface:USB 3.0 Type A, USB 3.0 Type C

Brand:ROOFULL

Optical Storage Write Speed:Max 24xCD / 8xDVD

Optical Storage Read Speed:Max 24xCD / 8xDVD

Top Reviews:

I think the fault is in the attached two-headed cable, because the drive works fine in the USB C port and my computer's USB 3 port works fine with another device. I did the "chat" tech services, but no solution was offered. Since the drive works on USB C, I decided to keep it; but I can't recommend it to others.

my old DVD-RW died a few months ago and i've been looking for a replacement. the old one was USB 2.0 and slower than molasses running uphill in January during a blizzard when it still worked. this drive is USB 3, has a built-in cable (with a place on the underside of the device to store the cable) and is very fast. i'm using it with a late 2015 iMac 5K and it works perfectly. absolutely zero compatibility issues thus far. i've ripped about a dozen CDs and a few DVDs with it since receiving it, and i'm very impressed with its performance. add in the low price and it just can't be beat.

Most manufacturers proudly display their name or brand on their product or product packaging. When I received this external DVD player/writer, the manufacturers name was no where on the box, except in small letters on the stick-on UPC label on the back of the box. The product itself does not have a brand name, but it does have a model number. Anyway, suffice to say it is a new product and is made in China. The most notable feature of this drive compared to typical external disc drives is that the cable to attach to the computer is built-in to the drive and in fact even has a molded storage space that fits the cable exactly. The cable is two-headed, allowing the user to connect either through USB 3.0 or USB-C. A mystery feature on the back of the drive is a micro-USB port. I used a micro-USB cable to plug the drive into my laptop, and it does power up the drive and I can open the drive to insert or remove a disc, but my Windows computer did not see the drive and even though the drive churned it did not play a disc I inserted. With the built-in cable, I was able to play a rented DVD disc with no problem, A small instruction sheet does recommend using VLC or 5K player to play discs using this drive (I used VLC). Having USB 3/C functionality and a built-in, self-stored cable makes this external drive a high-performer, lower-fuss accessory for todays laptops, which mostly lack disc drives and for those of us who still need to use DVDs or CDs.
Jefferson, GA (30549)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
The four Guardia Civil officers arrested in Mallorca on Monday by the force's Internal Affairs unit were allegedly involved with harassment of and spying on the Mallorcan girlfriend of Ricardo Martinelli, a former president of Panama.

The events date back to July 2020, when the woman returned to the island. The officers, who collaborated with a security company, were apparently asked to follow the woman, to watch over her and give her protection if necessary. A geolocator was used to follow her and she was spied on for days.

On July 8, a WhatsApp group was created. It was dubbed 'Operation Cockatoo'. One officer was nicknamed Puma II, second in the team's hierarchy. Martinelli, whose nickname was Zeus, seemingly exchanged messages regarding how they were to be paid for their services.

The woman lived in Pont d'Inca, Marratxi. She was spied on there. Initially, so it is claimed, the officers worked for free - a gift to the ex-president. The first surveillance was in Port Adriano. Martinelli sent them images of the woman they had to follow. She was an easy target. They located her in a restaurant and from then on they began to follow her every move. According to investigators, one of the officers offered to "use his daughter" in the surveillance.

The woman came to realise that she was being followed. She reported this three times to the National Police as well as to a court of instruction and the Guardia Civil.

The officers face charges of criminal organisation, disclosure of secrets and coercion. Three others were arrested - the owner of a security company and an employee plus someone described as a "fake" soldier.
The Internal Affairs Service (SAI) of the Guardia Civil today charged Ricardo Martinelli, the former president of Panama between 2009 and 2014, for spying on and harassing his girlfriend in Mallorca using the Guardia Civil and an escort company on the island.

For the moment, investigators have not been able to contact the politician, who is also the owner of a well-known supermarket chain.

The victim, a well-known 47-year-old Mallorcan woman, is currently in Miami, where she spends long periods of time.

The events date back to July 2020, when the woman returned to the island. The officers, who collaborated with a security company, were apparently asked to follow the woman, to watch over her and give her protection if necessary. A geolocator was used to follow her and she was spied on for days.

The officers, who appeared in court this evening, face charges of criminal organisation, disclosure of secrets and coercion. Three others were arrested - the owner of a security company and an employee plus someone described as a "fake" soldier.
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The months have been frustrating for those of us who desire to have a federal government that is willing to work for the greater good and benefit of every American citizen.

It is easy to place blame on the two Democrats in the U.S. Senate who did not vote to change the filibuster rules and pass important legislation protecting voting rights. These two senators have indicated that they believe any meaningful legislation passed by the U.S. Senate needs to have at least a minimum amount of support from the minority party.

We can certainly agree that bipartisan legislation is always the best option, but when the opposition minority party refuses to even try to communicate, collaborate and compromise, alternative action must be strongly considered.

The filibuster rule has been utilized by both political parties when they are in the Senate minority to stymie legislative progress for more than 140 years. The filibuster has been brazenly weaponized by the current minority party Senate leadership with the publicly stated purpose of preventing successful legislation for any initiative by the majority party.

This lack of legislative progress frustrates supporters and motivates the opposition to amplify their campaign to disrupt and discredit the party and the leaders holding the majority advantage. I would recommend that before you place your disappointment at the feet of the current political party that holds the very slim majority in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that you consider the fact that none of the opposition members have taken the initiative to incorporate the Three Cs (Communication, Collaboration and Compromise) to find a way to fashion a win/win outcome.

Our tax dollars are paying these elected officials to legislate for the good of every American citizen. Right now, in my opinion, many in Washington, D.C. are doing nothing to earn their six-figure annual salary. Perhaps it is these politicians who should be defeated in November.

Fortunately, in Michigan our state legislators have found a way to break the log jam and have utilized the Three Cs to get some meaningful legislation passed. They have scrapped the do-nothing and blame the governor attitude that was prevalent at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in favor of working with the executive branch to ensure Michigans economic recovery has been robust.

They found ways to compromise on distribution and utilization of federal funding from pandemic economic recovery and the bipartisan infrastructure bills.

They collaborated on public school funding to provide the largest increase in history without raising taxes.

They are communicating with each other on how to improve in the future with initiatives to eliminate the pension tax, reduce health care costs and restore the earned income tax credit.

With the new state senate and representative districts now in place, we will have the opportunity to continue this good work by sending elected servants to Lansing who will pledge to continuously improve on the Three Cs foundation.

It is also very satisfying to see the Three Cs at work in our local government.

We can certainly be proud of the Manistee County Board of Commissioners, which has steadfastly resisted any temptation to make political grandstanding moves.

It is unfortunate that commissioners in other rural Michigan counties have made questionable decisions to get involved second-guessing public health recommendations or spreading lies about the 2020 election results. Manistee County commissioners have been diligent in doing the work necessary to ensure that our county government is operating with the best interests of all residents in mind. We will be watching to be sure this continues.

I am also pleased that the spirit of the Three Cs is present in Manistee County political organizations.

We all welcome the opportunity afforded to the Manistee County Republican Party to participate in these monthly forums. I personally had the opportunity to work with Jeff Lawrence in the county redistricting process and found him to be well prepared with the best of intentions.

The decision to have Dennis Cawthorne as the keynote speaker at the Republican Lincoln Day dinner should also be applauded. Retired Rep. Cawthorne is a respected effective legislator whose work in Lansing exemplified the best of the Republican Party when it was led by Gov. William Milliken, President and Representative Gerald Ford, and Sen. Robert Griffen.
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MANISTEE  After a project stalled years ago, work has again started on a housing development near downtown Manistee.

The Chippewa Cottages development is located at the corner of Pine and First streets, where pedestrians and others may have noticed fresh piles of dirt and construction activity recently.

The remainder of the Chippewa Cottages are expected to be built in about 18 months to two years, according to Kellen Keck, owner/broker of City2Shore Port Associates and manager for the housing project.

"Id expect the lots to be sold in 10-12 months ..." Keck said.

He noted the project has been in the works for some time; the first lot was built in 2017. He said the project had stalled and by the time project was to resume, the coronavirus pandemic hit.

There are 11 lots in the project, with one lot set to remain vacant to preserve green space, according to Keck. Two modular style homes were already put in in 2017; they were built in Michigan and Indiana. Eight more homes are expected to be built for a total of 10 houses.

Keck noted that he was not involved with the project when the first two homes were installed, but the investment group Chippewa Resort Properties, LLC found the modular home process "did not go as smoothly as they expected."

Screenshot/Cty2Shore Port City Associates

Keck also said they changed builders. The current builder specializes in the more traditional housing style of building a home from the ground up rather than being trucked in and assembled on-site  which is the way modular homes are designed.

Keck said that one of the homes being planned is custom built with some design changes to the original floor plan. Plans for that home include a basement with an extra cabinet.

This week, Keck said he sold lot No. 9, and the sale of No. 8 might be going through as well. The two homes on Pine Street that are already in place are lots No. 1 and 2. Lots 4-11 are on First Street.

He also noted that lot No. 6 is a proposed spec home, which is a house built before a home buyer makes a purchase. It is the opposite of a custom-built home in which the buyer can make many changes before they even move in.

Keck said the spec home on lot No. 6 will be a model home, and all the other homes will be built to match No. 6 with the exception of the custom-built home currently in the works.

There are three floor plans: single story, a standard two-story floor plan and a standard-plus floor plan which adds some extra square footage to the standard plan.

According to the Chippewa Cottages' website the standard-two story plan features 1,080 square feet on the main level with an additional 660 square feet on the second level for a total of 1,740 square feet.

Screenshot/City2Shore Port City Associates

The main level features a large great room with ceilings all the way to the roof that gives way to the covered front porch overlooking the community common area. There is also a large kitchen with center island, primary suite, full bath and an option for a main floor laundry or laundry in the lower level.

On the second floor, there are two additional bedrooms and another full bathroom which overlooks the large great room on the main floor.

The single story floor plan has 1,060 square feet and has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. It also has what the website calls "a well-appointed primary suite."

Screenshot/City2Shore Port City Associates

It includes a full laundry room, locker system and a living room which gives way to a covered front porch. The large kitchen features a center island which sits next to a dining alcove with windows.

The largest floor plan  the standard two-story-plus  has a similar main floor layout and square footage as the standard two-story.

Screenshot/City2Shore Port City Associates

However, the upper level changes slightly to allow for the space above the garage to be finished with an additional 320 square feet. That brings the total finished square footage to 2,060.

Keck said that after all the homes are built and the development is completed, there is a planned space for a community area that may have a pickleball court, a putting green and/or other amenities that are likely to determined by the homeowner association and the investment group.

The homes with a single story floor plan start at about $320,000 and the standard-plus starts at $380,000.
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...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma, including the following counties, in Arkansas, Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and Washington AR. In Oklahoma, Adair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Pushmataha, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington OK. * WHEN...Through Thursday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Excessive runoff will likely result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations, especially in areas that have already received heavy rainfall over the past few days. Several main-stem rivers could go into flood. A few locations could see significant flash flooding. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Multiple rounds of thunderstorms are expected today through Thursday afternoon with the potential for very heavy rainfall. Widespread 2 to 3 inches of rain is expected with locally higher amounts of 5 to 6 inches. The heavier rain will begin to shift east of far southeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas Thursday afternoon. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
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Envoy clarifies China's Ukraine stance

15:19, March 16, 2022 By YIFAN XU in Washington ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang [Photo/Xinhua]

The assertions that "China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported" Russia's military operation in Ukraine "are purely disinformation", Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the US wrote in an op-ed published Tuesday.

In the piece in The Washington Post, he dispelled talk of a comparison between the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan, calling them "totally different things".

In the article titled "Where We Stand in Ukraine," Qin said that he was writing to "explain fully and dispel any misunderstandings and rumors".

He denied claims that China had prior knowledge of Russia's military action and that it had demanded Russia delay it until the Beijing Winter Olympics had concluded. Qin also denied that Russia was seeking military assistance from China.

"Let me say this responsibly: Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation. All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China," wrote Qin.

"There were more than 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine. China is the biggest trading partner of both Russia and Ukraine, and the largest importer of crude oil and natural gas in the world. Conflict between Russia and Ukraine does no good for China. Had China known about the imminent crisis, we would have tried our best to prevent it."

The ambassador reiterated the positions emphasized by other senior Chinese officials: China is committed to an independent foreign policy of peace, and as a "staunch champion of justice", China decides its position on the merits of the issue.

He also reiterated China's "objective and impartial" position on Ukraine. "The purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed; the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected; the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously; and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported," the ambassador wrote.

"Given this, threats against Chinese entities and businesses, as uttered by some US officials, are unacceptable. Neither war nor sanctions can deliver peace. Wielding the baton of sanctions at Chinese companies while seeking China's support and cooperation simply won't work," said Qin.

Qin mentioned specifically that some people are linking Taiwan and Ukraine to play up the risk of a conflict in the Taiwan Straits, referring to the analogy as "a mistake".

"These are totally different things. Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair. It does not make sense for people to emphasize the principle of sovereignty on Ukraine while hurting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Taiwan," said Qin. "The future of Taiwan lies in peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and the reunification of China."

The ambassador stressed that China is committed to peaceful reunification and retains all options to curb "Taiwan independence". He expressed the hope that the United States earnestly abide by the one-China principle and not support "Taiwan independence" separatism in any form.

"To ensure long-term peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, China and the United States must work together to contain 'Taiwan independence," Qin wrote.

Qin enumerated the efforts of China to push for peace talks and the prevention of a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, including President Xi Jinping's phone call with President Vladimir Putin on the second day of the conflict expressing China's desire to see Russia and Ukraine hold peace talks as early as possible; Xi's virtual meeting with leaders of France and Germany emphasizing the need to jointly support peace talks between Russia and Ukraine; the Rome meeting between Yang Jiechi, the director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs of China, and Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser of US in Rome; and the close communication State Councilor Wang Yi has maintained with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other foreign ministers.

Qin also mentioned that China outlined a six-point initiative to address the Ukraine crisis and suggested that humanitarian operations abide by the principles of neutrality and impartiality. He also wrote that the first tranche of emergency humanitarian supplies provided by the Red Cross Society of China to its Ukrainian counterpart had been shipped from Beijing.

Qin cited a Chinese proverb, "It takes more than one cold day to freeze three feet of ice." He said the long-term peace and stability of Europe rely on the principle of indivisible security, and there must be a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture.

"The priority now is to achieve a cease-fire to protect civilians from war, "said Qin. "But as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible major country, China will continue to coordinate real efforts to achieve lasting peace. We stand ready to do whatever we can and work with other parties.

"Our ultimate purpose is the end of war and support regional and global stability," Qin concluded.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
By SA Commercial Prop News

Construction has begun on many of the 62 projects of the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP), according to Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia de Lille



Public Works and Infrastructure Minister, Patricia de Lille, says construction has begun on many of the 62 projects of the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP).

The projects, the Minister said in a briefing in Pretoria on Wednesday, have been gazetted as Strategic Integrated Projects (SIPS), in terms of the Infrastructure Development Act. This is to ensure that these projects follow an expedited path to implementation.



Many of these projects are already under construction, providing much needed jobs for our people, helping to revive the struggling construction sector, De Lille said.



In approving the Infrastructure Investment Plan in May 2020, Cabinet also approved the establishment of Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), which is responsible for raising additional funding for the projects, and driving efforts to ensure that implementation is expedited and projects are completed.



ISA, which is headed by Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has over the past few months diligently worked on a long-term plan for infrastructure development across the country -- the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) 2050.



About R6.224 trillion is estimated to be needed in infrastructure finance between 2016 and 2040.



De Lille said the NIP 2050 aims to ensure that there is a long-term overview regarding infrastructure, in order to drive economic and social transformation to achieve NDP goals and beyond.



There is a pressing need for a shared long-term vision and a robust institutional platform to enable sustained and continuous improvement in public infrastructure delivery.



De Lille said some of the most important requirements of the NIP 2050 are already being implemented.



Buy-in from the sector



On 4 August 2021, Cabinet approved the gazetting of the National Infrastructure Plan 2050 for public comment. The NIP 2050 was subsequently gazetted for public comment on 10 August 2021, with the closing date for submission of written comments set for 17 September 2021.



De Lille said to complement the process of written comments, Infrastructure South Africa held a series of public consultation sessions with various stakeholders in the infrastructure sector.



Following these engagements, there was a need to consult more broadly with additional stakeholders.



A total of 85 written comments were received from departments, State-owned enterprises, implementing agents, advisory bodies, civil society organisations, institutes of higher learning, research organisations and professional bodies, including Business Unity South Africa and Business Leadership South Africa.



There is huge support in terms of the development of a long-term infrastructure planning framework. Inputs made to NIP 2050 were aimed to strengthen and enhance the plan, De Lille said.



Ramokgopa said the NIP 2050 targets the provision of energy, water, transport and digital communications.



The NDP sets a target that more than 90% of the population should enjoy access to grid-connected or off-grid electricity by 2030.



To realise this vision, South Africa's energy system will be supported by effective policies, institutions, governance systems, regulation and where appropriate, competitive markets.



The NDP envisages a freight transport sector that facilitates domestic and cross-border movement across supply chains to enable industrialisation, diversification and trade and development.



Ramokgopa said the South African government aims to expand infrastructure investment in support of economic and social objectives.



This move is also meant to act as an economic stimulus. Since 2019, several initiatives have been launched to improve infrastructure investment, in support of economic and social objectives, and to stimulate the economy, he said.



NIP 2050



NIP 2050 will be developed in two iterations and draws from, amongst others, the National Development Plan and National Spatial Development Framework.



On 11 March 2022, the first iteration of the NIP was gazetted after extensive and rigorous public consultation, and final approval by Cabinet on 9 March 2022.



The first iteration focuses on energy, water, freight transport and digital infrastructure.



ISA will also develop a second iteration of the NIP 2050, which focuses on distributed infrastructure and related municipal services.



The goal of the NIP 2050 is to create a foundation for achieving the NDPs vision of inclusive growth.



The NIP 2050 identifies the most critical actions needed for sustained improvement in public infrastructure delivery. The NIP 2050 will have impact in the short-term, but with longer-term imperatives also in view.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kindthread today announces the launch of its transformative new company within the healthcare apparel industry as a result of the recent acquisitions of Landau, White Cross, Chefwear, and Scrubs & Beyond by an affiliate of LKCM Headwater Investments, a leading middle-market private investment firm. With a commitment to supporting caregivers, the venture will offer thoughtfully curated products, services and experiences. Kindthread will establish a new headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.



Kindthread is a solution the healthcare apparel industry has not yet seen: a modern, digitally-forward, product-focused and customer-obsessed organization, dedicated to serving healthcare professionals while driving positive community impact, said David Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of Kindthread.



www.lkcmheadwater.com
I have a pet dog and I am absolutely unafraid to say that dogs have been by far the most loyal and loving companions one can ever find.

Yes, theyre different from us, they care more about food and sleep than stressing about their tomorrow. For them, love is as pure as sticking around with their humans for better or worse. And there are times when they would bark unnecessarily (or so it would seem to us) into the night, but not like humans dont ever do the same.

 iStock

Except, the difference between humans and dogs is that, dogs wont get up one day in the wee hours of the night to stab a human to death. Unlike this man who allegedly stabbed a poor dog to death all because he was irritated with a stray dogs barking.



A stray dog was stabbed to death by a man in Delhi's Kalyanpuri area. The accused has told the police that the dog used to bark often due to which he committed this incident after getting irritated. Police registered a case under sections of cruelty on animals, police said  ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2022

The horrific incident took place in the Kalyanpuri area of Delhi and the police told ANI that, The dog used to bark often due to which he committed this incident after getting irritated.

Now, I get that barking can be frustrating. Youre tired, maybe you need a goodnights sleep and when youre constantly irked by a dog barking in the distance, it makes you furious. However, there couldve been plenty of ways to go about it, than to kill someone in cold blood.

You can always call PETA, animal welfare organizations, animal dedicated NGOs and several other such organizations who are happy to step in and find a solution that would never involve killing them. And if nothing works, there are always earplugs.

Today it was a dog tomorrow it could be a human.  Bandit (@No1legalbeagle) March 15, 2022

And we call them Animals. Saale kaisa log hai yaar.  Er. Ujwal Rajput (@usual_engineer) March 15, 2022

Bilkul sahi kiya.

Animal cruelty pe bhi 302 ki dhara lagaani chahiye.  Anand Magan (@Magan__Anand) March 15, 2022

People on the internet, after coming across this incident, are calling the man a psychopath, and I wouldnt disagree.

After all, you need to be dead inside to be capable of taking someones life without flinching.

One user even wrote, Today it was a dog, tomorrow it could be a human. Another one commented, And we call them animals. Kaise log hai yaar.

There were so many humans barking from pedestals before elections, didnt do anything to them?  incogni (@incogni_2307) March 15, 2022

Humans are most horrible n dangerous creatures!!

Om shanti  NITIN JAIN (@LOCKDOW10886123) March 15, 2022

There is no reason that can justify killing another, especially in this case where this pathetic excuse of a man, who probably had anger issues, chose to take it out on a being who couldnt say anything back to him.

Police have filed a case against the accused under sections of cruelty on animals, reported news agency ANI.
Kareena Kapoor Khan is all set to make her streaming debut in a murder mystery based on Japanese author Keigo Higashino's novel, 'The Devotion of Suspect X'.

The yet-to-be-titled film will be directed by Sujoy Ghosh ('Kahaani', 2012; 'Badla', 2018) and also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma. Streaming platform Netflix announced the film through a video of Kareena, Jaideep and Vijay during a script reading session for the film led by the director.

Sharing her thoughts on the announcement, Kareena said: "I can't wait to begin work on this exciting project. It's one that has all the right ingredients: a great story, a visionary director and a super talented cast and crew. It is the beginning of an electrifying journey and I can't wait for audiences worldwide to see this global bestseller book come to life."

'The Devotion of Suspect X', the third novel in Higashino's Detective Galileo series, is considered to be his most acclaimed work. It fetched him the Naoki Prize, a highly regarded literary honour in Japan. The novel won the prestigious Honkaku Mystery Award as well.

Talking about his film, Ghosh said: "'Devotion' is probably the best love story I've ever read. To get a chance to adapt it into a film is such an honour. Plus I get a chance to work with Kareena, Jaideep and Vijay. What more can one ask for?"

For Pratiksha Rao, Director, Films and Licensing, Netflix India, thrillers are an essential part of Netflix India's slate and a film based on such an acclaimed novel seems to be a perfect fit for the streamer's programming content.

"Thrillers are integral to our Indian film slate and we can't wait to bring to our members our adaptation of 'The Devotion of Suspect X'," Rao said.
A Memorial Service of Christian Burial will begin at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 7, 2022, at Robert Barham Family Funeral Home Chapel. Robert Barham Family Funeral Home is honored to be entrusted with the arrangements. Mrs. Cobb, 68, of Meridian, passed away Sunday, May 1, 2022, at Bedford Care Ce
In summer 2020, The New York Times coordinated a nationwide project to document the lives of Americans out of work because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved collaborating with 11 other local newsrooms around the U.S. The Messenger-Inquirer was the only newspaper from Kentucky in the collaboration. The resulting collection of stories was published Oct. 23, 2020, in the New York Times print edition and at nytimes.com/outofwork. The following list is the Messenger-Inquirer's local unemployment coverage from that time period; read more by clicking the "New York Times Project" header. Click on "Out Of Work In America" to go to the full
I have posted images on my social media pages of places and faces I have known in Ukraine.

In the first few days of the conflict, I corrected reporters on the ground and in the studios when they mentioned the western city of Lviv, a place I know fairly well. It got old, walking past the TV and shouting, Lviv with the short I and the f sound on the final v.

Sometimes, for variety, I shouted, Lvov, with an f, the Polish pronunciation.

What did it matter, anyway, in light of the carnage and suffering? But it goes to show how insignificant a role Ukraine played in our national psyche, until it wasnt insignificant anymore.

We watch in helpless horror as a rocket explodes a Ukrainian city bus, a bus I am certain was full to overflowing, like every Ukrainian bus I ever rode. On an empty street, a solitary pedestrian walking along a sidewalk stops, looks skyward, and then as the rocket turns the bus into a fireball, we see him skittle back and forth across the road, dazed and unsteady.

We watch the video on a loop, dazed, too, sitting on our sofas, or at our desks, drinking coffee and doing a slow shake of the head.

We watch another video, this time a woman in her bombed-out flat as she brushes debris from her piano keys and plays, a friend recording her music while panning across the destroyed home, a last touch of the keys before they  do what? Leave, of course, but where, we wonder, and how? And we have no point of reference for any of it  the attack, the destruction, the notes floating over and above the pianist and out the gaping hole that once was a window.

The basement huddles of women and children, basements similar to ones I have been in, and let me assure you they are dark and damp and old. No big screen TVs and yesterdays sofa here, but cans of homemade pickles and fruit on old and swollen boards, bits and scraps of wood and wire, chipped enamel basins and the cellar underbellies of structures hundreds of years old.

I do not need to recount the stories for you. We see them every day. We compare notes, can talk of little else, even when we vow to talk of any thing else but what is unfolding in central Europe. And always, just around the edges, we wonder what it means for us. We might not ask that question out loud, but it lingers and sometimes keeps up us at night, in that vague, diffuse way creeping dread likes to visit.

I spent the weekend learning about coffee. Watched video after video and took notes on bloom time, grind size and water to coffee ratios. I checked out all the equipment and watched videos on that stuff, too. Chemex vs. drip, gooseneck kettles, electric ones compared to stovetop, variable temperature kettles compared to each other. French press processes and procedures. Its much more complicated than you think.

One of my pals said she was swearing off the news for the weekend, and I said I was, too. And so, coffee brewing temps for me, reading old family letters and napping for her.

Yet, a new week is on us, and here we are. How to balance staying aware and informed with maintaining equilibrium? We must do both, it seems to me. I am reading from the books I have collected about Ukraine, the ones that help me understand near and distant history of the region. I stay connected with friends in the Czech Republic who are watching this very, very closely. I curate my consumption of news, check in three times a day for updates, then I think about spring planting and Easter preparations. I keep appointments, make plans to have dinner with friends.

I look at old pictures, read old bits of writing. I pray.

I wonder how brave I might be, if called upon for it. I am grateful for the little bit of Slavic DNA I am told I have, hoping some of it might rise to the surface if I need it. For the Ukrainians are brave. Heroic.

I remain worried but watchful. The world has come to our doorstep, whether we know it quite yet, or not.
Miami, FL (33127)

Today

Mostly cloudy early, then clearing overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy early, then clearing overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 73F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
Bollywood actor Ali Fazal, who will next be seen in another Hollywood project titled 'Kandahar', co-starring, Gerard Butler, has shared an exclusive picture from the sets.

The picture obtained by IANS, showcases Ali posing with Butler and other crew members from the film. The movie's shoot schedule recently wrapped up in Al Ula in Saudi Arabia.

Bankrolled by 'John Wick' fame Thunder Road Films and Capstone group, 'Kandahar' which commenced shooting in Saudi Arabia's Al-'Ula in December, is based on true incidents as it draws inspiration from the life of a former military intelligence officer's experiences at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.

'Kandahar' the first collaboration between Ali and director Ric Roman Waugh, who has previously worked with Butler in 'Greenland' and 'Angel Has Fallen'.

On the work front, Ali Fazal is shooting for filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj's directorial 'Khufiya'.
BIG RAPIDS  Former Big Rapids mayor Tom Hogenson has died following a months-long illness.

Hogenson served as mayor from 2017 to 2020. Term limits prevented him from running for another term. Prior to running for mayor, he served on the city commission for two terms.

Upon leaving the position of mayor, Hogenson told the Pioneer that his focus while in office was what the community needs and how city government could make that happen based on good intelligent decision making.

City commissioner Jennifer Cochran, who was appointed to fill Hogensons seat on the city's board of commissioners in 2017 when he became mayor, told the Pioneer that in her opinion, Hogenson was the epitome of a true public servant."

He loved Big Rapids. He lived here for a lifetime and served it and its citizens in a myriad of capacities and always with the greatest integrity, Cochran said. I was proud to serve with him. I learned a great deal from him, and I hope to aspire to his example as I go forward in my service to the city.

She added that she was deeply saddened by his passing, and he will be greatly missed.

Cochran said she has known Hogenson for almost 23 years, after meeting him through the former Good Neighbors Association, an organization for which he was one of the founders.

That was a neighborhood group that banded together to address some of the issues in neighborhoods at the time, she said. The Good Neighbors Association was responsible for the city creating what was then the Neighborhood Services department  now the community development department  in the first place. As long as I have known him, he has worked in one way or another for the betterment of the city.

One of the things I have always remarked about Tom is that I never knew him as anything other than a gentleman, she continued. He was thoughtful, he listened to people, and he helped people to know that they had been heard. He was always very conscientious about how he went about making decisions. As far as I am aware, and in all my experiences with him, I never knew him to impose his own personal feelings or his own personal agenda on the decisions that came before the commission. That, to me, is the mark of a really true public servant.

Hogenson said previously that the Good Neighbors Association was what led him to running for city commission.

I suppose I was rather shrill from time to time about things we needed to do to improve neighborhood quality of life, he said. The then mayor looked me in the eye one day and said, Why dont you run for city commission? The thought had never occurred to me.

'MY BEST WISHES'

During his time on the city commission, and as mayor, he said some of his proudest accomplishments included the Baldwin Street Bridge project, street paving, growth of the community development department and fiscal stability for the city, although, he added, those things had little to do with him but with committed public servants.

Other projects he took pride in, but modestly credited to the citizens of the community, include the Hemlock Park Improvement project and the Hanchett property project.

The fact that a group of citizens came together to raise funds for Hemlock Park and create the kind of project that is going to enhance the community for decades to come is heroic, he said. Again, that has nothing to do with elected officials. It has to do with the people who live here, who understand what the community needs and want to get down to it.

He also said he was proud that the city commission held fast to the ideas that citizens wanted for the Hanchett property and did not give in to someone who wanted to put a gas station there.

Completing the Hemlock Park project, the Hanchett property development, and development of the Depot property trailhead were things he hoped to see completed, he said upon leaving office.

Hogenson has been a part of the Big Rapids community since 1967, when his family moved here from Wisconsin. He studied nursing at what was then Ferris State College, now Ferris State University, and while working toward his degree, he worked at Big Rapids Community Hospital.

Following his graduation, he accepted a nursing position with the hospital, now called Spectrum Health Big Rapids, and worked his way up through the ranks, eventually accepting a position in public relations. From that position he worked to establish the Mecosta County Medical Center Foundation, for which he served as director.

I thought I would travel out of Big Rapids after graduating college, Hogenson said upon his retirement from Spectrum Health Big Rapids. I ended up staying here because of how great of a place the town is. Its home, and its where I wanted to make a difference.

Big Rapids mayor Fred Guenther said he worked with Hogenson at the hospital and knew him well.

I respected him and loved him, Guenther said. I thought he was a noble and great person. He did great work at the hospital and amazing public service to the city. I was saddened to hear of his death.

Beth Langenburg, COO of Spectrum Health Big Rapids and Reed City hospitals, who worked with Hogenson for many for years, added, Toms strong advocacy for patients and family was always evident regardless of the role Tom held at Big Rapids Hospital. Tom led with compassion and kindness.

Upon his departure from the mayoral office, Hogenson offered this advice to those who choose to follow in his footsteps of public service: Listen for understanding instead of response, speak to be understood not to be heard, form your opinions carefully without paralyzing yourself with over analysis, encourage valid criticism, and vow in your heart to serve the community first.

My best wishes to the future of the city, and thank you for helping me grow, he added.
As calls mount for U.S. operators to step in and increase oil and natural gas production to lower prices and replace the production coming out of Russia, some analysts point out that may be easier said than done.

Were seeing a lot of growth in U.S. demand compared to prior cycles, Rob Clarke, vice president, upstream research at Wood Mackenzie told the Midland (Texas) Reporter-Telegram in a telephone interview. Were not seeing the same supply response. Its not growing fast enough to keep pace with demand.

Pablo Prudencio, senior research analyst, U.S. Lower 48 Supply, with Wood Mackenzie, said the research firm has looked at future production trends for the Permian Basin and has broken operators down into three groups. In the last year, he said, those three groups have started to behave differently.

The majors, like Chevron and ExxonMobil, have announced plans to ramp up activity levels in the Permian Basin and are planning for significant growth.

The public independents, he said, have released their capital spending plans for the year and, overall, intend to continue their focus on capital discipline. They havent offered guidance toward very high levels of growth, he said.

The private companies have grown rapidly the last few years, Prudencio said, but only control a small slice of the pie.

Alongside these varying growth plans, he said there are other reasons domestic output cant grow significantly this year. One reason is that the recent excess inventory of DUCs  Drilled Uncompleted Wells  has been either exhausted or is back to normal levels.

Secondly, the service sector is seeing major constraints with a tight labor market, trucking issues and supply chain issues. That, Prudencio said, will make it difficult for service companies to step up their activity levels beyond a gradual increase.

And third, he said, is the capital discipline from public independents.

They see their new style of operating model is working, he said. Its bringing back investors, theyre paying down debt, theyre paying out dividends. Those changes need to stick and there needs to be an element of duration.

Operators are also constrained in the number of drilling rigs they could add, said Clarke, saying those operators running around 15 rigs or more could only add one or two additional rigs. Another concern, he said, is putting back to work older rigs that had been idled, that have more emissions than newer rigs. Emissions are now part of the calculus.

Clarke, who recently moderated a panel discussion on energy issues on behalf of Texas Christian University, said it was interesting to hear that the speakers, representing both small and large companies, discussed having similar challenges.

The Permian is growing and will continue to grow, Clarke said. It is growing at a rate the market has asked it to grow.
The ongoing controversy between Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the Speaker finally has ended after both met for an hour here.

The meeting was held in the central hall of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha late Tuesday night.

The senior leaders of NDA, including parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Chaudhary, two deputy chief ministers Tar Kishore Prasad and Renu Devi were also present.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar gave a bouquet to Speaker Vijay Sinha.

All the leaders were seen smiling during the meeting which indicated that they have been able to reach on a compromise. Though, the leaders present in the meeting did not give a statement on the issue.

Meanwhile Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of opposition in the Bihar Assembly said: "Despite facing embarrassment and humiliation, they (leaders of BJP) are staying in power. They should die in a handful of water."

"We always respect the chair of the speaker. He is a custodian of Vidhan Sabha. The way the chief minister humiliated him on Monday was simply unacceptable. He was pointing fingers towards the Speaker. His body language was the worst. He should apologise for his behaviour," Tejashwi said.

On Monday, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha had a heated argument over whether a matter being probed by the government, which has also been referred to the privilege committee, could be raised on the floor of the House again. The matter was rasied a BJP MLA Sanjay Sarawgi and concerned the Speaker himself.

Vijay Sinha had brought a breach of privilege motion in the House against two SHOs and a DSP rank officers, who allegedly misbehaved with him in his home district Lakhisarai on February 9. Under the special privilege motion, he asked the chief secretary and DGP of Bihar to take action in this matter and submit reports till Wednesday. The department has not taken any action against the SHOs and DSP.
About seven or eight years ago, Mike Ball found himself at a crossroads in life.

Ball, a native of Saginaw and graduate of Swan Valley High School, wanted to be a stand-up comic, a goal he would work toward during the winters he spent in southern California. When the weather warmed up, he put his career on pause as he returned to Michigan to run his landscaping business.

But a pair of formative experiences took place that led Ball to give up his landscaping work and devote himself full-time to becoming a successful comedian.

Ball brought his Future of Comedy Show, featuring himself and three other up-and-coming comedians, to Lake Street Local in Port Austin on Saturday. The show was a sellout. Port Austin was just one stop on his Winter/Spring 2022 tour, which also includes dates in Bay City, West Branch, Gaylord and Traverse City, to name a few. The tour returns to the Thumb on April 16 with a show in Caro.

His latest tour is the culmination of a series of experiences and choices he made when he was at that crossroads eight years ago. He first got interested in a career in comedy when well-known comic Ralphie May scheduled a show at the Temple Theatre in Saginaw. He offered to help promote the show on Facebook in exchange for four tickets.

May took him up on that offer. Ball soon found himself putting up posters and doing other promotional tasks and began to consider going into show business himself.

"It really brought it to reality for me," Ball said. "Like (a career in comedy) was something that could actually happen."

Then Ball's father died, and he decided Los Angeles was the place to be if he wanted to make it, so he would spend winters there doing comedy wherever he could. He even landed an internship working for comedian Pauly Shore at LA's fabled Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip. But the winter would turn to spring, and he would return to his landscaping business back here in Michigan.

During one of the winters he spent in LA about seven years ago, Ball attended a lecture featuring filmmaker Judd Apatow and comic actor Jeff Garlin. When Ball asked their advice about how to make it in show business, Garlin spoke up and told him to forego landscaping and focus on his comedy.

"I went back (to Michigan) and did one last season and sold my business," Ball said. "I've been doing comedy full-time ever since."

Ball eventually hit upon the idea of putting together his own comedy show. He attended open mic nights and offered spots to those comics he felt had what it takes to make it.

The lineup for Saturdays show included headliner Ball, Matt Conn, Justin Divozzo and Ronnie Rohrbeck.

Ball and his tour will return to the Thumb on April 16 for a show in Caro at The Brentwood. Tickets for the Caro show cost $20 and are available at www.mikeballdotcom.com. The comedy show is intended for adults.
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MIDDLETOWN  Two firefighters suffered burns from a fast-moving two-alarm house fire on Clinton Avenue Wednesday afternoon that spread to the home next door.

When Middletown Fire Department, Westfield Fire District and South Fire District crews arrived on scene, they discovered the blaze at the two-family dwelling at 15 Clinton Ave. had jumped to 9 Clinton Ave., Middletown Fire Chief Jay Woron said.

Clinton Avenue is a dead-end street a few blocks from the north end of Main Street.

Two firefighters experienced minor burns, Woron said. One was treated at Middlesex Hospital and released, while the other was taken to the Bridgeport Hospital Burn Center.

There was heavy fire showing from the front and left side of the vinyl-sided 15 Clinton Ave. home, which has old, asphalt-type shingles that burn very fast, Woron said. All residents there got out safely, and the occupants of 9 Clinton Ave. were not home, he added.

It took fire crews about two hours to knock down the blaze, the chief said.

Portland and Meriden fire crews were called in for mutual aid, and firefighters from Cromwell, Portland and New Britain provided station coverage, the chief said.

Everyone did a tremendous job, Woron said. It was a good, quick knockdown.

In a Facebook post around 1:33 p.m., police asked residents to clear the area around Grand Street, Clinton Avenue and Kings Avenue to allow first responders to work.

The cause and manner of the fire are under investigation.

Hearst Connecticut Media breaking news reporter Peter Yankowski contributed to this article.
NORWALK  An elected city official responsible for serving court papers has been charged with disorderly conduct, police said.

John Romano, 73, one of the citys seven constables, was cited after officers were dispatched around 9 a.m. Monday to an East Rocks Road home, according to Norwalk Police Department records.

Lt. Joe Dinho, a spokesperson for the department, said the misdemeanor charge stemmed from an incident involving a juvenile. Dinho said no one was injured during the incident.

In a brief telephone interview on Tuesday, Romano said he was innocent of the allegation and intends to fight the charge in court.

There's nothing that I did that's actually wrong, Romano said. I don't look at this as any blemish or black eye on my personal integrity.

As a result of the charge, the state Department of Children and Families opened an investigation into the incident, Romano said.

Ken Mysogland, the agency's bureau chief of external affairs, said he was unable to confirm the existence of an investigation due to a state law that mandates that child protective services records be kept private.

Romano, a Republican, was elected to a two-year term as constable last fall. He previously served in the same role between 2013 and 2019, according to city election records.

Norwalks constables are tasked with serving civil court papers, including lawsuit notices and tax warrants. They do not earn money directly from the city, but are paid by lawyers for delivering court documents.

A longtime Norwalk resident, Romano also serves as the chairperson of the Norwalk Harbor Management Commission and is the owner of All American Custom Pools & Spas, a Bridgeport-based pool construction business.

Despite the charge, Romano said he has no plans to step down from roles as constable or commission chairperson.

Mayor Harry Rilling, who said he was not aware that Romano had been charged with disorderly conduct, declined to comment about the case.

Republican Town Committee Chairperson Fred Wilms, said the local party is standing by Romano.

Our thoughts go out to the entire Romano family, Wilms said.

richard.chumney@hearstmediact.com
This article was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

Earlier this year, about 30 Texas National Guard members were ordered to stand watch outside some of the wealthiest private ranches in South Texas, more than an hour's drive away from the Mexico border, as part of Gov. Greg Abbott's highly touted mission to curb illegal immigration.

Placed at spots along U.S. Route 77 running north to Corpus Christi  including the sprawling and renowned King Ranch and the GOP-connected Armstrong Ranch  the troops were ostensibly meant to deter migrants and smugglers who might cross through private ranches to avoid detection at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near the city of Sarita.

But service members with firsthand knowledge of the mission told The Texas Tribune that troops rarely saw migrants from their posts nearly 80 miles away from the border and were unable to give chase because they were not authorized to enter the private ranches if they saw migrants cutting through.

In practice, service members said, they stood around for hours, staring at each other and the highway, outside the private ranches  some of which had their own private security.

"We really don't understand why we are there," a service member told the Tribune. "We're essentially mall security for ranches that already have paid security details to protect them."

The Texas Tribune is not identifying the service members because they were not authorized to speak to the media and feared retaliation.

Those troops said their time was wasted standing guard outside ranches with wealthy or politically connected owners when they could have been more useful at other posts closer to the border where they could be more effective to the mission, which is known as Operation Lone Star.

Representatives for the King and Armstrong ranches said they did not request the presence of the National Guard outside their ranches and that the troops were on the public right of way and not on their private property.

The service members are no longer stationed outside of the private ranches, service members said. They were removed in February, shortly after The Texas Tribune began asking questions about the deployment. Col. Rita Holton, a spokesperson for the Texas Military Department, said the agency could not comment on the deployment because of operational security concerns.

The dispatching of troops to wealthy private ranches raises more questions about the use of National Guard troops, who have widely decried the mission as aimless, political and oversized, as the cost of the effort has already ballooned to $2 billion a year. State leaders transferred nearly half a billion dollars to the Texas Military Department last month from three other state agencies to cover the mounting costs of keeping thousands of Texas National Guard troops on the southern border.

State Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, who represents a border district and sits on a committee overseeing border security efforts, said the reports of National Guard service members stationed at private ranches in the state's interior were "disturbing."

"I have no objections to them being on the border," he said. "But I certainly have concerns with military presence at private ranches. It would be a waste of time and of resources. There's better use of the National Guard on the border, not in the interior."

Even if the service members saw migrants crossing through ranches, they are unable to do anything because they do not have authority to go on the land and arrest them, said Hinojosa, who compared their deployment to scarecrows.

Abbott's office declined to comment and referred questions to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department.

Representatives for the King and Armstrong ranches said they did not request the presence of the National Guard outside their ranches and that the troops were on the public right of way and not on their private property. (The Texas Tribune photo by Eddie Gaspar)

"Not much to do"

Abbott kicked off Operation Lone Star last March and ramped up its scale in September, leading to involuntary deployments with only a few days notice for part-time troops who have civilian jobs, lives and families. He eventually deployed 10,000 troops to the mission, many of whom have said they were not given a clear task or adequate training, equipment or lodging. A leaked survey of members of one of the six Operation Lone Star units found widespread skepticism and frustration with the mission.

On Monday, Abbott replaced the Texas Military Department's top leader after months of criticism.

In January, the Texas Military Department sent troops to stand guard outside the famed King Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States, which covers more ground than the state of Rhode Island.

It also sent troops to the Armstrong Ranch, the property of a longtime Republican family that has hosted GOP leaders like Karl Rove, former Gov. Rick Perry and former Vice President Dick Cheney. In an infamous 2006 incident, Cheney accidentally shot his friend in the face during a hunting expedition at the Armstrong Ranch. The injuries were nonfatal.

Troops were also sent to stand guard outside the ranch where Kenedy County Judge Charles Burns lives. Burns is a Democrat.

"These ranchers have enough money to do private security or have private security guard these gates," said the second service member who spoke to the Tribune. "The optics are just kind of crazy."

Jay Kleberg, a member of the family that owns the King Ranch who is running for land commissioner as a Democrat, said in a written statement that Operation Lone Star is a "colossal waste of taxpayer dollars" and a "serious threat to the health and safety of our Texas National Guard."

He said he did not have information on where the service members were stationed, but it was "beyond time to end Operation Lone Star."

"If it were up to me, these Texans would be home with their families and back at their jobs, not wasting their time on our border," Kleberg said.

The deployment along U.S. 77 consisted of multiple stations, each staffed with two service members and a Humvee. At any given time, 10 National Guard service members were posted along the highway leading to the Sarita checkpoint. With three shifts throughout the day, 30 service members were required daily to set up the points along private properties near the highway.

"Honestly, there's not much to do, if anything at all," said the second service member. "It's pretty boring just standing there for eight hours."

At the end of their shifts, service members then had to drive back to their living quarters in Harlingen, about 60 miles away.

State officials said the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department deployed personnel to the area at the request of the Kenedy County sheriff's office, a local property rights association, and local landowners who were seeing migrants and smugglers cross their properties to circumvent the Sarita checkpoint.

"The migrants and traffickers were driving through ranch gates on several properties to the north and south of the Sarita checkpoint to avoid apprehension, and this was leading to costly damages and dangerous vehicle pursuits along the heavily traveled Highway 77," Ericka Miller, a spokesperson for DPS, said in an email in response to questions. "In early January 2022, DPS and TMD began posting personnel at several rotating locations in the area in order to address these concerns."

While the state troopers and National Guard troops were there, Miller said, vehicle pursuits and reports of damaged properties dropped. But Miller could not provide any official statistics on the number of apprehensions or arrests from DPS before or after service members were deployed.

The Texas Tribune filed a public records request for those statistics, but DPS said it had no responsive documents. The Tribune also filed a request with the Texas Military Department.

State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, who leads one of the House committees that oversees the deployment, said data is needed to measure the mission's success.

"They have to have the data," White said. "Why do we have them here versus here? And with that data we can extrapolate success or needs improvement."

White, who supports the deployment, said leaders needed to listen to the troops on the ground about their concerns and explain to them the impact their deployment is having. He said the border mission is needed to combat human and drug trafficking through the Texas border.

Burns, the Kenedy County judge, said he had not requested the deployment of troops to stand guard outside his ranch but that he supported their presence there.

"If that's where they felt they need to be, I'm in agreement," Burns said. "Put them where they can do the best job."

Last year, Kenedy County received more than $700,000 from the state at Burns' request as part of Operation Lone Star's grant program for counties affected by the increase in migration through Texas.

The second service member said troops rarely saw migrants or smugglers. In 45 days, the troops had not seen "anywhere near the amount of activity as other strategic locations" along the border and were limited in their ability to apprehend migrants or smugglers.

The service member said troops were not allowed to enter the private ranches where they were standing guard. If they saw migrants or smugglers cutting through, the service member said, troops had to alert Border Patrol, which would then be tasked with chasing and apprehending the trespassers.

"It's strictly observe and report. If a [migrant] was coming toward us, we'd get on our radio and call Border Patrol," the service member said. "We can't act on any suspicious activity or any activity at all."

The first service member said they had seen "very little [migrant] presence" since the troops were deployed to the ranches, and the Border Patrol "has been the one to inform us of the presence and handled all apprehensions."

State Rep. Alex Dominguez, D-Brownsville, a vocal critic of Operation Lone Star, questioned the efficacy of the deployment of Guard members to the ranches.

"It is unfathomable to me why these service members would be stationed there other than for the optics of seeing a military vehicle manned by service members," he said in a statement. "If any immigrant would be moving northbound through the general area of the Armstrong or King ranches, they likely would avoid major arteries and travel through the brush. To my knowledge, the service members do not access the brush area."

"We needed it"

Among local officials, the deployment of troops along U.S. 77 was greeted with support.

"Since they've been there, the number of bailouts and the number of intrusions into private property and going through gates and fences has decreased," Burns said. "I think their presence has been very beneficial to the county."

Similarly, Kenedy County Sheriff Ramon Salinas said the presence of National Guard troops has helped deter migrants and smugglers and relieved the burden on his small agency.

"We needed it," he said. "They've come through for us, and I appreciate everything the governor has done."

Neither Salinas nor Burns could provide official evidence or data to show how the presence of the troops had deterred migrants and smugglers in the area, but Salinas said that anecdotally, ranch owners were happy that their fences were no longer being knocked down by smugglers who would cut through their properties to evade law enforcement.

"It's really made a big difference," he said. "Traffic has gone down."

But even with the troops stationed along the highway, Salinas said, ranches were still seeing groups of migrants walking through their properties to avoid the Sarita checkpoint.

"As soon as they get close to the checkpoint, they bail out and go through the ranches," he said.

That led one of the service members to question just how much impact their presence had on the deterrence of migrants in the area.

"If you can get in between us and still have the same effect, [then] they're [just] walking further," the second service member said. "They're just adapting to us being there, but there's no real data supporting us stopping this from happening."

Jessica Bolter, an associate policy analyst of U.S. immigration policy at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute, said the continued presence of migrants and smugglers speaks to the limitations of an "enforcement-only approach."

"Simply increasing enforcement doesn't solve the challenges of unauthorized migration, particularly because there's never going to be complete 100% enforcement across the border," Bolter said. "Migrants and smugglers are always going to find new ways to cross through these areas as long as push-and-pull factors driving migration continue to exist."

While state officials may be serving local constituents by trying to prevent damage to their properties and trespassing, Bolter said posting personnel outside private properties so far inland is unlikely to reduce overall unauthorized immigration at the border.

In order to effectively curb migration, Bolter said, officials would have to address the reasons migrants leave their home countries, try to work with other countries that other migrants pass through and create an effective asylum system at the border.

"These are all things that the state government doesn't have the ability to do, which is why its response is always going to be somewhat limited," she said. "Even if it starts working as a deterrent in one area of the border, it's likely migrants will just shift to crossing in another area."

Uriel Garcia and Eddie Gaspar contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
Taking a lead in the Congress, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednedsday will be watching 'The Kashmir Files' movie in Raipur.

He has invited all the MLAs from the state to watch the movie.

Baghel will be watching the 8 p.m. show in a cinema hall in the state capital.

The film has become a reason for criticising the Congress and all the BJP-ruled states have declared it a tax-free.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 'more films like this need to be made so that people can know the truth.'

Prime Minister Modi was addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting here before the start of day's proceedings in Parliament.

It is learnt that Prime Minister Modi said that there have been attempts to conceal the truth from the nation for a very long time and films like 'The Kashmir Files' need to be made to bring out the truth before people.

"Truth should be brought in the right form before the country. The truth prevailed in Kashmir Files," a BJP MP said, quoting the Prime Minister.

Another MP said that, while appreciating the film, the Prime Minister told the party lawmakers to watch it.

It is also learnt that the Prime Minister also said that attempts were made to suppress the truth by the 'flag bearers' of freedom of expression.
SEOUL, South Korea  A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded soon after liftoff in an apparent failed weapons launch on Wednesday, South Koreas military said, amid speculation that the North is preparing to launch its longest-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

Details of the missile explosion werent immediately known. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks.

The North Korean missile blew up while it was flying at an altitude of less than 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a South Korean military official said requesting anonymity because he wasnt publicly authorized to speak to media on the issue. He said the cause of the explosion wasnt known.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said that the launch was made from the Pyongyang region around 9:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) but gave no other details.

Lee Choon Geun, an honorary research fellow at South Koreas Science and Technology Policy Institute, said the missile likely exploded less than a minute after its launch. He said if the missiles toxic fuels fell on civilian residential areas in North Korea, they would likely cause a major health impact. There was no immediate outside report of such damages in North Korea.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command later said that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile but didnt say whether it was a failed launch. A command statement said the launch didnt pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory and its allies but called on North Korea to refrain from further destabilizing acts.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that a flight of a ballistic missile has not been confirmed and that Tokyo is working with Washington and Seoul to further analyze what happened.

Experts say past failures have moved North Korea closer to its goal of acquiring a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the American homeland. Of eight Musudan intermediate-range missiles tests in 2016, only one of those launches was seen by outside analysts as successful, which led to debates of whether North Koreas path toward ICBMs had been cut off.

However, the North in 2017 flew more powerful intermediate-range missiles over Japan and conducted three successful test-flights of ICBMs that demonstrated a potential range to strike deep into the U.S. mainland.

North Koreas successful satellite launches in 2012 and 2016  which were viewed by the U.N. as disguised tests of its long-range missile technology  also followed repeated failures.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea had tested an ICBM system in two recent launches, referring to the developmental Hwasong-17 missile, the Norths biggest weapon, which it unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.

In the two recent launches on Feb. 27 and March 5, the North Korean missiles flew medium-range distances, and experts have said North Korea likely tested the first stage rocket of the Hwasong-17 missile. It wasnt clear if Wednesdays launch also involved parts of the Hwasong-17.

After its two previous launches, North Korea said it had tested cameras and other systems for a spy satellite and released what it said were photos taken from space during one of the two tests, but it didnt confirm what rocket or missile it launched.

Observers say North Korea aims to boost its ICBM capability while trying to place its first functioning spy satellite into orbit. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire an improved ICBM and a spy satellite among an array of sophisticated weapons systems he says his country needs to cope with what he calls American hostility.

Earlier Wednesday, North Koreas state news agency released photos of a smiling Kim, clad in a long black leather coat, visiting a towering apartment complex under construction on the outskirts of Pyongyang. The news agency didnt say when Kim was there, but it typically reports on his public activities one or two days after they occur.

The Hwasong-17 could potentially fly up to 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), far enough to strike anywhere in the U.S. and beyond. The 25-meter (82-foot) missile, which was shown again at a defense exhibition in Pyongyang last year, has yet to be test-launched.

The three ICBMs that North Korea tested in 2017 were the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15. Some analysts say developing a larger missile could mean the country is trying to arm its long-range weapons with multiple warheads to overcome missile defense systems.

If North Korea makes a new ICBM launch, it would be its highest-profile weapons tests since its third and last ICBM launch in November 2017.

North Korea may call its potential new ICBM test a rocket launch to place a reconnaissance satellite in space, not a weapons test. That could invite condemnation but likely no fresh U.N. sanctions, some analysts say, since Russia and China wield vetoes on the Security Council and would oppose it.

Other North Korean missiles tested this year were mostly shorter-range, nuclear-capable weapons which place South Korea and Japan, both key U.S. allies, within striking distance. In January alone, North Korea carried out seven rounds of missile tests, a record number of monthly tests since Kim took power in late 2011.

U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program collapsed in 2019 due to wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on the North. Washington has urged North Korea to return to talks without any preconditions, but Pyongyang has rejected such overtures saying the United States must first withdraw its hostile policies.

In January, North Korea hinted at lifting its four-year moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. South Koreas Defense Ministry said Friday it detected signs that North Korea likely is restoring some of the tunnels at its nuclear testing site that it detonated ahead of the now-dormant nuclear diplomacy.

__

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
The Marine Corps' top officer had high praise for Ukrainian forces Wednesday as he discussed the invasion of the country by Russia.

"I would begin first of all with Ukraine, and how well their forces are doing," Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger said while speaking to Washington Post reporter David Ignatius on a webcast.

"I think they're proving to be very disciplined, very well trained, very well led, and now very inspired," Berger added. Specifically, the Marine leader noted that the country is winning "the information competition."

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The conflict, now in its third week, has been marked by a stalled advancement of Russian troops in recent days, according to Pentagon assessments.

"Fighting continues around major cities, major bombing, but no appreciable gains by Russia in recent days," a senior defense official told reporters Wednesday.

Berger noted that the Russian forces have not been effective at "fighting combined arms" -- using infantry and armor units to complement each other. Though the Marine general noted that it's not clear why Russian forces have not been implementing these tactics, he floated the possibility that it's driven by how well the Ukrainians are denying the invading force any reconnaissance opportunities.

"If you're a Russian tactical commander right now, on the ground, I'm not sure they have a good picture of what's in front of them," he said.

Berger also noted that Ukrainian forces have successfully made resupplying Russian troops very challenging by having units take "individual initiative" to get at Russia's "backside, at [their] logistics trains."

"That really causes Russian tactical leaders more problems because the resupply that they were planning now has to fight its way to get to you from Russia," he said.

Exacerbating Russia's supply woes could also be an inflexible command structure "where junior leaders are not allowed, not permitted to make those kind of calls" that permit forces to change tactics on the fly, Berger explained.

When asked why the Russians hadn't assaulted Ukraine from the Black Sea, the leader of the military branch that specializes in amphibious assaults noted that "no other operation that I know of is more complicated, more complex, takes more preparation, practice, rehearsal than an amphibious operation."

"Which is why not all forces can do them," Berger was quick to add.

He suggested that "Ukrainian forces had time to set a defense along the coastline that caused them, the Russian forces, to be concerned and delay" -- a sentiment echoed by others at the Pentagon.

One senior defense official told reporters last week that the one amphibious landing conducted by Russian forces occurred where it "was not going to be contested because they don't have a lot of amphibious experience, and there was no great air support for that amphibious landing."

"It's hard stuff for us, and I think what we're seeing over the last couple of weeks is just how much harder it is for the Russian military," that official added.

Berger noted that "during a conflict, it's difficult to draw all of the deeper lessons learned," but added that the war will continue to be studied by both U.S. and foreign militaries.

"We should assume that [Chinese navy] leaders are studying what's happening in Ukraine," he said.

"I think it should definitely give them pause about any degree of confidence an assault, an invasion of another country ... especially if it's across a body of water, is not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick."

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

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President Joe Biden ordered another $800 million in shoulder-fired missiles, drones and small arms to Ukraine on Wednesday -- bringing the total in U.S. military aid to $1 billion in just the past week -- as NATO agreed on plans for a historic military buildup to confront Russia.

Both decisions were announced within hours of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making a plea to Congress for the world to impose a no-fly zone over his country and to send the Soviet-designed S-300 air defense system to undercut Russia's air campaign.

The U.S. and the West have so far balked at imposing a no-fly zone but Biden indicated work is underway to get the Ukraine president the air defense system following his "passionate message" to lawmakers. Zelenskyy showed Congress a video of Russia's bombing of residential areas, destroyed cities, and dead and wounded children.

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"Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people," Zelenskyy, in his now trademark olive T-shirt, said through an interpreter in a live feed from Kyiv. "Russian troops have already fired nearly 1,000 missiles at Ukraine. Countless bombs. They use drones to kill us with precision."

Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces made little progress in recent days, and his massive invasion appeared to be bogged down more than two weeks after the invasion. The Russians had encircled the capital Kyiv, and heavy bombing and fighting with Ukrainian forces continued around other large cities, according to a senior U.S. defense official. On Wednesday, Russian ships began shelling areas outside of Odesa, a key port city on the Black Sea, though it was unclear whether it was a prelude to an amphibious assault.

Lawmakers teared up at the images of destruction and death Zelenskyy showed them, calling the speech "heartbreaking," "inspiring" and "powerful."

"It makes me want to throw on my uniform and go help," Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, an Army National Guard veteran, told reporters.

The new aid package approved by Biden will include 800 more Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and 2,000 Javelin anti-tank weapons, arms that have proved very effective in the hands of Ukrainians fighting the Russian invasion. There will also be 6,000 AT-4 anti-tank weapons and 1,000 light armor weapons, according to the White House.

It will also include 100 tactical drones, a sign of American willingness to send cutting-edge military equipment, Biden said in a national address. The president authorized $200 million in Ukraine military aid over the weekend, which itself came on the heels of $350 million and hundreds of sanctions from the U.S. and other nations that have decimated the Russian economy.

"We will keep up the pressure on Putin's crumbling economy, isolating him on the global stage," Biden said. "That's our goal: Make Putin pay the price, weaken his position, while strengthening the hand of the Ukrainians on the battlefield and on the negotiating table."

Zelenskyy has been pressing the West for the S-300, a surface-to-air missile system that is built by Russia, though not used by the U.S., and could give his forces another advantage by matching Russian hardware on the battlefield.

"At the request of President Zelenskyy, we have identified and are helping Ukraine acquire additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems, and then munitions for those systems," Biden said.

Slovakia reportedly agreed Wednesday to provide the S-300 systems. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was set to travel to Slovakia for talks on Thursday after a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels. He has been conducting talks with Slovakia, Bulgaria and other countries about providing air defense systems, the senior defense officials said.

"I know everybody's focused on the S-300, but there's lots of different air defense systems, and we're talking to folks that have them and might be willing to give them to Ukraine," according to the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.

Lawmakers are also backing Zelenskyy's call for the S-300 system.

"I think there's a growing interest in giving them as much as we can so that they can maintain their own air equality," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. "It means making it dangerous for the Russians to be in the air ... whatever it takes to do that, short, I would think, of American pilots."

NATO defense ministers, including Austin, also emerged Wednesday from a meeting in Brussels with an agreement to expand NATO forces, especially in eastern Europe, following Putin's decision to invade Ukraine in February with more than 150,000 troops.

By June, the alliance expects to have a plan for "substantially more" forces in the east under a higher level of military readiness, as well as more equipment and supplies at their disposal, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday. Those forces will include more air and missile defense, carrier strike groups, submarines and combat ships, he said.

Despite the moves by Biden and NATO -- and Zelenskyy's emotional speech -- there still appeared to be minimal support in Congress for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Lawmakers, even those typically considered the most hawkish, remain largely opposed to a U.S.- or NATO-enforced no-fly zone for fear of sparking a wider war with Russia.

"We have to make decisions based on our national security interests and not just emotional decisions," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said at a news conference after Zelenskyy's speech, though he added he might change his mind about a no-fly zone if Putin uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.

Some lawmakers still support providing Polish MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine and are signaling they are prepared to help in any way they can. Graham unveiled a draft resolution Wednesday that would put the Senate on record supporting the MiG transfer. In addition, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and committee ranking member Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told reporters their panel, which has jurisdiction on arms sales, is prepared to sign off on providing Poland with U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets to replace the MiGs.

But Poland publicly scuttled the transfer plan during early talks last week by announcing it would send the MiGs to Ramstein Air Base in Germany instead of Ukraine. The Biden administration has balked at delivering fighter jets directly to Ukraine and said it doubts they would be effective on the battlefield, despite Zelenskyy's request.

Some Democrats have also now turned against the idea.

"The MiG wouldn't survive for a minute in Ukrainian airspace right now, given what the Russians have, given the surface-to-air missiles they have, given the quality of their fighter jets," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., who instead called for giving Ukraine more drones beyond those announced by Biden on Wednesday.

-- Travis Tritten can be reached at travis.tritten@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @Travis_Tritten.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: Putin Says Russia Must Undergo a 'Self-Cleansing of Society' to Purge 'Bastards and Traitors'
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The Cubs continue to show that their current retooling efforts wont at all resemble the aggressive teardown of a decade ago, announcing on Friday that theyve signed star NPB outfielder Seiya Suzuki to a five-year contract. Suzuki, a Wasserman client, will reportedly be guaranteed a hearty $85MM on the contract.

Under the NPB/MLB posting system, that means the Cubs will also owe Suzukis former team, the Hiroshima Carp, a posting fee of $14.625MM. That brings the total investment in Suzuki to $99.625MM  although only Suzukis actual contract (more specifically, its $17MM annual value) will count against the luxury tax. Suzuki will reportedly receive a $5MM signing bonus and be paid annual salaries of $7MM, $17MM, $20MM, $18MM and $18MM on the deal, which contains a full no-trade clause.

Suzuki hit .317/.433/.639 with 38 home runs in 533 plate appearances for the Hiroshima Carp this year. Hes been one of the best hitters in NPB dating back to 2016, with a career line of .309/.402/.541. Hes hit at least 25 home runs in each of the last six seasons and is a five-time NPB All-Star.

According to MLBTRs Steve Adams, The most bullish opinions weve gotten peg Suzuki as an everyday Major League right fielder  a solid defensive player with a strong arm and enough power to hit in the middle of a big league lineup. In August, Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times spoke to a Major League scout who compared Suzuki to AJ Pollock, back when Pollock was playing for the Diamondbacks.

Though Suzuki has nine seasons under his belt, hes still just 27 years old, which is rare for a posted player out of Japan. Suzuki explained to Hernandez, I think everyone feels they want to play at the highest stage if they can get the chance. Suzuki was only one year short of international free agency, so the Carp were motivated to be compensated for his departure.

In late November, the Carp posted Suzuki for MLB teams, beginning a 30-day window that was interrupted by the sports 99-day lockout. Suzuki was left with 20 days post-lockout to negotiate a deal with an MLB team. On top of his contract, the Cubs will owe the Carp a posting fee equal to 20% of the contracts first $25MM, 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. Only Suzukis $17MM average annual value will count toward the competitive balance tax, but the Cubs are a good $78MM short of the $230MM base tax threshold including Suzuki.

Suzuki is a strong-armed prototypical right fielder and a five-time NPB Gold Glove winner. The Cubs still have Jason Heyward under contract for another two years and $44MM, but given Heywards struggles at the plate, theres a good chance Suzuki is taking over his position. Suzuki may spend most of his five-year tenure playing alongside center fielder Brennen Davis, Baseball Americas 16th-ranked prospect.

The news of the Suzuki signing comes on the heels of Anthony Rizzos two-year, $32MM deal with the Yankees. Its a fitting contrast and representation of the Cubs reboot, as Suzuki is five years younger than Rizzo and the Cubs reportedly once offered Rizzo the same contract before trading him and other stalwarts in July last year. Cubs fans will be watching many former stars in different uniforms this year, with Javy Baez having signed in Detroit, the Phillies reaching an agreement with Kyle Schwarber, and Kris Bryant signing with the Rockies. The Cubs other big splash came before the lockout, the signing of starting pitcher Marcus Stroman to a three-year, $71MM deal.

Interest was widespread in Suzuki. The Padres, Red Sox, Rangers, Giants, Mariners, Yankees, Blue Jays, Marlins, and Dodgers are among the other teams that were linked to the slugging right fielder.

Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka holds the record for a Japanese player signing in MLB, having landed a seven-year, $155MM deal with the Yankees in January 2014. On the position player side, Suzuki eclipses the four-year, $48MM deal outfielder Kosuke Fukudome signed with the Cubs in December 2007. The only position players to have sustained success in MLB out of Japan have been Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, and of course, pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.

Sankei Sports first reported the agreement. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the terms and the no-trade clause, while MLB.coms Mark Feinsand provided the annual breakdown.
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. is set to start the 2022 season on the IL, he told reporters (including MLB.coms Brian McTaggart). The right-handed pitcher continues to rehab the flexor tendon in his pitching arm that was injured during last years playoffs. Surgery does not appear to be in the cards at this time, and McCullers stressed hes not dealing with a UCL issue (via Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle).

While its still uncertain when McCullers will be able to return atop Houstons rotation currently hes not even cleared to throw Astros brass and fans should be encouraged by the news that their pitcher has not been recommended to head down the surgical route. The 28-year-old was already known to be behind in his recovery, with MLBs lockout disrupting that recovery process, but there was still some ambiguity about the status of the players health.

Fortunately, several doctors have confirmed that the 2018 Tommy John recipient has not re-injured his UCL and instead have advised non-surgical PRP injections and stem cell therapy to treat the ailing tendon. This course of action is certainly preferable to a season-derailing surgery, though it still serves as an inauspicious beginning to the $85MM extension agreed upon by player and team early last year. Even with continued rehab progress and no further setbacks, McTaggart writes that McCullers figures to be out of commission well into April, owing to a need to build up the starters pitch count.

Houston will be hard-pressed to fill the shoes of their #2 pitcher behind veteran ace Justin Verlander, as the righty posted a stout 3.16 ERA and 27.1 K% across 162 plus innings last year. Difficult as that production may be to replace however, the Astros have a stable of arms who showed ample promise in the big leagues last year. Assuming good health, each of Jose Urquidy, Framber Valdez, Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and veteran Jake Odorizzi should do an adequate job holding down the fort until the homegrown McCullers is ready to take the hill again.

Should Houstons top decision-makers go the way of other teams in recent days and add to their rotation depth, they will likely have the means to do so. Thanks to the new CBA, the Astros have more than $33MM to spend before hitting the first luxury tax threshold in the eyes of RosterResource, and none of the remaining pitchers on the free agent market figure to be too cost prohibitive. It remains to be seen if a deal with more Major League pitching is even on Houstons radar, particularly if rumblings of a Carlos Correa reunion add another large salary to the books, but the Astros appear capable of weathering McCullers absence regardless of how the next few weeks unfold.
The Phillies announced today that they have designated right-hander Yoan Lopez for assignment. The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for outfielder Odubel Herrera, whose signing is now official. Another move will be required for the signing of Kyle Schwarber, once that becomes official.

After Lopez defected from Cuba in 2014, the Diamondbacks signed him and gave him a bonus of $8.27MM. The club went over their international bonus allotment to do so, which was allowed under the CBA at that time. However, the penalty for doing so was that they were then prohibited from giving a bonus larger than $300K for the next two international signing periods.

Unfortunately, Lopez never really justified that aggressiveness. After a couple of years of mediocre results as a starter in the minors, Arizona moved him to a relief role. He made it to the majors in 2018 and threw out of the clubs bullpen over the next few years, making 113 appearances in that time, logging a total of 101 2/3 innings with a 4.25 ERA, 19.1% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

After being designated for assignment in May of last year, Lopez was claimed by the Braves and spent the rest of the year with their Triple-A club. He threw 32 2/3 innings there with a 26.7% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate, finishing with an ERA of 3.03. Despite those encouraging results, Atlanta designated him for assignment when they acquired Jay Jackson in November, with the Phillies claiming him off waivers at that time. That makes this the third DFA in less than a year for Lopez. With the promise he showed in Triple-A, it seems likely he will be claimed again. He has just over two years of MLB service time and still can be optioned to the minors, meaning a team could take a chance on the 29-year-old and improve their bullpen depth.
At least four Pakistan Frontier Corps (FC) personnel were killed and 10 other personnel were injured in a blast on an FC convoy in the Sangan area of Quetta's Sibi district on Tuesday, officials said, Dawn reported.

Sibi Assistant Commissioner Sana Mahjabeen said the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

She said among the 10 injured personnel, the condition of six was critical, and they were being treated at Sibi's Combined Military Hospital.

Meanwhile, Adviser to the Balochistan Chief Minister on Home Mir Zia Langove condemned the incident and said in a statement that the injured FC personnel should be provided the best medical treatment.

He also expressed grief over deaths caused by the blast.

"Terrorists are making failed attempts at sabotaging peace in Balochistan through such cowardly acts," he said.

Separately, Balochistan government spokesperson Farah Azeem Shah also condemned the incident and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives.

She said the role of security forces in ensuring peace in Balochistan had been "exemplary", adding that "anti-Pakistan forces were trying to sabotage peace in Balochistan."

The blast on the FC convoy comes a week after a suicide bomber struck along the route of President Arif Alvi's motorcade in Sibi, claiming the lives of six security personnel and leaving 22 others, including 19 law enforcers, injured.

The suicide bomber had blown himself up near a government rest house on Jail Road after the motorcade of President Alvi and other VIPs passed through the area on their return from the concluding ceremony of the annual Sibi festival held at Sibi Stadium, Dawn reported.
Charlie Culberson is returning to the Rangers on a minor league deal, reports Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Culberson signed a minor league deal with the Rangers prior to last years season as well, eventually having his contract selected and playing 91 games.

Culberson spent his first five seasons getting limited playing time with the Giants, Rockies and Dodgers. With the Braves in 2018, Culberson burst forth for the best season of his career. In 113 games, he hit .270/.326/.466, wRC+ of 107. Unfortunately, he couldnt keep up that pace the following year, with his line dropping to .259/.294/.437, wRC+ of 84. He was non-tendered at the end of that season and re-signed with Atlanta, getting into 10 more games as a Brave in 2020 before being outrighted at the end of that campaign.

Joining the Rangers last year, Culberson served a super-utility role for the club, spending time at every position on the diamond except center field, even logging two innings on the mound. His overall line wasnt especially impressive, coming in at .243/.296/.381, earning a wRC+ of 85 in his 271 plate appearances. However, as Grant mentioned, Culberson was much better with the platoon advantage. In 144 plate appearances against lefties, he hit .346/.376/.556 for a wRC+ of 152. (His line against righties was a putrid .123/.206/.175, wRC+ of 10.)

The club has had a busy offseason, upgrading their position player mix with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Mitch Garver and Kole Calhoun. They also added another multi-position guy yesterday when they signed Brad Miller. Given that Miller hits from the left, he and Culberson could make for a nice platoon pairing, perhaps at third base or in the outfield corners, depending on how some of the other players on the roster perform.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

One of the most talked-about events during the past weekend was the burial service of socialite and media personality Afia Schwarzenegger.

The ceremony which was held at the KNUST events ground at Kumasi in the Ashanti Region saw a massive attendance of some Ghanaian celebrities.

However, some celebrities and renowned persons were absent to the surprise of onlookers and one such person was Prophet Kumchacha.

In an interview, yesterday on Accra-based radio station, the founder, and leader of the Heavens Gate Ministries stated that he absented himself from the event as a sign of self-respect.

According to him, the decision was because he was not given any form of invitation.

I respect myself thats why I didnt come. I am saying I respect myself because if someone is hosting a party, engagement, or wedding and the person brings you an invite, it gives you confidence.

"Even before you get there a seat will be reserved in your name but when a person is hosting a program and you attend without an invitation, it doesnt auger well. I am old and so if you invite me for an event, I will honor it but when you dont invite me, I wont come, he stated.

He condemned her for publicly disclosing the amount donated to her by some persons stating that she may have gone against their principles because there are some persons who don't want their donations to be disclosed publicly.

Kumchacha went on to promise a donation at a later date.
Ghanaian musician Wiyaala is asking Ghanaians to focus on good things the country has and try to project them to the world.

She said the country needs to be projected to the world no matter the wrongs within because the world will embrace it in good light.

We have to focus more on the good things the country has done for itself because our 65th independence means freedom and projecting Ghana to the world in a good light regardless of its problems, she said during an interview on GTV in March 10, 2022.

Citing an example, she stated that during her visit to Dubai, she saw that citizens portrayed their culture with the way they dress and their choice of music.

She described them as patriotic.

Wiyaala added that the people living there are very open-minded because they explore other cultures and see what chances there are if they coagulate.

When you look at where Dubai started and where they are now, it is possible for every country to be like them, including Ghana.

"We have lots of beautiful lands that we can also develop, agriculture, infrastructure, building, education, and a system that works well in each sector that the young ones can benefit as the old ones are going, and then we can also take over, she added.
Kumasi-based actor Wayoosi has revealed how veteran Hiplife artist Lord Kenya helped settle his medical bills when he was diagnosed with near kidney failure in 2016.

In a recent interview on Pure FM, the comical actor stated that he had at some point prayed for God to take his life because he did not want his family to struggle financially to pay his medical bills.

He stated that he had to be put on dialysis three times every week adding that one session costs GHc1,000 at the time, thus he paid GHc3000 every week.

Wayoosi further narrated that he woke up from a coma to see the rapper-turned-man of God praying by his bed.

Amazingly, Wayoosi stated that visitors were prohibited from the ward where he was and was surprised to see the rapper and optimistically told him he would live to share his testimony with the world.

Shortly afterward, medical doctors discharged him, recommending him to seek spiritual means at the same time when rumors had spread that he was dead.

Reacting to the rumors, Wayoosi stated that medical workers at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in their quest to shield the curious fans who had come to visit him; upon realizing there was no means of seeing the movie star, news hit the country that he had passed on.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

Socialite Abena Korkor is appealing to government to legalize marijuana.

According to the mental health advocate, the drug has several benefits which have been overlooked by Ghanaians.

In an interview on Hitz FMs 'You Say Wetin' on the 'Cruise Control' show, the controversial mental health advocate stated that she smokes marijuana to help her calm down.

It can make you sleep well and feel relaxed. I will not shy away from the fact that sometimes I smoke it. I am praying they legalize it because a lot of people need to hit a join and chill out. People need to calm down and have sex and have an orgasm, she said.

Abena Korkor added that she has been praying for the eventual legalization of the drug so that others can attest to what she has been saying.
Ghana marked her 65th Independence Anniversary in Washington DC with a thanksgiving service organized in collaboration with the Council of Ghanaian Pastors and Churches (COGPAC) and the Gospel Light International Church in Tacoma, Maryland on Sunday, March 6, 2022.

H.E Hajia Alima Mahama, the Ambassador hosted a reception at the Chancery of the Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC on Monday, 7th March 2022 as part of the activities to commemorate Ghanas 65th Independence Anniversary celebration. The theme for this years celebration was Working Together, Bouncing Back Better.

Mr. Ernest Amporful, the Head of Chancery welcomed the guests and explained why Ghana had every reason to celebrate this years independence anniversary. He reminded the gathering that Ghana had been spared from the various challenges of hunger, diseases, ravages of conflicts and insecurities that have bedevilled the subregion since most of her neighbours gained their independence from colonial rule. He added that, regardless of the countrys current economic difficulties, there is every cause to be thankful to God for sustaining the peace in the country.

Subsequently, Mr. Amporful introduced Ambassador Alima Mahama after the National Anthem had been sung by the U.S based Tema Choir.

Addressing the gathering, Her Excellency Ambassador Hajia Alima Mahama asked compatriots to take pride in Ghana which today is seen as a peaceful and stable country where everyone enjoys the liberties associated with free speech and rule of law. She observed that As Ghana marked this milestone, we stand here proud of the road we have traversed as a country and the positive strides we have made in nation building in the process.

She acknowledged the presence of the African diplomatic corps and expressed her appreciation for their warm welcome and cooperation since she assumed office.

Touching on the theme for the celebration Working Together, Bouncing Back Better she said at the onset of the corona virus in Ghana, government instituted a number of economic stimulus measures such as the Corona Virus Alleviation Programme and the Emergency Response Plan aimed at providing economic relief to the people of Ghana. Some of the relief included the provision of free water and sanitation services, subsidies on electricity for households and businesses. Also, the Government launched the alleviation and revitalization of enterprises support which was a credit support package intended to support businesses over the 2 and half year period with aim of mitigating the impact of the pandemic. Again, there was the Ghana Cares (Obaatanpa) programme with Ghc100 billion targeting five key sectors of the economy, that is, agriculture, manufacturing, health engineering, ICT and housing and construction.

Ambassador Mahama commended Ghanaians for their ingenuity by turning the dire situation into business opportunities through the production of locally made hand sanitizers, personal protection equipment and facemasks for the local market and also for export to the neighboring countries. She further mentioned some of the various health initiatives currently being pursued by the Government including the Agenda 111 which is aimed at undertaking major infrastructural investments in the health care sector through the construction of various health centers across districts and regions in Ghana that do not have a hospital.

Continuing, Ambassador Mahama expressed Ghanas appreciation to the Government of the United States of Ghana for its support in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic in the country.

Concluding, Ambassador Mahama reiterated that the Government of Ghana valued the contributions of every Ghanaian both home and abroad towards the socio-economic development of the country. She therefore advised them to channel some of their earnings back home for investments and assured them of the protection and security of their investments in the country. Subsequently, she proposed a toast in honour of President Nana Akufo-Addo and President Joe Biden as well as for the continuous progress of the two countries.

In a reply speech, Mr. Michael Gonzalez, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in charge of African Affairs expressed appreciation for the invitation. On behalf of President Joe Biden and the people of the United States of America, he congratulated the government of Ghana on its 65 years of nationhood as well as for the positive socio-economic transformation of the country over the period. He expressed the hope the current bonds of friendship between the two countries would grow from strength to strength.

The celebration continued with performances by various cultural groups. Present at the reception were various members of the African Diplomatic Corps, Council of Ghanaian Associations, Ghanaian Professionals Associations, friends of Ghana, the media, and many others.

Deputy Assisstant Secretary Of State For Africa.jpeg

African Diplomatic Corp

Diplomatic Corp Of Various African Countries

Embassy Staff

Guests

Hon Atta Boafo , Consular General Of New York And Hajia Alima

Militar Attache's From Ghana And Other African Countries
Russia plans to limit its exports of barley, rye and wheat, in an effort to ensure adequate supplies for its people while protecting them from sharp price hikes, Russian government Deputy Chairperson, Viktoria Abramchenko, said on Monday.

The export restrictions are to start on Tuesday and remain in place until June 30. The restrictions will also apply to maize and mixed grains. There will also be a ban on the export of sugar and raw sugar products, which will last through the end of August.

Some exports would continue based on quotas and existing licences, Abramchenko added. There will be exceptions for exports to countries in the Eurasian Economic Union, a trade pact centred on Russia, as well as to the separatist Luhansk and Donetsk republics in Ukraine, control of which has been central to the lengthy stand-off between Russia and Ukraine that sparked the current war.

Russia is the world's largest grain exporter. Ukraine is also a key exporter. Disruptions to exports from either are likely to lead to massive price hikes on global grain markets.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted on Monday that 45 African and least-developed countries import at least one-third of their wheat from either Russia or Ukraine.

"We must do everything possible to avert a hurricane of hunger and a meltdown of the global food system," he said, announcing a new crisis response group to address the problem.

GNA
Hundreds of unaccompanied foreign minors in the migrant hub of Cyprus, one of the smallest EU member states, have tales of misery to tell in their struggle to start a new life.

Chronic overcrowding, woeful bathroom facilities and reports of meagre food rations in the Pournara camp for migrants on the edge of the capital Nicosia resulted in a scathing report last week by Cypriot children's rights commissioner Despo Michaelidou.

President Nicos Anastasiades visited the camp on Monday to witness for himself what he termed "the tragic situation", and vowed to work to improve the children's situation.

Nicosia said 4.6 percent of the country's population are asylum seekers or beneficiaries of protection, the highest ratio in any European Union member, at least before the Russian invasion of Ukraine launched on February 24 that has sent over three million of its population into flight.

New asylum applications multiplied to over 13,000 last year in Greek Cypriot-administered southern Cyprus, with its population of 850,000.

Nicosia accuses Turkey, whose troops have since 1974 occupied the island's northern third, of instigating much of the influx, claims it rejects.

Rights groups have criticised Cyprus for squalid conditions at Pournara, the main reception centre for migrants, and for alleged brutal treatment of some arrivals. The centre was rocked by clashes last month.

Children fled conflict

Many of the camp's unaccompanied minors, currently numbering 275, fled Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia as teenagers in search of a better life or to escape forced enrolment in the restive countries' militias.

The camp, originally built to accommodate 1,000 migrants, is now home to 2,535 people, according interior ministry figures.

"There are about 15 people in each room, often sharing beds, and with children winding up having to sleep on the ground," Michaelidou said in February.

She said the children have to share just two toilets and a single shower between them.

But Interior Minister Nicos Nouris has dismissed reports of meagre bread-and-water rations in the camp as baseless.

Cypriot officials said 90 of the unaccompanied minors were transferred last week to a hotel in the coastal resort city of Larnaca, and another 150 are to follow. That will leave around 120 in Pournara.

Social services head Hara Tapanidou says they have been overwhelmed by the numbers, while aid agencies say unaccompanied minors are often left without any legal recourse to defend their rights.

Anne from the DRC, who asked for her real name not to be used, marked her 16th birthday in Pournara at the start of March. She said she last saw her mother in 2013.

"Mum left Congo for France to find a better life for my sister, my brother and me," she said.

"I flew out of Kinshasha to join her" but ended up in Cyprus, and has been stuck in Pournara for three months.
The Deputy Majority Whip in Parliament and Member of Parliament for Tolon Constituency, Habib Iddrisu has stated that the State of the Nation Address (SONA) was postponed as a result of Independence Day.

Speaking on PM express on Joy News on Monday, he stated that SONA committee which he chaired had previously slated the date for the address on March 3.

According to him, the reasoning of the committee was that it would not be appropriate to have SONA three days to the Independence Day celebration on March 6.

I am the chairman of the Presidents State of Nation Address committee in parliament and the last time we had a meeting we agreed that the president was going to have the State of Nation Address on the 3rd of March, but due to further consultations we realized that 6th March, which is the independence of Ghana was also a very important day and so doing the State of Nation Address on the 3rd and Independence Day on the 6th, we realized was something that was not good, he stated.

He emphasized that the Presidents inability to deliver the SONA is in no way a breach of any law.

Habib Iddrisu argues that the President is still working within the framework of the law.

According to him, the committee would reconvene a meeting to deliberate on an appropriate date for SONA.

He cautioned that the delay in delivery SONA should not be misconstrued as a breach of law.
Somalia failed to conclude elections for the lower house of parliament by a deadline Tuesday, marking the latest hitch in a deeply troubled process to appoint a new president.

The mandate of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, better known as Farmajo, expired in February 2021 but was then controversially extended by parliament, triggering deadly clashes.

Under a complex indirect election system, the lower house plays a crucial role in appointing the president.

The five federal state assemblies, as well as delegates chosen by clans, choose legislators who in turn name the president.

Members should have been elected to the lower house by February 25 -- a deadline that the government extended to March 15.

As the latest deadline loomed on Tuesday, the federal states of the South West and the Galmudug had elected their representatives to the 275-seat body, according to an AFP count using official data.

However, 40 seats remained unfilled in the three other states -- Jubaland, Hirshabelle, Puntland.

The government did not immediately comment.

Somalia has battled a jihdadist insurgency for 15 years.

Farmajo's mandate was controversially extended by parliament in April, triggering deadly gun battles on the streets of the capital Mogadishu.

Seeking to calm tensions, Farmajo ordered his prime minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble, to organise elections but tensions arose between the two, delaying the process.

Elections to the upper house were completed at the end of 2021.

In January, Roble and regional leaders concluded an agreement to complete elections to the lower house by February 25 after voting began in November. The deadline was then pushed back to March 15.

Somalia. By Vincent LEFAI AFP

The international community has voiced fears that election delays could set off new troubles in a country already fighting insurgents.

After last month's delay, the US announced an extension of visa restrictions on officials and others "responsible for, or complicit in" undermining Somalia's electoral process.

And in February, the International Monetary Fund told AFP that the country's financial aid programme -- due to end automatically in May -- was at risk if a new government was not in place by that date.

The United Nations' special representative for Somalia, James Swan, also called on the authorities to "accelerate and quickly conclude" elections for the lower house.
A small near-Earth asteroid called 2022 EB5 disintegrated over the Norwegian Sea just two hours after its discovery on March 11, 2022.

Krisztian Sarneczky, an astronomer at Konkoly Observatorys Piszkesteto Station in Budapest, Hungary, reported the observation of a fast moving object to the Minor Planet Center on March 11, 2022.

NASAs Scout impact hazard assessment system then took early measurements to calculate the objects trajectory.

As soon as Scout determined that the object, designated 2022 EB5, was going to hit Earths atmosphere, the system alerted the Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) and NASAs Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and flagged the object on the Scout webpage to notify the near-Earth object observing community.

Scout had only 14 observations over 40 minutes from one observatory to work with when it first identified the object as an impactor, said Dr. Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory who developed Scout.

We were able to determine the possible impact locations, which initially extended from western Greenland to off the coast of Norway.

As more observatories tracked the asteroid, our calculations of its trajectory and impact location became more precise.

Scout determined that 2022 EB5 would enter Earths atmosphere southwest of Jan Mayen, a Norwegian island nearly 470 km (300 miles) off the east coast of Greenland and northeast of Iceland.

At 5:23 p.m. EST (2:23 p.m. PST), the asteroid hit the atmosphere as predicted by Scout, and infrasound detectors have confirmed the impact occurred at the predicted time.

From observations of the asteroid as it approached Earth and the energy measured by infrasound detectors at time of impact, 2022 EB5 is estimated to have been about 2 m (6.5 feet) in size.

Tiny asteroids like 2022 EB5 are numerous, and they impact into the atmosphere quite frequently  roughly every 10 months or so, said Dr. Paul Chodas, the director of CNEOS at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

But very few of these asteroids have actually been detected in space and observed extensively prior to impact, basically because they are very faint until the last few hours, and a survey telescope has to observe just the right spot of sky at the right time for one to be detected.

_____

This article is based on text provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
15.03.2022 LISTEN

The gradual increase in infrastructure development has heightened the sales and purchase of land in Ghana and has influenced the appreciation of land prices in Ghana. People migrate to settle in the cities and wish to build permanent structures for residence, business purposes and what have you. Sales and purchase of land therefore has become very common within the Ghanaian society unlike several years ago when sales of land were sparingly known to the Ghanaian society.

This article seeks to enlighten readers on how to be diligent and prudent in the purchase of land. Contrary to normal round of affairs, the more Ghanaians transact in sales and purchase of land, the more imperfect sales are made. The Courts have consistently warned purchasers to be diligent and prudent in purchasing of land. A prudent and diligent land purchaser must pay attention to, but not restricted to the following;

A prudent buyer must inspect the land to verify whether the vendor is in possession of the land. Possession in this context simply means physical occupation of the land (legally termed as corpus possessionis). Possession is a matter of law but is established by physical acts (Brown v Quarshiga (2003-2004) SCGLR 930, Kludze JSC at Pp.951). If the land is occupied by any person other than the vendor, the purchaser must seek and find what interest that person has over the land.

If someone other than the vendor is in possession of the land but the purchaser goes ahead to buy and enter into the land, the person in possession may maintain an action in trespass against the purchaser. This reflected in the Ghanaian case of Wuta-Ofei v Danquah [1961] GLR 487 , when the Court held that any slightest amount of possession a person has over a land, gives him a right of action in trespass.

The rationale is that person in possession of land is presumed to be the absolute owner thereof (see Section 48 of NRCD 323; and Aidoo v Adjei [1976] 1 GLR 431 ). In Shell Ltd Ghana, the Court speaking through Date Bah JSC warned that as far as structures, whether permanent or temporary are on the land, the purchaser should not presume the possessors to be squatters, even if the vendor warrants such (the emphasis is mine). If someone is on the vendors land, the purchaser must find out what interest the possessor has in the land.

A prudent buyer must not presume the interest of the vendor to be valid but must take necessary steps to verify his interest in the land. The purchaser may seek information from the Lands commission as to the previous owners and how the vendor acquired the said land. This will include verifying documents indicating the tile of the vendor over the land.

I will conclude with a strong caution given by the Court Appeal in Boateng v Dwinfuor [1979] GLR 360 at Pp.366-7 , the Court stated as follows ... if the purchaser has, whether deliberately or carelessly, abstained from making those enquiries into the title of his vendor that a prudent purchaser would have made, he will be affected by constructive notice of what appears upon the title. Apart from investigating the deeds, a prudent purchaser will inspect the land itself. If any of the land is occupied by any person other than the vendor, this occupation is constructive notice of the estate or interest of the occupier, the terms of his lease, tenancy or other right of occupation, and any other rights of his

Be a diligent and prudent purchaser of land to save yourself from series of land litigations. Engage in a diligent and prudent transaction to secure a valid transaction which is litigation-free.

The writer is a level 400 law student of Kings University College, Ghana.

Contact details: [email protected]
Russia says it has put Joe Biden, U.S President, Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister and a dozen top US officials on a "stop List" that bars them from entering Russia.

Alongside Biden, US officials on list included Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns and National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.

The ban was in response to sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian officials, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining official relations and if necessary, would make sure that high level contacts with people on the list could take place.

Others on the list included Deputy National Security Advisor, Daleep Singh, US agency for International Development Chief, Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo and US Export Import Bank chief, Reta Jo Lewis.

Russia also banned from entry, Biden's son Hunter, and former Secretary of State and democratic Presidential Candidate, Hilary Clinton.

The Foreign Ministry warned Moscow will soon announce additional sanctions against a range of "Russophobix" US officials, military officers, legislators, businessmen and media personalities.

Earlier, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on four Russian individuals and one entity it accused of playing a role in concealing events around the death of whistle blower, Sergei Magnitsky, of being connected to human rights violations against rights advocate, Oyub Titiev.

The Treasury statement also imposed fresh sanctions on Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko and his wife, increasing pressure on Moscow and its close ally.

"We condemn Russia's attacks on humanitarian corridors in Ukraine, and call on Russia to cease its unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine," the Head of the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, Andrea Gacki, said in a statement.

Canada has also imposed sanctions on 15 Russian officials, who enabled and supported the war in Ukraine.

GNA
One Samuel Mensah, a suspect who stole a slab covering valve chambers belonging to the Ghana Water Company Limited, refused to show up in court Tuesday when the case was called.

The slab, according to the GWCL, protects the valves that connect water to various communities.

This particular slab was stolen from the Ankaful community, and residents apprehended Samuel Mensah and handed him over to the Ghana Water Company. The company also handed him over to the police.

The police have however pledged to arrest the surety who stood in and applied for bail for Samuel Mensah until the suspect appears.

According to the Central and Western Regional Communications Manager for Ghana Water Company, Nana Yaw Barima Banie, Ghana Water Company has been experiencing theft cases involving some of our installations for some time now. People steal our water meters, and they steal our metal slabs on some of our valve chambers.

Nana Yaw Barima Banie

Nana Yaw Barima Banie disclosed that the valve chambers are installations that enable us to control water within the pipe network.

He stated that even though Samuel Mensah was arrested and bailed out after 48 hours, he was supposed to appear in court on Tuesday but failed to appear in court.

The component of one valve chamber cost GHC 15,000 and over the last one year, we've had about fourteen of these metal slabs stolen.

The Central and Western Regional Communications Manager called on all to protect the company's properties and report any suspicious characters in connection with the company's assets.

Nana Yaw Barima Bani

---citinewsroom
The Minority in Parliament has called for a reduction in the cost of the mandatory COVID-19 testing at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

Addressing the press on Tuesday, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, complained that the pandemic was being used to unduly make money.

For non-Ghanaians to be compelled to pay an amount of $150 in the name of COVID test in which its procurement is questionable, and raises eyebrows on the fact that Covid is being used as a caveat to make money instead of combating a pandemic, we do not think that persons travelling to Ghana from abroad be made to pay $150.

He also maintained that the testing should be free for Ghanaians.

Mr. Iddrisu added that he would be a party to a motion demanding accountability from the company handling the testing.

We consider this a rip-off and too high. Even $50 for Ghanaian citizens is too much. It should be free for Ghanaians. I would lead a motion very soon, supported by the Hon. Ablakwa and Hon. Akandoh to demand accountability from Frontiers, in order to account for all the $150 they charge travellers.

The Minority has previously expressed concern that Ghana was short-changed in the deal with Frontiers Healthcare Solution Services Limited with regard to COVID-19 testing services at the Kotoka International Airport.

The government engaged Frontiers Healthcare Solution Services Limited to conduct the rapid COVID-19 tests at KIA following the reopening of the airport to international passenger flights in September 2020.

The 30-minute PCR COVID-19 test initially attracted a $150 fee but was subsequently reviewed.

While the amount was maintained for non-ECOWAS citizens, those from any of the West African countries were to pay $50 for such services at Kotoka International Airport.

---Citinewsroom
16.03.2022 LISTEN

A former Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Dr. Richard Kuuire, has described the GHS1.80 feeding grant for prisoners per day as woefully inadequate.

According to him, the money given to provide three square meals a day for each prisoner reflects the poor treatment prisoners are subjected to in the country.

Speaking during the launch of his book Transformation of Prisons systems in Africa, Mr. Kuuire amongst other things recommended that Ghana Prisons Service be changed to a correctional service to ensure that prisoners are transformed and properly integrated into society after serving their sentence.

You can imagine a little child, spending GHS1.80, what will it buy. It cannot even buy one ball of kenkey and prison authorities are expected to provide three square meals with GHS1.80. You must be a magician to be able to do that. I think we need to change from prison service to correctional service because correctional service tries to point to reforms and rehabilitation for the person, he said.

Ghanas prison system has been bedeviled with many challenges. Besides the issue of inadequate feeding grant, the prisons are congested with their facilities overstretched.

In 2021, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, pledged the government's commitment to decongest the prisons by implementing other forms of sentences.

While admonishing the 13 members of the newly-inaugurated 8th Governing Council of the Ghana Prison Service, on Tuesday, Dr. Bawumia indicated that implementing other forms of sentences will ensure that persons who are sentenced to serve jail terms are truly reformed.

With the rise in population as contained in the provisional results of the 2021 Population and Housing Census and the increasing trend of crime, some predict that overcrowding in the prisons will worsen and that will compromise healthy standards of our prisons. To address this age-old problem, the government remains focused on spearheading the introduction of non-custodial sentences as alternatives; and the expansion of existing prison infrastructure, he said.

---citinewsroom
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Supreme Court will today [Wednesday, March 16, 2022] give its judgment in the case of broadcaster Richard Dela Sky and the Attorney General.

Richard Sky is contesting last year's dramatic rejection and subsequent approval of government's 2022 budget by Parliament citing issues of quorum.

The journalist filed two separate suits at the Supreme Court in December 2021, invoking the interpretative and enforcement jurisdiction of the nation's apex Court over the purported rejection and subsequent approval of the policy document.

In a statement, Mr. Richard Sky said: Like many other citizens of Ghana, I strongly believe that the questionable processes used to purportedly reject and the subsequent purported approval of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana have done various forms of substantial violence to cardinal provisions of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

The two writs, filed separately, are in unwavering defence of our constitution, constitutionalism, and the rule of law, he said.

In the suit, which focuses on the rejection of the 2022 budget on November 26, 2021, Mr. Sky, is, among other things, seeking from the Supreme Court a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 104(1) of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Speaker of Parliament shall, unless otherwise required by the 1992 Constitution, at all material times ensure that at least half of all the Members of Parliament of Ghana are present in Parliament at the time of a determination of any matter by Parliament.

He also is seeking a declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 104(1) of the Constitution, the Speaker of Parliament's decision on 26th November 2021 to invite MPs to determine the matter of whether or not to accept or reject the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana, when he [Alban Bagbin] knew or ought to have known that at all material times there were less than half of all the Members of Parliament present, violated Article 104(1) of the Constitution, especially so when the Speaker had announced immediately before the vote was taken that there were 137 Members of Parliament of Ghana present in Parliament out of the total number of 275 Members of Parliament of Ghana.

In a similar case last week, the Supreme Court pronounced, allowing a presiding deputy speaker or Member of parliament to be part of the quorum for business, and also, to vote on business of the house.

The decision has since sparked intense constitutional debate in the court of public opinion. It remains unclear how much influence the Justice Abdulai judgment will have on Mr. Skys judgment.

---citinewsroom
The High Court is today [Wednesday, March 16, 2022] expected to rule on a bail application filed by the convener of #fixthecountry, Oliver Barker-Vormawor.

The activist is accused of inciting an overthrow of constitutional organs of government but he has denied the claims and said he is ready to go to trial.

He was arrested on February 11, 2022, over claims that he had threatened to cause a coup if government went ahead to pass the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy.

Mr. Barker-Vormawor in his application for bail, contested the claims, saying a charge of treason felony against him cannot be sustained by the evidence available.

This is notwithstanding that the Attorney-General in an affidavit in opposition to the bail, insisted that evidence uncovered so far corroborates a charge of treason felony against the activist.

Mr. Barker-Vormawor has, however, wondered why the Republic has not charged him or taken a statement from him on the charge.

Meanwhile, Oliver Mawuse-Barker Vormawor has told the Court presided over by Justice Daniel Mensah that he is in good health and hopes they take him to trial.

The judge had sought to find out about his health status after he had been taken to the Police Hospital for medical care.

---Citinewsroom
16.03.2022 LISTEN

President Nana Akufo-Addo is calling for a collaborative effort to deal with what he says are difficulties facing the Ghanaian economy.

The President says the current economic challenges affecting the country are obvious and need the support of the citizenry and all stakeholders to deal with them.

Speaking at a meeting with officials from FNB Bank at the Jubilee House, Nana Akufo-Addo stressed that the prevailing situation was driven by external factors that have also negatively affected other economies of the world.

The difficulties that all of us are going through now are nothing that we have to reemphasize and reiterate. It is obvious, and the source of it is also something that all of us know. It has been different impacts on different economies and countries but the root causes of it are well known. They are matters that we have to also resolve together. I believe that at the end of the day, it is this cooperation across borders in our regions that will give us the strongest base in which to deal with the problems that have emerged in these last two years, he said.
France is prepared to consider some form of autonomy for Corsica, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said ahead of a visit to the island which has seen violent protests after an attack on a jailed separatist leader.

The government is determined to engage in an "unprecedented discussion on institutional matters", Darmanin told the Corsican newspaper Corse Matin, adding that he was "prepared to go as far as autonomy".

However he said that no discussions could be held if violence on the island continues.

Dozens of people, including police officers, have been injured in two weeks of sometimes violent protests following an attack on the jailed separatist Yvan Colonna by another prisoner, which left him in a coma.

Details on what an autonomous status would look like would need to be decided, said Darmanin, who is the first government official to even raise the possibility of autonomy, which has long pushed for by Corsican nationalists.

The Interior Minister has taken over managing Corsican affairs from Jacqueline Gouralt, who stepped down as Minister of Territorial Cohesion earlier this month after she was appointed to the Constitutional Council.

Darmanin said dealing with the island's status would be a priority for President Emmanuel Macron in his second term if he is re-elected in less than a month.

On Wednesday Darmanin will meet elected officials in Ajaccio and then go to the police station in Porto-Vecchio that was attacked by protesters on Friday.

'Terrorist' attack on Colona

He promised a full investigation into what happened to Colona, who is serving a life sentence for the assassination of Corsica's prefect  the representative of the French state  in 1998.

Colona was attacked on 2 March by another prisoner who is serving time for terrorism.

Darmanin said the attack was clearly terrorist, probably over blasphemy.

He compared it to the decapitation of teacher Samuel Paty in 2020 for having shown caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, dismissing calls to consider the attack a state crime because authorities labeled Colona as a special prisoner and had him held in a prison on the mainland instead of allowing him to serve time in Corsica.

"The idea that the state is behind the organisation of the death of Yvan Colona is insulting and profoundly contrary to the truth, he said.

Two other prisoners have had their special prisoner status reversed, and will be transferred to Corsican prisons.

(with wires)

Darmanin insisted the transfer is contingent upon a return to calm on the island.

It's not the street that decides, he said.
It is written in the Bible Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. Based on the scriptures, the flesh of Mahamudu and Samira has become one, so, she has inherited the chronic lies of her husband.

On November 5, 2021, I wrote Bawumia, if you stop telling lies, I will stop writing about you. It seems the lies of the Vice-President, Mahamudu Bawumia, have slightly gone down but it is likely that his wife, Samira, has inherited the same disease.

I don't know what is happening in the brain of Samira to declare that the achievements of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia administration are dotted across the country.

I wear glasses because my vision is poor but I am sure that those that have good sight can only see frustration, crime, corruption, hunger, unemployment, etc; dotted across the country.

Samira Bawumia might be a good woman, unfortunately, political greed, and the hereditary of her husband's lies have taken their toll on her

Religion has played a significant role in our society but its impact on millions of people has been fake. People are not what they want us to believe they are because if Samira is truly an honest person, she will never say that development in Ghana is widespread.

The wife of the Vice-President, Samira, made that statement recently at a forum in the United Kingdom. According to her, the NPP party has developed the country more in the Fourth Republic. I dont know what that woman means by development on Ghana is widespread.

Akufo Addo who claims not corrupt has incurred so much debt without accountability and has cut uncountable sods which projects are far from being done. So what development is Samira talking about here if John Mahama, the one they told Ghanaians is corrupt, did many projects and even left some uncompleted?

Such statements from Samira even show that the NPP government doesnt only disrespect the people but also doesnt care about them. The truth which I will keep repeating every time if even it will cost my head like John The Baptist is in any good country, Akufo Addo will be forced to step down.



The Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, just after eight months in office, announced his resignation and stepped down after he broke an election promise to move an unpopular US military base away from the island of Okinawa. I wrote about that mistake African leaders have made by accepting the US government to build military bases across Africa in an article entitled "Dont Be Too Judgmental Of Vladimir Putin, He Is Not An African Leader."

Yet, today, Ghanaians keep entertaining a president that has cheated his way through elections, lied to cut taxes and to protect the publics purse because he is an Akyem and Mahama is from the north.

Akufo Addo and his government have diverted the COVID funds to an unknown destination, created multiple taxations, including COVID tax, while taking an amount of $150 each from foreign travelers taking the COVID test at the Kotoka International Airport, yet the president is never satisfied.

Nobody knows where all the monies are going and nobody has even bothered to ask Nana Akufo Addo about it, yet there are people in the country, including heads of churches that are supporting the fraudulent E-Levy.

To me, giving reference to Africa as a shit-hole is too nice, if you take into consideration what is happening in our country. Ghana is bleeding in silence and since the truth is more bitter than the bile, criticism can now lead one into detention with impunity.

Both Samira and the husband, Bawumia, are not qualified to lead Ghana because they are not sincere and honest people. If Bawumias lies have reduced today, doesnt mean he has changed, it is still in the DNA, thats exactly what his wife has inherited.

I have said it before, if Akufo Addo, the master, has demonstrated to be the worst leader in Ghanas political history, what will his apprentice, Bamuwia, do? You see, Ghana has gold, diamond, bauxite, cocoa, timber, etc, yet the people are suffering.

So there was a severe famine in Samaria; and behold, they kept besieging it until a donkeys head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of doves dung for five shekels of silver.

Thats what the Bible says; which our dear nation Ghana is encroaching into such similarity because of bad governance, therefore, Ghanaians must be very careful to avoid this.
Page Content

World Social Work Day is observed annually on the third Tuesday in March, this years observation falls on March 15th under the theme: Co-Building a new Eco-social world: Leaving no one behind. According to the International Federation of Social Workers, the theme presents a vision and action plan to create new global values, policies and practices that develop trust, security and confidence for all people and the sustainability of the planet.





World Social Work Day provides an opportunity for social workers and others in the social service sector to celebrate their achievements as well as to raise awareness and support the important role that social workers play in the lives of children, families, and communities. Often, a lot of emphasis is placed on the work to be done, the people to be served, and little on the workers.





This year, the Department of Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs (CDFHA) in collaboration with the Sint Maarten Social Workers Association (SSWA) has chosen to honor Social Workers, Community Officers and other individuals working in the social field.

Social workers play an integral role in supporting many of the most vulnerable people. To pay tribute to the Social Workers in VSA for their hard work and dedication, Minister Omar Ottley held a recognition ceremony on the celebratory day. Also, during this ceremony 2 nominees received the 2022 Social Worker of the Year Award. The awardees are Mrs. Shirley Priest-Hazel of VSA and Ms. Meredith Concincion of S.J.I.S. These two longstanding Social Workers were honored for their significant contributions to the profession and to the community of Sint Maarten.
The Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana (C-DAG) are threatening to introduce drastic measures that will affect Ghanaians should the government refuse to reduce the prices of fuel in the country after a week.

Following continuous rises in the prices of fuel in the country in the last three months, a litre of fuel is currently selling at GHS8.20 on average.

In the midst of the challenges facing drivers as a result of the high cost of fuel, they have given the government a one-week ultimatum to reduce the prices.

In a press release, the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana has stressed that government should stop blaming the high cost of fuel on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The continuous increment should never be justified by the government with the Russia-Ukraine war and the continuous falling of the potency of the Cedi as against the US dollar, part of the release reads.

The Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana is of the view that taxes on fuel in the country are too much and hence some should be scrapped immediately to bring down the cost of fuel.

It must be critically observed that the tax component on the price of a litre of petrol is a major contributor to the abnormal rate. We strongly believe that the taxes, when removed, will aid the reduction of the price of petrol. It must be noted that one major promise of this government was to remove the taxes on petrol, the press release by the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana notes.

Meanwhile, experts are projecting that the prices of fuel in the country could hit GHS10 per litre by the end of March.

While the IES projects that the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) will go up by 3 per cent, it has disclosed that petrol and diesel would go up by 5 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

Government has ordered work to stop on the land that once housed the Bulgarian Embassy at 10 Kakramadu Road, East Cantonments, Accra.

The decision to stop an ongoing development on the land comes after the MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa blew the whistle that the Bulgarian Embassy had been completely razed in a lawless, provocative and mafia-style operation.

According to Mr Ablakwa, armed rogue elements with extra fortification from deviant land guards and errant personnel allegedly from the Cantonments Police Station had the sheer effrontery in broad daylight, to evict Bulgarian Embassy staff, throw out inviolable assets belonging to the Bulgarians and assault the Honorary Consul, Mr Nicolaas C.M. van Staalduinen in his effort to restrain them.

He noted that valuables including generators, computers, printers, refrigerators, archival documents which represent a treasure trove of deep historical bonds and a stash of vital diplomatic exchanges were not spared by the marauding encroachers.

Mr Ablakwa said the encroachers returned at dawn to demolish the entire Embassy and are now building their own structure with the speed of light, at day and night, to conclude their mission.

Following this revelation, the government has posted a stop work notice on the new property being constructed in its [Bulgarian Embassy] place.

Mr Ablakwa is accusing Dr Yaw Adu-Ampomah of the NDPC and his cohorts of being behind the demolition of the Bulgarian embassy in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 and for the international embarrassment their impunity has brought upon Ghana.

Mr Ablakwa in a Facebook post noted that the taxpayer must not be made to foot the Bulgarian compensation bills. Ghanaians did that for the Nigerian demolishing - we wont accept that again. Enough is enough! he stated.

The lawmaker maintained that Dr Yaw Adu-Ampomah and his fellow conspirators must bear the entire cost of compensation and suffer the full consequences of their illegal conduct.

Source: Classfmonline.com
The Greater Accra Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Daniel Parker Odailai France who ordered a gang of 8 men to assault a party delegate, Daniel Amakye Kingsford during a political event will today, Wednesday, 16 March 2022, appear before the court.

This comes on the back of investigations conducted into the matter by the Police.

Mr Odailai France has since been charged and arraigned.

In a statement issued by the Police Public Affairs Unit, signed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Juliana Obeng said: The Accra Regional Police CID has invited the suspect to assist the investigation and formally charged him yesterday, Tuesday, 15 March 2022.

He was however released on a Police Enquiry bail and is expected to appear before court today, Wednesday, 16 March 2022.

The Greater Accra Regional Secretary is alleged to have pushed the party delegate, who is also an aspirant in the upcoming constituency elections to the ground at the acclamation of the Ablekuma West polling station executives on Sunday, 13 March 2022, at Dansoman.

He then ordered some eight men to beat up the victim.

Source: classfmonline.com
An Indian court has upheld a ban on the hijab or headscarf inside classrooms in the southern state of Karnataka, weeks after violent protests in many parts of the state against the restriction.

We are of the considered opinion that wearing of the hijab by Muslim women does not make up an essential religious practice in Islamic faith, the court ruled in its order that was read out by the Karnataka Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi on Tuesday.

We are of the considered opinion that the prescription of a school uniform is a reasonable restriction constitutionally permissible which the students cannot object to.

Students who had challenged the ban in court had said wearing the hijab was a fundamental right guaranteed under India's constitution and an essential practice of Islam.

The issue had snowballed into protests and a face-off between different sections of students last month, forcing the state to shut schools and colleges for several days.

Currently, there is no central law or rule on school uniforms across the country, but the ruling by the Karnataka court could prompt more states to issue such guidelines.

We had approached the High Court seeking permission to wear hijab in the classrooms. The order has come against us. We will not go to the college without hijab but we will fight for it, said Alliya Assadi, one of the girls in a press conference in the coastal town of Udupi, following the verdict.

We will try all the legal ways. We will fight for justice and our rights."

The controversy first came to the public's attention in January when some Muslim students of a pre-university college in Karnataka's Udupi district were not allowed to attend classes wearing a hijab, as the dress was against the prescribed norms of the college.

Challenge in Supreme Court

The protests soon spread to other colleges and districts. After petitions were filed by protesting Muslim students, the court began hearing the issue.

There were mixed reactions to the court ruling.

Education is important for children. Let's follow the high court order and maintain peace and calm," the state chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said.

"Till now, no incidents in Karnataka. It's peaceful. The verdict is clear and the government order was upheld. Students have the right to appeal. Everyone has their right to approach court."

Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, said, the High Court's decision to uphold the hijab ban is deeply disappointing. "On one hand we talk about empowering women yet we are denying them the right to a simple choice. Its isn't just about religion but the freedom to choose," he said.

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly supported the uniform-related rules being enforced by educational institutions, calling the headscarf a religious symbol.

Karnataka is a state ruled by the BJP and communal tensions have escalated especially in the coastal region. According to Karnataka Communal Harmony Forum, the coastal districts witnessed over 120 communal incidents last year, the highest in the last four years.

The incidents relate to allegations of religious conversion, cattle vigilantism, hate speech, desecration of places of worship and other communal incidents.

What to eat and what to wear is a fundamental right of people. The BJP is trying to impose its choices on people. This is nothing but majoritarian politics at play, Kavita Krishnan of the All-India Progressive Women's Association.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Minority in Parliament has been asked not to give rhetoric to the constitution regarding the Supreme Court ruling on the voting rights of Members of Parliament who presides as Deputy Speakers.

Communication Director of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Effutu constituency, Otabil Ellis was of the view that the judgement by the Supreme court panel must be upheld and respected as such.

Commenting on a case presented to the apex court to decide whether the Deputy Speaker of Parliament has the right to a vote to form a quorum or otherwise while presiding, the NPP Communicator indicated that he backs the decision of the panel that sat on the matter.

Ghana's Parliament since 2021 has been characterised by many unfortunate incidents whenever it comes to voting to determine on matters of the House, with the E-levy been a major example.

The Supreme Court after giving its ruling to re-affirm the Deputy Speaker has the right to vote, the minority and some leaders of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) have also expressed disappointment in the ruling.

But according to Mr. Otabil Ellis, "every good constitution has limits on the exercise of legal and political power of the state. The Supreme Court has given its ruling and the NDC must accept it in good faith, they should not behave as bad losers".

He was speaking on Lucky TV's morning show on Monday, 14th March, 2022.
MTN Ghana, the leading Telecommunication Network in Ghana has collaborated with the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications to observe this years World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) with other telecommunication networks in the country.

The event was held at Kejeta-Pampaso, Kumasi.

The celebration was aimed at educating and informing traders and commuters of their rights and responsibilities as consumers of telecommunication services.

They used the occasion to register the SIM cards of their customers in line with the ongoing SIM reregistration exercise which is expected to elapse on Thursday, 31st March, 2022.

The World Consumers Right Day which is celebrated on 15th March every year was held in Ghana under the theme: "Fair Digital Finance."

Speaking at the event, Madam Adwoa Baah Afrakoma, Senior Manager, Branch Network Service of MTN , Northern sector, explained that, the Company was dedicated to protecting their customers mobile money wallets from fraudsters.

According to her, the issue of mobile money fraud is real and MTN is still committed to putting in place measures to deal with the situation.

She appealed to customers to be watchful in order not to fall into the tricks of fraudsters.

The Senior Branch Network Service Manager noted that MTN only contacts its customers via its official office line. All MTN officials only call customers with the official line 0244300000 hence every other caller who uses another number instead of the above but tells you he or she is calling from MTN is a fraudster."

She advised MTN customers to avoid discussing their wallets or any personal details with strangers.

She revealed that MTN has so far re-registered a little over 7.5million the SIM Cards of its customers and appealed to all Ghanaians to take the exercise serious.

Dr. Kenneth Ashigbey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, also cautioned customers of various telecommunication networks not to give their mobile money PIN to anyone.

He advised customers to always report any suspected fraud to their network operators to liaise with Cyber Security Units and other security agencies to clampdown their activities.

Dr. Ashigbey revealed that a lot of measures have been put in place to fight mobile Money fraudsters and stressed the need for customers to be mindful of the social engineering or tricks being used by the fraudsters.

The representatives of Bank of Ghana(BOG), Vodafone,Airtel/Tigo Mr. Agyekum Sarpong, Mr Kingsley Addai Jnr among other speakers stressed the need for customers to always be watchful and not fall into the tricks of fraudsters.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou will Co-Chair a Virtual Boardroom to attract investors to finance the construction of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Project with H.E. Solomon Quaynor, Vice President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization at 10:30 am (GMT) on the 16th of March 2022.

The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway, is a project that aims to construct a 6-lane supranational highway with components to transform it into economic development corridor that interconnects 5 ECOWAS Member States (Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria) thus, facilitating transport linkages, free movement, and improved cross border economic exchanges between the five (5) countries involved.

The Boardroom aims to present this ECOWAS flagship infrastructure project in the transport sector (the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Development Project) to potential investors, with a deal to ask for Investment financing.

The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway Project, which is being implemented fully in collaboration with the Corridor Countries, is key on the 2nd Priority Action Plan for the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA-PAP II). It is also a priority under the new ECOWAS Vision 2050 which among other objectives, seek to Make ECOWAS a fully Integrated and Interconnected Economic Region. Once completed, the corridor will boost trade (catalyst for the AfCFTA), instigate investment in other economic sectors, create employment opportunities for the citizens of Member States.

The Corridor also forms part of the wider Dakar-Lagos Corridor and is a major part of the Trans African Highway Network and key priority in the ECOWAS 25-year Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan.
The Editor of Business Week Ghana, Kofi Ahovi, has emerged the second runner up in the online category at the maiden MTN Ghana Bright Media Awards, held in Accra on March 11, 2022.

The award ceremony forms part of the telecom giant's 25th anniversary celebrations.

His article touched on how mobile money service has changed the lives of vendors by providing them with employment thereby addressing, to a large extent, the critical issue of unemployment in the country. And how for others, it is a secondary source of income to augment their income.

Receiving the award, Ahovi thanked MTN for organizing and recognizing journalists contribution to the growth of the telecom industry and the country. He prayed that such kind gestures will continue and further called on other stakeholders to do same in motivating journalists and promoting journalistic standards in the country.

Over 70 entries were received by the organizers from media practitioners from across the country.

Other award winners

In the online category, the winners were Samuel Dowuona of Tech24gh, Rev Dr. Felix Klutse of Business Day Ghana and Kofi Ahovi of Businessweek.

For the print category, the winners were Ama Barfi Achaah of Daily Graphic, Michael Abataye of Ghanaian Times and Suleiman Mustapha of Daily Graphic.

In the TV category, Francisca Sedinam Arhin of GhOne TV, Kweku Bolton of GBC, and Phil John Quartey were the winners.

For the radio category, Thomas Tetteh and Rosemond Adjetey won prizes in the first and second slots.

Other special awards were also given to some media institutions and deserving individuals including Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA) which Kofi Ahovi is the vice president.
New York, March 15, 2022  In response to news reports that a court in Zimbabwe on Tuesday declined to dismiss the 2021 immigration case against New York Times freelance correspondent Jeffrey Moyo, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement expressing disappointment:

We are disappointed that more than nine months after his arrest, and after 21 days in detention and countless hours in court, journalist Jeffrey Moyo was not acquitted of the spurious charges relating to his work with his colleagues at The New York Times, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. The decision to deny the defenses application to dismiss the case is doubly troubling as Moyos co-accused was acquitted in a separate trial last week and simply reinforces perceptions that the case is being used to intimidate the independent press in Zimbabwe.

Authorities arrested Moyo in the capital Harare, alongside Zimbabwe Media Commission registrar Thabang Manhika on May 26, 2021, and accused them of contravening Section 36 of the Immigration Act by producing fake media accreditation cards for two foreign New York Times journalists, Christina Goldbaum and Joao Silva, who were deported after three days in the country, as CPJ documented at the time. Manhika was acquitted in a separate trial on March 10, 2022, according to news reports.

The defense applied to have the case dismissed after prosecutors closed the states case against Moyo last month, arguing the state had been aware it had no case since at least June 2021 when, in reply to Moyos bail application on appeal, it said in court documents that its case against the journalist was on shaky ground, according to the discharge application, which CPJ reviewed, and the journalists lawyer Doug Coltart, who spoke to CPJ by messaging app.

Today, a Bulawayo magistrate ruled that the prosecution had sufficient evidence against Moyo to put the accused to his defense, Coltart told CPJ via messaging app. The trial will continue April 28 and Moyo faces at least 10 years in prison if convicted under the Immigration Act.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

Mr. Speaker, it is shameful for you to attack the President and Judiciary based on emotions and without recourse to extensive research on Parliamentary practices elsewhere.

Ghana is a member of the CPA (Commonwealth Parliamentary Association). However, all over the commonwealth, of which Ghana is a member, I came across a very interesting trend. In this write up, I chose a few examples based on continental/regional locations.

In Australia, the Speaker is an MP and has a casting vote, Section 44 Australian constitution says it. Also, South Africa has a Speaker who is an MP with a casting vote, according to the SA constitution 41(8). Nigeria has a Speaker MP with a casting vote, Nigeria constitution 75a (i) states that. UK's Speaker Addington explained why Speakers should have a vote, especially where there is a tie in 1796.

John Bercow used a casting vote to block BrexitAfter the tie vote of 310 to the left and 310 to the right. In the UK, the Speaker is an MP and has a casting vote.

India also has an MP Speaker with a casting vote, per India's constitution Article 189.

Additionally in Canada, the Speaker is an MP and has a casting vote (ie when there is a tie), Section 49 of the Constitution Act (BNA Act), 1867.

Erskine May

According to Erskine May, the foremost authority on parliamentary procedures and practices in the world, casting a vote by a Speaker allows for a debate to continue, otherwise, a motion is stalled and Parliament makes no headway.

Ghana

In Ghana, at the time of voting on the E-Levy Bill during a division tabled by the NDC, there was obviously going to be a tie 137:137 of which the Deputy Speaker would have had to exercise his casting vote. However, the Minority prevented the Deputy Speaker from doing so by shouting, it was unconstitutional, hence, the current dispute. I am not a lawyer but the question is, Who presides over disputes in a civilised society? Is it not the courts, if I may ask?

As a matter of fact, the Supreme Court, in the wisdom of the very learned judges, decided to rectify the ambiguity in the constitution by ruling for Deputy Speakers who are MPs (unlike the Speaker) to vote. The Speaker of Ghanas Parliament says it's absurd, reckless and that the President is myopic for commenting on it.

Mr. Speaker, please dont insult and lets apply ourselves to the wisdom of common practice and precedence. If you were guided by Erskine May, then, probably you wouldnt have occasioned this needless write-up.

I share in the pain of the Deputy Speakers who are MPs just as me. Unlike other jurisdictions in the commonwealth where Speakers are also Members of Parliament, and have a casting vote, Ghanas Speaker is not an MP, and has no casting vote per Ghanas Constitution.

Thus by extension, I see the ruling as Ghana applying itself to the logic of global or commonwealth parliamentary practice.

Maybe its about time we amend the Constitution to vote for MP Speakers who will have casting votes too. This will save the taxpayers some more money as the hefty provision of emoluments for the non-MP Speaker as backed by Article 95(5), treat non-MP Speakers in a special category of Article 71 officeholders. The Speakers benefits are way above that of an MP. This is not the same for Deputy Speakers. Deputy Speakers are only limited to their salaries as MPs as provided for in Article 98(1) of the Constitution for Members of Parliament.

According to the principle of equal work, and equal pay, the Deputy Speakers salaries and end-of-service benefit at least, should have been in the same category (though not at the same level) as the Speaker. But this is not so. As it is by the law, Deputy Speakers preside only over proceedings in the House and have no administrative authority unless delegated by the Speaker to do so.

The power of a Deputy Speaker is just the same as that of any MP in the chamber. The constitution envisaged MPs as representatives with a vote to define the position of their constituents on issues contrary to that of the Speaker who has no representation and has neither an original nor casting vote.

During the tenure of Prof Oquaye, 1st Deputy Speaker(s) performed some delegated administrative responsibilities when he was absent. Under the current Speaker, this is not so. Why is this so? Are the Speakers words and deeds gradually polarising Parliament and the nation?

On Thursday, March 10, 2022, a certain NDC MP, Kofi Attor, invited me (as chairman of Health Committee), the ranking member on health as well as the leaders of the House to a meeting to be hosted on the Speakers behalf by him, since the Speaker was out of the country. I registered my strong displeasure to the Speakers office. Indeed, I made it clear I wasnt attending as I didnt know the locus of that gentleman in the scheme of parliamentary practice. This was rectified, apologies extended, and I joined the meeting chaired by the Minority leader last Thursday.

The question I ask is, where were the Deputy Speakers? And why couldnt any of them have represented the Speaker? And so, therefore, if among others, they are also denied their only power in Parliament (i.e. to exercise their representative right to vote) then to me, what is really their use as Deputy Speakers to their constituents?

Maybe the Council of State will have to find a way of engaging all living former Speakers of Ghanas Parliament in a meeting for them to share their thoughts on this point of law in the presence of the Speaker.

Finally, in the write up of the Speaker on Parliaments official Facebook page, I came across the greeting Good morning comrades Which people were the Speaker reaching out to; his NDC comrades or the good people of Ghana? Something is very wrong. The Speaker must separate his political self from the Parliamentary administrative process. All previous Speakers had their political inclination yet did a good job without politicising the Parliamentary administrative process.

The Parliamentary service is clearly under attack and soon we will not distinguish the service from the political interest of the Speaker.

Whatever it turns out to be, the Speaker is to be blamed.

Nana Ayew Afriye is the MP for Effiduase-Asokore in the Ashanti Region

BY Nana Ayew Afriye
The All-Africa Students Union (AASU) has urged leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to include the region's youth in decision-making processes.

The student body said partnering with the youth is critical for the African continent to reach the development status it seeks, hence the appeal.

There are no better partners for the growth, development, and peace of the Continent than the African Youth.

This was contained in a speech delivered by the Political and Social Affairs Officer of All-Africa Students Union (AASU) Ms. Mercedes Rowe Asamani, at AU reflection forum held in capital of Ghana, Accra, on March 15, 2022.

Ms. Asamani described how many sub-regional leaders continue to develop initiatives aimed at creating the "Africa we want." However, she believes that such attempts have achieved little or no benefits, a problem she believes can be better addressed if youth are also given a seat at the decision-making tables.

There are no better partners for the growth, development, and peace of the Continent than the African Youth.

For Africa to overcome the shackles of the past and to take its rightful place in the world, the youth must not be far from decision-making tables, she noted.

The African youth, according to the Political and Social Affairs Officer of the All-Africa Students Union (AASU), are ready and committed to channelling their efforts towards ensuring that they are active agents of change for the continent's peace, security, and development.

In a pledge to the African leaders on behalf of the African youth, Ms. Asamani said We use this opportunity to further pledge to use our intellect and ingenuity to serve as a catalyst for the development of inclusive socio-economic systems that promote equitable resource distribution and development, job creation, and access to opportunities, as well as people-centered and accountable governments, in order to ensure a lasting peace that births development on the Continent.

AASU also used the occasion to commend the ECOWAS leaders for their efforts in maintaining peace and security in the sub-region.

It specifically extols the exemplary leadership role being played by the President of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for rallying his peers in addressing emerging threats arising from military interference in the sub-region.

The youth of Africa commend the efforts of President Macky Sall of Senegal, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and your peers in addressing the emerging threats arising from military interference in the sub-region Ms. Asamani explained.

Your joint efforts to maintain peace and inclusion, which are drivers for development on the Continent have not been any different in Ghana. Under your sterling leadership, Ghana has always remained committed to promoting youth participation, gender equality, demarginalization, investment in the youth, and the promotion of democratic values.

Below is the full speech:

SPEECH DELIVERED BY MS. MERCEDES ROWE ASAMANI, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS OFFICER OF THE ALL-AFRICA STUDENTS UNION (AASU) AT THE AU REFLECTION FORUM

His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo, President of Ghana and the Chairman of the ECOWAS, His Excellency Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Excellencies, Representatives of AU Member States, Heads of Delegations, Representatives of International Organisations, Distinguished Guests, Ladies, and Gentlemen:

We have gathered here today to reflect on our common future as Africa, especially in the light of the recent unconstitutional changes to democratically elected governments. No one feels the brunt of these unfortunate incidents in the sub-region than women, children, and young people. School closures due to COVID have already left a gaping hole in our literacy advancement. Further disruptions to school systems and social infrastructure will put at risk the future of the next generation.

It is why as young people and students from all over the Continent under the banner of the All-Africa Students Union, which represents over 170 million students, we are happy to be here at this forum to convey the voices of young people regarding the recent developments in the sub-region which threatens to erode all the gains we have made in building a peaceful and secure Africa.

Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen, there can be no peace and security without development and inclusion, just as there can be no development without peace. This critical nexus of peace, unity, and development played an important role in the formation of the OAU, now the AU, and it is for these reasons we must continue to address the root causes of conflicts and insecurity in the region to completely silence the guns while raising the flags of hope, of economic growth, of development, of inclusion, of peace, of demarginalization and of greater investment in the youth.

The youth of Africa commend the efforts of President Macky Sall of Senegal, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and your peers in addressing the emerging threats arising from military interference in the sub-region. Your joint efforts to maintain peace and inclusion, which are drivers for development on the Continent have not been any different in Ghana. Under your sterling leadership, Ghana has always remained committed to promoting youth participation, gender equality, demarginalization, investment in the youth, and the promotion of democratic values.

Despite the initiatives and efforts of the African Union in maintaining peace and stability on the Continent, there have been numerous challenges that have been impediments to achieving these lofty targets. This is not one of the many occasions to chastise the African Union or to apportion blames but one to rally together as a people bound by the spirit of Pan-Africanism to remind ourselves of how far we have come, where we are headed and how the emergence of unconstitutional changes of government remains the greatest obstacle in our way to achieving the Africa We Want and it is for this reason have we all gathered to reflects on these mishappenings and to proffer solutions.

There are no better partners for the growth, development, and peace of the Continent than the African Youth. For Africa to overcome the shackles of the past and to take its rightful place in the world, the youth must not be far from decision-making tables. On this august occasion, we as African youth recommit to channeling our productive energies to ensuring we are active agents of change for the peace, security, and prosperity of the Africa Continent. We use this opportunity to further pledge to use our intellect and ingenuity to serve as a catalyst for the development of inclusive socio-economic systems that promote equitable resource distribution and development, job creation, and access to opportunities, as well as people-centered and accountable governments, in order to ensure a lasting peace that births development on the Continent.

Your Excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen we are confident this forum will share ideas that will usher in a new era of African greatness.

We wish you all fruitful deliberations.

Thank You.
Slogans like 'every life matters' sound so cliched and hollow when we see the ground reality in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia armed conflict: healthcare workers, healthcare facilities and transport are getting mercilessly attacked causing immediate and long-term damages as well as menacingly threatening the progress made on right to health in the past decades. Former Secretary General of the United Nations had condemned attacks on hospitals as war crimes.

In 2016, the United Nations Security Council had unanimously adopted resolution number 2286 strongly condemning attacks against medical facilities, transport, and personnel in conflict situations. Back then, governments had strongly condemned attacks and threats against the wounded and sick, medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties, their means of transport and equipment, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the United Nations health agency, the World Health Organization (WHO), said last week: So far, WHO has verified 18 attacks on health facilities, health workers and ambulances, including ten deaths and 16 injuries. These attacks deprive whole communities of healthcare. More than two million people have left Ukraine and WHO is supporting neighbouring countries to provide healthcare for refugees, most of whom are women and children. Some of the main health challenges we see are hypothermia and frostbite, respiratory diseases, lack of treatment for cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and mental health issues.

There are approximately 1,000 healthcare facilities which are becoming engulfed in the Ukraine-Russia armed conflict, confirmed Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director of WHO Health Emergencies Programme. These healthcare facilities include hospitals, clinics, polyclinics and other healthcare delivery entities- either on the frontline or within ten kilometres of the frontline.

Some healthcare facilities are being abandoned by the authorities because they simply cannot function in this crisis situation. In some situations, there are attempts to move hospital equipment and healthcare workers around. "This is becoming an extremely complex health response with frequent population movements, shifting lines of control, increasingly difficult access and very asymmetric type of warfare" said Dr Ryan.

WHO is continuously sending medical and health related supplies to Ukraine. "Sending supplies to hospitals is great but those hospitals need power, they need clean water, they need engineers to be able to help, they need fuel supply for generators. All of this infrastructure and engineering support is needed to keep your average hospital running in a normal situation. In the middle of a shooting war, it is almost impossible" shared Dr Ryan.

The WHO had recently raised an alarm about depleting oxygen stocks in Ukraine and the looming threat of oxygen crisis. This oxygen shortage is not due to the corona virus but because of armed conflict - which is essentially preventable said Shobha Shukla who leads CNS (Citizen News Service) and Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development.

There is no doubt that the only real and lasting solution to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict is through peace. WHO continues to call on the Russian Federation to commit to a peaceful resolution to this crisis and to allow safe, unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance for those in need. A peaceful resolution is possible and that is true in every war and humanitarian crisis to which WHO is responding around the world added Dr Tedros.

In 2016, Peter Maurer, the President of Red Cross, had said that 2,400 targeted attacks had been carried out in the last three years against patients and healthcare workers, transport, and centres in 11 countries. The then-head of MSF (Doctors Without Borders or Medicins Sans Frontieres) Joanne Liu had said in 2016 that 300 air strikes on Aleppo, Syria occurred within 10 days. She added back then that in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, hospitals were routinely bombed, raided, looted or burned to the ground, and medical personnel were threatened and patients were shot in their beds. While the United Nations Security Council was responsible for maintaining peace and security, four of its five permanent members had been associated with coalitions responsible for attacks on health structures over the last year, she noted.

How can we forget heart wrenching incidents when hospitals in Gaza were hit by Israeli strikes in which thousands of people had been killed, or when an MSF hospital in Afghanistan was attacked by the United States military forces?

Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, Physicians for Human Rights had documented more than 360 attacks on around 250 medical facilities. More than 730 medical personnel were killed. Almost half of all medical facilities in Syria had closed then or were functioning only partially. A similar pattern of systematic destruction of health facilities was evident in Yemen. More than 600 medical facilities were shut because of damages sustained in the conflict and shortages of supplies and medical workers.

Until recently over three-quarters of the health facilities in Afghanistan had reported stock-outs of essential medicines and there was a looming threat to sustain the health workers in their posts.

In the Tigray region of Ethiopia even UN agencies, like the WHO, have not been permitted to deliver medical supplies since mid-July of 2021. This is despite repeated requests from the WHO to provide medical supplies to Tigray, to help meet at least some of the humanitarian and health needs of people living there. Even in the toughest periods of conflict in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, and others, WHO and partners have had access to save lives. But Tigray is out of their reach, where the de facto blockade is preventing access to basic humanitarian supplies, which is killing people.

More importantly, let us remember that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a very large proportion of the human population has been living in appallingly squalid conditions (in slums and otherwise) sans proper sanitation, sans potable water, sans access to basic healthcare. The vast range of inequalities and social injustices within nations, and between rich and poor nations, is well known and documented.

There can be no health security without peace. There can be no social security without peace. There can be no sustainable development "where no one is left behind" without peace.

Bobby Ramakant  CNS (Citizen News Service)

(Bobby Ramakant is part of CNS editorial team and was awarded the WHO Director Generals WNTD Award in 2008. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyRamakant)
Head of Standard Setting, Verification and Accreditation at Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC), Dr Owusu Yankyera Benedict, has urged government to invest in organic farming of medicinal plants to improve the quality of herbal medicines and standards.

According to him, most medicinal plants had gone into extinction, while the wholesomeness of the available ones had been comprised due to the application of farming chemicals such as pesticides and weedicides.

He was speaking at a lecture on Saturday at the Nyarkotey University College of Holistic Medicines on the theme "Ayurveda System of Medicine-Practice, Principles and Standardisation in Ghana."

Dr Owusu said standardisation of traditional and alternative medicine hinged on the quality of preparation of the medicines which was guaranteed by the availability, and wholesomeness of the raw materials hence if these qualities were tempered with, standardisation becomes difficult.

He indicated that if the focus was not directed at the investment in organic plant materials farming by stakeholders and the cultivation of medicinal plants by practitioners, diseases that were treated in the past could no longer be treated with same plants in modern times because of the unwholesomeness of the materials.

Acting President of Ghana Alternative Medicines Practitioners Association (GAMPA) Dr Albert Arthur, who spoke to the Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of the lecture, called for the passage of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine bill which had been shelved for far too long.

He explained that the Traditional and Alternative Medicines bills were prepared separately at the same period, but the Traditional Medicines Bill had been passed leaving the Alternative Medicines Bill.

He stated that the Traditional Medicine Law was a restrictive one which regulated only traditional medicines, so after a decision to merge the two bills, GAMPA had been working towards the passage of the merge-bill (Traditional and Alternative Medicines) since 2012 but had not seen the light of day.

Principal of Nyarkotey University College of Holistic Medicine, Professor Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, said the field of complementary alternative medicines was diverse with standardisation going on everywhere, therefore, it was time for Ghana to adopt standardisation to help promote the practice.

To him, the government could rake in more revenue if funds were allocated to institutions and researchers to collaborate with TMPC to look at natural organic products and raw materials that could be marketed.

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic where a lot of people resorted to natural remedies, Prof. Obu said Ghana could make a lot of money from selling natural remedies to the outside world, citing India and South Africa as examples.

Director and Principal Consultant at Ayush Ghana Ayurveda Medical Centre, Dr Poornima Lakkanna, for her part, said standardisation was required in the practice of alternative medicine to avoid quackery and ensure patients' safety and care, improve patient's experience and confidence in traditional and alternative systems of medicines, minimise errors or risks in practice and improve the efficiency of doctors or health care providers.
My grandfatherKofi Tordzro of blessed memory once told me that the sail would forever be a good friend to the wind, because they collaborate to move a canoe to its landing pier. Likewise, a folkloric myth has it that, if one suddenly bears the thought of a strange pal, and he did not hear from that person within the day, then the thought-bearer must prepare for the worse news of that kinsman. It is in that spirit that I applaud Ghanas Minority Leader Hon. Haruna Iddrisus call for the Government to review the Covid-testing policies and fees at the Countrys Airporta laudable call that envisioned the tenets of this article in the draft room.

Indeed, if anything would invoke the saying that goes: One mans poison is another mans delicacy, nothing would adduce such maxim better than the glowing opportunity a section of Ghanas business elites and their conglomerates had to convert the fatal Covid-19 pandemic into a fertile behemoth Hen that lays golden eggs at the Kotoka International Airport.

Since August 2020, the Ghana Airport Company Limited claimed it partnered with Frontier Healthcare Service Limited to render on-site mandatory Covid-testing services at the airport to all arriving passengers from age five and above at the cost of $150 for foreign passport holders and $50 for Ghanaians and ECOWAS Nationals. Ostensibly, the idea falls in line with the government's effort to prevent importation of Covid virus into the country. Although a plausible idea, many are those who believe in their guttural linings that, this transaction is covertly extortive, cunningly impious, morally unjustifiable and insensitive, discriminatory at implementation and globally xenophobic in nature. Besides, the activities of Frontier at the airport are deemed as a concatenated syndicate of corruption at the tip of an Elephants tusk and deeply imbedded in its husk.

In view of the impact of this clandestine transaction on travelersespecially foreign passport holders across the globe, this author representing uncountable thousands, wish to echo the voice of the Minority Leader to Government and further petition all foreign Embassies in Ghana and other World Leaders to urgently call for immediate review or abrogation of the astronomical mandatory Covid-testing charges based on the following factual observations:

Xenophobic and corruption

In September 2021, I traveled from Germany via Amsterdam to Ghana and duly paid the $150. Upon arrival, we were packed at a narrow corridor pending verification formalities before swabbing. The weather was very hot and the standing A/C units were not operative. We queued under the banner of Covid prevention but without Covid preventive measures in place since there was nothing like 6-feet social distancing in that lineal hallway that day. Readers should take special note that, it was the same rapid testing kits that costs about $10 that were used for both Ghana passport holders and the foreigners. Why then should the foreigner get charged thrice the fee of a Ghanaian? Even considering operational costs and profit margin, the whooping $150 charge defeats the purpose of Covid fighting and relocates the process to a comfortable zone of extortion, when Ghana is not isolated from the rest of the world and certainly not a virgin to the Corona virus!

On my return, the story was different. All travelers boarded KLM flight with negative PCR tests from Ghana. At Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, there was neither Covid questionnaire nor mandatory Covid testing. But interestingly, the Netherland Authorities were issuing BD Rapid Testing Kits to interested travelersat least two kits per traveler for FREE. When I arrived at Germany, I only filled health attestation form but there was no compulsory Covid-testing either. I checked from the US, and they do not require testing on arrival as well. In contrast, the UK requires all eligible travelers to pre-register for Day 2 and 8 Covid testing upon arrival but NOT at the airport. For convenience to travelers and avoidance of monopoly, the UK Government have a plethora of approved Covid testing vendors for travelers to choose their preference. Therefore, I ask again, why then must the Germans, Netherlands, Americans, South Africans, and other Nationals be charged astronomical $150 for a $10 kit; when most of these countries allow free passage to Ghanaians who arrived at their ports of entry?

Lack of Accountability and the Denials

Upon the frustrations that we endure either as indigenous foreigners or organic foreigners, we would have found solace knowing that the accruals from these seeming nefarious transactions were being accounted to the people and being used judiciously for their benefit. Rather, we felt heavy hearted to hear from even top Government officialsprecisely the Health, Finance and National Security Ministersdenying knowledge of Frontiers Healthcare Service Limiteds operations at the airport, in the House of Parliament. Who then authorized Frontiers? Where are the monies going and how much is the country benefitting from the proceeds?

Inept systems

As mentioned above, upon these exorbitant charges, it will shock readers to know that even the systems or websites that run Frontiers operations are not properly configured to handle transactions seamlessly. Just last week, I took a friend and the wife to the airport for Ghana flight. We tried paying the $150 fee under aimless vituperative protest, but the system kept rejecting the transactions repeatedlyfrom our respective mobile devices with valid debit/credit cards (see attached evidence). It took us more than two hours to complete the payment, fill the Health Declaration Form and complete another form online known as the Global Haven Covid Result Validation. Undeniably, Covid-19 pandemic had taken the fun out of global trotting but traveling to Ghana nowadays is worse than traveling to the hell that some religions describe. Obviously, it appears the effervescent thirst for money had defaced the warm hospitable arms of the Ghanaian Akwaaba symbols, the loving spirits of Woezor and the smiling faces of Senu Dezua we accord our visitors cheerfully!

Truthfully, I felt so shameful when Cathoelan Australian-German expatriate I met on board, complained gravely about the process just like many other colleagues. I feel like the land of my birth had suddenly become a giant monetary glutton and descended into a deep xenophobic abyss to the detriment of her good global image. Since then, Cathoels wails kept ringing in my ears. Also, social media is flooded with similar distasteful and poignant accounts and the latest propellant for this article was the hefty frustrations I witnessed on the faces of Ghana-bound travelers last week at JFK Airportincluding disabled elderly folks in wheeled-chairs with no English or cyber knowledge to complete the transactions.

Therefore, Mr. President on behalf of ALL dejected travelers to Ghana (in recent times), I hereby seconded the Honorable Minority Leaders prudent call for you to either review or abolish the mandatory Covid-testing at Kotoka Airport to ease the suffering of Ghanaians and Ghana-loving travelers. Most importantly, in the wake of drastic decline in Covid-19 infections globally. World Leaders must unite to stop Ghana from exploiting their citizens now!

The BD test plate

A Pack of BD Rapid Covid Detection Kit issued at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

BD package issued at Schiphol Airport containing test slide and reagent
Present at the Dubai World Expo as part of the Ghana Day on 8 March, President Nana Akufo-Addo painted a largely favourable picture of the country's economic situation. According to him, Ghana is a land of opportunity for the private sector, thanks in particular to the establishment of a stable and secure judicial and governance system. However, a deterioration of the business climate has been observed for several years, while the regulatory and fiscal framework is increasingly hindering investment opportunities for national and international companies.

The President said Ghana was the ideal destination for investments, citing Ghana's third place ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index for West Africa and sustained growth in the hydrocarbon sector as reasons for this statement. While his speech was followed by a round of polite applause, it raises many questions about Ghana's ability to remain a fancied partner for foreign investors in the coming years.

Obstacles to foreign companies

For many years, foreign companies operating in Ghana have faced numerous obstacles in the country, in the forefront of which political interference and favouritism. The unstable and unequal regulatory framework is also increasingly becoming a major constraint for foreign companies seeking stability and security. This decline in confidence in the country is notably epitomised by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), whose officials have become a daily trouble for businesses. Various companies have recently complained about rampant audits, arbitrary fines and spurious tax disputes from the GRA. Meanwhile, there is growing criticism against the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), which is regularly accused of complicating the administrative process for companies already established.. In this context, multinationals seem to be increasingly turning away from Ghana, such as the American oil giant ExxonMobil or the Norwegian oil company Aker Energy. According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2021, Ghana recorded a 52% decline in FDI in 2020 while the country ranked 73rd out of 180 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2021. More broadly, factors such as cumbersome bureaucracy, low productivity, costly and difficult-to-obtain financing services and underdeveloped transport infrastructure further hamper FDI.

What can be improved?

Nevertheless, Ghana's investment prospects remain relatively optimistic. The Ghanaian government seems to be finally beginning to appreciate the importance of diversification and industrialisation, with an increasing focus on agro-processing, mining and manufacturing. The country will also have to rely on the economic benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose Secretariat is based in Accra. These prospects for improvement are nevertheless conditional on the stabilisation of the country's economic situation, whose debt is estimated at nearly 81% at the end of 2021. It can be assumed that Ghana is ready for business, ... but is business ready for Ghana?
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto is confident the controversial Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) would be passed.

In an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show with Bernard Avle on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, Dr. Afriyie Akoto said the E-Levy will be passed. I am absolutely confident about that. It will be passed and will do Ghanaians good. It will bring a lot of people outside the tax net into it, which is what any modern state should do.

He said the only way government can address the insatiable needs of Ghanaians is to make more revenue by way of widening the tax net.

That only between 12% to 13% of Ghanaians pay taxes is totally untenable, especially by West African standards, where the average is 24%.

We need to rope in the people outside the tax net. It is unfair that majority of Ghanaians evade taxes. Meanwhile, our expectation of government services keeps skyrocketing. Where is the money going to come from? It should come from ourselves.

He also posited that the E-levy is a very 'noble' initiative.

It should be praised rather than condemned, he added.

The E-levy is a new tax measure introduced by the government in the 2022 Budget on basic transactions related to digital payments and electronic platform transactions.

A charge of 1.75% will apply to electronic transactions that are more than GH100 on a daily basis.

The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has said that the government is convinced about the need for the e-levy and how it encapsulates the idea of burden-sharing for Ghana's development.

The opposition in Parliament has sternly stated its stance against the passage of the E-Levy bill since its inception on November 17, 2021, and has got the support of many Ghanaians.

The Bill is yet to be debated in Parliament, after voting on whether to consider it under a certificate of urgency degenerated into fisticuffs in the house.

---citinewsroom
Tuesday's session at the special criminal court in Paris ended abruptly when the fifty lawyers defending those accused of complicity in the November 2015 terrorist attacks left the courtroom en masse. They were protesting against "an atmosphere unfavourable to their clients' interests". The walk-out brought a premature end to a day marked by further unsatisfactory evidence from the sole surviving attacker, Salah Abdeslam.

Abdeslam is an infuriating individual.

He clearly enjoys his time at the centre of attention. His personal contradictions, however, leave little space for a coherent presentation of the facts.

On Tuesday, the sole survivor of the group which killed 130 people in Paris on the night of 13 November 2015 provided no new information. Instead, he proposed a toxic mixture of verbal aggression, attempted charm, rudeness, self-contradiction and outright provocation.

Abdeslam presented himself as a victim of the legal process. He once again cited the war in Syria as an excuse for the Paris attacks. He made outrageous comparisons between the fight against Islamic State and the Nazi attempt to eliminate Europe's Jews; he compared the Paris attackers to those refugees now fleeing the war in Ukraine. He flagrantly insulted two of the lawyers representing the families of victims.

Tribunal president, Jean-Louis Peries, made frequent calls for order and decorum, including a formal warning to the accused that he risked being held in contempt.

'This is not the National Assembly!'

The tension in the courtroom, which was packed with surviving victims and the families of the bereaved, mounted throughout an afternoon of circular evidence, smart-ass cheek and evasion by Abdeslam. Generally, he either didn't know or he couldn't remember.

Finally, after several noisy outbursts from the public benches, shouted comments from the defence lawyers, and a pitched verbal battle between the various legal tribes, proceedings were suspended.

"This is not the National Assembly," Jean-Louis Peries reminded participants.

On the resumption, Salah Abdeslam's team explained that, in the light of the court president's acceptance of what they called "a line of prejudicial questioning", the president's toleration of shouted comments from the public benches, and the generally negative atmosphere, they were unwilling to continue.

Abdeslam's team then left the courtroom, followed by the entire squad of 50-odd other lawyers who are defending the various accused.

Proceedings were abandoned for the day.

The trial, which has already accumulated four weeks of Covid-related delays, is scheduled to resume on Wednesday afternoon.
A Nigerian whose name has been given as Usman Emmanuel has been slapped with a fine of GH3,000 by the Asokore Mampong District Magistrate Court for posing as a Ghanaian to register for the Ghana Card.

Carrying a Ghanaian birth certificate, Usman Emmanuel went through the registration process until he got to the point of being issued the Ghana Card.

It was at this point that the Ashanti Region Registration Officer (RRO) of the National Identification Authority (NIA) suspected the applicant was not a Ghanaian.

He was immediately handed over to the Adum Police for further investigations.

The investigation established that despite being in possession of a valid Ghanaian birth certificate, Usman Emmanuel was not a Ghanaian, a statement from NIA said.

The suspect was arraigned before court on charges of falsely providing information about himself contrary to section 17(c) of the NIA Act 707.

Failure of Usman Emmanuel to pay the fine will see him serve six months in jail.

Commending the Detective Chief Inspector at the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ashanti Regional Police Command , Abu Hassan Dauda, for the swift and efficient manner the case was investigated, NIA indicated that any foreign national legally resident in Ghana can register for the Non-Citizen Card.

NIA also wishes to caution that any foreigner who tries to register for the Ghana Card (Card meant for citizens only) shall be arrested and duly prosecuted, the statement signed by NIAs Acting Head for Corporate Affairs Abudu Abdul-Ganiyu concluded.

---3news.com
Dozens of Gambians have fled border villages, fearing for their safety after the army in the neighbouring West African country of Senegal launched an operation against separatist rebels this weekend.

On Sunday, Senegal announced a military operation in the southern region of Casamance, aiming to dismantle bases belonging to the separatist MFDC group.

The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) has led a low-intensity conflict in Casamance since 1982 that has claimed several thousand lives.

The southern region is separated geographically from the rest of Senegal by The Gambia, a tiny country that surrounds a river of the same name.

Women displaced by the fighting prepare food. By MUHAMADOU BITTAYE AFP

With recent fighting in Casamance, frightened residents in Gambian border villages have begun to flee, describing bush fires and the sound of the shooting.

"We have never experienced such a dire situation," said Ismaila Bojang, who had fled to the village of Bujinha about five kilometres (three miles) from the border.

Bojang, a traditional chief of the border village of Karrol, said that the conflict had ignited fires in the bush and killed and scattered livestock.

"We are here but our minds are on Karrol," he said, sitting on a woven mat.

Map of Senegal locating region of Casamance. By Tupac POINTU AFP

Another resident of the same village, Tuti Jammeh, said that some had fled Karrol barefoot and were now sleeping several to a bed in Bujinha.

"We heard gunfire and we had to leave," she told AFP, adding that she would likely move further inland because she could still hear shooting.

The numbers of people who have been displaced in The Gambia is unclear.

However, a Bujinha native said that over 100 people had entered the village from the border region. A nearby village is also harbouring displaced people, he said.

The Gambian government has said that it will help the displaced. President Adama Barrow has also ordered increased patrols and vowed to protect the tiny nation "against any potential foreign threat".

A member of the Gambian Red Cross gives emergency supplies to a villager who has fled her home on the border. By MUHAMADOU BITTAYE AFP

"The Gambia will neither be used as a launching pad nor allow anyone to enter the country with arms and ammunition," the government stated on Monday.

Casamance rebels, who are accused of trafficking timber and cannabis, have traditionally sought refuge in The Gambia or Guinea-Bissau, which also borders Senegal.

The conflict had mostly lain dormant until Senegal's army last year launched a major offensive aimed at driving out the rebels.

Senegalese President Macky Sall has made achieving "definitive peace" in Casamance a priority of his second term.
The Minister for Food and Agriculture, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto has urged Ghanaians to support the government to implement the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy).

According to the Minister, the initiative is a noble gesture from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government and must be backed instead of the condemnation it has received since it was introduced.

We need to rain in on those who are outside the tax. You and I pay taxes, the majority of Ghanaians dont and thats unfair. At the same time, our expectation of government services is rising by the day. We need roads, we need this, we need that.

So where is the money going to come from? It should come from ourselves. So the E-Levy is breaking a cycle of a serious attempt to bring in as many taxpayers as possible and is a very noble gesture that should be praised rather than being condemned by people, Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto told Citi FM in an interview on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

The Agric Minister insists that for a country where just over 12% of the population is captured in the tax net, there is the need to explore other avenues to bring on board more people into the tax net.

He said he has no doubt that the E-Levy will soon be passed despite the opposition from the Minority in Parliament.

The E-Levy will be passed. It will be passed and it will be for the good of the people of this country to bring a lot of people outside the tax net into the tax net which is where any modern state should be, Dr. Owusu Akoto Afriyie stressed.
Henrietta Lamptey

16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Civil and Local Government Staff Association of Ghana (CLOGSAG) has called for the immediate reversal of the appointment of Henrietta Lamptey as the Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry.

The Association, two months ago, opposed the President's appointment of Henrietta Lamptey, alleging that she lacks the competence and is politically tainted to lead a Civil Service institution.

Her appointment is in accordance with Article 195 of the 1992 Constitution and Section two of Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2020 (Act 1027) which allows the President to appoint a Registrar for the Births and Deaths Registry.

Addressing the press on the matter, the Executive Secretary for CLOGSAG, Isaac Bampoh Addo said the Association will do all it can in its power to ensure the Registrar is removed from office.

The appointment of Madam Henrietta is not in accordance with the advice of the Civil Service Act. The blatant disregard for positions of appointment into the Civil Service and Local Government are all unwarranted and regrettable. The political appointment of the Registrar of Deaths and Births should be reversed. Should this attempt fail, CLOGSAG will use any means at its disposal to correct the situation, he said.

Prior to her appointment, Mrs. Henrietta Lamptey worked with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development and ActionAid Ghana, a Non-Governmental

Organisation. CLOGSAG, in a letter dated January 20, 2022, signed by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Isaac Bampoe Addo, addressed to the Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development had said Ms. Lampteys appointment process was at variance with normal practice.

It said: Madam Henrietta Lamptey was a Personal Assistant to the immediate past Minister of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama, and currently Ghana's Ambassador to the United States of America, and that her appointment was inappropriate because she has overtly shown her political colours and cannot be part of the Civil Service.

---citinewsroom
Two persons have been reported dead in a chieftaincy clash at Jantong in the North East Gonja District of the Savannah region.

The deceased persons are Seidu Abdulai age 40 and one Hawa, age 53.

Five other persons sustained gunshot wounds and have been rushed to the Tamale Teaching hospital for treatment.

Several houses are said to have been burnt down in the chieftaincy dispute on Wednesday, March 16, 2022.

Women and children have fled the area to the neighboring community for fear of their lives.

The Assemblyman for the Jantong Electoral Area, Inusah Hamza Lansah who confirmed the incident to DGN Online said the deceased persons have been sent to the Tamale Teaching hospital for autopsy and preservation.

Information gathered by DGN Online indicates that the Jantong community has two chiefs from the Jantong wura Haruna Yahaya gate and the Zakaria Sakara gate.

Reports suggest that the chief from the Jantong wura Haruna passed on and that the gate wanted to enskin a successor of the gate but was disrupted by the Zakaria Sakara gate to prevent them from enskin the chief.

Meanwhile, police personnel have been deployed to the community to protect lives and properties.

---DGN online
The Minority in parliament is demanding a public parliamentary probe into the circumstances surrounding the demolition of the Bulgarian Embassy building in Ghana five years ago.

According to the Minority, a developer is currently building on the said land, although, documents available indicate that the Bulgarian Embassy has a legal lease that will expire in 2033.

The Minority said officials of the Embassy were sacked by land guards to allow for private development on the disputed land.

Speaking to the media in Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, noted that government must respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The Bulgaria Embassy in Ghana, this is unacceptable. And this can sever ties between Ghana and Bulgaria and its other foreign allies.

We just do not want to believe that all this is happening under the watch of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. Former Foreign Minister and former Attorney General. They cannot respect the Vienna Convention on diplomacy? We are disappointed.

The demolition has been condemned by the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

In his critique, Mr. Ablakwa made reference to a similar demolition of some buildings at the Nigerian High Commission in 2020.

He said the government was currently footing the reconstruction of the Nigerian Embassy with taxpayers money.

citinewsroom
A Justice of the High Court, His Lordship Daniel Mensah is worried about the talk of coups in social commentary in the country in recent times.

He advised that no matter how we feel about a regime, a coup is not a solution.

His Lordship Mensah while ruling on the bail application by #FixTheCountry convener, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, said he had thought long and hard over whether to give the admonition in open court and decided against odds to do so.

He however said his thoughts and admonitions were without prejudice to the instant bail application.

Justice Mensah observed that the Constitution enjoined all citizens to defend the republic and noted that Ghana had gone down the path of coups with unpleasant experiences which offer lessons to guide present interactions.

Though His Lordship Mensah warns against coup mongering, he maintains he is not against activism.


Organisations and NGOs working with refugees in Calais in northern France are calling for centres set up to receive Ukrainians fleeing conflict to be opened up to other exiles, who have been camping out for months in the hope of crossing to Britain.

Overall more than three million people are estimated by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion on 24 February.

For those seeking to join their relatives in Britain, a difficulty has arisen in obtaining a visa. Several hundred of these refugees are therefore stuck in the French port of Calais where they were welcomed by the local authorities. Since their arrival a few weeks ago, the town hall has provided them with food and beds.

These measures have led some migrant aid organisations to question why the Ukrainians refugees were getting special treatment whereas refugees from other war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Syria or Somalia were not for years.

"The families who arrived in Calais were given the possibility to go to a youth hostel for free during their stay in the city. This is great, this is pretty much what all the organisations for the defense of displaced people have been pleading for years," William Feuillard of the Auberge des migrants told RFI.

He is hoping that once the media attention dies down, that Ukrainians will continue to be well looked after, and that it will set a new standard for welcoming refugees in France, regardless of where they come from.

Temporary protection

Like thousands of others from around the world, Ukrainian refugees have come to Calais, the last stage on the migrant trail to Britain. In 2016 police dismantled a giant migrant camp known as "the Jungle", but that did not stop migrants from coming. Migrants from Sudan, Afghanistan and Syria are still regularly chased away by the police and expelled from tent sites in the area.

"In France, the law applies for everyone and the treatment has to be the same otherwise it's considered as discrimination if you privilege one group of people or another one based on ethnic background, the country they are from, or the skin colors," says Feuillard.

The mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, noted that the EU had granted "temporary protection" to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

"The difference is that Ukrainians are in a regularised situation," the mayor said.

William Feuillard disagrees with this argument.

"All the arguments that were told on why they were treated differently, none of them make sense. Some say Ukrainians have papers and Afghans don't for example, but both have their passport."

UK visas

But even for Ukrainians, the welcome does not necessarily extend beyond Calais.

The British government has created two pathways for Ukrainians -- family reunions with relatives already in Britain, and a new "sponsorship" scheme for organisations and individuals to bring in others.

But the application process is complex and ever-changing.

Of the 625 Ukrainians who applied for a visa in the Pas-de-Calais region to join their family in the UK since the beginning of the war, 306 have been rejected by the British authorities, the French local authorities said on Tuesday.

The local delivery of UK visas to Ukrainians has turned into a new source of tension between Britain and France.

France's Interior Minister Gerard Darmanin on 5 March accused Britain of a "lack of humanity" after saying that 150 Ukrainian refugees were turned back at the Channel port.

Britain then said last week it was sending visa officers to Calais to help expedite the processing of visas for Ukrainians.
Commercial drivers across the country have threatened naked demonstration if government fails to reduce the price of petroleum products this week.

According to the commercial drivers, come next week, if the price of the commodity is not reduced in parity with the current economic hardships in the country, they will be compelled to storm the private residence of the sitting president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the private residence of the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta to register their displeasure about the spiraling price of the commodity and return to Kwame Nkrumah Circle with their naked demonstration.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Concerned Drivers Association of Ghana, Nana Yaw Kwakye made this disclosure on the back of speculations that petrol price will be increased to GHS 11 per litre for Diesel and GHS 10 per litre for petrol.

Earlier the drivers had said the GHS8.44 mark per litre of petrol is highly abnormal and causing an unbearable hardship on them.

According to the drivers, the continuous increment should never be justified by the government with the Russia-Ukraine war and the continuous falling of the potency of the Cedi against the US dollar.

In their view, the tax component on the price of a litre of petrol is a major contributor to the abnormal rate.

We strongly believe that the taxes, when removed, will aid the reduction of the price of petrol. It must be noted that one major promise of this government was to remove the taxes on petrol, the concerned drivers noted in a statement.

They reminded President Nana Akufo-Addo that Ghana is an oil-producing country and so we possess every right to call on the government to have petrol subsidised for us in circumstances where the world market price rises.

President Akufo-Addo should remember that in opposition, he promised to during a campaign tour at Kwame Nkrumah Circle that, he was going to reduce petrol prices for us should we vote for him. Today, he is in his second term as President but has deliberately chosen to forget about that key promise. Its about time he woke up from his slumber to act quickly, the statement said.

The drivers have given the President and his government a one-week ultimatum to have the price of petrol reduced or together with their allies such as GPRTU, Co-Operative, PROTOA and Cargo Drivers, they will mass up and block the entrances of his Nima residence to prevent him from going out.

Yes, that action is just one out of many radical demonstrations well embark upon to press on the president to have the prices reduced as we are considering also the blocking of all major roads with our vehicles.

Amidst the continuous precarious petrol prices, the drivers are also calling on all Ghanaians to stand with them devoid of partisanship as we fight for a more relaxed arrangement to be made by the government

Source: Classfmonline.com
The Supreme Court has said it cannot make a determination on a case brought before it by journalist Richard Sky by which he sought the highest court of the land to make a determination on the two separate and opposing decisions taken by the minority and majority caucuses of parliament  in their respective lone sittings  with regard to the rejection and later approval of the 2022 budget statement.

A nine-member panel presided over by Justice Yonny Kulendi said on Wednesday, 16 March 2022 that the apex court had already made a determination on Article 102 and 104 of the 1992 Constitution as far as a quorum for voting on the floor of parliament was concerned and, thus, could not make a judgment on Mr Skys case.

The journalist filed his writ challenging the separate decisions of the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Alban Bagbin; and First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Joe Osei-Owusu, to allow 137 members of parliament to vote to reject and approve, respectively, the 2022 budget.

On Friday, 26 November 2021, Mr Bagbin allowed 137 Minority MPs to vote on the budget.

The Minority-alone sitting rejected the budget but the Majority caucus said what the Speaker did was unconstitutional because 137 MPs were less than half the members of parliament and, thus, could not form a quorum to vote on the budget as they purported to have done.

The Minority, however, insisted the Speaker did nothing wrong and said their rejection of the budget was legal and constitutional.

To this end, Mr Sky is prayed the Supreme Court to declare the action of the Speaker illegal.

Mr Sky sought the following reliefs:

1. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 104(1) of the Constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana, the Speaker of parliaments decision on 26 November 2021 to invite members of parliament of Ghana to determine the matter of whether or not to accept or reject the 2022 budget statement and economic policy of the government of Ghana, when he knew or ought to have known that at all material times there were less than half of all members of parliament of Ghana present, violated article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana, especially so when the Speaker had announced immediately before the vote was taken that there were 137 members of parliament of Ghana present in parliament out of the total number of 275 members of parliament of Ghana.

2. A declaration that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana, the purported determination by 137 members of parliament of Ghana out of the total number of 275 members of parliament of Ghana on 26 November 2021, purporting to reject the 2022 budget statement and economic policy of the government of Ghana violated article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana.

3. An order setting aside the purported vote by 137 members of parliament of Ghana out of the total number of 275 members of parliament of Ghana on 26 November 2022, which vote purported to react the 2022 budget statement and economic policy of the government of Ghana, for violating article 104(1) of the constitution 1992 of the Republic of Ghana.

Following the purported overturning of the Minoritys rejection of the budget and its subsequent passage by a Majority-alone parliament on 30 November 2021, Mr Sky filed a separate writ at the same court for an order setting aside the purported vote by parliament on 30 November 2021, which vote purported to approve the 2022 budget and economic policy statement of the government of Ghana for violating the relevant provisions of Article 104(1) and the spirit of the Constitution, 1992, of the Republic of Ghana.

Source: Classfmonline.com
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to immediately rescind its decision for its members to pay 10 percent of their basic salaries as rent for staying in government bungalows.

The GES has directed teachers living in all government bungalows to get ready for the deduction of 10 per cent of their basic salaries as rent.

The deduction is expected to take effect from March 1, 2022.

A letter dated March 11, 2022, circulated to metro, municipal and district directors of education and all heads of Senior High School noted that the move is in line with efforts to streamline rent payment anomalies

Reacting to the directive, in a statement issued on Tuesday, 15 March 2022, by the association and signed by its General Secretary Thomas T Musah, GNAT said: For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to remind the GES of Section 21(i) of the Collective Agreement, 2009 which deals with staff accommodation and states without equivocation that, headmasters, senior housemistresses, principal etc shall be provided with free residential accommodation

It cautioned further that the association will resist any attempts to enforce the directive.

Any attempt to implement this would be resisted fiercely, and the industrial peace we are enjoying on the educational front could be jeopardised, the statement noted.

It added that: We are therefore by this write up demanding, that the Ghana Education Service withdraws this action or move to ensure serene and conducive teaching and learning in the schools, for the collective benefits all.

Anything short of this, could be risky, and we may not be able to contain it.

Source: classfmonline.com
French energy company TotalEnergies is leaving Myanmar without any financial compensation, handing over operation of the Yadana gas field to the Thai energy company PTTEP. The company is also under pressure to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

"TotalEnergies has chosen to withdraw from Myanmar without seeking any financial compensation for its assets," the company said in a statement Wednesday, two months after it announced it was leaving Myanmar, under pressure from human rights groups to cut ties with the military junta that has been running the country since a coup last February.

The company said that PTTEP  a unit of Thailand's majority state-owned energy firm PTT  will take over operations of the Yadana gas field in the Andaman Sea, which provides electricity to Myanmar and Thailand.

PTTEP said that "continuity in gas production and preventing disruption to energy demand" was of utmost importance.

Human Rights Watch says revenue from the gas field is the single largest source of foreign currency revenue for the junta, which has cracked down on protesters.

According to financial documents, TotalEnergies, which has been in Myanmar since 1992, had paid about 230 million dollars in taxes and production rights to Myanmar officials in 2019, and 176 million dollars in 2020.

American company Unocal-Chevron also announced in January it was planning on pulling out of Myanmar, but has so far remained, and will receive its share of TotalEnergie's shares.

Other international companies, including French renewable energy firm Voltalia and British American Tobacco have also pulled back from Myanmar since the coup.

Pressure to leave Russia

TotalEnergies is also facing pressure from from activist investors and NGOs to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Two French NGOs have threatened the company with legal action over possible human rights abuses unless it cuts its business ties with Russia.

TotalEnergies holds a 19.4 percent stake in Russian gas producer Novatek, and also holds, directly or via Novatek, major liquefied natural gas assets and projects.

Greenpeace France and Les Amis de la Terre (Friends of the Earth) France, in a letter to TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne, said the company was "incomplete and insufficient" in addressing human rights violations perpetrated by Russia, which it is legally required to do under a 2017 French law requiring multinationals to be vigilant about violations of human rights associated with their commercial activities in countries affected by armed conflict.

The groups warned TotalEnergies that a French legal entity and its directors may be held criminally liable for complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The company has condemned Russia's aggression, but has not followed the example of British peers BP and Shell that are withdrawing from Russia.

French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal said TotalEnergies was respecting European Union sanctions against Russia, including a call for no new investments in the country.

(with wires)
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Bolgatanga District Court in the Upper East Region has remanded into police custody the 18 suspects who were arrested over the killing of an 81-year-old Fulani horse trader at Kozezi, a suburb of Bawku.

17 out of the 18 suspects have been charged for possession of ammunition and discharge of firearms without lawful authority and possession of substances suspected to be narcotics.

The remaining suspect was charged with murder, but his counsel did not turn up in court.

The prosecution, ASP Joseph Kunsong, prayed the court to remand the suspects into police custody for a full investigation into the matter before the commencement of trial.

But counsel for the accused person, Mohammed Tahiru Nambe, prayed the court to grant the suspect bail. They added that, the suspects when granted bail will always report when called upon to aid a speedy trial.

However, the Bolga District Court presided over by His Worship Mawukoenya Nutekpor, refused the bail application, and remanded them into police custody.

He adjourned the next hearing to March 30, 2022. Speaking to Citi News, Counsel for the suspects, Mohammed Nambe, expressed his disappointment over the bail refusal but was hopeful his clients could be favoured at the next hearing.

I am not satisfied with the outcome of the court because I actually applied for bail for my clients, but the bail was denied. However, the judge intimated that the next adjourned date which we shall be coming on March 30, 2022, he may consider granting them the bail.

---citinewsroom
Experts see signs of recovery in realty data

By WANG YING in Shanghai (China Daily) 15:33, March 16, 2022

Potential homebuyers gather at a real estate agency in Dalian, Liaoning province, in October. [Photo by Liu Debin/for China Daily]

The latest property investment and sales data from the National Bureau of Statistics indicate that a recovery in both supply and demand is taking shape, boding well for further market stabilization in the coming months, industry experts said on Tuesday.

China's investment in property development rose 3.7 percent year-on-year to 1.45 trillion yuan ($227.4 billion) in the first two months.

Investment in residential buildings alone rose by 3.7 percent year-on-year to about 1.08 trillion yuan, NBS data showed.

The stable real estate investment data suggest the fundamentals of the property sector are stabilizing, though there remains certain pressure in liquidity, said Pan Hao, senior analyst with the Beike Research Institute.

"In order to boost the stabilization of the property market and enhance confidence of homebuyers, joint efforts are required by real estate developers, local governments as well as financial institutions," Pan said.

Industry analysts said the real estate financing environment has improved of late. Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, also said as much during a State Council Information Office news conference on March 2. "The real estate sector's bubbling and financialized trends have been fundamentally reversed," Guo said at the time.

In January and February, new property development amounted to 149.67 million square meters, down 12 percent year-on-year-this is perhaps a reflection of the capital pressure on real estate developers and the attendant market adjustment, said Chen Wenjing, deputy director of research with the China Index Academy.

But, consistent improvement in the property credit environment could mean property enterprises' capital flows will likely also improve down the line, Chen said.

From January to February, commercial housing sales fell nearly 10 percent year-on-year in terms of floor area to about 157 million sq m and declined 19 percent to 1.55 trillion yuan in terms of value, NBS data showed.

Sales volume, however, has grown mildly in comparison with growth in the same period of 2017 and 2019, showing market confidence is getting boosted, thanks to measures like local governments' specialized policies, provident fund loans, loans borrowed from commercial banks and favorable housing policies to attract talent, Pan said.

Since the beginning of the year, under the guideline of fully releasing homebuyers' demand and satisfying rational home-buying requirements, many Chinese cities announced measures to stabilize their housing markets.

In addition, improvements made to the financing and credit environment to support rational demand as well as property developers' proactive offerings are creating a positive outlook for the home market in coming months, said Yan Yuejin, director of Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institution.

The market recovery cannot be realized without appropriate measures and stable supply and demand, said Chen.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Ukrainian children fleeing the horrors of war are being hurriedly enrolled in French schools under a national reception plan that prioritises language lessons and trauma counselling for refugees aged between 3 and 11.

So far almost 800 young people have been welcomed into creches, kindergartens, primary and high schools many of which already have existing programmes for teaching French to foreign children.

Conjugating verbs and learning maths is off the curriculum for the Ukrainians. Instead, teachers are given educational resources instructing them how best to speak with children about Ukraine and their sudden displacement.

"We try to get them to talk, to learn words so that they can introduce themselves, Anne-Laure, a parent volunteer in a primary school in Senlis, northern France, told Europe 1 radio.

We do this using simple but useful phrases to establish a first contact  This will also allow us to understand how they feel.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer this week said crisis cells had been set up in every local education authority as part of the reception plan.

On Tuesday he chatted with Ukrainian children during a visit to a primary school outside of Paris alongside the President's wife, Brigitte Macron.

To help integrate the children, the government said it would involve parents by opening free municipal courses to teach them French and the "values of the republic".

Obstacles

Despite swift efforts to get Ukrainians into the French school system, many obstacles remain. And, with the number of refugees expected to triple in the coming days, the job is far from over.

Blanquer's plan has yet to be finalised and some schools  including the Ecole Polyvalente Eva Kotchever in Paris  are only able to act as emergency reception centres, with zero interaction between the school's own teachers and pupils.

It's a system that is evolving from day to day, said Helene Soupios-David, of the NGO France Terre d'Asile, which has been running reception centres that find emergency accommodation for Ukrainian refugees.

Schooling is a right for all these people, but it is difficult to provide schooling for people who are in emergency accommodation and who will have to move, she told French daily Liberation.

Paris plan

Meanwhile the city of Paris has been rolling out its own scheme to integrate Ukrainian children. It involves dedicated nursery schools and creches for young children, as well as free access to school canteens.

Publicly run child protection centres, known as PMIs, will also offer free consultations and psychological support to children and families.

Of the roughly 2.8 million people who have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion, some 13,900 have arrived in France so far.

The government says it now has the means to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees on French soil, as authorities continue to work on scenarios that would allow the country to take in more.

Read also:
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Civil and Local Government Staff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) has filed a writ at the High Court challenging the appointment of Mrs Henrietta Lamptey, the new Registrar of the Births and Deaths Registry.

The writ is between CLOGSAG and the Minister for Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) as First Defendant; the Head of Civil Service, Second Defendant; the Head of the Public Services Commission, Fourth Defendant and the Attorney General as the Fifth Defendant.

Among the reliefs, CLOSAG is seeking a declaration that the Births and Deaths Registry is a Civil Service Institution, and further or in the alternative, a declaration that the Second Defendants, the Head of Civil Service, must have an input in the appointment of the Registrar of the Births and Deaths as provided by law.

CLOGSAG is further asking the High Court to declare Madam Henrietta lamptey's appointment as unlawful and void for lack of advice from the Head of Civil Service in consultation with the Public Services Commission.

The Association, as part of the reliefs, is also seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain Mrs Henrietta Lamptey, her agents, servants, assigns, workmen and others claiming through them from recognising her appointment or purporting to recognise her appointment.

Mr Issac Bampoe Addo, Executive Secretary, CLOGSAG, speaking at a media briefing, said the political appointment of the Registrar of Births and Deaths should be reversed with the Government, as a matter of urgency, bringing sanity to the Births and Deaths Registry.

Should this fail, CLOGSAG shall use any means whatsoever at its disposal to rectify the situation at the Births and Deaths Registry, he said.

Mrs Henrietta Lamptey, a Research and Development Practitioner, was appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as Registrar for the Births and Deaths Registry.

Prior to her appointment, she worked with the MLGDRD and ActionAid Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation.

Her appointment was in accordance with Article 195 of the 1992 Constitution, which requires the President to appoint a Registrar of the Births and Deaths and Section two of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2020 (Act 1027).

As part of her functions, the Registrar is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the affairs of the Registry and shall keep and maintain the national registry of births, faetal deaths and deaths.

However, the Executive Secretary of CLOGSAG, said at a meeting on Friday, March 11, 2022, that its National Executive had noted the unlawful appointment of a non-civil servant to replace a civil servant who was acting as the Registrar, and the improper instruction from the Minster of Local Government and Rural Development to the Acting Registrar to hand over to Madam Henrietta Lamptey within ten days.

The Executive Secretary said the Association had also noted the hurried manner Madam Lamptey was introduced by the Deputy Minister of MLGDRD to the staff of the Registry before the date for the handing over.

He averred that the Birth and Deaths Registry was part of the Civil Service and the Local Government Service, citing Section 8(1)(a) of Act 1027, which states that a district office of the Registry was a Department of the District Assembly, which was also part of the Local Government Structure.

He further stated that Madam Lamptey's appointment was not in accordance with the advice of the Civil Service Council, referencing Article 195 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, which gave the power of appointment to the President to appoint persons to hold or act in an office in the Public Service in accordance with the Governing Council concerned and in consultation with the Public Services Commission.

Mr Addo said the blatant disregard for procedures of appointment into the Civil Service and the Local Government Service as well as the neutrality principle were unwarranted and regrettable.

The Executive Secretary told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that some 20 members of CLOGSAG had been dismissed for their involvement in political party activities in 2021 and said it was wrong for a known Personal Assistant to the former Minister of MLGDRD to be appointed as Registrar of Births and Deaths because it is in clear violation of a Supreme Court ruling.

He said, a person appointed as Registrar must have the requisite qualification and experience in civil registration.

GNA
Think Tank Baskin Africa have suggested to the Government of Ghana to immediately scrap the Special Petroleum Tax, Price Stabilization Levy and BOST margins in order to relieve the poor from the scorch of the fuel price hikes.

According to Baskin Africa, it is profoundly worried about the sporadic increases in the prices of petroleum products within the last couple of weeks.

In a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese, said government must use the windfall from the sale of crude oil in time the prices peak above the benchmark price as a flexible subsidy.

It also urged Government to revive the Tem Oil Refinery (TOR) to start refining some of the country's crude. "This will largely net out the pressure from the depreciation of the cedi which is currently one of the biggest factors influencing the price hikes."

Find the full statement below:

Press Release

For Immediate Release

16th March, 2022

THE GOVERNMENT MUST STABILIZE PRICES OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS USING THE WINDFALL ON THE SALE OF CRUDE

Baskin Africa, just like most Ghanaians, is profoundly worried about the sporadic increases in the prices of petroleum products within the last couple of weeks. The average Ghanaian is becoming increasingly hopeless as a result and the hardships keep compounding each passing day.

We admit that the Russia-Ukraine war has a toll on prices of crude in the world market. Brent crude is selling between $98.53 and $100.56, creating a windfall for the government. Mind you, the government benchmarked prices at $61 in the 2022 budget, so any price above this will constitute the windfall.

In 2015, when government had a deficit in the middle of the year as a results of a huge decline in prices of crude as low as about $28, the Special Petroleum Levy was introduced to make up for the deficit. So, if the citizens are taxed to fill in a gap when its created as a result of a shortfall between the benchmark prices and the actuals, then it is only fair for us to expect a subsidy when there is a windfall such as this.

It is becoming evident that the government is unapologetically insensitive and untruthful to the suffering masses. To cite the partial deregulation policy as the basis for the current situation of having to offload all the cost on the consumer is unfair and insensitive. The deregulation policy is partial since government still control prices through taxes, levies and margins.

It is worthy of note that price build up is made of exogenous factors (ie prices of crude, exchange rate and freight) and endogenous factors (ie taxes, levies and margins). To a very large extent, the government doesnt have control over the exogenous factors except for exchange rate, but it has total control over the endogenous factors. So, a sensitive government will brilliantly manipulate the taxes, levies and margins in times like this in order to cushion the already suffering masses.

The narratives from government are mostly tainted with untruths and insincerity. The only interest of government in these hard times is how to maximize revenues at the expense of the poor people. By so doing, it reneges on its core mandate of fulfilling its part of the social contract by ensuring economic and social security for especially the poor majority.

In view of this, Baskin Africa suggests three possible ways of stabilizing the prices of petroleum products to cushion the masses:

1. The government must use the windfall from the sale of crude oil as the prices peak above the benchmark price as a flexible subsidy.

2. Government must immediately scrap the Special Petroleum Levy, Price Stabilization Levy and BOST margins in order to create some breath for the poor masses.

3. Government should revive the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to start refining some of our crude, this will largely net out the pressure from the depreciation of the cedi, which is currently one of the biggest factors influencing the price hikes.

The first two suggestions should be an immediate and short term solution while government explores the third option as a long term solution.

-Signed-

Issifu Seidu Kudus Gbeadese

(Executive Secretary-Baskin Africa)

Contact: 0244198031
A Cape Coast High Court has granted Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, the Omanhen of Oguaa Traditional Area's plea to resolve a misunderstanding between the Mayor of Cape Coast, Mr Ernest Arthur and Mr George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cape Coast South for peace to reign.

The Omanhen intervened by appealing to the Court to set aside an earlier judgement on a defamation suit against Mr Ricketts-Hagan and prayed the Court to give him three weeks to resolve and give it the feedback.

The Court, presided over by Justice Mrs Patience Mills-Tetteh, after granting the request, awarded GH1,000.00 general damages in favour of Mr Arthur.

On Monday, February 7, the Cape Coast High Court II, in a default judgement, ordered Mr Ricketts-Hagan to within three weeks retract a defamatory statement he made against the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) through a press conference and also render an apology to him.

The Court also awarded general damages in the sum of GH 100,000.00 and a cost of GH5,000.00 in favour of Mr Arthur against the MP.

The MCE on Tuesday, October 26, 2021, filed a defamation suit against the MP, following what he described as 'defamatory comments' about him by Mr Ricketts-Hagan after his confirmation as MCE.

In reference to a press conference held by Mr Ricketts-Hagan after the confirmation of Mr Arthur, the MP was alleged to have used unsavoury words to describe the MCE, saying he was unfit to lead the Metropolis.

In the writ, Mr Arthur prayed the Court to restrain Mr Ricketts-Hagan, his agents from further publishing defamatory statements against his person.

A statement of claim accompanying the writ of the MCE said the defendant Ricketts -Hagan, knew that the statements he published about him were untrue but went ahead to do the same.

Mr Arthur said in the writ that although he was successfully approved by the Assembly members as MCE, the MP was bent on tarnishing his image with unprintable words.

The claim said the statements were made in an environment where the plaintiff (MCE) was well known and was still performing his political duties.

Mr Arthur said the statements by Mr Ricketts-Hagan which were broadcast in the media nationwide had seriously injured his reputation and brought it into public ridicule and contempt.

Briefing the media after the Court's decision to allow the Omanhen to settle the case, Mr George Justice Arthur, the Cape Coast South Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), said the MP had filed a motion on Tuesday, March 15 to pray the Court set aside the earlier judgement.

He claimed that the MP was not aware of the suit against him by the MCE adding that the Omanhen initially settled the case but welcomed the second settlement as a great move.

GNA
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The wind of political instability for some time now has been blowing across the continent, especially the West African Sub-region.

Countries like Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Niger and Guinea Bissau have already come under the scourge of destabilising force of this political turmoil with the aforementioned countries suffering the toppling of their democratically elected governments toppled by the military.

In a bid to justify their unconstitutional act, these soldiers and their acolytes, cite economic hardships and mismanagement as the basis for ousting their elected leaders from office.

The wave of these occurrences ordinarily, should have raised concerns for all lovers of democracy.

However, in Ghana, the situation which ordinarily should have led to condemnation have rather elicited very worrying comments, statements, presentations and social media posts all with the aim of inciting same here.

The worrying aspect of this is that some of the persons behind these comments are highly placed persons in society and persons who should know better.

Oliver Barker Vormawor, a former Presidential Staffer under the erstwhile Mahama administration recently threatened to stage a coup himself, should the government go ahead and pass the proposed e-levy bill.

He even went ahead to insult the military for failing to take a cue from their counterparts in the Sub-region.

Similarly, a Professor of law, and a former executive secretary to former President John Mahama, Raymond Atuguba rather surprisingly, has also re-echoed same sentiments basing his argument on the prevailing economic conditions in the country.

These comments are not only intended to instigate and prepare the minds of the populace, but backward and treasonable, and ought to be taken seriously by the National Security.

The recent outburst of Prof. Raymond Atuguba in particular cannot be taken lying low because the very economic conditions based on which he makes his assertion prevailed under the government in which he served if not worst.

Under their watch, many businesses collapsed as a result of the unprecedented power outages popularly known as dumsor that threw many into unemployment.

It is therefore quite disturbing that today, the likes of Prof. Raymond Atuguba believes that the current economic challenges should warrant a coup and yet fails to remind themselves of the abysmal performance of the immediate past NDC government of which he was a cabinet member.

Prof Atuguba and his kind's assertions smack of political ventriloquism and must be condemned by well meaning Ghanaians. People had issues with how his(Atuguba) party the NDC government handled the economy but did not call for a coup, Ghanaians rather waited for the constitutional four year mandate to mature and voted them out through the ballot box and not the barrel of the gun.

As a university scholar in the field of law and legal education, he ought to know better and be the last person to advocate for a coup as an alternative to constitutional governance.

Rather interestingly and shockingly,in the foregoing melee is the loud silence of the civil society organizations (CSOs) and their think tanks in the country, who have been critical of government on many fronts on the governance.

These CSOs very often are vociferous in their condemnation of government or government actors, yet have remained conspicuously absent with their voices in relation to the distasteful presentation by Prof. Atuguba.

Ghana belongs to all Ghanaians and those comments by sections of the populace, especially those entrusted with responsibility aimed at psyching the minds of people into causing chaos in the country, should be a matter of serious concern to all.

It appears that those fanning the coup sentiments and hoping for any form of pandemonium to befall this country, tend to forget that, they could also be negatively affected and targeted when there is a coup d'etat.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, shares some common traits with Russias despotic leader, Vladimir Putin.

Putin, with his sanguineous mindset, has rather attacked a weaker vessel in the shape of Ukraine when his target has always been the United States of America.

Putin knows, deep in the hazy recesses of his mind, that the US-led NATOs decision to absorb Ukraine into its fold is responsible for his invasion of Ukraine.

He also knows that he cannot withstand the might of the US militarily and so, has chosen to unleash his frustrations on Ukraine.

Lets hone in on Bagbin. The Supreme Court, upon a case brought before it by an NDC lawyer, Justice Abdullai, ruled that Deputy Speakers must not lose their votes when presiding as a Speaker in the House of Parliament.

Many Ghanaians expected that if Bagbin would make a comment at all, it ought not to be the rather emotive, shallow, nonsensical and pathetic submission he wrote.

What is so strange in this whole debacle is the reason behind Bagbin choosing to attack President Akufo-Addo instead of the Supreme Court that came up with the judgment.

Bagbin described President Akufo-Addos commentary on the judgment as myopic and unfortunate, Akufo-Addo who did not bring forth the decision in the Supreme Court.

What is so clear to me is the fact that Bagbin is so afraid of the Supreme Courts Justices as he could be summoned for contempt charges and so, he had to go after Akufo-Addo who does not have the power to summon him for contempt.

Bagbin chooses to attack Akufo-Addo when he should have directed his attacks on the Supreme Court, the same way Putin has attacked Ukraine instead of the much powerful United States.

Alban Bagbin also forgot about his own submissions about the need for the Supreme Court to be petitioned to interpret the very matter Justice Abdullai went there with and when same was done and the judgment not appealing to him, he is changing his position and heaping vitriol on innocent Akufo-Addo.

If Alban Bagbin is the man he claims to be, he should go after the Supreme Court adopting the same style used to attack Akufo-Addo and see what would happen. Cowards die many times before their death, Shakespeare might have had Bagbin in mind when he authored this line.

P.K.Sarpong, Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration says the demolition of a facility on the premises of the Bulgarian Embassy in Accra was carried out by a private developer without the involvement of government.

Government has got no hand in whatever the developer is doing, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, stressed at a press conference on Wednesday.

He noted that efforts by the government over the period to halt the encroachment of the land belonging to the Bulgarian Embassy in Accra have proven unsuccessful.

At a press conference, Mr. Ampratwum- Sarpong said, although there are legal documents backing ownership of the land in question by the Bulgarian Embassy, the private developer has failed to heed notices to stop work on the site.

Outlining circumstances that led to the encroachment of the land some five years ago, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong, said workers seen on the site would be arrested.

The Ministry has also formally notified the Minister for Justice and Attorney General to take appropriate action on the encroachment on the subject property, he said.

The Minority caucus in parliament earlier demanded a public parliamentary probe into the demolition of the Bulgarian Embassy building in Ghana five years ago.

Find below the full statement from the ministry

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE DEMOLITION OF THE BULGARIAN EMBASSY

The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration has been drawn to an issue that appeared on social media on 16th March, 2022 regarding the demolition of the Bulgarian Embassy in Accra.

The Ministry wishes to seize this opportunity to set the records straight on the property in question and the circumstances of the demolition.

The Bulgarian Embassy leased the subject property from the late Theophilus Kofi Leighton in 1st February 1979, which lease was extended from 1983 for fifty (50) years for which an amount of One Million Old Ghana Cedis was paid by the Embassy with the option of renewal for another fifty (50) years. The lease expires in 2033.

Upon the demise of the landlord, the Administrator of the Estate of the late Kofi Leighton attempted to forcefully repossess the property over alleged non-payment of rent arrears by the Bulgaria Embassy notwithstanding the latter's full payment for the lease to the late Leighton.

Mindful of its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 concerning host states' obligation to the inviolability of the premises of diplomatic missions, the Ministry summoned the parties to a meeting for an amicable settlement of the matter.

Dissatisfied with the conciliatory approach of the Ministry at resolving the issue, the Administrator of the Estate of the late Leighton went to the High Court with a writ for declaration of title to the property housing the Bulgarian Embassy; payment of accumulated rent arrears; and order for ejection and recovery of possession of the property.

Part of those reliefs was granted by the High Court. However, upon appeal, the Court of Appeal reversed the High Court's decision.

The case traveled all the way to the Supreme Court. In its judgment, the Apex Court reaffirmed the holdings of the Appeal Court, dated 21st July 2011, which overturned the decision of the High Court and affirmed the right of the Bulgarian Embassy in the leased property.

The above judgment of the Supreme Court notwithstanding, the Successor of the late Leighton sold the leased property to a private developer, who later encroached on it.

Still committed to its obligations under public international law, the Ministry, upon being informed of the encroachment of the Bulgarian Embassy, invited the parties and their lawyers to a series of meetings in January this year which were aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

At those meetings, the Ministry referred the trespasser to the ruling of the Supreme Court, which reaffirmed the right of the Embassy in the unexpired residue of its lease. The parties were also encouraged to reach a mutually agreed settlement on the reimbursement of the amount of the residue of lease due to the Bulgarian Mission.

The Ministry has also formally notified the Minister for Justice and Attorney General to take appropriate action on the encroachment on the subject property.

---citinewsroom
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The Supreme Court has adjourned to March 29, the hearing of an injunction application against James Gyekye Quayson, Assin North Member of Parliament.

The seven member panel adjourned the injunction following the filing of a review application in relation to ruling of the court on March 8 and application for stay of proceedings.

Quayson's Lawyer, Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, informed that Court about the two applications when the Court resumed sitting.

The Court had formally slated today, Wednesday to commence hearing of the injunction application filed by Mr Michael Ankomah Nimfah, a resident of the constituency against the MP.

On March 8, the Supreme Court ordered the legislator to file his defence in the case after it had ruled that the MP had been sufficiently given notice of the case following publication of a substituted service in the Daily Graphic Newspaper.

A letter from one of the lawyers of Quayson who also applied for the court processes also indicated the MP was also aware of the matter.

Mr Nimfah is praying the court to restrain the MP from holding himself as such.

This follows the judgement of a Cape Coast High Court barring him from holding himself as a legislator.

The Cape Coast High Court held that the MP held allegiance not only to Ghana.

The legislator, the Court said, held Canadian citizenship.

At the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice Victor Jones Dotse, presiding, indicated that the Chief Justice would empanel judges to hear the review application.

According to the Court, " in view of the filing of the review application and motion for stay of proceedings, hearing of the interlocutory injunction will be adjourned and depending on the outcome of the two applications, the panel will proceed to hear the substantive matter (injunction application)."

Earlier, the Court noted that the two applications were filed on Wednesday March 16.

Additionally, it came to the attention of the Court that, counsel for the MP, one Mr Terry Waja, had applied for the processes of the cmCourt on March 14.

Mr. Frank Davies, Counsel for Mr Nimfah, held that the two processes filed by Quayson's lawyer should not prevent the XmCourt from hearing the injunction application.

He drew the attention of the Court to the fact that its orders on March 8, 2022 were clear.

Mr. Godfred Yeboah Dame, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, held that the stay of proceedings application did not raise any serious issues to warrant a stay of proceedings.

A Cape Coast High Court in July, 2021, annulled the Assin North Parliamentary elections when it ruled that Mr Quayson owed allegiance to another country other than Ghana when filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.

Following the decision of the High Court, the MP had moved the Court of Appeal and subsequently to the Supreme court.

GNA
Many Ghanaians are calling on Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to break his silence on the economic situation of Ghana in recent times.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is a Ghanaian economist, a Former Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana, the current vice president of the Republic of Ghana and the chairman of the economic management team. With his background as an economist and the current chairman of the economic management team, Ghanaians are of the view, that he should be explaining the economic situation as it stands now than his silence.

Dr. Bawumia as the then vice presidential candidate to Nana Akuffo Addo, during the erstwhile government held a series of press conferences and public lectures to paint a picture of bad governance of the Mahama administration. In one of his lectures as published by one of the media houses, he said, the NDC did poorly as GDP only grew by 17% and per capita declined by 12%.

The loudmouth vice president continued to tell Ghanaians that the erstwhile administration introduced nuisance taxes for businesses and have also increased some existing taxes. He said the debt stock at the time was unsustainable at which time Ghanas debt stock stood at GHC105 billion in May 2016. In fact Ghanas debt stock raised to GHC122 billion at the end of December 2016. He even propounded a theory to mean that if the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you. At the time this theory was propounded, the exchange rate stood at GHC4.17 to $1 in December 2016. These pictures painted, made Ghanaians believed in Dr. Bawumia as the economic messiah. We were made to have understood that Dr. Bawumia and the NPP government will solve Ghanas economic woes.

There came 2017 where Ghanaians voted massively and gave their mandate to Dr. Bawumia and the NPP government.

Today the same problem articulated by the economic messiah still stairs in our faces whilst most of these economic indicators are ballooning and skyrocketing.

In five years of governance by the NPP as Dr. Bawumia chairs the economic management team, Ghanaians are witnessing worse and severe hardship as compared to the 8 years of governance of the Mills/Mahama regime. We are wondering how the remaining three years of this government will be like.

As at 15th March, 2022 the exchange rate for $1 is GHC8.00 approximately which is the weakest currency ever. (if the fundamentals are weak, the exchange rate will expose you), Ghanas debt stock moved from GHC122 billion in 2016 to GHC344 billion in 2022. Dr. Bawumia who is known to have answers to the 170 questions set by himself for economic solutions, is in March 2022, adding a whopping GHC222 billion to our debt stock in just five years of governance. Our debt to GDP ratio had stood at 55.94% after 8years of governance by the erstwhile administration now shot to 84.87% in just five years of the current administration. Fuel prices currently had made lot of Ghanaians pack their cars and it is the highest in 33 African countries, causing a general rise in price of economic activities and operational costs. Most public officials are making us to even believe, without the e-levy, the economy was going to crash. How all too soon a resilient economy crushing with e-levy.

In spite of these, Ghanaians are really worried about how Dr. Bawumia has kept quiet over the current economic situation. Hes gone on hibernation and we are extremely disturbed if this is the Bawumia we know. We are calling on him to provide the possible answers to the 170 questions he asked his predecessor. Economy, people say is not run from a textbook.

Bola Ray Jnr.

0246969345

Felix Levels.

0248692268

Social Activists

16th March, 2022.
The patronage of the local artifacts begins to hinge upwards as more Ghanaians and foreigners understand the work of arts for decorative purposes.

As the celebration of Ghana month, African day, and patriotic day catchup with schools, and organizations, many Ghanaians have developed a love for made-in-Ghana artifacts, Mr. Christopher Anaba Atogerege, an artifact seller in Tema has revealed.

Mr. Atogerege, in an interview in Tema said now Ghanaians are patronizing the made-in-Ghana artifacts as compared to some years back when most people who patronize artifacts were foreign tourists.

Everybody like to buy the items now, the people here even buy more than foreigners, now people see it as natural and African origin so they buy, he said.

He indicated that as a native of the Upper East Region, he was involved in working on peoples farms and at times as a herdsman to make ends meet, he however decided to branch into selling the northern originated artifacts some 22 years ago, and has since not regretted.

He said the market was often good, especially around the time that people needed the items to celebrate either national or continental events, adding however that there were some times that he might not sell anything for a week even when he hawks while on other days people either come to his house or phone him when they were in need of the artifacts.

Mr Atogerege said slippers for both males and females were handmade with animal skin - cow, sheep, and goats.

The base of the slippers made from car tyres, and the animal skins stitched on it, the furs on the skin were sometimes designed into Ghana national colours, and others to bring variety and beautify it.

Another product is the fly-whisk which he said is called Zore in Upper East, this is made from animal tails and used to complement traditional dressing.

He disputed the assertion that it contains some black power, explaining that most people used it as decorations in their vehicles, for dressing, and for traditional dance and masquerade displays.

There is no spirit or power in it, if so people will just be killing people, this is African dress we use it to just dress so I dont understand why people say so, he stated.

Mr Atogerege said in the olden days when guns were not available, our ancestors made use of bows and arrows to fight their enemies, saying, even though that era has passed, some security personnel and individuals are still interested in owning local weapons, therefore, the reason behind people buying bows and arrows.

He said the bow that was made out of wood that had the features like bamboo but has no hole in it, was being sold together with three arrows that served as the bullets, between GHC230.00 and GHC300.00.

A cutlass put into a specially made leather case mostly purchased by some security personnel as well as tanker and tipper truck drivers who used it to clear their path when traveling in the hinterlands and confronted with a situation that demands such usage of a cutlass.

A simple walking stick made from metal with a black leather wrapping with a long knife hidden in it is sold for GHC160.00. Explaining the concept behind the walking stick, he said it was mainly used by old men whose strength had diminished and could easily be attacked by criminals, therefore, the knife was to be used as protective equipment when needed.

Other products included pure leather bags, and hats made from elephant grass, or raffia palms, these products, the artifact seller said was more durable and lasted longer than the imitated ones from other countries who often used alternative raw materials to copy the original ones.

---CDA Consult
The Savannah Regional Manager of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dauda Mahama, has said the Savannah region in the year 2021 under review, achieved 50% active membership enrollment.

This he said was against the backdrop of a projected population of 653,266 eligible clients out of which a total of 329,445 clients were enrolled, representing 50% of the target population.

The Regional Manager made this disclosure during the 2021 Annual Performance Review meeting held at Damongo, the Savannah Regional capital.

According to him, the annual review meeting was a routine activity on the calendar of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) where operational activities regarding membership of all categories among others are peer reviewed with District Managers and staff.

Describing the performance as satisfactory, he admonished all District Managers and staff to accept criticism of any sort especially, in their service delivery and strive on that basis for improvement.

He said the ultimate goal was to achieve the theme, "sustaining the gains for universal health coverage".

On mobile renewals, the manager revealed that a total of 224,146 target population was allocated to the region of which the region was able to meet a total of 114,731, representing 51%.

He outlined some challenges the Authority was facing in the region including, illegal payments from service providers, NHIS members waiting to be sick before they renew their membership, poor network connectivity in some communities, service providers not renewing their credentials on time, the difficulty in merging members NHIS cards with the Ghana card due to personal Data mismatch among others.

The Claims Processing Centre Manager in charge of the Northern regions, Isaac Akonde, in an exclusive interview with this source on co-payments and illegal payments by health care providers said there was no justification whatsoever for illegal payments.

He pointed out that, "irrespective of the reason, an illegality is an illegality, notwithstanding how much one can justify it", adding that, every service provider has a service fact that they have signed with the NHIS to provide a certain set of services to its members where the NHIS will intend to reimburse same for those services rendered.

According to him, any service provider who has reason to believe that the services they rendered to clients are not matching with the cost of providing those services, should engage the National Health Insurance scheme rather than asking for money from the poor clients for whose reason the NHIS exist.

He said it is illegal for service providers to demand money from clients once the services are covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme, adding that, there is an avenue to engage with the necessary stakeholder where there is an excess cost rather than transferring the cost to the vulnerable poor patients.

Mr. Akonde further explained that some of the service providers complained of delays in paying their claims, reason they sometimes have to charge clients for the services rendered, stating that, there were frantic efforts to curb the situation by ensuring that claims were paid on time.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disclosed that his government is committed to scaling up investments to tackle road carnages in the country.

Ghana in the past weekend recorded multiple accidents in various regions that resulted in the death of at least 17 people.

Delivering a keynote address at the maiden edition of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Awards in Accra on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, President Akufo-Addo said although Ghana has come a long way, a lot more need to be done to address road safety challenges.

He said his government is committed to making additional investments in road safety initiatives to ensure lives are protected.

In Ghana, the government acknowledges that the current safety situation is not satisfactory but we remain committed to scaling up our investments in road safety initiatives and building partnerships that will help engineer improvements. We cannot rest on our ores, we must act timely and decisively to arrest the situation, President Akufo-Addo shared.

With other countries on the continent also faced with road carnage problems annually, the President who is also chair of ECOWAS urged other heads of states to take a cue from best practices around the world and adopt initiatives that will help combat road accidents.

My expectation is that this award ceremony will encourage our respective countries on the continent to learn from the best practices and experiences around the globe to tackle the road safety situation.

Let us be inspired by these awards and drive positive change in our respective countries, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo shared.

The primary objective of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award is to motivate key stakeholders including governments, the private sector, and civil society organisations to develop and implement innovative and outstanding initiatives to save lives.

The maiden edition was put together by the government of Ghana in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the United Nations Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Road Safety, and the African Transport Policy Programme (SSATP).

Subsequent award ceremonies, envisaged to be bi-annual could be held during a high-level event such as the ECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development or during a meeting of transport professionals such as the annual meeting of SSATP.
16.03.2022 LISTEN

The government of Ghana in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the United Nations Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Road Safety, and the African Transport Policy Programme (SSATP) on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, successfully held the maiden edition of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Awards.

Road crashes are disproportionately high in Africa compared to other regions of the world. The continent is said to lose over 300,000 people annually through road crashes despite its counties having the lowest levels of motorization in the world.

With statistics of road crashes on the continent very worrying, the primary objective of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award is to motivate key stakeholders including governments, private sector, and civil society organisations to develop and implement innovative and outstanding initiatives to save lives on Africas roads.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Awards ceremony in Accra today, Ghana President, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo called for action.

He charged governments of the various countries on the continent to as a matter of urgency learn from best practices around the world and implement key initiatives to tackle road accidents.

Without innovative approaches and initiatives, we will find it difficult to save lives on Africas roads. We need every African alive to support our development agenda. We need the energies, creativity, and the can-do attitude of the vibrant youth to build the Africa we want, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo implored.

The Ghana President who is also chair for ECOWAS said, My expectation is that this award ceremony will encourage our respective countries on the continent to learn from the best practices and experiences around the globe to tackle the road safety situation.

Let us be inspired by these awards and drive positive change in our respective countries.

On his part, Ghanas Minister in charge of Transport, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah expressed his gratitude to the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the United Nations Secretary-Generals Special Envoy for Road Safety, and the African Transport Policy Programme (SSATP) for the collaboration and support towards the organisation of this very important event.

He told the various government representatives present at the ceremony that as transport professionals and road safety advocates, assuming a more proactive and responsible attitude to deal with road safety challenges must be prioritised.

He admonished African governments to see accidents as avoidable and explore creative initiates to save lives.

This award scheme is, therefore, to motivate key stakeholders [governments, private sector, and civil society organisations] to develop and implement innovative and outstanding initiatives to save lives on Africas roads.

I, therefore, wish to use this opportunity to entreat all of you to put in your best efforts so that we can collectively improve the road safety situation on the African continent. We must recognise that road fatalities are no accident, it is avoidable and we should endeavour to help make our roads one of the safest in the world, Hon. Kwaku Ofori Asiamah shared.

Speaking at the Awards ceremony, Mr. ElHadji As Sy who is Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation emphasised that the only way the continent can achieve success in relation to tackling road accidents is through collaborations.

Leaving no one behind is key to achieving the SDGs and hence tackling road accidents must be prioritised, he indicated.

He further charged governments to take inspiration from the objectives of the Kofi Annan Road Safety Awards and push to win the battle against road accidents to save as many lives as possible.

The awards:

For the maiden edition, five awards were given out as Ghana picked the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award for Excellence in the implementation of the Africa Road Safety Action Plan.

The Republic of Namibia was awarded the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award for Leadership on the ratification of the Africa Road Safety Charter while the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award for Excellence in Road Safety Management went to Nigeria.

The awards for Leadership in Road Safety Digital Management and Leadership in Mobilising Resources for Road Safety went to Morocco and South Africa respectively.

Next edition:

Subsequent award ceremonies, envisaged to be bi-annual could be held during a high-level event such as the ECA Conference of Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development or during a meeting of transport professionals such as the annual meeting of SSATP.

Another possibility is to hold the award ceremony during the meeting of the AU Specialised Technical Committee on Transport, Transregional, and Interregional Infrastructure, Energy, and Tourism (STC-TTIIET).
As many as 382,875 companies were struck off under the relevant section of Companies Act till FY21, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

The exercise was conducted as part of a special drives taken by the Registrar of Companies under section 248 (1) of the Companies Act, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Rao Inderjit Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

Noting that the Companies Act has no definition of the term 'Shell Company', or a company without active business operations or significant assets, and in some cases, being used for illegal purposes such as tax evasion, money laundering, obscuring ownership, and benami properties, he said: "The Special Task Force set up by the government to look into the issue of 'Shell Companies" has, inter-alia, recommended the use of certain red flag indicators as alerts for identification of suspected 'Shell Companies'."

He said that the Registrar of Companies struck off those companies from the register of companies after following the due process of law where the official has reasonable cause to believe that those companies are not carrying on any business or operation for a period of two, immediately during the preceding financial year.

Furthermore, the Registrar of Companies also verified that such companies have not made any applications within such a period for obtaining the status of a dormant company under Section 455 of the Act, he added.

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.
Fixed deposit (FD)-holders as well as banks, which are part of the committee of creditors (CoC) in the resolution of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), have approached the Supreme Court challenging an order passed by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). Interestingly, the move by some members of the CoC, including Union Bank of India, State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), and Central Bank of India, is quite unusual since the NCLAT order gives banks more money than what they had initially bargained for.

Notably, in an appeal filed by 63 moons technologies, the NCLAT had directed that recoveries made in avoidance applications filed under Section 66 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) can only accrue for the benefit of the creditors.

In an order passed in January 2022, the NCLAT bench of justice M Venugopal (acting chairperson), VP Singh (member- technical) and Dr Ashok Kumar Mishra (member-technical), says, "...the present appeals ought to be allowed. The term in the resolution plan that permits the successful resolution applicant to appropriate recoveries, if any, from avoidance applications filed under section 66 of the IBC ought to be set aside. The resolution plan be sent back to the CoC for reconsideration on this aspect."

In its petition, 63 moons has alleged that Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Ltd has ascribed Re1 value against the assets worth Rs40,000 crore diverted fraudulently by the Wadhawans, erstwhile promoters of DHFL.

Read: DHFL Case: NCLAT Asks Committee of Creditors To Consider 63 Moon's Petition ) In a release, 63 moons says, "With this order, now the CoC have to reconsider the provision of section 66 of (IBC), which mandates that the benefit should go to all the creditors of DHFL. However, the CoC had, in its resolution plan, overlooked this provision to the benefit of the Piramal group. If CoC considers this without alteration of provision of section 66 of IBC, all creditors of DHFL will be benefited. 63 moons is the only company which challenged the decision of CoC in NCLAT." (

As a result of the NCLAT order, 63 moons and several other creditors stand to gain up to a whopping sum of Rs46,000 crore.

However, Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, which last September had acquired DHFL, also challenged the NCLAT order in the apex court. Piramal has made the CoC, 63 moons and the administrator appointed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as a party in its suit.

Industry experts are also amazed at the move by the banks to approach the Supreme Court against an order passed by NCLAT that would benefit the lenders. Many public sector banks (PSBs) in the CoC, facing the brunt of several non-performing assets (NPAs), would have received up to Rs46,000 crore on a platter without even having bargained for it. "One can only wonder what is the commercial wisdom behind challenging an order that gives you money without any effort?" they quipped.

The hearing is scheduled for 21 March 2022. The apex court will also hear the appeal filed by the Piramal group against the recent NCLAT order that ruled a stipulation in the DHFL resolution plan as 'illegal' regarding recovery of avoidance transactions.

Separately, FD-holders of DHFL have approached the Supreme Court over the resolution plan approved by NCLAT. FD-holders of DHFL have been unhappy with the resolution plan and have been seeking 100% repayment of their claims.

Quoting Vinay Kumar Mittal, a lead petitioner on behalf of the FD-holders, a report from The Hindu BusinessLine says, "A section of the fixed deposit holders of DHFL have filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the order by the NCLAT. We feel that the NCLAT is unjust."

Under the approved resolution plan, FD-holders received about Rs1,241 crore or 23% of their admitted claims of about Rs5,400 crore, the report says.

Earlier in September 2021, Piramal completed the acquisition of DHFL for Rs34,250 crore, which includes a cash component and NCDs (non-convertible debentures). It had upfront cash Rs14,700 crore and NCDs of Rs19,550 crore. The NCLT-approved plan shows 93.65% of financial creditors voted in favour of Piramal Capital & Housing Finance's Rs37,250 crore resolution plan.

DHFL also marked the first instance of a finance company being referred to the IBC process. At over Rs40,000 crore, the case had the highest ever public exposure to its liabilities because it enjoyed a high AAA credit rating almost until the collapse.

Piramal Capital & Housing Finance says it has retained over 3,000 employees of DHFL and is also adding over 2,000 new jobs in the merged entity.
The saga of a Siddhapurush / Himalayan yogi guiding decisions of the managing director (MD) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) drowned out new findings in another equally huge scam whose investigation is dragging exactly like the co-location (Colo) scam. The forensic audit of IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL), the largest step-down subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) which imploded in September 2018, was released just two days before the order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on NSE, but barely got any media coverage or detailed analysis.

ITNL had submitted Grant Thorntons (GTs) forensic audit of ITNL that runs to nearly 900 tedious pages of repetitive narration and, so, ends up dampening the enormity of lawlessness at IL&FS, ITNL and its 347 group entities. In many ways, IL&FS was exactly like NSE. An ostensibly professionally run company, set up by pedigreed institutions and banks with a luminous board that abdicated its fiduciary duties by delegating absolute power to the chairman/vice-chairman/managing director, while collecting very hefty sitting fees and huge perks. There was one big difference. IL&FS had several step-down holding companies that were listed on stock exchanges and ought to have been under better scrutiny by institutional investors, investment analysts and mutual funds but preferred to rely on dubious ratings.

ITNL, India's largest BOT (build-own-transfer) road asset owner, with approximately 13,100 lane-kilometres in its portfolio, claimed to take large infrastructure projects from conceptualisation through commissioning to operations and maintenance under public-private partnerships. IL&FS , the main holding company, had a 72% stake in ITNL and nearly 27% of the shares were held by the public. ITNL was the biggest step-down holding company and was listed on the exchanges.

The detailed documentation by GT, in a nutshell, shows that ITNL ( IL&FS Transportation Forensic Audit report Shows Gross Irregularities and Manipulation ) was essentially a Ponzi scheme that conducted circular transactions to fool statutory auditors, regulators and rating agencies, which enabled it to keep raising fresh money to hide its losses. The entire group, especially ITNL, has been in deep financial trouble since FY12-13 and managed to hide its losses through dubious financial transactions right until September 2018 when Moneylife first broke the news ( IL&FS defaults on Rs1,000 Crore Short-term Loan from SIDBI? ) that it had defaulted on a Rs1,000 crore loan to SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).

ITNL, like other entities, hid its losses by brazenly moving funds between hundreds of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) it had spawned, often on the same day. GT recreates several detailed money trails to establish that the provider of funds is the ultimate recipient as well. Email scans of key officials revealed that such financial trickery was routinely practised by the group with concurrence, and often under instructions, from senior management.

GT says that the road projects suffered a cost overrun of a whopping Rs8,077 crore because funds were taken out of the company. That an interest overrun in excess of Rs3,433.42 crore had often increased project costs. Short-term borrowings were blithely utilised for long-term funding and it also borrowed funds which were routed through mutual funds, fixed deposits, etc., and then ultimately invested into group companies (via loans or investments) The report details many specific instances of circular deals including a significant one of over Rs547 crore with IndusInd Bank involving IL&FS, ITNL and several SPVs. Excess bills, awarding contracts to parties without a proper bidding process, misrepresentation to lenders of the SPV projects by submitting inflated toll revenue estimates, compromised tender process, capricious selection of consultants, etc, have been meticulously documented in the report.

What do all these findings mean for quick resolution of the big IL&FS debacle? Very little. Action is equally slow along twin paths. The resolution and recovery process is supervised by the government-appointed board, led by banker Uday Kotak, which is not involved in looking at fraud and wrongdoing. In an affidavit before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the board had said that it would resolve a debt of Rs55,000 crore of the total outstanding debt of Rs99,355 crore as of 8 October 2018. It also hoped to reduce the number of group entities to less than 100.

The government moved a proposal for pro-rata distribution of about Rs16,200 crore almost two years ago and it was even approved by NCLAT. Unfortunately, hybrid resolution process under the Bankruptcy Act had led to endless, often legitimate, litigation and no money has been distributed. Over Rs7,099 crore of provident fund money remains stuck and a pro-rata scheme clearly suggests there will be a significant write-off.

Last March, the parliamentary standing committee on finance called for systemic change, noting that ...delays in the resolution process not only brings a steep value erosion to the bankers and other creditors but more importantly leaves the understanding of the lacunae in the system evasive. That is cold comfort to individuals, banks, funds and companies who lost money to fraud and are stuck with a deadening resolution process, instead of the speed that was promised by the Bankruptcy Act.

The criminal investigation is equally slow-moving. the serious frauds investigation office (SFIO) started with a bang but action has virtually come to a halt. A series of high-profile arrests, including those of former vice-chairman Hari Sankaran, Arun Saha, Ramesh C Bawa, K Ramchand and Mukund Sapre, have gone nowhere. It only shows India in poor light when arrests are not followed up with charge-sheets and timely litigation. More embarrassingly, there was no action against Ravi Parthasarathy, who controlled IL&FS with a close cabal of executives for over 25 years; he was finally arrested by the Tamil Nadu police based on the complaint of a private entity.

Meanwhile, new IL&FS frauds continue to erupt. Only yesterday (15th March), Punjab National Bank reported a fraud of Rs2,060 in IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company Ltd (ITPCL), which is already a bad loan following on Punjab & Sind Banks declaration of its Rs149 crore loan to the same company as a fraud. This is better known as the controversial Cuddalore power project in Tamil Nadu.

There is more complication and litigation likely in the Tamil Nadu water projects at Tirupur. Moneylife has earlier reported how Mauritius-based AIDQUA Holdings, a 27% stakeholder in New Tirupur Area Development Corporation (NTADCL), was among the earliest to blow the whistle on IL&FSs dubious dealings. NTADCL and its key shareholder AIDQUA Holdings remain deeply dissatisfied with the new board as well as Grant Thornton, the claims-management adviser. NTADCL has filed an intervention petition with NCLAT in Mumbai ( Exclusive: IL&FS Subsidiary NTADCL Dragged to the Appellate Tribunal; AIDQUA Steps Up the Pressure on Tirupur Water Project Woes ) as well as Chennai. AIDQUA Holdings also has litigations pending against IL&FS in the Supreme Court (SC) which never seem to come up for hearing and final disposal.

Unless the government works out a coherent process that pulls the IL&FS resolution out of the quagmire of endless, multi-level litigation, it could drag on for decades. As for the criminal investigation into fraud and wrongdoing, SFIO may simply bury the cases after initial action, because a deep-dive into IL&FS and its 340-odd subsidiaries would expose the corrupt and collusive role of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) bureaucrats who protected, nurtured and benefited from the lawless IL&FS.

Even with a Himalayan yogi stirring things up, the NSE investigation has carefully steered clear of exposing the role of finance ministry bureaucrats and appointees. In IL&FS, the number of colluding bureaucrats is so large and spread across so many states, that they were sarcastically referred to as the IL&FS cadre by those who refused to be co-opted.

Last year, the joint parliamentary committee on finance asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a systemic review to prevent future IL&FS-like disasters. What it ought to have done first was to suggest a faster, time-bound investigation and resolution process for large financial scams, including personal accountability of individuals responsible for wrongdoing or failure of fiduciary duties. It is important to remember that the special court in Mumbai, that was created to investigate the securities scam of 1992 (Harshad Mehta scam), continues to hear these cases 30 years later! The IL&FS scam will be no different, unless the government does something about it.
Starting March 12, maximum temperatures have increased over central India resulting in a heat wave to severe heat wave conditions in some parts of Saurashtra-Kutch, Konkan and west Rajasthan and heat wave conditions over eest Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, east Rajasthan, and Odisha.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday predicted continuation of the heat wave and severe heat wave over these regions.

Heat wave conditions to severe heat wave conditions are very likely to prevail in some parts of west Rajasthan till March 17 and heat wave conditions in isolated pockets are likely over the region on March 18.

The IMD also predicted heat wave conditions to heat wave conditions are very likely to prevail in isolated pockets over Konkan and Saurashtra-Kutch on March 16 while heat wave conditions is very likely to prevail in isolated pockets over Gujarat region, west Madhya Pradesh till March 17, over east Rajasthan on March 16 and 17, and over Odisha during March 16-18.

As the sun marches northwards and according to the climatology, the month of March is when the region extending from Maharashtra to Odisha is a heat zone. In its March to May seasonal forecast issued on March 1, the IMD had already predicted that it was expecting above normal maximum temperatures most likely over many parts of western and central India and hence a heat wave can be expected extending from south Gujarat to Maharashtra to Odisha.

On the reasons for the heat wave, IMD Director General, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told IANS: "The higher than normal temperatures are because of the wind flow pattern in these areas. The lower level winds in these areas are from south towards north and that brings hotter air from land (as against when north to south winds bring colder air).

The winds are southeasterly over southern peninsular area, mainly Karnataka, Telangana with some feeble circulation which is favouring the advent of heat from south to north Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and up to Vidarbha area of Maharashtra.

Mohapatra said, even for Saurashtra, Kutch and Rajasthan, the reason for heat wave conditions is southerly winds.

The IMD records show that the maximum temperatures recorded on March 14 were around 39-41 degrees Celsius over many parts of Gujarat and west Rajasthan, and 38-40 degrees Celsius over some parts of southeast Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Konkan, and Goa.

Heat wave conditions in some pockets with severe heat wave conditions in isolated pockets was observed over Saurashtra-Kutch, heat wave to severe heat wave conditions was observed in some pockets over Konkan-Goa and west Rajasthan and heat wave conditions in isolated pockets over Gujarat region.

The maximum temperatures were above normal by 3-6 degrees Celsius at most places over Punjab and Uttarakhand, at many places over Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, at a few places over Himachal Pradesh, west Rajasthan and Saurashtra and Kutch, at isolated places over east Rajasthan and Gujarat region, IMD data showed.

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.
MISSOULA, Mont. - A crash is blocking the westbound lanes near the intersection of Reserve Street and West Broadway in Missoula Wednesday morning.

The Montana Department of Transportation said on their 511 road report website drivers should use a different rout at this time.

Look out foe emergency responders.
The following is a release from the University of Montana:

MISSOULA  The 2022 Mansfield Lecture at the University of Montana will feature two of the countrys leading voices on democracy, Condoleezza Rice and Michael McFaul, on Monday, April 18.

The two will present Fostering Freedom at Home and Abroad: A Conversation with Condoleezza Rice and Michael McFaul live via Zoom at 11:30 a.m. MDT. Their conversation will focus on the hard work of creating and sustaining democracy, with topics ranging from the importance of engaging rural America to Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The event is free and open to the public, but Zoom seats are limited. Advance registration is required at https://www.umt.edu/mansfield/.

Rice served as the secretary of state under President George Bush. McFaul served as ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama. At a time when people around the world are wondering whether democracy is in decline, Rice and McFaul will share their insights from experiences as policymakers, scholars and citizens in order to put democracys challenges into perspective. In keeping with the vital role of higher education in nurturing a healthy democratic society, the conversation will be moderated by UM President Seth Bodnar.

The University of Montana embraces its role in supporting a knowledgeable and engaged citizenry, Bodnar said. The Mansfield Lecture is just one way we support our students and the community in engaging grand challenges of our nation and the world.

Mansfield Center Executive Director Deena Mansour said it was an honor to host two renowned leaders in national security at this Mansfield Lecture.

Our work emphasizes civil exchanges of ideas from a diverse range of viewpoints, the importance of democratic institutions and the role ethical values play in public life, Mansour said. Featuring a Republican and a Democrat in civil discourse is critical to this mission.

From the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union to the ongoing struggle for human rights in the Middle East, Rice has served on the front lines of history. As a child, she was an eyewitness to a third awakening of freedom when her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, became the epicenter of the civil rights movement.

McFaul was born and raised in Montana. As President Barack Obamas adviser on Russian affairs, he helped craft the United States policy known as reset, which fostered new and unprecedented collaboration between the two countries. Then as U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, he had a front-row seat to changing relations with Russia as Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency.

Both Rice and McFaul currently are based at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Founded by an Act of Congress in 1983, the Mansfield Center fosters globally minded leaders of integrity in honoring Mike Mansfields legacy of patriotic statesmanship. As the U.S. Senates longest-serving majority leader during polarizing times, Mansfields steady hand was a stabilizing force for our country. The Mansfield Lecture was founded in 1968 in honor of Mansfields critical role as a statesman. Recent speakers included Dr. Anthony Fauci and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof. Early distinguished speakers included Milton Friedman, Daniel Ellsberg and Barbara Tuchman.
MISSOULA, Mont. - As COVID-19 funding expires, universities are working to retain students and keep enrollment up. In addition to benefiting the universities, the higher retention also helps cutdown on the worker shortage.

University of Montana retained 86.8% of its first-year students from fall to spring semester.

This is important because that first year is when most universities will lose its largest percentage of a class.

When students stay their first year, they're more likely to graduate from UM, where there's close connections with Montana job openings.

"We're starting to have a lot more employers reach out to us and say, 'Can you help us figure out how to get your UM grads here?" Brian Reed, University of Montana's associate vice provost for student success, explained.

Reed said the demand for interns and graduates has blown up in recent months.

He explained the university is responding to those needs by partnering with different employers, like the Montana High Tech Business Alliance and ATG Cognizant, and helping them with recruitment specific to UM.

One of those partnerships is with United Way of Missoula County.

Seven of the nine full-time employees are UM grads, and the organization continues to pull from the university.

"We have amazing interns from the University of Montana," Susan Hay Patrick, United Way of Missoula County CEO, said. "We have graduate interns and undergraduate interns over the years working on things like suicide prevention and preventing childhood obesity."

On top of the internships, UM classes help with United Way's website and cyber security, as well as provide volunteers to pack meals for the community.

Looking ahead, university staff is working to continue improving its retention. Their goal is 90% first-year student retention from fall to spring semesters, and then 80% from fall to fall.
DEER LODGE, Mont. - The man found guilty for the 2017 killing of Broadwater County sheriff's deputy Mason Moore will be sentenced to the Montana State Prison, not the Montana State Hospital.

A release from the Montana attorney general's office said the decision follows successful arguments from Montana Department of Justice attorneys.

In September 2021, Lloyd Barrus was found guilty of three counts of deliberate homicide by accountability and two counts of attempted deliberate homicide in relation to his part in the murder of deputy Moore in May 2017.

Im proud that our DOJ prosecutors helped hold this dangerous criminal accountable for his actions and put him in prison where he belongs. Throughout this trial our team has been committed to finding justice for Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore, his family, and all victims involved. Im glad the court agreed with us and made the right decision today, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in the release from his office.

A sentencing date is to be determined.
Tajha Chappellet-Lanier here, thinking about the number of sleepy mistakes and oversights Ive made since the beginning of daylight saving time on Sunday. I like daylight saving timeIm not a morning person, so having the light later in the afternoon works for me. Still, the abrupt time change twice a year is always hard to adjust to.

The end of these abrupt switches could be in sight. Today, the U.S. Senate quickly and unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent. Its not a new idea so perhaps the timing of the vote, so close to a clock change, inspired action. At least, thats what some national news organizations suggested: After losing an hour of sleep over the weekend, members of the United States Senate returned to the Capitol this week a bit groggy and in a mood to put an end to all this frustrating clock-changing, the New York Times wrote.

The bill was introduced just about a year ago by Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and boasts what Sen. Rubio called an eclectic mix of bipartisan lawmakersSen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-California, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and more.

"We don't have to keep doing this stupidity anymore, Sen. Rubio said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. And then, with a proud grin: Pardon the pun, but this is an idea whose time has come.

There are two states (Hawaii and Arizona) that do not observe daylight saving time, but none that are on year round DSTfederal law currently doesnt allow it. Still, in recent years, an increasing number of states, including California, have expressed interest in going this route should it become legal.

DST started as an energy policyshifting the clocks during the summer months to save energy. It was then expanded, from half the year to eight months, in 2005. Supporters of permanent daylight saving time say sticking to this paradigm will reduce seasonal depression, allow kids to play outside after school and, potentially, decrease car accidents.

You make our work happen. The article youre about to read is from our reporters doing their important work  investigating, researching, and writing their stories. We want to provide informative and inspirational stories that connect you to the people, issues and opportunities within our community. Journalism takes a lot of resources. Today, our business model has been interrupted by the pandemic; the vast majority of our advertisers businesses have been impacted. Thats why the Weekly is now turning to you for financial support. Learn more about our new Insiders program here. Thank you. JOIN NOW

In order to become a reality, the bill must now be passed by the House of Representatives. A companion Sunshine Protection Act (HR 69), was introduced in the House in February 2021 by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida. It also has a long list of cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. Its unclear, however, whether the House plans to take it up for a vote.

Should the bill pass the House, and then be signed into law by President Biden, it would go into effect in November 2023Sen. Rubio said the delay is at the request of the transportation industry, which would need time to adjust its schedules.

What do you think? Do you support permanent daylight saving time and the end of pesky time changes? Or do you think our current system makes sense?

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March 16, 2022 Ukraine Open Thread 2022-28 Only news & views related to the Ukraine conflict ... Posted by b on March 16, 2022 at 14:30 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
Jacy Lewis/Reporter-Telegram

The tour will be from 6 to 11 p.m. on April 22. The guided walking tour of downtown will feature seven stops between the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center and Roosters Diner, such as Copper Key Gift and Revival Float Spa, each featuring a different artistic activity or demonstration.

All attendees will receive two free drinks -- non-alcoholic options will be available -- and two snacks along the route as well as a souvenir T-shirt printed by Pots-n-Prints on-site and a commemorative tote bag. For groups of 5 or more, please call 432-335-4682 to book. Tickets are now available at https://www.downtownodessatx.com/arttour?fbclid=IwAR3q2eVqtcZnGUiktxdhqYzyVrep4wyMe_aZRg4OrIkXm4ZgoXKqMCYoJn8.
Jacy Lewis/ Reporter-Telegram

The Crisis Center of West Texas will host the Art Against Assault exhibit during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The community art exhibit will open at 7 p.m. on April 29 at the Cactus House in Odessa. The purpose of the event is to spread awareness about sexual assault and create a safe space for survivors.

The exhibit is holding an open call for artists (professional and amateurs) to create pieces that promote consent, create conversation and demand change.
Interstate 27 became official on Tuesday as President Biden signed into law the appropriation bill, according to officials with the Ports to Plains Alliance.

How I-27 will impact Midland-Odessa remains to be seen.

The interstate is expected to connect border crossings along the Texas-Mexico border -- Laredo, Eagle Pass and Del Rio  with the Panhandle region of the state.

James Beauchamp of the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance (MOTRAN) stated Tuesday that the corridor will have a route that goes through Midland. That route, he said, was key as 80 percent of the economic impact of I-27 is connecting Midland and Odessa to Lubbock.

Receiving the interstate designation is the first step to begin fundraising for the extension of I-27, according to the press release.

Beauchamp told the Reporter-Telegram that I-27 provides an opportunity for the Midland-Odessa region to benefit from highway upgrades, associated with the I-27 designation. Beauchamp said he is cautiously optimistic that money put into the project will go where it needs to go. He said if the project is scored the way the Texas Department of Transportation typically scores projects, we will do very well.

Any improvements to highways in and around Midland because of I-27 will add to the progress expected to be made to highways in the region. A long-term project to improve and expand Interstate 20 has started. MOTRAN also announced in November that Interstate 14 connecting west central Texas with Midland-Odessa became law.

Midland-Odessas location right in the heart of the nations most significant oil patch is a reason for all three projects receiving attention, it has been reported.

Establishing a four lane, federal highway for I-27 is a game-changer for our economy and quality of life in West Texas for decades to come and will strengthen our food security and energy independence for the entire country, said Jodey Arrington, U.S. Rep. for District 19 in the press release.
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Muskogee, OK (74401)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 63F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 63F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
Muskogee, OK (74401)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 62F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 62F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
Guam Police Department parked units are seen at the Dededo police precinct on March 7.
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Neighbors of the man who died after a standoff with police Saturday said the subject of the incident, Anthony Rayfield, was a good neighbor who didnt cause any issues.

Hes a very good friend, said Marco Leite, who lived next door to Rayfield. Its crazy for us. Shocked, you know. We were here Wednesday having drinks.

Rayfield, 43, was a local tattoo artist who owned Porkchops Tattoo Studio in Myrtle Beach and Florence. He left behind a wife and kids.

Leite said he and Rayfield often hung out together, and helped each other with yard work. He said Rayfield had given his son some vintage toys and they were planning on having a barbeque on Sunday.

He was a very good friend and I loved him. He was the best neighbor, said Liete, who has lived next door for three years. When I had a barbeque, I invited him. Wednesday, he called us, making margaritas for us.

But Leite has no idea what led to the standoff. Police asked him and other neighbors to evacuate on Saturday morning when the standoff began.

Hes a good friend, Leite added. My son loved him, he cried a lot, too. I dont know what happened.

According to a heavily-redacted police report, Horry County officers responded to Rayfields home on Redleaf Rose Drive in reference to a subject threatening to cause damage to his home, neighbors, law enforcement and himself.

Its unclear who called police. Neither Horry County police nor the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has released information on the call. SLED is investigating the incident at the request of Horry County police.

Steve Gerber, another resident who lives across the street from Rayfield's home, said he didnt know there was an incident at Rayfields home until police came to his door.

My wife was back in the Carolina room and all of a sudden someone from SWAT came around our backyard, Gerber said. I mean he was in full riot gear with an AR. And, of course, my wife freaked out about it. I came and answered and he said, Yall gotta get your stuff together and get out of here, weve got an active situation going on. My wife, my daughter and granddaughter, as we came out the front door here, we had another police [officer] in SWAT gear with his AR, and he was pointing up, basically guarding us as we got in the car and we went ahead and left.
Jack Mooningham grew so frustrated with the amateur fireworks shows near his Shore Drive area home that he began keeping a log of them.

For 109 nights last year, the 79-year-old documented when he heard disturbing fireworks, regardless of whether the time was 9 p.m. or 3 a.m.

If it was firecrackers and sparklers, it would be one thing, he said. But its these giant, loud roaring boom rockets that are set off every night.

Mooningham lives near the stretch of Horry County beach between the cities of Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. Its illegal to shoot fireworks on the municipal beaches, but its perfectly fine to blast them in the unincorporated areas. However, complaints from Mooningham and other county residents could spark a change in county policy.

County leaders are preparing to pass an ordinance that would clear the way for fireworks-free zones in the unincorporated areas. The idea is that county council members who receive complaints about disruptive fireworks could go to the full council, which would have the option of voting for a resolution declaring a specific area fireworks free.

If someone is caught shooting fireworks in those areas, that person could face a $50 fee, which would escalate over time. The county would consider the violation a civil infraction, not a criminal misdemeanor.

As opposed to a $500 fine and/or 30 days in jail, we have a $50 fee, which is increased if you fail to pay it, county attorney Arrigo Carotti said. Kind of like our parking violations. After 30 days, it goes up $50 to a maximum of $200.

Council members have already given the ordinance two favorable votes  including one Tuesday night  and it needs one more to pass.

Its going to be a totally complaint-driven type situation, Horry County Councilman Johnny Vaught said. If nobody comes to the councilman and complains, then hes not going to go forward with a request for a fireworks-free zone.
Seven teams of Republicans and one team of Democrats have lined up to challenge Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in this fall's elections.

Monday was the deadline for candidates to turn in their nominating petitions to the Illinois State Board of Elections to get their names on the June 28 primary ballot.

Candidates who were in line at 8 a.m. on the first day of filing, March 7, will enter a lottery for a chance to have their names listed first on the ballot. But those who filed in the final hour before 5 p.m. Monday have a chance to be listed last on the ballot.

Some studies have suggested being listed first or last in a crowded field of candidates improves a candidates chances, especially in races where the candidates have low name recognition.

The State Board of Elections has another week, until Monday to certify the petitions. In the meantime, candidates and party officials may try to challenge other candidates petition signatures.

Among the last to file in the governors race were Republicans Jesse Sullivan of Petersburg and his running mate, Kathleen Murphy of Warrenville.

To be honest, its not a beautiful day today and any day I dont have to be next to a bunch of other politicians and we get to be outsiders stepping into this race, its a good, day, Sullivan said to reporters outside the State Board of Elections office in Springfield just before turning in his petitions.

Yeah, were not looking for a photo op with Gov. Pritzker. We were looking to turn in the best petitions possible to represent the people who worked so hard to help us get them, Murphy said.

Sullivan, a political newcomer and owner of the venture capital firm Alter Global LLC, and Murphy, a former spokeswoman for former state Rep. and 2018 GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jeanne Ives, will face formidable competitors for the 2022 nomination.

Those include Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin and his running mate, state Rep. Avery Bourne of Morrisonville.

Another late filer was GOP gubernatorial candidate Max Solomon of Hazel Crest and his running mate, Latasha Fields of Chicago. According to his website, Solomon is a native of Nigeria who now practices law in the Chicago area, while Fields is the founder of Christian Home Educators Support System.

They join other teams of candidates who filed earlier: state Sen. Darren Bailey of Xenia and running mate Stephanie Trussel of Lisle; Bull Valley businessman Gary Rabine and running mate Aaron Del Mar of Palatine; former state Sen. Paul Schimpf of Waterloo and running mate Carolyn Schofield of Crystal Lake; and the team of Emily Johnson of Wheaton and Bret Mahlen of Orland Park, members of the group We Are the People Illinois, which has called for investigations into unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections. The website for the group identifies it as consisting of over 200 people.

One other GOP candidate, Keisha Smith of Country Club Hills filed for governor without a running mate, something that a State Board of Elections spokesman said could be grounds for objection and disqualification because state law requires candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run as a team.

Pritzker and Stratton also face one challenge from within their own party, Beverly Miles, a nurse and Army veteran from Chicago, and her running mate, Karla Shaw.

Constitutional officers

Illinois voters this year will also choose candidates for other constitutional offices. The most contentious of those will likely be for the office of secretary of state, where incumbent Jesse White is stepping down after six terms in office.

On the Democratic side, former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias and Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia appear to be the leading candidates, while Chicago Alderman David Moore and charity director Sidney Moore of Homewood are also in the race.

On the Republican side, former U.S. Attorney John Milhiser of Springfield and state Rep. Dan Brady of Bloomington are competing for the nomination. Also in the race is former Chicago police officer Michelle Turney, who also affiliates with the group We Are The People Illinois.

In the race for attorney general, three Republicans have lined up to challenge incumbent Democrat Kwame Raoul. They include Thomas DeVore, a southern Illinois lawyer best known for his lawsuits challenging Pritzkers COVID-19 mitigations; Deerfield attorney Steve Kim; and David Shestokas, a former assistant states attorney for Cook County who is a hearing officer for the Chicago Board of Elections.

In the race for state treasurer, Republican state Rep. Tom Demmer of Dixon and Lake Bluff resident Patrice McDermand, also of We Are The People Illinois, will vie to challenge incumbent Democrat Michael Frerichs.

And in the race for Illinois comptroller, Republicans Shannon Teresi, a certified public accountant from Crystal Lake, and Michael Kinney of Carol Stream will compete for the nomination to challenge incumbent Democrat Susana Mendoza.




Everett woman aims to do whole 2,600-mile Pacific Crest Trail





Courtesy photo



Monica Reinoso and her dog Theodore in front of the support van thats following her along the route.



EVERETT  Calling from a campsite 6,000 feet up in the Laguna Mountains east of San Diego, California, Monica Reinoso of Everett described how shes on the trek of a lifetime, and shes doing purposefully for a good cause.

Reinoso embarked last week on the first steps of a planned 2,600 mile journey to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail, from the U.S. - Mexico border to Canada.

As of Thursday, March 10, shed slugged through 40 miles.

She is trying to raise $50,000 for Meals on Wheels, a program run by Homage that brings food to homebound seniors and people with disabilities.

Already, people have given more than $3,500.

The heart is that when it was 27 degrees out, its knowing that people are donating. It means so much to me, and I feel it, too, Reinoso said.

She said she is supporting Meals on Wheels because of the positive impact shes seen firsthand on people she cares for.

Reinoso is a nurse at Swedish Edmonds hospital, and there are senior patients who rely on the food delivery program. Shes seen people discuss how the visits help break up loneliness.

All those little relationships matter, Reinoso said.

Knowing shes hiking with a purpose is helping motivate her.

Reinoso said she plans to cover an average of 14 miles a day.

She lucked out in connecting with two friends, one who she knew from a past hike. Denise Powers is doing her Pacific Crest Trail hike to benefit Domestic Violence Services of the Cayman Islands.

A chase van follows Reinoso. Her two-year-old lab Theodore is coming with.

The opening miles took her through a rocky desertscape of yucca plants, sage, manzanita trees  beautiful, she said before going up into the mountains. Its up and down, up and down, up and down over ridges.

Its tiring, very cold  its in the 20s at night, Reinoso said.

The Pacific Crest Trail is her biggest undertaking yet.

Starting from Day One on Sunday, March 6, her journey will be a six-month trek which brings her to Washington by sometime in late summer or early fall.

It far surpasses what she did in 2019, when she hiked 260 miles across Washington state to reach Snoqualmie Pass. That was also a benefit hike for Meals on Wheels.

The Pacific Crest Trail will take Reinoso through Walker Pass, then on a walk alongside the High Sierras of California, into the Sierra Nevadas, through almost the summit of the Siskiyou Mountains, and onward through Crater Lake National Park and alongside the Columbia River for a while. In Washington, the trail runs through several high passes, and goes through the Glacier Peak Wilderness of Snohomish County.

You can see photos along her journey on her Instagram: @monicahikesforhunger

Homage plans to do campaigns along the way to keep public interest up.

A webpage about Monicas hike, and a link to donate, is at www.homage.org/monicahikes/

To get Meals on Wheels, call 425-347-1229 (toll free 1-800-824-2183) or email nutrition@homage.org

Check out our online publications!
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The FBI's Springfield office is hosting a Future Agents in Training Academy in June to offer students an extensive look inside the agency.

Students will be selected from among high school juniors and seniors who submit a completed application, essay and letter of recommendation by the April 29 deadline. Those who attend the three-day academy will hear from special agents, intelligence analysts and professional staff members about the FBI's role, investigative tactics such as gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses, and assisting with cases in an interactive learning environment.
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A structure fire at an under-construction Jacksonville house, loose power lines and a cracked gas line kept emergency crews busy for several hours overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning.

The fire at 900 Beesley Ave. destroyed the house and also damaged neighboring vehicles and homes.

"It was fully involved when we arrived," Jacksonville Fire Department Capt. Matt Summers said, adding that the home was not occupied.

A home to the north was occupied and, "We, along with (Jacksonville police), assisted a woman out the door with her dogs," Summers said.

The blaze was extensive enough when firefighters arrived that there was no way to enter the home; firefighters' main job became simply preventing the fire from spreading, he said.

"The fire did extend into the living room and the attic" of the neighboring home, Summers said. "Our guys did a good job of stopping it spreading further," he said.

Fire crews believe the fire started in the main body of the home, spread east to the garage and then north, Summers said, noting that siding on a house to the south, across Farrell Street, was starting to melt from the amount of heat being generated.

As crews were battling the blaze, a power lines fell onto a vehicle and, with the large amount of standing water, became another obstacle for firefighters.

"It was making it dangerous for our guys," Summers said, adding that a second power line also came down. Ameren Illinois crews were on scene to shut off the electricity.

While the fire is under investigation, it may be difficult to determine the cause, Summers said.

The gas meter to the house also was shut off, but firefighters detected gas and Ameren Illinois crews were called back to the scene to shut down the gas line.

"It was probably cracked during the fire," Summers said.

No injuries were reported and crews cleared the scene just before 2 a.m.
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Nearly 48 years ago, President Gerald Ford granted a full, free and absolute pardon to Richard Nixon, shielding the former president from prosecution for conspiring to cover up the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in 1972.

According to the document signed by Ford, the pardon covered all offenses against the United States which Nixon committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 20, 1969, to Aug. 9, 1974.

The pardon unleashed a firestorm of media and partisan outrage and, according to many observers, contributed significantly to Fords narrow loss to Jimmy Carter in 1976.

Ford justified his decision, writing: The prospect of a trial will cause prolonged and divisive debate over the propriety of exposing to further punishment and degradation a man who has already paid the unprecedented penalty of relinquishing the highest elective office of the United States.

The evidence against Nixon was so overwhelming that Senate conviction on impeachment charges was certain. Resignation was his sole option.

The Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, siege on the U. S. Capitol is reportedly poised to issue a criminal referral to the Justice Department accusing former president Donald Trump of participating in a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. The decision by Attorney General Merrick Garland whether to pursue an indictment against Trump will be the most politically momentous in modern history.

Congressional Republicans have already begun to frame the debate around the validity of the committee itself, characterizing it as a brazen political attempt by Democrats to construct a criminal case against Trump without regard for evidence of illegality.

The committees findings and recommendations, Republicans argue, are forever and fatally tainted by crass political motives.

Fords warning of a prolonged and divisive debate over Nixons criminal culpability seems almost polite and courtly compared to the poisonous partisan atmosphere blanketing todays political discourse.

A criminal referral will unleash an acrimony never before experienced.

The committee Democrats, by leaving the decision to prosecute up to Garland, have immunized themselves somewhat by claiming they merely gathered evidence and will look to the Attorney General to assess its strength and viability.

Republicans, though, have threatened an all-out take no prisoners war, including a warning that if they take control of the Congress in this years midterm election, they will immediately investigate business dealings involving the presidents son, Hunter, and the president himself for actions he took as vice president.

Garland must tread a fine line, exercising care to avoid the perception that his department has caved to political pressures while at the same time remaining aware that declining to prosecute will, in effect, be interpreted as a victory for Trump and a repudiation of the committees findings.

Democrats fret as well that if criminal charges are filed and dismissals or acquittals result, Trump will claim vindication and validation of his contention the committee spent millions of dollars on a political witch hunt.

The committee has alleged that Trumps insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him, promoting a narrative he knew to be false, and his attempts to halt official congressional certification of the results were proof of participation in a conspiracy that rose to criminal level.

It will fall to Garland to determine if Trumps actions went beyond the assertions of a candidate unwilling to accept defeat and attempted to impose his beliefs and obstruct an official proceeding of Congress.

A prosecution will drain the oxygen from the political environment in the short term, affecting campaigns and elections, while a final disposition could consume years.

In the interim, political polarization  already at an unprecedented level  will intensify, further dividing the American people and creating an unyielding rigidity of opposing beliefs.

Nixon left office voluntarily in the face of certain impeachment; Trump left kicking and screaming while insisting he was victimized by a corrupt system.

Ford took a political risk, choosing to spare the country the ignoble spectacle of a former president in the dock.

Nixon was pardoned; Trump was defeated. It will be Merrick Garlands task to determine whether rejection by the voters is punishment enough.
Watertown, SD (57201)

Today

Cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 42F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies with a few showers after midnight. Low 42F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
ARISS contact is scheduled with youth members of Kids Star Club Sayama, Sayama, Japan

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has received schedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between astronauts on-board the International Space Station (ISS) and Japan youthmembers of the Kids Star Club Sayamain Sayama, Japan. ARISS conducts 60-80 of these special amateur radio contacts each year between students around the globe and crew members with ham radio licenses on-board the ISS.

Prior to this ARISS event, the Kids Star Club has held an amateur radio licensing seminar for the youth members, as well as lessons about radio waves, electricity, and space. Those successfully licensed youth will participate in the Q&Aportion of the ARISS event. English will be the language used for this contact.

This will be a direct contact via Amateur Radio allowing these youthto take turns asking their questions of Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, amateur radio call sign KG5GNP. Local Covid-19 protocols are adhered to as applicable for each ARISS contact. The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHZ and may be heard by listeners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses the ground station.

Kids Star Club youth members in Sayama, Japan will use the amateur radio ground station withcall sign 8J1KSC to contact the ISS for this ARISS contact.

The ARISS radio contact is scheduled for March17, 2022 at7:21:47pmJST (JPN)(10:21:47 UTC, 6 :21 am EDT, 5:21am CDT, 4:21am MDT, 3:21 am PDT).

As time allows, students will ask these questions:

1. What is the most beautiful constellation that you can see from the ISS?

2. What was your job before becoming an astronaut and how does it influence your job now?

3. Did you see a lot of space debris from the ISS?

4. What food do you like to eat while in space?

5. What is the most unusual phenomenon that can be seen from space? What kind of phenomenon is it?

6. How does a paper airplane "fly" in the space station?

7. Can analog clocks work in space?

8. Do you think humans can really live in space?

9. How did you first feel when you got into space?

10. What do you want to do first when you return to Earth?

11. What do you enjoy the most in space?

12. How do you brush your teeth in space?

13. Which is easier, life with gravity or life without gravity?

14. How is the view of the sun rise from the ISS?

15. Is there any space food that can only be eaten in space?

16. What's the hardest thing you have ever done in space and how did you overcome that?

17. How do you feel when you look at Earth from space?

About ARISS:

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) and NASAs Space communications and Navigation program.

The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities take part in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org .

Media Contact:

Dave Jordan, AA4KN

ARISS PR

Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Search on Amateur Radio on the ISS and @ARISS_status.

Check out ARISS on Youtube.com.
Visit Tuolumne County is gearing up for the 2nd Annual Tuolumne County Art Week to be held Sunday April 10th through Saturday April 16th, during Californias Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month.

Lisa Mayo, Executive Director for Visit Tuolumne County, was Wednesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day.

Art, culture and creativity are deeply rooted in Tuolumne County and everyone is invited to participate. Art Week is designed to put a spotlight on all local art mediums and to provide inspiration and insights into artists and their crafts.

On April 9th Sonora Chamber of Commerces 2nd Saturday Art Night and April 8th  10th the Mother Lode Art Associations 67th Fine Art Show & Exhibit at the Sonora Opera Hall will help to kick off Art Week festivities.

While we celebrate Tuolumne Countys art and culture year-round, this is a special week to really highlight the local talent found throughout Tuolumne County. Our hope is to take elements of this years Art Week and launch it into an interactive art trail for residents and visitors to enjoy and explore all year, stated Mayo.

Throughout Art Week there will be specials, deals, activities and more from local artists and participating businesses.

Art Week event coordinator Monique Holcomb says, You dont have to be an artist to participate! Wed love to see businesses be creative and invite local artists to display their works, do demonstrations, show off culinary art or perform in their business venue. We are really encouraging out of the box ideas, and we can help make those connections.

Visit Tuolumne County will promote Art Week across several platforms including radio, web advertising and social media reaching markets in the Bay Area, California, the nation, and international audiences.

Well-known local artist, Judy Grossman stated, As a fine artist, a retired sign artist, and a mural artist, and art business owner in Tuolumne County for 35 years, I know some incredible creatives that live here. It is my hope that they have been happily creating some great work over the winter and are excited to show and sell it. I hope they will ramp up their creations, update their websites, put on their creative thinking caps and show off their wonderful creations to our visitors and our locals. As a member of the board of directors of VTC, I am excited to see them sharing their marketing skills and reach to such a huge audience to show off our local creators.

Participation is open to all Tuolumne County artists and businesses or organizations; participants do not need to be a member of Visit Tuolumne County to take part.

To participate in Tuolumne County Art Week, please submit the online form at http://www.visittuolumne.com/tuolumne-county-art-weekregistration or visit the office in downtown Sonora or call Visit Tuolumne County at 209-533-4420 by March 25, 2022.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Tuolumne County Jail View Photo

Sonora, CA  We reported yesterday about legislation up for debate at the state capitol that would repeal Proposition 47, which was approved by voters in 2014, and reduced penalties on many crimes in California.

Opponents argue that it has resulted in rising crime rates across the state. For example, shoplifting is no longer a felony unless the total amount exceeds $950. The earlier story noted that support for Proposition 47 has declined in recent years based on new polling.

Assemblymembers Jim Patterson, James Gallagher and Kevin Kiley have authored Assembly Bill 1599, which would repeal the measure.

A letter in support of the bill was signed by Tuolumne County Board Chair Anaiah Kirk, Sheriff Bill Pooley, Chief Probation Officer Dan Hawks, and District Attorney Cassandra Jenecke.

The letter states, A 2018 report by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the passage of Proposition 47 directly correlated to the 9% uptick in larceny thefts throughout the state. Adding, The Times of San Diego declared that Proposition 47 has bolstered criminals engaging in these types of crimes because they know they will not be severely punished for their actions.

You can read the full letter from the Tuolumne County leaders by clicking here.
Romeo Foxtrot DX Club members pass ham radio exams On Saturday, March 12, amateur radio exams were held in Nieuwegein, exclusively for members of Romeo Foxtrot DX Club (RFDX) an organisation for CB enthusiasts based in the Netherlands



A translation of the VERON post says:



The success rate was 97%! A fantastic result for RFDX. Membership of RFDX is free of charge, as are the lessons that lead to the N (CEPT Novice) or F (CEPT HAREC) exam.



The VERON warmly congratulates the graduates and wishes the one candidate who missed out this time, good luck in the resit.



33 students from the RFDX association came to Nieuwegein to take their Novice exam. They came for a reason: 32 of them (97.0%) will soon be able to apply for their callsigns.



It was the second time that the Radio Exams Foundation (SRE) was able to organize an exam that was exclusively open to candidates of the RFDX. In 2021, 80% of the candidates passed the exam. RFDX board member Jack Schuurman PA9RF indicated after the exam that he was proud of the students.



He was not surprised by the good result: " This group of students was so very eager to learn, they kept coming up with questions: they really wanted to know the ins and outs."



Romeo Foxtrot DX Club

https://rfdx.eu/

https://twitter.com/RFDXclub



What is Amateur Radio ?

http://www.essexham.co.uk/ what -is- amateur - radio



Free UK amateur radio Foundation Online training course

https://essexham.co.uk/train/foundation-online/ isFree UKFoundation Online training course
Earlier this year, about 30 Texas National Guard members were ordered to stand watch outside some of the wealthiest private ranches in South Texas, more than an hours drive away from the Mexico border, as part of Gov. Greg Abbotts highly touted mission to curb illegal immigration.

Placed at spots along U.S. Route 77 running north to Corpus Christi  including the sprawling and renowned King Ranch and the GOP-connected Armstrong Ranch  the troops were ostensibly meant to deter migrants and smugglers who might cross through private ranches to avoid detection at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near the city of Sarita.

But service members with firsthand knowledge of the mission told The Texas Tribune that troops rarely saw migrants from their posts nearly 80 miles away from the border and were unable to give chase because they were not authorized to enter the private ranches if they saw migrants cutting through.

In practice, service members said, they stood around for hours, staring at each other and the highway, outside the private ranches  some of which had their own private security.

We really dont understand why we are there, a service member told the Tribune. Were essentially mall security for ranches that already have paid security details to protect them.

The Texas Tribune is not identifying the service members because they were not authorized to speak to the media and feared retaliation.

Those troops said their time was wasted standing guard outside ranches with wealthy or politically connected owners when they could have been more useful at other posts closer to the border where they could be more effective to the mission, which is known as Operation Lone Star.

Representatives for the King and Armstrong ranches said they did not request the presence of the National Guard outside their ranches and that the troops were on the public right of way and not on their private property.

The service members are no longer stationed outside of the private ranches, service members said. They were removed in February, shortly after The Texas Tribune began asking questions about the deployment. Col. Rita Holton, a spokesperson for the Texas Military Department, said the agency could not comment on the deployment because of operational security concerns.

The dispatching of troops to wealthy private ranches raises more questions about the use of National Guard troops, who have widely decried the mission as aimless, political and oversized, as the cost of the effort has already ballooned to $2 billion a year. State leaders transferred nearly half a billion dollars to the Texas Military Department last month from three other state agencies to cover the mounting costs of keeping thousands of Texas National Guard troops on the southern border.

State Sen. Juan Chuy Hinojosa, D-McAllen, who represents a border district and sits on a committee overseeing border security efforts, said the reports of National Guard service members stationed at private ranches in the states interior were disturbing.

I have no objections to them being on the border, he said. But I certainly have concerns with military presence at private ranches. It would be a waste of time and of resources. Theres better use of the National Guard on the border, not in the interior.

Even if the service members saw migrants crossing through ranches, they are unable to do anything because they do not have authority to go on the land and arrest them, said Hinojosa, who compared their deployment to scarecrows.

Abbotts office declined to comment and referred questions to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department.

Not much to do

Abbott kicked off Operation Lone Star last March and ramped up its scale in September, leading to involuntary deployments with only a few days notice for part-time troops who have civilian jobs, lives and families. He eventually deployed 10,000 troops to the mission, many of whom have said they were not given a clear task or adequate training, equipment or lodging. A leaked survey of members of one of the six Operation Lone Star units found widespread skepticism and frustration with the mission.

On Monday, Abbott replaced the Texas Military Departments top leader after months of criticism.

In January, the Texas Military Department sent troops to stand guard outside the famed King Ranch, the largest ranch in the United States, which covers more ground than the state of Rhode Island.

It also sent troops to the Armstrong Ranch, the property of a longtime Republican family that has hosted GOP leaders like Karl Rove, former Gov. Rick Perry and former Vice President Dick Cheney. In an infamous 2006 incident, Cheney accidentally shot his friend in the face during a hunting expedition at the Armstrong Ranch. The injuries were nonfatal.

Troops were also sent to stand guard outside the ranch where Kenedy County Judge Charles Burns lives. Burns is a Democrat.

These ranchers have enough money to do private security or have private security guard these gates, said the second service member who spoke to the Tribune. The optics are just kind of crazy.

Jay Kleberg, a member of the family that owns the King Ranch who is running for land commissioner as a Democrat, said in a written statement that Operation Lone Star is a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars and a serious threat to the health and safety of our Texas National Guard.

He said he did not have information on where the service members were stationed, but it was beyond time to end Operation Lone Star.

If it were up to me, these Texans would be home with their families and back at their jobs, not wasting their time on our border, Kleberg said.

The deployment along U.S. 77 consisted of multiple stations, each staffed with two service members and a Humvee. At any given time, 10 National Guard service members were posted along the highway leading to the Sarita checkpoint. With three shifts throughout the day, 30 service members were required daily to set up the points along private properties near the highway.

Honestly, theres not much to do, if anything at all, said the second service member. Its pretty boring just standing there for eight hours.

At the end of their shifts, service members then had to drive back to their living quarters in Harlingen, about 60 miles away.

State officials said the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Military Department deployed personnel to the area at the request of the Kenedy County sheriffs office, a local property rights association, and local landowners who were seeing migrants and smugglers cross their properties to circumvent the Sarita checkpoint.

The migrants and traffickers were driving through ranch gates on several properties to the north and south of the Sarita checkpoint to avoid apprehension, and this was leading to costly damages and dangerous vehicle pursuits along the heavily traveled Highway 77, Ericka Miller, a spokesperson for DPS, said in an email in response to questions. In early January 2022, DPS and TMD began posting personnel at several rotating locations in the area in order to address these concerns.

While the state troopers and National Guard troops were there, Miller said, vehicle pursuits and reports of damaged properties dropped. But Miller could not provide any official statistics on the number of apprehensions or arrests from DPS before or after service members were deployed.

The Texas Tribune filed a public records request for those statistics, but DPS said it had no responsive documents. The Tribune also filed a request with the Texas Military Department.

State Rep. James White, R-Hillister, who leads one of the House committees that oversees the deployment, said data is needed to measure the missions success.

They have to have the data, White said. Why do we have them here versus here? And with that data we can extrapolate success or needs improvement.

White, who supports the deployment, said leaders needed to listen to the troops on the ground about their concerns and explain to them the impact their deployment is having. He said the border mission is needed to combat human and drug trafficking through the Texas border.

Burns, the Kenedy County judge, said he had not requested the deployment of troops to stand guard outside his ranch but that he supported their presence there.

If thats where they felt they need to be, Im in agreement, Burns said. Put them where they can do the best job.

Last year, Kenedy County received more than $700,000 from the state at Burns request as part of Operation Lone Stars grant program for counties affected by the increase in migration through Texas.

The second service member said troops rarely saw migrants or smugglers. In 45 days, the troops had not seen anywhere near the amount of activity as other strategic locations along the border and were limited in their ability to apprehend migrants or smugglers.

The service member said troops were not allowed to enter the private ranches where they were standing guard. If they saw migrants or smugglers cutting through, the service member said, troops had to alert Border Patrol, which would then be tasked with chasing and apprehending the trespassers.

Its strictly observe and report. If a [migrant] was coming toward us, wed get on our radio and call Border Patrol, the service member said. We cant act on any suspicious activity or any activity at all.

The first service member said they had seen very little [migrant] presence since the troops were deployed to the ranches, and the Border Patrol has been the one to inform us of the presence and handled all apprehensions.

State Rep. Alex Dominguez, D-Brownsville, a vocal critic of Operation Lone Star, questioned the efficacy of the deployment of Guard members to the ranches.

It is unfathomable to me why these service members would be stationed there other than for the optics of seeing a military vehicle manned by service members, he said in a statement. If any immigrant would be moving northbound through the general area of the Armstrong or King ranches, they likely would avoid major arteries and travel through the brush. To my knowledge, the service members do not access the brush area.

We needed it

Among local officials, the deployment of troops along U.S. 77 was greeted with support.

Since theyve been there, the number of bailouts and the number of intrusions into private property and going through gates and fences has decreased, Burns said. I think their presence has been very beneficial to the county.

Similarly, Kenedy County Sheriff Ramon Salinas said the presence of National Guard troops has helped deter migrants and smugglers and relieved the burden on his small agency.

We needed it, he said. Theyve come through for us, and I appreciate everything the governor has done.

Neither Salinas nor Burns could provide official evidence or data to show how the presence of the troops had deterred migrants and smugglers in the area, but Salinas said that anecdotally, ranch owners were happy that their fences were no longer being knocked down by smugglers who would cut through their properties to evade law enforcement.

Its really made a big difference, he said. Traffic has gone down.

But even with the troops stationed along the highway, Salinas said, ranches were still seeing groups of migrants walking through their properties to avoid the Sarita checkpoint.

As soon as they get close to the checkpoint, they bail out and go through the ranches, he said.

That led one of the service members to question just how much impact their presence had on the deterrence of migrants in the area.

If you can get in between us and still have the same effect, [then] theyre [just] walking further, the second service member said. Theyre just adapting to us being there, but theres no real data supporting us stopping this from happening.

Jessica Bolter, an associate policy analyst of U.S. immigration policy at the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute, said the continued presence of migrants and smugglers speaks to the limitations of an enforcement-only approach.

Simply increasing enforcement doesnt solve the challenges of unauthorized migration, particularly because theres never going to be complete 100% enforcement across the border, Bolter said. Migrants and smugglers are always going to find new ways to cross through these areas as long as push-and-pull factors driving migration continue to exist.

While state officials may be serving local constituents by trying to prevent damage to their properties and trespassing, Bolter said posting personnel outside private properties so far inland is unlikely to reduce overall unauthorized immigration at the border.

In order to effectively curb migration, Bolter said, officials would have to address the reasons migrants leave their home countries, try to work with other countries that other migrants pass through and create an effective asylum system at the border.

These are all things that the state government doesnt have the ability to do, which is why its response is always going to be somewhat limited, she said. Even if it starts working as a deterrent in one area of the border, its likely migrants will just shift to crossing in another area.

Uriel Garcia and Eddie Gaspar contributed to this report.

The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
U.S. was gripped by lab conspiracies. Now it's backfired

16:46, March 16, 2022 By Qing Ming ( People's Daily Online

Photo taken on Nov. 19, 2021 shows the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

--By their very own standard, American media outlets are the culprits caught red-handed, manufacturing lies, conspiracies, disinformation, and even worse, propaganda.

--The US is more of a spreader of such false information than a victim of it.

What has fascinated me the most in American media's coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic is their unremitting obsession with the "lab leak" conspiracy.

Through their lens of suspicion and even superstition, the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus was no longer a matter of serious science but a fanciful plot, blending with frivolous hearsays, preposterous suppositions, and flagrant prejudices. Despite the fact that numerous scientific studies have proven otherwise, some US media outlets, together with their staunch audiences, are still dwelling upon the lab theories, so much so that they have even begun to cast doubt on America's own bio labs.

On March 9, Fox News host Tucker Carlson brought up the issues surrounding US bio labs on his show, in which he called for clarification on the "dangerous biological weapons in Ukraine." Following US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in which she admitted the existence of American 'biological facilities' in Ukraine, Tucker Carlson doubled down on his televised queries again on March 14.

"Why would we (the US) fund something like that in Ukraine?" the celebrity TV host asked, "If the 'research materials' in these labs were to escape somehow and you seem very concerned about that, what would be the effect on Ukraine and then on the rest of the world?"

Marco Rubio and Tulsi Gabbard, both former American presidential candidates, among other US politicians and military experts, have also seconded Carlson to demand answers to the allegations that the US might have "funded" bio labs and even "bioweapons facility" in Ukraine.

Their questioning over whether the US is funding bio labs in Ukraine has invited harsh criticism. NBC News slammed the notion as a conspiracy theory while accusing Tucker Carlson and other figures on the American far right of promoting disinformation and propaganda. Meanwhile, Senator Mitt Romney arraigned Tulsi Gabbard, who had tweeted that "There are 25 plus US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release and spread deadly pathogens to US/world," for spreading "treasonous lies."

The irony here couldn't be more conspicuous. Remember that for the past two years (and counting), American media outlets have kept concocting one "lab leak" conspiracy theory after another with absolutely zero substantiated evidence. By their very own standard, they are the culprits caught red-handed, manufacturing lies, conspiracies, disinformation, and even worse, propaganda. The US is more of a spreader of such false information than a victim of it.

[Related Reading: Tracing the origins of US media's disinformation campaign against China on COVID-19 ]

But America's bio lab affairs are fundamentally different from the "lab leak" conspiracies with which it has intended to frame up China in vain. The US is the nation that has invested millions of dollars in overseas bio labs, and it is the only nation to have blocked new means for verifying compliance with the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) terms. Its opacity and equivocation pertaining to its global bio lab operations (never mind whether it is developing bioweapons elsewhere or not) require explanation and even call for a joint probe.

While the US has kept rinsing and reusing the same old conspiracy theories, it should have predicted that such inertia in its thinking would enable some US media, to engage in a self-examination of their own nation's record, which can be a benign thing for the sake of global biological safety. Call it a conspiracy spillover. Or call it an "autoimmune" backlash. At last, they have hit the mark by a mere fluke.

(Web editor: Meng Bin, Liang Jun)
Russians to give American astronaut ride to Earth in spite of tensions

BBC News reports that a US astronaut will now be returning to Earth, after fears his Russian lift home might not materialise.

It was originally thought Mark Vande Hei - who has been in space for 355 days - might be left behind on the ISS due to heightened tensions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But it has been confirmed he will travel aboard a Russian capsule to Kazakhstan.

The American and two Russian cosmonauts will be brought back to Earth.

"I can tell you for sure Mark is coming home... We are in communication with our Russian colleagues. There's no fuzz on that," Joel Montalbano, Nasa's International Space Station (ISS) programme manager said.

He admitted the astronauts were "aware of what's going on" in the world, but they still work as a team.

Under international space law, astronauts from all nations must "provide all possible help" to other astronauts when needed, "including emergency landing in a foreign country or at sea".

Read more at

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60755328
The great burger debate continues. Who's better, Whataburger or In-N-Out? Food Insider's chief video correspondent gave Whataburger four and a half out of five stars but couldn't bring himself to make a decision in the heated debate.

Graham Flanagan with Food Insider stopped at a Whataburger in New Mexico and posted a video to Twitter on Sunday, March 13, trying out a Double Whataburger with cheese, fries, spicy ketchup, and a chocolate milkshake.

RELATED: 5 very extra ways to customize your Whataburger orders this weekend

The verdict, of course, is not bad. Flanagan says the burger is "very heavy" but says its very good. He then goes on to compare the Whataburger to a Whopper from Burger King. Yikes.

"I really wish we had a Whataburger in New York," Flanagan says in the video. Whataburger, are you listening?

He says the fries are similar to McDonald's fries, which is a fair comparison. He says the spicy ketchup has a kick to it, and puts spicy ketchup on his burger, calling it a "pro tip" to the sound of club airhorns.

Food Insider's tweet has the gall to say "Whataburger is the In-N-Out of Texas," but does Flanagan say whether he would go with Whataburger over the California-based burger chain?

"Too close to call," he says.

It's not.

Flanagan does say that hopes the brand continues to expand. Don't worry. It will.
Boards should prepare for legal action based on their response to climate change, a DeSmog investigation has found.

Lawyers, insurers, and campaigners have been anticipating litigation against company directors for some time and say the chances are only growing as corporate requirements to address climate risks get tougher.

Today, March 15, ClientEarth announced it was taking legal action against energy giant Shells board of directors, arguing that their failure to properly prepare the company for net zero carbon emissions breaches their legal duties.

The environmental law non-governmental organization, which has bought shares in Shell, claims the companys 13 executive and non-executive directors failed to adopt and implement a climate strategy that truly aligns with the Paris Agreement and says this is a breach of their legal duties under the UK Companies Act. It is the first case seeking to hold company directors personally liable for failing to properly prepare for the energy transition.

We've started legal action against Shells Board, seeking to hold it liable for mismanaging the climate risk facing the company. Find out how this ground-breaking case works:. https://t.co/BcTRESMweX  ClientEarth (@ClientEarth) March 15, 2022



A Shell spokesperson told DeSmog: To be a net-zero emissions business by 2050, we are delivering on our global strategy that supports the Paris agreement. This includes the industry-leading target we have set to halve emissions from our global operations by 2030, and transforming our business to provide more low-carbon energy for customers.

Addressing a challenge as big as climate change requires action from all quarters. The energy supply challenges we are seeing underscore the need for effective, government-led, policies to address critical needs such as energy security while decarbonising our energy system. These challenges cannot be solved by litigation.

ClientEarth has been hinting at such action for several years, since successfully suing Polish energy company Enea on the grounds that its plans for a huge coal power plant posed an indefensible financial risk to investors.

The number of lawsuits seeking to take action on the climate crisis has grown exponentially over the past few years. Following a slew of successful cases against governments, campaigners have begun targeting the private sector from a variety of angles including challenges to how well their commitments chime with national and international climate targets, greenwashing, and breaches of corporate law. That action is expected to continue to accelerate.

Louise Fournier, legal counsel for Greenpeace International, describes litigation against individuals as the next logical stepping stone. Communities impacted by the climate emergency and shareholders will increasingly sue directors, officers, and board members of large polluting companies, she says.

While Fournier sees directors of fossil fuel firms as first in line for this kind of shareholder action, she says any company is at risk, especially if they claim that they have a specific climate-related strategy but are not acting in line with what the science requires.

Ellie Mulholland, a lawyer and director of the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative (CCLI) who has researched this topic in depth, says there is a real threat of further claims like this one against Shell that challenge whether boards have met their fiduciary duties.

These duties  particularly the duties of care and loyalty  make directors responsible for identifying, managing, mitigating, and disclosing any foreseeable and material risks to their company. Shareholders and investors could sue directors under these duties on the basis that the company does not have proper processes in place to account for climate risks, says Mulholland. Or, if they have lost money, they could claim that the processes that were in place were not fit for purpose or not acted on properly.

An Era of Climate Liability

Climate change poses precisely such foreseeable and material risks, says Fournier. The International Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) latest scientific report in February warned that international trade could be disrupted by flooding, droughts, and energy outages  all of which are likely to increase  and the price of key goods such as food could skyrocket. The results are likely to affect the supply chains of every business, whether directly or indirectly.

The potential losses are also huge. One 2019 study showed that the United States alone could lose $520 billion across 22 sectors due to global temperature rise. And when you have losses, says Mulholland, people want to recoup them.

In addition to ClientEarth, a number of other organisations that have already been active in taking public authorities and companies to court over climate told DeSmog they were thinking seriously about bringing claims against individuals.

While the first crop of claims are being wielded as a strategic tool by environmental groups, experts anticipate future claims will come from regular investors. Last year, the hedge fund Engine No. 1 managed to win three board seats at ExxonMobil Corp, having blamed the companys poor recent financial performance on its failure to transition to a decarbonising world.

ClientEarths case against Enea was aimed at showing financially motivated shareholders that this is a power that they could exercise, says Mulholland of CCLI.

Although ClientEarths new suit is filed in the UK, Australia and the United States are seen as particularly fertile places for litigation against individuals.

A report by the CCLI and University of Oxford found Australian directors face the greatest potential for liability in relation to the impacts of climate change on their business because of the countrys strong corporate law and because a significant proportion of the Australian economy operates in high-risk sectors.

Meanwhile, in the famously litigious United States, ExxonMobil officials are already having to fend off climate change lawsuits. One, brought by ExxonMobil shareholder Pedro Ramirez Jr., alleges its executives failed to properly account for climate impact to its business and made public statements and financial disclosures that caused its share price to fall.

Fournier says that while early shareholder litigation focused on failure to disclose, with this new lawsuit and the Shell victory last year, we can expect more lawsuits focusing on the inadequacies of the emissions reduction strategies to reach net zero emissions.

She adds that directors are also opening themselves up to greenwashing accusations unless their companys net zero strategy is fully integrated in its operational strategy and has specific types of emissions reductions and a clear timeframe, including short-term targets.

Mulholland says people are particularly likely to target their lawsuits at directors if a company loses all its money. The lawsuits brought by wildfire victims against the former executives of California-based energy firm PG&E, which was going through bankruptcy at the time, are a case in point. A trial is scheduled for this summer.

While such cases may be difficult to bring, Professor Cynthia Williams, Osler Chair in Business Law at York University in Canada, wrote in a recent paper that officers and directors may face potential fiduciary liability if they utterly fail to consider climate change as part of their decisionmaking and/or oversight.

Some lawsuits might use human rights arguments. The success of a landmark case against Shell in the Netherlands last year really opens the door for those cases, says Fournier, because of its recognition that corporations have to respect the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and therefore company directors have an obligation  to ensure that their corporations are meeting these human rights principles.

Other legal tools that could be used to bring individuals to account over climate, say experts, are books and records requests which look at what precise information was shared with the board.

Environmental campaigners have also started using the law to argue that company directors are abusing their power. In France, the CEO of energy firm Total faces a complaint filed by Greenpeace and other civil society groups alleging he used his role on a university board to push the companys fossil fuel agenda.

Chances of Success?

While there is general consensus that more lawsuits explicitly citing climate arguments will be brought against individuals in the near future, the question of whether they will be successful remains open.

Many legal jurisdictions give directors a large degree of discretion in making corporate decisions; in the United States, for example, this is known as the business judgment rule.

But Mulholland notes that this rule is restricted to breaches of duty of care, and says that even in Delaware  where most large U.S. companies are headquartered  directors have been successfully sued for breaches of loyalty, which includes the oversight that would be relevant to failures of climate risk governance. Business judgment is not the shield many seem to think, she concludes.

Litigants might not even have to prove they have already lost money. In Australia, 23-year-old Mark McVeigh filed a case against Rest, the trustee of his superfund (essentially a pension fund), claiming it violated the Corporations Act 2001 by failing to provide information related to climate change business risks and any plans to address those risks. McVeigh said that would affect the pension payouts he gets when he retires.

In November 2020, just before the trial was due to start, the parties agreed to settle the case, with Rest publicly stating that climate change was a material, direct and current financial risk to the superannuation fund and that, as a superannuation trustee, it considers that it is important to actively identify and manage these issues.

Companies themselves are increasingly concerned about the risk of litigation against their boards. A 2019 report by U.S. asset management firm Mercer concluded that, as awareness of the financial materiality of climate-related factors has increased, financial regulators in a number of jurisdictions have indicated that many investors will need to consider and manage climate-related risks in order to comply with their existing fiduciary duties.

Angus Duncan, executive director of financial, executive, and professional risks for directors and officers at Willis Towers Watson, says that, as well as shareholder lawsuits, there is a growing appetite from company regulators to take action against company boards in general. They are doing this because they think targeting individuals is a more effective way of making change in the direction they want, than targeting the corporate level.

Last year, the Climate Financial Risk Forum, an industry forum chaired by the UKs Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), looked closely at the issue. It found a variety of ways in which directors could be personally liable in relation to climate risk, up to and including criminal sanctions relating to the preparation of corporate reports and accounts under the UKs Companies Act and, in the case of companies with publicly traded securities, under the FCAs rules. It noted that this was very rare in the UK, although it can be more common in some other markets (e.g. Germany and the US).

Neither the FCA nor the PRA would not comment on whether they were prepared to take action against individual directors. But in a 2020 letter to CEOs, the PRA said companies should be discussing climate management more consistently and actively at the board level, and it is currently undertaking a climate biennial exploratory stress test, which is expected to explore the risks of litigation to the UKs largest banks and insurers.

In the United States, the acting chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Allison Herren Lee gave a keynote speech last year at the Society for Corporate Governances national conference, in which she warned that the duties of loyalty and care required company directors to be aware of climate risks to their companies and to respond to any red flags.

New Rules on the Rise

Meanwhile, the requirements on companies to be transparent about their climate risks and to manage them well are expanding around the world.

The UKs FCA brought in two new rules in 2020 and 2021, requiring all listed companies to say if theyve made disclosures consistent with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. And from this April, large companies will be subject to mandatory climate-related financial reporting.

The SEC is also about to issue a proposed new rule on climate risk disclosures by public companies, which would require publicly traded companies to release information to investors about their emissions and how they are managing risks related to climate change and future climate regulations.

We have seen huge amounts of new legislation bringing in new obligations on directors in connection with reporting on climate change, says Duncan, and thats only going to increase.

He says disclosure obligations are one of the main ways that listed companies end up being sued, whether by their investors or by not-for-profit organisations. Once everybodys having to make these kinds of statements, that leaves it open for third parties and their shareholders to bring claims saying that isnt achievable or youre greenwashing.

Whether companies are prepared for these risks is unclear. In a report detailing how U.S. corporate boards suffer from inadequate expertise in financially material Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters, Tensie Whelan, clinical professor of business and society at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, said directors do not have to be climate change scientists but should have a strategic understanding of the issues so that they know what questions to ask.

For Mulholland, the biggest benefit of litigation is as a threat; what she really wants is companies to respond to the risk of a lawsuit by weaning themselves and their supply chains off fossil fuels and other climate-harming activities.

I think we can robustly say this is where the law is today. Companies are already required to integrate climate considerations into governance and disclosure, and individuals might be held liable for not making sure this is happening. So if there is this real risk, then decisions should be made differently today.
Dear patient readers,

Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war  both real fog and stage fog  in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.

And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.

Yves

P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:

Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please dont do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.

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Drug design can be twisted into weapons Nature (Dr. Kevin)

No-Code Brings the Power of AI to the Masses New York Times (Robert M)

Even Moderate Ambient Light During Sleep Is Harmful  Increases Risk for Heart Disease and Diabetes SciTechDaily (Kevin W)

A Potential New Test For Diagnosing Lyme Disease Eurasia Review (David L)

Endless Forms Most Beautiful: Why Evolution Favors Symmetry Eurasia Review (furzy)

#COVID-19

Pretty sure the number one sign that covid is over is that people keep getting it.  Kashana (@kashanacauley) March 16, 2022

Climate/Environment

India

New Not So Cold War

Assange

Imperial Collapse Watch

Biden

Anti-Trump Republicans lining up for 2024 shadow primary Associated Press

Romneys Treason Smear of Tulsi Gabbard is False and Noxious, But Now Typifies U.S. Discourse Glenn Greenwald

Big Four Accounting Firms Come Under Regulators Scrutiny Wall Street Journal

How An Uptick In Censures Among Local Republicans Signals A Growing Radicalism FiveThirtyEight (resilc)

The Fear Factor and Crime in New York New York Times. Sorry, this is not even remotely like the 1980s. This is worse. In the 1980s, crime was crime against property. I was pickpocketed three times. I had lots of nice pens stolen from my desk at Goldman, I assume late at night when I was out of town. Many of my friends in non-doorman buildings suffered break-ins. But in the middle-class-ish hoods, you didnt worry about physical harm even at night if you stuck to areas with other people on the street.

Oil prices are tumbling after their recent spike but tighter supplies will push the commodity back to $125 a barrel this summer, UBS says Business Insider

Oil sanctions and recession Menzie Chinn

Chinese graphite dominance threatens electric car ambitions DW

Google hijacked millions of customers and orders from restaurants, lawsuit says ars technica (Chuck L)

The Superpower Of Admitting the Obvious Ian Welsh

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. Timotheus: The writer is my cousin in Story Lake, IN.

During the month of February, the Swansons made weekly trips to check on the lake. Because the water was solid ice, they only remained a short time each visit. Again on March 2nd, we saw our resident pair checking out a couple of open spots free of ice. Then, earlier this week a pair of swans was near the channel and remained in that distant area. A few days ago, we observed the two of them flying around the lake before landing. On Thursday last, in a matter of hours, the remainder of the ice cleared off the lake allowing the swans to swim closer to us. To our surprise, the pair of swans on the lake is a Mute Swan accompanied by a Trumpeter Swan. Only one swan has come over to eat corn at our shore, and from all accounts this is Big Daddy [their long-time resident swan]. Although he is a bit standoffish, he is familiar with us and the typical feeding spot. The trumpeter has not approached. This begs the question, wheres Mama? Having seen her on March 2nd, and seeing Daddy with another companion, its concerning what has happened. While there might be a simple explanation, such as an early nesting, her absence is highly questionable at this point. Never in our remembrance has one mate arrived in the spring without the other. If this condition persists, I may have to prep the boat and launch an exploration of nesting spots in search of Mama Swanson. Well keep you informed.

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here
Yves here. The older fogeys among the readership may remember that when the USSR unexpectedly fell, ex post facto analysts attributed it to Reagan era programs, including Star Wars, forcing the USSR into even higher levels of military spending that wound up being crippling. Are we going to to this to ourselves with our new Cold War fever?

By William Astore. Originally published at TomDispatch

In certain quarters in this country, Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine has generated enthusiasm for a new cold war. At the New York Times, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin have been described as children of the [old] Cold War now involved in a face off, an eyeball to eyeball confrontation harkening back to John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev contesting Berlin and Cuba in dramatic fashion 60 years ago. (Never mind that the drama over Cuba nearly led to nuclear war and the possible end of most life on Earth.) Such breathless accounts make me think of the role Slim Pickens played as Major Kong in Stanley Kubricks famed film Dr. Strangelove, giddy with resolve, even relief of a kind, now that he and his B-52 crew are finally headed for nuclear combat with the Russkies.

Whatever else one might say of the crisis in Ukraine, the new cold war dreamscape that Washington think tanks and the Pentagon helped promulgate over the last decade against Russia or China or both is here to stay. Consider that a calamity in its own right. The end of Americas failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the disastrous results of Americas Global War on Terror launched amid a barrage of lies and self-praise, might indeed have left an opening, however slight, for a shift away from colossal military budgets and creeping militarization.

Russias ill-planned and immoral invasion of Ukraine marks the definitive end of that possibility, however small it might have been. Putins actions, whatever their motivation and justification, are being seized upon by the military-industrial-congressional complex as proof positive that Pentagon budgets, already in the stratosphere, must soar higher yet. For so many of the Putin-haters (and Im no fan), his destructive actions supposedly demonstrate why the U.S. must be prepared to double down in kind.

That, of course, means yet more weapons production and sales globally for the country thats already the planets leading purveyor of such products. It also means more bellicose rhetoric, and ultimately more militarism, because thats all Putin and his authoritarian ilk will allegedly ever understand (as is sadly true of so many in Washington as well). Consider all this a peculiar form of American madness, akin to the idea that a guy with a gun, or better yet, lots of guys with lots of guns, the more powerful the better, are the sanest way to prevent gun violence.

Thought about a certain way, in taking such an approach, our government and, by extension, the American people are ceding our autonomy of thought and action to bad actors like Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. For every war Putin launches, America, so were told, must respond with yet more weapons sales, troop deployments, debilitating sanctions, and above all, astronomically higher military spending. For every aircraft carrier the Chinese build, or any new expansion onto yet another tiny island in the South China Sea, the U.S. military must pivot harder toward Asia, while building yet more staggeringly expensive ships of its own. As possibilities, disengagement and detente go unmentioned. Peace isnt a word American presidents favor anymore. As a result, even modest military moves by Putin and Xi are essentially guaranteed to drive the U.S. economy yet deeper into militarized debt. (As if $6 trillion already squandered on the disastrous war on terror wasnt pricey enough.) After all, full-spectrum dominance over the global battlespace, a fantasy in the best of times, and a new cold war wont come cheap, a fact that U.S. weapons manufacturers are surely banking on.

Even before the recent Russian invasion, estimates for the fiscal year 2023 Pentagon budget had risen to $770 billion or even $800 billion. With Russian tanks now rolling through (or stalled in) Ukraine, you can bet your bottom dollar that $800 billion will be the floor, not the ceiling for that future budget and the Pentagons 2023 demands from Congress. This country, were once again hearing, is to be the arsenal of democracy (to steal a phrase from the World War II era). But count on this: if youre not careful an arsenal of democracy can easily enough devolve into little more than an arsenal. And that time, I suspect, is now.

The World Is Not Enough

Dont misunderstand me: I condemn Russias invasion of Ukraine. Its a horror and an obvious disaster in the making. That said, Russia may have a super nuclear arsenal, but its not a superpower, despite all those Cold War memories of ours, nor does its attack on Ukraine, in and of itself, pose a major threat to our own national security. Indeed, experts around the world have been predicting for decades that NATO expansion, exacerbated by U.S. meddling in Ukraine, could provoke Vladimir Putin to launch just such a war. In short, Russias invasion was indeed predictable, even if not faintly excusable.

Nor are the Russian presidents designs on Ukraine and his quest for greater power in eastern Europe historically surprising. In fact, serious self-reflection should lead us to the obvious conclusion that the scale of Russias ambitions, objectionable as they might be, are also limited compared to ours.

Again, Russia remains a distinctly regional power, while the United States still fancies itself to be the last remaining superpower on planet Earth. No other country comes close to the scale of our global ambitions (and theyre higher still, if you count this countrys Trump-era Space Force with its vision that the heavens are but the next warfighting domain for us to dominate). In other words, in this century, when it came to our military, the world was not enough. All realms were to be under its command: land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Note, in fact, that we have a military force or special military command for all of them and our leaders simply take for granted that such dominance is to be ours and no one elses.

Think about it. Of all the countries on Earth, only the U.S. divides the entire globe into military commands run by four-star generals and admirals; only America has 750 or so military bases scattered across every continent except Antarctica; only America sees a country  Im thinking here of Ukraine (although not so long ago it could have been Afghanistan or Iraq), roughly 5,000 miles away across a vast ocean, as its legitimate eastern flank. At the same time, only this country sees a body of water like the South China Sea as a lake for its Navy to navigate and dominate, as if it were part of our coastal waters.

Imagine, for a moment, that Russia or China had an America Command, an AMERCOM. Imagine that Russian advisors were training and equipping Canadian troops, while Chinese aircraft carrier task forces regularly sailed the Gulf of Mexico. As Americans, we, of course, cant imagine such things and yet thats the world we inhabit, even if in reverse.

Most of us seem to consider the imperial ambitions of this country, including the eventual expansion of NATO into Ukraine and Georgia and the continued deployment of powerful aircraft carrier battlegroups near the coast of China, as benign, uncontroversial evidence of our military resolve. Under the circumstances, it shouldnt be that hard to recognize that others on this planet might not feel quite the same way.

That Americas pursuit of global reach and global power would be seen as a challenge, indeed a provocation, by a regional power like Russia or one with full-scale imperial ambitions, even if of a largely economic sort, like China with its trillion dollar Belt and Road Initiative, should surprise no one. Under the circumstances, it was inevitable that, sooner or later, this countrys continued pursuit of full-spectrum dominance would produce a new cold war, as certain American experts predicted, and some seemed to desire. Think of the chaotic and disturbed world were now living in as a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy, as well as a rare triumph of long-term strategic planning by certain elements within the national security state. What they wished for, they got. Today, it should be all too obvious that the results are anything but pleasing.

Your Role as a Loyal American in the New Cold War

My fellow Americans, in this new cold war of ours, the national security state expects both all too much and all too little of you. Lets start with the little. It doesnt expect you to enlist in the military if youre rich or have other priorities (as former Vice President Dick Cheney said about the Vietnam War). It doesnt expect you to pay close attention to our wars, let alone foreign policy. You dont even have to vote. It does, however, expect you to cheer at the right times, be patriotic, wave the flag, gush about America, and celebrate its fabulous, militarized exceptionalism.

To enlist in this countrys cheerleading squad, which is of course Gods squad, you might choose to wear a flag lapel pin and affix a Support Our Troops sticker to your SUV. You should remind everyone that freedom isnt free and that God, guns, and guts made America great. If the godly empire says Ukraine is a worthy friend, you might add a blue-and-yellow frame to your Facebook profile photo. If that same empire tells you to ignore ongoing U.S. drone strikes in Somalia and U.S. support for an atrocious Saudi war in Yemen, you are expected to comply. Naturally, youll also be expected to pay your taxes without complaint, for how else are we to buy all the weapons and wage all the wars that America needs to keep the peace?

Naturally, certain people need to be collectively despised in our very own version of George Orwells Two Minutes Hate. So, when Putins visage comes on the screen, or Xis, or Kim Jong-uns, or whoever the enemy du jour is, be prepared to express your outrage. Be prepared to treat them as aliens, almost incomprehensible in their barbarity, as if, in fact, they were Klingons in the original Star Trek series. As a peaceful member of the Federation, dominated by the United States, you must, of course, reject those Klingon nations and their warrior vision of life, their embrace of might-makes-right, choosing instead the logic, balance, and diplomacy of Americas enlightened State Department (backed up, of course, by the worlds greatest military).

Again, little is expected of you (so far) except your obedience, which should be enthusiastic rather than reluctant. Yet whether you know it or not, much is expected of you as well. You must surrender any hopes and dreams youve harbored of a fairer, kinder, more equitable and just society. For example, military needs in the new cold war simply wont allow us to build back better. Forget about money for childcare, a $15 federal minimum wage, affordable healthcare for all, better schools, or similar luxuries. Maybe in some distant future (or some parallel universe), well be able to afford such things, but not when were faced with the equivalent of the Klingon Empire that must be stopped at any cost.

But wait! I hear some of you saying that it doesnt have to be this way! And I agree. A better future could be imagined. A saying of John F. Kennedys comes to mind: We shall be judged more by what we do at home than what we preach abroad. What were currently doing at home is building more weapons, sinking more tax dollars into the Pentagon, and enriching more warrior-corporations at the expense of the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable. Wheres the democratic future in that?

Sheer military might, our leaders seem to believe, will keep them forever riding high in the saddle. Yet you can ride too high in any saddle, making the fall thats coming that much more precipitous and dangerous.

Americans, acting in concert, could stop that fall, but not by giving our current crop of leaders a firmer grasp of the reins. Do that and theyll just spur this nation to greater heights of military folly. No, we must have the courage to unseat them from their saddles, strip them of their guns, and corral their war horses, before they lead us into yet another disastrously unending cold war that could threaten the very existence of humanity. We need to find another way that doesnt prioritize weapons and war, but values compromise, compassion, and comity.

At this late date, Im not sure we can do it. I only know that we must.
(Natural News) A gas that is essential to the production of microchips could see supply disruptions amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

About 90 percent of the semiconductor-grade neon used by the United States to produce chips comes from Ukraine, it turns out. And with Ukraine already cutting off exports of wheat, some worry that neon could be next.

Supply disruptions of palladium are also a concern. According to research firm Techcet, about 35 percent of Americas palladium supply, a rare earth metal used in the production of semiconductors, comes from Russia.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) argues that the semiconductor industry has a diverse set of key materials and gases, so we do not believe there are immediate supply disruption risks related to Russia and Ukraine.

The key word in this statement is immediate, suggesting that long-term supply woes could eventually manifest.

Chip shortages are already a problem as some vehicle, computer and other manufacturers are struggling to obtain what they need. Should anything interfere with supplies of neon and palladium, it could become impossible for the U.S. to obtain or produce chips.

This is what globalization looks like

The claim is that demand for chips rose substantially due to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) plandemic as people were forced to stay at home rather than socialize with others.

Increased demand for chips also occurred among enterprises that specialize in artificial intelligence (AI) for machine learning training. This industry is expected to grow by another 50 percent across all computing categories over the next several years.

The South Korean government has invested some $451 billion in semiconductor development to help meet the challenge. Intel has also invested about $20 billion in two new semiconductor foundries to fight the chip shortage.

We are glad that the companies [Intel, Ford, GM] have been looking for creative solutions, because the private sector is best-positioned to address bottlenecks, announced Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo in a blog post last month. But the semiconductor supply chain remains fragile and it is essential that Congress move swiftly to pass the presidents proposed $52 billion in chips funding as soon as possible.

Raimondo further explained in the post that median inventory for chips fell from 40 days in 2019 to less than five days in 2022. Most chip fabrication facilities are now running at more than 90 percent utilization just to try to keep up.

Some of the worst bottlenecks are occurring with legacy logic chips used in automobiles and medical devices, as well as analog chips used in power management, image sensors, radio frequency and other applications.

If Ukraine suddenly stops exporting the chips it makes, these bottlenecks could cause their applications to reach a breaking point. This would absolutely devastate the economy even worse than it already is.

Recognizing the need for more domestic chip production, the House of Representatives recently put forward its version of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), which would supply the domestic semiconductor industry with $52 billion in funding.

It could be too late, however, as the U.S. probably should have been shoring up domestic production years ago. Thanks to globalization, very little is produced in America anymore, and the consequences are becoming more than apparent.

Get ready for a 9-1-1 level event in the U.S., wrote someone at Natural News about what he thinks might happen next to provide a distraction from all this.

The mother of all false flags is coming to stop the mid-terms dead and it will be blamed on Russia. If Putin doesnt reach his true goal in Ukraine quickly and use it, he will have handed the perfect cover to the Deep State.

More related news can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources include:

VentureBeat.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today released new data showing a total of 1,168,894 reports of adverse events following COVID vaccines were submitted between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 4, 2022, to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). VAERS is the primary government-funded system for reporting adverse vaccine reactions in the U.S.

(Article by Megan Redshaw republished from ChildrensHealthDefense.org)

The data included a total of 25,158 reports of deaths  an increase of 331 over the previous week  and 203,888 reports of serious injuries, including deaths, during the same time period  up 3,557 compared with the previous week.

Excluding foreign reports to VAERS, 783,282 adverse events, including 11,505 deaths and 75,286 serious injuries, were reported in the U.S. between Dec. 14, 2020, and March 4, 2022.

Foreign reports are reports foreign subsidiaries send to U.S. vaccine manufacturers. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, if a manufacturer is notified of a foreign case report that describes an event that is both serious and does not appear on the products labeling, the manufacturer is required to submit the report to VAERS.

Of the 11,505 U.S. deaths reported as of March 4, 17% occurred within 24 hours of vaccination, 22% occurred within 48 hours of vaccination and 60% occurred in people who experienced an onset of symptoms within 48 hours of being vaccinated.

In the U.S., 554 million COVID vaccine doses had been administered as of March 4, including 327 million doses of Pfizer, 209 million doses of Moderna and 18 million doses of Johnson & Johnson (J&J).

Every Friday, VAERS publishes vaccine injury reports received as of a specified date. Reports submitted to VAERS require further investigation before a causal relationship can be confirmed. Historically, VAERS has been shown to report only 1% of actual vaccine adverse events.

U.S. VAERS data from Dec. 14, 2020, to March 4, 2022, for 5- to 11-year-olds show:

The most recent death involves a 7-year-old boy (VAERS I.D. 2152560) from Washington who died 13 days after receiving his first dose of Pfizers COVID vaccine when he went into shock and suffered cardiac arrest. He was unable to be resuscitated and died in the emergency department.

17 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis (heart inflammation).

The CDC uses a narrowed case definition of myocarditis, which excludes cases of cardiac arrest, ischemic strokes and deaths due to heart problems that occur before one has the chance to go to the emergency department.

32 reports of blood clotting disorders.

U.S. VAERS data from Dec. 14, 2020, to March 4, 2022, for 12- to 17-year-olds show:

The most recent death involves a 14-year-old boy (VAERS I.D. 2148498) who experienced a cerebral aneurysm leading to death one day after receiving his first dose of Pfizers COVID vaccine.

69 reports of anaphylaxis among 12- to 17-year-olds where the reaction was life-threatening, required treatment or resulted in death  with 96% of cases attributed to Pfizers vaccine.

650 reports of myocarditis and pericarditis with 631 cases attributed to Pfizers vaccine.

161 reports of blood clotting disorders, with all cases attributed to Pfizer.

U.S. VAERS data from Dec. 14, 2020, to March 4, 2022, for all age groups combined, show:

CDC study concludes COVID vaccine adverse events mild

A study funded by the CDC and published Monday in The Lancet concluded most COVID vaccine-related adverse events reported during the first six months of the rollout in the U.S were mild and short in duration, despite thousands of deaths reported to VAERS.

For the study, researchers analyzed data captured between Dec. 14, 2020, and June 14, 2021, by VAERS and v-safe, both of which are overseen by the CDC. Nearly 300 million doses of COVID vaccines were administered during the study period.

The authors found that of the 340,522 adverse events reported to VAERS, 27,023 (8%) were serious, 4,496 were deaths. The authors said the cause of the increased reporting of deaths during the first few days after vaccination might represent reporting bias.

The authors suggested that deaths occurring soon after vaccination were more likely to be reported than deaths that occurred later. This, they believe, is why the number of deaths asymptotically approaches zero as more time elapses since vaccination.

Jessica Rose, Ph.D., attempted to duplicate the Lancet authors findings through her independent analysis of the VAERS data. Despite filtering the database using three different date stamps, Rose was unable to duplicate the Lancet studys results.

Florida surgeon general breaks with CDC, recommends against shots for healthy kids

Floridas surgeon general on Monday said he will issue guidance formally recommending against COVID vaccines for healthy children. Florida is the first state to break with official guidance from the CDC, which recommends all children over age 5 get the vaccine.

Dr. Joseph Ladapo made the announcement at a roundtable, hosted by Gov. Ron DeSantis, featuring physicians and other medical experts who criticized CDC and government policies, including mask mandates and lockdowns, which they said were ineffective and harmful.

Ladapo and DeSantis said the new guidance had to do with lingering questions about the vaccines potential health risks for young people and the fact that children are in a low-risk category for severe COVID.

COVID vaccines may be enhancing disease

COVID vaccines may be causing enhanced disease because they target an old version of the coronavirus, Dr. Robert Malone told the Epoch Times in a recent interview.

The data are showing that vaccination can actually increase the risk of being infected with the Omicron version of this virus, Malone said, referring to how in some areas, including Scotland and New Zealand, patients hospitalized with COVID are more likely to have received a COVID vaccine.

U.S. drug regulators identified vaccine-associated enhanced diseases (VAED) as an important potential risk of COVID vaccines, along with enhanced respiratory disease.

Some adverse events reported following COVID vaccination could indicate VAED, according to a CDC team.

VAED refers to disease resulting from infection in individuals primed with non-protective immune responses against the respective wild-type viruses, researchers said last year.

Given that these enhanced responses are triggered by failed attempts to control the infecting virus, VAED typically presents with symptoms related to the target organ of the infection pathogen, they added.

Vaccine researcher develops tinnitus after COVID shot, calls for further study

Dr. Gregory Poland, director of the Mayo Clinics Vaccine Research Group in Rochester, Minnesota, developed life-altering tinnitus, or ringing in the ear, after receiving his second dose of a COVID vaccine.

It was like someone suddenly blew a dog whistle in my ear, Poland told MedPage Today. It has been pretty much unrelenting.

Poland then received a booster, after which his tinnitus briefly disappeared but then returned at a slightly higher pitch. Poland realized his life may never be the same and says he has received emails from people across the world struggling with the same condition to the point theyre considering taking their own lives.

Poland, who said he supports COVID vaccines, believes there may be tens of thousands of people affected in the U.S. and is calling for more research to be done to provide help to people desperate for relief.

Michigan woman files claim over moms COVID vaccine-related death

Tatum Strieter-Byron is asking the federal government to compensate her for the death in April of her mother Sandra Jacobs. An autopsy confirmed Jacobs died from a blood-clotting disorder caused by J&Js COVID vaccine.

Strieter-Byron received confirmation Monday her claim to the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) had been received. The program was established to give pharmaceutical companies blanket liability protection from harm caused by their COVID vaccines.

In 2020, the U.S. Health and Human Services secretary invoked the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act and declared COVID-19 a public health emergency, providing J&J other COVID vaccine makers immunity from lawsuits.

The only exception under the PREP Act is if a plaintiff can prove a vaccine-related death or serious physical injury was caused by willful misconduct. The protections, unless amended or rescinded, extend through Oct. 1, 2024.

Claims to the CICP must be made within one year of the date the vaccine was received.

Jacobs, 60, received the single-shot vaccine at a CVS pharmacy on April 8, 2021, just five days before federal health agencies temporarily paused the vaccine to examine numerous reports of a serious and potentially fatal blood-clotting disorder.

Jacobs died on April 21 of complications of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, a type of stroke caused by the vaccine.

Childrens Health Defense asks anyone who has experienced an adverse reaction, to any vaccine, to file a report following these three steps.

Read more at: ChildrensHealthDefense.org
(Natural News) Several children in mainland China developed leukemia after they received the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. The children were at the peak of health prior to the injection.

A father who went by the alias Li Jun from Chinas Gansu province shared how his daughter suffered because of the COVID-19 vaccine. His four-year-old daughter developed a fever and a cough after getting her first COVID-19 vaccine dose in November 2021, but these subsided following intravenous therapy. However, things worsened after Lis daughter received her second vaccine dose in January.

The child experienced swelling around her eyes, leg pain and bruises at her lower extremities. A few weeks after the second COVID-19 vaccine dose, Lis daughter was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She is now undergoing chemotherapy at the Lanzhou No. 2 Peoples Hospital in the provincial capital, alongside at least 20 other children who developed identical symptoms.

My baby was perfectly healthy before the vaccine dose. I took her for a health check, [and] everything was normal, said Li.

Another father who went by the alias Wang Long said his 10-year-old child was forced to get the COVID-19 vaccine under threat of being barred from attending classes. The school told us last year to take him for vaccination on such and such date, or he cant go to class, the parent from Shandong province remarked.

The 10-year-old received his second COVID-19 vaccine dose on Dec. 4, but experienced fatigue and low fever a month later. He was diagnosed with acute leukemia on Jan. 18 and is now undergoing treatment for the condition at the Qilu Hospital of Shandong University.

Had he inherited [the leukemia] from the family, wed accept it as our lot. But he got sick because of the vaccine. I just cant reconcile it, Wang commented on his sons predicament.

Beijing turns a blind eye to vaccine-induced leukemia cases

The leukemia diagnoses of the two children came months after Beijing mandated COVID-19 vaccination for children between three and 11 years old in October 2021. As per the latest data from Chinas National Health Commission, about 84.4 million children  more than half of the cohorts population  have been vaccinated as of Nov. 13, 2021. (Related: China is now offering coronavirus vaccines to toddlers as young as three.)

Mainland China has used the COVID-19 vaccines from private drug manufacturer Sinovac Biotech and state-owned Sinopharm for children. The Sinopharm shot reported an efficacy rate of 79 percent based on clinical trials on adult participants. Meanwhile, the Sinovac shot reported a lower 50.4 percent efficacy rate during the same trials.

It turns out that Li and Wang were not the only individuals whose children suffered from vaccine damage. Thanks to a group on the Chinese social media platform WeChat, the parent from Gansu province has come to know more than 500 patients and their family members who underwent the same experience of post-vaccination leukemia. Despite assurances by health authorities of a probe of the matter, he and the others remain unconvinced.

According to Li, officials told him that a panel of experts would begin investigating the reports from Gansu. But when he called the provinces health agency, it denied knowing about the cases and insisted that no such reports made it there. I dare say they didnt do any verification, but only went through the motions, he said. The Gansu resident added: Information [about the post-vaccination leukemia] gets blocked the instant we try to post something online. You cant send it out.

Li cited one such instance of censorship, when he proposed to the WeChat group that they bring up their predicament to the central government. This attracted the authorities attention, which led to the groups disbandment.

The police called us one by one. They said we have made things up, and ordered us to withdraw from the chat group.

Visit VaccineDamage.news to read more stories about vaccine injuries and deaths.

Watch the video about an African woman injured by the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine below.

This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

China is now vaccinating 3-year-olds in latest escalation of covid madness.

Healthy Hong Kong resident suffers facial paralysis after Sinovac coronavirus jab.

Hong Kong reports third post-vaccination fatality in ongoing Sinovac immunization drive.

Chinese doctor: Sinopharm coronavirus jab most unsafe in the world with 73 side effects.

China says people who take Sinopharm vaccine now need a THIRD DOSE to boost its effectiveness.

Sources include:

GreatGameIndia.com

TheEpochTimes.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Sen. Mike Lee (R-Ut.) has introduced a bill that would allow victims of Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccination to seek monetary compensation.

Known as the Countermeasure Injury Compensation Fund Amendment Act, the legislation would create a COVID-19 Vaccine Commission to assess jab injuries and deaths and determine an appropriate payout on a case-by-case basis.

The vaccine injury bill would change the existing Countermeasure Injury Compensation Act (CICP), which was created for the purpose of compensating those who suffered injury or death due to government countermeasures to public health crises, writes Ben Bailey for National File.

Much like the 9/11 Commission, which was established after that false flag terrorist attack back in 2001, the COVID-19 Vaccine Commission would deal with fallout from the plandemic false flag attack with Tony Faucis coronavirus biological weapons.

The CICP, by the way, has had more than 7,000 claims filed, but not a single one has resulted in any compensation. This is because of the liability protections that were granted to Big Pharma through the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act.

Along with cosponsors Sens. Mike Braun (R-In.), Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Lee says he hopes to make it easier for Americans injured by the pharmaceutical injections to receive a payout while holding the drug industry accountable.

In a statement, Lee stated that his Countermeasure Injury Compensation Amendment Act will help build trust in future medical treatments and  make sure those who were harmed are properly compensated.

Because Trump signed the PREP Act, Big Pharma cannot be held liable for covid jab injuries and deaths

Several weeks back, Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) introduced a similar bill in the House of Representatives that would allow people who became injured from covid injections to sue the federal government (but not Big Pharma, meaning American taxpayers would ultimately foot the bill).

The Left forced Americans into medical procedures against their will and simultaneously restricted their right to sue for injuries, said Rep. Jim Banks (R-In.), a co-sponsor of the House bill.

Its unacceptable. If vaccine mandates are ethical, why do they require a legal carveout?

The case of Las Vegas teen Emma Burkey illustrates why legislation like this needs to get passed, although many believe that Big Pharma should be footing the bill, not American taxpayers.

Burkey is having to re-learn how to walk after the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) viral vector injection for covid left her with serious injuries. Burkeys family has had to pay a significant amount out of pocket to cover her injuries as their medical insurance does not cover it all.

The family tried to sue, only to have a lawyer drop their case due to the immunity afforded to the drug industry in the PREP Act. The Burkeys have since had to sell their house and move into a wheelchair-accessible apartment in order to care for their vaccine-injured daughter.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are the three pharmaceutical companies and partnerships that currently have covid jabs on the market, and that are immune from liability under the PREP Act, which was signed into law by Donald Trump.

Its sickening, yet not surprising, that were suing our government (ourselves) for damages we ourselves mandated (forced) upon us, wrote someone at National File.

Too damn bad we cant sue the demonrats. God knows theyve made a kings fortune off the mandates. And still, if the word booster is even breathed, people will line up around the block at break-neck speed! If ever anyone wants to know what ignorance is bliss looks like, they need only look to America.

The latest news about Fauci Flu shot injuries and deaths can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

NationalFile.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) One of the largest military installations in the world, Fort Bragg is home to approximately 54,000 military personnel and includes the Special Forces, the Airborne Corps, and the Joint Special Operations Command. In just 18 months, Fort Bragg lost over 80 soldiers from sudden and unexplained causes. According to officials, 33 of the fatalities are of undetermined causes. Fort Bragg cannot explain why dozens of soldiers are dying in their own bunks.

During that same eighteen-month period, three Fort Bragg soldiers died in overseas combat. This means soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg are twenty-seven times more likely to die unexpectedly on their home base than in overseas combat!

Fort Bragg stops reporting soldier deaths after dozens found dead in their bunks

An investigative reporter for Rolling Stone Magazine, Seth Harp, has been looking into this medical anomaly. On February 9, 2022, Seth reported the death of 83 soldiers at Fort Bragg in the 18 months ending in June 2021. Fort Bragg stopped reporting the fatalities after June 2021, but the bodies continue to pile up. Out of the 83 sudden and unexpected fatalities, eleven of them were determined to be from natural causes.

Harp wrote: Fort Bragg soldiers have been turning up unresponsive in their barracks on a disturbingly regular basis since the beginning of 2020, including Caleb Smither, Terrance Salazar, Jamie Boger, Joshua Diamond, Matthew Disney, Mikel Rubino, Michael Hamilton, and numerous others who have not been named.

Drugs were in involved in the deaths of Joshua Diamon and Matthew Disney. The two were found dead on the same day in June 2021, just two weeks after airborne master sergeant Martin Acevedo III was caught trafficking cocaine.

Drugs are only a small part of the problem. In January of 2021, Army captain Robert Latham died suddenly of an apparent heart attack. The 32-year-old was previously in top physical condition. A Green Beret named Calvin Rockward passed away from a sudden, unexpected medical event. The 38-year-old was in excellent physical condition, too.

According to Seth, nine more young and fit soldiers were found unresponsive in their bunks. The U.S. Army and Fort Bragg refuse to investigate or report on the surge in deaths, disrespecting the soldiers and their families. Could there be a serious drug problem going on at Fort Bragg? Could these deaths indicate a surge in suicides and overdoses?

The military continues to be assaulted by mandates that harm soldiers physically and mentally. The vaccine mandates damage combat readiness, while banishing the strongest, healthiest freedom fighters from the ranks.

Militarys medical database explodes with 1,000% increase in medical issues in 2021

The Military Health System began administering the spike protein mRNA vaccine to military service members on December 14, 2020. Since then, the military has administered more than 6.4 million doses, fully inoculating 90.1 percent of active-duty service members with the two-dose protocol. What role do these bioweapon shots have on the number of unexpected and undetermined deaths? Why is Fort Bragg less safe than it was before the mask, testing and vaccine mandates?

The Army is failing to keep soldiers combat-ready, and this is evidenced by the militarys own medical surveillance system. The Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) is used to detect surges of injury and illness in the military to make sure that all individuals are combat ready. The DMED is the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branchs web-based tool to remotely query de-identified active component personnel and medical event data contained within the Defense Medical Surveillance System (DMSS).

In January 2022, attorneys Thomas Renz and Leigh Dundas retrieved the DMED data from military whistleblowers, Drs. Samuel Sigoloff, Peter Chambers and Theresa Long. The data was provided to Senator Ron Johnson at a historic round table meeting with doctors and lawyers.

According to the data, the five-year average for medical issues in the military was 1.7 million codes. After the COVID-19 vaccine protocol was mandated on the military, the number of medical issues spiked to 22 million in the first 10 months of 2021  a 1,000 percent increase! Many of the issues are directly related to the covid-19 vaccines, including Bells palsy, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolisms and neurological disorders. One of the military doctors testified: It is my professional opinion that the major increases incidences of the above discussed instances of miscarriages, cancers, and disease were due to COVID-19 vaccinations.'

The Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the highest-ranking commanders are culpable for unlicensed medical malpractice and mass murder, and must be held responsible for their unethical actions of coercion and discrimination, which were used to force dangerous experiments on soldiers that injured, sickened, disabled and killed many. For the latest update on stopping the mandates in the military, read Liberty Councils updates on the Navy SEAL 1 v. Austin case.

Watch the video below as Atty. Thomas Renz reveals the DoD whistleblowers during a Senate hearing.

This video is from the In Search of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

WayneDupree.com

IC.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) American Journal host Harrison Smith branded Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns as flawed two years after they were first implemented. He also took umbrage at how COVID-19 deaths were counted.

Smith quoted an article by the Daily Mail criticizing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests used to identify COVID-19. The March 12 piece puts forward the possibility of the test itself and the lockdowns put in place being problematic. The gold standard PCR tests  were picking up people who werent actually infected. Some even suggested that the swabs, which have been carried out more than 200 million times in the U.K. alone, may mistake common colds and flu for [the coronavirus.]

It added: If either or both were true, it would mean that many of the cases should never have been counted in the daily tally. [The] ominous and all-too-familiar figure, which is used to inform decision on [lockdowns] and other pandemic measures, was an over-count. (Related: SCIENCE FAIL: Portuguese court rules PCR tests are unreliable, unlawful evidence of alleged Covid-19 infections.)

The American Journal host did not hold back on his response to the British tabloid.

Let me go ahead and answer that question for you, Daily Mail. Yes, they were flawed; they picked up the flu and the cold as COVID-19; and they detected dead COVID-19 strains up to 12 weeks after the person had been infected. It was all a lie, [and] people doing this knew that they were doing it. They imposed lockdowns and restrictions, and destroyed the economy based on these flawed assumptions that they knew were flawed from the very beginning, Smith said.

They locked down your country on purpose. They killed hundreds of thousands of people by denying them things like ivermectin  [despite] the fact that there were cures for this disease a month into the pandemic. The lockdowns  just destroyed economies, leading to the death of millions.

COVID-19 deaths inflated to maintain the big lie

Smith also voiced out his criticism of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) for supposedly redefining what constitutes a COVID-19 death. The move by the Bay States health department will reduce the states death tally by the thousands, according to the Lowell Sun.

DPH State Epidemiologist Dr. Catherine Brown said of the move: We believe that this will provide us a much more accurate picture of who has died [in association with] a COVID-19 infection in Massachusetts, and it will also improve our ability to compare our data with data from other jurisdictions. We think this is an absolutely critical step in improving our understanding of who COVID-19 has impacted most significantly during the pandemic.

Smith remarked: Under the old guidance  if the virus appeared as the cause of death on someones death certificate or if they tested positive for the virus [within] 60 days of death, its counted in the statewide [COVID-19] death tally. Theyre just lying to pump up the numbers, to justify the lockdowns [and] to destroy [the] economy [and the] supply chain.

According to the American Journal host, there must be a massive worldwide reckoning in which all those responsible for destroying Americans lives in the name of public health must be held to account. He added: The only way possible that we can get back to some sense of normalcy is if the people who led us down this path, who lied to us day in and day out and destroyed our country, get whats coming to them.

But Smith is not exactly optimistic about the prospect of the medical tyrants being held to account over their actions.

Itll never happen because the American people have just been castrated. [Theyve] been there just stomping on our nuts, and we sit here and allow them to do it  and [even] thank them for the opportunity.

Head over to MedicalFascism.news for more related stories.

Watch Harrison Smith talking about the flawed lockdowns and method of tallying COVID-19 deaths below.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Italys suspected covid death tally corrected from 132,161 to 3,783 this is where covid hysteria began, and it was 97% FICTION.

Colorado public health officials warn that covid death statistics are inflated, skewed.

Johns Hopkins newspaper removes study examining COVID death rate.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

DailyMail.co.uk

LowellSun.com
(Natural News) Israel declared a state of emergency after a cyberattack crippled several government websites. Several pundits in the Jewish nation say Iranian actors are behind the attack, which is believed to be the largest against the country.

The Israeli government made the state of emergency declaration on March 14, with several government websites down as a result of the attack. Affected websites include those of the interior, health, justice and welfare ministries alongside that of the prime ministers office. The impacted sites became accessible after an hour, Jerusalem added. The countrys Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel said officials are hard at work to fix the damage done by the cyberattack on government sites.

A statement from the countrys Ministry of Communications said: Operations have been carried out by communications companies in order to return the service as soon as possible, and [it] is gradually returning. The ministry will continue to monitor [the situation] under full restoration.

Global internet monitor NetBlocks confirmed the cyber-attack on Israel in a tweet: A significant disruption has been registered on multiple networks supplied by Israels leading [internet] providers Bezeq and Cellcom as the countrys defense authorities and National Cyber Directorate declare a state of emergency.

Days before the emergency declaration, the Ramat Gan Diamond Exchange (RGDE) warned diamond trading firms of an unusual and serious cyber attack. The jewelry exchange based in the city of Ramat Gan located east of Tel Aviv urged member firms in a March 11 statement to disconnect any computer systems connected to the Internet over the weekend. (Related: Are the globalists planning a cyber attack? Israel, IMF lead 10-country simulation of major attack on global financial system.)

RDGE added that the Israeli National Cyber Directorate had warned of a major attack, and the suggestion was in accordance with the authoritys guidelines. The directorate seconded RGDEs statement, saying that it brought attention to attempts at cyberattacks against companies engaged in the field of diamonds and called on the firms to take preventive measures to prevent harm.

Israel points finger at Iran

Despite the lack of confirmatory reports over the identities of the bad actors, several pundits in Israel named Iran as the likely culprit. The Jewish nation and the Islamic republic have been engaged in a cyberwar for years.

Konfidas CEO Ram Levi reported a major attack on Israeli mobile service provider Cellcom. The head of the cybersecurity firm subsequently declared that Iran was responsible for the glitch. Prior to establishing Konfidas in 2013, Levi served as a secretary for the Israeli National Cyber Initiative spearheaded by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, former security official Rafael Franko explicitly named Iran-affiliated hacking group Black Shadow as the perpetrators behind the RGDE cyberattacks. He also warned Israelis to heighten their preparedness for any cyberattack that may come. According to Franko, Israels enemies frequently carry out cyberattacks during the Passover festival.

Israeli media outlets also agreed with the pundits, with at least one reporter explicitly naming the Islamic republic as the perpetrator. Anna Ahronheim, military and defense correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, tweeted: Large-scale cyberattack targeting Israeli government websites  including the [prime ministers office and the] ministries of interior, health, justice and welfare. All websites are down. Suspect: Iran.

Back in January, the Post wrote that Israel saw a 92 percent increase in cyberattacks while the rest of the world only saw a 50 percent increase between 2020 and 2021  resulting in an average of 925 cyberattacks per week. Citing data from Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity company Check Point, it added that Israel was targeted more frequently than the U.S., France, Japan and Germany during the aforementioned period.

The cyberattack mostly targeted educational and research institutions, followed by government and military entities and internet service providers.

Read more stories about cyberattacks on Israel and other countries at Glitch.news.

Watch Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum talking about cyberattacks below.

This video is from the InfoWarSSideBand channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Microsofts response to Chinese cyber attack was to expand business in China.

Authorities advise Swedish citizens to save banknotes in case of a cyber attack or war.

Colonial Pipeline cyber attack draws attention to serious vulnerabilities in U.S. energy.

Healthcare industry next to be targeted by massive cyberattacks via the Internet of Things.

Sources include:

100PercentFedUp.com

Time.news

Newsmax.com

JPost.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Ukraines spring harvest is in jeopardy as farmers are unable to resume work in the fields due to the war. If they are unable to continue their work soon, the countrys agricultural output for the year will be drastically reduced, endangering the food supply not just of Ukraine but of the many countries that depend on Ukrainian food exports.

Last fall, several months before the war began, Ukrainian farmers planted millions of wheat seeds throughout the country which, after a brief growing period, became dormant for the winter. Farmers are desperate to work on the fields and spread fertilizer on their wheat seeds to encourage tillers to grow off the main stalks and increase the yield per wheat stalk. (Related: Russia-Ukraine conflict hits global fertilizer supply, threatens food security for billions of people.)

But even if Ukrainian farmers were able to go back to work in the fields, they say they are very short on fertilizer. And even if they did have enough of those materials, they do not have enough fuel to power their tractors and other equipment, as most of the countrys fuel resources are being diverted to the war effort.

Some experts in Kyiv believe the countrys winter wheat yields could fall by as much as 15 percent compared to previous years if farmers are unable to work on their fields immediately and apply fertilizers. Other farmers believe the situation could be much worse and winter wheat yields could be reduced by as much as 50 percent, possibly even more.

Svein Tore Holsether, president of Yara International, the worlds largest maker of nitrogen-based fertilizers, warned that tens of millions of people will have to deal with food shortages because of the crisis in Ukraine.

For me, its not whether we are moving into a global food crisis, he said. Its how large the crisis will be.

Kyiv urging farmers to start working wherever possible

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged farmers to sow as many fields as possible to protect the nations food supply.

In a recent video, Zelenskyy said the country has to organize a full-fledged sowing campaign in all of its territory to the extent possible.

All depends on people and the situation because this is about life, he said.

But several of Ukraines largest agriculture corporations warned the government that a lot of the countrys planting operations will be unable to occur if Russias invasion continues.

UkrLandFarming, one such agribusiness, said it has lost nearly 300,000 hectares of land to the Russian invasion. This represents around a third of the companys land portfolio. The company was also forced to shut down three of its egg farms, including Europes largest egg farm, the Chornobaivka factory in southern Ukraine, where the company said the farms 3.1 million laying hens are in danger of dying due to lack of care.

Several of the companys managers in Kyiv and in the northern city of Sumy have also been killed by Russian forces.

IMC SA, another Ukrainian agribusiness, is unable to keep most of its operations going because of worries about worker safety. Most of the companys fields are concentrated in the north and east, where Russian forces have occupied many villages and what land that remains in Ukrainian hands is under threat of being attacked by Russian forces or being hit by Russian munitions.

The company is hopeful that its fields in Poltava Oblast (province) to the east of Kyiv will be planted, but it has resigned itself to the fact that many other fields will not be because of the war.

The United Nations warned that, if nothing changes, between 20 to 30 percent of Ukrainian farmland typically used for winter cereals, corn and sunflower seeds will go unplanted or unharvested in the coming 2022 season.

Some Ukrainian officials are still hopeful that the countrys agriculture sector will be able to recover and have a relatively fruitful year. But much of that hope rests with the farmers in the relatively stable western regions of Ukraine, which is experiencing significantly less fighting.

Learn more about how the war in Ukraine is threatening the global food supply by reading the latest articles at FoodCollapse.com.

Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report as host Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about Ukraines ban on food exports and how this will send shockwaves to the global food supply.

This video can be found in the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

The war in Ukraine is going to trigger the biggest global food crisis that any of us have ever seen before.

Food insecurity worsening already following Russian invasion of Ukraine, as countries begin withholding exports and hoarding commodities.

The FOOD RIOTS of 2022 have already begun they will spread globally new intel on scarcity of food, minerals, telecom equipment and more.

Russia-Ukraine war will further worsen global food shortage as poor nations face starvation, unrest.

Food crisis incoming: War in Ukraine threatening global food supplies, half a billion people at risk of hunger.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

Bloomberg.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The United States is now scrambling to cover up the confirmed biological weapons labs in Ukraine, according to Josh Sigurdson of World Alternative Media.

After admitting that there are indeed biolabs in Ukraine, the U.S. government is now trying to weasel its way around the issue.

USA admits there are biolabs in Ukraine and now says if a biological attack happens, its Russias fault. Of course, everything is Russias fault, Sigurdson said.

And then we have things like these U.S.-funded biolabs in Ukraine conducting research into bat coronaviruses, and now we have the WHO [World Health Organization] telling Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens in labs to prevent disease spread.

Sigurdson cited a Zero Hedge article titled WHO told Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens in labs to prevent disease. He noted that the WHO had strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills which, according to the World Alternative Media reporter, is already being done by the Ukrainian government. All documents related to the biolabs are also being destroyed.

US, Ukraine deny operation of biolabs

Sigurdson also mentioned the tense back and forth jabs between U.S. and Russian officials over the dangerous biolabs. (Related: FACT CHECK: The Ukrainian bioweapons labs are REAL.)

He noted that Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said documents recovered by Russian forces in Ukraine showed an emergency attempt to erase evidence of military biological programs by destroying lab samples.

The U.S. denied the allegations by issuing a statement on March 10, saying that it does not have a chemical or biological weapons lab in Ukraine while adding that America does not develop or possess chemical and biological weapons anywhere.

Sigurdson said the Department of State technically admitted that the biolabs do exist after U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland acknowledged on March 8 that Ukraine has biological research facilities. Nuland also said the U.S. is concerned that Russia may be seeking to gain control of these biolabs and that America was working with Ukraine on how they can prevent those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces.

The World Alternative Media reporter pointed out that admitting the biolabs exist proves that conspiracy theorists were right all along. He added that the U.S. will cover this up once again.

Soviet biolabs held and maintained by the US

Sigurdson also talked about the Soviet or Russian biolabs in Ukraine that the U.S. has held since 1991 and should have cleaned up, converted or shut down. He said claims that the U.S. has biolabs in Ukraine is wrong  they are Soviet biolabs that the U.S. now controls.

The U.S., according to Sigurdson, is a genius at scheming but bad at lying. How can they get away with saying, We dont have them. Actually, we do. But they are not ours, they are the Russians from 31 years ago. And then we have them, but we dont have them. Thats insane, truly insane, Sigurdson said.

He noted that he is totally against what Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine are doing. He said both sides are absolutely false and wrong.

So Putin isnt right. But Ukraines wrong as well. Theres obvious evidence of Ukrainian government killing Ukrainians and then blaming it on Russia. And then theres evidence obviously of Russia bombing Ukrainians and then blaming Ukraine, Sigurdson said.

Follow WWIII.news to know the latest development in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Watch the video below to know more about the biolabs in Ukraine.

This video is from the World Alternative Media channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

US confirms existence of bioweapons labs in Ukraine, says Russian attack may target them.

Pentagon ran bioweapons labs in 25 countries, including Ukraine yet no global outcry against the USA for funding covid gain-of-function crimes against humanity.

Some of the worlds most dangerous bioweapons are made at a lab in Maryland (not just in China and Ukraine).

China accuses USA of having bioweapons research program in strategic retaliation against accusations of coronavirus origins.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

ZeroHedge.com
(Natural News) There are Biolabs in Ukraine funded by the US. There was never any real question if they existed or not. The rumor two days after the Russian invasion began, the claim was that Russia was targeting them for destruction. I wrote on February 26, 2022, that such a rumor was false and I pointed out that Russia would never target those labs for destruction. Instead, they would prefer to capture them to illustrate that people like Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, a notorious Neocon, who just wants war has for decades played the Neocon agenda of offensive war against everyone other than the United States  yes even Europe.

(Article by Martin Armstrong republished from ArmStrongEconomics.com)

Victoria Nuland is a strategic player in government for the Neocons who have led US foreign policy from one disaster to another for the past 30 years while avoiding accountability. Nobody really understands that these people are directing the country without Congressional knowledge or the approval of the people.

They pretend America always wears the white hat when in fact their objectives are offensive and not defensive. They lie awake at night dreaming how they can destroy Russia and China for they wallow in hatred and never accepted that communism actually fell for they demonized Chinese and Russians where politics became irrelevant. The Neocons sabotage any effort whatsoever to further world peace. It was shocking that President Joe Biden has nominated Victoria Nuland for the third-highest position at the State Department, Under Secretary for Political Affairs with her history of manipulating the endless policy of war that the American people are against.

Yes, I know Bill Kristol and he even spoke at our WEC I believe back in 1996. Once upon a time, we were friends until I came to see his true colors. Bill has become a hard-core Neocon and his book on Iraq provided the blueprint for the overthrow of Saddam. Bill Tweeted that Russia would stage a filmed invasion to justify invading Ukraine. That was total nonsense and the Neocons will NEVER admit to the dark history of supporting Ukrainian Nazis or the false flag of shooting down the Malaysian passenger flight and blaming Russia to try to support WWIII. Neocons are notorious for making up BS that can be anything to support war as they did about the Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq that never existed.

Bill Kristol was against Trump because Trump was against the Neocon agenda of endless war. People have to know that there is a sub-element inside the US government that is NOT elected and always pushing their own hateful agenda regardless if it is Republican or Democrat. They are a unique force all their own and people fall for their manipulation techniques to demonize their enemy to cover up their own hatred and covert agenda. Speak against them and they will paint you as a traitor, yet nobody even gets to votes on their agenda.

Back then, US Senator Rand Paul urged President Trump not to choose neoconservative Elliott Abrams to serve in the No. 2 spot at the US State Department. In an op-ed published in the libertarian website Rand Paul argued:

Elliott Abrams is a neoconservative too long in the tooth to change his spots, and the president should have no reason to trust that he would carry out a Trump agenda rather than a neocon agenda.

From 2003 to 2005 Victoria Nuland was THE principal foreign policy advisor to VP Dick Cheney who in fact helped to both plan and manage the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Nuland was advising and assisting the Bush administrations case for a preemptive military strike against Iraq for what they alleged were weapons of mass destruction. She argued that removing Saddam Hussein and installing a US ally would be simple and secure the Middle East  WRONG!. Nuland was also for the occupation of both Iraq and Afghanistan. Both were to be a strategic acquisition for her neocon agenda.

During the spring of 2011, Victoria Nuland became State Department spokesperson under Hillary Clinton. It was Nuland who pushed for regime change to also overthrow Moammar Ghaddafi of Libya. UN Security Council resolution 1973 authorized a No Fly Zone for the protection of civilians so she claimed. Then Nuland turned to try to do the same in Syria. Instead of looking at how dangerous Nuland was becoming to world peace, the Clintons retained Nuland for she argued to overthrow Ghaddafi who they always paint as the devil just as she did with Saddam. Demonizing these heads of state, Nuland turned the same strategy on Assad of Syria. She has always demonized her opponent to justify sending in arms to insurgents seeking to overthrow this time the Syrian government. In January 2012, Nuland claimed that the US is on the side of those wanting peaceful change in Syria. She has lied to the people every time to support her neocon agenda that people of the United States are never allowed to vote on. While professing she wanted a peaceful overthrow of the regime, she was supplying weapons for the violent overthrow. This was confirmed in secret DOD documents which state:

During the immediate aftermath of, and following the uncertainty caused by, the downfall of the [Qaddafi] regime in October 2011 and up until early September of 2012, weapons from the former Libya military stockpiles located in Benghazi, Libya were shipped from the port of Benghazi, Libya to the ports of Banias and the Port of Borj Islam, Syria.

This brings us to Ukraine and the Biolabs. In September 2013 Victoria Nuland was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. While the people were rising up against Yanukovich on their own, she and Senator John McCain, another Neocon, passed out food and McCain made a speech to the crowd saying that the US stands behind them. Nuland worked hard to push for the overthrow of Yanukovich and I can confirm that the people were being told to accept the replacement government selected with the approval of Nuland or they would lose the support of the West. It was in early February 2014 when an audio recording of Nuland talking to the US Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, was leaked to the public. The conversation showed the world just how ruthless Nuland truly is for she then said Fuck the EU. It is always her neocon agenda which neither Congress nor the people are ever informed even exists.

While John McCain may be dead, the other hardcore Neocon in politics is Lindsey Graham who is also on that agenda. McCain and Graham were actually addressing the Ukrainian Nazis troops against Russia. They promised them support and the Neocons were in fact always supporting their internal civil war against the Russian-speaking Ukrainians in Donetsk and Luhansk. They pushed for sanctions against Russia for Crimea.

Lindsey Graham has called for a Russian to assassinate Putin which is insane. Facebook suddenly suspends its rules against violence as long as it is directed at hating Russians. Of course, Zuckerberg is a Young Global Leader of Schwab calling into question the integrity of the World Economic Forum. However, assassinating Putin and Russia will respond with someone far more nationalistic. Is Graham also just trying to start World War III? But this is the crisis we have with these Neocons who have dug in deep into the bowls of Washington. They are just hateful people that do not reflect the American people.

So when Biden then promoted Nuland, it has been VERY disturbing for what she does is always hidden from the truth and I would not put it past her for one minute to stage a Biological Attack in Ukraine and blame Russia. Anything to start WWIII. I have long suspected that she may have been behind the Ukrainian firing of an old Russian missile that shot down the Malaysia flight for which the US immediately blamed Russia and imposed sanctions when in fact Russia no longer used those missiles and the plane was shot down in Ukraine, not Russia. This idea of killing Americans any used that to justify invading Cuba by the Neocons back in the 1960s was rejected by President Kennedy and they probably killed him for it.

The Neocons hated Trump because he would not carry out that agenda. Just Google and you will see the hatred Bill Kristol had for Trump and it was all about his refusal to follow their agenda. Why did Obama follow the Neocons as is Biden? The rumor is they are afraid of Neocons for they most likely removed Kennedy from office. They did a good job of stabbing Trump in the back as well. They were afraid if they killed him, his picture would be on a new $1 coin.

The US has Biolabs, 130 according to sources, and has REFUSED to allow international inspections. This is NOT the type of government we voted for regardless of whether you are Democrat or Republican. Nuland has worked there clandestinely through all administrations and the tactic is always the same  demonize your opponent to justify war even when the facts are total bullshit  i.e. Weapons of Mass Destruction that never existed, just move on. They will always claim that their opponent will accuse them of what they themselves are doing. Their motto  always deny.

The famous Colan Powell speech to justify the war against Iraq at the United Nations was a defining moment on the credibility of the Neocon agenda that nobody ever seems to expose. Colan Powell explains how the Neocons use the mantle of patriotism to hide their objectives by waving that flag to get people to trust them in their leadership which they know is essential to waging their endless wars.

Read more at: ArmStrongEconomics.com
(Natural News) BardsFM host Scott Kesterson believes the war in Ukraine is mainly created by the media while the emotions around it are mostly generated by deep programming.

This action that Russia took in Ukraine was manipulated by our media. They have used every trick in the book setting up production facilities on the ground in Kyiv to create scenes that dont exist, Kesterson said during the March 10 episode of BardsFM on Brighteon.TV.

Theyve been using a digitally developed CGI footage to make things look like fighter jets over the city. Weve been seeing AI- and CGI-developed images to make it look like bombings happened when they didnt happen.

But the Ukraine crisis has also revealed something more important, according to Kesterson.

People have been deeply programmed over the years. And the programming is such that it doesnt take much to trigger people to go blind on whats actually happening and refocus their eyes and their emotions toward events, he said.

Ukraine doesnt make sense. Go fight for Ukraine; go give your life for a foreign country you dont know anything about. This is a sort of nonsense. Its happening because there is deep programming within people that has come about from years of media and film, and all of this nonsense that happens in these types of audio and visual programming coming out of the narrative capitals of Hollywood and mainstream media.

Kesterson didnt have to go far to find another example.

We saw this similar test run with the toilet paper action. But something happened during that toilet paper scare if you remember. There is panic, where people literally begin to hoard toilet paper. My theory on that is there was a trigger set off in people to see how deeply programmed they were for a certain event. That was kind of their test run before they launched into the vaccine piece, and before they continued with more severe lockdowns.

That makes sense in the context of a global operation to control people. (Related: Coronavirus blues: If people are panicking over toilet paper, what will they do when the FOOD runs out?)

We can see the effects of it when people literally lost their damn mind over toilet paper. But we see it again now when people literally lost their mind over Ukraine, Kesterson said. So these are things that you just have to start realizing if you havent already. Were being so effectively played by our media and our government, who was 100 percent lying to us on every aspect.

US government lied about bioweapons labs in Ukraine

Just last week, the Biden administration had been caught lying about the bioweapons labs in Ukraine. (Related: US violated UN treaties on biological weapons by funding bioweapons labs in Ukraine.)

After repeatedly denying the presence of biological laboratories in Ukraine, the U.S. government has finally admitted that such facilities exist. On March 8, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that Ukraine has biological research facilities, which, in fact, we are quite concerned that Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of.

So we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach, she told lawmakers.

Perhaps realizing that Nuland essentially admitted there were bioweapons in Ukrainian labs, a spokesperson for the Department of State immediately made some clarifications.

Under Secretary Nuland was referring to Ukrainian diagnostic and biodefense laboratories during her testimony, which are not biological weapons facilities, the spokesperson said.

These institutions counter biological threats throughout the country. Throughout this crisis, Russia has baselessly alleged it is under threat  including from Ukraine and from NATO [North Atlantic Treaty Organization], and has alleged Ukraine plans to use chemical and biological weapons. Neither the United States nor NATO has any desire or intention for conflict with Russia.

Kesterson isnt buying it. He believes those labs are for bioweapons research, noting that the Russians have evidence to prove it.

On March 10, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that the Pentagon-funded biological labs located in Ukraine were conducting experiments with bat coronavirus samples.

According to the documents, the American side planned to conduct work on pathogens of birds, bats and reptiles in Ukraine in 2022, with a further transition to studying the possibility of carrying African swine fever and anthrax, chief spokesman for the Defense Ministry Major General Igor Konashenkov said.

In addition, the facilities were studying the possible spread of pathogens via wild birds, migrating between Russia, Ukraine and other countries in the region.

So this is a question that we have to ask ourselves very candidly, Kesterson said. Why are we involved in bioweapons research across the globe?

Follow WWIII.news for more news related to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Watch the full March 10 episode of BardsFM below. Catch new episodes of the program every Thursday at 5-6 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Western media is literally peddling Neo-Nazi propaganda to prompt war between Russia and Ukraine.

War propaganda about Ukraine becoming more militaristic, authoritarian, and reckless.

Alex Jones: War in Ukraine advances the GREAT RESET desired by globalists.

US confirms existence of bioweapons labs in Ukraine, says Russian attack may target them.

Russia presents compelling new evidence of U.S.-backed bioweapons labs in Ukraine after document proves their existence.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Newsweek.com

GlobalTimes.cn
(Natural News) Commodities are always in danger in times of war. In Ukraine, babies are among them.

The plight of surrogate mothers in wartime is highlighted in an article published by the Atlantic, which shows how the practice of surrogacy results in the commodification of children. In other words, the babies are treated as commodities while the surrogates are required to accomplish their contract even in severe circumstances.

The reality is that the interests of the surrogate and the interests of the parents dont always align. War just makes it that much more stark, the article said.

Ukraine popular place for surrogacy

Ukraine is the second-most popular place for surrogacy for foreign couples with approximately 2,000 to 2,500 babies born to surrogate mothers each year.

The surrogacy industry in Ukraine commonly promises higher-than-average pay for surrogates, which is three times more than the average national yearly salary plus guaranteed housing.

In wartime Ukraine, the baby of a surrogate stays a commodity that the parents are paying for while the surrogate mother is just a means to an end. The article emphasized the inclination to concentrate on the stress of the parents who ordered the baby with their preferences and desires taking the spotlight.

We cannot have the surrogate in any danger. And whether they consider it danger or not, if the parents consider it danger, theyre going to be stressed out of their minds. And I dont want that to spill over to the surrogate, said Susan Kersch-Kibler, founder of a surrogacy organization.

Some of the surrogates do not want to relocate or, in some cases, to stay in safe locations but separate from their families. They want to make their own decisions about where and how they might continue to live in the next days and months.

Some people in wartime can focus all of their attention to family and the war effort, but surrogates cannot do that. Even if they defy pleas to go to places of safety, surrogate mothers carry their work with them, inside their bodies.

Surrogacy is full of danger for both woman and child

Experts in international surrogacy have long debated that the practice is charged with dangers for both women and children, according to a Live Action News report. Babies born to surrogates are sometimes abandoned, particularly in the case of babies born with disabilities, but they are always commodified since they are viewed as a purchased product. (Related: Reproduction industry risks: infertility treatments increase risk of stillbirths.)

Surrogacy couples and individuals who want children are willing to pay a considerable cost to have them, according to Marie Curie Fellow and scholar Daniela Bandelli.

It is quite a risky activity both for the mother, who is at higher risks of pregnancy and birth complications than those who conceive naturally, and for the child, who is deprived of physical contact, including breastfeeding, with this person we usually call the mother. The key question is, are women aware of all the risks they face in participating in the surrogacy industry? said Bandelli.

A few articles have been written about the fate of biological babies born or being carried by surrogate mothers. The war has aggravated the uncertainty facing the future of these babies.

Should a surrogate escape the Russian invasion, the baby may be born in another country whose laws may hinder the completion of the adoption. For example, if a surrogate gives birth to the baby in Poland, will that affect the biological parents ability to claim the child?

The war in Ukraine is turning babies into orphans. Surrogate babies in Ukraine will also deal with trauma when they lose their birth mothers. Having completed their contracts, surrogate mothers have no additional role to play and are abandoned to make their own way in a nation ripped apart by war.

And there are children somewhere who will miss them.

Watch the video below to know how Ukraine busted a human trafficking ring selling babies to Chinese.

This video is from the ZGoldenReport channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Assisted reproductive technology comes with a higher risk of autism, study finds.

Fertility moves online as egg, sperm donors use clicks to connect with recipients.

GET PAID TO MURDER BABIES: Democrat-run cities increasingly providing workers paid time off for abortions under parental leave rules.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

TheAtlantic.com

LiveAction.org

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed almost 1.2 million reports of adverse events linked to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine from December 2020 through March.

Based on Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data released on March 4, there have been 1,168,894 adverse event reports linked to the COVID-19 shots. As of the aforementioned date, 327 million Pfizer doses, 209 million Moderna doses and 18 million Janssen doses have been administered  amounting to a grand total of 554 million COVID-19 vaccine doses injected into peoples arms.

The VAERS data released on March 4 also noted a total of 25,158 vaccine deaths  with 11,505 occurring in the United States. Seventeen percent of vaccine deaths occurred within 24 hours of vaccination, while 22 percent occurred within 48 hours after the injection.

There were 13,428 reports of blood clotting linked to the COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S., as per the VAERS data. The Pfizer shot accounted for a majority of these, with 5,992 attributed to the mRNA vaccine made in partnership with German company BioNTech. The Moderna shot came in second with 4,784 reports of blood clotting, while the single-dose Janssen shot manufactured by Johnson & Johnson followed with 2,607 instances of blood clots.

A total of 4,065 cases of cardiac inflammation were reported to VAERS as of March 4. The Pfizer shot again comprised a huge percentage of these reports of myocarditis and pericarditis with 2,499 cases. The Moderna vaccine followed with 1,381 reports of cardiac inflammation. The Janssen vaccine was a distant third, with only 174 cases of heart lining and heart muscle inflammation attributed to it.

Aside from blood clots and cardiac inflammation, there were 3,596 cases of Bells palsy and 859 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome reported to VAERS during the period between December 2020 and March. The majority of these serious neurological reactions were attributed to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, with the Moderna vaccine and the Janssen shot following suit.

VAERS data reveals children dying after COVID-19 shot

The VAERS data encompassing the period between December 2020 and March showed a total of five deaths in the five- to 11-year-old cohort. The most recent vaccine death involved a seven-year-old boy from the state of Washington who passed away after being injected with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. He went into shock and suffered cardiac arrest 13 days after his vaccination.

VAERS also showed 40 reported vaccine deaths in the 12- to 17-year-old cohort. The most recent death for this age group was a 14-year-old boy from New Jersey injected with the Pfizer vaccine. He experienced cerebral aneurysm that caused his death just one day after getting his first dose.

Aside from the two children, Michigan resident Sandra Jacobs joined the list of more than 11,000 Americans who died following COVID-19 vaccination. The 60-year-old Jacobs received the Janssen vaccine on April 8, 2021 at a CVS pharmacy. She passed away 13 days later on April 21 due to complications of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. A blood clot that developed at a major blood vessel near her brain caused an aneurysm that eventually claimed her life.

A later autopsy confirmed that the Michigan woman died of a serious reaction, which the CDC and other authorities insist is a rare occurrence. Because of Jacobs death, her daughter Tatum Strieter-Byron is now asking the federal government to compensate her for her mothers loss.

This is about the fact that there was wrongdoing that took place, and we are going to hold them accountable. You telling me that [the adverse condition is] rare doesnt make her any less dead, commented Strieter-Byron.

Find more related stories at VaccineDeaths.com.

Watch the video below to learn how to generate a chart of vaccine deaths from the VAERS website.

This video is from the Liberty Press channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

The Vaccine Death Report reveals that MILLIONS of people have died from covid vaccines.

Stunning German analysis finds that COVID-19 vaccine death rates are FAR higher than previously reported.

Spike in coronavirus vaccine-related death reports caused by a mistake, claims CDC, as they delete thousands from their database.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

MedAlerts.org 1

MedAlerts.org 2

MLive.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The American deep state is as ruthless as it is secretive, sparring no citizen its wrath when challenged  and it was challenged, big time, right before the 2020 election that its operatives were busy stealing from then-President Donald Trump.

In the weeks before the election, all of the deep states carefully laid and executed plans to use the pandemic as an excuse to justify mass mail-in balloting  which resulted in literally millions of ballots being fabricated and stuffed in ballot boxes in key states to pretend that Joe Biden actually got 81 million votes  were in danger of collapsing thanks to revelations contained in New York Post exclusive reporting about Hunter Biden and his dishonest daddy, then-Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

The Post reported on shady business deals and arrangements engaged in by Hunter Biden, who was exploiting his fathers global connections to land lucrative positions and make business deals while kicking back a portion of at least 10 percent to his dad. The information came from a laptop Hunter abandoned at a computer repair shop in Delaware, a copy of which had been leaked to the paper by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

That shop owner, John Paul Mac Isaac, had turned the device over to the FBI because of content he found on it  which included, according to reports, potentially illegal activity involving underaged girls as well as money laundering.

But since those initial stories appeared and following additional reporting and interviews he himself has done, Mac Isaac has been targeted by Democrats and the left-wing deep state for personal economic destruction, of which he is on the verge.

In a new report, The Post notes he says hes faced harassment from Big Tech, the IRS and other government agencies ever since, and now faces bankruptcy.

I was getting a lot of death threats, Mac Isaac said. I had to have a Wilmington trooper parked in front of my shop all the time.

There were multiple situations where people came in and you could tell they were not there to have a computer fixed. And if there were not other people in the shop, I dont know what would have happened, he told The Post. I was having vegetables, eggs, dog st thrown at the shop every morning.

The paper continued:

Mac Isaac, 45, said his life was completely upended after the laptop contents became public in a series of reports by The New York Post in October 2020.

The laptop came into Mac Isaacs possession after the future presidents son dropped it off for repairs in April 2019 and never came back. The hard drive contained a trove of emails, text messages, photos and financial documents between Hunter Biden and his family and business associates. The files show a laundry list of shady business deals around the world with Hunter Biden looking to cash in on his family and connections.

It became so bad for him that he was forced to close his shop at Trolley Square and leave the state Nov. 5, 2020, just two days after the stolen election. He says he then spent the bulk of a year hiding out with family in Lakewood, Colo., while also attending woodworking courses.

He eventually applied for unemployment benefits in December 2020, but he said that he ran into problems with government officials.

I would open up a case, wouldnt hear anything, then open another case, then open another case and then I was told to stop opening up cases. And they would keep closing these cases, he said. As his bills piled up, Mac Isaac was forced to tap into his 401K, but those checks never came.

A year later, in December 2021, the former computer repairman then sent a direct letter to Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a long-time colleague of Bidens, in which he warned, I would hate to think that I was singled out in a politically motivated attack. If a state agency was weaponized to punish a perceived political enemy, the country has a right to know.

Afterward, Mac Isaac said the unemployment checks came quickly, but he insists that he still wound up on the short end by several thousand dollars.

And, worse, he has also received what he has taken as threats from the feds.

I got an invoice on Sept 6. 2021 for a tax return in 2016. I took it to an accountant friend of mine who said they dont go back that far unless theyre looking for something, Mac Isaac said. He paid the $57.75 very quickly because he didnt want any trouble.

We have all seen how weaponized the IRS has become over the last decade, so I wasnt about to pick a fight, he said.

Bankruptcy looks like my only option, he said, adding that after he lost his business, he now mostly sustains himself with odd jobs. A buddy of mine does estate clean outs, manual labor. I helped a neighbor redo their porch and Im trying to do more with woodworking.

Anyone who doesnt believe there isnt a vindictive Democrat-run deep state isnt a serious person.

Sources include:

NYPost.com

NaturalNews.com
Destructive oil drilling, fracking and new roads are coming to a UNESCO World Heritage site, putting endangered elephants at even greater risk.

by Tzeporah Berman and Ina-Maria Shikongo

The growing global outcry against the destruction caused by the oil and gas industry has pushed leaders to address their actions to fight the resulting climate and ecological crisis. Yet, the divergence between the climate champion rhetoricwhich was on full display at last years COP26 conferenceand leaders concrete climate commitments needs to be scrutinized and put to test. The fate of humanityin particular, the BIPOC and fenceline communities who are bearing the brunt of the climate crisisdepends on the actualization of these commitments. In a 2022 report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that climate change is the cause of [w]idespread deterioration of ecosystem structure and function across the globe. The fossil fuel industry is not only responsible for the polluting products that worsen the climate but also for destroying ecosystems in their search for and extraction of oil and gas. That is exactly what is happening in the Kavango region in northern Namibia, home to many of Africas remaining wild elephants.

In the Namibian headwaters of the Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the countrys flag flutters beneath Canadas, flying above a new oil well. This violation of the Namibian Constitutionwhich requires that the national flag should be hoisted first and flown on separate staffs when flown with other nations flagsis a blatant symbol of neocolonialism, embodied further by an oil rig standing in the midst of a magnificent landscape, rich in biodiversity and a refuge for the wildlife and communities alike, their home for millennia.

The Canadian flag marks the land where a destructive and controversial project is being carried out by the Canadian oil company called ReconAfrica, which currently holds a license to explore for oil in an area extending over 13,200 square miles in both Namibia and Botswana. Local communities and environmental groups point out that the massive pool of oil that the company hopes to access and extract oil and gas from will represent one-sixth of the worlds remaining carbon budget when these products are finally used. The oil and gas also lie under wild and beautiful lands that are critical for providing millions of people access to drinking water, and are also home to wildlife that is crucial for the survival of global biodiversity.

Fossil fuel drilling in the region poses a catastrophic threat to the climate and global attempts being made by environmental groups and leaders to stop global biodiversity loss. The Kavango Basin is home to a diverse and rich array of wildlife and covers crucial migratory routes for the worlds largest remaining herd of savanna elephants, which are threatened on a genocidal scale by ReconAfricas activities in the basin. Cheetahs, rhinos and other critically endangered species living in the region are also in grave danger of extinction as a result of this oil exploration.

Furthermore, the Okavango Delta is an Indigenous territory, and this oil exploration by ReconAfrica threatens to displace and alienate the San and Kavango communities, jeopardizes the drinking water for more than a million people calling the Kavango Basin their home, and threatens the regions major sources of income that are crucial to providing livelihood to the people here, including tourism, farming and fishing. This oil drilling by the company clearly breaches the rights and clauses outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), of which ReconAfricas home country, Canada, is a signatory and has supposedly committed itself to honor.

Should the project pull ahead, a carbon bomb hangs over humanitys head. The companys own projections of 120 billion barrels of oil equivalent translate into 51.6 metric gigatons of CO2. To put this into perspective, one single metric gigaton is equal to 200,000 elephants that can be stacked to reach from the Earth to the moon. ReconAfricas shortsighted fossil fuel bid makes a laughingstock of attempts to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as outlined by the Paris agreement.

The Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy, Tom Alweendo, is aware of the regions vulnerability but still views the project as a source of revenue for his country. However, new global oil demand scenarios that take into account climate policies such as zero-emissions vehicles mean that this project will probably create both significant stranded assets and unfunded cleanup, which will undermine Namibias and Botswanas public revenues. In spite of the socio-environmental impacts and economic risks, the Namibian government is defending the project and attempting to discredit local climate youth activists through racist attacks and attempts to intimidate local opposition.

On the Canadian side, the Trudeau government is turning a blind eye to the project, despite human rights abuses, while claiming Canada is a climate champion. In April 2021, at U.S. President Joe Bidens virtual climate summit, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed, Canada is a committed partner in the global fight against climate change, and together we will build a cleaner and more prosperous future for all. In practice, the Canadian government has not undertaken any concrete action to prevent ReconAfrica from contributing to the climate crisis. In addition, the company is operating in complete impunity in a region of the Global South despite obligations under international human rights law requiring Canada to protect foreign populations from human rights abuses perpetrated by their own companies.

It is time for Canadian officials to do everything in their power to ensure a federal investigation regarding ReconAfricas activities and walk their talk to show their commitment to fighting climate change and to stop oil and gas plans from going forward in the Kavango Basin. This means barring finance to ReconAfrica from Export Development Canada, empowering the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, which has the independence and the power to investigate human rights abuse allegations, and upholding Canadas international human rights law obligations by passing legislation requiring Canadian companies to prevent human rights abuses abroad, and to undertake comprehensive human rights and environmental due diligence throughout their global operations.

The Dutch courts recent ruling holding Royal Dutch Shell responsible for its activities demonstrates how it is indeed possible to hold oil companies accountable wherever they operate. For the first time, a corporation has been obliged to answer for its actions in light of the climate crisis. With this court order, a precedent has now been set in terms of multinationals duty of care, and this follows the International Energy Agencys (IEA) first 1.5 degrees Celsius-aligned energy scenario declaring there is no room for new fossil fuel investment. This shows the potential power of legislation in protecting the world, fueling the campaign to make ecocide a crime and ensuring the arrest and prosecution of those who are enabling, funding and causing severe environmental harm.

In order to support countries like Namibia which rely on fossil fuel exploitation, international cooperation based on principles of equity is critical to ensure a just transition. Calls for initiatives like the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty could be helpful not only to demand the end of the expansion of fossil fuels but also to define the role wealthy nations in the Global North, like Canada, should play to support countries in the Global South in their bid to build stable economies while transitioning away from fossil fuels. A Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty would also help fulfill demands outlined in the communique of the 2020 Africa Energy Leaders Summit and push wealthy countries to actually put an end to fossil fuel expansion, phase out existing production and secure a fair and just transition that will empower all humans to live with dignity while preserving precious ecosystems, of which we are all an integral part.

This article was produced by Earth | Food | Life, a project of the Independent Media Institute.

Tzeporah Berman is a Canadian environmentalist with Stand.Earth and an adjunct professor at York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies and Urban Change. She is also chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative.

Ina-Maria Shikongo is a Namibian front-line defender, Fridays for Future Windhoek coordinator, activist and artist.
(Natural News) In a roundtable discussion in Doral, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis warned that COVID rules will suddenly return after the midterm elections if Democrats are allowed to remain in power.

(Article republished from LifeSiteNews.com)

The minute those elections are over, he said, they will impose mandates if they feel the need to do that. They will impose restrictions.

Criticizing the recent lifting of restrictions in blue states as mere political moves aimed at bolstering failing election campaigns, the Florida governor said, So when you start to see them kind of re-evaluate or say all this, just understand this. The science didnt change. The medical science didnt change. The political science changed. They feel the heat.

They know that voters have been tired of perpetual lockdown policies, the Republican continued. They know that they have basically offered no off ramp and they know that theyre fixing to be whooped at the polls, so thats causing the epiphany.

In Hawaii, one of the last states to lift its indoor mask mandate, which will end March 25, the states governor said he is ready to reinstitute the mask policy if COVID case numbers surge.

DeSantis had also raised the issue on Twitter, saying, The medical science on forced masking children didnt change  the political science did. In Florida, we never imposed state mask mandates, and we liberated children and parents from the local authorities that did. We hope every jurisdiction will follow suit.

The medical science on forced masking children didnt change  the political science did. In Florida, we never imposed state mask mandates, and we liberated children and parents from the local authorities that did. We hope every jurisdiction will follow suit. pic.twitter.com/Dz4SgObVJx  Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) February 8, 2022

Read more at: LifeSiteNews.com
(Natural News) The war in Ukraine is already having a noticeable effect on the food supply in Europe, with store shelves in some countries stripped bare of popular Ukrainian exports like sunflower oil and concerns growing about the future availability of wheat.

EU refineries source as much as 45 percent of their sunflower oil from Ukraine, and this supply is now in serious jeopardy. The vegetable oil industry group FEDIOL warned that the available stocks in the European Union will only cover the next four to six weeks.

In a statement, they wrote: Beyond that period, it is likely that lack of availability of crude sunflower seed oil and limited alternatives will lead to a shortfall of refined/bottled sunflower seed oil on the European market this will be felt up to the consumer level.

In many European countries, sunflower oil is used in much the same way that Americans use vegetable oil, such as for baking, cooking and frying. Ukraine and Russia combined account for roughly 80 percent of global exports of sunflower oil, and with both countries currently at war, importers are scrambling to find alternatives.

Ukraine normally ships around 200,000 tons of sunflower oil to the EU each month. European producers are now trying to reduce the impact of the war by taking some of the sunflower oil that was earmarked for biodiesel fuel and shifting it to the food markets to keep up with demand. Other products that are less popular on the continent, such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil and tropical oils, are also starting to get attention as people seek alternatives.

Rationing is already underway in some countries

A week ago, Spanish supermarkets started rationing sales of sunflower oil in hopes of discouraging customers from stockpiling the ingredient. Spains largest supermarket chain, Mercadona, began limiting purchases to 5 liters of sunflower oil per customer, while the higher-end supermarket El Corte Ingles limited purchases to three one-liter bottles or one five-liter bottle per day per customer in response to the high demand and low supply. Despite high domestic olive oil production, Spanish families regularly use the cheaper sunflower oil for deep-frying foods and baking desserts.

Even with these limits in place, many shoppers are already being greeted by bare shelves when they head toward the sunflower oil section of Spanish supermarkets, and the shortage is also putting a strain on olive oil supplies.

Shoppers have also been warned to expect shortages of foods that are commonly packaged in sunflower oil, such as canned tuna, as well as snacks like potato chips that are fried in sunflower oil. Packaging and food safety regulations make it difficult for companies to simply switch to a different type of oil in manufacturing their products, so it is likely that these foods will simply become unavailable as supplies of sunflower oil dwindle. Moreover, while some companies may be able to secure sunflower oil from other countries, the costs are rising quickly, and this rise is expected to be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Just a few days into the conflict, the price of sunflower oil FOB Black Sea Ukraine climbed from $470.50 to $1,950.50 per metric ton before settling around $1480 per metric ton.

Roughly 300,000 tons of Ukrainian sunflower oil had been scheduled to ship in late February and March, but the crisis has forced the oils destination markets to seek edible oils from other sources.

This situation is only likely to get worse as sunflower seeds are normally sown in April and May in Ukraine for harvesting in September, which means the next growing cycle is at serious risk. In addition, the shutdown of import-export facilities and blocked trading routes are expected to have a major impact on both the availability and cost of sunflower oil throughout the world.

Sources for this article include:

Reuters.com

TheLocal.es

NewFoodMagazine.com
(Natural News) Facebook and Instagrams parent company, Meta Platforms, is now relaxing its policy on hate speech, following Russias invasion of Ukraine. Users from certain countries are now allowed to call for violence against Russian invaders without any repercussions, as per the companys internal communications.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we temporarily allowed forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules, such as violent speech like death to Russian invaders. We still wont allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.

The eased policy applies to most post-Soviet countries and their neighbors, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Detailing the parameters of the new policy, Meta said in its email that the company is issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 violent or hate speech.

T1 hate speech, or Tier 1 content, targets a person or a group of people on the basis of their protected characteristics such as race or ethnicity. This content could include (a) violent speech or support in written or visual form; (b) dehumanizing speech or imagery in the form of comparisons, generalizations or unqualified behavioral statements; (c) mocking the concept, events or victims of hate crimes despite having no real person depicted in an image; and (d) designated dehumanizing comparisons, generalizations or behavioral statements. (Related: Sanctions may end up isolating Russias internet; Russians flocking to VPNs to bypass censors.)

However, Facebook does frequently change its content-moderation rules, to the extent that it has been criticized by its own Oversight Board.

In one instance, it was pointed out that the company created an exception to its hate speech rules for world leaders, but was never clear which leaders got the exception or why. It also allowed users to post calls for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to internal emails to its content moderators.

Meta said it takes its role in keeping abuse off the service seriously. Official policy on hate speech mentioned that it believes in people using their voice to connect more freely when they dont feel attacked based on who they are. This is why hate speech was not allowed. Moreover, it creates an environment of intimidation and exclusion, and in some cases, may even promote offline violence.

It even suspended the account of President Donald Trump in the wake of the January 6, 2021 riots. While the Oversight Board said the decision was correct, it did so without a clear rationale or plan.

Meta was also harshly criticized for being lenient during the George Floyd riots of 2020, which became the most destructive and violent protests in American history.

The company has also announced that it was changing its rules to allow users to praise the neo-Nazi Azov Ukrainian military unit, which was previously banned from being freely discussed under the companys Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy. However, since it is now a part of Ukraines attempt to repel the invasion, Meta took a 180-degree turn on the matter.

Kremlin calls Facebook extremist, demands for intervention

In response to the policy changes toward the Russian president, the Kremlin called the tech company an extremist and called on U.S. authorities to intervene. (Related: Russia blocks access to Facebook, accuses it of discriminating against state-owned media outlets.)

The Russian Embassy in the United States went on Twitter, saying: We demand that [U.S.] authorities stop the extremist activities of @Meta, take measures to bring the perpetrators to justice. Users of #Facebook & #Instagram did not give the owners of these platforms the right to determine the criteria of truth and pit nations against each other.

The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office also called for a criminal investigation against Meta, citing Russian propaganda and extremism laws. The nations state media watchdog said Meta-owned Instagram will also be blocked due to calls for violence against Russian troops.

Follow WWIII.news for more updates on the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Watch the video below for more information about Facebooks new policy.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Will the Russia-Ukraine conflict end with the collapse of Western civilization?

Russian Deputy PM: Rejection of Russian oil would lead to catastrophic consequences for global market.

Russian banks turn to Chinese card system as American Express, Visa, Mastercard suspend Russian operations.

Russia switches to China-based credit card system after VISA, MasterCard ban as global financial realignment quickens.

Treasury Dept. sanctioning Russian-backed news outlets for advancing false narratives; Are U.S. alternative news sites next?

Sources include:

TheNewAmerican.com

JPost.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that it is likely Americans will have to receive a fourth dose of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

The top infectious disease doctor announced this during an interview with CNBC, in response to a question about COVID-19 vaccination in the future.

It is likely that were not done with this when it comes to vaccines, Fauci said. Everybody wants to return to normal, everybody wants to put the virus behind us in the rear-view mirror  which is, I think, what we should aspire to. He acknowledged that the U.S. is going in the right direction in its response to four other COVID-19 variants.

Back in January 2022, Fauci argued that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose was entirely conceivable given the spread of the more infectious B11529 omicron variant. The strain first identified in South Africa can evade vaccine-induced immunity, he warned.

We may need to boost again; thats entirely conceivable. But before we make that decision about yet again another boost, we want to determine clearly what the durability of protection is of that regular boost, that third shot, he told ABC news anchor Martha Raddatz. Certainly, youre going to see the antibody levels go down. Thats natural. (Related: Fauci claims fourth COVID dose is entirely conceivable.)

According to the NIAID director, health officials dont know the durability of protection imbued by a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines and a second dose of the Janssen adenoviral vector vaccine.

However, he clarified the use of the term protection as protection against severe disease  indirectly admitting that vaccines do not protect against COVID-19 transmission. You are going to see breakthrough infection as weve seen now  even in boosted people, added Fauci.

Faucis pro-fourth vaccine dose position aligns with Big Pharma interests

Fauci bringing up the possibility of a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose soon appeared to align with comments made by Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. The head of the New York-based drug company said on March 13 that a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose is necessary for continued protection against omicron.

It is necessary  a fourth [dose]  right now. The protection that you are getting from the third [shot] is not that good against infections [and] doesnt last very long. We are just submitting those data to the [Food and Drug Administration], and then we will see what the experts outside Pfizer will also say, he said during a CBS interview on Face The Nation.

Bourla cited data from Pfizer studies indicating that three COVID-19 vaccine doses provide high protection against hospitalization and death stemming from the omicron variant. But he quickly added: It doesnt last long. After three or four months, it starts waning.

Back in December of last year, Bourla stated the need for a fourth dose amid the spread of omicron. Prior to this, he predicted that the fourth COVID-19 dose would be given 12 months after the third dose.

The Pfizer CEO said during a Dec. 8 Squawk Box interview on CNBC: [The first point is] when we see real-world data, [it] will determine if the omicron [variant] is well-covered by the third dose and for how long. [The] second point [is] I think we will need a fourth dose. With omicron, we need to wait and see because we have very little information. We may need it faster.

According to Bourla, Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech can develop an omicron-specific vaccine by March 2022 if the situation calls for it. However, he said that the company expects new variants to emerge and that will determine if vaccine adjustments are needed.

Visit BigPharmaNews.com for more stories like this.

Watch Dr. Anthony Fauci explain to ABCs Martha Raddatz how a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose is entirely conceivable.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Pfizer CEO says fourth vaccine dose might be needed sooner than expected.

Fauci floats the idea of injecting eligible Americans with COVID booster shots every six months.

Fauci considering booster shots every FIVE months for all Americans the spike protein assault never ends.

Pfizer CEO aggressively pimping FOURTH booster shot, proving it was always going to be a SERIES of shots that didnt stop covid.

Sources include:

Summit.news

CNBC.com 1

NewsPunch.com

CNBC.com 2

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The CEO of one of Germanys largest health insurance carriers was abruptly fired from his job last month after releasing truthful data about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine injuries.

Andreas Schofbeck of BKK / ProVita, whom we have reported on in the past, reported an unexpected jump in jab-related health insurance claims. In February, he notified the Paul Ehrlich Institute about it, PEI being the German equivalent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Schofbecks BKK filing exposed the PEI for underreporting adverse events related to Fauci Flu shots. Here is part of what Schofbeck wrote in his letter to the PEI about this anomaly:

If these figures are extrapolated to the whole year and to the population in Germany, probably 2.5-3 million people in Germany have received medical treatment for vaccination side effects after Corona vaccination.

Dr. Dirk Heinrich, chairman of NAV-Virchow Bund, an association of private medical practitioners in Germany, responded with claims that the PEI and BKK will be working closely together to examine the billing code data. He went on to blast Schofbecks letter as complete nonsense.

Truth be told, Schofbecks letter is anything but complete nonsense. If anything tells a more accurate story about Wuhan Flu shot damage, it is health insurance data.

 thats because insurers are highly motivated to carefully track any anomalies in their data that could profoundly affect their profits and losses, explains The Defender.

The BKK data, in concert with U.S. insurance industry data and adverse event reports collected by a survey conducted by the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH), reveal an emerging pattern of underreporting of COVID vaccine-related injuries and deaths.

German authorities refuse to acknowledge the deadly truth about covid injections

According to Schofbecks letter, which is dated February 21, data from some 10.9 million people was analyzed. Based on this, it was discovered that 216,695 people were being treated for a covid jab adverse event during the first 2.5 quarters of 2021.

Extrapolated over an entire year for a population of 83 million people, this data suggests that as many as 2.5 to 3 million people are likely receiving treatment for a Fauci Flu shot injury, or about 4-5 percent of all fully vaccinated people in Germany.

Our first assumption is that, since no compensation is paid for reporting vaccine adverse events, reporting to the Paul Ehrlich Institute is often not done because of the great expense involved, Schofbeck explains in the letter.

Physicians have reported to us that reporting a suspected vaccine adverse event takes about half an hour. This means that 3 million suspected cases of vaccine adverse events require about 1.5 million working hours of physicians.

In conclusion, Schofbeck warned that this serves as a significant warning signal about the true risk associated with covid injections, adding that their danger to human life cannot be ruled out.

Despite claiming publicly that it would work with BKK to review the data, the PEI has done absolutely nothing, and Schofbeck is no longer BKK / ProVitas CEO.

German researcher and physician Dr. Florian Schilling conducted an analysis as well, which found that the PEIs reported numbers for covid jab injuries in 2021 were seven times lower than BKKs calculations.

PEIs reported numbers were 13.86 times lower than BKKs projections when compared to the 14 month period since the vaccine rollout, The Defender reported.

Using this factor, Schilling calculated more than 400,000 serious AEs and over 31,000 deaths from AEs have occurred since the beginning of the vaccination campaign.

Indiana-based OneAmerica, another life insurance carrier, has similarly reported a stunning 40 percent increase in deaths compared to pre-covid jab levels.

The latest news about Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine injuries and deaths can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Newly leaked documents appear to indicate that the FBI actually used taxpayer dollars to fund a Ukrainian National Guard unit whose members are linked to neo-Nazi ideology and have ties to the riot in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017, just a few months after then-President Donald Trumps term had begun.

The documents identify the Azov Battalion as the recipient of those funds, as well as reveal a great deal of coordination between neo-Nazi groups based in the U.S. and the Ukrainian National Guard unit.

According to the documents, the funds were diverted to these various organizations in an attempt to destabilize the West, and the U.S. in particular, during Trumps presidency by inflaming racial tensions, which continued throughout his term and culminated in the Floyds Rebellion riots throughout 2020, En-Volve.com reported last week.

According to Jacobin Magazine, which linked to a criminal complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Scott Bierwirth in October 2018 (.pdf file here), a 2018 bureau affidavit states that the Azov Battalion is believe to have participated in training and radicalizing United States-based white supremacy organizations, to include members of the Rise Above Movement (RAM), some of whom were prosecuted for planned assaults on counterprotesters at events like the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

Added DailyVeracity.com: While the US government focuses on jailing and sanctioning right-wing dissidents in the US using the help of tech companies, uncovered documents reveal the US indirectly sent taxpayer dollars to neo-nazi groups and Charlottesville rioters abroad. This means that funding of the Azov Battalion specifically designed for countering Russian influence within Ukraine, indirectly helped train one of the most prominent groups prosecuted after the 2017 Charlottesville rally.

The Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University in California, which tracks the RAM organization, also noted:

RAM was hosted by Olena Semenyaka, head of the National Corps, the political wing of the Azov Battalion, a unit of the Ukrainian National Guard with neo-Nazi and white supremacist affiliations. Semenyaka later stated that Rundo and his compatriots came to learn our ways and showed interest in learning how to create youth forces in the ways Azov has. During their visit, the RAM members joined the Azov Battalion for sparring at the Reconquista Club, a mixed martial arts (MMA) club affiliated with the group. Rundo entered an MMA competition for white supremacists from across Europe, supposedly the first American to take part in the history of the event. While in Kiev, Rundo also got a tattoo of the Viking warrior logo of White Rex, a clothing label founded by Russian MMA fighter and Azov Battalion associate Denis Nikitin.

There is also documentation online of Ukrainian military action featuring soldiers and fighters adorned with neo-Nazi insignia.

Footage shows what reportedly is a video of a Tank vs Tank duel in the streets of Ukraine. Per Observers, such footage was taken reportedly after a successful ambush of a Russian convoy. The number of Ukrainian refugees reach 2 million mark#Russia #UkraineRussianWar pic.twitter.com/UeeGP7Q3lt  Zaid Hamid (@ZaidZamanHamid) March 9, 2022

Another Ukrainian soldier spotted wearing the Neo-Nazi Black sun patch.. It was posted on Official NATO twitter page. Now they have deleted this tweet but not before it was archived. #Russia pic.twitter.com/FPRHTpiwE0  Zaid Hamid (@ZaidZamanHamid) March 9, 2022

The U.S. military is also aware of the situation.

A number of prominent individuals among far-right extremist groups in the United States and Europe have actively sought out relationships with representatives of the far-right in Ukraine, specifically the National Corps and its associated militia, the Azov Regiment, says a 2020 report from the West Point US Military Academys Combating Terrorism Center. US-based individuals have spoken or written about how the training available in Ukraine might assist them and others in their paramilitary-style activities at home.

There is also this search engine entry showing, again, U.S. government support for neo-Nazis:

It should surprise no one that the U.S. government deep state has its filthy, stinking hands all over this tragedy in Ukraine.

Sources include:

En-Volve.com

DailyVeracity.com

JacobinMag.com
(Natural News) American oil workers are not happy with the way the Biden administration has dealt with Americas oil industry.

Owen Shroyer took calls from oil workers to get their perspective on whats really behind the current rise in oil and gas prices during a recent episode of War Room on InfoWars. Shroyer took note that when President Donald Trump was still in the White House, there was constructed, expanding and working pipelines and production of oil, with workers earning six figures in their jobs.

It was really on to make America energy independent. As soon as Biden got in the construction stopped, the production halted, they had to start laying people off. And that was from people that worked at oil companies in Texas and California, Shroyer said.

According to an oil worker from North Dakota named Jeremy, the oil production is not going to increase because Biden and his cronies have decided to cut funding and implement ESG scores. He added that the oil companies are smart and will continue to make money and save cash aside from keeping production going at current levels for at least the next 10 to 20 years.

Jeremy also said the oil companies are already making record profits aside from putting so much money into drilling, exploration and fracking of oil out of the ground. He added that the oil companies will not just take a hit on the deals being made.

The North Dakota oil worker further said that Bidens policy to shift to green or renewable energy, such as windmills, solar panels and electric cars, is not a good business model.

He pointed out that under the Trump administration, America was producing around 13 billion barrels a day but under Biden only one out of 10 oil leaks has actually produced oil. He added that what the current administration is now trying to do is jack up the price of oil so that the American people cant afford gas for cars and just go electric, completely disregarding the last 200 years of American history.

America needs 30-year transition period to shift into alternative energy source

Jeremy noted that America needs a smooth 30-year transition period to shift into an alternative energy source or the so-called green renewable energy.

Meanwhile, an oil worker from Wyoming named Michael said the stoppage of the oil production will not only put them out of work, but will also put more strain on the supply chain. He added that the outrageous fuel prices will bring massive shortages. Michael also said that it is not just about the money but the control of the oil and gas industry.

Another oil worker from North Dakota named Chase said the transition to carbon neutral only means no energy and that the gas prices going up is going to be a given.

Steve from Texas said oil is highly manipulated even in the stock market. He noted that there is probably real shortages and that is on purpose. Steve added that everything is political and manipulated, especially with big oil companies like BP and Exxon now moving into green energy and spending money on other things that are not oil.

The oil worker from Texas also mentioned that getting people off oil to buy an electric car is absolute nonsense since it takes so much energy to make them and that it also takes energy to charge them.

Biden uses almost half of Americas oil reserves

Another worker in the oil industry in Texas named Seth said that Trump topped off all the reserves when oil and gas prices were really low, but now America is using almost half of it under the Biden administration.

Randy, a worker in the California oil industry, lamented the sanctions put on American oil production companies with all the regulatory stuff and frack moratorium in California.

Governor Gavin Newsom had directed the Department of Conservation in April last year to start regulatory action to end the issuance of new permits for hydraulic fracturing or fracking by January 2024. Newsom also requested that the California Air Resources Board study pathways to phase out oil extraction in the state before 2045.

Shroyer concluded the show by saying that Biden is letting the Ukraine situation go on without any intervention because he can put all the blame of his catastrophes on Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Related: US oil prices rise to a 7-year high as conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues.)

Follow Collapse.news to know about the oil crisis America is facing.

Watch the video below to know the sentiments of American oil workers.

This video is from the InfoWars channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Oil prices surge to multi-year highs as Ukraine conflict causes ripple effect in global oil supplies.

Elevated crude prices and uptick in demand cause gasoline prices to reach 7-year high.

Global food prices climb to record highs thanks to fallout from energy prices amid skyrocketing oil.

State and federal regulations cause gas prices to surge in California.

Oil prices soar as Russian sanctions stir supply chain concerns.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

Gov.ca.gov
(Natural News) The US government denies that biological research is taking place in Ukraine, yet Russia is currently exposing a network of biolabs that began during the Obama-Biden administration. Former President Barack Obama previously toured and spoke about these Ukrainian biolabs, which were set up under the humanitarian pretenses of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program.

Russias Ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, brought forth new evidence that there are at least thirty suspect biolabs in Ukraine. These biolabs are jointly funded by the United States under their Defense Threat Reduction Agency. A full military audit of these biolabs is essential to ensure that the US and Ukraine are abiding by the UNs Biological Weapons Convention. Heres why:

Russian Ambassador accuses U.S. of illegal biologics research in Ukraine

Nebenzia accused the US and Ukraine for working on strains of plague, anthrax, tularemia, cholera, leptospirosis, coronavirus and other lethal diseases using synthetic biologic enhancements. These projects also include enhancements of H5N1 pandemic influenza, which can cause 50 percent lethality in human populations.

Nebenzia said the biologics research is conducted under the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program; it uses bats, lice and fleas to study how different infectious diseases can spread. Some of the research allegedly dates back to Japanese biological research in the 1940s, from which fugitive Japanese researchers found refuge with the United States. Nebenzia warns that bio-agents can be created to target specific ethnic groups that can lead to targeted genocide. Moreover, the labs are located near the Russian border, and pose a threat to the Russian people and Europe. Nebenzia claims that radical nationalist groups in Ukraine are working with the United States. He claims that the Reform of Ukrainian Healthcare led to an uncontrolled growth of dangerous infections that led to regional outbreaks of diphtheria, tuberculosis, measles, swine flu and symptomatic disease that resembles plague.

The US and Ukrainian Ambassadors did not take the accusations seriously and immediately dismissed the existence of the biolabs and the biological research being conducted there. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield and Ukrainian Ambassador Sergiy Syslytsya claimed that Russia is using the narrative as an excuse to use their own biological weapons against the Ukrainian people. They agreed that Russia is the only aggressor in the current situation. The U.N. Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, concurred that the U.N. is not aware of any biological weapons program in Ukraine.

However, Victoria Nuland, the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs testified at a US Senate hearing that the biolabs do exist, and she is worried the contents of the lab will fall into the hands of the Russians.

Obama recalls visit to Ukrainian biolabs, where he saw anthrax and plague

European countries, or any country for that matter, should not take lightly any evidence of biological research that violates the United Nations Biological Weapon Convention (1975). Article 1 of the international treaty prohibits, under any circumstances, the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition and retaining of biological weapons. The US has repeatedly denied their involvement in gain-of-function coronavirus experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, yet the documentation for this unethical research exists. How can corruption in the US government be so readily dismissed by the UN? Russia is not the only aggressor in a very complicated situation that has taken place over several years in Ukraine.

In fact, US Defense documents from 2005 show that there were plans for a level three biosecurity lab in Odessa, Ukraine. Then Senator Barack Obama acknowledged a trip he took with Senator Dick Lugar. Obama haphazardly recalls unsafe conditions at the labs, after he was introduced to vials of plague, anthrax and other dangerous bioweapons. Obama revealed this later in a presidential speech to the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Symposium. Obama said he learned a lot from Dick Lugar and was taken in by him. The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program expanded into Ukraine after Obama and Lugar entered into a partnership with Ukrainian officials.

The US-funded biolab, the Interim Central Reference Laboratory, opened in June 2010 in Odessa, Ukraine. The biolab was lauded by U.S. Senator Dick Lugar, who announced it would be instrumental in researching dangerous pathogens. The level-3 bio-safety lab, which is the first built under the expanded authority of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, will be used to study anthrax, tularemia and Q fever as well as other dangerous pathogens, Lugar said.

The Nunn-Lugar Act (established in 1991), allowed US officials to proliferate Ukraine under the pretense of helping the former Soviet Union dismantle and safeguard large stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The question is: Have these threat reduction programs enabled predatory biologics research, all under the guise of global security? Are these biolabs compromised and do they violate UN treaties on biological weapons? Are Russians justified in their pursuit to prevent the intentional or unintentional release of pathogens of pandemic potential?

Sources include:

Strangesounds.org

CSpan.org

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

UN.org

Youtube.com
(Natural News) Mainstream media outlets have propagated lies that make it appear as if the transgender movement is taking over Western society. Not only is this wrong, but it is also pervasive and egregious.

Recently, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued an executive order that directed family services to investigate doctors and parents who are allowing their children to take hormone blockers or go under the knife for sex change. There has been evidence in recent years of how dangerous these drugs and procedures are.

In response to the move, the media decided to attack Abbott and label him as anti-trans, adding that disallowing children to get these life-changing procedures can be considered child abuse. (Related: Mississippi mayor refuses to distribute funds to libraries that display LGBT books for kids.)

The same criticism is true for Florida where members of the media are criticizing what they billed as the Dont Say Gay law. This bill, titled Parental Rights in Education Bill, simply prohibits schools from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten to the third grade. The absolute hysteria from LGBT activists is also sinister, in that they feel the need to discuss such effects to children eight years old and younger.

However, the LGBT community claimed that this is an attack on children with gay family members and are LGBT members themselves. Even though the bill had nothing to do with dont say gay, the media jumped on the overtly propagandist slogan with a lot of enthusiasm.

The bill actually only restricts discussing transgenderism and sexual orientation for eight-year-olds and younger. But the media adopted a political slogan coined by the LGBT movement and used it to describe the law rather than use the bills actual name, which focused on parents and educators. (Related: Biden is going to SUE Texas to make sure children continue to be MAIMED and destroyed with LGBT surgeries and chemical castration.)

Parental Bill of Rights

Abbott has long been talking about removing impropriety in schools. The government tapped the Texas Education Agency to investigate the availability of pornographic books in schools and allowed parents access to course materials.

The Parental Bill of Rights that Abbott is pushing for will simply call for potential prosecution of anyone supplying minors with inappropriate learning materials, such as if these teachers provide access to pornographic materials. However, critics of the bill focus on the fact that it disallows students to learn about gender, sexuality and race.

At the March for Education rally, advocates said the bills can stifle education. Obviously, you know, we cant protest at every single school board in Texas thats enacting these policies, but we can make a big show at the Capitol to show our support for students rights to an inclusive education and a full education, one member of the Voters of Tomorrow Texas said.

Clearing up the issue, Abbott said the bill will amend the Texas Constitution and will simply make parents the primary decision-makers involving their children. The bill stated: Parental decisions cannot be overridden without the due process of law.

In Florida, there had been organized protests at schools.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the phrase Dont Say Gay, never actually appeared in the bill and the media is pushing false narratives.

The controversial portion of the bill actually reads: Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

Follow Gender.news for more news related to gender issues.

Watch the video below to know more about what Abbott and DeSantis actually want to say about the Dont Say Gay bill that many are outraged about.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Gov. Greg Abbott bans vaccine mandates in Texas.

Pro-LGBT girl scouts in Australia transitioned into something unrecognizable.

In China, Apple censors LGBT apps, but in America, Apple censors anti-LGBT publishers.

Canadas state media is targeting those who resist LGBT dogmas on misgendering.

Planned Parenthood, LGBT Inc and comprehensive sex miseducation.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

CBSAustin.com

MercuryNews.com
(Natural News) Dr. Francis Boyle was interviewed by Owen Shroyer (Infowars.com) on Monday and dropped several important bombshells (see video below). First, know that Dr. Boyle is the author of the international agreement prohibiting gain-of-function bioweapons research, signed by Reagan in the 1980s. And since that time, Dr. Boyle has been battling the efforts of Tony Fauci who has been incessantly pushing illegal bioweapons research with the support of both Democrats and the Neocons.

On Mondays show with Shroyer, Dr. Boyle stated that Americas corrupt government is running and sponsoring a Nazi death cult of bioweapons scientists and collaborators, and he specifically named Fauci (NIAID), Collins (NIH) and Walensky (CDC) as those deserving prosecution for crimes against humanity. He has previously stated that thousands of scientists who worked on gain-of-function research should be prosecuted and sentenced to life in prison. (Dr. Boyle does not believe in the death penalty.)

Furthermore, Dr. Boyle confirmed the decades-long existence of US-built bioweapons labs in Ukraine and discussed how the United States government is guilty of violating the global treaty against gain-of-function weapons development while working to surround Russia with bioweapons labs.

Weve posted this interview here via Brighteon.com (more comments below). Listen starting at 30:30 if you want the bombshells.

Brighteon.com/fbd92ee8-71f2-4332-9522-a18bb3a13a59

Government websites and documents openly admit running bioweapons labs in Ukraine

Whats fascinating in all this is how the gaslighting corporate media is now telling the (oblivious) American masses that there are no bioweapons labs in Ukraine at all.

Its a blatant lie, of course, and literally hundreds of publicly-available online documents discuss the operations surrounding these bioweapon labs.

One such document, forwarded to us by a whistleblower source, is entitled:

DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY

BROAD AGENCY ANNOUNCEMENT

HDTRA1-14-24-FRCWMD-BAA

Amendment 9

January 2019



Research and Development Directorate (RD)

Chief Scientist and Innovations Department (RD-ST)

Fundamental Research to Counter Weapons

of Mass Destruction (C-WMD)

The original document is available at this link from MSRDconsortium.org. In case the document is scrubbed, it is also mirrored at this link on Natural News servers.

The document states: (emphasis ours)

The Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP), a component of the DoD Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, recognizes the danger to U.S. and global health security posed by the risk of outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases, whether natural or manmade.

CBEP is interested in collaborative research engagements with foreign partners in any one of the following regions: Countries of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) (specifically, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine), Africa (including, but not limited to, Kenya, Tanzania Uganda, South Africa), Southeast Asia (including, but not limited to, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand), and Middle Eastern /South Asian countries (including, but not limited to, Afghanistan, Iraq, India and Pakistan). CBEP encourages proposers to develop projects in conjunction with foreign institutions in CBEP-engaged countries.

Before building bioweapons, the US biological warfare deep state first declares they wont be building bioweapons at all

Note that the document specifically says the DoD is targeting former Soviet Union countries such as Ukraine as designated locations for so-called threat reduction research. This is code speak for building bioweapons, of course. When these documents claim that they will definitely not be building bioweapons, what they actually mean is they will be building bioweapons while lying to the world about what theyre actually doing.

In other words, the occupying US (illegitimate) government has been a criminal bioweapons headquarters for decades, running illegal bioweapons research and development operations around the world, threatening all of humankind with deadly pathogens that are truly an extension of the Nazi war machine from the 1930s.

In fact, it is Nazi scientists who first brought the precursors of this technology to America in the days after World War II. Operation Paperclip brought actual Nazi scientists into the USA to run NASAs rocketry development program, while other scientists were brought into the USA to work on pharmacology, pesticides and chemical industry research. The result is that Americas bioweapons institution is literally an extension of Nazi war scientists who now threaten the entire world with their mad science depopulation weapons.

Fauci really is a Josef Mengele, it turns out.

Dr. Boyle is correct in all this: The US government has been running a Nazi death cult of criminal bioweapons development since at least the 1980s. And dozens of these labs have been built in Ukraine, as confirmed recently by Deputy Secretary of State Nuland. Under international treaties, this means that the US and Ukraine have been operating in violation of international law while refusing to stop their actions that place the entire world population at risk.

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The West kept telling everybody, it is difficult to deal with someone, who is not in tow? It implied that President Putin was a psychopath, deranged or terminally ill?

by Victor Cherubim

With sanctions on Russia, Russian citizens taking a heavy toll on funding the conflict and the take-over of parts of Ukraine, Moscows reliance on fossil fuels to fuel its standard of living has abruptly come to an end.

Professor Keith Pilsteam, Professor of Economics at City University, London stated, that some nations may be prepared to undermine Russia to sell their resources now.

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson today (15 March 2022) has flown to Saudi Arabia. Perhaps, with a begging bowl, seeking assurances on oil imports.

If you think this is a one way street, you would be mistaken. The Brits are wanting to open up their reserves in North Sea oil and gas, at the same time cover their bases, in event of a worst case scenario. We Sri Lankans, can only think of tomorrow, we are not like the Brits who plan for the next generation? No wonder, we take the wedding ring, but fail to see the suffering?

What the West is adept is to play the tried and tested game; Divide and Rule. The West can easily add as well as remove sanctions, on any country, not only Russia, but as we have seen on Iran, on Venezuela, if and when it suits them, at the touch of a button.

Western money talks, whereas our money, the Rupee in Sri Lanka only bleats?

Iran wants to improve their economy, it comes down to money. Money attracts new energy suppliers. Yet, it cannot be done overnight?

How does the West want to punish Russia?

If President Putin sees the threat of sanctions is as real and viable, then he may well stop further bloodshed, and contain the war in Ukraine. If however, he or his Intelligence, sees this threat of sanctions, as an empty rhetoric and continues, what happens then?

This time, the West is aware, that there is no point making a promise to Ukraine or a threat to Russia unless,  one is prepared in earnest to carry it out.

Poker is a game, it takes, two to tango? The West is always in the undecided mode?

Perhaps, President Putin or his Generals, took a wrong guess? Whereas, the West allowed Putin to deliberately miscalculate its intentions?

The West kept telling everybody, it is difficult to deal with someone, who is not in tow? It implied that President Putin was a psychopath, deranged or terminally ill?

It was when the West literally played ball with the Russian Oligarchs for decades and then decided throw them out, to seize their luxury cruisers, their palaces, making them run away in their private jets from UK, from one airport to another, one hotel to another as refugees, from country to country, rather than actual Ukrainian refuges, that the message sank in.

As we say in England, When push comes to shove, with what looks like the inevitable direct confrontation with Russia, when will Putin will see the eventual collapse in the Russian economy? When can we see riots on the streets like the October Revolution, once again? Will it to too late for President Putin to use the Russian Army to control the uprising?History repeats, and have you noticed, every second or even every other time, it repeats more violently than the previous time?

Did you know that the US and NATO wanted an invasion in Ukraine? US for business reasons, NATO to be relevant in the world of today, it has goaded Russia to extend eastwards since 1990. Was Russia trapped this time?

US made Europe dependent on Russian gas and oil, partly because of the depleting North Sea reserves, decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants, alongside cutting of coal to achieveCarbon Neutrality by 2050.

The Brits on the other hand, wanted the money of the Russian Oligarchs years ago. Money did the talking, now that they have creamed the cream, the Russian Rouble money is now dispensable? Besides, UK only imports 4% of its Gas supply from Russia, while Germany imports 49% of its Gas (LPG) and oil from Russia.

Many in Russia are coming to see how money talks? While many in England are now laughing all the way to the bank, with a stipend of 350 a month to take on a refugee from Ukraine, to work hard than hard.
Strong storms raged through North Texas Monday evening, clogging the rush-hour travel for thousands of cars and leaving plenty of hail in their wake.

The National Weather Service will look into at least one tornado that occurred during Monday's storms in Fannin County.

It is said to have landed around Leonard and Trenton, close south of Bonham.

There have been allegations of structural damage in the region near Highway 78. The NWS will most likely be out there Tuesday to assess the damage.

A wild start to storm season

According to abc News, the early spring storm season in North Texas began last Monday night with a burst of activity that brought hail, funnel clouds and a verified tornado to the region.

The National Weather Service reported a tornado that occurred Monday night in Fannin County on Tuesday morning, while officials were still assessing damage to establish the tornado's rating.

Aerial film taken Tuesday morning revealed extensive damage to a number of buildings, including sheds and barns, as well as some roof damage to residences.

The damage occurred in Leonard, approximately an hour northeast of Dallas, while storm warnings were issued for the majority of Dallas-Fort Worth late Monday afternoon and into the evening.

While most of the area had only a few thunderstorms and short downpours, locations directly to the northeast of Dallas experienced far more severe weather.

The remainder of North Texas was hit with severe rain and hail. When it was done, parts of Rockwall had so much hail that it appeared like snow on the ground. As per Fox 4 news.

The hail was mostly tiny and brief, while some locations were hit harder than others.

People residing east of Interstate 35 E saw torrential rain, lightning, and hail as a result of the fast-moving thunderstorms.

People in Dallas observed penny to quarter-sized hail near SMU's campus. Drivers on their way home from work on Monday evening were pummeled with tiny hailstones.

Read more: New Weather System to Bring Thunderstorms, Tornadoes, and Hail in the Western US and Central US

NWS warned people for further forecast

The majority of the thunderstorms will head east after midnight, according to the meteorological service, with a few showers possible in the northeastern counties. According to the weather service, certain storms may produce tiny hail.

Storms should clear away by late Monday, around 11 p.m., according to KXAS-TV (NBC5) meteorologist Brian James, leaving temps in the 40s overnight.

Temperatures will rise to the upper 70s and low 80s by Wednesday, with another chance of rain on Thursday, according to James.

They'll need to be weather-savvy, he added. In D-FW, they'll keep an eye out for where the storms develop, but it'll most likely be to the east.

Weather forecast for the week

Monday: Partly overcast, windy, and warmer in the morning, then partly cloudy, windy, and hotter in the afternoon. By nightfall, there is a 20% chance of thunderstorms, primarily east of Dallas.

Tuesday will be sunny and somewhat chilly. Wednesday will be mostly sunny and mild.

Thursday: Partly overcast, warm, and windy. There is a 30% probability of late-day thunderstorms.

It will be partly overcast and colder on Friday.

Related article: Thunderstorms in Ontario Caused Intense Hail Storm, Damaging Crops
An asteroid has potentially struck off the coast of Iceland, as per the latest reports. Astronomers only detected the asteroid two hours before it entered the Earth's atmosphere and crashed near the waters of Iceland on Friday, March 11.

Asteroid Impact

Known as asteroid 2022 EB5, the three-meter space rock is considered to be the "fifth known Earth impactor" on record. However, it is not clear whether the asteroid hit the waters off Iceland or dissipated upon entering the atmosphere, as per WUSA9 news.

Yet, local sources and first-hand accounts in Iceland said it was seen hurling to the coastal area of Iceland in a form of a large fireball, according to Earthsky.org, as cited by Space.com. This shows that the asteroid likely hit and made an impact off the coast of Iceland.

Based on the said reports, people have seen a bright flash of light from a fireball. Furthermore, there is no actual video footage of the asteroid impact yet, especially due to the remoteness of the area and it was only seen in a short period before entering the atmosphere.

Also Read: 'Potentially Hazardous' Asteroid Expected to Fly by Earth on March 4

Fifth Known Earth Impactor

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the asteroid called 2022 EB5 entered the atmosphere and was seen over the Norwegian Sea, off the coast of Iceland. Although NASA predicted the location and time of the impact, the rock was only seen two hours before the impact.

The asteroid impact had no reported details, including casualties and damage, at this time. NASA said the space rock was too small to cause a threat to Earth. Due to its predicted impact, the US space agency said it is the fifth known asteroid that was observed before entering the planet.

Furthermore, the asteroid may have also dissipated upon entering the atmosphere since NASA acknowledged it disintegrated last Friday. Nevertheless, the observation and predicted trajectory of the small asteroid is a sign that our planet's space detection system is working.

The US space agency said 2022 EB5 is the fifth known asteroid detected and monitored in space since the first asteroid called TC3 in 2008 was identified before hitting Earth-when it entered the atmosphere over Sudan in Africa.

Asteroid Challenges

Detecting and tracking an asteroid is important in terms of planetary defense and astronomical studies, but implementing measures against asteroids with potential real-world threats has been an evident challenge for several decades.

Since an asteroid impact is determined by its speed and size, it is a matter of time before a significantly large asteroid hits us. As a result, ongoing strategies are being tested in the case of a planet-killing asteroid approach.

Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a measure to deflect an incoming asteroid, as per CBS News. This is in addition to the current planetary defense of NASA called the Double Asteroid Redirect Test (DART) space mission.

The DART mission aims to deflect incoming asteroids, especially those that pose a significant threat to the planet. In 2029, the giant and planet-killer asteroid Apophis is expected to fly by Earth.

Related Article: Gigantic Asteroid Will Pass By Earth in 7 Years, Do We Have Defense Against Such Threats?
Scientists have discovered that Greenland sharks only require only 200g of fish every day to thrive, perhaps offering insight into how they manage to live for hundreds of years.

Gathering Information

Researchers headed by Eric Ste-Marie of the University of Windsor in Canada have gathered significant information on this unique and understudied species in the face of anthropogenic stresses by examining its metabolic rates.

Greenland Sharks

Greenland sharks may be found in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and the seas around Greenland. They are a huge species that may reach up to 20 feet in length; however, most only get eight to fifteen feet.

It is the world's longest-living vertebrate and one of the world's longest-living animals. They might live for 500 years, according to scientists.

Researchers utilized atmospheric changes generated by nuclear bomb testing over several decades to estimate the ages of 28 Greenland sharks, the oldest of which was between 335 and 392 years old, according to a study published in Science in 2016.

Eric Ste-Marie and colleagues investigated the field metabolic rate of Greenland sharks in a research published in the Journal of Experimental Biology. This measures how much food an animal needs daily to survive.

They caught 30 Greenland sharks for five years, which were tagged, sampled, and fitted with biologger kits that recorded their movements, body temperature, and water temperature.

The results revealed that the species was sluggish and moved at a snail's pace.

Also Read: Certain Pet Foods Contain DNA from Endangered Shark Species, Alarming Report Reveals

Utilizing Data

Using this data, the researchers calculated the daily calorie requirements of Greenland sharks, discovering that a 500-pound individual required between two and 6.5 ounces of fish or marine animal prey to live.

This is far lower than the numbers of other great shark species that live in warmer waters and move quickly. According to research released in 2013, a 2,000-pound great white shark would need to devour 66 pounds of fat every 11 days to thrive.

"We would anticipate [Greenland sharks] to have sluggish metabolisms," Vincent Raoult, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Newcastle's School of Environmental and Life Sciences, told Newsweek, "but how slow is certainly unexpected and matches well with a study on the age of these sharks."

According to a previous study, animals with slower metabolic rates live longer, whereas those with quicker metabolic rates have shorter lives.

Greenland sharks' lengthy lifespans may be explained in part by their sluggish metabolic rate, according to Raoult.

Extraordinary Sharks

Greenland sharks are an oddity in that they are enormous yet have incredibly sluggish metabolisms, he added. Larger animals usually have longer lifespans but also greater resting metabolic rates.

According to the researchers, understanding the nutritional needs of Greenland sharks is critical to predicting how the species would fare when prey availability and food webs fluctuate as a result of climate change.

The population of Greenland sharks is declining, and its Arctic environment is warming faster than any other location on the planet.

According to researchers, Greenland sharks can survive on very little food, but their future is uncertain. Climate change is affecting both the physical environment and biological communities of the Arctic, highlighting the importance of obtaining data on the behavior and energetics of species like the Greenland shark.

Putting the Study to Use

According to Raoult, in general, [the study] illustrates that these are slow-growing species sensitive to overharvesting and climate change-with rising temperatures that raise metabolic rates.

On the other hand, they require extremely little food to complete their metabolic needs, implying that they may survive with only a limited population of fish to feast on.

Related Article: Sharks Have Been Around Longer Than Trees: 5 Astounding Facts About This Apex Predator!

For more animal news, don't forget to follow Nature World News
El Nino is a climatic phenomenon that fluctuates so much over time that scientists will have a hard time discovering signals that it is becoming stronger due to global warming.

Studying 9000 Years of Data

That results from research covering 9000 years undertaken by experts at The University of Texas in Austin. The researchers drew on climatic data found in ancient corals and conducted their research on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers.

The research, which was just published in Science Advances, was driven by a desire to learn more about how climate change could influence El Nino in the future.

The National Science Foundation supported the study, which included a large portion of Lawman's Ph.D. degree. Rice University and the University of Arizona were among the project's collaborators.

Also Read: Gloom Reality: Even the Most Daring Technologies Can No Longer Reverse Impacts of Climate Change

El Nino

El Nino is the warm phase of the El Nino Southern Oscillation, a climatic phenomenon that affects weather patterns throughout the world every few years. Strong El Nino episodes, like those in 1997 and 2015, which triggered wildfires in Asia's Borneo rainforests and severe bleaching of the world's coral reefs, occurred around once every ten years.

However, computer models disagree on whether El Nino episodes would get weaker or greater as the world heats due to climate change.

The study's lead author is Allison Lawman, who began the research as a Ph.D. project at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences and is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Lawman said that what happens in the tropical Pacific Ocean where El Nino begins influences much of the world's temperature and rainfall. For infrastructure and resource planners, the difference in rainfall between more or fewer strong El Nino events will be a critical question.

Utilizing Complex Sources

Lawman and her colleagues utilized the Texas Advanced Computing Center's Lonestar5 supercomputer to perform a series of climate simulations of an era in Earth's history before human involvement when the primary driver of climate change was a tilt in the planet's orbit. Lawman used a coral emulator he had previously constructed to compare the simulations to climatic records from ancient corals.

They discovered that, while the frequency of intense El Nino episodes increased with time, the increase was minor compared to El Nino's very unpredictable character.

According to study co-author Jud Partin, a research scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, it's like attempting to listen to gentle music next to a jackhammer.

To do so, Partin, Lawman, and the other authors of the paper advocate for greater research into even earlier periods of Earth's history, such as the last ice age, to examine how El Nino responded to more dramatic climatic shifts.

According to co-author Pedro DiNezio, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, scientists need to keep pushing the limitations of models and look at geological intervals deeper in time that might indicate how vulnerable El Nino is to climate change. Because if another huge El Nino occurs, it will be difficult to trace it to either a warming climate or El Nino's internal changes.

Related Article: How Climate Misinformation Through Social Media Worsens the Battle Against Climate Change

For more news about similar news, don't forget to follow Nature World News!
According to a recent study, the center portion of the San Andreas Fault may be capable of producing greater earthquakes than previously thought.

Aseismic creep occurs between Parkfield and Hollister on the famed California fault. Instead of creating major quakes by suddenly releasing stress, the two sections of the fault move unnoticeably, allowing stress to dissipate.

Earthquakes in the Middle Section of San Andreas Fault

Researchers have discovered that this area of the fault may have undergone earthquakes of magnitude 7 million years ago and more. This is more powerful than the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that killed 63 people in San Francisco, as per Live Science.

According to earthquake scientist Genevieve Coffey of GNS Science in New Zealand, it's impossible to know exactly how long ago the huge quakes on the fault happened. At Live Science, Coffey said the centre area should be taken into consideration for earthquake threat.

The San Andreas Fault consists of three parts. The magnitude-7.9 Fort Tejon quake, for example, displaced the land along the fault 29.5 feet (9 meters) in 1857.

The northern section of the fault stretches from Hollister, California, to Cape Mendocino, California, and includes the San Francisco Bay area. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which had an estimated magnitude of 7.9, occurred on this fault.

However, the fault hasn't produced any earthquakes larger than magnitude 6 between Parkfield and Hollister. A 2,000-year search for evidence of recent major earthquakes has yielded no results, according to geoscientists who dug down the fault.

Also Read: Section of San Andreas Fault Line May be More Disastrous Than Previously Believed

Exploring San Andreas Fault

If the central San Andreas fails to build up enough stress to trigger a big earthquake, it could serve as a conduit for quakes from the northern or southern sections of the fault, according to Coffey. Her coworkers and she aspired to travel more than 2,000 years in the past.

That's why scientists exploited the fact that heat is generated when a defect slips because of the friction it creates. Coffey described it as like rubbing your hands together.

According to The Washington Post, more than 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit of heat can be generated in the fault by this process (1,000 degrees Celsius). As a result of these temperature variations, organic molecules accumulating in sediments might undergo structural modifications.

Can San Andreas Fault be Visible at the Surface?

Plates are travelling past each other at a rate similar to how fast the fingernails grow each year. Nonetheless, the typical motion is not a steady one. As they push against one another, the plates will be locked for years, with no movement at all.

As a result of the sudden release of tension, the plates suddenly slip a few feet. Earthquakes are caused by waves propagating outward from the point where the rock is cracking.

The San Andreas fault may be clearly seen in numerous places, such as the Carrizo Plain (San Luis Obispo County) and the Olema Trough (Marin County). In some locations, the fault has been covered in alluvium or overgrown with bush because it hasn't moved in a long time.

Many of the highways along the fault in San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties pass through mountains of gouge, the powdery, crushed rock that has been pulverized by the shifting plates.

Related Article: Aseismic Creep Surfaces Shaking Discovery in California's Fault

For more news, updates about Earthquakes and similar topics don't forget to follow Nature World News!
According to information published by Tass on March 16, 2022, the Northern Fleets small antisubmarine warfare (ASW) ship Yunga (Grisha-class) has practiced artillery live-firing against aerial targets during an exercise in the Barents Sea.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Project 1124 Albatros (Grisha class) corvette Yunga (Picture source: Sasha Krotov)

The small antisubmarine warfare ship Yunga is designed to search for and eliminate adversary submarines in the close operational zone. It is armed with antisubmarine torpedoes, depth charges, artillery, and air defense missile systems, radars, and sonars.

The Grisha class, Soviet designation Project 1124 Albatros, are a series of anti-submarine corvettes built by the Soviet Union between 1970 and 1990 and later by Russia and Ukraine.

These ships have a limited range and are largely used only in coastal waters. They have been equipped with a variety of ASW weapons and an SA-N-4 "Gecko" surface-to-air missile launcher. All were fitted with retractable fin stabilizers.

The designation "corvette" for these ships was a conditional adaptation as the Soviet classification was a small anti-submarine ship (MPK). In the Russian Navy, the Grisha are expected to be partially replaced by the Steregushchiy-class corvette.
President Joe Biden speaks about Afghanistan from the East Room of the White House on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, in Washington.
Following excerpts adapted from Turkey Under Erdogan written by Dimitar Bechev published by Yale University Press

That day in October 2016 Istanbul felt like the fulcrum of worldwide authoritarianism. An A-list of strongmen lined the front row at the cavernous Congress Center in the downtown district of Harbiye. One after the other, Vladimir Putin, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro took the stage to share their thoughts about volatile oil prices, global investment and economic development with the audience at the 23rd World Energy Congress. But that was not the real purpose of their gathering. Rather, the cast of international dignitaries had made their way to Turkey to put on display their unbending support to the host, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Having defeated a coup attempt  a heinous terrorist act  three months prior, the Turkish leader spared no word of gratitude. On this occasion, you support our nation, our country and our democracy. Personally, I would like to thank you on behalf of my nation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

His nation indeed. Like no other statesman since the republics founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Erdogan had grabbed vast powers in his hands. By 2016, the governing Justice and Development (Adalet ve Kalknma Partisi, AKP), the bureaucracy, the courts, the media, the business establishment, the army and the police (the last two having recently gone through a sweeping purge) were all beholden to him alone. The Turkish state itself had morphed into a family fief. Those disagreeing with the direction taken by Erdogans proclaimed New Turkey faced denunciation as terrorists and fifth columnists  if they were lucky. Indeed, many were in for long jail sentences, had lost their jobs or had been forced to flee abroad, whether they had anything to do with the attempted military takeover or not. Selahattin Demirtas, contender in the most recent elections on behalf of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (Halklarn Demokratik Partisi, HDP), was about to be detained. Having condemned the coup was no excuse for his lack of deference to the chief (or reis, as Erdogans aficionados liked to call him).

Then there were Turkeys friends such as Vladimir Putin. The Kremlins master took credit for standing by Erdogan in the aftermath of the putsch, putting aside quarrels over Syria and the Su-24 ground-attack aircraft downed by the Turkish air force back in November 2015. Putin knew a thing or two about Western-concocted plots to engineer regime change, the Turkish presidents partisans murmured. The United States, a presumed ally, meanwhile stood accused of having masterminded the conspiracy to overthrow or even physically eliminate Erdogan, backstabbing Turkey. Vladimir Putin, naturally, had no objections to this narrative. So long as Ankara ordered top-of-the-range Russian missiles, to the dismay of the rest of NATO, and cooperated with Moscow in Syria, dear friend Putin was content. Coming to Istanbul, he oversaw the signature of a multi-billion deal for TurkStream, a gas pipeline under the Black Sea, too. But Erdogan was happily playing the Russia card himself. The Kremlin green-lighted a Turkish military operation in Syria clipping the wings of US-backed Kurdish militants. Why stick with the West then? The Russians were paying heed to Turkish national interests and delivering on commitments. Who was better: Putin or the unreliable Obama,2 not to mention the duplicitous Europeans keeping Turkey at arms length?

What change a decade makes! As I was marveling at Erdogan and Putins show from the audience in Istanbul, I could not help but go back to the first time I had a chance to see the Turkish leader speak live. On 28 May 2004, the then Turkish prime minister delivered a speech titled Why the European Union Needs Turkey at St Johns College, Oxford. Flanked by Kalypso Nicolaidis, a French-Greek professor of European politics, and the late Geoffrey Lewis, the doyen of Turkish studies at Oxford, the swaggering Erdogan pledged to make European values Ankaras values. Europe, he argued, was a normative union where Turkey deserved a place, not a narrowly defined geography. Erdogan furthermore went over a list of issues bedeviling relations between Brussels and Ankara, from the rights of the Kurdish community to the division of Cyprus.3 His was a hopeful message: Turkey was doing its best to carry out democratic reforms, confront the ghosts of the countrys troubled past, improve human rights and deliver economic growth.

The recipe seemed to work fine. In little more than a year, on 3 October 2005, the European Union (EU) decided to start membership negotiations with Turkey, a belated reward for the achievements scored by the AKP as well as, it shouldnt be forgotten, its predecessors in office. Nobody believed accession would be an easy ride, given the tough obstacles ahead. Membership in the EU could not be taken for granted either. But it was Turkeys own transformation which counted, when all was said and done. To borrow from Constantine Cavafys Ithaka, it was all about the marvelous journey, not the destination.

What Went Wrong?

This book grapples with the question of what changed so drastically and so quickly. Why did Turkey succumb to authoritarianism, take to nationalism and turn away from the West?

For many people, there is of course one simple answer: Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A shrewd operator, he took advantage of electoral democracy to seize ever more authority and eventually install a one-man regime. The mission was completed with the change of the Turkish constitution in 2017 replacing parliamentary with presidential rule. Erdogans commitment to democracy and human rights, once lauded in the West, proved skin-deep. This, in turn, points at another, related explanation: Turkeys Western allies were complicit. Put bluntly, Erdogan duped the EU and the US. A tactical alliance with Brussels legitimated his power grab. Europes democratic conditionality allowed a demagogue to defeat opponents, notably the military and the diehard secularists in the bureaucracy and the judiciary. Washington accepted at face value the whole spiel about Muslim democracy, blinded by the missionary zeal driving its policy in the Middle East. Once the partnership outlived its usefulness, not least because the EU gave Turkey the cold shoulder, Erdogan cut the West loose. His detractors, crying foul at the sight of an Islamist lionized in Western capitals, had a point all along.

What the above account overlooks is the long-term structural and institutional forces shaping Turkeys domestic politics and, by extension, foreign policy. As cunning and ruthless an operator as Erdogan is  and he does have a stellar record in that department  what were the other reasons he was able to climb the greasy pole and retain power for nearly two decades? The AKPs rise would have been unthinkable without taking into account the cleavages rooted in Turkeys top-down modernization in the twentieth century driven by secularist state elites. Starting from the 1970s, political Islam gained ground among pious Anatolian masses as they gained prominence in public life. The rise of a conservative entrepreneurial class coupled with the rapid pace of urbanization in the 1980s and 1990s not only blurred the social and geographic distinction between the center and periphery but also fomented strife. Culture became an arena of ideological struggle waged over the issue of the place of faith in the public sphere. Turkeys brand of Islamist populism pitted the privileged minority usurping the state vs the people, the ordinary folk  Turks, Kurds or others  discriminated against because of their adherence to religious values and lifestyles. It was the people, not Erdogan, who vanquished the so-called tutelage system (vesayet) whereby generals and unelected mandarins had the final word over the affairs of the state. It was the people who were building a democracy worthy of its name. It was the Ahmets and the Mehmets who stood up to tanks on that fateful night in July 2016 and paid with their lives. This is what the Erdogan brand is all about.

Populism, to be sure, is hardly Erdogans invention. It had long been the oxygen of Turkish party politics, with the ilk of Suleyman Demirel and Bulent Ecevit, on the right and on the left respectively, excelling in its dark arts. Erdogan perfected the trade, turning his emotive connection to the masses and his personal story  a poor boy from an underprivileged area of Istanbul rising to the top  into a formidable political instrument. His rule, he would argue, has been the triumph of the national will as expressed through the ballot box. Then common men (women, needless to say, figure in supportive roles) rose against the oppressive and self-serving elites and reclaimed what was theirs by right. It is not that we had Oxford in Sanlurfa, he chuckled while quoting the Arabesk star Ibrahim Ibo Tatlses at a youth gathering in 2018, but I preferred not to study there! On that occasion, Erdogan was taking credit for a rise in the number of universities, from 75 to 206, on his watch, expanding access to higher education and upward mobility to the previously disenfranchised. This was the New Turkey, with its world-class hospitals, highways, glitzy shopping malls, gargantuan airports and towering housing estates, all for the people. In the first decade under the AKP alone, GDP per capita had more than tripled, from $3,600 to $12,600 (plunging back to $8,000 by 2020, however). At the same time, Erdogans populism differs from that of his predecessors. No other Turkish leader has been willing and able to take on the establishment, to change the country to such an extent and remake it in his image. He is in a league of his own.

So far so good. The problem with Erdogans version, however, is that the national will he claims to represent does not match electoral reality. Not until the first direct presidential elections in 2014 was the AKP able to clear the 50 per cent threshold. Pious voters defected in large enough numbers to deliver opposition victories in Istanbul and Ankara, along with the bulk of the remaining big urban centers in the 2019 municipal elections too. The previous year, the AKP lost its parliamentary majority and now governs in tandem with the Nationalist Action Party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi, MHP). In addition, Erdogan has been the beneficiary of rules and institutions, amplifying his performance at the polls and consequently his power. Formal rules matter, even in an arena as informality-ridden as Turkeys. Back in 2002, the exceptionally high electoral threshold of 10 per cent kept the AKPs rivals on the right out of parliament, and propelled the party to power with roughly a third of the vote. As a result, it monopolized the right-wing and conservative space which had traditionally been where the bulk of the electorate gravitated. Subsequently, the AKP took advantage of constitutional provisions allowing for amending the basic law through referendums. Plebiscites tilted the political system towards majoritarianism, polarizing society and, in effect, delivering to Erdogan a winner-takes-all bonus. Now, of course, the playing field is skewed in the presidents favor because critical institutions, such as the Supreme Electoral Council, are doing his bidding.

Turkeys transformation from an electoral democracy to a competitive authoritarian regime has a lot to do with the high costs of the AKP losing power. Karabekir Akkoyunlu and Kerem Oktem have written about the condition of existential insecurity. Through the 2000s, the party faced a robust challenge by secularists, the courts and the military, responsible for the closure of its predecessors. It survived a bona fide coup attempt in 2016, likely orchestrated by its former allies from the Gulen movement. Its long tenure has been marred by a sequence of corruption scandals which have set off damaging court cases in the West. From Erdogans position, there is arguably no alternative to holding on to power as long as possible through a variety of means, including constitutional engineering and outright repression. This is a predicament shared by all authoritarian and semi-authoritarian systems. Think about the counterfactual: in a country where the rule of law is upheld by independent institutions, moving from government to opposition and back is a less risky affair.

One should not lose sight of the enduring appeal of nationalism either. It is the common thread connecting Erdogans New Turkey and the Turkey of old with all its authoritarian baggage. The collapse of the peace talks between the state and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 2015, the renewed conflict in the Kurdish-populated southeast, the AKPs alignment not only with the far-right MHP from 2016 onwards but also with Kemalist factions hostile to the West and to minority rights, and the clash with Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean are all chapters in this story. The rollback of the public use of the Kurdish language, for example, the removal of bilingual signs in the city of Diyarbakr in 2018 and the removal of elected officials carry a distinctive back-to-the-future flavor, too. The image of Turkey as a beleaguered fortress threatened by enemies abroad and their internal abettors has become central to Erdogans messaging.

Erdogans evolution, from an EU-friendly Muslim democrat to a strongman, speaks to the weight of illiberal legacies. In essence, he and his partisans appropriated the cult of the strong, sovereign and indivisible state, adding to it a (Sunni) Islamic tinge.13 Individual rights and freedoms are secondary to raison detat, as interpreted by the president and his entourage. Thanks to the AKPs fusion with the state, Erdogan has become, to quote Soner Cagaptay, the anti-Ataturk Ataturk. Though even the parallel between the two remains an anathema to secularists and the Republican Peoples Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP), it is reflected strongly in official memory politics. Indeed, breaking with tradition, New Turkeys historical narrative shifted the focus from Mustafa Kemals Westernizing reforms to his role as savior of the state in the face of mortal danger during the War of Independence. Witness, too, the campaign around the centennial of the republic to be marked in 2023, set to be a celebration of Erdogans sultan-like ascendancy. Paradoxically, Ataturk has found himself in the AKPs pantheon cheek by jowl with Sultan Abdulhamid II idolized by conservatives for his pan-Islamist worldview but very much the Other from the Kemalist perspective. Both statesmen thus feature as Erdogans forerunners, along with leaders in the center-right tradition such as Adnan Menderes or Turgut Ozal.

At the end of the day, Turkeys illiberal trajectory could be best understood by Turkeys own illiberal features: its polarized society, undemocratic institutional arrangements and exclusionary nationalism. The corollary is that the countrys fate is in its own hands. It is to Turkeys voters that Erdogan owes his career. They will ultimately decide how the story ends too, and whether Erdoganism as a system of governance outlives its founding father. Do Western leaders share some of the blame about how Turkey has turned out? Probably they do. The EU was essential for triggering democratic reforms in the late 1990s, and early 2000s, but it then left Turkey high and dry, particularly when French President Nicolas Sarkozy made it clear that membership was not on the cards in 2007. With internal checks and balances gradually dismantled, the EU could only restrain Erdogan and help depolarize domestic politics if membership were actually a credible prospect. Yet here a bit of counterfactual analysis might again come in handy. What would a Turkey inside the EU have looked like? Would it have remained committed to liberal democracy or, on the contrary, backslid like Viktor Orbans Hungary? We will never know the answer, but that does not invalidate the question.

The regimes deep sociological and historical roots do not imply in the least that Turkey is doomed to authoritarian rule. The country has a history of competitive politics stretching back more than seven decades, advanced level of socio-economic development and links to the West that, other things being equal, favor a return to electoral democracy in the future. Citizens believe their vote counts and still turn up in high numbers at the polls. There is a real opposition which has proven its ability to cooperate, setting aside ideological and identity differences. That contrasts with other authoritarian polities, say Azerbaijan, Russia or Abdelfatah Al-Sisis Egypt, where multi-party politics and elections are a mere facade. We cannot be certain whether, when and how Turkey will transition back to democracy but equally there is no reason to rule out such an outcome ex ante.

The Long Goodbye

Turkeys democratic decline has opened a chasm between it and Europe and the US. For a long time, the West provided the normative horizon the country aspired to attain. Whether it was Ataturks reference to contemporary civilization in the 1920s and 1930s, the post-war vision of Turkey as little America or the EUs accession criteria, Turkish society measured its achievements and failures against Western benchmarks. Of course, the relationship was ridden with ambivalence. After all, was it not the European powers who conspired with non-Muslim minorities to bring down the once mighty Ottoman Empire? The Kemalists, but also the Tanzimat-era reformers, emulated the West partly in order not to fall prey to it. During the Cold War, too, anti-Americanism was rife not only among the Turkish left but also within the Milli Gorus (National Vision) movement, the Islamist strand AKP sprang from. The political and military establishment resented US policy in Cyprus and Western Europeans reluctance to welcome Turks into their exclusive club. These days, it is common for some analysts on both sides of the Atlantic to wax nostalgic about the halcyon days when Ankara was fully and unreservedly on the Western team. Such a golden era never truly existed, except for the 1950s. Still, all things considered, the lovehate relationship would lean on the side of attraction, with membership in NATO and the bid to join the European Economic Community (EEC) and subsequently the EU as cornerstones of Turkish foreign policy.

This is obviously not the case nowadays. In the words of Galip Dalay, (the current) decision makers in Ankara have given up on the idea of the indispensability and uniqueness of the West. The Atlantic Alliance and belonging to Europe, Dalay observes, are no longer central to Turkeys geopolitical identity through which it filters relations with non-Western powers nor are they the points of reference in domestic affairs. The alliance with America, eroding since the Cold War ended, hangs by a thread. An overwhelming percentage in Turkey looks at the US as the foremost threat to national security. TurkishEU relations are in bad shape too, even if 60 per cent continue to support membership. Erdogan pledges that his countrys future is in Europe, but both sides know this is a charade. Accession talks have ground to a halt but neither Ankara nor Brussels (or rather, a majority of member states) have an interest in walking out first. In consequence, Turkey turns to the EU and US selectively when there are gains to be made. Witness the Syrian refugee deal struck with Brussels in March 2016 or Erdogans being able to talk Donald Trump into letting Turkish troops enter northeast Syria in October 2019.

To be fair, the West itself is not blameless. First, many of its leaders likewise approach Turkey with a transactionalist mindset and are happy to wheel and deal with Erdogan. Second and more fundamentally, however, the Wests own ills manifest in the rise of illiberal populism have dented its claim to a moral higher ground. Instead of us becoming little America, you became a big Turkey, quips political scientist Ersin Kalaycoglu.21 Joking aside, the West is much less coherent and, as a result, influential compared to the heyday of its power in the 1990s and 2000s. It is not accidental that Donald Trumps lone-wolf idea of foreign policy, not to mention his cavalier attitude to constitutional norms and penchant for mixing personal interest and the affairs of the state, struck a chord with Erdogan and his courtiers. The liberal international order, which conditioned the AKPs early reforms, seems like something from a bygone era. Turkey feels at home in the brave new world of today.

Rather than a Western periphery, Erdogans Turkey imagines itself as the center of its own universe spanning the Middle East, the Balkans and the Southern Caucasus, all the way to sub-Saharan Africa. The shift has also reversed what Malik Mufti calls the Republican Paradigm. Rooted in the trauma of the Ottoman collapse, it was underpinned by [a] strong bias in favor of the geopolitical status quo; and a powerful aversion to foreign entanglements as well as a conviction that the external world is essentially hostile and threatening; an anxiety about the ability of external enemies to infiltrate the body politic by exploiting internal divisions. Erdogans rise and the demise of the Kemalist elites made Turkey outward-looking and self-confident. From a liability, imperial legacy turned into a geopolitical asset. The New Turkey of today claims leadership over global Islam and professes a moral obligation to Muslims  the ummah  wherever they may be.

Some analysts have labeled this new role conception Neo-Ottomanism, courtesy of the obsession with the distant past. Reality is, of course, messier. Russia and Iran, two of the empires fiercest rivals, have been at the forefront of the outreach to neighbors. Ottoman nostalgia cohabits with Realpolitik and the pursuit of economic interest. In addition, Erdogan is not the first to espouse the Imperial Paradigm, which Mufti defines as the belief in the benefits of trying to reshape the external environment. Indeed, many of Ankaras policies and initiatives date back to the 1980s and 1990s, when Turgut Ozal pushed for engagement with the Middle East, the Balkans and post-Soviet Central Asia. With the end of the Cold War, he revived the notion of Turkey as a model, originating from the early republican period, but also as a conduit of Western influence. The same theme reappeared again under Erdogan, first in the wake of 9/11, when the Bush administration enthused about it, and then before and during the Arab Spring, with Ahmet Davutoglu in charge of the foreign ministry in Ankara.

Has Turkey lived up to its hegemonic ambitions? Not quite, this book argues. The brutal and devastating war in Syria turned everything upside down. The conflict precipitated a regional contest where other players, notably Russia and Iran, frustrated Ankaras aspirations to mold the Middle East in its own image. The Syrian tragedy, furthermore, deepened Turkeys rift with the West, exacerbated the democratic backslide at home and ultimately caused the militarization of the countrys foreign policy. With Erdogan facing no internal checks on his authority and always eager to whip up nationalist fervor, the appetite for taking risks has grown. Force projection far beyond national borders, as in Libya and the Horn of Africa, has become the norm. The current Turkish elite believes the only way to prosper in an increasingly competitive world is to be able to act decisively and punch hard, leveraging capabilities developed by ones own defense industries. Soft power, though not entirely irrelevant, is the main focus. The lesson Erdogan learned from Putins intervention in Syria  military power works  has sunk in.

Where does Turkey fit in the global order? The future, Erdogan and his entourage believe, belongs not to America and its Western allies but to the rest. Turkey feels comfortable in G20, enjoys its newly discovered influence in Africa, poses as a leader of Muslims across the globe and has deepened ties with the likes of Russia and China. On 15 January 2021, Erdogan took a shot of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese firm Sinovac Life Sciences. Back in June 2020, the Turkish central bank had activated a swap agreement with the Peoples Bank of China, allowing local companies to pay for Chinese imports in yuan. It was Beijing coming to Turkeys rescue amidst the pandemic, in the same way Moscow had shown solidarity after the 2016 coup attempt. Remarkably, Erdogan  who is not known for mincing his words  has not called out China for the repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim groups in Xinjiang (or East Turkestan). But is Turkey likely to team up with the revisionist powers in mounting a frontal challenge to Western dominance in international affairs? Despite Erdogans combative tone, the answer is no. Instead, Turkey will juggle between various centers in search of advantage: a power in the middle or perhaps an entrepreneurial vendor in an increasingly crowded geopolitical bazaar. Turkey does its own thing, Nigar Goksel and Hugh Pope have argued.

Going forward, Turkey will stay in NATO and keep the connection with Europe. Good news for those in the West who have not given up on Turkey as well as for those in Turkey who persist in their belief in liberal democracy. But there is bad news, too, for both of those constituencies. A post-Erdogan Turkey might not rush back to the West but instead stick to the script set by the current regime. Whether the script itself works or not is another matter.

. As Turkey prepares to mark the centennial of the republic in 2023, it is confronted with turbulence at home as well as in the world.

Click here to have your copy of this book

Copyright  2022 Dimitar Bechev
UPDATE 7:10 P.M. - According to the Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney, Joseph Brusic, the 15-year-old juvenile has not been formally charged yet but, probable cause was found for 2nd-degree murder and numerous 1st-degree assaults.

The prosecuting attorney's office will file potential charges by Friday.

They are still considering the evidence to determine specific charges and the counts, but nothing is finalized.

Right now, the prosecuting office is still looking at the evidence to see if there is any gang relation.

Brusic said Shawn Dwight Tolbert, the 16-year-old who was killed in the shooting was related to the shooter as extended family.

The prosecuting attorney's office is deciding by Friday as to file a decline motion to possibly ask the Juvenile Court to decline jurisdiction to adult superior court.

Right now, the 15-year-old male has not been arraigned yet, so there is no set trial date.

UPDATE (March 16th at 5:15 pm): The 16-year-old victim has been identified as Shawn Dwight Tolbert. Police said Tuesday that an 18-year-old who was also shot was in serious condition.

The Yakima School District has arranged a memorial service for Shawn.

Yakima School District is hosting a memorial for the 16-year-old victim in Tuesday's shooting YAKIMA, WA - The Yakima School District has arranged a memorial for Shawn Dwight Tolbert, the 16-year-old student who was shot and killed in t

UPDATE March 16 at 7:56 a.m. - Yakima Police Department says the 16-year-old victim in yesterday's shooting has died.

Last Updated: March 15 at 8:45 p.m.

Yakima Police Department was called to Eisenhower High School around 3 p.m. for reports of a shooting in the school parking lot.

Two groups of two people were reported arguing in the parking lot by Zaepfel Stadium after school, when shots were fired.

According to YPD, one of the groups shot at the other.

Two people were shot, one is 18 years old in serious but stable condition, and the second victim is 16 years old in critical condition. The 16-year-old was transported to Yakima Memorial Hospital.

YPD reported both victims went to Eisenhower high school.

Washington State Patrol, Yakima County Sheriff's Office, and other entities are all assisting YPD in the investigation.

All of Yakima School District schools went on lockdown at the time of the reported shooting, including Nob Hill Elementary School earlier due to one of the potential shooters living near there.

Any students still at YSD schools should be picked up at Whitney Elementary School off 44th and Nob Hill.

Right now, YPD believes the shooting is gang-related.

Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital was on lockdown at around 3 p.m. but the lockdown was lifted at 7 p.m.

According to Yakima Police Department social media, the suspect of the shooting is a 15-year-old male who has been arrested.

This is a breaking news story that is developing and will continue to get updated.
UPDATE (3-16-2022 at 5:00 PM): The Pasco Police Department (PPD) shares these photos of a of a man they believe was involved in the PPD investigation from Sunday, March 13, 2022 on Lewis St.

Pasco Police share photos of a man involved in Sunday's officer-involved shooting UPDATE (3/17/2022 at 10:40 AM): Pasco Police share camera footage of the man they are searching for in connection to Sunday's shooting in Pasco.

UPDATE: 3-15-22 5:11 p.m.

Pasco Police Department has confirmed the identities of both civilians involved in this incident. The Special Investigations Unit has not been able to contact the family of the victim who died on scene. His information is being withheld while the family can be notified.

The suspect who received deadly force and died at the hospital was identified as Gabriel Artz, from Pasco.

Officer Jasen McClintock arrived on scene first, an officer since 2008, followed soon by Officer Jeremy Jones, an officer since 2006. They attempted to de-escalate Artz, who tried attacking the officers, according to police record. Officers McClintock and Jones then used deadly force.

UPDATE: 3-14-22 11:15 a.m.

Pasco Police Department's special investigations unit updated that the male shot by responders has died after police's deadly force response.

The civilian identities have not yet been confirmed.

PPD is planning to release the names of the officers involved tomorrow, March 15.

PASCO, WA - Pasco Police Officers were dispatched on Sunday at about 11:40 am to an altercation between two men in the street on W Lewis and 6th Ave. It was reported one of the men was armed with a knife.

When officers arrived one male was lying on the ground with what seemed like stab wounds.

One officers rendered aid to the injured male. Unfortunately, he died of his injuries at the scene.

Two additional officers approached the armed man. The man charged at the officers several times. Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation and failed. This lead officers to use force, shooting the suspect, striking and stopping him.

Officers immediately rendered aid to the suspect who was then transported to a nearby hospital to be treated. His condition is unknown at this time.

Special Investigations Unit is now investigating the officer involved shooting.. They are investigating the use of force incident by the Pasco Police Department.

This is a developing story, which means information could change. We are working to report timely and accurate information as we get it.
John Kovach / Hearst Connecticut Media

NEW CANAAN  A landlord was charged last week after police say he turned off the heat and electricity at a local apartment.

New Canaan police said they received a complaint on Jan. 21 about a landlord turning off utilities at an apartment on Garibaldi Lane. Police determined that the landlord, Dinesh Parmar, 63, had been responsible for the utilities being turned off to the apartment, the police department said.
Longtime employees of the iconic Penn Dutch Meat & Seafood stores in Hollywood and Margate waited more than two and a half years to find out whether theyd get paid.

When the stores closed permanently amid a listeria contamination scare in September 2019, employees were sent home without their final weeks paychecks, without any severance pay, and without their accrued vacation pay.

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And so they waited as the owners appointed a liquidation firm to dissolve the companys remaining assets for the benefit of its creditors. And they waited as two members of Penn Dutchs founding family sued that liquidation firm in an effort to claim those assets for themselves.

But last week, the liquidation firms president, Philip Von Kahle of Fort Lauderdale-based Moecker & Associates, filed a proposal to distribute $46,272 among 46 former employees. Thats how much would remain of Penn Dutchs cash holdings if the court allows the Moecker firm to recover $173,647 for costs it says it incurred pursuing the dissolution and defending itself against the federal lawsuit by co-owners William and Paul Salsburg.

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The book will finally shut on iconic Penn Dutch's 45-year Broward County history if a Broward County court approves a plan to divide its remaining cash assets among 46 employees who were stiffed out of their final paychecks when the stores closed in September 2019. This photo, taken in 2019, shows what the store looked like before the property was sold and the building demolished. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

In December, the parties announced a settlement that paid $187,500 to William and Paul Salsburg, whose company, W&P Holdings Inc., owned the real estate under the Hollywood store.

Shortly after the stores closed, W&P Holdings sold the Hollywood property for $3.7 million to pay off three produce suppliers who claimed in a federal lawsuit that a Depression-era law enacted to protect farmers gave them front-of-the-line status among all creditors, including the right to seize the Penn Dutch owners personal assets.

[ RELATED: Penn Dutchs 45-year history marked by successes, tragedies ]

W&P Holdings settled the produce suppliers claims, which totaled about $600,000, but not before convincing them to sign over their super-priority status. William and Paul Salsburg then used that assignment to assert that their claims took priority over those of all other creditors, including their stiffed employees.

Assuming a judge approves terms of the final distribution proposal filed last Friday in Broward County Circuit Court, the employees will split a fraction of what the Salsburgs recovered. And theyll get a fraction of what they were owed, which is typical for creditors who get anything at all after a business fails.

Amounts will vary. The companys former marketing manager will receive $4,486 while five employees listed in the proposal will get less than $200 each. Fourteen employees will receive more than $1,000. The rest will get between $200 and $1,000.

[ RELATED: Penn Dutch wont try to reopen, hires insolvency firm to expedite liquidation ]

Myra DiBlasio, slated to receive $405, said thats far less than what the company owed her when it closed  including accrued vacation time and three weeks of full-time work for which she was never paid. DiBlasio, who worked as a cashier and counter clerk, asked, What happened? when told how much shell likely receive.

Former seafood clerk Peter Jasieniecki, an 11-year employee, will receive $1,482 if the plan is approved. Jasieniecki says he lost three weeks of accrued vacation pay but doesnt remember how much he lost in wages.

David Eteo stands to collect $968. Thats great, said the former employee. Ill believe it when I see it.

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[ RELATED: Penn Dutchs listeria-contaminated Hollywood property sold for $3.7 million ]

Approval of the plan will mark the end of Penn Dutchs dissolution and close the book on a colorful family business that served Broward County customers for 45 years beginning in 1975.

The employees at least will recover something. Their claims have priority status over those of a long list of suppliers, including numerous local companies, left off of the proposed distribution list filed by Von Kahle. They include Coral Springs-based Showcase Provisions, Penn Dutchs Boarshead distributor ($17,640), Deerfield Beach-based Florida Island Snacks (owed $487), Miami-based Medina Baking & Powder Products ($1,562) and North Star Seafood, based in Pompano Beach ($2,992).

Miami Lakes-based attorney Douglas Jeffrey said his client, Miami-based Balter Meat Company, wont receive any of the $30,000 that Penn Dutch owed the company. Im not happy about it at all, Jeffrey said. I had a feeling that was going to happen given the size of the employee claims.

Creditors have until April 1 to file objections to the plan before Circuit Judge Jack Tuter will be asked to finalize it in a hearing in Broward County Circuit Court at 8:45 a.m. on April 13.

Jeffrey said it likely wouldnt be worthwhile to object. It is what it is, he said.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.
Pluribus Networks has extended its switch-fabric software to server-based data processing units (DPU)aka smartNICsthat can lighten the workload for server CPUs.

Pluribus has ported its Unified Cloud Fabric (previously Adaptive Cloud Fabric) software to the Nvidia BlueField-2 DPU, which offloads software-defined storage, networking, security, and management workloads from traditional servers.

Other vendors such as AWS, VMware, Pensando, Aruba, and Intel are developing smartNIC architectures, and Pluribus is likely to support at least some of them in the future.

[ Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ]

Underlying Unified Cloud Fabric is Netvisor One, Pluribuss virtualized Linux-based network operating system (NOS) that provides Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking and distributed-fabric intelligence. The NOS virtualizes switch hardware and operates without a controller. The software can be deployed across a single data center or targeted to specific racks, pods, server farms or hyperconverged infrastructures, the company said.

We now we have a common OS across open switches and DPUs, which allows us to unify networks that include both servers with DPUs and other servers and devices without DPUs, said Jay Gill, senior director of products & solutions with Pluribus.
Employees of Shooters Waterfront in Fort Lauderdale place flowers during a memorial service, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. A server was shot and killed at the restaurant Tuesday by a former employee. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Fort Lauderdale  Jordan Siddiq was the kind of person who gave his co-workers energy and a moment to laugh, even on the busiest Friday night shifts when tension ran high.

At work, he was rarely without a smile. He was the kind of person people enjoyed working with, said Keith Weiss, former kitchen manager at BJs Brewhouse in Pembroke Pines who worked there with Siddiq several years ago.

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Hes one of those people, Weiss said. It was always about just trying to find the best part of the day or the silver lining.

A photograph of Jordan Siddiq, the victim of a shooting at Shooters Waterfront in Fort Lauderdale is seen during a memorial service, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Siddiq was shot and killed at the restaurant Tuesday by a former employee. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Siddiq, 35, of Weston, arrived for work at Shooters Waterfront restaurant about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. A short time later, a former Shooters employee, Angel Candelaria, 33, of Fort Lauderdale, arrived at the restaurant and confronted Saddiq. The two argued, and as the fight escalated, the suspect shot Saddiq and fled, police said.

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Siddiq, who was shot two times, died shortly after at Broward Health Medical Center, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The gathering of about 50 people outside Shooters in Fort Lauderdale for a memorial Wednesday morning, praying and embracing, is a testament to the impact Siddiq had on those who knew him, said Bobby Berson, a Shooters employee who said he was working when the incident happened.

And that he was a good person, Berson said. People migrated toward him.

Pictures of the slain worker were taped to cardboard signs hung on pillars outside the restaurant. The posters were signed by many of the employees.

People poured into the memorial service between 10 and 11 a.m., many carrying bouquets of sunflowers to honor Siddiq. As people left the service about 11:30 a.m., they gathered for about two hours at the impromptu memorial site outside Shooters and left bouquets of flowers, mostly sunflowers.

Many had tears in their eyes. Many embraced.

Employees of Shooters Waterfront in Fort Lauderdale arrive before a memorial service, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Server Jordan Siddiq was shot and killed at the restaurant Tuesday by a former employee. (Joe Cavaretta / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Berson declined to talk about the shooting itself, or the suspect, saying he preferred to keep the focus on Siddiq.

He was a great person; he was a positive person, Berson said. He was loved. Were all going to miss him. It shouldnt have happened to him. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.

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Christine Siddiq said her older brother was her best friend, a protective one who she could always lean on.

He was a helpful son to his handicapped father, Dawood Siddiq, taking care of him however he could, his sister said. Siddiq graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School as an honor-roll student, was an animal-lover who rescued cats from a kill shelter and a friend to anyone who needed one.

He helped his father purchase and run Sterling Dry Cleaners on University Drive in Davie and had also worked in the real estate business, his sister said.

He had an infectious smile and laugh, always positive, always happy, Christine Siddiq wrote in a text message to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He loved life.

Christine Siddiq remembered her brother, Jordan Siddiq, as her best friend, as "someone I could always lean on," she said to the South Florida Sun Sentinel in a text message Wednesday. (Courtesy of Christine Siddiq)

Brandon Maceri, 38, who worked at BJs Brewhouse in Pembroke Pines with Siddiq, remembered his friend as someone who never met a stranger.

He had repeat customers all the time, and he always made the customers that were with him laugh and stuff, Maceri said. He was a very funny dude and that was one of his best qualities, the charismatic and funniness that came out of him was second to none. You dont meet too many people like that.

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Maceri and Weiss said Siddiq got along with everyone, never involved in arguments or work-place drama.

I just want to give my condolences to his family. Im never going to forget the guy. He leaves a mark on everybody, which is why so many people have been touched by him. That just shows what type of person he is. Hes definitely going to be remembered, Maceri said.

Jordan Siddiq is survived by his sister, Christine Siddiq, and his parents, Dawood and Teri Siddiq. (Courtesy of Christine Siddiq)

Weiss, who worked at BJs with Siddiq, said the news of Siddiqs killing hits home for many in the service industry. As a manager who interviewed and hired employees, Weiss said in the many restaurants he has worked in, the businesses rarely conducted background checks or reference checks.

Youre so grateful to get a warm body that can move and do something, and you kind of just plug them in and hope itll work out. No restaurant are doing any kind of reference checks, background checks, Weiss said. Youre just kind of grateful to get anyone who walks in the door at that point.

Candelaria is facing a first-degree murder charge. Police arrested Candelaria at 2400 E. Commercial Blvd., a business building about 3 miles away from the restaurant.

Candelaria has a criminal record in New Jersey, according to court records in the state. In March 2013, Candelaria was sentenced to five years in prison for unlawful possession of a handgun.

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Broward County court records show a woman who lived with Candelaria in 2020 was issued a protection order for a year after the woman said he had threatened her and was afraid he would act on the threats, records show.

Booking mug for Angel Candelaria, 33, who is being held without bond in the Broward County jail on charges of first-degree murder. (Broward County Sheriff's Office)

Candelaria was ordered to have no contact with her and to not go within 500 feet of her home or 100 feet of her car. He was also prohibited from using or having a gun and was ordered to surrender any concealed weapon permits.

Restaurants and bars tend to be last-resort jobs for people who may have a hard time finding employment elsewhere because of criminal background or past convictions, Weiss said. He had seen many encounters on the brink of violence in his years managing a kitchen.

You have no idea when you work in a restaurant, you dont even know what youre getting into, he said. Its the melting pot of anybody and everybody is accepted.

Its an industry where workers feel they become a family, become a family without knowing pasts, Weiss said.

The restaurant was closed Wednesday, at a time when people would start gathering for mid-day meals at the vacation hot spot.

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Employees of Shooters Waterfront in Fort Lauderdale place flowers during a memorial service, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. A server was shot and killed at the restaurant Tuesday by a former employee. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Fort Lauderdale Police have asked for the publics help in gathering video related to the shooting, which happened on the patio of the restaurant at 3033 NE 32nd Ave., on the Intracoastal Waterway just south of Oakland Park Boulevard.

According to the Miami Herald, an arrest report says Candelaria made calls from his Apple Watch to a friend and ex-girlfriend as he was being arrested.

Im going to jail, bro, he said, the Miami Herald quoted from the arrest report. He later told the woman he called, I love you to death.

Candelaria was found with a gun.

On Wednesday, one neighbor who didnt want to be identified said its been an active stretch in the neighborhood.

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In January, there was a deck collapse at Flip Flops bar and restaurant, which is next door to Shooters.

In 2021, a kite surfer crashed into a nearby building. Just over three years ago an airplane towing a banner hit the Berkeley condominium building.

Neighbors described the shooting scene as it unfolded Tuesday from their condo across the street. They said Shooters employees were sheltered at a next-door business, Maestros Ocean Club, located just south of the restaurant.

One person said the speaker system at their condo building announced the shooting across the street but didnt specify where, and informed residents to stay in their units. Later, many of her neighbors went to their fifth-floor observation deck and police told them to stay inside. Later, SWAT officers came into the area.

Anyone with video related to the shooting is asked to provide it to Fort Lauderdale police, by uploading here.

Anyone who witnessed the shooting can contact Detective Sergeant Steve Novak at 954-828-5556 or Detective Michael Benson at 954-828-6561. Information can be provided anonymously by contacting Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).

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DELRAY BEACH  After banning medical marijuana dispensaries for nearly six years, Delray Beach could soon change its stance on the issue.

Delray Beach is considering a proposal that would allow dispensaries within city limits, which would make them the latest in a growing number of South Florida communities to do so. Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach are among the Palm Beach County cities that now allow dispensaries.

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In 2016, Florida voters approved the use of medical marijuana for medical conditions including epilepsy, Crohns disease, multiple sclerosis and others. Seventy-one percent of voters across the state approved the measure, including 71% of Delray Beach voters.

[ RELATED: Boca says yes to medical marijuana dispensaries, reversing five-year ban ]

But one month prior to vote, Delray Beach passed a temporary moratorium prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries. In 2017, the city passed a permanent prohibition and hasnt revisited the subject until now.

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The proposal is being brought forth by Rosen Associates, a development company seeking to open a dispensary.

While the statewide ordinance passed with overwhelming support in 2016, Schiller believes the opioid crisis in 2017 and the uncertainty regarding the future of medical marijuana treatment centers made the commission reticent to take action.

A number of cities didnt do anything with the medical marijuana ordinance [at the time], Schiller said. They wanted to see how the industry would grow and mature and how it would play out.

In Delray, nobody had brought it up. I think now, fast forward to 2022, having the medical marijuana treatment centers being open and operating throughout the county and state gives people a sense of comfort.

In this file photo, Surterra Wellness customer Donna Prakas, left, gets help from wellness coordinator Kim McLeod in choosing the right medical marijuana product during the opening of the new medical marijuana treatment center in West Delray. (Taimy Alvarez / South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Since then, the medical marijuana industry has seen significant growth in the state.

In order for patients to be able to buy medical marijuana from a dispensary, they first need a card from the state indicating that they qualify for treatment under state law.

[ RELATED: Florida is becoming a leader in nations marijuana movement ]

Outside city limits, there are three facilities west of Delray Beach near Atlantic Avenue and Jog Road.

Boynton Beach, which approved dispensaries in 2017, has five near Woolbright Road and Boynton Beach Boulevard.

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Boca Raton passed an ordinance in 2020 allowing dispensaries, but none have opened yet in the city.

If Delray Beach approves the ordinance, dispensaries would have a minimum requirement of 3,500 square feet, which Schiller says would provides a certain kind of assurance that its going to be a nicely run operation and that the applicant is well-financed and committed to maintaining the property.

Dispensaries would not be able to open within at least 500 feet of a school and within 4,000 feet of another dispensary in order to avoid clustering.

Commissioner Ryan Bolyston supported moving the motion forward.

Ive learned a lot about this industry and I think like our neighboring cities, we should pass an ordinance, Boylston said. I just would want to make sure its strict if not stricter to ensure we can have a few facilities but not an entirely thriving-type of industry in Delray.

City commissioners are expected to vote on the issue later this year.
Our County Editor

Dave Hinton is editor of The News-Gazette's Our County section and former editor of the Rantoul Press. He can be reached at dhinton@news-gazette.com.
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Champaign, IL (61820)

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Cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low near 50F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph..

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Cloudy skies. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low near 50F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Josh Hawley had a pointed question earlier this month for a federal appeals court nominee who, as a public defender, helped get a Pennsylvania man off death row despite his conviction for two brutal murders.

Do you regret trying to prevent this individual who committed these heinous crimes from having justice served upon him? asked Hawley, R-Mo., as he grilled Arianna Freeman, President Joe Bidens pick for a seat on the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

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Last month, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Nina Morrison, a nominee for a Federal District Court seat in New York, whether she was proud that you encourage such defiance in convicted murderers when a man she represented declared to the prison warden that he would not be executed.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Freeman she had devoted your entire professional career to representing murderers, to representing rapists, representing child molesters.

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And Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the former public defender whose confirmation hearing for a seat on the Supreme Court begins next Monday, has been sharply questioned by Republicans for her work representing detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. In a background paper on her nomination for the high court, the Republican National Committee referred to Jacksons advocacy for these terrorists as going beyond just giving them a competent defense.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's Supreme Court nominee, leaves the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Capitol Hill in Washington, on March 2, 2022. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times)

On Tuesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, said in a floor speech that Jackson had strong backing from progressive groups partially because of her history as a public defender, saying, The soft-on-crime brigade is squarely in Judge Jacksons corner.

The attacks reflect what has emerged in recent months as a Republican effort to vilify and discredit Biden administration judicial nominees who have served as public defenders by suggesting that they acted inappropriately in representing clients accused of serious, sometimes vicious crimes.

Democrats say the tactic ignores a fundamental principle of the U.S. justice system  that everyone has the constitutional right to be represented by counsel  and effectively seeks to disqualify from the bench anyone who has taken that obligation seriously when it comes to the accused.

The Republican strategy is a response to a concerted push by the Biden administration to diversify the federal bench by nominating more people with experience in criminal defense work, many of them women of color.

It is a sea change in the world of judicial nominations, where presidents of both political parties have long shied away from defense attorneys because of their susceptibility to political attacks tied to the crimes attributed to their clients, instead selecting tough-on-crime prosecutors. The type of high-profile murder cases handled by some of Bidens nominees would have been considered disqualifying only a few years ago; now the president, who himself served briefly as a public defender early in his legal career, is actively seeking to name more jurists who have such experience, as well as to broaden racial diversity on the federal bench by naming more people of color.

The nomination of Jackson, who would be the first public defender and the first Black woman to sit on the high court, will be the biggest test yet of whether a lawyer who represented accused criminals can draw broad Republican support. Her defense work and membership on a commission that reviewed sentencing guidelines will no doubt draw scrutiny during the upcoming hearing.

But she is hardly the only candidate who has faced such condemnation by Republicans. At least 20 other lawyers with significant public defender experience have been nominated by the Biden administration, representing about 30% of those considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee so far during Bidens term. About half of them, including Jackson and Freeman, are women of color.

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We have never seen anything like this, said Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, who has studied the administrations push to expand the ranks of defense attorneys on the bench.

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee have almost uniformly opposed the confirmation of public defenders. As they prepare for the Jackson hearings, GOP senators say past work experience is fair game, even though the defenders may have been court-appointed in many cases to represent indigent defendants.

Like any attorney who has been in any kind of practice, they are going to have to answer for the clients they represented and the arguments they made, Hawley said.

He noted that the chief judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had criticized the federal public defender office in which Freeman served as too aggressive and obstructionist.

It is not every day that a chief justice of the court accuses an attorney of trying to systemically undermine a states law, he said.

Freeman said she had simply been doing her job to the best of her ability and pointed out that her client ultimately had prevailed at the Supreme Court because of unlawfulness and due-process violations in the case.

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I can tell you that I represent individuals when I have been directed to do so by the court, and I fulfilled my duty to zealously advocate for those individuals, she said at her hearing.

The tone of the Republican questioning of the public defenders has alarmed Democrats and has them bracing for tense moments during Jacksons hearings.

Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. and chair of the Judiciary Committee, has argued that Republicans aim some of their harshest fire at assertive women of color to suggest they are soft on crime.

Democrats contend that these attacks are tied to a central element of Republicans midterm campaign strategy, which is to blame Democrats for an increase in crime by portraying them as unwilling to punish lawlessness and as hostile to law enforcement.

Theres a reason we see crime rates and murder rates and carjacking rates skyrocketing across this country, because the job of a judge is to follow the law, not to be a zealot pursuing a political agenda, Cruz said at Freemans hearing.

Durbin called the remarks fearmongering, dismissing them as unacceptable.

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It is not somehow antithetical to the rule of law for an attorney to represent criminal defendants, he said. The cause of justice is served when there is effective and competent counsel at both tables in the courtroom.

Others say it is a mistake to impugn lawyers for the clients they represent.

I think it is extraordinarily shortsighted and unfair, Neily said about the reflexive opposition to public defenders. The job of a criminal defense attorney is not just to represent the interests of their client but to also ensure the government doesnt cut corners and abides by the rule of law.

Emily Hughes, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law who is on the board of the National Association for Public Defense, said it was wrong to assume that those with public defense experience would side with criminals.

It doesnt mean they are going to rule in favor of criminal defendants, she said. It means they bring a different perspective. Their experience on the other side of a case is just as important as a prosecutors experience on the opposite side.

Jacksons supporters say her time as a public defender was a formative part of a distinguished career  including time as a lawyer in private practice, serving as a member of the sentencing commission and stints as a district and appellate judge  and only strengthens her qualifications. They also note that Jackson has support from law enforcement groups.

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She was a public defender, but that doesnt mean that she is soft on crime, that shes pro-criminal, said Doug Jones, the former Democratic senator from Alabama who has been helping guide Jackson through her meetings with senators.

Theres not a single public defender ever who was pro-crime, Jones added. Theyre defending the Constitution and the rights of folks.

Republicans deny that they are trying to bar an entire category of potential judges. Cotton said he did not believe that criminal defense work was disqualifying but that it was only appropriate to judge nominees by the cases they had accepted.

He noted that Morrison, as a lawyer with the Innocence Project, chose to join in the post-conviction defense of Ledell Lee, a man convicted of multiple rapes and a murder in Arkansas and executed in 2017 as lawyers unsuccessfully pressed for DNA testing while professing his potential innocence.

She was an activist, choosing to take on certain cases, he said in an interview. And that is a difference.

The Judiciary Committee approved Morrisons nomination last week with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the only Republican to support it.

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As for Jackson, Cotton pressed her during her appeals court hearing last year on her work for terror detainees whom she was appointed to represent, though she continued to challenge Bush-era detention polices after she entered private practice.

Im sure we will have a chance to explore many issues with Judge Jackson, Cotton said.

c.2021 The New York Times Company
Longview, TX (75601)

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Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

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Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 70F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
People living in socially-deprived areas of the United States are more likely to die prematurely from cardiovascular (CV) complications according to new research published recently in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The study, completed by researchers at University Hospitals (UH) Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, found social deprivation can explain a significant proportion of the geographic variation in premature cardiovascular mortality in the U.S.

Socioeconomic deprivation is defined by a number of social and economic factors including education, income, employment and neighborhood environment. A large gap exists in explaining premature CV deaths across the U.S. which cannot be totally attributed to traditional risk factors such as high cholesterol. Recent evidence suggests socioeconomic deprivation is a risk factor for this type of mortality.

Socioeconomic status plays a big role in access to preventive care, risk factor control, and incidence of disease. UH is committed to improving the health of all people by advancing science and human health. A large part of that is discovering the root cause of disease. With this study, we wanted to determine whether premature cardiovascular mortality is associated with socioeconomic deprivation and how premature cardiovascular mortality changed over time by social deprivation." Sadeer Al-Kindi, MD, cardiologist and co-director of the Center for Integrated and Novel Approaches in Vascular-Metabolic Disease (CINEMA) with UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute and the study's senior author

In "Socioeconomic Deprivation and Premature Cardiovascular Mortality in the United States" researchers completed a cross-sectional analysis of United States county-level death certificate data from 1999 to 2018 using files maintained by the U.S. National Center for Health and Statistics. They looked at people from the ages of 25 to 64 who died from cardiovascular conditions. They used linear regression analysis to document two integrated metrics of socioeconomic deprivation: Social Deprivation Index (SDI) and county Area Deprivation Index (ADI).

Results from this research showed that counties with high social deprivation had the highest rates of premature cardiovascular deaths. Additionally, from 1999 to 2018 premature cardiovascular mortality decreased to a lesser extent in socially deprived counties compared with affluent counties. In fact, indicators of social deprivation directly explained a significant proportion of the geographic differences in premature CV mortality in the U.S.

"Health and structural inequities in poor communities have been ignored for too long. We now know that where you live, inequities and other components embedded in the environment are powerful determinants of mortality, often from chronic non-communicable disease. Most importantly, shedding light on this pervasive issue compels us to act upon the information," said Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine and Chief Academic and Scientific Officer of UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute and co-author of the study, as well as the Herman K. Hellerstein, MD, Chair in Cardiovascular Research.

UH is taking action in a multitude of ways, including through its work in the community thanks to the ACHIEVE GreatER initiative. A "transformative" $18.2 million federal grant from the National Institutes of Health's P50 program will facilitate medical and cardiovascular care provided directly to people living in Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, one of the nation's largest and oldest subsidized housing programs. Additional efforts by the study team are focused on understanding the integrated social and environmental underpinnings of premature cardiovascular disease in Northeast Ohio and nationally.

"Regardless of where they live or how much money they make, all people should have the opportunity to receive the necessary medical resources and support to have a healthier life," said Dr. Mehdi Shishehbor, DO, MPH, PhD, President of UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, and the Angela and James Hambrick Chair in Innovation.

Prior studies have explored the relationship between race and premature CV mortality or individual socioeconomic factors (income, high school education) and CV mortality.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate a longitudinal association between multiple integrated metrics of socioeconomic deprivation and premature cardiovascular mortality adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, while also showing potentially worsening disparities," said Dr. Al-Kindi.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), first emerged in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, before spreading to the rest of the world.

Since the very beginning of the pandemic, there has been concern about the emergence of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder where the body's immune system damages nerves. In some cases, nerve damage causes muscle weakness and paralysis. The cause of the syndrome is unknown, but it often occurs after infection with a virus or bacteria.

In this regard, a researcher from Complejo Hospitalario de Salamanca, Spain, has investigated connections between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), vaccination, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Their work is currently available on the Research Square* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

Guillain-Barre syndrome affects the feet, hands, and limbs, causing a wide variety of symptoms. While it can be treated and most individuals make a full recovery, it is nonetheless serious and can cause severe long-term harm and even death. The symptoms tend to begin with numbness, pins and needles, weakness, pain, and difficulties with balance, often starting in the extremities before moving to the rest of the limb. It is likely related to autoimmune issues targeting nerves  and as SARS-CoV-2 is known to affect the proportions of autoantibodies, there is significant reason to investigate any connection.

Study: Guillain-Barre syndrome and SARS-COV2 coronavirus. Vaccinate or get infected with COVID? What poses less risk? Image Credit: Bangkok Click Studio / Shutterstock

The Study

The researcher, Maria Dolores Calabria Gallego, carried out a bibliographic review investigating Guillain-Barre disease and COVID-19. Four hundred five initial results were rapidly sorted, and any papers that were not written in English or Spanish or did not deal with humans were excluded. Two hundred eighteen scientific papers entered the final analysis, 6 of which were meta-analyses, 63 reviews, and 24 systematic reviews. A significant number of these were case reports that presumed Guillain-Barre syndrome secondary to SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as Miller-Fisher syndrome variant. Unfortunately, given the high incidence of cases of both diseases it is impossible to establish any evidence of a causal relationship from this data at this time.

It can also be difficult to properly differentiate between the neuropathy of the critically ill patients with severe pneumonia and Guillain-Barre syndrome given the similarities in symptoms and because not all cases show symptoms that can be used to differentiate between the two diseases  classically albumin-cytological dissociation in cerebrospinal fluid and a latency period of ~3 weeks between infection and the appearance of neurological symptoms.

Most reviews identified a strong association between the pathologies, emphasizing differences in presentation as Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with COVID-19. Generally, when associated with COVID-19, the disease presents with greater severity. An Italian study has also shown evidence for linkage between the two diseases, with increases in the incidence of Guillain-Barre syndrome occurring as the pandemic spread. Unfortunately, other research disagrees, showing no significant association, and no significant differences in cases diagnosed during the pandemic. The contradictory author actually finds a decrease in incidence during the pandemic  which could be explained by lockdown measures reducing the spread of diseases that can induce Guillain-Barre syndrome.

One case found that COVID-19 antibodies could be detected in cerebrospinal fluid  but this was not the general consensus. The peptides that make up the immunoreactive epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 were shown to share the same sequences as heat shock proteins 90 and 60  both associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome  but anti-ganglioside antibodies are only rarely detected in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with COVID-19.

Unfortunately, there is very little quality information on the impact of vaccination on Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with COVID-19. In one study evaluating a population with roughly 80% vaccination using the ChAdOx1-S/nCov-19 vaccine over 4 weeks, seven cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome were observed  1.4 to 10 times higher than expected. The symptoms of the syndrome were also significantly more severe, and many individuals presented with facial diplegia, often associated with post-vaccination Guillain Barre syndrome.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has judged that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine confers an increased risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome  a controversial decision given the high population of vaccinated individuals and the relatively low case number  100 verified cases per 12.5 million doses.

Conclusion

The author highlights that while there are many published works discussing the potential relationship between Guillain-Barre syndrome and COVID-19, there is relatively little evidence of a causal relationship. While other respiratory viruses are known to trigger an appearance of the syndrome, more in-depth epidemiological studies suggest that this does not remain true for SARS-CoV-2. While further research is required to make an absolute conclusion, it seems reasonable to assume that the strength of the current connection is overstated and overrepresented in literature.

*Important notice

Research Square publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
Thousands of doctors and nurses from across the globe reveal what is needed to fill gaps and future-proof todays healthcare system in a new report from Elsevier Health, published two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The comprehensive Clinician of the Future report conducted in partnership with Ipsos uncovers just how undervalued doctors and nurses feel and their call for urgent support such as more skills training  especially in the effective use of health data and technology; preserving the patient-doctor relationship in a changing digital world; and recruiting more healthcare professionals into the field. Their voices have been elevated in this first global, multiphase research report to not only understand where the healthcare system is following the COVID-19 pandemic, but where it needs to be in 10 years to ensure a future that both providers and patients deserve.

Doctors and nurses play a vital role in the health and well-being of our society. Ensuring they are being heard will enable them to get the support they need to deliver better patient care in these difficult times. We must start to shift the conversation away from discussing todays healthcare problems to delivering solutions that will help improve patient outcomes. In our research, they have been clear about the areas they need support; we must act now to protect, equip and inspire the clinician of the future. Jan Herzhoff, President, Elsevier Health

There has never been a greater need for lifting the voices of healthcare professionals. The global study found 71% of doctors and 68% of nurses believe their jobs have changed considerably in the past 10 years, with many saying their jobs have gotten worse. One in three clinicians are considering leaving their current role by 2024 with as much as half of this group in some countries leaving healthcare for good. This comes on top of the existing global healthcare workforce shortage, where clinicians continue to experience severe levels of fatigue and burnout since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic.

As a practicing doctor, I am acutely aware of the struggles todays clinicians face in their efforts to care for patients, said Charles Alessi, MD, chief clinical officer, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). This comprehensive report from Elsevier Health provides an opportunity for the industry to listen  and act  on the pivotal guidance given by those on the frontlines. I commend this important initiative and look forward to next steps in supporting our doctors and nurses.

What todays clinicians want for the clinician of the future

The Clinician of the Future report includes a quantitative global survey, qualitative interviews and roundtable discussions with nearly 3,000 practicing doctors and nurses around the world. The data helps shed light on the challenges impacting the profession today and predictions on what healthcare will look like in the next 10 years, according to those providing critical patient care. To ensure a positive shift moving into the future, and to fill current gaps, clinicians highlight the following priority areas for greater support:

Enhancing health technology skills: Clinicians predict that over the next ten years technology literacy will become their most valuable capability, ranking higher than clinical knowledge. In fact, 56% of clinicians predict they will base most of their clinical decisions using tools that utilize artificial intelligence. However, 69% report being overwhelmed with the current volume of data and 69% predict the widespread use of digital health technologies to become an even more challenging burden in the future. As a result, 83% believe training needs to be overhauled so they can keep pace with technological advancements.

Clinicians predict that over the next ten years technology literacy will become their most valuable capability, ranking higher than clinical knowledge. In fact, 56% of clinicians predict they will base most of their clinical decisions using tools that utilize artificial intelligence. However, 69% report being overwhelmed with the current volume of data and 69% predict the widespread use of digital health technologies to become an even more challenging burden in the future. As a result, 83% believe training needs to be overhauled so they can keep pace with technological advancements. A greater focus on the patient-provider relationship: Clinicians predict a blended approach to healthcare with 63% saying most consultations between clinicians and patients will be remote and 49% saying most healthcare will be provided in a patients home instead of in a healthcare setting. While clinicians may save time and see more patients thanks to telehealth, more than half of clinicians believe telehealth will negatively impact their ability to demonstrate empathy with patients they no longer see in person. As a result, clinicians are calling for guidance on when to use telehealth and how to transfer soft skills like empathy to the computer screen.

Clinicians predict a blended approach to healthcare with 63% saying most consultations between clinicians and patients will be remote and 49% saying most healthcare will be provided in a patients home instead of in a healthcare setting. While clinicians may save time and see more patients thanks to telehealth, more than half of clinicians believe telehealth will negatively impact their ability to demonstrate empathy with patients they no longer see in person. As a result, clinicians are calling for guidance on when to use telehealth and how to transfer soft skills like empathy to the computer screen. An expanded healthcare workforce: Clinicians are concerned about a global healthcare workforce shortage, with 74% predicting there will be a shortage of nurses and 68% predicting a shortage of doctors in 10 years time. This may be why global clinicians say a top support priority is increasing the number of healthcare workers in the coming decade. Clinicians require the support of larger, better equipped teams and expanded multidisciplinary healthcare teams, such as data analysts, data security experts and scientists, as well as clinicians themselves.

While we know that many nurses are leaving the profession due to burnout, we also know that the pandemic has inspired others to enter the field because of a strong desire for purposeful work, said Marion Broome, PhD RN, FAAN, Ruby F. Wilson professor of nursing, School of Nursing, Duke University. We must embrace this next wave of healthcare professionals and ensure we set them up for success. Our future as a society depends on it.

Looking to the future

Findings from this research will be leveraged to provide strategic insights and solutions for physicians, nurses, educators, healthcare administrators and policymakers as Elsevier Health establishes initiatives designed to address the gaps highlighted:

Providing an annual Elsevier Health Clinician of the Future pulse survey to ensure these voices continue to be front and center

Convening a Global Coalition of healthcare leaders and institutions to explore solutions at the medical school and clinical practice level

Exploring the issue of patient empathy in partnership with our trusted research journals and subject matter experts

Ultimately, we asked clinicians for what they need, and now its our responsibility as a healthcare industry to act. Now is the time for bold thinking  to serve providers and patients today and tomorrow. We need to find ways to give clinicians the enhanced skills and resources they need to better support and care for patients in the future. And we need to fill in gaps today, to stop the drain on healthcare workers to ensure a strong system in the next decade and beyond. Thomas (Tate) Erlinger, MD, MPH, Vice President, Clinical Analytics, Elsevier Health

Research methodology:

Elsevier and Ipsos collaborated to develop this study with Ipsos conducting the three phases of research cumulatively leading to the explorations in this report. The phases included (1) 60-minute online qualitative interviews with 23 key opinion leaders from around the world to uncover trends and expectations for the future state of clinician roles and to inform quantitative design (run from Aug. 11 until Sept. 10, 2021). Participants were recruited from databases supplied by Elsevier and The Lancet, in addition to clinicians recruited directly from Ipsos network (REACH  Thought Leadership); (2) a 15-minute online global survey completed by 2,838 clinicians to measure attitudes and uncover the paradigm shifts expected to most impact how healthcare is delivered (run from Oct. 15 until Dec. 13, 2021). The 2,838 respondents included a mixture of doctors and nurses from around the world. All participants who took part chose to do so, and individuals invited to participate were drawn from a number of sources, including clinicians who had published recently, who were randomly selected from a database of published authors across 9,000 health titles (including journals and books) from various publishers, clinicians on a third-party panel, and users of Elsevier solutions aimed at doctors and nurses. Data generated from this study was weighted using a regional weighting efficiency of 77.7% and a doctor-to-nurse weighting efficiency of 93.0%.; (3) three qualitative virtual roundtables with 13 key opinion leaders in the U.S. (5 participants), U.K. (4 participants) and China (4 participants) to gather reactions to the findings and provide expert points of view on the clinician of the future (run Nov. 22, 2021, Dec. 7, 2021, and Jan. 13, 2022). A global medical student roundtable with 12 participants was also conducted to capture the voice of the next generation of clinicians (run Feb. 15, 2022). For these roundtables, participants were recruited from databases supplied by Elsevier and The Lancet, in addition to clinicians recruited directly from Ipsos network (REACH - Though Leadership), a global social impact organization.
Children who develop type 1 diabetes show epigenetic changes in the cells of their immune system already before the antibodies of the disease are detected in their blood. The findings of two new studies offer new opportunities to identify the children with the genetic risk for developing diabetes very early on.

Epigenetic changes can affect how our genes work. Environmental factors, such as viral infections, can cause epigenetic changes.

The findings in the epigenetic makeup linked to diabetes were discovered in two new studies led by researchers from Turku Bioscience at the University of Turku, Finland.

"We uncovered previously unknown, early-onset epigenetic changes. They offer us new opportunities to further develop ways to identify children who have a risk of developing type 1 diabetes even before they get sick," says Professor Riitta Lahesmaa, Director of Turku Bioscience and a group leader in the InFLAMES research flagship initiative.

Earlier studies have shown that certain antibodies detected in children's blood samples indicate an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the near future. So that medical professionals could intervene in the disease even sooner, earlier disease indicators than the antibodies are needed to detect the risk. This involves searching for biomarkers indicating type 1 diabetes, and epigenetic changes could be such a biomarker.

Our observations on epigenetics are extremely important as our goal is to develop methods and tools to prevent the onset of type 1 diabetes in children who are at risk of developing the disease." Professor Laura Elo, University of Turku, Finland

Elo is the Director of the Medical Bioinformatics Centre at Turku Bioscience and a group leader in the InFLAMES research flagship.

Finnish children have an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes

In Finland, children's risk of developing type 1 diabetes is the highest in the world. In addition to the genetic susceptibility, environmental factors have a great significance for developing the disease. The environmental factors include, for example, excessive level of hygiene, biodiversity loss, and environmental toxins.

The newly published studies are based on long-term interdisciplinary research collaboration with international partners. The project has included doctors who are in charge of the patients and also conduct clinical research, researchers in molecular medicine and immunology, and experts in computational science. In the studies, researchers analyzed longitudinal samples with deep sequencing covering the entire genome as well as with computational methods and artificial intelligence.

"Our research was enabled by close collaboration with Professor Mikael Knip from the University of Helsinki, who coordinates a study funded by the EU. He is also one of the key scientists in the national Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) project which was a partner in the other study," highlights Professor Lahesmaa.

The studies were published in the esteemed Diabetologia and Diabetes Care journals. The studies were funded by the Academy of Finland, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (USA), European Union, Business Finland, Novo Nordisk, and InFLAMES Flagship.
A study conducted by the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) addresses a main question that physicians and SARS-CoV-2 experts have been asking since the emergence of post-COVID condition (also called Long COVID): is it due to the infection itself or to indirect effects of the pandemic situation and the sanitary measures? The study confirms that the persistent symptoms are largely due to the infection with SARS-CoV 2 and to a lesser extent to the pandemic context. It shows that the symptoms persist 12 months the infection, and that they impact people's capacity to carry out their activities of daily living. This is the first major study comparing a SARS-CoV-2 infected population group to a population with a negative PCR test over a one-year period. The article, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, emphasizes the importance of implementing appropriate care and follow-up.

Post-COVID condition is characterized by persistent symptoms of COVID-19 at least three months after an infection by SARS-CoV-2. Faced with the great diversity of symptoms and the emerging knowledge on the subject matter, the scientific and medical communities wish to better understand the evolution and the exact causes of this condition. Are they mainly due to the infection itself or to indirect effects induced by the pandemic situation, in particular the sanitary measures and the resulting social and economic situations?

By comparing, one year later, people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 with those who tested negative, researchers from HUG and UNIGE report that 33.4% of infected people had mild to moderate residual symptoms, compared to 6.5% in the control group.

Our results confirm that the main cause of post-COVID condition is the infection by the virus, but that we must also consider the indirect effects generated by the pandemic situation." Dr Mayssam Nehme, first author of the study, senior resident, Division of Primary Care Medicine, HUG

Functional capacity impacted

Symptomatic people tested for SARS-CoV-2 at HUG were followed, from April to July 2021, one year after their infection with the Alpha variant. 1,447 people were included in the study, 20% of whom had a positive PCR test and 80% a negative PCR test.

The main symptoms reported by participants included fatigue, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), headaches, insomnia and difficulty concentrating. People infected with SARS-CoV-2 reported that these symptoms impacted their functional capacity in 30.5% of cases, compared to 6.6% for the control group. Notably, productivity or the ability to work is up to three times lower in infected people. Mayssam Nehme is worried: "This loss in functional capacity affects the social, professional and personal aspects of life. It could therefore have an important cost on the society overall". Especially since everyone can develop persistent symptoms: men and women, people under 60 and people without a medical or psychiatric history.

Decline in quality of life+

The quality of life and mental well-being were found to be poor in both groups, suggesting an overall impact of the pandemic on the quality of life, independently of the infection. Levels of anxiety and depression are even higher in the uninfected group than in the infected group.

Reduce the risk

Persistent symptoms affect the functional capacity for up to 12 months after the infection. "These results confirm that this long-term condition is complex, that it can impact everyday life, and that we are certainly only seeing part of it. It is therefore necessary to set up appropriate care, i.e. a multidisciplinary consultation and management plan given the great diversity of symptoms", indicates Idris Guessous, physician Head of the Division of Primary Care Medicine at HUG and associate professor at the UNIGE.

As SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve and spread, physicians and professionals should continue monitoring patients and encouraging them to avoid an infection or re-infection, regardless of their age, gender and health status, to reduce the risk of developing a post-COVID condition.

Do you suffer from post-COVID condition?

The authors of the study also created the RAFAEL platform in November 2021 (in French). It allows citizens and users to determine whether or not they have persistent post-COVID symptoms and to orient them within the healthcare network. Rafael is for all age groups.

RAFAEL organizes monthly webinars until June, allowing Internet users to exchange with HUG doctors and other specialists in relation to this issue. The next one will be held on Wednesday, April 6.

Webinar schedule: https://post-covid.hug.ch/evenements-agenda
The zine "MoodRing" features the artwork and writing from local teens. The launch party will be held at the Carnegie Center this Thursday from 6-7:30 p.m.
HEFEI -- Chinese carmaker Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp Ltd has won orders to export 1,128 pickup trucks to Mexico.

The first consignment was shipped in early March from the company's factory in Yangzhou city, East China's Jiangsu province, and is expected to reach Mexico in mid-April. More will follow, the company said.

JAC started to conduct market research in Mexico in 2011 and launched its first vehicle in the country in 2017. More than 130 marketing and service outlets have been established in Mexico so far, with a sale of over 1,000 vehicles per month on average.

Based in East China's Anhui province, the company has exported over 700,000 vehicles to more than 130 countries and regions to date, including Mexico, Italy and Turkey.




If the so-called Stop W.O.K.E. Act had been in place 35 years ago, I likely would have missed out on one of the hardest but ultimately beneficial moments of my career.

In the late 1980s, The Palm Beach Post  my employer at the time  asked managers to attend a two-day session led by Charles King, who ran the Urban Crisis Center in Atlanta.

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As Kings New York Times obituary noted, he ran boot-camp seminars on prejudice. My boss, who had been through one, said, After the first day, youll hate it. After the second day, youll be glad you did it. He was right.

King spared no one. He bored in on whites, Blacks, women and men, demanding that participants confront feelings and attitudes we may never have acknowledged.

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It was very uncomfortable at times. But I believe it made me a better manager. I think it also made me a more aware person.

Randy Schultz is a Sun Sentinel columnist. (Mike Slaughter / Sun Sentinel/South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Under Stop W.O.K.E. (Stop the Wrongs to our Kids and Employees), House Bill 7, which the Legislature passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis will sign, that discomfort would have given me a legal basis to sue the paper. Using language from the bill, I could have alleged that the session made me believe that I bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race . . .

The danger from HB 7 is not that thousands of overly sensitive employees will sue employers. The danger is that companies will stop offering such training sessions to avoid lawsuits.

Corporate interests in Florida generally stay out of culture war fights. Most companies want to hire from the broadest talent pool available. Unlike DeSantis and Tallahassees other right-wing culture warriors, they dont want to pick symbolic fights that could annoy potential employees.

DeSantis makes that a difficult line to walk.

Disney World has pitched itself for years to LGBTQ visitors. So the company drew criticism for not publicly opposing the so-called Dont Say Gay bill until the Legislature passed it.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek claimed he tried behind the scenes to head off the legislation, even speaking with DeSantis. Meanwhile, Disney donations kept flowing to legislators who backed the bill because of the financial benefits the company wants to keep getting from the state.

When Chapek finally spoke out, DeSantis scorned Disney as woke. In fact, Chapek was trying belatedly to be pragmatic. In this culture war, though, DeSantis takes no prisoners.

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Done right, diversity training can make for better workplaces. Our natural tendency, as Charles King said, is to self-segregate. Many of us reach the workplace without knowing people unlike us as peers or friends.

Schools could help to fix that by, among other things, teaching history in full. But HB 7 will close off that option. It grants parents a cause for action if they believe that a teacher is trying to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view.

Rather than risk harassment, schools will avoid any discussion that might make students uncomfortable. To combat imagined indoctrination on race and gender, Tallahassee is imposing real indoctrination.

It wont stop when students graduate from high school. A last-minute amendment to a 181-page education bill will make colleges ineligible for certain money if they commit a substantiated violation of the Stop W.O.K.E. Act. Just one legislative committee could find a college guilty and cut a colleges budget.

Ironically, the bill calls for understanding and respecting other viewpoints and backgrounds. The same Republicans who voted for that language have turned two decades of one-party rule into intolerance, even to pleas from Democrats to exempt cases of rape and incest from a new abortion law.

Anyone who has gone through high school or college without feeling uncomfortable in class or a dorm room has lost out. Having to defend your beliefs and, in some cases, change them, is part of maturing.

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That soon will happen less, if at all, in Florida classrooms and workplaces. As former George W. Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson put it, the Republican Party has been swiftly repositioned as an instrument of white grievance. The Republicans who run Florida are very comfortable wearing that label.

Randy Schultz is a Sun Sentinel columnist. randy@bocamag.com
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(Newser)  Update: A Wisconsin dentist has been found guilty of purposely breaking his patients' teeth so he could rake in millions from insurance companies to fix them. Per the Washington Post, 61-year-old Scott Charmoli of Jackson was convicted on Thursday of five counts of health care fraud and two counts of making false statements about treatments needed by his patients. Charmoli "performed far more crowns than most dentists in Wisconsin," with evidence from prosecutors showing he billed more than $4.2 million for crown procedures between 2016 and 2019, numbering more than 700 per year during that period, per a statement from the US Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Many patients also forked over hefty copays. Charmoli could see up to 10 years behind bars for each of the health care fraud charges, and a max of five years for each of the false statement counts. He'll be sentenced in June. Our original story from December 2020 follows:

A Wisconsin dentist is accused of damaging his patients' teeth so he could bill insurance companies for crown procedures, the AP reports. Scott Charmoli, 60, of Grafton, was charged Tuesday in federal court with eight counts of health care fraud and two counts of false statements. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Charmoli is accused of falsely telling patients that they needed crowns and then using his drill to break off parts of their teeth during the procedure. Charmoli submitted X-rays and photographs of the chipped teeth to insurance companies to obtain coverage for the crowns, the indictment says.

Authorities say Charmoli performed more than $2 million worth of crown procedures between January 2018 and August 2019. Charmoli's attorney, Nila Robinson, did not immediately respond to an email message left Thursday by the AP. An arraignment and plea hearing are scheduled for Dec. 30. "The Justice Department focuses on prosecuting health care fraud not only to protect health care funds but also to protect patients who entrust their well being to providers," US Attorney Matthew Krueger said in a statement.

(Read more dentists stories.)
(Newser)  Even before Vladimir Putin changed the law to block them, Western companies that own aircraft leased to Russian airlines were coming to the conclusion that they've seen the last of those planes. More than 500 foreign-owned planes are in Russia, worth as much as $12 billion, experts told the New York Times. The owners' dilemma over the planes was discussed at a conference in San Diego, where the consensus was: "Thats it, we will not be able to recover them," said Vitaly Guzhva, a professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

The owners face a March 28 deadline, before European sanctions kick in, to cancel contracts and get their planes back from Russia. BOC Aviation, which has 18 planes leased to Russian carriers, said that's not enough time. And Russia just threw up a roadblock by enacting a law to permit the registration of foreign aircraft in Russia, per the BBC, to "ensure the uninterrupted functioning" of civil aviation. The law could keep the certification of safety in Russia, too, making the planes available for domestic flights. Putin also has raised the possibility of nationalizing the assets of foreign companies.

Most Russian carriers have dropped their international routes, so planes can't be confiscated when they land in other countries. A few planes may have been grabbed already, but maintenance records often are in the possession of the airlines. "Unless you have those records, the aircraft is virtually worthless," a consultant said. An Indiana firm that handles aircraft repossessions has been contacted by owners but is stumped. "We won't accept an assignment that we're not sure we can do," Nick Popovich said. "I'm still doing research on what we can and cant do legally." (Read more airline industry stories.)
(Newser)  On Jan. 6 last year, the vice president's largely ceremonial role in certifying the presidential election results became a potential turning point in American history. Then-President Trump was urging then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election results and block Joe Biden from becoming president. Pence, however, made it clear that he was resisting the pressure with some small but very important changes to the normal vice-presidential script, Politico reports. According to testimony provided to the House committee investigating the Capitol attack, Pence asked, "Are there any objections?" after each state introduced its electoral results.

Pence was the first vice president since Al Goreand only the second since 1937, when the 20th Amendment shifted inaugurations from March to Januaryto ask the question. Pence attorney Greg Jacob told the House panel that Pence adopted the language to push back against conservative lawyer and Trump ally John Eastman, who wanted Pence to declare the election in dispute, which would give GOP-led legislatures time to appoint new slates of electors. Jacob said he told Eastman in email exchanges on Jan. 6 that sending the issue back to the states would violate the Electoral Count Act. Pence asked about objections before and after the session was interrupted by Trump supporters' invasion of the Capitol.

Pence aides tell Politico that another script change was a signal that he was rejecting another longshot effort from Trump to stay in powerthe appointment of "alternate" slates of Trump-friendly electors from states that Biden won. In a change Pence worked on with aides, Pence said he would only count certificates that "the parliamentarians have advised me is the only certificate of vote from that state ... and that has annexed to it a certificate from an authority of that state purporting to appoint or ascertain electors." In recent weeks, Pence has been speaking more openly about the election ahead of a possible 2024 White House bid, NBC reports. "President Trump is wrong," Pence said last month, referring to Trump's claims that he could have thrown out the Electoral College results. (Read more Mike Pence stories.)
(Newser)  When the Rolling Stones launched their "Steel Wheels" tour in 1989, critics nicknamed it the "Steel Wheelchairs" tour because of the supposedly advanced age of the British rockers. But as we now know, they weren't even in the second half of their career at the time. The band, which toured the US in 2021, will tour Europe this summer to mark their 60th anniversary as a band, CNN reports. The 10-country tour will kick off in Madrid on June 1, the band announced this week.

The 14 dates on the "SIXTY" tour will include two dates in London, where the band formed in 1962, as well as their first concert in Liverpool for more than 50 years, reports Reuters. Founding members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, both 78, and 74-year-old Ronnie Wood, who joined the band in 1975, will be joined by drummer Steve Jordan, 65. Jordan started playing with the Stones last year after Charlie Watts, who had been in the band since 1963, died at age 80. (The band has stopped playing one of their most controversial hits.)
(Newser)  Possible plea agreements could include life sentences for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his four alleged accomplices if they were to admit to carrying out the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Plea agreement negotiations are unfolding at Guantanamo Bay, with defendants pushing to have execution taken off the table, the New York Times reports. This follows similar talks during the Trump administration, when the defendants demanded to serve sentences at Guantanamo Bay, where they can gather in groups, rather than at a supermax prison in Colorado, where federal inmates are kept in solitary confinement for all but an hour of the day.

"Resolution of the military commission process through trial or by negotiated settlement contributes to" the Biden administration's goal to close Guantanamo's detention facility, currently home to 38 detainees, Todd Breasseale, deputy press secretary for the Department of Defense, tells CNN. It's unclear if any deal that would keep the five men at Guantanamo is being considered. But the incentive to wrap up what the Guardian calls "arguably the biggest criminal case in US history," which has stretched on for nearly a decade and still awaits a trial date, is certainly there. The CIA's torture of the defendants using waterboarding, rectal abuse, and sleep deprivation have been a focus of pretrial proceedings amid high turnover of lawyers and judges.

Last week, the lead lawyer for defendant Walid bin Attash asked to step down from the case, triggering a delay that could last months, the Times reports. With the judge, defense team, and prosecution team already at Guantanamo for three weeks of pretrial hearings, lead case prosecutor Clayton G. Trivett Jr. proposed plea agreement talks, and lawyers for the five men on Monday submitted a joint list of requirements, starting with the elimination of the death penalty. Col. Jeffrey D. Wood of the Arkansas National Guard, who's the convening authority for military commissions, would need to approve any deal. The men would then be sentenced by a military jury. (Read more 9/11 attacks stories.)
(Newser)  Russian troops seized a hospital in Mariupol and took about 500 people hostage during another assault on the southern port city late Tuesday, according to regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko. Russian troops drove 400 people from neighboring houses into Regional Intensive Care Hospital, Kyrylenko said on the messaging app Telegram. About 100 doctors and patients also are believed to be inside, he said. The troops are using those inside the hospital as human shields and are not allowing anyone to leave, he said. "Its impossible to leave the hospital, they are shooting hard," Kyrylenko said, per the AP.

Kyrylenko said the main building of the hospital has been heavily damaged by shelling, but medical staff are continuing to treat patients in makeshift wards set up in the basement. He called on the world to respond to these "gross violations of the norms and customs of war, these egregious crimes against humanity." An estimated 20,000 civilians have used a humanitarian corridor to flee the port city, the AP reports. The route runs west for more than 160 miles to the Ukraine-held city of Zaporizhzhia.

Mariupol, which had a population of 430,000 before the war has been under fire for more than two weeks. Local officials estimate the siege has killed more than 2,300 people. They say it has left residents desperate for food, water, heat and medicine. In the east, Russian forces unleashed scores of new artillery strikes on downtown Kharkiv Tuesday, hitting the city's historical center, including its main marketplace. Rescuers were pulling the bodies of dead civilians from destroyed apartment buildings. Civilians were also killed in Russian strikes on Kyiv and other major cities. (Two journalists working for Fox News were killed near the capital.)
(Newser)  Little Miss Nobody finally has a name. The Yavapai County Sheriff's office said Tuesday the previously unidentified little girl whose burned remains were found over 60 years ago in the Arizona desert was 4-year-old Sharon Lee Gallegos of New Mexico, the AP reports. The child's remains were found on July 31, 1960, partially buried in a wash in Congress, Arizona. Her age at various times over the years was estimated to be between 6 and 8 years old, then later at between 3 and 6 years old.

Residents in the nearby central-north Arizona community of Prescott raised money for a funeral and florists, and a mortuary donated its services for the little girl they had dubbed Little Miss Nobody. Her original grave marker read: Little Miss Nobody. Blessed are the Pure in Heart ... St. Matthew 5:8." News reports at the time said a local radio announcer and his wife stood in for the girl's parents during the funeral at Prescotts Congregational Church. I guess I just couldnt stand to see a little child buried in boot hill, KYCA announcer Dave Paladin was quoted as saying in an Aug. 11, 1960 article by the AP.

Sharon Lee Gallegos was reportedly abducted from the yard of her grandmother's home in Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 21, 1960, a little over a week before her body was found. Authorities say they do not know who took and killed the child, and the case is still under investigation. The Alamogordo Police Department and the FBI searched for the little girl but were unable to find her or the suspects believed to be in a dark green 1951 or 1952 Plymouth. Authorities' initial thoughts about the age of the victim found in the desert, the clothing she was wearing and a footprint at the scene caused them to rule out the possibility that the dead girl was the missing 4-year-old from New Mexico. The Yavapai County case went cold until 2015, when the remains were exhumed to get DNA samples.

(Read more cold cases stories.)
Like you, Ive been watching a war.

This consists of refreshing Telegram and Twitter every few seconds for updates from friends, family, journalists and observers on the ground in Ukraine, trying to sift through whats real and whats disinformation while desperately searching for reassurances that loved ones are not harmed.

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I was born in Kyiv and moved to America with my parents when I was a child. Growing up, I spent every other summer holiday with my grandparents in Ukraine. For my parents and me, life has come to a halt as we call and message friends and family in Ukraine who are hiding in bomb shelters, subway stations and in their basements and pantries as air raid sirens ring out every night.

For those with a connection to the country, the images are deeply personal and unbelievably devastating.

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A view from a friends cottage window that once looked out on the peaceful countryside on the outskirts of Kyiv now shows the night sky illuminated with explosions. The streets that my grandfather and I would walk to visit our favorite playground in the Kyiv neighborhood of Obolon are now made infamous from videos of a tank crossing traffic and driving over a civilian car.

These images are incredibly difficult to reconcile with the memory of the city I knew, and this is likely true for countless others who call Ukraine home. For many others, however, this may be the first time they are paying attention to Ukraine and its people.

A common refrain that has captivated public attention in these early days of the war is the pride and defiance of Ukrainians against Russian invaders. Viral videos depict a Ukrainian woman confronting enemy soldiers, telling them to put seeds in their pockets so flowers may grow when they die on our soil, a Ukrainian man carrying a land mine in his bare hands, Ukrainian citizens gathering weapons and preparing Molotov cocktails to defend their cities.

The president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, became a hero and international celebrity overnight for refusing to leave Kyiv and his country, instead rallying morale with a series of self-filmed videos speaking directly to his citizens, the Russian people and the world. The fortitude, resilience and spirit of the Ukrainian people are widely admired internationally. With this recognition, however, an unsettling response emerged on social media.

As the Ukrainian military held strong against Russian forces, people online began to draw comparisons of the war to fictional narratives. Most commonly these involve stories in which a small group of fighters resists a larger, better-equipped opponent despite seemingly insurmountable odds: Think Star Wars, Lord of the Rings or Marvel movies.

In addition to recognizing President Zelenskyys bravery and ingenuity, the online discourse swiftly moved to praising his attractiveness and relatability, going so far as to begin fan-casting what actor ought to play him in a hypothetical movie about a crisis that had just begun unfolding. This just keeps getting better by the second, wrote a user on Twitter. It seems like something on Netflix.

While it may be tempting to look to fiction for a framework in which to process a real-life war that you have no connection to, there are consequences for doing so that harm the people with whom you are attempting to empathize.

The Ukrainian story is more complex than that of a scrappy army of fighters led by their unflappable leader. Ukraine is a nation of more than 40 million people undergoing immense trauma and experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion. I am afraid is a message Ive received every night from my friends in Kyiv since the war began.

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More than 1 million Ukrainian refugees have abruptly left their homes, families separating as men remain in the country under martial law in response to a war Ukraine never provoked. These realities are incongruent with the stereotype ascribed to Eastern Europeans of a hardened, cold people with a proclivity for violence and the capacity to withstand immense hardship.

While many moments in Ukraines history have forced its people to build resilience, circulating images under this stereotype reinforces the idea of a people built for war. And despite gushing media reports of ex-pats booking plane tickets and signing up to fight, most citizens do not want to be soldiers.

Some may argue that Ukraine itself is leaning into this narrative, and there is truth to this. Zelenskyys videos, while relatable, are not accidental  he is leveraging his skills to boost the morale of his citizens during war and secure military and humanitarian support for a nation that desperately needs it.

Others may say Ukrainians themselves are mythologizing figures in the war  the response of the soldiers on Snake Island to a Russian warship has become an unofficial national battle cry. Propaganda works. It can be helpful for people going through hell to mythologize their situation and their leaders to help them through it.

But when the world looking on buys into that mythology, it can make it seem like help isnt desperately needed. If you are not experiencing the violence or trauma that Ukrainians and the diaspora community are, please be mindful of the assumptions you are making about the Ukrainian people and of how you are processing this war, especially in public forums such as social media.

Even if not ill-intentioned, comparing an ongoing war to your favorite action movie or TV series implies that you are invested in whats happening insofar as the story continues to be one you find entertaining. But the characters in this narrative are real, not fictional. The outcome of this war is undetermined.

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Selectively consuming highlights of war that depict camaraderie, wit and defiance, but not the death, trauma, displacement of families and destruction of cities, will isolate you from the people with whom you want to show solidarity. Ukrainians dont have the luxury of experiencing the war in this way, tuning in and out as they like.

Rather than being a spectator, you can support Ukrainians in their fight. Resist the temptation to look away as the less glorified parts of the war continue to play out. Regardless of the narrative that may be ascribed to them, Ukrainians will continue to fight. They have no other choice; they are doing so to defend their homes. their country and their independence.

Kristina Fialko is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago.
(Newser)  The prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic took a harrowing train ride from Warsaw, Poland, to Kyiv, Ukraine, to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday night even as Russia escalated its attack on the capital city. They are the first Western leaders to visit Ukraine since the invasion began, the BBC reports. "We admire your brave fight. You're fighting for your lives, country and freedom," Czech PM Petr Fiala tweeted after their meeting. "We know that you're also fighting for our lives. You're not alone, our countries stand by your side." The group reportedly discussed harsh sanctions against Russia, including listing it as a sponsor of terrorism.

Tweeted Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki, "Europe must understand that if it loses Ukraine it will never be the same again. It will no longer be Europe. Rather it will be a defeated, humiliated and pathetic version of its former self. I want a strong and resolute Europe." Meanwhile, Russian warships fired missiles and artillery at the Ukrainian sea coast south of Odesa around midnight Wednesday, the AP reports. Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko says Russia wanted to test Ukraines coastal defense system. As for Russia-Ukraine talks, Zelensky said early Wednesday that Russia's demands are becoming "more realistic." The actor-turned-wartime leader will address US Congress via video Wednesday. (More on that here.)
(Newser)  No charges will be filed against the Chicago police officers who chased and fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez within days of each other last year, prompting sharp criticism of how the department handles foot pursuits, a prosecutor announced Tuesday. Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx said there was insufficient evidence to charge the officers in the deaths, which were captured on video that showed both suspects appeared to have handguns prior to the shootings, the AP reports. The public release of the videos in April 2021 renewed calls for reform of the Chicago Police Department, which for decades has had a reputation for brutality, misconduct and racism. And it came as videos of police confrontations put departments around the country under heavy scrutiny, especially after the footage from 2020 that helped lead to a murder conviction in the death of George Floyd.

In both Chicago shootings, officers chased suspects on foota highly unpredictable situation that critics, including the US Department of Justice, have said is dangerous for both officers and suspects and leads to too many unnecessary shootings. The deaths led to protests and calls for Chicago to adopt clear guidelines for officers on pursuits, though a policy still has not been finalized. In February, Alvarez's family sued the city of Chicago, saying it is partly responsible for his death because of the lack of a foot pursuit policy. Foxx also was critical Tuesday of the officers in the shooting death of Alvarez, saying they created the situation that put them in danger.

But Tim Grace, an attorney who represented Solano as well as the other officer, Eric Stillman, said Foxx's criticism in the shooting of Alvarez was unfair. Police have the duty to enforce the law and the idea that someone can break the law, drive without a license and run from the police is wrong, he said. If you dont want (police officers) to enforce the law, just tell them. The prosecutor said she met with families of both Toledo and Alvarez earlier Tuesday, describing them as heartbroken. In a statement, attorneys for Toledo's family said they are profoundly disappointed that Stillman will not face criminal charges and that they are pursuing a civil case against Stillman and the city. He is on active duty; Solano has been relieved of his police powers pending the results of internal investigation by the department.

(Read more Chicago stories.)
(Newser)  The US naval engineer and his wife who tried to sell US nuclear secrets approached Brazil with the offer, according to a senior Brazilian official and other people briefed on the probe who spoke to the New York Times. Federal prosecutors and other US government officials had kept the nation's identity a closely guarded secret as the case against Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, who both ultimately pleaded guilty last month, progressed. The sources say Jonathan Toebbe approached Brazil in April 2020, offering thousands of pages of classified documents stolen from the US Navy Yard, but Brazilian officials gave the letter to an FBI legal attache in the country.

From there, the FBI pulled Toebbe in using an undercover agent posing as a Brazilian official who was interested in the information regarding technology behind the nuclear reactors that power the US submarine fleet. Ultimately the Maryland husband and wife were arrested in October. The Times, citing text messages revealed in court, says they believed Russia and China were not morally acceptable as potential buyers, and decided on Brazil because it was eager to get the nuclear sub tech, had the money to pay, and was not hostile toward the US. See more at the Times. (Read more submarine stories.)
(Newser)  North Koreas latest weapons launch on Wednesday apparently ended in failure, South Koreas military said, amid speculation that the North could soon launch its biggest long-range missile in its most significant provocation in years. It wasnt immediately clear what North Korea launched on Wednesday morning or at what stage it had an apparent failure, the AP reports. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks. South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launch made from the Pyongyang region around 9:30am that apparently failed, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that didnt have further details.

The US Indo-Pacific Command later said that North Korea fired a ballistic missile but didnt say whether it was a failed launch. A command statement said the launch didnt pose an immediate threat to US territory and its allies but called on North Korea to refrain from further destabilizing acts. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that a flight of a ballistic missile has not been confirmed and that Tokyo is working with Washington and Seoul to further analyze what happened. The US and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea had tested an ICBM system in launches on Feb. 27 and March 5. If North Korea makes a new ICBM launch, it would be its highest-profile weapons tests since its third and last ICBM launch in November 2017.

Experts say past failures still have moved North Korea closer to its goal of acquiring a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the American homeland. Of eight Musudan intermediate-range missiles tests in 2016, only one of those launches was seen by outside analysts as successful, which led to debates of whether North Koreas path toward ICBMs had been cut off. However, the North in 2017 flew more powerful intermediate-range missiles over Japan and conducted three successful test-flights of ICBMs that demonstrated a potential range to strike deep into the US mainland. North Koreas successful satellite launches in 2012 and 2016which were viewed by the UN as disguised tests of its long-range missile technologyalso followed repeated failures.

(Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  "Let's go, Brandon," the catchphrase that's code among Trump supporters for "F--- Joe Biden," has made its way, in a way, onto an Alabama man's license plate, and he's going to be allowed to keep it there. AL.com reports that the state will allow Nathan Kirk, owner of a gun shop in Oneonta, to keep "LGBFJB," which covers both phrases, on his tag, after an initial fight that seemed as if Kirk's plate would be recalled. Kirk had applied for the plate in October, handing over $700 for the rights to it. He tells the Trussville Tribune he finally received the plate in January. But in mid-February, he received a letter from the Alabama Department of Revenue recalling the plate, saying it contained "objectionable language" that was "offensive to the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama."

Kirk was told he had 10 days to turn in his plate or his license would be revoked. He also risked fines and having his Ford F-150 King Ranch truck impounded if he didn't comply. The Department of Revenue said its main objection was that vulgarity, in the form of a representation of the f-word, was present on the plate. But Kirk says the "F" really stands for "forget," as in "forget Joe Biden"and that it's his First Amendment right to say that. "It's letters," Kirk tells AL.com. "It could be my kid's initials. It could be my grandmother or grandfather. It's just letters. It doesn't spell anything." Kirk publicized his story, which got picked up by right-leaning media outlets across the country.

He says he even tagged Gov. Kay Ivey in a post and was contacted by David Clarke, the former sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., over the matter, per the Tribune. Soon after, Kirk says, he heard back from the state in his favor. "The Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, has determined the above referenced license plate will not be recalled," a March 9 letter to Kirk informed him, per AL.com. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." Kirk says he sees the new development as a "victory," and he's making it perfectly clear what the first three letters of the plate stand for: He now has a "Don't tread on me" cover over it, with the words "Let's go, Brandon" clearly spelled out. (Read more license plates stories.)
(Newser)  The murdered dissidents of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad ended up in mass graves, which could hold evidence of war crimes, the New York Times reports after speaking with four men who claim to have worked around two mass gravesites near Damascus, which the Times located using satellite images. Each one contains thousands of bodies, said the men, only one of whom remains in Syria. Human rights groups say the graves may also hold evidence of war crimes carried out by al-Assad's forces, including the systematic torture and murder of protesters, activists, and others once held in government detention centers.

Many of the more than 130,000 people to vanish from these centers are assumed dead. At least 14,000 were tortured to death, the US Treasury Department said in July. Human rights groups say mass gravesites probably exist across Syria, though the Times focuses on just two: one in Qutayfa, a town north of the capital, and another in Najha, to the south. One man said he spent six years overseeing civilian burials at the two sites, where up to 2,400 bodies would arrive each week in large refrigerator trucks meant to transport food. He said many bodies showed signs of injury, including rope marks around their necks, gunshot wounds, bruises, and missing fingernails. Some were already rotting.

Documents reportedly indicated the bodies came from detention centers but were counted at government hospitals before burial. Many families in Syria have been told of the deaths of their loved ones in detention but haven't been able to retrieve their bodies, per Al Jazeera. Satellite images of the Najha site "show graves filling up, and one image from 2012 shows a truck with its rear pointed toward the graves," per the Times. A man tasked with digging graves at the site "recalled the smell of death being so strong that it made him faint." He also recalled seeing the body of a child arrive in an ice cream truck. "I can no longer eat ice cream," the man said. (A former Syrian officer was recently convicted of crimes against humanity.)
(Newser)  For weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been speaking to the world and asking allied leaders to "close the sky." On Wednesday morning, he spoke to Congress in a virtual address. USA Today reports that while world leaders have frequently addressed Congress, this is "a moment unlike any other" with "a foreign head of state under siege from a global military power dialing in from an undisclosed location to address lawmakers still working under the restrictions of a lingering pandemic." Standout lines from Zelensky's address, which he delivered from Kyiv in what the AP calls "his now-trademark army green T-shirt":

"We have not even thought about it for a second," he said of giving up. "Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, the destiny of our people."

"Russia has attacked not just us ... it went on a brutal offensive against our values, our basic human values, our right to live freely in our own country, choosing our own future."

"Remember Pearl Harbor, the terrible morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when your sky was black .. remember it, remember Sept. 11, when evil tried to turn your cities, independent territories into battlefields, where innocent people were attacked from air, just like nobody else expected it, you could not stop it. Our country experienced the same, right now, every night, for three weeks now ... Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people."

"Russian troops have already fired 1,000 missiles at Ukraine ... this is a terror that Ukraine has not seen in 80 years. We are asking for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is this too much to ask for, a no-fly zone?"

"If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need. ... aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe."

"'I have a dream,' these words are known to each of you today I can say. I have a need, I need to protect our sky. I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words 'I have a dream.'"

"In the darkest time for our country ... I call on you to do more. New packages of sanctions are needed until the Russian military machine stops. We propose that the United States sanction all politicians in the Russian Federation who remain in their offices and do not cut ties. ... all American companies must leave Russia immediately."

"We propose to create an association, U24, a union of responsible countries that have a strength and consciousness to stop conflict immediately ... within 24 hours. Everything you need to keep the peace and quickly. Such union could provide assistance to those who have experienced natural disasters."

"I ask you to watch one video, video of what Russian troops did in our country, in our land." A video then played that contrasted images of Ukrainian cities prior to the invasion with images of devastation, injury, and death. It ended with "close the sky over Ukraine."

Zelensky then said in English, "Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace. ... I am addressing President Biden ... I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace."

(Read more Volodymyr Zelensky stories.)
(Newser)  The eagerness to get off the plane once it's landed is a feeling pretty much every air traveler can relate to. But for those passengers traveling on JetBlue Flight 676 early Tuesday, a weird problem: There were no JetBlue staffers at the airport to get them off the plane. As WCVB reports, the flight from New York's JFK Airport to Worcester Regional Airport was a quick 150-mile jaunt that ended at 12:15am. A passenger told the station that after sitting on the tarmac for a bit, the pilot made an announcement: "I have something embarrassing to tell you guysthere is nobody to get you off the flight."

Massachusetts State Police arrived at the scene with the intention of evacuating the passengers, but a JetBlue manager was able to be summoned back to the airport. "We are working with our business partner who operates our ground team in Worcester to determine why a crew member was not in place at the jet bridge to ensure this remains an isolated incident," JetBlue said in a statement.

"Our records show customers on JetBlue Flight 676 Monday were required to wait 45 minutes to deplane after landing," the statement adds. "While we comply with all DOT regulations in the event of a tarmac delay, we know any delay is a frustrating situation and apologize for the wait." Commercial flights were suspended for about a year at the Worcester airport due to COVID; JetBlue was the first airline to resume them in August, reports the Telegram & Gazette. (Read more JetBlue stories.)
(Newser)  Peter Spencer's family members called his death "a modern-day lynching," but ABC News reports the co-worker accused of shooting him during a Pennsylvania camping trip last December won't face charges. District Attorney Shawn White on Tuesday said based on the evidence, prosecutors would be unable to show "this was not self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt." "This is my call. I believe it's the right one," he said. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette goes into detail on White's decision, reporting that details from interviews given by four witnesses synced with evidence at the scene and indicated Spencer was acting in an erratic and threatening manner that made his killing justified under the "Stand Your Ground" law.

White explained that Spencer, the shooter, and a male witness used pot and psychedelic mushrooms at the camp; the Inquirer reports the others said Spencer told them he had never ingested mushrooms before. The witnesses say Spencerthe only Black person on the tripthen began referring to himself as "a god," insisted they build up their campfire, insisted they hand over their keys and phone, and started shooting his AK-47 into the air, which he continued to do over 45 minutes. A neighboring camper confirmed the timeline of the shots. When one person present declined to collect more wood, White said Spencer instructed the man to kneel on the ground and then lay face-down on the ground, which he did. The shooter at that point retrieved his 9mm handgun.

White said the shooter recounted that Spencer threatened to "shoot up the place" and aimed his gun at him; the shooter, fearing Spencer would kill them all, then fired. As for the family's allegations that Spencer was shot in the back, White says the shooter hit Spencer nine times. Seven rear wounds were exit wounds, and the others likely struck his back as he twisted while falling to the ground. An autopsy confirmed that Spencer's blood contained psilocin from the mushrooms. An attorney for Spencer's family said they disagreed with the ruling. "This is the type of behavior we have seen from the PA State Police and Venango County District Attorney from the outset," the attorney said. (Read more Stand Your Ground stories.)
(Newser)  A tenured professor who taught at Oklahoma Christian University for 41 years claims he was fired March 7 for having an openly gay guest speaker address his class. A lawyer for Michael O'Keefe said in a statement to KFOR that the graphic design professor was terminated for his "gross misconduct, conduct contrary to the mission and values of Oklahoma Christian University and disregard of the policies and values of the university." However, O'Keefe believes he was terminated due to the speakeran Oklahoma Christian alumnushe brought to a senior-level class called "The Business of Branding Yourself."

Lawyer Kevin Jacobs continued, "Letting students expect a world where you may be different is the message Mr. O'Keefe wanted his students to hear. Thats the message this speaker delivered, not an advocacy of gay rights. Unfortunately, that's not permitted at Oklahoma Christian University today. It cost Mr. O'Keefe his job." Nondoc fills in some of the blanks by way of a Twitter thread posted by Julia Layne, an OC graphic design graduate who talked to O'Keefe on March 8. She says O'Keefe told her that the guest speaker warned the class he would be using two explicit words that were "important to the context of the story" of his "personal journey as a Christian," and that students could leave if that made them uncomfortable.

Layne wrote that, "unbeknownst to OKeefe," one or more students subsequently complained to administrators about the guest speaker, which prompted the investigation. "The exact nature of the complaint, apart from the student feeling uncomfortable, is unknown," she writes. When asked to respond to O'Keefe's claims, the school had this to say: "The decision to end employment was made after a thorough review process. The university will always put first the wellbeing of our students in every decision we make." O'Keefe and his lawyer are considering next steps. (Read more Oklahoma stories.)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responds to questions from the media at the close of the legislative session on Monday, March 14, 2022. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP) (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat /AP)

The best thing the Florida Legislature did all year was to adjourn.

Exulting in a right-wing culture war, it neglected such meaningful issues as criminal justice reform, expanding Medicaid, climate change, condo safety, soaring rents and evictions and crises in homeowner and auto insurance. The agenda-setting Republican majority failed on nearly everything that matters to the millions of Floridians with more pressing concerns than racist or homophobic dog whistles.

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For the usual suspects, it was a very good year. Big Sugar got potentially fatal weaknesses into a bill intended to protect Everglades water (SB 2508). Florida Power & Light secured disincentives for rooftop solar (HB 741). Nursing homes got staffing standards lowered, endangering their frail, elderly residents (HB 1239). Businesses can sue local governments for damages over ordinances that they claim cost them 15% of revenue (SB 620).

The session was all about Gov. Ron DeSantiss presidential ambitions and to a lesser extent, Senate President Wilton Simpsons campaign for agriculture commissioner.

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If Simpson wins, the Pasco County egg farmer may regret the new law allowing the governor to bypass the three elected Cabinet members in appointing the executive director of the Department of Environmental Protection (SB 1658). As the Cabinets relevance recedes even further, this was a power grab Huey Long would have envied.

Women, gays, immigrants targeted

Womens bodies were sacrificed to a post-15-week abortion ban that does not exempt rape, incest or human trafficking (HB 5). Gays, transgender people and teachers are the foils for legislation (HB 7, HB 1557) to suppress sex education in schools and inhibit candid discussion of racisms influence in our history and contemporary affairs. Immigrants were targeted to punish companies that transport undocumented immigrants, including children, even for the federal government (SB 1808). All of it is malicious and cruel.

In an amendment that appeared out of nowhere on the sessions last day, the Legislature authorized its committees to withhold higher education funds for an alleged violation of a students civil rights, a definition that could apply to the new crackdown on sex and racism education (SB 2524). Its a blatantly unconstitutional violation of separation of powers.

DeSantis so-called freedom legislation (HB 7) also imperils any business that requires racial sensitivity training by exposing it to lawsuits from workers claiming their feelings were hurt.

Among its few brighter moments, the Legislature passed a decent redistricting bill for itself, which DeSantis couldnt veto, and the Senate proposed one for the congressional delegation. The House tried to partly accommodate DeSantis demand for a gross Republican gerrymander, but he isnt satisfied and is promising a veto (SB 102). The Legislature should stand up to him by enacting the original Senate bill and, if he vetoes that, too, leave redistricting to the courts, where lawsuits are pending.

What good the Legislature did consisted mainly of the budget, including higher salaries for teachers and state employees. But it ignored proposed sentencing reforms that would have eliminated any need to put down $645 million for a new 4,500-bed prison and $195 million for a 250-bed hospital. It did nothing for criminal justice apart from a bill to clear juvenile records. A noncontroversial bill to help state attorneys overturn wrongful convictions  of which Florida has had many  died quietly (SB 1200).

Rancid pork, right-wing judges

The Legislature created a new sixth court of appeal with a $50 million courthouse in Lakeland, despite declining caseloads at the others. That was rancid pork for Sen. Kelli Stargel, the Senate appropriations chair whos from Lakeland. Its an opportunity for DeSantis to appoint several more right-wing judges.

Despite the Surfside condo tower collapse that claimed 98 lives, a bill requiring periodic inspections of high-rise residences failed. For the fourth year since the 17 murders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, the Legislature did not reform a sovereign immunity law covering payments to victims of government negligence. A compromise bill to raise the intolerably low limits on governments financial responsibility never reached either floor.

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A bill to eliminate lifetime alimony (SB 1796) appears to leave too little discretion to judges. DeSantis should veto it.

The Legislature exposed Floridas colleges and universities and students to the loss of federal aid with a bill directing the institutions to seek new accrediting agencies with every review cycle  normally eight to 10 years. Thats aimed at the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which opened an investigation into the University of Floridas attempt to bar professors from testifying as expert witnesses against DeSantis and the Legislature.

The U.S. Department of Education has issued a warning about that legislation (SB 7044). DeSantis should heed it.

DeSantis got his unnecessary election police, although another attack on absentee ballots was abandoned (SB 524). Outrageously, the bill also bans ranked-choice voting, a method for nominating moderate candidates that several cities wanted to adopt.

This extremist Legislature has no use for moderation.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.
(Newser)  George Tompkins was murdered in Indiana in 1922 but for a century, official records stated that the Black teenager died by suicidedespite the fact that he was found hanged with his hands tied behind his back. The 19-year-old lynching victim was hanged from a tree in an Indianapolis park on March 16, 1922, CNN reports. At the time, the Marion County coroner, Dr. Paul Robinson, said that there "could be no question that the man had been murdered" and that the teen was "dead or almost dead when he was hanged." A certificate signed by deputy coroner Dr. George Christian, however, stated that the manner of death was suicide.

Alfarena McGinty, the county's chief deputy coroner, changed the manner of death to homicide after receiving a petition from the Indiana Remembrance Coalition. "It was an honor to make this injustice right," McGinty said. Coalition member Ranjita Brar said Tompkins, who had just moved from Kentucky to Indiana, was never accused of a crime, CBS4 reports. "Its an important moment ... for that report to be corrected and properly listed as a lynching, as a murder," Brar said.

For 100 years, Tompkins' body was in an unmarked grave, but a headstone was placed at the site after a memorial service Saturday. The grave was unmarked because of the "level of terror" associated with lynching said Susan Hall Dotson, of the Indiana Historical Society, adding that "many people are buried in unmarked graves for the fear that someone would come and disinter them and then commit another atrocity," she said. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said recognition was happening a century late. "In 1922, George Tompkins did not receive justice, neither in life nor in death," he said. (Read more lynching stories.)
(Newser)  President Biden publicly called his Russian counterpart a war criminal for the first time Wednesday. Biden, when asked by a reporter at a White House event if he considered Vladimir Putin a war criminal, initially responded "No," CNN reports. Video from C-SPAN shows that he returned to the same group of reporters soon afterward to clarify what he had been asked. "Oh, I think he is a war criminal," Biden told them. White House press secretary Jen Psaki later said the president was speaking from his heart about Putin's "barbaric actions," but the legal process to formally determine whether the Russian leader is guilty of war crimes is underway at the State Department.

Earlier Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly said Biden should "absolutely" call Putin a war criminal, CNBC reports. Kelly cited Russia's attacks on hospitals in Ukraine and its "direct fire on civilians." During his address to Congress Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed lawmakers a video that included graphic images of children killed or wounded by Russian strikes, and images of civilians being buried in mass graves. The BBC reports that according to Russia's TASS news agency, the Kremlin called Biden's remark "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric." (Biden has promised "unprecedented" military assistance for Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion.)
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Independence Street makeover, water study, police pension fund among topics discussed at city meeting

SHAMOKIN  Independence Street Downtown Makeover, Hydrologic and Hydraulic study, police pension fund, appointments to city boards and new ordinances were among the topics discussed at councils meeting Monday at City Hall.

SEDA-COG Revitalization Coordinator Betsy Kramer provided more information on the makeover project kickstarted by $2.675 million in federal funding announced last week by Congressman Dan Meuser.

The project is focused on complete street improvements on Independence Street that will enhance the pedestrian-oriented and aesthetic appeal of the citys main street. Funds may be spent on ADA upgrades, new crosswalks, tree planting and streetscape amenities.

SEDA-COG will likely lead the project with input from City Hall. Kramer explained that the funding, which includes $175,000 to prepare bidding documents, must be used for specific purposes outlined in the application.

This is a huge, huge win for the city, she said of the grant.

The Hydrologic and Hydraulic study has come back favorably for the city. Greenman-Pedersen Inc. reviewed the movement of creek water in response to a revision of FEMAs flood insurance rate map, which would add more than 200 residential and commercial properties to a 100-year flood zone.

The study is funded by a $130,000 grant and approved by Department of Community and Economic Development as part of the citys Act 47 plan.

Although the city missed the deadline to appeal FEMAs proposed map, Kramer learned Monday that Greenman-Pedersen Inc. can create a letter of map revision (LOMR), which would then be presented to FEMA.

According to Kramer, the cost of the LOMR is $15,000. Council could not take action on the matter at Mondays meeting because it was not on the agenda.

On the recommendation of Foster and Foster, the actuaries and consultants for the police pension fund, council approved by majority vote cost of living increases to Deborah Strausser and Susan Witmer, effective Jan. 1.

Voting in favor were Mayor Rick Ulrich, Councilman Scott Roughton and Councilwoman Doreen Annis. Voting against was Councilman Joseph Leschinskie. Absent was Councilwoman Barbara Moyer.

Leschinskie claimed that previous cost of living increases have been just passed through City Hall, but this year he questioned the figures.

Although he acknowledged that Strausser and Witmer are eligible for the increases, he voted against the measure because it would increase the citys debt by $180 a month.

Leschinskie explained further, I want to be clear, I have nothing against the police or Miss Strausser and Miss Witmer  I know them both personally.

Following the vote, Roughton said City Hall did look at the contract and contacted labor counsel.

If we just voted no, they could file a grievance and it would go to arbitration. Its in the contract and we would end up paying it anyway.

Administrator Robert Slaby said of avoiding arbitration, Its cheaper to do it this way.

Leschinskie also voted against adopting an ordinance that regulates the parking of trailers, commercial vehicles and recreation vehicles parked on city streets, stating after the meeting that City Hall failed to properly display the ordinance for the required amount of time.

Council was unanimous in electing to allocate the remainder of the citys American Rescue Plan Plan Act (ARPA) funds to revenue loss. The city received $727,660.36 from the ARPA, of which approximately $492,000 remains.

According to the resolution, the Department of Treasury presumes that municipalities lost up to $10 million in revenue due to the pandemic and recipients are permitted to use that amount to fund eligible government services.

In other business, council:

 Heard from Robert Derk, vice president of Crime Watch, who sought permission for the nonprofit to raise funds for a proposed K-9 program benefiting the Shamokin Police Department.

 Approved first readings of Sidewalk, Landlord/Tenant, Property Maintenance and Ticket ordinances.

 Amended the citys premium pay policy to compensate eligible part-time police officers.

 Appointed Jamie Yerkes and Brian Annis to the landlord/tenant board for a term of five years.

 Appointed Michael Dietz Jr. to the zoning board to replace Jerry Splane, whose term expires January 2023.

 Decided to use Klacik & Associates as the citys auditor for three years.

 Approved various community events, including an Easter egg hunt at Claude Kehler Community Park II from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 9; a pizza party hosted by Lions Club between 3 to 8 p.m. May 4 at Claude Kehler Community Park; and a family movie night hosted by the Primitive Methodist Church between 8 to 11 p.m. June 21 at Claude Kehler Community Park.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun. High near 55F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies this evening will become partly cloudy after midnight. Low 31F. Winds light and variable.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa welcomed Archbishop Michael Lewis, commending his efforts to promote the values of goodness, amity and tolerance.

HM the King received yesterday, at Al Safriya Palace, Archbishop Lewis, The Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf in the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, currently on a visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain.

HM the King reviewed with Archbishop Lewis key issues which contribute to promoting the culture of dialogue, interfaith tolerance, commitment to moderation and renunciation of extremism.

Archbishop Lewis expressed his thanks and gratitude to HM the King for the recent opening of the new Catholic cathedral in the Kingdom.

He said that the milestone reflects His Majestys care and support for coexistence between different religions and sects, ensuring religious freedoms for all sects in the Kingdom of Bahrain and spreading the values of human brotherhood, coexistence and tolerance among peoples.

Interconnected family

His Majesty stressed Bahrains pride in its ancient history of the fraternity, human coexistence and tolerance among all religions and sects, describing the Kingdom as one loving and interconnected family thanks to the awareness of its people and its adherence to noble humanitarian principles and its respect for people of other religions.

He reiterated Bahrains keenness on living in peace and amity and love and mutual respect with all people, noting that the Kingdom has always welcomed everyone on its land for centuries.

HM King Hamad highlighted Bahrains efforts and pioneering global initiatives that contribute to consolidating and strengthening the culture of rapprochement, coexistence and interfaith dialogue for the benefit of the peoples of all mankind.

He noted the noble humanitarian role played by the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence and its continuous efforts and multiple achievements in this regard.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Two Asian men who swindled a woman out of BD2,000 after deceiving her to expose her bank account information have had their jail terms upheld.

The pair were earlier sentenced to five years behind bars each, followed by deportation. They were also fined BD1,000 each. The duo is said to have posed as officials serving in a local exchange company, and they requested the woman to reveal her bank card details through a phone conversation. They threatened her that her card would be deactivated in the event she does not collaborate with them.

Hence she gave in to their request. Her decision then backfired as the culprits used the information to withdraw BD2,000. She immediately informed the Anti-economic Crime Directorate about the incident. The two were held, but one of them denied involvement.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

A 33-year-old Arab man, who forced his wife to hide drugs under her clothes in a bid to smuggle them into the Kingdom of Bahrain, has been hit with 15 years in prison. The couple were captured on the Bahraini side of the King Fahad Causeway attempting to enter Bahrain with 350 grams of hashish.

The womans nervousness exposed her after police officers unsuccessfully searched her husband, although a tip-off was sent to the customs officials that the man will arrive with drugs.

The woman was searched by the police and the drugs were recovered from her. The husband, meanwhile, told prosecutors that he was offered BD1,000 to smuggle the drugs.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Al Hawaj Group held a dinner party in celebration of His Excellency Mr Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al Asoomi, Speaker of the Arab Parliament, in honour of his pioneering role during his presidency of the Arab Parliament and his distinguished efforts in highlighting the Kingdom of Bahrain in Arab and international forums.

In the front row of the audience was His Excellency Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, along with His Excellency the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Yasser Shaaban, and the notable businessman, Mr Abdul Rahman bin Saleh Al Otaishan, Chairman of the Saudi-Bahraini Business Council and former Chairman of Asharqia Chamber.

The event was attended by several dignitaries from members of Parliament and businessmen.

Mr Jawad Al Hawaj gave a speech in which he welcomed the attendees, followed by a speech from Mr Abdul Wahab Al Hawaj, in which he expressed his sincere gratitude appreciation to Al Asoomi and his efforts to show Bahrain in the best image among Arab and international forums.

Dr Abdullah Al Hawaj expressed his sincere appreciation for the leading role and distinguished efforts undertaken by the Arab Parliament Speaker.

The Egyptian Ambassador expressed gratitude to the Al Hawaj family for this kind gesture and their usual hospitality.

He also commended the distinguished role played by Al Asoomi, who is highly appreciated and respected by the political leadership in Egypt.

Al Hawaj family presented a memorial gift to Al Asoomi, who expressed his sincere thanks and gratitude to Al Hawaj family for their generous invitation and for this honour, which expresses their good origin, the authenticity of their steadfastness and their role in preserving the Bahraini identity, and in celebrating everything that enriches the Kingdoms image.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

By Tania Rebello

We had the fascinating opportunity to speak with chef Jordi Bataller-Founder of Salero ahead of his travel to Bahrain this weekend, to ask him some exciting questions about his journey as a chef and Spanish cuisine.

With a passion for cooking since he was a kid, chef Jordi would stay close to his grandma and mom, copying and collecting traditional Spanish recipes which he now shares through his masterfully curated menu at Salero.

Firstly, I would like to highlight the fact that Spanish gastronomy, due to a number of factors such as weather conditions, languages, traditions, seas, soils, ranges and rivers, boasts a diversity of renowned products at an international level. We have a wide variety of lamb, beef, veal, fish and seafood, vegetables and spices which makes Spanish patrimony one of the richest cuisines in the world- Chef Jordi Bataller.

1. Chef Jordi, what inspired you to get into the culinary world?

I was introduced to Spanish gastronomy since my earliest childhood which I inherited from my family. My parents sculpted an environment where fine cuisine was the most valuable and traditional legacy was passed down. I was encouraged to try out flavours, textures, aromas and keep an open-minded attitude anxious to explore new cultures.

2. Name three ingredients that you believe are most important in Spanish cuisine. Which is your favourite ingredient to work with and why?

i. The essential ingredient in Spanish cuisine is olive oil because it is the core and base, necessary for salads, frying, soups and the like.

ii. Vegetables, in particular, tomatoes. Tomatoes are the most genuine element for a plethora of cold soups, stews and salads to name a few. They have always been the determining basis of Spanish gastronomy.

iii. Some spices like cumin and quite singularly, zafran (saffron) which has always been bonded with a variety of rice and legume recipes that are highly influenced by the foremost Arabic culture within seven centuries.

3. What is your philosophy at Salero?

To me, Salero stands for sharing, family, friends and fine cuisine.

4. Do you think that Spanish cuisine is well represented in the Middle East?

It is never enough. We should work more on the difference between the conception of Spanish gastronomy aside from Latin contribution. In this regard, Salero is the most legitimate beacon of Spanish gastronomy.

5. Name one item from your menu that the people of Bahrain must try and why?

I would say Paella because it entails the combination of the three abovementioned ingredients: olive oil, zafran and vegetables. Chef Jordi welcomes you to a cooking class at Salero this Saturday where he will teach you how to prepare authentic paella. Contact Salero at the Westin, Bahrain City Center to book your seat.
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DANBURY  When people started getting COVID-19 and staying home, Action Early Learning Center, a child care center in Danbury, stayed open.

As each successive viral wave brought renewed fear and panic, staff welcomed children with open arms. As parents headed back into work, staff told them not to worry, theyd be there.

Amid a statewide day of action demanding better funding for early childhood providers, Danburys child care providers, including Action Early Learning Center, planned an evening rally so staff could provide essential child care services for local families.

We felt our industry has been forgotten for the longest time  its a longstanding crisis, said Mini Santosh, child care director at the center with three decades of industry experience.

On a warm late winter evening, Danburys child care providers asked for better state reimbursement rates, higher minimum wage for employees, equitable access to care for families, and more funding to prepare children for kindergarten.

The rally outside of the Danbury Public Library, one of the eight coordinated efforts across the state, offered a glimpse of what a day without child care would look like.

Child care can be one of a familys biggest expenses, sometimes costing more than a mortgage, Santosh said.

In Danbury, 44 percent of residents live in a child care desert, according to United Way of Western Connecticut CEO, Isabel Almeida. United Way works across Danbury and 15 other towns to ensure families have affordable, safe child care options.

Yet the $13 minimum wage means programs run at a deficit, Santosh said. Child care facilities often lose employees who leave for better pay. The reimbursement rate is only around $8,924 for year-round, 10-hour-a-day programs serving working families, she added.

In Santoshs view, Tuesdays rally tried to bring attention to what she called the impending collapse of the industry.

It was about time, honestly, she said. Its a broken system. It has to be fixed.

Santosh was one of 13 speakers representing child care centers, independent providers and families at the rally. State Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, addressed the crowd.

United Way is proud to stand with child care providers and with our community in support of this very important issue across Connecticut, including in Danbury, Almeida said. Our economy can't go back to a thriving place without this essential service to our parents.

Elizabeth Quinonez, child care initiative director for United Way of Western Connecticut, is looking for a lasting solution.

Fixing gaps, filling holes

All in, the early childhood care industry is asking for investments up to about $700 million from the state.

I think thats an investment thats critically important to our communities, to the working families, but also to the future success of these young kids when they become students in our public schools, Kushner said. We need to make sure our child centers can stay open.

Kushner is a proponent of universal pre-kindergarten.

The child care crisis has caught the attention of other state and federal lawmakers.

At the national level, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., has long fought to expand the federal child tax credit to more families. The New Haven Democrat successfully lobbied to include the expanded tax credit in the 2021 American Rescue Plan.

Monthly checks began going out to parents last July, but the payments stopped late last year with Congress failure to pass President Joe Bidens signature domestic spending package known as Build Back Better, which wouldve extended the tax credit for one year.

Nationally, 1 in 4 families with young children who received the payments spent the money on child care costs, according to census data.

State Rep. Sean Scanlan, D-Guilford, has championed the idea of state child tax credit. He has proposed a credit of $600 per child, up to three children per family, for households making up to $200,000 a year, or $100,000 for single parents.

The pandemic shone a light on how much we rely on child care for our economy to move and progress, Almeida said. Affordable and quality childcare is essential to rebuilding our local economy. This rally is really meant to bring awareness to that need, to the importance of that.

Almeida said they will urge federal and state legislators to support legislation that would make child care and early education affordable for families and ensure that essential child care providers are paid a fair wage.

Caring for the youngest community members

While most of the rallies across the state occurred on Tuesday morning, Danbury-area providers, parents, and advocates took to the streets at 5 p.m.

As they made their opinions known, the Action Early Learning Centers staff prioritized the communitys needs.

We again did not want to close the center because we didnt want it to be a difficult day for our families, Santosh said. The center serves about 135 families in Danbury.

These actions are causing a failing system, Santosh wrote to The News-Times. If child care fails, so does our economy.

Action Early Learning Center teacher and mother Jennifer Calcedo was too shy to speak to the crowd during the event, but chatted about her experience working in the industry on Tuesday afternoon. She planned to bring her 5-year-old, Abigail, to the rally.

After arriving in Danbury from Puerto Rico, Calcedo decided to get her bachelors degree and become an early childhood teacher. Now, she comes to work every day with Abigail in tow. She loves her job  its her passion, she said, but she was surprised by how low the salaries were.

Im really happy here, and I know what theyre paying me what is supposed to be paid by law, but it should be a little more, she said.

Calcedo is earning her masters degree so she can receive a higher wage.

Santosh said the center can pay very competitive salaries but its still not enough for the kind of care we provide for our kids.

I know that a lot of parents  especially Spanish parents  they need the services. They need to go to work, she said. They need the services.

Tuesdays rally showed a glimpse of the strength behind community mobilization.

That is the first time Ive seen something like this, Quinonez said, referring to the amalgamation of child care providers. Danbury has a very diverse community and I see people working well together, asking for something they deserve.

Staff writer Julia Bergman contributed to this report.
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DANBURY  State Rep. David Arconti, D-Danbury, will not be running for reelection in November.

Arconti, who has served five consecutive terms as a 109th Assembly District representative, made the official announcement on the House floor Wednesday morning. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and won his fifth and final term in November of 2020.

During the near-decade he has spent in the state legislature, Arconti served as vice chair of the Environment and General Law Committees. Most recently, he served as the chair of the Energy & Technology Committee, a role he took on in 2019.

Serving in the state legislature has been a great honor and I am grateful to all the constituents in my district who supported me and entrusted me to be their voice in Hartford, Arconti was quoted in a press release. Making this decision wasnt easy, but after serious consideration, I have decided that the time has come to pursue other interests.

Arconti, a relative of two former Danbury mayors and son of Danbury Police Detective David Arconti, Sr., was born and raised in the city and graduated from Danbury High School and Southern Connecticut State University. His district covers part of Danbury.

He is the second of two legislators serving the Danbury area to announce they will not run for their seats again. State Sen. Will Haskell, D-Westport, is also leaving the legislature to go to law school.

With everything in life, theres always time for new chapters and for other chapters to come to an end, Arconti told the News-Times. I just felt like Im ready for a new professional endeavor.

While he doesnt have concrete career plans yet, Arconti said that he would begin looking at new opportunities as soon as the legislative session comes to an end. He expressed interest in staying in the energy and environment space.

Ive grown to love energy policy, he said. It plays such an important role in peoples day-to-day lives and in what were facing, too, as a country and as a planet.

And Arconti said he still has one last project to put to bed before taking leave of state politics: securing funding for Danburys career academy, which is estimated to cost around $164 million. The state was previously expected to cover about 80 percent of the project, but local legislators will have to get new approvals for the updated plan now that the site has moved from the Summit to the old Cartus headquarters site.

The state representative will also stay put in Danbury, and while he has no plans to reenter the political sphere any time in the near future, he hasnt ruled it out completely down the road

I cant really picture not being in Danbury and not being in Connecticut, he said. Politics is in my blood and so is public service, so I do envision a time down the road where I do want to reenter [politics].

After announcing his departure, Arconti said that his time as a lawmaker reaffirmed my appreciation of our beautiful state and its people and thanked the other House leaders.

I extend my deepest gratitude to them for giving me the opportunity to work with each one of them and for the residents of the state, he said.
BROOKFIELD  A message of hope and support for Ukraine is growing outside the Congregational Church of Brookfield.

The church has set up sunflower pinwheels as a sign of solidarity with the country that was invaded by Russia last month, in a war that has killed more than 630 Ukrainians and forced 2.5 million people to flee the country.

Children taking religion classes at the church and their teachers came up with the way to support the children of Ukraine, said the Rev. Bryn Smallwood-Garcia. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine.

Their teachers were noticing that the kids were sad, she said. Its hard to shelter our kids from what's going on in the world ... so the teachers talked to the kids about it, What can we do that can be positive and would be prayerful?

Inside the churchs meeting house, the children and teachers set up a prayer wall where people can write prayers and messages of hopes and dreams for Ukraine on yellow pieces of paper and attach them to a blue wall. This is meant to reflect a sunflower sprouting into the sky.

Theyve actually rigged it so its like the sunflowers are growing, Smallwood-Garcia said.

The sunflower pinwheels were set up last week, while the prayer wall was installed a few days prior.

The students in what Smallwood-Garcia calls church school have focused on charitable acts throughout COVID-19. This includes creating kits and seed packets for older residents who were isolated.

This is falling in the tradition of what theyve been doing to try to figure out ways to kind of put their faith into action, she said. They don't just sit in their Sunday school and read stories. Theyre reading the stories and thinking how can we be part of this movement and working for peace and working for justice?
Lenoir, NC (28645)

Today

Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
ROSSLAND, BC, March 15, 2022 /CNW/ - Everyone in Canada deserves a safe, affordable, and sustainable place to call home. That is why the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) are investing in communities to provide sustainable and affordable housing for residents.

John Aldag, Member of Parliament for CloverdaleLangley City, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and Garth Frizzell, Past President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), today announced a $3.2 million investment in the City of Rossland, British Columbia. They were joined by the Member of Parliament for South OkanaganWest Kootenay and Mayor Kathy Moore of the City of Rossland.

The funding is provided through FCM's Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH) initiative and will support the construction of 37 housing units to address a lack of workforce housing for individuals and families in Rossland. The Lower Columbia Affordable Housing Society, in partnership with the City, will add these units above a new City Hall which will occupy most of the first floor of the new build. To achieve the net-zero energy ready standard, the building will use efficient mechanical and electrical systems, a highly insulated building envelope, high-efficiency windows and LED lighting.

The Government of Canada endowed the $300-million Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative as part of a $950-million expansion of FCM's Green Municipal Fund (GMF) in Budget 2019. The SAH initiative helps housing providers retrofit existing units for higher energy performance or build new affordable housing to net-zero standards, lowering greenhouse gas emissions and supporting municipalities in achieving their broader climate change plan objectives. In its first year of funding, in 2020-2021, the SAH initiative approved funding for 33 projects, representing more than 3,000 units.

Quotes

"Buildings contribute 18 percent of Canada's GHG emissions  building more energy-efficient homes in communities across the country will help us achieve our climate targets while also making life more affordable for Canadians. Our government is pleased to help the City of Rossland and other municipalities in every region of Canada to identify and capitalize on opportunities to lower emissions and build sustainable housing options."

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources

"Canadians expect all levels of government to work together to tackle climate change and the housing crisis. The Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative, an expansion of the Green Municipal Fund, will build 37 much needed new housing units in the City of Rossland. These units are designed to achieve the net-zero energy ready (NZER) standard by making use of efficient building materials and implementing innovative mechanical and electrical systems. Investing in communities is vital to achieving Canada's goalscreating jobs, meeting our environmental objectives, and building more affordable communities for residents."

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

"By building high-quality and energy-efficient affordable housing, we are building healthy and sustainable communities. Canada's ongoing transition to a low-carbon economy requires innovative and affordable housing solutions that create jobs and climate resilience while making life more affordable through saved energy costs."

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Making our home and buildings more energy-efficient is critical to meeting Canada's climate targets. Our government is pleased to help the City of Rossland be a part of the solution, lowering emissions from homes in the region."

John Aldag, Member of Parliament for Cloverdale-Langley City

"This is great news. Helping municipalities fund green infrastructure is a critical part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050."

Richard Cannings, Member of Parliament for South OkanaganWest Kootenay

"Municipalities are on the front lines of climate change and climate action, and communities of all sizes are showing climate leadership at a time when we need it most. The Green Municipal Fund empowers them to get results on the ground, this is why this announcement is so important. We deliver results with our federal partners  helping cities and communities like Rossland tackle affordable housing challenges, create jobs and build a greener, more sustainable country. Together, we are on the path to net-zero."

Garth Frizzell, Past President, Federation of Canadian Municipalities

"Rossland greatly appreciates the FCM grant we have received to bring our new affordable housing/city hall project up to a higher standard of energy efficiency. With our commitment to rely on 100% renewable energy by 2050, we hope this FCM supported project will inspire others to implement construction and retrofit net zero standards throughout our community."

Her Worship Kathy Moore, Mayor of the City of Rossland

Associated links

Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Green Municipal Fund

Sustainable Affordable Housing initiative

The Lower Columbia Affordable Housing Society

City of Rossland

Midtown Mixed Use Development | City of Rossland

Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan)

SOURCE Natural Resources Canada

For further information: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Ian Cameron, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 613-447-3488, [email protected]; FCM Media Relations, 613-907-6395, [email protected]
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We accept Visa, Mastercard and Discover; we do not accept AMEX.
"Air Canada is solidifying its market-leading position as the airline providing the most services between Canada and the South Pacific. We are accelerating the restoration of our Australian and New Zealand routes to respond to pent-up travel between our countries as borders reopen. The seamless connections through in-transit pre-clearance facilities combined with our extensive North American network at our Vancouver hub positions YVR to be the preferred gateway for travel between North America and the South Pacific," said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada.

"Our restored South Pacific flights and vast North American network will support local tourism and hospitality sectors as customers in all four countries visit and explore. Customers can start planning ahead and book with confidence. We look forward to welcoming you onboard our award-winning airline," concluded Mr. Galardo.

"We are thrilled with the expansion of the Air Canada network and to welcome our Aussie and Kiwi friends back to British Columbia to experience the incredible natural beauty, outdoor adventure, and hospitality we are known for," says Melanie Mark, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport. "Our tourism operators have been excitedly preparing for the return of more flights from the South Pacific to once again share authentic Indigenous experiences, local and sustainable cuisine and beverages, and unique accommodations for all types of travelers to eat, play and stay in B.C."

"Air Canada resuming service from Vancouver to Australia and New Zealand as part of its continued network expansion at YVR is incredibly exciting and marks another step forward as we move through the pandemic," said Mike McNaney, Vice President & Chief External Affairs Officer at Vancouver Airport Authority. "We know Canadians are eager to travel to the South Pacific and reunite with family and friends after nearly two years of border restrictions. We're looking forward to these flights to Brisbane and Auckland taking off from YVR in July and November, respectively."

"These flights will help support trade and business relationships between Canada, Australia and New Zealand. As an Association that strives to foster greater business relationships between these countries, these flights are welcome news," stated Tony Crossman, President - Canada, Australia, New Zealand Business Association (Vancouver).

Australia and New Zealand Schedule

Flight From To Days of Week Departs Arrives Aircraft Begins AC033 YVR SYD Ramps up to daily beginning early May 23:15 07:45 (+2 days) Boeing 777 Currently operating AC034 SYD YVR Ramps up to daily beginning early May 09:30 07:10 Boeing 777 Currently operating AC035 YVR BNE Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun 22:55 06:35 (+2 days) Boeing 787 Dreamliner Jul. 1 AC036 BNE YVR Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun 10:15 06:50 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Jul. 3 AC039 YVR AKL Tue/Thu/Sat 22:45 10:05 (+2 days) Boeing 787 Dreamliner Nov. 10 AC040 AKL YVR Mon/Thu/Sat 14:30 06:30 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Nov. 12

Air Canada may continue to adjust its schedule as more opportunities arise or based on COVID-19's trajectory and the further easing of travel restrictions by government. For details on the full schedule please visit aircanada.com

Easy and convenient connections

Air Canada's South Pacific flights connect seamlessly and conveniently to and from its extensive North American network in YVR including: New York-Newark, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Kelowna, Victoria, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles among other cities.

In Sydney and Brisbane, Air Canada's flights will connect easily to and from Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Cairns and other destinations with code-share partner Virgin Australia.

Product enhancements

Air Canada's Signature Suite at YVR is planned to re-open by this summer. Raising the bar with its five-star dining experience in a discerning and private, luxurious enclave that offers the finest Canada has to offer in food, design and comfort, the Signature Suite sets a new standard for premium travel in North America. It is available to select Signature Service customers travelling to international destinations and is located on the second floor of the International Maple Leaf Lounge in YVR, and in Toronto Pearson's Terminal 1.

Air Canada's onboard services on its South Pacific flights showcase the best cuisine Canadian culinary talent has to offer with Air Canada's panel of celebrity chefs, including award-winning Vancouver-based chef David Hawksworth and Montreal-based chef Jerome Ferrer. Complementing the culinary journey is a selection of top wines chosen by leading Canadian sommelier Veronique Rivest.

All customers can collect and redeem Aeroplan Points through Canada's leading loyalty program when travelling with Air Canada, and eligible customers have access to priority check-in, Maple Leaf Lounges, priority boarding and other benefits.

Travel Policy: Book with confidence

Air Canada's new refund policy is applicable to all tickets purchased. It offers customers the option of a full refund to the original form of payment, an Air Canada Travel Voucher or the equivalent value in Aeroplan Points with a 65% bonus should the airline cancel or reschedule a flight by more than three hours.

Travelling internationally?

Visit Air Canada's Travel Ready Hub for the latest government entry requirements. Customers are responsible for ensuring they meet all government entry requirements, including holding the correct travel documents, visas, any required health certificates, and all other eligibility requirements for any flights they purchase. Government requirements may change with little notice.

About Air Canada



Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline, the country's flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking from the independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which in 2021 also named Air Canada as having the Best Airline Staff in North America, Best Airline Staff in Canada, Best Business Class Lounge in North America, as well as an Excellence award for its handling of COVID-19. Also in 2021, Air Canada was named Global Traveler's Best Airline in North America for the third straight year. In January 2021, Air Canada received APEX's Diamond Status Certification for the Air Canada CleanCare+ biosafety program for managing COVID-19, the only airline in Canada to attain the highest APEX ranking. Air Canada has also committed to a net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow Air Canada on Twitter and LinkedIn, and join Air Canada on Facebook.

Internet: aircanada.com/media

Sign up for Air Canada news: aircanada.com

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OTTAWA, ON, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - Agricultural innovations have contributed enormously to the transformation of Canada's agriculture sector and have strengthened our competitive position internationally. To ensure Canada remains a global leader in agricultural innovation and technological development, today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, announced up to $1.1 million to Savormetrics Inc., through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, under the AgriScience Program.

The AgriScience Program, an initiative under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership aims to support research activities to help industry overcome challenges, address fiscal barriers experienced by small and emerging sectors and reduce high-risk opportunities that have the potential to earn significant returns.

This funding will be used to develop portable devices that will provide users along the supply chain with fast, accurate and easy-to-read predictive metrics on grain quality. The new technology will provide consistent, reliable and transparent grain information in real-time, resulting in less food waste and an improved testing and grading process. With the integration of these new innovative devices, farmers will be supported with additional tools to help them overcome inconsistent grain information, while continuing to provide high-quality products to Canadians.

The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of agricultural innovation, and will continue to support grain producers by investing in new technologies to ensure they remain competitive in global markets and well-positioned for the future.

Quotes

"Canadian grain producers are known around the world for their high-quality products and dedication to excellence. With funding under the AgriScience Program, we are helping to provide access to new metrics technology within Canada's supply chain that will position our grain industry with growth and prosperity for the future.

- The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

"We are very proud to provide cutting edge AI-Driven devices for commercial testing of grains - thanks to the generous financial support from the Government of Canada. Canada is a global leader in agriculture product quality. It makes sense for Canada to pioneer standards that lead to innovative, more robust and environmentally greener tools for testing. Savormetrics hopes to establish a new standard for testing key grain quality metrics globally."

- Harjeet Bajaj, CEO, Savormetrics Inc.

Quick Facts

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a $3 billion , five-year (2018-2023) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.

, five-year (2018-2023) investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow agriculture and agri-food sector. Established in 2017, Savormetrics has nine employees located at two offices in Mississauga, Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia . Specializing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven, ultra-low cost, portable sensing devices. Savormetrics provides businesses in the food sector with food safety and quality metrics.

Additional Links

AgriScience Program

Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP)

Savormetrics Inc.

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Web: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

For further information: Marianne Dandurand, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, [email protected], 343-541-9229; Media Relations, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 1-866-345-7972, [email protected]
Improving health outcomes for people at risk of substance use harms and overdose

HALIFAX, NS, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - The opioid overdose crisis is a serious public health crisis that has taken a tragic toll on families, friends and communities across the country. The recent data on opioid overdose deaths confirms the negative effect COVID-19 has had on the overdose crisis, with many jurisdictions reporting record high rates of harms, including deaths, throughout 2020, 2021 and now into 2022. In the first half of 2021, 23 people died of opioid overdose in Nova Scotia. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all Canadians have access to the life-saving substance use services and supports they need.

Today, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Associate Minister of Health, announced federal funding through Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP) for a project led by the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax. This project will help to improve health outcomes for people who are at risk of experiencing substance-related harms and overdose by scaling up prevention and harm reduction outreach efforts across Nova Scotia, including in Indigenous communities, as well as by expanding peer and professional health networks throughout the Atlantic region.

Today's announcement includes nearly $250,000 to support the expansion of Direction 180's Substance Use Network of the Atlantic Region (SUNAR), a peer-led, regional network of people with lived or living experience of substance use across Atlantic Canada that seeks to enhance and save lives. This funding will help increase the reach of their existing services and programs.

The federal government will continue to work with all orders of government, partners, Indigenous communities, stakeholders, people with lived and living experience of addiction, and organizations in communities in Atlantic Canada and across the country to end this national public health crisis and ensure people have access to the lifesaving substance use services they need.

Quotes

"The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax is doing incredible work in supporting their community and others across Nova Scotia, and I thank them for their steadfast dedication to help address the overdose crisis while engaging people with lived and living experience. By supporting initiatives like this one in Atlantic Canada and across the country, we can help Canadians receive the health services and peer support they need in a culturally safe and trauma-informed environment. Together, we will work to end this national public health crisis and save lives."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

"To confront the deadly opioid overdose epidemic, which worsened significantly during the pandemic, we need a community-led response based on harm reduction and public health principles. This requires access to both treatment and support, as well as education and overdose prevention training. By supporting Direction 180 - with their more than two decades of experience doing this work - the Substance Use and Addictions Program funding being announced today will help save more lives across our city, while significantly improving health outcomes for those who use drugs".

Lena Metlege Diab

Member of Parliament for Halifax West

"Being part of SUNAR has increased the vast majority of participants' knowledge and skills about safer substance use practices and overdose prevention. Beyond the knowledge and behaviour impact, SUNAR is having significant psychosocial impacts among people who use substances. In fact, all evaluation respondents agreed that SUNAR has had a positive impact on their lives, including increased confidence, enhanced engagement and connection, and feeling of empowerment. We have seen some members go back to school, obtain employment and housing, and meet goals they have set for their substance use health".

Katie Upham

SUNAR's Harm Reduction Educator, Direction 180

Quick Facts

Since 2017, the Government of Canada has taken urgent action to address the overdose crisis through significant investments of over $700 million .

has taken urgent action to address the overdose crisis through significant investments of over . Through SUAP , the Government of Canada provides grants and contributions funding to other levels of government, as well as community-led and not-for-profit organizations, to respond to current drug and substance use issues in Canada . Since 2017, it has supported over 200 projects across the country. This investment includes over $60 million invested on safe supply.

The $116 million allocated through Budget 2021 builds on a $66 million investment from the 2020 Fall Economic Statement for community-based organizations responding to substance use issues, including helping them provide services in a COVID-19 context.

allocated through Budget 2021 builds on a investment from the 2020 Fall Economic Statement for community-based organizations responding to substance use issues, including helping them provide services in a COVID-19 context. Direction 180, a program of the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre , is a non-profit community-based opioid treatment program located in Halifax . In operation since 2001, the program aims to reduce the inherent risks associated with substance use by offering a range of services, including harm reduction education, peer support, overdose prevention training and home naloxone kits.

Centre opioid naloxone SUNAR is a peer-led, regional network of people with live and living experiences of substance use across Atlantic Canada , that started in 2020. It unites and informs service providers and other partners to increase awareness about harm reduction practices and decrease the stigma that people who use substances can face when accessing services. SUNAR's harm reduction work also includes providing naloxone kits and fentanyl strips. In total it has received over $760,000 in SUAP funding.

Associated Links

SOURCE Health Canada

For further information: Maja Staka, Office of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; Media Relations, Health Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]; Public Inquiries: 613-957-2991, 1-866-225-0709
The Government launches a targeted, special call for proposals to focus on combatting disinformation

TORONTO, March 16, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - As the pandemic continues into its third year and the Russian invasion of Ukraine now threatens democracies around the world, we need to do more to counter the growing spread of harmful misinformation and disinformation. Today, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the launch of a special, targeted call for proposals totalling $2.5 million to fund initiatives that help people identify misinformation and disinformation online.

Through the Government's Digital Citizen Initiative (DCI), Canadians can respond and help in the global efforts to counter misinformation and disinformation. The DCI supports democracy and social cohesion in Canada by building citizen resilience against misinformation and disinformation, and building partnerships to support a healthy digital information society.

Funded projects will help increase civic literacy, promote critical thinking when it comes to validating sources of information, and build capacity in Canada to fight disinformation online. The department will work closely with several targeted and specialized organizations who are already doing work in this area. Stakeholders will be contacted in the following days.

Since January 2020, Canadian Heritage's Digital Citizen Contribution Program has provided $8.5 million in funding support to organizations undertaking research or citizen-focused activities, such as public awareness tools and online workshops, to help Canadians become more aware and more resilient, and to think more critically about the information they see and consume online.

These projects are reaching Canadians on a national and local scale, online and offline, in minority communities, in both official languages, and in Indigenous communities. The Digital Citizen Initiative is dedicated specifically to counter disinformation, misleading information, as well as the serious consequences that often result.

Quotes

"There is an urgency to act. As Canadians, we can't tolerate disinformation and propaganda. Democracy didn't happen by accident. We need to fight for it. Canadians can play a role in pointing out and stopping the spread of misinformation and harmful disinformation. We can choose to advance a new, shared vision of democracy in the digital age. It begins with digital inclusion, where an informed and engaged Canadian public can participate meaningfully in society, both online and offline."

The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage

"Each day, opinions are manipulated and division incited through the spread of deliberate disinformation online. Canada takes this very seriously. We know an engaged and informed public is the best line of defence in our efforts to fight disinformation and protect our democracy."

The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities

Quick Facts

When it officially launched in 2019, the overarching Digital Citizen Initiative contributed $7 million to more than 20 projects that encouraged critical thinking about online disinformation and involvement in the democratic process. Those projects reached more than 12 million Canadians.

The Digital Citizen Initiative is one of many programs in place to build citizen resilience and protect democracy in Canada. The Government of Canada is tackling online disinformation through additional initiatives like the Paris Call, and developing safeguards like the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol to further defend our democratic institutions.

The Digital Citizen Initiative and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), through the Joint Initiative for Digital Citizen Research, provide funding support through arm's-length SSHRC Connection Grants, supplements to recipients of SSHRC Insight Grants, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships and SSHRC Doctoral Awards.

Through a $2.5-million agreement over four years, the Digital Citizen Initiative is also supporting the Public Policy Forum's Digital Democracy Project, which brings together academics, civil society and policy professionals to support research and policy development on disinformation and online harms. The Digital Citizen Initiative is also supporting MediaSmarts' Media Literacy Week with a $225,000 agreement over three years.

Associated Links

Digital Citizen Contribution Program

SOURCE Canadian Heritage

For further information: Contacts: For more information (media only), please contact: Laura Scaffidi, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, [email protected]; Media Relations: Canadian Heritage, 819-994-910, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]
This first legislative review will focus on the vaping-related objectives of the Act

OTTAWA, ON, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada strives to protect the health of Canadians from nicotine addiction and tobacco use. To support this, the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) was amended in 2018, with a focus on preventing uptake by youth and those who do not use tobacco products. The Government of Canada is inviting the public to provide feedback on how the Act is progressing towards achieving its vaping-related objectives.

The TVPA regulates the manufacture, sale, labelling and promotion of both tobacco and vaping products sold in Canada. The Act underscores that these products are harmful to young people as well as to people who don't use tobacco products. It also recognizes that vaping products are a less harmful source of nicotine for adults who smoke and choose to switch completely.

The TVPA includes a requirement for a legislative review three years after coming into force, followed by subsequent reviews every two years. This requirement is an opportunity to monitor the TVPA's new oversight of vaping products with particular focus on its impact on youth vaping. Regular reviews will help Canada remain vigilant in addressing the important public health issues related to tobacco and vaping products.

Specifically, this first review will focus on the TVPA's progress towards meeting the following objectives:

Protecting young people and non-users of tobacco products from inducements to use vaping products;

Protecting the health of young persons and non-users of tobacco products from exposure to and dependence on nicotine that could result from the use of vaping products;

Protecting the health of young persons by restricting access to vaping products;

Preventing the public from being deceived or misled with respect to the health hazards of using vaping products; and

Enhancing public awareness of those hazards.

Canadians are encouraged to consult Health Canada's TVPA Discussion Paper and submit their feedback by emailing [email protected] until April 27, 2022.

The public consultation will inform the development of a final report that is required to be tabled in Parliament. The final report will be publicly available on Canada.ca.

Quotes

"The increase in youth vaping rates since the introduction of vaping products to the Canadian market is concerning and makes the review of the vaping-related provisions of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act very timely. We want to hear from you. The feedback we receive to support this first legislative review will make sure that those actions are still effectively protecting people's health."

The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos

Minister of Health

"Tobacco continues to be the number one cause of preventable disease and death in Canada. We recognize that addiction can develop at any age, and have invested in a broad range of actions in order to help protect young people from the risks of nicotine addiction. Vaping provides adults using tobacco with a less harmful source of nicotine and for many a way towards tobacco cessation. It is now pivotal to hear from Canadians and Indigenous Peoples on the role of vaping in quitting and the risk of vaping leading young people to use tobacco. We need to assess the effectiveness of education programs and government policies and how we can do better to prevent more loss of life from tobacco use."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

Quick Facts

Protecting the health of Canadians from exposure to, and dependence on, nicotine continues to be a priority for the Government of Canada .

. Enacted in May 2018 , the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act (TVPA) created a new legal framework for regulating vaping products, with one of its goals to protect young persons and those who do not use tobacco products from nicotine addiction and tobacco use. It builds on the 1997 Tobacco Act , which sought to respond to the national public health problem posed by tobacco use and to protect the health of Canadians.

, the (TVPA) created a new legal framework for regulating vaping products, with one of its goals to protect young persons and those who do not use tobacco products from nicotine addiction and tobacco use. It builds on the 1997 , which sought to respond to the national public health problem posed by tobacco use and to protect the health of Canadians. This is the first legislative review of the TVPA. Subsequent reviews, which will take place every two years, will focus on additional elements of the Act, including the tobacco-related provisions.

Associated Links

Consultation: Legislative Review of the TVPA

Canada's Tobacco Strategy

Tobacco and Vaping Products Act

SOURCE Health Canada

For further information: Zachary Caldwell, Office of the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; Media Relations, Public Health Agency of Canada, 613-957-2983, [email protected]; Public Inquiries: 613-957-2991, 1-866-225-0709
According to sources. Other Congress leaders not associated with the G-23 mat also join the meeting. The meeting is likely to be held today at 7 pm.

Dissident leaders of the Congress party under the so-called G-23 are slated to meet today in Delhi to discuss their future course of action, according to sources. Other Congress leaders not associated with the G-23 mat also join the meeting, added sources.

The G-23 is a group of leaders who had written a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 to press for internal reforms and collective leadership. The G-23 includes Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal among others.

The meeting is likely to be held today at 7 pm. Sources added that the venue of the meeting has not been decided yet. It will be a hybrid mode meeting with many leaders joining it virtually.

After the crushing defeat in the Assembly elections, the group of 23 (G-23) leaders met at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azads Delhi residence on Friday to discuss the latest round of poll debacle for the party.

Earlier on Sunday, G-23 leaders ahead of the Congress CWC meeting suggested senior party leader Mukul Wasniks name for the post of party president. The suggestion was rejected by the party.

On Tuesday, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi asked state party chiefs of five states- Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur  to resign following the partys election defeat in these states.

According to Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, the move has been taken to facilitate the reorganization of the partys state units.
Fresh college students from Chennai protest against Karnataka High Court verdict on Hijab.

A day after the Karnataka High Court issued its ruling on the Hijab prohibition, new college students in Chennai began a protest against the court this morning.

The students have been chanting We want justice, we will fight for justice.

Allah hu Akbar chants were also been chanted by the college students in Chennai.

On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court dismissed several petitions contesting a ban on hijab at educational institutions, stating that wearing hijab is not an important Islamic religious practise.

While maintaining the Karnataka governments ruling requiring rigorous implementation of school and college uniform standards, the High Court rejected petitions challenging the hijab ban as frivolous.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday sought the resignation of state party chiefs of the states where Congress faced a crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections.

Navjot Singh Sidhu has stepped down as the chief of the Congress Punjab unit. This comes after Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi sought the resignation of state party chiefs of the states where Congress faced a crushing defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections. Presidents of the Congress partys Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa, and Manipur units have been asked to resign from their posts.

On Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu, taking the moral responsibility of the partys debacle in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, resigned from his post. The resignation came after the diktat issued by Sonia Gandhi seeking the resignation of state party chiefs.

Uttarakhand Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal also submitted his resignation on Tuesday after the diktat from Sonia Gandhi. Godiyal took to Twitter and said, I have submitted my resignation taking the moral responsibility for the partys defeat in the state assembly elections. He added, I wanted to resign on the result day itself but was waiting for the order of the high command.

The Congress partys Goa chief, Girish Chodankar, also stepped down from his post on Tuesday taking moral responsibility for the partys defeat in the state assembly elections.

According to Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, the move to make Congress state chiefs step down from their respective posts has been taken to facilitate the reorganization of the partys state units. Surjewal said in a tweet, Congress President Sonia Gandhi has asked the PCC Presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resignations to facilitate the reorganization of PCCs.
She claimed that social media is being increasingly used to shape political narratives. Gandhi urged the Indian government to act to eliminate the influence of social media giants in India.

Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday spoke in the Parliament and expressed her concern about social media platforms interfering with the electoral process in India. She claimed that social media is being increasingly used to shape political narratives. Gandhi urged the Indian government to act to eliminate the influence of social media giants in India.

She further said that social media platforms are being used to hack our democracy. Sonia Gandhi said in the Parliament, Thank you for allowing me to take up an issue of paramount importance  the rising danger of social media being abused to hack our democracy. Global companies like Facebook and Twitter are used increasingly to shape political narratives by leaders, parties and their proxies. The Congress president was speaking during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha.

She accused Facebook of conniving with the ruling establishment (Modi government) to provide undue advantage to the latter in electoral politics. She stated, It has repeatedly come to public notice that global social media companies arent providing a level playing field to all parties. The blatant manner in which social harmony is being disturbed by Facebook with the connivance of the ruling establishment is dangerous for our democracy.

She further said, Young and old minds are being filled with hate through emotionally charged disinformation, and proxy advertising companies like Facebook are aware of it and are profiting from it.

Sonia Gandhi appealed to the Indian government to act upon the issue. She said, I urge Government to put an end to the systematic influence and interference of Facebook and other social media giants in the electoral politics of the worlds largest democracy. This is beyond parties and politics.
The caretaker Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi today. This comes ahead of the government formation in Goa where the BJP won 20 out out of 40 seats in the assembly elections and missed the majority mark by a seat. The BJP is confident of forming the government in the state wit ally MGP and independent MLAs.

After the meeting with Sawant, PM Modi tweeted, Met Pramod Sawant and the team of BJP Goa. Our party is grateful to the people of Goa for blessing us yet again with the mandate to serve the state. We will keep working for Goas progress in the times to come. National General Secretary of BJP CT Ravi, BJP Goa president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and General Secretary Satish Dhond also attended the meeting.

Pramod Sawant tweeted regarding the meeting with PM Modi and said, Briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on BJPs resounding success in Goa Assembly Polls. The PM conveyed his gratitude to the people of Goa for reposing their trust and faith in BJP and assured his continued support for the development of the State.

After the meet with PM Modi, Goa BJP chief Tanavade had an individual meeting with party national president JP Nadda to deliberate on recently concluded Goa poll results. Met National President JP Nadda in New Delhi, discussed the election results and thanked him for his wholehearted support, which led Team BJP Goa to a comfortable victory in Goa, tweeted Tanavade.

The meeting between Goa BJP leaders and partys central leadership is vital as the BJP has yet not declared the name of the CM face in Goa. Pramod Sawant won elections from the Sanquelim constituency of Goa.


Biden will also attend a meeting of the European Council Summit, a White House statement informed on Tuesday. It is still unclear if Biden will travel to Poland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

US President Joe Biden will travel to Belgium to attend an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24. Biden will also attend a meeting of the European Council Summit, a White House statement informed on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, President Biden will join an extraordinary NATO summit on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defence efforts in response to Russias unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine as well as to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO Allies.

Psaki further said, President Biden will also join a scheduled European Council Summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence, and address other challenges related to the conflict.

European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet, In these testing times, our transatlantic action is more important than ever. @POTUS [Biden] will join EU leaders Thursday 24 March to discuss support for #Ukraine and its people, strengthening transatlantic cooperation in responding to Russias aggression against Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa [Volodymyr Zelenskyy].

It is still unclear if Biden will travel to Poland to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As per Sputnik, on being about the meeting between Biden and Zelenskyy, Jen Psaki said, We are still working through the final details of President Bidens trip.

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg informed on Tuesday that he is convening an extraordinary summit of the alliance on March 24 over the situation in Ukraine. Stoltenberg tweeted, I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at #NATO HQ. We will address #Russias invasion of #Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATOs deterrence & defence. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together.

This comes as the fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine resumed in Belarus. Consultations on the main negotiation platform renewed. General regulation matters, ceasefire, withdrawal of troops from the territory of the country, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyys aide tweeted.

.
Prime Ministers of three European nations visited Kyiv by train on Tuesday as the city faced heavy Russian bombardment, as reported by Reuters. According to the report, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and PM Janez Jansa of Slovenia visited the Ukrainian capital.

The Polish PM was quoted by Reuters as saying, It is our duty to be where history is forged. Because its not about us, but about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that the aim of the visit was to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

Kyiv is currently under a night curfew that started from 8 pm on March 15 and will run until 7 am on March 17. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has announced that the residents are only allowed to go outside to head to the bomb shelters.

Meanwhile, the fourth round of talks between Russia and Ukraine that started on Monday will continue through today, even as a Ukrainian negotiator spoke of fundamental differences between the two sides. In a video message after the meeting, Zelenskyy had said, Everyone needs to work in their place, including our representatives in the delegation at the talks with the Russian Federation. This is important, difficult, but important. Because any war ends with an agreement. Meetings continue, as I am informed, the positions at the negotiations sound more realistic. But more time is needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine.
India said that this move might result in downplaying the hatred faced by followers of other faiths including Hinduism and Sikhism.

India on Tuesday put its foot down at the United Nations General Assembly as it opposed the bodys resolution to have dedicate a day to supposedly fight Islamophobia while ignoring the plight of other religions. India said that this move might result in downplaying the hatred faced by followers of other faiths including Hinduism and Sikhism. The Indian mission also said that it is time the world identifies the prevalence of religiophobia rather than identifying and addressing hatred against just one religion.

The United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution to observe March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Indias Permanent Representative to the UN, TS Tirumurti, said, We are concerned about elevating the phobia against one religion to the level of an international day, to the exclusion of all the others.

TS Tirumurti further stated, Hinduism has more than 1.2 billion followers. Buddhism has more than 535 million and Sikhism has more than 30 million spread around the world. It is time that we acknowledged the prevalence of religiophobia, rather than single out just one.

The resolution was supported by the 57 OIC countries, along with eight other countries, including Russia and China.
While speaking at a press conference at NATO headquarters, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, "We are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation possibly including chemical weapons, in Ukraine."

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has expressed concerns that Russia may carry out a false flag operation in Ukraine using chemical weapons. Jens Stoltenberg, While speaking at a press conference at NATO headquarters, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, We are concerned that Moscow could stage a false flag operation possibly including chemical weapons, in Ukraine.

Stoltenberg stated, Any support to Russia military or any other type of support will actually how pressure conducts a brutal war against in Ukraine and help them to continue to rage war which is causing death, suffering and anonymous amount of destruction. He further said, All of this sends an unmistakable message. An attack on one ally will be met with a decisive response from the whole Alliance. Russias invasion of Ukraine, and its military integration with Belarus, create a new security reality on the European continent. So we need to reset our military posture for this new reality. Tomorrow, ministers will start an important discussion on concrete measures to reinforce our security for the longer term, in all domains.

NATO leaders will meet in Brussels on March 24 to discuss Russias invasion of Ukraine, the alliances chief wrote on Twitter. I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at NATO HQ, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg wrote. We will address Russias invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATOs deterrence and defense. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together.

Earlier, the US had warned publicly warned that Russia might seek to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki warned of the potential use of chemical weapons in Ukraine after Moscow alleged the US was housing biological weapons in Ukraine.
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Despite declining infections and hospitalizations, COVID-19 concentrations in wastewater are increasing in Connecticut, according to the latest figures.

While still 40 times lower than the January 2022 peak, SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations are once again increasing in New Haven, Yale researcher Jordan Peccia said on Twitter Wednesday.

Yale had been conducting wastewater surveillance at several sites across the state, according to Allessandro Zulli, a PhD candidate working with Peccia. But that contract ended in October. Peccia, Zulli and their team at Yale now only sample and analyze wastewater for New Haven.

We're seeing a small uptick relative to the lows, though still well below December, January levels, Zulli said. I would expect this trend to continue at least locally. Unless there is some sort of new variant that has some sort of immunity evasion.

While there may be a slight uptick in COVID-19 detected in waste water, overall metrics remain low. On Wednesday, the state reported a positivity rate of 2.31 percent. Hospitalizations dropped a net of 15 patients for a total of 98.

Kendra Maas, in charge of the wastewater testing program at the University of Connecticuts Storrs campus, said shes seen a similar increase.

We had an early January spike (mostly faculty and staff), very low levels just as students came back (any positive students isolated at home if at all possible), and now are holding steady with a slight increase, she said though there is one important caveat. The results of wastewater testing at UConn is dependent on the presence of students.

UConns population is different because we have this huge influx of students at the end of January, Maas said. And now that its spring break, a huge loss of population for this week. Additionally, we have a number of students who leave campus for their isolation.

All of this makes our data different from regular city data where populations are much more stable, she said.

There are several other collection sites in Connecticut, at least one in Fairfield County. All report their findings to the Centers for Disease Control.

As of Wednesday morning, the CDCs wastewater collection page showed an increase of 2.15 billion percent in the amount of COVID found in the wastewater beneath Fairfield County. Thats 2.1 billion percent.

The state Department of Public Health did not immediately respond when asked to offer an analysis of that increase, but Zulli suggested it might be a data collection problem.

That's an integer overflow, he said. That number is the largest number you can use for an unsigned integer, which is like two to the 32, I think.

Nationally, several sites were showing a significant increase in the concentrations of coronavirus in wastewater. One collection site in Los Angeles showed an increase of 3,953 percent over the last two weeks, suggesting case counts might increase soon in that geographic area.

One collection site in Florida showed a 2,973 percent increase, there was a 1,725 percent increase at a collection site in Illinois and a site in Missouri showed a 440 percent increase,

Other sites in the same states showed a modest decrease, though coronavirus cases in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and other sites around the world have been on the uptick, raising concerns that case counts may increase in this country, too.

I look at a little spike up going on in Europe, Gov. Ned Lamont said at an event Tuesday. I look at a big spike up going on in parts of northern China. I look at a spike up in Hong Kong. This is no time for us to take our eye off the ball.

Zulli and Peccia were among the first researchers in the country to analyze wastewater for coronavirus.

We started collection just from New Haven at that point, because obviously, we didn't know if wastewater monitoring would work, said Zulli, a PhD student in chemical and environmental engineering at Yale University. Early on, we would just go out there ourselves and pick up the samples.

Thankfully, nowadays, I don't really have to go into the sewers anymore, he said.

They found that it could be something of an early-warning system. If a communitys wastewater showed an increase in the amount of coronavirus, residents could expect that case counts would follow, as would hospitalizations and deaths from COVID.

Overall, the signal was very clear. It often came before cases actually showed up through normal testing, he said. We'd see that things were going up. But cases hadn't quite gone up yet. So, every time, we had that little moment of doubt, like, is this real? And so far, wastewater testing seems to be on the money most of the time.

Since Zulli first went down into the sewers to collect coronavirus samples, that work has been widely publicized. He agreed that it has captured the imaginations of many, which was something of a surprise.

Who knew that people would be so fascinated by poop? he said.
NEW HAVEN  A city man was sentenced to 110 months in prison Tuesday for his role in the attempted robbery of a Congress Avenue restaurant, which included the shooting of an employee, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Connecticut.

Tythrone Ford, 28, pleaded guilty in September to attempted interference with commerce by robbery, officials said. After his sentence, he will be on supervised release for three years.

According to court documents and statements made in court, at approximately 11:00 p.m. on April 11, 2015, Ford, Treizy Lopez and another man entered the Smokin Wings restaurant, located on Congress Avenue in New Haven, and demanded money at gunpoint. Lopez subsequently discharged a firearm and shot a female employee in the stomach, said officials in a release. Ford, Lopez and their associate then fled the restaurant. Responding New Haven Police officers subsequently located a .22 caliber revolver in a nearby trash can.

The incident followed an attempted robbery at Sapiaos Market in Bridgeport and the slaying of store owner Jose Salgado, which took place earlier in the day.

Ford was not charged in connection with the Bridgeport incident, according to prosecutors, but allegedly accompanied Lopez to the scene and sat in the car outside.

Officials said (f)orensic analysis of the revolver found in the trash can in New Haven, and projectiles collected from the scene of both attempted robberies, revealed that the gun was used in both shootings, and said DNA from both Ford and Lopez was found on the weapon.

In their sentencing memorandum, prosecutors urged Ford be sentenced to 110 months in prison, noting the lasting repercussions of the robbery, as well as his criminal record.

The wounded woman, they said, underwent surgery and spent a week in the hospital. She has since suffered from emotional trauma, haunted by recurring nightmares, and has struggled to find meaningful work.

The owner of Smokin Wings was forced to close the eatery in the wake of the shooting, prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Kara Moreau of New Haven-based Sheehan & Reeve, representing Ford, sought a sentence of 87 months, saying Ford had reflected on his life path since the robbery and seeks to remain in the life of his children in the future.

At the time of the Smokin Wings robbery, Ford was on a destructive and dangerous path, recently released from prison, smoking marijuana and using Ecstasy, Moreau said. He had been raised in Newhallville, the child of a 16-year-old mother, and was in and out of juvenile facilities and prison.

After the conclusion of a prison sentence in April 2019, Ford, shaken by the death of a cousin, began to make changes in his life, Moreau said.

Moreau said Ford secured two jobs and focused on his future and his family, especially his children and developing relationships with them. He brought tea to his son in the morning before they headed to the bus stop; he took his daughter to the pool.

He has spent the past couple of years seriously evaluating his life and the path he was on. Nothing presented here is meant in any way to diminish the seriousness of the offense he committed on April 11. Tythrones actions in this case were serious and his involvement in the Smokin Wings attempted robbery contributed to real and substantial harm, said Moreau in her memorandum. He accepts responsibility for what happened and for the harm he caused and recognizes that his actions warrant substantial punishment. Still, it is respectfully submitted that when fashioning a sentence in this case, it is appropriate to look not just at who Tythrone was on April 11, 2015, but also, who he is today.

I have done a lot of reflection on my past and my choices, and I thought a lot about my future and where I am now, Ford said in a letter to the court, according to Moreaus memorandum. Im not proud to be away from my family and children, I missed out on a lot already and I know my choices from this case mean Im gonna be away from them longer, and Im sorry for that.

Lopez, who pleaded guilty to the same charge Sept. 23, has not yet been sentenced in the New Haven case, officials said. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2018 for the Bridgeport incident.

This matter stems from a cold case investigation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the New Haven Police Department, with the assistance of the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory, officials said in the release. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn C. Kaoutzanis and Nathaniel J. Gentile through the Justices Departments Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program and Project Longevity.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
BRIDGEPORT  The wife of former CNN producer John Griffin, who is charged with enticing young girls to his home so he could sexually assault them, is asking a judge to protect her husbands assets so that she can take them in a divorce.

In a motion filed in Superior Court in Bridgeport, Allyson Griffin sought to intervene in a lawsuit filed against John Griffin by one of his alleged victims in an effort to protect her interests.

Allyson Griffin recently filed for divorce from her husband in Stamford Superior Court. According to her motion, she is concerned that the plaintiff in the lawsuit will be seeking the same assets from her husband as she is seeking in her divorce action.

A hearing on her motion has been scheduled for April 7.

The Griffin family matters should be kept as private as possible, said Allyson Griffins lawyer, Gary Cohen. He declined further comment.

Mrs. Griffin is apparently seeking to participate in our efforts to restrain and attach John Griffins assets. Regardless of who is involved we will make certain that Griffin never has cash available to molest another child, said Attorney Joel Faxon, who is suing John Griffin on behalf of a 9-year-old girl who claims she was sexually assaulted by him.

Griffins lawyer, Robert Berke, declined comment.

Griffin, 44, of Stamford, a longtime staffer and producer for CNN, was fired earlier this year following his arrest by the FBI on federal charges alleging he tried to lure women to his Vermont ski home to train their daughters to be sexually submissive.

Griffin was indicted by a federal grand jury in Vermont with three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to attempt to entice minors to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

According to the indictment, Griffin began using the alternative website, alt.com, to seek women who were submissive and open-minded.

Griffin then used messaging features on Kik and Google Hangouts to communicate with some of the women, pretending to be the parents of underage girls. In the communications, Griffin tried to persuade parents to let him train their daughters to be sexually submissive, the indictment stated.

In June 2020, Griffin told a mother of 9- and 13-year-old girls that she needed to have her daughters trained properly, the indictment stated. Griffin then transferred about $3,000 to the woman for plane tickets so she and her 9-year-old could fly from Nevada to Bostons Logan airport, the indictment stated.

The mother and child flew to Boston in July 2020. Griffin picked them up and drove them to his home in Ludlow, Vt., where prosecutors said the girl was forced to engage in illegal sexual contact.

The indictment details other allegations that Griffin tried to entice two other children over the internet to participate in sexual activity.

In April 2020, Griffin coordinated a virtual training session, where he instructed a woman and her 14-year-old daughter to remove their clothes during the video chat, prosecutors said.

In June 2020, prosecutors said, Griffin offered a trip to a woman and her 16-year-old daughter to his Vermont ski house for sexual training involving the child.

In one of the conversations, Griffin told someone claiming to be a father that he sexually trained girls as young as 7 years old, the indictment stated.

Includes prior reporting by Tara ONeill and Peter Yankowski.
Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media

WEST HARTFORD  The Connecticut Natural Gas Company on Wednesday announced it will be doing work in West Hartford later this month to replace a gas main.

The company said it intends to replace about 1,400 feet of gas main on the Farmington Avenue corridor. CNG said it is working with residents and businesses in the area to ensure minimal disruption where and when possible.
As part of the agitation for an independent Yoruba Nation and the dissolution of the amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria, self-det...





As part of the agitation for an independent Yoruba Nation and the dissolution of the amalgamation of Southern and Northern Nigeria, self-determination activists have filed two suits at Federal High Courts in Ado-Ekiti and Osogbo.





They want the judiciary to stop the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Ondo States scheduled for June and July respectively.





They are praying for a declaration that the current 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is illegal, invalid and of no effect whatsoever because no referendum was conducted before it was enacted.





The members of the umbrella body Ilana Omo Oodua (IOO) Worldwide filed the suit on Wednesday through their lawyer, Tolu Babaleye.





The defendants are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).





The activists include IOO leaders, Professor Banji Akintoye, from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti; his Deputy, Professor Wale Adeniran, from Ile-Ife, Osun State; Ado-Ekiti based medical doctor, Chief Bayo Orire, and 15 others.





The applicants are demanding a total decommissioning of the 1999 Constitution to pave way for a referendum so that the indigenous people of Yoruba can secede.





On Wednesday, IOO spokesman Maxwell Adeleye told the public that INEC does not have the law that can be used to conduct elections anywhere in Yoruba land, a region within Nigeria.





The Ekiti and Osun Governorship Polls and all future elections should be stopped in Yoruba land until a referendum is held for the Yoruba people to decide on the system they want for themselves within Nigeria and whether they even want to remain as Nigerians, he noted.





Adeleye said they want: A Declaration that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended) is invalid, illegal and of no effect whatsoever by reason of its failure to satisfy the essential requirements of a referendum and national consensus expected of a valid Constitution.





A Declaration that the preamble/introductory passage to the 1999 Constitution inserted into the Constitution by the Military Government which says we the people of Nigeria have resolved to give ourselves a Constitution is a lie when.





The suit argues that it was the Military Government that came up with the document and imposed it on the Nigerian people without their contribution.





Others requests are: A Declaration that no valid elections whether Presidential, Governorship, National and State Assembly or Councillorship elections can be validly held under the said invalid and fraudulent Constitution as one cannot build something on nothing in law and expect it to stand.





A Declaration that the forthcoming Ekiti State Governorship election which is scheduled to be conducted in June 2022 by the INEC cannot be validly held under the said illegal and invalid 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.





An Order stopping the holding of the scheduled Ekiti State Governorship election coming up in June 2022 from being held as there is no valid legal framework for such an exercise because the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) under which the said Governorship election is planned to be conducted is illegal, invalid and inherently defective.





An Order directing the Defendants jointly and severally to stay clear of Ekiti and Osun States in June and July 2022 and suspend with immediate effect the plans and arrangements they have put in place to conduct such an illegal election in Ekiti and Osun States of Nigeria.





Adeleye called on all Yoruba people, especially, Self-determination activists in Ekiti and Osun to mobilize themselves and ensure that they are present in courts in Osogbo and Ado-Ekiti whenever the cases are called for mention.




The National Judicial Council (NJC) has issued warning letters to two Judges of the Federal and State High Courts over their misconduct in t...





The National Judicial Council (NJC) has issued warning letters to two Judges of the Federal and State High Courts over their misconduct in the discharge of judicial functions.





One of them, Justice Muawiyah Baba Idris of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Abuja was issued a warning letter and placed on Councils Watch List for a period of one year.





He was indicted for signing the Writ of Possession for execution on the same day he delivered judgment in suit No. FCT/HC/CV/FT/36/19 between Sicons Nigeria Ltd V Nile Place Restaurant and Catering Services Ltd.





A statement by the NJC Director of Information released on Wednesday in Abuja indicated that the suit was for the recovery of demised property.





NJC agreed with the findings of the Committee that investigated the Judge that his action was in contravention of Proviso to Order 27 Rule (16) (b) High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Civil Procedure Rules 2018 and Order 4 (1) and (2) of the Judgment Enforcement Rules 2004.





The Council also issued a warning letter to Justice M. M. Ladan of the High Court of Kaduna State, having found merit in the petition written against him in Suit No. KDH/KAD/1321/2018 between VTLS Inc. Vs Ahmadu Bello University.





Justice Ladan was said to have signed the writ of Attachment while the Garnishee Order Nisi was pending.





The Council at the meeting presided by the Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN, Mohammad Tanko Ibrahim considered the list of candidates presented by its Interview Committee and recommended 15 successful candidates as Heads of Courts and other Judicial Officers in Nigeria.





They are Chief Judge of Plateau State, Justice David Gwong Mann, Chief Judge of Gombe State Justice Joseph Ahmed Awak, Grand KADI of Sharia Court of Appeal in Kaduna, Kadi Abdurrahman Umar Abubakar, Grand Kadi, Sharia Court of Appeal in Taraba, Kadi Shuaibu Dahiru Ahmad and President, Customary Court of Appeal, Cross River State Justice Ihemnacho Wilfred Obuzor





Six candidates were recommended for appointment as Federal High Court Judges.





They are Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman, Emmanuel Gakko, Aminu Garba, Musa Sulaiman Liman, Ahmad Gama Mahmud and Segun-Bello Mabel Taiye.





The FCT High Court has one in Joseph Adebayo Aina and one Kadi for Sharia Court of Appeal, Taraba State in the person of Sallau Ismaila Madugu while the Customary Court of Appeal has a Judge in Bulus Samuelson Nyiputen.





All recommended candidates are expected to be sworn in after approval by President Muhammadu Buhari, and their respective State Governors and confirmation by the National Assembly and the respective State House of Assemblies as the case may be.





The statement also revealed that members also considered the reports of various Committees and noted the notification of retirements of 23 Judicial Officers of the Federal and State Courts and notification of the death of one State High Court Judge.
National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed he had a discussion with President Muham...





National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed he had a discussion with President Muhammadu Buhari to succeed him after his tenure in 2023.

Tinubu made the disclosure in a meeting with the APC members in the House of Representatives on Wednesday while formally informing them of his ambition to run for president of Nigeria.

Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State said that he was the only Nigerian, most qualified that was running for the President, saying that others were hiding.

According to him, President Buhari during the discussion joyfully and enthusiastically asked him to come out for them to see how he will promote his democratic credentials.
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Yes. The community would benefit from the indoor pools the project would provide.

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The current and former residents of a New Orleans neighborhood built on a toxic landfill scored a rare legal victory this week with a $75 million judgment against the city and the other developers of the Gordon Plaza subdivision.

Orleans Civil District Court Judge Nicole Sheppard ruled on Monday that the 5,000 residents named in a class-action lawsuit are entitled to $75.3 million for emotional distress and property damage. Shepperd determined that the city, the Housing Authority of New Orleans and the Orleans Parish School Board are liable for the consequences of building two residential communities  Gordon Plaza and Press Park  and Moton Elementary School on top of the Agriculture Street landfill, a place later considered so contaminated that it later became a federal Superfund site. Sheppard credited the housing authority $13.6 million for an earlier settlement with the authority's insurers.

This is a big deal for the residents of Agriculture Street, said Suzette Bagneris, a lead attorney representing residents. Bagneris began working on the case when she was in law school. Thirty years down the road, to see this come to an end, its an emotional moment.

The city declined to discuss the case or say whether it will appeal.

The city is reviewing the judgment and weighing our options, a spokesman said.

The judgment comes less than two months after the city prevailed in a separate legal battle with residents. In early February, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a district court decision that found the city was taking proper steps to protect the health of Gordon Plazas residents.

Gordon Plaza homeowner Jesse Perkins said hes happy about the latest judgment but skeptical about how much it will actually benefit residents.

Its good news that will hopefully get some of us off this nasty landfill, said Perkins, a member of Residents of Gordon Plaza Inc., a nonprofit representing the subdivisions residents.

The city is notoriously stingy about paying judgements and settlements. As of late November, the city had more than 560 outstanding judgments and settlements in state and federal courts, with some dating back 25 years, according to a Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate analysis of city law department records. While city leaders have recently indicated theyd put several million dollars toward outstanding payments, the current backlog hovers near $40 million.

Some residents are also worried about the size of the cut Bagneris and other attorneys will take, and how much will be left for residents. According to Perkins, Bagneris hasnt communicated much with residents. He only learned about the judgment when Bagneris posted a celebratory statement on social media. She alluded to conflict between her and residents, saying in her post that her own clients crucified me in the press."

In 2015, some residents accused Bagneris and other legal representatives of getting rich off of the hardships theyd endured at Gordon Plaza. In an earlier ruling, the housing authoritys insurance companies were ordered to pay residents $14.2 million, but roughly half the settlement went to Bagneris, four other lawyers and a court-appointed administrator. That left about $7 million to be divided between legal fees and more than 5,000 residents, resulting in an average settlement of a few hundred dollars per person.

Bagneris said the $75 million will be fairly apportioned based on the number of years each resident lived in Gordon Plaza, the locations of their homes, and other factors. For instance, someone who lived in Gordon Plaza for 20 or more years could receive $25,000 and 20% of the value of their home.

But homes built on toxic land have little value, and the individual portions from the judgement may be too low to help many residents purchase homes elsewhere in New Orleans, Perkins said.

My property taxes were $57 last year, he said. That gives you an idea of the value of my house.

Most of the 65 homes that remain at Gordon Plaza are owner-occupied.

In 2019, a report from the Louisiana Tumor Registry found that the Desire neighborhood, which includes Gordon Plaza, has the second-highest consistent rate of cancer in the state.

Gordon Plaza was built atop the Agriculture Street landfill during the 1970s and promoted as inexpensive housing for Black residents. The sites toxic legacy wasnt widely known until 1994, when it was labeled one of the U.S.s most contaminated Superfund properties by the federal government.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fenced off part of the site, removed about 2 feet of soil in some areas and then placed mats and clean dirt over some of the contaminated soil.

Claiming the remediation wasnt enough to protect residents from toxic chemical exposure, Bagneris filed suit in 1993. The plaintiffs scored their first significant victory in 2006, when a Civil District Court judge found the city, housing authority and school district liable for the dangers posed by building homes and a school on top of the landfill.

This weeks judgment links liability with an actual payment amount, but it isnt the full measure of justice residents seek, Perkins said.

We still have to fight fiercely to make this right, he said.

+8 Two explosions follow decades of fires, toxic leaks, injuries at Westlake Chemical plants The chemical plant explosion that recently injured at least six people, forced several schools into lockdown and sent a dark plume of smoke ov
BEIJING, March 15 -- Vessels attached to a naval landing ship group under the PLA Northern Theater Command conducted a three-day non-stop assessment in waters of the Yellow Sea. During the assessment, the vessels encountered scenarios of floating mines and fire accident on a consort ship. Sailors quickly dealt with the situations and accomplished the designated tasks.
Wait until you see the sandals. Theyre weightlessly elegant, made from some sort of natural fiber, woven into a tight pattern that looks a little like snakeskin. The sole is paper-thin, and the straps are utterly simple, just two graceful arches.

You could easily see Beyonce rocking a pair right now, around the pool. But heres the thing, the sandals might be fit for a Queen Bey, but they were made for a real queen. A queen who died more than 3,000 years ago.

The royal sandals are just one of the time-defying wonders in the exhibit "Queen Nefertaris Egypt," which opens Friday at the New Orleans Museum of Art. The 230-piece show centers on the one for whom the sun shines, the most important wife of Ramesses II, arguably the most powerful pharaoh in one of the worlds great civilizations. But the exhibit attempts to go beyond the life and afterlife of the beyond rich and famous queen to shine a light on the lives of ordinary women in the era more than 1,000 years before Christ and Cleopatra.

Nefertaris tomb was rediscovered in 1904. It remains the most spectacular of any yet found, despite the fact that it had been trashed by looters, long, long ago. The tomb spanned roughly 6,000 square feet, which is roughly the footprint of the NOMA exhibit.

Like the tomb, the sprawling show is divided into sections.

First is a stunning selection of more-or-less life-size monuments carved from stone in the stiff, robot-like style that characterizes Egyptian artwork. That's the mother goddess Mut, seated to right of Ramesses II. She was probably the most important deity to Queen Nefertari. And that's the fierce goddess Sekhmet, standing up over there, whose lioness face is haloed by sunlight. She probably also played a role in the queen's spiritual outlook.

As a sort of comic surrealist touch, the first room of the exhibit includes a stone carving of a pharaohs nose, as big as a Thanksgiving turkey, that was knocked off of a gigantic portrait statue in the distant past.

The next section of the show includes a selection of smaller, more personal artifacts that represent a royal harem. The carved wooden flute, the bronze tweezers, the translucent alabaster bowl, the keepsake box and a gorgeous bead necklace made with some sort of an alluring blood orange-colored stone all indicate a genteel lifestyle available to a pharaohs many wives, if not the majority of women.

Next stop is the town of Deir el-Medina, an enclave of the artists and craftsmen that produced artistic marvels like those found elsewhere in the exhibit. Here are the wooden mallets, the bronze chisels, paintbrushes, pallets and plumb lines that gave us our image and knowledge of the long-ago, alien culture.

The climax of the exhibit is the room containing remnants from the great Nefertaris tomb. There, in the center, is the massive, stone crypt meant to protect the great queen in death. It is shattered, probably by ancient vandals. On one wall is a squad of small doll-like figurines that symbolized the helpful souls who would attend the queen in the netherworld.

Elsewhere is an amphora that may have contained wine, oil or grain to sustain a queen through eternity, and of course, the marvelous sandals, which the queen would wear as she strode through the clouds in her version of heaven.

The show concludes with an eerie selection of wooden sarcophagi painted with skeins of hieroglyphics and the images of the one-time occupants. Sorry mummy lovers, there are no wrapped cadavers in the show. The most haunting object, in this haunting display, is an upright coffin painted with the glowing face of a young woman. The Mona Lisa has nothing on her sweet, sad, contemplative smile.

Sweet, sad contemplation is at the heart of Queen Nefertaris Egypt.

The exhibit is a time machine that takes us back to riverside culture at roughly the same latitude as New Orleans, only on the other side of the Earth and millennium before. As remote and exotic as that world was, its the familiarity that is so magnetic.

Somewhere in the show is a sleek black cat staring imperiously into the distance, just like the cat that  despite repeated warnings  is standing on your kitchen counter right now. Elsewhere is a wooden carving of an egret, just like the kind you see inspecting the grass in City Park. And somewhere in the show stands a charming trio of blue anthropomorphized crocodile figurines, not too different from the alligator saltshakers for sale in French Quarter shops.

The people who made and occupied these caskets, worshipped these gods and cherished these treasures, werent really much different from us. They strove to control what could be controlled, and to understand the powers that govern the uncontrollable. "Queen Nefertaris Egypt" is a show about the permanence of some objects and  as importantly  the impermanence of so many others. Above all, its a show about mortality, and futile attempts to deny it. Death, it seems, seeks out even the immeasurably powerful. Time erodes and erases all mighty civilizations.

A final note: Its easy to confuse Queen Nefertari and Queen Nefertiti, who wore the crown 100 years before and is remembered for her striking portrait bust. But they were different women, from very different political eras. (Nefertiti is the namesake of New Orleans newest Carnival float parade, that rolled in New Orleans East for the first time in 2020. Nefertari once had her own parade too, that rolled in Algiers-Terrytown from 1975 to 1995, when it too faded from history.)

"Queen Nefertaris Egypt" continues through July 18 at NOMA, 1 Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park. During the run of the show, NOMA will be open Sunday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Adult admission is $25, with senior, student and military discounts. Members admitted free. Louisiana residents admitted free to the museum on Wednesdays, but will pay $10 to see the "Queen Nefertari's Egypt" exhibition. For information on timed entry and special ticket prices for this exhibit, visit the NOMA website.
A mix of rising New Orleans culinary talent and more established local names will continue in the running for this year's James Beard Foundation awards.

The foundation today announced the finalists for this year's awards, drawn from the much larger initial list of semifinalists released last month. New Orleans had a dozen semifinalists, and now six (including two co-chefs from one restaurant) continue on. Chef and restaurant awards winners will be named during a gala event in Chicago on June 13.

These awards are closely watched across the hospitality industry and many New Orleans restaurants, chefs and even bars have taken home the honors in different categories year after year.

This year marks a return for the awards program, and some changes.

The awards were put on hold in 2020 and 2021. The foundation conducted an audit of its award program, focusing on diversity, equity and accessibility. The contenders announced for national and regional award categories shows a broader range of restaurant styles, price ranges and cuisines.

New Orleans finalists by category are:

Outstanding Restaurant

Brennans Restaurant (417 Royal St., 504-525-9711), the revived French Creole classic, brought back from the brink of closure in 2014 by a different branch of the founding family.

Emerging Chef

Serigne Mbaye, for Dakar NOLA (see exploretock.com/dakarnola), the pop-up and communal dinner series blending Senegalese and Creole cuisine.

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Best Chef: South

This regional award covers Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico.

Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith, of Saint-Germain (3054 St. Claude Ave., 504-218-8729), the tasting menu bistro fused to an anytime wine bar in Bywater.

Melissa Martin, of Mosquito Supper Club (3824 Dryades St., 504-494-9777), serving a taste of bayou country home cooking in an Uptown cottage.

Isaac Toups, of Toups Meatery (845 N. Carrollton Ave., 504-252-4999) a perennial contender for this award for his robust take on Cajun roots cooking.

The other finalists in the Best Chef: South category are Adam Evans of Automatic Seafood and Oysters, Birmingham, Alabama, and Timothy Hontzas of Johnnys Restaurant in Homewood, Alabama.

+13 See New Orleans chefs, restaurants, bar named semifinalists as James Beard Awards return After a hiatus in 2020 and 2021, the awards program from the James Beard Foundation is back and has announced this years semifinalists. As us
The long push to tear down Interstate 10 over North Claiborne Avenue received a critical endorsement earlier this spring, when President Joe Bidens $2 trillion infrastructure proposal specifically called out the span that bisects Treme as a historic inequity in need of removal.

But White House support is only one of many things that would need to fall into place in order to return Claiborne to its former glory. Preliminary studies conducted over the past decade suggest years of additional planning and construction  and the outlay of potentially billions of dollars  would need to happen before the project comes to fruition.

And while Mayor LaToya Cantrells administration is eagerly eying the federal funds that could be available under the infrastructure plan, officials said this week that Claiborne isn't near the top of the city's wish list of needed projects.

Ramsey Green, Cantrell's deputy chief administrative officer for infrastructure, said in an interview Wednesday that drainage work, improvements to the drinking water system and repairs to surface streets are all better candidates for federal money than what would be a massive, years-long project to reroute traffic through the city.

I think about residents and what the major priorities are, Green said. My interpretation is that their priorities are: dont have boil water advisories, that water doesnt flood in our neighborhoods and we figure out a way that, if were going to see the impacts of climate change in our city, that were prepared for it.

+5 With Louisiana's failing infrastructure in the spotlight, Joe Biden pitches $2T plan to fix it President Joe Biden pitched his plan to modernize the countrys infrastructure during two Louisiana stops on Thursday, telling a small crowd i

Even if the Cantrell administration threw its full weight behind taking down the Claiborne Expressway, there would be significant hurdles.

First, Bidens infrastructure proposal is still tied up in Congress, where it is expected to face broad  if not complete  opposition from Republicans in both the House and Senate. It remains unclear what the final bill will look like, or if it will include explicit funding for two highway removal projects  in New Orleans and Syracuse, New York  highlighted by the White House when it unveiled its plan.

Whatever the final outcome, the Biden administration has said it would be up to city leaders to decide how to best spend the money in their communities.

Thats up to the locals and we would leave that to the mayor to decide her priorities, said Cedric Richmond, who represented New Orleans in Congress before becoming the head of Bidens Office of Public Engagement.

But the lack of interest from the city  particularly when the federal government seems eager to put its weight and funding behind the project  has riled some long time advocates. By not centering the removal of the Claiborne Expressway in their plans, the Cantrell administration is ignoring an unjust history that continues to reverberate through the area to this day, said Amy Stelly, an urban planner who has long led the efforts to remove the interstate.

President Joe Biden to tour S&WB's Carrollton Plant this week, according to White House President Joe Biden has argued his wide-ranging, $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan is a solution to decades of underinvestment in roads, pipes

"When you look at what this inflicts, not to mention the economic hardship and disinvestment it brings, yes it needs to be at the top of the list if we want to make New Orleans a healthy and viable city," Stelly said. "Clearly the people are not first here."

Years of planning

Taking down the Claiborne Expressway has been talked about for years, though never with the kind of detail that would be needed to move forward with a plan. Both a report written to guide the New Orleans' recovery after Hurricane Katrina and its 2008 master plan called for the city to look into whether, and how, to remove the highway.

The first step in that direction was a 2010 report by the Congress of New Urbanism, which has advocated for the removal of urban freeways that bisect communities as I-10 does. That study painted a picture of the possibilities that could exist on Claiborne, including its return as a boulevard and the recreation of the historic traffic circle at St. Bernard Avenue that predated the highway.

Four years after that plan, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded a study that laid out how it all might be accomplished. A team of transit planners, economic-development consultants and other experts created a menu of options that ranged from full removal of the highway from St. Bernard Avenue to Tulane Avenue to leaving it in place but getting rid of a few on-ramps at key intersections.

The most expansive plan would reconfigure the Pontchartrain Expressway on the edge of the Warehouse District and build collector roads to handle the 140,000 cars and trucks  including port traffic  that travel the Claiborne Expressway each day. A new highway would run from Broad Street to Tchoupitoulas Street to help move traffic around the East Bank while the Pontchartrain Expressway brought traffic across the Mississippi River.

+5 Biden infrastructure plan would 'redress historic inequities,' like this New Orleans highway The proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan being unveiled by President Joe Biden Wednesday is aimed at fixing thousands of roads and bridges

That proposal, which estimated no change in travel times for most trips within the city, also called for hundreds of millions in investments in rapid-transit improvements and a streetcar line along Claiborne, pushing the total costs above $4 billion.

In its initial roll-out of the infrastructure plan, the Biden administration said it would be dedicating a total of $20 billion to a program to reconnect neighborhoods cut off by past infrastructure investments.

The U.S. interstate highway system was a modern marvel that sped travel across the country and spurred the growth of hundreds of cities and suburbs. But it also accelerated White flight from urban areas while many of its spurs  particularly those running through inner cities  sliced through minority communities and devastated thriving neighborhoods.

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'Main Street of Black New Orleans'

Before the elevated expressway was built, Claiborne Avenue was the oak-lined heart of Treme known as "the Main Street of Black New Orleans" with shops and other businesses catering to the community.

That changed with a 1946 plan to update the city's arterial system. It was initially designed by famed city planner Robert Moses, who became infamous for slicing highways through poor neighborhoods, including the Cross-Bronx Expressway in New York City. In New Orleans, Moses sought to build an expressway not through Treme but along the riverfront of the French Quarter, which was then a White working-class neighborhood.

+2 Claiborne Avenue study looks at removing ramps but leaving elevated expressway It began in 2010 with a proposal to tear down the elevated Interstate 10 expressway over North Claiborne Avenue. It then expanded into a much 

Moses discouraged building a highway over Claiborne Avenue because it was outside the city center and because of its potential effects on the area, according to Tulane University geographer Richard Campanella.

But a decade later the City Planning Commission added it to the plans anyway. And while preservationists successfully scuttled the riverfront highway, the Black residents of Treme didn't have the same political clout.

The undoing of similar historic errors has occurred in other cities as urban cores have seen a revival. But they've cost billions of dollars and taken decades. The Big Dig in Boston, which took down an elevated expressway, replaced it with parks and rerouted traffic underground, took more than 25 years.

Jeff Roesel, who heads the New Orleans Metropolitan Regional Planning Commission, noted that a much simpler project than the Big Dig or removing the Claiborne Expressway  the widening of I-10  is still underway in Jefferson Parish nearly 20 years after it was first approved.

I dont want to say it cant be done because if youve got enough time and money you can do a whole bunch of stuff. But it would be very challenging, Roesel said.

Other priorities

Green, the citys infrastructure chief, said the city had not requested that the White House highlight Claiborne Avenue when it promoted the infrastructure plan. On reading those early materials, Green said he saw it less as a specific project to be pursued than a warning about the damage that can be caused by projects built without measuring the human cost of installing such infrastructure.

But at the moment, Green said, the citys priorities are focused on other concerns: fixing its ancient and broken drainage system and streets.

In terms of righting past wrongs, Ramsey suggested that providing justice for the residents of Gordon Plaza, a neighborhood of 54 homes built on a landfill near Florida Avenue, and restoring Lincoln Beach, a recreation area on Lake Pontchartrain for Black residents during segregation, are on officials minds.

New Orleans is now in the midst of a citywide road reconstruction program, primarily funded by a $2.4 billion settlement with FEMA for damage during Hurricane Katrina. Even after that work is done, the city has estimated that another $800 million will be needed to fix roads deemed to be failing and $1.2 billion to fix drainage lines throughout the city, Green said.

Weve got to do some real heavy lifting before we can make that a priority, Green said of Claiborne.

Stelly challenged the idea that Claiborne isn't the nexus of all the other issues the city has sought to address, pointing to the economic impacts, the drainage and environmental problems of dirty rainwater that now runs off the highway and the potential health effects of living on such a highly-trafficked corridor. She also blamed the interstate for attracting homeless residents and drug dealers to the neighborhood.

"One of the most obvious impacts is the total disinvestment in the neighborhood and yes there are things that are creeping back, but were looking at a 50-plus year period of disinvestment in addition to all the environmental ills and social ills that come with that," she said.

When it comes to what the city is hoping for out of the infrastructure bill, look no further than what it chose to show Biden when he was in town earlier this month. Instead of heading to Treme and the expressway, officials took Biden to the Sewerage & Water Boards Carrollton Plant, home of its creaking turbines and aging water system.

Still, much may depend on exactly how the final infrastructure plan is structured. Richmond said that, as designed, the infrastructure plan would put different types of funding in different buckets. New Orleans might be able to apply for money to improve streets and pipes while also seeking funds to take down the interstate.

Im interested in seeing where this could go, but when the White House mentions it, thats serious and it's important," Green said. "So we have sort of discussed it internally, discussed it with the (state Department of Transportation and Development) and were curious what kind of direction this might take.
Calling its reliance on Entergy power and infrastructure "not sustainable," Tulane University said it is fed up with disruptions to its operations because of electricity outages and is bolstering its back-up power ahead of hurricane season.

In a letter to students and faculty sent Friday, Tulane University President Michael Fitts and other school officials lamented the effect on the university from yet another major power outage Thursday that cut electricity to about 10,000 Entergy customers for parts of the day.

The outage, which utility officials said was likely due to an animal getting into a power station, knocked out power to Tulane's downtown New Orleans campus where its medical school, school of public health and many laboratories are located.

"We know this has been an extremely challenging week for all you as you confronted the second major power outage in eight months," the letter said. "Besides discomfort and inconvenience, outages such as these are a hazardous and an unacceptable disruption to our clinical, research, and educational missions."

Tulane said it had asked for a meeting with Entergy executives "to forcefully communicate" its concerns about how outages impact operations. And in a notable shot at Entergy's reliability, the university said it was adding generators while also working with an energy consultant to identify ways to be more self reliant in the future.

"We recognize that our total reliance on local power and infrastructure is not sustainable," the letter said. "Our ultimate goal through these improvements is (to) create a sustainable level of self-reliance and redundancy."

Criticism over outages

Entergy, in response, provided a statement via email: "Any outage is inconvenient and regrettable. We look forward to meeting with Tulanes leadership to address the needs of their students and campuses."

The utility said it has reduced the frequency and duration of outages by 30% since 2017, and noted that "outages caused by animals are not unique to New Orleans and have impacted customers across the nation."

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Entergy has faced criticism from residents and regulators in recent months over its performance during a winter blackout in 2021, the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and a series of smaller outages.

The letter from Tulane, which suggested that the university needs to increase its own energy investments because it can't rely on Entergy, added a major commercial customer to the list of public critics.

With its Uptown campus and downtown hospital, medical school and other facilities, Tulane is one of Entergy New Orleans' largest customers. In 2020, it used the equivalent of the power needed for 12,000 homes.

Entergy last year told investors that one of its top priorities was to try and prevent the loss of industrial and commercial customers who are seeking to go "behind the grid" by providing contracting with firms to build their own generating infrastructure, particularly renewable energy.

Tulane's letter didn't discuss the specifics of any long-term energy plans, and a spokesman declined to elaborate on the letter. But Fitts and other executives sought to assure faculty and students that the university was preparing for the coming hurricane season.

Tulane told its students and faculty last week that it plans soon to add generating capacity that will allow its 63,000 square foot J. Bennett Johnston Health & Environmental Research Building on Tulane Avenue to be fully powered during an outage.

The university added generating capacity after last summer's outage to provide limited power to that building as well as the nearby Hutchinson Memorial Building, a medical facility. The letter said that it will add generating capacity by June of this year that will ensure that both the Bennett Johnston and Hutchinson buildings can maintain full power in the event of an outage.

Also, a temporary generator will be put in place to power the Deming Pavilion, a residence for medical students with 300 apartments, by the start of the 2022 hurricane season, Tulane leadership promised.

Longer term, the university leaders said they plan to acquire permanent generators for all of those buildings as well as for the environmental science building on Perdido Street and for the 26-story Tidewater building on Canal Street, which houses the university's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Staff writer Carlie Kollath Wells contributed to this report.
OCHSNER HEALTH NETWORK: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana has awarded Tier 5 status to the Ochsner Health Network. Ochsner achieved the top-tier ranking based on its performance relative to chronic disease care goals. It earned high scores across categories, including hypertension, optimal diabetes care, optimal vascular care, and optimal chronic kidney disease care.

FREE OVERDOSE RESCUE PACKS: Jefferson Parish has partnered with University Medical Center New Orleans, the Spirit of Charity Foundation, St. Bernard Parish and Orleans Parish to offer free overdose rescue packs to anyone over the age of 18. The packs include one dose of intranasal naloxone, along with instructions on how to identify an overdose and administer the medication, which is designed to rapidly reverse the life-threatening effects of an opioid overdose. The packs can be obtained Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at these locations:

Fire Station No. 13: 4642 Calumet St., Metairie

Fire Station No. 26: 115 Hickory Ave.

Fire Station No. 31: 10423 Jefferson Highway, River Ridge

Fire Station No. 39: 401 Vintage Drive, Kenner

Fire Station No. 76: 4040 U.S. 90, Avondale.

AUTISM INDICATORS: People on the autism spectrum now have the option to have an autism indicator added to their driver's license, appearing under the driver's picture. Verification of the diagnosis of autism by a mental health professional is required. LA Wallet users can display the autism indicator on their license in the LA Wallet app. The purpose of the indicator is to ease interactions between law enforcement officers and people with autism.

AL-ANON: People whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking may find help through an Al-Anon family group. These family groups bring together relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experiences to solve their common problems. For information about support groups in the New Orleans area, visit www.neworleansafg.org.

ALATEEN: Teenagers whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking may find help through an Alateen support group. For information about support groups in the New Orleans area, visit www.neworleansafg.org.
New Orleans prosecutors began laying out their case on Tuesday against a Mississippi financial planner who they say enticed a woman back to his Warehouse District loft in 2016 and raped her.

William McDonough, 49, was charged with second-degree rape in the Sept. 15, 2016 incident. He faces two additional counts of second-degree rape stemming from encounters with two other women who alleged they were victims of sexual assault.

In opening statements, Orleans Parish prosecutors said McDonough invited the woman back to his apartment after their first date, but she declined, saying she did not want to have sex with McDonough.

But according to Assistant District Attorney Mary Glass, the woman agreed to go to McDonoughs apartment after he offered her leftover spaghetti. There, prosecutors said, the six-foot two-inch, 200-pound man allegedly overpowered the five-foot four-inch, 100-pound woman, took off her clothes and raped her.

After, the woman went to a hospital. DNA taken from her thighs matched McDonough's DNA.

McDonough has been held in jail since 2019. He is expected to face separate trials on the additional rape counts. Prosecutors said they will call as witnesses those two women who will testify that McDonough allegedly forced himself on them after nights of drinking. In one incident, they said, a woman ended up with a black eye; in another, she suffered a concussion and fractured ribs.

McDonough has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, and in opening statements his attorney, Cameron Mary, indicated that the defense intended to raise questions about the credibility of the women.

That is a tragic story, a terrible story  if only it were true, said Mary.

The details of the womans story wont make sense, Mary said, and later added that another witness is all over the map, with an ax to grind against [McDonough] following a breakup.

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During testimony later Tuesday, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, who is co-prosecuting the trial, questioned a man who said he had known McDonough for 15 years.

Williams asked the man to read a series of graphic texts sent between the two friends on Sept. 16, 2016 that described sexual acts between McDonough and the woman, prompting the friend to text McDonough, Did you rape her?

McDonough replied no, but admitted to being aggressive with the woman.

The kickoff of the trial Tuesday in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier's courtroom followed a long day of jury selection that focused heavily on the definition of consent, and what non-verbal cues give permission or rescind it.

They also followed motions by the defense to quash the indictment against McDonough for prosecutorial misconduct and exclude evidence they argued wasn't provided to them in a timely fashion. The motions alleged prosecutors emailed 112 hours worth of phone calls recorded from the New Orleans jail, where McDonough has been held, just five days before the trial was set to begin.

The recordings included 69 calls between McDonough and his defense team, according to the motions.

Flemings-Davillier rejected the motion to quash the indictment and declined to rule on the motion to exclude the phone calls as evidence, according to court staff, opting instead to address it should prosecutors attempt to use the calls as evidence against McDonough.

In a statement, Williams called the allegations contained in the motions patently baseless.

He said that prosecutors did not listen to the attorney-client calls, which will not be a part of the states case. We simply as a courtesy turned over every call recorded to the defense.
The New Orleans coroner has identified Love Williams, 46, as the man shot dead in Leonidas early Sunday morning.

Williams was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting in the 8300 block of Zimpel Street, according to New Orleans police.

Police responded to a report of shots fired at around 1:04 a.m. They found Williams unresponsive and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police did not release information about a possible suspect or motive.

Anyone with information about the homicide may contact Detective John Bakula at (504) 658-5300 or call Crimestoppers anonymously at (504) 822-1111.
HOUMA, La.  A White high-schooler has been charged with a hate crime after being caught on video throwing cotton balls at a Black student and whipping him with his belt, authorities said Wednesday.

The 15-year-old freshman at Vandebilt Catholic High School in Houma was arrested Tuesday on battery and hate crime charges after authorities reviewed a recording showing what happened inside the cafeteria on March 9.

The video shows the White student walking up behind a Black student sitting in the crowded lunchroom. He throws a handful of cotton balls at him, and then whips him repeatedly with his belt until the Black student stands and pushes him, news outlets reported.

"I'm very pleased that the school took a front stand on this," Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet said in a news release.

"When we received the complaint, we immediately put our detectives on it. They worked through the weekend so we could get to this point," Soignet said. "My officers did a good job handling it and working with the school to get this case to where it is now."

News outlets reported that the victim is one of only a few Black students at the school. Authorities didn't identify the students, and it wasn't clear if the arrested teen has a lawyer who could speak for him.

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Vandebilt Catholic President Jeremy Gueldner said the school does not tolerate bullying or racism. These "actions by a few are not consistent with the values and mission of our school," the archdiocese statement said.

The parents of the child who was targeted thanked people for their support.

"We will continue to pray for our school community as a whole, that we not only get through this together but that we each learn a valuable lesson from what has taken place," the parents said in the archdiocese statement.

Terrebonne Parish NAACP President Jerome Boykin also praised school officials and police for their swift response, saying the school and sheriff's office "sent a strong message to the community that this type of crime will not be tolerated."

"The young man is only 15 years of age and I hope that he can learn from his mistake," Boykin added.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office has refused the criminal charge against a man arrested in connection with the highly-publicized attack of an intensive care unit nurse at Ochsner Medical Center's West Bank Campus.

Quincy Quinn, 48, of New Orleans, was booked with battery of a health care worker in the Jan. 27 attack. But his attorney, Eusi Phillips, said Quinn was not at the hospital when the nurse was injured.

During a March 7 hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court, the District Attorney's Office refused the charge against Quinn, citing "further investigation by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office," according to court records.

"[Quincy] didn't go to the hospital at all," Phillips said. "I believe that when the state finally discovered that, that led to the ultimate refusal of the charges."

Because of the pending investigation, the District Attorney's Office declined to comment Wednesday.

Quinn had been accused of knocking a male nurse unconscious while visiting a patient at the hospital, located on Belle Chase Highway in unincorporated Gretna, according to authorities. The unidentified nurse suffered a broken jaw and broken teeth and underwent surgery, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The attacker, who was with an undisclosed number of other relatives of the patient, left the hospital before authorities arrived. Investigators have not released any details about what led up to the attack.

On Wednesday, Phillips revealed that Quinn's mother and father had both been treated at the hospital for COVID-19. His mother died of the virus, and it was Quinn's father who was hospitalized and died on the day of the incident, Phillips said. The family was frustrated with the care the couple had received.

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But Quinn, who did not want to see his father die as well, hadn't come to the hospital that day, according to Phillips. He was home asleep when he received a call that his father had died.

"That's why, when he got arrested, everyone was in shock," Phillips said.

Deputies who responded to the hospital after the attack weren't able to get any information that helped identify the suspect, according to authorities. The Sheriff's Office released an image of a suspect taken from hospital surveillance cameras, and Ochsner officials put up a $12,500 reward.

Quinn was evenutally named as the attacker through Crimestoppers tips and and the investigation, according to the Sheriffs Office. He was taken into custody Feb. 6 when he was recognized while seeking medical treatment at St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Chalmette.

"Refusing the charges was the right thing to do, and we're grateful for that," Phillips said.

Phillips said he does not have any information about the identity of the actual perpetrator of the nurse's attack.

Quinn was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center after the charge refusal, but was transported to Orleans Parish where he was wanted by New Orleans police in connection with a shooting outside of a Treme nightclub that left one man wounded, according to authorities.

Quinn was booked in New Orleans with aggravated second-degree battery, illegally carrying a weapon and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, court records said. He was released on a $70,000 bond.
MBABANE  The august House has adopted the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs budget of over E68 million.

The amount is for the 2022/23 financial year. It was passed during the House of Assembly Sitting on March 9, 2022. This came after their second sitting as the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs portfolio committee debated on issues pertaining the ministry performance in the past year along with their plans for the upcoming financial year. The legislators adopted the report and further passed the recurrent expenditure for the ministry of E51 394 229 and a capital expenditure of E17 295 000 which totalled to E68 689 229.

During the tabling of the report, Minister Harris Madze Bulunga highlighted some of the key achievements from the 2021/22 financial year. He noted that the ministry was allocated a total budget of E66 347 235, inclusive of recurrent budget of E51 347 235 and a capital budget of E15 000 000, intended for phase three of the rehabilitation of Somhlolo National Stadium.

The report further states that of the recurrent expenditure, E32 876 334 was allocated as subventions to the ministrys public enterprises. As a result, the Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture (ENCAC) received a portion of E3 979 360 for the current financial year. The Eswatini National Youth Council (ENYC) rolled out the out-of-school Life Skills Education pilot programme as well as a behavioural mindset change programme. The Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture continued to support artists particularly in taking their art towards digital platforms in view of the restrictions brought about by COVID-19, said Bulunga.

Meanwhile, MP Macford Sibandze wanted to know what was being done with regards to capital projects plans on art infrastructure like theaters and Bulunga responded by saying the ministry continued to explore opportunities to support the youth involved in the arts sector. Moreover, the ministry was advised to explore more funding opportunities with partners outside of government to which he responded by saying, We are already engaging partners outside of government in strengthening some of our programmes as seen with programmes such as the Youth Fund Khula Natsi partnership that the fund has with MTN Eswatini.

Furthermore, Kwaluseni MP Mabhanisi Dlamini requested that Kwaluseni Inkhundla be one of the tinkhundla the ministry considered first for the recreational facilities upgrading programme, citing that Kwaluseni did not have any recreational facilities yet the area was densely populated. The minister responded by saying his ministry would draw up a plan for the programme while considering a variety of factors. He further stated that once this was finalised, the public and MPs would be notified.
At the start of this year, New Orleans police were responding to an average of two carjackings a day, the highest rate in at least a decade. Community outrage reached a fever pitch and public officials pledged to stanch the crime wave with a series of swift measures, from increasing funding for various programs to reviving the Police Department's multi-agency gang unit.

Since then, the rate of carjackings has fallen by two-thirds, giving some leaders hope that those strategies are beginning to produce results. But experts caution it is way too soon to make that assessment, and say short-term fluctuations in data do not always represent the trajectory of a long-term trend.

As of Monday, carjackings had dropped 66%, from the 53 in late January to 17 in the 30-day period ending March 14.

Obviously, its good when theres a drop  we prefer that, but it doesnt say anything big picture about whats happening, said crime analyst and City Council consultant Jeff Asher. Its hard to say whats causing it or if its sustainable.

Late last year, alarm bells went off among residents and business owners as New Orleans suffered a surge in attackers violently stealing occupied cars. In October, police responded to nine carjackings over a 30-day period. That number rose dramatically until it hit its peak on Jan. 26.

A brutal carjacking at the Costco store gas station on South Carrollton Avenue on Feb. 1 left a local realtor and mother of two with a fractured skull. The incident led to protests. A suspect was arrested in that case and allegedly confessed to the murder of a 12-year-old boy the previous month.

Accusations about who was to blame for the crime wave flew back and forth between Police Superintendent Shaun Ferguson and District Attorney Jason Williams. And as demonstrators prepared to rally outside New Orleans City Hall and demand safer streets, Ferguson and Williams put their differences aside and announced that they would bring back the Multi-Agency Gang Unit.

That team of local, state and federal law enforcement agents built elaborate criminal cases against alleged serial criminals and their associates throughout the 2010s, but was ultimately disbanded as the number of killings in New Orleans fell to historic lows in 2019.

City Council members, for their part, proposed a new recruitment and retention plan at the New Orleans Police Department, a third-party audit of the NOPD budget, more funding for license-plate readers, the creation of a city-run DNA lab, and consolidating some of the agency's eight patrol districts.

Council members also want numerous changes to local court systems: a single database that includes everything from criminal to traffic court; a more transparent process for picking magistrate commissioners who set bail; and more youth services at juvenile court.

Why the drop?

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Many of the safety proposals havent yet been implemented. But already, things seem momentarily less dire.

City Council President Helena Moreno said she hoped the changes were showing early results, but acknowledged other factors may be at play. For example, Carnival may have created a lull in violent crime activity, she said.

She and City Council criminal justice committee chairman Oliver Thomas also said police may be arresting more people who are responsible for multiple carjackings, though authorities have stopped short of publicly confirming that is the case.

Asher, the crime analyst consultant for the City Council, said his caution about the numbers is largely rooted in the fact that carjackings across the city remain unusually high despite the drop.

At this point in 2021, there had been fewer than 60 carjackings in New Orleans. This year, there have been more than 80, representing an increase of nearly 44%, the councils statistics show.

Additionally, past years have seen seen drops in carjacking complaints rebound quickly. For instance, from late 2015 to the end of 2016, the city went from 28 carjackings over a 30-day period to nine a few months later, then back up to 28.

Toward the end of 2020, the city reported 47 carjackings over a 30-day period. That rate fell to 9 in 30 days in late October before leading to the Jan. 26 peak.

A senior law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, concurred with Asher, saying theres little to suggest the current drop is anything other than a regression to the mean, even as officers work diligently to arrest carjacking suspects and other accused violent criminals.

Rhonda Findley, who collected nearly 4,900 signatures for a petition asking Gov. John Bel Edwards to send the National Guard to New Orleans, wants to see even more drastic measures than the current proposals, especially if the 1,100-officer Police Department remains below the agency's self-described ideal staffing size of 1,600.

"You're talking about a 30-day trend when it was cold, it was Mardi Gras, and people were distracted," Findley said. "I would not say we are in a winning trend ... when going to the gas station is life-threatening."

Whatever the case, Thomas said the council, the mayor and law enforcement has a responsibility to follow through on their proposed reforms to fix the carjacking scourge.

Our challenge is how do we create a sustainable environment, not from one crime wave to the next, but from one decade to the next, Thomas said. I have no doubt we will suppress crime, but the question is, will it be sustainable this time?
Ben Franklin High School geometry teacher Jay Weisman strolled into the school gymnasium with all the other teachers, faculty and students Tuesday morning, expecting a typical morning assembly.

But for the media and education leaders in attendance, it appeared to be an ordinary event: the Voodoo Volts robotics team demonstrated their ball-launching robot and the head of school, Patrick Widhalm, addressed the room.

But then Lowell Milken, the founder of Milken Educator Awards, told the crowd that one of the school's teachers was about to receive a $25,000 check in recognition for their teaching.

Then he said Weisman's name and the gym exploded with cheering and applause.

"Honor of my life"

"To say I'm overwhelmed and floored is an understatement," Weisman said after he was handed a gigantic check. "But what cannot be understated is the thanks that all the people in this room should get. From the teachers in the back to the administrators in the front and the students here - it's for you that we get up every day and we do this and we show up and we put in our heart and we put in our soul.

Weisman said he was a high school student in the waiting room at an eye doctor appointment discussing his future with his mother when he decided he wanted to be a teacher. As a musical theater kid with a desire to make a difference and a love of learning the career choice made sense, he said.

"It's been an honor of my life and it's what I've dedicated myself to doing," Weisman said. "It really is a great choice that sometimes is overlooked by great students."

He said he hasn't decided how he'll use the money, which has no spending stipulations.

The Milken Educator Award

For 35 years, officials with the Milken Family Foundation have traversed the country awarding $25,000 grants to early-to-mid-career teachers who are surprised with the awards at school-wide assemblies.

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"I'm sure that every successful person here today will tell you that there was a teacher or two who helped you along the way," Milken said. "Despite the critical role that teachers play, it's odd in our society that we do little to recognize them."

Charles Greiner said winning the award in 2001 as a psychology teacher in Maryland allowed him to pursue an advanced degree and eventually move to Louisiana, where he now teaches psychologyat Grace King High School in Metairie. "This award will change your life," he said.

Enthusiasm and unbridled joy

David Ferris, a Ben Franklin assistant principal, said Weisman is "one of the most enthusiastic people I've ever met." He orchestrated summer school last year -- the first time in the school's history -- and is chairperson of the union. He started a food drive for needy students, collecting supplies underneath a table in his classroom.

Students often request Weisman to emcee events because of the energy he brings to the room, Ferris said.

He noted that Weisman ends his emails with an offer: "if there's anything else I can help you with let me know."

"A lot people write that, Jay actually means it," Ferris said.

Addressing the gym before Weisman was awarded the check, state Education Superintendent Cade Brumley asked students to consider becoming teachers.

"It is extremely hard work," Brumley said. "You're often undervalued and you're seldom praised enough, but teachers make a difference every single day."

After the festivities, Weisman strolled back to his classroom and energetically went over the answers to a LEAP practice test worksheet with the 9th and 10th graders in his first period class. After using a formula to solve for an angle measurement of a quadrilateral, occasionally jotting notes on the board, he asked the class if they thought they had arrived at the correct answer. He received a general murmur in response.

"Don't second guess yourself," he told the class.
Seeking to protect storm-vulnerable communities, the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Wednesday approved a plan to spend $1.35 billion on hurricane levees and coastal restoration projects in fiscal year 2023.

The 21-member board unanimously agreed to forward its proposed spending plan to the state Legislature, which has the final say on the matter. If approved, it will be the first time in 15 years that the state has spent over $1 billion to shore up its levees and coast.

The plan, which would be entirely funded with state money, includes construction funds for 92 projects, engineering and design money for another 41 projects, and planning money for nine projects.

In southeast Louisiana, 58 projects would be funded, including major wetlands restoration projects along Lake Borgne and in the LaBranche wetlands along Lake Pontchartrain. The Spanish Pass increment of the Barataria Basin ridge and marsh restoration project in Plaquemines Parish would also be funded, according to the plan.

The state would also pay for of the cost of levees and floodwalls at Rosethorne and Pailet Basin in the Lafitte area, parts of the New Orleans to Venice levee system in Plaquemines Parish, and part of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain levee in St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. James parishes.

Part of the design costs for the Upper Barataria Basin hurricane levee project on the west bank would also be covered, as would shoreline protection projects along the Jefferson Parish Lake Pontchartrain lakefront and at Port Fourchon.

The state would also fund a flood risk feasibility study for the Lafitte area.

Sarah Bradley and Brad Inman Sarah Bradley and Brad Inman, with the New Orleans district office of the Army Corps of Engineers, brief the state Coastal Protection and Rest

Also on Wednesday, Army Corps of Engineers officials updated authority members on the progress of several studies aimed at developing new flood reduction projects in St. Tammany Parish, along the Amite River, and elsewhere in the state.

Congress approved three-year studies of those projects in 2018, but in several cases, the Corps has either halted a study because of complications, or plans to return to Congress to ask for more time and more money to complete the work, officials said.

For example, a study aimed at building the proposed Darlington Dry Dam  aimed at relieving flooding on the Amite River through heavily populated areas of East Baton Rouge, Ascension and Livingston parishes  was initally paused because of concerns about the potential damage to those living downstream, should the project fail during a major flooding incident.

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The Corps also needed to look into potential "environmental justice" issues involving the effects of the project on communities to the north of the dams location, officials said.

Now, the Corps is now asking Congress for an additional $1.9 million and 28 months to complete the study, which also will include a review of additional so-called "nonstructural" alternatives, such as elevating or relocating homes in low areas south of the dam location that are now subject to flooding, said Sarah Bradley, a project manager with the Corps' New Orleans District office.

St. Tammany Parish flood study area This map shows the areas being studied by the Army Corps of Engineers for flood risk in St. Tammany Parish. (Army Corps of Engineers)

The Corps also needs Congressional approval for an 18-month delay in completing a flood feasibility study for St. Tammany Parish, which also will require an additional $1.8 million in funding, officials told the authority.

An initial version of the study called for a $4 billion project that would reduce flooding risk to 15,000 parish residents. The project calls for building a U-shaped levee around parts of Slidell to protect it from storm surges caused by a hurricane with a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year, a so-called 100-year storm.

It also proposes spending $2.2 billion on a nonstructural part of the project, to elevate more than 6,600 homes up to 13 feet and more than 1,850 nonresidential buildings up to 3 feet.

The Corps also is beginning work on a new study of flood and coastal storm risk management for Tangipahoa Parish. That study will be paid for by $3.2 million that was included in a recent Congressional disaster relief supplemental appropriations bill, though the money has not yet been received by the Corps New Orleans office. The state also must still sign an agreement to pay its share of the study costs with the Corps, officials said.

The Corps is closer to completion of its South Central Coast flood risk study, aimed at coastal portions of St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia parishes, where there are more than 175,000 residents.

The plan focused on elevating homes and floodproofing nonresidential structures whose first floor elevations were at or below a level for storm surges that have a 4 percent chance of occurring in any year, a so-called 25-year storm. Residences would be eligible to be elevated so their base flood eleation would be above

The plan calls for elevating 1,790 structures and dry floodproofing 265 businesses.

Eliminating the wet floodproofing option would result in 185 warehouse structures, including some at the Port of New Iberia, being left out of the plan, reducing the cost by $157 million. The option was determined to not be eligible for funding under present federal law.

The Corps expects a decision on whether the project should move forward in May, and if so, its authorization could be included in the 2022 version of the Water Resources Development Act, which would make it eligible for construction costs to be included in future federal budgets.
A proposal to make the Sewerage and Water Board a City Council-regulated utility drew a sharp rebuke from Mayor LaToya Cantrell Wednesday, who called it a direct attack on board leadership.

At a virtual S&WB board meeting, Cantrell and other board members unanimously adopted a resolution opposing a bill in the Louisiana Legislature, backed by City Council Vice President JP Morrell, to bring the board under direct council oversight.

The bill is being proposed at a time of frustration over surprise water bills and uncertainty over how to pay for a massive utility substation. The bills sponsor, state Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, has presented it as a step toward transparency and accountability.

Yet Cantrell said it would do little more than add "bureaucratic red tape" and she took exception to the idea that the board isnt already forthcoming.

"This utility was on fire when I came in as mayor almost four years ago," Cantrell said. "I worked very hard to create an effective board that has been leaning forward and getting the work done. This is not the time to change. This is a time to buckle down and continue the progress that this board, our leadership, is providing for this utility."

Hilferty's legislation defines the board, a state-created entity, as a public utility like Entergy New Orleans. By itself, its unclear how much power that language would grant to the council, which already sets the utility's rates. But the bill also explicitly states that the council would have the power to review the board's financial books, set the terms for its audits and issue subpoenas for its records.

Hilferty referred comment on the bill to Morrell. In a statement, Morrell said the legislation would strengthen the councils power to investigate problems that vex residents.

Of course, S&WB doesnt want investigations into billing. Of course, S&WB doesnt want transparency. Of course, S&WB doesnt want accountability for the money ratepayers give it, he said. This unanimous vote from the members of S&WB present illustrates the disconnect between them and the ratepayers who pay for their services.

Council vs. mayor

While the legislation would not do away with the boards current leadership structure, it would tilt the balance of power in the long-running tug-of-war between the council and the Mayors Office over the S&WB.

In 2013, former Mayor Mitch Landrieu successfully pushed a city charter change that eliminated three council seats on the board. At the time, city leaders cast it as a way to remove political interference and build confidence in the S&WB ahead a series of proposed rate increases.

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Morrell, then a state senator, helped steer the required state legislation, calling it a step in pushing back against "a culture of corruption."

But after dramatic street flooding in 2017 that led to calls for a new round of reform, Morrell sponsored legislation and helped convince voters to put a single council representative back on the board.

The board is currently overseen by an 11-member board of directors made up of the mayor, District C Council member Freddie King, two representatives of the Board of Liquidation and seven "citizen members" who are nominated by the mayor with council approval.

Cantrell said the board already makes "timely" reports to the council.

Rumble in the Red Stick

The board oversight bill is the latest sign of tension between Cantrell and Morrell, a former state legislator who on Monday took the unusual step of proposing his own legislative agenda. Morrell has also proposed requiring council approval for city department heads.

The bill potentially puts King, the council appointee to the board, in the hot seat. He left the virtual board meeting before the vote on the resolution and said later that he has not taken a position on Hilferty's legislation.

Cantrell has not announced her own agenda for the state legislative session that began Monday. Her office says it is focused on playing defense against any moves to cut city funding.

"Overall, I would describe our approach to the state legislative session as 'do no harm'," said Monika Gerhart, the city's director of intergovernmental relations.

In addition to the resolution, Cantrell on Wednesday travelled to Baton Rouge with Board President Pro Tem Tamika Duplessis and board member Janet Howard to meet with members of the New Orleans legislative delegation members and make a personal appeal against the bill.
The fate of a huge health care contract at the New Orleans jail was left up in the air Tuesday when city officials, faced with complaints about the quality of care provided by Wellpath LLC, delayed a decision on whether to replace that company with LSU Health New Orleans.

Wellpath, a titan in the jail and prison health care industry, says its too risky to switch providers as the Orleans Parish Sheriffs Office tries to complete a nine-year-old reform agreement. The sole other bidder for the city-managed contract, LSU Health, says a local, public institution can do better than a for-profit company based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Both sides faced questions at a City Hall purchasing bureau meeting that drew an unusual level of public input from doctors, community organizations and Sheriff-elect Susan Hutson.

In the end, the committee of city employees overseeing the selection process made no decision. Members said they wanted more public comment and more review of Wellpaths record in the parish jail.

A $93 million prize?

The exact size of the contract has yet to be decided, but if the current cost remains steady over the five-year period proposed in City Hall's solicitation it would pencil out to $93 million. Moreover, city officials have asked for new services, such as a plan to treat people with opioid use disorder with drugs such as buprenorphine.

Hutson wont take office until May 2 and doesnt have a vote in the contract selection. But Mayor LaToya Cantrell's administration has appointed her as a non-voting member of the selection committee.

The prospect of losing the contract drew more than a dozen Wellpath officials to the virtual hearing, including company President Kip Hallman.

Yet even before the meeting Wellpath was on the defensive: A coalition of groups, including the Orleans Public Defenders and Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition, sent a letter opposing a new contract for the company. So did a group of more than 100 doctors and medical students.

Jennifer Mansour, a Tulane University medical student who did a rotation as a medical advocate for the Orleans Public Defenders, said jailed clients receive vastly inferior care to patients she sees elsewhere. Mansour said jailed clients often go a week before receiving medications that are supposed to be delivered in 24 hours.

I don't believe that we do our communities right by continuing to provide this substandard care, Mansour said. Y'all have such a big decision to make here, and I really hope you'll consider a community-based provider.

'Proud' of performance

Hallman and other Wellpath officials said the private equity-owned company does the best job possible in challenging circumstances. They bristled at the idea that critical medications are delayed and chalked up some issues to shortages in the number of sheriff's deputies available to escort medical providers.

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They also claimed credit for some of the jails creeping progress toward fulfilling the 2013 federal reform agreement, known as a consent decree. Since the company began providing services in New Orleans in 2015, full or partial compliance with the consent decree has risen from 18% to 98%, they said.

Still, Hallman faced direct questioning from Hutson on the more than 1,000 lawsuits that have been filed against Wellpath, including several in New Orleans.

Hallman said 93% of lawsuits are dismissed completely, others are settled for small amounts and only one or two a year involve big payouts. Lawsuits are inevitable for a company that employs 15,000 people and serves 300,000 patients a day, he added.

Are we perfect? Absolutely not, Hallman said. We continue to work to get better, and I think overall were very proud of the work that we do.

The public option

While many of Wellpaths critics expressed a preference for a local, public institution, LSU Health New Orleans also faced skepticism.

The LSU proposal is led by the health sciences centers psychiatry department. Its department head, Dr. Rahn Bailey, faced multiple questions about whether LSU will be able to provide physical medical care in addition to mental health.

A Wellpath critic said that if New Orleans was concerned about the level of detail in the LSU Health proposal, it should request proposals all over again.

If the committee sees no alternative to Wellpath, then I think the move here is to delay, said Jared Miller, a supervising attorney for the Orleans Public Defenders. I understand that LSUs proposals may have its flaws, but Wellpath has proven over the course of the last decade that they cannot provide adequate care.

Bailey said the proposal had full support from other LSU Health New Orleans departments that would be able to provide staffers. He also promised that current Wellpath employees would be invited to continue working in the jail.

He said LSU Health has not previously managed a prison or jail health care contract. But he said he would take full responsibility for ensuring that the handover goes smoothly.

I think we have a good network, a good footprint of providers that can manage this process, and I think the transition will be seamless, he said.
Wind-whipped flames are marching across more of New Mexicos tinder-dry mountainsides, forcing the evacuation of area residents and dozens of patients from the state's psychiatric hospital as firefighters scramble to keep new wildfires from growing. The big blaze burning near the community of Las Vegas has charred more than 217 square miles. Residents in neighborhoods on the edge of Las Vegas were told to be ready to leave their homes. It's the biggest wildfire in the U.S. and is moving quickly through groves of ponderosa pine because of hot, dry and windy conditions that make for extreme wildfire danger. Forecasters are warning of extreme fire danger across New Mexico and in western Texas.
Williamsport, Pa.  Glen Taormina, 46, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly trafficking several hundred grams of methamphetamine and fentanyl in Northumberland County, according to the United States Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

The two-count indictment alleges that Taormina distributed 50 grams of methamphetamine on June 16, 2021.

Then on June 17, authorities said he possessed with the intent to deliver another 50 grams of methamphetamine, 40 grams of fentanyl, and detectable amounts of heroin.

The indictment also seeks the criminal forfeiture of $10,754 in cash recovered on June 17, 2021.

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney George J. Rocktashel is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty under federal law for each of these offenses is 40 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

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The Center Square  Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are pressuring the Internal Revenue Service over ongoing problems and unaddressed issues from last years filing season even as this years season is in full swing.

A bipartisan group of more than 100 lawmakers from the U.S. House and Senate sent a letter to the IRS raising concerns about continued confusion and numerous problems with the agency.

We remain concerned that the IRS does not have a comprehensive plan to remedy the numerous problems affecting taxpayers, despite the fact that this filing season is already well underway, the lawmakers wrote to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig. For example, there is continued confusion about which notices may be unilaterally suspended by the IRS, beyond the notices the IRS has already suspended, among other issues.

The problems began in the aftermath of President Joe Bidens Child Tax Credit, a monthly payment program that began last summer and continued through the end of the year. That federal program, administered by the IRS, distributed monthly payments to parents based on the age and number of their children.

The hefty bureaucratic undertaking, along with stimulus check distribution, resulted in major delays at the IRS.

The National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) published its federally commissioned report in December, which said that the IRS had 6.2 million unprocessed individual returns, 2.4 million unprocessed amended individual returns, 2.8 million unprocessed business returns, and 427,000 amended business returns. The NTA also reported the IRS had roughly 4.75 million pieces of unprocessed correspondence from taxpayers.

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the IRS in February with a similar theme, demanding the IRS remedy bureaucratic issues. Those Republicans also pointed to COVID-19 related telework policies allowing most IRS employees to work remotely.

For many Americans, their tax refund can equal six weeks of take-home income, the letter said. The volume of tax returns and refunds completed each year shows the far-reaching impact that processing delays could have for the average American. Processed returns are also essential for those who may be entitled to apply for other government benefits such as loans administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is therefore imperative that the IRS take steps to mitigate any processing delays, which can delay refunds and access to economic relief programs.

The Congressional inquiries have placed a steady stream of pressure on the agency. A bipartisan group of 214 lawmakers sent a letter to the IRS and Treasury Department in January, emphasizing the negative impact on small businesses.

In many cases, the delayed processing of amended returns has been devastating to small businesses in our communities whose applications for emergency loans from the Small Business Administration have been caught in limbo nearly two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the letter said. The situation has deteriorated to a point that the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) will no longer accept cases solely involving the processing of amended returns. This has made it impossible for frustrated taxpayers to find any help.

The IRS issued an urgent reminder in January, warning Americans to file electronically to help speed refunds this year.

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MBABANE  Are we digging a bigger hole into debt?

This was a question asked by senators yesterday during a Senate sitting, where Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg, tabled the African Development Bank (Support for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth Phase 1) Loan Bill no3, 2022. The minister, according to this Bill, is authorised to enter into an agreement with the lender for the purpose of raising a loan not exceeding US$36 million.

Worth noting is that the Bill has been considered and passed by the House of Assembly with amendments. Senators questioned whether the loan would not run roughshod on the economy.

If we say this loan will simply sustain the budget, can that statement be unpacked as to what it means? asked Senator Isaac Magagula. Senator Moi Moi Mailable wondered whether this loan would benefit the layman as it seemed as though it would only counter the budget. Senator Tony Tsabedze questioned Minister Rijkenberg on how the E3.8 billion deficit would be financed and whether the loan was part of financing the deficit.

Prince Mshengu stated that it was difficult to understand how the phases of the loans worked, as there was Phase One and Phase Two. In his response, Rijkenberg said the US$75 billion consensual funding was there because it was nearly impossible to get this type of funding. He further said the country was now in a healthy place in terms of debt. He said there was a debt bulletin which was now made public in the Eswatini Government website which details how the debt pool of the country was. He said the country needed this loan to supplement the budget.

Princess Ntombiyenkosi also questioned the length of the repayment of the loans, stating that it was worrisome that these loans would be paid over a long period such that the next generation would be expected to repay them. The minister, in his response, said the country had reached a level of having healthy debt, which meant that it was less than the expenditure of capital projects. There is end in sight in the debt of the country, and we are hoping to turn the corner in a years time, said the minister.

Referred

The Loan Bill was further referred to the committee of the Senate House. When the Appropriation Bill no.3 of 2022 was tabled for debate, Senator Prince Magudvulela stated that it was encouraging to see that money had been used to purchase two aircraft which would be beneficial as it was now rare for countries to not have their own aircraft. The 15 seater aircraft which recently landed is a sign of a way forward as we will see an increase in trade and production, he said. He then critiqued the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax increase from 33 per cent to 36 per cent, stating that although the salaries of civil servants would be reviewed soon, this was counterproductive.

Senator Sylvia Mthethwa also questioned why the PAYE for high income earners was increased from 33 per cent to 36 per cent. This tax increase will demoralise educated people because only those who are earning a higher income will be taxed more, and one will start questioning whether getting a high paying job is worth it based on the tax on your income, she said. The senator said everyone should be taxed accordingly as all citizens were responsible for building the country.

If we have 60 per cent low income earners and 40 per cent high income earners then a few emaSwati will be contributing to the building of the nation, said Mthethwa.

Senator Winile Nxumalo said one of the highlights of the national budget presented by the minister was the budget for factory shells across the country, which would assist the unemployed located in rural areas as it would be easier to access these areas than travelling far and wide to acquire employment. We have a huge issue with corruption and its an enemy of progress in the nation. Are there efforts to ensure that the different ministries are capacitated about this? questioned the senator during the debate. In his submissions, Senator Moi Moi said the nation needed clarity on what exactly the wage bill was and who regulated it. International organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have consistently been raising concerns over the countrys wage bill for years now yet we do not know how they necessarily measure that the wage bill is high, said Masilela. He also questioned how the issue of corruption was being addressed, making an example of tender issuing by stating that most of them do not have a fixed amount.

Senator Mkhululi Dlamini said money should be allocated to programmes focusing on how to ensure that people have financial management skills as most of the tension observed across the country was because people did not have sufficient funds. People are broke, hence they are angry and will take to the streets and make noise over issues because they are not happy with their finances. Are there budgeted for programmes that look at why people have these sort of issues and how people can save their money? If there are no programmes of this nature then the issue of civil servants wanting salary increments will never end, said the senator.

Increased

He further broke down what he understood by the increase in PAYE tax presented by the minister, stating that the PAYE being increased for high income earners would result in a mere inconvenience on them than if it were applied to low income earners. Senator Tony Sibandze, in his submission, questioned the minister on how he was planning to finance the fiscal deficit. He questioned the tax changes highlighted in the national budget as to when these would be implemented or be operational. The increase in the PAYE is concerning, especially because government is lacking in service delivery. Therefore, it becomes an issue to accept this increase when it is not evident as to where it then goes, said Sibandze.

In response, the minister said in terms of the Cost of Living Adjustment (CoLA) it was budgeted for yet it was harder to budget for the salary review because the amount to be reviewed had not been calculated. We are not aware yet as to how much is needed, and we need to be cognisant that the issue of salary reviews is not unique to this country as the world over there havent been salary increases because of effects of the pandemic (COVID-19), he said. He said they were working hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Public Service to try and accelerate the salary review process. Rijkenberg further said they were hoping to have achieved this in the next four months.

When addressing the issue of the Enhanced Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme (EVERS), the minister said the Ministry of Public Service was identifying services which were not critical in all the government departments. By doing this exercise, the ministry would then offer them the EVERS package, said the minister. He said in terms of fundamentals of the country, the nation was doing much better although not in service delivery. We have become a sustainable country and have managed to get the fundamentals right in order to be able to gain foreign direct investments, said Rijkenberg. On the issue of PAYE, he said government was simply trying to promote equality and not add more money in its pockets through this project, said the minister.

He said the Anti-Corruption Commission, Auditor General and Human Rights Commission were organisations responsible for dealing with corruption. We have put measures in place such as tender contracts being passed through Cabinet in order to evaluate the contract before it is approved. Payments are also no longer being issued without going through Cabinet, said Rijkenberg.
The Center Square  The third adult-use marijuana hearing in the Pennsylvania General Assembly focused on diverting the billions spent on illicit marijuana annually into state tax coffers and ensuring that the medical marijuana program isnt threatened by legalizing the drug for adults.

A previous hearing in February focused on the threat of losing tax revenue to New York and New Jersey, and the theme returned again.

As adult-use legislation passes all around Pennsylvania, tax revenue that belongs in the Commonwealth [is] being given to neighboring states, said Meredith Buettner, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition.

Between $3-$4 billion are being spent on marijuana right now, annually, said Sen. Mike Regan, R-Dillsburg. Whats being presented in other states could eventually be implemented here and probably should be implemented here now because its obviously taking place now.

Rather than continuing the status quo, Regan indicated a push for legalizing and regulating marijuana is a response to safety concerns. Finding the gold standard of how other states have implemented legalization, Regan noted, is the main thrust of the hearings.

Everyone has to be comfortable with this. And people coming to work high  like theyre doing now  is not safe. We need to be able to have a way to test it, an effective way to test it, Regan said.

Other states have seen problems arise with their medical marijuana program when recreational use becomes permitted. Some of those issues go back to bad implementation and regulation.

The regulating entity must be empowered to oversee both a medical and an adult use program, Buettner said. Having two programs sit under separate entities makes it nearly impossible for a medical program to survive.

Buettner pointed to Massachusetts as an example to follow, streamlining both programs and avoiding unnecessary burdens on recreational and medical operators.

Transparency and easy-to-understand information on the rules and regulations Pennsylvania would set for businesses was another common issue.

Its hard to get to a place where theres clarity on a number of these issues, said Michael Bronstein, president of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp.

Mark Nye, a former regulator and the vice president of operational compliance for Parallel (a multi-state marijuana company), echoed Bronstein.

Its absolutely critical that a regulatory agency communicate its expectations and its interpretation of its own rules, Nye said. Its very difficult to comply with things if you dont know what youre complying with.

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WHITING  Oil workers at the BP Whiting Refinery will vote Thursday on a tentative agreement the United Steelworkers union negotiated that includes a 12% pay increase over four years and no concession on advance notice if workers were to go on strike.

The proposed deal would raise pay by 2.5% this year, 3% in 2023, 3% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025. Workers would get a ratification bonus of $2,500.

BP would maintain its current commitments to health care benefits for employees, contributing 80% toward the premium. The new contract includes an agreement that workers would be granted severance based on their hourly wage rate for each year they worked with the company and that any unit with 150 union members will get a USW Health and Safety representative.

The union had sought a basement for severance payments given job losses in the industry as it moves to reduce its carbon emissions. While the BP Whiting Refinery is considered safe, it has not been immune from company-wide staffing cutbacks BP has made over the past few years.

The oil companies agreed to provide a year's worth of COBRA health benefits to the families of any workers killed on the job. The life insurance coverage of up to $500,000 has not increased in decades.

The new contract would apply to workers at the sprawling refinery along the Lake Michigan lakeshore in Whiting, Hammond and East Chicago, as well as pipeline workers scattered across the Midwest.

Locally, BP backed down from a proposal that the union be required to give the company 120 days notice before a strike and that workers be required to train their replacements because of union fears it would forfeit all of its leverage with those rules in place. The union also persuaded the company to offer work boots and safety glasses through more suppliers in Northwest Indiana, including ones closer to workers' homes, in the hope that more competition could reduce their out-of-pocket costs.

"The message that comes out of this is solidarity works," USW Local 7-1 President Eric Schultz said. "The contract expired and certainly this has been a stressful time for everybody inside the refinery. But everybody stuck together and got the 120-day advance notice off the table. It comes down to the membership. They were willing to hold the line."

The union had stockpiled wood and alerted food trucks in case it would need to go on strike again, as it did in 2015.

"We never want to go on strike," Schultz said. "It's bad for us. It's bad for the company. It's bad for the area. But we will if we have to. The members are strong. Most have been through it before. They were prepared to sacrifice. They did a great job."

Schultz said he believes it's a fair deal the union will present to workers for a vote Thursday, with pipeline workers mailing in ballots that will be tallied later. Other union locals across the country have been ratifying the contract based on the same national pattern agreement.

"This refinery has been here for 100 years, and we'd like to see it last for another 100 years while being at the top of the line for the field in wages and benefits," he said.

The proposed contract does not include security guards. The union is working on a separate negotiation to get those workers a new deal.

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LOBAMBA- We dont want emakhiwa labolile in Parliament.

This was an assertion by some senators who said it was often those who, all of a sudden changed and started engaging in things that the electorate had not sent them to do.

Emakhiwa labolile can be likened to rotten figs. This was the general feeling of the senators during the annual performance and budget debate of the Ministry of Tinkhundla, Administration and Development held at Senate yesterday. It was chaired by Senator Prince Hlangabeza.

Senator Prince Mphatfwa sympathised with the ministry for the havoc that had befallen the nation. He said constituency centres were the backbone of the nation.

Arsonists

While the senator did not succinctly state what he was referring to, it is common knowledge that many constituency centres and other government and private properties have been a target for arsonists recently. Ingabe njengoba kunje, umhlaba unje, lenta taba tini litiko kwekutsi kungaphindzeki naku lokuphindzekile. Utsi uyasebenta ukhandze kutsi ePhalamende watfumela likhiwa lelinjeyane, lelibolile, kulidvosa ngemsila sekulikhuni. Selilapha ePhalamende, langekhatsi alidleki nekudleka, he said in vernacular. (What is the ministry doing to ensure that you dont find yourself in a position where you send someone to Parliament, only to find that he/she was not the right candidate and its now difficult to withdraw that person).

He continued, Upon observing this, what is the ministry doing that when the process of going back to chiefs and constituencies is done to select candidates who will build the nation, asekubonakale kutsi letintfungo lesitikhipha manje lemiphakatsini asetibonakale kutsi ngutiphi ngoba phela letinye setiba ngulokunye.

Chiefs know their people. When they form queues, there is no vetting. Can the ministry ensure that chiefs vet these people because as a chief, I know about my people. What has the ministry done to ensure that when elections are done, the right candidates are chosen. Tisha letinkhundla nje, ngebantfwabetfu. Siyati kutsi bobani kepha emaphoyisa atsi kute bufakazi.

Senator Isaac Magagula said this was an issue of security of tinkhundla Centres. Magagula submitted that the minister should not be diplomatic. He asked him if he was aware that come 2023 (elections time), there would be attempts to make elections fail.

He asked if the ministry would find itself collaborating with the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to ensure that constituents were educated about the elections.

It is an open secret that our country is being put in bad light in other countries, he submitted. Magagula further asked if the ministry ever considered marketing the kingdom to change the perceptions that were already implanted upon peoples minds. He alleged that people were ruining the good reputation of the country.

Disheartened

In the same breath, Chief Ngalonkhulu Mabuza expressed that they were disheartened by what happened to constituency centres because they were the hope and refuge of the nation in times of troubles. However, he said God never slumbered nor slept. The senator said he was not cursing those behind the arson attacks, but was simply expressing pain from his heart. He said although the minister had touched on the safety measures of constituency centres, he was not fully satisfied in that there was a private security guard company that was hired to guard them. The senator mentioned that this was because the arsonists would know that they only carried batons and this would encourage them to continue with the attacks.

He suggested that if there could be at least one police officer deployed in each constituency centre because people were afraid of law enforcers because they carried guns. They should be deployed until the end of this situation. No situation remains permanent, then sebangabuyela ke labeticwayi, he said. On another note, Senator Chief Mphatfwa said he was of the view that the budget allocation of E44 million was too little yet this was a crucial ministry. He said when the subject of Tinkhundla was brought up, it was the very essence of the nation and how it was made up.

The prince added that previously, the minister had mentioned how there was a need to promote monarchial democracy. He said the world needed to know about it, and how constituency centres were being run. However, looking at the budget that was requested from Cabinet, the senator felt it was far less. He further asked if the E44 million would also cater for the refurbishment of the constituency centres such as Timphisini and Mayiwane that were severely gutted by fire.

Queried

The prince queried if the funds would also be adequate to put fencing around the centres. He asked if government would build top-of-the-range structures as it had introduced decentralisation to improve centres, so that it could be seen that they were progressing. Also, Chief Ngalonkhulu posed a question on whether the ministry was pleased with regional offices in resolving disputes which tend to end in arson attacks. He further asked if there was no role that it (ministry) could play in such a way that traditional structures could be reached where the disputes emanate. In his reasoning, he said this would ensure that people were educated and informed that these disputes derailed the progress of the nation. Senator Chief Mvimbi Matse said the ministry should carefully look into the issue of arson attacks.
HAMMOND  Despite pushback from some members of the public, the Hammond Board of School Trustees voted to approve a new contract for Superintendent Scott Miller on Tuesday

Trustee Carlotta Blake-King was the only board member to vote in opposition.

Millers current contract indicates he is paid $150,000 annually, with an annuity of $14,500. Under the new contract, he will have a base salary of $178,000 annually for the period that began July 1, 2021, and will conclude June 30, 2024.

Under the contract, the superintendents performance will be evaluated each year. If his evaluation is effective, he will receive a $3,000 increase in his salary, or $5,000 if his evaluation is highly effective.

Currently, Millers annual pay is low in comparison to other superintendents in Northwest Indiana. Larry Veracco of the Lake Central School Corp. has a base salary of $172,943. James McCall of Valparaiso Community Schools had a base salary of $170,000 for the 2020-21 academic year, the latest available contract on VCSs website.

Miller was hired to lead the Regions largest school district in 2019. In the time since his hiring, several Hammond schools were closed, and Hammond Central High School has opened.

At Tuesday's board meeting, several residents repeated their concern about Millers qualifications for the role.

In Indiana, a superintendent is required to have at least an Ed.S., which is a postgraduate degree for professional educators, in addition to several other requirements. According to the district's website, Miller has a bachelor's degree from Indiana University Northwest and a masters degree from Purdue Calumet (now known as Purdue Northwest).

According to the Indiana Department of Education, Miller has a temporary superintendent license, which expires in 2024.

Lesley Miller, a resident of Hammond with a student in the school city, criticized Miller's performance and said the district would be doing a disservice by approving the contract.

She said his pay should not be compared to other superintendents in the Region, as other school corporations are seeing success Hammond is not. She then said the school board would not be reelected if they approved the contract.

Katrina Alexander asked how approval of the contract would impact teachers and students. She said teachers who are operating on emergency licenses are expected to be working toward their permanent license.

Alexander said residents do not want the superintendent to get a raise until he has completed the necessary qualifications, but they are not opposed to Miller being in charge.

Cherie Roberts said Miller is asking for pay that people with doctorates have, when he does not have basic credentials. He said if Miller gets the credentials needed, they would be in support.

Paul Buck said residents are not saying to fire Miller, but he should get credentials first. Buck said the schools are failing. He said if Miller does not have credentials, find someone who does.

In order to drive a car, you need a drivers license, Buck said, emphasizing that the same thing should occur for a superintendent.

When it came time to vote, Blake-King motioned to table the matter of the superintendent contract. Nobody seconded.

Prior to the board meeting, Blake-King expressed her disapproval of the contract in an email. She said the contract approval sets a bad precedent. She said educators are leaving the district due to not feeling valued, and enrollment is going down.

Academically, we are on life support, Blake-King said.

Trustee Cindy Murphy said Miller has done a great job. She emphasized that he has not gotten a raise since he began the job in 2019.

You dont need a Ph.D. to be a good superintendent, Murphy said. She said Miller is taking classes to get toward that point.

Following the approval, Superintendent Miller emphasized how thankful he is for the support he's received. He said the consolidation of schools unfortunately aligned with the pandemic, which he realizes is not ideal. However, the corporation was in dire financial straits and was facing a possible state takeover.

Miller said he has seen a lot of progress in the last few years and he wants his naysayers to bury the hatchet and it is time to work together to highlight the good things happening in schools.

I look forward to continuing to serve full of hope and promise that we can continue to improve Hammond schools together, Miller said.

The next board meeting will be public work sessions March 17 and March 24. The next regular board meeting is April 5.

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HAMMOND  Officials of the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited the School City of Hammond last week to observe the district's celebration of National School Breakfast Week.

Vista Suarez Fletcher, regional administrator for the USDAs Midwest Region Office, and Alan Shannon, service director of public affairs for USDA, visited OBannon Elementary School Thursday to see students receive breakfast and participate in a door judging contest celebrating the week.

Christine Clarahan, director of food and nutrition services for the School City of Hammond, emphasized the importance of school breakfast for students.

In SCH, more than 70 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Indiana Department of Education. For some students, the school meals may be the main meals they rely on.

National School Breakfast Week started in 1989, and a theme is chosen every year. This years theme was Take off with school breakfast.

Clarahan said studies show school children who eat school breakfast are more likely to reach higher levels of achievement in reading and math, score higher on standardized tests, have better concentration and memory and are more alert through the school day.

Hammond schools held a spirit week, with events like unicorn day and superhero day. They also held a contest where students could explain what they liked most about school breakfast to win $100.

The USDA said Hammond was the first school district it had visited since the COVID-19 pandemic shut schools down in 2020. Shannon and Fletcher said they hoped to visit more soon, now that restrictions are starting to lessen.

Hammond schools serve a variety of breakfast food. Meals are hot two days a week and cold the other three, with options like cereal, yogurt parfaits, fruit, muffins and more.

Recently, School City of Hammond was able to purchase a refrigerated van with the help of grant money. Clarahan said they plan to use it this summer to help students who need meals when schools are closed.

Clarahan is also on the No Kid Hungry Indiana Statewide Coalition. In 2020, she was honored by inclusion in the No Kid Hungry Indianas Hunger Hero Hall of Fame. According to its website, Clarahan and her team put together a drive-thru service where families could pick up meals for their children three times a week during the pandemic. They served more than 280,000 meals and Kings Hawaiian donated $50,000 to the school city.

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FAIR OAKS  Police found an AR-15 among multiple handguns and two pounds of marijuana in a felon's car after he led a chase in a Porsche.

The chase was sparked around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday when officers with the Lake County Sheriffs Highway Interdiction Team attempted to pull over a 2017 Porsche on Interstate 65 near the Jasper County line.

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. said the Porsche  reported stolen out of Chicago  was seen following another vehicle too closely on the interstate. However, the driver of the stolen vehicle sped up traveling south on I-65, refusing to stop.

The driver then made an illegal U-turn at a high speed to evade officers near the 220 mile marker near Fair Oaks Farms. As the Porsche sped north on I-65, the driver lost control and crashed into a median near Route 10 in Jasper County.

The suspect abandoned the stolen vehicle and attempted to run away from the wreck with Lake County and Jasper County officers in chase.

The suspect was eventually captured near a campground near Route 10.

Police searched the vehicle and found two handguns, an AR-15 rifle and about two pounds of suspected marijuana, Martinez said. The firearms had serial numbers scratched off.

The man who was arrested was discovered to be a felon. He was taken to Lake County Jail and his identity will be released pending multiple criminal charges.

Police said no further information is available at this time due to the ongoing investigation.

Lake County Sheriff's officers, a Gary police officer and a Munster police officer were among those on The Lake County Sheriff's Departments Highway Interdiction Team. Indiana State Police also assisted in the incident.

"I'm extremely proud of members of our interdiction team as they continue our efforts to stop the flow of illegal guns and car thieves who travel through our area," Martinez said.

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CROWN POINT  Lake Criminal Court jurors viewed photos Tuesday taken at a Gary crime scene in 2019 after a 14-year-old girl was found dead in an alley, with her hands bound behind her back and a cord around her neck.

Takaylah Tribitt, 14, was found shot to death Sept. 16, 2019, in an alley near East 20th Avenue and Pennsylvania Street in Gary.

Deonlashawn C. Simmons, 36, of Chicago, has pleaded not guilty to murder in Tribitt's homicide.

Lake County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Kiel Sopko testified during the second day of Simmons' trial he took the photos and collected evidence in the case while working as an evidence technician with his department's Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Tribitt was found facedown and partially covered by thick vegetation on the east side of the alley, Sopko said.

Foilage along the alley was overgrown, and miscellaneous trash was strewn around. Investigators also found tire tread marks in mud near Tribitt's body and two gloves.

Sopko and his partner collected a gold-colored Master Card and a spent 9mm shell casing found near Tribitt's body and a black shower-cap-like hat from under her shoes, he said.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Michael A. Campbell, Sopko said a glove could retrain possible DNA evidence but he and other investigators did not believe either of the gloves seen in crime scene photos had any evidentiary value.

"Those gloves appeared to have been weathered and had been there for some time," Sopko said.

By contrast, the spent shell casing found near Tribitt's body was free from dirt and rust and did not appear to have been stepped on or depressed into the ground in any way, he said.

Sopko said he attempted to lift fingerprints from the spent casing, but found nothing.

According to charging documents, Tribitt died from a single gunshot wound to her head. She also had been sexually assaulted, but prosecutors did not charge Simmons with any sex crimes as part of the case.

Tribitt's body was found by a NIPSCO worker, who drove through the alley before calling 911. The Master Card Sopko collected bore the name of Simmons' relative, records state.

Simmons was found to be a contributor to DNA on one of the cords found with Tribitt's body, according to court documents.

Sopko told the jury he didn't initially collect the cords found around Tribitt's wrists and neck.

Staff at the Lake County Coroner's Office collected those items during an autopsy and later turned them over to Sopko to be documented as evidence in the case. They subsequently were sent to an Indiana State Police lab for DNA testing, he said.

Lake County Deputy Prosecutors Douglas Shaw and Arturo Balcazar were expected to continue presenting evidence and testimony Wednesday.

Some of the testimony might include that Simmons knew Tribitt and gave her rides and food and paid for her to get her hair and nails done. Jurors also may see videos of two statements Simmons gave to police while in custody in Chicago in 2020 on unrelated matters.

Tribitt was living in a Chicago shelter and had been reported missing by a shelter representative about two weeks before she was found dead, according to Chicago police.

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MICHIGAN CITY  After a shoe store robbery in a Michigan City outlet, officers tracked down a man who had a warrant for his arrest, police said.

Austin Ryan Kist-Oman, 25, of Michigan City, faces a charge of theft, according to LaPorte Superior Court records.

At 4:07 p.m. Friday officers were called to a robbery in progress in the Adidas store at the Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets at 601 Wabash St. in Michigan City.

Dispatchers received a report that a man had entered the store, stole six pairs of shoes and pulled a knife on the sales associates, according to a Michigan City Police Department report. Police said it was later determined that a knife was not used or displayed during the crime, however one of the individuals involved dropped a pocket knife on the ground while fleeing.

Dispatchers alerted police that the suspect was wearing a ski mask, a hoodie and sweatpants and drove away in a silver vehicle traveling left toward Wabash Street.

Three minutes later, a Michigan City officer found the suspect vehicle and pulled it over to speak with the vehicle's occupants. One of the individuals was identified as Kist-Oman, who had a warrant issued for his arrest, police said.

Upon further investigation police watched the surveillance footage from the store, which showed Kist-Oman and another man leaving the store holding merchandise, according to the report. The second suspect is not yet in police custody.

Police recovered the stolen items including a gold pair of shoes, purple shoes and a backpack, collectively valued at $245.

According to court records, Kist-Oman has been previously charged with possession of paraphernalia, unlawful possession of a syringe and possession of a substance represented to be a controlled substance. The cases are currently ongoing.

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CROWN POINT  Lake County prosecutors last week dropped charges against a Gary man, who at one time had agreed to a seven-year sentence in connection with a Gary shooting.

Victor L. Nelson III, 29, pleaded guilty in March 2021 to one count of aggravated battery and battery resulting in serious bodily injury, but Lake Criminal Court Judge Salvador Vasquez rejected Nelson's plea agreement the following month.

Nelson was on parole at the time of the June 2019 shooting and had a significant criminal history, the judge said. At the time, attorneys said they would look at revising the plea agreement.

According to court records, Nelson became angry about the presence of a man from Gary's Glen Park section at a party June 30, 2019, in the 2200 block of Carolina Street in Gary. Nelson was accused of shooting the man from Glen Park in the arm and hitting the party's host in the back of his head.

The case was complicated by the homicide of Nelson's co-defendant, Kevin Blackmon, 26, who also was accused of punching one of the victims. Blackmon was killed in a shooting Sept. 27, 2020, outside a Gary nightclub.

In November, Nelson's attorney, John Cantrell, told the judge Lake County Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson was having a difficult time communicating with the two victims, each of whom had moved out of state.

Last week, prosecutors moved to dismiss charges of attempted murder, five felony counts of battery and criminal recklessness against Nelson due to a lack of cooperation from the victims.

Vasquez on Friday granted the state's motion to dismiss and canceled Nelson's jury trial, which had been scheduled for this week.

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But what we have seen recently are different kinds of protest: organized, policy-specific protests, sparked not by individual tragedy, but born of plan and strategy. They are nonviolent. Many of their participants and leaders are older. They are crowdsourced on social media and may never go viral.

These protests hark back to the civil rights movement and even borrow some of its language, philosophy and tactics.

As Bishop William Barber II, the president of Repairers of the Breach and a co-chair of the Poor Peoples Campaign, told me Wednesday about the difference in protest styles, on the one hand there are those who either want to ride a wave or have a moment, and then there are those who engage in protest, direct actions, where the act of protesting itself is the thing that creates tension.

I am always struck by how many riots in American history were sparked by an individual outrage, real or manufactured, and how many protests during the civil rights movement were not. Those protests were often planned acts of civil disobedience against abusive systems and complicit power.

As the Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. told me, The difference is between long-term agenda-oriented protests and short-term reaction protests.

It is my belief that both forms of protest have a role to play and both can yield results.

There is no question that last summers protests changed some government policies, corporate strategies and some individual citizens minds about being better informed about race and better allies to those suffering with racial oppression.

But there is also no question that those changes werent the kind of national-policy prescriptions required to truly put an end to  or even significantly curtail  police killings of Black people, racial income inequality or the proliferating expressions of anti-Black white supremacy in society.
The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Starbucks on Tuesday over accusations that it retaliated against two employees seeking to unionize their store in Phoenix.

The workers are part of a campaign that has created unions at six stores in the Buffalo area and Arizona since December, out of roughly 9,000 company-owned stores nationwide. Overall, workers at more than 100 Starbucks locations have filed for union elections during that time.

The formal complaint  something a regional office of the labor board issues after investigating and finding merit in accusations against employers or unions  is the first of the current Starbucks campaign. It contends that Starbucks issued a written warning to one employee and suspended her, and rejected the scheduling preferences of a second employee, leading to her termination, because the employees supported the union.

In addition, the complaint states that the first employee, Laila Dalton, was suspended and disciplined for raising concerns about wages, hours and insufficient staffing on behalf of co-workers, and that the retaliation was intended to discourage other employees from raising similar concerns, even though it is their legal right to do so.
In Australia, poisonous cane toads have become their own worst enemies.

For decades, scientists have been witnessing cane toad tadpoles devouring their younger kin in the puddles and ponds they share. The cause of the cannibalistic behavior has been a mystery, until now.

A new study, published this month in the journal Ecology and Evolution, found that cane toad tadpoles in Australia develop an insatiable appetite when theyre exposed to a toxin found in cane toad eggs, the same toxin that makes the toads poisonous.

Cane toads, which are native to South America and Central America, were introduced to Australia in 1935 by scientists who hoped they would bring down the number of cane beetles, which were causing problems for Australias sugar cane farmers. With ample prey and no predators able to withstand their poison, the toads quickly proliferated to number in the tens of millions, becoming an invasive pest that has squeezed native amphibians out of habitats in Australia.

But something changed as they settled into their Australian homes. Such cannibalism among cane toads had not been observed in the toads native range. It started to be observed across Australia only in recent decades, suggesting that this behavior evolved rapidly in the Australian population.
In a body-cam video, Officer Stillman yells at Adam to stop. Stop right now! the officer screams while cursing, telling the 13-year-old to drop his gun. Hands. Show me your hands. Drop it. Drop it.

What happened next unfolded almost simultaneously, in an estimated 838 milliseconds  less than a second  Ms. Foxx said. Adam turned his body toward Mr. Stillman with his left hand raised and discarded the gun he held in his right hand while the officer fired one shot, striking Adam in the chest.

Officer Stillman can be seen administering C.P.R. on Adam and telling him to stay with me as blood poured out of his mouth.

Image Anthony Alvarez and his daughter. Credit... Todd Pugh and Tania Dimitrova, via Associated Press

Two days later, two officers activated their cars emergency lights when they saw Anthony Alvarez, a man they knew from previous encounters, Ms. Foxx said. The night before, she added, he fled as the officers tried to make a traffic stop.

Mr. Alvarez dropped the food and drink in his hands and began running, prompting Officer Evan Solano and his partner to chase him on foot down an alley and into a residential neighborhood, officials said. Mr. Alvarez had a gun in his right hand, Ms. Foxx said.

As Mr. Alvarez turned a corner, he slipped and fell to the ground twice, Ms. Foxx said, adding that as he tried to get up, Officer Solano arrived at the corner and believed  because he did not see him fall  that Mr. Alvarez was in a crouching position with a handgun waiting to ambush him. The officer drew his gun.
Mr. Biden has been seeking $22.5 billion in Covid relief money to pay for treatments, tests, vaccines and research; senior administration officials, speaking on a conference call with reporters, reiterated that request on Tuesday. Congress slashed the amount to $15.6 billion, and was poised to pass the measure as part of a broader spending package it adopted last week.

But Speaker Nancy Pelosi stripped the Covid money from the broader bill in response to pushback from governors and rank-and-file Democrats, who complained that $7 billion of it was going to be taken back from states. Ms. Pelosi has discussed voting on a stand-alone bill this week, but is unlikely to do so without assurance it will pass the Senate.

We had a chance to get that last week, and the House progressive wing blew it up, Mr. Thune said, adding, They torpedoed it.

Mr. Thunes view was echoed by other Republican senators, including Mitt Romney of Utah, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Rob Portman of Ohio. All are demanding a more thorough accounting of how the Biden administration has already spent hundreds of billions in pandemic aid.
WASHINGTON  Congressional Democrats called on the Defense Department on Tuesday to brief Congress on the administrations progress toward reducing civilian injuries and deaths from U.S. military operations overseas.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, more than 40 Democratic House members cited reporting by The New York Times in expressing concern over counterterrorism operations conducted by the U.S. military, including airstrikes, that have resulted in thousands of civilian deaths and many more injuries over years of American involvement in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.

Civilian deaths, injuries and other harm caused by U.S. military operations risks our legitimacy overseas, has been shown to fuel the very extremism were fighting, gives other governments an excuse to overlook harm and does not align with our American values, the lawmakers wrote. It is imperative that the United States armed forces uphold the highest standards of conduct, including consistent standards for protecting the lives of civilians.

The letter  which was led by Representatives Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, Jason Crow of Colorado, Sara Jacobs of California and Rick Larsen of Washington  praised the Defense Department for its commitment to reducing civilian harm. But the lawmakers expressed a desire for more insight into the progress of a 90-day review to create a plan to reduce civilian injuries and deaths.
But since Israel only recently began its second booster program, researchers could not determine whether the added protection was short-lived. Israel began offering fourth doses to health care workers in late December, then quickly broadened eligibility to those 60 and older and other vulnerable groups.

The second study, of Israeli health care workers, showed that even though fourth shots of either Pfizers or Modernas vaccine boosted antibody levels, they were not very effective at preventing infections. Researchers said those findings underscored the urgency of developing vaccines that target whatever variant is circulating.

The National Institutes of Health in the United States and various vaccine manufacturers have been studying how the vaccines could be updated. One federal health official said results were not expected until the summer.

Some senior administration officials say that depending on the evidence, a second booster could make sense now for older Americans, but not for the general population. The F.D.A. is expected to convene a meeting of its expert advisory committee next month to discuss the issue of fourth shots. Developments on Pfizers request were reported earlier by The Washington Post.

Asked last month whether everyone would need another injection, Dr. Peter Marks, the F.D.A.s top vaccine regulator, said, Barring any surprises from new variants, maybe the best thing is to think about our booster strategy in conjunction with the influenza vaccine next fall, and get as many people as possible boosted then. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the White House, has suggested that any move toward a second booster now would most likely be aimed at those most at risk, possibly based on age and underlying conditions.

To date, about two-thirds of Americans 5 and older have been fully vaccinated with two shots of a vaccine. Only about half of those eligible for boosters have received them, but the proportion rises to two-thirds for those 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a call with reporters on Tuesday, senior administration officials said the administration was running short on funds for new doses. The administration has enough supply to manage a fourth shot for people 65 and older, one said, but could not expand that effort to everyone without more funding from Congress.
Nonbinary is a broader category than transgender, in that a nonbinary person may identify as feeling both male and female, or neither, Dr. Anderson said. The term genderqueer can be used interchangeably with nonbinary, whereas gender fluid individuals have a gender identity that is a bit more fluid, in that it can shift over time from one category to another, she said.

Its also important to try to use a persons correct name and pronouns, Dr. Anderson said. When ones gender identity does not match how they are treated by others, it can lead to psychological distress, she added. Research has shown that when transgender youth are not able to use their chosen names at home, school, work or with friends, they are more likely to experience symptoms of depression, consider suicide and attempt suicide.

Dr. Anderson acknowledged that it can be hard to use the terms correctly and consistently, since their meanings or connotations can shift, and new terms can arise over time. Whats key, she said, is that caregivers try to be open to the concepts and do their best to understand them as they evolve. If you mess up, acknowledge your mistake and apologize, and try to do better next time, Dr. Summers said.

I think the specific language is less important than the clear sense of affirmation that youre communicating with it, he said. Whats important to your child is that they can see that youre doing your best, even if there are times when youre still not getting it perfectly.

Offer curiosity rather than judgment

If a child doesnt bring up the issue of gender, dont force it, Dr. Summers said. But if they do want to discuss it, respond not with judgment or immediate concern but with curiosity, he suggested. Parents and other adults in childrens lives should avoid saying anything thats going to make the kid feel shut down, or rejected or unsafe, he said.

Dr. Anderson suggested first asking the child for more information. You could say: When do you think you started wondering about this? or How should I learn about it? she said. Set the stage, no matter what direction it goes in, for staying connected and not creating a power struggle, she said.

Its also fine to ask for some time to think, Dr. Summers added. Its OK to say, This is new information about you that I didnt know before  Im really glad you shared it with me, but would it be OK if I think about it a little bit, too? he said. Just be sure to come back to the conversation later, when youre in a better mindset.
GUATEMALA CITY  Guatemalas congress on Tuesday shelved a bill that would have imposed up to 10 years of jail time for women who obtained abortions, an abrupt reversal that follows days of protests, legal challenges and widespread disapproval of the measure, including from a prominent anti-abortion group.

The U.S. government also expressed serious concerns about enacting the legislation, which also banned same-sex marriage, in back-channel conversations with the Guatemalan government, according to two American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive policy matters.

The countrys president, Alejandro Giammattei, said he would veto the bill days after his allies pushed it through the legislature, a move that surprised analysts, human rights activists and Guatemalan officials.

On March 9, the day after the bill passed, Mr. Giammattei attended a ceremony declaring Guatemala the pro-life capital of Latin America, where he said in a speech that he believed in respect for life from the moment of conception.
This is their attempt to annihilate the Ukrainian people, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in an emotional video address to the Canadian Parliament, repeating his plea for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over the country. It is an attempt to destroy our future, our nation, our character.

Mr. Zelensky asked the lawmakers to imagine if the CN Tower in Toronto were shelled like the towers in Kyiv. His language has become more pointed, even scolding, with each speech to a Western audience, revealing his frustration with leaders who have resisted more direct military involvement out of fear that it would entangle them in a wider conflict with Russia.

The Ukrainian leader, who has become a hero to many in the West, is scheduled to speak via video to Congress on Wednesday, where he is expected to amplify his pleas for more help and increase the pressure on the United States and its allies.

Mr. Biden is planning to announce $800 million in new security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday, according to White House officials. The administration last week announced $200 million in security assistance for Ukraine and has made available a total of $2 billion in such funding.

On Tuesday evening, the Polish state broadcaster carried video of the Czech, Slovene and Polish leaders meeting Mr. Zelensky and other officials across a long table, with Ukraines blue-and-yellow flag behind them.
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the leaders of three NATO member countries who traveled into Ukraines war-torn capital for an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday and urged others to do the same.

The leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia who traveled to Kyiv fear nothing, Mr. Zelensky said after the meeting, adding, I am sure that with such friends, with such countries, with such neighbors and partners, we will really be able to win.

The leaders discussed not only increasing sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, but also plans to rebuild our country after the end of hostilities, Mr. Zelenskys office said, projecting an air of confidence despite a brutal campaign that has already driven more than two million Ukrainians to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

Mr. Zelensky has sought to rally international support through nightly videos that he posts on social media, as well as virtual meetings with world leaders  including a speech to U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday.
But, really, she admires the whole Taylor organization  especially the bond among its dancers. To Lovette, they are fearless. Its an atmosphere, she said. Theres no mirror. Theres no competitive energy. Theres no person trying to surpass another person or trying to get in front of the group. It really is the most neutral space Ive ever been in to create. Which feels limitless.

The reason for that atmosphere? A lot of people say its because they feel Pauls presence in the room, Lovette said. I dont know if thats true, but I felt it from the very first day I started working here.

When Taylor, a modern master, died in 2018, at 88, the company lost its chief choreographer. In creating the position of resident choreographer, Michael Novak, a former company member who took over the artistic reigns at Taylors request, wanted to build something lasting: He made it a five-year job. That allows enough time for the choreographer to bond with the dancers. And it provides himself with a creative partner.

Its not just a resident choreographer position for me as much as it is a collaborator and a visionary who I can go to and be like, What do you think about this? Novak said. Its really about ushering in a new era of modern dance for us. We may do things that are traditional, we may do things that are nontraditional, but its important that the resident choreographer is part of that conversation.
Ms. Smirnova published a lengthy post this month to Telegram, the messaging app popular in Russia, in which she said she opposed the war with all the fibers of my soul. One of her grandfathers was Ukrainian, she said, but insisted that was not the sole reason for her opposition. I never thought I would be ashamed of Russia, she said, adding, We may not be at the epicenter of the military conflict, but we cannot remain indifferent to this global catastrophe.

A spokeswoman for the Bolshoi, which still lists Ms. Smirnova among its dancers on its website, said it had no comment on her departure, except to confirm that it was a personal decision.

Ms. Smirnova is one of a number of dancers who have left, at least temporarily, the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky Ballet, Russias other major company, since the invasion of Ukraine began. But most of those other dancers, including the Italian Jacopo Tissi, the Brazilian David Motta Soares and the British dancer Xander Parish, have not been Russian.

In an interview from Tallinn, Estonia, last week, Mr. Parish, who dances for the Mariinsky, told The Sunday Times, a British newspaper, that he intended to focus on international guest appearances for the next few months. Its hard to imagine not being able to go back, but I just need to keep positive and look for opportunities, he said.

On Wednesday, the Dutch National Ballet said that Victor Caixeta, a Brazilian soloist at the Mariinsky Ballet, had also joined the company. The current circumstances have meant Ive had to make the hard decision of leaving Russia  the place Ive called home for almost five years, Mr. Caixeta said in a statement.
Karissa Francis has seen her fair share of drama in the seven years she has worked as a visitor services assistant in museum lobbies.

Patrons whose tickets have gone missing or dont agree with pandemic mask requirements have been known to be quite vocal in their frustration. But she had not witnessed anything close to what happened Saturday afternoon at the Museum of Modern Art, where two employees were stabbed by a man after the institution revoked his membership.

The way it happened felt almost worse than my worst fear, said Francis, who works at the Whitney Museum of American Art and saw video of the attack. The way he just rushed into the lobby  there is something so personal about the way he stabbed them as opposed to another sort of violence. It adds an extra layer of terror.

Given the rarity of violence within museums, most are protected by security guards who are typically unarmed and capable of detecting and responding to events  but they are not equipped to do more than report an intruder with a weapon.
AMSTERDAM  In February 1941, nine months after the German Reich invaded and occupied the Netherlands, the first pogroms began on Dutch soil. Local Nazi party members posted bills in shop and cafe windows that read Jews Not Wanted. Then they trolled the Jewish Quarter, breaking windows and shouting jeers.

Young Jewish men and boys prepared to protect their neighborhood. When Dutch Nazis returned a few days later, the Jews fought back. Street fights went on for days resulting in many casualties, including the death of one Dutch Nazi, Hendrik Koot.

In retaliation, the Green Police  German Nazi officers in long green coats and high boots  randomly grabbed about 400 Jewish men off the streets during a two-day sweep, ultimately forcing them into trucks and driving off into the night.

Most of the men were never heard from again. For more than 80 years, no one knew precisely what had happened to them, or even how many men had been taken away.
BELFAST, Northern Ireland  On a recent evening in a small, rowdy, West Belfast bar, Mo Chara and Moglai Bap, two members of the rap group Kneecap, were posing for photographs with fans. One of the bars patrons, tapping out a text message nearby, called out to the rappers, How do you spell ceart go leor? an Irish phrase meaning something like OK.

It might seem like a weird question for hip-hop artists, but Kneecaps members should know. They have found fame here in a genre they are pioneering: Irish-language rap.

Since 2017, when Kneecap released CEARTA (the Irish word for rights), the groups popularity has been growing on both sides of Irelands internal border and among the diaspora across the Irish Sea. Its signature blend of ramshackle rave and rudimentary hip-hop beats, mixed with republican politics  in the Irish sense of seeking unity for the islands north and south  has brought Kneecap sold-out gigs in Belfast and Dublin, and a growing fan base in England and Scotland.

Even a decade ago, the notion of Irish-language rap seemed fantastical. But something is happening in Ireland  north and south  which lately finds itself in the midst of a so-called Celtic revival, with questions of identity, place and culture being interrogated across the arts, politics, fashion and even spirituality.
LAST CALL AT THE HOTEL IMPERIAL

The Reporters Who Took On a World at War

By Deborah Cohen

For Ernest Hemingway, successful writing required creating something that no one else had created before  but it also hinged on two elements beyond ones control: luck and timing. By this standard, the historian Deborah Cohen has scored big-time: her book Last Call at the Hotel Imperial is bringing out disturbingly prescient material at exactly the right moment.

Cohens ambitious ensemble biography documents the intertwined careers, friendships and sex lives of four hugely influential correspondents and commentators primarily covering Europe in the lead-up to World War II. Like Hemingway (who occasionally barges in), the books four stars  John Gunther, H. R. Knickerbocker, James Vincent Jimmy Sheean and Dorothy Thompson  hailed from provincial America, but took Europe by storm after World War I.

It would be hard to overstate the collective power and visibility of these reporters in their heyday. When Gunther died, The New York Times wrote that he had traveled more miles, crossed more borders, interviewed more statesmen, wrote more books and sold more copies than any other single journalist of his time. Thompsons On the Record column appeared in 170 newspapers; her late-1930s NBC radio broadcasts reached millions of listeners. She didnt just interview Churchill; she was his weekend guest. Cohen recounts an amusing anecdote in which Thompson and her then-husband, Sinclair Lewis, were in bed one morning when President Franklin Roosevelt telephoned. Lewis handed the phone over to her, the cord stretched tight across his throat, and there he lay for a half-hour  pinned to the bed while his wife  gabbed on with the president, making the countrys foreign policy.

Yet like many zeitgeist-encapsulating power brokers of the past, the four have been unjustly forgotten today. Later generations of journalists owed a debt to these pioneers, who helped invent modern conflict reporting. This was before journalism became institutionalized, Gunther later said. We correspondents were strictly on our own. We avoided official handouts. We were scavengers, buzzards, out to get the news, no matter whose wings got clipped.
Because we have the full cooperation and alignment with so many countries, it makes enforcement a lot easier, Gina Raimondo, the U.S. secretary of commerce, said in an interview. Every country is going to be doing enforcement.

Thats part of the power, if you will, of having so much collaboration, she added.

Officials from the Commerce Department, which is in charge of enforcing the U.S. rules, have already begun digging through shipping containers and detaining electronics, aircraft parts and other goods that are destined for Russia. On March 2, federal agents detained two speedboats at the Port of Charleston valued at $150,000 that were being exported to Russia, according to senior U.S. officials.

To look for any potential violators, federal agents will be combing through tips from industry sources and working with Customs and Border Protection to find anomalies in export data that might point to shipments to Russia. They are also reaching out to known exporters to Russia to get them on board with the new restrictions, speaking to about 20 or 30 companies a day, U.S. officials said.

Their efforts extend beyond U.S. borders. On March 3, Commerce Department officials spoke to a gathering of 300 businesspeople in Beijing about how to comply with the new restrictions. U.S. officials have also been coordinating with other governments to ensure that they are taking a tough stance on enforcement, senior U.S. officials said.

Emily Kilcrease, director of the Energy, Economics and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, said that the level of allied cooperation in forging the export controls was completely unprecedented, and that international coordination would have an important upside.
The former cable news anchor Chris Cuomo is seeking $125 million from CNN for what his lawyers claim was wrongful termination when the cable news network fired him in December.

In a legal filing on Wednesday with JAMS, an arbitration organization, Mr. Cuomos lawyer, Bryan Freedman, said he was seeking the $15 million that Mr. Cuomo was owed under his contract as well as future wages lost as a result of CNNs efforts to destroy his reputation.

Mr. Cuomo was fired days after the New York attorney general released a trove of emails and text messages that indicated he had been intimately involved with providing strategic advice to his brother, Andrew M. Cuomo, who was confronting a mounting sexual harassment scandal while serving as governor of New York.

Mr. Cuomo was fired by Jeff Zucker, CNNs president at the time. Mr. Cuomo has maintained that Mr. Zucker was aware of his dealings with his brother, an accusation that Mr. Zucker has denied.
The idea that you send some well-educated young graduate from the Ivy League to Mumbai to tell us about whats going on in Mumbai in 2022 is sort of insane, Mr. Smith said.

Instead, he said, he will pursue very educated, English-language-educated journalists all around the world, describing an opportunity for scaling local and regional newsrooms at a lower cost.

He also argued that many foreign news readers were ill served.

You maybe went to school in the U.S., youre pretty well educated, youre connected to your network and your family all around the world  and the quality of your local media is not amazing, Mr. Smith said. Its either state-censored or, its just, the journalisms not great.

So what do you do? he continued. You say, OK, well, let me let me pick up The New York Times, or let me pick up The Wall Street Journal, or let me pick up The Washington Post. And what do you get? You get exactly what youd expect if you read something that had the word New York in it, or something that has the word Washington in it. Or you go to CNN and you get a feed from Atlanta, some regional story from the Midwest, and youre sitting in Singapore.

(The Post and The Times, among other American outlets, have expanded their reporting presence in Europe in recent years. CNN broadcasts an international feed outside the United States.)

Mr. Smith told his audience that he was reluctant to share too many plans. (Theres not a huge advantage when youre starting a new company to be giving away all the specifics.) But he allowed that he hoped to launch in the United States and at least one other major international market, and that a live events business would be integrated. The co-founders are aiming to launch in the second half of this year.

Mr. Smith also said he was intrigued by automated translation of non-English-language news articles. The quality of translation software for journalism is really quite amazing; it captures subtlety and nuance in a way it did not in previous years, he said.
Mr. Schultz, 68, joined Starbucks in the 1980s and built it into a global coffee giant. And this isnt the first time he has come back to oversee the company. After stepping down as chief executive in 2000, he returned as C.E.O. from 2008 to 2017, when Mr. Johnson took over and Mr. Schultz became executive chairman. Mr. Schultz will also rejoin the companys board. Shares of Starbucks rose 4.8 percent to $87.10 on Wednesday.

The unexpected leadership change followed weeks of mounting pressure from investors as more stores filed for union elections. We believe that Starbuckss reputation may be jeopardized due to reporting of aggressive union-busting tactics, a large group of investors, representing more than $1 billion in Starbucks stock, said in a letter sent to Mr. Johnson on Tuesday. Starbucks has denied engaging in anti-union activity.

This week, the National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint accusing the company of illegally penalizing two workers involved in a union drive at a Starbucks in Phoenix, the latest in the chains labor struggles.

It is unclear whether the return of Mr. Schultz signals a softening of the companys battles against unions or a deeper entrenchment. Mr. Schultz, who stepped down as executive chairman in 2018 and was, at the time, one of the largest Starbucks stockholders with 33 million shares, has played a significant role in the companys response to stores that have sought to unionize.

In September, Mr. Schultz visited Buffalo to address local managers, telling them that the company had let them down by failing to help them address operational issues at their stores, and that he was not anti-union but pro-Starbucks, said one person who attended but was not authorized to speak publicly. Other Starbucks executives, like John Culver, the chief operating officer, and Rossann Williams, president of retail for North America, attended the meeting, but Mr. Johnson did not.
Volkswagen is shifting its focus toward North America, as the fallout from Russias attack on Ukraine caused more supply chain headaches for the company in Europe, executives said.

Since the outbreak of the war last month, several of the brands in the Volkswagen Group, including Porsche and Volkswagen, have been forced to suspend production at their plants because of disruptions to supplies, especially the wiring systems essential to the operation of vehicles.

Herbert Diess, the companys chief executive, said on Tuesday that in response, Volkswagen was shifting car production to regions such as China and the Americas to help compensate for the disruptions in Europe and fill a backlog of orders.

Last year a shortage of semiconductors that plagued the industry contributed to a 6.3 percent drop in sales for Europes largest carmaker. But the company made more than 20 billion euros ($22 billion) in profit before taxes in 2021, nearly doubling that of the previous year, thanks to a focus on building more profitable higher-end vehicles and lowering expenses.
Oil tankers from around the world, including several chartered by U.S.-based companies, are continuing to transport millions of barrels of oil out of Russian ports, a top adviser to Ukraines president said, as he made a plea to the White House to restrict all trade in Russian oil by American companies.

In an interview from Kyiv overnight on Tuesday, Oleg Ustenko, an economic adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, also urged the chief executives of Western oil and gas companies to pledge to not handle oil from Russia, and to hire independent accounting firms to verify that no Russian oil is being loaded onto their ships.

Were talking about supplying Russia with bloody money that theyre using to feed a military machine that is killing my people, Mr. Ustenko said. We need a full embargo, a full boycott. All Russian ports must be closed.

Complicating the picture is the fact that one of Russias major oil terminals, the port of Novorossiysk, on the Black Sea, is a hub for a pipeline that carries oil from neighboring Kazakhstan that is blended with Russian oil, according to the pipelines operators. Experts say that can make it difficult to pinpoint the oils origin.
The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) will host a group of investors during the Bahrain GrandPrix to showcase investment opportunities in the kingdom as part of EDBs role to attract direct investments.

In 2021, EDB had successfully attracted 86 international projects from 22 countries to the kingdom, which is projected to invest $839 million over the next three years and help create 4,861 jobs.

The investors represent a number of sectors including manufacturing, logistics, financial services and healthcare from target markets such as GCC, the US, India and the UK.

The programme will include a number of visits to key infrastructure projects and meetings with the business community and key officials in Bahrain to showcase investment opportunities and how they can benefit from what the kingdom offers to investors.

EDB Executive Director of Investment Origination, Dalal Buhejji said: The EDB is committed to promoting Bahrains competitive advantages to the world. The kingdom has a solid Economic Recovery Plan that will generate a number of investment opportunities. This annual global event is an important platform that enables us to introduce investors to the kingdoms business-friendly environment and these available opportunities to promote Bahrain as the ideal destination for investments and business expansion in the region.-- TradeArabia News Service
Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, and Dr. Jay Varma, a top health adviser to former Mayor Bill de Blasio, called on the city on Wednesday for a plan to encourage New Yorkers to get their booster shots and protect residents from any future waves of the coronavirus.

The suggested plan is driven by the potential threat of a new variant, which could cause a fresh rise in cases and hospitalizations and the need for more forceful action, Dr. Varma said.

The plan also comes as Mayor Eric Adams has been aggressively promoting efforts to rebuild the citys economy in recent weeks, removing the vaccination mandate for indoor activities and mask mandates for schools. The mayor has also been encouraging tourists to visit New York, telling people at a recent news conference in Times Square to come and spend money.

If the plan were to be adopted, New Yorkers who have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine but have yet to get a booster would receive a text, an email and a postcard with a location and an appointment to get the shots. The plan also suggests reinstating the $100 incentive for receiving the booster shot, a program that was introduced by Mr. de Blasio and reintroduced by Mr. Adams in February, although it expired at the end of the month.
This would jibe with what I heard from parents of school-age children, many of whom felt that there was a delay in getting their child the appropriate diagnosis and supports. Katherine Bell, who has two daughters with learning disabilities, said that she thinks her older daughters dyslexia diagnosis was delayed by remote learning. Her daughter is 11, and because she was compensating so well, her learning disorder went under the radar at her New York City public school until this year. Being remote slowed down the process of being diagnosed, Bell said, and slowed her down emotionally and socially in a way thats really hard to rectify.

Other parents said that support services for their children were harder to obtain, as providers are scarcer than they were before the pandemic. Tracy Brisson, who lives in Atlanta, has a son in kindergarten who has auditory and sensory processing disorders. The audiologist she was able to find during the pandemic who specializes in her sons disorders is a 45-minute drive away, so she has to cut her work hours twice a week to be able to take him to his appointments.

The picture isnt all bleak, however. Frank Urso, who has two children with autism who are 6 and 7, said that since his daughter and son have been back at in-person public school in Plainfield, Ill., they have been thriving, his son in particular. Urso said, Like a rubber band, he snapped back  his speech, his math skills  really doing well since hes been in school.

But even for parents whose kids are doing well or at least better now, there is a worry that was not there before the pandemic, said Lisa Halfhill, from Spokane, Wash., who has a 6-year-old daughter who has Tourettes syndrome. Everything feels precarious, as if the carefully constructed routines and support systems for families whose kids have special needs can fall apart at any moment.

When I spoke to Halfhill last Thursday, she said the coronavirus infection rate had declined enough in her area that the next day was her daughters last of having to wear a mask in school. Theres just that fear there, of are we pulling the plug on this too early? she said. Are things going to go back to hellish conditions?

And the fear and the guilt of thinking about our kids going through that isolation again, the loss of the routine  that would be so devastating, she added, for our whole family.
On April 10, 2021, DeSantis signed the Combating Public Disorder Act, a conservative response to Black Lives Matter and other protests that turn violent or destructive. On Sept. 9, 2021, however, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker blocked enforcement of the law because a person of ordinary intelligence could not be sure if he or she broke the law while participating nonviolently in a protest that turned violent:

The vagueness of this definition forces would-be protesters to make a choice between declining to jointly express their views with others or risk being arrested and spending time behind bars, with the associated collateral risks to employment and financial well-being.

DeSantis has capitalized on Floridas outdoor culture to become the nations leading opponent of mask mandates and lockdowns of schools and businesses, including a May 3, 2021, executive order declaring:

In order to protect the rights and liberties of individuals in this State and to accelerate the States recovery from the Covid-19 emergency, any emergency order issued by a political subdivision due to the Covid-19 emergency which restricts the rights or liberties of individuals or their businesses is invalidated.

For DeSantis, the pandemic offered the opportunity to distinguish himself from Trump. In January, Jonathan Chait described his strategy in New York magazine:

Where Trump was tiptoeing around vaccine skepticism, DeSantis jumped in with both feet, banning private companies like cruise lines from requiring vaccination, appointing a vaccine skeptic to his states highest office, and refusing to say if hes gotten his booster dose.

DeSantis may or may not actually be more delusional on Covid than Donald Trump, Chait wrote, but it is a revealing commentary on the state of their party that he sees his best chance to supplant Trump as positioning himself as even crazier.

Michael Tomasky, editor of The New Republic, has a similar take on the Trump-DeSantis Covid feud, writing on Jan. 18:

Whats suddenly intriguing is that DeSantis has decided to try to outflank Trump, to out-Trump Trump, in terms of his hard-trolling of the libs on the vaccine question. And its Trump Donald Trump!  who is playing the role of civilizing, normalizing truth teller.

Politically speaking, however, DeSantiss stance on Covid policy, together with his culture war agenda, has been a success. His favorability ratings have soared and in the third quarter of 2021, the most recent data available, Floridas gross domestic product grew by 3.8 percent, third fastest in the nation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, behind Hawaii and Delaware.

DeSantiss aggressive posture and threats to bring legal action have created anxiety about retribution in some quarters. In January, for example, Dr. Raul Pino, the administrator for the Florida Department of Healths office in Orange County, wrote his staff to say that only 77 of 558 staff members had received a Covid-19 booster, 219 had two doses of the vaccine and 34 had only one dose, according to reporting by my colleague Patricia Mazzei in The Times. I am sorry but in the absence of reasonable and real reasons it is irresponsible not to be vaccinated, Dr. Pino added. He went on: We have been at this for two years, we were the first to give vaccines to the masses, we have done more than 300,000 and we are not even at 50 percent. Pathetic.

Shortly afterward, Pino was put on administrative leave for a month. Jeremy T. Redfern, the press secretary for the Department of Health, said when the leave of absence was announced that the department was conducting an inquiry to determine if any laws were broken in this case. Redfern said in a statement that the decision to get vaccinated is a personal medical choice that should be made free from coercion and mandates from employers.

This and other similar developments have certainly not hurt DeSantiss poll numbers. The latest survey released on Feb. 24 by Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida found not only that of the elected officials on this survey, Governor Ron DeSantis had the highest job approval rating at 58 percent, with 37 percent disapproval, but also that Florida Republicans preferred DeSantis over Trump 44-41 as their presidential nominee.

John Feehery, a Republican lobbyist who previously worked for the partys House leaders, argues that DeSantis is

attuned to the libertarian impulses of an electorate that simply doesnt trust the conventional wisdom coming out of Washington. DeSantis also seems willing to court cultural conservatives in ways that most Washington politicians dont, like with the sex education bill that he signed. DeSantis also seems willing to take on big corporations for their wokeness, a potent issue among the G.O.P. base.

Feehery described DeSantis as a wild card, noting he was also right on Covid, which took an incredible amount of courage.

As governor, DeSantis is wary when he senses the potential for blowback, waiting days before commenting on Russias invasion of Ukraine. When he finally did so, his comments were largely focused on domestic politics.
TBILISI, Georgia  Wake up, Sonya, the war has started. These were the first words I said to my girlfriend on the morning of Feb. 24, as Russian missiles rained down on Ukraine. The words Id never thought Id have to say.

No one in Moscow believed there could be a war, even though its painfully clear now that the Kremlin had been gearing up for it for years. Were we, the millions of Russians who were openly or secretly opposed to President Vladimir Putins regime, merely silent witnesses to what was happening? Even worse, did we endorse it?

No. In 2011, when it was announced that Mr. Putin would return to the Kremlin as president, tens of thousands took to the streets in protest. In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and fomented war in the Donbas, we held huge antiwar rallies. And in 2021 we took to the streets once more throughout the country when Russias main opposition figure, Aleksei Navalny, was arrested after his return to Moscow.

I want to believe we did everything in our power to rein in Mr. Putin. But its not true. Though we protested, organized, lobbied, spread information and built honest lives in the shadow of a corrupt regime, we must accept the truth: We failed. We failed to prevent a catastrophe, and we failed to change the country for the better. And now we must bear that failure.
jane coaston

Today on The Argument, has Putins propaganda machine been overestimated? Im Jane Coaston, and Ive thought a lot  a lot  about propaganda. Back in college, I wrote a history thesis on Nazi propaganda before and after the Battle of Stalingrad. Nazi propaganda was intended to show both German greatness and Germanys vulnerability, its inherent need to strike out against those who would do it wrong. Invading Poland? Had to happen. Murdering millions? A self-defense mechanism. Of course, none of this was true. But an entire ministry existed within the German government to tell the German people that not only was it true, but anyone telling them otherwise was an enemy. Well, now its 2022. And the idea of propaganda  what it is, what it isnt and why that matters  seems increasingly important to me as Russias war in Ukraine continues. And weirdly, even though propaganda has changed a bit since 1943, the propaganda used in this war sounds awfully familiar. The Russian government keeps using terms like denazification to justify its invasion of Ukraine. One American academic even argued that the war reminds him specifically of Stalingrad, the very battle I spent years of my life and many cans of Monster obsessing over. Now, the goal of some propaganda isnt just to change your minds, its to overwhelm your brain. And propaganda can be and is used by anyone. The Ukrainian government is using propaganda to try and garner Western support. The Russian government is using propaganda to try and misinform its own populace. So what does all of this mean for us as we try to figure out what is and isnt happening in Ukraine? Someone who might know is Peter Pomerantsev. Hes a Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University. And as the author of the 2019 book This Is Not Propaganda, hes also thought a lot about how information and misinformation can be wielded against us. So I thought Id talk to him about Ukraine, Russia, propaganda, and how we can know what we know. Hi, Peter.

peter pomerantsev

Hi, Jane.

jane coaston

So I have a lot of questions, and my effort is going to be not to go on long tangents about Soviet propaganda. So to start out, you left the Soviet Union when you were a toddler. You were brought to England, and people referred to you as the Russian. But you had no memory of it. So what types of propaganda did you experience even tangentially, or how did your parents think about the propaganda they were exposed to?

peter pomerantsev

So I suppose if youre going to go that far back into my childhood, I think something happens if youre an immigrant or, you know, essentially a refugee child  a very privileged refugee. But my parents were arrested by the K.G.B. and then exiled in 1978. And we became political refugees. But the point is, when you grow up learning a foreign language  and I remember learning English when I was four  what happens is you become very aware of how language forms you, not how youre expressing yourself through the language. But the language itself has all these tropes and categories that define how you look at the world socially, but almost your feelings. So I suppose if youre thinking very deeply about propaganda, freedom, that search for when you know that your thoughts are your own or when theyre being formed by others, then I suppose part of it is about that. I suppose Im very sensitized, having grown up learning languages at a very young age and sort of having to crawl into these cultures, like the English culture, that language, movies, et cetera, et cetera, really form our worldviews. So maybe thats where it starts. But really, its much simpler than that. In 2001, I went and worked in Russia for 10 years, including in the sort of very, very, very rapidly expanding Russian entertainment TV industry. And actually, my first book, Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible, which was about, you know, this propaganda state that Putin was creating in the 2000s.

jane coaston

And thats a quote from Hannah Arendt, correct?

peter pomerantsev

So Ive got to be honest, when I wrote it, I didnt have that in mind. I was actually thinking more like Assassins Creed, but fine. But later, it was pointed out to me that its actually Arendt. I was thinking a little bit Dostoevsky, a little bit Assassins Creed when I went for it. But then actually, right after this, Im going to be teaching a class at Johns Hopkins, where I work, about Hannah Arendt. And were going to be talking about precisely this. And in many ways, the world that she describes in the Soviet Union and in Nazi Germany, where people have stopped believing in any kind of factuality, where theyre so corroded by cynicism, all thats left is conspiracy theories and this kind of emotional connection to the leader, that is definitely a large part of the world that I was trying to describe in todays Russia. And weve got to be very careful when we make parallels between Putin and Hitler and Nazism. But you know definitely, the psychological mechanisms and propaganda tricks that Putin uses are right out of the Nazi playbook. Its a very different system politically. But in terms of the kind of underlying psychological mechanisms, theyre very similar.

jane coaston

I want to get into a definition of propaganda. The scholar Garth Jowett defines propaganda as a form of communication that attempts to achieve a response that furthers desired intent of the propagandist. And if we think about propaganda like that, the entire goal of propaganda is to make people think the thing that the propagandist wants them to think. So Im curious, to you, how you think about the way the word propaganda is used. Because the Ukrainian government would never call what its tweeting or sharing propaganda. And the Russian government would never call it that. Why do you think that propaganda becomes something that we want to claim that we are not doing, but our opposition is?

peter pomerantsev

OK, so firstly, in Eastern Europe, they have a very different concept of propaganda. Its completely normal. Its fine to say youre a propagandist. Actually, what the Russians will say that what youre doing is propaganda, that media doesnt exist, that democratic communication is a myth. So no, its completely open. You say Im a propagandist, and thats a profession. Its a focus of pride  thats my job, to spread the Communist faith, or to spread my message. So no, thats actually one of our cultural quirks. But youre quite right. I mean, look, this is a term that has become so contested that its almost pointless. Id rather we actually talked specifically about types of communication, their value systems and their aims. And then we can have a more productive discussion. Because what happens is everyone says, youre propaganda. No, youre propaganda. And thats it. But youre quite right. Look, theres one way of looking at it in sort of the academic thinking on propaganda, which really sees it as neutral. Its any type of mass persuasion, which you define it very well, answers primarily the needs of the person doing it. So therefore, slightly different to education, which in theory is meant to be for the benefit of the receiver, not the person pushing it. But of course, look, in America, youre in a world now where even education has become contested that way. So that isnt a moral or immoral case. The only moral bit is whether the cause is just or not. So you can be doing propaganda for civil rights. Thats a good propaganda. Thats a very neutral way of looking at it. And thats fine, but not usually the way we use it. Usually, its used in a slightly different way, that it means something manipulative, that the person doing it is keeping something from the person receiving it, that theres something deceptive about it. And in that sense, theyre always lowering the kind of democratic potential of the person whos being propagandized. Its the opposite of maybe collaborative or democratic communication where you can try to persuade someone of something passionately, vehemently, but youre trying to engage them as an equal. You know, heres my case, heres what I think. What do you think? So I think maybe the latter one, for our conversation, might be more useful. And thats a really, really good starting point. What kind of conversation does the communication inspire? Does it open up a conversation where we can all take part in it as equals? Or is it doing something that actually takes away, I dont know, your right to a share in reality?

jane coaston

It seems as if right now, what were seeing from the Russian government, both internally and externally  and I want to break that down a little bit later  is multiple stories are being told to the Russian people. And so many of them bring them into a shared reality, but they keep everyone else out. The Times had a really interesting piece about people who are in Ukraine who are calling their Russian relatives, and the Russian relatives are like, nothing is happening. Youre lying, this isnt happening. So its as if they are in one shared reality, and Ukraine is in a different shared reality, and never the twain shall meet. So whats Putins strategy here? Is the goal to keep everyone in Russia on board? Or is it to make people so isolated in one reality that even if they started to ask questions, it would just be too overwhelming, and theyd just tune out?

peter pomerantsev

I think its very important when we think about propaganda  lets use that controversial word  to think both about the supply side and the demand side. So Putin has many aims, largely to control things at home. But he uses many tools for that. Propaganda is one of them, censorship is another. The last vestiges of independent media have been taken off air. A lot of celebrities who had talk shows who stood up against the war have been canceled, literally. And when you do that, youre not just trying to persuade people, as in this stuff about a reality, youre sending a message. Youre sending a very, very clear message, and one that Russian people understand. Were now entering full dictatorship. You get 15 years for protesting. You get five  or is it 15 years for using the word war. So that is propaganda as signaling. Youre not trying to persuade, youre trying to say, these are the rules of the game. If you say anything, this is the punishment. You all know what you have to do. People in Russia know this from the Soviet Union. You have to pretend youre agreeing with this just to survive. So lets think about that first, you know. If this was just about persuasion, well, then he wouldnt have to do all these other repressive measures as well. The other one, of course, is one of an emotional comfort. You know, Russians dont want to feel like theyre the bad guys. Nobody wants to feel like theyre the bad guy. And it takes a lot of guts to say, my country is doing a terrible thing. And people will go to really quite ambitious lengths to make themselves feel less bad about whats going on. Its very interesting that the propaganda line the Kremlin is going for more than others for the moment is, we were given no choice. We had to do this. Not this stuff about Nazis in the Second World War, which might work with some and not with others, just we were given no choice. Now, thats great. That makes a person feel they cant do anything about it. So its OK to feel powerless. Its a conspiratorial idiom that the Kremlin uses all the time, basically telling people, look, guys, you dont understand the world. The world is full of dark, unfathomable geopolitical conspiracies. You dont understand it. Leave it to us. Were going to take care of you in this messed up world. So Id say those two things are really in play when we hear about these horrific personal stories of people phoning up and unable to get through to their parents. But if you look at the polling, and the polling is very weird in Russia, half of the people support the war. Thats not very good for a dictatorship. So theres a lot of cracks in the Kremlin matrix.

jane coaston

Im curious, you mentioned something in the book that I couldnt stop thinking about. You mentioned something about how Putins effort is to simulate global influence, is to appear to be more powerful than perhaps the Russian government actually is. And my colleague Farhad Manjoo wrote a piece about Putin. And he wrote that what were seeing is perhaps the unraveling of the myth of Putins mastery over global discourse. Would you think that in some ways, the idea that Putin or the government could be listening to everything you say or paying so much attention to you  is that also propaganda, in a way?

peter pomerantsev

Yes, and it always has been. But look, its worth going back a few steps. In the 1990s, the Kremlin, as in centralized power in Russia, was very weak. Governors and oligarchs are kind of taking control of the country. And what Yeltsin, which is Putins predecessor who appointed him, kind of worked out was that they could simulate power through television. So they take over television in 96 and start creating this image of a powerful Kremlin. And then when Putin gets into power, thats centralized completely. And the whole project of Putin is to create the sense that there is no alternative to Putin, and to use media to make the Kremlin holy and full of sacral power again. So its all about giving that sense. And Putins foreign adventures were always very controlled, to show, wow, look, we went into Syria, killed lots of people. No one did anything. We went into the Crimea. Look how strong we are. No one dared to mess with us. Thats why everybody thought he wouldnt do this full on World War II-style invasion of Ukraine. Thats not his style. Hes ruthless, very calculating, and in a sense, quite reserved. He may have been getting high off his own propaganda supply. He seems to have believed the propaganda that the army was very strong. Its not. They have some brilliant special operations guys. They dont actually have, you know, masses of well-disciplined soldiers, as were seeing. He seems to have really thought that Ukrainians dont exist as a nation and would roll over. And they definitely exist as a nation. So its quite a banal tale of propagandists believing their own nonsense. And that may have been whats happening to Putin. And hes undermined much more than that. The Russian system has largely, under Putin, not actually been a totalitarian one. Its basically a pyramid of corrupt mutual interests where the overall ideology is very, very woolly and shaky. But everyone has a vested interest to be part of it, and can then get on with their own lives, can get on with their holidays to Turkey and their mortgages and whatever. You just have to once a week say, oh, yes, I love Putin, and you get on with it. Now hes getting rid of everybodys motivation. By destroying the economy very consciously, everybodys motivation has disappeared. And its unclear whether he has that totalitarian mind control. So well see  hes trying to flip into a new sort of system. Whether he manages that, I dont know.

jane coaston

Yeah, I keep thinking about how so much of what we think we know about Putin and Russia is what either we are afraid of or what we might be projecting onto him based on  people keep talking about his role in the K.G.B. and the history of the Soviet Union. And Im always curious about where that comes from. But I want to know where are and arent Russian citizens getting these messages? And how should we be thinking about that?

peter pomerantsev

Well, firstly, we have to acknowledge our responsibility in it. The propaganda on Russian state .V. has, for many years, really been out of the Nazi playbook. You create the good Russian people or the good Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian folk, the people. And anyone who disagrees with that deserves to be destroyed. Theyre called vermin. When Putin says Ukraine doesnt exist like a real country, he is OK-ing mass murder. And this has been going on for a while. This is not new. The thing is, youll see these political talk shows where all these things are pushed very strategically, with a lot of intentionality and a lot of consistency. And then therell be a pause in the advertising, and well see adverts for Western chewing gum and Western cars and Western fast food. We have funded this for many, many, many years. Also, look, political talk shows are popular. Much more popular are Western reality and scripted entertainment formats. Thats what the Russians buy. Thats why the audiences come, and then they stay for the, you know, murderous war propaganda. So weve been complicit in it. And then we also normalized it. If youre a Russian, and you see the Russian version of Strictly Come Dancing  I think its called Dancing With the Stars in Russia. By the way, Zelensky won the version of that in Ukraine, just for the record.

jane coaston

He was great.

peter pomerantsev

Pretty impressive. So you see that, and then after that, you have the Kremlins attack dog attacking ethnic minorities in Russia, attacking the L.G.B.T. community. Thats right next to entertainment shows and ads for Western products. So if youre Russian, youre like, well, this must be OK. You know, look, we have all this Western stuff. So weve really been kind of reinforcing and normalizing this whole propaganda package for many, many, many decades now. Sorry, that was my rant.

jane coaston

No, no, no, it was a good rant. You mentioned that about 50 percent of citizens are supportive of the war based on Russian polling, which again, as you mentioned, is weird. The Washington Post has it at 5 percent. Im curious to hear from you, why do you think its failing? If there had not been sanctions, if the ruble were not in freefall, do you think that the perspective of Russian citizens would be different?

peter pomerantsev

I dont think they managed to get their ducks in a row. I mean, it takes time to prime audiences to a very, very specific narrative. Its very hard to do it in two days. You want to build it up and build it up. So I think thats number one. Number two, its Ukraine. Its really hard to persuade Russians that Ukraine really is a threat to Russia. I mean, you can say that its the West who are using Ukraine as a puppet, but thats pretty abstract. And thirdly, look, Russian propaganda under Putin is actually not about mobilizing people. Its largely about making people passive with the use of conspiratorial propaganda, with this use of disinformation to just confuse the hell out of people. Its all about keeping the population passive. And again, look, it speaks to the sunsets of Putinism. Theres the classic thing  somebody whos been in charge 22 years, not receiving any good information, no checks and balances, and they lose their touch. So the idea is, look at it from the point of view of the dictator. You used to be able to just shut people off from all information. Literally, people in the Soviet Union had a couple of T.V. channels. And to tune in to foreign news, you had to get a shortwave radio, adapt it, and then sort of twiddle the dial to the BBC or Radio Free Europe. Nowadays, even with firewalls in China, but certainly in Russia until recently, you couldnt do that. People will have access to information. So what you do instead is instead of squeezing the information space, you overload it with so much stuff and also so much cynicism that people just get confused. And in that murky darkness, they turn to stuff which resonates emotionally. And look, that sets up a real dilemma philosophically and legally. Because in our kind of doctrine of freedom of expression, we never talk about overload of information as a problem. We shape our arguments around the idea of censorship versus free speech, which is still a huge issue in many, many places. But here, youre seeing something else happen. Its not just in Russia. We see it in the Philippines and Mexico  I mean, all sorts of places. And its a real challenge because theres nothing in the First Amendment or the Article 19 of the Declaration of Human Rights, which is the one about freedom of speech  theres nothing in there about disinformation or too much information or noise. And so I dont think weve really got our heads around how we start dealing with this different type of censorship. We dont really have a way into addressing this.

jane coaston

Well keep covering the ongoing events in Ukraine on the show. In the meantime, keep sending me your thoughts and any of the conversations youre having with family and friends. You can leave a voicemail at 347-915-4324. You were mentioning a little bit  thinking about the messaging of the sunset of the Putin regime, so to speak. If there is a difference between propaganda and just straight up lying, and you know, the idea of using special military operation instead of war, the idea of liberating Ukrainians, how do you think about where to draw that line? Is there a line? How should we think about that?

peter pomerantsev

Look, lets go in a bit of a tangent. Is that OK? Can I do that? Can I tangent?

jane coaston

Oh, I love tangents.

peter pomerantsev

Lets tangent. What Ive noticed is that people in the West have started using a term that the Russians like a lot, called information war. Look, when the Russians talk about information war, its not just about kind of military information operations. Thats a very, very specific way of using disinformation on a battlefield to take a city. When the Russians talk about information war, its actually a pseudo ideology. Its a way of explaining history. Its something that emerges in the 1990s. And the argument by a bunch of kind of slightly eccentric but increasingly powerful academics was that we lost the Cold War not because of our dire economics or our poor political record or our terrible human rights, but because of an information war from the West. The West spread these ideas, which were weapons like free speech and universal values, in order to destroy our system. They used a fifth column of economic reformers who were specially implanted. So look, this is kind of a very conspiratorial pseudo ideology that explains everything that happens in the world as the product of creepy manipulation. Its basically an ideology that says that democratic communication, as in people debating and arguing and coming to conclusions and having their own volition, that doesnt exist. People are pawns to be moved around Psyops chessboard. So thats what they do. Thats their treatment of information. And look, its an ideology that basically means democracy is a myth and cannot exist. Because if all language, if all communication is just manipulation, the idea of a public sphere where we debate, decide, make policies, win or lose elections becomes impossible. In a world of information war, only dictatorship can be a legitimate form of power. Now, thats what the Russians do. What the Ukrainians are doing is a million and one Psyops on the battlefield, the million and one usual things of lets talk up our victories and not talk about our defeats. Thats what all militaries do during a war to keep morale up. I dont think theres anything new about that. Is everything true? I would definitely double-check anything the Ukrainian military puts out. Thats normal. But Zelenskys doing the opposite. Hes kind of saying things as he sees them and trying to be  well, hes being as much himself as I think weve seen a leader be for a long time. And the appeals hes making are very genuine appeals. And hes trying to reach out to us as human beings. And we can answer him as human beings. So Id be very careful relativizing these different kind of approaches to communication and the kind of worldviews that they represent.

jane coaston

So I do want to talk about the role that history is playing here. Because one area is Putins repeated assertion that his actions are an attempt at denazification. And you mentioned in the book the role of the Great Patriotic War and Nazis play a massive role in not just this Ukrainian conflict, but the 2014 Revolution, which is parsed as being neofascist and U.S.-pushed. And you have a line that I really liked, which is that theres this endless World War II against eternally returning fascists. You have two countries that both experienced the same horrors of the war on the Eastern Front, two countries that both know what happened at Leningrad and at Stalingrad. Both lost millions of people. How do you think that that messaging going back and forth of, no, these are the Nazis. No, these are the Nazis. What is that trying to tell us? What does that mean?

peter pomerantsev

So definitely in Russia, the Second World War has become kind of the central religion of life in a way that it actually wasnt necessarily before, largely because everything else has kind of gone as a source of pride. So thats sort of become very much religious sort of experience, with sacrifice and nobleness and all those sorts of things. Look, when Russians use the term Nazi or fascist, theyre not using it in any academic sense. I mean, if youd ask people to define Nazism or fascism, that they wouldnt be able to. Theyll just say the enemy, its the enemy. So its just sort of like a label you put on everything that you dont like, and everything that you define yourself against, and everything that needs to be wiped out. But I suppose youre also  by saying that Ukraine is occupied by Nazis, what youre saying is that Ukrainians are now not part of that holy tradition. And therefore its OK to murder them. Because youre quite right, the answer will be, but hold on, we both fought Nazis together. How can we be on different sides now? But what youre sort of saying is that the Ukrainians have betrayed that. Theyve left that holy religion, and therefore they may be destroyed. But listen, Im not sure that bit of propaganda is working as efficiently as the Kremlin might hope. I mean, my sense is theyre going for other types as well. Because its just a bit weird calling Ukrainians Nazis.

jane coaston

I want to get to a conversation about journalism and the role that journalists can play here. Now it feels as if, even within American politics, there are as many realities as there are people, and that what facts mean can be really hard, or what they should mean, especially when facts, to quote Talking Heads, dont do what you want them to. So how can journalists, how can people whose job it is to tell people whats happening, how can they respond to the fact that people are getting a lot of information, they are very overwhelmed, and people generally want to hear what they want to hear?

peter pomerantsev

Yeah, I think one of the great myths that maybe many journalists operated in on the level of assumption without really interrogating was the myth of a marketplace of ideas, that the best information would somehow rise to the top through some sort of theory of rational choice. Weve actually known that to be nonsense for a long time. Weve kind of all worked with that assumption. I will do the great piece, and Ill put it out there, and Ill hold truth to power that way. But suddenly, what if the powerful dont care about the truth? What if they just shrug? And what if their followers dont care about the truth, either? Im starting to think a lot more carefully about why would people want facts? I thought that Talking Heads quote was great. Im going to use that for my students. Why would somebody want facts when youre quite right, all the research we have from social psychology shows that people will reject facts if they challenge their identity? So how do we do that? How do we manage to talk to people in a way that they can put aside some of their kind of biases and actually engage with reality? And thats a very, very challenging question, not one I think journalists have spent a lot of time thinking about, but one that I think that we really need to. One clue that I found is, I think the idea of facts in political discourse are deeply connected to the idea of a future. So even Donald Trump becomes very rational when hes building a bridge. Suddenly, he wont be post-truthy at all. Hell be very, very, very specific. Youve got to count budgets, youve got to count how much do things weigh, or else the thing will fall down. And also in politics, if youre saying here is my plan for the future, suddenly, facts start mattering again. Because you can debate how youre going to get there. I mean, in the book, the argument that I make is that change in the 21st century  in the 20th century, you had two ideologies, Communism and Democratic capitalism, that were deeply Enlightenment-driven and were both claims about the future. So telling the truth in them mattered in principle. Everybody lied, but the idea of evidence was important. Because each side was saying, heres our version of the truth. Heres our version of the future. And heres proof of the facts that were getting there. So I think its about that. If we can, in our articles and in our media, think about solutions a little bit more, not just describe situations but sort of push the conversation towards, well, what are we going to do about it, then suddenly, I think the more factual bit of peoples brains starts operating.

jane coaston

Do you have any predictions or thoughts about what comes next for Putin in the information space? Youve spent a long time living in Russia and thinking about Russian politics and how Russian media works. What do you think his next moves will be, or how hell react?

peter pomerantsev

So look, the Putin that we know from before would cut his losses, claim victory, annex part of the country, and then try to sort of manipulate his way back to economic recovery. He might just be in a different place now. Hes going to escalate. And that means starting to play the nuclear card. His mind is there already. Hes thinking about it. Hes obsessing with it. What form that takes, Im making no predictions. But he sees things getting to a logjam, he might well escalate. You know, hes always been very keen on narrative escalation dominance. While were fussing about sanctions, hes like, what about the nuclear card? What do you think about that? We dont like thinking about it. Its very unpleasant for us. Its sort of a taboo subject for us. Hes there already. So I think hes going to start playing that card. And whether thats threatening or using tactical nukes  thats a tiny nuclear explosion  or exploding something over the Baltic Sea, which is something the Russians exercise all the time, I dont know. I really dont know. But if he needs to escalate, the place you take it to is nuclear. But look, lets listen to his propaganda now. Why should we try to imagine things? Listen to what hes saying. His obsession isnt just with Ukraine, which hes clearly obsessed with in really unhealthy, misogynistic ways. His obsession is with America. His propaganda goes on and on and on about this idea that America secretly controls London, Berlin, Warsaw, obviously Kyiv. Hes obsessed with you guys. You guys are the thing that he kind of wants to be, wants love from, defines himself against. I mean, hes like this weird stalker going around the world upsetting. Its you guys that he wants to get at, I think, wants to humiliate, wants to embarrass, and wants to show the world that you guys are a busted flush. So hell be looking for ways to show that. Hes going to use that over Ukraine. He said, ha, America said it would defend Ukraine. Ive killed its president. Ive laid its cities to rubble. Americas promises are nothing. And then hell start challenging Americas next big promise, which is to defend Eastern Europe. No ones tested NATO. No ones tried to find its weak points. How do you get underneath Article 5, which is the pledge that an attack on one is an attack on all? So look, his obsession is with you guys. So whatever he does, his main aim is Washington.

jane coaston

And on that comforting note, seeing that I live in Washington and I like it here, Peter Pomerantsev, thank you so much. I really love the book as much as one can love a book that makes one feel bad inside. Thank you so much for your time.

peter pomerantsev

I live in Washington as well, so Im as scared as you are.

jane coaston
Until recently, German leaders didnt see this dependency as a problem. As Alec MacGillis explains in The New Yorker, Germany actually chose to rely on Russia because it saw the economic links created by fuel imports  physical links, in the form of pipelines through Eastern Europe and under the Baltic Sea  as integral to keeping peace and integrating Russia into the rest of Europe.

The big picture: In the view of Svitlana Krakovska, Ukraines leading climate scientist, who helped finalize the I.P.C.C. report from Kyiv as Russia invaded, the war on her home country is inextricably linked to climate change. Burning oil, gas and coal is causing warming and impacts we need to adapt to, she told The Guardian. And Russia sells these resources and uses the money to buy weapons. Other countries are dependent upon these fossil fuels; they dont make themselves free of them. This is a fossil fuel war. Its clear we cannot continue to live this way. It will destroy our civilization.

How the war could spur climate action

In the immediate term, Germany and others could take measures to reduce their consumption of Russian fossil fuels, as the Times columnist Paul Krugman explains. Eliminating their use, though, would incur steep costs to the German people equivalent to those of a moderate recession.

Its not so simple to just say, OK, overnight, now were going to suddenly switch and no longer going to be dependent on natural gas from Russia, or fossil fuels in general, Pete Ogden, vice president for energy, climate and the environment at the U.N. Foundation, told Yahoo News. Right now, youre seeing that vulnerability exposed and there not being easy, short-term fixes to that problem.

But its evident that the fusion of foreign-policy and climate interests has lent more political momentum to decarbonization. Germany, for its part, just earmarked 200 billion euros for investment in renewable energy production between now and 2026. Many of the strategies to lower dependency on Russia are the same as the policy measures you want to take to lower emissions, Thijs Van de Graaf, a professor of international politics at Ghent University, told The Financial Times. At the moments where we have these crises, the [energy] transition can be supercharged.

The European Union has vowed to slash Russian natural gas imports by two-thirds by next winter and to cut them out entirely by 2027. That would be an extremely ambitious timetable in peacetime, but if the continent shifts to a war footing  as it must, with a savage conflict playing out on its eastern borders  then it should be achievable, The Boston Globe editorial board writes.
Along with more conventional sanctions on Russian oligarchs and some Russian goods, key Russian banks have been denied access to dollar clearing, the beating heart of the global financial system. They have been turned away from the SWIFT messaging network, which allows money to be transferred across borders.

In response to what it calls economic war, Russia has threatened to disrupt the global economy, cutting off gas flows to Western Europe and banning the exports of key raw materials. But the economic tools that it can use against the West are far less effective than the tools that can be used against it. If Russia stops selling gas, neon or fertilizer, there will be global shortages, and dire consequences for poor countries and poor people as food prices go up. Still, the countries that Russia is targeting will be able to weather the transition and will eventually find sources elsewhere.

While there are substitutes for Russian nickel, theres no good substitute for the U.S. dollar and U.S. technology. It is very hard to get paid for things you sell if you cant use SWIFT messaging and have been cut off by the U.S.-regulated financial institutions that clear transactions in dollars. And its hard to build sophisticated machines without semiconductors that are made with U.S. intellectual property.

Unsurprisingly, other countries want to duplicate Americas ability to weaponize global networks. We have seen talk of a parallel financial network to match that of the one led by the United States. But Russia  or even perhaps China  will find it very hard to build its own alternative global networks unless the United States overreaches. Russia now has its own SWIFT alternative, but it really only works within Russias borders. Chinas CIPS payment system is only slightly more successful. In terms of scale, CIPS handles roughly 11,000 transactions a day, almost exclusively in mainland China and Hong Kong, while SWIFT processes around 42 million across the world. Hong Kongs aspirations to become a global financial hub are in tatters thanks to lockdowns and the brutal government response to democratic protests.

The barrier isnt just that the payment networks of Russia and China are three or four decades behind. Others also fear how they would abuse these networks if they controlled them. The United States has its problems, but it at least provides some legal protections to businesses and countries that have fallen afoul of its harsh measures.
FRONT PAGE

An article on Tuesday about the ways that China could benefit from the war in Ukraine misspelled the surname of the German chancellor. He is Olaf Scholz, not Sholz.

An article on Saturday about how a line of Russian tanks became a target for Ukrainians misspelled the surname of a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment. He is Tor Bukkvoll, not Bukkvol.

BUSINESS

An article on Sunday about the Village to Village volunteer network referred incorrectly to a support village for older people in North Carolina. It is Fearrington Village, not Fearrington Cares. The error was repeated in a picture caption.

SPORTS

An article on Tuesday about brackets for the N.C.A.A. mens basketball tournament listed an impossible Final Four prediction. U.C.L.A. would play Texas Tech, not Wisconsin, and Villanova would play Wisconsin, not Texas Tech.
It wasnt a hard sell. She responded to Doerries over email. You want me to play an old, blind transgender prophet? Thats a dream come true! he recalled her writing.

We have a great admiration for nurses, and you just say yes to these things, Atwood said later, during a call from her home in Toronto. Its like giving blood  you dont say, Well, on the one hand  and on the other.

The actors, both professional and nonprofessional, will not be wearing costumes (an attempt by Doerries to keep things unpolished and raw)  except for Atwood, who is the only one who needs some indicator that her character is blind. Days before the performance, she was contemplating a hooded cape that covered most of her face and possibly a pair of skeleton gloves.

The reading, which will be performed virtually and is the first in a yearlong initiative of 12 performances in collaboration with different nursing organizations around the country, comes about two years after the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. Its a crisis that has left frontline medical workers so exhausted and traumatized that they are quitting their jobs in droves. And a recent survey of thousands of nurses by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses found that 66 percent considered leaving their posts because of their experiences during the pandemic.

Nurses talk about how in the beginning everybody was clapping and cheering and calling us heroes, said Cynda Rushton, a leader in clinical ethics who teaches at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics and at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, who helped Doerries recruit nurses for the play. But then as time has gone on and you think about the social unrest, the political divide, the anger that has developed in response to the pandemic, nurses  as the people who are closest to the patient  have been the recipient of that anger or that violence and frustration.

Theater of War Productions was founded in 2008 to take community-based performances of Greek tragedies to military bases, hospitals and other venues to help active service members and veterans, as well as their spouses and other military-adjacent workers, process and share war trauma. In the 14 years since its founding, the group has expanded its mission beyond military circles to other communities in crisis: the homeless, the incarcerated and survivors of addiction, abuse, natural disaster or racial violence.
A mulch-filled lot scattered with memorabilia (a video game controller, a frayed yellow cooler, a tattered life vest) sits center stage, flanked by two ladders that seem to reach up and away from the cemetery, somewhere beyond the graves. A cast of seven tells the story: The narrator (Weller) presents cold, clinical facts (one plot can hold 150 adult corpses  or 1,000 infants), and six somber archetypes provide piecemeal anecdotes  including one about a Rikers correctional officer rallying his detainees for a day trip, another about the nurse of an elderly patient who passed away with no family to bury her and a third about a mother whose newborn died three days after birth.

Thor said he was struck that the island was relatively unknown, despite its proximity. Its a huge piece of humanity thats sitting inside of our city that nobody knows about, he said. That feels like a tragedy to me.

As the city continues to bury victims of Covid-19, the islands history holds a mirror to pandemic quandaries of late. How do we isolate the diseased? How do we isolate ourselves from the diseased?

Above all, how do we go on?

In spring 2020, as Covid-19 overwhelmed morgues, interments on Hart Island increased about fivefold to 120 per week from 25. As many as one in 10 people who died from the virus in New York City may be buried in the mass graves, according to one analysis.

Reflecting on the past two years, Weller said, We know death in a way that we didnt before; we know isolation in a way that we didnt before. She added, We need to know death. The more we look at death, the more we understand life.
Edamah (Bahrain Real Estate Investment Company), the real estate arm of the kingdoms sovereign wealth fund, will be a Strategic Partner of the Gulf Property Show.

Bahrains No.1 real estate showcase will be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain. The event, which takes place from March 22 to 24 at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre, will be one of the first major in-person tradeshows in two years.

Edamah is committed to building for Bahrain and the company has already launched a diverse portfolio of developments with major plans to develop large-scale projects for the future. Edamah is instrumental in Bahrains long-term growth plan in line with the economic vision 2030 by broadening investment opportunities in the real estate sector of the kingdom.

On its participation, Edamahs CEO Amin Alarrayed said: The Gulf Property Show provides an integrated platform to promote the real estate sector, we are glad to be part of its return this year. At the exhibition, we will be showcasing our award-winning Jumeirah Gulf of Bahrain Resort and Spa and Bilaj Al Jazayer, a multi-purpose coastal town, whose masterplan was recently approved, that will elevate the Sunset Coast with boutique hotels, a beach club and numerous offerings in the F&B and leisure sectors.

Building for Bahrain is a powerful vision and mission that Edamah undertakes in the property landscape of Bahrain, says Jubran Abdulrahaman, Managing Director of Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE), the organisers of the event.

Their developments have reinforced the investment potential of Bahrain globally. We are delighted that they are putting up their award-winning projects for public display at the Gulf Property Show.

The Gulf Property Shows Strategic Partners are: Edamah, Diyar Al Muharraq and Bahrain Harbour; the Diamond Sponsor is Naseej; the Gold Sponsor is Al Yal Real Estate; and the Architecture Partner is Pace.

The show will take place alongside the Gulf Construction Expo and Interiors Expo, ensuring the strongest integrated business-to-business showcase for the construction, interiors and property sectors ever to be staged in the Northern GCC.  TradeArabia News Service
Maybe you havent thought much about Californias plan to build a high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco since you voted for (or against) the nearly $10 billion bond measure to get the project started in 2008.

Maybe you didnt live in California at the time, or you were too young to understand the instinctive appeal of an electrified transportation system that would replace gas-guzzling slogs up Interstate 5 with bullet train rides that would whisk riders between cities at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour.

If any of that is true for you, it will probably come as no surprise that turning that grand vision into a reality has been monumentally difficult. The price tag of the effort has ballooned, and the route has shifted amid political squabbling and legal challenges. The future of the project has become uncertain, even as construction continues in the Central Valley.

But now, as I reported this week, theres also heightened urgency around the effort, as the United States struggles to seriously address climate change and to overhaul crumbling roads, bridges, tunnels and railways.
WASHINGTON  The Biden administration is allowing Afghans who have been residing in the United States to remain in the country legally for at least another 18 months, an attempt to provide them more stability as gaining permanent residency could take years.

The benefit, known as temporary protected status, will be extended to more than 74,000 Afghans who were living in the United States as of March 15, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which makes such designations. Most immediately, it will affect roughly 2,000 Afghans who were not among those evacuated during the tumultuous U.S. military pullout from their country last year. Each applicant has to pass a background check.

The program does not provide a path to a green card or citizenship, which many advocates say is warranted for Afghans who were brought to the country after risking their lives to assist American forces. Many served as combat interpreters, as drivers and in other supportive roles over the two decades that U.S. troops fought in their country.

Most Afghans who were evacuated to the United States last year have already been granted another status, known as humanitarian parole, which allows them to stay for two years. But many have had trouble navigating an immigration system that U.S. officials concede was unprepared to help them. The process to reapply for humanitarian parole after two years can be cumbersome for applicants, but temporary protected status is frequently extended for designated countries by the Department of Homeland Security.
WASHINGTON  President Biden said on Wednesday that the United States would send $800 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine, shortly after the countrys president, Volodymyr Zelensky, delivered an impassioned virtual address to Congress in which he appealed for more help in staving off Russias invasion.

This new package on its own is going to provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine, Mr. Biden said, adding that the Russian invasion was producing appalling devastation and horror in that country.

The American people are answering President Zelenskys call for more help, more weapons for Ukraine, he said.

But Mr. Biden stopped well short of responding to the more direct military intervention that Mr. Zelensky has repeatedly requested, including for the United States and NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
WASHINGTON  Senator Josh Hawley had a pointed question earlier this month for a federal appeals court nominee who, as a public defender, helped get a Pennsylvania man off death row despite his conviction for two brutal murders.

Do you regret trying to prevent this individual who committed these heinous crimes from having justice served upon him? asked Mr. Hawley, Republican of Missouri, as he grilled Arianna Freeman, President Bidens pick for a seat on the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Last month, Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, asked Nina Morrison, a nominee for a Federal District Court seat in New York, whether she was proud that you encourage such defiance in convicted murderers when a man she represented declared to the prison warden that he would not be executed. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, told Ms. Freeman she had devoted your entire professional career to representing murderers, to representing rapists, representing child molesters.

And Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the former public defender whose confirmation hearing for a seat on the Supreme Court begins next Monday, has been sharply questioned by Republicans for her work representing detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. In a background paper on her nomination for the high court, the Republican National Committee referred to Judge Jacksons advocacy for these terrorists as going beyond just giving them a competent defense.
WASHINGTON  In 36 days of fighting on Iwo Jima during World War II, nearly 7,000 Marines were killed. Now, 20 days after President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia invaded Ukraine, his military has already lost more soldiers, according to American intelligence estimates.

The conservative side of the estimate, at more than 7,000 Russian troop deaths, is greater than the number of American troops killed over 20 years in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

It is a staggering number amassed in just three weeks of fighting, American officials say, with implications for the combat effectiveness of Russian units, including soldiers in tank formations. Pentagon officials say a 10 percent casualty rate, including dead and wounded, for a single unit renders it unable to carry out combat-related tasks.

With more than 150,000 Russian troops now involved in the war in Ukraine, Russian casualties, when including the estimated 14,000 to 21,000 injured, are near that level. And the Russian military has also lost at least three generals in the fight, according to Ukrainian, NATO and Russian officials.
The destruction of our country, the destruction of Europe. All American ports should be closed for Russian goods. We  peace is more important than income and we have to defend this principle in the whole world. We already became part of the antiwar coalition  a big antiwar coalition that unites many countries, dozens of countries, those who reacted too in principle to President Putins decision to invade our country  but we need to move on and do more.

We need to create new tools to respond quickly and stop the war. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24th. And it would be fair if it ended in a day, in 24 hours, that evil would be punished immediately. Today, the world does not have such tools. The war of the past have prompted our predecessors to create institutions that should protect us from war. But they unfortunately dont work. We see it, you see it.

So we need new ones, new institutions, new alliances, and we offer them. We propose to create an association, U-24, United for Peace, a union of responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflicts immediately, provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours if necessary, even weapons, if necessary. Sanctions, humanitarian support, political support, finances, everything you need to keep the peace and quickly save the world, to save lives. In addition, such association, such union could provide assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, man-made disasters, who fell victims to humanitarian crisis, or epidemics.

Remember how difficult it was for the world to do the simplest thing? Just to give vaccines, vaccines against Covid to save lives, to prevent new strains. The world spent months, years doing things like that much faster to make sure there are no human losses, no victims. Ladies and gentlemen, Americans, if such alliance would exist today that is U-24, we would be able to save thousands of lives in our country, in many countries of the world.

Those who need peace, those who suffer inhumane destruction. I ask you to watch one video  video of what the Russian troops did in our country, in our land. We have to stop it. We must prevent it, preventively destroy every single aggressor who seeks to subjugate other nations. Please watch the video.

[After video plays, Mr. Zelensky resumes his speech in English.]

Zelensky cast U.S. support as a moral imperative.

And in the end, to sum it up, today  today its not enough to be the leader of the nation. Today it takes to be the leader of the world, being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace. Peace in your country doesnt depend anymore only on you and your people. It depends on those next to you and those who are strong. Strong doesnt mean big. Strong is brave and ready to fight for the life of his citizens and citizens of the world. For human rights, for freedom, for the right to live decently, and to die when your time comes, and not when its wanted by someone else, by your neighbor.

Calling on Americas own image of itself as the leader of the free world, Mr. Zelensky argued that the United States had a moral duty to help defend Ukraine  indeed, any democracy under siege  even though it is not a member of NATO.

The appeal carried both emotional and patriotic overtones for members of Congress, and was a passage of his address cited by several lawmakers afterward.
The mayor who led the seaside town of Surfside, Fla., through the traumatic aftermath of the collapse of a condominium tower in which 98 people were killed last year was voted out of office on Tuesday night.

The mayor, Charles Burkett, who was elected in 2020, placed third in the three-way race and lost by 33 votes to the winner, Shlomo Danzinger, according to an unofficial tally.

Mr. Burkett was thrust into the national spotlight after the Champlain Towers South, a 13-story residential condo building just north of Miami Beach, collapsed in the early hours of June 24. He was a fixture at press briefings as firefighters, search dogs and emergency crews spent weeks scouring the rubble for survivors. Eventually, the rescue effort shifted to a recovery operation, when rescuers acknowledged that no more survivors would be found.
SNA ANSA, Cambodia  The land mine that killed Ma Simet and two others was laid decades ago. The devices are designed to endure. They can outlast monsoons and droughts, years of political upheaval and submerged histories  until the cataclysmic moment of contact.

On Jan. 10, under an early hot sun, the men worked to remove mines from a field, vestiges of a time when Cambodia was at war with itself and suffered as victim of a larger conflict. By late morning, they had discovered a Russian-made antitank mine. Nestled nearby, unseen by them, was an antipersonnel device, a deadly tactic targeting anyone trying to defuse the larger explosive.

The two men closer to the detonation were obliterated. All that was left of one was a couple of fingers and a patch of scalp. Mr. Ma Simet was a bit further away. His body was found intact.

Even though his face was burned, it was like he was sleeping peacefully, said Khuon Savin, his widow. I dont care about the history. I just want those mines gone before they hurt other people.
TOKYO  A powerful undersea earthquake off the Fukushima region of Japan, where a tsunami a decade ago set off one of the worst nuclear plant disasters in history, shook buildings for more than two minutes late Wednesday night.

Then the waiting began.

Shortly after the quake hit at 11:36 p.m., the Japan Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings for the prefectures of Fukushima and Miyagi, and thousands of residents, many of whom remember only too well the destruction of 2011, evacuated.

Please put out any fires, officials in the city of Minamisoma, in Fukushima, told residents as they urged them to get to safer ground. Please listen to the TV and radio and act calmly and accordingly.

Hours later, the warnings were lifted.

Several small tsunami waves measuring perhaps 20 centimeters in height (eight inches) were reported in two communities, but they were one-fifth the size that was forecast  and tiny compared to the 45-foot wave that devastated the region in 2011. More than 19,000 people died in that catastrophe.
SEOUL  North Korea launched an unidentified projectile on Wednesday, but it apparently failed immediately after liftoff, the South Korean military said.

The projectile was launched at 9:30 a.m. from Sunan, outside Pyongyang, the capital, the South Korean military said in a brief statement. But the rocket exploded midair after reaching an altitude of less than 12 miles, South Korean defense officials said.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the launch was a ballistic missile test and called on North Korea to refrain from further destabilizing acts.

The North launched ballistic missiles from the same site at Sunan on Feb. 27 and March 5, American and South Korean officials said. North Korea said those tests had been part of its preparation to launch a military reconnaissance satellite  a task that its leader, Kim Jong-un, assigned to his government during a Workers Party congress in January last year.
Bahrains Dar Alfann Gallery has launched NFT MENA Exhibit 2022, the regions first dedicated NFT art exhibition.

The exhibition, under the patronage of Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, President of the National Council for Arts, is taking place at Ritz-Carlton Hotel until March 18.

The exhibition will hold a series of panel sessions with multiple speakers from the public and private sectors. The sessions will discuss various topics related to NFT technology and art, technological development and future readiness, trading NFTs, and NFTs from the artists perspective.

Shaikh Rashid said: We are pleased to see the Kingdom of Bahrain hosting the first NFT exhibition in MENA. This is a major regional event that presents a great opportunity for local artists to share their experiences and collaborate with international artists, which goes in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and the direction set by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

Abdulrahman Almokla, Chairman of Dar Alfann, expressed his appreciation, thanking all the institutions and companies that supported and sponsored the exhibition. He stressed that Bahrain's hosting of an exhibition at this level will place it at the forefront of technological advancement and amongst the leading countries in the field of digitalisation.

Athena Yu, Deputy Head of NFT at Binance, said: We are pleased to be part of the MENAs first NFT exhibition. Crypto disruption is not only limited to currencies, it can also involve art, and we want artists in Bahrain and the region as a whole to benefit from this emerging technology. This exhibition presents an ideal place to exchange experiences and learn from each other.

Artists from Bahrain, the region, and the world will participate in this event, and many artworks signed by creatives, such as Lina Al-Ayoubi and Adnan Al-Ahmad, will be showcased. A step-by-step process of entering the NFT world will be presented, and the exhibition will also include educational workshops conducted by experts for artists and enthusiasts.  TradeArabia News Service
LONDON  Stepping up the search for alternatives to Russian energy, Britains prime minister, Boris Johnson, on Wednesday visited Saudi Arabia in hopes of persuading the oil producer to boost output and relieve pressure on global markets.

But at home, critics had another take on Mr. Johnsons efforts to reduce western reliance on Russias president, Vladimir V. Putin: going from one dictator to another.

With Europeans seeking to wean their economies off supplies of Russian fossil fuels, Mr. Johnson has described Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which he also visited on Wednesday, as key international parties. The world needs to deal with the new reality following the invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Johnson said before leaving London.

But his visit to Saudi Arabia comes just days after the country executed 81 people. And Saudi Arabias crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, also approved the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to a U.S. intelligence report.
LONDON  After six years in Tehran separated from her family, first in prison and then under house arrest, a British-Iranian womans ordeal in detention in Iran is finally over.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  arrested in Tehrans airport in 2016 on her way home to London, and used as a diplomatic pawn, her family says  was finally reunited with her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, and daughter, Gabriella.

Her release, and that of another British-Iranian citizen, Anoosheh Ashoori, came after the settlement of a longstanding British debt to Iran that had roiled relations between the two countries, according to Britains foreign secretary, Liz Truss.

Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Mr. Ashoori, who spent years detained in the same Tehran prison, were taken to an airport on Wednesday and flown back to Britain after a stop in Oman. Their flight arrived in Oxfordshire early Thursday morning, according to Reuters and a video that Mr. Ashooris daughter, Elika Ashoori, posted on social media.
Mr. Putin insisted in his speech, which he delivered at the beginning of a televised videoconference with senior officials, that Russias military tactics in Ukraine had fully justified themselves. But even pro-Kremlin analysts said that Russia was becoming bogged down in a bloodier conflict than anticipated  because Mr. Putin had apparently believed that many Ukrainian soldiers would lay down their arms rather than fight.

The military operation is, no question, tougher going than had been expected, said Sergey Markov, a pro-Kremlin commentator who appears frequently on state television. It was expected that 30 to 50 percent of the Ukrainian Armed Forces would switch over to Russias side. No one is switching over.

As a result, Mr. Putin appears to be probing for an exit that would fall short of his original aim to topple the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine  even as his military continues to pound Ukrainian cities. Russian and Ukrainian officials spoke by video link for a third straight day on Wednesday, and Mr. Putins lead negotiator said there had been a certain progress on a number of positions, but not all of them.

But Mr. Putin has made it clear that he sees Ukraine as only one battlefield in his wider conflict with the West  a fight, he reiterated on Wednesday, that he sees as existential.

Ms. Stanovaya said that Mr. Putin appeared to be leaving the unpleasant work of negotiating a compromise end to the war to his officials, while himself setting the stage for a bigger showdown ahead with the West and with pro-Western Russians. It was also possible, she said, that the negotiations were a bluff to buy the Kremlin time to prepare for an assault on Kyiv.

Its dirty work to negotiate with Nazis, she said, sarcastically channeling Mr. Putins rhetoric about Ukraines leaders. Hes got little to be happy about in this situation.

The West, Mr. Putin said in his speech Wednesday, was waging total, undisguised war against Russia with an economic blitzkrieg as well as political and informational means. In a blunt acknowledgment of the pain caused by Western sanctions, he said Russia had to prepare for a temporary rise in inflation and unemployment as it embarked on deep, structural changes of our economy.
BRUSSELS  President Biden took office with the idea that this centurys struggle would be between the worlds democracies and autocracies.

But in waging war on Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has been driven by a different concept, ethno-nationalism. It is an idea of nationhood and identity based on language, culture and blood  a collectivist ideology with deep roots in Russian history and thought.

Mr. Putin has repeatedly asserted that Ukraine is not a real state and that the Ukrainians are not a real people, but actually Russian, part of a Slavic heartland that also includes Belarus.

Putin wants to consolidate the civilizational border of Russia, as he calls it, and he is doing that by invading a sovereign European country, said Ivan Vejvoda, a senior fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna.
The transport ministry said on Wednesday that if the inspections confirmed that the yachts belonged to people on the sanctions list drawn up by the European Union, they would remain fully immobilized.

The Valerie is suspected of being indirectly owned by Sergei Chemezov, the head of Rostec, a Russian industrial conglomerate that also makes military technology and equipment. The vessel was one of four Russian-owned superyachts that had recently been undergoing work at MB92, a shipyard that has helped establish Barcelona as one of the main hubs for the extravagant yachts owned by the super wealthy.

The Crescent, valued by the SuperYachtFan website at $600 million, appears to be the sister ship of the slightly larger, slightly more expensive Scheherazade, a 459-foot superyacht that U.S. officials said could be associated with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Both were built at the same German shipyard, Lurssen, where the Crescent was given the project name Thunder, while the Scheherazade, put into service about two years later, was called Lightning. Both share the same interior and exterior designers and have been managed by a Monaco company, Imperial Yachts, which caters to Russian oligarchs.

The two yachts also share another, unusual characteristic: Photos of the Crescent taken on March 13 by a former Central Intelligence Agency officer, Alex Finley, in the Spanish port where it was impounded appear to show that the Crescent conceals its nameplate while in port, just like the Scheherazade.
Dust from the Sahara drifted north into Europe for a second day on Wednesday, coating parked cars in a rusty, reddish layer in Spain and creating an ominous orange glow in skies across the continent.

The sandstorm, known as a calima in Spain, began covering much of the Iberian Peninsula on Tuesday morning, blanketing cars and buildings in a thick red dust and making it harder to breathe in the stiflingly dry air.

A calima occurs when a burst of dusty, warm wind forms during sandstorms in the Sahara, the desert in northern Africa, and then crosses over. With rain forecast in Madrid on Thursday morning, residents were bracing themselves for a muddy rain.

Theres not much that can be done at this stage, said Miguel Serrano, a porter in Madrid, who said he had been busy sweeping dust outside his building on Wednesday. Lets now see whether the rain helps clean it up, or at least makes the air more pleasant.
ODESSA, Ukraine  Ukrainian forces carried out counter-offensives against Russian positions on Wednesday, seeking to inflict what one official called maximum losses, even as the invading Russian military stepped up its lethal attacks on cities.

In Mariupol, an airstrike destroyed a theater where about 1,000 people had taken shelter, according to city and regional administrators, and photos and videos posted online showed the burning wreckage of the building.

Officials in Mariupol, the besieged southern city that has suffered the most intense bombardment, said they could not yet estimate the number of casualties among civilians, who might have been in a bomb shelter beneath the theater. The strike came as 11,000 residents evacuated the city on Wednesday, according to its City Council.

In a video address to Ukrainians early Thursday morning, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine called for more sanctions against Russia and said it was a terrorist state.

Our hearts are broken by what Russia is doing to our people, he said, to our Mariupol.

After falling back under a relentless pounding over the wars first weeks, Ukrainian troops tried to gain some momentum with counterattacks on Russian positions outside of Kyiv and in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, in Ukraines south, a senior Ukrainian military official said.

Image A photo released by the regional government shows the aftermath of an airstrike that destroyed a theater where hundreds of people had taken shelter in Mariupol. Credit... Donetsk Regional Administration, via Reuters

Rather than seek to regain lost territory, Ukrainian forces tried to cause as much destruction and death as possible, attacking Russian troops and equipment with tanks, fighter jets and artillery, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military information.

In the task of inflicting maximum losses, weve done excellently, the official said.

American intelligence officials said their conservative estimate of Russian troop deaths was at least 7,000, a staggering number that carries implications for both combat effectiveness and morale. Western defense and intelligence agencies estimate that Ukraine also has suffered thousands of combatants killed.

Mr. Zelensky addressed Congress via video link on Wednesday, asking for more aid, and President Biden promised more weaponry. The administration plans to provide Ukraine with high-tech defensive weapons that are easily portable and require little training or logistical support to use, according to U.S. and European officials.

Meanwhile, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia falsely accused Ukraine of seeking weapons of mass destruction and asserted that what he called an economic blitzkrieg by the West, aimed at destroying Russia, had failed.

Mr. Putin also sneered at Russians who oppose the war, saying the Russian people could distinguish true patriots from the scum and the traitors, and just to spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths.

In a televised videoconference with top officials, he once again falsely described the government in Kyiv, led by a Jewish president and prime minister, as being pro-Nazi and on its way to acquiring nuclear weapons. Their aim, of course, would have been Russia, he said.

And then he went deeper into unreality, accusing the government in Kyiv of disregard for the suffering of the Ukrainian people that his own forces were bombing every day.

The fact that people are dying, that hundreds of thousands, millions have become refugees, that there is a real humanitarian catastrophe in cities held by neo-Nazis and armed criminals, he said. Theyre indifferent.

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators held a third consecutive day of talks on a possible settlement to the conflict, and in typical fashion, the Kremlin left a muddy picture of its intentions. Mr. Putins bellicose, often false statements, larded with World War II references, clashed with more conciliatory comments from his underlings.

But little appeared to have changed on the battlefield. The war in Ukraine, about to enter its fourth week, has become a grinding daily slog with little evidence of significant gains for either side.

Details of the Ukrainian offensive could not be fully established independently, though several top Ukrainian officials, including key aides to Mr. Zelensky, confirmed that the counterattacks were underway.

In Kyiv, missile strikes and heavy artillery sounded overnight and in the early morning on Wednesday in exchanges in the outlying suburbs that were notably heavier and louder than in previous days. Two people were wounded and a residential building was damaged in a strike that landed near the city zoo, the second time in two days that shells have landed close to the city center.

Image Smoke rising over Kyiv on Wednesday during a 35-hour curfew. Credit... Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Satellite pictures from Tuesday showed heavy black smoke above the Kherson airport, where the senior military official said Ukrainian forces had targeted parked Russian military aircraft.

Kherson was the first (and so far, only) major city to be fully taken over by Russian forces, which have turned it into a forward military base from which they have launched attacks on surrounding cities and villages, according to Ukrainian officials. On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had taken control of the entire Kherson region, giving Russian forces a significant foothold in southern Ukraine that Ukraines military will have difficulty dislodging.

Even so, neither side can be said to have made much progress militarily. The Institute for the Study of War, which has been tracking developments closely, noted in a Tuesday evening assessment that, for nearly two weeks, Russian forces have not been conducting extensive simultaneous attacks that would allow them to seize control of multiple areas at once in Ukraine. And they are unlikely to do so in the next week, it said.

In the absence of significant military gains, Russian forces on Wednesday continued a campaign of terror against Ukrainian civilians.

At least 10 people were killed when a Russian strike hit a bread line in Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv that has been subject to intense shelling by Russian troops seeking to move on the capital. Ukraines prosecutor generals office said in a statement that the attack occurred at about 10 a.m. as people were lined up at a grocery store. Photos released by the prosecutors office showed several bodies scattered around a dirt yard.

Using heavy artillery, cruise missiles and fighter jets, Russian forces have systematically targeted civilian areas with no military presence, striking apartment buildings, schools and hospitals in cities and villages all over a broad front in the north, east and south of Ukraine. The attacks may have killed thousands of civilians, though reaching a precise count of the dead has been impossible.

Saying it was profoundly concerned by Russias use of force, the International Court of Justice ordered Russia on Wednesday to suspend its military operations immediately, pending its full review of a case submitted by Ukraine last month. However, the order was not expected to lead to any immediate cessation in the onslaught.

According to the United Nations, at least 726 civilians have been killed, including 64 children, since the invasion began on Feb. 24, though its figures do not include areas where fighting has been heaviest, like Kharkiv and Mariupol. In Mariupol alone, which has been turned into a hellscape of burning and decimated buildings, local authorities say at least 2,400 have been killed, and probably far more.

In Kharkiv, Ukraines second largest city, the municipal emergency services agency first reported on Wednesday that 500 civilians had been killed since the war began, but then revised that number to 100 later in the day. In any case, the agency said in a statement on Facebook, the true number of deaths could be much higher, noting that emergency workers were continuing to scour the rubble of residential neighborhoods for more bodies, often under fire.

Mr. Zelenskys appeal to Congress on Wednesday was in part a desperate effort to obtain the weaponry and defenses capable of fending off such attacks. Central to this appeal was a call for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Ukraine, aimed at preventing Russian fighter jets, which cause severe destruction, from operating over Ukrainian territory. Close the sky has become a rallying cry for Ukrainian officials and regular citizens.

Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people, Mr. Zelensky said.

Image President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine during his virtual address to Congress on Wednesday. Credit... Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times

Knowing that the request had little chance of being approved, given that it would thrust American pilots into direct confrontation with the Russians, Mr. Zelensky quickly pivoted to something to which Republicans and Democrats have been far more receptive: asking for more weapons to enable his people to keep up the fight themselves.

Mr. Biden announced $800 million in new military aid to Ukraine, including antiaircraft and antitank missiles, body armor, vehicles, drones and small arms, bringing to $2 billion the amount delivered or pledged since early last year. But as expected, he did not offer to deliver warplanes or enforce a no-fly zone.

The United States and its allies have relied primarily on financial sanctions that are already devastating the Russian economy.

Russian officials close to the talks said Wednesday there had been signs of progress, though even there, the picture was unclear. They said the idea of a neutral Ukraine, with a status like that of Sweden or Austria, was on the table, which their Ukrainian counterparts disputed.

Sergey V. Lavrov, Russias foreign minister, told a Russian television network that the status of the Russian language and Russian news outlets in Ukraine were under discussion, and that there are concrete formulas that are close to being agreed on.

Michael Schwirtz reported from Odessa, Ukraine; Valerie Hopkins from Lviv, Ukraine; and Carlotta Gall from Kyiv. Reporting was contributed by Anton Troianovski and Ivan Nechepurenko from Istanbul, and Richard Perez-Pena from New York.
A major war raging on Russias and NATOs borders. Increasingly bold Western military support. Russian threats of direct retaliation. A mood of siege and desperation in the Kremlin. Growing uncertainty around each sides red lines.

As Russia and NATO escalate their standoff over Ukraine, nuclear strategists and former U.S. officials warn that there is a remote but growing risk of an unintended slide into direct conflict  even, in some scenarios, a nuclear exchange.

The prospect of nuclear conflict, Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, warned this week, is now back within the realm of possibility.

Leaders on both sides emphasize that they consider such a war unthinkable, even as they make preparations and issue declarations for how they might carry it out. But the fear, experts stress, is not a deliberate escalation to war, but a misunderstanding or a provocation gone too far that, as each side scrambles to respond, spirals out of control.
Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles into Iraq over the weekend, striking what it claimed was an Israeli target and leaving some analysts scratching their heads about what exactly precipitated the blitz and why Iraq.

Now, officials say, the attack was retaliation for a previously secret Israeli airstrike on an Iranian drone factory last month. And, according to some officials, the Israeli intelligence operatives who launched the airstrike were based in Iraq.

The tit-for-tat strikes represent an alarming escalation in the long-running shadow war between Israel and Iran, as both sides push the boundaries of a conflict that has also entangled the United States and now Iraq.

For Israel, the attack on the Iranian drone facility is part of a new approach in countering Irans growing drone program, a tacit recognition that it is easier to pre-emptively destroy a drone than to intercept one en route. Iranian drones have been deployed in numerous attacks against Israel, as well as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, last October, a U.S. base in Syria, according to intelligence officials.
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied that it killed people in detention. But human rights groups have extensively documented the practice. One important body of evidence came from a Syrian police photographer, code named Caesar, who fled the country in 2013 with images of more than 6,000 dead bodies, some bearing signs of torture.

Counting and identifying the bodies in the mass graves would only be possible by digging them up. But that is unlikely to happen as long as Mr. al-Assad remains in power. Russia, his strongest backer, continues to support him, and he and his senior officials have never been held accountable for atrocities such as the use of chemical weapons against their own citizens.

To draw attention to those atrocities, the Syrian Emergency Task Force, an advocacy group, brought one of the men interviewed by The New York Times to Washington this week to speak with members of Congress and others about the mass graves.

Many of the bodies of those who died in detention were sent to government hospitals, where their deaths were recorded, according to reports by Human Rights Watch and others. The four men interviewed described what happened next.

All four worked on or near mass graves near Damascus and each saw parts of the governments efforts to dispose of bodies. Two of the men are now refugees in Germany, one is in Lebanon and one remains in Syria. Three spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution by the Syrian government.

The Times could not independently corroborate all the details in their accounts, including the total numbers of bodies they recalled seeing. And they each saw only part of the governments burial operations, which human rights groups say were likely replicated in other mass grave sites across the country.
BEIJING, March 16 -- The Menaka detachment of the 9th Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to Mali started to build bunkers for the Niger infantry battalion recently.

Due to high-temperature exposure, rain erosion, and poor maintenance, some old air defense bunkers of the Niger peacekeeping infantry battalion were severely damaged and unusable. It is urgent to get them repaired to ensure the safety of UN peacekeepers given the frequent local violent and terrorist attacks.

At the request of the Engineering Office of the Sector East Command of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), Chinese peacekeepers need to complete the priority task of constructing four air defense bunkers within 30 business days.

Up to now, the Chinese peacekeepers have been performing high-intensity work for an average of nine hours a day braving the high temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius, striving to ensure the high-quality construction work.

It is our unshrinkable responsibility to provide assistance to the peer UN forces. In the most dangerous mission area, we will strive to complete various tasks assigned by MINUSMA, and contribute to the local peace process in Mali, said Kang Yuechao, an operator of the 9th Chinese peacekeeping engineering contingent to Mali.
The Worlds first all-terrain hypercar, designed to give a new dimension to off road driving, will be introduced to prospective buyers during a Middle East tour beginning in Bahrain this weekend to coincide with the F1 Grand Prix at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The Hunter, a 600 bhp, four-wheel drive all-terrain adventure vehicle with an unrivalled ability and performance across any landscape, is the product of a joint venture between UK-based Prodrive and Mumtalakat of Bahrain.

It is born out of the Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX) competition car driven by Sebastien Loeb in the worlds toughest motor sport race, the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

The Hunter thrives in desert sand, dunes and rough mountain tracks, yet is docile enough to drive in an urban environment.

Beginning in Bahrain, the first development vehicle is touring the Middle East where customers are being offered the opportunity to drive the Hunter and confirm their personal specification for production vehicles to be delivered later this year, said a statement.

The Hunter is even more powerful than the version driven by Loeb, with a 50% increase in power from the 3.5 litre V6 twin turbo engine and more suspension travel to absorb the harshest of terrain.

While the car is even faster and more capable than the race car, it is also more refined. Ian Callum, who styled the exterior of the original competition car, has returned to the project to create a new interior more in keeping with every day use than racing.

A digital display gives the driver all the important information they need, while the centre console houses the more traditional controls found on a road car.

The Hunter is the product of over 40 years of successful off-road competition at Prodrive whose Chairman David Richards said: There are numerous hypercars on the market, however they all need good roads or even race tracks to show their performance.

We identified that in certain parts of the world, particularly the Middle East, there are vast expanses still to be explored that go way beyond the access provided by asphalt roads. Therefore why not create a vehicle that gives the opportunity to explore these regions with performance way beyond that offered by any off-road vehicle before.

The Hunter retains the Dakar competition cars engine, drivetrain and suspension, but to improve driveability, the manual sequential gear box has been replaced by a six-speed paddle shift, giving a smooth gear change in just milliseconds.

As the hypercar does not have to comply with strict competition regulations, power has been increased by more than 50%. The 3.5 litre twin turbo V6 has been refined and retuned on Prodrives advanced transient dyno in Banbury, UK to produce over 600bhp and 700 Nm of torque while making its power delivery smoother and easier to drive.

Prodrive estimates that this would give it a 0-100 kph time in less than four seconds and a top speed of nearly 300 kph. However, the vehicle is fitted with bespoke 35 off-road tyres designed to optimise grip over rough terrain and sand rather than on tarmac.

Richards said: We took the deliberate decision to keep the Hunter Hypercar as close to the original as possible. Its about giving owners the opportunity to experience what it is like to drive Loebs Dakar car across the desert, but with all the comforts of a road car and the ability to drive it from your home, through a city, to any destination of your choice.

The whole car is built around a high tensile steel space frame chassis, giving both a rigid platform to optimise the suspension geometry and performance within an FIA standard safety cage to protect the occupants.

The all-round double wishbone suspension with twin adjustable dampers on each corner has 400mm of travel  an increase from 350mm on the competition car - to give a smoother ride and even greater ability to cross the roughest terrain at speeds unimaginable in any other vehicle. Six pot racing brake calipers and vented discs all round give it plenty of stopping power both on and off-road.

The vehicle has been designed to minimise overall weight and optimise the weight distribution and centre of gravity. All the bodywork is made from lightweight carbon composite, which includes recycled materials produced by Prodrive Composites.

Richards said: The first development vehicle is currently touring the Middle East, where customers are being offered the opportunity of driving the Hunter and confirming their personal specification for production vehicles to be delivered later this year.

The vehicle is priced at 1.25 million (around BD620,000) plus local taxes.

Bahrain Raid Extreme is a partnership between Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, and world-leading motorsport business, Prodrive.  TradeArabia News Service
A little more than 10 years ago, I began looking back at the diaries I had kept over the previous decade. I wondered if Id changed. So I loaded all 500,000 words of my journals into Excel to order the sentences alphabetically. Perhaps this would help me identify patterns and repetitions. How many times had I written, I hate him, for example? With the sentences untethered from narrative, I started to see the self in a new way: as something quite solid, anchored by shockingly few characteristic preoccupations. As I returned to the project over the years, it grew into something more novelistic. I blurred the characters and cut thousands of sentences, to introduce some rhythm and beauty. When The Times asked me for a work of fiction that could be serialized, I thought of these diaries: The selfs report on itself is surely a great fiction, and what is a more fundamental mode of serialization than the alphabet? After some editing, here is the result.

This is part 9 of a 10-part series. Sign up to get it in your inbox.

They all think they are failures  Wallace Shawn, Dorothy Parker  all the good ones feel the extent to which they have failed. They are cloaked. They are deep-rooted, away from the passing eyes, the passing glances. They are just that  friends. They are like the king and queen of my world. They are not the eternal return of the same, they are individual people. They are staring at each other. They change their domain instead of their domain changing them. They had a beautiful loft, and at one point, hanging out the window, smoking a cigarette I got from their roommate, I turned and asked them when they first met. They had a twenty-year marriage and have three children. They had been together six months. They had had a crush on each other. They have been married for ten years. They kind of laughed at me that I thought it was caviar. They need each other to function. They never have new stories. They never seem to be much in doubt or to feel ashamed. They probably had sex on this couch. They stay within their economic and class strata, yes. They want to know that after suffering comes salvation, and that salvation will come in the form of fame. They were as bright, brighter, than the entire street. They were living in the moment. They were playing a show together. They were very confident, hiding away signs of distress or loss. They would like us to keep our suits nice, so when we take them out to dinner, we dont look like ruffians. Theyre empty inside. Things are getting softer, calmer, with him. Things are hard and should be expected to sometimes be hard. Things are sexy and basically good with him right now. Things became uncomfortable when he said I had used him. Things fall on top of you, and they keep you there  that is life  you make a decision and things pile on, like Tetris. Things have been incredibly hard with him, and last night after our fight, he said he couldnt stay in the relationship if it was going to continue to be like this. Things I thought about while lying under the stars. Think about him less, while thinking about God and all the millions of other people more. Think about Leibniz. Think about why I cried during sex. Think more about Pascal. Think of the qualities you needed to make the book turn out: faith, patience, perseverance. Thinking about him again. Thinking about lovers is a form of vanity, a form of thinking about oneself. Thinking about the world and even just being in it often casts a grayish hue. Thinking has been an armor against living, against the world, myself, my instincts, the moment, God, the world and other people. Thinking yesterday that it is the days when I dont want to write, when my feelings are such that I cant possibly write, and when my inclination is certainly not to write  that then is especially when I should write. This belief that we almost have some moral duty to pamper ourselves, to understand and know ourselves, and that self-knowledge of this kind will save our souls, when actually it is a kind of blindfold.

This bourgeois life was always my destiny. This coddling of the self, this aiming for selfhood, and all the great gifts of self-actualization. This desire to categorize monopolizes my time and my desire to write. This desire to order and organize, to make an architecture and understand. This desire to transcend, to break the rules of space and time. This excited me today as I rode my bike. Throw out more books. Thunder in the middle of the lake indicates a time of darkness and rest. Time is going by. Time is real. Tired of making authorities of other people. To appease which angry gods? To clean out the fridge and the cupboards. To continue flossing every day. To destroy the whole human race. To develop ones own philosophy of living. To get the groceries. To get the man you need. To have another day like Sunday. To have the courage to write and say something, and not to second-guessingly press forward in the old, conventional ways. To know bourgeois comfort is to know heartless conformity, not engaged morality. To know it but to move past it. To make a decision and to follow through. To make at least $40,000 a year. To make the symbols overt  which is the opposite of the modernist project, and so unlike the postmodern project which couldnt say anything for sure. To spend less or no money  though I want new clothes! To write one thing that is honest instead of a pack of lies well-said. Today I read about a man who translated Homer without knowing ancient Greek. Today I stole a dress from American Apparel. Today I watched a bunch of episodes of Millionaire Matchmaker. Today I went back to the apartment and found my roommate and her friend plotting to start a gourmet instant coffee company. Today I went to the T-shirt store across the street to see if I could play with their cat. Today is only Tuesday. Today is the first of September. Today is Thursday. Today is Tuesday. Today we discovered that the pool was closed for the rest of the summer. Try and see what role time has in life, and what withstands it, how things change in it. Turned thirty. Twenty limes Key lime pie. Two men were shouting in the hallway. Two minutes into the conversation, she laughed and said brightly, apropos of nothing, I thought you were calling to tell me you were engaged! Two months from now  last year  is when Lark and I had that ice cream. Two nights ago, when he left to go to the Lakeview, I felt such elation, and I had a dream of three blocks of color: yellow, red and blue. Two of my greatest fears were getting divorced and there being lights projected into the night sky, but then there I was, lying in the grass with my ex-husband, and the searchlights were moving calmly and beautifully across the sky, and both things were fine, and there had been nothing to be afraid of at all. Two old lovers are soliciting my attention. Two soups in the fridge, neither of which I want to eat.

Upon reading this, all my anxiety instantly vanished, and I shut down the computer and ran to bed excited and happy  thrilled, really. Upon returning in late October, pick up the cat, conduct the interview, then live here alone and keep working on the book, cooking and cleaning, maximum one coffee per day. Upset that this is now the second time the internet is not working. Use it. Use whatever devices you can and think about it constantly, carrying bits of paper around with you  cue cards, reminders. Use whatever devices you want, but remember what you first knew: that it doesnt matter what your book is about. Usually its the woman who pushes things along, not the man.

Valuing work over time we shared together. Vasily was also complicit and continued to buy me expensive meals and take me to the train when it was clear we were not going to sleep together; but perhaps I am overstating how much it mattered to him, a grown man, who has another woman he is sleeping with anyway. Very crass, but just in her soul  and the other part of what I disliked about her was her condescending, obvious, professorial manner, as though here she was with a kindergarten lesson to teach everyone. Very false. Very funny email from Dave Hickey; I wrote him, Love from Dave is even better than working at a university, and he wrote back, And it doesnt last as long. Visualize the good and make it happen. Von Trier was trying to change Jorgens likes. Vows tend to attract the opposite of the vow.
     .        ,      .     OBOZREVATEL  ...
Most people go on cruise ships for vacations, but for Mario Salcedo, cruise ships have been his home for the last 23 years, and this continuous life on the water has made him the worlds happiest man.

Calling Mario Salcedo a super cruiser would probably be an understatement. The retired financier has been on hundreds of cruises in the last 23 years, and with the exception of a recent 1.5-year break due to the Covid pandemic, he has rarely spent more than a day or two on dry land. A native of Miami, Florida, Salcedo spent much of his life working for a number of large finance companies, including Federal Express, traveling the world and seeing other people have fun. Then, one day, he decided it was his time to have fun, so in 1997 he quit his job.

Photo: Dan Kb/Unsplash

There were all these beautiful people on the beach having a good time. The only problem was that I was coming in with a suit and tie and a briefcase, Mario told Beyond Ships. Finally, at 47, I left my job. I left a lot of benefits and money on the table because at 47 you are not vested.

Before quitting his job, over two decades ago, Salcedo had never gone on a cruise, so he booked six cruises back to back, with six different cruise operators, to really get a taste of what cruising was all about. At the end of this experiment, he was convinced that this was the life he wanted to live going forward.



It gave me a sampling of what cruising was like, Salcedo said. It confirmed what I had thought and I said I really, really want to do this for the rest of my life'.

During the decades of almost continuous cruising on various ships, including Royal Carribeans legendary Voyager of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas or Oasis of the Seas, Mario Salcedo learned that eliminating all non-value-added activities  such as taking out the trash, doing the laundry  from his life helped him enjoy the things that really mattered to him, and made him the happiest man in the world.

For most of us, an exotic cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but for Super Mario Salcedo, its just daily life. But it never gets old, and he wouldnt dream of going back to life on dry land. In fact, he already has cruises lined up in his schedule until April 2023. Some weeks, he has two cruises booked, so he has to decide which one he wants to go on and cancel the other.

As you can imagine, living on cruise ships virtually continuously can be rather expensive, especially when youve been doing it for 23 years. While Mario Salcedo did get to save a pretty penny during his days as a corporate financier, he still has to work today in order to support his lavish unique lifestyle. He manages investment portfolios for private clients, but he gets to do it from the comfort of a cruise ship pool deck, so he never complains about it.

After being aboard cruise ships for so long, Mario says that on the rare occasions that he goes on dry land, it just makes him realize that he doesnt belong there anymore.

Im so used to being on ships that it feels more comfortable to me than being on land, he told All Things Cruise.

Mario Salcedo seems like the kind of person who would feel right at home aboard The World, the largest, oldest and currently only active residential cruise ship on Earth. But he likes to go on different ships, so hed probably get bored of this one ship very quickly.
Rob Cox

Credit Suisse has named Rob Cox, global editor/co-founder of Reuters Breakingviews financial commentary site, group head of corporate communications. He will join the bank in Zurich on April 12.

He helped launch Breakingviews in London in 2000 and then guided its U.S. expansion in 2004, including the oversight of daily columns in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Reuters acquired Breakingviews in 2009 and Cox became editor-in-chief in charge of about 40 columnists in New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris.

Earlier, he worked at Bloomberg News and American Banker.

At Credit Suisse, Cox will take over from Christine Graeff, who was appointed global head of human resources in February 2022 and report to CEO Thomas Gottstein.

Dominik von Arx, who handled PR on an interim basis, will become deputy group head of corporate communications.

Gottstein said Cox will help Credit Suisse pursue its goal of becoming a more client-centric bank with risk management at its core.
Marcus Braham

Food is inextricably linked to culture. When we think about the practices, beliefs, customs and symbols that produce a set of cultural mores, food is almost always at the center. Like many, observing my parents prepare family recipes in the kitchen spurred some of my earliest memories of conversations about my own cultural identity. My dad, who immigrated from Jamaica as a young adult, introduced me to his Caribbean homeland through a handful of traditional Jamaican dishes he proudly prepared, including rice and peas and spinners (a popular type of dumpling).

Not every meal, however, carries profound cultural significance, and not every meal we prepare can be a sentimental recipe. Many of the decisions we make about food are practical and banal out of necessity. On any given day, I select lunch based on how easily I can eat it at my desk, and plan my dinner based on how quickly I can cookor ordera meal and still have some time to enjoy TV and relax for the evening. But when you go too long without having a meal that reminds you of the powerful cultural reflection food can be, you can easily forget what a luxury it is to have such an experience. That is why Harlems The Cecil was such a consequential restaurant for me and continues to be even though it closed over four years ago.

This article is featured in O'Dwyer's Mar. '22 Food & Beverage PR Magazine

(view PDF version)

By the time I had saved up enough money to afford a proper meal at The Cecil, it had already been designated as one of Harlems most dynamic dining destinations, named Esquires Best New Restaurant by prominent food writer Josh Ozersky, and attracted diners from all four corners of the city (and country). The Cecil had distinguished itself in a city with over 24,000 restaurants by introducing a concept that was then unique to New York Citys dining scene. The restaurant described its menu as Afro-Asian-American cuisine, boasting signature dishes such as Citrus Jerk Golden Snapper, Feijoada with Merguez Sausage and Oxtail, and Tamarind-Glazed Oxtails with Pickled Cabbage and Brown-Rice Grits.

That first meal was as spectacular as the Esquire writer and others said it would be, but I would not fully appreciate The Cecil and its culinary splendor immediately. It wasnt until I had the opportunity to return to the restaurant two years later that I would be able to forge my cultural connection to The Cecil. When I did return, it was not as a diner but as a publicist for Harlem EatUp!s inaugural festival, which The Cecil was participating in. I returned to The Cecil on a weekday afternoonbefore dinner serviceto oversee a cooking demonstration and an interview between a journalist and the restaurants chef, JJ Johnson.

Chef Johnson began the interview by talking about his excitement for Harlem EatUp! and the diversity of Harlems dining scene that would make the festival exceptional. But as I was listening to him detail the inspiration behind his restaurants Afro-Asian-American cuisine, he completely arrested my attention by describing his menu as diasporic. It seems so obvious now, but it was a bit of a paradigm shift in that moment to think about food in such geopolitical terms.

For me, the word diaspora evoked a history of forced migration and labor, centuries of expulsions and expansions, perilous crossings and colonial encounters, and resilience and adaptation. It was my first time hearing someone contextualize food in such culturally laden terms, and it allowed me to more fully understand the complexity, history and richness of Chef Johnsons Afro-Asian-American cuisine and his point of view as a chef.

There was no way for Chef Johnson to know this, but his language and insight not only gave me a global and historical perspective to reflect on to the restaurant but a localized one as well. I had recently uncovered that my own diasporic heritage included Indian and Scottish roots by way of Jamaica.

I had the opportunity to have a few more leisurely dinners at The Cecil before the restaurant closed permanently a few years later, but eating there was never the same again. From that point on, I was more acutely aware of the ocean crossings and cultural adaptions ingredients that had survived in order to appear on my plate. And each time, the menu made me reflect on the ocean crossings and cultural adaptations my own genealogy had survived in order for me to be sitting at the table.

In that respect, visiting The Cecil was not just an epicurean treat, but an occasion for me to reflect on my own complexity. Because there are not many meals that can still do that, the experience is its own kind of indulgence. That kind of cultural connection to an ingredient or recipe lingers on the palette long after the taste of the ingredient or dish has abated.

I have been a food publicist for well over a decade, and one of the reasons I have found my work so fulfilling is because food is a lens for virtually any cultural issueglobal or local. Food does not simply belong to the province of food writers. Its significance reaches far beyond the plate, the supermarket aisle, or the restaurant table. One of the most exciting aspects of working in this field has been to see how the foods cultural and global impact has become integral across different sectors. The future of the food practice is one that will continue to be interdisciplinary. Food has grown to be a key issue driving conversations around environmental movements, climate change, social justice, technology, mental healthand that momentum is showing no signs of slowing down.

***

Marcus Braham is Vice President, Food + Beverage, at Padilla.
THE proposed renovation of the iconic Kilcormac building, Fiesta Hall, should begin in the early summer.

A public information evening about the project was held in St Joseph's Community Centre, Kilcormac on Tuesday evening, March 8.

The meeting was held by Offaly Local Development Company (OLDC) and Green Offaly, who outlined their plans for the refurbishment of the hall as a Green Headquarters for Offaly and the wider midlands.

The exciting project to turn the hall into a regional Green Hub will cost 1.4 million and is being funded by the Just Transition fund, which granted funding to OLDC to drive the work.

Fiesta Hall was block built in 1961 by local butcher and builder Paddy McCormack.

The property has been used as a Town Hall; District Court; ballroom dancing; music via events and showbands; drama and plays; food hall; town cinema; bingo hall and various events. It's a large building, 5,900 square feet.

This formerly active and important hub in the town looks reasonably well inside, but its exterior is something of an eyesore, bringing a bit of a depressing feel to this part of the village.

Brendan O'Loughlin, CEO of OLDC, told the meeting about the collaboration of OLDC and Green Offaly to make a successful application for Just Transition funding.

He praised the fantastic support of the Trench Trust whose assistance secured financial support for both the purchase of the premises and for providing matching funding, two factors which were critical in bringing the project to the present stage.

Brendan said the Trench Trust is providing a loan to OLDC, and OLDC will eventually own the building along with Green Offaly.

"The building," he remarked, "has not been used for a number of years and will be refurbished both inside in full and the exterior will be brightened up. An application for planning permission for the works to be carried out is currently with Offaly County Council and it is hoped that once planning is approved building will commence in the early summer."

Salters Sterling gave a very interesting background to the Trench Trust during the information evening and outlined the Trust's involvement in the project.

Roisin Lennon and Rebekah Keaveny from Green Offaly outlined their ambitious plans for the centre once construction work is completed. Offaly's new Green Headquarters will be devoted to climate action research, green business enterprises and sustainability training programmes.

The premises will include a research facility, an education and training facility, green business office facilities, community power programmes, sustainable mapping and working with local people to develop potential career paths in the green economy.

OLDC and Green Offaly committed to continue to provide updates to the local community as the project progresses.

The Hall will be the home for Green Offaly. Green Offaly is a not for profit countywide Green Regeneration enterprise operating as a Development Trust. Green Offaly began life as an Offaly Public Participation Network Initiative; and was devised as a solution to the Governments Project 2040 seminar, Empowering Communities in the Fight against Climate Change.

Rebekah Keaveny, Project Development Officer of Green Offaly, told The Tribune that the Fiesta Hall project aims to facilitate the Green Regeneration of Offaly through the involvement of the people who live and work in the county.

Rebekah said Green Offaly is working in partnership with Offaly Local Development Company to deliver two key goals in OLDC's 17-goal plan. These two goals are  Creating sustainable communities; and combatting climate change.

She said Green Offaly and OLDC are focussed on transitioning Offaly to meet both the ambitious decarbonisation targets of 2050 and the full implementation of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Achieving these ambitious goals is going to mean that we will all have to take partnership working to an unprecedented level. It is reassuring to know that such effective partnerships for the goals are already embedded here in Offaly.

Roisin Lennon, Rural Development Team Leader of Offaly Local Development Company, told the Tribune that it's expected that the Fiesta Hall project will get planning permission during the first quarter of 2022, and the building work should start during the second quarter of 2022. It's hoped, she said, that the revamped premises will open its doors to the public by the third quarter of 2023.

There will be a coffee shop at the front of the building, said Roisin, "and behind that will be Offaly's new green headquarters." Bridie Costello of Green Offaly emphasised that the Green Headquarters will be very much a community-focused enterprise.

Rebekah said one exciting project could be seeking UNESCO Biosphere status for Offaly's peatland region. She cited the fantastic success story of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere in Scotland. This special designation means that the areas chosen have been recognised internationally as a world class environment for people and nature.

It recognises an area's fantastic array of landscapes, wildlife, cultural heritage and learning opportunities; all qualities which communities, businesses and visitors can experience and celebrate in a sustainable way. Biosphere status brings no new rules or regulations but rather encourages people to work together to create a better future for people and nature.
One Offaly councillor has called fr Ukrainian refugees to be temporarily housed at Drayton Villa, the former parochial house in Clara, Co Offaly.

Cllr Ken Smollen made the call this week as the government confirmed that 6,000 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have already been welcomed to Ireland.

"With thousands of Ukrainian refugees on their way to Ireland over the next few days, weeks and months, I have contacted the relevant people at Offaly County Council with regard to possibly opening the former Priests House in Clara, known as Drayton Villa.

"With the necessary work being done it could temporarily house four families that are almost exclusively women and children," Cllr Smollen added.

"I have been assured that Offaly County Council, in conjuction with Offaly ETB, will investigate the possibility of making this happen."

The site and house was acquired by Offaly County Council and Laois Offaly ETB in 2020 with the long-term plan being that a new building for Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa in Clara is developed there.

In late 2021, the Department of Education sought permission officially for the appointment of a design team for the planned new school building.

With the project at a very early stage, Cllr Ken Smollen believes it could be some years away and that the house, in the meantime, could be used as accommodation.

The Offaly Express has requested a statement from Offaly County Council on the proposal.
Irish people on Twitter have been quick to praise two Ukrainian refugees who corrected Sky News anchor Kay Burley on her geography this morning.

Allada and Anastasia were speaking to Sky News about their harrowing journey out of war-torn Ukraine.

They left their native Kharkiv to escape "Russian bombs and rockets" and made it to Poland before settling in Ireland where more than 6,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived to safety from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Astonishingly, Kay Burley wrapped up her interview with the young women by saying she was glad they were safe and wished that they could "can build a new life in Dublin safe in the knowledge British people are behind you."

WATCH THE CLIP BELOW:

Enjoying how these young Ukrainian women schooled Kay Burley for her "You can build a new life in Dublin safe in the knowledge British people are behind you". "We want to send IRISH people...we are so grateful to Irish people." https://t.co/vbi43QG0nq  Jennifer O'Connell (@jenoconnell) March 15, 2022

Allada then immediately took the chance to thank the "Irish people", adding, "we are so grateful for all the kindness and hospitality that they treat us with."
The Chief Executive of Offaly County Council Anna Marie Delaney appointed Siemens to conduct a leading research project exploring the potential and opportunities for the integration of a Data Centre with renewable energy and green hydrogen in the Midlands.

Building on the energy heritage built up through the peat-generation era, this project at Rhode Green Energy Park will provide evidence based research to enhance the development of green energy enterprises within the Midlands, a region in close proximity to the Greater Dublin Area.

This Study is co-funded by the Just Transition Fund and North Offaly Development Fund (NODF). The North Offaly Development Fund is a community group with Rhode Green Energy Park as its flagship project. Chaired by Eugene Mulligan, the group has been working in close collaboration with Offaly County Council for a number of years to harness the potential of the site.

Throughout the county, Offaly County Council has taken a lead role in embracing renewable energy in recent years, and is examining opportunities in emerging areas including Green Hydrogen and synergies between renewable energy generation, battery storage, large-scale energy usage and spin-off industries.

Speaking this week, Anna-Marie Delaney said: The co-location of diverse renewable energy systems integrating into the national grid at Rhode Green Energy Park provides unique prospects for cutting edge innovation and demonstration hubs. Collaborations between industry, academia and stakeholders are underway to explore opportunities such as a Green Hydrogen integration and demonstration hub, and large scale energy user integration with renewables.

Siemens, the company awarded the contract, bring leading international experience and expertise in Data Centres and renewables. Joe Walsh, General Manager of Siemens said that his team was looking forward to working on this project which is anticipated to deliver key insights of regional and national significance.

Councillor Liam Quinn, Cathaoirleach of Edenderry MD and Director of NODF CLG welcomed the initiative. He commented that it demonstrates Offalys commitment to innovation and sustainable economic development, and is an important milestone in the development of Rhode Green Energy Park.

Background

The Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind. It provides targeted support to help mobilise at least 65-75 billion over the period 2021-2027 in the most affected regions, to alleviate the socio-economic impact of the transition.

The National Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a key pillar of the Governments plan for the Midlands region. A fund was made available in 2020 to support communities transitioning to a low carbon economy.

The objective of the Fund is to facilitate innovative projects that contribute to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the Wider Midlands region (including East Galway, Kildare, Laois, Longford, North Tipperary, Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath) and have significant employment and enterprise potential. Offaly is particularly affected as the region transitions away from peat as an energy source.

Offaly County Council (as lead Applicant) and North Offaly Development Company (as partner) have been awarded 75,000 in funding under Just Transition Funding to complete a Research Project / Feasibility Study entitled Exploring Data Centre Integration with Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen in the Midlands.

Offaly County Council and North Offaly Development Fund have previously identified the potential for Data Centre co-location with renewable projects planned and constructed, as outlined in an Opportunity Assessment available at: https://www.offaly.ie/eng/Services/Enterprise-Business-Supports/Green-Energy-Technology/Rhode-Opportunity-Assessment.pdf

Offaly County Council & North Offaly Development Fund have received funding from the Just Transition Fund and are at an advanced stage in the development of Rhode Green Energy Park on the site of the former Rhode Power Station.

The recently conducted Eirgrid consultation entitled Shaping Our Electricity Future  identified scenarios and opportunities for grid development. Offaly and the wider Midlands has significant potential in this regard, having the transmission infrastructure which previously serviced peat burning Power Stations. Furthermore, the CRU have recently commented that it was likely that data centres would be asked to locate outside of Dublin (where power demand was highest), to locate close to power sources. Offaly Co. Co. has permitted a significant number of renewable energy development and wishes to explore the potential for data centre integration.

It is also notable that Bord na Mona have recently announced (27/09/21) the development of an Energy Park which is considering similar opportunities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SWIEu2k36s

Project Goal

One of the leading areas of enterprise growth in Ireland is data centres. There is potential to explore the co-benefits of aligning the energy transition (which is the primary focus of the Rhode Just Transition Project also known as Rhode Green Energy Park) with the transition to a data-driven economy. This can open the opportunity to attract investment in data centres and associated technology-centred enterprise to the Midlands.

In the future data centres will locate where low-carbon energy systems are available. This will give a competitive advantage to a sector increasingly concerned with its carbon footprint and corporate sustainability goals. At Rhode, there is an abundance of renewable energy potential, and the collaborative model for the Green Energy Park can enable waste heat from data centre cooling to be captured and used. However, further research is required to examine how to release this potential of Rhode and the Midlands.

An emerging area of research and innovation at international level is the use of green hydrogen (created from excess renewable energy) as a data centre energy source. This has the potential to provide both very low carbon operation and safe back-up energy storage to support data centres. The development of a green hydrogen demonstration project at Rhode is already being advanced to feasibility stage.

This project would research how best to shape the development of the energy transition project at Rhode to match the data centre sector requirements and ambitions, with a view to attracting significant inward investment and employment creation.

Rhode Green Energy Park

Due to the closure of the power station in Rhode, Co. Offaly the North Offaly Development Fund (NODF) was established with the objective to benefit the community of Rhode and surrounding area. In particular, NODF is intended to assist enterprise creation and development, with the aim of increasing employment and enhancing the economic and social profile in the area. The company received its funding from ESB Networks.

The development of the Rhode Business Park was originally initiated by NODF for enterprise development for the benefit of the local economy and local community. Redevelopment of the site as a Business Park was approximately 90% complete in 2008 when, due to the on-set of the recession this work stopped. NODF had by this time invested 1.8million developing the park and Offaly County Council had invested 0.9 million developing the access infrastructure.

In 2020, Offaly County Council commissioned an Opportunity Assessment Report that reviewed the existing activity in the area with a particular emphasis on green energy and the energy transition. The report identified a number of enterprise and employment opportunities for North Offaly, focussed on the Rhode Green Energy Park.

Offaly County Council subsequently secured close to 1m to completion and transform the park infrastructure, enabling these opportunities to be developed. This will include integration of renewable energy with industrial and business employment.
Olean, NY (14760)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low around 40F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low around 40F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
The Sustainable Tourism Global Centre (STGC), a multi-country and multi-stakeholder coalition, has appointed eight international experts in sustainable tourism from across the globe as Envoys.

Announced by HRH Mohammed Bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia at the Saudi Green Initiative and COP26 in Glasgow last year, the STGC, which was established to lead, accelerate, and track the tourism industrys transition to net-zero emissions, was formed by a coalition of governments, international organisations, academia, multilateral and financing institutions and industry associations.

The STGC aims to reduce the tourism sectors estimated 8% contribution of total global greenhouse gases and move towards net-zero emissions.

The eight newly-appointed Envoys were welcomed to Riyadh to pledge their commitment to the Centre, and were recognised for their world-renowned expertise across government and industry. Each Envoy has been carefully selected to utilise their knowledge and experience, to strengthen the work of the Centre.

Based in Europe, Asia and the Americas, the Envoys will be ambassadors for the STGC, by contributing expertise  from their time in government, the private sector and NGOs  that will amplify its work and reach diverse global audiences, including youth.

The Centres Envoys include:

Ambassador Dho, Young-shim  Co-Chair United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Alumni;

Harry Theoharis  Former Minister of Tourism for Greece;

Isabel Hill  Former Director of National Travel and Tourism Office, United States of America;

Professor Geoffrey Lipman  Former President, WTTC; Executive Director, IATA; Assistant Secretary-General, UNWTO;

Dr Christoph Wolff  Former Head of Mobility, World Economic Forum;

Dr Mario Hardy  Former CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA);

Professor Donald Hawkins  Professor Emeritus of Management, Tourism Studies and International Affairs, George Washington University; and

Dr Adolfo Favieres  Former Owner, Occidental Hotels.

This announcement builds on the STGCs strong global engagement, with the coalition receiving positive support in phase one from various countries.

The UK, US, France, Japan, Germany, Kenya, Jamaica, Morocco, Spain, and Saudi Arabia were all invited as founding countries as they have prioritised tourisms impact on the climate, allowing for synergies with the STGC.

The top organisations already helping to shape the Centre and provide the services in phase one are UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council), World Bank, SYSTEMIQ and WRI (World Resource Institute).

In addition to Harvard University, which will provide support to the STGC through research and capacity-building, the UNFCCC will guide the Centre to accelerate industry action on climate neutrality.

Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said: Saudi Arabia is taking clear and decisive action to ensure that the tourism sector, including the 330 million livelihoods depending on it, are protected into the future. Core to this is solving the problem of climate change  which requires strong collaboration with businesses, governments, and international organisations to accelerate action. I am pleased to welcome the STGC Envoys into the kingdom, and look forward to their contribution to driving the tourism sectors transition to net-zero.

Gloria Guevara, Chief Special Advisor, Ministry of Tourism, Saudi Arabia, said: I am pleased to see the leadership from Saudi Arabia to build a world-first multi-country, multi-stakeholder initiative to combat climate change and support the sectors transition to net-zero. The STGC Envoys, who are global experts, will help the Centre to deliver on this important mandate, and we are extremely grateful for their commitment.

President Felipe Calderon, Former President of Mexico, Honorary Chair of The New Climate Economy and Member of STGC Advisory Board, said: I am delighted to be back in Riyadh to gather with world-renowned experts in tourism. Here we have some of the brightest minds from government to industry, and I am confident that together we will be able to ensure the travel and tourism sector plays a significant role in the fight against climate change.

Young-shim said: At the turn of the 21st century, the United Nations Secretary-General then, Kofi Anan initiated the Millennium Development Goals from 2000 to 2015. This was followed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who then expanded it to be the Sustainable Development Goals from 2015 till 2030. As a passionate advocate of both goals, I am incredibly excited to be part of the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre leading the tourism sector to become a key driver of sustainable changes. In doing so, youth will be a significant player in helping to reach these major goals.

Theoharis said: The STGC is a much-needed initiative in a world that faces constant challenges. Tourism is a great social and economic enabler, and it is high time that it is also part of the global sustainability movement.

Hill said: I am delighted to join the Sustainable Tourism Global Centre as an Envoy to help accelerate the ability of the travel and tourism sector to de-carbonise and to support sustainability of destinations and businesses. Saudi Arabia is to be commended for their leadership in this important agenda.

Professor Lipman said: There could not be a better time for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to show its commitment to our common future, through the STGC. The recent report from the IPCC says, despite the Covid induced global economic slowdown, greenhouse gases are still increasing at a potentially disastrous rate. This is why the STGC is launching its new Tourism Panel on Climate Change to marshal the best climate science for our sector, and to create new analyses and metrics to support bold climate action, to meet our Paris 1.5 obligations.

Dr Wolff said: Travel and tourism are responsible for 10% of global GDP and anchors the livelihood for many countries. The Sustainable Tourism Global Centre will be essential to use data-driven analysis to balance equity and sustainability.

Dr Hardy, Former CEO, Pacific Asia Travel Association, said: The world needs a global transformation and a clear commitment towards sustainable development, the reduction of social inequalities and the improvement of living conditions at a local and global level. The role of tourism in this process cannot be a passive one; and only through the effective collaboration between governments, NGOs and the private sector will the implementation of the SDGs be a reality.

Professor Hawkins said: The Sustainable Tourism Global Centre will challenge the tourism industry to incorporate sustainability goals in the design, construction, maintenance and operation of tourism-related facilities, services and infrastructure. The STGC can aspire to be the leader in guiding and monitoring the environment, social and governance (ESG) performance of global tourism. The E should encompass net-zero carbon emissions and climate adaptation. The S should include diversity and inclusion policies. The G should include the system of practices, controls, and procedures that organisations adopt to govern their activities, make effective decisions, comply with the law, and meet the needs of key stakeholders.

Dr Favieres said: In tourism, like no other activity, is the customer who goes to the product, and not vice versa. This fact is precisely what makes tourism so transversal, affecting and being affected by nearly every sector. As much as tourism will reach higher levels of sustainability, the world will become more sustainable.-- TradeArabia News Service
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Qatar Airways is set to resume flights to London Gatwick Airport from June 5, operating a daily service from Gatwick to Doha using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class.



With the addition of daily flights to London Gatwick, passengers can now enjoy seamless connectivity to almost 150 destinations across the airlines extensive global network via the best airport in the world, Hamad International Airport, connecting with popular destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australasia.



The resumption of the London Gatwick service complements recently launched flights to Doha from Gatwick by Qatar Airways Joint Business partner British Airways, meaning the airlines can now jointly offer more options between London and Doha and beyond, earning Avios frequent flyer points as they go.



UK customers will now have access to four gateways including five-times daily services from London Heathrow, 18-times weekly from Manchester and four-times weekly from Edinburgh rising to daily from 2 June.



Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, said: Our commitment to the UK market has been unwavering and we operated continuously and reliably throughout the pandemic, so I am pleased we can resume our popular service to London Gatwick. We offer excellent connectivity to and from the UK, providing travellers with more choice and convenience.



This year is very special for us, not least as it is the 25th anniversary of the start of our flights to London Heathrow in March 1997.



The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an environmentally advanced aircraft. It consumes 20 per cent less fuel and its carbon dioxide emissions are 20 per cent lower than other similar aircraft.  TradeArabia News Service
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Olga Smirnova said she was against the war in Ukraine with all the fibers of my soul. Now, she has joined the Dutch National..

NYTimes.com 16 Mar 2022
By Alan W. Avery, Yvette D. Valdez, from law firm Latham & Watkins LLP. On March 9, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets (Order). In the face of rapid advancement in blockchain technology and its applications, the Order asserts that "an evolution and alignment" in the approach of the various federal agencies (Agencies) to digital assets is necessary. It directs the Agencies to study the risks of digital assets to the US economy, investors, and consumers, and to explore the development of a US central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Order also directs the Agencies to monitor and assess the impact of digital assets on financial stability and financial system integrity, the prevention of crime and illicit finance, national security, financial inclusion and equity, energy policy, and climate change. The fact sheet accompanying the Order strikes an optimistic tone, noting that "the rise in digital assets creates an opportunity to reinforce American leadership in the global financial system and at the technological frontier." Seizing these opportunities, however, must be balanced with understanding and mitigating the risks involved. Accordingly, the Order directs the Agencies to guide responsible innovation domestically and to work cooperatively with the private sector and international partners. The Order mandates the Agencies overseeing the financial markets and protecting consumers to identify risks, ...................... To view our full article Click here
Opalesque Geneva:

A hedge fund in Johannesburg that focuses on South African equities benefited from its long book in February and remains buoyant about the country's economic prospects.

The 36ONE Offshore Portfolio, a Caymans-domiciled feeder fund that feeds into an equity long/short hedge fund with a low net equity bias, invests predominantly in South African listed equities and other financial instruments. The $63m fund is up 2% YTD after returning 1.1% in February, annualising 10.3% since its May 2008 inception, with an annualised volatility of 5.8%.

The hedge fund's performance was positive for the month with the long book posting significant gains while the short book was slightly positive too. The largest contributors for the long book were Goldfields, Sibanye Stillwater, Glencore, and Impala, while Naspers, Facebook, and Fairvest detracted from performance. The short book's gains were once again driven by overvalued and overhyped US companies which saw their multiples significantly contract as it became apparent that their growth during Covid was unsustainable.

South Africa

The JSE All Share Index was the best performing asset class in February, delivering a return of 2.9%. Bonds were slightly positive while property struggled.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine significantly impacted markets during the month as concerns rose about supply disruptions in oil, gas, and industrial metals, report 36ONE's managers. As a r......................

To view our full article Click here
Fort Polk, LA (71446)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 89F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
After a natural or man-made disaster, it is crucial to locate survivors within the critical first 72 hours. The European and Japanese research initiative CURSOR aims at accelerating search and rescue operations within these so-called golden hours and also at increasing the overall safety of search and rescue teams in the line of duty. Researchers of the CURSOR project received the Excellent Research Technology Award of the Robotics Society of 
Al Sagr National Insurance Company (ASNIC) has announced that it has received the Participating Insurer licence issued by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). With this licence, Al Sagr will be able to offer the Essential Benefits Plan (EBP) in the UAE and provide health insurance solutions to clients across a broad spectrum - including those employers operating in industries with employees in lower salary bands. The Participating Insurer licence enables Al Sagr 
Ottumwa, IA (52501)

Today

A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low near 50F. Winds E at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Logistic companies in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, have taken strict measures to address the new wave of COVID-19 infections as multiple areas in the city have seen cases rising recently. #GLOBALink







Produced by Xinhua Global Service
LUDINGTON  Stix, a Ludington restaurant, held a benefit on Monday to assist refugees fleeing the current invasion of Ukraine.

Over 400 people attended the event, which raised $18,159.64. The money is planned to be donated to Samaritan's Purse Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, which assists the over 2 million refugees who have fled to Hungary and Poland.

Some of the money will also go to a newly created Ukrainian field hospital that serves over 200 people per day.

Dr. Andrew Riemer, owner of Stix, chose to work with Samaritan's Purse due to the organization's integrity, transparency and the guarantee that more than 90 cents of every dollar goes directly to Ukraine, according to a news release from the restaurant.

"We were overwhelmed with the community support," Riemer said in the release. "Everyone's generosity to aid in the humanitarian efforts in Ukraine is amazing. It is a blessing to be part of a community that shows such love, kindness and compassion."

Lutroit, Jimmy Dodson and employees from Stix and Riemer Eye Center donated their time and talents for the event. Riemer owns both the Riemer Eye Center in Mason and Manistee counties.

"Everyone pitched in to give the guests a wonderful experience in appreciation for their donations" said Sue DeMott, administrator of Riemer Eye Center. "We cannot thank everyone enough for their generosity."

Anyone who still wishes to donate should contact Samaritan's Purse and reference the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.
MANISTEE  Late winter is often a time when business slows down in tourism-driven communities like Manistee, but some local businesses like North Channel Brewing Co. have seen an even bigger decline than expected this year.

The reason, according to North Channel manager Anthony Wotnow, is ongoing work at the nearby Maple Street Bridge.

I understand that the bridge needs maintenance (and) updating, but its hard on businesses, especially us that are right next to the bridge, Wotnow said. It is our slowest time of the year  pretty much the same for every business in Manistee  but (the closure) does affect us.

The bridge is undergoing more than $915,000 in repairs that is expected to keep it closed to traffic until May, according to an Instagram post by the City of Manistee.

"The scope of work includes repainting of structural steel which requires the bridge to remain closed to vessel traffic. Additional work to the sidewalks and span approaches will be completed in May. The bridge should be open to all traffic prior to May 30, 2022," the post by Department of Public Works Director Jeff Mikula stated.

Work on the Maple Street Bridge is a frequent topic of conversation during weekly manager meetings at North Channel Brewing, Wotnow said.

We do talk about how the bridge is affecting our business and we understand its something that needs to be done for safety concerns, he said.

Situated just north of the bridge on Washington Street, the brewery relies on foot traffic coming from downtown Manistee. But with the detour in place, those pedestrians the brewery relies on are left on the opposite side of the Manistee River.

We're definitely missing out on the foot traffic on River Street, Wotnow said. On beautiful days  There's gonna be a lot of people walking, getting out (because) theyre tired of this snow  We normally get crowds, especially with sunny days  maybe walking down River Street and they'd come down and have a beer, have lunch and instead now they have to walk all the way around.

Kristina Bajtka, director of communications and investor relations for the Manistee Area Chamber of Commerce, said that businesses like North Channel have reported being slower than normal due to the rerouting, but added that other factors may also be impacting local commerce.

I think everybody is a little slow right now. But, yes  I do believe the bridge is having an impact, Bajtka told the News Advocate in a February interview.

Not every downtown business has been as directly impacted as North Channel Brewing, however.

Jamie Catlett, owner of J Catlett and Company, a barbershop on Maple Street near River Street, said the way her business is operated means that things like a bridge closure dont hit nearly as close to home.

Actually, it hasnt bothered my business at all, Catlett said. Thats mostly because my client base is appointment based. The traffic, as far as the cars outside, I definitely see a decrease but as far as business itself, it hasnt affected me any.

A 2017 study by WMU school of Civil and Construction Engineering cited a 11-33% loss in business revenue due to bridge construction in cities with a population around 5,000.

This study, funded by the Michigan Department of Transportation, measured economic impact due to bridge construction on nearby businesses. In a limited number of cities, there was a slight increase in overall business revenue while a majority of the cities had a decline in business revenue during construction, the study found.

Work on the Maple Street Bridge comes on the heels of another major bridge construction project in Manistee Township that lasted about a year. MDOT reopened the M-55 bridge near the U.S. 31 intersection to traffic in December after delays due in part to poor weather conditions.

Businesses like North Channel could be in position to reap some benefits in the future from the closure of another bridge along the Manistee River. MDOT plans to work on the nearby Memorial Bridge in 2023, and some traffic off U.S. 31 could be rerouted across the now closed Maple Street Bridge crossing during construction.
About 150 new jobs will soon be coming to the Great Lakes Bay Region as a chip production company expands.

Members of the press, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and others were invited by SK Siltron CSS, a semiconductor manufacturer, to tour the companys facility near Auburn and another one soon to open near Bay City.

SK Siltron CSS is a subsidiary of SK Siltron, a South Korean company.

CSS representatives and Tai spoke about new jobs coming to the region, along with the companys impact on the electric vehicle market.

Jianwei Dong, CEO for SK Siltron CSS, said the company produces silicon carbide wafers, a semiconductor material used in automotive chips, at its site on Eleven Mile Road, south of US-10. This plays a role in the supply chain for electric vehicles, with the material used in chips for electric vehicles.

If silicon carbide is used instead of silicon in an electric vehicle, it is an energy and time saver, said Steve Anderson, engineering manager for crystal growth for SK Siltron CSS. With silicon carbide in an electric vehicle, the time spent at a charging station is shortened from about two hours to about 20 minutes.

As for jobs, CSS has grown by about 100 employees in the last two years, Anderson said, with the company soon expanding into Bay City. There will be 150 new jobs added when the Bay City-area facility starts production in April. The new facility is near the US-10/Mackinaw Road interchange.

After a tour of the new facility, Tai said CSS will be investing $300 million in Bay County over the next several years and doubling its number of employees in the state. This investment will also increase collective semiconductor production capacity, she said.

Tai spoke about the impact of Korea-U.S. trade relations, including driving investments in sites such as SK Siltron CSS in Michigan. She said Michigan exports to Korea have grown by over 30% in the past 10 years of the US Korea Free Trade Agreement, including a 420% increase in exports of U.S. cars, trucks and other automobiles to South Korea.

This partnership between our two countries (U.S. and South Korea) is an excellent example of how we can harness innovation and talent of our citizens, to create a cleaner, more sustainable economy while also creating good-paying jobs along the way, Tai said. However, we also know that trade and trade agreements alone are not enough to maintain our competitive edge in the global economy. We must invest here more at home.
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During these blustery, muddy days of March, who wouldnt look forward to having a little more sunshine in our lives?

Turns out, there are plenty of folks who would like to keep us in the dark.

Monday kicked off Sunshine Week, a national effort started in 2005 by the American Society of News Editors to promote open government and access to public information.

When we talk about the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, we are talking about federal and state Sunshine Laws.

Michigans Sunshine Laws arent difficult to explain or understand.

Documents created by state government entities  cities, villages, counties, public school districts, state universities  are public documents. That means that anyone can request the inspection of those documents or ask for copies. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows some exemptions, but most information is available to citizens like you and me.

Meetings scheduled by many of those same state government entities should be open to the public and allow citizens to address elected and appointed officials at a designated time during those meetings. The Open Meetings Act does allow some meetings to be closed to the public.

Pretty straightforward, right?

But nothing is ever simple in journalism. So, we rely on the Michigan Press Association to advocate for us and fight laws that aim to restrict access to information and meetings. As a member of the MPAs board of directors for the past few years, I can tell you the assault on our rights is unyielding.

Here is one example of a fight we lost: In 2018, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law to essentially exempt police body cam video from FOIA. Why? Law enforcement lobbyists wanted to protect the privacy of people being arrested. Hiding the sometimes shockingly unprofessional behavior of police from public view was just a fringe benefit, I guess.

I do sincerely believe that most government workers and law enforcement officers do their best to serve the public every day. This column isnt intended to bash them. We just need them to do their jobs.

Most public officials who resist information requests do so simply because they dont want to get in trouble. They fear lawsuits, controversies and heated public meetings full of angry taxpayers. I understand that. But denying access to information we are entitled to is no solution  its an abuse of power. So is charging exorbitant fees to provide those records.

More difficult to understand are the officials who deny even the most routine requests. That always seems to me like they are picking a fight with the media just for the sake of fighting.

Some agencies wont give us the courtesy of offering any reason at all for withholding information. For instance, a woman was shot to death March 3 in her Forest Glen home in Midland. Many of you readers wondered: Who was killed?

We asked.

The Midland Police Department still has not identified her or the man who they believe killed her, and police dont plan on offering any additional information.

Why?

For the record: Her name was Beanitta Dawkins. She is not a statistic  she is Stacy Washingtons daughter. That grieving mother from Saginaw wasnt seeking privacy; Washington wanted to be heard. She wanted to talk about losing her beloved Beanitta. She wanted to talk about the impact of domestic violence.

Investigating death is a terrible responsibility that police officers face as part of their jobs. Part of that duty is to accurately report to the public what happened  including the names of the deceased. Just reporting a body count and some vague details of a crime robs the deceased of their humanity. It reduces a person to a crime statistic.

Do better, Midland Police Department.

Heres the thing: I would prefer to work together with all local government agencies.

Its easier for everyone, and it will benefit our community.

I have to admit, though, I like a good fight. Why wouldnt we fight to publish the truth?

The choice is yours, public officials and cops.

Will you try to keep us in the dark?

Or will you join us in the light?

Dave Clark is editor of the Midland Daily News. You can email him at david.clark@hearst.com
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Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China's National Medical Products Administration has issued marketing approval for a self-developed fully bioabsorbable occluder for ventricular septal defects, according to the Fuwai Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Ventricular septal defects are a common form of congenital heart disease, and can cause pulmonary arterial hypertension and pose a threat to life.

The novel occluder developed by Chinese medics is made using biodegradable materials. It is gradually replaced by the body's own tissue and degrades over time, serving as a temporary "bridge" for the heart to repair itself, according to Fuwai Hospital, also the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases.

Interventional closure is a common method used to treat ventricular septal defects, and it has the advantages of decreased trauma and a quick recovery period, whereas traditional metal occluders are designed to stay permanently in the body, which is likely to lead to long-term complications, said Pan Xiangbin, director of the structural heart disease center of Fuwai Hospital.

The ultrasound-guided intervention technology developed at Fuwai Hospital can replace radiation-guided technology, as it is able to detect non-metal fully bioabsorbable materials implanted into the human body, thus removing a key obstacle in the development of such occluders, said Hu Shengshou, head of the hospital. 
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) has noted that the delegation of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) has tested stability in Tripoli and Libya in general, as part of the process of returning the regional grouping to its permanent headquarters in the capital
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdelhamid al-Dbaiba, on Tuesday stressed the need to ensure the supply of basic commodities to the market during the month of Ramadan, the fasting month of Muslims, which starts next month
New York, US (PANA) - The UN Security Council on Tuesday extended the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for one year
Photo: (Photo : Craig Barritt/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

Drew Barrymore opened up about the co-parenting difficulties she has been experiencing with her ex-husband Will Kopelman in a recent interview with Parents magazine. The Hollywood actress discussed in detail the challenges of raising her two little daughters as a single mother and the heartbreak that comes with joint custody.

Barrymore told the magazine that the most challenging part of co-parenting, in her opinion, is missing her girls when they are apart because that was not the plan. The 47-year-old screen star shares two daughters with Kopelman: Olive, who is nine years old, and Frankie, who is now seven.

Barrymore acknowledged, however, that there is an upside in co-parenting too. According to Barrymore, the good thing about co-parenting is that both parents get a day off when it comes to their parenting duties.

Barrymore shares co-parenting wins and misses

According to E! News, Barrymore gave glimpses of her family's private world throughout the interview, even sharing some recent wins and misses in her parenting journey. Barrymore beamed as she talked about how she got her daughter Olive to help loading and unloading the dishwasher.

When talking about a recent parenting miss, Barrymore shared that she lost it when her eldest child Olive tried to tell her how to drive. Barrymore also divulged which of her movies her children are allowed to see, with "Ever After: A Cinderella Story" and "50 First Dates" the films they have already seen. Barrymore added that she is holding off showing "Scream" to her daughters until they are old enough.

Barrymore and Kopelman captured the imagination of Hollywood fans when they tied the knot in a small, private ceremony on the actress' sprawling estate in Montecito, California, back in 2012. Their union did not last long, though, as Barrymore and Kopelman divorced four years later in 2016.

Read Also: Kravis Wants a Baby: Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian Tease Plans in 'The Kardashians' Trailer

Co-parenting difficulties ease with the arrival of Michler

They released a joint statement to People magazine at the time, saying, "Sadly, our family is separating legally, although we do not feel this takes away from us being a family." They noted that divorce might make them feel like a failure, but eventually, they will start to find grace in the idea that life goes on.

Barrymore and Kopelman added that their children are their universe, and they look forward to living the rest of their lives with them as the first priority. Since their divorce in 2016, a lot has changed, with Kopelman now remarried. In August of last year, he tied the knot with Vogue's director of fashion initiatives Alexandra Michler. There is no friction between Barrymore and Michler as they were seen alongside Kopelman taking the kids trick-or-treating last Halloween.

That has made co-parenting easier for Barrymore. In an interview, she paid tribute to Michler, saying that her kids' father is happily remarried to the most wonderful woman in the world and that her children have an extraordinary stepmother.

Related Article: Blippi is Now a Dad: YouTube Personality Stevin John Announces Arrival of Son Lochlan David
Photo: (Photo : ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

The parents of a newborn baby vaccinated without consent for Hepatitis B have gone to the press to express their outrage for the oversight.

Mom, Catherine McHutchison, claimed that she gave birth to her son via C-section at the Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in February 2022. Before her procedure, she has explicitly expressed to her doctors and the nursing staff that she and her husband do not want the Hepatitis B vaccine for their baby.

The mother also signed a refusal form that she showed Queen City News. It showed an X mark over the box for declining the shot, although the McHutchison family never detailed the reason for not wanting the vaccine, which was well within their rights.

Hours after the C-section, a nursing staff approached McHutchison, who was still heavily medicated, to inform the mother that her newborn baby was vaccinated without consent for Hepatitis B. Apparently, a nurse in training failed to verify consent even though there was no vaccination order for this particular case in their system.

Read Also: COVID-19 Complications: Parents Remember 'Amazing' 7-Year-Old Girl Whose Brain Swelled from the Virus

The Apology Letter Can't Undo the Vaccination

McHutchison left Lake Norman Regional Medical Center the next day while still recovering from the C-section. The mother said she felt uncomfortable staying at the hospital, knowing some nurses were negligent of their work.

This was not what the family expected to experience with the birth of their second child. Instead of welcoming a new family member, the McHutchisons had to deal with a terrible experience.

Worst, the hospital only sent an apology letter to the family, indicating that they made "corrective actions" for the staff involved. The hospital also said they reviewed and revised the consenting process to avoid confusion. An internal investigation is also underway.

Yet, McHutchison said that whatever the hospital did would never undo that her newborn son had been vaccinated without consent.

"It took a lot out of the whole experience for me," the mother said, per WGN9 News.

Guidelines for Hepatitis B Vaccination

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), administering Hepatitis B vaccine in newborns must be done with consent within the first 24 hours of the birth. Two booster shots will follow when the baby is within the first two months and then again before the baby reaches 18 months.

Babies are at risk because Hepatitis B may come from the food chewed for them, a cut or open sore with blood, or through sharing toothbrushes and utensils with family members. For many patients, Hepatitis B infection symptoms could be non-existent or mild, hence the risk of infection because carriers might not be aware they have the virus. Some patients may develop chronic and lifelong conditions associated with Hepatitis B, which does not have any cure.

The CDC said that the vaccine had been proven safe and effective in protecting babies from contracting a "potentially serious disease" in the liver as they grow older. Some U.S. schools mandate this vaccine shot before the kids can be enrolled.

Related Article: Do's and Don'ts of Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among Family Members
Photo: (Photo : Getty images )

A 23-year-old man accidentally shoots and kills a pregnant teen and her unborn baby while playing with a gun, police investigators say. Chad Blackard, who shot 17-year-old Karrington Smith and her unborn baby, faces several charges, including negligent homicide, three-degree feticide, and illegal use of weapons. Smith was 25 weeks pregnant. Blackard was booked at the Easton Baton Rouge Parish Prison, Action News 5 reports.

Playing with a handgun

Investigation revealed that Smith was hit by a bullet while inside a car. Blackard, Smith, and other friends drove to Baton Rouge from Pineville. Blackard was seated behind Smith on the passenger side when he pulled out the gun and hung it on the passenger seat. Blackard then bragged how his gun "outperforms" a firearm owned by another passenger.

Blackard accidentally squeezed the trigger while readjusting the gun, and it fired. The bullet went through the passenger's seat and hit Smith in the back.

According to East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office (EBRSO), the driver pulled into the parking lot of a local business establishment and called for responders. The authorities took Smith to a local hospital. While attending to Smith, the medical staff realized that she was 25 weeks pregnant. Smith and her baby died at the hospital. Blackard admitted that it was an accident.

The Advocate cited that before she died, Smith initially told the deputies that she accidentally fired the gun while in her purse. However, EBRSO said authorities found out that Blackard was responsible upon further investigation.

Read Also: Fate of Ukrainian Pregnant Women Gets Grimmer as Russia Continues Ukraine Attacks

Second accidental gunfire in a week

The incident is the second accidental gunfire incident this week. On Saturday, a woman was also killed inside a car in Chicago after her three-year-old son accidentally fired a gun while the family was in their vehicle.

The shooting happened around 8:30 in the evening. The father was in the driver's seat, and the mother was in the passenger seat. The three-year-old boy was in the back. The boy managed to find the weapon and began playing with it. He pointed the gun and eventually fired a shot.

The bullet struck the child's mom, 22-year-old Daejah Bennett. The father took her to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she later died.

An average of 492 people in the U.S. unintentionally die from a gun every year. This year, there have been unintentional shootings by more than 21 children. Nine of which resulted in death.

Aftermath advises that it is necessary to keep the gun locked up safely to prevent accidental firing. Holding the weapon out of the hands of people who are not trained to operate it is the best way to prevent accidental gun deaths.

Everyone should also handle a gun like it can cause harm. This would mean never pointing a gun at a person and keeping fingers off the trigger.

Related Article: Father Drops Toddler from Second Floor Window to Escape Apartment Fire
Long-time Friend of the Parker Public Library Barbara Schwind was honored at the March 1 Parker Town Council meeting. She received a plaque and was praised for being a member of the Friends of the Library for 45 years, and for serving for 25 years on the Library Advisory Committee. Schwind (center) was flanked for former Library Asst. Director Jeannie Smith, Mayor Karen Bonds, Council Member Marion Shontz, and Library Director Tracy McConnell.
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Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the outside view of the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

Throughout the consultation process, the United States had pushed for the inclusion of many human rights-related texts, resulting in a very unbalanced draft resolution, said a Chinese envoy.

UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday regretted the push by the United States for human rights-related texts in a draft Security Council resolution on the mandate renewal for the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

China had to abstain in Tuesday's voting after the United States, the penholder on South Sudan, refused to make revisions, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

UNMISS has made sustained and enormous efforts in facilitating the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement, protecting civilians, delivering humanitarian relief, and advancing South Sudan's nation-building. China applauds the mission's important role and supports the renewal of its mandate, said Dai in an explanation of vote after the vote.

However, throughout the consultation process, the United States had pushed for the inclusion of many human rights-related texts, resulting in a very unbalanced draft resolution, he said.

South Sudan is the youngest UN member. The international community should support the country in gradually exploring a path of human rights development that is suitable for its national conditions, instead of resorting to criticism or pressure, not to mention interference in its internal affairs, he said. "The Security Council is not the appropriate forum for human rights discussions."

The language in the draft makes reference to "human rights defenders." Internationally, there is no clear, unified definition for this term. China opposes this reference, said Dai.

Chinese peacekeepers march during a celebrations to mark the International Day of the United Nations Peacekeepers in Juba, capital of South Sudan, May 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Denis Elamu)

The draft also asks UNMISS to assess the effects of climate change on humanitarian situations, a job that should rightly fall on the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs or the country team, instead of UNMISS. China does not appreciate assigning climate change-related mandates to peacekeeping missions without an in-depth analysis of climate change impacts and a clear understanding of climate change as a driver of security risks, he said. "We request that there should be no human resource or budget increase due to this inappropriate mandate."

In fact, on the aforementioned issues, several Security Council members repeatedly requested revisions. But the penholder failed to heed their calls and take on board their reasonable suggestions, and did not demonstrate a penholder's inclusiveness. In view of this, China had no option but to abstain, said Dai.

China will always stand with the South Sudanese people in their journey on nation-building. China is ready to work with UNMISS to make positive contributions to the peace and stability of South Sudan, he said. 
Valve Softwares Steam digital games library has become synonymous with PC gaming, but now its coming to Chromebooks?

Yes, its true, according to a post made by a Chrome support manager to the Chromebook Help forum on Tuesday, and unearthed by 9to5Google.

The post is short, and doesnt offer much detail, but does represent a commitment. As you may have already heard, our team is working with Valve to bring Steam to Chrome OS, a support manager named Alisha wrote. We are very excited to share that well be landing an early, alpha-quality version of Steam on Chrome OS in the Dev channel for a small set of Chromebooks coming soon. Please come back to the forum for more information!

As odd as it may sound, the plan to bring Steam to Chromebooks has been in the works for some time, dating back to 2020. As Thurrott.com explained then, the argument worked like this: Steam runs on top of Linux, and Linux runs well on Chromebooks. (Valves Steam Deck handheld already runs Linuxand now Windows, too.) It makes sense, then, that Steam will eventually land on Chromebooks.

However, theres certainly a lot further to go in making Steam as accessible on Chromebooks as it is on PCs, as the post indicates. We dont know what a small set of Chromebooks entails, or what hardware Steam will run on. As most Chromebook owners know, Chromebooks tend to fall into two camps: inexpensive Chromebooks that run on Arm processors, and more powerful hardware that can use an X86 processor. Its this latter camp that has been searching for more applications to justify the price. In the meantime, of course, you can play games in Microsofts Xbox cloud on a Chromebook.

Google made its Chromebook announcement in conjunction with its Games Developer Summit, held this week, where the company tipped its progress in another direction: bringing Google Play Games to the PC. Android apps are now available for Windows 11 PCs, but just from the Amazon Appstore. Google is still synonymous with Android apps, so its natural to wonder whether Google will follow Amazons lead and bring Google apps to the PC.

The answer is, yes, but not quite yet. Google Play Games (not the entire app store) is launching as a beta in Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and the teaser site for the program (highlighted by XDA-Developers.com) reveals that those regions, at least, will receive games like Magic Rush: Heroes, State of Survival: Zombie War, and Summoners War.

If youd like to get a look at what Google Play Games could look like on the PC, Google has a teaser video for you.
Some staff of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has have called on President Akufo-Addo to with immediate effect remove from office their Chief Executive, Henry Kwabena Kokofu.



According to the employees in a statement, Mr Kokofus performance as the new CEO has been awful.



As the overall head of EPA Ghana, his technical potential and understanding are extremely limited when it comes to managing the environmental issues of the country. A portion of the statement reads



Their statement was signed by the Chairman), Akwasi Daniel who doubles as a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)



According to them, the EPA is currently sitting on a ticking time bomb and will implode if the President fails to fire the CEO.



He has continuously been found wanting in several ways on the job with an extremely poor leadership style and wicked tyranny, they added.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa, has called for a stronger collaboration between stakeholders in the export trade value chain to help increase the countrys exports in significant volumes.



He stated that governments target of increasing non-traditional export revenue to 2.9 billion United States Dollars in ten years through the National Export Development Strategy was key to the Industrial Transformation agenda of President Akufo-Addo.



According to the Deputy Minister, the National Export Development Strategy will facilitate a most significant increase in Ghanas export.



Speaking at a Stakeholder Consultative Forum on Export Trade and Guarantee Facilities organized by the Ghana Export-Import Bank in Accra on Tuesday, Herbert Krapa called on institutions such as the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Ghana Exim Bank, Food and Drugs Authority and the private sector to collaborate with the Ministry of Trade and Industry for the successful implementation of the National Export Development Strategy.



He observed that building a Ghana beyond aid is not beyond us, adding that there was the need for stakeholders to constantly enhance the productive capacity of exporters in Ghana to position them strategically to take advantage of available regional, multilateral and bilateral trade agreements.



Emphasizing on the role of Ghana Export-Import Bank in this development agenda, Hon. Krapa intimated that the Bank was appropriately placed to provide innovative and sustainable trade finance solutions to our exporters.



Trade finance from an indigenous financial institution like yours, will help reduce the risk associated with global and regional trade, and ultimately provide the much-needed impetus for reaching our most ambitious target, he noted.



He seized the opportunity to appreciate the remarkable contribution of the Ghana Export-Import Bank to the economic development of Ghanaian businesses over the years and urged them not to relent on their efforts.



In his remark at the programme which was under the theme Facilitating International Trade; The Role of Exim Bank, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export-Import Bank, Mr. Lawrence Agyinsam mentioned that the country has recorded export trade surpluses from 2017, with cocoa butter, cocoa paste, canned tuna, refined palm oil and natural rubber sheets topping the list for non-traditional exports.



He added that the Bank which was established in 2016 under Act 991 with the vision of becoming a strong financial institution that will be a key engine in the development of Ghanas export trade, facilitate cross border trade and make Ghana a pillar in the regional and continental trade, has over the last six years supported exporters in the area of pharmaceuticals, shea butter, cashew, potato, poultry, cassava, oil palm, mango, bee production and pineapple farming.



Mr. Agyinsam was optimistic that with the Banks products such as the Export Trade Facility, the Receivable Discounting Facility and the Provisional Guarantee Facility, it will continue to perform its role in building Ghanas capacity and competitiveness in the global market place.



The Forum was attended by the Coordinator of the National AfCFTA Office, Dr. Fareed Arthur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Mr. Mike Oquaye, Chairman and Members of the Board of the Ghana Export-Import Bank and representatives of various exporters and manufacturers association.

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 Tema High Court on Wednesday, granted the #FixTheCountry convener, Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor bail to the tune of GH2 million.



Per the conditions granted by Justice Daniel Mensah, the embattled E-levy coup plotter is to provide 2 sureties one of whom should deposit documents to his landed property in execution of the bail.



Mr Barker-Vormawors passport should also remain in the custody of the Republic, and he must report himself once a week to the police command.



The #FixTheCountry convener is facing treason felony charges after a social media post threatening a coup.



Prior to the ruling, the activist's lead Counsel, Akoto Ampaw told the court the constitution guarantees his client liberty and a right to be presumed innocent.



Describing the case as one not backed by any evidence, the prosecution was unable to show the applicant was prepared to carry through his threats, albeit conditional.



Lawyer Akoto Ampaw also dismissed as untrue claims by state prosecutors that his client has no fixed place of abode, and assured of his client's preparedness to avail himself to stand trial if granted bail.



He has led them to three locations. They have conducted searches there,,Mr Ampaw said.



On her part, Senior State Attorney Hilda Craig said per the Martin Kpebuvs Attorney-General No.2 case, all offences were bailable, but certain conditions ought to be met.



She told the court the state cannot trust him to show up if hes granted bail and dismissed claims that the case against the youth activist is not supported by evidence.



Justice Daniel Mensah, in his ruling, stated that the Court cannot disable itself from the grant of bail as per the legal arguments urged upon him by both counsel for Mr. Vormawor and the Republic.



He disagreed with arguments of the position that Mr. Vormawor did not have a fixed place of abode having regard to the facts of the case; and that he was at flight risk since his passport was already in the custody of the Republic.



Mr Barker-Vormawor was arrested on February 11, 2022, for a post he allegedly posted on a social media platform on February 9 that he would stage a coup should the E-Levy Bill be passed by Parliament.



The police said Mr Barker-Vormawors post contained a clear statement of intent with a possible will to execute a coup in his declaration of intent to subvert the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.



He first appeared at the court on February 14, but his plea was not been taken.



Some supporters of the movement carrying placards waited in the court premises in solidarity with their leader, while police in riot gear watched with eagle eye to maintain law and order.









Source: Peacefmonline.com/GHANA









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Hundreds of thousands of condoms, mosquito nets and tuberculosis drugs worth $100,000 (77,000) are alleged to have disappeared from a warehouse operated by the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (Kemsa).



They are believed to have been stolen and resold on the black market and to private chemists, according to the UN's Global Fund to fight HIV, TB and malaria.



It also accuses the agency of drastically inflating the price of the medicine, with some drugs being sold for one hundred times the correct cost.



The government agency has not yet commented on the allegations.



Kemsa made headlines in 2020 after revelations of fraud over the procurement of Covid-19 medical supplies.



Tenders worth $78m were said to have been irregularly given to politically connected individuals and businesses.



This prompted President Uhuru Kenyatta to disband its board and top management.



The UN Global Fund, which has disbursed more than $1.4m to Kenya in the last two decades, has recommended further investigation of Kemsa over the lost medicines.

Source: BBC









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Ghanas newly appointed Honorary Consular General in Lebanon, Mr. Ali Sammeh Jaafar, has charged Ghanaians to work together as the surest way to surmount challenges that confront the country.



According to him, collaboration often generates a bigger pool of ideas which often lead to a broader source of solutions.



Mr. Ali Jaafar was speaking as the Special Guest of Honour at the 65th Independence Day anniversary celebration organized by GHANBATT 88 for the contingent and friends of Ghana in Lebanon.



He described the past 65 years as a period which has seen the transformation of a young country to the status of a beacon of democracy in Africa in spite of all the challenges, he lauded Ghana for the enviable achievements, and recalled the journey as one filled with a rich history and humbling lessons.



Pledging to work assiduously to boost bilateral relations between both countries, Mr. Jaafar who began his official duties in September 2021, intimated his focus on boosting opportunities for businesses in Ghana and Lebanon while expanding export and trade in both markets.



To further this cause, Mr Jaafar has held a number of consultations with Lebanese government officials and private business entities to advance Ghanas interest.



Ghana has a vibrant, dynamic and strong Lebanese business community with strong historical links, supporting developments in the countrys hospitality, industrial and infrastructure sectors, he stated.



The diplomat, who has been using his vast business experience to leverage support for both Lebanese and Ghanaian businesses, has had interactions with senior representatives from the Government of Ghana and Lebanons Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen and broaden the mutually prosperous Ghana-Lebanon partnership.



As part of his official responsibilities, Mr Jaafar has partnered with Ghanas High Commission in Cairo to resolve a number of consular-related issues involving stranded Ghanaian citizens in Lebanon.



It would be recalled that in January, this year, Mr. Jaafar and the High Commission successfully secured the safe repatriation of three (3) Ghanaian nationals who travelled to Lebanon with fake documents. Previously, Ghanaians apprehended under similar circumstances were thrown into jail with harsh sentences and kept in poor prison conditions. In addition, they secured the safe return of some sixteen Ghanaian citizens and their dependents from Lebanon who arrived in Accra in the first week of March.



Last month, Mr. Jaafar joined Ghanas Ambassador to Egypt, Lt General Obed Akwa (RTD) to officially commission Ghanas Consular offices in Beirut.



Ambassador Akwa and Mr. Jaafar later paid a working visit to the command of Ghanas contingent on UN Peacekeeping operations in Al Quawzah, Southern Lebanon, where Mr. Jaafar underscored the role of Ghanbatt 88 in ensuring peace in Lebanon and for that matter advancing world peace.

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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Dr Emmanuel Kofi Dzotsi, the Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has called for salaries of newly posted doctors to be decentralized to check their refusal to accept postings to the Region.



He suggested that if salaries of newly trained doctors were channelled to the Regions, they would be compelled to accept postings to where their services were most needed.



For instance, if doctors are posted here, and they are not able to come, we can redirect their salaries to the Region so that when they come, then we pay. We should not encourage them to have access to work in other places, he said.



Dr Dzotsi said this when he shared his view, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), on measures to ensure doctors posted to the Region reported and stayed to deliver their services.



The suggestion by the Director was on the backdrop of 10 doctors who refused to accept postings to the Region in 2021.



He noted that even though the suggestion would compel doctors to report to their posted Regions, there must be proper negotiation, So that it doesnt become a punitive measure, that will deter them.



He suggested that newly posted doctors could be made to understand that their salaries would be in the region they would be posted to, and they would be entitled to certain incentive packages including promotion after three years, the offer of a study leave to specialise, and furnished accommodation, among others.



Dr Dzotsi said authorities at the national level could enforce the initiative, insisting that, We should not give the leeway for them to have another alternative to leave the region. We need the populace in this region to be served.



When the GNA visited the Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, which is the major referral centre, to ascertain the number of doctors in the facility, the Acting Medical Director, Dr Aiden Suntaa Saanwie, said the facility had 11 doctors instead of the ideal number of 40 medical doctors to operate optimally.



He said as a referral centre which should have a minimum of 27 Specialists, the Hospital was managed by only five, adding, Even with this five, we have just two Gynaecologists, one joined recently, until then, it was only one Gynaecologist.



He said the few doctors were stressed out, and that affected the quality of service delivery in the facility, We are human beings, if we have to run night shift and continue during the day, you can imagine the impact it will have on us.



Dr Saanwie said as part of initiatives to attract and retain doctors, the Hospital provided accommodation for all of its doctors, paid utility bills, filled Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for them, In addition, we have doctors incentive package.



For Medical Officers, we peg at GH1,500 and for Specialist, it is at GH3000.00.



He said despite the incentive packages, doctors still refused postings to the region, and even doctors from the northern part of the country used social pressures as an excuse not to serve their people.







Source: GNA









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The Bono Region has achieved about 89 per cent survival rate of tree seedlings planted in 2021 under the governments Green Ghana project.



Mr Stephen Mwinayelle, the Deputy Bono Regional Manager of the Forestry Services Division (FSD) revealed in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sunyani, that the region exceeded its target of 250,000 by planting 604,868 species of tree seedlings.



These young trees survived and are growing well, Mr Mwinayelle said.



Mr Mwinayelle commended institutions, groups, individuals and religious bodies that participated in the exercise last year, and expressed the hope they would continue to nurture the trees for the benefit of the nation.



He said the region was expected to plant 1.2 million species of tree seedlings under the 2022 Green Ghana Project, which had been launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, adding that the regional office of FSD would raise 30 per cent of the seedlings to complement that of the central government.



In a breakdown, Mr Mwinayelle said the Sunyani Forest District would distribute 600,000 seedlings, Dormaa Forest District, 400,000 while the Regional Office would also distribute 200,000 seedlings.



He said two compartments of 256 hectares in the Sunyani District Forest reserves would be planted with 332,800 tree seedlings while the remaining ones would be supplied to individuals and organizations for mass plantation.



In the Dormaa District Forest area 256 hectares had been demarcated for the plantation of 332,800, Mr Mwinayelle said.

Source: GNA









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An Accra circuit has rescinded an arrest warrant it issued for the arrest of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jadarls Energy Ghana Limited, an oil and natural gas company, Jeremiah Darlington Quainoo.

The arrest warrant was rescinded upon an affidavit filed on February 16, 2022, by the counsel for Quainoo.



The court upon hearing the counsel ordered that the arrest warrant be rescinded since there was no matter properly filed on docket before the court.



A copy of the order, available to the Daily Graphic showed that the order was signed by the Circuit court judge, Mr Maldwyn Emmanuel Essandoh, and the registrar, Mr John K. O. Daniels, on February 16, 2022.



Background



An arrest warrant was issued for the arrest of Quainoo for an alleged issue of dud cheques and failing to honour an invitation of the police to assist with investigations.





He was said to have issued eight cheques with the face value GH285,500 each to be drawn by the complainant in the case but they were all dishonoured.



The court also issued an arrest warrant for the arrest of another person in the case, Mawutor Kpodo, who was managing a project on behalf of a multinational oil and gas company but was said to have diverted GH1 million out of a GH1.2 million meant for a project of the company without the knowledge of the management of the company.

Source: graphiconline.com









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By An Puzhong and Wang Lingshuo

BEIJING, March 16 -- China will livestream the second space-based lecture of Tiangong Class in the upcoming days, news came from the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).

The Tiangong Class, a space science education brand, introduces a series of classes in which the Chinese taikonauts act as the teachers in space and interact with students especially teenagers. During its first space lecture on December 9, 2021, taikonauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfus lively interactions with teachers and students on earth brought the youths closer to the astronauts, and sparked a surge in exploring the mysteries of space through deeper learning.

After that, more topics for Tiangong Class were solicited widely across China, and the second lecture, which is to be broadcast live as well, will revolve around some selected topics from the public suggestions.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- "What we take from nature should be well-measured, and how we use these things should be restrained" was once proposed by an ancient Chinese official, and the proposal has deeply resonated with President Xi Jinping.

"The well-measured use of natural resources is key to ecological conservation," Xi said, quoting the proposal when addressing the opening ceremony of the International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing in April 2019.

The quote was taken from a policy proposal from Lu Zhi in Tang Dynasty (618-907). Lu held that what nature can offer and what humans can produce both have their limits, so people should obtain and use natural resources in a measured and restrained manner.

Lu's argument inherited a temperate attitude toward nature from ancient sages such as Confucius and Mencius, and was acknowledged by literati of later times -- particularly the renowned historian Sima Guang, who quoted him in his masterpiece "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government."

The Chinese government today has learnt from the ancient wisdom and incorporated the idea in its efforts to balance ecological conservation and human development.

"We need to promote a simpler, greener and more low-carbon lifestyle, oppose excessiveness and foster a culture of living green and living healthy," Xi said in his April 2019 speech.

Under Xi's leadership, China issued a regional 10-year ban on fishing to protect its longest river, the Yangtze, while working to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

"We must move faster to define and enforce strict controls, including red lines for environmental protection, minimum standards for environmental quality, and ceilings on resource utilization," Xi once said.

Joining deliberations with fellow lawmakers at the annual session of the national legislature, which concluded last week, Xi again promised to take proactive and prudent steps to advance the peaking of carbon emissions and the achievement of carbon neutrality. 
The United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani, has commended the government for making giant strides in containing and managing the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.



He said aside from being the first country in Africa to receive the COVID-19 vaccine under the COVAX intervention, Ghana developed a robust action plan to manage the pandemic nationwide, particularly at the epicentres, and continued to build a strong immunisation system to roll out the vaccination campaign, which was very impressive.



Seeing some of these services in rural communities shows that they are not just at the epicentres but across the board. We see a strong commitment and leadership from the President in managing the pandemic and building long-term resilience.



Today, it is COVID-19; tomorrow, it could be another pandemic and the sooner African countries had the capacity to manage these kinds of pandemics, the better, he said.



Visit



Mr Abani gave the commendation in Tamale last Monday when he led a delegation from the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, the government of Canada and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to inspect some health facilities in the Northern Region which the UN agencies supported with logistics in the wake of the pandemic.



Through the support from the UN and its partners, a number of health facilities in the region have been equipped with cold chain equipment for vaccine storage.



In addition, there has been the implementation of efficient antenatal care and related programmes.



Besides, the government of Canada has helped to provide safe space for counselling of adolescents in selected health facilities.



At the Nyankpala Health Centre in the Tolon District, the delegation expressed satisfaction with the state of the logistics and urged the staff to continue to put up their best in the fight against the pandemic.



Mr Abani emphasised the need to expand coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to help pool the necessary funding to ensure effective public healthcare delivery, saying that COVID-19 has created financial constraints on the government and, therefore, leveraging public-private sources of funding is the key to delivering quality health care.



The NHIS is just small contributions from individuals, and expanding its reach is a very powerful way to supplement the governments efforts, he added.



He said to achieve the Ghana Beyond Aid vision, there was the need for all citizens to stay healthy and be a part of it, for which reason healthcare delivery must be prioritised.



Mr Abani also commended the government for its efforts at digitalising every sector of the economy, especially health, which was very crucial for record-keeping and economic transformation.



Deepening partnership



The First Secretary at the Canadian High Commission, Adam Loyer, expressed the Canadian governments commitment to deepen its partnership with the government of Ghana to enhance development, especially in the area of healthcare delivery.



The Northern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr John Bertson Eleeza, commended the UN and the Canadian government for their support, which he said had gone a long way to improve healthcare delivery in the region.









Source: graphiconline.com









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The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bortianor Ngleshie Amanfrom, Sylvester Tetteh, on 15th March, hosted a get-together for widows and widowers in his constituency to familiarize with them and get to know their problems.



The gesture, according to the MP for BNA, was intended to put smiles on the faces of the widows who are mostly forgotten in society because they are voiceless.



Also, he did that to fulfil scripture which admonishes Christians and the church in (1 Timothy 5:3) to honour widows and women who are in need.



Hon Sylvester Tetteh who is also the Board Chairman of the Ghana Enterprise Agency formerly National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) admonished Ghanaians, especially the well-to-do, to assist such persons with the needed assistance to enable them to improve upon their standard of living.



Touching on how his office has faired since he assumed office, he said he has done lots of infrastructural projects in his constituency in just one year and some months as an MP and will continue to advocate for development for the constituency.



The beneficiaries expressed their appreciation to the Member of Parliament for remembering them and asked for Gods blessings for him in the year ahead.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Corporation (STC), Nana Akomea, has scolded Ex-President John Mahama and the Minority Leader in Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu over their comments regarding the Supreme Court verdict on Deputy Speakers' right to be counted as Members of Parliament and vote in the August House.



The Supreme Court, by a unanimous decision, ruled that a "Deputy Speaker is entitled to be counted as a Member of Parliament for quorum" and can "vote and take part in the decision of Parliament".



But the former President fears the court has set a "dangerous precedent of judicial interference in Parliamentary procedure for the future".



The Minority Leader, also passing a remark on the ruling, believes the verdict is in support of the government's e-levy pending approval and implementation.



Addressing the issue on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'' programme, Nana Akomea rebuked the two leaders stating emphatically that, "what President Mahama and Mr. Haruna Iddrisu said are uncalled-for. It doesn't befit elders, especially President Mahama. The Supreme Court has made its judgement; not everyone will agree with them. There's nothing wrong with that. You can say, when you also scrutinize the law, you disagree with the Supreme Court".



To him, it is insulting to the Supreme Court for these leaders to utter such words about the Judges' ruling.



" . . it's an insult to say the Supreme Court judgement wasn't based on the law but has a different basis. What you mean it's the court didn't look at the law to give the judgement but rather they looked at other considerations. When you say the court judgment is mischievous and a judgement of convenience, then it means they look at something different from the law. You have insulted them," he exclaimed.



He continued; ''Elders like President Mahama and Haruna Iddrisu shouldn't say that . . If you are a former President and I have belief that you still want to be a President and you undermine the Supreme Court in this way, how are you going to work with them?''



Nana Akomea cautioned Ex-President Mahama, Haruna Iddrisu and the likes to refrain from making those comments about the court.



''Such statements shouldn't have emerge from President Mahama's mouth or the mouth of Haruna Iddrisu. It's distasteful . . . They should set a better example!", he admonished.









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 Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Corporation (STC), Nana Akomea, has deflated all arguments that Parliament is a master of their own, therefore the Supreme Court giving a verdict on the Deputy Speakers of Parliament is an interference of the parliamentary rules.



The Supreme Court has come under intense public heat after a seven-member panel unanimously ruled that a "Deputy Speaker is entitled to be counted as a Member of Parliament for quorum" and can "vote and take part in the decision of Parliament".



While some critics like former President John Mahama say the Supreme Court, by their ruling, has set a "dangerous precedent of judicial interference in Parliamentary procedure for the future", others like the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, describe the decision as "despicable".



In a series of tweets, he said; The sham called Justice delivery in our Republic. Despicable! he said in a tweet.



"Abi we all go dey the Chamber inside. Come and give the referee the ball to play some let us see. The sweetness of the pudding is in its eating."



The Supreme Court, to some critics, is by this ruling interfered with the business of Parliament because, to them, the House has its own rules and regulations.



Reacting to the issue, Nana Akomea noted that Parliament has no choice but to obey the Supreme Court ruling.



Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme, he emphasized; "If they refuse, it means Parliament is breaking the law. It's a very simple matter; it means you're breaking the law. So, you cannot refuse."



He expounded that, "there is no contradiction in what the Supreme Court is saying. They are saying they cannot give rules for Parliament, so go and do your rules. There's no contradictions. How Parliament, the procedure that Parliament will use to obey the law is left to Parliament. That's why we say Parliament is the master of its own rules but Parliament is not a master of its own laws. Parliament is subject to the law''.



To him, the Legislative House must begin implementing the verdict because "they cannot and they will not choose to disobey what the court has said".



"They would have to bring a procedure to allow the Deputy Speakers to vote because that is the law," 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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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced sanctions for President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and a string of senior U.S. officials as President Vladimir Putin hit back in revenge for harsh sanctions.



The announcement came as Washington was unveiling fresh sanctions on President Alexander Lukashenko, Moscow's ally in Belarus, and 11 key Russian defense officials.



The Russian move effectively bars Biden and 12 other U.S. figures - including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, C.I.A. director Bill Burns - from entering Russia.



Daleep Singh, an economist on the National Security Council who is seen as the architect of sanctions on Russia, also makes the list.



The list also includes high-profile figures such as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki as well as the president's troubled son Hunter.



Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was also named on the list saw the funny side.



'I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award,' she said in a tweet.



In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was acting 'in response to a series of unprecedented sanctions' and was imposing its own measures 'on the basis of reciprocity.'



The sanctions come after weeks of increasing pressure on Moscow, as the U.S. and allies try to isolate Russia and Putin's cronies.



Russian forces have apparently stalled in Ukraine, and have made little progress in takin the capital Kyiv.



Instead they have kept up a bombardment of Ukrainian cities and used long-range missile to attack targets in the west of the country.



The State Department added to its list of sanctions on Tuesday, barring Lukashenko and his family from entering the U.S. or doing business with Americans.



'Today's designations demonstrate the United States will continue to impose concrete and significant consequences for those who engage in corruption or are connected to gross violations of human rights,' said Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Andrea Gacki.



'We condemn Russia's attacks on humanitarian corridors in Ukraine and call on Russia to cease its unprovoked and brutal war against Ukraine.'



The US has previously hit Belarus with sanctions because of its backing for the Russian invasion, extending export control policies to the country.



The 13 Americans sanctioned by Moscow;

Joe Biden - president

Antony Blinken - secretary of state

Lloyd Austin - secretary of defense

Mark Milley - chairman of the joint chiefs of staff

Jake Sullivan - national security adviser

Bill Burns - CIA director

Jen Psaki - White House press secretary

Daleep Singh - deputy national security advisor for international economics

Samantha Power - USAID administrator

Hunter Biden - President Biden's son

Hillary Clinton - former secretary of state

Wally Adeyemo -deputy secretary of the Treasury

Reta Jo Lewis - president of the Export-Import Bank of the US













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The approval for Deputy Speakers to vote on key decisions in parliament by the Supreme court is, somehow, giving the indication that the governments proposed tax on electronic transactions that has divided the August House for months will be passed sooner than expected.



The government has explained its reasons for the controversial Electronic Transaction Levy  thus, to raise enough domestic revenue to save a distressed economy after the COVID-19 pandemic.



With a split parliament of 137 seats for both the ruling NPP and largest opposition NDC, an independent candidate who allied with the NPP and doubles as deputy Speaker is the only reason for a slim majority when parliament decides on the E-levy passage.



However, the ruling by the Supreme Court for Deputy Speakers to vote on key issues has increased the chances of the NPP to win on the passage of the debated E-levy bill  thus, if all their members are available in parliament on the day of voting.



Speaking on NEAT FMs morning show, Ghana Montie on the subject, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu remained tight-lipped on the government's next approach but was optimistic the bill will be passed.



If a woman stays long in the bathhouse, then obviously she is cleaning herself well, he said in parables - to wit we are working on it.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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The Former National First Vice Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Mr Stephen Ayesu Ntim has rallied members of his party to work tirelessly to set the new record of breaking the 8 in the political history of Ghana.



According to him, breaking the 8 mantra of the party will only become a reality through loyalty, commitment and discipline to the course of the party.



He said; 2024 Elections is very unique that for the first time, a party in power has a chance to break the 8 years jinx because the party has worked hard for it and thus deserves it. Time Aso for the NPP to break the 8.



Time Aso for Ghanaians to maintain NPP in power beyond the 8 years. Yes, Time Asoo because we have done the job and still doing more. As promised in our manifesto, we have constructed the roads, we have set up the factories, we have digitized the economy, we have created the jobs, we have stabilized the power sector, we have provided the free SHS, we have provided the infrastructure, we have done our part. So it is time for NPP to continue its good works and it will take hard work from all of us here



In a meeting with constituency executives in the Greater Accra Region, he admonished them to join his team as they worked together for the betterment of the party. He said he has the experience as a former national first vice and the maturity to steer the affairs of the party in the right direction for victory 2024 and beyond.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Former President John Mahama has advised Justice Abdulai, the applicant in the case on the voting rights of Deputy Speakers presiding over parliamentary proceedings to seek for review of the Supreme Court judgment.



He raised concern about how possible it would be for the Deputy Speakers who had been empowered to vote during proceedings to impartially determine the winning side in situations there were voice votes.



The first vote in most cases taken on motion in Parliament is a voice vote, the presiding officer, whether the Speaker or any of his/her Deputy Speakers, is supposed to listen to which is the loudest, the ayes or the nays and make a determination.



If the Deputy Speakers are allowed to vote, then they must take part, first, in the voice vote, if you are presiding and can shout aye or nay with your party in the voice vote, how do you impartially determine which was the loudest?



What is the determination of the Supreme Court? That Deputy Speakers can shout aye or nay with the side they agree or disagree with in the voice vote? Former President Mahama queried and insisted that the Supreme Court judgment was absurd.



He called on Mr Abdulai to apply for a review of the judgment and described the judgment as regrettable, and he looked forward to the applicant applying for a review of the judgment.



The judgment was given in a case brought by a law professor, Justice Abdulai, who was contesting the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusus decision to count himself for a vote on the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy which backed the position of Mr Osei-Owusu, who defended his decisive vote in the approval of the budget, although he was presiding as Speaker.



The court also struck down order 109 (3) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, describing it as unconstitutional.



On November 30, last year, Mr Osei-Owusu, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, presided over the overturning of an earlier vote of the House rejecting the governments 2022 Budget.



The First Deputy Speaker welcomed the judgment, describing it as refreshing but the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, however, described it as absurd and reckless.

Source: The Ghanaian Times









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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Managing Editor of the National Forum Newspaper, James Kwabena Bomfeh, has raised counter arguments against comments by some Ghanaians that sought to suggest the Supreme Court isn't the final arbiter on issues of constitutionality.



Mr Bomfeh noted that Article 2 makes it emphatically clear that the Apex Court is the "body that is clothed with the power to make final determination on constitutional matters and this cannot be in dispute".



Seasoned Journalist, Kwesi Pratt Jnr., had on the Tuesday edition of the "Kokrokoo" Morning Show dismissed claims that the Supreme Court is the final authority when it comes to legal issues.



He emphasized that the, ''Supreme Court has never been or will never be the final authority on anything including the law. The Supreme Court exercises the power of the people. The Supreme Court acts in the name of the people. We have apportioned our sovereignty to the Supreme Court. So, ultimately, it is the people of Ghana who are the supreme-authority''.



Mr. Pratt further argued that, "the constitution itself, it has provisions for amendment. Am I lying? So, at any time, the people of Ghana can decide to amend the constitution. Indeed, the people of Ghana, they have a right to abolish the Supreme Court [yes] and set up something in its place. The Supreme Court, as currently constituted, is a constitutional creature; so, if you change the constitution, you can change the provisions on the establishment of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court will become a new creature".



He also averred that the "Supreme Court is the final authority and so on, [it] is not true. It cannot be true at least at the level of theory because they are acting in our name''.



But James Kwabena Bomfeh, nicknamed 'Kabila', who is a Consultant at KN & Associates - a Human Resource Management and Legal Services firm - discussing the issue on Peace FM's Wednesday edition of ''Kokrokoo'', directed Ghanaians to read Article 2 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana to establish his point.



According to him, "The constitution remains our standard bearer and nobody is above this constitution . . . The Article 1 indicates that the sovereignty of Ghana resides in the people of Ghana in whose name and for whose welfare the powers of government are to be exercised in the manner and within the limit laid in this constitution. It's also established in Article 2 (clause 2), in fact the clause 1, that if someone doesn't understand something about our constitution or how our laws work, the person should send it to the Supreme Court. This thing automatically makes the Supreme Court the final authority on any misunderstanding in terms of law".



"Because we work with laws in this country, I have every right to say that this constitution is a finality and if the Supreme Court make pronouncements on this which is a finality, then the Supreme Court remains the final arbiter," Kabila concluded as he sought to offer the public and Mr. Pratt education on the absolute role of the Apex Court.





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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Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Ghana Actors Guild, Bill Asamoah, has urged the government to invest in the local movie industry to enable it meet the challenges ahead.



The movie industry has been on a decline in recent times, with many actors resorting to other jobs to generate extra income.



BEATWAVES gathered that one of the major problems facing the industry is funding, marketing and distributing strategies which affect the sales of movies on both local and international markets.



Bill Asamoah, an actor and producer, believes that investing in the local movie industry would help the industry break into the global movie market.



According to him, investing in the movie industry by the government will also help the industry to kick-start streaming service to promote local movies on the world market.



In an interview with Andy Dosty on Daybreak Hitz on Hitz FM monitored by BEATWAVES, Bill Asamoah who is credited with a number of movies lamented that the local movie industry is facing turbulent times and the industry and its players are feeling the effects.



If government should help out with a 2 million dollar funding we can get this thing done in no time, he said.



In a related development, a section of the movie stakeholders who spoke to BEATWAVES in separate interviews, stressed that the government should create avenues for the key players to build their capacity and knowledge for better performance in the years to come.



Distribution system for movies keeps changing everyday and now the world has gone more digital and technological. This, therefore, means that the traditional way of distribution of local movies in the country is fast losing its control of the market and no longer as effective as it used to be; hence the need for a new system such as digital marketing and distribution, they said.



Sharing their views on the future of the local movie industry, the stakeholders revealed that some of the actors and producers have decided to find alternative jobs to make ends meet because they no longer find the movie industry attractive due to lack of support from government and organisations.

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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BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- In the face of a resurgence of COVID-19 infections, China's Ministry of Education has launched a variety of arrangements to maintain the provision of education at various levels while ensuring effective epidemic containment, placing increased emphasis on mental health.

At a recent video conference on epidemic control and prevention, the ministry stressed the importance of paying more attention to the mental health of teachers and students and providing them with timely psychological assistance.

The ministry called for the monitoring of the health of school staff, students and their family members, improving response mechanisms against the epidemic, and enhancing the coordination between school and home.

The ministry also said that the online platform, developed and rolled out by the ministry following the outbreak of the epidemic, that allows students in primary and middle schools to study at home, has recorded 6.9 billion views and has recently been enriched with new resources, including after-class service and family education.

As the country enters the second phase of graduate-school enrollment, the ministry has asked universities to take into consideration the local COVID-19 situations, and to put the health of staff and students first when making plans for examinations and interviews. 
Single women over 30 in most African Countries, especially Ghana, can never catch a break. No matter how successful you are, people always find a way to rub marriage in your face.



Although the people of Ghana are a very religious group, hence, believe that, Gods time is always the best, they never seem to apply that same saying when it comes to marriage.



One of the many successful single women over 30 in Ghana who has been asked the when are you getting married question is award-wining Broadcaster, Serwaa Amihere.



Although Ms. Amihere has done amazing for herself, her womanhood is not complete without a man by herself, according to Ghanaians.

While some equate getting married as the ultimate form of happiness for a woman, Serwaa thinks otherwise.



In a tweet on Monday, Serwaa stated that people always assume married people are not happy. According to her, getting married does not automatically make one happy.



Unmarried does not automatically mean unhappy. To marry is also not to be happy, she tweeted.

Unmarried does not automatically mean unhappy.



To marry is also not to be happy.  Serwaa Amihere (@Serwaa_Amihere) March 14, 2022









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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Sonja Mally is photographed near her home in Toronto, on Monday, March 14, 2022. The artist has been barely able to leave her home since developing long COVIID. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes a question from the media about Canadas response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine during an announcement at a Honda plant in Alliston, Ont., on Wednesday, March 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Man charged with sex assaults wants to bar mention at trial of other alleged victims
BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held a phone conversation with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra, during which the two mainly exchanged views on the current situation in Ukraine.

Wang said the position of the Chinese side on the Ukraine issue has been consistent and open, noting that "the four musts" highlighted by Chinese President Xi Jinping are China's clearest and the most authoritative attitude, and that all measures taken by China will be based on the "four musts."

During his virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this month, Xi said China maintains that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be fully observed, the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously, and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported.

Wang said China, as a peace-loving country, has always been committed to peaceful settlement of disputes through political means, and is ready to work with the Netherlands and other countries of the European Union to play a constructive role in resolving the Ukrainian crisis.

The international community generally hopes to realize a cease-fire as soon as possible, ease the situation on the ground and avoid civilian casualties, which is also China's expectation, he said.

Noting that Russia and Ukraine have held four rounds of talks and progress has been slow, Wang said there is hope for a cease-fire and a peaceful future can be opened up if the talks can be maintained, adding that China will continue making efforts in its own way to promote peace talks.

Noting that the escalating sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe against Russia have compounded the difficulties facing a struggling global economic recovery and inflicted undue damage on the people's livelihood of various countries, Wang called on all parties to do more to promote peace talks, not the opposite.

He also pointed out that the top priority for the international community at the moment is to deal with a possible large-scale humanitarian crisis, saying that China has already put forward a six-point proposal on easing the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and taken concrete actions, and the first batch of emergency humanitarian aid has arrived and been distributed, with more assistance to be provided in the future as needed.

Stressing that behind the Ukraine crisis lies the issue of Europe's security, Wang said that how to safeguard Europe's security in the future concerns the vital interests of all European countries, including the Netherlands.

The conflict will eventually end, Wang said, expressing his hope that European countries can sit down with Russia for an in-depth and comprehensive dialogue, and discuss ways to set up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework in a bid to achieve long-term stability in Europe.

Hoekstra appreciated China's humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian refugees, deeming dialogue and negotiation the most important way to resolve conflicts and confrontations.

Expressing the hope that China could continue to play a positive role in this regard, Hoekstra said that under the current circumstances, all countries should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries and abide by the basic norms governing international relations.

Wang said that it is exactly the traditional position China has always adhered to. On China's Taiwan question, the Chinese foreign minister said he hopes that such words would also be matched with deeds, and double standards should not be applied.

They also exchanged views on Chinese-Dutch relations.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands, Wang said, expressing the hope that the two countries will take this opportunity to push for new progress in their open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership so as to make positive contributions to international and regional peace and stability.

Echoing Wang's remarks, Hoekstra said that the Netherlands is willing to strengthen communication and exchanges with China and hold successful celebrations for the 50 anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties so as to lift bilateral relations to a higher level. 
Laura Liffiton, a traveling nurse, assembles a care package for her loved ones in her hotel room after a 12-hour shift in Green Bay, Wis., on Nov. 21, 2020. She buys local food, souvenirs and beverages from each of her postings and sends them home. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)
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Isaac Haxton Become a Three-Time Super MILLION$ Champion

March 16, 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor

Isaac Haxton became only the fourth GGPoker player to win the $10,300 Super MILLION$ at least three times since high roller tournaments launch. Haxton joins Artur Martirosian, Niklas Astedt, and Michael Addamo in the exclusive club; Addamo finished fourth in his quest for a sixth title this week.

Super MILLION$ Season 2 Episode 34 Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize 1 Isaac Haxton Canada $339,445 2 Tyler "TheRayGuy" Cornell Mexico $266,153 3 Sung Joo "ArtePokerTV" Hyun Hong Kong $208,687 4 Michael Addamo Canada $163,628 5 Mark Radoja Canada $128,298 6 Nikita "VSMPZD" Kuznetsov Russia $100,596 7 Matas "NoWeyyy" Cikinas Mexico $78,876 8 spaise411 Russia $61,845 9 Elio Fox Mexico $48,492

Don't Miss GGPoker's Special GGMasters Overlay Edition, $5M Gtd. on March 20

The final table action commenced at 6:00 p.m. GMT on March 15 and it did not take long for the first finalist to bust. Elio Fox only had 6.9 big blinds at the start of play, so it was unsurprising that it was he who finished in ninth place. Fox had increased his stack to 10 big blind when he open-shoved with king-jack of clubs from under the gun. Unfortunately for Fox, Haxton woke up with ace-queen of clubs in the big blind, and made the easy call. Both players improved to a flush by the river, but Haxton held the nut flush.

Russias "spaise411" lasted another ten minutes before falling at the hands of Haxton. It was Haxton who started the preflop betting with a raise to 125,000 from the cutoff. Haxont then called when spaise411 three-bet all-in for 324,232. It was ace-eight for Haxton and king-queen of spades for the Russian. Haxton improved to a pair of eights on the river.

Matas Cikinas

Matas "NoWeyyy" Cikinas busted in seventh-place and collected the tournaments last five-figure prize. Cikinas was terminated after he open-shoved for 892,738 from the small blind with ace-jack. Sung Joo "ArtePokerTV" Hyun, a former Super MILLION$ champion, snap-called in the big blind with pocket jacks. Cikinas flopped a gutshot straight draw but failed to find any of his outs on the turn nor river.

Sixth-place and $100,596 went to Nikita "VSMPZD" Kuznetsov. Hyun limped in on the button with what turned out to be ace-ten. He then quickly called when Kuznetsov, from the big blind, moved all-in for 11 big blinds with queen-jack. Kuznetsov floped a jack but Hyun paired his ace. Hyuns hand remained true and the final table lost another player.

Mark Radojas wait to become a Super MILLION$ champion continued after Tyler "TheRayGuy" Cornell sent him to the showers in fifth-place. The action folded around to Cornell in the small blind, and he open-shoved with five-four of diamonds. Radoja, nursing a 7.5 big blind stack, called all-in with ace-trey of clubs. A four on the flop proved enough to end Radojas latest deep run.

Michael Addamo missed out on his sixth Super MILLION$ title

Start-of-the-day chip leader, Michael Addamo, was the next player heading for the exits Addamo. Haxton open-shoved from the small blind for 17 big blinds effective, and Addamo called, and showed king-jack. Haxton could only muster the nine-eight but spiked a nine on the turn to eliminate the five-time Super MILLION$ champion.

Hyun lost ground on his other two opponents during three-handed play. He lost a large a large pot when he made a straight on the river only to run into the turned straight of Cornell. He was down to 7.5 big blinds when he played his final hand. Haxton min-raised to 200,000 with ten-nine and Hyun called with ten-nine in the big blind. The eight-high all-diamond flop saw Hyun check-call all-in when Haxton shoved. Hyun had the nine of diamonds in his hand, but Haxton the ten of diamonds. The ace of diamonds turn left Hyun drawing dead.

Win a 2022 WSOP Main Event Seat NOW on ClubGG!

Haxton went into heads-up against Cornell with a near three-to-one chip advantage, and he got his hands on Cornells chips in a huge hand. It started with a raise to 288,000 from Haxton, a three-bet to 1,044,000 from Cornell, and a call from Haxton. Cornell led for 571,860 on the jack-queen-eight flop, which contained two spades. Haxton called. The nine of spades turn put a possible straight flush out there. Cornell check-called a 660,000 bet from Haxton. The jack of clubs completed the board and Cornell bet 744,000 into the 4,581,720 pot. Haxton responded with a raise to 6,813,720, which more than covered the 1,445,801 chips Cornell had behind. Cornell called and showed ace-queen with the ace of spades, but Haxton won the hand thanks to having queen-jack in the hole, which was now a full house.
Leon Tsoukernik and Tony G Doing Their Part to Help Ukrainian Refugees

March 16, 2022 Matthew Pitt Editor

Kings Resort owner Leon Tsoukernik has shown incredible generosity by helping to put a roof over the heads of Ukrainians made homeless by the Russian invasion of their country.

Former Team PokerStars Pro Eugene Katchalov, a Ukrainian with dual United States nationality last month tweeted he was attempting to escape Kiev as Russian forces advanced on the Ukraine capital city. Katchalov and his wife are now in the Czech Republic.

Update  on where I am and where many of my wifes friends and family and so many others that have reached out to us have now settled thanks to the incredible generosity of one man - Leon Tsoukernik of @PokerroomKings   Eugene Katchalov (@EugeneKatchalov) March 13, 2022

Katchalov revealed Tsoukernik has set up facilities to fully support up to 500 refugees, in addition, to personally renting multiple hotels in Marinske Lazne, Czech Republic, where Ukrainians can stay free with all their meals fully covered. Tsoukernik plans to provide this service for at least one month but is prepared to extend it if needed.

Tsoukernik give an update to the refugees under his care

In addition, Tsoukernik is providing legal support for those seeking refugee status, offering medical insurance, and has promised a job for everyone who is interested

Im honestly speechless and cant thank Leon enough for helping so many people during such extraordinarily times. Especially now when everyone is seeing so much destruction back home, psychologically it hasnt been easy to say the least.  Eugene Katchalov (@EugeneKatchalov) March 13, 2022

A grateful Katchalov, who is renting an AirBnB instead of taking up Tsoukerniks offer, said the businessmans generosity offers "so many people a glimmer of hope for a brighter future."

Tony G Opens TonyResort to Those Fleeing Ukraine

Tony G

Tsoukernik is not the only prominent businessperson/poker player doing their part to help those displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Tony G opened the doors to his TonyResort in Lithuania and has since given temporary accommodation to more than 70 people, mostly children and families with pets.

In these hard and uncertain times you have to share flashes of positivity. Today, TonyResort is temporarily accommodating more than 70 people who have escaped from the war in Ukraine, most of them children. Fleeing the war, families also rescued their pets. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/ySAhvKPtKX  Tony G (@TonyGuoga) March 9, 2022

Tony G, in conjunction with the Lithuanian Gediminas Legion charity, has already transported more than 300 Ukrainian children to Lithuania, giving them at least a fighting chance during these horrific times.

My charitable foundation fund in co-operation with volunteers of the famous Lithuanian Gediminas Legion charity have already safely transported more than 300 Ukrainian children to Lithuania. There is a long, long way to go. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/zMBdRWjsZG  Tony G (@TonyGuoga) March 7, 2022

Many other poker players and those working in the industry are also doing their part in the relief effort.

Fergal Nealon

Irish grinder Fergal Nealon recently headed to the Poland-Ukraine border and distributed thousands of euros worth of toys, sanitary products, and medical supplies to the Kharkiv health department

Former Redbet Head of Poker and Head of Redbet LIVE, Marcin Jablonski, has opened his countryside home in Poland to those who need shelter. Jablonski has also teamed up with Nealon and friends to help a stream of supplies make it to those in desperate need in war-torn Ukraine.
Andras Nemeth weathered a verbal assault from Martin Kabrhel to win the final EPT Prague 25,000 High Roller for 181,520.

Barely a minute passed without comment or question from Kabrhel during the heads-up battle as the momentum swung back and forth between the pair, but Nemeth finally came out on top to clinch his second EPT Prague 25,000 High Roller title of the festival.

Stephen Chidwick and Pablo Brito Silva were the only other two players to cash, with just four places paid from a field of 18.

EPT Prague 25,000 High Roller Results

Place Player Country Payout (EUR) 1 Andras Nemeth Hungary 181,520 2 Martin Kabrhel Czech Republic 121,010 3 Pablo Brito Silva Brazil 77,790 4 Stephen Chidwick United Kingdom 51,860

Final Day Recap

With eight new entries to start the day, start-of-day short stack Johan Guilbert hit the rail early, along with Niklas Astedt, Orpen Kisacikoglu and Yuri Dzivielevski, all of whom bought in on Day 2.

Chris Brewer hit the rail in ninth, with the final eight players still led by Nemeth. There were doubles for Pablo Brito Silva, Marius Gierse and Daniel Dvoress before Gierse hit the rail, followed by Nick Petrangelo.

Nemeth had extended his lead and looked to push ahead even further, only to be pegged back by doubles from Kabrhel and Silva, the latter with pocket kings.

However, his lead was restored after flopping quads to bust Dvoress in sixth and the bubble burst when Timothy Adams ran ace-jack into the ace-queen of Nemeth to leave empty-handed.

Martin Kabrhel

Nemeth and Kabrhel shared an elimination apiece as Stephen Chidwick and Silva were eliminated, with Nemeth taking a healthy chip lead into heads-up play.

The heads-up match was as entertaining as it was talkative  from one of the players at least. It was an onslaught from the get-go, with Kabrhel impersonating Phil Hellmuth, suggesting the assembled rail should pay to watch, commenting on the "courage" of his opponent as well as singing and sharing jokes with his masseuse.

And it worked! Kabrhel took over the chip lead and had his opponent down to under 20 big blinds, only for the momentum to shift and see Nemeth take control.

A late double from Kabrhel wasn't enough to postpone the inevitable, and Nemeth finished it off to add 181,520 to the 211,760 he won earlier in the festival.
Day 2 of the 10,300 High Roller was a tumultuous one with tons of EPT poker action to keep any poker fan satisfied. The day began with 246 players remaining from Day 1 and 25 late entries joined in at the start of the day to create a total number of entries of 271 which generated a prizepool of 2,628,700.

After ten levels of play, the field was cut all the way down to 23 players who were left standing as the dust settled. Leading the way at the end was Andriy Lyubovetskiy of Ukraine who bagged the chip lead with 1,272,000. He is the winner of one EPT title already in his career from 2017 and has nearly a million in career earnings. He gained a large amount of chips in the final few levels of the day to take his chip stack to the top of the leaderboard

Right on his tail in second place in chips was none other than Adrian Mateos who finished just a smidgeon behind with 1,265,000. Mateos is of course one of the most successful poker players in the world and has four EPT titles amongst his multiple career accolades. Mateos won several big hands late in the day, including one where he knocked out Dominik Nitsche with kings over queens.

Top 10 Chip Counts

Chip Position Player Chip Count Country 1 Andriy Lyubovetskiy 1,272,000 Ukraine 2 Adrian Mateos 1,265,000 Spain 3 Conor Beresford 958,000 United Kingdom 4 Mike Watson 883,000 Canada 5 Renan Bruschi 742,000 Brazil 6 Ferhat Duran 740,000 Austria 7 Simon Lofberg 681,000 Sweden 8 Christopher Puetz 633,000 Germany 9 Tamas Adamszki 544,000 Hungary 10 Ognyan Dimov 520,000 Bulgaria

After the top two stacks there is a drop off to third where Conor Beresford sits with 958,000. Beresford was on the right and wrong end of some coolers at the end of the day but was able to make enough profit off of them to gather an impressive stack.

Mike Watson (883,000) and Renan Bruschi (742,000) rounded out the top five stacks at the end of the day.

Several other well known players make up the final 23, including Niall Farrell who bagged a middling mount of 512,000 and Kenny Hallaert who was on the shorter end with 333,000.

The late entries created many short stacks in play to start the day and caused a lot of action from the beginning. The eliminations would go steadily all day as several players hit the rail such as; Ole Schemion, Martin Kabrhel and start of day big stack Thi Xoa Nguyen.

As expected, play would slow down as the large bubble approached as the players had to be warned to not tank as early as five players off the bubble. But a series of big coolers burst the bubble a bit more quickly than expected, with the final one being when Georgios Karakousis was eliminated as the bubble boy when his pocket kings were cracked by a turned set of sevens. After the money was reached, the eliminations came fast as the field was trimmed nearly in half in the span of two levels to make for the final surviving 23, all of whom will be gunning of the top prize of 527,070.

Day 3 will begin at 12:30 local time at Level 21 with blinds at 8,000/16,000 and a 16,000 big blind ante.

PokerNews will have all the action as this exciting event reaches its zenith.
Welcome to the Day 6 finale of the 5,300 Main Event at PokerStars EPT Prague. Only six players remain to battle for the top prize of 1,033,520 and the coveted European Poker Tour trophy. Cards go in the air at 12 p.m. Prague time from King's Casino at the Hilton Hotel in Prague. All of today's action will be broadcast live at 12:30 p.m. on PokerStars TV on a 30-minute security delay.

Gab Yong Kim is the chip leader after a late run on Day 5 to move from the bottom of the leaderboard to the top. The South Korean poker player will look to win his first EPT Main Event title after finishing ninth at the 2019 Prague event - a year in which he also won the 2,200 Deep Stack.

Kim's closest competitor is Italys Andrea Cortellazzi, who finished with nearly 8 million chips after a penultimate day that saw multiple changes at the top of the leaderboard. Theyre joined at the final table by Armin Rezaei, Symeon Alexandridis, Demetrio Caminita, and Grzegorz Glowny.

PokerStars EPT Prague 5,300 Main Event Final Table Chip Counts

Seat Player Country Chip Counts Big Blinds 1 Gab Yong Kim South Korea 9,565,000 80 2 Andrea Cortellazzi Italy 7,930,000 66 3 Armin Rezaei Austria 3,765,000 31 4 Symeon Alexandridis Greece 4,655,000 39 5 Demetrio Caminita Italy 4,720,000 39 6 Grzegorz Glowny Poland 5,040,000 42

Returning players are guaranteed at least 181,800 from a total prize pool of 5,771,500 that was generated by 1,190 entrants over two opening flights.

Remaining Final Table Payouts

Place Winner Country Prize (in EUR) 1 1,033,520 2 608,890 3 428,250 4 320,900 5 245,870 6 181,800 7 Teun Mulder Netherlands 138,570 8 Valentino Konakchiev Bulgaria 98,750

Cards go in the air at 12 p.m. local time and action will continue in Level 30 with 35:57 remaining on the tournament clock. Blinds are 60,000/120,000 with an ante of 120,000, and levels will continue in 90-minute intervals until a winner is declared. PokerNews will report the action live on a 30-minute delay.

Be sure to keep it with the PokerNews team all day long for live updates from the floor of the 5,300 Main Event at PokerStars EPT Prague.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China's outstanding yuan funds for foreign exchange expanded from a month earlier at the end of February, data from the central bank showed on Wednesday.

The funds stood at nearly 21.3 trillion yuan (about 3.34 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of last month, increasing by 6.19 billion yuan from the previous month, said the People's Bank of China.

As the Chinese yuan is not freely convertible under the capital account, the central bank has to purchase foreign currency generated by a trade surplus and foreign investment in the country, adding funds to the money market. Such funds are an important indicator of cross-border foreign capital flows and domestic yuan liquidity.

The country's forex holdings stood at more than 3.21 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of February, down 7.8 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.24 percent, from the end of January, said the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. 
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Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
COLUMBIA  Columbia will move forward with repealing a series of gun-control measures after bowing from a court battle with S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson and avoiding a fight with state lawmakers who could balk on funding much-needed city projects after the National Rifle Association got involved.

Columbia, with the backing of then-Mayor Steve Benjamin, passed a series of gun ordinances in 2019 making it illegal to possess firearms within 1,000 feet of a school; allowing gun seizures from people under an extreme-risk protection order, commonly known as a red flag law; and making a rule that added buildings where homemade firearms known as ghost guns are constructed to be subject to the citys nuisance laws.

Wilson sued the city in 2020, arguing that state law preempted local authority on the gun regulations. A Richland County judge sided with Wilson in 2021.

The City Council gave initial approval March 15 to roll back the gun rules in a split vote. Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and council members Aditi Bussells, Howard Duvall and Joe Taylor voted to repeal. Council members Tina Herbert, Ed McDowell and Will Brennan voted against taking the ordinances off the books.

In explaining the decision before the vote, Rickenmann noted multiple times the court decision and that the city can't enforce the measures.

Herbert pushed back at any characterization the city had lost in court. She had City Attorney Teresa Knox confirm that the city had instead withdrawn the appeal. Court records show the appeal was withdrawn March 15, the day of the vote.

Herbert told The Post and Courier that she voted against repealing the ordinances because there was a chance of an appeal for at least certain aspects of the ordinances and that she didn't agree with a blanket repeal.

With a decision on the appeal looming, council members deferred a vote March 1. At the time, Duvall said the city could consider new rules aimed at limiting gun violence that would stand up in court and replace the previous guidelines.

State Rep. Kirkman Finlay, a Columbia Republican and member of the House budget-writing committee, said he urged a city lobbyist and some council members to outright repeal the rules after the deferred vote or risk jeopardizing his ability to secure backing for $170 million the city requested from lawmakers for a number of projects.

At the top of the list is a $35 million request to fix train crossings that can snarl traffic around downtown.

Finlay told The Post and Courier that he and other lawmakers had received an e-blast from the NRA worried about the city's deferred decision on the gun-control ordinances. Having to defend funneling state money to the city to his colleagues in the GOP-controlled General Assembly while Columbia continues pushing for gun rules that conflict with state law would be futile, Finlay said.

Finlay has proposed a bill in the House that would allow the state to withhold money for municipalities that do not follow state law.

"My point being, 'Guys, if you have this on your books, and you aren't trying to take it off  and in fact you're trying to redo it and get around the ruling  you're going to make it very difficult, if not impossible, for me ... to help you,' " Finlay said.

Rickenmann said ahead of the March 15 decision that city officials remain committed to funding crime and gun violence prevention efforts, noting the federal COVID-19 relief money the city allocated to public safety initiatives.

Multiple residents expressed concerns to council members about rolling back gun regulations at a time when shootings continue to occur and guns remain accessible.

"We're not going to stop protecting you, I promise," Rickenmann said in response to one speaker.

Bussells, who has a doctorate in public health and whose master's thesis was on gun violence, agreed with a speaker who called the issue one of public health and that the city would continue to pursue effective methods of reducing the crime.

A city ordnance passed in 2017 banning the use of bump stocks, attachments that can increase the firing rate of semi-automatic guns, remains on the books. In response to state lawmakers legalizing open carry of guns in South Carolina, the city passed a rule prohibiting open carry at public events, parks and government buildings.

Duvall said he is still hopeful the city can revisit local rules aimed at gun violence after current rules are gone. Repealing the ordinances requires a second vote that could come during the April 5 meeting.
COLUMBIA  A Lexington-Richland Five school board member is suing over comments posted on Facebook saying Wow, he is a loser" and calling him "an unethical hypocrite and a liar."

Board Vice Chairman Ken Loveless filed a lawsuit on March 14 against Kevin Scully, whom he accused of posting comments in a Facebook group called Deep Dive into D5 that often includes criticism of the current board.

Loveless accused Scully of making false and defamatory statements about him and is seeking unspecified damages. Efforts to reach Loveless, his attorney or Scully were unsuccessful.

The complaint comes after a turbulent year for the 17,000-student district that covers schools in Irmo and Chapin. A newly revamped board after the 2020 election argued with then-Superintendent Christina Melton over her keeping COVID safety protocols in place, according to emails released by the district. Melton resigned and left with a $226,000 severance last June soon after she was named the state's superintendent of the year.

The complaint is second filed by Lex-Rich Five board members over critical comments in the past four months. The district sued former superintendent Stephen Hefner in November in a dispute over hiring an interim superintendent.

Loveless' lawsuit alleges that Scully referred to him as "Crooked Ken," questioned whether the board member followed ethics rules, and posted the comment, "What do you get when you elect the dumbest people in the district to be in charge of education?"

Deep Dive Into D5 has over 2,400 members and states that its purpose is to share information about the Lexington-Richland Five school district.

"This Facebook group page is rife with anything but positive conversation including, but not limited to, the libelous statements that form the basis of this action by this Defendant and numerous other individuals," Loveless' complaint said.

The lawsuit said Scully's remarks were made with "actual malice," and that they were intended to hurt Loveless' reputation.

"The libelous statements made by Scully were not opinion," the lawsuit alleges. "They were stated as facts."

The district's suit against Hefner stemmed from the board hiring current superintendent Akil Ross and deciding to pay him through his company. Hefner complained to Cognia, the district's accreditation agency, about the decision.

The district sued Hefner, claiming he made false statements about Ross and attempted "malicious interference" with the superintendent's contract, according to court filings.

Hefner denied those allegations in a response to the lawsuit, which he called frivolous. He added the suit was "politically motivated and was filed merely to extract an 'apology' ... for simply exercising his right to free speech."

Lex-Rich Five also is facing a lawsuit from The State newspaper in Columbia over an open-meetings dispute in the handling of Melton's settlement to leave the district.

Meanwhile, board Chairwoman Jan Hammond is facing allegations that she violated state ethics law in using her district email account to try to sway a school board election. She has a hearing before the S.C. Ethics Commission in April.
A fitness studio is the next tenant coming to BridgeWay Station, a mixed-use development under construction in Mauldin.

The Junkyard is a high intensity interval training (HIIT) studio that has treadmills, cycles, rowers and a lifting station. It also offers group classes led by instructors. The studio has already has locations in Anderson, Greenville and Clemson, making the upcoming roughly 4,000-square-foot Mauldin center its fourth location.

"When choosing our fourth location, we knew that there was not a better opportunity and location in South Carolina than right here in the beautiful, growing and thriving city of Mauldin," founder and owner of The Junkyard Ben Boulware said in a statement.

The Junkyard joins previously announced BridgeWay tenants Poogans Southern Kitchen, Cohesive Coffee, Belladinas Italian Market, and Dodge Bearings and Power Transmission.

BridgeWay Station is at the exit of Bridges Road off of Interstate 385 and will include retail, residential, industrial and office spaces. There will also be an open plaza and parks, and a pedestrian bridge planned to link the development across I-385 to a future Swamp Rabbit Trail extension.

Upstate LGBT Chamber to host launch event

The Upstate LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce launched in May 2021 with a mission to advocate for LGBT and ally business owners in the 10 counties at the top of the state. Chamber leadership delayed a formal launch party due to the pandemic. But now, after over 10 months in operation, an official celebration is set for March 18 from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at Southern Bleachery Mill in Taylors.

The event is free for members and $10 for non-members. There will be music, a food truck, drinks and a silent auction of local artists' works.

The chamber is almost up to 100 members, executive director Tyler Prescott told the Post and Courier. The organization just updated its membership model to ensure "that folks who are bringing in less capital can afford to join the chamber," he said. Memberships are open to both queer-owned businesses and ally-owned businesses and can cost between $55 and $7,500 depending on the level.

Prescott believes the chamber has been fulfilling its mission since launching last May. The board has met with many Upstate policymakers and lobbied for issues that would impact diverse business communities. The chamber also runs monthly education events on topics like how to avoid burnout as a small business owner and getting your business found on search engines. It also hosts monthly networking events.

"There for so long in the Upstate has been a vibrant LGBT business community that has not been able to find each other," Prescott said.

Prescott has lived in the Upstate for almost 10 years and said that it has been difficult in the past finding people to do services on his house.

"I've had instances where people refuse to do service on my house. As far as I know, I don't own a gay house. I just need the same electrical and roof repair that everybody else does," Prescott said.

To combat others feeling or experiencing similar, the chamber developed a directory of LGBT-and queer-friendly businesses. The Upstate LGBT Chamber also paired with the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce to provide certificates to interested companies that brand them as an LGBT-owned business. Prescott said there are about three or four certified companies in the Upstate already and "five or six more in the pipeline."

Shaylin King, co-owns LGBTQ and Polyamorous therapy practice Berkana Collective, and was involved from the onset of the launch of the chamber. She now acts as a facilitator for chamber-sponsored recovery services meetings and is also an ambassador for the chamber by volunteering at events.

To King, its important to have "a specifically queer Chamber of Commerce" in the Upstate.

"As progressive as we like to think of our community, our state is not very progressive, so as a result, there is a lot of hesitancy for queer-owned businesses and queer people to participate in something that isn't active and open as a safe space," King said. "The chamber provides this out and open transparency that I think is very important to me and makes me feel like queer people of Greenville have a voice."

Thats all for this week. Email your thoughts, tips, releases and newsy bits to smirah@postandcourier.com.
Greenville County Council reversed course March 15 to approve the addition of United Community Banks parking plaza to the county business park, paving the way for potential further tax incentives.

The approval comes just two weeks after the council rejected adding the extra land to the county business park, which effectively would have shut the bank out of additional tax incentives and effectively nullified an agreement between the bank, the county and the city of Greenville. The bank is currently building its new corporate headquarters in downtown Greenville along Camperdown Way.

There was no discussion during the meeting as to the change of mind.

The county had already agreed in November 2020 to an incentives package to induce the bank to move its headquarters from Georgia to downtown Greenville, becoming the largest bank based in South Carolina. Those incentives werent affected by the councils vote March 1 to reject any additional agreement.

The banks incentives deal is valued at about $600,000 in property tax savings. Rather than pay the full commercial property tax, the bank will pay a set fee in lieu of property taxes (FILOT).

United Community Bank plans to officially break ground on its headquarters alongside the Reedy River on Camperdown Way at the end of March. When the bank headquarters is completed, the bank will have added 230 jobs and invested $25 million in the county.

The bank later purchased 2.3 acres near the existing property that it plans to use for employee parking. It sought to add the additional land to the existing business park and to renegotiate its incentives package to knock another $300,000 from its tax payments, according to Councilman Ennis Fant, a member of the countys finance committee.

But in a tense meeting March 1, the council voted 6-6 to reject adding the land to the business park. The move angered members of council who said half of the council was playing political games with real effects on businesses and residents.

CEO Lynn Harton said after the vote that United Community Bank was committed to Greenville, but he warned that the effects of the councils actions could negatively affect other businesses looking to relocate in a competitive market.

Council members Fant, Willis Meadows, Mike Barnes, Steve Shaw, Stan Tzouvelekas and Xanthene Norris voted against the incentives March 1. Then, in a motion brought by each of the six council members who voted to reject the tax deal for the bank, they each signed on to a motion to reconsider their earlier vote.

This time, the vote was unanimous.

After the meeting, Tzouvelekas said some with disagreements on the council allowed those to spill into the vote on the business park, but after speaking with everybody whod voted against the project, they kind of let cooler heads prevail.

It was a hot meeting, a lot of dissension going on, we didnt make the best decisions that night and thank God it wasnt something that just totally destroyed the building, so to speak, Tzouvelekas said. We were able to get it back on track tonight and get it where its supposed to be.

Two weeks ago, Fant asked to hold off on voting on the tax deal to allow a second part of the package, the renegotiated fee in lieu of tax agreement which was still under consideration by the councils finance committee, to catch up. Councilman Dan Tripp said he suspected something nefarious was going on and pushed against the motion to hold. Fants motion failed 6-6. Then a motion to approve the intergovernmental agreement and add the land to the business park also failed 6-6.

Councilman Chris Harrison, who voted for the bank each time, said he was glad it worked out and that the council revisited it and approved the agreement.

Im excited to see a project like that take the next step forward because I think it would be good for the whole area," Harrison said. "Anytime you get a major company to put their headquarters here, I think its always a good thing and worth pursuing."

Meadows, the council's chairman, said the previous vote caused some consternation among the six whod voted against the project, and it took us two or three days to get our group back together.

The second part of the incentives package, the additional FILOT agreement, is still at the finance committee and would be considered separately.

Tzouvelekas said the committee would still have to see whether it would be in favor of those additional incentives.

I hated that United Community Bank was in the middle of that fray, he said. I hope they understand it wasnt pointed at them. We love United Community Bank. We love the business community.

Meadows, too, said the county was glad the bank was locating in Greenville.

That vote had nothing to do with them, he said.

After questions by the banks Harton about Greenvilles willingness to land new businesses, Harrison said the county remains open for business.

Were happy to do business with companies, he said.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 63F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
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BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday held a phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.

Abdollahian congratulated China on the successful annual "two sessions," and briefed Wang on the latest progress in negotiations of resuming compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear issue.

Iran stands ready to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible and resolve the final outstanding issues through consultation with related parties, so as to work towards a good agreement, said Abdollahian.

Iran thanks China for playing a constructive role in the negotiations, he added, voicing hope that China will continue to give support.

For his part, Wang said China always supports an early agreement on resuming compliance with the nuclear deal, and is open to and supportive of efforts to this end.

The Chinese side understands Iran's legitimate concerns, supports Iran in safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, and opposes unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law, said Wang.

In the face of the rapidly evolving international and regional situation, China is ready to strengthen coordination and cooperation with Iran to push the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue in a direction conducive to regional peace and stability. 
SUMMERVILLE  Jay Byars has a perfect perspective.

The vice chairman of Dorchester County Council is standing in the middle of the new Ashley River Park, looking out over a 6.5-acre fishing pond and a handsome, arched-roof pavilion that could host a good-size wedding.

This couldve been 400 homes and 900 apartments, Byars says. This is the area we wanted to make a statement.

And it could be the understatement of the year.

On Saturday, the $13.1 million Ashley River Park opens to the public  and it wont be long before its the most popular, most-visited 85 acres in Dorchester County. It really is pretty spectacular.

Less than 5 miles south of downtown Summerville, tucked between the suburbs and the Ashley River Historic District, this park has a trail that winds about a mile along the seldom-seen upstream bends of the river.

Thats in addition to the kayak launch, which has been open for some time; two playgrounds, one for smaller children, another for bigger ones; two dog parks, smaller and larger; a splash pad for kids that drains like the Ashley River tidal basin; a multi-acre event lawn that can host concerts; and that stocked fishing pond (bass and bream) with a wide, accessible boardwalk across it.

The boardwalk railing has even been lowered in places so kids, or adults in wheelchairs, can fish easily.

The climbing wall will come later, as will the tunnel and pedestrian bridge connections to Rosebrock Park across Bacons Bridge Road (where one of the countys new libraries will sit on a rare bluff overlooking the river). As Byars likes to say, Ashley River Park is just Phase 1.

Theres definitely a need for more public space around here. Since 2000, Summerville's population has grown by a jaw-dropping 63%  and that doesnt even count all the developments that continue to spring up just outside the town limits.

By many accounts, Dorchester County's growth is getting out of hand, and this park helps mitigate that suburban density in more ways than one.

The county bought the land in 2012  a bargain at $1.45 million, and a defensive move to block the inevitable homes and apartments that wouldve dumped a few thousand more cars onto Bacons Bridge Road every day.

County Council eventually had the idea to use the land for public space. In 2016, Dorchester County voters approved a bond sale to invest in new libraries and parks  amenities sorely needed in an area thats becoming as well-known for congestion as its pine trees.

The proposal garnered 61% of the vote, but shortly thereafter a group of citizens  the sort of folks who rooted for Mr. Potter in Its a Wonderful Life  filed a lawsuit. They argued parks and libraries were two separate issues and couldnt be covered by one referendum. They contended it was only about protecting the letter of the law  and they werent opposed to parks or libraries.

They won the suit, so Dorchester County put the libraries and parks back on the ballot, separately, in November 2019. And, of course, those people who claimed they were just protecting the law went out and campaigned to kill both measures.

Despite their efforts, the $30 million libraries proposal passed with 65% support, the $38 million parks proposal took 67%. Thats a big deal in a county famous for being, shall we say, tax-averse. But the people trusted county government, so there was pressure to do well  or else.

Byars is confident folks will be pleased. In two years, in the middle of a pandemic, Dorchester County has delivered what is destined to become its own version of James Island County Park  with a hint of Congaree National Park thrown in. The construction, right down to the bathrooms, is solid. Its a quality park without being ostentatious  its simply the sort of place people who live around Summerville deserve.

Standing on a pier overlooking the Ashley, Byars is more than satisfied with this new park. Hes proud.

I feel like we got a great bargain for the taxpayers, he says.

There may be some folks who grumble that government is only supposed to provide essential services. But when a place is growing at the pace that Dorchester County is, recreation and public gathering spaces are essential services.

County Council recognized that and delivered. Ashley River Park is going to be an important asset for Dorchester County, and its rental revenue will cover a good percentage of its operation costs.

And, frankly, its just a nice place to commune with nature and take a break from all the growth and congestion.

Thats pretty good government, actually. And Byars is right  it is a bargain.
The child who was brought to the Astumbo Fire Station on Tuesday with injuries but later pronounced dead was a 5-year-old boy.

Officer Berlyn Savella, Guam Police Department spokesperson, said GPD is waiting for a medical examiner to fly in from Hawaii to conduct the autopsy.

She was unable to state the nature of the boy's injuries but confirmed his age and gender.

On Tuesday, around 4:46 p.m., police received a call about the injured child who was brought to the fire station.

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Medics transported him to the Guam Regional Medical City just a few miles away.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Section were activated and assumed the investigation into the death of the child.

No additional details were released as of press time.
HEFEI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- In 819 A.D., Han Yu, a relegated politician from Tang Dynasty, issued a proclamation against the crocodiles living in today's Han River Delta in south China's Guangdong Province.

After giving sacrifices of a pig and a goat, Han, known for his exemplary prose style in the ancient Chinese literature history, read aloud a "croc prose," asking the six-meter-long predators to leave the area within seven days or he would show no mercy.

More than 1,200 years later, an international team of researchers from China, Japan and the United States studied partially fossilized remains of the crocodilian found in southeast China, naming the new species after Han Yu -- Hanyusuchus sinensis.

The researchers said that Hanyusuchus sinensis could serve as a missing link to settle the debate on the crocodilian evolution family tree and may impact the knowledge of ancient Chinese civilization.

Three families of crocodilians are still roaming Earth today, namely sharp-nosed crocodiles, blunt-nosed alligators, and lesser-known gharials that are crocodile-like creatures with thinner snouts.

The researchers studied crocodilian remains housed in four museums in Guangdong Province. All the bones were found at a dig site in southeast China and labeled for years as crocodile skeletons.

According to the paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers found Hanyusuchus sinensis share some significant skull features with gharials and had a vocal structure only known in male Indian gharials. Carbon dating showed the bones dated back some 3,000 years, during China's Bronze Age.

Genetic evidence found that alligators were the first to split from the original crocodilian, followed by gharials and later crocodiles. While the timeline may go against intuition due to crocodiles and alligators resembling each other more than gharials, the researchers said that Hanyusuchus sinensis is intermediate in body shape between gharials and the other two, filling the gap in the evolution tree.

The researchers also found chop marks on the skulls of Hanyusuchus sinensis, indicating that it had been killed or even beheaded by heavy bronze weapons. Crocodilians play a key role in maintaining the freshwater ecosystems as top predators, said the researchers, noting that humans were responsible for the extinction of Hanyusuchus sinensis about 300 years ago.

Liu Jun from China's Hefei University of Technology is the corresponding author of the research. He said that crocodilian bones had been found in many archaeological sites in China. The bones were thought to belong to Chinese alligators, which today only live in east China's lower Yangtze River area. Their discovery could challenge this.

Liu said that as the only reptile feasting on humans in Ancient China, Hanyusuchus sinensis may have left marks on ancient Chinese civilization, such as legends about dragons.

In future studies, the researchers hope to extract ancient DNA samples from soft tissue preserved in the partially fossilized bones, which may provide a more accurate picture of the crocodilian evolution tree. 
I have on a few occasions in this series assessed with moderate confidence that the Russian wrinkle in the conclusion of our imminent nuclear deal with Iran will be ironed out. The Biden administration has of course relied on its friends in the Putin regime to work out the deal with Iran on our behalf and then, at the last minute, insisted that it needed an accommodation regarding sanctions. As Reuters puts it in the story linked below, they unexpectedly demanded sweeping guarantees that Russian trade with Iran would not be affected by the Ukraine-related sanctions  a demand Western powers have said was unacceptable and Washington has insisted it will not accept.

Reuters has been tracking the ins and outs of the deal most closely. Its team now reports Russia says it has written guarantees on Iran nuclear deal. Reuters quotes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov: We have received written guarantees  they are included in the very text of the agreement on reviving the JCPOA, and in these texts there is a reliable defense of all the projects provided for by the JCPOA and those activities  including the linking up of our companies and specialists.

In his March 15 Wall Street Journal column  Crisis for Bidens Chaotic Foreign Policy  Walter Russell Mead takes the Biden administrations hysterical climate theology seriously and observes that Mr. Bidens climate agenda has collapsed into utter incoherence. I find it disappointing that Mead seems to take the climate theology at face value.

On the point of this installment of my series on the imminent deal, Mead notes: Russias demands that the proposed agreement on Irans nuclear program be revised to protect Moscows participation in the accord from Ukraine-related sanctions underline the difficulty of simultaneously confronting and engaging revisionist anti-American powers. All such circles can be squared in the administrations quest to give Iran what it wants with the assistance of the friends of Vladimir Putin. Speaking of incoherence
In seconds, the internet can transform a persons status from just an ordinary individual to a celebrity. But it takes something phenomenal and a stroke of luck, or if you like, fate, to become a viral sensation.

They say even the lamest content on the internet can go viral these days and countless examples abound. Ekuma Jeremiah, the hawker, who was caught on camera giving money to inmates in a Nigerian Correctional Service bus in Ajah, Lagos, in January 2022, is one of them.

Unfortunately, only a few can manage and milk their newfound fame correctly.

In this article, PREMIUM TIMES presents the story of some ordinary Nigerians who caught our attention after they became social media sensations.

James Brown

James Obialor, aka James Brown, became famous for saying, They did not caught me when he was arrested and paraded by the Nigerian police in 2018. He also claimed to have been infected with HIV at birth.

He was arrested alongside 46 other men for being allegedly gay and spent a month at the Ikoyi Correctional Facility. A court later dismissed the case against them.

In 2021, James Brown released a single titled Hey Dulings, a catchphrase he uses to address his fans on social media.

Gradually James Brown began to maximise the opportunity of being an internet sensation. He soon gained even more popularity for dramatic grammatical errors, and he groomed himself into a brand influencer, an actor, a comedian, a crossdresser, and a social media influencer. He is currently verified on Instagram with over 1 million followers.

James Brown is studying at the London Business School.

Jumoke Orisaguna

Jumoke Oni Bread Orisagunna. This young lady is perhaps one of the most famous people to make this list. Ms Orisagunna became famous after she mistakenly walked in on the photoshoot set while hawking her wares, which happened to be Agege bread.

Ms Orisagunna unknowingly intruded on the session as a famous photographer, TY Bello, took shots of international star Tinie Tempah.

In no time, the photos went viral. Bello also located Ms Orisagunna, who became a model at the time. Not just that, she also became a prayer point with people asking God to blow like her.

She maintained the momentum for a while but eventually faded into oblivion. But unfortunately, her newfound fame also came at a price; she eventually left the father of her children, who accused her of becoming wayward while she focused on her modelling career.

As a result, the mother of two abandoned all her social media handles since April 2020 and has gone under.

Blue-eyed Risiqot Ayegbami and her children

Sometime in 2020, a young lady who travelled to Ilorin for Eid celebrations discovered two sisters, Kaosarat and Hassanat, who had blue eyes. She also discovered that their mother, Risiqot Ayegbami, also had the same unique feature. It took no time for their photos to go viral on social media, primarily after she gathered that their father had abandoned them because of it.

Famous photographer, Mofe Bamuyiwa, took lovely photos of the unique family. First Lady of Kwara State, Olufolake Abdulrazaq, and Toyin Saraki, wife of immediate past Senate President, intervened with the initial cash donation of N250,000 each for their upkeep. In furtherance of her gesture, she announced a scholarship for the enrollment of the two children at Roemichs International School, an expensive school for children of the rich.

The positive attention they gathered soon made her husband and the childrens father have a change of mind and return to the family, where they live happily ever after, hopefully.

Dede Nne, aka Mr Spell Buhari

Before Dede Nne was given the name Mr Spell, he was considered a mentally disabled man, not until fate smiled at him when he went viral after he was filmed attempting to spell Buhari in a viral video.

He became known as Mr Spell Buhari and became famous. Mr Spells became the talk of the town and even appeared at shows with celebrities. However, his fame was short-lived, and he has since returned to his former lifestyle of roaming the streets again.

Black Camaru and Evangelist Oba (E fi owo ran si)

Black Camaru, born Kamarudeen Yusuf, and his pal Emini Oba, also known as Evangelist Oba, became internet sensations in 2021.

Unlike others who stumbled on fame, this duo tried different avenues to blow on social media, but nothing seemed to work.

After their skits went viral on social media, they eventually found their big break. The video birthed slang like you wanna see crazy, theres no money on the ground, my mouth is dry like the sound of the dessert, and many more.

They are still riding on the high of their newfound fame. But unfortunately, it only lasted for a year as Nigerians have since moved on to other social media sensations.

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Mary Daniel

Mary Daniel, an amputee, caught the attention of Nigerians after one young man noticed her hawking pure water on the streets of Oshodi despite her condition.

Ms Daniel lost her legs and her parents in 2006 in an accident. In a blink of the eye, she had become a sensation on social media platforms. During several interviews, Mary claimed that her leg was amputated after a ghastly car accident that claimed her parents lives when she was young.

She said the incident made her drop out of school to provide for her baby and her aged grandmother.

After gaining the attention of many, especially government and non-governmental organisations, her story ended happily.

She commissioned an N17.5m building she bought from donations made by generous donors within and outside Nigeria.

On the expansive premises of the house in the Igando area of the state, she has completed a sachet water factory. The house comprises four apartments of two bedrooms each. Several allegations trailed her rise to fame, but she overcame them all.

Oreofeoluwa Lawal aka Mummy Calm down

Oreofeoluwa Lawal became a Twitter sensation in 2020 after a viral video of him begging his mum to calm down when she wanted to beat him for something he had done wrong.

Neither the four-year-old nor his mother, Toluige Olokoobi Babalola, had envisaged that the video would go viral and catch the attention of the executive governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos.

After that viral video, young Lawal made a debut appearance in Nollywood when she snagged a cameo role in Kunle Afolayans Swallow movie.

He now has a social media account where he posts updates of his activities.

Success Adegor

We cant forget Success Adegor, the 7-year-old Warri girl who made the headlines in March 2019, when sent home from her school over her parents inability to pay her school fees.

She was flogged and sent out of school due to her parents inability to pay her school fees, and then Success indeed became a success story.

The little girl became an internet sensation when a video of her reacting to her dismissal said, I will leave this school for una, went viral.

She maintained that her school authorities should have flogged her and let her stay in school rather than chase her home.

Success video caught the attention of notable Nigerians, including filmmaker Charles Okpaleke, Mr Jollof, and Super Eagle Star Etebo, who promised to train her up to university level.

However, Mr Jollof was able to get in touch, and he has paid the defaulted school fees with further promises of sending her to a private school after she completes her exams, which he did. So Success was sent to a private school, enrolled in the school, and relocated to a new environment. After then, not much has been heard about the hilarious, brave girl.

Jeremiah Ekuma

In January 2022, a hawker, Ekuma Jeremiah, who sells bottled water in the Ajah area of Lagos state, became yet another internet sensation beyond his expectations.

In a viral video filmed by a motorist, Emmanuel Ojo, the hawker Jeremiah was spotted giving money to some inmates inside the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) van.

The pure water seller surprised many Nigerians for giving prisoners out of the little he earned from the business.

The development saw billionaire businessman Obi Cubana offer him a scholarship and place him on one hundred thousand naira monthly salary. Obi Cubana and Daddy Freeze also accompanied him to receive his admission letter. However, Jeremiah seems more focused on finishing his education than fame and attention.

Jeremiah is now an undergraduate of Ebonyi State University, studying for his first degree in Law.

Happie boyz1

On March 3, 2022, videos of two security guards at a Chicken Republic outlet dancing heartily to music made rounds on the internet.

In the video, the security guards, known as The Happy Boys, were seen dancing to Pheelz and Bujus club anthem, Finesse.

While everyone was excited by their dance moves, there was a rumour that they were fired from their position as security guards.

Twitter users were unhappy with this supposed development and called out the company.

Chicken Republic released an official statement denying claims that they were fired.

In a statement posted on their official Instagram account, they said the two security guards in the video work for a private security company.

The General Overseer of Omega Power Ministries, Chibuzor Chinyere, also offered scholarships. The young man behind the trending video, Caleb, was also given a scholarship.

Also, Ossai Ovie Success, Special Assistant to the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, offered them jobs.

Bobrisky

Born as Idris Okuneye and now popularly known as Bobrisky, this 30-year-old crossdresser interestingly found fame.

His journey to becoming one of Nigerias most prominent internet sensations began in 2016 when the police in Lagos arrested and paraded him for allegedly scamming some men of their money in the disguise of a woman.

In 2017, he topped the list of the most searched Nigerian on google.

At the time, Bobrisky owned a shop where he sold cosmetics, skincare products, and creams.

Bobrisky also worked for the famous Nigerian fashion entrepreneur Toyin Lawani until they fell out in 2018.

In 2017, Bobrisky made her Nollywood debut in Ojuloge and then toured the United States of America.

The popular crossdresser has always asked to be addressed as a female. He also said he became a crossdresser because of his struggles.

While he always dons female clothing, Bobrisky always dresses as a man when attending family functions and whenever he lands in the police net for his numerous spats with business owners with whom he influences for.

Bobrisky has gathered affluence, and she currently boasts 4.3 million followers on Instagram.

The crossdressers many controversies have ensured that he remains top of mind on Snapchat and Instagram, where he holds sway.
Contrary to claims by police authorities that stories about an impending strike by junior police officers were fake, a document made available to PREMIUM TIMES shows that the junior officers were, indeed, planning an industrial action.

The police wireless message seen by this newspaper, titled Purported strike by members of rank and file, noted an impending strike by the junior officers over the non-implementation of the new police salary structure, failure in providing sophisticated weapons to fight crime, and poor general welfare of police officers.

The document said the Inspector-General of Police had since directed the immediate computation of salary under the new structure and tax relief/exemption for officers for immediate implementation.

It further said that the distribution of kits and other accountrements had been initiated and concluded by the Force Headquarters.

Police authorities on Monday attempted to debunk stories that the officials were planning to down tools, describing the reports as fake news.

The Nigeria Police Force wishes to state unequivocally that the alleged publication is fake and a mischievous attempt by unscrupulous individuals to bring the Force to disrepute, misinform the general public, and heat up the polity, Muyiwa Adejobi, the police spokesperson, said in a statement.

But the police wireless message dated March 15, 2022, showed that the police authorities were, indeed, aware of the plans of the junior officers

The signal, with reference number, CB: 4001/DOPS/FHQ/ABJ/Vol, directed all Assistant Inspector-Generals and Commissioners of Police to embark on enlightenment campaign within their areas of responsibilities.

You are to implore all serving members to exercise caution at these trying times and intimate them Force management team is making robust efforts to improve the general welfare of policemen across board.

The message urged the officers to avoid all mutinous matters that would further damage our already bad image.

It mandated all Assistant Inspector-Generals and Commissioners of Police to treat as very important and acknowledge receipt by return signal please.

The last time the police went on strike was under President Olusegun Obasanjo, an action that led to the removal of the then Inspector-General of Police, Musiliu Smith.

Mr Smith was appointed on May 29, 1999, and was relieved of his duties on February 2, 2002. He is currently the chairman of the Police Service Commission.
At dawn on August 15, 2021, Aisha Mohammed noticed Habib, her five-year-old sons temperature was high and his bed sheet was badly soiled. He had vomited and stooled over the night.

Startled by the unexpected illness, she rushed to the open well outside the house to fetch half a bucket of water and dipped a piece of cloth in it which she used to gently massage his body, hoping it would put him to rest.

It did but for an hour. After that, the vomiting and stooling increased, coupled with restlessness. Left with no other option, she rushed to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in her community, Katanmi, and met 20 other patients with a similar condition.

The doctor diagnosed her son with cholera, which was said to have been caused by consumption of contaminated water.

At Mrs Mohammeds home, the open well outside is just six metres away from their toilet and this is common in almost all the homes in the community, according to the health officials.

But the health facilitys poor state and inadequate medical supplies forced the doctor to refer her to the general hospital in Silame local government of Sokoto State, 20 minutes from Katanmi, which is a lot of time depending on the critical condition of the patient.

These constant referrals, for which many cannot afford the transportation fare, is one of the contributors to increased deaths in the community.

To get to the general hospital, the residents pay either N350 for a cab ride or N500 for a motorcycle taxi. But the health workers said many residents who cannot pay the fares, usually resort to herbs and local means to treat the sick, giving them a slim chance of survival.

Health workers said this alternative has led to the death of hundreds in the community, which could have been avoided if the PHC was fully functional.

While this is the ritual for many residents in Katanmi, Mrs Mohammed used part of the money meant to stock her shop to transport her son to the hospital for proper treatment. He survived.

Promised revitalisation of PHCs

In January 2017, President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off a scheme to revitalise 10,000 PHCs across the country to avail poor Nigerians with qualitative and affordable health services.

Under the revitalisation plan, the Buhari administration, through the NPHCDA and the Federal Ministry of Health, said it would make at least one PHC fully functional in each of the wards across the country.

In the first phase of the plan, the government selected a PHC in each of the 109 senatorial districts, meaning three in each state and one in the Federal Capital Territory. The Kantami PHC in Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto North senatorial district is one of the 109. State and local governments, as well as development partners, were expected to complement this gesture

PREMIUM TIMES findings show that although their services are mostly free, the primary health centres are largely underequipped or nonfunctional, despite funding from the annual allocations of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.

In December 2017, the federal government initiated a N28 billion health fund that targetted the revitalisation of the PHCs, which the then Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, said would be rolled out in 2018.

As of December the following year, 4000 PHCs across the country, according to the Executive Director of NPHCDA, Faisal Shuaib, had been renovated.

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively obtained the list of the 109 PHCs to be revitalised in the first phase and visited some PHCs in Borno, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Ondo, Kano, Benue, Niger and Kaduna states and found that very little work had been done on the facilities.

This corroborates a 2017 study published in Researchgate titled Primary Health Care in Nigeria: 24 years after Olikoye Ransome-Kutis Leadership, which said only 20 per cent of the 30,000 PHCs across Nigeria were working.

Dilapidated facility, staff shortage at Katanmi PHC

The blueprint of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHDA) requires that a standard Primary Health Centre has a well-open ward, labour room, children and female wards, doctors office and staff quarters, an ambulance for referrals, drugs and equipment for immunisation, preventive and basic curative care. But Katanmi PHC is a far cry from the outlined requirements.

When PREMIUM TIMES visited the PHC in Katanmi in September 2021 during the rainy season, the reporters first sight was a four-year-old boy carrying a black bucket on his head as he meandered through a large pool of stagnant water from which he had just fetched, at the front of the health centre.

Health officials ushered the reporter through another route into the facility, which was not any better as the path was muddy. The entrance of the second route is a broken fence surrounded by outgrown grasses and filthy latrine toilets at the corners of the centres premises.

A more terrible sight would be difficult to imagine. Entering the facility, the reporter noticed a ceiling board dangling from the top while some pieces litter the floor in different corners of the building.

In the wards, most beds either had worn-out mattresses or were without one. Some patients were seen lying on piled cartons fixed to the iron-framed bed.

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Most of the offices had empty packs of syringes and drips scattered on the floor, worn-out tables, chairs and shelves. The toilets in the facility were covered by cobwebs and dust. The only neat area was the maternity ward cleaned by the head of the unit. The centre does not have cleaners.

Mohammed Mohammed, the Officer In Charge of the PHC, said the facility was established in 1999 by the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) and later renovated in 2013 under the Millennium Development Goals/Conditional Grant Scheme, a project of former President Goodluck Jonathans administration. They fixed the ceilings and painted the building then, the official said.

Contrary to the promise of the Buhari administration in 2017, the revitalisation exercise is yet to reach the PHC in Katanmi.

Erratic power and water situations cause death among pregnant women

A year before the renovation during Mr Jonathans presidency, in 2012, ALGON bought the centre a generator but it got bad in 2016 and has since not functioned due to paucity of funds. Consequently, the borehole and water storage are no longer in use since the generator developed a fault.

The only presence of water is the stagnant pool surrounding the facility caused by a lack of drainage channels which breeds mosquitoes during the rainy season and leads to one of the major sicknesses in the community  malaria.

According to Mariam Umar, the head of the maternity unit, pregnant women in the community are regularly ill with malaria, which she said leads to complications during their pregnancy and as a result makes at least 25 pregnant women die annually in the community.

Most women while pregnant have malaria, which causes anaemia, high blood pressure and Eclampsia (complications of pregnancy characterised by seizures and coma due to hypertension), she said.

This complements the 2019 report by the World Health Organisation that 20 per cent of all global maternal deaths happen in Nigeria with an estimated over 600,000 maternal deaths and no less than 900,000 near-miss cases between 2005 and 2015.

Cholera outbreak rampant

In addition to malaria, cholera outbreak in Kantami is alarming. It occurs every rainy season due to the stagnant pool of water found across the community. The facilitys lack of resources to control the increasing contamination has led to recurring deaths.

Buhari Mohammed, another staff who has been working in the facility for eight years, said an outbreak of cholera in August 2021 caused havoc.

At some point, we had 20 patients in a day. But on average, in a week, we got 50 to 60 persons with cholera. In this facility, we recorded 15 deaths but in the community, more than 100 people died, he said.

The cause of cholera is because our source of water is contaminated by our toilets. Our toilets are close to our well and it is not very deep and if we dig far away, we wont get water. Also, the wells are open.

Mr Mohammed said there is a source of clean water located outside the community but the residents prefer fetching from the well because of the closeness.

They will only stop using well water if outsiders come to educate them against it but if we do they wont listen because they say it is what their forefathers drank, he added.

Renovated PHC in Dange Shuni crumbling

At the Dange Shuni PHC, another one of the 109 PHCs that the government said would be standardised, it is a similar situation. The first sight in the reception is almost fallen rusty ceiling materials hanging at the top. In the wards, while cartons are used in Katanmi, patients in Dange Shuni lie on mats. Sadly, this is not the worst view.

This PHC was established in Dange Shuni Local Government Area in the Sokoto South senatorial district of Sokoto State in 2007 by the NPHCDA. Unlike that of Katanmi, it was renovated in 2018, according to Mustapha Alkali, one of the officers in charge.

A signpost outside the facility indicated Quardstar Solid General Services Limited, a company based in Abuja, as the contractor that carried out the renovation.

The health worker claimed the renovation focused on roof repairs, floor tiling and repainting, which he noted were shoddily done as seen with the ruined materials.

Asides from the aforementioned, the lives of patients and health workers in this facility are at risk as they occupy an almost collapsed building.

The cracks in the building emerged in 2020 and worsened over time, leaving some sections in the building, like the male ward and the antenatal care unit, uninhabitable.

Our building is cracked and we are scared it will collapse anytime. We do not have anywhere to relocate to, he said.

Staff use salary to purchase medical supplies for patients

Inadequate medical supplies is another shortfall experienced in the PHC as some of the staff contribute from their salaries for the purchase of these items, despite being owed.

Mr Alkali said 30 per cent of the staff in the PHC stopped receiving salaries since 2015 and 40 per cent do not receive their full salaries.

This payment anomaly commenced after the state government conducted a verification exercise for the staff in 2015, and as a result stopped some of them from working due to financial constraints.

Despite the slashed remuneration, they still contribute to purchase medical supplies and drugs like ampicillin, Ampiclox, Flagyl, paracetamol, syrup, drip and syringes to help the patients, he said.

Health workers in both PHCs lamented that their facilities threaten their lives and that of their patients. They appealed to the government to urgently intervene in their facilities and provide adequate welfare for the staff.

FG keeps mum

On October 22, 2021, PREMIUM TIMES sent a Freedom of Information Act request seeking details of the highlighted issues in the PHCs revitalised since 2017, the procedure of monitoring the said process and respective issues in both PHCs .

The letter was received but not responded to. A follow-up letter was sent on November 18, 2021. Again, it was received with no response.

This reporter contacted the spokesperson of the agency, Ohitito Mohammad, but he claimed the letters had not been sent to his department. He also declined to answer the questions.

State Health Ministry responsible for revitalisation exercise  Executive Secretary, PHCDA

Responding to our findings, the Sokoto State Executive Secretary of PHCDA, Adamu Romo, in a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES in February 2022, said his role is to provide service delivery although he was instructed to select the PHCs due for renovation which he said he did late 2018 or early 2019.

He directed the reporter to contact the Commissioner of Health who he said is responsible for questions regarding the construction and renovation of PHCs.

We submitted some PHCs that we see should be renovated. We submitted about 10 to 12 and out of these, they ought to select three to be revitalised. Mine is to submit the names of the identified PHCs, which we have done. Once they have selected the ones for revitalisation, they ought to communicate to us, Mr Romo said.

Asked if he followed up on his submission, the government official said, following up meant he was chasing him.

You know as a leader and a subordinate, when you are the subordinate, engaging yourself to do something that you have not been asked to, your leader will look at it as if you are chasing him.

The state commissioner, Ali Inname, did not reply to calls and text messages sent to him.
Lagos, Nigerias largest city and the one most hit by the COVID-19 pandemic would have experienced a far more devastating outcome if not for the far-reaching health security strategy already on ground before the outbreak of the deadly disease.

The Lagos health commissioner, Akin Abayomi, disclosed this Tuesday in Abuja during the health security policy and financing forum organised by the Legislative Advocacy Initiative for Sustainable Development (LISDEL) through its Prevent Epidemic project (PE) in Abuja.

Themed, Exemplary Health Security Policy and Financing Reforms at the Sub-national Level, the event had in attendance, lawmakers, health commissioners and others in the health sector.

Lagos and Kano were the two states singled out for their health security investment and planning as examples for the rest of the state across the country to emulate.

A major highlight of the event was the presentation of the health security champion award to the Lagos health commissioner, Mr Abayomi.

How Lagos prepared for COVID-19

In his presentation, Mr Abayomi, a professor narrated how Nigerias commercial nerve started preparing for any other impending outbreak after a near excellent containment of the deadly Ebola incursion in Lagos in 2014.

Through the impeccable efforts of a team of health workers including late lead Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Ameyo Stella Adedavoh, Nigeria was able to contain Ebola only in Lagos, limiting its spread to less than 20 people and eight fatalities.

Mrs Adedavoh and four of her colleagues, however, paid a heavy price. They died after contracting the disease while trying to treat Patrick Sawyer, the index case and prevent the disease from spreading further.

After Ebola, we sat and thought of how devastating it would have been if there was a massive outbreak in Lagos, a city of over 21 million people and that was when the planning started, Mr Abayomi said noting that his predecessor, Jide Idris, played a major role in setting up the health security strategy.

The health commissioner also noted following the outbreak of Ebola, there was an estimation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that an imminent viral disease (agent-x) would break out across the globe within the next five years.

We started preparing, making laws and policies, building infrastructures and training health personnels.

It was called agent X by WHO because nobody knew how the disease would operate or what it is. But what we did was that we started training our people on how to manage outbreaks relatively in our own environment, the health official explained.

Mr Abayomi said some of the infrastructure used in the management of COVID-19 including the Lagos State infectious disease centre were built before the pandemic.

Lagos reported the index COVID-19 infection in Nigeria in an Italian traveler and has remained the hardest hit state by the contagion.

Nearly a hundred thousand people have so far contracted the disease in Lagos, about a third of the countrys total of 254, 953.

The health commissioner agreed that the contagion has heavily impacted the commercial city but also noted that it would have been worse.

Listing the advantages of the health security investment already in place post COVID, the official said all the funds used in managing the pandemic did not affect the state health budget.

He also noted that there was no collateral damage for other health priorities because of the COVID-19 response.

The unprecedented disruption on health care delivery created by the COVID-19 pandemic was and is still causing problems for health systems across the globe.

Mr Abayomi said those disruptions largely receded in Lagos due to the health security strategies.

Why lessons should be replicated

While applauding Lagos and Kano for their health security systems, officials at the event agreed on the need for such successes to be replicated in the entire 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

President of LISDEL, former chairman senate committee on health, Lanre Tejuosho, said states that have not met the health security benchmarks could approach those that have done so and learn from them on how to do better.

He said to properly fund health security at the subnational level, there is need for proper utilisation of minimal resources, ensure right persons in positions and ensure speedy implementation of health security plans.

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Gafar Alawode, Project Director, Prevent Epidemics Project, applauded Lagos and Kano states for their policy and institutional frameworks for health security but noted that two states were not enough.

He said the PEP project has been supporting states to conduct external evaluation, which forms the basis of domesticating the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS), developing legal frameworks, budget lines for health security and successful budget advocacy.

Mr Alawode said there is need for a financial framework at sub-national level because state governments also have the responsibility in implementing NAPHS, as the federal government and partners alone can not adequately fund health security.

Ifedayo Adetifa, Director General Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said strong state political and technical leadership is required for sufficient and sustainable health security funding.

Represented by the Head of Department, Surveillance and Epidemiology, NCDC, Elsie Ilori, he said the process toward improving health security requires continuous evaluation of capability and addressing resource gaps.

Mr Abayomi in an interview with journalists after the event shared lessons learnt from COVID-19 management.

He said setting standards according to international best practices, working closely with relevant health bodies, not compromising quality and inclusion of the private sector helped Lagos in its pandemic response and health security investments.

He said lessons also include the fact that political buy-in is strategic in securing a robust health security and that the private sector can be coordinated to provide more synergistic support for a better health security.

Moji Makanjuola, veteran journalist and broadcaster, said in her remark that the role of the media in bringing the states and government stakeholders up to speed cannot be overemphasized.

She charged health journalists to do brave and critical reporting that will illustrate the importance of health security investment.

Health security aims to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats. In practice, this is limited to specific activities, including strengthening surveillance systems and improving risk communication.
An alleged conspirator in the multi-million dollar bank fraud case in the United States involving Allen Onyeama, founder of Air Peace Limited, has been revealed in some court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES.

Ebony Mayfield was, until now, known by her initials, E.M. The U.S. Department of Justice referenced her by the initials in the charges filed against Mr Onyema and a co-defendant in 2019.

After months of poring through records, PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained court documents revealing her full details and the roles she allegedly played in the $20million bank fraud and money laundering said to have been spearheaded by Mr Onyema.

The details are contained in the separate charge of bank fraud filed against her by the United States government.

The U. S. government had, in 2019, charged Mr Onyema alongside Air Peace Limiteds Head of Administration and Finance, Ejiroghene Eghagha, in connection with the alleged $20million fraud

They both face 36 charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and credit application fraud but have so far failed to show up in court. No lawyer has also so far entered appearance for them.

How fraud was allegedly perpetrated

According to U.S. prosecutors, in 2010, Mr Onyema, whose Air Peace is a major Nigerian airline operator, opened several bank accounts in the U.S. and moved over $44.9 million into the accounts domiciled at Atlanta.

Prosecutors say, beginning in approximately May 2016, Mr Onyema, together with Mr Eghagha and other alleged conspirators allegedly used a series of export letters of credit to cause banks to transfer more than $20 million into Atlanta-based bank accounts controlled by Mr Onyema.

The letters of credit were purportedly to secure the funds for the purchase of five separate Boeing 737 passenger planes by Air Peace.

The letters were supported by documents such as purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals proving that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, a business registered in Georgia, which has now been dissolved.

Prosecutors, however, said the accompanying documents, such as purchase agreements, bills of sale, and appraisals proving that Air Peace was purchasing the aircraft from Springfield Aviation Company LLC, were all fake.

They added that Springfield Aviation Company LLC, which is owned by Mr Onyema never owned the aircraft, and the company that allegedly drafted the appraisals did not exist.

PREMIUM TIMES reported exclusively on Tuesday that Springfield Aviation Company LLC has now been dissolved by the authorities of the state of Georgia in the U.S.

The company, incorporated and based in Georgia State, is said to have been deficient in filing its annual registration, after the U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against its principal officials, including Mr Onyema in 2019.

Restaurant waitress recruited as aviation company manager

Ms Mayfield, also known as Daniell Nicole Williams, was recruited by Mr Onyeama to act as manager of Springfield Aviation Company LLC and to enter into contracts on its behalf, prosecutors say.

Court documents reveal her to be a food service professional commonly known as waiter or waitress who is still dependent on her parents for supports.

She has indicated her intention to continue her work as a waitress while her trial proceeds.

According to the prosecutors, Ms Mayfield has no connection to the aviation business outside her role with Springfield Aviation.

They also say she has no education, training, or licensing in the review and valuation of aircraft/ including aircraft components.

Her roles in the $20 million scheme, U.S. government says, include submitting false documents to Wells Fargo, including fabricated purchase agreements, bills of sale and valuation documents, with the intent to defraud.

She allegedly submitted the false documents in support of the letters of credit and to cause the disbursement of funds from either Wells Fargo Bank or JPMorgan Chase Bank NA into Springfield Aviation.

Mr Eghagha, the Air Peace official charged alongside Mr Onyema, allegedly sent false documents to Ms Mayfield and directed her to sign them on behalf of Springfield Aviation. He was said to have also instructed her to present false documents to the respective banks in support of each letter of credit.

Ms Mayfield is facing a count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division.

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Request to go home

On December 28, 2021, Ms Mayfield applied for the modification of her bail conditions, requesting to move from Georgia to Houston, Texas, where her family lives pending when her trial begins.

The application filed on her behalf by her lawyer, Manubir Arora, asked for her pre-trial supervision to be transferred to Houston in the Southern District of Texas.

Ms. Mayfield would like to move back home and be near her family and would like to move there on 2/15/22), the application read in part.

It added, Defendant Mayfield intends to continue as a food service professional (aka waiter/waitress) when she arrives in Houston with the support of her parents.

Defendant Mayfield wants to move to 2220 Pinegate Drive, Apt #432, Houston, TX 77008. This location is within a few miles of her parents.

Catherine Salinas, a magistrate-judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, granted the defendants request on January 19, 2022.

Defendant Mayfield will be permitted to travel outside the Northern District of Georgia until she moves to the Southern District of Texas.

Defendant Mayfield will be allowed to transfer pre-trial supervision to the Southern District of Texas and reside at the address provided. All other bond conditions remain in place, the order read in part.

Chiamaka Okafor 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.
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the recovery of outstanding N2.6 trillion debts owed the federal government by oil and gas companies, has demanded evidence of taxes, royalties and levies paid by the companies.

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who chaired the 18-member committee investigating the matter, made the demand on Wednesday in Abuja.

She urged companies to make appropriate submission and provide evidence of payments and outstanding from 2019 till date.

Ms Onyejeocha said that failure to do this, the committee would consider other legislative approach to enforce full compliance of its directives by the invited companies and the government agencies.

She urged the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to furnish the payment records on field basis from 2019 till date as well as all outstanding as at March 12.

She said that NUPRC was also to provide detailed information of crude oil production and lifting, gas production and utilisation and gas flare including payment from 2019 till date.

Ms Onyejeocha also asked the NNPC to provide details of $440 million waived to Nigeria Petroleum Development Companies as well as profile outstanding debt owed to NUPRC, FIRS and other government revenue collecting agencies.

She said that it needed clarification on the deduction made on remittances to the federation account from domestic crude sales proceeds.

She said that the clarification should include details of NEEDS Assessment cost breakdown and procurement process on the selection of vendors for pipeline repairs and maintenance.

She said that detailed breakdown of crude and product losses pipeline break point and volume including third-party government agency validation certification should be provided.

Ms Onyejeocha called on FIRS to also provide details payment and outstanding tax obligation as of March 16, including details of tax waivers given to oil and gas companies from 2019 till date.

She said that the Central Bank of Nigeria should also provide the bank statements of FIRS, NNPC, NUPRC for confirmation of receipts of outstanding liabilities from 2019 till date.

She said that the investigative hearing was not for the sake of it, adding that the committee was serious.

We are not too happy that we cant make use of resources available to us, she stated.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the investigative hearing is based on the report of the National Extractive Industries Extractive Initiative (NEITI), that 77 Oil and Gas companies operating in Nigeria owe the Federal Government over N2.6 trillion.

(NAN)
Contrary to his earlier reported stance, President Muhammadu Buhari has cautioned the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against the removal of Mala Buni as the interim chairman of the party.

Mr Buhari, before leaving the country for a medical check-up in London last week, had ordered the removal of the Yobe State governor as suggested by some of the partys governors over the endless crisis rocking the party ahead of its March 26 national convention.

He was also alleged to have plotted to frustrate the convention where new members of the national working committee would be elected by using a court injunction against the event.

Mr Buni was also reported to have been replaced with the Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, who took over the party affairs last week Monday.

Mr Bello is also a member of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), which the president put in place to run the party in June 2020.

The move to replace Mr Buni has continued to generate controversies coupled with yet-to-be vacated legal suits stopping the convention.

Against this backdrop, Mr Buhari, after a meeting with Mr Buni in London, wrote to the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, Abubakar Bagudu, on the direction the party should take amidst its current leadership challenges.

In addition, it has come to my attention that, because of recent events, the APC is faced with a multiplicity of court cases pending against it in various courts across the country. As a result of this, the party faces the possibility and prospect of the invalidation of all its activities and actions by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Furthermore, the party has demonstrated its inability to proceed with the issue of effecting change in the leadership of its Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Committee (CECC), in a way that is inclusive, legal and respectful of the time limit set and required for giving the INEC sufficient notice of the time and venue for holding its convention.

No doubt, these controversies and uncertainties, as enumerated above, pose a real threat to the party, and may lead to a possible non-recognition of its activities, elections and the probable invalidation of all other actions by INEC. This may ultimately even lead its implosion and non-existence, the president said in the letter dated March 16.

Mr Buhari also gave three clear instructions for the party leadership ahead of the convention.

He called for the immediate return of all members of the APC interim committee to their respective positions and cautioned the APC governors and their supporters against any acts that could fester the party crises.

First, the issue of the leadership of the Caretaker Extra Ordinary Convention Committee (CECOC), should immediately return to status quo ante;

Second, all members of the Governors Forum and their followers should desist from any behaviour or utterance that will likely lead to disunity in the ranks of the party, and ultimately jeopardise the transition to the convention;

Third, the Mai Mala Buni-led CECC should, accordingly, be allowed to proceed with all necessary preparations to hold the convention as planned- unfailingly, on 26 March, 2022, the letter stated further.
The implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) law can be more successful if adequate provisions are made for gender issues in national and states budgets, women rights advocates noted as an avenue to address violence against Nigerian women and girls.

The VAPP Act was signed into law in 2015 by former President Goodluck Jonathan. It was designed to tackle all forms of violence against persons in private and public life and provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders.

Since it was signed into law, only 20 out of 36 states have assented to it.

Although gender advocates consider it a major milestone, along with the introduction of sex offenders registers in Ekiti and Lagos states, they, however, cited paucity of funds as a major hindrance to the effective operationalisation of this law.

This was stated on Tuesday at the ongoing 66th Commission on the Status of Women, a global intergovernmental body dedicated to the promotion of gender equality, taking place simultaneously in New York and Nairobi, Kenya.

In one of the sessions titled VAPP Act a tool for expanding womens rights in Nigeria, panellists suggested that the Nigerian government invest more in gender issues as the country mostly relies on funding from donor agencies.

It is one thing to pass the law it is not another thing to implement. We need to have line items for the implementation of the VAPP law. We have donor agencies that contribute but we dont have such in state budgets, a human rights lawyer and feminist, Abiola Akiyode said.

Similarly, African Feminist writer and human rights activist, Iheoma Obibi, noted that the government needs a gender-responsive budget approach as she wandered the status of the Sexual Assault Referral Centres which provides medical and psychological services to rape survivors even as the European Union-funded project comes to an end.

At the end of the day, the money matters. It defines if the law works and does not work. There has to be a sense of responsibility from federal and states governments to the allocation of resources, Ms Obibi said.

The Country Director of Partners for Reproductive Justice (IPAS) in Nigeria, Lucky Palmer, said budgets for the countrys ministry of women affairs are at a far end.

He urged for increased advocacy and advised donors to include this in their diplomatic conversations with the Nigerian government.

Sometimes men think the issues of women should be taken back seat. It is about time women use their numbers to demand and not ask and we hold them accountable when they are not done, he said at the CSW event.

At the opening ceremony of CSW66, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, had canvassed that gender issues be taken seriously.
A former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, has said he was directed by some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to run for the position of the national chairman of the party.

Mr Adamu made this known while meeting with the APC caucus in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

This disclosure is coming amid reports that Mr Adamu is the preferred candidate of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had, in a recent media interview, said the president had endorsed an aspirant from the North-central for the position. He did not, however, mention the name of the aspirant.

Mr Adamu, who represents Nasarawa West in the Senate, was the state governor from 1999 to 2007.

In 2010, Mr Adamu was charged to court alongside others for embezzlement of funds estimated at N15 billion. The status of the court case is unclear, but the Senator, in 2016, claimed that the case had been struck out.

In the 8th Assembly, he was removed as the leader of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) over allegations of embezzlement of funds.

Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Adamu said he was the last person to declare to run for the seat because he had to wait to be called by some stakeholders in the party.

He noted that a leader should not put himself up for a position unless called.

Mr Adamu, who recently chaired the APC reconciliation committee, said the role has helped him to see the issues befalling the party.

I am probably the last aspirant to declare his intention to run. I acted deliberately. My family traditionmy religion has taught me, when it comes to leadership for communities, anyone who chest forward, and says he is a leader, he is not a leader. It is not because I dont want to become the chairman.

I did not see myself coming in even after submitting our report until I got the invitation from people that I respect very highly, people that are stakeholders in the APC, they believe that I am a good material for this position and I should contest for it. Then I did my consultation and decided in finality to contest. If you have not seen me earlier to talk to you, he said.

On how to improve the ruling party, Mr Adamu said he had never lost any election since 1978, and that he understood the challenges facing the party.

I have been fairly tutored on the act of election, conduct of election, attitude towards electioneering and what have you. And in partisan politics, I have been privileged to be involved with electioneering politics.

From about the year 1978 to date, I have never lost an election. And it is my hope that if I get the opportunity to serve as chairman I will provide the leadership necessary for APC to continue to dominate the political space in this country.

I am probably the last aspirant to declare his intention to run. I acted deliberately. My family tradition, my religion has taught me, when it comes to leadership for communities, he said.

Speaking after Mr Adamu, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), said the lawmakers are pleased with the capacity of the senator.

The issues before our party, you have a lot of work to do. Let us not pretend to issues, let us not pretend that they are not important.

I believe you have the capacity. I believe that you will take us to the next level. As a member of the party in the north-central, it is our pride.

The convention, which is scheduled for March 26, still faces several hurdles. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had rejected the letter of invitation sent by the interim head of the APC, Sani Bello.

The Commission rejected the invitation on the ground that the letter of invitation was not signed by the embattled interim Chairman, Mala Buni, and the secretary, John Akpanudoedehe, as required by the law.

Also, there is a reported interim injunction against the conduct of a national convention.

The injunction was issued by the Bwari division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

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The suit, with the number FCT/HC/CV/2958/2021, was filed by Salisu Umoru, with the APC, INEC and Mr Buni, as respondents. The suit has not been heard.

The court recently adjourned the hearing of the substantive matter to March 30, four days after the fixed date for the National Convention.
Graduating students search for job opportunities at a job matching fair at Tsinghua University in Beijing, capital of China, on March 16, 2021. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China will provide job seekers with no fewer than 1 million internship openings this year to help them find employment as soon as possible, authorities said on Wednesday.

The openings will be arranged with concerted efforts from the government and various sectors, and the campaign will strive for the participation of employers, college graduates and unemployed young people, according to a circular released by 10 government organs, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Ministry of Education.

Internship providers should pay for their interns' basic living expenses and any other fees incurred in their management and tutoring, the circular said.

These providers will receive subsidies, and those with a retention rate higher than 50 percent after the end of the internship period will receive increased subsidies.

China will strengthen its employment-first policy in 2022, according to this year's government work report. 
Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State said he stepped on many toes and lost several friends in the course of his eight-year stay in office as the governor of the state.

The governor who disclosed this during his farewell speech on Wednesday pleaded with those he offended to forgive him, stressing that his actions were for the good of the state.

Brothers and sisters, as your governor, I worked under extreme pressure. I took many hard decisions. I stepped on toes. I didnt answer some phone calls. I lost some friends on account of these, he said.

The governor, whose tenure ends March 17, will hand over to the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Charles Soludo on the same day.

Mr Soludo won the governorship election held in November.

Messrs Soludo and Obiano are both members of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

Umunnem, Im also aware that I did not fulfil every promise I made. But no government in the world has ever kept all its promises or solved all the problems of its time. However, my intentions were pure and my ambitions sincere. Let history be the judge, Governor Obiano said.

Achievements

Giving an account of his stewardship, Mr Obiano said his administration organised Nigerias first international conference on security which he said resulted in the setting up of a revolutionary security architecture against crime in the state.

The governor also said his administrations economic stimulus package has given rise to the N20m Community Choose-Your-Project Initiative. He said through the initiative, the administration successfully touched all the 181 communities in the state with choice projects.

As a result of this, all the communities got projects worth N40 million each from my administration, he stated.

The governor said the establishment of a Court of Appeal in Awka, the state capital, is one of the major achievements recorded by his administration noting that it ended the usual trips to Enugu State by residents of the state who seek justice.

On education, he said his government made huge investments in the off-shore training of teachers to expose them to global best practices.

He said his administration equally made cash donations of N2.8 billion to both mission and public schools in the state.

He said the administration built 1,000-room hostels in 12 technical colleges across the state and also offered scholarships to over 300 students.

A direct outcome of this is that both our school children and their teachers won impressive awards under my watch.

The former banker said he had bequeathed legacies in the health sector to Anambra State residents, saying with only N12,000 per year, residents of this state can access high-quality healthcare as they like through the Anambra State Health Insurance Agency.

The governor, who described the International Passenger/Cargo Airport at Umueri and the International Convention Center, Awka, as his monumental projects, listed other achievements in agriculture, disaster-control and infrastructures.

Eight years ago, when I gave my inaugural address, I shared my vision of a greater Anambra State with you. To some people, it sounded like a dream. Umunnem, today, most of those dreams I shared with you have come true, the governor said.
The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill to regulate peacekeeping operations by the Nigerian armed forces and other security agencies.

The bill, sponsored by Oluwole Oke (PDP, Osun) was debated on Wednesday and passed during plenary.

Leading the debate on the bill, Mr Oke argued that currently, the National Assembly has not been legislating on funds for executing peacekeeping missions.

He stated that for a nation with track records of peacekeeping missions across the world, there should be a legislative framework guiding the activities of such military operations.

He stated that Nigeria has spent over US$ 8 billion in peacekeeping missions it provided within the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) in countries such as Cote dIvoire, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone.

Mr Oke, a former Chairman of the House Committee on Defence, also raised concerns about funds generated from the peacekeeping operations.

According to him, United Nations pays countries a certain amount of money for such operations, but the funds are spent without appropriations by the National Assembly.

We also earn moneyrefunds from the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations. There is nowhere in our appropriations laws where we make provision for armed forces and police to procure equipment to train personnel for peacekeeping operation, he said.

He added that a former Minister of Defence, whom he did not name, borrowed $35 million from local banks to procure equipment and recoup the money from the funds deposited at JP Morgan.

But his comments were countered by the Majority Leader, Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano).

According to Mr Doguwa, the government has been making funds available for peacekeeping activities.

Mr Doguwas statement was corroborated by the Chairman House Committee on Army, Abdulrasak Namdas (APC, Adamawa), who said the country approved funds for peacekeeping.

The lawmakers, however, voted in support of the bill when it was put to vote by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The bill was referred to the Committee on Defence and other security-related committees for further legislative action.
A former governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, has picked the nomination form for the chairmanship position of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defying the partys zoning arrangements ahead of the national convention.

The ruling party, over a week ago, zoned its national chairmanship position to the North-central, a development which has shut out at least seven aspirants from contesting for the apex seat. Zamfara is in the North-west region.

Against the arrangements, a group drumming support for Mr Yari, were at the APC National Headquarters on Wednesday to pick the nomination form for the ex-governor.

The nomination form for the chairmanship seat of the APC has been pegged at N20 million while aspirants for the deputy chairmanship and other positions are to pay N10 million and N5 million respectively for the positions.

While Mr Yari hailed from North-west, PREMIUM TIMES reported the positions zoned to the geopolitical zone to include Vice Chairman (North-west), National Legal Adviser, National Organising Secretary, National Financial Secretary and Deputy National Youth Leader of the party.

The pro-Yaris group which obtained the form for the ex-governor was led by Tijani Kaura, the incumbent Senator representing Zamfara North at the National Assembly.

As reported, in defence of the group action, Mr Kaura told journalists at the partys secretariat that issues around zoning have not been totally resolved.

Mr Yari joins Saliu Mustapha and Abdulahi Adamu who have have earlier obtained the form for the position.

With March 26 barely 10 days away, ruling APC still grapples with leadership tussles as well as legal suits challenging the convention.
All roads lead to the prestigious Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday March 22 as Freedom Online, one of Nigerias fastest-growing online newspapers, hosts its fourth annual lecture.

A statement by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Gabriel Akinadewo, says the guest speaker is Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi, will chair the session, while the keynote speaker is former Governor of Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel.

Former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, is the special guest speaker while former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, is the special guest of honour.

Other guests to grace the occasion include former Police Affairs Minister, Omoniyi Olubolade; the immediate past Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside; Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams; Akin Onigbinde and others.

The statement by Mr Akinadewo says the lecture is an annual event that brings together captains of industry, media chiefs, politicians and professionals to reflect on national issues and propose objective course of action. We have always been forthright on matters of Nigerias progress and future.

Since the first edition of our annual lecture, we have been inspired by the commitment of our guests and Nigerians in the quest for a better country through advocacy. We believe this time around, the same zeal will be deployed to ensuring that Nigeria takes its rightful place in the comity of nations.
A former spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Organisation, Segun Showunmi, on Wednesday, declared intention to contest for the Ogun State governorship seat in 2023 under the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Mr Showunmi made the declaration in Abeokuta, blaming the inability of the PDP to win the governorship seat in the past elections to the infighting within the party.

The aspirant, who served as Deputy Press Secretary to former governor Gbenga Daniel, called on the PDP leadership to do away with the power tussle affecting the party.

All our (PDP) efforts has not produced any result for some time and the main reason is the unnecessary infighting, he said.

All you have said concerning Segun Showunmi to come and run for Governor, I have heard and I heard clearly. I will definitely, most definitely and extremely definitely run for the Governorship of Ogun State in 2023.

I have spent the last 20 years or more in this political dispensation serving them, speaking for them, improving them, running for them and I have now realised that Im the leader I have been searching for and I tell you again with every sense of responsibility that you have never seen governance at the level I intend to do it, Mr Showunmi said.

The business of governance of cutting tape because of road is not what we are talking about here. Obafemi Awolowos vision for Yoruba nation has now come to be, improved, rewritten and expanded.

In his remarks, Samson Ogunsanya, chairman of Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), said if the PDP must make any appreciable impact in Ogun State, Mr Showunmi should be adopted as the governorship candidate of the party.

He described the aspirant as a selfless politician with the capacity to deliver Ogun State from the misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

As the umbrella body of the opposition parties in Ogun State, we are here to show our support for our brother, Segun Showunmi. Showunmi is a politician with an enviable track record.

We believe that he has the capacity to deliver Ogun State from backwardness the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has put the State in. We believe that with Sowunmi in the helms of affairs, Ogun State will witness tremendous progress, therefore, we urge all of you here to support him.

The National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party (LP), Abayomi Arabambi, in his own contributions, advised the national leadership of the PDP, Governor Seyi Makinde, and other stakeholders of the party to align with the governorship ambition of Mr Showunmi.

We the opposition political parties members want to advise His Excellency Gov Seyi Makinde who is the leader of this party in South-West and the National Chairman of PDP, Senator Iyiocha Ayu, that they must look into the direction of this young man, Segun Showunmi, who took the audacious step to rescue the party from the hands of those who had stifled its growth for too long.

The era of recycled political racketeers, who are strictly merchants without commitment and conscience for the Governed must be collectively brought to a final stop through a positive change in the Ogun PDP.

Segun Showunmi is set to become the vehicle to bring to an end the usual and unending politics of deceit and insincerity of the old status quo promulgated by the Iperu Political war lord and they all must now henceforth work together and defeat the fully dishonest political merchants, Mr Arabambi said.
Embattled interim National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Mala Buni of Yobe State, on Wednesday, visited President Muhammadu Buhari in London, where he (Buhari) is currently on a medical check-up.

This was contained in a release by the Director-General, Press and Media Affairs to Mr Buni, Mohammed Mamman, in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mr Mamman said Mr Buni had been in Dubai, UAE, on a medical trip before he flew to London to meet with Mr Buhari.

Buni had a brief stop over in London after a medical trip to Dubai the United Arab Emirates.

Their Excellencies, Buhari and Buni held brief and fruitful discussions on measures to move APC forward preparatory to the March 26 National Connvention and the 2023 General Elections.

Buni is expected back in Nigeria on Thursday, to resume office as the Chairman APC CECPC, he said.

The Yobe governor was reportedly replaced last week with Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State on the orders of the president before leaving for London.

Mr Buni was appointed the Chairman of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) on June 25, 2020 following the exit of the Adams Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee (NWC).

The committee was asked to organise a national convention within six months but it has not been able to do so.

The convention was recently fixed for March 26.

(NAN)
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called on members of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be united in working towards the victory of party in 2023.

Mr Abubakar in an interactive session with BoT members to seek their support for his presidential aspiration in Abuja on Tuesday said anything short of victory would not be good for the party.

He said the 2023 general elections offered the party opportunity to return to the power.

I am worried and you should be worried too that if we do not win, it means we will be in opposition again for the next eight years.

By the next eight years, I dont know how many will be left in politics and it may even ultimately lead to the death of the party because people gravitate, particularly in developing countries, towards governments.

Ordinary people naturally gravitate towards government. So this is a very, very crucial and historical moment in history, for our survival. I want you to think about it.

We are now at a crucial moment in this country. Many of you here, it is either we retire together or we move on together, Mr Abubakar said.

The former vice president said that PDP administration had, from 1999 to 2007, made remarkable achievements that has not been matched by any subsequent administration.

Mr Abubakar said that PDP would score more votes in 2023 if the BoT members worked together.

Somebody said that we recorded 12 million votes during the last election. Those are not only my votes, those were our votes.

In achieving or recording those 11 million votes, it was all of us and I believe if we work together again, we can surpass those votes, he added.

He, however, dismissed insinuations that he was working against the possible zoning of the PDP presidential ticket to the South-east.

In the party, we invented and formulated this zoning policy simply because we wanted every part of this country to have a sense of belonging and I personally have paid my dues on the issue of zoning.

Many of you were members of our government when all the PDP governors came in 2003 and said I should run and I said no. We have agreed that power should remain in the South-west, Why should I?

Some of those governors that supported me, some of them went to jail, some of them were kicked out of their offices, we made sure that we kept the policy.

Therefore, you cannot come and try to imply that the PDP has not been following the zoning policy, he said.

According to him, 14 of PDPs 16 years in power were led by southern presidents (Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan).

So we should not be stampeded by the opposition party. They have a moral obligation which is inescapable.

Some say the South-east have not been given the chance. When I joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which my friend Bola (Tinubu) set up, he gave me a set of condition for giving me the ticket, one of which was that I should make him the vice president.

I said no, Im not going to make you vice president. Instead, I took Senator Ben Obi, Mr Abubakar said.

He also recalled that when he got the ticket again in 2019 to run, he took another person from the South-east, Obi (Peter), as running mate.

 So there is absolutely no reason they should say that there is a deliberate attempts to exclude the South-east in political participation or power sharing.

So I thought I should disabuse your mind and of course, as an enlightened political class, I dont think theres any deliberate policy to exclude anybody in this country, he said.

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On his part, Raymond Dokpesi, who is the Director General of Atiku Abubakar Campaign Council, called on BoT members to disregards all the ethnic and religious sentiments

He said that only the former vice president has what it takes to reposition the country.

We have seen the list of aspirants that have shown interest across the various parts of the country but theres none that has his credentials, his experience, his capacity and acceptance internationally and nationally.

The Chairman of the BoT, Walid Jubrin, assured that the BoT would provide a level playing field for all aspirants.

(NAN)
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has presented awards of excellence and prizes to two Nigerian students and one Ghanian, whose performances were outstanding in the 2021 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The examination was written in five west African countries of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.

The examination body also presented the Augustus Bamidele Oyediran prize to Lumen Christi International High School, Uromi, Edo State, for producing the best aggregate results for school candidates in the 2021 exams.

Lumen Christi International High School has won the award six times since 2007. It won the award in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016 and 2021.

WAEC also conferred the Distinguished Friend of the Council award on Pai Obanya, an emeritus professor, who was a chairman of the examination body, and Alex Mowete, a professor, for their selfless service to the council and the West African child.

Both Mr Obanya and Mr Mowete had served the examination body in different capacities where Mr Mowete was said to have in 2013, silently stopped accepting remunerations for assignments which you undertake for WAEC.

The presentation of prizes and awards was part of the 70th Annual Council Meeting of WAEC held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday.

Outstanding Students

The overall winners of the International Excellence Awards for the regional examination were Nweze Chinasa, 18, from Lagoon School Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria; Asante Brako, 18, from Presbyterian Boys Senior High School, Ghana; and Edeani Godswill, 18, from Airforce Comprehensive School, Agbani, Enugu, Nigeria; as first, second and third, respectively.

The total T-score for the candidates, who all had A1 in at least 8 subjects, was 606.8766 for Miss Chinasa, 600.9987 for Master Asante and 598.1588 for Master Edeani.

The Nigerian National Distinction/Merit Award for Nigeria was also presented to Nweze Chinasa, from Lagoon School Lekki, Lagos state; Edeani Godswill from Airforce Comprehensive School, Agbani, Enugu state and Unini Chiemerie, 17, of Christ the King College, Gwagwalada, Abuja, as first, second and third respectively in Nigeria.

The students were presented with cash prizes of N400,000, N360,000 and N300,000 respectively.

Osinbajo felicitates WAEC

The Nigerian Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said it is time for the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to start preparing for the challenges and opportunities coming with the next 70 years.

He said the challenges the examination body will be facing in the next decades would be different from what it has been facing in the past.

With 70 years behind us, it is now time to benign to prepare for the next 70 years, and it is clear that these coming decades will come with vastly different challenges and opportunities, he said.

There are at least three issues that present new challenges and of course opportunities. The first is the African free continental free trade agreement and its implications for the growth of institutions, the second is the WAEC curriculum, teaching and examinations relevant to the 21st century needs and the third is the role of technology in the work of WAEC, he added.

Mr Osinbajo spoke at the 70th anniversary and the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the council. He said the body has in the past 70 years shown its resilience by the challenges it has faced and how it solved them.

He said: WAEC deserves commendation for being the only sub-regional organisation established in the colonial era in anglophone West Africa that has not only survived the pool of centrifugal forces of the post-independence era but has also continued to wax stronger.

The vice-president who congratulated the examination body on its platinum anniversary noted that WAECs contribution goes beyond that of just an examination body to that of promoting sustainable human resource capacity, integration and cooperation of west African states.

Speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, assured WAEC of the Nigerian governments support of its initiatives to end the menace of examination malpractices.

Earlier, in his welcome address, the chairman of the examination council, Ato Essuman, a professor, decried that the increasing sophistication of practitioners of examination malpractice has remained a source of worry to the body.

He said: It has been revealed that some of our examination candidates use highly sophisticated scanners and hearing devices, concealed in glasses to obtain external assistance during examinations.

Examination body should not be left alone to fight this menace because they cant. It requires collaboration with stakeholders in education and government to address this menace.

Mr Essuman said: Our education system should therefore focus, among others, on moral education, love for country, issues about integrity to change the mindset and bring attitudinal change among the entire citizens.

He appreciated the Nigerian government for its support and prompt payment of its dues to the WAEC headquarters, noting that Nigeria was the first country in 2020 and 2021 to pay the examination body.

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Vlodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraines president, has said his country should accept that it may not become a member of the US-led NATO military alliance, Al Jazeera reported.

Ukraines alliance with NATO is a key Russian concern that it used to justify its invasion.

Ukraine is not a member of NATO We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. Its a truth and it must be recognised, Al Jazeera quoted Mr Zelenskyy as telling the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force on Tuesday.

I am glad that our people are beginning to understand this and rely on themselves and the partners who are helping us, Mr Zelenskyy said, while renewing his appeal for a no-fly zone to protect Ukraine from Russian air raids.

However, Russia and Ukraine have continued talks and according to local media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he sees some hope for reaching a compromise in the negotiations.

Lavrov told the RBK newspaper that he believed there were already positions upon which the sides are close to agreement.

While the talks are difficult, there is some hope of reaching a compromise.

Mr Lavrov said Ukraines political and military neutrality in exchange for security guarantees from Moscow was now being seriously discussed.

The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic, Mr Zelenskyy said.

While the talks and the war continue, Joe Biden, U.S. president, on Tuesday signed an annual spending bill that contains $13.6 billion in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.

I just signed the Bipartisan Government Funding Bill into law  keeping the government open and providing a historic $13.6 billion in funding to Ukraine, Mr Biden wrote on Twitter.

The U.S. has continued to support Ukraine in nearly three weeks of Russias invasion, providing aid and also slamming weighty sanctions on Russia in a bid to deter President Putin.

The sanctions on Russia, however, have failed to deter Mr Putin as the Russian military have continued their special operation in Ukraine despite ongoing talks between both countries.

Nearly three weeks into the invasion, air raids continue to hit several cities in Ukraine and about three million people have fled the war torn country to neighbouring countries in search of safety.

Chiamaka Okafor 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.
A month after Policy Shapers, a public policy organisation, sent a policy brief listing pieces of evidence that merited Nigeria to be included in the Majority English Speaking Countries (MESC) list, the group said the United Kingdom has replied to its mail with an automatic message.

The brief reply from Simplification of the Rules Taskforce (SORT) of the Home Office said they are unable to respond to external policy questions.

We are unable to give direct replies to policy questions from sources external to the British Government the reply to Policy Shapers reads.

But Ebenezer Wikina, the founder of Policy Shapers, accused the UK Home Office of contradicting itself.

He said the home office had in an earlier mail in January asked us to get back to them on the same email address if we had any questions.

The Campaign

Policy Shapers had in October 2021, written to the UK Home Office to demand why Nigerians and other citizens of anglophone countries in Africa needed to prove their English speaking proficiency before they are granted a visa to work or study in the UK.

They asked what it would take for these countries to be included in the MESC list.

The group also championed a petition on Change.org where more than 75,000 people signed to seek a policy reform by the UK on its request of English Language Proficiency from Nigerians who are migrating to the UK to study or work.

The cost of the test, which currently stands between N80,000 and N90,000 in Nigeria, is three times the countrys minimum wage of N30,000.

Apart from its high cost, the test is only valid for two years and can only be taken in 12 cities across the country.

Individuals requiring it for their pursuits would have to take the test again if they fail or did not relocate to the UK after two years of taking the test.

Policy shapers also compared the English Proficiency tests which cost three times the countrys minimum wage and last two months, with the French Proficiency tests which cost half the minimum wage and last a lifetime.

When the UK replied later in January 2022, it said there must be public evidence to show that the majority of the citizens of these countries speak English.

We rely on publicly available evidence such as official censuses to make this determination along with other academic sources, parts of the reply read.

It said: We may also consult the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office where additional evidence is required. Currently, on the information available to us, Nigeria does not meet the requirement.

This list is periodically reviewed and updated, and new countries are added if they are found to meet the requirements it added.

The Policy Brief

Policy Shapers, therefore, compiled pieces of evidence in a 15-page policy brief to the Home Office.

Mr Wikina said the pieces of evidence included data points from the United Nations, West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Migration Policy Institute, and the House of Commons.

He said: We believe that it is unacceptable for the Home Office to send us an automatic message one month after we had shared the 15-page policy brief with data points from the United Nations, WAEC, Migration Policy Institute, House of Commons, etc. making a case for Nigerias inclusion in the Majority English Speaking Country (MESC) list.

It appears to us that the UK government is shifting the goal post to avoid addressing the issues we have raised in our policy brief and we will not let that happen, 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.
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday withdrew his nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to serve as the Federal Reserve's vice chairwoman for banking supervision, after a key Democratic senator voiced his opposition.

"Despite her readiness - and despite having been confirmed by the Senate with broad, bipartisan support twice in the past - Sarah was subject to baseless attacks from industry and conservative interest groups," Biden said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier the day, Raskin sent a letter to the White House asking to withdraw her name from consideration for the job, according to U.S. media reports.

The withdrawal came one day after Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia voiced his opposition to Raskin's nomination, citing her views on addressing climate change.

"Her previous public statements have failed to satisfactorily address my concerns about the critical importance of financing an all-of-the-above energy policy to meet our nation's critical energy needs," Manchin said in a statement.

Raskin had criticized the the Treasury Department and central bank for providing emergency lending to support businesses across the board during the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that it should have been designed to avoid lending to highly indebted coal, oil, and natural gas companies.

Raskin said financial regulators must "do all they can" to bring about the adoption of practices and policies that will allocate capital and align portfolios toward sustainable investments that do not depend on carbon and fossil fuels.

Without Manchin's vote, Raskin nomination is unlikely to receive approval from the 50-50 split Senate, as Senate Republicans, who have criticized her position on climate regulation, won't back her nomination.

Raskin, who was nominated by Biden in January, has served both as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and as a Governor of the Federal Reserve Board. Biden also nominated Lisa Cook and Philip Jefferson to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

In late November, Biden announced that he intended to nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chair and to nominate Lael Brainard, member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as vice chair.

"I urge the Senate Banking Committee to move swiftly to confirm the four eminently qualified nominees for the Board of Governors-Jerome Powell, Lael Brainard, Philip Jefferson, and Lisa Cook - who are still waiting for an up-or-down vote," Biden said Tuesday. 
The Lagos State government on Wednesday said the reopening of the Lekki tollgate cannot be avoided as the company in charge, the Lekki Concession Company (LCC), owes both local and foreign lenders billions of naira.

Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information and strategy, while speaking on Arise TVs The Morning Show on Wednesday, said LCC owes local lenders about N11.6 billion and foreign lenders $31.1 million.

The Lekki tollgate, situated along the Lekki-Epe expressway, began operations in 2011 despite protests by Lekki residents.

The tollgate was shut down following last years deadly #EndSARS protests which saw men of the Nigerian Army open fire on unarmed protesters at the toll plaza.

The nearby Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, also operated by LCC, was similarly shut down after the incident.

The company, however, announced on Monday that it would resume activities link bridge on April 1.

But the Lekki tollgate remains shut.

Stakeholders Engagement

Mr Omotosos comments come one year after the LCC made a case for the reopening of the tollgate.

He said the reopening of the Lekki tollgate was due to the engagement and encouragement from the residents association of the area, transporters, and traditional rulers, adding that there wont be any resistance at all.

The first time that LCC went to the place, it was not just to open the place and begin to collect toll, it was just for the company to go there and see the kind of damage to its equipment and how such damage can be redressed. And not for them to go there and begin to toll, he said.

Even this one, you would agree with me, has taken about 18 months for LCC to plan to return to the toll gate because it has no choice after owing local lenders about N11.6bn and foreign lender about $31.1m. So, there is no way that LCC can just stay away from going back to tolling on that road.

The commissioner also said that the company has about 500 staff members on its payroll and they have been idle for about 18 months.

Also, there are about 500 workers at LCC, about 90 per cent of them have been idle for the past 18 months and they have families to feed; they have friends and relations to attend to. So, for the company to want to return now, and like I said, people have shown tremendous understanding, the commissioner said.

Mr Omotoso said that he discovered that people who have resisted the reopening of the Lekki toll gate are residents outside the country.

They send messages from thousands of miles away asking people not to go there and pay a toll while saying all manners of unprintable things about the tollgate and others, he said.

He said if the company stays away from toll, I do not know how it is going to pay its debts, I do not know how about 500 workers, most of them young men who are just starting their families, I dont know how they are going to be able to cope with their lives.
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the final forfeiture of property and cash worth over $200,000 and N120 million linked to a retired Air Force chief, Saliu Atawodi, and his wife, Winnie.

According to a statement by the EFCCs spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, the judge, Emeka Chikere, gave the order following an application brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) describing the properties as suspected proceeds of crime.

The EFCC said Mr Atawodis property measuring about 57933.69 square metres, and controlled by Vector Integrated Services Limited, is located at No 3004 Cadastral Zone E05, Aviation Village District, Abuja.

Funds including $228,428.16 and N120, 546,042.02 were also said to be captured by the courts final forfeiture order.

The court made the order in line with the provision of section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, No14, 2006, the commission said.

The judge held that the EFCC proved beyond reasonable doubt that the property and the money were proceeds of crime as defined by the Money Laundering Prohibition Act of 2011.

He noted that, in the absence of any objection to the notice of interim forfeiture which had been published for interested parties to show cause why the assets should not be finally forfeited, the court ordered the final forfeiture of the property and monies to the federal government.

Mr Atawodi, a retired air vice marshal, also held the position of former Chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS).

Trial

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the EFCC arraigned Mr Atawodi and Rabiu Hassan, owner of Hypertech Company, for allegedly defrauding the government to the tune of over N600 million through suspicious contracts to procure military boats.

The defendants allegedly defrauded the government under the pretext that the money represented payment for the supply of six pieces of K-38 armoured patrol boats to PICOMSS when they allegedly knew it to be false.

The judge, U.P. Kekemeke, of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, had subsequently granted the bail, and matter had thereafter proceeded to trial.

But PREMIUM TIMES cannot immediately ascertain the status of the case.
The National Judicial Council (NJC) has issued warning letters to two High Court judges in the FCT and Kaduna judiciaries over their alleged acts of misconduct.

The NJC took the decision at its 97th meeting held on March 15 and 16, 2022, the councils Director of Information, Soji Oye, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.

The meeting presided by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, who doubles as the chairperson of the NJC, also recommended 15 judicial appointments including six court heads, the statement added.

One of the erring judges, Muawiyah Baba Idris, of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja was issued a warning letter and placed on the councils watch list for a period of one year.

NJC found Mr Idris wanting for signing the Writ of Possession for execution on the same day he delivered judgment in suit No. FCT/HC/CV/FT/36/19 between Sicons Nigeria Ltd V Nile Place Restaurant and Catering Services Ltd.

Mr Oye said the council agreed with the findings of the committee that investigated the judge that his action was in contravention of the proviso to Order 27 Rule (16) (b) High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Civil Procedure Rules 2018 and Order 4 (1) and (2) of the Judgment Enforcement Rules 2004.

The council also issued a warning letter to M. M. Ladan of the High Court of Kaduna State having found merit in the petition written against him in Suit No. KDH/KAD/1321/2018 between VTLS Inc. Vs Ahmadu Bello University.

Mr Ladan was said to have signed the Writ of Attachment while the Garnishee Order Nisi was pending.

Appointments, retirements

Meanwhile, the council at its meeting also considered the list of candidates presented by its Interview Committee and recommended 15 successful candidates as heads of courts and other judicial officers in Nigeria.

All recommended candidates are expected to be sworn in after an approval by President Muhammadu Buhari, and their respective state governors and confirmation by the National Assembly and the respective State House of Assemblies as the case may be.

The statement also revealed that members also considered the reports of various committees and noted the notification of retirements of 23 judicial officers of the Federal and State Courts and notification of death of one State High Court judge.

See full list of 15 recommended appointments

1. CHIEF JUDGE, PLATEAU STATE

i) Hon. Justice David Gwong Mann

2. CHIEF JUDGE, GOMBE STATE

i) Hon. Justice Joseph Ahmed Awak

3. GRAND KADI, SHARIA COURT OF APPEAL, KADUNA STATE

i) Hon. Kadi Abdurrahman Umar Abubakar

4. GRAND KADI, SHARIA COURT OF APPEAL, TARABA STATE

i) Hon. Kadi Shuaibu Dahiru Ahmad

5. PRESIDENT, CUSTOMARY COURT OF APPEAL, RIVERS STATE

i) Hon. Justice Ihemnacho Wilfred Obuzor

6. PRESIDENT, CUSTOMARY COURT OF APPEAL, CROSS RIVER STATE

i) Hon. Justice Sampson Mbeh Anjor

7. SIX (6) JUDGES, FEDERAL HIGH COURT

i) Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman

ii) Emmanuel Gakko

iii) Aminu Garba

iv) Musa Sulaiman Liman

v) Ahmad Gama Mahmud

vi) Segun-Bello Mabel Taiye

8. ONE (1) JUDGE, HIGH COURT, FCT, ABUJA

i) Joseph Adebayo Aina

9. ONE (1) KADI, SHARIA COURT OF APPEAL, TARABA STATE

i) Sallau Ismaila Madugu

10. ONE (1) JUDGE, CUSTOMARY COURT OF APPEAL, TARABA

i) Bulus Samuelson Nyiputen
A presidential aspirant and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, met with the partys Senate Caucus at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

Mr Tinubu, who arrived at the legislative complex at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, was present to seek the support, counsel and partnership of the lawmakers for his presidential ambition which he described as a lifetime ambition.

Present at the meeting was the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, principal officers of the Senate and APC senators.

Mr Tinubus visit comes barely two weeks to the APCs national convention. He had in January, informed President Muhammadu Buhari of his ambition to run for the office in next years election.

At the gathering, Mr Tinubu said with the 2023 general elections coming close, he cannot run the race by himself hence, his decision to seek the backing of the National Assembly  which he said will help him successfully actualise his ambition.

He appealed to the senators to help him win the primaries at the convention so he can succeed Mr Buhari.

He said having served as a governor of Lagos State and as a Senator, he has the experience and capacity to be the president of the country.

I came for your counsel, partnership and support. Nigeria has come to a point where we need a change of baton. Mr President is rounding up his second term.

Election is coming. Our partys convention is near. I need our partys presidential ticket. I cant achieve it by sitting at home. I believe, jointly, we can do it. I hope you can back me successfully for the aspiration of my lifetime ambition.

Going by the counsel of the wise that says, If you want to go fast, do it alone. If you want to go faster, go together. I am asking for that team support to get me nominated by the party and eventually elected as the president of Nigeria. I urge you to look at my capacity and experience.

He also promised not to step on the toes of the president but would rather step into his shoes as the president.

While he praised the National Assembly for sustaining the nations democracy, he assured that the APC is doing its best to include the interest of women.

Mr Lawan assured the APC chieftain of the lawmakers support, adding that the latter performed well as a governor and has the required experience.
The Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has advised Nigerians against voting for any candidate older than 60 years in the 2023 presidential election.

Mr Tambuwal, who is 56 years old, has declared his bid to run in that election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He spoke in Jigawa State on Tuesday after the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in the 19 northern states endorsed his ambition.

The governor was represented at the event by his Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Bashir Usman.

Young Nigerians are the owner(s) of the country, any person above 60 years is surviving to meet God Almighty  he is not surviving to lead a nation, Mr Tambuwal said at the event.

We need a president that is agile, who can travel across Nigeria in a day to get first hand information on issues bedeviling Nigerians, not a president who will sit in the comfort of his office awaiting censored information from people.

He added that Nigerians should not consider for election people living with age-related illnesses.

The governor tasked students to keep on struggling to ensure that their campuses are reopened for academic activities within the shortest time possible.

Mr Tambuwal said the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on strike under every administration because of lack of political will to address the issues raised by the universitys lecturers.

According to him, the dispute between the Nigerian government and ASUU is a cause for concern for all right-thinking Nigerians.

We all know what the problems are, yet it has been lingering for more than 15 years now and up till now, there appears no end in sight. No government appears willing to solve the problems.

Apart from the lack of political will to solve the problems, I believe the government should engage constructively with the teachers and dont promise what they cannot afford. That I believe is what has kept the issue lingering till date.

As far as I am concerned, you (students) are the ones to fight for the future of education in the country. You are the ones that will struggle for the education of this country.

Therefore, as long as we keep mute, believe me, our universities will remain closed for a long time, Mr Tambuwal warned.

How to destroy a nation

The leader of the students union, Muhammad Abbas, said the problem the country is facing currently is due to the Federal Governments poor handling of the education sector.

If you want to destroy any country, you dont need weapons, just destroy its education sector, the citizens of the country will destroy everything, Mr Abbas said.

Nigerian students were at home for four months in 2018, over 10 months in 2020, they also spent four weeks and presently ASUU added another eight weeks.

We only need our schools to be opened, we didnt ask them to give us what they received when they are students, the student leader said
The British High Commission, Wednesday, in a statement said it is not suspending student, work and family visas for Nigerian applicants.

This is following a misinterpretation of a previous release by the mission announcing the temporary suspension of priority services on visa application for students, work and family.

This is as a result of the UKs decision to prioritise applications made under the Ukraine family scheme in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

This is not true. It is still possible to apply for any category of UK visa in the usual way on gov.uk and via our Visa Applications Centres (VAC) in Nigeria, the statement said.

The Ukraine family scheme allows applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK. They will also be able to live, work and study in the UK and access public funds.

The High Commission added that Visa Application Centres (VACs) remain open and customers are welcome to apply for a standard visa of any category in the usual manner which includes student, family, work and visit visas.

However, due to a re-prioritisation of resources in response to the humanitarian crisis arising from the invasion of Ukraine, the UK has temporarily suspended its priority visa service.

As our 15 March statement made clear, this temporary suspension only applies to the UKVIs expedited, added-value Priority and Super Priority visa services. This suspension is to enable the UKs global visa operation to prioritise applications for the new Ukraine Family Scheme, it added.

This decision to suspend priority visa services is also clearly stated on UKVIs guidance page, which sets out the latest decision waiting times for visa applicants outside the UK.

The British High Commission in Nigeria will issue an updated statement the moment Priority and Super Priority visa services resume.

According to Tuesdays statement, customers with standard applications in study, work, and family routes may experience some delays in the processing of their application.

We are still currently unable to offer PV for visitor applications in Nigeria. Standard visitor visa applications are currently taking an average of six weeks to process.

The statement advised applicants not to visit VACs until they are invited; assuring that applicants will be contacted when their passport is ready for collection.

Where there are extremely compassionate or compelling circumstances (for example, a medical emergency), UKVI may consider expediting specific cases. However, the bar for this is high and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

If a request is exceptionally urgent, applicants can contact UK Visas and Immigration for help. Please note that this is a chargeable service for overseas customers.

Chiamaka Okafor 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.
Abba Kyari, a suspended deputy commissioner of police, has accused the operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) of providing cover for drug cartels to ferry in cocaine into Nigeria.

Mr Kyari, who is standing trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged involvement in a cocaine deal, said corrupt NDLEA officials framed him up for demanding a reward for a whistleblower who aided the the police Intelligence Response Team in the arrest of a suspect.

The suspended cop, who headed the elite police squad, the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), reputed for busting several criminal cartels, has been in the eye of the storm after he was first fingered in a multi-million-dollars Internet fraud case by U.S government.

Mr Kyari is wanted in the U.S for allegedly aiding and abetting Abbas Ramon popularly known as Hushpuppi, an Instagram celebrity, to perpetrate a $1.1 million fraud.

While Hushpuppi is awaiting judgement after pleading guilty to the charges in a separate case filed at the Central District Court of Central District of California, Mr Kyari, his alleged accomplice, is held by the NDLEA for a different offence.

On March 7, Mr Kyari and four other police officers were arraigned before Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges relating to illicit cocaine dealing.

Chibuna Umeibe and Emeka Ezenwanne, who are non-police officers, admitted their guilt in the unlawful importation of 21.35kilogrammes of cocaine.

Meanwhile, Mr Kyari and the four other police officers pleaded not guilty to the eight-count charge.

But following Mr Kyaris arrest on February 12 up until last week when he was arraigned, the suspended cop sued the anti-narcotics agency for violating his fundamental human rights.

He demanded N500 million compensation for the breach of his rights to freedom of movement, among others.

Aiding drug baron

In a court document deposed to by one Muhammad Nur Usman who identified himself as Mr Kyaris younger brother, he told the court that NDLEA officials usually cleared the drug baron and even escort him from the airport to his destination, Vanguard Newspaper reported.

Giving further details that led to his travails at the hands the anti-narcotics agency, Mr Kyari said, That on that fateful day, the suspect as usual shipped drugs (cocaine) from Ethiopia to Enugu Airport. The officer of NDLEA cleared him within the airport, then officer of FIB-IRT arrested the suspect with the help of an information.

That before the informant accepted to work with the officers of FIB-IRT, they both had an agreement to compensate the informant.

That officers of FIB-IRT, having noticed that officers of NDLEA were the ones clearing the said suspect with his drugs (cocaine), they immediately took the suspect to NDLEA and also reported those officers involved in the act.

That instead of the NDLEA to handle the matter accordingly and bring their officers involved to book, they decided to frustrate the informant, thereby refusing to compensate the informant.

That it was at this juncture that the attention of the DCP Abba Kyari was called, who because the NDLEA officer involved is his friend, decided to intervene for the purpose of compensating the informant.

That the NDLEA officer who refused to compensate the informant was the one who framed DCP Abba Kyari up on a trumped-up allegation that he was trying to bribe him.

That the agent of the respondent declared the applicant wanted because of a mere allegation that he was trying to bribe an NDLEA officer without sufficient proof.

That the Nigerian Police Force, based on the allegation of the respondent, arrested the applicant on February 12, 2022, and handed over to the NDLEA.

Although Mr Nwite,who is adjudicating on Mr Kyaris cocaine trial, adjourned ruling on the latters bail application, the embattled cop continues to press for his freedom from the NDLEA through another lawsuit being heard by Inyang Ekwo, another federal judge in Abuja.
The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, has warned members of the party not to attack one another, but unite ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Mr Ayu said this in his remarks at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party in Abuja on Wednesday.

The national chairmans warning comes amid war of words between Governor Nyesom Wike and his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki.

Mr Ayu called on PDP leaders and members to bury their differences and work together for the success of the party in the 2023 general elections.

He advised members not to lose focus of where the party was coming from.

I call on every member of this party to forget their differences. If there are differences, we must settle them in-house.

No party member should attack another party member. If there are any issues, we have different organs of the party to resolve different issues.

We will work tirelessly. We are talking to individual members who have differences among themselves, whether in the ward, local government, state or national level because such distraction must not be allowed to continue.

Where there are problems, the national working committee and other leaders of national organs of the party will put heads together to resolve the differences.

Nigerians should know that PDP is back, we will work as a team and they will see the results very soon.

Nigeria should not lose hope. Hope is on the way and rescue on the way. Only this party can recue Nigeria, Mr Ayu said.

The chairman also urged members and leaders of the party to work with the National Working Committee (NWC) for PDP victory in the forthcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun.

Mr Ayu said the elections were winnable if party members put aside their differences and work as a team.

These elections are important for several reasons. First of all, they will give confidence back to our members.

Secondly, it will signal to Nigerians that the PDP is determined to take power in 2023.

It is important we unify the party. If we unify the party, we will win election at the state chapter. If we win elections in the state chapters collectively, we will be able to put those votes together and definitely win presidential election, he said.

The Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum, Gov Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, said for the party to win 2023 general elections, it must not lose focus and its members must be united.

Mr Tambuwal pledged the support of the governors for the party leaders, especially in ensuring the PDPs success in the 2023 general elections.

(NAN)
Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, the pioneer composite Takaful Insurance firm in Nigeria, has kicked off roadshow activities in Kano to entrench and deepen penetration on Takaful insurance.

The roadshow kicked off with a homage to the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, in his palace on Monday, March 15, 2022.

Speaking during the visit, the Vice-Chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Aminu Tukur, who led the Noor Takaful delegation to the Emirs palace, stated that the visit to the Emir was symbolic and significant. He said it was to solicit the royal blessings of the traditional ruler ahead of its planned roadshow activities.

In his remarks, shortly after welcoming the visitors, the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Aminu Ado Bayero, commended the organisation for bringing such an opportunity to the people of Kano State, particularly at a time when many Nigerians were looking for a viable alternative to conventional insurance.

The Emir called on Nigerians to embrace the system of Takaful insurance given its immense benefits and acceptance in the Islamic world. He urged the organisation to remain truthful to its promise in its dealings with people and its operations.

On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Noor Takaful held a hangout event that offered an opportunity to engage entrepreneurs and Nigerians residing in Kano State on the numerous benefits of Takaful insurance.

During the hangout, Vice Chairman, Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Aminu Tukur, explained that Takaful insurance offers an investment plan that allows customers to have a systematic and committed strategy to save for their future with guaranteed protection.

According to Tukur, the roadshow is intended to sensitize the people and set the pace for those in the Northern part of the country to embrace insurance, especially Takaful insurance as an alternative to conventional insurance to cater to the sentiments of religion and tradition.

He disclosed further that the company remains committed to promoting ethical insurance in Nigeria, adding that many customers who did not make claims have received payment of surplus over the last four years.

Takaful is based on Sharia principles. If you do not get a claim, you will be entitled to get a surplus. Noor Takaful, which started operations five years ago, has been paying surplus distribution to those who have not made claims over the last three or four years. We are the first and only Takaful operator ever to do that. We are in the process of paying another one this year, he said.

He noted that the Takaful offerings are widely accepted globally, adding that countries like Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates have taken advantage of its benefits.

Under the Takaful policy, there is the general Takaful. In this case, Noor Takaful covers insurance such as Motor vehicles, fire, goods in transit, agric takaful. In the case of Family Takaful, it covers the death of a family member or an individual or staff of an organization. We referred to it as life insurance in the conventional insurance space. Under the 2004 Pension Reform Act, which was amended in 2014, families must have group life for their staff, he added.

About Noor Takaful

Noor Takaful Insurance Ltd, a takaful insurance firm, was established and duly licensed by NAICOM in April 2016 as the first full-fledge composite takaful insurance operator in Nigeria with a 100 per cent indigenous Nigerian shareholding. The company currently plays the pioneering and leading role in unlocking takaful insurance potential for Nigeria. Its operational framework is regulated by NAICOM and is also subject to the Insurance Act 2003.
Gbenga Omotoso, a Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, has said that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has sent a team of senior officials to commiserate with the family of Bamise Ayanwola.

Mr Omotoso, speaking on Arise TVs The Morning Show on Wednesday, said the governor intentionally did not publicise the visit by the government officials.

The deceased was declared missing and her body found days after boarding a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the Lekki area of Lagos.

The bus driver, Andrew Nice, allegedly took to his heels after the incident but was arrested by the police in Ogun State.

It is not everything that the government does that they will begin to come on television and begin to announce. Im telling you authoritatively that Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor, has spoken about this matter three times, said Mr Omotoso.

He has spoken to the parents, he sent a team, a big team of senior officials to the family but we do not feel that this is something that we make political gain out of.

Shortly after the demise of Ms Ayanwola, some reports that surfaced online said the governor snubbed the family and aborted his planned condolence visit on short notice.

Mr Omotoso said that the people who are going there to cry who belong to another party, going there to cry and making a show of it, they are not doing us any good, they are not doing the society any good too.

He said Mr Sanwo-Olu called the deceaseds parents to express condolence on the loss of their 22-year-old daughter.

He calmed them down and prayed for them and he told them how badly he felt as a parent about it, Mr Omotoso said.

The familys lawyer, Ayo Ademiluyi, confirmed the visitation by the top officials from the transport ministry. He, however, said the governor still needed to make a physical presence at the deceaseds residence.

Autopsy

Mr Ademiluyi alleged that the police wants to rush us into a fast autopsy tomorrow and we have rejected it flatly.

He said the family wants the autopsy done by an independent pathologist.

Contacted, the police spokesperson in Lagos, Adekunle Ajisebutu, said he doesnt want to comment on the matter as the case is still in court.

The driver was arraigned on Friday at a magistrate court in Yaba for the murder and rape of Ms Ayanwola.
RIYADH, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 65,000 foreign employees have benefited from the labor reforms initiated by Saudi Arabia one year ago, said the kingdom's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

The "contractual relationship improvement" initiative, launched by the ministry in March 2021, has covered foreign workers in the private sector and helped to protect the rights of both employees and employers, according to a statement from the ministry sent to Xinhua on Tuesday.

It also noted that more than 30,000 enterprises have benefited from this initiative that aims to ensure job mobility.

The new labor law has allowed foreign workers to leave their job freely once their employment contract has expired. They are also allowed to switch jobs, no matter their contracts have expired or not, as long as they have been in Saudi Arabia for a year and have notified their employers 90 days in advance.

The ministry said the new reform ignited competition in the Saudi labor market and helped to combat human trafficking. 
Budding trees and blooming flowers.

The return of robins, loons and other migrating birds.

The return of bees, butterflies and frogs.

Melting snow and lake ice.

Longer days and light in the evening.

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JAKARTA, Indonesia and DHAKA, Bangladesh, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- wagely, Asia's fastest-growing financial wellness platform has raised $8.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-series A funding as the company scales its platform to help workers access their earned salaries on demand in Indonesia and Bangladesh. The funding comes in just seven months after securing its seed funding.

The oversubscribed round was led by East Ventures (Growth Fund) with participation from existing backers, including Integra Partners, the Asian Development Bank, Global Founders Capital, Trihill Capital, Blauwpark Partners, and 1982 Ventures which brings the total funding raised to $14 million in less than two years.

wagely also disclosed that it secured the backing of Central Capital Ventura, the VC arm of Indonesia's largest private bank, Bank Central Asia ("BCA"). The investment into wagely underpins the commitment to expand the digital financial ecosystem and drive financial wellness solutions across Indonesia.

With stagnant incomes, rising costs of living, and lack of savings, workers are under daily pressure staying afloat financially. The options for this segment are very limited when faced with an urgent need for cash. The result is a vicious cycle of repeated reliance on payday loans and other costly financial products leading to omnipresent financial stress among the workforce. Launched in 2020, wagely is building a holistic financial wellness platform with earned wage access ("EWA") at its core that lets workers of partner employers access their earned wages in real-time. The concept, which has been proven in several markets across the globe, has been adopted by some of the most renowned organizations, including Walmart, Pizza Hut, and Visa, to reduce turnover, enhance productivity, and increase business savings.

Founded by former Grab and Tokopedia executives, wagely witnessed strong growth across its markets as its users base grew 10x YoY in 2021 while it partnered with some of Indonesia's largest employers including British American Tobacco, Ranch Market, Adaro Energy, and Medco Energi. The pandemic exacerbated the financial struggles faced by lower and middle-income workers increasing the need for employers to reduce financial stress for their workers.

Commenting on the investment, Roderick Purwana, Managing Partner of East Ventures, said: "With wagely's rapid growth in recent quarters, we believe they will be the preferred partner for large enterprises that aim to challenge the status quo of worker financial wellness in Indonesia and beyond. We are excited to support Tobias, Didi, Kevin, and the wagely team, as they are changing the lives of millions of workers across Asia, where over 75% of the population lives paycheck to paycheck."

The pre-series A funding comes in only a few months after the company expanded to Bangladesh, which is home to the 7th largest labor force in the world. "We are proud to be successfully operating in two of the largest markets in Asia, employing more than 150 million workers. Instant access to salary plays a pivotal role in reducing costs for employers and increasing the productivity and wellbeing of workers. We are honored to offer wagely's financial wellness platform to leading apparel manufacturers in Bangladesh, including SQ Group, Classic Composite, and Vision Garments", said Tobias Fischer, CEO and Co-Founder at wagely.

The new capital will enable the company to accelerate its market-leading position in Indonesia and Bangladesh and spur the development of its holistic financial wellness platform, which the company plans to start rolling out later this year.

SOURCE wagely
Under a new initiative called 'OneKellton,' Kellton Tech integrates its global operations and enables clients to access an expanded suite of digital transformation solutions under one umbrella

HYDERABAD, India, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kellton Tech (BSE&NSE: KELLTONTEC), a global leader in next-generation digital transformation and enterprise intelligence solutions, has announced the strategic realignment of its business under the 'OneKellton' initiative. As part of this, Kellton Tech has integrated its global operations to improve client services and become an even stronger partner of choice for digital transformation and innovation.

The move reflects the company's effort to streamline delivery with a hybrid model built for the post-pandemic paradigm. With OneKellton, all of Kellton Tech's capabilities  digital practice, enterprise intelligence, design strategy, global delivery, integrated support, and more  will be accessible to companies of all sizes irrespective of their location. New and existing customers can now leverage Kellton Tech's digital and enterprise practice hubs to scale and strengthen core technical competencies critical to their success.

OneKellton will also be an evolution of Kellton Tech's partnership approach in the market. The company will be working even more closely with its global partners to create solutions that deliver true business value and act as a catalyst for customer success.

With 'OneKellton,' Kellton Tech is making significant strides towards achieving higher growth and revenue objectives. A ground-up optimization within the company has already begun, which includes;

a. The Development of More Impactful Centers of Excellence to continuously revisit and reimagine existing technologies while introducing new, innovative capabilities in a synchronized environment.

b. The Enablement of Four Operational Pillars  Delivery, Practice, Support, and Sales  to build a more relevant service and delivery framework that powerfully delivers on its vision of being a customer-centric organization.

c. The Realignment of Roles and Responsibilities to unlock a more dynamic and collaborative organization that drives agility to transform and innovate.

Speaking on the initiative, Krishna Chintam - Global CEO and Managing Director - Kellton Tech, said:

"At Kellton Tech, our business model is rooted in relevance. We are continuously transforming to unleash the true, tangible potential of our offerings and better serve our customers today and tomorrow. OneKellton, at its simplest, means one company run by one delivery, one marketing, and one human resource team, for the entire group. The changes we have announced today will help build synergies at the scale of our business, create invaluable opportunities for our people and partners in and across their geographies, and boost our market growth."

About Kellton Tech

Kellton Tech is a global technology consulting and IT services company founded on the belief of exploring 'Infinite Possibilities with Technology.' They help businesses of all sizes, ranging from startups, SMEs, and Fortune 500s, build disruptive digital solutions. Kellton Tech has been placed four times on the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India List and recognized by Forbes Asia as one of the Top 200 companies in their 'Best Under a Billion' list. With operations across the US, Europe, India, and the Asia Pacific and a global team of 1500+ employees, Kellton Tech enables clients to use technology as their competitive advantage. Please visit our website for additional information https://www.kelltontech.com .

Media Contact

Anupam Kumari

Kellton Tech Solutions Ltd.

+1 (844) 469- 8900

[email protected]

Note : Except for the historical information and discussion contained herein, statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements involve several risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those that be projected by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to such factors as competition, growth, pricing environment, recruitment and retention, technology, wage inflation, law, and regulatory policies, etc. Such risks and uncertainties are detailed in the Annual Report of the company, which is available on the website www.kelltontech.com. Kellton Tech Solutions Ltd. undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof.

SOURCE Kellton Tech
Attendees Can Interview, Receive Offers on Site; Signing Bonuses Available

EIGHTY FOUR, Pa., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 84 Lumber, the nation's largest privately held building materials supplier, is recruiting for 10 immediate openings at locations in Greenville, SC, as the company's business continues to expand nationwide. Interested job seekers can interview for open positions at a hiring event on March 22 and 23, 2022, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 84 Lumber's Greenville location (675 S Old Piedmont Hwy, Greenville, SC 29611).

"At 84 Lumber, we are on the leading edge of the ongoing rise in residential construction across the nation," said Rob Woodrow, divisional vice president at 84 Lumber. "Greater demand for our products means a need for more motivated, dedicated employees who want to take advantage of the phenomenal growth opportunity in our industry. If you have a strong work ethic and are eager for something new, you could be the perfect fit for us."

Hiring event attendees will participate in job interviews, learn more about 84 Lumber's company culture, and get more details about signing bonuses being offered for certain positions. Some attendees may receive a job offer on site. Open positions include:

Project superintendents are responsible for supervising and inspecting job sites, ensuring a safe work environment, and establishing building sequence, dates, and a manner to carry out work. Starting base salary is $55,000 per year and a $3,000 sign-on bonus.

are responsible for supervising and inspecting job sites, ensuring a safe work environment, and establishing building sequence, dates, and a manner to carry out work. Starting base salary is per year and a sign-on bonus. Manager trainees (MTs) , who enter an intensive, one-on-one, on-the-job training program that teaches them about the company's business and puts them on a path to become a future leader within the enterprise. Starting compensation for manager trainees is $40,000 per year plus monthly incentive compensation, which averages $4,500 per year. MTs also receive a $500 sign-on bonus.

, who enter an intensive, one-on-one, on-the-job training program that teaches them about the company's business and puts them on a path to become a future leader within the enterprise. Starting compensation for manager trainees is per year plus monthly incentive compensation, which averages per year. MTs also receive a sign-on bonus. Yard associates. Applicants need no prior experience and perform essential functions behind the scenes  from the management of supply shipments to the operation of equipment. Starting pay is between $15 to $18 per hour depending on experience.

"As a family-owned company, 84 Lumber is committed to helping our employees build a long-term career with us. We are proud to say that 95% of our store managers started in our manager trainee program," Woodrow said. "We believe that a wide variety of candidates can find a home with the company and open doors for themselves  a person with no construction experience but a desire to learn, military veterans ready to open their next chapter, or someone simply ready to make a fresh start. We'll give every one of them the tools to grow."

Candidates interested in participating in the Hiring Event should pre-register online and complete the form. Registrants will then receive an email from 84 Lumber with the link to apply for the desired position. To save time, Woodrow strongly encourages candidates to apply for positions online before they attend the event.

On-site pre-employment drug screening will be available for applicants at the hiring event. Candidates who advance in the process will also be required to pass a background check prior to employment.

To learn more about 84 Lumber, follow the company on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

ABOUT 84 LUMBER

Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, 84 Lumber Company is the nation's largest privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components and industry-leading services for single- and multi-family residences and commercial buildings. The company operates nearly 250 stores, component manufacturing plants, custom door shops, custom millwork shops and engineered wood product centers in more than 30 states. 84 Lumber also offers turnkey installation services for a variety of products, including framing, insulation, siding, windows, roofing, decking and drywall. A certified national women's business enterprise owned by Maggie Hardy Knox, 84 Lumber was named by Forbes as one of America's Largest Private Companies in 2018 and one of America's Best Large Employers in 2019. For more information, visit 84lumber.com or join us at Facebook.com/84lumber and linkedin.com/company/84-lumber .

Contact: Jeff Donaldson, BLD Marketing

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (412) 347-8039

Photos: http://www.bldpressroom.com/84lumber/greenville

SOURCE 84 Lumber
Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial

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Edition: 17; Released: February 2022

Executive Pool: 4962

Companies: 21 - Players covered include Canon Inc.; Eastman Kodak Company; Fujifilm Holdings Corporation; Koninklijke Philips N.V; Nikon Corporation; Olympus Corporation; Panasonic Corporation; Samsung Group; Sony Corporation; The Ricoh Company, Ltd. and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: Lens Type (Built-in, Interchangeable)

Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; Rest of Latin America; Middle East; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Rest of Middle East; Africa.

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ABSTRACT-

Global Digital Cameras Market to Shrink to 1.2 Million Units by 2026

Digital cameras (digicams) are specialized cameras that capture photos in a memory card digitally. While most cameras made these days are in digital format, a vast numbers of cameras are embedded into mobile phones and portable touch computers, which in addition to various uses can be utilized for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for video-telephony and are capable to edit and upload photos to other mobile devices. Digital cameras are available in several categories of sizes, capabilities and prices. These range from basic digital cameras to niche cameras that include multispectral imaging cameras and astrographs used for spectral, scientific, medical, and military uses, among other purposes. Single lens reflex (SLR) cameras, a segment of the digital cameras market, is witnessing growth due to the better quality of photographs achieved through the devices. Digital SLRs market offers vast growth opportunities due to digitization, easy usage, falling prices, and robust demand in emerging markets. With digital SLR sales driving sales in the camera market, the demand for dedicated accessories such as interchangeable lenses is also rising.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Digital Cameras estimated at 5 Million Units in the year 2022, is projected to shrink to 1.2 Million Units by the year 2026, displaying negative CAGR of -28.7% over the analysis period. Built-in cameras, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record -32.6% CAGR and shrink to 226.5 Thousand Units by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Interchangeable cameras segment is readjusted to a revised -26.5% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at 851 Thousand Units in 2022, While China is Forecast to Dwindle to 218.7 Thousand Units by 2026

The Digital Cameras market in the U.S. is estimated at 851 Thousand Units in the year 2022. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to witness erosion in sales to 218.7 Thousand Units by the year 2026 trailing a negative CAGR of -26.9% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at -31.4% and -28.3% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to decline at approximately -30.4% CAGR. Developed regions of the world exhibit saturating conditions, with household penetration of digital cameras reaching 90% in the US. Similar conditions prevail in Japan and Western Europe, limiting growth opportunities for digital camera sales in these markets. Faced with mature conditions, manufacturers are focused on enhancing sales among repeat purchasers, and target late adopters of digital cameras. Replacement markets, developing brand image in lucrative markets, effective management of mature markets and exploring associated opportunities would be the key survival factors for companies in the next few years.

Built-in (Lens Type) Segment to Further Shrink to 379.6 Thousand Units by 2026

Global market for Built-in Camera segment is estimated at 2 Million Units in 2022, and is projected to shrink to 379.6 Thousand Units by 2026 reflecting a negative CAGR of -32.6% over the analysis period. Europe constitutes the largest regional market for the Built-in Camera segment, accounting for 31.6% of the global sales. Africa is poised to register a decline of -26.1% over the analysis period, to shrink to 7 Thousand Units by 2026.

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HONG KONG, March 16 (Xinhua) -- "I want to drink water." "When to feed me?" Calls are ringing one after another at the nurse station in North Lantau Hospital Hong Kong Infection Control Center's ward area.

The calls are from the severe COVID-19 patients in negative pressure isolation wards and they rely on the "nurses" to meet all their needs.

In Hong Kong, "nurses" refer to female caregivers, including nursing assistants, social workers, and etc.

During the epidemic, these "nurses" help to take care of COVID-19 patients, and 50-year-old Katy Chung is one of them.

Since the outbreak of the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Hospital Authority has deployed front-line and retired medical staff from hospitals to work in the center which receives COVID-19 patients.

Chung, from Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital, volunteered to work in the center on Jan. 6.

BOLD BUT CAUTIOUS

Negative rapid test results are Chung's "pass" to work in the center every time.

The morning shift starts from 7 a.m. local time, and Chung leaves home at 6 a.m. local time after having a nice big meal to withstand the intense work of more than nine hours.

When arriving at the ward area, Chung immediately changes into a green uniform, and then puts on a blue protective suit, a headgear, goggles, a N95 mask, a face shield and gloves to enter the negative pressure isolation wards to take patients' blood pressure, temperature, and etc.

The center is a negative pressure ward hospital which receives and provides treatment for severe COVID-19 patients. The nurses prepare everything for the patients such as water, meals, towels and sanitary napkins.

"We are very careful in every detail, because if we make a mistake, we can't come to work," said Chung, adding that a colleague forgot to wear goggles and was immediately dismissed by the supervisor.

BIG LOVE

As the pandemic worsened at the end of February in Hong Kong, the nurses' workload was multiplied as patients admitted to the center are almost all in their 80s and 90s, mostly critically ill and unable to move.

Usually, the nurses change diapers every four hours for the patients who can not go to the toilet by themselves, but the heavy workload sometimes made it impossible for them to do it timely.

"I felt sorry for the elderly because we could not meet their needs in a timely manner," Chung said. "Six or seven nurses have more than 70 patients to care for."

Fortunately, things are getting better. Chung said the "nurses' group" has grown to more than 300 people now.

On March 1, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government announced that it had relaxed certain rules for the care sector and was urgently recruiting temporary contract care staff from the mainland.

"The mainland has rich experiences in fighting COVID-19, and I believe nurses from the mainland are very professional," Chung said.

FIRM BELIEF

More than a decade ago, Chung was a businesswoman. After undergoing a gynecological operation and receiving good care from medical staff during her stay in hospital, she decided to become an "angel" caring for the sick.

With efforts, Chung obtained the nursing qualification certificate later and became a nursing assistant in orthopedics department and internal medicine.

During the last 14 years, Chung has only had two Spring Festival holidays, and she spent this Spring Festival at the center.

Chung and her family had a family reunion dinner at noon on the Chinese New Year's Eve, and then rushed to work.

Amid the pandemic, "Peace and Health" has become the most popular greetings for the Spring Festival, replacing "Gong Xi Fa Cai (Chinese spelling for 'wishing you prosperity')," the favorite blessings of Hong Kong residents in the past.

Chung's term of service at the center is 12 weeks. "As lon as the center needs my service, I am willing to work here until the fifth wave of the epidemic is over," she said. 
Agorapulse launches game-changing new feature for sharing the business impact of social media, a first in the industry. Tweet this

Automated UTMs and easy-to-read reports make it easy to share a cohesive social media success story with stakeholders - without being a Google Analytics expert. Gone are the days when putting a number on the value of a company's social media efforts was impossible. This new feature provesonce and for allthe value social media brings to a company's bottom line.

"Being able to prove the ROI of social media means more than counting likes and comments," said Emeric Ernoult, Founder and CEO of Agorapulse. "Social media leaders can now draw a clear line between their efforts and the revenue they generate. That means bigger budgets, more team members, and a seat at the table when strategic plans are made."

About Agorapulse

Connection is at the center of the human experience. In ancient Greece, those connections took place in public spaces, or agora, and our name celebrates the importance these gathering places play in our lives. Today, social media platforms serve as a modern-day village square, where people from all over the world go to shop, find love, create art, and meet others that share their passions. These millions of interactions each day form the beating heart of our modern lives, the pulse that binds us all together. To make the most of these moments, social media professionals rely on Agorapulse, a powerful social media management platform that makes it easy to post, listen, and engage so they can focus on what they love: turning everyday interactions into meaningful connections.

Media Contact:

Theresa Anderson

407.505.8549

[email protected]

SOURCE Agorapulse
CHICAGO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new research report, the "Aircraft Electrification Market by Technology (More Electric, Hybrid Electric, Fully Electric), Component, Application, System, Platform (Commercial, Military, Business & General Aviation, UAV, AAM) and Region - Forecast to 2030", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to be USD 6.0 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 20.0 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 14.3% during the forecast period. The growth of this market is mainly driven by increase in adoption of cleaner and greener aircraft, developments in advanced air mobility and alternative sources of energy.

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The aircraft electrification market includes major players like Honeywell International Inc. (US), Safran (France), Thales Group (France), Raytheon Technologies (US), GE Aviation (US). These players have spread their business across various countries including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. COVID-19 has impacted their businesses as well. Industry experts believe that COVID-19 could affect aircraft electrification production and services by

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the end-use industries adversely, resulting in a sudden dip in 2020 aircraft orders and deliveries. This is expected to negatively impact the aircraft market in the short term, with slow recovery expected in Q1 of 2021.

Lithium-sulfur and lithium titanate batteries are fueling the battery segment which is projected to be the largest in the aircraft electrification market during the forecast period.

Based on component, the battery segment is estimated to lead the market during the forecast period, with a share of 24.3% in 2021. Lithium-sulfur is one of the battery technologies competing to supersede lithium-ion as the major battery technology of the next generation. The ability of Li-S batteries to store and release energy offers an opportunity to create batteries that hold as much as five times more charge than lithium for a given size and weight of the cell. Lithium titanate or lithium titanium oxide is a type of rechargeable battery, it can charge faster than other lithium-ion batteries but has a lower energy density.

The hybrid electric segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on technology, the hybrid electric segment is projected to be the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft electrification market during the forecast period. Hybrid electric technology uses both airplane fuel as well as electricity to drive the propulsion system. This technology helps reduce fuel burn, energy consumption, emissions, and noise for single-aisle passenger aircraft. Solar-powered and fuel-powered are two types of power sources available in hybrid propulsion.

The power generation segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on application, the power generation segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft electrification market during the forecast period. In an aircraft, power is generated with the support of an integrated drive generator, a variable frequency generator, an auxiliary power unit, and an external ground power unit. In conventional aircraft, power is generated using mechanical hydraulic and pneumatic systems, while in advanced aircraft, power is generated by an electric generator. Key aircraft manufacturers prefer integrated drive generators over variable frequency generators in wide-body aircraft and very large aircraft, as these generators are more reliable and efficient.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Aircraft Electrification Market"

221  Tables

50  Figures

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The business and general aviation segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on platform, the business and general aviation segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft electrification market during the forecast period. The growth of the business & general aviation segment of the market can be attributed to the increase in corporate profits, rise in the number of high-net-worth individuals, and an increase in the replacement demand for existing business jets with new ones.

The propulsion system segment is projected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on system, the propulsion system segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR rate for the aircraft electrification market during the forecast period. Electrification of propulsion systems is expected to boost the power for take-off, thereby creating an efficient electrical replacement for a regular turbofan with a 2-megawatt liquid-cooled electric motor. Electrical propulsion systems are expected to reduce fuel burn substantially, leading to a decrease in atmospheric emissions.

The North American market is projected to contribute the largest share from 2021 to 2030

The key factor responsible for North America leading the aircraft electrification market is the high demand for new aircraft in the region. The growing upcoming projects, and the emergence of several startups supporting the electrification in the aviation industry are additional factors influencing the growth of the North American aircraft electrification market.

Related Reports:

Aircraft Electrical Systems Market by System (Power Generation, Conversion, Distribution, Energy Storage), Component, Technology, Platform (Commercial Aviation, Military Aviation, Business & General Aviation), End-User, Application & Region - Global Forecast to 2030

Electric Aircraft Market by PLatform (Regional Transport Aircraft, Business Jets, Light & Ultralight Aircraft), Type, System (Batteries, Electric Motors, Aerostructures, Avionics, Software), Technology, Application, and Region - Forecast to 2030

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Ankura Consulting, LLC ("Ankura" or the "Company"), an independent global expert and advisory services firm, announced that yesterday, on March 15, 2022, the Plan of Adjustment for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the "Commonwealth" or "Puerto Rico") went effective. On January 18, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Hon. Laura Taylor Swain approved the Plan of Adjustment that set the restructuring terms for approximately $34 billion of debt, which is the largest restructuring of municipal debt in U.S. history. The Plan of Adjustment paves the way for Puerto Rico to exit from bankruptcy with a stable and sustainable balance sheet.

Through the implementation of the Plan of Adjustment, Puerto Rico reduces the total amount of central government debt from $34 billion to $7.4 billion; cuts Puerto Rico's maximum annual debt service payments from a maximum of $4.2 billion to $1.15 billion; and lowers per capita debt by 86%.

"This is a great collective achievement for Puerto Rico, thanks to the fiscal and economic team of the Government, the Legislature, the Financial Oversight and Management Board (the "Oversight Board"), and all those who have worked over the past five years to get to this historic moment," said Fernando Batlle, Ankura's Chairman of Latin America, who is leading all aspects of Ankura's advisory work for the Government. He continued, "The consummation of the Commonwealth Plan of Adjustment is the 'reset' button for Puerto Rico and starts a new era of fiscal stability with new opportunities to shape a successful, modern economy."

Philip Gund, Global Leader of Ankura's Turnaround & Restructuring practice, commented, "Fernando and the Ankura team worked collaboratively with the Government, the Fiscal Oversight Board and its constituencies and advisors while keeping the best interests of the Commonwealth at the forefront of the restructuring."

In addition to the rightsizing of the Commonwealth's balance sheet, the Plan of Adjustment also includes elements that promote and ensure that the Commonwealth maintains fiscally responsible policies and avoids the mistakes of the past, including: the establishment of debt management guidelines that govern future public indebtedness and the establishment and funding of a pension reserve trust to meet future pension obligations.

Kevin Lavin, CEO of Ankura, remarked, "The Plan of Adjustment puts Puerto Rico on a path to grow again the Island's economy, encouraging investment by restoring investors' confidence in Puerto Rico, which in turn will promote economic development and job creation." He continued, "We are honored to have been involved in this historic moment, and as our team continues to advise the Government in other initiatives, our goal will continue to be the betterment of the Commonwealth and its people."

About Ankura

Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers services and end-to-end solutions to help clients at critical inflection points related to change, risk, disputes, finance, performance, distress, and transformation. The Ankura team consists of more than 1,700 professionals serving 3000+ clients across 55 countries who are leaders in their respective fields and areas of expertise. Collaborative lateral thinking, hard-earned experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary capabilities drive results and Ankura is unrivaled in its ability to assist clients to Protect, Create and Recover Value. For more information, please visit, www.ankura.com.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1685741/Ankura_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Ankura
They have signed an open letter that reads in part: "As long as the military invasion of Ukraine continues, the vulnerability of displaced people in the country to human trafficking will increase due to deteriorating rule of law and impunity, further forced displacement, humanitarian need, and socio-economic stress and social fragmentation. Human trafficking will also escalate in the countries to where people from Ukraine are fleeing. There have also been deeply concerning reports of attempts to traffic women and girls fleeing Ukraine in neighboring countries, including Poland and Romania."

Signatories include the leaders of major anti-trafficking groups like Hope for Justice, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), Unseen, Shared Hope, Justice & Care, The Freedom Fund, ECPAT, The Exodus Road, and others from across the U.S., the U.K., and Europe.

The signatories call for the Russian authorities to withdraw their troops immediately from Ukraine, and for investigations into potential war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights violations associated with human trafficking. They call on the countries that are welcoming refugees to implement effective prevention measures against human trafficking. They list measures including training for frontline agencies; safe, legal routes for those who flee; measures to enable potential victims to be identified; trauma-informed care for survivors; and steps to ensure perpetrator accountability. With these countries already doing so much to assist refugees, the signatories ask the international community to help shoulder the financial burden of these vital measures.

The letter-writers say: "Human trafficking and conflict feed each other. By promising stability, security and employment, traffickers often appear to offer a greater prospect of hope for individuals who might have left everything behind."

A study by the ILO estimated that human trafficking generates $150bn in illicit profits every year for criminals, fueling global instability and insecurity.

To see the letter and list of signatories, click here.

Adam Hewitt

Head of Digital and Communications

Hope for Justice

[email protected]

SOURCE Hope for Justice
TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V): LIT

Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE): OAY3

OTCQB Venture Market (OTC): PNXLF

VANCOUVER, BC, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (TSXV: LIT) (FSE: OAY3) (OTC: PNXLF), ("Argentina Lithium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to its news releases of September 28, 2021 and October 14, 2021, the Company has received TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") approval of the Definitive Agreement (the "Agreement") with the vendors. The terms of the Agreement remain the same as were disclosed in the September 28, 2021 news release. For added clarity, any future share issuances will be issued at a deemed price per share equal to the greater of a volume-weighted average price calculation and CDN$0.218 per shares.

"Now that we've received TSXV approval, we can begin our exploration and drilling program. These properties hold exceptional lithium discovery potential," stated Nikolaos Cacos, President and C.E.O.

About Argentina Lithium

Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp is focused on acquiring high quality lithium projects in Argentina, and advancing them towards production in order to meet the growing global demand from the battery sector. The management group has a long history of success in the resource sector of Argentina, and has assembled a first rate team of experts to acquire and advance the best lithium properties in the world renowned "Lithium Triangle". The Company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Nikolaos Cacos"

_______________________________

Nikolaos Cacos, President, CEO and Director

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.

SOURCE Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp.
RADNOR, Pa., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against TAL Education Group ("TAL") (NYSE: TAL). The action charges TAL with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of TAL's materially misleading statements to the public, TAL investors have suffered significant losses.

Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.

TO VIEW OUR VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR TAL LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/tal-class-action-lawsuit?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=tal

LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: April 5, 2022

CLASS PERIOD: April 26, 2018 through July 22, 2021

CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:

James Maro, Esq. (484) 270-1453 or Email at [email protected]

TAL'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT

TAL provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People's Republic of China. Specifically, the company offers tutoring services to K-12 students covering various academic subjects, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, geography, political science, English, and Chinese.

On April 25, 2021, media reports revealed that the city of Beijing had fined four online education agencies, including TAL, the maximum fine of 500,000 yuan (approximately $80,000) each for misleading customers with false advertising. Specifically, regulators found that TAL's VIE, Beijing Xueersi Education Technology Co., Ltd., had been misrepresenting the un-discounted costs of enrollment in its courses to consumers, thereby deceiving customers into paying full price for courses that they believed they were receiving at a discount. Following this news, the price of TAL American Depository Shares ("ADSs") dropped from $53.14 on May 11, 2021, to $46.25 on May 13, 2021, a 13% decline over the two-day period.

Then, on June 1, 2021, Chinese regulators announced they had fined 15 off-campus training institutions, including TAL, for illegal activities such as false advertising and fraud. The offending companies, including TAL, were hit with maximum penalties for their illegal business practices, totaling a combined 36.5 million yuan ($5.73 million). Following this news, the price of TAL ADSs dropped from $40.51 on June 1, 2021, to $33.27 on June 3, 2021, nearly an 18% decline over the two-day period.

Finally, on July 23, 2021, China unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its education sector, banning companies that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public. This drastic measure effectively ended any potential growth in the for-profit tutoring sector in China. Following this news, the price of TAL ADSs fell from $20.52 on July 22, 2021, to just $4.40 on July 26, 2021, a nearly 79% decline.

WHAT CAN I DO?

TAL investors may, no later than April 5, 2022 seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages TAL investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE

WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?

A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.

ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. At the end of the day, we have succeeded if the bad guys pay up, and if you recover your assets. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com.

CONTACT:

Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP

James Maro, Jr., Esq.

280 King of Prussia Road

Radnor, PA 19087

(484) 270-1453

[email protected]

SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
RIVERSIDE, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorney Zulu Ali, a distinguished biographee of Marquis Who's Who and a recipient of the Albert Neilson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021, has received the Marquis Who's Who Humanitarian Award for 2022. Individuals honored with this prestigious award are described as those who advocate for human welfare or social reform and strive to make a positive impact on their communities and the world.

ATTORNEY ZULU ALI

Attorney Ali is a practicing trial attorney and activist. A former police officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he earned a juris doctorate in law (J.D.) from Trinity International University; a masters in administration of justice (M.S.) and business (M.B.A.) from University of Phoenix; a degree with a focus on African studies from Regents College through a consortium with Tennessee State University; and is a doctoral scholar researching pan-African business and trade at California Southern University.

Attorney Ali is the founder and principal attorney at the Law Offices of Zulu Ali and Associates, LLP based in Riverside, California (zulualilaw.com), which is the largest Black-owned law firm in California's Inland Empire. The firm focuses on representing persons accused of crimes, immigrants, and persons seeking civil justice in state and federal courts. Ali is on the list of counsel at the African Court of Justice and Human Rights in Tanzania, Africa and the International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands.

Attorney Ali served as Director of the American Committee for United Nations Oversight, an advocacy group that lobbied the United Nations for police reform in 2015. He is the Director of the Stop and Frisk Youth Leadership Academy, which mentors and trains at-risk youth to deal with police encounters; Director of the Southern California Veterans Legal Clinic, a legal clinic offering no cost and low cost legal services to military veterans; and a member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. serving on the international governing body (Grand Council) as General Legal Counsel.

In 2017, Attorney Ali was recognized as one of the most influential African American Leaders in Los Angeles by the National Action Network founded by Reverend Al Sharpton.

Attorney Ali has been Honored as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in his area by the National Black Lawyers and National Trial Lawyers; a Top 10 Lawyer by the American Academy of Trial Attorneys, American Institute of Legal Counsel, American Jurist Institute, and Attorney & Practice Magazine; and Rue Ratings Best Lawyer in America.

He is the founder and CEO of 10 Nubian Queens & 5 Kings Media (http://10nubianmedia.com), a mass media production company focusing on black family and social justice content in film, radio, theater, music, and book publishing.

Additionally, Zulu Ali is host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show Justice Watch with Attorney Zulu Ali (justicewatchradio.com) which broadcasts from NBC Radio studio in Redlands, California; and he is a member of the National Black Radio Hall of Fame (Chicago chapter).

Ali has been married to his wife (Charito) since 1986, has four adult children (Christine, Whitney, Ashley, and Lynda), four grandchildren (Amayah, Tye, Izem, and Amina), and resides in Southern California with his family.

PRESS CONTACT:

Rosa Nunez Kobi, Executive Producer

Justice Watch Radio

c/o Law Offices of Zulu Ali & Associates, LLP

Telephone: 951-782-8722

SOURCE Law Offices of Zulu Ali & Associates, LLP
BASS Cancer Center brings innovative and comprehensive cancer care to patients in the East Bay

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BASS Medical Group (BASS), a multi-specialty medical group with more than 400 providers across 40 specialties in the Bay Area and Central Valley, is pleased to announce the opening of the BASS Cancer Center in the heart of the East Bay. The 100,000 square foot center and supporting clinics combine personalized care and state-of-the-art technology in a comfortable setting for patients and their families.

BASS Medical Group's new Cancer Center in the San Francisco Bay Area. BASS' MRIdianTM System from ViewRay, the world's first non-invasive MRI-guided therapy system that can image and treat cancer patients simultaneously while minimizing radiation exposure to normal tissue.

The comprehensive cancer center, located at 575 Lennon Lane in Walnut Creek, is providing advanced cancer treatment in an approachable and easily accessible setting where patients can obtain a complete suite of cancer related care including medical oncology and infusion services, advanced radiation treatment options, PET and CT imaging, and patient support services.

"The BASS Cancer Center is transforming the way individuals and families receive specialized services by providing exceptional and collaborative cancer care that is more accessible than many traditional options patients have had," said Inez Wondeh, Chief Executive Officer of BASS Medical Group. "Opening the doors of the BASS Cancer Center is an exciting day for everyone at BASS and for patients in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, as it provides residents from across the region access to the best cancer care available from the physicians in their communities. Many patients will no longer have to receive care at their physician's office, then be sent to a cancer center where their physician may or may not practice. Because the BASS Cancer Center is integrated into a large multispecialty practice, all of the patients' care will be provided within the same group of physicians who coordinate and treat all aspects of a patients' cancer treatment."

BASS Cancer Center has partnered with Contra Costa Oncology (CCO), a leading medical oncology practice that specializes in comprehensive cutting-edge treatment programs for all forms of cancer. As the medical oncology partner for the BASS Cancer Center, CCO's highly trained, board-certified physicians and oncology nurse practitioners have the depth and expertise to address the wide array of concerns and challenges faced by oncology and hematology patients and their families.

The BASS Cancer Center houses unparalleled technology enabling the center to provide advanced care to all patients. This most notably includes BASS' MRIdian System from ViewRay, the world's first non-invasive MRI-guided therapy system that can image and treat cancer patients simultaneously while minimizing radiation exposure to normal tissue. The MRIdian System provides the best possible care while shortening treatment courses and improving patients' quality of life. This system paired with the center's other treatment options and suite of support services will allow BASS physicians to treat all aspects of a patients' cancer diagnosis and help patients improve their health and begin to heal.

With innovative and specialized treatment options, the BASS Cancer Center now provides localized care to patients in the East Bay, while continuing to service patients throughout Northern California and the Central Valley.

ABOUT BASS MEDICAL GROUP

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, CA, BASS Medical Group is the Greater Bay Area's leading healthcare specialist provider. With more than 400 providers and 40 specialties, BASS is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art care in a family setting. Currently, BASS operates 200+ locations throughout the Greater Bay Area, from the Central Valley to the North Bay. Known for operating smaller, independent physician-led practices, BASS offers personal, patient-focused comprehensive medical care and specialty services. For more information, visit www.bassmedicalgroup.com.

ABOUT CONTRA COSTA ONCOLOGY

Contra Costa Oncology is a leading medical oncology and hematology practice with locations in Walnut Creek, Danville, and Rossmoor. CCO has 5 physicians and 4 oncology nurse practitioners that provide comprehensive medical oncologic care to their patients. CCO ensures its patients have the most sophisticated level of medical oncology and hematology care, while providing them with the utmost support, compassion, and respect. For more information, visit www.contracostaoncology.com

Media Contact:

Rachael Davison | Keadjian Associates

(415) 847-9407 | [email protected]

SOURCE BASS Medical Group
NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A book launch of the "Global Digital Banking Research Report 2022", edited by Haitou Global and published by China Financial and Economical Publishing House, recently took place in Beijing. A number of industry experts and media professionals, including Dr. Chenyang Wei, Vice President of the Institute for FinTech Research at Tsinghua University, Dongmin Yu, Financial Branch President of the China Financial and Economical Publishing House, and Jerry Wang, CEO of Haitou Global, participated in the forum to discuss digital banking under the wave of financial technology.

With the aid of cutting-edge technology, digital banking refers to the comprehensive digitization of banks and all their activities, plans, and functions, utilizing digital networks as the core of banks and providing online financial services to their customers. Meanwhile, the services tend to be customizable and interactive, while the bank structure is becoming more flattened. As reported by Exton Consulting, 60 digital banks emerged globally in 2018 and will reach 256 by 2020, an increase of more than four times. Globally, the digital banking market is expected to reach $722.6 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 47.7%, according to Grand View Research.

The CEO of Haitou Global, Jerry Wang, expressed his appreciation for the support of the Institute of Financial Technology of Tsinghua University and China Financial and Economical Publishing House at the book launch event. He said that the launch of "Global Digital Banking Research Report 2022" continues the success of last year's "Consumer Credit Technology for Emerging Markets Research Report". With a focus on the development of digital banking in eight markets around the world, Haitou Global believes that this industry is still in its early stages and that exploring how to develop sustainable and profitable business models in each region remains a priority. With the publication of "Global Digital Banking Research Report 2022", Haitou Global hopes more and more friends will contribute to the development of digital banking together in future.

Dr. Wei Chenyang, Vice President of the Institute for FinTech Research at Tsinghua University, shared his thoughts on "Thinking About Digitalization and Wealth Management" during the launch event. In his opinion, FinTech is entering an explosive phase, which will not only increase the pace of global technology and digitalization, but will also produce new opportunities for innovation in all industries. This change will be irreversible, he said. For the wealth management industry, digital technology has improved the ability to identify risks, which is conducive to rational asset allocation and reduced market volatility.

Expert at the conference believe that the Global Digital Banking Research Report 2022 closely ties the development of digital banking with the characteristics of the times from a global perspective and from a model-practice perspective, which can be considered a landmark publication that combines theory and practice in the field of financial technology and integrates professionalism, academics, and comprehensiveness. Discussions on the sustainable development model of digital banking reflect Haitou Global's forward-looking thinking in the digital era, which will serve as a model for digital bank transformation in China. The importance and value of publishing this book lies in this aspect. In an increasingly profound way, technology is changing the composition of the financial industry and integrating itself into the everyday lives of more and more users.

Founded in New York in 2014, with the concept of "Investing in life and impacting the world", Haitou Global has always focused on global financial technology and emerging market investment opportunities. Haitiou Global has built long-term sustainable partnerships with its partners through its professional capabilities and refined operations. Haitou Global is a global asset allocation platform with investment products, including growth stocks, private credit, venture capital, real estate as well as investment advisory, investment banking, and family office. The platform has a global development structure that includes New York Investment Center, Beijing Advisory Center, Hong Kong Service Center, and Singapore Technology Center.

In the old saying, you can only become a great success if you have a truly great realm; if you learn the way of the future, you will develop great virtue. Haitou Global's forward-looking approach to emerging markets is driven by both technology and research, and has gained attention both for its high market standing and for its contribution to social progress and inclusive finance. With the trend of global digital development, Haitou Global will continue to explore emerging markets and financial technologies in the future, offering its clients more advanced, global market references, and collaborating with more Chinese partners in order to develop and share new emerging market opportunities with Haitou.

SOURCE Haitou Global
NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insight Partners published latest research study on " Botulinum Toxin Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product Type (Botulinum toxin A and Botulinum toxin B), Application (Medical and Aesthetic), and End User (Speciality and Dermatology Clinics, Hospitals and Clinics, and Others)", the global botulinum toxin market is projected to reach $8.97 Bn by 2028 from $5.30 Bn in 2021. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.8% from 2021 to 2028.

Get Exclusive Sample Pages of Botulinum Toxin Market Size - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis with Strategic Insights at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00027431/

Report Coverage Details Market Size Value in US$ 5,307.71 Million in 2021 Market Size Value by US$ 8,977.62 Million by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 7.8% from 2021 to 2028 Forecast Period 2021-2028 Base Year 2021 No. of Pages 197 No. Tables 139 No. of Charts & Figures 80 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Product Type, Application, and End User Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Argentina Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends

Global botulinum toxin market: Competitive Landscape and Key Developments

AbbVie Inc.; Merz Pharma; Medytox; Sanofi; Ipsen Pharma; Galderma; Revance Therapeutics Inc.; Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd.; Candela Medical; and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. are among the key companies operating in the global botulinum toxin market. Leading players are adopting strategies, such as the launch of new products, expansion and diversification of their market presence, and acquisition of novel customer bases, to tap prevailing business opportunities.

Inquiry Before Buying: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00027431/

For instance, in 2019, government authorities in England launched a campaign about botched cosmetic procedures and their impact on a person's physical and mental health. Moreover, several manufacturers are working on offering more advanced non-invasive cosmetic treatment products.

On January 14th, 2014, Allergan, Inc. announced that BOTOX had received the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) license for the temporary improvement in the crow's feet lines glabellar (or frown) lines in adult patients.

The growth of the botulinum toxin market is attributed to products and technological developments carried out by companies in the field of botulinum toxins in the country. Botox was first licensed for neuromuscular diseases via intramuscular injection in the European Union in 1994. The biologic and pharmacological features of botulinum toxin (BT) have been a subject of exciting research in medical sciences. It is amusing that it is the first biological toxin to make its way into disease biology, offering many new opportunities for healthcare firms. Next-generation sequencing technologies have helped advance the botulinum toxin (BT) sector.

Speak to Research Analyst: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/speak-to-analyst/TIPRE00027431

Among the different subtypes of botulinum toxin, subtype A for botulinum neurotoxin therapy has gained substantial attention among players due to its excellent safety and potential for use in injectable and oral forms.

By product type, the global botulinum toxin market is segmented into type A botulinum toxin and type B botulinum toxin. The type A botulinum toxin segment held the largest share of the market in 2021 and is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period. Based on application, the botulinum toxin market is segmented into medical and aesthetics. In 2021, the medical segment held the largest share in the market. It is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2028. The factor behind this growth is the rising need for the diagnosis of various medical conditions across the world.

By end users, the market is segmented into specialty and dermatology clinics, hospitals and clinics, and others. In 2021, the specialty and dermatology clinics segment led the market. It is expected to register the highest CAGR from 2021 to 2028.

Popularity of Minimally Invasive Surgeries Fuel Market Growth:

A large percentage of the population, including people above 40 years, focuses on physical appearance and wishes to remain young-looking. Thus, women's growing emphasis on aesthetic features is likely to stimulate market expansion over the next few years, especially in developed countries. Also, botulinum toxin treats several age-related conditions, such as forehead lines, glabellar lines, crow's feet, and others. Hence, people above the age of 40 are prone to such signs of aging. Thus, botulinum toxin procedures are gaining more importance among the population aged between 40-54 years, thereby augmenting the market value. These are the key factors anticipated to propel the botulinum toxin market during the forecast period.

Buy Premium Copy of Botulinum Toxin Market Size, Share, Revenue, Strategic Insights and Forecasts 2021-2028 Research Report at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00027431/

Global Botulinum Toxin Market: Product Type Overview

Based on product type, the global botulinum toxin market is segmented into type A botulinum toxin and type B botulinum toxin. The type A botulinum toxin segment held the largest share of the market in 2021 and is anticipated to register the highest CAGR in the market during the forecast period. Botulinum toxin type A is a purified form used to block the release of acetylcholine in the treatment of chronic sialorrhea, muscle spasticity, dystonia, and cosmetic applications. Depending on the preparation, botulinum toxin A is indicated for different diseases. Cosmetically, it treats fine lines and wrinkles on the face, particularly wrinkles on the upper face, including the forehead, side corners of the eyes, and glabellar lines.

Browse Adjoining Reports:

Botulinum Neurotoxins Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Botulinum toxin A, Botulinum toxin B); Application (Medical, Aesthetic); Gender (Female, Male); End- Use (Hospitals, Dermatology Clinics, Spas and cosmetic centers) and Geography

Botulinum Toxin Injection Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Botulinum toxin A, and Botulinum toxin B); Gender (Male, and Female); Application ( Medical, and Aesthetic); End User (Hospitals, Dermatology Clinics, and Spas and Cosmetic Centers), and Geography

Clostridium Botulinum Infection Treatment Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Type (Antitoxin Therapy, Meticulous Airway Management, Mechanical Breathing Assistance); Application (Hospital, Clinic, Others)

Hyperhidrosis Treatment Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Treatment Type (Botulinum Toxin A, Iontophoresis, Surgical Treatments, Topical Treatments, Non-surgical Microwave Energy Destruction of Sweat Glands, Others); Hyperhidrosis Type (Axillary Hyperhidrosis, Palmar Hyperhidrosis, Plantar Hyperhidrosis, Others); End User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Others)

Facial Injectables Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Collagen, Hyaluronic Acid (HA), Botulinum Toxin Type A, Calcium Hydroxylapatite (CaHA), Polymer Fillers); Application (Aesthetics, Therapeutics) and Geography

Gastroparesis Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Gastroparesis Type (Idiopathic, Diabetic, Post-Surgical, and Others), Drug Class Type (Prokinetic Agents, Botulinum Toxin Injections, and Antiemetic Agents), and Distribution Channel (Retail Pharmacies, Hospital Pharmacies, and Others)

Facial Aesthetics Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - By Product Type (Botulinum Toxin and Dermal Fillers); End User (Aesthetic Clinics, Beauty Salon and Hospitals) and Geography

Smart Wearables in Healthcare Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Product (Non-Absorbable and Absorbable), Material (Botulinum Toxin, Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen and Polymers & Particles), Application (Facial Line & Lift Correction, Lip Treatment, Sagging Skin and Others) and Geography

About Us:

The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials.

Contact Us:

If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us:

Contact Person: Sameer Joshi

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +1-646-491-9876

Press Release: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/pr/botulinum-toxin-market

SOURCE The Insight Partners
By Chen Bingbing

Yoon Suk-yeol, candidate of ROK's largest conservative opposition party, the People Power Party (PPP), was elected the country's 20th president on March 10, kicking off a new stage in ROK's political arena and turning a new chapter on the China-ROK relations as well.

During the election campaign, Yoon Suk-yeol made tough remarks about China several times, criticized Moon Jae-in's China policy, advocated ROK-US alliance and Japan-ROK cooperation, and even vowed to buy more THAAD (or Theatre High Altitude Area Defense) missile systems and deploy them in the country. This worries many about his successful election.

However, the new president changed his tune at his first press conference in the new capacity, expressing his wish to develop the ROK-China relations of mutual respect without mentioning topics like the deployment of THAAD. On March 11, Chinese ambassador to the ROK met with the newly elected president and delivered the congratulations from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his expectation for meeting with Chinese leaders after he takes office and the hope that both countries, taking the opportunity of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, will have more frequent high-level interactions, strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and deepen the friendship between their peoples. He believed bilateral relations will progress in big strides to reach new heights.

Yoon's about-face toward China is a bit surprising but understandable. As the new president, he must take a new look at the relations between Seoul and Beijing from the big-picture point of view of a state leader. Steadying and improving the relationship with China is an inevitable choice for the ROK government either on the economic or diplomatic or security front.

First of all, ROK depends on China for economic recovery and development. China is ROK's biggest trading partner, export destination and source of import at once. The latest Customs data show bilateral trade volume at RMB 369.36 billion in the first two months of this year, up 14.9%. ROKs trade volume with China far exceeds its trade volume with Japan and the US combined, and this most important pillar of bilateral relations won't easily shake with the change of president. Yoon may play along with the US to forge a united front within the alliance, but he won't give up the economic collaboration with China, provided, of course, he abides by the principle of friendly and peaceful co-existence without touching China's bottom line.

Second, China is an important force preserving peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. Yoon Suk-yeol said in his presidential campaign program that ROK and China share the same goal on resolving the Korean nuclear issue, and that it is necessary for ROK to maintain and develop the cooperative relationship with China, adding he will advance diplomatic efforts with China on the basis of mutual respect and intensify bilateral cooperation in various areas. A closer diplomatic tie with China is in the fundamental interests of the people of both countries and is conducive to achieving denuclearization and long-term peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. The claim to deploy THAAD during the campaign was more a watercooler moment to catch eyeballs and boost the rating. THAAD is a conspicuous hurdle between China and ROK that seriously threatens China's national security interests. Whoever at the helm in the Blue House won't easily use it to challenge Chinas bottom line.

Third, peace and development remain the main theme of the relations between the two close neighbors. With geographical and cultural proximity, the China-ROK relations date back a long time and has maintained a steady and upbeat momentum ever since they established diplomatic ties in 1992, despite plenty of tests and changes in the international situation. Upholding a diplomatic policy of "national interests first", Yoon Suk-yeol said last year that he would strive to uplift the relation with China in quality and level if he were elected president. Being close neighbors and in a community of shared future, China and ROK are sure to see bilateral ties prosper in the long term, though a little running-in period may be unavoidable in the early days of Yoon Suk-yeol's term.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and ROK, and is therefore of great importance for the development of bilateral relations. China is committed to stabilizing and improving the relationship with ROK and hopes Seoul will move forward in the right direction toward win-win development through mutual respect and enhanced cooperation.

(The author is director of the Research Center for East Asia Studies , Beijing International Studies University)

Editor's note: This article is originally published on china.com.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
People enter a COVID-19 testing site in Sydney, Australia, March 16, 2022. Daily COVID-19 infections in several Australian states witnessed a big spike on Wednesday as the new BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is spreading rapidly in the country.

The state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30,402 new cases on Wednesday, a big increase from Tuesday's 10,689. The state also recorded five deaths and 1,016 hospitalizations with 36 people in intensive care. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

SYDNEY, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Daily COVID-19 infections in several Australian states witnessed a big spike on Wednesday as the new BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is spreading rapidly in the country.

The state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30,402 new cases on Wednesday, a big increase from Tuesday's 10,689. The state also recorded five deaths and 1,016 hospitalizations with 36 people in intensive care.

The health authorities said the high number of new cases is partly due to a data processing issue. About 10,000 positive rapid antigen test results registered from Sunday and Monday were included in Wednesday's numbers, inflating the number reported in the 24 hours to 4:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

Despite the data problem, the health authorities warned the state to brace for a new COVID wave, with cases likely to double by the middle of next month over concerns on the spread of the new variant.

NSW Acting Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said the BA.2 sub-variant will be "by far the dominant strain" in the state within weeks.

The neighboring state of Victoria also recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases for five weeks, with 9,426 new infections on Wednesday, a sharp increase from 7,460 on Tuesday.

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said new daily case numbers were increasing by about 10 percent on a week-by-week basis.

"In the space of a few weeks we've seen the Omicron BA.2 variant go from pretty much nowhere to be seen to the initial reports of at least half of cases," he said.

The daily infections in South Australia also jumped from Tuesday's 2,380 to Wednesday's 3,122, the highest daily cases in almost two months, after 3,777 cases were recorded on Jan. 20.

West Australia recorded 6,062 new cases on Wednesday, the first time for the state's daily cases to top 6,000.

Adrian Esterman, chair of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the University of South Australia, told Xinhua on Wednesday that early studies show the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant to be up to 40 percent more transmissible than its predecessor.

"This brings it close to measles in terms of transmissibility, and measles is the most contagious disease," he said.

Facing the increasing cases, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) urged the state and federal governments to shore up the health system ahead of the next COVID wave.

"NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has already signaled that within six weeks the state could be experiencing double the case numbers we currently have. We're still learning about the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, but it appears to be highly transmissible, and that is concerning," said AMA President Danielle McMullen.

"Both Delta and Omicron revealed how critical our frontline health workers and health services are, as well as how important it is that they are properly resourced and supported."

"We need to take the lessons from the previous COVID-19 waves and look at ways to ensure our health system isn't overloaded again," she said. 

A woman checks in at a COVID-19 testing site in Sydney, Australia, March 16, 2022. Daily COVID-19 infections in several Australian states witnessed a big spike on Wednesday as the new BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is spreading rapidly in the country.

The state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30,402 new cases on Wednesday, a big increase from Tuesday's 10,689. The state also recorded five deaths and 1,016 hospitalizations with 36 people in intensive care. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)
Focus is to build a diverse workforce, pursue equitable outcomes, and create a sense of belonging for all employees

SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Callan, a leading institutional investment consulting firm, announced today the rollout of its new diversity, equity, and belonging (DEB) initiative. The initiative is the culmination of 18 months of work by a dedicated internal team and an outside consultant to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment, provide training and education, and create a long-term strategy for the firm.

"Our focus is to build on all of the diversity work we've done over the years to bring change to our firm and our industry," said Lauren Mathias, a senior vice president and DEB champion at Callan. "Like many firms, we know we have a ways to go, and we're confident that the strategy we've developed will help us make meaningful, lasting change now and in the future."

Actionable Roadmap: Five-Part DEB Strategy

Callan's goal is to engage, innovate, and grow by building a diverse workforce, pursuing equitable outcomes, and creating a sense of belonging for all employees. To do this, the firm's DEB efforts are centered on five key areas, which are outlined in its formal strategy:

Education

Recruitment

Mentoring and training

Retention

Community engagement

"Not only is our DEB initiative critical to Callan's success, but we hope it will ultimately influence our entire industry," said Callan CEO & Chief Research Officer Greg Allen, who is the DEB executive sponsor. "Supporting this initiative from the position of CEO is the best way for me to ensure its success. As the executive sponsor, I can make sure our team has the support and the resources to effect real change."

The initiative's leadership includes Mr. Allen, Ms. Mathias, and an all-volunteer DEB Council. The strategy and its progress will be formally reviewed and measured annually.

Callan's approach to diversity, equity, and belonging has long been a cornerstone of its business. Founder Ed Callan, along with Marx Cazenave, cofounded in 1990 the first multi-manager asset management organization committed to promoting diversity within the institutional investment community. In 2010, Callan Connects became the first-of-its-kind program developed by an investment consulting firm to engage emerging managers and diverse-, women-, and disabled-owned firms.

Learn about Callan's Diversity, Equity, and Belonging initiative here.

About Callan

Callan was founded as an employee-owned investment consulting firm in 1973. Ever since, we have empowered institutional clients with creative, customized investment solutions backed by proprietary research, exclusive data, and ongoing education. Today, Callan advises on more than $3 trillion in total fund sponsor assets, which makes it among the largest independently owned investment consulting firms in the U.S. Callan uses a client-focused consulting model to serve pension and defined contribution plan sponsors, endowments, foundations, independent investment advisers, investment managers, and other asset owners. Callan has six offices throughout the U.S. Learn more at callan.com.

Media Contact:

Elizabeth Anathan

[email protected]

415-274-3020

SOURCE Callan LLC
GUANGZHOU, China, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CNFinance Holdings Limited (NYSE: CNF) ("CNFinance" or the "Company"), a leading home equity loan service provider in China, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to US$20 million of its American depositary shares ("ADSs") for the next 12 months.

The Company's proposed repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on market conditions and in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations. The number of ADSs repurchased and the timing or conditions of repurchases may depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, price, trading volume and market conditions and will be in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. CNFinance's Board of Directors will review the share repurchase program periodically, and may authorize adjustment of its terms and size, or suspend or terminate the share repurchase program at any time. The Company plans to fund repurchases from its existing cash balance.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "future", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "confident" and similar statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: its goals and strategies, its ability to achieve and maintain profitability, its ability to retain existing borrowers and attract new borrowers, its ability to maintain and enhance the relationship and business collaboration with its trust company partners and to secure sufficient funding from them, the effectiveness of its risk assessment process and risk management system, its ability to maintain low delinquency ratios for loans it originated, fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China, the impact and future development of COVID-19 pandemic in China and across the globe, and relevant government laws, rules, policies or regulations relating to the Company's corporate structure, business and industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

About CNFinance Holdings Limited

CNFinance Holdings Limited (NYSE: CNF) ("CNFinance" or the "Company") is a leading home equity loan service provider in China. CNFinance conducts business by collaborating with sales partners and trust company partners. Sales partners are responsible for recommending micro- and small-enterprise ("MSE") owners with financing needs to the Company and the Company introduces eligible borrowers to its trust company partners who will then conduct their own risk assessments and make credit decisions. The Company's primary target borrower segment is MSE owners who own real properties in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in China. The loans CNFinance facilitated are primarily funded through a trust lending model with its trust company partners who are well-established with sufficient funding sources and have licenses to engage in lending business nationwide. The Company's risk mitigation mechanism is embedded in the design of its loan products, supported by an integrated online and offline process focusing on risks of both borrowers and collateral and further enhanced by effective post-loan management procedures.

For more information, please contact:

CNFinance

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE CNFinance Holdings Limited
Company Awarded for Delivering Forward-Thinking Services to the New Hampshire Business Community

MANCHESTER, N.H. , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast Business today announced it has been selected as the number one internet service provider by New Hampshire Business Review readers for the 11th year in the row. The award is part of the publication's Best of Business (BOB) Awards program. Comcast Business was recognized for its unique and forward-thinking service offerings designed to meet the evolving needs of today's businesses.

The annual New Hampshire Business Review BOB awards identify, recognize and honor the top companies across the state. This year, thousands of readers cast their votes using anonymous online surveys to assess satisfaction. The publication unveiled the winners spanning more than 90 different categories during their annual celebration on Thursday, March 10 at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.

"This Best of Business recognition would not be possible without our amazing customers and the local business community, who continue to support us year after year. We are so appreciative of their ongoing enthusiasm for our products and services," said Barry Bader, vice president of Comcast Business for Comcast's Greater Boston region, which includes New Hampshire. "Comcast Business aims to help our customers prepare for what's next and remain competitive and innovative, and this award is further validation that we are achieving that goal."

New Hampshire Business Review is the state's only business newspaper, reaching more than 50,000 subscribers every other week. It is part of McLean Communications of Manchester, a publishing company that also includes New Hampshire Magazine, ParentingNH and New Hampshire Home Magazine. To view a full list of the 2022 winning businesses, visit www.bobawardsnh.com.

For more information on Comcast Business, visit https://business.comcast.com/.

About Comcast Business

Comcast Business offers a suite of Connectivity, Communications, Networking, Cybersecurity, Wireless, and Managed Solutions to help organizations of different sizes prepare for what's next. Powered by the nation's largest Gig-speed broadband network, and backed by 24/7 customer support, Comcast Business is the nation's largest cable provider to small and mid-size businesses and one of the leading service providers to the Enterprise market. Comcast Business has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and associations as a leader and innovator, and one of the fastest growing providers of Ethernet services.

For more information, call 866-429-3085. Follow on Twitter @ComcastBusiness and on other social media networks at http://business.comcast.com/social.

SOURCE Comcast Cable
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Financial Exchange (DIFX), a cross asset fully insured Centralized Crypto Exchange (CEX) predominantly focused in the MENA & GCC region, with growing developments in the South East Asia & African markets, revealed its new corporate identity as well as a new innovative feature, the "Nomination Program" at DIFX stand at the Crypto Expo Dubai event in the presence of DIFX CEO, media and partners.

"We are proud of what we have achieved in less than a year. DIFX is resolute in creating a new financial order that educates, empowers and bridges the gap between knowledge and digital trading in a secure, comprehensive, trustworthy, quick and easy to use manner." said Jeetu Kataria, Founder and CEO of DIFX. "Our new identity will align with our upcoming features, trading experience, and exciting integrations propelling global crypto adoption. Our brand is a reflection of our commitment to continuously listening to our users and facilitating the relationships with them." he added.

The 'Nomination Program', a feature offered for the first time by a centralized crypto asset exchange, allows crypto traders to ensure their assets are secure and passed on to their beneficiaries in case of uncertain circumstances. The crypto wallet of deceased users on the DIFX exchange will be transferred to their nominated beneficiaries through this program. Jeetu explains, "This is one of the customer centric, innovative features that we at DIFX have implemented because we aspire to relieve our clients of any pain points, apprehensions, or obstacles. This reflects our customer centric approach as a fully insured exchange and our firm belief in ensuring that trust and continuity of service is paramount even in the harshest circumstances."

Other innovative services by DIFX:

Corporate account, a dedicated account type that has advantages over individual accounts such as tax deductions, special rebates in trading fees, an trading consultations

Staking rewards that allow users to earn passive income during the staking period. DIFX staking rewards enables users to hold crypto for longer time periods. DIFX does not interfere, as the staking is completely set by the token and the user.

Revamped rewards structure that allows users to leverage maximum rewards at every trading stage. Users can earn a total of 500 USD worth of DIFX tokens on signing up, trading, swapping etc..

DIFX, launched in September 2021, has already achieved significant milestones. The centralized cross asset crypto exchange employs full data encryption and Bitcoin cold storage. It also released its DIFX mobile application version for IOS and Android to assist its users in making the crypto trading experience a more convenient one. In less than a year, DIFX utility token has been listed on CoinMarketCap and has achieved the spot of the Top Gainers in 2021.

While centralized crypto exchanges who hold customer crypto wallets on their platforms have been subjected to hacks, effecting the trust in these exchanges, DIFX from the onset has ensured its trustworthiness by storing customer wallets off ramp with FireBlocks making them one of the few fully insured centralized crypto exchanges globally. Fireblocks is one of the leading crypto custodians in the world with over 30% market share. DIFX has also partnered with Sumsub to ensure utmost compliance for the onboarding of customers with bank grade AML (Anti Money Laundering), KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYT (Know Your Transaction) compliance tools.

"We aim to merge the world of digital and traditional assets through seamless cross asset trading because we believe the future of finance entails endless possibilities," concluded Jeetu.

DIFX participated in various sessions during the Crypto Expo Event. Jeetu Kataria spoke on the topic of crypto asset regulations, adoption, and how a CEX (Centralized Crypto Exchange) operates in the modern world, while Osama Bari, Chief Technology Officer, discussed the topic of "Why Crypto exchanges are flourishing in the Digital Economy."

About DIFX

DIFX: A fully insured cross-asset trading centralized crypto platform that lets users trade between multiple assets classes that include indices, forex, crypto, metals, commodities etc. Our fully insured crypto wallet comes from our partnership with Fireblocks, which is one of the leading crypto custodians in the world with over 30% market share. DIFX has its own utility token called DIFX; it is ERC20 and BEP20 compliant. The DIFX tokens allow users to avail up to 25% off on their trading fees on the DIFX exchange. DIFX avails The 24/7 multi-language, the DIFX Academy and is working on Global licensing strategies to ensure that DIFX is accessible to all

DIFX was the "Best New Trading Platform - 2021" by Forex Expo and Entrepreneur Middle East.

For more information contact:

DIFX Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Digital Financial Exchange (DIFX)
Districts covered include San Francisco, Fontana, Hesperia, Morongo, Rim of the World, Salinas, San Bernardino, and Yucaipa-Calimesa

LEESBURG, Va., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AM LLC (AM), a public health firm working with K-12 schools and federal, state and local health departments, announced a service contract with San Francisco Unified School District and seven other new K-12 school district service contracts throughout the state of California to provide expertise in disease investigation, contact tracing, COVID-19 education and messaging, and public health coordination. AM LLC has been tasked to ensure school health and wellness programs keep students in classrooms, and operate under established safety guidelines that proactively modify services as guidelines evolve.

"As we move into the third year of dealing with this virus, schools should have the measures in place to get kids and staff back in good health and return to a normal learning environment as quickly as possible," said David Younce, AM LLC Senior Vice President of K-12 Partnerships. "California schools tapped the AM team to lead and liaise their COVID-19 mitigation efforts to keep kids learning and keep teachers teaching in the classroom. AM's expertise in the K-12 field will free up school staff across the state so they can keep doing what they do besteducating our next generation."

The new service contracts assign AM LLC to oversee contact tracing and onsite testing for staff and student district populations, allowing districts to Test and Staybenefitting from in-person instruction. AM LLC will also act as lead liaison between local health departments and the designated school district. As part of the contracts, AM LLC will also develop health and wellness guidelines, training, and education materials for students, staff, and faculty. AM LLC's coordination of school-based responses throughout the school day will allow school staff to focus on routine operations and minimize the impact of COVID-19 on instructional time.

AM LLC will lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of school-based programs and serve as the singular point of contact as an expert resource in the following school districts: San Francisco Unified School District, Fontana Unified School District, Hesperia Unified School District, Morongo Unified School District, Rim of the World Unified School District, Salinas City Elementary School District, San Bernardino City Unified School District, and Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District.

AM offers a full range of prevention strategies and solutionscontact tracing, testing, vaccination, and program evaluation. Life-saving services include rapid staff deployment, technology infrastructure setup, stakeholder and community-based organizations collaboration, outreach, and referral campaigns, and data analysis and reporting. AM has a proven track record in the rapid deployment of a well-qualified, highly motivated workforce that reflects the racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic make-up of the communities they serve.

Counties, states, or K-12 partners that are interested in partnering with AM for COVID-19 mitigation support should contact Dr. Christopher Orlea at [email protected] .

About AM LLC

AM LLC was purpose-built to work with partners addressing large-scale public health challenges. AM LLC can design and quickly deploy tailored and scalable workforce solutions to help your organization with all aspects of contact tracing, testing, and vaccine programming. Learn more at https://amllc.co/.

Media Contact: Alexandra Phelps | [email protected] | 703-966-0831

SOURCE AM LLC
BOSTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Construction machines are estimated to generate around 400 Mt of CO 2 emission per year - around 1.1% of global CO 2 emission. Decarbonization of non-road mobile machines will therefore be an important factor in efforts to limit global climate change. With an increasing number of countries committing to a net-zero carbon future, the construction industry is facing growing scrutiny of its' greenhouse gas emissions.

Estimate of Electric Excavator Endurance. Source: IDTechEx - Electric Vehicles in Construction 2022-2042

Leading construction machine OEMs and suppliers already recognize that powertrain electrification is set to become a key zero-emission technology for construction machines. Many of the largest engine suppliers such as Cummins, Deutz, and Volvo Penta are investing in electromobility research, and several OEMs have already launched battery-electric construction machines as commercial products, including Volvo CE, JCB, and Komatsu. The new IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicles in Construction 2022-2042", is a deep dive into this nascent market, that highlights technical and economic considerations of powertrain electrification over the diverse range of mobile construction machines and provides a comprehensive inventory of ongoing construction machine electrification projects worldwide.

The starting point for most OEMs will be smaller compact machines, whose duty-cycle requirements are relatively light, meaning the daily workday energy and power requirement can be met with a practical size of li-ion battery, electric motors, and a well-defined charging strategy. Indeed, in recognition of the potential for electrification in this segment, Volvo Construction Equipment has already committed to moving its entire range of compact wheel loaders and compact excavators to electric powertrains, completely stopping its development of new diesel models. Other OEMs will follow this lead.

However, as excavators over 10-tonnes are responsible for around 46% of the total CO 2 emission by construction vehicles, it is crucial that zero-emission solutions are developed for large machines. The arduous duty cycles of these heavy-duty vehicles mean those over 20-tonnes need more than 300 kWh of energy to deliver a full 8-hour workday. Projects in Norway and the Netherlands have already investigated solutions such as battery swapping and cable operation, to meet the duty cycle demand. In China, construction machine OEMs XCMG, LiuGong, and SINOMACH have all opted for large battery systems with rapid dual-gun DC fast charging (up to 300 kW).

Estimate of Electric Mini Excavator Endurance

Critical to deployment of electric machines will be total cost of ownership. There is a premium on electric machines over diesel, primarily related to the cost of the large battery packs. IDTechEx analysis suggests that the extra cost of an electric mini excavator could be modest enough that diesel fuel savings and reduced maintenance could largely offset the additional premium, but, for larger machines, the extra cost of electrification likely remains prohibitive, and OEMs will need significant regulatory and financial support to promote uptake.

Whilst GHG emission reduction is key, there are other important drivers for machine electrification, most notably health and safety issues around diesel engine operation on construction sites. The UK construction industry is responsible for the largest annual number of occupational cancer cases, with around ~8% of these directly related to diesel engine exhaust emissions. Construction is also a high-risk industry for noise-related ill health. Electric machines are significantly quieter, offering the potential for improved communication, safety, and productivity on-site, whilst reducing the inconvenience of noise pollution for the surrounding area. Elimination of toxic exhaust emissions could improve air quality on job sites and in the surrounding vicinity, greatly improving the work environment for construction workers.

Given the necessity for zero-emission construction machines, IDTechEx forecast that in 2042, the global electric construction machine market will be worth $105 billion (CAGR 25.6%).

"Electric Vehicles in Construction 2022-2042" analyzes ongoing electrification work over the range of construction machine types, including excavators, wheel loaders, cranes, and telehandlers. It provides IDTechEx's independent 20-year outlook for the electric construction vehicle market, with forecasts for sales, battery demand, and market revenue, by machine type, and separate regional forecasts for Europe, China, and the US.

It is part of IDTechEx's broader mobility research portfolio, tracking the adoption of electric vehicles, battery trends, autonomy, and demand across land, sea, and air. Find out more at www.IDTechEx.com/en/research/future-mobility-subscription.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767808/Electric_Excavator_Endurance.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/478371/IDTechEx_Logo.jpg

Media Contact:

Natalie Moreton

Digital Marketing Manager

[email protected]

01223 810 261

SOURCE IDTechEx
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Europe Embedded Insurance Business and Investment Opportunities - Q1 2022 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Europe's Embedded Insurance industry is expected to grow by 30.8% on annual basis to reach US$10,781.8 million in 2022.



The embedded insurance industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 19.4% during 2022-2029. The embedded insurance revenues in the region will increase from US$10,781.8 million in 2022 to reach US$28,525.5 million by 2029.



The embedded insurance landscape is booming in Europe, and countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and France have made significant contributions to the region's embedded insurance business growth.



To remain competitive in the market and to keep pace with the ever-changing customer requirements, insurers in Europe are modifying their business models and working to improve their distribution channels. Furthermore, with the rising number of new entrants in the region, the European embedded insurance market is soaring. Considerable increases in fresh fundraising rounds are propelling the market to new heights.



According to the publisher analysis, European insurtech start-ups have surpassed the total capital investment of 2020 by more than US$ 1 billion in the first quarter of the year 2021, with a total of nearly US$ 2 billion invested across more than 50 transactions. Over the next four to eight quarters, rising finance activities are likely to raise embedded insurance demand.

In June 2021, German digital insurance start-up Wefox has raised a $650 million Series C funding round led by Target Global. Wefox is a digital insurer that specializes in personal insurance products such as home insurance, auto insurance, and personal liability insurance. With the latest fundraising round, the company has reached a total worth of US$ 3 billion.

In June 2021, Bought By Many, a pet insurance provider based in London, United Kingdom, raised US$ 350 million in Series D funding, totaling the company's value to over US$ 2 billion.

Both the companies are planning to utilize these funds to expand their operation across European countries.

The publisher anticipates continued investment rounds in the embedded insurance industry in Europe over the next four to eight quarters.

Emerging opportunities in drones' industry is set to propel the demand for embedded insurance



Drones have progressed from humble beginnings to being an integral part of military operations, and they have now firmly established themselves in the commercial and recreational realms. Diverse applications of drones, including drone cargo deliveries, flying taxi passenger flights, and drone swarm shows, are demanding specific use-based insurance solutions.



Embedded insurance solutions for drones are becoming increasingly popular among commercial insurance carriers. To cater to the ever-changing insurance requirements in the drone industry, insurance providers are offering insurance, based on new use-cases in the commercial drone industry.



Market players in the embedded insurance ecosystem combine their expertise through partnerships & collaboration strategies to develop tailored solutions for the drone market.

In January 2021, a Bermuda-based provider of property & casualty insurance and reinsurance Sompo International entered into a partnership with the United Kingdom-based insurtech Flock. Additionally, Sompo's aviation and aerospace insurance underwriting skills will be integrated with Flock's real-time risk algorithms as part of the partnership. The collaboration aims to boost the availability of crucial insurance for growing commercial drone use-cases.

Scope



Embedded Insurance Market Size and Forecast

Embedded Insurance by Industry, 2020 - 2029

Embedded Insurance in Consumer Products

Embedded Insurance in Travel & Hospitality

Embedded Insurance in Automotive

Embedded Insurance in Healthcare

Embedded Insurance in Real Estate

Embedded Insurance in Transport & Logistics

Embedded Insurance in Others

Embedded Insurance by Insurance Type, 2020 - 2029

Embedded Insurance in Life Segment

Embedded Insurance in Non-Life Segment

Embedded Insurance by Type of Offering, 2020 - 2029

Embedded Insurance in Product Segment

Embedded Insurance in Service Segment

Region and countries included in this report are:

Europe

Austria

Belgium

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Netherlands

Poland

Russia

Spain

Switzerland

United Kingdom

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6d8yqs

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
Timberline Solar Boasts World's First Nailable Solar Shingle and Installs Like a Traditional Roof

AUSTIN, Texas, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GAF Energy , a Standard Industries company and the leading provider of solar roofing in North America, today announced the launch of its innovative Timberline Solar roof to Austin-area residents. Timberline Solar is the only system to directly integrate solar technology into traditional roofing processes and materials. This new system incorporates the world's first nailable solar shingle, the Timberline Solar Energy Shingle ES, which is assembled domestically at GAF Energy's U.S. manufacturing and R&D facility.

"We're thrilled to launch our Timberline Solar roof in Austin. Now Austin-area residents have access to the award winning solar roof  and have a roof that pays for itself over time," said Keally DeWitt, Vice President of Communications for GAF Energy. "Solar roofs are the future of clean energy, and Timberline Solar is in a class of its own: reliable, durable, cost-effective, easy to install, and aesthetically superior. We're excited to bring the next generation of clean energy adoption to Austin."

Timberline Solar boasts an industry-defying depth of less than a quarter inch and integrates with traditional shingles to create a sleek and attractive look. It is the first product to achieve UL's 7103 certification, which authorizes GAF Energy to install the system on residential roofs as a roofing product and a solar energy product  the first of its kind to be recognized as both. In addition, GAF Energy worked with Sandia National Laboratories, a U.S. Department of Energy research and development lab, to verify the product's strength and durability.

Homeowners interested in solar roofing options and roofers interested in installing GAF Energy products can find out more at: www.gaf.energy .

About GAF Energy

GAF Energy is transforming the rooftop solar industry to generate "Energy from every roof". As a Standard Industries company, GAF Energy works in partnership with North America's largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer, GAF, offering homeowners elegant, roof-integrated solar options. The company also facilitates commercial tax equity financing for large-scale rooftop solar projects. For more information, visit www.gaf.energy .

SOURCE GAF Energy
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Band Type (X-Band, S-Band, X and S-Band, and Others), Platform (Ship Borne, Land Based, and Airborne), and End User (Ports Harbor Oil & Gas Companies and Maritime Patrol Agencies)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The coastal surveillance radar market was valued at US$ 964.61 million in 2021 and is projected to reach US$ 1,423.59 million by 2028; it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2021 to 2028.



The coastal surveillance radar is mainly used by the naval forces and coast guards to secure the coastlines from various marine threats. Following the marine disputes, the demand for constant and efficient maritime surveillance is being emphasized by all countries.

The need for coastal surveillance radar is driven by several factors, such as rising marine conflicts including at-sea piracy and drug and people trafficking through waterways. While water bodies have remained vital for trade between countries, their security has been a source of concern over time.

As it is simpler for smugglers to operate through the waterways, there has been an increase in the number of anti-social actions carried out on the bodies of water. As a result, the coastal surveillance radar market is expected to grow as more of these systems are installed by coastal guards and naval organizations.



In 2020, Europe accounted for the highest coastal surveillance radar market share in the global coastal surveillance radar market. Europe has been facing an increasing threat of immigrants from terrorist states over the years.

The biggest frontier of the continent, i.e., the sea, has seemed to be the most vulnerable front against these threats. As per the new statistics revealed by the defense authorities in the European region, unusual coastal stop-offs, smuggling, inexplicable voyages, and fake shipping logs have been on the rise across the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, with little or nothing being done to combat the trend.

As per the latest statistics of the EU, the percentage of illegal immigrants to Europe has plummeted by 60% compared to 2017, owing to increased security at these countries' borders and coastline borders. However, the countries are perceived to have fortified their land borders, although the security at the coastal routes remains a matter of concern for the European authorities. These factors have contributed to the growing adoption of coastal surveillance radar across the region, thereby contributing to the coastal surveillance radar market growth.



Key players operating in the market and profiled in the market study include

Aselsan A.S.

Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc

Blighter Surveillance Systems Ltd.

Easat Radar Systems Limited

GEM electronica

Elbit Systems Ltd.

Teledyne FLIR LLC

HENSOLDT

Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Terma A/S

Thales Group

L3Harris Technologies, Inc.

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1 Study Scope

1.2 Research Report Guidance

1.3 Market Segmentation



2. Key Takeaways



3. Research Methodology

3.1 Coverage

3.2 Secondary Research

3.3 Primary Research



4. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Landscape

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 PEST Analysis

4.3 Ecosystem Analysis

4.4 Expert Opinion



5. Coastal Surveillance Radar - Market Dynamics

5.1 Market Drivers

5.1.1 Increasing Military Expenditure across the Globe

5.1.2 Rising Adoption of Coastal Surveillance Radar System Across Emerging Economies

5.2 Market Restraint

5.2.1 Growing Adoption of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) for Surveillance Purposes

5.2.2 Low Infrastructures in Third World Country

5.3 Market Opportunities

5.3.1 Strategic Initiative by Major Players

5.4 Future Trends

5.4.1 Technological Advancements in Coastal Surveillance Radar Systems

5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints



6. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market - Global Market Analysis

6.1 Global Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Overview

6.2 Global Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Revenue Forecast and Analysis

6.3 Market Positioning - Five Key Players



7. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Revenue and Forecast To 2028 - Band Type

7.1 Overview

7.2 Coastal Surveillance Radar Market, By Band Type (2020 & 2028)

7.3 X-Band

7.4 S-Band

7.5 X and S-Band

7.6 Others



8. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Analysis and Forecast To 2028 - Platform

8.1 Overview

8.2 Coastal Surveillance Radar Market, By Platform (2020 & 2028)

8.3 Ship Borne

8.4 Land Based

8.5 Airborne



9. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market Analysis and Forecast To 2028 - End User

9.1 Overview

9.2 Coastal Surveillance Radar Market, By End User (2020 & 2028)

9.3 Ports Harbors and Oil & Gas Companies

9.4 Maritime Patrol Agencies



10. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market - Geographic Analysis

10.1 Overview



11. Coastal Surveillance Radar Market - COVID-19 Impact Analysis

11.1 Overview



12. Industry Landscape

12.1 Overview

12.2 Market Initiative



13. Company Profiles

13.1 Key Facts

13.2 Business Description

13.3 Products and Services

13.4 Financial Overview

13.5 SWOT Analysis

13.6 Key Developments

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wqkf4b

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
What's New for 2022?

Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial

Online interactive peer-to-peer collaborative bespoke updates

Access to our digital archives and MarketGlass Research Platform

Complimentary updates for one year

Edition: 8; Released: February 2022

Executive Engagements: 481

Companies: 36 - Players covered include Argus Imaging B.V.; CANBERRA Industries, Inc.; Compagnie De Saint-Gobain SA; Hamamatsu Photonics KK; Hitachi Metals Ltd.; Ludlum Measurements, Inc.; Mirion Technologies, Inc.; Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.; Rexon Components, Inc.; Rexon Inc.; Scintacor; Zecotek Photonics, Inc. and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: Type (Inorganic, Organic); Application (Healthcare, Homeland Security, Industrial, Other Applications)

Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Spain; Russia; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific (Australia; India; South Korea; and Rest of Asia-Pacific); Latin America (Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; and Rest of Latin America); Middle East (Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; and Rest of Middle East); and Africa.

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ABSTRACT-

Global Scintillators Market to Reach $536.8 Million by 2026

Scintillators are materials, which are capable of converting high energy radiation like gamma rays or X-rays into near visible or visible light. Scintillation or luminescence refers to the phenomenon when certain materials re-emit the light absorbed when they are struck by an incoming particle and absorb its energy. In some cases, the relaxation from the excited state to the lower states takes time; ranging from few nanoseconds to a few hours. At this time, delayed fluorescence or phosphorescence takes place. The wavelength of the optical photon that was emitted affects the transition. Scintillators are widely used in the form of detectors in the areas of medical diagnosis, geographical exploration and high energy physics. Scintillators can be liquid, solid or gaseous as well as organic or inorganic (such as single crystal, ceramics and glass). Changing dynamics in sectors such as manufacturing, defense, homeland security, nuclear power stations and healthcare is transforming the scintillators market. Increased government funding for R&D initiatives to foster innovations in scintillators space is also favoring market growth. Increasing investments in radiation monitoring space, particularly by homeland security agencies and the huge potential in innovative medical disciplines such as radiology, medical imaging and nuclear medicine are offering substantial opportunities for scintillator use for radiation detection applications. Rising safety concerns related to radiation exposure, favorable regulatory landscape, and research initiatives are additionally providing opportunities in the scintillators market.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Scintillators estimated at US$444 Million in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$536.8 Million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% over the analysis period. Inorganic, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 4.7% CAGR to reach US$371.5 Million by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Organic segment is readjusted to a revised 4.2% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 35.1% share of the global Scintillators market. Based on chemical composition, the most popular inorganic scintillators are sodium iodide scintillators owing to their properties such as high conversion coefficient, convenient range of emission, availability at low prices and ability to create large size crystals. Major end-use application areas of inorganic scintillators are homeland security, high-energy physics, defense, and nuclear power plants. In the recent years, focus on nuclear power generation in developing regions and rising concerns over safety of nuclear power plants in view of Fukushima disaster have propelled growth in the inorganic scintillators market.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $132.8 Million in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $73.9 Million by 2026

The Scintillators market in the U.S. is estimated at US$132.8 Million in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 30.26% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$73.9 Million in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 6.6% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 3.1% and 3.8% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 3.6% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$79.2 Million by the end of the analysis period.

Changing dynamics in sectors such as manufacturing, defense, homeland security, nuclear power stations and healthcare is transforming the scintillators market. Increased government funding for R&D initiatives to foster innovations in scintillators space is also favoring market growth. Increasing investments in radiation monitoring space, particularly by homeland security agencies and the huge potential in innovative medical disciplines such as radiology, medical imaging and nuclear medicine are offering substantial opportunities for scintillator use for radiation detection applications. Rising safety concerns related to radiation exposure, favorable regulatory landscape, and research initiatives are additionally providing opportunities in the scintillators market. The need for an alternative option for neutron detection is also an opportunity for the scintillators market. Research activities, government funding, supportive regulations, and safety concerns related to radiation exposure are expected to support market growth. In addition, investments in radiation monitoring in the applications such as homeland security, growing demand for advanced radiological medical activities have been adding to the market growth. Technological advancements, initiatives by the governments of various countries, development of cost-efficient technologically advanced products and growing funds for R&D activities in private organizations are the key factors driving use of scintillators in industries in both developed and developing countries. More

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SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo.

China and Indonesia are both representatives of major developing countries and emerging economies, Xi noted in the phone talks.

In the face of major global changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, both rarely in a century, Xi said, the two countries have moved forward hand in hand and risen to challenges, established a new pattern of bilateral cooperation on the "four-wheel drive" of political, economic, cultural and maritime affairs, and carried forward the main theme of solidarity against the pandemic and common development.

The two countries have set the general direction for jointly building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future, and set up a model of sincere cooperation between major developing countries, Xi added.

China stands ready to maintain close communication with Indonesia to push for new development of bilateral friendly cooperation and inject even greater stability and positive energy into regional and global development, Xi said.

Xi stressed that the two sides should implement the consensus reached on issues such as deepening COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, and continue to strengthen cooperation in fighting the pandemic.

Both sides, he said, should ensure that the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway can start to operate on schedule, well implement such key projects as the regional comprehensive economic corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks," and jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, so as to help accelerate Indonesia's development and bilateral cooperation.

China holds a positive attitude towards the projects as long as they are conducive to Indonesia's development and cooperation between the two countries, Xi added.

He called on both sides to maintain a stable global market and smooth supply chains worldwide, promote the concrete implementation of the Global Development Initiative, firmly safeguard the ASEAN-centered regional architecture which is open and inclusive, and stay committed to unity and cooperation for mutual benefits and win-win results.

China supports Indonesia in playing its role as the president of the Group of 20 (G20), and focusing on the theme of "Recover Together, Recover Stronger," so as to ensure the 2022 G20 Bali Summit a success, Xi added. 
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ABSTRACT-

Global UAV Ground Control Station Market to Reach $806.4 Million by 2026

UAVs or autonomously piloted aircrafts have been a major force in modern-day military applications and battlefield scenarios. With early generations of drones characterized by their large size and high cost, military agencies were the only ones to possess the specialized skills needed to operate these autonomous machines. In the past decade, UAVs have gradually transitioned from being expensive systems used solely by military agencies to an easily accessible commodity, which has opened up a slew of opportunities in the commercial space. Led by technology advancements over the years, accessibility and ease-of-use associated with drones has improved considerably, while costs have reduced substantially. As a result, drone technology is now emerging as a viable tool for individuals, government agencies, businesses and non-government organizations. Drones offer niche opportunities, allowing businesses to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. Improvements in software and hardware is further simplifying the use of drones enabling greater autonomy in functions such as data collection, collision avoidance, pre-programmed flight routing, active tracking, and Bluetooth communication among others. UAVs support a comprehensive range of military applications including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

UAVs intended for scouting purpose feature sensors and digital cameras, and are extensively employed to survey a territory, capture geospatial data, provide visual assistance to troops, monitor ground activities, and deliver military supply or humanitarian aid in a cost-efficient manner. UAVs, designed for warfare, are termed as unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) and carry aircraft ordnances for performing strikes and delivering payloads. Since combat drones are not operated by human pilots, they are less expensive and lighter in comparison to combat aircraft. The use of drones in military applications also reduces casualties associated with encounters or accidents. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for UAV Ground Control Station estimated at US$637 Million in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$806.4 Million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% over the analysis period. Hardware, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record 5.1% CAGR and reach US$602.1 Million by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Software segment is readjusted to a revised 6.5% CAGR for the next 7-year period.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $263.6 Million in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $142.8 Million by 2026

The UAV Ground Control Station market in the U.S. is estimated at US$263.6 Million in the year 2022. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$142.8 Million by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 7% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 4% and 4.5% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 5.7% CAGR.

GCSs are indispensable part of operation intended to control UAVs used in a diverse spectrum of military and commercial applications. GCS encompasses sophisticated software and hardware components that allow users to remotely control and communicate with the UAVs. The control is achieved by setting configurations for direct control or autonomous operations of UAVs. Generally deployed near or in operating or battlefield zones, GCSs can be located at different controlled bases. The increasing dependence on UAVs in battlefield operations, weather monitoring, law enforcement, research and several other areas makes GCSs a perfect solution for efficient, flexible control and monitoring of these vehicles.

Operations of GCSs rely heavily on processing units represented by computers powered by high-performance processors or bespoke systems built around embedded computing platforms. These stations use wireless data link subsystems for remotely communicating with unmanned vehicles. There is a two-way transmission of commands, telemetry data and sensor data like imager, video and measurements between GCSs and unmanned vehicles. A GCS relies on cellular and digital or analog communication that holds an operational range of hundreds of kilometers. The station comes with single or multiple LED-powered anti-glare and high-brightness screens for easy view even in bright daylight. The user interface of GCSs is intended to display information such as instrument overlays, map screens, flight parameters and camera payload feeds. The station's wireless data link communicates with control modules on unmanned vehicles for adjusting throttle and rotors. GCSs come with powerful computers for enabling operators of unmanned vehicles to install software for ensuring effective, compliant and safe operation. Moreover, GCSs feature different types of control systems such as joystick for aircraft or payload, mouse, keyboard and throttle controllers.

By End-Use, Defense Segment to Reach $721.9 Million by 2026

Global market for Defense (End-Use) segment estimated at US$530.8 Million is projected to reach US$721.9 Million by 2026 reflecting a compounded annual growth rate of 5.3% over the analysis period. The United States constitutes the largest regional market for Defense segment, accounting for 42.5% of the global sales. China is poised to register the fastest compounded annual growth rate of 6.7% over the analysis period, to reach US$134.8 Million by the close of the analysis period.

Susceptibility to Cyber Threats, a Major Challenge

As the use of UAVs becomes more widespread, they are vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to their reliance on virtual cyber networks and embedded computational systems for their operation. Such cyber intrusion can result in information corruption, defective operation of the control loop and denial of service attacks. The lack of adequate cyber security protections exposes critical mission data to the potential risk of cybersecurity attacks. The increasing use of personal smart devices such as smartphones and tablets for sharing and receiving videos and images remotely from the UAV or the ground control station also introduces security vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain access to networks and private data. The efficiency of the communication link between a UAV and the GCS is a key aspect in military applications, delivery services, and search and rescue operations. All the communication between the UAVs and ground station controller typically use the Wi-Fi network, which is vulnerable to security breaches. The use of an unencrypted Wi-Fi to communicate and control UAVs allows any individual to connect and hack. The two-way link between the ground station and the UAV is vulnerable to GPS spoofing attack. GPS enables a UAV's navigation, and lack of encryption of the signals allows for a GPS-spoofing attack. In GPS spoofing, fake GPS coordinates are transmitted to the control system and allows the UAV to be hijacked and in complete control of the attacker. More

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SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
LAS VEGAS, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GNCC Capital, Inc. (GNCP.PK) ("The Company", "GNCC" or "GNCP") can now confirm that it has just completed and executed all of the various Agreements in respect of its entry into the Lithium Exploration Sector.

The three parties to these transactions are publicly traded. To that end, we are now coordinating the content and timing of the requisite Regulatory Filings and detailed Press Releases.

At this point we are confirming the salient points of these transactions; prior to our detailed Regulatory Filings and Press Release:-

These Agreements have been transacted with a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, namely USA Lithium Holdings Corporation, hereinafter referred to as "USAL:"; and

Lithium Holdings Corporation, hereinafter referred to as "USAL:"; and The Lithium Project consists of 24 Lode and 27 Placer Claims divided into three Claim Blocks totaling some 1,020 acres; and

These claims are located in Esmeralda County, Nevada ; and

; and Trenches and open pits from prior gold and / or uranium mining / exploration are located on certain of these Claims. At this point, our focus is upon the Lithium deposits with a secondary focus on these potential Uranium deposits; and

The loans secured by USAL are secured and total an initial minimal amount of $1,300,000 in cash over a set period of time solely for exploration work costs plus additional immediate upfront cash payments. Dependent upon the results of exploration work to be carried out; significant additional funding could well be required by USAL on a going forward basis. GNCC Capital, Inc. has not been required to guarantee these loans. These loans have been secured for this transaction by USAL and without any recourse to GNCC; and

in cash over a set period of time solely for exploration work costs plus additional immediate upfront cash payments. Dependent upon the results of exploration work to be carried out; significant additional funding could well be required by USAL on a going forward basis. GNCC Capital, Inc. has not been required to guarantee these loans. These loans have been secured for this transaction by USAL and without any recourse to GNCC; and This transaction is completely cash based and with no GNCC shares of whatsoever nature being issued, nor any Promissory Notes, Convertible Notes, Warrants and Options; and

All of the day to day and operational decisions will be overseen by the Company's President, Mr. Ted Blom and he will be coordinating with both a Nevada based Geological Company and a Geologist; both of whom have an acceptable and proven track record in this geological area and in the Lithium Exploration and Mining Sector.

Full details will be submitted to the public markets and within no less than 3 (Three) Business Days as is required under OTC Market Rules and Regulations in respect of "Material Events".

It is our intention to provide full and very detailed descriptions and to include our initial and secondary Exploration Planning on the Company's website which we now expect to be completed by late next week. The Company will obviously not be providing any specific dates nor any nonpublic information to any and all individual shareholder requests until such time as all material information is in the public domain.

We intend to address other material matters pertaining to the Company over the forthcoming weeks.

To summarize, your Directors are truly delighted with the outcome of these negotiations and now the closure of these transactions.

We are incredibly grateful for the incredible support and we are indeed honored by the trust placed in ourselves by all of the other parties involved in these transactions. Given numerous other offers by third parties that we faced and overcame; we can assure our shareholders that your and all other parties' faith in your Directors combined decades of experience and successes in the Mining Exploration sector will not be misplaced.

This was not an easy nor an uncomplicated series of transactions given the scarcity of quality Lithium Exploration Projects, multiple bidders and the availability of immediate funding; nor any onerous or unreasonable demands by our Financiers.

Our message to our shareholders is that you now have an invigorated and motivated Board of Directors dedicated to delivery upon our promises and communications and with one sole objective that we all share; that being the rapid creation of value of our Company. Your Directors are delighted to be finally fully funded and having our Company's assets significantly expanded; thereby now resulting in our immediate resumption of the business of Mining Exploration, proving up reserves and creating actual tangible and real value for our shareholders.

Forward Looking Statements:-

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "should," "intend," "estimate," "projects," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions.

The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file with the OTC Markets Group.

Contact Information:

GNCC CAPITAL, INC.

Telephone: (702) 990-0156

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gncccapital

SOURCE GNCC Capital, Inc.
"El Favor East continues to provide great results for us, with high grade intercepts surrounded by wider zones of good potentially bulk mineable grades such as those shown in hole 113," said Brad Langille, President and CEO. "Results such as these are what we believe will help us achieve our goal of aggressively expanding our mineral resources at Los Ricos in 2022."

Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections

Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2



(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGF-21-110 El Favor East 30.7 31.7 1.0 0.15 72.7 1.12 84.2

and 132.6 133.8 1.2 0.24 81.8 1.33 99.9 LRGF-21-111 El Favor East 171.0 177.0 6.0 0.18 100.5 1.52 114.0

including 171.0 172.1 1.1 0.09 210.0 2.89 216.9

and 234.1 236.5 2.4 0.47 140.1 2.34 175.4 LRGF-21-112 El Favor East 117.6 118.8 1.2 0.50 151.8 2.52 189.2 LRGF-21-113 El Favor East 157.4 159.1 1.7 0.90 257.0 4.33 324.5

and 274.2 319.6 45.5 0.52 97.0 1.81 135.7

including 280.9 281.8 0.9 13.05 716.3 22.60 1,695.0 LRGF-21-114 El Favor East 74.5 79.5 5.0 0.42 92.7 1.66 124.4

including 76.4 78.5 2.1 0.69 169.2 2.95 221.1

and 381.1 388.5 7.4 0.36 107.5 1.79 134.5

including 386.7 387.9 1.2 1.03 327.9 5.40 405.0



1. Not true width

2. AqEq converted using a silver to gold ratio of 75:1 at recoveries of 100%

The exploration team has been moving east of El Favor with drilling stepouts in the eastern end of El Favor, beginning with discovery hole 48, and continuing to intersect wide strong mineralization. This area is known as the El Favor East zone, and a mapping and drilling program has extended the presence of mineralization 900m to the east of hole 48 (El Favor East zone discovery hole), as shown in Figure 1. To date, approximately 800m of El Favor East has been drilled showing the strong mineralization. The drill holes in this release were not included in the initial Mineral Resource Estimate for Los Ricos North released on December 7, 2021, hole LRGF-21-094 was the final drill hole included in that resource.

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length LRGF-21-110 586353 2336742 1350 180 -45 287 LRGF-21-111 586276 2336791 1374 180 -45 329 LRGF-22-112 586643 2336801 1315 180 -50 425 LRGF-22-113 586501 2336741 1338 180 -45 349 LRGF-22-114 586675 2336767 1313 180 -50 434

In September, the company commissioned TMC Exploracion to complete an IP survey using the Pole:Dipole array on the El Favor property. The grid consists of a network of 28 N/S profiles spaced every 100 m from L-2W to L-25E ranging in length from 0.85 to 2.0 km. The survey outlined several high chargeability anomalies representative of the sulphide mineralization along the El Favor  El Favor East zone. A geophysical map showing anomalies and drilling targets is included as Figure 2 below.

El Favor is located approximately 800 meters along strike to the east of the El Orito deposit. The combined systems cover approximately 2.9km in mineralized strike length over a 3.7km distance. At El Orito, wide zones of precious and base metal mineralization were cut by drill holes at El Orito at elevations between 600 to 900m. The drill holes at El Favor have cut primarily silver-gold mineralization with trace to minor amounts of base metals at a higher elevation in the system, between 1,050m to 1,400m, compared to the semi-massive to massive base metal sulphide mineralization seen deeper in the El Orito deposit.

VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation

VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps.

The VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation for GoGold can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/decks/10437 and on the Company's website at: www.gogoldresources.com.

Los Ricos District Exploration Projects

The Company's two exploration projects at its Los Ricos Property are in Jalisco state, Mexico. The Los Ricos South Project began in March 2019 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on July 29, 2020 which disclosed a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 63.7 million ounces AgEq grading 199 g/t AgEq contained in 10.0 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.9 million ounces AgEq grading 190 g/t AgEq contained in 3.3 million tonnes. An initial PEA on the project was announced on January 20, 2021 indicating an NPV 5% of US$295M.

The Los Ricos North Project was launched in March 2020 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on December 7, 2021, which disclosed an Indicated Mineral Resource of 87.8 million ounces AgEq grading 122 g/t AgEq contained in 22.3 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.2 million ounces AgEq grading 111 g/t AgEq contained in 20.5 million tonnes. The Company has a drill program for an additional 100,000 metres of drilling for 2022 in place.

Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ActLabs facility in Zacatecas, Mexico. ActLabs crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 50-gram charge by fire assay (Code 1A2-50) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 1A3-50). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code 1F2 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code 8-Ag FA-GRAV Ag).

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed GoGold's QA/QC protocols.

Mr. David Duncan, P. Geo. is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information of this release.

About GoGold Resources

GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States.

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release.

SOURCE GoGold Resources Inc.
CHICAGO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles based GreenLake Asset Management LLC ("GreenLake") has funded a $16,500,000 loan to refinance medical office condominiums in Blue Island, IL. The borrower acquired a vacant hospital, MetroSouth Medical Center, in 2019 and converted it into a mixed-use healthcare center which comprises medical offices, student housing and a commissary.

As the only medical offices in the region equipped with ready-to-move-in hospital grade infrastructure, the property is well positioned to bring in new tenants quickly. It is ideal for urgent care, outpatient surgery, pain care, doctors' offices and life science labs, and several major tenants have already signed leases.

Peter Chang, Managing Principal at GreenLake stated, "This deal was complex since the hospital was divided and condominiumized into three different uses, and the condo declaration was created in parallel with GreenLake's underwriting. While GreenLake's loan was originally scheduled to close after the residential component, we were able to accommodate the borrower and close ahead of the other lender. The borrower is an experienced developer with over 30 years of experience, and we have great confidence in their team and vision in this specialized sector."

Founded in 2008, GreenLake Asset Management LLC and its affiliates provide short-term commercial bridge loans nationwide. GreenLake offers creative, flexible and time-sensitive capital solutions for a broad spectrum of real estate special situations. GreenLake lends across a range of asset classes including hospitality, industrial, multi-family, self-storage, mixed-use, office and retail.

Contact:

Kamau Coleman

Director, Originations

626.529.1084

[email protected]

Adam Frank

Vice President, Originations

646.766.0288

[email protected]

Renee Volaric

Vice President, Originations

646.766.0286

[email protected]

www.greenlakefund.com

SOURCE GreenLake Asset Management LLC
Pioneer in the Field of Immuno-Oncology Brings Unique Expertise to Support Company's Advancement of Lead ERAP1 Inhibitor Development Candidate into the Clinic in 2H 2022

Grey Wolf's Proprietary Neoantigen Generation Technology Platform Represents Potential New Pillar in Oncology Therapeutics

OXFORD, United Kingdom, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grey Wolf Therapeutics, a biotechnology company spearheading a new therapeutic approach to immuno-oncology driven by targeted neoantigen generation, today announced the appointment of Cassian Yee, M.D., to its clinical advisory board. Dr. Yee is a professor in the department of melanoma medical oncology and the department of immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as director of the solid tumor cell therapy program at MD Anderson. He is a highly regarded immuno-oncology thought leader, and widely considered a pioneer in the field of adoptive cellular therapy.

Today, the Yee Lab is developing adoptive cellular therapy as a treatment modality for patients with malignant and viral diseases. Over the last 18 years, Dr. Yee's research has been focused on the isolation of autologous antigen-specific T cells from the peripheral blood, manipulation of immune modulating parameters to enhance effector function and persistence and their expansion to numbers sufficient for adoptive transfer and in vivo tracking. He is a co-leader of the Stand Up to Cancer/Cancer Research Institute Immunotherapy Dream Team.

Prior to his current appointments at MD Anderson, Dr. Yee previously held the position of professor in the division of oncology at the University of Washington and was also a member in program in immunology within the clinical research division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He holds more than 15 worldwide patents on ex vivo generation of antigen specific T cells, memory reprogramming and antigen discovery in an effort to establish immunotherapy-based cancer treatments on a global scale. Dr. Yee received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, in Canada.

Dr Yee will join Aurelien Marabelle, M.D., Ph.D. and Rachel W. Humphrey, M.D., on the Grey Wolf Therapeutics clinical advisory board. Together, they will provide the company with key guidance to support its planned advancement of GRWD5769, the company's lead ERAP1 inhibitor development candidate, into first-in-human clinical studies in the second half of 2022.

"Dr. Yee has established himself as one the world's foremost authorities on T cell receptor-based therapeutic modalities and the translation of those approaches into impactful treatments for cancer patients. We believe that his expertise is particularly relevant to the work we are doing at Grey Wolf Therapeutics based on what we believe is the unique potential to combine TCR-based approaches with our first-of-its-kind ERAP inhibition platform," said Peter Joyce, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Grey Wolf Therapeutics. "We are excited to have access to Dr. Yee's expansive knowledge as we move closer to advancing our unique approach to immuno-oncology into the clinic later this year. Together with Drs. Humphrey and Marabelle, Dr. Yee provides Grey Wolf with an impressive clinical advisory board ideally suited for our company's focus and stage of development."

"Grey Wolf is advancing a completely new immuno-oncology paradigm which holds significant promise as a standalone therapeutic modality, as well as a potential combination treatment alongside a variety of other anti-cancer approaches including TCR-based therapeutics and immunotherapy. I welcome the opportunity to provide my insight and expertise to the Grey Wolf team to support its ongoing efforts to translate the promising preclinical research supporting this cutting-edge science into patients in clinical trials," said Dr. Yee.

Grey Wolf Therapeutics' first-of-its-kind immuno-oncology approach is centered on dramatically increasing the visibility of tumors to allow for their identification and destruction by the body's immune system. This is achieved through targeted inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP1 and ERAP2), causing the generation and presentation of novel and potent neoantigens to the surface of tumor cells. The appearance of these neoantigens uncloaks the tumor cells, illuminating them to the immune system and setting in motion powerful, differentiated T cell responses against the tumor. Importantly, this unique approach is orthogonal to a broad range of other cancer therapy modalities, including, but not limited to, immunotherapy. Grey Wolf Therapeutics is developing a portfolio of ERAP inhibitors that it believes represents the first ever application of direct neoantigen generation to the treatment of cancer.

About Grey Wolf Therapeutics

Grey Wolf Therapeutics is a UK-based drug discovery biotechnology company spearheading a new therapeutic approach to immuno-oncology driven by targeted neoantigen generation. The company's first-of-its-kind immuno-oncology approach is centered on dramatically increasing the visibility of tumors to allow for their identification and destruction by the body's immune system. Based on this approach, the company is developing a portfolio of first-in-class small molecules that inhibit the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP1 and ERAP2), which play a key role in the antigen presentation pathway. The company's lead development candidate, GRWD5769 is a potent and selective ERAP1 inhibitor that is expected to enter the clinic in the second half of 2022. A second program, focused on ERAP2 inhibition, is advancing through the discovery process.

For more information, please visit: www.greywolftherapeutics.com

Contacts:

Grey Wolf Therapeutics

Peter Joyce

Chief Executive Officer

+44 (0) 01865 292 038

[email protected]

Vida Strategic Partners (on behalf of Grey Wolf Therapeutics)

Tim Brons (Media)

415-675-7402

[email protected]

SOURCE Grey Wolf Therapeutics
GrubMarket acquires SunFed, a highly reputable produce provider based in southern Arizona and Texas that produces and distributes high quality squashes, fruits and vegetables to customers across the United States.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GrubMarket today announced it has completed the acquisition of Nogales, Arizona-based SunFed, a successful and tech-driven fresh produce company that provides the highest quality fruits, vegetables and dry goods that are produced by growers in over 30 locations, including 15 Mexican regions. SunFed currently operates in Arizona and Texas, is one of the top importers of squash into the U.S., and has a strong reputation for being an industry leader in both technology adoption as well as food safety practices.

Founded nearly 30 years ago by original owners Warren Mizokami and Danny Mandel, SunFed is now run by Craig Slate, who became CEO in 2017. Today, SunFed is a full service food distribution and wholesale business with a 65,000 square feet warehouse and state-of-the-art processing facilities. SunFed's warehouses also have photovoltaic solar panels, which offset 85% of their total energy consumption. In addition, SunFed has adopted other sustainability initiatives like using modified atmosphere and humidity packaging to extend shelf life, launching organic-certified growing programs, and introducing their "Almost Famous" brand that repurposes and resells cosmetically imperfect produce to reduce food waste. After the acquisition, the business will continue to be managed by its current experienced and mission-driven leadership team.

"We are excited to join the GrubMarket team and welcome the opportunities brought forth by GrubMarket's robust technology platform and strong eCommerce supply and demand network. We are constantly striving to deliver on our promise of Perfect Produce to our customers throughout North America, and also seek to strengthen and grow our best-in-class grower network. We are thrilled to learn that GrubMarket shares this same goal and has built out such a well-integrated and much-needed eCommerce and technology-enabled platform to bring fresh food to so many important customers across the country. We sincerely look forward to joining the GrubMarket team and to bringing more organic and farmer-direct fresh food to GrubMarket's end customers," said Craig Slate, CEO of SunFed.

According to Mike Xu, CEO of GrubMarket: "SunFed is one of the most trusted brands in the nation for squashes and other dry vegetables, watermelons, cantaloupe, and honeydews. The SunFed team has always been a leader in technology, utilizing indoor growing mechanisms and innovative post-harvest practices to improve on product freshness. Craig, Matt, and the exceptional team at SunFed have scaled the company to over one hundred million in annual revenues with a strong profitability profile. In addition, they are mission-driven with strong sustainability and food safety practices, which match GrubMarket's goals and ambitions. This acquisition enables GrubMarket to further strengthen our presence in key markets like Texas and Arizona, while solidifying our position in the food supply chain industry as a technology-enabler. We are excited to welcome the SunFed team to the GrubMarket family."

As a part of GrubMarket's portfolio, SunFed will now utilize GrubMarket's innovative and proprietary WholesaleWare software suite, the company's software-as-a-service platform that provides food industry wholesalers and distributors with seamless financial management, easy-to-use sales and online ordering features, precise inventory management, lot traceability and tracking, grower accounting, and automated routing and logistics tools.

About GrubMarket

Founded in 2014, GrubMarket is a San Francisco-based food technology company operating in the space of food supply chain eCommerce for both business customers and end consumers, as well as providing related software-as-a-service solutions to digitally transform the American and global food supply chain. Currently, GrubMarket operates in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and British Columbia (Canada), with plans to expand to the rest of the U.S., Canada, and other parts of the world.

For Media Inquiries:

GrubMarket Media Team

[email protected]

(510) 556-4786

GrubMarket Inc.

1925 Jerrold Ave.

San Francisco, CA, 94124

SOURCE GrubMarket
SHANGHAI, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Henlius (2696.HK) announced its annual results for the year ended December 31st, 2021, sharing the company's recent noteworthy progress and achievements. As a global innovative biopharmaceutical company, Henlius is committed to offering high-quality, affordable and innovative biopharmaceuticals to patients worldwide with 4 products launched in China, 1 in Europe, and 12 indications around the globe, focusing on oncology, autoimmune diseases, ophthalmic diseases, etc. Up to date, the company has benefited over 170,000 patients worldwide. In 2021, Henlius' revenue increased by 186.3% year-on-year (YoY) to RMB 1.68 billion, primarily from sales of various products and licensing revenue. Among them, HANQUYOU (trastuzumab, Zercepac in Europe) delivered solid growth in China and Europe, reaching a sales revenue of RMB 868.0 million with a 692.7% YoY increase and RMB 62.2 million from the Chinese market and international market, respectively. The company also received an oversea licensing revenue and revenue from R&D services of RMB 30.2 million.

Based on unmet clinical needs, Henlius also continues to unleash innovation potential by enhancing in-house capabilities and strengthening collaboration on external innovative assets. In 2021, the company's R&D expenditure reached approximately RMB 1.76 billion. During the Reporting Period, the company saw robust clinical progress in 12 projects and received multiple clinical approvals on 6 candidates and 1 combination therapy worldwide. As of the Latest Practicable Date, more than 70 clinical trials have been approved worldwide, and more than a total of 20 clinical trials have been carried out in various countries and regions, including China, the European Union (EU), the United States (U.S.), Australia, the Philippines, and Turkey.



Wenjie Zhang, Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Henlius, remarked: "In 2021, we made significant progress on our innovation agenda as well as the evolution from a biotech company to a biopharma. We will continue to extend the breadth of our value chain and refuel our momentum for development. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to shareholders and communities for your great support and trust. Staying true to our spirit of 'entrepreneurship, innovation and creation,' we will do all we can for the development of China biopharmaceuticals."

Accelerating the commercialization to step into a new stage



HANQUYOU (trastuzumab, Zercepac in Europe) is the core anti-tumour product of Henlius indicated for the treatment of HER2 positive breast and gastric cancer patients, benefiting more than 40,000 patients to date. It is the first product commercialized by the company's in-house commercial team that lays a favorable foundation for the overall increase in the sales of HANQUYOU. In 2021, HANQUYOU launched a new dosage form of 60mg. Together with the 150 mg form, HANQUYOU can flexibly meet the clinical medication needs of breast cancer patients with different body weights through more dosage forms and provide patients with personalized and more economical treatment plans. Moreover, Henlius is actively building an international commercial network for HANQUYOU and has joined forces with overseas partners such as Accord, a global pharmaceutical company, to promote the commercialization of Zercepac in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. In 2021, Zercepac (150mg) has been successfully launched in nearly 20 European countries and regions, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Spain. The new dosage forms of 60mg and 420mg were also approved in 2021 for marketing in the EU region. In addition, Henlius signed an agreement with Accord's parent company, Intas, to further increase commercialization licenses in U.S. and Canada and its BLA is expected to be submitted to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022. To date, HANQUYOU has access to more than 80 countries and regions, spanning both mature and emerging markets.

HANLIKANG (rituximab injection) is the first-ever China-manufactured biosimilar approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in 2019. As of now, it has benefited more than 100,000 Chinese patients. The domestic commercial sales of HANLIKANG is being handled by Jiangsu Fosun, a subsidiary of Fosun Pharma. In 2021, HANLIKANG (rituximab) received a profit-sharing of RMB 542.5 million from Fosun Pharma and licensing revenue of RMB 10.4 million. Up to date, HANLIKANG has been approved by NMPA for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for which the originator rituximab has not been approved in China, making it the rituximab with the most approved indications in China. This product is available with 2 dosage forms, 100mg/10ml and 500mg/50ml, allowing for more flexible drug dosing. In February 2022, HANLIKANG was approved for RA as the first rituximab approved for this indication in China. It will effectively improve patients' quality of life with the advantages of low-frequency administration and long-lasting efficacy, reaching a broader patient population.



HANDAYUAN (adalimumab injection) is the company's first monoclonal antibody for autoimmune diseases and was approved by the NMPA in December 2020. It is indicated for RA, ankylosing spondylitis, plaque psoriasis and uveitis. Jiangsu Wanbang is responsible for the commercial sales of HANDAYUAN in China. By the end of 2021, the company received a profit-sharing of RMB 21.8 million and licensing revenue of RMB 1.0 million. Henlius actively expands the overseas distribution of HANDAYUAN, in February 2022, it entered into a collaboration agreement with Getz Pharma to commercialize HANDAYUAN in 11 emerging markets such as Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Nigeria, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, thereby speeding up the company's faster global commercialisation layout.

HANBEITAI (bevacizumab), approved by the NMPA in December 2021, is another marked product of Henlius in the field of oncology. It is indicated for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and unresectable, locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (nsNSCLC). Henlius is responsible for the commercial sales of HANBEITAI in China. In 2022, the company will actively promote the product's access to basic medical insurance and hospitals, and gradually increase the sales under the 'dual-channel' scheme. Besides, Henlius plans to file a supplemental application for additional indications, including glioblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, cervical cancer, and recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer in 2022.

PD-1 inhibitor serplulimab is about to be approved with outstanding readouts from Phase 3 trial in small cell lung cancer

The serplulimab (innovative anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody) is the first innovative monoclonal antibody independently developed by Henlius and also a significant milestone in the company's evolution toward Biopharma. Two indications of serplulimab are expected to be approved by NMPA in 2022, in which the NDA of its first indication for the treatment of microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) solid tumours has been accepted with priority review and is expected to be approved in the first half of 2022. An NDA for another indication, locally advanced and metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (sqNSCLC), has also been accepted. In preparation for the launch of serplulimab, Henlius aimed to recruit around 200 people within 2022 and quickly implement a differentiated strategy for market penetration.

With serplulimab as the backbone, a total of 9 immuno-oncology combination therapies clinical trials are ongoing worldwide in a wide variety of high-incidence solid tumours, including lung cancer (LC), hepatocellular cancer, esophageal carcinoma, head and neck carcinoma, gastric cancers, etc. Henlius has carried out a comprehensive first-line treatment layout for LC in sqNSCLC, nsNSCLC and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which covers more than 90% of lung cancer patients. Two international multi-center Phase 3 clinical trials are ongoing for sqNSCLC and SCLC in China, Turkey, Poland, Georgia and other countries and regions, enrolling more than 30% of Caucasians. In December 2021, the Phase 3 clinical study (ASTRUM-005) of serplulimab in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of SCLC met the primary study endpoint of the overall survival (OS) with remarkable readouts and the NDA in China and the EU are expected to be submitted in 2022, making serplulimab potentially the world's first anti-PD-1 mAb for the first-line treatment of SCLC. By the end of 2021, over 2,800 patients have been enrolled worldwide. The company has accumulated abundant international clinical research data that can strongly support future fillings in mainstream markets such as U.S. and the EU.

The pipeline expansion is fueled by innovation, resulting in a robust global R&D layout

Rooted in unmet medical needs, Henlius strives to promote its innovation and R&D capabilities. Synergising the Innovation centres in China and the US, the company continues the momentum for a diversified innovation with independent development accounts for over 80% of the product pipeline by enhancing internal innovation capacities and reaching out to more strategic partners. The company aggressively pushes its early R&D research capabilities further while also upgrading its technology platform. Henlius is currently looking into novel coupling techniques in effort to grow its presence in antibodies and oncology, while also focusing on the non-oncology therapeutic areas such as metabolism, cardiovascular, inflammation, etc., with the aim of advancing candidates for a promising pipeline.

In 2021, Henlius promoted in-depth research and development, unlocking the potential of the novel candidate targets including TIGIT, 4-1BB, BRAF V600E, LAG-3, CD73, etc. The two potential first-in-class bispecific antibodies, HLX301 (anti-PD-L1TIGIT bispecific antibody) and HLX35 (anti-4-1BBEGFR bispecific antibody), has completed the first subject dosing in Phase 1 clinical study in Australia. Meanwhile, the company's new ophthalmic preparation product HLX04-O (anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody), independently developed through optimizing the prescription, specifications and production processes of HANBEITAI, was approved to carry out clinical trials in China, Australia, U.S., the EU, Singapore, and other countries. The company will advance the international multi-center clinical trials in 2022. In addition, a Phase 2 clinical trial of HLX22, an anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) humanized monoclonal antibody injection, in combination with HANQUYOU and chemotherapy as first-line therapy for HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer patients has completed the first subject dosing in 2021.

Henlius has also committed to replenishing the innovative candidate targets through in-licensing. The company's in-licensed product HLX208 (BRAF V600E inhibitor) has been approved by the NMPA for conducting clinical trials. It has the potential to be used in combination with the company's multiple candidate targets and create new combinations that unlock additional indications such as LC and mCRC. Recently, it has been dosed in patients with Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) with BRAF V600E mutation. Next, Henlius will tap its potential for a broader range of indications and patients.

Integrated manufacturing platform ensures high-quality large-scale production



The company continue to build an integrated manufacturing platform, translating its R&D efforts into social impact and commercial results. The company's commercial capacity reached 24,000L in 2021, and that in 2022 is expected to double. Towards 2025, the design capacity is planned to rise from 84,000L to 144,000L. In 2021, Xuhui facility, certificated by China and the EU GMP earlier, has ramped up its capacity from 20,000L to 24,000L. The company is also exploring localized alternatives for key materials and process development approaches to mitigate the risk of supply shortages and a lack of supporting facilities under the current international situation. Moreover, the Phase I project of Songjiang First Plant was approved for the manufacturing of HANQUYOU with the goal of putting its constructed 24,000L capacity into operation in 2022 and passing the FDA GMP inspection in the first half of 2023. The Phase I project of Songjiang Second Plant has a planned total capacity of 96,000L to get Henlius well positioned for its fast-growing industry transformation and global commercialisation blueprint. In detail, the first and second stages of this project aim to achieve a total capacity of 36,000L. They are expected to enter trial production and relevant verifications in the second half of 2022. In addition, plans are underway for the third stage of this project. The construction of its 60,000L capacity is scheduled to commence in 2022.

While ramping up capacity progress, the company is determined to accelerate the development and industrialisation of advanced production techniques such as continuous manufacturing technology and achieve economies of scale, leading to a rapid decline in the cost of its products and a streamlined manufacturing process. In 2021, the company successfully launched China's first continuous manufacturing clinical production workshop to achieve end-to-end continuous production and thus improving productivity with stable and controllable quality.



Going forward, Henlius will keep its innovation momentum pivoting on unmet clinical needs, continue to round out its diversified development strategy of enhancing in-house capabilities and strengthening collaboration on external innovative assets, and intensify efforts to foster innovation and make great progress in R&D, manufacturing and commercialisation, evolving into a more full-fledged biopharma with keener competitiveness.

SOURCE Henlius
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hum, the only Customer Data Platform (CDP) purpose built for scholarly and professional publishing, launches AI-powered solutions that make unifying and activating first-party publisher data easier and more affordable than ever before.

According to a 2021 study, 85% of publishers acknowledge that first-party data will be important to the future of their business. Yet, only 7% are very satisfied with their current solution for activating first-party data.

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More Information:

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To get started, contact Hum's team to discuss your most pressing growth goals.

About Hum:

Hum is a team of digital experts enabled by the only Customer Data Platform purpose-built to help scholarly and professional publishers grow. Hum's CDP unifies technology systems and tracks digital interactions to provide a 360-degree view of every reader, author and subscriber. Hum activates this first-party intelligence to help publishers grow.

Hum comes out of Silverchair, an organization with 25 years of experience in connecting the biggest brands in scholarly and professional publishing with global communities.

Client Feedback:

"We are excited about aggregating the information from all of our systems into one convenient platform. Hum informs SSP's strategy and focus so that we can develop the experiences that our members need and expect."

- Melanie Dolecheck, Executive Director, Society for Scholarly Publishing

Related Links:

SOURCE Hum
"This electric bus project is vital to our students' futures and it would not have been possible without the help of InCharge Energy, Creative Bus Sales and IC Bus," said Jim Burleson, Director of Transportation for the Moreno Valley Unified School District. "We know children on school buses are exposed to five times more atmospheric pollutants, which puts them at risk of quite a few health conditions over time. We need initiatives like this to protect our children now and to ensure future generations thrive in a healthy environment."

This electrified school bus fleet will have substantial benefits for the Moreno Valley community. First, the quieter electric buses will reduce noise pollution and provide a safer transportation option for all students, especially for special needs and medically fragile students. Second, the vehicles drive more smoothly for students due to its continuous drivetrain and quiet operation. Third, bus drivers can better serve their passengers in the virtually silent vehicles. Fourth, the new electric buses will reduce more than 1.2 million pounds in carbon emissions across the Moreno Valley, which has an "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" rating on the Air Quality Index. Finally, the school district expects 75% cost savings on bus maintenance, fuel and operations, allowing more funding to go to classrooms.

This initiative represents the largest electric school bus purchase in California. IC Bus and Creative Bus Sales will supply the school district with 42-passenger IC electric buses while InCharge Energy will install and maintain 43 ABB TERRA 24 kW DC fast chargers. InCharge Energy will begin work on the EV charging infrastructure in April. The school district expects to be driving students in all 42 buses by the start of the new school year.

InCharge Energy worked closely with MVUSD and Creative Bus Sales to generate grants and incentives from the federal government, the state of California and Southern California Edison, which bolstered the school district's commitment to this electrification project. The two companies secured vouchers from California's Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP) for vehicles, hardware and installation. The school district also received funds from California's Carl Moyer program and partnered with the South Coast Air Quality Management District for a US EPA Airshed Grant. Southern California Edison will provide funding support from its Charge Ready program for necessary utility upgrades, EV chargers and their installation.

"We're excited to partner with MVUSD and many other industries and school districts on large-scale electrification projects like this, which will help solve some of the social inequalities and community health challenges that result from our current high-polluting transportation model," said Terry O'Day, COO of InCharge Energy. "With this school bus fleet transition for Moreno Valley, we hope other school districts see the positive impacts on the community and start the process to electrify their own bus fleets. There are plenty of resources to help school districts begin this journey  and save money from the outset."

For more information about InCharge Energy services and funding opportunities, please visit: www.inchargeus.com

About InCharge Energy

InCharge Energy is on the frontlines of large-scale emissions reduction, accelerating the electrification of the transportation industry  one commercial fleet at a time. With end-to-end, turnkey solutions for commercial EV infrastructure projects, InCharge Energy equips fleet managers with the top brands in charging hardware and software; customized hardware and software products; short-, mid- and long-range plans for seamless fleet and facilities transition to EVs; financing; and maintenance and corrective repairs over the life of the charging assets.

InCharge develops innovative hardware, software and services designed and engineered specifically for fleets, such as service-dispatch-integrated software, fleet-management-integrated software, electricity load management, durable cable management products and high-reliability maintenance, repair and warranty services. Whether a fleet has 200 sedans or 20,000 Class 8 trucks, the team at InCharge serves a diverse clientele throughout North America, including major commercial fleets, truck and bus manufacturers, rideshare operators, EV manufacturers, school districts, municipalities and facilities owners, among many others.

Headquartered in the world's first zero-emissions delivery zone in Santa Monica, Calif., InCharge Energy was founded by EV industry veterans Cameron Funk and Terry O'Day. The company has additional operations in San Francisco, Michigan, Quebec and Virginia.

More information about In-Charge Energy and its services can be found at www.inchargeus.com. You can also follow In-Charge on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

Media Contacts

Alexandra Kreager

Brand Ally Communications

(818) 730-5174

[email protected]

SOURCE In-Charge Energy
The new center, which just opened in Los Angeles, offers medical device purchasers and healthcare providers hands-on experience with market-ready displays and devices designed specifically for healthcare environments, as well as future product concepts. It has 12 distinct zones dedicated to various spaces common throughout hospitals, doctors' offices and other medical settings.

"Our new Business Innovation Center demonstrates LG's commitment to helping healthcare providers deliver enhanced service through the use of digital displays for diagnostics, telemedicine, X-ray detection, conferencing, messaging and back office needs," said Nicolas Min, senior vice president and head of LG Business Solutions USA.

The new Los Angeles Business Innovation Center is LG's third in the United States (the others being in Chicago and Atlanta). They serve as technology hubs and cutting-edge product showcases to connect engineers, contractors, integrators and executives in all facets of LG's industry-leading technology. "Business Innovation Centers are a key part of our commitment to provide customers with a unique way to interact with our solutions before making their purchasing decisions," said Min.

As the only LG Business Innovation Center in the world focused specifically on medical-related technology solutions, the new Los Angeles based facility presents visitors with a full catalog of product showcases specifically designed for use in lobbies, nurse stations, back offices, visitor lounges, consulting rooms, telemedicine centers, operating rooms, diagnostic reading bays, X-ray scan areas, patient rooms, large conference spaces and beyond.

Visitors are welcomed to LG's healthcare-of-the-future experience, by the LG CLOi GuideBot robot, large-format direct-view LED displays and sliding doors built from multiple Transparent OLED displays.

Progressing through the center, guests learn how LG's Thin Client cloud-based workstations can help enhance safety and security while UltraWide Ergo monitors provide ample screen real estate for critical tasks and feature adjustable swivel stands for information sharing and group viewing.

Various models from the LG gram laptop line are featured, along with LG ProBeam 4K Laser projectors, UltraFine 4K monitors and One:Quick Flex displays, in addition to demonstrations of the powerful capabilities of LG's proprietary webOS content and display management platform. Special-purpose products on display include LG's Digital X-ray Detector, Diagnostic Monitors, Clinical Review Monitors, and Surgical Monitors.

When it comes to special features, visitors learn about simple One:Quick Share screen sharing with compatible LG digital signage models, LG Acquisition Workstation Software that processes x-ray images and the touchscreen Arm TV intended for bedside installation and use by patients.

"Our West Coast customers and partners now have the ability to visit our stunning showroom and product center to test and learn how the latest innovations can improve their operations and increase efficiency across a broad range of healthcare needs," Min said.

For a fact sheet containing details on all new areas of the center, click here . To download hi-res images, click here. Watch a video on the new LG Business Innovation Center here.

About LG Business Solutions USA

LG Electronics USA's Business Solutions division serves commercial display customers in the U.S. lodging and hospitality, digital signage, systems integration, healthcare, education, government and industrial markets. Based in Lincolnshire, Ill., with its dedicated engineering and customer support team, LG Business Solutions USA delivers business-to-business technology solutions tailored to the particular needs of business environments. Seven-time ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year LG Electronics USA Inc., based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., is the North American subsidiary of LG Electronics Inc., a $63 billion global force in consumer electronics, home appliances and air solutions. For more information, please visit www.LGSolutions.com.

SOURCE LG Business Solutions USA
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held phone talks with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and President-elect Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

Xi congratulated Turkmenistan on the successful presidential election, and again congratulated Serdar Berdimuhamedov on his election as the president of the country, wishing Turkmenistan new and greater achievement in the Revival of a New Era of a Powerful State.

Xi noted that China-Turkmenistan relations have achieved leapfrog development in recent years, with the two sides establishing strategic partnership and bilateral cooperation in various fields reaching the highest level in history.

The Chinese side attaches great importance to China-Turkmenistan relations, Xi said, adding that China will continue to firmly support Turkmenistan's domestic and foreign policies, and firmly oppose external interference in Turkmenistan's internal affairs.

China stands ready to build on past achievements and move forward with Turkmenistan, so as to lift bilateral relations to higher levels and jointly build an even closer community with a shared future between the two countries, Xi said.

Xi stressed that the China-Turkmenistan cooperation fully reflects the high level of mutual trust and sincere friendship between the two countries.

The two sides have signed a five-year inter-government cooperation plan, which has drawn up a road map for all-round cooperation between China and Turkmenistan in the coming period and identified key areas and priorities for cooperation, Xi said.

The two sides should continue to promote cooperation in such fields as energy and natural gas, and strengthen the alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, Xi said, so as to make the cake of mutually beneficial cooperation ever bigger, achieve more new progress and improve the well-being of the two nations.

Noting that the current international and regional situation is complex and sensitive, Xi said both sides should maintain timely communication, close cooperation and mutual support on major issues, uphold true multilateralism, and contribute to promoting the democratization of international relations as well as international fairness and justice. 
ALBANY, N.Y., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global lignin market was valued over US$ 2.1 Bn in 2020. The market is anticipated to rise at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period, from 2021 to 2031.The global lignin market is predicted to attain the valuation of US$ 5.6 Bn by 2031. The global lignin market is driven by continuous R&D activities. In order to gain a competitive advantage in the global lignin market, companies are speeding product development and uncover revenue prospects. The global market is expanding due to the increasing demand from a variety of end-use industries. Rapid urbanization, continued infrastructural development, industrial expansion, and technical improvements are elements that are likely to speed up market expansion in developing nations. Dearth of knowledge and technological constraints, on the other hand, are projected to stifle market expansion.

Lignin is being more widely used in a variety of applications, including animal feed, colors, and concrete additives. The use of lignin has increased significantly as the global demand for concrete additives has risen. Furthermore, the global lignin market is likely to be driven by rise in production as well as demand for concrete additives. As a result, the global market is being propelled by the growth in the concrete additive application segment.

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Lignin is an important renewable resource for the chemical business and is produced as a by-product of lignocellosic bio-refineries. Lignin, a plant component, offers a lot of potential for being converted into value-added products and thus improving the profitability of a bio-refinery. In the forthcoming years, the global market is likely to be driven by rising demand for lignin in the form of an organic additive.

Lignin and its derivatives are commonly used as dust suppressants, dyestuff, and other concrete additives. Glass wool building insulation utilizes it in the form of a binder. It helps asphalt dyestuff operate better. The global market is being fueled by growth of industries such as concrete animal feed and agriculture. The availability of a diverse selection of animal feed is expected to propel the market. The use of lignin in batteries, industrial cleansers, water treatment applications, and industrial dyes is increasing. The global lignin market is directly impacted by growing knowledge about respiratory illnesses, air pollution, and organic substances.

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Key Findings of Market Report

Over the next few years, the global market is expected to be bolstered by the growing trend of employing lignin as a fuel of combustion in a variety of applications such as animal feed, dyestuff, and dispersants. On the macro level, increasing spending on construction, and demand for electronics, vehicles, and equipment production are likely to drive usage of lignin.

Growing public awareness about respiratory problems, air pollution, and use of organic materials is expected to boost the global lignin market. The concrete additive application category is predicted to grow at a rapid pace during the forecast period. As a result, the demand for lignin is expected to rise throughout the forecast period due to an increase in the production of concrete additives.

In the recent years, the Kraft lignin product category accounted for the second largest end-use industry in the lignin market. In fire extinguishers and printing inks for high-speed rotary presses, this product is used extensively as a foam. High-grade activated charcoal is made from Kraft lignin as well. Demand for lignin is expected to rise during the forecast period, due to its innovative uses in a variety of industries.

In addition, manufacturers' increasing focus on creating, producing, and marketing lignin for a number of applications in the building & construction sector is likely to drive the global market in the near future.

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Global Lignin Market: Growth Drivers

The concrete additive category is expected to lead the global market in terms of value during the forecast period. In the near future, the category is projected to be driven by the rise in demand for lignin in various building and construction applications.

In 2020, the lignosulfonates category led the global market in terms of product. In the oil & gas sector, lignosulfonates are employed to reduce mud viscosity during deep oil well drilling. Lignosulfonates are also utilized to make smooth clay slips for use in ceramics. As such, the demand for lignosulfonates lignin is expected to rise throughout the forecast period.

Global Lignin Market: Key Players

Some of the key market players are

Changzhou Shanfeng Chemical Industry Co., Ltd

Domtar Corporation

Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd.

UPM-Kymmene Corporation

Domsjo Fabriker AB

Borregaard LignoTech

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Global Lignin Market: Segmentation

Product

Lignosulfonates

Kraft Lignin

Organosolv

Application

Concrete Additive

Animal Feed

Dye Stuff

Cosmetics

Absorbents

Chemicals & Materials Industry battles Tangible Impact of Economic and Cultural changes, Explore Transparency Market Research's award-winning coverage of the global Chemicals & Materials:

Dust Suppressants Market for Mining - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/dust-suppressants-market.html

Isoamyl Alcohol Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/isoamyl-alcohol-market.html

About Transparency Market Research

Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyse information.



Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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Transparency Market Research

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
BOSTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Small businesses in Massachusetts that have seen business suffer because of COVID-19 can learn smart marketing strategies to get business back on track, thanks to a little-known program offered by the Commonwealth, according to Robin Samora, Boston-based small business marketing and PR expert.

Robin Samora

The Express Grant program is sponsored by the Commonwealth Corporation and the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. Two of their programs focus on marketing on a shoestring budget, especially for businesses that have been disrupted by pandemic restrictions, supply chain problems, and a severe labor shortage caused by Covid. Any business that has W-2 employees, contributes to unemployment insurance, and meets certain guidelines can apply.

Kristen Rayne, Outreach Manager, Workforce Training Fund Program at Commonwealth Corporation, said: "It's a win for employees gaining new skills, often accompanied by wage increases or promotions, a win for employers who benefit from a better-skilled workforce, and a win for the Commonwealth because businesses that complete general grants add jobs at a higher rate than average."

Last year, the Commonwealth awarded $3.5 million in Express Grants to teach businesses a wide variety of skills. This year, it's partnering with Samora to teach the marketing component. The Commonwealth has more than 715,000 small businesses, and many could be eligible.

How the Marketing Training Program Works

A business applies for marketing training by starting at MassachusettsBusinessMarketing to learn more about which of these two programs they want:

Marketing Plan 901 (Course #1131268) is for businesses with a minimum of two W-2 employees who will be trained. It includes 14 videos on how to write a marketing plan, plus 12 how-to videos on social media marketing. Participants walk away with a complete marketing plan. Cost is $6,000 which includes full reimbursement for eligible companies.

(Course #1131268) is for businesses with a minimum of two W-2 employees who will be trained. It includes 14 videos on how to write a marketing plan, plus 12 how-to videos on social media marketing. Participants walk away with a complete marketing plan. Cost is which includes full reimbursement for eligible companies. Marketing Plan 902 (Course #1126652) is for businesses with three or more W-2 employees who will be trained. It includes all of the above, plus additional team training by Samora on advanced marketing strategies for implementing the plan. Cost is $9,000 which includes full reimbursement for those who qualify.

To be eligible for full reimbursement, a small business must have 100 or fewer employees. For companies with 101 employees or more, reimbursement is at 50 percent.

After a company chooses a course, it schedules a phone call with Samora to see if it qualifies. If it does, Samora then gives them instructions on how to apply through the Express Grant portal, and works with each company on a payment schedule.

After the Express Grants office approves the Mass Grant application, the company pays the first installment and begins training. Each program runs 12 weeks. After employees have completed training and the company has paid in full, it can apply for total reimbursement, with payment typically received within six weeks.

Marketing plan training includes strategies to increase sales, use social media to build a following, attract attention from journalists, and create content for email marketing, blogs, video and podcasts. Special attention is given to improving small business exposure without breaking the bank.

Samora, who has taught more than 10,000 business people and implemented marketing strategies for Fortune 500 companies and smaller brands, says the Express Grants program is a lifesaver during these uncertain times.

"The Express Grants program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for business owners to get the marketing help and create a rock-solid marketing plan for 2022 and beyond," she said.

Small Business Marketing Trainings "the Best Secret in Town"

Samora, best known for her no-cost and low-cost marketing strategies, calls the marketing program "the best secret in town" because eligible small businesses that are approved can be fully reimbursed. "As long as a business meets the requirements, why wouldn't they apply? It's a small investment with an enormous benefit."

To start the application process, a business must have W-2 employees, contribute to Massachusetts unemployment insurance, and provide a Certificate of Good Standing. Employees who are trained must be paid for their time.

Colin Codner, Executive Director of the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce, has referred three members already. "The feedback for these programs has been excellent," he said. "Robin has given them spot-on marketing training. She consistently delivers what she promises."

Lisa Boemer, owner of the Hiccup Inc, a curated specialty gift shop in Swampscott, just completed the program. "I'm thrilled that the Commonwealth is helping our small businesses recover from the pandemic," she said. "This marketing training refocused my priorities and gave me a specific action plan to follow, a roadmap so that 2022 will be a banner year."

Read more about the Express Grant program at http://www.MassachusettsBusinessMarketing.com.

Contact:

Robin Samora

www.RobinSamora.com

[email protected]

(617) 921-3448

SOURCE Robin Samora
Vue Orleans, features New Orleans' first 360-degree view of the Mississippi River and the city's landscape. Tweet this

"For years we've been gathering stories from local historians, artists, musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, and chefs, leaders of business and leaders second lines, all with the goal to curate a state-of-the-art cultural experience and share the real story of New Orleans  what it was, what it is and what it all means," said Paul Flower, Developer of Vue Orleans. "Vue Orleans is a fresh look at one of the world's most historic and beloved cities and we are proud to finally unveil this unique experience."

Before stepping into the Vue Orleans entrance, guests begin an immersive journey by entering through a towering display at the foot of Canal Street highlighting the individuals that create the vibrant daily life of New Orleans. Ground-floor exhibits feature a visual explosion of local artwork and the opportunity to interact with personalities pulled straight from the pages of history books  including Henriette De Lisle, a free woman of color, activist and nun; Giacomo Cusimano, Italian immigrant and pasta maker; and Tillie Karnofsky, Jewish immigrant and early supporter of Louis Armstrong  all brought to life by actors on life-sized touchscreens.

Additional experiences include:

Get a taste of the history of New Orleans cuisine served up hot at the Story Cafe, led by PBS Chef Kevin Belton and cookbook author and "Louisiana Eats!" host, Poppy Tooker ,

cuisine served up hot at the Story Cafe, led by PBS and cookbook author and "Louisiana Eats!" host, , Take a visceral step inside the soundtrack of the city in a larger-than-life trumpet-shaped listening stations featuring selections of Jazz, Blues, Classical and more,

Try a hand at virtually piloting a river boat through sharp turns and whirling river currents of the Mississippi River and earn a pilot pin,

"Zoom in" and see the landscape of the city on a virtual "vue finder" located along side breathtaking real-life views,

Mix and match costumes with a digital outfitter and leave with a souvenir photo in full regalia,

Ride an elevator through the history of New Orleans  showcasing three centuries of events and personalities in thirty-four floors!

Timed tickets to Vue Orleans are currently available for purchase for $30 at www.VueOrleans.com.

Vue Orleans is located at 2 Canal Street in New Orleans. For more information about Vue Orleans, including hours of operation, private event rentals and more, please visit www.VueOrleans.com. Stay up to date on the latest news and happenings by following along on Facebook and Instagram.

ABOUT VUE NEW ORLEANS:

Opened in 2022, Vue Orleans is a one-of-a-kind indoor and outdoor observatory and cultural exhibit featuring the only 360-degree panoramic riverfront views of New Orleans and beyond. Bringing together hundreds of local historians, artists, musicians, Mardi Gras Indians, chefs, actors, filmmakers to collaborate and create a state-of-the-art experience, Vue Orleans offers a behind-the-scenes celebration of New Orleans's unique culture. For more information, please visit www.VueOrleans.com and follow along on Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE Vue Orleans
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Jen Judson, President of the National Press Club and Gil Klein, President of the National Press Club Journalism Institute on the deaths and injuries sustained Monday by a Fox News team working in the town of Horenka near Kyiv after their vehicle came under fire. Among the confirmed deceased were veteran FOX war reporter and Irish citizen Pierre Zakrzewski and local Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova. The attack also seriously injured FOX correspondent Benjamin Hall.

"We call for an investigation to determine if this was a deliberate and targeted act. And we emphasize that the targeting of civilians and journalists is considered a war crime. We mourn the loss of Pierre and Oleksandra and send our deepest wishes for a full recovery for Benjamin. Our hearts are broken for this team and for their colleagues and families.

"This was an experienced crew that was taking all standard precautions. This incident is a vivid reminder of the risks journalists take to bring the world this important story of a democracy defending itself from a corrupt, authoritarian regime."

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's non-profit affiliate, promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club

SOURCE National Press Club
TORONTO, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - McLean & Company, the trusted partner of HR and leadership professionals globally, has published a new blueprint to guide HR leaders in designing an employee experience strategy. This timely research blueprint will allow HR leaders to find the sweet spot where employee needs and organizational strategy meet.

Employees' expectations of their experiences at work are evolving. Similar to their daily customer experiences, they want an overall employee experience that fits more seamlessly into their lives. McLean & Company's 2021 Engagement Survey, with over 202,000 respondents, suggests that positive employee experiences lead to engaged employees, and engaged employees are 5x more likely to recommend the organization than those who are not engaged.

Increasingly, employers are recognizing life outside of the workplace and adapting work to accommodate it. Life can impact work, and similarly, work can impact life. Impacting the employee experience is dependent on creating a flexible framework that allows the organization to operate effectively while allowing enough customization for employees to adjust to suit their needs and context. McLean & Company's Employee Engagement Survey found that employees who believe their managers care about them as a person are 3.4x more likely to be engaged than those who do not.

HR has a critical role to play in leading the organization's employee experience efforts. As an expert in balancing employee and employer needs, HR is well positioned to positively and proactively impact the employee experience. Designing the employee experience is not a linear process. The blueprint's iterative approach allows for movement back and forth through any of its outlined steps based on feedback that is gathered.

In the newly released blueprint, McLean & Company's framework models a five-step process to design the employee experience to encompass all employee interactions with an organization. The blueprint is intended for HR leaders to start with the employee lifecycle and identify moments that matter, where the employee and employer needs are most aligned, and use a design thinking approach to engage employees in the process of identifying and designing a best-fit solution.

To learn more about McLean & Company and to download all the latest research, visit hr.mcleanco.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

Media professionals are encouraged to register for McLean & Company's Media Insiders program for more research and insights. This complimentary program provides unrestricted, on-demand access to HR, IT, and software industry content and the ability to speak with subject-matter experts from a group of more than 200 research analysts and thought leaders. To register for access, contact [email protected].

Supporting Resources

Download the full Design the Employee Experience research blueprint.

About McLean & Company

Through data-driven insights and proven best-practice methodologies, McLean & Company offers comprehensive resources and full-service assessments, action plans, and training to position organizations to meet today's needs and prepare for the future.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

SOURCE McLean & Company
NLI, partnering with BitPay, is the first REIT that enables investors to convert crypto into real estate. Tweet this

"This partnership as an essential way to connect with today's investors to include investment real estate and cryptocurrency in their retirement accounts," observes CJ Follini, CEO of NOYACK Capital.

NOYACK's BitPay payment integration marks a pioneering initiative for structured commercial real estate investment. Investors can divide investment between crypto and traditional currency. They simply select their preferred wallet or exchange, choose a cryptocurrency, and scan a QR code or manually enter payment details. Another first  it can easily be done on a mobile device.

"This is another example of moving crypto mainstream. We see more investors asking to move cryptocurrency allocations into physical assets like real estate. This ability puts Noyack at the forefront of alternative investment management," said Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay. "The market potential for crypto adoption bridging into the physical world is huge. We estimate, $55 Billion in purchases and investments using cryptocurrency in the next 12 months."

Using NOYACK's proprietary analytics and market research, NLI will identify properties serving emerging needs for climate-controlled storage, autonomous vehicle infrastructure, same-day delivery and other rapidly evolving uses.

About NOYACK Logistics Income (NLI) and NOYACK Capital (NOYACK):

NOYACK Logistics Income (NLI) is a $200MM real estate investment trust investing in diversified supply chain real estate supporting the digitization of the U.S. economy.

NOYACK Capital (NOYACKcapital.com) is a revolutionary alternative investment platform making institutional-grade private investments accessible to all investors. NOYACK has offices in New York, Denver, and LA. Visit www.noyacklogistics.com for more information.

About BitPay:

Founded in 2011, BitPay is one of the oldest cryptocurrency companies. As a pioneer in blockchain payment processing, the company's mission is to transform how businesses and people send, receive, and store money. Its solutions eliminate fraud chargebacks, reduce the cost of payment processing, and enable borderless payments in cryptocurrency. BitPay offers consumers a complete digital asset management solution that, enable them to turn digital assets into dollars. The company has offices in North America, Europe, and South America and has raised more than $70 million in funding from leading investment firms. For more information, visit bitpay.com.

Lauren Mire

Noyack Logistics Income REIT

[email protected]

SOURCE Noyack Capital Partners
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, Pilot Company is raising funds through an in-store round-up campaign for Save the Children, a global humanitarian organization actively working to meet the urgent needs of children and their families in Ukraine and the region. Now through April 3rd, visit any of the more than 650 participating company-operated travel centers in the U.S., including Pilot and Flying J travel centers and restaurants, to round-up purchases* to the nearest whole dollar and donate the additional amount to Save the Children.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by the international crisis in Ukraine," said Shameek Konar, CEO of Pilot Company. "We are deeply saddened by the effects of this conflict and are doing a roundup in our stores to help raise funds for Save the Children that will go towards immediate assistance for Ukrainian children and families. We will be matching up to $100,000 of donations raised as part of our commitment to giving back to our communities on a local and global scale."

Pilot Company will donate 100% of the funds raised, along with the $100,000 matching contribution, directly to Save the Children's Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund. Save the Children is distributing critical emergency supplies in Ukraine and the region and establishing safe spaces for children where possible. These funds will support their efforts to provide lifesaving relief, including food, water, hygiene kits, psychosocial support and cash assistance for children and their families impacted by the conflict.

To learn more about Pilot Company and its longstanding commitment to giving back, visit pilotcompany.com/about. For nearby travel center locations to donate, download the myRewards Plus app**. More information on Save the Children is available at https://www.savethechildren.org/.

*Certain purchases (including, without limitation, fuel and fuel additives and purchases made on fleet cards or direct bill programs) are not eligible for round-up contributions.

**Data rates may apply. Other terms and conditions apply.

About Pilot Company

Pilot Travel Centers LLC ("Pilot Company") keeps North America's drivers moving as one of the leading suppliers of fuel and the largest operator of travel centers. Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, Pilot Company has grown its network to more than 800 retail and fueling locations and as the third largest tanker fleet in North America, supplies more than 14 billion gallons of fuel per year to the market. Its energy division also supplies DEF, bio and renewable fuels and provides hauling and disposal services to the oil field sector. Pilot Company serves 1.5 million guests per day and provides over 70,000 fleet customers with solutions for fuel, credit, factoring, services and rewards. Its Pilot Flying J Travel Center network includes over 750 locations in 44 states and five Canadian provinces with more than 790 restaurants, 75,000 truck parking spaces, 5,300 deluxe showers, 6,200 diesel lanes and offers truck maintenance and tire service with Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J. The One9 Fuel Network connects a variety of fueling locations to provide smaller fleets and independent professional drivers with everyday value, convenience, credit, and perks. More information on locations and rewards are available in the myRewards Plus app.

Pilot Company is currently ranked No. 7 on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies. For additional information about Pilot Company, its 28,000 team members and commitment to giving back, visit www.pilotcompany.com.

About Save the Children

Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children  every day and in times of crisis  transforming their lives and the future we share. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

SOURCE Pilot Company
Multi-year managed services engagement allows Legacy Health to effectively support all Epic EHR end-users

NASHVILLE, Tenn. , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare IT consulting leader Pivot Point Consulting, a Vaco Company, was selected by Legacy Health, a locally owned, nonprofit health system based in Portland, Oregon to perform help desk support for all Epic EHR end-users across the organization.

This engagement will enable Legacy Health to maintain high-quality Epic end-user support through a cost-effective support model and allow team members to focus on more complex projects and strategic initiatives.

Legacy Health operates six hospitals, children's, and behavioral health specialty hospitals as well as nearly 100 clinics and outpatient facilities throughout the Portland, Oregon, and Southwest Washington region. The highly rated healthcare system will use Pivot Point's flexible Managed Services solution to provide a team of experienced Epic support analysts to service its Epic end users on a first-call resolution basis, providing end-user troubleshooting, navigation, and training support within the Epic platform.

"Legacy Health selected Pivot Point Consulting for Epic help desk support because they offer high-quality, outcome-based managed services," said Cyndi Jerde, MSN, RN, Legacy Health's Informatics Training and Support Services Manager. "We already utilize Pivot Point for MyChart Portal support and after-hours IT help desk support, and this new expansion of our relationship will now allow our clinical end-users to receive the high-quality EHR support we have come to expect from Pivot Point."

"In 2022, Pivot Point Consulting, not only ranked as the #2 Best in KLAS: Overall IT Services Firm, by KLAS (after being 2020 #1 Best in KLAS Overall IT Services Firm), but also ranked #2 in Partial IT Outsourcing. We are proud to partner with Legacy Health as part of its EHR Support," said Andy Palmer, Vice President Managed with Pivot Point Consulting. "Providers like Legacy Health deserve a dedicated partner to ensure their end users are fully supported. This model will help reduce downstream resource needs by attempting to solve issues at the initial point of contact. Beyond hard cost savings, we help providers capitalize on new opportunities that come their way while we take on the responsibility of managing much of the daily, yet critical, support needs."

About Legacy Health

Legacy Health is a locally owned, nonprofit health system driven by our mission to improve the health of those around us. We offer a unique blend of health services across the Portland/Vancouver metro area and mid-Willamette Valley  from wellness and urgent care to dedicated children's services and advanced medical centers  to care for patients of all ages when and where they need us. With an eye toward a healthier community, our partnerships tackle vital issues such as housing and mental health. Legacy strives to help everyone live healthier and better lives, with the vision of being essential to the health of the region.

Legacy Health consists of nearly 3,000 doctors and Providers, and 14,000 employees throughout the state Oregon. The system's hospitals are: Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center, Legacy Silverton Medical Center, and Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center in Oregon; and Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center in Washington. In the spring of 2017, Legacy, in partnership with three other health systems, opened the Unity Center for Behavioral Health.

About Pivot Point Consulting

In 2022, Pivot Point Consulting, not only ranked as the #2 Best in KLAS: Overall IT Services Firm, by KLAS (after being 2020 #1 Best in KLAS Overall IT Services Firm), but also ranked #2 in Partial IT Outsourcing and #2 in Overall IT Advisory Services.

Pivot Point Consulting enables healthcare organizations to realize the most value from their technology and resources through EHR, ERP, Strategy, Virtual Care, Data & Analytics, Cybersecurity, Service Desk, Application Support and Revenue Cycle Management services. Our experts deliver consulting, managed services and talent solutions to providers, payers, life sciences and technology organizations.

For more information, visit us at pivotpointconsulting.com .

Media Contact:

Kim Warth, Amendola Communications, [email protected]

SOURCE Pivot Point Consulting
Local governments can apply for federal resources to advance clean energy priorities

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Power a Clean Future Ohio (PCFO) launched the Infrastructure Grant Assistance Program (IGAP), created to directly support local governments in applying for and strategically deploying federal resources made available through the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The bipartisan infrastructure legislation provides federal grants to invest in the transition to a clean energy economy built on clean energy infrastructure, including a nationwide electric vehicle charging network, a modernized grid to support renewable energy deployment, and more efficient buildings and transit systems.

"We know local governments have experienced challenges in pursuing federal funding sources, and this program will enable PCFO to provide direct, tangible support to member communities for future funding opportunities," said Joe Flarida, Executive Director of PCFO.

Mayor Edward Kraus of Solon said, "In looking at the recently passed federal infrastructure bill, much of the areas addressed fit perfectly into our city's plans for the years ahead. Clean energy, transportation, and energy efficiency solutions benefit us all and it's important for our community to be aggressive in securing needed funding in these areas to create a healthier and stronger future for our residents. Being part of PCFO better prepares us to be ready for these opportunities and bring real benefits to our community."

Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith said, "Lima is ready to invest in our infrastructure by utilizing this historic federal funding, which very well may be a once-in-a-generation chance to address critical needs and modernize our community. We will take advantage of every chance to bring clean energy jobs and new economic opportunities to Lima residents. I look forward to working with PCFO's team to prepare for these grant programs and build on the work we have already done together."

Mayor David Scheffler of Lancaster said, "We are always looking for ways to create more jobs and increase economic development opportunities for our community and residents. Alongside the numerous benefits, federal grants also present their share of challenges for local governments to both apply for and manage. Utilizing support from PCFO will allow us to be more competitive and pursue funding that we may not have previously."

In the coming weeks and months, the Infrastructure Grant Assistance Program will begin providing resources and technical assistance designed to support communities that are interested in applying for federal grants for clean energy and clean transportation projects.

SOURCE Power A Clean Future Ohio
MORRISTOWN, N.J., March. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Private Advisor Group, one of the largest and fastest-growing independent wealth management firms in the country*, announced that it has acquired registered investment advisor (RIA) firm, Investors Financial Group (IFG). Servicing over $1.86 billion in advisory assets under management as of December 31, 2021, IFG will transition its RIA management to Private Advisor Group, a change aimed to fuel growth and scale for both firms.

For over a decade, Minnesota-based IFG has provided investment advice and wealth management services to private individuals, families, and institutional investors. In evaluating the next evolution of the practice, Principals Timothy Gaarder, Ron Bickford and Richard Anderson, determined alignment with a firm positioned for growth and with infrastructure in place to enhance the delivery of wealth management strategies for the long-term was necessary. Comprised of nearly 30 independent advisors and staff, IFG will retain brand autonomy while gaining access to additional practice management resources, business and succession planning, and Private Advisor Group's community of over 700 advisors.

"At IFG, we help investors prepare and plan their legacy and aligning with Private Advisor Group is the next right step for our firm's legacy." said, IFG's President and Managing Principal, Timothy Gaarder. He continued, "Transitioning the management of our RIA creates immediate efficiencies and when you combine that with strong cultural alignment and a foundation for growth, we have strengthened our position to serve our advisors, our investors and our community, now and well into the future."

Frank Smith, Private Advisor Group's Head of Advisor Growth shared, "Enabling advisor growth, helping advisors with their own legacy planning, and fostering a connected community are key principles that underpin our strategy at Private Advisor Group. This represents a special milestone as both firms will benefit from the scale and quality of combined resources. We're thrilled to welcome the IFG team and look forward to fueling the success of our advisor community together."

Financial terms of the transaction will not be disclosed. With the transition underway, all IFG advisors are invited to join Private Advisor Group alongside the firm's principals. Both firms are affiliated with LPL Financial as their broker-dealer which creates further alignment from which to efficiently and sustainably grow into a shared future. LPL Financial served as the M&A consultant on this opportunity.

Private Advisor Group will continue to recruit, merge with, and acquire financial practices and RIAs nationwide who are seeking to model a practice that favors independence and those looking to grow smarter and more confidently.

About Private Advisor Group

Founded in 1997 in Morristown, NJ, Private Advisor Group is one of the nation's leading financial services firms. Managing over $30 billion in assets under management, the firm leverages its resources to deliver solutions that strive to improve financial outcomes for individual investors and inspire growth, fiduciary adherence, legacy solutions and a client-centric approach for independent financial advisors' practices. Barron's has recognized Private Advisor Group as a top ten registered investment advisory firm since 2019.

*Barron's "Top 100 RIA Firms" ranking is based upon quantitative and qualitative criteria including: regulatory records, client retention reports, assets managed, revenue generated, technology spending, number of clients, size and diversity of staff, placement of a succession plan, and more. Investor experience and returns are not considered. Neither Private Advisor Group nor its financial advisors pay a fee to Barron's in exchange for the ranking.

For more information, visit www.privateadvisorgroup.com.

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advice offered through Private Advisor Group, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.

Media Inquiries:

Kelly Coulter

480-815-8695

[email protected]

SOURCE Private Advisor Group
MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and European Council President Charles Michel discussed the Ukrainian situation during a phone conversation on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The leaders exchanged views on Russia's special military operation in Ukraine and measures to evacuate civilians, said the statement.

Putin outlined his assessments of the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on a possible settlement of the crisis, it said. 
FASTSIGNS franchisee Emily Staples and Jeff Lewis, Propelled Brands' assistant vice president of franchise support to host a panel and class

CARROLLTON, Texas, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Propelled Brands, the corporate umbrella of FASTSIGNS, SIGNWAVE, NerdsToGo and Suite Management Franchising, LLC, the parent company of MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza, will be attending Franchise Expo West (Booth #309) in Phoenix, AZ, taking place March 18-19. FASTSIGNS franchisee from the Phoenix area, Emily Staples, will participate in a panel discussion on the challenges and rewards of being a franchisee, and Propelled Brands' Assistant Vice President of Franchise Support, Jeff Lewis, will teach a breakaway session.

"We are thrilled for this chance to network and represent all three of our brands at this great event," said Mark Jameson, chief support and development officer of Propelled Brands. "Propelled Brands is set to show everyone about our three franchise opportunities and how we support our franchisees. Additionally, having such strong members of our network speak at this event is exciting. The panel and class held by our very own Emily Staples and Jeff Lewis will provide valuable information and offer those who attend the chance to improve both themselves and their business."

Franchise Expo West is a chance to meet face-to-face with the 'best of the best' franchise brands as attendees sample, explore and speak with industry-leading brands that are interested in growing in the western United States. Visitors looking to invest in a franchise or create a franchise from their existing business will find seminars and workshops to meet their needs, providing a great opportunity to gather information and learn all they need to know about franchising in one convenient, information-packed event.

"I am excited for this chance to speak on a panel about the challenges and rewards of being a franchisee," said Emily Staples, franchisee at FASTSIGNS of Gilbert, Arizona. "The goal is to educate individuals on what all goes into determining the business they want to go into and what is required. There were a lot of things I didn't know before opening a business that I wish someone would have told me."

Propelled Brands is the corporate umbrella under which service industry franchise brands operate and grow, building a network with extremely high franchisee satisfaction, yearly improvements in franchisee profitability, and strong financial benchmarks and net promoter scores. Propelled Brands brings the same strategy, culture, and discipline to every company they partner with while also enriching the lives of their franchisees. They advance the strategic path for each brand and offer a clear vision and supportive business model to put franchise owners on a path to success.

"My class is 100% focused on helping franchisees improve their profitability and how to do so. We'll cover best practices, financial reviews, profit leaders, education and more," said Jeff Lewis, assistant vice president of franchise support for Propelled Brands. "Improving profitability is the #1 key strategic objective for FASTSIGNS and Propelled Brands, and it helps us with franchisee satisfaction and enhancing the value of the FASTSIGNS brand."

For more information about Propelled Brands franchise opportunities, please visit https://www.propelledbrands.com/franchising-opportunities/

About Propelled Brands:

Propelled Brands is the corporate umbrella of FASTSIGNS, SIGNWAVE, NerdsToGo and Suite Management Franchising, LLC, the parent company of MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza. Focused on service-oriented franchises, the Propelled Brands team assists each brand in its portfolio to confidently navigate forward based on their unique position, momentum and purpose. Propelled Brands advances the strategic path for each brand, offering support, guidance and a clear vision to fully equip every franchisee, helping them maximize success.

Propelled Brands is looking to partner with other service-oriented franchise concepts that align with its forward-thinking growth objectives. For more information or to learn about opportunities with Propelled Brands, visit propelledbrands.com . To learn about franchise opportunities with FASTSIGNS, NerdsToGo, MY SALON Suite or Salon Plaza franchise opportunities, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or call 214.346.5679).

SOURCE Propelled Brands
DALLAS, Texas, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Puration, Inc. (USOTC: PURA) has implemented a strategy to disrupt major global markets with the introduction of hemp based alternatives that contribute to carbon neutral objectives.

Under its new Farmersville Hemp Brand, PURA is working to introduce hemp as a multi-industry disruptor that can be a base of a better product or service contributing notably to the 2050 sustainability objectives. PURA recently announced a strategy targeted at disrupting the $600 billion global lumber market and the $200 billion steel rebar market.

As part of its Farmersville Hemp Brand strategy, PURA is on track to solidify its first partnership in the $1.2 billion Asia Pacific hemp region in order to tap into richer resources that can accelerate the expansion of industrial hemp solutions.

News out today on China working to better support a market for Chinese companies in foreign investment venues could bode well for PURA's Asia Pacific plans.

See Barron's China's Intervention Sends Stocks Soaring. Powell's Unlikely to Make That Big a Splash.

PURA has initiated construction on a facility in Farmersville, Texas where the company will conduct consultative education customized for each corporate customer to hands on demonstrate how hemp can be utilized to improve the efficiency of existing products and services and meet 2050 sustainability targets.

Read the company's latest comprehensive update on PURA's Farmersville Hemp Brand rollout.

For more information on Puration, visit http://www.purationinc.com

Disclaimer:

This News Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any these statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any those forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this news release. None of such forward-looking statements should be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the objectives and plans set forth in this News Release will be achieved or be executed.

For More Information Contact:

Puration, Inc.

Brian Shibley,

[email protected]

(800) 861-1350

SOURCE: Puration, Inc.

SOURCE Puration, Inc.
LEXINGTON, Ky., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not too often that a small, local business gets recognized by Global Business Leaders, but Reed's Sprayfoam Insulation is now an exception. This company was established in 2009 to offer the customer a free home inspection and educate them on the advantages of sprayfoam insulation over traditional insulation. It seems to be working - Global Business Leaders has now written an article about this company, highlighting their excellence and dedication! If you're looking for a reliable and trustworthy spray foam insulation company, look no further than Reed's Sprayfoam Insulation.

Reed's Sprayfoam Insulation is a specialist for sprayfoam insulation, waterproofing, and other healthy home solutions in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Ohio. They've been providing top-tier insulation installation since they first opened their doors. They have continued to grow through their high-quality and consistent work, building a customer base that loves what they offer.

Global Business Leaders has taken notice and given Reed's Sprayfoam an article to share their story with a larger audience. Reed's Sprayfoam Insulation couldn't be more proud of what they've accomplished, and they're excited to see where this journey takes them next. It is absolutely the best feeling in the world to be recognized on this stage, providing their business with instant gratification, but also a push to go further. They know that this is only the beginning for their business and that they can reach new heights that Reed's has never seen before.

Reed's Sprayfoam Insulation wants to thank Global Business Leaders for taking the time to shed light on a small business like themselves, and they want to say that they are forever grateful. If you need to improve the insulation of your property, or if you need any other services that they offer, please do not hesitate to contact Reed's Home Solutions! They would be more than happy to help.

Contact:

Vicky Hayon

[email protected]

877-353-8081

SOURCE Reed's Home Solutions
Legislation amends NTRSA and secures U.S. Government funding for PNT services

RESTON, Va., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Satelles endorses the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (H.R. 2471) passed by the U.S. Congress last week and signed into law yesterday by President Biden. This important action strengthens the nation's resilience by making it possible for the U.S. Government to implement alternative forms of positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) that will protect our critical infrastructure in accordance with key directives such as Executive Order 13905 on the responsible use of PNT, Space Policy Directive-7 on space-based PNT, and the National R&D Plan for PNT Resilience.

We strongly support the new Appropriations Act because it brings to life a recommendation from the U.S. Department of Transportation to adopt multiple forms of PNT as identified in the Department's 2021 report on complementary PNT and GPS backup technologies. This report concluded that specific technologies  including Satellite Time and Location (STL) from Satelles  show strong performance, operational diversity, operational readiness, and cost-effectiveness. The GPS backup technologies cited by U.S. DOT to provide PNT are L-band satellite broadcasts (such as STL) and LF/UHF terrestrial broadcasts, along with fiber-optic time services to support transmitters and control segments.

To expand options for technological diversity, a provision in the Appropriations Act changes the law so that the U.S. Government can now deploy a broader range of PNT technologies. Specifically, the newly signed legislation revises the National Timing Resilience and Security Act of 2018 ("NTRSA"; 49 U.S.C.  312) to eliminate a requirement that technologies eligible to provide PNT services under the terms of the Act must be 'land-based.'

As Satelles delivers Satellite Time and Location (STL) from space as a resilient and secure source of PNT to complement the Global Positioning System (GPS), we are delighted that STL  which currently provides precise timing and location information to owners and operators of critical infrastructure in the commercial sector  is now qualified to be a part of any future alternative timing system implemented by the Federal Government under the NTRSA.

Furthermore, Satelles is encouraged by the actions of the U.S. Congress and the President of the United States to secure $15 million in funding for the U.S. DOT to establish a program that will lead to the wide adoption of alternative PNT technologies. With recommendations from the U.S. DOT being comprehensive and clear, we encourage the Department to apply this appropriation to the procurement of alternative PNT services and solutions that will protect critical infrastructure.

About Satelles

Satelles provides secure time and location signals from low Earth orbit (LEO) that are resilient to regional outages of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Satelles' Satellite Time and Location (STL) service safeguards against devastating attacks to GPS/GNSS capable of disrupting or disabling electrical grids, wireless communications networks, financial systems, and other private and public infrastructure in ways that seriously imperil the safety and security of our society.

Available anywhere on the planet, the STL service delivers assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) via a satellite broadcast signal that is stronger and more secure than other solutions. The company delivers assured PNT at levels of stability, reliability, and trust required by commercial enterprises and government entities across a range of critical infrastructure, IoT, and cybersecurity applications. Satelles partners with device manufacturers to incorporate STL signal support into today's latest equipment, bringing the benefits of Satellite Time and Location to customers around the world.

Satelles Media Contact

Kirk Vespestad

Satelles, Inc.

[email protected]

+1 (703) 282-1800

Corporate Website: https://www.satelles.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/satellesinc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/satelles/

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Satelles, Inc.
OTCQX: SHWZ

Continues to Go Deep, Adding to Retail and Product Footprint in Colorado

DENVER, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Schwazze, (OTCQX: SHWZ) ("Schwazze" or the "Company"), announced that it has signed definitive documents to acquire all the assets of Urban Health & Wellness, Inc. ("Urban"). The proposed transaction includes the adult use Urban Dispensary, located at West 38th Avenue and Clay Street, in Denver's vibrant Highlands neighborhood as well as a 7,200 square foot indoor cultivation facility (2,700 square feet of canopy) located in Denver, Colorado. This purchase continues Schwazze's aggressive expansion in Colorado and upon close will bring the Company's total number of Colorado dispensaries to 23 and grow facilities to four.

The consideration for the proposed acquisition is US$3.2 million and will be paid as $1.3M cash and $1.9M stock at closing. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022 after the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and local licensing approval.

"We look forward to the addition of the Urban group, including the strategically located Urban Dispensary and its Denver grow facility to our expanding pipeline of assets in Colorado. Delivering our brands and our excellent customer service into new neighborhoods is a Schwazze hallmark as we continue to go deep in the state. We also look forward to welcoming the Urban team to our growing Schwazze family," said Nirup Krishnamurthy, Schwazze's COO.

Since April 2020, Schwazze has acquired or announced the planned acquisition of 33 cannabis dispensaries as well as seven cultivation facilities and two manufacturing assets in Colorado and New Mexico. In May 2021, Schwazze announced its BioSciences division and in August 2021 it commenced home delivery services in Colorado.

About Schwazze

Schwazze (OTCQX: SHWZ) is building a premier vertically integrated regional cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico and will continue to take its operating system to other states where it can develop a differentiated regional leadership position. Schwazze is the parent company of a portfolio of leading cannabis businesses and brands spanning seed to sale. The Company is committed to unlocking the full potential of the cannabis plant to improve the human condition. Schwazze is anchored by a high- performance culture that combines customer-centric thinking and data science to test, measure, and drive decisions and outcomes. The Company's leadership team has deep expertise in retailing, wholesaling, and building consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies as well as in the cannabis sector. Schwazze is passionate about making a difference in our communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and doing our part to incorporate climate-conscious best practices. Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. was Schwazze's former operating trade name. The corporate entity continues to be named Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. Schwazze derives its name from the pruning technique of a cannabis plant to enhance plant structure and promote healthy growth.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Such statements may be preceded by the words "plan," "will," "may," "continue," "predicts," or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and cannot be predicted or quantified. Consequently, actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) our inability to manufacture our products and product candidates on a commercial scale on our own or in collaboration with third parties; (ii) difficulties in obtaining financing on commercially reasonable terms; (iii) changes in the size and nature of our competition; (iv) loss of one or more key executives or scientists; (v) difficulties in securing regulatory approval to market our products and product candidates; (vi) our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy in Colorado and outside the state, (vii) our ability to consummate the acquisition described in this press release or to identify and consummate future acquisitions that meet our criteria, (viii) our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, including the acquisition described in this press release, and realize synergies therefrom, (ix) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, * the timing and extent of governmental stimulus programs, and (xi) the uncertainty in the application of federal, state and local laws to our business, and any changes in such laws. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

SOURCE Schwazze
DALLAS, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare practitioners (doctors, aestheticians, physical therapists, etc.) looking to rent furnished medical office space with no lease commitments now have the solution with TexasMed.

"This is the easiest and most cost-effective way to start a new practice, expand to a new location, or work part-time"

TexasMed

TexasMed is the ideal place to rent space for any medical practice. With their no-lease option, healthcare providers can enjoy all the benefits of having an office without any of the hassle! Furthermore, because they don't charge any up-front costs, there's never any risk when starting out with TexaMed. They provide basic medical supplies and office equipment, as well as a receptionist onsite ready to greet patients.

The benefits of this new idea and utilizing shared medical office space for rent will change the medical office industry as we know it, and here's why:

DAILY MEDICAL OFFICE RENTALS - NO LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS

Members can utilize exam rooms on an ad-hoc, part-time, or full-time basis and have the flexibility to scale up or down. Medical providers can utilize the shared space to start a new practice, work part-time, or explore a new location risk-free.

FULLY-FURNISHED MEDICAL SUITES

Traditional medical offices typically require initial build-outs, which could cost up to $100,000. TexasMed provides a class a, fully-furnished medical facility that is move-in ready. There are no upfront costs or membership fees. This is a risk-free opportunity to start a new practice with no capital investment!

ALL-INCLUSIVE SERVICES

TexasMed provides fully-furnished private exam rooms, staff work stations, an on-site receptionist, daily cleanings, on-site storage lockers, basic medical supplies, and office support. TexasMed takes care of the space so medical providers can focus on their practice!

LOW-HOURLY RATE

TexasMed offers an all-inclusive rate for as low as $25 / hr. Pricing packages vary based on how often practitioners use the facility.

For more information, please visit www.txmdhealth.com and take advantage of the TexasMed free trial (no credit card required). Text, call or email to learn more  same day response guaranteed.

About TexasMed:

TexasMed is the first medical coworking space in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and can best be described as "WeWork for Doctors". TexasMed is not just any co-working facility; they specialize in doctors' offices. Their focus on both function and aesthetics sets them apart from others by providing an environment tailored specifically for healthcare needs. With TexasMed's flexible model, physicians can choose to work as much or little as they want while having access to all-inclusive on-site amenities. TexasMed has created the perfect solution for medical providers.

1400 N. Coit Road #302

McKinney, Texas 75071

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (469) 240-9911

Website: www.txmdhealth.com

SOURCE TexasMed
The original EC50 was conceived of in July 2020, with winners representing 17 different countries. This year, the honor roll has spread beyond 20 countries, including Kenya, Greece, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Bhutan, and more. The program is supported by Rolex as part of its Perpetual Planet initiative.

Among the many fields covered in the inaugural EC50 class, the honorees have led groundbreaking conservation efforts in Iraq, promoted environmental stewardship to facilitate inter-tribal relations in Africa, produced leading research on orbital debris and space junk, decoded the secrets of Egyptian animal mummies, organized efforts to conserve large parts of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and studied the prehispanic Maya and contemporary perceptions of self-identity on Maya communities.

As part of this new class, which will continue to transform the composition of The Explorers Club and increase access to explorers from around the world, EC50 winners will receive complimentary Club membership for three years, access to a network of explorers, a notable mention in a new special issue of The Explorers Journal, lecture opportunities and more.

"The Explorers Club 50 may well be the most important initiative our club has ever undertaken," said Richard Garriott, President of The Explorers Club. "I do not make this statement lightly. For 118 years now, we have promoted exploration by all means possible, and as important as it is to get the history right, it is even more important to build on that foundation for the future."

After four decades of conflict in Iraq, it was thought that the Persian leopard had become locally extinct - but Kurdish conservationist Hana Raza and her team found evidence of the rare leopard in the mountains of northern Iraq, and now lead conservation efforts in a land scarred by war.

The second EC50 class also includes Moses S. Pulei, Ph.D., a Tanzanian Masaai community organizer, climber, and educator working across East Africa to bring peace and economic stability to rural farmers; Moriba Jah, Ph.D., an Aerospace Engineer who is tackling the huge problem of space junk, developing programs such as ASTRIAGraph, the first knowledge graph database for space traffic management; Salima Ikram, Ph.D., a leading Egyptologist and former director of the Animal Mummy Project; Cassandra Brooks, Ph.D., an Environmental Scientist whose efforts helped drive the adoption of the world's largest marine protected area in the Ross Sea, Antarctica; and Adolfo Ivan Batun Alpuche, Ph.D., a Mayan Archaeologist and native Maya speaker, who has dedicated himself to working at a local level, living and teaching in the Yucatan communities whose prehispanic agrarian economies he studies.

About The Explorers Club:

Since its inception in 1904, members of the Club have traversed the earth, the seas, the skies, and even the moon, on expeditions. First to the North Pole, first to the South Pole, first to the summit of Mount Everest, first to the deepest point in the ocean and first to the surface of the moon - all accomplished by Explorers Club Members. Notable members include Teddy Roosevelt, Neil Armstrong, Jane Goodall, Edmund Hillary, John Glenn, Sally Ride, Bob Ballard, and more. https://www.explorers.org/

SOURCE The Explorers Club
Tony Goldman, who in 2021 was inducted unanimously into the Miami Beach Hall of Fame, pioneered the transformation of iconic neighborhoods such as South Beach, Wynwood, SoHo, and Center City in Philadelphia. At heart, Goldman was a preservationist and an artist, who sought to breathe life into decaying neighborhoods by accentuating their DNA, restoring historic architecture, and introducing colorful imagery.

Originally built in 1939 by master architect L. Murray Dixon and beautifully reimagined in 1998 by American fashion designer Todd Oldham, The Tony Hotel South Beach embodies the classic South Beach retreat in an intimate setting. From its ocean-view rooftop pool, to its meticulously preserved 1930s Art Deco architecture and landmarked "Tiffany" spire sign that towers majestically over Collins Avenue, The Tony offers its guests an opportunity to experience the timeless vibrant energy of South Beach. The boutique hotel spans two buildings along Eighth Street fronting both Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive, for a total of 74 rooms and suites adorned in rich colors, shapes, and textures that highlight and pay homage to its historic neighborhood.

The Tony Hotel South Beach boasts new amenities to complement its picturesque, redesigned rooftop pool, with lounge chairs and cabanas that overlook both Ocean Drive and the Atlantic Ocean. Its refreshed Spire Bar now debuts as a chic hotspot for private cocktail receptions and dinners with expansive views. Additionally, all rooms are now equipped with brand new 55" TVs, mini-fridges, and high-speed WiFi. In tandem, the ownership team has launched a new website and enhanced technology systems across the hotel to complement its refresh. The new, elevated version of The Tony brings the establishment "back to the past but also into the future"  a Goldman Properties principle. The nostalgia of the past is embodied in Tony Goldman's 1932 Packard that is parked out front of the hotel on Ocean Drive.

The Tony Hotel South Beach's aesthetic charm is personified in its devoted staff, several of whom have worked at the hotel for more than twenty years. The hotel's guests and local passersby alike are warmly greeted by name and serenaded by doorman and front terrace staple David, offered a taste of the specialty "cocktail of the day" poolside by bartenders Yoel and Fernando, and enlightened about the hotel's history and neighborhood by F&B Manager Gerardo, now in his 32nd year at the hotel.

"Tony Goldman was an entrepreneur, historic preservationist, romantic and sensitive developer, restaurateur, hotelier, and patron of the arts. Renaming the hotel that Tony restored in his honor is a fitting tribute to his legacy," said Scott Srebnick, his son-in-law and CEO of Goldman Properties. "He imagined South Beach to be the American Riviera, with sidewalk cafes, hotels, music, and languages spoken by people from all corners of the world. Reintroducing the hotel as part of a new South Beach renaissance is the best way to honor Tony's memory and enhance the area's rich history."

The renaming will be joined by a legendary neighborhood restaurant re-opening. The famed News Cafe, once frequented almost daily by the late fashion designer Gianni Versace just before the turn of the century, is set to reopen later this spring in its familiar location on the ground floor of The Tony's Ocean Drive building. This idyllic South Beach block is well on its way to ushering in an era that's sure to surpass the glory of the area's revered 1990s boom.

The Tony Hotel South Beach is located at 801 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33139. For more information on the boutique hotel and reservations, please visit www.thetonyhotel.com.

ABOUT THE TONY HOTEL SOUTH BEACH

Established in 1939, The Tony Hotel South Beach instantly transports guests back to the classic Art Deco atmosphere of this iconic South Beach era. The property was originally built by master architect L. Murray Dixon before receiving a refreshing revamp by American fashion designer Todd Oldham in 1998. The hotel maintains its original architectural features, including terrazzo flooring and an impressive entryway, combined with modern design elements. The reopened hotel includes a redesigned rooftop pool area and cabanas, updated room amenities, and newly introduced dining options. The property includes 74 rooms and suites, a conference area, two open-air bars, and a fitness center. Situated on the corner of Collins Avenue and Eighth Street, along with a second building facing Ocean Drive, The Tony Hotel South Beach is both ocean-facing and city-facing, providing guests a unique opportunity to capture multiple viewpoints of the surrounding destination from one location. For more information, please visit www.thetonyhotel.com

ABOUT GOLDMAN PROPERTIES

Goldman Properties is a creative real estate firm with a storied history of developing thriving global destinations across the United States. Marrying real estate and public art to build community, Goldman Properties is known for its revitalization of iconic neighborhoods such as SoHo in New York City, Center City Philadelphia, Miami Beach, and Wynwood, home of the internationally acclaimed Wynwood Walls. For more information, please visit www.goldmanproperties.com.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE Goldman Properties
Hope springs eternal. So do worries, according to findings of The Princeton Review 2022 College Hopes & Worries Survey released today. The survey, which the education services company has conducted online annually since 2003, polled 14,148 people from January 26 to March 4. Of those, 73% (10,398) were college applicants and 27% (3,750) were parents of applicants. Respondents hailed from all 50 states and DC as well as several countries abroad.

The survey asked respondents several questions that have been on the survey since 2003from what their "dream" college is to what they consider the toughest part of the application process and the biggest benefit of having a college degree. The 2022 survey also asked respondents about recent issues including whether the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting their application decisions and experiences, and if so, how. All but one of the survey's 20 questions presented multiple-choice answers of which respondents could choose only one. Notes follow on key findings.

Top 10 "Dream" Colleges

One survey question, "What 'dream' college do you wish you (your child) could attend if acceptance and cost weren't issues?" invites a fill-in-the-blank answer. Some schools are named by hundreds of respondents as their "dream" college: others are mentioned by only one. This year, the school named by the highest number of student respondents as their "dream" college was Stanford. (Last year, it was Harvard.) Stanford also was named by the highest number of parent respondents this year as their "dream" college for their child. (Last year, it also was Stanford).

The 10 schools named "dream" colleges by the highest number of surveyed students were:

Stanford University (CA) Harvard College (MA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology New York University Princeton University (NJ) Columbia University (NY) Yale University (CT) University of CaliforniaLos Angeles University of Pennsylvania University of TexasAustin

The 10 schools named "dream" colleges by the highest number of surveyed parents were:

Stanford University (CA) Princeton University (NJ) Harvard College (MA) Massachusetts Institute of Technology Yale University (CT) New York University University of TexasAustin Cornell University (NY) Columbia University (NY) University of CaliforniaLos Angeles

Findings based on responses to questions with multiple choice answers indicate:

 College applications are stressful, and more so among students than parents.

Among respondents overall, 74% reported "Very High" or "High" stress about their applications. A higher percentage of students (76%) than parents (69%) reported such levels of stress. Twenty years ago, in 2003, the survey's initial year, only 56% of respondents reported "Very High" or "High" stress. Then, as now, a higher percentage of students (57%) than parents (50%) reported such stress.

 Financial aid is the biggest hope.

Asked how necessary financial aid will be to pay for college, 80% of respondents chose the answers "Extremely" or "Very." Of that cohort, the majority (52%) deemed aid "Extremely" necessary while 28% deemed it "Very" necessary. Another 18% said aid will be "Somewhat" necessary. Only 2% said "Not at all" necessary. Fifteen years ago, in 2007, when this question was first asked on the survey, 78% of respondents deemed financial aid "Extremely" or "Very" necessary.

 Debt is the biggest worry.

Asked what their biggest concern was about their applications, the plurality (39%) of respondents overall chose the answer, "Level of debt to pay for the degree." (That has been answer chosen by the plurality of respondents for nine years, since 2013.) This year, 28% of respondents chose the answer, "Will get into first-choice college, but won't be able to afford to attend," while 24% selected the answer, "Won't get into first-choice college." Twenty years ago, in 2003, the majority (52%) of respondents chose the answer, "Won't get into first-choice college," while the lowest percentage (6%) chose the answer, "Level of debt to pay for the degree."

 COVID-19 has affected decisions about colleges.

Asked ifand if so, howthe coronavirus pandemic had affected their decisions about colleges they were considering, the majority (61%) of respondents selected answer choices indicating it had. Of that cohort, 31% said they were applying to colleges "With lower sticker prices," and 20% said they were applying to colleges "Closer to home." Just 5% said they were applying to colleges "With smaller student bodies (or in less densely populated areas)," and 5% said they were applying to colleges "With on-campus medical centers or located near hospitals." A large group, 39%, said the pandemic had not affected their decisions about colleges.

 Tests are the toughest part of applications.

Asked which aspect of the application process was toughest, the plurality (34%) chose the answer, "Taking the SAT, ACT, or AP exams." (That has been the answer chosen by the plurality for 16 of the past 20 years.) Nearly as many respondents this year, 33%, chose the answer "Completing applications for admission and aid;" 22% chose "Waiting for decision letters and choosing which college to attend," and 11% chose "Researching colleges."

 More students this year have taken (or plan to take) the SAT than the ACT.

Asked which admission test(s) they (their child) had taken or planned to take, the plurality (47%) chose the answer, "The SAT," while 15% said "The ACT." "Both tests" said 29%, and only 9% said "Neither test." In 2020, the first year this question was on the survey, 43% said "Both tests"; 34% said "The SAT"; 14% said "The ACT," and 9% said "Neither test."

 "Overall fit" and "programs supporting career interests" matter more in applicants' decisions about colleges than "academic reputation" and "affordability."

Asked to characterize the college they were most likely to choose to attend, the plurality (42%) selected the answer, "College that will be the best overall fit." Nearly as many, 36%, selected "College with the best program for my (my child's) career interests." Only 13% choose the answer, "College with the best academic reputation"; 9% chose "College that will be most affordable."

 The biggest benefit of a college degree is the prospect of a better job.

Asked what they considered the major benefit of earning a college degree, 43% (the plurality) selected the answer, "Potentially better job and income," while 32% chose "Exposure to new ideas," and 25% chose "Education."

 Parents and students differ on the distance from home of "ideal" college.

Asked how far from home their (their child's) "ideal" college would be, 47% of parent respondents chose the answer "Fewer than 250 miles." However, 66% of student respondents selected answer choices in ranges exceeding 250 miles (and 13% of that cohort chose the answer, "More than 1,000 miles"). For 15 years, since 2007 when this question was added to the survey, parents' and students' opinions on this have changed little.

 College is widely considered "worth it."

Nearly all99% of respondentssaid "Yes" when asked if they believe college will be worth it.

Other questions on the survey asked respondents their estimates of their college costs, and the number of colleges to which they are applying. Survey findings also report on whether information about how "green" a college is (i.e., its commitment to the environment) or information about the school's career services would contribute to respondents' decisions to apply to or attend a school. A survey report showing all questions, answer choices, and findings (broken out by respondents overall, by students, and by parents) is here.

Advice from Surveyed Students and Parents

An optional question on the survey has annually invited respondents to share their advice for next year's applicants and their parents. For 20 years, "Start early" has been the most common adviceindeed, exhortationfrom students and parents alike. Other advice from respondents this year included this from a Connecticut mother: "Don't stress! This will only lose good time with your child during the last year they are home." A father from Georgia wrote five words: "Diligence. Patience. Research. Visit. Love." A student from Maryland said "Keep in mind what you (future student) want out of colleges. If you want them to enhance your career, ask are there ways they can help with it? College is like finding a partner." A Minnesota student simply said "It's all gonna be alright." The Princeton Review has posted samplers of best advice from surveyed students and parents here.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate schoolbound students achieve their education and career goals through its: online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is now in its 41st year. The company's Tutor.com brand, now in its 21st year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 21 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on Twitter (@ThePrincetonRev ) and Instagram ( @theprincetonreview ).

SAT and AP are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse The Princeton Review.

ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc., which is not affiliated with and does not endorse The Princeton Review.

SOURCE The Princeton Review

Related Links

http://www.princetonreview.com


Getting vital pet supplies into Ukraine to help tackle a worsening animal welfare crisis. Tweet this

Raluca Morar, executive director Romanian Red Cross in Sibiu, says: "In times like these, we at the Red Cross know that our most valuable resource is kindness and compassion. Our humanitarian convoys will deliver not only supplies to people in desperate need, but also hope that help in on the way. In times like these we know that not only people, but also animals need help. We are happy and honored to have Humane Society International on our side, making sure that much needed pet food will also reach Ukraine with our convoys. The first ton of dry pet food has reached our loading point in Sibiu, and it will be delivered to Ukraine within the next days."

Humane Society International/Europe's Romania director, Andreea Roseti, says: "As this conflict continues, people and animals in Ukraine are suffering alongside each other, particularly in those animal shelters and homes where leaving animals behind has simply been an impossible decision to make. We are grateful that the Romanian Red Cross has recognised that the plight of animals in war is inextricably bound up with the plight of the people who live with them and care so deeply about their welfare. We have donated one tonne of emergency pet supplies, the first of many to come, that the Red Cross will distribute within Ukraine to help avert a worsening animal welfare crisis. There are large numbers of pet dogs and cats roaming the streets who have become separated from their families; they are bewildered, traumatised and in need of help. The tragedy of war doesn't differentiate between two legs or four, and together with the Red Cross we will get aid to those people in Ukraine desperately asking for help to keep their animal friends alive in this crisis."

Humane Society International is also working with other local animal welfare groups in Germany, Italy and Poland to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing the conflict with their beloved pets by providing emergency supplies at refugee reception points. Supported by a generous donation from Mars, Incorporated, the charity is providing pet food, blankets as well as veterinary care for refugees arriving with animal companions. The people accessing these pet support services speak of their relief at being able to save their pets who are an enormous comfort in extremely stressful circumstances, especially for traumatised children.

In Germany, Humane Society International is working with animal welfare group Berliner Tiertafel to provide pet food and veterinary treatment. All over Berlin more than 30 vets are already supporting the project to provide aid to refugees and their pets, so that the animals receive urgent veterinary treatments alongside necessary vaccinations and microchips.

HSI's Germany director, Sylvie Kremerskothen Gleason, says: "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is of course a devastating humanitarian crisis, but the beloved dogs, cats and other animals of those fleeing Ukraine are very much part of that refugee story. We have heard from refugees we're helping in Berlin that the loyal companionship of their pets has kept them and their families going on the arduous journey to safety. For children especially, their pets are an enormous source of comfort to help them cope with the trauma of war. These refugees are frightened and exhausted, so being able to help them care for their pets means they have one less thing to worry about at a time when they need help the most."

Kitty Block, CEO of Humane Society International, said: "As we respond to the crisis in Ukraine, it's clear that the plight of people is often inextricably linked with the plight of animals. Whether it's refugees fleeing with beloved dogs and cats in tow, or those staying behind to care for animals in shelters, rescue centres and veterinary hospitals, these people need help, and through our vital partnerships we are able to provide it."

You can help by making a donation to HSI's emergency response for Ukraine and other life-saving efforts.

With a presence in more than 50 countries, Humane Society International works around the globe to promote the human-animal bond, rescue and protect dogs and cats, improve farm animal welfare, protect wildlife, promote animal-free testing and research, respond to natural disasters and confront cruelty to animals in all of its forms. Learn more about our work at hsi.org . Follow HSI on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram .

SOURCE Humane Society International
UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the UN system is on track to achieving gender parity.

"Today, I am proud to report that we are on a positive trajectory toward achieving gender parity across the United Nations system," he told a meeting of the Group of Friends on Gender Parity.

Gender parity among 190 senior UN leadership posts has been achieved, two years ahead of the target date, he said.

In the UN Secretariat, the proportion of women in the professional categories and above has increased to over 42 percent from 37 percent in 2017. Since 2019, there has been significant progress in hard-to-shift mid-management levels, he said.

The achievements were made while the world organization was grappling with a crippling financial crisis, necessitating a freeze on regular-budget recruitment, noted Guterres.

At the current rate of progress, the UN Secretariat is forecast to reach the parity range in the second quarter of 2027, before the target date of 2028 set out in the Gender Parity Strategy, he said.

"The strategy is working. But we are not there yet. While we have made steady progress at headquarter locations, our progress in the field has been slower and uneven," he said.

In peace operations, 32 percent of civilian personnel are women and 68 percent are men. This is a slight improvement from 2017 when women accounted for 28 percent of all civilian personnel in field missions. But, in some missions, women represent just one-quarter of international staff component, he said.

It is in the interests of the United Nations to change these numbers which requires a number of very important changes in rules and member states will be very important in this regard. UN peace operations, as well as those they serve, will benefit from the perspectives and experience that female personnel bring, he said.

Achieving gender parity at the United Nations is a collective endeavor. Ultimately, gender equality is a question of power, he said.

"We still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture and male-dominated power structures. These structures allow men's power to dominate in different degrees in cultures around the world. All of the challenges facing our world today -- from an unequal recovery from COVID-19, to climate change, to intergenerational inequality, poverty and violence, to the tragic lack of peace in our world -- are largely the result of a deeply rooted patriarchy," he said.

There is still a long way to go to obtain the Sustainable Development Goal of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls by 2030, said Guterres. 
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Radar Systems Market by Application, Platform (Air, Marine, Unmanned, Land, Space), Frequency Band, Type, Component, Range, Dimension, Technology, & Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America) - Forecast to 2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The radar systems market is estimated to be USD 32.5 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 41.0 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2021 to 2026.

Increasing demand for advanced weather monitoring radar to drive the market for radar systems during the forecast period



Weather monitoring radar, also known as weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, are developed to detect precipitation (rain, snow, and hail, among others) and calculate its direction of motion in order to estimate weather conditions in a particular region at a given time. These radar are used across commercial, scientific, and military applications, with many companies actively developing new technologies for use in weather monitoring. For instance, In June 2020, Honeywell (US) developed the IntuVue RDR-7000 Weather Radar System, which can be used in military and defense applications. The IntuVue RDR-7000 can also be used on urban mobility platforms such as air taxis and airborne emergency vehicles.



Development of Active Electronically Scanned Array radar



Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar technology is a module containing a new generation of transceiver modules. Software-defined radio (SDR) is used for radio communication because of its high data rates. The use of AESA technology is growing rapidly because of its enhanced reliability and affordability and is expected to replace conventional radar systems in the near future. This has allowed countries such as the US, Norway, the Netherlands, India, and Israel, among others, to incorporate AESA into legacy/old systems on land, sea, and airborne platforms.



Due to its resistance to electronic jamming, low interception, high reliability, and multi-mode capability, countries around the world are adding AESA radar into their military aircraft and vessels and manufacturers around the world are working to meet demand. Incorporating AESA radar into aircraft/sea/or ground platforms will remain relevant since electronic warfare is becoming more important and without AESA, modern conventional militaries are obsolete.



Europe: The largest contributing region in the radar systems market.



Europe is the largest market for radar systems in terms of demand as well as presence of key radar systems manufacturers. The region accounted for a total share of 33.8% of the global Radar systems market in 2020. Europe has many countries that invest a good amount of money in defense infrastructure. This results in a high requirement of radar systems in the Europe.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary

4 Premium Insights

5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Dynamics

5.2.1 Drivers

5.2.1.1 Emergence of Modern Electronic Warfare and Network-Centric Warfare

5.2.1.2 Development of Phased Array Solid-State Radar

5.2.1.3 Significant Investments by Governments to Upgrade Existing Fighter Aircraft Radar

5.2.1.4 Increasing Defense Expenditure of Emerging Economies

5.2.1.5 Increased Demand for Advanced Weather Monitoring Radar

5.2.2 Restraints

5.2.2.1 Limited Bandwidth for Commercial Applications due to Preference for Military Use

5.2.3 Opportunities

5.2.3.1 Rise in Adoption of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Lightweight Radar

5.2.3.2 Development of Low-Cost and Miniaturized Radar

5.2.4 Challenges

5.2.4.1 Stringent Cross-Border Trading Policies

5.2.4.2 Susceptibility to New Jamming Techniques

5.3 COVID-19 Impact Scenarios

5.4 Impact of COVID-19 on Radar Systems Market

5.4.1 Demand-Side Impact

5.4.1.1 Key Developments from January 2020 to August 2021

5.4.2 Supply-Side Impact

5.5 Trends/Disruptions Impacting Customers' Business

5.5.1 Radar Systems in Unmanned Surface Vessels (Usv)

5.6 Market Ecosystem

5.6.1 Prominent Companies

5.6.2 Private and Small Enterprises

5.6.3 End-users

5.7 Pricing Analysis

5.7.1 Average Selling Price Analysis of Radar Systems in 2020 (USD Million)

5.8 Tariff Regulatory Landscape of Maritime Industry

5.9 Trade Data

5.10 Value Chain Analysis of Radar Systems Market

5.10.1 Research & Development

5.10.2 Raw Material

5.10.3 Component/Product Manufacturers (Oems)

5.10.4 Assemblers & Integrators

5.10.5 End-users

5.11 Porter's Five Forces Model

5.12 Technology Analysis

5.13 Use Cases

5.14 Operational Data

6 Industry Trends

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Supply Chain Analysis

6.2.1 Major Companies

6.2.2 Small and Medium Enterprises

6.2.3 End-users/Customers

6.3 Emerging Industry Trends

6.3.1 Software-Defined Radar

6.3.2 Mimo (Multiple Inputs/Multiple Outputs)

6.3.3 Active Electronically Steered Array (Aesa)

6.3.4 Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (Isar)

6.3.5 Quantum Radar

6.3.6 Digital Beam Forming Technique in Radar

6.3.7 4D Electronically Scanned Array Radar Systems

6.4 Impact of Megatrends

6.4.1 Digitalization and Introduction of Internet of Things (Iot) Systems in Airborne Radar

6.4.2 Shift in Global Economic Power

6.5 Innovations and Patent Registrations

7 Radar Systems Market, by Platform

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Air

7.2.1 Aew&C Systems Use Radar for Command & Coordination

7.2.2 Commercial Aircraft

7.2.2.1 Fixed-Wing Aircraft

7.2.2.1.1 High Demand for Radar for Navigation Purposes

7.2.2.2 Rotary-Wing Aircraft

7.2.2.2.1 Increased Demand for Rescue Missions and Recreational Use

7.2.3 Military Aircraft

7.2.3.1 Fixed-Wing Aircraft

7.2.3.1.1 Security and Air Dominance - Key Operations Performed by Radar Systems in Fixed-Wing Aircraft

7.2.3.2 Rotary-Wing Aircraft

7.2.3.2.1 Development of Large-Capacity Military Rotary-Wing Aircraft Boosts Segment

7.3 Marine

7.3.1 Marine Radar Systems Widely Used for Navigation and Collision Avoidance

7.3.2 Commercial Vessels

7.3.2.1 Demand Driven by Tourism and Freight Services

7.3.3 Military Vessels

7.3.3.1 Technological Advancements Underway in Stealth Ships Equipped with Modern Isr and Radar Systems

7.4 Unmanned

7.4.1 Unmanned Systems Typically Equipped with Navigation Radar Systems

7.4.2 Uav

7.4.2.1 Demand for Scientific Research Boosts Segment

7.4.3 Ugv

7.4.3.1 Help Gather Information from Inaccessible Areas

7.4.4 Usv

7.4.4.1 Increasing Use in Militaries to Boost Segment

7.5 Land

7.5.1 Increased Need for Border Surveillance Drives Land Segment

7.5.2 Fixed Radar Systems

7.5.2.1 Demand to Monitor Strategic Locations Drives Segment

7.5.2.2 Air Defense Systems

7.5.2.3 Weather Stations

7.5.2.4 Border Surveillance Systems

7.5.2.5 Air Traffic Monitoring Stations

7.5.3 Portable Radar Systems

7.5.3.1 Need to Detect Smuggling Activities at Borders - Key Segment Driver

7.5.4 Mobile Radar Systems

7.5.4.1 Used Widely in Military and Commercial Applications

7.6 Space

7.6.1 Moving Target Identification and High-Resolution Digital Mapping - Possible with Space Radar

7.6.2 Satellites

7.6.3 Spacecraft

8 Radar System Market, by Frequency Band

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Single Band

8.2.1 Microwave Radar Dominates Single Band Radar Market

8.2.2 Radio Waves

8.2.2.1 U/V Hf Band

8.2.3 Microwave

8.2.3.1 L-Band

8.2.3.2 S-Band

8.2.3.3 C-Band

8.2.3.4 X-Band

8.2.3.5 K-/Ku-/Ka-Band

8.2.3.6 Others

8.2.4 Millimeter Wave

8.3 Multiband

8.3.1 Used for Coherent Detection and Tracking of Moving Target Objects

9 Radar Systems Market, by Component

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Antenna

9.2.1 Electronically Steered Arrays to Dominate Antenna Segment

9.2.2 Rotating Antennas

9.2.3 Electronically Steered Array

9.2.3.1 Active Arrays

9.2.3.2 Passive Arrays

9.2.4 Microstrip Antennas

9.3 Transmitters

9.3.1 Solid-State Radar Transmitter Segment to Lead Transmitter Segment

9.3.2 Magnetron

9.3.3 Solid-State Radar Transmitter

9.4 Receiver

9.4.1 Radar Receivers Optimize Detection Capacity with Bandwidth Characteristics

9.4.2 Amplifier

9.4.3 Mixer

9.4.4 Signal Processor

9.4.5 Display

9.5 Duplexer

9.5.1 Duplexer - Switch That Simultaneously Connects Antenna to Transmitter and Receiver

9.6 Waveguide

9.6.1 Used in Radar Systems to Carry Microwave & Millimeter Wave Signals

10 Radar Systems Market, by Type

10.1 Introduction.

10.2 Active Radar

10.2.1 Development of Electrically Scanned Array Radar to Boost Market for Active Radar Systems

10.2.2 Doppler Radar

10.2.2.1 Single Wave Doppler Radar

10.2.2.2 Pulse-Doppler Radar

10.2.3 Continuous Wave Radar

10.2.3.1 Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar (Fmcw Radar)

10.2.3.2 Moving Target Indicator Radar (Mti Radar)

10.2.3.3 Synthetic Aperture Radar (Sar)

10.3 Passive Radar

10.3.1 Widely Used in Stealth and Covert Operations

11 Radar Systems Market, by Application

11.1 Introduction

11.2 Commercial

11.2.1 Increasing Use in Weather Monitoring Application to Fuel Growth

11.2.2 Aircraft Monitoring & Surveillance

11.2.3 Weather Monitoring

11.2.4 Airport Perimeter Security

11.2.5 Critical Infrastructure

11.3 National Security

11.3.1 Increasing Use in Search & Rescue Operations Fuels Segment

11.3.2 Search & Rescue

11.3.3 Border Surveillance

11.3.4 Isr

11.4 Defense

11.4.1 Rising Demand for Radar-Based Security & Surveillance Applications Drives Segment

11.4.2 Perimeter Security

11.4.3 Battlefield Surveillance

11.4.4 Military Space Assets

11.4.5 Air Defense

12 Radar System Market, by Range

12.1 Introduction

12.2 Short-Range Radar

12.2.1 Used Primarily in Commercial Applications or Man-Portable Reconnaissance Missions

12.3 Medium-Range Radar

12.3.1 Widely Used Across Military Applications

12.4 Long-Range Radar

12.4.1 Used for Long-Distance and Accurate Location Tracking

13 Radar Systems Market, by Technology

13.1 Introduction

13.2 Software-Defined Radar (Sdr)

13.2.1 Segment Driven by Lightweight and Easily Customizable Features

13.3 Conventional Radar

13.3.1 Majorly Used in Detection and Imaging Applications

14 Radar Systems Market, by Dimension

14.1 Introduction

14.2 2D

14.2.1 2D Radar Used Mainly for Air Traffic Management

14.3 3D

14.3.1 High Target Location Accuracy and Automatic Operation Modes Drive 3D Radar Segment

14.4 4D

14.4.1 4D Radar Used in Autonomous Tactical Surveillance Vehicles for Accurate Target Mapping

15 Regional Analysis

16 Competitive Landscape

17 Company Profiles

17.1 Key Players

17.1.1 Northrop Grumman Corporation

17.1.3 Lockheed Martin Corporation

17.1.4 Raytheon Technologies Company

17.1.6 The Boeing Company

17.1.7 General Dynamics Corporation

17.1.8 Thales

17.1.9 Kongsberg

17.1.10 Saab Ab

17.1.11 Honeywell International Inc.

17.1.12 Bae Systems

17.1.13 Leonardo S.P.A.

17.1.14 Israel Aerospace Industries

17.1.15 Aselsan A.S.

17.1.16 Elbit Systems

17.1.17 Indra Company

17.1.18 Garmin Limited

17.1.19 Bharat Electronics Ltd

17.1.20 Airbus Group

17.1.21 Mitsubishi Electric

17.1.22 L3Harris Technologies

17.1.23 Src, Inc.

17.1.24 Hensoldt Ag

17.1.25 Telephonics Corporation

17.1.26 Ainstein Radar Systems

17.1.27 Optimare Systems GmbH

18 Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/227cdg

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DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Final days to register for the "In The Trenches - The Ultimate Guide to Integrated California Medical Leaves & Accommodations" webinar has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

What is in the Workshop?

Learn how to manage Third Party Administrators

Learn to create and manage a simple, powerful, easy to use system for managing medical leaves and accommodations in your workplace

Discover the red flags that will help prevent a lawsuit

How to conduct and document Good Faith Interactive

Meetings and Undue Hardship Analysis

Get solutions on how to respond to leave abuse

The Ultimate Guide: An Advanced Training in Medical Leave and Accommodation Management and How You Can Incorporate Your Organization's Policies, Procedures, Union Contracts, Culture and Risk Tolerance into Your Own Integrated System. This will include FMLA/CFRA, ADA/FEHA, PDL/Pregnancy Disability, and Workers' Compensation/. As a bonus, You Will Also Learn Proven Strategies to Deal With Related Performance Management and Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation Complaints and More!



Let an HR Pro With 30 Years of Experience Teach You a Simple, Powerful and Easy-to-Use Methodology and Workflow to Control, Not Just Manage, Medical Leaves and Accommodations in Your Organization, with or without a 3rd party administrator!



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Learn the employee life cycle, from recruiting to, integrated policies, to transitioning from FMLA to ADA, and transitioning from pregnancy disabilities with PDL/FMLA (potential ADA/FEHA) to CFRA Baby bonding

Learn how to identify potential abuse and what you can do to stop it

Discover the best practices for handling related performance management issues, and harassment, discrimination, and retaliation challenges

How to accurately and consistently implement FMLA/CFRA, ADA/FEHA, Pregnancy Disability, and Workers' Compensation programs, including California's New Parent Leave

New Parent Leave How to conduct (and document) Good Faith Interactive Meetings and Undue Hardship Analysis Research

Learn effective strategies, tips, best practices, and HR Standards of Care on how to impose your companies' performance management system for employees who have accommodations and are not meeting all of the Essential Functions of their job

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Learn the pitfalls of using 3rd party administrators and how to manage them correctly.

For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/oor7dx

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The Three-Piece Hardside Collection Incorporates Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Bottles into Interior of Each Suitcase

BOCA RATON, Fla., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelpro  the inventor of The Original Rollaboard suitcase  has launched a new three-piece collection of ultra-resilient, lightweight hardside luggage, Maxlite Air. The newest addition to the top-selling Maxlite collection, Maxlite Air includes a carry-on expandable spinner, medium check-in expandable spinner and a large check-in expandable spinner, with the carry-on weighing under 6.5 pounds. In an effort to reduce environmental waste, the interior lining of each suitcase is made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles, reusing between 12-21 plastic bottles depending on the suitcase size.

Travelpro Maxlite Air Collection

Each contemporary Maxlite Air suitcase is designed with the movement and hues of nature in mind  from the ultra-strong, 100% polycarbonate shell that features a flowing ribbed exterior, to the six color offerings that evoke a warm summer day. Built to make navigating busy airports or city streets a breeze, the luggage features eight smooth-gliding spinner wheels propelled by a sturdy, two stop PowerScope Lite handle and a patented Contour Grip with rubberized touch points.

"Travelers are eager to take that long-awaited GOAT (greatest of all trips) vacation this year and want to have new, beautiful and lightweight luggage for the journey," said Ofelia Silva, Chief Growth Officer at Travelpro. "We designed the Maxlite Air collection to combine all aspects of Travelpro luggage that travelers expect and love  a suitcase that is light, yet ultra-durable, while still offering the packing benefits needed for organization. It's also our first collection to utilize recycled, eco-friendly materials in its construction and we're eager to integrate this feature into our collections moving forward."

Where most lightweight luggage is an empty shell, the new collection keeps packing easy and efficient with two zippered divider panels and multiple accessory pockets, including a water-resistant pocket for damp items or toiletries. Over-packers will rejoice in the fact that each suitcase also features a 2 inch zipper expansion, perfect for those that need extra space when packing.

As with all Travelpro luggage, durability and quality were not sacrificed for weight. Just like the brand's other collections, Maxlite Air was subjected to over 15 durability tests including a Rolling Test, Cold Drop Test and Handle Strength Test. Backed by Travelpro's Built For A Lifetime Limited Warranty and its Trusted Companion Promise, travelers will be protected from functional defects for the life of the bag, as well as carrier damage for the first year of the warranty.

The full Travelpro Maxlite Air Collection is available on Travelpro.com, ranging in price from $169-$229 USD.

About Travelpro

For over 30 years, Travelpro has prided itself on design innovation and durability in crafting the highest quality luggage for travelers worldwide. Since transforming the ease of modern day travel with The Original Rollaboard wheeled luggage, Travelpro has been the brand of choice for flight crews and frequent travelers. The company is dedicated to building a lifelong relationship with its customers by consistently meeting and exceeding their expectations.

Among honors received, The Wirecutter, a cutting-edge source known for promoting the 'best gadgets and gear for people in the know,' ranked the Travelpro Platinum Elite 21" Expandable Carry-On Spinner as the best carry-on suitcase for the third year in a row. Additionally, US News & World Report ranked Travelpro's Platinum Elite 21" Expandable Carry-On Spinner as one of the best carry-on suitcases of 2022 and in February 2022, The Strategist named Travelpro as having one of the best rolling suitcases on the market.

Please visit Travelpro at www.travelpro.com for a full list of the latest products and retail locations. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and on our blog.

SOURCE Travelpro
Minority, LGBTQIA+, Women, Veteran, Disability and Small business owners are encouraged to register as corporate suppliers to support Trulieve's operations in 11 states

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL ) (OTCQX: TCNNF ) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, today launched its nationwide Supplier Diversity Initiative. The initiative provides education and professional development resources, while creating mutually beneficial business relationships with a supplier base reflective of the customers and communities Trulieve serves.

Suppliers nationwide are encouraged to register with Trulieve's supplier database. Through the Company's comprehensive Supplier Diversity Initiative, Trulieve will consider all varieties of products and services from marketing and software, to cleaning supplies, training, construction and other ancillary services that support Trulieve's day-to-day operations.

"Trulieve's Supplier Diversity Initiative showcases how cannabis leaders can positively impact local business communities while promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the cannabis industry," said Kim Rivers , CEO of Trulieve. "As Trulieve broadens its services and operations, we look forward to establishing new professional relationships with diverse business owners who wish to be active participants in this rapidly growing sector."

As corporate members of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Women's Business Enterprise National Council, Small Business Administration, Veterans in Business Network, National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and Disability Inclusion, Trulieve is actively seeking partnerships with diverse suppliers by participating with these certifying organizations and attending council events.

In November 2021, Trulieve published its inaugural Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report establishing several long-term Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The Supplier Diversity Initiative is the latest extension of Trulieve's commitment to creating a more inclusive and accessible cannabis industry aligned with the Company's ethics and governance standards. Since entering Georgia, Trulieve has already allocated a significant portion of its supplier contracts to local minority, woman and veteran-owned companies  well above the state's recommended 20% diversity threshold.

For more information on Trulieve's Supplier Diversity Program or to register as a supplier, please visit trulieve.quantumsds.com or email [email protected].

About Trulieve

Trulieve is an industry leading, vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator in the U.S. operating in 11 states, with leading market positions in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trulieve is poised for accelerated growth and expansion, building scale in retail and distribution in new and existing markets through its hub strategy. By providing innovative, high-quality products across its brand portfolio, Trulieve delivers optimal customer experiences and increases access to cannabis, helping patients and customers to live without limits. Trulieve is listed on the CSE under the symbol TRUL and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol TCNNF. For more information, please visit Trulieve.com .

Facebook: @Trulieve

Instagram: @Trulieve

Twitter: @Trulieve

Investor Contact

Christine Hersey, Executive Director of Investor Relations

+1 (424) 202-0210

[email protected]

Media Contact

Rob Kremer, Executive Director of Corporate Communications

+1 (404) 218-3077

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MATTIO Communications

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SOURCE Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
The ADSO is proud to announce an expanded schedule, student programming, and a sold-out exhibitor floor at the 2022 Summit

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO) is pleased to share further developments surrounding the 2022 ADSO Summit which will be held at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas from March 29 to April 1.

On March 30, thanks to Dental Monitoring, attendees will hear from Kevin Surace, futurist and CNBC's Innovator of the Decade. He will be discussing how changes in technology are transforming the dental landscape and the applications of The Internet of Things (IOT), artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. Later that day, Connor Lokar, a leading economist and forecaster, will be discussing challenges and uncertainties in 2022 through the lens of consumer trends and growing revenue and profitability by working around ever-changing business cycles. On March 31, bestselling author Suneel Gupta will be giving a keynote sponsored by membersy where he will share his unique insights related to the dental industry and public health as a whole.

The 2022 ADSO Summit will also feature a sold-out exhibit hall with more than 100 companies offering top-of-the-line products and services to DSOs of all sizes. "We're so pleased with the response. Companies have shown they understand the importance of our attendees, the industry, this event. I'm also really looking forward to all the content, panels, and discussions we've spent the last year preparing," said the ADSO's Executive Director, Andrew Smith. "It's going to be an action-packed three days in Austin."

The Summit will also include more than 25 breakout sessions with personalized tracks to ensure there's something for everyone. "We were looking for a way to integrate the Summit's programming into what matters to ADSO members as well as students and practitioners more broadly and I think the mix of visionary and practical industry insights will resonate with attendees," said Geoffrey Ligibel, President & CEO at 42 North Dental and head of the ADSO Curriculum Committee.

New this year, the Summit will wrap up on April 1 with a special event hosted by Henry Schein. "Looking to the Horizon: Planning & Reimagining the Future of Recruiting," will focus on workforce development and community engagement, helping DSOs enhance access to dental care, develop programs and partnerships to attract future dental team members, and recruit new hires from within communities where practices operate.

"We are delighted to participate in the ADSO event, attended by so many of our customers who have mastered the ability to quickly consolidate and make a valuable impact on their community and the patient experience," said AJ Caffentzis, President, U.S. Dental Distribution, Henry Schein. "At Henry Schein, we continue to deliver new educational opportunities that help advance team skillsets, boost employee morale, and accelerate operational success."

Online Summit registration is open through March 22, then at the event with an $100 onsite registration surcharge. ADSO members receive complimentary registrations based on their membership typeand dental students and educators can attend for free.

The 2022 ADSO Summit app, sponsored by DDS Lab, allows attendees to create a profile, network with other attendees, set up meetings, create a personalized schedule, and much more. The app is currently available for event registrants to download.

The Henry Schein event is open to all ADSO Summit registrants at no additional fee. Henry Schein customers attending this year's Summit may receive the ADSO member rate, a savings of over 50%, using the discount code found here.

For more details and the full Summit agenda, visit us here . The 2022 ADSO Summit app, sponsored by DDS Lab, is now available to event registrants and includes the ability to create a profile, network with attendees, set up meetings, create a personalized schedule, and more.

About the ADSO

The Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO) is a non-profit organization committed to providing support to its members, allowing them to focus on patients, expand access to quality dental care and improve the oral health of their communities. Comprising more than 80 DSO member companies, several association partners, and 175 industry partners, the ADSO represents Dental Support Organizations (DSOs) before the public, policymakers and the media. Its members operate in 48 states and provide the highest level of non-clinical support to more than 11,000 dentists across the country as well as in Australia, Canada, and Japan.

SOURCE ADSO
Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial

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Edition: 8; Released: February 2022

Executive Pool: 2798

Companies: 102 - Players covered include ATOUN Inc.; Bioness Inc.; Bionik Laboratories Corp.; Bioservo Technologies AB; B-Temia Inc.; Cyberdyne Inc.; Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc.; Gogoa Mobility Robots; Hocoma AG; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Parker-Hannifin Corporation; RB3D; Rehab-Robotics Company Limited; ReWalk Robotics Ltd.; Rex Bionics Ltd.; suitX (US Bionics) and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: End-Use (Healthcare, Industrial, Other End-Uses)

Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Rest of World.

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ABSTRACT-

Global Exoskeleton Robots Market to Reach $2.1 Billion by 2026

Robotic exoskeletons are wearable ambulatory machines that rely on mechanical structures, rotors, levers and hydraulics to move stiff body parts and help users in performing routine tasks with high endurance and strength. These external skeletons use artificial intelligence and sensors to detect bio-neurotic signals from the brain and trigger the frame to move in line with specific instructions like sitting, standing or lifting an object. Growth in the global market is being driven by increasing applications across diverse industries, rising geriatric population, technological innovations and broader scope in the military and healthcare sectors. These suits are anticipated to find extensive adoption in healthcare applications and benefit from increasing number of rehabilitation centers. Against the backdrop of strict social distancing measures and travel restrictions to curb spread of the coronavirus, the combination of worker shortage and exponential growth of the e-commerce sector has created a strong demand for advanced tools across diverse industries to boost productivity while ensuring worker safety. The requirement has played an important role in driving the adoption of powered, full-body exoskeletons for production units, construction sites and other complex environments.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Exoskeleton Robots estimated at US$896.4 Million in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$2.1 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 21.2% over the analysis period. Healthcare, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 20.8% CAGR to reach US$1.2 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Industrial segment is readjusted to a revised 23.1% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 30.4% share of the global Exoskeleton Robots market. Healthcare continues to be the primary end-use application segment of the robotic exoskeletons market as a result of increasing adoption of these suits by seniors and people with mobility disorders. Rising acceptance of exoskeletons in rehabilitation centers coupled with increasing incident of spinal cord injuries and associated treatments are bolstering the healthcare segment.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $384.8 Million in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $255.8 Million by 2026

The Exoskeleton Robots market in the U.S. is estimated at US$384.8 Million in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 43.07% share in the global market. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$255.8 Million in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 25.4% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 16.9% and 19.2% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 21% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$305.6 Million by the end of the analysis period. Growth in North America region is being driven by major contribution from the US, rising aging population and high purchasing power of people. The market demand is propelled by increasing cases of spinal cord injury and stroke along with associated disabilities. Increasing awareness about these options and regulatory approval for medical exoskeletons are poised to fuel demand, while increasing number of rehabilitation centers to serve people with spinal cord injuries, stroke, traumatic brain surgeries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis are expected to bolster the market. Improvements in healthcare infrastructure, a massive patient pool and government funding for medical devices are the major factors fueling growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

By End-Use, Industrial Segment to Reach $714 Million by 2026

The Industrial segment is gaining from increasing cases of workplace injuries and rising awareness regarding various merits of using exoskeletons in industrial applications. The increasing demand for advanced products to empower workers in different sectors like manufacturing, construction and distribution is poised to benefit the industrial segment. In the global Industrial segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 22% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$167.4 Million will reach a projected size of US$699.6 Million by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$70.2 Million by the year 2026.

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The global vibration sensor market size is expected to reach USD 9.78 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 7.1% from 2022 to 2030, according to a new study conducted by Grand View Research, Inc. The growing adoption of vibration sensors for predictive maintenance is expected to drive market growth.

Key Insights & Findings from the report:

The accelerometers type segment led the market in 2021. A rise in the adoption of accelerometers in portable devices due to their enhanced capabilities in small unit size propelled the segment growth.

The piezoresistive technology segment led the market growth in 2021. A rise in the use of piezoresistive sensors in a variety of applications involving mechanical stress measurement favored the segment growth.

Various regulations, such as American Petroleum Institute (API) Standard 670: Machinery Protection Systems, mandate the usage of machinery monitoring systems, such as vibration sensors, in refineries. These regulations are expected to drive the market growth in the oil & gas end-use segment.

Asia Pacific is estimated to record the fastest CAGR from 2022 to 2030 due to the increasing adoption of earthquakes & tsunamis detection & prediction system in countries, such as the Philippines , South Korea , and Japan .

is estimated to record the fastest CAGR from 2022 to 2030 due to the increasing adoption of earthquakes & tsunamis detection & prediction system in countries, such as , , and . The vast supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic hampered the market in 2020. However, the focus of several industries on automation amid the pandemic created the demand for accelerometers in 2021 as accelerometers enable users to remotely monitor their machine operations.

Request a free sample copy or view report summary: "Vibration Sensor Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Accelerometers, Displacement Sensor), By End-use (Oil & Gas, Automobile), By Material (Doped Silicon, Quartz), By Technology, And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030", published by Grand View Research.

Vibration Sensor Market Growth & Trends

Accelerometers are the most common vibration sensors used for predictive maintenance for large rotating machines, such as pumps, motors, gearboxes, and turbines. Several companies in the market are entering into partnerships with other market players to develop smart vibration sensors. For instance, in April 2021, Advantech and RAD, IoT technology providers, partnered with Actility, a LoRaWAN Network Server provider.

Through this initiative, the companies announced the launch of Advantech's WISE-2410 LoRaWAN smart vibration sensor with integration into the ThingPark Enterprise IoT platform of Actility. The growing demand for wireless vibration sensors among businesses due to benefits, such as long-distance communication, and use in hazardous locations is expected to drive market growth. Several market vendors are making efforts to cater to the growing demand for wireless vibration sensors. For instance, in October 2021, Fluke Reliability, a machine conditioning devices provider, partnered with Everactive, a technology company, to develop wireless vibration sensors.

Vibration Sensor Market Segmentation

Grand View Research has segmented the global vibration sensor market based on type, technology, material, end-use, and region:

Vibration Sensor Type Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Accelerometers

Velocity Sensor

Displacement Sensor

Vibration Sensor Technology Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Piezoresistive

Strain Gauge

Variable Capacitance

Hand Probe

Optical

Tri-Axial

Others

Vibration Sensor Material Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Doped Silicon

Piezoelectric Ceramics

Quartz

Vibration Sensor End-use Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

Automobile

Consumer Electronics

Healthcare

Aerospace & Defense

Oil & Gas

Others

Vibration Sensor Regional Outlook (Volume, Thousand Units; Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

North America

U.S.



Canada

Europe

Germany



U.K.

Asia Pacific

China



India



Japan

Latin America

Brazil

Middle East & Africa (MEA)

List of Key Players of Vibration Sensor Market

ASC GmbH

Analog Devices, Inc.

Dytran Instruments Inc.

Honeywell International Inc.

Hansford Sensors

Safran Colibrys SA

National Instruments Corp.

TE Connectivity

Bosch Sensortec GmbH

Baumer

Check out more related studies published by Grand View Research:

Pressure Sensor Market - The global pressure sensor market size is expected to reach USD 24.48 billion by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to register a CAGR of 4.6% from 2021 to 2028. The growth can be attributed to the growing application of pressure sensors in automotive, aviation, and consumer electronic appliances.

The global pressure sensor market size is expected to reach by 2028, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. It is expected to register a CAGR of 4.6% from 2021 to 2028. The growth can be attributed to the growing application of pressure sensors in automotive, aviation, and consumer electronic appliances. Motion Sensor Market - The global motion sensor market size is expected to reach USD 8.7 billion by 2025, registering a CAGR of 7.8% from 2019 to 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing adoption of motion sensors in robotics and gaming applications such as joystick, Augmented Reality (AR) devices, and other gaming accessories have influenced the use of sensing techniques.

- The global motion sensor market size is expected to reach by 2025, registering a CAGR of 7.8% from 2019 to 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Increasing adoption of motion sensors in robotics and gaming applications such as joystick, Augmented Reality (AR) devices, and other gaming accessories have influenced the use of sensing techniques. Agriculture Sensor Market - The global agriculture sensor market size is estimated to reach USD 3.79 billion by 2028, according to the new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is projected to register a CAGR of 13.6% from 2021 to 2028. The growth is driven by factors such as rising acceptance of the IoT and AI by growers and farmers, increasing focus on livestock disease detection and monitoring, growing demand for fresh produce, reducing arable land, population growth, government support for precision farming practices, and increasing implementation of aquaculture feed optimization devices in developing countries.

Browse through Grand View Research's Sensors & Controls Industry Research Reports.

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

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Wirex was founded with the aim of allowing everyone to access the benefits of crypto, and have expanded their mission to include the DeFi market. The company has already made headlines for launching the world's first crypto enabled debit card, and currently serve over 4.5 million customers across the EEA, APAC, and as of this month, US regions.

X-tras will bring Savings Bonuses, Cryptoback Rewards and X-Accounts under one easy-to-use umbrella that allows users to customise their own reward levels. Wirex's native token, WXT, sits at the centre of this ecosystem where users will be rewarded for owning and staking WXT holdings within the Wirex app.

Offering three different reward tiers, X-tras will see an innovative and upgraded subscription model. Depending on the level of WXT staked, users will be able to earn up to 16% in Savings Bonuses and up to 8% in Cryptoback rewards on all purchases made with a Wirex card, in-store and online.

Additionally, they can receive up to 20% AER on selected X-Accounts, earning unparalleled interest back on crypto and fiat funds*. With over $80 million having already been deposited by users into X-Accounts, last week, the company expanded the accounts offered to include popular currencies such as AVAX, SHIB and USD, on top of existing X-Accounts in EUR, BTC and ETH.**

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-Founder explained that "X-tras represents the next step forward when it comes to crypto and DeFi rewards. We continue to innovate at Wirex, and want both veteran crypto enthusiasts and those who are just getting started in the space to benefit from our features. We're on a mission to spearhead the crypto movement and X-tras represents a new, evolved way of doing this."

* Earnings apply to fiat converted to stablecoins. Subject to T&Cs.

** Features and functionality may vary per country. Full list of new countries and countries with new features can be found on the Wirex blog here.

About Wirex

Wirex is a worldwide digital payment platform and regulated institution that has forged new rules in the digital payments space. In 2015, the firm developed the world's first crypto-enabled payment card that gives users the ability to seamlessly spend crypto and traditional currencies in real life.

Wirex was created in 2014 by CEOs and co-founders Pavel Matveev and Dmitry Lazarichev, who identified the need to open up the esoteric world of cryptocurrencies and make digital money accessible for everyone. With the core aim of making it as easy as possible to use digital assets in everyday life, Wirex provides a trusted and cost-effective service for crypto and traditional currency transactions by incorporating the next generation of payments infrastructure integrated with cryptocurrency blockchains

With over 4.5 million customers across 130 countries, the company offers secure accounts that allow customers to easily store, buy and exchange multiple currencies instantly at the best live rates on one centralised mobile app. Quick and simple crypto transfer options are available, as well as the freedom to spend 150+ traditional and cryptocurrencies in more than 61 million locations around the world using the Wirex card.

Wirex continues to develop the product in line with market developments, whilst adhering to regional regulations and securing appropriate licensing where it exists. A proven industry pioneer, Wirex launched their own native utility token, WXT, and introduced the world's first crypto reward programme, Cryptoback, which earns cardholders up to 2% back in WXT for every transaction they make.

To reflect the growth of the metaverse, throughout 2021, the company has expanded their product to enable mainstream access to DeFi. Starting with the launch of their popular X-Accounts feature, offering unprecedented levels of interest, Wirex has continued to add to their DeFi arsenal with the release of the non-custodial Wirex Wallet and a partnership with Nereus, a decentralised liquidity market.

Wirex is based in London, with offices in Singapore, Kyiv, Dallas, Dublin and Atlanta. With over $5bn worth of transactions processed already and rapid expansion into new territories, including the US, Wirex is uniquely placed to support and promote the mass adoption of a cashless society through creative solutions.

| wirexapp.com |

SOURCE Wirex
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Warehouse Club Industry Guide" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

It's not easy to sell your products to BJ's, Costco, PriceSmart or Sam's Club. It's even harder to remain an active vendor. Warehouse club buyer needs are specific and extensive. A warehouse club buyer does not want to meet with a supplier or broker who does not understand its business.



Within its 360 pages, the Warehouse Club Industry Guide (Guide) addresses those club buyer requirements. It provides a list of program requirements. The Guide explains club buying strategies. It addresses every club buyer need.



Learn about club industry packaging requirements. Research a list of private label items at BJ's, Costco and Sam's Club. Use our 2026 projections to plan your club growth.



Key Topics Covered:



INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

What is a club?

Historical Quotes

Club Sales Data

Location Analysis

Member Profile and Analysis

In-Club Ancillary Businesses

Member Services

Club Magazines

Category SKU

Category Sales

Private Label

Private Label Detail

Web Sites

Department Analysis

Seasonal Analysis

Item Basket Comparison

CLUB PROGRAMS, PRODUCTS

Understanding Club Buyers

Pricing Concepts

Product Development

Club Observations

Marketing Money

Product Demonstrations

Coupons

Packaging

U.S. Merchants

Product Distribution

Brokers

Club Industry Survey

COSTCO WHOLESALE

Costco Profile

Costco Buying and Operating

Costco Financials

Costco Layout

Costco International

Costco Locations

Jim Sinegal

Sol Price

Price Club History

Costco History

SAM'S CLUB

Sam's Club Profile

Sam's Club Buying and Operating

Sam's Club Financials

Sam's Club Layout

Sam's Club International

Sam's Club Locations

PACE Membership History

Sam's Club History

BJ'S WHOLESALE

BJ's Profile

BJ's Buying and Operating

BJ's Financials

BJ's Layout

BJ's Locations

BJ's History

COST-U-LESS

Cost-U-Less Profile

Cost-U-Less Buying and Operating

Cost-U-Less Layout

Cost-U-Less Locations

Cost-U-Less History

PRICESMART

PriceSmart Profile

PriceSmart Buying and Operating

PriceSmart Financials

PriceSmart Layout

PriceSmart Locations

PriceSmart History

FINANCIAL PAST, FUTURE

Yearly Financial History

Club Industry Future

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qfco3m

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Invest-in-Data (IID), a group of 30 Chief Data Officers and VPs of Data have launched a new angel syndicate today with a mission to fuel innovations in data infrastructure, analytics, and AI technologies by identifying promising early-stage data startups, investing in them, and leveraging unmatched industry expertise to help them thrive. The group was co-founded by data executives Yao Morin from JLL, George Bezerra from Frontdoor, June Dershewitz from Amazon Music, Alex Choy from Silicon Valley Bank, Barkha Saxena from Poshmark, and Oren Yunger of GGV Capital.

IID was founded in late 2021 and has quietly made two investments to date. Group members pool their own funds to invest in early-stage data companies. The syndicate enables the broader tech community to participate in the startup investment ecosystem and influence products they want to see in the market. The syndicate also helps to align corporate buyer needs with startup innovation and new product pipeline. As of March 2022, there are 30 members  all Chief Data Officers and VPs of Data who bring perspectives from various sectors spanning Fortune 500 companies and fast-moving startups. IID is looking to make data a more inclusive, diverse industry with women as 30% of its current members.

Active participation sets IID membership apart from other angel syndicates. Members contribute through nominations of investment opportunities, perform due diligence, and actively support and advise portfolio companies.

IID is an invitation-only community that believes that increasing the diversity of the industry makes it better. Current members nominate and endorse new members, who must be in a decision-making position within their companies. New members need the support of several members of the group to become a member. Each IID member has a proven executive track record and has evaluated, purchased, and used hundreds of data solutions. For more information: www.investindata.ai. Follow @InvestInData on Twitter and www.linkedin.com/company/investindata/ on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Invest-in-Data
HANGZHOU, March 16 (Xinhua) -- An international team of researchers from Japan and China has found that geese may have been domesticated as early as 7,000 years ago, suggesting that they were the first poultry species to be domesticated.

Scientists have long held different opinions on the history of the domestication of birds. Some suggest chickens were the first to be domesticated.

In 2014, Chinese researchers reported ancient DNA sequences taken from the earliest archaeological chicken bone discovery in China, suggesting chickens were domesticated in northern China as early as 10,000 years ago.

The researchers behind the goose study said that the 2014 study lacks firm evidence.

In the new study, the team excavated the archaeological site of Tianluoshan, a 7,000-year-old rice cultivation village in the lower Yangtze River valley in what is today known as east China's Zhejiang Province. They found a total of 232 goose bones at the site. The inhabitants of the village were hunter-gatherers.

The researchers used multiple approaches to study the bones, and found lines of evidence of domestication.

Four bones were from goslings ranging from eight to 16 weeks old, suggesting they hatched near the site. Geese were domesticated from wild geese. These migratory birds fly to northern Siberia to breed after the spring equinox and then fly south for the winter, according to researchers from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

They said the goslings were too young to have flown in from elsewhere. At the time, Tianluoshan did not have the conditions to be a natural breeding place for wild geese, so it follows that the goslings were born after domestication.

The researchers also analyzed the chemical makeup of adult goose bones, which contained evidence of the water they drank. Their analysis indicated that the adult geese also seemed to have been locally bred. The locally bred geese were roughly the same size, suggesting captive breeding. Carbon dating also showed that the bones belonged to geese that lived about 7,000 years ago.

The findings have been published in the U.S. journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The researchers said that ancient DNA analysis is required in further studies to investigate which species were bred to become local geese populations. 
Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals Southeast list had an average growth rate of 147% percent.

ORLANDO, Fla., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today revealed that diDNA is No. 39 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals Southeast list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Southeast region economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

"It's an incredible achievement for diDNA to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Southeast. Our position as number 39 couldn't have been accomplished without the amazing work our team puts in every day to push the publisher ecosystem forward. We see a tremendous amount of opportunity for further growth within the category as we continue to optimize ad revenue for publishers, fueling notable gains for everyone in our network," said Deke Hooper, diDNA CEO.

Between 2018 and 2020, these 173 private companies had an average growth rate of 147% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 27,794 jobs and nearly $4.9 billion to the Southeast region's economy. diDNA anticipates hiring for multiple roles in data analytics, development, ad tech operations, and finance in 2022 and projects strong growth with a focus on the expansion of video and connected TV (CTV), new products within the tech stack, and an expanded sales and marketing program.

"This year's Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts growth companies. They're disruptors and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.'

To view the complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Southeast, please visit inc.com/southeast.

About diDNA

diDNA, based in Orlando, FL, was founded in 2016 and is one of the world's leading ad tech providers for the publisher ecosystem. diDNA's ad management platform maximizes ad revenue through a holistic approach including core ad tech, access to 70+ demand partners, and a dedicated tech team committed to developing tools that drive industry-leading results.

Currently, the company works with over 50,000 publisher properties providing automated tools, hands-on management, and a product suite designed to empower and instantly increase revenue for everyone within the publisher and advertising community. diDNA prides itself on developing a "culture of no competition" to foster strong industry relationships, thus quickly becoming the bedrock of the publisher advertising world.

Visit www.didna.io, follow them on LinkedIn and subscribe to the diDNA Dialogues YouTube channel for more information and company news.

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 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.

For more information, visit www.inc.com.

SOURCE diDNA
DUBAI, UAE, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- 5G Technology Market is estimated at US$ 9.6 Bn in 2022, likely to surge at a vigorous 71.9% CAGR during the assessment period 2022  2028. Future Market Insights (FMI) recently published a report titled '5G Technology Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 20222028.' 5G technology will play a crucial role in supporting governments and public organizations in transforming cities into smart cities, and will enable citizens and communities to realize and participate in the socio-economic benefits delivered by an advanced, data-intensive, and digital economy.

2022 Market Value US$ 9.6 Bn 2028 Market Value US$ 248.4 Bn CAGR% (2022-2028) 71.9% Share of Top 5 Players 20%

The increasing demand for improved network performance and reliability is driving the growth of 5G technology market. Moreover, significant growth in wired and wireless subscriptions as well as the number of internet users is creating potential opportunities for the growth of 5G technology market.

Request a sample to obtain authentic analysis and comprehensive market insights at- https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-9011

FMI has segmented the global 5G technology market on the basis of technology, application, vertical, and regions. The global 5G technology market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 82.4% during the forecast period. In addition, the 5G technology market was valued at US$ 608.3 Mn in 2018, and is estimated to grow substantially to reach US$ 248,462.4 Mn by 2028, owing to the heavy investments by government and various key players in 5G technology.

Government Initiatives to Speed up 5G Technology

The US is expected to be the first country to introduce 5G technology, wireless applications and networks, as regulators pave the wave for rapidly growing next-generation services. In North America, enterprises such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communication Inc. are coming together to commercial 5G technology. Also, increasing number of initiatives by the government is boosting the growth of 5G technology market.

For instance, in July 2016, the US government launched initiatives worth US$ 400 Mn to conduct research on 5G wireless networks. Also, the Government of Canada is strongly committed to boosting engagement in next-generation networking and 5G technology by opening an innovation ecosystem to accelerate the growth of ICT.

Moreover, in enterprise application, the substantial adoption of advanced technologies, such as the internet of things and cloud solutions, is expected to boost the adoption of 5G technology by transforming the focus from consumer-centric cellular coverage to more machine-centric communications. Moreover, in the beginning of 2018, 5G technology has launched in the specific regions of GCC countries, and large-scale commercial roll outs are expected in commercial areas by 2020.

Discover more about report analysis with figures and data tables, along with the table of contents. Feel Free to Ask an Analyst- https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-9011

Dominance of Western Countries in 5G Research Prevails

It has been observed that, in the European region, countries such as Germany, France, and the UK are leading the research that is being conducted for the commercialization of 5G technology. Enterprises such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Ericsson are testing various frequency spectrums and advanced technologies to deploy 5G technology efficiently. Moreover, these enterprises have launched customer trails in several geographical areas which will form the base for 5G technology.

In June 2017, Belgium BASE signed a partnership agreement with ZTE Corporation, a telecom equipment provider based in China. The main objective of this partnership is to conduct research on LTE advanced, Internet of things, and 5G technology.

Increasing number of Contracts between Telecommunication Service Providers

According to FMI analysis, providers of 5G technology and telecommunication services are focusing on collaborating with each other to increase their revenue share as well as reach new potential markets. For instance, in July 2018, T-Mobile and Nokia announced a US$ 3.5 Bn agreement to accelerate the deployment of a 5G technology and networks across the U.S.

According to the agreement, Nokia will provide its end-to-end 5G technology, software, and services portfolio to T-Mobile, which will assist the latter in bringing the 5G network to the market for customers in the critical first years of the 5G technology cycle. Some of the other key players in the 5G technology includes Ericsson, Telecom Italia, AT & T, Inc., Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Orange S.A., China Mobile Limited, KT Corporation, Qualcomm, and Verizon Communications, Inc.

Contact Sales for Further Assistance in Purchasing this Report- https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/9011

5G Technology Outlook by Category

By Technology, 5G Technology Demand is segmented as:

5G RAN

5G NG Core

NFVI

Routing Backhaul

Optical Backhaul

Others

By Application, 5G Technology Outlook is segmented as:

Virtual & Augmented Reality

Connected Automotive

Smart Manufacturing

Connected Energy

Wireless eHealth

Connected Drones

Smart Cities

Others

By Vertical, 5G Technology Outlook is segmented as:

Manufacturing

Automotive

Energy & Utilities

Transportation & Logistics

Public Safety

Healthcare

Agriculture

Others

By Region, 5G Technology Sales is segmented as:

North America

Latin America

Europe

Middle East and Africa (MEA)

and (MEA) East Asia

South Asia

Oceania

Key Questions Answered in the Report

Which region is expected to showcase high growth in 5G technology demand?

Who are some of the leading companies offering 5G technology?

How much is the global 5G technology market worth?

What will be the demand outlook/ sales forecast for 5G technology?

What are the top 5 countries driving demand?

Top Reports Related To Technology Market Insights

KVM Switch Market: The KVM switch market revenue totaled ~US$ 1,033.8 Mn in 2021. The overall sale is projected to reach ~US$ 1,216.5 Mn by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 2.4% for 2022  2028.

HVDC Transmission System Market: Expanding at a CAGR of 8.9% , the global HVDC transmission system market is projected to increase from a valuation of US$ 10.3 Bn in 2022 to US$ 17.2 Bn by 2028. The HVDC transmission system demand accounted for almost 15% market share of global power transmission market.

I/O Link Market: I/O Link Market is set to experience a significant growth of 15.8% CAGR for 2022 - 2027, with an estimated I/O Link industry value of US$ 5,896.8 Mn as of 2022

About Future Market Insights (FMI)

Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai, and has delivery centers in the UK, U.S. and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.

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Website: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/

Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/5g-technology-market

SOURCE Future Market Insights
What's New for 2022?

Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial

Online interactive peer-to-peer collaborative bespoke updates

Access to our digital archives and MarketGlass Research Platform

Complimentary updates for one year

Edition: 17; Released: February 2022

Executive Pool: 10136

Companies: 174 - Players covered include Altra Industrial Motion, Inc.; Boston Gear; Formsprag Clutch, Inc.; Inertia Dynamics LLC; Marland Clutch; Stromag; Warner Electric, Inc.; Dayton Superior Products Co., Inc.; Electroid Company; Hilliard Corp.; INTORQ GmbH & CO. KG; KEB Automation KG; Lenze SE; Magnetic Technologies Ltd.; Magtrol, Inc.; Ogura Clutch Co., Ltd.; Placid Industries, Inc.; Redex Andantex; Andantex USA, Inc.; Merobel; Regal Power Transmission Solutions; Rexnord Corp.; Sjogren Industries, Inc. and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: Product Segment (Mechanical Friction, Electromagnetic, Other Product Segments)

Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; Rest of Latin America; Middle East; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Rest of Middle East; Africa.

Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry

ABSTRACT-

Global Industrial Brakes and Clutches Market to Reach $1.6 Billion by 2026

Brakes and clutches have become an indispensable component of modern day industrial activities. Principal end-use applications for industrial brakes and clutches include food and beverage processing, apparel and textiles, mining, machine tools and various other industries. The market is expected to be bolstered by continuously rising manufacturing and construction activities along with impressive expansion of the mining sector across emerging economies. Factors like rapid urbanization, favorable macroeconomic scenario and increasing disposable incomes have amplified construction activity and pushed consumption of finished products, including industrial brakes. The infrastructure sector in emerging countries including India, China and various nations in Africa has posted considerable expansion in the recent years, and is anticipated to maintain its positive trajectory post COVID-19 pandemic period. The trend is bound to propel the demand for manufacturing and construction equipment and machinery like lifts, cranes and construction equipment, providing a significant impetus to the industrial brakes and clutches market. Increasing demand and consumption of minerals is driving various emerging economies to invest in exploration of desired minerals. These countries are implementing various technologies like the Internet of Things and automation platforms to augment operational productivity and save on labor cost related to mining activity. These investments are anticipated to considerable drive the uptake of industrial brakes and clutches over the coming years.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Industrial Brakes and Clutches estimated at US$1.4 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$1.6 Billion by the year 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.6% over the analysis period. Mechanical Friction, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record a 3.2% CAGR. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Electromagnetic segment is readjusted to a revised 3.6% CAGR for the next 7-year period. Mechanical friction brakes and clutches are one of the highly used forms for engaging or stopping a load. Friction generated between two adjacent surfaces is the prime force guiding application of these brakes and clutches. Electromagnetic brakes and clutches are advancements over the traditionally used permanent magnet brakes and clutches that primarily function as friction based systems. These systems make use of only an electromagnetic force to manage and control the torque required for accomplishing the requisite braking operation.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $319 Million in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $328.5 Million by 2026

The Industrial Brakes and Clutches market in the U.S. is estimated at US$319 Million in the year 2022. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$328.5 Million by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 4.8% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 2.3% and 2.6% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 3.3% CAGR.

Developed regions including the US, Canada, Japan and Europe constitute the core revenue contributors. Developed nations, being highly industrialized countries, have mature industrial environment with large enterprises actively operating in core sectors of oil & gas, power & energy, mining & minerals, metals, automotive/transportation, aerospace & defense, and food & beverages among others. The favorable scenario is poised to generate noteworthy opportunities for industrial technologies, and brakes & clutches being a key component in many of the technologies used in industrial facilities is expected to immensely benefit from the trend. Spearheaded by China, Asia-Pacific represents the fastest growing regional market for industrial brakes and clutches in the world. Anticipated positive economic cues in several countries in the region along with rising public and private investments in manufacturing and industrial sectors are pushing the demand for industrial brakes and clutches.

Mechanical Friction Based Brakes and Clutches Segment to Reach $709.6 Million by 2026

In the global Mechanical Friction Based Brakes and Clutches segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 3.2% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$475.2 Million will reach a projected size of US$566.2 Million by the close of the year 2026. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$73.9 Million by the year 2026, while Latin America will expand at a 3.7% CAGR through the analysis period. More

MarketGlass Platform

Our MarketGlass Platform is a free full-stack knowledge center that is custom configurable to today`s busy business executive`s intelligence needs! This influencer driven interactive research platform is at the core of our primary research engagements and draws from unique perspectives of participating executives worldwide. Features include - enterprise-wide peer-to-peer collaborations; research program previews relevant to your company; 3.4 million domain expert profiles; competitive company profiles; interactive research modules; bespoke report generation; monitor market trends; competitive brands; create & publish blogs & podcasts using our primary and secondary content; track domain events worldwide; and much more. Client companies will have complete insider access to the project data stacks. Currently in use by 67,000+ domain experts worldwide.

Our platform is free for qualified executives and is accessible from our website www.StrategyR.com or via our just released mobile application on iOS or Android

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years.

CONTACTS:

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Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Phone: 1-408-528-9966

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Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial

Online interactive peer-to-peer collaborative bespoke updates

Access to our digital archives and MarketGlass Research Platform

Complimentary updates for one year

Edition: 10; Released: February 2022

Executive Pool: 30228

Companies: 46 - Players covered include Amazon Web Services, Inc.; Google LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company; IBM Corporation; Microsoft Corporation; Oracle Corporation; Quantum Corporation; Thales Group; Townsend Security; Unbound Tech Ltd.; WinMagic Inc. and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: Component (Solutions, Services); Deployment (On-Premise, Cloud); Application (Disk Encryption, Communication Encryption, File/Folder Encryption, Database Encryption, Cloud Encryption); Vertical (BFSI, Retail, IT & Telecom, Government & Defense, Utilities, Healthcare, Other Verticals)

Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Rest of World.

Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry

ABSTRACT-

Global Enterprise Key Management Market to Reach $3.4 Billion by 2026

Enterprise key management comprises of the lifecycle management of encryption keys, right from defining the requirements and policies to generation, storage, distribution, deactivation, and destruction of encryption keys. Due to high-profile data losses and regulatory compliance standards, the use of encryption is on the rise across enterprises of all sizes. Proper key management is an essential process of data security within any organization handling sensitive information. The financial sector is one of the most highly regulated industries across the world, and is also one of the largest end-users of encryption keys. For many years, banks, credit card companies, and payment gateways dominated the security aspect. However, new age companies such as Fintech companies are challenging the dominance of traditional players through the usage of innovative technologies such as blockchain to ensure security without depending on traditional security measures. The explosion of payment wallets, mobile payments, and virtual banks have rewritten traditional banking patterns, which is also leading to concerns over data privacy and security. Encryption key management continues to be the most favored security solution for all types of banking requirements, and the new service models are expected to further drive the market.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Enterprise Key Management estimated at US$1.8 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$3.4 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 15.8% over the analysis period. Solutions, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 15.3% CAGR to reach US$2.6 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Services segment is readjusted to a revised 17% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 31.5% share of the global Enterprise Key Management market. As the quantity of data and the complexity of managing the data is increasing, organizations are availing the services of enterprise key management service companies to plan and manage their key management requirements, thus driving the market for enterprise key management services.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $775.7 Million in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $268.2 Million by 2026

The Enterprise Key Management market in the U.S. is estimated at US$775.7 Million in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 42.48% share in the global market. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$268.2 Million in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 18.8% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 12.8% and 14.6% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 16.1% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$316.6 Million by the end of the analysis period. Developed economies of North America and Europe dominate the enterprise key management market, owing to the high penetration of digital systems and IT infrastructure, existence of large corporations, as well as the presence of major providers in the market. In addition, the region is also one of the highly affected in terms of data breaches, leading to increasing regulatory oversight, and subsequent adoption of advanced security solutions for safeguarding data. Regulatory oversight also plays a major role in the region, as the regulatory landscape is highly evolved and constantly endeavors to improve data security, leading to higher demand for encryption key management solutions.

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Auction house Acker, Wine & Spirits Magazine, and the world's great wine societies seek donations for Chef Jose Andres' charity to feed millions of displaced Ukrainians.

NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Acker, the world's largest wine and spirits auction house, has announced that it has partnered with the prestigious wine societies of the world to host an auction with proceeds donated to Chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen (WCK ), a non-profit responding to humanitarian, climate, and community crises. The organization is currently on the ground in Poland and Ukraine, feeding the millions displaced from the invasion of Ukraine, as well as those who remain in the country. The operation is expected to expand as the situation continues.

Acker & Wine Societies Join To Raise Funds For World Central Kitchen & Global Humanitarian Relief

Some of the world's most prestigious wine societies and organizations, including the Societe des Amis du Champagne, Commanderie de Bordeaux, Commanderie des Costes du Rhone, and the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs have committed to donating lots from their generous members. Wine & Spirits Magazine has also joined, encouraging its vast community of readers to participate however they can. As the long-time global leader in fine and rare wine and spirits auctions, Acker will host the auction on its bidding platform, and donate the full premium on every lot designated for the charity.

With the first Acker auction slated to take place in April, lots for WCK will bear an indicia specific to the charity, encouraging bidders to engage generously. The auction house will continue to support WCK on an ongoing basis with lots going up for auction in its web and live sales throughout the year.

For those wishing to contribute monetary donations, a fundraising page has been established under the team name "Wine for WCK" at http://donate.wck.org/wineforwck .

Said Acker CEO Irvin Goldman, "The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is extremely distressing, and the millions who have fled their homes seeking refuge and protection are in dire need of help. The efforts of Chef Andres and organizations like World Central Kitchen inspire us all to action, and Acker is proud to join with the great wine societies to contribute to relief in any form we can. We hope that this auction will be the first of many endeavors to support WCK and all the good it does around the world, starting right here with one bottle, one lot, one meal at a time."

Joshua Green, Editor and Publisher of Wine and Spirits Magazine said, "The World Central Kitchen is doing critical work to feed Ukranian refugees, and they need support from all of us here in the States." Added co-founder of the Societe des Amis du Champagne and active member of many wine societies, Michael Katz, "Our members hold tremendous respect for World Central Kitchen, particularly with regard to the important work it is doing for the Ukranian people experiencing such devastating turmoil. Reaching into our cellars is just one thing we can do to raise awareness and lend support."

For more information regarding this special auction, or to donate bottles from your own collection to support WCK, please contact [email protected] or call Acker's Auction Department toll free at 877-225-3747. For more information on WCK and its many humanitarian efforts, visit wck.org.

About Acker

Now in its third century, Acker is America's oldest wine shop (est. 1820), and the world's largest fine and rare wine and spirits auction house. Since Acker began hosting auctions in 1998, the house has gained worldwide acclaim expanding its vast array of services including cellar consultations, a deep retail inventory of fine and rare wine for immediate sale, first class wine education amenities, luxury wine experiences, and much more. Visit www.ackerwines.com for details.

Press Contact

NAME

Jennifer DiDomizio

PHONE

917.533.1207

WEBSITE

https://www.ackerwines.com/

SOURCE Acker
New Jersey-Based Independent Financial Advisors Affiliate with Advisor Group Through SagePoint Financial from Principal Securities

PHOENIX, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Advisor Group, the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, today announced the successful affiliation to its network of Brett Straub and Stephanie Wade, independent financial advisors with more than $120 million in total client assets, from Principal Securities.

Mr. Straub and Mrs. Wade, of Straub Group Advantage, based in Haddon Heights, NJ, join Advisor Group through member firm SagePoint Financial Services, headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, and the Las Vegas, NV-based The AmeriFlex Group under founder and CEO, Tom Goodson. Advisor Group's network of firms also includes FSC Securities, Royal Alliance Associates, Securities America, Triad Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services.

Desiree Sii, President and CEO of SagePoint Financial, said, "It is my pleasure to welcome Brett and Stephanie to SagePoint and Advisor Group. Tom continues to build AmeriFlex into a great firm, serving clients across the country with distinction. Adding financial advisors of Brett and Stephanie's caliber to his lineup will only enhance AmeriFlex. We look forward to working with them to accelerate their growth, while providing best-in-class tools, technology and support to help him best serve their clients."

Both Mr. Straub and Mrs. Wade have more than 29 years of experience providing financial planning and investment advisory services to individuals and small businesses. Mr. Straub said, "When Stephanie and I started looking for a new affiliation opportunity for Straub Group Advantage, we wanted to find a home where we felt comfortable taking our practice to the next level. We found that with AmeriFlex and SagePoint Financial."

Mrs. Wade added, "We were attracted to the expansive offerings of these firms, especially their dedicated marketing and practice development consultants, business intelligence tools, cybersecurity protections, innovative technology and back-office support."

Mr. Goodson said, "I'm excited to welcome Brett and Stephanie to The AmeriFlex Group and the larger SagePoint family. It's the start of a great partnership where we will be able to offer them the scale and resources they need to grow, while they give us the ability to expand our firm's geographic reach into the East Coast. We look forward to working together to achieve our mutual businesses goals and provide their clients with an exceptional experience."

Greg Cornick, Advisor Group's President for Advice & Wealth Management, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Brett and Stephanie to Advisor Group and are committed to their continued success. I congratulate Desiree, Iyana Harris and the teams at SagePoint and AmeriFlex for bringing such an impressive team to Advisor Group and for continuing to attract high caliber talent to our organizations."

About The AmeriFlex Group

The AmeriFlex Group is recognized as The Home for Hybrids (www.HomeForHybrids.com) - BD/RIA Transitional Wealth Planners (financial advisors). The RIA is owned-and-operated by its advisor members and partners. Securities offered through SagePoint Financial, Inc. (SPF), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through The AmeriFlex Group, an Independent Registered Investment Advisor. SPF is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of SPF. Insurance is offered independent of SPF. 8485 W Sunset Road, Suite 204, Las Vegas, NV 89113

About SagePoint Financial

SagePoint Financial, Inc. is part of one of the nation's largest independent broker-dealer organizations and a Registered Investment Advisor, member FINRA and SIPC. SagePoint is supported by Advisor Group, one of the largest truly independent broker-dealer networks in the industry. The firm has approximately 1,400 advisors across the U.S. For more information, please visit www.sagepointfinancial.com.

About Advisor Group

Advisor Group, Inc. is the nation's largest network of independent wealth management firms, serving approximately 11,100 financial professionals and overseeing over $450 billion in client assets. The firm is mission-driven to support the strategic role that advisors can play in the lives of their clients. Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Advisor Group champions the enduring value of financial professionals and is committed to being in their corner every step of the way. For more information visit https://www.advisorgroup.com.

Securities and investment advisory services are offered through the firms: FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC, and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and members of FINRA and SIPC. Securities are offered through Securities America, Inc., a broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., and Triad Hybrid Solutions, LLC, registered investment advisers. Advisory programs offered by FSC Securities Corporation, Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., SagePoint Financial, Inc., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., are sponsored by VISION2020 Wealth Management Corp., an affiliated registered investment adviser. Advisor Group, Inc. is an affiliate of these firms. 20 E. Thomas Rd., Ste. 2000, Phoenix, AZ, 85012. 866.481.0379.

Media Inquiries

Donald Cutler/ Liz Shim

Haven Tower Group

[email protected] or [email protected]

424 317 4864 or 424 317 4861

SOURCE Advisor Group
BOSTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- National Jurist and PreLaw Magazines today released the names of the 2022 Law Student of the Year honorees, featuring New England Law | Boston student Agnes Kolbeck.

The complete issue is available to view online at https://bit.ly/NJspring2022 .

Agnes Kolbeck is a third-year law student specializing in tax and litigation. She is a Phi Alpha Delta Society Scholar, a Sandra Day O'Connor Honors Scholar , a Charles Hamilton Houston Enrichment Program Honors Scholar, and has earned Dean's List recognition every eligible semester of her law school career. She also recently received a CALI Excellence for the Future Award for earning the highest grade in one of her classes.

Kolbeck's academic excellence is matched only by her passion for justice. She says she seeks "to inspire other students who share [her] identity  particularly first-generation law students of color  to see their power and motivate them to excel academically and give back to their communities."

"Growing up, I was surrounded by polarities. I was raised in both Belize and the south side of Chicago and had the privilege of attending private school in the suburbs. I witnessed the struggles of those from my communities as they tried to make the best of their lives. Despite being surrounded by gang violence, teen pregnancy, and poverty, the families that I knew strived for greatness. Seeing these polarities and injustices lit a fire in me to become a person who has the information, and to relay it back to my communities. I sought to balance inequities and advocate on behalf of those who do not have the capacity to do it themselves. To me, legal education is a privilege and comes with a responsibility to pass on knowledge to those who are most in need."

Admired and respected by her peers and professors, Kolbeck holds leadership roles in multiple student organizations including the Black Law Student Association (BLSA) and the First Generation Students Program . This year, she helped form BLSA's first-ever Thurgood Marshall Moot Court Team, which completed four arguments and made it to the Elite Eight round of competition. As Program Manager of the First-Gen Program, she has helped students prepare for and find internships by assisting with applications and conducting mock interviews. Kolbeck has also lent her voice to the Student Bar Association's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and Mental Health and Wellness Committee to support students in need.

"When I heard the news that Agnes Kolbeck was named a top law student of the year, I was absolutely thrilled, but I can't say I was at all surprised," said Dean Lisa Freudenheim. "She is universally known among peers, faculty, and staff as an extremely dedicated, driven, and inspiring student. Her positivity is infectious. She is always willing to offer assistance, whether it's doing research for an academic center or speaking with prospective students about her law school experience. All of us here at New England Law are incredibly proud of Agnes and so glad she's been given this deserved recognition."

In her first year at New England Law, Kolbeck volunteered with the school's CORI Initiative under the Center for Law and Social Responsibility , as well as the Volunteer Lawyers Project, completing enough hours to make the Massachusetts Pro Bono Honor Roll. She has also completed extensive research for the Center for International Law and Policy tracking reparations and transitional justice initiatives around the country in response to the murder of George Floyd.

Outside of New England Law, Kolbeck has demonstrated her potential in the legal field by working as a judicial intern for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the summer and fall of her 2L year. At the same time, she was an Intellectual Property and Trademark Law Practicum Student at Sunstein LLP. This past summer, she interned for the Federal Tax Clinic at Harvard University where she advocated on behalf of low-income taxpayers and appeared in Federal Court. Kolbeck has secured a post-graduate judicial clerkship with Associate Justice Mary Thomas Sullivan at the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

Learn more about each of this year's honorees at https://bit.ly/NJspring2022 .

Learn more about New England Law | Boston at www.nesl.edu .

ABOUT NEW ENGLAND LAW | BOSTON

New England Law | Boston was founded in 1908 as Portia Law School, the first and only law school established exclusively for the education of women. Today, New England Law offers its co-ed student body flexible, convenient programs that combine rigorous academics, dynamic community, and early access to practical experience, as well as a diverse, global alumni network spanning 29 countries, 50 states, and 99 practice areas. For more information, visit www.nesl.edu .

SOURCE New England Law | Boston
2022 benefits package adds paid family leave and specific benefits for transgender employees, extends coverage to domestic partners and holds employee insurance premiums at 2021 levels

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Electronics & Automation, a leading distributor of industrial automation and control products in North America, is investing $1M to enhance its employee benefits program, holding employee costs for benefits steady in 2022 by absorbing all insurance premium rate increases, extending the company's full suite of health and welfare benefits to employees' domestic partners, offering paid family leave for biological and adoptive parents and adding coverage of gender-affirming services for transgender individuals to its health insurance coverage.

In addition to evolving its employee benefits offerings, Allied is also restructuring its physical workplace in Fort Worth to enable their people to work remotely part-time or full-time, as their job duties permit. These are both examples of Allied's commitment to differentiate itself as an employer of choice, a destination where top talent chooses to join and stay.

"These benefits enhancements are part of our commitment to creating a working environment where our people can bring their best selves to work every day," Allied President Ken Bradley said. "Our team members told us what they were looking for and we listened, investing in a renovated office space that promotes a hybrid working model, absorbing 2022 increases in health insurance premiums and evolving our benefits package to be more inclusive of our diverse workforce."

The new benefits available in 2022 to Allied's 900 employees across 40 offices in North America include:

Up to 12 weeks paid leave for birth mothers and primary adoptive parents

Up to two weeks paid leave for supporting parents and foster parents

Extending all benefits eligibility to domestic partners

Adding health insurance coverage of therapies, medications and procedures for the treatment of gender identity dysphoria

"Allied employees have gone above and beyond to demonstrate their commitment to us during a very challenging time," Vice President of People Katie Cartwright said. "And we want to show our appreciation by being there for them during those moments in life that really matter. These benefits reflect our commitment to the people who are the heart of our success as a business."

To search for and apply for a career at Allied, visit www.alliedelec.com/careers .

About Allied Electronics & Automation

We are a part of Electrocomponents plc, an FTSE 100 global leader in the omni-channel distribution of products and services for industrial equipment and operations that also includes the RS Components, RS PRO, OKdo, DesignSpark, IESA, Synovos, Needlers and Liscombe brands. With sales offices across the Americas, a focus on digital customer experience and more than 3.5 million parts available for purchase online, engineers, designers, maintainers and purchasers trust Allied to provide a wide range of solutions across the entire product lifecycle. Connect with us at www.alliedelec.com or via social media on Facebook , Twitter , and LinkedIn .

Media Inquiries:

Karen Gavenda

Allied Electronics & Automation

[email protected]

SOURCE Allied Electronics & Automation
Over 90,000 agencies nationwide from both the public and nonprofit sectorsincluding national school districts, higher education institutions, local governments, health organizations, and moreare eligible to use NCPA's cooperative purchasing contracts to utilize competitively priced products and services from its vendors, now including Ally Energy Solutions.

As a result of the NCPA contract, the Ally team was awarded a contract for Power Factor Correction by a Houston-area school district. The school district was looking to significantly lower their utility bill, so Ally Energy Solutions implemented a turnkey Power Factor Correction solutionensuring power factor improvement to a guaranteed level. After significant utility demand charge reduction and successful measurement and verification across six campuses, the school district intends to pursue Power Factor Correction from the Ally team at the remainder of their campuses.

About Ally Energy Solutions:

From industrial facilities to school districts, Ally Energy Solutions delivers turnkey energy solutions to institutions across the U.S. Ally looks at energy savings opportunities from the whole facility and facility owner perspective, with an emphasis on relationships over transactions. Through the relentless pursuit of sustainable, financially viable savings opportunities, the Ally team has earned the privilege to serve as the trusted energy advisor to some of the largest facility owners, utilities, and technologists in the world. For more information, visit: ally-energy.com

Media Contact:

Name: Michael Bowman

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 469-363-2445

Website: ally-energy.com

SOURCE Ally Energy Solution
The Hire Adds a Wealth of Experience Leveraging Technology to Deliver Business Outcomes & Strengthens Green Irony's Position to Absorb Increased Demand of Their MuleSoft Services

RALEIGH, N.C., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Irony, a Raleigh based tech consulting company specialized in building integration architectures to enable digital transformations and deliver high-impact business results, adds Andy Ivory, an industry-leading technical innovator, to help lead client engagements and support the next phase of the company's growth.

Andy Ivory joins Green Irony with an extensive technical and entrepreneurial background. Throughout his career, Andy has gained experience in multiple industries, including Insurance (P&C, Life, Facultative Reinsurance, Treaty Reinsurance, Health), Transportation, Financial Services, Global Mobility and Workforce Development, and Retail.

"As a technology visionary with over two decades of high-end engineering experience, Andy has a spotless track record of delivering world-class solutions to the hardest business problems. Andy's leadership, experience, and positive outlook will be a true asset to our customers and to our rapidly-growing engineering team. We are delighted to add Andy to our team at the start of an exciting new chapter for Green Irony and its partners."

- Aaron Shook, Founder & CEO, Green Irony

Andy spent nearly a decade at IBM where he led front-end development in the WebSphere and B2B & Commerce organizations. He went on to achieve the status of master inventor. In this capacity, he was actively developing patents and serving as a leader in the patent community.

He then went on to become a founding member of the PointSource Raleigh lab, along with Green Irony's Founder & CEO, Aaron Shook. While at PointSource (acquired by Globant in 2017), Andy helped grow the team from four to more than 100 people. He led the front-end development domain, partnering heavily with digital and design organizations to translate their business needs into intelligent technology choices and roadmaps.

Andy then cofounded Kapok Digital, an app development company for small-to-medium-sized businesses, where he grew the team to more than 20 people up until their merger with Vaco in 2021. Kapok Digital's clients included Coca-Cola, for which the company built the software for their freestyle machine, RelyMD, TRC Global Mobility, and Mamava.

"I strongly believe in the people at Green Irony and their direction. Green Irony is top-notch and in the prime marketplace for digital transformation and applying best-of-breed technology to help businesses reach their peak. I'm excited to work with great people that are committed to building a culture of innovation and fun."

- Andy Ivory, Architect, Green Irony

About Green Irony

Green Irony is a Raleigh-based tech consulting company specialized in building integration architectures to enable digital transformations. They help clients align business goals to scalable technology solutions in partnership with world-class platforms to deliver rapid value. These partners include MuleSoft, Salesforce, Noname Security, and FormStack.

Green Irony was founded in 2016 as a Salesforce partner when they saw capabilities of the platform to drive business value to stakeholders quicker than any other technology when applied correctly. They set out to build an organization best equipped to deliver on the promise of this world-class software by combining best-of-breed technology expertise with platform expertise to address the challenges of complex enterprise software environments.

To learn more about their expertise, services, and open positions, visit greenirony.com.

Media Contact:

Ryan O'Connor Green Irony

[email protected]

SOURCE Green Irony
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict is rooted in NATO's ambition to expand eastward, a Pakistani expert has said. And Russian President Vladimir Putin also said in February that the "special military operation" is in response to "fundamental threats" of NATO. #GLOBALink





Produced by Xinhua Global Service












SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ankura Consulting, LLC ("Ankura" or the "Company"), an independent global expert and advisory services firm, announced that yesterday, on March 15, 2022, the Plan of Adjustment for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (the "Commonwealth" or "Puerto Rico") went effective. On January 18, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Hon. Laura Taylor Swain approved the Plan of Adjustment that set the restructuring terms for approximately $34 billion of debt, which is the largest restructuring of municipal debt in U.S. history. The Plan of Adjustment paves the way for Puerto Rico to exit from bankruptcy with a stable and sustainable balance sheet.

Through the implementation of the Plan of Adjustment, Puerto Rico reduces the total amount of central government debt from $34 billion to $7.4 billion; cuts Puerto Rico's maximum annual debt service payments from a maximum of $4.2 billion to $1.15 billion; and lowers per capita debt by 86%.

"This is a great collective achievement for Puerto Rico, thanks to the fiscal and economic team of the Government, the Legislature, the Financial Oversight and Management Board (the "Oversight Board"), and all those who have worked over the past five years to get to this historic moment," said Fernando Batlle, Ankura's Chairman of Latin America, who is leading all aspects of Ankura's advisory work for the Government. He continued, "The consummation of the Commonwealth Plan of Adjustment is the 'reset' button for Puerto Rico and starts a new era of fiscal stability with new opportunities to shape a successful, modern economy."

Philip Gund, Global Leader of Ankura's Turnaround & Restructuring practice, commented, "Fernando and the Ankura team worked collaboratively with the Government, the Fiscal Oversight Board and its constituencies and advisors while keeping the best interests of the Commonwealth at the forefront of the restructuring."

In addition to the rightsizing of the Commonwealth's balance sheet, the Plan of Adjustment also includes elements that promote and ensure that the Commonwealth maintains fiscally responsible policies and avoids the mistakes of the past, including: the establishment of debt management guidelines that govern future public indebtedness and the establishment and funding of a pension reserve trust to meet future pension obligations.

Kevin Lavin, CEO of Ankura, remarked, "The Plan of Adjustment puts Puerto Rico on a path to grow again the Island's economy, encouraging investment by restoring investors' confidence in Puerto Rico, which in turn will promote economic development and job creation." He continued, "We are honored to have been involved in this historic moment, and as our team continues to advise the Government in other initiatives, our goal will continue to be the betterment of the Commonwealth and its people."

About Ankura

Ankura Consulting Group, LLC is an independent global expert services and advisory firm that delivers services and end-to-end solutions to help clients at critical inflection points related to change, risk, disputes, finance, performance, distress, and transformation. The Ankura team consists of more than 1,700 professionals serving 3000+ clients across 55 countries who are leaders in their respective fields and areas of expertise. Collaborative lateral thinking, hard-earned experience, expertise, and multidisciplinary capabilities drive results and Ankura is unrivaled in its ability to assist clients to Protect, Create and Recover Value. For more information, please visit, www.ankura.com.

SOURCE Ankura
CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Asana Partners announced today the final close of Asana Partners Fund III (the "Fund") with aggregate equity commitments of $1.5 billion. A diverse group of institutional investors from North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific made commitments to the Fund. It is Asana Partners' fifth fund and the third in its flagship series of value-add funds focused on acquiring and repositioning mixed-use assets in high-quality urban and near-urban neighborhoods in the United States.

Terry Brown, Asana Partners Managing Partner and Co-founder, commented, "We are grateful for the confidence and support of our existing investors and are excited to formalize partnerships with a number of new investors."

The Fund reached its hard cap of $1.5 billion and was oversubscribed within six months of commencing the marketing process.

Asana Partners Managing Partner and Co-founder Jason Tompkins added, "Significant investor demand is a testament to the caliber of our team of nearly 100 professionals, and it is a clear indication of the marketplace opportunity across our target cities."

"We are well-positioned to continue to execute on our investment strategy and use our vertically integrated capabilities to enhance communities and create value for our investors," said Sam Judd, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Asana Partners.

King & Spalding LLP acted as legal advisor to the Fund.

Hodes Weill Securities, LLC acted as the exclusive placement agent to Asana Partners in connection with the private placement of interests to certain new investors in the Fund.

About Asana Partners

Asana Partners is a vertically integrated real estate investment company that creates value by acquiring, enhancing, and operating distinctive mixed-use and retail properties in dynamic urban and near-urban neighborhoods in the United States. As of March 15, 2022, Asana Partners had $6.2 billion in assets under management across its value-add and core strategies. For more information, visit www.asanapartners.com.

The information contained herein regarding Asana Partners is for informational purposes only and does not contain certain material information about alternative investments, including important disclosures and risk factors associated with an investment in these types of vehicles, and is subject to change without notice. This document is not intended to be, nor should it be construed or used as, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of any offer to buy, shares or limited partnership interests in any funds managed by Asana Partners. If any such offer is made, it shall be pursuant to a definitive "Confidential Private Placement Memorandum" prepared by or on behalf of a specific fund that contains detailed information concerning the investment terms and the risks, fees, and expenses associated with an investment in that fund.

Media Contact: Julie C. Ducworth, (803) 465-1198, [email protected]

SOURCE Asana Partners
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Asia Pacific Embedded Insurance Business and Investment Opportunities - Q1 2022 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Asia Pacific Embedded Insurance industry is expected to grow by 32.3% on annual basis to reach US$24,127.3 million in 2022.

The embedded insurance industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 21.6% during 2022-2029. The embedded insurance revenues in the region will increase from US$24,127.3 million in 2022 to reach US$71,855.4 million by 2029.

The Asia Pacific is the largest embedded insurance market. The region is home to one-third of the world's population and one of the world's fastest-growing economies. The most significant number of insurtech firms are emerging in China and India. This is primarily due to a large uninsured population and the strong growth of the fintech industry.

Insurers and insurtech firms are widely experimenting with new insurance offerings, distribution models, and technological advancements resulting in innovations. In the recent four to eight quarters, there has been a significant increase in the number of funds raised by market players in the embedded insurance ecosystem.

Additionally, substantial growth in digitization in emerging countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India is attracting the attention of market players. However, the number of technology companies trying to underwrite and sell policies will be limited in the region due to regulatory restrictions on issuing carrier licenses.

Insurers are making strategic investments in insurtech firms to expand their digital distribution channels





Leading insurance companies are planning to expand their operations across the globe, taking advantage of the tremendous growth opportunity that exists in the global embedded insurance industry.

In September 2021 , Singapore -based insurance provider Sompo Holdings ( Asia ) Pte. Ltd. (Sompo Asia) made an investment in Cover Genius, a United States -based insurtech firm and embedded insurance company.

, -based insurance provider Sompo Holdings ( ) Pte. Ltd. (Sompo Asia) made an investment in Cover Genius, a -based insurtech firm and embedded insurance company. This is a strategic move by Sompo Holdings to expand its distribution channels in the embedded insurance market by leveraging Cover Genius' global network.

Cover Genius has many e-commerce platforms as partners in multiple industries, including Booking Holdings, Skyscanner, Ola, Intuit, Shopee, and other well-known leading brands, across the globe.

According to Sompo Holdings, the company is planning to utilize Cover Genius's client network to embed its insurance products and enhance distribution channels.

Conversely, Cover Genius will utilize the support from Sompo Holdings to expand its global insurance distribution platform.

New embedded insurance products are being launched by market players to tap the growing demand for goods in transit protection



Over the last few quarters, the e-commerce industry has been one of the fastest-growing Asia-Pacific sectors. The domination of the Asia-Pacific e-commerce market is due to the massive increase in digital sales and the existence of e-commerce giants such as Alibaba, JD. Com, Flipkart, and Shoppe, in the region.



Covid-19 has accelerated the expansion of the e-commerce market, with the sector expected to expand further over the next four to eight quarters. Increased number of merchants partnered with e-commerce giants to continue their businesses during the lockdown.



This strong growth in the e-commerce industry has resulted in tremendous demand growth for insuring goods in transit. Moreover, Insurance companies and insurtech firms are launching new products to cater to the fast-growing demand for protecting goods in transit.

In August 2021 , Australian Insurtech Agile launched embedded insurance for inland transit. Agile Underwriting Services has added inland transit to its ever-expanding product portfolio.

Scope

Region and countries

Asia Pacific

Australia

Bangladesh

China

India

Indonesia

Japan

Malaysia

South Korea

Philippines

Singapore

Taiwan

Thailand

Vietnam

Embedded Insurance Market Size and Forecast

Embedded Insurance by Industry, 2020 - 2029

Embedded Insurance in Consumer Products

Embedded Insurance in Travel & Hospitality

Embedded Insurance in Automotive

Embedded Insurance in Healthcare

Embedded Insurance in Real Estate

Embedded Insurance in Transport & Logistics

Embedded Insurance in Others

Embedded Insurance by Insurance Type, 2020 - 2029

Embedded Insurance in Life Segment

Embedded Insurance in Non-Life Segment

Embedded Insurance by Type of Offering, 2020 - 2029

Embedded Insurance in Product Segment

Embedded Insurance in Service Segment

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wvx3nm

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



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SOURCE Research and Markets
Ada CEO, Mike Murchison to kickoff first event alongside Global Head of Customer Empowerment at Square, Justin Gonzalez

TORONTO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ada, the Automated Brand Interaction (ABI) company that bridges the gap between brands and the people they care about, today will be hosting the first installment of its new event series, Ada Interact. Ada Interact is the defining quarterly thought leadership event bringing together experts across industries to share the latest tech, discuss trends, and showcase practical strategies employed by the best brands globally.

Today, in a digital-first world, brands have become the sum of every single interaction they have - with prospects, customers and employees. Ada bridges the gap between what people expect of brands, and what brands actually deliver when they interact. This brand interaction gap is a familiar pain, especially given the impact of the pandemic on changing customer and employee expectations.

This first Ada Interact session will feature Ada CEO, Mike Murchison, and Justin Gonzalez, the Global Head of Customer Empowerment at Square, the brand trusted by millions of sellers across the globe to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. The session will showcase best practices as well as new technology to extend the impact of automation, enabling brands to deliver the experiences that truly matter at scale. Gonzalez and Murchison will explore the future of customer and employee experience, and how Square has encouraged collaboration and cross-functional alignment to extend its ABI strategy for all stakeholders.

"Prior to Ada, our support experience was incredibly reactive. We were waiting for our customers to come to us with their issues or with their questions," stated Gonzalez. "Since launching Ada, the platform has allowed us to extend our hours of availability, extend our operations, and then ultimately create a more proactive and predictive experience for our customers. Ada makes it possible for us to deliver VIP experiences to everyone within our ecosystem, whether they're a prospective customer, an existing customer or someone looking to grow further with our brand."

"Since 2016, Ada has been among the world's leading automation platforms in the customer experience industry, utilizing machine learning and natural language processing to close the gap between customer and brand. Now, we're excited to bring on some of the biggest names in technology as our guests to help leaders propel their businesses forward," stated Ada CEO Mike Murchison. "Today's Ada Interact is the first of many opportunities for attendees to think critically about the role automation plays in customer experience, and the role it plays in all business outcomes. We're excited to discuss where the gaps are that automation fills in now, and where it will grow in the coming years."

In addition to the conversation with Gonzalez, Ada will unveil new features for two of their product lines, Smart Search and Training Suggestions. Smart Search, an integrated tool that searches and shares articles from a knowledge base directly in the messaging experience, will now be available to all brands using Salesforce Knowledge and will also support multilingual articles. Smart Search empowers brands to leverage content they already have, and deliver value immediately, ensuring a seamless experience for customers, no matter what language they are using.

Additionally, Ada's industry-leading machine learning capabilities are reflected in a new feature called Training Suggestions. Training Suggestions significantly speeds up time-to-value by reducing the time and effort needed to train and maintain an AI platform. This feature will power continuous improvement for brands when interacting with their customers.

To watch the event visit https://get.ada.cx/ada-interact .

About Ada

Ada is an Automated Brand Interaction company that bridges the gap between brands and the people they care about. The world's most innovative brands, like Zoom, Facebook, and Square, use Ada's award-winning platform to automate their most valuable interactions, bringing a true VIP experience to every customer and employee. The digital-first company was born in Canada and now serves brands and people worldwide. For more information, visit www.ada.cx .

SOURCE Ada Support
LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Ratings today assigned Banca Popolare dell'Alto Adige SpA (Volksbank) an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) Evaluation of 66. Our Volksbank ESG Evaluation is the result of an ESG profile of 66 combined with an adequate preparedness. Higher numbers indicate stronger sustainability in our evaluations.

The ESG Evaluation of 66 reflects Volksbank's specificities as a regional bank. The bank's defining local anchorage translates into a tailored governance structure with community leaders at the board, strong and long-lasting relationships with the communities in which it operates, and lower exposure to environmental and social risks relative to the wider banking industry. Volksbank has recently started factoring ESG into its lending and investment activities and across its supply chain, including several environmental factors, such as waste and water usage, as well as social and governance aspects like equal pay, safety management, and ESG reporting. Although the bank has clear plan and quantified objectives, it has yet to fully deploy and implement its ESG tools and policies.

Volksbank's recent efforts to embed ESG deeper into everyday operations and strategy formulation demonstrate its leadership's adequate preparedness to identify and adapt to the banking industry's long-term risks and opportunities.

Volksbank is a commercial bank headquartered in Bolzano, Italy. The bank had 159 branches in the provinces of Bolzano, Belluno, Padua, Pordenone, Trento, Treviso, Venice, and Vicenza at year-end 2021, and generated revenue of 321 million. Like other regional banks focusing on retail customers and small and medium-sized enterprises, Volksbank derives a large portion of its recurring revenue from net interest income (close to 55% in 2021) and commissions from banking services (close to 20%), and to lesser extent from offering wealth management products.

What Is An ESG Evaluation?

S&P Global Ratings' ESG evaluation is a cross-sector, relative analysis of an entity's capacity to continue to operate successfully. It is grounded in how ESG factors could affect stakeholders, potentially leading to a material direct or indirect financial impact on the entity.

Our definition of stakeholders for a particular entity goes beyond shareholders to include employees, the local community, government, regulators, customers, lenders, borrowers, policyholders, voters, members, and suppliers. A high ESG evaluation indicates an entity is relatively less prone to experiencing material ESG-related events, and is relatively better positioned to capitalize on ESG-related growth opportunities than entities with lower ESG evaluations.

First, we establish an ESG profile for a given entity, which assesses the exposure of the entity's operations to observable ESG risks and opportunities, and how the entity is mitigating these risks and capitalizing on these opportunities.

Second, we assess the entity's long-term preparedness, namely its capacity to anticipate and adapt to a variety of long-term plausible disruptions.

S&P Global Ratings currently evaluates more than 125 entities across the globe; they have an average score of 66. Since the first ESG evaluation, published in June 2019, we have finalized ESG Evaluations across 22 sectors globally. By region, the highest average score is 72, for companies headquartered in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Visit spglobal.com/ratings for our latest sustainable finance research and all of our publicly available ESG Evaluations.

Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC or its affiliates (collectively, S&P) receives compensation for the provision of the S&P Global Ratings ESG Evaluation product, including the report (Product). S&P may also receive compensation for rating the entity covered by the Product or for rating transactions involving and/or securities issued by the entity covered by the Product.

The Product is not a credit rating, and is not indicative of, nor related to, any credit rating or future credit rating of an entity. The Product provides a cross-sector, relative analysis of an entity's capacity to operate successfully in the future and is grounded in how ESG factors could affect stakeholders and potentially lead to a material direct or indirect financial impact on the entity. ESG factors typically assess the impact of the entity on the natural and social environment and the quality of its governance. The Product is not a research report and is not intended as such.

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Banko Design has acquired Eleni Interiors in Illinois to add to their group of boutique studios.

MARIETTA, Ga., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Banko Design is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Eleni Interiors a multifamily-focused, commercial interior design firm located in the Chicago metropolitan area. The studio will be called Eleni Interiors  A BD Studio.

For the past 29 years, Helen Velas, founder of Eleni Interiors, built and maintained a thriving commercial interior design and procurement business, specializing in multifamily and models in the single family and multifamily markets. Looking to retire from the private sector to pursue her passions in the non-profit world, Helen sought out Banko Design to take ownership of Eleni Interiors and continue her legacy of pristine design and service, alongside her talented design team. Finding a united passion for multifamily design, Banko Design is excited to be adding Eleni Interiors as a BD Studio to their portfolio.

"Banko Design is honored to add Eleni Interiors to the BD Studio collection. Helen Velas and her team have built something amazing, and we could not be more excited to now have a team in Illinois, widening our regional footprint and client base. We are looking forward to idea sharing and collaborating with our new team members," says Melissa Banko, Founder and Principal of Banko Design.

Red Pen Procurement, the portfolio's in-house purchasing agency, will manage all of the BD Studios' procurement, resulting in efficiencies including increased buying power, centralized warehousing and purchasing, and leveraging vendor partnerships to the benefit of all clients.

Banko Design is proud to have curated this family of studios providing excellent, boutique service and design to clients within the senior living, multifamily, and boutique hospitality spaces throughout the United States and Canada and is looking forward to their continued expansion.

Banko Design, a full-service commercial interior design firm located in Marietta, Georgia, specializes in mid-level to luxury senior living new builds, multifamily, and boutique hospitality and is the headquarters for all studios within the BD Studio collection. Other locations include Minneapolis, Minnesota, San Mateo, California, Amelia Island, Florida, and Austin, Texas.

Red Pen Procurement, the portfolio's in-house purchasing agency located in Marietta, Georgia, manages and processes all of the studios' procurement, warehousing, and installations. They also provide agent-only procurement services to other design studios, architecture firms, operators, owners, and end users.

Eleni Interiors, a commercial interior design firm located in the Chicago metropolitan area, specializes in multifamily and models in the single family and multifamily markets.

Contact: Emily Haley

Company: Banko Design

Phone: (678) 202-4812

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://bankodesign.com/

SOURCE Banko Design
New report shows that small businesses are three times more likely to be targeted than larger organizations

CAMPBELL, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

Highlights:

An average employee of a small business with less than 100 employees will experience 350% more social engineering attacks than an employee of a larger enterprise.

Cybercriminals sent out 3 million messages from 12,000 compromised accounts.

1 in 5 organizations had an account compromised in 2021.

Cybercriminals compromised approximately 500,000 Microsoft 365 accounts in 2021.

Barracuda, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-first security solutions, today released key findings about the ways spear-phishing attacks are evolving. The report, titled Spear Phishing: Top Threats and Trends Vol. 7  Key findings on the latest social engineering tactics and the growing complexity of attacks, reveals fresh insights into recent trends in spear-phishing attacks and what you can do to protect your business.

Read the full report: https://www.barracuda.com/spearphishing-vol7

The report examines current trends in spear phishing, which businesses are most likely to be targeted, the new tricks attackers are using to sneak past victims' defenses, and the number of accounts that are being compromised successfully. It also tackles the best practices and technology that organizations should be using to defend against these types of attacks.

An in-depth look at attack trends



Between January 2021 and December 2021, Barracuda researchers analyzed millions of emails across thousands of businesses. Here are some of the key takeaways from their analysis:

An average employee of a small business with less than 100 employees will experience 350% more social engineering attacks than an employee of a larger enterprise.

Conversation hijacking grew almost 270% in 2021.

51% of social engineering attacks are phishing.

Microsoft is the most impersonated brand, used in 57% of phishing attacks.

1 in 5 organizations had an account compromised in 2021.

Cybercriminals compromised approximately 500,000 Microsoft 365 accounts in 2021.

1 in 3 malicious logins into compromised accounts came from Nigeria .

. Cybercriminals sent out 3 million messages from 12,000 compromised accounts.

"Small businesses often have fewer resources and lack security expertise, which leaves them more vulnerable to spear-phishing attacks, and cybercriminals are taking advantage," said Don MacLennan, SVP, Engineering & Product Management, Email Protection, Barracuda. "That's why it's important for businesses of all sizes not to overlook investing in security, both technology and user education. The damage caused by a breach or a compromised account can be even more costly."

Resources:

Download the full report: https://www.barracuda.com/spearphishing-vol7

Read the blog post: http://cuda.co/50710

Read Vol. 1  Best practices to defeat evolving attacks:

https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report

Read Vol. 2  Email account takeover and defending against lateral phishing attacks:

https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-2

Read Vol. 3  Defending against business email compromise attacks:

https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-3

Read Vol. 4  Insights into attacker activity in compromised email accounts:

https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-4

Read Vol. 5  Best practices to defend against evolving attacks:

https://www.barracuda.com/spear-phishing-report-5

Read Vol. 6  Insights into attackers' evolving tactics and who they're targeting:

https://www.barracuda.com/spearphishing-vol6

Read the e-book: 13 Email Threat Types to Know About Right Now:

https://www.barracuda.com/13-threats-report

About Barracuda

At Barracuda we strive to make the world a safer place. We believe every business deserves access to cloud-first, enterprise-grade security solutions that are easy to buy, deploy, and use. We protect email, networks, data and applications with innovative solutions that grow and adapt with our customers' journey. More than 200,000 organizations worldwide trust Barracuda to protect them  in ways they may not even know they are at risk  so they can focus on taking their business to the next level. For more information, visit barracuda.com.

Barracuda Networks, Barracuda and the Barracuda Networks logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Barracuda Networks, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.

Contacts

Anne Campbell

Barracuda Networks, Inc.

978-328-1642

[email protected]

SOURCE Barracuda Networks, Inc.
Community police officer Yang's suggestions this year concerned advancing primary-level governance.

"We have implemented new management systems for neighborhoods with high population densities, which allow us to swiftly identify potential problems," Yang told Beijing Review.

The systems, however, sometimes fail to clarify responsibilities of diverse stakeholders. "So I have developed proposals to improve them and address the problems people face in daily life," Yang said, adding that she had conducted extensive field research and consulted experts.

Deputies to the NPC, the highest state organ of power with functions ranging from amending the Constitution to electing the president of China, are elected nationwide. They are the voices of the people they represent, with their suggestions usually relating to the regions they hail from, the fields in which they work, and the topics at play in society.

Deputy Su Bomin has been working in the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Dunhuang, Gansu Province, for three decades. Also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, the site consists of roughly 500 Buddhist temples carved into cliff faces and lined with one of the world's most precious Buddhist art collections.

Since his election as an NPC deputy in 2018, Su, also curator of Dunhuang Academy, the institution responsible for overseeing the grottoes, has presented a series of suggestions on cultural heritage preservation.

Chui Sai Peng, a deputy from Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), for his part, called for intensifying the region's role in cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries and promoting scientific and technological exchanges between Macao and the mainland.

The incumbent 13th NPC has 12 deputies from Macao SAR and 36 from Hong Kong SAR. There are also 13 deputies representing Taiwan, most of whom were born in the mainland but have ancestral roots tracing back to the island.

"Any legal revision has undergone a long, due process of deliberation as well as public opinion consultation," Lee Kwan Ho, a deputy from Hong Kong, told Beijing Review.

Every year, Lee assesses different surveys and studies, including those organized by the NPC. "It's all about getting the right information from the right peoplenamely, the grassroots," he said.

"By doing my duty, I can make people's voices heard and acted upon by the NPC. This is an embodiment of China's whole-process people's democracy," Yang said.

"Policy- or lawmaking should always be based on public consultation, extensive research and well-conceived procedures," Su said. During their five-year term, the NPC provides training sessions to help deputies study the related rules.

"Government agencies give their feedback on every suggestion and inform us of the procedures' progress," Su said.

According to the Report on the Work of the Standing Committee of the NPC, all 8,993 suggestions submitted by deputies during the 2021 annual session were forwarded to 194 agencies for examination and handling, a process which has now been completed. The 265 suggestions raised when the NPC was not in session were handed over to 98 departments.

If a deputy disagrees with the response to his or her suggestion, officials from the department concerned can fly from Beijing to wherever they may be to explain and further discuss the matter face to face, Lee said. "Of course, as deputies are elected, we also report our efforts and undertakings to our electors every year."

SOURCE Beijing Review
NEW DELHI, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the study published by Astute Analytica, the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is estimated to witness a rise in revenue from US$ 170.2 Mn in 2021 to US$ 220.1 Mn by 2027. The market is registering a CAGR of 4.4% during the forecast period 2022-2027. In terms of volume, the market was valued at 24,898.1 tons in 2021 and is registering a CAGR of 4.1% over the projection period. Currently, petrochemicals are used to make 75% of epoxy polymers in the globe. However, it is made from a reprotoxic chemical that is being closely monitored and whose usage in certain applications may be banned in the future. As a result, bio-sourced epoxy polymers could serve as a substitute for renewable and non-harmful epoxy polymers. Bio-based epoxies are a relative new class of bio-sourced resins that are produced by epoxidation of renewable precursors such as unsaturated vegetable oils, saccharides, tannins, cardinals, terpenes, resins, and lignin.

Request a Sample Report of Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market: https://www.astuteanalytica.com/request-sample/bio-based-epoxy-resins-market

The growing impetus of the bio-based epoxy resins market is attributed to factors such as government regulations to curb carbon emissions and increased application use of bio-based epoxy resins. The newest generations of biobased epoxy resins reduce the environmental impact of epoxies by replacing a portion of the petrochemicals with renewable, biobased materials. Epoxy resins are one of the most widely used thermosets in different engineering fields, due to their chemical resistance and thermo-mechanical properties. Recently, bio-based thermoset resin systems have attracted significant attention given their environmental benefits related to the wide variety of available natural resources, as well as the resulting reduction in the use of petroleum feedstock. Furthermore, epoxy composites are of potential interest for the aerospace and transportation industries as a lightweight material that can improve fuel efficiency and add impact strength. However, the fluctuating cost of raw materials restricts the market growth.

Segmentation Analysis

Bio-based carbon content: 28-50% segment have the highest market share in 2021

Based on type, the bio-based epoxy resins market is segmented into bio-based carbon content: 28-50% and bio-based carbon content: 50%. The bio-based carbon content: 28-50% segment is estimated to have the highest market share in 2021 owing to its highest purity property which has led to its wide scope in various applications. Moreover, the growing environmental concerns related to the disposal of packaging materials and the need for eco-friendly packaging with highest purity has augmented the growth of the segment, thereby driving the market growth.

Plant oil segment holds the highest share in bio-based epoxy resins market in 2021

In terms of Ingredient, the bio-based epoxy resins market is segmented into glycerol, hemp, vegetable (glycerin), plant oil and others. The plant oil is further segmented into soybean oil, linseed oil, canola oil and Karanja oil. The plant oil segment dominates the market owing to its wide availability as a feedstock or raw material. Soyabean oil has the highest share among the plant oils in the bio-based epoxy resins market.

Liquid and Solution form leads the bio-based epoxy resins market

Based on form, liquid and solution has the highest market share in 2021 and also registers the fastest CAGR during the forecast period 2022-2027. Liquid bio-based epoxy resin has high application in coatings, adhesives, composites, laminates, and electronic materials such as potting compounds.

DGEI application segment has the highest share in the bio-based epoxy resins market in 2021

Based on application, the bio-based epoxy resins market is categorized into diglycidyl ethers of isosorbide (DGEI), epoxidized cardanol (coatings), epoxidized linseed oil, furan diepoxy of 2,5-bis (hydroxymethyl)-furan (BHMF), liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR) and terpene-maleic estertype epoxy (TME). The diglycidyl ethers of isosorbide (DGEI) application segment has the highest share in the bio-based epoxy resins market in 2021. Diglycidyl ethers of isosorbide (DGEI) has been widely used in food processing industry. With the growing food industry across the world, the segment is projected to gain a high growth in the upcoming years.

Consumer goods are the highest end users of bio-based epoxy resins

In terms of end user, the bio-based epoxy resins market is segmented into aerospace & automotive, building & construction, consumer goods, electrical & electronics, marine, wind power and others. Among these, consumer goods are the highest end users of bio-based epoxy resins in 2021 and also registers the fastest CAGR over the projection period. The growing e-commerce sector acts as a key growth factor for the packaging market. As the consumers are purchasing more and more retail goods and perishables online, it creates a strong demand for sustainable packaging solutions hence employing the use of bio-based epoxy resins.

North America dominates the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market in 2021

North America is dominating the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market in 2021. The increasing number of infrastructure projects, growth in construction industry and high demand for coatings in the region have fueled the bio-based epoxy resins market. Further, the rising demand for commercial vehicles and dependency on e-commerce along with technological advancements will continue to spur the demand in the upcoming years.

Directly Purchase a copy of report with TOC @ https://www.astuteanalytica.com/request-sample/bio-based-epoxy-resins-market

Report Attribute Details Market Size Value in 2021 US$ 170.2 Mn Market Outlook for 2027 US$ 220.1 Mn Expected CAGR Growth 4.4% from 2022 - 2027 Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2027 Top Market Players Chang Chun Group, Entropy Resins, Greenpoxy, Sicomin Epoxy Systems, Amroy Europe Oy, and Wessex Resins & Adhesives Ltd among others. Segments Covered By Type, By Ingredient, By Form, By Application, By End-Use, and By Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and Middle East & Africa Customization Options Get your customized report as per your preference. Ask for customization

Competitive Dashboard

 ALPAS specializes in customized resins, adhesives, sealants and composites. There are 3 companies in the AL.P.A.S. SRL corporate family. The company provides strong product portfolio including epoxy resins, polyurethanes, PVC, hybrid polymers, bio polymers and hot melts.

 Chang Chun is part of the other miscellaneous store retailer's industry. The company provides epoxy resins that are multi-purpose and high performance developed using its own technologies. It offers broad portfolio of epoxy resins.

 Change Climate Pty Ltd (CC) is a ground-breaking commercial organization created from unique research projects initially undertaken by the consulting firm, COOE Pty Ltd (Australia). CC has successfully patented and commercialized a low-VOC, BPA free Bio-Epoxy Resin from waste by-products produced during refining processes in most heavy industries across the globe.

 EcoPoxy Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in MB, Canada. The company is committed to creating, manufacturing, and distributing bio-based epoxies. It offers bio-based, non-toxic epoxies which are environmentally friendly.

 Resoltech is a major manufacturer within the Epoxy and Polyurethane resin industry, with highly innovating and technically advanced products.

Segmentation Overview

The following are the different segments of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market:

By Type Segment of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is sub-segmented into:

Bio-based Carbon Content: 28-50%



Bio-based Carbon Content: 50%

By Ingredient Segment of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is sub-segmented into:

Glycerol



Hemp



Vegetable



Plant Oil



Soybean Oil





Linseed Oil





Canola Oil





Karanja Oil



Others

By Form Segment of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is sub-segmented into:

Liquid



Solid



Solution

By Application Segment of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is sub-segmented into:

Diglycidyl Ethers of Isosorbide (DGEI)



Epoxidized Cardanol (Coatings)



Epoxidized Linseed Oil



Furan diepoxy of 2,5-bis (hydroxymethyl)-furan (BHMF)



Liquid epoxidized natural rubber (LENR)



Terpene-maleic estertype epoxy (TME)

By End Use Segment of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is sub-segmented into:

Aerospace



Building & Construction



Consumer Goods



Electrical & Electronics



Marine



Wind Power



Others

By Region Segment of the Global Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market is sub-segmented into:

North America



The U.S.





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Western Europe





The U.K.







Germany







France







Italy







Spain







Rest of Western Europe





Eastern Europe





Russia







Poland







Rest of Eastern Europe



Asia Pacific



China





India





Japan





Australia & New Zealand

&



ASEAN





Rest of Asia Pacific



South America



Argentina





Brazil





Rest of South America



Middle East



UAE





Saudi Arabia





Egypt





Rest of Middle East



Africa



South Africa





Nigeria





Rest of Africa

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Keywords: Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market, Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market Size, Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market Report, Bio-Based Epoxy Resins Market Analysis

SOURCE Astute Analytica
CORONA, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A black customer in Corona, California, has filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that employees of a newly opened Raising Cane's restaurant mocked him for being "black" and ordering extra, extra crispy chicken. According to Darius Bell, a young African-American man, employees of Raising Cane's openly discussed his "color" and laughed at his order. When Bell asked to see their manager, the employees ignored him and took off their name tags, according to Bell. Raising Cane's is a national fast-food chain with more than 500 locations that specializes in chicken fingers. "I hate to see things like this continue to happen in our community," said Bell. "This is why we are not going to let this one just blow over our heads." According to Bell's attorney, Arthur Kim: "All of us should remember what Dr. King said, that we should live in a nation where we are judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin. We demand that Raising Cane's take steps to ensure that all of its customers are treated like one family." Bell is represented by Arthur Kim of Arthur Kim Law Firm in Beverly Hills and Palm Springs, California. The case is Darius Bell v. Raising Cane's Restaurants, LLC (Riverside Superior Court Case No. CVRI2200896).

Contact: Arthur Kim

Tel. (866) 582-1057

Email: [email protected]

http://www.arthurkimlaw.com

SOURCE Arthur Kim Law Firm
JOHANNESBURG, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The strike in the gold sector of South Africa's mining has now entered its second week, still without an agreement between the mining company Sibanye Stillwater and two major labor unions.

Around 30,000 miners affiliated with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) downed tools last week after Sibanye failed to grant them a salary increment of 1,000 rand (about 66 U.S. dollars) per year for three years. The company offered 700 rand per year for those three years.

Speaking to Xinhua Tuesday, NUM President Joseph Montisetse said that parties have not been able to find each other since the industrial action was declared. He said Sibanye made 28 billion rand in profits in 2020/2021 due to the commodity boom but it was refusing to meet their justified wage demands. Other mining companies in the sector which made fewer profits than Sibanye had agreed to their wage demands.

Montisetse accused Sibanye of negotiating in bad faith, saying CEO Neal Froneman was instructing representatives not to "move from their initial offer."

Sibanye said two other unions which represent minority workers have since accepted their revised wage offer.

"We are hopeful that both AMCU and the NUM will soon follow suit to avoid further consequences for employees and other stakeholders from strike action," Froneman said.

A strike in the gold sector lasted for five months in 2019. 
Proven operations leader promoted to position company for continued mission-driven service

KANKAKEE, Ill., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aqua announced this week that Bob Ervin, a valued member of its leadership team, has been named Illinois president. As the former operations director, Ervin succeeds Craig Blanchette, who will continue leading Aqua's mission in Texas after eight years of dedicated service as Aqua Illinois' president.

"We are thrilled to promote Bob Ervin to the role of president of Aqua Illinois," said Colleen Arnold, president, Aqua. "His commitment to operational efficiency, customer care and strong community partnerships has been a true asset to our leadership team over the years, and we are confident that he will carry on Aqua's long-standing tradition with integrity, respect and the pursuit of excellence."

Ervin possesses nearly 40 years of operations and executive management experience, with 24 of those dedicated to the utility industry. His seasoned tenure with the Aqua family includes prior leadership roles at Consumers Water Company and subsidiaries later acquired by Aqua. After an eight-year tenure of serving Aqua Illinois' Danville customers as area manager, Ervin was promoted to operations director in 2019, where he streamlined systems and standards across 30 water systems, 16 wastewater systems and 100-plus employees.

"Working alongside such a talented and dedicated team over the years has been a highlight of my time at Aqua. I am honored and humbled to further our customer-centered mission in my new role as president," said Ervin. "Together, with our core values as a guide, we will continue to achieve new milestones, elevate the customer experience and improve the value we bring to Illinois communities. I look forward to building on Craig's outstanding work to continue fortifying our infrastructure and growing our impact across the state."

Ervin will lead operations across Aqua Illinois' territories spanning 70 communities, in addition to nurturing valued partnerships and investing in infrastructure solutions that enhance its services.

Ervin previously served as Vermilion Advantage Board Chairman, OSF Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation Vice Chairman, Danville Family YMCA Board President, board member of Trinity Lutheran School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Eastern Illinois University  along with course credentials from institutions such as University of Wisconsin-Madison, Boston University, University of Notre Dame and Cornell University.

About Aqua Illinois

Aqua Illinois is a subsidiary of Essential Utilities Inc. Founded in 1886, Aqua Illinois currently provides water and wastewater services to approximately 273,000 people in 70 communities and 13 counties. To learn more, please visit aquaamerica.com/our-states/illinois.aspx.

SOURCE Aqua Illinois
Following a successful trial in its home market of Bulgaria, Boom now seek to expand their rollout throughout the European continent

LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Addressing a major technological issue of our time, the growing shortage of skilled software developers, Boom will seek to disrupt the online coding marketplace with an all-new learning platform.

Following an extremely successful trial in Bulgaria, Boom.dev will address the poor quality of online learning platforms for coding by offering an innovative solution seeking to truly maximise the student experience.

Built as a digital-first learning platform, Boom's founders have quickly reacted to both a global shortage of skilled coders and the pandemic-driven shift to e-learning. Self-taught developers themselves, they are keen to open development jobs for students alienated by traditional university courses lasting 3 or 4 years.

Dimitar Nikolov, Boom Co-founder said of the launch: "We are very encouraged by the success we enjoyed on our initial launch, with all our graduates going on to secure software development roles within weeks of graduating. Our students had such a diverse background, for example we had a dancer, a lawyer and a teacher successfully complete the course, which shows the pent-up demand for people to move into software development. Many of our students had previously completed online coding courses, but these courses failed to prepare the graduates for real world roles".

Utilising their extensive experience and learnings from working in online gaming, the creators of Boom.dev are utilising advanced AI technology to ensure that students have the greatest possible learning experience and journey. Combining the latest digital teaching approaches such as spaced repetition and active memory recall, Boom.dev will borrow mechanisms from the gaming world such as leaderboards, bounties and challenges to enhance the learning experience.

A mixture of self-paced learning, engaging live events and time-bound group-based projects ensuring students retain maximum flexibility while still giving exposure to real world development experiences such as working on group projects, the course is set to firmly lead the space with its unique product offering.

Another Boom Co-founder, Hristiyan Ivanov, said: "Our focus on practical, workplace relevant skills as well as technical competence means students are extremely well placed to get software development roles on completion of the course. In fact, we are so confident about this that we are offering students their money back if they fail to get a relevant role within six months of graduation".

In an effort to encourage more young people to undertake careers in software development, Boom.dev is offering full scholarships for any student under 18 who pass the admission criteria.

Enrolment for the latest course begins this month, with further information available on the Boom.dev website: https://boom.dev/

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767661/Boom_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Boom.dev
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation (the "Company") (NYSE:BSX) today announced the pricing terms of the previously announced upsized cash tender offer (the "Tender Offer") for $2,852,561,000 in aggregate principal amount (the "Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount") of the outstanding senior notes identified in the table and the related notes below (the "Securities").

The table below summarizes certain information regarding the Securities and the Tender Offer, including the order of priority and purchase price information for the Securities.

Title of Security (1) CUSIP Number Principal Amount Outstanding Acceptance Sublimit Acceptance Priority Level (2) Principal Amount Accepted U.S. Treasury Reference Security Reference Yield (3) Bloomberg Reference Page Fixed Spread Total Consideration (4) 3.375% Senior Notes due 2022 101137AQ0 $250,000,000 None 1 $130,541,000 1.750% U.S.T. due 5/15/2022 0.476% PX3 +25 bps $1,004.25 4.125% Senior Notes due 2023 101137AN7 $243,571,000 None 2 $152,261,000 1.375% U.S.T. due 9/30/2023 1.721% PX4 +25 bps $1,032.49 4.700% Senior Notes due 2049 101137AU1 $1,000,000,000 $350,000,000 3 $350,000,000 1.875% U.S.T. due 11/15/2051 2.509% PX1 +155 bps $1,103.36 4.550% Senior Notes due 2039 101137AT4 $750,000,000 $300,000,000 4 $300,000,000 2.375% U.S.T. due 2/15/2042 2.583% PX1 +130 bps $1,080.53 4.000% Senior Notes due 2029 101137AX5 $850,000,000 None 5 $577,975,000 1.875% U.S.T. due 2/15/2032 2.181% PX1 +90 bps $1,055.31 4.000% Senior Notes due 2028 101137AS6 $433,545,000 None 6 $89,475,000 1.875% U.S.T. due 2/28/2027 2.147% PX1 +70 bps $1,060.34 3.850% Senior Notes due 2025 101137AR8 $522,883,000 None 7 $311,213,000 1.500% U.S.T. due 2/15/2025 2.082% PX1 +30 bps $1,044.42 3.750% Senior Notes due 2026 101137AW7 $850,000,000 None 8 $595,132,000 1.875% U.S.T. due 2/28/2027 2.147% PX1 +60 bps $1,035.87 3.450% Senior Notes due 2024 101137AV9 $850,000,000 None 9 $345,964,000 1.500% U.S.T. due 2/29/2024 1.870% PX1 +45 bps $1,020.59



(1) No principal amount of the 2.650% Senior Notes due 2030, 1.900% Senior Notes due 2025, 6.750% Senior Notes due 2035 or 7.375% Senior Notes due 2040 validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or prior to the Early Tender Date was accepted for purchase.

(2) The offer with respect to the Securities is subject to the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount. The Company will purchase up to the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount of its Securities, subject to the Acceptance Priority Level as set forth in the table above (each, an "Acceptance Priority Level") and the Acceptance Sublimits as set forth in the table above (each, an "Acceptance Sublimit"). The Company reserves the right, but is under no obligation, to further increase or decrease the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount or increase, decrease or eliminate any Acceptance Sublimit at any time, including on or after March 16, 2022 (the "Price Determination Date"), subject to applicable law.

(3) The Reference Yield was determined at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on March 16, 2022 by the Lead Dealer Managers (identified below).

(4) The Total Consideration (as defined below) for Securities validly tendered prior to or at the Early Tender Date (as defined below) and accepted for purchase was calculated using the applicable Fixed Spread and is inclusive of the Early Tender Payment (as defined below). The Total Consideration takes into account the applicable par call date for each series of Securities, if any.

The Tender Offer is being made pursuant to an Offer to Purchase, dated March 2, 2022 (the "Offer to Purchase"), which sets forth the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer. The Tender Offer will expire at midnight, Eastern Time, on March 29, 2022 (one minute after 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on March 29, 2022), or any other date and time to which such Tender Offer is extended (such date and time, as it may be extended with respect to a Tender Offer, the "Expiration Date"), unless earlier terminated. However, because the aggregate principal amount of Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn would cause the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount to be exceeded and the Company does not expect to further increase the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount, the Company does not expect to accept any further tenders of Securities.

Holders of Securities that validly tendered and did not validly withdraw their Securities prior to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 15, 2022 (the "Early Tender Date") are eligible to receive the Total Consideration (as defined below), which is inclusive of the "Early Tender Payment" of $30 per $1,000 principal amount of validly tendered and accepted Securities.

The consideration (the "Total Consideration") offered per $1,000 principal amount of Securities of each series of Securities validly tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer was determined in the manner described in the Offer to Purchase by reference to the applicable "Fixed Spread" for such Securities specified in the table above plus the applicable yield to maturity based on the bid-side price of the applicable "U.S. Treasury Reference Security" specified in the table above as quoted on the applicable Bloomberg reference page at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on March 16, 2022.

All holders of Securities accepted for purchase will also receive accrued and unpaid interest on Securities validly tendered and accepted for purchase from the applicable last interest payment date up to, but not including, the settlement date.

Securities tendered prior to or at the Early Tender Date and accepted for purchase will be accepted based on any applicable Acceptance Sublimit and the Acceptance Priority Levels noted on the table above, and will have priority over Securities tendered after the Early Tender Date, regardless of the Acceptance Priority Levels of the Securities tendered after the Early Tender Date. Because the aggregate principal amount of Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to the Early Tender Date would cause the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount and Acceptance Sublimits to be exceeded, such Securities will be purchased subject to the Acceptance Priority Levels and Acceptance Sublimits and subject to proration as described in the Offer to Purchase. The Company plans to accept all Securities tendered with Acceptance Priority Levels 1 through 8, subject to the applicable Acceptance Sublimits, and Securities tendered with Acceptance Priority Level 9, using a proration factor in accordance with the Offer to Purchase, and none of the 2.650% Senior Notes due 2030, 1.900% Senior Notes due 2025, 6.750% Senior Notes due 2035 or 7.375% Senior Notes due 2040 tendered, which had Acceptance Priority Levels 10 through 13, respectively. Any tendered Securities not accepted for purchase will be promptly credited to the holder's account with The Depository Trust Company or otherwise returned to the holder without cost.

The settlement date for the Securities that are validly tendered on or prior to the Early Tender Date is expected to be March 17, 2022, the second business day after the Early Tender Date, assuming the conditions to the satisfaction of the Tender Offer are satisfied.

Withdrawal rights for the Tender Offer expired at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 15, 2022, and, accordingly, Securities validly tendered in the Tender Offer may no longer be withdrawn except where additional withdrawal rights are required by law.

The Company's obligation to accept for payment and to pay for the Securities validly tendered in the Tender Offer is not subject to any minimum tender condition but is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions described in the Offer to Purchase. The Company reserves the right, subject to applicable law, to: (i) waive any and all conditions to the Tender Offer; (ii) extend or terminate the Tender Offer; (iii) further increase or decrease the Aggregate Maximum Principal Amount or increase, decrease or eliminate any Acceptance Sublimit; or (iv) otherwise amend the Tender Offer in any respect.

As previously announced, the Company today issued notices of redemption for any 3.375% Senior Notes due 2022 (the "2022 notes"), 4.125% Senior Notes due 2023 ("2023 notes") and 3.850% Senior Notes due 2025 (the "2025 notes") not purchased in the Tender Offer pursuant to the terms of such notes and the applicable indentures (the "Redemption").

The Company expects the net impact of the Tender Offer, the Redemption and the previously announced issuance on March 8, 2022 of 3.0 billion aggregate principal amount of the Company's senior notes (the "Notes Issuance", and together with the Tender Offer and Redemption, the "Transactions") to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share by approximately $0.02 per share in 2022. On a GAAP basis, the Transactions are expected to be dilutive, due to one-time debt extinguishment charges of approximately $200 million on a pre-tax basis to be recorded in the first quarter of 2022, associated primarily with payment of premiums in connection with the Tender Offer.

The Company or its affiliates may also from time to time, after completion of the Tender Offer, purchase additional Securities in the open market, in privately negotiated transactions, through tender or exchange offers or otherwise, or the Company may redeem Securities that are redeemable pursuant to their terms.

Information Relating to the Tender Offer

Barclays Capital Inc., BofA Securities and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are acting as the lead dealer managers (the "Lead Dealer Managers") for the Tender Offer. The Company has also retained SG Americas Securities, LLC, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, BNP Paribas Securities Corp., DNB Markets, Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, MUFG Securities Americas Inc., RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Scotia Capital (USA) Inc., TD Securities (USA) LLC, and U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc. to act as co-dealer managers (together, the "Co-Dealer Managers" and together with the Lead Dealer Managers, the "Dealer Managers") for the Tender Offer. The information agent and tender agent for the Tender Offer is D.F. King & Co., Inc. (the "Tender and Information Agent"). Copies of the Offer to Purchase are available by contacting the Tender and Information Agent at (800) 848-2998 (U.S. toll-free) or (212) 269-5550 (banks and brokers) or email at [email protected] Questions regarding the Tender Offer should be directed to Barclays Capital Inc., Liability Management Group, at (212) 528-7581 (collect) or (800) 438-3242 (toll free), BofA Securities, Liability Management Group, at (980) 387-3907 (collect) or (888) 292-0070 (toll free) or email at [email protected] or Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Liability Management Group, at (212) 723-6106 (collect) or (800) 558-3745 (toll-free).

None of the Company, its affiliates, their respective boards of directors or managing members, the Dealer Managers, the Tender and Information Agent or the trustee with respect to any series of Securities is making any recommendation as to whether holders of Securities should tender any Securities in response to the Tender Offer, and neither the Company nor any such other person has authorized any person to make any such recommendation. Holders of Securities must make their own decision as to whether to tender any of their Securities, and, if so, the principal amount of Securities to tender.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, a solicitation to buy or an offer to purchase or sell any securities. The Tender Offer is being made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and only in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law. This press release shall not constitute a notice of redemption for the 2022 notes, the 2023 notes or the 2025 notes.

The full details of the Tender Offer, including complete instructions on how to tender Securities, are included in the Offer to Purchase. The Offer to Purchase contains important information that should be read by holders of Securities before making a decision to tender any Securities.

About Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific transforms lives through innovative medical solutions that improve the health of patients around the world. As a global medical technology leader for more than 40 years, we advance science for life by providing a broad range of high performance solutions that address unmet patient needs and reduce the cost of healthcare.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding the expected financial impact of the transactions and our plans and expected timing and benefits of the Tender Offer, and the Total Consideration to be paid to holders of the Securities who tendered or tender their Securities at or prior to the Early Tender Date or the Expiration Date. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause such differences include, among other things: the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and financial results; future U.S. and global economic, political, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions, including as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and related sanctions and export restrictions; manufacturing, distribution and supply chain disruptions and cost increases; disruptions caused by cybersecurity events; disruptions caused by extreme weather or other climate change-related events; labor shortages and increases in labor costs; new product introductions and the market acceptance of those products; markets for our products; expected pricing environment; expected procedural volumes; the closing and integration of acquisitions; clinical trial results; demographic trends; intellectual property rights; litigation; financial market conditions; the execution and effect of our restructuring program; the execution and effect of our business strategy, including our cost-savings and growth initiatives; our ability to achieve environmental, social and governance goals and commitments; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors. New risks and uncertainties may arise from time to time and are difficult to predict, including those that have emerged or have increased in significance or likelihood as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A  Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A  Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, we disclose certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted net income and adjusted net income (earnings) per share that excludes certain charges and/or credits. These non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States and should not be considered in isolation from or as a replacement for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Further, other companies may calculate these non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, which may limit the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes. For further information regarding our non-GAAP measures, see Part II, Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which we may update in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter.

CONTACT:









Media: Kate Haranis

Investors: Lauren Tengler



508-683-6585 (office)



508-683-4479 (office)



Media Relations



Investor Relations



Boston Scientific Corporation



Boston Scientific Corporation



[email protected]



[email protected]

SOURCE Boston Scientific Corporation
Demand for cannabis banking services continues to grow, creating new revenue opportunities for financial institutions.

SEATTLE, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Shield Compliance (https://www.shieldbanking.com/), a compliance management solution for cannabis banking, continues its rapid growth trajectory, achieving more than 220% year-over-year revenue growth in 2021 and more than doubling the number of financial institutions on its platform. These institutions collectively serve more than 2,300 cannabis-related businesses (CRBs), a nearly 250% growth. Shield also expanded its footprint with new clients in Maine, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Puerto Rico.

Informed by the experiences of pioneering bankers across a growing number of states with legal medical and adult-use programs, the Shield cannabis banking playbook defines a path forward for financial institutions to serve cannabis-related businesses compliantly while benefiting from the financial rewards of this market. Download a copy at www.shieldbanking.com/cannabis-banking-playbook.

"We are extremely pleased by the rapid and steady growth of financial institutions selecting Shield Compliance as their technology provider," said Noah Carey, Founder and CEO of Shield Compliance. "These institutions are looking to position themselves for sustained growth, profitability, and efficiency and are betting on Shield to help them gain a competitive advantage. Our clients are sophisticated cannabis bankers who see a clear differentiation in the quality of our platform and services."

To facilitate the delivery of financial services to CRBs, Shield continues to enhance its flagship BSA/AML compliance solutions: Shield Assure for daily monitoring and reporting; and Shield Engage for client application processing, underwriting, and onboarding. The company has also introduced new services. Launched as a pilot program, Shield Force is a professional service offering for financial institutions requiring additional compliance staffing support to maintain or expand their cannabis programs.

"The team at Shield Compliance understands the complexity of the cannabis industry and offers the solutions and a cost structure that improves our competitiveness," said William Hufnagel, President and CEO of Dart Bank. "It is critical that we offer a cannabis banking program that is fully compliant and can be tailored to meet the needs of CRBs seeking banking services in a growing number of legal cannabis states. Shield offers the reliability and flexibility required to serve these customers effectively."

Rising Demand for Cannabis Banking Services

The past year has seen adult-use cannabis legalized in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, and Montana. Today some form of medical or adult-use marijuana is legal in 38 states, representing upwards of 95% of the U.S. population. With many examples of successful retail programs to draw from, states are hitting the ground running. For example, Arizona, which launched adult-use sales in January 2021, is on track to outpace first-year sales in Colorado and Washington, the first states to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2012.

"A playbook exists for financial institutions to serve the cannabis industry and pass compliance exams today," said Tony Repanich, President and COO of Shield Compliance. "As evidenced by our year-over-year growth, Shield continues to be the platform of choice for banks and credit unions seeking to improve compliance outcomes, better manage risk, and drive down operational costs."

About Shield Compliance

Shield Compliance transforms how financial institutions serve the legal cannabis market. Its purpose-built BSA/AML compliance management software solution sits behind the financial institution to simplify compliance, automate processes across multiple data sources, create efficiencies, unlock new revenue, and scale operations. For more information, visit www.shieldbanking.com or contact [email protected].

Media Contact

Samara Villasenor

425-255-0890

SOURCE Shield Compliance
CHICAGO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today announced the appointment of Stephen Berte as President of its BIDS Trading unit, effective April 4, 2022.

Mr. Berte has nearly twenty years of experience in equity trading and is joining BIDS from Tourmaline Partners, where he was a Managing Director and founded and led its Boston office. Mr. Berte started his career in equity trading with Standard Life Investments in Boston where he was Head of Equity Trading for the Americas and Asia Pacific, before becoming Global Head of Equity Trading, based in Edinburgh. He then went on to become Head of Investments Execution for all asset classes in the Americas for Aberdeen Standard Life, leading a team of investment professionals across equity, fixed income, derivatives, FX and money markets, and was a member of both the Investment Management Committee and the Executive Management Committee.

Ed Tilly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cboe Global Markets said: "I am delighted to welcome Stephen Berte as the incoming new President of BIDS Trading. Stephen is an industry veteran and the extensive experience he brings to the role will serve BIDS and its customers well as BIDS looks to grow its block trading platform from number one in the U.S. to a world leader."

Stephen Berte said: "I am honored to have been appointed the next President of BIDS Trading and grateful for the opportunity to lead the exceptional BIDS Trading team. This is an exciting time in BIDS' continued evolution as we look to create a global block trading enterprise and multi-asset class platform spanning North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. BIDS has a strong foundation in place, created by a team of passionate professionals committed to innovation, best-in-class customer service and providing industry-leading technology. I look forward to leading BIDS into its next phase of growth as our team plans to bring our highly-regarded trading platform and extensive distribution network into new markets around the world."

Cboe completed its acquisition of BIDS Trading in December 2020. BIDS has been the largest block trading alternative trading system (ATS) by volume in the U.S. for the last 65 months, and its block market share in January 2022 was 73 percent bigger than its next competitor.1 The 2020 acquisition followed Cboe and BIDS Trading's successful block trading collaboration in Europe, which began in 2016 with the creation of Cboe LIS, now known as Cboe BIDS Europe. Since its launch, Cboe BIDS Europe has grown to become one of the largest block trading platforms in Europe. In February 2022 it handled 30 percent of the large-in-scale market in Europe - making it the largest platform of its type - and accounted for approximately 594 million in average daily volume.

Cboe then successfully launched Cboe BIDS Canada on February 1, 2022, bringing Cboe BIDS' leading block trading capabilities and block-sized liquidity to Canadian investors. Since its launch in February, Cboe BIDS Canada has seen participation from 39 different firms across both the buy-side and the sell-side, trading an average daily value of 1.4 million shares with an average trade value of CAD 403,000. Building on the success of the Cboe BIDS block trading offering in the U.S., Europe and Canada, Cboe now plans to launch, pending regulatory approvals, Cboe BIDS Australia in 2023 followed by Cboe BIDS Japan.

Cboe maintains BIDS as an independently managed and operated trading venue and broker/dealer, separate from and not integrated with the Cboe U.S. securities exchanges. Mr. Berte will lead BIDS Trading as an independent business within Cboe Global Markets, reporting into an independent committee of the board of directors of Cboe Global Markets.

About Cboe Global Markets, Inc.

Cboe Global Markets (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of market infrastructure and tradable products, delivers cutting-edge trading, clearing and investment solutions to market participants around the world. The company is committed to operating a trusted, inclusive global marketplace, providing leading products, technology and data solutions that enable participants to define a sustainable financial future. Cboe provides trading solutions and products in multiple asset classes, including equities, derivatives and FX, across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit www.cboe.com.

About BIDS Trading

BIDS Trading, L.P. is a registered broker-dealer and the operator of the BIDS Alternative Trading System (ATS), which was designed to bring counterparties together to anonymously trade large blocks of shares. Developed by a consortium of leading financial services firms, the BIDS ATS resolves the classic paradox of the block trader  the need to find legitimate trading counterparties without prematurely revealing trading intentions. The BIDS ATS is open to all qualifying broker-dealers and their institutional clients, subject to basic credit and regulatory requirements. For more information, visit www.bidstrading.com.

CBOE-EE

Cboe, Cboe Volatility Index, VIX and Cboe Global Markets are registered trademarks of Cboe Exchange, Inc. BIDS Trading is a registered trademark of BIDS Holdings, L.P. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain information contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties.

1 A block is defined as 10,000+ shares; Source: FINRA, please see FINRA website for complete data.

SOURCE Cboe Global Markets, Inc.
Chang, also a professor emeritus at the College of Pharmacy at Seoul National University, was given the 2021 James A. Duke award by the ABC on March 9 during the award ceremony held at the Anaheim Natural Products Expo West 2022 in California.

The ABC, also known as the Herbal Medicine Institute, is a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to supporting researchers and scientists around the world developing medicinal plants for various uses. The James A. Duke award is given to the best herbal book of the year.

A History of the Korean Ginseng Industry is an English edition that was translated from the original Korean edition published by KGC CheongKwanJang Books in 2018 and updated with the latest content. This work is highly valued for being a rare English book on ginseng that came out about 50 years after Korean Ginseng, published by the Monopoly Bureau of Korea in the early 1970s.

A History of the Korean Ginseng Industry sheds light on the history of the Korean ginseng market starting from the Joseon era (1392-1910). In the book, Chang proves that Joseon farmers were the first in the world to artificially cultivate ginseng and store it in the form of red ginseng. Red ginseng is made by steaming and boiling fresh ginseng.



Professor Chang explained, "A History of the Korean Ginseng Industry describes the industrial history of Korean ginseng, a specialty and economically important crop of Korea." He added, "This award reflects the international acknowledgment of the history, industrial significance, and values of Korean ginseng."

SOURCE KGC (Korea Ginseng Corp.)
World's Largest E-Comm Investor Quadruples Investment in Indiegogo Creators

NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearco , the world's largest e-commerce investor and the company revolutionizing the opportunities for founders to grow their businesses, and Indiegogo, the platform for entrepreneurs to launch innovative and groundbreaking products, today announced a $10 Million Indiegogo Creators Fund powered by Clearco to accelerate growth of crowdfunding campaigns.

The Indiegogo Creators Fund will allow Indiegogo entrepreneurs to receive a capital advance based on their funds raised to date, allowing them to reinvest, drive further contributions for their crowdfunding campaign and grow their businesses. Clearco's network of founders also have the ability to fast-track their listings on Indiegogo and leverage the platform to generate sales for new product launches.

"Our entrepreneurs are introducing some of the most incredible new products into the world and we don't want access to capital to be a barrier to their success," says Jonathan Jue, Chief Financial Officer of Indiegogo. "Clearco has helped fund dozens of Indiegogo campaigns in the past year alone, and we are thrilled to expand this initiative to as many entrepreneurs as possible."

As a company whose mission is to unlock the entrepreneurial innovation being ignored by traditional funding sources, Clearco sees this collaboration as an enormous opportunity to fuel founder growth. "Through traditional funding options, thousands of founders aren't given the capital and opportunity they need to grow their businesses. Often things like social class, gender, race and ethnicity play into whose ideas get funded. Alternative funding models like Clearco and Indiegogo break down these barriers to unleash the entrepreneurial potential that exists in every corner of the world," says Michele Romanow, CEO of Clearco.

To date, Clearco has invested over $2.5 million into Indiegogo Entrepreneurs and is excited to quadruple this investment over the coming year with the creation of the new fund. As part of the establishment of the fund, Clearco will also be expanding its investment into Indiegogo Creators outside of the US to Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Stoggles Founder Max Greenberg experienced the benefits of Indiegogo and Clearco's collaboration firsthand. As safety and PPE became a pressing concern during the pandemic, Stoggles was two days away from completely running out of budget. Clearco stepped in to provide capital within 48 hours so the company could roll out new marketing initiatives. Clearco's initiative with Indiegogo gave Stoggles the additional funding they needed to raise $1.3 million in their live campaign, surpassing their goal of $5,000. With over 27,000 backers, Stoggles was able to successfully launch their business and become the go-to eyewear of thousands of front-line workers in America during a critical time in medicine.

Similarly, Clearco provided mobile power company, Zendure, a $200,000 advance to support their business strategy. Today, the company's Indiegogo campaign has reached $1.8 million. With capital from Clearco, Zendure is able to continue their vision of becoming the leading brand in the outdoor clean energy lifestyle market and investing in climate-friendly practices that ensure our planet's protection.

About Clearco

Clearco is the world's largest e-commerce investor providing equity free capital solutions to e-commerce businesses. Clearco's gives founders real-time access to a global network of partners in addition to insights and data tools to help support them scale their business.

Clearco has advanced more than $3.2 billion to more than 7000 brands, including Vanity Planet, Glamnetic, Public Goods, Soludos, and Monos. For more information visit clear.co and @getClearco.

About Indiegogo

Indiegogo is a global crowdfunding platform that enables entrepreneurs to go to market and raise funds from curious backers looking to invest in the most unique and exclusive products. Our mission is to create a worldwide network of communities that connect trustworthy, professional entrepreneurs and the enthusiasts who power their innovation. Since the company launched in 2008, Indiegogo has helped fund over 925,000 ideas and raised over $2 billion benefitting more than 700,000 entrepreneurs. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has team members located all across the world. For more information, visit Indiegogo.com and follow us on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook .

Media Contact:

Nick Rosen-Wachs

[email protected]

SOURCE Clearco
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inc. magazine today revealed that Compute North is No. 16 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals Midwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Compute North is the leader in sustainable, large-scale computing infrastructure. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Midwest region economy's most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

"We are proud of the work our team has accomplished over the past two years that led to this prestigious acknowledgement from Inc. magazine," said Dave Perrill, CEO and Co-founder at Compute North. "Our TIER 0 data centers optimize cost to solve for highly specialized computing with greater flexibility, while providing load stability to local power grids. As a leading developer and operator of sustainable data centers, leveraging a modular design allows us to scale quickly to meet growing customer demand."

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Midwest region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 144 private companies had an average growth rate of 147% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 19,821 jobs and nearly $11.7 billion to the Midwest region's economy. Companies based in the Chicago, Illinois; Noblesville, Indiana; and Overland Park, Kansas, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Midwest, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/midwest starting March 15, 2022.

"This year's Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts growth companies. They're disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

About Compute North

Compute North is the leader in TIER 0 data centers, focused on delivering the most sustainable, cost-effective computing in the world. The company provides efficient, highly scalable infrastructure for clients in the blockchain, cryptocurrency mining and the distributed computing space. With operations across the United States, Compute North brings a unique combination of data center, energy, and technology expertise to meet the growing demand for purpose-built infrastructure solutions for highly specialized computing needs. For additional information, please visit www.computenorth.com.

Contact:

Compute North

[email protected]

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 RegionalsMethodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regional are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 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 Compute North
At the heart of the technology are Laminar Wash systems, which combine novel "wall-less" plate design with automated fluidics that gently and reproducibly prepares cells for high-content analysis methods, such as single-cell sequencing 'omics and flow cytometry. Major biopharmaceutical multinationals, cutting-edge biotech companies, as well as prominent academic labs are quickly adopting Laminar Wash technology to replace conventional centrifugation-based cell washing methods. Integrating Laminar Wash systems in their workflows enables teams to scale high-throughput analysis through automation, improve workflows and productivity, consume fewer reagents and sample volumes, and retain precious and rare cells for analysis that otherwise would be lost by harsh pelleting and stress.

Curiox's unique position to address multiple pain points in cell sample preparation excited investors. Laminar Wash technology has propelled Curiox sales growth by 168% since 2019, demonstrating the life science market's perceived value in upgrading sample preparation methodology. . "Curiox Biosystems is a company with the status of a 'first mover' in the field of cell sample prep automation," said Lee Jong-hoon, CEO of Luha Private Equity. "Thanks to this, I came to the conclusion that the superiority of the device was sufficiently verified while seeing the upward trend in sales."

The impact of bringing scaling and automation solutions to sample preparation in the rapidly growing cell and gene therapy market was recently recognized by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Flow Cytometry Standards Consortium. Together with Curiox scientists, the Consortium is testing the ability of Curiox's AUTO1000 system, a fully automated flow cytometry staining workstation, to facilitate and improve cell analysis for these exciting therapies.*

"As living cells are directly related to the diagnosis and resolution of a patient's disease, scientists recognize the importance of maintaining native biological function during the cell sample prep process," said Curiox CEO Namyong Kim, Ph.D. "As we are seeing the market respond with enthusiasm to our offerings, we will, in turn, expand aggressively."

To keep pace with the goal of realizing a doubling of sales every year, funds from this investment round will be used to reinforce commercial operation as well as production capacity. Curiox has set in motion a plan to mass-produce more than 1,000 cell washing systems per year within three years. Investors were also intrigued by Curiox's imminent plans to launch a new cell preparation product line complimenting Laminar Wash technology. The novel technology promises to further expand the company's application space and market share. CEO Kim estimates the global market for cell preparation instrumentation and workflow to be worth $5B.

To learn more, visit the Curiox website.

About Curiox Biosystems, Inc.

Next-generation therapies deserve next-generation sample prep solutions. Curiox has brought together surface chemistry and instrumentation expertise to overcome critical challenges slowing the pace of life-science research. By focusing on common assay steps and workflows where miniaturization and automation are currently underutilized, the company has developed innovative technologies that simultaneously improve both productivity and data quality, accelerating the pace of therapeutic development.

*NIST does not evaluate commercial products under this Consortium and does not endorse any product or service used.

Media Contact:

David Choiniere

SR VP of Sales and Marketing, North America

781-606-9234

SOURCE Curiox Biosystems
ISRAEL, Tel Aviv, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybellum, the leading provider of the Product Security Platform that enables manufacturers and suppliers to continuously detect, manage, and remediate cyber threats and security vulnerabilities, announced today that it has joined the Health-ISAC (Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center) Navigator Program.

As a Navigator, Cybellum will share best practices and know-how with the Health-ISAC Community of medical device manufacturers and healthcare professionals, for quick detection of device vulnerabilities and improving security risk posture. In addition, the company will share insights for better compliance and governance processes with regards to cybersecurity regulatory guidelines.

Cybellum will host a webinar on April 12, 2022, at 12pm EDT, which will highlight the findings of the "The State of Medical Device Cybersecurity 2022 Survey." Register here.

Cybellum's Product Security Platform enables medical OEMs and their suppliers to detect, manage and mitigate vulnerabilities automatically, and at scale. It enables SBOM generation, compliance validation and ongoing vulnerability management under one platform. Medical OEMs and their suppliers can rapidly comply with medical cybersecurity regulations and minimize risk, more quickly and efficiently than before.

"It is great to have Cybellum in our Global Navigator community and we look forward to learning from the real-world experiences of Cybellum and their customers," said Errol Weiss, Chief Security Officer for Health-ISAC. "We're excited to share best practices from Cybellum with Health-ISAC Members as part of this partnership."

"The attack surface for medical devices continues to grow as they become more connected," said David Leichner, CMO at Cybellum. "Unlike in other industries where a device could simply be shut down if it were deemed to be at risk, in many cases, medical devices are keeping patients alive or are providing critical services necessary for ongoing treatments. It is our goal at Cybellum to help manufacturers uncover, assess, and eliminate vulnerabilities while they are still early enough in the development process to minimize patient risk, costly recalls and brand damage."

About Cybellum

Cybellum enables manufacturers to mitigate software vulnerabilities throughout their entire lifecycle, from design to end-of-life. Cybellum's Product Security Platform, powered by its Cyber Digital Twins technology, enables OEMs and suppliers to detect, manage and remediate vulnerabilities automatically at scale. They can rapidly create SBOMs and comply with existing and emerging regulations, more quickly and efficiently than ever before. Cybellum's customers include leading product and device manufacturers in the automotive, medical, and industrial device industries. To learn more visit www.cybellum.com

About Health-ISAC

Health-ISAC (Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center), is a global, non-profit, member-driven organization where health sector stakeholders join a trusted Community and forum for coordinating, collaborating and sharing vital physical and cyber threat intelligence and best practices with each other.

Membership is open to public & private hospitals, ambulatory providers, health insurance payers, pharmaceutical/biotech manufacturers, laboratory, diagnostic, medical device manufacturers, medical schools, medical R&D organizations and other relevant health sector stakeholders.

Member organizations become more resilient by working together, benefitting the entire health sector and its vital role in critical infrastructure worldwide.

Media Contact

Annette Habani

Marketing Manager, Cybellum

[email protected]

SOURCE Cybellum
ADDIS ABABA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Africa should seize the fast-developing digital market space so as to boost access to goods and services across the continent, Monique Nsanzabaganwa, deputy chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, said Tuesday.

The AU Commission deputy chief made the remarks as the African continent joined the global community in commemorating the 39th World Consumer Rights Day annually marked on March 15 under the theme "Fair Digital Finance."

"Seizing the fast-developing digital market space is particularly important in our African context where access to countless goods and services remains restricted for the vast majority," Nsanzabaganwa said in her statement concerning the World Consumer Rights Day.

Noting that the African continent has an internet penetration rate of 43 percent, the deputy chief said innovation is transforming how people conduct financial transactions and live their lives throughout the continent, emphasizing that digital finance and its implication on financial inclusion and financial stability is crucial for development in Africa.

Nsanzabaganwa noted that the African continent is home to a growing number of digital financial services deployments.

The deputy chairperson warned that digital finance consumers are increasingly exposed to scams, frauds, phishing and data malpractices, which is further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It is necessary to explore solutions that will mitigate these threats while still making digital finance attractive, as governments seek to expand access to digital banking services," said Nsanzabaganwa, stressing it is vital to acknowledge the risks and enact strict consumer protections, especially for the most vulnerable people, such as those with limited educational attainment or financial experience.

She said Africa's burgeoning youth population is integrating with the ever-changing digital world and it is necessary for the continent's decision-makers to harness this exposure in a way that is optimal for the continent's youth.

Nsanzabaganwa, however, stressed that African women are still less likely than men to have basic formal financial services.

"Mobile money and the ability to easily and safely receive money from social networks has been found to be a drawing factor for them and thus helping to shrink the gender differences across the continent," she said.

Last week, the AU launched the Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion (WYFEI 2030) initiative, which is a collective impact approach that seeks to achieve social change in respect of the financial and economic status and participation of women and youth in Africa.

According to Nsanzabaganwa, the success of the initiative relies largely on the strength of digital financial services as well as the importance of making them fair and safe. 
SHANGHAI, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DataGrand, a well-known AI and RPA vendor announced it had successfully completed Series C financing of $90 million (RMB 580 million). The investment comes from four leading investment banks, including CITIC Securities, CMS Securities, GF Securities, CSC Securities, as well as prestigious investment organizations such as SCGC, Hundreds Capital, Xiang He Capital, Legend Star and Sunshine Insurance Group. DataGrand will use the fund to strengthen its lead advantage in Intelligent RPA arena, and accelerate technical innovation and industrial application of its core products and solutions, such as Natural Language Processing(NLP), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Knowledge Graph, Intelligent Recommendations and Hyperautomation.

Since 2015, DataGrand has finished rounds of financing, investors including many prestigious institutions such as ZhenFund, SAIF, Eastern Bell Capital and SCGC. DataGrand was named an IDC Innovator and one of KPMG China 50 leading Fintech companies. In 2021, DataGrand was listed in Forbes China Enterprise Technology 50, Deloitte China Technology Fast and rated the first "National Specialized, Fined, Peculiar and New Little Giant Enterprise" in the industry nationwide. It is also the first enterprise with the highest software maturity (CMMI5) in the industry.

"Intelligent RPA" System was first created by DataGrand which combines RPA (Robotic Process Automation) with IDP (Intelligent Document Process), and has been extensively applied to intelligent office scenarios in enterprises such as contract review, data search and recommendation, automatic reporting, text analysis, etc., creating value for many Fortune 500's "smart office".

Intensive document processing work, such as document comparison, data search and report writing are very common in many industries. The specific work may include approval of bank credit approval, review of financial report, quality control of securities documents, comparison of contracts, fault analysis, AI customer service, document and invoice audit, filling of logistics packing list, etc. For example, DataGrand developed a logistics text verification system to help Maersk and Cosco process customs declaration: combine RPA, OCR, NLP and other technologies, it can automatically identify, extract and verify the information from customs declaration documents, and timely feedback the results. Using DataGrand's technology, companies can automate workflows much faster and efficient. Due to its high quality products and considerate services, DataGrand is gaining customer trust and confidence from world-renowned enterprises.

SOURCE DataGrand
In this new position, Pawlick is responsible for setting the strategic direction for Dawn's research and development efforts in North America, working in close collaboration with Global Chief Product Officer, Johan Sanders. He will also lead the region's product development, packaging development, and regulatory teams to ensure Dawn provides best-in-class innovation for its customers.

"Adam brings an incredible breadth of strategic and technical experience to Dawn and will be instrumental in driving our innovation strategy for North America," said John Schmitz, president of Dawn Foods North America. "We are focused on providing customers with innovative products and solutions that drive profitability in their business. I am confident that Adam's expertise and engaging leadership style make him the right fit to help us continue to inspire bakery success for our customers."

In his role, Pawlick will develop and oversee Dawn's product and technical roadmap in support of Dawn's growth plans and to ensure customers' needs are met.

"Dawn Foods is a well-respected leader in the baking industry, known for its insights, innovations, and expertise," said Pawlick. "I look forward to collaborating with my new team to uncover new ways to build upon Dawn's legacy for years to come."

Pawlick joins Dawn from Wells Enterprises, the largest family-owned ice cream manufacturer in the United States, where he served as Vice President of Engineering and played a vital role in developing the long-term innovation strategy for the company. Throughout his career, Pawlick has worked in product development and engineering for myriad food and beverage companies, including TreeHouse Foods, Palermo's Pizza and ConAgra Foods, among others.

About Dawn Food Products, Inc.

Dawn Foods is a global leader in bakery manufacturing and ingredients distribution. As the partner of choice for inspiring bakery success every day, Dawn Foods is committed to delighting its customers around the world with the partnership, insights, innovations, bakery products and expertise that empowers them to achieve their aspirations. Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, Dawn Foods has more than 4,000 Team Members globally and provides high-quality bakery products to more than 50,000 customers located in more than 100 countries. For more information about the company, its products, and its culture, please visit www.dawnfoods.com.

CONTACT:

Allison Pierce Alexis Gilbert Zeno Group for Dawn Foods Senior Director, Global Brand and Communications (312) 998-7919 (517) 414-1348 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Dawn Food Products, Inc.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vectrus, Inc. (NYSE: VEC) has been selected by the Department of Defense to complete the final phases of application development for a 5G Smart Warehouse at Naval Base Coronado (NBC). The NBC 5G Smart Warehouse Assessment Team conducted a down select during Phase 1, comparing application solutions from three companies including Vectrus. This effort is part of the DoD's $600 million 5G experimentation and testing initiative, originally awarded in 2020. Vectrus successfully demonstrated a Converged Environment solution, addressing NAVSUP operational challenges through the implementation of advanced technology applications.

Vectrus' solutions focused on increasing efficiency, reducing costs, improving readiness and cybersecurity, and strengthening national security. The NBC 5G Smart Warehouse Assessment Team participated in live demonstrations of technologies at the 5G Converged Environment Smart Warehouse  Vectrus' 5G smart technology testbed  just outside of Richmond, Virginia.

The smart warehouse is a realization of Vectrus' Converged Environment concept, bringing together the support services, including base operations support, supply chain and logistics, IT and network operations, engineering and digital integration, and security, in one synchronized environment.

"The smart warehouse will serve as a test bed for refining, validating and operationalizing 5G-enabled technologies," said Corinne Minton-Package, Senior Vice President of Systems and Technology at Vectrus. "This high-tech warehouse will more efficiently facilitate the transshipment between shore facilities and naval units. Our work at Naval Base Coronado will bring next generation efficiencies to naval logistics operations."

About Vectrus

Vectrus, a defense technology company, has provided mission critical support for the toughest operational challenges our customers have faced for more than 70 years. We leverage emerging technologies, unmatched technical expertise, exceptional talent, and deep domain knowledge to deliver innovative solutions for military and government customers worldwide. Whether it's base operations support , converged environment solutions , supply chain and logistics , IT mission support , engineering and digital integration , security , or maintenance, repair, and overhaul , our customers count on us for on-target solutions that increase efficiency, reduce costs, improve readiness, and strengthen national security. Vectrus is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., and includes about 8,100 employees spanning 205 locations in 28 countries. In 2021, Vectrus generated sales of $1.8 billion. For more information, visit the company's website at www.vectrus.com or connect with Vectrus on Facebook , Twitter , and LinkedIn .

Media Contact:

Mike Smith, CFA

719-637-5773

[email protected]

SOURCE Vectrus, Inc.
"Hotel Clio is now the most luxurious hotel in the affluent Cherry Creek community and this repositioning further enhances the strong return on our investment," said Mark W. Brugger, President and Chief Executive Officer of DiamondRock Hospitality Company. "DiamondRock acquired the hotel, formerly branded a J.W. Marriott, in 2011 for $74 million ($372,000 per key). The $3.6 million of incremental capital to reposition the property into a luxury hotel is expected to generate over a 70% internal rate of return for DiamondRock shareholders. Hotel Clio is projected to generate a stabilized 10.5% yield on our total investment. Importantly, the repositioning is another step forward in DiamondRock's strategic initiative to assemble an exceptional collection of urban lifestyle hotels and experiential resorts."

About Hotel Clio

Hotel Clio, which boasts 199 luxury guest rooms and suites, is nestled in the heart of Cherry Creek, a vibrant urban neighborhood that is home to Denver's premier outdoor retail, dining, and cultural experiences. Hotel Clio's interiors take cues from Cherry Creek's origins in the Gold Rush era paired with the natural surroundings of the destination. Hotel Clio's namesake "Clio," the Greek muse of history, is fully realized in the hotel's heritage-honoring design, grounded in a deep appreciation for the region's background. Inspired by the story of William Green Russell striking gold at the confluence of Cherry Creek and South Platte River, the interiors reflect a unique sense of discovery and the inspiring hope of good fortune with subtle gold accents complemented by rich earth tones.

Hotel Clio's Oshibori-style arrival experience is a marvel for the senses, complete with a sit-down check-in, custom cocktail, hot and cold scented towels infused with the hotel's signature aroma of White Blossom Tea, and a curated welcome playlist. The high-touch welcome experience is enhanced by thoughtful design details  beautiful marble floors and custom art pieces  all anchored by a grand stone fireplace. The design seamlessly blends influences of the region's natural elements with touches authentic to the destinspellation, creating a dramatic, yet serene atmosphere. The idea of "confluence," a term that describes the junction of two rivers, is expressed in the design details  such as flooring evoking the flow of the river, cerused oak, and brass accents highlighted with custom table lamps designed to emulate a gold miner's lamp.

Mile High Meetings & Events

The hotel is home to two spacious modern ballrooms, indoor/outdoor event spaces, ten event rooms and an intimate rooftop deck backdropped by sweeping Rocky Mountain views. Hotel Clio's elegant venues with 10,000 feet of functional space are easily transformed to create authentic, memorable events from board meetings, team retreats to inspired celebrations. Highly personalized service, professional planners and distinctive offerings blend to create an unforgettable event.

Convivial Dining and Culinary Delights

Global flair and top-notch hospitality merge at TORO Latin Kitchen and Bar, Hotel Clio's signature culinary concept by acclaimed local chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval. TORO offers a creative Pan-Latin menu offering small plates and family style dishes, and features daily epicurean moments and memorable, interactive experiences. The restaurant is complete with a Ceviche Bar, showcasing fresh flavors designed to be paired with hand-muddled libations. Guests and locals will enjoy inspired culinary offerings in an inviting space, with an air of celebration infused into every meal. With weekly guacamole-making classes, along with wine and tequila tastings, TORO's warm ambience merges with the open-concept lobby creating a spirited social hub and lively gathering space  serving to connect established locals and vibrant visitors alike.

For more information or to place a reservation, please visit https://hotelcliocherrycreek.com

About the Company

DiamondRock Hospitality Company is a self-advised real estate investment trust (REIT) that is an owner of a leading portfolio of geographically diversified hotels concentrated in top gateway markets and destination hotel locations. The Company currently owns 33 premium quality hotels and resorts with over 9,400 rooms. The Company has strategically positioned its hotels to be operated both under leading global brand families as well as unique boutique hotels in the lifestyle segment. For further information on the Company and its portfolio, please visit DiamondRock Hospitality Company's website at www.drhc.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws and regulations. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "project," "forecast," "plan" and other similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions and forecasts of future results. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to differ materially from those anticipated at the time the forward-looking statements are made. These risks include, but are not limited to: national and local economic and business conditions; operating risks associated with the hotel business; risks associated with the level of the Company's indebtedness; relationships with property managers; the ability to compete effectively in areas such as access, location, quality of accommodations and room rate structures; changes in travel patterns, taxes and government regulations which influence or determine wages, prices, construction procedures and costs; and other risk factors contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that the expectations will be attained or that any deviation will not be material. All information in this release is as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations.

SOURCE DiamondRock Hospitality Company
SAO PAULO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Ratings said today that it has assigned an ESG Evaluation of 58 to Ecopetrol S.A. The company's ESG Evaluation is the result of an ESG profile of 58 combined with adequate preparedness. Higher numbers indicate stronger sustainability in our evaluations.

ESG Evaluation: Ecopetrol S.A.

Ecopetrol's ESG Evaluation score of 58 reflects that compared to sector peers, Ecopetrol has a good management of its environmental and social risks in a highly exposed industry. In our view, the company's governance structure and transparency on non-financial reporting are stronger than those of Colombian and regional peers. We view Ecopetrol as adequately prepared to address the long-term risks that the oil and gas industry faces including, but not limited to, the energy transition.

Ecopetrol is an integrated energy company headquartered in Bogota, Colombia. Its oil and gas operations cover all stages of the value chain: exploration and production, midstream (transportation), refining and marketing. Ecopetrol is responsible for approximately 66% of Colombia's oil and 56% of its gas production. Since August 2021, the company has owned a 51 stake in Interconexion Electrica S.A. E.S.P. The latter is a Colombian company that operates three main business lines across Latin America: electric power transmission, toll road concessions, information and communications technology. The Colombian government controls Ecopetrol through an 88.49% stake, while institutional shareholders and retail investors own the remaining 11.51%.

What Is An ESG Evaluation?

S&P Global Ratings' ESG evaluation is a cross-sector, relative analysis of an entity's capacity to continue to operate successfully. It is grounded in how ESG factors could affect stakeholders, potentially leading to a material direct or indirect financial impact on the entity.

Our definition of stakeholders for a particular entity goes beyond shareholders to include employees, the local community, government, regulators, customers, lenders, borrowers, policyholders, voters, members, and suppliers. A high ESG evaluation indicates an entity is relatively less prone to experiencing material ESG-related events, and is relatively better positioned to capitalize on ESG-related growth opportunities than entities with lower ESG evaluations.

First, we establish an ESG profile for a given entity, which assesses the exposure of the entity's operations to observable ESG risks and opportunities, and how the entity is mitigating these risks and capitalizing on these opportunities.

Second, we assess the entity's long-term preparedness, namely its capacity to anticipate and adapt to a variety of long-term plausible disruptions.

As of Jan. 10, 2022, S&P Global Ratings evaluated more than 115 entities across the globe; they have an average score of 66. Since the first ESG evaluation, published in June 2019, we have finalized ESG Evaluations across 22 sectors globally. By region, the average score for companies headquartered in Latin America is 50.

Visit spglobal.com/ratings for our latest sustainable finance research and all of our publicly available ESG Evaluations.

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NEW YORK, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to the vast humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and its strategic partners announced today a US$5 million catalytic grant that will step up the global education in emergencies response to a conflict that has impacted 5.7 million school-aged children and put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

ECW's grant also aims to help mobilize an additional US$20 million in funding to align with the needs outlined in OCHA's Flash Appeal that was recently launched to respond to urgent humanitarian needs in Ukraine. The grant will be managed by Save the Children and UNICEF, focusing on protecting the wellbeing of Ukraine's conflict-affected girls and boys. Once conditions allow, the grant will provide continuous access to education and psychosocial support for the children and adolescents impacted by the deteriorating situation following the Russian Federation military offensive that began on 24 February.

The Flash Appeal targets 875,000 children and teachers impacted by the crisis, of which approximately 150,000 school-aged girls and boys are targeted by ECW's catalytic grant. ECW and its strategic partners will adapt the response as the situation evolves as the longer-term education needs in Ukraine and bordering states remain unclear and may exceed initial projections.

Over 3 million refugees have already fled to neighbouring countries, and there is significant internal displacement. Schools and education facilities in Ukraine are closed across the country, and recent reports indicate attacks on schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities. OCHA's Flash Appeal estimates that 2.2 million children will need education assistance.

"The children and adolescents of Ukraine are caught in a horrific armed conflict and forced displacement across the borders. Their lives have been brutally shattered from one day to another. Education Cannot Wait and our partners do what we can to provide continuous access to education. This is crucial to cope with the trauma they experience and provide some hope to which they can hold on during this extremely difficult time," said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

In times of crises, out-of-school children face heightened risk of abuse and exploitation, trafficking, gender-based violence, early pregnancy, and recruitment into armed groups.

SOURCE Education Cannot Wait
The College has exceeded its goal for three consecutive years

ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Elizabethtown College has exceeded its Make A Deposit, Make A Difference campaign for the third consecutive year by reaching and surpassing its goal of 50 enrollment deposits made by accepted students over the last month. The College held its first two on-campus Accepted Student Days on February 12 and March 12 and committed to matching up to $15,000 in deposits made during that time period to donate the funds to three local community service organizations.

"We are excited to welcome our new students who made the decision to become a Blue Jay and thrilled to have had them help us surpass our campaign goal to provide donations to worthy organizations," Elizabethtown College Vice President for Enrollment Management John F. Champoli said. "Our Make A Deposit, Make A Difference campaign resonates with our students and truly embodies the service-minded community they will join at Elizabethtown College."

The College recently nearly doubled its goal, receiving 91 student deposits throughout the campaign. As a result of the campaign's success, $5,000 was presented to representatives respectively from Milagro House and Water Street Mission located in Lancaster, and Downtown Daily Bread located in Harrisburg.

The effort aligns with the College's motto Educate for Service, which was adopted in 1915. Educate for Service expresses the College campus community's belief that the pursuit of knowledge is most noble when used to benefit others.

Elizabethtown College will host its third Accepted Student Day of the spring on Saturday, April 2. Explore Elizabethtown College at etown.edu.

More About This Year's Partnering Organizations

The Milagro House offers education, housing, and supportive services for women and their children who without our program would likely be experiencing homelessness. It is the only program of its kind in the Lancaster area that has education as its foundation with the belief that it is a critical component to breaking the barriers that prevent the women we serve from obtaining a job that pays a family-sustaining wage and allows them to break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their children.

Water Street Mission is a faith-based, trauma-informed organization that has been working to provide restorative services to those in Lancaster County experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty since 1905. They provide a variety of services including access to emergency food and shelter, a long term residential program, medical and dental care, vocational training, resources for those with behavioral health and those battling addiction, community food distribution, an early learning center, and a center for mentoring and development for teens.

Downtown Daily Bread has been a gateway to basic human services for hundreds of homeless and hungry individuals in Harrisburg for over thirty-eight years. It is the only one-stop, walk-in resource center for all hungry and homeless individuals. They offer a soup kitchen, day shelter, and a winter season night shelter for members of the Harrisburg community.

About Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown College, located in southcentral Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is a private coed institution offering more than 50 health, science, engineering, political science business, communications, fine art and music, humanities, and education degrees. Discover more: etown.edu.

Contact:

Keri Straub

Executive Director of Marketing and Communications

Elizabethtown College

(717) 725-6907

[email protected]

SOURCE Elizabethtown College
VANCOUVER, BC, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Etruscus Resources Corp. (CSE: ETR) (OTC: ETRUF) (FSE: ERR) (the "Company" or "Etruscus"), is pleased to announce results from the Company's 2021 field exploration program (the "Program") at the Lewis Property (the "Property") located adjacent to New Found Gold Corp's Queensway gold project in the Gander Gold Belt of central Newfoundland, Canada (Click Here to View Area Map). The Program was designed to both identify new targets and help prioritize previously discovered showings by past operator Noranda Resources. The Program included a total of 1,922 soil samples, 60 rock samples* and over 100 geological mapping points. As a result, the Company's exploration efforts have identified several new high-grade gold targets. These targets will be further assessed with a geophysical induced-polarization and magnetics survey ("IP" or "IP Survey") this spring, with a goal of defining drill targets for the upcoming 2022 drill program (Click Here to View Property Map).

Program Highlights:

20 of the 60 rock samples taken on the Property returned assays over 1 g/t Au with 5 returning higher than 10 g/t Au with standout assays as high as 24.2 g/t Au;

The Company has now identified a 1.3 km extension to the historically mapped 2 km NW Corsair Trend. This trend is anomalous for Au, Sb and As and can now be traced approximately 3.3 km across the Property;

Etruscus has discovered multiple anomalous areas with elevated gold and associated pathfinders along the NNW striking Mount Peyton Linear; and

A historic trench, that has never been drill tested, revealed 3 rock samples (out of 6) that all assayed above 20 g/t Au.

Fiore Aliperti, President & CEO of Etruscus commented, "The Lewis Property, acquired by Etruscus in June of 2021, was selected due to the historic discovery of gold mineralization by Noranda Resources along with its prime location within a burgeoning exploration district, adjacent to New Found Gold. The historic work by Noranda had demonstrated anomalous gold in almost all holes drilled. In fact, reports covering the work highlighted Noranda's intention to return to the Property and expand on that initial drill program." He went on to add, "The compilation of historic data combined with the results from our 2021 field program has enabled our geological team to identify untested drill targets, even at this early stage of the exploration process. We are really excited to return to the Property in the coming weeks."

Soil Sample Program

The 2021 soil program sought to expand the areas of previously identified gold anomalies beyond the scope of the historical data which focused on the central portion of the Property. Assay results from 2021 have successfully defined several areas outside of the historic work that show anomalous gold-arsenic-antimony soil geochemistry which are defined as between 5 and 282 ppb Au, between 80 to 4,840 ppm As and between 4 to 107 ppm Sb. Many of these anomalies follow trends observed in the historical data and as such have greatly expanded the number of prospective gold targets on the Property. The multi-element soil anomalies coincide with both north-easterly striking magnetic lows and the NNW striking Mt. Peyton Linear. In addition, the northeast striking Corsair Trend has now been extended by over 60% to ~3.3 km in length. To date this trend has been lightly drill tested with only four shallow historic holes drilled, all of which intercepted anomalous gold.

Rock Sample Program

Selective rock sampling on the Property in 2021 returned excellent values for gold with 20 of the 60 rock samples returning greater than 1 g/t Au and 5 samples returning greater than 10 g/t Au. An additional 11 samples assayed between 0.1 and 1 g/t Au. Highlights from this sampling include a historic trench that was never drill tested returning 3 rock samples (out of 6) that all assayed above 20 g/t Au as well as another untested historic trench that revealed a 10 cm thick arsenopyrite-stibnite-quartz vein that returned 10.35 g/t Au (Click here to View Image). These samples were collected mainly from the central area of the Property and are from quartz-arsenopyrite-stibnite-pyrite veins and quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zones. Outcrop is limited in the area to less than 1%, and as a result, 22 samples are from outcrop and the remaining 38 samples are angular floats which appear to be local.

The combined 2021 soil results and historical soil data has produced a data set that significantly narrows the areas of interest where Etruscus will be focussing its 2022 exploration program efforts. Due to unaltered intrusive background rocks, it is expected that gold-arsenic-antimony mineralized veins along with pyritic alteration haloes will be easily identified with the chargeability data in the upcoming IP Survey planned for the spring. Once the geophysical survey is completed Etruscus will be well positioned to identify and prioritize drill targets for a summer drill program in 2022.

Stephen Wetherup, VP of Exploration, stated "The geological team is very pleased with the efficiency demonstrated in advancing the project with only a small amount of work done to date. The soil sampling program has been highly successful in both identifying and expanding areas that are prospective for gold mineralization. In a region with limited outcrop, we are very impressed with the consistency of gold assays returned during initial rock sampling. It is also encouraging that anomalous geochemistry overlaps with areas of high chargeability. The geological team is excited to initiate the next steps in the exploration process to further identify and confirm solid drill targets."

Qualified Person

Technical aspects of this news release have been reviewed and approved by Stephen Wetherup, BSc., P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined under National Instrument 43-101. Historical sampling data on the Lewis Property were generated by other publicly listed companies, overseen by professional geoscientists and analyses were performed by reputable analytical laboratories. Although most data was not verified by Etruscus, it is considered relevant and reasonable by the QP.

QA/QC

The Company's samples are being assayed by ALS Geochemistry Labs in Sudbury Ontario. All rock samples were crushed to 70% pass 2mm fraction, and then a 250g split was pulverized to better than 85% passing a 75-micron screen. Assay were completed using technique ME-MS41, an aqua-regia digestion with an ICP-MS finish. If gold grades were higher then 1 ppm Au, they were resampled using fire assay with a 30 g aliquot.

The soil samples were first dried then sieved through 180 micron (80mesh) and analyses were performed by ALS using multi-element aqua-regia digestion ICP-MS package Au-TL43. This super trace package, that used a 25 g aliquot, was designed to give a more accurate gold analysis. Some soil samples, (<10% of total) were of insufficient size for this analysis and were assayed using ME-MS41L. A standard 0.5 g aliquot was used for these samples with aqua-regia digestion and ICP-MS finish.

ALS is an independent provider of geochemical laboratory services for the exploration and mining industries and is an ISO 17025 (Testing and Calibration) and ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) accredited laboratory. ALS is a leading testing, inspection, certification and verification company headquartered in Brisbane, Australia which has approximately 30 locations in Canada. ALS employs over 12,000 staff in 70 countries.

*Rock samples are selectively collected and are therefore not representative of all mineralization hosted on the property.

About Etruscus

Etruscus Resources Corp. is a Vancouver-based exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of precious metal mineral properties. The Company's assets include the Lewis Property in central Newfoundland, which is under option to acquire a 100% interest, and the 100%-owned Rock & Roll and Sugar properties comprising 27,880 hectares near the past producing Snip mine in Northwest B.C.'s prolific Golden Triangle. As a new entrant in the very active Newfoundland exploration play, Etruscus has expanded its focus to include exploration activity in two of Canada's most active gold camps.

Etruscus is traded under the symbol "ETR" on the Canadian Securities Exchange, "ETRUF" on the OTC and "ERR" on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Etruscus has 37,386,622 common shares issued and outstanding.

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 have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Press Release may contain statements which constitute 'forward-looking' statements, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including quarterly and annual Management's Discussion and Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.

Neither the CSE Exchange 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.

SOURCE Etruscus Resources Corp.
The only way we can effectively prevent youth suicide is by recognizing the warning signs and taking action to get help. Tweet this

"The only way we can effectively prevent youth suicide is by recognizing the warning signs and taking action to get help. Equipping students to look out for one another  and themselves  is essential. Youth are more aware of what their peers are going through and often see behavior changes before the adults do. They just need to know when and how to speak up," said Mark Barden, co-founder and CEO of the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. "We thank Senators Hassan and Ernst, and Representatives Peters and Bilirakis, for their crucial bipartisan leadership in helping save young lives by ensuring cost is not a barrier to prevention education."

"Young people across New Hampshire are speaking out about the need for more mental health resources and, in the process, they are helping to break down the stigma that too often surrounds mental health," Senator Maggie Hassan said. "The STANDUP Act is a testament to all the young people in our state who have lifted up this important issue all the way to the White House. This new law will help schools in New Hampshire meet the mental health needs of their students and save lives, and it's important that it has been signed into law."

"The tragic and alarming rise in youth suicide in our country is a crisis that deserves immediate action. We can't fail our kids," said Senator Joni Ernst. "After working with Democrats and Republicans, today I'm pleased our bipartisan legislation to put evidence-based suicide prevention and awareness training policies into place and to address this crisis head-on is finally law."

"There is no higher priority than keeping our children safe. By providing high quality screening and prevention training to school staff and peers, we can identify threats before they materialize, and ensure that those who are at risk get the mental health treatment they need, said Rep. Gus Bilirakis. I've seen first-hand how effective these programs can be when I visited a high school in Pinellas which has already implemented these best practices. Now that the STANDUP Act is law, we can better implement this training and begin to reverse the troubling trends of youth suicide and violence."

"Among the alarming mental health challenges facing the nation's youth, recent trends in youth suicide, self-harm, and violence are cause for particular concern. Now law, our STANDUP Act will help students and educators identify, intervene, and get help for those at risk of hurting themselves or others," said Rep. Scott Peters. "I thank my congressional partners  Representative Bilirakis and Senators Hassan and Ernst  and Sandy Hook Promise, who helped push this life-saving effort across the finish line. We all want our kids to have a safe, inclusive learning community and know this legislation will help achieve that goal."

Student activism was also instrumental in gaining passage of this important legislation. In June 2020, Arriana Gross , a high school junior in Covington, Georgia, and a Sandy Hook Promise Youth Advisory Board member testified during the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on mental health about the importance of addressing teen suicide and mental wellness.

"In our school, a year doesn't go by without a student dying by suicide," she told Committee members. "I'm concerned that youth suicide has become so common that our nation is stuck in a pattern of mourning and accepting these deaths as something that's normal, instead of seeing them as preventable and tragic."

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating mental health challenges for young people. Data from Mental Health America finds youth aged 11-17 disproportionately experiencing severe depression and anxiety, including a 10% increase in screening for depression and a 14% increase in screening for anxiety.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since 2010, suicide has been the second-leading cause of death for young Americans ages 10-24. The trend for children aged 10-14 is particularly disturbing, with the number having nearly tripled since 2007.

About the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund

The Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund advances a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.

SOURCE Sandy Hook Promise
NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global asset manager, First Sentier Investors (FSI), has strengthened its responsible investment (RI) and corporate sustainability capabilities with three new appointments.

Joanne Lee has been appointed to the role of Responsible Investment Specialist. Lee joins the firm's RI team headed by London -based Global Head of Responsible Investment, Will Oulton . Lee is based in Hong Kong and responsible for the delivery and promotion of the firm's RI strategy and credentials in Asia. Lee will play an integral role in supporting FSI's investment teams and working with its clients and other stakeholders in the region. Lee most recently held a Technical Specialist role in the Sustainable Finance team at leading global non-government organisation, WWF International, where she led research projects and produced technical guidance on a range of topics including environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, nature-related risks, net zero climate alignment, the blue economy and sustainable infrastructure finance.





Lee joins the firm's RI team headed by -based Global Head of Responsible Investment, . Lee is based in and responsible for the delivery and promotion of the firm's RI strategy and credentials in Asia. Lee will play an integral role in supporting FSI's investment teams and working with its clients and other stakeholders in the region. Lee most recently held a Technical Specialist role in the Sustainable Finance team at leading global non-government organisation, WWF International, where she led research projects and produced technical guidance on a range of topics including environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, nature-related risks, net zero climate alignment, the blue economy and sustainable infrastructure finance. Rebecca Antonini has been appointed to the newly-created position of Head of Corporate Sustainability. In this role, Antonini will deliver and execute on a global strategy to effectively manage the firm's ESG impacts. She reports to Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, Suzanne Evans , and works alongside the RI team to ensure the business is operating to internationally-accepted best practice standards of sustainability. London -based Antonini brings a unique combination of sustainability and corporate knowledge to the role. She has been with the firm for 15 years, having worked in multiple regions including Australia , Asia and the United Kingdom , in senior Human Resources, governance, change management and project roles.





In this role, Antonini will deliver and execute on a global strategy to effectively manage the firm's ESG impacts. She reports to Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, , and works alongside the RI team to ensure the business is operating to internationally-accepted best practice standards of sustainability. -based Antonini brings a unique combination of sustainability and corporate knowledge to the role. She has been with the firm for 15 years, having worked in multiple regions including , and the , in senior Human Resources, governance, change management and project roles. Cressida Grant has been appointed to Head of Corporate Philanthropy. London -based Grant reports to Antonini in the Corporate Sustainability function and leads on the development of the firm's global philanthropic strategy. Grant previously held the role of Head of Philanthropy at The Prince's Trust, where she managed relationships with ultra-high net worth donors, established the Prince's Trust in the US and created a new fundraising stream to engage with the next generation of donors. Prior to this, Grant developed and managed the Stonehage Fleming Charitable Foundation, where she was responsible for developing and managing their philanthropic strategy.

FSI Chief Executive Officer Mark Steinberg welcomed the new appointments to the global business.

"Joanne's appointment supports the investment teams' commitment to incorporating ESG principles across their processes and strategies. This is central to their investment approach, and underpins our corporate identity.

"We also believe acting responsibly as a business is in the best interest of our clients, and enables us to support our key stakeholder groups including our employees, wider society and our shareholder. Increasingly, corporates are also being assessed and held to account for their business practices and social impacts and how these are aligned with stated responsible investment principles," Steinberg said.

Media inquiries

Margaret Kirch Cohen

CL-Media Relations LLC

E: [email protected]

T: +1 847 507 2229

Richard Chimberg

CL-Media Relations LLC

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T: + 1 617 312 4281

About First Sentier Investors

First Sentier Investors manages more than US$182.5 billion in assets as at 31 December 2021 on behalf of institutional investors, pension funds, wholesale distributors, investment platforms, financial advisers and their clients worldwide.

The firm operates as a standalone global investment management business with offices across Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. First Sentier Investors' expertise spans a range of asset classes and specialist investment sectors focused on delivering sustainable investment success based on responsible investment principles.

Formerly known as First State Investments, the firm was acquired from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in August 2019 by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

For more information, visit firstsentierinvestors.com

Important information

This press release is intended for information only, aimed solely at the media and should not be further distributed to individual and/or corporate investors, and financial advisers and/or distributors. The information included within this document and any supplemental documentation provided should not be copied, reproduced or redistributed without the prior written consent of First Sentier Investors.

SOURCE First Sentier Investors
VIENTIANE, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Lao National Unexploded Ordnance Program (UXO Lao) has detonated a 500-pound (227-kg) bomb left over from the war in Namxuan village of Phouvong district in southern Attapeu province.

"The bomb disposal operation was carried out after receiving a report from Namxuan village authorities." said Deputy Coordinator of the UXO Clearance Project in Attapeu province Xaysetha Phosalath.

The provincial UXO clearance team assigned a technical team to survey the site and gather information to assess the potential danger, according to the Lao National Radio report on Tuesday.

In the case of the big bomb, three teams of operatives were formed, consisting of 27 people. They used 9,000 sacks which they placed around the bomb down to a depth of 2 meters, digging a hole more than 1 meter wide. Safety was ensured and team members posted at 10 locations in a circle around the site.

Laos is heavily affected by unexploded ordnance. Of the estimated 270 million cluster munitions dropped on Laos during the Indochina War, about 30 percent failed to explode. But only 1 percent of these devices has been removed since 1996. UXO clearance is difficult because most cluster munitions were dropped in mountainous areas, rivers and forests.

However, bomb disposal units are working with ministries, other bodies and local authorities to set priority areas for clearance, especially land that can be used for development purposes as well as residential areas.

UXO clearance is underway in the provinces of Huaphan, Luang Prabang, Xieng Khuang, Khammuan, Savannakhet, Saravan, Champasak, Sekong and Attapeu. Clearance operations aim to free up land for activities that will enhance the well-being and livelihoods of impoverished rural communities. 
BOSTON and NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NewStore , a modular, mobile-first omnichannel cloud platform for retail brands worldwide, today announced GANNI is using the NewStore Omnichannel Platform to power the shopping experience across its stores. By leveraging mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) , order management , store fulfillment , and clienteling , the brand's stores can now cater to its community of customers, offering global omnichannel capabilities at the hands of iPhone-enabled store associates.

GANNI, the beloved Danish fashion brand founded in 2009, is rooted in its Scandi 2.0 sense of style. It sells apparel and accessories in more than 600 luxury retail stores, including 24 of its own concept stores located across the United States and Europe. Through the NewStore platform, GANNI can more easily handle sales and returns as well as manage inventory more responsibly through two fast, easy-to-use iPhone apps. Associates can also collect valuable customer information from the palm of their hands, which has resulted in a 900% increase in its average customer data capture rate at the POS.

"With NewStore, GANNI now offers a truly global, modern shopping experience," said Anders Lindberg Madsen, Product Owner, Unified Commerce Platform, GANNI. "The platform is not only the lightest tech stack I've ever seen for retail, but also the most powerful. If we want to spin up a new store, we can do it with just a box of iPhones. It's practically unheard of."

With its enterprise order management system, NewStore gives GANNI employees access to customer, order, and store inventory information all in a single view. The data is unified into one source and accessible via mobile, making global omnichannel operations like store fulfillment possible. On the front-end, mPOS enables associates to process in-store and endless aisle transactions anywhere on the store floor. They can also see clienteling data, including a customer's past purchase history across channels and countries, enabling them to offer a better overall shopping experience. Associates are also able to fulfill endless aisle and buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS) orders using only an iPhone. All of these capabilities are powered by NewStore's pre-built integration with Salesforce Commerce Cloud .

"NewStore now has customers operating in more than 55 countries. Brands such as GANNI leverage NewStore to ensure seamless omnichannel wherever they operate globally," said Stephan Schambach, Founder and CEO, NewStore. "By replacing its existing tech stack with our platform, GANNI's store associates have real-time customer, order, and inventory data at their fingertips, enabling them to create amazing shopping experiences everywhere."

To learn more about the NewStore Omnichannel Platform, and to request a demo, visit: https://www.newstore.com/

About GANNI

Based in Copenhagen and run by husband-and-wife team Creative Director Ditte Reffstrup and Founder Nicolaj Reffstrup, GANNI has developed exponentially over recent years with its Scandi 2.0 sense of style full of personality and contrasts. GANNI is all about making our community who wear our clothes feel even more confident and capable of anything. For us, acting responsibly is a moral obligation. We are on a journey to minimize our social and environmental impact and strive to be a more responsible version of ourselves every day. In 2020, we launched our GANNI Game plan setting ourselves 44 tangible goals to be reached by 2023 across four main pillars; People, Planet, Product and Prosperity.

GANNI has offices in Copenhagen, Stockholm, London and New York and is represented in more than 600 of the world's top tier retailers as well as 24 GANNI concept stores across Europe, and the United States. GANNI.com delivers internationally to 35 countries including Australia, Canada and South Korea.

About NewStore

NewStore provides Omnichannel-as-a-Service for retail brands worldwide that want to accelerate their digital transformation. Built for speed and flexibility, NewStore allows brands to easily deliver amazing shopping experiences that store associates and consumers love. Its mobile-first, modular cloud platform includes POS, order management, clienteling, inventory, and native consumer apps. NewStore customers such as Burton, Faherty Brand, G-Star RAW, Marine Layer, Scotch & Soda, UNTUCKit, and Vince benefit from the most complete, global omnichannel retail solution available. The company is backed by General Catalyst, Activant Capital, and Salesforce Ventures. Learn more at www.newstore.com .

SOURCE NewStore, Inc.
DENVER, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Gary Ventures and the Coalition for Better Beginnings Colorado joined families, providers and advocates in the early childhood community to encourage lawmakers to pass House Bill 22-1295, which was introduced by its sponsors, House Speaker Alec Garnett and Rep. Emily Sirota and Senate President Steve Fenberg and Sen. Janet Buckner.

With support from a broad range of supporters, including Governor Polis, House Bill 22-1295 will bring the various early childhood authorities, programs and funding streams into a single Department of Early Childhood that will make it easier for families and providers to offer outstanding early care and education experiences for Colorado's children.

"This legislation is a tribute to the vision and goals of Colorado's early childhood community, calling for transformation away from fragmented, burdensome systems toward streamlined, parent and provider centric services that will better meet the needs of Colorado's children and families," said Steffanie Clothier, Gary Ventures Director of School Readiness.

Based on the unanimously approved recommendations from the Early Childhood Leadership Commission, House Bill 22-1295 ensures that families and providers have access to: one comprehensive early childhood system designed to support healthy, thriving children; one unified application for early childhood services that matches families to funding and a variety of providers; and one universal preschool program with the potential to impact roughly 400,000 children in the first 10 years.

" House Bill 22-1295 represents the culmination of years of work by stakeholders who came together to make Colorado a national model for what is possible in early childhood education," said Mike Johnston, Gary Ventures President and CEO. "By insisting on a high-quality universal system and additional hours for kids who need it the most, we will ensure that families and providers can give children a strong start toward a bright future."

House Bill 22-1295 will provide families easier access to an array of early childhood programs designed to develop healthy children and thriving families. When it comes to early care and education, the department will prioritize parent choice by supporting school-, home- and community-based early childhood providers. Expanding structural support and funding to programs will advance equitable access and create more effective, trauma-informed programming for children facing the greatest barriers to opportunity.

About Gary Ventures

Gary Ventures is the Certified B Corporation of Gary Community Ventures . Gary Community Ventures is the legacy of Colorado philanthropists Sam and Nancy Gary, who combined the resources of a foundation and a B Corp to increase opportunity for Colorado kids and families. Gary Ventures, uses policy change and business solutions to help generations of Coloradans reach their full potential.

SOURCE Gary Ventures
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Counter-IED Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global counter-IED market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 3% during 2021-2026. Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, the analyst is continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor.



Counter-improvised explosive devices (IEDs) refer to law enforcement and counterinsurgency equipment that are used for combatting threats from explosive devices. They are primarily used by military and homeland security organizations and are majorly deployed on vehicles, ships and aircraft. For instance, lightweight vehicles and battle tanks are equipped with electronic explosive detection devices, neutralizing improvised explosive devices (NIED) and jammers for tracking the location and preventing the underground explosives from blowing off. These devices are crucial for battlefield operations and disposing of IEDs for counterinsurgency, counterterrorism and law enforcement operations.



The alarmingly increasing rate of criminal activities represents one of the key factors driving the market growth. In line with this, the rising need for security solutions against terrorist groups is also contributing to the market growth. Counter-IED are used by both public and private organizations to safeguard their operations and prevent the incidence of terror attacks.

Furthermore, the implementation of favorable government policies to minimize cross-border insurgencies and promote national security is also driving the market growth. Various developing nations are also building their unmanned vehicle-mounted systems for counter-IED operations.

Additionally, technological advancements, such as the development of ground-penetrating radar (GPR), biological detection systems and nuclear, seismic and thermal detection sensors that are used for detecting IEDs and landmines, are acting as other major growth-inducing factors. Favorable government policies to improve the defense infrastructure, modernization of military systems and enhanced focus on research and development (R&D) are expected to drive the market further.



Breakup by Capability

Detection

Countermeasures

Breakup by Deployment Type

Vehicle Mounted IED Detection System

Ship Mounted IED Detection System

Aircraft Mounted IED Detection System

Handheld IED Detection System

Others

Breakup by Application

Military

Homeland Security

Breakup by Region

North America

United States

Canada

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

Indonesia

Others

Europe

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Russia

Others

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Others

Middle East and Africa

Competitive Landscape

The report has also analysed the competitive landscape of the market with some of the key players being Allen-Vanguard Corporation, BAE Systems Land & Armaments Inc., Chemring Group Plc, Elbit Systems Ltd., L3 Technologies Inc., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Raytheon Technologies (United Technologies Corporation), Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Thales Group.



Key Questions Answered in This Report

How has the global counter-IED market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years?

What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global counter-IED market?

What are the key regional markets?

What is the breakup of the market based on the capability?

What is the breakup of the market based on the deployment type?

What is the breakup of the market based on the application?

What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry?

What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry?

What is the structure of the global counter-IED market and who are the key players?

What is the degree of competition in the industry?

Key Topics Covered:



1 Preface



2 Scope and Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Introduction

4.1 Overview

4.2 Key Industry Trends



5 Global Counter-IED Market

5.1 Market Overview

5.2 Market Performance

5.3 Impact of COVID-19

5.4 Market Forecast



6 Market Breakup by Capability

6.1 Detection

6.1.1 Market Trends

6.1.2 Market Forecast

6.2 Countermeasures

6.2.1 Market Trends

6.2.2 Market Forecast



7 Market Breakup by Deployment Type

7.1 Vehicle Mounted IED Detection System

7.1.1 Market Trends

7.1.2 Market Forecast

7.2 Ship Mounted IED Detection System

7.2.1 Market Trends

7.2.2 Market Forecast

7.3 Aircraft Mounted IED Detection System

7.3.1 Market Trends

7.3.2 Market Forecast

7.4 Handheld IED Detection System

7.4.1 Market Trends

7.4.2 Market Forecast

7.5 Others

7.5.1 Market Trends

7.5.2 Market Forecast



8 Market Breakup by Application

8.1 Military

8.1.1 Market Trends

8.1.2 Market Forecast

8.2 Homeland Security

8.2.1 Market Trends

8.2.2 Market Forecast



9 Market Breakup by Region



10 SWOT Analysis



11 Value Chain Analysis



12 Porters Five Forces Analysis



13 Price Analysis



14 Competitive Landscape

14.1 Market Structure

14.2 Key Players

14.3 Profiles of Key Players

14.3.1 Allen-Vanguard Corporation

14.3.1.1 Company Overview

14.3.1.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.2 BAE Systems Land & Armaments Inc.

14.3.2.1 Company Overview

14.3.2.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.3 Chemring Group PLC

14.3.3.1 Company Overview

14.3.3.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.3.3 Financials

14.3.4 Elbit Systems Ltd.

14.3.4.1 Company Overview

14.3.4.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.4.3 Financials

14.3.5 L3 Technologies Inc.

14.3.5.1 Company Overview

14.3.5.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.5.3 SWOT Analysis

14.3.6 Lockheed Martin Corporation

14.3.6.1 Company Overview

14.3.6.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.6.3 Financials

14.3.6.4 SWOT Analysis

14.3.7 Northrop Grumman Corporation

14.3.7.1 Company Overview

14.3.7.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.7.3 Financials

14.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis

14.3.8 Raytheon Technologies (United Technologies Corporation)

14.3.8.1 Company Overview

14.3.8.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.8.3 Financials

14.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis

14.3.9 Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft

14.3.9.1 Company Overview

14.3.9.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.9.3 Financials

14.3.10 Sierra Nevada Corporation

14.3.10.1 Company Overview

14.3.10.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.11 Thales Group

14.3.11.1 Company Overview

14.3.11.2 Product Portfolio

14.3.11.3 Financials

14.3.11.4 SWOT Analysis

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8scfv4

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "EdTech and Smart Classroom Market - Global Industry Analysis (2018 - 2020) - Growth Trends and Market Forecast (2021 - 2026)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

In recent years, the global EdTech and smart classroom market has matured significantly, with its total market value being US$ 95,952.4 million in 2021. The publisher finds that this share is projected to reach US$ 188,768.5 million between 2021-2026, registering a CAGR of 14.5%.



EdTech and smart classroom market has reshaped the way learners consume and interact with content. The sophisticated technologies used in this market empower instructors to curate customized learning plans, creating headways to incorporate diversity, inclusion, and innovation in education. Moreover, these technologies are also pivotal in today's business environment where enterprises consistently find new ways to improve collaboration, efficiency, communication, and personalization.

In the near future, the global EdTech and smart classroom market is poised to record intense innovation, experimentation, and product differentiation as online learning platforms attract millions in investments from public and private entities alike.



Key Insights and Trends Dominating the EdTech and Smart Classroom Market

Interactive display technology's implementation is expected to scale over the forecast period owing to its positive outcomes in engagement-oriented learning, efficient two-way communication, and the ability to host a wide range of audio-visual content.



With the global shift to remote work lifestyles, EdTech and smart classrooms are poised to witness extensive utilization to execute online events, meetings, conferences, and other internal routine activities in organizations.



As the world gradually lifts lockdowns, distance learning continues to hold a strong foothold. Despite the opening of schools, educators strongly rely on blended learning, signaling that demand for novel distance education tools is set to increase in the foreseeable future.



Gamification and Advanced Technology Set to Create High-Value and Robust Growth

Based on technology, the EdTech and smart classroom market can be classified into gamification, enterprise resource planning, analytics, and frontier technologies such as cloud. In terms of value, analytics is projected to hold the highest value share in 2021.

At present, the fastest-growing technology segment is gamification and, by 2026, it is estimated to register a CAGR of 15.7%. Advanced technology is also maturing at a remarkable pace; it is expected to garner a CAGR of 11.2% over the forecast period. Moreover, between 2021-2026, the cloud segment is expected to create favorable growth opportunities worth US$ 73,938 million.



North America and Europe Chart the Path to Innovation-Focused Sustainable Growth

North America, followed by Europe and some major Scandinavian countries, have emerged as the foremost contenders across the EdTech and smart classroom market.

Favorable public policies, high funding in next-gen education technologies, strong investments in EdTech businesses, extensive usage of digital devices, and stellar internet speeds enable these regions to sustain a sound environment for EdTech and smart classrooms. In 2021, the largest share in the market was commanded by North America; in terms of value, between 2021 and 2022, this region is poised to grow at an annual rate of 13.4%.



Prominent vendors across the global EdTech and smart classroom market include multinational corporations such as IBM Corporation, Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Cornerstone On-demand Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Learning Technologies Gr, Microsoft Corporation, Amazon.com Inc., SMART Technologies ULC, Blackboard Inc., and Dell Inc. among others.

In the coming years, despite stiff competition from regional players, these companies are expected to powerfully capitalize the opportunities dispersed across the global EdTech and smart classroom market.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary

1.1. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Snapshot

1.2. Future Projections

1.3. Key Market Trends

1.4. Analyst Recommendations



2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Definitions

2.2. Market Taxonomy

2.3. Market Dynamics

2.3.1. Drivers

2.3.2. Restraints

2.4. Value Chain Analysis

2.5. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

2.6. Covid-19 Impact Analysis

2.7. Key Patents



3. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, 2018-2026

3.1. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, by Hardware, Value (US$ '000), 2018-2026

3.1.1. Key Highlights

3.1.1.1. Interactive Displays

3.1.1.2. Interactive Projectors

3.1.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

3.2. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, by Enabling Technology, Value (US$ '000), 2018-2026

3.2.1. Key Highlights

3.2.1.1. Gamification

3.2.1.2. Analytics

3.2.1.3. ERP

3.2.1.4. Security

3.2.1.5. Advanced Technology* (AI, AR, VR, Robotics, and Blockchain)

3.2.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

3.3. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, by End-User, Value (US$ '000), 2018-2026

3.3.1. Key Highlights

3.3.1.1. Kindergarten

3.3.1.2. K-12

3.3.1.3. Higher Education

3.3.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

3.4. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, by Education System, Value (US$ '000), 2018-2026

3.4.1. Key Highlights

3.4.1.1. Learning Management System

3.4.1.2. Student Information System

3.4.1.3. Classroom Assessment System

3.4.1.4. Classroom Collaboration System

3.4.1.5. Classroom Management System

3.4.1.6. Document Management System

3.4.1.7. Student Response System

3.4.1.8. Talent Management System

3.4.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

3.5. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, by Deployments, Value (US$ '000), 2018-2026

3.5.1. Key Highlights

3.5.1.1. Cloud

3.5.1.2. On-Premises

3.5.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis

3.6. Global EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, by Region, Value (US$ '000), 2018-2026

3.6.1. Key Highlights

3.6.1.1. North America

3.6.1.2. Europe

3.6.1.3. Asia Pacific

3.6.1.4. Latin America

3.6.1.5. Middle East & Africa

3.6.2. BPS Analysis/Market Attractiveness Analysis



4. North America EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, 2018-2026



5. Europe EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, 2018-2026



6. Asia Pacific EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, 2018-2026



7. Latin America EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, 2018-2026



8. MEA EdTech and Smart Classroom Market Outlook, 2018-2026



9. Competitive Landscape

Apple Inc.

IBM Corporation

Alphabet Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc.

Learning Technologies Gr

Amazon.com Inc

Microsoft Corporation

SMART Technologies ULC

Dell Inc.

Cornerstone On-demand Inc. Trek

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/npnfmh

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
CAMBRIDGE, England, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, today announced that a global manufacturer has signed a multi-million-dollar contract with Darktrace to ensure its email environment is protected by autonomous AI.

The company, which employs over 30,000 people and produces tires and other industrial products, with sites across multiple jurisdictions worldwide, has selected Antigena Email to defend against a consistently high volume of email threats targeting employees at every level of the business. Darktrace's Antigena Email is a self-learning technology which stops targeted email campaigns and impersonation attacks that evade traditional email gateways. The technology works by learning the 'pattern of life' for every user in an organization. By understanding the human behind the email, rather than relying on historic data from known threats, Antigena Email can precisely identify and stop never-before-seen malicious email activity  before it ever reaches the user.

Email remains the most common entry point for cyber-attackers as adversaries use methods such as advanced phishing attempts, account takeovers and domain spoofing. A single phishing often leads to mass compromise and traditional email gateways are no longer equipped to deal with the sophisticated attacks aimed at modern organizations every day.

"We are pleased to be protecting this global manufacturer, which is not only keeping the wheels turning on our streets but also providing vital components which so much of our day-to-day infrastructure relies on to function," Poppy Gustafsson OBE, CEO at Darktrace, said. "Today attackers are exploiting the appetite to access information quickly and so organizations must ensure they have sophisticated, AI-powered technology to protect the inbox."

About Darktrace

Darktrace (DARK:L), a global leader in cyber security AI, delivers world-class technology that protects over 6,500 customers worldwide from advanced threats, including ransomware and cloud and SaaS attacks. Darktrace's fundamentally different approach applies Self-Learning AI to enable machines to understand the business in order to autonomously defend it. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the company has more than 1,700 employees and over 30 offices worldwide. Darktrace was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' for 2021.

PRESS RELEASE

Media Contacts

Tom Bermingham

Brands2Life (UK)

+44 (0) 7983 857952

[email protected]



Jessica Cheney

CommStrat (US)

+1 419 350 4614

[email protected]

SOURCE Darktrace
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Ocular Implants Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product (Glaucoma Implants, Intraocular Lens), by Application (Glaucoma Surgery, Age-related Macular Degeneration), by End Use, by Region, and Segment Forecasts, 2022-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global ocular implants market size is expected to reach USD 22.1 billion by 2030 and is expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.8% from 2022 to 2030.

Increasing focus on the development of technologically advanced products is expected to drive the market. Additionally, the growing incidence of eye disorders such as glaucoma, cataract, and age-related macular degeneration is predicted to propel the demand for ocular implants. According to the World Glaucoma Association, an estimated 79.6 million individuals were anticipated to have glaucoma in 2020.



Due to the imposition of multiple lockdown restrictions, travel restrictions, and complete lockdowns in many countries, the economies worldwide have observed a major loss moving it into a state of recession. The COVID-19 impact was also strongly felt across the healthcare systems.

While certain markets witnessed a major rise in demand due to the need for ocular implants in diagnoses and the treatment of COVID-19, certain other products observed a sharp fall in sales, especially during the peak of the pandemic. The market belonged to the latter and witnessed a negative impact due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The cancellation and postponement of elective surgeries in order to avoid the transmission of the virus to the staff and patients led to a fall in the sales of ocular implants in 2020.



However, the introduction of vaccines and specific strategies based on earlier experience to curtail the similar impact of the third or fourth wave in most countries is helping the market to regain its growth.

Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 has created a higher preference among patients to visit specialty eye institutes rather than hospitals in order to avoid crowded places that pose a higher threat of contracting the virus, thereby increasing the demand for specialty clinics.

Moreover, the new dynamics involved in the occupation and education system have increased the overall screen-time of individuals, which is expected to contribute to the rising incidence of eye diseases. This, in turn, is expected to enhance the market growth during the forecast period.



Ocular Implants Market Report Highlights

The glaucoma implants product segment dominated the market in 2021 owing to the growing incidence of glaucoma globally.

The glaucoma surgery application held the largest revenue share in 2021 and this trend is expected to continue during the forecast period.

By end use, the hospitals segment dominated the market with a revenue share of more than 40.0% in 2021 due to the increasing number of hospital admissions across the globe.

The specialty eye institutes end-use segment is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period owing to the rising need for eye care services in remote areas.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 7.1% over the forecast period due to the increase in the diabetic population in this region, which is highly susceptible to developing eye disorders.

Market Dynamics

Market driver analysis

Increasing incidence of eye disorders

Growing geriatric and diabetic population

Technological advancements

Market restraint analysis

Recent product recalls

Ocular Implants Market Analysis Tools

Industry Analysis-Porter's

PESTEL Analysis

Major Deals & Strategic Alliances Analysis

Market Entry Strategies

Competitive Landscape

Alcon

Bausch & Lomb, Inc.

Carl Zeiss AG

Johnson & Johnson

STAAR Surgical Company

Morcher GmbH

Hoya Corporation

Glaukos Corporation

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/g4q5hj

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FACTS AT A GLANCE Edition: 7; Released: February 2022 Executive Pool: 11009 Companies: 93 - Players covered include ADATA Technology Co., Ltd.; Ambrane India Pvt. Ltd.; Anker Innovations; Aukey International Ltd.; EasyAcc; Griffin Technology; Intex Technologies; iWalk; Lenovo Group Limited; myCharge; Omnicharge; Philips North America LLC; PNY Technologies, Inc.; RAVPower; Shenzhen ROMOSS Technology Co., Ltd.; Syska; TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd.; Uimi Technology Pvt. Ltd.; UNU Electronics Inc.; Voltaic Systems; Xiaomi Corporation; ZAGG Inc. and Others. Coverage: All major geographies and key segments Segments: Battery Type (Lithium Ion, Lithium Polymer); Capacity (Upto 3,000 mAh, 3,001 - 8,000 mAh, 8,001 mAh -20,000 mAh, Above 20,000 mAh); Application (Smartphones, Tablets, Other Applications) Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; Rest of Latin America; Middle East; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Rest of Middle East; Africa.

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ABSTRACT-

Global Power Banks Market to Reach $16.1 Billion by 2026

Power banks assist users in recharging devices with USB capability. The increasing popularity of mobile apps and social media platforms has pushed the time spend by users on mobile phones, creating strong demand for power banks. Global market for mobile phone accessories including power banks is growing at a steady rate driven by increasing sales of handheld mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Factors supporting growth including increasing affordability of smartphones due to decline in prices, product/technology innovations, diversification of product portfolios, and growing need for mobile phone users to effectively maintain their devices. Rapid urbanization, rapid penetration of mobile devices, rising disposable incomes, extensive distribution networks, growing sales of accessories through e-tailers, and burgeoning multi-brand retailers and distributors, particularly in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America, are significantly driving the demand for smartphones, which in turn is spurring the sales of smartphone accessories. The power bank market is witnessing increasing influence of technological advancements and evolving consumer demand for more features. The need to stay competitive is driving vendors of portable electronics devices to incorporate new and more powerful features, while embracing new technology to keep devices streamlined and compact.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Power Banks estimated at US$10.5 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$16.1 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 11.1% over the analysis period. Lithium Ion, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record 10.7% CAGR and reach US$12.8 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Lithium Polymer segment is readjusted to a revised 12.2% CAGR for the next 7-year period. Li-ion batteries remain the most popular option among manufacturers owing to their superior energy density, conversion rates and energy capacity. The lithium-polymer (Li-polymer) battery segment's growth is driven by engagement of various smart phone manufacturers in production of power banks and higher safety of these batteries than traditional options.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $2.1 Billion in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $3 Billion by 2026

The Power Banks market in the U.S. is estimated at US$2.1 Billion in the year 2022. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$3 Billion by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 12.8% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 8.7% and 9.6% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 10.2% CAGR. Asia-Pacific continues to be at forefront of market expansion on account of rising population, favorable macroeconomic scenario and growing prevalence of consumer electronic and wearable devices. Rising demand for portable consumer electronic devices such as smart phones and wearable devices in countries including India, China, South Korea and Japan is creating strong growth prospects for power banks. The trend can be credited to increasing per capita incomes across developing countries and the resulting improving living standards.

Millennials and Gen Z, Important Demographic Drivers for Fast Charging Power Banks

Millennials and Gen Z lead the adoption and use of technology across the globe. More than 4.57 billion people around the world now use the internet and most internet users use mobile devices to go online. Smartphone use is currently growing at an annual rate of 8%, with an average of nearly 1 million new smartphones coming into use every day. This significant change in modern consumer preferences is essentially driven by expanding urban population and emergence of millennials and Gen Z consumers shaping consumption trends. Though smartphone ownership tends to vary widely by region and country, younger people with higher levels of education and incomes are more likely to own smartphones and be digitally connected. Millennials account for the largest part of the labor force. This generation's income and spending capacity is expected to increase as older millennials progress in their careers and younger millennials enter the workforce. Thus, higher dependence on technology for every-day activities, growing household incomes, innovative products, and falling prices of electronic goods have supported demand for mobile devices.

With the advent of online shopping, more people are making purchases through their mobile devices rather than via laptops and desktop computers. Millennials make more purchases online than in stores using mobile devices. Born in the era of smart phones, Gen Z are true digital natives and used to multiple devices. Gen Z, born 1997 to 2012 has grown up in a fully immersed digital world. Gen Z spend an average 4 hours and 15 minutes per day on mobile, spending 1.13 minutes more on their mobile devices compared to 2015. The most common online activities include visiting social networks, using messaging apps, watching videos and using search engines. The growing number of smartphone-only internet users amongst millennials increases battery consumption, which in turn would spur the need for power banks.

While the thinner form factor makes modern phones sleeker, easier to hold, and more pocketable, they also leave less room for the internals of a phone. To compensate, manufacturers include smaller-sized batteries. Though smartphone batteries are improving with every new generation of devices released by manufacturers, demands on the battery are expanding more rapidly with increase in use of smartphones as video viewing devices and gaming platforms. With the push for thinner smartphones, inadequate battery capacities augment demand for power banks. With the advent of quick charging smartphones, there is a growing need for power banks with fast charging support. Smartphones today are marketed with a very important feature that promises lightning fast charging speeds compared to the older generation phones. As USB-C is the charging and connectivity standard of choice in the latest iPhones, Android phones, iPads and high-end laptops including MacBooks, USB-C PD power banks witness high demand. These power banks with capacities of 20, 000mAh can recharge devices multiple times in one single charge. The Type C port can also be used to charge the power bank itself. More

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Email: [email protected]

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Edition: 9; Released: February 2022

Executive Engagements: 1003

Companies: 248 - Players covered include 3M Company; Arkema Group; Avery Dennison Corporation; Bischof + Klein SE & Co. KG; Bp Plastics Holding Bhd; Chargeurs SA; Compagnie De Saint-Gobain SA; Covertec Srl; DowDuPont, Inc.; Dunmore Corporation; DUTE Industries Group; Echoplast Ltd.; Echotape USA; Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd.; Kao-Chia Plastic Co., Ltd.; Lamin-X Protective Films; Mactac Europe SA; MT Tapes s.r.o.; Nitto Denko Corporation; Panduit Corporation; Polifilm Group; Pregis LLC; Presto Tape; Surface Armor; Toray Industries, Inc. and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: Class (Adhesive-Coated, Self-Adhesive); Type (Polyethylene, Polyethylene Terephthalate, Polyvinyl Chloride, Other Types); End-Use (Building & Construction, Electronics, Transportation, Other End-Uses)

Geographies: World; United States; Canada; Japan; China; Europe (France; Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Spain; Russia; and Rest of Europe); Asia-Pacific (Australia; India; South Korea; and Rest of Asia-Pacific); Latin America (Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; and Rest of Latin America); Middle East (Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; and Rest of Middle East); and Africa.

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ABSTRACT-

Global Protective Films Market to Reach $18.3 Billion by 2026

Protective films, used for protecting surfaces against damage, are witnessing increased demand from a variety of end-user industries including electronics, automotive, aerospace, and building & construction among others. PVC, LDPE and PP are some of the most commonly used materials for protective films. Demand is on the rise, owing to growing focus on product protection. Another major market growth driver has been the continuous technology advancement. Manufacturers are striving to create sustainable products with least environmental impact. Building & construction represents the major end-user sector for protective films. Steady growth opportunities in the building and construction industry is attributed to extensive use of protective films for protecting window glasses from UV rays and scratches. Increasing prominence of eCommerce is creating strong demand for the films in protective and secondary packaging for goods. Electronics consumption is also increasing at a steady rate all across the world, which is also a key growth promoting factor for the market. Vehicle demand is increasingly worldwide due to industrialization. The films are used for paint protection and for protecting leathers, carpets and dashboards from damage. Another area of immense opportunity, increasing solar energy production creates growth prospects for films in PV modules. Films protect the modules exposed to stress factors such as UV radiations. Solar cells are covered with polymeric films where they offer protection against mechanical stress and environmental corrosion.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Protective Films estimated at US$14.1 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$18.3 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% over the analysis period. Adhesive-Coated, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 6.4% CAGR to reach US$11.1 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Self-Adhesive segment is readjusted to a revised 5.2% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 45% share of the global Protective Films market. The adhesive coated protective films are the most common protective films used in a variety of applications. The films are compatible with a variety of substrates including metals, plastics and glass. They are also easy to manufacture. Growth of the self-adhesive protective film market is attributed to several applications such in building and construction, steel, automotive, glass, electronics, and plastics. Ever expanding construction industry is expected to augment the production of self-adhesive protective films as they are used for carpet and floor protection, laminate protection, window security films, and building site protection. Self-adhesive protective films are also used in several other end-use industries to safeguard their products from damage due to abrasion, weathering, and UV rays.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $3.1 Billion in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $4.5 Billion by 2026

The Protective Films market in the U.S. is estimated at US$3.1 Billion in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 22.51% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$4.5 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 7.5% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 3.7% and 4.9% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 4.2% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$4.9 Billion by the end of the analysis period. Asia-Pacific and China represent the leading regional markets for protective films, globally. In China, demand for protective films is growing especially from the country's building and construction industry. In Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, recovering automotive sector is anticipated to create demand opportunities for protective films over the coming years. More

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About Global Industry Analysts, Inc. & StrategyR

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (www.strategyr.com) is a renowned market research publisher the world`s only influencer driven market research company. Proudly serving more than 42,000 clients from 36 countries, GIA is recognized for accurate forecasting of markets and industries for over 33 years.

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SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held a phone conversation with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo.

China and Indonesia are both representatives of major developing countries and emerging economies, Xi noted in the phone talks.

In the face of major global changes and the COVID-19 pandemic, both rarely in a century, Xi said, the two countries have moved forward hand in hand and risen to challenges, established a new pattern of bilateral cooperation on the "four-wheel drive" of political, economic, cultural and maritime affairs, and carried forward the main theme of solidarity against the pandemic and common development.

The two countries have set the general direction for jointly building a China-Indonesia community with a shared future, and set up a model of sincere cooperation between major developing countries, Xi added.

China stands ready to maintain close communication with Indonesia to push for new development of bilateral friendly cooperation and inject even greater stability and positive energy into regional and global development, Xi said.

Xi stressed that the two sides should implement the consensus reached on issues such as deepening COVID-19 vaccine cooperation, and continue to strengthen cooperation in fighting the pandemic.

Both sides, he said, should ensure that the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Railway can start to operate on schedule, well implement such key projects as the regional comprehensive economic corridor and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks," and jointly build the Belt and Road with high quality, so as to help accelerate Indonesia's development and bilateral cooperation.

China holds a positive attitude towards the projects as long as they are conducive to Indonesia's development and cooperation between the two countries, Xi added.

He called on both sides to maintain a stable global market and smooth supply chains worldwide, promote the concrete implementation of the Global Development Initiative, firmly safeguard the ASEAN-centered regional architecture which is open and inclusive, and stay committed to unity and cooperation for mutual benefits and win-win results.

China supports Indonesia in playing its role as the president of the Group of 20 (G20), and focusing on the theme of "Recover Together, Recover Stronger," so as to ensure the 2022 G20 Bali Summit a success, Xi added.
NEW DELHI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and two others taken ill after consuming toxic liquor in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, officials said Wednesday.

The casualties were reported from the Baruipur area of South 24 Parganas district, about 32 km south of Kolkata, the capital city of West Bengal.

"Four people were killed after consuming toxic alcohol and two people who complained of illness related to it have been admitted in the hospital," a police official in Baruipur told media.

According to state-run television DD Bangla News, the four were killed after they accidentally drank alcohol mixed with pesticides.

Police said a case has been registered in this regard and an investigation was ordered to ascertain the reason behind the deaths.

Reports said the men consumed alcohol on Tuesday night, following which they complained of burning sensation in their throats.

Spurious alcohol deaths are often reported in India, where people often drink cheap country-made bootleg liquor. 
"As an industry leader and innovator, Gogoro is committed to introducing new foundational technologies that set the stage for innovation of smart two-wheel vehicles from Gogoro and our partners," said Horace Luke, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Gogoro. "Gogoro's SSmartcore technology platform enables a variety of new user experiences and capabilities that are available today on the new Gogoro Supersport smartscooter, and will be available to all of our vehicle partners in the future."

SSmartcore Technology Platform

Developed exclusively by Gogoro, SSmartcore provides high-speed computing power with an expandable open architecture that enhances processing speed and connectivity of the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) and Motor Controller Unit (MCU) increasing memory, long-distance remote monitoring and I/O control. The SSmartcore platform provides three times the computing power available on Gogoro's current Smartscooters today, enabling a new generation of smart two-wheel vehicles.

"SSmartcore enables improved safety capabilities like a new generation of integrated E-traction control, improved user features like more responsive throttle control, and it enables integrated LTE connectivity for over-the-air updates and other location-based functionality," said Luke.

Precision Power Response

SSmartcore allows the motor and digital throttle to integrate with the rest of Gogoro's iQ system and sensors to deliver more precise motor control and real-time power calibration to provide intelligent traction control. Users achieve greater safety and control as well as access to custom settings to fine-tune their vehicle performance and riding style.The high speed processing power enables the motor to make milliseconds adjustments in torque and power so there is nearly zero lag in power delivery. Additionally, SSmartcore power enables Gogoro's new active cruise control.

LTE Wireless

With SSmartcore, Gogoro is integrating LTE wireless connectivity for the first time. LTE connectivity provides riders with a new level of remote control, access and awareness of their vehicle including 24/7 active alerts, locking/unlocking, trunk opening, and real-time location. Additionally, it allows for even more precise real-time diagnostics and system status.

Traction Control

Utilizing the power of the SSmartcore platform, Gogoro developed a new integrated traction control system (TCS), the world's first digital traction control system for two-wheel electric vehicles. SSmartCore's upgraded computing capabilities monitor wheel rotation in relation to motor output on a millisecond bases, detecting any loss of grip, and instantly adjusting torque output until traction is regained.

Gogoro SuperSport

The new Gogoro SuperSport is first to be equipped with SSmartcore, improving overall response and computing performance and adding Gogoro's new traction control system, LTE wireless connectivity services and other cutting-edge technologies that include: 7.6kW of power, 3.9 SEC. 0-50 KM/H and FLO DRIVE Sport.

Powered By Gogoro Network (PBGN)

Gogoro established the Powered By Gogoro Network (PBGN) program to help vehicle makers accelerate the development of electric two-wheel vehicles that integrate with Gogoro Network battery swapping. The Gogoro Development Kit (GDK) provides vehicle partners with access to its intelligent drivetrains and controllers, components, and smart systems. There are currently 47 Gogoro-powered vehicles from ten vehicles makers.

ABOUT GOGORO

Founded in 2011 to rethink urban energy and inspire the world to move through cities in smarter and more sustainable ways, Gogoro leverages the power of innovation to change the way urban energy is distributed and consumed. Gogoro's battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has quickly become an innovation leader in vehicle design and electric propulsion, smart battery design, battery swapping, and advanced cloud services that utilize artificial intelligence to manage battery availability and safety. The challenge is massive, but the opportunity to disrupt the status quo, establish new standards, and achieve new levels of sustainable transportation growth in densely populated cities is even greater. For more information, visit www.gogoro.com/news and follow Gogoro on Twitter: @wearegogoro.

Forward-looking Statements Disclaimer

This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act") that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to Gogoro Inc. ("Gogoro"). In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "project," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," "target," "seek" or the negative or plural of these words, or other similar expressions that are predictions or indicate future events or prospects, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including the capability and availability of Gogoro's technology including Gogoro's technology and Gogoro's business plans. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although Gogoro believes that it has a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this communication, Gogoro cautions you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known and projections of the future, which are inherently uncertain. In addition, there are risks and uncertainties described in the proxy statement/prospectus on Form F-4, as amended, which has been filed by Gogoro with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and other documents filed by Gogoro from time to time with the SEC. These filings may identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Gogoro cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this communication will prove to be accurate. There may be additional risks Gogoro does not presently know and believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward looking statements. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by Gogoro, their respective directors, officers or employees or any other person that Gogoro will achieve their objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this communication represent the views of Gogoro as of the date of this communication. Subsequent events and developments may cause those views to change. However, while Gogoro may update these forward-looking statements in the future, there is no current intention to do so, except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing the views of Gogoro as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication.

SOURCE Gogoro
Categorized by Schroeder as "The People's Festival", Hwy 30 started out in 2009 as a fundraiser for a local school, temporarily quadrupling the population of tiny Camas County. Since going full-time with the fest, it's only continued to grow in size, now attracting people from all 50 states and as far away as Northern Europe. But even as the acts get bigger and the crowd sizes swell, the name remains unchanged, with Hwy 30 representing the longest highway cross-country, connecting many of America's hardworking blue-collar towns.

"Whether it's our fans, our bands, or our volunteers, people come from around the country and want to help and be a part of this every year and it's just so humbling and so surreal," said Schroeder. "Every year is like a reunion with people from all walks of life who become family which is why we are able to keep doing what we do."

Hwy 30 will continue its tradition to honor groups including military and first responders with special events throughout the long weekend. The event will also expand to a second U.S. location in Summer 2023 with further plans to be announced at this year's fest. To purchase tickets, camping spots or learn more, visit www.hwy30musicfest.com.

About Gordy's Hwy 30 Music Fest

Gordy's Hwy 30 Music Fest is a four-day music event that takes place each June at the Twin Falls County Fairgrounds in Filer, Idaho. Originally created by Gordy Schroeder as a school fundraiser in 2009, the family-friendly fest now attracts tens of thousands and showcases a collection of country, Americana, rock, and red dirt artists. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.hwy30musicfest.com.

Media Contact:

Kristen Skladd 586-222-2423 [email protected]





SOURCE Hwy 30 Music Fest
Vexus Fiber to Offer Ten-gigabit Fiber-to-the-Premise Network to Residents and Businesses

SANTA FE, N.M., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Governing Body on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, approved a bill that will allow Vexus Fiber, a provider of 100% fiber optic broadband internet in more than 30 markets across the south and southwest, to bring its ten-gigabit fiber-to-premises network to residential and commercial locations within the City of Santa Fe.

Fiber optic cable, which uses light for conductivity instead of electricity, allows for greater bandwidth, distance, reliability, security, and faster speeds. It also provides flexibility for future capacity as Santa Fe grows.

"This is a boon for Santa Fe," says Rich Brown, Director of Economic and Community for the City. "It's going to bring fast broadband to residential areas of the city that don't currently have it, and it's going to support our growing tech, film and entrepreneurial communities, and help attract new businesses. And it grows as we grow."

Mayor Alan Webber says, "Santa Fe is fast becoming a dynamic place for forward-thinking institutions. One key piece to our future is reliable, fast broadband for our people to work and live here. This network should play a significant part in forging the path to the future, to make our city have cutting-edge technology that will make Santa Fe even more dynamic."

The company plans to begin buildout of the network in 2022 and estimates full connectivity for all homes and businesses within the City of Santa Fe to take 24-36 months. The investment by Vexus Fiber$35 millionis estimated to bring 85-90 new jobs to the region; at least 35 of those will be permanent positions.

"We'd like to thank the City of Santa Fe for helping us make this expansion a reality," said Vexus Fiber CEO Jim Gleason. "Vexus is thrilled to bring 100% fiber internet infrastructure to the region. We're also excited about the economic and business development possibilities our services can help bring to the area."

Vexus plans to install the 100% fiber optic network along existing public rights-of-way, according to the bill, and says the fiber will be located underground or overhead. After buildout of the network within city limits is complete, the company may look to surrounding areas for expansion where feasible.

Vexus Fiber currently operates fiber-to-the-home networks in Lubbock, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, Abilene, and surrounding areas in Texas, as well as Hammond, Covington and Mandeville in Louisiana. The company is building new networks in the Rio Grande Valley, Tyler, Nacogdoches, Laredo and San Angelo, Texas. They are also expanding in Lake Charles, Alexandria and Pineville, Louisiana and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vexus is headquartered in Lubbock, Texas.

Residents and businesses that are interested in Vexus Fiber services can visit connect.vexusfiber.com to receive updates on construction. Typically, residents will receive communication via email and mail about activity in their neighborhood 30 days prior to construction. Those interested in joining the Vexus Fiber team can visit vexusfiber.com/jobs .

About Vexus

Vexus is a leading provider of fiber-based communications solutions for both residential and business customers across Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana. As a technology leader in the industry, Vexus Fiber offers an extensive range of internet connectivity over a true fiber-to-the-premise network. Services also include a robust HD Video platform, Voice, TeleCloud services, and more. For more information, please visit vexusfiber.com.

CONTACT:

Terry Lease, City of Santa Fe Asset Development Manager; [email protected]

Vexus Fiber, Kyle Alcorn; 573-481-2732; [email protected]

SOURCE Vexus Fiber
LEEDS, United Kingdom, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grupo Antolin, global supplier of technological solutions for car interiors, and Uniphy, the leading provider of 3D smart-surface technology, have signed an agreement to collaborate on next generation in-car user-interfaces. Thanks to this collaboration, Grupo Antolin will combine its advanced decorative and lighting technologies with Uniphy's revolutionary Canvya smart-surface solutions to enable new highly functional 3D touch-control surfaces that are beautiful, intuitive, robust, safe, and economic.

The resulting HMIs (Human Machine Interface) will take advantage of the unparalleled design freedom to deliver high-performance touch, touch contours such as longitudinal or circular sliders, concave/convex touch-surface dials, touch-gesture, and proximity recognition, together with the integration of displays and advanced lighting solutions.

Grupo Antolin's extensive expertise and state-of-the-art car interior technology, together with its integration experience of 3rd party solutions into its products, will be paired with Uniphy's revolutionary Canvya 3D smart-surface technology to deliver user interfaces with great added value.

Unlike standard capacitive surfaces, Uniphy's patented technology uses novel optical sensing with a free-form and affordable three-layer optical laminate, powered by low power electronics to improve the quality, functionality, and performance of the solution. The collaboration is set to create a completely new touch interface that takes the user experience to a whole new level.

"Uniphy and Antolin are a perfect fit. Together we can produce unique smart 3D surfaces that can be seamlessly integrated into all interior parts of next generation vehicles. As part of this program, Uniphy will collaborate closely with our Lighting & HMI Business Unit as well as Walter Pack, Antolin's strategic partner in films and decorative surfaces," said Marta Cuevas, Grupo Antolin Lighting & HMI Business Unit Director.

"Antolin & Uniphy have the combined expertise to make decorative trim immersivity functional in a highly efficient and cost-effective way. The compatibilities of our capabilities, as well as a shared vision for enabling peerless user experiences, augurs well for realising smart surfaces that will evoke, in end users, passion for using the resulting products," said Jim Nicholas, Uniphy Limited Chief Executive Officer.

As part of its strategy to consolidate its position as a global supplier of technological and innovative solutions, Grupo Antolin strives to integrate new technologies in the vehicle interior, from HMI functions to advanced driver-assistance systems, functional lighting, and smart surfaces with the highest perceived quality. The company focuses on helping OEMs to develop a more advanced, technological, and sustainable automotive interior that offers passengers a unique onboard experience.

Uniphy's revolutionary 3D smart-surface solution combines novel algorithms and patented technologies to allow standard materials/components and mainstream manufacturing processes to be deployed to deliver feature-rich and freeform 3D smart interfaces. The Uniphy solution truly transforms product design. It enables designers to freely create HMIs that are striking as well as experiences that are intuitive and natural, while also delivering robustness and remaining cost-effective. The technology goes "Beyond Touch" and unifies non-conductive, finger pressure sensitive touch sensing with the integration of physical HMI features including dials, buttons & sliders. It also supports haptic feedback, proximity and touch-gesture recognition whilst also being able to host additional proprietary HMI features.

About Antolin

Grupo Antolin is one of the world's largest manufacturers of vehicle components in the world and a global supplier of technological solutions for automotive interiors. The company supplies the world's leading car manufacturers through 150 factories in 26 countries. Antolin has 27,000 employees and sales of 3.9 billion in 2020. Grupo Antolin offers high added value products via four Business Units: Overheads, Cockpits & Doors, Lighting & HMI, and Electronic Systems.

About Uniphy

Uniphy is "the next generation user experience canvas company" delivering truly disruptive and highly protected technologies and solutions that enable any product requiring a smart user interface, whether it's the interior of a car, a consumer device, any home appliance, an enterprise/industrial equipment or in fact any other physical device, to have a beautiful, intuitive, and robust user interface. This is achieved while also ensuring a safe and highly economical solution  plastic & glass surfaces of any shape can be made "smart" without the need for esoteric materials or using non-mainstream manufacturing processes.

Media Contact:

Neal Leavitt

7606392900

[email protected]

SOURCE Uniphy Limited
BEIJING, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following on from a highly competitive process, we are delighted to announce that HH Global has been selected as PepsiCo's print and POSM procurement partner in China.

This is a significant win for our APAC region, that will see HH Global managing, procuring, and adding value to the PepsiCo China supply chain. This agreement will also see additional synergies being introduced across the 23 countries in which HH Global currently works with PepsiCo, so we can continue to improve the services we offer, such as our industry-leading sustainability program.

The combination of HH Global's technology, spend leverage, and expert industry knowledge will help PepsiCo China unlock enormous potential in their print and POSM products. We will be procuring items for multiple PepsiCo brands and distributing them across all outlets in China, to drive added value, savings, and challenge the status quo over our multi-year contract term.

Ian Sullivan, APAC Business Director at HH Global said: 'We are thrilled to be extending our long-standing global relationship with PepsiCo, with the onboarding of PepsiCo China. From the outset, there has been excellent engagement with a clear strategy, that has allowed us to align the strategic goals of our two companies. I would like to thank the numerous stakeholders from both businesses, who have put so much work into making this happen. I have no doubt this collaboration will be a fantastic long-term success.'

PepsiCo China explained: 'We chose to partner with HH Global due to their diverse service offering, value for money, and expertise. HH Global's insights on how PepsiCo China can increase our marketing ROI was key to this award. Their knowledge of how our company operates across the world, and how we strive to put our customers at the heart of our business will be hugely beneficial in this partnership.'

SOURCE HH Global
Data sprawl and governance have become more difficult as data becomes increasingly distributed across the data center, edge, hybrid, and public cloud infrastructure. This complexity can hinder an organization's ability to turn data into business value. In a recent DataOps Survey by 451 Research, data privacy, compliance, and data access and preparation are top priorities for data-driven organizations.

Today's additions to the Lumada DataOps portfolio allow organizations to create a seamless data fabric governed by an enhanced data catalog for automated data quality improvements and governance. With the latest updates to Data Integration powered by Pentaho technology, customers can reduce time and complexity to discover, access, prepare and blend data across multiple data sources and locations. The new Lumada Industrial DataOps portfolio includes IoT analytics models for industrial environments that seamlessly merge IT and OT data to unlock transformational business insights.

"Unlike traditional data management solutions that lock customers into proprietary technologies, the Lumada DataOps and Lumada Industrial DataOps portfolio products augment any ecosystem to manage and govern data from anywhere," said Radhika Krishnan, Chief Product Officer at Hitachi Vantara. "No matter where our clients' data lives, we help them discover, analyze, govern and monetize it through Lumada DataOps in addition to data and analytics consulting services, helping clients propel their business with better data insights."

Intelligent Data Operations Across the Edge to Multicloud Data Fabric

Lumada DataOps lets you automate the daily tasks of collecting, integrating, governing, and analyzing data on an intelligent platform providing an open and composable foundation for all enterprise data, while providing self-service data access to their choice of tools and analytics. Today's updates to Lumada DataOps include:

Data Catalog  Accelerate business insights with Data Catalog v7.0 using trusted data built on IO-Tahoe technology including a powerful new user interface, data quality and Collibra connectivity.

 Accelerate business insights with Data Catalog v7.0 using trusted data built on IO-Tahoe technology including a powerful new user interface, data quality and Collibra connectivity. Data Integration  Integrate data across hybrid cloud with Pentaho v9.3 through flexible cloud deployment and new connectors for cloud data stores like Snowflake, MongoDB Atlas, Teradata, Elastic Search7.x and IBM MQ 9.2.

IT and OT Data Convergence for Digital Industrial Operations

Hitachi Vantara's new Lumada Industrial DataOps portfolio enables real-time insights and outcomes that power critical operations to be more predictable and manageable. It accelerates IT and OT data convergence by building a data fabric for analytic solutions from edge to multi-cloud. Lumada Industrial DataOps IIoT software automates data pipeline delivery across OT and IT sources, feeding industrial AI and ML models for predictive maintenance and operations optimization. Capabilities of the new Lumada Industrial DataOps portfolio include:

IIoT Core  Accelerate and scale operation application deployment with a complete IIoT data platform including Core, Gateway, Digital Twins, and Machine Learning Services.

 Accelerate and scale operation application deployment with a complete IIoT data platform including Core, Gateway, Digital Twins, and Machine Learning Services. IIoT Analytics  Simplify AI and ML solutions creation through toolkits that simplify delivery through packaged Digital Twins with pre-trained ML models.

Armed with clean, accurate data, organizations can leverage advanced operational analytics capabilities like Digital Twins and AL/ML models to predict and prescribe operational decision making.

One of our key customers that utilizes Hitachi Vantara technology is Disney Parks and Resorts. Hitachi Vantara is the Official Ride and Show Analytics provider for the WALT DISNEY WORLD Resort and the DISNEYLAND Resort.

"In order to maintain our complex ride systems, we are constantly capturing and ingesting data from multiple touchpoints throughout the ride, striving to optimize efficiency in our systems and continuing to keep the attraction experience as seamless as possible," said Michael Tschanz, director of Design & Engineering Technology & Analysis at Disney. One project I personally think is the coolest thing we've worked on together this year is our development of the Digital Twin analysis technology," Digital Twin simulations help us solve the challenge of doing analysis on certain areas of our attractions where we aren't able to put sensors. This innovation will result in even higher levels of analytic accuracy."

Register for our Webinar  March 24, 2022 at 9am PT: Optimize Your Data Fabric For Digital Innovation

Additional Supporting Quotes:

"The data integration capabilities provided by Pentaho have been instrumental in wrangling our diverse datasets and delivering data-driven insights that enable our organization to make effective, cross-functional decisions," said Dale Bloom , credit risk analytics manager at MarketAxess , the leading fixed income electronic trading platform for institutional investors and dealers. "The new data store integrations allow us to flexibly connect even more data, easily identify and establish controls that address data flow disruptions, and seamlessly deploy in hybrid environments to better serve our lines of business."

, the leading fixed income electronic trading platform for institutional investors and dealers. "The new data store integrations allow us to flexibly connect even more data, easily identify and establish controls that address data flow disruptions, and seamlessly deploy in hybrid environments to better serve our lines of business." "Centrica serves millions of residential and business customers with a full range of energy services and products which extends to include insurance, repair services and intelligent energy management solutions. Every Centrica brand is highly customer focused and we rely on accurate data to drive new innovations in sustainable energy and to empower communities to use energy efficiently. The speed at which we can discover and apply insights from data allows us to continually improve our customer experience and achieve our Zero Carbon energy targets. Lumada Data Catalog enables us to fully automate data discovery across our hybrid data fabric and ensures we can meet our regulatory compliance commitments effectively. Working with Hitachi Vantara to enhance our data privacy controls also helps us to reduce operational risks and to demonstrate our commitment to our customers as their trusted energy supplier," said Eddie Edwards , global head of data at Centrica Plc.

"Our Partners are looking to deliver more Data Management Solutions and Services that drive business agility and value from their data at a significantly lower TCO and faster realization of benefits," said Omar Galbraith , CEO of Ethos Technology , a UK Based Hitachi Vantara Distributor of Innovative Technology. "Lumada DataOps has enabled us to elevate our conversations with partners that have migrated to providing automation of data management across Hybrid Cloud so they can speed up how data can be applied, governed, protected, served and consumed within their clients. Partners can build up a portfolio of value-added managed services that elevates them beyond the traditional one-off transactional supply of products."

, a UK Based Hitachi Vantara Distributor of Innovative Technology. "Lumada DataOps has enabled us to elevate our conversations with partners that have migrated to providing automation of data management across Hybrid Cloud so they can speed up how data can be applied, governed, protected, served and consumed within their clients. Partners can build up a portfolio of value-added managed services that elevates them beyond the traditional one-off transactional supply of products." "Organizations of all kinds are quickly realizing the value of a data strategy that taps the full breadth of resources across the organization from customer, operation and live edge environments," said Dave Menninger , senior vice president & research director, Ventana Research. "Hitachi Vantara's Lumada solutions help organizations discover, analyze and distribute data and compelling insights to the right stakeholders."

Availability

Updates to Lumada DataOps Data Catalog is available worldwide today. Pentaho 9.3 will be generally available in May 2022. Lumada Industrial DataOps software will be available at the end of April from Hitachi Vantara and its global partner network.

Additional Resources

Connect With Hitachi Vantara

About Hitachi Vantara

Hitachi Vantara, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., guides our customers from what's now to what's next by solving their digital challenges. Working alongside each customer, we apply our unmatched industrial and digital capabilities to their data and applications to benefit both business and society. More than 80% of the Fortune 100 trust Hitachi Vantara to help them develop new revenue streams, unlock competitive advantages, lower costs, enhance customer experiences, and deliver social and environmental value. Visit us at www.hitachivantara.com.

About Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, contributes to a sustainable society with a higher quality of life by driving innovation through data and technology as the Social Innovation Business. Hitachi is focused on strengthening its contribution to the Environment, the Resilience of business and social infrastructure as well as comprehensive programs to enhance Security & Safety. Hitachi resolves the issues faced by customers and society across six domains: IT, Energy, Mobility, Industry, Smart Life and Automotive Systems through its proprietary Lumada solutions. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2020 (ended March 31, 2021) totaled 8,729.1 billion yen ($78.6 billion), with 871 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 350,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at https://www.hitachi.com.

HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. All other trademarks, service marks, and company names are properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE Hitachi Vantara Corporation
LOS ANGELES, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, over 65 Hollywood celebrities, including Mark Ruffalo, Leonardo DiCaprio, Taika Waititi, Scarlett Johansson, Jane Fonda, and Robert Downey Jr., released a letter to City National Bank's (CNB) parent company, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) , demanding immediate withdrawal of financial support for Coastal GasLink, a 416-mile pipeline slated to cut through Wet'suwet'en land without consent from hereditary chiefs.

The letter states , "Despite claiming to be a leader in climate conscious banking, since acquiring CNB in 2015, RBC has spent over $160 billion to become one of the world's largest and most aggressive financiers of tar sands, fossil fuel extraction, and transport."

CNB, dubbed the "Bank of the Stars," is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RBC, lead financier of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Since acquiring CNB in 2015, RBC has doubled down on fossil fuel financing , as the world's fifth largest and Canada's #1 fossil fuel financier.

"Our sacred headwaters, the Wedzin Kwa river, is the lifeline for our people. By financing Coastal GasLink, CNB's parent company RBC is putting us profoundly at risk," said Gidimt'en Checkpoint spokesperson Sleydo', Molly Wickham. "The gas pipeline violates our hereditary title, and has led to years of RCMP violence and harassment of peaceful Indigenous land defenders, and the forced removal of Wet'suwet'en peoples from our territory. We've been crystal clear: RBC must divest from this toxic project, which threatens Wet'suwet'en land, air and water, and steamrolls Indigenous rights."

At an estimated CAD $6.6 billion , RBC is among top commercial banks providing capital, including $275 million in project finance, a co-financed $6.5 billion loan, a $40 million corporate loan, and $200 million in co-financed working capital  while acting as financial advisor.

"CNB and RBC have the opportunity to stand on the right side of history, and that starts with immediately divesting from Coastal GasLink," said actor and activist Mark Ruffalo. "I'm heartened not only by the power of Wet'suwet'en land defenders, but also by my community of artists rising up to demand an end to all fossil fuel finance as we live through this climate catastrophe."

RBC also has millions in Russian oil and gas corporations , including one producing steel for the pipeline . The pipeline has been implicated in recent pushes to divest from Russian assets, as a primary steel supplier is Russian oligarch-controlled Evraz.

"We refuse to allow our industry's bank of choice to associate itself with the abuse of Indigenous Rights or to participate in accelerating the climate crisis," said Alex Ebert, musician and composer. "Despite public statements, CNB's parent company RBC is blatantly disregarding Indigenous peoples and our climate. This letter is not the beginning of this decade-long fight, or even close to the end. If CNB's parent company doesn't divest from its extreme fossil fuel extraction and transport operations, the 'bank of the stars' will be known as the 'bank of the tars'."

"I spoke at RBC's shareholder meeting in 2009  RBC is not new to these tactics. They have been willfully financing destruction, including in my community through the tar sands, the dirtiest fossil fuel in the world," said Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Senior Director, Indigenous Climate Action. "Bankrolling Coastal GasLink is just the latest example of RBC covering up their role in violating Indigenous rights, not upholding free, prior and informed consent as outlined in UNDRIP, and in exacerbating the climate crisis. In my community, we can't drink our water because of RBC's investments. We want to make sure Wet'suwet'en communities still can."

Communities are taking action in Los Angeles on Friday, March 18, and across North America around RBC's April 7 shareholder meeting .

SOURCE Stand.earth
LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Government policies provide a much-required impetus for the influenza diagnostics market to grow exponentially. The initiatives to counter influenza outbreaks and provide affordable healthcare enable user-friendly and time-bound over-the-counter (OTC) tests.

The global influenza diagnostic market size

is expected to grow from $1.75 billion in 2021 to $1.89 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4%. The change in the influenza diagnostic market growth trend is mainly due to the companies stabilizing their output after catering to the demand that grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The influenza diagnostic market forecast sees it reaching $2.53 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 7.6%.

Request a free sample of the Influenza Diagnostics Market Report

Key Players And Their Strategies

The global influenza diagnostic market share is highly fragmented, with a large number of small players. The top ten competitors in the influenza diagnostic market made up to 43.74% of the total market in 2020. Major players in the market are Abbott Laboratories, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Quidel Corp, Danaher Corporation (Cepheid), Hologic Inc, DiaSorin S.p.A, GenMark Diagnostics, Inc and bioMerieux SA.

Player-adopted strategies in the influenza diagnostic market include focusing on strengthening business by new product launches, focusing on strengthening business globally, and accelerating growth and expanding product portfolio by strategic partnerships with other companies.

Manufacturer-Government Collaborations

Influenza diagnostic manufacturers are increasingly entering into agreements with governments for mutual benefits. To mitigate supply chain issues and global shortage of rapid test kits, governments are increasingly forming tie-ups with local and international manufacturers.

For example, in January 2022, Becton, Dickinson, and Company (BD) announced a strategic public-private partnership with the federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop diagnostics for multiple pathogens in single samples from patients with respiratory symptoms. Under the partnership, BARDA will award BD an initial $24.7 million with the opportunity to increase up to $40.3 million for development and Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance of new combination tests such as a rapid point-of-care antigen test that detects and distinguishes between SARS-CoV-2, influenza A, and influenza B at the point of care.

Regional Influenza Diagnostic Market Growth Analysis

North America is the largest region in the global influenza diagnostic market, accounting for 34.1% of the total in 2021. It is followed by Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the influenza diagnostic market will be South America and Asia Pacific, where growth will be at CAGRs of 8.3% and 7.4% respectively. These will be followed by North America and Western Europe, where the influenza diagnostic markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 6.6% and 6.5% respectively during 2021-2026.

See more on the Influenza Diagnostics Market Report

Check out similar market reports:

Anti-Viral Drug Therapy Market  Opportunities And Strategies  Global Forecast To 2030

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Global Market Report 2022  Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2022-2026

Telehealth Market 2021  Opportunities And Strategies  Global Forecast To 2030

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SOURCE The Business Research Company
CONYERS, Ga., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inland Pipe Rehabilitation ("IPR"), a leading water and wastewater infrastructure services company and portfolio company of investment affiliates of J.F. Lehman & Company ("JFLCO"), announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Granite Inliner ("Inliner") and affiliated companies from Granite Construction Incorporated. The acquisition enhances IPR's capabilities and service solutions, while significantly expanding its presence throughout North America.

Inliner is a leading, vertically-integrated provider of trenchless pipe rehabilitation solutions addressing wastewater and storm water infrastructure. Inliner has established an exceptional reputation as a leader in heat-cured and UV-based cured-in-place-pipe solutions (CIPP), geopolymer rehabilitation, manhole renewal, and construction management services, supporting municipal and private customers across the United States and Canada. Inliner's flagship Inliner Cured-In-Place Pipe and glass-reinforced Inliner STX UV-cured liners provide a broad range of trenchless gravity and pressure pipeline rehabilitation solutions. The approach reduces disruption to the public and the environment and enables project time and cost efficiencies compared to traditional excavation. Inliner's services are augmented and supported by market-leading CIPP liner manufacturing and R&D capabilities.

Like Inliner, IPR provides minimally-disruptive, cost-effective pipe rehabilitation solutions for municipal customers that own and manage underground municipal waste, stormwater, and potable water pipe infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Conyers, GA, with operating locations throughout the Eastern United States.

Mick Fegan, Chief Executive Officer of IPR, commented, "We are thrilled to welcome Inliner employees into the IPR family. This is the beginning of a new and exciting chapter for our combined company. The addition of Inliner enhances an already-robust suite of products and technologies, and positions us to deliver best-in-class services to our customers."

"In IPR, we have found a strong partner focused on and committed to the rehabilitation industry. This will allow the combined entity to further diversify and expand its service offerings as well as grow into new territories," added Denise McClanahan, Vice President of Inliner. "These companies complement each other in all key respects. The capabilities and service offerings we can now extend to our customers and the communities we serve is unmatched in the industry."

"The acquisition of Inliner is a critical milestone in our strategy to create the leading player in the trenchless pipe rehabilitation industry," said Glenn Shor, Chairman of IPR and Partner at JFLCO. "IPR now has the scale to play an even bigger role in the vital and timely work of repairing our nation's aging infrastructure."

Jones Day provided legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to IPR and JFLCO. Perella Weinberg Partners served as exclusive financial advisor and Shearman & Sterling LLP provided legal counsel to Granite. Atlantic Park Strategic Capital Fund, L.P provided financing for the transaction, and Monroe Capital, LLC remains administrative agent to IPR's senior credit facility.

About J.F. Lehman & Company, Inc.

Founded in 1992, J.F. Lehman & Company focuses exclusively on investing in the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental industries. The firm has offices in New York and Washington, D.C.

www.jflpartners.com

JFLCO Investor Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE J.F. Lehman & Company
Flagship OSS enables customers to automate service lifecycle management to deliver innovative services while reducing cost and complexity in BSS /OSS operations

MIAMI , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Intraway, a leading global provider of Operations Support Systems (OSS) automated provisioning solutions, announced today the expansion and availability of its no-code, cloud-native OSS solution, Symphonica, within the North American Market. Intraway has experienced great success in Latin America over the past 18 years working with industry powerhouses such as Tigo, izzi, Telecom Argentina and Telefonica, and is building off its initial success in North America, working with three of the top MSOs. As part of its go-to-market strategy, Intraway will continue targeting network automation at top tier communications service providers (CSPs).

Intraway's Symphonica is a no-code, cloud-native, telco-grade orchestration and service activation platform for the automation of the entire lifecycle of services orchestrated across multiple networks and multiple technology domains. Symphonica is a multi-tenant, software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering that runs on AWS Cloud. It is designed to allow CSPs to automate service lifecycle management without investing in time-consuming and budget-heavy projects.

The US market is primed for the expansion of Intraway's Symphonica due to the increased deployment of 5G, the move to telco cloud and other cloud-native platforms such as SD-WAN and SASE, and the increased adoption of Multi Domain Service Orchestration (MDSO). Intraway has committed a significant investment in the US market to exponentially grow the business and take advantage of the SaaS and cloud native opportunities.

"Symphonica provides customers with the speed to market, quality solution and versatility across platforms they are looking for in a service activation and service provisioning orchestration engine," said Steve Marsh, North America General Manager. "Our initial success within the US market supports the expansion of our team and our program to supply our no-code platform to help provide the security, reliability, performance efficiency and cost optimization companies are looking for to take the complexity out of service and network operations. We are investing in our organization by adding staff across the US and building up our unique channel partner program to help support this growth and adoption across the US."

As part of Intraway's go-to-market strategy, the company will expand its reach through a network of resellers, systems integrators, and development and technology partners, all of whom will benefit from the adoption of Intraway's vendor agnostic and industry standards-based business process and orchestration solution. See related release highlighting Intraway's Channel Partner ecosystem program , which offers enablement resources, generous margins, and additional business benefits.

With a North America based headquarters in Miami, FL, Intraway will also be significantly increasing headcount across the US in support of the company's initiatives.

About Intraway

Supporting the service of over 40 million subscribers in more than 20 countries over three continents, Intraway's mission-critical solutions help global telecommunications operators create the network of the future, today. By unleashing the full potential of networks, Intraway's no-code, cloud-native service activation and provisioning orchestration solutions add the latest, cutting-edge functionalities to speed up time-to-market, reduce operational costs, and advance customer-centricity. www.intraway.com

Media Contact:

Jeannette Bitz

Engage PR for Intraway

+1.510.295.4972

SOURCE Intraway
by Ali Jaswal

ISLAMABAD, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The way to solve the ongoing Ukraine crisis is not by crossing others' red lines, but to respect and abide by the commitments that have been made, a Pakistani expert told Xinhua in a recent interview.

For Russia, the red line is the eastwards expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), said Najma Minhas, an international affairs expert and editor at Pakistani media outlet Global Village Space. "When you saw increasing movement eastward, the red line started going very, very red."

Noting that the United States has been pushing NATO members to increase their military spending, Minhas said that some European countries which were previously not spending much on military buildup have now increased their defense budgets.

This is not limited to military buildup, said Minhas, adding that some Western countries are also encouraging their civilians to carry arms and fight in Ukraine.

Regarding the sanctions that the United States has imposed on Russia, she said that it has banned oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal imports from Russia, commodities in which the United States is more or less self-sufficient, but the country has reportedly not banned uranium imports from Russia on which the United States is largely dependent.

"On the other hand, the United States expects that European countries, which are approximately 40 percent dependent on Russia for their natural gas, should stop importing it automatically. It's a huge irony for the Europeans to look at," she said.

Moreover, Minhas said that the actions the West has been taking against Russia are pushing the world towards another Cold War, which is not good for the world.

"The world had actually moved on and beyond (from Cold War)," she said. "Countries have spent more on people's health, and their education instead of military spending." 
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ironshield Brewery welcomes a new addition to its wide range of German-style brews: the Lorelei Hefeweizen.

Located in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Ironshield Brewery offers a broad selection of authentic German and Belgian-inspired ales and lagers. The latest addition to Ironshield's offering is the Lorelei Hefeweizen, a hand-crafted beer made in the traditional German hefeweizen brewing style that dates back to the 1300s. Inspired by the legend of beautiful sirens luring sailors to their destruction on the Rhine River, the Lorelei Hefeweizen delivers enticing flavors, like bubble gum, banana, and clove.

Ironshield's golden-hued Lorelei Hefeweizen has a medium body feel and an ABV of 5.2%. It is unfiltered and retains the nuanced acidity of a traditional German hefeweizen. The Lorelei Hefeweizen's delicate balance of citrus, clove, and banana delights the drinker's taste buds while recalling centuries-old German brewing methods. As a certified Master Brewer and one of the authors of Georgia's original brewpub legislation, Ironshield Brewery's Founder and Brewmaster, Glen Sprouse, is highly committed to traditional European brewing methods and techniques.

Sprouse says, "Here at Ironshield, we do everything we can to provide our patrons with an authentic European beer experience. That means respecting age-old German brewing regulations, like the German Beer Purity Law that was first established in 1516. Some breweries may choose to disregard these standards, but they're our guidepost for every single brew."

The Lorelei Hefeweizen is made with more than 50% wheat content, a classic proportion for any German wheat beer or classic hefeweizen. This tasty brew even undergoes a second fermentation process at an elevated temperature and pressure to help perfect its authentic taste. Head to Ironshield Brewery's taproom to enjoy the Lorelei Hefeweizen today.

About Ironshield Brewery

Located in the heart of Lawrenceville, Georgia, Ironshield Brewery opened in July 2020. Visitors can learn more about their favorite beer with a tour of Ironshield's state-of-the-art brewery as well as enjoy its spacious indoor taproom and comfortable outdoor seating areas. Ironshield even hosts live music events, local food trucks, and offers family-friendly games. Founder and Brewmaster, Glen Sprouse, is proud to offer traditional-style German brews, with a wide variety of tastes and aromas that are now available in select retail outlets.

Media Contact

Webociti

Joe Mediate

678-892-7157

[email protected]

SOURCE Ironshield Brewing
Keen Wealth Team Spent Time Volunteering with Veterans Community Project, a Nonprofit Organization Dedicated to Eliminating Veteran Homelessness Nationwide.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Keen Wealth Advisors, a financial advisory firm based in Overland Park, Kansas, is proud to announce that its team donated their time volunteering with the Veterans Community Project (VCP), a nonprofit organization, independent from federal funding, dedicated to eliminating veteran homelessness nationwide.

"VCP is transforming cities across the country, and 90% of the veterans they assist get back on their feet and reacclimate into society," says Bill Keen, founder and CEO of Keen Wealth Advisors. "They're making a huge difference for Kansas City's veterans, and the Keen Wealth team is grateful to be able to help."

Sadly, many veterans fail to receive the services they need because access is complex and confusing to navigate. According to a recent Department of Veterans Affairs study, 14 of the 20 veterans who die by suicide each day weren't connected to the VA or another support agency.

In June of 2021, The Bill and Carissa Keen Charitable Foundation and Keen Wealth Advisors provided a $100,000 grant to develop the Veterans Navigation Campus in Kansas City, Missouri. This innovative initiative will harness the collective power of the local veteran services community and a coalition of trusted partners, including nonprofit agencies and local businesses, to assist veterans within their respective areas of expertise.

"VCP is called a community project for a reason," says Brandonn Mixon, VCP co-founder, Chief Project Officer, and retired U.S. Army Specialist. "Community partners like the Keen family and Keen Wealth Advisors are why we can do what we do."

About Keen Wealth Advisors

As an SEC-registered investment advisory firm, Keen Wealth Advisors focuses on providing personalized financial planning designed to help people thrive before and during their retirement years.

Keen Wealth Advisors was founded by CEO Bill Keen, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and financial advisor with 28 years of industry experience. Reflecting his passion for educating others, Bill co-hosts the "Keen on Retirement" podcast and is the author of Keen on Retirement, a book focused on common steps for building a financial plan and the psychological and emotional challenges associated with retirement.

Keen Wealth Advisors also serves Kansas areas Prairie Village, Leawood, Lenexa.

For more information, visit www.KeenWealthAdvisors.com.

Media Contact

Haley Crawford

6201 College Blvd Suite 325

Overland Park, KS 66211

913-294-9855

[email protected]

SOURCE Keen Wealth Advisors
GILBERT, AZ, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Ketamine Wellness Centers (KWC) , the largest ketamine therapy provider in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Delic Holdings Corp ("Delic" or the "Company") (CSE: DELC) (OTCQB: DELCF) (FRA: 6X0), has expanded its presence within the state of Nevada with the opening of its Reno location.

KWC Reno is the second of the company's clinics to open in Nevada within the last 18 months, bringing the total number of KWC clinics to 13 across nine states. The 2,200 square-foot treatment facility will not only serve local patients, but it will also open its doors to patients in larger California markets who do not have access to affordable in-state providers. KWC Reno is the latest in a series of state-of-the-art clinics that Delic will open over the next 18 months. Through these openings, the Company will expand access to reasonably priced treatments for various mental health conditions.

"With the pandemic entering its third year, the need for effective and affordable mental health treatment is critical. KWC Reno expands our footprint to serve so many more individuals suffering from treatment-resistant anxiety, depression and PTSD to further combat the country's on-going mental health crisis," said Kevin Nicholson, CEO of KWC and Chief Operating Officer for Delic. "We look forward to providing the most effective and personalized treatments to patients in both Nevada and California."

LOCATION: KWC Reno (1895 Plumas Street, Suite 6)

DETAILS:

To commemorate the grand opening, KWC Reno will offer tours of the clinic to the media by appointment.

For more information about Ketamine Wellness Centers' locations, services and hours of operation, please visit https://www.ketaminewellnesscenters.com/locations /.

About Ketamine Wellness Centers

Ketamine Wellness Centers (KWC) is the largest ketamine therapy provider in the United States with 13 clinic locations serving communities across nine states. Since 2011 KWC has been a trusted leader in bringing IV ketamine therapy into mainstream health care. KWC has provided over 60,000 treatments to clinically eligible patients, from young adults to seniors, in addition to developing specialized programs for veterans and first responders. The KWC team, including a core group of physicians, psychologists, clinicians, and executives, is dedicated to providing value-based, personalized, clinically controlled ketamine infusion care for people suffering from treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, PTSD, OCD and chronic pain. KWC's scalable business and treatment model is designed for further rapid expansion along with breakthrough innovations in effective therapies and services.

About Delic Corp

Delic is a leader in new medicines and treatments for a modern world, improving access to health benefits across the country and reframing the conversation on psychedelics. The company owns and operates an umbrella of related businesses, including the largest chain of psychedelic wellness clinics in the country, Ketamine Wellness Centers; the only licensed entity by Health Canada to exclusively focus on research and development of psilocybin vaporization technology, Delic Labs; the premier psychedelic wellness event, Meet Delic; and trusted media and e-commerce platforms Reality Sandwich and Delic Radio. Delic is backed by a team of industry and cannabis veterans and a diverse network, whose mission is to provide education, research, high-quality products, and effective treatment options to the masses.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United Statesunless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Forward-Looking Information and Statements

This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Delic's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements 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 may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein may include, but are not limited to: information regarding the timing or terms upon which the Transaction will be completed; potential benefits of the Transaction; anticipated continued growth in the health and wellness sector (and, in particular, related to psychedelics); the ability of Delic to successfully achieve business objectives, and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors.

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Delic is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Delic to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: risks and uncertainties relating to the Transaction not closing as planned or at all or on terms and conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement; incorrect assessment of the value and potential benefits of the Transaction; direct and indirect material adverse effects from the COVID-19 pandemic; inability to obtain future financing on suitable terms; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals; risks inherent in the psychedelic treatment sector; changes in applicable laws and regulations; and failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Delic has made certain assumptions. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: assumptions as to the time required to negotiate a definite agreement and complete matters related to the Transaction; the ability to consummate the Transaction; the ability of the parties to obtain, in a timely manner, the requisite regulatory, corporate and other third party approvals and the satisfaction of other conditions to the consummation of the Transaction on the proposed terms; the potential impact of the announcement or consummation of the Transaction on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; compliance with extensive government regulation; and the diversion of management time on the Transaction.

Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

Although Delic believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and Delic does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to Delic or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.

SOURCE Delic Holdings Inc.
New Company will be Known as PEMCO International Upon Completion of the Transaction

NEW YORK and HOUSTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- KPS Capital Partners, LP ("KPS") and Prince International Corporation ("Prince"), a portfolio company of American Securities LLC, announced today that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which KPS will acquire Prince's porcelain enamel, glass coatings, forehearth colorants and frit-based metallurgical products businesses, which operate manufacturing facilities in Belgium, Italy and the United States. After the transaction closes, the business will become a new standalone company known as PEMCO International ("PEMCO" or the "Company").

PEMCO is a leading global manufacturer of porcelain enamels and specialized glass coatings and colorants for a variety of end-market applications. PEMCO provides a wide array of products, including porcelain enamel frits and powders for appliances, water heaters, cookware and sanitaryware applications. In addition, the Company provides functional glass enamels for automotive, architectural and container glass applications and frit-based metallurgical products, including extrusion glass and refractory glazes. PEMCO has approximately 260 employees and operates three manufacturing facilities across North America and Europe. Jonathan Cork, Vice President, Specialty Glass for Prince, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer of PEMCO at closing.

Pierre de Villemejane, a Partner of KPS Mid-Cap Investments ("KPS Mid-Cap"), said, "PEMCO presents a tremendous investment opportunity for KPS. PEMCO is a leading global manufacturer of porcelain enamels and specialized glass enamels with long-standing customer relationships and a strong reputation for product quality, customer service and product innovation. We look forward to working with Jonathan, PEMCO's talented management team and its dedicated employees to build upon this great platform. PEMCO's strong brand, portfolio of intellectual property and commitment to quality, combined with KPS' strategic, operational and financial resources, provide an ideal foundation for future growth."

"We are thrilled to partner with KPS on this exciting new chapter for PEMCO," said Jonathan Cork. "KPS and the PEMCO team are deeply committed to investing in the Company's assets, technical know-how and operations and collaborating with customers to further expand our portfolio of high-quality products and services. Under KPS' ownership, we will pursue a range of growth and operational initiatives to build upon our long and successful history."

"We are pleased to have a firm of KPS' quality and financial strength as a buyer of the PEMCO business," said D. Michael Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Prince International. "Importantly for Prince, this divestiture enables us to take the next steps toward our planned acquisition of Ferro Corporation and combination with Chromaflo Technologies. Our new, integrated company will be a premier global specialty materials leader with unparalleled capability in pigments and colorants, performance coating ingredients and specialty mineral-based additives, and will benefit from global scale, a broad technology platform, and diversity across customers, end-use markets and geographies."

Completion of the transaction is expected in the first half of the second quarter of 2022 and is subject to the closing of Prince's acquisition of Ferro Corporation as well as customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and European Commission. KPS and Prince are working closely with the regulatory authorities to attain approval for the transaction. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to KPS. Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel and Barclays served as financial advisor for Prince.

About PEMCO International

PEMCO International is a leading global manufacturer of porcelain enamels and specialized glass coatings and colorants to a variety of end-market applications. PEMCO provides a wide array of products, including porcelain frits and powders for appliances, cookware and sanitaryware applications. In addition, the Company provides functional glass enamels for automotive, architectural and container glass applications. PEMCO has approximately 260 employees and operates three manufacturing facilities across North America and Europe.

About KPS Capital Partners

KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $13.1 billion of assets under management (as of December 31, 2021). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds' portfolio companies generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $15.2 billion, operate 165 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 43,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of December 31, 2021, pro forma for recent acquisitions and exits). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.

KPS Mid-Cap focuses on investments in the lower end of the middle market that require up to $100 million of initial equity capital. KPS Mid-Cap targets the same type of investment opportunities and utilizes the same investment strategy that KPS' flagship funds have for nearly three decades. KPS Mid-Cap leverages and benefits from KPS' global platform, reputation, track record, infrastructure, best practices, knowledge and experience. The KPS Mid-Cap investment team is managed by Partners Pierre de Villemejane and Ryan Harrison, who lead a team of experienced and talented professionals.

About Prince

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Prince is a global provider of mission-critical solutions to highly specialized applications driven by deep technical and material science knowledge. Prince enjoys leading positions in niche and mature markets including colorants & coatings, electronics, construction & industrials, agriculture and energy. Prince is highly diversified across 2,000+ customers, 35+ end markets and multiple geographies. For more information, visit www.princecorp.com .

SOURCE KPS Capital Partners, LP
CHICAGO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Magnet Wire Market by Type (Copper, Aluminum), Shape (Round, Rectangle, Square), Application (Motor, Home Appliance, Transformer), End-Use Industry (Electrical& Electronics, Industrial, Transportation, Infrastructure), Region - Global Forecast to 2026", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global Magnet Wire Market size is expected to grow from USD 32.7 billion in 2021 to USD 41.8 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period. The magnet wire industry is growing due to the increase in the demand from electrical & electronics, transportation, industrial, and infrastructure industries. Furthermore, government stimulus packages, and recovering end-use industries are fuelling the demand for magnet wires across the world.



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Copper magnet wire comprise a major share of the magnet wire market in terms of value and volume.

Magnet wires manufactured using copper possess various characteristics such as excellent moisture resistance, chemical resistance, high conductivity, and better windability. Copper magnet wire is widely used in traction motors, solenoids, generators, transformers, and high-voltage transformers, among others, in electrical & electronics, automotive, infrastructure, marine, and other industries.

The copper metal exhibits less thermal expansion coefficient and considerably lower electrical resistance. For the very same reason, the equipment manufacturers prefer the usage of copper magnet wires in their applications for higher efficiency of generation and usage of electricity.

Round magnet wires accounted for the largest market share in the global magnet wire market during the forecast period in terms of value and volume.

Round magnet wires are widely used for their extensive mechanical strength and their compact size windability, resistance to abrasion (as it has no edges), along with superior flexibility. They find their application in electrical motors, generators, utility distribution transformers, and electrical coils in electronic gadgets.

Round magnet wires have very less tendency to get twisted and stranded compared to the rectangle and square magnet wires. This is one of the major reasons for their use as the twisted wires can lead to mechanical failures in various applications. Another reason for the increased use of round-shaped magnet wire is their compaction

But, because of the lockdown situation occurred due to COVID-19, many floor workers were unable to work in manufacturing facilities, which was resulted in the reduction in output of magnet wires, such as. Thus, the demand for round magnet wires was declined in 2020.

Motor application dominates the global magnet wire market in terms of value and volume

The motors segment leads the consumption market of magnet wires. Motors find their applications in various end-use industries such as transportation, industrial, and electronics. The consumption of magnet wire is expected to be driven by the growth in demand for electric vehicles, urbanization, and infrastructural and industrial developments around the globe

Electric motor possesses the ability to convert electrical current into mechanical power. The motor uses magnet wires as winding coils due to their various properties such as insulation resistance, superior dielectric strength, and thermal resistance. These properties make them suitable for manufacturing motors for various applications in the automotive industry such as door motor, ventilation motor, sun-roof motor, wiper motor, solenoids, seat adjustment motor, and other automotive parts. Motors are also used in various industrial purposes where rotational motion is needed.

The electrical & electronics end-use industry accounted for the largest market share in the global magnet wire market during the forecast period in terms of value and volume.

Electronics is the leading industry in the consumption of magnet wires. Growth in urbanization around the globe, advancements in technology, and an increase in buying power of the population are the major reasons for the increase in consumption by the electronics segment. Developments in the industrial and transportation segments have a major impact on magnet wire consumption globally. Post-pandemic incentives and industrial development policies of various governments are expected to have a positive impact on the magnet wire market

As COVID-19 related restrictions are subsiding, the electrical & electronics market is starting to see an upturn. The recovering various end-use industries is boosting the demand for magnet wires across the world.

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APAC is expected to account for the largest market share in the magnet wire market during the forecast period.

APAC is the largest market for magnet wires. The major international players are exploring opportunities in the region owing to cheap labor, raw materials, and high demand from various end-use industries, such as electrical & electronics, industrial, transportation, infrastructure, and others. However, COVID-19 affected the entire world disastrously, and APAC is one of the most affected regions, globally. The deadly virus has affected various major markets in APAC including China and India. It forced the government to lock down the that resulted in slow down across various sectors, including industrial, and transportation in 2020.

The key players in the market include LS Cable & System Ltd. (South Korea), Tongling Jingda Special Magnet Wire Co., Ltd. (China), Sumitomo Electric CO., Ltd. (Japan), Hitachi Metals Ltd. (Japan), and Samdong Co., Ltd. (South Korea), FURUKAWA Electric Co. Ltd. (Japan), IRCE S.p.A (Italy), Fujikura Ltd. (Japan), Von Roll Holding AG (Switzerland), and LWW group (Sweden) are among others. These companies are involved in adopting various inorganic and organic strategies to increase their foothold in the magnet wire market. These players have taken different organic and inorganic developmental strategies over the past five years.



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CLEVELAND, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With an eye towards the future of law and the evolving needs of its clients, attorneys, and staff, McDonald Hopkins announced a 12-year lease renewal of its home office in Cleveland's Fifth Third Center, where a complete renovation will focus on creating an efficient and effective space.

JLL represented McDonald Hopkins in its relocation vetting process and in negotiating the renewal of the lease at the downtown, Class A high-rise located at 600 Superior Avenue. The lease extends the firm's 30-year occupancy at the Fifth Third Center.

"It is exciting to be working towards a new workspace with modern efficiencies that foster creative thinking and collaboration while further enhancing our culture and work experience," said David Kall, managing member of McDonald Hopkins' Cleveland office. "We are focusing on the future by being efficient and effective with our space, being more accommodating not only to the needs of our attorneys, but for all our employees. The renovation is geared towards thinking ahead to the way law firms will be practicing 10 or 15 years from now."

Recognizing how the pandemic has forever transformed office and work life for forward-thinking organizations, the firm has charged a team of architects, technology consultants, and furniture vendors to incorporate innovative ideas such as one-size offices, shared office space, collaborative workspaces, and "Zoom rooms," where attorneys and staff will have state-of-the-art video, audio and lighting equipment to enhance virtual work.

"The new design will allow us to continue to expand and grow," said McDonald Hopkins President Shawn Riley. "During the pandemic, we recognized the ability of our attorneys and staff to work effectively in a hybrid environment. We want to give them the opportunity to continue to work remotely while also understanding that people want to come to the office for the social impact, training, mentoring, brainstorming and strategizing together.

"The Fifth Third Center is also a location we know well, a building with a highly accessible location convenient for our employees and clients. We look forward to continuing our tenancy. Retaining and recruiting talent is a high priority across all sectors right now, and especially for law firms. Having a renewed perspective on the type of space that drives engagement was crucial in making this decision. We're very pleased with the outcome and eager to begin the transformation of our space."

JLL's Rob Roe, Jon Vanderplough, and Heather Gilleland represented McDonald Hopkins in examining options for potential relocation and in negotiating the renewal of the lease with the Fifth Third Center. The ongoing flight-to-quality trend has continued in Cleveland even throughout the pandemic with companies re-evaluating their space needs and opting for new upgrades to enhance their current offices, or opt for newly renovated buildings with extensive amenity offerings.

"We are proud to have supported McDonald Hopkins with their renewal. The firm considered numerous alternatives, but came to the conclusion that Fifth Third Center ultimately best suited both its employees' needs and overall vision for the future," said Roe. "A newly designed workspace will allow the firm to modernize and adapt its environment to today's workforce who desire convenience, connectivity, and an environment conducive to collaborating and problem-solving."

About McDonald Hopkins

Founded in 1930, McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with locations in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and West Palm Beach. With more than 50 service and industry teams, the firm has the expertise and knowledge to meet the growing number of legal and business challenges our clients face. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com.

CONTACT:

David Carducci

McDonald Hopkins LLC

60 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Phone 216.348.5814

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE McDonald Hopkins
Announces Executive and Employee Reductions and Cost Saving Measures

VANCOUVER, BC, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Mind Cure Health Inc. (CSE: MCUR) (OTCQX: MCURF) (FRA: 6MH) ("MINDCURE" or the "Company"), announced today that a special committee of the Company's board of directors (the "Special Committee") has concluded the initial phases of its previously announced strategic review process (the "Strategic Review Process").

The Special Committee completed an extensive canvas of various strategic alternatives available to the Company, and determined that the additional capital required to execute the Company's business plan is unlikely to be found under the current and foreseeable market conditions and that none of the strategic alternatives available to the Company necessitated ongoing developmental expenditures. Accordingly, the Board has taken the decision to immediately eliminate all expenditures outside those required to preserve the value of the Company's assets, including its public company status with Canadian securities regulators and cash and cash equivalents of approximately $10.57 million on an unaudited basis as at close of business yesterday and without adjusting for any current liabilities as at such date or arising from the elimination of expenditures described in this news release.

Canaccord Genuity Corp. is acting as the Special Committee's financial advisor in connection with the Strategic Review Process.

"Though we continue the Strategic Review Process, we have identified no available strategic alternatives that would require further development and execution of MINDCURE's existing business plan. As a result, we have determined that the Company should immediately move to reduce all non-necessary expenditures except as required to preserve the value of the Company's cash balance and other assets," said the Chair of MINDCURE's Special Committee, Jason Pamer.

Effective immediately, the Company will initiate a Company-wide workforce reduction with respect to all of its C-suite executives and employees, other than its Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Engineering and certain administrative staff required to wind-down the Company's operations and for limited care and maintenance of the Company; and halt all non-committed expenditures related to the development and marketing work of its iSTRYMTM product, the research and development related to its synthetic ibogaine program, and the research and development related to its Desire Project. Mr. Philip Tapley, the Chair of the Company's board of directors, will assume the role of the Company's interim CEO.

"While we truly appreciate the impact of these changes on our team and our suppliers, our Strategic Review Process has led us to believe that the actions announced in this news release are necessary to preserve cash position and maintain value of the Company's other assets while the Company continues to seek a strategic transaction," said the Chair of MINDCURE's Board of Directors and Interim CEO, Philip Tapley. "Also, on behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Kelsey Ramsden for her dedicated service to the Company which began shortly after the Company went public in 2020. We are grateful to Kelsey for her strong leadership on behalf of all stakeholders."

Other than as described in this news release, the Company has not made any decisions related to strategic alternatives at this time and there can be no assurance that the evaluation of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction proceeding or change in strategy. The Company does not intend to comment further unless and until further disclosure is appropriate or necessary.

About Mind Cure Health Inc.

MINDCURE is a life sciences company focused on innovating and commercializing new ways to promote healing and improve mental health.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Philip Tapley, Interim CEO

Phone: 1-888-593-8995

The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. 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.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information regarding MINDCURE and its business presented in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information generally can be identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "feel", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "subject to", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases.

Forward-looking information is based on a number of key expectations and assumptions made by MINDCURE, including, without limitation: the considerations and outcome of the Strategic Review Process and cost-saving measures; COVID-19 pandemic impact on the Canadian economy and MINDCURE's business, and the extent and duration of such impact; no change to laws or regulations that negatively affect MINDCURE's business; no unanticipated expenses, costs or detrimental consequences of the Strategic Review Process or cost-savings measures will arise; availability of additional capital required to execute the Company's business plan; the lack of necessity of further developmental expenditures related to the Company's business plan with respect to the execution of strategic alternatives for the Company; the ability to preserve the value of the Company's assets, including its public company status with Canadian securities regulators; and the ultimate availability of any strategic alternatives for the Company.

Forward-looking information is provided for the purpose of presenting information MINDCURE's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information inherently entails known and unknown risks and uncertainties about the future and actual results and involves significant risks and uncertainties and should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. Although MINDCURE has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information presented, there may be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements as no forward-looking information can be guaranteed.

Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and MINDCURE does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Mind Cure Health Inc.
Curious Coincidence , the search for the origins of covid-19, is hosted by biotechnology reporter, Antonio Regalado. It dives into the mysterious origins of covid-19 by examining the genome of the virus, shines a spotlight on the labs doing sensitive research on dangerous pathogens, and follows the debate over whether the pandemic started in an animal market, or a lab.

EP 1

Title: Origins

Why we need to find the truth, and the "curious coincidence" that set off a battle over covid-19's origin.

EP 2

Title: Sleuths

A group of self-appointed online investigators decide to investigate a Chinese lab. Their findings only deepen doubts.

EP 3

Title: Labs

Lab accidents have caused disease outbreaks before, and accidents are more common - and kept more secret - than you think.

EP 4

Title: China

Scientists zero in on a market in the city of Wuhan as the place the pandemic started. But information on China's wild-animal trade is hard to uncover.

EP 5

Title: Pandora's Box

Is some knowledge too dangerous to possess? Covid-19 has put cutting-edge research on pandemic germs under the spotlight.

Curious Coincidence is available through Apple Podcasts , Spotify , iHeart , Stitcher , and wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted by Antonio Regalado, an investigative reporter who covers the cures and controversies coming out of biology labs. Regalado is the winner of awards for reporting on agriculture, Covid-19, and reproductive technology. Before joining MIT Technology Review in 2011, he was the Latin America correspondent for Science magazine, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil and before that the science reporter at the Wall Street Journal.

About MIT Technology Review

Founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1899, MIT Technology Review is a world-renowned, independent media company whose insight, analysis, and interviews explain the newest technologies and their commercial, social, and political impacts. MIT Technology Review derives its authority from its relationship to the world's foremost technology institution and from its editors' deep technical knowledge, capacity to see technologies in their broadest context, and unequaled access to leading innovators and researchers. MIT Technology Review's mission is to bring about better-informed and more conscious decisions about technology through authoritative, influential, and trustworthy journalism.

Subscribe . Listen . Attend . Follow: Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn , Instagram .

Media Contact:

MIT Technology Review

[email protected]

SOURCE MIT Technology Review
GREENBELT, Md., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Media are invited to meet leaders in space exploration at the 59th annual Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium, taking place on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park, from March 23 to 25. Attendees also have the option to watch the symposium online.

Hosted by the American Astronautical Society, in conjunction with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, the symposium is an opportunity for Goddard and NASA to engage with leaders across government, industry, policy, and academia to assess the current state of exploration and discovery while collectively working toward future breakthroughs.

This year's theme, "Envisioning Our Future in Space," will highlight the space community's recent successes while discussing a blueprint for moving beyond the traditional tools of exploration. It will encapsulate the challenges of science, engineering, technology and human spaceflight.

"The Goddard Memorial Symposium is one of the major events of the year for the entire space community," said Michelle Thaller, Goddard co-chair of the symposium planning committee. "It's a chance to highlight the latest science and technology innovations to a wide audience, with organizations ranging from government to academia to major aerospace companies."

Katherine Calvin, NASA chief scientist and senior climate advisor, will deliver the keynote address on Wednesday, March 23. The first day will feature panels on the James Webb Space Telescope, future space observatories, and the decadal survey on astronomy and astrophysics.

Stephen Volz, assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will serve as the luncheon keynote speaker on Thursday, March 24. Panelists will discuss the exploration of Venus, future space technologies, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test and NASA's Artemis program.

The final day of the symposium on Friday, March 25, will include a luncheon keynote by Thomas Zurbuchen  associate administrator for the NASA Science Mission Directorate  as well as panels on the International Space Station, the future of climate science, and space weather. Antonella Nota, associate director for ESA (European Space Agency) at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, will also address attendees.

For more information on the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Symposium and the full schedule, or to register as a media representative, visit https://astronautical.org/events/goddard/.

For more information on NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/goddard.

SOURCE NASA
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the completion of critical mirror alignment steps, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope team expects that Webb's optical performance will be able to meet or exceed the science goals the observatory was built to achieve.

On March 11, the Webb team completed the stage of alignment known as "fine phasing." At this key stage in the commissioning of Webb's Optical Telescope Element, every optical parameter that has been checked and tested is performing at, or above, expectations. The team also found no critical issues and no measurable contamination or blockages to Webb's optical path. The observatory is able to successfully gather light from distant objects and deliver it to its instruments without issue.

Although there are months to go before Webb ultimately delivers its new view of the cosmos, achieving this milestone means the team is confident that Webb's first-of-its-kind optical system is working as well as possible.

"More than 20 years ago, the Webb team set out to build the most powerful telescope that anyone has ever put in space and came up with an audacious optical design to meet demanding science goals," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. "Today we can say that design is going to deliver."

While some of the largest ground-based telescopes on Earth use segmented primary mirrors, Webb is the first telescope in space to use such a design. The 21-foot, 4-inch (6.5-meter) primary mirror  much too big to fit inside a rocket fairing  is made up of 18 hexagonal, beryllium mirror segments. It had to be folded up for launch and then unfolded in space before each mirror was adjusted  to within nanometers  to form a single mirror surface.

"In addition to enabling the incredible science that Webb will achieve, the teams that designed, built, tested, launched, and now operate this observatory have pioneered a new way to build space telescopes," said Lee Feinberg, Webb optical telescope element manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

With the fine phasing stage of the telescope's alignment complete, the team has now fully aligned Webb's primary imager, the Near-Infrared Camera, to the observatory's mirrors.

"We have fully aligned and focused the telescope on a star, and the performance is beating specifications. We are excited about what this means for science," said Ritva Keski-Kuha, deputy optical telescope element manager for Webb at NASA Goddard. "We now know we have built the right telescope."

Over the next six weeks, the team will proceed through the remaining alignment steps before final science instrument preparations. The team will further align the telescope to include the Near-Infrared Spectrograph , Mid-Infrared Instrument, and Near InfraRed Imager and Slitless Spectrograph. In this phase of the process, an algorithm will evaluate the performance of each instrument and then calculate the final corrections needed to achieve a well-aligned telescope across all science instruments. Following this, Webb's final alignment step will begin, and the team will adjust any small, residual positioning errors in the mirror segments.

The team is on track to conclude all aspects of Optical Telescope Element alignment by early May, if not sooner, before moving on to approximately two months of science instrument preparations. Webb's first full-resolution imagery and science data will be released in the summer.

Webb is the world's premier space science observatory and once fully operational, will help solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners at ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency.

For more information about the Webb mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/webb

SOURCE NASA
PHNOM PENH, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is well-positioned for recovery in 2022 thanks to its outstanding progress with its vaccination campaign, according to a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released on Wednesday.

Titled Southeast Asia Rising from the Pandemic, the report said the country's performance in vaccinating its population has been outstanding, far exceeding the performance of countries with similar populations and income levels, which has enabled the government to ease restrictions and reopen its borders.

It said the kingdom has managed the pandemic well and recorded relatively few fatalities.

Despite the strong performance, the pandemic has had a severe impact on the economy, the report said. Sectors including tourism and hospitality, construction and real estate, and garment have weathered large shocks.

"Fortunately, there have also been some bright spots, including rapid growth in non-garment manufacturing exports and a large increase in agricultural exports," it said. "Sustaining these trends will help the government achieve its vision of a more resilient and diversified economy."

The kingdom's economy is forecast to grow by 5.6 percent in 2022, up from 3 percent in 2021, said a report from the ministry of economy and finance, adding that the growth is expected at a higher rate of 6.5 percent in 2023 and up to 7 percent in 2024.

Cambodia has so far administered one dose of COVID-19 vaccines to 14.76 million people, or 92.3 percent of its 16 million population, the health ministry said.

Most of the vaccines used in the country's immunization drive are from China's Sinovac and Sinopharm.

"Chinese vaccines are essential for Cambodia to save people's lives and to stabilize our health system," the health ministry's director-general and spokesman Hok Kim Cheng has told Xinhua. 
FABI Awards celebrate industry-altering products that shape what's new and next for the future of food and beverage

CHICAGO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show today announced the 2022 recipients of the Food and Beverage (FABI) Awards, which recognize companies for developing extraordinary food and beverage products that are leading the way in new tastes, flavor profiles, creativity and their potential to boost sales. Each award recipient and their product will be highlighted throughout the exhibit halls at the 2022 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, taking place May 21-24, 2022, at McCormick Place in Chicago.

"FABI Awardees never disappoint when it comes to creativity, inventiveness, and of coursetaste!" said Tom Cindric, President of Winsight Exhibitions. "No matter your role in foodservice, you can find inspiration in these products. Whether it be optimizing your menu with more plant-based options, exploring flavors from other countries or seeing how classic brands are reimagining flavors, these products answer the question "what's next for foodservice?' We can't wait to have our community back together in two short months to taste these revolutionary new products in person!"

Each FABI Award submission was evaluated by an independent panel of judges from across the foodservice industry who represent some of the most well-known brands and organizations. The award recipients are selected for their exciting new tastes, uniqueness in the market, appeal to the operator community, creative approach to operator challenges, or introduction of new opportunities and profit potential.

The 2022 FABI Award recipients are :

Angel's Artisan Pocket Bread (Angel Bakeries, USA LLC)

LLC) The Better Fish Skinless Barramundi 4 oz IQF Portion (Australis Aquaculture)

Beyond Pepperoni (Beyond Meat)

Blind Tiger Spirit-Free Cocktails & Mixers (Blind Tiger, LLC)

Demitri's Bloody Mary Seasoning (Demitri's Gourmet Mixes)

Java Trading Thai Iced Coffee Latte (Distant Lands Coffee)

JUST Egg Folded (Eat Just, Inc.)

Plant-based Salmon Burger (Good Catch)

Impossible Meatballs Made From Plants (Impossible Foods)

Oatly Frozen Dessert Bars - Strawberry Swirl (Oatly)

Nitro Pepsi (PepsiCo Foodservice)

Ripple Dairy-Free Soft Serve (Ripple Foods)

Sabatino Tartufi Truffle Parmesan Seasoning (Sabatino Truffles)

Chimichurri (Sevillo Fine Foods)

Cremino Individual Dessert (Taste It Presents)

Mascarpone Semifreddo Bar Cake (Taste It Presents)

Sorbissimo (Taste It Presents)

TiNDLE (TiNDLE)

Taste Republic Pre-Cooked IQF Gluten-Free Four Cheese Tortelloni (Tribe 9 Foods)

Natures Raspberries Frozen Fresh in White & Dark Chocolate: 1.5oz Mini Single Serve (Tru Fru LLC)

Pina Colada ~ Natures Pineapple Frozen Fresh in White Chocolate & Coconut: 5oz Grab & Go (Tru Fru LLC)

Hillshire Farm All Natural Fully Cooked Pork Chorizo Crumbles (Tyson Foods Inc)

Tyson Chicken n' Waffle Sandwiches (Tyson Foods Inc)

Zusto - Sugar Substitute (Zusto)

Full descriptions of the 2022 FABI Award recipients can be found here.

The National Restaurant Association Show is the premier event to learn about foodservice technology innovations, unique ingredients, and emerging trends in the restaurant industry. It brings together more restaurant and hospitality buyers and equipment manufacturers than any other industry event. For more information and to register, visit nationalrestaurantshow.com. Connect with the Show online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

The National Restaurant Association Show, Hotel-Motel Show is owned and operated by Winsight LLC in equity partnership with the National Restaurant Association.

About Winsight LLC

Winsight LLC is a business-to-business information, event and market intelligence company serving the restaurant and noncommercial foodservice, convenience and petroleum retailing and grocery industries.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julie Franks, mdg, [email protected]

Caitlin Rodgers, Winsight Exhibitions, [email protected]

SOURCE Winsight LLC
Download the Sample Report Now!

Key Natural Gas Utilities Sourcing and Procurement Report Highlights:

Market growth 2022-2026: USD 409.31 Billion Growth momentum & CAGR: Accelerate at a CAGR of 6.62% Top Pricing Models: Fixed tariff pricing, Cost-plus pricing Key consumer countries: North America , Europe , and APAC Supplier Selection Scope: Length of the pipeline network, Industrial experience, Level of technological adoption, and Acquisition of key licenses Top Suppliers: Centrica, The Hong Kong and China Gas, and Daigas Group

Know More About This Market: Request for a Free Sample Report Now!

Insights into buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers:

Several strategic and tactical negotiation levers are explained in the report to help buyers achieve the best prices for the Natural Gas Utilities market. The report also aids buyers with relevant Natural Gas Utilities pricing levels, pros, and cons of prevalent pricing models such as Unit-based pricing, and Bundled pricing, category management strategies and best practices to fulfil their category objectives.

For more insights on buyer strategies and tactical negotiation levers, www.spendedge.com/report/natural-gas-utilities-sourcing-and-procurement-intelligence-report

Key Drivers and Trends Fueling Market Growth:

The pressure from substitutes and a moderate level of threat from new entrants has resulted in the low bargaining power of suppliers.

Price forecasts are beneficial in purchase planning, especially when supplemented by the constant monitoring of price influencing factors.

Identify favorable opportunities in Natural Gas Utilities TCO (total cost of ownership).

Expected changes in price forecast and factors driving the current and future price changes.

Identify pricing models that offer the most rewarding opportunities.

To know more about various other market drivers, trends and challenges.

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Table of Content

Executive Summary

Market Insights

Category Pricing Insights

Cost-saving Opportunities

Best Practices

Category Ecosystem

Category Management Strategy

Category Management Enablers

Suppliers Selection

Suppliers under Coverage

US Market Insights

Category scope

Appendix

About SpendEdge:

SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions.

Contacts

SpendEdge

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

Ph No: +1 (872) 206-9340

https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us

SOURCE SpendEdge
DALLAS, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group ("NMG" or the "Company") announced its first-ever Environmental Social Governance Report, 'Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact,' sharing its progress to date, celebrating recent and upcoming investments, and outlining its 2025 ESG strategy.

A summary of NMG's 2021 ESG Report. The full report can be found at www.neimanmarcusgroup.com/ESG.

"As a leader in luxury retail, ESG is an essential part of our growth roadmap, and we're excited to share our inaugural progress report," said Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Chief Executive Officer, Neiman Marcus Group. "'Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact' for our communities is one of our top priorities, and we believe our strategy of advancing sustainable products and services, cultivating a culture of Belonging, and leading with love in our communities will help pave this journey."

NMG analyzed data from multiple sources, including ESG ratings and rankings, research reports from industry media outlets and trade associations, disclosures from NMG's best-in-class peers, ESG reporting frameworks like Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), etc. to inform its strategy.

"We are proud that our first report aligns with external frameworks from SASB, GRI, and TCFD and provides investors with comparable and decision-useful information about the company's ESG performance," said Pamela Edwards, Board of Directors Member and Audit Committee Chair, Neiman Marcus Group. "It is our hope this will help investors and other key stakeholders share the Board's confidence in the strength of this company and its future as we seek to hold ourselves to public company standards while moving with the speed and agility of a private company."

In its commitment to making ESG a cornerstone of its growth and transformation, the company intentionally chose to set 2025 goals in order to continue moving fast and maintain accountability on this journey. Key areas like Climate Change and Workforce Diversity boast additional 2030 goals, as well. The full report, which can be found here, details a strategy that is comprised of three components:

Advancing Sustainable Products & Services

Using a three-pronged approach of targeting climate change, increasing sustainable and ethical products, and implementing circular services, NMG aims to make an impact on environmental issues across the entire value chain:

Reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions 50% from a 2019 baseline by 2025, and perform a Scope 3 assessment in 2022 to understand the company's position and chart a path toward a Net Zero goal

Procure 100% renewable energy by 2030 across the business and join RE100

Eliminate all products containing fur listed in NMG's Animal Welfare Policy by 2023

Increase revenue from the sale of sustainable and ethical products by 2025 by launching two new Sustainability Edits across Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman that identify multiple categories within sustainable and ethical fashion to help shoppers make informed purchasing decisions and shop in line with their values

and Bergdorf Goodman that identify multiple categories within sustainable and ethical fashion to help shoppers make informed purchasing decisions and shop in line with their values Extend the useful life of over 1,000,000 luxury items through circular services such as mending and alterations, restoration, resale, and donation by 2025, building on the 350,000 products addressed in FY21 and committing to creating a FASHIONPHILE Selling Studio that authenticates and intakes luxury product from customers inside every Neiman Marcus store

Cultivating a Culture of Belonging

NMG is a woman-co-founded, women-majority organization that outpaces the U.S. population in racial and ethnic diversity and boasts one of corporate America's few openly gay CEOs. The Company is overseen by the Board of Directors, which is a diverse, women-majority group, compared to the 26.7% industry standard, according to the 50/50 Women on Boards Gender Diversity Index. The Board's Audit Committee members completed training on ESG oversight with Ceres and UC Berkeley School of Law. They reviewed the company's ESG impacts, risks, and opportunities, as well as the work of the newly developed ESG Steering Committee. NMG aims to cultivate a culture of Belonging for its workforce, customers, and community by setting goals to:

Increase racial diversity in leadership roles to the Vice President level and above to 21% by 2025 and 28% by 2030. NMG is partnering with groups like McKinsey's Connected Leaders Academy, Prospanica, and Fashion Scholarship Fund to develop and attract top BIPOC talent.

Advance workplace equity in line with prominent external standards. In 2021, NMG completed the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index for the first time, receiving a top score of 100/100 and securing a spot on HRC Foundation's list of Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality. Using Bloomberg's Gender Equality Index as a guide to implement new benefits and practices for women, NMG is also introducing 16 weeks of paid parental leave to cover associates' child bonding, adoption, and surrogacy needs and is investing in a new pay equity study during 2022.

Uplift and support women-founded fashion technology companies like FASHIONPHILE and machine learning SaaS platform, Stylyze.

Champion inclusive marketplaces by increasing spending with diverse retail and non-retail suppliers.

Leading with Love in Our Communities

A critical part of 'Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact' is aligning its corporate giving strategy with its ESG strategy, ensuring that the organization's values and purpose guide the decision-making process of funding. Reframing the Company's philanthropic efforts allows NMG to support the causes closest to their associates' and customers' hearts while making a more significant impact in communities around the world. These efforts include corporate grantmaking through The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation, associate giving and volunteerism through our internal All Heart program, and customer engagement through point-of-sale fundraising and other marketing efforts. These goals include:

Partner with customers to raise $3,000,000 for charity through The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation

for charity through The Heart of Neiman Marcus Foundation Increase associate giving and volunteerism in NMG's All Heart Program to support causes close to associates' hearts

Support disaster preparedness and relief to keep our store communities thriving.

"NMG's first-ever ESG Report is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the true impact Neiman's has had on the lives of our customers, associates, brand partners, and the communities in which we do business," said Eric Severson, Chief People & Belonging Officer, Neiman Marcus Group. "Our culture, the NMG|Way, aims to make life extraordinary for everyone in our ecosystem, and we believe this can be achieved by our holistic approach to creating a positive impact."

NMG's release of its 'Our Journey to Revolutionize Impact' ESG Report comes on the heels of the Company's fiscal second-quarter (November 2021  January 2022) success. Strong full-price selling and an inventory strategy that ensured that the Company could deliver the products customers wanted drove significant gross margin expansion. As a result, the Company saw high single-digit comparable sales growth and Adjusted EBITDA growth of 15% for the quarter compared to the same holiday period pre-COVID. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA for the last 12 months ending January 2022 increased 26% compared to the pre-COVID 12-month period ended January 2020.

Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Chief Executive Officer, Neiman Marcus Group, stated, "We are very pleased with our strong holiday performance and second-quarter results. We delivered healthy topline growth and significant margin expansion relative to the comparable pre-pandemic period. The strong growth we have continued to experience is a testament to our differentiated luxury business model, focus on a full-price strategy, and the ability and agility of our teams to continue to execute well while navigating a dynamic macro environment. NMG is a relationship business. Our brand partners continue to trust NMG because of our relationships with luxury customers, and customers know that we've curated an extraordinary assortment of the most desirable brands."

NMG currently has available liquidity of $1.2 billion vs. $458 million a year ago and has no borrowings outstanding on a $900 million revolver.

Mr. van Raemdonck continued, "We enter the third quarter pleased with the continued momentum we see in our business and with ample liquidity to invest in our growth. As we look ahead, we strive to create extraordinary experiences for our customers through our integrated luxury retail approach, assortment curation, and a sales-assisted model driven by relationships, which allows us to offer the best luxury brands and Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences."

To read more about NMG's 2021 ESG report, you can visit www.neimanmarcusgroup.com/ESG.

About The Neiman Marcus Group, LLC

Neiman Marcus Group is a relationship business that leads with love in everything we do for our customers, associates, brand partners, and communities. Our legacy of innovating and our culture of Belonging guide our roadmap for Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences. As one of the largest multi-brand luxury retailers in the U.S., with the world's most desirable brand partners, we're delivering exceptional products and intelligent services, enabled by our investments in data and technology. Through the expertise of our 9,000+ associates, we deliver and scale a personalized luxury experience across our three channels of in-store, eCommerce, and remote selling. Our NMG|Way culture, powered by our people, combines individual talents into a collective strength to make life extraordinary. Our brands include Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus Last Call, and Horchow. For more information, visit www.neimanmarcusgroup.com .

SOURCE Neiman Marcus Holding Company, Inc.
Blue Star Families' 12th Annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey Highlights Key Issues, Challenges, Opportunities Facing Service Members, Veterans, and Families

WASHINGTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Star Families , a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting military families and strengthening communities, today released the findings of its 2021 Military Family Lifestyle Survey , the largest and most comprehensive survey analyzing the top issues impacting military- and Veteran-connected families. The most recent survey found that time away from family, relocation/permanent change of station (PCS), and spouse under- and unemployment  all of which affect quality of life  ranked among the top concerns facing military families.

This year's survey includes over 8,000 respondents worldwide and highlights the complex challenges that come with a military lifestyle, including rising costs associated with relocation, continued spouse unemployment trends, financial insecurity, mental health concerns in children, and perceived discrimination in the military. At the same time, most active-duty service members indicate satisfaction with their jobs and believe the work they do is meaningful.

"Every year, we bring light to the complex and unique challenges facing the men and women who serve our country, as well as their families, so we can strengthen what's working and improve what's not," said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families. "Across the multitude of issues facing military families, one theme remains clear: that a stronger and healthier military means a better future for our country. We call on all national leaders, philanthropic organizations, and civilian communities to recognize these challenges and step up to help those who protect us."

"Since our founding more than a decade ago, our programs have directly impacted more than 170,000 Veterans and military family members, and our research and policy analysis support and inform the military-connected community  including our valued partners at Blue Star Families," says Maureen Casey, COO of the D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University. "The work we do alongside Blue Star Families is led by an unrivaled team of experienced researchers and informed practitioners who are on the ground hearing directly from our military and Veteran families to understand and highlight the most important issues and biggest challenges facing this community today. These findings not only lay the foundation for the work of the IVMF and Blue Star Families, but also for other partners, stakeholders, and decision makers."

Top findings from the 2021 annual Military Family Lifestyle Survey include:

Nearly a quarter (24%) of active-duty family respondents cite "military family quality of life" as a top concern, citing instability and inconsistency of daily life. While respondents define "military family quality of life" differently, the top five challenges among responses include: time with children and family, frequency and difficulties of relocating, OPTEMPO (daily workload, deployment load, and training load), time away, and feeling that the military does not prioritize families with unpredictable and time-intensive schedules of service members.





While respondents define "military family quality of life" differently, the top five challenges among responses include: time with children and family, frequency and difficulties of relocating, OPTEMPO (daily workload, deployment load, and training load), time away, and feeling that the military does not prioritize families with unpredictable and time-intensive schedules of service members. Military spouse employment remains a top-five issue for nearly half (47%) of active-duty spouse respondents and a quarter of active-duty service member respondents (25%). Service members' unpredictable and lengthy daily work schedules, expensive childcare, and the length of time they have been out of the workforce remain top barriers to employment for those active-duty spouse respondents who are not working but need or want to work.





Service members' unpredictable and lengthy daily work schedules, expensive childcare, and the length of time they have been out of the workforce remain top barriers to employment for those active-duty spouse respondents who are not working but need or want to work. Military families already facing financial stress say making PCS (permanent change of station) moves can bring long military housing waitlists, unaffordable civilian housing markets, and expensive rental costs, which can further add to their financial burden. Two-thirds (66%) of active-duty family respondents report having unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses related to their last PCS move, and among those with unreimbursed moving costs, more than half (55%) report those expenses to be over $1,000 .





Two-thirds (66%) of active-duty family respondents report having unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses related to their last PCS move, and among those with unreimbursed moving costs, more than half (55%) report those expenses to be over . The majority of active-duty service member respondents (67%) are satisfied with their jobs and 70% feel the work they do is meaningful. However, nearly seven in 10 active-duty service member respondents who are dissatisfied with their job are also likely to look for another job in the next 12 months. Dissatisfied service members are also more stressed than their satisfied counterparts.





However, nearly seven in 10 active-duty service member respondents who are dissatisfied with their job are also likely to look for another job in the next 12 months. Dissatisfied service members are also more stressed than their satisfied counterparts. Most active-duty family respondents report their children's mental health is "good" or "excellent," but 43% rate at least one child's mental health as "fair," "poor," or "very poor." Of those who would like their child to receive mental health care, but currently do not, roughly one in five (21%) report their child does not receive mental health care due to concerns about a mental health diagnosis preventing future military service.





Of those who would like their child to receive mental health care, but currently do not, roughly one in five (21%) report their child does not receive mental health care due to concerns about a mental health diagnosis preventing future military service. The majority of military-connected family respondents (67%) have experienced at least one family-building challenge in their lifetime. Over four in 10 active-duty family respondents (42%) report that military service created challenges to having children, specifically the desired number and/or spacing of their children.

The release of the 2021 survey data coincides with Blue Star Families' " The Military Family Experience 2022: Back to Basics, " a two-day virtual event held on March 16th and March 17th. The event features Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth; U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee), U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (Georgia), Brigadier General Irene M. Zoppi (Rodriguez), Ph.D., U.S. Army Reserve (Ret.); Brianna Keilar, Anchor CNN New Day; and other defense and military family leaders.

The annual survey, first launched in 2009, provides an in-depth review and comprehensive understanding of the experiences and challenges encountered by military families. Blue Star Families collaborates with the D'Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF) , presenting sponsor USAA, and other key partners including Lockheed Martin, CSX, CVS Health, AARP, Starbucks, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, Walmart Foundation, Verizon, the Barry Robinson Center, and the USO to increase dialogue and provide crucial insight and recommendations to help inform national leaders, local communities, and philanthropic actors to address military family challenges.

The research was conducted from April to June 2021. The full report, as well as issue-specific summaries, can be viewed here . Highlights from the report can be viewed below:

About Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the nation's largest grass-roots military family support organization, with a mission to support military families to improve military readiness. Its distinctive approach builds stronger communities around military families through knowledge and programs that address the unique needs of those who serve. Blue Star Families' nationally recognized surveys and analysis give military families an important voice that informs policymakers and its military family programs. It uses the power of its collective resources and cross-sector collaborations to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of members of military families to strengthen the troops, their families, and our nation as a whole. For more information, visit bluestarfam.org .

SOURCE Blue Star Families
What's New for 2022?

Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

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Edition: 9; Released: February 2022

Executive Pool: 732

Companies: 61 - Players covered include Accord-UK Ltd.; ALLIANCE UNICHEM IP LIMITED; AmerisourceBergen Corporation; Attain Med, Inc.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; CuraScript SD; Dakota Drug, Inc.; Express Scripts Holding Company; FedEx Corporation; FFF Enterprises, Inc.; Henry Schein Inc.; KeySource Medical, Inc.; McKesson Corporation; Medline Industries; Morris and Dickson Co., LLC; Mutual Drug; Owens & Minor, Inc.; Patterson Companies Inc.; PHOENIX Group; Redington (India) Limited; Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.; Smith Drug Company and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: Product Type (Pharmaceutical, Biopharmaceutical, Medical Devices); End-Use (Retail Pharmacies, Hospital Pharmacies, Other End Uses)

Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Argentina; Brazil; Mexico; Rest of Latin America; Middle East; Iran; Israel; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Rest of Middle East; Africa.

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ABSTRACT-

Global Healthcare Distribution Market to Reach $3 Trillion by 2026

Distribution plays a key role as the distribution network is critical component of the supply chain that ensures the drugs reach the consumers. Proper distribution is a critical component that determines a drug`s commercial success. Drug distribution is a complex process and entails conformance to multiple regulations. In developed markets such as the US, the wholesale market is oligopolistic with a handful of large wholesalers, who sell to regional wholesalers and/or drugstore chains. On the other hand, drug distribution is a complex and fragmented business in most developing markets. The existence of a large number of small wholesalers and the absence of established retail chain networks makes it a complex process in such countries.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Healthcare Distribution estimated at US$1.6 Trillion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$3 Trillion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 20.2% over the analysis period. Pharmaceuticals, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 19.9% CAGR to reach US$1.3 Trillion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Biopharmaceuticals segment is readjusted to a revised 22.4% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 33.7% share of the global Healthcare Distribution market.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $580 Billion in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $522.2 Billion by 2026

The Healthcare Distribution market in the U.S. is estimated at US$580 Billion in the year 2022. The country currently accounts for a 34.81% share in the global market. China, the world's second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$522.2 Billion in the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 22.2% through the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 18.1% and 18.5% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 20.5% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$561.3 Billion by the end of the analysis period. Retail pharmacies are a vital link in the drug supply chain as they form the main medium between the manufacturers, wholesalers, and pharmacy benefit managers on the supply side and the retail customers on the other side. Retail pharmacies are also the important cog in the wheel for processing claims of customers. Technology adoption is highly evolved in the US, and claim processing is mostly automated and handled electronically, leading to minimization of paper based manual processing, and maximization of efficiency.

Medical Devices Segment to Reach $612.3 Billion

During the pandemic, wearable devices such as fitness bands have gained increased popularity for providing real time patient information to the service providers in the industry. Remote monitoring systems use the data collected from wearable gadgets to provide medical care to patients who have recovered and do not need to be in hospital. Devices connected with wearable gadgets trace and transmit data related to patients' medical records through mobile applications, voice enabled platforms for follow-up of such patients. Considering this upwards trend, healthcare providers are expecting huge investments and technological intervention in wearable gadgets, remote monitoring systems and health sensor techniques. In the global Medical Devices segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 17.1% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$169.4 Billion will reach a projected size of US$510.1 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$76.2 Billion by the year 2026, while Latin America will expand at a 17.4% CAGR through the analysis period. More

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Founding Sponsors Include Pepsi, L'Oreal, Reckitt and Himalaya Among The Largest Advertisers in India

MUMBAI, India and TORONTO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - QYOU Media Inc. (TSXV: QYOU) (OTCQB: QYOUF) has announced that the newly launched The Q Marathi, the company's Marathi language youth oriented channel, now available to over 84 million Marathi speakers in India TV households, has secured four of India's top national advertisers as "founding sponsors" of the channel. The founding sponsors include Pepsi, L'Oreal, Reckitt and Himalaya. This comes on the heels of The Q India adding over 50 new premium advertisers in the last year including all four of these founding sponsors. The company's Hindi language youth oriented channel, is now available in over 122 million TV households and to over 676 million users via OTT, mobile and app based platforms in India.

The Q Marathi is a new broadcast channel designed to reflect the format and themes of the original Hindi flagship channel The Q India. It reinforces the core DNA of all channels from The Q which tap into the world of social video and feature content from digital creators and social media stars. The Q Marathi has launched with content from 17 top Marathi digital creators. It will tap strongly into the Marathi culture and is uniquely positioned to be "Bhannat Aahe" or "It's Crazy Different" which is the tagline of the channel.

Simran Hoon, CEO of The Q India commented, "Having four pan-India brands such as Pepsi, L'Oreal, Reckitt and Himalaya as founding partners for a start-up channel is a significant achievement. It reflects the faith these diverse brands have in us and our content for being able to connect them to the right kind of audience."

Curt Marvis, Co-Founder and CEO of QYOU Media added, "This is a fantastic start for The Q Marathi. What took us years to accomplish with the Hindi channel was reduced to a few months as a result of our strong ad sales team and our existing relationships with top brands and advertisers. This clearly demonstrates the synergies that exist as we roll out more and more new channels and content across broadcast and digital platforms. Our entire India team is to be congratulated for having such a powerful start to the Marathi channel business and it also shows that we are reaching a customer base that is extremely important to top brands."

About QYOU Media

QYOU Media operates in India and the United States producing and distributing content created by social media stars and digital content creators. In India, via our flagship brand, The Q, and the newly launched channels Q Marathi and Q Kahaniyan, we curate, produce and distribute premium content including television networks and VOD for cable and satellite television, OTT, mobile, smart TV's and app based platforms. Our India based influencer marketing division, Chtrbox, is among India's leading influencer marketing platforms connecting brands and social media influencers. In the United States, we create and manage influencer marketing campaigns for major film studios, game publishers and brands. Founded and created by industry veterans from Lionsgate, MTV, Disney and Sony, QYOU Media's millennial and Gen Z-focused content reaches more than one billion consumers around the world every month. Experience our work at www.qyoumedia.com and www.theq.tv

Join our shareholder chat group on Telegram: http://t.me/QYOUMedia

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.

SOURCE QYOU Media Inc.
SYDNEY, LONDON and NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rimes today announces a new contract with NGS Super, one of Australia's leading industry super funds for employees in non-government education and community organisations. This initiative is integral to NGS's commitment to a carbon-neutral portfolio by 2030. NGS Super initially procured Matrix technology in 2021, which Rimes acquired in October 2021. As a result, NGS is now part of the growing Rimes client roster and has access to a broad range of specialist data solutions and sector expertise.

Ben Squires, Chief Investment Officer of NGS Super, had this to say: "Our Investments team manages vast amounts of complex structured and unstructured data sources, and volumes continue to rise. And, despite investments we had already made in technology, it was clear that we were too reliant on labour-intensive, time-consuming processes, and this needed to change. So, the impetus came from us to invest in an investment data management system. Our objectives were simple  to maintain our strong competitive position, drive productivity and efficiency, empower socially responsible and improved investment performance, deliver enhanced customer service capabilities, and achieve our ambitious ESG goals. To do this and power our ambitious business growth plans, we had to modernise and future-proof the entire data management function."

Sadeer Jan, Senior Manager Business Intelligence for NGS Super, said: "Partnering with Matrix IDM and Rimes to deliver a centralised investment data solution is a critical component of a broader data maturity uplift the Fund is currently undergoing. It also ties in with our data vision  to create a data-informed business, where decision-makers have continuous, efficient access to reliable data and insights. Our requirements were precise. These included the creation of a single, consolidated and fully integrated data platform, customised real-time reporting, streamlined data modelling and the ability to have our data accessed via a variety of ways. Having looked at different options, we found Matrix's cloud native investment data management offering, their proven track record, and their alignment to our ESG vendor policy was the perfect fit for our needs."

Stuart Plane Head of Investment Intelligence at Rimes: "This is a multifaceted, complex project, but we are delighted to report we are on track to deliver the first phase of this ambitious programme successfully and due to go live in early 2022. The progress achieved thus far is a testament to the shared commitment and close working relationship between our two organisations. However, there is still much to be done, and we are looking forward to helping NGS reap the benefits of their partnership with Rimes over the coming months and years.

About NGS Super

NGS Super is a leading superannuation fund for all Australians. It specialises in the non-government education and community sectors, working with around 11,000 employers and managing over $14 billion in super savings. NGS is run only to benefit and help secure the financial futures of its 110,000 members. NGS Super is leading the industry with its Carbon Neutral by 2030 target.

About Rimes

Rimes provides transformative data management and investment intelligence solutions to the world's leading investors and asset managers. Driven by our passion for solving the most complex data problems, we partner with our clients to help them make better investment decisions using accurate information and industry-leading technology. Headquartered in New York, Rimes serves its global clients through offices in Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific. http://www.rimes.com/

SOURCE Rimes Technologies
MELVILLE, N.Y., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA), the largest single-specialty anesthesia and perioperative management company in the U.S., announced that it has completed the acquisition of Cumberland Anesthesia Associates, P.A. (CAA), located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The acquisition expands NAPA's footprint in the state to include Cape Fear Valley Medical Center (CFVMC), the flagship hospital of Cape Fear Valley Health System (CFVHS), and the affiliated Harnett Health System. CAA has been the exclusive provider of anesthesia services to these hospitals, and its physicians will continue to serve their patients through this new NAPA partnership.

John F. Di Capua, MD, Chief Executive Officer of NAPA, said, "We are very pleased to welcome the physicians of CAA into our NAPA family, and we look forward to growing our relationship with CFVMC, Harnett Health, and their communities. NAPA strives to optimize our clients' performance through proven processes that drive better clinical and operational outcomes, while maintaining our singular focus on enhancing the patient experience. We welcome the opportunity to integrate CAA's strengths into NAPA as we advance the highest-quality perioperative spectrum of care."

Stuart Squires, MD, President of CAA, said, "In NAPA, CAA found a like-minded partner that shares our patient-first philosophy and our commitment to remain a single-specialty anesthesia services company. NAPA has a strong track record of implementing evidence-based protocols that improve quality and safety and help hospitals thrive, with dedicated clinical and operational leadership at the local level. We look forward to being a part of a company that has been at the forefront of anesthesia delivery and patient care for nearly four decades and that continues to innovate on behalf of its patients and partners."

Justin Crain, NAPA's Senior Vice President of Client Services, added, "This strong partnership will enable CAA's anesthesia physicians and our new client hospitals to benefit from NAPA's robust analytics and quality improvement initiatives, our leading-edge reporting technologies, and a clinical registry encompassing outcomes from nearly 3 million patients annually. This includes access to a clinical peer-sharing network comprising more than 5,000 NAPA anesthesiologists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified anesthesiologist assistants nationwide."

Haverford Healthcare Advisors provided financial advisory services to CAA in this transaction. Saxton & Stump served as CAA's legal advisors. NAPA received legal counsel from Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis.

About North American Partners in Anesthesia

As a clinician-led organization, North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA) is redefining healthcare, delivering unsurpassed excellence to its partners and patients every day. NAPA has grown to become the nation's leading single-specialty anesthesia and perioperative management company. Our 5,000+ clinicians serve nearly 3 million patients annually at 500+ healthcare facilities in 20 states. For more information, please visit NAPAanesthesia.com.

SOURCE NAPA Management Services Corporation
TORONTO and SASKATOON, SK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Odd Burger Corporation (TSXV: ODD) (OTCQB: ODDAF) (FSE: IA9), one of the world's first vegan fast-food chains and the first to go public, today announced it will open 36 new locations in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.

Odd Burger and Sai-Ganesh Enterprises (SGE), a family-owned hospitality group specializing in franchising and commercial construction, have signed an area representative agreement that will bring three dozen Odd Burger locations to the western provinces over the next seven years. SGE will oversee franchise sales to individual owners, store construction, and support for franchises in its territory. In addition to supporting franchise growth, SGE plans on launching a corporate restaurant location in Western Canada that will be used for training new franchisees.

"SGE is always looking for truly new and unique opportunities in fast food, and Odd Burger is among the most exciting and modern concepts we have ever encountered," said Utsang Desai, president of SGE. "As lifelong vegetarians we have a passion for healthy eating and environmental stewardship, and Odd Burger also adds innovative technology that enhances efficiency, profitability, and customer experience."

"One challenge in franchising is providing an ideal level of support and service to locations that are distant to our corporate headquarters, but partnering with Utsang and the SGE team of local experts has eliminated that concern entirely," said James McInnes, Odd Burger co-founder and CEO. "Area development agreements are a logical way for us to grow and make an impact in new regions, so we're eager to forge similar relationships with like-minded developers in Canda, the U.S. and internationally."

Odd Burger began its western expansion with recently announced franchise agreements in Calgary, AB and Victoria, BC. These two locations are in the site selection stage and will now be supported by SGE.

Recently Odd Burger announced loans of up to 90 percent of the cost of opening a new location through the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP), administered by CIBC, to dramatically reduce up-front capital requirements. Loans of up to $350,000 through the government-guaranteed program can be used for new store financing, renovations, and more. Only Canadian franchisees are eligible for CIBC financing.

Strategic franchises are part of Odd Burger's plans to expand throughout North America. Odd Burger already has Ontario locations in Toronto, London, Windsor, Vaughan, Waterloo, and Hamilton; in addition to Calgary and Victoria, an Ottawa franchise is currently in development as well locations in Brampton and Whitby Ontario. Odd Burger also operates a manufacturing division called Preposterous Foods, located in London, ON where it creates its proprietary plant-based proteins and dairy alternatives such as burgers, chickUn fillets, sausage, and dairy-free sauces.

Those interested in Odd Burger franchising opportunities can visit https://oddburger.com/pages/franchise-what-we-offer.

About SGE

Sai-Ganesh Enterprises Ltd. (SGE) is a family-owned and operated hospitality group with expertise in franchising and commercial construction. SGE has built its reputation by seeking out and introducing newer concepts in the fast-food industry. SGE owns master franchisor rights for BarBurrito in Saskatchewan and area developer rights for Meltwich in the provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, and the Atlantic Provinces (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island). SGE also holds an advisory role in the expansion of Fast Fired Pizza into Western Canada. In addition to revolutionizing the concept of fast food, the company is dedicated to empowering local communities, and local employees, that make up the SGE franchise family. A portion of SGE's revenue is dedicated to charitable causes, and company principals Utsang Desai and his sister Khyati Desai are recipients of multiple awards for their philanthropy.

About Odd Burger Corporation

Odd Burger Corporation is a chain of company-owned and franchised vegan fast-food restaurants as well as a food technology company that manufactures and distributes a line of plant-based protein and dairy alternatives under the brand Preposterous Foods to foodservice channels. Odd Burger restaurants operate as smart kitchens, which use state-of-the art cooking technology and automation solutions to deliver a delicious food experience to customers craving healthier and more sustainable fast food. With small store footprints optimized for delivery and takeout, advanced cooking technology, competitive pricing, a vertically integrated supply chain along with healthier ingredients, Odd Burger is revolutionizing the fast-food industry by creating guilt-free fast food. Odd Burger Corporation is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ODD, on the OTCQB under ODDAF, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under IA9. For more information visit https://www.oddburger.com.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements that relate to among other things, the Company's strategies, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "likely", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "objective" and "continue" and words and expressions of similar import. Forward looking information contained or referred to in this news release includes statements relating but not limited to: the the impact of the development agreement in the areas discussed; the expected future expansion of Odd Burger locations and the benefits the Company expects to derive therefrom; as well as the number of retail outlets to be opened and the Canada Small Business Financing Program discussed herein. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to: general business and economic conditions (including but not limited to currency rates); changes in laws and regulations; legal and regulatory proceedings; and the ability to execute strategic plans. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE Odd Burger Corporation
Oilseeds Market: Drivers and Challenges

The increasing demand for trans-fat-free oils is one of the key factors driving the growth of the oilseeds market. Rising concerns regarding the safety of food are increasing the demand for edible oils, which have low-fat content. Health problems such as digestive disorders, diabetes, and obesity have witnessed a drastic rise over the last few years. The patterns of food consumption patterns have undergone a major shift with the rising inclination for food with greater notational value. Thus, the purchase and sales of organic, clean-label, and non-genetically modified organism (GMO) products are growing faster than traditional products. The rising population of patients with obesity and diabetes has propelled the demand for meal replacement products. The awareness regarding various problems associated with diabetes and obesity, such as cardiovascular disorders, respiratory disorders, cholesterol, anxiety, and depression levels, has increased recently. Efforts in losing weight and other health complications are thus expected to increase the demand for trans-fat-free oils. This, in turn, is expected to drive the growth of the global oilseeds market.

The fluctuation in oilseed crop prices due to lack of land will challenge the oilseeds market during the forecast period. The prices of oilseed crops are volatile due to variable weather conditions and political instability, which affects oil crop producers' output. This limits oil supply to manufacturers. Other important factors contributing to decreasing specialty oil production levels across the world include restricted access to funding as well as a lack of information about contemporary agricultural practices and farm management skills. An estimated 30% of crops in key countries are lost due to ineffective insect and crop disease management techniques. The decline in the availability of agricultural land can be attributed to an increase in constructional activities due to the growth of the urban population. Such factors are challenging the growth of the global oilseeds market during the forecast period.

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Oilseeds Market: Segmentation Analysis

By type, the market has been segmented into soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, palm kernel, and others. The soybean segment will have significant market share growth during the forecast period. Soybean has several applications in industrial products such as lubricants, plastics, waxes, and a range of intermediate chemicals, including fatty acids. In more recent times, soybean has been recognized for its nutritional properties and is now used in a range of nutrition bars, cereals, pasta, and baked goods.

By geography, the market has been segmented into North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa. APAC will have the highest market share growth during the forecast period. China and India are the key countries for the oilseeds market in APAC. Market growth in this region will be faster than the growth of the market in other regions.

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Oilseeds Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 5.64% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 93.2 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 5.4 Regional analysis North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 38% Key consumer countries US, Mexico, China, India, Germany, and Brazil Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Co., Bayer AG, Bora Foods Pvt. Ltd., Buhler AG, Bunge Ltd., Cargill Inc., CHS Inc., ETG Group, Kanematsu Corp., Krishidhan Seeds Pvt. Ltd., KWS SAAT SE and Co. KGaA, Louis Dreyfus Co. BV, Mahyco Pvt. Ltd., Mountain States Oilseeds, Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd., Rowland Seeds Inc., Soni Soya Products Pvt. Ltd., Tovarna Olja Gea d.o.o., and Wilmar International Ltd. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Type



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 09: Parent market



Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 18: Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by Type

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 24: Chart on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 25: Data Table on Type - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Type

Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Type



Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Type

5.3 Soybean - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Soybean - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 29: Data Table on Soybean - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 30: Chart on Soybean - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Soybean - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Sunflower - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Sunflower - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Sunflower - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 34: Chart on Sunflower - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Sunflower - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Cottonseed - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 36: Chart on Cottonseed - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Cottonseed - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 38: Chart on Cottonseed - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Cottonseed - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.6 Palm kernel - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 40: Chart on Palm kernel - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Palm kernel - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 42: Chart on Palm kernel - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Palm kernel - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 44: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 46: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.8 Market opportunity by Type

Exhibit 48: Market opportunity by Type ($ billion)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 49: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 50: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 52: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 55: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 56: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 57: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 58: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 60: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 62: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 63: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 64: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 65: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 66: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 67: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 68: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 69: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 72: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 74: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 75: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)



Exhibit 76: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 77: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 80: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 83: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 84: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 85: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 86: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 87: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 88: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 89: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.12 Brazil - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 90: Chart on Brazil - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 91: Data Table on Brazil - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 92: Chart on Brazil - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 93: Data Table on Brazil - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.13 Mexico - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 94: Chart on Mexico - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 95: Data Table on Mexico - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ billion)

Exhibit 96: Chart on Mexico - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 97: Data Table on Mexico - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.14 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 98: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 99: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 100: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 101: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 102: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 103: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 104: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 AGT Food and Ingredients Inc.

Exhibit 105: AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 106: AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 107: AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 108: AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. - Segment focus

10.4 Archer Daniels Midland Co.

Exhibit 109: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Overview



Exhibit 110: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 111: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 112: Archer Daniels Midland Co. - Segment focus

10.5 Buhler AG

Exhibit 113: Buhler AG - Overview



Exhibit 114: Buhler AG - Business segments



Exhibit 115: Buhler AG - Key offerings



Exhibit 116: Buhler AG - Segment focus

10.6 Bunge Ltd.

Exhibit 117: Bunge Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 118: Bunge Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 119: Bunge Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 120: Bunge Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 121: Bunge Ltd. - Segment focus

10.7 Cargill Inc.

Exhibit 122: Cargill Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 123: Cargill Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 124: Cargill Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 125: Cargill Inc. - Key offerings

10.8 Kanematsu Corp.

Exhibit 126: Kanematsu Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 127: Kanematsu Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 128: Kanematsu Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 129: Kanematsu Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 130: Kanematsu Corp. - Segment focus

10.9 Louis Dreyfus Co. BV

Exhibit 131: Louis Dreyfus Co. BV - Overview



Exhibit 132: Louis Dreyfus Co. BV - Business segments



Exhibit 133: Louis Dreyfus Co. BV - Key news



Exhibit 134: Louis Dreyfus Co. BV - Key offerings



Exhibit 135: Louis Dreyfus Co. BV - Segment focus

10.10 Mountain States Oilseeds

Exhibit 136: Mountain States Oilseeds - Overview



Exhibit 137: Mountain States Oilseeds - Product / Service



Exhibit 138: Mountain States Oilseeds - Key offerings

10.11 Soni Soya Products Pvt. Ltd.

Exhibit 139: Soni Soya Products Pvt. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 140: Soni Soya Products Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 141: Soni Soya Products Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings

10.12 Wilmar International Ltd.

Exhibit 142: Wilmar International Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 143: Wilmar International Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 144: Wilmar International Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 145: Wilmar International Ltd. - Segment focus

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 146: Inclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 147: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 148: Research methodology



Exhibit 149: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 150: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 151: List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday despite her husband's infection with the virus, according to a spokesperson.

Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, 57, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier on Tuesday, the spokesperson said in a statement.

"The Vice President tested negative for COVID-19 today and will continue to test," the statement read.

Harris was scheduled to address an event at the White House on Tuesday evening but decided to skip it "out of an abundance of caution."

U.S. President Joe Biden, speaking to a group of audience gathering in the East Room, said that he was told Emhoff is "feeling very well."

A series of prominent political figures in the United States, including former President Barack Obama, has contracted the virus recently, as states and cities are lifting restrictions.

The United States reported more than 79 million COVID-19 infections and about 966,000 deaths as of Tuesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 
YIWU, China, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After closure during the Spring Festival, the Yiwu market, the largest commodity wholesale market in the world, officially reopened on February 12. Yiwugo.com is the official website of the Yiwu Commodity Market. According to Yiwugo's back-office statistics, in a month since the market reopened after the 2022 Lunar New Year, its GMV grew 38% compared to the same period last year, while the number of merchants and buyers that had closed deals increased by 10.8% and 26% respectively.

As a tradition, the brick-and-mortar market in Yiwu will be closed during each Spring Festival. Naturally, the sales performance following the Spring Festival will catch much attention of all parties, and the merchants will fully prepare their stocks and get all geared up to make a good start in the new year. Although Yiwugo is an online platform, all the merchants it hosts are running stores offline as well. Therefore, the order volume on Yiwugo fluctuates as the market closes and reopens. According to the back-office statistics, since the market reopened in 2022, Yiwugo's marketing indicators such as the online GMV, the number of deals closed, and the number of buyers/merchants that have closed deals have all bounced back strongly as compared with the same period in 2021, and the market performance has been picking up steadily.

After the Spring Festival, Yiwugo stepped up efforts in overseas product promotion for its merchants on the world's mainstream platforms such as Google, Facebook and Youtube, with a view to helping them "get off to a flying start". the overseas traffic of Yiwugo has increased by more than 100% YoY. Buyers from over 100 countries and regions have established contact with suppliers through Yiwugo and engaged in cross-border trade of merchandise. Recently, daily necessities, toys, apparel and fashion accessories have been the best-selling products on Yiwugo.

This year, the ongoing global pandemic and conflicts in some regions will still bring uncertainties to the global economic operations. Despite the adverse factors such as the surging prices of raw materials, the exchange rate fluctuations, and the soaring logistics costs, merchants on Yiwugo remain confident about this year's foreign trade climate and have made full preparations for all sorts of emergency. As a key cross-border e-commerce platform in Yiwu, Yiwugo also serves as an inevitable option and strong support for the local merchants to deal with all these uncertainties.

SOURCE Yiwugo
Online Children's and Maternity Apparel Market in MENA: Driver

The increasing product awareness is one of the key factors driving the growth of the online children's and maternity apparel market in MENA. Maternity wear is an emerging segment in the apparel market. The increase in product awareness among women has encouraged online retailers to start selling maternity apparel. Television advertisements, digital and social media advertisements, and other sources of information create awareness among women, which has influenced the purchasing decisions of women. Companies also advertise with the help of maternity modeling to create a better connection with pregnant women. Many brands sell maternity wear through the online platform as the customers are well-versed with new technologies and digital platform usage. These factors drive the growth of online shopping among customers.

Online Children's and Maternity Apparel Market in MENA: Challenge

The high overhead costs for online retailers will challenge the online children's and maternity apparel market in MENA during the forecast period. Online retailers face logistics management-related issues such as lack of proper postal addresses and logistical complications such as delayed delivery of products and unorganized routing. Hence, online retailers face high overhead costs, which lowers their profit margins. The lack of quality delivery services also hinders the company's brand image among customers, which lowers the customer base. International online retailers from the US and Europe also incur significant losses owing to these problems. Online retailers recruit more field workers for effective delivery services, which results in additional labor costs and is paid from their profits, thereby lowering their profit margins.

Learn about additional drivers and challenges impacting the growth of the market.

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Online Children's And Maternity Apparel Market In MENA: Some Key Vendors and their Offerings

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - The company offers maternity wear such as plus-size dresses, skirts, casual dresses, training, and jogging wear.

The company offers maternity wear such as plus-size dresses, skirts, casual dresses, training, and jogging wear. Amazon.com Inc. - The company offers children's wear and maternity nursing wear such as plus-size dresses, skirts, and casual dresses.

The company offers children's wear and maternity nursing wear such as plus-size dresses, skirts, and casual dresses. Carters Inc. - The company offers baby dresses, toddlers, fun bodysuits, and accessories.

The company offers baby dresses, toddlers, fun bodysuits, and accessories. eBay Inc. - The company offers maternity wear such as casual dresses, skirts, dungaree maternity dresses, and pregnant women's one-shoulder dresses.

The company offers maternity wear such as casual dresses, skirts, dungaree maternity dresses, and pregnant women's one-shoulder dresses. Jumia Technologies AG - The company offers maternity wear such as maternity pants, maternity jeans, maternity shorts, and maternity clothes lot size large.

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Online Children's And Maternity Apparel Market In MENA: Segmentation Analysis

This report segments the online children's and maternity apparel market in MENA by price (mass-category, mid-range category, premium category, and ultra-premium category), application (children apparel and maternity apparel), geography (Saudi Arabia, Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt), UAE, Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran), and Rest of MEA), and age group (infants, toddlers, rest of the children, and maternity).

Saudi Arabia led the online children's and maternity apparel market in MENA in 2021, followed by Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt), UAE, Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran), and Rest of MEA respectively.

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Related Reports:

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Online Children's and Maternity Apparel Market Scope in MENA Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2020 Forecast period 2021-2025 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 14.93% Market growth 2021-2025 USD 1.38 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 12.30 Regional analysis MENA Performing market contribution Rest of MEA at 42% Key consumer countries Rest of MEA, Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt), UAE, Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran), and Algeria Competitive landscape Leading companies, Competitive strategies, Consumer engagement scope Key companies profiled Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Amazon.com Inc., Carters Inc., eBay Inc., Jumia Technologies AG, Namshi General Trading LLC, Next Plc, Nike Inc., PUNTO FA SL, and The Gap Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 01: Parent market

2.2: Market Characteristics

Exhibit 02: Market Characteristics

2.2 Value chain analysis

Exhibit 03: Value Chain Analysis: Internet and direct marketing retail

2.2.1 Input

2.2.2 Inbound logistics

2.2.3 Operations

2.2.4 Outbound logistics

2.2.5 Marketing and sales

2.2.6 Service

2.2.7 Marketing and sales

2.2.7 Support activities

2.2.8 Innovation

3. Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 04: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 05: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2020

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2020 - 2025

Exhibit 06: Global - Market size and forecast 2020 - 2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 07: Global market: Year-over-year growth 2020 - 2025 (%)

4. Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five Forces Summary

Exhibit 08: Five forces analysis 2020 & 2025

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 09: Bargaining power of buyers

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 10: Bargaining power of suppliers

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 11: Threat of new entrants

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 12: Threat of substitutes

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 13: Threat of rivalry

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 14: Market condition - Five forces 2020

5. Market Segmentation by Application

5.1 Market segments

The segments covered in this chapter are:

Children apparel

Maternity apparel

Exhibit 15: Application - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Application

Exhibit 16: Comparison by Application

5.3 Children apparel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 17: Children apparel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.3.1 Tops

5.3.2 Bottoms

5.3.3 Dresses

5.3.4 Others

Exhibit 18: Children apparel - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.4 Maternity apparel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 19: Maternity apparel - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

5.4.1 Tops

5.4.2 Bottoms

5.4.3 Innerwear and intimate wear

5.4.4 Dresses

5.4.5 Others

Exhibit 20: Maternity apparel - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

5.5 Market opportunity by Application

Exhibit 21: Market opportunity by Application

6. Market Segmentation by Price

6.1 Market segments

The segments covered in this chapter are:

Mass-category

Mid-range category

Premium category

Ultra-premium category

Exhibit 22: Price - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Price

Exhibit 23: Comparison by Price

6.3 Mass-category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 24: Mass-category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 25: Mass-category - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

6.4 Mid-range category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 26: Mid-range category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 27: Mid-range category - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

6.5 Premium category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 28: Premium category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 29: Premium category - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

6.6 Ultra-premium category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 30: Ultra-premium category - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 31: Ultra-premium category - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

6.7 Market opportunity by Price

Exhibit 32: Market opportunity by Price

7. Market Segmentation by Age group

7.1 Market segments

The segments covered in this chapter are:

Toddlers

Infants

Rest of the children

Maternity

Exhibit 33: Age group - Market share 2020-2025 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Age group

Exhibit 34: Comparison by Age group

7.3 Toddlers - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 35: Toddlers - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.3.1 Toddler boys

7.3.2 Toddler girls

Exhibit 36: Toddlers - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.4 Infants - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 37: Infants - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.4.1 Baby boy

7.4.2 Baby girl

Exhibit 38: Infants - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

7.5 Rest of the children - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 39: Rest of the children- Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

7.5.1 Boys

7.5.2 Girls

Exhibit 40: Rest of the children - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

Exhibit 41: Maternity - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 42: Maternity - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

Market opportunity by Age group

Exhibit 43: Market opportunity by Age group

8. Customer landscape

8.1 Customer landscape

Exhibit 44: Customer landscape

9. Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 45: Market share by geography 2020-2025 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 46: Geographic comparison

9.3 Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 47: Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 48: Saudi Arabia - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

9.4 Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 49: Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 50: Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt) - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

9.5 UAE - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 51: UAE - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 52: UAE - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

9.6 Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 53: Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran) - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

Exhibit 54: Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran) - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

9.7 Rest of MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025

Exhibit 55: Rest of MEA - Market size and forecast 2020-2025 ($ million)

9.7.1 Algeria

9.7.2 Israel

Exhibit 56: Rest of MEA - Year-over-year growth 2020-2025 (%)

9.8 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 57: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10. Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.1.1 Increasing product awareness

10.1.2 Rise in growth opportunities in developing markets

10.1.3 Growth of e-commerce industry

10.2 Market challenges

10.2.1 High overhead costs for online retailers

10.2.2 Lack of advertising, marketing, and promotional campaigns

10.2.3 Order or size mismatch, poor customer care service, and return policy

Exhibit 58: Impact of drivers and challenges

10.3 Market trends

10.3.1 Increasing demand for eco-friendly, high-quality, comfortable, and stylish maternity clothing

10.3.2 Availability of top brands online and preference for omnichannel retail

10.3.3 Product differentiation and personalization

9. Vendor Landscape

10.1 Competitive scenario

10.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 40: Vendor Landscape

10.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 41: Landscape disruption

10.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 42: Industry risks

11. Vendor Analysis

11.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 43: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 63: Market positioning of vendors

12.3 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Exhibit 64: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Overview

Exhibit 65: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Business segments

Exhibit 66: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.  Key news

Exhibit 67: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Key offerings

Exhibit 68: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. - Segment focus

12.4 Amazon.com Inc.

Exhibit 69: Amazon.com Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 70: Amazon.com Inc. - Business segments

Exhibit 71: Amazon.com Inc.  Key news

Exhibit 72: Amazon.com Inc. - Key offerings

Exhibit 73: Amazon.com Inc. - Segment focus

12.5 Carters Inc.

Exhibit 74: Carters Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 75: Carters Inc. - Business segments

Exhibit 76: Carters Inc. - Key offerings

Exhibit 77: Carters Inc. - Segment focus

12.6 eBay Inc.

Exhibit 78: eBay Inc. - Overview

Exhibit 79: eBay Inc. - Business segments

Exhibit 80: eBay Inc. Key news

Exhibit 81: eBay Inc.- Key offerings

Exhibit 82: eBay Inc. - Segment focus

12.7 Jumia Technologies AG

Exhibit 83: Jumia Technologies AG - Overview

Exhibit 84: Jumia Technologies AG - Product and service

Exhibit 85: Jumia Technologies AG  Key news

Exhibit 86: Jumia Technologies AG - Key offerings

12.8 Namshi General Trading LLC

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
For example, on the Northern Beaches , visitors are vacationing hard in the towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores and Duck jumping off giant sand mountains, enjoying windmill-brewed beverages and eating wild caught seafood delicious enough to make you dance. "Our timeless towns make the perfect vacation headquarters for families who want to taste a little bit of everything that the Outer Banks has to offer, with easy drives to explore Roanoke Island and Hatteras Island for the day," explains Nettles. Nags Head was one of the first places in North Carolina where folks started building and visiting oceanfront cottages at the edge of the continent. The town's name was born out of a now centuries old legend of local pirates who'd get ships to crash on the beach using a lantern strung about an old nag's neck. Then they'd pick the cargo for goodies. Kill Devil Hills gets its moniker from a mountainous sand dune where some shipwreck salvagers centuries ago hid a cargo of rum that was strong enough to defeat the devil.

Today, you don't have to work so hard to properly equip your vacation. The OBX has plenty of fun places to shop and restaurants you can't find anywhere else in the world. We also believe inspiration and exercise can pair well together. With a stroll to the top of Wright Brothers National Memorial, enjoy a bird's eye view of the island to appreciate Orville and Wilbur's work to get people flying. Kitty Hawk gets a share of the First Flight credit, since it was the biggest community on the beach in those days. Did you know Duck gets its name from the plentiful waterfowl and a place in the history of feather forward fashion? Southern Shores has homes as beautiful as the ring to its name.

"The Outer Banks has its own reputation for helping start the modern vacation rental home movement and provides the best experience in the country for families needing anything from a cute little cottage to a luxury home fit for destination weddings and reunions." Die-hard fans know the Northern Beaches also have popular brand hotels, historic motels on the National Register, cool condo resorts and even a little camping. The beach towns allow you to stay in the middle of the OBX and quickly get to both indoor and outdoor fun such as fishing, surfing, paddling and even hang gliding down soft sand dunes.

For a deeper dive into all the OBX offers as a destination (pun intended, we have spearfishing and wreck diving) take your first steps toward that legendary beach vacation with a visit to OuterBanks.org

About The Outer Banks

The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau is a public authority and the lead marketing and promotional agency for Dare County's Outer Banks, a 100 mile stretch of barrier islands off the North Carolina coast. OuterBanks.org

Media Contact:

Aaron Tuell, Public Relations

Outer Banks Visitors Bureau

252.473.2138 office

[email protected]

SOURCE Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Password Management Market By Type, By End User, By Organization Size, By Access, By Regional Outlook, Industry Analysis Report and Forecast, 2021-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Password Management Market size is expected to reach $2.9 billion by 2027, rising at a market growth of 20.7% CAGR during the forecast period.



A password is a string of characters that allows you to access a service or device while also protecting you from unauthorized access. Password management is a software solution that helps IT administrators manage and organize passwords on servers, network appliances, and computer systems. It is generally used by end-users to audit, safeguard, manage, and monitor actions linked with privileged accounts as a tool for information security and governance. These software programs aren't just for businesses; they're also employed as a security tool by individuals. They preserve critical data, files, financial records, and legal information from cyber-attacks.



COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic is considered as one of the most lethal infection over centuries. COVID-19 not only caused a disaster to humanity by depriving millions of people of their lives, but it also caused a steep downfall to the economies all over the world. In addition, The COVID-19 pandemic presented a significant challenge to all businesses around the world in terms of continuing to operate amid widespread office closures. Changes in work culture had a significant impact on IT security. Cyber-attacks, data breaches, and network intrusions disrupted companies' operations and became a big concern for enterprises across industries.



Market Growth Factors:

Rising prevalence of Cyber-attacks

Password management is a robust approach to ensure enterprise security by making it easier to store and secure complex account credentials. Every person in a business is responsible for different accounts, each of which requires a separate and safe password. Because of the rising amount of cyber-attacks around the world, there is a significant demand for secure working methods to protect databases and other necessary and confidential digital documents.



Rising adoption of cloud-based databases and processes

The rise of cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and other digital frameworks around the world is propelling the market forward. Global organizations are increasingly using password management solutions to simply reset and manage their passcodes. The systems are commonly used for automated password resets, frequent passcode randomization, and session records due to their cost-effective and time-saving advantages. Furthermore, as the quantity of online transactions grows, password management has become increasingly important for protecting online information and preventing online fraud.



Marketing Restraining Factor:

Security and privacy-related risks

Password managers are tools that comprise the ability to read and learn all the passwords that are stored in a device along with each account's email address or other unique user identification. Storing multiple passwords in a single memory becomes a very critical subject matter when unauthorized access invades that memory. Also, in the case of password management, while these tools store all the passwords in one memory, they also come with a drawback that if any toxic substance, for instance, malware, successfully makes access into the memory, it is enabled to read all the passwords that are stored in that memory.

Password Management Market Competition Analysis



The major strategies followed by the market participants are Product Launches. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Microsoft Corporation is the major forerunner in the Password Management Market. Companies such as Dell Technologies, Inc., Hitachi, Ltd., Centrify Corporation are some of the key innovators in the Market.



The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include IBM Corporation, Broadcom, Inc. (CA Technologies, Inc.), Dell Technologies, Inc., Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi ID Systems, Inc.), Microsoft Corporation, Knowledge Secure Systems Ltd., Avatier Corporation, Centrify Corporation (TPG Capital), FastPassCorp A/S, and Core Security (HelpSystems, LLC).

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Market Scope & Methodology

Chapter 2. Market Overview

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 Overview

2.1.1.1 Market Composition and Scenario

2.2 Key Factors Impacting the Market

2.2.1 Market Drivers

2.2.2 Market Restraints



Chapter 3. Competition Analysis - Global

3.1 KBV Cardinal Matrix

3.2 Recent Industry Wide Strategic Developments

3.2.1 Product Launches and Product Expansions

3.2.2 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements

3.2.3 Acquisition and Mergers

3.3 Top Winning Strategies

3.3.1 Key Leading Strategies: Percentage Distribution (2017-2021)

3.3.2 Key Strategic Move: (Product Launches and Product Expansions 2020, Jul - 2021, Sep) Leading Players



Chapter 4. Global Password Management Market by Type

4.1 Global Self-service Market by Region

4.2 Global Privileged Market by Region



Chapter 5. Global Password Management Market by End User

5.1 Global BFSI Market by Region

5.2 Global IT & Telecom Market by Region

5.3 Global Healthcare Market by Region

5.4 Global Retail & Wholesale Distribution Market by Region

5.5 Global Public sector & Utilities Market by Region

5.6 Global Education Market by Region

5.7 Global Manufacturing Market by Region

5.8 Global Other End User Password Management Market by Region



Chapter 6. Global Password Management Market by Organization Size

6.1 Global Large Organizations Market by Region

6.2 Global Small & Medium Organizations Market by Region



Chapter 7. Global Password Management Market by Access

7.1 Global Desktops & Laptops Market by Region

7.2 Global Mobile Devices Market by Region

7.3 Global Voice-enabled Password Systems Market by Region

7.4 Global Others Password Management Market by Region



Chapter 8. Global Password Management Market by Region



Chapter 9. Company Profiles

9.1 IBM Corporation

9.1.1 Company Overview

9.1.2 Financial Analysis

9.1.3 Regional & Segmental Analysis

9.1.4 Research & Development Expenses

9.1.5 SWOT Analysis

9.2 Broadcom, Inc. (CA Technologies, Inc.)

9.2.1 Company Overview

9.2.2 Financial Analysis

9.2.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

9.2.4 Research & Development Expense

9.2.5 Recent strategies and developments

9.2.5.1 Acquisition and Mergers:

9.2.6 SWOT Analysis

9.3 Dell Technologies, Inc.

9.3.1 Company Overview

9.3.2 Financial Analysis

9.3.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

9.3.4 Research & Development Expense

9.3.5 Recent strategies and developments

9.3.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

9.3.6 SWOT Analysis:

9.4 Hitachi, Ltd. (Hitachi ID Systems, Inc.)

9.4.1 Company Overview

9.4.2 Financial Analysis

9.4.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

9.4.4 Research & Development Expenses

9.4.5 Recent strategies and developments

9.4.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

9.4.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions

9.5 Microsoft Corporation

9.5.1 Company Overview

9.5.2 Financial Analysis

9.5.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

9.5.4 Research & Development Expenses

9.5.5 Recent strategies and developments

9.5.5.1 Product Launches and Product Expansions

9.5.6 SWOT Analysis

9.6 Knowledge Secure Systems Ltd.

9.6.1 Company Overview

9.7 Avatier Corporation

9.7.1 Company Overview

9.7.2 Recent strategies and developments

9.7.2.1 Product Launches and Product Expansions

9.8 Centrify Corporation (TPG Capital)

9.8.1 Company Overview

9.8.2 Recent strategies and developments

9.8.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

9.8.2.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions

9.8.2.3 Acquisition and Mergers:

9.9 FastPassCorp A/S

9.9.1 Company Overview

9.10. Core Security (HelpSystems, LLC)

9.10.1 Company Overview



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ew5bi8

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
EDMONTON, AB, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Mouchakkaa to the role of Senior Managing Director, Head of Real Estate. Paul will join the organization effective May 2, 2022.

"AIMCo undertook a comprehensive, global search to identify the highest calibre of real estate leaders to assume responsibility for an asset class that has delivered consistent, long-term value for our clients," said Evan Siddall. "I am grateful that Paul has chosen to join AIMCo during this important period in our organization's evolution in support of meeting our clients' investment objectives."

"I am honoured to be joining AIMCo and for the opportunity to lead AIMCo's real estate team," said Paul Mouchakkaa, incoming Senior Managing Director, Head of Real Estate. "The long-term success achieved in the portfolio is a testament to the deep bench strength of the team. I am excited by the prospects going forward as we navigate a very dynamic real estate sector and to be working with AIMCo's clients in support of meeting their long-term investment objectives."

As Senior Managing Director, Head of Real Estate, Paul will lead AIMCo's Real Estate investment team, currently responsible for a real estate portfolio comprising $18 billion in core domestic and opportunistic foreign program assets, on behalf of AIMCo's Pension and Endowment clients. Paul will report to James Barber, co-Chief Investment Officer, Head of Private Investments.

"Paul is a well-respected purposeful leader within the real estate investment community whose global experience and strong institutional heritage allows him to naturally take the reins and ensure the continued success of AIMCo's real estate program," said James Barber, co-Chief Investment Officer, Head of Private Investments. "AIMCo's real estate team is coming off one of its strongest years of performance since inception, and I look forward to working with Paul to build on of their momentum."

"I want to thank Micheal Dal Bello for his deep commitment to AIMCo and to our clients. He joined our organization, then part of Alberta Treasury, in 2000 when there were two members of the real estate team investing a portfolio of $1.3 billion. Over the past 20 plus years, the team has grown to 40 talented individuals in four offices managing nearly $20 billion in client assets. Our entire organization wishes him well in retirement," added Evan Siddall.

Mr. Mouchakkaa succeeds Micheal Dal Bello who retired as Senior Vice President, Real Estate in January 2022.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Paul Mouchakkaa, Senior Managing Director, Head of Real Estate

Paul Mouchakkaa most recently served as Managing Partner, Head of Canada with BentallGreenOak, a position he held since June 2020. With BentallGreenOak, Paul led the Canadian Investment Management team, which is responsible for a $25 billion diversified real estate portfolio made on behalf of 140 Canadian and global investors.

Previously, Paul served as Managing Investment Director and Head of Real Assets for the California Public Employees' Retirement System ("CalPERS"), a role he held since 2015. At CalPERS, he had responsibility and authority for CalPERS' $62 billion real asset portfolio; which includes nearly $53 billion in top tier commercial real estate assets and $8 billion in infrastructure assets located across the U.S., as well as in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Prior to his role at CalPERS, Paul was Managing Director and Global Head of Real Estate Research and Strategy for Morgan Stanley from 2011-2015.

Paul is a Canadian citizen, born in Ottawa and has worked in Toronto, Old Greenwich, Connecticut, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. He is an Honours Economics graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa and holds an MBA majoring in Finance from the University of Oregon.

About Alberta Investment Management Corporation

AIMCo is one of Canada's largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than $160 billion of assets under management. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008, with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment, and government funds in the Province of Alberta.

For more information on AIMCo please visit www.aimco.ca or follow us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Alberta Investment Management Corporation
MIAMI , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Play2Pay Inc. (Play2Pay), the global mobile payments platform that gamifies payments, today announced it has selected Miami's colorful Wynwood neighborhood as its flagship office location where it will also hire for 25 positions in 2022. The alternative payment platform has created a unique environment at its new 5,200 sq. ft. office space at the popular and high-profile office tower Wynwood Annex located at 215 NW 24 Street, where employees enjoy a hybrid schedule among versatile workspaces.

The pandemic introduced a new, hybrid work schedule and Play2Pay has wholly embraced it with a "home away from home" environment. Team members have the opportunity to balance working from home with in-person collaboration and are encouraged to step out to enjoy lunch at the dozens of gastronomic offerings around Wynwood. Play2Pay welcomed the opportunity to offer something unique that maximizes the potential of its most important resource  its people.

"We look forward to welcoming Play2Pay to Miami. It is clear they value human capital above all else in their growth strategy and this is what it takes to build a successful tech company today. We have the educational ecosystem and quality of life factors that will enable them to attract and retain top level talent," said City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.

From ultramodern and versatile workspaces to rooftop space for fresh air  Play2Pay's flagship office boasts conveniences that encourage creativity. Office amenities for employees include a gym, pool access, multiple rooftop areas for casual, recreational team building gatherings including a BBQ station, and a cafe that provides coffee, tea, soft drinks, and snacks throughout the day. The open floor plan is brightly lit with panoramic views to the heart of Wynwood. A game room with friendly foosball competitions and other gaming activities is complimented by welcoming workspaces that are designed with diverse zones in mind to encourage collaboration as well as individual focus. The space is carefully curated to maximize innovation, productivity, and teamwork.

Play2Pay is hiring for 25 positions this year. They offer top tech opportunities to the diverse audience of talent that has recently descended on South Florida thanks to its expanding popularity as a career base among highly educated professionals. It seeks candidates for positions in engineering, product, marketing, and operations. Backed by some of the world's leading investors and executives in the telecom and payments sector, new hires at Play2Pay will connect with influential leaders to inspire and fulfill their curiosity. Hiring opportunities range from individual contributors to C-level executives.

"One of Play2Pay's core values is conviviality. We believe strongly in the bonds forged by eating, drinking and laughing together, and our home base will offer that, and more" said Brian Boroff, Founder and CEO of Play2Pay. "Our current team and the top talent we seek to bring on board this year will enjoy coming to work at our office while also getting to socialize and spend time with friends or colleagues thanks to the decision of calling Wynwood our home."

Tyler de la Pena and Stephen Rutchik of Colliers International represented Play2Pay for the new office agreement.

"Play2Pay's new office in Wynwood continues to solidify the submarket as a top destination for those in the tech industry looking to plant their flag in Miami and attract top talent. There is a true tech ecosystem being built in the neighborhood and we are thrilled Play2Pay will be a part of the growth," said Tyler de la Pena, Director, South Florida at Colliers International.

For a list of open positions, visit Play2Pay.com/careers or contact Director of Talent Kathy Bates at [email protected]. For more information, follow them on LinkedIn or visit Play2Pay.com.

Play2Pay is headquartered in Miami, Florida and operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore.

ABOUT PLAY2PAY

Play2Pay is a global mobile payments platform that enables users to pay their service provider bills by playing games, watching videos and completing special offers on their devices. It's a fun and rewarding alternative for making payments. Consumers discover new apps and brands, earning points the more they engage and converting time spent into making payments. The payments alternative combines mobile monetization and gamification. Based in Miami, Florida, the company has operations in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore. For more information: https://play2pay.com

Play2Pay Media Contacts:

Jessica Wade Pfeffer | JWI PR | [email protected] | (305) 804 - 8424

Tyler Sminkey | JWI PR | [email protected] | (786) 390  8510

SOURCE Play2Pay
"Shelly was there at the beginning looking to understand the disease that affected her husband," recalled Vick. "My wife, Patti, and I were on that same journey. It occurred to us that we could bring people together and share our personal experiences with each other. Through the years, Shelly has become an inspiration for other caregivers, a resource for newly diagnosed patients, and a truly valuable member our team. This announcement is a long time coming."

Mathis will now manage the day-to-day activities for PF Warriors, according to Vick. By handing over the daily operations, Vick will focus more of his time on expanding the support group's membership and global reach.

"It's amazing to see how PF Warriors has evolved through the years," said Mathis. "I believe that our continued growth can be linked to our close-knit community of volunteers. When we support each other, we impact the whole community."

PF Warriors now has more than 10,000 members globally and reach over 20,000 people each month on social media. They've developed a comprehensive video library of resources, established a caregiver and patient chat programs, and built volunteer-led exercises to improve lung health. Their expert-led meetings via Zoom draw more than 200 people each month.

"All of our programs and educational resources are free to our members because we know that knowledge brings hope," noted Vick. "With Shelly at the helm, we will continue to offer these resources so PF patients can live their best lives."

About PF Warriors

Located in Plano, Texas, PF Warriors is a patient support group that serves a global community of PF/ILD patients, caregivers and families. The organization's mission is to provide information, inspiration, and support to help patients live their best lives. Founded in 2011 by Bill Vick, PF Warriors now has more than 10,000 members and reach 20,000 people globally. For more information or to donate, visit pfwarriors.com. To contact them you may email Bill Vick, founder at [email protected] or call 972-612-8425.

Media Contact:

Marita Gomez

630-936-9105

[email protected]

SOURCE PF Warriors
Wealth management veteran Jay Goetschius to bring new levels of personalized service to one of America's fastest growing wealth markets

PHILADELPHIA, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pitcairn, a true family office serving ultra-high-net-worth families for nearly a century, is expanding to serve the firm's growing Florida client base with the addition of Jay Goetschius as Managing Director and Head of Florida. In this role, Goetschius will be responsible for managing some of the firm's most important clients and advancing the firm's growth strategy for the Florida region.

"Florida has always been important to Pitcairn because it's a region where so many of our clients maintain residences. Building a stronger presence in Florida is a vital component of Pitcairn's long range growth strategy and another step in the natural evolution of this firm as we approach our 100th anniversary in 2023." said Andrew L. Busser, Pitcairn's President, Family Office. "With Jay joining our team, we now have a seasoned leader situated right where these clients are, enabling us to deliver the Pitcairn client experience in an even more personal and local way."

Prior to joining Pitcairn, Goetschius was a Managing Director at Abbot Downing's offices in Palm Beach and New York, where he worked with ultra-high-net-worth families and individuals. He has spent 30 years working with private clients on a range of family wealth management issues, including investment policy development, portfolio construction and asset allocation, risk management, and tax and estate planning.

"I have always been passionate about helping my clients manage the full impact of their unique wealth. With so many changes in the wealth management business, Pitcairn has evolved as the preeminent family office focused exclusively on serving the complex needs of ultra-high-net-worth families. I am extremely proud to be joining the team," said Goetschius.

Earlier in his career, Goetschius was a Principal for Bessemer Trust in Palm Beach, Partner and Head of Client Relationship Management of HPM Partners LLC, and Managing Director with BNY Mellon Wealth Management in New York City. Goetschius held senior roles in Bank of New York's Charitable Gift Services, Trust and Private Banking divisions and began his career in Chase Manhattan Bank's management development program. He earned a BA in economics from St. Lawrence University, an MBA in finance from Seton Hall University, and is a Certified Trust & Financial Advisor (CTFA).

About Pitcairn:

Pitcairn is a true family office and leader in helping families navigate the challenges and opportunities created by the interplay of family and financial dynamics. Through Wealth Momentum, an experience-based family office model, Pitcairn helps families achieve a more effective and complete experience. Since its inception, Pitcairn has partnered with some of the world's wealthiest families to meet their needs and drive better outcomes  year to year, decade to decade, generation to generation. Today, Pitcairn is recognized as an innovator, guiding families through generational transitions and redefining the industry standard for family offices. The firm is located in Philadelphia, with offices in New York and Washington, DC and a network of resources around the world. For more information visit pitcairn.com.

Media Contact:

Michaela Morales

JConnelly

973 224 7152

[email protected]

SOURCE Pitcairn
REHOVOT, Israel, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Alt seafood pioneer Plantish, which uses plant proteins to create premium, whole-cut fish, has raised $12.45 million in seed funding, the largest seed round to date in the burgeoning alternative seafood market.

Plantish salmon is nutritionally similar to conventional salmon, and is high in protein, Omega-3s, Omega-6s, and B vitamins. Photo by Shahaf Beger

The round was led by State Of Mind Ventures, with participation from Pitango Health Tech, Unovis Capital, TechAviv Founder Partners, SmartAgro, E2JDJ, Alumni Ventures, and OurCrowd. The company had previously raised $2 million in pre-seed funding in June 2021, from TechAviv Founder Partners, a venture fund backed by top industry veterans, and angel investors including Chef Jose Andres, and Nuseir Yassin from Nas Daily.

"Cracking wholecut seafood is the next big opportunity in our quest for impact and sustainability," said Merav Rotem Naaman, General Partner at State Of Mind Ventures. "When we met the world-class team at Plantish we knew that they had the passion, vision and capability to pull off the seemingly impossible task of producing a true upgrade to fish".

Founded in mid-2021, Plantish's mission is to save the oceans through production of plant-based, whole-cut fish fillets that are similar in taste, texture, and nutrition to conventional fish. "

We've already seen it happen in the meat market, now it's the time for fish," says Ofek Ron, CEO and Co-Founder, "and in particular salmon, which accounts for $50 billion in the half a trillion dollar seafood market. The problem has been that fish is so difficult to replicate until now."

Over 70% of conventional fish is consumed globally in whole-cut form, either as whole fish or fillets (Statista Fish & Seafood Report, 2021). However, the alternative seafood sector primarily consists of minced fish options, such as fish fingers and fried fish, due to the technical complexities of whole-cut production.

Plantish has overcome this by developing a versatile, patent-pending additive manufacturing technology designed to produce plant-based fish alternatives. By deconstructing salmon to understand its different components, the team of experts is able to create plant-based connective tissue and muscle tissue, and uses this in their technology to create Plantish, one super-fine layer at a time.

Their first product is Plantish salmon, which mimics cooked salmon in taste, texture, appearance, and structure, whilst also having the same nutritional values as its conventional counterpart, with high protein and Omega-3 content. Plantish's current prototype can be prepared and cooked in all the methods that conventional salmon is prepared. According to Ron, the Plantish vision "is to be the world's leading seafood brand."

A new poll conducted by Sprouts Farmers Market and One Poll in 2021 showed that more than half of young Americans aged 24-39 are identifying themselves as flexitarians, and are actively seeking alternatives that have the same taste and nutritional value. "We love fish and are not trying to change what consumers want," said Ron. "We are just offering a delicious upgrade to salmon that is safer for you and better for the planet. No antibiotics, no hormones, no mercury, no bycatch, and no compromise."

The new funds will go towards building out the team and conducting further R&D to accelerate product development, with the goal being to get into foodservice first. Ron explained, "We understand that over 60% of seafood is eaten outside the home, and salmon is among the most popular fish and animal protein in the world. Therefore we are focusing our efforts on the foodservice route and you can expect to see us in fine dining restaurants within the next two years."

The founders of Plantish are a mix of serial entrepreneurs, bioengineering and chemistry PhDs, and foodtech executives:

Ofek Ron, former Vegan Friendly GM, Dr. Ron Sicsic, former Enviro founder, Dr. Hila Elimelech, Chemistry PhD, Dr. Ariel Szklanny, Bioengineering PhD, and Eyal Briller, former Director of Product at Impossible Foods.

Plantish will be launching Plantish salmon in pop-up locations at the end of the year, and will be officially launching their product nation-wide in restaurants by 2024.

You can follow Plantish on Instagram , Linkedin , Facebook , and Twitter .

Company Contact:

Taire Brown

Director of Marketing

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.plantish.com

SOURCE Plantish
BRUSSELS, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Precirix NV, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision radiopharmaceuticals in oncology, today announces the closing of a EUR 80m Series B financing round led by new investors INKEF Capital, Jeito Capital and Forbion as co-leads.

"We are delighted to announce this major milestone and are grateful for the strong investor support. The addition of Inkef, Jeito and Forbion, three leading VC funds in the healthcare sector, significantly reinforces our international shareholder base," said Ruth Devenyns, CEO of Precirix. "The investment will allow Precirix to accelerate its growth trajectory and to further validate and broaden the technology platform."

Precirix's platform brings together several unique features and facilitates the development of radiolabelled single-domain antibodies (sdAbs) for multiple targets, in combination with different isotopes and applicability in various settings. The company's lead product candidate, CAM-H2, is currently in a Phase I/II study for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast and gastric cancer. The study allows inclusion of patients with brain metastases, a population in urgent need of effective therapies. Initial imaging data provide confidence in the potential of CAM-H2 to address the unmet medical need in this population. Patients are now being enrolled in the second cohort of the dose-escalation phase, following the absence of any dose-limiting toxicities in the first cohort and a positive review from the Safety Review Committee.

The proceeds of this financing round will fund the development and expansion of Precirix's pipeline. More specifically, the company will advance CAM-H2 through its ongoing Phase I/II study, and plans to bring additional novel radiopharmaceuticals to the clinic. Precirix will also focus on further strengthening the platform, using its potential to generate new product candidates, linkers and CMC processes.

Simone Botti, Partner at INKEF Capital, Sabine Dandiguian, Managing Partner at Jeito and Jasper Bos, General Partner at Forbion Growth will join Precirix's Board of Directors.

Simone Botti, Partner at INKEF Capital said, "Radiopharmaceuticals are showing great promise as therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers. Precirix's innovative platform based on sdAb carriers has potential to truly improve clinical outcomes for patients. We are excited to support Precirix on its continued progress advancing first in class targeted radiopharmaceuticals towards commercialization."

Sabine Dandiguian, Managing Partner at Jeito Capital said, "We are thrilled to co-lead this round with the ambition to support Precirix in bringing a breakthrough new alternative to patients suffering from advanced cancer, in total coherence with Jeito's mission: 'Go faster for the patient, further with the entrepreneur'."

Jasper Bos, General Partner at Forbion, working in the company's Growth Fund noted, "Forbion Growth was launched with the aim to build a portfolio of 10-12 investments in the most promising European late-stage life sciences companies. Precirix exemplifies the type of company we invest within the fund. I am confident of our ability to enable the team to build and transform patients' lives."

The company's existing shareholders Gimv, HealthCap, Novo Holdings, Pontifax Venture Capital, V-Bio Ventures, BioMed Partners, as well as the seed investors, continue to support the company having all participated in the round

About Precirix NV

Precirix is a private, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2014 as a spin-off from the VUB, dedicated to extending and improving the lives of cancer patients by designing and developing precision radiopharmaceuticals, using camelid single-domain antibodies labelled with radioisotopes. The company has a broad pipeline with one product candidate in a Phase I/II clinical trial and two in advanced preclinical stage. Research on multiple isotopes, linker technology and combination therapies further expand the platform. Precirix's technology also allows for a theragnostic approach, where patients can be selected using a low dose/imaging version of the product, followed by a therapeutic dose for treatment.

About INKEF Capital

INKEF Capital is a leading venture capital firm based in Amsterdam with a proven history in backing promising early-stage companies in Europe. INKEF takes pride in being a patient, long-term investor with the ability to support companies through several funding rounds all the way up to IPO. From the early stages of being a technology or life science venture, INKEF supports entrepreneurs building their ideas into successful international businesses. INKEF's investments include Onward Medical, Castor, iOnctura, Cardior and GitLAb, Remote among others.

About Jeito Capital

Jeito Capital is a global leading investment company with a patient benefit driven approach that finances and accelerates the development and growth of ground-breaking medical innovation. Jeito empowers and supports entrepreneurs through its expert, integrated, multi-talented team and through the investment of significant capital to ensure the growth of companies, building market leaders in their respective therapeutic areas with accelerated patients' access in Europe & the United States. Jeito Capital has EUR 534m under management. Jeito Capital is based in Paris with a presence in Europe and the United States.

About Forbion

Forbion is a dedicated life sciences venture capital firm with offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore. Forbion invests in life sciences companies that are active in the (bio-) pharmaceutical space.

Forbion manages well over EUR 1.8 billion across multiple fund strategies that cover all stages of (bio)pharmaceutical drug development. Forbion's current team consists of over 20 life sciences investment professionals that have built an impressive performance track record since the late nineties with successful investments in over 79 companies. The firm is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Besides financial objectives, Forbion selects investments that will positively affect the health and well-being of patients.

SOURCE Precirix
South Boston, VA (24592)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 58F. Winds light and variable.
SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the global leader in logistics real estate, will host its annual stockholders meeting on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. PT/4:30 p.m. ET.

The meeting, which will be open to all Prologis stockholders of record as of March 7, 2022, will be conducted via a virtual live webcast. The link for the live webcast is PLD Annual Shareholder Meeting.

A replay of the meeting will be posted when available in the Investor Relations "Events & Presentations" section at www.prologis.com.

About Prologis

Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. As of December 31, 2021, 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 1.0 billion square feet (93 million square meters) in 19 countries. Prologis leases modern logistics facilities to a diverse base of approximately 5,800 customers principally across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the industry and markets in which we operate as well as management's beliefs and assumptions. Such statements involve uncertainties that could significantly impact our financial results. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," and "estimates," including variations of such words and similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the futureincluding statements relating to rent and occupancy growth, development activity, contribution and disposition activity, general conditions in the geographic areas where we operate, our debt, capital structure and financial position, our ability to form new co-investment ventures and the availability of capital in existing or new co-investment venturesare forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Although we believe the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained and, therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may affect outcomes and results include, but are not limited to: (i) national, international, regional and local economic and political climates; (ii) changes in global financial markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates; (iii) increased or unanticipated competition for our properties; (iv) risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions and development of properties; (v) maintenance of real estate investment trust status, tax structuring and changes in income tax laws and rates; (vi) availability of financing and capital, the levels of debt that we maintain and our credit ratings; (vii) risks related to our investments in our co-investment ventures, including our ability to establish new co-investment ventures; (viii) risks of doing business internationally, including currency risks; (ix) environmental uncertainties, including risks of natural disasters; (x) risks related to the current coronavirus pandemic; and (xi) those additional factors discussed in reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by us under the heading "Risk Factors." We undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statements appearing in this document except as may be required by law.

SOURCE Prologis, Inc.
"Barbara brings to this critical role two decades of leadership in our defense, intelligence and space businesses, combined with a career's worth of expertise in engineering and program management," said Hayes. "With a deep understanding of our portfolio's core capabilities, Barbara is well positioned to further the strategic optimization and development of our business."

Joining the corporate leadership team from Raytheon Intelligence & Space, Borgonovi is currently president of its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems unit. During her time with the company, she has previously served as vice president of the Integrated Communication Systems mission area, the lead operations executive in the Space and Airborne Systems business, and as director of Program Operations for the Electronic Warfare Systems mission area.

Borgonovi takes on the new role at the same time Michael Dumais, as part of a planned transition, moves from chief transformation officer to become an outside strategic advisor to Raytheon Technologies. Dumais, who joined the company in 1998, previously led strategy and development in conjunction with his responsibility as chief transformation officer.

"I am incredibly grateful to Mike for his many contributions to our business and his key leadership role in shaping our industry. He has established the transformation roadmap that will drive performance and alignment across our enterprise well into the future," continued Hayes. "Mike has been a trusted advisor to me and to our Board of Directors, ensuring that Raytheon Technologies will remain a leader in aerospace and defense."

About Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With four industry-leading businesses  Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense  the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Media Contact

C: 202.384.2474

Investor Contact

C: 781.522.5123

SOURCE Raytheon Technologies
Seasoned Hospitality Experts Expand The Fast-Growing Casual Dining Brand

ADDISON, Texas, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Razzoo's Cajun Cafe , the Cajun eatery that brings all the fun of the French Quarter, announces plans to expand its footprint to Arkansas, Tennessee, and Florida, and increase its footprint in Oklahoma, Texas, and North Carolina! Spurred by strong performance over the past 3 years, the brand locks in plans for expansion.

"Our restaurants are staples in their communities, which allows us to continue to grow and welcome guests into our Razzoo's family," said Philip Parsons, President of Razzoo's. "Our strong growth momentum will continue thanks to the mix of our refreshed brand image, a remodel program where all locations will be remodeled and updated by year end, refined tech stack, evolved building design and decor and tuned in marketing strategy."

The company also opened a new restaurant last year in Corpus Christi, TX, during a time when many other casual dining brands were closing locations  a sign that the brand's following is strong, and its customer base is loyal.

In line with the brand's growth, Parsons was promoted to President of the brand. Parsons joined Razzoo's in 2019 as Chief Financial Officer. In his new role Parsons will be responsible for marketing, real estate and development, human resources and oversee the CFO.

Jeff Powell, Chief Executive Officer of Razzoo's said, "Since joining Razzoo's, Philip has made a significant and strategic impact on the brand, the broader company leadership structure and organizational capability, and grew the brand's profits to record levels."

Tom Marshall will join the team on March 21 as Chief Financial Officer. "Tom is a financial leader with significant experience in the restaurant and hospitality industry," said Parsons.

Prior to joining Razzoo's, Marshall served as Chief Financial Officer for Newk's Eatery for the past four years. Before Newk's, Marshall spent numerous years in senior leadership and VP roles for such brands as Brinker International, TX Land & Cattle and Lonestar Steakhouse, TGI Fridays, Le Duff America/La Madeleine.

"Razzoo's is a well-positioned, value-oriented, sustainable, and unique dining concept in the industry," shared Marshall. "I am confident that this management team can grow by multiple units per year with the existing infrastructure and a responsible approach to capital sourcing and fiscal management. I'm eager to be part of that journey."

Razzoo's also promoted Shaena Tuohy to Director of Marketing for the brand. Tuohy will lead the marketing team and has been responsible for growing its influencer relations, developing, refining the brands media strategy, and curating the year-round marketing calendar.

About Razzoo's Cajun Cafe

Razzoo's Cajun Cafe passionately creates bold, flavorful, Cajun-inspired dishes that bring to life all the flavor, fun, and festivity of New Orleans and the French Quarter. Founded in Dallas in 1991, Razzoo's operates 22 restaurants in TX, OK, and NC. Razzoo's is privately owned. Learn more about Razzoo's by visiting www.razzoos.com or www.facebook.com/razzoos.

MEDIA CONTACT

Brianne Barbakoff

[email protected]

866.571.3449

SOURCE Razzoo's Cajun Cafe
-John H. Johnson Appointed to Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Reaction Biology ~

-Reaction Biology Well Positioned to Expand Upon Global Drug Discovery Capabilities ~

MALVERN, Pa., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Reaction Biology ("Reaction" or the "Company"), an industry- leading provider of drug discovery services, today announced the closing of a significant investment from Cobepa, an international private equity firm, to fuel the Company's continued growth and service line expansion.

The Company also announced the appointment of John H. Johnson to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board Director of Reaction Biology, effective immediately. Reaction's Board of Directors and Matthew Oristano, former President and CEO, believe that now is the right time to transition the leadership of the Company.

"Reaction Biology has a decades-long history of delivering excellent science and driving customer-centric innovation," said Peter Connolly, Managing Director and Head of Cobepa North America. "With John's deep experience growing life sciences companies, we believe this partnership will bring significant benefit to Reaction's customers, employees, and investors alike."

John H. Johnson, CEO and Board Director of Reaction Biology, said, "I look forward to working closely with the leadership and scientific teams  along with the entire organization  to fully realize the Company's potential in drug discovery services. This investment by Cobepa provides additional capital and resources that will enable us to grow our capabilities, expand our footprint, and cultivate key talent to support our long-term growth plans. The partnership also further enhances our ability to meet the evolving needs of our biopharmaceutical customers  and importantly the provider and patient communities that they ultimately serve."

"With its unmatched depth in biochemical kinase and epigenetic, cell-based, and related assays, Reaction Biology exemplifies the attributes that we prioritize in our investments  demonstrated value to customers, sustainable market leadership, and attractive avenues for growth," said Edward Sohn, Principal of Cobepa North America. "We are thrilled to partner with John and the team at Reaction Biology for the Company's next phase of evolution."

John H. Johnson is a recognized leader in the biopharmaceutical industry with more than three decades of experience. He was most recently the CEO of Strongbridge Biopharma plc prior to its acquisition by Xeris Biopharma Holdings. Mr. Johnson has held executive management roles at leading global corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, where he spent the majority of his career. He served as the Company Group Chairman of Biopharmaceuticals within Johnson & Johnson, where he was responsible for the Johnson & Johnson Biotechnology, Immunology and Oncology commercial businesses. Mr. Johnson also served as President of Eli Lilly & Company's Worldwide Oncology Unit, following the company's 2008 acquisition of ImClone Systems, Inc., where he served as CEO and a member of ImClone's Board of Directors. John is also an experienced Director having served on numerous boards across industry, biotech, and biopharmaceutical services companies. Mr. Johnson is currently Chairman of Autolus Therapeutics (AUTL), and a Director of Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. (XERS), Axogen (AXGN), and Verastem Oncology (VSTM).

Mr. Oristano commented, "Over the last several years, Reaction Biology has experienced outstanding growth expanding its portfolio of assays and geographic footprint worldwide. I am confident that under John Johnson's leadership, the Company will continue to build upon its capabilities as a world leader in drug discovery."

Messrs. Johnson, Connolly, and Sohn added, "On behalf of the Board, we would like to thank Matt for his leadership and numerous contributions to the Company over the past 18 years."

The investment in Reaction Biology continues Cobepa's history of close partnerships with biopharmaceutical service providers, most recently as the majority shareholder of BioAgilytix, a global CRO offering integrated bioanalytical solutions with a focus on large molecules, before its majority recapitalization by Cinven in December 2021. Mr. Johnson was a Board member of BioAgilytix during Cobepa's investment period.

Golub Capital provided financing for the transaction. William Blair & Co. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Reaction Biology, and Piper Sandler acted as exclusive financial advisor to Cobepa. White & Case LLP acted as legal advisor to Cobepa on the transaction.

About Reaction Biology

Founded in 2001, Reaction is a contract research organization (CRO) that provides a full suite of drug discovery services to over 1,800 biopharmaceutical customers worldwide. Reaction's capabilities include functional biochemical assays, compound screening, a wide range of mechanistic and biophysical studies, and an extensive array of cell-based assays. Reaction maintains one of the largest panels of kinase assays in the world with over 750 unique assays. The Company performs over 5,000 client projects annually with its over 2,000 validated assays. The Company has lab facilities in Malvern, PA, and Freiburg, Germany, with approximately 130 employees.

About Cobepa

With offices in New York, Brussels, and Munich, Cobepa S.A. ("Cobepa") is a privately held investment company backed by entrepreneurial European families. Cobepa manages a diverse portfolio of private equity investments representing over $4.5 billion of capital. Cobepa invests in leading companies with superior business models, sustainable market positions and leading management teams. Cobepa North America is primarily focused on investments in the healthcare, business services, and tech-enabled services sectors, in companies that can benefit from having a nimble financial sponsor. For more information, visit www.cobepa.com.

Contact:

Elixir Health Public Relations

Lindsay Rocco

+1 862-596-1304

[email protected]

SOURCE Reaction Biology
AnyRoad Analyzed 15 Million Visits at 200 Brand Homes Worldwide

SAN FRANCISCO , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AnyRoad , the leader in Experience Relationship Management (ERM), today unveiled the 2022 Brand Homes Trends Report, which examines how consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, predominantly alcoholic beverages, are capitalizing on the experience economy with brand homes - venues that connect brands and consumers to build advocacy, foster community, and grow revenue.

The 2022 Brand Homes Trends Report is based on aggregated data from more than 200 brand homes from companies like Diageo, Anheuser-Busch, Sierra Nevada, Founders Brewing, and members of the Kentucky Distillers Association that use AnyRoad to power experiences at their distilleries, tasting rooms, breweries, and more. The research found that distribution of online and in-person attendees completely flipped from 2020 to 2021, as in-person experience attendance exceeded online in August 2021 for the first time since the pandemic and will stay that way. Key takeaways for brands looking to maximize the impact of their brand home experiences include:

In-person experiences are back in a big way. In-person now makes up 98% of brand home experiences. Consumers are traveling further (60% of guests traveled at least 100 miles in 2021) and spending 5 times more per visit than in 2020.

In-person now makes up 98% of brand home experiences. Consumers are traveling further (60% of guests traveled at least 100 miles in 2021) and spending 5 times more per visit than in 2020. Staffing is the #1 ingredient for success. With peak booking season approaching in May and June, brand homes must act quickly to get their staffing and customer experience in place. Those that don't create reputational risk.

With peak booking season approaching in May and June, brand homes must act quickly to get their staffing and customer experience in place. Those that don't create reputational risk. Experiences and guests are becoming more sophisticated. Customer expectations are increasing and brands are investing heavily in new visitor experiences in the US and overseas. Brand homes that offer personalized experiences and 'add-ons' see 10% higher NPS.

Customer expectations are increasing and brands are investing heavily in new visitor experiences in the US and overseas. Brand homes that offer personalized experiences and 'add-ons' see 10% higher NPS. Zoom fatigue is real. Attendance rates are dropping dramatically for online experiences. Just 33% of registrants are showing up to the experiences they booked (this is true for paid experiences too). However, brands that offer compelling, unique content that is in-person can double attendance rates for online experiences.

Attendance rates are dropping dramatically for online experiences. Just 33% of registrants are showing up to the experiences they booked (this is true for paid experiences too). However, brands that offer compelling, unique content that is in-person can double attendance rates for online experiences. There's a major opportunity to create new customers and increase LTV. Over 50% of visitors to brand homes are not frequent customers. In fact, 23% of visitors indicated that they never consume the brand's products.

"Immersive experiences such as tours and tastings are an extremely powerful tool for driving loyalty. They are often transformative, helping to capture the hearts of customers and make them feel deeply connected to a brand," said Daniel Yaffe, co-founder and COO of AnyRoad. "The most innovative brands are using technology and data to deeply understand their visitors and to personalize experiences at scale. For example, Johnnie Walker has its guests fill out flavor profiles before arriving to enhance their experiences - and collects feedback throughout the process to constantly improve how they are connecting with consumers."

To create the 2022 Brand Homes Trends Report, AnyRoad analyzed data from 15 million unique experiential records derived from visitors that traveled from 146 countries and over 200 brand homes using AnyRoad. The report covers operational insights from AnyRoad Experience Manager, including types of experiences, geographic trends, and engagement metrics (such as guest volume, services and bookings revenue, revenue per visit, etc.) as well as sentiment and behaviors surfaced through AnyRoad Atlas, including NPS surveys and open text feedback analyzed via NLP.

For more details about the methodology and a full analysis of the findings, please visit https://www.anyroad.com/brand-homes-report .

About AnyRoad

AnyRoad is the leading Experience Relationship Management (ERM) platform enabling global brands to properly measure, scale, and implement their offline and online experiences. AnyRoad empowers companies to create brand loyalty, change consumer behavior, and better understand their brand associations by providing them with data intelligence sourced from experience-based marketing.

Companies like Budweiser, Honda, Diageo, Michaels, and Tabasco all count on AnyRoad to measure the impact of their experiential marketing. AnyRoad's software integrates into CRM, loyalty, ERP, and POS systems to complete the loop, building the model of exactly how these experiences build loyalty, increase brand perception, and increase revenue. For more information, visit www.anyroad.com.

SOURCE AnyRoad
Business decision makers and knowledge workers agree that at least 50% of the data their company uses on a day-to-day basis should be focused on doing good for the communities it serves

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New research from Cloudera, the enterprise data cloud company, reveals more than one quarter (26%) of business decision makers are now putting increasing investment in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) ahead of developing new products/services (24%) or accelerating financial growth (21%). Additionally, knowledge workers believe as much as 49% of the data their business uses on a day-to-day basis should be focused on doing good for the communities it serves. This is a sentiment 52% of business decision makers agree with  a clear indication that profit and ESG are no longer mutually exclusive pursuits.

These findings are revealed in Cloudera's Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study , which surveyed 2,213 enterprise business decision makers  including 54% C-Suite representation  and 10,880 knowledge workers in the USA, EMEA, India and APAC. It shows that ESG is identified as a top priority for business leaders and those who fail to act for the good of communities put business growth and talent at huge risk. The study also examines the shift in attitude towards AI, Machine Learning (ML) and Data Analytics across enterprise decision makers, including C-Suite, and knowledge workers. The data shows that all the pieces are in place for this to be the right moment for companies to accelerate their AI/ML strategy.

Failing to act for social good puts business growth, and talent, at risk

Almost a quarter (24%) of business decision makers and over one in five (22%) knowledge workers believe that their company should be publicly supporting sustainable business practices. In addition, the vast majority of knowledge workers (81%) argue there is a need to use AI to deliver more sustainable business practices that benefit both their organization and the communities it serves.

But that said, less than a third (31%) of business decision makers are active regarding the implementation of these technologies and have a limited understanding of how they work. Companies that address these gaps now gain a real competitive advantage in the battle for customers and talent. If businesses truly want to embed sustainability at their core, leaders must start to use data to deliver more sustainable outcomes  and quickly. Failure to act and 23% of knowledge workers and 27% of business decision makers believe employees would leave the business. This could be a business destroying move amidst a global talent shortage, especially if all of a company's competitors are addressing the gap.

"It's my sincere belief that using big data and AI to make more sustainable business decisions will be a critical aspect of future competitiveness," said Erica Orange, VP at The Future Hunters. "A core part of this will come down to rethinking business success metrics to go beyond profit-driven metrics and focus on real environmental impact."

Fear of losing jobs to AI is replaced by a focus on investment in reskilling

The research findings also dispel the long-held belief that workers were afraid of AI taking their jobs. An explosion in the volume of data now available to businesses has made AI/ML a common thread to many job roles and a powerful ally. Over half of knowledge workers say their daily tasks have been augmented or automated by AI (55%), ML (51%) and Data Analytics (63%) in the last 12 months. The biggest benefits of this have been saving time (37%) and allowing them/their team to focus more on strategic work (35%). What's more, 80% of knowledge workers are now comfortable taking on a new role due to AI/ML/Data Analytics.

To capitalize on this, businesses have to do more and invest in employee reskilling. Nine in ten (91%) business decision makers said their organization will commit to continuous investment in reskilling employees as more tasks are automated. But the investment in people can't stop there. Companies also need to make employees partners in the upskilling and reskilling processes to ensure a level playing field for staff.

"The results of this study reveal a new wave of economics, focused on doing equally great things for profit, planet, and people - driven by automation and AI - is emerging," said Mick Hollison, President, Cloudera. "For business leaders this means it's time to refocus how they think about technology investment  identifying not only the data that will support growth, but also the technology that will help employees and communities gain meaningful access to it. At Cloudera, we work with our customers to transform their economic output with Data Analytics and AI."

Notes to Editors

About the Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study

Both the business decision maker and knowledge worker portions of the research were conducted by Sapio Research, an independent market research consultancy based in London, UK. 2,213 business decision makers, including 54% from the C-Suite, working at companies with 1,000+ employees, 400 IT decision makers, completed an online study during August 2021. At the same time, the knowledge worker  end users who are in full-time employment with access to technology as part of their day-to-day jobs  study was also conducted amongst those employed at organizations with 1,000+ employees during August 2021.

The following number of respondents were consulted in each mentioned market:

Knowledge workers:

USA 1007

UK 1003

Germany 1000

France 1000

Italy 1001

Spain 1006

Korea 204

Japan 1005

China 1005

Singapore 200

Indonesia 200

Australia 163

New Zealand 37

India 1008

South Africa 513

UAE 528

Business decision makers:

USA 200

UK 200

Germany 200

France 200

Italy 150

Spain 150

Korea 107

Japan 100

China 202

Singapore 100

Indonesia 101

Australia 113

New Zealand 37

India 200

South Africa 78

UAE 75

Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study Media Assets:

Limitless: The Positive Power of AI Study Study  please note that the report contains extensive comments from Erica Orange , VP of The Future Hunters, one of the world's leading futurist consulting firms

About Cloudera

At Cloudera, we believe that data can make what is impossible today, possible tomorrow. We empower people to transform complex data into clear and actionable insights. Cloudera delivers an enterprise data cloud for any data, anywhere, from the Edge to AI. Powered by the relentless innovation of the open source community, Cloudera advances digital transformation for the world's largest enterprises. Learn more at Cloudera.com.

Cloudera and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cloudera, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Cloudera, Inc.
Partnership democratizes access to all-cash, contingency-free offers enabling Virginian buyers to compete

NEW YORK , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ribbon , the homeownership company, today announced its expansion to Virginia in partnership with Weichert Financial Services. Homebuyers in the Northern Virginia Area and Virginia Beach can now overcome barriers to homeownership by using "All Cash by Weichert Financial, powered by Ribbon"  waiving mortgage, appraisal, and home sale contingencies.

For many, purchasing a home is an increasingly elusive part of the American dream. A combination of low inventory, rising prices, and an increasing number of Wall Street investors entering the single-family real estate market is causing many to give up on their dreams of homeownership.

This combination of challenges is impacting homebuyers in Virginia. The average home price for all single-family detached homes increased by 13.7% year-over-year in January despite 32% additional homes listed heading into January from the previous month, with an average of 35 days to sell a home in the region.

"Given the challenges many people experience when purchasing a home, homebuyers looking for their homes are increasingly delaying their pursuit. This is not how the homebuying process should be," said Shaival Shah, co-founder and CEO of Ribbon. "Instead, we want to ensure homeownership is achievable for all  no matter how competitive the market is. RibbonCash helps buyers flip the script and make a winning offer, faster."

Ribbon works alongside the local ecosystem of real estate agents, lenders, and brokers to make homeownership an easier, community-centered process. As the original Power Buyer solution, we are the only open solution that works with consumers' choice of both agents and lenders. With RibbonCash Offers ' guaranteed close and appraisal protection feature, homebuyers and agents can now enjoy choice, predictability, and certainty of making the most powerful offer. Ribbon holds agent and loan officer webinars weekly.

Ribbon and Weichert Financial Services partner to empower homebuyers in Virginia

To achieve its mission of homeownership for all in Virginia, Ribbon is working with Weichert Financial Services, one of the nation's leading providers of real estate and related services to offer All Cash by Weichert Financial. Now Virginia homebuyers will have access to a powerful tool to compete head-to-head with investors, even in the toughest market conditions.

"All Cash by Weichert Financial will give everyday buyers the confidence to enter the market without hesitation empowered by an all-cash offer that is guaranteed to close, with an option to buy before they sell. It's a win for the buyer, the seller, and our teams who show fewer houses to get an accepted offer," said Eric Declercq, President of Weichert Financial Services. "Partnering with Ribbon will substantially help our associates and buyers in Virginia overcome the challenges of the market and empower them with winning offers."

In addition to Virginia, Ribbon operates in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma and Indiana, with plans to expand to half of the U.S. by the end of 2022. For more information about Ribbon, visit www.ribbonhome.com .

About Ribbon:

Founded in 2017 in New York and Charlotte, Ribbon is on a mission to make homeownership achievable. Ribbon allows everyday families to compete on a level playing field with high-net-worth individuals and institutional buyers by upgrading their offers to winning RibbonCash Offers. As the leading real estate technology platform, Ribbon empowers agents, brokerages, and lenders to create a world-class experience for home buyers and sellers through powerful financial products and digital workflow software. Visit ribbonhome.com .

About Weichert Family of Companies:

Since 1969, Weichert has grown from a single real estate office into one of the nation's leading providers of homeownership services by putting its customers first. A family of 18 full-service real estate-related companies, Weichert provides an integrated real estate, mortgage, insurance and title settlement solution  branded as All Under One Roof  to simplify the home purchase experience for buyers and sellers. Weichert leverages its customer website, www.weichert.com , one of the most visited real estate websites in the nation, to help families and individuals realize the dream of homeownership through quick and easy access to listing information and the services of its real estate professionals nationwide. Like other family-owned and -operated businesses, Weichert enjoys greater public trust according to several national surveys. For more information about Weichert Financial Services, or to learn about the real estate-related financial products and services it offers, visit www.weichertfinancialservices.com or call 800-829-2274.

Media Contact:

Charlie Ozuturk

Go-to-Market Communications Manager, Ribbon

[email protected]

732.552.5080

Media Contact:

Mike Chambers

PR Director, Weichert

[email protected]

973.605.1614

Media Contact:

BLASTmedia for Ribbon

[email protected]

317.806.1900

SOURCE Ribbon
NEW YORK, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues its investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Roblox Corporation (NYSE: RBLX) resulting from allegations that Roblox may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Roblox securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=3218 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On February 3, 2022, market analyst The Bear Cave published a report regarding Roblox entitled "Problems at Roblox (RBLX)", which stated, in part, that Roblox's "former social media manager ran a pornographic blog while employed by the Company," and has "engaged in litigation and intimidation to help conceal allegations of pedophilia on the platform."

On this news, Roblox's share price fell $5.50 per share, or 8%, to close at $60.67 per share on February 3, 2022, damaging investors.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
An eight metre-high projection of 'Putin Filled with Ukrainian Blood' was installed briefly as an icon at the altar of a church in central London on Wednesday 16 March.

Texting from outside Lviv, Oleksandr Turchynets, who donated his blood said - "I had to return to protect my homeland. I gave my blood before I came to fight to show whose blood is being spilt at the hands of one man."

Andrei Molodkin said: "I created this work as an act of solidarity between the Russian and Ukrainian people. It's the dream of any criminal regime to silence discussion. It's time for us to use art to send a clear message about war and who Putin really is."

Notorious for his use of blood and oil, Molodkin has dedicated his life to deconstructing broken concepts of Democracy, Government and Imperialism. As a result, he has been subject to extensive censorship. In 2009 Molodkin represented Russia at the 53rd Venice Biennale with 'Le Rouge et Le Noir', consisting of two figures of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, filled with the blood of Russian soldiers and Chechen oil. Speaking out about the Russian regime and oil politics, a scandal unfolded with the curator censoring the work the night before the public opening and prohibiting Molodkin from communicating with the press.

Andrei Molodkin (b. 1966) grew up in northern Russia and served in the Soviet Army convoying missiles through Siberia. His artistic practice is distinctive for his approach to material, almost exclusively working in human blood, crude oil, steel and biro. His installation 'Liquid Modernity', 2009 entered the Tate Collection, UK in 2012. Since 2014, Molodkin has been reconstructing The Foundry, a production site for the radical underground. In 2019 Molodkin collaborated with Drill rappers Skengdo & AM and Drillminister on the track 'Political Drills' fighting for freedom of expression.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1768210/Andrei_Molodkin.jpg

SOURCE Studio Molodkin
LONDON, UK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Seaspan Corporation ("Seaspan"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Atlas Corp. ("Atlas") (NYSE: ATCO), today announced that it has entered into an agreement with a major European liner customer to forward fix contracts, extending current charter terms for 18 containerships. The vessels, approximately 83,750 TEU in aggregate, were previously scheduled to roll-off charters in 2023 and 2024, respectively. These charters have now been extended into 2025. Over the course of 2023 through 2025, these contract extensions are expected to generate approximately $0.2 billion of incremental gross contracted cash flow1.

Bing Chen, President and CEO of Atlas, commented, "The forward fixing of these 18 vessels is another demonstration of Seaspan delivering creative customer solutions through our long-term partnership model with industry-leading customers. The immediate result of forward fixing these vessels further contributes to minimizing our roll-off profile through 2025 and underlines Seaspan's strength in generating quality and predictable cash flows. Our customers truly value our consistent operational excellence, scale, and flexibility. Through this mutually beneficial approach, we continue to provide strong support in addressing our customers' needs while strengthening both of our businesses."

Note:

The current charters and related forward fixtures have various durations, each with a stated minimum and maximum term or periods for re-delivery. The charter rate is based on a market rate within a certain floor and ceiling. The calculation is based on the midpoint of the floor and ceiling of the current charter and forward fixture.

About Atlas

Atlas is a leading global asset management company, differentiated by its position as a best-in-class owner and operator with a focus on disciplined capital deployment to create sustainable shareholder value. We target long-term, risk-adjusted returns across high-quality infrastructure assets in the maritime sector, energy sector and other infrastructure verticals. For more information, visit atlascorporation.com.

About Seaspan

Seaspan is the largest global containership lessor, primarily focused on long-term, fixed-rate leases with the world's largest container shipping liners. As of December 31, 2021, Seaspan's operating fleet consisted of 133 vessels with a total capacity of 1,152,550 TEU and an additional 67 under construction, increasing total fleet capacity to 1,963,950 TEU on a fully delivered basis. For more information, visit seaspancorp.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains certain forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) concerning future events. Statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "will," "may," "potential," "should," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations only as of the date of this release. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on any forward-looking statements. Although these statements are based upon assumptions we believe to be reasonable based upon available information, they are subject to risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the potential for early termination of the charters and Seaspan's inability to replace them; and other factors detailed from time to time in our periodic reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Atlas's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 19, 2021. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether because of future events, new information, a change in our views or expectations, or otherwise. We make no prediction or statement about the performance of any of our securities.

SOURCE Atlas Corp.
SHREVEPORT, La., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SkyRunner, LLC, designer and manufacturer of the SkyRunner MK 3.2 Special-Light Sport Aircraft, named Nicholas Lafferty as Chief Growth Officer (CGO) to execute global sales and operations expansion strategy.

SkyRunner hires Nicholas Lafferty as Chief Growth Officer to lead Global Sales and Operations Expansion. Tweet this Nick Lafferty, SkyRunner Chief Growth Officer

For the past 24 years, Lafferty orchestrated some of the biggest breakthroughs in consumer and military technologies, leading teams to deliver crucial solutions in a global sales market. His service-first sales approach, buttressed by decades of experience in advanced technology products, allowed him to open new markets and scale rapidly. As a founding officer of an extremely successful defense technology startup, he developed deep expertise in operations, product development, global supply chain, business development, marketing, unit and program level military and government sales, and establishing distribution channel partners.

Lafferty's expertise dovetails perfectly with SkyRunner's urgent need to scale smart to meet the international defense sector demand. Lafferty started his career as a tactical communicator in the USAF, but an untimely injury opened a new opportunity to pursue his love of math and science. He jumped into the civilian communications market focusing on emerging mobile phone technology, developing and marketing one of the first-ever wireless headsets. He quickly discovered a passion for improving voice communications for every consumer, expanding into gaming headsets, wireless headsets, and then advanced military communication products at INVISIO.

As Vice President of Mobility at INVISIO, he and his team created and delivered cutting-edge communication technology to military personnel on every sea, air, or land-based platform they operated on. A globally recognized industry expert, He advised several military industry technology leaders and influenced multiple military programs. "Nick's experience, motivation, and work ethic are a perfect fit. He is absolutely the right person to guide SkyRunner's expansion and execute our growth strategy to push us through to the next level," says Michael Jensen, SkyRunner's Chief Strategy Officer.

Joining the executive team of Stewart Hamel (CEO) and Michael Jensen (CSO), Lafferty will influence all divisions of SkyRunner, focusing on rapid growth and incremental improvements in engineering, design, product management, operations/production, vendor management, sales, marketing, and global contracts at SkyRunner. "Nick's cross-functional reach and growth-oriented mindset will uncover new opportunities for us to optimize and streamline our operations," Stewart Hamel, CEO. "He will help lead SkyRunner from Market Innovator to Market Leader."

Lafferty chose to join SkyRunner to help deliver the capability and accessibility the SkyRunner aircraft brings to the consumer, public safety officer, and the warfighter. "After spending almost 24 years in the world of communications, I'm ready to take my next steps into future aerospace platforms and there's nothing more exciting than SkyRunner, both in technology and capability!" says Nicholas Lafferty.

Stewart Hamel closed with, "Nick helps expand SkyRunner's true capability and availability to the global market and at industry-leading levels. This multiplies value at SkyRunner while improving the experience for the user, consumer, and warfighter, and accelerates operations to a record pace."

About SkyRunner

SkyRunner, LLC is a privately held aircraft manufacturing company headquartered in Shreveport, LA, USA. SkyRunner designs and manufactures the MK 3.2, a special light-sport aircraft for civilian and military end-users. Founded by Stewart Hamel, SkyRunner earned S-LSA FAA certification in June 2016, and full approval as a two-occupant aircraft in July 2017. Public use aircraft may have the option of the seats. Today, SkyRunner has become one of the fastest-growing aircraft manufacturers in the world based on class & category.

SkyRunner has been Recognized by Collins Aerospace, Ubisoft, 5.11 Tactical, SOFREP, BBC, the Military Channel, Top Gear, Fox News, CNN, Discovery, Flying Magazine, Digital Trends Magazine, Hammacher Schlemmer, the Light Aircraft Manufacturing Association, RedBull among other industry publications.

www.FlySkyRunner.com

SOURCE SkyRunner
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SNIPR BIOME ApS, a leading CRISPR and microbiome biotechnology company, today announced the appointment of Jasper Clube as Chief Intellectual Property Officer from 1 February 2022 and Stephanie Krebs as Chief Business Officer from 14 March 2022. In addition, SNIPR Biome will open offices in the US and the UK effective immediately.

"We are extremely pleased to add two strong life science profiles such as Stephanie and Jasper to our Executive Management Team. Both have a proven successful track record within biotech, and marks the entering of a new phase of SNIPR Biome, significantly strengthening our biomedical and commercial capabilities. Jasper will lead the establishment of our new UK office in London and Stephanie will be based in Boston, Massachusetts, with close ties to the vibrant life science community", says Dr. Christian Grndahl, Co-founder & CEO.

As co-founder of SNIPR Biome, Jasper has been part of the company's journey from day one. He is a European Patent Attorney and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys. He holds a first-class Honours degree in Molecular Biology and post-graduate research in oncology and has over 30 years of experience in intellectual property (including successful litigation at Supreme Court level) and executive management  all of which has been in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors. Before joining SNIPR Biome full time, Jasper Clube has had various executive roles in the life science sector, including Kymab Ltd where he sat on the executive team from start-up to acquisition by Sanofi in 2021 for $1.45bn.

"I am delighted to join the Executive Management team of SNIPR Biome and continue our exciting journey to develop important CRISPR therapies to address unmet medical needs. These approaches are underpinned by the company's fundamental patent scopes protecting the use of CRISPR to combat bacterial pathogens and to modulate microbiomes in patients. I look forward to progressing our patent and business strategies with the team as we progress in the clinic this year", Jasper Clube, Co-founder and Chief Intellectual Property Officer adds.

In the role as Chief Business Officer, Stephanie Krebs will, besides her position in the Executive Management Team, focus on defining the organic development pipeline and partnering strategy of SNIPR Biome. Stephanie Krebs brings 20 years of life science industry experience and has held business and corporate development leadership roles in the biotech companies such as Bluebird Bio, Sobi and HotSpot Therapeutics. Most recently, Stephanie Krebs was Vice President and Head of Business Development at Valo Health Inc. where she was responsible for architecting the overarching business development strategy.

"SNIPR Biome's platform presents a unique opportunity to utilize CRISPR/Cas technology in developing novel therapies designed to eradicate or to modify specific bacteria. I am very excited to join SNIPR Biome at this point in its evolution, as it pioneers into the development of next-generation antibiotics and gene therapies and look forward to helping the company realize its vision of developing transformative medicines that deliver a positive impact for patients," says Stephanie Krebs, Chief Business Officer.

CONTACT:

Christian Grndahl, Dr.Med, Co-founder and CEO

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +45 20202747

www.sniprbiome.com

LinkedIn & Twitter: @sniprbiome

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

https://news.cision.com/snipr-biome-aps/r/snipr-biome-expands-its-executive-management-team-and-opens-offices-in-the-us-and-uk,c3525556

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/snipr-biome-aps/i/stephanie-krebs---jasper-clube,c3024990 Stephanie Krebs & Jasper Clube

SOURCE SNIPR Biome ApS
Taking the hassle and expense out of maintaining a home, a subscription from Super includes coverage for appliance and system breakdowns and access to routine maintenance services. Technology drives everything the company does to make caring for a home easierfrom a mobile app to easily request and schedule services, maintaining a digital record of all the work done to a home, to a cashless transaction system that offers a seamless payment process and detects fraud.

"On average, homeowners spend thousands of dollars a year on home repairs and routine maintenance. Already living in one of the most expensive areas in the country, California homeowners don't want to have to worry about the unexpected costs of homeownership," said Jorey Ramer, co-Founder and CEO, Super. "Expanding to California allows us to reach tech-savvy homeowners with our data-driven solution to protect them from unexpected home repair and maintenance costs."

Strategic partnerships in the real estate industry continue to contribute to Super's growth. Brokers and agentslike Nicole Canole, Realtor and CEO of East+Ivy Homes always seek ways to bring value to their clients. "If you want someone who is consistently going to deliver a high caliber of service, it's a no brainer," said Canole. Super offers a data-driven solution that addresses their clients' needs when it comes to maintaining their most valuable investment. To learn more about how to partner with Super as an agent or broker, visit hellosuper.com/realestate.

From general appliance repair to specialized services like carpet cleaning, Super has built a network of top-quality service providers in each of its local markets to help customers with their breakdown and maintenance needs. Many business owners in the home services industrylike Eddie Simmons, owner of E&S Plumbing have found that working with Super has made it easier to expand their customer base. "Super made building my business a whole lot easier. You go out there and take care of the customers and, in turn, Super will take care of you," said Simmons. For more information on joining Super's network of service providers, visit hellosuper.com/servicer.

Super is also available across the largest metro areas in Arizona (Phoenix), Georgia (Atlanta), Illinois (Chicago), North Carolina (Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh, Winston-Salem), Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio), and Washington DC.

About Super

Super is a San Francisco-based insurtech company. Powered by a proprietary data platform and backed by leading investors, Super offers subscription-based care for your home. Partnering with the best local servicers to deliver quick and effective home repair and maintenance at a predictable cost, Super's vision is to make caring for a home carefree.

Visit www.hellosuper.com for more information.

Media Contacts

Market Street Group for Super

Angela Baldwin

[email protected]

SOURCE Super
NEW YORK, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Dorry L. Segev, MD, PhD, whose global efforts have helped advance transplantation medicine, has joined NYU Langone Health to launch the Center for Surgical and Transplant Applied Research (CSTAR), an initiative that will further innovation in research and clinical excellence.

"This is a transformative time for transplantation medicine and an exciting opportunity to join NYU Langone, which continues to demonstrate pioneering leadership in the field," says Dr. Segev, who is a practicing transplant surgeon and the founder of Epidemiology Research Group in Organ Transplantation (ERGOT), a multidisciplinary enterprise at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine that has authored more than 600 peer-reviewed articles and last year garnered more than $12 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as external sources.

Under Dr. Segev's leadership, ERGOT pioneered NIH-funded investigations into COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised transplant recipients. The groundbreaking study showed patients can benefit from a third vaccination dose while others may benefit from medication adjustments. The ERGOT team also led NIH-backed research on end-stage renal disease, forming an equitable HIV organ policy, incompatible kidney transplantation, living donor kidney donation, and geographic disparities in kidney and liver allocation. Its work led to national policy changes to increase organ transplantation access across the country.

In addition to directing CSTAR, Dr. Segev will serve as vice chair of research in the Department of Surgery. He is joined at NYU Langone by a team of renowned researchers, all of whom previously worked with Dr. Segev at Johns Hopkins. His team includes Sommer E. Gentry, PhD, a mathematician specializing in operations research and decision science, who will co-direct CSTAR and serve as director of its operations research core.

CSTAR will facilitate a broad range of clinical research in the Department of Surgery, the Transplant Institute, and throughout the entire health system to bridge gaps between active clinical practice and scientific research. Among its research objectives are to innovate protocols that expand transplant eligibility among patients previously deemed ineligible, investigate ways to enhance living donor kidney transplantation, better understand the surgical risk differential between physiologic and chronologic age, streamline processes that reduce disparities and improve access to surgical treatments, and introduce novel models of collaboration among clinicians across surgical disciplines to improve the patient experience.

"We are incredibly fortunate to welcome this extraordinary team of researchers and public policy makers to the NYU Langone faculty," says Robert Montgomery, MD, DPhil, the H. Leon Pachter, MD Professor of Surgery, chair of the Department of Surgery, and director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute. "They will greatly complement our already outstanding clinical, research, and academic experts advancing the fields of transplantation, medicine, and surgery in groundbreaking areas, including xenotransplantation."

Drs. Segev and Gentry will be joined by Mara McAdams DeMarco, PhD, Macey L. Levan, JD, PhD, and Allan B. Massie, PhD.

About Dr. Segev

Before joining NYU Langone, Dr. Segev served as professor and associate vice chair in the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he had been a member of the faculty since 2006. He also held a dual faculty appointment in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Epidemiology. He holds bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from Rice University, and obtained his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University, where he also completed his general surgery residency, a transplant surgery fellowship, a master's degree in biostatistics, and a doctorate in clinical investigation. He completed a three-year research fellowship in molecular biology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Segev is among the world's foremost experts in transplantation and has published more than 750 peer-reviewed original research articles on transplantation, general surgery, computational science, and molecular biology.

About Dr. Gentry

Dr. Gentry joins NYU Langone after serving as professor in the U.S. Naval Academy's Mathematics Department and as a research associate in the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical and computational sciences from Stanford University, where she also earned a master's degree in engineering-economic systems and operations research. She completed her doctorate in electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a decorated researcher, having earned the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 1951 Civilian Faculty Excellence in Research Award, the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award, and the Mathematical Association of America Henry L. Adler Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Beginning Faculty Member.

About Dr. McAdams DeMarco

Dr. McAdams DeMarco was director of the Johns Hopkins Surgery Center for Outcomes Research and director of clinical and outcomes research in the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before joining NYU Langone. She held dual faculty appointments in the Department of Surgery and the Department of Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University where she had been a researcher since 2009. She holds bachelor's degrees in statistics and Spanish from Carnegie Mellon University, a master's degree in epidemiology from Harvard University, and a doctorate in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins University.

About Dr. Levan

Dr. Levan joins NYU Langone after six years as a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She was a core faculty member for ERGOT and in the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy, medical humanities, and health studies from Indiana University, a juris doctorate from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and a doctorate in health policy and management from Indiana University's Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health.

About Dr. Massie

Before joining NYU Langone, Dr. Massie had been a researcher at Johns Hopkins University since 1999, starting in the Center of Imaging Science as a programmer. He most recently was an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery and director of data and analytics for ERGOT. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science as well as a master's degree and doctorate in epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University.

Media Inquiries

Colin DeVries

Phone: 212-404-3588

[email protected]

SOURCE NYU Langone Health
- Tend's Gut Microbiome CAP device to standardize, simplify, and reduce costs of Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) for patients suffering from Clostridium difficile infection

- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) initiates clinical study validating Tend's device as an encapsulation method for FMT

SEATTLE, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Tend ("the company"), a microbiome solutions company, today announced the initiation of clinical studies for its Gut Microbiome Collect and Prep (CAP) device to prepare capsules for Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) for patients with recurrent Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections. The results of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study may support the use of the device for improved processing of transplant material for FMT.

Common medical treatments, such as antibiotic administration and chemotherapy, can disrupt the microbiome, making patients more susceptible to serious health conditions, including infections like C. diff. C. diff is a condition that annually affects 500,000 patients in the U.S. and claims nearly 30,000 lives. FMT is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated and highly effective treatment for this condition. FMT has a clinical efficacy of approximately 92% in treating patients with recurrent C. diff. 1

"Although FMT is highly effective in the treatment of recurrent C. diff, the process for creating FMT capsules is time consuming, messy and inefficient to the point that its availability to patients can be limited," said Elizabeth Hohmann, M.D., Infectious Disease Division at MGH. "Advancing methods of mixing, filtering, and encapsulating transplant material for FMT may meaningfully improve access to this treatment for C. diff, and also facilitate the research of other uses. "

Thomas Lendvay, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Tend, commented, "Our goal is to make FMT therapies more accessible to patients by removing the existing barriers to administration and standardizing the processing, encapsulation, and delivery of therapy. With these improvements, we hope to help clinicians identify opportunities for broader applications of FMT, a therapy which has already proven effective in treating a very serious disease."

Tend's clinical studies are designed to evaluate the comparability of its CAP device to current methodologies for the processing of transplant material and the delivery of FMT to patients with recurrent C. diff. The study aims to show whether patients treated with capsules produced by the Tend device recover in a similar way to patients treated using the current standard of care. Patients will be recruited and randomized in a 1:1 ratio. Half the patients will be treated with oral capsules produced by Tend's CAP device while the other half of the patients will be treated using conventional methodologies.

Tend closed a Series Seed Preferred round of $2.5 million in Q4 2021 and has employed the funds for further clinical evaluation of its technologies.

ABOUT TEND

Launched in 2020, Tend Health Inc. (Tend) is a private company with a mission to improve the understanding of and access to the incredible healing power of the gut microbiome. The Tend Gut Microbiome Collection and Prep (CAP) device - designed, developed, and manufactured by the company - collects, mixes, filters, and encapsulates a stool sample for Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile (C.diff), a debilitating, disruptive intestinal infection that affects 500,000 patients per year. Its patent-pending design improves current preparation, making it easier to offer a less invasive and more affordable treatment for patients. Tend also offers a comprehensive microbiome testing and analysis solution, designed to offer clinicians and patients a more meaningful understanding of the gut microbiome.

For more information, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact

Erica Fiorini, Ph.D.

Russo Partners, LLC

[email protected]

+1-914-310-8172

1 Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2017;46:479493

SOURCE Tend
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asia Group  a leading strategic advisory firm helping businesses succeed in the Indo-Pacific  is pleased to announce the expansion of its Australia capabilities by welcoming Minister Stephen Smith as a Senior Advisor. As companies look to excel in the Australian market, or with Australian partners, Stephen's deep expertise will augment The Asia Group's (TAG) ability to deliver unparalleled insights and analysis to clients.

"We are excited to have Stephen join us as we grow our footprint in the Indo-Pacific to support corporate interest across a range of industries," said Rexon Ryu, Managing Partner and lead of the firm's aerospace and defense practice. "Stephen brings decades of leadership and insight into Australia's domestic political system, as well as years of foreign policy, trade, and defense experience. His expertise in Australia's governing systems and his unique insights into the dynamics of Australia's external relationships will be invaluable to TAG's clients to navigate and succeed in this expanding market."

During his decades of public service, Stephen served as a Member of Parliament, Minister for Defence, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Trade in Canberra  playing a major role in shifting Australia's defense policy and in deepening Australia's relationships with India, Indonesia, Japan, and the United States, while using venues such as the East Asia Summit and the Trans-Pacific Partnership to strengthen U.S.-Australia ties.

In addition to his work with The Asia Group, Stephen is now Professor of Public International Law at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and a Distinguished Fellow and Board Member of the Perth USAsia Centre based at UWA. He is Chair of the UWA Defence and Security Institute, which he helped establish. He currently chairs the board of an Australian cyber security company and is a member of the Government's Cyber Security Industry Advisory Committee. Stephen's background will strengthen TAG's ability to help firms navigate issues related to supply chains, critical minerals, telecommunications, and cyber security that stand at the intersection of national security and commercial concerns.

TAG's growing team covering Australia and the Pacific includes leading experts and former government officials with extensive networks and a proven track record of success in helping clients seize new business opportunities and navigate critical policy challenges. Since the firm's founding in 2013, TAG has provided market expansion, sales, and risk management support for leading multinational companies across the technology, healthcare, defense, and energy sectors in Australia. Along with TAG's recent investments in India, Southeast Asia, and China, Stephen's work enhances the firm's on-the-ground capabilities and will help provide integrated globallocal solutions to clients.

The Asia Group is the premier strategic advisory firm to the world's leading companies seeking to excel across the Indo-Pacific. With a team of dynamic and experienced professionals  from consultants and former senior government officials to lawyers and investment bankers  The Asia Group supports companies with end-to-end integrated strategies for market entry and expansion. To learn more about The Asia Group, please visit www.theasiagroup.com or reach out to [email protected].

SOURCE The Asia Group
Prior to joining HHC, Mr. Carrillo served as Chief Information Officer of Hines, directing all corporate technology, strategy and standards for the global real estate firm worldwide. He joined the firm in 1994 and served in various technology roles before becoming the company's Chief Technology Officer in 2007 and then its Chief Information Officer in 2009.

Mr. Carrillo joins HHC as the company is accelerating growth across its portfolio and expanding into new regions, adding to its already deep pipeline of commercial development opportunities. The company recently launched their largest MPC, Douglas Ranch, a new 37,000-acre community in Phoenix's West Valley, the nation's fastest-growing metro region.

"Jesse's expertise will be invaluable in keeping our communities at the forefront of innovation and sustainability," said Carlos Olea, Chief Financial Officer of The Howard Hughes Corporation. "We are fortunate to have Jesse joining HHC as our Chief Innovation Officer as we are entering a new chapter of dynamic growth across our portfolio and innovative technology continues to play an increasingly critical and exciting role across our multiple large-scale communities."

Mr. Carrillo is a member of the CIO Executive Council; Real Estate Cyber Consortium (RECC); Cyberhouston.org; and WiredScore Smart Building Council. He serves on the Advisory Boards of Realcomm International, Quest Oracle Community, and the Houston Baptist University College of Science Engineering (COSE), and as President of the Houston Chapter of Society for Information Management (SIM). Mr. Carrillo also serves on the board of Genesys Works  Houston, through which he is a strong supporter of promoting Youth In IT.

"I am excited for the opportunity to join HHC and bring my experience working with some of the most progressive venture capital firms and disruptive startups to this exciting company," said Carrillo. "HHC has a longstanding commitment to remaining an industry leader with the integration of cutting-edge technologies. I look forward to working with the team to continue to ensure the long-term growth and success of the incredible communities we develop."

Mr. Carrillo is a graduate of Trinity University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, and he has an MBA from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

About The Howard Hughes Corporation

The Howard Hughes Corporation owns, manages, and develops commercial, residential, and mixed-use real estate throughout the U.S. Its award-winning assets include the country's preeminent portfolio of master planned communities, as well as operating properties and development opportunities including: the Seaport in New York City; Downtown Columbia, Maryland; The Woodlands, The Woodlands Hills, and Bridgeland in the Greater Houston, Texas area; Summerlin, Las Vegas; Ward Village in Honolulu, Hawaii; and Douglas Ranch in Phoenix. The Howard Hughes Corporation's portfolio is strategically positioned to meet and accelerate development based on market demand, resulting in one of the strongest real estate platforms in the country. Dedicated to innovative placemaking, the company is recognized for its ongoing commitment to design excellence and to the cultural life of its communities. The Howard Hughes Corporation is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as HHC. For additional information, visit www.howardhughes.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts, including statements accompanied by words such as "will," "believe," "expect," "enables," "realize," "plan," "intend," "assume," "transform" and other words of similar expression, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's expectations, estimates, assumptions, and projections as of the date of this release and are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are set forth as risk factors in The Howard Hughes Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly and Annual Reports. The Howard Hughes Corporation cautions you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. The Howard Hughes Corporation does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.

Contacts

The Howard Hughes Corporation

Cristina Carlson, 646-822-6910

Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Communications

[email protected]

For HHC Investor Relations

John Saxon, 281-929-7808

Chief of Staff

[email protected]

Carlos Olea, 281-475-2143

Chief Financial Officer

[email protected]

SOURCE The Howard Hughes Corporation
The Instant Group Adds Leading Virtual Office Provider to Global Marketplace for Flex Space Tweet this

Davinci, as the global leader in its field, will enhance the offerings of Instant's new workspace platform by adding virtual office solutions, meeting and day office booking options, as well as live receptionist services.

Tim Rodber, CEO at The Instant Group, said: "There has been record demand for virtual offices over the past year, and our new platform will be greatly enhanced by joining with the market leader in this area. Davinci has been a pioneer in this critical part of the flexible workspace sector for more than 15 years and is key in enabling our 'work from anywhere' platform for customers."

Davinci Virtual Office Solutions was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company provides virtual office solutions and live receptionist services to over 50,000 companies and entrepreneurs throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Central America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Clients can obtain prime business addresses, meeting and workspaces and live receptionist services  instantly  with the click of a button.

Martin Senn, Chairman for Davinci added: "We have seen demand increase significantly over the past year as virtual office solutions continue to enable a hybrid working economy. Davinci's customers are now asking for a suite of flexible office options to have more choice and enhanced business agility.

"Joining with the Instant Group will allow us to scale our platform while introducing our clients to greater market choice across the flex workspace sector. With this merger, Davinci's client base is going to gain access to the largest global inventory of workspace solutions."

The Instant Group's newly enhanced marketplace will serve more than 250,000 businesses in 127 countries, operating 24/7 through an integrated platform in more than 40 languages. It will consolidate more than 25,000 workspaces and will offer a range of services to clients including membership plans; on demand; virtual offices; office booking; managed offices; and consulting services.

About The Instant Group

The Instant Group has been rethinking workspace since 1999 with over 500 experts working globally across more than 175 countries. Instant's digital platforms constitute the world's largest digital marketplace for flexible workspace listing meeting rooms, virtual offices, flexible office space and coworking memberships. Its global team advises on commercial real estate solutions from serviced offices to fully customised managed offices, and consulting services for portfolio and net zero strategies. Instant's approach enables agility, hybrid working solutions and improved operational resilience for more than 250,000 businesses every year. Clients include Amex, Prudential, Booking.com, Shell, Jaguar Land Rover and GSK. Instant has global offices including London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney.

www.theinstantgroup.com

www.instantoffices.com

About Davinci:

Davinci Virtual is the leading provider of professional business addresses, flexible meeting spaces and turnkey virtual communications and live receptionist solutions.

Davinci offers virtual office locations and virtual office services worldwide. With professional business addresses in over 5,500 prime locations, mail forwarding, lobby and directory listings, access to conference rooms and day offices, catering, administrative services, virtual assistants, business support centers, resident agent services, license hanging and more, Davinci Virtual helps businesses maintain a global presence on a local budget.

DavinciMeetingRooms.com is a comprehensive workspace reservation platform for business, providing access to over 25,000 conference rooms, day offices, meeting spaces and business support services around the globe. Users can book professionally equipped meeting spaces, day offices and team rooms as well as critical add-on services such as LCD projectors, video conferencing, wireless Internet access, catering services and secretarial support.

Davinci's virtual communications services include local or toll-free telephone and fax numbers, digital voicemail, electronic fax, email, online command center, unified messaging, voice and video conferencing, voicemail to email, fax to email, professional live receptionist services, virtual assistants, live call answering, live web chat, screening and forwarding, find me, follow me, surveys, outbound calling, customer service, appointment scheduling, order taking, and much more.

https://www.davincivirtual.com/

SOURCE The Instant Group
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Hospital Information System Market By Component, By Deployment, By Type, By Regional Outlook, Industry Analysis Report and Forecast, 2021-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Global Hospital Information System Market size is expected to reach $79.7 billion by 2027, rising at a market growth of 5.4% CAGR during the forecast period.



A hospital information system (HIS) is a subset of health informatics that emphasizes on hospital management. In various implementations, a HIS is a full, integrated information system designed to manage all aspects of a hospital's operations, such as medical, financial, administrative, and legal complications, and the associated service processing. A hospital information system (HIS) is sometimes known as hospital management system or hospital management software (HMS). Doctors utilize hospital information systems to organize visits since they are a great source of information pertaining to a patient's medical history. The system must protect data and control who has access to it under certain situations.



COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the business operation across various business verticals. It is due to the imposition of various regulations by the governments across the world to curb the spread of the virus. However, the healthcare sector has been positively impacted by the pandemic. The increasing prevalence of COVID-19 has made it necessary for hospitals to use information systemsto save burden.



Furthermore, continuous endeavors for healthcare IT solutions have pushed the use of different modern information systems in emerging countries even further. To reduce exposure, the COVID-19 pandemic has directed toenhancethe level of automation and digitalization in healthcare institutions.



Market Growth Factors:

Enhancement in Data Retrieve-ability & Security

Record keeping in hospital facility is a necessary measure with two challenges: keeping the data secure with only authorized staff having access to it and retrieving it in the shortest amount of time feasible. In addition to these constant issues of space limitation, natural element protection, insect prevention, and so forth, the demand for various advanced solutions is expected to witness a surge in the coming years. HIS is the ideal solution to these issues. All data is securely saved on a server or in the cloud. Because HIS is focused on logins, data security is no longer a concern, as data access is granted depending on the person's job including receptionist, doctor, nurse, radiologist, and so on.



Improved Accuracy and enhanced efficiency

Processes that are automated utilizing software will be handled mechanically without the need for human interaction, resulting in immediate increased efficiency. The programme will not experience human issues such as exhaustion, misunderstanding, or lack of attention; it will do every work entrusted to it with the same precision day after day. Because HIS operations are automated and many activities are entrusted to software to conduct with greatest precision with minimal human participation, the possibility of error is greatly minimized.



Marketing Restraining Factor:

The rise in the number of regulatory compliances

The Healthcare industry has plenty of sensitive data, which is required to be protected through various regulations and compliances like the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Data discovery problems and low data quality make it more problematic to carry out the needed audits and fulfill regulatory needs and restrict several data healthcare providers from using them for benefitting their patients. Many governments across the world are increasingly framing strategies and policies to keep a track on the security of patients' data. It is mandate for hospitals to meet this compliance in order to prevent data breaches.



Component Outlook

Based on Component, the market is segmented into Software, Hardware, and Services. It is owing to the high reliance of the hospitals on on-premise solutions to provide better healthcare services to the patients in organized manner. It is because of the factors like high requirement of various advanced systems and devices by the hospitals.



Deployment Outlook

Based on Deployment, the market is segmented into Web Based, On-Premises, and Cloud based. The on-premise segment procured a substantial revenue share. It is owing to the high reliance of the hospitals on on-premise solutions to provide better healthcare services to the patients in organized manner.



Type Outlook

Based on Type, the market is segmented into Electronic Health Record, Patient Engagement Solution, Population Health Management, Electronic Medical Record and Real-time Healthcare. The patient engagement solutions segment acquired a significant revenue share. The rising burden of chronic illnesses, as well as the growing elderly population, is some of the primary causes driving the global adoption of patient engagement solutions.



Regional Outlook

Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. North America emerged as the leading region with the maximum revenue share. It is due to the growing market for technologically advanced information systems in U.S. hospitals, as well as the high presence of IT vendors such as GE Healthcare, Cerner, Carestream Health, McKesson, and NextGen Healthcare.



KBV Cardinal Matrix - Hospital Information System Market Competition Analysis



The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships. Based on the Analysis presented in the General Electric (GE) Co. is the major forerunner in the Hospital Information System Market. Companies such as Siemens Healthineers AG, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Wipro Limited are some of the key innovators in the Market.



The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG), Cerner Corporation, AllScripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., General Electric (GE) Co. (GE Healthcare), Koninklijke Philips N.V., McKesson Corporation, NextGen Healthcare, Inc., Wipro Limited, Dedalus S.p.A. (Ardian), and Integrated Medical Systems Pty Ltd.

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Market Scope & Methodology



Chapter 2. Market Overview

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 Overview

2.1.1.1 Market Composition and Scenario

2.2 Key Factors Impacting the Market

2.2.1 Market Drivers

2.2.2 Market Restraints



Chapter 3. Competition Analysis - Global

3.1 KBV Cardinal Matrix

3.2 Recent Industry Wide Strategic Developments

3.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements

3.2.2 Acquisition and Mergers

3.2.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions

3.3 Top Winning Strategies

3.3.1 Key Leading Strategies: Percentage Distribution (2017-2021)

3.3.2 Key Strategic Move: (Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: 2017, Jan - 2021, Dec) Leading Players



Chapter 4. Global Hospital Information System Market by Component

4.1 Global Software Market by Region

4.2 Global Hardware Market by Region

4.3 Global Services Market by Region



Chapter 5. Global Hospital Information System Market by Deployment

5.1 Global Web-based Market by Region

5.2 Global On-premises Market by Region

5.3 Global Cloud-based Market by Region



Chapter 6. Global Hospital Information System Market by Type

6.1 Global Electronic Health Record Market by Region

6.2 Global Patient Engagement Solution Market by Region

6.3 Global Population Health Management Market by Region

6.4 Global Electronic Medical Record Market by Region

6.5 Global Real-time Healthcare Market by Region



Chapter 7. Global Hospital Information System Market by Region



Chapter 8. Company Profiles

8.1 Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)

8.1.1 Company Overview

8.1.2 Financial Analysis

8.1.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

8.1.4 Research & Development Expenses

8.1.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.1.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.1.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.2 Cerner Corporation

8.2.1 Company Overview

8.2.2 Financial Analysis

8.2.3 Regional Analysis

8.2.4 Research & Development Expense

8.2.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.2.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.2.5.2 Acquisition and Mergers:

8.2.5.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.3 AllScripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

8.3.1 Company Overview

8.3.2 Financial Analysis

8.3.3 Regional & Segmental Analysis

8.3.4 Research & Development Expenses

8.3.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.3.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.3.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.3.5.3 Acquisition and Mergers:

8.4 General Electric (GE) Co. (GE Healthcare)

8.4.1 Company Overview

8.4.2 Financial Analysis

8.4.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

8.4.4 Research & Development Expense

8.4.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.4.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.4.5.2 Acquisitions and Mergers:

8.4.5.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.4.6 SWOT Analysis

8.5 Koninklijke Philips N.V.

8.5.1 Company Overview

8.5.2 Financial Analysis

8.5.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

8.5.4 Research & Development Expense

8.5.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.5.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.5.5.2 Acquisitions and Mergers:

8.5.5.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.6 McKesson Corporation

8.6.1 Company Overview

8.6.2 Financial Analysis

8.6.3 Segmental Analysis

8.6.4 Research & Development Expense

8.6.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.6.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.6.5.2 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.7 NextGen Healthcare, Inc.

8.7.1 Company Overview

8.7.2 Financial Analysis

8.7.3 Research & Development Expense

8.7.4 Recent strategies and developments

8.7.4.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.7.4.2 Acquisitions and Mergers:

8.7.4.3 Product Launches and Product Expansions

8.8 Wipro Limited

8.8.1 Company Overview

8.8.2 Financial Analysis

8.8.3 Segmental and Regional Analysis

8.8.4 Research & Development Expenses

8.8.5 Recent strategies and developments

8.8.5.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.8.6 SWOT Analysis

8.9 Dedalus S.p.A. (Ardian)

8.9.1 Company Overview

8.9.2 Recent strategies and developments

8.9.2.1 Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

8.9.2.2 Acquisition and Mergers:

8.10. Integrated Medical Systems Pty Ltd

8.10.1 Company Overview

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/a0x9uf

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
MOSCOW, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Tuesday sent a notice of withdrawal from the Council of Europe to the organization's Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The states of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and the European Union, abusing their majority in the Council of Europe, are consistently turning this organization into an instrument of anti-Russian policy, refusing equal dialogue and all the principles on which this pan-European structure was created," the ministry said in a statement.

Nevertheless, Russia remains open to pragmatic and equal interaction with the members of the Council of Europe on issues of mutual interest, it added.

Russia announced on Thursday that it would no longer participate in the Council of Europe. Russia joined the council in February 1996 as its 39th member. 
Newly Established Trifecta Collective Comprised of Leading Private Equity Firm, GreyLion and Trade Show Industry Veterans, Rick McConnell and Jennifer Hoff

ARLINGTON, Va., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Trifecta Collective LLC ("Trifecta Collective"), today announced that it has acquired the North American Trailer Dealers Association ("NATDA"), the only professional business association in North America that serves light and medium duty trailer dealers. NATDA is comprised of the largest national show in the trailer industry, a membership organization, and a leading trade publication.

The transaction was completed by the newly established Trifecta Collective, a partnership between GreyLion, a leading private equity firm focused on investing in high-growth businesses in the lower middle market, and trade show industry professionals, Rick McConnell and Jennifer Hoff. Mr. McConnell has extensive experience building and leading industry events spanning numerous sectors and has previously held senior roles at Hanley Wood and Informa. Ms. Hoff has an equally impressive track record in show management having held numerous positions at National Tradeshow Productions and more recently as Founder of Taffy Event Strategies.

Amy and Andy Ackerman, Co-Founders of NATDA, said, "It has been incredibly rewarding to help build NATDA for the past 15 years. Trailer dealers needed access to the very best products, services, and education, so we started the NATDA Trailer Show. It has performed even better than our highest expectations, and we are excited to be able to turn it over to Rick and Jen. Amy and I look forward to seeing everyone at the 2022 NATDA Trailer Show."

Trifecta Collective has been working closely with the full NATDA team to ensure a smooth and seamless transition. All current team members, including Andria Gibbon, Executive Director, and Karen Anderson, Director of Sales, will remain in their current roles.

Rick McConnell said, "NATDA is a special organization that is very much in tune with the trailer industry. Our team will ensure that we remain close to the market, exhibitors, sponsors, and dealers to build upon an already strong foundation. Amy and Andy have been great to work with through this transition. They have emphasized the fact that listening to customers is the key to success. We will continue this tradition!"

Jennifer Hoff added, "Amy, Andy and the entire NATDA team have built a world-class organization and tradeshow. I feel fortunate to be working with a group that is truly passionate about the community they serve and their commitment to excellence."

"Our relationship with Rick goes back more than 15 years," said Ryan Anderson, Partner at GreyLion. "Both he and Jen are highly regarded executives and have been instrumental in building successful industry leading trade shows over the course of their careers. We are excited about our new partnership and expect NATDA to be the first of several trade shows we acquire over the next few years."

Nick Curci, President and Founder of Corporate Solutions served as NATDA's financial advisor for the transaction.

NATDA's next show takes place in Nashville, Tennessee at the Music City Center on August 31 through September 2, 2022.

About NATDA

In its 15-year history, NATDA has quickly become the industry leader in the medium to light trailer dealer industry. Amy and Andy Ackerman founded the company in 2007 and were the sole owners of the business, building it to the strong organization it is today. The Ackerman's focus on making sure that the customer is first and foremost is reflected in the rapid growth of the business, including developing a strong group of member benefits for exhibitors and dealers. Most recently, the last event which took place in August 2021 sold out all available square footage at the Nashville Convention Center despite the pandemic headwinds. The Ackerman's will remain involved in a key consulting role.

About Trifecta Collective

Trifecta Collective is a trade show platform formed by GreyLion and trade show industry professionals, Rick McConnell and Jennifer Hoff. Mr. McConnell has extensive experience building and leading industry events across multiple industry sectors and has previously held senior leadership roles at Hanley Wood and Informa. Ms. Hoff has an equally impressive track record in show management having held numerous positions at National Tradeshow Productions and more recently as the Founder of Taffy Event Strategies, which she continues to run today. Trifecta Collective is working on future select acquisitions of events and platforms that are leaders in their respective market segments.

About GreyLion

GreyLion focuses on investing in high-growth businesses in the lower middle market. We seek to partner with existing owners and management teams across the consumer, industrial, software and services sectors to deliver capital in tailored and flexible minority and control structures. GreyLion invests $25-$125 million of capital per investment, primarily within the United States. We currently manage private equity funds with aggregate commitments of $1.7 billion. For more information, please visit www.greylion.com

Trifecta Contact:

Rick McConnell

Chief Executive Officer

[email protected]

214-693-0672

GreyLion Contact:

Jody Shechtman

Partner

GreyLion

[email protected]

646-475-3544

SOURCE GreyLion
BERWYN, Pa. , March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Triumph Group [NYSE:TGI] announced that its Actuation Products & Services operating company was selected to supply Hydraulic Power Pack Units on Mammoth Freighters' 777 Freighter Conversion Program. Designed, qualified, and manufactured at its Clemmons, North Carolina facility, Triumph leveraged its extensive experience and large portfolio of products to offer a cost-effective solution that uniquely fulfills Mammoth's cargo door power generation needs.

"Triumph is well positioned to support Mammoth Freighters' mission of developing a line of energy-efficient and productive long range freight conversion aircrafts," said Scott Ledbetter, President of Triumph Actuation Products & Services. "The demand for passenger-to-freighter modifications is at record levels, and Triumph's experience in producing the hydraulic power packs used in this type of conversion was a key factor in Mammoth selecting us as their hydraulic partner."

Triumph's Actuation Products & Services provides design, manufacturing and MRO services for products and systems including hydraulic pumps and motors, actuators, fuses, accumulators, valves and manifolds, and carrier launched aircraft holdback bars. Triumph Actuation Products & Services maintains a unique capability for systems engineering and integration, as well as hydromechanical and electronics in-house development. It also serves as the integration focal for Triumph, specializing in motion, control, and power systems for commercial, military and rotorcraft aircraft.

Triumph Group, Inc., headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs, and overhauls a broad portfolio of aerospace and defense systems, components, and structures. The company serves the global aviation industry, including original equipment manufacturers and the full spectrum of military and commercial aircraft operators.

More information about Triumph can be found on the company's website at www.triumphgroup.com .

SOURCE Triumph Group
ARLINGTON, Va., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the trucking industry's charitable arm  the Trucking Cares Foundation  announced it was donating more than $40,000 to a trio of organizations involved in Ukrainian humanitarian relief efforts.

"The war unfolding in Ukraine is a terrible tragedy," said TCF Chairman Phil Byrd, president and CEO of Bulldog Hiway Express. "The trucking industry stands with the Ukrainian people and we're proud to do even a little bit to ease their suffering."

The Trucking Cares Foundation board approved donations totaling $42,500 to three organizations involved in relief efforts in Ukraine and its neighbors: Save the Children, the International Red Cross and the United Nations Children's Fund. These organizations have been recommended by the group Trucking & Logistics Professionals for Ukraine, who have launched a fundraising and awareness campaign in response to the crisis.

"The Trucking Cares Foundation was established to help mobilize the trucking industry in response to disasters  natural and manmade  so providing relief and comfort to Ukrainians suffering as a result of this war is something we are called to do," said American Trucking Associations Chairman Harold Sumerford Jr., CEO of J&M Tank Lines and the newest member of the TCF Founders Club.

For more information on the Trucking Cares Foundation, visit https://www.truckingcares.org/.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation's freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves America Forward

SOURCE Trucking Cares Foundation
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "U.S. Debt Collection Agencies: An Industry Analysis" report from Marketdata LLC has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This newly updated bestseller by Marketdata examines the $15 billion business of debt collection agencies. Complaints by consumers about harassment by collectors still exists and tops the list of complaints to the FTC. Federal and state regulations have reduced recovery rates, resulting in slow growth. However, the Covid-19 pandemic really didn't hurt this business, as consumers used stimulus payments and enhanced unemployment benefits to pay down their debts in 2020.



Collections is a fragmented business of 3,200 mostly small firms. Industry consolidation continues, and the business has become attractive to investors.



Technology such as artificial information is making firms more efficient and skilled collectors are in high demand. Collections is moving off-shore and the outsourced IRS debt market has grown.

Key Topics Covered:

The study examines industry revenues/growth, consumer debt trends and industry issues, regulation, extensive operating ratios, etc. Covers national revenues/growth (2002-2017 actual, 2019, 2020, 2021 estimates, 2022 & 2025 forecasts), exhaustive Census data industry operating ratios (national, state, city).

The study examines consumer debt trends, bankruptcy trends, the debt buying market, outsourcing, major market segments and more.

Competitor profiles for: TransWorld Systems, Encore Capital, The Kaplan Group, Alorica Global Solutions, and Portfolio Recovery Associates are included.

Nature & Status Report of the Industry

Definition & characteristics of the business: history & development, Census NAICS codes, how services operate, no. of services nationwide/recent consolidation/mergers

Status Report: declining no. of agencies in U.S., effects of the pandemic

Demand factors

Industry trends: profit margins, offshoring, consolidation, adaptive learning systems:

Collection Techniques: discussion of "traditional" collection techniques & how agencies operate (letters, phone calls, legal action, skip tracing, use of operatives), what methods work best, current recovery rates, contingency fees, customer specializations.

Consumer Complaints, Industry Regulation

Discussion of major complaints about collection harassment and unethical/illegal practices, privacy issues.

2020 findings of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: No. and type of complaints, compared to 2018

Industry regulation, by: 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (1991), Fair Credit Reporting Act (1970), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (1996).

Regulatory bodies: FTC, FCC, CFPB

CFPB Annual Report 2021: Debt Collection Highlights, new rules explained.

Major Industry Trends

Summary: major factors affecting demand for the industry

Industry status in 2021: consolidation - declining no. of firms, decline in profits, challenges for various aspects of the business (TransUnion survey data)

Summary: Types of consumer debt held by type ($ amount: student loans, medical, credit card, mortgages, auto loans)

2019 major debt collection trends: compliance, technology, worker skills, company cultures, top 9 collection agency trends for 2019

Discussion of: industry & client consolidation, the emergence of artificial intelligence,

The Covid-19 pandemic's impact on debt, by population segment (Millennials, Baby Boomers, Gen X, etc.)

Bankruptcy trends: personal vs. business, discussion of Chapter 7, 11, 13 types, peak levels and reasons, regional differences

Growth of the debt buying market.

Findings of latest Kaulkin Ginsberg research/reports

Emerging collection technologies - integration of computer/telecommunication systems, pre-authorized draft printing (leading firms, how service works, software vs. service bureau approaches), skip tracing, predictive dialling, check verification & computer databases.

Companies Mentioned

Transworld Systems (incl. NCO Group, Altisource)

The Kaplan Group

Encore Capital Group (incl. Midland Credit Management)

Portfolio Recovery Associates

Alorica Global Solutions (incl. Expert Global Solutions)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7jd70l



Source: Marketdata LLC

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets
HUDSON, Ohio, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Screen Arts -- a multi-brand direct-to-consumer marketer including the brands Signals, What on Earth, Bas Bleu, Support Plus, and Daedalus -- set in motion a strategy for continued stability and success by becoming a 100% employee-owned company in December of 2021. Universal Screen Arts was founded in 1983 with its first title, What on Earth, and has grown via acquisitions and partnerships to become one of the top multi-title direct marketers in the United States. Now, through the creation of an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan), employees will earn shares in the business while working for Universal Screen Arts and share in its future long-term growth and continued success.

CEO and President, Matthew Bender, stated "Our founder and majority owner, Jared Florian, wanted to ensure the legacy of Universal Screen Arts. He and the leadership team wanted an ownership succession that maintained our company culture, our leadership team, our employees, our physical presence in our current locations, and provided the biggest wealth sharing opportunity to all our dedicated employees. An ESOP was the only solution that checked all these boxes. We are extremely excited about this next phase for Universal Screen Arts and look forward to sharing our future success with all of our new employee owners."

An ESOP is a qualified employee retirement plan that holds all the stock of Universal Screen Arts for the benefit of employees. Over time employees will accumulate company stock in their individual accounts and eventually be paid the value of those shares after they leave employment at retirement. "We are so excited and happy to offer this benefit to our dedicated team members" stated Hallie Sturgill, Chief Financial Officer.

"Our trusted advisors helped us make this dream a reality," notes Bender. The company received assistance from a team of professionals: David Solomon and Walker Duncan from Raymond James, Chuck Coyne and Dan Cooper from Empire Valuation Consultants, Tabitha Croscut from Divine Millimet, and Doug Sesnowitz from Ulmer & Berne LLP. "We also want to extend thanks to our banking partners," Bender added. "We worked with Huntington National Bank, Bank of America and CIBC with a special call out to Dan Waldeck and Stefanie Dormody from Huntington."

Universal Screen Arts joins 6,500 businesses with ESOPs in the United States, employing about 14 million employee owners. According to research compiled by the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), ESOP-owned companies tend to outperform others in their industry, retain employees longer in difficult times and provide an overall higher level of retirement benefits than companies that do not have employee ownership.

Universal Screen Arts, Inc.

Universal Screen Arts, Inc. is a leading internet retailer and mail-order cataloguer committed to strengthening the connections between our customers and their loved ones by providing thousands of unique and expressive gifts at affordable prices.

Contact: Alison Ganz

[email protected]

330-650-5000

www.universalscreenarts.com

SOURCE Universal Screen Arts, Inc.
UV's five-city 2022 tour across America has three value pillars: Get Help, Get Educated, Get Involved. The tour will bring direct assistance to victims and survivors; educate the public on how to build safer communities; and invite attendees to join the good fight through volunteerism, donation, or sponsorship. Founder and CEO Michelle Jewsbury will speak on her own journey from abuse survivor to international philanthropist and how, together, we can build a safer world.

"We're so grateful to our generous corporate sponsors and our local partners like the Dallas Police Department and Genesis Women's Shelter for helping us end the pain and suffering brought by domestic abuse", says Jewsbury. "We hope survivors in Dallas will come out and bravely choose the path to liberation."

UV has partnered with Scars of Survival Magazine as the media partner for the Awareness Tour. The event is sponsored by Dillon Gage Metals Division , Noble Gold , 20/20 Platinum Capital, Mission 5 Million, and Mannatech. Other partners include The Family Place, Mosaic Family Services, Wings for Women and Families, and Families to Freedom.

Dallas, Texas is the first stop along the 2022 National Domestic Violence Awareness Tour, followed by Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Tampa, and Montclair, NJ. This event is open to the public and free to attend; register for tickets here .

Unsilenced Voices

Founded in 2017 by philanthropist and author Michelle Jewsbury, Unsilenced Voices is a global 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking to live safe, happy lives. Unsilenced Voices provides services in multiple countries and launches in America in 2022. For more information, visit www.unsilencedvoices.org .

RayCo Media

RayCo Media builds sustainable, global brands with compelling storytelling, public relations, and Web3-integrated marketing. The Los Angeles-based full-service agency creates high-impact, accessible content and looks beyond fleeting media trends to cultivate a more intellectual and emotionally intelligent future. Learn more at www.raycomedia.net .

Rebecca Binny

+1.310.334.9942

[email protected]

SOURCE Unsilenced Voices
SK Siltron CSS produces a semiconductor wafer  a thin disc of silicon carbide crystal  that can be used to make semiconductor chips for components in electric vehicles. It recently began a $300 million expansion that will add a second R&D and manufacturing site in Bay County, Mich., and create up to 150 additional U.S. jobs, doubling its Michigan workforce and quadrupling manufacturing capacity in the next few years to meet increasing demand for EVs. The company has an existing site in Auburn, Mich., with a second site under development in nearby Bay City, Mich.

Ambassador Tai and Trade Minister Yeo met with top executives from SK Siltron, the parent company of SK Siltron CSS. SK Siltron, and its subsidiaries, are part of SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate.

The tour and meetings marked the 10th anniversary of KORUS, a milestone free trade agreement that went into effect in March 2012. By allowing most industrial and consumer goods to flow between the U.S. and South Korea without tariffs, the agreement continues to strengthen economic ties between the allied nations.

"Beyond increased exports, the Agreement has also strengthened the investment ties between our two countries and that's why I'm here today," Ambassador Tai said at the event. "I am particularly excited that SK will be investing $300 million in Bay County over the next several years, which will double the number of people they employ in the state and increase our semiconductor production capacity. This partnership between our two countries is an excellent example of how we can harness the innovation and talent of our citizens to create a cleaner, more sustainable economy  while also creating good-paying jobs."

Trade Minister Yeo commented on the positive impact for both nations as well.

"SK Siltron CSS is an exemplary case of mutually win-win investment cooperation between South Korea and the United States in the global supply chain, based on the decade-long Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement framework," Trade Minister Yeo said. "We will continue to support cooperation with the United States to build a more resilient global supply chain in new industries, such as semiconductors as well as EV batteries and biopharmaceuticals."

South Korea is one of the ten largest trading partners for the U.S. and a major source of foreign direct investment in U.S. businesses. In 2020 alone, foreign direct investment by Korean companies in the U.S. totaled more than $60 billion with Korea-based companies supporting more than 94,500 jobs in the U.S., according to U.S. Department of Commerce data.

"SK Siltron is honored to represent how positive Korea-U.S. trade relations are creating jobs, driving investments and building supply chains critical to our global economy," said SK Siltron CEO Jang Yong Ho. "SK Siltron CSS and its Michigan team members, with the highest standards for quality and performance, are playing an important role in supplying the advanced materials needed to support the growth of EVs and speed the transition to more environmentally-friendly vehicles."

Last December, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won presented his vision of SK's broader contributions to addressing global climate change during a Trans-Pacific Dialogue (TPD) event in Virginia. The event was sponsored by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies.

"SK Group is not only committed to creating jobs but also contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions in the U.S. and around the world," Chey said. "SK's investments in the United States are centered on eco-friendly businesses that help address global climate change and have a positive impact on the environment."

SK Group Planning $30B in U.S. Investments

In addition to SK Siltron, other SK Group companies are ramping up U.S. expansion plans. Across its companies, SK Group plans to invest more than $30 billion and create more than 16,000 new jobs in the U.S. by the end of 2025. The new investments are largely focused on supporting innovative industries and technologies to support a sustainable future. Investments and expansions by other SK Group companies include:

SK On , one of world's top makers of EV batteries, is investing $4.45 billion to build EV battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee through the Blue Oval SK joint venture with Ford Motor Co. SK On's first U.S. EV battery plant has been built and is in operation in Georgia with a second plant under construction at the same site as part of a $2.6 billion investment.

, one of world's top makers of EV batteries, is investing to build EV battery plants in and through the Blue Oval SK joint venture with Ford Motor Co. SK On's first U.S. EV battery plant has been built and is in operation in with a second plant under construction at the same site as part of a investment. SK E&S , another SK Group energy company, and SK Inc. jointly invested last year $1.6 billion in Plug Power, a New York -based leading hydrogen fuel cells and fueling solutions company, and has partnered with the company to explore the Asian hydrogen market. SK E&S also invested last year $1 billion in Key Capture Energy and REV Renewables, leading energy solution providers in the U.S.

, another SK Group energy company, and SK Inc. jointly invested last year in Plug Power, a -based leading hydrogen fuel cells and fueling solutions company, and has partnered with the company to explore the Asian hydrogen market. SK E&S also invested last year in Key Capture Energy and REV Renewables, leading energy solution providers in the U.S. SK Inc ., SK's investment arm, is making investments in a broad range of U.S. businesses in the bio sector, eco-friendly energy sector and alternative food sector. SK Inc. invested $350 million in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, a leader in cell gene therapy based in the Philadelphia area. SK Inc. also is investing in Monolith Materials in Nebraska , a clean hydrogen producer, and Perfect Day in California , which produces alternative proteins.

., SK's investment arm, is making investments in a broad range of U.S. businesses in the bio sector, eco-friendly energy sector and alternative food sector. SK Inc. invested in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, a leader in cell gene therapy based in the area. SK Inc. also is investing in Monolith Materials in , a clean hydrogen producer, and Perfect Day in , which produces alternative proteins. SK hynix, the world's second-largest semiconductor memory manufacturer, acquired Intel's NAND memory division for $9 billion and created a new U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. SK hynix believes that by expanding solid state drives (SSD), a NAND storage device, to replace hard disk drives (HDD), a more traditional storage device, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 93%. Moreover, SK hynix plans to invest $1 billion to build an R&D center in California's Silicon Valley.

SK Siltron CSS Part of Focus on Sustainability

Like these other investments, SK Siltron CSS in Michigan is supporting a new global supply chain to advance environmentally friendly industries. The SK Siltron CSS wafers are made from silicon carbide (SiC), a material that's more efficient at handling high power s and dissipating heat than silicon wafers. The SK Siltron CSS wafers are used by other companies upstream to make microchips for power electronics  the parts of the EV that help transfer electricity from the battery to the motor.

When used in EV system components, SiC can allow a more efficient transfer of electricity and weight saving, resulting in increased driving range of an EV by 5% to 10%. A single 6-inch diameter wafer from SK Siltron CSS can be used by its customers to make about 450 power chips, or enough chips for the power systems of 6-8 EVs.

"The wafers made at our SK Siltron CSS sites in Michigan are designed to help improve the energy efficiency of EVs, enabling EV drivers to go further on every charge and charge faster at each stop," said Jianwei Dong, CEO of SK Siltron CSS. "Ultimately, we believe this can help make EVs more attractive to consumers and more practical for their daily driving needs."

About SK Group

SK Group is a collection of global industry-leading companies driving innovations in semiconductors, sustainable energy, telecommunications and life sciences. Based in Seoul, South Korea, SK invests in building sustainable businesses around the world with a shared commitment to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy.

SK companies combined have more than $106 billion in global annual revenue and employ more than 100,000 people worldwide. SK companies are investing billions of dollars in expanding their U.S. presence with business operations or partnerships in hydrogen energy and fuel cells, EV battery manufacturing and technology, energy storage solutions, pharmaceutical manufacturing and development, semiconductors, and advanced materials. For more information, visit sk.com.

SOURCE SK Siltron CSS
Relocation driven by increased demand for Vector Laboratories' growing areas of focus, glycomics and proteomics

BURLINGAME, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vector Laboratories , the pioneer of innovative proteomic and glycomic solutions, today opened its new facility in Newark, California, where it will relocate its corporate headquarters this year. The relocation is accompanied by the rebranding and launch of a new corporate website.

The property at 6723-6737 Mowry Ave. has undergone an interior buildout to transform it into a 41,000-square-foot facility to enhance the company's research and development capabilities, including new laboratory and office space. Key COVID-19 protection measures have also been considered in the construction, including a powerful HVAC system upgrade to provide single-pass air in manufacturing areas, and lab and office areas that are visible to each other but still allow space for physical distancing.

The new space also enables a seamless and efficient workflow environment that will encourage greater productivity between departments. Vector Laboratories plans to take a phased approach to occupying the new space, which will be completed in May 2022.

As other high-profile companies are taking leave of the Bay Area, Vector Laboratories  which has been recognized as a trusted leader in reagents while operating in the region for 45 years  has chosen to deepen its roots by investing in the new manufacturing facility in Newark, just across the Bay from the company's current headquarters in Burlingame. The company will grow to 80 employees in the Bay Area by the end of 2022.

"We are at the precipice of a bio-revolution, which we've seen coming since the company's founding in 1976, and now accelerated by the pandemic. From academia to commercial businesses, our life science and diagnostics research technologies are being used for complex protein identification and characterization technology worldwide," said Dr. Lisa Sellers, CEO of Vector Laboratories. "We are excited to join the vibrant community in Newark, and grow along with it."

Newark life sciences companies have more than doubled in number since 2018 to a total of 35, including both early stage and established ventures. The city is committed to the business community from site selection to ongoing operations. It offers employees amenities and services from a great fitness and aquatic center, to the extensive Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge and many restaurants and childcare programs.

"I am happy to welcome Vector Laboratories to Newark and delighted to cut the ribbon to mark this great occasion for our city. Vector Laboratories is joining the growing number of life sciences ventures in Newark, where small companies of 3 people and large companies of over 1,000 people are finding the perfect place to expand and thrive," said Mayor Al Nagy, City of Newark. "Newark's amenities and community continue to attract investment, and we are so pleased that Vector Laboratories selected Newark as its new home."

About Vector Laboratories

Vector Laboratories empowers scientific advances with innovative proteomic and glycomic solutions. Supporting industries worldwide for 45 years and counting, Vector Laboratories is a trusted manufacturing partner with unmatched technical expertise and a culture of service. Customers rely on Vector Laboratories' immunofluorescence immunohistochemistry, glycobiology and bioconjugation products and custom manufacturing capabilities to move science forward, with impact. Vector Laboratories' market-tested product portfolio provides the critical tools researchers need to precisely visualize and study tissues and cells, and to ultimately tackle today's biggest healthcare challenges. The company's products and technologies have been cited in more than 350,000 peer-reviewed publications and its catalog and custom products are included in Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures around the world. Headquartered in Burlingame, CA, Vector Laboratories includes a global network of more than 40 distributors. For more information about Vector Laboratories, please visit: www.vectorlabs.com .

Media Contacts

[email protected]

SOURCE Vector Laboratories
Plant Power Fast Food opens flagship Los Angeles restaurant in the heart of iconic Hollywood, CA Tweet this

Plant Power Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Harris said, "We're absolutely thrilled to finally land in L.A. and we're especially excited to be in the heart of this creative community. In the short time since opening this location, we've received a warm welcome from local residents as well as the many musicians, actors and studio professionals who commute into Hollywood for work."

Plant Power Fast Food is a 100% vegan version of traditional fast food brands and features a menu ranging from burgers, fries, shakes and 'chicken' nuggets to salads, fresh juices, a children's menu and full breakfast selection. Keeping to its sustainable ethic, tables, booths and furnishings at the new location are constructed from renewable bamboo and chairs are made from recycled plastic. Disposable cutlery is all plant-based and compostable as is the majority of takeout packaging.

Plant Power Co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer Zach Vouga shared that the majority of Plant Power customers are neither vegan nor vegetarian. "Most of our guests are omnivores who are exploring new choices. Over the past few years, most everyone has become aware of the negative impact of animal agriculture on the environment and its role as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. They also know that eating plant-based is much better for their health. So, imagine chomping down on a delicious 'bacon' 'cheese' burger with zero cholesterol and no artificial ingredients and then realizing that this is actually better for the planet too. This really is groundbreaking."

The company has garnered attention in recent months for a number of top industry hires from large international restaurant brands such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Del Taco, Yum Brands, Starbucks, and others. According to Harris, this is all part of the company's plan to accelerate its lead in this rapidly evolving market segment. "The opportunity for a 100% plant-based fast food brand like ours is huge. In addition to our emphasis on the development of a transformational team culture and an extraordinary guest experience, we're laser focused on fusing passionate, mission aligned industry talent with strategic capital partners to execute on a growth strategy powerful enough to meet the moment and deliver healthier, sustainable plant-based food to an increasingly larger audience."

VIEW LOCATIONS

ABOUT PLANT POWER FAST FOOD

Headquartered in San Diego, California, The Plant Power Restaurant Group, LLC ("Plant Power", "the Company") is a privately held company founded by Mitch Wallis, Jeffrey Harris and Zach Vouga. The Company is on the cutting edge of plant-based fast food with a goal of driving a convenient, healthier option without sacrificing taste and satisfaction. To learn more, see menu options and learn about the food truck, visit plantpowerfastfood.com

IMAGES

HOLLYWOOD LOCATION IMAGES

FOOD IMAGES

LOGO

Contact:

Jim Amos, Scout 22

T: (818) 216-9122

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Plant Power Fast Food
VANCOUVER, BC, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Vejii Holdings Ltd. (CSE: VEJI) (OTC: VEJIF) ("the Company'' or "Vejii"), a North American online marketplace for plant-based and sustainable products, is pleased to announce that it has received approval from the Depository Trust Company ("DTC") to make the Company's common shares (the "Common Shares") eligible to be electronically cleared and settled ("DTC Eligibility"). The Common Shares will continue to trade in the United States under the ticker symbol "VEJIF" on the OTCQB Venture Market.

DTC is a subsidiary of the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation and manages the electronic clearing and settlement of publicly traded companies. Securities that are eligible to be electronically cleared and settled through the DTC are considered "DTC eligible." Having DTC Eligibility enables the Common Shares to be distributed, settled, and serviced through DTC's automated processes. Overall, this is expected to simplify the process of trading of the Common Shares while enhancing the liquidity of the Common Shares in the United States.

"Our DTC Eligibility marks another step towards increasing market awareness for Vejii. We are working diligently to showcase the Company as a compelling, and innovative digital platform at the forefront of our industry. Between ShopVejii.com, VeganEssentials.com, and VEDGEco.com, we have established a strong presence in the US market and have built a community of ethically-aligned consumers. We believe that having DTC eligibility will make trading of the Company's common shares more accessible to the US investment community", commented Kory Zelickson, Director, and CEO of Vejii.

About Vejii Holdings Ltd.

Headquartered in Kelowna BC, Vejii is a unified digital marketplace and fulfillment platform featuring thousands of plant-based and sustainable-living products from a growing list of hundreds of vendors. The platform offers an easy-to-use, omnichannel experience for both vendors and buyers, leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to elegantly connect brands with a targeted consumer base, both organically and through specialized marketing programs. Dynamic fulfillment services empower brands to offer tier-one service, with ongoing engagement being driven through features like smart lists, subscription programs, reordering functions, sampling programs, and more.

The Company also owns and operates US-based Veg Essentials LLC ("Vegan Essentials"), which operates VeganEssentials.com. A staple of the plant-based community, Vegan Essentials was established in 1997 and contributes more than 20 years of consumer insight, data, and buying power. VeganEssentials.com was awarded best online vegan store from 2005-2018, as well as best online vegan grocer from 2018-2021 by VegNews Magazine.

The Company also owns and operates VEDGEco USA Inc. ("VEDGEco"), which operates VEDGEco.com. Headquartered in Kailua, Hawaii and launched in 2020, VEDGEco is the first nationwide plant-based foodservice distributor, providing restaurants with high-quality plant-based options. With the goal of bringing the freedom of food choice to all restaurants and businesses, VEDGEco distributes plant-based products in bulk to the restaurant and wholesale food industry, as well as to consumers across the United States.

For more information, visit VejiiHoldings.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Kory Zelickson, Director and CEO

Find Vejii on Social Media: on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws with respect to the Company. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such as "believe," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "plan," "may," "should," "will," "would," and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements relating to the expectation that the Common Shares will continue to trade on the OTCQB; the expectation that DTC Eligibility will simplify the process of trading of the Common Shares, enhance the liquidity of the Common Shares in the United States and make trading of the Common Shares more accessible to the US investment community. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward- looking statements and information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release including, without limitation, that the Common Shares will not continue to trade on the OTCQB; DTC Eligibility will not simplify the process of trading of the Common Shares, enhance the liquidity of the Common Shares in the United States or make trading of the Common Shares more accessible to the US investment community; and other factors beyond the Company's control. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable laws.

SOURCE Vejii Holdings Ltd.
HANOI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and visiting Sierra Leonean counterpart Julius Maada Bio on Tuesday agreed on orientations to foster cooperative relations between the two countries in the time to come, Vietnam News Agency reported.

During their talks in Hanoi on Tuesday, the two leaders agreed to continue to maintain visits and meetings at all levels, while strengthening collaboration and mutual support at multilateral forums.

They concurred to consider economy as the focal cooperation area, with agriculture a key pillar of the bilateral partnership. Vietnam and Sierra Leone will optimize the strengths and potential of the two economies, while drastically implementing their signed agreements to boost trade ties, including the trading of rice.

The two leaders also focused discussion on seeking measures to expand collaboration in other areas such as high technology, telecommunications, digital transformation, innovation, and education and training.

Following the talks, the two presidents witnessed the signing of three cooperation deals between ministries and sectors of Vietnam and Sierra Leone in the fields of diplomacy, agriculture, and fishery, which are expected to lay a foundation for the enhancement of cooperative ties between the two countries.

The Sierra Leonean president is paying an official visit to Vietnam from March 14 to 20. 
PALM SPRINGS, Calif., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- An air force veteran filed a lawsuit Monday alleging housing discrimination based on his veteran status. Mark A. Baird, a war veteran, alleges that he was turned away from buying a home in Rancho Mirage, California because of hostility towards veterans and VA loans. Baird is suing under a new California law that makes housing discrimination based on veteran or military status illegal in the state. "It's shocking to me in today's world that corporate greed and lack of humanity is so pervasive and disgraceful," said Baird. "There are a lot of us that have served our country, the only thing we ask for are fairness and the few benefits we are entitled to." According to Baird's attorney Arthur Kim, housing discrimination against veterans is a dirty secret that most Americans do not know about. "For too many in the housing industry, the money of veterans is not good enough. This has to change. Americans want to honor our veterans, not discriminate against them." Baird is represented by Arthur Kim of Arthur Kim Law Firm in Beverly Hills and Palm Springs, California. The case is Mark A. Baird, et al. v. PulteGroup, Inc., et al. (Riverside Superior Court Case No. CVPS2201015).

Contact: Arthur Kim

Tel. (866) 582-1057

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Arthur Kim Law Firm
Read the 120-page report with TOC on "White Cement Market Analysis Report by Application (Residential, Commercial, and Infrastructure) and Geography (APAC, North America, Middle East and Africa, Europe, South America, US, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Spain), and the Segment Forecasts,2022-2026". Gain competitive intelligence about market leaders. Track key industry opportunities, trends and threats. Information on marketing, brand, strategy and market development, sales, and supply functions. https://www.technavio.com/report/report/white-cement-market-size-industry-analysis

White Cement Market - Drivers

The growing construction market is one of the key drivers supporting the white cement market growth. For instance, APAC has the largest number of emerging economies. These countries are focusing on infrastructure development. In Vietnam, the renovation of coastal areas and the establishment of industrial hubs are the major infrastructural projects that are underway. The country has approved a new $ 921 million investment plan to improve the performance of its industrial parks, which is expected to augment infrastructure development during the forecast period. Major construction projects in China, including the construction of the South-North Water Transfer Project in North China, the expansion of Beijing Capital International Airport, and the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge. Hence, the growth of the global construction market will increase the demand for white cement during the forecast period.

White Cement Market - Trends

Rapid urbanization and rising disposable income are other trends supporting the white cement market growth. The ever-rising global population supports the growth of the global construction industry. According to The World Bank Group, the global urban population is 7.7 billion in 2021. By 2050, an additional over 2 billion people are estimated to populate urban and semi-urban areas, with a majority in APAC and MEA. Hence, the demand for residential and non-residential projects is expected to grow in these regions. Meanwhile, white cement is used in different types of constructions. It reduces shrinkage cracking tendencies and the volume change from drying and increases resistance to weathering. Thus, with the rising disposable income and rapid urbanization, the demand for white cement is expected to increase.

To know about more drivers, trends along with market challenges - Download a free sample now!

Some of key White Cement Players:

The white cement market is fragmented and the vendors are deploying growth strategies such as increasing their R&D spending to develop innovative products to compete in the market.

Al Rashed Cement Co.

Buzzi Unicem SpA

Cementir Holding NV

Cementos Molins SA

CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas SA

Fars and Khuzestan Cement Co.

Federal White Cement

Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA

India Cements Ltd.

JK Cement Ltd.

Kuwait Cement Co.

LafargeHolcim Ltd.

OYAK Cimento AS

Ras Al Khaimah Co.

Royal El Minya Cement Co.

Royal White Cement Inc.

Saveh Cement Co.

Semapa

Shargh White Cement Co.

UltraTech Cement Ltd.

The white cement market forecast report by Technavio offers in-depth insights into key vendor profiles along with their key offerings. The profiles include information on the production, sustainability, and prospects of the leading companies.

White Cement Market - Segmentation Analysis

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2021-2026)

Residential - size and forecast 2021-2026

Commercial - size and forecast 2021-2026

Infrastructure - size and forecast 2021-2026

Geography Outlook (Revenue, USD bn, 2021-2026)

APAC - size and forecast 2021-2026

North America - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 Middle East and Africa - size and forecast 2021-2026

and - size and forecast 2021-2026 Europe - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 South America - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 US - size and forecast 2021-2026

China - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 India - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 Saudi Arabia - size and forecast 2021-2026

- size and forecast 2021-2026 Spain - size and forecast 2021-2026

For additional insights on the contribution of all major segments - Grab an Exclusive FREE Sample Report

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White Cement Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 120 Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.16% Market growth 2022-2026 USD 1.43 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth (%) 2.1 Performing market contribution APAC at 40% Competitive landscape Leading companies, competitive strategies, consumer engagement scope Companies profiled Al Rashed Cement Co., Buzzi Unicem SpA, Cementir Holding NV, Cementos Molins SA, CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas SA, Fars and Khuzestan Cement Co., Federal White Cement, Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA, India Cements Ltd., JK Cement Ltd., Kuwait Cement Co., LafargeHolcim Ltd., OYAK Cimento AS, Ras Al Khaimah Co. , Royal El Minya Cement Co., Royal White Cement Inc., Saveh Cement Co., Semapa, Shargh White Cement Co., and UltraTech Cement Ltd. Market Dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID 19 impact and future consumer dynamics, market condition analysis for the forecast period, Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Table of Content

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Application



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 09: Parent market



Exhibit 10: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 11: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 12: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2021

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2021-2026

Exhibit 13: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 14: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 16: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

4 Five Forces Analysis

4.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 17: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2021 and 2026

4.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 18: Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 19: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 20: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 21: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 22: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2021 and 2026

4.7 Market condition

Exhibit 23: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2021 and 2026

5 Market Segmentation by Application

5.1 Market segments

Exhibit 24: Chart on Application - Market share 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 25: Data Table on Application - Market share 2021-2026 (%)

5.2 Comparison by Application

Exhibit 26: Chart on Comparison by Application



Exhibit 27: Data Table on Comparison by Application

5.3 Residential - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 28: Chart on Residential - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 29: Data Table on Residential - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 30: Chart on Residential - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Residential - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.4 Commercial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 32: Chart on Commercial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Commercial - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 34: Chart on Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.5 Infrastructure - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 36: Chart on Infrastructure - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Infrastructure - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 38: Chart on Infrastructure - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Infrastructure - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

5.6 Market opportunity by Application

Exhibit 40: Market opportunity by Application ($ million)

6 Customer Landscape

6.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 41: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

7 Geographic Landscape

7.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 42: Chart on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Market share by geography 2021-2026 (%)

7.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 44: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Geographic comparison

7.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 46: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 48: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 50: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 51: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 52: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 53: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.5 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 54: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 55: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 56: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 57: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.6 Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 58: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 59: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 60: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 61: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 62: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 63: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 64: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 65: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.8 US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

Exhibit 66: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 67: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)



Exhibit 68: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)



Exhibit 69: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.9 China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 70: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 71: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 72: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 73: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.10 India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 74: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 75: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 76: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 77: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.11 Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 78: Chart on Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 79: Data Table on Saudi Arabia - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Chart on Saudi Arabia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 81: Data Table on Saudi Arabia - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.12 Spain - Market size and forecast 2021-2026

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 Exhibit 82: Chart on Spain - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 83: Data Table on Spain - Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2021-2026 ($ million)

Exhibit 84: Chart on Spain - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

Exhibit 85: Data Table on Spain - Year-over-year growth 2021-2026 (%)

7.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 86: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

8 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

8.1 Market drivers

8.2 Market challenges

8.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 87: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2021 and 2026

8.4 Market trends

9 Vendor Landscape

9.1 Overview

9.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 88: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

9.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 89: Overview on factors of disruption

9.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 90: Impact of key risks on business

10 Vendor Analysis

10.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 91: Vendors covered

10.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 92: Matrix on vendor position and classification

10.3 Al Rashed Cement Co.

Exhibit 93: Al Rashed Cement Co. - Overview



Exhibit 94: Al Rashed Cement Co. - Product / Service



Exhibit 95: Al Rashed Cement Co. - Key offerings

10.4 Buzzi Unicem SpA

Exhibit 96: Buzzi Unicem SpA - Overview



Exhibit 97: Buzzi Unicem SpA - Business segments



Exhibit 98: Buzzi Unicem SpA - Key offerings



Exhibit 99: Buzzi Unicem SpA - Segment focus

10.5 Cementir Holding NV

Exhibit 100: Cementir Holding NV - Overview



Exhibit 101: Cementir Holding NV - Business segments



Exhibit 102: Cementir Holding NV - Key offerings



Exhibit 103: Cementir Holding NV - Segment focus

10.6 CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas SA

Exhibit 104: CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas SA - Overview



Exhibit 105: CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas SA - Product / Service



Exhibit 106: CIMSA Ingenieria de Sistemas SA - Key offerings

10.7 Federal White Cement

Exhibit 107: Federal White Cement - Overview



Exhibit 108: Federal White Cement - Product / Service



Exhibit 109: Federal White Cement - Key offerings

10.8 JK Cement Ltd.

Exhibit 110: JK Cement Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 111: JK Cement Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 112: JK Cement Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 113: JK Cement Ltd. - Segment focus

10.9 LafargeHolcim Ltd.

Exhibit 114: LafargeHolcim Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 115: LafargeHolcim Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 116: LafargeHolcim Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 117: LafargeHolcim Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 118: LafargeHolcim Ltd. - Segment focus

10.10 OYAK Cimento AS

Exhibit 119: OYAK Cimento AS - Overview



Exhibit 120: OYAK Cimento AS - Business segments



Exhibit 121: OYAK Cimento AS - Key offerings



Exhibit 122: OYAK Cimento AS - Segment focus

10.11 Shargh White Cement Co.

Exhibit 123: Shargh White Cement Co. - Overview



Exhibit 124: Shargh White Cement Co. - Product / Service



Exhibit 125: Shargh White Cement Co. - Key offerings

10.12 UltraTech Cement Ltd.

Exhibit 126: UltraTech Cement Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 127: UltraTech Cement Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 128: UltraTech Cement Ltd. - Key offerings

11 Appendix

11.1 Scope of the report

11.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 129: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 130: Exclusions checklist

11.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 131: Currency conversion rates for US$

11.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 132: Research methodology



Exhibit 133: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 134: Information sources

11.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 135: List of abbreviations

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
"Over the past two years, springbig has grown in tandem with the wider cannabis industry, and this achievement exemplifies our entire team's commitment to enhancing cannabis retail experiences across North America," said Jeffrey Harris, CEO of springbig. "We are proud to be recognized as one of the fastest-growing companies in the Southeast for a second consecutive year, and it is a privilege to be a member of this dynamic business community."

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Southeast region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 173 private companies had an average growth rate of 147% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 27,794 jobs and nearly $4.9 billion to the Southeast region's economy. Companies based in the Miami, Florida, Fairhope, Alabama, and Covington, Louisiana, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

"This year's Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts growth companies. They're disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

The complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Southeast can be found at inc.com/southeast.

About springbig

springbig is a market-leading software platform providing customer loyalty and marketing automation solutions to cannabis retailers and brands in the U.S. and Canada. springbig's platform connects consumers with retailers and brands, primarily through SMS marketing, as well as emails, customer feedback system, and loyalty programs, to support retailers' and brands' customer engagement and retention. springbig offers marketing automation solutions that provide for consistency of customer communication, thereby driving customer retention and retail foot traffic. Additionally, springbig's reporting and analytics offerings deliver valuable insights that clients utilize to better understand their customer base, purchasing habits and trends. For more information, visit https://springbig.com/ .

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 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 springbig/Rosie Mattio Public Relations
Significant growth brought company to the top of Inc. regional list

AUSTIN, Texas, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Wursta Corporation, a leading technology advisor specializing in cloud transformation and digital workspace design, announced they have ranked 24th on Inc. Magazine's 5000 Regionals Southwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Born out of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Southwest region economy's most dynamic segment  its independent small businesses.

Wursta

"We are thrilled to have been named, for the second year in a row, to Inc.'s prestigious regional list of fastest growing companies," said Matt Wursta, founder and CEO of Wursta. "We have had an incredible year helping businesses of all sizes with their technology needs. As we look to the year ahead, we will continue to learn and grow with our clients to provide them with the most advanced solutions to help them prosper through the use of technology."

Looking ahead, Wursta forecasts revenues will grow another 74 percent this year. Wursta was included on Inc. 5000's national list of fastest growing companies in 2021 and 2020, ranking in the top 10 percent both years. To accommodate this growth, Wursta is currently looking to fill 15 open positions , with many more anticipated throughout the year.

The companies on this regional list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Southwest region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 141 private companies had an average growth rate of 154% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 10,563 jobs and nearly $10.9 billion to the Southwest region's economy. Companies based in the Austin, Texas, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Fort Worth, Texas, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Southwest, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/southwest.

"This year's Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of America's off-the-charts growth companies. They're disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies you'll be hearing about for years to come," says Scott Omelianuk, Editor-in-Chief of Inc.

About Wursta

Wursta is a technology consultancy that helps organizations maximize their use of the cloud to compete in the modern world. As a premier Google partner, Wursta handles migrations to the cloud, managed services, infrastructure modernization, custom application development, digital workspace optimization, and security and risk management. The Austin, TX-based company was founded in 2014 by Matt Wursta and has ranked in the top 500 of Inc. 5000's fastest-growing private companies the past two years. For more information visit https://wursta.com/ .

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 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.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Fugel

845-657-4202

[email protected]

SOURCE Wursta
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- WOWorks, the parent company of better-for-you restaurant brands Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and The Simple Greek, announced their biggest technology upgrade since the company was created and welcomes Kyle Mark to their newly created role of Chief Information Officer. The technology updates are set to be completed by April 2022 and will help the holding company streamline business operations for its franchisees and improve guest service. With all four brands using the same technology partners, WOWorks anticipates a more synchronized relationship between its restaurants and an ease of day-to-day operations.

Kyle Mark joins WOWorks after acting as Director of Operations for QU POS Inc. He spent most of his restaurant industry career in Director of Technology roles at Ciccio Restaurant Group, Gecko's Hospitality and Datum Technologies. He has also spent over five years at Apple as part of the "Genius" group providing assistance to users by quickly diagnosing product issues on the spot. Kyle also spent six months supporting WOWorks when he worked at FTR Hospitality Group as a Technology Consultant. "I am excited to join the team at WOWorks, implement the new WOW tech stack, and create a truly WOW experience for all our guests," said Kyle Mark.

"Kyle understands that while dealing with complex technology implementation and issues and working on long term strategy for our group, he has the responsibility to serve our franchisees and our team. Elevating our service and support level will be one of his highest priorities and we know he is prepared and highly qualified to do so," said Kelly Roddy, CEO of WOWorks.

Along with creating a new CIO role for the organization, WOWorks is streamlining their restaurants operations, processes and boosting their guest loyalty program through their technology partnerships with QU, OLO, PUNCHH and WorldPay. With all four brands using the same technology partners, restaurant owners and managers will find daily processes more efficient and consistent between the brands. Having uniform technology partnerships across all four fast casual restaurant brands will allow franchisees to open their businesses to additional channels of revenue, such as ghost kitchens and virtual brands. It will also allow franchisees who are multi-unit owners to consider co-branding their restaurants and set them up for an easy transition.

Some notable technology updates to the WOWorks brands include:

Point-Of-Sale (POS) Systems:

QU is a cloud-based Point-of-Sale (POS) system with a fully integrated loyalty and online ordering platform. Its unified order and menu management will ensure consistency between the four WOWorks brands.

Loyalty and Online Ordering:

OLO Rails will allow the management of a single, centralized menu that is automatically pushed to all third-party marketplaces, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. It provides a single interface to manage all third-party orders, a direct to POS integration and real-time menu and price changes. OLO also allows the ability to manage multiple menus for a single location. This enables WOW orks to add unlimited, integrated virtual brands.

will allow the management of a single, centralized menu that is automatically pushed to all third-party marketplaces, such as DoorDash and Uber Eats. It provides a single interface to manage all third-party orders, a direct to POS integration and real-time menu and price changes. OLO also allows the ability to manage multiple menus for a single location. This enables orks to add unlimited, integrated virtual brands. OLO Dispatch offers branded delivery directly through each WOW orks restaurant brand's sites and apps, allowing for the ownership of the relationship between brand and guest. Orders are managed via OLO's make-time logic to ensure food is fresh and ready to hand off when couriers arrive.

offers branded delivery directly through each orks restaurant brand's sites and apps, allowing for the ownership of the relationship between brand and guest. Orders are managed via OLO's make-time logic to ensure food is fresh and ready to hand off when couriers arrive. PUNCHH allows for direct messaging to a guest's phone and email, allowing for the guest to stay informed about the brands. It also provides a loyalty program along with stored value and the ability to run campaigns and restaurant promotions seamlessly with QU and OLO.

Processing and PCI Compliance:

World Pay is a merchant services and payment processing provider that offers a payment gateway for online transactions. This processing technology, built right into the POS, offers fast, secure and reliable card machines that make it easy to accept payments in restaurants or online.

"As the holding company of four fast-growing better-for-you restaurants, our goal is to make the lives of our franchisees easier. These new updates are easy to use and make restaurant operations simpler. Instead of juggling between multiple systems, we are paring down to the best technology systems," said Kelly Roddy, CEO and President of WOWorks. "By reducing the number of technology systems and upgrading the quality, this tech reboot will allow for stronger synergies between WOWorks brands in the form of co-branding, ghost kitchens and virtual brands."

WOWorks franchise owners come from different backgrounds, including existing franchise owners of different brands; varied business ownership backgrounds, such as construction, hotels, and fitness; former professional athletes; and military veterans. The company has franchising opportunities available in 49 states (all states excluding Hawaii) and offers 25 percent off franchise fees for veterans and first responders.

If you are interested in owning a WOWorks restaurant brand franchise, visit https://franchise.saladworks.com/, https://franchise.fruttabowls.com/, and https://franchise.eatgarbanzo.com to learn more.

ABOUT WOWORKS:

WOWorks was formed in 2020 with a mission to help guests pursue their passions and live their best lives by serving healthy, nutritious and flavorful meals along with its Vow to "WOW!" guest hospitality. Fully owned by Centre Lane Partners, LLC, WOWorks' portfolio consists of: Saladworks, the nation's leading fast-casual salad brand; Frutta Bowls, a unique restaurant franchise serving a variety of superfood bowls, fresh fruit smoothies, protein bites and more; Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a popular Mediterranean restaurant concept; and most recently, The Simple Greek, which offers a fresh and healthy take on traditional Greek recipes in a fast-casual setting. WOWorks seeks to drive explosive growth across all of its brands through a variety of channels, both traditional and non-traditional, including ghost kitchens, food trucks, grocery retail and more.

SOURCE WOWorks
LONDON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Brand Awards is an annual event held by Global Brands Magazine (GBM), an international publication headquartered in the UK. The award aims to recognise global brands achieving excellence in performance across a broad range of sectors while keeping its readers updated on key trends surrounding the branding world. The XTrend Speed was evaluated based on customer service, satisfaction, digital innovation, strategic relationships and new business development.

Commenting on XTrend Speed winning the awards, ShivKumar (CEO) of Global Brands Magazine said, "With the sheer amount of development that XTrend Speed has done over the last year, it comes as no surprise to us that they have two of our prestigious awards. Entering into an extremely competitive market and defying all odds by growing so quickly, XTrend Speed has amazed us by it's ability to develop and grow. We wish them all the best in their future endevaours."

Commenting on winning the awards, Michael Rezaie, CEO and Managing Director, said, "XTrend Speed is always committed to lowering trade barriers to provide clients with opportunities to get involved in the financial markets. Since it established, XTrend Speed has won two prestigious awards: Fastest Growing Online Forex Broker and Best New Forex Trading Platform. But our team members never stop their steps of advance. They will develop and improve this platform continuously to offer clients better services and smooth trading experiences. Besides, we pay special attention to the technology development and the security of clients' funds. We are also striving to provide the latest and most comprehensive market news. As a representative of this platform, I truly appreciate you for choosing XTrend Speed as your broker and giving us long-term support."

About XTrend Speed

XTrend and XTrend Speed are high-efficiency app-based trading platforms available on iOS and Android.

XTrend was founded and launched in 2018, while the Xtrend Speed App was launched in 2020. Both Apps offer nano-trading capabilities and user-friendly market access to the investment in CFDs on Forex, Shares, Indices, precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and other commodities across Europe. The Owners of each brand developed the Apps technology by listening to traders based on a deep emphasis on its fast problem-solving customer service.

XTrend's main research and development office is located in Limassol, Cyprus. In addition to legal entities registered in South Africa, Malaysia, China, and Cyprus supporting its research and development. XTrend is regulated by the CySEC authority in the EU and is authorized by the FSCA in South Africa (license no. 23497).

The XTrend Forex Trading App is available across Europe in English, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, and Spanish language editions. Its website is also available in these languages. XTrend is owned and operated by the parent company Rynat Trading Ltd. XTrend won the "Best Mobile Broker of the Year" Award in the AtoZ Markets Forex Awards 2020

In 2020, Rynat Capital (Pty) Ltd, an associate company of Rynat Trading Ltd, Cyprus, released XTrend Speed as a sister app expanding its offering of market access and other services to more than 140 countries worldwide. It has its registered head office in South Africa.

In October 2021, both XTrend brands had a combined total of 3,830,000 users worldwide.

About Global Brands Magazine

Global Brands Magazine (GBM) has been at the forefront, bringing news, views and opinions on brands shaping the future of their industry. The UK-based magazine provides its readers with the latest news and information on 'best-in-class brands across the globe. Each year, GBM develops a series of awards for companies that stand out, having a unique vision, exceptional service, innovative solutions and consumer-centric products among their industry leaders.

About Global Brand Awards

Global Brand Awards honours brands for their excellence in performance and rewards companies across different sectors for the quality of their services. The Brand Awards highlight the accomplishments of organisations that have performed remarkably well in finance, education, hospitality, automotive, lifestyle, education, real estate, technology, and more. Global Brand Awards recognise vital players who progress towards excellence by providing a platform to acknowledge their efforts. In addition, GBM strives to create awareness concerning the significance of such organisations and rewards them for their notable efforts with the ultimate global recognition.

Check out the below links for our social media shout outs:

Facebook: https://bit.ly/35ZAlnb

Linkedin: https://bit.ly/3q5zMyY

Twitter: https://bit.ly/3q9nG83

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3MSN0ZM

SOURCE Global Brands Publications Limited
Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC) recently welcomed the results from a clear cell renal cell carcinoma (a dangerous form of kidney cancer) preclinical program led by eminent cancer researcher, Associate Professor Nikki Verrills of The University of Newcastle and Hunter Medical Research Institute.

The research program found that the companys Zantrene treatment was capable of killing kidney cancer cells at clinically relevant concentrations on its own and in combination with known kidney cancer drugs lenvatinib, cabozantinib and pazopanib.

Following the announcement, research house RaaS Advisory has released an update of its research report on Race Oncology.

The following is an extract from the update:

Business model

RAC is pursuing a three-pillar strategy to enhance partnering, licensing or sale opportunities to a scaled pharmaceutical company via advancing Zantrene in pre-clinical and clinical trials across a number of cancer targets, as well as new m6A RNA regulating molecules. The first pillar, based on the current Zantrene formulation, aims to pursue clinical programmes in EMD AML (including as an FTO-targeted agent) and a cardio-protective opportunity. The second pillar is focussed on improved formulations that will allow an expanded use of Zantrene in solid tumours. The third pillar (beyond Zantrene) is pursuing new ribonucleic acid (RNA) targeting molecules via internal development, partnership or acquisition. RAC has near-term opportunities for FDA approval for Zantrene via the 505(b)(2) approval pathway for AML. The company is also eligible for a Paediatric Priority Review Voucher in Paediatric AML as well as orphan drug designation for AML.

Q2 FY22 activity and expected news-flow in current quarter

RAC completed an SPP to raise $29.7m at $3.00/share to support an expanded three-pillar strategy, with new clinical programmes announced for FTO-directed solid tumours, a cardioprotection trial in breast cancer, an expansion of the EMD AML into Europe, and enhanced Zantrene formulations (28-Jan-2022 ASX release). RAC has new pre-clinical findings that Zantrene prevents drug-induced heart damage from anthracycline and carfilzomib while also improving the cancer-cell-killing effects of the drugs in treating cancer. RAC expects to have updates on the progress on its pre-clinical, in-vitro FTO-directed programs under way in melanoma, clear cell renal cell carcinoma and extramedullary AML in Q1 CY22. RAC also expects to announce results regarding its pre-clinical in vivo mouse model studies exploring the use of Zantrene in melanoma and for EMD AML. RAC also expects to receive human ethics approval for its EMD AML Phase Ib/II clinical trial and subject to patient recruitment, an update on the AML R/R Israel trial progress.



RACs three-pillar strategy and diverse pipeline Vs peers

Neuren Pharmaceuticals (Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:NEU)) has a similar market cap of ~$450m though not focussed on cancer, and has a Phase II and Phase III clinical trial for different syndromes utilising its lead drug compound, Trofinetide. Both NEU programmes have received fast-track designation by the FDA and orphan drug designation in the US and EU. NEU has licensed Trofinetide to a pharmaceutical company for commercialisation in North America and has retained all rights outside NA. NEU also has a clinical pipeline it is progressing. Prescient Therapeutics (Prescient Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:PTX)) has a market cap of ~$100m and is focussed on cancer therapies, with its most progressed clinical therapy in the Phase Ib/IIa stage. KZA has a market cap of ~$136m and is also focussed on clinical stage cancer drug development.
Bitcoin and Ethereum snapped five days of losses, mirroring gains in equity markets and Asian tech stocks after China pledged to boost its economy.

The largest coin by market cap climbed 2.71% to US$39,432, moving further away from the key US$38,000 support level it has flirted with over the last week. Ethereum was up 4.40% to US$2.639.

Digital tokens had spiked even higher over night after Beijing vowed to support markets and its own property sector, prompting Kongs Hang Seng Tech index to jump more than 20%

Investors now will be hoping bitcoin can push on further to the $40,000 resistance level. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Bitcoin has climbed almost 13%. Though this compares to a 43% slump since highs seen in November.

Marcus Sotiriou, an analyst at GlobalBlock said digital tokens were also benefitting from increased hopes the industry will not suffer from over regulation. The EUs decision this week not to ban Bitcoin mining was "a huge relief for the industry as was more crypto-friendly noises from US President Joe Biden.

Sotiriou added further regulatory developments in the Middle East show the support that crypto is receiving around the globe, as the industry is proving itself to be an unstoppable force towards mainstream adoption in the long term.

In other news, Afghan citizens are turning to crypto in the face of US sanctions, failing banks and drying up of foreign aid since the Taliban regained control of the country.

Data from Chainanalysis, the crypto analytics firm, showed the use of crypto rose sharply since the takeover in August 2021.

Afghanistan now ranks 20 out of 154 countries for crypto adoption. Just a year ago the presence of digital currency was so minimal it was excluded from the ranking entirely.

In some of the altcoins, Solana was up 3.12% to US$82.34, Avalanche was up 3.30% to US$69.07 and Polkadot rose 4.46% to US$18.14.
Tern PLC (AIM:TERN), which specialises in Internet of Things technology businesses, is on the move after a couple of positive updates.

Earlier this month the company participated in the Sure Valley Ventures UK Software Technology Fund, which has now made its first investment.

The fund has led a 2mln investment round, providing 1mln itself, in RETiniZE Ltd, a creative-technology company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. RETiniZE is developing Animotive, a software product using virtual reality technology for 3D animation production. The investment is designed to support RETiniZE's growth plan for the next two-years and the global rollout of Animotive.

Meanwhile Device Authority Ltd, where Tern has a 53.8% holding, has been included in a project focused on IoT security standards in conjunction with Crossroads Innovation Group (LSE:TIG), a Virginia-based consulting firm. Led by the Virginia Innovative Partnership Corporation with funding from the Virginia Smart Community Testbed and the US Department of Homeland Security, this project will evaluate best-practices and technology standards related to securing IoT infrastructure.

Tern shares are up 13.46% at 14.75p.

2.28pm: Avacta moves higher after selling animal health business

Avacta Group PLC (AIM:AVCT) has moved higher after selling its veterinary business to Sweden's Vimian Group AB for up to 2.3mln.

The business, Avacta Animal Health, already sells immunotherapy products from Nextmune, a Vimian Group company, to veterinary clinics across the UK. The business also provides testing kits to veterinary laboratories across Europe.

It made a loss of 0.3mln in the year to December 2020 and was valued in the books at 1mln.

Avacta has received an upfront payment of 0.9 million and will receive a deferred consideration of up to 1.4mln dependent on performance.

The sale proceeds will be used to fund the development of Avacta's diagnostics and therapeutics divisions.

Avacta shares are 4.76% better at 57.67p.

12.15pm: IP Group unveils record results helped by Oxford Nanopore flotation

IP Group PLC (LSE:IPO), the intellectual property specialist, has issued a smart set of results.

The company reported record full year profits of 449mln, up 142%, with a strong performance across all its sectors.

In particular it realised a cash return of 84.1mln from the 3.4bn flotation of one of the firms in its portfolio, Oxford Nanopore Technologies PLC (LSE:ONT).

That helped lift its total realisations from 191mln to 213.4mln. Net asset value rose 30% to 1,738.1mln or 167p a share.

That has fallen since, after a drop in the price of Oxford Nanopore - where IP still owns 10% - since the float.

Chief executive Greg Smith said: "2021 was a landmark year for IP Group as we celebrated our 20th anniversary by recording our best set of financial results to date, including record profits, cash realisations, portfolio investment, and a return on NAV of almost half-a-billion pounds. It was fitting that some of our most exciting portfolio companies also completed landmark corporate transactions, with the highlight being Oxford Nanopore's multi-billion-pound flotation."

Its shares are up 6.16% to 94.8p. Analysts at Berenberg issued a buy note and raised their price target from 162p to 170p.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: The departure of long-time chief executive Alan Aubrey and chief investment officer Mike Townend and a slide in the share price of Oxford Nanopore have weighed on sentiment toward intellectual property incubator IP Group, but new boss Greg Smith will be pleased to see how record full-year results from the FTSE 250 firm are drawing a positive response from investors.

A 40% drop in Oxford Nanopores shares since the end of 2021 has shaved 233 million, or nearly 22p a share, off the net asset value (NAV) of IP Groups portfolio but all other things being equal that still leaves NAV at 145p. At 95p, the shares trade at a 35% discount to that, so some investors may be taking the view that IP Group now looks attractively valued."

11.03am: China funds recover as authorities pledge to support markets

The lockdowns in China following a growing number of Omicron cases undermined companies with exposure to the region earlier this week.

But news that Chinese authorities had pledged support for financial markets has seen a revival in sentiment.

So JP Morgan China Growth and Income PLC is up 13.07% at 350.5p, Fidelity China Special Situations PLC (LSE:FCSS) is 10.76% better at 242p and Baillie Gifford China Growth Trust has added 9.36% to 298p.

But Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, said: "Markets have been a mess in recent days, with the focus on spin not substance. Chinese lockdowns today are nothing like those of two years ago, but markets struggled to get past the word lockdown. Now the Chinese government is pledging support, and so support is the only word that matters."

(Read more on the story here.)

10.17am: Eagle Eye Solutions in demand as it moves into profit

Eagle Eye Solutions Group PLC (AIM:EYE), the digital marketing specialist, has caught investors' attention after it moved into profit and gave an upbeat outlook.

The company, whose customers include major supermarkets as well as the likes of Pizza Express and Greggs, said first-half revenues rose 40% to 15.1mln and it turned a 0.1mln pretax loss into a 0.6mln profit.

It said the third quarter had made a positive start, with trading in line with its expectations.

Its new business pipeline is growing at a record level, including deals with Halfords, a large US grocery retailer as well as food and pharmacy group Giant Eagle since the end of the half.

Chief executive Tim Mason said: "With the pandemic having accelerated the digital strategies of retailers around the world, personalised digital engagement with consumers is more relevant than ever. The strong revenue and profit performance in the period, growth of our international customer base and continued successful consolidation in the UK, demonstrates our ability to execute on this opportunity."

Its shares are 8.16% better at 434.8p.

9.09am: Pennpetro Energy soars after Tunisian deal

Pennpetro Energy PLC has flared up after unveiling a deal in Tunisia.

The independent oil and gas company - which is currently focusing on production in the Gonzales Oil Field in Texas - has reached a deal to take an 80% working interest in a joint venture between Upland Resources (LSE:UPL) and the Tunisian state oil company.

It will also operate the project at Upland's Saouaf permit area. The current work programme needs to be carried out prior to the current expiry of the Saouaf permit on 23 December 2022.

Pennpetro also agreed to reimburse Upland for the 80% of its prior costs in Tunisia, which is capped at no more than 290,000 and will consist of ordinary shares.

Pennpetro chief executive Tom Evans said: "Today's announcement marks an important strategic milestone under Pennpetro's expansionary petroleum initiatives. We are excited to partner with Upland in their Tunisian venture. Upland has done a lot of excellent technical and commercial work to this point and have built an excellent relationship with the Tunisian authorities.

"Our timing couldn't be better given the critical burgeoning need for additional gas and blue hydrogen supplies to Europe, especially given the fact that the Saouaf permit area is situated under the existing TransMed gas pipeline feeding gas from Algeria to Italy with spare capacity."

Pennpetro's shares have jumped 37.27% to 37.75p.

Elsewhere Bytes Technology Group PLC (LSE:BYIT, JSE:BYI) is better after an upbeat trading statement.

The software and cloud services group said full-year results would be ahead of expectations, with invoiced income up more than 26% to around 1.2bn. Adjusted operating profits rose by approximately 23%.

Chief executive Neil Murphy said: "We continue to build positive momentum in our business as we further invest in new talent and maintain our focus on customer service. The last year has seen Bytes continuing to strengthen its market position in cloud, security and annuity software and services, working with some of the world's most successful software companies. We are making good progress with our strategy and are well positioned to deliver on the significant opportunity ahead of us."

Its shares are up 8.66% to 459.2p.
Two Croatian Paralympic athletes shared their memories about the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games at the Zagreb Airport upon return from Beijing. Let's hear what they have to say.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
British Airways jets are currently grounded in South Africa indefinitely, with the countrys aviation regulator expressing concerns over engine failure and landing gear malfunctions.

Comair, which manages flights for BA, which is part of International Consolidated Airlines Group's (LSE:IAG), across southern Africa has been suspended from flying since Saturday following an initial temporary ban by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.

That ban was upgraded to an indefinite period one a day later, with the regulator saying, Comair operations experienced occurrences ranging from engine failures, engine malfunctions and landing gear malfunctions, among others.

As a result, the carrier has been forced to cancel flights to the ten destinations it services on behalf of BA, including Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia.

Our priority now is to assist passengers who have been stranded. We have chartered two aircraft to assist vulnerable passengers and those who most urgently need to travel," said chief executive Glenn Orsmond, quoted in the Telegraph.

Officials are investigating the problems, with Orsmond adding the suspension of services is a huge blow to our customers, employees and the flying public as it effectively takes 40% of the capacity out of the market.

The implications for the aviation sector and the country are considerable should the suspension continue for any length of time.

Comair is the largest regional carrier in South Africa, with a fleet of 26 Boeing jets, largely consisting of 737s and 800s.
Genflow Biosciences PLC (LSE:GENF) Chief executive Dr Eric Leire tells Proactive the group has secured up to 3.375mln in non-dilutive funding. It comes in the form of a grant from the regional government of Wallonia, in southern Belgium, and was awarded to the companys local subsidiary that will be paid in half-yearly tranches starting with 767,253.

The total cash injection will cover the costs for two years of the pre-clinical research and development programme for its AAV/SIRT6 gene therapy, which is developed to treat progeria, a form of premature ageing.
UOG can't miss at Abu Sennan at the moment

United Oil & Gas PLC (AIM:UOG) has reported more success from the drilling at its Abu Sennan licence, onshore Egypt, with the ASD-2 development well hitting 25.5mln of net oil pay across multiple reservoirs.

ASD-2, the first well of the 2022 drilling campaign at Abu Sennan, was drilled to a depth of 3,631m and hit oil across the Abu Roash (20m) and Bahariya reservoirs.

The net pay encountered in the Abu Roash-E reservoir was significantly above pre-drill expectations, UOG said.

ASD-2 has now been logged and will be tested before being brought on stream immediately through the existing facilities.

It is the eighth consecutive successful well at Abu Sennan since UOG acquired its 22% interest in the licence. Kuwait Energy Egypt is the operator.

Next to be drilled will be the ASV-1X exploration well, which has now been brought forward in the programme after technical assessment work.

UOG estimates that the ASV-1X structure has the potential to hold over 2.5 million barrels gross mean recoverable resources. The well is expected to spud in the coming weeks.

Brian Larkin, UOGs chief executive, added: "We are really pleased with the result from the ASD-2 well, which provides a very positive start to the 2022 drilling campaign.

Our production is highly leveraged to the current higher oil prices and oil/gas discoveries can be quickly brought on stream through existing facilities, generating immediate revenue for the company.

There remains significant potential within the Abu Sennan licence, and we are looking forward to drilling the upcoming ASV-1X exploration well.
Bezant Resources PLC (AIM:BZT) said it intersected visible copper mineralisation in initial drilling at its Gorob prospect, part of the Hope and Gorob copper-gold project in Namibia.

Eight drill holes were completed at the Gorob prospect for a total of 395.96 metres (m), (out of a 2,000m programme), with drill holes consistently intersecting visible copper mineralisation at, and near-surface, said the AIM-traded company.

"The exploration programme for Hope and Gorob has been directed towards testing for the presence of near surface sulphides and oxides, said executive chairman Colin Bird. To date there has been very little oxide but we are very pleased that all holes drilled include sulphide zones of reasonable thickness.

The intersections have been as close as 20m from surface and visual inspection suggest that copper values will be consistent with deeper intersections.

The drilling programme was designed to develop a resource at less than 150m deep, a portion of which will be open pit-able, and so minimize the time taken to get to production.

The company also located a 140m deep vertical shaft, which was excavated in the 1970s, at the Hope prospect and said that an investigation of the shaft and its alignment with known and projected near-surface mineralisation indicated scope for a high-grade near-term production opportunity.

Bezant noted that the shafts location, in relation to drilled mineralisation and the latest surface projections, is expected to significantly reduce future capital expenditure on underground development.

The project covers a significant portion of the highly prospective Matchless copper belt.
UK petrol prices could jump to 2.50 a litre, while diesel could touch 3 and may even be rationed as a result of Russias invasion of Ukraine, experts told a Treasury select committee.

Leading economics and energy analysts also called on chancellor Rishi Sunak to subsidise lower-income households so they can cope with soaring energy bills amid a broader spike in the cost of living, The Guardian reported.

The average cost of a litre of petrol on 13 March rose to almost 1.64, while diesel was up at 1.73, according to the latest figures from data firm Experian (LSE:EXPN) Catalist, with prices continuing to hit record highs following Russias invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

The UK gets relatively little crude oil and gas from Russia, but about 18% of diesel imports came from Russia in 2020.

The Treasury committee was told that prices could increase much further if geopolitical tensions continue or even worsen, with the cost of diesel potentially doubling in the UK, the paper reported.

Dr Amrita Sen, a founding partner and chief oil analyst at the research consultancy Energy Aspects, warned that diesel was likely to be rationed in Germany before the end of March and that the same could happen in the UK.

Government win

While consumers are suffering, the UK government is benefitting from the spike in prices.

Fuel duty is levied at a flat rate of 57.95p per litre for both petrol and diesel, while VAT at 20% is then charged on both the product price and the duty, according to the RAC Foundation.

The chancellor should consider cutting the level of fuel duty if pump prices continue to rise, the RAC Foundation said.

The Republic of Ireland previously announced that excise duty on petrol and diesel will be reduced until the end of August. Petrol will be cut by 20 cents a litre and diesel by 15 cents a litre.

If the chancellor is looking for ways to help with soaring household bills then an obvious option would be to follow the example set in Ireland and cut the rate of fuel duty to ease the burden of soaring pump prices, said RAC Foundation director Steve Gooding.

That would directly benefit the three quarters or so of households that run a car and indirectly help us all by reducing the rising fuel cost pressure on businesses and hauliers that will otherwise inevitably make its way to higher prices on the shelves for consumers.
Red Pine Exploration Inc (TSX-V:RPX, OTCQB:RDEXF) has announced the publication of its inaugural 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report as it seeks to establish itself as a sustainable mineral explorer in the Michipicoten Greenstone Belt of Ontario, Canada.

"The initiation of the ESG process was a crucial aspect of Red Pine's vision, as we commit ourselves to operating responsibly and remain accountable to the highest environmental, social and governance standards, Quentin Yarie, president and CEO of Red Pine Exploration said in a statement. The company is proud of its substantial first efforts to disclose our practices and performance in ESG in a formal context as we continue to competently advance our exploration program at the Wawa Gold Project."

The company's flagship Wawa Gold project is spread over 6,986 hectares and hosts several former mines with a combined historic production of 120,000 ounces (oz) of gold. The Wawa property has Barrick Gold's Hemlo mine to the west and Newmont's Borden mine to the east - the two largest gold producers in the world. The project also has other successful neighbors like Alamos Gold and Argonaut Gold.

Red Pine's ESG report, available on the companys website, serves as a valuable tool for investors and stakeholders and focuses on sustainable reporting, enhancing the companys relations with the community and indigenous partners.

Among the highlights of the report are:

Red Pine is currently involved in surface water monitoring in the Parkhill and Darwin-Grace areas of the property for any run-off that may enter Trout Creek or eventually into the Michipicoten River system

Red Pine has a mutually agreed upon consultation process to identify adverse impacts to aboriginal and treaty rights, and engage with respect to accommodation, with an aim to establish a mutually beneficial, positive, and productive relationship

The company's objective is to develop a mutually beneficial and respectful relationship with local communities within the direct area of interest of the mineral concessions in Wawa

Red Pine is currently in the process of completing a mine closure plan. Under this plan, the company is in the monitoring stage of vegetation and lake biodiversity. The current Wawa Gold Project is a brownfield site with 8 historic gold mines on the property dating back to the late 1800's

The company also said it has retained Hybrid Financial Ltd to provide marketing, promoting market and brand awareness for Red Pine and to broaden its reach within the investment community. The contract runs for an initial 12-month period to be renewed automatically for successive 6-month periods.

And Red Pine said it has engaged Haywood Securities Inc as a market-making service to aid in maintaining an orderly trading market for the common shares of the company, for an initial term of 12 months, subject to earlier termination. Haywood will provide market stabilization and liquidity services in respect of Red Pine's listed securities.

Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com
Ero can acquire the Tucuma property by paying to Soma up to US$6.45 million and spending US$1.7 million on exploration in three phases

Soma Gold Corp. (TSX-V:SOMA), the Colombia-focused miner, told investors it has struck an option deal worth potentially over US$8 million to sell the Tucuma properties in Para state to established Brazilian mining group Ero Copper Corp.

The miner said that along with Angra Metals Mineracao Ltda it has entered the deal to grant Ero an option to buy 100% of the assets.

Separately, Soma said it has struck a deal with the former owners of certain mining rights to acquire their 1% net smelter returns royalty (NSR) and to extinguish the former owners' right to a US$3 million payment, which is due on the start of commercial production on those rights.

Upon Soma having exercised this buy-back option, together with Ero having exercised its option to acquire the properties, Soma will be entitled to receive a 1.5% NSR.

"Soma is very pleased to have reached an agreement with a company of Ero's stature, and whose knowledge of the region and experience in Brazil will assist in demonstrating the potential of the Tucuma property," noted Geoff Hampson, Soma's executive chairman in a statement.

Ero can acquire the Tucuma property by paying to Soma up to US$6.45 million and spending US$1.7 million on exploration in three phases.

This includes cash of US$250,000 on signing of the agreement and US$1.2 million for exploration on or before September 6, 2023.

Ero must pay a final option payment of US$6 million in cash or shares in the event that Soma has exercised the buy-back option or US$3 million in cash or shares if Soma has failed to exercise the buy-back option, on or before September 6, 2025.

Soma owns two adjacent mining properties - La Ye and Mangos - in Antioquia, Colombia with a combined milling capacity of 675 tonnes per day (tpd), and is permitted for 1,400 tpd.

The El Bagre mill is currently operating and producing and internally generated funds are being used to finance a regional exploration program.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
Cangrejos is a copper-gold project in southwest Ecuador that Lumina says is the largest primary gold deposit in Ecuador

Lumina Gold Corp (TSX-V:LUM, OTCQX:LMGDF) has released an additional set of drill results from its Cangrejos project in Ecuador that showed strong mineralized grade continuity beyond the current preliminary economic assessment pit limits.

The company drilled 1.11 grams per ton (g/t) gold equivalent over 260 metres in one hole, and 1.55 g/t gold equivalent over 184 metres, including 1.98 g/t over 126 metres.

To date, 27 drill holes have been completed and six drill holes are in progress, for a total of 11,785 metres.

Lumina said that six drill rigs are currently on site and two additional drill rigs are set to join the campaign at the end of March. One of the new drill rigs will initially be dedicated to geotechnical and hydrological drilling in support of the pre-feasibility study, the company added.

Three of the holes were drilled in the western and central portions of the Cangrejos deposit, where high grades largely occur within intrusive and hydrothermal breccias, Lumina told investors.

Another hole contained mineralization that continued laterally beyond the pit limits defined by the 2020 preliminary economic assessment.

Cangrejos is a copper-gold project in southwest Ecuador that Lumina says is the largest primary gold deposit in Ecuador.

Vancouver-based Lumina is a precious and base metals exploration and development company primarily focused on Cangrejos.

Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas
The existing resource shows 485.4 million tonnes averaging 0.245% Ni in the indicated category, with 1,115.1 million tonnes at 0.248% Ni in the inferred, using a cut-off grade of 0.1% Ni

Zeb Nickel (TSX-V:ZBNI) Corp has hailed the latest drill results from its flagship Zebediela nickel project in South Africa, which confirmed that higher grade mineralization lies below the historical NI 43-101 resource and is potentially amenable to open-pit mining.

The company has now completed a first and second phase drill program with 14 holes sunk. The latest phase successfully hit the so-called 'Critical Zone' lithologies in all holes and Critical Zone rocks have now been uncovered along three kilometres (km) of strike.

Notably, this 'Critical Zone' of the Bushveld Complex is the geological horizon that hosts Platreef-style mineralization, which is currently being mined at Anglo American Platinum's flagship Mogalakwena mine, and Ivanhoe Mines Platreef mine.

Zeb Nickel highlighted that a weighted average calculation using a cut-off grade of 0.31% nickel (Ni) from this phase of drilling had resulted in a 76% higher grade than that which was declared in the historical resource used in the existing preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

Highlight drill results include 6.4 grams per ton (g/t) three platinum group elements plus gold (3PGE+Au) with 89% platinum content, and 0.39% nickel at 72m depth below surface, and 0.71 g/t 3PGE+Au, at 58% palladium content, and 1.7 % nickel at 260m depth below surface.

The existing resource shows 485.4 million tonnes averaging 0.245% Ni in the indicated category, with 1,115.1 million tonnes at 0.248% Ni in the inferred, using a cut-off grade of 0.1% Ni.

"With two major mining companies in our area exploiting the same Critical Zone lithologies which host the Ni-PGE mineralization that we have recently discovered as part of our recent exploration campaign, and the recent increases in nickel and palladium prices, we are encouraged with the results to date," said Wayne Isaacs, the CEO of Zeb Nickel in a statement.

"We look forward to receiving the remaining assay results and we are confident that these will continue to add value to the overall project economics."

Assays from five holes are pending from the phase of drilling and the firm said it was looking forward to beginning the next phase of drilling, which should allow for a maiden Ni-PGE resource statement on this higher-grade Ni-PGE mineralization target and allow for a new PEA with improved economics.

Zeb Nickel Corp explores for and develops projects related to the supply of metals critical for the electric vehicle (EV) and clean energy revolution.

Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com
The company said all the required permits are valid until the end of the year for the next phase of drilling at its Tomtebo property which is likely to kick off in early April and will comprise 1,200 meters (m) in three holes

District Metals Corp. (TSX-V:DMX) has provided a sweeping update on permitting and its planned drill programs on its Tomtebo and Gruvberget properties in the Bergslagen mining district in south-central Sweden, and its Bakar Copper property in Canadas westernmost province of British Columbia.

The Vancouver-based developer of prospective mineral properties gave a broad outline of its planned drill programs for the first half of 2022.

Tomtebo property: The company said all the permits are valid until the end of the year. The next phase of drilling at Tomtebo is likely to kick off in early April and will comprise 1,200 meters (m) in three holes. Drilling will step out below high-grade polymetallic mineralization at the Steffenburgs zone where the company reported hole TOM21-028 intersected 30m at 10.9% zinc-equivalent (ZnEq). In addition, a magnetic high anomaly 665m northeast and along trend from the historic Tomtebo Mine will be tested.

READ: District Metals poised for drilling at Bakar property in BC after Elephant Crossing target discovery

Gruvberget property: The firm said the drill permit application has been submitted, and all approvals are expected by April 2022. The maiden drill program at the Gruvberget property is scheduled for early-May and will comprise 1,800m in 10 holes. Drilling will focus on the Gruvberget North zone where historic drilling has delineated continuous polymetallic mineralization along a 550m strike length that extends to a vertical depth of 160m. Historic drilling at the Gruvberget North zone intersected significant polymetallic mineralized intervals such as hole GRU1011 that returned 6.1m at 11.0% ZnEq.

Bakar Copper property: The drill permit application was submitted in November 2021, and the BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation has not provided any guidance on the timing of the permit approval. The maiden drill program at Bakar will ideally be completed within H1 2022 and will comprise 800m in two holes. Drilling will test the high-priority EC Target that was recently identified by coincident VTEM and ZTEM anomalies, and rock chip samples from outcrop assaying 0.49% to 4.13% copper (Cu).

In a statement, District CEO Garrett Ainsworth said: We are excited to get back to the drill bit starting with follow-up on our recent exceptional drill results from the Steffenburgs zone at the historic Tomtebo Mine. Our planned step out 665m northeast from the Tomtebo Mine will target a magnetic high that shows a magnetic response that is analogous with significant polymetallic mineralization at the Tomtebo Mine.

He noted that the permitting process continues to go smoothly in Sweden as the firms drill permit application for the Gruvberget Property is on track for District to start its maiden drill program in early-May 2022.

Our data compilation on the Gruvberget property identified the Gruvberget North zone as a high priority target with potential to build out a mineral resource based on historical drilling, surface rock geochemistry, and geophysical anomalies where mineralization is open in most directions, added Ainsworth.

Meanwhile, the District boss said the company is communicating with the BC ministry on a monthly basis regarding its permit application to drill the EC Target on the Bakar Copper Property.

The EC Target represents an excellent opportunity for a grassroots porphyry copper or VMS discovery based on coincident geophysical anomalies, structural setting, geochemical anomalies, alteration features, and an associated topographic low, said Ainsworth.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive
Video: U.S. President Joe Biden on March 15, 2022 signed into law a 1.5-trillion-U.S.-dollar omnibus spending bill for the fiscal year 2022 to fund the federal government through the end of September. (Xinhua)

The legislation also provides 13.6 billion dollars in supplemental funding to boost humanitarian, security and economic assistance related to the Ukraine conflict.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a 1.5-trillion-U.S.-dollar omnibus spending bill for the fiscal year 2022 to fund the federal government through the end of September.

"With this bill, we're going to send a message to the American people, a strong message that Democrats, Republicans can actually come together and get something done," Biden said at the White House, adding the bill will "fulfill our most basic responsibilities" to keep the government open.

The bill, which was approved by U.S. Congress last week, includes 730 billion dollars in non-defense funding and 782 billion dollars in defense funding.

U.S. President Joe Biden leaves the White House in Washington, D.C. March 8, 2022. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

The legislation also provides 13.6 billion dollars in supplemental funding to boost humanitarian, security and economic assistance related to the Ukraine conflict.

However, the bill does not include additional COVID-19 funding that the White House had asked Congress for to support the federal government's response to the pandemic.

"As we enter a new moment in the pandemic, Congress has not provided us with the funding we need to continue the COVID-19 response and minimize the pandemic's impact to the Nation and our economy," the White House said on Tuesday in a fact sheet.

"As the Administration has warned, failure to fund these efforts now will have severe consequences as we will not be equipped to deal with a future surge. Waiting to provide funding once we're in a surge will be too late," said the White House. 
Total units sold by City Trees for January 2022 were up 47.8% from the comparable month of the previous year

CLS Holdings USA (CSE:CLSH, OTCQB:CLSH) Inc has announced a strong start to the year with the release of financial and operational results for its Nevada wholly-owned subsidiaries for January and February 2022.

Despite decreasing overall retail numbers in the state of Nevada, BDS Analytics data for January 2022 cast a bright spotlight on CLS' branded division, City Trees, which saw total retail sales of $1.05 million versus $340,000 for January 2021, demonstrating a 195.5% increase year-on-year (YOY) and a 205% increase over 2020.

City Trees total units sold were up almost 50% YOY and the brand boasted a 6.2% brand share by units sold and 6.3% brand share by dollars sold within the entire cannabis market in Nevada.

The company said that City Trees' overall performance continues to position the brand at the second position in the overall concentrate category in Nevada and as the first position in tincture brand in the state, according to BDS Analytics.

City Trees' overall performance continues to position the brand at #2 in the overall concentrate category in Nevada and as the #1 tincture brand in the state, according to BDS Analytics, CLS said, adding that it is important to note that all the growth and success has happened organically, from investing within and expanding the brand without any acquisitions.

CLS earned just under $2 million in net revenue during February 2022 which represented a 32% increase YOY and a 72% increase from 2020.

The wholesale branded division at City Trees continued to show accelerated growth with net revenues of $812,000 during February 2022 with an increase of 122% YOY and a 205% increase from 2020.

The company continued to achieve its goal of a greater than 50% gross profit margin during February, 2022, achieving 55% for the month of February.

CLS's retail division, Oasis, attained a 53% gross profit margin during February 2022, while the branded wholesale division at City Trees maintained a 57% gross profit margin.

City Trees saw total units sold for January 2022 up 47.8% from the comparable month of the previous year. During January 2022, City Trees brand share was 6.3% of the entire cannabis market in the state of Nevada, the company said.

CLS said it will be holding its first-ever quarterly investor call this April.

Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com
Apollo Minerals Ltd (ASX:AON) has uncovered more high-grade zinc-lead mineralisation at a key prospect within its province-scale Kroussou asset in Gabon, Central Africa.

The explorer reported on the last 12 holes from its 2021 drill program at the Dikaki prospect on Wednesday, with each drill target intersecting zinc-lead mineralisation in a zinc-rich system.

Shallow, high-grade intersections include 6.5 metres at 8.0% zinc and lead from 18 metres within a broader zone of 10.3 metres at 5.4% zinc and lead from 18 metres.

Looking ahead, the first batch of samples from Apollos 2022 drill program are en-route to Perth for analysis and the company expects to keep up news flow momentum in the coming weeks.

Further drilling underway

Speaking to the findings, Apollo managing director Neil Inwood said the companys drilling program had identified a shallow, high-grade core at the Dikaki prospect.

Mineralisation at Dikaki is open to the east and west along an extensive 9-kilometre trend, which we will continue to test with further drilling, he explained.

The 2022 program is expected to identify further high-grade mineralisation at Dikaki and Niamabimbou, while also seeking further discoveries at the extensive range of regional targets at the province-scale Kroussou Zinc-Lead Project.

Watch: Apollo Minerals hits shallow zinc and lead sulphide mineralisation at the Kroussou Project in Gabon

Exploring Dikaki

The Dikaki prospect comprises roughly 9 kilometres of prospective palaeo-channel trend in a zinc-rich portion of Central Africa.

Results from Apollos mapping, rock chip and soil sampling and drilling programs indicate theres strong exploration potential across the whole Dikaki trend.

Last year, the explorer completed 56 diamond drill holes for 2,988 metres at Dikaki  in 2022, drilling will step out to the east and west of know mineralisation to stretch Apollos understanding of this key prospect.

Promisingly, drilling at Dikaki continues to define a flat-lying mineralised horizon that is interpreted to follow a meandering river pattern across the channel, with current drilling designed to test north-south sections across the entire width of the channel.

The step-out drill sections are targeting the Dikakis mineralised horizon and the interpreted high-tenor core of the system.

Reportedly, mineralisation within the holes to date continues to confirm the Apollo Minerals mineralisation model, with zinc and lead uncovered within conglomerate and sandstone units with higher porosity.

Whats to come?

The 2022 work program at Kroussou is ongoing and focused on:

Infill and extension drilling of the high-grade zones of mineralisation at Dikaki and Niamabimbou to facilitate future resource estimation studies;

Geophysical surveys, field exploration and drilling to identify new zones of mineralisation at other defined prospects and regional targets to demonstrate the province-scale potential at Kroussou;

Metallurgical test work to confirm positive high-recovery, high-quality sulphide concentrate production; and

High-level analysis of regional infrastructure options for materials transport.

Exploration activity planned for the June quarter includes infill and extensional drilling in the central project area (comprising the Dikaki and Niamabimbou prospects), in addition to an airborne electromagnetic survey, field exploration (mapping, soil geochemical surveys) and drilling covering regional targets.

Currently, a two-rig diamond drill program is underway at Dikaki, executing 200 to 400-metre step-out extension drilling.

This work forms part of Apollos preparation for an expansion of the current drilling and exploration activities, while regional, passive seismic surveys and road access to other prospects and regional targets continues to advance.

Meanwhile, Apollos airborne electromagnetic survey continues, targeting completion in May or June this year.

The survey data will help the explorer test Kroussous entire 80-kilometre strike length, potentially highlighting other pockets of shallow, high-grade zinc-lead mineralisation similar to the Dikaki and Niamabimbou targets.
Gascoyne Resources Ltd (ASX:GCY) has made a $10 million prepayment to major shareholder, Deutsche Balaton AG, reducing its debt under a convertible note facility by 50% on the back of strong gold production at Dalgaranga Project and a buoyant gold price.

The debt reduction will save Gascoyne $3.1 million in interest payments over the next 21 months, which is possible due to the flexible nature of its funding facility with Deutsche Balaton and record production in January.

GCY is on track to produce more than 21,000 ounces for the March quarter  an increase of 25% on the December quarter  having already secured 7,900 ounces in January and a further 6,867 ounces in February despite planned downtime for maintenance at the mill.

The funding from Deutsche Balaton allowed Gascoyne to end its hedged gold position and take advantage of the averaged realised gold price; A$2,582 per ounce for the March quarter to date.

Greatly improved cash-generating ability

It is very pleasing that we are able to retire half of the convertible note through this $10 million prepayment to Deutsche Balaton AG, Gascoyne Resources managing director and CEO Simon Lawson said.

Dalgarangas strong production performance for the quarter-to-date, combined with an unhedged gold position, has greatly improved our cash-generating ability allowing us to make this payment.

We have been able to back up the 7,900 ounces produced in January with another outstanding month in February with 6,867 ounces produced despite experiencing five days of downtime for a scheduled mill re-line and maintenance.

This bodes well for the March quarter and puts us on track to deliver a +21,000-ounce quarter, an improvement of more than 25% on the December 2021 quarter.

The improved levels of cash generation sets us up well for the rest of the 2022 calendar year as we continue to increase mine life at Dalgaranga through extensions at Plymouth and further delineation of the recent Gilbeys North discovery, combined with the near-term development of deposits such as Archie Rose.

Gascoyne would like to thank Deutsche Balaton Group for their continued support and, in particular, the provision of this flexible form of funding at an important time for the company.

This funding enabled the company to eliminate its previous hedging position, providing welcome exposure to the buoyant spot gold market.

We are grateful to Deutsche Balaton Group and all shareholders for their continued support and we look forward to updating the market as the company outlines further important growth plans in 2022 and beyond.
Highfield Resources Ltd (ASX:HFR) has found a new chairman  Paul Harris  following a global search to replace current chair Richard Crookes.

Harris will be appointed independent non-executive director and chairman of the board with effect from March 25, 2022.

Crookes is stepping down from the board on March 24, 2022, to focus on his new business interest and role as managing partner of Lionhead Resources.

Well known in investment community

Harris has more than 25 years experience in financial markets and investment banking, including roles with Citibank, Bankers Trust and Merrill Lynch advising mining organisations on strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets.

He is well known by the Australian investment community and was also managing director  head of metals and mining at Citi for several years.

Most recently, Harris has been working with mining company boards as a non-executive director as well as providing advisory services on strategy and finance.

He is currently the non-executive chairman of ASX-listed Aeon Metals Ltd (ASX:AML) and a non-executive director of ASX-listed Aurelia Metals Ltd (ASX:AMI).

Harris has a Master of Engineering (Mining) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Make great contribution

Highfield CEO Ignacio Salazar said: I am delighted to welcome Paul at this key moment for the company.

I am convinced that Paul, as board chair, and with his significant experience with respect to debt and equity capital markets and his extensive networks in the Australian mining financing sector, will make a great contribution towards the delivery of the companys flagship Muga mine.

Outgoing chair Crookes added: I am delighted to hand over the chair of Highfield Resources to Paul Harris and I am confident that Paul will do an excellent job and successfully lead the company through the financing and construction of the Muga Project and onto production.

Advance Muga Project

The incoming chair said: Potash is a key product for the worlds future and it is an honour to follow Richard and to take on this role with Highfield to deliver a new Western European and geopolitically secure source of this increasingly important resource.

I would like to thank Richard on behalf of all shareholders for his outstanding leadership and significant contribution to the company.

I look forward to working with my fellow directors and with our CEO, Ignacio Salazar, and his team as we advance the Muga Project into construction and ultimately potash production for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) soared up to 43% on securing a $49 million competitive grant from the Australian Federal Government under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative Collaboration Stream, to be used in the development of the Australian Vanadium Project.

The project will enable new critical mineral production through the establishment of an integrated onshore Australian vanadium supply chain for the steel and battery markets.

Grant funds will also support the development of the vanadium redox flow battery market, including vanadium electrolyte and battery project development for downstream uses.

Australian Vanadium will collaborate with ATCO (TSX:ACO.X) Australia for the supply of green hydrogen for the project, while Bryah Resources Ltd (ASX:BYH) will support the recovery of nickel, copper, and cobalt from the tails stream.

Shares were as much as 43% higher to $0.05, a new high of 3.5 years with more than 303 million changing hands during the day.

Building critical Australian vanadium industry

AVL is delighted to have been awarded this grant from the Australian Government, Australian Vanadium managing director Vincent Algar said.

Our project will create hundreds of jobs in Australia and help to build the critical vanadium industry both locally and internationally.

We have developed an innovative and collaborative approach to building a fully integrated project, from mine through to processing and end use in the steel and battery markets.

Our collaborations are allowing us to build a project with unique social and environmental benefits.

We look forward to working with our partners to bring the Australian Vanadium Project into production and further develop downstream opportunities for green steel and the vanadium redox flow battery market.

The Australian Vanadium Project has been given Major Project Status from the Australian Government and Lead Agency Status from the Government of Western Australia, demonstrating its importance in the continued health of the critical metal industry.

AVL will now work with the Australian Government to finalise the legal agreement for the grant, including associated terms and conditions.

About Australian Vanadium

Australian Vanadium is an emerging vanadium producer developing its high-grade Australian Vanadium Project for the steel and battery markets.

AVL's namesake project, in Western Australia's Murchison District, is one of the highest-grade vanadium projects being advanced globally.

It hosts a JORC-compliant 239-million-tonne resource at 0.73% vanadium pentoxide, within which lies a high-grade 95.6-million-tonne zone grading 1.07% vanadium pentoxide.

AVL also 100% owns VSUN Energy, a subsidiary focused on developing the market for vanadium redox flow batteries for energy storage.
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Core logging on site at the Salinas Project in Brazil.

Latin Resources Ltd (ASX:LRS) has discovered thick, spodumene-bearing pegmatites during its latest exploration campaign at the Salinas Lithium Project in Brazil with shares trading higher.

The explorer is in the middle of a diamond drilling campaign at the project, where six holes have been completed across 500 metres of strike.

Promisingly, each of the holes has hit multiple spodumene-bearing pegmatites  all of which are open along strike and down dip.

Latin has reported cumulative pegmatite intersections in one hole up to 36.1 metres true thickness, while individual pegmatites have measured up to 21.1 metres true thickness.

Now, samples for the first four holes are off to the lab, with the first lot of results expected in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Latins drilling focus has shifted 500 metres north to Salinas priority one drill targets, located in the lithium projects northern target area.

Ecstatic with drill results

Speaking to the findings at Salinas, Latin managing director Chris Gale said: The whole team at Latin Resources is ecstatic about the continual positive drilling results from our Salinas Lithium Project.

The growing thickness along with the rich spodumene pegmatites is further indication that Latin may have a very compelling lithium project on its books.

We look forward to receiving the assay results from these spodumene pegmatites in the next few weeks.

The companys market cap is roughly $60 million, and much lower than our lithium peers, which we expect offers strong potential for re-rating as positive assay results confirm the strength of the Salinas Project.

This news has been welcomed by investors with shares as much as 29.27% higher intraday to A$0.053. More than 138 million had changed hands shortly before closing.

Senior geologist with spodumene-rich pegmatite core.

Work to date

So far, Latin has drilled six priority one holes across four drill sections in Salinas southern target area.

Drilling continues to show strong pegmatite continuity  both along strike and down dip while the emerging pegmatite swarm remaining open in all directions.

Large, fresh green spodumene crystals in drill core from Salinas.

Detailed logging, core cutting and sampling of the first four drill holes is now complete, with samples dispatched for analysis. Initial results from the first two holes are anticipated in the next few weeks.

With the completion of the final priority one drill hole in the southern target area anticipated this week, drilling will move focus to the next target area, some 500 metres to the north.

Notably, initial mapping and outcrop sampling has confirmed the extensive pegmatites encountered in the diamond drilling to the south, extend into and through this northern target area.

An initial five priority one drill holes, traversing three drill sections, are planned in the north.

Salinas story

Latins current drill program will see it explore one of the worlds most prolific lithium hubs.

The Salinas property lies within the highly prospective Bananal Valley district of the Minas Gerais Province  a rich mining region in Brazil, and home to the Grota do Cirilio Project, which is being developed by billion-dollar stock and TSX-V-lister Sigma Lithium Corp.

Sigma Lithium is the most active lithium explorer in the Minas Gerais region, with a world-class lithium resource base that stands at 45.7 million tonnes at 1.38% lithium oxide.

Sigma is focused on 10 high-grade hard-rock lithium pegmatites, nine of which were past-producing lithium mines, yet have reported more than 200 pegmatites within their tenure.

Sigma is now in pre-construction of its large-scale lithium concentration commercial production plant in Minas Gerais.

Based on the feasibility study, the commercial production plant will contemplate producing 220,000 tonnes of battery-grade 'green' lithium concentrate annually, while Sigma will be among the lowest-cost producers of lithium concentrate globally.

Not far away, CBL is actively mining spodumene pegmatites, producing a spodumene concentrate which is then transferred to a chemical plant in Divisa Alegre, Minas Gerais, where it is transformed into industrial grade lithium hydroxide.

Latin Resources is particularly excited by the opportunities this may present in the future for battery-grade lithium hydroxide production.
European Metals Holdings Ltd (AIM:EMH, ASX:EMH, OTC:EMHLF) reported narrower interim losses as the company continued to advance the Cinovec lithium/tin project in the Czech Republic.

It noted that the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had a negative impact on the projects timelines.

Travel logistics globally have improved since the end of the period, however it is difficult to estimate the ongoing potential impact, the company said.

Losses for the six months to end-December 2021 shrank to A$1.95mln (1.08mln) from A$2.32mln in the year-earlier period. The companys only revenue so far comes from providing services for the development of Cinovec.

Since the year end, European Metals has announced an updated preliminary feasibility study for Cinovec and a capital raising of about A$14.4mln.

READ: European Metals hails 'outstanding' update to Cinovec feasibility study

The company also noted that the economic viability of Cinovec has been enhanced by the recent strong increase in lithium and tin prices.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Ltd chief Gil Holzman said acquisitions have enabled the company to have at least four wells that will be drilled in Guyana, South Africa and Namibia in the next 18 to 24 months.

Through a series of acquisitions, the company has created a string of catalysts to our investors, Holzman said in an interview with Proactive Investors.

Theres a very, very exciting year ahead, the CEO said.

The comments came after the oil and gas company agreed a US$52mln share-based deal to acquire JHI Associates Inc., an explorer in offshore Guyana, which is a minority partner to Exxon in the Canje block.

Shares of Eco trade in Canada and the UK and have risen more than 60% this year on Londons AIM.
Under the agreement, FRG will sell and distribute Dream Water and LivRelief products throughout North America

Harvest One Cannabis Inc told investors that it has further expanded its presence in the United States with the signing of a sales distribution agreement with Flat River Group (FRG), a leading North American e-commerce distributor.

Under the agreement, FRG will sell and distribute Dream Water and LivRelief products throughout North America.

FRG partners with consumer goods companies that manufacture housewares, games, toys, pet supplies and outdoor sporting goods and has fulfillment centres in Michigan, Missouri and Illinois. It also partners with major retail outlets such as Amazon, Walmart, Macy's, Kohl's, Wayfair, Target, the Home Shopping Network, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Bluestem.

"Increasing our e-commerce presence in North America is one of the key initiatives for our brands Dream Water and LivRelief," Harvest One president and CEO Gord Davey said in a statement. "Our online sales in North America have grown substantially and the agreement with FRG will help to further accelerate distribution and increase online revenues and margins. FRG specializes in distributing consumer goods in the United States, our largest and most lucrative market.

FRG vice president of purchasing and business development Dan Myers added: We are excited to partner with Harvest One and to help them reach and exceed their online business growth goals by sharing our e-commerce expertise.

Harvest One is a global cannabis-infused CPG leader that develops and distributes premium health, wellness and self-care products with a market focus on sleep and pain. The company is uniquely positioned in the cannabis space with a focus on cannabis-infused and non-infused consumer packaged goods.

Harvest One owns and operates two subsidiaries: Dream Water, which offers consumer sleep aids, and LivRelief, which offers a range of CBD skin creams.

Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com
South Africa: SARS Multilingual Terminology list to demystify tax

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has launched a volume of tax terminology translated into 10 official languages in a move the revenue service hopes will improve the understanding of tax issues and compliance in the country.

The SARS Multilingual Terminology list translates terminology in all of South Africa's spoken languages, excluding English.

SARS Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the volume contains at least 450 financial terms covering topics such as tax, wills and general financial business.

Communicating with taxpayers and traders in their own languagehelps to provide greater clarity and certainty of [SARS] strategic objective in a manner that is understandable and makes it easier for taxpayers and traders to comply with their obligations.

It isour mission to demystify tax and to make it easier for millions of honest tax payers to meet their obligations. Communicating with taxpayers in a language of their choice is a huge part of this ethos and our ultimate goal, Kieswetter said.

The tax boss said the development of the volume is rooted in the revenue services obligation to serve South Africans in a language they understand.

He added that the move is also driven to promote the diverse languages present in South Africa.

The nature of tax and the fact that most South Africans from all walks of life are affected by SARS, it was a natural step for us to embrace the use of the Official Languages Act which  at its heart  seeks to ensure that government communicates with citizens in a language, tone and manner that is professional and familiar to them.

SARS is an organisation that is committed to promoting diversity, equality and fairness among employees and the society in which we operate. In that sense, the multilingual terms list is evidence of SARS commitment to these values. A commitment to the principles on which our democracy is being established, he said.

Kieswetter reflected on the history of languages in the country  highlighting that some languages were used as a means of oppression and received preference over others.

Language has been one of those instruments that has caused so much division, eroded significant quality of life [and] denied us of our rightful place in the country of our birth. Some languages are on the verge of extinction because its speakers were decimated or assimilated into other cultures.

Since 1994, government has been addressing this issue because language can build bridges between individuals, communities and in our case, build trust and improve our service to taxpayers, he said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation, holds documents as speaks during the UN Security Council meeting discussing the Russian and Ukraine conflict at the United Nations Headquarters on March 11, 2022 in New York City. The UN Security Council met at Russia's request to discuss Russia's claim of US-supported chemical and biological weapon labs in Ukraine. [Photo/Agencies]

The sizable biological military cooperation projects carried out by the United States in Ukraine, that have been exposed by Russia, are just the tip of the US military's iceberg of biological research.

Its acceding to the Biological Weapons Convention in 1975 has seemingly not affected its research and development of biological weapons at all.

Over the past decades, the US' "biological military empire" has expanded continually. According to its own published data, the US Department of Defense conducts biological research programs in more than 30 countries around the world.

It is an international consensus that it will require multilateral supervision and inspections to ensure all parties strictly comply with the Biological Weapons Convention. But the US regards its global bio-military activities as nobody's business but its own, and refuses international supervision and inspection.

Although the international community had already reached a consensus on the establishment of a verification mechanism in 2001, the US unilaterally withdrew from the negotiations, citing that the verification would harm its security and economic interests. Since then, the US has opposed the setting up of any such mechanism.

The US has also become more aggressive on the issue, claiming that only it has the say on whether it would adhere to the convention or not. It does not allow any other country to cast doubts on the "benign nature" of its biological research projects. Anyone doing so is abused for ill-intent and accused of fabricating rumors.

The US often contradicts itself on the issue. For instance, in November last year, it said that it had 26 biological research laboratories and other cooperation facilities in Ukraine. But on March 11 this year, it said it had 46 biolabs in the country. Now it denies it has any at all even though its cooperation with Ukraine in these labs is clearly stated in black and white in an agreement that stipulates that the dangerous pathogens that are stored in the labs in Ukraine should be handed over to the US should it request them.

That "cooperation" model also applies to the US' biolab projects with countries in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

It is time the US gave a clear account of its biological research activities in Ukraine and beyond, and stopped blocking the establishment of a verification mechanism for compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention.

It is the US that is the biggest risk to global bio-security. As their geostrategic calculations that have caused the Ukraine conflict show, perceiving threats to the US everywhere, US policymakers are willing to seize on every means to secure the country from the dangers which they believe surround it. In doing so, they grow all the more daring and less scrupulous in the means they are willing to employ.
Golden Independence Mining CEO Jeremy Poirier joined Steve Darling from Proactive to share news the company has released a strong independent Preliminary Economic Assessment on the companys Independence project in Nevada.

Poirier sharing the numbers including after-tax NPVof 35 million with an IRR of 18% with a 1,700/oz gold and 24.00/oz silver price. Significant leverage to metal prices with after-tax NPV5% of US$45M and IRR of 22% at spot prices. Initial Capital of US$63 million including working capital and contingencies. The Mine life of 6.1 years using only 60% of the near surface resource.
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We are pleased to welcome John to the team as we build toward a national rollout of our leading product, PURE EP, CEO Kenneth L. Londoner said

BioSig Technologies Inc has announced that John Sieckhaus will be joining the company as chief operating officer.

The Westport, Connecticut-based company said that Sieckhaus brings 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including 21 years at St Jude Medical and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT).

We are pleased to welcome John to the team as we build toward a national rollout of our leading product, PURE EP, CEO Kenneth L. Londoner said in a statement. John's leadership experience in the electrophysiology space and his impressive track record in capturing and growing market share in the US is well-aligned with our mission to bring our signal processing technology to as many hospitals as possible in the coming years."

During his tenure with St Jude Medical, BioSig said Sieckhaus held commercial leadership positions of increasing responsibility, including US national sales leader, senior vice president and general manager when he led sales and customer relationship management activities in the US across all cardiovascular product lines.

It noted that his experience in building and leading high-performance teams, in addition to integrating multiple new and novel technologies and introducing them commercially, led to significant revenue growth for St Jude Medical over his career.

Most recently, Sieckhaus held the position of vice president - field clinical affairs for Abbot, where he created a world-class field clinical and monitoring team to support clinical trials across multiple business units within Abbott's Cardiovascular portfolio.

"I am very excited to join this team and look forward to building upon the foundation of the PURE EP system and its capabilities, Sieckhaus added. Focusing in the area of electrophysiology by providing better solutions in identifying and treating complex arrhythmias for our clinical customers and patients will be extremely rewarding.

The PURE EP is an FDA 510(k) cleared non-invasive class II device that aims to drive procedural efficiency and efficacy in cardiac electrophysiology. To date, 75 physicians have completed more than 2150 patient cases with the PURE EP System.

BioSig Technologies is a medical technology company commercializing a proprietary biomedical signal processing platform designed to improve signal fidelity and uncover the full range of ECG and intra-cardiac signals.

Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com
Dr Norton will be assuming the advisory responsibilities of Dr John D Clements, who is formally retiring from his advisory role within the company

Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc (CSE:MVMD, OTCQB:MVMDF) said it has appointed Dr Elizabeth Norton to an advisory position to support the company's key Quicksome vaccine and cold chain projects.

Norton is an immunologist with 20 years of experience in evaluating immunity, vaccines, and microbial infections. She has a public health and research background with a current faculty appointment as an associate professor with tenure in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at Tulane University in Louisiana, in the United States.

"It is such an honor to be working with Norton on our advanced Quicksome vaccine applications," said Azhar Rana, chief medical officer at Mountain Valley MD. "Dr Norton's skill and expertise will be instrumental as we look at applying our Quicksome technology across an expanded variety of human and animal health vaccines with the goal of improving global vaccine access and effectiveness."

Norton began her training at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and received an Master of Public Health in international health. In her doctoral and post-doctoral programs at Tulane University, she evaluated innate immunomodulation and mucosal delivery techniques, with the main focus of her lab to evaluate strategies to improve memory responses to vaccines through mucosal adjuvants.

Her work has involved the management of large, collaborative projects for adjuvanted polio and tuberculosis vaccines, and has also pioneered a derivative adjuvant for intranasal use in pneumonia, opioid, and influenza vaccines.

Since the pandemic, Norton also runs a project for the Tulane University Convalescent Antibody and Immunity Network (TUCAIN) National Institutes of Health /National Cancer Institute U54 evaluating cellular and memory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccine responses in adults, children, and cancer subjects and oversees blood and tissue collections.

Norton has been consistently NIH-funded since 2013, authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications, received 3 patents, served on numerous NIH and other study sections and is a national and international speaker in her field.

Norton will be assuming the advisory responsibilities of Dr John D Clements, who is formally retiring from his advisory role within MVMD. Clements will continue to provide support on an ad-hoc basis to the company.

Contact Ritika at ritika@proactiveinvestors.com
HealthLynked (OTCQB:HLYK) Corp Michael Dent tells Proactive that it will host a two-day global conference that explores promising anti-aging innovations, genomics and other medical breakthroughs that will impact patient care for years to come.

Open to the public, the second annual Future of Healthcare Summit will be held on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19, 2022, from 7pm-9pm at Arthrex One Conference Center, 1 Arthrex Way in Naples, Florida. The summit is intended to help patients take charge of their healthcare decisions, and features presentations and discussions by eight distinguished speakers across medical disciplines.
New Delhi, March 16 : Showing a lot of resilience, India's economy bounced back from the negative effect of the pandemic, which reflected the country's strength. In this year's Union Budget there was a glimpse of how India will be after 100 years of Independence.

For the first time, the public capital expenditure increased sharply by 35.4 per cent to Rs 7.50 lakh crore in 2022-23 from Rs 5.54 lakh crore in 2021-22. Such a significant increase implies that the government will spend more money on infrastructure related to rail, road, air and waterways, among other things. It also indicates that the government will spend more money on infrastructure related to rail, road, air, and waterways, among other things.

The government also intends to spend more money to improve and promote research, technology, and the service sector. This will necessitate a significant investment.

Tax relief for the differently abled has been proposed. When the parent or guardian reaches the age of 60, the handicapped will be able to receive a lump sum payment for the rest of their lives.

The scope of tax exemption for the government employees in the National Pension System (NPS) has been expanded. The state governments have decided to increase the tax deduction on NPS contributions for employees from 10 per cent to 14 per cent. Central government employees get tax relief of up to 14 per cent on their contribution to NPS.

Digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, will now be taxed as well. This income will be taxed at a rate of 30 per cent. Every digital asset transaction, on the other hand, will be subject to a 1 per cent tax deducted at source.

This is the second year in a row that no new taxes have been imposed on taxpayers. In contrast, they have been given the facility to update the returns up to two years before the end of the assessment year.

In addition, donations made under 80G for the reconstruction of religious structures will now be exempted from income tax. Previously, this exemption was only available for new construction.

The central government's priority is a safe environment, as well as overall development. As a result, the Sovereign Green Bond was announced to encourage investment in projects such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and batteries. These will be issued by the Reserve Bank of India.
Pakistan was recently rocked by a massive suicide bomb last in a Shia Imambargah in Peshawar city, that took lives of over 60 Shia Muslim men who had gathered there for Friday prayers.

The dead included a cleric of the said Imambargah as well as an 8-year-old child. This is however, not the first such terrorist attack on Shia Imambargahs of Pakistan. The country which was created in the name of Islam has been witnessing some of the deadliest sectarian attacks on Shia Muslims since last 40 years that has taken lives of anywhere between 40,000 to 70,000 Shia Muslim men, women and children in various incidents of massacres as well as targeted sectarian killings all over Pakistan by Sunni extremist forces. It won't be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan has virtually turned into a living hell for its over 5 crore Shia Muslim minority.

It is indeed a poetic irony that Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who is credited as being the founding father of Pakistan was himself a Shia Muslim and yet today, vast Shia Muslim population of Pakistan remains as perpetual target of Punjabi Muslim Sunni terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi & Sippah-e-Sahiba and deadly attacks on Shia Imambargahs have become a "normal" periodic events in Pakistan.

These regular terror attacks on Imambargahs of Pakistan however don't take into account daily verbal sectarian abuse, humiliation, degradation, dehumanisation and discrimination that an average Shia Muslim man, woman and children have to face in a highly religiously radicalized Sunni Muslim supremacist Pakistani society, where space and freedom for religious and sectarian minority communities including Shias, Ahmadiyas, Hindus and Christians is decreasing every day. The fact that Shias in Pakistan have served as Prime Minister and top army officials cannot hide the ugly truth of how an average Shia Muslim has been systematically reduced as unwanted second-class citizen. "Kafir, Kafir, Shia Kafir" like sectarian slogans keep resounding all small and large religious gatherings all over Pakistan every single day.

Seeds of Pakistan's transformation from relatively moderate Muslim majority nation (for first 4 decades) to an intolerant Sunni radical extremist nation that it has now turned into lie in infamous "Islamization" project of former Pakistani dictator President Zia-ul-Haq, wherein he made orthodox Deoband Sunni ideology a de facto political governance guiding model for the state of Pakistan, something that, no civilian government even after General Zia's death has been completely able to change. The gradual predominance of Deoband Sunni orthodoxy in last 40 years had especially disastrous impact on Pakistan's minority communities including Shias, who faced the worst violence perpetuated on Shia Muslims anywhere in the world in modern times.

As a result of General Zia's "Islamization" project, many anti-Shia extremist religious organisations came into existence in Pakistan's Southern Punjab province along with anti-Indian and anti-Afghanistan terrorist organization. Over years these anti- Shia, anti-India and anti-Afghanistan organisations have been working together and supporting each other in creating chaos in Kashmir valley, Afghanistan and for Shias of Pakistan.

Jammu & Kashmir as well as Ladakh are home to large and diverse Shia Muslim population. It is estimated that Kashmir valley itself is home to anywhere between 15 Lakh to 20 Lakh Shia Muslims, who are mostly concentrated in Central Kashmir valley, especially Budgam region and Srinagar city.

Entire Kargil district of Ladakh is also overwhelmingly Shia Muslim majority and there is a small but vibrant Shia Muslim community in Jammu region as well, especially in Ramban district. Shia community of all three parts of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are well aware of the pathetic condition of Shia Muslim community in Pakistan. Whether it is Shia Hazara community of Quetta, Baluchistan, Pashtun Shia community of Khurram Agency in Para Chinar in Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa province or Shia community of Pakistani Punjab, Sindh and Karachi city, Shias community of Jammu, Kashmir & Ladakh is well aware of each single massacre of Shias as well as unending daily targeted gun killings of Shias that have been going on in Pakistan for last four decades.

The Shia community of J&K and Ladakh also know about the great Shia massacre of Gilgit, which is part of Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, where in 1988 over 1000 Shia Muslim men, women and children were butchered as part of Pakistani state sponsored anti-Shia genocide on orders of President Zia-ul-Haq, who ordered Sunni Pashtun tribesmen from NWFP ( now called Khyber Pakhtoonkhawa) to raid Gilgit region to carry out what was planned to be near mass extermination of Shias from Northern Areas ( now called Gilgit Baltistan), Pakistan's only Shia majority administrative region and an important part of former princely state of Jammu & Kashmir.

President Zia-ul-Haq used an insignificant dispute over sighting of moon in Gilgit city between local Shia and Sunni communities to inflame sectarian riots and then sent Pashtun tribesmen, who with the help of Pakistani army unleashed terrible genocide of Shias in Gilgit & Baltistan regions, which was eventually fought bravely by Shias of Baltistan but not before it took massive human toll in Gilgit region, which bore the entire brunt of Pakistani state sponsored mass killings and rapes. Gilgit Baltistan has also subsequently seen further incidences of sectarian targeted killings of Shias over years in various incidences of anti-Shia violence including dragging Shia passengers going from mainland Pakistani cities to Gilgit Baltistan, out of buses and killing them en mass.

Shia community of Kashmir valley, Jammu region and Ladakh has been living in perfect harmony not only with fellow Sunni Muslim community but also local Hindu, Sikh & Christian communities for decades without any problem. The violent kind of anti-Shia violent incidences are completely unheard of in Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh as well as entire India. Nearly 20 Lakh Shia Muslim community of J&K and Ladakh feels safe and secure being part of the union of India just like India's rest of 4 crore Shia Muslims. Pakistan must introspect as to what happened to the country, which was supposedly created as "home" for all Muslims of British India, but which soon fell apart in 1971, when Bengali Muslims resisted and rebelled against racist oppression of Punjabi Muslims of West Pakistan and broke Jinnah's Pakistan into two pieces, giving birth of independent nation of Bangladesh. The same Pakistan, created in the name of Islam is today graveyard for its vast Shia Muslim population.

((Javed Beigh is General Secretary People's Democratic Front (Secular). The views expressed are personal))
New York, March 16 : India's oil purchases from Russia would not violate any of the sanctions imposed by the US on that country, according to President Joe Biden's Spokesperson Jen Psaki.

Asked during her briefing on Tuesday about reports that India was planning to buy "discounted crude oil' from Russia, she said, "Our message to any country continues to be that obviously abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended." However, she added, "I don't believe this would be violating that." Making a moral appeal to cut off petroleum commerce, she added, "But also think about where you want to stand when the history books are written. In this moment in time any support for Russia, the Russian leadership, is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact".

However, NATO allies of the US continue to import Russian gas and petroleum.

Stung by the roaring rise in oil prices, India's Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that "discussions are underway" for buying oil from Russia, but "There are several issues to be gone into like how much oil is available", as well as payment for it and transportation.

Accounting for under 3 per cent, Russia is not a major supplier of oil to India, which gets most of it from the Middle East, while the US is also emerging as an important source for energy products.

Meanwhile, an influential member of the House of Representatives, Ami Bera, said that if "India makes this decision to buy Russian oil at a discounted price, New Delhi would be choosing to side with Vladimir Putin at a pivotal moment in history when countries across the world are united in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russia's deadly invasion." Bera, who heads the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, said, "As the senior Indian American Member of Congress, I was deeply disappointed in India's abstention from the United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine." "Despite India's long history defending its own border from outside aggression, New Delhi has chosen to remain silent on (Russian President) Vladimir Putin's unprovoked invasion of a free and sovereign country," he said.

He added, "Even worse, India is now reportedly looking to bypass international sanctions and buy Russian oil at a steeply discounted rate, potentially giving Putin an economic lifeline at a time when the Russian economy is reeling from international sanctions." While Biden has stopped the import of oil, gas and coal to the US from Russia, he has not banned other countries from buying them, mainly because NATO allies like Germany would be crippled if they did, especially during winter when the energy needs are high.

The European Union was readying sanctions against three major Russian oil companies, according to several media reports, which also quoted officials as saying that the buying of oil from them won't be banned.

India may, however, run afoul of sanctions if it entered agreements with Russia to finance its energy sector.

The Russian Embassy in New Delhi said that Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had discussed the possibility of Indian investments with Puri last week.

The embassy said that Novak told him, "We are interested in further attracting Indian investment to the Russian oil and gas sector and expanding Russian companies' sales networks in India." Significantly, the Indian government has been silent on the call between Novak and Puri.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

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-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Mumbai, March 16 : Kareena Kapoor Khan is all set to make her streaming debut in a murder mystery based on Japanese author Keigo Higashino's novel, 'The Devotion of Suspect X'.

The yet-to-be-titled film will be directed by Sujoy Ghosh ('Kahaani', 2012; 'Badla', 2018) and also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma. Streaming platform Netflix announced the film through a video of Kareena, Jaideep and Vijay during a script reading session for the film led by the director.

Sharing her thoughts on the announcement, Kareena said: "I can't wait to begin work on this exciting project. It's one that has all the right ingredients: a great story, a visionary director and a super talented cast and crew. It is the beginning of an electrifying journey and I can't wait for audiences worldwide to see this global bestseller book come to life." 'The Devotion of Suspect X', the third novel in Higashino's Detective Galileo series, is considered to be his most acclaimed work. It fetched him the Naoki Prize, a highly regarded literary honour in Japan. The novel won the prestigious Honkaku Mystery Award as well.

Talking about his film, Ghosh said: "'Devotion' is probably the best love story I've ever read. To get a chance to adapt it into a film is such an honour. Plus I get a chance to work with Kareena, Jaideep and Vijay. What more can one ask for?" For Pratiksha Rao, Director, Films and Licensing, Netflix India, thrillers are an essential part of Netflix India's slate and a film based on such an acclaimed novel seems to be a perfect fit for the streamer's programming content.

"Thrillers are integral to our Indian film slate and we can't wait to bring to our members our adaptation of 'The Devotion of Suspect X'," Rao said.
Lucknow, March 16 : All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) general secretary Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani has expressed 'regret and disappointment' on the Karnataka High Court order upholding the ban on hijab in educational institutions.

The cleric told reporters that the board will be holding an online meeting soon to discuss the way forward on the issue apart from tabling the matter in an offline meeting to be held at the end of March.

AIMPLB has previously expressed intent to move SC in the matter.

Rahmani called Tuesday's order a 'discriminatory one towards Muslims', making comparisons with certain governments altering aviation laws to appease a community and governments allowing some groups and communities to use their religious symbols.

He also refuted the claim that hijab is not essential to Islam and said banning it is intrusion in constitutional rights of Muslim citizens.

"Islam and Shariat have made certain things farz (duty) and wajib (obligatory) on Muslims and it is lazim (pre-requisite) that they be followed. Hijab is one such obligation which is a pre-requisite. If certain Muslims in their ignorance and laziness do not perform namaz or roza, they cannot be eliminated from Islam but they do commit a sin. Similarly, if certain Muslims don't follow the hijab, it does not make the act non-essential to Islam," he explained.

He further said: "It is the constitutional right of every individual to wear what he deems fit. There are religions which use religious symbols and certain governments go all out to bear expenses and alerting aviation laws for their display." In that context, the order is discriminatory. "Schools have the right to decide upon a uniform but it has come to our notice that the case that went in court was not related to schools but was for colleges, where the coercion of uniforms cannot be made," he stated.

Meanwhile, Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has also said that it 'disagreed' with the decision of the Karnataka High Court regarding the hijab ban in educational institutions.

It urged Muslim societies and NGOs to approach the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict.

Maulana Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, the vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband, said: "Not just Muslims but all religions have freedom in India. In a democratic setup, no government or government-recognised organisation should make any law that is against the spirit of the Constitution. No such code of conduct should be enforced that is against any religion."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Los Angeles, March 16 : A group of Disney employees have planned a week of in-person and virtual walkouts in response to the company and CEO Bob Chapek's handling of Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill.

On Monday afternoon, the Twitter account called Disney Walkout posted a message explaining that, "The LGBTQIA+ workers and allies at The Walt Disney Company are standing in solidarity together over the coming weeks," reports 'Variety'.

According to 'Variety', the post then linked to an open letter written in partnership with members of the LGBTQ community across the Walt Disney Company.

"The recent statements by The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) leadership regarding the Florida legislature's recent 'Don't Say Gay' bill have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation," organisers wrote.

"Primarily, those statements have indicated that leadership still does not truly understand the impact this legislation is having not only on cast members in the state of Florida, but on all members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the company and beyond. While we certainly appreciate Bob Chapek's apology note, there is still more work to be done." Before laying out their demands to the company, "in order to regain the trust of the LGBTQIA+ community and employees", they added: "As a community, we have been forced into an impossible and unsustainable position." "We must now take action to convince TWDC to protect employees and their families in the face of such open and unapologetic bigotry." The account also posted the link to a website, called whereischapek.com.

There the group further outlined details for the scheduled walkouts, starting Tuesday, March 15. The walkouts are planned during a 15-minute break period and set to take place daily from 3:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. (respective to the employees timezone), through Monday, March 21. On Tuesday, March 22, organisers have planned a "full-scale walkout".

'Variety' reports that it's unclear just how many Disney employees will participate in the protest, either in person or virtually, but as a note to employees who planned to participate, organisers explained that "You are protected to act while on break for the daily break walkouts, but the full scale walkout is not a legally protected action. Take your own situation into account before choosing to participate." Disney did not immediately respond with comment on the employee action.

To note, the walkout's organisers are separate from the various business employee resource groups (BERGs) and Disney PRIDE organisations which have spoken out in recent weeks.

Ahead of the planned protest, the LGBTQ+ employee resource group noted on the company's PRIDE slack channel that it didn't organise the walkout nor craft the accompanying list of demands.

News of the protest at Disney comes after similar action was taken by Netflix employees late last year, as hundreds of the company's transgender employees and supporters gathered outside the streamer's Los Angeles headquarters to bring attention to their concerns following the release of Dave Chappelle's standup special aThe Closer', which included jokes deemed transphobic.
San Francisco, March 16 : Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will soon arrive on Instagram.

Addressing one of the sessions at the South By Southwest event late on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said that "over the next several months, the ability to bring some of your NFTs in, hopefully over time be able to mint things within that environment".

The Meta CEO said that "a bunch of technical things that need to get worked out before that'll really be seamless to happen." "We're working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term," the Meta Founder said at the conference.

Instagram Head Adam Mosseri said recently that the team was "actively exploring NFTs" but didn't have further details.

Placing a strong bet on India's creator and developer community, Zuckerberg said recently that as the social network begins initial steps to create augmented reality (AR)-driven Metaverse experiences for billions, the country and its vast pool of talent is going to be a huge part of that journey.

Speaking at the company's 'Fuel for India' event, Zuckerberg said that he is really excited about the role that India will play in building the future of Metaverse, which is going to be the successor to the mobile internet.

Earlier this year, Twitter introduced a feature that let some users set an NFT they own as their profile picture.
Lagos, March 16 : Gunmen attacked a police station and headquarters of a local government in the country's central state of Niger, killing 10 people, Nigerian police authority said.

Monday Bala Kuryas, the police chief in Niger, told reporters in Minna on Tuesday that the gunmen killed three officers while attacking the Magama police station, and later killed three police officers and four vigilantes when assaulting the local government headquarters.

A detachment of police tactical squad and military personnel were deployed to the area to track the attackers, he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We appeal to residents in the state to assist the security personnel deployed to the area with reliable information that could help in apprehending the criminals," he added.

In recent months, armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings.
Moscow, March 16 : Since the start of the Ukraine invasion, the Russian App Store has lost nearly 6,982 mobile apps as several companies decided to pull off their apps and games from the Apple App Store.

According to data by app intelligence firm Sensor Tower and shared with TechCrunch, those apps had been downloaded around 218 million times in Russia, representing around 3 per cent of their total 6.6 billion installs globally.

The app removals on the Russian App Store after the Ukraine invasion (February 24) represent a 105 per cent increase compared to the first two weeks of February.

During that earlier period, Russia's App Store had seen only 3,404 app removals Coca-Cola has pulled its iOS app out of the Russian App Store. Retailers like H&M and American Eagle Outfitters also pulled apps, along with Ebates' shopping platform ShopStyle, the report said late on Tuesday.

Apps from the NFL, NBA, WWE and Eurosport have also disappeared from the Russian App Store.

The Russian App Store has also lost several top games from publishers including Zynga, Supercell, Take-Two (Rockstar Games) and others.

Netflix has also removed its streaming app in the country, so are dating apps Bumble and Badoo.

Other app removals include Amazon's IMDb, travel app Trivago, The Weather Channel (IBM) and Google Home.

Instagram has been blocked in Russia, impacting 80 million users, but the app has not been removed from the App Store.

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New Delhi, March 16 : Skagen Falster Gen 6 and Fossil Gen 6 smartwatch users can now take advantage of Amazon Alexa on their smartwatches.

The two companies announced that they would bring Alexa to a select few Wear OS smartwatches, and it appears that the support is finally here. The launch of the Skagen Falster Gen 6 brought with it the reveal of a partnership between Amazon and Fossil that would bring Alexa to select Wear OS smartwatches.

According to 9To5Google, Alexa runs well on the Skagen and Fossil smartwatches. There are just a few limitations, one can not access Alexa using voice commands and a user needs to do it manually on the smartwatch. The app will recommend how to use a shortcut button to make the process faster.

The company recently launched A'Fossil Gen 6' in India that offers several hardware upgrades over the previous model.The features include new Snapdragon Wear 4100+ chipset, fast-charging support and a new SpO2 sensor.

The watch is offered in two variants: 42mm case in four colour options and 44mm case in three colour finishes. The wearable comes in Smoke Stainless Steel, Brown Leather, Green Camo Grosgrain and Gold/Purple options.

The Fossil Gen 6 costs Rs 23,995 for the 42mm model and Rs 24,995 for the 44mm version.
Amaravati, March 16 : Deaths due to consumption of alleged illicit liquor in Jangareddygudem town rocked Andhra Pradesh Assembly again on Wednesday with 11 members of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) being suspended from the House for a day.

As the opposition members continued to stall the proceedings demanding a debate on the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Narayanaswamy moved a resolution for suspension of the members for one day.

Speaker Thammineni Seetharam announced the suspension after the resolution was passed by a voice vote.

The TDP MLAs were suspended for a third consecutive day. Eleven members of TDP were suspended from the House for one day on Tuesday for disrupting the proceedings while five members were suspended for the entire budget session.

As soon as the House met for the day, the TDP members were on their feet demanding a debate on the Jangareddygudem issue. As the Speaker disallowed the adjournment motion moved by the TDP, the opposition members trooped into the well of the House.

Raising slogans against the government, they demanded an immediate debate. Amid the pandemonium, the Speaker went ahead with the question hour.

Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath alleged that TDP is stalling the proceedings in a planned manner. He said the opposition party was sending its members in batches to the House to disrupt the proceedings.

Members of ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) demanded stringent action against the TDP members. They appealed to the Speaker to protect their rights as members of the House by ensuring order in the House.

The Speaker repeatedly appealed to the TDP members to resume their seats but they continued the protest.

The TDP members alleged that 25 people died after consumption of illicitly distilled liquor in Jangareddygudem town during the last few days while the government has claimed that they were all natural deaths.

Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday slammed TDP for what he called deliberately created ruckus in the Assembly though the government has already given clarification.

The Chief Minister said, TDP leaders should apply basic logic and wondered how someone can brew illicit liquor in Jangareddygudem, which has a population of 55,000 and where the entire government machinery has its full presence.

Preparing illicit liquor may be possible in remote places and it's not easy to prepare in a municipality like Jangareddygudem.

He said the government set up Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) and registered 13,000 cases which shows the government's efforts in curbing illicit liquor.

The Chief Minister flayed a section of media for distorting his statement on natural deaths in the municipality and said the records made it clear that the death rate is two per cent across the country and considering the population of Jangareddygudem as 55,000, there would be 1,000 deaths per year which means 90 deaths per month.

He said the deaths didn't occur at a single place and happened over a period of one week at multiple locations and their funeral was also completed without any problem and reminded that it was the government that took initiative and ordered for post-mortem which shows its sincerity.
Chennai, March 16 : It will be interesting to know how the 'Arkady Gambit' plays out at the International Chess Federation's (FIDE) Congress that will elect the office bearers this year.

It is learnt that the FIDE Congress will be held in Chennai and a formal announcement will be made in a couple of days.

The FIDE headed by former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has taken a series of actions following Russia's military action against Ukraine.

The election for FIDE office bearers is due in 2022 and the deadline for the candidacy is expected to be next month.

Dvorkovich and his team were elected in Batumi, Georgia, in September 2018.

Condemning the Russian military action against Ukraine, the FIDE has taken a series of actions like shifting of the 44th Chess Olympiad from Moscow to Chennai and not holding any FIDE chess competitions in Russia and Belarus; not to display Russian and Belarusian national flags or play their anthem in its rated tournaments (but allowed usage of their national chess federation's flag, official logo); simplification of players playing under the FIDE flag; termination of sponsorship agreements with Russian and Belarusian corporations.

The FIDE Council condemned public statements from any member of the chess community which supports unjustified military action and brought the case of chess grandmasters Sergey Karjakin and Sergey Shipov to the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission.

The FIDE Commission for Women's Chess had established a fundraiser for Ukrainian chess players and their families affected by war.

The chess federation of Ukraine as per reports has called for ban of all Russian players and Russians from the FIDE elections.

Meanwhile, FIDE officials remained silent when IANS asked about the impact of the actions on the upcoming FIDE elections.

They also remained silent to the query whether it is a crime if Russian players support their country during a war. And is being patriotic a crime? "When it comes to actions against the players more caution has to be taken as they depend on chess for livelihood. And no harsh actions should be taken against them. Further, several Russian players have voiced their views against the war which is a brave thing," an International Chess Master told IANS preferring anonymity.

Be that as it may, the FIDE officials were tight-lipped when queried about the elections.

"Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dvorkovich was in a comfortable position and was expected to get a second term without any opposition in sight," a senior chess Grandmaster with a good international standing not wanting to be quoted told IANS.

In 2018, Dvorkovich had to fight it out against the then deputy president of FIDE Georgios Makropoulos.

"Who will be the likely contender and how the various national chess federations will act are unknown factors now," a FIDE official not wanting to be quoted told IANS.

Given the geopolitical situation, Dvorkovich's nationality and his past position in the Russian government, he and his team would prefer a neutral venue for holding the FIDE Congress.

And Chennai is an ideal location.

FIDE on Tuesday approved the bid offered by the All India Chess Federation (AICF) to host the mega biennial event that would see about 190 nations competing for medals.

At its meeting on February 27, the FIDE Council decided, "Regardless of the organisation of the Chess Olympiad 2022, FIDE organises the annual FIDE Congress during the previously planned dates -- from 27.07.2022 till 02.08.2022 with the election date on 01.08.2022. The preference is to combine the FIDE Congress with the Chess Olympiad 2022." The FIDE Council also suggested consultations with the potential organisers of the Chess Olympiad 2022 and allows adjustment of the FIDE Congress dates if it does not imply a notable delay of elections. The FIDE Council had confirmed that the continental elections shall be organised within their constitutional terms.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan can be reached at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

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Chennai, March 16 : Community tension has resurfaced in Kurinjakkulam village in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu following social media hate posts on the 30th anniversary of the murder of four Dalit youths by upper caste people.

A heavy team of police has been deployed in the area after several posts on the murders and challenges and counter challenges in social media snowballed into a major law and order issue.

On March 14, 1992, four Dalit youths from the village were murdered over an issue related to the Gandhari Amman Kovil in the area.

Prohibitory orders have been slapped in the area to prevent people and leaders of the Dalit communities from reaching the place and paying tributes to the youths. More than 1,000 policemen are deployed at the village and near the borders of the Tenkasi district at Thoothukudi district's Kazhugamalai and Tirunelveli's Vanikkonthal.

Tenkasi Superintendent of Police, Krishnaraj while speaking to IANS said: "We have arrested some leaders of some Dalit organisations who attempted to reach the village despite the prohibitory orders and we will take strong measures to maintain the law and order situation of the area." VCK leader and party Vice-President Vanni Arasu and his party members were among the arrested. Movie director and leader of Tamil Perasu Katchi, another Dalit outfit, Gowthaman was arrested on his arrival at Thoothukudi airport to reach Tenkasi and to pay respects to the four Dalit youths.

Senthil Malar, leader of Mallar Meetpu Kazhagam, another Dalit outfit, was arrested and was slapped with cases under various sections of the Information Technology Act 2000 for posting videos instigating a particular community for violence.

Meanwhile, President of Tamil Nadu Naidu Peravai, an outfit for the upper caste Naidu community, Kamatchi Naidu, in a YouTube video claimed that his own community was responsible for the killing of four Dalit youths. Police said that case would be registered against him for instigating violence and warned that those who are trying to instigate violence on people would face serious consequences.
Bhopal, March 16 : Vaccination for children in the age group of 12-14 years, earlier scheduled from Wednesday, will now begin after March 22 in Madhya Pradesh.

According to the state health administration, the date for inoculation of the children, was extended due to Holi and also delay in training programme to the frontline workers.

A national-level training to the all frontline workers at district and block level is scheduled to begin from March 16 and will be completed by March 22. Therefore, the vaccination process for these children in the state will begin only after March 22.

The state health administration informed that some necessary changes will be carried out in the Cowin portal.

"Vaccination for children aged between 12 and 14 will start after necessary training is provided to the frontline workers. A schedule for necessary training for health workers for all blocks and district levels has been prepared and the process will begin today," said an health official.

After the national-level training to be held on Wednesday, necessary training to the all-frontline workers at the district and block level will be completed by March 22 after which the inoculation of those aged between 12 to 14 years will begin.

There are around 43 lakh children aged between 12 and 14 years eligible for inoculation in Madhya Pradesh. Vaccination for these age group children would be held on school premises only.

In many other states, inoculation for this age group is set to start from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, precaution doses will be made available to all eligible persons above 60 years from Wednesday. They will not be required to submit any medical certificate for getting inoculated, Shukla added.
Chennai, March 16 : Director Tamizh's much-awaited action drama 'Taanakkaran', featuring actors Vikram Prabhu, Anjali Nair and Lal in the lead, will release on Disney+ Hotstar Tamil.

Taking to Instagram, actor Vikram Prabhu put out a poster of the film and said, "Here you go, 'Taanakkaran' coming soon on Disney Plus Hotstar Tamil." The film has raised huge expectations for several reasons. One of the primary reasons is that it has been directed by Tamizh, who played the antagonist (a police officer) in the critically acclaimed courtroom drama, 'Jai Bhim'.

Not many know that director Tamizh was actually a police officer in real life before turning a film director.

"I was a policeman for almost 12 years. I've served in several places, including Tihar. In 2014, I quit my job to enter films," Tamizh had told IANS in an earlier interview.

'Taanakkaran' is a story that takes place in a police training college. Lal plays a trainer in the police training academy in which Vikram Prabhu plays a cadet. The film's trailer had triggered enormous interest in the film among fans.

The film was expected to hit screens in December last year. However, it is now releasing on the OTT platform Disney Plus Hotstar Tamil.
New Delhi, March 16 : Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Rewati Raman Singh on Wednesday urged the government to increase provision for cancer treatment under Ayushman Bharat scheme from Rs five lakh to Rs 25 lakh.

Raising the issue during zero hour, Singh said that cancer is spreading at a fast pace in the country and if not checked, it will have a tsunami-like effect.

"Every day 1,400-1,600 people die from cancer and annually 12 to 15 lakh people die in the country due to it," Singh said.

Mentioning that 60 per cent people live in villages and there is no facility for cancer testing, Singh requested that Primary Health Centre (PHC) and Community Health Centre (CHC) should hold monthly camp for early detection of cancer for timely treatment as treating the disease gets difficult in stage two or three.

"I request an end to tax on cancer medicines and the government to make provision for cancer treatment from Rs five lakh to Rs 25 lakh under Ayushman Bharat Yojna," Singh added.

BJP Member Mahesh Poddar urged the government to make provision for statutory warning on processed meat packets that it may cause cancer like tobacco products.

Congress member L. Hanumanthaiah requested the government to provide a special grant to upgrade facilities at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bangalore.

NCP member Vandana Chavan requested that the government develop a credible platform to provide fast, accurate and authentic information about the health crisis situation.
New Delhi, March 16 : As the Congress dissenters, called now the G23, are meeting on Wednesday evening, the Gandhi family loyalists have started attacking them with scores of leaders questioning the mass appeal of Kapil Sibal and his contribution to the party.

Both the floor leaders of Parliament have sharply attacked the dissenters particularly Sibal. Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Sibal may be good lawyer but not a good leader of the party, he is deliberately trying to weaken the party." Floor leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that everything was good when he was a Minister and now when out of power, they are raising questions because they can't live without power.

Udit Raj too slammed the dissenters and said, "It's a deep conspiracy to blame the Gandhi family for weakening of the Congress and this is being done cleverly and even common people get carried away. Be aware!" Congress dissenters will be meeting on Wednesday over dinner at senior leader Kapil Sibal's residence to devise the further strategy after the CWC endorsed Sonia Gandhi's leadership. The group has already reached out to the like-minded leaders within the party.

Sensing trouble, the Congress president removed party chiefs of five states on Tuesday and now loyalists have started targeting the dissenters.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at Sibal that he does not know the "ABCD of Congress", and is an outsider who was given everything by the party.

Sibal and other leaders from the group have demanded Gandhis to step aside, and pave the way for a new leadership.

Amid the war within the Congress, talking to IANS, Sandeep Dikshit, a former MP said: "The Congress president should have accessibility, acceptability and accountability." He said that accessibility to the people and party leaders, acceptability within the public and accountability in the wake of the losses should be there for the president and this should also be the norm for the state chief ministers and state chiefs.

Sonia Gandhi in the CWC meeting on Sunday offered to step aside from the leadership along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, but was rejected by the CWC members.
Mumbai, March 16 : A Dindoshi Sessions Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane and his MLA son Nitesh Rane in a complaint lodged by the Malvani Police Station.

The Ranes -- both of Bharatiya Janata Party -- had moved the Sessions Court after the Mumbai Police lodged a complaint against them in the Disha Salian case.

Soon after the anticipatory bail order was passed, Nitesh Rane accused the ruling Maha Vikas Agadhi government of hatching a conspiracy to pressurise them, but the court ruled in their favour.

"In a democracy, it's the duty of elected representatives to raise their voice wherever there is injustice. We shall do whatever that is required to ensure justice to Disha Salian," Rane Jr. said.

Disha Salian, a business associate of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, is said to have committed suicide on June 8, 2020. A week later, Singh was also found dead at his Bandra home, triggering a major political row.

Nitesh Rane alleged that things started moving against them after Shiv Sena's Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar visited her parents Satish and Vasanti Salian at their Mumbai home on February 22.

"We are told that the Mumbai Police has prepared a list targetting several BJP leaders... Our demand is -- probe the CDR records of Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey," he urged.

He added that during their 9-hour interrogation, the Mumbai Police team wanted to know from where they got the evidence and why it was not being handed over to the police.

"However, we told the police that we shall provide all the evidence to the Central Bureau of Investigation," Nitesh Rane said.

Last month, BJP state President Chandrakant Patil, and the Ranes had threatened to make a 'mega-expose' to solve the mystery behind Disha Salian's death.

Prior to that, Narayan Rane had claimed that Disha Salian was eliminated as she knew certain 'secrets' and raised doubts on her death probe, but the Salian family hit back saying that the Mumbai Police had completed its probe, and the family is now trying to move ahead.

Taking strong umbrage at the manner in which their daughter's death was being exploited by "certain leaders" (of the BJP), the aged Salian couple warned that if this does not stop, they would "take some drastic steps" for which only the politicians would be responsible.

They submitted a complaint to the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) Chairperson Rupali Chakankar who assured a probe and later the Malvani Police lodged a case against the Rane duo.
New Delhi, March 16 : Kerala Congress (M) Rajya Sabha member Jose K Mani on Wednesday urged the government to intervene and take necessary action to check unregulated air fare to Gulf nations.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Mani said that over four million people from India live in Gulf areas and 90 per cent of them are from Kerala.

"During vacation when people are supposed to return to meet their family members, spouses and children, air fare is hiked. While the normal fare from different cities in Kerala to Gulf nations is Rs 15-20 thousand or maximum Rs 25,000 but during vacation or festival season it goes up to Rs 60,000," Mani said.

Seeking government's intervention, Mani said that a maximum fare ceiling must be put in place for air fare.

DMK Member Tiruchi Siva requested the government to consider dropping the proposal for a neutrino observatory project in Theni district in Tamil Nadu to conserve the rich wildlife and the biodiversity of the region.

Siva pointed out that the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority of Tamil Nadu has anticipated damage to the site.
Panaji, March 16 : Goa's caretaker Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday welcomed the judgement of the Karnataka High Court on the hijab row, saying the verdict would usher in equality in educational institutions.

"I welcome the judgement of the Hon'ble High Court of Karnataka verdict over Hijab row. It has upheld that the Constitution is supreme.

"The verdict will give the right to Educational Institutes to prescribe the dress code and is an important step towards bringing equality," Sawant tweeted.

On Monday, a Karnataka High Court's special bench dismissed all petitions seeking direction for permission to wear hijab in classrooms.

The HC stated that "wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam. Prescription of uniform is constitutional and students can't object to it."
Lucknow, March 16 : Special judge, POCSO court, Arvind Mishra has awarded death penalty to one Mohd Asif Khan, who was found guilty of raping and killing his five-year-old niece eight years ago.

Pronouncing the verdict, the judge said that the guilty be hanged till death.

The court, however, referred the matter to the High Court for confirmation of the capital punishment, which is a statutory requirement before execution of the sentence.

In his 83-page judgment, the judge observed that the manner in which the offence was committed, this case fell into the rarest of the rare category.

The case was based on circumstantial evidence and the prosecution succeeded to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The incident was reported to the Hasanganj police on April 4, 2014, by the maternal grand-father of the victim girl.

It was alleged in the FIR that the girl was missing and this information was given on 100 number to the police.

From the evidence of witnesses, the court found that the girl was last seen with the accused Khan, having ice-cream.

On the night of the incident, the accused came with the girl's dead body in his hands before the family.

At that time, her hands were tied and nerves of both hands were severed. During the probe, the accused had confessed his crime to the police.

Later, a blood-stained knife and slippers were recovered.
Shillong/Imphal, March 16 : Meghalaya Chief Minister and National People's Party (NPP) supremo Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday said that his party is ready to join the BJP-led government in Manipur if the dominant party invited them.

The NPP, the estranged ally of the BJP in Manipur, had fielded 38 candidates and fought the recent Assembly elections separately and won seven seats. During the run up to the elections the relations between the two parties turned bitter and both accused each other on various issues.

Sangma said that the NPP is a partner of the National Democratic Alliance at the Centre and supports the BJP in Arunachal Pradesh and is working together in Meghalaya.

"If the BJP invites us to join the government in Manipur, we are ready to join. If they do not invite us we would examine the matter subsequently," the NPP's National President told the media in Shillong.

The ruling BJP retained power for the second consecutive term and for the first time in Manipur the saffron party got an absolute majority and won 32 seats in the 60-member House.

The NPP secured seven seats while Janata Dal (United) won six seats, the Congress and the Naga People's Front bagged five seats each, Kuki People's Alliance, a newly floated tribal based party, managed two seats and three Independent candidates also got elected to the Assembly.

The NPF, JD(U) and an independent member earlier announced to support the BJP government.

The BJP, which had secured 21 seats in 2017 and for the first time came to power in Manipur five years ago with the support of the four NPP, four NPF, one Trinamool Congress MLA and an independent legislator.

In Meghalaya, the BJP with two MLAs is the partner of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government led by Conrad K. Sangma. The NPP is the dominant party of the MDA.
Amaravati, March 16 : Two construction workers were killed and four others injured when earth caved in during digging work at a construction site in Guntur on Wednesday.

The injured were shifted to a hospital, where the condition of one of them is stated to be critical. The deceased workers were from Bihar and West Bengal.

The incident occurred near Muthyala Nagar on Amaravati Road when the migrant workers were busy digging for the foundation of a multi-storied building.

Officials said the building was being constructed without permission from authorities concerned.

The workers had dug the ground to a depth of about 40 feet. On Wednesday when a group of workers were busy with work, a big heap of mud fell on them. Other workers on the site launched the rescue work but two of the workers were buried alive while another person was found in a critical condition. Three other workers escaped with minor injuries.

Guntur Municipal Commissioner Nishant Kumar said Town Planning officials had issued stop orders for construction of G+6 floor building due to certain shortfalls but the builder went ahead with the work.

He announced that a committee led by Deputy Commissioner will conduct an inquiry and initiate action against those found responsible for the incident as well as unauthorised construction. He said if any official was found involved, action would also be taken against him.

Guntur Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu said they were collecting details of the deceased and assured that justice will be done to their families.
New Delhi, March 16 : It is clear that the hijab controversy threatens to further deepen divides and lead to more religious polarisation in the country, as per a IANS-CVoter snap poll.

The sample size of the survey was 1,508.

This was revealed during a IANS-CVoter survey after the Karnataka High Court delivered a verdict that effectively disallows Muslim girls from wearing hijabs inside schools and colleges if the authorities implement such a rule.

While there is overall bipartisan support for the verdict, some divisions on partisan lines were clearly visible during the survey.

On being asked if the hijab controversy was more of a manufactured one, 56.3 per cent of NDA voters agreed while 60.2 per cent of opposition voters also agreed. It looks outwardly like a bipartisan support, the opposition voters have a totally different view on who is responsible for "manufacturing" this controversy.

To a further question if the controversy will lead to further polarisation on religious lines, close to 54 per cent of the respondents said polarisation will increase on religious lines. While 51 per cent of NDA supporters agreed with the proposition, 56 per cent of opposition voters expressed apprehensions over further polarisation.

Some glimmer of hope was visible during responses to the question: Do you think a Uniform Civil Code will resolve issues like this? Overall, more than 70 per cent of the respondents agreed with the proposition, while 77 per cent of NDA voters and 65.5 per cent of opposition voters agreed with the same.
Uttara Kannada : , March 16 (IANS) Karnataka police have lodged FIRs on activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) including an advocate for allegedly attempting to force closure of shops and observe bandh against verdict of the Special Bench of the High Court on hijab issue, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, cases has been registered against the accused persons at Bhatkal police station. The cases have been lodged against Azeem Ahmad, Mohiddeen Abeer, Shareek and advocate Taimur Hussain Gawayi.

The police have lodged FIRs on IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting) and 290 (public nuisance). The accused have forced closure of shops and commercial establishments on March 15 against the verdict of the High Court on hijab row.

The coastal town of Bhatkal is regarded as communally sensitive region and the police have beefed up security in the area. The 'Tanjeem' organisation in Bhatkal had given out a call for bandh in the town and many traders have closed their shops voluntarily.

The ruling BJP and Hindutva organisations have alleged that PFI, Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Campus Front of India (CFI) are behind raking up the hijab row in the state.

The special bench of Karnataka High Court, which dismissed the petitions of students who insisted on wearing of hijab observed that the unseen hands behind making the hijab crisis must be investigated and brought to books as early as possible.
San Francisco, March 16 : Tech giant Microsoft has scheduled a preview event to discuss the "exciting future" of "Hybrid Work, Powered by Windows".

Set to take place on April 5, it will feature Windows exec Panos Panay showing off Microsoft's security, productivity and management features, both in the client and the cloud.

The event page does not say much and Microsoft has not openly discussed the event, but The Verge saw plenty of clues about the kind of hybrid work solutions and security tools Microsoft is working on for businesses where the "office" is more of an idea than a location.

That includes Windows 365 subscriptions for cloud PCs that users access via a web browser, the rollout of its Fluid framework for Microsoft Office apps (now rebranded as Loop), and a detailed vision of the future of meetings with Microsoft Teams.

Last year CEO Satya Nadella wrote that "Hybrid work represents the biggest shift to how we work in our generation. And it will require a new operating model, spanning people, places, and processes".
New Delhi, March 16 : While agreeing with the Karnataka High Court verdict that effectively disallows Muslim girls from wearing hijab in schools and colleges if they violate rules fixed by their administrations, a majority of Indians also asserted that education must be a bigger priority for the Muslim girls, as per a IANS-CVoter snap poll.

The sample size of the survey was 1,508.

This was revealed during a nationwide survey conducted by IANS-CVoter over the issue soon after the verdict was delivered and the news spread across the country.

On being asked if they think Muslim girls should attend schools and colleges even if the hijab is not allowed, more than 66 per cent of the respondents said yes while 27 per cent disagreed with the proposition. Just about 5 per cent had no opinion on the issue. There was remarkable similarity in the opinions of NDA as well as opposition supporters. While 67.4 per cent of NDA voters supported the move, while 65.2 per cent of opposition voters also supported the move.

Traditionally, Muslim girls have been deprived of a modern education, particularly during and after high school. This has adversely affected their socio-economic status in the country.

Even on this issue, a clear majority lamed vested interests in the community for this state of affairs; though the responses were along more partisan lines.

More than 71 per cent of NDA voters blamed the vested interests in the community while the figure dropped sharply to 52.4 per cent amongst the opposition voters.

While 10.5 per cent of NDA supporters said an indifferent government was responsible, 22.5 per cent of opposition voters blamed the government.

Also while just about 4 per cent of NDA voters thought that the rising Hindutva aggression discouraged Muslim girls from attending school, 10.5 per cent of opposition voters supported this proposition. The High Court verdict has already even appealed in the Supreme Court.
New Delhi, March 16 : A clear majority of Indians support and agree with the verdict of the Karnataka High Court that dismissed all petitions challenging the rule implemented by educational institutions that prohibits overt display of religious symbols in uniforms, as per a IANS-CVoter snap poll.

The sample size of the survey was 1,508.

The petitions were filed by some aggrieved Muslim girl students who contended that the rules impinged on their right to religious freedom.

In a survey conducted across India on the issue, close to 68 per cent of the respondents agreed with the High Court verdict while close to 27 per cent disagreed. Only 3.5 per cent of the respondents said they had no opinion on the matter.

Voters of opposition parties appeared less enthusiastic than NDA supporters in welcoming the verdict that effectively disallows Muslim girls from wearing hijabs inside educational institutions, particularly inside classrooms.

More than 36 per cent of opposition voters disagreed with the High Court. However, even within this cohort, 6 out of every 10 respondents supported the verdict. The NDA voters were far more supportive of the verdict, with close to 4 out of every five respondents welcoming the verdict.

What started as a small issue in some schools and colleges in Karnataka became a hot button controversy by January 2022 when the right wing groups Campus Front of India (claiming to represent Muslims) and Bajrang Dal jumped into the fray and a simple issue related to school uniform rules acquired religious overtones.

The petitioners are not satisfied with the verdict of the High Court and have already filed appeals in the Supreme Court within hours of the High Court verdict being delivered
New Delhi, March 16 : The Delhi High Court has issued notice on a plea alleging discrepancies in the examinations of Diplomate of National Board (DNB) post-graduation degree courses conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

A bench of Justice Rekha Palli, in the recently passed order, issued the notice on the plea filed through Adv Puneet Yadav for the petitioner Association of Diplomate of National Board Doctors.

The Central government counsel Kirtiman Singh accepted the notice and requested the court to grant four weeks' time to file a counter-affidavit.

National Board of Examination and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) are among the respondents.

"Petitioner's counsel submitted that he does not press the application for interim relief, at this stage and the application, accordingly, dismissed as withdrawn," the order said.

Further, the court listed the petition for April 25.

As per the plea, the DNB Orthopedics exam was conducted in March 2021, and the result was declared on July 30, 2021.

It further said on August 10 last year, after the declaration of the result, one of the candidates namely Jitender Kumar applied for the release of Xerox copies of answer sheets under the provision of the failed candidates.

It was noticed that the Paper IV answer sheet of Dr Jitender was of a different candidate.

He was also shocked to see that there were no marking on the answer papers, no sign of evaluation or correction by the examiners, and no comments by the examiners and that it was just a tabulation of marks on a separate sheet, the plea said.

"Though he informed this to the respondent, it failed to inform candidates or the public by large, the details of any committee or subcommittee constituted to investigate the decoding error and the immense possibility of any malpractice by any employee of the Respondent or any other agency involved in the evaluation of the answer sheets," the plea read.

The valuation of each of the papers by four different examiners reduces the arbitrariness and the importing of two external examiners makes the system foolproof beyond any internal interference, it added.

The valuation procedure followed by the Respondent is contrary to the norms laid down by the MCI, the plea alleged.
New Delhi, March 16 : Taking a lead in the Congress, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednedsday will be watching 'The Kashmir Files' movie in Raipur.

He has invited all the MLAs from the state to watch the movie.

Baghel will be watching the 8 p.m. show in a cinema hall in the state capital.

The film has become a reason for criticising the Congress and all the BJP-ruled states have declared it a tax-free.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 'more films like this need to be made so that people can know the truth.' Prime Minister Modi was addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting here before the start of day's proceedings in Parliament.

It is learnt that Prime Minister Modi said that there have been attempts to conceal the truth from the nation for a very long time and films like 'The Kashmir Files' need to be made to bring out the truth before people.

"Truth should be brought in the right form before the country. The truth prevailed in Kashmir Files," a BJP MP said, quoting the Prime Minister.

Another MP said that, while appreciating the film, the Prime Minister told the party lawmakers to watch it.

It is also learnt that the Prime Minister also said that attempts were made to suppress the truth by the 'flag bearers' of freedom of expression.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Bengaluru, March 16 : Barring a few incidents of protests, the schools and colleges in Karnataka on Wednesday resumed functioning across the state after the Special Bench of the High Court passed a verdict dismissing the petitions seeking permission to allow hijab in classrooms.

As many as 22 students in Chikkamagaluru IDSG College staged a protest demanding their right to wear hijab. They gathered at the entrance of the college and staged the agitation holding placards.

The students at Madhugiri Government College in Tumakuru district also protested after they were turned away from classes.

The schools and colleges saw mostly full attendance and a large number of students, including those belonging to the minority community, attended classes without hijab as per the prescribed uniform.

The pre-university education institutes also started operating with police cover in the coastal town of Udupi. The Udupi Pre-University College where the agitation on hijab, which turned into a major crisis threatening law and order situation in the state, also started working without any incidents of disturbance.

The six students, who started the agitation, have stated that they won't attend classes until they are allowed into classes with hijab. Udupi BJP MLA Raghupathy Bhat, who is also the President of the Pre-University College had requested them to attend classes following rules of uniform and he has also assured that the school management would arrange for making up for loss of classes and they shouldn't keep any bitterness towards them. However, the girls have rejected the offer.

Udupi district administration has continued the prohibitory orders on gathering, celebration, protests. The police department has deputed three platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) and five platoons of the District Armed Reserve (DAR) in Udupi.

The students attended classes normally in Shivamogga district, which witnessed large-scale violence after the murder of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha.

In Yadgir district many students have returned to homes after the college managements refused to allow them to write preparatory exams with hijab. The government college management in Chikkaballapur asked a girl student, who attended classes with hijab, to go to a separate room and remove hijab.
Amaravati, March 16 : The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday disbursed Rs 708 crore to 10.82 lakh students as fee reimbursement under its flagship scheme Jagananna Vidya Deevena.

The amount was credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries towards fee reimbursement for October - December 2021 quarter.

Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who transferred the money, reiterated that poverty should not be a hindrance for pursuing higher education The government had also decided to disburse regular payments on a quarterly basis.

Education is the only solution to eradicate poverty. If a child in a village is educated, the entire village can benefit from it. Further, the government is ensuring to reduce college dropouts across the state. Debt settlement can make a huge difference to lead to successful completion of course/education," he said.

Under the government's flagship Jagananna Vidya Deevena, the total fee reimbursement would be directly transferred to the accounts of mothers of the students.

Jagan Mohan Reddy recalled an incident during his padaytra wherein a father narrated how his son committed suicide as the fees could not be paid.

The Chief Minister said that full fee reimbursement was brought in to make education accessible to the poor, especially fulfilling the dream of pursuing higher education without burdening their families.

The government has so far provided assistance of Rs 9,274 crore under Jagananna Vidya Deevena and Jaganna Vasathi Deevena (Lodging and boarding charges). This includes the fee reimbursement arrears of Rs 1,778 crore kept by the previous government, Rs 6969 crore for Jagananna Vidya Deevena, and Rs 2305 crore for Jaganna Vasathi Deevena.

The Chief Minister also noted that there is a significant increase in gross enrollment in schools with the implementation of Amma Vodi. Under this scheme, the government is providing Rs 15,000 assistance to all the mothers who send their children to school.

"We are also making significant changes to the higher education syllabus and taking steps towards job creation," the Chief Minister added.

The government has not only been providing assistance to the students on fee reimbursement but to their lodging and boarding charges too under Jagananna Vasathi Deevena. The scheme would give assistance of Rs 20,000 to all eligible students pursuing degrees, engineering, and medicine while Rs 15000 for polytechnic students and Rs 10,000 for ITI students in two installments every year.

He said that the second tranche of Vasati Deevena will be credited on April 5 at a public event.

As part of the reforms in the education sector, bilingual textbooks have been introduced, English medium schools with CBSE curriculum are made available, and students are given Vidya Kanuka kits with uniforms, workbooks, notebooks, along with nutritious midday meals under Jagananna Gorumuddha.

He said that the admissions in government schools were increased by 6.5 lakh as students from private schools were shifting to government schools.

Ministers Adimulapu Suresh, Pinepe Viswaroop, Chief Secretary Dr Sameer Sharma, APSCHE Chairman K. Hemachandrareddy, Minority Welfare Special Secretary Gandham Chandradu, and other senior officials were present.
Islamabad, March 16 : Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is faced with a major challenge by opposition political parties, who have not only joined together to oust his government, but also have started to get nods from ally parties and members of the ruling benches, who now seem to be sliding in support of the no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly.

One of the major political parties, Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q), which is in alliance with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has revealed that Prime Minister Imran Khan was 100 per cent in trouble because of the no-confidence motion against him.

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, speaker of the Punjab provincial assembly and leader of PML-Q criticised Imran Khan for opting the revenge policy, which he said was not the way to govern a country.

"Imran Khan is 100 per cent in trouble, as his allies are on the opposition side. The government 100 per cent lacks wisdom and understanding. The prime minister has a great desire for revenge, which is evident from the fact that he puts everyone in National Accountability Bureau (NAB). There are no such ways to govern," he said.

"When Moonis Elahi (son of pervaiz elahi) delivered his speech... we started receiving threats from NAB. There are a lot of inexperienced people among the rulers. They should have learned first. If they come down, they would learn. The government is under threat from its own people," he added.

Elahi said that the opposition alliance, led by Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People Party (PPP) and Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have resisted the government orchestrated and maneuvered pressure, adding that today, the alliance is strong and lasting.

"When opponents are united against one person, bitterness among them is forgotten." It is pertinent to mention here that the current ruling government of Imran Khan has been formed through many alliances with other political parties and electables, who had won their respective seats in independent capacity. Now, with opposition parties joining in and becoming stronger; the same independent members and parties are sliding towards the opposition benches, ringing serous alarm bells for the Imran Khan-led government.

The seat of the Prime Minister that Imran Khan sits on has a lead of only 5 votes/seats in the National Assembly, which was gained by the support of the same independent and ally parties.

"Imran Khan is too late now because the cracks in the ruling coalition have widened," said Elahi.

On the other hand, Imran Khan's ministers say that the opposition attempt to oust the Prime Minister are destined to fail as no one from the government or the coalition parties will join with them. The ruling benches also say that the opposition's no-confidence motion is motivated and facilitated by external forces and power, hinting towards foreign hands behind what they term as a 'conspiracy'.
San Francisco, March 16 : The new iPhone SE (2022) could generate $20 billion in its first year, says a new report.

Analyst Amit Daryanani has predicted an upswing in shipments and sales of Apple products, driven mainly by the iPhone SE (2022) which was officially unveiled a few days back, reports GizmoChina.

The budget iPhone SE is the third iteration of the product and its price is just above $400, while it comes with several premium-grade features.

Daryanani said the iPhone SE 3 launch will provide the much-needed tailwind to surpass the shipment of 35 million units of the model within its first year.

This projection is driven by some key fundamentals which indicate that the latest iPhone SE will draw traditional older iPhone users to the budget-friendly smartphone, the report said.

Apart from its 5G capability, the iPhone SE 3 is powered by Apple's premium A15 bionic chip, which is also present in the iPhone 13 series.

This puts the iPhone SE 3 on a higher pedestal performance-wise, with most of the budget phones in the segment, as well as older iPhone models.

Even with shipment costs, the new iPhone SE 3 will hover around $450-$500 and that could yield up to $20 billion in annual revenue for the Cupertino-based tech giant.

The quantum of units of the iPhone SE 3 sold could account for up to 5 per cent of the revenue projections of Apple by the end of 2022, which is impressive.

Daryanani sees the iPhone SE 3 as well-priced for the features it comes with, together with the fact that it outperforms some of the older iPhone models like the iPhone 8, as well as its 5G capabilities.
New Delhi, March 16 : Google is gearing up to release Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro smartphones and now a new report has claimed that the upcoming handsets could launch earlier than its usual timeframe.

According to GizmoChina, it is being speculated that the phones could launch sometime in September, a bit earlier than its usual launch in October.

The Pixel 7 will be equipped with a 6.3-inch display, which means it will be slightly smaller than the 6.4-inch screen available on the Pixel 6.

The upcoming series is reported to be powered by a new Tensor processor and have up to 512GB of internal storage. Furthermore, the Google Pixel 7 is rumoured to be significantly smaller than the Pixel 6, measuring 155.6 x 73.1 x 8.7 mm vs 158.6 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm for the Pixel 6.

Pixel 7 Pro's rear design will not be too different from its predecessor. It will continue to sport a dual-tone design with a horizontal camera module housing a triple camera unit, a microphone, and an LED flash.

Google is expected to release the Pixel 6a, the successor to the Pixel 5a, ahead of the Pixel 7 series debut. Pixel 6a is one of the most eagerly-awaited smartphones in 2022. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Google Pixel 6A is rumoured to pack a dual rear camera setup featuring a 12.2MP primary camera, and a 12MP camera.

The smartphone may come with a single front camera setup for selfies, an 8MP primary camera.

It is said to feature a mid-range Tensor processor, probably a Tensor Lite SoC or Snapdragon 778G.Pixel 6a may have 6GB or 8GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage running on Android 12 out of the box, with guaranteed up to three years of version upgrades and security updates up to five years.
Hyderabad, March 16 : Aircraft maker Airbus will be showcasing Airbus A350 at the Wings India airshow to be held at Begumpet Airport here from March 24 to 27.

According to the company, it will be showcasing the future of long-haul travel. Airbus A350, the undisputed leader in sustainable long-range air travel, will be on a static display along with its portfolio of world-class products and services that are fostering the growth of commercial aviation in India.

Hyderabad will also be the last stop of the A350's demonstration tour of India beginning on March 21.

"Air travel in India is at an inflection point with a growing middle class, an increasing propensity to travel and a geographical advantage all conducive to opening up the long-haul potential. It is the time for the renaissance of international travel solutions in and out of India," said Remi Maillard, President and MD of Airbus India & South Asia.

"The A350 offers the greatest range capability combined with the lowest fuel burn, and is the strategic enabler for Indian airlines to regain market share in the lucrative long-haul segment and to profitably grow their operations. We believe the A350 will shape the future of long-range travel. So we are delighted to be showcasing the A350 aircraft at Wings India 2022," he added.

Airbus will also display a scale model of its single aisle A220 aircraft, purpose-built for the 100-160 seat market that can prove to be a game changer for regional connectivity in India. Alongside it will be a cutaway model of the A350-900.

Airbus helicopters will showcase scale models of the ACH130 from its corporate portfolio and the multi-role H160. Visitors to the stand can also learn about an array of material, airframe and training services offered by Airbus and gain knowledge about its open digital platform for aviation - Skywise.

On the public days on March 26-27, Airbus will host a "Meet-and-Greet" recruitment event at its stand. Company executives will meet candidates for prospective positions in digital and engineering streams. The company will be looking for specific skill sets, including in Big Data, IoT, avionics software and airframe engineering, it added.
Thiruvananthapuram, March 16 : Kerala Forest Minister A.K.Saseendran on Wednesday ordered a probe into the forest fires that broke out in ecologically fragile areas in the buffer zone of the Silent Valley and Walayar in Palakkad district.

According to the Forest department, the fire that was spotted on Saturday, has been doused but not before it destroyed around 10 hectares of forests each at the Silent Valley and Walayar area.

In the past few days, the mercury has been rising and especially districts like Palakkad have been the hottest but despite it, Vinod Kumar the forest official in the Silent Valley area expressed his doubts that if this was a man made event.

"Everything points out to that this was a man made event and we have no clue why this has happened," said Kumar.

Silent Valley National park is one of the least undisturbed tracts of South Western Ghats mountain rain forests and tropical evergreen forest in India.

It has some rare species of flora and fauna. This area was explored in 1847 by the botanist Robert Wight.

It is located in the border of Mannarkkad taluk of Palakkad district, Nilambur Taluk of Malappuram district, Kerala, and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Sydney, March 16 : Daily Covid-19 infections in several Australian states witnessed a big spike on Wednesday as the new BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is spreading rapidly in the country.

The state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 30,402 new cases on Wednesday, a big increase from Tuesday's 10,689. The state also recorded five deaths and 1,016 hospitalisations with 36 people in intensive care, Xinhua news agency reported.

The health authorities said the high number of new cases is partly due to a data processing issue. About 10,000 positive rapid antigen test results registered from Sunday and Monday were included in Wednesday's numbers, inflating the number reported in the 24 hours to 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

Despite the data problem, the health authorities warned the state to brace for a new Covid wave, with cases likely to double by the middle of next month over concerns on the spread of the new variant.

NSW Acting Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said the BA.2 sub-variant will be "by far the dominant strain" in the state within weeks.

The neighbouring state of Victoria also recorded its highest number of new Covid cases for five weeks, with 9,426 new infections on Wednesday, a sharp increase from 7,460 on Tuesday.

Victoria Health Minister Martin Foley said new daily case numbers were increasing by about 10 per cent on a week-by-week basis.

"In the space of a few weeks we've seen the Omicron BA.2 variant go from pretty much nowhere to be seen to the initial reports of at least half of cases," he said.

The daily infections in South Australia also jumped from Tuesday's 2,380 to Wednesday's 3,122, the highest daily cases in almost two months, after 3,777 cases were recorded on January 20.

West Australia recorded 6,062 new cases on Wednesday, the first time for the state's daily cases to top 6,000.

Adrian Esterman, chair of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the University of South Australia, told Xinhua on Wednesday that early studies show the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant to be up to 40 per cent more transmissible than its predecessor.

"This brings it close to measles in terms of transmissibility, and measles is the most contagious disease," he said.

Facing the increasing cases, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) urged the state and federal governments to shore up the health system ahead of the next Covid wave.

"NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has already signalled that within six weeks the state could be experiencing double the case numbers we currently have. We're still learning about the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, but it appears to be highly transmissible, and that is concerning," said AMA President Danielle McMullen.

"Both Delta and Omicron revealed how critical our frontline health workers and health services are, as well as how important it is that they are properly resourced and supported." "We need to take the lessons from the previous Covid waves and look at ways to ensure our health system isn't overloaded again," she said.
Patna, March 16 : BJP leaders in Bihar on Wednesday demanded that the Bollywood movie 'The Kashmir Files', which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir in the early 1990s, should be exempted from tax in the state.

Pressing for the demand in Bihar Legislative Assembly, BJP MLA from Darbhanga Sanjay Saraogi said Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat and Karnataka have already made the said movie tax-free.

The BJP MLCs also demanded the same in state Legislative Council.

Following the repeated demands, Deputy Chief Minister Tar Kishore Prasad has given an assurance of taking a decision after a meeting in the evening.

"We are making arrangements for the special screening of this film in Patna where all public representatives would watch it," Prasad said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also appreciated the movie, Prasad added.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Moscow, March 16 : Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are not easy, but there is some hope for a compromise, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"I am guided by the assessments given by our negotiators. They state that the negotiations are not going well for obvious reasons," Lavrov said in an interview with RBC, RT reported.

However, according to him, there is some hope for a compromise.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia's goal in negotiations with Kiev has not changed - Moscow needs a peaceful, free, neutral and independent Ukraine, and an "agreement for generations" is needed.

"We need a peaceful, free, independent Ukraine, neutral - not a member of military blocs, not a member of NATO, a country that is our friend, neighbour, with which we are developing relations together, building our future, and which is not a springboard for military and economic attacks against our country," he said.

Medinsky also explained why negotiations with Ukraine began to take place online.

"Three face-to-face rounds of negotiations took place in Belarus, but we looked - since the logistics are very difficult, in order to save time, effort and money, we decided to avoid flights to Belarus with overnight stays and limit ourselves to daily work from morning to evening in the video conference format," he said.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
New Delhi, March 16 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday suggested arbitration proceedings before the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) governed tribunal may resume, where the American e-commerce giant Amazon could press for the relief.

A bench, headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices A.S. Bopanna and Hima Kohli said both -- Amazon and Future Retail - can mention it before the tribunal, which has already given a hearing date.

Amazon has filed an application, a day after it raised the issue of Future Retail's shops and assets being taken over by Reliance and the top court allowed it to file an application to seek relief.

Taking note of Amazon's 370-page application, the bench said it was not possible to pass orders on interim relief the same day, as it required some time to examine the document.

Counsel representing the Future Group agreed on resuming the arbitration proceedings, but Amazon's counsel insisted on interim relief, even if the hearing in the tribunal were to resume.

The bench noted that one aspect is, if all the parties have agreed that arbitration can commence with termination application, then if an interim order has been passed by tribunal, whichever forum has to enforce it, that forum will enforce it. It further added that another aspect is once the tribunal says it is maintainable, and if the petitioner wants some interim order and then, it can seek that relief before the tribunal.

Senior advocate Gopal Subramanium, representing Amazon, said the tribunal has already granted protection against alienation of Future's assets. Citing the 2020 order, he added that if there is no adherence to that order, then there is no point in filing another application before the tribunal.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Future Retail, said since all parties have agreed to go before the tribunal, the interim relief application should be heard only by one forum. It cannot be pressed before the top court and the tribunal together, he said.

After hearing submissions from parties, the bench said it will hear the interim relief plea on March 23 and directed Future Retail to file its response on Amazon's application.

In February, the Delhi High Court stayed the arbitration proceeding. Amazon challenged this order in the apex court.

Amazon's counsel on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the dialogue to settle the dispute with Future Retail did not work, and complained against Reliance taking over Future stores, despite no asset transfer order.

Subramanium submitted that the highest court was told that no assets will be transferred, it has been recorded, and during pendency, the orders have been flouted. "I don't want this message to go out that orders of the court can be happily flouted," he said.

Salve submitted that nothing has been transferred and as rents for the shops were not paid for over two years, the landlords terminated the leases. "We are completely broke, which is what we've been telling all forums... Amazon is driving us to our knees, we're broke." Future Retail Ltd (FRL) entered into a Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance Retail to sell its business, which has been objected to by the US-based e-commerce giant Amazon.
Moscow, March 16 : Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that the proposal to create in Ukraine the format of a non-bloc state with its own army, following the example of Austria or Sweden, can be considered as a compromise.

"This is an option that is really being discussed now and which can be considered as a real compromise," he answered a question from journalists, RT reported.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that at the talks Kiev was proposing to create in Ukraine an Austrian or Swedish version of a demilitarized state with its own army.

Medinsky specified that this is being discussed at the level of the leaderships of the ministries of defence of the two countries.

He also added that the key issue for Russia is the status of Crimea and Donbass.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are not easy, but there is some hope for a compromise. This was stated in an interview with RBC by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"I am guided by the assessments given by our negotiators. They state that the negotiations are not going well for obvious reasons," Lavrov said.

However, according to him, there is some hope for a compromise, RT reported.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia's goal in negotiations with Kiev has not changed, Moscow needs a peaceful, free, neutral and independent Ukraine, and an "agreement for generations" is needed.

"We need a peaceful, free, independent Ukraine, neutral - not a member of military blocs, not a member of NATO, a country that is our friend, neighbour, with which we are developing relations together, building our future, and which is not a springboard for military and economic attacks against our country," Medinsky said.

Medinsky, explained why negotiations with Ukraine began to take place online.

"Three face-to-face rounds of negotiations took place in Belarus, but we looked - since the logistics are very difficult, in order to save time, effort and money, we decided to avoid flights to Belarus with overnight stays and limit ourselves to daily work from morning to evening in the video conference format," he said.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
New Delhi, March 16 : The Centre has increased the maximum sale price for Bt cotton variety (BG-II) seeds for financial year 2022-23 to Rs 810 per packet of 450 gms while the price for BG-I remained the same at Rs 635 per packet.

"For the financial year 2022-23 for the whole of India, the maximum sale price of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton seed packets (450 grams of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt.) cotton seed plus 120 grams refugia/475 grams RIB seed packet containing minimum 5 per cent and maximum 10 per cent non Bt Cotton seed) will be Rs 635 for BG-I and Rs 810 for BG-II," the government notification said.

The decision was taken by the Committee as per the provisions of the Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, 2015, the government said.

The increase in price is generally decided according to the demand. As per the Second Advance Estimates of Production of Major Crops for 2021-22 released in mid-February, the production of cotton was estimated at 34.06 million bales (each of 170 kg), which the government data showed, is higher by 1.12 million bales than the average cotton production of 32.95 million bales.

Government data shows cotton is one of the most important cash crops and plays a major role in sustaining the livelihood of around 58 lakh cotton farmers. Further, approximately 400-500 lakh people are engaged in related activities such as cotton processing and trade. During cotton season 2020-21, the area under cotton cultivation was 133 lakh hectares.

The seed industry has been demanding Rs 810 per packet price since last year or before. Earlier, the price was Rs 751 in 2016 and Rs 730 in 2020.

However, there are voices that oppose the government intervention. Shetkari Sanghatana leader, and one of the three members of the committee appointed by the Supreme Court in connection with the now repealed three contentious farm laws, Anil Ghanwat said: "Let the market decide what the prices of seeds should be. The government has no business deciding the price." The cotton growing farmers are ready to pay the increase as the cost of seeds in the whole cost of production is very less, he said.
Chennai, March 16 : Music director C Sathya, for the first time, has released a single-track album titled 'Pogadhe', featuring actress Ammu Abirami in the lead role.

The song has garnered attention because this is the first time that Sathya, who is scoring music for a series of movies, has found the time to score music for a single.

Set in the backdrop of nature, the song which has been directed by Rasu Ranjith, who had earlier wielded the megaphone for the 2021 film 'Theethum Nandrum', is aimed at expressing and spreading love.

Penned by Lavarathan, a fast-growing lyricist in Tamil cinema, the song has been rendered by Shivai Vyas, one of the music composers of the Salman Khan-starrer 'Race 3'.

On what made him try his hands at a single, Sathya says, "It is mainly because of requests from my fans. They were continously asking me on my social media pages to do an album. Hence, to fulfil their wish, I have done 'Pogadhe'." Talking about the song, Sathya says, "The whole process from ideation to execution to final product took us one month. The song has taken shape very well and everyone has given their best. I am sure this will be welcomed by all." The song was released on Wednesday to coincide with Ammu Abirami's birthday (March 16).

Interestingly, the song will also have an NFT release on NBICOIN.COM.
New Delhi, March 16 : The Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur has established a research centre for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) in collaboration with Dystrophy Annihilation Research Trust (DART), Bangalore and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Jodhpur.

The current therapeutic options available to treat DMD are minimal and highly expensive (over Rs 2-3 crore per child a year). Drugs are mostly imported from abroad, accelerating dosing costs and putting them out of reach for most families.

The centre aims to develop affordable therapeutics for this rare and incurable genetic disorder.

DMD is a rare and incurable genetic disease and it is the most common and fatal type of muscular dystrophy, marked by gradual muscle deterioration. The condition is predominantly seen in boys.

In India, over five lakh boys are suffering from DMD. The centre at IIT Jodhpur aims to develop affordable therapeutics for DMD and enhance the efficacy of Antisense Oligonucleotide (AON)-based therapeutics.

The AON-based therapeutics' idea is to hide or mask specific exons (a segment of a DNA or RNA molecule containing information coding for a protein) in a gene sequence. In DMD patients, one or more exons can be masked with specific molecules called AON or molecular patches. Due to these challenges, DMD patients need personalised medicine.

The DMD Research Centre at IIT Jodhpur has hosted two day-long outreach programmes. It has also initiated the expansion of this activity to every district in Rajasthan.

Talking about the DMD Research Centre at IIT Jodhpur, Prof Surajit Ghosh, Dean Research and Development, Professor of Bioscience & Bioengineering, IIT Jodhpur, said, "The primary goal of our team is to develop two therapeutic leads for clinical trials on high priority".

The DMD Research Centre at IIT Jodhpur is working in collaboration with DART Bangalore, a parent-founded NGO conducting research and awareness programmes in DMD as well as AIIMS Jodhpur. The institute is primarily involved in designing affordable therapeutics through bioengineering strategy, synthesis of those designed therapeutics, and their in-vitro efficacy, Prof Ghosh added.
Chennai, March 16 : Tamil Nadu lags behind Puducherry and Kerala with only 18 per cent internet connectivity in government schools, says a report released by the Union Education ministry.

While Puducherry has 94.79 per cent connectivity, Kerala has 87.21 per cent in government schools, the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report 2021-22 report said.

Tamil Nadu, however, has around 80 per cent of functional computers but the poor internet connectivity in government schools, will, according to education experts create a major divide in the system.

R. Damodaran, a retired teacher from a government school in Kanniyakumari while speaking to IANS said: "Tamil Nadu has one of the highest literacy rates in the country. If government schools are not equipped for online education during these pandemic times, then it means there is something lacking in the planning and the government of the day is answerable.

There is, however, a difference of opinion on the report and the correctness of the data provided with teacher associations in the state having divergent views.

Tamil Nadu Teachers association president P.K. Ilamaran while speaking to IANS said: "The students in government schools have faced learning losses in the last two years as there is no internet connectivity in most of the schools. Teachers are imparting knowledge to students mostly they are providing this through their personal internet data." Kalavathi, a student of class 8 of a government school in Kanniyakumari, said: "There are no internet connections in our school and we are lagging behind in classes. I have not studied school classes properly since the pandemic has begun and even online classes were poor." However, Tamil Nadu Graduate Teacher Federation General secretary, P. Patrick Raymond said that he doubts the authenticity of the report.

While all the government schools don't have an internet connection, the connectivity is much more than what is mentioned in the study report.

Activists working for education rights said that the report of the Union education ministry is almost true and that the state is woefully inadequate in terms of internet connectivity in government schools.

Joseph Raj, an activist working for Edurights, a social organisation working among the government school students on analytical skill development while speaking to IANS said: "The report of Department of Education is almost true. I doubt whether there is 18 per cent internet connectivity in the state government schools. We could not find internet connections in most of the government schools that we travelled to. With online mode of education a reality, the Tamil Nadu government must undertake a proper study on its own and plug the loopholes and provide students of all government schools with high-end internet connectivity that opens a window of opportunity to these students." Joseph said that state government had in the budget for 2021-22 categorically mentioned equipping government schools with smart classrooms, equipping government schools with internet connectivity, and also training teachers to handle online classes but in practice, nothing was implemented at the ground level.

The education rights activist said: "All these are tall claims by the government in successive budgets and we can find more announcements in the coming budget also. But how far has the government education department taken this forward is the million-dollar question and if they take this up and increase the internet connectivity in government schools to nearly 100 percent things will change. Otherwise, everything will be in white and black in paper."
Srinagar, March 16 : Three wanted terrorists belonging to proscribed outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (TRF) have been neutralised by the police and security forces in Srinagar, officials said on Wednesday.

As per the ofiicials, the three were involved in the recent killing of Khanmoh sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat.

The police said that based on a specific input regarding the presence of terrorists in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by the police and the army.

During the search operation, as the search party proceeded towards the suspected spot, the hiding terrorists fired indiscriminately, which was retaliated effectively, leading to an encounter. Later on, the CRPF also joined the operation.

"In the ensuing encounter, three categorised terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter," the police said.

The slain terrorists have been identified as Adil Nabi Teli from Galchibal Chandhara, Pampore; Shakir Ahmad Tantray from Ronipora Shopian; and Yasir Ahmad Wagay from Kujer Frisal, Kulgam.

"As per police records, the slain terrorists were affiliated to Lashkar-e-Taiba (TRF) and were active since last year. They were part of groups involved in several terror crime cases, including attack on police/ security forces and civilian atrocities," the police said.

Earlier, J&K Police quoting IGP Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar, tweeted: "Terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT/TRF involved in the recent killing of Khanmoh's sarpanch Sameer Bhat trapped in Nowgam encounter." "Pertinently terrorist Adil Teli along with his associates was also involved in the killing of Inspector Pervaiz Ahmad Dar at Menganwari Nowgam on 22/06/2021, and the killing of Javaid Ahmed Malik at Lurgam Tral. Besides, he was also involved in a grenade attack on a joint party of police and CRPF at Barbarshah Srinagar in which one civilian was killed and three civilians were injured," the police said.

"Similarly, terrorists Shakir Ahmad & Yasir Ahmad were involved in several terror crime cases including killing of ASI Mohammad Ashraf near PS Bijbehara, Anantnag, on 22/12/2021," they added.

Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition, including one AK rifle, three AK Magazines, 14 AK rounds, two pistols, four pistol magazines, and six pistol rounds, were recovered from the site of the encounter.
New Delhi, March 16 : A group of Muslim women on Wednesday expressed their strong resentment against the Karnataka High Court's judgement in which the court upheld the restriction on wearing Hijab in classrooms and educational institutions in the state.

"The Karnataka High Court said that wearing the Hijab is not an essential religious practice in Islam and is not, therefore, protected under by the right to freedom of religion guaranteed by Article 25 of the Constitution. This was not even the question," said social activist Khalida Parveen while addressing a press conference in the national capital.

Earlier, a Karnataka High Court's special bench dismissed all petitions seeking direction for permission to wear hijab in classrooms. The HC also stated that "wearing of hijab is not an essential part of Islam. Prescription of uniform is constitutional and students can't object to it." Other women speakers said that they are "deeply distressed by this judgment" and believe that not only is it setting a bad precedent in constitutional law, but also that it enables outright discrimination against Muslim women in public institutions in Karnatka.

"It creates an unsafe atmosphere overall for hijab wearing women, rendering them vulnerable in a time of increased mob violence and repression," they said.

While speaking to IANS, one of the speaker averred that under the garb of 'uniformity' and maintaining a homogenous culture, the line that the judgment has taken is a clear case of discrimination against Muslim women and violates their right to education.

Sharing a data, they said the education of more than 230 girls in Udupi alone has directly been impacted by the interim order and they will now suffer the loss of their academic year.

The Muslim women, in a statement, separately listed out a set of demands that they want to be fulfilled urgently. First they demanded that the state government must amend the Education Act to ensure that uniforms mandated by the relevant authorities are inclusive and respectful of cultural and religious diversity. College Development Committees (CDCs) of different colleges must also ensure that dress code prescribed by them is similarly inclusive and non-discriminatory.

The women demanded relief for students whose academic year might get impacted by the Court's ruling; students who missed their exams must be allowed to give them now, and in the immediate instance girls should be allowed to write their exams wearing Hijab.

"The High Court order nowhere prohibits the wearing of hijab while writing exams; it only allows the prescription of uniform by CDCs that bars Hijab. If any new dress code is being introduced by colleges for writing exams, it should not be implemented in the current year," they said.

They also demanded an immediate registration of FIR against anyone who is intimidating or harassing Muslim women students or their families.
Gandhinagar, March 16 : Over 500 fishermen from Gujarat are still languishing in Pakistani jails as on December 2021, the Gujarat government disclosed in the Assembly during the ongoing Budget session on Wednesday.

Replying to a written question by Congress MLA Punja Vansh, state Fisheries Minister Brijesh Merja informed the House that a total of 519 fishermen from the state are languishing in Pakistani jails.

As on December 31, 2021, 519 fishermen from Gujarat were in Pakistani jails, of which, 358 were arrested in the last two years -- 163 in 2020 and 195 in 2021 -- Merja said.

The minister informed that the government is making efforts to get these fishermen released, and has submitted the required documentary proof to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for further action after verification of their nationality.

In a related question, the minister said that the government has extended Rs 6.58 crore financial assistance to the fishermen's families.

It is to be noted that fishermen from Gujarat on several occasions are held by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) after they cross the International Maritime Border Line (IMBL), lured by expectations of catching fish in a bulk.

These fishermen from districts like Porbandar, Gir Somnath and Devbhumi Dwarka mistakenly cross the maritime border in the Arabian Aea and end up in Pakistani jails, the House was informed.

The state government has been conducting awareness programmes and also assisting fishermen in setting up GPS to alert them when they come near the IMBL, the minister informed.

The government also said that in the last two years, the Gujarat government has written 18 times to release the fishermen from Pakistani jails.
San Francisco, March 16 : Elon Musk-run Tesla has fired an employee who reviewed the electric car-maker's full self-driving (FSD) beta software on his YouTube channel.

John Bernal posted the video that showed his Tesla hitting a bollard on his YouTube channel AI Addict.

As reported by CNBC, Bernal said that prior to his dismissal, he was told verbally by his managers that he "broke Tesla policy" and that his YouTube channel was a "conflict of interest".

However, his written separation notice did not specify a reason for his dismissal, reports The Verge.

The video had more than 2,50,000 views and was shared widely on social networks like Twitter.

Bernal said that after posting the video, "A manager from my Autopilot team tried to dissuade me from posting any negative or critical content in the future that involved FSD Beta. They held a video conference with me but never put anything in writing." Tesla's social media policy for employees does not forbid criticism of the company's products in public, but says that the company "relies on the common sense and good judgment of its employees to engage in responsible social media activity".

Bernal says that after being fired, his access to the FSD Beta software was revoked.

Meanwhile, the US senators have rejected Elon Musk-run Tesla's claim that its autopilot and FSD features are safe for driving, saying this is just "more evasion and deflection from Tesla".

Rohan Patel, Senior Director of Public Policy at Tesla, wrote in a letter to the US Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Ed Markey (D-MA) that Tesla's autopilot and FSD capability features "enhance the ability of our customers to drive safer than the average driver in the US.

Patel responded to the Senators, who had raised "significant concerns" about autopilot and FSD. They also urged federal regulators to crack down on Tesla to prevent further misuse of the company's advanced driver-assist features.

The FSD beta mode recently resulted in a Tesla Model Y crashing in Los Angeles.

No one was injured in the crash, but the vehicle was reportedly "severely damaged".

The crash was reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which has multiple and overlapping investigations into Tesla's autopilot system.

Tesla FSD beta aims to enable Tesla vehicles to virtually drive themselves both on highways and city streets by simply entering a location in the navigation system, but it is still considered a level-2 driver assist since it requires driver supervision at all times.

The driver remains responsible for the vehicle, and needs to keep their hands on the steering wheel and be ready to take control.

There have been several Tesla Autopilot-related crashes, currently under investigation by the US NHTSA.
Shimla, March 16 : World Bank Vice-President for South Asia, Hartwig Schafer, on Wednesday concluded a two-day visit to the state with a plan to make it the first green state in India.

Schafer met with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to discuss the progress Himachal Pradesh has been making towards a greener and more sustainable growth path, and its vision for the future.

He congratulated the state for the good progress achieved in the fields of renewable energy, agriculture, forest management, and water and sanitation.

"Himachal Pradesh and the World Bank have had a long and impactful partnership supporting the state's growth plans," said Thakur. "We look forward to further strengthening our engagement in clean and resilient infrastructure, climate smart agriculture and water resource management. This will help us take forward our vision of becoming the first green state in India." Schafer also met Chief Secretary and senior officials of the state government who shared a multi-sector approach to realise the vision of a green state.

The World Bank agreed to work with the state to explore areas where its support would have the maximum impact.

"The World Bank fully supports Chief Minister Thakur's vision of making Himachal Pradesh the first 'green' state of India and ensuring that 100 per cent of the state's energy needs are met through renewable and green energy by 2034," said Schafer.

"The World Bank has been a proud partner of the state's journey towards sustainable growth since 2005, through projects in hydropower, water supply, roads and agriculture. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the future".

Earlier, Schafer visited the Shimla-Himachal Pradesh Water Supply and Sewerage Services Improvement Program and met with women representatives of the households benefiting from the programme.

He also met with women volunteers, also known as Jal Sakhis, and the independent directors of the utility.

"The women I met in Ramnagar shared with me how their lives have improved with reliable, clean and affordable water supply, and enhanced sanitation services, said Schafer.

"The installation of meters at the household level has ensured that the families are able to minimise water losses and pay per actual usage, so for most of the residents, the cost of water has come down. Lessons from this experience will help cities across the country".

The World Bank has been supporting Himachal Pradesh to move forward with its green and inclusive development agenda through multiple engagements including renewable energy, agriculture, forest management, water and sanitation, and public financial management.

Since 2005, the World Bank has committed over $1.5 billion to support the state in watershed development, green hydropower, infrastructure, and agriculture.

Ongoing engagements in the state include horticulture development and improving water supply and sewerage services in the capital city of Shimla. To date, the World Bank has an active portfolio of five projects with total commitments of $473 million.
New Delhi, March 16 : High crude oil prices on Wednesday led OMCs to hike aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by over 18 per cent to more than Rs 1 lakh per kilolitre, the steepest hike ever.

Accordingly, in the national capital, the price of jet fuel was raised by 18.32 per cent to Rs 1,10,666.29 per kilolitre (kl) from Rs 93,530.66 per kl.

In the other metro cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, the price was increased to Rs 114,979.70, Rs 109,119.83 and Rs 114,133.73 per kiloliter, respectively.

"The current hike in ATF prices is due to high crude oil cost which has been rising due to geo-political tensions between Russia and Ukraine," said Bhanu Patni, Senior Analyst, India Ratings and Research.

"We have seen ATF prices rise by over 40 per cent since the start of 2022," Patni added.

The hike is expected to impact aviation companies' finances that are under huge stress amid high debt.

Fuel retailers revise jet fuel prices on a fortnightly basis. At present, fuel-based expenses account for over 35 per cent of the overall operating cost of an airline.

India presently has some of the world's highest rates of taxation on he ATF, which massively drives up the fuel cost component.

The industry has been urging the Centre to include the fuel type in the ambit of GST, similar to the status given to 'Bunker Diesel' which is used in the shipping sector.
New Delhi, March 16 : The Government on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that the National Disaster Response Force(NDRF) is rendering logistics and financial support to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other agencies in view of natural disaster and calamities.

Responding to a question, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the primary responsibility of disaster management rests with the state government concerned but the central government, wherever required, supplements the efforts of the state governments by providing logistic and financial support in cases of natural disasters of severe nature.

He also said that at present, NDRF has 16 battalions, which are located as per vulnerability profile of the country to provide immediate response during disasters. NDRF is equipped with state of art equipment to provide specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster.

"As per the National Policy on Disaster Management, raising of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and equipping them rests with the state and union territories governments concerned, the central government has been pursuing with the State/UT Governments to raise SDRF and equip them with adequate disaster response capabilities," Rai said.

To facilitate the state governments, the Central Government has also shared the list of disaster response equipment with them, with the request to equip their SDRF in line with NDRF, he added.

The Minister also said that the NDRF organises an annual conference of SDRF, including other stakeholders concerned, and provides an opportunity to share best practices to improve the response capabilities through mutual cooperation and coordination in case of any disaster.

He also said that MHA has been organising the annual conference of Relief Commissioners and Secretaries of the Department of Disaster Management of States and Union Territories to review the status of preparedness to deal with disaster or impending disaster situation before the South-West Monsoon.

"NDRF regularly conducts mock drills, exercises involving SDRF and other stakeholders. These mock drills, exercises provide a platform for effective coordination between NDRF and SDRF, he further said, adding that NDRF is relentlessly engaged in 'Community Capacity Building' and public awareness and preparedness programmes.

NDRF renders necessary assistance for capacity building of the SDRF and the Centre has established a premium institute NDRF Academy at Nagpur to impart training to NDRF personnel and other stakeholders, including SDRF.

The Government with its continuous efforts has significantly improved its preparedness to deal with the natural calamities. With the coordinated efforts at various levels, the disaster response mechanism has improved substantially and the loss of human lives due to natural disasters has been substantially reduced in the country, Rai added.
New York, March 16 : US drug maker Pfizer has announced that it has submitted an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use authorisation (EUA) of an additional booster dose for adults 65 years of age and older who have received an initial booster of any of the authorised or approved Covid-19 vaccines.

The submission is based on two real-world data sets from Israel analysed at a time when the Omicron variant was widely circulating. Both data sets showed evidence that an additional mRNA booster increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe illness.

The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is currently authorised as a single booster dose administered at least five months after completion of a primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to individuals 12 years of age and older.

In a statement, Pfizer and BioNTech said an additional dose of their vaccine at least four months after a third shot could restore levels of virus-blocking antibodies and has been shown to protect adults 60 and older against severe illness and infections. They also added that "people who are vaccinated, particularly those who have received a booster, maintain a high level of protection, particularly against severe disease and hospitalisation", Washington Post reported.

Albert Bourla, Chief Executive of Pfizer, said at a Washington Post Live event last week that a fourth shot would be needed because immunity wanes.

"We are working right now very intensively," Bourla said, adding: "I think our data suggests that (fourth doses) are protecting - they are improving dramatically the protection, the fourth dose compared to the third for Omicron after some time, after, let's say, three to six months." On CBS's "Face the Nation", he said that the protection provided by the first booster is "actually quite good for hospitalisations and deaths. It's not that good against infections." Pfizer is also working on a vaccine targeting all variants and aimed at providing protection for at least a year.

--IANS rvt/vd

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Patna, March 16 : The grandson of a senior leader of Bihar's ruling Janata Dal United (JD-U) was gunned down in Chapra city in Bihar's Saran district on Wednesday when he resisted a robbery bid, police said.

Dipak Kumar, the grandson of senior JD-U and former district council President Baijnath Prasad Bikal, was on the way with his sister on a motor bike to meet with a relative in a nearby village in the district when the incident took place.

As they reached Rampur Bathani village under Garkha police station, 4 bike-borne assailants overtook them and tried to loot his sister's jewellery. When Dipak Kumar resisted, one of the robbers pulled out a gun and shot him in the chest at close range, killing him on the spot.

Following the incident, a large number of villagers assembled at the spot and blocked the road for three hours.

SSP, Saran, Santosh Kumar said the matter is under investigation from all angles.

"The deceased's sister is an eyewitness of the murder. We are making sketches of the accused to identify the robbers. The raids are currently on. Thorough checking is currently underway in the district to nab the accused," he said.
Bhubaneswar, March 16 : A private school teacher of Odisha's tribal-district Sundargarh was arrested from Siwan district of Bihar for allegedly running away with his minor student, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, the accused teacher identified as Jogesh Sharma also happens to be the math tutor of the minor girl, who is studying in class 8.

Jogesh had entrapped the girl in a love relationship and eloped with her to Bihar on March 5. Following which the father of the minor girl lodged a complaint before the Kutra police station of Sundergarh district, the police said.

Based on the complaint filed by the minor student's father, a case (No 36) has been registered at Kutra Police Station of Sundergarh district under section 366 of IPC (kidnapping), said Sashank Sekhar Beura, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), Rajgangpur.

"Due to the sincere effort made by our Kutra police team, we are able to trace out the accused and the minor girl. The accused along with the girl has been intercepted in Siwan district of Bihar," he said.

The rescued girl student has been handed over to her parents while the accused teacher was forwarded to the court on Wednesday, another police official said.
New Delhi, March 16 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday permitted the reopening of four floors of the Nizamuddin Markaz in view of Shab-e-Baraat festival later this week.

The Markaz has remained shut since March 3, 2020, following a spurt in Covid positive cases on the premises.

A bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri also asked authorities to remove all the restrictions capping worshippers in the Markaz premises, as it pointed out that the management had ensured the Covid protocols and social distancing of the devotees on each floor.

As per the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) guidelines, only less than a hundred people can be allowed on each floor. However, regarding the limitation of worshippers, the bench said: "Once they say that they will maintain Covid protocol, then it is fine. It should be left to the wisdom of the devotees." Earlier, the same bench had directed the Delhi Waqf Board to file an application before the police station concerned seeking permission for the reopening of the entire masjid premises in Nizamuddin Markaz for offering prayers.

Dealing with the Waqf Board's plea for reopening of the religious place considering recent guidelines issued by the DDMA, the court had asked the board to make an application with the SHO of Hazrat Nizamuddin Police Station immediately.

Prior to that, the court had asked the Centre's clear stand on the issue, asking why can't the mosque be opened fully.

Advocate Rajat Nair, appearing on behalf of the Centre, said that the offering of 'namaz' by five people was allowed earlier, and can be done this year also in the religious festival.

To this, the bench had asked: "Mr Nair, you please seek instructions as to in case there is no objection to opening of first floor, what objection may be there for opening of remaining portion, de hors your submission that you have no objection as far as religious festivals are concerned. Why not for everyday?"
Kiev, March 16 : Ukraine is demanding a special version of neutrality with legally verifiable and non-protocol security guarantees.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the Ukrainian delegation and adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Public Administration said this in a comment for Ukrayinska Pravda.

According to Podolyak: "We understand our partners' attempt to remain a proactive party in the negotiation process. Hence the words about the 'Swedish' or 'Austrian' model of neutrality. But Ukraine is now in a state of direct war with Russia. Therefore, the model can only be 'Ukrainian' and only about legally verified security guarantees." Podolyak said that this means absolute security guarantees. Valid, not protocol. And it means that the signatories of the guarantees would not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today.

He said they are actively participating on the side of Ukraine in the conflict and officially ensuring that we are immediately supplied with the necessary amount of weapons." "And secondly, Ukraine no longer wants to depend on bureaucratic procedures that allow or do not allow the sky to be closed to the same cruise missiles. We need direct and firm guarantees that the skies will definitely be closed", he added.

Podolyak stressed that Ukraine has never been a militarised state that attacked or planned to attack its neighbours unlike Russia. Therefore, today Ukraine wants to have a strong pool of allies with clear security guarantees.

Podolyak's words were preceded by a statement from a member of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, who said that Ukraine had offered an "Austrian" or "Swedish" version of neutrality during the negotiations.

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Hyderabad, March 16 : The Telangana government's proposed move to scrap a Government Order meant to protect two reservoirs in Hyderabad has not only angered the environmentalists and citizens but has also drawn flak from Rajendra Singh, popularly known as the 'Waterman of India', who has threatened to move the Supreme Court.

The environmentalists and green activists have cautioned the government against the catastrophic move to lift the restrictions on construction activity in the catchment areas of Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar.

Rajendra Singh said he was disturbed by the "heartbreaking" news of the state government announcing the move to revoke Government Order (GO) 111.

Singh, who is chairman of Jal Biradari, requested Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasehar Rao to refrain from repealing the GO 111 that is meant to prohibit constructions within the 10 kilometer radius of the twin reservoirs.

Stating that the two reservoirs are pride of not just Hyderabad but the entire nation, he said scrapping the GO will be in violation of the Constitution and orders of the Supreme Court. He said if Telangana Chief Minister fails to drop the move, he will be forced to approach the Supreme Court.

The winner of the prestigious Magsaysay Award and Stockholm Water Prize took to Twitter to share his anger. He said he was surprised that Telangana which recently hosted a national convention on rivers is revoking GO 111. "This is against law and nature," he said.

The Chief Minister had announced in the Assembly on Tuesday that the government would soon lift the GO after receiving the report of the experts' committee.

Singh said the report of the committee will be tailor-made to suit the purpose of the government and not intended to protect the water bodies.

He recalled that the GO was issued on March 8, 1996 to protect the catchment areas of prestigious Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar, which is the reason for the development of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

The two reservoirs were built across Musi River by Nizam of Hyderabad after the devastating Musi floods of September 1908 which had killed thousands of people. The two reservoirs were the main source of drinking water for the twin cities.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said the GO became redundant as the two reservoirs were no longer the sources of drinking water as Hyderabad is getting piped supply of water from Krishna and Godavari rivers.

The Waterman of India pointed out that the GO covers 1.32 lakh acres in 84 villages and seven mandals.

He said revoking the GO means removing the shield to protect the two lakes and amounts to violation of several judgments of the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal.

"If KCR wants, he can shift these 84 village people from the catchment area and keep the catchment area free for the prestigious Himayatsagar and Osmansagar lakes, thus he can become a role model for other Chief Ministers," Singh said.

On KCR's assertion that Hyderabad will have adequate supply of water for next 100 years, Rajendra Singh said this can't be said based on the water pumped artificially into these lakes. "Further, the state is constitutionally obligated for protection and improvement of the natural resources under the Article 48-A of the Constitution of India too, he cannot escape from it," Singh said.

The GO 111 was brought to prevent acidification of lakes due to air pollution and to prohibit setting up of industries in the prohibited zone.

According to environmentalist Dr Subba Rao, the objectives of the GO were to ensure sustainable water resource management.

The reservoirs were part of the only zero-energy water distribution system in the country, where no water was pumped from the sources, and hence they were completely infused into climate change adaptation.

The government's proposed move to scrap GO 111 has also drawn flak from the opposition parties which alleged that it was aimed at benefiting the real estate.

Congress national spokesman Dasoju Srravan warned that if the GO 111 GO was abolished, it will pollute not only Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar but the entire Musi River and Nagarjuna Sagar dam, causing serious environmental issues affecting flora and fauna and humankind in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

He also alleged that out of 1,32,600 acres of land under the GO, one lakh acres have been forcibly acquired by top leaders of ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS).

The Congress leader demanded an inquiry into who were the individuals who purchased lands in the area covered by GO 111 during the last eight years.

Srravan said the Chief Minister's statement that Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar are no longer required clearly shows that the government wants to satisfy real estate vultures.

--IANS ms/vd

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New Delhi, March 16 : After Supreme Court dismissed the petition on OROP on Wednesday, the Congress reacting to it said that the decision has been made overlooking the facts.

Addressing a press conference, Party General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "it's incorrect," and claimed that the UPA government had approved the OROP.

"Ex Servicemen & Armed Forces betrayed by our own Govt, which opposed right of persons holding the same rank, with the same length of service to get same pension, irrespective of the date of retirement," he said.

Surjewala alleged that the BJP does politics on the issue and when time comes it goes back on its promise.

He asked, "why Prime Minister and Defence Minister deny and oppose #OROP in Supreme Court? Why are you refusing to implement the order dated 24th April, 2014 issued by UPA-Cong Govt giving OROP? Why did you reject 'Koshyari Committee' recommendations on #OROP before Supreme Court? Why did you tell the Supreme Court that Minutes of the Meeting dated Feb 26, 2014 chaired by Defence Minister, A.K. Antony didn't constitute a decision of the Govt?" The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the One Rank-One Pension (OROP) scheme in the Armed forces is a policy decision, which does not suffer from any constitutional infirmity.

A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath said the policy decision of the Centre of OROP is not arbitrary. The bench said the central government has taken a policy decision and it lies within the ambit of policy making powers. The bench added that it is not for the court to go into the policy matters of the government.

The bench said: "We do not find any constitutional infirmity on the OROP principle and the notification dated November 7, 2015".

The top court's judgment came on a plea filed by the Ex-servicemen Association seeking implementation of OROP, as recommended by the Bhagat Singh Koshyari Committee with an automatic annual revision. The plea had challenged the current policy of periodic review once in five years.
Shillong, March 16 : The Meghalaya High Court has ruled that rubbing of male organ on the vagina or urethra, even over underpants, would still amount to penetration and be charged as rape under Section 375 (b) of the Indian Penal Code.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W. Diengdoh, in their order, on Monday, on a rape incident dating back to September 23, 2006, said that even if it be accepted that the appellant herein forced his organ into the vagina or urethra of the victim despite the victim wearing her underpants, it would still amount to penetration for the purpose of Section 375 (b).

"When it is evident that the 10-year-old victim, upon being medically examined (on October 1, 2006) about a week after the incident, still showed signs of tenderness in her vagina and her hymen was torn, there is sufficient evidence of penetrative sex. The victim also indicated that the appellant herein pulled at her underpants." A trial court had, on October 31, 2018, convicted the accused and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment and a Rs 25,000 fine, in default of which he will undergo imprisonment for an additional six months.

The convict challenged the order in the High Court, contending that if the victim's underpants were not removed, then how he could be accused of rape.

But the high court did not accept this.

"In any event, by virtue of Section 375 (c) of the Penal Code, when a person manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause penetration into, inter alia, the vagina or urethra, the act would amount to rape. There is sufficient evidence of such penetration in the present case," said the 6-page HC order.

"Whatever may have been the reasons for the victim claiming that she did not feel any pain at the time, she complained of pain when she was medically examined on October 1, 2006 and the medical report confirmed the same. The medical report also confirmed the tenderness in her vagina which also revealed redness and the ruptured hymen.

"The principal ground of the appeal by the accused is that though the appellant has been found guilty of having committed rape and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment and payment of fine of Rs 25,000 in default to suffer imprisonment for an additional six months, no case of penetration in terms of Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 was made out," the HC said.

"Since the victim was a minor and since the appellant confessed that he lost control over himself and committed the offence, the punishment awarded to the appellant herein does not appear to be out of place," it added.
New Delhi, March 16 : Biological E produced Corbevax vaccine shot for children between 12 to 14 age group will cost Rs 990 in the private market including all taxes and Rs 145 at government hospitals and facilities.

India on Wednesday expanded its Covid-19 vaccination drive with the inclusion of children in the age group of 12-14. As per the health ministry report, children in this age group will be administered Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E.

Biological E said that it is providing the most affordable Covid vaccine on a global scale due to process of innovation, large-scale manufacturing and high-quality operations. Corbevax is India's first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein sub-unit vaccine against Covid-19.

As India began vaccinating children of 12 to 14 age group from Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "Today is an important day in India's efforts to vaccinate our citizens. Now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group are eligible for vaccines and all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses. I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated".
New Delhi, March 16 : Even as the Covid-19 pandemic derailed global efforts to curb Tuberculosis (TB), the government is set to launch a special door-to-door TB screening initiative on a "war footing", as only three years remain of its 2025 target to eradicate the deadly disease.

The initiative will be launched officially on March 24, globally observed as World TB Day.

Under this initiative, over the next two to three weeks, health workers will be visiting the vulnerable population that is potentially exposed to the infection and check for typical symptoms of TB, such as persistent cough, chest pain, weight loss and fatigue.

Those found to be symptomatic will be tested using TrueNAT, an indigenous portable, battery-operated, Internet of Thing-enabled RT-PCR platform developed and manufactured by Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics.

Globally, TB is known to be the biggest cause of death due to an infectious disease, and India contributes to over 30 per cent of the global TB burden.

In March last year, an analysis by the Health Ministry had notified that Covid brought down TB detection by 25 per cent in India in 2020. Tuberculosis notifications reduced to 18.02 lakh in 2020 from 24.04 lakh in 2019 due to the lockdown and diversion of resources, the Health Ministry had said.

Similarly, the Global TB report 2021 released by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that India accounted for 41 per cent of the global dip in reporting TB cases during the pandemic.

"The impact of Covid has been very significant on TB, because from March 2020 for at least about eight to nine months, absolutely zero TB testing took place, whether at public or at private centres. The same patter followed during the second wave also," Sriram Natarajan, CEO, Founder & Director, Molbio Diagnostics, told IANS.

"For the last one-and-a-half years, there's hardly been much TB testing. From about 12 per cent, the case positivity rate has gone up to 35-40 per cent. We have gone back by at least about five to seven years," he added.

Even after the gap brought in by Covid, Natrajan is optimistic that India can eradicate TB by 2025.

"We still have three years to quickly scale up the operations. It is definitely possible to reduce the burden dramatically. That's why the government is taking the initiative on a war footing to scale up testing in the country," he said.

The indigenously developed Truenat technology was also endorsed by the World Health Organization in 2020 as the world's first point-of-care rapid molecular diagnostic platform for diagnosis of TB and multidrug resistance.

Truenat is completely independent of laboratory and is an affordable machine. Besides TB, it can test for nearly 30 diseases, including Covid-19, Hepatitis, HIV, Dengue, Malaria and results take less than an hour to come.

Truenat machines are also telemedicine capable and can be linked to Cloud and the reporting can be done on a real-time basis, Natarajan said.

Truenat machines are being deployed at the sub-district level in the remotest corners across the country. Over 3,500 community and home healthcare as well as primary healthcare centres have been equipped with Truenat devices under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) for first-line testing of TB in suspected patients.

The ongoing expansion in the rollout of this technology across the healthcare chain will ensure that patients will not have to travel long distances and wait long hours to access an early and accurate diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Natarajan said that the next phase of the campaign includes end-to-end active case finding, which will be done via mobile vans.

Mobile vans will be deployed at the hotspot areas with X-Ray and PCR systems in them and the testing will be done by X-Ray machine instead of asking questions.

"X-ray is quite a sensitive tool in identifying TB and can also give false positives. For confirmation of the disease, further, it will be run through PCR within and in about 2- hours the results will be out," he told IANS.

"This is not part of the campaign right now, but eventually will be introduced in the campaign. We have 10 mobile vans in Andhra Pradesh and five in Gujarat. We are getting into a larger kind of capacity building to make sure we have enough and adequate vans to be operationalised," he added.

Besides India, the campaign will also be run in 13 other countries by the USAID through a programme called the New Tools project, which will be scaled to more than 25 countries in the coming year, Natarajan told IANS.

(Rachel V. Thomas can be contacted at rachel.t@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 16 : ResMed released the results of its ResMed Asia and Latin America Sleep Health Survey, which looked at overall sleep habits and their impact on respondents' well-being across the region. The ResMed-commissioned study, conducted online by AtomikResearch in India (5004), Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, and Mexico, discovered that the majority of the 17,040 respondents suffered from insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality, with only 21 percent waking up feeling refreshed in the morning.

In India, 81 percent agreed that poor sleeping habits can have a negative impact on one's quality of life and that getting enough sleep is critical for maintaining one's immunity; 53 percent attempted to get more sleep to address this. Those who struggled with sleep also reported mood swings (24 percent ), as well as difficulty concentrating during the day (21 percent).

"We conducted this survey to investigate the importance of a good night's sleep and its impact on one's wellbeing," said Carlos Montiel, ResMed's Vice President of Latin America and South Asia. "The findings show that people struggle to sleep at night and are interested in learning more about their sleep habits and sleep quality." People are seeking ways to improve sleep habits



72 percent of respondents surveyed said that insufficient sleep or poor quality of sleep had worsened their emotional state.

People in India are willing to take action to improve their sleep health to prevent it from further affecting their quality of life, with as many as 81 percent saying bad sleeping habits can affect their quality of life.

34 percent were also aware that snoring was a sign of a poor night's sleep, resulting in 51 percent of respondents using sleep trackers to keep records of sleep patterns and 35 percent expressing interest in keeping track of their health during sleep.

Despite these sleep challenges, only 21 percent of those polled sought help from a general practitioner or a healthcare specialist. Furthermore, 59 percent believe that snoring is a sign of a good night's sleep, emphasising the importance of raising awareness about sleep health. Many people are also unaware that the symptoms they experience while sleeping could be indicators of a sleep disorder such as Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).

Mood changes such as irritability or depression, morning headaches, and excessive daytime sleepiness are the top three symptoms cited by both males and females surveyed in relation to their sleep. Despite this, 32 percent of those polled said they had never heard of OSA.

Over 80 percent of adults worldwide with sleep apnea are undiagnosed and unaware of their condition. Common signs and symptoms of OSA include excess weight, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

ResMed, a global provider of cloud-connected sleep apnea devices and masks, hopes to use market insights to continue improving access to therapy outcomes for individuals and entire patient populations.

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 16 : Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Wednesday informed the Rajya Sabha that the Eklayva schools meant for tribal students will be modified on the lines of the central government-run Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.

He said the Eklavya schools had been set up in 1997-98 but the condition of the schools remained poor and deplorable despite the government fulfilling their monetary requirements. "We will ensure these (Eklavya schools) get the required facilities to excel in the fields of sports, skill development, local art and culture," he said.

Replying to the debate on the working of the Tribal Affairs Ministry, he said that earlier all central ministries used to work separately without coordinating with one another. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who pointed this out after the government was formed under his leadership at the Centre and now every ministry is coordinating with one another in terms of taking development ahead.

Munda stated that the government has identified nearly 36,000 tribal villages under the Pradhan Mantri Adi-Adarsh Gram Yojana across the country to provide them with facilities like clean drinking water, internet, water drainage system, 100 percent admission rate in schools and steps to check the dropout rate.

Referring to the questions raised by the opposition members over the working of his ministry, he said that they had ruled the country for years.

He added that it was the Narendra Modi government which brought the Arunachal Pradesh with a 100 percent tribal population in the list of tribal states.

I am open to criticism as well as suggestions from the opposition members, but the MPs should not criticise just for the sake of it, Munda said.

Earlier, resuming the debate on the working of the Ministry of tribal Affairs, CPI MP Binoy Viswam said that Father Stan Swamy fought for the rights of the tribal communities. "He was tortured to death in a prison cell. Why? He always fought for the rights of the tribals by giving a call for their 'Jal, Jameen, Jangal'.

Talking about Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) he said that the government has brought FDI, particularly in the field of mining in lands that belong to the tribal communities in Odisha and Jharkhand.

At the beginning of the debate on Wednesday, BJP lawmaker Suresh Gopi urged the Minister to direct the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to visit tribal hamlets in Kerala.
Chennai, March 16 : A special team of Dindigul police shot dead a notorious gangster, Neeravi Murugan on Wednesday in an encounter in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

Tirunelveli district police superintendent P. Saravanan in a statement on Wednesday said that the Dindigul police team cornered Murugan in a robbery-related case at Kalakad in Tirunelveli.

Murugan attacked the police and Sub Inspector of the Dindigul police team. In response the police fired one round at him which killed the notorious gangster on the spot.

Police said that four cops received injuries in heads and faces after they were attacked with a billhook by Murugan and Sub Inspector Isakki Raja had to fire in self-defence.

Superintendent of Police of Tirunelveli district, Saravanan said that Murugan had attacked police earlier also and was a notorious criminal involved in robberies, quotation attacks as well as encroachment of properties.

Kalakkad police registered a case and further investigation is on.

Murugan's body is sent for postmortem at the Tirunelveli Government Medical College hospital.

Murugan had more than 60 criminal cases including murder against him in various districts of Tamil Nadu and a video of him forcing a school teacher to part with her gold ornaments went viral after being recorded by a passerby.
Kiev, March 16 : Russian hackers broke into the live newsfeed of the TV channel Ukraina 24 and posted a fake "statement" of surrender by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The President immediately recorded a video suggesting that the Russians lay down their weapons.

The TV channel said: "The news ticker on Ukraina 24 and the Sohodni (Today) website have been broken into by enemy hackers and are broadcasting a message from Zelensky about an alleged 'surrender'. Friends, we have given several warnings about this. This is fake! No one is going to surrender, least of all when the Russian army is being defeated by the Ukrainian army," Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

The statement is no longer being broadcast on air, but a recording can be seen.

"With regard to the latest childish provocation alleging that I'm suggesting we put down our weapons, I suggest that the only people who should put their weapons down - and go home - are the Russian military," Zelensky said.

"We are at home, we are defending our land, our children, our families. So we're not about to put down any weapons until we have won," he added.
New Delhi, March 16 : A court here on Wednesday granted bail to a man who was arrested by the Delhi Police after ramming his vehicle into the high-security gates of the residence of National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Kumar Jain granted bail to Shakti Dhar Reddy after hearing arguments from both sides.

Advocates Anubhav Tyagi, Kuldeep Jauhari, Karan Ahuja, Sagar Mehlawat, and Hemant Kumar appeared for the accused. The accused's counsel said, as per the case, the accused deliberately banged his car in the entrance gate of Bungalow No 5, Janpath road, but nobody was injured and the said accident occurred because the car got out of his control and he has no mens rea to injure anybody or to damage the property.

"This accused has no criminal antecedents. Furthermore, he is in custody since February 16, and is no more required for investigation," counsel argued.

The Additional Public Prosecutor said during the investigation, it was found that the accused has no criminal antecedents, and appears to be a "psycho" but also agreed that the accused is no more required for probe.

After the submissions, the court granted bail to the accused and also asked him to furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs 50,000 with one surety in the like amount.

On February 16, the Bengaluru-based man was detained by the Delhi Police following the incident. Doval was present at the residence when the man tried to drive a red-coloured SUV through the high-security gate. However, the vehicle was intercepted and the man nabbed by the guards and later handed over to the police.
New Delhi, March 16 : Amid the massive foreign fund outflows, few domestic stocks such as Chambal Fertiliser, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and ACC, among some others, have attracted foreign investors' attention.

Healthy fundamentals and sector-specific outlook of these companies have made them prime targets for foreign investors.

Bharat Electronics, HFCL, Lakshmi Machine Works, Piramal Enterprises, Sundram Fasteners, Supreme Petrochem, and P&G Hygiene and Health Care also saw a rise in foreign investors' shareholding in the recent quarters.

Notably, the investment trend comes at a time when the overall sell-off by the foreign investors in Indian equities have been continuing in the recent months.

For Bharat Electronics, the FIIs raised their stake to 17.2 per cent in the company from 11.6 per cent four quarters back, said Ajit Mishra, VP-Research at Religare Broking.

The FIIs are important as they play a critical role in the Indian equities.

Retail as well as institutional investors keep a close watch on the shareholding pattern, as increasing shareholding is a positive sign and vice-versa.

These stocks are fundamentally sound and have good long-term growth potential, Mishra said.

According to reports, the current sell-off by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in Indian equities is turning out to be the highest selling spree since the global financial crisis of 2008.

Sectorally, bulk of the FPI selling over the past 12 months has been concentrated around IT, banks, NBFCs and industrials.
New Delhi, March 16: India, as well as others, should draw some hard lessons from the wide fall-out of the Ukraine crisis. One, it has proved that possession of a mighty nuclear arsenal neither earns you the desired respect nor does it guarantee security beyond a point. Russia has been humiliated over the years, its security has been threatened with the relentless expansion of NATO and dismissal of its protests. Nuclear weapons are clearly not a deterrence against economic warfare, real economic muscle is necessary for that. The lesson for India's political and entrepreneurial class is to understand better our vulnerabilities and double down on "atmanirbharta".

Two, the structures of the existing "international order" are breaking down further. The UN is again demonstrating its impotency to establish peace, which is not the same as countries scoring diplomatic points against each other in the UN Security Council or the General Assembly. Three, the Europeans themselves were bemoaning the decline of multilateralism after the advent of Trump. Now the Europeans have joined the Americans to deliver a major blow to multilateralism by imposing unprecedented sanctions on Russia without declaring a war with little concern about their damaging effect on the rest of the world.

The structures of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were already being undermined by the US under Trump. Now, with the US and the EU withdrawing Russia's MFN status, international trading rules are being seriously breached for purely political reasons. The idea of expelling Russia from the WTO and the IMF or, in the case of the latter, not allowing it access to SDRs- whether that is feasible or not- shows the weakness of the West's inherent commitment to multilateralism.

Four, much is made of the arguments about observing the rule of law and upholding international rules. Unilateral sanctions by powerful countries without UN approval are an arbitrary exercise of power and rule-setting by the strong for other countries to adhere to under the pain of punishment. These sanctions have been applied by the US and EU to Russian members of parliament for voting legally on issues of national interest, even personally against President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov, members of Russia's National Security Council and Putin's close entourage, as well as top Russian businessmen for the sin of being close to Putin.

The Russian Central Bank and major Russian banks have been sanctioned, with Russia expelled from the Swift system. Visa and Mastercard have quit Russia, as also US and UK oil majors. The US has banned the import of oil and gas from Russia. American and European airspace has been denied to Russian airlines. Boeing and Airbus will no longer service Russian owned aircraft. The property and funds held abroad by Russians have been confiscated without due process of law. The frenzy of sanctions includes the Russians, including those handicapped, from international sports. Russian music conductors have been fired from their positions from western orchestras for not condemning Putin for invading Ukraine. An economic and societal war has been declared on Russia. President Biden claimed in his State of the Union address that Russia's foreign exchange reserves of $630 billion had been made "worthless". It is not clear under what provisions of a rules based order or the rule of law these steps fall. The lesson here is that a whole ruling political, business and cultural class of a country can be treated as outlaws and subject to reprisals by the West if required.

Five, the lesson to learn is that the West controls the global financial system to the point that the ownership of whatever assets governments, private companies or individuals from other countries hold abroad can be seized arbitrarily depending on politics. The hegemony of the US $ has been powerfully demonstrated in Russia's case. The G-7 is once again calling the shots, with the G-20 losing its salience in stabilising the world's financial system. If China has been rightly criticised for weaponising global supply chains and critical raw materials and triggered moves to decoupling, on-shoring, resilient supply chains etc, the US and EU have gone much further in trying to comprehensively weaponise finance, trade, investment and technology. The blow to globalisation and interdependence has been deep.

One can therefore expect countries to develop alternative systems of international bank transfers and payment systems as well as defences against the hegemony of the US $ by trading more in their respective currencies.

Six, the West's double standards have become even more glaring. The US and Europe react sharply when freedom of speech and expression are seen to be curbed in any country, including India, as we have seen in the case of temporary restrictions imposed on the internet and social media in J&K after the revision of Article 370 and in some other cases to curb the potential of violence. Now one sees that Russian TV and media outlets have been banned in Europe on the disputable ground that they purvey disinformation and fake news. This is a clear violation of freedom of expression and constitutes a form of censorship.

Seven, the Ukraine conflict shows the West's ability to control narratives at the international level on issues in which they have stakes, and prevent any alternative narrative to develop. The West controls the flow of information internationally through its news agencies, the mainstream media, the social media and the internet. The techniques of information warfare have been developed as part of hybrid warfare and these have been exhibited in the case of the Ukrainian crisis where only one side of the story is being heard even in India where the media is carrying reports and visuals only from western sources which are highly negatively oriented against Russia. This is at variance with the balanced position of the government on the crisis and detracts from our larger national interest. The gap is wide between the position of the government on the crisis and how it looks at ties with Russia and the manner in which the media is projecting the conflict and Russia's culpability.

Eight, the role of the US controlled social media in the propaganda battle against Russia should be a cause of concern. Meta is making an exception for calls to violence against Russians for its invasion of Ukraine. This is a dangerous precedent being set up, as an exception made once can be made again. As it is, concerns about hate-speech, the use of these platforms to promote violence and even terrorism is a real one, including for countries like India. Social media cannot be allowed to establish its own rules on content outside the jurisdictions of countries in which they operate. The need to regulate the working of the social media has become pressing.

Finally, we are heading toward a more divided and unstable world geo-politically and geo-economically. The existing global structures that in any case needed reform are breaking up. A new Cold War has begun. The crippling of Russian power as a result of the crisis which the West is aiming for will create a void that China will fill. Europe's ambition to develop a degree of strategic autonomy has been quashed with NATO's rejuvenation under American pressure and internal European divisions. The US is reaching out to China to persuade it not to support Russia on Ukraine and if it succeeds- for which China will extract a price- the stage would have been set for a G 2 world that China aspires for. This can impact on the Indo-Pacific concept and the Quad. India will now pursue an even more nimble-footed foreign policy to protect its interests in an increasingly challenging external environment.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --Indianarrative

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New Delhi, March 16 : A total 16 Chinese nationals have granted Indian citizenship since 2007 while 10 applications are pending with the government, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

As per data available in the online citizenship module, 10 applications of Chinese nationals are pending for grant of citizenship, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question asked by DMK's Tiruchi Siva on asylum and citizenship requests of communities from China, including Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Mongolians since 2019.

"Only nationality-wise data is maintained. Community-wise data is not maintained," he said.

Officials in the Ministry, however, said that the government has not offered asylum to the Uyghur community, which faces repression at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.

The minister also said that all foreign nationals (including asylum seekers) are governed by the provisions contained in The Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and The Citizenship Act, 1955.

He also said that India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereon and that also the data on requests for asylum is not centrally maintained.
Mumbai, March 16 : In a tough and unprecedented measure, the Maharashtra government has decided to cancel the recognition of any school from which examination paper leakages come to light, School Education Minister Prof. Varsha Gaikwad said on Wednesday.

After the SSC Marathi exam paper allegedly leaked earlier this week, the state government clamped down and derecognised the Laxmibai Secondary and Higher Secondary School, Nilajgaon, where there were allegations of mass-copying.

Announcing the strong decisions in the Maharashtra Legislature, Prof. Gaikwad said that henceforth, all students must reach their examination venues at least one hour before the scheduled paper.

The candidate must compulsorily be seated inside the exam hall 10 minutes before the start of any exams - at 10.20 a.m. for the 10.30 a.m. paper, and at 2.50 p.m. for the 3 p.m. paper.

"Under no circumstances shall any candidate be permitted to enter the exam halls after the examinations begin at 10.30 a.m. or 3 p.m. All parents and students must take note of this and cooperate with the authorities," she said.

However, those entering the exam hall after 10.20 a.m. or 2.50 p.m. - owing to circumstances beyond their control - would undergo a complete check before they are permitted to write the exams to ensure their future is not affected, the Minister assured.

Simultaneously, all schools have been ordered to ensure that students do not misuse their mobile phones, click pictures of the question paper distributed at 10.30 am and 2.50 p.m. (for reading) and strictly prohibit the use of phones in the exam halls.

Reacting to the government decision, Maharashtra English Schools Trustees Association (MESTA) Founder-President Sanjayrao T. Patil said that though welcome, the move appears to be misdirected.

"During the SSC/HSC exams, the schools are taken over by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Examination, with their own examiners, invigilators, vigilance, officers, etc., students are outsiders, and the schools merely act as facilitators to help them conduct the exams. So, in case of a paper leakage, how can the schools be held liable?" Patil told IANS.

The MESTA founder-head urged that the government should keep a check on all the authorities engaged in conducting the exams to ensure the rules are stringently followed by all to prevent paper leakage or mass-copying instead of targeting the schools which are only 'exam centres' offering their premises for the conduct of exams.
New Delhi, March 16 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Wednesday said that it has arrested a professor of Jamia Millia Islamia University posted in the Department of Civil Engineering, and two others from a private company based in Okhla, in connection with a bribery case of Rs 1 lakh.

The professor was identified as Mohammed Khalid Moin while the two others were identified as Prakhar Pawar and Abid Khan, both employees of Vyom Architect.

"A case was registered against the accused on the allegation that the said professor in conspiracy with the representatives of different private builders, architect, middleman etc. was indulging in different activities for issuing structural stability certificates for the projects after taking bribes" said a senior CBI officer.

The CBI laid a trap and caught the professor and the two employees while accepting and giving the bribe of Rs one lakh.

The official said that searches are being conducted at the premises of the accused.

"The arrested accused will be produced before the designated court at Delhi," said the CBI official.
Bengaluru, March 16 : Muslim organisations in Karnataka have given a call for a 'bandh' in the state on Thursday (March 17) opposing the verdict of the Karnataka High Court on the hijab row.

The high court had on Tuesday dismissed all the petitions seeking direction to the government for allowing hijab inside classrooms. The court had also stated that wearing hijab is not an essential part of Islam.

The Amir-E-Shariat of Karnataka, Maulana Sagir Ahmad Khan Rashadi, on Wednesday gave a call for a state-wide bandh on Thursday, which has been supported by hundreds of organisations across the southern state.

"Expressing our anger against the sad order of the Karnataka High Court regarding hijab, a state-wide bandh will be observed on Thursday," Rashadi stated, as he appealed to the entire Muslim community to support the bandh between 6 am and 6 pm on Thursday.

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Campus Front of India (CFI) have also supported the bandh call. Both the organisations maintained that the high court verdict is against the constitutional rights of an individual.

CFI office-bearers said that the high court verdict is against individual and religious rights.
New Delhi, March 16 : The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a charge sheet against five accused, including former Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, in connection with the alleged corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

Sharma was the Defence Secretary between 2011 and 2013 before being appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Air Force personnel are Air Vice Marshal Jasbir Singh Panesar (retd), former deputy chief test pilot S.A. Kunte, Wing Commander Thomas Mathew (retd), and Group Captain N Santosh (retd).

The case pertains to buying of 12 AgustaWestland helicopters built by Italian defence manufacturing giant Finmeccanica at an estimated cost of Rs 3,600 crore for ferrying VVIPs. In the deal, cleared in 2010 by the then UPA government, bribes were allegedly paid to middlemen and others.

On January 1, 2014, India cancelled the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF, over alleged breach of contractual obligations and on charges of paying kickbacks amounting to Rs 423 crore.

On September 19, 2020 the CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet against 15 accused, including alleged middleman and British citizen Christian Michel and accused-turned-approver Rajiv Saxena, in connection with the scam.

The CBI had earlier filed a charge sheet in this case on September 1, 2017 against then IAF chief S.P. Tyagi and 11 other accused.
New Delhi, March 16 : The Defence Ministry should seek the cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs to explore new overseas markets for the products of the newly created seven Defence Public Sector Undertakings from the Ordnance Factory Board, pointed out the standing committee report on Demands for Grants for Defence.

The report -- Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination and Services) - New DPSUs Erstwhile Ordnance Factories -- was presented in Parliament on Wednesday.

The committee stated that the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), with its headquarters at Kolkata, was a subordinate office of the Department of Defence Production till September 30, 2021 and it controlled and directed 41 ordnance factories.

The Cabinet, in its meeting held on June 16, 2021 had approved to convert the production units of the OFB into seven DPSUs with 41 units, namely Munitions India Limited (MIL), Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL), Troop Comforts Limited (TCL), Yantra India Limited (YIL), India Optel Limited (IOL) and Gliders India Limited (GIL).

The headquarters of the new corporate entities have been selected based on the location and concentration of OFs, revenue and criticality of products.

Seeing the order book position of the ordnance factories for the next five years, the parliamentary panel stated that the defence ministry apprised them that all the DPSUs have relatively healthy order book positions, except MIL and YIL from the year 2026-27 onwards.

In the case of YIL, which registered no orders from 2023-24, the ministry apprised that since this PSU is primarily meant for supplying intermittent products, raw materials, components to other new defence companies, therefore, Order Book Position for the next five years with services in case of YIL is not applicable.

The contracts with sister New Defence Companies are being concluded on a year-to-year basis as per requirements.

Though some of the DPSUs like MIL and AWEIL are targeting Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 crore order books in the coming years but others are not in a comfortable position.

"The Committee recommends that the Ministry should like to seek cooperation of Ministry of External Affairs so that MEA on their part may explore new markets overseas for products of DPSUs through their diplomatic channels," the report stated .

The panel found that except MIL, YIL and AWEIL no other newly created DPSU has been awarded any export contract. MIL has already obtained export orders worth Rs 87 crore and it aims to increase exports from the existing 2 percent of Annual Value of Issue to 8 percent by next year.

AVANI has taken many initiatives in exports, including naval guns, air defence guns, and small arms weapons.

IOL has focused on countries such as Algeria, Sri Lanka, Middle East countries, Philippines, South Africa, Nigeria, Bhutan & Nepal; however, it has not exported anything yet.

AWEIL has also started a dedicated export promotion group to earn from exports.

YIL has to export High Calibre Artillery Shells and 155 MM ERFB HE (BT/BB) Shells (40,000 Nos. worth Rs 200 Cr) and 7.62 mm ammunition, and is expecting an order for the supply of Brass and GM Cups to MIL for their expected export orders of 250 million numbers of 5.56 mm ammunition.

GIL has exported various parachutes like Brake Parachute for SU30, Brake Parachute for Jaguar and Brake Parachute for MIG-21 to different foreign countries in South East and Central Asia. Presently GIL is actively pursuing export leads in South East Asia and US/Europe.

The panel recommended that efforts should be made so that in future more export orders are secured by each and every corporation and no stone should be left unturned in achieving this objective.
Chennai, March 16 : The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench has directed the Tamil Nadu government to regulate the use of mobile phones of government employees during office.

It asked the government to frame rules and regulations for the use of mobile phones and cameras inside office premises during office hours.

A bench of Justice S.M. Subramaniam said that usage of mobile phones during office hours was gross misconduct and employees must not be allowed to use these during office hours for personal reasons.

He said that if there was emergency permission must be taken from the higher officials before the phone is used.

The court directed that in all circumstances, the mobile phones should be either switched off or in silent mode to prevent any discomfort to people who are approaching the government offices as well as other staff in the office while they were engaged in office work.

Justice Subramaniam also said that using mobile cameras during office hours was causing discomfort and would disrupt the functioning of offices.

He directed the state government to take serious note of the subject and to issue a circular or note to the employees to store all mobile phones in a cloakroom during office hours in switched off or silent mode.

The court was hearing a petition filed by D.S. Radhika, a government employee from Tiruchi, challenged the suspension order issued against her for frequently using mobile phones during office hours and shooting videos of coworkers.

The court disposed of the petition and directed the officials to conduct an inquiry and conclude the same with immediate effect.
Moscow, March 16 : Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the West is pushing Kiev to bloodshed.

"It is also clear to us that Western patrons are simply pushing the Kiev authorities to continue the bloodshed," Putin said, RT reported.

He noted that the supply of weapons and the dispatch of mercenaries continued.

"Ukraine, encouraged by the United States and a number of Western countries, purposefully prepared for a military scenario. To the bloody massacre and ethnic cleansing in the Donbass. A massive attack on the Donbass and then on the Crimea was only a matter of time," Putin said.

The Russian armed forces thwarted these plans, he claimed.

"In Kiev, they were not only preparing for war, for aggression against Russia, against the Donbass, they were waging it. Attempts to organise sabotage and terrorist underground did not stop. In recent years, hostilities have continued in the Donbass, with shelling of peaceful settlements. During this time, almost 14,000 civilians died, including children," Vladimir Putin said.

The economic difficulties of the population of Western countries are not caused by the actions of Russia, but were the result of myopic mistakes and ambitions of the ruling elites of their states, who are obsessed with superprofits, Putin said.

"Evidence of this is the data of international organisations, which say that social problems even in the leading Western countries have only worsened in recent years: Inequality is growing, the gap between the poor and the rich, racial and national conflicts are making themselves felt. The myth of the Western welfare society, the so-called golden billion, is collapsing," the Russian head of state said at a meeting on economic issues.
New Delhi, March 16 : Exorbitant jet fuel prices on the back of high crude oil costs are expected to drive up domestic air fares from their current levels.

In recent days, fares have risen by around 20-25 per cent on most domestic routes on a month-on-month basis. With ATF prices being hiked to over Rs 1 lakh per kilolitre, fares are expected to rise further.

"This time the industry had already braced for an ATF price hike, with most of the airlines hiking fares on certain legs by about 20-25 per cent in the past couple of days," said Aloke Bajpai, Co-founder and Group CEO, ixigo.

"However, despite rising airfares, demand for travel for the upcoming summer season is still going strong. We have seen an average MoM increase of 35-40 per cent in travel search queries in March for popular leisure destinations like Goa, Port Blair, Amritsar, Varanasi, Srinagar & Andaman & Nicobar," Bajpai added.

Presently, fuel-based expenses account for around 40 per cent of the overall operating cost of an airline.

Significantly, the trend will hamper air passenger growth for the industry.

Besides, the rise in ATF prices might derail the economic recovery of India's aviation sector, which has been heavily battered by Covid restrictions.

"ATF constitutes about 40 per cent of the operating cost of an airline, and the recent hike of 18 per cent in ATF will put significant margin pressure on the airlines. The impact of this will be seen in increase of ticket prices, and we should see an upward revision of 5-8 per cent in air fares," said Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Director and Practice Leader, Transport and Logistics, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory.

"This has come at a time when the industry was coming back to normalcy and the increased fare could prove to be a dampener for leisure travellers," Padmanabhan added.

According to Suprio Banerjee, Vice President and Sector Head, ICRA: "ATF represents the single-largest cost element for airlines, accounting for 30-40 per cent of their total operating expenses. As such, the profitability of the airlines is significantly linked with ATF prices, which have witnessed consistent rise and have risen 57.2 per cent in March 2022 on a YoY basis.

"With limited pricing power of the airlines, and given the stiff competition with passenger traffic still in recovery mode, the rise in ATF prices is certainly going to impact the earnings profile adversely in the near term." In India, the domestic ATF prices are derived from international fuel prices, denominated in the US dollar, thereby rendering the ATF prices susceptible to exchange rate movements.

Notably, the rupee has also seen depreciation against the US dollar lately, which has been reflected in the prices.

The ATF prices are much more expensive than international benchmarks due to high levels of taxation.

The industry has been demanding that the fuel type be brought under the ambit of GST, similar to the status given to 'Bunker Diesel' which is used in the shipping sector.

On Wednesday, high crude oil prices led OMCs to hike ATF prices to more than Rs 1 lakh per kilolitre. In the national capital, the price of jet fuel was raised by 18.32 per cent to Rs 1,10,666.29 per kilolitre (kl) from Rs 93,530.66 per kl.

In the other metro cities of Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, the price was increased to Rs 1,14,979.70, Rs 1,09,119.83 and Rs 1,14,133.73 per kl, respectively.

The rise came as crude oil price has remained on elevated levels due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Fuel retailers revise jet fuel prices on a fortnightly basis.

"Aviation fuel prices increased by 18 per cent, accounting for over 40 per cent of a plane's operating cost," said Kshitij Purohit, Lead of Commodities and Currencies at CapitalVia Global Research.

"It has climbed six times since 2022, reaching Rs 1,10,666 per kl. The increase in the price of ATF may result in an increase in the price of airline tickets; however, during the festive season, people are more likely to travel in India, thus companies may raise prices moderately to avoid losing volume." Bhanu Patni, Senior Analyst at India Ratings and Research, said: "The current hike in ATF prices is due to high crude oil cost which has been rising due to geo-political tensions between Russia and Ukraine. We have seen ATF prices rise by over 40 per cent since the start of 2022." (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in)

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
Gurugram, March 16 : A doctor and a chemist were arrested on Wednesday for illegally running a sex determination clinic in Delhi and Gurugram. The arrests follow a raid conducted by the health departments of Gurugram, Nuh along with the Gurugram police.

According to the police, the civil surgeon of Nuh, Kuldeep Singh, received a tip-off that a man named Devender was involved in an illegal sex determination racket in connivance with a doctor.

After this information was received, a team of the health departments of Gurugram, Nuh and the Gurugram police was constituted.

A decoy patient was prepared and the doctor -- Rajeev Bhatia -- and the chemist -- Devender Kumar -- were caught red-handed from the Huda City Centre Metro Station in Gurugram.

The police said the doctor was booked in a similar case earlier. The police have also recovered an ultrasound machine from their possession.

During questioning, the accused disclosed before the police that they used to take Rs 70,000 to 75,000 for conducting illegal sex determination test and abortion.
New Delhi, March 16 : Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday evening held a high-level meeting with NITI Ayog's Health) member Dr V.K. Paul, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on rising cases of Covid-19 in some Southeast Asian and European nations, said a source.

The Ministry source said that Health Minister has directed the senior officials to maintain alertness, active genome sequencing and high level surveillance across the country in the view of again rising cases of Covid 19 in some countries.

Mandaviya also reviewed the Covid-19 vaccination programme and resumption of international passenger flights from March 27, the source added.

Mandaviya is also expected to chair a meeting with all AIIMS Directors on looming threat of possible fourth wave from 12 noon on Thursday.

Meanwhile, India began the inoculation drive for 12 to 14 age group of children from Wednesday. As per the ministry, only Corbevax Covid vaccine manufactured by Biological E. Ltd is being administered to this age group.
New York, March 16 : As Russia hammered Kiev with artillery with its troops within 30 km of the capital, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a direct appeal on Wednesday to US Congress for putting his country under a no-fly zone, a proposal US President Joe Biden had rejected.

"Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people," Zelensky said over a video link from Ukraine and asked, "To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people, is this too much to ask?" In an emotional speech, he invoked the powerful symbols of US crises of foreign attacks, the 1941 Pearl Harbour attack by Japan and the 9/11 terrorist attack, to reinforce his plea for help.

"Our country experiences the same, every day, right now at this moment," he said.

Zelensky's proposal included a modified version, a "humanitarian no-fly zone", that would provide a safe air corridor for providing relief supplies rather than blanketing the country.

He also referred to another proposal to provide Ukraine with aircraft that has been rejected by Biden without directly naming it.

"You know how much depends on the battlefield, on the ability to use aircraft, powerful strong aviation to protect our people, our freedom, our land, aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe. You know they exist and you have them, but they are on Earth not in the Ukrainian sky," Zelensky said.

Poland has proposed sending its MiG jet fighters to a NATO airbase from where they would be sent to Ukraine and the US making up for them by giving Poland equivalent aircraft.

He also asked for air defence systems like the Russian S300.

Wearing an olive green T-shirt and sitting at a desk with the blue and yellow national flag behind him, Zelensky spoke mostly in Ukrainian from a secret location from where he is directing Ukraine's defence against Russian invasion.

Members of Congress watched on a giant screen from an auditorium in the Capitol building, rather than from the chamber of Congress. The speech was interspersed with horrific videos of the war.

He had earlier spoken to British and Canadian parliaments.

Zelensky ended his speech in English, directly telling Biden: "Today it is not enough to be the leader of your great nation. I wish you to be the leader of the world... To be the leader of peace." The US is wary of creating a no-fly zone because it could create a direct confrontation between the nuclear-armed superpowers.

Ruling it out, Biden's spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Tuesday, "A no-fly zone is escalatory and could prompt a war with Russia, a major nuclear power." It "essentially means us shooting down Russian planes and them potentially shooting back at us", she added.

Zelensky's end-run to Congress to ask for a no-fly zone was met warily with fears of World War III.

Representative Michael McCaul, who is the Republican leader on the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, also ruled out a no-fly zone, warning that if there was an air battle between the jets of the two countries, "it is automatically World War III".

But he said a "redline" should also be considered such as a chemical attack on Ukraine, which would require a reconsideration of no-fly zones.

The Committee's Democratic chair, Gregory Meeks said that the focus should be on helping Ukraine beef up its air defence system.

Zelensky proposed a new trans-Atlantic alliance, "U24, 'United for Peace', a union of responsible countries that have the strength and consciousness to stop conflict immediately", he said.

Explaining the name, he said that it would "provide all the necessary assistance in 24 hours" when there is an attack.

The Congress has passed a $13.6 billion emergency aid package for Ukraine.

Biden was scheduled to announce later on Wednesday an aid package of $800 million, in addition to the $200 million announced last week.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed @arulouis)

Latest updates on Russia-Ukraine War
New Delhi, March 16 : Six days after the Congress' near washout in five Assembly elections, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday appointed five senior leaders to assess the post-poll situation in these states.

The leaders would suggest organisational changes after interacting from MLA candidates and important leaders.

Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil will oversee Goa, Jairam Ramesh Manipur, Ajay Maken Punjab, Jitender Singh Uttar Pradesh and Avinash Pandey Uttarakhand.

The development comes just one day after the state unit chiefs of these states were asked to tender resignation by the Congress president.

The step came even as the Congress dissenters, called the 'G23 group', are meeting at senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence to chalk out their strategy after the humiliating defeat of the party.

Sonia Gandhi in the meeting of the Congress Working Committee - the party's highest decision-making body -- on Sunday offered to step back from the leadership along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, but her offer was rejected by the CWC members.
New Delhi, March 16 : BJP President J.P. Nadda and Uttar Pradesh caretaker Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other party leaders, including from the state, met on Wednesday evening to discuss formation of government.

Sources said the formation of new government, and the new ministers, and names of candidates for the upcoming Legislative Council polls were discussed in the over four-hour-long meeting held at the BJP national headquarters here.

Party national General Secretary, Organisation, B.L. Santhosh, state election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma, Uttar Pradesh unit President Swatantra Dev Singh, and state General Secretary, Organisation, Sunil Bansal were present in the meeting.

"Names of new ministers were discussed taking care of social and regional balance. Dates for calling legislative party meet to elect a new leader and date for swearing in ceremony were also discussed," a party insider said.

"Election for 36 seats of Legislative Council is scheduled on April 9. Names of candidates for these seats were discussed and short-listed for final approval of BJP's parliamentary board," the party leader said.

Sources said that all the names finalised will be discussed with union Home minister Amit Shah, BJP central observers for election of legislative party leader in Uttar Pradesh, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
New Delhi, March 16 : Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is leading the 'G-23' group demanding sweeping organisational changes in the party, is likely to meet party interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday to address the grievances of the group sources said.

Its likely that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi will also be present at this meeting.

On Wednesday, 'G-23' leaders met at Azad's residence to chalked out their strategy ahead of the meeting.

Apart from the initial members, some more leaders including Mani Shankar Aiyar, Patiala MP and former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh's wife Preneet Kaur, senior leader P.J. Kurien, former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Raj Babbar, Kuldeep Sharma were also seen arriving at Azad's residence for the meeting.

Shankarsinh Vaghela and Sandeep Dikshit were also taking part.

Vaghela has been in the Congress in the past but his present status is not clear.

The meeting is being held to devise the further strategy after the CWC endorsed Sonia Gandhi's leadership. The group has already reached out to the like-minded leaders within the Congress.

The Congress President on Tuesday removed state chiefs of five states and after which loyalists started targeting the dissenters.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot hit out at Kapil Sibal that he does not know the "ABCD of Congress", and is an outsider who was given everything from the party.

However, talking to IANS, Dikshit said: "The Congress President should have accessibility, acceptability and accountability."
New Delhi, March 16 : The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) has warned of disciplinary action against farm organisations or their leaders who participate in the Lakhimpur Kheri meet scheduled to be held on March 21.

The SKM said that some leaders dissolved the coordination committee of the Morcha and declared themselves as 'Samyukt Kisan Morcha' and issued a statement in the name of Balbir Singh Rajewal from Chandigarh for convening a national meeting at Lakhimpur Kheri on March 21, while the real Samyukt Kisan Morcha has decided to observe a nationwide day of protest on that day.

"The Samyukt Kisan Morcha has no relation with the farm organisations and leaders who formed the 'Samyukt Samaj Morcha' and 'Samyukt Sangharsh Party', including Balbir Singh Rajewal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni, who disrupted the meeting.

"We still appeal to them to desist from any such act which threatens this historical unity of the farmers. We would like to warn all the farm organisations that any organisation or leader participating in the Lakhimpur Kheri meet on March 21 will be subject to disciplinary action," the SKM said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

SKM added in the statement that farm unions and leaders who formed parties and contested elections in Punjab under the name of Samyukt Samaj Morcha and Samyukt Sangharsh Party were out of the SKM, at least till April.

These organisations that contested the elections despite warnings from the SKM were completely rejected by the farmers of Punjab, it added.

As per the statement, the seven-member coordination committee of the Morcha had called a meeting of representatives of all the organisations at the Gandhi Peace Foundation in Delhi on March 14 to decide the upcoming programmes of the Morcha.

But the members of Samyukt Samaj Morcha and Samyukt Sangharsh Party led by Balbir Singh Rajewal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni forcibly reached the venue and occupied the meeting hall to start a parallel meet, claimed the SKM statement.

"We were astonished to see these leaders dissolve the coordination committee of the SKM and declare themselves as the Samyukt Kisan Morcha by issuing a statement in the name of Balbir Singh Rajewal," said the statement.
Bengaluru, March 16 : BJP and Congress members in the Karnataka Assembly on Wednesday had a heated exchange of words over the existing law and order situation in the state.

The Congress moved an adjournment motion, asking time for discussion on the prevailing law and order situation in the state. Deputy Opposition leader in the House, U.T. Khader of the Congress, said that a Bajrang Dal activist -- Harsha -- was killed, while there have also been attacks on churches.

He further said that a fearful atmosphere is prevailing in the state, which calls for better law and order management to create a conducive atmosphere for development.

While Khader was making his remarks, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy intervened and said that under an adjournment motion, debates only on specific issues of emergency are allowed.

This led to a heated exchange of words between the BJP and Congress leaders, forcing Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri to pacify both the parties.

Khader further said that the ruling BJP is not aware of what is happening on the ground, and he is only trying to wake up the government which is in deep sleep.

"Isn't there a death due to hatred? Are curfews and prohibitory orders solutions? There should always be a cordial atmosphere in the society," he maintained.

"Instead of being people-friendly, the police stations in the state have become politician-friendly," he claimed.

At this juncture, Madhuswamy again intervened and said that if Khader continued making statements in this fashion, the ruling party members would have to stage a walkout.

Speaker Kageri said that there is no possibility of allowing this discussion under the adjournment motion.

He then said that he is rejecting the adjournment motion proposed by Khader, and a debate on the issue will be allowed under Rule 69.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also made a statement that his government is ready to discuss the law and order situation in the state.
Patna, March 17 : Despite Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Assembly Speaker Vijay Sinha reaching a "compromise", RJD demanded an apology from the former in both the Assembly and the Legislative Council.

Proceedings in both houses were disrupted several times on Wednesday, and Leader of Opposition in the Council and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi saying that an apology and clarification is needed from the Chief Minister, and no one could give clarification on behalf of him.

"There is complete Jungle Raj in Bihar," she said. She pointed to a JD-U member, while mocking the party for suffering anything to stay in power and called them "touts".

Following her statement, JD-U members stood in their places in protest.

Building Construction Minister Ashok Chaudhary said: "Rabri Devi is a former CM of the state but she is an illiterate person who never went to the school. Hence, she does not know how to talk in the temple of democracy. During the 15 years tenure of RJD, they have made Charwaha Vidyalaya (Shepherd school) in the state. She has used unparliamentary language in the Vidhan Sabha and she should apologise for it." Nitish Kumar had met Sinha on Tuesday night. Though, both the leaders had not given a statement in public but sources have said that they were reached on a point of compromise in presence of Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Chaudhary, and two Deputy CMs Tar Kishore Prasad and Renu Devi.

On Monday, the Chief Minister and the Speaker had a heated argument over whether a matter being probed by the government, which has also been referred to the Privilege Committee, could be raised on the floor of the House again. The matter was raised by a BJP member Sanjay Sarawgi and concerned the Speaker himself.

Sinha had brought a breach of privilege motion in the House against two SHOs and a DSP rank officers, who allegedly misbehaved with him in his home district Lakhisarai on February 9. Under the special privilege motion, he asked the Chief Secretary and DGP of Bihar to take action in this matter and submit reports by Wednesday. However, no action was taken against the officials concerned.
Guwahati/Agartala, March 17 : The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Assams key Muslim dominated political party, on Wednesday demanded the state government to ban the Vivek Agnihotri directed Bollywood film, 'The Kashmir Files.

AIUDF supremo and Lok Sabha member from Dhubri, Badruddin Ajmal, said that the movie would create communal discontent.

"I have not seen the movie, but it has to be banned. A lot of incidents happened in different parts of India since Kashmir 40 years ago. Even the Nellie massacre happened (1983) in Assam," he told the media.

Ajmal said that to create needless tension and enmity between Hindus and Muslims, the film is screened after being "sponsored by the RSS and BJP".

"I request Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and Assam Chief Minister (Himanta Biswa Sarma) to ban 'The Kashmir Files' immediately, as it would lead to communal tension," he said.

Earlier in the day, Sarma tweeted: "Glad to announce that our govt employees will be entitled for half-day special leave to watch 'The Kashmir Files'. They will have to only inform their superior officers and submit the tickets the next day." After watching the movie in Agartala, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tweeted: "Along with Cabinet ministers, BJP and IPFT MLAs, and other senior leaders, watched 'The Kashmir Files' at Rupashi Cinema today. The movie is a great work by Vivek Agnihotri Ji and his team on portraying the plight of Kashmiri Pandits." 'The Kashmir Files' is based on Kashmiri Pandits' exodus from the Valley in 1990. Starring Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi, among others, the film was released nation-wide on March 11.
Colombo, March 17 : Battered by "worst-ever" financial crisis since independence, Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has talked to the international financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other countries on loan repayment.

In a special address to the nation on Wednesday night, President Rajapaksa said that talks have been started with IMF to find a way to pay off annual loan instalments and sovereign bonds.

"Subsequent to my discussions with the IMF, I have decided to work with them after examining the advantages and disadvantages," the President said in the address which was telecast on all television stations in the country. Going to the IMF was a complete reversal from his government's earlier stance.

In his speech President Rajapaksa vowed to take "tough" decisions to solve the inconveniences faced by people and said that a National Economic Council and an Advisory Committee have been appointed find ways to overcome the financial crisis.

South Asian island-nation's debt ridden economy suffers with a severe food, fuel, power, transportation and medicine shortages with long queues at fuel stations, gas stations and hours of daily power cuts.

Started with the Easter Sunday bombing in 2019 followed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka is currently facing a sever foreign exchange crisis with foreign reserves fell to $ 2.36 billion as of January.

To save foreign currencies, the government last week blocked the importation of over 360 non-essential imports including milk products, fruits, fish footwear and wine. This was in addition to the ban imposed on motor vehicles which India is a major stakeholder and other items such as mobile phones, ceramic items since March 2021.

In 2022 the country has to pay $6.9 billion in loan instalments and sovereign bonds.

President Rajapaksa addressed the nation on the day when his brother and Finance Minister, Basil Rajapaka is on a visit to India met India's Prime Minister Narenda Modi with plans to obtain $1 billion emergency financial assistance to get essentials such as food, medicines and fuel. Basil Rajapaksa also met with India's Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla in New Delhi.

Since the crisis, India has helped Sri Lanka with a $400 million RBI currency swap, $500 million loan deferment and another $500 million Line of Credit for fuel imports.
Mangaluru, March 17 : A Karnataka court has awarded 20 years of imprisonment to the accused who had planted bomb at the Mangaluru International Airport in 2020.

The Fourth Additional District and Session's Court Judge B.R. Pallavi has convicted Adithya Rao (37), the accused in the case. He was found guilty under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1908 and Section 16 of the Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act 1967. He has also been fined Rs 10,000.

Though the verdict had been given on March 11, the judgment has been made available on Wednesday.

Rao, a resident of Manipal in Udupi district, on January 20, 2020 had kept the improvised explosive in a black bag near the departure gate at Mangaluru International Airport. The authorities have got the bomb detected and disposed it off on the same day.

The police department had launched a hunt for the accused. The development had led to many speculations and created tension all over the state. However, Rao had surrendered himself at the Director General and Inspector General office claiming that he is the one who had planted bomb in the airport.

He had been jailed since then.

Rao had pleaded guilty before the court and had refused any legal help proposed by the court, claiming that he would argue for himself.

The accused had earlier given a hoax call that there is a bomb in Bengaluru International Airport for which he was jailed for 1 year. He had done it after failing to secure a job as a security officer.

The accused had developed hatred towards the government and with this hatred he committed the offence, the court stated.
Mission Critical Partners (MCP) has acquired Secure Halo, a leading cybersecurity firm that provides an all-encompassing approach to enterprise risk and managing cybersecurity for federal, state, and local government agencies and commercial entities. The acquisition greatly expands MCPs portfolio of managed cybersecurity services, strengthens its talent and capabilities, and increases its capacity to secure mission-critical environments and provide operational resiliency.

Secure Halo supports mission-critical federal agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD), to reduce cybersecurity vulnerabilities across the enterprise, including their networks and supply chains. Clients leverage the firms analytical and operational expertise to mitigate risk to operations and information systems from hybrid commercial and hostile threats. The recipient of eight cybersecurity awards, Fortune 500 technology firms trust Secure Halo to implement third-party risk management programs, increase their posture against insider threats, and improve their cybersecurity hygiene.

Founded in 2006, Secure Halo has received a DHS SAFETY Act designation, as its cybersecurity assessments exceed the highest quality standards established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Its highly experienced analysts have extensive knowledge regarding the underlying cause of cybersecurity risks and the implementation of mitigation strategies. The firm is trained in the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), a new unified cybersecurity standard for DOD contractors

Secure Halos leadership and highly experienced analysts combined with MCPs experts and partners means that we can significantly expand upon what we are already doing, which is helping our clients mitigate risk, maintain resiliency, and optimize investments against evolving and persistent cyber threats, said Darrin Reilly, MCP president and CEO.

According to Reilly, MCP plans to establish Secure Halos Washington D.C., metro office as MCPs Center of Excellence for enhanced Secure Halo cyber risk capabilities, an elite group of seasoned analysts, technicians, and cybersecurity experts.

Sean Doherty, cofounder and president of Secure Halo, said, Becoming part of the MCP organization is an extraordinary opportunity for our clients and our employees. The partnership provides us with a new ability to deliver additional innovative capabilities to clients, including a wide portfolio of professional and managed services that MCP can offer, while at the same time provide growth opportunities for our professionals.

Secure Halo is the latest in a series of acquisitions MCP has made since 2018 in order to build upon its professional and managed services portfolio. Recently completed acquisitions include justice consulting firm MTG Management Consultants, data integration services provider URL Integration, public safety consulting firm Black and Veatch Public Safety, and IT services provider Athena Advanced Networks.

About Mission Critical Partners (MCP)

Mission Critical Partners (MCP) is a leading provider of data integration, consulting, network, and cybersecurity solutions specializing in transforming mission-critical communications networks into integrated ecosystems that improve outcomes in the public safety, justice, healthcare, transportation, and utility markets. Our comprehensive experience and vendor-agnostic approach helps us develop modernized solutions for our clients to maximize value and create optimal efficiency while mitigating risk. Additional information and career opportunities are available at http://www.MissionCriticalPartners.com

CONTACT:

Morgan Sava

Mission Critical Partners

morgansava@missioncriticalpartners.com

724-964-2004
"Connecting once again with the SHARE partner ecosystem is long overdue and we are thrilled to get that opportunity this month in Dallas," said Tara Velozo, CEO of DTS. "We are thankful to SHARE for staying the course during these trying conference times and pushing forward with this event."

Raleigh-based global mainframe storage management software vendor DTS Software, today announced its sponsorship at SHARE Dallas 2022, March 27-30. This SHARE event will feature 100+ technical sessions, covering topics including DevOps, security, IT operations, multiple virtual storage, professional development, and more.

DTS will be in booth 205 to discuss their storage management software offerings that help customers monitor, manage, and control storage subsystems in IBM z/OS. Attendees can stop by the booth to receive a free analysis of DFSMS ACS routines by expert storage management engineers, which will include suggestions on how to improve ACS routine efficiency, reliability, and readability.

"Connecting once again with the SHARE partner ecosystem is long overdue and we are thrilled to get that opportunity this month in Dallas," said Tara Velozo, CEO of DTS. "We are thankful to SHARE for staying the course during these trying conference times and pushing forward with this event."

Also at SHARE Dallas, DTS Software will be sponsoring two educational speaking sessions focused on improving the performance and affordability of mainframe storage systems. Subject matter expert and DTS Chief Technology Officer Steve Pryor will be leading these sessions starting with the first on Monday, March 28 titled Class Struggle? The DFSMS Data Class and Your Datasets, as well as another on Tuesday, March 29 titled The z/OS Storage Administrators View of Pervasive Encryption."

"We're delighted to be back at SHARE helping educate mainframers on storage management and its automation possibilities," said Pryor. "It has been great presenting our monthly educational webinars, but it is past time for us to visit with customers and SHARE constituents in person and we believe SHARE Dallas is a wonderful opportunity."

DTS Educational Speaking Sessions at SHARE Dallas

Title: Class Struggle? The DFSMS Data Class and Your Datasets

When: Monday, March 28, from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. CT

Where: Hyatt Regency Dallas, Room Pegasus A

Speaker: Steve Pryor, Chief Technology Officer

Title: The z/OS Storage Administrators View of Pervasive Encryption

When: Tuesday, March 29, from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m.

Where: Hyatt Regency Dallas, Room Cumberland AB and live-streamed on http://www.SHARE.org

Unable to attend SHARE Dallas? Visit DTSs website at https://www.dtssoftware.com/webinars/ for our monthly educational webinar series led by Steve Pryor.

About SHARE

SHARE Inc. is an independent, volunteer-run association providing enterprise technology professionals with continuous education and training, valuable professional networking, and effective industry influence. Twice each year, SHARE gathers the leading subject matter experts, vendors and business visionaries in enterprise IT for a week of education and innovation. For more information about SHARE Dallas visit https://www.share.org/Events/SHARE-Dallas-2022.

About DTS Software

DTS Software, LLC is recognized worldwide as a leader in enterprise storage management technology. Specializing in products for the OS/390, MVS, Hitachi VOS3, and Fujitsu MSP operating systems, DTS Software products provide superior function and features that allow managers and users to more effectively utilize their investment in storage systems. The company was founded in 1991 and currently has over 1000 customers in the US, Canada, Europe, and the Far East. For more information, visit https://dtssoftware.com.
Now more than ever, it is important for companies to properly implement digital transformation processes within their organization efficiently or get left behind by their competition...

Inc. magazine today revealed that IIIMPACT, Inc. is No. 50 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals Southwest list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the Southwest region economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Southwest region. Between 2018 and 2020, these 141 private companies had an average growth rate of 154% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 10,563 jobs and nearly $10.9 billion to the Southwest regions economy. Companies based in the Austin, Texas, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Fort Worth, Texas, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Southwest, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/southwest starting March 15, 2022.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

About IIIMPACT

"We are honored to have been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list," said Makoto Kern, Founder at IIIMPACT. "This placement is a testament to our team's digital experience, dedication, and the ability to adapt to an ever-changing technological environment. We have helped bridge the gap between the best tech and the people that use them. Now more than ever, it is important for companies to properly implement digital transformation processes within their organization efficiently or get left behind by their competition. The credit for this honor goes to our clients, partners, and team."

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, IIIMPACT is a leading digital product consulting agency that has been helping companies since 2004. Their product design process guides companies who are looking to quickly launch or redesign a more innovative digital product. They have shipped hundreds of successful digital products in almost every industry: from Energy, eCommerce, Fintech, Robotics, Health, Education, Human Resources, Government, etc. Their product development life-cycle process allows companies to closely collaborate with IIIMPACT's digital leaders and transform their organization so that their internal teams can create and follow a repeatable process to quickly and successfully launch innovative digital products into their markets.

IIIMPACT's team not only helps with strategy but also provides the tactical horsepower to execute on that strategy and produce UX Design assets, research, and DevOps support for organizations that need it. IIIMPACT's long-term partnerships with clients speak volumes of the trust and success they have had delivered to their clients for over a decade.

To learn more visit iiimpact.io or connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn or visit our blog or email us @ innovate(at)iiimpact.io

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds 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 http://www.inc.com.
The Spanish Group Ranks No. 110 on Inc. Magazines List of the Pacific Regions Fastest-Growing Private Companies Inc. Magazine today revealed that The Spanish Group is No. 110 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington.

Inc. Magazine today revealed that The Spanish Group is No. 110 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful private companies within the Pacific region economy generating sustainable growth and jobs.

We are honored to be named for the second year in a row to Incs 5000 list, said The Spanish Group CEO Salvador Ordorica. We work very hard to satisfy our clients because we know the importance of the documents we handle. It is very satisfying to be recognized for our approximate 252% growth gain.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Pacific. Between 2018 and 2020, these 150 private companies had an average growth rate of 195% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 10,252 jobs and $5.1 billion to the Pacific regions economy. Companies based in the Irvine, Santa Monica, and Venice, California, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Pacific, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/pacific starting March 15, 2022.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

ABOUT THE SPANISH GROUP

Founded in 2013 by Salvador Ordorica, CEO, The Spanish Group is an internationally recognized certified translation service offering over 90 languages and unparalleled language precision, localization, cost effectiveness, and efficiency.

The Spanish Group sets itself apart by working with certified, professionally trained linguists all over the globe who are native speakers and deeply experienced specialists in a variety of fields.

For more information, visit: https://thespanishgroup.org/.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds 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 http://www.inc.com.
BEIJING, March 16 -- The Security and Defense Sub-Committee of the China-Nigeria Inter-Governmental Committee convened its first meeting on March 16 via video link.

The meeting was co-chaired by leading officials of the Office for International Military Cooperation under Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC) and the Permanent Secretary of Nigerias Ministry of National Defense. Heads of related departments under the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and the Chinese Ministry of State Security, as well as heads from relevant departments of the Nigerian side also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on communication and cooperation in fields of security and defense and issues of common concern.
3525 Turtle Creek, Dallas, Texas Not only the Board, but the search committee unanimously found FirstService Residential to be exactly what we were looking for.

FirstService Residential, Texass leading community management company, was recently awarded the contract to provide property management services for 3525 Turtle Creek, a luxury high-rise community in Dallas, Texas.

We were very taken with their polish and handling of all things hospitality, having toured one of their properties and seeing first-hand what professionally managed luxury looks like, said Chris Papazian, Vice President of the Board at 3525 Turtle Creek. Not only the Board, but the search committee unanimously found FirstService Residential to be exactly what we were looking for.

Located near the Katy Trail in the exclusive Turtle Creek neighborhood, 3525 is a prestigious community offering a high-quality lifestyle in one of the most vibrant and sophisticated areas of Dallas. The affluent 22-story building offers amenities such as a 24-hour doorman, valet, fitness center, shaded swimming pool and ballroom where residents can gather for various lifestyle events throughout the year.

We appreciate the depth of FirstService Residentials expertise in all aspects of high-rise living, including the knowledgeable and dedicated experts in all fields, Papazian said. From the engineering to financial prowess, to HR training and support, and the economies of scale we hope to benefit from due to their extensive stable of luxury high-rise representation.

Designed in 1957 by renowned architect Howard R. Meyer, 3525 Turtle Creek is the first high-rise residential property in Dallas and one of the nation's few Modernist high-rise apartment buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With stunning views of the Dallas skyline, the community is located about 5 minutes from downtown, giving residents easy access to 4 major highways. The surrounding area is home to various retail stores, restaurants and recreation.

FirstService Residential is very proud to be named as the Managing Agent of 3525 Turtle Creek, said Susan Ward-Freeman, Regional Vice President High Rise, Texas. The High-Rise Division team is ready to extend resources and support from our 25 other communities in DFW that align our brand culture and reputation with exceptional service to the residents and guests.

About FirstService Residential

FirstService Residential Texas is the property management leader and preferred partner of HOAs, condos, community associations, and commercial management who rely on their extensive experience, resources and local expertise to maximize property values and enhance residents' lifestyles. Dedicated to making a difference every day, we set the standard for service and professionalism in our industry. Visit https://www.fsresidential.com/texas today! Let's start the conversation.
Zomentum-Wingman MSP Growth Survey Reveals Trends in Pipeline, Capacity, Investment and Strategy "The Wingman MSP Growth Survey is a great yardstick for MSPs to benchmark performance against their peers around the world. As we transition to a post-pandemic business world, it's more important than ever for MSPs to understand their current position to focus on accruing more revenue."

Sixty-two percent of IT managed service providers (MSPs) expect 2022 revenue growth to come primarily from net-new business, up from 49 percent in 2021. This insight is one of many from Wingman's 2022 MSP Growth Survey sponsored by Zomentum, creators of the first intelligent Revenue Platform for technology partners.

To produce the report, Wingman Marketing, a technology sales and marketing agency, surveyed more than 125 global MSPs of all sizes about business performance in 2021 and strategies for growth in 2022.

"We polled MSPs anonymously to get honest input and insights about their business opportunities and challenges during the pandemic and beyond," said Dave Sutton, Managing Director of Wingman Marketing.

For example, the survey found:

 Despite the continued challenges of the pandemic, 95 percent of MSPs said their revenue remained stable or grew in 2021.

 Half of the MSPs surveyed said they grew revenue in 2021 primarily from net-new business, while the other half relied on expanded contracts or new projects with existing clients for growth.

 In 2022 the percentage of MSPs expecting revenue growth to come primarily from net-new business jumped to 62 percent. And 5 percent said growth would come from acquisition.

 Seventy-seven percent of MSPs said their current workload is at or over capacity, which may result from the challenges in recruiting and retaining tech talent.

 Forty-five percent of MSPs said their sales pipelines would sustain the company for six months or longer. However, more than half said their pipelines would support them for less than six months.

 Two in five MSPs expressed concern that limited time and resources impede finding new business.

"The Wingman MSP Growth Survey is a great yardstick for MSPs to benchmark performance against their peers around the world," said Shannon Murphy, Chief Marketer for Zomentum. "As we transition to a post-pandemic business world, it's more important than ever for MSPs to understand their current position to focus on accruing more revenue."

Murphy and Sutton will reveal the full results of the Wingman MSP Growth Survey in a live webinar at 11:30 a.m. EST (3:30 p.m. GMT) on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Registration is open and free to attend.

About Wingman Marketing

Wingman is the go-to marketing agency to help with the growth challenges faced by technology businesses, such as MSPs, ISPs, SaaS and TelCos. Wingman supports companies across the U.K., U.S., Canada, ANZ and beyond - from their base just outside of London - proudly delivering peace of mind with an "all done for you" approach. For more information, visit http://www.mspmarketingwingman.com.

About Zomentum

Founded in 2018, Zomentum delivers the world's first Revenue Platform for technology partners. Zomentum's revolutionary end-to-end platform consolidates numerous tools while enabling technology partners to earn, grow and manage revenue quickly and cost-effectively. Thousands of partners across America, Europe and Australia trust Zomentum to accelerate the growth of their businesses. The Zomentum Revenue Platform fuels IT sales revenue of $500 million a year and counting. Zomentum is based in San Francisco, with offices in the U.S. and India. The company is backed by leading investors, including Accel Partners, Elevation Capital, Green Oaks Capital and Eight Roads Ventures. Learn more at http://www.zomentum.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.
American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, has earned the 2022-2023 Military Friendly  School designation. As an institution that provides access and opportunity in a diverse community, we appreciate the opportunities and experiences provided by the Armed Forces for personal growth and leadership.

American International College (AIC) announced it has earned the 2022-2023 Military Friendly School designation.

Institutions earning the Military Friendly School designation were evaluated using both public data sources and responses from a proprietary survey. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2022-2023 survey with 665 earning special awards for going above the standard.

The 2022-2023 Military Friendly Schools list will be published in the May and October issue of G.I.Jobs magazine and can be found at http://www.militaryfriendly.com.

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Viqtory with input from the Military Friendly Advisory Council of independent leaders in the higher education and military recruitment community. Final ratings were determined by combining the institutions survey scores with the assessment of the institutions ability to meet thresholds for Student Retention, Graduation, Job Placement, Loan Repayment, Persistence (Degree Advancement or Transfer) and Loan Default rates for all students and, specifically, for student veterans.

American International College is proud to be recognized as an institution that assists individuals who serve our country, says Nicolle Cestero, chief operating officer, executive vice president and chief of staff for AIC. As an institution that provides access and opportunity in a diverse community, we appreciate the opportunities and experiences provided by the Armed Forces for personal growth and leadership. Recognizing the solid foundation provided by military service, the College offers transfer credits for students time in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard, helping active-duty service members and veterans get a head start on earning their degrees.

Military Friendly is committed to transparency and providing consistent data-driven standards in our designation process. Our standards provide a benchmark that promotes positive outcomes and support services that better the educational landscape and provide opportunity for the Military Community. This creates a competitive atmosphere that encourages colleges to evolve and invest in their programs consistently. Schools who achieve awards designation show true commitment in their efforts, going over and above that standard, said Kayla Lopez, National Director of Military Partnerships, Military Friendly.

More information about AICs commitment to attracting and supporting military students is available online at aic.edu.

# # #

About American International College

Founded in 1885, American International College (AIC) is a private, co-educational, doctoral granting institution located in Springfield, Massachusetts comprising the School of Business, Arts and Sciences, the School of Education, and the School of Health Sciences. AIC supports and advances education, diversity, and opportunity for its students and the community.

https://www.aic.edu/

About Military Friendly Schools

The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all post-secondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at http://www.militaryfriendly.com.

About Viqtory

Founded in 2001, VIQTORY is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) that connects the military community to civilian employment, educational and entrepreneurial opportunities through its G.I. Jobs and Military Friendly brands. VIQTORY and its brands are not a part of or endorsed by the U.S. Dept of Defense or any federal government entity. Learn more about VIQTORY at http://www.viqtory.com.
Akila Udage (left), Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarship recipient, and Frank Marquette, Randy Stevens Scholarship recipient. It is amazing to see how our scholarship applicants are applying 3D printing to change the world; it is incredibly inspiring!



The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) today announced the recipients of its scholarships. Frank Marquette, Professor of Practice at Troy University (Troy, Alabama), has been awarded the Randy Stevens Scholarship for educators in additive manufacturing. Akila Udage, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in architectural science with research focusing on additive manufacturing for lighting at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York), has been awarded the Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarship for students in additive manufacturing.

As scholarship recipients, Marquette and Udage will attend the AMUG Conference, where they will engage with additive manufacturing users. They will take the stage to present their work on Monday, April 4, 2022. The AMUG Conference will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from April 3-7, 2022.

The scholarships recognize students and educators who demonstrate passion and vision for additive manufacturing to advance education and industry. Brett Charlton, chair of the AMUG Scholarship Committee, said, "It is amazing to see how our scholarship applicants are applying 3D printing to change the world; it is incredibly inspiring! Every year, there are new applications, new stories, and new ideas that show another level of how AM is leaving its footprint on our world."

Charlton continued, "This year's scholars are using 3D printing to advance education, the arts, construction, lighting, radio signaling, and heat dissipation, which are end-product applications, proving that additive manufacturing is more than just prototyping."

Akila Udage was exposed to additive manufacturing while pursuing his master's degree at the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). According to Udage, "In an attempt to explore my newfound passion for AM, I chose 3D printed optics as my thesis topic." As a graduate research assistant, Udage's work focused on integrating additive manufacturing into LED lighting systems. Through his research, he has been analyzing the advantages and challenges of developing structural, thermal, electrical, and optical components for LED systems using additive manufacturing.

Udage's efforts on 3D-printed optics focus on the printing of novel lenses for illumination applications, and he has been involved in the characterization of 3D-printed reflective and transmissive optical components. Akila has also been developing 3D printed antennas and evaluating the effect of 3D printing properties on electrical traces. Moreover, he has been studying the thermal properties of 3D-printed components used as heat sinks for LED applications. Akila has recently been involved in projects to build custom architectural lighting through 3D printing to take lighting to a more creative level.

Frank Marquette had a dynamic career in manufacturing before entering higher education. Based in New Zealand, his company delivered projects ranging from automatic guided vehicles for Disney Imagineering ride systems to building sets for the motion picture industry, including 'The Lord of the Rings.'

Marquette was awarded a professorship at Troy University in 2017, and he has been teaching design and the implementation of automation for fabrication and manufacturing. In 2020 he launched a minor and associate of science degree in 3D printing for art and industry. These courses begin with design fundamentals and offer extensive applied learning experiences in the 3D printing lab. The program's emphasis is large format printing and sustainable materials.

"From the start, we worked with KW Plastics, the world's largest plastics recycler, and established the first WASP (World's Advanced Saving Project) university hub in the United States. All of the collaborators for this work have a focus on sustainability and appreciate the value of industry and education working together," said Marquette.

The 3D printing program attracts a wide variety of students, from dance to computer science majors. Marquette said, "It has been wonderful having students with different interests learning from each other's unique perspectives and strengths. Put an electronic engineering student on a project with a graphic design major and watch what happens."

The latest front for Marquette and his students is 3D concrete printing, where he brings over 30 years of experience in concrete mix designs and a strong background in automation. "It's sort of a dream come trueconcrete and AM," said Marquette.

The Guy E. Bourdeau Scholarshipfounded by Guy's wife, Renee Bourdeau, and financially supported by Cimquest, Inc. since 2019is awarded annually to one college student. The Randy Stevens Scholarship, founded by Randy's former employer, In'Tech Industries, is awarded annually to one educator who focuses on additive manufacturing.

ABOUT ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING USERS GROUP (AMUG)

AMUG is an organization that educates and advances the uses and applications of additive manufacturing technologies. AMUG members include those with industrial additive manufacturing/3D printing technologies used for professional purposes from companies such Covestro Additive Manufacturing, Desktop Metal, DMG MORI, Dyndrite, EOS, Essentium, ExOne, fabWeaver, Formlabs, GE Additive, Hexagon, HP 3D Printing, LuxCreo, Meltio, Nexa3D, Stratasys, and Tekna. AMUG meets annually to provide education and training through technical presentations on processes and new technologies. This information addresses operation of additive manufacturing equipment and the applications that use the parts they make. Online at http://www.amug.com.


Anne M. Lusk Anne leaves no stone unturned in her goal of providing the highest excellence of customer service.

Anne M. Lusk, owner of Lusk & Associates | Sothebys International Realty, is a native of Lancaster County and has over 25 years of real estate experience. She is a Penn State graduate with a degree in Telecommunications. Anne launched her real estate career while living in Florida, then returned to Pennsylvania where she co-owned a mid-size agency before starting her own in 2006. She carries many award-winning designations and is also proud to serve our military personnel  past and present  with the VA program and being military certified. Anne leaves no stone unturned in her goal of providing the highest excellence of customer service. By collaborating with some of the finest agents in the area, Lusk & Associates brings a shared vision for world-class service to a broader base of homeowners and buyers. They can expect to receive a unique degree of personal attention, hard work, dedication, and local knowledge that when combined, provide an unparalleled approach to real estate. Through affiliating with Sothebys International Realty, Lusk & Associates looks forward to serving local, regional, and global audiences while retaining the one-on-one client accessibility that has resulted in so much success.

Visit Anne M. Lusk's Haute Residence Profile: https://www.hauteresidence.com/member/anne-m-lusk/

ABOUT HAUTE RESIDENCE

Designed as a partnership-driven luxury real estate portal, Haute Residence connects its affluent readers with top real estate professionals, while offering the latest in real estate news, showcasing the worlds most extraordinary residences on the market and sharing expert advice from its knowledgeable and experienced real estate partners. The invitation-only luxury real estate network, which partners with just one agent in every market, unites a distinguished collective of leading real estate agents and brokers and highlights the most extravagant properties in leading markets around the globe for affluent buyers, sellers, and real estate enthusiasts. HauteResidence.com has grown to be the number one news source for million-dollar listings, high-end residential developments, celebrity real estate, and more.

Access all of this information and more by visiting http://www.hauteresidence.com
Steve Garthe, a proud husband and father who yearns for adventure, has completed his new book Adventures of the Eagle Talon Treasure: a thrilling mystery of twists and turns.

Garthe shares, The highly sought adventure of lost treasure hidden by Templars of the past begins as the crew travel around the world to anxiously get to the bottom of the mystery of the Eagle Talon Treasure.They are met with hidden booby traps while facing unforeseen doom climbing to the top of a mountain. Nj quickly recruits the help of his friends Ben, Lawrence, and Tim to search for the Eagle Talon Treasure they learned about while exploring the Thompson's House.

They set forth on a journey to Italy to learn more about the Templars and their secrets. From Italy, they venture back home to learn about the two mysterious men who have been keeping the truth away from Nj and his friends.The closer they get to the facts, the more dangerous the adventure becomes as they continue their quest through other dimensions, meeting new and thrilling characters who help guide them to the treasure. Can Nj and his team reach the prize without facing their maker? Will the two mysterious men find success in stopping the group from achieving their mission?

Published by Page Publishing, Steve Garthes enthralling tale will have readers guessing alongside the four courageous teens on a restless hunt to solve the mystery of the Eagle Talon Treasure.

Readers who wish to experience this mysterious work can purchase Adventures of the Eagle Talon Treasure at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
Dynamicweb is pleased to announce that it has recently completed the implementation of a unified commerce solution for BHG Singapore. BHG Singapore is a department store operating four stores (including one online store) across Singapore; BHG is currently undergoing a major transformation involving its merchandise, systems, and processes. Successful implementation of a unified commerce solution is likely to be the foundation of the company's next phase of digital transformation.

BHG Singapore's digital transformation strategy is a component of its 5-year transformation plan, and it entails much more than going online or leveraging advanced technology tools. The goal of this plan is to evolve into a new business model and the unified commerce solution is pivotal to this strategy. Interestingly, the recently implemented unified commerce solution by Dynamicweb is one of the earliest in Singapore, and will allow BHG Singapore to propel towards the next phase of its transformation with several exciting plans.

Dynamicweb enables BHG Singapore to:



Become more customer-centric and eliminate channel silos by leveraging one single commerce platform

Deliver a seamless shopping experience where BHG can offer a Click and Collect experience not seen before. The customer can fulfill their order and, if needed, pickup part of the order in one store, another product in another and get the rest delivered at a moment of their choosing.

Offer the same flagship product experience in their smaller stores by introducing the endless aisle concept.

Introduce effortless check-outs, where customers can make their purchase whenever ready, at any spot of the store. Skip the traditional cashier queue and be served by staff with Mobile Point-of-Sale.

In the next phase of digital transformation, BHG Singapore plans to introduce AI software for hyper-personalization, merge online and offline channels with concepts such as virtual stores, introduce predictive analytics, and build an ecosystem around the concept of a platform as a business model.

"As customers nowadays are accustomed to more channels to interact, how can we ensure that we understand their shopping habits if they shop online, in our flagship store, or even interact with our partner ecosystem? For BHG it was a must-have to be able to really get these customer experience insights and a big reason why we needed a unified commerce solution," says BHG Singapore CFO Jheeva Subramanian.

"In 2020, we spent time going out to the market trying to find the solution. While there are a lot of claims about unified commerce solutions out there, those were not actually fitting the concept that we have in mind. When we came across Dynamicweb, we realized that they understood our vision, industry, and why we want to do certain things. We chose Dynamicweb because we believe it is the fit we were looking for."

About BGH Singapore

BHG Singapore is a department store in Singapore which has become synonymous with quality, value and service. It currently operates four stores (including one online store). The department store was established in 1994 as Seiyu Wing On Department Store under a joint venture between Seiyu, Ltd (Japan) and Wing On Pte Ltd (Hong Kong). Today it operates under the BHG brand name and has become an established name in Singapore.

About Dynamicweb

Dynamicweb offers a cloud-based eCommerce Suite. It enables customers to deliver better digital customer experiences and to scale ecommerce success through Content Management, Digital Marketing, eCommerce, and Product Information Management solutions.

Dynamicweb's 300+ partners, 200+ employees in offices all around the globe are proud to support well over 4,000 brands, which includes leading brands like Lego Wear, Vredestein, Unilever, Winnebago, L'Oreal, Flying Tiger, Toyota, Europcar, and Skanska. Built on Dynamicweb, these customers are empowered to gain lifelong customer relations, increase revenue and grow their brands.

To find out more about Dynamicweb and its Unified eCommerce solutions, please visit https://www.dynamicweb.com/
For the first time ever, Bodegas Montecillo--Rioja's third oldest winery--will bring Discovery Week to Miami (from March 21-27, 2022) providing Miami locals and visitors the opportunity to taste two of Spains most iconic masterpieces at 11 participating restaurants. Guests will have the chance to taste and enjoy the outstanding pairing of Bodegas Montecillo wines and Cinco Jotas 100% Iberico Ham and discover why they are both a masterpiece of Spanish gastronomy.

Rioja is recognized internationally as one of the most prestigious winemaking regions with very rich and complex wines. Bodegas Montecillo crafts authentic Rioja wines with longer barrel and bottle aging that remain true to the region's roots, representing 150 years of history with a contemporary taste led by Winemaker Mercedes Garcia Ruperez.

Bodegas Montecillo has partnered with 11 eclectic restaurants in Miami to offer a special deal of two options of Bodegas Montecillo wines paired with Cinco Jotas Acorn-fed 100% Iberico Ham.



Bodegas Montecillo Reserva 2014: An authentic award winning Rioja Reserva, is a true expression of the winerys past, present and future made from Tempranillo and small amounts of Mazuelo (8%), bursting with the elegance, balance and complexity that defines Montecillo. Notes of fine oak, mahogany and bay leaf, followed by red fruit mixed with mineral notes.

Bodegas Montecillo Edicion Limitada 2015: The contemporary expression of Rioja in a limited bottle release, each numbered and signed by the winemaker, that showcases the authentic and everlasting Rioja. Crafted with two ancestral varietals: Tempranillo and Graciano. It is a medium-bodied, powerful wine with rich fruit-forward aromas of red cherry and juniper on the nose with hints of cinnamon followed by a long and elegant finish.

Cinco Jotas: The ultimate authentic acorn-fed 100% Iberico ham is one of the most emblematic dishes from Spain. Since 1879, the premium ham has been a reflection of years of skilled craftsmanship devoted to mastering the curing process in order to deliver a soulful delicacy. Consumers will be able to enjoy the unrivaled flavor of Cinco Jotas in two ways: freshly carved and in a delectable dish.

We are thrilled to introduce Miami to two classic staples of Spanish gastronomy through Discovery Week, says Mercedes Garcia Ruperez, winemaker of Bodegas Montecillo. We hope everyone savors Spain's delicacies with this exquisite pairing we have curated especially for this week, and we look forward to taking Discovery Week to more cities in the future.

From March 21-27, 2022, guests can visit the following restaurants to experience Bodegas Montecillo Discovery Week:

1. Leku - LEKU brings the pleasures of eating in Spain's enchanting Cote Basque region to Miami with innovative cuisine that stays true to the roots and simplistic cooking methods based on tried and true techniques.

2. Barceloneta - Miami's popular go-to hub for Spanish Mediterranean tapas, Barceloneta offers a trendy and casual vibe. Chef Juliana Gonzalez has redefined Spanish Mediterranean cuisine, creating an elevated style of tapas and platillos, that are served to the center of the table, family style.

3. Abiaka - Abiaka celebrates all that is amazing with live fire and solid fuel grilling overlooking the Seminole Hard Rock Hollywoods exceptional landscape

4. The Bazaar - A vibrant mix of sophisticated cuisine, artful service and playful theatrics, The Bazaar by Jose Andres is where dining transcends into fete extraordinaire.

5. Casa Juancho - A rustic-elegant Little Havana hacienda, Casa Juancho is known best for its extraordinary paella, as well as its tapas.

6. Botanico - Miami's hot spot, Botanico has a menu designed to have something for everyone from octopus and grilled branzino to pan roasted chicken.

7. Zucca - Zucca has earned its place among the pillars of the bustling Miami scene, receiving numerous accolades for its authentic Italian cuisine, award-winning wine cellar, and gracious hospitality.

8. Casa Mariano - Casa Mariano is where award-winning Chef Mariano takes Mediterranean-inspired cuisines to new heights with his favorite Mediterranean dishes.

9. Fiola - Among the best restaurants in the Gables for al fresco dining, Fiolas menu draws inspiration from regional Italian classic dishes, local seasonal ingredients, and family traditions.

10. Boulud Sud - Boulud Sud is Chef Daniel Bouluds vibrant celebration of the sun and the sea. Drawing inspiration from the coastal Mediterranean, the menu emphasizes regional flavors, featuring an abundance of fresh vegetables, seafood, grains and herbs.

11. Le Chick - Le Chick offers upscale comfort food in a modern setting, sourcing the highest quality ingredients to produce dishes that create long lasting memories.

Discovery week will be amplified by a Timeout Miami media partnership, strategic social media (Instagram and Facebook) and an influencer program featuring three giveaways, where three lucky consumers will have an opportunity to win a complimentary meal at one of the participating restaurants.

For more information about Discovery Week (March 21 - 27) please visit the official event page.

# # #

About Bodegas Montecillo

Bodegas Montecillo was founded in 1870 in Fuenmayor, one of the towns with the longest history and tradition in the Rioja Alta. Bodegas Montecillo crafts quality wines with a unique personality, through their state-of-the-art location and the selection of the best raw materials, to deliver age-worthy wines. Today, it symbolizes the philosophy of the winery: a vocation and a character, stemming from the origin and foundation of what is found in the vines. Bodegas Montecillo manages to be coherent and offers consistent quality year after year, thanks to the rigorous selection of grapes, deep experience of aging in barrels and bottles resulting in wines that stand out for their elegance, complexity and balance.
This investment has transformed the Limoges site into a world-class facility to support the development of early phase and small-scale commercial biologic drugs, and offers customers integrated services to accelerate programs towards and through the clinic, and ultimately to market.

Catalent, the global leader in enabling biopharma, cell, gene, and consumer health partners to optimize development, launch, and supply of better patient treatments across multiple modalities, today announced the completion of a $30 million (27 million) project at its facility in Limoges, France, to transform the site into a European center of excellence for biopharmaceutical development, drug product fill/finish services, and packaging. The site will further expand Catalent Biologics global network, with early phase integrated clinical development through to clinical supply services and small-scale commercial manufacturing, allowing seamless tech transfer of projects as they progress to late-stage and larger-scale commercial supply from other Catalent manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America.

The project has seen a complete modernization of the Limoges site, to handle large molecule programs, with additional capacity for small molecule injectable dosage form development. A new small-to-mid-scale flexible filling line has been installed, capable of handling vials, syringes or cartridges under barrier isolator technology, and enhancements have been made to analytical and quality control laboratories, supporting clinical packaging, cold storage, and regulatory capabilities. It is envisaged that the expansion will create up to 80 additional jobs at the site.

This investment has transformed the Limoges site into a world-class facility to support the development of early phase and small-scale commercial biologic drugs, and offers customers integrated services to accelerate programs towards and through the clinic, and ultimately to market. Even prior to completion, multiple clinical and commercial customers have already signed contracts for programs to be undertaken at the site, commented Mike Riley, Catalents President, Biotherapeutics. Limoges will now work closely with other Catalent facilities in Europe and the U.S. to provide globally integrated solutions for a range of therapies.

With over 40 years of experience and expertise in supplying life-saving injectable medicines, Catalent Biologics approximately 56,000 square-foot (5,200 square-meter) Limoges site currently employs over 170 staff.

About Catalent Biologics

Catalent Biologics is a global leader in development, manufacturing and analytical services for new biological entities, cell and gene therapies, biosimilars, sterile injectables, and antibody-drug conjugates. With over 30 years of proven expertise, Catalent Biologics has worked with 600+ mAbs and 80+ proteins, produced 16 biopharmaceutical drugs using GPEx cell line development technology, and manufactured 45+ commercially approved products. Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy, a unit of Catalent Biologics, is an industry-leading technology, development and manufacturing partner for advanced therapeutics. Its comprehensive cell therapy portfolio includes a wide range of expertise across a variety of cell types including CAR-T, TCR, TILs, NKs, iPSCs, and MSCs. With deep expertise in viral vector development, scale-up and manufacturing for gene therapies, Catalent is a full-service partner for plasmid DNA, adeno-associated viral (AAV), lentiviral and other viral vectors, oncolytic viruses, and live virus vaccines. For more information, visit biologics.catalent.com

About Catalent

Catalent is the global leader in enabling pharma, biotech, and consumer health partners to optimize product development, launch, and full life-cycle supply for patients around the world. With broad and deep scale and expertise in development sciences, delivery technologies, and multi-modality manufacturing, Catalent is a preferred industry partner for personalized medicines, consumer health brand extensions, and blockbuster drugs. Catalent helps accelerate over 1,000 partner programs and launch over 150 new products every year. Its flexible manufacturing platforms at over 50 global sites supply over 70 billion doses of more than 7,000 products annually. Catalents expert workforce exceeds 18,000, including more than 2,500 scientists and technicians. Headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey, the company generated $4 billion in revenue in its 2021 fiscal year. For more information, visit http://www.catalent.com.

More products. Better treatments. Reliably supplied.
Virtual Open House events offered for busy, working professionals interested in exploring quality Online Degrees and Certificates - April 12 and 27 via zoom. Attendees Apply Free! Register at https://www.CharterOak.edu/FinishCollege

Charter Oak State College (https://www.CharterOak.edu) offers two virtual Open House events in April. Prospects interested in online Health Care degrees as well as other Bachelors degrees are encouraged to attend via Zoom. Learn about the College and its high value, affordable, ONLINE degree programs. All event attendees apply free.

Event Date - Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at 5:30PM ET  All Health Care Degree Programs, Undergraduate and Graduate, including Health Information Management, Health Care Administration, Health Informatics, RN/ADN to BSN, as well as Certificate programs.

Event Date  Wednesday, April 27 at 5:30PM ET  Career focused Undergraduate degrees in all fields including Business Administration, Cyber Security, Human Resources Mgmt, Early Childhood Education, Public Safety Administration, and Health Care degrees.

Register for these Zoom events at : https://www.CharterOak.edu/finishcollege

The online College offers career-focused degrees and certificates in majors such as Business Administration, Health Information Management, Cyber Security, Nursing, Human Resources Management, Early Childhood Education, Health Care Administration, Public Safety Administration, Criminal Justice, Sociology, plus others. Charter Oak State College is well known for degree completion, honoring qualified existing college credits, prior learning, military and professional certifications.

Founded in 1973, Charter Oak State College (https://www.CharterOak.edu) is Connecticuts Public online college, offering Masters, Bachelors and Associate degrees in high-demand fields including Cyber Security, Health Information Management, Nursing, Criminal Justice, Early Childhood Education, Business Administration, Human Resources Management, and other career-focused degrees. Charter Oak is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education and governed by Connecticuts Board of Regents for Higher Education.
"Every company will have to make its own decision about how to respond to the crisis and approach their marketing efforts. The data from our platform shows that consumers have high expectations on brands and that they are coming under a microscope when it comes to their ties with Russia", Ryan Barry

As businesses struggle to align their marketing strategy with public conscience and growing scrutiny from consumers, new research from Zappi, the leading consumer insights enterprise platform for creators, shows that consumers have high expectations of brands and how they respond to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The survey, which asked consumers across the US, the UK and major western economies about how they expect brands to respond to political issues and the Ukrainian war, found that a staggering two-thirds (69%) of UK and three-fifths (61%) of US consumers believe brands should pull out of advertisement in Russia.

According to a poll by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), three in four of the largest advertisers have reduced or cut ad spend since the war began. Whats more, Zappi's research reveals that nearly 4 of every 10 respondents in the US and UK believe that any advertising during these unprecedented times should now reference the crisis.

Looking beyond advertising, expectations from consumers seem also on the rise. Two-thirds (67%) of UK consumers and half (51%) of US consumers believe that brands should call on politicians at home to do more about Russia-Ukraine relations. Furthermore, over half (55%) of UK consumers and more than two-fifths (43%) of US consumers claim that brands have a responsibility to rally against injustice.

As an increasing number of household names have publicly condemned the conflict in Ukraine by suspending sales and operations in Russia  including giants like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's, Heineken and Starbucks, among others other brands may now feel under pressure to speak up in solidarity with those in crisis. Crucially, the findings show that consumers now back businesses to halt the use of Russian goods and services in their supply chain  with an overwhelming 80% of UK consumers and 61% of US consumers supporting such a move.

"In many ways, small and large brands are learning from each other. A smaller business can react and make a decision quickly, whereas a large business has a massive layer of impact if they shut down sales in a market as big as Russia", says Ryan Barry, President at Zappi.

And it isn't just corporate accountability that consumers request from brands  almost nine-in-ten (86%) of UK consumers believe corporations should support causes that help civilians affected by the war. Three quarters (72%) of US consumers agree.

"Every company will have to make its own decision about how to respond to the crisis and approach their marketing efforts, but brands are being called upon to take meaningful action in response to the horrifying events in Ukraine. The data from our platform shows that consumers have high expectations on brands and that they are coming under a microscope when it comes to their ties with Russia", says Barry.

Consumers also revealed that they dont expect brands to make significant changes to their advertising in response to general political events (only 22% of consumers in the UK and 17% in the US), which shows a stark contrast to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Barry concluded: "It's hard to know how things will evolve, so adaptability and agility are vital in a moment like this. What has become clear is that it's not about paying lip service or simply speaking out in support of victims of the conflict. Consumers want to see brands act decisively. But avoiding missteps will take a careful mix of good judgement and good data to understand what's appropriate and authentic to your brand. The last thing businesses should be seen to be doing is exploiting the situation for their own gain, so being targeted, educational and empathetic is the advice I would give brands - right now. This is a difficult time, and simply being noisier to maintain consumer attention won't work in the long run."

ABOUT THE RESEARCH:

Zappi surveyed a nationally representative audience of adults over 18 via the Zappi platform. The global sample size included 3600 respondents in the US, UK and major western economies.

ABOUT ZAPPI:

Zappi is the leading consumer insights enterprise platform designed for creators. If you're part of a team that creates brands, ads or innovative new products, then we think you're a creator. With Zappi, you get access to actionable, quick and smart data for creators to amplify your creative effectiveness and shape winning innovation. Inspire your ideas and validate your creations so you can create something people love. To find out more, visit https://www.zappi.io/web/.
World Business Chicago shares my vision that Chicago is a global home for companies in technology. I am proud to work closely with World Business Chicago to deliver on this vision.

Decasonic today announces the appointment of Paul Hsu to the Board of Directors of World Business Chicago, the City of Chicagos public-private, non-profit partnership whose mission is to promote inclusive economic empowerment.

Hsu serves as CEO and founder of Decasonic, a Chicago-based venture and digital assets fund serving the blockchain, cryptocurrency, metaverse and Web3 sectors. He also was recently appointed Chief Investment and Innovation Officer of Kadena Eco, a leading blockchain technology innovation network. Hsu is an active proponent of driving responsible innovation in Chicago and broadly in the United States.

Today, Chicago is the crypto capital of the world and is poised to lead in other frontier innovations such as Web3. More than half of our investor base resides in Chicago, an ecosystem bursting with expertise in trading, market structure and importantly digital assets innovations, said Hsu. World Business Chicago shares my vision that Chicago is a global home for companies in technology. I am proud to work closely with World Business Chicago to deliver on this vision.

World Business Chicago is the city of Chicagos public-private economic development agency, responsible for leading inclusive economic growth and job creation, supporting business and promoting Chicago as a leading global city. The board of directors comprises over 100 business leaders from various industries, led by Chair, Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, and Vice Chair, Mellody Hobson, co-CEO and President of Ariel Investments.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we welcome Paul to the board, said Michael Fassnacht, President & CEO, World Business Chicago, and Chief Marketing Officer, City of Chicago. As technology is driving incredible momentum in emerging, disruptive and stalwart industries throughout Chicago, Pauls experiences and leadership will be helpful in continuing to drive the citys leading reputation as a global hub for business.

Today World Business Chicago serves a critical role in driving inclusive and equitable recovery throughout the citys 77-neighborhoods, focused on high-growth areas of Transportation, Distribution & Logistics, Manufacturing, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Technology, Venture Capital and Innovation. As the citys economic development arm, World Business Chicago leads business acquisition, workforce and talent, community impact and equity, support of our business community and more. Most recently Site Selection magazine awarded Chicago with the distinction as the No. #1 Top Metro, for the ninth consecutive year, for business expansion and relocation, as covered by Chicago Inno.

For more information on Chicagos business landscape, visit Chicago Business Bulletin, Year in Review.

About Decasonic

Decasonic is the venture and digital assets fund building blockchain innovation. We draw on our decades of experience as tech investors and operators to help founders in blockchain accelerate product-market fit and scale growth. As believers, builders, and investors in blockchain since 2013, weve engineered a systematic approach to iconic growth  with people, data, and relationships as the north stars of our fund. Visit http://www.decasonic.com to learn more.
Dr. Naval Parikh has proven to be instrumental to HARP Rescue during his time as a member of the Advisory Board.

March 8, 2022, as war rages on in Ukraine, Dr. Naval Parikh of South Florida has organized a drive to collect money and supplies for Ukraine.

The current conflict in Ukraine is of great concern to people around the globe as the invasion represents a threat that could stretch far beyond Ukraines national borders if left unchecked. Its a fight for Ukrainian freedom as well as the safety and security of Western Europe.

Defeat in Ukraine would bode ill for the nations of Western Europe. The crisis has generated an outcry for humanitarian aid. Dr. Naval Parikh, a primary care physician, directed a drive to bring money and supplies to Ukraine that will help Ukrainians stay well-funded and well-supplied in their desperate fight for freedom.

As Russian invaders press farther into Ukrainian territory, the money and supplies that Dr. Naval Parikhs efforts have produced will go a long way in helping Ukrainians hold their ground.

Organizations like HARP Rescue have a rich history of initiating humanitarian projects to help people around the world in their hour of need. Dr. Naval Parikh has proven to be instrumental to HARP Rescue during his time as a member of the Advisory Board.

As a member of HARP Rescues Advisory Board, Dr. Naval Parikh has participated in numerous humanitarian aid projects. From providing medical care to people afflicted by hurricanes in the Caribbean to collecting money and supplies for struggling citizens in war-torn Ukraine, Dr. Parikh has proven himself as a champion of humanitarian values.

His drive for money and supplies to help Ukrainians came at the perfect time. Ukraine has a wealth of determination, but what it does not have is an inexhaustible amount of money and supplies. With the efforts of Dr. Naval Parikh and those like him, Ukraine has a glimmer of hope.

About Naval Parikh:

Dr. Naval Parikh is more than a primary care doctor, hes a man of humanitarian ideals with a passion for helping people in need. In addition to operating his medical practice in the South Florida area, he also serves as a principal investigator for NAPA Research where he contributes to the advancement of medical science and innovative treatments.

Press Release By South Florida Media
Alexs view of the whole firm, her deep knowledge of its history, and her strong strategic sense will accelerate Eurasia Groups journey to become the place people go to understand the world. - Eurasia Group CEO Maziar Minovi

Eurasia Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Alexsandra Sanford as Chief Communications Officer, a new role and an important step for achieving the firms ambitious growth plans.

Sanford has been with Eurasia Group for 18 of its 24 years, most recently as the founding CEO of GZERO Media, which was launched in 2017 by Ian Bremmer (Eurasia Groups Founder and President), whose vision was to create a media arm to complement the companys advisory business. GZERO is Eurasia Groups award-winning multimedia news publisher dedicated to providing the public with intelligent and engaging coverage of global affairs without ideology. Sanford developed and oversaw the commercial business and editorial platform, which includes the nationally-broadcast US public television show, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the daily Signal newsletter, podcasts, digital video series, virtual events, and branded content solutions.

For nearly two decades, Alex has been a critical, driving force for the many things I do involving media and communications, said Bremmer. As our company helps clients and consumers understand mounting global challenges, her skills are perfectly suited to this new role.

Prior to GZERO, Sanford led Eurasia Groups communications department at an earlier stage in the companys history. She now returns with an expanded executive role that includes internal communications and marketing strategy in addition to external communications. She will also engage with the CCOs and CMOs of Eurasia Groups largest clients to deepen partnerships by leveraging the full suite of the firms offerings.

Maziar Minovi, Eurasia Groups CEO, said Alexs view of the whole firm, her deep knowledge of its history, and her strong strategic sense will accelerate Eurasia Groups journey to become the place people go to understand the world.

Sanford, whose appointment is effective on March 21st, will continue to be based in Eurasia Groups New York City office.

Eurasia Groups Vice Chairman, Gerald Butts, will serve as the Interim GZERO Chair while the firm conducts a search for Sanfords replacement. Gregory Roth remains as Director of Communications for Ian Bremmer and the primary point of contact for his media inquiries. All media inquiries for Eurasia Group representatives should continue to be directed to media@eurasiagroup.net.

***

ABOUT EURASIA GROUP:

Eurasia Group is the world's leading global political risk research and consulting firm. By providing information and insight on how political developments move markets, we help clients anticipate and respond to instability and opportunities everywhere they invest or do business. Our expertise includes developed and developing countries in every region of the world, specific economic sectors, and the business and investment playing fields of the future. With our best-in-class advisory and consulting offerings and GZERO Media, the Eurasia Group umbrella provides the marketplace with a complete political risk solution. Headquartered in New York, we have offices in Washington, London, San Francisco, Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Tokyo, as well as on-the-ground experts and resources in more than a hundred countries. "Politics first grounds our work: Politics is the lens through which we view the world, and we are committed to analysis that is free of political bias and the influence of private interests.


Experienced, multidisciplinary teams and strategic partnerships can support drug discovery projects from hit finding to Investigational New Drug (IND).

Progress has been made in a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cancer and in the development of innovative therapeutic agents. However, the attrition rates between target discovery and drug approval remain very high. Therefore, robust translational assays and models to predict therapeutic efficiencies have become a key parameter for oncology drug discovery programs.

Experienced, multidisciplinary teams and strategic partnerships can support drug discovery projects from hit finding to Investigational New Drug (IND).

In this webinar, the featured speakers will discuss how conventional and innovative integrated technological skills should be incorporated into the oncology drug discovery process. This effort should help the selection of drug candidates faster to the clinic.

Join this webinar to see examples of anticancer drugs aimed at overcoming breast cancer resistance that follow a multiple-step program which includes: target expression/validation to identify the most effective therapeutic strategies; in vitro screening and phenotypic assays, to select active compounds, confirm activity and better understand the mechanism of action; early absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME), to establish developability potential of entities; in vivo validation to evaluate the dose effect and therapeutic index of the compounds; in vivo clinical drug positioning.

Join experts from Oncodesign Service Business Unit, Olivier Duchamp, Head of in vivo sciences; and Jean-Francois Mirjolet, Head of in vitro sciences, for the live webinar on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 11am EDT (4pm BST/UK).

For more information, or to register for this event, visit How to Better Optimize an Oncology Drug Discovery Program.

ABOUT XTALKS

Xtalks, powered by Honeycomb Worldwide Inc., is a leading provider of educational webinars to the global life science, food and medical device community. Every year, thousands of industry practitioners (from life science, food and medical device companies, private & academic research institutions, healthcare centers, etc.) turn to Xtalks for access to quality content. Xtalks helps Life Science professionals stay current with industry developments, trends and regulations. Xtalks webinars also provide perspectives on key issues from top industry thought leaders and service providers.

To learn more about Xtalks visit http://xtalks.com

For information about hosting a webinar visit http://xtalks.com/why-host-a-webinar/


Phantom XR Mountain Electric Bike Is On Sale

Life Electric Vehicles (Life EV), a local manufacturer praised for their high-quality electric bikes and exceptional customer service, will be offering customers a steal this Saint Patricks Day weekend. Bike enthusiasts wont want to miss this sale of Life EVs premier trail e-bike Phantom XR at a significant discount.

The Phantom XR is a customer favorite electric mountain bike because of its sleek design, impressive durability, and vast versatility. The bike is perfect for both in-town commuters and off-road mountain biking.

Customers praise the Phantom series by Life EV with a five-star rating for its impressive quality and performance. The bike boasts a sturdy, yet lightweight design, and customizable components making it the perfect choice for street use. The bike travels at up to 20 MPH and is legal in all 50 states. The bike battery boasts an impressive lifespan of 35 miles per charge.

Versatility takes center stage with the Phantom XRs triple aluminum rims and 26 x 1.95 all-terrain tires. These components allow the bike to perform exceptionally off-road for mountain bikers.

The Phantom XR is available in two color options, including a sleek black matte or silver brushed aluminum frame. The Phantom XR, valued at $1,499, will be offered at a discounted price of only $1,099.

This deal wont last long. Bike seekers can take advantage of the discounted price from March 17-20 by using code LUCK100 at checkout. Life EV provides customers with free shipping on all e-bikes.

Life EV is proud to provide bike enthusiasts in South Florida and throughout the United States with high-quality, well-constructed electric bikes at affordable prices.

More About Life Electric Vehicles

Life Electric Vehicles was founded in 2018 and is a fast-growing US-based electric vehicle developer, manufacturer, and distributor. Life Electric Vehicles is home to a team of highly trained and qualified individuals who are making continuous improvements in the industry, already acquiring numerous trademarks and patents approvals.

Life Electric Vehicles is proud to provide consumers with innovative, high-quality light electric vehicles (LEVs) for recreational use and short-distance travel. They are revolutionizing industries with their electric vehicles, battery-powered electric vehicle drivetrains, and upcoming marine electric propulsion systems.

Life Electric Vehicles stand behind their quality LEVs with a mission to reduce our carbon footprints while helping consumers save on transportation costs. Learn more about their quality innovative light vehicles at https://www.lifeelectricvehicles.com.


myPanier logo Given the Pacific Region is also where Silicon Valley startups are located, this rank is truly remarkable.

With a Two-Year Revenue Growth of 272% Percent, MYPANIER Ranks No. 50 on Inc. Magazines List of the Pacific Regions Fastest-Growing Private Companies

Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals Pacific list had an average growth rate of 195% percent

Inc. Magazine today revealed that MYPANIER is No. 50 on its third annual Inc. 5000 Regionals: Pacific list, the most prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies based in Alaska, Hawaii, California, Oregon, and Washington. Born of the annual Inc. 5000 franchise, this regional list represents a unique look at the most successful private companies within the Pacific region economy generating sustainable growth and jobs.

Team did it again! Beyond proud that myPanier made the list of the fastest growing companies in the Pacific Region. Im grateful for my Team's continuous hard work to focus community first. It definitely hasnt gone unnoticed! Huge thanks to Inc. Magazine for this new accolade and to our Partners for their support. Let's keep going. Said Christophe Boyac, myPanier Inc Founder and CEO. Given the Pacific Region is also where Silicon Valley startups are located, this rank is truly remarkable.

The companies on this list show a remarkable rate of growth across all industries in the Pacific. Between 2018 and 2020, these 150 private companies had an average growth rate of 195% percent and, in 2020 alone, they added 10,252 jobs and $5.1 billion to the Pacific regions economy. Companies based in the Irvine, Santa Monica, and Venice, California, areas had the highest growth rate overall.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000 Regionals Pacific, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, metro area, and other criteria, can be found at inc.com/pacific starting March 15, 2022.

This years Inc. 5000 Regional winners represent one of the most exceptional and exciting lists of Americas off-the-charts growth companies. Theyre disrupters and job creators, and all delivered an outsize impact on the economy. Remember their names and follow their lead. These are the companies youll be hearing about for years to come, says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc.

Founded in 2016, MYPANIER is an online food retailer making authentic, hard-to-find local and international specialty foods available nationwide. Offering a curated selection of gourmet foods, charcuterie, cheese, beauty and home goods from France, Italy, Spain and other European region, the California-based company selects the finest makers and multi-generational brands. For more information, visit http://www.mypanier.com.

For additional information, contact:

Melanie Boyac

949-305-0149

melanie@mypanier.com

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000 Regionals

Methodology

The 2022 Inc. 5000 Regionals are ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2018 and 2020. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2019. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2020 is $1 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons.

About Inc. Media

The worlds 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 http://www.inc.com.
CGIs Director of Genetic Counseling Services, Erin Heckaman explains that  Studies have shown that people with disability who are surrounded by love and support rarely experience a decline in quality of life."

The World Health Organization and United Nations acknowledges March 21st as World Down Syndrome Day and this date is celebrated annually around the world. At Project Heritage the agency provides critical resources for free to help mothers and families better understand the possible inaccuracies of their fetal genetic test to help save the lives of the unborn, either through the elimination of abortions based on a false positive or based on a better understanding of the infants predicted disability.

Project Heritage is a program that provides services for these women and is the brainchild of Dr. Julie Eggington, the co-founder of the independent non-profit Center for Genomic Interpretation (CGI) in Sandy, UT. Dr. Eggington started Project Heritage in response to the high false positive rates of prenatal genetic screening, recently covered by the New York Times. As a result, pregnant women that receive genetic screening on their unborn children and are told their child could have a genetic abnormality are encouraged and assisted every single day through the resources offered by Project Heritage.

What the New York Times did not address is that roughly 67% of pregnant women in the U.S. who learn they are carrying a child with a disability - such as Down Syndrome - will terminate their pregnancy, a decision often made from fear about the future quality of life for the child.

CGIs Director of Genetic Counseling Services, Erin Heckaman explains that Often people in good health and with good intentions assume that the lives of people with disability are terribly sad, or unbearably challenging. However, studies have shown that people with disability who are surrounded by love and support rarely experience a decline in quality of life. In fact, people with disabilities, such as Down syndrome or Edwards syndrome, most often experience as much or even more happiness in life than able-bodied people, as long as they are surrounded by the care and support of loved ones.

Through Project Heritage, CGI is helping to correct misunderstandings about disability with expectant mothers, and to facilitate adoption as another choice for those that feel they cannot raise a special needs child. Through Project Heritage, CGI hopes to increase hope, decrease fear and expand options for pregnant women in such situations. Project Heritage works to connect these women with families who are raising a child with the same or similar disability. Through this peer support, expecting parents learn about what its like to parent a child with special needs. They discuss both the challenges and the joys, and they learn about social services and other resources available to families raising children with special needs. Often pregnant women who have been supported through this peer matching will choose to birth and raise their child. Or they may choose to work with CGIs Project Heritage partner, Adopting Joy Consulting, to place their child for adoption with one of the many families across the U.S. who wish to provide a loving environment to a child with special needs.

Dr. Eggington, CGIs co-founder and leader, says that ultimately its why I co-founded this nonprofit and work on projects that many shy away from. My career in commercial clinical genetics, and the love I have for my children has led me here to lead this nonprofit work. I feel driven to save childrens lives. I believe that every life has value. I am extraordinarily grateful to the Lutheran Antioch Foundation, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to those private donors who have made Project Heritage possible. This challenge is enormous and the headwinds are strong. But saving the lives of the most vulnerable among us is something that we must continue to do. I hope many others will support Project Heritage too.

Founded in 2017, CGIs mission is to save and improve lives through encouraging careful stewardship of clinical genetics, genomics and precision medicine. CGI works across the U.S. Precision Medicine sector to implement quality assurance programs to promote the use of accurate clinical genetic testing, while protecting the public from misleading clinical genetic tests. This is critical since most genetic tests today are not regulated, meaning that they go to market without any independent analysis to verify the claims of the seller, (quoted from the National Institutes of Healths webpage on Regulation of Genetic Tests).

To learn more about Project Heritage, see https://www.clarifygenetics.org/project-heritage/.

To learn more about the Center for Genomic Interpretation and its work with health insurance payers and other stakeholders. see https://www.genomicinterpretation.org/.

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About Project Heritage

Project Heritages mission is to to help mothers and their families better understand the accuracies and possible inaccuracies of their fetal genetic test. In collaboration with the Center for Genomic Interpretation, Project Heritage provides resources to help protect both the mother and the unborn child from undue harm that can be caused by natural concerns over birthing a child with special needs. We believe having the right information is critical when making sensitive decisions around pregnancy. We provide our services for free and support all of our clients, no matter what they decide. Project Heritage offers scientific support, information and resources, peer support and adoption education and support services. For more information,call (801) 810-4097 or email at contact@genomicinterprtation.org.
We are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with Riverside Insights, which will benefit students and schools across America.

Riverside Insights, a leading developer of research-based assessments and analytics, today announced a new partnership with Renzulli Learning, an interactive online system for whole school enrichment that provides students with personalized learning resources based on their unique interests and learning preferences. With this new partnership, educators can now readily combine the ability insights from Riverside Insights Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) with Renzulli Learnings dynamic library of resources to better differentiate instruction and engage all learners in the classroom.

Riversides CogAT enables educators to understand students' potential for learning while Renzulli Learning allows them to leverage students' interests and preferences to unlock that potential. Educators can attest that aligning instruction with student interests encourages strong levels of engagement from all learners. Paired together, CogAT and Renzulli Learning provide a powerful combination to make learning accessible and fun for every student.

Riverside Insights partnership with Renzulli Learning is a first step in our commitment to support the whole child and their Limitless Learning to reach their full potential, said Riverside Insights CEO, Rajib Roy We know students learn best when they are invested in the content. CogATs unique Ability Profile for each student combined with Renzulli's interactive resources will empower educators to meet every students needs through interest-based instruction.

With the addition of Renzulli Learning, Riverside Insights expands its commitment to supporting all learners by using insights to drive equity in the classroom. Riversides industry-leading ability measure, CogAT, coupled with its specialized assessments for Math and Reading performance (IowaFlex, Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT) and Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test (GMRT)) and its quick tools to support progress monitoring and intervention (easyCBM and ESGI), create a comprehensive assessment portfolio that helps educators understand how students learn best. Renzulli Learning now offers a lens into what students want to learn. This powerful combination of insights supports educators in personalizing instruction to unlock each learners unique potential.

Based on years of research by Dr. Joe Renzulli and Dr. Sally Reiss, Renzulli Learnings digital platform enables educators to match each learner with engaging activities to foster growth, enhance critical thinking and develop creative problem-solving skills. The Renzulli Profiler, a detailed online questionnaire, allows the Renzulli system to generate a personal profile of each students top interests, learning styles and forms of expression, making it easier for teachers to know their students and effectively differentiate instruction. Students can engage with tailored activities and resources aligned to their Profiler results, creating a dynamic learning environment catered to their individual needs and interests. The platform also provides a secure forum for collaborative project-based learning and supports students with creating a comprehensive talent portfolio. Students can access Renzulli Learning in over a dozen languages, so students from all backgrounds can benefit from Renzulli resources.

"We are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with Riverside Insights, which will benefit students and schools across America, said Michael DiMauro, CEO of Renzulli Learning. The synergy between our products will help educators first understand each students ability and focus on engaging students through Renzulli Learning's strength-based learning approach, which is critical as schools grapple with the lingering learning challenges posed by the pandemic."

For more information, visit info.riversideinsights.com/education-assessments/contact-us.

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About Renzulli Learning

Renzulli Learning delivers a rigorous personalized learning environment for ALL students in grades Pre-K through 12. Renzulli Learning enables teachers to easily differentiate instruction, increase motivation and personalize talent development for each student, providing the tools and resources to increase engagement and achievement with our student-led Project Based Learning (PBL) platform that unpacks the abilities in all children.

For more information, visit renzullilearning.com.

About Riverside Insights

Riverside Insights, one of the nations leading and most long-standing developers of research-based assessments, is led by a powerful mission: to provide insights that help elevate potential and enrich the lives of students, clinical patients, employees, and organizations globally. For more information, visit http://www.riversideinsights.com.
SEO.co releases new on-page SEO service. Our on-page SEO tuning service aims at pinpointing very specific deficiencies in a particular page for a given short tail keyword or phrase where that page should be ranking.

SEO.co, an industry leader in digital marketing, is pleased to announce the release of a new on page SEO service. For over a decade, the company has provided link building services to some of the worlds leading online brands. However, this new on-page SEO service focuses on other strongly-correlated factors (not just link building) for ranking pages and sites above competitors in online search.

SEO.co utilizes advanced scanning techniques to pull over 200 statistically correlated factors in determining why a given page is deficient to competitors for specific keyword rankings. In doing so, this complete on-page SEO audit focuses on the highest correlated factors that might be negatively impacting a given page.

Search engine algorithms tend to reward websites and specific pages that are extremely diversified among the 200 ranking factors. In fact, diversity among the 200+ ranking factors is the most statistically significant means of ranking ahead of competitors in search. In other words, if companies wish to rank, they need to include as many factors as possible on a given page.

Our on-page SEO tuning service aims at pinpointing very specific deficiencies in a particular page for a given short tail keyword or phrase where that page should be ranking, says Samuel Quincy Edwards, CMO at SEO.co. Our detailed reports provide a step-by-step plan of attack for shoring-up weaknesses vis-a-vis competitors from an on-site perspective. It essentially takes out a lot of the guesswork of SEO.

The SEO.co ranking factor SEO site audit also targets the second highest correlated ranking factor in Google, which is on-page keyword diversity. Entity keywords are keywords that disambiguate the topical relevance of a given page, helping both users and web crawlers to fully understand what the page is actually about.

Our on-page content audits will provide information on what entity keywords should be included on a page, says Edwards. In this way you get exactly what you need to become on-par or above par compared to your competitors.

The SEO.co on-page SEO tuning service takes the guesswork out of determining which diverse factors will be the most applicable for a given page to rank higher than competitors in online search. By tuning individual pages for those specific factors, we close the gap between an existing client page and its outranking competitor pages, Edwards says. Its a way to provide the most ROI-efficient use of SEO marketing dollars.

About SEO.co

For over a decade, SEO company SEO.co has provided advanced digital marketing services to small businesses and Fortune 1000 enterprises. The companys expert services include content marketing, link building, SEO audits, blog writing and now factor diversification for on-page SEO. Founded in Seattle, Washington, the companys diverse and experienced team is able to effectively assist with optimizing nearly any digital marketing strategy for nearly any website.
We are uniquely positioned to share insights that no one else can provide with the aim of transforming field sales to achieve more. - Trey Gibson, SPOTIO CEO

SPOTIO, Inc., the leading field sales software provider, proudly announces its third edition of its signature State of Field Sales Annual Report. The 2022 version of this report compiles survey responses from over two hundred field sales industry professionals to provide unique insights into how the field sales industry is changing. The State of Field Sales report is focused on helping field sales leaders, and companies with outside sales teams understand essential trends and insights needed to adapt to the present and prepare for the future.

When we reflect on the previous years, we see how many professionals felt forced to adapt to the pandemic while facing proclamations that field sales were a thing of the past. This survey concludes that field sales remains relevant and will continue to grow throughout and beyond 2022. It's an insider's dream to understand the significant trends that need to be adapted to stay ahead of the curve for the future.

"This industry keeps you on your toes," said SPOTIO Head of Customer Experience, Alison Cherie. "Being in such a dynamic and competitive industry comes with risk, but with risk comes high reward. If we can equip our audience with knowledge to help them to not only survive but thrive in a rapidly-changing environment, that's a win for everyone."

SPOTIO sees change as an opportunity for growth. According to the survey, over 41% of people surveyed said they still prefer face-to-face communication and see it as the most effective way of prospecting. However, a significant change from previous reports was the new focus on technology to enable better sales performance. When asked what had the largest positive impact on their teams, 33% of respondents said access to new tools and software realized the biggest overall performance boost for their sales efforts. SPOTIO attributes this new emphasis on technology as a sign of how the industry has had to adapt to a post-COVID landscape.

SPOTIO CEO and Founder, Trey Gibson, added that, "Nowadays, being adaptable in field sales is a must. Change can be good for those who embrace it, and it can be a true game-changer for making you more successful and competitive than ever before. Since we are so focused on field sales performance at SPOTIO, we are uniquely positioned to share insights that no one else can provide with the aim of transforming field sales to achieve more.

The information provided in this report is essential and could potentially set you apart in the industry for the years to come. We did all of the heavy lifting, so you don't have to. Get your free copy to ensure your success for 2022 here: https://spotio.com/state-of-field-sales-2022/

About SPOTIO

SPOTIO is the leading field sales engagement platform built for field sales teams to grow pipelines, improve productivity, and close more deals. SPOTIO centralizes field sales team activities and provides sales organizations with the visibility and insight needed to drive revenue. Thousands of customers worldwide rely on SPOTIO to accelerate growth with their field sales teams. SPOTIO is a privately held company based in Dallas, Texas.

Follow SPOTIO on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/spotio
Frontview of a new gray 2022 Toyota Tacoma cruising on a offroading track

Toyota Tacoma is returning for 2022, and Toyota of Lancaster in Lancaster, California, is selling them. Customers looking for a sturdy pickup truck with great value and a plethora of safety and capabilities features can check out the new 2022 Toyota Tacoma. Tacoma's redesign has paid off, and it's on track to be one of the best-selling pickup trucks for the year 2022.

The 2022 Toyota Tacoma is one of the most affordable pickup trucks, starting at $26,500. The top-of-the-line trims have a 3.5L V6 DOHC 24 valve engine, while the basic trim has a 2.7L DOHC 16-valve engine. The 2.7-liter engine produces 159 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque, while the 3.5-liter engine produces 278 horsepower and 265 pound-feet of torque.

Both the NHTSA and the IIHS have given the 2022 Toyota Tacoma high marks in terms of safety. The truck houses the whole Toyota Safety Sense P system (TSS-P). The TSS-P safety suite assists the driver in avoiding collisions by delivering warning signals when other cars or pedestrians approach the truck from blind areas and in the event of any other potential collision.

Pickup truck fans in and around Lancaster, California, may call the Toyota of Lancaster store at (855) 660-7659 or schedule a test drive online. Customers interested in learning more about the features of the 2022 Toyota Tacoma may visit Toyota of Lancaster's website at https://www.toyotaoflancaster.com or stop by the dealership at 43301 12th St. W, Lancaster, California 93534.
UMHS to host Women in Medicine livestream "Were proud to welcome three incredible UMHS graduates who can share their unique experiences as first-year residents who broke through barriers and are realizing their dreams as practicing physicians in highly competitive specialties.

The University of Medicine and Health Sciences, (UMHS), a small, mission-driven medical school with a commitment to student support and a legacy of successful residency placements in the United States and Canada, today announced that it will host a livestream event, UMHS Women in Medicine: A Conversation About the First Year of Residency on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 pm EDT. Hosted by UMHS alumni Tamara Clark, M.D., a first-year psychiatry resident at Authority Health, Detroit, Sarah Mohtadi, MD, a first-year psychiatry resident at Charles R. Drew University, Los Angeles, and Alisha Qaiser, MD, a first-year neurology resident at Mercy Health St Marys in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the discussion will cover their individual journeys to medical school, a description of their Match experiences, advice for people preparing to begin their residency programs, and tips for avoiding burnout and maintaining a work/life balance. Following the presentation, Drs. Clark, Mohtadi, and Qaiser will answer audience questions during a live Q & A session. The event will be livestreamed on the UMHS YouTube channel as well as on the UMHS Facebook and LinkedIn pages. The presentation will also be recorded for future viewing.

March is an exciting time around UMHS as our students celebrate the culmination of their medical school journey and prepare for the next chapter with their residency Match, said Warren Ross, president of UMHS. We also recognize the special achievements of women this month, so were proud to welcome three of our incredible UMHS graduates who can share their unique experiences as first-year residents who broke through barriers and are realizing their dreams as practicing physicians in highly competitive specialties.

The UMHS livestream will kick off with each doctor describing their individual journey to medical school and Match experience - including their emotions leading up to the moment they learned their results and how they prepared for their next steps. Dr. Clark will describe what it was like for her to pursue a career in medicine as a non-traditional medical student. Dr. Mohtadi will address what it was like to be the first UMHS graduate to match in California. Dr. Qaiser will describe why she chose UMHS as a Canadian student who wanted broader options. All panelists will share what surprised them most about their first-year post-Match, offer advice for the incoming class of first-year residents, and share tips for maintaining a work/life balance as residents working during a pandemic. Finally, they will talk about overcoming self-doubt and the importance of representation in medicine. The event will conclude with a live Q&A featuring questions from the audience.

The virtual town hall event is the latest in the series of presentations featuring UMHS faculty and alumni sharing their expertise on topics targeted towards current and prospective medical students and healthcare professionals. Past events include, Cardiology: A Discussion About Cardiac Care & Careers in Cardiology, "Non-Traditional Medical Students - Medical School Admissions and Residency Advisors Reveal All!", Black Women in Medicine: A Conversation About the Black Experience, Ask a Microbiologist, Suicide Prevention and the State of Psychiatry. and LGBTQ+ Medicine and Theory.

Tune in on Wednesday, February 16, at 7 pm EDT here to watch.

About UMHS

The University of Medicine and Health Sciences (UMHS), is a small, mission-driven medical school with a commitment to student support and a legacy of successful residency placements in the United States and Canada. UMHS was founded in 2007 by medical education pioneers Warren and Robert Ross to deliver a highly personalized school experience. Graduates of UMHS earn a Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) and qualify to practice medicine throughout the United States and Canada. Students begin their Basic Science studies in St. Kitts, West Indies, and complete their clinical training in the United States. With an unprecedented 96% student retention rate, the vast majority of students that begin their medical studies at UMHS go on to obtain residencies. For more information, visit https://www.umhs-sk.org/.


Ukrainian publishers are turning to Polish and Lithuanian partners to print and distribute books for the more than three million Ukrainian refugees that have fled the war in their country. Ranok, Urbino, and VSL, among the most prominent Ukrainian houses, and have already begun printing in Poland, while the Ukrainian Book institute is working with smaller Ukrainian houses to collect print ready files to send to printers abroad. The Institute has already acquired files for some 15 titles, including several new books. We decided to start with the booklets for the youngest children. Those booklets have 22-48 pages, are easy to print, and will focus on stories  like fairy tales  that will be suitable to comfort children, said Yurri Marchenko, reading specialist at the Ukrainian Book Institute. The goal is to print at least 500 to 1,000 copies of each title.

Numerous challenges remain before books will be able to be distributed, the least of which is a lack of money, paper and free time at printing presses. Still, Marchenko remains optimistic. We keep writing letters to the publishing houses, we address our Polish friends and colleagues, and the snowball grows, said Marchenko. I have just received a letter from Andrzej Zabrowarny, the director of the Pracownia Wydawncza [a Polish publishing company with a strong history of publishing Ukrainian translation]. They agreed to start working with two books, and by March 25 we will have 500 copies of each. In addition, Flintas, a childrens publishing house in Lithuania, has agreed to start printing and distributing books as well.

Over the next few weeks the Institute is working to find volunteers to help distribute the new books at train stations and refugee centers. In addition, they are looking for more publishing partners in different European countries to help with printing books, ideally at their own expense, in support of the Ukrainian refugees.

These are all near term goals, said Marchenko. The next stage will be to figure out how to provide schools and libraries in those countries that are housing Ukrainian refugees with books, when the need arises.

The organizers say they will be taking meetings at the Bologna Childrens Book Fair with those who are interested in helping. You can also reach Marchenko directly at yuri.marchenko@ubi.org.ua., or reach out to the Institutes coordinators in Poland, Natalia Sawicki at sawickanat@gmail.com and Andrew Zabrowarnie at pracownia@akant.Home.pl.

Free Digital Distribution

StreetLib, the Milan-based e-book and audiobook production and distribution company, has offered to provide free services to Ukrainian publishers and writers for five years. In an open letter, Carlo Carrenho, director of international development at StreetLib, said that the need for Ukrainian books was urgent and it was time for the global publishing community to do its part to help. He invited other partners to collaborate with StreetLib and to volunteer their services as well.

StreetLib's open letter reads as follows:

Dear Ukrainian publishers and independent writers,

My name is Carlo Carrenho and I am the head of international business development at StreetLib. StreetLib is an Italian digital content aggregator with a catalogue of more than 400,00 titles among e-books, audiobooks and POD titles. We have over 1,500 publishers on board and we distribute to more than 70 digital retailers. Our content is multilingual and we try to work on a global scale.

As part of my job, I recently traveled to Warsaw, Poland, where I could witness how the war is affecting the Ukrainian people. The StreetLib team was really touched after I share what I saw and we decided to do something to help. The obvious idea was to offer free distribution to Ukrainian publishers and independent writers. So we created the Ukrainian Ebook Project, where we offer our distribution services for free and also our StreetLib Write tool free of charge for a period of at least five years.

At this moment, we are starting with eBooks in ePub format, because this was easier and faster to set up. But we are open to talk about other formats as well. It is important to say that the contract is non-binding and non-exclusive. Our goal here is simply to help. We are also encouraging other companies to do the same, and I would be happy more players engaged.

I have heard of many publishers distributing their content for free to the readers, and this is also a possibility. We are event talking about this idea with a global retailer. However, it is up to you if and how much you want to charge for your content.

If you are interested in this, please simple feel out this form below:

https://forms.gle/AxxpvK1oxBASceYZ6

Alternatively, you can contact me directly through e-mail at carlo.carrenho@streetlib.com or Whatsapp/Viper at +46 72 546 0924. I will be personally engaged in this project.

We stand together with Ukraine.
Hachette Book Group employees will begin their return to working from company offices this April, CEO Michael Pietsch has announced to staff. All fully vaccinated office-based staff will be required to work from the office two days a week, excepting facilities and warehouse workers and others whose positions require they work all hours on-site.

The rollout, by office, is as follows. The publisher's Berkeley, Calif., Boulder, Colo., Chapel Hill, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., and Toronto offices will begin expecting employees in office under the new hybrid model as of April 18. Its two New York offices will follow the next Monday, and its Boston and North Adams, Mass., offices the Monday after that. In-office days will be fixed. The program, the publisher said, is intended as a six-month pilot.

This is HBG's second attempt to return to office in a hybrid model under a six-month pilot plan, after the Delta and Omicron variants of Covid-19, and its first attempt since the publisher completed its acquisition of Workman Publishing last fall.
Wabash Township Trustee Jennifer Teising enters Superior Court 5 at the start of her trial Monday on 21 counts of theft.
A jailed 32-year-old Lafayette man has been charged with trying to escape during hospital treatment over the weekend.

Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Deputy Luke Kincaid went to Franciscan Health Lafayette on Creasy Lane in Lafayette as inmate Michael Mathews was being taken to the hospital for medical treatment, according to a probable cause affidavit filed Tuesday. The court document did not describe the treatment for the reason for it.

After arriving at the hospital Saturday, Mathews was placed in a room, and Kincaid remained with him.

"Mathews had leg restraints on his ankles, and while getting medical treatment he made several comments about wanting to use the restroom," the affidavit said. "Once Kincaid had the medical release paperwork for Mathews, Mathews again asked to use the restroom and Kincaid escorted him to a bathroom across the hall from his room. Kincaid stood right outside the bathroom, and at one point asked Mathews through the door if he was almost done and Mathews responded he was fine and was almost done."

Shortly thereafter, Kincaid heard a loud noise coming from the bathroom and opened the door, and he found Mathews on the floor, with ceiling tiles on the ground and part of the support beams from the ceiling tiles pulled from the ceiling, according to the affidavit.

A light fixture on the wall was knocked down, and a metal handrail behind the toilet was damaged. "It appeared Mathews tried to stand on the metal handrail while trying to escape from the bathroom through the ceiling," the document said.

Mathews was taken back to the jail. After arriving, a second deputy got out of the squad car to secure his firearm. He "advised he was only out of the vehicle for a few seconds, and when he returned to his squad car he observed Mathews had pushed his car computer out of the way and was trying to get into the driver's seat of the police vehicle," according to the affidavit.

Mathews also allegedly "made several threatening comments about what he would do to Deputy Kincaid if he was out of the handcuffs, and at one point he made a gesture like he was going to lunge towards Kincaid as he walked by."

Court records show Mathews is in custody on pending charges in two cases, including resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, reckless driving, theft and false informing. Mathews also has several prior felony convictions in Illinois and Indiana.

Jail records show Mathews has been in custody since March 5 and now faces a total of $1,500 bond.
Mother underlines Blythe mental health, upcoming 'Peace from Chaos' rally: 'I'm not going to stop. This is for my son.'
Disney+ will release sing-along versions of Encanto, Frozen and other fan-favorite musicals.

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The streaming service said in a press release Tuesday that it will release a sing-along version of Encanto on Friday.

The sing-along will feature on-screen lyrics to all of Encanto's songs, including "We Don't Talk About Bruno," "Family Madrigal," "Surface Pressure" and "Dos Oruguitas."

Disney+ released a teaser for the Encanto sing-along Tuesday.

Encanto opened in theaters in November. The film is directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard and features the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo and Jessica Darrow.

Encanto follows the Madrigals, a Columbian family who live in a magical realm.

Disney+ will release sing-along versions of Frozen, Frozen 2, Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017) and other films later this year.
Google is celebrating French painter Rosa Bonheur on what would have been her 200th birthday, with a new Doodle.

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Bonheur had a reputation as an animal painter and sculptor who Google says inspired a future generation of women in the arts.

Google's homepage features artwork of Bonheur sitting in a field painting sheep with the company's logo appearing in the clouds.

Bonheur was born on this day in 1822 in Bordeaux, France. Her early artistic education came from her father, who was a minor landscape painter.

Bonheur had many of her works on exhibit at the Paris Salon from 1841 to 1853. She gained international fame for her painting The Horse Fair, which depicts the Paris horse market.

The Horse Fair is on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. French Empress Eugenie awarded Bonheur the prestigious Legion of Honor award in 1865 for the painting.
The Vampire Diaries alum Paul Wesley will play Captain James T. Kirk in Season 2 of the Paramount+ series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the streaming service announced Tuesday.

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The iconic character was first introduced on Star Trek: The Original Series and was famously portrayed by William Shatner Chris Pine played the same role in J.J. Abrams ' rebooted Star Trek films.

"Paul is an accomplished actor, an astonishing presence and a welcome key addition to the show," executive producer Alex Kurtzman and showrunners Henry Alonso Myers and Akiva Goldsman said in a joint statement. "Like all of us, he is a lifelong Star Trek fan and we are excited by his interpretation of this iconic role."

The news comes ahead of the series' scheduled May 5 premiere. The latest Star Trek spinoff was renewed for a second season in January, with that season already in production in Toronto.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will travel back in time to follow Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) at the helm of the USS Enterprise.

Multiple actors are set to reprise their roles from Star Trek: Discovery's second season, which was set around the same time, including Rebecca Romijn as Number One and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock.

The first season of the series will focus on the trio before Captain Kirk boards the USS Enterprise, as the group explores new worlds around the galaxy.
Antonio Banderas is back as daring outlaw Puss in Boots in the new trailer for upcoming animated film, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

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The swashbuckling cat discovers that he has used up eight of his nine lives after a lifetime of adventures in the clip released on Tuesday.

Puss in Boots must then journey to the Black Forest to find the Wishing Star in order to restore his lost lives.

Puss in Boots will be joined by his former partner and nemesis Kitty Soft Paws, voiced by Salma Hayek on the journey along with dog Perro, voiced by Harvey Guillen.

The group will have to deal with Goldilocks, voiced by Florence Pugh and the Three Bears Crime Family along the way.

Co-stars include John Mulaney , Wagner Moura, Olivia Colman , Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, Anthony Mendez and Da'Vine Joy Randolph

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is coming to theaters on Sept. 23. Joel Crawford serves as director.
"Vanderpump Rules" couple Tom Schwartz and Katie Maloney are headed for divorce.

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The television personalities confirmed Tuesday that they have separated after 12 years together.

Schwartz shared the news on Instagram and said Maloney initiated the split.

"Katie & I are separating. I'm not quite ready to use the 'D' word bc it's too painful," Schwartz wrote.

"Yes my heart aches but I'll be ok. Not looking to evoke any sympathy here. I'm not the victim. Not gonna write too sad a song."

"Fully respect Katie's decision and we've had healthy, productive conversations about it. It would be far sadder if she decided to stay with me whilst not happy," he said.

Schwartz asked for fans "to please be kind" as he and Maloney navigate the split.

He said they had "some of the most blissful, romantic, fun times humanely possible over the course of our relationship."

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"I'm talking heaven on earth level joy. She taught me so much about love & being a better partner," Schwartz said.

Maloney confirmed the news in a post on her own account.

"After 12 years on an adventure through life together Tom and I are ending our marriage. This ending is not met with resentment or animosity, no sides to choose," Maloney wrote.

"We have deep admiration for one another that will always remain and we cherish our friendship," she said.

"Although we may be on different paths we will continue to love and support one another's happiness."

"Vanderpump Rules'" Raquel Leviss and Kristen Doute showed their support for Schwartz in the comments.

"Sending love Katie," Leviss wrote.

"I love you mama," Doute said.

Schwartz and Maloney married in California in August 2016 but didn't file the official paperwork to be legally wed until 2019.

The pair have starred together on "Vanderpump Rules" since the show's premiere in 2013.

"Vanderpump Rules" follows former "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Lisa Vanderpump and the staff of her restaurants.

The series completed its ninth season on Bravo in January.
Amy Martin is a member of the North American Guild of Beer Writers and is on the Governing Committee of the American Homebrewers Association. She is marketing manager and membership coordinator at Stormcloud Brewing Company in Frankfort. Reach Martin at polkadotsandpints@gmail.com.
During an agenda setting meeting on Tuesday evening, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission discussed voluntary inclusionary zoning for affordable housing and a transportation agreement with the University of Georgia.

The commission will vote on these items at their April 5 regular session meeting.

Affordable housing

During the meeting the commission considered an amendment to current code in order to incentivize developers of multi-family residential projects to provide a percentage of affordable housing units.

The measure would offer developers in certain zones of Athens to increase the maximum number of residents allowed with a density bonus of 25-100%, depending on the zoning district.

The language of the amendment would also allow for a parking recruitment reduction of up to 20% for developments within 1,500 feet of an ACC transit bus stop. In the downtown area, qualifying projects are allowed a 50% reduction in required ground floor commercial space.

For the downtown area, the amendment also includes a payment option in lieu of providing on-site affordable units.

District 5 Commissioner Tim Denson explained during the meeting why the payment option makes sense in the commercial downtown area, but is restricted to special cases in other districts.

Commercial downtown is definitely going to have some areas where it is maybe not the most appropriate for us to have 85% of this building be student housing and then 15% be families, maybe with children, Denson said. When it comes to these other areaswe would have to wait years for enough payment lieus to come around that we have enough money to do something with it and, therefore, putting off affordable housing being built for years.

+8 Phi Kappa Tau house demolished as part of new apartment complex construction Demolition started on the Phi Kappa Tau house on West Broad Street Friday morning to make room for a new student housing development.

Developments that construct, renovate, reconstruct or change the use of at least five multi-family units are eligible for the percent recruitments and incentives under the amendment.

New bus route

In a collaborative measure with UGA, the commission is considering an agreement that would establish expanded night hours for UGA students and an Athens transit route that services the Health Sciences Campus.

The two groups have collaborated previously. Before fare free transit was passed at the beginning of the pandemic in Athens, UGA students, faculty and staff received discounted fares.

Both groups jointly receive funding from the federal program Small Transit Intensive Cities. With this money, they decided on two mutually beneficial projects: extended night service and an Athens transit Health Science Campus route.

UGAs Student Government Association launched a rideshare program last fall that provides discounted rides to and from campus between the hours of 10 p.m and 6 a.m. through the rideshare app Lyft.

The university and Athens Transit staff worked in collaboration to address the second goal, a route that will connect the Arch to the Health Sciences Campus to mutually benefit the UGA and Athens communities.

District 3 Commissioner Melissa Link explained that Athens transit taking over the route will provide more consistent transportation.

With the Athens-Clarke County taking over this route, with an increased frequency, itll benefit the entire community, Link said. UGAs kinda spotty schedule throughout the year kinda left people hanging, as far as transit went along that Prince Avenue/Health Sciences route
The University of Georgia is to receive $5 million in government money for Parkinson's research as part of the omnibus spending bill agreed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden on March 15, according to a Thursday press release from the University.
It is not often that people are walking around wearing clothes they made for themselves, but this isnt the case for Lillian Maple, a junior fashion merchandising major at the University of Georgia.
People gathered in Harmony Parking lot in Brattleboro on Friday, April 22nd for a street festival and parade in celebration of Earth Day. According to Nancy Braus of 350 Brattleboro, the goal was to celebrate the ways in which the community is working towards climate justice and to empower 
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

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Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 46F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%..

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Michael Shanks, of Vernon, and Joseph Bobee, of West Brattleboro, were visiting the VA's Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Brattleboro when they learned a report issued on Monday recommends closing the facility and consolidating it with the CBOC in Keene, N.H.
Recovery Vermont is proud to announce that it will be holding a Recovery Leadership Conference on April 4.
Peter Fish Case is a man with an opinion. He offers up a weekly podcast discussion that can be heard at www.theearspoon.com. Questions, compliments and complaints can be sent to him at fish@theearspoon.com. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
Beckley, WV (25801)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening with more clouds for overnight. Low near 50F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

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With customers shelling out more these days to grab food on the go, Subway is herding beef suppliers into an existing protein litigation push in the courts, claiming big meat packers have conspired for years to boost prices by capping the slaughter of cattle.

As a result, Connecticut-based Subway says it now costs more to make the Steak & Cheese, Meatball Marinara and other sandwiches on its menu.

The lawsuit names Cargill, JBS USA, National Beef and Tyson Foods as defendants. As of Tuesday, the companies had not responded to Subways complaint, which was filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

The four companies have been litigating a similar case in Minnesota federal court, with JBS USA agreeing last month to a $52.5 million settlement.

JBS and Tyson were among several pork producers Subway sued last year on similar claims of constricting supply with the aid of benchmark data on the companies prices provided by an independent firm. That case was consolidated into an existing class-action lawsuit, which is ongoing in Minnesota federal court.

The Subway lawsuits coincide with intense scrutiny of meat processing facilities in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. House of Representatives are considering whether companies have done enough to ensure access to a reliable and affordable supply of beef and pork for grocery stores, restaurants and schools.

Weve seen versions of this story play out repeatedly in recent years, due to deep structural problems in our economy, U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, D-Rhode Island, said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in January. Today, nearly every link of Americas food supply is dominated by less than a handful of corporations.

Inflated beef costs

Subway does not list a specific dollar figure it is seeking in damages in the beef industry lawsuit, except to say it wants triple the amount it has incurred keeping beef stocked for its franchise restaurants.

Subway spokesperson Carsen Anderson forwarded a corporate statement in response to Hearst Connecticut Media Group questions about the beef industry lawsuit. The statement does not say how the price of Subway sandwiches have been affected.

Anderson did not indicate whether the company is considering a mechanism to share any proceeds the lawsuit may yield in the future with customers, via lower prices or promotions, or with franchisees.

Strengthening and protecting our network of franchisees is at the core of all our efforts, the Subway statement reads. As small-business owners, our Subway franchisees have felt the impact of artificially manipulated and unlawfully inflated beef costs. We are vindicating on their behalf the beef industrys harmful, anti-competitive behavior.

Subway lists just under an ounce of beef in a six-inch Steak & Cheese sub, according to a nutritional table on its website last updated in November 2021. With wholesale beef prices averaging between $4.25 and $4.60 a pound last year, depending on the quality of the cut, a double portion for a 12-inch equivalent would add up to about 45 cents to 50 cents wholesale.

Prior to the pandemic in 2019, the cost of that portion would have been about 8 cents less, a small amount to tack on to any one order. But multiplied over the millions of sandwiches Subway sells daily worldwide, and the amount would add up.

In the spring 2021, the company created a standalone legal entity at its Milford headquarters called Subway Protein Litigation Corp. to handle the pork lawsuit, and subsequently the beef litigation.

Cornering the market

In the Minnesota settlement last month, JBS USA indicated it was not admitting to any wrongdoing by signing off on the $52.5 million deal.

The companys U.S. beef operations generated $1.6 billion in profits in the third quarter of 2021, amounting to 60 cents of every dollar in earnings for the parent company. Profit margins for the period were roughly double JBS margins for pork and Pilgrims Pride chicken sold in the United States.

A Cargill spokesperson declined to comment about the lawsuit.

In the Minnesota class-action suit, Cargill denied wrongdoing, but did not provide details about how it sets prices.

JBS, National Beef and Tyson Foods each did not respond to requests for comment.

In advance of the House Judiciary Committee hearing in January, a meat industry trade group filed testimony, stating the four major packing companies have about the same market power today as they did more than a quarter century ago, during a period of stable prices.

The four-firm packer concentration ratio for fed cattle slaughter has not changed appreciably in more than 25 years, said Julie Anna Potts, CEO of the North American Meat Institute, which has about 350 member companies. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture ... the four-firm concentration ratio was 82 percent in 1994; today it is 85 percent.

But in its lawsuit, Subway maintains four companies is far too few.

Market concentration facilitates collusion, Subway stated in its complaint. Conspiracies are easier to organize and sustain when only a few firms control a large share of the market. Practical matters, such as coordinating cartel meetings and exchanging information, are much simpler with a small number of players.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Cannabis gifting parties and billboard advertising would be banned under legislation that was overwhelmingly approved Tuesday by a key legislative panel.

The General Law Committee - acting on reports of events including the weekly High Bazaar in Hamden, at which as many as 1,200 members of the public attended parties in an industrial park attended by dozens of vendors with cannabis flowers and infused products - now sends the bill to the House floor.

Lawmakers who voted against the bill included state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, and Sen. John Kissel, E-Enfield, who warned that despite hearing testimony from the states three-year-old hemp-growing industry, a revised form of the bill does not make it easier for those farmers to break into the full adult-use retail industry that the state department of Consumer Protection is setting up for later this year.

If approved in the House and Senate and signed into law, the bill would tighten up a perceived loophole that state and local officials believe currently allows cannabis to be exchanged for cash donations at gifting parties.

This is not gifting between mothers and daughters and friends or what you might do in the privacy of your home, said state Rep. Mke DAgostino, D-Hamden, co-chairman of the committee. These are these organized gifting events that take place, really, in a marketplace that are really just thinly veiled market conduct.

State Rep. Holly Cheeseman, R-East Lyme, a committee member who opposed legalzing adult-use cannabis last year, said its important to keep the original intent of full legalization and taxation. The bazaars were definitely an end run around that, she said.

Cheeseman said that California research has indicated that highway billboards are very attractive to children. In areas where marijuana is legal, youth use has increased seven to nine times, she said. I never thought Id be a yes on a cannabis bill but Im a yes on this bill.

The revised legislation, which would take effect July 1, would remove criminal penalties for the events, but includes civil penalties and allow municipalities to regulate them. Another section, DAgostino told his colleagues, would make it easier for residents of neighborhoods impacted by the failed war on drugs, to get into the states legal cannabis industry, following complaints during a recent public hearing from state Rep. Juan Candelaria, D-New Haven, who wanred that out-of-state corporations are seeking control of the upcoming retail industry.

But Osten was disappointed that Connecticuts hemp farmers seem shut out of possibly transitioning to the adult-retail business.

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After having a number of people come to us and say that we needed to do something to address the issue of hemp and hemp farmers, so in not considering this issue, we have put at jeopardy a burgeoning industry in Connecticut, Osten said. One that started just before we went into COVID and has been pressured by a number of different things just relative to our whole economy. To not give them an opportunity to participate in this issue is somewhat disturbing, in my opinion.

Hemp does not contain the levels of active ingredients that create the so-called marijuana high, if smoked or ingested. Historically, Hemp has been used to make fibers, including heavy-duty rope.

Osten said she hopes that the bill can continue to be revised as the General Assembly heads toward its May 4 adjournment. I found that we cannot just disregard a whole industry as we move this very important piece of legislation forward, Osten said, criticizing the Department of Consumer Protection from not including hemp farmers transitioning to the retail industry, while New York and Massachusetts have included their hemp growers.

Kissel said he would be glad to work with Osten on an amendment to allow hemp growers into the industry. In north-central Connecticut we have a ton of land that used to be tobacco farms, and I was of the opinion that if we could switch over some of that acreage to hemp, that would be advantageous, he said.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
A man who at one point lived in Hamden was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison after law enforcement found more than 100 pounds of marijuana in his apartments as well as 40 fake identification cards with different names, according to federal officials.

A jury in December 2018 found Andrew Davis, 41, guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana; one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana; one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime; and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to Leonard Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Davis, a citizen of Jamaica who last resided in Hamden, will face immigration proceedings after his prison term, Boyles office said.

Davis was charged after investigators began looking into individuals who were moving large amounts of marijuana from the southwestern part of the country to Connecticut. During the investigation, law enforcement intercepted four packages from the U.S. Mail that each contained about 8 kilograms of marijuana, according to Boyles office.

In February 2017, law enforcement searched a Hamden apartment that Davis shared with his girlfriend, Shanice Goffe, as well as a storage unit in West Haven that was rented in Goffes name and two Bridgeport apartments that Davis had under different aliases, Boyles office said.

In the Hamden apartment, police found more than a pound of marijuana, a loaded 9 mm handgun, boxes of .45-caliber ammunition, more than $62,000 in cash and several fake identifications, including a U.S. passport; in the storage unit, investigators discovered more than 33 kilograms of marijuana, as well as ammunition, firearm magazines, additional fake IDs and $350,000 in cash, according to Boyles office.

The two Bridgeport apartments, rented under the names Cordel Freckleton and Andrew Carter, had more than 60 pounds of marijuana and three firearms, one of which was reported as having been stolen, Boyles office said.

Investigators also seized three cars registered to Goffe, a 2014 BMW X6, a Honda Accord and a 2008 Honda Odyssey, that had been purchased with proceeds from trafficking marijuana, according to Boyles office .

Police discovered that Davis, while using the name Steve Williams, also was under investigation in 2008 for alleged marijuana trafficking. Police searched Davis Bridgeport apartment in August 2008 and found fake identification, photos of Davis, three firearms, extended magazines, ammunition, drug packaging paraphernalia, marijuana packaged for sale and eight UPS receipts that had not arrived, according to Boyles office .

Police later seized the eight packages, revealing more than 75 pounds of marijuana. Meanwhile, Williams was never found, Boyles office said.

Davis was charged in February 2017 and investigators seized more than 40 identification cards with false names. When U.S. Marshals asked his name, Davis replied Lets go with Steve Williams, Boyles office said.

Goffe, Davis girlfriend, pleaded guilty in November 2017 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was sentenced to 30 months in prison in February 2018.
BRIDGEPORT  A former FedEx driver, awaiting trial for allegedly forcing his way into the off-campus home of a Sacred Heart University student and raping her, was charged Tuesday with weeks earlier breaking into the home of a local woman.

Police said Tyrek Herbert, 20, forced his way at gunpoint into a womans home in Bridgeport and held her at bay in front of her two young children before fleeing on July 8, 2021.

Herbert was charged with home invasion, first-degree unlawful restraint, two counts of risk of injury to children and threatening.

During his arraignment Tuesday afternoon, Herbert rocked back and forth on his feet as he stood before Superior Court Judge Peter McShane.

Assistant States Attorney Jonathan Lewin urged the judge to set a high bond for Herbert, who he called a danger to society.

Assistant Public Defender Cristina Angelone asked the judge for leniency, arguing that Herbert was employed and is a lifelong Bridgeport resident.

McShane ordered Herbert held in lieu of $500,000 bond and continued the case to March 29.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, on July 7, 2021, the victim had been out walking in her neighborhood when she was approached by Herbert who introduced himself as a FedEx driver and asked her some general questions about the neighborhood.

The following morning, the affidavit states, the woman was preparing breakfast for her two young children when there was a knock at her door. When she answered it she was confronted by Herbert who pointed a handgun at her and forced his way into her home, the affidavit states.

The affidavit states that Herbert ordered the woman to get on the floor in front of her children. She screamed in Spanish for her children to run to a neighbors and they ran from the room.

Herbert then began shaking his head and hugged the victim, telling her, Maam Im so sorry, I got the wrong person, the affidavit states. He then left the home.

The affidavit states the woman later identified Herbert from a photograph array. A nearby doorbell camera also recorded Herbert walking nearby, the affidavit states.

Weeks later, on Aug. 26, 2021, police said Herbert raped a Sacred Heart University student in her home.

Herbert was charged with home invasion, first-degree sexual assault, carrying a dangerous weapon and first-degree unlawful restraint.

Police said the victim later told them that a man had knocked on her door and told her he was raising money for a childrens charity. The victim responded she did not have any money and was in the process of closing the door when police said the suspect reached in, displayed a gun, and forced his way into the home.

Police said the suspect then raped the woman and fled her home.

Police said Herbert was arrested a short time later by Sgt. Pasquale Feola and Detective Jeff Holtz on Madison Avenue near Veterans Memorial Park. Police said the victim was transported to that location and positively identified Herbert as her attacker.

Herbert is awaiting trial in that case and is being held in lieu of $2 million bond.

FedEx Ground is appalled by these disturbing reports and will cooperate fully with law enforcement during their investigation, said Allie Addoms, a spokesperson for FedEx after Herberts first arrest. He was subsequently fired.
With efforts stalled to declare an open season on bear hunting in Connecticut, farmers and other proponents of culling the population of wild animals have changed tactics in hopes of making it easier for landowners to shoot and kill nuisance wildlife.

The latest focus of those efforts is a bill that would remove many of the regulations that farmers say prevent them from effectively dealing with nuisance animals, and that wildlife activists say are effective safeguards for protecting wild populations of predators such as bears.

The issue stems from Connecticuts surging population of black bears, which wildlife experts estimate now numbers around 1,200  with bears found in nearly every corner of the state.

Black bears  a species that was once exterminated across the state  are often considered pests by farmers, who say the bears devour crops and destroy bee hives in search of honey. In suburban areas, bears are coming into more frequent contact with humans and pets, prompting state wildlife officials to issue guidance to residents living in proximity to bears.

Despite those concerns, lawmakers have rebuffed efforts dating at least a decade to cull the bear population with an annual hunt.

We dont have any way to control the bear population, said Ted Jones, owner of Jones Apiaries in Farmington. Theyre expanding and going after crops and livestock  and we cannot do anything about it.

While farmers such as Jones expressed hope that the new legislation would make it easier to get permits to kill bears and other animals causing damage, their efforts were complicated Monday when Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes told lawmakers that it was unclear whether the bill, as written, would actually allow landowners to kill bears.

Dykes  who has supported past efforts to allow bear hunting  told members of the Environment Committee that the legislation could conflict with existing laws that govern nuisance wildlife and prohibit the killing of bears. She said she has asked for an opinion from the Attorney Generals Office to clarify the bill.

To the extent that this provision could be utilized to address agricultural damage associated with bears, were simply bringing to the committees attention that further clarification in the bill would be helpful with respect to bears, Dykes said.

The sponsor of the legislation, state Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Animal-rights activists also spoke fervently against the legislation Tuesday, arguing that it would remove existing provisions in the law requiring landowners to use non-lethal methods to deal with nuisance animals, leading to more indiscriminate killing.

Annie Hornish, the Connecticut state director for the Humane Society of the United States, called the bill a sneaky, backdoor way to expand hunting of all wildlife, including bears and bobcats.

This bill would make it so any landowner or lessee with livestock, chickens or bees could invoke a hunt, Hornish said in written testimony. This bill does nothing to encourage prevention of conflicts, such as public education and protection of crops and livestock from harm, nor is there any mandate to explore humane and efficacious non-lethal solutions first, before being issued a permit to kill.

Despite the public testimony on Monday skewing largely against the bill, farmers said they have been left with few remaining options for dealing with nuisance wildlife.

In Farmington, Jones said DEEPs efforts to trap and remove bears from land he leases for beehives had proved ineffectual  with the animals causing $5,000 in damage over the last five years. More recently, Jones said he installed electric fences, though he said the bears will soon figure out a way around that obstacle, too.

Once a bear gets a taste of honey, it will never go away, Jones said.

One Republican on the Environment Committee, state Sen. Craig Miner of Litchfield said farmers in his largely rural district are fed up with the lack of progress in years of efforts to address the bear problem.

What do I tell the beekeepers? What do I tell the folks that lose multiple acres of sweet corn, what do I tell them? Miner said. It doesnt seem to matter what approach we try, theres always the same response from the same group saying, Youre not trying hard enough.

The co-chair of the committee, state Sen. Christine Cohen, D- Guilford, said on Tuesday that revisions to the legislation were warranted to address the concerns raised by DEEP and animal-rights advocates.

I believe we need to understand what the agricultural community is up against here, what methods of deterrence and prevention have been established and what would be the appropriate next steps, Cohen said in a text message.

Connecticut and Rhode Island are the only states in New England without a legal bear hunting season. Bear hunting is also allowed in New York and New Jersey, though the later state suspended its annual hunt beginning in 2020.

DEEP regulates hunting seasons for deer, gamebirds, small mammals and fur-bearing animals such as coyotes, foxes and raccoons. The states existing game laws also allow farmers to trap fur-bearing animals that damage farmland.
After hours of debate over a controversial plan by Democrats to push dense housing developments near train and bus stations, a Greenwich Republican staunchly opposing the bill asked a pointed question.

Rep. Kim Fiorellos target: a 20-year-old supporter of the proposal, who had just testified that many people his age are leaving the state because its too expensive to live here.

Is housing a right? Fiorello asked Alan Cavagnaro, a sophomore at Manchester Community College and a planning and zoning commissioner for South Windsor. Are you entitled to have the housing that you want?

Cavagnaro said he does believe housing is a right. Put simply, its your habitat, he said, and many people, including young professionals, are struggling to find an affordable place to live in Connecticut.

His response drew quick rebuke from Fiorello.

Housing is not a right, because housing is built by other people, Fiorello said. Its a want and theres a variety of different housing that people may want. But housing is not a right. You dont have a right to other peoples labor.

The brief exchange, which occurred Monday during a 12-hour, online public hearing of the legislative Planning and Development Committee, illustrates the major divide over zoning reform in Connecticut that continues to play out during the 2022 legislative session.

Cavagnaro was among at least a dozen young people who expressed support Monday for a proposal to require towns to identify areas within a half-mile of their transit stations where homes can be built. At least 10 percent of the units would have to qualify as affordable.

The bill has the backing of Desegregate CT, one of the strongest advocates for zoning reform in the state, which posted a video of the exchange between Fiorello and Cavagnaro to its Twitter page.

Housing is not just some want by young people, the group said in the post. Young people are begging lawmakers to address the real need for affordable housing so they can live here, too.

Opponents of the bill, including Republicans such as Fiorello, said it amounts to a mandate on towns and cities and would strip away local control. Fiorello said demand should dictate the market.

Were really missing a huge part about increasing affordability in Connecticut, which is that we need to be attracting jobs. I dont agree that housing is a right, Fiorello said. When you get a great job, you can have a voluntary exchange with somebody thats offering any kind of house that you want.

The government should not decide what fits, she added.

Nick Abbott, of Greenwich, a student at Harvard Law School and deputy director at Desegregate CT, said Fiorellos comments made it seem as if people from my generation were asking for handouts when in reality they are looking for more reasonably priced housing options, including in the communities where they grew up.

The transit-oriented development bill is supported by many young people, he said, who want to live in communities that are walkable and have access to public transportation.

julia.bergman@hearstmediact.com
Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

A New Haven man will be sentenced in May after a jury last week found him guilty of shooting and killing his girlfriend in 2020, according to state officials.

Anthony Valeriano, 53, was found guilty March 7 of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. After the verdict, judicial marshals took Valeriano into custody and his bail was increased to $750,000, officials said. He is scheduled to be sentenced May 2, according to New Haven States Attorney Patrick Griffin.
One worker says officers assaulted strikers and took their cell phones as the months-long standoff continues.

Cambodian police on Wednesday arrested around 200 workers striking outside the NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh, crowding them into buses for transport to a COVID-19 quarantine center outside the city, Cambodian sources said.

Hundreds of officers both in uniform and plain clothes used force against the workers, who were still being held at the center as of 9 p.m. local time on Wednesday, sources said.

The strikers were physically abused by the authorities, who also took our cell phones, one worker named Chantha told RFA, saying city authorities are siding with the NagaWorld company to prevent striking workers from entering casino buildings.

NagaWorld workers will continue their protests until their union is recognized and solutions are found to the now months-long labor dispute, she said.

Wednesdays arrests follow the release on bail on Monday of eight union leaders and members, with three others still held in detention and workers vowing to continue an online campaign demanding that charges against all 11 be dropped, sources said.

Thousands of NagaWorld workers walked off their jobs in mid-December demanding higher wages and the reinstatement of 365 workers they say were unjustly fired from the casino and hotel, which is owned by a Hong Kong-based company believed to have connections to family members of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Chhim Sithar, leader of the Labor Rights Supported Union of Khmer Employees of NagaWorld, and seven colleagues were later arrested and charged with inciting social unrest, with Cambodian authorities calling the strike illegal and part of a plot promoted by foreign donors to topple the government.

Speaking to RFA in an interview on Wednesday, Chhim Sithar said that she and the others released on Monday have called for striking workers to be allowed to return to work and are urging those laid off to remain at home until a legal settlement of their status is in place.

These statements show a softening of the unions stance, she said. We have made a lot of concessions, especially by asking the workers to return to work. There should be some benefit on all sides.

Asked why the striking workers had continued their protest on Wednesday in spite of the unions call for them to return, Chhim Sithar said the NagaWorld workers were free to make their own decisions without union interference.

Chhim Sithar denounced as fake another labor union recently established by NagaWorld, saying casino owners have consistently opposed the independent representation of workers rights.

Cambodias Ministry of Labor meanwhile said on Wednesday that a previously missed meeting with workers representatives to help resolve the labor dispute would now be held on Thursday.

Also speaking to RFA, Am Sam Ath  deputy director of the Phnom Penh-based Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights  said that the striking NagaWorld workers have continued their protest because they feel their dispute with the casino can never be resolved while three of their union representatives are still detained.

The court should drop all charges against the workers representatives so they are able to represent the workers during talks, he said.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Pandemic lockdowns have prompted dozens of factory closures in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, as people continue to leave neighboring Hong Kong in droves amid an ongoing COVID-19 wave.



More than 60 Taiwanese-owned factories including Apple suppliers Foxconn were forced to suspend production amid a weeklong citywide lockdown imposed by the local government in the hope of containing community transmissions of the omicron variant of COVID-19.



The tech sector was particularly hard hit, with printed circuit-board makers, chip foundries and assembly facilities, touch screen and LED makers all forced to suspend production.



Foxconn, which employs 180,000 workers at its Longhua plant alone, later said in a statement it had restarted production after negotiating a "closed-loop" bubble arrangement for its employees.



"Some operations have been able to restart and some production is being carried out," Foxconn said in a statement, saying employees are still required to submit to quarantine procedures.



"This process, which can only be done on campuses that include both employee housing and production facilities, adheres to strict industry guidelines and close-loop management policies issued by the Shenzhen government," the company, which makes iPhones as well as parts and accessories for the iPad, said.



Officials and workers, wearing protective gear, work in an area where barriers are being placed to close off streets around a locked down neighborhood after the detection of new cases of Covid-19 in Shanghai, March 15, 2022. Credit: AFP Electronics sector shutdown

China's National Health Commission reported 1,952 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the majority of which were community transmissions in the northeastern province of Jilin, also currently under various levels of lockdown.



Of the 59 newly confirmed cases in Guangdong, Shenzhen reported 55, with the remainder scattered across the cities of Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan and Shaoguan.



The city has seen the shutdown of an entire district of electronics wholesalers, with Huaqiangbei district now taken over by disease control and prevention officials, police cars and quarantine enforcers.



An electronics industry insider who gave only the surname Chang said shipments of Apple products could still be affected.



"They will definitely be affected, because it's not just the suspension of production that will affect them but also [shutdowns in] the logistics sector," she said.



"Pretty much all logistics services in and out of Shenzhen have stopped, so the impact is huge."



Chang said the shutdowns weren't limited to Shenzhen.



"A lot factories in Shanghai have stopped production," she said. "You won't be able to find a precise number online, because the government is now implementing a no-trace policy, meaning that there won't be any general public notices, but smaller local documents telling people what to do."



"Taobao merchants are no longer shipping to Shanghai from elsewhere in China," she said.



Stuck on zero-COVID

An online commentator surnamed Zheng in the eastern port city of Qingdao said the government doesn't appear to be reconsidering its zero-COVID strategy, despite considerable economic losses.



"They don't care about the economy or the people; they're not even thinking about that," Zheng said. "They are focused solely on their ideology and their targets."



"They will shut down everything and make people stay home at the first sign of an outbreak," he said. "The rest of the world isn't really managing the pandemic, and the U.K. has opened up fully."



Meanwhile, people are leaving Hong Kong in unprecedented numbers as the city's government scrambles to contain a mounting COVID-19 outbreak with the highest death rate seen in a developed economy so far.



Net passenger outflows reached 71,350 in February, compared with 15,200 in January and 16,800 in December, with more than 65,300 of February departures registered as permanent residents of the city.



The figures were released as the U.S. State Department raised its travel advice for Hong Kong to the highest level: "Do not travel."



The exodus comes as the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposes its zero-COVID policy on Hong Kong, with inbound passengers forced to quarantine for at least 14 days, with anyone testing positive forced into supervised quarantine camps.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Police in New York have arrested a 25-year-old woman in connection with the stabbing to death of a former 1989 Tiananmen Square protester, who worked as an immigration lawyer after fleeing China at the end of the two-year jail term for joining the pro-democracy protests.



Li Jinjin, 67, who played a key role while a student in the 1989 protests, was stabbed to death on .



Police have arrested Zhang Xiaoning, who faces charges of homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon, they said in a statement. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz will lead the prosecution.



Zhao Yan, a current affairs commentator with knowledge of the case, said there are concerns in Chinese emigre and dissident circles in the U.S. that Zhang, a student who was very active in exile pro-democracy groups, wasn't everything she appeared.



While Zhang had arrived in the U.S. in on an F-1 student visa, she hadn't enrolled at any school, instead spending most of her time in pro-democracy activities among exiled Chinese dissidents.



Zhao said the type of injuries Li sustained during the attack suggested his assailant had received "professional training."



He said Li would be sorely missed.



"Jinjin said he would help [a person] who was in a car accident for free, because they didn't have the financial resources to file a lawsuit," Zhao said. "Everyone knows that he would help people unconditionally."



"He would go to the police stations to bail people out if they got arrested; he did a lot of work like that," he said. "He was very kind, and a good friend, and what happened to him makes me very sad."



'An irreparable loss'

Exiled Chinese dissident Wang Juntao said he had known Li for more than three decades as both a colleague and a close friend.



"I really can't believe that there'll be no more Li Jinjin ... in the future," Wang said. "It really is an irreparable loss for all of us."



He said Li was a passionate political activist in the overseas pro-democracy movement, who would debate political issues with the same fierceness as someone still in college.



"His departure has left a huge hold in the democracy movement, because he was in leading roles in several different groups over a long period of time," Wang said. "He also handled all of their legal affairs."



Wang said people had raised questions about Zhang Xiaoning's identity after noting "paranoid and capricious" behavior on her part.



He said Li's murder took place shortly after he had told Zhang to stop coming to his office, and threatened to drop her political asylum case.



Lawyer Zhu Wei said he found Li's death "very hard to accept."



"He is a very kind, honest and professional lawyer who had helped many people who came from China ... much of it on a voluntary, pro bono basis," Zhu said.



Spirits of Tiananmen

Hu Ping, honorary editor-in-chief of the U.S.-based pro-democracy magazine Beijing Spring, tweeted his condolences, sharing a long essay penned by Li on the 20th anniversary of the , 1989 massacre of civilians by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that put an end to weeks of protests on Tiananmen Square.



In it, Li says the CCP has continued to claim that the protests were the work of "counterrevolutionary" thugs.



"The position of the Chinese government since the massacre has prevented full disclosure about what really happened," Li wrote. "The victims are still referred to as thugs and their spirits have yet to be laid to rest."



"The injured ... have received no compensation to this day."



Writer Bei Ming said Li was a "treasure" of the exiled pro-democracy movement, describing him as a serious and open-minded person with a zest for life.



Dozens of other fellow exiled dissidents penned an obituary for Li, praising his belief in the democracy movement, and his personal generosity.



"Li Jinjin's greatest wish was to end the tyranny of the CCP," the obituary concluded.



Li served two years' imprisonment in the wake of the 1989 student-led pro-democracy movement, before going to the U.S. to study law in the 1990s.



He had practiced as an attorney in New York ever since.



Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Filipinos shout slogans while protesting against the alleged firing of water cannons by Chinese coast guard ships on Philippine ships in the South China Sea, in front of Chinas embassy in the Makati business district of Metro Manila, July 12, 2021.

A Chinese navy reconnaissance ships trip through Philippine territorial waters in the Sulu Sea did not break international law, Beijing said in responding to a protest by Manila, which had called it an illegal incursion.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian described the ships action as an exercise of the right of innocent passage pursuant to UNCLOS [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea].

The Chinese passage was safe and standard, and consistent with international law and international practice. We hope relevant parties can view it in an objective and rational manner, he said in response to a reporters question during the ministrys daily press briefing on Tuesday.

China and the Philippines are signatories to UNCLOS, an international treaty that provides a comprehensive legal framework for all activities and uses of the worlds seas and oceans.

On Monday in Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it had summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to meet with Acting Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro over Chinas alleged maritime action in southwestern waters of the Philippine archipelago.

An electronic reconnaissance ship of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) had entered Philippine waters without permission from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1, the department said in a statement.

The department did not say why it waited six weeks to confront the Chinese ambassador about the incident.

The Dongdiao-class PLAN ship communicated that it was exercising innocent passage when the Philippine Navy challenged it in Sulu Sea waters, the department said. The ship reached the Cuyo Islands in the Palawan region of the central Philippines.

Its movements, however, did not follow a track that can be considered continuous and expeditious, lingering in the Sulu Sea for three days, the DFA said, adding that the ship did not immediately leave despite being warned off by the Philippine Navy.

The department said Manila recognizes the right of any ship to pursue innocent passage through its waters in accordance with UNCLOS. However, the action of the Chinese ship did not constitute innocent passage and violated Philippines sovereignty.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, but five other Asian governments  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  have territorial claims. While Indonesia does not regard itself as a party to the South China Sea dispute, Beijing claims historic rights to parts of the sea overlapping Indonesias exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Manila has filed a series of complaints about Beijings presence within its territory beginning about 12 months ago and summoned Ambassador Huang after about 220 Chinese ships were spotted in March 2021 around Whitsun Reef in the Spratly Islands.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Media sources said more military drills are planned this month by Taiwan, including in the South China Sea.

Soldiers patrol at night in Dongyin, Taiwan, on March 15, 2022.Taiwans military held live-fire drills at the island.

Taiwan held live-fire drills Wednesday on two of its islands not far from mainland China, part of a series of exercises to be held to boost combat readiness.

Media sources said more military drills are being planned this month by the Taiwanese military, including at the Pratas islands (also known as Dongsha) in the South China Sea.

According to the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense, live-fire drills took place at dawn in Dongyin and Penghu  two of Taiwans outlying islets very close to mainland China.

Dongyin is part of the Matsu archipelago, 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Chinas Fujian province. It is about 185 kilometers (115 miles) northwest of Taiwan mainland.

The Matsu islands have been under Taiwans control since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

Dongyin is Taiwans northernmost point and the most strategically important outlying island, according to Sheu Jyh-Shyang, a military expert at the Taiwan's Institute for National Defence and Security Research.

The island, despite being open to tourists, is heavily fortified with cruise missiles including Taiwans homegrown Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and Sky Bow II surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles.

It is also important for reconnaissance as it is close enough to China to detect aircraft and vessels, said Sheu.

Dongyin is also vulnerable to attacks both from the west and the south due to its proximity to China. It was in fact often shelled by China during the late 1970s.

The Taiwanese defense ministry confirmed that on Feb. 5 a Chinese Y-12 light twin-engine civilian aircraft flew closely to Dongyin but did not enter Taiwans air space.

Ian Easton, senior director at the Project 2049 Institute, a U.S. think-tank, said at that time that the flyby was classic political warfare.

Chinese authorities sent a civilian aircraft over one of the most dangerous and heavily fortified islands on the planet, Easton wrote on Twitter.

If Taiwan shoots, it provokes an armed response. If Taiwan shows restraint (which it did), it looks and feels weak.

The Dongyin live-fire drills, named Loyalty exercise, took place amid concerns about Chinas possible opportunistic moves in the region as the Ukrainian war is raging.

On March 10, Taiwans Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-Cheng warned the legislatures Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee that there are similarities between the situation in Ukraine and Taiwan.

Chiu, however, was quoted as saying that Taiwan has a geographic advantage, as the Taiwan Strait is a maritime barrier that is risky to cross.

According to Taiwans military, the drills on Dongyin included both anti-aircraft and anti-ship exercises.

Another live-fire exercise took place early Wednesday morning on Penghu island in the Taiwan Strait. Penghu is 181 kilometers (112 miles) from Xiamen, China. The drills focused on artillery with cannons and M60A3 Chariot tanks.

The Taiwanese coastguard was quoted by the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post as saying that it would stage annual live-fire drills on March 26 and 31 on Pratas island.

The Taiwanese defense ministry when asked by RFA did not confirm the event.

The Pratas island is located in the northern part of the South China Sea and is the largest of the South China Sea islands. It is claimed by both Taiwan and the Peoples Republic of China, but has been under Taiwans control since 1946.
Coupons bought near the border can be sold at a profit further inland, where gas is more expensive.

Citizens in North Korea are cashing in by trading fuel coupons and mixing gasoline with cheaper fuels as prices surge in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine, sources in the country told RFA.

Following the Feb. 24 invasion, the U.S. and other countries placed sanctions on Russia, a major petroleum exporting country, resulting in higher global gas prices.

As of Tuesday, average prices in the U.S. reached $4.32 per gallon, their highest level since July 2008. In South Korea, the price per liter reached above the 2,000 won ($6.16/gallon) line for the first time in more than nine years.

North Korea, which relies primarily on fuel imports from China and Russia, has also seen a steep increase. People who travel between provinces can purchase fuel coupons exchangeable for gasoline from one area where gas is cheaper and sell them where it is more expensive, sources said.

In the city of Sinuiju, across the Yalu River border from Chinas Dandong, gas cost 7,500 won per kilogram ($3.55/gallon) in January, increasing to 8,700 won ($4.12/gallon) in February and 11,000 won ($5.20/gallon) in March, a total increase of 46 percent. Prices for diesel fuel more than doubled over the same period.

Gas is more expensive farther inland, so the price hike was even more crippling. In the city of Pyongsong, just north of the capital Pyongyang, gas costs almost 50 percent more than in Sinuiju.

Sinuiju Jan Feb Mar Pyongsong Jan Feb Mar Gasoline 7500/kg $3.55/gal 8700/kg $4.12/gal 11000/kg $5.20/gal Gasoline 11000/kg $5.20/gal 13000/kg $6.13/gal 15000/kg $7.10/gal Diesel 3800/kg $1.79/gal 4400/kg $2.07/gal 7800/kg $3.69/gal Diesel 8400/kg $3.98/gal 9500/kg $4.49/gal 11500kg $5.42/gal

This Jan. 31, 2018, photo shows a coupon for gasoline sold at an Air Koryo gas station in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo: AP

A man in Sinuiju told RFAs Korean Service that drivers who ferry government officials around the country stock up on the coupons in gas stations where fuel is cheaper.

If they buy it cheap and go to another region, they can sell it for more to the people there, said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. Also when prices go up they sometimes mix in cheaper aviation gasoline or naphtha. Naphtha is commonly known in the U.S. as lighter fluid.

The source said that gas prices may rise more as demand for fuel increases in the spring when each cooperative farm must secure 3-5 tons of fuel to prepare for the years agricultural needs.

On the other hand, most North Koreans do not own their own cars, so the price of gasoline may have a less pronounced effect on their finances as it does in countries where car ownership is more common.

Oil prices will continue to rise due to North Koreas dependence on fuel from China and Russia, William Brown, an East Asian economy expert at Georgetown University, told RFA.

The question will be what will happen to Chinese refine product sales to North Korea, including those that are included in the sanction agreement and those that are smuggled outside of it? said Brown. You would imagine the prices would be rising a lot with the world price jumping and in that sense the North Korean prices will have to rise to compensate for that.

Brown predicts that Russia might increase oil sales to North Korea at a time when the international community has imposed sanctions and barred imports of Russian crude.

Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
Tricked into working illegally in the SEZ, the first eleven escaped on their own.

The last of a group of 15 Thai citizens who were duped into taking sketchy jobs in Laos Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone returned home Tuesday, RFA has learned.

Middlemen recruited the 15 Thais in December, promising them good jobs in the de-facto Chinese-controlled Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in return for 15,000 baht (U.S.$450) each.

In January they took small boats across the Mekong River border between Thailands Chiang Rai province and Laos Bokeo province, arriving in Tonpeung district, home of the Golden Triangle SEZ.

Once there, they began working as online chatters, selling shares in companies within the SEZ to tourists. They immediately realized that the job was not what they had been promised.

Five of them were able to escape in late February by paying brokers to ferry them back to Thailand. Then in early March six more escaped the same way. The final four were rescued and departed Monday on flights to Bangkok.

One of the first to escape was a male resident of Chiang Rai province. He told Chiang Mai News that after the escapees arrived in Laos, they were picked up and quarantined in a building outside the SEZ.

Then we were taken to the SEZ, quarantined there for 14 more days, then taken to the 9th floor of a blue building which is strictly well-guarded, he said.

On our first day of work, we were taken to a large room with a lot of tables, each of us was given a smart phone, a computer and connection to the internet. There were about 50 workers in the room. Most of them were Chinese and Lao, and there were the 15 of us.

A woman who was among the group of five to escape first told a Thai reporter that their initial task was to create Facebook pages and Instagram accounts using fake names and photos.

They said we were working as administrators of the website of the Kings Romans Casino.  Later we were told to disguise ourselves on the fake social media accounts, trying to convince others to invest or buy shares of the company, she said.

At this point, we said to our Chinese boss that we wanted to go home, but the boss said that we have to pay the company 100,000 baht ($3,000), she said.

The chatters were told they must work 12 hours each day but actually worked about 16 hours with two breaks, another female member of the first five escapees said to the same Thai reporter.

After we worked for three days, we realized that we were not doing the work that we had actually agreed upon. We wanted to stop working on the fourth day, but our boss insisted that we continue, or else we would be sold into prostitution, she said.

Living conditions were harsh, and the sales goals were nearly impossible to achieve, a second male escapee in the initial group of five said.

We didnt get paid at all. We stayed all together in a bedroom and received two meals a day. If we couldnt reach the target, they would threaten to sell us to another company. Because we were new, we couldnt do much, he said.

One of the workers who was there for a long time said she was able to convince a customer to transfer 10 million baht ($300,000). After a week, our boss asked us to sign a labor contract that stated that well get paid 25,000 baht ($750) per month and two months later, well get 30,000 baht ($900) plus commission.

It was then that they realized they had been tricked.

In mid-February this year, we contacted the Chiang Rai Governors Office and the Thai Embassy in Laos who advised us not to sign the contracts, and to wait, as help was on the way, he said.

Pasakorn Boonyalak, governor of Chiang Rai Province, sent a letter to the governor of Bokeo Province on Feb. 21, requesting the Lao authorities to help rescue the Thais trapped in the SEZ.

A day later, the first group of five decided to escape back to Chiang Rai Province, their home province.

My four friends and I (3 male and 2 female) were able to escape thanks to a Lao woman who worked at the first quarantine center, the second male escapee said.

We asked this woman whether there were any ways that we could escape. She told us that there was a Lao man who can help us, but we would have to pay 30,500 Baht ($911) per person to escape and 14,000 baht ($418) per person for a boat ride across the Mekong River. We called our families, and one family pawned their home for their sons freedom, he said.

The third male escapee, identified as Mr. C, said that he had been assigned to sell shares to European customers because of his English skills.

I realized that this job was illegal and immoral, so I convinced four others to escape. We left the blue building at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22, leaving behind all the belongings in our bedroom. We dressed in dark colors, then ran away from the security guards to the back of the blue building, he said.

We continued to walk for almost one hour. When we got to a village we were picked up by car. I dont remember how long and how far it was, but we later got to the Mekong River where the Lao man was waiting with a small boat, Mr. C said.

Once they arrived in Thailand, they were taken to a rubber plantation where a Thai man held them until he received electronic payment from and the Lao man. Once that was done, the Thai man dropped them off at a local market in Chiang Sen, Chiang Rai province.

About a week after, I found out that six other Thais also escaped exactly the same way we did; one of the six paid up to 90,000 Baht ($3,000) for his part for the escape. Now, only four in our group are still trapped in the SEZ and all of them have been traded to another scamming gang. Id like to ask the authorities to rescue them and many other Thai nationals in the SEZ as soon as possible, Mr. C said.

A Lao official in Bokeo Province told RFAs Lao Service Monday that authorities assisted the final four in returning home.

After we received the request from the governor of Chiang Rai Province, we wrote a letter asking the Golden Triangle SEZ Management to look at every building if there were any Thai workers there, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The first group of escapees on Monday went to a police station in Chiang Rai to assist with the investigation. There they formally asked the Thai authorities to rescue the remaining four, as well as other Thais who may be trapped in the SEZ.

Police Lieut. Gen. Torsak Sukwimol, assistant to the Thai police commissioner, told reporters in late February that the case was similar to a previous human trafficking case.

We believe that this case is no different. There might be many other groups of Thai workers on the Lao side, he said.

Thai media reported Tuesday that the four remaining Thais flew back to Thailand that morning.

One of the four said their rescue happened suddenly.

We were told to take our clothes and other belongings, then we were on a plane back to Thailand, without having to pay for it, the rescued Thai citizen said.

One of the first group of escapees, under condition of anonymity, told RFA that there are many Thais still trapped in the SEZ.

One of my Thai friends told me there were at least 90 Thais working in her company, the escapee said.

The Golden Triangle SEZ is run by Zhao Wei, chairman of the Dok Ngiew Kham Group, with Zhaos firm holding 80 percent interest and the Lao government holding 20 percent.

Located where Laos, Myanmar and Thailand meet, the Golden Triangle area got its name five decades ago for its central role in heroin production and trafficking.

In 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department declared Zhao Weis business network, centered on Kings Romans Casino, a transnational criminal organization and sanctioned Zhao and three other individuals and companies across Laos, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Zhaos business exploits this region by engaging in drug trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, bribery and wildlife trafficking, much of which is facilitated through the Kings Romans Casino located within the GT SEZ, a Treasury statement said.

Laos, which has been under U.S. pressure for years to crack down on trafficking, last year remained at tier 2 in the annual State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, avoiding cuts to certain types of foreign aid that are imposed on tier 3 countries.

The 2021 report said Laos increased its overall efforts to combat trafficking, but fell short in victim identification and screening procedures, and failed to adequately investigate suspected perpetrators of sex trafficking.

RFA reported in December that many Lao women go into debt to work in the SEZ as chat girls in the same capacity as the 15 Thais. One source in that report said that sales quotas are set impossibly high so that the women will fail to meet them, and the companies can more easily sell them into the sex trade.

Translated by Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
The Bangladeshi home minister again insists that Rohingya insurgent group has no presence inside the country.

Police escort three men accused of links to a Rohingya leaders killing to a court in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, Oct. 6, 2021.

Four of 15 people arrested by Bangladesh police in recent months on suspicion of ties to the murder of Rohingya leader Muhib Ullah have confessed to the crime and say they belong to the ARSA insurgent group, police told BenarNews on Wednesday.

However, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and the police are continuing to insist that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army has no presence on Bangladeshi soil although, in mid-January, local authorities arrested the brother of the rebel groups leader from a refugee camp in Coxs Bazar. The brother is not among the 15 suspects in the Muhib Ullah case.

This case [of Muhib Ullahs killing] has been under investigation. Thus far, we have arrested 15 suspected people in this connection. Four of them have given confessional statements [with regard to the murder] at the court, Gazi Salahuddin, the officer-in-charge of the Ukhia police station, told BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.

When asked whether the four had admitted to having links to ARSA, Salahuddin replied, They claim they are [ARSA members]. Some of them said they were guards of ARSA [members], some of them said they were activists of ARSA.

ARSA is a Rohingya insurgent group whose 2017 attack on government outposts in Myanmars Rakhine state led to a brutal military crackdown against the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority, causing about 740,000 of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

Unidentified gunman burst in and fatally shot Muhib Ullah, a refugee and internationally known Rohingya activist, in his office at the Kutupalong camp in Coxs Bazar on the night of Sept. 29, 2021.

Salahuddin, the local police official, said he believed that ARSA leader Ata Ullah Abu Ammar Jununi may have ordered Muhib Ullahs killing, but he said police had no evidence to prove the existence of the insurgent group in the refugee camps.

Actually they [some arrested people] claim to be ARSA members. But we have not got anything that substantiates the claim, he said.

ARSA is also blamed for criminal activities at the Rohingya camps in Ukhia and Teknaf, two upazilas (sub-districts) of Coxs Bazar, a southeastern district near the border with Rakhine state in Myanmar.

When asked to comment Wednesday about the Muhib Ullah case, the home minister again denied that ARSA has a foothold in Bangladesh. But, he conceded, operatives from the rebel group have crossed the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier back and forth.

We have no sympathy for, or link with, ARSA. ARSA originated in Myanmar and sometimes some of their members infiltrate into Bangladesh territory to commit a robbery and go back, Khan told BenarNews.

Whenever we get intelligence, our law enforcement agencies catch them. But there are no organized camps or presence of ARSA on Bangladesh soil, and we will never allow them.

However, security analyst Mohammad Ali Shikder told BenarNews that the presence of ARSA at the Rohingya camps was not unusual.

The family members of Muhib Ullah alleged ARSA killed him. Again, four arrested persons confessed at the court that they are ARSA members, the retired Army major general told BenarNews.

So, the government must take the issue seriously as Bangladesh maintained zero tolerance for terrorism of all forms and manifestations.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Report finds the military may have committed crimes against humanity in its bid to control restive population.

More than a year after a coup, Myanmar is caught in a downward spiral of violence, the U.N. Human Rights Office said in a report Tuesday, calling for urgent action to protect the freedom and livelihoods of those living under military rule in the Southeast Asian nation.

In her first report to the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) since the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said that junta rule in Myanmar has led to a significant regression in the enjoyment of human rights encompassing the full gamut of civil, political, economic and social rights.

She said the military has engaged in violence and abuse as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against civilians  including by conducting air strikes on heavy populated areas, using people as human shields, and committing acts of torture and murder  that may amount to crimes against humanity.

The report, which was requested by the HRC to investigate accountability for alleged violations of human rights in Myanmar, said that brutal repression of the juntas opposition, violent resistance to the coup, and several ongoing armed conflicts have left the country in turmoil. It said military rule had created an environment in which no meaningful dialogue can take place.

International efforts to deescalate the violence have yielded few results and announced ceasefires have failed to reduce armed conflict, while authorities regularly conduct raids on dissenters, and humanitarian operations are denied access to the people in most need, the report found.

Action is urgently needed to stem the pace at which individuals are being stripped of their rights, their lives and their livelihoods, Bachelet said.

These dynamics must change dramatically to create the basis for political discussions or a negotiated solution, she added, noting that the public is calling for a return to democratic system that guarantees their freedoms and can deliver justice for past crimes and rights violations.

Since the Feb. 1 coup last year, security forces have killed at least 1,676 civilians and arrested more than 10,000 others  mostly during peaceful anti-junta protests, while hundreds if not thousands have been subjected to torture, the report said, citing reports by rights groups.

Reports have emerged of troops committing widespread acts of arson, looting, rape and murder during its offensives in the countrys remote border regions, where it has encountered strong resistance from armed ethnic groups and members of anti-junta Peoples Defense Force paramilitary groups. More than 440,000 people have been displaced by armed clashes over the same period, and 14.4 million are in urgent humanitarian need.

Additionally, the junta has implemented few of the measures the U.N. has called for to protect the rights of minorities, including the Muslim Rohingya, more than 700,000 of whom fled across the border from Rakhine state into neighboring Bangladesh amid a military crackdown in 2017. The Hague-based International Court of Justice is holding hearings to determine whether it has jurisdiction to judge if atrocities committed by Myanmars military against the Rohingya constitute a genocide. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Rohingya still face official discrimination, restrictions on freedom of movement, access to health and education services, and limited job opportunities in Myanmar.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet speaks during a news conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Dec. 9, 2020. Reuters Recommendations

Based on the reports findings, Commissioner Bachelet called on the junta to cease all violence against Myanmars population, according to the so-called five-point consensus it agreed to with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in an emergency meeting in April last year, and to release all the countrys political prisoners.

Bachelet urged all parties in the country to cooperate with U.N. and ASEAN special envoys in the pursuit of broad-based dialogue, to facilitate access to aid groups, respect human rights and comply with international humanitarian law, and cooperate with international accountability mechanisms.

She also called on the international community to protect individuals crossing international borders, support referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and ensure that any political solution to the existing crisis eschews amnesties for serious rights violations. Other nations should also take immediate action to prevent the supply of arms to the Myanmar military and apply targeted sanctions on junta economic interests, she said, as well as encourage businesses in the country to cease working with military-affiliated entities.

Lastly, Bachelet called for a strengthening of the U.N.s ability to respond to human rights-related crises and undertake all necessary efforts to ensure a coherent, strategic response in Myanmar, with the purpose of bolster rights protections in a mutually enforcing manner.

Youths protest junta rule in Yangon's Mingalar Taung Nyunt township, March 13, 2022. Credit: Nway Oo Protests continue

The U.N. report came after authorities in Myanmars Yangon region carried out a series of arrests of anti-junta protesters over the weekend, including two girls aged 13 and 16. The girls, who were among three people detained as security forces wielding iron rods shut down a protest in Mingalar Taung Nyunt township on Sunday, suffered broken teeth and ribs, sources told RFAs Myanmar Service.

A day earlier, police arrested a university student named Kyaw Htet Aung along with three of his friends and accused them of possessing explosives connected to a bomb blast that had occurred in the area. A friend of the students said all four were beaten as they were detained.

Junta Deputy Minister of Information Zaw Min Tun could not immediately be reached for comment on the arrests.

In the seat of Sagaing regions Kalay township, a continuous protest of military rule reached its 400th day over the weekend, with participants decrying their loss of rights and a reversal of progress made in five years of administration by the deposed National League for Democracy (NLD).

A leader of the protest, which began on Feb. 7, 2021, and has endured despite several crackdowns by authorities, said it will not stop until their freedoms are restored.

We realized after the NLD came to power, that we have certain rights. Even though [their rule] wasnt that long, I think we had fully enjoyed those rights, said the protest leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

That freedom and human rights we had enjoyed for five years is what we are asking for now. Nothing more. Well be happy with those rights that we had under the NLD government.

Kalay residents said at least 15 people have been killed and more than 80 arrested in connection with protests in the town.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
MINSK -- A noted civil rights activist and journalist in Belarus has been sentenced to five years in prison over his stance against the official results of an August 2020 presidential election that handed victory to authoritarian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.



The Minsk regional court sentenced Paval Vinahradau on March 16 after finding him guilty of spreading lies about the country's president online, inciting hatred, and organizing events that disrupted the social order.



Vinahradau has criticized Lukashenka's grip on power for years.

Lukashenka has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1994, when he won his first presidential election.



Vinahradau harshly criticized the 2020 presidential elections and a brutal crackdown launched by Lukashenka's regime on protesters, activists, independent media, and democratic institutions that followed the disputed presidential poll.



In 2010, Vinahradau was sentenced to four years in prison for taking part in public protests against the results of a presidential election that year, when Lukashenka was also declared the winner.



He was released in 2011 following a mass amnesty announced by Lukashenka.



Hundreds of Belarusians have faced trials linked to mass protests against Lukashenka over the results of the 2020 election, which they say was rigged.



Much of the opposition leadership has been jailed or forced into exile. Several protesters have been killed and there have also been credible reports of torture during the widening security crackdown.
The European Union has unveiled a proposal to ban Russian oil imports by the end of the year, impose more banking sanctions against Moscow, and cut off some Russian broadcasters in Europe saying that the Kremlin has to pay dearly for its aggression Ukraine.

With Russia intensifying its attacks on eastern Ukraine on May 4, the EU said that its sixth round of sanctions against Moscow will comprise phasing out the importation of Russian crude and refined oil products by the end of the year despite pushback from some of the bloc's members, including Slovakia and Hungary.

"We will phase out Russian supply of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year," the head of the bloc's executive European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

"This will be a complete import ban on all Russian oil, seaborne and pipeline, crude and refined," she said, adding that "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin must pay a high price for his brutal aggression."

Von der Leyen, however, conceded that getting unanimity on oil sanctions will not be easy.

The commission chief, however, conceded that getting unanimity on oil sanctions will not be easy.

The measures require approval from all 27 EU countries to take effect and soon after von der Leyen's announcement, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria announced that they would seek exemptions from the embargo voicing concerns about energy security. Hungary and Slovakia are heavily dependent on Russian energy imports.

The Czech Republic, meanwhile, said it would seek a temporary exemption period of two or three years in order for pipeline capacities to be increased.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said EU countries blocking an oil embargo would be "complicit" in Russia's crimes in Ukraine.

Whatever their arguments are, if they oppose (the) oil embargo, it means one thing: they play on the Russian side. They share responsibility for everything Russia does in Ukraine, full stop, Kuleba said in a video posted on Twitter.

Von der Leyen also proposed that Sberbank, Russias largest bank, and two other major banks be disconnected from the SWIFT international banking payment system.



The EU will also ban three Russian state-owned broadcasters, she said, without naming the channels directly.



"They will not be allowed to distribute their content anymore in the European Union, in whatever shape or form, be it on cable, via satellite, on the Internet or via smartphone apps," von der Leyen told EU lawmakers.

According to a document seen by RFE/RL, the package also contains a list of 58 individuals sanctioned over Russia's military action in Ukraine that includes the Patriarch of Russia's Orthodox Church, a close ally of Putin's.



Von der Leyen also proposed launching a recovery package for Ukraine to help it rebuild after the war.



"This package should bring massive investment to meet the needs and the necessary reforms," von der Leyen said. "Eventually, it will pave the way for Ukraine's future inside the European Union."

The European Union accounts for nearly a half of Russia's crude and refined oil products. But the Kremlin, in a first reaction to Brussels' announcement, put on a brave face, warning that the embargo is a "double-edged sword" and that EU consumers will pay the price.

"The cost of these sanctions to the citizens of Europe will grow by the day," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 4.

Peskov said the Kremlin was looking at "various options" for its response to the new sanctions.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said he was "open" to imposing more sanctions on Russia and would be discussing measures with allies from the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations in the coming days.

On the battlefront, Moscow deployed 22 battalions near Izyum, an eastern city, in a bid to push into the Donbas region, the British Defense Ministry said in its daily bulletin on May 4, adding that Russia's apparent goal is capturing the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk in the east, "despite struggling to break through Ukrainian defenses." A Russian battalion usually consists of 700-800 soldiers.



According to the British intelligence bulletin, capturing the two cities "would consolidate Russian military control" of northeastern Ukraine.

In neighboring Belarus, the armed forces began "surprise" large-scale drills on May 4 to test their combat readiness, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko said there was "heavy fighting" at the Azovstal plant on May 4 and said city officials had lost contact with Ukrainian forces inside.

Boychenko told Ukrainian television that Russian forces were attacking with heavy artillery, tanks, and warplanes, and said warships off the coast were also involved.

Russian troops are on the territory of the plant, according to David Arakhamia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation that has held now-stalled peace talks with Russia.

"Attempts to storm the plant continue for the second day. Russian troops are already on the territory of Azovstal," Arakhamia said, citing the commander of the Azov Regiment, which is defending the plant with other Ukrainian troops. He contradicted Boychenko, saying Ukrainian authorities have contact with the defenders at the plant.

The commander announced the storming of the plant by Russian troops the day before and called again for the evacuation of civilians.

Boychenko said on May 3 that more than 200 civilians were still holed up with fighters in the sprawling plant.

In his video address, Kuleba denied that Azovstal was under Russian control.

On May 4, Peskov denied Ukrainian reports that Russian troops had stormed the Avozstal steel plant soon after the latest group of civilians made it out of the sprawling complex.

"There is no storming," Peskov told reporters, contradicting claims by Ukrainian soldiers inside the steelworks.

"The order was publicly given by the supreme commander-in-chief to cancel the assault," Peskov said, referring to a statement Putin made on April 21 that called off a direct assault on Azovstal because it would result in too many Russian casualties. Instead, forces should seal off Azovstal so tightly that "even a fly can't get out," Putin said.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak, Reuters, AP, and AFP
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking China's resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and here's what I'm following right now.

Beijing Is Playing The Long Game With Russia's Invasion

The United States has now put Beijing's close relationship with Moscow in the crosshairs -- as I reported here -- by leaking intelligence reports about Russian requests for military equipment from China in a bid to dissuade the Chinese from more strongly backing the Kremlin.

But while these allegations show potential new depths of support for Russia amid its war in Ukraine, they also clearly illustrate whose side Beijing is really on: China's.

Finding Perspective: There's no denying that China's backing of Russian President Vladimir Putin has put Beijing under new pressure.

The leaked information -- which both China and Russia have called "disinformation" -- came the night before an intense, seven-hour meeting in Rome between U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan and Yang Jiechi, China's top foreign-affairs official.

China's unwillingness to criticize Moscow for its war and its decision to support Russia in spreading propaganda and conspiracy theories has also put its relations with Europe at stake. Just a week ago, there was chatter out of Brussels about Beijing helping to bring Moscow to the negotiating table, but that seems to have faded.

All of this adds up to a strategic headache for Xi Jinping's government brought by refusing to ditch Moscow.

But despite frustrations with the Kremlin's war and the collateral damage it has brought (and could still bring), a prevailing view out of Beijing still seems to be that this will likely be short-term pain and that China is still positioned to emerge from the current crisis largely unfrayed in the long term.

For Chinese policymakers, one of the lessons learned so far appears to be that the West is becoming more united and that Russia will be needed in Beijing's corner, regardless of whether Moscow kicks up mud on China right now.

From such a view, Beijing may be able to strengthen its position and leverage over a weakened Russia and could benefit from a European Union and United States more focused on tackling problems in Eastern Europe than in the Indo-Pacific.

Why It Matters: The increased Western pressure is no doubt worrisome for China, but Beijing currently sees little upside in turning away from Russia.

Now, China's path forward is by no means certain and the scenario outlined above could also boomerang on Beijing, leaving it more isolated and under more pressure internationally than it would have predicted just a month ago.

In the meantime, China is looking to ride out the storm by behaving cautiously while still preserving its close coordination with Russia.

How things play out from the Ukraine war will no doubt be a fateful decision for Xi and for China as a whole, but it looks like Beijing has charted its course.

Read More

 China's state media and vocal officials are increasingly converging with Moscow's distorted coverage of the war -- and even beginning to push conspiracy theories in the process. Read the report here.

 Hu Wei, vice chairman of the Public Policy Research Center of the Counselor's Office of the State Council, warned in an article that has been censored in China that Beijing could be isolated internationally if it doesn't distance itself from Putin.

Expert Corner: The Future Of The BRI In Europe

Readers asked, "Does Russia's invasion of Ukraine derail China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) ambitions with Europe?"

To find out more, I asked Andreea Brinza, vice president of the Romanian Institute for the Study of the Asia-Pacific:

"Overall, the war will negatively affect China-Europe relations, including the future of the BRI in Europe, as European countries are disappointed that China has only engaged in attacking the United States and spreading fake news, without playing any concrete role in ending the fighting.

"China's exports may suffer due to lower consumer purchasing power in the West and especially in Europe. At the same time, the railway routes of the BRI could also be affected by possible bans on products that transit across Russia, or even because some companies might stop deliveries via freight train through Russia. These routes were the most successful side of the BRI in Europe and without them, China will lack a BRI success story in Europe.

"But the war in Ukraine may not only endanger these rail routes, but could also especially affect China's relations with Central and Eastern Europe. This part of Europe, which was quite important for China in the past, as it was seen as a possible gateway to the EU, is now on the verge of a possible NATO conflict with Russia. Thus, the perception that China is aligned with Russia has only proven to these countries that standing firm with the United States and NATO (by banning Huawei and canceling Chinese-backed projects) was the best thing to do. So, it will be increasingly difficult for China to promote projects or investments in this part of the world."

Do you have a question about China's growing footprint in Eurasia? Send it to me at StandishR@rferl.org or reply directly to this e-mail and I'll get it answered by leading experts and policymakers.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. Economic Headwinds

China is seeking to avoid taking a hit from sanctions against Russia and has so far been quietly enforcing the U.S.-led measures, former U.S. Treasury official Peter Piatetsky, who is now the CEO of the consultancy Castellum.AI, told me.

What It Means: The United States is China's largest trading partner and Beijing looks to be following the sanctions regime, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi telling his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, on a March 14 phone call that "China is not a party to the crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China."

Piatetsky said that Beijing currently has little to gain from skirting sanctions to help Russia and lots to lose. Although, that doesn't mean that China won't be looking to make some opportunistic moves in the Russian economy.

Alexander Gabuev from the Moscow Carnegie Center told me that "once the Russian economy finds its bottom and it's clear what is permissible and what is not, China is likely to search for more commercial opportunities," particularly in the oil and gas sector.

There are also increasing signs that Beijing is worried about economic blowback brought by the war and sanctions.

The International Monetary Fund warned that China might find it hard to meet its target growth rate of 5.5 percent this year due to fallout from Russia's invasion and the German outlet Der Spiegel reported that the Chinese director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization suppressed publication of a report that warns of a grave hunger crisis in the Middle East and Africa as a result of the war in Ukraine.

2. A U-Turn In Budapest?

April 3 is election day in Hungary and the war in Ukraine has helped shake things up in what was already proving to be a decisive vote as the country's opposition faces its best chance in a decade to unseat incumbent Viktor Orban.

What You Need To Know: My colleague Balint Szalai from RFE/RL's Hungarian Service has broken down the opposition's platform, headlined by Peter Marki-Zay -- a conservative small-town mayor who emerged as a unity candidate chosen by a coalition of opposition parties.

The platform promises a 180-degree turn away from Orban's pro-Russian and pro-Chinese foreign policy of recent years.

Marki-Zay has said before that he plans to reevaluate Chinese-funded projects in the country that were green lit under Orban and the opposition's program mentions the contract for the multibillion-dollar Belgrade-Budapest railway as a specific target.

3. China's Bet On The Balkans

Fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be far and wide and there are signs it is already being felt in Serbia, where Belgrade enjoys close relations with both Moscow and Beijing.

The Takeaway: My colleague Mila Durdevic from RFE/RL Balkan Service reports how China is well-positioned to pick up the slack left in Serbia as the country looks to distance itself from Moscow in the war's aftermath.

Russia is still a cultural, political, and economic force in the Balkan country, but Belgrade has belatedly joined the call for international condemnation of Russia, although Serbia did not join the Western-led sanctions.

"We live in difficult times, in complex times, in times when many partnerships and ties are broken and when we are all under enormous pressure," Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said at the opening of the Chamber of Chinese Companies in Belgrade on March 3.

With Serbia looking to balance its ties with the EU, it may look increasingly to China, which has already become a source of growing investment in the country that comes with far fewer checks and balances than European cash.

Across The Supercontinent

First China, Now Ukraine: Yilisen Aierken, an ethnic Kazakh from Xinjiang who applied for asylum in Ukraine after fleeing China out of fear that he would be sent to an internment camp, completed a difficult journey from Kyiv to Poland. I wrote about it here.

Back To Afghanistan: The Wall Street Journal reports that dozens of Chinese mining companies have descended on Kabul in recent weeks and that Beijing is negotiating with the Taliban to restart mining, as well as gas and oil exploration, at two sites where projects had been put on hold.

Bouncing Back: Despite bottlenecks at the border and continued stringent Chinese coronavirus regulations, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan's trade with China has returned to pre-pandemic levels, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.

Stories From Xinjiang: RFE/RL's Kazakh Service spoke with Kanat Beisekeev, the director of a new documentary focusing on ethnic Kazakhs and Uyghurs who have been caught up in China's vast internment-camp system.

Domino Effect: Sanctions against Moscow will bring severe economic fallout for countries in Central Asia that are dependent on trade and investment from Russia.

RFE/RL's Uzbek Service looks at what Uzbekistan is doing to insulate itself from any coming shocks.

One Thing To Watch

China has ordered 51 million people into lockdown amid the worst COVID surge since early 2020.

Chinese authorities recently announced that they'd be locking down tens of millions of people in the entire northeastern province of Jilin and the southern cities of Shenzhen and Dongguan.

The surge is not only looking to set record case numbers, but it marks a major test for China's "COVID zero" approach and could signal a shift toward Beijing adopting a new strategy to deal with the virus.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox on Wednesdays twice a month.
Russia destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians had taken shelter, Ukrainian authorities said on March 16, as hundreds of thousands of people remained trapped in the besieged strategic port on the Sea of Azov.



Up to 1,200 people may have been inside the theater, said the city's Deputy Mayor Serhiy Orlov, as the Maxar satellite imagery firm said images from March 14 showed the word children had been written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the building.



The number of casualties is currently unknown, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted, as Russian shelling in nearby neighborhoods continued.



"Another horrendous war crime in Mariupol. Massive Russian attack on the Drama Theatre where hundreds of innocent civilians were hiding. The building is now fully ruined. Russians could not have not known this was a civilian shelter," Kuleba tweeted.

In the northern city of Chernihiv, Ukraine's prosecutor-general said Russian forces killed 10 people who were waiting in line for bread, in the latest deadly attack on civilians in the three-week war.



Mariupol has been encircled by Russian forces, with an estimated 300,000 people trapped with no running water, electricity, or gas.



Some 400 staff and patients are still being held inside a Mariupol hospital, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.



In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said Russian shelling damaged several residences in the citys Podil neighborhood, just north of the city center and about 2.5 kilometers from the so-called government quarter that holds the presidential palace, presidents office and other significant offices.



The city remained under a 35-hour curfew early on March 16. Klitschko announced the restriction the day before, warning that, as Russian forces step up their strikes and close in on the capital, it faces a "difficult and dangerous moment."



U.S. President Joe Biden for the first time called Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" over the Russian president's bloody invasion of neighboring Ukraine.



"I think he is a war criminal," Biden told reporters on March 16, shortly after he announced an extra $800 billion weapons aid package for Ukraine.



The U.S. administration had avoided using the phrase until now, even when asked directly.



White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden was "speaking from his heart" after seeing images on television of "barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country."



"We have all seen barbaric acts, horrific acts by a foreign dictator in a country that is threatening and taking the lives of civilians, impacting hospitals, women who are pregnant, journalists, others," Psaki said.



Russia denies targeting civilians despite ample evidence to the contrary documented by the media.

In reaction to Biden's comment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the statement was "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric," the TASS news agency said.



Putin ordered a large-scale invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago, alleging that Russia's actions are a "special military operation" to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine and topple its democratically elected government.



Biden announced U.S. help for Ukraine to acquire "additional longer-range anti-aircraft systems."



Biden said Ukraine will receive an additional 800 Stinger antiaircraft systems, 9,000 anti-tank weapons, as well as 100 drones, which Biden said "demonstrates our commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense."



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier asked the United States and its allies to declare a no-fly zone above Ukraine as Russian forces continued to pound civilians in several cities, including the capital Kyiv, as Moscow's unprovoked invasion reached the three-week mark.



We need you right now, Zelenskiy said in an emotional address on March 16 to the U.S. Congress via video link from Kyiv. "I call on you to do more.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also categorically ruled out any role for NATO in setting up and policing a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect against Russian air strikes.



NATO should not deploy forces on the ground or in the airspace over Ukraine because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict, this war, doesnt escalate beyond Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, speaking at the end of an emergency meeting of the alliance's defense ministers on March 16, .

Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the major developments on Russia's invasion, how Kyiv is fighting back, the plight of civilians, and Western reaction. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Despite the sustained bombing of multiple civilian objectives by the Russian forces, video talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators appeared to be making some progress on March 16, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling the discussions "businesslike" and Zelenskiy describing Moscow's demands as becoming "more realistic."



Lavrov said on the Russian channel RBK TV that "serious" discussions on Ukraine having neutral status were taking place, with "concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.



Russia's top diplomat didn't elaborate on the discussions, but Ukraine's chief negotiator, Mykhaylo Podolyak, appeared to take a different view, saying that since a war with Russia is under way, "the model can only be Ukrainian and only about legally verified security guarantees."



"Ukraine has never been a militaristic state that attacks or plans to attack its neighbors, unlike some neighbors," he said in a statement on Telegram.



The UNs highest court has ordered Russia to cease its military operations in Ukraine, with the justices noting that they were profoundly concerned by Moscow's unprovoked invasion of its neighbor last month.



In a ruling on March 16 in the Hague, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's top judicial tribunal, ordered Russia to cease its military operations in Ukraine, with the justices noting that they were profoundly concerned by Moscow's unprovoked invasion of its neighbor last month.



While its decisions are binding, Moscow is unlikely to heed the courts ruling, which stemmed from a case filed by Kyiv over Russian allegations of genocide by Ukraine.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
In November 2006, nine months after signing a decree creating United Aircraft Manufacturing Corp (UAC), Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the state-controlled conglomerates newly chosen CEO, Aleksei Fyodorov, and top cabinet officials overseeing the industry to the Kremlin to discuss future plans.

We are all aware that our biggest problems are in civil aviation, and so we will be focusing particularly on this area, Fyodorov told Putin at the meeting. Our main focus will be on new projects.

Putin had combined Russian warplane and commercial aircraft producers, including Sukhoi, Ilyushin, Tupolev, and Irkut, under the roof of UAC --an effort to strengthen state control over the crucial sector, which was struggling 15 years after the Soviet Unions collapse, and improve efficiency.

Another 15 years later, Russias civil aviation industry is at risk of collapsing under the weight of Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. Despite billions of dollars pumped into the sector with much fanfare, theres been little to show for it -- and reliance on Western planes, technology, and spare parts remains sky high.

At the meeting in 2006, Fyodorov told Putin that development of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100), a short-range plane seating up to 98 passengers and set to become the first post-Soviet, Russian-designed commercial aircraft to go into mass production, was going ahead quite well.

He then told Putin about UACs biggest and most important commercial project: the development of the MS-21, a medium-range plane designed to replace the aging Soviet Tu-154 fleet and to compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320.

This is one of the companys most complex and strategic objectives today, Fyodorov said.

As of today, after plowing more than $3 billion into the project, UAC has yet to deliver a single MS-21 to customers. It has promised to transfer four this year to the state-controlled airline Rossiya, but that is now in doubt due to the sanctions. Mass production at a profitable level is still at least five years away.

As for the SSJ-100, two deadly crashes -- including one on a promotional trip to Asia -- and a persistent lack of spare parts have sapped domestic and international interest.

As of mid-2021, there were only 155 SSJ-100s in operation, according to UAC CEO Yury Slyusar. The demand stemmed largely from government pressure on Russian airlines to buy them, according to industry analysts.

Western-made planes, including Boeing and Airbus, accounted for about 80 percent of Russias fleet at the start of the year, according to Cirium, an aviation data and analytics firm. It is a larger proportion than when Putin first came to office.

Many of those planes will be grounded in the coming months after Western nations banned the export of aviation technology, including spare parts, to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Russias airlines will be forced to cannibalize their existing fleets for spare parts, analysts said.

Even the SSJ-100 could be grounded, as most of its components are foreign made, including the engine.

In a potential sign of concern in the Russian government about the situation and how it plays out in public, a senior official of Rosaviatsiya, the nations federal air transport agency, was immediately fired after he told an industry conference on March 10 that China had refused to supply Russia with spare parts, the business daily Kommersant reported.

Since the United States and Europe first imposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 for its seizure of Crimea, Russia has been seeking to move away from Western imports, including in the aviation industry.

However, UAC isnt expected to deliver fully Russian made SSJ-100s until 2024 at the earliest, Slyusar said in October. Russia is still developing an engine for the SSJ-100 to replace the one made by a joint venture with Frances Snecma.

The reality is that they are in deep, deep trouble unless they can find a way to get these export controls lifted, Chris Miller, a professor at Tufts University in the United States who has written books on the Soviet and Russian economies, told RFE/RL.

Russian civil aviation today is just very heavily reliant on components from the U.S., Europe, and Japan, and there's no easy way to replace them in the short term, he said.

'Failure Of Policy'

That wasnt always the case.

The Soviet Union produced commercial planes with fully domestic parts. But some of those key components -- especially avionics and engines -- were inferior to Western equivalents.

Soviet aircraft suffered from severe maintenance and reliability problems, including -- like today -- a lack of spare parts. Some airports in Europe banned them for failure to meet regulations and noise emissions.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Russia opened its economy to the world, its airlines sought to acquire better-made and more reliable Western planes.

Russian manufacturers, some now in private hands, suffered financially in the 1990s as orders dried up, raising questions about whether the domestic civil aviation manufacturing industry even had a future.

When Putin came to power in 2000, he faced a formidable uphill battle in turning the sector around.

At a meeting in the Kremlin in 2001, he called on officials and aviation executives to move quicker in carrying out the government's strategy to revive the industry.

It was one of many meetings Putin would hold over the next two decades with policy makers and aviation executives to discuss investments and reforms.

For all the talk, however, analysts say he did not give civil aviation the attention and money it needed to overcome its problems, setting the country up for the crisis it now faces.

The government did not focus enough on diversification of the economy and spent far too much time living off hydrocarbons, Chris Weafer, the founder of the Moscow-based consulting firm Macro Advisory, told RFE/RL, highlighting civilian aircraft manufacturing as one casualty of that policy.

Russia is one of the worlds top three producers of oil and gas, which together generate about one-third of budget revenues. Putin benefitted from surging oil prices during his first two terms in office, from 2000 to 2008, and again from 2012 to 2014, early in his third term.

Peter Wilson, an adjunct senior defense analyst at the RAND Corporation think tank and a professor at Georgetown University, who has written about Russian military aviation, said Putin blew an opportunity to use surging oil and gas revenue to modernize the nations plane manufacturing industry, including by tackling the age-old problem of avionics and engines.

Putin stockpiled the excess revenue from energy sales to fortify his country against potential Western sanctions instead of investing it to enhance living standards and modernize industry, Wilson said.

Russias reserves were the fifth largest in the world prior to the invasion of Ukraine, reaching about $630 billion.

There was a lot of talk inside the Russian aerospace and defense industry about how they were going to develop their indigenous capabilitiesand some of it kind of happened. But fundamentally, it was a failure of policy and investment, Wilson told RFE/RL.

Some $300 billion in reserves are now frozen by Western sanctions.

'Where Are The Planes?'

UAC initially designed the SSJ-100 and MS-21 with Western components, including avionics and engines, putting Russias commercial plane industry in the vulnerable position that it is now seeking to desperately overcome.

But UACs problems, including its inability to produce more planes, go deeper than dependence on the West, Russian analysts say.

In a series of articles for the military-focused news agency website Voyenno-Promyshlenny Kuryer analyzing UAC, Igor Semenchenko, a former top adviser to Russias upper parliament chamber, the Federation Council, slammed current and past managers and government officials for poor policy decisions, lack of experience, and mismanagement of funds.

He criticized the decision to develop the Sukhoi's SSJ-100 when a Soviet-designed alternative by Tupolev already existed. Tupolev had decades of experience building passenger planes while Sukhoi -- a designer of military jets -- did not, he said, suggesting that was a reason why the plane had so many technical problems.

The SSJ has been haunted by two deadly accidents, including a crash into an Indonesian mountainside during an exhibition flight with 45 people on board in 2012, and has been hobbled by performance issues and lack of spare parts.

According to Semenchenko, the government had to pour so much money into the SSJ-100, including to overcome its problems, that there was little left over for other civilian projects.

UAC became a highly effective tool for consuming state budget funds and has turned into almost a laundering firm, Semenchenko wrote in a November 2020 article.

Valentina Matviyenko, the head of the Federation Council, raised similar concerns about mismanagement in 2013, saying some state corporations, including UAC, had turned into black holes.

Huge state investments, hundreds of billions of rubles, were pumped into the UAC. Can someone answer the people: Where are the planes? Where's the money?" he said.

Russia initially planned to build from 60 to 72 SSJ-100s a year with a target to sell 1,000 jets over a two-decade period, including 700 for export. The sales figures were revised lower to roughly 600 jets by 2031 as UAC struggled to find sellers. The coronavirus -- which decimated travel over the past two years -- and now sanctions have made that target optimistic.

Since 2008, UAC has produced about 220 SSJ-100s with just 159 currently in operation, nearly all of them in Russia.

The weak sales left UAC mired in debt, forcing the government to step in with a $4 billion bailout package in 2019. UAC has been loss-making nearly its entire existence.

Analysts have said UACs initial forecasts for SSJ-100 sales were unrealistic because the market for short-haul planes isnt that large. They speculated UAC made the outlandish projection to receive more government funding.

As relations with the West worsened and the threat of more sanctions loomed, Putin in 2020 approved new measures to subsidize the purchase of SSJ-100 jets by domestic operators.

Under that program, the leasing arm of Rostec, the state-owned defense conglomerate that controls UAC, agreed to buy dozens of SSJ-100s, as did other Russian airlines, for delivery in the next few years.

Rostec is run by Sergei Chemezov, 70, a longtime friend and associate who worked with Putin when both were KGB officers stationed in Dresden, East Germany, in the 1980s. He has been accused of enriching himself in that position, a charge he denies.

Chemezov last year tapped himself as chairman of UAC. He will now oversee Russias efforts to break the aviation sanctions stranglehold by producing fully domestically made planes.

Aviation experts have said that the tendency to hand high-level jobs and responsibilities to people close to Putin is part of the problem, not the solution to Russias aviation troubles.

UAC is incapable of innovation and adaptation because its directors are largely handpicked yes-sayers who lack skills as industrial managers, Tom Cooper, a military aviation analyst who follows Russia, said in a 2017 article.
We are the Russian people. Only we can stop this madness, said Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at Russian state TV, in a video she posted to coincide with an attention-grabbing, one-person protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Come out and protest. Dont be afraid. They cant jail us all.



During the broadcast of the evening news program Vremya on Channel One on March 14, Ovsyannikova unfurled an anti-war sign behind the newsreader. Stop the war, the sign said. Dont believe propaganda. They are lying to you here.

The sign was visible on-air for just a few seconds before producers cut to recorded footage.



Ovsyannikova was immediately detained and then endured what she said was 14 hours of interrogation in isolation without a lawyer. On March 15, she was convicted of the administrative offense of "organizing an illegal demonstration" for her video call for protests and fined 30,000 rubles ($275).

In addition, the state news agency TASS reported that the Investigative Committee is considering charging her under a new law that criminalizes "spreading clearly false information about the armed forces," which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.



It was arguably the most daring and high-profile act of protest in Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered the massive military invasion of Ukraine on February 24. And it immediately raised the question of whether such a gesture will remain symbolic or could influence the actions of people -- including those like Ovsyannikova who for years have worked inside Putins ruling apparatus -- in a country long conditioned to passivity and fear.



Such things can influence the mood among the elites, Moscow-based commentator Dmitry Kozelev wrote on Telegram. A person from inside the system -- even if not the most prominent representative -- has acted out against the system. That means others could follow.



According to my information, anti-war sentiments among the establishment are pretty strong, he added. They are even found among generals. If a Channel One editor can get on the air with a sign today, what might happen tomorrow?

In an interview with Reuters on March 15, Ovsyannikova, a mother of two who is in her 40s, said she hopes that people will open their eyes," and added a message for other Russians: "Don't be such zombies. Don't listen to this propaganda.

"I think she carried out a heroic deed," said Yevgeny Kiselyov, a general manager of Russia's NTV television before its 2001 takeover by state-controlled Gazprom. "I don't care particularly what she did before. She knew the risk she was taking.

"The main thing is that she did this," Kiselyov, who now lives in Kyiv and is a critic of the Kremlin, said in an interview with RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "Any bureaucrat of any dictatorial regime, any person who is working for a dictatorial...regime who at a certain point betrays that regime and comes over to the side of the light -- that person's gesturehas more practical significance than 10 fiery articles written by professional oppositionists. The more people there are like herthe better."

Three weeks into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and with no clear end in sight, the consequences of the massive military offensive are increasingly coming home to Russia. Ordinary families across the country are receiving death notices for their sons serving in the invasion force, learning to live without easy access to much of the global Internet, and feeling the bite of higher prices and fewer imported goods. As unprecedented Western sanctions take hold and grow stronger, Russian businesses and markets are seizing up.

Nonetheless, few true insiders have taken any public action pointing to the sort of mindset transition that Kiselyov attributes to Ovsyannikova. Such anti-war expressions have been limited to a few lesser-known members of the State Duma, Russias lower house of parliament, and a handful of local politicians.

Aleksei Venediktov, the well-connected former editor in chief of the recently shuttered radio station Ekho Moskvy, told Voice of America on March 15 that he believes those at the highest levels of Putin's system, at least, remain solidly behind the president and the devastating war against Ukraine.

"They consider [what has been done] to have been a success," Venediktov said. "They have received from the West the confirmation that the West will not respond militarily, and that was the main thing. Now their euphoria is on the rise."

"As long as Putin is determining policy, as long as Putin is alive and healthy, they will support him and rally around him," Venediktov added.

However, there have been reports of resignations within the juggernaut of Putin's media apparatus. According to Mediazona, Channel One's Paris correspondent, Zhanna Agalakova has resigned, as has NTV Brussels correspondent Vadim Glusker. Longtime NTV moderator Liliya Gildeyeva stated on March 15 that she had quit and left Russia.

"First I left because I was afraid they wouldn't just let me go," she told journalist Ilya Varlamov's Telegram channel. "Then I wrote a letter of resignation."

Russian attorney Ilya Novikov posted on Twitter that people were debating Ovsyannikovas motives in the light of her years working for Channel One, about which she said in her video that she was ashamed.



Personal courage is a good thing, but it would be a sign of the end for Putin if people start running from him out of selfish calculation, he wrote.

Political analyst Andrei Kolesnikov of the Carnegie Moscow Center compared Ovsyannikovas protest with the 1969 self-immolation of Czech student Jan Palach in protest of Czechoslovaks' passivity regarding the occupation of their country by Soviet forces.



This is not the act of self-immolation by Jan Palach in 1969, but it is exactly the same in emotion, Kolesnikov wrote on Twitter. In Russia of the future, Maria Ovsyannikova will be what Marianne is to France.

Whether Ovsyannikova's protest stirs the broader public also remains to be seen. The government in recent weeks has stepped up already harsh repression, severely restricting access to information and adopting the new law threatening severe prison sentences for the vaguely defined crime of spreading "false information" about the armed forces.

On March 14, Dmitry Gavrilov, a 48-year-old computer programmer from Cheboksary, the capital of Russia's Chuvashia region, became the first Russian to be fined for the new offense when a court ordered him to pay 35,000 rubles ($325) for holding a sign with the slogan: "No War."

He told RFE/RL's Idel.Realities that it is "impossible" for Russians not to fear arrest "when they see the army of police patrolling the center of the city."

"What scares me the most is that people are silent," he said. "Everyone is really afraid. When they were voting for Putin, they all used to say, 'As long as there is no war....' Now I ask these same people what they have to say. And they are silent."

Russian political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin noted that "millions" of people may have seen Ovsyannikova's five-second protest and concluded there is a "split" inside Putin's system -- that "there are alternative points of view."

"I think that she has opened the tap," he added, "because tens of millions of people in my country are against this waragainst this senseless war that is destroying not only Ukraine, but Russia as well. But they are reluctant, because they are afraid. They have a career, they have a mortgage, as they say. But she also has a mortgage, children, a career."

RFE/RLs Russian Service, Ukrainian Service, North.Realities, Siberia.Realities, Idel.Realities, and Current Time contributed to this report.
No one is comparing Miljko Stojanovic to increasingly at-risk foreign journalists covering Russia's invasion from the ground in Ukraine.

But even as a local correspondent for the Danas daily in eastern Serbia, he has faced death threats and other online abuse from a mostly anonymous digital mob since profiling a Ukrainian in his early 30s who found temporary shelter in Serbia after fleeing Lviv, in western Ukraine.

Stojanovic said the threats left him unwell enough to seek emergency medical care himself and have him worried for the safety of his family as well as for the war refugee in his story.

"I feel terrible," he told RFE/RL's Balkan Service from Zajecar, where he is a local correspondent for Danas. "What strikes me most is that this guy traveled 1,000 kilometers, escaped from the hell of war, and now he feels insulted and attacked here."

Local police responded quickly to Stojanovic's complaint, arresting an unnamed individual suspected of endangering public safety.

But his and other cases -- against a backdrop of rallies in Belgrade to support Serbs' Russian "brothers" -- hint at the reach in the Balkans of Kremlin talking points and the perils of even appearing to blame Moscow for its unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

Stojanovic, who has expressed opposition to the war in Ukraine, said he was threatened "that something would happen to me if I accidentally met someone who was threatening me on the street in Zajecar," a city of around 60,000 people.

Stojanovic said not all the insults and online attacks are anonymous; some include the names and surnames of the people who posted them.

Some of them accuse the young Ukrainian of opposing Orthodox Christianity and supporting Kosovo, a former Serbian province whose 2008 declaration of sovereignty is supported by more than 100 countries but still fiercely opposed by Belgrade and Moscow, among others.

Stojanovic also said some insults against the Ukrainian include suggestions that he is "a Nazi and not welcome in Serbia, as Ukraine is a fascist country."

Such language echoes a long-standing and misleading characterization of the pro-Western governments that emerged in Ukraine after a pro-Moscow president was ousted by popular unrest in 2013-14.

Many Western analysts have noted the cruel irony of Russian President Vladimir Putin's stated justification of the invasion as the "de-Nazification" of a country led by a democratically elected president of Jewish descent, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

A number of European states and their populations have mobilized to help accommodate many of the 3 million Ukrainian refugees who have already left their homeland since the Russian air, sea, and ground offensive began on February 24.

Serbia took in slightly more than 1,000 Ukrainian refugees in the first two weeks of the war, according to its Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic, a small fraction of the 6,000 or so places it has available, according to a leading NGO in the sector.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's close diplomatic, trade, and defense ties to Russia have long frustrated EU leaders already reluctant to enlarge the bloc to include Serbia and a handful of its post-Yugoslav neighbors.

He and other Serbian officials have sent mixed messages about the Ukraine war in the weeks ahead of crucial national and local elections on April 3.

Vucic has condemned the attack and reiterated Ukrainian "territorial integrity" but vowed that his overwhelmingly Orthodox country of around 7 million people wouldn't join European sanctions targeting Russia. Belgrade joined a UN vote to condemn the Russian invasion.

This week, Belgrade buckled slightly when it confirmed it would join the European Union in sanctions targeting exiled former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a Moscow ally.

But the speaker of the Serbian parliament, Ivica Dacic, pledged to Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Bocan-Kharcenko on March 15 that "Serbia will be guided by its national interests, and they imply that Serbia will not impose sanctions on Russia."

A day earlier, the head of the diplomatic service of the EU's foreign and defense structure known as the European External Action Service, Michael Siebert, had warned bluntly that "we are making it clear to Serbia what the price will be if the country is on the wrong side of the conflict."

After EU and other European countries closed their airspace to Russian airliners, Air Serbia increased its routes to Russia. After ongoing pressure from the EU, the Serbian airliner has only reluctantly reduced its increased routes between Belgrade and Russia.

Thousands of Serbians have joined multiple demonstrations in the capital in support of Putin and Russia over the past three weeks, frequently appealing to Russians as "brothers."

Meanwhile, the head of Serbia's Independent Association of Journalists, Zeljko Bodrozic, has spoken of Stojanovic's case and other "inconveniences" for local reporters stemming from their coverage of the conflict. He said that, unlike Stojanovic's incident in Zajecar, most do not rise to the level of a threat.

Bodrozic said the association had options at its disposal to help journalists, including through a joint working group with relevant state institutions established six years ago, publicly calling out such behavior, or even turning to the Council of Europe.

He said he didn't expect significant action in most cases, although "the state could easily react if the police and prosecutor's office work independently."

"However, in Serbia, it often comes down to the fact that the police and the prosecutor's office have to get a wink from the authorities in order to deal more seriously with a case," Bodrozic said.

Another journalist who has spoken publicly of threats he has received via social networks is Stevan Dojcinovic, editor of the respected Serbian investigative portal KRIK.

Dojcinovic said it was enough for someone on Twitter to condemn "Putin's destruction of Ukraine or criticize one of his puppets" to become a victim of "cyberbullying."

He blamed individuals he suggested were loyal to the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), Putin, and the Russian war effort's supporters, who have adopted a "Z" in response to markings on Russian military equipment in Ukraine.

"The army of Serbian Zputin bots is ready to [try to] seduce you," Dojcinovic tweeted. "SNS bots are funny this way."

Written by senior correspondent Andy Heil in Prague based on reporting in Belgrade by Sonja Gocanin.
On the morning of March 12, just after 9 a.m., Serhiy Tsyhipa said goodbye to his wife and walked out the door of his home in the small southern Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka, along with his dog Ais, to meet colleagues in the next town.

Tsyhipa, a 60-year-old activist, blogger, and vocal opponent of Russia's invasion, was also supposed to drop off some medicine for his mother-in-law.

"He never arrived. He never came home. His phone turned on twice for a few minutes and that's it. I was only able to send voice messages, nothing more," his wife, Olena, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.

The same day Tsyhipa disappeared, Oleh Baturin, a reporter for a local news site called Noviy Den, also went missing. His relatives and colleagues are still looking for him.

In southern Ukraine's Kherson region, people are going missing -- most recently on March 16, when armed men seized the mayor and his deputy in the coastal town of Skadovsk and took them away to an undisclosed location.

Much of the region, whose geography includes a Black Sea coastline, the mouth of the Dnieper River, and the administrative border with Russian-controlled Crimea, has been under occupation since March 3, when Russian forces entered the regional capital, also called Kherson. It was the first major Ukrainian city to fall under Russian control since Moscow launched a large-sale invasion on February 24.

Residents of Kherson have begun pushing back, holding increasingly large marches through the city, brandishing Ukrainian flags, and openly confronting Russian troops. In Skadovsk, protesters gathered outside the local administration building to demand the mayor be freed.

Hours later, the mayor, Oleksandr Yakovlyev, published an online video in which he said he had been released and that the others would also be released soon. However, he looked and sounded troubled in the video.

So far, Russian forces have largely refrained from using violence against these demonstrations, at least publicly. During one march, on March 13, Russian soldiers could be seen firing weapons into the air in what appeared to be an effort to frighten the Kherson protesters as they marched.

WATCH: On March 14, residents of the village of Bilozerka, near Kherson, went unarmed to protest against the Russian occupiers. Only bursts of gunfire in the air forced them to disperse.

But local residents say a growing number of people are disappearing, with reports of armed men -- some camouflaged, many without identifying insignias -- going door-to-door looking for people.

As many as 400 people have reportedly disappeared in the region in recent weeks, according to Ukrainian military officials.

"These are activists, rally organizers," Pavlo Keba, a resident of Kherson, told Current Time. "They are trying to suppress any type of protests because they see that people are not absolutely afraid to march past Russian troops and we understand perfectly well what they are saying."

Occupying forces have also indicated they plan to stage a referendum on independence for the Kherson region -- a sham vote, according to local residents and the Ukrainian government, that would serve as a pretext for formalizing Russian control.

Serhiy Khlan, deputy chief of the Kherson regional council, told Current Time that Russian officials appeared to be searching for pro-Ukrainian activists and local lawmakers.

"They are in hiding, but they are being searched for. There have been raids. [Russian forces] are looking for them in [the city of] Kherson and the surrounding region. Those councilors who received telephone calls refused [to collaborate]," he said.

"They refused, but they were threatened. They were threatened with being shot," he said.

Khlan also said that Russian police and civilians had been sent in in an attempt to patrol and govern the city -- most likely, he said, under orders from Russia's National Guard, a highly militarized police force that answers directly to President Vladimir Putin. He also said that the police officers included former members of a feared Ukrainian riot-police unit known as the Berkut.

The unit was notorious for violent repressions against protesters and was blamed for most of the shooting deaths of Ukrainian civilians that occurred in February 2014 in the final days of the Euromaidan street protests.

Olena Tsyhipa told RFE/RL that after she began publicizing her husband's disappearance she started hearing from other Nova Khakovka residents that he had been spotted at a military checkpoint.

"I found the dog. Some nice people called me and said that he was tied up" at a local administrative office, she said. "He's so scared."

She said she believed her husband, as well as Noviy Den reporter Oleh Baturin, had been detained either because they refused to endorse the Russian occupation or had actively spoken out against it.

"They were detained so that they would not write anything pro-Ukrainian because they were waging an information war and seriously interfering with the occupiers," she said.

Baturin's wife, Natalya, said her husband left the house on the afternoon of March 12 after a colleague contacted him and proposed a meeting at a nearby bus stop.

"He went to meet his colleague, who called him. No more information, nothing. He didn't take anything with him," she said.

WATCH: Russian forces are threatening to shoot municipal officials in Kherson, according to a councilor from the Ukrainian city, where the Russian Army has seized control. Sergei Khlan said the Russians were searching for local activists and officials who were now in hiding. This is an excerpt from an interview with Current Time presenter Yevhenia Tahanovych on March 12.

In an unverified post to the social-media platform TikTok, a Kherson resident named Oksana posted a video that she said showed her husband being taken away by masked, armed, camouflaged men.

"Give me back my husband! Do you understand that you are in foreign territory? Guys, do you understand that you are on foreign territory? Give me back my husband! He doesn't even have a weapon," she can be heard saying.

RFE/RL could not immediately verify the video; the TikTok user did not respond to messages seeking further information.

The reports of forced disappearances have not been limited to Kherson.

In the city of Melitopol, in the neighboring Zaporizhzhya region, authorities accused Russian forces of abducting the mayor on March 11 -- barging into his office, putting a bag over his head, then driving him away to an unknown location.

One Melitopol resident who gave only her first name, Anna, told Current Time that armed men were also going door-to-door in some parts of the city, including inside her building.

WATCH: Residents of Melitopol gathered to protest the arrival of Russian troops earlier this month. Shots can be heard in the background of an amateur video shot by a protester who says, "They are trying to intimidate us." The shots appear to be fired into the air by Russian forces in an attempt to disperse the protest.

"They broke down the entrance door late at night. They wanted to blow off the door of the apartment of a person they wanted. We had to talk them out of it, explain to them no one has lived there for a long time," she said.

"It's a witch-hunt or like the system in place in 1937. I do not know what it is, but it is alarming," she said, referring to the height of the repressions that took place under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin -- a time known as the Great Terror.

She said that some of the armed men, judging by their accents, sounded as if they were from the Donbas -- the eastern Ukrainian region that has been the site of an eight-year war between Ukrainian government forces and Kremlin-backed separatists who control parts of the two provinces.

And she said patrols were confiscating phones, tablet computers, and other electronic devices from residents when they are stopped at checkpoints.

In Bucha, a northern suburb of the capital, Kyiv, that has been the site of heavy bombardment, the city council said that six city employees and volunteers who had been captured by the Russian military the day before had been released. The circumstances behind their abduction were not immediately clear.

Serhiy Tomilenko, director of the National Union of Journalists, said his organization had received a growing number of reports from Kherson about unidentified men breaking down doors in the homes of journalists and public figures who have publicly demonstrated any sort of Ukrainian patriotism.

He also said he saw parallels with what happened in Crimea after Russia occupied and seized control of the peninsula in its 2014 annexation.

"One of their first actions was to clean, in particular, the public information space of those who are ready to criticize them or simply testify about crimes or actions related to the seizure of power, control...using a large-scale wave of human rights violations," he told RFE/RL.

Written by Mike Eckel based on reporting by Oleksandr Yankovskiy, Volodymyr Mykhaylov, and Yevhenia Tokar
While embedded with Ukrainian troops, Current Time journalists Borys Sachalko and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey came under fire during a Russian artillery assault. They filed this report on March 15 from the combat zone northwest of Kyiv, diving to the ground and scrambling for cover as explosions rocked the landscape. Current Time is a Russian-language TV and digital network led by RFE/RL in partnership with VOA.
Amateur videos of Russian tanks and other armored vehicles being towed across fields and villages by Ukrainian tractors regularly go viral on social media. The military vehicles are usually abandoned, broken down, or out of fuel. They are often handed over to Ukrainian armed forces battling Russia's invasion.
Written By

Joe Schulz served as the reporter of the Green Laker in 2019 and 2020, before being hired as a reporter for the Commonwealth in October 2020. He is from Oshkosh and graduated from UW-Oshkosh in December 2020 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.

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Ian Smillie, a leader of the campaign to eradicate blood diamonds, in an article published by theglobeandmail.com on Western sanctions against Russia's diamond industry, writes: Russia is one the worlds largest producers of rough diamonds. Most are exported, earning Russia about US$3-billion every year in the foreign exchange that is becoming scarcer as sanctions start to bite. More than 90 per cent of its diamonds are mined and exported by Alrosa, a publicly traded company that is one-third owned by the Russian government. Noting that the White House on February 24 placed restrictions on the company's ability to raise money in the United States, the author believes that next step should be to target Antwerp, where 80 per cent of the worlds rough diamonds, including those of Alrosa, are traded.
Roanoke Rapids, NC (27870)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 59F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Low 59F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Rutland, VT (05701)

Today

Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain ending this evening. Partial clearing overnight. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
Effective policies on institutional reform and improvement of the investment and business environment needs to be changed consistently, for reforms to show across all levels.

Realistic implementation

Resolution 02/NQ-CP of the Government has been considered as the key to economic recovery and development. The Government now has a strong commitment from 2022 to improve the quality of reforms as well as improve the ranking of business environment indicators, in sync with the improvement of national credit ratings of Moody's, S&P, and Fitch.

The Government is currently determined to improve Competitiveness in 4.0 ranking according to the ranking of the World Economic Forum (WEF). This calls for the raising of ranking of the Corruption Control Index to ten levels, the Land Administration Quality Index by at least one level, and raising the Index of Access to capital for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by atleast two to three steps. There is also need to improve in Innovation Capacity according to the ranking of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in which the rankings of the Information Technology Infrastructure Index and the Knowledge Intensive Labor Recruitment Index and the Higher Education Index be raised by atleast five places.

However, the results of the business environment in general have been slowed by the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this situation, the whole country has had to share resources, time, and effort to combat the disease. In order to counter the slowing of the economy, along with the requirement to issue quick and timely decisions for pandemic prevention and control measures, we must accelerate institutional reform both in magnitude and speed.

Compared with other regions in the world, although many areas have shown improvement, Vietnam's ranking in some aspects is still low or has not shown much improvement, or even decreased in 2021 compared to 2020. For instance, the Innovation Index has dropped two places from 42nd position to now at 44th position. Property rights also have dropped from 78th place to 84th place along with Perception of Corruption decreasing from 96th position to 104th position currently.

It is true that the pace of reform has slowed down in recent years, especially during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, one of the reasons reform is slowing down is that we have not focused on actual quality. We have been reforming for a long time, so the current reform issues are not limited to one ministry, but require the coordination of many ministries and sectors. For instance, specialized inspection is an area that requires not only the Ministry of Industry and Trade, or the Ministry of Health, but also inter-ministerial coordination. In international competition, Resolution 02 states that improving the business environment must be internationally competitive, so it is also what makes the implementation of our reforms more difficult. The requirements of reality and investors force us to reform more strongly to meet the requirements of today's new competitive environment.

However, besides some setbacks, we also have some advantages. The first is the strong commitment of the Government, and central and local agencies. Next, the National Assembly is now very active, and in the last extraordinary session of the National Assembly the discussion was on resolving only one problem, which is to remove institutional barriers related to the authority of the National Assembly. This move shows the willingness of agencies, and even the highest legislative body, to reform institutions and improve the business environment.

Consistent effort

Currently, instability is increasing along with concerns of the Russia-Ukraine ongoing war situation. In the immediate future, it can be seen that tourism businesses will continue to suffer under extreme negative impacts, as international tourists may have to reschedule their plans. Input costs of almost all production activities tend to increase when gasoline prices increase. At the beginning of the year, when talking about economic recovery and development plans, we didn't anticipate these things. Even the data on business registration in the first two months of 2022 had a higher rate of enterprises withdrawing than newly established enterprises, but did not show all the difficulties enterprises are still facing.

Therefore, Resolution 02 has made it very clear that in the coming time, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will be the leading unit, which will focus on reforming more evenly. The current state of unequal reform will greatly limit the overall results, and such results will reduce benefits. I really hope that enterprises play a role in monitoring the process and promptly report to the Government on difficult issues and problems that need to be immediately resolved.

It is therefore evident that reform will be more difficult, and more comprehensive in terms of both requirements for investors and businesses and there will be a race with other countries to attract high-quality investment flow. Hence, we need to see what all has to be done, and do it better and more effectively. In my opinion, the answer to all problems lies in clear regulations, strategic thinking and consistent actions. The opportunity to create stronger policy and reforms is very open when the National Assembly is ready to step in soon, together with the Government in reviewing and evaluating the legal system. At this time, a project that takes two to three years to complete because of multiple procedures, will not draw much interest by any business enterprise.

Phan Duc Hieu, Standing Member of Economic Committee, National Assembly of Thai Binh Province
Russia hopes to step up cooperation with Vietnamese localities , with Ho Chi Minh City being the top priority, Russian Consul General in HCM City Sadykov Timur Sirozhevich told Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen during their meeting on March 14.Russian businesses are looking forward to discuss cooperation in detail with municipal authorities, the Russia n diplomat said.Sirozhevich pledged to do his best to further promote relations between Russia and HCM City , and said he hopes to continue receiving support of HCM Citys leaders in the coming time.For his part, Nen thanked the Russian side for supporting HCM City in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing his hope that Sirozhevich will continue to promote cooperation between the city and Russian localities that will contribute to deepening the cooperation between the two countries.Earlier, Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai received Sirozhevich on March 13, during which Mai said he hopes that in his tenure, the Russian diplomat will follow his predecessor in promoting cooperative relations between HCM City and localities of Russia, and serve as a bridge to tighten the bilateral cooperation.
Danvers, MA (01923)

Today

Cloudy with light rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Low 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy with light rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Low 47F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Danvers, MA (01923)

Today

Cloudy and damp with rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Low 47F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Cloudy and damp with rain early...then becoming partly cloudy. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. Low 47F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Artist Greg Ito Explores Family Ancestry at the Institute of Contemporary Art

All You Can Carry is open now through May 15
A group of Rancho Santa Fe residents has submitted a petition to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters to recall recently appointed board member Jon Yonemitsu and force a special election for the board vacancy on the Rancho Santa Fe School District board.

In order to petition against the boards appointment to fill trustee Marti Rittos vacant seat, a group of voters needed to gather 65 signatures (representing 1.5 percent of the 4,292 registered voters). Speaking on behalf of the petitioners, resident Diana Knickrehm said the group gathered over two times the required amount.

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters has 30 business days to ratify the signatures and if the recall takes place, the school district has 130 days to schedule an election, likely in March or April 2018. Yonemitsu would have to be removed immediately.

The school district would be required to bear the $50,000 to $100,000 cost of the election, according to Superintendent David Jaffe.

For me, the best board is one that is fully functioning with five members and Mr. Yonemitsu is well-qualified, Jaffe said. The absence of any board member for four to five months is a disruption and while its certainly within the rights of the petitioners to do what theyre doing, it doesnt serve the students at this school.

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After trustee Marti Ritto resigned effective Sept. 13, the board gave three weeks for candidates to submit their names and they interviewed five candidates for the vacancy in an open session on Oct. 16. The board allowed a week for public input before selecting and appointing Yonemitsu unanimously in open session on Oct. 23.

The board had options on what method to take to fill Rittos seat, including paying the cost for a special election or going through an appointment process  the board unanimously voted to appoint a new member. At that Sept. 15 meeting, several residents requested the special election route, raising concerns that the selection of the new board member should be made by the community as there has been a pattern of appointments in the district. Tyler Seltzer was appointed in 2011 and Scott Kahn was appointed in May 2016. Both board members went on to be elected  Seltzer was been re-elected twice, in 2012 and in 2016, and Kahn was elected in 2016.

The appointees seat would be up for election in November 2018.

At that meeting, one of the residents even warned the board that if they chose to appoint, residents would file a petition.

This is about voter representation. It is about proper process, not anything personal, Knickrehm said, making it clear that the group has nothing against the appointed board member.

She said particularly with a bond measure on the horizon, the cycle of appointments in the school district needs to be broken and the board member should be chosen through a public election.

Getting the signatures was easy because residents are generally very appreciative that we are defending their right to vote. This is an amazing community full of intelligent, capable and caring people, Knickrehm said. An appointment once is OK. Twice, well they got away with it. But three times, definitely not. Rancho Santa Fe wants elected officials who respect their role as community representatives, not board members who think they know better.

Jaffe maintains that the board followed protocol in its appointment process and said he wouldve been happy to welcome any of the five candidates to the board.

Its a shame to have a well-qualified candidate like Mr. Yonemitsu be recalled and not have a fully functioning board for any amount of time, Jaffe said.
On Thursday, March 17, well have passed two years since nine Bay Area counties enforced the nations first orders to shelter in place. The novel coronavirus had already begun to spread, but this is the closest most of us have to a beginning of the pandemic that wholly reordered our lives.

Just before the shelter in place order in 2020, photographer Geloy Concepcion, who moved to El Sobrante from the Philippines in 2018, started a project on Instagram collecting found photos and notes from people around the world around combining them into poignant images for a project called "Things You Wanted To Say But Never Did." People in the photos were digitally removed to protect their identity. We use Concepcion's images to illustrate this story.

Before 12:01 a.m. on March 17, 2020, life wasnt exactly normal  some offices had closed because of the developing pandemic, events had scaled back or canceled  but it still felt like living. In the days after the lockdown, streets grew empty, stores boarded up and we turned inward.

Anniversaries are moments for reflection.

So what is the story of the past two years?

Its a story of loss  964,000 dead (and counting) nationwide; 812 in San Francisco County; 1,792 in Alameda. Its also the story of learning new ways of being  something were doing once again as pandemic-era restrictions are lifted and we allow ourselves some cautious hope.

About a month and a half before the call to shelter in place, Geloy Concepcion, a photographer living in El Sobrante, posted a picture to his Instagram. The image is overexposed on one side; on the other you can make out cars driving across a bridge under a purple-fog sky. At the top, in big, all-caps print, Concepcion had written a confession of sorts: I wish I can say it all in English, so I wont have to pretend I dont know shit!

Courtesy Geloy Concepcion

Concepcion had moved to the Bay Area from the Philippines in November 2017  a day after his wife gave birth to their daughter, Narra. It was a chance to start fresh. But for two years, he had to put his career as a photojournalist on hold while he waited for a work permit. During those years, his world became smaller  most of his time was spent taking care of his daughter  and his images became more intimate; the small child sleeping, the berries he had prepared for her. When he finally received his permit, he sent out a flurry of pitches to photo editors.

I was really hyped up to work, he says. When he didnt hear back, he began to feel like a failure.

Thats when he came across an old folder of film photos and decided to ask others about the things they wanted to say but never did and then scrawl what they told him across the images.

He couldnt have known, of course, that a pandemic would soon send everyone indoors, searching however they could for connection, and yet his project was almost perfectly timed. Hed started making the pieces because I was already isolated and now others were, too.

Geloy Concepcion

As his work spread across the internet, he began to receive about 1,000 notes a week from around the world. A project born of isolation led to 434,000 followers online, and as they looked at Concepcions pieces, they began to notice his other work as well. He said it became the only thing that connected me to the world.

When Navneet Arora thinks about the past two years, he cant help but marvel at the resilience of mankind. Arora is the chief people officer for Roofstock, an Oakland-based financial technology company.

During the past two years, the company has learned how to operate remotely. Not long ago, he never would have imagined hiring somebody over Zoom.

Weve had a paradigm shift, he says. We can be productive; we can build relationships without having met them.

Now he cant imagine going back to a world the way it was. The company has slowly begun to reopen its Oakland offices on a volunteer basis, but their future is hybrid, he says.

Geloy Concepcion

I dont think any of us could have foreseen what was coming and how well we adapted to it.

As restrictions lift and case counts drop, were being asked to adapt again, to a world where this coronavirus is treated as endemic. For as long as we have been waiting for a return to normalcy, this transition hasnt been easy. There have been too many false starts to be entirely optimistic about the future. Maya Johannson, CEO of Well Clinic, a mental health care provider, describes it as being scared to be hopeful.

We were kind of here last summer a little bit, she says. Her patients talk about the ebb and flow of optimism and despair.

Moving on will require a certain force of will, she says.

Were habituated to really isolating routines.  Its the easiest path. Were going to need to muster up some collective grit to get back to a normal that involves more in-person interaction.

Bit by bit, thats happened.

Courtesy Geloy Concepcion

One day during the pandemic, Brittany Newell, a San Francisco writer, noticed that she had stopped listening to music. Music reminded her of a vibrant world, one where she could go dance at Aunt Charlies (a divey, old-school drag bar in the Tenderloin) any night of the week. It would make me too sad.

For two years, she turned inward, a move toward introspection in ways that are both good and not good, but recently that changed: I feel this old impulsiveness or restlessness.

Lately, Newell has been throwing parties (Juicy Fruit) at a new bar in the Mission District. Last month it was packed, and she danced for the crowd, pulling dollar bills out of waving hands.

It felt so good. It felt so exciting, she says. I feel cautiously optimistic.

The memories of a summer cut short keep her grounded  I do feel hopeful, but its a little bit one more day at a time.

Geloy Concepcion

For others, normal is a ways off. Kimia Rahnemoon gave birth to twin daughters 4  months before shelter in place.

In those early months, Rahnemoon would take her daughters to the park almost every day to lie in the sunshine.

Then, suddenly, parks and playgrounds were closed.

Now, even as the world opens again, she and her husband, Farrid Hosseini, have tended toward caution: They dont even know shopping in person is a thing.

Theyre waiting until the day their daughters are cleared to be vaccinated.

Until then, Rahnemoon stays home with her daughters, her professional life on pause.

Shed expected to take six months off, maybe a year, to take care of her daughters  its now been nearly 2  years since shes worked in management consulting.

And she cant help but wonder what these two years will mean for her children as they get older: They will definitely have experienced some of these life-altering experiences  who knows how that might play out in their lives.

Catalina Do, a senior at an East Bay high school, knows all about the difficulties of adjustment; shes spent two years navigating changes.

We had this whole year of going to online school, Do says. Fast forward a year, we have to adjust to something else, new procedures and new rules.

School might be back in the classroom, but its a stripped-down version of what Do imagined her senior year would be  there will be a prom and a graduation ceremony, but all the other usual events have been canceled.

I feel like Ive missed out on a lot, she says.

Still, none of this has stopped her from imagining a future.

Geloy Concepcion

Its college application season, and shes waiting to hear back. Her top two choices are the University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley. She plans to study molecular biology, so she can one day be a pediatric oncologist.

If anything, she says, the pandemic only made her more determined. Im just excited to leave this bittersweet feeling behind and start a new adventure.

During the past two years, Concepcion has made dozens and dozens of pieces for his project about things left unsaid. Over time they change. In his most recent work, which uses found and donated images, he creates a white space where the people once were, adding another layer of melancholy.

The notes he chose werent necessarily related to the pandemic, but its hard not to read them in that light.

Funny thing about death is it reminds us to live.

I find myself grieving over the person I used to be.

I feel trapped in my own life.

And yet, the project, at its core, is one of connection and the letting go of burdens  and something interesting happened during the course of this project and the course of the pandemic.

I learned from it that our work can be deeper beyond our physical jobs, Concepcion says.

Basically, he came to understand that photography was simply a medium. Deep down, all hed ever wanted was to share stories.

As a general rule, we dont get to choose how we learn lifes lessons, and here the pandemic offered him a salient one: You have to find your purpose, your vision.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RyanKost
A faculty panel at San Francisco State has found that the school broke its promise to the head of a fledgling program in Arab-American studies in 2006 to hire two full-time teachers for the program. But the universitys president says any such promise was not binding and has vetoed the panels decision that new teachers should be hired.

Professor Rabab Abdulhadi has struggled to maintain the AMED program, or Arab and Muslim Ethnicity and Diasporas studies, without the two additional faculty members she was promised by Kenneth Monteiro, then the dean of ethnic studies. But in a veto messageFriday, San Francisco State President Lynn Mahoney said the reported promise was inconsistent with the universitys agreement with its faculty union and therefore unenforceable.

Former Dean Monteiro did not have the authority to bind the University or sidestep the collective-bargaining agreement, Mahoney said, without spelling out any inconsistencies between Monteiros commitment and the union contract. She said university officials have determined that AMEDs current enrollments do not justify additional faculty hiring at this time.

In its Feb. 18 decision, the three-member faculty panel also agreed with Abdulhadis claim that she was experiencing hostility in the workplace as a result of her long-running battle with university officials. Mahoney did not address that finding directly, but said in her decision that the fact that SFSU has disputed and continues to dispute the enforceability and validity of (the deans promise) does not amount to a hostile work environment.

There was no immediate comment from Abdulhadi. The teachers union, the California Faculty Association, supports her and says she has filed an appeal of Mahoneys veto to an arbitration panel that would be jointly selected by the union and the university for a final decision in the case.

We are fairly confident that we will win because its (we think) pretty open and shut, James Martel, the unions campus president, said by email Tuesday.

The dispute reflects ongoing tensions about Middle Eastern studies at San Francisco State. In 2017, a group of Jewish students accused the school of encouraging anti-Semitism, citing protests that had halted a campus speech by the mayor of Jerusalem, and alleged that Abdulhadi had instigated prejudice with anti-Zionist statements. But a federal judge found no evidence of discrimination by the university and dismissed the suit in 2018.

Last year, Abdulhadi and a faculty colleague scheduled a remote classroom talk by Leila Khalid, a Palestinian activist who had taken part in an airplane hijacking in 1969, but Zoom canceled the broadcast at the urging of pro-Israel advocates. Another faculty panel found that San Francisco State had violated the teachers academic freedom by failing to defend them, but Mahoney vetoed that decision as well.

The College of Ethnic Studies, home to the program, was the first such institution in the nation, established in 1969 after a months-long strike led by Black students protesting the absence of minorities in San Francisco States curriculum.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The recent faculty panel ruling cited Abdulhadis testimony that she had left a previous teaching position only after Monteiro, the dean, promised to hire two additional full-time teachers  a promise that Monteiro said had been approved by Robert Corrigan, then the universitys president. Over the next decade, the panel said, S.F. State hired 10 new teachers for other ethnic studies programs but none for AMED.

The lack of hires has resulted in intellectual isolation for Dr. Abdulhadi, the three panel members said. Although Monteiro is no longer dean, they said, change in leadership does not revoke the promise. The panel called on the university to hire the additional teachers and to apologize to Abdulhadi.

Abdulhadi told The Chronicle after the panel decision that she felt vindicated and hoped Mahoney would uphold it. But Mahoney said Friday that the university had not made any binding promises to Abdulhadi or her program and was entitled to determine its own hiring policy, based on enrollment.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
Thea Selby, who finished fourth in the 17th Assembly District race in February, endorsed her former rival David Campos Tuesday in the April 19 runoff.

Selby, a City College of San Francisco trustee who garnered nearly 6% of the vote in the Feb. 15 election, said Tuesday that she chose Campos over San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney after speaking with both candidates.

Selby was impressed with how Campos, a vice chair of the California Democratic Party, pushed for the party to reject campaign contributions from fossil fuel companies. He was a lone voice among the partys top leaders in criticizing its recent decision to accept contributions from some but not all fossil fuel companies.

To me, this is critical, said Selby, a longtime transportation advocate who also endorsed Campos in his 2014 run for the Assembly, when he lost to David Chiu. The open Assembly seat was created after Chiu stepped down when San Francisco Mayor London Breed appointed him to be San Franciscos city attorney.

I want to get the money out of politics and bring the people in, Selby said.

Selby recalled working with Campos in one of his signature achievements while he served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors: a program to fund free Muni rides for youth.

He supports women, working families and the most vulnerable, and I just really believe that that is the leader that I want in the Assembly, Selby said.

Campos said Tuesday that he appreciated this very important endorsement  noting that it came from the only parent and only woman in the four-person field. The other candidate in the February race, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Bilal Mahmood, endorsed Haney. Mahmood received 22% of the vote in February.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Even though Selby received far fewer votes than Mahmood, Campos noted that every piece of support will be critical in what he expects to be a tight runoff. Haney edged Campos by less than 1% of the vote in February.

A lot of parents have a connection with the work that (Selby) has done around education and transportation, Campos said. I do think that women are going to be the deciding vote in this race.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
When a white gunman opened fire inside three Atlanta-area spas on March 16, 2021, killing six women of Asian ethnicity and eight people total, the act of mass violence became a nightmare example of the anti-Asian xenophobia roiling the U.S.

Closer to home, the Bay Area has been a flash point for anti-Asian incidents, ranging from verbal harassment to deadly violence. According to reports made to Stop AAPI Hate, a crowdsourced database, Asian women bore the brunt of the animosity as the total number of hate incidents reported in the U.S. climbed 35% last year, to 6,273 in 2021.

One year after the spa attacks, four Bay Area women of Asian descent spoke with The Chronicle about their experiences with bigotry here and the various paths theyve followed to fight it. Here are their stories, in their own words, edited for length and clarity.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

Haejin Chun, 37, chef and founder of Big Bad Wolf, a community dining experience: I grew up in a very traditionally Asian household  a patriarchy. My grandfather was at the head, and I was conditioned to be subordinate, docile and fall in line and never question what the man says. I was often finding myself challenging these notions, even as a young child.

Being in the public spotlight, I get DMs quite often. One particular (direct message) stood out to me because he just seemed very predatory, and he was Asian fetishizing. I blocked him.

That was two days before the attack.

Last Monday I was at the park in the Presidio. I had my headphones on, and I was there with my dog. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and all of a sudden I felt this shadow towering over me. When I took off my headphones, this person, obviously not mentally well, was just screaming all sorts of things. Very angry and aggressive and big, more than 6 feet. Very muscular. Luckily I wasnt harmed.

I was thinking about the Atlanta shootings and how the guy who murdered everybody mentioned that he had felt rejected by Asian women and it just kind of tied to the guy who was DMing me, which is totally unrelated to what happened two days later, but it was just this crescendo of feeling so preyed on and, in a way, dehumanized.

After I posted about the incident, there were so many women messaging me their stories, how they never really feel safe. Its this collective narrative that were all enduring. Were so tired of being strong all the time, of looking over our shoulder or having to be on alert.

How could I do something for the women who I consider sisters? The only thing was to continue to create safe spaces for us to support, empower and share these stories with each other. I felt the need to turn that pain into purpose, to invite all of these women to a dinner where I could celebrate them and nourish them and help them feel seen and supported.

Yet I just feel so drained, emotionally and mentally, constantly thinking about these things and the looming fear. Getting pepper spray for my parents or my grandmother, it just seems insane to me.

Theres no amount of accomplishment or work that you do within the community that makes you any less exempt from something like this happening.

Elaine Peng, 51, founding director of Mental Health Association for Chinese Communities, co-founder of the Orange Patrol in Oaklands Chinatown:

Kristen Murakoshi / Special to The Chronicle Kristen Murakoshi / Special to The Chronicle Elaine Peng, a mental health counselor who started organizing street patrols in Oaklands Chinatown last March, holds a butterfly hair clip that a woman gave her years ago as a reminder that, even when times are hard, there is beauty to be found in life. Photos by Kristen Murakoshi / Special to The Chronicle

After the Atlanta shooting, I remember our organization had a vigil for the ladies killed in Atlanta. You feel helpless, like you cant do anything.

Later we hosted another event where everyone was crying. Even I was crying because when we remember these things it is very painful. (The Atlanta victims) were wonderful wives and mothers, but they just shot them. We think, Maybe I am next.

We must recognize where the pain comes from. The mental health impact in our community is great. Just because you saw this happen, its not true that the whole world is unfair to us. We need to stand up to let the whole world know we can do something.

Last year we began to hear about a lot of the hate crimes happening in Oaklands Chinatown. Once, as my friend crossed the street, someone in a car yelled at her. It happened to me, too. I was crushed when I saw the news of elders being pushed. I was very angry and sad. I cant keep quiet. I must do something for our community.

They pick women because they think we are not strong and we are easy to bully. We need to protect older people and women.

Last March 1 with Joe Ma  he is the chairman of the Toishan Benevolent Association  we started a patrol team in Oaklands Chinatown. We want our people to patrol the street so that older people will feel safe when they see us. We patrol from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day; 118 people have volunteered. One year later, we have patrolled every single day.

One time a man was very mad. He was yelling. I talked with him to help him calm down. I think he had mental health issues. He told me he is from San Francisco and he forgot where his home is. Our volunteers used their training to try and calm him down. He then gave us the number of his brother. So his brother came and picked him up.

We didnt call the police. We can prevent things from getting worse. People are grateful, they will feel like someone is helping to take care of them.

Lily Ho, 37, founder and president of Delta Chinatown Initiative: Im Chinese American. I grew up in San Francisco. I did not ever dream of being a banker, but the entire time I was (working in banking), I was kind of convincing myself that it was a good, stable corporate job. I think the pandemic changed me the same way that it changed a lot of people.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

The way our community has been under attack in the last couple of years is a whole other level. These are completely unprovoked attacks, and the perpetrators are not necessarily gaining anything from it. Its not even for economic gain.

When the Atlanta shootings happened, it wasnt a huge surprise because the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes had been skyrocketing across the country. It was absolutely tragic.

The sexualization and fetishization of Asian women is something Ive always been aware of. I know how people view me. Even as a teenager, I could tell the difference when someone looked at me  they thought I was either pretty or they had yellow fever. And when I think back, I think a 14-year-old shouldnt know what the differences of those looks are, but I did. And its gross.

But there is no way humans can thrive if we dont feel safe. The work that Im involved in now is part of self-care. Some of it is fight or flight. Im a fighter. I didnt want to freeze and sit around and complain. I exorcise my anxieties by doing something about it.

Putting up security cameras in Chinatown is one thing that I know how to do to help keep our community safe. I consider it one mode of deterrence, and one way to help law enforcement catch perpetrators.

The Asian American community is finding ways to be involved and engaged in community work. How can we help and reinvent Chinatown? There is a momentum of young activists who want to look beyond the rat race of a corporate world or a startup world and use their talents to do something else that can benefit the community. I hope this momentum continues for a long time, because the progress that were trying to make is going to be a bunch of incremental steps.

Christine Chun-I Ni, 45, projects producer at NBC Bay Area: I wasnt around Asian people growing up. Going to Chinese school was like getting my wisdom teeth pulled. I didnt want to go, something that I terribly regret to this day. Now, all I want to do is to be surrounded by my community. I live in Chinatown.

When that (Atlanta) sheriff came out and spoke (after the spa shootings), he talked about victims as if they were lower-class or they didnt matter. It made me angry. Super sad. At that point we were in the peak of our grandmas and grandpas getting the shit knocked out of them right in the middle of the street. So that was a trigger almost every day at that point.

Kristen Murakoshi / Special to The Chronicle Kristen Murakoshi / Special to The Chronicle Christine Ni looks at a photo of herself as a child, an image she keeps on the lock screen of her phone to remind herself of how far shes come. Ni, a projects producer for NBC Bay Area, is using her platform to push for coverage of Asian communities. Photos by Kristen Murakoshi / Special to The Chronicle

In the job that I do I was like: I have this platform, what can I do to help?

Chinese people in my community lift each other up. So I decided Im going to put a person of color on TV before I put a white person on TV right now. Thats what my job is, to push a little bit behind the scenes.

When the Asian hate stuff started I called my boss, and shes like, OK, what should we do? I said we have to have uncomfortable conversations about gender violence, sexual violence. We had to talk about the model minority myth. We couldnt be docile and obedient anymore if we wanted people to listen to us.

When I put Asian people on TV, it matters. Maybe the conversations are making people in our newsroom uncomfortable or people that are watching a little uncomfortable. But (hate crimes) are still happening. I have made it a very deliberate part of my mission to do more with my community.

For me, the shootings personally catapulted it to another level. Im not one that goes to rallies or protests. But that very weekend there was a memorial vigil at Portsmouth Square that I went to. It was healing. Those women mattered.

I have this picture of myself when I was 9 or 10, and I look at that little girl and I just want it to be better for her. I dont know if it will be better, but I want it to be better.

Deepa Fernandes is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: deepa.fernandes@sfchronicle.com Twitter @deepafern
Two California residents who co-founded a biopharmaceutical company in Taiwan were sentenced to just over a year in prison on Tuesday for committing wire fraud and stealing trade secrets from another company in order to gain a competitive advantage, officials said.

Rose Lin, also known as Rose Sweihorn Tong, 73, of South San Francisco, and Raco Racho Ivanov Jordanov, 74, of Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego County), co-founded JHL Biotech, Inc. in Taiwan in 2012 and were the chief operating officer, and CEO of the company, respectively. Prosecutors said that between 2011 and 2019, they obtained or allowed and encouraged their employees to obtain and use confidential and proprietary information from Genentech, an American biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, in an effort to reduce costs and meet certain regulatory requirements, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California.

The trade secrets taken from Genentech allowed JHL Biotech to cheat, cut corners, solve problems, provide examples, avoid further experimentation, eliminate costs, lend scientific assurance, and otherwise help JHL Biotech start-up, develop, and operate its business, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in the statement Tuesday.

Jordanov was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, plus 36 months of supervised release that is to include nine months of home confinement. Lin was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, plus 36 months of supervised release, officials said.

JHL Biotech, which changed its name to Eden Biologics in February 2021, develops and manufactures biosimilars  biological products that are essentially copies of original or reference biological products meant to expand access to medications or other treatments.

JHL Biotechs theft of Genentechs confidential or proprietary information began when Jordanov hired former Genentech employees who secretively brought the trade secrets with them from one company to the other, officials said. Jordanov admitted that he believed that taking that information from Genentech violated employment contracts and nondisclosure agreements, but he made no effort to determine whether that was actually the case or to discourage the practice, prosecutors said.

Between 2014 and 2018, Jordanov occasionally used and told others at the company to use confidential or proprietary Genentech documents for JHL Biotech projects such as the development, construction and operation of new company facilities, officials said. Once the criminal investigation into JHL Biotechs practices began, Jordanov told an employee to delete an email from him instructing him to use Genentech documents, and told him to tell others to follow suit, according to prosecutors.

In a separate scheme, Lin brought in Xanthe Lam, a principal scientist who worked at Genentech, to secretly serve as a consultant for JHL Biotech, knowing that Lam was not allowed to do both jobs at the same time due to Genentech policies, officials said. Lin instructed her employees to seek out help from Lam. She attempted to hide the practice by paying Lam through her husband, Allen Lam, and by instructing her employees to only contact Xanthe Lam via her husbands email address, according to prosecutors.

In a related case, Xanthe and Allen Lam pleaded guilty in July 2021 to conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets by stealing confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information from Genentech and giving it to JHL Biotech, officials said.

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When JHL Biotech was working to create a set of standard operating procedures in order to receive certain necessary certifications from the Taiwanese government, some employees used confidential and proprietary documents from Genentech without Genentechs knowledge or permission, officials said. Lin was in charge of making sure that JHL Biotech met the certification requirements and was aware that her employees were developing the standard operating procedures illegally. The company developed up to 100 standard operating procedures using trade secrets stolen from Genentech, officials said.

In 2016 meetings with Sanofi, a multinational pharmaceutical company with which JHL Biotech was doing business, Lin and Jordanov falsely asserted to the company that it had developed its biosimilars without stealing the intellectual property of other companies. Sanofi agreed to a corporate transaction and invested approximately $101 million in JHL Biotech, officials said.

Jordanov and Lin were indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2021. They entered into plea agreements and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets and wire fraud. Other charges such as money laundering and conspiracy to obstruct justice were dismissed at their sentencing Tuesday, officials said.

Genentech filed a civil lawsuit against JHL Biotech, and the two sides agreed to a settlement in September 2019 that required JHL Biotech to stop the development and clinical trials of certain products, Eden Biologics said in a statement.

Andy Picon (he/him) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: andy.picon@hearst.com Twitter: @andpicon
Regarding U.S. foreign policy has no moral high ground (Letters to the Editor, March 15): Bernie Corace is not the least bit concerned about the growing violence between Ukraine and Russia. He implies an equivalence between Russia and Israel. There is none.

Russia is a dictatorship and a kleptocracy. A parallel in the Middle East would be Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.

Ukraine is a democracy. Its people are free and hardworking. It is the breadbasket of Europe. Half of Israels grain imports are from Ukraine.

Israel, too, of course, is a democracy. Ukraine and Israel dont start wars. They answer to the will of their people and defend themselves when attacked.

It is painful to see the international community boycotting Russia while continuing to pander to the radical Islamists threatening Israel.

Len Bennett, Deerfield Beach, Fla.

CEQA change is wrong

Regarding Student cap law of CEQA removed (Front Page, March 15): Once more California legislators have put themselves above the rule of law when they legislated an exemption for UC Berkeley against the ruling of the courts on the environmental review process.

When it comes to filling the states coffers, there is no law that counts. Private enterprises have to deal with Byzantine rules established by the state itself, but when it comes to applying them to their own activities, they are all void and null.

Francesco Indrio, Oakland

Make way for whales

Regarding Slowing ships could save whales lives (Front Page, March 15): I would like to commend Tara Duggan for a very informative article about ship strikes on whales. The quote, Its a pretty violent thing when a ship hits a whale, is really jarring for those who might never have thought about what exactly does happen when a ship hits a whale.

It would be a very good thing if that jarring quote plus the information contained in the article produces some empathy for the plight of these magnificent creatures.

Without public outcry, there would have been and will be no substantive changes at all to shipping practices, laws and regulations to prevent those violent things from occurring.

Having grown up in the Bay Area, I can attest to the fact that 50 years ago, a whale stranding was not only quite rare but was also big news, and many of us would flock to the site to check it out. Sadly, it is no longer so rare as the article so ably pointed out.

Those of us with a love of oceans, rivers, lakes and streams and the creatures that inhabit those places really appreciate Duggans focus on aquatic issues.

John Leydecker, San Rafael

Tracks better than trail

Regarding 320-mile trail from Humboldt to S.F. Bay gains momentum (Bay Area & Business, March 15): The dramatic photograph accompanying the story about the proposed Great Redwood Trail is of the railroad bridge at the portal of the Island Mountain Tunnel, located in the middle of a stretch of Eel River Canyon wilderness with no paved roads, no public access and no cell service.

If a hiker is injured, help would be a long time coming. If a careless hiker accidentally started a fire, wed have a full-blown inferno before anyone even knew about it.

If the millions that this trail will cost was instead spent to rehabilitate the existing railroad, thousands of people could enjoy this magnificent scenery instead of a few hundred hikers. And thousands of semi-truck loads could be on the tracks instead of smoking up and down the highway.
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WASHINGTON  The age-old tradition of federal earmarks is back, and the Bay Area is set to benefit.

The government funding bill signed into law by President Biden on Tuesday marked the first time in more than a decade that members of Congress were able to include funding for specific needs in their district, and the Bay Area will get roughly $100 million to fund dozens of projects throughout the region.

Beneficiaries range from local libraries, to health clinics, to roads and trails. The vast majority of Bay Area lawmakers requests were funded, with each district getting at least nine funding requests granted.

Lawmakers touted the money they secured and highlighted the range of priorities receiving support. They used the rebranded term for earmarks  community project funding  that Democrats adopted when they reintroduced the practice with new reforms.

Earmarks had long been a Washington tradition, a way for lawmakers to deliver specific wins for their district and constituents. But in 2011, Republicans banned the practice after the Tea Party wave gave them control of Congress, citing concerns over improper spending and backroom deals.

Community Project Funding is critical to the promise that my Democratic colleagues and I have made for historic and sweeping reforms to ensure hardworking Americans and their families finally get the federal support they need and deserve, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, said in a statement. These investments will support some of our most underserved populations ... and foster economic development, making a real difference in the lives of my constituents by making our communities healthier, safer, stronger, and even more resilient.

All told, nearly 120 projects across the region secured funding based on requests from House representatives and senators, with awards ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars to millions. The recipients included public safety agencies, universities, transportation projects, environmental and habitat efforts and homeless services.

Several lawmakers requested money to establish more mental health and crisis support in their district, like a $900,000 award to the Vallejo Police Department and more than $2 million for Contra Costa County Health Services. Homelessness and food insecurity was also a big focus, with Covenant House centers in Hayward and Oakland getting funds for youth centers, as well as All In Eats in Alameda County and the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank getting money for food programs.

Some of the Bay Areas most iconic features will also get money. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will get $2 million for its program to refresh the citys cable cars, and BART will get $2 million for 715 new fare gates. Off the coast, the Greater Farallones Kelp Recovery Project got $2 million to help restore kelp forests.

The typical funding was roughly $10 million for each district.

Having secured full control of Washington once more, Democrats have revived earmarks with some reforms, as Congress has struggled to pass government funding bills and specific spending at home is seen as a way to secure votes for the major packages. Lawmakers were allowed to make up to 10 requests, were required to publish their asks online, certify they and their family have no financial stake in requested projects, and demonstrate community support for the recipient. For-profit entities were not eligible for funding.

It wasnt just Democrats who requested funding, though. Several of Californias Republicans did as well, including Reps. David Valadao of Hanford (Kings County) and Doug LaMalfa of Richvale (Butte County), who requested more than $50 million combined.

Both got significant funds for their districts into the bill. But while Valadao voted for the bill and touted the money for his district, LaMalfa did not, citing excessive government spending.

There are many individual pieces which I do support and would have in a more responsibly crafted bill, LaMalfa said in a statement.

The passage of the funding also allows for much of the money in the bipartisan infrastructure bill to start going out, as it was not able to be disbursed when Congress was passing short-term funding extensions. California is expected to get at least $14 billion over the next five years from that bill, plus more to local governments and entities.

Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan
After two years in stasis, downtown San Francisco is coming back to life.

Two dozen of the citys largest employers have committed to March office returns, including finance giants Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Visa and Mastercard. In the next month, Facebook and Google are mandating workers come back around three days a week, the strongest requirements since the pandemic erupted two years ago.

Salesforce, the citys largest employer, saw hundreds of daily workers at its Transbay district towers in the past few weeks. On March 9, more than 1,000 of its 10,000 local workers came in, the company said.

The returns are fueling hopes that San Franciscos beleagured downtown is finally recovering, after desolate streets and boarded-up storefronts in the wake of 2020s unprecedented shelter-in-place orders. The delta and omicron variants dashed hopes of mass reopenings last fall and during the winter, but a plunge in cases and high vaccination rates are erasing the citys mask and vaccination mandates.

It seems like this is a turning point, but expectations need to be set that its not going to be a sharp rebound, said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of real estate brokerage CBREs Tech Insights Center. The door closed. Now the door is open, but people arent rushing back in.

Signs of life have improved modestly, but the tech industrys fondness of remote work and lingering health restrictions mean the comeback continues to lag other cities.

San Francisco-area office buildings managed by security company Kastle had 29% occupancy in mid-March, up from around 10% during the depths of the omicron surge and holidays. Nine other major cities tracked by Kastle have higher occupancy rates, including Los Angeles 38% occupancy and Austins 58%.

Average weekday exits at BARTs Embarcadero Station in the first week of March jumped 21% to 10,132 people compared with Februarys weekday average, and BARTs Montgomery Station saw a 16% increase to 9,316 riders a day. But system-wide February ridership was only 28% of pre-pandemic levels. New York, an omicron epicenter, saw subway ridership at 55% of pre-pandemic levels last month.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

We cannot sugarcoat it, Mayor London Breed said in her State of the City speech. We have work to do. Our recovery will not be easy. It will not be quick. But it is coming. San Francisco is coming back.

The city is planning a series of events called BloomSF including live performances and happy hours from March 27 to April 2 to entice people to return. Its also investing $12.5 million over two years to hire 50 welcome ambassadors to greet pedestrians and give directions, potentially deterring crime.

The key economic challenge is that while workers are returning, few of them will return to 2019 habits, even if the pandemic fully recedes. A Bay Area Council survey of around 200 local employers found that 70% planned to bring workers back by mid-March, but only 15% planned to have them back five days a week. Before the pandemic, around 70% of companies required five days in the office.

San Franciscos budget projections estimate that workers will stay remote 15% of the time.

In the battle over the future of work, the forces of hybrid were completely dominant and routed the five-day-a-week advocates, said Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford professor.

A turning point came early in the pandemic, in May 2020, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg committed to flexible and remote work and said half the company could potentially be remote in the next five to 10 years. Twitter went further, allowing almost all workers to stay remote forever.

Bloom expects a 10% reduction in San Francisco foot traffic as a result of shifting work policies.

The key to a sustainable recovery is getting workers in the office on the same day, so they arent stuck in awkward situations where theyve commuted to the office only to go on a Zoom call that they could have done at home.

Whats the point of coming in? Bloom said. Nobody is coming into the office for that free bagel.

A sustainable return is a challenge that Larry Gadea, CEO of tech startup Envoy, is grappling with through both a personal and industry-wide perspective.

Envoy, founded in 2013 as a way for companies to sign in office visitors, builds software for a flexible workplace, managing tasks such as booking desks, directing deliveries and scheduling.

Its been clear that most companies arent abandoning the office. Gadea said 80% of his clients kept their Envoy subscriptions during the pandemic, and most of his roughly 7,000 paying clients are back in the office one or two days a week, but almost none has mandated a return to the workplace.

If you want to bring a true sense of community and a real culture, that shouldnt start with, You have to go back or youll be fired, Gadea said. Managers dont want to put (employees) in an awkward situation, especially when theyre doing good work.

Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle

Gadea returned to his office at Fifth and Townsend streets in the South of Market last summer, and most of the companys 270 workers, including 100 in San Francisco, now come in part time.

Luring people back includes offering perks such as commuter credits, happy hours and even headphones to block out the noise of office mates. The company orders food for employees through DoorDash, as many of the bars and restaurants in the area have shuttered.

One of the biggest assets for bringing workers back is certainty, particularly coordinating team days and making sure people have enough space, a challenge given Envoys growing workforce and same pre-pandemic-size office.

People dont want constant change all the time, Gadea said, which is a major reason attempts to come back last year kept getting derailed.

Pre-pandemic challenges for businesses havent gone away. Voters passed more taxes in 2020, including a restructuring that meant larger companies pay more, and office space remains expensive. Housing costs are climbing again and salaries are higher than in most U.S. cities.

The cost environment eventually reaches a point where it becomes difficult for companies to remain, said Yasukochi of CBRE.

But techs seemingly unstoppable growth means local real estate deals are still happening, though the biggest have been in Silicon Valley.

Real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield is tracking 216 San Francisco tenants seeking 5.6 million square feet of office space, including tech tenants seeking 3.6 million square feet.

Theres a bifurcated market where desirable high-end space will lease faster than older buildings, said Robert Sammons, senior research director at Cushman & Wakefield. When Salesforce shrank its real estate at 350 Mission St., for instance, Yelp and Sephora both signed new headquarters leases in the tower, which was built in 2015.

Office vacancy is still around 20%, but Sammons is seeing more signs that workers are coming downtown. When he recently took Muni from Castro Station, it was standing room only at 7 a.m.

A colleague was visiting Salesforce Tower last week around 4:30 p.m. When the elevator opened, it was like 2020 again, Sammons said. People were pouring out.

Roland Li is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: roland.li@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rolandlisf
A new report contends that San Franciscans pay more and get less  a good bit less  from their Police Department.

The findings by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice put the annual cost of police service at around $700 per resident. Thats more than any other California city with a population over 500,000 pays except Los Angeles, whose police report solving crimes at twice the rate as in San Francisco, according to the analysis.

City police also disproportionately arrest Black residents at a higher rate than the other cities and flagrantly fail to keep comprehensive arrest data, says the nonprofit, whose mission is decreasing incarceration and finding long-term solutions to crime.

Police called the report misleading and a hit job omitting key factors, including that San Francisco sees huge numbers of tourists  15 million in 2021. The report doesnt appear to factor in tourism for any jurisdiction it studied, including Los Angeles, which also sees millions of visitors per year.

The San Francisco Police Department is responsible to protect and serve our citys residents and its millions of visitors, of course. CJCJ knows that  or should know it  but misleadingly chose to ignore it to heighten the impact of its PR stunt, police spokesperson Matt Dorsey said in an emailed statement. Sadly, the timing, tenor, questionable and purposive methodology, and utter lack of collaboration by CJCJ renders its brief politically suspect and factually misleading.

Dorsey also said the report failed to note that $80 million of the departments nearly $700 million budget funds the police airport bureau.

Mayor London Breeds office didnt respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The reports author was confident in his findings after years of researching police. Mike Males is a former UC Santa Cruz professor whos published extensively on juvenile justice. He said other departments have airport divisions, too. Every city could claim contingencies that boost its costs, he said.

San Franciscans are just not getting their moneys worth out of the Police Department, said Males, senior research fellow at the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

The report comes at a time when crime is on the minds of San Franciscans and residents of other large cities that have seen rises amid the COVID pandemic. The Police Department and District Attorney Chesa Boudin find themselves at odds over how best to protect people and property. National media, especially conservative outlets, have descended to cover the fight and showcase the citys grinding inequality and challenges.

Boudin, who faces a June 7 recall, is a favorite target for his more progressive policies, such as greater use of pretrial diversion. Boudin has blamed the police, saying hed prosecute people if officers would arrest them. Breed recently pledged to add new officers while still pursuing alternatives to traditional policing. She promised as well to invest in programs that address the root causes of crime.

Males said the impetus for conducting the research was the narrative thats emerged of San Francisco as a hellscape of liberal policies gone sideways. Males, whos studied police for decades, wanted to know what the data said.

Males said the data suggests the Police Department, whose leaders complain of understaffing, has failed to improve as its added more personnel.

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The report compared San Francisco stats from the last decade with ones from Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose. In Los Angeles, which spends more than San Francisco on police, police reported a 16% rate of clearing serious cases by arrest in 2020, one point better than the national average. In San Francisco, the rate was 9%, lower than any other major California city.

Dorsey sent clearance rate data showing San Francisco has, in certain categories, maintained better clearance rates than some other major departments. In 2020, for instance, the agency reported a 75% homicide clearance rate, which is better than the typical national average of around 65%. L.A.s rate was 55%.

The report faults local police for record-keeping issues that make analyzing crime and arrests more difficult. The Police Department does not specify an offense in most youth arrests and doesnt list whether arrestees of any age are of Hispanic origin.

The spokesperson disputed those allegations and said Males may be cherrypicking to call out the agencys record-keeping.

Dorsey didnt specifically respond to the finding that San Francisco police arrest Black people at a rate almost 10 times higher than for non-Black people. But he pointed out steps the agency has taken to combat profiling and encourage equity in policing.

He said San Francisco police maintain relationships with experts in academia and advocacy organizations as part of its commitment to 21st century police reforms.

Joshua Sharpe is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: joshua.sharpe@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joshuawsharpe
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Beneath the stately towers and suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge, engineers are building a steel net along the spans northwest corner  the product of a tireless, decades-long campaign that hit significant delays as it inched toward completion.

By the end of next year bridge staff expect to finish the $206.7 million barrier, intended to catch any disconsolate person who leaps from the rail. Comprising enough marine-grade stainless steel to cover seven football fields, the net will flank the 1.7 mile suspension bridge on both sides, its webbing gray to match the fog and the choppy water, its supports painted the same ripe-orange hue as the bridge.

Despite its life-saving potential, the project met a string of obstacles, including political opposition, design challenges in a wind-lashed marine environment, labor turnover at the lead construction contractor, and at least one lawsuit. Now, it finally appears to be on track, a hard-fought victory for those who have pressed bridge authorities for years to install a suicide barrier.

Were beginning to see that its going to be completed, and were hoping that it will get deaths down to zero, Paul Muller, president of the nonprofit Bridge Rail Foundation said. Muller has worked for 19 years with the group that rallies for suicide deterrents, primarily focusing on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Its members are warily monitoring the construction process. Some advocates wait with apprehension even after signs of progress: As of this week, construction workers have affixed 264 of 369 orange net supports, along with 20,000 square feet of woven steel.

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To date, more than 1,800 people have plunged to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge, with 21 confirmed suicides last year alone, and four suspected, though no bodies were found, according to bridge officials. Two or three people jump each month as workers scramble to finish what they hope is a permanent solution.

In the meantime, the deaths continue, Muller said. Honestly, the story is really outrageous. The California Highway Patrol asked (the bridge district) to resolve this in 1939, he continued, citing a campaign prompted by the first recorded deaths at the bridge, weeks after it opened.

Since then, Muller said, its been back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

Others find their frustration melting away when they glimpse the barrier, now eye-level to anyone standing at the landing below the Vista Point parking lot. Squinting at it on a recent, sparkling afternoon, some passersby smiled approvingly, while others shrugged, and one man muttered about wasted money.

Well, its probably a good idea, Gerard Curran of Ireland said, trudging off the bridge toward the grassy Marin hillside.

One mother of a suicide victim described feeling almost giddy when she drove to the bridge last week to see the first section of net underway.

They cant jump  or everywhere they can jump, they just wont die, mother Kymberlyrenee Gamboa said, her voice fluttering in an interview with The Chronicle.

Gamboas son Kyle jumped to his death in September 2013, three weeks into his senior year of high school. Two months later, she and her husband began attending board meetings of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, the governing body that oversees the bridge, ferries and buses linking Marin to San Francisco. At every meeting they pushed for a net, holding a picture of Kyle to convey the urgency.

Although calls for some form of suicide barrier date back to the 1950s, many plans foundered. Some were too crude, such as the idea to string barbed wire over the bridges rails, or the concept of a fence with horizontal wires that become slack and harder to climb the higher a person goes. Critics howled from all sides, among them preservationists, neighborhood groups and others worried about marring the bridges romantic image.

In 2014 the districts board of directors put the project out to bid, then confronted other problems: namely, the complexity of design and engineering, the challenge of hauling equipment in a briny environment 250 feet above the water, and ultimately, timelines blown by the lead contractor, Shimmick Construction Co., which shed personnel after it was acquired by global engineering firm AECOM in 2017. AECOM sold Shimmick to another company, Oroco, in late 2020.

In December, a steel supplier in Oregon sued Shimmick in San Francisco Superior Court, claiming the construction company owed at least $15 million for contract changes that required extra work and substantially increased the cost.

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Construction on the suicide barrier has continued throughout the pandemic, but the contractor has not been working as quickly as we would like, Golden Gate Bridge district spokesperson Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz said. We are working with the contractor to resolve the issue and speed up construction.

Representatives from Shimmick declined to comment.

As the project stumbled along, bridge officials ramped up other interventions, adding security patrols, surveillance cameras and call boxes for people in distress. Emergency responders successfully thwarted 198 suicide attempts in 2021 and 20 this year, Cosulich-Schwartz said. Even construction workers have helped persuade people not to jump.

Through all that time, the Gamboas kept showing up to board meetings, speaking at the beginning of each one and pulling the bridge staff and policymakers through their grieving process. They have only missed two meetings since November 2013, Kymberlyrenee Gamboa said.

Watching the net grow day by day, she views its hard steel threading as a safe embrace for lost souls. Gamboa refers to the struts that hold up the net as arms.

After Kyle died, his devastated parents and brother found a new sense of purpose by persistently calling for a barrier.

When I could look down ... and see an arm, Gamboa said, I was so excited.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
Mayor London Breed introduced legislation Tuesday that would permanently ban cars along 1.5 miles of John F. Kennedy Drive in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park.

Breeds legislation moves the city one step closer to a Board of Supervisors vote as soon as next month on the future of the road, which has been closed to cars since the beginning of the pandemic.

Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Matt Haney and Dean Preston are co-sponsoring the legislation, which builds off a proposal endorsed by the board of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Recreation and Park Commission.

The closure of JFK Drive to vehicle traffic has been widely popular among San Franciscans who have walked or biked there over the past two years but fiercely opposed by some vocal critics, including park museum leaders and certain advocates for people with disabilities.

Breeds office acknowledged some of the oft-repeated concerns about keeping cars blocked from most of JFK Drive forever, saying that the city will try to make sure that institutions such as the de Young Museum and California Academy of Sciences remain publicly accessible. The mayors office also said the city wants to work on maximizing access to the underground Music Concourse Garage while making some improvements to delivery access at the de Young.

But ultimately, the mayor said she wants supervisors to move forward with keeping JFK Drive a pedestrian and bicyclist promenade in perpetuity.

Ive heard from people all over San Francisco that JFK Drive is a better place the way it is today, Breed said in a statement. It is a place people are drawn to and where they can experience the magic of what it means to live in a beautiful city that celebrates open space and has the best park system in the country.

Feedback San Francisco received from thousands of residents during a public outreach process demonstrated that the idea of keeping cars off the relevant section of JFK Drive permanently has widespread support, Breed said.

Im excited to embrace this new chapter of Golden Gate Park and look forward to our continued work to improve access for seniors, people with disabilities, and those who dont live nearby, she said in the statement.

Breeds legislation was promptly praised by the advocacy group Walk San Francisco.

In a city where it can be life-or-death simply crossing the street, I want to thank Mayor Breed for supporting a truly safe space for walking in our city, said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco, in a statement. This 1.5 miles of car-free space in our biggest park has proven incredibly important for all ages and abilities.

Supervisor Connie Chan, whose district includes the park and the Richmond District north of it, previously said she was working on a compromise for car-free JFK Drive, hoping to set up a new working group that might potentially result in voters weighing in on a ballot measure this fall. Chan said the measure may be required if officials wanted to use public money to fund improvements at the Music Concourse Garage.

Chan told The Chronicle on Tuesday that she was planning to continue my work with stakeholders, and work on a compromise solution.

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This is still work in progress, she said in a statement.

Chan added that she looked forward to the results of an equity study, being conducted by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, in the coming weeks that she believed would provide more information that will guide us on how to ensure equitable access in Golden Gate Park.

Mandelman, Haney and Preston, meanwhile, all said that the closure of JFK Drive to cars had made the road safer and that they were convinced it should remain.

Its a wonderful thing for our city that this will continue permanently, Haney said in a statement.

J.D. Morris is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jd.morris@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thejdmorris
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Mayor London Breed grabbed headlines at the end of last year with her pronouncement that San Francisco needed to be less tolerant of all the bulls that has destroyed our city  referring to crime citywide, especially in the Tenderloin. She declared a state of emergency in the neighborhood and vowed to reduce overdose deaths, crack down on drug use and dealing, and get people on the streets into treatment and housing.

On Thursday, her 90-day state of emergency ended. Daily operations including street cleaning and outreach will continue through the end of June. The city wants to keep operating through December a linkage center where people can get basic services such as food and try to get connected to longer-term help.

The emergency led to noticeable changes: The speedy opening of the linkage center and the hiring of more than 160 behavioral health workers. But while some Tenderloin streets are cleaner, more people have been arrested for drug crimes and others have moved into housing and treatment, many residents, advocates and supervisors said the situation hasnt changed meaningfully  and data does not clearly show conditions have improved significantly.

We are as much in an emergency today as it was three months ago, Supervisor Matt Haney, who lives in and represents the Tenderloin, said during Tuesdays Board of Supervisors meeting.

Haney appreciated the linkage center and more resources, but said residents had feared false promises. He pushed for assurance that ending the emergency doesnt mean that were going to pull back on our commitment to the residents and small businesses of this neighborhood, and it doesnt mean well pull back on our commitment to responding to what is now the deadliest epidemic in our city  drug overdoses killing nearly two people a day.

Breed cautioned residents before her emergency that change wouldnt happen overnight. The mayor said Monday shes heard from some residents that streets are cleaner, but more work needs to be done.

Its going to get better as we continue the pressure, she said.

Reducing overdose deaths: Breed declared the emergency because of the drug overdose crisis, which has killed more than 1,300 people in the city over the past two years. Nearly a quarter of overdoses last year were in the Tenderloin.

Its too early to judge whether the city has lowered overdose deaths because data is only available from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner through January 2022. That data shows that 10 people died of overdoses in the Tenderloin in January, a figure that was unchanged from December 2021 but a slight decrease from the 13 killed in the neighborhood the previous January.

The goals of the emergency included lowering drug sales, violent crime, street homelessness and drug use. The initiative was also meant to make sidewalks cleaner and more passable, as well as increase access to behavioral health services.

Using data from police, the Department of Emergency Management and other sources, The Chronicle attempted to measure the emergency orders success in achieving these goals.

Reduce homelessness and street sleeping: The emergency order succeeded, officials said, in cutting into the number of unsheltered people on the street.

More than 345 people moved into temporary shelters  283 from outreach on the streets and 66 from the linkage center, according to the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. These numbers include placements into 293 beds in winter shelters. Department spokesperson Emily Cohen could not provide comparison numbers before the emergency, but said there was a significant increase.

The city counted 32 encampments in March 2022, a steep drop from the 61 recorded last November and lower than the 43 encampments recorded last April.

The city did less well in placing people into permanent housing than in shelters. An additional 154 people from the linkage center started the process of moving into permanent housing, with 56 moved in already. By comparison, in November 2021, the city placed 134 people in housing citywide.

According to the last city count in 2019, 3,659 unhoused people live in District Six, which includes the Tenderloin.

Additionally, calls related to encampments in the Tenderloin did not decrease significantly during the emergency, according to data from the citys 311 system.

Reduce drug sales and violent crime: According to police data, weekly reported drug incidents in the Tenderloin, which include drug possession or sales, increased before the emergency began and remained elevated through late February. Its difficult to say whether reported incidents increased because drug use went up or because police reports are capturing more incidents.

The Chronicle also looked at whether the emergency order reduced violent crime, examining how many assaults, robberies and weapons offenses were reported by police weekly. Data shows reported violent crimes stayed relatively flat in the Tenderloin throughout the order.

In terms of reducing drugs on the streets, weekly police reports show that grams of drugs seized have climbed since October, though that followed a drop from July and August. Currently, the weekly amount of drugs seized by the SFPD is higher than it was for most of 2021.

Cleaner sidewalks and streets: The data doesnt indicate whether the new protocols resulted in cleaner streets. Data from 311 shows that calls related to general cleaning and human or animal waste spiked after the emergency declaration.

Again, its hard to say whether the increase in calls for service was related to an increase in waste and trash, or if it was spurred by residents knowledge of the emergency order and additional resources directed to the neighborhood.

Access to behavioral health and reducing public drug usage: With its linkage center, the city sought to link Tenderloin residents to services like detox, shelters, doctors appointments and more. According to weekly reports through March 6, the linkage center saw about 15,600 visits overall, made nearly 1,800 referrals (defined as a worker providing information on how to access a service) and made just over 180 completed linkages to services.

The weekly number of completed linkages  where visitors made appointments for services or were successfully welcomed into shelters  dropped in the last three weeks, and never rose above 50.

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In a previous interview, Department of Emergency Management spokesperson Francis Zamora said the low numbers of completed linkages reflected the difficulty of trying to help people access services.

Mary Ellen Carroll, who heads emergency management, told supervisors the city has so far been successful in keeping the streets clear and clean, getting people who are homeless housed and asking others who are housed to stop blocking sidewalks and using drugs on the streets. Continued challenges include drug activity displaced just outside the Tenderloin, she said.

Despite promises of more cops, it was only on Monday that the city started to send at least 20 more officers from across the city to the Tenderloin daily, adding to a bit more than 90 available to work.

The city signed a lease for the center through June, but will ask supervisors to extend it through December. The center will soon expand from 12 to 16 hours a day and create a sober living room for people who want to spend time away from substances. The city is allowing drug use at the center, a decision critics have attacked as counterproductive.

Dr. Hillary Kunins, the citys director of behavioral health, said the most frequent request at the center has been for housing and other material support, but staff urge at every turn recovery support.

Kelley Cutler, an organizer with the Coalition on Homelessness, said the emergency resulted in new beds opened in hotels, but once they filled up, shes heard only shelters with multiple people in the same room have been offered recently.

The key factor that it keeps coming down to is having actual resources for people, she said.

Residents and business owners in the Tenderloin have noticed some marginal improvements, but many feel the situation hadnt meaningfully changed.

Stephen Lam/The Chronicle

To be honest, I dont really see any change, said Bushra Alabsi, who lives and runs a day care center in the neighborhood. Alabsi wants more police to fight drug dealing and community ambassadors to deal with street conditions, plus more housing and a mental health clinic.

In U.N. Plaza on Tuesday, people using drugs gave mixed reviews of the emergency and linkage center.

Ivan Robinson, who lives in Oakland but comes to San Francisco nearly every day, said coming to the center gave him a reason to wake up Monday, when he arrived early to get on a list for permanent housing. He lives in transitional housing in Oakland.

The linkage center is a good start, said Robinson, who wants to get into drug treatment. Just give people more options. Time is a key ingredient in change.

Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle

Mallory Moench and Susie Neilson are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com, susan.neilson@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench, @susieneilson
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has just 12 weeks left to make perhaps the biggest case of his career: convincing the citys frustrated voters that he should keep his job.

But a new poll, commissioned by the campaign seeking to recall Boudin, suggests that might be a daunting task. Of 800 voters likely to participate in the June 7 election, 68% said they would vote yes on recalling Boudin. Seventy-four percent said they have an unfavorable opinion of him, and 78% rated his job performance as only fair or poor.

The poll, conducted Feb. 17-21 via landlines, cell phones, email and texts, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, which means the pollsters are 95% confident that support for recalling Boudin is no more than 4.4 percentage points off from 68%.

It was offered in English and Chinese. The polling company did not offer the questions in Spanish, saying the monolingual Spanish-speaking electorate is estimated to be very small for the June primary.

The poll was conducted by EMC Research, a respected longtime polling company in the Bay Area that provided questions showing the poll was straightforward and not intended to steer respondents in any particular direction.

For example, the recall question stated, There will be a measure on the June 2022 primary election ballot in San Francisco that reads: Shall Chesa Boudin be recalled (removed) from the Office of District Attorney? If the election were held today, would you vote yes to approve or no to reject this measure?

Many political observers have expected the June recall to be close  much closer than the rout of the three school board members last month. Unlike the school board commissioners who struck many voters as incompetent and unfocused, Boudin is mostly doing what he said hed do during the 2019 campaign to replace District Attorney George Gascon, including diverting more people out of jail.

But it appears many San Francisco voters might have buyers remorse.

San Francisco voters are not necessarily judging what his initial intention was, but how its played out, said Ruth Bernstein, president and CEO of EMC Research. Clearly, theyre not happy.

Bernstein said that she was somewhat surprised by the lopsided poll results and that its very rare to see such high unfavorability numbers for a San Francisco politician. In fact, Boudin is the least popular elected official in San Francisco, Bernstein said.

No one in office right now that Ive seen has numbers like this, she said. Its very striking.

Bernstein included other elected officials in this poll, as well as previous polls, to test their favorability, but declined to give specifics on their names and levels of popularity.

Julie Edwards, a spokesperson for the anti-recall campaign, said shes seen different polling data that shows a much closer race.

She connected me to pollster David Binder who asked 500 likely voters about the Boudin recall in late February  but only in the eastern half of the city thats selecting a new state Assembly member. There, voters were evenly split on the Boudin recall with 44% saying yes, 44% saying no and 12% undecided. That part of the city, Binder said, is more liberal than the western half. Those numbers could also be problematic for Boudin if an equal number of people in the citys more liberal neighborhoods want him ousted.

But Edwards brushed off the concern, saying, If polls 10 weeks out counted, Larry Elder would be the governor of California, referring to the conservative talk show host who wound up far behind Gavin Newsom in the unsuccessful attempt in September to recall the governor.

This is the period in which the campaign really kicks into higher gear, Edwards continued, noting Boudin and his supporters are meeting with voters one-on-one and holding campaign events around the city. What were hearing from people is that theyre very unhappy about recalls. Theyre very unhappy about this effort to re-run elections when special interests dont get their way.

She said voters are also frustrated that conservative people with deep pockets funded the signature drive to qualify the recall for the ballot and are now paying for polling and advertising that spread false messages.

Those same arguments popped up before the landslide school board recall last month, but didnt sway enough people. And the poll suggests many San Francisco residents have real worries about crime and think Boudin  fairly or not  is at least partly at fault.

In Bernsteins poll, 68% of respondents said crime in San Francisco is worse compared to a year ago. Just 7% said its better. Bernstein said the 61% figure is higher than shes seen when asking the same question in previous polls, though she couldnt say by how much. Asked whether Boudin is responsible for rising crime rates in San Francisco, especially burglaries and thefts, 61% said yes.

Of the respondents, 83% said they were concerned about car and home break-ins, 79% said they were concerned about public drug use and 76% said they were concerned about violent crime.

Police data shows that so far this year, compared to the same time period last year, the number of homicides in the city has held steady at eight. Rapes, assaults, car thefts and larceny thefts have risen, while robberies, burglaries and arson have dropped.

Meanwhile, many residents have shared stories of police officers shrugging off crime and even telling victims that Boudin wont prosecute anyway  if they respond to calls for help at all.

A new report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to reduce incarceration, shows reported crimes per resident in San Francisco have risen 19% over the past decade, but arrests per reported offense have plunged 60%. In 2020, San Francisco police made arrests in just 8.8% of reported crimes, lower than rates in other big California cities and statewide.

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Matt Dorsey, a spokesperson with the Police Department, dismissed the report as a politically motivated hit piece masquerading as scholarship.

Of course, Boudin cant prosecute a crime for which theres no arrest  but the police arent on the June ballot. Its just Boudin with no Larry Elder-type alternative. And its just a simple majority, up or down vote, on the district attorneys performance, with Mayor London Breed naming Boudins replacement if hes recalled.

That all adds up to a major challenge for Boudin, said Jason McDaniel, an associate professor of political science at San Francisco State University, upon hearing of the poll results.

He said voters are frustrated by the citys deterioration and a government that doesnt seem up to fixing it  and they want to blame someone, even if many of them thought Boudins ideas sounded pretty good when he ran for office.

Theres a difference between being the leader of an ideological movement to change things versus being an elected D.A. whos going to be held accountable by voters for actual events and decisions, he said of fending off the recall. Its an uphill battle.

Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor who specializes in elections, said that as crime  including home break-ins, which swelled during the pandemic before dropping again  hits more residential neighborhoods around the city, voters are likely to reconsider their beliefs around public safety.

My sense is that particularly when it comes to public safety issues, progressive feelings end exactly at the point where people feel their safety is threatened, Levinson said. San Francisco doesnt suddenly have a crime problem as a result of Boudin, but the perception  born at least in some part from reality  is that things are getting worse.

Another issue facing Boudin is the dozens of prosecutors whove left his office over disagreements about the way certain crimes are prosecuted or concern about general mismanagement.

Brooke Jenkins, a homicide prosecutor who quit to volunteer with the recall campaign, said she wasnt surprised by the stark poll numbers because San Franciscans are so frustrated by break-ins of their homes, garages and cars, as well as what some people view as Boudin not doing much about anti-Asian violence or open-air fentanyl dealing.

The campaign is not taking these poll numbers as a sign that we can let up, Jenkins said. It has re-energized the campaign so we can keep doing what were doing and attempt to make these poll numbers a reality on election day.

Crime affects everyone in this city, Jenkins said. These issues are uniting San Francisco.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Wednesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf
LATEST, March 16, 8:45 a.m. BART reported just after 8:30 a.m. that the Dublin/Pleasanton station has reopened after a fatality on the track earlier in the morning. Train service resumed on the Dublin/Pleasanton line.

"We are working to get trains back on schedule," BART said in an alert.

March 16, 6:46 a.m. BART service completely stopped on a portion of the Dublin-Pleasanton line just before 6 a.m. Wednesday due to a fatality on the trackway, officials said. The agency gave no estimated time for when trains would start running on this line again.

There is no train service between the West Dublin/Pleasanton station and the Dublin/Pleasanton station, the transit agency said in an alert. The Dublin/Pleasanton station is closed.

Were working to establish a bus bridge between those two stations, BART spokesperson Anna Duckworth said.

The incident is under investigation.

The disruption in service came as BART's red line service between Richmond and Millbrae, including the San Francisco International Airport, has been suspended since March 6 due to power issues.

The transit system is offering shuttle service between Millbrae and the airport, and there is service on the yellow line between the airport and the Antioch station.

Orange line trains are running on a normal schedule between Richmond and the MacArthur station in Oakland. If you are traveling between the Richmond and Ashby stations to or from San Francisco or the airport, you will need to transfer between an orange line train and a yellow line train.
A 67-year-old Asian woman was punched in the head and face more than 125 times, foot-stomped and spit on in a "brutal" hate crime in New York, police said. The woman, who is being treated at a hospital, suffered numerous contusions and lacerations, facial fractures and bleeding on the brain, police said.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was attacked Friday evening while attempting to enter an apartment building in Yonkers, N.Y. Surveillance video shows a man, identified by authorities as 42-year-old Tammel Esco, punch her from behind, knocking her down, then beat her for a minute and a half before leaving her writhing on the ground.

An investigation revealed Esco used a racial slur as the woman passed him moments before the attack, police said.

He was arrested and charged with assault and attempted murder - both as a hate crime, police said.

"This is one of the most appalling attacks I have ever seen," Yonkers Police Commissioner John Mueller said in a statement Monday. "To beat a helpless woman is despicable and targeting her because of her race makes it more so.

"This defendant must be held to the maximum punishment allowed by law to send a clear message that hateful, violent behavior will not be tolerated in our communities. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and her family, that she may make a full recovery."

It was not immediately clear whether Esco, who is being held without bail, has an attorney in the case.

Yonkers police officials said officers received a call about 6 p.m. Friday about a dispute and arrived to find a woman with severe injuries in the entryway of an apartment building.

Authorities said that during the police investigation, they discovered that Esco called the woman an "Asian b----" as she walked past him outside the apartment building. Esco followed her into the entryway of the building, where he is accused of punching her in the head and face more than 125 times, stomping her upper body about seven times and then spitting on her before exiting the building, according to surveillance footage and statements from police and the Westchester County District Attorney's Office.

A witness told NBC New York that she called 911 when she saw him beating the woman.

"I started knocking on the door, and when I did that it caught his attention, and that's when he got off of her," Yvette Crespo told the network. She said he stopped, walked to the corner, put up his hands and roared.

Esco was arrested outside the building without incident, police said in the statement.

The woman was rushed to a trauma center at a nearby hospital, police said. A police spokesman told The Washington Post on Tuesday that the victim was in stable condition.

The incident occurred almost exactly a year after a shooting rampage at three Atlanta-area spas that killed eight people - six of whom were Asian women. The shooter, Robert Aaron Long, was sentenced to life in prison.

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, more than 10,900 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people in the United States have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit organization that tracks incidents of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Verbal harassment accounted for 63% of the incidents, following by physical assault, which made up more than 16%. The majority of them were reported by women, the organization said.

Federal authorities said the number of hate crimes in the United States climbed in 2020 to the highest level seen in more than a decade, particularly among Black and Asian people.

In May, President Joe Biden signed a bill into law to expedite investigations into hate crimes that have increased during the course of the pandemic - especially those against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Following Friday's incident, Esco was taken into custody and transferred to the Westchester County Jail. He is scheduled to appear in Yonkers Criminal Court on March 25, according to the district attorney's office.
WASHINGTON  The escalating crisis in Ukraine is upending policy and political thinking on both the left and the right on Capitol Hill, as soaring energy prices and an immediate threat to the global order empower the political center at the expense of the two parties flanks.

When lawmakers convene Wednesday for a virtual speech by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Republicans and Democrats will be confronting a changed environment, for better and for worse.

Its bringing Congress together in a way, frankly, I havent seen in my 12 years, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a confidant of President Joe Biden, said Tuesday of the consensus to support Ukraine. Youd have to go back to 9/11 to see such a unified commitment.

That has meant a retreat by both parties from the policy proposals and political messages that most thrill their core supporters. On the left, Democrats are acquiescing to higher military spending and dropping a bid to pull back rapidly from fossil fuels. On the right, Trump-era isolationism and attacks on the trans-Atlantic alliance are being relegated to the fringe in Congress. Plans to make the presidents son Hunter Biden and Ukrainian corruption front and center in a Republican-controlled House now seem far-fetched.

Its grounding, said Rep. Peter Meijer, R-Mich., who was once an intelligence analyst in Afghanistan and now faces a challenger on his right endorsed by former President Donald Trump. You can propose something that outstrips the bounds of reality, thats fine. Then you look at whats happening in Ukraine, and its like a car accident, a near-death experience that snaps you back to reality.

Zelenskyy is expected Wednesday to reiterate his request for a complicated swap that would send MiG fighter jets to Ukraine from Poland, and U.S.-made F-16 fighters to Poland. That could prompt accusations from some Republicans that the Biden administration, which has opposed the swap as a dangerous escalation of the conflict with no real military purpose, is soft on Russia.

He is also likely to ask the United States to help close the airspace over his country to Russian aircraft, as he did Tuesday when he addressed Canadas Parliament.

Republicans and Democrats alike have questioned the MiG deal now that the Defense Department has raised specific concerns about whether Ukraine could even fly the planes.

It is unclear whether the moment amounts to a hiatus in the partisan wars over national security. Republican leaders continue to strafe the president, accusing him of being weak toward Russia, coddling petro-dictators and betraying U.S. energy security.

President Biden continues to have this attitude of, Well, I dont want to help Ukraine too much because he might offend Putin, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, said this week on Fox Business, referring to Russias president, Vladimir Putin.

Democrats are incredulous that Republicans  a vast majority of whom did not criticize Trump for repeatedly standing by Putin, undermining NATO and then withholding military aid from Zelenskyy to pressure him to dig up political dirt on Biden  have the gall to question the current presidents willingness to confront Russia.

If you are a reporter, and there is a battle for the free world led by Zelenskyy and Biden, you dont have to pretend not to remember that Republicans exonerated Trump for extorting Zelenskyy, said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.

But beyond partisan potshots, there are signs of the wars very real impact. In December, when the House passed defense policy legislation authorizing $768 billion in military spending, 51 Democrats voted no, mainly because they saw that as far too much money. Last week, when the House funded the military and provided even more money  $782 billion and billions more for Ukraine  the number of Democrats voting in opposition dropped to 15.

Defense budgets should be driven by our needs, not some artificial target, but its pretty clear we are living in a dangerous time, said Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, a Democrat in a difficult reelection fight.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, conceded that the crisis had sapped momentum, at least for now, from efforts to slash military spending.

I do think Ukraine has just made it harder, she said. We had thought with the ending of the war in Afghanistan, we could push for a real reduction in the defense budget, and there will be another opportunity. But look, this is an epic battle.

Republicans are getting their own reality check. Under Trump, a growing faction of the party was pushing isolationism, questioning alliances and trade pacts, and pressing an America First agenda that would have fit well in the national mood leading up to World War II, Meijer said.

In recent days, Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a traditionalist Republican, sat down with the German ambassador to the United States to thank her for her countrys commitment to NATOs defense and its aid to Ukraine.

In an interview, Cole even suggested reviving the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a landmark trade pact negotiated by President Barack Obama that would have tied together the economies of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North America and South America to isolate China. In one of his first acts as president, Trump scuttled the agreement.

Ukraine has got a lot of Republicans rethinking the importance of international alliances, Cole said. Other countries are not always a burden. Theyre quite often an asset.

Fealty to Trumps foreign policy suddenly seems like a potential liability. Former Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina, who is running for the Senate seat held by Richard Burr, a Republican who is retiring, hit his Trump-endorsed primary opponent, Rep. Ted Budd, as pro-Putin in a new advertisement this week.

Budds votes have been friendly toward Russia, McCrory says in the ad. He voted against sanctions on Russia. These are serious times, and we need serious senators.

For Democrats, the shift in priorities has had a price. Taking his cues from his partys environmental wing, Biden had hoped to move the United States away from fossil fuels, blocking new leases for oil and gas exploration on federal land, opening up large swaths of ocean and land to wind and solar development, and pushing an ambitious timetable to move the country to electric cars and trucks.

Now, the fossil fuel industry is ascendant. More mainstream Democrats are using the language of Republicans, talking about an all of the above energy strategy that includes renewable fuels and oil and gas. Natural gas is again spoken of as a bridge fuel to clean energy, not an enemy of the planet.

Some of my colleagues are presenting a false choice, said Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, a leading voice of centrist Democrats. You can be for alternative energy and energy independence with aggressive, long-term goals, and be for fully tapping our domestic energy resources.

In private gatherings of House Democrats, Malinowski said, a few lawmakers still speak up against the extraction of any fossil fuels, but theyre not really a powerful voice in our meetings.

Republicans have other course corrections to contend with. Conservatives like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, have signaled that they want to revive investigations of Hunter Biden and the lucrative seat he once held on the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian gas company. With such investigations would come accusations of rampant corruption in Ukraine and unsubstantiated accusations that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered with U.S. elections in 2016.

But Ukraine is not the political target it once was. In a September 2019 poll by YouGov, 36% of registered voters in the United States were not sure whether Ukraine was friendly or unfriendly. Only 41% called the nation friendly or an ally. In a new YouGov survey, 81% of U.S. voters said Ukraine was either friendly or an ally, a number that rivals or surpasses those for longtime U.S. partners like France and Japan.

Jayapal warned that dredging up Burisma would allow Democrats to remind the nation that every Republican except Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah voted to allow Trump to go unpunished for humiliating and strong-arming Zelenskyy for his personal political benefit. And Cole counseled against such an approach.

People might be a little less likely to bring that up, he said of Burisma, especially when Ukrainians are the point of the spear against Russian aggression.

These are people who have bought into defending their country with their lives, at great risk and sacrifice, Cole said. I dont think there will be a lot of investigations that put Ukraine into a negative light.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

The co-founders of a biopharmaceutical firm were sentenced Tuesday in a San Francisco federal courtroom to a year in prison for their convictions in August 2021, when they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal trade secrets and defraud investors of more than $100 million.

Racho Jordanov, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of JHL Biotech, and Rose Lin, another of the company's co-founders and former chief operating officer, were each sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup also ordered the prison term to be followed by a term of supervised release of 36 months.

The sentencing was announced Tuesday by United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds, IRS Special Agent in Charge Mark H. Pearson and FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.

In their plea agreements, Jordanov and Lin admitted to taking confidential, proprietary and trade secret information from Genentech between 2011 and 2019 that they used to defraud investors of more than $100 million.

Jordanov, 74, of Rancho Santa Fe, and 73-year-old Lin, also known as Rose Sweihorn Tong, of South San Francisco, co-founded JHL Biotech, Inc., a biopharmaceutical startup in Taiwan. They admitted to paying a Genentech employee to provide them with confidential information from the biotech giant.

That employee, Xanthe Lam, was a principal scientist for the company. She and her husband, Allen Lam, were convicted after pleading guilty in July to stealing confidential, proprietary and trade secret information from Genentech and giving it to JHL Biotech.

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SHELTON  Work will soon begin on the city sewer pipe along River Road.

The Board of Aldermen, at its meeting Thursday, approved spending $493,846 to repair the sanitary sewer line on River Road from the Laurel Street intersection to 202 River Road, which is almost to Wright Street. Of the total cost, $393,894 is for the pipe work, another $50,000 is for traffic control costs.

The funding, which includes another $49,500 for over expenditures in traffic control costs from the recent sewer work on Bridgeport Avenue, will come from American Rescue Plan money.

This line is 35 years old. Its a major line, Mayor Mark Lauretti said. We dont want the pipe to collapse or break. We need to repair it.

Ernest Hutchinson, the citys WPCA administrator, stated in a memo to the aldermen that the sewer line is in dire need of a liner which will stabilize the extremely deteriorated pipe and decrease any coefficient of friction.

In other business, the aldermen approved another $25,000 to cover repairs on a home on city-owned property at 45 Grove St.

Overall, the aldermen have made three allocations totaling $132,000 for renovations to the structure. According to Lauretti, the funding has been for flooring, counters, doors and windows, cabinets, appliances, plumbing, and sheet rock.

This property was purchased in 2020, when Lauretti said the site could be used for needed parking at the nearby Richard O. Belden Cultural Center, located at 54 Grove St.

The building at 45 Grove St. was to be razed to create the new parking area for the cultural center, which houses Center Stage Theatre, Living Hope Church, the Registrar of Voters office, Team Inc., Valley Regional Adult Education, and the Valley United Way.

The aldermen approved purchase of 45 Grove St. for $128,000 and the adjoining 0 Grove St. for $22,000 at the boards meeting on May 14, 2020.

But Lauretti has since changed course on the property, board President John Anglace, Jr., said, because parking is not as much of an issue at the center. Anglace said the mayors plan is to renovate and rent the home on the site to generate revenue for the city.

brian.gioiele@

hearstmediact.com
Wood chips flew through the air over the weekend as woodcarvers from near and far descended upon the Shippensburg Fairgrounds to showcase thei
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There is no plan by the government to introduce cryptocurrency, the Parliament was told on Tuesday.

There is no plan to introduce a cryptocurrency and currently it is unregulated in India, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

"Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does not issue cryptocurrency. Traditional paper currency is legal tender and is issued by RBI in terms of provisions of RBI Act, 1994. A digital version of traditional paper currency is called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)," the minister said.

In reply to another question, the minister informed the upper house that the RBI is currently working towards a phased implementation strategy for introduction of CBDC and examining use cases which could be implemented with little or no disruption.

He stated that introduction of CBDC has the potential to provide significant benefits such as reduced dependency on cash, higher seigniorage due to lower transaction costs, etc

The minister further informed the house that printing of notes have declined over a period of time. "During 2019-20 notes worth Rs 4,378 crore were printed, while in 2020-21, notes worth Rs 4,012 crore were printed. In 2016-17, notes worth Rs 7,965 crore were printed," he said.
Shaktikanta Das, Governor of RBI, launched a new unique payments interface named UPI123Pay for features phones to facilitate digitization and enhance safe online transactions. He said it would permit India's 40 crore feature phone users to access the payment service.

UPI123Pay featured phones will have all of the essential smartphone features. This initiative will enhance digital payments to a higher level, paving the way for a cashless economy. "This launch of UPI123Pay drives the facilities under UPI now open to that area of society which was so far excluded from the digital payment landscape. In that way it is encouraging financial inclusion in our economy," Das added.

With this launch of new UPI for feature phones, Das added that it would help the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organization serving retail payments and settlement systems in India, reach its goal of processing a billion transactions a day. UPI 123Pay will also assist RBI to achieve its objective of a less-cash economy, Das added, saying that more limited payment opportunities will be available to feature phone users.

UPI has emerged as a popular mode of payment through smartphones. The number of digital transactions has grown over five times, and a large part of this is limited to those who hold smartphones, Das said. UPI services are available for such users through the USSD-based services. Still, the same is cumbersome, and all the mobile operators do not allow such services, Deputy Governor T Rabi Shankar said.

Features:

Feature phone users will now undertake a host of transactions based on four technology choices. These include calling an IVR (interactive voice response) number, app functionality in feature phones, missed call-based approach, and also immediacy sound-based payments, the RBI stated.

Such users can make payments to friends and family, pay utility bills, recharge the FAST Tags of their vehicles, pay mobile bills, and allow users to check account balances. Adding customers will also link bank accounts and set or change UPI PINs.

Further, the 24x7 helpline 'Digisaathi' will assist the callers/users with their digital payments queries via the website and Chabot. Users can visit www.digisaathi.info or call 14431 and 1800 891 3333 from their phones for their digital payments and grievances queries.

In December, Das had announced the launch of digital payment systems for feature phones. "These products, coupled with other complementary solutions, will facilitate UPI-based digital payment solutions on feature phones to promote wider digitisation. It is proposed to launch a UPI-based payment product for feature phone users. Further details will be announced shortly," RBI Governor had said.

Moreover, in January, India's cashless retail transactions on the UPI platform were worth Rs 8.27 lakh crore in February, slightly lower than the amount recorded in the previous month, data from NPCI had shown. There were 452 crores (4.52 billion) transactions in February 2022.

On the other hand, instant money transfer through 24x7 IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) fell to Rs 3.84 lakh crore in February against Rs 3.87 lakh crore in January. During the same period, the number of such transactions stood at 42 crores (420.93 million) against 44 crores (440.17 million), as per the data.

Distinct options:

App-based Functionality: App could be installed on the feature phones, allowing several UPI functions open on smartphones to be functional on feature phones.

Missed Call: By dialing a missed call on the number displayed at the merchant outlet, feature phone users will be capable of accessing their bank account and performing routine transactions such as receiving, transferring funds, regular purchases, bill payments, and so on. The customer will accept an incoming call asking them to verify the transaction by entering their UPI PIN.

Interactive Voice Response: UPI payment via pre-defined IVR numbers would necessitate users making a secure call from their feature phones to a pre-determined number and completing UPI on-boarding formalities before they could begin making financial transactions without the internet.

Proximity Sound-based Payments: This technology utilizes sound waves to permit contactless, offline, and proximity data communication on any device.

How to use UPI123Pay?

A shared server site library permits feature phone holders to use digital processes to transact.

The UPI123Pay feature does not require internet connectivity to transact online. Additionally, this service is available in various Indian languages.

The smartphone and feature phone users can now effortlessly transact digitally with the new facility.

UPI for feature phones is a three-step process call, choose and pay.

Before initiating to make the payment, it is required that the user links their bank account with the feature phone.

Further, using his/her debit card, they will be required to set a UPI PIN.

Once the UPI PIN is created, the user can use their feature phone for transactions just like a smartphone user.

The feature phone user needed to call on the IVR number and choose the phone relying on the service mandated such as money transfer, LPG gas refill, FasTag recharge, mobile recharge, balance check, etc.

To transfer the money, one will have to choose the phone number to whom money is to be transferred, add the amount, and enter UPI PIN.

To pay to a merchant, they can use an app-based payment method or missed call payment method.

They can also use the voice-based method to make digital payments.
Highlighting global innovation and technology in the medical, healthcare and wellness sectors, MEcareX Turkey  Virtual Exhibition & Business Matching took place from 1  3 March 2022 on the Bee2Bee platform.

MEcareX Turkey was organised by Worldex GEC Thailand, and managed by Worldex India Exhibition & Promotion Pvt. Ltd. The India Pavilion was formed by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) along with the support of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India. MEcareX Turkey was also supported by The Association of Diagnostics Manufacturers of India; The Indian Analytical, Scientific, Medical Lab Instruments Manufacturers Association; Ayurveda Drug Manufacturers Association (ADMA), The Surgical Manufacturers and Traders Association, The Sri Lanka Chamber of Medical Devices Industry amongst others.

With the growing demand for quality healthcare in Turkey, this international virtual meetings platform assisted in establishing business tie-ups between 70+ exhibitors from India, Thailand, Korea, Indonesia, Sri Lanka amongst others and business visitors from Turkey and neighbouring markets. The online platform will be open until 17 March 2022 for business visitors to connect with exhibitors and continue their interactions to explore business and sourcing opportunities.

MEcareX Turkey was inaugurated by Chief Guest Ms. Sudhi Chaudhry, the Honorable Consul General Designate of India to Istanbul, Turkey, who said, This is a good initiative and I look forward to Indian and Turkish companies getting together and strengthening the partnership and building stronger bonds between our countries. I am confident that efforts like Mecarex Turkey would further help in realizing the vast untapped potential between our economies.

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Nikom Lertmalligaporn, the Group President of Worldex G.E.C, Thailand and organiser of MEcareX Turkey, said, The world is now holding exhibitions on digital platforms like Bee2bee Asia. Our platform is successful because we offer face to face meetings and business matching similar to physical shows. Our aim is connect appropriate visitors and sellers together and help everybody to grow their business by finding the right business partners. South and South East Asia are well-known as exporters for medical equipment and wellness products. I am confident that this digital trade fair will create stronger business ties between our regions and Turkey.

The India Pavilion organiser, Mr. Rohit Sharma, Director & Head of Europe, CIS & Turkey of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) said, Mecarex is a great initiative and is very important for the Indian industry. Both Turkey and India can offer a lot in terms of medical equipment, tele-medicine and other sectors and this initiative is a stepping stone for all the companies who are part of the India pavilion. Turkey is a very important market and also ideal destination for also entering the EU and European market. We are confident this platform will bring new and sustainable business opportunities for both Indian and Turkish industry to access a large bank of globally renowned companies.

The buyers interacted virtually with quality manufacturers & suppliers of medical, healthcare and wellness companies via pre-fixed video meetings and access the benefits of a physical trade fair from the comfort of their own locations through the virtual platform, Bee2Bee  an exclusive online business matching platform developed by Worldex India. More than 300 B2B meetings were successfully arranged at MEcareX Turkey which offered buyers excellent opportunity to source quality products to fulfill the growing demand for innovative and smart medical and healthcare products in Turkey.

The products showcased at MEcareX Turkey includes Laboratory Equipments & Supplies, Medical Equipments & Devices, Hospital Equipments & Furniture, Face Masks, PPE Kits, Surgical Gowns, Hospital Curtains, Imaging & Diagnostics, Herbal & Wellness Products, Dental Equipments, Disinfectant Supplies, Hygiene, Sanitary and Medical Disposables and more.

A number of joint ventures, collaborations and long-term business collaborations and partnerships took place during the course of this Virtual Expo. This comprehensive and must-attend trade show is making its mark in in a sector vital to the health of all nations.

With 200+ Buyers from over 10 countries attending the Virtual Expo and 300+ pre-fixed business meetings conducted, the show was a success and has proved to be the ideal event for both Government and Private healthcare institutions.
Shefali Duggal, who is an immigrant to the US from the Indian state of Kashmir, is a well-known and experienced political advisor, womens rights activist, and human rights campaigner

FREMONT, CA: The Indian-American diaspora in the US crossed another milestone when President Biden appointed Indian-American Shefali Razdan Duggal  Democratic Party activist and fund-raiser  as the US Envoy to the Netherlands.

Shefali Duggal, who is an immigrant to the US from the Indian state of Kashmir, is a well-known and experienced political advisor, womens rights activist, and human rights campaigner. She has won several civic awards and worked as the National co-chair of Women for Biden and as the Deputy National Finance Chair at the Democratic National Committee. There have been a few Indian-American ambassadors from the US foreign services recently, notably Atul Keshap as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, until the recent section of Geeta Pasi as the US Ambassador to Peru. However, this is the first time a grassroots party activist has been selected to a major country.

Shefali Duggal, a Haridwar-born Kashmiri, moved to the US with her family when she was only two years old. She has played a considerable role as a fund-raiser for the party in California. After attending her schooling in Cincinnati, Ohio, Duggal got her degree from NYU and began her political career volunteering for Senators Dianne Feinstein and Ted Kennedy. Duggal later worked on the Al Gore campaign in 2000, for the Obama campaign in 2008 and 2012, and Biden campaign in 2020.
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On any given day, about half the people of Australia will rise up out of their beds, look at themselves in the mirror, squint and say: Oh my god, I need to lose x kilos. Worse since the start of the pandemic. As a nation, we have chunked up. And sometimes, if Australians are very lucky and all the stars align, they will find themselves dropping excess kilos. Both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader have succeeded in shredding for the [electoral] wedding. Which is why Morrisons attempted sledge at Albanese was so weird. He accused the OL of pretending to be someone else. But Morrison has lost weight himself; he knows the difference weight loss makes. He was slagging someone whod done the hard yards. Believe me, I know exactly how hard it is. Scott Morrison took aim at Opposition Leader Anthony Albaneses transformation on Sky News for a voter town hall. Credit:Sky News/James Brickwood There is only one pretence when it comes to losing weight. And thats pretending skim milk tastes any good. Devils work.

Speaking of devils work, one of our leading obesity experts, Tim Gill, professor of public health nutrition at the University of Sydney, is none too pleased with the Prime Ministers decision to weight-loss shame the Opposition Leader. It is, he says, not reasonable to comment on anyones weight loss in a public forum. Fat shaming is a curse. Losing weight is hard enough without being critiqued for it. And as it turns out, says Gill, the federal government provides little financial and social support mechanisms for weight-loss programs. When it comes to our body shapes, most of us imagine something other than what we have. Id like to be exceptionally skinny and 160 centimetres tall (Im 10 centimetres shorter) and have legs like Peter Bol, our 800-metre 2020 Olympic running star. Loading However, in 2009, my GP said I needed to stop fantasising about my body or Id never meet my grandkids (family history sucks). I went from well over 100 kilograms to 70. It was a nightmare. Ive kept most of it off. Thats also a nightmare. I live with someone who is naturally slender and if I didnt love him, Id loathe him. He breathes out the scent of chocolate and Im the one who puts on weight.
Just past 1pm on October 9, 1967, a young and trembling Bolivian army sergeant named Mario Teran pointed his M2 carbine from point-blank range at Ernesto Che Guevara. The long-hunted Latin American revolutionary, 39 years old and an international hero to Marxist guerrillas, had been captured by an army patrol the day before.

Guevara lay wounded and shackled on the filthy stone floor of a mud hut in the Bolivian town of La Higuera. He looked directly at his executioner and said, as Teran recounted years later: Calm yourself. And aim well. You are going to kill a man!

After the guerrilla told him to aim well. Teran said, he took a step back towards the door, closed my eyes and fired.

Cubans hold a poster of Ernesto Che Guevara during a Havana demonstration, 2003. Credit:AP

According to Guevara biographer Jon Lee Anderson, Teran fired several rounds into Guevaras arms and legs. He was following the orders of a Cuban American CIA agent on the scene, Felix Rodriguez, who wanted to make Guevara appear to have been killed in combat.
The adventures of Brian Westlake (C8) went far beyond Sydney, asserts Greg Rutter of Musk (Vic). He popped up in the Pilbara, Busselton and at one place on the Nullarbor during my past travels. To which Patrick Meaney of Moss Vale simply adds: Brian Westlake Educates Emus.

While Odille Esmonde-Morgan of Glenorchy (Tas) maintains its a conspiracy between the manufacturers of appliances and cooking utensils, Col Burns of Lugarno reckons Chris Greenwood (C8) can continue using those old cooking pots by using an interface disk between the induction cooktop and the pan: The cost could be offset by selling the vacuum cleaner, which is just gathering dust.

I parked my humble Toyota Camry outside the local Supercheap Auto the other day and returned to find that I was flanked by a Lamborghini and a Maserati, says George Zivkovic Northmead. Theres a story there somewhere. Probably just those cleaners.

Interesting day on Tuesday in Column 8, writes David Markham of Flynn (ACT). I not only remember the graffiti (C8) that Chips Mackinolty refers to, I remember Chips himself! For my own contribution, I recall one in Fisher Library in the early Pinochet era (although my contemporaries would probably question that I even knew where the library was). Someone had written in large letters FREE CHILE, underneath which someone else had written With Every Taco Purchased. Dennis Murphy of Matsuyama city (Japan) actually thinks that Chips may have missed the final line. Straight after Doo be doo de doo, F. Sinatra comes: Do be a good bee, Romper Room.

Still at Sydney Uni, Mike Reddy of Vincentia also recalls a number of Fisher pearls: The most memorable: John Gorton was born in Crete  hes an excretion. And the reply No  hes a cretin. And at the top of the door: This door will soon be available in paperback.
A big advantage for the NSW government in building an underground metro rail line beneath Sydney Harbour and the central city was that the project has largely been out of public sight and mind. The City and Southwest Metro rail line has avoided a community backlash that dogged the CBD light rail line and WestConnex motorway that was caused by, in part, the disruption from construction. Many people have been unaware of the scale and complexity of a mega transport project which has literally been taking place tens of metres below their feet in the CBD for years. That freedom from close scrutiny is about to end for the governments flagship rail project. The City and Southwest rail project risks becoming a financial and political headache for the Perrottet government. Credit:Ben Rushton The opening date for the new rail line from Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour and the CBD, and onto Sydenham and Bankstown is just over two years away. That fast-approaching deadline for completion comes as the extent to which the project is running billions of dollars over budget comes into sharper focus.

With the cost of the City and Southwest line and other mega transport projects surging, the government will soon be forced to make some hard decisions. Firstly, it will have to level with the public about the true cost of these projects. Secondly, it will have to consider delaying construction of some or, at worst, canning the least viable. The multibillion-dollar Northern Beaches Link road project is regularly cited as the most likely to be delayed or canned, while the need to open an $11 billion metro rail line to the new airport at Badgerys Creek in western Sydney the day that the first passengers begin walking off planes in 2026 is highly questionable. Last year, the countrys peak independent adviser on infrastructure savaged the justification for the airport rail line, calculating that the cost outweighed its benefits by $1.8 billion. Loading It is clear from recent messaging that the NSW government is laying the groundwork for some uncomfortable decisions. Premier Dominic Perrottet warned last month that there was no doubt that there had been an escalation in construction costs for transport projects. Transport Minister David Elliott, who has refused to commit to building the second stage of the Parramatta light rail line, put it more bluntly when he said that not since the building of the Great Pyramids of Giza has a construction contract gone without a variation.
A woman who alleges her gynaecologist sexually assaulted her during medical examinations has told a Sydney judge he acted like a robot and pulled her legs like a raggedy doll.

But Richard Ian Reids lawyers claim the woman is untruthful and motivated by financial advantage.

Dr Reid, 79, has pleaded not guilty in the NSW District Court to eight counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and eight counts of aggravated indecent assault, in circumstances where the woman was under his authority as a patient.

Dr Richard Reid last year. Credit:Janie Barrett

In opening the Crown case on Wednesday, prosecutor Sylvie Sloane alleged Dr Reid repeated the same conduct on eight occasions, between mid-2010 and late-2014, when the woman attended his consulting rooms at Edgecliff for medical treatment of gynaecological conditions.
A return to precautions such as mandatory face masks and density limits may be needed, experts say, after Victoria recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in five weeks, driven by the more-infectious BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron strain.

The state reported 9426 new infections on Wednesday, a sharp increase from 7460 on Tuesday.

Commuters at Southern Cross Station last month. Credit:Justin McManus

The daily case figure is the states highest since 9908 were reported on February 9 and has resulted in the number of active infections in the state swelling in the past 24 hours by 1847 cases to 42,250.

The rise in cases in Victoria comes as the NSW government has sounded the alarm on the spread of the BA.2 sub-variant, with preliminary data suggesting coronavirus cases could double there in the next four to six weeks.
A legal challenge to Victorias COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been withdrawn. More than 100 workers, including nurses, other healthcare professionals, teachers and emergency service responders, last year initiated legal action against Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and his colleagues, accusing them of breaching the states Human Rights Charter by imposing a no jab, no work policy. Simon Harding was the lead plaintiff in a legal challenge against Victorias vaccine mandate. Credit:Chris Hopkins A trial was scheduled to start this month, but the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday the plaintiffs had chosen to discontinue their legal challenge. Barrister Marcus Clarke, QC, acting for the plaintiffs, said recent changes to state legislation meant his clients case had been rendered futile.

He said that under the amendments to the law, which make Health Minister Martin Foley responsible for pandemic rules, if others were to challenge the vaccine mandate they would have to pursue action against a different defendant than Professor Sutton. It remains unclear whether two plaintiffs no longer represented by Mr Clarke and his team will continue with their challenge against the policy. Those workers were not represented in Wednesdays hearing. Justice Melinda Richards ordered the plaintiffs to pay the states legal costs. The lead plaintiff in the case was G4S corrections officer Simon Harding, who was placed on unpaid leave in October after he chose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Lawyers for the group told hearings last year that some workers had their jobs terminated for refusing to get jabs.
War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith violently assaulted an unarmed and scared Afghan man who was lying in the foetal position, and boasted on a separate occasion that he was going to choke a man to death with his bare hands, an elite soldier has told the Federal Court.

Person 7, a senior Special Air Service soldier whose identity cannot be revealed for national security reasons, told Mr Roberts-Smiths defamation case on Wednesday that the decorated former soldiers actions in 2010 in assaulting the man, who posed no threat, were completely and utterly unnecessary.

Ben Roberts-Smith arrives at the Federal Court earlier this week. Credit:Brook Mitchell

Person 7 said Mr Roberts-Smith approached him on a separate occasion in 2012 after an Australian soldier was killed in Afghanistan and said: Im going to talk the talk, I want you to make sure I walk the walk.

Before this trips over Im going to choke a man to death with my bare hands, Im going to look him in the eye, and Im going to watch the life drain out of his eyes.
The price for carbon credits in Australia has plummeted 40 per cent to $30 a tonne, after the Commonwealths Clean Energy Regulator made a surprise ruling that government-held credits could be sold on the open market.

The Clean Energy Regulator earlier this month created new rules to allow companies holding $2.6 billion worth of contracts to sell credits to the governments Emissions Reduction Fund, mostly worth $12 a tonne, to break their contracts and sell them for more to private companies.

Companies that bought carbon credits to be earned through revegetation projects delivered by farmers on their land can break their government contracts to sell onto the more lucrative open market.

The spot price for carbon offsets was trading at $47 on the spot market immediately before the regulators change caused the price plummet, but experts expect the market to recover  although by how much remains a matter of debate.

The Emissions Reduction Fund awards credits when carbon emitters cut their greenhouse pollution or create projects that sequester carbon, including farmers who grow vegetation that stores carbon as it grows. The governments fund was set up in 2015, before there was an Australian private market.
A Russian oligarch excluded from Australian penalties after the invasion of Ukraine is highly likely to be named on the sanctions regime within days amid growing concern about his stake in a Queensland refinery that supplies millions of tonnes of alumina to its Russian investors.

Federal officials are scrambling to move on billionaire Oleg Deripaska and others who control Russian aluminium giant Rusal because of his known association with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Oleg Deripaska faces sanctions in Australia. Credit:Bloomberg

With protesters in London taking over Mr Deripaskas luxury home in Belgrave Square, the federal government is facing growing calls from corporate transparency experts to tighten its sanctions by naming him and another oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg. Mr Deripaska was added to the UK sanctions list on March 10.

The delay has fuelled uncertainty over the destination of regular production from the refinery, located in Gladstone and owned by Queensland Alumina Limited, under a joint venture that gives Rusal the right to 20 per cent of its alumina for processing into aluminium at smelters.
Research shows that risk from heat begins to increase above 25 degrees, and standards for healthy buildings recommend keeping below this temperature, Better Renting executive director Joel Dignam said. But our data shows these rental properties were above 25 degrees for hours every day, with temperatures above 30 degrees happening for about an hour a day on average, he added, noting this was despite the milder summer seen across much of the country. Indoor temperatures in rental properties routinely exceeded recommended levels over summer. Credit:Peter Rae In Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, temperatures were above 25 degrees more than 70 per cent of the time. Mr Dignam said tenants reported struggling to work from home or self-isolate during the pandemic due to the heat. Renters also reported concerning heat levels in properties both old and new, and even those who had an air conditioner said it did not guarantee them a healthy temperature in their home.

While all Australians were impacted by higher home temperatures, renters often faced greater affordability challenges in keeping their homes cool, the report found. They were also reliant on landlords to make improvements, and many tenants who participated in the project, including Mr Kreunen, flagged a reluctance to make such requests. Loading A lot of that is linked to the struggle in getting repairs, fears about rent increases  but there is also this awareness of how tight the rental market is in general, and this phenomenon weve seen before of not wanting to rock the boat [with your landlord], Mr Dignam said. With almost eight million renters across Australia, Mr Dignam said there was a large proportion of people who could not install ceiling insulation, put in a ceiling fan or set up air conditioning to make their home more liveable. No Australian jurisdiction has cooling standards for rental properties, and what we are seeing is the outcome of this neglect, he said.

Better Renting and Healthy Homes for Renters, a national collaboration of more than 100 organisations, has called for governments to implement minimum energy efficiency standards for rental properties to enable tenants to stay cool and healthy, as heatwaves become more frequent and severe. Loading Improving energy efficiency standards for new buildings, improving the design of cities, and reducing climate emissions to mitigate climate impacts were also key responses, the report noted. Heatwaves were Australias most deadly natural disaster, said Dr Kate Wylie, Adelaide GP and chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners climate and environmental medicine group. Heat increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, especially in vulnerable populations, she said, noting she worried about her patients in the heat, particularly those who lived in housing that increased the risk.

Dr Wylie said there was a responsibility to ensure housing was equipped to deal with longer and more intense heatwaves expected in the future, adding that heat was a greater problem for those experiencing homelessness and poverty. Loading Australian Council of Social Service chief executive Dr Cassandra Goldie said renters should have a right to live in healthy homes that were affordable to cool, noting low-income earners in poor quality homes were getting sick, and in some cases dying, because they could not afford, or were unable to install, measures to keep their homes cool in summer. We urgently need all states and territories to commit to legally enforceable energy efficiency standards that require property investors to make rental properties habitable and safe, she said. Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr said renters had been seeking assistance for heat issues over the summer, and that it would become a growing concern that needed to be addressed.
In the US, Chinas ambassador Qin Gang wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post that conflict between Russia and Ukraine does no good for China. Had China known about the imminent crisis, we would have tried our best to prevent it, he said. US and UK officials said Russia was exploring ways to get more resources into Ukraine to sustain its frontline. Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned Chinas failure to condemn Russias invasion as a chilling silence. One thing that has disturbed me from the outset, apart from the obvious in terms of Russias violent and illegal invasion of Ukraine, has been the chilling silence that we saw from China, Morrison said, speaking from Perth.

In Canberra, Chinas ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian met Labors foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong. Wong told Xiao she had serious concerns over reports that Russia had asked China for weapons. She urged Xiao to tell Beijing to use its no limits relationship with Moscow to end the conflict in Ukraine. After delegations from Ukraine and Russia met again via video, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early on Wednesday that Russias demands were becoming more realistic. Efforts are still needed, patience is needed, he said in his nightly video address to the nation. Any war ends with an agreement. Russias bombardment of Ukraines capital appears to be more systematic. Attacks edged closer to the city centre, smashing apartments, a subway station and other civilian sites. Zelensky said the barrages hit four multi-storey buildings and killed dozens.

Wongs message to China was similar to that emerging from Singapore, which is an outlier in strategically key south-east Asia in choosing to react so strongly to the Russian invasion. The city-state joined with the US, UK, European Union, Australia and others in imposing targeted financial and trade sanctions on Russia. While all 11 nations in the region except Vietnam and Laos signed a United Nations resolution denouncing Russias war, the response of others such as G20 president Indonesia have been far more muted than Singapore and in line with a traditional policy of non-interference. The Malaysian government, which has been similarly measured, on Wednesday night released a statement that noted Australia and the Netherlands had begun legal action against Russia over the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in Ukrainian airspace in 2014 that killed 298 people. The government of Malaysia reiterates its commitment to a judicial process that is conducted transparently under international law against parties responsible for the horrific July 2014 MH17 tragedy and is committed to seeking justice for the families of the victims including 43 Malaysian nationals on board the aircraft, said the statement from Malaysias transport ministry.

Malaysias approach has always been that conclusions must be based on evidence. A thorough and exhaustive process of law must be pursued in bringing the perpetrators of this inhumane crime to justice in order to honour the victims and the next-of-kin of MH17. The hesitation of Indonesia to take a firmer stance against Russia, meanwhile, has sharped the focus on the global leadership role President Joko Widodo, known as Jokowi, has hoped the country could play as this years G20 president. Indonesias Joko Widodo has been reluctant to single out Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Credit:The Washington Post The worlds fourth largest country and third biggest democracy is due to host world leaders at the G20 summit in Bali in October. It is a roll call that could technically include Putin himself, as Russia is a G20 member and given that Joko has refrained from publicly reprimanding the Kremlin. Ukraines embassy in Jakarta has appealed for him to take a tougher position, saying Indonesia cannot remain silent as the Russian federation commits crimes against humanity.

Vasyl Hamianin, Ukraines ambassador to Indonesia, said on Wednesday night that Jakarta should name Russia as the aggressor and hoped it would offer support to Ukraine, be it with medical supplies or some other form of assistance such as blankets or generators. Loading I would not expect military support from Indonesia but we would expect something serious and something tangible, he told the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club. However, Joko has not gone beyond declaring that sovereign territory must be respected and calling for a ceasefire. His most trusted minister, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, has also made clear that Indonesia has no interest in playing referee in wider geopolitical disputes such as in the ongoing feud between Australia and China.
The plane dropped a bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding, it said. The Russian Defence Ministry denied bombing the theatre or anywhere else in Mariupol. It instead accused the Azov Battalion, a far-right Ukrainian militia, of blowing it up, RIA news agency said. It gave no evidence for the claim. In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters during a citywide curfew while Russian troops shelled areas in and around the city, including a residential neighbourhood 2 kilometres from the presidential palace. A 12-storey apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel. And 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office said.

Volodymyr Zelensky addresses members of the US Congress virtually. Credit:Getty Earlier Zelensky went before the US Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbour and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: We need you right now. International pressure against the Kremlin mounted and its isolation deepened as the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ordered Russia to stop attacking Ukraine, though there was little hope it would comply. Also, the 47-nation Council of Europe, the Continents foremost human rights body, expelled Russia. While Moscows ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Putin said during a speech to government ministers that the operation was unfolding successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans. He also decried Western sanctions, accusing the West of trying to squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country. And he accused Russians who are sympathetic to the West or have adopted Western lifestyles of being a so-called fifth column and national traitors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives warning to traitors. Credit:AP He said they more mentally in tune with the West than Russia, and said the Russian people would quickly be able to tell the difference between traitors and patriots. The term fifth column which originated during the Spanish Civil War means a group of people lying in wait to undermine a larger group from within. Of course they [the West] will try to bet on the so-called fifth column, on traitors - on those who earn their money here, but live over there. Live, not in the geographical sense, but in the sense of their thoughts, their slavish thinking, Any people, and especially the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish the true patriots from the scum and the traitors, and just to spit them out like a midge that accidentally flew into their mouths.

Self-cleansing The venomous tone was striking even for Putin, who has for years been cracking down on domestic opponents and delivering bitter tirades against the West. Putin said the West was trying to divide Russia and provoke civil confrontation. And there is one aim - the destruction of Russia, he said, adding that Russia would repel such efforts. I am convinced that this natural and necessary self-cleansing of society will only strengthen our country, our solidarity, cohesion and readiness to meet any challenge.

Damaged vehicles and buildings in Kharkiv city centre on Wednesday. Credit:AP After Zelenskys speech to the US Congress, President Joe Biden later announced the US is sending an additional $US800 million ($1.1 billion) in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones. Putin is afflicting appalling, appalling devastation and horror on Ukraine, Biden said on Thursday (AEDT) at the White House. Its god awful. Mayor released Russian forces freed the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Melitopol in exchange for nine of their captured conscripts, an official from Ukraines presidential office said on Thursday (AEDT).

Kyiv accused the Russians of kidnapping Mayor Ivan Fedorov about a week ago. Surveillance video showed him being marched out of city hall apparently surrounded by Russian soldiers. Residents of Melitopol, a city in south-east currently under Russian control, have been protesting to demand his release. Daria Zarivna, spokeswoman of the head of Ukraines Presidents office, said Fedorov had been released from captivity, and Russia got nine of its captive soldiers, born in 2002-2003, practically children, conscripts Russias Defence Ministry said werent there. Moscow initially denied sending conscripts to fight in Ukraine, but later the Russian military admitted that some conscripts have been involved in the offensive and even got captured by Ukrainian forces. At least 700 civilians killed

The fighting has sent more than 3 million people fleeing Ukraine, by the United Nations estimate. The UN reported that over 700 civilians have been confirmed killed but that the real number is higher. Nowhere has suffered more than Mariupol, where local officials say missile strikes and shelling have killed more than 2300 people. The southern city 430,000 has been under attack for almost all of the three-week war in a siege that has left people struggling for food, water, heat and medicine. Bodies have been buried in trenches in Mariupol, and more corpses lay in the streets and in a hospital basement. Nearly 30,000 people managed to escape the city on Tuesday in thousands of vehicles by way of a humanitarian corridor, city officials said.

But with humanitarian aid unable to get in amid the constant bombardment, people burn scraps of furniture to warm their hands and cook the little food still available. Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Pope Francis discussed the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, Kirills office said, the first known contact between the two religious leaders since the conflict began. Kirill, 75, a close ally of Putin, has made statements defending Moscows actions in Ukraine and sees the war as a bulwark against a West he considers decadent, particularly over the acceptance of homosexuality.

The Moscow Patriarchy said in a statement that the two discussed the humanitarian aspects of the ongoing crisis and the importance of pursuing peace talks. They also discussed what actions the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches could take to overcome its consequences, the Russian side said. Loading In its readout of the conversation, which took place in a video call, the Vatican said the pope told Kirill: The ones who pay the price of war are the people, the Russian soldiers and the people who are bombarded and die. At his general audience earlier on Wednesday, Francis evoked the spectre of a nuclear war, where whoever is left of humanity would have to start all over again on the day after, and appeared to ask God to stop the aggressor in Ukraine.

Russia launches cases over false information Russian law enforcement has announced the first known criminal cases against people posting what is deemed to be false information about the war in Ukraine. The Investigative Committee listed three suspects, including Veronika Belotserkovskaya, who is a Russian-language cookbook author and popular blogger living abroad. It said Belotserkovskaya made posts on Instagram containing deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to destroy cities and the civilian population of Ukraine, including children.
Washington: In 2020, a US naval engineer and his wife made the fateful decision to try to sell some of Americas most closely guarded military secrets, the technology behind the nuclear reactors that power the US submarine fleet.

Then the couple faced another important choice: to which foreign government should they try to peddle the stolen secrets?

The engineer appeared to believe that soliciting US adversaries like Russia or China was, morally, a bridge too far, according to text messages released in court. Instead, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe thought of a country that was rich enough to buy the secrets, not hostile to the US and, most importantly, increasingly eager to acquire the very technology they were selling: Brazil.

Secrets in a sandwich: A Virginia-class nuclear submarine of the US Navy. Credit:US Defence

The identity of the nation approached by the Toebbes has until now remained shielded by federal prosecutors and other government officials. But, according to a senior Brazilian official and other people briefed on the investigation, Jonathan Toebbe approached Brazil nearly two years ago with an offer of thousands of pages of classified documents about nuclear reactors that he had stolen from the US Navy Yard in Washington over several years.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The Government of St. Maarten has relaxed the mask mandate effective today, March 15, 2022. As stated in a previous press statement, Sint Maarten has been recording an infectious rate of less than 2% over the past couple of weeks, which is significantly lower than the World Health Organizations recommended threshold of a 5% infectious rate. This puts Sint Maarten in the low-risk category and therefore, the decision was made to relax the mask mandate from Code Red to Code green.

As the government continues to roll out the Normalcy Strategy, during the endemic phase of COVID-19, civil servants, and persons visiting Government Buildings reserve the right to wear a mask to enter the premises with no consequences if no masks are worn in the buildings. However, establishments still reserve the right to request a mask to enter their premises. Moreover, there will be no penalties from government inspectors if no mask is worn in such establishments.

The public is still advised to proceed with caution and isolate immediately if experiencing flu-like symptoms or if tested positive for COVID-19. The COVID-19 testing at the Community Help Desk in Hope Estate will remain open Monday to Friday from 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM. There will be no more testing on Saturdays.
~Business restrictions back to normal as of March 17th~



PHILIPSBURG:--- The CDC has recently confirmed that as of Monday, March 14th, St. Maarten has improved to a Travel Health Notice Level 3 from a level 4.

Minister of TEATT Roger Lawrence said that this is welcomed in the news and aligns with the We are Open campaign theme as St. Maarten continues to transition to normalcy. 

We have also coordinated for our next phase of normalcy, that as of tomorrow March 17th, 2022, all restrictions regarding business opening hours will be removed and businesses can now open as per the time indicated on their respective licenses.

The focus remains to be economic activity however people should not become complacent and continue taking the necessary precautions, as usual, to avoid the spread of the virus since the COVID-19 is now in its endemic phase.

Minister of TEATT Lawrence: WE ARE OPEN





As of today, March 16th, the country transitions back to full normalcy with a halt to all measures related to the COVID-19 Prevention and Safety Plan for the Business Community of Sint Maarten.



Regular business hours will resume as established in the respective business licenses.



We are now fully open as of March 16 without any business restrictions. The lifting of measures will allow us as a country to see a continued expansion in economic activity for the remainder of the year.



Unprecedented measures were taken in March 2020 along with the country lockdown. Two years later, we have reached the stage where we can remove the remaining business sector restrictions.



COVID-19 has not disappeared; however, cases remain low and manageable, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication Hon. Roger Lawrence stated on Wednesday.



The ministry is also advising the public to be mindful of the precautions that allowed us to reach this phase, such as washing hands, cough and sneeze etiquette and proper sanitizing of the workplace.
Edith (Edi) Marie Smith, daughter of the late Glen Lester and Dorothy Jane Allison, was born in Youngstown, OH on Friday, October 11th, 1963, and she departed this life on Saturday, April 30th, 2022, having attained the age of 59 years. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death b
From left, are Daleville High School Band Director Mark Nichols, Daleville High School band student Austin Horne and Dr. Dave Camwell, Troy University Associate Professor of Saxophone and Director of Jazz Studies.
Coffee County Family Services Board of Director Chairman Rick Hollingsworth Jr. outlines the benefits of the new monitored exchange program offered free of charge to participants because of a grant from the Alabama Administrative Office of the Courts at a news conference March 8 at the Enterprise Courthouse. From left, are Twelfth Judicial Circuit Judge Shannon Clark, Coffee County District Judge Josh Wilson, Twelfth Judicial Circuit Presiding Circuit Judge Jeff Kelley, Hollingsworth and Coffee County Family Services Center Executive Director Judy Crowley.
News

spotlight

Community leaders, legislators join forces to bolster mechatronic opportunities

Meier Jasinski

Elstad

A state-of-the-art new high school is currently under construction on the southside of Owatonna, with all the bells and whistles expected to elevate public education in the district.

aharman / By ANNIE GRANLUND annie.granlund@apgsomn.com Owatonna High School teacher Mitch Dinse discusses the age and condition of a bulk of the equipment located in the metal and manufacturing shops in the current school. Because a majority of the equipment is so out of date, school officials are teaming out with community leaders to pursue state funding to enhance mechatronics opportunities in Owatonna. (Annie Granlund/southernminn.com)

While a lot of new will be accompanying the facility, the faculty at the Owatonna High School was surprised to learn that little to no equipment currently in their metal and manufacturing shops will be coming with them. According to Mitch Dinse, the advanced woodworking and construction technology teacher, this is because the equipment is so out of date that it wouldnt supply the best education for students who may be interested in that specific career field post graduation.

So what does the district do to ensure the new building going up wont remain empty on the shop room floors?

The Owatonna School District is partnering with the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and Riverland Community College to form the Owatonna Learn to Earn Coalition with the hopes of gaining grant money to assist the city and region in expanding, attracting and retaining a talented workforce.

Superintendent Jeff Elstad said at Mondays School Board meeting he has been working closely with State Sen. John Jasinski and State Rep. John Petersburg to introduce a bill relating to economic development that could bring $1 million for the fiscal year of 2023, with the direct intent to add mechatronic equipment at both the new high school and Riverland Campus. Mechatronics encompasses several disciplines in the engineering field with a focus on electrical and mechanical systems, including robotics, electronics, computer systems and product engineering.

Chamber President Brad Meier says there are three key components to the bill that awaits a hearing in the Minnesota House and Senate. The first will be $20,000 to be allocated to conduct a needs assessment to determine the current and future workforce needs of the area.

aharman / By ANNIE GRANLUND annie.granlund@apgsomn.com Welding and other similar trade skills continue to see a growth in need for experienced workforce. The Owatonna Learn to Earn bill would help promote such educational opportunities at both the Owatonna High School and Riverland Community College. (Annie Granlund/southernminn.com)

We need the environmental scan because it is important to understand the needs here as we try to beef up the presence of higher education in Owatonna, Meier said.

Secondly, $900,000 will be used to develop learning spaces with modern equipment and support services for students within the career pathways program. Of those funds, $306,000 would be allocated to the new Owatonna High Schools industrial technology classrooms, and the remaining $594,000 would be allocated to the Riverland Campus to outfit the buildings and students with the equipment needed for the automation, robotics engineering and advanced manufacturing.

Finally, $80,000 would be used to create learn and earn opportunities for students and employers by offering tuition reimbursement and scholarships. This would include part-time work that considers school schedules for employers who agree to continue the students education while working at the respective business.

Bill timeline

According to Jasinski, a hearing has been scheduled for March 23 in the State Senate. He said he has seen solid backing from his fellow senators, however, he expressed concerns on the House side as Petersburg appears to be in the minority. Because of this, Jasinski says he is unsure of how the readings will proceed.

The two bills are considered companion bills, meaning they are similar or identical legislation for both the House and the Senate and are introduced at the same time. Once they are introduced, the bill has to receive three readings on the floor of each body before it can be passed.

Jasinski said there are other ideas in the works to push this bill through one way or another, but added he is unable to speak to the specifics at this time.

aharman / By ANNIE GRANLUND annie.granlund@apgsomn.com The welding shop at Owatonna High School is also out of date, and new equipment would be necessary to ensure the new high school would be providing modern educational experiences to students potentially interested in that field. (Annie Granlund/southernminn.com)

I think it is important to compliment Brad and Jeff and several business owners who have been involved in getting this program going, Jasinski said. Having this pass is a big priority. I believe its important to Owatonna to have access to this equipment for both students and employers in the area to keep the workforce and economy strong.

According to Meier, if the bill is passed and the grant money is awarded, it will be given to the Chamber Foundation to serve as the executor, meaning it will be the body responsible for distributing the funds to the respective projects.

This is a community effort, Meier said. There have been many entities involved in the process so far, and we are optimistic that it will continue through the process.
The full moon of March  the Worm Moon  will occur in the eastern U.S. at 3:17 a.m. on March 18, (0717 UTC) according to the U.S. Naval Observatory. In New York City the moon rises at 7:39 p.m. local time, about 33 minutes after sunset.

The moon will be in the constellation Virgo. At 1:06 a.m. local time in New York on March 18 the just-before-full moon will cross the meridian, meaning it reaches the highest point in the sky, due south for Northern Hemisphere observers. At that point, it hits its maximum elevation, 54 degrees. In other cities, such as Chicago, Seattle, or San Francisco its elevation will be similar; there will also be small differences in the local time it reaches that elevation. In Chicago, for example, the moon crosses the meridian at 1:03 a.m. March 18 and reaches 53 degrees, in Seattle, it will do so at 1:26 a.m. local time and will be at 46 degrees, in San Francisco it is at 12:14 a.m. and the altitude will be 71 degrees.

Altitude is largely dependent on latitude; the lower one's latitude the higher the moon will appear in the sky. The hour depends on one's longitude. The moon's altitude will reach a maximum for observers at about 5 degrees latitude, which corresponds to cities such as Bogota, Cayenne, French Guiana, or Abidjan. As one moves further south its elevation will start to drop, though it will be towards the north  so in Sydney, Australia, which is at approximately 33 degrees south, the moon will be about 46 degrees high when it crosses the meridian at 12:37 a.m. on March 18.

Related: Full moon names for 2022

What causes a full moon?

The full moon happens when the moon is exactly on the opposite side of the Earth from the sun. Unlike the timing of the moon's apparent position in the sky, the time of lunar phases depends on the position of the moon relative to the Earth and sun. That means the full moon occurs at the same time everywhere on Earth, with the hour and minute only changing because of time zones. So while the full moon is at 3:17 a.m. in New York, that will correspond to 6:17 p.m. the same day in Sydney.

Full moons are an easy target for binoculars or small telescopes, but they can be almost disappointing because the moon is so bright the surface loses contrast. One issue is the lack of shadows; we are seeing the lunar surface at noontime on the moon, so the sun (from the perspective of a person standing on the moon) is directly overhead. That said, moon filters are available that can make some features stand out. If one waits a few days after the full moon or observes a few days before, shadows bring out more detail.

Visible Planets

The full moon happens two days before Venus reaches its greatest western elongation, meaning its largest apparent separation from the sun. As the separation is in the westward direction, it means Venus will rise well before the sun does. On March 18 Venus rises at 4:53 a.m. in New York, while the sun comes up at 7:02 a.m.

Venus will be at magnitude -4.4, making it the brightest object in the sky after the moon. For observers in mid-northern latitudes, the planet will get about 15 degrees above the southeastern horizon by 6:30 a.m. local time. Skywatchers in more southern latitudes will have an easier time of it; as one moves south, the angle the path the planets take against the background stars is steeper relative to the horizon. In Mobile, Alabama, Venus rises at 4:37 a.m. local time and the sun rises at 6:29 a.m., so by a half-hour before sunrise the planet is 16 degrees high, and in Honolulu where the sun comes up at 6:37 a.m., the planet reaches 26 degrees by 6:00 a.m.

Mercury will also be a morning star, though it is much closer to the sun and thus much harder to observe. From New York (and other North American locales) the planet will only be 3 degrees above the horizon at sunrise. Southern Hemisphere observers will see the planet rise much higher; in Sydney, for example, Mercury is 9 degrees above the eastern horizon by 6:30 a.m. local time; the sun rises at 6:56 a.m. on March 18.

Mars is also visible in the predawn sky, rising at 5:08 a.m. in New York on March 18 and reaching an altitude of 17 degrees by sunrise at 7:02 a.m. Looking southeast from New York City at about 6:00 a.m. one will see Mars and Venus paired, with Mars below Venus above and to the left of Mars. On the same date Sydneysiders will see the two planets much higher by 6:00 a.m. local time, about 33 degrees high in the east, with Mars higher and to the right of Venus.

Jupiter is effectively invisible; in New York, it rises at 6:49 a.m. and sets at 6:08 p.m. on March 18, so it's really a daytime object. Saturn is a bit easier; it rises in New York at about 5:40 a.m. local time and by sunrise is 14 degrees high in the southeast. Saturn will form a rough triangle with Venus and Mars, but it will still be a challenge to see it as it will be low to the horizon. Here again, Southern Hemisphere observers will have it easier; in Sydney Saturn will be about 20 degrees high by 6 a.m. local time with Venus above and to its left and Mars to the right.

Constellations

The Full Worm Moon will be in the constellation Virgo. (Image credit: SkySafari app)

The full moon shares the sky with several bright winter constellations. During the latter half of March Orion is visible the first half of the night, starting the evening high in the south by about 8 p.m. local time in mid-northern latitudes. Near Orion are Taurus and Gemini, and just to the southeast of Orion is Canis Major, the Big Dog, home to Sirius, the brightest star in the sky. All three constellations are bright enough that they don't get overwhelmed by the full moon, even in urban areas.

Looking east one will see Leo above the moon, and as one turns north one encounters the Big Dipper. Follow the "pointers" in the bowl of the dipper to Polaris, the Pole Star, and keep turning left to the western side of Polaris, to the distinctive "W" shape of Cassiopeia, the legendary queen and wife of Cepheus.

Why is the March full moon called the "Worm Moon"?

The March full moon is called the Worm Moon in the Old Farmer's Almanac, and that supposedly refers to the emergence of earthworms. North American Native peoples had other names for it. According to the Ontario Native Literacy Project, the Ojibwe (or Anishinaabe) peoples called it Ziissbaakdoke Giizas, the Sugar Moon, as it was when maple tree sap was harvested; this lunation also happens to mark the Anishinaabe new year.

The Tlingit of the Pacific Northwest calls the March full moon Heentaanax Kayaan'i Dis, or Black Bear Moon, or "underwater plants sprout" while the Haida called it Xitgaas Kungaay, or "Noisy Goose moon," according to the Tlingit Moon and Tide Teaching Resource published by the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

In the southern hemisphere, March is the tail end of summer and the Maori of New Zealand described the lunar month in February to March (as measured between the successive new moons, with the full moon halfway between) as Paenga-whawha or "All straw is now stacked at the borders of the plantations," according to the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.

In China, the traditional lunar calendar calls the March lunation the second month, Xingyue, the Apricot Month, for when the eponymous trees blossom. For some groups of Muslims the full moon will mark Lailat al Bara'ah, also called the Night of Forgiveness. In some Shia communities, the day is also noted for being the birthday of the Twelfth Imam

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New York (United Nations), 16, March 2022 (SPS) - The Representative of the Frente POLISARIO to the United Nations and Coordinator with MINURSO, Dr. Sidi Mohamed Omar, held a meeting on Tuesday with Ms. Martha Pobee, Deputy Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations for Africa, in the Department of Political Affairs, Peacebuilding and the Department of Peace Operations (DPPA-DPO, for its acronym in English).

The meeting, which took place at the headquarters of the United Nations Secretariat, addressed the peace process sponsored by the United Nations in Western Sahara, at a time marked by the collapse of said process caused by the Moroccan violation of the ceasefire fire, last November 13, 2020, and the resumption of the armed struggle for the Saharawi people.

Sahrawi diplomate informed the UN official about the latest progress regarding the conflict at the level of the United Nations and the African Union, especially in light of the efforts made by the continental organization, through its corresponding organizations, with the aim of helping to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the conflict between the Saharawi Republic and the Kingdom of Morocco. SPS

125/090/TRA
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As one of the nations leaders in heating oil use, experts say Connecticut has plenty of supply on hand, but some energy companies are advising customers to conserve as prices surge.

Last week, Connecticut retail heating oil prices shot past $5 per gallon on average, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. Prices averaged $3.17 in early October 2021, when many customers were locking in contracts for the season, after a prolonged stretch of lower prices during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic before the downward trend ended last fall.

Last week, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., backed the idea of a windfall profits tax on large oil and gas companies that are benefiting from the surge in prices. Blumenthal said his plan would result in families receiving quarterly rebates that total $360 each year if oil prices average $120 a barrel.

Connecticut households burned about 350 million gallons of heating oil in 2020, EIA estimates, down 10 percent from the year before in part due to warmer weather. Including an equivalent amount firing furnaces at businesses and other facilities, Connecticut ranks fourth nationally for heating oil use, according to EIA, behind only New York, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection lists 585 heating oil dealers with active registrations on file with the state, including some based in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Those companies draw from about 30 oil terminals in Connecticut, as listed by the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association. CEMA member wholesalers include Global Companies, Gulf Oil, Inland Fuel Terminals, Motiva Enterprises and Sprague.

The head of CEMA expressed confidence that while oil prices could stay up for a lengthy stretch during the Russia crisis, he does not see a scenario where a squeeze on supplies would surface, given the capacity of Big Oil to pump additional amounts and store it.

I hear every day from dozens of dealers about the various issues that they are dealing with  and supply isnt one of them, said Chris Herb, president of CEMA. I can say with certainty that literally thousands of trucks go to terminals in New Haven, Bridgeport, Groton, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, East Hartford  and have no problem whatsoever getting supplies of any fuel at all.

Gary Sippin, president of Monroe-based Sippin Energy and a CEMA board member, agreed the U.S. supply of oil is not in jeopardy, but said commodities traders are creating havoc with prices as they react to the latest developments in the Russia crisis.

When homeowners lock in their prices in advance with local oil dealers, their wholesalers guarantee those prices by purchasing futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange that are similar to insurance.

With a futures market, they can ensure that those prices are protected well into the future when that supply is available, Sippin said.

Oil customers on variable contracts get no such protection, however. In a letter last week to customers of Bridgeport-based Santa Energy, the companys president, Peter Russell, advised them to consider lowering their thermostat ranges by a few degrees. Other tips include letting in as much sunlight as possible during the daytime hours, close shades and drapes at night, and move furnishings away from baseboard heating elements to maximize the energy released into the room.

If prices continue to increase, we should deliver sooner than later. If prices were to decrease, we should be holding off on making a delivery as long as possible, Russell stated in a joint letter co-signed by the companys operations chief Stephen Santa. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict what will happen in the future. Do we send a truck today, or do we wait? I wish I had the correct answer.

Northeast home heating oil delivery companies are for the most part private enterprises, but Stamford-based Star Group makes its revenue and profitability information public through the Securities & Exchange Commission. Star Group owns multiple oil delivery companies in the Northeast, including Petro.

In the final three months of 2021, Star Group absorbed a 60 percent increase in the cost of heating oil it sells, averaging $2.07 a gallon during that time. The company averaged a retail price of $3.51 for each gallon delivered, for a gross profit of $1.44 that was more than 12 cents better than its profit margin the previous year.

A Star Group spokesperson declined comment in response to questions about supplies and prices considering the Ukraine conflict and oil embargo on Russia. But the company has referenced the prospect of a global disruption to supplies in its previous annual reports, including its most recent filed last spring.

We believe that our policy of contracting for the majority of our anticipated supply needs with diverse and reliable sources will enable us to obtain sufficient product should unforeseen shortages develop in worldwide supplies, Star Group stated in the recent annual report.

Residents with lower incomes can seek help paying home heating bills through Connecticut Energy Assistance Program and Operation Fuel or by calling the states 211 social services hotline.

We havent seen a spike in requests yet, but we are on track to have served about 5,000 households between December and the end of our program year, which ends in May, Brenda Watson, executive director of Operation Fuel, said in an email. If we see an increase of requests in May, we will consider remaining open for assistance through the middle of June.

Includes prior reporting by Luther Turmelle.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
Scott Charmoli's patients' teeth were just fine, but fine wasn't making him enough money.

So the dentist in Jackson, Wis., drilled into and broke his patients' teeth in order to charge them for fixing the damage he'd caused, according to federal prosecutors. By doing so, Charmoli went from pulling in $1.4 million and affixing 434 crowns in 2014 to raking in $2.5 million and performing more than 1,000 crown procedures a year later.

On Thursday, following a four-day trial, Charmoli, 61, was convicted of five counts of health-care fraud and two counts of making false statements about his patients' treatment. He's scheduled for sentencing in June, when he'll face up to 10 years for each of the health-care-fraud counts and a maximum of five years on the other two convictions.

Charmoli's attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post on Tuesday night. But when the dentist pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in December 2020, his lawyer at the time said the only thing her client was guilty of was hard work.

"He certainly denies that his hard-earned wealth of many, many years of dental practice at the 40 to 60 hour per week range are the product of anything other than his own diligence, hard work and good business acumen," defense attorney Nila Robinson said.

Charmoli had assets worth more than $6.8 million at the end of 2020 and owned vacation properties in Wisconsin and Arizona, according to prosecutors, who allege he billed more than $4.2 million for crowns between 2016 and 2019.

Starting in 2015, Charmoli badgered his patients into getting crowns they didn't need, federal prosecutors alleged. After intentionally damaging their teeth, he submitted pictures and X-rays to insurance companies as "before" photos to justify the treatment required to fix the damage he'd just done.

One of those patients, Todd Tedeschi, testified that Charmoli persuaded him to get two crowns during one sitting, even though his teeth seemed fine, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

"It seemed excessive, but I didn't know any better," Tedeschi said. "He was the professional. I just trusted him."

Charmoli gave his patients more crowns - a procedure in which a dentist replaces a damaged or missing part of a tooth with a tooth-shaped cap - than 95% of Wisconsin dentists from 2016 to 2019, according to federal prosecutors. At Charmoli's trial, an insurance company executive testified that the average dentist in the state performs about six crown procedures per 100 patients, whereas Charmoli did more than 32, according to the Journal Sentinel.

A former dental assistant for Charmoli testified that traffic at his practice, Jackson Family Dentistry, picked up after they moved into a larger space and marketing experts encouraged him to push patients into paying for more services, the newspaper reported.

The assistant, Baily Bayer, said the shift in strategy made her uncomfortable and stressed; she ended up leaving the practice, according to the newspaper. Dentistry, she told jurors, "shouldn't be a sales pitch. It should be you either need it or you don't."

After Charmoli was indicted in December 2020, more than 60% reached out to prosecutors to report that they "strongly believe" he had purposely damaged their teeth, requiring them to cobble together "significant co-pays" for the repairs.

"Some of these patients were extremely vulnerable individuals in abusive relationships, recently widowed, survivors of cancer and living paycheck to paycheck scrounging to afford the co-pays required for the unnecessary procedures he was billing," prosecutor Julie Stewart said in 2020.

Nearly 100 former patients have sued Charmoli for medical malpractice, the Journal Sentinel reported. Those proceedings have been held in limbo until his federal criminal case is over.

Charmoli's methods were exposed after he sold his dental practice in 2019. The new owners, in reviewing his files, noticed the high rate of crown procedures. One reported his predecessor to authorities.

"The health and safety of patients is my highest concern as a doctor. As medical professionals, we take an oath to 'do no harm' to our patients, which is why I felt the ethical obligation to report activity that I believed to be suspicious," Jackson Family Dentistry owner Pako Major wrote on the practice's website.

State authorities suspended Charmoli's dental license in February 2021, pending disciplinary action. He first earned that license in 1986.
GREENWICH  Christ Church Greenwich is inviting the community to take part in two upcoming events to show support for the people of Ukraine.

No doubt we have all been horrified by the unfolding crisis in Ukraine, church leaders said of the deadly Russian invasion.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, the church will host a candlelight vigil for Ukraine.

The vigil will call on the power of prayer to help us as well as the people we are praying for. It is soothing, meditative and hopeful, church leaders said.

Residents are struggling to understand what they can do to help families fleeing the violence and destruction in Ukraine, church leaders said.

And many people are having a difficult time coming to terms with how this can happen. It is hard to watch as it unfolds, the leaders said in a press release.

Whenever innocents are suffering around the world, we must rally together and channel the resources of the world and encourage people of good will everywhere to do the right thing, said the Rev. Marek Zabriskie, rector of Christ Church Greenwich.

Christ Church Greenwich is an Episcopal community.

We invite you to join us and pray in solidarity with the good people of Ukraine and with the people of Greenwich, our nation and our world. Prayer facilitates Gods transforming goodness in the world, Zabriskie said.

Christ Church will also host an Emergency Packathon for Ukraine Refugees at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 26, in its Parish Hall, 254 E. Putnam Ave.

The church is organizing the Emergency Packathon  a group food-packing event  to provide 36,000-plus packages of meals for Ukrainian refugees on the border of Poland.

All ages are welcome to help with the volunteer effort, church leaders said. During a two-and-a-half-hour shift, teams of volunteers will assemble four complete nutritious ingredients: a carbohydrate, dehydrated vegetables, vitamin powder and a bean protein. Volunteers weigh the packages, seal them and box them for distribution.

This is a simple, organized and cost-effective way to feed children and families who have fled their homes for safety since the invasion and fighting began, church leaders said.

In coordination with the Ukrainian Cultural Center in New Jersey, the meals will be transported to the docks and packed into a container and loaded onto a ship headed to Gdansk, Poland.

BOC International, which has already shipped nine containers of meals to Poland, is handling the transportation free of charge.

When the container arrives, the LVIV Provincial Administration will take possession of and distribute the meals, the release said.

People are watching, listening and reading about the atrocities of Russian troops invading Ukraine, Zabriskie said. We are witnessing civilians being bombed as they try to leave their nation. People are trapped in their cities and towns, and our hearts are deeply grieved. I urge everyone to pray every single day for the innocent people who are in harms way.

We can also respond in hands-on ways by getting supplies to the refugees, he said. These are important gestures so that together, we can help in every way that we can.

Christ Church is seeking donations to cover the total cost of $12,600 for the supplies and food for the Packathon. Donations can be made directly to the Packathon at christchurchgreenwich.org or use Text To Give 73256 and enter Ccgctgive.

For more information or to view a livestream of the vigil, visit christchurchgreenwich.org.
STAMFORD  Mayor Caroline Simmons Twitter account was briefly compromised, resulting in a handful of spam tweets, a spokesperson said Tuesday.

The account, which uses the handle @MayorCarolineCT, is now back under control, said Lauren Meyer, a special assistant to Simmons and her director of policy and legislative affairs, adding that security measures have been taken to prevent this occurring in the future.

Cyber security is incredibly important and unfortunately, no one is immune to these types of cyberattacks, Simmons said in a statement. Im grateful to my team for their swift action to resolving this issue.

Meyer said she noticed that a few spam tweets were coming from the account on Sunday. She said she got in touch with Twitter, and the problem was resolved by Monday morning.

We just had to regain access to the account, Meyer said.

Meyer said she did not know how the account was compromised. The password for the account was strong, she said.

But we, again, took the necessary measures ... to obviously update everything and make sure it's good moving forward, Meyer said.

She said Simmons office did not report the incident to any authorities.

Many of the spam tweets suggested that Twitter users follow a certain account to receive stock alerts for PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles. Those tweets are no longer available.

For some time Monday, Simmons profile came with a warning from Twitter saying that there had been some unusual activity coming from the account and it was temporarily restricted.

Simmons account has about 3,900 followers. When she was a state representative for Stamford, the accounts handle was @CSimmonsCT. She had a separate account, with the handle @CarolineforCT, for her mayoral campaign.

She isnt the first mayor to experience such an incident. In 2019, then-Mayor of Tampa Bob Buckhorns Twitter account was hacked. The tweets in that case included racist messages, child pornography and an airport bomb threat, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time.

brianna.gurciullo@hearstmediact.com
The U.S. Senate voted this week to make daylight saving permanent, which would render moot a local movement to move Connecticut into Atlantic Standard Time.

Rep. Kurt Vail, R-Stafford, recalled Wednesday that this is the sixth consecutive year he introduced the bill in the Connecticut General Assembly to move Connecticut permanently to Atlantic Standard Time, but it failed to even get a public hearing in a key legislative committee. He was unaware of the U.S. Senates action until my phone blew up on Tuesday.

I think there are people all over the country that kind of pushed for it, but its good to finally have something pass, Vail said outside the state House chamber in the morning. That was the whole point all along, is to finally get the federal government to do something, but they werent, so we tried to do it collectively.

Vail said a constituent had originally asked him to consider submitting the legislation, so he asked other people in his district, which is partially rural, with farms.

The time change actually messes up some of them, especially with the cows and the feeding, Vail said. There really is no need for it anymore, but the plan all along was to hope that the federal government did something and I think enough states were doing it that it started to gain some momentum. Certainly it has never been a partisan political issue at all.

Vails original purpose was to cease the annual time change, which moving the state to Atlantic Standard Time would achieve. Under Vails proposal, Connecticuts time zone shift would be tied to other states in the northeast, but it would still have required federal approval.

Connecticut is one of at least 30 states that have considered legislation to end the annual time shift. Hawaii and parts of Arizona currently do not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time started during World War I in the United States and other countries, as a way to save energy by extending the time of day when the sunset.

During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered year-round Daylight Saving Time, in effect putting the East in Atlantic time.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate upended Vails plans by approving an end to the yearly shift beginning in 2023. The proposal, called the Sunshine Protection Act, was approved unanimously by voice vote. For the measure to take effect, the U.S. House would need to vote in favor, and President Joe Biden would need to sign it into law.

Biden has not yet signaled his support for or against the measure

"I know this is not the most important issue confronting America, but it's one of those issues where there's a lot of agreement," U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, one of the bills sponsors, told Reuters. "If we can get this passed, we don't have to do this stupidity anymore."

The concept is not without its detractors. Some have argued that it would be harder for students to catch the school bus in the dark. When the issue was debated in Connecticut, local broadcasters objected, arguing it would make programming difficult.

Such a change would be extremely disruptive to viewers and listeners, who currently enjoy access to a mix of local and national programming which is available in the Eastern Time Zone, according to testimony submitted to the legislature in 2019 by Michael Ryan, president of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association.

State House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, in an interview outside the House chamber Wednesday morning said: I think that Kurt is clearly grounded in the people. I think the lack of sleep for him was much more impactful and stayed with him longer than the rest of us. Because I think if we took a vote this week, everyone would vote for it. My dog wouldnt even get up.

Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, speaking during a morning news conference prior to the days work said: I have to talk with Representative Vail. When I saw it this morning, I said hes got to be the happiest guy in the world. I dont really understand it, but it sounds like Congress got their act together in getting rid of it. The House sounds like theyre doing it, too. I dont know what cars will do, because my car automatically changes, so well have to figure that out. There will probably be a recall.

Daylight Saving Time has been suspended nationwide a few times.

In 1973, oil prices were also high when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries placed an embargo on nations that had supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Then-President Richard Nixon responded by suspending the switch to and from Daylight Saving Time for two years.

Daylight Saving Time on a year-round basis, which will result in the conservation during the winter months of an estimated equivalent of 150,000 barrels of oil a day, will mean only a minimum of inconvenience and will involve equal participation by all, Nixon said at the time.

Kristine Larsen, an astronomy professor at Central Connecticut State University, said there is no scientific basis for Daylight Saving Time.

Theres no there there for Daylight Saving Time, she said. Its a cultural thing, not an astronomical thing.
This is archive content that is no longer updated. Go to the up-to-date statistics page.

Published: 16 March 2022

Index of producer prices of agricultural products rose by 16.7 per cent in January

The year-on-year change in the producer prices of agricultural products calculated by Statistics Finland was 16.7 per cent in January. The prices of crop products rose by 25.4 per cent. The prices of meat and animal products went up by 11.3 per cent. Prices of agricultural production inputs have gone up exceptionally much in a short time. Russia's attack on Ukraine also causes additional pressure to increase input prices. The effect of price changes on producer prices of agricultural products needs to be monitored more frequently. In future, the database tables of the index of producer price of agricultural products will be updated monthly at a lag of 45 days from the end of the statistical reference month.

Index of producer prices of agricultural products 2015=100, 1/20101/2022

Index of producer prices of agricultural products 2015=100, January 2022

Index 2015=100 Index point 1/2022 1) Monthly change, % 1) Yearly change, % 1) Total index 122,1 3,0 16,7 Agricultural goods output excl. fur skin 125,5 3,7 16,6 Crop output 149,7 2,2 25,4 Animal output 108,0 3,5 11,3

1) Years 2021 and 2022 are provisional until the co-operative extra payment by dairy to farmers will be published

Source: Index of producer prices of agricultural products 2015=100. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Marianne Rautelin 029 551 3421, mthi@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Katri Kaaja

Publication in pdf-format (123.2 kB)

Updated 16.3.2022

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Index of producer prices of agricultural products [e-publication].

1st quarter 2022. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 5.5.2022].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/mthi/2022/01/mthi_2022_01_2022-03-16_tie_001_en.html
The first transport with 1,200 beds made of pressed cardboard manufactured by Ambro Suceava company, having as destination the refugees from Ukraine, left on Wednesday for Chernivtsi/Cernauti, informed the vice-president of the County Council (CJ) Suceava Niculai Barba.

According to Barba, the deputy governor of the Chernivtsi region, Artur Muntean, as well as the general manager of Ambro Suceava, Paul Henri Kohler, were also present at the preparation of the transport.

Ambro has completed 1,900 of the total 2,000 beds that the company's management has announced to manufacture and is expected to reach Chernivtsi by the end of this week.

Barba said that in the first transport, there were 1,200 beds, and the other 800 will be transported during Friday.

He stressed that it was "a very important support", which was also requested by the Ukrainian authorities in Chernivtsi when the European aid logistics centre in Salcea was opened.

"They were talking about 5,000 beds. At the moment, of the 2,000 beds launched in the factory, 1,900 are ready to be loaded and by the end of the week there will be shipped the rest. It is an example that shows how the community is mobilized, it is a demonstration of how all the world comes together with the authorities, together with the NGOs here, to support the refugees in Ukraine," Barba said.AGERPRES
Minister of National Defense Vasile Dincu participated on Wednesday in the extraordinary meeting of the NATO Defense Ministers chaired by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, expressing on this occasion Bucharest's full support for the adaptation and strengthening of the Alliance's deterrence and defense posture in view of the unprecedented challenges facing the European security architecture.

According to a statement from the Ministry of National Defense, the agenda of the meeting held amid the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine, focused on the developments of the armed conflict and its implications for the North Atlantic Alliance.

The allies discussed the continuation of the medium- and long-term adjustment of the deterrence and defense posture in response to the new realities of the European geostrategic environment, with a view to preparing a substantial decision-making package for the NATO summit due June 29-30 in Madrid.

The first working session, which was also attended (via videoconferece) by the Defense Ministers of Sweden, Finland, Georgia and Ukraine and EU representatives, tackled aspects related to the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on the security of the Alliance and its partners in the immediate neighborhood, as well as on the bilateral support offered by NATO states to Ukraine, the National Defense Ministry said.

This working session sent a "strong" signal of allied support for these important NATO partners, and especially for Ukraine, the release said.

DefMin Dincu presented Romania's concerns and preoccupations regarding the conflict unleashed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which has led to the destruction of the country and to countless loss of life, emphasizing the implications for regional security. He also referred to the actions taken by Romania in support of Ukraine, mentioning the establishment of a logistics hub in Suceava intended for humanitarian aid, and national efforts to handle the massive refugee inflow.

Debates in the second working session, in an exclusively allied format, focused on the process of NATO's medium- and long-term adaptation.

During this session, Minister Dincu expressed Bucharest's firm support for adapting and strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture in view of the unprecedented challenges facing the European security architecture.

He stressed the need for the immediate establishment of defensive allied operational structures in the Black Sea region, by the model of the already existing ones in Poland and the Baltic states, to ensure the joint effort needed to support the consolidation of the allied posture at regional level and reiterated Romania's willingness to host such a structure.

Also, the Romanian Defense Minister spoke in favor of the long-term adaptation of the Alliance, which is essential for the accomplishment of these ambitious goals, highlighting in this context Romania's recent decision to increase its defense expenditures from 2 to 2.5 percent of GDP, the release notes.
The Minister of National Defence, Vasile Dincu, participates, on Wednesday, in the extraordinary meeting of the Ministers of Defence from the NATO member states, which will take place at the Alliance's Headquarters in Brussels, Agerpres reports.

According to a Ministry of National Defence's release, the event is being coordinated by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg amid the war started by the Russian Federation in Ukraine and it represents an important milestone in the preparation of decisions on the level of adaptation of the Alliance to the current security context, in the perspective of the Madrid Summit on June 29-30.The agenda of the meeting focuses on two major topics. The first session will be devoted to the security situation in Ukraine and the implications of this conflict on NATO and its neighboring partners, and will have as its guests the Ministers of Defence of Sweden, Finland, Georgia and Ukraine. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell will also take part.The second session, in an allied format, provides for in-depth debates on the long-term adaptation of NATO's collective position to respond to the new security realities at the Alliance's border.On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Vasile Dincu will have a bilateral meeting with his Canadian counterpart.
A number of 26 educational robots will be distributed to 16 education units in Bucharest, as part of a project designed to combat bullying, Agerpres reports.

The robots, together with the gaming platforms, will be used for educational activities dedicated to the prevention of the bullying phenomenon in the school environment."These non-formal activities make it easier for children to understand the emotions, actions and attitudes involved in bullying incidents and help reduce the incidence of this phenomenon. At the same time, teachers will have both an innovative tool at their disposal and a new method for the educational process to be as attractive as possible and more adjusted to today's children," it is shown in a press release sent, on Wednesday, by the Sinaptica Association.According to the same source, the interested teachers will benefit from free training offered by the Association, in order to acquire the necessary skills to include educational robots in the teaching process, as well as to update their psycho-pedagogical knowledge that facilitates the understanding of children's bullying.The action will be marked by an event that will take place on March 21, at 11.00 am, at the "Virgil Madgearu" Economic College. The event is organized within the Erasmus + Robotics Versus Bullying project, implemented in Romania by the Sinaptica Association, as a national partner, and the School Inspectorate of the Municipality of Bucharest, as an associated partner.
The governing coalition is preparing an emergency ordinance to support the employees of the companies targeted by the sanctions against Russia, the Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity, Marius Budai, declared on Wednesday, at the end of the Government meeting.

"We are preparing an emergency ordinance at the coalition level that will have provisions for furlough. We have already convened a social dialogue committee at the Ministry of Labor strictly for this matter. It seems that there are solutions and I introduced an article in the emergency ordinance for furlough with a certain derogation. So there are solutions, as we have identified, for the payment of unemployment, there will certainly be solutions for salaries. When the social dialogue committee is over, you will certainly receive information. There are solutions, people should not panic. This ordinance is on the agenda of the coalition meeting and I hope that if not Friday, then I hope next week we will have it in the Government. I proposed this ordinance to the coalition because there is this danger of closing production capacities due to the crisis in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus," said Marius Budai.

On the other hand, the Minister of Labor stressed that it is out of the question for pensions to decrease next year, after the entry into force of the increase to 4.75% of the percentage transferred to Pension Pillar II.

At the same time, the Minister of Labor specified that he does not support the proposal to reduce the social security contributions by 5%.

"I do not support it. Because that transfer to Pillar II will deprive Pillar I with a certain amount, and I do not think it is time to skim Pension Pillar I any further. (...) I re-discussed with the unions, the three that have called me so far, informed me that they do not support the reduction of CAS, motivated by the current economic situation and the removal of a sum of money from Pillar I," added Marius Budai.
NATO's eastern flank must be strengthened in a balanced way, namely the southern part, especially towards the Black Sea, it must be as well defended and strengthened as the northern part of the Eastern Flank, in the Baltic area, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday in Chisinau.

"This war in Ukraine lies next to the Eastern Flank of NATO, of the European Union. We are on the Eastern Flank, we are near the Black Sea and, as I said before, we know, meanwhile, that from the Black Sea the Russian attack on the southern part of Ukraine was launched. So the Black Sea is not a theory that we need a strategy, that we need to strengthen our position, it is a conclusion that results from the realities on the ground. On the other hand, the Eastern Flank must be strengthened in a balanced way. In this case, the southern part, especially towards the Black Sea, must be as well defended and strengthened as the northern part of the Eastern Flank, in the Baltic area. In conclusion, in order to satisfy these self-evident demands from now on, I could say, I will continue to call for an additional and strengthened Allied presence on our side of the Eastern Flank, in order to be able to do what the NATO doctrine tells us, that we must have a strong, deterring presence," the head of state said, after the meeting with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

He stressed that he would say these things "very clearly" at the extraordinary Summit of the North Atlantic Alliance to be held next week in Brussels.

"I repeat, we do not want a war with anyone. But we can't even tolerate being weak and being attacked in the vulnerable part of the Eastern Flank. In conclusion, we will continue to call for the strengthening and increase of the defense capacity on our side of the Eastern Flank and these things I will say very clearly at the extraordinary NATO Summit to be held next week in Brussels," Klaus Iohannis said.
President Klaus Iohannis reaffirmed on Wednesday Romania's "full" support for the political settlement of the Transnistrian issue, while respecting Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and without compromising its pro-European course.

"The tragic situation in Ukraine should not make us forget that a protracted conflict still exists on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. I reaffirm here, in Chisinau, Romania's full support for the political settlement of the Transnistrian issue, while respecting the sovereignty and integrity of the Republic Moldova within its internationally recognized borders and without affecting its pro-European trajectory," Iohannis said on the occasion of his visit to Chisinau, after meeting with Republic of Moldova President Maia Sandu.

The two heads of state were asked about the recent Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

"This resolution was about Ukraine and focused on the concrete situation in this country, particularly on the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine. In line with this amendment, the Republic of Moldova has always clearly stated that the Russian Federation has a role in everything related to the Transnistrian conflict, from the beginning thereof and everything that happened and is happening to this day. We have always demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria, we have requested and continue to request the liquidation of ammunition stocks on the left bank of the Dniester River, and we continue to plead for the peaceful settlement of this conflict and we will do everything in our power to find and put into practice a diplomatic, peaceful political solution," Maia Sandu said.

President Iohannis stated that the PACE resolution is tantamount to a political statement.

"The Transnistrian issue is Moldova's problem, it must be solved here, within the internationally acknowledged formats, while respecting the Republic of Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity and without affecting its pro-European course," the Romanian President said.
Romania will continue its constant efforts for the Republic of Moldova's European path, President Klaus Iohannis, on a visit in Chisinau, highlighted on Wednesday after meeting with his counterpart, Maia Sandu.

"We will continue our constant demarches, in all relevant formats at Union level, aimed at mobilizing the support of the European institutions and the Member States for the European path of the Republic of Moldova. We know from our own experience that the path to European integration is not easy. But every course, no matter how long and difficult, begins with one step. On the part of the Republic of Moldova, this step was taken by signing and submitting the application for membership. But I think it is important to emphasize that this step of Moldova was not only made through that request, but especially through the solid, sincere commitment of the current leadership of the Republic of Moldova to European values, to the construction of a rule of law and of a democratic and fair society for all the citizens of the Republic of Moldova," Iohannis declared.

The Romanian president said is convinced that the Republic of Moldova's decision to sign the application for accession will lead to the accelerated continuation of the reforms undertaken by Chisinau.

"European integration is the only way to ensure the Republic of Moldova's democracy, stability, prosperity, economic and social development , and I think this is very clear to all of us in the meantime," said President Iohannis.

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, said that her country relies on Romania's support for accepting the application for the European Union membership.
The Republic of Moldova is counting on Romania's support for the approval of its EU membership bid, Moldovan President Maia Sandu said on Wednesday after her meeting with visiting President Klaus Iohannis.

"The new reality in the region requires us to act firmly and resolutely. On March 4, the Republic of Moldova officially submitted its application for EU membership, thus confirming the irreversible nature of our country's European integration and attachment to European values. We are counting on Romania's support for Moldova's request to be accepted. The European path of our country is indisputable, and the Strategic Partnership for European integration between the Republic of Moldova and Romania will help us to faster achieve this goal to the benefit of our citizens," said Maia Sandu.

According to her, Chisinau is seeking Romania's support for the opening of European markets for all categories of Moldovan products that can no longer enter the Ukrainian, Russian or Belarusian markets due to the war.

"Under the given circumstances, acceptance of our products on EU markets will be a direct and significant support for the Moldovan farmers," Maia Sandu explained. Agerpres
What is happening now in Ukraine is horrific, President of the Republic of Moldova Maia Sandu said on Wednesday after her meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Sandu added that Moldova needs its partners' support to overcome the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine.

"Military actions have destabilized the entire region, and the challenges posed by this war are putting pressure on the Republic of Moldova too. We need the support of our friends and partners to overcome them," Maia Sandu said, mentioning also that 340,000 people have crossed the border from Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova since the beginning of the war and 100,000 of these refugees remained in Moldova.

"We are witnessing a full-blown human drama," Maia Sandu said.

President Klaus Iohannis is visiting the Republic of Moldova on Wednesday accompanied by Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca.
The Border Police inform that on Tuesday, through the border checkpoints, 58,405 people entered Romania, out of whom 15,212 Ukrainian citizens (increasing by 10.5% compared to the previous day), Agerpres reports.

On Tuesday, within 24 hours, 7,427 Ukrainian citizens entered from the border with Ukraine (up 3.4%), and 6,259 Ukrainian citizens entered from the Republic of Moldova (an increase by 23%).From the beginning of this crisis, until March 15, at 24.00, at national level, 440,998 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.At present, the border control at the entrance to Romania through the border checkpoints is carried out with efficiency, in accordance with the provisions of the national and community legislation, the control lines being covered with Romanian border policemen up to the maximum capacity.Similar measures to strengthen control and increased surveillance have also been put in place at the land border, with additional crews carrying out missions in areas of responsibility.The checks are made an integrated system with the other institutions with responsibilities in the field, with a view to an operative exchange of data and information.
Romania's Defense Minister Vasile Dincu, attending on Wednesday the extraordinary meeting of NATO Defense Ministers, had bilateral talks with his Canadian and Lithuanian counterparts Anita Anand and Arvydas Anusauskas, respectively, on the sidelines of the allied top gathering, the Ministry of National Defense said in a release.

Talks with the Canadian Defense Minister focused on the security situation in Ukraine and on bilateral cooperation.

"The Romanian official thanked Canada for its contribution to regional security, by the deployment of a Royal Canadian Air Force detachment, starting in 2017, for enhanced air policing missions in Romania. In this context, the Romanian official invited the Canadian Minister of Defense to visit Romania. Also, Vasile Dincu highlighted Canada's contribution to strengthening NATO's deterrence and defense posture. Regarding bilateral cooperation, the Romanian Defense Minister underlined the need to update the bilateral legal framework," the release states.

The agenda of the meeting with Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas included the security situation on NATO's eastern flank created following the Russian Federation's military action against Ukraine, as well as elements of bilateral cooperation.

The Romanian top official emphasized the importance of unity and solidarity within the North Atlantic Alliance and reiterated the relevance of further measures intended to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense stance along its entire eastern flank.

Bilaterally, Defense Ministers Dincu and Anusauskas highlighted the need for a continuous and constant dialogue to coordinate allied and European efforts in the context of the Russian Federation's aggression on Ukraine. The two officials agreed to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and to intensify the political-military dialogue on subjects of common interest, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The Romanian government supports the development of investment projects for the industry for the modernisation of the national economy, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca told a meeting with officials of the Beltrame group, after the group completed the acquisition of the Targoviste Special Steel works, Agerpres reports.

Ciuca underlined the government's support for the development of investment in industry, for the modernisation of the national economy, access to new technologies, the creation of new jobs for Romanians and high value-added products for the local and European markets."We are investing heavily in the coming years using European funds and the national budget. The country's raw materials and high quality products are needed to keep pace with the economic development effort in ways that support the quality of life and protect the environment," said the prime minister.At the meeting, Beltrame presented plans for major investment in retooling for the eco-friendly production of special steels."The investment of more than 250 million euros that the Beltrame Group will make in Targoviste will transform the old plant into the most up-to-date factory for the production of special steels, with carbon emissions at one of the lowest levels in Europe. Production will start in the coming months. Officials of the group announced that they plan to develop a new plant in Targoviste for the production of reinforced concrete and laminated cable. These investment projects will generate 200 new jobs in the first stage, and by the time the development plans are completed there will be more than 1,000 jobs in all. Investors will build two solar parks that will supply electricity to production facilities," reads the release.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca will pay a visit to the Republic of Moldova together with President Klaus Iohannis, informs the Government's press office, Agerpres reports.

The Prime Minister will participate, together with the head of state, in the official talks with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu.According to the Presidential Administration, on Tuesday afternoon, the President of Romania will be received by his Moldovan counterpart, Maia Sandu.The two heads of state will have one-on-one talks and official talks.At the end of the talks, Klaus Iohannis and Maia Sandu will make joint press statements.
National Liberal Party's (PNL) Florin Citu said on Wednesday that he wants a consensus in the governing coalition on cutting the CAS social security contributions by 5%, adding that certain measures were not discussed, such as the extension of the incentives in the construction sector to other sectors, Agerpres reports.

"There are a few PNL MPs who have tabled an amendment; I have seen some measures that have not been discussed in the coalition. For example, extending the construction incentives to three or four other sectors, which seems normal to me. Since we are doing something, let's do it for the whole economy. It is amid such context that that amendment was tabled, but I said very clearly yesterday that I want consensus in the coalition on this measure and we will discuss it in the coalition (...). It is simple, transparent, it is the parliamentary vote; my colleagues have tabled it. I think it is a reaction to what was not discussed in the coalition and it was tabled in Parliament, the extension of the construction incentives to certain sectors. I guess that is why they tabled it. I am choosing the option of discussing it in the coalition; if it is not approved in the coalition, we will see what measures are indeed approved in the coalition," Citu said at the Parliament House.Regarding the budgetary impact on the cuts in the CAS contributions, Citu said that it is lower than that of subsidising the energy bills."It is smaller than the budgetary impact we have by subsidising the energy bills, it is a smaller impact. In the same way we take our money to subsidise the energy bills, only here we are talking about a benefit for all Romanians, it is money that is invested in the economy and we have money left over from corporate profits, which is about 20 billion left in the budget. Under that scheme, we take the money from the companies from overtaxing the profits and spend it on subsidising bills. In my proposal there is that impact, but the rest of the money from corporate taxation remains," Citu pointed out at the Palace of Parliament.Citu said on Tuesday in Buzau that the only option for increasing the wages of Romanians is to reduce the contributions by five percentage points."I have proposed an increase in the wages of all Romanians by a cut in contributions by five percentage points. That means higher net income for all Romanians. It will be difficult for PNL to support any other measure that will increase the income of only one category of Romanians.We are interested in the well-being of all Romanians, and today there is only one measure that can increase the salaries of all Romanians. That is the cut in contributions by five percentage points," Citu told a news conference.
Romania will receive as many refugees as will come, gave assurances, on Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis, who emphasized that our country will open, if need be, other humanitarian hubs and camps.

"Romania will receive as many refugees as will come. I do not intend of refusing any Ukrainian woman or man who is seeking shelter with us, and those who seek refuge in Moldova - and here the capacity is exceeded - will all be received in Romania. We do not intend, we do not intend to bring into the discussion a number or a quota. It's about the values we believe in. Refugees must be helped. As many as they come, they will be received and will receive the aid and assistance that they deserve. It's the absolute minimum that we can do for the Ukrainians in this extremely difficult period and in this catastrophic situation they ended up in through Russia's aggression," said Klaus Iohannis, in Chisinau, after the meeting with President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

He mentioned that Romania will open as many humanitarian hubs and camps as necessary if need be.

"I don't want to be misunderstood. I am not encouraging anyone in Ukraine to leave their home and come here, but all those who feel threatened by war and want to come to us, they will be received," said the head of state. AGERPRES
President Klaus Iohannis on Wednesday will participate in the inauguration of the Francophony House, Agerpres reports.

Attending the event will be also ambassadors of the Francophone countries, representatives of the Francophone organizations in the country, representatives of the academic environment, high dignitaries supporting the Francophony House initiative.On September 21 last year the rector of the Politechnica University in Bucharest announced that UPB will make "the second Francophony House in the world, in its university campus."Minister of Education Sorin Cimpeanu, who is also the President of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), appreciated the proposal of the representatives of the UPB to build the Francophony House, which will support the mobility of Francophone students.According to the Minister, in Romania, more than one million students are studying French.
President Klaus Iohannis will pay a visit to Moldova today, Agerpres reports.

According to the Romanian Presidential Administration, at 16:45hrs Iohannis will be welcomed by his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu.The two chiefs of state will have one-on-one talks and public talks.At the end of the talks, they will hold a joint news conference.In February, Iohannis had a telephone conversation with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu in which he reconfirmed "Romania's full support for Moldova and its citizens in this dramatic context in which our region finds itself."On March 3, Maia Sandu signed the application for the accession of Moldova to the European Union, a fact welcomed by Iohannis, who underlined that Romania will give its full support in that endeavour.
President Klaus Iohannis will receive the President of the Government of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, as well as the president of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis, at Cotroceni Palace, on Thursday, Agerpres reports.

According to the Presidential Administration, the head of state will welcome the Spanish PM at 13:00. The two officials will have official talks and tete-a-tete, and will hold joint press statements at the end.President Klaus Iohannis will receive his Estonian counterpart at 18:00. The two heads of state will have official talks and one-on-one talks and will hold joint press statements afterwards.
The 21st day of war in Ukraine. Romania continues its actions to support Ukrainian refugees and Kyiv authorities.

Here is a selection of the main news of Wednesday, March 16:

* "Romania will receive as many refugees as will come. I do not intend of refusing any Ukrainian woman or man who is seeking shelter with us, and those who seek refuge in Moldova - and here the capacity is exceeded - will all be received in Romania. We do not intend, we do not intend to bring into the discussion a number or a quota. It's about the values we believe in. Refugees must be helped. As many as they come, they will be received and will receive the aid and assistance that they deserve. It's the absolute minimum that we can do for the Ukrainians in this extremely difficult period and in this catastrophic situation they ended up in through Russia's aggression," said Klaus Iohannis, in Chisinau, after the meeting with President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

* President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday that the Romanian academic environment is ready to receive over 10,000 students from Ukraine.

"The field of education as a whole has an important contribution to the national effort of hosting refugees, and the academic environment is ready to receive over 10,000 students from Ukraine. I am convinced that Ukrainian students will quickly integrate into Romanian academic communities. They will thus have the opportunity to continue and complete their university training in order to benefit their people. I am confident that our universities will prove that nothing is stronger than the force of solidarity and that nothing can overcome the will of the people to be free and prosperous," said the head of state at the inauguration of the House of La Francophonie at the POLITEHNICA University in Bucharest.

* Romania stands with the Republic of Moldova, as it has always been, President Klaus Iohannis said in Chisinau on Wednesday, appreciating this country's efforts in the context of the war in Ukraine.

"Romania stands with the Republic of Moldova and all its citizens as it has always been. You can count on us. And, besides Romania, all the European and Euro-Atlantic states stand in solidarity with you," Klaus Iohannis said after the meeting with the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu.

* A 55-tonne donation of humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees in the Republic of Moldova have reached, on Wednesday, Chisinau, announces the Department for the Relation with the Republic of Moldova (DRRM). According to a DRRM release, it is the second batch of aid that reaches the Republic of Moldova, after the first batch weighing 17 tons was sent two weeks ago.

"DRRM has been actively involved in collecting and transporting humanitarian aid in order to come to the support of refugees and to ease the burden of the Republic of Moldova in this crisis. The 55 tonnes of food and non-food products are added to the 17 tonnes donated by Romania, two weeks ago," the quoted source mentions.

* The President of the Romanian Red Cross, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Margareta, thanked, on Wednesday, in Tulcea, all Romanians for the support granted to refugees from Ukraine and assured all those trying to flee from the war that they will continue to be helped.

The Crown Custodian and Prince Radu met on Wednesday afternoon with representatives of the territorial branch of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania and with representatives of the Tulcea branch of the Red Cross National Society (SNCR), these meetings being part of the first official visit in the past two years of the Romanian royal family, according to Prince Radu.

"A message of thanks for all those who have helped so much those who are suffering, even if in Romania there are people who do not have a lot, but they gave what they could. When we first came to Romania, in 1989-1990, we saw that the people here are generous, hard-working and have big hearts. I am very proud of everyone who helped here. It's something beautiful," said to the press, at the end of the meetings, the Crown Custodian.

* From the beginning of this crisis, until March 15, at 24.00, at national level, 440,998 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania, the Border Police informs Wednesday.

* Two ballet dancers of the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Ekaterina Tomashek (soloist) and Victor Tomashek (principal), refugees at the Sibiu Ballet Theater following the conflict in Ukraine, will dance, for the first time, on Saturday, during the Ballet Gala, according to a press release sent by the cultural institution of Sibiu.

"We couldn't remain indifferent to the drama that artists in Ukraine are facing in this terrible time of war, in which their country is invaded, that is why we answered without hesitation when the two dancers asked us if we can help them. Ekaterina and Victor Tomashek, which form a couple in day to day life, will dance together with the Sibiu Ballet Theater, until the situation allows them to return to their country. Ahead of this tragedy that is happening in the neighboring country, our obligation is to be united, to help when it is in our power to do so and with full faith, to hope that this terrible war will end and we will enjoy peace once more. I hope the applause on Saturday and Sunday of our audience bring to these dancers the joy and hope that we all so greatly need," said Ovidiu Dragoman, manager at the Sibiu City Culture House and Ballet Theater.

* A benefit concert for orphan children from Ukraine arriving in Romania will be organised at ARCUB on Saturday by the Silvestri Foundation, the Medici pentru Romania and Jojo associations, with support from the city hall. The collected donations will be redirected to the Emanuel Speranta Romania Foundation in Bihor County, which houses dozens of Ukrainian children from orphanages, and the refugee centre at Ghermanesti.

* A number of 750 hot meals will be offered daily to people in Ukraine who cross the border through the southeastern Isaccea border crossing point. The #soliDAR campaign, which provides hot meals and food for war-torn Ukrainian communities, is organized by the Act for Tomorrow Association, with the support of Kaufland Romania. Also, 200 hot meals (lunch and dinner) will be offered daily to refugees arriving in southeastern Constanta, and a truckload of necessary food and basic products will leave for Ukraine in the next period, informs a press release of the association sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday.

* A new humanitarian transport consisting of industrial washing and drying machines, worth 330,000 lei, will leave for Chernivtsi, the city with which the municipality of Suceava is twinned, mayor Ion Lungu stated on Wednesday. The mayor of Suceava, Ion Lungu, specified that it is about four washing machines and the same number of dryers, equipment requested by the City Hall of Chernivtsi. According to Lungu, the amount of 180,000 lei remained unspent out of the total of 500,000 lei approved as aid for Chernivtsi, and the difference in money will also be allocated by a decision of the local council, which will be convened in an emergency meeting.

* The first transport with 1,200 beds made of pressed cardboard manufactured by Ambro Suceava company, having as destination the refugees from Ukraine, left on Wednesday for Chernivtsi/Cernauti, informed the vice-president of the County Council (CJ) Suceava Niculai Barba. According to Barba, the deputy governor of the Chernivtsi region, Artur Muntean, as well as the general manager of Ambro Suceava, Paul Henri Kohler, were also present at the preparation of the transport. Ambro has completed 1,900 of the total 2,000 beds that the company's management has announced to manufacture and is expected to reach Chernivtsi by the end of this week. Barba said that in the first transport, there were 1,200 beds, and the other 800 will be transported during Friday.
President Klaus Iohannis announced on Wednesday that the Romanian academic environment is ready to receive over 10,000 students from Ukraine, Agerpres reports.

"The field of education as a whole has an important contribution to the national effort of hosting refugees, and the academic environment is ready to receive over 10,000 students from Ukraine. I am convinced that Ukrainian students will quickly integrate into Romanian academic communities. They will thus have the opportunity to continue and complete their university training in order to benefit their people. I am confident that our universities will prove that nothing is stronger than the force of solidarity and that nothing can overcome the will of the people to be free and prosperous," said the head of state at the inauguration of the House of La Francophonie at the POLITEHNICA University in Bucharest.President Iohannis pointed out that, in the context of the war in Ukraine, Francophone values are "under siege"."For almost three decades, Romania and the university Francophone movement in our country have been concretely proving their commitment to the values of peace, of the peaceful dialogue between cultures and respect for fundamental human rights. Unfortunately, our values are under siege these days. Our country is fundamentally, dynamically and fully involved in their defense. Ukraine, an observer state of the International Organization of La Francophonie, is the victim of a military aggression widely condemned by the international community. Together with our partners and allies, we are at the forefront of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. We take our role in alleviating the situation of those unjustly hit by this terrible war very seriously, both at the level of the authorities and at the level of the associative and voluntary sector. We offer shelter to those fleeing the war and protection to all who ask for it. We have set up and operationalized the center for the management and distribution of international humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian population, severely affected by Russia's aggression," the president said.Iohannis deemed the inauguration of the House of La Francophonie a memorable event."More than 4,000 students from countries that are part of the International Organization of La Francophonie study in the POLITEHNICA University campus," said Klaus Iohannis.The event was attended by ambassadors of Francophone countries, representatives of Francophone organizations in the country, representatives of the academia, as well as senior officials who support the initiative of the House of La Francophonie in Romania.The head of state also discussed with a group of Ukrainian children and youth.
As many as 3,913 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Romania, down 941 from the previous day, with almost 37,000 RT-PCR and rapid antigenic tests performed, the Health Ministry informed on Wednesday, Agerpres reports.

Of the new cases, 442 were in re-infected patients, who tested positive more than 90 days after they first got infected.Most of the newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Romania since the previous reporting were recorded in Bucharest City - 1,271, and in the counties of Timis - 345, Cluj - 310, and Brasov - 160.As of Wednesday, 2,802,848 cases of people infected with the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in Romania.- Hospitalisations -As many as 3,394 people with COVID-19, down 193 from the previous reporting, including 201 children, are hospitalised in Romania at specialist care facilities.Out of the total number of hospitalised patients, 516 patients, down 26, including four children, down one, are in intensive care.Of the 516 patients admitted to ICU, 462 are unvaccinated against COVID-19.- Deaths -According to the ministry, another 68 Romanians infected with SARS-CoV-2 - 37 men and 31 women - are reported dead in the last 24 hours.Out of the total 68 patients who died, 51 were unvaccinated and 17 vaccinated. The vaccinated patients were ranged in age from 52 to 97 years. All vaccinated patients who died had comorbidities.Since the beginning of the pandemic, 64,518 people diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 infection have died in Romania.
The President of the Romanian Red Cross, Custodian of the Crown of Romania, Margareta, thanked, on Wednesday, in Tulcea, all Romanians for the support granted to refugees from Ukraine and assured all those trying to flee from the war that they will continue to be helped.

The Crown Custodian and Prince Radu met on Wednesday afternoon with representatives of the territorial branch of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania and with representatives of the Tulcea branch of the Red Cross National Society (SNCR), these meetings being part of the first official visit in the past two years of the Romanian royal family, according to Prince Radu.

"A message of thanks for all those who have helped so much those who are suffering, even if in Romania there are people who do not have a lot, but they gave what they could. When we first came to Romania, in 1989-1990, we saw that the people here are generous, hard-working and have big hearts. I am very proud of everyone who helped here. It's something beautiful," said to the press, at the end of the meetings, the Crown Custodian.

Princess Margareta also assured Ukrainians that they will continue to receive support in Romania.

In his turn, the General Director of the SNCR, Ioan Silviu Lefter, declared that a green corridor for Ukraine could function in Tulcea as well, as is the one in Siret-Cernauti. Ioan Silviu Lefter said that the majority of societies in the International Federation of the SNCR expressed their desire to help Ukraine and mentioned that the organization he represents is not in competition with the others.

During the meeting with the representatives of the Union of Ukrainians in Romania, they presented the experience they had at the border crossing point in Isaccea, and the representatives of the Royal House of Romania proposed the participants build a guide for persons wishing to help refugees from Ukraine. Furthermore, during the visit at the Tulcea branch of the SNCR, the main challenges of the volunteers were presented, and the Crown Custodian met with the participants in a class for orderlies organized by the association.

The visit of the members of the Royal House in Tulcea County will continue on Thursday in Isaccea.
A number of 750 hot meals will be offered daily to people in Ukraine who cross the border through the southeastern Isaccea border crossing point, Agerpres reports.

The #soliDAR campaign, which provides hot meals and food for war-torn Ukrainian communities, is organized by the Act for Tomorrow Association, with the support of Kaufland Romania.Also, 200 hot meals (lunch and dinner) will be offered daily to refugees arriving in southeastern Constanta, and a truckload of necessary food and basic products will leave for Ukraine in the next period, informs a press release of the association sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday."In these highly difficult times, it is important to show solidarity, to get involved and to support the communities in Ukraine, that have left their homes, families and lives behind. For these people, a warm meal, a hug and a good word can have an unmeasured value. Through the #soliDAR campaign, we join the efforts of civil society and the private sector to give Ukrainian refugees a warm welcome in our country," said Andrei Couleanu, president of Act For Tomorrow.
Several Ukrainian men have been discovered by the border policemen after crossing the Tisza River to reach Romanian territory, the spokesman for the Territorial Border Police Inspectorate (ITPF) in Sighetu Marmatiei, Iulia Stan, informed on Wednesday, Agerpres reports.

"At different times, our employees from the Sighetu Marmatiei Border Police Sector found 7 Ukrainian men, aged between 20 and 36, who crossed the Tisza river from Ukraine to Romania. They were found heading to the Lunca locality near the border, on the Tisza river banks. The border police officers from the Sarasau Border Police Sector, respectively from the Territorial Service of Maramures Border Police Sector, also found two groups of Ukrainian citizens in their area, consisting of 8, respectively 4 people, men aged between 20 and 59, who moved from Ukraine to Romania," said Iulia Stan.According to her, all Ukrainian citizens have requested a form of protection from the Romanian state, which is why specific procedures have been initiated in these cases.After martial law was imposed in Ukraine following Russia's attack, men between the ages of 18 and 60 were no longer allowed to leave the country.
ST. LOUIS  Anheuser-Busch InBev is trying a new riff on the King of Beers.

The company says Budweiser Supreme is the classic reimagined, combining the signature brew with honey malt for a crisp, silky taste. Budweiser spokesperson Laura Ballantyne said the beer, clad in black-and-gold labels, launched Monday in five test markets: Ohio, New York, Washington, D.C., central California and west Texas. She would not say when it will go nationwide.

The new beer is the latest attempt to shore up the iconic Budweiser brand. The flagship beer has been losing market share for decades as customers have tapped into lighter beers, including Bud Light, as well as imported brands, craft brews and spirits.

Over the years, A-B has countered with beers like Anheuser World Select  a European-style lager served in a Heineken-green bottle  and higher-alcohol, craft-influenced Budweiser Black Crown, with limited success.

Harry Schuhmacher, editor of trade publication Beer Business Daily, said Supreme is aimed at making Bud drinkers think twice before defecting to growing Mexican imports like Corona and Modelo, sold by rival Constellation Brands. Its a way to keep the Budweiser drinker in the family, he said.

It also might get loyal Bud drinkers to spend a little more  the new beer will be slightly more expensive than the flagship.

Whether itll stick around for long is another question.

If history is any guide, its got a tough road, Schuhmacher said.

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Amanda Seyfried says she embarked upon playing Elizabeth Holmes, the biotech engineer who founded Theranos, with no judgment.

Even though she was convicted of defrauding investors, Holmes had to believe in herself, Seyfried says.

If you want to believe something badly enough and you work hard to make it true, then at some point youre just going to have to choose whether or not its true, Seyfried says. Our brains are miraculous. We can forget things. We can bury things. We can create things. And she was incredible at creating things. She could sell me sand if I ever met her.

Seyfried, who stars in the Hulu limited series The Dropout, says she studied Holmes idiosyncrasies to get a handle on her character.

The shape of my mouth isnt the same as hers, but I can make sounds somewhat or pretty close to what she did. Thats my job as an actor  mimicking. But, in terms of the depth of it, I had to work really hard to get there because I speak at such a higher level than she does naturally.

More hallmarks  the lips, the turtleneck, the messy hair  are essential if youre doing a Saturday Night Live parody. But to get inside Holmes mind, Seyfried tried to reveal other aspects of the woman.

The whole point of making this is that you were letting us into a world that we werent privy to before and people want to know why, Seyfried says during a Zoom panel discussion.

Holmes vocal quirks came over time.

When the public met Elizabeth Holmes, she was already speaking very deeply. (In the series), we get to see when shes a kid, and she has a pretty average tenor.

Before 2015, Holmes wowed with technology that she said could return significant data with just a pinpricks worth of blood. She attracted a whos who of investors to her company, Theranos, and appeared onto a medical breakthrough when investigators dug a bit deeper into her claims.

They found the technology wasnt as accurate as investors had been led to believe. In 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged her with massive fraud regarding the companys claims. She settled the charges by paying a fine, returning 18.9 million shares to the company, relinquishing her voting control in the company and accepting a 10-year ban from serving on another publicly held company.

While Seyfried was filming The Dropout, the trial was just beginning.

Because new information was always coming through to us, we were always wondering if we were on the right track, she says. The timing of it just made it a lot more real.

Executive producer Elizabeth Meriwether says it was never her intention to pass judgment.

This series is the mystery of what was going on in her head and what led her to make the choices she made, Meriweither says. I wanted to look at that full picture.

As information came in during shooting, Meriwether tried to adapt the script. Its not a true-crime series. Its a mystery of who she is.

What The Dropout  When Available Thursdays  Where Hulu  More info hulu.com/series/the-dropout
WeCrashed isnt a look at the rise and fall of WeWork, the flexible workspace company, but the couple behind it, producers say.

What was fascinating to us was there was a relationship  like a love story  at its heart, says executive producer Drew Crevello.

Tracking the partnership between Adam Neumann and Rebekah Paltrow gave stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway something other than investments and deals to play.

Were these idealistic visionaries, or was there a cynicism there? Crevello asks. Or both? People want black-and-white answers here, but theres a lot of gray. We feel confident that weve laid out our story and provided enough for you to draw your own conclusions.

Leto pictures the story in artistic terms: This is a painting; its not a photograph. Its not a documentary. Its impressionistic.

Both he and Hathaway did considerable research into the Neumanns lives. They learned about the lifestyles they led, the effect success had on them and the mistakes they made with employees.

The insurance against things slipping into caricature is to dive into as much truth as possible, Leto says. To capture the Israeli billionaires accent, he watched hours of footage and became buried in the interviews. He was very verbose.

Hathaway also took a deep dive into her characters background.

Shes very interested in spirituality, sharing the books that shes read, so I immersed myself in those, the Oscar-winning actress says in a Zoom panel discussion. I also worked with a researcher who gave me amazing, amazing research on Rebekahs life  world. It is a world I was not born into, but I am familiar with. I just sort of did my own investigative reporting. I would find people that knew her, and I asked them questions. It was very interesting to kind of hear peoples experience with her versus the way shes portrayed in the media.

Among Paltrows contributions: WeGrow, a private school. When WeWork started to experience financial issues, she stepped down as CEO of WeGrow.

WeCrashed does detail the kind of work environment the Neumanns created.

At the beginning, you see that these are people who had very sincere intentions, Hathaway says. I really think they wanted to make the world a better place. How they executed that is a lot more complicated. I do think they were people  certainly in my characters case  who looked at the world and was trying to leave it better than she found it.

Adam Neumann set out to build something that he was proud of, Leto says. I think he set his sights on a pretty impossible goal and achieved something pretty remarkable.

Nevertheless, theres still the story of a company questioned about its business model and its ability to turn a profit. Both Neumanns left the company, and others were charged with changing its fortunes.

Executive producer Lee Eisenberg says WeCrashed investigates how a persons past informs the present. Those who have seen it debate Neumanns motives  did he believe anything he was saying, or did he fly too close to the sun?

Because so much was written about the companys rise and fall, the love story appealed to producers.

You dont talk about the love story in the founding of Facebook or Uber, Crevello says. So it felt very unique to us. And, honestly, it felt like the truth of WeWork. There was not a way to tell the story of WeWork without telling the story of Adam and Rebekah.

What WeCrashed  When Available March 18  Where Apple TV+  More info tv.apple.com/us/show/wecrashed
The Ukrainian art of intricately decorating eggs goes back perhaps more than 2,000 years. And rarely has it been put to more important use than now.

Scott Lohse, a pastor at St. Martins United Church of Christ in Dittmer in Jefferson County, has been decorating Ukrainian Easter eggs for 30 years. This year, he and his family are making 10 such eggs, called pysanky, and raffling them off at the church.

The money raised will go to the international interfaith agency Global Ministries, which will use it for both refugee relief and ministry to those who have stayed in Ukraine.

Churches from around the country and Canada are holding similar fundraisers with Ukrainian eggs. Lohse said he has heard the efforts may make up the largest offering Global Ministries has ever received.

Tickets for the raffle at St. Martins are $10; the drawing will be held on Easter Sunday, April 17. A GoFundMe page has been created to buy tickets or make donations; it is available at the churchs website, stmartinsuccdittmer.com.

For Lohse, 64, making the eggs is a family affair. For the eggs that are to be raffled, he is being helped by his son and son-in-law, Daniel and Christopher Doyle-Lohse, and his daughter, Julie Rickert.

His wife, Lin, and 5-year-old granddaughter, Madeline, also help by holding the eggs in the dye.

Does Madeline get dye on her hands?

Oh, yes, he says. And its not a dye that comes off quickly.

Lohse became interested in Ukrainian Easter eggs because of his wifes Ukrainian heritage.

My brother-in-law, John, had a Ukrainian egg decorating kit. He lived in Watseka, Illinois, and there wasnt much to do in Watseka, Illinois. When we were done he thought the eggs Id done were better than his, and he gave me the kit, Lohse says.

An egg of average difficulty takes about 3 hours to make, he says. A stylus called a kiska is used to draw part of the design on the egg with beeswax. The egg is then dipped into dye. More beeswax is applied and then the egg is dyed a different color.

Each time, you draw on top of the color you wish to preserve, he says.

When the design is complete, Lohse holds the egg over a candle to melt off the accumulated wax, leaving behind the painstakingly created design.

I took up the hobby because of my interest in the art form. The symbols were all pagan symbols until Christianity was introduced. The star pattern came to represent Jesus. There is a pattern called the fishnet, which came to represent the disciples, he says.

Each of the eggs being created for the raffle will feature a sunflower pattern. Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine, he says.

Traditionally, the eggs are dyed raw, with the white and yolk still inside. But Lohse, and many others, takes the time and effort to blow out the egg inside first. The eggs are harder to work with when they are hollow, because they float in the dye and have to be held down, but he learned his lesson.

We had some that were full, and they blew up in my mother-in-laws cabinet, he says.

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PHILADELPHIA  While the political debate on masks may never be settled, a large new study this month further solidifies the story from the realm of science:

People who wear the face coverings are less likely to spread COVID-19.

Cases of in-school transmission were 72% lower in districts with mandatory masking during the late summer and fall of 2021, compared to those where masks were optional, the study authors reported in Pediatrics. Researchers tracked cases in nine states for nearly five months  from the end of July through mid-December, when the delta variant was dominant.

The findings were posted online last Wednesday, the same day the Philadelphia school system lifted its mask mandate for students and teachers.

Yet masks are still required on planes and public transit until at least April 18, the Transportation Security Administration announced last Thursday.

For the study, researchers tracked cases among more than 1.1 million students and 157,000 staff in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, California, Washington, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, and Texas.

The authors found that for every 100 cases of COVID acquired outside the school in a given community, districts where masks were optional saw 26.4 cases of in-school transmission, compared with 7.3 cases in districts where masks were required  that is, 72% fewer cases of in-school transmission.

Put another way, that works out to 3.6 times as many infections acquired in schools where masks were not required, compared to those where mandates were in place.

The authors cautioned that they could not prove that masks were entirely responsible for the lower rates of transmission, as the school districts were not chosen at random for implementation of mandates. Other precautions or demographic characteristics may have played a role in limiting infection, according to the study, led by researchers from Duke University School of Medicine. Yet the findings are consistent with other large studies suggesting that the face coverings do indeed reduce the risk of spread.

Its no secret that reported case numbers rose sharply after the period covered in the study, due to the omicron variant, then plunged yet again.

Yet public health officials should interpret the current low numbers with caution, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security warned on Friday.

With the increased use of at-home rapid tests, the true numbers may be higher than what they seem, said Jennifer Nuzzo, the epidemiology lead for the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

I think going forward, were going to have to look at multiple data sources to try to get a sense of whats going on, she said.

2022 The Philadelphia Inquirer LLC. Visit at inquirer.com.
Ragweed pollen, instigator of headaches and itchy eyes across the U.S. Bob Sacha/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

Brace yourselves, allergy suffers  new research shows pollen season is going to get a lot longer and more intense with climate change.

Our latest study finds that the U.S. will face up to a 200% increase in total pollen this century if the world continues producing carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, power plants and other sources at a high rate. Pollen season in general will start up to 40 days earlier in the spring and last up to 19 days longer than today under that scenario.

As atmospheric scientists, we study how the atmosphere and climate affect trees and plants. While most studies focus on pollen overall, we zoomed in on more than a dozen different types of grasses and trees and how their pollen will affect regions across the U.S. in different ways. For example, species like oak and cypress will give the Northeast the biggest increase, but allergens will be on the rise just about everywhere, with consequences for human health and the economy.

The maps on the left show the recent average pollen season length in days for three types of plants: platanus, or plane trees, such as sycamores; betula, or birch; and ambrosia, or ragweed. The maps on the right show the expected changes in total days by the end of the century if carbon dioxide emissions continue at a high rate. Zhang and Steiner, 2022

If your head is pounding at just the thought of it, we also have some good news, at least for knowing in advance when pollen waves are coming. Were working on using the model from this study to develop more accurate local pollen forecasts.

Why pollen is increasing

Lets start with the basics. Pollen  the dust-like grains produced by grasses and plants  contains the male genetic material for a plants reproduction.

How much pollen is produced depends on how the plant grows. Rising global temperatures will boost plant growth in many areas, and that, in turn, will affect pollen production. But temperature is only part of the equation. We found that the bigger driver of the future pollen increase will be rising carbon dioxide emissions.

The higher temperature will extend the growing season, giving plants more time to emit pollen and reproduce. Carbon dioxide, meanwhile, fuels photosynthesis, so plants may grow larger and produce more pollen. We found that carbon dioxide levels may have a much larger impact on pollen increases than temperature in the future.

Cones on a Norway Spruce in Virginia release pollen. Famartin/Wikimedia, CC BY-ND

Pollen changes will vary by region

We looked at 15 different pollen types, rather than treating all pollen the same as many past studies have.

Typically, pollination starts with leafy deciduous trees in late winter and spring. Alder, birch and oak are the three top deciduous trees for causing allergies, though there are others, like mulberry. Then grasses come out in the summer, followed by ragweed in late summer. In the Southeast, evergreen trees like mountain cedar and juniper (in the cypress family) start in January. In Texas, cedar fever is the equivalent of hay fever.

We found that in the Northeast, pollen seasons for a lot of allergenic trees will increasingly overlap as temperatures and carbon dioxide emissions rise. For example, it used to be that oak trees would release pollen first, and then birch would pollinate. Now we see more overlap of their pollen seasons.

In general, pollen season will change more in the north than in the south, because of larger temperature increases in northern areas.

Southeastern regions, including Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, can expect large grass and weed pollen increases in the future. The Pacific Northwest is likely to see peak pollen season a month earlier because of the early pollen season of alder.

Silver lining: We can improve pollen forecasting

Most pollen forecasts right now provide a very broad estimate. Part of the problem is that there arent many observing stations for pollen counts. Most are run by allergy clinics, and there are less than 100 of these stations distributed across the country. Michigan, where we live, doesnt have any.

Its a very labor-intensive process to actually measure different types of pollen. As a result, current forecasts have a lot of uncertainties. These likely are based in part on what a station has observed in the past and the weather forecast.

Pollen sampling for regional forecasts can be labor-intensive. HelenaAnna/Wikimedia, CC BY-ND

Our model, if integrated into a forecasting framework, could provide more targeted pollen forecasts across the country.

We can estimate where the trees are from satellite data and on-the-ground surveys. We also know how temperature influences when pollen comes out  what we call the phenology of the pollen. With that information, we can use meteorological factors like wind, relative humidity and precipitation to figure out how much pollen gets into the air, and atmospheric models can show how it moves and blows around, to create a real-time forecast.

All of that information allows us to look at where pollen might be in space and time, so people dealing with allergies will know whats coming in their area.

Were currently talking with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lab about ways to integrate that information into a tool for air quality forecasting.

Ragweed pollen grains, magnified and colorized. Bob Sacha/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

There are still some unknowns when it comes to long-term pollen projections. For example, scientists dont fully understand why plants produce more pollen in some years than others. Theres not a good way to include that in models. Its also not fully clear how plants will respond if carbon dioxide levels go through the roof. Ragweed and residential trees are also hard to capture. There are very few ragweed surveys showing where these plants are growing in the U.S., but that can be improved.

Pollen levels are already on the rise

A study in 2021 found that the overall pollen season was already about 20 days longer in North America than it was in 1990 and pollen concentrations were up about 21%.

Increasing pollen levels in the future will have a much broader impact than a few sniffles and headaches. Seasonal allergies affect about 30% of the population, and they have economic impacts, from health costs to missed working days.

___

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Allison L. Steiner has received funding from NSF, NASA, DOE, and NOAA. She is currently a member of the NASEM Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate.

Yingxiao Zhang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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A wild bird in St. Louis County has tested positive for bird flu.

While bird-to-human transmission is rare, authorities are monitoring all those who came into contact with the bird. No one had shown signs of illness as of Wednesday afternoon.

The bird flu, otherwise known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), has been detected in birds in recent months throughout the country and more recently in commercial flocks in Missouri.

St. Louis County officials noted while the bird flu is not an immediate threat to public health, it is important to use common sense precautions like avoiding handling sick or dead birds and making sure to cook poultry to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees.

In addition, hunters should be careful when harvesting birds in the field or at home because it is possible to transport the virus on boats, waders or other equipment  making it important to allow hunting equipment to dry between outings.

Even though HPAI is very rare in humans, it is important to not handle sick or dead birds and report any sick or dead wild birds to the Missouri Department of Conservation," Dr. Faisal Khan, acting director of St. Louis County Department of Public Health, said in a prepared statement.

This is the sixth case of HPAI reported in wild birds in Missouri this spring and the first case in St. Louis County, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Those who develop flu-like symptoms after exposure to a bird that exhibits unusual symptoms are asked to contact the health department immediately at 314-615-7677.

To report a wild bird that is acting abnormal, call the St. Louis Regional Office of the Missouri Department of Conservation at 636-441-4554 and for domestic birds call the Animal Health Division of the Missouri Department of Agriculture at 573-751-3377.
Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 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

This tale has all the makings of a classic farce, scripted to skewer bureaucracy at its most infuriating.

But this is a true story.

At a recent Sunday dinner, my brother-in-law told me about a conflict he is having with St. Louis City Hall, specifically the treasurers office.

The offices parking violations bureau alleges that he owes more than $2,200 on 50 (yes, 50) violations issued in 2021  on a car he hasnt owned since 2019.

And because he refuses to pay the fines, City Hall wants to take him to court.

Lets start at the beginning:

In August, 2019, Steve Moro sold a 2007 Pontiac G6 to a used-car dealership. He took the plates from the car home with him, cut them in half with a tin snip and threw them away.

Please note that Moro, a CPA with a couple of masters degrees, is as dependable and organized as any human Ive ever known. Hes the kind of guy who remembers to change refrigerator filters.

So when asked if he truly cut the plates in half, he stated, Ive done that with all the old plates Ive ever had in my life.

In other words, if City Hall hoped hed just pay the fines because he couldnt prove he wasnt responsible, they picked the wrong guy.

But back to the timeline:

For two years after he sold the car, nothing happened. Then in September last year, the car began getting ticketed in the Carondelet neighborhood of south St. Louis.

The 50 citations were issued from Sept. 9 to Oct. 3 and were divided thusly: parked five days without moving; needing repairs (inoperable); no valid inspection; and no valid plates.

The bureau began mailing the tickets to Moro, who lives in St. Louis County and couldnt understand why they were coming to him.

So he emailed the bureau stating that he no longer owned the car and that he had destroyed the license plates that had been on it. The email eventually made its way to William A. Douthit, the bureaus administrative hearing officer.

Moro also wrote to the Missouri Department of Revenue, which sent him a copy of his bill of sale from the car dealership and a copy of the bill of sale from the dealership to a woman with a Florissant address, who bought it less than a month after Moro sold it.

He forwarded copies of those records to the parking bureau and followed with another email. This would surely clear up the matter, he thought.

I figured they could just cancel my tickets and go after the woman who bought the car from the dealer, Moro said. I mean, I gave them her name and address.

But City Hall still wanted to take him to court.

In a letter dated Jan. 28, Douthit said the bureau had not received any information showing that Moros plates were lost or stolen.

Im not sure how many times I need to tell them they werent lost, they werent stolen. I cut them in half and threw them away, Moro said.

So basically, theyre telling me to file a false police report, he said.

Douthits letter said Moro had not provided a preponderance of credible evidence proving that the bureau should dismiss or invalidate the tickets.

In short, City Halls position is that state records showing both Moros sale of the car and the purchase of that same car by a Florissant woman is not enough to prove that Moro didnt own the car when it was being ticketed.

Since Moros plates were never on the car after he sold it, he figures some parking enforcer wrote down the cars vehicle identification number, and that led them to Moro.

That fits with state records  now in the bureaus possession, thanks to Moro  which show that as of Nov. 3, more than two years after buying the car, the Florissant woman had not registered the title for the car nor obtained license plates for it.

Aside from not having to pay pesky parking tickets, one of the perks of driving around with long-expired temporary tags apparently is that you dont have to pay registration fees and personal property taxes, or buy new license plates.

That left Moro as the last person to have registered ownership of the car with the state.

Still, this seemed like a problem easily fixed with a phone call  if talking to someone in the parking bureau was anywhere close to simple.

Last week, I called the bureau looking for Douthit. I was told Id reached a third-party call center that does not keep his phone number. A call center worker suggested I call the treasurers office, another number they dont keep.

Using sophisticated reporting techniques (Google), I got a number for Felice McClendon, spokesperson for Treasurer Adam Layne.

Her voicemail suggested that I leave a message or send an email, but then the City Hall voicemail system told me her phone couldnt take messages. So I emailed her.

McClendon responded, telling me she had requested Douthits contact information from the offices custodian of records and told me to file a Sunshine Law request. Five days later, I received two numbers for Douthit.

Two messages left at a business number, Education Equity LLC, and two messages left at a personal number were not returned.

Moro said his court hearing is pending to allow him to gather evidence, something he thought he had already done.

When asked to sum up his City Hall experience, Moro kept it accountant-like, accurate and brief:

Its ridiculous.

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FERGUSON  Gunfire pops and a police officer calls out as sirens wail on video footage released Wednesday of a Jan. 26 police chase and shootout in Ferguson that left two officers injured and another man dead.

Im shot! Im shot!, the officer shouts in edited audio from police radio traffic.

St. Louis County police released the 18-minute edited video capturing the moment a St. Louis police officer called for help, as well as portions of the high-speed chase that led up to the shootings.

The video includes a police narrative of the shooting along with parts of the radio traffic and dashboard camera footage showing St. Louis police officers chasing for more than 4 minutes a white Toyota 4Runner that, police say, was linked to a homicide hours earlier.

The chase went from north St. Louis into Ferguson where four men ran from the car, according to police accounts.

While officers attempted to catch the group, one of the men, 23-year-old Equan Hopson, was killed and two officers were shot, including Colin Ledbetter, whose critical injuries left him hospitalized for more than a month.

No body camera footage of the shooting was included in the release because the St. Louis officers body cameras were not recording at the time of the shooting, according to St. Louis County police spokesperson Sgt. Tracy Panus.

We do not know the reason as to why they were not recording, Panus said.

St. Louis police said in a statement Wednesday that once the investigation into the shooting is complete, the department will address any policy compliance issues, including those pertaining to the body-worn camera policy.

St. Louis County Lt. Col. Stephen Sack, commander of the division of criminal investigation, gives an account of the shooting in the 18-minute video.

According to Sack:

St. Louis officers got a 911 call around 12:52 p.m. reporting four men wearing ski masks inside a white Toyota 4Runner in the Rivertrails Apartments complex in the citys Baden neighborhood.

Responding officers immediately recognized that the Toyota was wanted in connection with a homicide from the night before on Natural Bridge Avenue.

In that killing, police have said robbers approached a group of four people about 1 a.m. Jan. 26 outside Dianas Royal Palace, a bar at 4266 Natural Bridge Avenue in the Greater Ville neighborhood.

The men announced a robbery and took some of their property. A security guard at the business fired shots, killing one of the suspected robbers.

About 12 hours later, officers attempted to stop the Toyota when it sped off on Riverview Boulevard to Jennings Station Road and eventually onto West Florissant Avenue.

Video footage released Wednesday shows the Toyota at some points crossing into oncoming traffic lanes and leaving the road to drive on the grass.

In the video, officers can be heard updating dispatchers on the Toyotas progress until it comes back onto the road with four flat tires near West Florissant Avenue and Lang Drive in Ferguson.

Hes gonna wreck out, said one officer, whose name was not released by county police.

The officer continues: I got the driver.

Dashcam footage shows a passenger in the Toyota jumping out of the car and dropping a pistol, before picking it up and running into the nearby neighborhood.

At least four officers chase him, and within a few seconds gunshots can be heard over the police cars sirens.

Shots fired! Shots fired! Im shot! Im shot! a St. Louis officer can be heard yelling over the police radio. Shots fired. Get all cars to county! Need cars here. Secure our cars.

The recording ends with dispatchers promising to send EMS to the scene.

A 28-year-old St. Louis officer, whose name has not been released by the department, was struck in the leg. Ledbetter was shot multiple times, including in the stomach.

Ledbetter required lifesaving surgery after the shooting; he was released from the hospital Feb. 22.

Hopson was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Sack said in the video Wednesday that officers fired 34 shots and Hopson had fired all the rounds in his pistol, which officers found near him after the shooting.

That same day, police arrested two of the Toyotas three other passengers: August Burns, 23, of Florissant, and Clyde Thomas, 35, of Farmington.

The third man in the car, Johnny Lewis, 23, was arrested more than a month later on March 11 by Las Vegas police in Nevada.

All three surviving passengers were charged with resisting arrest. Burns is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. St. Louis County police allege he was in possession of a shotgun that fell out of the Toyota at the scene.

The video released Wednesday is the third briefing video issued under St. Louis Countys new footage policy.

The St. Louis County police board enacted the order in December in an effort to make the department more transparent, following recommendations by outside consultant, Teneo.

To develop its policy, St. Louis County police worked with the Los Angeles Police Department, which makes similar critical-incident disclosures. The county added a staffer to meet a self-imposed 45-day deadline to release such videos.

The video of the Jan. 26 shooting was released within 48 days. Panus said the delay was in part because one of the passengers in the car remained at large until last week.

The shooting of the two officers came in the same week two other St. Louis police officers were struck by a vehicle while responding to a crash on Interstate 64.

Less than two weeks earlier, St. Louis firefighter Benjamin Polson was killed in the line of duty.

Im asking the public to pray for our officers, police Chief John Hayden said in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. This is a very rough time for law enforcement and for the fire department as well.

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UPDATED with details on when victim Vaughn was discovered

ST. LOUIS  A man was charged with murder Wednesday after authorities say he chased two men and shot them dead because he thought they had stolen a catalytic converter from a car he was repairing.

The bodies were about 100 feet apart but discovered several hours apart in the Walnut Park West neighborhood. Both men were shot Feb. 28, just blocks from where the suspect lives with his mother.

Deandre Demar Walton, 40, was held without bail Wednesday on two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The victims are Tyler Vaughn and Thomas Anderson III.

Around 8 p.m. on Feb. 28, authorities discovered Anderson's body on a side lawn at 4877 Norwich Place. Anderson, 44, had been shot in the back of the head. Police don't have a home address for him.

The next morning, about 9:30 a.m. on March 1, Vaughn's body was discovered on the ground in the 4900 block of Goodfellow Boulevard. Vaughn was 32 and lived in the 3100 block of Keokuk Street in south St. Louis.

Andersons body was about 100 feet from where Vaughn was found.

Court documents Wednesday indicate that both men were shot in the same attack after Walton chased them down streets, behind a building and into a gangway. Police havent said why the bodies were discovered hours apart.

Surveillance video from the St. Louis Fish & Chicken restaurant showed both victims together before the shooting. A man police identify as Walton is seen walking south on Goodfellow, then running after Anderson and Vaughn, authorities said. They ran south on Lilian Avenue.

Video captured Walton shooting at both men using a semiautomatic weapon with an extended magazine, St. Louis police Detective Brandon Wyms said in court documents. Anderson is seen dropping to the ground; Vaughn wanders out of camera view, police said.

The dead men were found about two blocks from the 6100 block of Sherry Avenue, where Waltons mother lives. His mother, Valerie Keys, told the Post-Dispatch that Walton sleeps in her basement and has a job doing body work on cars, such as paint touchup and dent removal. Keys said her son, whose nickname is Pooch, works hard and has several children to support.

Two weeks ago, Walton came to St. Louis police headquarters with two FBI agents, Wyms said.

Walton told Wyms he knew who killed the men, and he gave police a name of the alleged killer. Police said that person doesnt fit the description of the person on the video shooting Vaughn and Anderson.

Police obtained search warrants for Waltons phone to check location data, which showed his phone in the area of the shootings when they were killed and leaving shortly after that.

Police arrested him Tuesday after he drove his mother to her doctors appointment. Police wouldnt tell her why he was being arrested. Walton has no lawyer listed in court records.

Wyms said Walton admitted shooting them because he thought they stole a catalytic converter from a vehicle he was working on, court records said.

Thefts of the auto part, prized for the few grams of precious metals like platinum and rhodium that are used to reduce emissions, have boomed in recent years.

Thieves can saw one off a vehicle in minutes. At a scrapyard, each one is worth $50 to $250, but usually costs drivers $1,000 to $3,000 to replace, the National Insurance Crime Bureau says.

Online court records show that Walton has convictions for passing bad checks in 2008 in St. Louis and forgery in 2004 in St. John. Police also say Walton was convicted of third-degree domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon.

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ST. LOUIS  Authorities have charged a 27-year-old man with murder in connection to the shooting death of a 72-year-old business owner earlier this month.

James Cody, of the 4000 block of N. 22nd St., was charged Monday with first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

Officers on March 8 found Michael Kelly dead with several gunshot wounds in the drivers seat of a pickup truck in the 3900 block of North 25th Street.

Kelly is listed as the owner of Prime Mortgage Services Inc., which has its office at 3910 N. 25th Street, according to business records.

Charges said Kelly owned homes in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood and that he parked his truck outside his office on North 25th Street.

While sitting in his truck, charges said, Cody approached with something in his hand. Surveillance video showed Cody move outside of the camera frame and Kelly's truck struck several times by gunfire.

Police said in charges that a gray sedan seen in surveillance video had followed Kelly before the shooting. Police also said Cody's girlfriend had rented the car from Enterprise, which provided police with two phone numbers that police tracked by obtaining search warrants.

Police arrested Cody Monday by tracking the phones and also found the car, charges said. Cody admitted shooting Kelly and his truck. He also told detectives where they could find guns used in the shooting. Police also recovered clothes Cody wore during the shooting.

A judge denied bail for Cody who was being held at the St. Louis City Justice Center.

Updated at 3 p.m. with more details from court documents.

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CLAYTON  A St. Louis County investigation into a Jan. 10 email from a public health employee that included a link to County Executive Sam Pages campaign website has concluded that the link was a mistake, officials say.

In the original email, dated Jan. 10, Damon Broadus, county director of health promotion and public health research, included a link to Pages campaign website along with information about a county effort to collect reports of at-home test results. The email was a follow-up response to a local nonprofit representative who had asked about at-home tests; Broadus included the link in one paragraph of the email:

Lastly, each week, the County Executives office does their best to help residents stay on top of the news in the County. There is a newsletter with useful resources that you can sign up for ... . The sentence concluded with the link.

The county has refused to publicly release the internal report about the email, stating that the investigation is a personnel matter and therefore closed under state open records laws. The county on Wednesday denied a Post-Dispatch reporters request for the report.

But, in a statement, the county said the investigation had revealed a second, unnamed employee had included the campaign link in two other public health emails about COVID-19.

Rochelle Walton Gray, a former councilwoman whom Page hired in 2020 to conduct vaccine outreach, sent the emails Jan. 11 and Jan. 12 to more than 50 other email addresses, including those of St. Louis-area state representatives, representatives of nonprofits and some faith leaders, according to copies obtained through a records request.

Gray had copied paragraphs from Broadus Jan. 10 email that included the paragraph with the link to Pages campaign, and added them to lengthy emails that included notice of a county mask mandate and suggestions for protective measures against COVID-19, a new public health department video on the surge from the omicron variant, and a report on the latest vaccination numbers in the county.

The original Jan. 10 email was the subject of a complaint to the County Council of a possible violation of laws forbidding public resources from being used for political campaigns. Jane Dueker, a lawyer and frequent Page critic, has accused the health department of intentionally including the link. A County Council ethics committee discussed the complaint Feb. 25 and has said it will hold another hearing on the matter.

At the time, Department of Public Health spokesman Chris Ave said the email mistakenly included a link to a campaign website, adding that the department would investigate as a personnel matter.

The health department said in a statement Friday that the investigation had concluded and found Broadus had believed the link allowed recipients to sign up for information from a government office  not a political campaign.

Both employees acknowledged that they made a mistake in sharing a link that they had not fully identified, and both affirmed that they understand the Countys policy banning campaign activity.

The investigation concluded that the matter involved a mistake by the first employee that was exacerbated by a mistake by the second employee. No evidence of anyone intentionally distributing the link or encouraging the distribution of the link was found.

Ave, in response to a request for comment, said the report summary details specific disciplinary action involving an employee or employees. It is therefore a personnel matter, and our practice is not to release personnel information.

As weve said, we found based on an internal investigation that the link was communicated in error, and employees involved acknowledged that error. We found no evidence that anyone else shared that link or encouraged anyone to share it. All DPH employees have been reminded of the County employee code of conduct and, specifically, the Countys guidelines restricting political activity.

Originally posted at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 16.

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JEFFERSON CITY  Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Wednesday accused the Rockwood School District of violating the Sunshine Law in connection with a records request his office filed last year.

Schmitts office said in a news release it had requested records related to a move by the district to publish on its website the number for an FBI tip line connected to the federal law enforcement agencys move to probe threats to school board members.

According to a news release, Schmitts team on Nov. 19 asked the district for three types of electronic records, including emails about parents who had been or could be reported to the FBI.

Schmitts office said Rockwood demanded up-front payment of fees and asked for a deposit to prepare copies of requested records even though all records requested were electronic in nature and do not require copying, the lawsuit says.

His offices lawsuit, filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, argues the states open records law makes no provision for the advance payment of any fees other than the copying fees expressly allowed under  610.026.2.

The lawsuit asks for a judgment declaring the district broke the law by impermissibly demanding advance payment of fees for items or services other than copies and that Rockwood also improperly demanded payment of copying fees for electronic records.

I think thats interesting, said Jean Maneke, attorney for the Missouri Press Association. It does raise an interesting question, the way the statute about requesting prior payment is worded, it does say payment of such copying fees may be requested prior to doing the work.

But can a public governmental body demand payment for research time prior to processing requests?

I can see that there might be an argument that that doesnt include any research time thats estimated in that  only the copying fees, Maneke said. But there is no case law at the moment interpreting this with that kind of precision.

Its unclear whether they can request advanced payment of the research time, she said.

Maneke also said it was unclear whether the law permitted copying fees to be charged for both electronic records and paper records.

The Rockwood School District has not produced the records requested by my office, and instead demanded an upfront payment with improperly assessed copying fees  thats why Im taking them to court, Schmitt, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, said in a news release. Parents and students of the Rockwood School District deserve to see these public records, and I will keep fighting for transparency in Missouris schools.

Mary Lapak, spokeswoman for the Rockwood School District, said administrators were confident they adhered to the states open-records law.

We are aware of the attorney generals lawsuit against the Rockwood School District but we have not been officially served with the document, she said in a statement. The District understands its obligations under the Missouri Sunshine Law, and is confident it has acted in compliance. Once we are served with the lawsuit, we will confer with our attorneys as to next steps.

The lawsuit by Schmitts office goes on to allege that the district failed to produce the records in question.

It also says Rockwood improperly retains fees for Sunshine Law requests. Schmitt seeks fines of $1,000 and $5,000, for knowing and purposeful violations of the Sunshine Law.

Chris Nuelle, spokesman for the attorney generals office, said staff had not paid the fees requested by the district. A dollar figure on the fees requested wasnt immediately provided.

Originally posted at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 16.

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CLAYTON  St. Louis County town hall meetings on future spending of millions in federal pandemic relief funds pick up again Wednesday evening in unincorporated south St. Louis County.

The latest town hall, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Grants View library branch at 9700 Musick Avenue, is the third of seven  two online, five in-person  scheduled through March 23.

The meetings are designed to give county residents an opportunity to weigh in with ideas on how to spend the approximately $84 million left of the $193 million the county received from the American Rescue Plan Act.

At the first in-person meeting, held last week at the Lewis and Clark library branch, about 40 residents showed up with a long list of requests, including attracting more grocery stores, tearing down or renovating abandoned and blighted properties, adding lighting along dangerous streets and providing workforce training for youth.

Rochelle Dampier, of Florissant, said she wanted to see more federal funds go toward housing the homeless.

Brenda Gardner, who owns a clothing resale shop in Spanish Lake, said she wanted to see continued support for small businesses.

But many residents, including local officials, expressed frustration that they were only being asked for ideas after more than half of the federal relief money was already spent.

Now youre asking for community input, said Vinita Park Mayor James McGee. Had we done that when we first got the $193 million wed be in a much better position, but were learning.

The countys engagement effort was better late than never, he said later.

The town hall meetings arent the only way County Executive Sam Page and the Council Council are soliciting public comments. The county also launched an online survey on Feb. 25 to gauge residents priorities for spending the pandemic aid. About 1,800 people had completed the survey as of Tuesday, according to county officials. The survey closes March 25.

Sheridan Jones, of Spanish Lake, said she had been going door to door to get people to fill out the county survey and found that most people had hardly any awareness of the federal funding available.

I havent ran into a person who knows about it, Jones told a reporter afterward. Id like to hear more about it on the radio, see it on the news. It should be on there everyday.

Kenneth Murdock, director of the countys office of diversity equity and inclusion, said he planned to walk his parents through the survey and asked attendees to do the same with their family and friends.

We really want the most input possible because were dying to hear from the community on exactly what to do, he said.

Veta Jeffery, the countys chief diversity officer, said Tuesday that the county would continue making certain we get out as many ways as possible, working with the County Council and community organizations.

Our goal is to get as many voices as possible, she said.

Another town hall will be held Thursday in Chesterfield at 6:30 p.m. in City Council chambers at 690 Chesterfield Parkway West. The event was scheduled at the request of Councilman Mark Harder, whose district includes much of the city.

Other in-person town halls will be held at the Indian Trails library branch (Saturday), and the Thornhill branch (March 23). And the county will hold an online town hall Monday. A previous online townhall was held March 9.

For information about the town halls, including how to register for the virtual meetings, click on the Community Needs Survey section at the top of the county website at stlouiscountymo.gov.

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ST. LOUIS  Hassan Alwaeli pulled his red convertible Ford Mustang into a gas station off Jefferson Avenue to fill up. He rolled his eyes twice. The potholes this year, he grumbled. Hes had too many close calls.

And these are not small potholes, said Alwaeli, 21.

Over the last decade, residents have submitted tens of thousands of pothole complaints to the city. But this time of year is the worst. Between February and April  after the snow falls, the plows hit the road, and the frozen asphalt crumbles  complaints can come in at double or triple the normal volume. Its hard for drivers, who lose tires, and even lives. It taxes state transportation workers, forced to dodge highway traffic as they repair the craters. And it swamps St. Louis understaffed streets department.

Potholes have been a major issue for the St. Louis area for years, said former Democratic state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, who hit a pothole this week and ended up with a $438 repair shop bill on her Mercedes.

The pits have long plagued Midwestern states, thanks to their frequent freeze-thaw cycles.

In winter, water and chemicals used to treat roads seep into cracks in the pavement, explained Bob Becker, district maintenance engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation St. Louis district. There, the mixture freezes and expands, widening the crack, then thaws and contracts, until eventually the pavement deteriorates enough that one good bump from a tire opens up the gouge for good, and a pothole is born.

St. Louis Streets Commissioner Kent Flake said repairing the ruts makes up a sizeable chunk of his crews work right now. He has just shy of 100 employees, with 157 positions open, and more than 60 of those open jobs are in street maintenance  the people who fill potholes.

Flake said asphalt can cost three to four times more per ton now than it did more than a decade ago. Back then, every major road in St. Louis got repaved consistently every eight years. Now, potholes that cause property damage shoot to the top of the citys priority list, he said.

Flake said as of this week, the city had 1,800 open requests for pothole repair. A number of people may complain about one pothole, so the number of complaints doesnt necessarily reflect the number of potholes in the city.

Residents complained the most about the Central West End, followed by Lindenwood Park, then Dutchtown, Midtown and Jeff-Vander-Lou.

But potholes plague neighborhoods throughout the city, according to complaint data.

My biggest issue is that potholes are our welcome sign, said Travis Sheridan, an Old North resident. With all the challenges the neighborhood faces, and other North City neighborhoods face, fighting the perception of this being a rough neighborhood is difficult when the roads are literally rough.

The city fields 200 to 300 complaints in a typical month. But between February and April, that figure triples.

St. Louis County and the state department of transportation could not quickly provide comparable numbers. But state officials described similar problems.

Theyre no joke. Three state highway workers were injured this week filling potholes on Interstate 44. Last summer, Robin E. Foster, 49, of St. Louis, was on the interstate at close to 1:30 a.m. when she hit a pothole and veered into a tractor-trailer traveling next to her. Foster died in the accident.

Im dodging them every day, Im telling you, said Darryl Williams, 42, who bent a wheel on a pothole a couple of years ago. The dodge-and-weave driving, plus the extra costs, get old.

Remey Whittington, 57, was at Spirit One Automotive on Arsenal Street in Benton Park West this week to get a quote on a new muffler and some front bumper damage, neither of which were caused by a pothole. But hes frustrated all the same.

You pay your taxes, and its like, what are they doing with the money? Whittington asked.

Andrew Tolch was on his way home on Sunday when he watched a car hit a hole on Watson Road in south St. Louis County. The tire blew out, the rim went flying, hit a small car, which then ran over the rim and flattened its tire, too.

Its like whack-a-mole, Tolch said in a Twitter message. But you and your vehicle are the moles.

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A number of years ago, while working at the Social Security office, I fielded a call from a supervisor at the Missouri Department of Revenue. It seemed she had a gentleman in his 70s attempting to renew his drivers license, which had a different year of birth from what his Social Security record showed. She wanted to know if we  that is the Social Security Administration  could change our records to match theirs so he could get a drivers license.

No. A persons birthdate is one of the factors used in computing the persons benefits. And if a person had no birth certificate, the Social Security office would have painstakingly developed that persons age using secondary sources. In all likelihood, this man lied when he first applied for a license. Many people did that to enroll their kids in school, join the military, get a work or drivers permit and, yes, even when registering to vote.

One of the reasons that thousands of voters in Texas had their absentee ballots returned in the states recent primary elections was that their current identification information didnt match their original voter records. Here in Missouri, our Republican lawmakers are again adding roadblocks to the ballot box by offering up bills that require a photo ID. Enough.

Yes, Ive addressed this before. I have no skin in this game, but this measure could affect many others if it passes. And since our state legislators refuse to drop their redundant playbook (even when voters or the judiciary have weighed in) I must comment again.

Demanding extra requirements or documents such as a photo ID will cause fewer people to vote. Thats why its called voter suppression. Youre less inclined to vote if you have to take off work and/or hire a babysitter, just to obtain a photo ID.

My Aunt Eva was born in Tennessee in 1912, and like her parents and siblings, she was not allowed to vote until she moved away. She never drove, traveled internationally or had a job that required photo identification. She worked as a domestic for 60 years. Additionally, she never had a birth certificate.

When she applied for Social Security benefits in 1974, no photo ID would have been required, unlike today. Similarly, she wouldnt have needed one to open a bank account or to set up utility service, either. For the last 10 years of her life, she was homebound, leaving only by ambulance, voting absentee. Even her (non-concierge) doctors visited our home.

If shed gone to the license bureau to get a nondrivers ID (by ambulance) the fact that she had no birth certificate would have prevented their issuance of an identification card.

True, the Missouri voters webpage advises that the state will provide a free birth certificate so a person can get a free nondrivers ID and will assist in securing birth records from other states to allow Missouri residents to vote  free. Unfortunately, Tennessee (like many other states) still requires photo identification to get a birth certificate. Catch 22, anyone?

How many of our citizens are aware that these free provisions exist? How many will find out about them too late to get their identification in order, should that become necessary? People filing absentee ballots could be the most disenfranchised and less able to pursue the extra work necessary to vote. And if youre homebound, how do you submit your ID to the election officials or obtain a notary signature if required?

The Associated Press found only 475 cases of potential voter fraud in the six states where thousands of fraud cases were alleged. So, rather than inconveniencing our citizens by requiring a photo ID, a better way to prevent negligible voter fraud would be to regularly update the voter database, making it immediately accessible to election workers at the polls. It would alert them if the person had already voted or was proven deceased.

At the very least, the database should cross-check the states own records of death, as well as the Missouri State Employment Retirement system, and all of the Department of Social Services databases. Subsequently, it needs access to every federal retiree database too, including Medicare. Missourians shouldnt need photo identification to vote. Republicans, let it go.

Janet Y. Jackson is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member.
With light apparently at the end of the coronavirus tunnel, this is a good time to soberly assess how America handled the pandemic and can better handle whatever new wave might come. A new study shows that what the nation should not do again is listen to anti-science extremists  including elected ones. The study charts a clear pattern of higher coronavirus death rates in Republican-controlled states where political leaders refused aggressive pandemic policies.

In GOP-dominated Missouri, where the governor publicly downplayed masking and the state attorney general sued to prevent schools from enforcing pandemic restrictions, the coronavirus death rate was 20% higher than the rate next door in Democratic-controlled Illinois. Here and around America, the GOPs cynical insistence on making pandemic policy into a culture-war issue instead of a medical one has, literally, cost lives.

For all the fraught political controversy surrounding the pandemic, the medical facts have been remarkably straightforward. The vaccines that became widely available early last year have been stunningly effective at preventing the disease or blunting its severity in those who are vaccinated  to the point that, by the most recent round of illnesses to inundate hospitals, this had become almost entirely a pandemic of the unvaccinated.

The efficacy of masks has never faced a serious challenge from science, only from political opportunists like Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt. Missourians will never know how many illnesses were attributable to Schmitts Senate-campaign-driven attacks on school mask policies, but its not medically conceivable that number was zero. Similarly, they will never know how many of Gov. Mike Parsons constituents got sick after adopting his dismissive attitude toward wearing a dang mask. Though they do know that he was one of them.

Elections have consequences, and one consequence of electing Republican officials here and around America who were willing to side against science in their efforts to pander to their anti-science base has been unnecessarily high coronavirus death rates in red-state America. Thats the inescapable conclusion of a study by consultant Doug Haddix, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The resulting map of comparisons between deaths per 100,000 residents in each state looks eerily like a red-blue political map of the country.

Theres Missouri, with 113 deaths per 100,000, while neighboring Illinois had just 90. Theres deep-red Florida, where Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has made attacks on responsible pandemic policies a centerpiece of his likely presidential run, logging in with 152 deaths per 100,000. As for New York and California, those twin liberal bogeymen of the political right: 70 and 58 deaths per 100,000, respectively.

This wont be Americas last pandemic. But with data like this in hand, it should be the last in which people who care more about politics than public health are allowed to hold sway.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed directly to Congress Wednesday to establish a no-fly zone over his country  a request that the Biden administration has already rejected. He wants Polands MiG-29 jets so Ukraine can fight for control of Ukranian skies instead of opening them so Russian planes can attack civilian areas at will. Again, the Biden administration says no.

In the public relations war that is crucial to galvanizing Western solidarity behind Ukraine, Zelensky has a winning message of stalwart resistance against superior Russian forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin is winning his own twisted public relations campaign by communicating an effective visual message that anyone who dares stand in his way will be crushed mercilessly.

Against that backdrop, the Biden administrations message comes off as nervous hand-wringing. Avoid offending Russia at all costs, but boy, well sure show em with sanctions.

This is not to suggest the United States is merely watching helplessly from the sidelines. Billions of dollars in U.S. military and humanitarian aid are pouring into Ukraine, including anti-tank rockets and Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. That aid has been overt, which creates confusion in the publics eyes when Biden insists that transferring NATO-member Polands MiG-29s to Ukraine would risk provoking a superpower confrontation. Yet NATO weaponry can already be seen on videos destroying Russian tank convoys and shooting down aircraft.

The logic doesnt quite square that its OK for the West to supply some lethal weaponry that downs Russian planes and destroys its tanks, while its not OK for other weaponry that would accomplish the same goal.

Some useful background: In late 2013, at the height of the Syrian civil war, then-President Barack Obama painted himself into a corner by warning Syria it would cross a red line if it used chemical weapons. Russian-backed Syria then used chemical weapons, and Obama backed away from his threat to respond militarily.

U.S. resolve was tested, and the United States backed down. Less than four months later, Putin moved his forces into Ukraines Crimean Peninsula and seized it. Then he deployed forces to support separatist militias in eastern Ukraine. Red lines crossed again, with no serious U.S. response.

The Biden administration smartly seems determined not to repeat Obamas mistake by setting red lines it isnt prepared to enforce. A no-fly zone would establish one such red line, and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, on Wednesday echoed the administrations position that America dare not go that far.

But U.S. avoidance wont erase other red lines. Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine or even tactical nuclear devices. It could move against non-NATO neighboring states like Moldova, or weaker NATO states like Lithuania  all just to see how far Putin can push Biden. From the administrations response so far, Putin would be correct in assuming that even the skys not the limit.
Regarding GOP split on alternative to Greitens in Missouri Senate race (March 11): At first glance, its difficult to imagine why disgraced former governor Eric Greitens would have an interest in running for the U.S. Senate. As governor, Greitens proved to be a compulsively secretive and media shy autocrat who held nothing but contempt for the give-and-take of the legislative process. He was not long in office before alienating even the leadership of his own party. In fact, at the time of his hasty resignation, those leaders were conducting dual investigations into his activities with the obvious aim of impeaching and removing him.
Stephen Graham and Tilda Cobham-Hervey are set to star in Disney's 'Young Woman and the Sea'.

The pair have been cast opposite Daisy Ridley in the upcoming movie, which has Joachim Ronning on board to direct.

The movie will premiere on the streaming service Disney+ with Jeff Nathanson writing the script and Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman producing.

The picture is based on the book by Glenn Stout that chronicles the daring journey of the first woman  Gertrude 'Trudy' Ederle (Ridley)  to ever swim across the English channel in 1926.

Ederle was a competitive swimmer who won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics before attempting to cross the channel. She also swam from Battery Park in New York to Sandy Hook in New Jersey  setting a record that stood for 81 years.

She contracted with two newspapers and sold her story to finance her quest across the channel in the race amongst women to become the first to complete the epic swim.

Cobham-Hervey will play Ederle's sister in the movie.

Stephen previously starred in Guy Ritchie's film 'Snatch' alongside Brad Pitt and was stunned to receive praise from the Hollywood star.

The 48-year-old actor said: "There was one moment where I was sat to talking to Brad Pitt, he just said to me, 'You've got a lot of characters in you.'

"For him to say that and see that in me was ... wow.

"What I learnt from that set was playfulness. I just had a lot of fun."

Originally published on celebretainment.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / March 15, 2022 / Emgold Mining Corporation (TSXV:EMR)(OTCQB: EGMCF)(FRA:EMLM)(BSE:EMLM) ("Emgold" or the "Company") announces that it has received regulatory approval for a consolidation (the "Consolidation") of the Company's issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of ten (10) pre-Consolidation shares for one (1) post-Consolidation share. The Consolidation was previously announced in the Company's press release dated March 1, 2022. In conjunction with the Consolidation, the Company has also received regulatory approval to change its name from Emgold Mining Corporation to Emergent Metals Corp. ("Emergent")

Prior to the Consolidation, Emgold had 136,182,621 common shares issued and outstanding. Post Consolidation, the Company will have about 13,618,221 common shares issued and outstanding, subject to rounding of fractional shares. The shares will trade under the new CUSIP Number 29103R105 and ISIN number CA29103R1055. The Company's TSX Venture Exchange trading symbol will remain the same. The shares are expected to begin trading on a consolidated basis on or about March 17, 2022 (the "Effective Date").

No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the Consolidation. Any fractional shares equal to or greater than one-half resulting from the Consolidation will be rounded up to the next whole number of common shares, and any fractional shares less than one-half resulting from the Consolidation will be rounded down to the nearest whole number. The exercise price and number of common shares of the Company issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options, warrants or other convertible securities will be proportionately adjusted to reflect the Consolidation.

A letter of transmittal will be sent by mail to registered shareholders by Computershare Trust Company of Canada ("Computershare") advising that the Consolidation and name change have taken effect. The letter of transmittal will contain instructions on how registered shareholders can exchange their share certificates or DRS statements evidencing their pre-Consolidated common shares for new share certificates or new DRS statements representing the number of post-Consolidated common shares to which they are entitled. No action is required by non-registered shareholders (shareholders who hold their shares through an intermediary) to effect the Consolidation and name change.

The Board believes that the Consolidation will provide the Company with greater flexibility for the continued development of its business and the growth of the Company, including financing arrangements.

About Emgold

Emgold is a gold and base metal exploration company focused on Nevada and Quebec. The Company's strategy is to look for quality acquisitions, add value to these assets through exploration, and monetize them through sale, joint ventures, option, royalty, and other transactions to create value for our shareholders (acquisition and divestiture (A&D) business model).

In Nevada, Emgold's Golden Arrow Property, the core asset of the Company, is an advanced stage gold and silver property with a well-defined measured and indicated resource. New York Canyon is a base metal property subject to an Earn-in with Option to Joint Venture Agreement with Kennecott Exploration, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE:RIO). The Mindora Property is a gold, silver, and base metal property located twelve miles from New York Canyon. Buckskin Rawhide East is a gold and silver property leased to Rawhide Mining LLC, operators of the adjacent Rawhide Mine.

In Quebec, the Casa South Property, is an early-stage gold property adjacent to Hecla Mining Corporation's (NYSE:HL) operating Casa Berardi Mine. The East-West Property is a gold property adjacent to and on strike with Wesdome Gold Mine Ltd.'s (TSX:WDO) Kiena Complex and O3 Mining Corporation's (TSX:OIII) Malarctic Property (Marban Project). The Trecesson Property is located about 50 km north of the Val d'Or mining camp. Emgold also has a 1% NSR in the Troilus North Property, part of the Troilus Mine Property being explored by Troilus Gold Corporation (TSX:TLG).

Note that the location of Emgold's properties adjacent to producing or past producing mines does not guarantee exploration success at Emgold's properties or that mineral resources or reserves will be delineated. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's website at www.emgold.com or view the Company's filings available at www.sedar.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

David G. Watkinson, P.Eng.

President & CEO



For further information, please contact:

David G. Watkinson, P.Eng.

Tel: 530-271-0679 Ext 101

Email: [email protected]

Neither 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 release.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "could" or "would". Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including any technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

SOURCE: Emgold Mining Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) today announced that it has appointed William D. "Bill" Johnson to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Wayne S. DeVeydt, who has served as a director since 2016, has taken on an operating partner role with Bain Capital and has resigned from the NiSource Board to dedicate his time to this new endeavor.

"We are pleased to welcome Bill as an independent director to our Board, further reinforcing our Board refreshment efforts," said NiSource Chairman Kevin T. Kabat. "Bill brings deep regulated utility industry experience to the Board as well as a strong background in executive leadership, operational efficiency, finance and M&A. We are confident his expertise will further advance the execution of our strategy as we continue to focus on our core mission of delivering safe, reliable energy service to our customers and communities and long-term value creation for shareholders."

Kabat added, "On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to thank Wayne for his steadfast leadership and invaluable insights to NiSource. We are fortunate to have benefitted from his guidance over the last six years and are incredibly grateful for all he has done for NiSource."

As part of NiSource's refreshment initiative, the Company has appointed six new Directors to the Board in the last four years, including Sondra Barbour and Cassandra Lee this year.

Mr. Johnson most recently served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation from 2019 to 2020. Previously, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 2013 to 2019. Prior to joining the Tennessee Valley Authority, Mr. Johnson served in senior leadership positions at Progress Energy, Inc., including as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer from 2007 to 2012 and President and Chief Operating Officer from 2005 to 2007. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of TC Energy, and previously served on the boards of the Edison Electric Institute and the Nuclear Energy Institute. Mr. Johnson holds a Juris Doctorate degree with high honors from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Duke University.
OSLO, Norway--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Elliptic Labs (OSE: ELABS), a global AI software company and the world leader in Virtual Smart Sensors, is announcing that its AI Virtual Proximity Sensor INNER BEAUTY is shipping on the Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro smartphones. Xiaomi, the third largest smartphone OEM in the world, is releasing this global launch of its flagship Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro smartphones, both powered by Elliptic Labs partner Qualcomms Snapdragon 8450 chipset. Elliptic Labs announced the contract for this release last year.

Xiaomis continued commitment to our AI Virtual Proximity Sensor, especially on its flagship Xiaomi 12 phone, demonstrates that Elliptic Labs is achieving its mission to make devices more intelligent, human and environmentally friendly, said Laila Danielsen, CEO of Elliptic Labs. The partnership between Elliptic Labs and Xiaomi has created significant innovation and value for the smartphone industry at large.

Elliptic Labs AI Virtual Proximity Sensor turns off the smartphones display and disables the screens touch functionality when users hold the device up to their ear during a phone call. Without that capability to detect proximity, a users ear or cheek could accidentally trigger unwanted actions during a call, such as hanging up or dialing numbers while the call is ongoing. Turning off the screen automatically also helps conserve battery life. Proximity detection is a core capability that is used in all smartphones across todays market. Elliptic Labs AI Virtual Proximity Sensor delivers robust proximity detection without the need for a dedicated hardware sensor. By replacing hardware sensors with software sensors, the AI Virtual Proximity Sensor reduces device cost and eliminates sourcing risk.

INNER BEAUTY is a registered trademark of Elliptic Labs.

AI Virtual Proximity Sensor and Virtual Smart Sensors are trademarks of Elliptic Labs.

All other trademarks or service markets are the responsibility of their respective organizations.

About Elliptic Labs

Elliptic Labs is a global enterprise targeting the smartphone, laptop, IoT, and automotive markets. Founded in 2006 as a research spin-off from Norways Oslo University, the companys patented AI software combines ultrasound and sensor-fusion algorithms to deliver intuitive 3D gesture, proximity, and presence sensing experiences. Its scalable AI Virtual Smart Sensor Platform creates software-only sensors that are sustainable, eco-friendly, and already deployed in over 150 million devices around the world. Elliptic Labs is the only software company that has delivered detection capabilities using AI software, ultrasound, and sensor-fusion deployed at scale. The company joined the Oslo Brs main listing in March 2022.

Elliptic Labs is headquartered in Norway with presence in the USA, China, South-Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. Its technology and IP are developed in Norway and are solely owned by the company.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220315006373/en/

PR Contacts:

Patrick Tsui

[email protected]

Investor Relations:

Lars Holmy

[email protected]

Source: Elliptic Labs
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dorothy Holland has joined Tower MSA Partners as Vice President of Business Development. Hollands primary focus will be to identify and develop new business opportunities where she will assist clients with all aspects of Medicare Secondary Payer compliance and claim settlement.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005262/en/

Dorothy Holland joins Tower MSA Partners as Vice President of Business Development (Photo: Business Wire)

Dorothys extensive background in claims management and her expertise in Medicare Set-Asides makes her well positioned to market Towers technology driven cost mitigation methodology, said CEO Rita Wilson. Dorothy has a keen understanding of how MSAs can slow the settlement process and brings great insight into the perspectives of both the injured worker and payer. Working with Towers team, she will now have the tools to overcome barriers to closure and optimize settlements.

Holland has 16 years of experience in the industry, most recently as Business Development Executive for Ametros, a professional administrator of post-settlement medical funds. In addition to sales, she developed processes to positively affect settlement outcomes.

Previously, she was the Regional Sales Director for One Call Care Management, and she received several sales awards during her seven-year tenure. Earlier employers include Gould and Lamb and Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, where she started her career as a claims case manager.

Holland graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Insurance and Risk Management. She belongs to the Insurance and Risk Management Society and serves as its Vice President of Public Relations.

About Tower MSA Partners

Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, Tower MSA Partners services include pre-MSA Triage, clinical interventions, conditional payment resolutions, and MSA preparation, submission and oversight through acceptance and claim closure. Section 111 Mandatory Reporting, settlement consultation, second opinions on MSAs, medical cost projections and life care plans are among its offerings. Visit www.towermsa.com and https://towermsa.com/blog/.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005262/en/

Helen King Patterson, APR, King Knight Communications 813-690-4787; [email protected]

Source: Tower MSA Partners
You to Strengthen Gaming Relationships Globally

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Galaxy Interactive, a subsidiary of Galaxy Digital Holdings, Ltd., the largest fund dedicated to the interactive sector, today announced the appointment of , Ryan (Rongchang) You as Partner and Managing Director, and the co-head of the companys gaming division. You will be tasked with strengthening and expanding the companys gaming initiatives across the globe.

You brings extensive relationships and experience having built the US franchise for Aream & Co, a leading gaming-focused investment bank. Previously, You covered gaming at Liontree and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Throughout his career, You has advised a wide range of companies in the gaming ecosystem including mobile, PC/console and technology/platform companies, and has strong relationships with major gaming publishers in both the West and Asia. You earned his MBA from Columbia Business School and studied Information System at Carnegie Mellon University and speaks fluent Mandarin.

General Partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim launched Galaxy Interactive in 2018 to fill a gap in funding available to companies in the interactive sector, which Galaxy defines as the intersection of content, finance, and technology. With over $650 million dollars raised to date, Galaxy Interactive maintains an existing portfolio of over 100 interactive companies, including Immutable, Polygon, Republic, Sandbox, AviaGames, BARB, Mythical Games, Genvid, RTFKT, AccelByte, 1047 Games, StockX, and Bad Robot Games, amongst many others.

Ryans deep experience working with game studios and the breadth of his industry relationships across the globe make him the perfect candidate to help manage and expand our business during this period of tremendous growth, said Englebardt. Hell be an invaluable resource to our existing portfolio and to the many new studios that we invest in together in the years ahead.

Prior to joining Galaxy Interactive, You was an independent advisor on a few of Galaxys investments, including AviaGames and rctAI.

Galaxy Interactive has a very strong team of experts in traditional gaming, technology and web3/blockchain, said You. Ive known the Galaxy team awhile now and everyone who has worked with them has nothing but the best things to say about them. While already one of the biggest funds in the industry, it still feels like a startup with massive growth potential. I think now is the perfect time to join the team.

About Galaxy Interactive

Galaxy Interactive, a division of Galaxy Digital, is a stage-agnostic venture investor focused on companies operating at the intersection of content, finance and technology. Led by General Partners Sam Englebardt and Richard Kim, Galaxy Interactive has been amongst the most active videogame and blockchain investors in the world since its inception in 2018, with over $650 million in AUM across its two funds and investments in more than 100 companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220313005057/en/

42West/BHI

Dean Bender

[email protected]

Source: Galaxy Interactive
ZEDRA has received approval from Luxembourg's financial regulator (CSSF) to acquire the fund and corporate services ( BFCS ) arm of Banque Internationale a Luxembourg ( BIL )

ZEDRA focussed on developing a robust international fund administration business

LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ZEDRA, the fast-growing global specialist in Funds, Corporate & Global Expansion services as well as Active Wealth solutions today announces that it has received regulatory approval to acquire BFCS, the fund and corporate services arm of Banque Internationale a Luxembourg (BIL), from Luxembourg's financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).

BFCSs wide array of services in both the corporate and funds sectors, ranging from central administration for alternative investment funds, to corporate secretarial, domiciliation, management, accounting, investor reporting and ESG services, strengthens and complements ZEDRAs existing fund and corporate services offering in Luxembourg.

The BFCS business will be integrated within ZEDRA with a seamless transition of its existing clients, mainly consisting of high-net-worth individuals, asset managers, investment and real-estate fund professionals. BFCS staff joining ZEDRA will relocate to their renovated Luxembourg offices.

Wim Ritz, Global Head of Funds at ZEDRA, commented: The deal reflects our ambition to be recognized as a leading fund formation and administration provider globally. Adding BFCS to our established teams for regulated funds in Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands and Singapore, will enable us to further develop our European capabilities from Luxembourg, a major investment fund centre in Europe. We welcome the BFCS team and their valuable clients and are looking forward to closely collaborating with them.

Hans-Peter Borgh, Chairman of the Board of BFCS and Group Head International BIL Group commented: We are looking forward to the cooperation with ZEDRA Fund Services, providing an excellent service to our clients. The completion of this deal is an important milestone in our strategic approach to focus on our core business. 

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For more information, please visit https://www.zedra.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005029/en/

For more information, please contact:

Greentarget

Jamie Brownlee / Tom Engleback / Eleonore Basle

+44 783 457 1183

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Source: ZEDRA
Oil storage containers are seen, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 7, 2021. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Files

By David Gaffen

(Reuters) -Oil lost ground for the fifth time in the last six days on Wednesday as traders reacted to hoped-for progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks and a surprising increase in U.S. inventories.

The oil market has been on a roller-coaster for more than two weeks, and both major benchmarks have traded in their largest high-to-low range over the last 30 days than at any time since the middle of 2020.

Wednesday was no different, as global benchmark Brent traded in a $6 range, between $97.55 and $103.70 before settling at $98.02, down $1.89 a barrel, or 1.9%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude ended down $1.40, or 1.5%, at $95.04 a barrel.

Last week's frenzied rally pushed Brent briefly past $139 a barrel on worries about extended disruption to Russian supply. Brent is now more than $40 below that point, and some analysts have warned that this reflects too much optimism that the war will end soon.

The United States and other nations have slapped heavy sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine more than two weeks ago. This disrupted Russia's oil trade of more than 4 to 5 million barrels of crude daily.

Brent staged a 28% rally in six days and then a 24% drop over the next six sessions counting Wednesday. Prices hit a 14-year high on March 7 before pulling back.

A number of factors drove the turnaround, including modest hopes of a Russia-Ukraine peace agreement and faint signals of progress between the United States and Iran to resurrect a 2015 deal that would allow the Islamic Republic to export oil if it agrees to limit its nuclear ambitions.

Chinese demand is expected to slow due to a surge in coronavirus cases there, although figures showed fewer new cases and Chinese stimulus hopes boosted equities.

"Moving forward from here we're looking for headlines on negotiations in Russia, a cease-fire or withdrawal, or the spread of COVID in China," said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

Should the war continue, more supply will be disrupted, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Wednesday. Three million barrels per day of Russian oil and products may not find their way to market beginning in April, the IEA said, as sanctions bite and buyers hold off. The IEA also said demand will fall, but not by as much as the potential drop in Russian supplies. [IEA/M]

U.S. inventories rose by 4.3 million barrels, against expectations for a loss, while stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub rose as well, alleviating a bit of concern about the low level of inventories there.

The Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates for the first time in three years, boosting the federal-funds rate by one-quarter of a percentage point, as anticipated. The oil market's basic trajectory did not change after the news.

Signs of progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks added to the bearish tone. Ukraine's president said the positions of Ukraine and Russia were sounding more realistic, but time was needed. Russia's foreign minister said some deals with Ukraine were close to being agreed.

(Additional reporting by Emily Chow; Editing by Barbara Lewis, Louise Heavens, David Gregorio, Tim Ahmann and Jonathan Oatis)
By Danilo Masoni, Tiyashi Datta and Caroline Valetkevitch

(Reuters) - Foreign-listed Chinese shares rallied on Wednesday after Beijing vowed to keep markets stable, soothing overseas investors' nerves after a sell-off due to worries over differences between China and the West in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Remarks by China's Vice Premier Liu He that Beijing would roll out support for the economy and keep markets stable sparked a bounce from 21-month lows for local equities, fuelling a rally for U.S.- and Europe-listed Chinese shares.

In U.S. trading, JD.com jumped 39.4%, Alibaba gained 36.8% and Pinduoduo rallied 56.1% in the biggest daily percentage advances ever for those shares. They fell to multi-year lows https://tmsnrt.rs/3u4Xtsk during Tuesday's sell-off. The iShares MSCI China exchange-traded fund rose 20.9%.

Similarly, gaming company NetEase rose 25.7%, online video platform IQIYI jumped 50%, music-streaming company Tencent Music gained 29.3%, and mobile game publisher Bilibili advanced 47.6%, while Amsterdam-listed Prosus, which owns a 29% stake in the Chinese tech giant Tencent, also gained sharply.

"It was an utter surprise to the market that this is something (China is) even thinking about," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey. "That's what made the rally so strong."

Still, "there's going to be a discount on all of these stocks for a while," he said, noting the recent JPMorgan Chase downgrade. Earlier this week, JPMorgan Chase & Co downgraded 28 Chinese stocks listed in the United States and Hong Kong.

"You need some follow-through here. It's not enough to have one Chinese official say something really positive," Meckler said.

Citibank's Asia-Pacific trading strategist in Hong Kong, Mohammed Apabhai, likened the moment to the Federal Reserve's market backstop in 2020 or then-ECB chief Mario Draghi's "whatever it takes" speech that staunched the eurozone crisis in 2012.

"It's not quite of that order of magnitude, but it's not that far away either," he said. "It seems like China has realized that the need to do something to support the economy, something proper."

Chinese equities have seen severe selling pressure in recent days. Hong Kong stocks fell to a six-year low on Tuesday.

"Although it is still a volatile and somewhat opaque market, I think this is the right moment to look at Chinese stocks because valuations are good and macro data are recovering," said Giuseppe Sersale, fund manager at Anthilia in Milan.

Frankfurt-listed depository receipts for Alibaba were among the most traded stocks on the Tradegate and Lang & Schwarz platforms, suggesting interest from German retail investors.

According to Vanda Research, which tracks retail flows, appetite for China ADRs has picked up the most since September 2021, with net purchases over the last 10 trading sessions topping $500 billion, the highest level in over six months.

Separately, China's securities regulator said it would continue to communicate with U.S. regulators and strive to reach an agreement on China-U.S. audit supervision cooperation as soon as possible.

The speed at which Beijing has responded to this week's sell-off would suggest it does not want to let things drift out of control, said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould in London.

"Its key goal is common prosperity and stock markets matter because a lot of Chinese retail investors have money in equities, so their wealth is at stake if shares are plummeting in value," he said.

Some analysts see Chinese stocks as a possible good long-term investment, following a torrid 2021 amid a crisis in the real estate sector and a severe regulatory crackdown on tech giants.

The MSCI China index was trading at a valuation discount of more than 30% to world stocks and twice as much the 20-year average discount, per Refinitiv data.

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni in Milan and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru and Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Editing by Louise Heavens and Lisa Shumaker)
Press Release

Ethisphere names Nokia as one of the 2022 Worlds Most Ethical Companies

Nokia is recognized for fifth consecutive year and for sixth time overall

The company is one of five honorees in the telecommunications industry

136 honorees were recognized spanning 22 countries and 45 industries

16 March 2022

Espoo, Finland  Nokia has been announced by Ethisphere Institute as one of the Worlds Most Ethical Companies for the fifth year in a row. In 2022, 136 honorees were recognized spanning 22 countries and 45 industries. Nokia is one of five winners in the telecommunications industry and the only Finnish company to be honored.The comprehensive audit includes more than 200 wide-ranging questions from culture, environment and social practices to ethics and compliance activities.

The award recognizes Nokias exceptional governance and its commitment to best-in-class sustainability, business ethics, compliance and governance practices.

We commend Nokia for its commitment to building an ethical climate that is sustained year after year by resilience, steadfast values, and trust, said Ethisphere CEO, Timothy Erblich. We are inspired by the Nokia teams dedication to integrity, accountability, governance, and community. Congratulations to Nokia for earning the Worlds Most Ethical Companies designation.

We take great pride in our work to embed trust, ethical practices, and positive social impact at the heart of everything we do. We are honored to be recognized once again as one of the worlds most ethical companies. This recognition is shared by the entire Nokia team for their continued efforts to meet the highest ethical standards across the organization, said Nassib Abou-Khalil, Chief Legal Officer, Nokia.

About Ethisphere Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its Worlds Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

Methodology & Scoring Grounded in Ethispheres proprietary Ethics Quotient, the Worlds Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity, and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe. Honorees The full list of the 2022 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.

Inquiries:Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: [email protected]

Source: Nokia Oyj
Added 4 additional innovative product candidates

Strong growth in H2 leading to total revenues of 3.1 million (0.2 million in 2020)

Significant expansion of commercial footprint of Maxigesic IV

Tranexamic RTU licensing extended beyond U.S.

50 million in cash and cash equivalents to execute ambitious growth strategy

LIEGE, Belgium, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hyloris Pharmaceuticals SA (Euronext Brussels: HYL), a specialty biopharma company committed to addressing unmet medical needs through reinventing existing medications, today announces its financial and operational results for the year ending 31 December 2021.

The past year has validated the business model that Hyloris outlined at IPO - to deliver pragmatic and commercially attractive medical innovations that address unmet needs - while consistently endeavoring to grow shareholder value. All this has occurred during a challenging period for the life science sector. said Stijn Van Rompay, Chief Executive Officer of Hyloris. During the year, the company has bolstered its emphasis on innovation and on value creation. We retain our core focus on cost efficient development of products through the 505(b)(2) pathway. The company has also shifted its focus towards repurposed product candidates, adding value and longevity to its portfolio with the addition of four exciting and innovative product candidates. During the year, Hyloris has invested more in in-house R&D including the opening of our laboratory in Liege. Carrying this momentum into 2022, the company expects to extend the reach of its commercialized products and bring a least 4 new exciting product candidates into Hyloris.

Increased roll out of commercial products

Maxigesic IV, a novel, unique combination for the treatment of post-operative pain is currently licensed to partners covering over 100 countries across the globe.

During 2021 and early 2022:

An exclusive license and distribution agreement was signed with Hikma (LSE: HIK.L) for commercialization in the U.S. has been signed. The PDUFA date has been set on June 30, 2022. The market for post-operative pain is growing rapidly and is forecasted to reach $2.6 billion by 2028 (up from $1.1 billion in 2019)1.

Marketing authorizations have been granted in additional countries including: Israel, Panama, Albania, South Korea, UK, Cyprus, France, Luxembourg, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Norway.

Submission has been done in further countries including : Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain, Thailand, Hong-Kong, Malaysia, US, Spain, Netherlands, Canada and Mexico.

The product has been launched in 4 additional markets : Germany, Austria, South Korea and Panama. More launches are planned in the near future.

Additional patents have been granted.

________________________1 IQVIA and DelveInsight Market Research

Sotalol IV, a novel, patented, IV formulation of oral Sotalol for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias developed for the U.S.

Significant expansion of AltaTheras sales force mid 2021 in order to accelerate commercial roll-out and inclusion in hospital drug formularies.

Post expansion sales performance has been impacted by COVID 19-related restrictions of access to hospitals. Mitigating measures have been implemented.

Currently Sotalol IV is investigated in two clinical studies. The first study is investigating a shorter loading regimen and is expected to be completed in 2022. The second study is a patient registry capturing real-world experience on loading and is expected to be completed in 2023.

4 new innovative product candidates

Underlining the incremental lean and mean value-creation of Hyloris, the company announced the successful addition of four new innovative product candidates to its portfolio during 2021. Each of the product candidates addresses a clear unmet need and has the potential to bring substantial value to patients, physicians and payors.

February 2021: Miconazole + Domiphen Bromide (MCZ/DB ): Through a development and commercialization deal with Purna Female Healthcare, Hyloris will co-develop a topical synergistic combination treatment for Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (rVVC), a condition that affects nearly 10 % of women during their lifetime. MCZ/DB has a strong scientific and business rationale. A Phase 2 clinical trial is ongoing with results expected in H2 2022.

): Through a development and commercialization deal with Purna Female Healthcare, Hyloris will co-develop a topical synergistic combination treatment for Recurrent Vulvovaginal Candidiasis (rVVC), a condition that affects nearly 10 % of women during their lifetime. MCZ/DB has a strong scientific and business rationale. A Phase 2 clinical trial is ongoing with results expected in H2 2022. October 2021: CRD-102 (modified release Milrinone capsule ): a novel, clinical-stage, extended-release long term use Milrinone capsule in late-stage heart failure (HF) patients with an implanted left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Heart failure is a severe and chronic condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the bodys need for blood and oxygen. Earlier studies have demonstrated that treatment with CRD-102 resulted in improved quality of life and functional status of late-stage HF patients and it has the potential to address the current unmet needs of late-stage LVAD patients with right HF. Orphan drug designation has been granted in the US.

): a novel, clinical-stage, extended-release long term use Milrinone capsule in late-stage heart failure (HF) patients with an implanted left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Heart failure is a severe and chronic condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to meet the bodys need for blood and oxygen. Earlier studies have demonstrated that treatment with CRD-102 resulted in improved quality of life and functional status of late-stage HF patients and it has the potential to address the current unmet needs of late-stage LVAD patients with right HF. Orphan drug designation has been granted in the US. November 2021: Plecoid agents: Through its global exclusive co-development rights and future joint commercialization rights with Pleco Therapeutics, Hyloris will co-develop a chelating agent or agents - chemical compounds that capture metal ions - to detoxify the cancer promoting cellular micro-environment and improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML: 160,000 patients2 globally) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC: which accounts for approximately 13-15%3 of 2 million cases of lung cancer per year). Previous studies demonstrate that elevated levels of toxic metals are associated with inferior survival in patients with AML. Exploratory clinical studies are currently ongoing in AML patients to evaluate the metal rebalancing effect of chelating agents administered concomitantly with chemotherapy.

Through its global exclusive co-development rights and future joint commercialization rights with Pleco Therapeutics, Hyloris will co-develop a chelating agent or agents - chemical compounds that capture metal ions - to detoxify the cancer promoting cellular micro-environment and improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML: 160,000 patients2 globally) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC: which accounts for approximately 13-15%3 of 2 million cases of lung cancer per year). Previous studies demonstrate that elevated levels of toxic metals are associated with inferior survival in patients with AML. Exploratory clinical studies are currently ongoing in AML patients to evaluate the metal rebalancing effect of chelating agents administered concomitantly with chemotherapy. December 2021: Alenura: Hyloris strategic collaboration with Vaneltix Pharma aims to develop and commercialize AlenuraTM, a patented, innovative, clinical-stage bladder instillation product candidate that combines lidocaine4 in a new alkalinized form with heparin. Thanks to the novel dual mode-of-action, AlenuraTM has the unique potential to i) immediately relieve pain, and ii) augment the mucous layer of the bladder. The product candidate treats acute pain in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS), a condition that affects at least 6 million5 people in the US. Currently, there are 3 million instillation procedures per year in the US. A Phase 2 clinical trial is expected to start by mid-2022 with results potentially available by late 2023.

Repurposing and reformulation

These new innovative product candidates added in 2021 reflect a continued shift in emphasis for Hyloris on repurposing of existing drugs reaching beyond reformulation. Repurposing is the development of a pharmaceutical product, based on a well know molecule, but in a completely new indication. Repurposing can have important business advantages, it represents a more robust business strategy which is anchored in the demands of the healthcare system that are reflected in the unmet medical needs of patients, physicians and payors.

________________________2 Datamonitor Healthcare April 2021; Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 2019; WHO classification of AML, 20163 Medscape - Abid Irshad, MD Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine4 Lidocaine is a local anesthetic that works by causing temporary numbness/loss of feeling in the skin and mucous membranes; Heparin is a component of the mucous layer of the bladder wall and is an anticoagulant (blood thinner) that prevents the formation of blood clots5 Data on the female population is from the RAND Study: J Urol. 2011 August, 186(2): 540544. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2011.03.132 Data on the male population is from the RICE Study: J Urol. 2013 January, 189(1): 141145. doi:10.1016/j.juro.2012.08.0

Development pipeline

The company opened its own laboratory facilities in Liege, Belgium, bringing drug formulation and analytical activities in-house to further streamline processes and accelerating the R&D activities.

Hyloris has 15 products in development6 of which two are commercialized. For all current 505(b)2 products, we have made significant progress in 2021. Some of the achievements, milestones and adjustments are noted below.

Hyloris expanded the commercial potential of Tranexamic RTU beyond the U.S. with licensing deals in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, realizing an upside that was not anticipated at the IPO. In the US, Hyloris will optimize the go-to-market model for Tranexamic RTU by positioning it as a generic product, which significantly reduces regulatory costs but resulting in later approval. Although it remains an added value product outside of the US, it will be reported as established market product candidate.

Hyloris obtained a worldwide exclusive license related to an Aspirin IV formulation and technology, bringing forward the development timeline of Aspirin IV in acute coronary syndrome. The Aspirin IV pivotal PK study is currently ongoing.

HY-004: Phase 1 study completed with top line results becoming available in Q2 2022. As the product moves towards its pivotal study, the company may seek to expand and optimize the label claims to increase the commercial potential of the product through further evolving regulatory and clinical strategies that could extend the timeline.

Miconazole/Domiphen Bromide: A Phase 2 clinical trial ongoing with results expected in H2 2022.

Atomoxetine OS: Implementing changes to taste masking technology as per FDA scientific advice received.

HY-029: Scientific advice from the regulatory agency has been requested with the aim to start a pivotal PK study.

For the established market product candidates, patient recruitment for the Fusidic Acid Cream trial is ongoing in multiple territories and the company is evaluating its response to an FDA request relating to HY-016 for additional clinical data.

COVID-19-related restrictions affected several of the companys programs during 2021 with minor impacts on timelines. None of these timeline revisions is expected to impact substantially on the company's cash position or financial projections. The development pipeline of added value products currently has no direct exposure relating to the current geopolitical situation in Eastern Europe.

________________________6 Excluding high barrier generic products, HY-038, HY-016 and Fusidic Acid Cream

Management and Board changes

Hyloris' strengthened its senior management team during 2021. Thomas Jacobsen was appointed as Chief Business Development Officer in February, and Jean-Luc Vandebroek joined as Chief Financial Officer in September.

The company also appointed Chris Buyse as an independent member of the Board of Directors. Chris is an experienced investor, currently Managing Director of Fund+, the largest Belgian life science venture capital fund.

Outlook 2022

During 2022 Hyloris anticipates delivering on key value inflection milestones within its strategic focus areas, including conducting 6 clinical studies on its pipeline products, the further roll out of its commercial products and the addition of at least 4 new product candidates through internal innovation, in-licensing or joint ventures.

With cash and cash equivalents of 50 million at 30 December 2021, the Company is well-capitalized to advance all current pipeline assets as planned and execute its current business plan with the expectation to expand the portfolio to about 30 candidate and marketed products by 2024.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and webcast, conducted in English, to present the results, followed by a live Q&A session.

The webcast will be held on 16 March 2022 at 2pm CET / 1pm GMT / 9am EST. To join the webcast, please pre-register here.

To dial-in for the conference call, please use the following details:

US: 877-407-0792

International: +1 -201-689-8263

Conference ID: 13727870

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 2021

Year ended 31 December (in  thousand) 2021 2020 Variance Revenues 3,096 175 1,669% Research and development expenses (5,056) (3,413) 48% General and administration expenses (2,900) (2,194) 32% Shares issuance related expenses - (1,468) Other operating income/expenses (5,381) 21 Operating result (10,541) (7,025) (50%) Net financial result (741) (120) 518% Income Taxes (297) - Net result (11,579) (7,145) (62%) Net operating cash flow (11,692) (4,570) (156%) Cash and cash equivalents 50,012 64,399 (22%)

FINANCIAL REVIEW 2021Income statementIn 2021, total revenues increased to 3.10 million versus 0.18 million in 2020, driven by the strong growth from out-licensing Maxigesic IV by our partner AFT Pharmaceuticals and a continuously increasing royalties received from AltaThera on net sales from Sotalol IV.Cost of sales amounts to 0.11 million versus 0.15 million in 2020 and is mainly due to fees paid to Academic Pharmaceuticals in relation to sales of Sotalol IV and amortization expenses of the capitalized development costs of commercialized products.

Research and development expenses increased to 5.06 million in 2021 versus 3.41 million in 2020, in line with the progression and the expansion of the product candidates pipeline and the enlargement of the research and development team.

General and administrative expenses increased to 2.90 million in 2021 versus 2.19 million in 2020, primarily driven by the strengthening of the management team of the Company.

In 2021, the Company successfully renegotiated and unwound several license agreements with the Alter Pharma Group for the following products: Maxigesic IV, HY-075, HY-038 and the high-barrier generic Fusidic Acid Cream for the Canadian market. Renegotiating and unwinding resulted in a one-time other operating expense of 5.77 million.

As a result, the operating loss increased in 2021 to 10.54 million versus an operating loss of 7.03 million in 2020.

The net financial loss in 2021 was 0.74 million (2020: 0.12 million). Financial income amounted to 0.32 million, comprising mostly of interest received on deposits, versus 0.90 million last year. The figure in 2020 had been positively impacted by non-recurring gains from the extension of the maturity of the Shareholders loans (0.53 million). Financial expenses amounted to 0.77 million versus 1.02 million in 2020 and comprised mostly interest expenses on shareholders loans and exchange differences.

As a result, net losses in 2021 increased to 11.58 million versus 7.15 million in 2020.

Statement of financial positionThe Companys non-current assets mainly consist of (1) investments in joint ventures of  4.1 million at year-end 2021 and (2) intangible assets of 2.94 million at year-end 2021 including capitalized development, purchased assets and in-licensing costs, versus 2.38 million in 2020.

The Companys current assets mainly consist of 50.01 million in cash and cash equivalents on total assets of  63.44 million, and trade and other receivables of  2.32 million primarily resulting from out-licensing revenue from Maxigesic IV.

Current liabilities mainly comprise shareholders loans of  11.82 million with maturity date end of December 2022.

The Companys equity decreased to 48.06 million, mainly as a result of the net loss for the year of  11.58 million.

Cash flow statementNet cash outflow from operating activities was 11.25 million in 2021, compared to 4.57 million in 2020. The cash outflows related to operating activities in 2021 amounted to 10.48 million (2020: 4.60 million).

Net cash outflow from investing activities was 2.13 million in 2021, compared to 0.63 million in 2020, and mainly related to investments in joint ventures and capitalization of development expenses.

The financing activities amounted to a net cash outflow of 1.00 million in 2021 compared to a net cash inflow of 69.40 million in 2020 from the net proceeds of the successful IPO on Euronext Brussels in June 2020 and the convertible bonds issued in March and April 2020.

As at 31 December 2021, cash and cash equivalents amounted to 50.01 million, down from 64.40 million at the end of 2020 as a result of progression and the expansion of the product candidates pipeline, and the successful renegotiation and unwinding of the license agreements with the Alter Pharma Group for lead product candidates of about 5.25 million.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31

ASSETS 31-Dec 31-Dec (in  thousand) 2021 2020 Non-current assets 9,485 2,569 Intangible assets 2,944 2,381 Property, plant and equipment 122 24 Right-of-use assets 173 152 Investments in associates and joint ventures 4,097 - Financial assets 453 12 Other non-current assets 1,714 - Current assets 53,959 66,613 Inventories - - Trade and other receivables 2,321 253 Other financial assets 528 7 Other current assets 1,098 1,954 Cash and cash equivalents 50,012 64,399 TOTAL ASSETS 63,444 69,182 EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 31-Dec 31-Dec (in  thousand) 2021 2020 Equity 48,056 59,059 Share capital 129 129 Share premium 103,693 103,693 Retained earnings -54,805 -43,226 Other reserves -960 -1,537 Liabilities 15,388 10,123 Non-current liabilities 409 7,991 Borrowings 109 106 Other financial liabilities 300 7,885 Current liabilities 14,924 2,132 Current borrowings 65 46 Other current financial liabilities 11,815 409 Trade and other liabilities 2,749 1,629 Current tax liabilities 349 47 TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES 63,444 69,182

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31

31-Dec 31-Dec (in  thousand) 2021 2020 Revenues 3,096 175 Cost of sales (107 ) (145 ) Gross profit 2,988 30 Research and development expenses (5,056 ) (3,413 ) General and administrative expenses (2,900 ) (2,194 ) Shares issuance related expenses 0 (1,468 ) Earnings/losses from Associates and joint ventures (191 ) Other operating income 389 21 Other operating expenses (5,770 ) - Operating profit/(loss) (EBIT) (10,541 ) (7,025 ) Financial income 32 901 Financial expenses (773 ) (1,021 ) Profit/(loss) before taxes (11,282 ) 7,145 Income taxes (297 ) (1 ) PROFIT/(LOSS) FOR THE PERIOD (11,579 ) (7,145 ) Other comprehensive income - - TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME OF THE PERIOD (11,579 ) (7,145 ) Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the owners of the Company (11,579 ) (7,145 ) Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the non-controlling interests - Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to the owners of the Company (11,579 ) (7,145 ) Total comprehensive income for the period attributable to the non-controlling interests - Basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share (in ) (0.45 ) (0.33 )

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31

Attributable to equity holders of the Company TotalEquity Sharecapital Sharepremium Other reserves Retainedearnings (in  thousand) Share basedpayment reserve Cost ofCapital Otherreserves Balance at 31 December 2019 89 23,982 1,329 - 493 (36,081 ) (10,188 ) Initial public offering 30 64,363 (3,725 ) - - 60,668 Issuance of convertible bonds - 4,531 4,531 Conversion of convertible bonds 10 15,347 (102 ) (4,585 ) - 10,671 Amortised costs on shareholders loans - - - 37 - 37 Share-based payments - - 485 - - - 485 Total comprehensive income - - - (7,145 ) (7,145 ) Balance at 31 December 2020 129 103,693 1,814 (3,827 ) 476 (43,226 ) 59,059 Balance at 31 December 2020 129 103,693 1,814 (3,827 ) 476 (43,226 ) 59,059 Share-based payments - - 576 - - - 576 Total comprehensive income - - - - (11,579 ) (11,579 ) Balance at 31 December 2021 129 103,693 2,391 (3,827 ) 476 (54,805 ) 48,056

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31

(in  thousand) Note 31-Dec 31-Dec 2021 2020 CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES Operating result (11,579 ) (7,145 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation, amortisation and impairments 137 581 Equity settled share-based payment expense 576 485 Cost of equity transactions 1,468 Interest expenses on convertible bonds 208 Amortized costs on shareholders loans 198 (139 ) Borrowing costs on IPRD (43 ) Losses from Associates and joint ventures 191 Other non-cash adjustments (1 ) (17 ) Changes in working capital: Trade and other receivables (2,068 ) 81 Other current and non-current assets (771 ) 1,246 Trade and other liabilities 1,138 (1,398 ) Other current and non-current financial liabilities 623 103 Other current and non-current liabilities 301 (1 ) Cash generated from operations (11,253 ) (4,571 ) Taxes paid 3 1 Net cash generated from operating activities (11,250 ) (4,570 ) CASH FLOW FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES Purchases of property, plant and equipment (107 ) - Purchases of Intangible assets (954 ) (623 ) Proceeds (from disposal) of intangible assets 219 Investments in associates and joint ventures (1,270 ) - Acquisition of other financial assets (21 ) (10 ) Other - Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities (2,133 ) (633 ) CASH FLOW FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES Reimbursements of borrowings and other financial liabilities (8,050 ) Proceeds from borrowings and other financial liabilities 3,250 Reimbursements of borrowings (62 ) (51 ) Repayment received from other financial assests 216 Payment of other financial assests (1,157 ) Net proceeds from Initial Public Offering 59,254 Net proceeds from convertible bonds 14,994 Net cash provided by/(used in) financing activities (1,004 ) 69,397 NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (14,387 ) 64,194 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS at beginning of the period 64,399 205 CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS at end of the period, calculated 50,012 64,399

AUDIT REPORTThe statutory auditor, KPMG Bedrijfsrevisoren - Reviseurs dEntreprises, represented by Olivier Declercq, has confirmed that the audit procedures, which have been substantially completed, have not revealed any material misstatement in the accounting information included in the Companys annual announcement.

About Hyloris PharmaceuticalsHyloris is a specialty biopharma company focused on innovating, reinventing, and optimizing existing medications to address important healthcare needs and deliver relevant improvements for patients, healthcare professionals and payors. Hyloris has built a broad, patented portfolio of 15 reformulated and repurposed value-added medicines that have the potential to offer significant advantages over available alternatives. Outside of its core strategic focus, the Company also has 3 high barrier generic products in development and registration phase. Two products are currently in initial phases of commercialization with partners: Sotalol IV for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, and Maxigesic IV, a non-opioid post-operative pain treatment. The Companys development strategy primarily focuses on the FDAs 505(b)2 regulatory pathway, which is specifically designed for pharmaceuticals for which safety and efficacy of the molecule have already been established. This pathway can reduce the clinical burden required to bring a product to market, and significantly shorten the development timelines and reduce costs and risks. Hyloris is based in Liege, Belgium. For more information, visit www.hyloris.com and follow-us on LinkedIn.

For more information contact :

Hyloris Pharmaceuticals, Investors and Media

[email protected]

Disclaimer and forward-looking statementsHyloris means high yield, lower risk, which relates to the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway for product approval on which the Issuer focuses, but in no way relates or applies to an investment in the Shares.Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified using forward-looking terminology, including the words "believes", "estimates," "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "plans", "continue", "ongoing", "potential", "predict", "project", "target", "seek" or "should", and include statements the Company makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. These statements relate to future events or the Companys future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control, that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

Source: Hyloris Pharmaceuticals SA
FOND DU LAC, Wisc., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), continues to increase its presence at the largest boat shows around the world with a record showing at the recent Dubai International Boat Show. This year, Mercury had the most outboard engines on display during the show capturing close to 90% market share both on-water and on-land. In addition, Mercury also showcased quad 7.6L V12 600hp Verado engines for the first time in the Middle East as well as many Mercury Racing outboards again including the 300R AMS and the 450R.

Dubai is a very important show to Mercury, Mercury Racing and our channel partners. The support we received from our customers at the show is simply outstanding, said Will Sangster, Mercury Marine EMEA president. It is fantastic to see the strength of partnerships we have with our distributors Delma Marine and Extreme Marine in the UAE continuing to position Mercury as the only brand of choice. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers in the Middle East and partner with them on their growth plans.

Earlier this year, Mercury Marine displayed more engines than any other outboard manufacturer for the third consecutive Miami Boat Show and sixth consecutive major Florida saltwater show (including Miami and Ft. Lauderdale). Mercury once again increased its overall share at the show and accounted for comfortably over half of all outboard engines on display this year. In addition, most OEMs at the show displayed at least one boat with Mercury outboards  some for the first time at a major show.

Additionally, during the 2021 Cannes Boat Show in September, Mercury reported more than double the number of outboard engines at the show than its closest competitor and significantly more outboards on display during the event than all other manufacturers combined.

The year is off to a promising start for Mercury Marine and Mercury in EMEA, said Sangster. The power of Mercury is felt around the world, and we will continue to work with our global channel partners to ensure their customers experience our full portfolio of products. We look forward to a very successful 2022 and beyond.

The Dubai Boat Show returned in 2022 after a two-year hiatus because of COVID-19, attracting visitors from more than 120 countries.

About Mercury Marine

Headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Mercury Marine is the worlds leading manufacturer of recreational marine propulsion engines. A division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), Mercury provides engines, boats, services and parts for recreational, commercial and government marine applications. Mercury empowers boaters with products that are easy to use, extremely reliable and backed by the most dedicated customer support in the world. The companys industry-leading brand portfolio includes Mercury outboard engines, Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages, Mercury propellers, Mercury inflatable boats, Mercury SmartCraft electronics, Land 'N' Sea marine parts distribution and Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils. More information is available at MercuryMarine.com.
New York, NY, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The tenth annual global Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report, launched today, reveals that while companies continue to invest in animal welfare, they are too slow in delivering meaningful welfare impacts on the ground.

BBFAW  the leading global measure of policy commitment, performance and disclosure on animal welfare in food companies  is supported by founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and supporting partner, FOUR PAWS, and is designed to help drive higher farm animal welfare standards in the worlds leading food businesses and provide a benchmark to inform investor choices.

Worldwide, the 2021 report reveals that of the 150 companies evaluated:

134 (89%) now acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue (compared to 71% of the 68 companies evaluated in 2012)

122 companies (81%) have formal policies on farm animal welfare (compared to 46% of companies in 2012)

119 companies (79%) have published formal objectives and targets for animal welfare (compared to just 26% of companies in 2012).

The benchmarks top tier comprises two food retailers and two food producers  Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Noble Foods, and Premier Foods.

Despite these positive outcomes, the new BBFAW Impact Rating introduced in 2021  where companies are ranked A-F on the 10 performance impact questions  shows that the implementation of animal welfare improvements continues to lag policies and governance. For example, while the most widely reported performance impact data relates to cage- free production for laying hens  where 88 companies (59%) report some data  only 23 companies (15%) report that 60% or more of the laying hens in their global supply chains are cage-free.

There remains a stark disconnect between many companies disclosure of management processes and the subsequent impact on farm animal welfare in their supply chains. None of the evaluated companies achieved an A Impact Rating and only five companies  Greggs PLC, Marks & Spencer PLC, Noble Foods, Premier Foods PLC, and Waitrose  achieved a B Impact Rating. This indicates that companies are declaring improved welfare impacts for a significant proportion of farm animals in their global supply chains. In fact, 85% of the 150 companies evaluated achieve an E or F Impact Rating, suggesting that these companies are failing to demonstrate improved welfare impacts for farm animals in their global supply chains.

The 2021 benchmark doubled down on companies Performance Reporting and Impact by increasing the weighting of this section to 45% of the total score available. This increased focus on impact resulted in 36 companies dropping a tier. However, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, it is noteworthy that six companies improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier.

Nicky Amos, Executive Director of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare and Managing Director of Chronos Sustainability said: The BBFAW set out in 2012 to put farm animal welfare on the business and investor agenda and to significantly advance corporate management practice and disclosure on the issue. Ten years on, these objectives have been realized. Today, around 80% of the 150 companies assessed by BBFAW have strengthened their governance of farm animal welfare through formal policy commitments, objectives and targets. While this provides a strong foundation for action, companies need to demonstrate that their investments in farm animal welfare are delivering positive welfare impacts for animals on the ground.

Ben Williamson, U.S. Executive Director at Compassion in World Farming, said: A decade on, its great to see BBFAW continue to deliver against its mission and make significant progress in getting companies to invest in animal welfare. Yet, its disappointing that these policy commitments are not delivering meaningful improvements for animals as quickly as they should. Our focus now must be on ensuring that companies in the U.S. and across the globe really do drive forward and deliver substantial and measurable welfare improvements for farm animals. This means making demonstrable progress in their supply chains: for example, moving away from keeping animals in confinement systems such as cages and crates, and towards more humane and sustainable husbandry practices, to help create a food system that works for animals, people, and the planet.

Josef Pfabigan, CEO, FOUR PAWS, said:

The tenth Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is out  this marks ten years of crucial work on improving farm animal welfare in the worlds leading food businesses. FOUR PAWS is proud to be a supporting partner of BBFAW, and to be working closely on this with the BBFAWs founding partner, Compassion in World Farming. Ten years in, an increasing number of companies have at least formal policies in place to better take care of animals in their supply chains. Whats missing is evidence on how they are translating this into concrete actions towards animal welfare. This is an urgent matter, as livestock farming is a major driver of the climate crisis. The industry therefore has a responsibility to lead the way so consumers can follow, for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding.

ENDS

For further information please contact

Amanda Williams

Chronos Sustainability (BBFAW Secretariat)

T: 07725 329 314

[email protected]

Notes to Editors

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the globally recognized investor framework for assessing the quality of companies practices, processes and performance on farm animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, founded in 2012, is supported by its founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and its supporting partner, FOUR PAWS. BBFAW provides an annual, independent assessment of farm animal welfare management and performance in global food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare. More information on the program can be found at www.bbfaw.com Through the annual benchmark, extensive engagement programs with investors and with companies, and the production of guidance and other materials for companies and investors, BBFAW has driven higher farm animal welfare standards across the worlds leading food businesses. BBFAW 2021 is the tenth annual report from the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare. It analyses the farm animal welfare management and performance of 150 of the worlds largest food companies, across 37 distinct, objective criteria. As such, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of corporate practice on farm animal welfare. The 2021 Benchmark covers 150 global food companies across 24 countries:

53 Retailers and Wholesalers, 63 Producers and Manufacturers, and 34 Restaurants and Bars. The list includes listed and non-listed companies.

Companies were assessed on their approach to managing farm animal welfare in four areas: (1) Management Commitment, (2) Governance and Management, (3) Innovation and Leadership, and (4) Performance Reporting and Impact. In line with the BBFAWs objective to drive improvements in the welfare of animals farmed for food, the overall weighting of the Performance Reporting and Impact section was increased to 45% of the total score in 2021. The scoring approach for the 10 Impact questions (Q28-37) was also modified to provide additional points for companies who reported partial but substantial performance data. Additionally, the focus of two questions (Q14 and Q27) was changed to remove the potential for double scoring. Specifically, Q14 was focused on explanations of progress against objectives and targets, and Q27 was focused on explanations of progress in performance related to welfare outcome measures. These changes to the BBFAW methodology have resulted in 36 companies dropping a tier. Noteworthy, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, six companies have improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier. Company assessments were based on information published by companies on the date of their assessments. All companies were assessed during the period from 1st August to 30th September 2021.

About The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the leading global measure of farm animal welfare management, policy commitment, performance and disclosure in food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare, and it drives  directly and through the efforts of others  corporate improvements in the welfare of animals reared for food.

The BBFAW Secretariat maintains the Global Investor Statement on Farm Animal Welfare and convenes the Global Investor Collaboration on Farm Animal Welfare, a collaborative engagement between major institutional investors and food companies on the issue of farm animal welfare. In addition, the BBFAW Secretariat manages extensive engagement programs with companies and with investors and provides practical guidance and tools for companies and for investors on key animal welfare issues.

The program is supported by the BBFAWs founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and supporting partner, FOUR PAWS, who provide technical expertise, guidance, funding and practical resources, alongside supporting the assessed food businesses with training, programmatic expertise and consultancy engagement.

More information on the program can be found at www.bbfaw.com

About Compassion in World Farming

Compassion in World Farming is the leading farm animal welfare charity advancing the wellbeing of farm animals and their integration into a more humane sustainable food system, through advocacy, political lobbying and positive corporate engagement. The Food Business program works in partnership with major food companies to raise baseline standards for animal welfare throughout their global supply, and to rebalance their animal footprint in a food system fit for the future. The team offers strategic advice and expert technical support for the development, implementation and communication of higher welfare policies and practices, and, increasingly, solutions and frameworks for a more humane sustainable food system.

Compassion engages directly with many of the companies evaluated in the BBFAW to highlight and support with policy development, welfare improvement and transparent reporting. The Food Business team uses the Benchmark alongside Compassions other tools such as the Supermarket Survey, its Awards program, EggTrack, and its advisory services to help companies understand how they are performing relative to their peers, to identify areas and mechanisms for continuous improvement, and to highlight sources of risk and advantage.

More information on Compassion in World Farming can be found at: www.ciwf.com. More information on the work of the Food Business team at Compassion in World Farming can be found at: www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com

About FOUR PAWS

FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. FOUR PAWS sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals  such as bears, big cats and orangutans  kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions.

More information on FOUR PAWS can be found at: www.four-paws.org.

ENDS ALL
New York, NY, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The tenth annual global Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) report, launched today, reveals that while companies continue to invest in animal welfare, they are too slow in delivering meaningful welfare impacts on the ground.

BBFAW  the leading global measure of policy commitment, performance and disclosure on animal welfare in food companies  is supported by founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and supporting partner, FOUR PAWS, and is designed to help drive higher farm animal welfare standards in the worlds leading food businesses and provide a benchmark to inform investor choices.

Worldwide, the 2021 report reveals that of the 150 companies evaluated:

134 (89%) now acknowledge farm animal welfare as a business issue (compared to 71% of the 68 companies evaluated in 2012)

122 companies (81%) have formal policies on farm animal welfare (compared to 46% of companies in 2012)

119 companies (79%) have published formal objectives and targets for animal welfare (compared to just 26% of companies in 2012).

The benchmarks top tier comprises two food retailers and two food producers  Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Noble Foods, and Premier Foods.

Despite these positive outcomes, the new BBFAW Impact Rating introduced in 2021  where companies are ranked A-F on the 10 performance impact questions  shows that the implementation of animal welfare improvements continues to lag policies and governance. For example, while the most widely reported performance impact data relates to cage- free production for laying hens  where 88 companies (59%) report some data  only 23 companies (15%) report that 60% or more of the laying hens in their global supply chains are cage-free.

There remains a stark disconnect between many companies disclosure of management processes and the subsequent impact on farm animal welfare in their supply chains. None of the evaluated companies achieved an A Impact Rating and only five companies  Greggs PLC, Marks & Spencer PLC, Noble Foods, Premier Foods PLC, and Waitrose  achieved a B Impact Rating. This indicates that companies are declaring improved welfare impacts for a significant proportion of farm animals in their global supply chains. In fact, 85% of the 150 companies evaluated achieve an E or F Impact Rating, suggesting that these companies are failing to demonstrate improved welfare impacts for farm animals in their global supply chains.

The 2021 benchmark doubled down on companies Performance Reporting and Impact by increasing the weighting of this section to 45% of the total score available. This increased focus on impact resulted in 36 companies dropping a tier. However, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, it is noteworthy that six companies improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier.

Nicky Amos, Executive Director of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare and Managing Director of Chronos Sustainability said: The BBFAW set out in 2012 to put farm animal welfare on the business and investor agenda and to significantly advance corporate management practice and disclosure on the issue. Ten years on, these objectives have been realized. Today, around 80% of the 150 companies assessed by BBFAW have strengthened their governance of farm animal welfare through formal policy commitments, objectives and targets. While this provides a strong foundation for action, companies need to demonstrate that their investments in farm animal welfare are delivering positive welfare impacts for animals on the ground.

Ben Williamson, U.S. Executive Director at Compassion in World Farming, said: A decade on, its great to see BBFAW continue to deliver against its mission and make significant progress in getting companies to invest in animal welfare. Yet, its disappointing that these policy commitments are not delivering meaningful improvements for animals as quickly as they should. Our focus now must be on ensuring that companies in the U.S. and across the globe really do drive forward and deliver substantial and measurable welfare improvements for farm animals. This means making demonstrable progress in their supply chains: for example, moving away from keeping animals in confinement systems such as cages and crates, and towards more humane and sustainable husbandry practices, to help create a food system that works for animals, people, and the planet.

Josef Pfabigan, CEO, FOUR PAWS, said:

The tenth Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is out  this marks ten years of crucial work on improving farm animal welfare in the worlds leading food businesses. FOUR PAWS is proud to be a supporting partner of BBFAW, and to be working closely on this with the BBFAWs founding partner, Compassion in World Farming. Ten years in, an increasing number of companies have at least formal policies in place to better take care of animals in their supply chains. Whats missing is evidence on how they are translating this into concrete actions towards animal welfare. This is an urgent matter, as livestock farming is a major driver of the climate crisis. The industry therefore has a responsibility to lead the way so consumers can follow, for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding.

ENDS

For further information please contact

Amanda Williams Chronos Sustainability (BBFAW Secretariat)T: 07725 329 314[email protected]

Notes to Editors

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the globally recognized investor framework for assessing the quality of companies practices, processes and performance on farm animal welfare. The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, founded in 2012, is supported by its founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and its supporting partner, FOUR PAWS. BBFAW provides an annual, independent assessment of farm animal welfare management and performance in global food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare. More information on the program can be found at www.bbfaw.com Through the annual benchmark, extensive engagement programs with investors and with companies, and the production of guidance and other materials for companies and investors, BBFAW has driven higher farm animal welfare standards across the worlds leading food businesses. BBFAW 2021 is the tenth annual report from the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare. It analyses the farm animal welfare management and performance of 150 of the worlds largest food companies, across 37 distinct, objective criteria. As such, it is the most authoritative and comprehensive global account of corporate practice on farm animal welfare. The 2021 Benchmark covers 150 global food companies across 24 countries:

53 Retailers and Wholesalers, 63 Producers and Manufacturers, and 34 Restaurants and Bars. The list includes listed and non-listed companies.

Companies were assessed on their approach to managing farm animal welfare in four areas: (1) Management Commitment, (2) Governance and Management, (3) Innovation and Leadership, and (4) Performance Reporting and Impact. In line with the BBFAWs objective to drive improvements in the welfare of animals farmed for food, the overall weighting of the Performance Reporting and Impact section was increased to 45% of the total score in 2021. The scoring approach for the 10 Impact questions (Q28-37) was also modified to provide additional points for companies who reported partial but substantial performance data. Additionally, the focus of two questions (Q14 and Q27) was changed to remove the potential for double scoring. Specifically, Q14 was focused on explanations of progress against objectives and targets, and Q27 was focused on explanations of progress in performance related to welfare outcome measures. These changes to the BBFAW methodology have resulted in 36 companies dropping a tier. Noteworthy, given the scale of changes introduced in 2021, six companies have improved their score sufficiently to increase their ranking by one tier. Company assessments were based on information published by companies on the date of their assessments. All companies were assessed during the period from 1st August to 30th September 2021.

About The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (BBFAW) is the leading global measure of farm animal welfare management, policy commitment, performance and disclosure in food companies. It enables investors, companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to understand corporate practice and performance on farm animal welfare, and it drives  directly and through the efforts of others  corporate improvements in the welfare of animals reared for food.

The BBFAW Secretariat maintains the Global Investor Statement on Farm Animal Welfare and convenes the Global Investor Collaboration on Farm Animal Welfare, a collaborative engagement between major institutional investors and food companies on the issue of farm animal welfare. In addition, the BBFAW Secretariat manages extensive engagement programs with companies and with investors and provides practical guidance and tools for companies and for investors on key animal welfare issues.

The program is supported by the BBFAWs founding partner, Compassion in World Farming and supporting partner, FOUR PAWS, who provide technical expertise, guidance, funding and practical resources, alongside supporting the assessed food businesses with training, programmatic expertise and consultancy engagement.

More information on the program can be found at www.bbfaw.com

About Compassion in World Farming

Compassion in World Farming is the leading farm animal welfare charity advancing the wellbeing of farm animals and their integration into a more humane sustainable food system, through advocacy, political lobbying and positive corporate engagement. The Food Business program works in partnership with major food companies to raise baseline standards for animal welfare throughout their global supply, and to rebalance their animal footprint in a food system fit for the future. The team offers strategic advice and expert technical support for the development, implementation and communication of higher welfare policies and practices, and, increasingly, solutions and frameworks for a more humane sustainable food system.

Compassion engages directly with many of the companies evaluated in the BBFAW to highlight and support with policy development, welfare improvement and transparent reporting. The Food Business team uses the Benchmark alongside Compassions other tools such as the Supermarket Survey, its Awards program, EggTrack, and its advisory services to help companies understand how they are performing relative to their peers, to identify areas and mechanisms for continuous improvement, and to highlight sources of risk and advantage.

More information on Compassion in World Farming can be found at: www.ciwf.com. More information on the work of the Food Business team at Compassion in World Farming can be found at: www.compassioninfoodbusiness.com

About FOUR PAWS

FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. FOUR PAWS sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals  such as bears, big cats and orangutans  kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions.

More information on FOUR PAWS can be found at: www.four-paws.org.

ENDS ALL

Ronnika A. McFall, APR Compassion in World Farming 6317108224 [email protected]

Source: Compassion in World Farming USA
Richmond Hill, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 15, 2022) - Notox Technologies Corp. (OTC: NTOX) ("Notox" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an amendment with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (the "Clinic") and Notox Bioscience Inc., the Company's wholly owned subsidiary ("NBI"), regarding the exclusive license agreement between the parties (the "License Agreement").

The License Agreement, as amended, grants NBI the exclusive license to certain patented intellectual property of the Clinic relating to the treatment of a neuromuscular defect developed by Dr. Frank Papay, and in particular, the ability to produce, sell, improve and modernize products that incorporate such intellectual property in the fields of aesthetics, drug free pain management, body contouring and perspiration control.

The material terms of the amendment, which follows previous amendments dated effective July 30, 2013 and July 1, 2016, extend the deadline for NBI to achieve the first commercial milestone (the submission of regulatory filings to applicable authorities) to December 31, 2023, and require NBI to begin completing partial reimbursements of the Clinic's approximately US$215,000 in accrued patenting costs as of February 2, 2022 at the rate of US$25,000 per calendar quarter.

The License Agreement is valid until the expiration of the last to expire of certain patents. Pursuant to the License Agreement, we are required to pay the Clinic a royalty based on the sale of certain products, a milestone payment upon the first commercial sale of the first such product and a percentage of any sublicensing revenues.

"I am extremely proud of Notox's progress during the past 24 months in the face of numerous COVID-19 restrictions and related limitations," commented Zoran Konevi, the Chairman and CEO of Notox. "This amendment indicates that our primary partnerships are stronger than ever and it has also been comforting to receive such fantastic support. In particular, I would like to thank David Weinrauch for his leadership and loyalty, as well as all our key shareholders."

In addition, Notox is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated December 15, 2021, the Company has appointed the first two members of its new Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Frank Papay and Dr. Tyler Kendall.

Dr. Frank Papay, MD

Dr. Papay is a biomedical engineer and surgeon who holds dozens of U.S. patents and has received more than 50 industry honors-including the Medal of Merit from Ohio University, the WebMD Health Hero Award in Science and the George and Grace Crile Surgical Award. Currently, Dr. Papay is professor of surgery at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University and Chairman of the Dermatology and Plastic Surgery Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

Throughout his career, Dr, Papay has made many important contributions to invention and innovation in surgery and medicine. His patents have been licensed to many prominent biotech companies, he is a co-founder of several Cleveland Clinic startups, and he has published more than 215 peer-reviewed pieces and currently serves on the editorial review boards of several medical journals. He has served in several executive positions for the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Association of Plastic Surgeons, American Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Society, Fellow American College of Surgeons and Fellow American Academy of Pediatrics. Most recently, he was inducted as a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors.

Dr. Tyler Kendall, MD

Dr. Kendall is a neurologist who specializes in cellular and molecular biology. He has demonstrated strong leadership throughout his career and has received a number of memberships, nominations, recognitions and awards from the American Society of Anesthesiology, the American Academy of Neurology, and other organizations. Dr. Kendall is currently a neurology resident at the Memorial Healthcare System in Hollywood, Florida.

"Dr. Papay brings decades of experience and creativity to Notox, as well as his stellar reputation and connections, all of which we expect will benefit the Company and its shareholders," stated Mr. Konevi. "We are also eager to leverage Dr. Kendall's knowledge and perspective in order to ensure Notox's success. To date, we have established a strong team of talented experts and gained access to over 1,000 engineers, PhD's, scientists, designers and administrators through our relationship with Ximedica, a Veranex company, and we look forward to making Notox a better company in the coming months."

About Notox Technologies Corp.

Notox Technologies Corp. (OTC: NTOX) is in the business of developing and commercializing innovative technologies primarily through its wholly owned Nevada subsidiary, Notox Bioscience Inc. The Company is seeking to build its distribution capabilities for medical and aesthetic products around the world, and to market a credible, non-toxic alternative to Botox and subsequently develop other features of its Notox technology such as drug-free pain management, body countering, skin tightening and anti-perspiration.

For more information, please contact:

Zoran Konevi - Chairman & CEO

(519) 421-1900

[email protected]

Safe Harbor Statement and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Such statements may include, but are not limited to, information related to: anticipated operating results; relationships with customers and strategic partners; consumer demand; financial resources and condition; the ability to list any securities for trading on a recognized exchange; changes in revenues; changes in profitability; changes in accounting treatment; changes in management; cost of sales; selling, general and administrative expenses; interest expense; the ability to produce the liquidity or enter into agreements to acquire the capital necessary to continue operations and take advantage of opportunities; and legal proceedings and claims. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/116958
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the afternoon general session of the National League of Cities' Congressional City Conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, U.S., March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger

By Jeff Mason and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden on Wednesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin "is a war criminal" for attacking Ukraine and announced an additional $800 million in security assistance including weapons to take down Russian planes and tanks.

In an exchange with a reporter at the White House, Biden said, "Oh I think he is a war criminal," after initially responding with a "no" to a question about whether he was ready to call Putin that.

That is the first time Biden has publicly branded Putin with that phrase. Last week, during a trip to Poland, Vice President Harris said Russia should "absolutely" be investigated for potential war crimes.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki later said Biden was speaking from his heart, noting there is a separate legal process to determine whether Putin has violated international law and committed war crimes, and that that process currently is underway at the State Department.

Earlier in the day, Biden said the United States has offered Ukraine $1 billion in security aid, addressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's urgent appeal to the U.S. Congress for military help to fend off the Russian invasion. The U.S. will continue to give Ukraine weapons to fight and defend themselves, offer humanitarian relief and support Ukraine's economy with additional financial assistance, he added.

"This new package on its own is going to provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine, and includes 800 anti-aircraft systems," Biden said, to halt attacks on Ukrainians by Russian planes and helicopters.

At Zelenskiy's request, Washington will help Ukraine acquire additional long-range missile anti-aircraft systems, Biden said. It will also supply 9,000 anti-armor systems, drones and 7,000 small arms such as machine guns, shotguns and grenade launchers that will help civilians fighting to defend their country.

"More will be coming as we source additional stocks of equipment that ... we are ready to transfer," he said.

The new funds will come from a spending bill Biden signed into law that includes $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine.

In his address to Congress, Zelenskiy compared the attacks in Ukraine to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that pulled the United States into World War Two, and begged lawmakers, and Biden directly, for more help.

"This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years, and we are asking for our life, for an answer to this terror from the whole world. Is this a lot to ask for? To create a no-fly zone over Ukraine to save people?" Zelenskiy asked through an interpreter.

"If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative," he said. "You know what kind of defense systems we need," adding that he knows the United States has them.

Biden has referred to the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine as "World War Three," and the Pentagon has refused requests to send fighter jets to Ukraine.

Earlier on Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine both emphasized newfound scope for compromise as peace talks were set to resume three weeks into a Russian assault that has so far failed to topple the Ukrainian government.

On Tuesday, the White House said Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow terms a "special military operation" to disarm and "denazify" its neighbor.

Biden has ratcheted up sanctions imposed on Russia in recent days. He has called for a suspension of Russia's trading status that affords its exported products lower tariffs in the international arena and announced a ban on Russian oil and other energy imports.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason and Steve Holland in Washington; editing by Heather Timmons, Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
Acquisition Expands CTSI's Leadership in Safety, Security and Command & Control for Data Center and Utilities Sector Customers

CHANTILLY, Va., March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Corbett Technology Solutions, Inc. ("CTSI"), a portfolio company of Wind Point Partners ("Wind Point"), is pleased to announce the acquisition of Enterprise Security Solutions ("ESS" or the "Company"), a security systems integrator providing turnkey design, installation, and support for data center, government, and utility sector clients.

Established in 2014 and headquartered in Ashburn, Va., ESS helps customers protect their facilities, infrastructure, and personnel. The Company is known for its deep competencies in design, installation, integration, management, monitoring and support of security operation centers, access control, intrusion detection, and video surveillance systems.

"Enterprise Security Solutions significantly enhances our security integration and support capabilities, while expanding our critical infrastructure, data center, and utility customer base," said Joe Oliveri, President and CEO of CTSI. "We are very pleased to add ESS and their best-in-class customer service to the CTSI family."

"ESS is a great organization and further expands CTSI's Security Integration Business Unit while fortifying our rapidly growing data center practice," stated Nathan Brown, Managing Director at Wind Point. "We are excited to welcome Enterprise Security Solutions to CTSI."

"By joining CTSI, we are significantly expanding our geographic reach, technical competencies and solution portfolio for our data center and utility sector clients," commented Shane Pitt, President of ESS. "I'm very excited my team will have continued growth opportunities with CTSI. They've demonstrated years of outstanding execution and customer focus, while striving to reach their greatest potential and satisfy our customers."

"We are really pleased to add ESS to our business," said Jim Muncey, President of the CTSI Security Integration Business Unit. "Shane and his team bring additional expertise to our growing global data center security business, which will benefit the customers we currently serve, and attract new critical infrastructure customers to CTSI."

ESS represents the ninth acquisition for CTSI since partnering with Wind Point in June of 2020. CTSI's acquisition strategy will continue to focus on acquiring leading life safety, fire, security, nurse call, collaboration, and communication solution providers with complementary employee-focused cultures and a trusted commitment to customers.

About Enterprise Security SolutionsEstablished in 2014 and headquartered in Ashburn, VA., Enterprise Security Solutions helps data center, utility, enterprise, and government clients protect facilities, infrastructure, and personnel.

Additional information about ESS is available at www.essdc.us

About CTSICTSI is a global systems integrator of fire, security, critical communications, collaboration, IT, and audiovisual solutions for enterprise, government, healthcare, and education customers. CTSI delivers unmatched design, installation, integration, managed, subscription, and central station monitoring services. The organization is staffed with industry leading engineers, user experience practitioners, programmers, technicians, central station, customer care, and project management representatives.

Additional information about CTSI is available at www.ctsi-usa.com

About Wind Point PartnersWind Point Partners is a Chicago-based private equity investment firm with approximately $4 billion in assets under management. Wind Point focuses on partnering with top caliber management teams to acquire well-positioned middle market businesses where it can establish a clear path to value creation. The firm targets investments in the consumer products, industrial products and business services sectors.

Additional information about Wind Point is available at www.windpointpartners.com

Media Contact:Alan Rosenkoff, VP of Business Development & Corporate MarketingPhone: 908-229-1116Email: [email protected]

Connect with us: LinkedIn, Twitter, or please visit CTSI-USA.COM.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ctsi-acquires-enterprise-security-solutions-301502977.html

SOURCE CTSI
F-35 Lightning II pilot U.S. Air Force Captain Kristin "BEO" Wolfe performs the "dedication pass" maneuver at the 2020 Fort Lauderdale Air Show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. November 21, 2020. U.S. Air Force/Capt. Kip Sumner/Handout via REUTERS.

(Reuters) -The Pentagon will request 61 F-35 stealth warplanes from Lockheed Martin Corp in its next budget, 33 fewer than previously planned, Bloomberg News reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/lockheed-s-tardy-f-35-is-hit-with-a-35-cut-in-2023-u-s-budget on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Lockheed, whose shares were down 6.4% in early trading, said in a statement that it was "premature" to speculate about the proposed budget.

"The Department (of Defense) cannot confirm specific budget details until after the FY23 President's Budget is released," a Pentagon spokesperson said.

Reuters reported last month that U.S. President Joe Biden was expected to ask Congress for a defense budget exceeding $770 billion for the next fiscal year, compared with $778 billion in 2022.

The budget is expected to benefit the biggest U.S. defense contractors, including Lockheed, Northrop Grumman Corp and General Dynamics Corp.

"This is a significant issue for the program," Cowen analyst Roman Schweizer said, referring to the news on request for fewer F-35s.

Several factors from high operating and maintenance costs to difficult contract negotiations might have contributed to the development, Schweizer said.

The F-35 is one of the world's most advanced fighter aircraft and considered a highly sensitive export, sold only to the closest allies of the United States.

Lockheed Martin delivered a total of 142 F-35 fighter jets to the United States and its allies last year, three more than originally planned.

(Reporting by Kannaki Deka and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Aditya Soni)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of March 2022

Commission File Number: 001-32210

NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS LTD. (Translation of registrants name into English)

14 th Floor - 1040 W Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 4H1

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

 Form 20-F  Form 40-F

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): 

SUBMITTED HEREWITH

2

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (Registrant) Date: March 15, 2022 By: /s/ Trevor Thomas By: Trevor Thomas Title: Secretary and General Counsel

3

ndm_ex991.htm

EXHIBIT 99.1

Northern Dynasty comments on recent statements by President Biden

regarding Made in America and mining in the U.S.

March 15, 2022 Vancouver  Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE American: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") comments on President Bidens Made in America announcement made on Friday, March 4, 2022, and statements made at a previous event on February 22, 2022, both at The White House. All currency numbers are USD unless otherwise specified.

In his speech, President Joe Biden said, But we also need a resilient supply chains [sic] of our own so that were never at the mercy of other countries for critical goods ever againOur manufacturing future, our economic future, our solutions to the climate crisis: Theyre all going to be made in America1.

Global events over the past several years have demonstrated the fragility and insecurity of the global supply chain, further underscored the need for America to achieve security over important commodities, be it oil & gas or minerals such as copper, a key part of the energy transition. The Pebble Project in Southwest Alaska would help the U.S. to achieve the goal of mineral security, said Ron Thiessen, President and CEO of Northern Dynasty. For example, one large 10-15 MW windmill, such as found in an offshore windmill farm, uses about 50 tonnes of copper to generate electricity, including the connection to the shore 2. The U.S. imported nearly half of its 2 million tonnes of annual domestic requirements for refined copper in 2021, according to the U.S. Geological Survey3. Copper from the Pebble Project could substantially reduce this reliance on foreign suppliers, keeping the jobs, and the economic benefits, in the U.S.

"We can't build a future that's made in America if we ourselves are dependent on China for the materials that power the products of today and tomorrow," President Biden said at a White House event on February 22, 2022, according to a Reuters report4. Environmental protections are paramountWe have to ensure that these resources actually benefit folks in the communities where they live, not just shareholders.

We have made deliberate choices when designing the Pebble Project that demonstrate our commitment to protecting the environment. Just a few examples include choosing to minimize the footprint in the first 20 years to allow Northern Dynasty an opportunity to demonstrate to the public that the mine could be operated safely, in an environmentally responsible manner, and while benefitting the community economically, investing almost $600 million (total capital) into water treatment plants to ensure discharge water meets Alaskas stringent requirements, using specially designed tailings storage facilities (TSF) that are a significant improvement over traditional designs because they dont retain water in perpetuity and not using cyanide for additional gold recovery in the Proposed Project, Mr. Thiessen added.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Alaskas Pebble Project, published in 2020, describes a modern, environmentally sound mine that can co-exist with clean water and healthy fisheries. The executive summary of the Final EIS can be found on the Pebble Partnerships website at the following link https://pebblepartnership.com/executive-summary. The Company is currently appealing a negative Record of Decision from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Our Economic Contribution Assessment, prepared by a globally renowned, third-party expert firm and published on February 28, 2022, is available on our website. It showed that the Pebble Mine would support thousands of high-paying jobs and billions of dollars of economic activity, much of which is focused in Southwest Alaska, one of the most economically disadvantaged regions in the U.S. It would also help the U.S. reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers of copper and other metals, Mr. Thiessen added. For example, the annual State taxes during construction are expected to be $30 million, State royalties and taxes of $126 million per year, and Lake and Penn Borough severance taxes of $25 million per year. Then there is the Pebble Performance Dividend which will pay out $3 million per year during construction and capital recovery and projected at $11 million annually or $2,175 per person if all eligible people were enrolled, during operating years.

More information on the Economic Contribution Assessment study can be found on the Companys website at the following link: https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/responsible-mining/economic-benefits/.

About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership, is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 1,840 mineral claims in Southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit, located 200 miles from Anchorage and 125 miles from Bristol Bay. The Pebble Partnership is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources.

For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and U.S. public filings at www.sec.gov.

Ronald W. Thiessen

President & CEO

U.S. Media Contact:

Dan Gagnier, Gagnier Communications (646) 569-5897

Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and under applicable provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, which address permitting, development and production for the Pebble Project are forward-looking statements. These include statements regarding (i) statements on the economic contribution of the Pebble Project to the Alaskan and United States economies, which are based on the Companys 2021 preliminary economic assessment of the Pebble Project (the 2021 PEA) which is preliminary in nature, (ii) the timing of the appeal process and the ability to successfully appeal the negative Record of Decision and secure the issuance of a positive Record of Decision by the USACE, (iii) the political and public support for the permitting process, (iv) the ability of the Pebble Project to ultimately secure all required federal and state permits, (v) future metals prices, including the price of copper, (vi) the right-sizing and de-risking of the Pebble Project, (vii) the design and operating parameters for the Pebble Project mine plan, including projected capital and operating costs, (viii) exploration potential of the Pebble Project, (ix) future demand for copper and gold, (x) the potential addition of partners in the Pebble Project, (ix) if permitting is ultimately secured, the ability to demonstrate that the Pebble Project is commercially viable, (xi) the EPAs Proposed Determination process under the CWA and the impact of this process on the ability of the Pebble Partnership to develop the Pebble Project, and (xii) the ability and timetable of NDM to develop the Pebble Project. Although NDM believes the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way be construed as guarantees that the Pebble Project will secure all required government permits, establish the commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project, achieve the required financing or develop the Pebble Project.

Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by NDM as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Assumptions used by NDM to develop forward-looking statements include the following assumptions, all of which are subject to risks (i) the assumptions underlying the 2021 PEA, (ii) the Pebble Project will ultimately obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses , (iii) any feasibility studies prepared for the development of the Pebble Project will be positive, (iv) NDMs estimates of mineral resources will not change, and NDM will be successful in converting mineral resources to mineral reserves, (v) NDM will be able to establish the commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project, (vi) NDM will be able to secure the financing required to develop the Pebble Project, and (vii) any action taken by the EPA in connection with the Proposed Determination will ultimately not be successfully in restricting or prohibiting development of the Pebble Project. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives, including (i) the 2021 PEA may not reflect the ultimate mine plan for the Pebble Project, (ii) obtaining necessary mining and construction permits, licenses and approvals without undue delay, including without delay due to third party opposition or changes in government policies, (iii) finalization of the mine plan for the Pebble Project, (iv) the completion of feasibility studies demonstrating that any Pebble Project mineral resources that can be economically mined, (v) completion of all necessary engineering for mining and processing facilities, (vi) the ability of NDM to secure a partner for the development of the Pebble Project, and (vii) receipt by NDM of significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine construction, which financing may not be available to NDM on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. NDM is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions, such as the current uncertainties with regard to COVID-19. Investors should also consider the risk factors identified in its Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2020, as filed on SEDAR and included in the Companys annual report on Form 40-F filed by the Company with the SEC on EDGAR, and the Companys Management Discussion and Analysis for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, as filed on SEDAR and EDGAR, for a discussion of the risks that may impact our forward-looking statements and the 2021 PEA.

2

The National Environment Policy Act Environmental Impact Statement process requires a comprehensive alternatives assessment be undertaken to consider a broad range of development alternatives, the final project design and operating parameters for the Pebble Project and associated infrastructure may vary significantly from that currently contemplated.

For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

_____________________________________

1The full text of President Bidens March 4, 2022 speech can be found at the following link: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/03/04/remarks-by-president-biden-on-delivering-on-made-in-america-commitments/

2 https://www.mining.com/global-wind-turbine-fleet-to-consume-over-5-5mt-of-copper-by-2028-report/

3 https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2022/mcs2022-copper.pdf

4 The Reuters report of the Presidents comments on February 22, 2022 can be found at the following link: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/biden-set-tout-us-progress-critical-minerals-production-2022-02-22/
FORT VALLEY, Ga. (Tribune News Service)  The boyfriend of a Fort Valley State University student who disappeared on Valentine's Day 2020 and whose body was later found strangled in the woods was convicted Tuesday evening in Peach County Superior.

Demarcus D. Little, 24, an Army sergeant based at Fort Gordon in Augusta, was found guilty of felony murder and aggravated assault charges in the slaying of 22-year-old Anitra LaShay Gunn. He was acquitted of a malice murder charge, but was sentenced to life without parole on the felony murder charge.

The jury's verdict came on the eighth day of Little's trial, one of the most high-profile murder trials in recent years in Middle Georgia.

(c)2022 The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.)

Visit The Macon Telegraph (Macon, Ga.) at www.macon.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group deployed Wednesday from Norfolk, headed south to pick up Marines from the 22 Marine Expeditionary Unit before heading across the Atlantic.

On its way past Joint Base Little Creek-Fort Story, the Kearsarge, USS Arlington and USS Gunston Hall loaded the hovercrafts and landing craft that sailors use to move the Marines on and off beaches, as well as helicopters that carry out a range of missions  from search and rescue to law enforcement to striking at adversaries.

The Navy has given few details about the groups mission, saying only Wednesday that the group will cross the Atlantic.

Many of the Marines will come on board while the ships are moving, with those landing craft and hovercraft moving through the large openings in the ships sterns that lead to their well decks, said Col. Paul Merida, commander of the 22 MEU. Others will arrive by helicopter.

But none of that is new to the Marines or the sailors who work side by side with them  theyve been drilling together for the past seven months, said Capt. David Guluzian, commodore of the Kearsarge group.

He said the groups 4,000 sailors and Marines are trained and capable of responding to crises around the world, from humanitarian relief to boarding suspicious ships to amphibious assaults.

The Kearsarge, Arlington and Gunston Hall, along with the 22nd MEU, were the first amphibious group to drill on the transfer of command and control to NATO, something that carrier strike groups have been practicing lately.

For families and neighbors of the groups sailors and Marines, be very happy and proud ... they are ready, they are capable, said Capt. Tom Foster, commander of the Kearsarge.

The ship is too, he said, thanks to the maintenance and modernization efforts of shipyard workers.

The Kearsarge is as ready as shes ever been thanks to thousands of people in Hampton Roads who came onboard and made sure were ready, he said.

dress@dailypress.com

2022 The Virginian-Pilot.

Visit pilotonline.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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North Korea fired a projectile Wednesday that appeared to have failed immediately after it was launched, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The projectile was fired at around 9:30 a.m., the South Korean military said in a text message to reporters.

Japans Ministry of Defense also announced the launch of a possible ballistic missile, according to public broadcaster NHK.

The Ministry of Defense is collecting information on whether it will affect Japan, said the report, which cited an unnamed ministry official.

If confirmed, Wednesdays launch would mark North Koreas 10th missile test so far this year. On March 9, the communist regime fired what it claimed to be a reconnaissance satellite.

North Korea indicated several times it would conduct another launch in the days leading up to Wednesday.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement March 10 that North Korea would likely be conducting a test at full range in the future.

North Koreas previous launches on Feb. 26 and March 5, which the communist regime claimed were related to its satellite program, involved a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, Kirby said.

The United States strongly condemns these launches, which are a brazen violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, needlessly raise tensions and risk destabilizing the security situation in the region, Kirby said.

South Koreas military echoed Kirbys remarks in its statement Friday and said North Koreas latest tests appear to be a trial run of a future test disguised as a space launch.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that regime leader Kim Jong Un inspected a satellite testing site and called for the expansion and modernization of nearby facilities.

North Korea has also shown signs it is revamping its underground nuclear testing facility. Commercial satellite images analyzed by U.S.-based analysts indicate North Korea was improving the Punggye-ri site, which was supposedly destroyed while Pyongyang and Seoul held peace talks in 2018.

The construction and repair work indicate that North Korea has made some decision about the status of the test site, analysts from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies said in a report published on March 8. One possibility is that North Korea plans to bring the test site back to a state of readiness to resume nuclear explosive testing.

Wednesdays launch comes one day after U.S. Forces Korea issued a news release about its air defense training. The command said the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade increased the intensity of their certification exercise recently to demonstrate USFKs capabilities and commitment to defend the [South Korea] against any threat or adversary.

USFK, which is responsible for roughly 28,500 troops on the peninsula, cited North Koreas recent increase of missile launch frequency and U.S. Indo-Pacific Commands directive for the increased intensity of its routine training.

On Tuesday, INDOPACOM announced it had conducted a carrier-based air demonstration in the Yellow Sea in response to North Koreas significantly increased  pace and scale of ballistic missile launches.

The demonstration included the USS Abraham Lincoln and Air Force aircraft, according to a news release.

The Treasury Department on Saturday announced additional sanctions against two Russians and three corporate entities for aiding North Koreas ongoing development of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

Todays actions respond to this threat by targeting a network of Russia-based individuals and entities complicit in helping [North Korea] procure components for its unlawful ballistic missile systems, Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a news release.

Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan  People at this airlift hub in Tokyo who have connections to Ukraine and Eastern Europe are setting up fundraisers, donating money and sending supplies to help Ukrainian civilians hammered by war.

Staff Sgt. Brian Contos, of Yokotas 753rd Special Operations Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and his wife, Patrycja Fischer, are working in conjunction with Fischers older brother Sebastian Fischer in Poland, who started a fundraising project there.

A lot of money is needed right there in Ukraine and countries which are helping out the refugees, Patrycja Fischer, 30, a native of Krakow, Poland, told Stars and Stripes on Friday. So, my brother kind of started all this. He started reaching out to his neighbors and everyone around him to raise money to collect donations.

The $4,000 collected so far by Contos and Fischer was sent to Poland and spent on six deliveries of items needed by refugees, including medical supplies, Contos said Tuesday by Facebook Messenger.

Contos, 32, said monetary donations are the most effective form of assistance because the U.S. dollar is worth 3.5 times the Polish zloty. In Poland, the amount of food that $20 can buy adds up to $60 or $70 worth.

Everything is way cheaper, Contos said. So, our U.S. dollar is hitting harder than it is for people to buy stuff here and then ship it out.

To put it in perspective, $20 can feed an average size family for four days, Contos said.

Sebastian Fischer posts daily updates on his Facebook group, Napenij Bagola, including photos showing groceries purchased, trucks filled, and notices of items shipped and their destinations, Contos said.

The war also hits close to home for Air Force spouse Joanna Storms. The native of Lublin, Poland, said she exchanges her pain for productivity by donating and spreading awareness around Yokota.

She recently raised more than $2,200 for Ukrainians through a bake sale with the 374th Medical Groups Hospital Association at the base hospital.

Sixty percent of the sweet treats were gone in an hour, Storms, 37, told Stars and Stripes on Friday. She said she felt as though people wanted to do something, they just didnt know what.

There were so many people. People were very generous, she said. It was a great success. Weve had those bake sales before and never ever have we raised more than $500.

Storms said she couldnt help but get involved with the crisis in Ukraine.

People ask why Poland helps so much. Poland really helps the most out of all the countries, she said. Were close. We are taking the most refugees; there are donation centers on every corner, by every store. People physically are taking people in their homes all the time.

Storms said she has also collected hats, blankets, coats, sleeping bags, warm clothing and shoes that were shipped to U.S. military spouses in Germany. From there, theyll be sent in trucks to Ukraine.

Seeing what other people on base have been organizing and donating to Ukraine has inspired Senior Airman Andrey Afanasyuk, of the 374th Civil Engineer Squadron, to do something for the land of his birth.

Afanasyuk, 28, a native of Vinnytsia, Ukraine, lived there before coming to the U.S. in 2002 as a refugee.

Afanasyuk said he is working with his wife, Gintare Kubiliute, a graphic designer, to create patches, stickers, car decals and T-shirts to sell. One hundred percent of the proceeds will be sent to help the Ukrainian people, he said.

Afanasyuk said he is grateful for the outpouring of help by his Yokota neighbors on behalf of Ukraine.

It's very encouraging, he said. It's very heartwarming to see that, like all the community come together and do that. And it makes me want to go out and do the same thing.
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii  Almost four months since the Navy began an investigation into the causes of the widespread well-water contamination in Hawaii, the service is hitting reset.

The level of detail in that investigation was deemed inadequate by Adm. William Lescher, vice chief of naval operations, and he has ordered further review into how the Navy responded to two separate fuel leaks last year, according to a Navy statement released Tuesday.

In late November, Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of U.S. Pacific Fleet, ordered a command investigation into fuel leaks from the underground Red Hill storage facility near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after jet fuel turned up in one of three wells the Navy uses for its water distribution system.

Paparo ordered the probe to specifically review the causes of leaks on Nov. 20 and May 6.

The investigation results were eagerly awaited by state officials, Hawaiis congressional delegation and thousands of residents of military communities who were displaced this winter by the tainted water.

Many were relocated to Waikiki Beach hotels, with some suffering from headaches, nausea, diarrhea, rashes and other maladies.

Adm. Lescher directed the supplemental investigation because the initial command investigation, while sound in many respects, did not include a sufficient review of actions the Navy took in response to the May and November releases, Rear Adm. Charlie Brown, the Navys chief of information, said in a statement Tuesday.

Lescher appointed Rear Adm. James Waters to oversee the extended investigation, Brown said.

Waters is the director of the Military Personnel Plans and Policy Division in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, according to a Navy biography.

The call for further understanding of the Navys actions is remarkable given that Paparos original investigation mandated identifying the root causes and remedial actions to safeguard the local environment and ensure this does not happen again, the Navy said in a Nov. 29 news release.

The Navy has a sense of urgency to get this investigation complete, but we also must have a full understanding of the facts to be able to fully assess the efficacy of the Navys response efforts, Brown said. We are committed to working as swiftly as is feasible to get this information while continuing our ongoing response.

The Navy said earlier this year that jet fuel from the massive World War II-era facility contaminated the Red Hill well. The underground tanks now hold about 150 million gallons of fuel.

The state in January ordered the facility emptied, a mandate the Navy opposed.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on March 7 that the facility would be permanently closed before the end of next year.

The Navy spent the winter flushing out its water distribution system, individual houses and other base structures in an attempt to get residents back into their homes.

As of Tuesday, 90% of the 9,715 homes using the Navy water system had tap water declared safe for all uses by the Hawaii Department of Health, Capt. Darren Guenther, chief of staff for Navy Region Hawaii, said Tuesday during a daily briefing livestreamed on Facebook.
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TOKYO  The quasi-emergency in 18 prefectures, including Tokyo and three of its neighbors, will end on schedule Monday as the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to fall across the country, according to Japans prime minister.

The exit of the sixth wave has come in sight, Fumio Kishida said during a televised news conference Wednesday evening.

The measures, which encourage bars and restaurants to close early and refrain from alcohol sales, took effect Jan. 19 in those areas.

Tokyos new infection numbers fell below 10,000 per day for five consecutive days starting Friday, according to metropolitan government data. The city reported 10,221 new cases Wednesday, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Japan reported 50,695 new cases Tuesday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

The pandemics omicron phase has clung stubbornly to Japan. The country reported 65,368 new cases March 1 and averaged nearly 61,000 new daily infections that week. New cases averaged nearly 53,000 per day during the week ending Tuesday.

Japan has eased other measures designed to restrict the influx of foreigners into the country. In early March it raised to 5,000 the number of people permitted to enter the country daily, raised it again to 7,000 effective Monday and may raise it further to 10,000 in April, Kyodo News reported Wednesday.

The U.S. military population is largely unaffected because its governed by the status of forces agreement that lays out its rights and responsibilities in Japan.

Japan in November announced it would permit students and businesspeople to enter the country but quickly backtracked once omicron appeared. The variant, although less virulent than its predecessors, spread more easily and created hundreds of thousands of cases, hitting daily records unseen in preceding phases of the pandemic.

Tokyo, however, will continue to restrict large gatherings in its parks as the cherry blossoms appear, NHK reported Wednesday. The Japanese traditionally gather beneath the flowering trees to celebrate the onset of spring.

Public health experts in Tokyo cautioned last week that a small but rising number of people tested positive for the BA.2 subvariant of omicron starting in February, according to The Asahi newspaper on Friday.

U.S. Forces Japan reported 93 new cases of COVID-19 at 12 U.S. installations as of Tuesday, according to a daily update on its website. The command last reported 73 new cases on Monday. None of its coronavirus patients were hospitalized or considered serious cases.

Four U.S. bases accounted for the bulk of those new infections: 24 at Yokota Air Base, the western Tokyo airlift hub where USFJ is headquartered; 20 at Yokosuka Naval Base, the 7th Fleets homeport south of Tokyo; 17 at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni south of Hiroshima, where Carrier Air Wing 5 is stationed; and 13 at Misawa Air Base in northeastern Japan, home of the 35th Fighter Wing.

USFJ has not reported an update every day in March but on four days reported more than 90 new cases, including Tuesday. The command has reported an average 78 new cases daily this month.

Stars and Stripes reporter Hana Kusumoto contributed to this report.
Japan and India are likely to hold a 2-plus-2 meeting of their foreign and defense ministers by the end of this year to discuss security cooperation with an eye on China, according to Japanese government sources.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, are scheduled to hold a summit in India on Saturday, after which they are to issue a joint statement that will mention the 2-plus-2 meeting.

The two leaders are expected to agree on promoting cooperation in the area of security, including defense equipment and technology transfers, the sources said.

Also included in the statement will be comments on the resumption of annual visits between the two leaders, which had been suspended due mainly to the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Japan and India plan to reaffirm the importance of the security framework with the United States and Australia known as the Quad. They also are expected to clearly express their strong opposition to any unilateral moves to change the status quo, with nations such as China in mind, the sources said.

India has maintained long-standing friendly relations with Russia, notably by hosting the first India-Russia 2-plus-2 meeting in December last year.

With regard to Russias invasion of Ukraine, Kishida is expected to urge Modi to keep in step with Japan, the U.S., Europe and other countries in their handling of the situation.
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CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  The U.S. military in South Korea nearly doubled its number of new COVID-19 cases over the previous week as the country itself experienced a record coronavirus surge.

U.S. Forces Korea recorded 302 new cases of the coronavirus respiratory disease between March 8 and Monday, according to a weekly update on the commands website Tuesday. The command last reported 157 new cases the week of March 1 through 7.

USFKs caseload grew as South Korea reached a one-day record of 400,741 new cases Tuesday, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agencys update on Wednesday. The previous record, 383,659, was reached Saturday.

Gyeonggi, the most populous province in South Korea and the site of Camp Humphreys and Osan Air Base, accounted for most new cases, 94,809, according to the KDCA. Seoul, the capital city, reported 81,395.

Most USFK cases originated locally, 290 in the past week and 139 out of 157 the week of March 1 to 7, according to the command.

USFKs weekly case count includes service members, family members, contractors and Korean employees.

USFK remains in health protection condition Bravo-plus, which indicates an elevated risk of COVID-19 spreading and includes heightened public health measures. USFK personnel are banned from the capital city of Seoul except for official duties or to visit the Dragon Hill Lodge at Yongsan Garrison.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum urged calm and said the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 may have reached its peak.

We call on the people to brace themselves up a bit more thinking this will be our last hurdle, he said during a meeting Wednesday at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters. We dont have to have vague fear, and excessive overconfidence can be very dangerous.

Those who are holding out from getting vaccinated should reconsider, Kim said.

In the country of 51 million people, 87.5% of the population has received the first shot of a vaccine and 86.6% is fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to the KDCA. Nearly 63% of the population has received a booster shot.

We entreat people who need to be vaccinated to participate in vaccination actively, Kim said. We advise young children and teenagers, who have been showing the growing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases lately, to participate in vaccination as well.
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan  A 38-ton shipment of nonlethal military supplies left this U.S. airlift hub in western Tokyo bound for Ukraine on Wednesday. It was sent on its way by the U.S. ambassador to Japan, the Japanese defense chief and a Ukrainian diplomat.

The supplies, which include helmets and bulletproof vests donated by Japan, were loaded onto an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane in front of a crowd of reporters gathered beside Yokotas runway.

Japan first delivered similar items to Ukraine on March 8, The Straits Times reported Friday. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force tweeted photographs Tuesday of one of its planes delivering a second shipment to Poland.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Japanese Vice Minister of Defense Oniki Makoto and Ukrainian Embassy deputy chief of mission Oleksandr Semeniuk spoke as airmen prepared to load the supplies.

What happens in Ukraine doesnt stay in Ukraine, Emanuel told the journalists.

Japan has imposed about a dozen sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine but the effort to hold them to account is ongoing, he said.

This is a long battle to ensure that the Ukrainian armed forces have all the tools they need for the security of their country, Emanuel said.

The U.S military and government couldnt be happier about Japans aid shipments and want to be a partner in moving the material expeditiously to Europe and get it into the hands of Ukrainians, he said.

Anyone, anywhere, who violates international norms will pay a price, Emanuel said.

Giving nonlethal but military assistance is not just about (Russia) paying a penalty but also sticking up for values we all share, he said. This is Ukraines time of need, and we will stand with them shoulder to shoulder.

Russias aggression is punishment for Ukrainians wanting to integrate with the European Union and NATO, Semeniuk said.

Thats the punishment for us because we wanted to live in a free country, he said.

Russia didnt take Ukrainians seriously and expected to conquer the country in three days, Semeniuk said.

Three weeks after Russia invaded their country, Ukrainian forces are still in control of the capital, Kyiv, and have inflected heavy losses on Russian forces, according to reports from the war zone.

Our men and women would not be that successful fighting against the enemy without the help from our friends from abroad, Semeniuk said.
CAMP FUJI, Japan  Three MV-22 Ospreys descended on a mountain clearing during a drill this week marking the first coordinated use of the tilt-rotor aircraft by the U.S. Marine Corps and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

Kicking up clouds of dust, a Japanese Osprey set down Tuesday at a landing zone just six miles from Mount Fuji and deployed a squad of soldiers to secure the area. Shortly afterward, two Marine Corps Ospreys deployed their Marines, simulating an airborne insertion and ground assault.

The operation was part of Maritime Defense Exercise-Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, which began March 7 and runs through March 25. U.S. and Japanese commanders call the drills a milestone for their growing partnership.

We believe this exercise is very significant, not only for improving the capability of amphibious operations, but also for strengthening the deterrence and response capabilities of the Japan-U.S. alliance, Col. Masashi Hiraki, commander of the 1st Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment, told reporters Tuesday.

The exercise involves an undisclosed number of Marines from the Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and soldiers from the Self-Defense Forces Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, a unit activated in 2018 that bears resemblance to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Both forces are trained to tackle crises ranging from natural disasters to military conflict.

With the potential for an unstable security environment in the Indo-Pacific region, an alliance thats built on shared security interests and shared values is more important and relevant than ever, 31st MEU commander Col. Michael Nakonieczny said Tuesday.

The exercise coincides with rising tensions in the region, particularly after Russias invasion of Ukraine, a series of missile test launches by North Korea and Chinas increasingly hawkish attitude toward Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province.

While left unsaid by Nakonieczny, the Defense Department routinely refers to the Indo-Pacific as its priority theater and China as the pacing challenge for the United States.

"We are prioritizing capabilities relevant to the China challenge to enable a joint force that is lethal and able to strike adversary forces and systems at range," Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee on March 9.

Likewise, Japan continues to monitor Russian activity in the region with concern. On Monday, six Russian warships passed through Soya Strait, which separates Japans northern island of Hokkaido and Russias Sakhalin Island  a move that followed passage of 10 Russian vessels approximately 112 miles off Hokkaidos coast on March 10.

The Russian military has been conducting large-scale exercises in the Sea of Okhotsk since February, coinciding with its invasion of Ukraine, and the vessels might have been participating in those drills, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Tuesday.
A proposal for Ukraine to become a neutral country but retain its own armed forces could be viewed as a certain kind of compromise, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday, hinting at possible progress in peace negotiations.

Peskov declined to provide details beyond confirming that the idea of Swedish or Austrian-style neutrality is under discussion in the talks now underway between Russia and Ukraine to try to end the war thats now in its 21st day.

Only a Ukrainian model with enforceable security guarantees is acceptable to Kyiv, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said by text message. This means that the signatories do not stand aside in case of attack against Ukraine as they do now.

The two sides are scheduled for another round of talks Wednesday. Peskovs comments came after Russias chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, reported some progress in the negotiations, but warned that some issues remain unresolved. Late Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin sounded a more downbeat note, accusing Kyiv of not being serious enough about seeking compromises.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russias positions in the negotiations sound more realistic in an address to the nation, though he said efforts are still needed to reach an agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also indicated theres some hope for compromise, as he said that Moscows demands for Ukraines neutrality are under serious discussion though the talks arent going easily.

Ukraine was pressing for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization before the war, though Zelenskiy has indicated he recognized theres little prospect of the alliance accepting his country any time soon. He has called for Ukraine to receive firm guarantees of its sovereignty.

Russia had demanded full demilitarization of Ukraine when Putin ordered the invasion Feb. 24 but now appears to be backing away from that demand.

Russian forces continue to strike infrastructure targets though the overall military situation is largely unchanged, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces wrote on Facebook. The state emergency service said a shell hit a 12-story apartment building in the capital Kyiv, causing a fire and injuries. Russias Defense Ministry said its forces are advancing through urban areas in the town of Sievierodonetsk in the eastern Luhansk region.

NATO defense ministers are in Brussels to discuss ways to reinforce the alliances eastern members and prevent spillover from the war in Ukraine, a risk illustrated by recent crashes of drones. U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Europe for NATO and European Union summits next week, while Zelensky delivered a virtual address to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday.

The image of Sweden as a neutral nation stems from its decision to stay out of both world wars, and keep outside of the superpower blocs during the Cold War. Even so, the biggest Nordic country has entered into cooperation with NATO since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. After Russias 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimea peninsula, Sweden began to gradually ramp up military spending and sought ever closer cooperation with the defense alliance.

Austria freed itself from a decade of allied, including Soviet, oversight following World War II after declaring irrevocable military neutrality in 1955. The position, enshrined in the constitution, prohibits the country from joining military alliances and from allowing foreign military bases on its territory. Unlike some Nordic peers, the government in Vienna has rejected calls to consider joining NATO in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.
STUTTGART, Germany  NATOs top commander was tasked Wednesday with developing a plan to add military force within alliance territory in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine, following a day of high-level talks in Brussels.

The planning to be headed by U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters is expected to be ready within weeks and address the long-term security challenges of Russias unpredictability, officials said following a meeting of the alliances defense chiefs.

We face a new reality for our security. So we must reset our collective defense and deterrence for the longer term, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. Today we have tasked our military commanders to develop options across all domains  land, air, sea, cyber and space.

President Joe Biden and other allied heads of state, who are set to meet in Brussels next week for emergency talks, are expected to approve plans for more troops along NATOs eastern flank at a separate summit in June.

Since Russias Feb. 24 attack on Ukraine, allies have ramped up operations in Europe, where 100,000 U.S. troops are now positioned and hundreds of thousands of other alliance troops are on heightened alert, Stoltenberg said.

Moscow should be in no doubt, NATO will not tolerate any attack on allied sovereignty or territorial integrity, Stoltenberg said.

For the U.S.-led NATO alliance, Russias initial intervention in Ukraine in 2014 was the spark that prompted more military spending in Europe and a larger allied presence in countries like Poland and the Baltics. Before Russias annexation of Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, there were no allied battlegroups in NATOs east and members were settled in a pattern of downward defense spending.

Now, Russias full-fledged invasion of Ukraine demands a more robust response from allies, which will require major investments, he said.

On land, our new posture should include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness, with more pre-positioned equipment and supplies, Stoltenberg said.

In the air, that will require more allied power and integrated air and missile defenses, he said.

At sea, that means more carrier strike groups, submarines and significant numbers of combat ships operating regularly, Stoltenberg said.

Still, Stoltenberg ruled out any possibility that allies will get involved on the ground in Ukraine or institute a no-fly zone in the country, which he said would risk a wider war with Russia.

While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again called for a no-fly zone during a video speech to Congress on Wednesday, Stoltenberg reiterated a position already laid out by Biden, which closed the door to direct military intervention.
Officials from both Russia and Ukraine expressed cautious optimism Wednesday that peace talks were making progress toward ending almost three weeks of fighting across Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address overnight Tuesday that negotiations with Moscow were heading in a more realistic direction, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that there is hope for reaching a compromise.

However, both sides also stressed that the talks were difficult, with differences remaining over what neutrality, or security guarantees, for Ukraine would look like.

Lavrov, speaking in an interview with the Russian television channel RBC, said he was basing his assessment on the view of the Russian negotiators. They state that negotiations are not easy for obvious reasons but nevertheless there is some hope for reaching a compromise, Lavrov said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Zelenskyy adviser and Ukraines lead negotiator in the peace talks with Russia, expressed optimism that a cease-fire could happen soon and signaled Ukraines openness to a peace deal in an interview with PBS aired Tuesday.

Podolyak said that, in the beginning, Russia was talking in terms of ultimatums, and that its position has softened significantly since then. Initially Russia was planning on moving its troops through Ukraine and capture as much territory as possible, blitzkrieg style, he said. But, Podolyak said, that didnt happen, and Russian troops are stuck fighting in their current positions, with no chances whatsoever to move further into Ukrainian territory.

Therefore, we have much confidence that we will have a cease-fire in the coming days, he said.

The negotiators are working toward a meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, where they will sign documents. Obviously, this is coming sometime soon, because this is the only way to end this war, Podolyak said.

Meanwhile, in his video address, Zelenskyy said: The meetings continue, and I am informed that the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic . . . But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine.

Everyone should work . . . for negotiations with the Russian Federation, he said, adding that the eyes of the world were on Ukraine. It is difficult but important, as any war ends with an agreement.

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said Ukraine during the talks has proposed a model similar to that of Austria or Sweden, acting as a neutral demilitarized state but a government with its own army and naval powers.

The preservation and development of Ukraines neutral status, the demilitarization of Ukraine - a whole range of issues related to the size of the Ukrainian army are being discussed, Medinsky said, according to Russian state news service RIA Novosti.

Podolyak said that while there have been words about the Swedish or Austrian model of neutrality . . . Ukraine is now in a state of direct war with the Russian Federation. Therefore, the model can only be Ukrainian and only about legally verified security guarantees.

Ukraine needs security guarantees that would mean signatories to any deal would have to actively participate on the side of Ukraine in any future conflict and provide support and weapons, he said. He also made a plea for a no-fly zone, which has so far been rejected by NATO.

Ukraine has never been a militaristic state that attacked or planned to attack its neighbors, he added. That is why today Ukraine wants to have a powerful pool of allies with clearly defined security guarantees.

A day earlier, the tone from Moscow was less optimistic, with President Vladimir Putin stating that the talks were at an impasse and a breakthrough was far off. He told a European Council leader Tuesday that Kyiv was not showing a serious commitment to finding mutually acceptable solutions. 

A crucial point of contention for Russia has been Ukraines long-standing desire to join the NATO military alliance, one of the rationales used by Moscow to justify its invasion.

Since Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine has made joining NATO a priority. However, on Tuesday, Zelensky suggested a softer stance on NATO membership.

It is clear that Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand this, Zelensky said during an address to leaders of 10 North Atlantic countries led by Britain, a group known as the Joint Expeditionary Force. For years we heard about the apparently open door, but have already also heard that we will not enter there, and these are truths and must be acknowledged.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters Wednesday that he had spoken to Zelensky, who understood the reality of the position regarding joining the alliance. Johnson said that Britain has ruled out any prospect of Ukraine joining the 30-member group any time soon.

Everybody has always said - and weve made it clear to Putin - theres no way Ukraine is going to join NATO anytime soon, Johnson said. But the decision about the future of Ukraine has got to be for the Ukrainian people.

Meanwhile, NATO defense ministers gathered in Brussels Wednesday to discuss ways of helping Ukraine and deterring Russian aggression without getting drawn into a wider conflict. Over the past two months, the alliance has sent thousands of extra troops to its eastern flank and activated NATOs Response Force for the first time. Its members have also sent tons of ammunition and weaponry into Ukraine.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the United States was working to limit the death and destruction until peace is achieved. The United Nations human rights office said Tuesday that since the start of the Russian invasion, it has recorded 691 deaths of civilians overall, of whom at least 48 were children. It has stipulated that the figures are incomplete and the real tolls are probably much higher.

Lavrov, in his lengthy interview Wednesday, also took aim at the United States and said the conflict in Ukraine is not as much about Ukraine as it is about the legal world order.

The U.S. has steamrolled all of Europe, Lavrov said. This is an epochal moment in modern history. It reflects the fight for what the world order is going to look like.

The White House is set to announce $800 million more in security assistance Wednesday, a senior administration official said, as part of a government spending bill that President Joe Biden signed to provide $13.6 billion in new aid to Ukraine. Previous U.S. assistance has included shipments of antiaircraft and anti-armor systems.

The Washington Posts Hannah Knowles and Maite Fernandez Simon contributed to this report.
Two years ago, a leaked FBI intelligence bulletin warned that a gap in U.S. rules aimed at fighting dirty money likely allows so-called threat actors to place funds with private investment firms. The FBI gave as an example of an unnamed New York-based private equity company that took in more than $100 million from a Russian business with alleged ties to organized crime.

This loophole has worried authorities for years because while banks and most securities brokers are required by law to identify the true owners behind investments and report any red flags, private equity firms, venture capital funds and hedge funds are not.

The result is a puzzling hole in the regulations designed to stop criminals and corrupt politicians from around the world from accessing the U.S. financial system - a situation that the private investment industry has repeatedly downplayed as it has successfully fended off reform attempts by Treasury officials and anti-corruption groups.

Now, this lack of insight into the $11 trillion U.S. private investment industry threatens to complicate the White Houses push to punish the financial elite close to President Vladimir Putin over Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Theyre hunting in the dark, said Lakshmi Kumar, policy director for Global Financial Integrity, an anti-corruption think tank in Washington. The way the rules are set up, theres a black hole of information.

President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address earlier this month issued a warning to oligarchs that his administration was coming for your ill-begotten gains. The Department of Justice announced the next day it had created a Task Force KleptoCapture to pursue sanctions against what it called corrupt Russian oligarchs.

But U.S. authorities lack a clear road map of the assets invested in private equity funds, venture capital funds or hedge funds.

Under current law, private equity firms and hedge firms do not need to verify their investors identities or how they made their money - requirements that U.S. banks have followed under the anti-money laundering Bank Secrecy Act, passed in 1970, and other anti-corruption laws. The rules are known as Know Your Customer, a due diligence process for assessing and monitoring a customers risk and verifying identity.

Anti-corruption groups and Treasury officials have pushed for private investments to act more like banks in rooting out money laundering.

These private investments are increasingly important players in financial markets. Each year for the past decade, more money has been raised in private markets than in public markets, such as on stock exchanges, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Private markets now hold about half as many assets as all U.S. commercial banks, which stand at about $22.5 trillion in deposits.

But little is known about where private funds get their money.

While megayachts, private jets and palatial mansions are obvious signs of potential oligarch wealth, untold fortunes can remain hidden in different private investments.

Luxury residences - thats what is visible. People can see that. But if you own stuff through an entity with a limited partnership in a private equity fund, no one does, said Joshua Kirschenbaum, a former Treasury official who works on illicit finance as a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

Occasionally, there are hints of the degree of potentially suspicious activity. The 2020 FBI intelligence memo - obtained by online hackers and published by the activist group Distributed Denial of Secrets - briefly described a plan by an official from a hedge fund based in New York and London to create a series of companies to buy and sell prohibited items from sanctioned countries.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has proposed a bill to close the disclosure loophole, said in a statement he considers the massive U.S. private equity and hedge fund industry to represent a much bigger problem for hiding Russian oligarch assets than real estate.

The Treasury Department is concerned about the lack of anti-money laundering regulations for private investments and plans to continue pushing for change, said a senior Treasury official who requested anonymity to discuss agency deliberations. The goal is to have these funds following the lead of banks and setting up programs to verify client identities and the source of funds, as well as file suspicious activity reports if they believed there were problems.

The private equity industry leaders argued in interviews and comment letters that these kinds of transparency requirements are unnecessary because their sector is at low risk for money laundering because funds are often tied up for two to 10 years and oftentimes the clients investment comes through a bank, which is already required to take steps to weed out dirty money.

Some private equity firms also already conduct their own due diligence, despite not being required to by the law, said Michael Gershberg, an attorney in Washington with Fried Frank, where he advises clients on anti-boycott and anti-money laundering rules.

Im not sure there would be a huge change if they were subject to (the anti-money laundering rules), he said.

But anti-corruption advocacy groups said the gap in oversight is one reason the United States remains a popular place to secretively stash cash.

If youre a person who faces U.S. sanctions, then the best place to hide your assets is in the U.S., Kumar said, and thats a problem.

It can be impossible to know if an investment belongs to a person facing sanctions because of the anonymity allowed under current law.

For example, a U.S. private equity firm can accept money from a limited liability company based overseas without knowing who owns the business or how they got their funding, according to anti-corruption experts.

In contrast, banks are required to verify their clients identities when they open an account. Banks also need to report to Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network if they suspect money laundering or fraud.

Private equity firms in the European Union and the United Kingdom also follow similar guidelines.

U.S. private investments were supposed to be covered by the new dirty money laws that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the sudden interest in rooting out terror financing. But Treasury officials gave a range of businesses, including investment firms and real estate, temporary exemptions so regulators could focus on other industries.

Those temporary exemptions are now two decades old.

Treasury has repeatedly proposed ending the carve-outs and requiring private equity firms and hedge funds to conduct due diligence on potential investors.

The agency last tried in 2015, where it was met with industry opposition.

The proposed regulation would have applied to most registered investment advisers who managed more than $100 million in assets.

Private equity firms and hedge funds would essentially need to start reporting like banks.

While some hedge funds appeared willing to accept new regulations, the private equity industry objected, lobbying and filing comment letters against the proposal.

One group of smaller private equity funds called the Small Business Investor Alliance argued in a comment letter that criminals were not attracted to its funds because they are long-term, illiquid investments.

The Association for Corporate Growth, a group that includes more than 1,000 private equity firms, said the rule would impose significant costs upon advisers to private equity funds and other illiquid pooled investment vehicles but not prevent or deter money laundering in any meaningful way.

And the Private Equity Growth Capital Council - a trade group that has since changed its name to the American Investment Council - wrote that their products present negligible risks of money laundering.

Today, the American Investment Councils stance has not changed.

While it supports anti-money laundering regulations, Congress and (Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) have consistently chosen not to impose new AML requirements on private equity because of the lower risk profile, Emily Schillinger, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a statement.

Gary Kalman, U.S. director of the anti-corruption group Transparency International, is skeptical of these industry claims.

It seems improbable to me that the U.S. private equity market is as pure as the driven snow, Kalman said. I think thats the dirty little secret: We dont know how much money is hidden away because no one has to report anything.

The loophole for private equity looms even larger since the United States overhauled its corporate transparency laws last year.

Lawmakers passed a bill that will eventually require any company created or registered in the United States to report its owners identities to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, ending the anonymity once promised by shell companies - shields often wielded by wealthy investors or others trying to avoid exposure. While the reports are intended for law enforcement, they are not required to be made public.

Last fall, a small group of U.S. lawmakers proposed a bill to include art dealers, investment advisers and others under anti-money laundering rules. No action has been taken on their measure. In December, Treasury proposed new anti-money laundering rules for the real estate market, which would bring that sector in line with transparency requirements for other financial services. And the White House announced that same month a strategy on countering corruption that includes a plan to ask the Treasury Department to re-examine its 2015 proposal for anti-money laundering rules for private investments.

For now, private equity remains untouched.

As the United States and other countries impose sanctions on wealthy Russians, experts said the job is harder without transparency for a huge investment sector.

We simply dont know whats out there, said Kirschenbaum, the former Treasury official.
Travel to Turkey for Defense Department personnel and command-sponsored family members no longer requires approval at the component commander level, according to new U.S. European Command rules, which also bar solo trips to Turkey.

EUCOM is updating its travel requirements for Turkey to align with Defense Department and State Department guidance, a spokesman for the command said Tuesday. Under the new rules, all travel to Turkey must include at least two people, according to EUCOM.

This can include DOD personnel, civilian personnel involved in the mission or family members, said a statement from U.S. Air Forces in EuropeAir Forces Africa.

The command announced Friday that it had updated its Turkey travel requirements in line with EUCOM guidance, officials said.

The two-person travel policy is the rule, and exceptions will not be granted solely on unavailability of a second person, USAFE-AFAFRICA said.

Exceptions may be considered for family members visiting personnel assigned to Turkey, a USAFE-AFAFRICA spokesman said Wednesday.

Previously, USAFE personnel needed approval from the USAFE-AFAFRICA commander or his designee to travel to Turkey, EUCOM said.

Travel to southeastern Turkey requires approval from the first O-6  either a colonel or a Navy captain  or the GS-15 civilian equivalent in ones chain of command, according to the updated travel policy.

The policy extends to the following provinces: Hataty, Kilis, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Mardin, Sirnak, Hakkari, Adana, Kahramanmaras, Diyarbakir, Malatya, Osmaniye, Batman, Siirt, Van, Britlis and Adiyaman. It applies to all official travel, emergency leave and unofficial travel, according to the updated rules.

DOD personnel, including family members, are required to enroll in the State Departments smart traveler program prior to entering or traveling within Turkey.

Unofficial travel to Turkey for DOD personnel had generally been banned since 2015 because of the deteriorating security situation in the country. But as of 2016, general officers were granted the authority to waive the prohibition for people in their command.

In September 2016, DOD made all assignments to Turkey one-year unaccompanied tours.

That decision came about six months after the Pentagon pulled hundreds of family members of military personnel out of Incirlik Air Base and smaller bases in Izmir and Mugla.
(Tribune Content Agency)  Former Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, the Army veteran and far-right Republican who was found by a House-commissioned investigation to have planned and participated in domestic terrorism, is in a small town in Poland with more than 60 Ukrainian children, trying to facilitate their adoption in America.

Shea has said his group helped rescue 62 children and their two adult caregivers from an orphanage in Mariupol, the city in southeastern Ukraine that has been bombarded by Russian forces.

But international agencies say, with the chaos and confusion of war, now is not an appropriate time for international adoptions from Ukraine. And Shea's presence, and the lack of information surrounding the American group he's with, has raised concerns among some residents of Kazimierz Dolny, the small Polish town where the children are staying at a hotel-guesthouse.

"I asked him many times, 'What are you going to do with these children?' and he told me that it's not my business,'" Weronika Ziarnicka, an aide to the mayor of Kazimierz Dolny, said of Shea. "I got the feeling in my gut that something's wrong with this guy; he didn't want to tell me his last name."

Shea, who rarely speaks to mainstream media, did not respond to requests for comment.

Speaking on a Polish television show, "Idz Pod Prad," Shea said he was working with a Texas group called Loving Families and Homes for Orphans (he also called the group Loving Homes and Families for Orphans).

"It is a hosting organization that hosts Ukrainian orphans in America with Ukrainian families with the intent that ultimately that ends in adoption," Shea said on the show. "It's been doing this hosting program for several years."

Loving Families and Homes for Orphans appears to have a website, but it is nonfunctional.

The group, based in Fort Worth, registered with the Texas secretary of state in 2018. No such group is registered as an adoption agency with the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. The group is also not registered with the Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity, the group that oversees American agencies involved in international adoption.

A nonprofit group called Loving Families and Homes for Orphans was registered in Florida just one month ago. It lists its purpose as: "To provide loving and caring homes and families for the orphans from other countries for a short time period."

The group was registered by Irina N. Sipko of Palm Coast, Fla. Sipko did not return requests for comment.

Artur Pomianowski, the mayor of Kazimierz Dolny, said in a post on Facebook that he'd visited the children and they are safe and being well cared-for. He also said the "case is being investigated and clarified by the relevant authorities" and that the kids would not leave Kazimierz Dolny without consent of the authorities.

"I do not know what Matt Shea and his friends are doing here around children," Pomianowski said in an email. "Mr. Shea and his friends have given us some contradictory information and, for that reason, it is difficult for us to trust them."

In a statement posted to Facebook by Dom Dziennikarza, the journalists' guesthouse where the children are staying, Loving Families and Homes for Orphans says it is a Christian organization based in Texas and that Sipko is the director.

"We are in direct contact with the governments of Ukraine and the United States, supported by the highest levels of politicians, international and local church leaders as well as dozens of companies from Ukraine, the USA and Poland," the statement says.

The U.S. State Department did not directly respond when asked if they'd been in contact with Loving Families, but a spokesperson warned: "Only accredited Adoption Service Providers are authorized to facilitate intercountry adoptions of children to the United States."

It can be extremely difficult in wartime to determine whether children who appear to be orphans truly are eligible for adoption, the State Department said.

"It is not uncommon in dangerous situations for parents to send their children out of the area, for safety reasons, or for families to become separated during an emergency," the State Department spokesperson said. "Even when a child's parents have died, children are often cared for by other relatives. Also, many children living in orphanages in Ukraine are not orphans."

The National Council for Adoption said this is not the time for U.S. citizens to be considering adoption from Ukraine, as many families fleeing the war become separated.

"It is paramount that the identities of these children and their families be clearly established, and their social, legal, and familial status is fully verified by governmental authorities," the council said. "For most of these children, we cannot do that at this time."

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees and UNICEF put out a joint statement calling for temporary and foster care for children but saying "Adoption should not occur during or immediately after emergencies."

Shea, who represented Spokane Valley in the state House for 12 years, opted not to seek reelection in 2020, after the House-commissioned report found he had planned and participated in domestic terrorism against the United States with his involvement in a trio of standoffs against the government.

That report alleged that Shea assisted "in the planning and preparation" of the 2016 armed takeover at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Eastern Oregon. It also examined Shea's travel to the 2014 armed standoff in Bunkerville, Nev., and a 2015 conflict in Bonner County, Idaho.

Following the report, Shea was suspended by the House Republican caucus, and urged to resign, although they declined to expel him from the Legislature.

Shea, who wants to create a 51st state in Eastern Washington, once distributed a four-page outline called "Biblical Basis for War" and has long been linked to Christian extremist movements. Shea's wife, Viktoriya, was born in Ukraine.

Shea, a lawyer, also became pastor of Covenant Church of Spokane in 2020. But he was "let go" after less than a year, the church's prior pastor told The Spokesman-Review. He then started his own congregation, On Fire Ministries, where he is senior pastor.

On the Polish television show, which was broadcast last week, Shea appears with Polish pastor Pawel Chojecki, a right-wing commentator who's spoken disparagingly about Catholics, and whom Shea has previously conducted interviews with.

Shea, identified as a pastor and "former congressman," says on the show that his group was asked to help get the children out of Ukraine. As he answers each question, he checks off an item on the papers in front of him.

Shea's interviewer asks about "haters" who allege that he engaged in domestic terrorism and that his organization has "no legal basis for caring for children."

"The interaction that I've had with terrorists is fighting against them in Iraq and Bosnia," says Shea, an Army veteran. "What is very upsetting is that elements here in Poland, using Russian-style propaganda, have brought in politics and religion into a humanitarian issue."

Shea says that among the children who arrived in Poland in early March, there are three groups.

The first group, Shea said, was in the process of being adopted by Ukrainian families in America, but had not gotten the approval of Ukrainian courts, "and now that's not possible due to the war."

The second group, he said, had been hosted in America, but were at an earlier stage in the process. And the third group had not begun the adoption process, he said.

"We want to make sure that we establish, essentially, normalcy in their lives," Shea said. "We have been working with the Ukrainian government, we have been working with the American government, this entire process."

Ziarnicka, the mayoral aide, said she first went to check on the children after she was contacted by a group of local volunteers who were concerned about the situation.

When she talked with Shea, she said he "got really angry," refused to tell her his last name and asked to see her ID.

"I said 'You are American on Polish ground, why should I show you my document?'" Ziarnicka said. "I just want to talk to people who have the legal right to these children."

Shea told her that he'd spoken with the mayor, Ziarnicka said, and that everything was OK.

"And I know it's not true because the mayor is the one that asked me to go," she said.

Another local volunteer, who asked to remain anonymous because she was targeted and harassed when she previously spoke publicly about the situation, said they tried to find documentation supporting the claims of Shea's group, but found none.

"Whenever anyone wants to speak with Ukrainian supervisors or spend time with the kids, they need to have permission from those Americans, which is really weird," she said.

When Ziarnicka eventually found Shea's last name, from some of the local volunteers, she Googled him and grew more concerned reading about his past.

She said Shea accused her of being anti-American, anti-Protestant and a "Russian troll."

"I don't know what's going to happen next, but things are getting really ugly," she said.

(c)2022 The Seattle Times

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

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WASHINGTON  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made an emotional appeal to Congress on Wednesday for air cover against invading Russian forces as the U.S. unleashed a new wave of military support for his embattled country.

Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death for thousands of people, he told U.S. lawmakers in a historic address by a wartime leader. This is a terror that Europe has not seen for 80 years and we are asking for a reply, for an answer.

The White House responded hours later with $800 million in new military assistance to Ukraine, including anti-aircraft weapons to defend Ukrainian air space from Russian attacks. The U.S. aid also included anti-armor weapons, small arms, ammunition, drones and other equipment. Combined with the new package, the U.S. has sent about $2 billion in military support to the war-torn country in the past year.

However, Zelenskyys most urgent demand, a no-fly zone over Ukraine, was not met. President Joe Biden refuses to protect the Ukrainian sky because it would put the U.S. military and NATO in direct conflict with Russian forces and potentially lead to a world war.

Zelenskyy has remained persistent in his plea for the zone, repeating his request to the Canadian Parliament, Britains House of Commons and the European Parliament this month. To convince U.S. lawmakers to close the sky over Ukraine, Zelenskyy played a graphic video showing the human toll of Russias furious assault on its neighbor.

Members of Congress were visibly moved by the footage of bombs exploding in Ukrainian cities, bodies being placed into mass graves and bloodied civilians receiving medical treatment. Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., urged every mother and father to watch the video with their families.

Everybody knows who Zelenskyy is. The man has the courage of his convictions, he said. Everybody knows who [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is. He believes in murdering women and children  you can see it in the video.

Zelenskyy asked lawmakers on Wednesday to remember the darkened skies during Pearl Harbor and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He said Ukraine is experiencing that same carnage every day, right now at this moment.

If the U.S. cannot close the skies to Russian bombardment, Zelenskyy offered an alternative: send Kyiv air-defense systems and aircraft. He told lawmakers to pursue sanctions against every Russian politician who has not denounced the war and pressure companies in their districts and states to leave the Russian market.

Invoking Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream speech, Zelenskyy said, I have a need.

Zelenskyy addressed lawmakers in Ukrainian, sitting in his trademark military green T-shirt beside a Ukrainian flag. But he made his last appeal in English, speaking directly to Biden and referencing the historic standing of the U.S. as the leader of the free world.

To be the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace, he said.

Zelenskyys virtual speech to lawmakers came amid backlash in Congress to the White Houses decision last week to nix a delivery of fighter jets from NATO ally Poland to Ukraine. Poland offered to provide its neighbor with the Soviet-era jets if the U.S. acted as a middleman for the transfer  a proposal U.S. officials feared Russia would interpret as an escalation of the war.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers have shown strong support for pouring military and humanitarian aid into Ukraine, approving a $14 billion assistance package last week for the battered country. They overwhelmingly rallied around Zelenskyy on Wednesday, touched by Ukraines fight for democracy and survival.

President Zelenskyys steadfast leadership and unwavering resolve has not only inspired the fighting spirit among Ukrainians as they defend their land, freedom and future, but also people throughout the world watching Ukraine hold the line for liberal democracies around the globe, said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. It is clear that more must be done to assist Ukraine and hold Putin to account.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., agreed with Zelenskyys request to sanction Russian politicians and he said American companies should pull out of Russia and its ally Belarus. He urged Congress to pass a bill to end normal trade relations with Russia and ban all Russian imports.

The United States has the power to give Ukraine what it needs to win and ensure Putin and his thugs personally feel the pain of this ruthless and unlawful invasion, Scott said. We must use it.

Scott and 41 other Republican senators implored President Biden last week to boost Ukrainian air power through the transfer of planes. On Sunday, nearly 60 members of the Houses bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus asked the White House to reconsider rejection of the Polish fighter jet deal.

Russias advantage in this domain could soon develop into air dominance if the Ukrainians do not receive necessary military aid, members wrote in a statement. This is a pragmatic solution to expeditiously provide the Ukrainians with aircraft that Ukrainian pilots have flown and their service members can maintain.

Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, has spoken out against the Polish offer, saying it would not appreciably increase the effectiveness of the Ukrainian air force. The U.S. and its NATO allies should instead supply Ukraine with more anti-tank and air-defense systems, he said.

The Ukrainians are making excellent use of these weapons now, Wolters said in a statement. Although Russian air capabilities are significant, their effectiveness remains limited due to Ukrainian strategic, operational and tactical ground-based air defense systems.

The air space over Ukraine remains contested, according to defense officials, with Russia failing to achieve air superiority three weeks into its invasion of Ukraine. Russias military far outnumbers Ukraines, however, and its forces still have 90% of combat power available, a U.S. defense official said Tuesday.

There was no broad support on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to institute a no-fly zone despite Zelenskyy's impassioned appeal. Though sympathetic to Ukraine's plight, lawmakers remained jittery that directly involving American or NATO forces would plunge the U.S. into a war with another nuclear power.

Zelenskyy called on us to be leaders of the world and the leaders of peace, said Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif. That means not getting the world  and the billions of civilians who would be impacted  into a nuclear war.
CAIRO  The United Nations is appealing for $4.27 billion for Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country, with 161,000 people likely to experience famine there in 2022.

The virtual pledging conference is co-hosted by Sweden and Switzerland to alleviate what the U.N. says is the word's worst humanitarian crisis.

"Two in three Yemenis  20 million men, women and children -- live in extreme poverty," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told donors from New York. "Today, we must do everything we can to bridge immediate funding gaps and strengthen aid delivery. We cannot cut people adrift from humanitarian aid."

The conference comes as world attention focuses on the war in Ukraine, which has overshadowed other humanitarian crises since the Russian invasion on Feb. 24  raising concerns that that Yemen's plight may be forgotten. Over 3 million people have fled Ukraine, in Europe's largest exodus since World War II.

A prolonged conflict in Ukraine is likely to make it harder for Yemenis to meet their basic needs, as food prices, especially the cost of grain, are likely to increase. Yemen depends almost entirely on food imports, with 22% of its wheat imports coming from Ukraine, according to the World Food Program.

"The horrendous situation in Ukraine will have an indirect and direct impact on our ability to assist children in Yemen," said Philippe Duamelle, UNICEF's representative in Yemen. "Operations around the world will be more expensive."

Last year's conference raised only some $1.7 billion for Yemen, out of $3.85 billion the U.N. had appealed for as the coronavirus pandemic and its devastating consequences hit economies around the globe. The U.N. chief at the time called the 2021 result "disappointing."

However, the overall amount reached over $2.3 billion by the end of 2021, according to Guterres.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. will donate nearly $585 million in aid to Yemen this year. He also called for an end to the grinding war.

"We have to work relentlessly to bring the conflict to an end, knowing that as long as it goes on so will the humanitarian crisis," he said.

Yemen's war started in 2014 when the Iran-backed rebel Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north. A Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition intervened months later to dislodge the rebels and restore the internationally recognized government.

The conflict has in recent years become a regional proxy war that has killed more than 150,000 people, including over 14.500 civilians. The war has also created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, leaving millions suffering from food and medical care shortages and pushing the country to the brink of famine.

The majority of Yemen's roughly 32 million people live in Houthi-held areas. The rebels have for years been implicated in aid theft and withholding in extortion schemes.

U.N. experts earlier this year said they documented that the rebels provided or denied humanitarian aid to families "solely on the basis whether their children participated in fighting or to teachers on the basis of whether they taught the Houthi curriculum."

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, has warned that a total of 19 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity by the second half of this year  an increase of around 20% compared to the first six months of 2021. About 161,000 people are likely to experience famine, it said.

OCHA said that half of the country's health facilities are shuttered or destroyed. It said the Yemeni currency, the rial, lost 57% of its value in 2021 in government-run areas, while persistent fuel shortages drove up the prices of food and other basic commodities in the Houthi-controlled north.

It said 4.3 million Yemenis have been driven from their homes; around one-fifth of newly displaced people in 2021 were in the energy-rich province of Marib which Houthis have attempted to seize for over a year, it said.

Ghalib al-Najjar and his family lives in the Dharwan camp on the outskirts the rebel-held Sanaa. The 48-year-old father, his wife, and seven children are at risk of famine amid price hikes and lack of humanitarian assistance.

"In the morning, half of us are fasting and I'm doing my best to provide food - if available - to the others," he said in a recent interview. "We live like ants on the ground or fish in the sea. We eat what we find on our way."

With the $4.27 billion for Yemen, the U.N. aims to provide support to 17.3 million people in 2022, out of the 23.4 million who need aid, OCHA said.

The conference comes as peace efforts stall, with fighting escalating since the beginning of 2022. The Saudi-led coalition has stepped up its support to government ground forces to fend off the Houthis' offensive on Marib. Clashes have also intensified elsewhere, and the Houthis accelerated their cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Speakers from around the globe called on warring parties to de-escalate.

"We must address the underlying drivers of humanitarian need, break the cycle of violence, and change Yemen's trajectory," the U.N. chief said. "Allowing the war to continue is a choice. So is ending it. I appeal to the parties to choose peace."
(Tribune News Service)  A retired Chinese secret police officer was charged Wednesday with a plot to undermine the congressional campaign of a former Tiananmen Square protester running for Congress on Long Island.

The agent, Qiming Lin, hired a private investigator in the United States to research the Democratic candidate running for Congress in Suffolk County. The complaint did not identify the candidate, but details matched Xiong Yan, a former student leader of the Tiananmen Square protests who later served in the U.S. military.

The agent allegedly suggested digging into the candidates sex life and determining whether he was gay or viewed child porn. Lin even suggested physically hurting the candidate if the private eye failed to find dirt on him, according to the complaint.

The six-month scheme began in September and continued up to Tuesday, the feds said.

Right now we dont want him to be elected, Lin, a former officer in the Chinese Ministry of State Security, wrote in a message to the private investigator, according to the complaint unsealed in Brooklyn Federal Court.

While Lin was retired from his law enforcement career in China, an FBI agent wrote in the complaint said that he continued to act on behalf of the [Ministry of State Security] even if ostensibly retired.

Lin was allegedly desperate to prevent the candidate from winning the race.

If you dont find anything after following him for a few weeks, can we manufacture something? Lin texted.

Yan was a student leader during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and was arrested by the Chinese government for his involvement after the country put him on its most wanted list.

He was detained for 19 months before coming to the United States as a refugee in 1992. He served in the military from 1994 to 2003.

Lin indicated that he wanted the [private investigator] to see if there could be a scandal about the Victim that could be publicly released, such as an extramarital affair or stealing water, wrote FBI agent Jason Moritz, noting that stealing water is Cantonese slang for stealing money.

In another call two days later, Lin asked the investigator to dig up any dirt on the candidate from 1989, including on extramarital affairs; affairs; uh, sexual harassment; or child porn; eh, [homosexual activity], things of that nature, the feds wrote.

In the same conversation, Lin suggested creating an improper sexual encounter for the candidate.

You go find a girl for him [the Victim], see if he would take the bait, he told the investigator.

You go find a girl ... Or see how he ... goes for prostitution, take some photos, something of that nature, Lin said.

If they couldnt find any negative information, Lin suggested injuring the candidate, prosecutors said.

In the end, violence would be fine too. Huh? Beat him [chuckles], beat him until he cannot run for election. Heh, thats the last resort. You think about it. Car accident, [he] will be completely wrecked [chuckles], right? Lin allegedly said in a voicemail to the private investigator.

On Tuesday, the private investigator and Lin spoke a final time. Lin slowed the operation down, saying he hadnt gotten full approval on certain aspects from his bosses, according to the feds.

They have not given the final approval yet, he allegedly said. Because the Communist party, as you know ... Its not just one person who can call the shots.

2022 New York Daily News.

Visit nydailynews.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Department of Treasury on Wednesday gave a new international body a list of 50 Russian elites that the United States views as its top priorities for enacting new sanctions, as global law enforcement steps up its hunt for the assets of oligarchs tied to the Kremlin.

Treasury officials provided the list to the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) task force, a new multinational body involving the United States and more than a half-dozen allied nations, for the groups first meeting. The task force will pool the resources of the countries law enforcement divisions to track down the assets of Russian oligarchs stashed overseas, a difficult task complicated by the opaque or complicated financial instruments frequently used by Russian financial elites to hide their holdings from public view.

Treasury publicly released 28 of the 50 names on the list, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian mega-billionaire Alisher Usmanov, among other top government officials. Treasury officials declined to share the other 22 names. One person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to frankly describe the sanctions, said administration officials typically do not want the names of sanctioned oligarchs to be known ahead of time, because that could help them evade the penalties.

Treasurys list reflects how the Western allies are ramping up their attempts to ensure that their sanctions measures - which typically block the sanctioned individuals from accessing their assets - are effectively implemented. The United States has sanctioned more than 200 Russian oligarchs and entities since the invasion of Ukraine, according to an estimate by the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. The European Union has sanctioned more than twice that number.

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland joined a virtual meeting of the new international task force on Wednesday morning. The multinational task force includes representatives from America, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Commission.

What Treasurys priority is right now is expanding the global reach of the individuals who have already been sanctioned by U.S. review, and I think theyre giving countries the opportunity to say theyre joining an international effort, said Daniel Glaser, who served in the Treasury Departments Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence under the Obama administration and is now the global head of jurisdictional services at K2 Integrity, a risk compliance firm.

The Department of Justice has also announced a separate effort, called Task Force KleptoCapture, to coordinate numerous law enforcement agencies - including the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Bureau of Investigations and Southern District of New York - in the attempt to uncover where sanctioned Russians are keeping their assets.

The sanctions on Russian elite represent one part of the Wests broader effort to punish Russia financially for the invasion of Ukraine. Many of these measures - such as targeting the countrys central bank reserves - are likely to hurt the country as a whole, but the sanctions on oligarchs are designed to hit only a smaller circle of powerful individuals.

Making people close to Putin pay a price is, to my view, ideal. ... Theyve certainly gone way further than they have in the past, said Dean Baker, a liberal economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a center-left think tank. Its not clear how many people can really influence Putin, but those are the people you most want to hit. I dont see a downside.

Russia responded to the wests economic countermeasures on Tuesday by imposing sanctions on President Biden, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki, and other administration officials. Those measures are viewed as ineffective, however, because few Americans have Russian bank accounts or any assets in that country.

Usmanovs company Metalloinvest, a mining firm, said in a previous statement that it considers the sanctions against him to be ungrounded and unfair. Usmanov also released a statement accusing the E.U. of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honour, dignity and business reputation.
WASHINGTON  President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved a new $800 million security assistance package for Ukraine, bringing U.S. military aid to the war-torn country to $1 billion since last week.

"The world is united in our support for Ukraine and our determination to make Putin pay a very heavy price. America's leading this effort, together with our allies and partners, providing an enormous level of security and humanitarian assistance that we're adding to today, Biden said in a public address from the White House.

The $800 million is the highest amount given in a single security assistance package to Ukraine and will include weapons to help defend Ukrainian airspace from Russian attacks, the president said.

This new package on its own is going to provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine, Biden said. It includes 800 [Stinger]anti-aircraft systems to make sure the Ukrainian military can continue to stop the planes and helicopters that have been attacking their people and to defend the Ukrainian airspace."

The White House said the assistance package also includes 2,000 Javelin anti-tank systems, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems.

Biden said sending 9,000 portable, high-accuracy, shoulder-mounted anti-armor systems will help because Ukrainians have already been using [such systems] with great effect to destroy invading tanks and armored vehicles.

The package will also include 100 tactical drones, which Biden said demonstrates the U.S. commitment to sending our most cutting-edge systems to Ukraine for its defense.

Additionally, the U.S. will provide 7,000 small arms, such as machine guns, shotguns, grenade launchers and about 20 million rounds of ammunition, and 25,000 sets of body armor and helmets, according to the White House.

The announcement came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Congress for such systems to strike down Russian air assaults.

Biden called Zelenskyys speech convincing and significant, and he said the U.S. has identified and are helping Ukraine acquire additional longer-range and aircraft systems and the munitions for those systems.

During his address to Congress, Zelenskyy pleaded for the U.S. to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but said the U.S. could instead send surface-to-air missile systems to help secure the skies against Russian assaults.

If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative: You know what kind of defense systems we need, S-300 and other similar [surface-to-air missile] systems, he said. You know how much depends on the battlefield on [Russias] ability to use aircraft."

The U.S. opposes a no-fly zone over Ukraine because it would put U.S. forces in direct contact with Russian forces. Biden has repeatedly pledged not to send American service members into the country to fight the Russians.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine needs powerful, strong, aviation to protect our people, our freedom.

Lend [us] aircraft that can help Ukraine, help Europe, he said. You know that they exist and you have them, but they are not in Ukraine in the Ukrainian sky.

The comment came after the U.S. declined last week to accept Polish fighter jets to transfer to Ukraine.

The Pentagon on March 9 rejected a plan offered by Poland to donate its fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets to the U.S. to transfer to Ukraine, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at the time.

The intelligence community has assessed the transfer of MiG-29s to Ukraine may be mistaken as escalatory and could result in significant Russian reaction that might increase the prospects of a military escalation with NATO, he said.

Aside from the high-risk, the U.S. believes fighter jets are not among the systems that [Ukrainian forces] need most to defeat Russian aggression, Kirby said, noting the Ukrainian air force still had several squadrons of fully mission-capable aircraft.

As of Tuesday, Ukraine and Russia still had 90% of its combat power available, a senior defense official said.

We assess that adding aircraft to the Ukrainian inventory is not likely to significantly change the effectiveness of Ukrainian air force relative to Russian capabilities, Kirby said March 9. Therefore, we believe that the gain from transferring those MiG-29s is low.

With the new package, U.S. has now given about $2 billion in security assistance packages to Ukraine in the past year, and more than $6.4 billion since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, according to the State Department.

The White House on Wednesday for the first time named some of the weapons that the U.S. has sent in previous Ukrainian security assistance packages. Until now, the administration had kept the details of its packages mostly secret.

Previous packages included 600 Stingers, 2,600 Javelins, five Mi-17 helicopters, three patrol boats, four counter-artillery and counter-drone tracking radars, four counter-mortar radar systems, 200 grenade launchers and ammunition, as well as 200 shotguns and machine guns, 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition and more than 1 million grenade, mortar and artillery rounds, according to the statement.

The U.S. also has sent military vehicles that include 70 high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles, secure communications and electronic warfare detection systems, tactical gear, military medical supplies, explosive ordnance disposal and de-mining equipment, and satellite imagery and analysis capabilities, the White House said.

Biden on Tuesday signed into law a funding bill that allotted $3.5 billion to the Pentagon to help resupply U.S. military stocks of equipment already given out in security assistance packages, Defense Department spokesman Christopher Sherwood said.

The funds signed into law Tuesday will now allow the Pentagon to move expeditiously to deliver Bidens new security assistance package, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Wednesday.
LOS ANGELES  After touring the Department of Veterans Affairs campus in West Los Angeles last October and meeting veterans living in tents right outside its gates, VA Secretary Denis McDonough decided to focus the agencys resources on tackling veteran homelessness in the greater Los Angeles area, where the issue is at its worst.

According to the most recent data available, about 10% of all homeless veterans in the United States live in Los Angeles County.

McDonough started his efforts in Los Angeles by promising to get all homeless veterans living in the homeless encampment known as Veterans Row into housing by Nov. 1, 2021. The row of tents lined San Vicente Boulevard, along one end of the West Los Angeles VA campus. About 40 veterans were living there when McDonough visited in October.

In addition to eliminating Veterans Row, McDonough urged local VA officials to house another 500 homeless veterans in Los Angeles, either in temporary or permanent housing, in time for the holidays.

The VA surpassed those goals and got more than 700 veterans into temporary or permanent housing by the end of 2021. Some individuals living along Veterans Row moved inside VA grounds, where they now sleep in 8-by-8-foot shelters.

At the end of February, McDonough traveled to the campus again to check on progress since his first visit. He toured the community of tiny shelters that was created to replace Veterans Row, and he established new goals for VA staff. He expects the VA to help place at least 1,500 veterans in Los Angeles into permanent housing in 2022  a 10% increase over 2021.

While in Los Angeles, McDonough also participated in the federal governments annual point-in-time count, which is a nationwide effort to count the countrys homeless population.

Stars and Stripes caught up with McDonough during the visit. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

What do you think about the steps that have been taken regarding veteran homelessness in Los Angeles since you last visited in October 2021?

I'm proud. I'm proud of the work that the team is doing. You know, at every turn, people have said, This shouldn't happen, and We cant get the veterans off San Vicente. The veterans are in much safer positions now. More importantly, the veterans who were there  along with dozens of other veterans  are on the pathway to permanent housing, which is the goal here. So, I feel like our team is doing very important work. But that doesn't mean there's not work left to be done  there is. Specifically, to your question: How do I feel about the work that's been done since my last visit? I feel like we're moving the dial in important ways, but there's more work to be done.

Why do you think VA staff in Los Angeles were able to complete the goal you set of housing 500 veterans by the end of the year but werent able to do so before?

Well, I think they were doing a lot of good work before, one. And two, Congress has been very generous with investments. The Speaker of the House and the president have been very clear to me, personally, that this is a major priority, and that's why they've set aside significant  even historic  levels of funding to help us to ensure that we get it done. So, one, they had been doing good work, and two, Congress has invested heavily in this. And three is that there are really important partnerships here on the ground in Los Angeles, and those partnerships are maturing. Those are partnerships across the federal, state, and local level. They also include, importantly, independent community actors and privately funded actors. That coordination of effort is exceedingly important to having met that initial goal and will be really important to set the next aggressive goal that we lay out.

What do you see as the biggest challenge with housing veterans in Los Angeles?

We have a proven strategy called Housing First that has reduced the number of the homeless veterans in the country by half. We have committed resources from Congress that are at very substantial levels. And we have gotten better at identifying how to break logjams, including for example, logjams with the uptake of [housing] vouchers. What remains is for us to underscore that we will not tolerate the idea that theres a homeless veteran in this country. When we internalize that and we apply the urgency of our activity to the intensity of that principle, then we have all the other ingredients to get this done.

Why did you want to participate in the point-in-time count here?

I think it's really important to participate in this because it gives us a very close understanding of the challenges that homeless people in the country are facing. And obviously, in many cases, what homeless veterans are facing. That's really vital data for our policymaking. We also want to reassure the American people that we take this very, very seriously. I know that this is a topic of great concern around the country. By being here on the street, carrying out these counts, we want to demonstrate that we're very, very serious about this, and that we take very seriously not only the challenge but the stewardship of resources that the American people have dedicated to this challenge. And the third thing  I wanted to be in LA because there's more homeless veterans here than there are in any other one place in the country. And I want those veterans to know that I care about them, and I'm here to make sure I understand what they're going through.

Youve said you wanted the work here in Los Angeles to spark momentum across the country on the issue of veteran homelessness. Are you seeing that yet?

Were seeing really important work being done in other places that, by the way, can also help move the dial here. For example, just east of here in Riverside County, Calif., they've been at functional zero for veteran homelessness since 2016. That's because they're doing many of the things that we're doing here, including aggressive casework  getting to know each individual veteran to know that veterans story and to make sure that we connect that veteran to the resources available. But we've seen great progress in other places. I was just in Salt Lake City. We've seen progress in Salt Lake City, and weve seen important progress in New Orleans. The principle that we are solidifying in Los Angeles is that with a proven strategy, with historic resources, and with identifying proven strategies to break down heretofore difficult issues  to include, for example, the use of [housing] vouchers  we can get this done. And if we can get it done in the tightest housing market in the country, we can get it done anywhere.
Stillwater, OK (74074)

Today

Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low around 60F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low around 60F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected.
Changes to the SunCommercial's back end processing means the e-edition is getting a facelift. The biggest change is the e-edition, by default, is now presented in Text view.
llicit drug experts suspect 700kg of cocaine seized on a ship docked in Tauranga was destined for another country.

Customs announced the bust yesterday - New Zealand's biggest ever.

It tops another record sting two weeks ago, when 613kg of methamphetamine was found at Auckland Airport.

The cocaine arrived in packages in a shipping container that left South America in January.

Customs estimates it has a potential street value of $280 million.

Investigations manager Cam Moore says it's "extremely significant" and highlighted how organised crime groups are trying to "exploit" NZ for international drug smuggling.

He told RNZ "the use of borders and access through shipping routes is internationally a global trend, it's not just specific to New Zealand".

Massey University illegal drug researcher and associate professor Chris Wilkins says the cocaine packages would have well-exceeded demand.

"Cocaine use in New Zealand is really a boutique kind of market, most likely due to its high price. It's in kind of an affluent group, and it's not very widely used."

So he suspects the packages were meant to go across the ditch.

"In Australia, there's a much bigger market and drug smuggling organisations often use transit countries like New Zealand or some of the Pacific Islands to put drugs into Australia."

Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm says normally only 700g of cocaine is used across the country weekly - the shipment was 1000 times that.

"We're not even convinced that there would be a market for that amount in New Zealand, that it would so big. And maybe the intention was to ship that product on."

Helm also says busts are only part of the picture.

"Often times when we seize a bit of product or we clamp down on one supplier, someone else will pop up in their place, because we haven't reduced demand."

She says addiction programmes like Te Ara Oranga in Te Tai Tokerau, which police reported reduced participants' drug harm by 34 per cent, needed to be rolled out nationally, to slim the market for illicit drugs in Aotearoa.

-RNZ/Sam Olley.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority is standing by its ruling that a police officer was justified in shooting a Bay of Plenty man in 2016.

On July 6, 2017, the IPCA published its independent investigation into polices fatal shooting of Shargin Stephens, which occurred on July 14, 2016, in Rotorua.

The investigation found that a police officer was legally justified in fatally shooting Shargin Stephens after he threatened police and members of the public with a long-handled slasher.

In June 2021, the authority started a review of its investigation after issues were raised in the media and by representatives of Mr Stephens family.

In a statement released today, the IPCA says the review findings have been incorporated into a new report containing our full analysis and findings, some of which are new or different from the original 2017 report.

The main finding is unchanged, namely that the police officer was justified in shooting at Mr Stephens in defence of himself and members of the public.

Mr Stephens family and media alleged that camera footage of an officers Taser had been manipulated by police to remove a vital section covering the shooting.

We are satisfied there is no missing footage. There are seven seconds which are not captured on the Taser camera, most likely due to a common technical fault in the apparatus.

At the time of this incident, Stephens was on electronically monitored bail at his home. Police still regularly checked him for other bail conditions, namely not to consume alcohol or drugs.

Police records show Stephens was checked 70 times over 38 days, often on multiple occasions each day and overnight.

There are no records of Stephens breaching his bail conditions. His family complained about the frequency of the bail checks.

Our review has found that the number and frequency of bail checks was excessive and unreasonable in the circumstances, says authority chair Judge Colin Doherty.

There was no reason for police to check Stephens at his house as he was being electronically monitored, and there was no evidence he was breaching his bail conditions.

At the time of this incident there were no guidelines or expectations in police policy or practice setting out the expected or reasonable frequency of bail checks.

Crucially there was (and still is) no oversight or supervision of the frequency or reasonableness of bail checking.

The unreasonable and oppressive frequency of bail checking may have contributed to Mr Stephens views of Police and the actions he took on July 14, 2016.

However, the fact that unreasonable Police prior actions probably contributed to events does not justify Stephens specific actions at the time.

The Authority has recommended that Police undertake a fundamental review of all aspects of bail checking, making specific provisions for:

 Clear ownership of bail policy, practice, and procedure within Police, both at District and National levels, including development of a deployment model for bail checking.

 Guidance to officers of what constitutes reasonable bail checks (in terms of content, timing, and frequency).

 An appropriate mechanism for oversight of bail checks being undertaken at a frontline, district, and national level.

 Clarity of purpose of Police bail checks when a person is on electronically monitored bail.

 Criteria set out for how offenders are prioritised for checking.

In response to the IPCAs review, Bay of Plenty Police District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor says no officer ever wants to shoot someone, and this is the last outcome anyone wanted.

Bay of Plenty Police District Commander Superintendent Andy McGregor.

When an officer uses force to protect themselves or others, it is a tactical decision made after risk assessing the threat, the exposure to harm being faced, the necessity to act, and the best response considering all those factors.

Staff made repeated efforts to stop Stephens and de-escalate the situation but were unsuccessful.

Andy says police acknowledge the ICPAs findings that there was no missing footage, and that the number and frequency of bail checks was excessive and unreasonable.

He dismisses any allegations that police purposefully manipulated footage of the event.

Police recognises that use of force is a significant power granted to us and we police with the consent of the public.

Our staff are deeply affected by these incidents, and I want to commend the professionalism of staff who responded to this incident which, as the authority notes was fast paced and took place in a busy urban environment.

A review of our bail check processes has begun as per the IPCA's recommendations.
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Weather Alert

...FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma, including the following counties, in Arkansas, Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Madison, Sebastian and Washington AR. In Oklahoma, Adair, Cherokee, Choctaw, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Haskell, Latimer, Le Flore, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Pittsburg, Pushmataha, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner and Washington OK. * WHEN...Through Thursday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Main-stem river flooding is expected in several locations. Extensive low land flooding will be likely in some areas, especially where the heavier rain has already occurred. Many low-water crossings will likely become flooded. Area creeks and streams are already running high and will likely flood with more heavy rain. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - Additional rounds of thunderstorms with very heavy rain are expected this evening through the overnight hours. Widespread 2 to 3 inches of rain is expected with locally higher amounts of 5 to 6 inches. The heavier rain will begin to shift east of far southeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas Thursday afternoon. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor the latest forecast and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action quickly should flooding develop. Be especially cautious while driving at night. Do not drive through water of unknown depth. &&
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Neversaygbye BHPian



Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Calcutta Posts: 221 Thanked: 691 Times

View My Garage





Vintage cars and a breakfast meet in North Calcutta







While North Calcutta has a certain old world charm that is unique and walking down its lanes and bylanes is like walking through the pages of history, the reason for selecting this particular rendezvous point was its proximity to one of the most famous Bengali sweet shops in Calcutta - the over a century old Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy, which till this day churns out authentic gastronomic masterpieces masquerading as Bengali sweets.















Mile_Breaker's Hexa parked in front of the sweets shop.







We had our fill of kochuris and bought sufficient amount of sweets to last us for at least a few days.











Breakfast done, turboNath and I decided that we would visit the Vintage and Classic car show that was happening at one of the clubs.







You can read about the event here:



https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...lkata-7820110/



In case the article goes missing, here is the gist of it:



"The Eastern India Motoring Group (EIMG), in association with Ace Commercial, on Sunday organised an event showcasing vintage cars in Kolkata, highlighting the citys automobile heritage. This event was hosted in the city for the first time and the vehicles were judged by curator Shrivardhan Kanoria, an eminent vintage car collector/restorer who is also the founding president of EIMG, along with his Concours Restorations team.



Around 80 best heritage vehicles of Eastern India, including five vintage Rolls-Royces, were selected by Kanoria for the event, the release said."



BHPian turboNath and I attended this event. To be honest, the event surpassed our expectations. We had never imagined that there would be such a line up of vintage cars and even motorcycles. There was a pristinely maintained Triumph, many RRs, Plymouth, Buick and even a Standard Herald! The bikes were mostly BSA.



Over to the photos of the event.



















BHPian turboNath admiring one of the beauties







































Yours truly in front of one of five Rolls that were on display.



























One of the cars refused to start when it was time to go home. Maintaining these cars and keeping them in running condition must be a difficult task indeed.











BHPian turboNath and I







All photos courtesy BHPians ABHI_1512, turboNath, Mile_Breaker, HornNotOkPlease, ron82x3 and yours truly. Last Sunday, i.e. on 13th Feb some of us BHPians got together to have a breakfast of "kochuri-alu'r torkari" (kachori-potato curry) at one of the hole-in-the wall outlets in North Calcutta.While North Calcutta has a certain old world charm that is unique and walking down its lanes and bylanes is like walking through the pages of history, the reason for selecting this particular rendezvous point was its proximity to one of the most famous Bengali sweet shops in Calcutta - the over a century old Girish Chandra Dey and Nakur Chandra Nandy, which till this day churns out authentic gastronomic masterpieces masquerading as Bengali sweets.Mile_Breaker's Hexa parked in front of the sweets shop.We had our fill of kochuris and bought sufficient amount of sweets to last us for at least a few days.Breakfast done, turboNath and I decided that we would visit the Vintage and Classic car show that was happening at one of the clubs.You can read about the event here:In case the article goes missing, here is the gist of it:"The Eastern India Motoring Group (EIMG), in association with Ace Commercial, on Sunday organised an event showcasing vintage cars in Kolkata, highlighting the citys automobile heritage. This event was hosted in the city for the first time and the vehicles were judged by curator Shrivardhan Kanoria, an eminent vintage car collector/restorer who is also the founding president of EIMG, along with his Concours Restorations team.Around 80 best heritage vehicles of Eastern India, including five vintage Rolls-Royces, were selected by Kanoria for the event, the release said."BHPian turboNath and I attended this event. To be honest, the event surpassed our expectations. We had never imagined that there would be such a line up of vintage cars and even motorcycles. There was a pristinely maintained Triumph, many RRs, Plymouth, Buick and even a Standard Herald! The bikes were mostly BSA.Over to the photos of the event.BHPian turboNath admiring one of the beautiesYours truly in front of one of five Rolls that were on display.One of the cars refused to start when it was time to go home. Maintaining these cars and keeping them in running condition must be a difficult task indeed.BHPian turboNath and IAll photos courtesy BHPians ABHI_1512, turboNath, Mile_Breaker, HornNotOkPlease, ron82x3 and yours truly.
Phone calls may be placed to recipients on the traditional telephone networks. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free of charge, while calls to landline telephones and mobile phones are charged via a debit-based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features, including file transfer, and videoconferencing.

Microsoft and Facebook Account Integration

Sign up and sign-in is easier than ever. You can now sign into Skype using your Microsoft or Facebook account - there's no need to create a new Skype account. This makes it even easier to connect with friends on Skype without having to set up another account.

IM friends on Messenger

Now you can instant message your Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail and Outlook.com contacts via Skype all in one place. If you use a Microsoft account today, merging your accounts is easy - just sign in to Skype with your Microsoft account.

Calling with Messenger friends is coming soon

We're working on polishing a feature which will enable audio and video calls to Windows Live Messenger customers using Skype desktop clients. The feature will be available in coming weeks.

Open Chats in Multiple Windows

We hear your feedback! With this release we've added support to open chats in multiple windows.

Retina Display Support

We also added another feature you've asked for - support Retina display. Now you can take full advantage of improved usability and of higher resolution screens

See a slideshow of other participants in a group call when you are the current speaker

When you are the current speaker in a group call, you will see a slideshow of other participants in the call monitor. When you are the current speaker in a group call and someone else is screen sharing, you will see a slideshow of the other participants in the main call view.

New In-Call DTMF dial pad

We have introduced a new in-call dial pad for generating DTMF tones. When you press the dial pad in the call toolbar while you are in a call with a phone number, the in-call dial pad will be displayed in the call screen.

Please update to the latest version of Skype for Mac and leave us feedback by visiting our Support Network or by reporting issues on our public issue tracker.

Infinite chat scrolling

We have introduced a new way of loading history. Each time you scroll upward, more and more messages will be loaded from history. Scrolling is motion sensitive, the faster you scroll the more messages load. To jump back in history. Ctrl + click anywhere (or right click) in the chat and select "Jump back " and select the period you want to jump back to. We have also separated dates from the timestamps and created date sections instead to make it more visible in the chat. Skype will index all chat history when you first login and consume less resources after indexing completion.

Improved find within the chat

We have redesigned the find functionality to be part of the chat view, instead of opening in a separate window. You can easily navigate between results and see the total number of matches in the chat. Current match is highlighted in yellow. You can also search strings by using "Starts with" or "Contains" option. Recent searches are stored so that you can reuse them in the future.

Custom Chat Styles removal

We have removed custom chat styles to ensure consistency across our clients. If you prefer a more compact layout for your chat, you can go to preferences > messaging > "use compact chat style"

Improved send and receive contacts

We have redesigned the way contacts are sent and received by users. When multiple contacts are sent, the recipient will see an expandable list in the conversation and can either add them all at once or add them one by one. If the received contact is already in the contacts list, or is blocked, the recipient will see the relevant status.

Improved file transfer

We have improved file transfer allowing users to reaccept the file when receiving. File transfer will remain active till the sender cancels it.
In context: Antivirus giant Kaspersky Lab has responded to a warning put out by the German government advising users of its software that they could be susceptible to cyberattacks or snooping. The Moscow-based company said the advisory is based on political motivations and not technical assessments.

The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) issued the warning following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "A Russian IT manufacturer can carry out offensive operations itself, be forced against its will to attack target systems, or be spied on as a victim of a cyber operation without its knowledge or as a tool for attacks against its own customers," the BSI writes (via the BBC, which translated the message).

The BSI recommends Kaspersky antivirus products be replaced with alternatives.

As it has done several times in the past, Kaspersky Lab, which says it moved its data-processing infrastructure to Switzerland in 2018, denied it has any links to or could be coerced by the Russian government. "We believe this decision is not based on a technical assessment of Kaspersky products -- that we continuously advocated for with the BSI and across Europe -- but instead is being made on political grounds," the company said.

"The security and integrity of our data services and engineering practices have been confirmed by independent third-party assessments [] We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument for resolving conflicts. War isn't good for anyone."

We welcome the start of negotiations to resolve the current situation in Ukraine and hope that they will lead to a cessation of hostilities and a compromise. We believe that peaceful dialogue is the only possible instrument for resolving conflicts. War isn't good for anyone.  Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) March 1, 2022

Kaspersky co-founder Yevgeny (Eugene) Kaspersky previously worked for the Russian military and was educated at a KGB-sponsored technical college, raising suspicions that his company may have close links to the country's government.

In 2017, Kaspersky Lab was facing claims over a possible compromise of its source code by Moscow. President Trump banned the use of its antivirus products on federal government machines in the same year, for which Kaspersky Lab filed a lawsuit. There have also been claims that hackers working on behalf of the Russian government stole secret details of the NSA's offensive and defensive cyber capabilities by exploiting Kaspersky antivirus software.
In context: Samsung landed in hot water recently after its latest flagship, the Galaxy S22, was discovered to be selectively throttling apps using Samsung's Game Optimizing Service, while excluding other apps and benchmarking tools like those from Geekbench. The latter determined it as benchmark manipulation and proceeded to ban all Galaxy S series models using GOS, all the way back to 2019's Galaxy S10.

During their in-depth testing of the Galaxy Tab S8 series, Android Police found both the S8 Ultra and S8+ variant to be throttling performance when they ran a modified version of Geekbench, renaming it to the popular game Genshin Impact.

The publication observed the tablets' performance declining by 18-24 percent for single-threaded CPU scores and 6-11 percent for multi-threaded scores. Moreover, older Galaxy Tab models, such as the S7, S7 FE and S5e didn't demonstrate this behavior during testing.

The culprit is believed to be Samsung's Game Optimizing Service and an associated list of 10,000 apps, which resulted in Geekbench delisting four generations of Galaxy S phones, plus legal troubles for Samsung.

Interestingly, Android Police notes that GOS doesn't affect all apps and is a sophisticated service that takes into account device temperature, power consumption and other system factors. Nevertheless, Geekbench promptly moved to delist the Tab S8 series for benchmark manipulation.

Thanks to @AndroidPolice, we became aware that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 makes performance decisions based on application identifiers rather than application behavior. We've delisted the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8 from our Android Benchmark chart. https://t.co/DlbWr2E6l3  Geekbench (@geekbench) March 14, 2022

The app throttling controversy also resulted in an apology from JH Han, Samsung's CEO of Device Experience, during a recent shareholders meeting. Although Han defended the use of GOS by noting that the service only limited CPU and GPU performance to an extent while not disturbing the gaming experience, the CEO promised that such an incident wouldn't happen again.

Samsung has also recently started pushing out a GOS update in South Korea for the Galaxy S22 to address this concern. While a global rollout for other S22 devices can be expected soon, it remains to be seen if this update also becomes available to older, Geekbench-delisted Galaxy S phones and the Tab S8 series.
A hot potato: Netflix isn't oblivious to the fact that lots of people share their account login details with others. It's one of the reasons why the streaming giant introduced separate profiles and allows for multiple simultaneous streams with select plans. The problem is that these features were designed for accounts to be shared under a single roof, not with relatives or friends halfway across the country.

Over the last year, Netflix has been working on ways to enable users who share outside their household to do so easily, securely and fairly. In the coming weeks, Netflix will start testing two features it has come up with to combat the issue.

The "add an extra member" option will allow standard and premium plan-holders to add up to two sub accounts for people they don't live with. Each sub account will have its own profile, recommendations and login credentials.

Existing remote users will be able to transfer their viewing profiles, either to new accounts or to an extra member sub account to retain their viewing history and personalized recommendations.

Netflix will trial the new approach in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, with pricing starting at 2,380 CLP in Chile, $2.99 USD in Costa Rica, and 7.9 PEN in Peru.

The approach feels like a reasonable compromise on Netflix's part, and seems better than more drastic measures like banning account sharing entirely. But, what are your thoughts? Is $2.99 a fair price to pay to scrub one's guilty conscience?

Image credit Karolina Grabowska
Google's Nest Doorbell does have its advantages but some users are complaining that it can be a bit too loud at times.

Give that, there is actually a feature that functions like a do not disturb mode called "quiet time."

Activating Quiet Time on Either the Google Nest App or Google Home App

According to the story by Android Headlines, in order to activate this feature, users will first need to have the Nest app or the Google Home app. Either can be used in order to change the settings of the Nest Doorbell.

How to Activate 'Quiet Time' on the Google Home App:

Run the Google Home app Click on the "Cameras" Select camera feed coming from the doorbell you want to change Click on the "More" tab Click on "Quiet Time." It is the bell-shaped icon you will see. Choose the timeframe from 30 minutes up to 3 hours Click on "Set" to finalize the new settings.

There are also ways for users to set their Nest Doorbell to Quiet Mode even without using the Google Home app. Users can set their Nest Doorbell to Quiet Mode using the Google Nest app as well.

How to Activate 'Quiet Time' on the Google Nest App:

Open the Nest app Click on the gear-shaped settings icon seen at the top right Select the "Indoor chime On/Off" Click on "Visitor Announcements" Turn off announcements for visitors Doorbell will function in "Quiet Mode" but needs to be reactivated

Before choosing either of the methods discussed above, it is important to know the difference between the two.

What is the Differnece Between Both Methods?

It is also important to note that out of the two methods, using the Google Home app might be convenient for users in a way because it provides brief periods where no notifications will be given. It likewise allows users to officially pause announcements.

Thhe Google Nest app, on the other hand, offers a permanent way for disabling notifications. It is important to note that should users want the alarm system and visitor announcements back up again, they will have to manually enable it.

Read Also: Amazon Finally Competes with Clubhouse: Instead of Rooms, Company's 'Amp' Allows Users to Create Radio Shows With Amazon Music

Other Google Nest Doorbell Features

Before using either method, it is important to decide whether the change is either temporary or permanent. Although enabling Quiet Time allows for peace and quiet for a couple of hours, it could also defeat the main purpose of having a Nest Doorbell to begin with.

The official Google support page also details other features you can toggle with the Nest Doorbell and other Google products.

In addition, one interesting feature that many users can take note of regarding the Nest Doorbell is it is capable of doing is that it actually allows owners to stream their security camera for added protection.

Related Article: Google Pixel Watch to Add More Colors Than Just Black, Gray, and Gold? Renders Show Sky Blue, Orange, and More

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Cupertino-based Apple Park HQ is now being evacuated! Rumors claimed that employees and other individuals in the iPhone maker's headquarters are being pulled out because of a hazmat situation.

Hazmat means "hazardous material." A hazmat situation happens if substances or materials spilled in an area are harmful to human health.

Authorities force an evacuation if the leaking substance is also hazardous for the property or environment.

Cupertino-Based Apple Park HQ Evacuation

According to 9To5Mac's latest report, a portion of the Apple Park in Cupertino was evacuated because of a possible hazmat case.

Also Read: Apple Temporarily Closes Down Stores in the US, Canada Following COVID-19 Surge Among Employees

But, authorities who responded in the area said that the evacuation began after an envelope with an unknown white powder was discovered.

Right now, this substance's details are not yet confirmed. But, since the white powder is not yet identified as a harmful substance or not, the Santa Clara County Fire Department still pulled out Apple's employees and other individuals within and near the area.

Thanks to the local authorities' efforts, the situation was under control. Right now, the fire department officials are still investigating the scene.

If you are currently near Apple Park in Cupertino, the best thing you can do right now is to wait for further announcements from the authorities.

Apple Amsterdam Suffers From Hostage Taking

Aside from the Cupertino-based Apple Park, Apple Store in Amsterdam also experienced an alarming situation. Tech Crunch recently reported that a hostage-taking happened in the area last Feb. 23.

Thankfully, now Apple employee or customer was harmed during the hostage-taking.

"We want to thank local law enforcement for their exceptional work and ongoing investigation," said the giant iPhone maker.

The tech manufacturer added that it is thankful for the efforts made by the authorities to respond. On the other hand, Apple was also proud of its employees' support and care to other staff during the hostage situation.

In other news, a Chinese citizen was imprisoned after in tried to defraud Apple $1 million in fake iPhones. Meanwhile, Apple's mandatory COVID-19 booster proof was recently implemented.

For more news updates about Apple and other giant tech firms, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Shenzhen in Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Cases, Assures Production of iPhones Won't Be Affected

This article is owned by TechTimes

Written by: Griffin Davis

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A certain buyer was able to receive the Apple Mac Studio even before the product was set to launch.

Due to an error, a French Apple fan got his early device before the product is set to launch, which is on March 18. This incident is the latest addition to similar moments in the past wherein customers received Apple products way before their scheduled official release.

Lucky Buyer Received the Mac Studio Before Official Launch Date

The news was then shared with Mac4Ever and what basically happened is that a certain unnamed store gave out the Mac to the French customer too soon. The situation led to photos of the actual device being shared to the public.

According to the story by MacRumors, Simon, the customer, gave a statement to Mac4Ever and said that he will be uploading more photos of his new Mac Studio soon. As of press time, there remains not much to see even as we near the official launch.

Other Instances Where Buyers Got Their Orders Early

Apple usually makes an effort to prevent its customers from receiving an early batch of its products. Despite the company's precautions, however, retail partners unfortuantely end up making mistakes every now and then.

A similar instance happened last May and involved an Apple M1 iPad Pro that was received by a lucky customer several days before it actually launched.

The same thing happened with the AirTags as many customers received the product even before the official release date

Australian and New Zealand Customers to Receive the Apple Mac Studio Early

The Apple Mac Studio is officially set to launch on March 18. Apple has also said that customers from Australia and New Zealand will be the first ones to receive their devices.

The price of the Apple Mac Studio will start at $1,999. It will be equipped with the latest Apple silicon chips. This would include both the Apple M1 Max as well as the upcoming M1 Ultra.

What this means is that the Mac Studio will basically be getting two different interconnected M1 Max chips.

Read Also: Windows 11 can Run on Surface Duo But Enthusiast Advises Against It: Here's Why

Mac Studio is Now Completely Sold Out

The Mac Studio will be launching along with the Studio Display, the iPad Air, and also the iPhone SE. It can be recalled that Apple initially started introduced the Mac Studio and its other upcoming products during the recent "Peek Performance" event.

Just shortly after the event, the $1,999 Mac Studio is now completely sold out all the way until April. To add, Apple will also most likely have different base models that can be purchased in its retail stores.

The base models will be for those that might have missed out on placing an order to get the device on the launch day itself.

As for the French customer who received his early, the Mac Studio purchased by Simon was described as "resembling a Mac mini" in terms of chassis.

Related Article: Amazon Finally Competes with Clubhouse: Instead of Rooms, Company's 'Amp' Allows Users to Create Radio Shows With Amazon Music

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Written by Urian B.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Microsoft is apparently testing out new features for Windows 11's File Explorer that will feature ads in the future. However, this feature is not meant for the current release, and a Microsoft executive said it is not meant for public release despite the person's actions. Ads in File Explorer is something new for Windows, and it might be something that looks into the possibility of a commercial venture.

Microsoft Windows 11: Ads in the File Explorer Leaks

An online leaker and insider showed concrete proof of a new Microsoft Windows 11 feature that features advertisements on the File Explorer. According to Florian Beaubois, the feature would be something that users would not appreciate with Microsoft's release, especially as this is a relatively new one and not something been seen before.

The ads come in a dark blue color that pops on the higher menu bar of File Explorer, and it is something that may be too much for a user once seen on its release. Additionally, it talks about another Microsoft product to use. Still, it is unknown if the feature will be available for other purposes, and one of them is a commercial availability for it.

Read Also: Microsoft Windows Brings DirectStorage API, Focusing on Faster Loading Times for Games, and MORE

Windows 11 Ads: Not Meant for Public Showcase

Brandon LeBlanc, senior program manager for Windows, said (via The Verge) that the feature was not meant for public sighting as it is not yet available for the company for a wide release. However, it already leaked out, and Microsoft is already putting out fires for the feature, something that is not meant for the public to see as of its early stage.

Microsoft's Windows 11

There are different features that the Windows 11 operating system brings to the table, and there are other leaks that focus on the upcoming aspects of the OS for a better experience. One feature would be the Windows 11 File Tabs in the explorer, and it is like the "New Tab" in macOS's Finder that puts two or more access to folders and locations in a single window.

The new File Tabs are still a leak that showed itself on Microsoft's latest release.

The Sun Valley update for Microsoft is coming later this week, and it is something that Windows 11 is setting up to bring to the computer compatible with the update. The Redmond giant wants the 22H2 version to provide the new OS version for the Windows platform, being the latest major update for Microsoft since its release.

Windows 11 is testing up several features available to the public now, and it saw a variety of mixed reviews for its new File Explorer ads that bring a banner on top of the Window for the files. The Redmond giant did not mean for this to happen, but it already gave the public an idea that it can do this, not limited to Windows features.

Related Article: Windows 11 can Run on Surface Duo But Enthusiast Advises Against It: Here's Why

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Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
NASA's astronaut, Mark Vande Hei, is the record holder for the American with the longest stay in the International Space Station on a single mission, with as many as 355 days in his slate. The astronaut initially had a six-month contract with NASA to perform his task at the space station but was extended for another half-year stay at the station.

NASA: Mark Vande Hei is the Longest Staying American in the ISS

The National space agency celebrates the record that Astronaut Mark Vande Hei will soon hold when he completes his mission on the International Space Station. Vande Hei's achievement is being the American that takes the crown for having the most prolonged stay in the ISS, and he set a high bar for others to achieve, especially in an upcoming future mission.

Vande Hei stayed for as much as a year from April 9, 2021, and would mark the 355th day on his departure by March 30, 2022. There were several delays for Mark Vande Hei's return to the planet, and it initially received threats from Russia before the country said that it would help in the safe return of the NASA astronaut.

Read Also: European Astronauts Want To Reach ISS Independently Through Own Crewed Spacecraft

ISS: Mark Vande Hei and Scott Kelly's Stay

The other record holder of the longest stay in the International Space Station is NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who stayed for 340 days. Vande Hei significantly added more days to Kelly's visit, and 15 days is a massive gap between both astronauts.

Life in the ISS is unlike a day here on the Earth, particularly as the orbiting station revolves around the Earth fast, meaning that it sees the Sun and Moon multiple times during a 24-hour period.

NASA and its Missions

The International Space Station may be a destination in space, but its focus is to bring a different take on scientific research and medical experiments hypothesized by scholars. The astronauts who arrive at the station do not stay on the ISS only, but they perform these experiments and studies, each with a different responsibility or focus.

Different space companies have already brought NASA Astronauts to the ISS for different missions. One of them is SpaceX, which got multiple contracts with the agency for future ventures. In the case of Mark Vande Hei, there were issues with his return to the planet, hence the delay that prolonged his stay.

Nevertheless, the NASA astronaut is returning home after almost a year, which is happening soon.

NASA has multiple missions for the ISS, and one of them is the Commercial Crew feature that brings different astronauts to the station with the help of private space companies. These astronauts' ventures help expand the knowledge and information known to humans, focusing more on how space would affect specific processes, with astronauts like Mark Vande Hei looking into the studies.

Related Article: Russia Calms Roscosmos ISS Abandonment Rumors-Saying US Astronaut Will Return To Earth as Scheduled

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Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Astra is bouncing back with a new successful mission that it recently accomplished for Spaceflight Inc., reaching orbit that marks a big win for the company in its career. The successful mission of Astra got massive recognition from the public, also attracting the attention of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for the company's venture.

Astra: Successful Mission to Orbit for Spaceflight Inc.

Astra announced the successful deployment of its Astra-1 mission with the Rocket 3.3 spacecraft, with the number LV0009. The mission originated from its liftoff point on Kodiak Spaceport in Alaska. The task is a milestone for the company as this is the next successful mission from its initial November 2021 launch.

The company faced many difficulties on its missions, and it brought a mixed opinion from the public, with some saying that the company will take its time before it reaches success. However, it is a different thing now, mainly as Astra showcased a launch that it can add to its books, which marks a new chapter for the company.

Read Also: Blue Origin's NS20 Mission Confirms Pete Davidson to Fly to Space, New Shepard Launching by March 23

Elon Musk Recognizes Astra's Achievements

The incredible feat of Astra received multiple congratulations and recognition from the public and other partners. However, there is one renowned personality that acknowledged the company's success, and it is with the SpaceX CEO and billionaire, Elon Musk, with his Twitter reply to the space company.

Congrats!  Elona Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2022



SpaceX is known for its multiple missions and payload cargo deliveries that go as planned, reaching orbit and returning to the surface.

Astra is also a part of NASA's partner companies for private space company flights, alongside SpaceX.

Astra and its Previous Missions

There are massive doubts on Astra's end, and it is because of the many failures and abortions of its mission en route to its orbit destination to deliver different payloads. Its first successful mission came in November 2021, and it marked the company's milestone for the future of its spaceflight, which it aims to perfect and bring for commercial use.

Over the years, the company got plagued with unsuccessful flights that focused on-orbit payload missions that did not reach the location for its delivery. The company faced a lot of adversities and doubts from the public, especially as rival companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, and other companies have been doing their missions on a regular track.

The new success of Astra may be the start of a new beginning for the company, and it would be towards launching different spacecraft and delivering many payloads from clients and customers. Astra is moving forward from this success, and the company will aim to make it like this at all times, but it will be seen in their future ventures.

Related Article: Astra Fails to Launch NASA CubeSat: Upper Stage Flew Out of Control After Detaching

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Written by Isaiah Richard

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Russian cyber attacks continue to deploy vulnerabilities in several networks.

This time, the state-sponsored hackers were exploiting a "PrintNightmare" vulnerability on top of launching attacks to a non-governmental organization through the multifactor authentication (MFA) defaults.

The US further warned that this incident could allow the threat actors to access the cloud and email accounts of the NGO. Later, they would transition to targeting other documents within the network.

FBI, CISA Warns of the Latest Russia-Linked Attack

According to a report by Venturebeat, Vulcan Cyber senior technical engineer Mike Parkin said that the latest case of the attack exemplifies the importance of user account hygiene.

The cybersecurity expert added that implementing security patches should be practically done, as well. Having said that, Parkin wrote in an email that this breach appeared to be targeting a vulnerable account and the "exploitable" vulnerability.

Per CISA and FBI's joint advisory issued on Tuesday, March 15, the Russian hackers relied on executing "PrintNightmare," a known vulnerability that previously hit Microsoft.

To avoid further attacks, the tech giant decided to release consecutive patches for its servers. It appears that it's not the only vulnerability that the state-sponsored attackers released since they also exploited the default MFA protocols.

According to the recent alert by the US agencies, the attack could be traced back in May 2021. However, there's no mention of the particular location of the NGO involved in the data breach.

Related Article: Kaspersky Antivirus Software as Russian Cyberattack Exploiter? Germany Suggests Replacing It

Russian Hackers Use Weak Passwords

In the same report from Venturebeat, the announcement from the CISA and FBI also tackled the "password guessing" of the Russian hackers. This way is deemed effective for the threat actors since the codes are pretty simple to predict.

The advisory wrote that to gain access to NGO's network, the cybercriminals relied on the Duo MFA Solution of Cisco.

"The victim account had been un-enrolled from Duo due to a long period of inactivity but was not disabled in the Active Directory," the FBI and CISA said.

To even intensify the attacks, the hackers mixed them up with "PrintNightmare" so they could disable MFA, as well as alter the domain controller file of the admin.

From this incident, it appears that increased protection to MFA should be implemented since over the past years, the Russian hackers were able to exploit them with ease.

Vectra VP Aaron Turner said that those organizations which rely on "check the box" compliance solutions for MFA could see an escalating trend in vulnerability exploitation.

Another tech boss Bud Broomhead, who is the current Viakoo CEO said that he anticipates this attack vector to appear more often.

In other news, Tech Times reported that the CaddyWiper malware recently hit Ukrainian organizations. This new type of wiper malware does not rely on stealing financial assets from the victims, but instead disrupts the files and erases them eventually.

Read Also: Russia vs Ukraine: FBI Warns Businesses, Local Governments of Ransomware Attacks Amid Tension in Europe



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Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ford is indeed popular for its production of automobiles and luxury cars. Over the past years, the company has been expanding its coverage outside the auto industry.

This time, the automaker has started using robots to operate the 3D printers without requiring any help from humans. The Michigan-based corporation now looks forward to reducing the cost of the operation thanks to its patent-pending system for automation.

KUKA-Built Robots Can Run Printers

According to Slash Gear's report, the Ford robot dubbed "Javier" is reportedly the machine responsible for initiating the 3D printing process. This robot can operate the printers autonomously, meaning that no humans are involved in the process.

Since it's a machine, the robot still needs short breaks when it runs out of battery. According to Ford, Javier works all day with only one thing to do: printing.

Interestingly, this KUKA-built robot shares the same language with the Carbon 3D printers -- that's why there's no issue when it comes to machine-to-machine communication.

Through the Advanced Manufacturing Center of the company, the robots are helping Ford to reduce margins of error in the operation. They also provide more accurate results during the process.

With regards to the use of different communication interfaces, Ford now made it easier thanks to its system, which lets equipment from various suppliers interact with one another. The real-time feedback and commands were sent as well at the same time.

After the 3D printer successfully finishes printing a car component, the robot will retrieve it and place it in a particular retrieval area. This is where the human operators will amass it later, per Tech Crunch's report.

Although the robot could carry out autonomous tasks with the printers, the humans should first upload the 3D printer designs before the automation commences.

Related Article: Ford Enters Robotics-- Manufacturer Will No Longer be Car-Exclusive Company

Ford's Autonomous Robocop Police Car

Javier is the lone robot that can do autonomous tasks with other machines. Tech Times spotted four years ago that the automaker filed a patent for an autonomous Robocop police car.

The main goal of this machine is to watch for the violators who will exceed the given speed limit or those who will proceed during the red light signal.

Surprisingly, it's like the police who will give a violator a ticket. The only difference is that this robot will issue tickets remotely.

Aside from that, Ford said that it would equip its robot with several sensors, LIDAR, microphones, cameras, radar detectors, license plate readers, and other significant components.

In the same year, Ford also introduced a high-tech dog house that cancels noise. At that time, the car brand said that it would be perfect for owners who wanted to have a stress-free New Year's Eve.

For some people, it's important to ensure that your pet is in a safe condition during noisy celebrations. Ford's minimalist house can occupy at least one huge dog or two small dogs. It comes with a good ventilation system and an automatic glass door.

Read Also: Humanoid Robot Ameca Could Perfectly Mimick Human-like Facial Expressions But Can it Walk or Run?

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Written by Joseph Henry

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The space race is still currently happening as many countries and independent agencies conduct their own out-of-this-world explorations.

As of the moment, China is one of the nations trying to take NASA's place as the main space agency that explores the solar system and even the area beyond this planetary formation.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced some new space missions that might be the most dominant space agency across the globe. These upcoming launches are expected to happen around 2030.

Space Race 2022: China's New Space Missions

According to the Weather Channel's latest report, CNSA reveals some new space missions that might give NASA tough competition in the ongoing space race.

CNSA's Senior Scientist Wu Weiren recently provided the main objectives of the Chinese space agency in the next 30 years. These include the following:

Also Read: NASA's Astronaut Breaks Record for Longest Stay in the ISS; Mark Vande Hei Finally Coming Home

Three-Step Lunar Exploration

In 2004, CNSA already launched a moon mission using its Chang'e-5. Since the exploration was successful, another one is expected to happen before 2021 ends.

It will have three stages, which will all be completed before 2024. These are specifically Chang'e-6, Chang'e-7, and Chang'e-8.

Long-Term Space Missions

Wu also announced that the China National Space Administration is trying to explore the Solar System long-term.

"In the long run, we intend to send spacecraft to study the rim of our solar system - which is roughly 15 billion kilometers from us - before 2049, the year of the People's Republic of China's centennial," said CNSA's senior scientist.

Mars Exploration Mission

CNSA engineers are now trying to conduct a successful Mars sample return mission, which will be more complicated compared to the upcoming Chang'e-5 lunar space mission.

The U.K. Also Makes Own Space Efforts

China is now the only one that is making efforts to improve its space industry. The United Kingdom also announced that it would fund some new projects.

The budget is around $3 million, as reported by Parabolic Arc. One of the funded projects is a space power station developed by Rolls-Royce.

In other news, Russia calms some rumors about Roscosmos ISS abandonment. Meanwhile, Blue Origin's NS20 mission announces Pete Davidson's space flight.

For more news updates about CNSA and other space topics, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: Astra Successfully Reaches Orbit for Spaceflight Inc. Mission, Elon Musk Congratulates Company

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Written by: Griffin Davis





 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
How digital has reduced the Brexit burden

#TradeDigitalisationWeek - Guest Blog: Hannah Francis, Senior Marketing Executive from PDMS explores how digital tech can make customs processes more efficient

Brexit may now feel like old news, but many organisations are still dealing with the fall out, particularly those who trade with the EU. This is most definitely the case when it comes to moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and digitalisation is playing a key role in helping to keep trade flowing between these two trading partners.

Each year, the 1.89m people who live in Northern Ireland spend 9.2Bn on retail products and 3.3Bn on food and groceries. The country also has a strong manufacturing sector which employs over 46,000 people and accounts for around 8% of Northern Irelands economic output. So, understandably, for many UK businesses, Northern Ireland represents a significant market.

Trade between the two countries became more complex because of the Northern Ireland Protocol that came into operation on 1st January 2021. Its purpose is to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland and means that goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain need to prove they comply with EU customs laws. According to The Times, goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are facing more than 650 checks a day, with entry document checks in Northern Ireland making up one in five of all EU border checks. Companies that export to Northern Ireland must now complete some of these customs declarations using the UK Governments Trader Support Service (TSS). The submission of forms and information into the TSS can be a long, complex, and typically very manual process - with customs checks (and fines for non-compliance) planned from summer 2022.

Forms create additional bureaucracy and that inevitably means additional costs for businesses. Many hauliers, logistics companies, retailers and manufacturers who move goods to Northern Ireland have turned to redeploying their staff or employing temporary staff to cope with the administrative burden of dealing with the additional data entry and form processing.

However, digital technology can provide a much more cost effective and hassle-free alternative. Take, for example, our client, Sealey. They have over 10,000 different product lines including hand tools, power tools and equipment for servicing vehicles. They ship tools nationally and internationally from their East Anglia base. When the UK left the EU and the Northern Ireland Protocol was implemented, Sealey found themselves in a situation where they needed to submit huge volumes of data and information for customs declarations to the UK Government via the TSS website.

As their technology partner, Sealey spoke to the team at PDMS about the problems they were encountering and how we could collaborate together to explore how technology could be used to remove some of the administrative burden surrounding the manual process of completing submissions via the TSS website.

After some research, we developed a digital solution that allows clients (like Sealey) to upload data in a CSV format which parses and validates it into normalised tables in its own system database, for the three different levels in the data hierarchy. The solution then loops over the new data, sending it to the TSS API in the correct order, one item at a time. It now takes less than one minute to submit a reasonably big file to the TSS website. The benefits of this have been profound for Sealey, and saved considerable man hours and money, delivering other benefits including increased data accuracy:

This is just one very recent example of how innovative digital solutions can facilitate international trade by helping to ease the administrative burden of trade documentation whilst allowing staff to focus on more value-added activities. With the expectation that trade regulations will change more frequently and possibly become more complex, the impact of digital transformation on international trade will become even greater in the future.

You can learn more about PDMS here: www.pdms.com
"China's position is objective and impartial... The sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected," the Chinese ambassador stressed.

In an opinion piece appearing on Tuesday in The Washington Post, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, mentioned that his country did not know in advance about Russia's plan for a military operation against Ukraine, nor did Beijing support it.

"Let me say this responsibly: assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation. All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China," he said, noting that there were over 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine and that China is the biggest trading partner of Ukraine.

"China's position is objective and impartial. The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter must be fully observed; the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected; the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously; and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported."

Regarding threats from some U.S. officials about sanctioning Chinese entities and businesses in a scenario -- purported by Washington -- where China provides assistance to Russia, Qin said the threats are unacceptable.

Why is the US addicted to war?



Why does the military budget increase every year, even though we spend more on the military than the next 11 countries combined?



BT's @KeiPritsker breaks down the how the weapons industry controls US foreign policy. pic.twitter.com/cwIJFjcFo1  BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) August 19, 2021

"Neither war nor sanctions can deliver peace. Wielding the baton of sanctions at Chinese companies while seeking China's support and cooperation simply won't work," he said and denounced those who have been trying to link the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, saying doing so "is a mistake" and the two are totally different things.

"Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair. It does not make sense for people to emphasize the principle of sovereignty on Ukraine while hurting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Taiwan," Qin said.

Qin also highlighted China's efforts to push for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and prevent a humanitarian crisis induced by the conflict. The long-term peace and stability of Europe, the veteran diplomat said, "relies on the principle of indivisible security," adding that China, whose ultimate purpose in the ongoing crisis is to seek an end to the war and support regional and global stability, "will continue to coordinate real efforts to achieve lasting peace.
The discontent of health workers began to grow on March 2, when two doctors were kidnapped in Port-au-Prince by individuals wearing Police uniforms.

On March 14, Haitian physicians, nurses, and other health professionals began a three-day strike to reject gang-related kidnappings. The Haitian Medical Association (AMH) announced that its hospitals, clinics, and health centers will only provide emergency care.

"This is about protesting against insecurity, particularly kidnapping, which has already claimed too many victims in the country. It is time to stop this evil," the Haitian Pharmacists Association (APH) said, calling on unions, professional colleges, and student associations to join the strike.

"It is imperative a common front to take the bull by the horns... insecurity is a widespread problem whose definitive solution requires a national approach."

This strike movement is also supported by the "Meeting of Democrats, Nationals and Progressives Party (RDNP), which recalled that gang-related kidnappings are carried out "in broad daylight and often inside clinics and hospitals."

Haiti/Insecurite: Detournement des camions a Martissant: le syndicat des chauffeurs entre en greve - https://t.co/CG6i5VtV13  #TeamEchojounal (@Echojounal) March 16, 2022

The tweet reads, "Haiti's Insecurity: Truck hijacking in Martissant. Drivers' union goes on strike. The insecurity situation has worsened further in Martissant. Armed gangs hijacked at least seven vehicles on a single day."

The discontent of health workers began to grow on March 2, when two doctors were kidnapped in Port-au-Prince by individuals wearing Police uniforms. They have not been released so far.

For at least two weeks, the support staff of the Haitian State University Hospital and Justinien University Hospital have been also on strike, demanding better working conditions and salary increases. This week, workers at Hospital de la Paix at Delmas 33 and at other university hospitals threaten to continue their protests.

Over the last year, 655 kidnapping cases were reported to authorities in Port-au-Prince, doctors have become easy victims of criminal gangs. We live a catastrophic situation... No one is protected, said Louis Gilles, a physician working in Delmas.
Youth in their 20s who have fallen into the swamp of preventing the return of Corona and poverty
The Butcher and the Baker joined Restore last month. (Photo by Eva Thomas/the Daily Planet)
Ada, OK (74820)

Today

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected..

Tonight

Variable clouds with strong thunderstorms. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 62F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. 1 to 2 inches of rain expected.
Gov. John Bel Edwards proposal to allocate $500 million for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge is facing growing skepticism in the Louisiana Legislature.

The plan initially won praise in the House and concerns from Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Bodi White, R-Central.

But now House leaders, while acknowledging the issue needs attention, are questioning whether the Edwards' proposal is too pricey amid questions about details of the project, including the lack of any site.

"Squirreling away $500 million into a project that is five plus years away is not in the best interest of the state," said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerome "Zee" Zeringue, R-Houma and a key player in writing the state's $38.6 billion operating budget.

Edwards' chief lieutenant in the House, Democratic Caucus Chairman Sam Jenkins, of Shreveport, said caucus members are asking how a $500 million commitment for the bridge would affect other spending priorities, including paid family and medical leave, which carries a $30 million pricetag.

"That is what the hesitation is all about," said Jenkins, whose caucus post was previously held by Edwards.

"If there is another source we could go to to help those programs then we may not necessarily have a huge problem with the amount of money set aside for the bridge," Jenkins added.

Game changer? Governor proposes $500 million for new Mississippi River bridge in Baton Rouge In a potential breakthrough, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Monday proposed spending $500 million to build a new bridge across the Mississippi River

The 2022 regular legislative session, which began Monday, features one of the state's brightest financial outlooks in years, including $2.9 billion generated by better-than-expected state revenue and federal aid sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Edwards said in his "State of the State" address that Louisiana has an historic opportunity to address longtime traffic problems in the capital area.

"We've made significant progress but the funds we are receiving from the federal government will allow us to catapult big ticket projects from talk to action," he said.

Edwards' proposal marks the first time a key state leader has gotten behind major funding for a new bridge in Baton Rouge.

Concerns in the House about the $500 million proposal are surprising in light of the initial reaction.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, who frequently clashes with the governor, praised the plan on Jan. 30 and said it "has my full support."

"Anyone who has ever driven through Baton Rouge knows the Mississippi River bridge is a huge problem," Schexnayder said in a statement at the time.

At the same time Cortez and White questioned the wisdom of setting aside $500 million knowing site selection, environmental reviews and other work will take years.

No brainer or waste of money? $500 million Baton Rouge bridge plan headed for heated debate Political battle lines are already forming on Gov. John Bel Edwards' proposal to spend $500 million for a new bridge across the Mississippi Ri

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Advocates said the money can be put to immediate use, and help draw federal dollars for a structure expected to cost up to $2 billion.

"There is lots of bridge design work that can be done," said Jay Campbell, chairman of the Capital Area Road and Bridge District, which will play a major role in where the bridge goes.

"But it takes dedicated dollars to do that," Campbell said. "Those dollars are not going to just be sitting on the side."

Shawn Wilson, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development, echoed that view. "Without the dollars we can't go very far or very fast," Wilson said.

Officials hope to narrow the list of potential sites to three this year and settle on a location in 2024.

The public is set to get its first look at 15 possible crossing sites this spring and public hearings will be required once the list is narrowed.

+2 First look at possible crossings for new Mississippi River bridge nearly two years away The public will get its first look at 15 possible crossings for a new bridge across the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge in the spring of 2022

"If you don't have the citizen meetings and public meetings about the three sites you are going to violate their (federal) rules and then you're disqualified for federal matching dollars for a bridge like this," Campbell said.

"It is a process you have to go through."

Zeringue said no one disputes that the bridge is a bottleneck that needs attention.

But even amid a rosy financial outlook "there are far more requests that there are dollars to fix all the problems," he said.

Scott Kirkpatrick, executive director for the Capitol Region Industry for Sustainable Infrastructure Solutions, said he is confident lawmakers from the Baton Rouge area "will have a very compelling plan" to land aid for the bridge.

+3 Louisiana roads, bridges to get $300M-a-year boost; backers say its biggest investment in decades In something of a surprise, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Friday signed the biggest transportation bill in 37 years when he endorsed a measure that

"They know this is our chance to secure the bridge," Kirkpatrick said. "And I think the leadership will make sure we don't miss our chance."

Kirkpatrick also said bridge backers are delivering information to lawmakers on how key decisions about details of the project are imminent.

"That is one of the talking points we have had to get out there," Kirkpatrick said. "And I think that will ultimately be very helpful for us."
The Louisiana House committee that decides criminal laws is meeting Thursday with a full agenda but without a chair, prompting worry among some advocates.

The situation is mired in politics, in blown-up partisan deals, and in fear that some of the most divisive legislation will blow through the committee phase before opponents can mount a credible defense.

In the past the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, sometimes called ACJ, eased into sessions, often skipping the first weeks meeting, and always starting out with the easy local and noncontroversial bills.

But with vice Chair Tony Bacala, R-Prairieville, at the helm for the time being, the committee will convene 10 a.m. Thursday with 21 of the panels 106 bills, including lining up much harsher penalties by turning carjacking minors into a racketeering crime and creating the crime of unauthorized removal of a minor from school that could insert prison time into divorce proceedings.

Wide variety of criminal justice legislation awaiting decision by Gov. John Bel Edwards At first lawyer Will Harrell and other advocates put aside their legislative package, which was aimed at tweaking the 2017 criminal justice pa

Bacala has been rushing this deal and there are a bunch of bills on the agenda, said Will Harrell, senior public policy counsel for VOTE, Voice of the Experienced, a New Orleans-based group advocating against what they call overly harsh prison sentences and was instrumental in the Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Package, which works to reduce prison populations and invest in rehabilitation programs.

We were all shocked and frankly caught flat-footed. But this shows the flavor of this session, Harrell said.

Harrell said the early weeks of sessions are when advocates like him sit down with law enforcement and prosecutors to figure out what both sides can agree to and hammer out, where possible, language that can be approved and doesnt run afoul of whats already in the law.

For instance, at least five bills are dealing with parole  when and under what conditions a convicted person can leave prison  some of which have language that conflict with existing law, Harrell said.

We need to have a conversation on this, Harrell said. This piecemeal stuff has gotten us into a public policy crisis.

+2 Louisiana once again has nation's highest imprisonment rate after Oklahoma briefly rose to top After state lawmakers passed historic criminal justice reforms in 2017, Gov. John Bel Edwards was quick to celebrate another achievement that 

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Bacala, a retired Ascension Parish Sheriffs deputy, said Wednesday that the rules require the vice chair of a committee without a chair to set the agenda and handle the committee as if he was the appointed leader. Thats what he plans to do, Bacala said, adding that he hopes to motor through all 21 bills on the agenda Thursday.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are wondering why House Speaker Clay Schexnayder still hasnt named a chair for the committee. Schexnayder did not return numerous queries about the situation.

Ted James, the Democratic chair of the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice, was appointed in December to an U.S. Small Business Administration post.

Weve made clear that we want a Democratic chairman to replace the Democratic ACJ chairman, said Shreveport Rep. Sam Jenkins, head of the House Democratic Caucus. We asked for five chairmen and we were promised five chairmen. We got two."

Schexnayder removed two Democratic chairs because they wouldnt override Edwardss veto of legislation that limited transgender athletes. Democratic Reps Chad Brown, of Plaquemine, and Vincent Pierre, of Lafayette, were fired from the Insurance and Transportation committees, respectively. Ted James resignation made three vacancies.

Back in 2016, the Republican majority in the House revolted against the tradition of the governor naming the House speaker, Senate president and legislative leadership and refused to go along with Edwards selections.

After Edwards was reelected, the House in 2020 again opted to choose its own leadership. The leading candidate was Rep. Sherman Q. Mack, the Albany Republican who chaired the criminal justice committee. Mack had the support of 45 Republicans.

The 23 Republicans who voted for Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, included many who have been willing to work across the aisle, while many conservatives, party leaders and freshmen sided with Mack. And the House Democrats provided the remainder of the 60 votes that gave him the speakership, in part because they were assured of five chairmanships.

Jenkins said he asked for a meeting and was told by Schexnayder that he wanted interview potential candidates before deciding. Jenkins, the head of the House Democratic caucus, said not a single Democrat has revealed that he or she has been interviewed.

In the meantime, Schexnayder added conservative Republican Reps Ray Garofalo, of Chalmette, and Danny McCormick, of Oil City, to the criminal justice committee. The panel now has 10 Republicans, two Democrats and one representative without party affiliation.
Anonymous Club 

(M) 83 minutes

In the age of the influencer, selfie and personal brand  species now on show in all their airhead glory in Netflixs Byron Baes  its refreshing to come across a performer who knows the meaning of modesty, as well as being able to finish a sentence without the aid of the word like.

Musician Courtney Barnett with Anonymous Club director Danny Cohen.

Melbourne singer and songwriter Courtney Barnett qualifies on both counts. Shes crafted an acclaimed international career with concerts, recordings and music videos that delight in word play, visual puns and deadpan self-deprecation.

In her onstage outfit of jeans and a T-shirt, she looks as if shes out to merge with her audience. Her insecurities mirror theirs, a point eloquently demonstrated in this film by a fan who gets her to write the lyrics of one of her songs on his T-shirt. To further blur the line between the two of them, he has to prompt her to remember a couple of the lines.
This weeks Australian Story opened a can of worms as it exposed a pit of snakes. Journalist Stephanie Wood  whose 2019 book Fake detailed her romantic relationship with a man she later discovered was a manipulative and duplicitous liar who had invented his entire backstory  interviewed almost 50 of the many women who contacted her with similar experiences.

Kirat Assi would be able to relate to Wood and these women  although her story has an even more bizarre twist. In 2009, Assi, a London radio presenter who was then in her late 20s, was introduced to Bobby, a good-looking cardiologist living in New York. The two hit it off and after five years of online friendship, they started a romance. But they never met in real life. The entire relationship was carried out online.

Kirat Assi, pictured, was a London radio presenter who was then in her late 20s when she was introduced to cardiologist Bobby. Credit: Andrew Testa

It was intimate, all-consuming and tumultuous, involving gaslighting, ghosting and emotional abuse. Bobby began controlling Assis life, wanting to know where she was every moment of the day. She lost her job and she lost friends. There were many excuses for why Bobby couldnt meet with her in person, including life-threatening illnesses and being put in a witness protection program after being shot in Kenya.

If youve read this far  and if youre one of the many who watched recent catfishing/scamming stories such as the TV series Inventing Anna and the documentary The Tinder Swindler  you know where this story goes.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size When Francis Ford Coppolas The Godfather opened in New York on March 15, 1972, critics immediately understood the mob family drama to be a masterpiece. But they could not have foreseen how some of the dialogue would become part of our collective memory, often turning into catchphrases divorced from the film itself. In honour of the 50th anniversary of The Godfather, we asked seven fans  critics, actors, directors  to look back at Don Vito Corleone, sons Sonny and Michael, and henchmen like Clemenza and Tom Hagen, to reflect on key lines. I believe in America An undertaker asking Don Corleone to get him justice I believe in America. These four words  spoken in a clipped, lilting rush over a pitch-black screen  are the first thing you hear in The Godfather after a short moan of music. The words hover over the imageless screen, demanding your attention and priming you for whats to come. But theyre inscrutable (what does it mean to believe in a country?), and as they linger in the darkness, Coppola lets your imagination riffle through the possibilities. Is this a pledge, an article of faith, a declaration of intent? These words inaugurate Coppolas masterpiece and set the ominous, funereal stage for what will soon come. They also announce one of the most fundamentally American movies made in this country, which loves and condemns  though mostly loves  its violence onscreen and off, and has memorialised its outlaws as folk heroes, enshrined its marauders, erected statues of its slavers and elected its grifters. The Godfather is perfect from first frame to last, but its greatness also feels of a different order: It speaks to a truth about the American character that we all can recognise.

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Because while we may not all believe in America, we believe in its violence even if we understand it may bury us. Its no wonder that these words are spoken by an undertaker, the proud, angry Amerigo Bonasera (an unforgettable Salvatore Corsitto). His face is also the first thing you see, and just after he says his killer line, Coppola cuts to a choker close-up of this man. Its a stunning portrait in chiaroscuro, with Bonasera looking straight into the camera, his pale sculpted face floating in shadow. He looks like a raptor, a skull; he looks like death. - Manohla Dargis, The New York Times co-chief film critic Marlon Brando as Don Corleone in The Godfather. Credit:Paramount Pictures Leave the gun, take the cannoli Clemenza to his fellow hit man I had always heard the story that the line was ad-libbed by Richard Castellano, playing Clemenza. And then you realise the specificity of the work the actors had done, creating a world so strong that it induces the behaviour. Clemenza had a laundry list of stuff to do, as a ruse, to take Paulie out. And as he goes down this list, he calls back to something his wife asked him to do: pick up a cannoli. What was written was, Leave the gun. I love that because the writing was masterful, and you would only leave in something that lives up to the masterwork of the screenplay. That ad-lib tells you that the actor was aware of it, was having fun with it. The simplicity of a husband checking off a honey do list becomes an assassination. I wonder if Castellano, when he saw the movie, said, Wow, they left it in. - Wendell Pierce, actor

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The Corleone family gathers for a wedding in the opening scenes of The Godfather. Credit:Paramount Pictures Its not personal, Sonny. Its strictly business Michael explaining to his older brother why revenge makes sense Business Never Personal is the title of a classic 1992 album by EPMD, among the most astute of the many tributes hip-hop has paid to The Godfather. The title connotes unsentimental, amoral ruthlessness, a refusal to compromise in the pursuit of profit. But the music is anything but impersonal, and the albums biggest hit, Crossover, is an indictment of sellouts and corporate stooges. More often than not, invoking The Godfather is a way of pointing out what social critic Daniel Bell called the cultural contradictions of capitalism. Strictly business is how Tom Hagen describes rival families attempted murder of Vito. Business is also the rationale Michael offers for his proposed revenge, which includes the murder of a police captain. When the cool-headed, non-Sicilian Tom argues that the family shouldnt take the attack on its patriarch personally, hes trying to defuse the rage of the hot-blooded Sonny. Hes also suggesting that the old-world code of the blood feud should give way to a more modern American approach. The family should put aside thoughts of vengeance and make a deal. Does Michael agree? He seems to twist Toms reasoning around to a conclusion even more violent than Sonny envisioned. This is exemplary gangster dialectics and the pivot on which the movie (and maybe also the world) turns. Michael, a college graduate and military veteran, goes from kid brother to killer, transforming the Corleones from a crime family into something like a transnational conglomerate. This doesnt make them any less murderous. Quite the opposite. In the next scene, Michael hears an echo of their debate in the words of his enemy, Sollozzo, who explains that the hit on Vito was una cosa di business. Michael doesnt argue. To show how completely he agrees, he puts a bullet in Sollozzos head. Nothing personal.

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 A.O. Scott, The New York Times co-chief film critic Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather, in 1997. Credit:AP/Kevork Djansezian Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes Clemenza to Sonny after receiving a shocking package These are not men of poetry, though they often speak in code. Yet this little lyric gives Brasis tawdry, bug-eyed death a gentle, mythological postscript. Like a merman or a lovesick sailor doomed by a sirens call, the garroted gangster now sleeps with the fishes. The image, here claimed as an expression from Sicily, exists in Moby-Dick and the Iliad, not that Sonny, heir to his fathers ruthlessness but not his traditions, understands. So it falls to Clemenza to interpret, in words that make spoiling fish an elegy not just for Brasi but for all the old-country ways gasping in the noose of a new generations brutality.  Jessica Kiang, critic Lord of the ring: Marlon Brando as Don Corleone in The Godfather.

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Im gonna make him an offer he cant refuse Don Corleone, explaining his, ahem, method of persuasion This film is such a sneaky, deep stab at the flaws in the American system wrapped around this idea of fighting for the American dream. That was always very significant to me, coming from England to the States in the early 70s, and even more pointed watching it all these years later. And it speaks to the duality of how the film is perceived, which is as this textbook manual, almost with Machiavelli, on how to succeed in American capitalist society and rise to the top. But at the same time, that statement is just loaded with the pathos and sadness of where these people came from and what theyre trying to achieve here and how unachievable it is. This notion of tough guys bullying their way into a seat at a table that doesnt want them  immigrants coming into the US and fighting to be heard. - Alex Winter, actor and director I want you to arrange a meeting with the heads of the five families Don Corleone to Tom Hagen after Sonny is ambushed Theres something that Ive always loved about that image of these five crime families, the idea that if those five families would just come together, imagine the might of their punch. Thats one of my favourite moments because when we talk about power, we usually talk about who is stronger and who is more capable of causing destruction. But I think what that shows really well is that power is also about who is capable of saying, Enough. Who is strong enough to say: Lets stop, lets talk. Im willing to lose in this moment so that we dont all lose going forward.

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Privacy advocates and civil libertarians have raised concerns about Victoria Police mobile surveillance units being used outside a private business and in public spaces across Melbourne to prevent crime and catch offenders.

The units have been parked outside liquor retailer Dan Murphys in Malvern East at least four times in the past 18 months, sometimes for a stretch of up to eight weeks.

Mobile surveillance units were introduced in 2018, primarily to combat gang crime. Credit:Paul Jeffers

That location is just 500 metres from Caulfield railway station, which was ranked one of the states most dangerous stations, according to data from Victorias Crime Statistics Agency.

The mobile surveillance units (MSU), introduced in 2018 under a promise to combat gang crime, are movable security cameras that collect and store vision for Victoria Police.
A man accused of using a wooden stake in a road rage assault outside a Melton high school at pick-up time was on bail at the time of the attack, a court has heard.

Shane Couch will remain behind bars after his bail application was refused at Sunshine Magistrates Court on Wednesday on the basis he posed an unacceptable risk to the community.

Mr Couch had been released on bail after throwing a hot liquid at two prison officers at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in February and was due to appear in court on March 21, the court was told. It also emerged the 20-year-old was also subject to a Community Correction Order for arson offences.


The public doesnt know and most likely will never learn the name of senior special forces soldier Person 7. But based on his evidence to the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday, he is a man who has the courage of his convictions.

Under questioning, the SAS warrant officer outed himself in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial as a key source for Nines investigative journalists Chris Masters and Nick McKenzie. He admitted, without equivocation and without apology, to becoming a whistleblower.

Ben Roberts-Smith outside court during the defamation case he brought. Credit:Brook Mitchell

What motivated this veteran of 11 tours to Afghanistan, who was entrusted with planning some of his units most dangerous missions, to breach Defence regulations by making unsanctioned contact with journalists?

It was the need, he said, to be a voice from within and to support soldiers he believed were the targets of an aggressive campaign by Roberts-Smith to mute them.
The Royal Australasian College of Physicians says the age of criminal responsibility must be raised to 14 years to end the jailing of mostly Indigenous primary-aged children, warning incarceration is harming their mental health.

The college is part of a Close the Gap campaign, which will release a report on Thursday calling for urgent investment in community-led Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services.

Doctors are pushing for the age of responsibility to be raised to 14. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Professor Ngiare Brown, a Yuin nation woman and National Mental Health Commissioner, said about 600 children under the age of 14 were jailed every year despite substantial evidence showing the detrimental and long-term effects on physical and mental health.

The fact that Indigenous children account for sixty-five per cent of youth incarcerations is a harrowing statistic, Professor Brown, who chairs the RACPs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Committee, said. The human impact of this is unfathomable.
London: Two British citizens who had been jailed in Iran for more than five years  charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori  returned home on Thursday after the UK settled a decades-old debt to Iran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe spent six years in detention in one of the worlds highest-profile cases of hostage diplomacy. She was given back her passport and granted permission to leave Iran.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, left, and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were freed from Iran, wave after landing at RAF Brize Norton, England, on Thursday. Credit:Getty Images

Britains Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said it was the result of tenacious and creative British diplomacy and confirmed speculation that the UK had settled the debt to Iran.

After years of detention by the government of Iran, British nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori will return from Iran today. Morad Tahbaz has also been released from prison on furlough, Truss said ahead of their trip. Tahbaz holds US, British and Iranian citizenships.
Wellington: New Zealand will open its border to vaccinated Australian tourists from 11.59pm on April 12, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Wednesday morning.

This is a shift from an earlier timetable that put Australia and the visa-waiver countries into one grouping.

New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Credit:AP

Reopening in time for the upcoming Australian school holidays will help spur our economic recovery in the short term and is good news for the winter ski season, Ardern said.

The wider opening to the rest of the world is also likely to be brought forward from October.
Stolen Car Report - Where Are Cars Are Stolen The Most

When it comes to car theft, the nations biggest cities may make the most headlines, but every state has areas where drivers should take extra precaution to secure their vehicle.

Car theft is a major concern for many American drivers and for good reason: there are more than 880,000 vehicle thefts each year across the United States, according to the most recent data from the National Insurance Crime Bureaus (NICB) Hot Spots report. To put this huge number in perspective, an average of one vehicle is stolen in the U.S. every 36 seconds.

While the countrys biggest cities have a reputation for being carjacking hotbeds, the reality is that car theft poses a risk to drivers everywhere, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The NICB notes that the pandemic created multiple national crises  including an economic slump and diminished school and social programming  that correlate with increased car theft rates. In America, the total number of vehicles stolen rose 11% between 2019 and 2020, marking a sharp departure from several years of modest declines in carjackings. With theft rates on the rise, drivers should be vigilant about locking their car and keeping valuables out of sight, especially in areas of higher risk. Drivers who have unfortunately fallen victim to car theft can take steps such as filing a police report, having the right paperwork on hand when talking to their insurance company, and remembering to file a stolen vehicle report with the DMV as well.

Curious to see where carjackings are most common in every state, the data scientists at Insurify analyzed NICB data to identify the city in each state with the highest car theft rate.

Insights

National averages. The average car theft rate across all cities in the U.S. is 288 vehicles per 100,000 residents , or about one stolen car per year for every 347 residents . For context, carjackings occur about as often as American drivers buy electric vehicles, which they did at a rate of one new car per 468 drivers in 2021, according to data from Cox Automotive and Statista.

Wild, Wild West. While car theft occurs everywhere in America, it is most common in Western states. The ten U.S. cities with the highest rates of vehicle theft all reside in the West; California even has four cities in the top ten, including the top two. Overall, carjackings occur 2.3 times more often in these cities than in the country as a whole.

Vehicle safe haven. Far from the American West, State College, Pennsylvania, is the safest U.S. city for cars in 2022. Its car theft rate of just 17 vehicles per 100,000 residents is a whopping 94% less than the national average. Residents of State College  which, as its name suggests, is home to Penn State University  apparently take extreme care to secure their vehicles and are constantly looking out for each others rides.

Methodology

The data scientists at Insurify, a car insurance comparison site, compiled data from the National Insurance Crime Bureaus (NICB) most recent Hot Spots report on auto theft rates in 382 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) across the United States. From this data, they identified the metro area in every state reporting the highest auto theft incidence per 100,000 residents, as well as the top ten cities overall with the highest auto theft rates. The data scientists identified these MSAs as the cities with the most car thefts in 2022. Due to insufficient metropolitan area data, Delaware, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont were excluded from this analysis.

Population data for each metro area was gathered from the United States Census Bureau.

The findings in this article represent statistical trends found in Insurifys analysis of the National Insurance Crime Bureaus Hot Spots data. The findings of this study are not meant to imply the direction nor necessarily the existence of a causal relationship. Rather, this is a presentation of statistical correlations of public interest.

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<img src="https://blog.insurify.com/wp-content/themes/insurify-theme/img/quotation-icon.svg" alt="quotation-icon"> 10 U.S. Cities With the Most Car Thefts Per Capita

1. Bakersfield, CA - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 905

2. Yuba City, CA - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 724

3. Denver, CO - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 706

4. Odessa, TX - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 664

5. San Francisco, CA - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 655

6. Albuquerque, NM - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 632

7. Pueblo, CO - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 602

8. Billings, MT - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 565

9. Tulsa, OK - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 552

10. San Jose, CA - Motor vehicle thefts per 100k residents: 551



City in Each State With the Most Car Thefts Per Capita (2022)

Alabama: Mobile

Population: 429,536

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 304 (26% greater than state average)

Alaska: Fairbanks

Population: 96,849

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 381 (2% greater than state average)

Arizona: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler

Population: 4,948,203

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 279 (35% greater than state average)

Arkansas: Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway

Population: 742,384

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 402 (17% greater than state average)

California: Bakersfield

Population: 900,202

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 905 (53% greater than state average)

Colorado: Denver-Aurora-Lakewood

Population: 2,967,239

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 706 (45% greater than state average)

Connecticut: New Haven-Milford

Population: 854,757

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 338 (31% greater than state average)

Florida: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach

Population: 6,166,488

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 289 (40% greater than state average)

Georgia: Macon-Bibb County

Population: 229,996

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 336 (35% greater than state average)

Idaho: Pocatello

Population: 95,489

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 186 (28% greater than state average)

Illinois: Carbondale-Marion

Population: 135,764

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 279 (33% greater than state average)

Indiana: Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson

Population: 2,074,537

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 349 (39% greater than state average)

Iowa: Davenport-Moline-Rock Island

Population: 379,172

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 329 (42% greater than state average)

Kansas: Topeka

Population: 231,969

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 535 (36% greater than state average)

Kentucky: Louisville/Jefferson County

Population: 1,265,108

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 506 (46% greater than state average)

Louisiana: New Orleans-Metairie

Population: 1,270,530

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 395 (28% greater than state average)

Maine: Bangor

Population: 152,148

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 84 (22% greater than state average)

Maryland: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson

Population: 2,800,053

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 226 (53% greater than state average)

Massachusetts: Springfield

Population: 697,382

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 149 (41% greater than state average)

Michigan: Kalamazoo-Portage

Population: 265,066

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 371 (54% greater than state average)

Minnesota: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington

Population: 3,640,043

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 376 (49% greater than state average)

Mississippi: Jackson

Population: 594,806

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 332 (13% greater than state average)

Missouri: Kansas City

Population: 2,157,990

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 545 (34% greater than state average)

Montana: Billings

Population: 181,667

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 565 (41% greater than state average)

Nebraska: Omaha-Council Bluffs

Population: 949,442

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 397 (38% greater than state average)

Nevada: Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise

Population: 2,266,715

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 407 (30% greater than state average)

New Mexico: Albuquerque

Population: 918,018

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 632 (43% greater than state average)

New Jersey: Trenton-Princeton

Population: 367,430

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 171 (22% greater than state average)

New York: Buffalo-Cheektowaga

Population: 1,127,983

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 220 (61% greater than state average)

North Carolina: Greensboro-High Point

Population: 771,851

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 273 (30% greater than state average)

North Dakota: Fargo

Population: 246,145

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 267 (27% greater than state average)

Ohio: Columbus

Population: 2,122,271

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 290 (28% greater than state average)

Oklahoma: Tulsa

Population: 998,626

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 552 (39% greater than state average)

Oregon: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro

Population: 2,492,412

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 490 (43% greater than state average)

Pennsylvania: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington

Population: 6,102,434

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 213 (67% greater than state average)

South Carolina: Columbia

Population: 838,433

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 419 (26% greater than state average)

South Dakota: Rapid City

Population: 142,107

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 400 (3% greater than state average)

Tennessee: Memphis

Population: 1,346,045

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 460 (37% greater than state average)

Texas: Odessa

Population: 166,223

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 664 (59% greater than state average)

Utah: Salt Lake City

Population: 1,232,696

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 542 (60% greater than state average)

Virginia: Richmond

Population: 1,291,900

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 214 (44% greater than state average)

Washington: Yakima

Population: 250,873

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 488 (46% greater than state average)

West Virginia: Charleston

Population: 257,074

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 268 (47% greater than state average)

Wisconsin: Milwaukee-Waukesha

Population: 1,575,179

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 345 (66% greater than state average)

Wyoming: Cheyenne

Population: 99,500

Motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents: 237 (9% greater than state average)

Heres what you need to do when you think your car is stolen:

1. Make sure youre actually reporting a stolen car.

Sometimes the most crucial steps are also the most overlooked. Youd be surprised at how many people report stolen cars when the car is still in their possession. In many states, filing a false police report about a stolen car is a crime and can have criminal consequencesyou need to be absolutely sure your car was stolen before you call the police.

Even though it can be challenging to keep a clear head when you think your car has been stolen, you need to do a quick sanity check. Make sure the car wasnt moved by mistake, or you parked somewhere and forgot where it was.

Think about where your car was parked. Could the car have been towed because you overparked in an area with a time limit? Did you leave the vehicle unattended in an area where cars arent allowed to park? If theres a chance the vehicle was taken away by a tow truck, the best thing you can do is check the impound first. A quick call to the impound will prevent you from filing a stolen vehicle report when your car is technically still in your possession.

2. Get ready to file a police report.

Over 773,000 motor vehicles were reported stolen in 2017 alone, according to the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting. If you think someone took your car, youll need to report the situation to your local police department and provide as much information as possible about the stolen vehicle. The police will ask you about when you last saw the car and when you last drove it. Theyll also ask you whether you have a tracking device on it and for details about the make, model, and year of the vehicle. Youll need a copy of this police report when you file a claim with your insurance company, so make sure to ask the police officer where you can get a copy after the report is filed.

The police can then move forward to investigate the case further if its warranted. They will run your license plate number, and your cars details will be entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. This allows all law enforcement officials to track the vehicle in the event the car is found somewhere else, or someone gets pulled over while driving it.

3. Talk to your insurance company.

You may be surprised to know that not all auto insurance providers insure vehicles for car theft. Once you have a police case number, youll need to share that with your insurance provider and explain what happened. You can provide the same details you shared in the police report, and the insurance company will ask for a copy of the police report to support your insurance claim.

How much you will be reimbursed for the stolen vehicle will depend on your insurance policys coverage. Most insurance companies will provide up to the state minimum, and this varies from state to state. Youll need comprehensive coverage to qualify for reimbursement of a stolen vehicle, and how much you receive will depend on the value of the car and other factors.

If your insurance company does provide coverage for a stolen car, they will investigate the situation on their own. They will take steps to rule out all possibilities of fraudthey want to make sure youre not hiding the vehicle or attempting to file a claim when the car hasnt really been stolen. The adjuster might ask you questions, such as where you last parked your car, if there were any security and/or anti-theft devices in the vehicle, and details from your police report. There may be a waiting period to confirm that you dont have the car anymore, and this can be as long as 7 days to 2 weeks, depending on the carrier.

If the insurance company determines that your car was stolen, they will reimburse you for the total cash value of your vehicle: the total you paid for the vehicle minus depreciation, as of the day the car was reported stolen. Youll receive a check minus your deductible as your reimbursement.

If you dont think the amount they valued for your vehicle is fair, you can file a dispute, so they adjust the amount. You will need to provide proof that the car is worth more than the car insurance company says it is in the form of blue book values, any photos of the vehicle in good condition, and features that the insurance adjuster might have left out.

4. File a stolen vehicle report with the DMV.

Even though youve filed a police report, once your insurance company has officially declared the car to be a total loss and a stolen vehicle, theres one more step. Now, youll need to report the situation to your states Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The DMV maintains a database of stolen cars and can help the police recover the vehicle faster if somebody comes in to register the car under their name. The car is now no longer in your possession, but theres still a chance it could show up later. Making sure the DMV knows about the change in ownership will help you stay free of any future issues related to the vehicle.

5. Do a stolen car check yourself.

Call it DIY sleuthing. You might want to search for cars in your area for sale to see if someone is trying to sell your stolen car on The Auto Channel Used Car Super Search.

This is the last resort if you dont feel like you are getting the help you need when your car is stolen or if your insurance company cant reimburse you for the vehicle. Still, this strategy could work in your favor if youre determined to find your vehicle and locate the car thief for good.

This approach might be a stretch, but could help you locate your car without outside help. Once you find it, you can get back in touch with the police to share your evidence and wait for the vehicle to be recovered.

Having your car stolen can be stressful, and sometimes there is only so much you can do to prevent auto theft. However, knowing what steps to take when you realize your car has disappeared and acting quickly can help you remedy the situation.

Insurify can help you to make sure you have adequate insurance coverage. Its a necessary step to protect yourself from auto theft in the future, so it pays to shop around and compare rates on comprehensive coverage.

Youve got this!

Sources

Data Attribution The information, statistics, and data visualizations on this page are free to use, we just ask that you attribute any full or partial use to Insurify with a link to this page. Thank you!

If you have any questions or comments about this article or would like to request the data, please contact insights@insurify.com.

Updated March 16, 2022
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Police: Towanda man steals gun, tries to draw it on police officer

Wright

SAYRE BOROUGH  A Towanda man allegedly stole a gun and tried to draw the weapon on a police officer in Sayre Borough Monday night.

The night before, Briar Ridge Wright, 19, and two yet-to-be-identified accomplices broke into several vehicles parked in the area of Chacona Lane behind the Engine Company No. 1 along West Packer Avenue, according to Sayre police. They stole money, cigarettes and other items including a SIG P365 handgun from a truck. An accomplice took the firearm from the truck, but was nervous about possessing the weapon due to a previous incident. police added. Wright said that he would give him $250 for the gun, and they exchanged the weapon although Write could only offer $20 at the time.

The weapon was reported stolen Monday morning. Around 10:28 p.m., an officer saw Wright walking down West Hayden Street near South Hopkins Street, according to court documents. Wright also had an outstanding warrant from the Bradford County Sheriffs Office. When Wright was ordered to stop, he instead reached for a bulge in his sweatshirt, prompting police the officer to pull his service weapon. The officer continued to order Wright to stop and put his hands up as the teen struggled with the weapon, which was in a waisteband holder, under his sweatshirt. Wright then got on the ground where police were able to grab the gun, clear it, and arrest him. Police also found a small amount of marijuana in his jeans pocket. Due to his age, Wright is unable to possess a concealed firearm, police said.

Security video footage of the three individuals at the time of the robberies was obtained by police. Wright allegedly confessed to stealing the gun from one of many vehicles that he broke into. He also confessed to stealing another firearm on June 26, 2021. Wright has been involved in at least 10 stolen firearm cases, court documents show.

Wright faces charges that include felony theft from a motor vehicle, felony receiving stolen property, felony aggravated assault: attempts to cause or causes bodily injury with deadly weapon, felony firearms not to be carried without license, misdemeanor resisting arrest/other law enforcement, misdemeanor loitering and prowling at night time and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.

He was remanded to the Bradford County Correctional Facility on $100,000. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 29.
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Electricity

Efforts to understand and harness electricity began in the 18th century. Scientists thought electricity could be used to create a cheap way for people to light their homes. One of the most notable pioneers in electricity was Thomas Edison, who developed the first practical electrical light bulb in the late 1870s. Edison launched a company that would later become General Electric and opened Americas first central power plant in New York in 1882. Edisons electrical system used direct current (DC), which was the standard in the United States during the early years of electricity. However, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse were in favor of alternating current (AC), which transmitted electricity over long distances more economically than DC. Worried that he would begin losing profits from his DC patents, Edison began a campaign to discredit AC. This bitter dispute between these inventors became known as the War of the Currents. This war came to an unofficial end during the 1893 Worlds Fair in Chicago, when Westinghouse beat out General Electric in a bid to supply electricity to the fair using AC. AC soon became dominant in the electric power industry. Most of our electricity today is powered by AC, although DC has seen a bit of a resurgence in recent years.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Telephone

During the early 19th century, several inventors started creating devices that used electric signals to transfer messages. Elisha Gray and Antonio Meucci were both noted in history to have designed devices that could transmit speech electrically. However, Alexander Graham Bell is credited with the invention of the telephone, and he received the first U.S. patent for it. Bells success with the telephone came from his efforts to create a harmonic telegraph, a device which could transmit multiple messages over a wire at a time. After an accidental discovery during one of his experiments, Bell began to explore a different ideatransmitting the human voice over the wires. He eventually succeeded in developing the telephone in 1876 and created the Bell Telephone Company (now known as AT&T) one year later. The telephone completely transformed human communication. It allowed people to connect in real time and share information with greater efficiency. It also spurred the development of telephone lines and later cellular phone networks. In 1993, IBM released a touchscreen cellular phone with Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) capabilities, a precursor to the Apple iPhone. Modern smartphonesmore computers than telephonesallowed phones to become not only a productivity tool, but also a multimedia powerhouse.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Moving Assembly Line

Henry Fords development of the Model T car brought about another very significant innovationthe moving assembly line. In the early 1900s, automobiles had been growing in popularity in the United States. The Model T became a favorite due to its affordability, yet Ford was constantly looking for ways to lower the price even more. In 1913, Ford introduced the idea of building cars one piece at a time instead of one car at a time. He used a conveyor belt to pull a vehicle down a line, where it could be built step-by-step, thereby creating the first moving assembly line. This reduced the time it took to build a car from over 12 hours to around 90 minutes. The assembly line enabled workers to be more efficient by dividing up labor, which helped increase productivity and profits. It also allowed Ford to drop the price of the Model T from $825 in 1908 to just $260 in 1925. However, Fords employees quickly found assembly line work quite monotonous. In an effort to reduce turnover, Ford increased the wages of his employees and decreased shifts by one hour. Pretty soon, other factories began replicating the production process that Ford created. Assembly lines are still used in most factories today, except many of the production steps are performed by machinery.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Personal Computer

Early computers were hardly personal or portable. One of the first computers, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), was built for U.S. military applications during World War II. However, it weighed 60,000 pounds and took up almost 2,000 square feet of space. In 1971, the invention of the microprocessor really helped make the idea of a personal computer a reality. Microprocessors could also run computer programs, but they were only the size of a thumbnail. This led to the invention of the minicomputer and later microcomputer, which eventually developed into the personal computer. One of the first microcomputers, the Altair computer, quickly became popular among the public after Bill Gates and Paul Allen developed software for it that made it easier to use. Gates and Allen formed Microsoft (short for microcomputer software), which later led the development of software for computers. Meanwhile, Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak formed the Apple Computer Company and launched several computers that expanded upon the capabilities of the Altair. In 1977, Jobs and Wozniak introduced the Apple II, which included a colored screen, keyboard, and expansion slots. In 1981, IBM released a powerful computer called the Personal Computer or PC. The personal computer revolution was underway. Other innovations like the graphical user interface and the computer mouse made PCs even more accessible to the masses.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Internet

Early computers were quite powerful, but also large and immobile. Researchers had to travel great distances to access and share information. At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. government began to investigate other means of sharing information that would not be as easily affected by a Soviet nuclear attack. In the 1960s, the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) developed ARPANET, a network that eventually grew into the modern internet. However, as more networks of computers began to join ARPANET, it quickly became necessary to develop a set of rules for how to transmit data through these networks. On January 1, 1983, ARPANET adopted the Transfer Control Protocol/Internetwork Protocol (TCP/IP), a standard way for computers to be able to talk to each other. This universal language for computers enabled researchers to eventually build a globally interconnected network of networks, also known as an internetwork or internet for short. This also paved the way for the creation of the World Wide Web, which is the most common way of accessing data online today.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Airplane

The earliest attempts at flight were made by mimicking bird flight. The idea of the airplane as a fixed-wing aircraft did not emerge until the late 18th century. Many scientists later experimented with controlled flights in gliders but were unsuccessful at achieving self-powered, sustained flight. Inspired by these pioneers in aviation, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright began experimenting with their own aircraft designs and developing steering systems for powered flight. On December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers made the first successful self-powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. By 1905, they had developed their aircraft into the first fully practical airplane. During one test flight in this 1905 flyer, Wilbur covered a distance of 24.5 miles in 39 minutes. However, public interest in their achievements did not occur until 1908, when the Wright brothers made their first public flights in Europe. Engineers from around the world soon began to study and improve upon the Wright brothers design. World War I later accelerated the militarization and manufacturing of airplanes.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Air Conditioning

Although the concept of air conditioning has been around since ancient Egypt, the first modern electrical air conditioning unit was originally developed to solve an industrial problem. In 1902, extreme humidity at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn caused pages to shrink and swell, which disrupted the printing process. Willis Carrier, a 25-year-old experimental engineer, invented a machine to help reduce humidity around the printing plant. Carrier quickly realized his invention also had the benefit of producing cooled air for comfort, which could benefit many other industries. By 1922, Carrier had refined his invention into the Centrifugal Refrigeration Compressor, a forerunner to the modern air conditioning systems today. However, the general public did not have much exposure to the idea of comfort cooling until the 1920s, when cooling systems became a fixture in movie houses. Public theaters at the time were known for being humid and smelly, so Carriers invention was a revolution for the theater industry. The air conditioner gradually moved from public spaces to private homes, and by the late 1960s, most U.S. households had central air conditioning. Today, the United States consumes more energy for air conditioning than the rest of the world combined.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Plastic

In the 19th century, excessive hunting of elephants caused ivory to become scarce, which created a problem for billiards suppliers. Plastic actually came about when suppliers began to look for a substitute for the ivory used to create billiard balls. In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt, a printer from Starkey, New York, took up the challenge and ended up inventing the first plastica synthetic material he called celluloid. Celluloid could be crafted into different shapes and patterned to imitate various types of natural substances (including ivory). This breakthrough meant that human manufacturing was no longer constrained by natural materials. Other advances in plastics soon followed, including the development of polystyrene, vinyl, acrylics, and nylon. This flood of new materials also brought about new manufacturing technologies like injection molding, which allowed plastics to be produced inexpensively and at a rapid scale. During World War II, the U.S. military began to rely heavily on synthetic alternatives in order to conserve natural resources, which caused a fourfold increase in plastic production in the United States. In postwar years, plastic manufacturing companies shifted their attention to consumer products. Plastics allowed goods to be made cheaper, safer, and stronger, which also helped to raise peoples standard of living. However, some plastics and overconsumption have also resulted in a huge buildup of waste, creating environmental concerns that are still being addressed today.

(R.W. for American Essence)

GPS

When the Russian satellite Sputnik was launched in 1957, American physicists discovered they could accurately track the satellites movements thanks, in part, to the Doppler effect. This discovery intrigued the U.S. government since it could aid in planning operations for the U.S. military. For decades, three men were given recognition for their various contributions to the U.S. Defense Departments GPS project, which began in 1973. These men are Roger L. Easton, Ivan Getting, and Bradford Parkinson. It wasnt until 2018 that the contributions of Dr. Gladys West were recognized. Wests calculations gave an accurate understanding of the geometric shape of the Earth. Without Dr. Wests calculations, GPS would not have been possible. GPS is a navigation system that uses satellites to accurately determine the locations between geographical points on Earth. Currently, many civilian technologies use GPS technology, including smart phones, smart watches, and wireless headphones. Real time traffic apps like Google Maps and Waze, and even mobile games like Pokemon Go, use GPS technology.

(R.W. for American Essence)

Transistors

The world is more connected than ever, and we may have this single tool to thank for it: Transistors are instrumental in making many of our modern pieces of technology possible. A transistor is a semiconductor device which allows an electrical current to be switched or amplified within a larger machine or piece of techit is integral to our modern computers as it makes the transfer of information possible. These are present in radios, smart phones, and television. The most common usage of transistors in the 21st century is within memory chips inside computers. This makes transistors one of the most important technological advances of the 20th century.

The transistor was first patented by Austro-Hungarian physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld in 1926, but he was unable to produce a working prototype. It wasnt until 1947 that three physicists, John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley, working at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, built the first working transistor. Their experiments aimed at studying how solid matter was affected within an electronic field. Their breakthrough came about when they replaced the standard glass vacuum tubes with gold and germanium to create a successful semiconductor diode within their transistor. This achievementdubbed by some the most important invention of the 20th century, and by others the most world-changing device to ever be inventedsecured them the Nobel Prize in 1956.

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.
A worker takes pictures of gasoline prices at a gas station in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S., March 9, 2022. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

1,000 Gallons of Diesel Stolen From Texas Gas Station: Owners

Authorities in Houston, Texas, are investigating after thieves allegedly stole some 1,000 gallons of diesel from an area gas station, according to the station owner.

Jerry Thayil, whose father owns the Fuqua Express gas station, told CNN this week that thieves stole from the station for three days, getting away with between $5,000 and $6,000 of diesel amid soaring gas prices nationwide. Thayil said thieves came back on a fourth day but were stopped by him.

I didnt want to just let them hit us again and lose another $1,200, $1,300, he said. So I decided I would do something about it and I ran out there and chased them away.

The station has bills to pay, we got employees that count on us, that need that money, Thayil told Click2Houston, adding that he discovered the alleged scheme by reviewing surveillance footage.

Thayil told the outlet that he noticed a dark-colored van parking near the stations storage tanks on several occasions.

At first we were like  I wonder what hes doing there because we didnt see anyone get out of the vehicle but then we realized theres probably a trap door inside the vehicle and hes pumping like that, he said.

The Houston Police Department told CNN that they are investigating the incident. The Epoch Times has contacted the department for comment.

The brazen incident comes as stations across the United States have increasingly reported gas thefts as AAA data shows that prices for all types of fuel, including diesel, remain relatively high. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $4.30 nationwide, and for diesel, its $5.10.

A Chevron station in Spring, Texas, reported several incidents where thieves allegedly stole thousands of gallons of gas from their storage tanks.

We put out some social media recently warning people that we are seeing a few cases of suspects using power drills to puncture a hole and siphon gas, said Kerby Duncan with the Everett Police Department in Washington state.

There have only been a few cases of this and we wanted to educate our community on how to protect themselves, and with sharply rising gas prices, we would expect to see more, he told The Epoch Times this week.

The Shasta County Sheriffs Office in California also issued a warning to be alert for gas theft as prices rise.

Of course, purchasing a locking gas cap and parking in a visible, well-lit area are on the top of the list, thieves have begun cutting filler lines and puncturing gas tanks to steal gasoline rather than siphoning, the office wrote.
A police vehicle is parked by an empty highway after protesters opposing federal COVID-19 mandates left following their blockade of the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, on Feb. 15, 2022. (The Canadian Press)

13 Charged With Weapons Possession During Coutts Border Blockade Appear in Court

Thirteen individuals accused of possession of a weapon during the Coutts border blockade in Alberta in February appeared in court on March 15.

They made a brief appearance virtually in a Lethbridge court. All of them face charges of possession of a weapon and mischief to property over $5,000.

Four among the accused also face charges of conspiracy to commit murder: Christopher Lysak, Chris Carbert, Jerry Morin, and Anthony Olienick.

Lysak, who is also charged with uttering threats, had already been denied bail. Carbert, Morin, and Olienick remain in custody as bail hearings for them have yet to take place.

The court adjourned the hearings until March 28. Defence lawyers requested the two-week adjournment, which met no objections from the prosecution.

The Crown wants them all kept together, prosecutor Steve Johnston said.

The othersUrsula Allred, Luke Berk, Johnson Chichow Law, Joanne Person, Justin Martin, Eastin Oler, Evan Colenutt, Jaclyne Martin, and Janx Zarembawere all released on bail with conditions last month.

They were arrested following a raid during the early hours of Feb. 14 on three trailers, where the police seized 13 long guns, handguns, sets of body armour, large amounts of ammunition, and high-capacity magazines, the Alberta RCMP said in a statement issued later that day.

The police said they became aware of the presence of this small group of individuals among the demonstrators who were blockading the Coutts border crossing in protest of the federal governments COVID-19 mandates.

The blockade ended on Feb. 15, with organizers saying they wanted to maintain a peaceful protest, and that they had nothing to do with the individuals arrested in relation to the cache of firearms and ammunition.

The protest at the Coutts border crossing started on Jan. 29, which was one of several demonstrations inspired by the Freedom Convoy that encamped in the downtown core of Ottawa for over three weeks in opposition to the federal governments vaccine mandate for cross-border truck drivers. The movement rapidly expanded to a national scale with many joining to call for an end to all COVID-19 restrictions.

Tony Hall, the founder of We the People, takes part in a protest in front of the Lethbridge courthouse where four men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the Coutts blockade were appearing in court, in Alberta on March 15, 2022. (Bill Graveland/The Canadian Press)

Roughly 20 people holding signs and Canadian flags gathered outside the Lethbridge court on Tuesday in support of the accused. Some signs read Drop the charges, Scapegoat tactics are an abuse of the law, and Truckers exposed Ottawas tyranny.

Tony Hall, a former professor at the University of Lethbridge and cofounder of the group We the People, criticized the effort to criminalize the Coutts 13 and treat them as terrorists and people who are so reprehensible.

Its really ruthless the way the effort is to build up this image.

Isaac Teo and the Canadian Press contributed to this article.
Children instinctively like sweet foods but the prevalence of added sugars can put them at risk. (muse studio/Shutterstock)

Abnormal Brain Development in Children With Binge Eating Disorder

Researchers from the University of Southern California (US) have found that children suffering from binge eating disorders (BED) have an increased proportion of grey matter densities indicative of abnormal brain development.

In children with binge eating disorder, we see abnormality in brain development in brain regions specifically linked to reward and impulsivity, or the ability to inhibit reward, said lead author Stuart Murray from the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

These kids have a very, very heightened reward sensitivity, especially toward calorically dense, high-sugar foods. The findings underscore the fact that this is not a lack of discipline for these kids.

Murray and his team analysed MRI brain scans of 71 children aged 9 to 10 suffering from binge eating and 74 children at the same age without the condition.

The team focussed on the areas of the brain related to reward and impulsivity, analysing childrens orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which contains nodes to reward taste, as well as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which has areas for inhibiting impulses and control.

To assess the link between the childrens binge-eating behaviour and possible brain differences, all children were asked to self-respond to the 24-itemed Behavioural inhibition System/Behavioural Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS scale).

The scale measures participants tendencies towards goal-oriented hedonistic pursuit as well as self-inhibition with the BIS measuring participants goals away from things unpleasant such as I worry about making mistakes while the BAS scale is oriented towards something desirable such as when I see an opportunity for something I like, I get excited right away.

In children with BED, the team found elevated levels of grey matter density at areas that should be pruned as part of the developmental process.

Pruning is a natural phase of brain development; as children grow up, grey matter is systematically reduced across specific regions to remove connection points between neurons that are no longer used for efficiency.

However, for children with BED, there were elevated densities of grey brain matter in areas linked to impulse control, inhibition of behaviour and decision making, such as the DLPFC, superior frontal gyrus and the anterior cingulate cortex.

Additionally, a small cluster of increased grey matter density was also seen in the OFC, which contains areas that respond to food rewards.

When linking brain development to behaviour, the team found that the impaired development for children with BED had a negative relationship with their BAS score, meaning that children with BED respond less to reward than an average child.

The authors theorised that the behaviour of children with BED were not motivated by the rewards of eating but rather a lack of self-control, a behaviour echoed in adult studies with BED.

Though the authors could not find the precise relationship between disordered behaviour and brain structure, Murray said that the study suggests to me that binge eating disorder is wired in the brain, even from a very, very early age.

The question that we dont know, which is something that we will address in time, is whether successful treatment of binge eating disorder in kids helps correct brain development. The prognosis of almost all psychiatric diseases is better if you can treat them in childhood.

Nonetheless, the authors concluded that their findings warrant further interrogation, to determine the relationship between structural characteristics and brain activity in disorders to more clearly elucidate how these associations relate to BED psychopathology.
Alone Together: The New Isolationism of Russia and China

The inward turn of both nations challenges the multilateralism of NATO

Commentary

Regardless of the results of the war in Ukraine, one outcome thats already unfolding is the rising isolationism of both Russia and China.

Both countries find themselves increasingly isolated from much of the worldparticularly from the Westto levels we havent seen in decades.

Why is that?

What does it mean for the near future?

Although it isnt wise to draw firm conclusions from two distinct nations that share certain similarities, some similarities shouldnt be ignored.

The simple answer is that, as authoritarian societies, neither can tolerate the criticism or the political disruption that comes with free citizens voicing their opinions. Not surprisingly, the free flow of ideas and the right to privacy are largely nonexistent in either country.

That said, until recently, both Russia and China had been deeply connected to the West. But thats changing rapidly.

A Tale of Two Economies

In Russias case, its isolation has been largely involuntary. Certainly, the decision to invade Ukraine was completely voluntary, even though the consequences of that decision werent.

Moscows actions have politically and financially alienated it from the West. Deep sanctions and the mass exodus of Western businesses have left the already weak Russian economy in a disastrous state. The ruble is virtually worthless, and the Russian economy, which is mainly based on energy and arms exports, is barely afloat. Its surviving by oil and gas sales to the West and Chinas financial aid.

China, on the other hand, with its deep alliance with Russia, has chosen to isolate itself from the West. But such a withdrawal involves a much more complicated process.

Employees produce down coats at a factory for Chinese clothing company Bosideng in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China, on Sept. 24, 2019. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Unlike Russia, China is the manufacturing center of the world and a global financial leader with a massive economic presence on every continent. But it still relies on Western markets for its products and services. Decoupling from the existing economic order wouldnt be easy.

Diplomatically and militarily, however, as its power has grown, the Chinese regime has adopted a more aggressive tone toward the West and its regional neighbors. And with the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) full support of Russias Ukraine war, the West is much less fond of China as a place to do business.

But Beijings siding with Moscow in Ukraine is just the latest offense in a list that spans decades. Chinas treatment of foreigners and foreign companies is becoming increasingly dismissive and harsh. Decades of industrial espionage and intellectual property theft against Western firms, as well as releasing the CCP virus upon the worldcausing the deaths of nearly 6 million peoplehavent helped, either.

Beijing seems to be okay with thatand for good reason. Like all authoritarian regimes, the CCP is vulnerable to ideas that conflict with its official version of reality.

Thats a big reason why isolating the country from Western influences is on the CCPs agenda. As the Chinese economy continues to struggle and life becomes more difficult for the countrys people, civil unrest will rise. The last thing the CCP wants is widespread domestic discontent that could turn into an anti-CCP groundswell. The Party wants to maintain and grow its power and control. Insulating the country from the West will help the CCP do both.

In short, dictators hate challenges to their authority.

What Does This Mean for the Near Future?

Both Moscow and Beijing know that theres power in unity. For instance, Russia has energy and grain, but no money. China, on the other hand, has money, but needs energy and grain. In that regard, their engagement makes economic sense.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C-L) meets with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Feb. 4, 2022. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

But it also makes geopolitical sense. Both nations are threatened by liberalism and resent having their financial systems subject to harsh and effective sanctions by the United States. Both nations also want to topple the United States from its global influence. Dealing bilaterally avoids any U.S. interference.

Unity and Isolation Challenges NATO

More to the geopolitical point, unity between the two countries, although complex at times, is easier than isolation from the West. There are a few conflicting interests to overcome. On the flip side, China, the power partner in the alliance, holds more sway than Russia. Still, it allows both parties to closely coordinate policies on a simple, bilateral basis.

Thats a much simpler route to unity than the one that Western nations, specifically NATO, have to travel. With its 30 members and three aspiring states, getting a consensus on policy is proving to be difficult.

Thats not only because of the numerical challenge.

Dividing a Paralytic NATO

In one sense, the war in Ukraine is uniting NATO and the West in unanimous condemnation of Russia and support of Ukraine.

But the war is also dividing NATO. The need and desire for a Western response to Russias aggression are unmistakable, and yet it remains undecided. U.S. leadership in response to Putin has been cloaked in the language of fear rather than resolve, passively reacting to Russian behavior instead of proactively deterring it.

This lack of leadership from the supposed leader is fomenting doubts within NATO membersespecially Poland, which borders Ukraine.

Russias intentions to expand the war by adding Chinese arms and financial support, as well as the potential addition of 40,000 Syrian mercenaries, suggest that an expansion of the war is already in play.

Neither Russia nor China has concerns about the effect this would have on NATO. Meanwhile, NATO says what it wont do, but remains undecided on what it will do, who should do it, and when.

Russia and Chinas unity in isolation may prove to be more effective than an indecisive, paralytic NATO.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A keen stargazer in the UK who started photographing the heavens during lockdowns has produced a series of jaw-dropping images of galaxies millions of light-years away.

Roger Allpress, 57, has captured the most distant corners of space after he turned to astrophotography to solve his CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus lockdown boredom.

His stunning photos show the vivid colors of galaxies such as the Triangulum Galaxy2.73 million light-years away.

Roger, a legal civil servant, started his newfound hobby less than 12 months ago with a camera and telescope costing just 1,500 pounds (approx US$2,000).

A photo of Andromeda Galaxy. (SWNS)

A space photo captures the Horsehead Nebula among several other celestial sights. (SWNS)

Its incredible, trying to get your head around it all is always difficult! he said. Im very much an amateur, Ive only been doing it for the last 12 months.

Ive been into astronomy since I was 6my grandad had a telescope and Ive been interested from then.

Roger uses a 20 megapixel camera attached to an 80 mm reflector telescope to take these images from the comfort of his own home in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire.

The pictures, which are produced by merging up to 40 slow-exposure shots of the same area, can take three hours to complete.

Roger has also captured the Bubble Nebula, which is 11,000 light-years away, and the so-called Pacman Nebula, 9,500 removed from our planet Earth.

Here are more stunning shots captured by Roger:

A mans lockdown hobby has seen him produce jaw-dropping images of galaxies millions of light-years away. (SWNS)

Roger Allpress, 57, has captured the most distant corners of space after he turned to astrophotography to solve his lockdown boredom. (SWNS)

Space provides endless distraction for Roger Allpress during the CCP virus lockdown. (SWNS)

Roger Allpress captured images of nebulas millions of light-years from Earth. (SWNS)

The pictures, which are produced by merging up to 40 slow-exposure shots of the same area, can take three hours to complete. (SWNS)

The so-called Pacman Nebula. (SWNS)

Roger, a legal civil servant, started his newfound hobby less than 12 months ago with a camera and telescope costing just 1,500 pounds. (SWNS)

Roger Allpresss stunning photos show the vivid colors of multifarious nebulas. (SWNS)

Roger Allpress also managed this impressive shot of the moon. (SWNS)

Roger uses a 20 megapixel camera attached to an 80 mm reflector telescope to take these images from the comfort of his own home in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. (SWNS)

Its incredible, trying to get your head around it all is always difficult! Allpress said. (SWNS)

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
A person uses a petrol pump at a gas station as fuel prices surged in Manhattan, New York City, on March 7, 2022. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

As Congress Dawdles, States Eye Gas Sales Tax Cuts

After voters rejected Motor Fuels Tax (MFT) increases in 2014 and 2018, Missouri lawmakers in 2021 agreed to raise the states 17-cents per gallon gas levythe nations second-lowestby 2.5 cents a year until it reached 29.5-cents a gallon in 2025.

The first of those five annual 2.5 cents per gallon tax hikes went into effect on Oct. 1.

The increases were the first since 1996 and would generate an additional $513 million in annual revenues by 2025 for the Missouri Department of Transportation, which was reporting $825 million in unfunded transportation priorities annually before state lawmakers adopted Senate Bill 262 last year.

But with fuel prices increasing dramaticallythe average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in the United States was $4.32 per gallon on March 15, 84 cents higher than two months ago, according to an AAA surveyand likely to stay high in the coming months, two bills related to Missouris 2021 MFT increase have been filed.

House Bill 1594, filed by Rep. Sara Walsh (R-Ashland), seeks to repeal the 2021 MFT bill before the next Oct. 1 incremental 2.5-cent hike.

The bill was pre-filed in December and addresses general angst over the increase and was not expected to advance, but with Russias invasion of Ukraine roiling the global oil market, it is gaining traction.

It advanced narrowly through stiff opposition in the second of two committee approvals on Feb. 25 and will be debated on the House floor when the chamber returns to Springfield in April.

A second Missouri bill, HB 2801, proposes a six-month gas sales tax holiday.

Filed on March 10 by Rep. Adam Schwadron (R-St. Charles), the measure will be heard before the House Special Committee on Government Oversight on March 22.

What is happening in Missouri is happening in state capitals nationwide as governors and lawmakers ponder ways to cut fuel costs for stressed consumers in the likely absence of federal or Congressional actions.

I believe the long-term fix for rising motor fuel prices is continuing on the path toward American energy independence by making use of all of Americas natural resources, Schwadron said in a statement introducing HB 2801.

However, in this time of crisis, we cannot wait to take action to relieve consumers in Missouri of the rapidly increasing prices at the pump.

A federal bill, the Gas Prices Relief Act of 2022, was filed Feb. 9 before the Russo-Ukraine war in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona).

It has since gained five Democratic co-sponsors and a House companion bill filed by Rep. Tom OHalleran (D-Arizona), with 15 Democratic co-sponsors, but little support from Republicans.

The bills call for the suspension of the federal 18.4 cents per gallon MFT. Neither has been heard in committee yet.

Last week, six Democratic governors of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsinall seeking reelection in 2022in a letter to congressional leaders urged quick adoption of the bills to pause the federal MFT for the rest of the year.

The bill would divert general fund money into the federal Highway Trust Fund to replace MFT revenues, which translates into dollars back in consumers pockets for groceries, child care, rent and more, the governors wrote.

The Biden administration has thus far avoided in-depth discussion of lifting the federal MFT and instead is urging greater oil production across the globe and is considering tapping into the nations Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

How effective trimming federal and state MFTs will be in significantly lowering costs for drivers is a matter of debate.

According to a 2020 American Road & Transportation Builders Association analysis of 113 recently-enacted state gas tax changes, consumers would only see about one-third of that cut materialize at the pump.

Other criticsincluding the building trade industriessay such actions are short-sighted knee-jerks that would cause long-term damage to state budgets and divert up to $20 billion infrastructure development plans.

They warn suspending the MFT would set a poor precedent and be politically difficult to restore.

Among concerns with such legislation is that gas stations wont necessarily lower prices accordingly and the federal sales tax cut only shaves a bit off costs consumers are paying at the pump.

For instance, a car that averages 25 miles per gallon and drives 12,000 miles would only save about $70 if the federal MFT was suspended for the rest of 2022.

Therefore, proponents say, a federal MFT cut would be of marginal value unless accompanied by state MFT trims because all states but Alaska have higher gas sales taxes than the federal 18.4 cent levy.

According to an analysis by IGEN Networks, the average state MFT tax is 29.15 cents per gallon.

Twenty-three states have gas taxes higher than that average and 27 states lower than that average. The five states with the highest gas taxes are: Pennsylvania (0.586), California (0.533), Washington (0.519), New Jersey ($0.414), and New York.

But with many states ending 2021 fiscal years in July with surpluses and record cash balances from federal pandemic aid assistance packages adopted over the past two years, at least 30 governors and state legislatures are considering gas tax holidays with Maryland among the first likely to do so.

Republican Gov. Larry Hogan said on March 10 that Marylands strong revenue estimates and $7.5 billion budget surplus will allow the state to suspend its 36 cent MFT by the end of this week.

Maryland legislators have fast-tracked a bill to suspend the state gas tax for 30 days that could be adopted this week.

In Georgia, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp also said last week that he would approve any effort by the general assembly to suspend the states 29 cent MFT.

The Georgia House on March 11 passed HB 304, a fast-tracked bill to lift the states MFT through May 31. The Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the bill on March 15 and it is set for a Senate chamber vote and dispatch to Kemps desk also this week.

Other states:

Michigan: The state Senate on March 15 approved a bill already adopted by the House suspending the states 27.2-cent MFT for six months in 24-14 vote. However, because chamber passages failed to secure two-thirds majorities, the freeze wont happen before 2023, meaning it is likely to be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer despite the state having a $7 billion revenue surplus.

Illinois: Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker has proposed delaying the states annual automatic 2.2-cent MFT increase in July. Lawmakers may introduce a bill that would cap the states 39.2 cent gas tax at 18 per gallon.

Mississippi: Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced March 14 he would work with lawmakers to suspend the states 18.4 cent MFT and provide the states Department of Transportation with $215 million to compensate for projected revenue losses.

California: Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last week called for a tax rebate to help Californians cope with the nations highest gas prices that are, in some parts of the state, nearing $6 a gallon, and also recommended delaying a gas tax increase planned for this year. A bill has been introduced to suspend the states 51-cent MFT but supporters on March 14 failed to get the needed votes to fast-track the measure. Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon in a joint statement said they will propose tax relief for state taxpayers come from the general fund, noting a small cut to the gas tax that might not get passed on to consumers.

Pennsylvania: Bills to temporarily cut or suspend the Pennsylvanias MFTat 57.6 cents it is the nations highesthave been filed in both chambers with Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Cormans (R-Bellefonte) sponsoring the most likely package to advance. The proposed Consumer Gas Prices Relief Act would lower the MFT by one-third (19 cents) which, in tandem with a federal MFT freeze, could reduce total fuel taxes on consumers by nearly 50 percent, writes Corman, among Republicans seeking the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nod, in a March 9 letter.

Virginia: Lawmakers are negotiating a proposal that would suspend a recent gas-tax hike for one year but no legislation cutting or suspending the MFT is on the front burner. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin proposed a 5-cent MFT in his successful gubernatorial campaign and the Republican-controlled House included a 5-cent gasoline tax cut in its budget proposal, but the Democrat-controlled Senate did not.

Florida: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has proposed a five-month pause on the states MFT but would need to do so through executive action or call lawmakers back to Tallahassee. The $110 billion budget passed by lawmakers this week includes a one-month fuel tax holiday in October.

Alaska: On March 11, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy asked state legislators to suspend the states 8 cent MFTthe nations lowestuntil the end of June 2023 and the Senate unanimously passed a non-binding resolution in support. Oil prices are at record levels, and, unlike the high oil price environment of 2007-2014, this climb is occurring with concurrent increases in all costs of living, Dunleavy said in a statement. The transfer of wealth from Alaskans to the state treasury must have some equitability restored to it. Dunleavys proposal, filed as a budget amendment, could be heard this week and adopted by next.

Colorado: Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, among state chief executives lobbying Congress for action, has also called on Colorado lawmakers to delay implementing a 2-cent gas tax for infrastructure that goes into effect in July.

Connecticut: Democratic Gov. New Lamont on March 14 recommended suspending the states 25 cent MFT through June 30 and urged the General Assembly to enact the measure as soon as possible.

Idaho: State lawmakers are pondering bills that would trim the states 32 cent MFT for up to two years.

Maine: A bill has been introduced to suspend the states 30 cent MFT through the end of the calendar year. Last week, former Republican Gov. Paul LePage called on Democratic Gov. Janet Millswho he will likely opposed in Novembers gubernatorial electionto slash the starters MFT by least 50 percent for six months.

Minnesota: Six Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) lawmakers have filed a proposed bill that would suspend the states 28.5 cent MFT from Memorial Day to Labor Day. In tandem with a federal cut, the bill would trim gallon prices by 47 cents. The $70 million a month in revenue the state would not collect could be replaced by transfers from Minnesotas $9.25 billion budget surplus. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, one of the six governors calling for Congressional action, said he would support the measure.

New Jersey: Some state legislators say allowing motorists to pump their own fuel, outlawed in New Jersey for 73 years, will reduce costs at the pump and others have introduced bills that would provide $250 to $500 tax rebates for residents.

New York: Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has been non-committal about numerous proposals surfacing in Albany to lower fuel costs. One measure would cap the states gas tax at 25 cent per gallon gas taxNew York charges a 17.3 cents per gallon petroleum business tax and an 8-cent MFTat 8 cents. Others call for suspending the tax for specific three or six month spans. The state Senate on March 15 agreed to temporarily freeze some gas tax levies, about 16 cents per gallon, in its proposed Fiscal Year 2023 budget. Under the plan, portions of the states gas taxes would be suspended beginning May 1 through years end.

Ohio: Senate Bill 277 would lower Ohios 38.5 cent MFT to 28 cents per gallon for five years, but it is uncertain if Republican Gov. Mike DeWine is on board with the proposal.

Oregon: Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has let lawmakers know the state should not consider pausing its 38 cent MFT, at least until the repercussions for state revenue collections and infrastructure funding are better understood. Oregons MFT increased by 2 cents in January as part of a 2017 plan to raise gas taxes 10 cents a gallon by 2024 to generate infrastructure funding.
Assistant Principal Dies by Suicide at Middle School in Californias Orange County

By Hayley Smith

From Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELESAn assistant principal at Kraemer Middle School in the Orange County city of Placentia died by suicide on campus Monday morning, officials said.

In an announcement posted on the schools website, Principal Michael Young said Moises Plascencia took his life in a private staff area at the school. No students or staff members were present, he said.

School operations were suspended for the remainder of the day, and students were sent home.

Words will never be able to express our true sorrow regarding this loss, Young said. While we may never make sense of nor understand why this occurred, please know how deeply Mr. Plascencia cared for your students, their education, and all of Kraemer Middle School.

The regular school schedule will resume Tuesday, Young said, adding that the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District will make mental health professionals available on campus for students, staff and families.

In a statement, Superintendent Jim Elsasser described Plascencia as a father, husband, brother and friend to so many in our school district community.

His passing, and the manner in which it occurred, has left us devastated, confused and heartbroken; however, we ask that you please respect his familys privacy during this incredibly difficult time, Elsasser said.

District spokeswoman Alyssa Griffiths said no additional details were immediately available.

We just appreciate the understanding that were trying to support the community right now, she said.

2022 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Astra Space launches its Astra-1 mission from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska on March 15, 2022. (NASASPACEFLIGHT/Astra/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Astra Space Launches Mission From Kodiak

Astra on Tuesday launched its Astra-1 mission from the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska.

The rocket startup launched three payloads on behalf of Spaceflight, Inc., including the Portland State Aerospace Society and NearSpace Launch, to a sun-synchronous orbit.

The payload includes satellites and space environmental instruments.

Astra was among three companies picked by NASA in 2020 to launch small satellites.

The company was founded in 2016 in Alameda, California.
A mother and child wait at the Lviv train station in western Ukraine, on March 16, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

At Ukraine Train Station, Some Mothers Wait to Flee, Others Return Home

LVIV, UkraineIn a dimly lit hall for female refugees with small children at Lvivs main train terminal, some women are waiting to leave Ukraine, some are on their way back east to the war zone, and others plan to stay put, helping those on their way.

Matvei, 6, chased after another boy his age around the mattresses and pillows lining the floor throughout the hall. His mother, Katya Kaverina, sat on one of the mattresses, holding 10-month-old Nikita in her lap.

Kaverina had three hours to wait before her train to Poland arrived. She fled from Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, which is still far from the front lines of the war to the north, south, and east. She traveled for 23 hours to get to Lviv, leaving behind her husband, mother, and father; she worries about them all.

In Poland, she knows no one and hopes volunteers will help.

Momma, Matvei said as he ran past her.

Most of the mattresses lay empty as moms opted for benches lining the edges of the hall. A mother lay on one, while cradling an infant distracted by a smartphone. On another, a girl in a pink sweater lay on her back and sipped milk from a bottle, staring at the high ceilings of the hall. At the other end of the hall, a tall teenage boy shushed an infant to sleep. Nearby, a woman changed a toddlers diaper.

Unlike most of the mothers in the hall, Albina Bilohub, 27, is taking her two boys back to Kyiv, Ukraines capital. While Russian forces are attempting to encircle the city, they have made little progress toward capturing it as Ukrainian forces have concentrated a large contingent of ground forces and anti-air equipment there.

Bilohub thinks the capital and the district she lives in are well-protected.

Albina Bilovub (second-left) and her sister Karina Bilovub and two children at the Lviv train station in western Ukraine, on March 16, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Bilohub and her 19-year-old sister Karina Bilohub fled Kyiv on March 5, fearing for the lives of Yarik, 5, and Kostya, who will turn 1 on March 20. The train out of Kyiv was a hellish experience, as men shoved past women and children to get aboard, Bilohub said.

She said they were lucky to get a seat.

After arriving in Lviv, volunteers helped the two sisters and the boys find a place to stay, first in a school and then in shared housing used by university students. Bilohub decided to not explain to her 5-year-old what was happening, letting him get lost in video games on a smartphone instead.

He wouldnt be able to comprehend this. Like this, he is at least calm, she said, as Yarik tapped on the screen playing Minecraft, his small face lit up in the hall that was growing dark as the sun set on a foggy March evening.

Bilohub says she regrets ever leaving Kiev and putting her boys through the ordeal. She has been inspired by Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraines president, saying that his resolve to stay and defend the nation took her by surprise.

We ran away due to panic. I feel now it is OK to come back, Bilohub said, before sitting down to give Kostya a bottle of milk. My soul yearns to come back.

A boy is handed a snack as his mother watches at the Lviv train station in western Ukraine, on March 16, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Bilohub isnt the only mother with children traveling east toward the war zone, according to Anya Prumenko, a volunteer who helps people at the train station every other day. She has met women heading back to Kyiv and other cities, and wants to go back herself.

At 11:40 p.m. on March 7, a Russian missile struck an apartment building in Sumy, killing Prumenkos mother, brother, his wife, and their three children.

I do this to distract myself, she said.
Excavators work at Atlantic Gold Corporation's Touquoy open pit gold mine in Moose River Gold Mines, N.S. on June 6, 2017. A public rally critical of open-pit mining practices is going on today as the mining industry meets in Halifax to promote Nova Scotia's growing gold industry. Demonstrators planned to gather over the lunch hour during the Nova Scotia Gold Show at a hotel at the Halifax airport. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Australia Funds Critical Mineral Projects to Break China Reliance

The Australian federal government announced $243 million (US$176 million) in funding for four critical mineral refining projects to break the countrys near full reliance on China for the products.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the projects, that are expected to create over 3,400 jobs, were key to securing domestic manufacturing in Australia.

These projects are about manufacturing the products and materials Australians need and the world needs, by making them right here at home, he said.

Were helping grow the local critical minerals processing and clean energy industries and locking in the future of those industries by backing manufacturing projects in Australia.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor said the projects will help Australia become more energy self sufficient and less reliant on the global supply chain.

Australia is lucky to have some of the largest reserves of the critical minerals and metals which drive the modern global economy, he said. But China currently dominates around 70 to 80 percent of global critical minerals production and continues to consolidate its hold over these supply chains.

Taylor added that the initiative was designed to address Chinese dominance.

Minister for Industry, Energy, and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor at a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia,, on Feb. 17, 2022. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

Critical minerals are required to make devices people use everyday like smartphones, computers, and rechargeable batteries. Renewables also require the minerals.

Australian has some of the highest volumes of critical minerals in the world, depending on type, that remain largely untapped due to the lack of domestic capacity to refine the materials.

Over two-thirds of the funding will go to two projects located in Western Australia, the countrys key mining state. The other two projects are located in central Australia and on the east coast in Queensland.

It comes after Tesla signed a five-year deal that secured a significant stock of lithium from Australia as global lithium prices continue to rise sharply.

Liontown Resources will supply Tesla with 100,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate in the first year and 150,000 tonnes every year after.

The resource is in high demand as lithium-based batteries are being used across industries seeking to reduce carbon dioxide emissionsincluding in big electric storage systems positioned in the electrical grid to support solar and wind energy.

Chinese companies also predominantly control the majority of the worlds lithium production, including the worlds biggest operating mine: the Greenbushes Lithium Project in Western Australia.

Daniel Khmelev has contributed to this article.
Residents shop at a supermarket in Canberra, Australia, on Aug. 12, 2021. (Rohan Thomson/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian Election Debate to Revolve Around Living Costs

As cost of living increases in the lead up to Australias federal elections in May Prime Minister Scott Morrison has focussed debate on the economy.

The situation comes as Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was ranked similar to Morrison as the preferred prime minister, with Labor outpacing the Coalition 55 to 45 percent to become the preferred party in the latest Newspoll.

More specifically, both leaders scored 42 percent for preferred prime minister as of March 13, with Albanese gaining two percentage points compared to two weeks earlier. The remaining 16 percent of respondents did not commit to any leaders.

While campaigning in the marginal seat of Dobell on the central coast of New South Wales, the prime minister said that the proper management of the economy would play a vital role in alleviating living cost pressures.

This next election is about a choice, about our economy and how we can best manage our economy to manage a better future, Morrison told reporters on March 14.

These cost of living impacts are real, and the Australian government understands that.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses attendees at a multicultural community awards at Herb Graham Recreation Centre in Perth, Australia, on March 15, 2022. (Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Living costs have regained the limelight in the election debate as a result of a rapid hike in petrol prices after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Skyrocketing fuel costs are hurting Australian families as petrol prices jumped around 50 cents to $2.2 a litre (US$5.98 a gallon) in recent weeks.

In addition, the prices of many items on supermarket shelves are expected to increase by 10 to 20 percent, including but not limited to SPC baked beans and spaghetti, Ardmona canned tomatoes and Goulburn Valley fruits, as manufacturers are experiencing sharp rises in input costs.

Meanwhile, the Coalition has placed high importance on winning the Dobell seat which is currently held by Labors Emma McBride on a margin of 1.5 percent.

Cardiologist Michael Feneley, a new candidate selected by the Coalition, joined hands with the prime minister in campaigning for the seat.

At the same time, Albanese was running a political campaign in Queenslands electorate of Herbert, a Coalition-held seat with an eight percent margin.

Anthony Albanese speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 25, 2022. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

Although the opposition leader surpassed Morrison in most character traits in the recent Newspoll, he said it was still very challenging for his party to win the election.

We know that its a mountain to climb for Labor to win office from opposition. Weve only done it three times since the Second World War, he said.

Its really tough, and if anyone takes a lesson from the last 2019 campaign, its that you shouldnt worry about polls before election day.

Albanese said he would be focusing on cutting down living costs in his political campaigns.

At the moment, families are under massive pressure. Everything is going up  except peoples wages, which is why people are really, really struggling, he said.
Member for Gorton Brendan O'Connor during the opening of the House of Representatives at Parliament House, in Canberra, Australia, on June 18, 2020. (Sam Mooy/Getty Images)

Australian Opposition Party Affirms US Alliance, Notes Taiwan Policy

Australias opposition defence spokesperson Brendan OConnor has affirmed Labors commitment to the countrys United States alliance and outlined some of Labors key national security priorities if elected to government in May.

The bond between the United States and Australia cannot be overstated. It is a connection formed through our shared beliefs, aspirations and democratic values, OConnor said in an address to the United States Studies Centre in Sydney on March 16.

But this friendship between our two nations goes further than similarities in our cultural identity. Our relationship with the United States is fundamental to Australias security, sovereignty and prosperity.

Our alliance is also critical to underpinning peace, stability and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond, he said.

The comments come as Labor responds to the Morrison governments accusations that it has a poor record on defence spendingwhich reached a low 1.56 percent of GDP when the party was last in governmentand that Labor is weak on China.

Australian Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese reacts as Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Aug. 23, 2021. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

OConnor reminded the audience that it was under a wartime Labor government 80 years ago that the ANZUS alliance with the United States was formed.

He noted that this had been expanded by the Coalition in recent years, and affirmed Labors support for the AUKUS security pact with the United States and Britain, as well as the reinvigorated Quadrilateral Security Dialogue with the United States, Japan, and India.

For Labor, national security is above politics, he said, adding that such security alliances were critical in an increasingly challenging world.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) pose for a group photo during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat in Phnom Penh on Feb. 17, 2022. (Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP via Getty Images)

Its why weve advocated the importance of strengthening regional bodies such as ASEAN. Thats why we also support the Quad and its really its reinvigoration under the leadership of [U.S.] President Biden, he said.

Meanwhile, OConnor accused the government of mismanaging the defence portfolio and botching the procurement of military assets, highlighting the two-decade wait for nuclear submarines under AUKUS.

The current Government is making announcements, but their inaction over nearly a decade in office means they are failing to actually deliver the capability we need when we need it, he said.

Labor to Remain Ambiguous on Taiwan

Though mentioning the challenges posed by Beijing in the Indo-Pacific for Australias defence forces, the communist-ruled country was not directly mentioned in his address.

But OConnor said Labor would follow a policy of strategic ambiguity on Taiwan as noted by foreign affairs spokesperson Penny Wong.

As my shadow Foreign Affairs ministerial colleague Penny Wong has stressed with respect to Taiwan, and consistent with that of the United States, Labor would continue the policy of strategic ambiguity, he said.

Australian Sen. Penny Wong in the Senate at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Dec. 2, 2019. (Tracey Nearmy/Getty Images)

This is because declaring intended military action response to hypothetical situations only serves to tilt the strategic calculation in favour of those who seek to instigate conflict.

We are facing times of global instability, particularly growing tensions within our region. And though we share concerns on these matters, he said.

Labors connections with Beijing have continued to cloud the party.

In late February, the state of New South Wales (NSW) chief anti-corruption body, the Independent Commission Against Corruption officially found former state Labor MP Ernest Wong engaged in serious corrupt conduct by trying to hide the source of a $100,000 (US$71,830) donation in 2015which came from controversial United Front-linked billionaire Huang Xiangmo.
Ball in US Court on Russian Eurobond Payments, Finance Minister Says

The ball is in the United States court as to whether payments due on Wednesday on two Russian dollar-denominated Eurobonds will go through, and Washington should clarify whether the settlements are possible, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said.

The economic cost of Russias actions in Ukraine has been fully exposed as President Vladimir Putins sanctions-ravaged government teeters on the brink of its first international debt default since the Bolshevik revolution.

Speaking in an interview with RT Arabic, Siluanov said Russia had sent an order on Monday to a correspondent bank for the payment of $117 million in coupons, and that it was now up to authorities in the United States on whether to accept it.

The capability or incapability of meeting our obligations in foreign currency equivalent does not depend on us, we have the money, we have made the payment, now the ball is in the court, primarily, of the American authorities, Siluanov said.

Sanctions have cut Russia off from key parts of global financial markets and have frozen nearly half of the countrys $640 billion gold and foreign exchange reserves. Siluanov said the block on its dollar account meant there were risks the payment would not reach the final, intended recipients.

The payment has reached the correspondent American bank, Siluanov said. At the moment the payment is being processed and we do not yet have reports on whether it has gone through or not. It has not been cleared yet.

But we know that the bank is in talks with OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) and has requested specific information from us about the purpose of the payment.

Russia has said it will make the payments in roubles if dollar payments fail to go through but ratings agency Fitch has said that would constitute a sovereign default. if not corrected within a 30-day grace period.
Banks Fear Swift Will Be Next Russian Cyberattack Target

The cyber specialists of the big banks have set an alert as concerns brew amongst the big banks over Swifts vulnerability to Russian cyberattacks, the Financial Times reports.

The attacks ended, kicking seven of the countrys lenders off the global payments messaging system. Swift plays a crucial role in global banking, facilitating trillions of dollars worth of daily transactions.

VTB, Russias leading bank, and Promsvyazbank, which finances Russias war machine, were among the lenders removed from Swift as part of the Wests sanctions campaign against Moscow in response to its Ukraine invasion.

Bank cyber security specialists see an escalating threat to Swift being a pinch point in the global financial network if more of Russias lenders leave the system.

Russias cyberattacks, which have targeted only Ukrainian government departments and infrastructure, have gradually increased in intensity.

Swift takes security very seriously, and we have a strong control environment in place for physical and cyber security, it added. Like banks, market infrastructures, and other financial institutions, we continuously monitor the threat landscape and adapt responses accordingly.
A clock over the Speaker's rostrum in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber is seen on Dec. 8, 2008 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

BC to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent Once US House Passes Bill

Permanent daylight saving time (DST) could soon be a reality in the province of British Columbia following a U.S. Senate vote to stop changing the clocks twice a year.

In 2019, B.C. had outlined a plan to switch to DST permanently, but the legislation did not set a date because the province was waiting for neighbouring U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and California to also approve the change.

On March 15, U.S. senators voted unanimously to pass a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, will now go to the House of Representatives for review. Once passed there, it will head to U.S. President Joe Biden for approval.

If it passes, it is expected that the three U.S. pacific states will move to permanent daylight time.

In a Twitter post, Horgan said that he was pleased to see the progress from Washington, D.C. on this long-debated issue.

For British Columbia families who have just had to cope with the disruptions of changing the clocks, this brings us another step toward ending the time changes permanently, he said on March 15.

The B.C. government introduced legislation to make daylight time permanent after a public survey conducted in 2019 showed 93 percent of more than 223,000 respondents were in favour.

Those who preferred to keep permanent daylight time cited safety, health, and wellness concerns as key reasons for supporting the observance, a final report from the 2019 survey said.

In Canada, only the Yukon and most of Saskatchewan were exempt from changing their clocks on March 13, while the rest of the country turned the clock one hour ahead.

Joseph Lord and The Canadian Press contributed to this article
Biden Announces Additional Military Support to Ukraine, Including Small Arms for Civilians

U.S. President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in new support to Ukraine on March 16, bringing the total U.S. military aid sent to Ukraine this week to $1 billion.

The defense package, which is meant to fend off the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, includes 800 anti-aircraft systems and 9,000 anti-armor systems, according to Biden. It also includes 7,000 small arms and 20 million rounds of ammunition meant to arm Ukrainians, including the brave women and men who are defending their cities as civilians.

I want to be honest, this could be a long and difficult battle, but the American people will be steadfast in our support of the people of Ukraine in the face of [Russian President Vladimir] Putins immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations, Biden said, citing reports of Russian attacks on hospitals and other civilian sites.

The announcement came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a virtual address to the U.S. Congress, requested that the United States and NATO arm Ukraine with fighter jets and enforce a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspacetwo requests that Biden and other top officials say are nonstarters, as doing so would likely draw the United States into a war with Russia.

Zelensky told U.S. lawmakers, We need you right now, invoking the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while requesting S-300 surface-to-air missile systems and Polish MiG-29 fighter jets.

At the conclusion of his remarks, Zelensky addressed Biden directly.

You are the leader of your grand nation, Zelensky said. I wish you to be the leader of the world. Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

This request came after Zelensky said on March 15 that his country has to accept that it wont become a member of the NATO military alliance, a critical concern that Putin used to justify the invasion, which began on Feb. 24.

The United States has provided military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine throughout the weeks-long conflict, including $13.6 billion recently approved by Congress as part of its spending legislation.

The United States and its allies have responded to Russias attack on Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russian financial systems and individuals in Putins inner circle. The United States has also banned the import of Russian oil, along with other Group of Seven (G-7) nations, and moved to end Russias normal trade relation status, making it more difficult for Russia to do business with the West.

Putin said on March 16 that the West is trying to economically cripple Russia.

Behind the hypocritical talk and todays actions of the so-called collective West are hostile geopolitical goals. They just dont want a strong and sovereign Russia, Putin said, according to state-run media outlets.

The Russian leader, speaking in a televised meeting in Moscow, said other countries are trying to cancel Russia with a blitzkrieg of sanctions.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on March 16 with Gen. Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council. Sullivan reiterated to Patrushev the U.S. opposition to the war and told him that if Russia is serious about diplomacy, then Moscow should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns, according to a statement from National Security Council spokeswoman Emily Horne. Sullivan also warned about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine.

The White House announced plans earlier this week for Biden to attend a NATO summit in Brussels on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russias unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine. Biden will also attend a European Council Summit.
Monica Cannon-Grant (C) speaks during a Black Lives Matter rally in Boston, Mass., on June 22, 2020. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

Black Lives Matter Activist, Husband Charged With Fraud

A Black Lives Matter activist in Boston and her husband have been charged with fraud and conspiracy by federal officials after allegedly taking money meant for a nonprofit they founded to pay for hotel rooms, car rentals, and dining out.

Monica Cannon-Grant, 41, and her husband Clark Grant, 38, were charged in an 18-count indictment this week by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Massachusetts.

The couple used tens of thousands of dollars meant for charitable efforts such as feeding needy children to pay for a vacation to Columbia, Maryland; groceries; Uber rides; car rentals; meals at restaurants; gas; auto insurance; purchases from retailers such as Old Navy; nail salons; hotel rooms; parking fees; and Walmart purchases, according to charging documents obtained by The Epoch Times.

The funds were donated to the organization founded by Cannon-Grant and Grant, called Violence in Boston (VIB). Among those donating funds were a Cambridge Black Lives Matter group and a department store, prosecutors say.

One $10,000 donation came from the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office, which was headed at the time by Rachael Rollins, the current U.S. attorney for Massachusetts.

Additionally, Cannon-Grant and Grant are alleged to have knowingly made a false statement and report to obtain a mortgage loan by omitting income from their nonprofit.

Cannon-Grant and her husband, both of Taunton, Massachusetts, were each charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy, wire fraud, and making false statements to a mortgage lending business. Cannon-Grant also was charged with mail fraud.

Grant was already facing two federal charges, including wire fraud, from 2021.

Cannon-Grant has described herself as a Black Lives Matter activist. The nonprofit she started with her husband says its mission is to improve the quality of life and life outcomes of individuals from underserved communities by reducing the prevalence of violence and the impact of associated trauma while addressing social injustices through advocacy and direct services. It often promotes posts with Black Lives Matter hashtags on social media.

Grant was working at an unnamed company from 2018 through 2021, starting as a laborer and eventually being promoted to track foreman, according to information reported on his tax returns.

Cannon-Grant appeared in court on March 15 and is scheduled to appear again for arraignment next week. She declined to speak to reporters outside the courtroom.

We are extremely disappointed the government rushed to judgment here, Robert Goldstein, an attorney representing the activist, told The Epoch Times in an email. VIB and Monica have been fully cooperating and their production of records remains ongoing. Drawing conclusions from an incomplete factual record does not represent the fair and fully informed process a citizen deserves from its government, especially someone like Monica who has worked tirelessly on behalf of her community.

We remain fully confident Monica will be vindicated when a complete factual record emerges.

Cannons arraignment has not been scheduled. He was arrested last year but is not being held.

The Violence in Boston organization and the public defender representing Cannon didnt respond by press time to requests for comment.

The nonprofit shared posts on Twitter claiming the idea that Cannon-Grant started it to enrich herself just doesnt make sense.

Even if she pocketed all the money the org brought it, she would not be wealthy enough to make up for the constant harassment and threats. A fraud would find an easier way to make money, one of the posts alleged, from a group called Walthams Nights Watch, which didnt list a source.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C) arrives at Riyadh Airport during a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on March 16, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau / Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Boris Johnson Visits UAE, Saudi Arabia as the West Turns Away From Russian Oil

The UKs Prime Minister Boris Johnson has arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during a trip to reduce the Wests dependence on Russian energy.

After touching down at Riyadh airport in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Johnson said he was glad to be back in the country during a tea ceremony.

During the trip, Downing Street expects Saudi Arabias alfanar group will confirm 1 billion ($1.31 billion) of investment in the Lighthouse Green Fuels Project in Teesside, trying to produce sustainable aviation fuel from waste.

It is hoped the project will create more than 700 jobs during construction, and around 240 full-time jobs once fully operational.

Earlier on the day, Johnson met the UAEs de facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in a closed-door meeting.

A spokesman for No. 10 Downing Street said Johnson had set out his deep concerns about the chaos unleashed by Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and stressed the importance of working together to improve stability in the global energy market during his meeting with the UAE leader.

The leaders welcomed the longstanding partnership between our two countries and discussed opportunities to increase collaboration between the UK and UAE on energy security, green technology, and trade, the statement said.

They also agreed on the need to bolster our strong security, defence, and intelligence co-operation in the face of growing global threats, including from the Houthis in Yemen.

The statement didnt mention whether Johnson had secured any kind of commitment to increasing oil production.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson inspects the Guard of Honour as he arrives at Abu Dhabi airport for his visit to the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 16, 2022. (Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Johnsons trip has been controversial due to the two Gulf states human rights records, especially in the wake of Saudi Arabias recent execution of 81 peoplethe largest mass execution in the kingdom in modern history.

Critics have also questioned the choice to particularly strengthen ties with Mohammed bin Salman, with the Saudi leader having been alleged to have ordered the murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggian allegation the Saudi ruler denies.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy.

Conservative MP Julian Lewis, who chairs Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee, also called on the government to ensure that in seeking to lessen our dependence upon one source of oil and gas, we do not end up creating a source dependency on another unreliable and sometimes hostile regime.

But Johnson has defended the trip, saying hes trying to build the widest possible coalition to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin does not succeed in his war effort.

The UK is building an international coalition to deal with the new reality we face. The world must wean itself off Russian hydrocarbons and starve Putins addiction to oil and gas, he said.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are key international partners in that effort. We will work with them to ensure regional security, support the humanitarian relief effort, and stabilise global energy markets for the longer term.

Deputising Johnson during Prime Ministers Question session in Parliament on Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab told MPs the UK will never allow our moral red lines to be blurred when pressed on what more the government can do to make the Saudis behave ethically.

Raab said he had raised human rights concerns with Saudi leaders when he was the Foreign Secretary and he knew that the prime minister will be raising these issues again.

He also defended the effectiveness of these talks, citing the release of two prominent womens rights activists and author and critic Raif Badawi.

Downing Street later told reporters that Johnson had raised human rights issues without giving details.

On Tuesday, Johnson told reporters that while only 3 percent of the UKs gas comes from Russia, a lot more of our diesel does.

Also on Wednesday, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report that it had seen a reduction of total Russian oil exports of 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd), including 1.5 million bpd in crude oil.

The agency projected that three million bpd of Russian oil and products may not find their way to market beginning in April and the world is set for a supply deficit of 700,000 bpd in the second quarter.

PA media and Reuters contributed to this report.
California Lawmakers Reject Measure to End Newsoms Emergency Powers

California lawmakers have voted down a measure that would have ended the emergency powers Gov. Gavin Newsom has been wielding for more than two years.

On March 15, eight members of the California Senate Committee on Governmental Organization voted against the measure: Senate Concurrent Resolution 5. Four members voted in favor of the resolution.

The measure, if approved, would have terminated the state of emergency that Newsom, a Democrat, proclaimed on March 4, 2020.

An open-ended state of emergency, with boundless powers vested in a chief executive, is incompatible with democratic government, the resolution reads. It is critical that a proper balance be restored between the legislative and executive branches.

State Sen. Melissa Melendez, a Republican who introduced the measure, cited the sharp drop in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths while speaking in favor of the legislation before the vote.

Its time for the state to allow local governments to take the lead and address emergencies locally without the shotgun approach of a statewide emergency, she said.

Melendez and three fellow Republican state senators voted in favor of the resolution, while the eight no votes all came from Democrats.

State Sen. Benjamin Allen, a Democrat who abstained from the vote, said there was so much thats compelling about this bill, but told colleagues that the one problem here is that declaring the emergency over would hinder our ability to do a lot that involves fighting this pandemic.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, a Democrat who voted against the measure, said he was happy to see the drop in COVID-19 metrics, but the existing state of emergency proclaimed by the governor is absolutely important to ensure that the state can quickly and efficiently continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and be prepared for possible future variants and surges.

Dodd noted that of the 63 provisions relating to the state of emergency, Newsom has scheduled 18 to end at the end of March and another 15 to end at the end of June.

The other provisions are important for maintaining government flexibility, he said.

The limited executive orders under the State of Emergency remain critical to bolstering the states testing and vaccination programs and preventing potential strain on the health care delivery system, a spokesperson for Newsom told The Epoch Times in an email.

Governor Newsom took action last month to lift all but 5 percent of the COVID-19 related executive order provisions issued throughout the pandemic. The state will continue to be guided by the latest science and data as we respond to the evolving pandemic.

Melendez wrote on Twitter after the vote that Democrats in the state legislature are content to abdicate their responsibilities to the governor.

The state of emergency will continue, as will the governors power to close schools and shut down businesses.
The California State flag flies outside City Hall, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 27, 2017. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

Californias State of Emergency Is Hurting, Not Helping: Republican Lawmakers

With a recent failed effort to end Californias state of emergency, Republican lawmakers are arguing that extending the order is unjustified and will hurt peoples livelihoods at a time when most COVID-19-related mandates enacted without the state legislatures approval are waning.

Regrettably, my SCR 5 [Senate Concurrent Resolution 5] to end the State of Emergency failed to pass [on March 15], Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) wrote on Twitter. The Democrat majority is content to abdicate their responsibilities to the governor. The state of emergency will continue, as will the governors power to close schools and shut down businesses.

Since March 4, 2020, the state of emergency has granted the governor authority to overstep all state lawmakers, with the ability to make, amend, and rescind laws, according to the California Emergency Services Act.

The governor has slowly begun to peel back mandates, indicating that the need for his emergency power is no longer necessary, Melendez said at the March 15 hearing. Continued lockdowns and the destruction of small businesses is not the answer to solving the spread of COVID-19.

State Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clara) also echoed his support for ending the state of emergency and restoring Californias balance of power, claiming that the governor didnt handle the pandemic correctly.

We need to fix the things that went wrong because a lot of people paid dearly with their lives, with their loss of businesses, [and] with their mental health issues, he said.

Opponents of the proposal said the state of emergency should remain, in consideration of the uncertain state of public health.

Brian Rice, president of California Professional Firefighters, a union representing 30,000 firefighters and paramedics in the state, said health services are still impacted by COVID-19 as the virus keeps mutating.

Were not ready yet, Rice said at the hearing. My biggest concern would be for Californians. Are we able to give the type of care we need to give?

Committee Chairman Bill Dodd (D-Napa) applauded Newsoms response to the pandemic that was made possible by his emergency powers.

I think the governor got it right, Dodd said. The existing state of emergency  is absolutely important to ensure that the state can quickly and efficiently continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and be prepared for possible future variants and surges.

However, Melendez argued that the idea that resources will be unavailable without the state of emergency if another surge occurs is false, especially as 29 other states have removed their states of emergency.

The opposition is trying to present this as though we will lose all the funding and the resources we might need in the future if another surge takes place, but that is simply not the case, and I think thats a fear-mongering tactic that has apparently worked well, she said.

Melendez added that the one size fits all approach the state is taking to address the COVID-19 pandemic is unnecessary, as some areas experience higher COVID-19 numbers than others.

Why not allow local communitiesif they have a surge [or] if they are experiencing difficulty in their capacity in hospitals or other servicesto declare a state of emergency, and then the state can step in and help? she said.

Since Newsom declared a state of emergency in March 2020, he has issued 70 COVID-19 related executive orders, with 10 more non-COVID-related orders directed toward statewide wildfires, drought, and climate change.

On Feb. 25, Newsom lifted 19 executive order provisions with more set to expire on March 31 and June 30. The provisions still in effect are to maintain vaccination and testing operations and adequate hospital capacity.

Melendez and Assemblymen Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) and James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) have tried multiple times to rescind the state of emergency through various failed legislation attempts that would have allowed a vote to terminate the proclamation.

Despite failing to move forward on March 15, SCR 5 can still be considered at a later committee meeting.
Capitol Report (March 15): Truckers Try to Enter Nations Capital

The White House launched a new initiative to ease the supply chain crisis. The Transportation Department will serve as a broker and provide real-time data for private companies.

Did you know Congress just passed another $1.5 trillion in spending over the weekend? We take a look at whats inside the bill and why 19 Republican senators voted yes.

The White House is warning that money to fight COVID-19 is running out and is pushing Congress to approve spending billions more. And Senate Republicans are pushing a vote to end mask mandates on public transit.

People are saying the United States must be more energy independent, but how? We bring you the latest debate on Capitol Hill over to drill or not to drill.

About four miles away from the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., police have arrested a man suspected in the killings of at least two homeless people in D.C. and New York.

Nearly two years after the White House canceled public tours due to the pandemic, the Biden administration announced that it will resume tours starting in April.

The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus is making its way through communist China in what some are calling the third wave. We have a look at what this could mean for the United States and the rest of the world.

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Ever Forward container ship, owned by Evergreen Marine Corp, sits grounded in the Chesapeake Bay off the shore of Maryland, U.S., on March 15, 2022. (Julio Cesar Chavez/Reuters)

Cargo Ship Runs Aground in US, Year After Evergreen Companys Other Ship Blocked Suez

The Ever Forward container ship is currently grounded in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, nearly a year after another ship run by the same company blocked the Suez Canal for six days.

The container ship is operated by Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd, the same Taiwanese transportation company that operates the Ever Given. The Ever Given ran aground last March, blocking traffic in the Suez Canal, one of the worlds busiest waterways and the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

The Coast Guard received reports on Sunday that the Ever Forward was grounded and is now conducting checks every four hours to ensure the safety of the crew on board and marine life, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Breanna Centeno.

The Coast Guard says the ship is grounded outside of the canal and is not blocking the traffic of other container ships.

A representative for Evergreen Marine could not immediately be reached for comment.

By Doyinsola Oladipo
CDC Updates Guidance for Cruise Ships, Lowers COVID-19 Warning From High to Moderate

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on March 14 lowered its COVID-19 warning for cruise ships from high to moderate amid a decline in the number of cases across the United States.

The agency lowered the Travel Health Notices (THN) from Level 3 to Level 2, or from high to moderate, but noted that this decision is reflective of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic at this time, and warned travelers booking cruise travel now that this level may change as the pandemic evolves.

However, the agency still recommends individuals boarding a cruise ship to make sure they are up to date with COVID-19 vaccines before doing so, noting that the risk of contracting the virus is still moderate even for individuals who are up to date with all their shots.

Getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself from severe disease, slow the spread of COVID-19, and reduce the number of new variants, the agency said.

If you are not up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, avoid cruise ship travel, the agency added.

The agency said that outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships and encouraged individuals to check the cruise ships color code and vaccination status classification before boarding.

The CDC updated its guidance on Feb. 9 encouraging cruise ships operating in U.S. waters to choose to participate in a COVID-19 color-coding program aimed at helping passengers make an informed decision before traveling.

Under the color code program, each ship is given a color status indicating the percentage of those on board who are vaccinated.

Under the program, cruise ships that are participating and have at least 95 percent of those on board up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines will receive a vaccination standard of excellence while those with less than 95 percent of fully vaccinated passengers and crew members will be classified as not highly vaccinated.

Elsewhere in its updated guidance on March 14, the CDC noted that outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported on cruise ships and additionally recommended that passengers still get tested for the virus no more than 3 days before they travel and between 35 days after their cruise, regardless of their vaccination status.

Those who test positive should still isolate for five days.

While on board the cruise, the CDC recommends that passengers wear face masks, noting that some cruise lines may require travelers and crew members to do so.

The latest updated guidances comes as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to decline in the United States, prompting a number of states to loosen certain restrictions, such as mask mandates.

As of March 14, the nations 7-day moving average of daily new cases was 32, 458, according to CDC data.

Earlier this month, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said she expects COVID-19 to become a seasonal virus like influenza, adding that officials may consider recommending or mandating masks during such periods.

Maybe during [the] respiratory season, if things ramped up, we would want to put on our masks again to protect both from flu and from COVID and from all other respiratory diseases, Walensky said.

While cases numbers continue to decline in the United States, China is battling with a new wave of COVID-19 cases, despite the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) implementing a strick zero COVID policy which includes measures such as mass testing, digital surveillance, mandatory isolation, and targeted lockdowns in an effort to control outbreaks.
The Centers for Disease Control headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)

CDC Warns Agency Would Lose Access to Key Data If Emergency Declaration Ends

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that the end of the public health emergency for COVID-19 would cut the agency off from critical data for tracking the disease.

CDC has no general statutory authority to direct what and how public health data are reported. Data authorities related to COVID-19 test results and hospitalizations are available now because of a public health emergency declaration. When that declaration lapses, so do the federal legal authorities to require the reporting of this important information, a CDC spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

The emergency was declared by then-Health Secretary Alex Azar in January 2020 during the Trump administration. It has been extended multiple times by Azar and his successor, Xavier Becerra, most recently on Jan. 14.

The declaration enables the CDC and other health agencies to take certain actions, including tapping into a financial reserve and waiving some requirements from the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In a pandemic-era bill, Congress also ordered all laboratories that perform or analyze COVID-19 tests to report the results to the federal government until the declaration ends.

A separate national emergency declaration was made by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 and has been kept in place by President Joe Biden, who last extended it in February.

Critics say that the emergency is over because COVID-19 metrics have plunged since the latest peak, and many officials, including top ones in the Biden administration, have acknowledged that the pandemic has eased.

The CDC said its reliant on voluntarily reporting from local, state, and public health partners in collecting data on COVID-19.

This pandemic demonstrated the inadequacies of this fractured system which results in delays and incomplete data when the agency must move quickly to keep people safe through policymaking, the spokesperson said.

The CDC has launched an effort to modernize its data collection and reporting but is pushing for the White House or Congress to give it more authority for data collection outside of the emergency powers.

If people want CDC to be responsible, to be able to report in a timely fashion, in a quick fashion, we have to have the authority to collect those data, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the agencys director, said on CBSs 60 Minutes.

The White House didnt respond to a request for comment.

Reuters reported recently that the Biden administration wants to keep the collection system in place beyond the end of the emergency, adding new requirements for the thousands of hospitals that have been feeding data to the CDC.

One path the administration could take is imposing required reporting as a condition of participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

The current system requires more hours for hospitals and other providers to collect the information and submit it to federal health officials, Paul Mango, who worked for the CDCs parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, during the Trump administration, said in an op-ed.

Its hard work to collect all this information and submit it if its not done automatically, electronically, Mango told The Epoch Times. His book Warp Speed was just published.

Mango thinks the CDC should tap into electronic health records, which are now widely used across the country, to gather data, since the records are already available without additional work by state and local providers.

The future should be a seamless, automated way to collect this information, he said.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a press conference ahead of the alliance's defense ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 15, 2022. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)

China Must Clearly Condemn Russias Invasion of Ukraine, NATO Chief Says

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called on China to condemn Russia over what he called Moscows brutal invasion of Ukraine.

China should join the rest of the world condemning strongly the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Stoltenberg said during a press briefing on March 15. China has an obligation as a member of the U.N. Security Council to actually support and uphold international law.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a blatant violation of international law, so we call on [China] to clearly condemn the invasion and, of course, not support Russia.

Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine on Feb. 24, dozens of countries have publicly condemned the aggression. The communist regime in Beijing has refused to call the Russian attack an invasion and has provided tacit support to its biggest ally, most notably by abstaining twice in U.N. votes regarding the invasion.

Officially, China has positioned itself as neutral in the war, saying that it respects Ukraines sovereignty, but also recognizing what the regime describes as the legitimate security concerns of Russia.

China has actively promoted on the internet Moscows justifications for war, while advancing anti-U.S. and anti-NATO narratives, according to a recent report by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. For example, China promoted the claims about neo-Nazi influences in Ukraine, a justification for Moscows invasion, as well as Russias claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was hiding at the U.S. Embassy in Poland.

Stoltenberg was asked whether NATO has seen evidence that China was providing Russia with military help or other assistance. In response, the NATO boss said the alliance is closely monitoring any signs of support from the Chinese regime to its northern neighbor.

Recently, several media reports, citing unnamed U.S. officials, have stated that Russia had requested military assistance and financial aid for its war from Russia, and Beijing had signaled a willingness to comply. China and Russia have denied the allegations.

Any support to Russia, military support or any other type of support, would actually help Russia conduct a brutal war against an independent sovereign nation, Ukraine, and help them to continue to wage war, which is causing death, suffering, and an enormous amount of destruction, Stoltenberg said.

Russia and China now boast a no-limits partnership after Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Feb. 4. According to a lengthy statement released following their meeting, there would be no forbidden areas of cooperation between the two sides.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan held seven hours of intense talks with Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on March 14. Following their meeting, a senior administration official said Washington had deep concerns about the SinoRussian alliance, while White House press secretary Jen Psaki said China would face significant consequences if it aids Russia with its war on Ukraine.

Also on March 15, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), in an interview with Fox and Friends, said the Biden administration should adopt a different approach toward China.

The Biden administration needs to stop playing footsie with the Chinese right now, because theyre trying to portray themselves as peacemakers. But behind the scenes, theyre standing by their man in Moscow, he said. And the harder this gets for Putin, the more dependent hes going to become on China, both as a destination for weapons supplies, as well as energy sales.

We need to call out the role that the Chinese are playing here. This alliance among authoritarian states is a feature of the new Cold War that China has launched against America. The sooner we recognize that, the sooner we can win the new Cold War.
A Chinese paramilitary stands near Tiananmen square in Beijing on Oct. 22, 2017. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinas Economy Is Incapable of Overwhelming the West: Report

China will never have a meaningful lead over the United States economy and will remain far less prosperous and productive per person, even by the mid-century, according to a Sydney-based think tank.

In its new analysis paper, Revising Down the Rise of China, the Lowy Institute stated that it believes Chinas economic growth will slow to an average of 2 to 3 percent overall from now until 2050, according to their projections.

Roland Rajah, report co-author and Lowy lead economist, said China is facing several significant constraints to its economy, including demographic challenges, declining housing and public investment, and slowing productivity.

Rajah noted that among 20 recent studies, most suggest that Chinas economic growth could average out at about 5 percent per year until 2030, before falling to roughly 4 percent until 2050.

Expectations regarding the rise of China should be substantially revised down compared to most existing economic studies and especially the expectations of those assessing the broader implications of Chinas rise for global politics, he said.

As actual data from China is unobtainable, the analysis is based on the latest medium-term projections from the International Monetary Fund and long-term forecasts published by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in 2018.

Economists are often skeptical of official data published by the Chinese Communist Party. For example, some experts have found its gross domestic product (GDP) figures to be overestimated and thus unreliable (pdf).

Demographics

The most straightforward contributor to the decline in Chinas long-term economic growth is its demographics.

After 37 years of the communist regimes draconian one-child policy, Chinas working-age population is continuing to shrink dramatically.

Chinas latest national census shows that over the past decade, the countrys fertility rate fell to 1.3 births per woman in 2020, well below the replacement rate.

[United Nations projections] suggest that by 2050, Chinas working-age population will have shrunk by roughly 220 million peopleabout one-fifth of its current level, Rajah said.

A woman holds a baby at a park in Beijing on May 12, 2021. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

China has a limited ability to offset this demographic outlook. While Western developed nations typically use immigration to compensate for low fertility rates, China isnt a popular choice for migrants.

In fact, Chinas net migration is negative, with more native citizens looking to move overseas than there are immigrants entering the country.

Housing Market

As the population ages and declines, the need for housing also decreases. As a result, Chinas housing market also faces a decline.

The Chinese housing market [is] already going through a difficult regulatory-driven financial shakeout following decades of rapid growth and investment, Rajah said.

Over the past couple of decades, Chinas housing market has boomed, with housing investment estimated to have surged to 14 percent of the countrys GDP, or half of all private fixed investment.

Concerns about oversupply, excessive leverage, speculative investment, and rapid price increases are longstanding, Rajah said. Chinas policymakers have recently begun to rein in the housing market more decisively as a result.

The recent collapse of Chinas Evergrande Group, which held liabilities amounting to 3 percent of Chinas GDP, was the first major casualty of Beijings tighter housing policies.

Rajah noted that many other property development companies appear to be financially vulnerable, while market conditions will likely become more difficult.

One fundamental issue is the deceleration of urban population growth, which implies a dramatic decline in urban housing construction.

Another factor is that about 90 percent of registered urban households reportedly own at least one property. Weakening economic growth would also reduce employment opportunities and provide less incentive for rural to urban migration.

This lowering demand, combined with longstanding oversupply issues, leaves the outlook of the sector even more negative.

The company logo is seen on the headquarters of China Evergrande Group in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, on Sept. 26, 2021. (Aly Song/Reuters)

Productivity

As China faces a dramatic decline in its working-age population, attention has shifted to increasing productivity, which has continued to decline, according to estimates.

The key question, however, is: What pace of productivity performance can China realistically achieve? Rajah asked.

Historically, China has never had impressive productivity. Its strong productivity performance was more of a reflection of its incredibly low starting point, he noted.

When comparing the Chinese economy to similar stages of development in the Four Asian Tiger economies, productivity growth in China to date has underperformed by a sizeable margin.

Whereas the previous East Asian miracle economies benefitted substantially from relatively unfettered access to Western markets and technologies, geopolitics means China can no longer do so and instead faces the prospect of intensifying decoupling with the United States and potentially other advanced Western economies, Rajah said.

Economic Dependency on China

China has been Australias largest trading partner since it overtook Japan in 2007 and has relied on its planned economy for the past couple of decades. Continued reliance on a declining Chinese economy would likely not be sustainable for the future growth of Australian businesses.

The communist regimes politically motivated trade war, launched in mid-2020, has encouraged businesses to diversify elsewhere.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis recently told Australians that while breaking dependency from Beijing and Moscow would cause the cost of goods to go up, its a price that the world needs to pay to safeguard its rules-based order.

For decades now, there were those who were convinced it is possible through the liberalization of trade to bring values like rule of law and democracy to others, Landsbergis told the National Press Club on Feb. 10. Unfortunately, it doesnt seem to be the casequite the opposite, actually.

It appears that profitability created dependencies, dependencies that limit the possibility of one side to even ask for responsibility from the other.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pose for a photograph during their meeting in Beijing on Feb. 4, 2022. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese Support for Russian Invasion Would Be Seen as an Abomination: Australian PM

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned that Western nations would view any military support from China to Russia during the Ukraine conflict as an abomination.

Morrison said that Beijings chilling silence on the invasion had disturbed him from the outset, saying it send a terrible message.

I think there is a real lack of transparency in the relationship between China and Russia.

Now at a time when the rest of the world is applying sanctions to Russia and seeking to impose a heavy price on them for their violent and aggressive actions, China actually relieved trade restrictions or trade measures on Russia on wheat for example, Morrison said.

Noting that other liberal democracies share Australias concern, Morrison called on China to be transparent about its relationship with Russia.

I think it is very important for China to be very transparent about what is their relationship with Russia?

What is their relationship with Russia when it comes to throwing them economic lifelines during this global crisis?

And potentially, what if any support has been discussed for military support from Russia? Because that would be an abomination, Morrison said.

Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media during a press conference at Kirribilli House in Sydney, Australia, Feb. 24, 2022. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi via Reuters)

Morrison also said the Australian government would move in lock-step with its partners and allies on these issues.

This is the second time in just over a week the Australian leader has called out Beijing for its lack of response to the ongoing conflict in eastern Europe.

Speaking at the Lowy Institute on March 7, Morrison said he was deeply concerned about the similarities he was seeing between autocratic regimes in the Indo-Pacific region and the Russian authorities.

I found it quite chilling when I spoke to other leaders about conversations that theyve had with President Putin about these issues, and theyre subjected to a rather lengthy lecture on nationalistic aspirations of Russia and what is rightly theirs, Morrison said.

That has a chilling reverberation with similar lectures that I have been on the receiving end of about situations in the Indo-Pacific and what people claim to be theirs, he said.

Morrison said China was behaving hypocritically over Russias attack on Ukraine, pointing out that it was insincere for Beijing to claim to be a major power while supporting Russia through easing wheat restrictions and avoiding condemning its actions.

The prime minister also noted that the partnership was driven by convenience rather than strategy.

China and Russia have got a fairly interesting history in terms of their engagement. I dont think anythings changed about that.

But there does seem to be some alignment in the sort of world order that they would prefer, to the one that has been in place since the end of the Second World War.

And weve seen that play out over a long time. So there has been a convenient fellow travelling, I think, and thats how I would describe it, he said.

Residents evacuate the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 10, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

His comments come as media outlets Reuters and the Financial Times cited unnamed U.S. officials in reports that Russia had requested military assistance and financial aid for its war from China, and that the Chinese regime had signalled willingness to comply with the request.

Both China and Russia have denied the allegations.

However, during a briefing on Monday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said China would face significant consequences if it aids Russia with its war on Ukraine.

Im not going to get into specific consequences, Psaki said. I think what we have conveyed and what was conveyed by our National Security Advisor in this meeting is that should they provide military or other assistance that, of course, violates sanctions or supports the war effort, that there will be significant consequences.

Official data from China on March 7 does indicate that China is seeing an upswing in its volume of trade with Russia with bilateral trade with Russia jumping 38.5 percent year-on-yearthe highest rate for the first two months of the year since 2010exceeding $26 billion, according to South China Morning Post.

Additionally, the exports to Russia rose by 41.5 percent in the first two months compared to the previous year to $12.6 billion, topping growth with other countries, while imports from Russia rose 35.8 percent, customs data showed.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported on March 8 that the Chinese regimes foreign minister, Wang Yi, said Chinas relations with Moscow was iron-clad and that it was one of Chinas most crucial bilateral relationships in the world.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a press conference in Geneva on Jan. 21, 2022. (Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinas Tacit Support of Russia On the Wrong Side of History: Blinken

Chinas communist regime is tacitly supporting Russias invasion of Ukraine and violating the spirit of the U.N. charter, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

First, there is the rhetorical support, or at least the absence of clear rhetorical denunciation by China of what Russia is doing, Blinken said during a March 15 interview on CNN. And this flies in the face of everything that China purports to stand for, including the basic principles of the U.N. Charter, including the basic principle of respect for sovereignty of nations.

Second, we are concerned at the prospect of China providing material support to Russia or undermining the sanctions that we put in place with countries around the world, something that weve communicated directly to China, including just this in the past 24 hours when the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, met with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.

The comments followed seven hours of talks between Sullivan and Yang on Monday which, among other things, sought to address issues raised in a diplomatic cable from the State Department which reportedly accused China of signaling a willingness to provide military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

The heightening of tensions correlates with an increasing belief among Western diplomatic and security communities that the war in Ukraine will alter the strategic situation in the Indo-Pacific.

National intelligence leaders warned in early March that Sino-Russian cooperation would only grow in the coming years. One former assistant secretary of state said that the United States and China were in a new Cold War.

Other recent reports accused Beijing of knowing about the invasion ahead of time and requesting that Moscow postpone the war until the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics.

To that end, Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, testified earlier in the month that the Chinese communist regime sought nothing less than to replace the international liberal order with a new system made in its own image.

The Peoples Republic of China is the most consequential strategic competitor that the United States has faced, Aquilino said during a March 9 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee.

They are executing a dedicated campaign that utilizes all forms of national power in an attempt to uproot the rules-based international order to the benefit of themselves and at the expense of all others.

Blinken, during the interview, refused to go into specifics of what the consequences for China would be should it provide material support to Russia but said that such a course of action was not something that the United States would take sitting down.

The secretary of state said during a separate interview with NPR on Wednesday that the United States was watching the Chinese communist regime very closely for any overt moves towards supporting Russian war efforts in Ukraine.

Chinas already on the wrong side of history when it comes to the Ukraine, Blinken said. If China actually provides material support in one way or another to Russia in this effort, that would be even worse, and thats something were looking very carefully at.
Yi Qiwei (first from left) with Ukrainian refugees in Medyka in March 2022. (Supplied by Genkyo Team)

Chinese Man Helping Refugees at Border Town Joins Ukrainian International Legion

With the Russia-Ukraine war still ongoing, volunteers from more than 52 countries have joined the Ukrainian international legion.

A well-known Chinese writer and a critic of Chinas ruling Chinese Communist Party told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that he had applied to join the legion on March 10 and was leaving for Kyiv on March 14.

Yi Qiwei shared his experience from volunteering in the Polish town of Medyka at the Ukrainian border while waiting to leave to Kyiv to join the fight.

Yi Qiwei (a.k.a. Wu Dizhao), a descendant of a Manchu royal bannerman, published his first novel Redemption at the age of 14 in 2011. At the time, mainland Chinese media called him Chinas most talented young writer. He claimed that his maternal grandfather was a high ranking Chinese communist official whose name hes reluctant to publicize. In recent years, Yi has become a vocal critic of the communist regime. He usually resides in Japan.

Yi and his group of nine friends were traveling from the Netherlands to Germany on March 7 when they decided to buy some supplies, clothes, and food to drive them to Medyka and volunteer.

Yi said that after arriving at the border to help the refugees, he felt the reality was very different from what he imagined. It was really hard to be a volunteer.

He witnessed a lot of refugees coming from Ukraine, all who had a look of desperation on their faces. You could see that those people were very helpless. There was no place for the children to sleep, it was super cold, he said.

They had no food at all and they were very helpless. Most of them cant speak English or Polish. Many children are the same age as my daughter, which makes me sad. We provide them with food and water as much as possible.

Yi said he also provided some financial help to some Ukrainian refugees he met, as their Ukrainian currency and cards were not accepted in Poland.

He said: We also hope that more people will see and help them. We want to let these refugees see that there are so many people coming to help them to give them hope.

Ukrainian refugees in the Polish border town of Medyka in March 2022. (Supplied by Genkyo Team)

Yi said he saw many Ukrainian refugees sleeping in train stations, McDonalds, and other public places after crossing the Polish border. He helped some refugees stay in hotels.

Yi criticized the Chinese regimes propaganda and its support of Russias war, which he said is claiming that national interests are above everything else.

He said that what the common people want is a good life, and a nation should protect its peoplenot the other way around.

If this happened to them, they would not say such things, Yi said of the Chinese who echo the regimes talking points.

There is no so-called national interest. What the people want is very simpleto live in peace and stability. The people can only develop the countrys economy if they are alive. If you talk about those slogans with disregard of peoples lives, who would still follow you?

Zhao Fenghua and Gu Xiaohua contributed to the report.
Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, on Aug. 29, 2020. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

Chinese Secret Police Targeted US Army Vet on American Soil, Attempted to Interfere in Election: DOJ

Chinese secret police and their agents are stalking, harassing, intimidating, and conspiring to commit violence against pro-democracy activists and Chinese dissidents on U.S. soil, according to three new criminal cases unsealed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 16.

The efforts include a plot to interfere in a Congressional election, covert attempts to arrest enemies of the Chinese Communist Party, and surveillance operations to spy on anti-communist activists.

These cases expose attempts by the government of the Peoples Republic of China [PRC] to suppress dissenting voices within the United States, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen during a press conference, referring to the Chinese regimes official name.

They demonstrate how the PRC seeks to stalk, intimidate, and silence those who oppose them.

Five individuals were charged in relation to schemes to harass and spy on ethnic Chinese in the United States critical of the communist regime.

An Alleged Plot Against a Congressional Candidate

In one of the cases, federal prosecutors said that Lin Qiming, an alleged Chinese agent, contracted a private investigator (PI) in New York to manufacture a political scandal in the hopes of undermining the Congressional campaign of Yan Xiong, who is currently seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Congress representing a district in Long Island.

Yan is a naturalized American citizen and Army veteran who served two tours in Iraq. He has long been a target of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for his participation as a student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and for his later support of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

Lins arrest warrant details his efforts to use a private investigator to implicate Yan in prostitution, tax evasion, and possession of child pornography. Failing that, Lin encouraged the PI to physically harm Yan by either beating him or forcing him into a car accident.

If you dont find anything after following him for a few weeks, can we manufacture something, Lin said in one recorded call, according to the court document.

But in the end, violence would be fine too, Lin said in a voice message. Beat him. Beat him until he cannot run for election.

The warrant said Lin was a retired Chinese intelligence agent who continued to perform work for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), the regimes top intelligence agency.

Lin also suggested that the PI hire an attractive woman to become a volunteer for Yan and then implicate him in prostitution. When the PI told Lin it would cost $40,000 to carry out the job, Lin responded, No problem. The money is not a problem.

Lin further encouraged the PI to use cops, or lawyers, or the courts to put pressure on Yan and said, We will have a lot more of this in the future, according to the court filing. He added, Right now we dont want him to be elected.

Despite assuring the PI that money was not an issue, however, the CCPs bureaucracy apparently interfered with the effort, and Lin later told the PI he couldnt get the $40,000, the court document said.

Because the Communist Party, as you know, Lin said, its not just one person who can call the shots.

Targeting Chinese Dissidents

In another case, spanning from January 2021 to March 2022, Liu Fan, Matthew Ziburis, and Sun Qiang allegedly conducted a campaign of harassment and intimidation against Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy activists living in America, according to the Justice Department.

The campaign involved gathering derogatory information on dissidents in order to humiliate or otherwise discredit them in the eyes of the public.

Like the Lin case, those involved allegedly relied on private investigators whom they hired to stalk, surveil, and intimidate ethnic Chinese living in America, ultimately spending over $100,000 in the process.

The scheme, the DOJ said, included attempted bribes to Internal Revenue Service officials in order to obtain dissidents tax information, and a conspiracy to destroy a sculpture that depicted Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping as a coronavirus molecule.

In one instance, the defendants conspired to use Lius business, a New York-based media corporation, to gain access to interviews with tags while posing as journalists, according to court documents.

In one message, Liu told the others to say they were employed by a very rich Jewish man [and] head of [the] Jewish community, the court filing said, and told them to imply that this fictitious Jewish man was a large donor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosis political campaigns.

The DOJs third case alleged that Wang Shujun, a naturalized U.S. citizen and former visiting scholar, compiled information on pro-democracy activists and Chinese dissidents living in the United States and disseminated it to the MSS.

According to the case file, Wang, 73, was a long-time member of the Hu Yaobang and Zhao Ziyang Memorial Foundation, a pro-democracy group based in Queens, New York.

From January 2016 through August 2021, however, Wang is alleged to have secretly operated as a CCP agent, using his position in the foundation to collect private information on activists which he then delivered to his handlers in the Chinese regime.

At least one person whose information Wang gave to the MSS was later arrested by the CCP when traveling to Hong Kong, according to prosecutors.

Transnational Repression

The three cases come just a month after the Biden Administrations decision to terminate the Trump-era China Initiative, an anti-espionage campaign that critics accused of racially profiling Chinese Americans.

Olsen said that the new cases were part of the Justice Departments new nation-state-oriented approach, and that the department would defend the nation against repressive efforts by the Chinese communist regime to violate Americas sovereignty.

For the Justice Department, defending American institutions and values against these threats is a national security imperative, Olsen said. Transnational repression is part of the range of tactics that our adversaries employ to try to undermine our democracy, our economy, and our institutions.

This activity is antithetical to American values. We will not tolerate such repression here when it violates our laws.

Likewise, Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, noted that each of the new cases dealt with efforts by the Chinese regime to explicitly target supporters of democracy, and especially ethnic Chinese who were critical of the communist regime that currently rules the mainland.

All of these victims were targeted because of their pro-democracy views, because they chose to exercise their freedom of speech here in the United States, Peace said.

The complaints unsealed today reveal the outrageous and dangerous lengths to which the PRC governments secret police and these defendants have gone to attack the rule of law and freedom in New York City and elsewhere in the United States.

Three of the defendants were arrested over the past two days, while Sun and Lin remain at large.
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo attends the 12th annual CNN Heroes tribute in New York on Dec. 8, 2018 (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Chris Cuomo Hits CNN With $125 Million Arbitration Demand: Court Filing

Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo filed a demand for arbitration on Wednesday against Turner Services and CNN for $125 million, claiming the network wrongfully terminated his employment.

Cuomo was fired in December 2021 after the network and New Yorks Attorney Generals office said he played an active role in giving advice to his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, after several women accused him of sexual harassment.

Cuomo has had his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared, making it difficult if not impossible for Cuomo to find similar work in the future and damaging him in amounts exceeding $125 million, the filing (pdf) said.

That includes, the suit continues, not only the remaining salary owed under the Agreement, but future wages lost as a result of CNNs efforts to destroy his reputation in violation of the Agreement. Cuomo now seeks to recover the full measure of his damages against Turner and CNN.

Cuomos lawyers further alleged that the former anchor didnt lie to CNN about his involvement in how he provided advice to former Gov. Cuomo regarding the alleged misconduct, adding that CNN executives also actively assisted the government both through Chris and directly themselves.

Previously, Cuomo said that former CNN President Jeff Zucker was aware of his involvement in helping his brother during the scandal. The former Democrat governor announced his resignation in August 2021.

Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying in August that he would resign because he believes the scandal would be too much of a distraction.

Also in Wednesdays filing, Cuomos attorneys alleged that CNN on-air personalities including Don Lemon, Jake Tapper, and Jeffrey Toobin potentially violated the channels rules and practices over the years but werent punished for doing so.

As long as CNNs ratings would not be hurt, Zucker and [former CNN Chief Marketing Officer Allison] Gollust were more than willing to overlook major transgressions by CNN personalities or even engage in blatant misconduct themselves, they argued.

Zucker resigned after telling CNNs parent company, WarnerMedia, that he had a romantic relationship with Gollust.

WarnerMedia said last month that an investigation found violations of CNNs policies by Cuomo, Zucker, and Gollust.

I realize this news is troubling, disappointing, and frankly painful to read, Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, said in a statement in February. These are valid feelings that many of you have. We have the highest standards of journalistic integrity and those rules must apply to everyone equally.

Chris Licht, a former MSNBC producer and head of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, was tapped by WarnerMedia to head CNN last month.

The Epoch Times has contacted CNN for comment on Cuomos court filing. The network declined to comment when reached by other news outlets.
A United States Postal Service (USPS) worker unloads packages from his truck in Manhattan, New York on April 13, 2020. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Congress Passes $50 Billion US Postal Service Relief Bill

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to provide the long loss-making Postal Service (USPS) with about $50 billion in financial relief over a decade and require its future retirees to enroll in a government health insurance plan.

In a rare display of bipartisanship for a narrowly divided Congress, the 7919 vote follows approval by the U.S. House of Representatives in early February and sends the bill to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Struggling with diminishing mail volumes despite having to deliver to a growing number of addresses, USPS has reported net losses of more than $90 billion since 2007. Last month, it booked a quarterly net loss of $1.5 billion.

The bill will ensure this essential public service is set on a path to long-term financial sustainability, said Senator Gary Peters, a Democrat who chairs the committee overseeing USPS and is a lead sponsor of the bill.

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, whose union represents postal workers, said the bill was the culmination of 15 years of efforts to fund and strengthen USPS.

In addition to the postal unions, the bill also has the support of Amazon.com, the Greeting Card Association and Hallmark.

The legislation combined with operational reforms will mean we will be able to self-fund our operations and continue to deliver to 161 million addresses six days per-week for many decades to come, said Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.

Dejoy proposed some of the financial reforms in the legislation. The legislative financial changes are a key part of his March 2021 reform plan, which he has said could eliminate $160 billion in predicted losses over the next decade.

As part of the plan, USPS adopted new delivery standards in October that slow some first-class mail deliveries, a move that allowed it to shift significant deliveries from air to surface transportation, cutting costs.

One reason for the large losses is 2006 legislation mandating USPS pre-fund more than $120 billion in retiree healthcare and pension liabilities.

The new bill eliminates requirements USPS pre-fund retiree health benefits for current and retired employees for 75 years, a requirement no business or other federal entity faces. USPS projects it would sharply reduce its pre-funding liability and save it roughly $27 billion over 10 years.

It requires future retirees to enroll in Medicare. About 25 percent of postal retirees do not enroll in Medicare even though they are eligible, which results in USPS paying higher premiums than other employers. USPS estimates the change could save it about $22.6 billion over 10 years.

USPS will also be required to maintain six-day a week mail deliveries and develop an online weekly performance data dashboard by ZIP code, as well as expand special rates for local newspaper distribution.

By David Shepardson
When a 28-year-old fathers family trips to Spain were canceled twice, he was undeterred in making sure they at least had a staycation. Transforming an old, run-down caravan for just 2,000 pounds (approx. US$2,600) into a stylish space, his family are now enjoying their time outdoors.

I was always on caravan holidays when I was a kid so I thought it would be a great idea to renovate one, Matthew Daniell, a dad of two and stepdad of four, told LatestDeals.co.uk.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

Daniell, who lives in Doncaster, England, received the old caravan from a family member for free during the first lockdown. The painter and decorator knew that getting the job done professionally would cost at least 4,000 pounds (approx. US$5,200), thus he kitted out the dream space on a budget, using eBay finds and revamping it all by himself.

Although his partner was unaware of how hed transform the space, Daniell was confident and had everything planned. He first completely stripped the rear-end interior and left the top half of the front end in place.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

Then he enlisted help from his electrician friend to strip out the electrics, after which he removed the plumbing on his own.

Starting from the front and working through to the back, the project was a time-consuming affair. However, the DIY enthusiast continued to work on the project.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

The familys new getaway is designed to be ideal for their needs. Ever practical, Daniell made the most of every inch of space by converting the two-berth into a four-berth.

We fixed the double bed, got the measurements for a UK small double mattress, and built the base out of CLS timbers and 9mm plasterboard, Daniell said.

He handcrafted bunk beds with a frame made from CLS timbers and plasterboard whilst the mattresses were made from the repurposed foam of the sofa, with old fabrics that were taken off, cleaned, and cut to the size of a single bed.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

The tired, unloved caravan also had damp patches where the old shower used to be, thus Daniell stripped all that out, treated the walls, and stuck on vinyl floor tiles, finishing them with yacht varnish.

I applied three coats of yacht varnish to seal them from the water, silicone all around, and installed a new waste pipe and water feed, Daniell said. I also installed a new water diagram pump to feed the water from the onboard tank.

A hot-water shower, a caravan shower tray, and a small plastic caravan sink were all bought from eBay.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

For the flooring, Daniell purchased a cheap lino from a local flooring shop and placed it throughout the caravan.

After a thorough scrub, the existing fridge was made good as new, but the kitchen area needed more attention. Ingeniously, Daniell used wardrobe end panels for the worktops and shelfa cheap alternative to standard worktopswhich he purchased from B&Q.

Additionally, he also fitted a new battery, sockets, LED lighting, and a small electric hob from eBay.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

On completion of the project, Daniell was ecstatic with the result as the entire space was bright and cheerful; a far cry from the drab interior of the old.

Daniell estimated that, by taking on the project himself, he saved the family at least 2,000 pounds, not to mention the costs associated with traveling abroad. The young family now relishes going on caravan trips in the warmer months, spending time on long weekends to unwind. The kids are also overjoyed as they have the freedom and space to roam around freely and make new friends.

(Courtesy of Matthew Daniell)

For those interested in transforming a caravan, Daniell offers a piece of advice, saying: Do your research, think about what you actually want from the caravan, and use that as your starting point.

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) wheel a man out of the Cobble Hill Health Center nursing home during an ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on April 17, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

Cuomos Health Dept. Undercounted Nursing Home COVID-19 Deaths, Misled Public: State Audit

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomos administration undercounted COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by more than 4,000 during the pandemic, according to an audit released on March 15 by the state comptroller.

The audit, released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, accuses the New York State Department of Health of having misled the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, and at certain points of having undercounted the number of nursing home deaths by more than 50 percent.

The audit states that while the lack of transparency could potentially have been due to the poor quality data that the health department was collecting early on during the outbreak, it was likely the result of a deliberate decision at certain periods during the pandemic.

As an example, from April 12, 2020 to Feb. 3, 2021, the Department frequently changed its basis for reporting coronavirus deaths in nursing homes. At one point, officials only reported resident deaths that occurred at the nursing home instead of reporting all deaths regardless of where they had occurred, such as in the hospital.

The department provided virtually no explanation to the public as to why they had changed the methodology for counting such deaths, according to the audit.

Overall, from a nearly 10-month period from April 2020 to February 2021, the department failed to account for a total of 4,100 lives that were lost to COVID-19, the state comptroller found.

Yet when questioned by auditors about the incorrect data, health department officials could not explain the discrepancies, the comptrollers audit said.

Cuomos administration has come under fire for its lack of transparency, especially in regard to the number of COVID-19 deaths in the state. It has also faced heavy criticism for issuing a controversial order in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic that forced nursing homes to accept elderly people who had tested positive for COVID-19.

That was despite expert projections showing hospitalizations would reach as high as 110,000 in the state, about twice its hospital capacity. Critics say Cuomos decision prompted a rise in COVID-19 deaths in the state.

A patient arrives in an ambulance cared for by medical workers wearing personal protective equipment due to COVID-19 concerns outside NYU Langone Medical Center in New York on April 13, 2020. (John Minchillo/AP)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a press conference in New York City on July 6, 2020. Cuomo defended the states policy that mandated nursing homes accept residents who tested positive for COVID-19. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

The state comptrollers findings echo those reported by Attorney General Letitia Jamess office last year.

DiNapoli noted in the audit that New York had been battling with a persistent lack of funding for public health over the last decade, which in turn forced the Department of Health to operate without critical information systems and staff that could have identified and helped limit the spread of COVID-19 at nursing homes.

However, he pointed to further errors made by Cuomos administration, including the health departments slow response to a federal directive to conduct surveys of nursing homes for infection control problems, assessing just 20 percent of facilities between March 23 and May 30, 2020, as opposed to over 90 percent as seen in some states.

DOH imposed impediments on the audit, including delaying requested data, limiting auditors contact with program staff, not addressing auditors questions during meetings, and not providing supporting documentation, the report states. These are not routine actions by state agencies undergoing an Office of the State Comptroller audit and raise serious concerns about the control environment at DOH.

Cuomo resigned in early August 2021 after a report commissioned by the state attorney general found that he had sexually harassed 11 women, an accusation that he continues to deny.

Gov. Kathy Hochuls new administration took over on Aug. 24 and almost immediately New York added an additional 12,000 deaths due to COVID-19 than had previously been counted publicly by the state.

Families have a right to know if their loved ones COVID-19 death was counted, but many still dont have answers from the state Department of Health, DiNapoli said. Our audit findings are extremely troubling. The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth.

DiNapoli also warned that the pandemic is still not over but said he was hopeful that the current administration would make the necessary changes to improve accountability and protect lives.

Attorney General Letitia James said DiNapolis audit affirms the findings my office uncovered last year: the former governor and the DOH undercounted the number of nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent.

She also applauded DiNapolis team for bringing much-needed transparency to this critical issue.

The New York health department pushed back against the state comptrollers findings, stating that whatever criticisms may now be directed at the prior administration relating to issues of transparency, or the particular categories of information that were publicly disclosed, those ultimately were matters for the executive chamber of the prior administration and not department personnel.

The Epoch Times has contacted representatives for the health department and Cuomo for comment.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters in Washington on July 9, 2020. Behind him are Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.). (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Democrats Renew Push for Domestic Counterterrorism Legislation

Democrats have renewed their push to provide the Department of Justice (DOJ), FBI, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) an influx of domestic counterterrorism resources, with Republicans pushing back at a heated March 16 House Judiciary Committee meeting.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) touted the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2021 at the March 16 meeting, saying that the act is essential to combat white supremacy.

The Department of Justice has an array of statutory authorities to bring charges against domestic terrorists, including those who are white supremacists, but it is abundantly clear that the Department has not initiated a sufficient number of these prosecutions, Nadler said. This legislation would give DOJ the tools it needs to monitor, identify, and prosecute domestic terrorism cases, along with the data it needs to focus on the greatest threats.

Nadler mentioned that the House approved domestic counterterrorism legislation in 2020doing so by a voice votelamenting that the measure then languished in the Senate.

Republicans, for their part, vigorously opposed the legislation, questioning the need to give more power and resources to multibillion-dollar federal bureaucracies.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told his Democratic colleagues that national security powers intended to combat terrorism have, instead, often been used to suppress domestic populations.

I believe the gravest threat to our country is the inward turning of exquisite national security authorities that we had intended for terrorists in faraway lands against our own people. And my friends, now you are in power, and so youre trying to weaponize these institutions against those you consider to be antithetical to your worldview, Gaetz said.

But keep in mind: That may sound good today, when the DOJ and FBI are left-leaning. But they used to be right-leaning. The FBI used to essentially be a white-supremacist institution. They targeted Martin Luther King Jr., they targeted Marcus Garvey, they targeted Malcolm X with some of these same authorities.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said the threat to his constituents isnt hypothetical, citing Attorney General Merrick Garlands decision in October 2021 to open an investigation into violence at school board meetings.

Jordan pointed out that Garlands decision was informed by a letter from the National School Boards Association (NSBA), which characterized protesting parents as domestic terrorism threats and called for the FBI to use statutes such as the PATRIOT Act to investigate them. The NSBA has since apologized and retracted the letter, but Garland has refused to rescind his memo or halt the ongoing federal probe.

This bills going to put in place what these guys did last fall, Jordan said, referring to the school board fiasco.

Responding to Jordan, Nadler mentioned that the NSBA has apologized for the letterquestioning why Republicans are talking about the issue.

Youre making my point for me, Jordan said, explaining to the chairman that his issue isnt with the school boards, but with Garland for continuing to conduct his investigation.

To address Garlands ongoing probe, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) introduced an amendment to the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act that would prohibit the FBI from tracking cases associated with school board violence. The FBI has been tracking all such cases with the internal tag EDUOFFICIALSserving a similar function as a Twitter hashtagwhich is an indication that law enforcers are coordinating on multiple investigations.

Nadler opposed the proposed amendment because he said it doesnt make sense to introduce a carveout in the legislation for one specific investigation. Other Democrats doubled down on the need to investigate school board threats and similar matters.

Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) said a school in his district had just experienced a bomb threat last week, which is one of the reasons why hes pushing for this legislation. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) accused Republicans of being soft on terrorism, as long as the terrorists are on their side.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) responded to Scanlon by citing the DHSs counterterrorism coordinator, John Cohen, who told lawmakers in November 2021 that his department hasnt found evidence of rising violence against educators.

We did reach out to state and local law enforcement. There have been some sporadic instances of violence at school board meetings and in educational facilities. However, the information that we received is that state and local law enforcement were not seeing widespread action, Cohen said at the time.

The meeting adjourned at about 1:30 p.m. ET for some of the legislators to attend a signing ceremony at the White House.
Sweden sent all their kids to school for two years; not one kid died. But it was irrelevant to Americans who, like sheep, ruined their childs lives. That is how bad totalitarianism is: people will sacrifice their children to the state. Child sacrifice did not end in ancient Canaan.

A type of extreme secularism has taken over in the United States and the world. It has taken over each persons natural search for meaning, and manipulated it toward political agendas. According to Dennis Prager, host of The Dennis Prager Show and co-founder of PragerU, this secularist extremism is behind policies that sacrifice the health and wellbeing of children at the altar of safety. It has also redefined morality in the name of politics, and is ruining science in the name of wokeism. We spoke to Prager at the 2022 NRB Convention about the need to bring the focus back to freedom.

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British-Iranian aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in an undated photograph handed out by her family. (Ratcliffe Family Handout via Reuters)

Detained British-Iranian Mother Allowed to Return to UK After 6 Years: Lawmaker

British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is about to leave Iran where she has been detained since 2016, according to her MP and her legal representative.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 43, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 as she prepared to head back to Britain with her daughter after a family visit. She was later jailed after being convicted of plotting to overthrow Irans clerical establishment, and was not allowed to leave Iran even after her release from prison.

Tulip Siddiq, her MP in London, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning, Nazanin is at the airport in Tehran and on her way home.

Richard Ratcliffe and his daughter Gabriella have long campaigned for the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

According to her lawyer Hojjat Kermani, another British-Iranian detainee, Anousheh Ashouri, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2019 for allegedly spying for Israels Mossad intelligence agency and two years for acquiring illegitimate wealth, has also been allowed to leave Iran.

There have been signs of progress in recent days in negotiations between the UK and Iran over Zaghari-Ratcliffes case.

On Tuesday, Siddiq said Zaghari-Ratcliffes British passport had been returned.

While details of the negotiations remain unclear, it is possible they are linked to a 400 million ($523 million) debt dating back to the 1970s owned to Iran by the UK.

The UK government accepts it should pay the legitimate debt for an order of 1,500 Chieftain tanks that was not fulfilled after the shah was deposed and replace by the Islamic regime.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Sky News on Wednesday that it is a priority to pay the debt that we owe to Iran.

But the Iranian regime remains under strict sanctions, which has complicated efforts to repay the money.

Human rights organisations have welcomed the news that the British-Iranian detainees are on their way home.

Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UKs chief executive, said: This is fantastic news, but it hasnt come a moment too soon. Nazanin and Anousheh should never have been detained in the first placethey were both jailed on trumped-up national security charges, a familiar tactic in Iran.

He added, Its been clear for years that the Iranian authorities are targeting foreign nationals with spurious national security-related charges to exert diplomatic pressure, and its more important than ever that Britain works multilaterally to combat this insidious practice.

Redress, an anti-torture group which has campaigned for Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be freed, said it congratulated the UK government on finally negotiating her release.

Director Rupert Skilbeck said, We are incredibly relieved that Nazanin will finally be reunited with her family in the UK after a horrific six-year ordeal.

In celebrating her release, we must not forget the deep and continuing injustice perpetrated by Iran. Irans systematic practice of holding foreign nationals hostage for diplomatic leverage cannot be allowed to continue, he said.

PA Media and Reuters contributed to this report.
Police, including riot control officers and an armoured vehicle, take action to clear away Freedom Convoy protesters from downtown Ottawa on Feb. 19, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Emergencies Act: Trust in Canadas Institutions Eroded, Says Lawyer for Clients Whose Bank Accounts Were Frozen

A lawyer representing clients involved in the trucker convoy protest in Ottawa whose bank accounts were frozen says the move not only significantly impacted the lives of his clients but will lead to a lack of trust in Canadas institutions.

Keith Wilson, an Alberta-based lawyer, says six of his clients have their bank accounts back after suspensions ranging from one or two days to more than a week.

On March 7, RCMP Superintendent Denis Beaudoin told the House of Commons finance committee that the national police force gave banks a list of names of individuals directly involved in the Ottawa protests. That information, which resulted in some 257 accounts of people and businesses being frozen, included personal details of people from the police database, such as whether protesters had been suspects of other crimes or had other dealings with police.

Wilson says he saw the investigation report that accompanied the list and found it remarkable and very surprising because the sole source of investigative information was the CTV news piece on CTVs website.

The Feb. 10 CTV article Who is who? A guide to the major players in the trucker convoy protest named and provided brief profiles of four organizers, four influencers, and four people involved in convoy operations.

If you look at whos on that list, its because they were vocal and interviewed by the media. So speaking out against government, advocating for civil liberties in respect of our Charter of Rights and Freedomsis that now the secret test for whether your bank account gets frozen? Thats disturbing, Wilson says.

(L-R) Lawyer Keith Wilson and Freedom Convoy organizers Chris Barber and Tamara Lich hold a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 3., 2022. (Gerry Smith/NTD)

Beaudoin testified that virtually everyone on the RCMP list was warned in advance that their accounts would be frozen if they didnt leave Ottawa, but Wilson says this is patent nonsense, grossly untrue.

I just in fact received some additional documentation from one of my clients this morning showing the exact sequence of events, and at no time did they receive any communication from any police force.

The Epoch Times contacted the RCMP for comment but didnt hear back by publication time.

Wilson says frozen bank accounts affected his clients in substantial ways. He says travel was made difficult, as credit cards stopped working to allow them to buy fuel, and many hotels refused cash. One trucker with a frozen account desperately needed to refill diabetic medication for his wife, he said.

We found a donor to pay the pharmacy directly so this man could get his medicine. Think about that. These people were completely trapped. There was nothing they could do. This is serious stuff.

Flagged for Life

An MP in the finance committee asked if joint accounts were frozen, affecting peoples ability to pay rent and child support who may not have been in the protest. Angelina Mason, general counsel and vice-president of the Canadian Bankers Association, answered Yes. She said the issue of humanitarian exceptions was raised by banks, but it became a moot point when the Emergencies Act was quickly revoked.

Mason confirmed that even after an account was unfrozen, there would be something in the file indicating a freeze had taken place, and that there is immunity provided for banks against lawsuits over frozen accounts.

The testimony was unwelcome news to Wilson.

These people who had their bank accounts frozen will be flagged for life, and thats pretty ominous, he said.

We all know that whenever you apply for financing, that its not a guarantee that its going to be approved. So now these people have this cloud over their head for having exercised the right of free speech and political dissent.

Wilson said use of the Emergencies Act has had a chilling effect on the free speech of Canadians in general, but, ironically, not the protesters.

It had no impact on [my clients] resolve to continue to fight for civil liberties and to speak out against the government. But they had a huge, tremendous effect on peoples confidence in the banks and their fear of governments and questioning whether they should feel comfortable speaking out against government policies, he said.

That is not the hallmark of a Western, modern, democratic country. That is the hallmark of an authoritarian government.

The government wants some of the financial powers unique to the Emergencies Act to remain. On Feb. 18, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said at a press conference: Some of those tools, we will be putting forward measures to put those tools permanently in place. The authorities of FINTRAC [Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada], I believe, do need to be expanded to cover crowdsourcing platforms and payment platforms.

Wilson says that while the banks may be re-evaluating and wondering if they responded with too much enthusiasm, he still sees overconfident enthusiasm on social media saying legal remedies will rectify Canadian institutions.

Theyll comment, things like, The lawsuits are going to start flying, or The lawyers are going to be busy. Its just not that easy. Theres not always a remedy at the courthouse, he said.

I am always involved in litigation against governments. You can sue them, but its a very, very complex chessboard that you have to enter. They usually have immunity provisions in their legislation, and Im pretty sure theres one in the Emergencies Act [so] you cant sue them in damages for anything done under the act. The only exception would be if they commandeer your vehicles or your equipment.

Wilson says he feels the recent events will lead to distrust in Canadas institutions.

The government and the banks have betrayed a fundamental trust, and thats not easily restored. We now know that the banks will do the bidding of the government at the drop of a hat, he said.

We have a government that is manifesting authoritarian actions in Canada. So our country has changed, and not in a good way.

Accounts Frozen

Wilson says while six of his clients now have access to their accounts, hes still working to unfreeze the accounts of three others.

They [accounts of the three clients] are not frozen pursuant to the Emergencies Act. Theyre frozen because the provincial attorney general obtained a civil forfeiture order and because a class-action lawsuit out of Ottawa obtained a civil order as well, Wilson told The Epoch Times.

The lawsuit, filed against convoy organizers and participants by several Ottawa residents and businesses on behalf of a proposed class of affected individuals and entities, was successful in obtaining the Mareva injunction on Feb. 17.

The Mareva injunction is a court order that prevents a defendant from selling, removing, or similarly dealing with his or her assets in a way that may deprive the plaintiffs of a remedy once a ruling is made. The plaintiffs are seeking up to $20 million in damages for alleged private and public nuisance such as noise, air pollution, and interference with the right to carry on business.

On March 9, Ontario Superior Court Justice Calum MacLeod extended the order to at least March 31, the cases next court date, to give more time for the assets to be tracked down.

The injunction froze funds from respondents Tamara Lich, Christopher Garrah, Benjamin Dichter, Patrick King, Nicholas St. Louis, and the non-profit Freedom 2022 Human Rights and Freedoms. Both civil lawsuits seek to redistribute donated funds in the possession of the respondents that were originally given to support the Freedom Convoy.
Ernst Bill Would Create Executive Branch Transparency Czar in the White House

Executive branch officials who fail to follow federal laws guaranteeing public access to government documents would have to answer to a newly created director of openness in government (DOG) in the White House under a proposal introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

Iowans, and all Americans, have a right to know whats happening in Washington, but without proper supervision, our transparency laws are often more bark than bite, Ernst said in a statement announcing the proposal.

As autocrats around the world, from Russia to China, try to crack down on citizens freedom of information, my bill will ensure here in America we open our government to the public and the officials we pay with our tax dollars fully comply with our transparency laws.

Sticking up for the taxpayer and holding government officials accountable might not make me a lot of friends inside the Beltway, but you know what they say: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.

If the Ernst proposal becomes law, it would accomplish three things, the Iowa Republican said during a March 15 Senate floor speech:

Provide taxpayers with a comprehensive summary of the information they have a right to know and how to obtain it from the appropriate executive branch office.

Review complaints about failures by any agency to comply with a federal transparency law and work with the Department of Justices Office of Information Policy in resolving them.

Grade each agency annually on how it performs in the timeliness and completeness of information provided to the public under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other regulations and statutes requiring transparency of government documents and operations.

Also covered by the DOG would be the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (FFATA), disclosure requirements for federal grant recipients, multiple transparency regulations under the federal budget process, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The FFATAs primary sponsors were then-Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). The law required the federal government to establish a website, USASpending.gov, that would make available most federal spending to the public. The site has often been criticized since its creation for failing to be user-friendly or to provide all of the information required by law.

The new position would be located in the White House Office of Management and Budget, the presidents primary management tool for directing executive branch funding and policy operations.

During the floor speech describing her reasons for introducing the proposal, Ernst cited the refusal of a New York nonprofit, EcoHealth Alliance, to disclose information about its federally funded activities in conjunction with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China in gain-of-function research related to the CCP virus, which causes COVID-19.

EcoHealth also evaded a number of federal transparency laws requiring the disclosure of how our tax dollars are being spent. As a result, we still arent entirely sure how much of our money was sunk into subsidizing the unsafe, state-run lab in communist China, Ernst told the Senate.

Folks, we really deserve the answer, and if EcoHealth wont cooperate voluntarily, then that information will be obtained with subpoenas when Republicans are back in control of Congress. You can mark my words.

A spokesman for the New York-based EcoHealth Alliance didnt respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment on Ernsts vow.

Ernst announced her proposal during Sunshine Week, the week of events organized around the birthday of James Madison in commemoration of his work in drafting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, including especially the First Amendment. Madison also was the most prolific author of The Federalist Papers, the highly influential series of newspaper articles that helped secure the adoption of the Constitution by the states.

Too often, laws can be more bark than bite if no one is watching to make sure they are being enforced,  Ernst said. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of FOIA information requests that have not received responses within the required time. Government spending data that is required to be made publicly available is inaccurate, incomplete, and even unreliable. And taxpayer-funded projects that are required to display the costs are not doing so.

Government transparency advocates lauded Ernsts proposal.

We believe that transparency revolutionizes U.S. public policy, Adam Andrzejewski, chief executive officer and founder of OpenTheBooks.com, said. There is a war on transparency within the federal agencies and this legislation helps to reestablish the constitutional and executive-level importance of the peoples right to know.

Similarly, Liz Hempowicz, director of public policy for the Project on Government Oversight, said: Continued progress on government transparency requires the continuous oversight. This bill creates a point person within the administration with the primary responsibility to ensure that agencies and officials are meeting the transparency requirements set by Congress. A transparency czar will hopefully cut through any bureaucratic red tape and make transparency an ongoing priority.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before a Senate panel in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on Sept. 21, 2021. (Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool/Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Chip Roy to Seek Impeachment Proceedings Against DHS Head Mayorkas

Roy calls Mayorkas 'an accomplice to the violation of our laws and our national sovereignty'

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) will attempt to bring impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, documents obtained by The Epoch Times show.

The move caps a full year of Republican dissatisfaction with Mayorkas, who as the DHS secretary is in charge of border security.

In the past year, the United States has seen unprecedented levels of illegal immigration.

While estimates of how many illegal aliens have entered the country since Biden took office vary, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data show that about 2 million people illegally crossed the border in 2021, a nearly fourfold increase from a year earlier.

In addition, deportation rates have plunged under Mayorkass leadership of the DHS. In 2021, 68 percent fewer illegal immigrants were deported than a year earlier; compared to 2019, the DHS deported 78 percent fewer illegal immigrants.

Responsibility for the situation, according to a letter penned by Roys office to GOP leadership, lies squarely with Mayorkas.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Secretary Mayorkas just over one year ago and he subsequently took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic and to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office,' the letter said.

Yet, following the orders of President Biden or acting on his ownhe has embarked on the purposeful abandonment of the laws of the United States and the successful policies of the previous administration to secure our borders and protect our people.

His actions have resulted in the death and endangerment of Americans, damage to property and communities across the border, loss of operational control of our border to dangerous cartels imprisoning thousands of migrants sold into human trafficking, and the fueling of deadly drug poisonings of thousands of Americans.

It is most certainly a high crime or misdemeanor for a public officer to purposefully endanger Americans while willfully ignoring ones oath to enforce our laws. Impeaching Secretary Mayorkas is our duty.

In his letter, Roy laid out a series of impeachable offenses that he said Mayorkas has committed.

He argued that Mayorkas hasnt upheld the laws of the United States or fulfilled the duties of his office through his refusal to enforce immigration laws.

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has a duty as required by law to take all actions the Secretary determines necessary and appropriate to achieve and maintain operational control over the entire international land and maritime borders of the United States,' Roy said.

Secretary Mayorkas has not only failed to maintain operational control of the border, defined in law as the prevention of all unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband, but his actions have also actively facilitated the loss of ithe is an accomplice to the violation of our laws and our national sovereignty.

Roy also argued that Mayorkas has willfully, actively, and unnecessarily put Americans in danger by empowering criminal drug cartels, impairing the health of Americans with communicable diseases and lethal drugs, damaging U.S. economic health and wasting the hard-earned money of taxpayers, allowing illegal migrants to destroy private property, [and] placing American citizens at imminent risk of physical harm.

Secretary Mayorkass refusal to faithfully execute the laws has drawn hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants to the border each monthcreating a completely avoidable border crisis, Roy continued. We have seen more than [6,000] daily apprehensions since Mayorkas took office. Far from developing policies to stem the flow, Mayorkass DHS continues to exacerbate this crisis.

Secretary Mayorkas has demonstrably failed his responsibility to defend the Constitutions requirement of the Executive to faithfully execute the laws of the United States that Congress has created, Roy said in summary. Secretary Mayorkas has also refused to perform his role as Secretary of DHS, which requires him to achieve and maintain operational control of our southern border. This dereliction of duty and impeachable conduct has put Americans and migrants in harms way for crass political purposes.

For these reasons, it is my recommendation that we draft articles of impeachment, present them, and make the case for his removal or to begin impeachment proceedings in the House.

If Republicans move forward with Roys proposal to impeach Mayorkas, the GOP caucus will first need to introduce an impeachment resolution, which would then move to the Judiciary Committee. If a majority of the committeewhich currently consists of 25 Democrats and 19 Republicans, including Royagrees that there are grounds for impeachment, the committee will draw up a report before sending the resolution to the floor for debate and a vote.

If a majority of House members agree to accept the charges against Mayorkas, he will be considered impeached but not yet removed from office. Because the House of Representatives is controlled by Democrats by a slim margin, Republicans will need to win a handful of Democratic votes to advance the impeachment resolution to the Senate.

In the Senate, Mayorkas would face a trial.

If two-thirds of the Senate, or 60 members, agreed that Mayorkas has committed an impeachable offense, he would be removed from office. However, Mayorkass removal would need the support of at least 10 Democrats and all Republicans, given the chambers current 50-50 split.

Roy said that the GOP should move ahead with impeachment proceedings anyway.

We should call for it nowdespite Democrat control of the Houseand make the case for immediate border security better than any speeches we can give or bills we can introduce.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Mayorkas for comment.

Roys effort is not a new one for Republicans, who have long been dissatisfied with Mayorkass performance.

In August 2021, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) undertook an effort to file articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.

Secretary Mayorkas is a threat to the sovereignty and security of our nation, Biggs said in a statement posted to his website at the time. As a result of his actions and policies, America is more in danger today than when he began serving as Secretary. He is willfully refusing to maintain operational control of the border and is encouraging aliens to enter our country illegally.

Secretary Mayorkas is failing to faithfully uphold his oath of office and is presiding over a reckless abandonment of border security and immigration enforcement, at the expense of the U.S. Constitution and the security of the United States.

The effort was stymied by the Democrat-dominated Judiciary Committee, but Biggss office says that he intends to keep the effort moving. Biggss spokesperson told the Epoch Times that the congressman will stand behind any effort to impeach Mayorkas.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief Medical Adviser and Director of the NIAID, shows a screen grab of a campaign website for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) while answering questions at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Jan. 11, 2022. (Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images)

Fauci Braces for House GOP Investigations: Benghazi Hearings All Over Again

White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said he expects to be investigated by Republicans if they take back control of the House during the 2022 midterm elections.

Its Benghazi hearings all over again, Fauci told The Washington Post on March 15 in reference to numerous GOP lawmakers saying they will look into alleged gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, located near where the first COVID-19 cases were officially reported in late 2019.

Fauci, an unelected federal official who has headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984, claimed that potential hearings will distract me from doing my job, the way its doing right now. Should there be hearings and an investigation, Fauci said, there will be nothing there.

His reference to the Benghazi hearings was an apparent comparison to the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the 2012 attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left several Americans dead.

Several prominent House Republicans have gone on the record saying theyll probe Faucis agency and its ties to research in Wuhan.

And if youre watching this, Dr. Fauci, look out, because when the Americans give us control in the House of Representatives, God willing, were going to get some answers on behalf of the American people, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Fox News last week.

The Texas lawmakers comment came just a few days after Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, told Just the News that the GOP will investigate the NIAID chief over the institutes response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether or not tax dollars were used to fund research into gain-of-function, a controversial form of research, will be probed as well, Jordan said.

In October 2021, Fauci told ABC News that he stood by a previous assertion during a Senate hearing that neither NIAID nor the National Institutes of Health, which oversees NIAID, funded gain-of-function research in China.

The framework under which we have guidance about the conduct of research that we fund, the funding at the Wuhan Institute was to be able to determine what is out there in the environment, in bat viruses in China, Fauci said. And the research was very strictly under what we call a framework of oversight of the type of research. And under those conditions which we have explained very, very clearly, does not constitute research of gain of function of concern.

Historically, the party of the president tends to lose seats in the House or Senate during the midterm elections. Public statements made by prominent democrats, including Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Democrats midterm election apparatus, appear to suggest that Democrats are trying to realign their messaging ahead of the November elections.

The problem is not the voters.  The problem is us, Maloney reportedly told fellow Democrats at a conference over the weekend. They think that were divisive and too focused on cultural issues. They think that were preachy. They think that we act like we know better than parents when it comes to their kids in schools.
A view of the commission's hearing room before a hearing at the Federal Communications Commission on December 14, 2017 in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

FCC Shuts Down Chinese Telecom Firm Pacific Network Over Concern About CCP Influence

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to bar Pacific Networks Corp. and its wholly-owned subsidiary ComNet from providing telecommunications services in the United States, citing national security concerns associated with their ties to the Chinese regime.

With this 4-0 vote, Pacific Networks join three other Chinese telecom firms banned by the regulator from operating in the U.S. market on security grounds.

The FCC has held concerns for years about whether Pacific Networks and ComNet could operate freely in the United States without jeopardizing national security and the wellbeing of customers.

A March 16 statement from the FCC noted that the body found as far back as March 2021 that the two entities had failed to dispel serious concerns about the retention of their authority to offer services in America. In consequence, the FCC established procedures by which Pacific Branch Networks and ComNet could present arguments and evidence to allay the regulators concerns.

But the regulator came to the conclusion that, given an opportunity to address these concerns and clear the path to continued operation, the two platforms failed.

[T]odays action safeguards the nations telecommunications infrastructure from potential security threats, the statement read.

The FCCs decision was based on a number of considerations.

As subsidiaries of a Chinese state-owned entity, the two companies are subject to exploitation, influence, and control by the Chinese government, and will have little choice but to obey the edicts of the Chinese regime without recourse to the legal protections that telecom providers in other countries might enjoy, the statement noted.

Moreover, given their relationship with the Chinese regime, Pacific Networks Corp. and ComNet may provide opportunities for Beijing to access, monitor, store, and in some cases disrupt and/or misroute U.S. communications, facilitating Chinese communist espionage and other harmful actions against America, it added.

The FCC also noted that the firms breached a 2009 Letter of Assurances with executive agencies, which they were required to adhere to under their authorization to operate in the United States.

The FCCs order gives the companies 60 days to cease all domestic and international services that they currently provide under their U.S. authorization. The order also reclaims the two International Signaling Point Codes assigned to ComNet in 2001 and 2003.

Since October, the regulator has revoked the authorizations for the U.S. arms of Chinese state-owned telecom firms, China Telecom and China Unicom, citing their links to Beijing triggering national security concerns.

In February, the Justice Department announced charges against Shenzen-based telecom company Hytera, which the FCC designated as a national security threat in March 2021, alleging that the firm oversaw a campaign to steal trade secrets from Motorola. Prosecutors alleged that Hytera used stolen Motorola technology in its own services and products, which the Chinese firm has denied.
Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis in Toronto on June 17, 2020, during her previous run for party leader. (The Canadian Press/Frank Gunn)

Feds Narrative for Invoking Emergencies Act on Convoy Protests Faulty as CBC Retracts Second Story, Says Tory MP

With Canadas public broadcaster CBC retracting a second story about the Freedom Convoy, Conservative MP and party leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis says the government should also make amends about invoking the Emergencies Act.

With even the CBC now admitting that some of their main narratives about the convoy and who was behind it were false, the government should admit the reasoning behind the emergencies act was also faulty and the freezing of Canadians funds was illegitimate, Lewis tweeted on March 15.

CBC erroneously claimed in late January that Russia could be backing the protest movement, which it later corrected. This week, the broadcaster retracted a second story concerning foreign influence that claimed a Freedom Convoy fundraiser was shut down due to the suspicious nature of its donations.

On February 10 in a report about the protest convoy CBC Radios The World This Hour incorrectly said GoFundMe ended a fundraiser for the protesters over questionable donations to the group, said CBC in a statement reported by Blacklocks Reporter.

CBC has run a number of stories on the protest movements fundraising, including an exclusive analysis based on hacked material from the GiveSendGo platform. The reporting was used by the federal government in part to justify invoking the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14 to clear cross-country protests and blockades.

In the governments Section 58 report explaining why the act was invoked, it cites CBCs article on the GiveSendGo hack to make the case the movement was heavily foreign-funded.

But the funds collected by GiveSendGo were frozen by an Ontario court on Feb. 10, four days before the act was invoked, and never made it to the recipients.

GiveSendGos co-founder Jacob Wells told the House of Commons Public Safety Committee on March 3 that roughly 60 percent of donations to the platform came from Canada and 37 percent from the United States.

The convoys previous fundraiser through GoFundMe, which had released $1 million to the recipients before shutting down over claims of breach of terms of service, was largely Canadian-driven.

GoFundMes president Juan Benitez told the same committee that 88 percent of donations on his platform to the Freedom Convoy fundraiser originated in Canada.

Several federal ministers and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had claimed the Freedom Convoy was a foreign-funded enterprise to undermine the state.

Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair described it last month as a largely foreign-funded, targeted and coordinated attack on Canadas democracy.
The Fitch Ratings logo is seen at their offices at Canary Wharf financial district in London, on March 3, 2016. (Reinhard Krause/Reuters)

Fitch Downgrades Ratings of 31 Russian Banks

Rating agency Fitch has downgraded the Long-Term Foreign Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) of 31 Russian banks from B to CC and Short-Term IDRs from B to C.

Russian banks LTFC IDRs now reflect our opinion that some form of default on FC (foreign currency ) financial obligations or deposits is probable over the rating horizon, due to restrictions imposed on FC financial obligation payments to certain international creditors under the (Russian) Presidential Decree or broader intervention in the FC operations and deposits of the banking sector, Fitch said in its rating action commentary.

The Russian banks affected by the ratings downgrade include large financial institutions like Gazprombank, Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, and others.

Fitch also downgraded the Viability Rating (VR) of all Russian banks from B to CCC- to reflect the sharp deterioration in the operating environment of banks. The sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union have increased economic and financial market risks, owing to which the agency sees very high fundamental credit risk to the asset quality, liquidity profiles, funding, and solvency of Russian banks.

In early March, the EU had cut off seven Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system, making it difficult for these institutions to make cross-border payments. However, it stopped short of banning all Russian banks from SWIFT, especially energy firms, as the EU feared such a move would drive up prices, benefiting Russian exports. Around 300 Russian financial institutions use the SWIFT service.

In addition to the EU, the United States and the UK have also slapped sanctions on several Russian banks, putting more pressure on Moscows financial infrastructure. Russia is due to pay $117 million in interest on two dollar-denominated bonds on March 16.

Due to prevailing sanctions, Russia might not be able to make the payment in the currency in which the bonds were issued. Instead, Moscow would need to pay rubles, which some might consider a default.

Other credit rating agencies have also downgraded Russia and its debt. Moodys on March 6 had downgraded Russias credit rating to Ca, which is the second-lowest level of its rating system. S&P Global Ratings cut down its foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Russia from BB+/B and BBB-/A-3 to CCC-/C on March 3.

Capital controls introduced by Russian authorities, which are aimed at protecting the ruble from the impact of sanctions and other such measures, substantially increases the risk of default, according to the agency in its rating action update.

We estimate that international sanctions have reduced Russias available foreign exchange reserves by as much as one-half, including foreign currency deposits and securities domiciled in the U.S., the EU, and Japan. This has substantially weakened Russias external liquidity during a period of rising foreign currency demand, S&P said.
Florida Law Is Pro-Freedom, Not Anti-LGBTQ

Commentary

The distorted rhetoricshould I say lies?labeling Floridas legislation about parental rights in public schools as Dont say gay demonstrates the hypocrisy of LGBTQ activism.

I say hypocrisy because this movement has always showcased itself as being about freedom, rights, and social justice.

But the reality is that LGBTQ activism isnt at all about freedom and rights. Its about advancing their particular agenda at the expense of alternative ways of viewing the world.

The Florida legislation, which defines itself at the outset as about parental rights, has 163 lines, out of which a total of five address sex education.

Those few lines simply say that instruction in sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

Thats it. Anyone who wants to publicize this as, Dont say gay should also publicize it as saying, Dont say straight.

Because thats what its about. Removing discussion about sexual orientation from classrooms of toddlers.

But for LGBTQ activists, anything not actively promoting their agenda is taken as opposition. Therefore, for them, freedom, and the tolerance and neutrality that it requires, is by definition anti-LGBTQ.

As a Christian, my view is that denial of the reality of man and woman, sexual activity outside the framework of traditional marriage, is sinful and destructive behavior.

But I recognize, as do most Christian parents with children in public schools, that our biblical point of view is not going to show up in public schools.

America is a diverse country with many points of view.

I recognize that keeping public schools neutral regarding sex education is the only possible approach in a heterogeneous diverse country.

When the state of Florida enacts legislation to keep discussion about sexual orientation out of toddlers classrooms, I dont see this as anti-LGBTQ or anti-Christian, but pro-freedom.

The headline of an opinion piece in USA Today reads Young people in Florida are being told their sexuality or gender identity is so wrong it cant even be mentioned.

No. Young people in Florida are being told that they live in a free, diverse country. So, matters of sexuality should be handled by parents at home, and public schools should teach kids how to read and do math.

It helps these young people to become responsible adults, respectful of others with different opinions.

A number of years ago, I mentioned in a TV interview that I had stayed in a hotel that, along with other flags, was flying an LGBTQ rainbow flag. I said that the rainbow flag offended me as a Christian woman as the Confederate flag offends me as a black woman.

My office in Washington was shut down by the tsunami of threatening calls that this comment evoked. And I had to move out of my home because of threats.

I didnt say these folks should not be allowed to live as they choose. I said, essentially, that just as hotels have removed the Bibles that we used to find in hotel rooms, this shouldnt be replaced by flying the rainbow flag.

I think this is a big factor in why school choice is only promoted on the right.

Those on the left are opposed because they know that school choice takes away their platform for promoting their social agenda in public schools.

Look at the websites of the two big teachers unionsthe National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Both promote actively the LGBTQ agenda.

The new Florida law was passed to deal with this problem. Public schools should provide a platform to educate children with knowledge and skills to succeed in a free country. Other agendas should be left to parents at home.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
A Fox News channel sign is seen at the News Corp. building in New York on March 20, 2019. (Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

Fox News CEO Gives Update on Journalist Injured in Ukraine

Fox News foreign correspondent Benjamin Hall has left Ukraine after suffering an injury that left two other members of his team dead earlier this week, according to the networks CEO.

Ben is alert and in good spirits, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott said in a statement Wednesday. He is being treated with the best possible care in the world and we are in close contact with his wife and family. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

Fox anchors Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum relayed the update on Wednesday morning, with MacCallum saying that we hope for more good news to come in the days ahead.

Been a couple of heavy days around here, Hemmer continued, so that is a dose of good news for Ben.

Other than Hall, a veteran photojournalist and cameraman, Pierre Zakrzewski, and Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshynova, a 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist, were killed on Monday near Kyiv, Fox News confirmed. Details about the incident are not clear, although Ukrainian officials have alleged that Russian forces fired at them.

Russia has not issued any public comments about the claims from Ukrainian officials. Its not clear who fired on the journalists.

British journalist Benjamin Hall is out of Ukraine and in good spirits after an attack near Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 14, 2022. (Pavel Dorogoy/AP)

Zakrzewski was profoundly committed to telling the story and his bravery, professionalism, and work ethic were renowned among journalists at every media outlet, Scott said on Tuesday in confirming his death.

Scott also confirmed Kuvshynovas death, saying that Fox News correspondents and producers spent long days with her reporting the news and got to know her personally, according to her statement. [They described] her as hard-working, funny, kind, and brave.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on their deaths on Tuesday, saying that he was very saddened to hear that two journalists died covering the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

I am grateful to all those risking their lives to show the world what is happening in Ukraine, Blinken said. The United States condemns Russias ongoing violence, which is putting the safety of journalists and other media workers in Ukraine at risk.

Over the weekend, a former New York Times journalist, Brent Renaud, died in fighting near Kyiv, which was confirmed by the Department of State. Renaud was in Ukraine to create a documentary.

Photojournalist Juan Arredondo wrote on social media that he was injured in the same attack that left Renaud dead.

He said in a video that we crossed the first bridge in Irpin; we were going to film other refugees leaving and we got to a car, somebody offered to take us to the other bridge, and we crossed a checkpoint and they started shooting at us. So, the driver turned around, and they kept shooting. Its two of us, my friend is Brent Renaud, and hes been shot and left behind.
Frustrated Residents Ask State to Restore Ballona Wetlands from Homeless Encampments

LOS ANGELESSome residents are asking for help from the state because, they say, the city has not responded to their pleas for help after a string of firessparked by homeless encampmentsand four homeless people were shot near the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, the citys largest wetland in Playa del Rey.

Lucy Han, a Playa del Rey resident and founder of Friends of the Junglea local environmental advocacy nonprofittold The Epoch Times shes now asking the state to send wardens to clear out the encampment and offer services to the homeless.

The California State Lands Commission, which protects natural and cultural resources, told Han in an email they will engage in further conversations with Fish and Wildlife and others about patrolling the freshwater marsh and [find] ways to connect people experiencing homelessness at this site with services and resources to transition into housing.

The email, which was shared with The Epoch Times, however said the commission doesnt have the ability to fund other agencies work, since the Fish and Wildlife department is a separate entity in Californias government.

Han said she took the action after not hearing back from Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, who oversees the area, regarding enforcing the citys anti-camping ordinance and restoring parking restrictions along nearby Jefferson Avenue, which has become lined with people living in RVs.

A homeless encampment of vehicles lines Jefferson along Ballona Creek in Playa Del Rey, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Well just go up the line if we need to go to the governor, thats not a problem, Han said. The visitors that go to the marsh, theyre not able to go there anymore, because its dangerous.

For many, the wetlands have become a dangerous place.

Once a protected area that visitors could tour, a fence surrounding the area has been broken down by the homeless who have taken refuge in the area.

Nearly two dozen RVs and vans remain parked on Jefferson Boulevard which divides the reserve and city-owned land. Roughly 30 tents can be seen within the Ballona Freshwater Marshwhich is part of the reserve typically visited for birdwatchingwith bike chop shops and other personal belongings spread out along the wetland, including trash and needles.

Residents say they worry the encampments are harming the marshs natural wildlife, which experts say is home to more than 250 species of migratory birds, including the endangered Beldings Savannah Sparrow and the El Segundo Blue Butterfly.

The encampment isnt new, according to Lt. Geoff Deedrick, head deputy of the LA Sheriffs Department Homeless Outreach and Services Team. But the increase in crime and trash is.

Weve been going there for 10 years, Deedrick told The Epoch Times. There is nothing new about this except COVID did kind of pause things.

Its unclear if other homeless agencies frequent the area, but according to residents, they dont see an urgency by county and city leaders to address the problem.

And just where city and county boundaries begin and end has complicated things. The state owns the marsh and the City of Los Angeles owns the land that has been overtaken by encampments.

During the pandemic, the city and county rolled back sanitation and enforcement codes to mitigate the spread of the virus.

As a result, encampments grew in areas like the Venice Beach Boardwalk and other areas in Los Angeless Council District 11, largely composed of affluent westside beach communities overseen by Bonin.

According to Deedrick, the homeless began gravitating to the wetlands over the last decade for its environment and lack of police enforcement.

A homeless encampment of vehicles lines Jefferson along Ballona Creek in Playa Del Rey, Calif., on Feb. 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

People have been using the freshwater marsh as a toilet, business community leader and District 11 candidate Traci Park told The Epoch Times. If you walk down to the water, you will see wads of used toilet paper. You will smell the stench of human waste. The RVs have been pumping raw sewage straight into the storm drains.

Yelling and screaming can be heard by intoxicated homeless individuals in the marsh as early as 9 in the morning, according to Park.

The cumulative effect of all of this has been a significant detrimental environmental impact on a precious natural resource, she said.

A few proposed cleanups for the area are in the works, the Sheriffs Departments Deedrick said, adding that his team has visited the location four times in the last month to offer housing and other behavioral services to the homeless living there.

Paula Gerez, president of the Neighborhood Council of Westchester Playa, told The Epoch Times shes had a similar experience trying to get a hold of Bonins office to discuss resources for the homeless and enforcement options.

According to Gerez, the neighborhood council will hear more discussions on the marsh in a meeting next month, but she is really frustrated by the city.

Im infuriated at the citys lack of transparency and willingness to solve real problems and blaming it on COVID is just not okay. This has been there long before COVID, Gerez said. It just makes me think that theyre not really interested in a solution or working with our local neighborhood council.

Neither Bonin nor the California State Lands Commission responded to requests for comment by press deadline.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been heavily politicized, such that Americans health and medical freedom are at risk. From data suppression to scientific fraud, two experts speak out on the problems that occur when government controls health care.

Medical freedom is a right that must be protected for all; it transcends politics and applies to people regardless of political party. Speaking with The New American at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in Orlando, Florida, Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of the mRNA and DNA vaccine core platform technology, and Dr. Peter McCullough, cardiologist, internist and epidemiologist, called for politics to get out of the health care arena.

This disease has been politicized, and it shouldnt have been, Malone said, referring to COVID-19. The government controlling health care is a core problem, Malone says, as politicians have stepped in to dictate patient care. Frankly, Tony Fauci is a politician at this point, Malone added, explaining that politicians are now mandating health care through a menu-driven system, which doesnt allow physicians like McCullough to practice medicine and save patients lives.

Theyre trying to implement a strategy, which is a top-down one, thats favored by insurance companies, thats favored by Big Pharma, favored by big hospital chains, but is absolutely not the kind of medical care that the American people want, Malone explained.

Early Treatment Suppressed

McCullough, who was once a full professor of medicine at Texas A&M College of Medicine in Dallas and the editor of two medical journals who has published 650 peer-reviewed papers, has been vocal throughout the pandemic about the importance of early treatment. This is the first time in his career when he saw medical providers not offering early treatment for a disease.

It typically takes two to three weeks for someone with COVID-19 to get sick enough to be hospitalized, and during that time early treatment can be lifesaving. However, during the pandemic, treatment was largely withheld until a person was hospitalized.

The rationale was that there have been no large, randomized trials conducted to know which treatments are safe and effective but, as McCullough said, We cant wait for large randomized trials  Something got in the minds of doctors and nurses and everyone to not treat COVID-19. I couldnt stand it. He and colleagues worked feverishly to figure out a treatment  why didnt national health organizations do so also?

Our government and other governments, and the entire world, has not lifted a finger to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death anywhere, McCullough said, pointing out the irony: If there was a kid with asthma, would we let the kid wheeze and choke for two weeks before the kid has to go to the hospital? No, we give the child medications. We dont have randomized trials for every single thing that we do.

While some physician organizations have stepped up and are treating COVID-19 patients, The ivory tower today still is not treating patients. The party line in my health system is, do not treat a COVID-19 patient as an outpatient. Wait for them to get sick enough to be admitted because my health system  follows the National Institutes of Health or the follows the Center for Disease Control, period.

CDC Caught Withholding Data

An expose by The New York Times revealed in February 2022 that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hasnt published most of the data its been collecting during the pandemic. Data such as U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 according to age, race and injection status are among the statistics that the CDC has been hiding from the American public.

And while the CDC published data on COVID-19 boosters effectiveness in adults under 65, it didnt include data for 18- to 49-year-olds, the group least likely to benefit from extra shots.

According to CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund, the CDC hasnt released all of the data because basically, at the end of the day, its not yet ready for prime time.6 But, The New York Times reported, Another reason is fear that the information might be misinterpreted, Ms. Nordlund said.

In reality, had the data revealed what the CDC wanted, it would have been released. In their official reasoning, however, Nordlund said that the data represent only 10% of the U.S. population, using that as an argument for why they didnt release it. But the CDC has relied on the same level of sampling to track influenza for years, according to The New York Times. Further, it noted:

[T]he C.D.C. has been routinely collecting information since the Covid vaccines were first rolled out last year, according to a federal official familiar with the effort. The agency has been reluctant to make those figures public, the official said, because they might be misinterpreted as the vaccines being ineffective.

Misinterpreted? Lets be clear, Steve Kirsch, executive director of the Vaccine Safety Research Foundation, wrote. The only way the vaccine data could be interpreted as ineffective by us misinformation spreaders is if the data shows the vaccines dont work  The truth is the data didnt support their narrative so they hid it.

Do you think they would hide the data if it showed the vaccines worked? Of course not!  CDC admits it withheld data from the public because they didnt want to create vaccine hesitancy.

CDC Engaged in Scientific Fraud

Malone believes that the CDC withholding evidence about COVID-19 shot safety is scientific fraud:

If I was to publish a study in which I had a large body of epidemiological data, and I decided to only publish part of it, because I wanted to advance some agenda, I would be guilty of scientific fraud. The paper would be withdrawn, I would be kicked out of my academic institution  I would be guilty of scientific fraud. Thats what this is.

The CDC, he says, has become more of a political arm and is not serving its intended function of providing frontline data. Theyve become purely a political organization and arm of the executive branch, and what they have done is, in my opinion, obscene, Malone said.

The CDCs politicization and dereliction in their duties underlies the attacks that Malone and McCullough have sustained, as anything that doesnt have the CDCs mark of approval is deemed misinformation. But now weve learned whos really been spreading medical misinformation is the CDC, Malone said. I think were all owed an apology.

Further, with the continued release of data, it turns out we are completely vindicated, Malone continued. We have been speaking the truth and its a truth thats been hidden from the American public and, more important, its been hidden from other physicians and its been hidden from public health authorities  Whats going on here is criminal in my opinion.

Lack of Data Transparency Putting Americans at Risk

The CDCs refusal to publish pertinent pandemic data is only one example of a lack of transparency thats put Americans health at risk. The most important data that the CDC holds is on vaccine safety, McCullough says.

They have millions of reports. So they have a lot of data to go over and they owe America an explanation on safety. There is a prevailing view, in the CDC and in the FDA, theyre the official sponsors of the U.S. vaccine program, and the prevailing view is that the vaccine will not be effective until everybody takes it  and not just once but in a repetitive, serial fashion. And I can tell you that prevailing view, in my personal estimation, is flawed.

Other areas of concern on data transparency include the FDA and Pfizer attempting to hide clinical trial data for 75 years. When I saw that, thats when I got very vocal and said fraud has occurred. How do I know that? They wont show us the clinical data, former Blackrock portfolio manager Edward Dowd said. This should be a red flag for all Americans. McCullough said:

The FDA and Pfizer are being sued for release of their full dossier. Many of you know that there now is an accelerated release of the data, but the reluctance to release information on a biological product that each and every American is being asked, if not mandated, to take, the reluctance to do so should make everyone concerned.

Disturbing Department of Defense (DOD) data on COVID injection side effects have also been uncovered. DOD whistleblowers datamined the DOD health database, revealing significant increases in rates of miscarriage, cancer, neurological disease and stillbirths since COVID-19 jabs rolled out. This has also been kept quiet. McCullough explained:

The other area of data transparency were extremely concerned about is the Department of Defense epidemiological database information  its clear there is a manyfold increase across many disease categories among our servicemen year over year. The only thing thats changed is the administration of the vaccines in large numbers.

Were now at a crossroads, and many experts believe its only a matter of time before the criminals behind this scheme are held accountable. Data transparency at this point in time will be an area that  will be intensively investigated, and for those who are close to the data, I think they do have a choice coming up, McCullough said. And its going to be a matter of them making the right choice of where they want to end up  on what side of history.

Originally posted March 16, 2022 on Mercola.com
Workers work in wearing protective clothes in an area where barriers are being placed to close off streets around some lockdown areas after the detection of new cases of covid-19 in Shanghai on March 15, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Global Supply Chains Brace for Further Shocks From Chinas COVID Lockdowns

Concern is growing worldwide as China struggles to put down its purported worst COVID-19 outbreak in two years, shutting factories and locking down some of its busiest manufacturing hubs to try to curb the spread of the illness.

Semiconductor developer Intel, Apple, and automakers Toyota and Volkswagen are among the latest companies forced to halt some production in China as products have piled up at warehouses while firms complied with Chinas stringent COVID policies.

The latest wave, spurred mostly by the Omicron virus variant, has prompted lockdowns of 51 million people that affect major industrial and tech hubs such as the southern city of Shenzhen, which is known as Chinas Silicon Valley and is home to two Foxconn plants that assemble Apples iPhones, and the city of Changchun, an industrial center in the northeast.

Reported cases hit a record of 5,000 on March 15, the highest single-day tally recorded in China since the pandemic began two years ago. The combined case count of more than 15,000 over a two-week span is more than was recorded in all of 2021, although experts say numbers from the communist country are likely a vast undercount, in line with authorities tendency to suppress negative news.

The expanding list of affected provinces covers most parts of China; health authorities said theyre bracing for more.

Our countrys outbreak prevention situation is grim and complicated, and the challenges of containing the outbreak have grown, Lei Zhenglong, a senior official with the National Health Commission, said at a March 15 press conference.

Chinese employees work on a production line of automobiles at a factory in Changchun in Chinas Jilin Province, on Nov. 1, 2017. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Concerns about COVID as well as about Chinas Russia ties triggered panic selling, sending stock prices in Hong Kong and mainland China tumbling for two days in a row.

We can think of no risk to the global economy, excluding nuclear warfare, that is greater than the risk of a COVID outbreak in China that shutters industrial production, Carl B. Weinberg of High-Frequency Economics said in a report. Uncountable manufacturing supply chains pass through China.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on March 14 the Biden administration is monitoring the lockdown of Shenzhen incredibly closely.

What were looking at is, of course  the impact on some of these ports around the impacted areas of China, she said during a press briefing.

The surge in COVID cases doesnt bode well for China to reach its ambitious economic growth target of 5.5 percent.

Fu Linghui, the spokesperson for Chinas National Bureau of Statistics, was cautious in speaking about the effects of the nationwide COVID resurgence. The changing outbreak situation has created some uncertainties and how it affects economic recovery remains to be watched, he said on March 15.

Chinas FAW Group, which is headquartered in Changchun and has joint ventures with Toyota, Volkswagen, and Audi, announced a four-day suspension at its factories in the city. The production halt could result in a loss of 480,000 vehicles during the period, according to Chinese media.

Dongguan, a key industrial base in southern coastal Guangdong Province, has paused all public transportation in the city and allowed only factory activity in areas where no cases have been identifiedalthough no workers will be allowed to step outside their company premises in the coming week.

Cargo containers are stacked at Yantian port in Shenzhen in Chinas Guangdong Province, on June 22, 2021. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Most warehouses in Shenzhen have temporarily paused the processing of shipments, according to Chinese reports.

For now, international ports in Shanghai and Shenzhen are running as normal, although market data from Refinitiv show that the number of vessels waiting at Pearl River Delta and Yangtze Estuary ports has doubled.

The effects of these shutdowns might not be immediately felt.

We are likely to see the impacts in a month, or more, when those products were meant to arrive in factories and retail stores, Daniel Stanton, a marketing professor at Bradley University, told The Epoch Times.

The cost of the lockdowns depends on how long these policies will continue, he said.

If the shutdowns are short, then companies might be able to mitigate the problems with their safety stock inventory or by using faster modes of transportation, he said. But, the longer the shutdowns last, the harder it will be to mitigate the effects on the supply chains for all of the products that are made in these regions.

Given Chinas enforcement of its zero-COVID policy, the lockdown could be lengthy if outbreaks continue to worsen. The last major lockdown, in the north-central Chinese city of Xian, began three days before Christmas and continued for more than a month.
Homeowner Suing Michigan County Over Home Equity Theft Appeals to 6th Circuit

A widow is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit over a court ruling dismissing her claim that local governments in Michigan seized her familys home over a tax debt and then refused to compensate her for the home equity in the property she lost.

The unfavorable ruling came despite the fact that the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that counties may not keep for themselves as a windfall funds left over from the sale of real property for unpaid taxes, an unconstitutional practice the property owners lawyers denounce, calling it home equity theft.

The case is about a city using a predatory tax law as an engine for its other government purposes, and to enrich private companies, Christina M. Martin, a senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), told The Epoch Times. PLF is a Sacramento, California-based national public interest law firm that represents injured clients free of charge.

So the government says that since it didnt make any money, it doesnt have to pay these property owners anything, Martin said.

But the bottom line is, the government took these homes that were worth far more than any of the homeowners owed the government. And the government should have to pay just compensation for that surplus that it took.

The brief in the appeal (pdf), Hall v. Meisner, court file 20-cv-12230, was filed March 7 with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The claim was dismissed in May 2021 by Judge Paul D. Borman, a Clinton appointee, on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

According to the brief, the county took the homes of eight appellants to satisfy tax debts in amounts far below the value of their homes, receiving a huge windfall at the expense of the homeowners. The only compensation they received was forgiveness of the debts that were worth much less than their homes.

The case goes back several years when Tawanda and Prentiss Hall fell behind on their property taxes and set up a payment plan with their local government so they wouldnt lose the Southfield, Michigan, home where they lived with their children. Tawanda Hall is one of the eight former property owners suing in federal court.

But Oakland County terminated the Halls plan when their tax debt stood at $22,642, and foreclosed on their home.

Instead of selling the house at public auction, paying off the debt, and returning the surplusminus interest and penaltiesto the homeowners, the county used the Halls money to enrich a private company, Southfield Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative LLC, which is managed by Southfield city officials.

Through a series of legal transactions, the county took the Halls home (and the homes of seven other homeowners party to this case) and transferred it through the City of Southfield to the Revitalization Initiative, which sold it for more than $300,000. The Halls received none of the difference between the debt they owed and the sales price, PLF said in a statement.

Christina M. Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, in a file photo. (Courtesy of Pacific Legal Foundation)

This public-private arrangement was established in 2016 by a city resolution. Southfield relies on a state law allowing cities a right of first refusal to buy foreclosed homes from the county for the cost of tax debt. The Southfield Non-Profit Housing Corporation reimburses the city for the amount of the tax debt, and turns the properties over to the for-profit Revitalization Initiativefor $1to be fixed up and sold, PLF said.

Citing a Detroit News report, PLF stated that the company generated as much as $10 million from 138 properties from 2016 to 2019 after covering more than $2 million in tax debts to acquire the properties from the city. The former owners of these properties lost everything and received nothing from the surplus value of the properties taken from them.

PLF stated that one court described the system as troubling, shocking to the conscience, and stated that it rightfully breeds distrust among the electorate.

The saga took its toll on the Halls. Six months after the family was forced to move, an exhausted and overworked Prentiss died from a brain injury sustained in an on-the-job fallhe was 52, PLF said.

According to PLF, the case is the latest in the firms ongoing work to take on home equity theft across the nation. The firms website states that when someone miscalculates a bill, Typically, a late fee or a strongly worded warning follows. But do you know what happens if you miscalculate and underpay your property taxeseven by just a few dollars? In at least 12 states, the government will seize your property, sell it, and leave you with nothing.

PLF argues that a victory in this case would finish what the firm started in Rafaeli LLC v. Oakland County, when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled unanimously to end home equity theft through government foreclosure auctions.

The Epoch Times reported on that ruling in July 2020. That court ruled that counties in Michigan may not keep for themselves as a windfall funds left over from the sale of real property for unpaid taxes.

Court documents in that case indicated the plaintiff, who had bought the rental property in Southfield for $60,000, owed $8.41 in unpaid property taxes from 2011, which grew to $285.81 after interest, penalties, and fees. Oakland County foreclosed on the property for the delinquency, selling it at auction for $24,500, and keeping all the sale proceeds in excess of the taxes, interest, penalties, and fees.

Oakland County, Michigan, Treasurer Robert Wittenberg commented by email on the new appeal.

Although the Oakland County Treasurers Office does not comment on pending litigation, we place a high priority on helping our residents and business owners to retain their properties while complying with Michigan law. Our commitmentto fulfill our statutory responsibilities, prevent tax foreclosure and the loss of property ownership rights in Oakland Countyis unwavering.

The Epoch Times also reached out to the city of Southfield for comment on the new appeal but didnt receive a reply by press time.
Workers inspect vehicles and work on the assembly line at Honda of Canada Mfg. Plant 2 in Alliston, Ont., on March 30, 2015. (The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette)

Honda Plans $1.38B Plant Upgrade in Ontario, Feds and Province to Invest Millions

A division of Honda Canada Inc. is set to announce Wednesday that it will spend $1.38 billion over six years to upgrade an Ontario manufacturing plant to make electric hybrid vehicles, an investment that includes millions in funding from the federal and provincial governments.

Honda Canada spokesman John Bordignon confirmed that the 2023 CR-V and CR-V Hybrid will be built in the companys Alliston, Ont., plant.

A draft news release obtained by The Canadian Press says it will be the lead plant for the 2023 CR-V Hybrid crossover.

The release says the federal and provincial governments will chip in $131.6 million each for the plants overhaul for a total investment of about $263 million. The investments were confirmed by a government source.

Hondas expenditure would bring its total Canadian manufacturing investments to more than $6 billion since 1986, when it became the first Japanese automaker to build a manufacturing facility in Canada.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are scheduled to participate in the announcement.

It comes as gasoline prices have soared around the world following Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that prompted western countries including Canada to ban imports of Russian oil and energy products.

Honda has promised to go fully electric by 2040, making the hybrid vehicle plant announcement a key step on the way toward meeting its goal.

Honda has the capacity to produce more than 400,000 vehicles and 190,000 engines annually, including the Honda Civic and CR-V models for the Canadian and North America markets, as well as for export, the draft news release says. Approximately 100,000 Canadian-built Civic and CR-V units are sold annually in Canada.

Several automakers operating in Canada have made commitments to electric vehicle assembly over the past two years, bolstered by provincial and federal government funding.

The Liberal government promised before last years federal election to speed up its goal to see every new light-duty vehicle sold in Canada to be electric. It wants all new cars and light-duty trucks to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, five years ahead of its earlier plan.

Canada has committed that its economy will either emit no greenhouse gas or offset the pollution driving climate change by other measures by 2050.

Hondas investment isnt the first in Canada by an automaker trying to expand its EV offering.

General Motors Co. and South Koreas Posco Chemical recently announced a deal to spend US$400 million to build a plant in Quebec to produce material for batteries to be used in electric vehicles.

The U.S. automaker also announced a billion-dollar plan to build its new all-electric BrightDrop EV600 van in Ingersoll, Ont., at Canadas first large-scale EV manufacturing plant for delivery vehicles.

Ford has promised $1.8 billion to retool its sprawling landmark facility in Oakville, Ont., to build EVs while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to spend up to $1.5 billion at its Windsor Assembly Plant to assemble both plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles, with at least one new model in 2025.

While Ontario did away with its rebate program for EV purchases, Ottawa offers buyers an upfront discount of up to either $5,000 or $2,500 and sellers then have to claim the incentives to be reimbursed.

Statistics Canada says more than 65,000 new battery-only and plug-in hybrid electric cars were registered in the first nine months of 2021, up from 54,353 in all of 2020 and 56,165 in 2019. However, they represented only five percent of new cars registered, compared with three percent in both 2020 and 2019.
A U.S. Marine Corp Osprey comes in to land next to soldiers from Japans 1st Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade during an exercise with the U.S. 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Gotemba, Japan on March 15, 2022. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

Japan and US Marines Conduct First Joint Combat Drills Amid China, Russia Threats

Japanese and U.S. Marines conducted their first airborne landing and combat drills together on Tuesday, indicating a deepening of military cooperation in the wake of increased military assertiveness by China and Russia.

The drills held near Mount Fuji were part of a three-week joint exercise, which involved about 400 troops from Japans Amphibious Rapid Development Brigade and 600 troops from the U.S. Marines based in Okinawa. Tilt-rotor Ospreys transported the brigade during the drills.

We are committed to securing the peace and stability in the region through Japan-U.S. joint responses. Any potential adversary will see this as our actual capability, not just words, Col. Masashi Hiraki, commander of Japans Amphibious Rapid Development Brigade, said.

Col. Michael Nakonieczny, a commanding officer of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit based in Okinawa, said that the troops are operating across all domains to achieve the effects that are required to be successful on the battlefield.

#Marines with the @31stMeu trained with members of the @JGSDF_pr during #MDX-ARDB. They conducted an air assault to strengthen ties between the forces. pic.twitter.com/SXXqvIpBnd  III MEF Marines (@IIIMEF) March 14, 2022

The drills came as Japan intensified its pressure on Beijing over its claims to vast swaths of the South China Sea.

China has built up its military presence in the South China Sea and made numerous incursions into the East China Sea, where the Senkaku Islands are located. Japan has mostly administered the Senkaku Islands since 1895, but Beijing began asserting its right over the islands in the 1970s and called them the Diaoyu Islands.

Russias maritime activity is likewise increasing, as is its cooperation with China.

Japans navy detected six Russian navy vessels passed through the Soya Strait, which separates Japans northern island of Hokkaido and Russias Sakhalin Island, at midnight on Sunday, The Japan Times reported on Tuesday.

Chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said that Japans government has communicated with Russia about the incident and is monitoring the situation closely.

The Russian military has been carrying out extraordinary naval drills on a large scale in the Sea of Okhotsk and other areas since February in conjunction with Moscows invasion of Ukraine, and the six vessels are believed to have participated in the drills, Matsuno said.

The incident happened less than a week after the military detected 10 Russian navy ships passing through the Tsugaru Strait, between Japans main island of Honshu and Hokkaido prefecture, on March 11.

Matsuno claimed that Russia also fired a land-to-air missile last week on the Russian-controlled Kuril islands, which Japan also claims. The dispute over the islands Moscow seized at the end of World War II has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty.

Japans defense minister Nobuo Kishi said last month that he would not rule out the option to conduct pre-emptive airstrikes on enemy bases if it falls within the scope of self-defense, although it would be the last resort to protect Japan from inbound missiles.

Kishi noted that certain conditions must be met in order for an airstrike against enemy bases to be authorized under the self-defense policy, which includes limiting the use of force to only what is necessary to complete the mission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Troops from the United States and Japan are working together as part of a joint drill. The weeks-long exercise is happening in the Indo-Pacific.

How big is Washingtons fleet of nuclear submarines? And how does it compare to China and its neighbors? We look at the details to find out.

The Indo-Pacific region tops the list as the globes biggest weapons importer, as one country in the region does the opposite.

As an American company cuts tech support for a Chinese drone company, Taiwan says Beijing is stealing intellectual property from the island.

Chinese stocks see a surge of panic selling and a major value drop after the U.S. market regulator released a list of names facing consequences.

Chinese naval strength is largely sourced from Ukraine. We look at the countries history.

Have other topics you want us to cover? Drop us a line: chinainfocus@ntdtv.org

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Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, in Chicago on March 26, 2019. (Paul Beaty/AP Photo)

Jussie Smollett Moved From Psych Ward to New Jail Cell, Brother and Sheriffs Office Confirm

Jussie Smollett has been moved to a new jail cell, the Cook County Sheriffs Office and his family said Tuesday.

The former Empire actor, 39, was sentenced to 150 days in jail on March 10 for lying to police about being a victim of an attack he was accused to have orchestrated himself.

Smolletts brother, Jocqui, said the former TV star had been housed in the prisons psych ward and that officials had noted that he was at risk of harming himself which he said was very concerning because his brother was in no way, shape or form at risk of self-harm.

At the hearing, Smollett repeatedly declared he is not suicidal.

Jocqui took to social media on Monday where he explained that his brother had now been moved to a new jail cell, out of the psych ward with a restrained bed into a normal one, and thanked fans for their support.

So I just got to see him, Jocqui said. Before he was sleeping on a restrained bed and now hes been moved to a jail cell that actually has a bed. Thank you so much. Thats really because of all the #FreeJussie thats been going on. Its all the pressure were applying on Cook County and Cook County Jail.

Jocqui also claimed that Cook County doesnt really move until they get bad publicity and encouraged fans to keep applying pressure, and to call Cook County Jail to check in on the actor while saying that you believe he should be free.

A representative for the Cook County Sheriffs Office also confirmed in a statement to The Epoch Times that Smollett has been moved to a new jail cell, noting that this was done because his cell was needed by another person who had been detained.

Mr. Smolletts housing unit was changed Monday to a different cell within Division 8. He was moved from that cell because Cermak Health Services needed his cell for another detained person, the representative said.

The Sheriffs Office said the decision was made by the medical professionals, noting that Smollett was never restrained to a bed or anything else in the cell and this his bed was never equipped with restraints.

Mr. Smollett remains housed in his own cell with officers stationed at the open door to his cell to ensure that he is under direct observation at all times. As with all detained persons, Mr. Smollett is entitled to have substantial time out of his cell in the common areas on the tier where he is housed, they added.

The Epoch Times has contacted Cook County Sheriffs Office and a Smollett spokesperson for comment.

Actor Jussie Smollett appears at his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, in Chicago, Il., on March 10, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Pool/Chicago Tribune)

Actor Jussie Smollett is led out of the courtroom after being sentenced to jail time at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago on March 10, 2022. (Brian Cassella/Pool via Getty Images)

Cook County Judge James Linn earlier this month sentenced Smollett to 30 months of felony probation, including 150 days in the county jail, for lying to police about being the victim of an attack by two masked men that he said took place in January 2019.

A jury in December 2021 found Smollett guilty of five of the six felony disorderly conduct counts he faced, one for each time he was accused of lying to police.

Smollett was also ordered to pay restitution of $120,106 to the city of Chicago, and a $25,000 fine. The judge denied a request to suspend the sentence, and ordered that Smollett be immediately placed in custody.

Smollett and his family have maintained that he is innocent.

At the hearing, Smollett said, I would just like to say, your honor, that I am not suicidal. Thats what I would like to say. Im not suicidal. Im not suicidal. I am innocent and I am not suicidal.

He also turned to the court, and said, I am not suicidal. And if anything happens to me when I go in there, I did not do it to myself. And you must all know that.

Meanwhile, Smolletts lawyers are demanding an emergency suspension of the actors five-month jail sentence, citing vicious threats they have received which they say raises concerns about his safety in prison.

A spokesperson for the actor told Rolling Stone that one of his siblings received a threatening call on Friday morning from an unknown male.

I hope what they do to that guy in jailheres what theyre going to do, right. Theyre going to take a broom handle, and take that little [expletive], shove it in there, and hes gonna go, [shrieking sound], the message allegedly said, according to Rolling Stone.

The actors lawyers added claim he had become the target of vicious threats online which they believe no doubt reflects the hatred and wish for physical harm toward Smollett which he may experience during incarceration.

Lawyers further claim Smollett has a compromised immune system, which could be a serious health risk if he were to be exposed to COVID-19 while in custody.

Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report.
Brian Jean (L), and former house leader of the Progressive Conservatives Ric McIver sit together during the first meeting of the new United Conservative Party caucus in Edmonton Alta, on July 24, 2017. (The Canadian Press/Jason Franson)

Kenney Rival Brian Jean Wins Alberta Byelection for United Conservative Party

Former Wildrose Party leader says his next priority is to remove Kenney as UCP leader

Brian Jean, the co-founder of the governing United Conservative Party, is back in the Alberta legislature after a decisive win in the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection on March 15.

The former UCP MLA and a federal Conservative member of Parliament secured a majority win with 63.6 percent of voters choosing him over seven other candidates on their ballots, with all 61 polls reporting.

I am excited to be your new MLA for Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, Jean said to supporters.

This was not a squeaker. I have to tell you I have a clear mandate from the peopleover 60 percent.

Jean was trailed by NDP candidate Ariana Mancini who captured 18.5 percent of the support followed by Wildrose Independence Party of Alberta candidate Paul Hinman with 10.8 percent.

Jean left politics in 2018 after losing the October 2017 UCP leadership race to Jason Kenney, who would go on to become Albertas 18th premier when the UCP defeated the NDP in the provinces 2019 general election.

In July 2017, Jean, who was then leader of the Wildrose Party, agreed to join forces with Kenneys Progressive Conservative party to form what is now the UCP, a move initiated by Kenney to unite the two parties in a bid to oust the NDP.

Jean maintains that the UCP has lost its values and commitment to grassroots democracy under Kenney, and that only a change in leadership can reverse poor polling numbers and deliver victory against the NDP in the spring 2023 provincial election. He said his focus now is on renewing the party by defeating Kenney in the partys scheduled leadership review in Red Deer on April 9. I will be actively involved in getting UCP members to show up and vote at the April 9th leadership review vote, Jean said on his Facebook page after his win. The members will decide Jason Kenneys fate, but I am confident that, like me, a majority of the UCP members going to Red Deer want to renew the UCP and make it a party that better listens to and better serves Albertans.

In winning Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche, Jean now takes over the seat of former UCP MLA Laila Goodridge who resigned to run successfully for the federal Conservatives in August.

Kenney congratulated Jean on his victory.

Congratulations to Brian Jean and the UCP team on winning the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection, he said on Twitter on March 16.

Thank-you to all of the candidates & their volunteers for their commitment to democracy, and to local voters for participating in the electoral process.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Lawmakers Call on Facebook to Counter Chinese Propaganda Backing Russias Invasion of Ukraine

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) sent a letter on March 15 to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, to express their deep concern about the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) use of Facebook as a platform for spreading pro-Russian propaganda as Moscows war in Ukraine rages.

This is emblematic of a larger push by Chinese Communist Party-directed propaganda operations to influence global dialogue and policy on Russias unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and must be met with a strong, coordinated public-private response, the letter stated.

The letters other signatories were Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).

The letter acknowledged that in the immediate aftermath of Russias Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Facebook and parent company Meta moved to bar Russian state media from disseminating ads on the social media platform, a step that prompted Moscows retaliation by cutting off Facebooks availability in Russia.

But Metas swift action to prevent Russia from spreading pro-war propaganda on Facebook did not stop Chinese state broadcasters and affiliated accounts from spreading the same kind of disinformation through Facebook ads, the lawmakers charged. Nor has a policy announced by Facebook in 2020 to bar state-dominated media outlets from buying advertising aimed at U.S. users done anything to prevent the same entities from purchasing ads targeting users in foreign jurisdictions.

The letter went on to cite an Axios report that found the CCP was using the platform to sway public opinion in favor of Russias actions in Ukraine. China Global TV Network, a state-controlled entity with 118 million viewers on Facebook and 2.4 million on Instagram, disseminated at least 21 ads on Facebook that contained pro-Russian reporting on the invasion, according to the report.

This is even more troubling considering Chinese outlets on your platform, and even Chinas Foreign Minister, are parroting Kremlin disinformation including false reports of Russian forces targeting U.S. biolabs in Ukraine, something which may be used as a pretext for a false flag operation to justify broader violence against civilians, the lawmakers warned.

In recent weeks, Chinese diplomats have amplified Russian disinformation that the U.S. military has maintained bio labs in Ukraine for bioweapons research, which American officials have described as Russian propaganda seeking to retroactively justify Moscows aggression in the country.

In their letter, the lawmakers called for a number of remedial steps to counter CCP propaganda about Russias war on Ukraine.

They conveyed their proposals in a series of questions to Zuckerberg, including: what steps Meta is taking to make sure that Russian disinformation about the Ukraine invasion does not spread to the United States and global audiences through CCP-affiliated and other non-Russian accounts; what efforts Meta is making to broaden the scope of its 2020 policy barring state-controlled media from buying Facebook ads aimed at U.S. and foreign audiences; and how much money Chinese state broadcasters have paid Meta for ads amplifying Russian disinformation.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Meta for comment.
Smoke rising after an explosion in Kyiv on March 16, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia-Ukraine (March 16): Ukraines Military Says It Hit Kherson Airport

The latest on the RussiaUkraine crisis, March 16. Click here for updates from March 15.

Ukraines Military Says It Hit Kherson Airport

Ukrainian military forces have dealt a punishing blow to the airport in Kherson, which Russian troops had seized early in the war, the General Staff said late Wednesday. It said the Russians were trying to remove any surviving military equipment.

Ukraines military said it hit the airport on Tuesday. Satellite photos taken afterward by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press show helicopters and vehicles on fire at the airbase.

Russia seized the southern port city without a fight in the first days of the war. Control over Kherson allows Russia to restore freshwater supplies to Crimea; Ukraine cut off the water after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014.

The General Staff said Russias ground offensive on major Ukrainian cities has largely stalled.

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Ukraine, Russia Continue Talks Over Video

Ukrainian and Russian delegations held talks again Wednesday by video.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said Ukraine demanded a ceasefire, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and legal security guarantees for Ukraine from a number of countries.

This is possible only through direct dialogue between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said on Twitter.

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World Court Orders Russia to Halt Military Operations in Ukraine

The United Nations top court for disputes between states ordered Russia on Wednesday to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was profoundly concerned by Moscows use of force.

Although the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are binding, it has no direct means of enforcing them, and in rare cases in the past countries have ignored them.

The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine, the ICJ judges said in a 13-2 decision.

They added that Russia must also ensure that other forces under its control or supported by Moscow should not continue the military operation.

Ukraine filed its case at the ICJ shortly after Russias invasion began on Feb. 24, saying that Moscows stated justification, that it was acting to prevent a genocide in eastern Ukraine, was unfounded.

In addition to disputing the grounds for the invasion, Kyiv also asked for emergency provisional measures against Russia to halt the violence before the case was heard in full. Those measures were granted on Wednesday.

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Turkeys Top Diplomat Says in Moscow That War Must Stop

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking alongside his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday, said the war in Ukraine must stop and Ankara would pursue diplomatic efforts to arrange a lasting ceasefire.

Cavusoglu told reporters after a meeting with Lavrov that NATO member Turkey hoped Russian President Vladimir Putin would meet Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky as a step toward peace.

The war must stop, people must not die. I came here to Moscow with this understanding today, Cavusoglu said.

We have shared our concerns in a sincere way and done our part to ease tensions and open the stage for diplomacy, he said. We would like to host this (Putin-Zelenskiy) meeting when the situation comes to that point  for a lasting ceasefire.

Lavrov said there were no obstacles to a meeting between Putin and Zelenskiy but that it would only take place to seal a specific agreement.

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Biden Announces Additional Military Support to Ukraine

President Joe Biden announced an additional $800 million in new support to Ukraine Wednesday, bringing the total U.S. military aid to Ukraine this week to $1 billion.

The defense package meant to fend off the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine includes 800 anti-aircraft systems and 9,000 anti-armor systems, Biden said. It also includes 7,000 small arms and 20 million rounds of ammunition meant to arm Ukrainians including the brave women and men who are defending their cities as civilians, said Biden.

I want to be honest, this could be a long and difficult battle, but American people will be steadfast in our support and the people of Ukraine who crane in the face of Putins immoral, unethical attacks on civilian populations, said Biden, citing reports of Russian attacks on hospitals and other civilian sites.

Read the full article here

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Ukrainian Mayor No Longer in Russian Custody

The mayor of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol has been freed after he was seized by Russian forces five days ago, a Ukrainian official said Wednesday.

Andriy Yermak, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskys chief of staff, announced the news but did not release details about how the mayor became free.

Surveillance video last week showed the mayor of the occupied city being marched out of city hall apparently surrounded by Russian soldiers.

Prior to the start of the invasion, U.S. President Joe Bidens administration had warned of Russian plans to detain and kill targeted people in Ukraine, with Zelensky himself likely top target.

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NATO Leader Rules Out No-fly Zone Over Ukraine

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has categorically ruled out any role for the military organization in setting up and policing a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect against Russian airstrikes.

Stoltenberg says NATO should not deploy forces on the ground or in the air space over Ukraine because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict, this war, doesnt escalate beyond Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly appealed for NATO to set up a no-fly zone given Russias air superiority, as civilian casualties mount three weeks into the war.

Speaking Wednesday after chairing a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Stoltenberg conceded that we see human suffering in Ukraine, but this can become even worse if NATO (takes) actions that actually turned this into a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.

He says the decision not to send air or ground forces into Ukraine is the united position from NATO allies. Earlier Wednesday, Estonia urged its 29 NATO partners to consider setting up a no-fly zone.

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Russias War in Ukraine May Fundamentally Alter Global Economic, Political Order: IMF

Russias invasion of Ukraine will affect the entire global economy by slowing growth and jacking up inflation, and could fundamentally reshape the global economic order in the longer term, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday.

The war is eroding business confidence and triggering uncertainty among investors that will depress asset prices, tighten financial conditions, and could trigger capital outflows from emerging markets, it said.

Countries with direct trade, tourism, and financial exposures would feel mounting pressure, the IMF said, citing a greater risk of unrest in some regions, from Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America to the Caucasus and Central Asia.

At the same time, food insecurity was likely to further increase in parts of Africa and the Middle East, where countries like Egypt import 80 percent of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine.

The IMF predicted deep recessions in Ukraine and Russia, and said Europe could see disruptions in natural gas imports and wider supply-chain disruptions. Eastern Europe, which has absorbed most of the 3 million people who have fled Ukraine, would see higher financing costs as a result.

The IMF said countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia with close trade and payment system links to Russia would be more affected by its recession and sanctions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine, curbing trade, remittances, investment, and tourism.

Food and energy prices are the main channel for spillovers in the Western Hemisphere, with high commodity prices likely to significantly quicken already high inflation rates in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States.

In Asia, the biggest impact will be felt among oil importers of ASEAN economies, India, and frontier economies including some Pacific Islands, while new fuel subsidies could ease the impacts in Japan and Korea, the IMF said.

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Putin Says West Is Trying to Cancel Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the West is trying to economically cripple Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Behind the hypocritical talk and todays actions of the so-called collective West are hostile geopolitical goals. They just dont want a strong and sovereign Russia, Putin said, according to state-run media.

The Russian leader, speaking in a televised meeting in Moscow, said that other countries are trying to cancel Russia with a blitzkrieg of sanctions.

The West doesnt even bother to hide that their aim is to damage the entire Russian economy, every Russian, Putin said.

Read the full article here

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Zelensky Addresses US Congress

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed members of Congress on Wednesday, asking again for the United States and NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over his country and provide fighter planes weeks after Russia started its invasion.

Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities. It went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values, he said via a translator. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom, against our right to live freely in our own country, choosing our own future. Against our desire for happiness, against our national dream, just like the same dreams you have, you, Americans. Just like anyone else in the United States.

In asking for S-300 surface-to-air missile systems and Polish MiG-29 fighter jets, Zelensky invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that thrust the United States into World War II.

Remember Pearl Harbor, he said Remember Sept. 11  Our country experiences the same every day.

Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided. The destiny of our people where the Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy, the Ukrainian leader also remarked. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities, it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values.

A no-fly zone over Ukraine has been described by top White House and NATO officials as a nonstarter. Earlier in March, President Joe Biden said that enforcing such a measure would escalate the conflict to become World War III with Russia, a nuclear power.

Read the full article here

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Fox News Correspondent Benjamin Hall Safely out of Ukraine After Suffering Serious Injuries

Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who was injured this week while covering the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine when the vehicle he was traveling in came under attack, is alert and in good spirits, the network announced on Wednesday.

Hall was wounded in the same attack outside Kyiv that took the lives of Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra Sasha Kuvshynova.

FOX News Media CEO Suzanne Scott updated staffers about Halls condition in an internal memo, and Bill Hemmer informed viewers shortly afterward on Wednesday morning.

This is some news weve been waiting on, an update on our colleague Ben Hall, he is now safe and out of Ukraine, Hemmer said.

Ben is alert and said to be in good spirits. Hes being treated with the best possible care in the world, Hemmer said.

We remind you, please continue to keep him in your prayers as well as Sasha and Pierre.

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Russia Reveals Contours of Possible Ukraine Peace Deal

Russia has revealed the outline of a possible peace deal that would put an end to the hostilities in Ukraine, with Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying a business-like spirit has emerged in negotiations with concrete formulations that he said are close to being agreed on.

Lavrov made the remarks in a Wednesday interview on Russian television channel RBC, in which he expressed some hope that a compromise could be reached between the warring sides.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov said. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

Lavrov said Russian negotiators have told him the talks are not easy for obvious reasons, but nevertheless there is some hope for finding a compromise.

Read the full article here

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Russian Official Is Upbeat on Ukraine Talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says a business-like spirit is emerging at talks with Ukraine that are now focused on a neutral status for the war-torn country.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov said Wednesday on Russian channel RBK TV. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

He didnt elaborate, but said the business-like spirit starting to surface in the talks gives hope that we can agree on this issue.

Russias chief negotiator in the latest round of talks with Ukraine, which started Monday and are set to continue Wednesday, said earlier the sides are discussing a possible compromise idea for a future Ukraine with a smaller, non-aligned military.

A whole range of issues tied with the size of Ukraines army is being discussed, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said, according to Russian news agencies.

There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that the country realizes it cant join NATO. Ukraines bid to join the Western military alliance has been a sore point for Moscow.

____

Leaders Return Safely to EU After Visit to Kyiv Amid Attacks

The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia have returned safely from a visit to Kyiv.

The visit was meant to show support for Ukraine as it endures heavy bombardment.

The leaders met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday to send the message that Ukraine is not alone and that they support the nations aspirations to one day join the European Union.

They went ahead with the hours-long train trip despite worries within the European Union about the security risks of traveling within a war zone.

Polish government spokesman Piotr Mueller said Wednesday morning that they had returned safely to Poland.

Officials had not given details about their schedule for security reasons.

____

UKs Johnson Says Ukraine Is Not Going to Join NATO Any Time Soon

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says Ukraine is not going to join NATO any time soon, after the countrys president acknowledged Ukraine would not become part of the Western military alliance.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long depicted Ukraines NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia, something the alliance denies.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine realized it could not join NATO, his most explicit acknowledgment that the goal, enshrined in Ukraines constitution, was unlikely to be met.

It came as Russia and Ukraine held a new round of talks, with Zelensky saying Wednesday that Russian demands were becoming more realistic.

On Wednesday, Johnsonone of the most vocal Western supporters of Ukrainesaid the reality of the position is that there is no way Ukraine is going to join NATO any time soon. But he said the decision had to be for Ukraine to make.

____

Ukraine Says Russian Warships Fire Missiles

Russian warships around midnight fired missiles and artillery at the Ukrainian sea coast near Tuzla, to the south of Odesa, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said.

They fired a huge amount of ammunition from a great distance, he said on Facebook.

Gerashchenko said Russia wanted to test Ukraines coastal defense system.

He said there was no attempt to land troops. He didnt say whether any of the shelling hit anything.

___

Ukraine Says 4th Russian General Killed

Ukraine said a fourth Russian general has been killed in the fighting.

Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev died Tuesday during the storming of Mariupol, said Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko, who published a photo on Telegram of what he said was the dead officer.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported the death of another Russian general in his nighttime address but didnt name him.

Mityaev, 46, commanded the 150th motorized rifle division and had fought in Syria, Gerashchenko said.

There was no confirmation of the death from Russia.

___

Zelensky Says Russia Demands More Realistic

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said early Wednesday that Russias demands during negotiations are becoming more realistic after nearly three weeks of war. He said more time was needed for the talks, which are being held by video conference.

Efforts are still needed, patience is needed, he said in his nighttime video address to the nation. Any war ends with an agreement.

Zelensky, who is to address the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, thanked President Joe Biden and all the friends of Ukraine for $13.6 billion in new support included in a spending measure that Biden signed.

He appealed for more weapons and more sanctions to punish Russia, and repeated his call to close the skies over Ukraine to Russian missiles and planes.

He said Russian forces on Tuesday were unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory and continued their heavy shelling of cities.

___

Zelensky Appeals to North European Leaders for More Arms

Ukraines president appealed to northern European leaders for more weapons to counter Russias invasion of his country.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking to leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) via videolink Tuesday, said the Ukrainian military is rapidly using up weapons and other hardware that western nations have shipped to his country.

He also appealed for a full trade embargo on Russia, saying sanctions have not been enough to counter the Russian advance.

We have to acknowledge Russia as a rogue state and there has to be a trade embargo with Russia, Zelensky said. This is something that we need and you need as well, just like the rest of the world, to make sure there is peace in Europe and Ukraine.

Zelensky also repeated his frustration with NATO over its refusal to implement a no-fly zone over Ukraine as he addressed JEF leaders meeting Tuesday in London.

The United Kingdom-led JEF is a grouping of 10 North Atlantic countries designed to react quickly to international crises. It includes NATO members such as Britain and the Baltic states, as well as non-NATO countries such as Sweden and Finland.

Jack Phillips, Tom Ozimek, Nick Ciolino, Fox News, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
These images taken from surveillance video show a man suspected of shooting two homeless people in New York on March 12, 2022. (New York Police Department via AP)

Man Suspected of Stalking, Killing Homeless People Arrested

WASHINGTONA man suspected of stalking and shooting homeless people asleep on the streets of New York City and Washington was arrested early Tuesday. Police said at least two people were killed and three others wounded in the attacks.

The suspect, Gerald Brevard was arrested in Washington on murder, assault, and other charges after news of the killings had added new fears to people spending nights on the streets of the two cities and elsewhere.

The 30-year-old man, who lives in the Washington area, was charged Tuesday only in connection with the Washington cases and has not been charged in the New York attacks. Brevard has a criminal history that includes assaulting a police officer and assault with a deadly weapon and was in custody Tuesday. He was being questioned by both New York and Washington detectives.

Police in the two cities earlier released multiple surveillance photographs, including a closeup showing the suspects face that was obtained from an ATM surveillance camera in Washington, and urged people who might know him to come forward. Investigators used ballistic evidence and tips to help link the shootings, and a tipster called police with information about the suspects identity, officials said.

Police are now contacting other cities to determine whether or not the suspect might be responsible for attacks elsewhere. Though he hasnt been charged yet in the New York cases, police feel very confident they have identified the correct suspect, Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee said.

A man takes pictures of a bulletin posted by NYPD near the place where a homeless person was killed days earlier in lower Manhattan, New York, on March 14, 2022. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP Photo)

All of the shootings involved .22-caliber bullets, and surveillance photos and video, along with witness statements, all pointed to a single suspecta man wearing distinctive sneakers, black pants, and the same mask, New York Police Department Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters.

Police on Tuesday identified the Washington victim who died as 54-year-old Morgan Holmes. The New York victim was not identified.

New York detectives were in Washington and participating in interviews with the suspect, Essig said. But investigators did not immediately find anything further connecting the suspect to New York beyond surveillance video and ballistics evidence or any social media postings or other evidence explaining a motive.

Brevard hasnt offered any inkling of a motive during interviews with detectives, and authorities believe he may have been randomly targeting the victims, Contee said.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams credited the swift coordination between the two police departments and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. ATF agents took Brevard into custody around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning before handing him over to detectives in Washington. They have not yet recovered a gun.

This man targeted those experiencing homelessness with no regard for life, but this criminal is now off the streets, Adams said Tuesday. Gun violence against anyone, let alone our most vulnerable populations, is sick, but thanks to the coordination between different levels of law enforcement and the publics help, those experiencing homelessness can breathe a sigh of relief today.

Court records show Brevard was arrested in July 2018 on assault charges and later pleaded guilty to attempted assault with a deadly weapon. He was found mentally incompetent to stand trial in June 2019. Records show Brevard was sent to St. Elizabeths Hospital, a psychiatric facility in the District. A month later, he was deemed competent to stand trial. Soon after, records show, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year in prison. That sentence, however, was suspended.

Investigators also are trying to determine why Brevard was out on the streets around 2:30 a.m., when he was arrested.

Advocates for the homeless found comfort in the arrest but urged officials in both cities, which have significant populations of people without permanent shelter, to provide more assistance.

The urgency of helping people move in off the streets must remain, because this is only the latest example of the risks faced by people without housing, said Jacquelyn Simone, policy director for the Coalition for the Homeless in New York City. Its not the first time that people have been the victims of violence or even homicides because of their housing status.

Investigators in the two cities began to suspect a link between the shootings on Sunday after a Metropolitan Police Department homicide captain, a former New York City resident, saw surveillance photos that had been released on Saturday night by the New York Police Department while scrolling through social media.

The man in those photos looked similar to the one being sought by the MPD homicide captains own department. Contee credited the coordination between the departments for the timely arrest.

The earliest known shooting happened at around 4 a.m. on March 3 in Washington, police said, when a man was wounded in the citys Northeast section. A second man was wounded on March 8, just before 1:30 a.m.

At 3 a.m. the next day, police and firefighters found Holmes dead inside a burning tent. He initially was thought to have suffered fatal burns, but an autopsy revealed he had died of multiple stab and gunshot wounds.

The killer then traveled north to New York City, police said. Surveillance video showed a man who investigators believe is Brevard at Penn Station in Manhattan around 3:30 a.m.

An hour later, a 38-year-old man sleeping on the street in Manhattan not far from the entrance to the Holland Tunnel was shot in his right arm as he slept. The victim screamed, and the gunman fled, police said.

About 90 minutes later, the gunman fatally shot another man in SoHo, police said.

He looked around, Adams said. He made sure no one was there. And he intentionally took the life of an innocent person.

The mans body was found in his sleeping bag just before 5 p.m. Saturday. He had been shot in the head and neck, said Julie Bolcer, a spokesperson for the New York City medical examiners office.

The victim had lain in the street for hours before authorities were summoned.

Police believe Brevard quickly returned to Washington after the attacks.

The latest attacks were reminiscent of the beating deaths of four homeless men as they slept on the streets in New Yorks Chinatown in the fall of 2019. Another homeless man, Randy Santos, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in those attacks. A year ago, four people were stabbed in New York City, two fatally, by a man who attacked homeless people in the subway system. That accused assailant, who also was homeless, is awaiting trial.

By Ashraf Khalil, Michael Balsamo, and Bobby Caina Calvan
Jeffrey Alexander Smith inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail on a count of parading, demonstrating or picketing. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Man Who Helped Breach the East Rotunda Entrance to the Capitol Gets 90 Days Jail, 2 Years Probation

A Colorado man who pushed aside barricades and helped protesters enter the U.S. Capitol Rotunda through the historic Columbus Doors on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced in federal court Tuesday to 90 days in jail and two years of probation.

Jeffrey Alexander Smith, also known as Alex Smith, 34, longtime resident of San Diego County who now lives in Colorado Springs, was sentenced on one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol buildinga petty misdemeanor. As part of a plea agreement, three other charges were dismissed.

Prosecutors said Smith moved metal benches placed by police to block the inside doors on the east side of the Capitol. Police initially prevented him from opening the doors, but he returned in a large group that sandwiched police against the doors, causing them to open. Protesters then streamed into the Rotunda and moved into other areas of the Capitol.

Far from being a follower simply caught up in the crowd, Smitha former Army sergeantquite literally led the charge to open the Rotunda doors from the inside to let in a violent mob clearly visible to him through the damaged door windows on the outside, prosecutors wrote in a 34-page sentencing memorandum.

Jeffrey Alexander Smith removes metal benches from the east Rotunda entrance at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Just before 3 p.m. on Jan. 6, Smith and other protesters approached police guarding an access point to the Office of the Speaker of the House. Smith told the officers to stand down and warned them, Were getting in there one way or another, read the sentencing memo.

The rioters soon physically assaulted the officers, but police body-worn cameras videos are not clear on whether Smith participated in this physical assault by the rioters, prosecutors wrote.

Cheered Other Rioters

Smith made a video as he also accessed the Capitol via the Upper West Terrance entrance. He cheered other rioters and shouted, We aint going to take it and Lets [expletive] go, patriots, according to the prosecution memo.

Before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton pronounced sentence, prosecutor George P. Eliopoulos and defense attorney John J. Rice of San Diego made oral arguments on whether Walton could impose a split sentence with jail and probation.

Confusion has arisen on the interpretation of federal law as it relates to petty-offense misdemeanors. Rice argued that U.S. Code plainly prohibits a split sentence for petty misdemeanors. He said the U.S. Court of Appeals has said split sentences are not allowed.

As it has in other misdemeanor cases, the U.S. Department of Justice argued that judges do have the discretion to impose jail time and a period of probation.

Federal judges in the District of Columbia Circuit are divided on the issue. Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued a written ruling on March 14 that allows split sentences for misdemeanors such as the parading, demonstrating, or picketing charge used against many Jan. 6 defendants.

Just prior to issuing the written ruling, Lamberth sentenced James Leslie Little, 51, of Claremont, North Carolina, to 60 days in jail and three years of probation on the parading charge. Littles attorney said he plans to appeal.

Earlier, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly issued a ruling that split sentences are not allowed, meaning judges must choose a punishment of jail time or the extended court supervision of probation.

A mob that included Jeffrey Alexander Smith pushed police against the east Rotunda doors, causing the doors to open. (U.S. Department of Justice/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

Judge Dabney L. Friedrich agrees, a position she cited Tuesday in sentencing Kevin D. Loftus to three years of probation for one count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. Prosecutors asked for 30 days jail and three years of probation.

Walton said he found Lamberths ruling on the issue to be most convincing, so he sentenced Smith to 90 days jail, two years of probation, 200 hours of community service, and $500 restitution that will go to the Architect of the Capitol.

There have to be consequences for what people do, Walton said, especially something of this magnitude.

Smith said the hardest thing will be separation from his children during the jail term.

I understand what I did was wrong. Im willing to pay for it, Smith said. I know what I did was wrong and I need to do my time for it. Im going to miss my kids, thats all.

As he has in other sentencing hearings, Walton said the message needs to be sent that such behavior cant be tolerated if the United States is going to uphold democracy.

If one sides not willing to accept the reality of an election, then we are really headed down a road where were going to see our democracy die, he said.

Walton granted a request that Smith be allowed to serve his time at the Bureau of Prisons facility in Florence, Colorado.
It must have been an exhilarating moment in 1975 when museum director Paolo Dal Poggetto discovered a trapdoor hidden under a cabinet in the New Sacristy of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy. Under the trapdoor, stone steps led down to a tiny chamber that had gone unnoticed for 500 years. At first, it appeared to be just a storage room for coal, but Dal Poggetto suspected more beneath the plaster of the walls, given the rooms location.

Experts spent weeks removing the plaster with scalpels searching for clues to art remains, uncovering dozens of drawings, many of which were with almost certainty attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti.

It was the art historical find of the century, and with this unearthed treasure, a story full of faith, power, and the tireless mission of an artist was brought to life.

It is now believed that this was the chamber where Michelangelo hid in 1530 for two months from the revenge of the Medici family in Florence, the most powerful bankers of the time.

I hid in a tiny cell, Michelangelo wrote, entombed like the dead Medici above, though hiding from a live one. To forget my fears, I fill the walls with drawings.

The remains of these drawings raise the question of why Michelangelo, fearing for his life, hid from the very family that once took him under its wing.

At 14, Michelangelo was taken into the Medici palace by Lorenzo de Medici, who took notice of the young talent; he lived among them like a son. There, Michelangelo enjoyed the privilege of a humanistic education.

During this time, he produced his first pagan motif, the Battle of the Centaurs, commissioned by Lorenzo in 1492.

Battle of the Centaurs, circa 1492, by Michelangelo. Marble; 33.2 inches by 35.6 inches. Casa Buonarroti, Florence. (sailko/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Why did the artist fall out of favor with the Medici some 40 years later?

To answer this question, however, we must consider a turbulent period when the people of Florence revolted against Medici rule, and the family was expelled from the city in 1494.

The heated events surrounding the conflict between Michelangelo and the Medici family reveal much about the artists spiritual beliefs. In Michelangelos later volumes of poetry, his devotion to his faith in God is increasingly expressed.

Revealing his attitude toward the beauty of the human body in his art, he wrote: God, the Supreme Artist, reveals himself in the mortal veil of man. God, in His grace, also reveals Himself to me in no other aspect more clearly than in a beautiful human veil.

A Heated Conflict

But how did this disagreement with the Medici family come about, which forced Michelangelo into hiding in 1530?

The Medici family had grown from wealthy merchants to the most influential banking family in Europe in the late 13th century, even taking over the rule of what was then the Republic of Florence in 1434. Responsible for the rapid rise in its power acquisition was, among other things, the familys most important customer, the Vatican in Rome under Pope John XXIII (considered an anti-pope), a former pirate named Baldassare Cossa. He was one among three popes contesting for power at the time, but ultimately ended the Schism and retained power.

This economic connection between the Medicis and Rome occurred at a time when the Vatican was losing moral authority and was increasingly accused of corruption by clerics. Most notably, the Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola in Florence spoke out publicly about his skeptical attitude toward the head of the church.

Savonarola: A Prophet for Righteousness

Savonarola Preaching Against Prodigality, circa 1879, by Ludwig von Langemantel. St. Bonaventure University, Bonaventure, New York. (Public Domain)

Savonarola was no ordinary preacher; he won the peoples trust through clear theological understanding and a way of preaching that spoke directly to the hearts of the masses. As his popularity grew, so did his criticism of the church.

He once accused the pope:

You have built a house of deceit. You have put a prostitute on the throne of Solomon. The Church has invited all who can pay to enter and do as they please. Those who do Gods will are thrown out. O prostitute Church, you spread your lewdness everywhere from land to the sea.

In addition, Savonarola saw the Medici rulers as the cause of the moral decline and the abandonment of the Christian faith in Florence, as they had reinforced pagan rituals. With Savonarolas influence, the Florentine population began to revolt against the Medici rule. When Savonarola decided to side with French occupants in Florence in 1494, the Medicis were forced to abandon their rule and the city.

On Jan. 13, 1495, Savonarola delivered his powerful Renovation Sermon to a large audience in the cathedral, Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore.

She [Florence] is more glorious, powerful, and rich than ever before, spreading her wings farther than anyone can imagine. In the new Jerusalem that is Florence, peace and unity will reign.

With the Medicis exile, Savonarola led Florence back to an independent republic, with the idea that Christs laws should be the basis of its political and social life.

Savonarolas leadership did not last long as he began to preach ever more fiercely against the corruption of the church. For this, Pope Alexander VI excommunicated him in 1497. Despite his excommunication, Savonarola kept preaching in Florence, therefore the pope needed him punished and threatened the Florentines with an interdict, which would deny them most sacraments and Christian burials if they persisted in harboring him. On Palm Sunday in 1498, Savonarolas monastery, St. Marks, was attacked by a screaming mob, and Savonarola was arrested and finally executed by hanging and burning in the center of the city that year.

All of Savonarolas writings90 in number, from letters to huge volumeswere widely distributed across Europe by his followers. It is believed that Savonarolas teaching never left Michelangelos mind.

Michelangelos David a Symbol for Independence

In 1504, Michelangelos David (detail) was placed at the center of Florence so that it gazed directly toward the giant Goliath: Rome. It is now in the Accademia Gallery of Florence. (Jorg Bittner Unna/CC BY-SA 4.0)

Savonarola saw sacred art as a tool for promoting this worldview and, at the same time, opposed secular art as being damaging. His view on art shaped those of the artists and the Florentine people.

Michelangelos biblical figure of David, for example, played a significant role in symbolizing the defeat of the Medici family. The sculpture was commissioned mainly by members of the Florentine wool guild called Arte Della Lana a few years after the Medicis exile.

The statue was initially supposed to be set atop the Florence cathedral. However, instead of placing the 17-foot sculpture at the cathedral, in 1504 it was erected in the center of Florence, metaphorically facing the giant Goliath. Transcripts reveal a discussion around the provocative placement of the sculpture. With the town hall behind him, the hero looked as though he was preparing for battle. His gaze, deliberate, was fixed in the direction of Rome, the place to which Florences recently deposed Medici rulers had fled.

According to University of Virginia history professor Paul Barolsky, in his journal article Machiavelli, Michelangelo, and David (2004), Italy had a longstanding tradition of portraying the biblical figure of David as a protector of both society and culture. Aiming to depict him as a guardian, Michelangelo rendered David taller, more handsome, and more muscular than Bible passages suggested.

After Savonarolas death, the Medici family regained influence by having Giovanni de Medici elected as the first Medici pope, Leo X. As a Medici descendant in his new position, he had the Medici family resume control of the government of Florence in 1512 and ended the republic.

But he did not win over the hearts of many of Savonarolas supporters and Florentines who supported democracy, including Michelangelo.

This period in Michelangelos life as a young man was formative both spiritually and artistically. He created his most iconic works, such as the David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling painting. Much like Savonarola, he saw himself as a servant of God, yet not through preaching but art.

In 1527, when a group of Florentines again resisted the authority of the Medici, Michelangelo was actively among them, standing up for independence. He even became director of fortifications for the republic. The Medici family again was driven into exile, and the revolt of the people restored the republic.

But the reestablishment did not last long. After bloody battles, the Medici resumed rule in 1531 through Pope Clement, also a Medici descendant. He reinstated Alessandro de Medici as the Duke of Florence.

With the Medici Pope and his family back in power, republican sympathizers were punished without fail. This would have included Michelangelo had he not retreated to his underground hideaway.

At this point, while Michelangelo feared for his life and hid from the wrath of the Medici family, scholars believe he kept himself busy with the works of art found in the room. These seem inspired by a collection of works that he had already produced as well as those that he had yet to complete.

A drawing by the Renaissance master Michelangelo, found in the secret room under the new sacristy of the Medici Chapel in the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Florence, Italy. (Claudio Giovannini/AFP/Getty Images)

Fortunately for Michelangelo, his fame and renown as well as his value to the pope as a commissioned artist, outweighed his transgressions. The pope agreed to spare Michelangelos life on the condition that he would complete the Medici tomb in the Medici Chapel.

Michelangelo received this message; he agreed, returned from hiding, and completed the work. After fulfilling the commission, he left his hometown of Florence for Rome in 1532 as the Florentine republic had ended, and therefore he never returned.

In Rome, he worked on another magnificent masterpiece, The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. At this point in his life, Michelangelo had witnessed how a preacher gave his life in an attempt to follow the voice of God over the voice of the pope.

The Last Judgement, circa 15361541, by Michelangelo. Fresco; 14.9 by 13.3 yards. Sistine Chapel in Rome. (Public Domain)

We can see in this powerful fresco how Michelangelo processed his experiences he had in Florence. It seems as if his sense of justice informs this painting with a fierce interpretation of Gods judgment, vividly depicting the consequences of sin and the redemption for those who stand up for faith.
Military Veteran Runs Against Ilhan Omar to Help the Nation Turn Away From Socialism

A 10-year military veteran, Somali refugee, and GOP candidate, Shukri Abdirahman said shes running for Congress because the United States is heading to socialism under the policies of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and the Biden administration. Shes confident she can defeat Omar in a traditionally strong blue districtMinnesotas Fifth Congressional District.

I have served in the military for over 10 years to pay my country back for giving me a safe haven, Abdirahman told The Epoch Times. But right now, this is why Im runningis seeing the state of my country head to a socialist dictatorship that I ran away from in Somalia.

Both Abdirahman and Omar fled Somalia due to the same civil war, and both spent about four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before coming to the United States. But Abdirahman went down a different path from Omar after arriving in America. She served in the military for over 10 years and became a combat veteran in the Iraq War.

Abdirahman said big governments presence in peoples lives, such as in vaccine and mask mandates, freedoms being trampled, and voices being censored, reminded her of the socialist Somalia where she came from.

This is not the America that I came to seek safe haven, Abdirahman said. When you think about America, you think about freedom, you think about a prosperous future. Thats not whats happening.

She said in her district, which covers the entire city of Minneapolis, people are scared to go to buy groceries, own a car, or take kids to the park because of surging crimes.

According to an annual report (pdf) from the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minneapolis saw violent crimes surge across the city, with a record number of murders in 2020.

[Omar] has completely neglected the needs of the community, said Abdirahman. She decided that the best thing for the community that is suffering these crimes is to take away the very police that is supposed to provide safety and combat crime.

After the death of George Floyd, Omar publicly called for completely dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department. Later she explained that she didnt mean crimes shouldnt be investigated. She said its impossible to reform a rotten-to-the-root police department and it can only be rebuilt.

On Feb. 1, Omar announced her intention for a third term.

When I first ran for this office there was one thing I kept coming back to. Something I said to myself and to the voters over and over: I believe that a better world is possible, Omar said in a statement. I still believe that. I still believe in a world where the working class is given what theyre owed. A world where we address the economic and income inequality issues that are holding American workers back and systematically forcing families into poverty.

Abdirahman said Omar has fallen to the far left and doesnt realize that socialism doesnt work.

Shes just basically using the same rhetoric as the liberal left that is destroying our country, driving us apart, pitting us against each other by class, race, gender, Abdirahman said.

Shes just looking to buy votes just like the liberal left, shoving free this, free that to everyone, said Abdirahman. Wheres that money gonna come from? It has to come from someone.

Omars office hasnt responded to a request for comment.

On Omars campaign website for the 2020 election, Omar called for free health care for all, homes for all, tuition-free public education, and cancelling all student debts.

Ilhan Omar Is Beatable

Minnesotas Fifth Congressional District is a heavy blue district where no Republicans have won the seat since 1963. Omar won her 2018 and 2020 elections by 78 percent and 64.3 percent of the votes, respectively. However, Abdirahman said shes confident she can defeat Omar.

I definitely think that [Omar] is defeatable, Abdirahman told The Epoch Times.

Ilhan Omar will NOT be re-elected to Congress this year. Im a 10 year U.S. Army Combat Veteran, and I will be replacing her. pic.twitter.com/FTjDVfFkTc  Shukri Abdirahman (@ShuForCongress) March 9, 2022

I am very confident that we are changing minds and hearts, but also bringing forth true conservative communities to vote for the GOP party, said Abdirahman.

Abdirahman said her campaign has been doing community engagement and found that many people are truly conservative in their values.

They are tired of the liberals invasion in their communities, threatening their ways of life, ways of values, said Abdirahman. Like the Muslim community, the indoctrination of their children taking place in schools, their children falling into crime and drugs.

Abdirahman is also a Muslim. But unlike Omar who has been criticized for her antisemitic remarks, Abdirahman said she supports Israel.

Abdirahman pointed out that Omar has relied heavily on the Somali communities votes.

And you got to keep in mind that as a Somali person candidate like herself, Im going to be splitting, if anything, with the Somali community and the Horn of Africas votes this time around, which she counted heavily on in the past, said Abdirahman.

Currently, Abdirahman has two GOP competitors for the Aug. 9 primary, Cicely Davis and Royce White. But she said shes the only candidate that can beat Omar because my background speaks for itself.

Another advantage is that she speaks Somali and some Arabic, so she could engage with communities her GOP counterparts could not.

On Feb. 9, Abdirahman announced on her campaign website that she raised over $100,000 in the first week soliciting donations.

According to data from Federal Election Commission, Omars campaign received over $1.6 million in donations during 2021, but after expenses the cash on hand was about $438,000.

It is definitely a time that we can expect a different outcome, and the people will be taking their voices to the polls. They are silently suffering now, but change will come, said Abdirahman.
Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signs the bill retiring the last state flag with the Confederate battle emblem during a ceremony at the Governor's Mansion in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 30, 2020. (Rogelio V. Solis/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Mississippi Governor Signs Bill to Ban Critical Race Theory in Schools

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on March 14 signed into law Senate Bill 2113, which prohibits critical race theory (CRT) ideologies in publicly funded schools.

The bill specifically states that no publicly funded school shall direct or compel students to affirm that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin is inherently superior, or that individuals should be adversely treated based on such characteristics.

Now, I can almost guarantee what will happen next, said Reeves, a Republican, in a video statement. First, critical race theory proponents will claim that this law prevents the teaching of history.

There will be the claim that, because of the bill, students wont learn about black historical events such as slavery or the civil rights movement, he said.

But we know the truth, Reeves said. Contrary to what some critics claim, this bill in no way, in no shape, and in no form prohibits the teaching of history. Any claim that this bill will somehow stop Mississippi kids from learning about American history is just flat-out wrong.

Reeves said all elements of historyboth good and badshould be taught in schools.

The radical left and the media have spread misinformation about CRT, Reeves said.

Across the country, were seeing a full-court press by a vocal minority of well-organized and well-funded activists who seek to tear down the unity that has helped make our country great, Reeves said. Students are being force-fed an unhealthy dose of progressive fundamentalism that runs counter to the principles of Americas founding.

Children are being subjected to classroom exercises that require them to declare themselves either oppressors or oppressed based on the color of their skin, he said.

Thats why today, Mississippi is taking another step toward ensuring our kids receive the unbiased and impartial education they need to reach their full potential as individuals, not as liberal operatives, Reeves said.

A New Variant of Marxism

The Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP), a free-market advocacy nonprofit, published a report on CRT in October 2021 that presents a case for banning CRT in schools (pdf). It points to public universities in the state, such as Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi, and the University of Southern Mississippi, that have adopted language evocative of CRT indoctrination. White silence, white privilege, white violence, systematic racism, and equity are among the signal words used to uphold CRT theories. Though it sounds like equality, equity necessitates treating people differently, and it has become a core requirement in schools, the report states.

According to the report, CRT argues that the U.S. Constitution, the legal system, and other American institutions are inherently racist. Unequal outcomes are reflections of racism, while the nations growth has been achieved through exploitation and coercion.

Critical race theory is best thought of as a form of Marxism, the report states. Old-school Marxists divided the world by classcapitalist oppressor versus oppressed workers. Critical race theory is a new variant of Marxism that divides the world instead by racerace oppressors versus oppressed races.

The Good, Common Sense of America

MCPP President Douglas Carswell, who was a member of the British Parliament for 12 years, told The Epoch Times that the report hasnt stopped critics from stating that CRT isnt an issue.

But we are coming at this as an evidence-based organization, Carswell said. We are an organization that believes in freedom and liberty. We arent in the business of banning Americans from believing whatever they want to believe. We are just against teachers who use public money to compel their students to believe that some Americans are inherently superior or inferior to others based on their immutable characteristics.

MCPPs method is to foster a competition of ideas, Carswell said, instead of holding one theory up as absolute truth, which he said is the goal of CRT. Within the competition of ideas, Carswell said, the good, common sense of America will prevail against these delusions.

Advocates of CRT have gone from saying it doesnt exist to stating that it does exist but its not a problem, Carswell said.

Theyre going to have to make up their mind which particular deception theyre going to try to foist on the American public, he said.

Mississippi Department of Education

There is evidence that the Mississippi Department of Education, Carswell said, has recommended K12 teachers use resources that are explicit in their promotion of critical race theory, such as encouraging curriculums that require students to cite evidence that the U.S. Constitution is a living document, to examine race as a defining characteristic, and to defend pro-globalization and increased government regulation theories.

Other resources recommended through the department include The Zinn Education Project, in which students can learn how to draft their own reparations bill, the report states, as well as Facing History and Ourselves, a program in which students are taught to see whiteness as a legacy of the brutal injustices of the past.

In June 2021, Mississippi Department of Education Superintendent Carey Wright told Super Talk Mississippi Media that she hadnt received any communication about CRT in schools.

Weve got our standards, or social studies standards, which are based on the history of the United States, and thats already been out there. Its been out for public comment, Wright said. Its pretty black and white in terms of facts. Ive not had anybody express concern about what is being taught.

In response to a request for an update on that statement, a spokesperson for Wright told The Epoch Times that CRT is still not a part of the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards.

These standards outline the skills and knowledge expected of students in each grade and subject, the spokesperson said. We do not have evidence that CRT is being taught in Mississippi public schools.

A Walkout

When SB 2113 passed in the Republican-dominated state Senate on January 14, black Democrats walked out of the chamber in protest against the proposal. Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons told Mississippi Today, We felt like it was a bill not deserving of our vote, and that, even the author of the bill said this was not occurring in Mississippi.

Republican state Sen. Michael McLendon initially proposed the bill and is reported to have said the bill was written to keep CRT from entering state curriculums without notice.

Extraction Plan

As a part of its plan for extracting CRT out of schools, MCPP had drafted a template bill that resembles SB 2113. It called for an audit of the state curriculum and a cessation of funding for schools that promote CRT. It also calls for a change to the state board of education. The current board, it states, is either unaware of CRT in schools or aware and complicit.

Either way, the composition of the board needs to be changed to ensure that it takes steps to combat, rather than facilitate, critical race theory in the classroom, the report states.

On the template bill and the one that was passed, Carswell said both were written to be consistent with the intentions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and national origin, and prohibited the use of federal funds to facilitate such discrimination.

We are very pleased that it passed, Carswell said. Its a great day for Mississippi and a great day for America and its founding principles.

Bill Pan contributed to this report.
(L-R) Re-entry program participants Rosalie Buthea, Franklin Williams, and Dwight Johnson, at the community celebration for the grand opening of Martins Place, an all-inclusive prisoner re-entry program that provides ex-offenders and the unemployed with on-site addiction treatment from Integrity House, transitional housing, job training, and employment, in Jersey City, N.J., on Sept. 15, 2014. (Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times)

More Than 800 New Jersey Prison Inmates Released Under COVID-19 Pandemic Law

Hundreds of inmates in New Jersey prisons were released early over the weekend under a law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 852 prisoners were granted early release as part of the Public Health Emergency Credits law enacted in October 2020. Under the law, credits are awarded to certain inmates and parolees during a public health emergency.

Specifically, the credits are awarded to inmates who are within 365 days of their scheduled release, and theyre accrued at the rate of 122 days (four months) for each month, or portion of each month, served during the declared emergency with a maximum of 244 days (eight months) of remission to be awarded for any declared emergency period.

The legislation contains certain provisions, including one that states that inmates or parolees arent allowed to contact their victims upon their release. It also doesnt apply to inmates who have been convicted of sex crimes or violent crimes such as murder.

More than 5,300 inmates were released early under the program in 2020 and 2021, according to the New Jersey Monitor.

The latest release brings the total number of inmates reentering society to more than 6,200. On Feb. 10, the state Department of Corrections released 262 inmates.

An analysis by Gothamist found that among the roughly 2,500 individuals released under the program in late 2020, 9 percent had reoffended and were thus reincarcerated. That figure is lower than the states 16 percent overall pre-pandemic recidivism rate, according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a national criminal justice group based in New York.

Murphy, a Democrat, has said that the law was needed to help reduce the prison population and combat COVID-19, which severely affected the state prison system during the pandemic.

The law has won the support of some Democrats, including former Gov. Jim McGreevey, and criminal justice advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey (ACLU-NJ), which said the law, at its heart is not a pandemic policy, its a policy about humanity.

This law has shown the urgency of decarceration, and it provides a model for how we can begin to do it on a larger scale while preserving public health and public safety, the ACLU-NJ stated.

But critics have pointed to the fact that the Murphy administration is using a law signed in response to the pandemic, despite the fact that the governor lifted his COVID-19 emergency order last week (pdf).

William Lanoza, president of the N.J. Law Enforcement Supervisors Association, said in a statement last week that COVID-19 is practically non-existent within the states prisons and jails, as an average of less than one out of the Departments over seven thousand permanent and contract employees test positive daily for the virus.

As a result of these statistics I have no choice but to question if the release of these prisoners is COVID-19 related or simply part of a plan to reduce New Jerseys prison population to close more state prisons, he said. The governors actions are not making New Jerseys streets, towns, and cities any safer. In fact, the murder rate in New Jersey climbed twenty-three percent in 2021 reaching the highest it has been since 2016.

Two newly elected legislators, Assemblywomen Marilyn Piperno and Kim Eulner, urged the governor to suspend the program.

The health emergency is over, so it doesnt make sense to continue releasing prisoners early, Piperno said. This entire program was supposed to limit the spread of COVID, but it failed and crime has skyrocketed the past two years.

Eulner echoed Pipernos comments, noting that not everyone is fit to rejoin society.

According to a Rutgers study, many of the prisoners released under the program suffer from drug abuse and mental health issues, which put them at high risk of overdosing or other adverse reactions.

Ensuring a safe transition from prison to the community for these individuals is critical but is potentially complicated during large-scale releases such as New Jerseys, which may overburden reentry service providers, the study reads.

A spokesperson for Murphy didnt respond by press time to a request for comment.
A group of people brought ashore by the RNLI following a small boat incident in the English Channel are brought to Dungeness, Kent, England, on March 15, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA)

More Than 900 Intercepted Attempting to Cross English Channel in Single Day

More than 900 people have been intercepted in small boats crossing the English Channel in what is thought to be the largest number of migrants attempting to reach the UK in a single day so far this year.

The UK authorities intercepted 405 people in 12 boats on Tuesday, while the French stopped another 538 people in 11 boats.

Among those to arrive were several children, including a baby, who were brought to shore by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution at Dungeness, Kent.

More than 2,500 people have crossed the Channel since the start of the year, with 28,526 making the crossing in 2021.

A group of people thought to be illegal immigrants are brought in to Dungeness, Kent, England, by the RNLI following a small boat incident in the English Channel on March 15, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA)

A Home Office spokeswoman said joint operations with the French had prevented more than 23,000 migrant attempts in 2021 and 19 small boat organised criminal groups had been dismantled with 400 arrests since July 2020.

Tom Pursglove, minister for justice and tackling illegal migration, said: The rise in dangerous Channel crossings is unacceptable.

Not only are they an overt abuse of our immigration laws but they also impact on the UK taxpayer, risk lives and our ability to help refugees come to the UK via safe and legal routes. Rightly, the British public has had enough.

Through our Nationality and Borders Bill, were cracking down on people smugglers and fixing the broken system by making it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and introducing a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for those who facilitate illegal entry into the country.

Our targeted work with French authorities led to over 500 people (being) intercepted before attempting this treacherous journey to reach the UK.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss updating MPs in the House of Commons, London, on Dec. 10, 2021. (House of Commons via PA Media)

MPs Warn Against Future Hostage-Taking as British-Iranians Released in Parallel With Compensation

The UK government was questioned what practical steps its taking to deter future politically motivated hostage-taking after it paid a historic debt to Iran in parallel with the release of British-Iranians Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori on Wednesday.

Labour former minister Hilary Benn said the payment and the release of the detainees werealways sequential in the eyes of the Iranian regime, and Conservative chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Tom Tugendhat reminded the government of a precedent where the regime took more hostages after receiving ransom from the United States and urged the government to make sure the fund is not used to purchase weapons.

Iranian-British aid worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is seen in an undated photograph handed out by her family. (Ratcliffe Family Handout via Reuters)

Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori, imprisoned and detained in Iran since 2016 and 2019, respectively, were allowed to leave the country on Wednesday after negotiations between the UK and the Iranian regime. The duo was flown to the Gulf state of Oman, which has been closely involved in the behind-the-scenes negotiations to secure their freedom, and is expected to be flown on a government-chartered flight to Royal Air Forces Brize Norton station in Oxfordshire.

Nazanin and Anoosheh have arrived safely in Oman. Sincere thanks for the hard work and good faith in Tehran and London that made this possible. Soon they will be with their loved ones at home. We hope this result will bring further progress in the dialogue between the parties. pic.twitter.com/u5qDQ4sgHC  Badr Albusaidi    (@badralbusaidi) March 16, 2022

The UK government on the same day confirmed it had authorised the payment of 393.8 million (approx. $515 million) to clear a historical debt in parallel with the release of the two British Iranians.

In a written statement to Parliament, Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said he had authorised the payment on March 10.

The debt was a result of an unfulfilled arms deal between the pre-revolution Iranian government and a British company owned by the Ministry of Defence.

Following the Iranian revolution, the contracts were not fulfilled, despite pre-payments made by Iran to the UK, Wallace said, adding that UK and International courts later confirmed the debt was still owed to the new Iranian regime.

However, the repayment of the debt has been held up due to sanctions against the Iranian regime.

Wallace said the UK sought to ensure the funds can only be used in accordance with applicable sanctions, and domestic counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering legislation, for example, to purchase humanitarian goods.

Richard Ratcliffe (L), husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian held in Iran since 2016, poses for pictures with their daughter Gabriella (R) in his arms, following a press briefing outside his house in London, on March 16, 2022. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

MPs warmly welcomed the news of the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori after Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs Liz Truss updated the House of Commons, but some raised concerns that the Iranian regime may be emboldened by the gain.

Tugendhat said he was hugely grateful that the two detainees will be reunited with their families, but pointed to some of the implications that happened when the last time a ransom payment was paid to the Iranian regime.

That ransom payment was paid by the U.S. government a number of years ago. About six months after they were paid, the Iranian government took another six American dual nationals hostage and merely started the whole process again. Sadly, furthermore, the money that was paid was then spent on murdering hundreds of thousands of Sunni Muslims in Syria, the Foreign Committee chairman said.

Can she assure us that that will not happen this time, that British citizens will be very carefully warned of the dangers they face in visiting Iran, and that none of this payment will end up in weapons and ammunition to kill Syrians?

Truss stressed that the debt and the detainees were two parallel issues in our bilateral relationship and said the UK is joining a group with the Canadians and other Group of Seven (G7) nations to end the practice of arbitrary detention.

Labour Party MP Hillary Benn poses for a photograph outside the Houses of Parliament in London on September 9, 2019. (Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images)

Benn disputed Trusss statement that the debt was paid in parallel with the release of the two dual nationals.

But we all know that for the government of Iran it was always sequential, he said, questioning what practical steps Truss was hoping to secure from her talks with other G7 foreign ministers to make it much, much more difficult for governments to engage in hostage-taking for political purposes.

Truss said Benn was right that we do need to change the practice of countries detaining other countries nationals unfairly, adding she couldnt comment more at the stage but hoped to be able to say more soon.

Pressed by Conservative MP Simon Hoare on whether the fund will be appropriated to be used to help Russian President Vladimir Putin in his humanitarian work in the [sic] Ukraine, Truss assured the MP that the definition of humanitarian aid in this agreement is certainly not the definition of humanitarian aid that Vladimir Putin would subscribe to.

A third detainee, Morad Tahbaz, was released from prison but kept under house arrest, Truss told MPs that he was not fully released at this time due to his U.S. citizenship.

On the subject of Morad Tahbaz, the real issue is that he is a tri-national and that is seen in Iranian eyes as also meaning that the [United States] are involved, she said, adding that the UK is working very closely with the United States on securing his release.

We have secured his release from prison. Of course we want to see him come home, and we will continue to work to achieve that with our U.S. partners, Truss added.

PA media contributed to this report.
Fireworks explode above the Mount Rushmore National Monument during an Independence Day event attended by the US president in Keystone, South Dakota, July 3, 2020. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

National Park Service Denies South Dakota Request for Mount Rushmore July 4 Fireworks

The National Park Service has denied South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noems request for fireworks at Mount Rushmore to mark the Fourth of July, citing the risk of sparking wildfires.

It marks the second consecutive year that the Republican governor has been turned down by the agency for a fireworks event at the national memorial.

The U.S. Department of Interior, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Superintendent Michelle Wheatley in a letter dated on Monday said that a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore would not be safe and responsible.

In the letter to the South Dakota Department of Tourism, Wheatley noted the March 2021 wildfire that closed the memorial for three days.

Current drought conditions and the 2022 wildfire outlook indicate that fireworks would cause a high likelihood of a wildfire ignition, she wrote.

Local Native American tribes objected to the celebration being held on land they hold as sacred.

There is ample documented opposition for the Tribes to the 2020 event, and we understand from ongoing meetings with the Tribes that these concerns have not diminished, the letter said.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 27, 2021. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The governor issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the decision to deny her a permit for the fireworks event.

Mount Rushmore is the best place in America to celebrate our nations birthdayI just wish President Biden could see that, Noem said. Last year, the President hypocritically held a fireworks celebration in Washington, D.C., while denying us our own event. This year, it looks like they are planning to do the same.

NPS announced this denial less than 24 hours after we reminded the court that this years permit application was still pending, the governor continued. Many of the reasons presented for their denial have been previously addressed, indicating that these reasons are not in good faith. We will move forward with our litigation and urge the court to help us come to a speedy resolution.

Noem successfully pushed for a return of the event in Mount Rushmore in 2020 after a decade-long hiatus.

The governor said she would continue a court battle to hold the fireworks. She filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden administration after it refused to issue a permit for a similar celebration last year. A federal judge rejected her arguments in June, prompting an appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Noems office and the National Park Service for additional comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
NATO battle groups from Estonia and the UK during military training at Central Training Area in Lasna, Estonia, on Feb. 8, 2022. (Paulius Peleckis/Getty Images)

NATO to Deploy Substantially More Forces to Eastern Flank at Higher Readiness

NATO is planning to deploy substantially more forces to its eastern flank amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, as Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he rejected any role for NATO forces in Ukrainian territory or in its airspace.

On land, our new posture should include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, at higher readiness, with more pre-positioned equipment and supplies, Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on March 16, at the end of an emergency meeting of the alliances defense ministers.

Weapons shipments from NATO countries to Ukraine will continue, despite the risk that transport convoys could come under Russian attack, according to Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren.

Ukraine has the right to defend itself, Ollongren told reporters.

Russia recently stated that military aid shipments to Ukraine would be treated as legitimate targets and later launched more than 30 missiles at a training facility in Yavoriv, Ukraine, near the city of Lviv, killing 35 people and wounding 134, according to Ukrainian officials.

Smoke rises amid damaged buildings and vehicles following an attack on the Yavoriv military base, as Russias invasion of Ukraine continues in Yavoriv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, on March 13, 2022, in this picture obtained from social media. (@BackAndAlive via Reuters)

As he arrived at the emergency meeting in Brussels, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said NATO remains unwavering in its support for Ukraine.

We support their ability to defend themselves and will continue to support them, Austin said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked NATO to impose a no-fly zone over his country, a move repeatedly rejected by the alliance as too escalatory, since it would run the risk of triggering a NATORussia war.

Speaking after chairing the emergency meeting, Stoltenberg again categorically ruled out any role for the military organization in setting up and enforcing a no-fly zone.

NATO should not deploy forces on the ground or in the air space over Ukraine because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict, this war, doesnt escalate beyond Ukraine, he said. We see human suffering in Ukraine, but this can become even worse if NATO [takes] actions that actually turned this into a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.

Stoltenberg said the decision to not send air or ground forces into Ukraine is the united position from NATO allies.

Earlier on March 16, Estonia urged its 29 NATO partners to consider setting up a no-fly zone, while Poland called for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine under the auspices of NATO or a broader international alliance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
New Details Released in Case of Connecticut Judge Who Hasnt Shown up for Work for 2 Years While Collecting $350,000 in Pay

By Edmund H. Mahony

From Hartford Courant

HARTFORD, Conn.Dozens of pages of new details became public Monday about the strange standoff between the state Judicial Branch and Superior Court Judge Alice Bruno, who has collected more than $350,000 in salary while missing nearly two-and-one-half years of work for what she describes as health-related reasons.

Bruno prepared the information herself in an unusualand very longaffidavit in which she alleges the state Judicial Branch has exacerbated her health problems by creating a stressful work environment related to the hostility toward my medical conditions and appointments.

The judiciary has not responded to Brunos granular recitation of what she recounts as years of snubs and rebuffs to her demand for an accommodation that would allow her to work at a location reasonably close to her home in New Britain and in a setting that provides a supportive, not hostile, work environment.

Bruno, 66, asked the court to seal her affidavit and related medical attachments, which were filed as part of her effort to postpone an order requiring her to appear before the court on April 5 to demonstrate why her failure to perform judicial functions for at least the last two years is not a violation of the following Rules contained within the Code of Judicial Conduct.

The court declined to declined to rule on her request to seal the material from public view and, as a result, the affidavit was posted on the judicial branch website after most medical information had been removed.

The court scheduled the unusual hearing after years of negotiation failed to resolve the impasse with Bruno. She wanted to postpone the hearing until after a related inquiry by the Judicial Review Council, which investigates judicial misconduct such as unanticipated or prolonged absences by judges that can upend the orderly operation of the courts, in extreme cases leading to dismissal of cases.

Bruno filed her affidavit in an effort to postpone her April 5 appearance until after the Judicial Review Council completes its work. The Supreme Court denied the postponement in an order dated Friday and made public Monday.

Although most of Brunos recent medical history was redacted from the affidavit, her lawyer, Jacques J. Parenteau, told Courant columnist Kevin Rennie last year that following emergency hospitalization for a cardiac procedure in November 2019, Judge Bruno has been on a leave of absence to address several health issues.

In the affidavit, Bruno also claims the judicial branch contributed to the stress she has suffered by opposing her desire to obtain therapy for an injured ankle and treatment for an infection that followed a vaccination.

She implies in her filing that the Judicial Branch now is asking that she submit to a competency review under a state law authorizing Chief Court Administrator Patrick L. Carroll III to order such an examination if a judge cannot fully perform his or her judicial or magisterial duties by reason of mental infirmity or illness or because of drug dependency or addiction to alcohol.

Bruno opposes such an examination, according to her affidavit. She argues it is harassment and shows the judicial branch is not interested in finding a reasonable accommodation that would allow me to return to a supportive Judicial District in order to work as a Judge of the Superior Court.

On November 16, 2021, through counsel, I informed the Judicial Branch that no reasonable person would cite to (statute)  51-45b as authority for a mental fitness examination based on the medical information that had been provided to the Judicial Department, she wrote. Rather than have a meeting to discuss the accommodation sought and the rationale for that accommodation, the Judicial Branch had abandoned the good faith interactive process by seeking an unwarranted medical examination.

Bruno last reported to work on Nov. 14, 2019. In her affidavit, she claims the stressful work environment related to the hostility toward my medical conditions and appointments to treat ongoing health issues reached a peak two weeks earlier when she left work to see her primary care physician about an undisclosed medical condition. By that point, the Judicial Branch administration had become concerned about absences by her and other judges and had initiated an audit.

Bruno alleges that, While I was in the doctors office Judge (Anna) Ficeto continued the harassment directed by Chief Court Administrator Carroll in leaving a voice mail on my phone that was critical of my taking time to attend to health issues.

Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, Judicial Branch spokeswoman and manager of communications, said Carroll and Ficeto declined to comment on Brunos claims.

According to Brunos affidavit, in the voice mail message, Ficeto, who was supervising the Waterbury Courthouse, said she had become aware from a colleague that Bruno was taking a week off for medical purposes. Ficeto asked Bruno to provide a medical note. Ficeto also said there was an audit underway of sick time taken by judges and Bruno was likely to be included, the affidavit states.

 So you just need to be aware of the fact that your attendance, your doctors appointments and all those things are being scrutinized at every level. I understand youve got doctors appointments coming up, once again theyre in the middle of the day, the affidavit recounts Ficeto as saying n the voicemail. You keep digging this hole for yourself Alice, I dont know how many ways to tell you that what youre doing is not acceptable. Call me when you get a chance. . Thank you.

Bruno, appointed by former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, submitted a letter from her doctor on Nov. 26, 2019 and said she would be back at work Dec. 11, 2019. But she submitted another note before then, saying she was unable to return to work, the affidavit says

In her affidavit, Bruno claims that at one point the Judicial Branch proposed having her return to work in Waterburywhich is relatively close to her home, but also where Ficeto was workingas a proposed accommodation. Bruno said she rejected the officer because Ficeto allegedly had been hostile to her in the past, apart from what Bruno said she considered to be the antagonistic voice message.

For example, after I was appointed to Waterbury Judicial District she would not say hello to me when passing me in building, Bruno wrote.

Bruno said what she considers her mistreatment by colleagues began as early as 2015, the same year she was appointed to the bench.

I was assigned to domestic violence docket in the Judicial District of Hartford in July of 2015, she wrote. During this assignment, I contracted a severe infection following a Shingles vaccination such that I was forced to work with a high temperature and fever because Chief Court Administrator told me that I could not take time off.

It was also during this assignment that I was informed that I could not schedule doctors appointments on Monday or Friday, or even during the workday. As will be seen these unreasonable restrictions on my ability to obtain medical treatment eventually caused me to experience severe, physical stress and mental distress that resulted in hospitalization for cardiac distress symptoms in November of 2019, she wrote.

2022 Hartford Courant. Visit at courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A health worker shows a box containing a bottle of ivermectin, a medicine authorized by the National Institute for Food and Drug Surveillance (INVIMA) to treat patients with mild, asymptomatic or suspicious COVID-19, as part of a study of the Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases Studies in Cali, Colombia, on July 21, 2020. (Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images)

New Hampshire House Approves Over-the-Counter Ivermectin

New Hampshire moved closer to becoming the first U.S. state to offer ivermectin without a prescription on March 16.

By a 183159 vote, New Hampshires Republican-dominated House of Representatives approved HB1022, which would allow pharmacists to dispense ivermectin under a standing order, meaning that anyone could go to a pharmacist and get human-grade ivermectin.

State Republican lawmaker Leah Cushman, a nurse and sponsor of the legislation, told The Epoch Times in January that she had absolutely no doubt lives will be saved if human-grade ivermectin was available to COVID patients.

House Republicans sent a clear message today that we support expanding options for the treatment of COVID, Cushman told The Epoch Times. She said its approval by the House also means people wont have to resort to buying human-grade ivermectin from a foreign country in order to exercise their right to use the medication to treat their symptoms. Cushman noted that the provision in the measure that safeguards doctors from any potential disciplineor an investigation by the states licensing boardfor prescribing ivermectin for COVID-19 takes some of the political pressure off them.

The legislation still has to win final approval from the Senate, which is also Republican-controlled, and thus far, its Republican lawmakers have shown they believe in the states Live Free or Die motto when it comes to treatment choices about COVID-19.

Similar measures are pending legislative approval in Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Arizona, and Alaska.

In New Hampshire, the ivermectin legislation is one of several COVID-related proposals led by Republicans.

The House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee, which narrowly voted ought to pass on the ivermectin measure, also approved a proposed ban on the enforcement of any federal vaccine mandate and rejected legislation that would have added the COVID-19 vaccine to immunization requirements for public school students.

There has been a divide between New Hampshire Republicans and state Gov. Chris Sununu, himself a Republican, over COVID-19, with 13 protesters arrested in 2021 after objecting to his push for the state to accept a total of $27 million in federal money to promote the COVID-19 vaccines.

However, Sununu, who gets the final say over the legislation, has steadfastly remained an opponent to mandating the COVID-19 vaccines, and he was the only governor in the northeast to join a gubernatorial lawsuit against the Biden administration over its federal vaccine mandate directive.

That mandate called for anyone who worked at a company with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated against the virus.

The U.S. Supreme Court blocked the directive, but left in place Bidens mandatory vaccine requirement for health care workers. It has also refused to decide the argument that religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination should be a constitutional guarantee.

Alternative treatments such as ivermectin have caused their share of controversy in New England.

In Maine, a close neighbor to New Hampshire, the state suspended the medical license of one of the regionsif not the nationsmost prominent doctors for prescribing ivermectin, Hydroxychloroquine, and other alternative treatments for COVID-19.

Dr. Meryl Nass, a national expert on vaccine-induced illnesses, was also initially ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment, but the states medical licensing board withdrew that request.

Like the New Hampshire ivermectin legislation, other state measures seeking to make the drug available over the counter, call for a ban of such retaliation by state licensing boards against doctors or nurse practitioners who prescribe patients ivermectin and other alternative treatments.

In addition to ivermectin, Oklahoma Senate Bill 1525 also proposes making Hydroxychloroquine available over the counter.

Its incredible to me that the sole focus of the current administration and the Capitols science is on a vaccine that isnt quite as safe and effective as they make it out to be, said Oklahoma state Sen. Nathan Dahm, a Republican and the measures primary sponsor.

The Food and Drug Administration, along with many doctors, remain opposed to the use of ivermectin against COVID-19, saying that it hasnt yet been proven to be an effective treatment for the virus.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from L-R: Malaysia's Saifuddin Abdullah, Philippines' Teodoro Locsin, Singapore's Vivian Balakrishnan, Cambodia's Prak Sokhonn, Indonesia's Retno Marsudi, Laos' Saleumxay Kommasith and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi pose for a group photo during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Phnom Penh on Feb. 17, 2022. (Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP via Getty Images)

New Zealand Appoints Official From Its Embassy in Beijing as Ambassador to ASEAN

The New Zealand government has announced that it has appointed Stuart Calman, the deputy head of its mission at its embassy in Beijing, as the countrys new ambassador to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Aotearoa New Zealand and ASEAN share a strong legacy of working together to promote peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, said New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta. Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand.

We have long been a supporter of ASEAN and ASEAN-centred architecture, which has been pivotal to the long-term stability and growth of the region.

During my visit to Jakarta last year, I was able to grow this partnership through meeting Sec-Gen Dato Lim Jock Hoi and ASEAN Permanent Representatives, where we discussed our work together on issues including recovery from COVID-19, climate change, and regional resilience, Mahuta said in a release.

Western democracies, including Australia and the United States, allies of New Zealand, have sought to bolster economic and security cooperation with Southeast Asia via ASEAN to forge a united front against China in the Indo-Pacific.

The United States and China are competing for dominance in Southeast Asia, which has become a strategic battleground. The Chinese regime has unresolved territorial disputes in the region, and claims most of the South China Sea, with its vital trade routes that link the region. Beijing has also turned up military and political pressure on self-ruled Taiwan, with it considers its own.

In December 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Indonesian capital Jakarta, along with Malaysia and Thailand, on his first Southeast Asia trip to pursue President Bidens aim of elevating engagement with ASEAN to unprecedented levels in the face of Beijings belligerence.

Calman will take up his position in April after having previously held roles at the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra and the Australia Division of New Zealands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

He has also been a special adviser to the Deputy Secretarys Office, Pacific and Development Group and held several management positions in the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry for the Environment, and MFAT.

The countrys foreign minister highlighted the importance of maintaining and growing New Zealands diplomatic relationships and the role its partnership with ASEAN will play in that, with expectations that Calmans appointment will further those ties.

I look forward to seeing Aotearoa New Zealand and ASEAN continue to play an important role in tackling the range of geopolitical, health and economic challenges facing our region, Mahuta said.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the country will open its borders earlier for the snow season. (Stuart Hannagan/Getty Images)

New Zealand Reopens for Tourism Earlier Than Expected

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced today the country will reopen its border to tourists earlier than planned, hoping an influx of tourists during the winter holidays would accelerate the recovery from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Reopening in time for the upcoming Australian school holidays will help spur our economic recovery in the short term and is good news for the winter ski season, Ardern said at a press conference.

Originally the border was not expected to fully reopen until October, but she said this would be brought forward.

From April 12, Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand without isolation. Two and a half weeks later, vaccinated travellers from countries with visa waiver arrangements including the United States and the UK will be allowed to arrive.

The announcement did not cover arrivals from China and India, where visas are required to visit New Zealand followed by serving an isolation period.

Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop COVID-19 two years ago. It did the job we needed. But now that were highly vaccinated and predicted to be off our Omicron peak, its now safe to open up.

Australia and New Zealand travellers have historically made up 40 per cent of New Zealands international arrivals, with around 1.5 million Australians visiting each year.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran welcomed the change, saying its no secret the past two years have been extremely turbulent for people.

Its also been incredibly hard for our tourism operators around the country. Todays announcement will help them get back to what they do bestwelcoming international visitors to Aotearoa, Foran said.

New Zealand is back on the travel agenda from April 12. (Gloria V Moeller/Shutterstock)

Ardern said she was proud that New Zealand is a country that is able to provide a safe place for tourists to return to due to its strong health response to COVID-19, the low death rate in the past two years, and high rates of vaccinations.

But earlier on March 7, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) upgraded New Zealand into the highest risk category, warning Americans against travelling to the island country.

Related Coverage CDC Warns Against Travel to New Zealand as COVID-19 Cases Soar

The CDC advised to avoid travel to New Zealand. If you must travel to New Zealand, make sure you are vaccinated and up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines before travel.

New Zealand was heralded by many experts for its zero-COVID policy and widespread vaccination push, which worked until the case counts began soaring again and are now recording an average of 20,000 cases a day.

Ardern said that in a world still battling COVID-19, travellers will be discerning about where they go in the short term.

We know that traveller numbers will be below pre-COVID levels for a while and tourism globally will take time to rebound, but todays announcement means were ready to go, so haere mai welcome back, Ardern said.

An earlier reopening for tourism, and the air travel that brings, also increases capacity for our exports, helping to lower freight rates and the flow-on costs of goods that stems from that.
Traders, brokers and clerks shout and gesture on the first day of in-person trading at the London Metal Exchange (LME) on Sept. 6, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Nickel Trading Resumes in London After a Rescue Deal for Chinese Tycoon Reached

Nickel trading resumed on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on March 16 after being suspended for more than a week.

The exchange took an unprecedented step to halt trading in the nickel market on March 8 after a Chinese metal tycoon faced billions of dollars in losses due a large short position.

Last week, nickels price skyrocketed, crossing the $100,000-a-ton mark for the first time. This was a big spike compared to the prices that averaged $24,016 per metric ton in February. The extreme volatility forced the LME to suspend trading for the first time since 1988.

The base metal is an increasingly important component in the production of next-generation electric vehicle batteries for companies like Tesla. Advocates of green energy push see rising nickel prices as a threat to President Joe Bidens climate agenda.

The LME resumed nickel trading contracts at 8 a.m. London time on March 16 but had to halt the trading for a few hours again due to a system error, causing another chaos in the market. The market reopened at 2 p.m. after the technical glitch was resolved.

To avoid large swings in price, the exchange announced that it would apply daily upper and lower price limits.

The huge spike in nickel price last week was mainly driven by a short squeeze centered on Chinese tycoon Xiang Guangda, founder of Tsingshan Holding Group, one of the worlds biggest nickel and stainless steel producers.

Nicknamed Big Shot in China, Xiang is known for having confidence in making huge bets, according to Bloomberg. He believes that the prices of nickel would fall due to a dramatic increase in supplies. Many hedge fund managers, however, dont share the same view.

When nickels trading price surged dramatically last week, Tsingshan struggled to pay margin calls, putting its creditors in a difficult position. The price rise was further fueled as brokers and bankers of Tsingshan rushed to buy back nickel contracts to stem losses. The exchange stopped nickel trading after several small brokers claimed that they would default if prices remained at record levels, according to a Wall Street Journal article.

A journalist poses with their glasses while looking at a computer screen with the Bloomberg display showing a one-day view of the rise and fall in the value of the nickel, in London on March 8, 2022. (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

Matthew Chamberlain, CEO of LME, defended the exchanges decision to suspend nickel trading, saying that it was the right thing for the long-term stability of the market.

It would have been extremely difficult for some of our market participants to continue their activities, Chamberlain said in an interview with Bloomberg. The ability of the financial system to get that money to the members in London and then into the exchange I think would have been significantly stressed.

According to Financial Times, the exchange canceled all 5,000 nickel trades executed on March 8, worth nearly $4 billion.

LME Frustrates Traders

The exchange came under fire for undermining free markets and causing moral hazard. The LMEs move has angered some market participants who lost out on profits from the cancellation of trade.

Clifford Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management that oversees $140 billion in funds, accused LME on Twitter.

Stealing money from market participants trading in good faith and giving it to Chinese nickel producers and their bankswho could have absorbed the lossesyea, integrity, he wrote.

For the LME to cancel nickel trades between willing buyers and sellers is unforgiveable. UNFORGIVEABLE, Mark Thompson, a metals trader and executive vice chairman at Tungsten West Ltd., wrote on Twitter.

LMEs decision to shut down trading is going to be litigated for a long time, according to Christopher Balding, a China economist and a senior fellow at the Henry Jackson Society.

Let me repeat that: the LME a major global commodity exchange shut down trading in nickel so a Chinese company wouldnt go bankrupt, he wrote on Twitter.

Because the Hong Kong Exchange OWNS the London Metals Exchange, and guess who owns HKEX? First letter is a C third letter is a P wont tell you the middle one, he wrote, implying that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might be involved in the bailout of the Chinese tycoon.

The Hong Kong stock exchange has owned the London Metal Exchange since 2012.

People walk past a banks electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index at Hong Kong Stock Exchange, on March 9, 2022. (Vincent Yu/AP Photo)

Tsingshan has reportedly reached a deal with its bankers and brokers, including JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered to avoid defaulting on its margin calls. According to media reports, the agreement has given Tsingshan and its creditors time to hammer out a deal on a new credit facility for the payment of margin.

Its unclear whether the CCP was involved in these discussions and pressured the LME or Tsingshans banks to take action to save the Chinese company.

The banks are taking a longer view as they think it is a temporary anomaly, according to a senior executive at an investment management firm in New York who wished to remain anonymous.

They dont want to bust a perfectly healthy company in a normal situation and lose a revenue stream because theyre providing ongoing lending and brokerage services, he told The Epoch Times.

According to ING Bank, nickel has been trading in crisis mode and fundamentals do not justify this frenzy.

It remains to be seen how this crisis ends, Wenyu Yao, senior commodities strategist at ING wrote in a recent note.

However, the market has long been faced with structural issues. In particular, the exchange tradable/deliverable nickel is only around a quarter of global saleable nickel. But the supply growth is increasingly dominated by non-exchange deliverable nickel such as NPI or matte. This suggests that the underlyings behind the exchange nickel are increasingly decoupling from the real market.
Evgeny Lebedev attends the launch of the Centrepoint Awards at the HSBC private bank in London, on Nov. 19, 2015. (Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Nonsense to Suggest PM Pressed Security Services Over Peerage for Russian Tycoon: UK Minister

It is sheer nonsense to suggest that Prime Minister Boris Johnson pressured the security services to alter their assessment of a Russian businessmans suitability for a seat in the House of Lords, a senior British minister has said.

BritishRussian media mogul Evgeny Lebedev, whose father worked as a KGB agent, was made a lifelong member of the upper house of Parliament in July 2020.

According to a report by The Sunday Times, the MI5 and MI6 security agencies initially said granting the peerage to Lebedev could pose a national security threat, but later withdrew the assessment after the prime minister personally intervened.

Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson chairs a meeting with leaders of the Joint Expeditionary Force at Lancaster House in London, on March 15, 2022. (Justin Tallis  WPA Pool/Getty Images)

During Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner repeatedly pressed Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab over Lebedevs appointment.

She asked if Raab could guarantee that Johnson never asked anyone to urge the security services to revise, reconsider, or withdraw their assessment of Lebedev.

Raab said Rayners suggestion was sheer nonsense.

He said that all individuals nominated for a peerage are done so in recognition of what their contribution is to society.

That includes those of Russian origin who contribute brilliantly to our nation, many of whom in this country are critics of the Putin regime, he added.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab arrives in Downing Street as Prime Minister Boris Johnson carries out a Cabinet reshuffle in London on Sept. 15, 2021. (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

In response to Raabs remarks, Johnsons estranged former aide Dominic Cummings said the deputy prime minister may have inadvertently misled the House of Commons.

Cummings wrote on his website that what Raab said was false.

I know its false because I was in the room when the PM was told by Cabinet Office officials that the intelligence services and other parts of the deep state had, lets say serious reservations, about the PMs plan, Cummings wrote.

Lebedev, who owns the Independent and Evening Standard newspapers, has previously said in a statement on the Evening Standard website: I am not a security risk to this country, which I love.

My father a long time ago was a foreign intelligence agent of the KGB, but I am not some agent of Russia.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, Lebedev appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion, through the Evening Standard newspaper.

PA Media contributed to this report.
People look at the Norwegian Escape cruise ship at the Taino Bay Port, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on March 15, 2022. (Erika Santelices/AFP via Getty Images)

Norwegian Cruise Ship Carrying Thousands Refloated After Running Aground

A Norwegian cruise ship with more than a thousand passengers onboard has been refloated on Tuesday after running aground off the Dominican Republic the previous day.

Whascar de Jesus Garcia, a Puerto Platas provincial office manager, said strong winds had caused the 1,069 feet-long vessel to ground itself on Monday as it left the Taino Bay port at Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic

Because of the slow speed that the cruise was carrying, it was dragged by the currents existing there, the Dominican admiral said.

In the North of the Dominican Republic, a cold front was approaching, causing abnormal winds. In the most vulnerable moment when the ship was leaving the port, sadly, a wind gust turned the ship a little, he went on to say.

A Norwegian Cruise Line spokesperson said in a statement provided to Florida Today that the ship made contact with the channel bed as it was departing Puerto Plata.

View of Norwegian Escape cruise ship at the Taino Bay Port, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on March 15, 2022. (Erika Santelices/AFP via Getty Images)

No passengers or crew members on board the large vessel, dubbed Norwegian Escape, were harmed. It took authorities more than seven hours for the cruise ship to be freed.

So far, thank God, the crew and the passengers arent in danger. The ships position right now poses no danger. We are doing everything we can with tug boats, vice-admiral of the Dominican navy, Ramon Betances Hernandez, said when the vessel ran aground.

In a letter to passengers, the captain of the Norwegian Escape said the remainder of the cruise was canceled in an abundance of caution and the cruise line company would arrange for charter flights to get everyone back home.

We apologize for this unforeseen event, the captain wrote in a letter that some passengers posted on social media. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused, as we understand, now more than ever, the desire the desire to travel and reconnect with the places and people weve missed more.

All guests are receiving a full refund and an additional 100 percent future cruise credit, the letter indicated.

According to Norwegian Cruise Lines website, the Norwegian Escape, which was built in 2015, weighs nearly 165,000 tons and can accommodate more than 4,200 guests and 1,733 crew members.

The Norwegian Escape was reportedly carrying 1,618 crew members and 3,223 passengers at the time it ran aground, local news reported. The vessel was on its way to the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

Reuters contributed to this report.

From NTD News
Ontario School Trustees Should Stay in Their Own Lane

Commentary

Ontario school trustees have been engaged in heated debates in the last few weeks. Some boards have even called extra meetings to address the matter.

One might think that trustees were responding to the Ontario Human Rights Commissions recent Right to Read report, which was a devastating critique of the ineffective reading strategies currently being used in Ontario schools. After all, teaching students how to read is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of our education system.

Unfortunately, improving reading instruction wasnt the focus of these extra meetings. Instead, trustees across the province are far more concerned about the loosening of public health restrictions. Specifically, many of them oppose the provinces decision to end the mask mandate in schools.

During a special meeting, Hamilton-Wentworth District School trustees voted to defy the province and keep its mandatory mask rule in place until at least April 15. Meanwhile, Toronto District School Board trustees decided to write a letter to the provincial government asking for mandatory masks to remain in place.

These discussions have taken up a huge amount of time. For example, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board recently held a two-hour special meeting about masks. Trustees narrowly voted against going it alone with their own mask policy, although they did write a letter to the province requesting a four-week extension of the provincial mask mandate.

However, had these trustees paid attention in their high school civics courses, they would know that healthcare is a provincial responsibility and not the responsibility of school boards. Furthermore, it makes no sense for school trustees to usurp the professional judgment of public health experts. Trustees are not experts in health care.

Sadly, this is far from the only time that school trustees strayed outside their own lane. In far too many cases, trustees are getting bogged down by issues that arent worth their time.

For example, trustees in the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) decided last year to review every single book in school and classroom libraries. The ostensible reason behind this initiative was to ensure that students are not exposed to harmful content.

However, reviewing every single book in WRDSB schools is a herculean task that will take hundreds of hours of staff time. Not only that, but the WRDSB chair recently embarrassed himself when he condemned one of his own teachers for raising concerns about the sexual content contained in some books in elementary school libraries.

WRDSB trustees wouldnt be in this mess if they had asked themselves whether it really was necessary to open this can of worms. The last thing teachers and administrators needed was another make-work project from trustees eager to bolster their progressive credentials.

Even more egregiously, TDSB trustees recently commissioned a report into one of their own members for allegedly breaching their code of conduct. This trustees crime was criticizing anti-Israel propaganda being distributed by one TDSB teacher. Fortunately, while the report recommended that this trustee be censured, a narrow majority of trustees voted to reject the reports conclusions.

There are many things wrong with this scenario, not least of which is that any TDSB teacher would think that anti-Israel propaganda belongs in school. By investigating this trustee, who happens to be Jewish, for breaking the code of conduct but not doing anything about the blatantly anti-Israel propaganda being distributed among staff, TDSB trustees have demonstrated that they cannot see the forest through the trees.

It should come as little surprise that many school trustees use their position as a stepping-stone for higher levels in politics. This is why so many municipal, provincial, and federal politicians get their start in politics by serving as school trustees. By involving themselves in issues outside the domain of education, trustees are obviously raising their profile and positioning themselves for their inevitable move into higher political office.

Our schools would be much better served if the people we elected to govern them stayed focused on their primary responsibilities. Improving classroom instruction, hiring and supervising excellent teachers, procuring high-quality textbooks, providing efficient transportation, and upgrading aging facilities are all important things that are worthy of every trustees time and energy.

Anyone who cant stay focused on education probably shouldnt become a school trustee in the first place.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Orange County Beaches to Get $15.5 Million Federal Funds for Sand Replenishment

Eroding Orange County beaches are getting millions of dollars for sand replenishment thanks to a funding request that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

Introduced by Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), the funding bill will provide $15.5 million for the Surfside-Sunset & Newport Beach Replenishment Project, as part of a larger spending bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 15.

Ive been working on this since I was at the State Board of Equalization over a decade ago, Steel told The Epoch Times. Im very excited that our hard work has paid off.

The funding will aid the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in repairing the coastline through sand replenishment, covering a 17-mile stretch from Anaheim Bay to Newport Bay. Approximately 1.75 million cubic yards of sand will be delivered to the area.

Steel said the beach repair is more than a decade overdue, as sand replenishment should occur every five to six years but has not been done since 2000.

Our beaches are a beautiful area that we cannot lose, which bring in tourists every year, so its also very important for Orange Countys economy, Steel said.

Orange County beaches erosion dates back to a federal project in the 1940s to widen Anaheim Bay and build breakwaters and jetties for new military bases. The projectalong with other flood control measures taken to protect the Los Angeles and Long Beach harborscreated narrowed beach along the coastline that can cause extreme erosion.

In 1964, the federal government took action to combat the erosion, providing 67 percent of the funding in each stage of repair while local communities shouldered the other 33 percent.

After 10 stages in 1995, the Army Corps of Engineers abandoned their responsibilities to Orange County and stopped budgeting, leaving the community on the hook for high repair costs and high flood risk, according to Steels statement.

Steel served as the countys supervisor between 2015 and 2021, during which the county was practically begging the federal government and the Army Corps to [fund their portion of the project], she said.

In 2020, ocean waves known as the king tide overpowered the coastline due to the erosion and flooded a nearby Newport Beach neighborhood, Steel wrote in a Twitter post with pictures of the flood.

Ive known this is an urgent matter that we had to fix, she said.

Steel said she planned on continuing the fight for sand replenishment to be done every five to six years.
Seniors and medical staff at The Orchards Health Center help create and load first-aid kits to be delivered to Ukraine in Ranch Mission Viejo, Calif., on March 15, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Orange County Seniors Assemble First-Aid Kits for Ukrainians

RANCHO MISSION VIEJO, Calif.More than 6,000 miles away from the battlefields of Ukraine, a group of seniors helped create first-aid kits on March 15 to be delivered to the country.

Clad in the national colors of Ukraine with blue and yellow tee shirts, the participants residing at The Orchards Health Center, an assisted-living community, in Rancho Mission Viejo, California, were writing messages of encouragement to the victims of war and, at the same time, assembling first-aid kits that would then be shipped on the same day through Meest-America, Inc.an international humanitarian organizationwho will be transporting the aid supplies to the Red Cross in Ukraine.

Seniors and medical staff at The Orchards Health Center help create and load first-aid kits to be delivered to Ukraine in Ranch Mission Viejo, Calif., on March 15, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

Once our first-aid kits are loaded, they will be sent to Glendale to then be transferred to Ukraine, Orchard Health Center Administrator Kelly Conk told The Epoch Times.

Our residents here at Orchard have had a life of helping others and they are not stopping now.

Two large rectangular tables were set up seating almost two-dozen Orchard residents who were filling plastic bags with gloves, bandages, Tylenol packs, antibiotic creams, safety pins, medical tape, and tweezer sets as the residents were assisted by their caregivers.

Above them on top of a fireplace mantle rest a sign that read, We stand with Ukraine.

Seniors and medical staff at The Orchards Health Center help create and load first-aid kits to be delivered to Ukraine in Ranch Mission Viejo, Calif., on March 15, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

We are hoping to do more of these events [with] the residents and staff in the near future when the opportunity is given to us, Conk said.

We are excited as our box of first-aid kits heads off to Ukraine today.

Standing near the box was Orchard resident Ron Lackie, who was helping to load the completed first-aid kits into the box.

This event makes me think about the other ones I have seen over the years, Lackie told The Epoch Times. And today I wanted to volunteer for this because when people need help, I help.

Resident Ron Lackie helps other seniors and medical staff at The Orchards Health Center create and load first-aid kits to be delivered to Ukraine in Ranch Mission Viejo, Calif., on March 15, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

As the group completed their kits, some of them clapped before being helped up by medical staff to head off for the next item on their agendas.

Since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights verified 691 civilian deaths as of March 14, with 48 of them being children.

With most refugees heading to the countys Western border to escape the conflict, Poland has recorded the highest number of refugees, totaling more than 1.8 million people.

[We] liked being able to help with this today here, Lackie said.

The world is short on volunteers.

Seniors and medical staff at The Orchards Health Center help create and load first-aid kits to be delivered to Ukraine in Ranch Mission Viejo, Calif., on March 15, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)
Police tape is shown in Toronto on May 2, 2017. (Graeme Roy/The Canadian Press)

Ottawa to Invest $250 Million in Gun Crime Prevention

An investment of $250 million will be made to prevent gun violence with the Building Safer Communities Fund, the federal government announced on Wednesday.

The Building Safer Communities Fund addresses the root causes of crime by creating safe spaces and empowering young people and communities to drive solutions that set them up for success, said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino in a statement.

Building community resilience through prevention is one of the key pillars of our plan to take action on gun violence, along with banning and buying back assault-style firearms and cracking down on illegal guns coming across our borders.

Public Safety Canada (PSC) says the goal is to address the conditions that lead youth to criminality. Funds will be provided to eligible municipalities and indigenous communities through 20252026, which will then redistribute them to organizations working with youth and young adults at risk of joining gangs.

The amount of support provided will depend on crime severity and population density. The Regional Municipality of York will receive $7.3 million from the fund.

Buyback

PSC also announced on March 16 that the Amnesty Order regarding the May 1, 2020, ban of assault-style firearms will be extended until Oct. 30, 2023, in order to give more time for the government to finalize and implement the buyback program.

Over 1,500 such types of firearms were declared prohibited in 2020, amounting to over 100,000 units in Canada.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report in 2021 estimating the cost of the buyback program at up to $756 million.

The law enforcement community has reservations about the efficacy of this measure to reduce firearms-related offences.

The issue is not law-abiding Canadians who want to own firearms, Regina police chief Evan Bray told the House of Commons Public Safety Committee on Feb. 8. Bray testified on behalf of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.

The issue really is people who are involved in criminal activity who are obtaining firearms through illegal means, such as cross-border trafficking, theft from legal gun owners, and straw purchases.

Torontos deputy police chief Myron Demkiw also testified at the committee and said that 86 percent of handguns used in crime in 2021 in his city came from the United States.

Conservative MP Raquel Dancho asked Demkiw if he thought the buyback program was the best use of taxpayer dollars to reduce gun crime.

Investing in what you described is certainly not going to deal with the crime problem were facing in Toronto as it relates to criminal handguns and the use of criminal handguns, Demkiw replied.

The latest Statistics Canada (StatsCan) data on homicides committed with a firearm indicates a total of 277 individuals were killed in 2020. Out of those, 135 were killed with handguns and 84 with a rifle or a shotgun.

The Epoch Times requested StatsCan provide data showing how many homicides were committed by the owners of legally-obtained firearms.

StatsCan provided a table on Victims of solved firearm-related homicide. It indicates that out of 160 owners of firearms used in the crime, 18 had a valid firearms license (11 percent) in the year 2020. That ratio was 18 percent in 2019 and 17.7 percent in 2018.

This data doesnt necessarily say that the weapon used was legally obtained, only that the perpetrator had the right to purchase and own firearms.
More than $1 million worth of drugs, cash, and firearms were seized in a drug bust in southwest Edmonton, Alb. on Feb. 23, 2022. (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams)

Over $1M Worth of Drugs, Cash Seized in Alberta Drug Bust

Over $1 million in drugs, guns, and cash have been seized during a drug bust in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) said in a statement on March 16 that the seizure was part of a drug trafficking investigation that began in late 2021.

A 43-year-old man was arrested after ALERT Edmontons organized crime team searched homes in the Ermineskin and Terwillegar neighbourhoods on Feb. 23. The man is expected to be charged at a later date.

Michael Tucker, a spokesperson for ALERT said while only one suspect has been arrested, more are likely involved.

Our investigation is ongoing and we will explore the possibility of making additional arrests. A seizure of this magnitude, we would be skeptical of just one person being involvedit takes people to fill varying roles and responsibilities, he said.

With the help of the Edmonton Police Service, ALERT seized the following items:

2 firearms

Body armour



3.5 kilograms of fentanyl



3.5 kilograms of cocaine



Approximately 100 cartons of contraband cigarettes



$47,845 cash

More than $1 million worth of drugs, cash, and firearms were seized in a drug bust in southwest Edmonton, Alb. on Feb. 23, 2022. (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams)

The drug trade is inherently violent. Firearms are used to instill fear, violence, and intimidation amongst rivals, but more often than not it is the community impacted, said Blayne Eliuk, the acting inspector for ALERT Edmonton, on March 16.

ALERT was established in 2006 and is funded by the Alberta Government to combat organized and serious crime, with more than 400 municipal police and RCMP officers working to investigate drug trafficking, child exploitation, and gang violence.
A person receives a bandage after their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Los Angeles, Calif., on Aug. 7, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

Pfizer and BioNTech Seek US Authorization for 4th COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Ages 65 and Over

Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Tuesday requested emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a second COVID-19 booster dose for seniors.

This would be the fourth dose to the regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) COVID-19 vaccines for those aged 65 and over.

In the United States, the primary series of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is currently authorized for those aged 12 and over, and one booster dose at least five months later is authorized for those aged 18 and over.

An FDA spokesman said the agency received the EUA request.

We will review the request as expeditiously as possible using our thorough, science-based approach, the spokesman said.

Two Data Sets Cited

Pfizer and BioNTech said in a release their FDA submission is based on two real-world datasets from Israel analyzed at a time when the Omicron variant was widely circulating. In Israel, a second booster is authorized for many people over 18. The companies said that both data sets showed evidence that an additional mRNA booster increases immunogenicity and lowers rates of confirmed infections and severe illness.

Citing Israeli Ministry of Health records for over 1.1 million adults aged 60 and over who had no known history of COVID-19, Pfizer and BioNTech said rates of confirmed infections were two times lower and rates of severe illness were four times lower among those who got a second booster, compared to those who received only one booster.

A woman receives a second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot in Netanya, Israel on Jan. 5, 2022. (Ammar Awad)

The other dataset comes from an ongoing open-label, non-randomized, clinical trial of 700 health care workers aged 18 and older at a single study center in Israel, who had been vaccinated with three doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Of the 154 who received a second Pfizer booster at least four months after the first booster, neutralizing antibody titers increased approximately 7-fold to 8-fold at two and three weeks after the first booster, compared to the levels five months after the first booster.

Additionally, there was an 8-fold and 10-fold increase in neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) at one and two weeks after the additional booster dose, respectively, compared to five months after the initial booster, the drugmakers announced. The study also revealed no new safety concerns in individuals who received an additional booster dose of the vaccine.

The companies in their release did not comment on the effects of their COVID-19 vaccine on those who have already developed natural immunity from having previously had the disease, nor did they acknowledge the role of cellular immunity (B cell and T cell immunity)alternate mechanisms of immunity to neutralizing antibody levelsin protection from symptomatic or severe COVID-19.

Albert Bourla, chief executive officer of Pfizer pharmaceutical company, at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City on Jan. 17, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Pfizer CEO: 4th Dose Necessary

The EUA request comes after Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla earlier this week told news outlets that a fourth dose of his companys vaccine would be necessary to offset waning protection gained with the third shot.

The protection we are getting from the third [dose] it is good enoughactually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths, he told CBS News on March 13. But protection is not that good against infections and doesnt last very long in the face of the Omicron variant.

We know that the duration of the [vaccine] protection doesnt last very long, Bourla added. If you get sick, you can get sick again next year.  Right now, the way that we have seen, it is necessarya fourth booster right now.

He also claimed it was likely people would have to get yearly COVID-19 boosters.

Some experts have questioned the need for a second booster, pointing to the dearth of well-designed trials on the effects of another shot.

Where are the randomized trials powered to show an effect on severe disease and death? Dr. Ramin Farzaneh-Far, a cardiologist, wrote on Twitter.

Pfizer is looking at how a fourth dose performs in its own study of 600 people, who have received three shots of the current Pfizer vaccine and will receive one dose of the current vaccine or an Omicron-targeted shot.

Read More Pfizer Begins Study Evaluating COVID-19 Vaccine That Targets Omicron Variant

Pfizer saw its COVID-19 vaccine profits increase significantly to $37 billion in the past year, with its overall revenues doubling to $81 billion in 2021. The firm in February said it expects to make $97 billion in 2022.

Earlier in March, the FDA released its first batch of 10,000 pages of documents related to its EUA of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, following a judges ruling in January that gave the FDA a timeline on the release of Pfizers safety data.

Vaccine manufacturers are immune from liability for any adverse reactions unless theres willful misconduct involved. Vaccine providers are required to report any serious adverse effects or vaccination administration errors to VAERS, hosted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal government has a countermeasures program that can compensate eligible persons who suffer serious injury from approved vaccines. But the burden of proof has proven a challenging process.

Reuters contributed to this report.
A Philippine flag flutters from BRP Sierra Madre, a dilapidated Philippine Navy ship that has been aground since 1999 and became a Philippine military detachment on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, on March 29, 2014. (Erik De Castro/Reuters)

Philippines Summons Chinese Envoy Over Navys Lingering Presence in Territory

The Philippines said Monday that it summoned Chinas ambassador over the illegal intrusion and lingering presence of a Chinese navy ship in the countrys waters, and to demand China respect its territory.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement that a Chinese reconnaissance ship entered Philippine waters without permission from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1. The vessel was detected reaching the Cuyo Group of Islands in Palawan and Apo island in Mindoro.

The Philippine navy vessel BRP Antonio Luna had challenged the Chinese vessel, which alleged that it was exercising innocent passage, and repeatedly ordered it to leave the countrys waters immediately, it stated.

DFA said the Chinese vessel continued its activities in Philippine waters and lingered in the Sulu Sea for three days, despite the fact that its action did not constitute innocent passage and violated Philippine sovereignty.

Acting undersecretary Lazaro demanded that China respect Philippine territory and maritime jurisdiction and to comply with its obligations under international law, particularly UNCLOS, and direct its vessel to desist from entering Philippine waters uninvited and without permission, it added.

The Chinese embassy did not immediately react to the Philippine governments statement.

The Philippines government has lodged diplomatic protests against China numerous times over its actions in parts of the South China Sea that China claims, but these appear to have had little to no effect.

In November last year, the Philippines reported that three Chinese coastguard vessels had blocked and fired water cannons on two of its supply boats transporting food to the marines stationed on the Sierra Madre on Nov. 16, 2021.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin lodged a strong protest regarding the incident and demanded China to back off from the countrys territorial zone.

In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters that the Philippine supply boats had trespassed into waters near Renai Jiao [Second Thomas Shoal] of Chinas Nansha Qundao on Nov. 16, 2021, without its consent.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague dismissed Beijings claims to much of the South China Sea in 2016, in favor of the Philippines and other nations in the region. It ruled that Chinas claims had no legal basis.

However, the verdict has had little impact on Chinas behavior, with Beijing refusing to abide by it. The resulting territorial disputes are ongoing, with Beijing continuing to pursue its claims to vast swathes of the sea, based on its so-called nine-dash line, which includes the reef.

Other nations, including Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, also have competing claims to China.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) speaks during the "From The Depths Zabinski Awards", honoring non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust and WWII in Warsaw, Poland, on Sept. 18, 2017. (Wojtek Radwanski/AFP/Getty Images)

Polands Kaczynski Calls for Military-Backed Peacekeeping Mission in Ukraine

The head of Polands ruling party has called for a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine that would have the capacity to defend itself and would operate under the auspices of NATO or a broader international alliance.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Polands deputy prime minister for security and the leader of the conservative ruling party, Law and Justice, called for the move on Tuesday during a visit to Kyiv.

I think that we need a peacekeeping mission from NATO, or even possibly from a larger international structure, but a mission that will be able to defend itself and that will operate on Ukrainian territory, which will be in this country with the agreement of the president and the government of Ukraine and it will not be a defenceless mission, Kaczynski said, according to a translation by AFP.

He added that the mission would work for peace and deliver humanitarian aid but at the same time it will be protected by appropriate forces, armed forces.

Kaczynski on Tuesday traveled to the Ukrainian capital with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa. There they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

The delegation has since left and on Wednesday was safely out of Ukraine, according to Polish government spokesperson, Piotr Muller.

Speaking in Kyiv, Morawiecki once again called on the European Union to fast-track Ukraines admission into the bloc and pledged more military aid.

He shared a video of the deliberations in Kyiv in a Wednesday tweet, in which he called for Western Europe to wake up and back Ukraine more forcefully.

The nation of Ukraine has reminded all of Europe what the fight for freedom looks like, what courage is, and what greatness is all about, he said. Its high time for Old Europe, a sleepy and slothful Europe, to wake up and spring into action. For it to break through its wall of apathy and give Ukraine hope.

In an earlier tweet, the Polish prime minister warned against Europe letting Ukraine fall under the Russian assault.

Europe must understand that if it loses Ukraine it will never be the same again. It will no longer be Europe. Rather it will be a defeated, humiliated and pathetic version of its former self. I want a strong and resolute Europe, he said.

While NATO-allied Western powers have provided military and economic aid to Ukraine amid the conflict, theyre reluctant to be seen as getting too deeply involved for fear of Russian retaliation. Repeated calls from Ukraine for a no-fly zone have been rebuffed on grounds of having the potential to trigger a NATORussia war, and talks about providing Kyiv with Polish fighter jets were similarly rejected as too escalatory.

Following the meeting with the European leaders in Kyiv, Zelensky expressed praise for their effort and once again highlighted his desire to join the EU.

This is a very brave step. Im sure that with these kinds of neighbors, well be victorious. We have full confidence in them, theyre guarantors of our future as part of the European Union, Zelensky said after the meeting, as cited by Polish news outlet Oko Press.

The meeting between the four leaders in the Ukrainian capital came nearly three weeks after Russian forces launched a multi-pronged invasion of Ukraine, which the U.N. estimates has driven over 3 million people from their homes.

Poland, which has taken in nearly 1.9 million refugees from Ukraine, has been a staunch ally to Kyiv amid the crisis.
Enrique Tarrio, head of the Proud Boys, is escorted out of the area after arguing with counter-protestors at a 'Stop the Steal' protest outside of the Georgia State Capital building in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 21, 2020. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Charged, Denied Bail in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach Case

The leader of the Proud Boys group who was indicted last week on charges including conspiracy related to the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol, has been ordered detained pending trial.

A federal judge in Miami ordered that Enrique Tarrio, 38, be denied bail while he awaits trial, a Department of Justice spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys office in Washington, D.C. confirmed.

The ruling came a day after federal prosecutors filed a motion asking the judge to detain Tarrio, saying he poses a flight risk and also a risk of obstructing justice in the case.

On March 8, he was hit with seven counts, according to court papers, including obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and destruction of government property or aiding and abetting such destruction.

Tarrio wasnt in Washington on Jan. 6 as he complied with a court order to stay out of the nations capital after burning a Black Lives Matter banner several weeks prior.

But prosecutors are pursuing him for allegedly conspiring with Proud Boys members who took part in the breach, which occurred while Congress was certifying the 2020 electoral votes.

Tarrio continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and that he claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

As one example, Tarrio posted online after the building was breached that he was enjoying the show and instructed members to do what must be done. In another post, he urged people not to leave; in a third, he said that the Proud Boys were a militia.

Prosecutors also alleged that Tarrio maintained an active leadership role behind the scenes on Jan. 6, telling his followers on social media not to leave the Capitol, and later, in an encrypted chat between Tarrio and other Proud Boys, telling them, We did this.

There is overwhelming evidence that Tarrio organized a plot to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede the certification of the electoral college vote, an offense that strikes at the heart of our democracy, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason McCullough said in court documents.

Tarrios defense lawyer, Nayib Hassan, told Axios that his clients legal team could appeal the federal order.

At this point in time, we respect the judges ruling, however, were respectfully disagreeing and were going to wait for the judges order to be releasedwe expect it to be released todayand then take the appropriate that steps we need to take up in D.C. based upon that ruling, Hassan said.

Hassan added, Theres no showing that he was actually in the Capitol or made any intrusions into the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

According to the Department of Justice, more than 775 people have been arrested in nearly 50 states for alleged crimes related to the breach.

Zachary Stieber and Reuters contributed to this report.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, in this 2019 file photo. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Putin Plays Chinese Checkers in a Chess World

Commentary

Vladimir Putins imperial Ukrainian gambit is accelerating Communist Chinas colonization of Russia. Irony is what irony does.

In exchange for whatever chunks of territory Putin might ultimately grab in Ukrainecertainly Donetsk and Luhansk, perhaps OdessaPutin is now being forced to mortgage resources to China ranging from oil and gas to aluminum. As Putin further accelerates its bid to de-dollarize to evade U.S. sanctions, the Russian ruble is also becoming increasingly tied to the Chinese yuan.

The stakes for the West in this seismic geopolitical shift are high. Despite losing its socialist republics, Russia still contains almost twice as much territory as either China or the United States; and Russia is pivotal to Chinas Belt and Road initiative to control the Eurasian landmass.

Russia also controls the worlds largest oil reserves, the second largest coal reserves, 40 percent of the worlds natural gas, one-fifth of its timber, and an abundance of other minerals and metals such as aluminum, copper, lead, platinum, and tin. Russias potash, phosphate, and nitrogen reserves also help produce more than 50 million tons of fertilizer a year13 percent of the global total. Tying Russias abundant natural resources to Chinas factory floor would further erode Western competitiveness in global markets for both manufactured goods and agricultural products.

Militarily, Russia is also Chinas leading supplier of highly advanced weapon systems. These include most notably the vaunted Lada-class attack submarine, the long range Sukhoi Su-35 jet fighter, and arguably the worlds best air and missile defense system in the S-400 Triumf.

These numerous economic and geopolitical realities would seem to make China and Russia natural alliesand all the more so because both countries believe they have been historically victimized by Western imperialism. There are, however, equally compelling reasons why Russia would be far better off throwing its lot in with the United States and its European and Asian allies in a balancing coalition seeking to contain Chinas rise.

The biggest reason for any such pivot to the West is the Russian peoples fear of China. This begins with the fact that Russia shares the longest contiguous border of any in the world with a China that has a population almost ten times larger.

Many Russians now fear that Chinese immigrationboth legal and illegalwill steadily erode Russias hold on its own country. In this scenario, Chinas voracious appetite for Russian natural resources will indeed eventually turn Russia into a Chinese colony in much the same way China has come to dominate most of Africa and parts of Latin Americaeven without the current complications.

Some in Russia even fear that an increasingly powerful China will eventually seek to take the riches of Siberia by coercion or force. Such a gambit might include even Vladivostok, which was taken from China in 1860 by the Russian Empire.

From this perspective, the far better long-term strategy of Russia would indeed be for it to join the aforementioned balancing coalition. Such an outcome would likely offer the world a far more stable equilibrium than a Chinese-Russian axis that marries Russian weapons production and natural resources with the worlds largest manufacturing floor, military personnel, and population.

Yet, it is to this latest axis of evil that the world is now hurtling; and this new danger is precisely because Vladimir Putinthe vaunted Chessmasteris now playing Chinese checkers in a chess world. As he has destroyed the Russian ruble and turned Mother Russia into an international pariah, Xi Jinping is standing by with his checkbook, ready to buy up at bargain prices whatever Russia needs to sell to keep its economy afloat and its people fed.

None of this will end well for Russia or the West.

From RealClearWire

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Record Amounts of Illegal Meat From China Seized at Los Angeles Ports

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials are seizing record amounts of illegal meat products from China at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.

Between October and December 2021, agents seized more than 262,000 pounds of prohibited pork, chicken, beef, and duck products. This was a 33 percent increase from the year before, officials reported March 14.

Illegal meat imports from China reached a peak in 2021, when agents at the twin Southern California ports uncovered nearly 787,000 pounds, representing an 80 percent increase from the year before.

Preventing the introduction of foreign contagious animal diseases and noxious pests at our nations largest seaport is paramount and vital to our agriculture industry and the well-being of the communities we serve, Carlos Martel, CBP director of field operations in Los Angeles, said in a statement.

When illegally shipped meat is intercepted, CBP either destroys it or sends it back to China, according to the agency.

Agents at the ports found most of the illegal animal products stored with boxes of e-commerce shipments and household goods, in what they say was a clear attempt to smuggle the meat.

CBP plays a major role in protecting American consumers and the agriculture industry from pests and diseases, said Donald Kusser, CBP port director of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport.

According to the USDA, China is known to have cases of African swine fever, classical swine fever, foot and mouth disease, bird flu, and other virulent diseases.

African swine fever can be deadly for swine, but has proved harmless to humans. The disease has never been detected in the United States and is not a food safety issue, according to the USDA.

Also from October to December last year, more than 1,900 pounds of prohibited pork, poultry, and other meat products from China were seized from New York-area retailers and destroyed by agents of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The meat found in New York didnt have the required import permits and health certificates, reported the agency.

Nationwide, U.S. pork production has an estimated $13.4 billion in gross output, and exports total over 2.2 million metric tons each year, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces looks at destruction following a shelling in Ukraine's second-biggest city of Kharkiv on March 8, 2022. (Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia Reveals Contours of Possible Ukraine Peace Deal

Russia has revealed the outline of a possible peace deal that would put an end to the hostilities in Ukraine, with Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying a business-like spirit has emerged in negotiations with concrete formulations that he said are close to being agreed on.

Lavrov made the remarks in a Wednesday interview on Russian television channel RBC, in which he expressed some hope that a compromise could be reached between the warring sides.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov said. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

Lavrov said Russian negotiators have told him the talks are not easy for obvious reasons, but nevertheless there is some hope for finding a compromise.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that a neutral Ukraine with its own army along the lines of Austria or Sweden was a possible framework being considered in negotiations over ending the war.

This is a variant that is currently being discussed and which could really be seen as a compromise, Peskov was quoted as saying by Russias RIA news agency.

Peskov was commenting on remarks from Vladimir Medinsky, Russias chief negotiator, who earlier told Russian state TV that, Ukraine is offering an Austrian or Swedish version of a neutral demilitarized state, but at the same time a state with its own army and navy.

Ukraine has not confirmed it is willing to discuss neutrality, though President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that his countrys membership in NATO is essentially off the table. Ukraines potential membership in the transatlantic defense alliance has been a key concern for Russia and was used to justify the invasion.

Residents evacuate the city of Irpin, north of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 10, 2022. (Aris Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said on Wednesday that some model of neutrality is up for discussion, but that this framework must be Ukrainian and include security guarantees.

Podoliak made the remarks to the Interfax Ukaine news service, commenting on Medinskys remarks about an Austrian or Swedish model of neutrality.

Certainly, we understand the attempt of our partners to remain the proactive side in the negotiation process, hence the words about the Swedish or Austrian models of neutrality, he said.

But Ukraine is now in a state of direct war with the Russian Federation. Therefore, the model can only be Ukrainian and only about legally verified security guarantees. And no other models or options, Podoliak added.

Austria, which Russia has cited as a potential model, is bound to neutrality by its constitution, which prohibits entry into military alliances and the establishment of foreign military bases on its territory.

Podoliak clarified that the security guarantees would have to be enforceable and effective, unlike the Budapest memorandum of 1994 between the United States, Great Britain, Russia, and Ukraine.

Under the Budapest deal, Ukraine agreed to transfer its nuclear arsenal to Russia in exchange for security guarantees that its sovereignty would not be violated, though these assurances were left ambiguous and did not include a pledge for direct Western military involvement if Ukraine came under attack.

This means that the signatories of the guarantees do not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today, Podoliak said. Instead, he said the condition is that security guarantors would need to take an active part on the side of Ukraine in the conflict and officially ensure the immediate supply of the necessary amount of weapons to us.

Ukraines Western allies have continued to provide defensive weapons but they have stopped short of providing offensive arms like fighter jets. They have also drawn a line at NATO troops on Ukrainian soil.

Podoliak added that the security guarantees Ukraine is seeking as part of the peace talks must also include a pledge by guarantors to apply a no-fly zone.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have called on NATO to deploy a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a move that Western allies have rejected as too escalatory and as risking sparking World War Three.

Reuters contributed to this report.
An aeriel view shows smoke rising as an armoured vehicle is shot at next to a building, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Mariupol, Ukraine, in this handout drone video obtained by Reuters on March 13, 2022. (Azov Mariupol/Handout via Reuters)

Russian Forces Bomb Theater Where Hundreds Took Shelter: Ukrainian Officials

A theater in the war-torn Mariupol, Ukraine, was bombed by Russian forces while hundreds of civilians took refuge inside, Ukrainian officials said on March 16.

The Mariupol City Council posted a photo of the destroyed building to social media, saying that Russian troops purposefully and cynically destroyed the Drama Theater in the heart of Mariupol.

The plane dropped a bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding, the council stated.

The Epoch Times evaluated the picture and confirmed that its of the theater in the city.

It is still impossible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act, because the city continues to shell residential areas, the council wrote on Telegram. It is known that after the bombing, the central part of the Drama Theater was destroyed, and the entrance to the bomb shelter in the building was destroyed.

 URGENT

The Russian military attacked #Mariupols Drama Theater, where a large number of citizens were hiding!

It is unknown how many people died under the rubble. Now there are fierce battles. No one can reach the blockages, we dont know if there are any survivors. pic.twitter.com/xgQStG3CQo  Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (@ua_parliament) March 16, 2022

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines parliament, also said the Mariupol theater was bombed, noting that a number of civilians were allegedly hiding there.

Russian officials havent publicly commented on the allegations.

It is unknown how many people died under the rubble. Now there are fierce battles. No one can reach the blockages, we dont know if there are any survivors, the Verkhovna Rada wrote on Twitter. It is known that after the bombing, the central part of the Drama Theater was destroyed, and the entrance to the bomb shelter in the building was destroyed.

The bombing comes as U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law on March 15 a package of $13.6 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine to help it obtain more weaponry and for humanitarian assistance. He previously announced a ban on Russian energy imports and called for a suspension of a trading status that lowers tariffs on Russian exports. The House is expected to vote to suspend that status as early as this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on March 16 that Ukraines government was trying to obtain nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction before the Feb. 24 invasion, according to state-run media outlets.

They are now trying to sweep up the traces of these secret programs. But we have every reason to believe that in the immediate vicinity of Russia, in Ukraine, components of biological weapons were effectively being created, Putin said.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials have dismissed the claims that Ukraine was operating laboratories to create biological weapons, saying that such statements are disinformation used to create a pretext for the invasion.

Reuters contributed to this report.
The aftermath of Mariupol Hospital after an attack, in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9, 2022, in this image taken from video provided by the Mariupol City Council. (Mariupol City Council via AP)

Russian Forces Take at Least 400 Hostage at Mariupol Hospital: Ukrainian Official

Russian forces have taken at least 400 people hostage at a hospital in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko.

In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Kyrylenko said about 400 people were driven to the Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol from neighboring houses.

Kyrylenko quoted a hospital employee who said it is impossible to get out of the hospital.

They are shooting hard, we are sitting in the basement, the hospital worker told Kyrylenko. Cars have not been able to drive to the hospital for two days. High-rise buildings are burning around us.

We cant leave, the employee reportedly told the leader.

Kyrylenko said the hospital was practically destroyed by Russian troops several days earlier, but that workers and patients continued to stay in the basement where the patients continued to be treated.

The floor slabs fell in the main building from the bombing, he wrote.

Kyrylenko in his post urged international human rights organizations to respond to these vicious violations of the norms and customs of war, to these egregious crimes against humanity.

Russia and every citizen involved in crimes in Ukraine must be punished! he wrote

The Ukrainian armys General Staff said Russian forces are attempting to block off the city from the western and eastern outskirts of the city. There are significant losses, it said in a Facebook post.

The worst situation remains in the Mariupol area, the post said.

Mariupol has seen heavy Russian shelling in recent days, with Ukrainian authorities saying 2,500 people in the city have been killed. Ukrainian officials said that three people were killed in an attack on a Mariupol hospital last week.

A person is carried out after the destruction of Mariupol childrens hospital as Russias invasion of Ukraine continues on March 9, 2022, in this still image from a handout video obtained by Reuters. (Ukraine Military/Handout via Reuters)

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said Russia has deliberately prevented the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol because it had failed to seize the strategically important city. Control of Mariupol would allow Russia to connect pro-Moscow enclaves in the east and Russian-annexed Crimea to the south.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said Wednesday that a fourth Russian general was killed in fighting in the city. Gerashchenko said Major General Oleg Mityaev, 46, died on Tuesday during the storming of Mariupol. Russia is yet to confirm the death.

Russia has denied targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.

Moscow calls its military actions in Ukraine a special military operation meant to disarm its military and oust the countrys political leaders whom the Kremlin claims are dangerous nationalists.

Ukraine and its Western allies call the Russian invasion a groundless act of aggression.

Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
People queue outside a branch of Russian state-owned bank Sberbank to withdraw their savings and close their accounts in Prague on Feb. 25, 2022, before Sberbank closed all its branches in the Czech Republic later in the day. (Michal Cizek/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian Nationals in Turkey Racing to Open Bank Accounts to Protect Savings Against Sanctions

Russian nationals who have left their country and relocated to Turkey are racing to open bank accounts in an effort to avoid sanctions levied by Western nations in the wake of Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

According to local reports, there has been a significant increase in demand from Russian citizens seeking to open bank accounts in Turkey in recent weeks, and experts believe that demand will only increase further as more sanctions are levied against the Kremlin.

Russias central bank has temporarily suspended money transfers abroad in an effort to prevent the withdrawal of funds due to sanctions imposed on the country.

The bank has also set a $10,000 limit on the amount that can be withdrawn from citizens foreign currency accounts until Sept. 9. Anything above this can be withdrawn in rubles at the market rate on the day of the withdrawal.

Many Russian nationals have arrived in Turkeyas well as neighboring countries Georgia and Armeniain recent weeks to avoid having to undergo compulsory military service, and amid fears that sanctions will worsen the Russian economy.

Others have simply lost their jobs or are financially struggling amid the countrys economic hardship, while some have cited their opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine as a reason for leaving.

The European Union, United Kingdom, United States, and Canada have shut down their airspace to Russian airlines amid the ongoing invasion, but Turkeywhich is not officially part of the EU but is one of its main partnershas not yet done so.

Meanwhile, the West has dealt Russia a string of sanctions targeting oligarchs with close ties to Putin, as well as the countrys energy and transport sectors and its export controls and visa policy.

When asked on March 13 whether Turkeywhich has established close relations with Russia in an effort to find a political resolution to the war in Syriawould join Western nations in imposing sanctions on Russia, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu declined, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass.

We believe that the sanctions will not resolve the problem, Cavusoglu said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Moscow on March 16, 2022. (Maxim Shemetov/AFP via Getty Images)

A person is detained during an anti-war protest, following Russias invasion of Ukraine, in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on March 6, 2022. (Handout via Reuters)

Speaking at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Cavusoglu cited Turkeys airspace as an example, stating that in accordance with the Montreux Convention we have no power to close it. This is a legal obligation.

Meanwhile, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has continued his diplomatic efforts to deescalate the conflict in Ukraine and called on both sides to come to an agreement regarding a ceasefire.

Ankara also continues to send humanitarian aid to Kyiv and has shown its support for Ukraines territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Given Turkeys neutral stance on the invasion, Russians who would typically visit the country during the summer holidays have been flocking to Turkey to stay indefinitely.

Dozens of Russian natives have joined the numerous expat groups in big cities such as Istanbul and Ankara in recent weeks, asking locals for help and guidance with everything from getting a residency permit to setting up a bank account.

Tim Ash, a senior emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management in London, told Ahval (an Emirati-funded online news website that reports solely on Turkey) that Western nations need a clear-eyed approach to Turkey if it is going to succeed in cutting off Russia from financial flows, markets, and trade.

It is pretty clear that Russia will, and indeed is, using Turkey, Ash said, adding that the West needs to make it clear to Turkey that breaking sanctions will have consequences.

Despite the actions of the Turkish government, Ash said he believes most financial institutions within Turkey, particularly the private banks, will take Western sanctions warnings seriously.

They are highly professional, have strong risk management and understand the consequences of getting caught breaking Western sanctions, Ash said of private banks in Turkey. But at the margin, some will try and get around sanctions. They need to be encouraged to adhere to sanctions.

NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, isnt the only country that has seen an increase in the number of Russian nationals looking to open bank accounts in the country.

The Moscow branch of a Chinese state bank has also seen a surge in inquiries from Russian firms wanting to open new accounts, Reuters reported.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff make their way to board a flight before departing from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sept. 11, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Tests Positive for COVID-19

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harriss husband, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, tested positive on Tuesday for COVID-19, announced the White House.

Harris tested negative. However, out of an abundance of caution, she wont participate in an event at the White House late on Tuesday. She will continue to test.

Emhoff is the first out of Harris, President Joe Biden, and First Lady Jill Biden to have contracted the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus.

Harris and Emhoff received the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine weeks before taking office. They later received their second dose some days after Inauguration Day in 2021. The two received booster shots in late October.

Harris appeared with Biden on Tuesday afternoon at an event with other lawmakers, signing into law a $1.5 trillion spending bill that will fund the government through Sept. 30. The measure includes $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine and European allies.

At an event Tuesday evening, Biden said he was told Emhoff is feeling very well, and noted that Harris didnt attend. Lets send her our love, Biden told attendees.

Earlier Tuesday, Emhoff attended an outdoor event in Washington Park to highlight the work of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.

The Associated Press contributed to this event.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signs a bill into law banning outside spending on elections, in Pierre, S.D., on March 16, 2022. (Courtesy of the Office of the South Dakota Governor)

South Dakota Governor Signs Bill Banning Outside Funding for Elections, Citing Mark Zuckerbergs Spree

South Dakotas governor on March 16 signed legislation into law that bans government entities from accepting outside funding to run elections.

Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, said the bill was necessary because of how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife donated some $350 million ahead of the 2020 election to various organizations, which funneled the money to state and local officials to run the election in certain ways.

Wisconsin Special Counsel Michael Gableman asserted in a recent report that what unfolded in his state amounted to election bribery because cities that accepted the grants were forced to abide by conditions set by the grantee, an intermediary for Zuckerbergs money called the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL).

South Dakota Senate Bill 122 takes aim at such outside spending, mandating all costs relating to an election be paid by the county through appropriated funds that come only from the government, except for gifts of a nominal and intrinsic value.

The legislation bans situations like we saw with Zuck Bucks that came in, and a billionaire gave millions of dollars into our election system, which we believe tainted the integrity of it, Noem said after signing the bill.

In South Dakota, we recognize the important work of protecting our election laws, that we dont want outside private dollars influencing that, and its incredibly important that we pass laws like this to make sure thats upheld, she added.

Counties in South Dakota received over $250,000 from CTCL to support the safe administration of public elections during the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of the 2020 election, according to a tax filing.

A spokesman for Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, told The Epoch Times in an email, When our nations election infrastructure faced unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, Mark and Priscilla stepped up to close a funding gap and granted $350 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life and $69.5 million to the Center for Election Innovation and Research, non-partisan, 501 (c)(3) organizations.

CTCL issued an open call to local jurisdictions across the country and provided funding for all jurisdictions that applied. Nearly 2,500 election jurisdictions from 49 states applied for and received funds, including urban, suburban, rural, and exurban counties, the spokesman added, also pointing to posts Zuckerberg made in 2020 on the donations.

The bill was passed by the state Senate 323, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats voting against. The South Dakota House approved the bill 682, with Democrats voting yes but two Republicans, state Reps. Steve Haugaard and Tina Mulally voting no.

Rep. Claudia Tenner (R-N.Y.) has proposed an End Zuckerbucks Act, which would prevent nonprofits from directly funding election agencies, though its unlikely to gain traction unless Republicans gain control of either or both chambers of Congress in the 2022 midterm elections.

Tenneys analysis of CTCL donations found only 10 percent of the funding went to right-leaning counties.

The group gave overwhelmingly to Democrat-leaning counties to drive up voter turnout there. This provided Democrats with a clear advantage over Republicans, and now we have the evidence to show the extent of this partisan exercise, Tenney said in a recent statement.
South Korea's presidential candidate, Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) looks on before televised presidential debate for the forthcoming March 9 presidential election at KBS studio in Seoul, South Korea on March 2, 2022. Just over a week later he was elected as the countrys next president. (Jung Yeon-Je/Pool/Getty Images)

South Koreas Election of Yoon Suk-Yeol Has Displeased Beijing

News analysis

South Koreas President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was not Beijings preferred candidate for the recent polls.

The political novice is expected to be tougher on China in contrast to the softer approach taken by his liberal predecessor President Moon Jae-in. The 60-year-old replaces Moon on May 10.

Yoon, a former prosecutor, was elected South Koreas new president last week in one of the closest fought races in the East Asian nations history.

He managed to edge out the ruling Democratic Partys (DP) Lee Jae-myung with 48.6 percent of the vote to 47.8 percent.

His election victory was confirmed in the early morning of March 10 local time.

South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) celebrates at the partys headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party admits defeat in the election at the partys headquarters in Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

After being elected, Yoon pledged to reset ties with China and sternly deal with North Koreas misbehavior, a hardline posture similar to his conservative predecessors.

He had also campaigned as a pro-Washington and Japan-friendly candidate, differing from his main rival, Lee, of the ruling party.

As world leaders congratulated him on his win, Chinese leader Xi Jinping sent his congratulatory message one day later than most and added that the Chinese side would firmly defend the original intentions of the two nations diplomatic ties.

An editorial from South Koreas Yonhap News Agency said Beijings use of words, original intentions, signified its dissatisfaction with the state of affairs between the two nations.

The article pointed out that Beijing used similar words in 2016 when then Park Geun-hye government introduced the THAAD anti-missile defense system, adding Beijing was most likely alerted by Yoons campaign promise to deploy additional THAAD.

The U.S.-designed and manufactured anti-missile system was installed in South Korea between 2016 and 2017 to defend against North Koreas missile build-up.

However, Beijing has insisted that the deployment of THAAD affects Chinas security and has since adopted a series of countermeasures against South Korea.

In 2016, Xi used the expression when drinking water, think of its source when displeased with South Koreas decision to deploy THAAD. Xis choice of words suggested South Korea needed to show gratitude toward China.

Xi further referred to the period in the 1900s when Japan colonized Korea, the Korean government-in-exile fled to China and was temporarily based in Shanghai. Chinese rulers at the time provided the Korean provisional government with considerable help.

An editorial from leading South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo described Xis reference as far-fetched, pointing out that the government that provided Korea help during its time in exile was, in fact, the government of the Republic of Chinanamely the one that would retreat to Taiwan at the end of the Chinese civil war.

The article added that Beijings ultimate goal is to distance South Korea from the U.S. camp and place it under the influence of China.

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) is seen firing an intercepter in a Department of Defense photo. (DoD photo)

Prior to his victory, Yoon had openly endorsed the additional deployment of THAAD and purchasing THAAD batteries from the United States as a countermeasure against North Korea.

He criticized the Moon governments lukewarm attitude toward China, providing Beijing with excessive accommodation and undermining its own national interest.

Yoon pointed out that Moons Three Nos policy has weakened South Koreas sovereign right to protect its people.

In 2017, in an attempt to appease Beijing, the Moon government outlined three principles for security known as the Three Nos: no additional deployment of the U.S. missile system known as THAAD; no participation in a U.S.-led regional missile defense system; and no morphing a trilateral security alliance with the United States and Japan into a military alliance.

Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential election candidate of South Koreas main opposition People Power Party (PPP), shakes hands with his supporters during his election campaign in Seoul, South Korea, on March 1, 2022. (Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

Yoons Pledges

Yoon said that South Korea should never feel forced to choose between the United States and China. Instead, it must always maintain its principled position, accepting no compromise on its core security interests.

He emphasized that deterrence against North Korean threats is a matter of sovereignty, adding that Seoul should remain open to deploying additional THAAD in proportion to North Koreas growing missile threat, according to South Korean newspaper Dong-a Ilbo.

For South Korea to cancel the THAAD deployment, China should first withdraw the long-range radars positioned near South Koreas border, Yoon said.

According to Foreign Affairs magazine, Yoon also said, a deeper alliance with Washington should be the central axis of Seouls foreign policy.

In response to Yoon, the Chinese state-run Global Times published an editorial on March 11 suggesting that the THAAD system has exceeded the defense needs of South Korea, and it seriously undermined Chinas strategic security interests.

Its not conducive to safeguarding peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, and may also trap South Korea in a more insecure situation, the article added.

On March 12, Chinese state-owned Beijing Youth Daily also issued an editorial aimed at Yoon, suggesting that South Koreas best move is to continue walking the tightrope between the two major powersthe U.S. and Chinadue to its geographic location.

[If it deviates from the balanced diplomacy], the Yoon government will inevitably be crushed  and will lose its governing foundation internally, the article said.

China affairs commentator Wen Rui told The Epoch Times that growing anti-Beijing sentiments worldwide are also playing out in South Korea with Yoon being elected to power.

In the future, there will likely be tension [between South Korea and China], but the tension will not exceed that of the THAAD incident in 2017 because Beijing will face pressure from the whole world, Wen said.

China may use their signature wolf warrior diplomacy toward South Korea, but it wont do much in reality, he added.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 5, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Lindsey Graham Supports No-Fly Zone Over Ukraine If Russia Uses Chemical Weapons

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is willing to support the Biden administration if it seeks to implement a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace if the Russian military deploys chemical weapons in its ongoing war against Kyiv.

I dont want a no-fly zone, but if theres the use of chemical weapons by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin against the Ukrainian people, I would support a no-fly zone because that would be breaking every war crime rule in the book, Graham said in an interview with Fox News. And the ban on chemical weapons would be nothing if we didnt act with a no-fly zone. But right now, no boots on the ground, no-fly zone.

A no-fly zone is intended to safeguard a vulnerable country from enemy surveillance and attacks by prohibiting the entry of enemy aircraft into the nations airspace. To actually enforce the rule would mean shooting down any enemy airborne vehicle that enters the airspace of the protected country.

In the current scenario, this would involve sending NATO planes into Ukrainian airspace and to shoot down Russian planes, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in early March. This could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe, he warned while adding that President Joe Biden has been clear that Washington is not going to be involved in a war with Russia.

U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith, has also dismissed the possibility of a no-fly zone. Washington does not want to expand this conflict beyond Ukraine, Smith said to CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been requesting the West to institute a no-fly zone to counter Russia, reiterating the demand even during his recent video address to Canadian lawmakers. However, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has shrugged off any possibilities of the alliance instituting a no-fly zone in Ukraine, arguing that such a move will trigger a wider conflict, pulling Europe into war.

Estonia recently became the first NATO member to call for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, with the countrys parliament passing a related resolution on March 15. It called on U.N. members and the European Union to follow suit.

Bartosz Cichocki, Polish ambassador to Kyiv, said to a local Ukrainian broadcaster that a no-fly zone will bring a faster end to the conflict. Every day of delay costs hundreds of human lives, Bartosz said. This is an extension of the conflict that could be ended much faster precisely thanks to the closure of the airspace.

Meanwhile, both Ukraine and Russia might be inching closer to a peace deal as per recent reports. Zelensky says talks with Moscow were becoming more realistic, according to Sky News. Talks are expected to continue for the third straight day on Wednesday.
A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 9, 2017. (Edgar Su/Reuters)

Suspected North Korea Missile Explodes in Mid-Air After Launch Near Pyongyang

SEOULNorth Korea launched a suspected missile that appeared to explode shortly after liftoff in the skies over Pyongyang on March 16, South Koreas military said, amid reports that the nuclear-armed North was seeking to test-fire its largest missile yet.

The United States and South Korea have warned that North Korea may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017, in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The projectile was fired from the international airport in Sunan, outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

It is presumed that it failed immediately after launch, the statement said. It was presumed to be a ballistic missile and seemed to explode in mid-air while still in its booster phase, at an altitude below 20 kilometers (12 miles), a JCS official told Reuters.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said it was a ballistic missile launch and condemned it as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, but declined to comment when asked about the reported failure.

Debris fell in or near Pyongyang after the failed test, Seoul-based NK News reported, citing unnamed witnesses and a photograph of the test showing a red-tinted ball of smoke at the end of a zig-zagging plume that traced the rockets launch trajectory in the sky above the city.

The failed launch underscored the danger behind North Koreas decision to use an airport so close to heavily populated civilian areas as a site for test-firing large missiles, analysts said.

In 2017, an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from another location in North Korea failed shortly after liftoff and crashed into an industrial or agriculture complex in the city of Tokchon.

The Sunan airport has been the site of several recent launches, including on Feb. 27 and March 5. North Korea said those tests were for developing components of a reconnaissance satellite, and it didnt identify what rocket it used, but Seoul and Washington said the launches were tests of a new ICBM system.

Series of New Missile Tests

Reclusive North Korea has fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year, conducting its ninth weapons test on March 5, drawing condemnation from the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defense artillery at Osan air base in South Korea intensified drills in response to the increased North Korean missile activity, U.S. forces in Asia said on March 15.

South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera called for maintaining a strong defense posture during Suhs visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the largest U.S. overseas military base.

Our combined military forces provide a credible military deterrence to any adversary or threat who oppose us, LaCamera said, according to a statement released by USFK.

North Koreas newest and largest ICBM system, the Hwasong-17, was first unveiled at a military parade in 2020 and reappeared at a defense exhibition in October 2021.

The Feb. 27 and March 5 launches didnt demonstrate the missiles full range, and analysts said the North might have used only one stage of the missile or adjusted its fuel volume to fly at lower altitudes.

North Korea hasnt tested an ICBM or nuclear bomb since 2017, but has said it could resume such testing because denuclearization talks with the United States are stalled.

The government also appears to be restoring some tunnels at its shuttered nuclear test site, U.S. and South Korean officials said last week.

Regional Response

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan voiced Washingtons serious concerns about the recent escalatory actions by North Korea during discussions with Chinas top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on March 14, while holding talks that focused on Ukraine.

Last week, the United States and 10 other countries bemoaned the failure of the U.N. Security Council to condemn North Koreas repeated missile launches.

Washington imposed fresh North Korea-related sanctions on March 11, targeting Russian individuals and companies after the two recent launches.

Russia and China, which backed U.N. sanctions after North Koreas last ICBM and nuclear tests in 2017, have since argued that sanctions should be eased to encourage dialogue.

By Josh Smith
The mom says their baby son, 'the gift of God,' is now thriving

Two parents from Chatsworth, California, found themselves at a fork in the road when at 21 weeks into the pregnancy they were told that their baby had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a genetic defect that leaves a hole in the diaphragm between the chest and abdominal cavity.

What looked like a dead end was, for parents Caleb and Abigail Ostrom, merely an opportunity to trust God. When their perinatologist offered them the option of aborting their son, their response was, God gave us this baby, and we want him no matter what.

We firmly believe that the Lord is in control of our lives, and that He works all things together for good for those who love Him, Abigail Ostrom told The Epoch Times. We are so thankful for the gift of our son.

Theodores story reminds us that God is not bound by natural limitations. We look forward to one day telling Theodore about how God showered him and us with mercy and grace.

Caleb (L) and Abigail Ostrom with their newborn baby son. (Courtesy of Abigail Ostrom)

Baby Theodore now. (Courtesy of Abigail Ostrom)

Ostrom, a stay-at-home mom and small-business owner, says they were first surprised to find out she was pregnant in August 2019, and then thrilled to learn at 13 weeks that they were having a baby boy. After a 20-week ultrasound, they were referred to a perinatologist due to visible displacement of the babys heart.

A week later, the perinatologist performed a detailed scan and discovered that the babys stomach had moved into the chest cavity, pushing the heart to the right side. The Ostroms baby was diagnosed with CDH, and the severity of the hernia was unknown at the time; the parents were left with two options.

The first was to watch and wait. The possibility of stifled lung development, fetoscopic endoluminal tracheal occlusion (FETO) surgery before birth, or immediate newborn surgery all loomed.

Abigail Ostrom during her pregnancy. (Courtesy of Abigail Ostrom)

My husband and I remained calm as [the perinatologist] explained all of this to us. She left to give us a few minutes to ourselves. Then I cried. Everything had been going smoothlyI never saw this coming. Genetic troubles didnt run in either of our families, and I was only 27 years old, said Ostrom.

When the perinatologist returned, she offered the couple a second option. She asked them if they wanted to continue. Caleb and I didnt know what she meant, she recalled. Then it clicked: she was offering us an abortion.

Their response was swift and decisive: They were keeping the baby no matter what. And in that moment, when presented with two options, the Ostroms chose a third: prayer. They contacted their church and asked fellow believers to pray. As the pregnancy proceeded, many people prayed for the family.

There were people in at least six different states (and Canada) praying for the baby, she said.

Caleb with newborn baby Theodore. (Courtesy of Abigail Ostrom)

Meanwhile, in early 2020, COVID-19 spread across the globe, resulting in closed cities and hiring freezes. The Ostroms found themselves without work, without great insurance, and preparing to deliver a high-risk baby in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, when hospitals were short-staffed and policy-heavy.

Regular ultrasounds throughout the pregnancy ruled out the need for FETO surgery, but the pressure to succumb to worry was still high.

Caleb was a huge help when my anxiety ramped up. Most of all, I learned to trust the Lord like never before, said Ostrom.

Then, on the evening of Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020, Ostroms labor began. Theodore, given his name because it means gift of God, was born at noon the next day. Just seconds after the nurse held him up and he let out a cry, he was rushed down the hall to the NICU.

(Courtesy of Abigail Ostrom)

The parents remained at the hospital for three days and then made daily trips to Los Angeles to see their infant son. Because COVID-19 regulations prohibited them from visiting together, one parent would visit the baby while the other waited in the parking lot. At only 4 days old, Theodore underwent surgery for his diaphragmatic hernia and remained in the NICU for 18 more days.

It was a month of watching and waiting, but finally the Ostroms brought their infant son home. Although he suffered with acid reflux, Theodore was healthy and breathing unaided. Days after, they were relieved to learn that insurance had covered the entire surgery.

A year later, Theodores one-year X-Ray and MRI showed that his hernia did not reoccur. Today, hes a thriving toddler with typical toddler challenges and interests: a strong will, boundless curiosity, a ceaseless appetiteand a love for all things automobile and musical.

(Courtesy of Victor Obietikponah)

Ostrom revels in the joy and responsibility of mothering Theodore and in the unique opportunity to teach him about life and, most importantly, to tell him Gods grace and what the Lord has done for him.

Together, the family has cleared a few hurdles. Having refused to stop at their dead end, and choosing rather to press on and pray, they now carry with them valuable experience as they approach life.

Theodores journey has really shown me that every life is a precious gift, not to be taken for granted or dismissed because of a so-called defect. Also, God is not limited by natural mechanisms or human efforts as He takes action on our behalf, she said.

We are also confident that Gods grace is more than enough to carry us through the good and bad times.

(Courtesy of Abigail Ostrom)

Share your stories with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.com, and continue to get your daily dose of inspiration by signing up for the Bright newsletter at TheEpochTimes.com/newsletter
Dania Vizzi from the United States competes in the Women's Skeet Final of the Shooting competition during the Lima 2019 Pan-American Games, at Las Palmas shooting range in Lima, Peru, on Aug. 2, 2019. (Luka Gonzales/AFP via Getty Images)

The Second Amendment and the Sovereignty of a Nation

Commentary

As the world watches the Ukrainian people bravely fight for their sovereignty against Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of their country, Im reminded of the importance of the Second Amendment enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The right to bear arms has been viciously attacked in the past few decades as an archaic vestige of a bygone era.

However, as many Ukrainians take up arms for the first time in their lives, it serves as a stark reminder of why our Second Amendment rights at home are critical for the survival of our nation.

Many Americans are familiar with the Second Amendment and how its foundationas described by our nations Founding Fatherswas to grant citizens the right to defend themselves against a tyrannical government. Usually, this understanding is only applied in the case of a tyrannical U.S. government; however, Ukraine has proven that the right to bear arms can be fundamental in protecting the sovereignty of a nation against a hostile foreign government.

While the value of the Second Amendment is disputed within American society, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hasin a dramatic reversal of his initial stance against the legalization of weaponsreversed his policy in the face of Russian aggression. Zelensky recently not only called on ordinary Ukrainians to take up arms in the defense of their nation, but concurrently stated that the government would issue weapons to any citizen who requested one.

Though a judicious decision by Zelensky, many Ukrainiansin preparation before the conflicthad limited experience with firearms. For example, in viral images weeks before the invasion, Ukrainians were seen wielding wooden rifles in an attempt to gain as much training as possible with firearms. While honorable, this deficit in knowledge across the agrarian nation has no doubt harmed their readiness against Russian forces.

While the RussoUkrainian conflict provides a fresh example of why Americans right to bear arms is so critical, there are other examples here in the United States of Americans taking up arms in order to defend their rights. For example, look no further than the Deacons for Defense and Justice. Founded in 1964, the group of black World War II veterans armed themselves to defend against the Ku Klux Klan as black Americans marched for civil rights against the Jim Crow South.

These American patriots looked tyranny in the face and took up arms in the name of liberty and justice. From the Deacons for Defense and Justice to the Battle of Athens, Tennessee, Americans have used the Second Amendment to protect against those who sought to oppress a population.

This is why the Second Amendment is so important for the security of the American people and the prosperity of the United States. From Ukraine to within our own shores, a legally armed citizenry can serve as a deterrent to a wide array of potential threats. Many Americans recognize this and have taken the time to get proper firearms training as, according to one study, over 60 percent of U.S. gun owners have formal training.

So, while some Americans continue to debate the value of the Second Amendment, lets not forget the people around the world who have no such rights and cannot defend themselves against an oppressive government. Lets not take for granted the gift of our Founding Fathers that has allowed millions of Americans the right to self-defense and a formal education on how to properly use arms.

The United States stands as one of only three nations in the world that has enshrined the right of its citizenry to bear arms, and the significance of this rare clause in the U.S. Constitution has enabled us to become the beacon of the free world. Russias invasion of Ukraine should serve as a reminder of the blessings we in the United States take for granted, and buttress American support for our Second Amendment rights for the sake of the sovereignty of our great nation.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Protesters are seen during an anti-vaccination mandate rally outside Queensland Parliament House in Brisbane, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (AAP Image/Darren England)

Thousands of Australians Protest Against Queenslands Extended COVID-19 Emergency Powers

Thousands of Australians across two protests have rallied against the vaccine mandates and the extended emergency COVID-19 powers in Brisbane with several parliamentarians joining the protests.

Demonstrators gathered outside the state Parliament House on Tuesday, chanting block the bill, my body, my choice and end the segregation. They demanded the government to drop the controversial bill to extend COVID-19 emergency measures from April 30 to Oct. 31 since September 2021.

Outgoing federal Coalition backbencher George Christensen joined the crowd on Wednesday, while One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson and KAP leader Robbie Katter, a state MP, are also taking to the street this week.

Christensen told Courier Mail on March. 15 that the mandates are nonsensical now and that the protests are joined by many people who have been vaccinated, but are opposed to the mandates because someone they know is out of a job.

Protesters chanting My body, my choice, holding signs as they marched through Brisbanes CBD in Brisbane, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (AAP Image/Darren England).

Queensland authorities have announced it would review COVID-19 restrictions on a weekly basis, despite Australia having opened its international borders last month and the state scrapping its mask rule two weeks ago.

The emergency powers will allow the authority to impose compulsory quarantining, movement restrictions, gathering limits, social distancing and the sharing of confidential information for contact tracing.

The bill has faced criticism from the Human Rights Commission, which recommends the bill not proceed and be replaced with comprehensive human rights compatible pandemic legislation.

Queensland Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall blasted the Palaszcuk government at a parliamentary committee on Monday.

As a community, we have learnt about the impacts of quarantining conditions on peoples mental health, the human rights limitations arising from public health directions that confine people to their homes and the mandating of vaccines, McDougall wrote in a 12-page submission to the committee.

McDougall noted that without proper oversight, transparency, and external review, the government cannot be granted the power to impose such significant human rights limitations.

In response to the publics outcry, the state government has stood by its decision, with Health Minister Yvette DAth arguing the bill is crucial to protect the state from any emerging COVID-19 strains  despite declining case numbers.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was worried that unvaccinated people could transmit the virus to the elderly who have made up most of the states COVID-19 cases, despite growing evidence showing the vaccine does not help prevent transmission.

I dont think anyone likes to see these vaccination mandates out there, Palaszczuk said. But the reality is we still need to drive up that vaccination rate and we need to protect the community I dont know whats around the corner.

The authority has also been pushing to drive up the vaccination rate in children as the state recorded 43 percent first-dose rate in children, the lowest among all Australian states and territories.

A parliamentary committee that looks at the bill to extend health chief powers is due to report on March 25, one day before the public health emergency declaration is set to end.
Houses surrounded by floodwater in Coraki, Australia on March 7, 2022 as residents of northern New South Wales continue cleaning up following unprecedented storms and the worst flooding in a decade. (Dan Peled/Getty Images)

Three Million Baby Oysters Rescued From Floods

Oyster farmers in New South Wales (NSW) have rescued three million baby oysterseach the size of a grain of sandfrom catastrophic floods that have inundated northern NSW and Queensland since January.

The farmers on the Macleay River, a major river in NSW, received the oysters just days before the floods, but heavy rains acidified the water, which can be lethal to oysters.

As oyster shells are made of calcium, the acid can dissolve their shells or prevent the baby oysters from forming shells.

The water condition was also not salty enough for the oysters.

They need saltwater to survive. The little ones wont survive in that sort of water, farmer Todd Graham told AAP.

Graham and another oyster farmer drove the oysters an hour away to a nearby creek to keep them alive, but only after they were delivered to the National Marine Science Centre at Coffs Harbour, which has direct access to the ocean, could the farmers rest easy.

People use small boats to travel through floodwater in Lismore, Australia, on Feb. 28, 2022. (Jason OBrien/AAP)

The centres aquaculture operations manager Stephan Soule who stepped in, said they had the capacity and were happy to help.

The waters were getting very diluted, and obviously, they needed to move their oysters out of that environment, Soule said.

Theyll get a bit of TLC over the next couple of weeks, and hopefully, the Macleay will clear up, and theyll be able to be returned back to the estuary.

NSW oyster industry has had a tough two years with significant bushfires and floods impacting the water quality.

The CCP virus pandemic has added fuel to the fire by causing widespread supply chain disruptions to the seafood market leading to price hikes.

Lobster and abalone exports declined by 45 percent between January-June 2020, compared with the five-year average for the same period, according to a fisheries research and development report.

Graham said that while the current floods would take years for farmers to recover, he felt blessed that the three million oysters could be saved.

We most probably would have lost them all if wed have kept them in the river, Graham said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participates in a year end interview with The Canadian Press in Ottawa, on Dec. 16, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

Trudeau Cites Individual Choice When Asked If Hell Keep Wearing a Mask Once Mandates End

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remained vague when asked if he will keep wearing a mask after the mandate is repealed in his province of Ontario, but said he would try to get back to normal as best as possible.

I think all Canadians are pretty damn tired of two years of this pandemic and eager to get back to normal as much as possible, he said on March 16 while attending a funding announcement at a Honda plant in Alliston with Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

Ontario has announced it will lift its mask mandate on March 21, and Ford said he will keep his mask on in the legislature for a few days after the mandate is lifted.

Trudeau did not provide details on when or if he would stop wearing a mask, but in a reversal of previous messaging, he stressed the importance of individual choice and context when making personal safety decisions amid the pandemic.

Individual choices and autonomy informed by science, informed by public health recommendations is, I think, something that we all agree on, he said.

Trudeau said as measures are eased across the country he expects Canadians will consider the choices needed from context to context to keep themselves and their loved ones safe, adding, Im no different.

The Prime Minister has previously used disparaging comments towards those who call for individual choice and autonomy regarding vaccination.

Vaccination Mandates

With most provinces lifting all COVID-19 restrictions, the federal government has upheld its vaccine mandates in travel and among federal employees.

Citing progress made by his government in easing restrictions, Trudeau mentioned the adjustments to border rules announced on Feb. 15, which lifted the on-arrival testing for fully vaccinated travellers.

Were going to continue looking at what we can do, he said. His government is reportedly set to announce additional loosening of border rules on March 17.

While masks wont be mandatory in Ontario in a few days, they will remain mandatory in most settings in the House of Commons in Ottawa.

The Board of Internal Economy, which manages COVID-19 restrictions in the House, announced on March 10 its mask mandate is being extended until June 23.

Certain circumstances allow for the removal of masks, such as when individuals are at their workstations and two-metre distancing is possible, and when MPs are seated in the Chamber. Masks are still strongly recommended to MPs at that time, but very few have been exercising their right not to wear one.
President Donald Trump and US Vice President Mike Pence arrive to speak on COVID-19 testing in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on Sept. 28, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump Rules Out Pence as Running Mate for Potential 2024 Bid

Former President Donald Trump will not pick his former vice president as his running mate if he does run again for president in the upcoming election.

I dont think the people would accept it, Trump told the Washington Examiner.

Trump and Pence presented a united front during much of their time in office but diverged over how to handle the 2020 election.

Trump felt Pence should have taken action as the official presiding over the electoral vote count in Congress; but Pence said he felt he could not do anything, citing the U.S. Constitution.

Mike and I had a great relationship except for the very important factor that took place at the end. We had a very good relationship, Trump said in the new interview.

I havent spoken to him in a long time, he said, adding later, I still like Mike.

Trump previously said it was too early to say if hed ask Pence to be his running mate again.

A request for comment sent to Pences advocacy organization wasnt immediately returned.

Nobody has yet announced a bid for the 2024 election but announcements are expected soon after the 2022 midterms are complete.

Trump has frequently hinted he plans to run for a third time after winning in 2016 and losing four years later.

Its not clear who the former president would tap as his running mate if he does. He has floated Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a possibility; outsiders have suggested Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), among others.

Some Republicans have already said they wont run in 2024, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), and Trumps daughter, Ivanka Trump. Others have expressed interest, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, and Cruz.

Pence is among the Republicans who have not ruled out a bid.

All my focus right now is on 2022, he said during a recent appearance on Fox News.

I think we have a historic opportunity to reclaim majorities in the House and the Senate, to elect great Republican governors around America, and in 2023, Im confident the Republican Party will nominate a candidate who will be the next president of the United States of America, Pence added. And at the right time, my family and I will reflect and consider how we might participate in that process.
Ukrainian and Russian officials pose prior to talks in Belarus' Brest region on March 7, 2022. (Maxim Guchek/Belta/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine, Russia Make Progress in Finding Common Ground in Ceasefire Talks

Ukraine and Russia appear to have found some common ground amid ceasefire talks, according to information released from both sides.

The only thing we confirm at this stage is a ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees from a number of countries, Mykhailo Podoliyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote in a Twitter post.

Podoliyak is also one of Ukraines representatives at the RussiaUkraine ceasefire negotiations.

He confirmed a draft ceasefire deal reported on by the Financial Times but said it only represents the position of the Russian side.

He also encouraged a direct dialogue between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to the Financial Times, the 15-point draft would include Kyiv abandoning its pursuit of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership, declaring neutrality, accepting limits on its armed forces, and promising not to host foreign military bases or weapons; leading to a ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine.

A man removes debris outside a residential building damaged by shelling during the Ukraine-Russia conflict in the separatist-controlled town of Makeyevka (Makiivka) outside Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 16, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

The two sides apparently are making headway based on the revealed conditions.

Zelensky already conceded that Ukraine will likely abandon the pursuit of NATO membership, a critical Russian concern that was used to justify the invasion.

He said on Tuesday that his country has to accept that it will not become a member of the NATO military alliance.

Ukraine is not a member of NATO. We understand that. We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. Its a truth and it must be recognized, Zelensky said during a video conference with the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force.

The Russian side also expressed some optimism in the ongoing negotiations.

Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that a business-like spirit has emerged in negotiations with concrete formulations that he said are close to being agreed on.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov said. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 after the efforts to deter war failed.

The United Nations said that, as of March 14, they had recorded 691 deaths and 1,143 injuries of civilians in Ukraine because of Russias military action against Ukraine, mostly caused by shelling and airstrikes.

However, the U.N. believes that the actual figures are considerably higher.

Over 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the war began, United Nations data show.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the U.S. Congress by video, at the Capitol in Washington on March 16, 2022. (J. Scott Applewhite/Pool via Getty Images)

Ukraines Western allies have continued to provide defensive weapons. President Joe Biden announced an extra $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine on Wednesday right after Zelenskys address to the U.S. Congress.

The additional assistance includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,000 Javelin anti-armor systems, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems, 100 tactical unmanned aerial systems, and more guns and ammunition.

However, the allies have stopped short of establishing a no-fly zone as requested by Ukraine and providing offensive arms like fighter jets.

Jack Phillips and Tom Ozimek contributed to the report.
Ukrainian servicemen stand guard at a military check point in Kyiv, Ukraine on March 15, 2022. (Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukrainian Journalist Oleksandra Kuvshinova Killed While Helping Fox News Crew

A Ukrainian journalist was killed when a vehicle carrying a Fox News cameraman was struck by gunfire while the group was reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war on March 14.

Oleksandra Kuvshinova, 24, was helping Fox crews navigate Kyiv and nearby areas, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott told staff members in a note.

She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team there, operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country, Scott said.

Trey Yingst, a foreign correspondent for Fox, called Kuvshinova talented, well-sourced and witty.

Yonat Friling, a senior field producer, added that Kuvshinova worked with our team for the past month and did a brilliant job.

The deceased journalist was said to have enjoyed photography, poetry, and music.

Kuvshinova died alongside Foxs Pierre Zakrzewski when their vehicle was struck by gunfire, according to Fox executives.

The source of the spray has not been made clear, though Ukrainian officials have blamed Russian forces.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 on orders from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian government, said the reporters have become innocent victims of Putins aggression.

Gulnoza Said, a coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a statement that the group was deeply saddened by the deaths of Zakrzewski and Kyvshynova.

Reporting on this war is a vital public service, and it has already claimed the lives of at least two other journalists in just a few weeks. Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do their utmost to ensure safety of all journalists, and to thoroughly investigate attacks on the press, Said added.

Benjamin Hall, another Fox reporter, was hospitalized with injuries during the incident that left his colleagues dead.

Hall was able to later leave Ukraine for further treatment, Scott said in a note Wednesday.

Ben is alert and in good spirits. He is being treated with the best possible care in the world and we are in close contact with his wife and family, she said in the update.

In Washington a day prior, Oksana Markarova, Ukraines ambassador to the United States, thanked reporters while speaking at the National Press Club for risking their lives to tell the world the truthsomething that Ukraine desperately needs, something the world desperately needs.

U.S. journalist Brent Renaud was previously confirmed dead while in Ukraine while Juan Arredondo, another reporter, was wounded near Kyiv while covering the war.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Russia and Ukraine are sounding more upbeat about peace talks, focusing on compromise. Meanwhile, NATO vowed to keep helping Ukraine.

Ukrainian medical workers set up a temporary field hospital in a basement in the Kyiv region. They have prepared emergency medical supplies including antibiotics and dressings to treat patients.

A new audit shows former New York Governor Andrew Cuomos administration undercounted COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by over 4,000. The audit accuses the state of misleading the public.
Anti-coup protesters hold signs that read 'We don't accept military coup' during a march in Mandalay, Burma, on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (AP Photo)

UN Calls for Immediate Measures to Stop Burmese Armys Crimes Against Humanity

The United Nations on Tuesday urged the international community to take immediate measures to stop the Burmese military juntas systematic human rights violations, which it said amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The military junta has shown a flagrant disregard for human life by launching airstrikes on populated areas and deliberately targeting civilians, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a report.

Bachelet stated that many civilians have been shot in the head, burned to death, arbitrarily arrested, tortured, or used as human shields in Burma, also known as Myanmar, calling on the international community to take meaningful action.

The appalling breadth and scale of violations of international law suffered by the people of Myanmar demand a firm, unified, and resolute international response, she remarked.

At least 1,600 people had been killed by security forces and their affiliates, while more than 12,500 people had been detained since the military seized power in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, according to the report.

About 440,000 more people have been displaced, and 14 million are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, the delivery of which has largely been blocked by the military in new and pre-existing areas of need, it stated.

The report cited cases of mass killings in the Sagaing region, where 40 villagers had been killed by the military junta in a series of raids, with some victims having been found with their hands and feet still tied behind their backs.

Villagers in Kayah state claimed to have discovered the remains of charred victims, including children, in positions indicating they had attempted to escape and were burned alive, it added.

Smoke and flames billow from vehicles in Hpruso township, Kayah State, Myanmar, on Dec. 24, 2021. (Karenni Nationalities Defense Force/ via AP)

The report also detailed the torture endured by detainees during interrogations, including suspension from ceilings, forced standing for extended periods of time, electrocution, drug injection, sexual violence, and forcing Muslim detainees to ingest pork.

The U.N. stated that its report was based on interviews with over 155 victims of abuse, witnesses, and advocates, whose accounts were corroborated with satellite images, verified multimedia files, and open-source information.

Throughout the tumult and violence of the past year, the will of the people has clearly not been broken. They remain committed to seeing a return to democracy and to institutions that reflect their will and aspirations, Bachelet said.

Several Western countries have hit the Burmese military and its businesses with sanctions due to its suppression of anti-coup protesters and the prosecution of deposed Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the elected civilian government in Burma.

The Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has also barred the military regime from attending any meetings unless it agrees to a five-point consensus, which includes ending violence, facilitating constructive dialogue with all parties concerned, and a visit by an ASEAN delegation to Burma to assess the situation.
Election workers tabulate ballots at the Beauty P. Baldwin Voter Registrations and Elections Building in Lawrenceville, Ga., on Jan. 5, 2021. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

US Elections Officials, Workers Call for More Protection

Three-quarters of local elections officials and staff workers who responded to a nationwide survey say the federal government isnt doing enough to support their needs or protect them from a rising tide of threats since the 2020 elections.

That perceived lack of support and fears of false political attacks on the election system is why at least 20 percent of locally elected elections officials and professional staff plan to leave their posts before the 2024 election, according to a survey released this month by the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

The center canvassed 596 of roughly 9,250 local election officials nationwide between late January and mid-February.

Of those who responded, 71 percent said the federal government must do more than create a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) task force to investigate threats against local election officials to protect them; 42 percent said they werent aware the task force even existed.

Half the respondents said their states must do more to boost election worker security, and about a quarter said local governments, counties specifically, must also step up protections for elections officials and staff.

About 20 percent of survey respondents said theyre very unlikely or somewhat unlikely to continue serving through 2024, citing political attacks on the system, stress, and retirement plans as primary reasons for leaving sooner than previously planned.

Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections (FSASE) President Wesley Wilcox says the 20 percent attrition forecast may be conservative.

In Florida, the states 67 county elections supervisors are elected every four years. While most who are currently serving were elected in 2020, Wilcox said, one has resigned already and others have made it crystal clear they wont seek reelection in 2024.

As soon as we get past the midterms, I think we will see a flood of others resigning or opting not to seek reelection, he said.

I would not be shocked to see 25 percent attrition, not only among elected supervisors, Wilcox said, but among administrative workers at county elections offices.

When you think about it, this is the front-line staff that unfortunately takes a public beating as nonpartisan bystanders in the crossfire of heated post-2020 election politics, he said.

While 30 percent of survey respondents who plan to leave their positions cited stress associated with the job as the primary motivator, another 29 percent said they were retiring as planned.

Some of this attrition is retirement. Some have been there for a long time and it is just time for them to go, Election Center Executive Director Tim Mattice said on March 17, agreeing with the Brennan Centers 20 percent attrition forecast.

The incredible experience in running an electiona presidential election, no lessduring a pandemic was demanding and exhausting for elections workers, but additional pressures have mounted since 2020, he said.

The 2020 election was something they had never experienced before. That certainly would be a motivator for some folks to say, Hey, maybe its time for me to step aside, Mattice said.

Its definitely been a different type of environment since 2020.

The Elections Center is operated by the National Association of Elections Officers, based in Katy, Texas. The nonprofit, which represents more than 1,350 members in 44 states, has joined other groups in calling on federal and state governments to take threats against elected officials and administrative professionals seriously.

The National Association of State Election Directors, which represents state elections officials and staff in all 50 states from its Washington, D.C., headquarters, maintains that election officials will persevere and will continue to administer fair elections in 2022, amid an unacceptable wave of threats, harassment and intimidation directed at elections workers for doing their jobs.

The Election Official Legal Defense Network, operated by the Washington-based Center for Election Innovation and Research, is providing pro-bono legal help to election workers and calling for more state and federal prosecutors dedicated to addressing what it calls domestic terrorism.

They point to a 2022 measure adopted by Oregon legislators that makes it a crime to harass an election official, punishable by up to a year in jail and a possible $6,250 fine, as an example of legislation that other states should replicate.

Lawmakers in at least eight states have introduced bills during 2022 to better protect election workers and more harshly punish offenders, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Wilcox said local elections workers need federal protections because threats are rarely from local constituents.

We in Florida, we get people from Illinois or Missouri who have heard something, call attempting to berate us. We are having challenges there, he said.

I dont know what you could do. We need to sit down and have some serious conversations about what are some good measures to put in place to ensure not only the physical and mental safety of our elections officials and personnel but also the safety of our democracy.

The attacks get personal, Wilcox said.

There needs to be a better way, or at least a more punitive way, to get people who are just maliciously fabricating stories and stuff, he said.

Right now, as an elected official, you can virtually say anything you want about me without any repercussions, unless there is an explicit threat of violence.

Mattice said there will be high turnover between now and the 2024 elections, but there will be no shortage of elected officials and administrative workers to conduct local elections.

We also know that for the number of people who are leaving, the local jurisdictions will fill these positions with new people coming in, he said. You hope there is a transition period where the folks with all the knowledge can share their institutional insights with those taking their places.

Wilcox worries about the motivations of those who are running for some Florida county elections supervisor seats in upcoming elections, predicting the state soon may have for lack of a better word, a new crop of supervisors who are more partisan than their predecessors.

Mattice said theres a distinction between employees in county election offices and those who serve, often in volunteer capacities, as poll-watchers during elections.

Most elections workers try very hard to be nonpartisan and are committed professionals not looking at party, but at putting out a fair, equitable process that people can have trust in, he said.

Elections officials across the country work long hours and take a lot of abuse and dont get paid a lot, Mattice said. We hope the people who are coming in are coming in for the right reasons. They are the gatekeepers of our democracy.
Rick Santorum, a former U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (Crossroads/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

US Energy Policies Created Financially Favorable Conditions for Russias Invasion of Ukraine: Rick Santorum

Weaknesses of the Biden administrations energy policies became one of the decisive factors that prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, said Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania.

War needs to be financed, and Russia relies on the revenue from the energy sector to fund its military and continue to feed its people, Santorum said in a March 11 interview for EpochTVs Crossroads program.

Since oil prices increased from about $60 to $65 per barrel a year ago to about $130 per barrel recently, Russia can sell half as much oil and still make as much money as [it] made a year ago, but [its] gonna sell a lot more than half as much, Santorum explained.

The combination of President Joe Biden shutting down American production of oil and gas, such as the Keystone XL pipeline, and Europe becoming more dependent on Russian energy due to greenlighting Nord Stream 2, as well as China with its having Russias back as a purchaser of oil, has set up a perfect situation for Russia, Santorum said.

The oil and gas industry accounts for one-fifth of Russias gross domestic product and makes up about 60 percent of the countrys exports, according to Inside Climate News.



A World Bank report said that the portion of Russias federal budget revenue from oil and gas increased by 60 percent during the first nine months of 2021.

At the end of 2021, Russias sales of oil and natural gas far exceeded initial forecasts for 2021 as a result of skyrocketing prices, and it made up 36 percent of the countrys total budget, Reuters reported.

After Biden announced on March 8 that the United States would ban imports of Russian oil due to the invasion of Ukraine, the crude oil price in Europe hit a high of $132 per barrel, and in the United States, the price hit a high of $123 per barrel, Chadwick Hagan, a financier and entrepreneur, wrote for The Epoch Times.

The policy to not buy Russian oilalthough it makes some sense, Santorum saidis not going to have a big impact on Russias ability to sell oil if most of the European countries and the rest of the world continue to buy it, he said.

The thing that will stand up to the Russians is to reduce the price of oil. And the way you reduce the price of oil is producing more oil, Santorum said.

We can get a lot of production online very, very quickly. But the administration sent the message to the oil companies, which is, We dont want you doing this, we dont want you doing this on federal land.  Were gonna make it hard for you. Were gonna make it expensive for you.'

Oil-producing companies have no trust in the governments intentions and are reluctant to produce more oil, fearing that the policy may change in six months because of the Green New Deal, Santorum said.

Biden Administrations Energy Policies

Before the pandemic, the United States had been an oil and natural gas exporter, he said.

To be able to export natural gas, a country needs shipping facilities on the coast where ships can pull in, fill themselves up with natural gas, and deliver it to buyers, Santorum said.

Although a few gas shipping plants were built in the United States within the last several years, more are needed, but the Biden administration is delaying those projects, he explained.

We can produce as much gas as the world needs, but we dont have the facilities to ship it out because Biden is sitting on the permits, Santorum added. Biden is strengthening Russia, weakening Americas dominance in the oil area, all to the benefit of the Russians.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued two policy statements making it clear that the hurdles to permit liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and their feeder pipelines would be getting higher, not lower, said Tom Pyle, chairman of the Institute for Energy Research, when he testified before a congressional committee on March 8.

Instead of producing more oil at home, Washington is asking Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Iran to produce more oil, Santorum said.

The Biden administration is looking to secure oil supplies from Venezuela by removing sanctions on the country. U.S. sanctions against Venezuela began under former President Barack Obama. Under the Trump administration, economic sanctions were tightened, specifically on the oil sector, while domestic oil production was significantly increased.

The sanctions were aimed at forcing socialist Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to give up power, as the 2018 electionwhich placed him as the president of the countrywas seen as fraudulent by Washington and over 50 other nations.

Not only does Russia benefit from Americas policies driving oil prices worldwide, but also countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, Santorum said.

Most of them are not natural allies of the U.S., he said.

One alternative to high gas prices promoted by the Biden administration is electric cars. However, only upper-middle-income people in America can afford to buy them, Santorum said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC in an interview in November 2021 that the Build Back Better bill contains incentives that make it more affordable to buy an electric vehicleup to a $12,500 discount, in effect, for families thinking about getting an EV, families that, once they own that electric vehicle, will never have to worry about gas prices again, Buttigieg said.

Commentator Thomas McArdle wrote for The Epoch Times that a portion of this discount will apply only to cars produced with unionized labor within the United States. He noted that the price of electricity is also rising.

Mark Tapscott and Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.

Ella Kietlinska Reporter Follow Ella Kietlinska is a reporter for The Epoch Times focusing on U.S. and world politics.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro speaks during an event with the youth of Venezuela's United Socialist Party in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 22, 2020. (Miraflores Palace/Handout via Reuters)

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Says Maduro Supports Return of US Oil Companies

The United States imposed economic sanctions on the regime of Venezuelas President Nicolas Maduro in 2017, creating a years-long diplomatic stalemate between the countries until a high-level delegation of U.S. officials arrived on March 5 to discuss the easing of sanctions and supplemental oil resources.

At a follow-up on March 11, Venezuelan foreign minister Felix Plasencia said Maduro was willing to do business with U.S. enterprises again.

Weve never asked American companies to leave the country  President Nicolas Maduro said many times that we welcome American oil companies to invest and develop oil business in Venezuela, Plasencia commented during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

Plasencia said that Venezuela remains a firm ally of Russia, and the country plans to increase oil production up to 2 million barrels per day by the end of the year with the help of what he called reliable partners like China, Iran, and Russia.

A worker collects a crude oil sample at an oil well operated by Venezuelas state oil company PDVSA in Morichal, Venezuela, on July 28, 2011. (Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

However, the foreign minister noted there was always room to expand this trade to the United States.

This comes in the wake of U.S. President Joe Bidens announcement of a ban on Russian oil as part of the increased sanctions against Moscow for the attack on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

Some U.S. senators and representatives have criticized Bidens proposed negotiations with Maduro, saying the Venezuelan president is a puppet regime that creates a platform for autocratic governments in Cuba, Iran, China, and Russia.

On March 10, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL), combined with U.S. Representatives Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) sent a letter to Biden, U.S. Department of State Secretary Antony Blinken, and Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, condemning the administrations decision to negotiate with the Venezuelan dictator.

The administrations delegation sent to Venezuela this past week had a stated purpose to use the American sanctions placed on the Maduro regime as a bargaining chip with an illegitimate dictatorship to produce more oil.

By negotiating with the Maduro dictatorship, your administration is undermining American foreign policy towards Venezuela and is neglecting the U.S. commitment to the Venezuelan exile community, the correspondence stated.

Plasencia explained visits from American officials were nothing new and pressed for Bidens administration to lift unilateral measures against Venezuela.

Having their visit to Venezuela to talk about this is important, but its nothing absolutely out of the blue or new because weve been doing business with Americans for a long while, Plasencia said.

After a private meeting with the European Unions high representative for foreign affairs and security Josep Borrell Fontelles, on March 12, Plasencia stated, we reaffirmed our commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and our rejection of the illegal imposition of unilateral coercive measures.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and the European Unions Josep Borrell arrive to give a press conference ahead of their meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, on March 24, 2021. (Olivier Hoslet/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In spite of Plasencias amiable banter, Maduro hasnt been shy about blaming the United States for Russias aggression in Ukraine.

On March 7, just two days after the U.S. delegation arrived in Venezuela, Maduro blasted Western nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a video posted on his Twitter account.

Those who provoked this conflict with decades of non-compliance with agreements, with decades of threats against Russia, with decades of preparing plans for the extension of NATO are the first ones who are responsible for de-escalating this conflict, he said.

U.S. sanctions were imposed on Maduro in an attempt to curtail profits from illegal gold mining, state-operated oil endeavors, and other businesses that operate as fronts for criminal activity and facilitate human rights violations.

Regarding the sanctions, state department representative Carrie Filipetti told a U.S. Senate committee they were meant to cut off those sources of financial income and prevent the oil industry from being exploited for patronage.
Royal Australian Navy submarine HMAS Rankin is seen during AUSINDEX 21, a biennial maritime exercise between the Royal Australian Navy and the Indian Navy in Darwin, Australia, on Sept. 5, 2021. (POIS Yuri Ramsey/Australian Defence Force via Getty Images)

WA to House US, UK Nuclear Submarines, Welcome $4.3 Billion for First Dry Dock

The Australian government has committed $4.3 billion (US$3.1 billion) to build the first large-vessel dry docking facility at Henderson Shipyard in Western Australia.

It comes as Australias west coast state is set to host American and British nuclear-powered submarines as part of the AUKUS partnership.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday said the project includes building a large vessel dry-dock and associated infrastructure in Henderson. It will support around 500 jobs in the construction of the world-class shipyard and around 2,000 jobs once completed.

This work will ensure we can maintain our sovereignty, our flexibility and offer long-term value for money outcomes for the Australian public, he told reporters in Perth on Tuesday.

We expect construction to commence in 2023-2023 with initial operational capability by 2029, and a final operating capability by 2030.

It will be the countrys second dry dock used to build and sustain large vessels and is expected to provide redundancy to the Captain Cook graving dock in Sydney.

However, Stirling and Fleet Base West in Perth would remain at the heart of Australias Navy and submarine fleet.

The integration between what happens on our west coast and our east coast is incredibly important for how we defend our nation, Morrison said.

The WA government applauded the decision, with Defence Industries minister Paul Papalia saying it recognised WA as a strategic location for the country, with an important role to play in managing its naval fleet.

For over two years, weve been working with the federal government on this dry dock plan, he said, the ABC reported on March 15.

What we also need, in the future, is a commitment from the federal government for our naval shipbuilders.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister also noted the Defence Department was looking at what extra services would be needed in WAs submarine base to support American and British nuclear vessels.

He said results are expected to come back in late 2022 and to get moving as quickly as possible.

The ability of US and UK nuclear-powered submarines to be here on the west coast, and ultimately wed like to see them on the east coast as well, is all part of what our plan is as we continue to push forward our AUKUS partnership.

But in addition to that, its about the capability that were continuing to put in place in our naval operations, and that includes the Collins-class submarine, the life of types extensions, the mid-cycle and the full-cycle docking that is occurring with that important fleet of submarines.

The trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, announced in 2021, seeks to deepen diplomatic, security and defence relationships between the three nations and help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

The announcement came two weeks after Morrison committed to building a nuclear-submarine base on Australias east coast which will house allied nuclear-powered vessels. The final location is yet to be announced after the election, with the potential sites being Brisbane (Queensland), Newcastle (North of Sydney), or Port Kembla (South of Sydney).

Salvatore Babones, associate professor at the University of Sydney and expert in political economy, said that while the move seemed to be prompted by the upcoming federal election, he noted there was a need for a new base outside of existing facilities in Sydney Harbour.

The location of Australias Fleet Base East in Sydney is crowded and obsolete, he told The Epoch Times on March. 7. A new submarine base might be the prompt for moving the Australian navy out of Sydney to somewhere more useful and secure.

Daniel Y. Teng contributed to this report.
White House to Reopen to Public Tours as Omicron Fades

WASHINGTONThe White House will reopen to the public next month after being shuttered two years amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Tuesday, with the U.S. Capitol reportedly also weighing plans.

The White House will open for tours starting April 15 two days a week, it said in a statement, adding that masks are optional and those who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus or are otherwise possibly ill should not attend.

Congress is also weighing a phased reopening starting March 28 and moving toward a full reopening by Sept. 5, the Washington Post reported, citing an unnamed source.

The moves this spring come as U.S. COVID-19 cases continue to decline following the Omicron variant-driven spike, even as mounting cases in Europe and China have raised some concerns about the potential for another wave.

The White House will continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation with guidance based on recommendations from the CDC, and other public health officials and medical experts, and will adjust availability  as necessary, it said.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki on Monday acknowledged likely fluctuation in U.S. cases, while the White House separately on Tuesday sought more U.S. funding to manage current cases and bolster the nations long-term preparedness, including for future variants.

We have made tremendous progress in our fight against COVID-19 but our work isnt done, Biden tweeted on Tuesday.

Washington officials have followed leaders in all 50 states in lifting most coronavirus restrictions. Two of the Smithsonians attractions this week also reopened seven days per week, though it said for now, most of its museums will remain on modified schedules.

Pfizer Inc, meanwhile, is seeking U.S. approval for a fourth vaccine shot in people aged 65 and older, the Post reported separately, as leaders also promote vaccinations.

Representatives for the U.S. Capitol Police did not respond to a request for comment on the Washington Post report. Another concern for the Capitol remains security following the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack.

By Susan Heavey
Traders, brokers, and clerks shout and gesture on the first day of in-person trading at the London Metal Exchange (LME) in London, England, on Sept. 06, 2021. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Worlds Largest Nickel Producer Faces Billions in Losses; China Releases National Reserves to Rescue

London Metal Exchange suspended nickel trading and canceled contracts

News Analysis

The worlds biggest nickel and stainless steel producer, Tsingshan Holding Group, suffered a fiasco in a global capital sniping on the London Metal Exchange (LME) on March 7, with its 200,000-ton nickel forward contracts caught in a delivery default and facing potential losses of billions on its short positions.

But ahead of Tsingshan Holding falling into a dilemma of delivery defaults, LME announced on March 8 that it would suspend nickel trading and cancel all nickel trades for the day, followed by a continuous halt in nickel dealing until March 11.

This is a rare suspension of metal trading on the LME since 1985.

Mark Thompson, the executive vice-chairman of the British mining company Tungsten West Ltd, wrote on Twitter on March 8 that his best guess was that Tsingshan Holdings marked-to-market loss would top $12 billion.

However, things reversed when Tsingshan Holding said on March 9 that it has been able to deploy sufficient goods for delivery through various channels.

Mike Sun, a U.S.-based private investment advisor and China expert told The Epoch Times on March 11 that LMEs move on suspending nickel trade is probably linked to the intervention of Chinas State Reserves Bureau.

The State Reserve Bureau is a unit of Chinas national planner.

Sun also mentioned that it is revealing more facts behind deals that have shocked global financial markets, some of which involve metals trading and futures markets.

Tsingshan Holdings Mistakes

Nickel is in high demand to produce stainless steel and for the electric vehicle battery industry in recent years.

Russia, a main source of nickel for the European market and providing about 10 percent of global output, was sanctioned for its invasion of Ukraine, which raised concerns over nickel supply, and triggered the price of nickel to skyrocket.

A spike in the nickel price would place Tsingshan Holding into margin calls on its futures contracts. The nickel producer needs to come up with more cash to cover potential losses. On March 7, nickel prices soared 30.7 percent on LME. Tsingshan Holding hedged at $21,000 per ton. A hedge is a future market term that refers to the practice of operators locking in costs and transactions in the spot market through future contracts.

State-run Shanghai Securities Journal commented that Tsingshan Holding operated well either in price hedging and futures positions, citing that its Indonesia bases make the spot market profitable with nickel cost no more than $10,000 per ton, and it was shorting the futures market in anticipation of a future drop in nickel prices.

Nonetheless, according to Suns analysis, Tsingshan Holding made a mistake, setting a short position contract to 200,000 tons, too largeIts adventurous.

Glencore, an Anglo-Swiss commodity trader based in Baar, Switzerland, has continued to buy in nickel futures contracts for several months, people familiar with the matter said. But a Glencore spokesman declined to comment about it, according to Bloomberg on March 8.

Sun assumed Glencore bought the future contract as a bet that Tsingshan Holding would not be able to deliver 200,000 tons of nickel, because it already held about half of nickel inventory in the LME.

Nickel is primarily used in the manufacture of stainless steel and ferronickel is an intermediate product between nickel ore and stainless steel. Tsingshan Holdings main product is ferronickel, with a production capacity of 300,000 tons of nickel-equivalent ferronickel and 10 million tons of stainless steel per year.

The nickel matte (about 5565 percent nickel) produced by Tsingshan Holding contains impurities and is not of sufficient purity to be traded on the LME, which uses nickel sheets of at least 99.8 percent pure nickel.

In order to deliver as contracted, Tsingshan Holdings would have to buy nickel plates at a high price and then sell them at the contract price, resulting in a large loss. The margin for LME futures trading is a huge amount and it follows the metal price, that is, nickel price rises, so does the margin.

A worker manning a furnace during the nickel smelting process at Indonesian mining company PT Vales smelting plant in Soroako, South Sulawesi, on March 30, 2019. (Bannu Mazandra/AFP via Getty Images)

Headquartered in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, Tsingshan Holding started in the 1980s. In October 2009, it invested and explored laterite nickel mines in Indonesia, where it build an industrial park base to complete all processes from mining, processing to ferronickel production.

In 2021, Tsingshan Holding rose from 361st in 2019 to 279th in the Fortune Global 500 and it is ranked 80th among the top 500 Chinese enterprises and 14th among the top 500 private enterprises in China.

The CCP Values its Strategic Overseas Resources

Multiple reports in the Chinese media said Glencore is taking a gamble that if Tsingshan Holding fails to deliver 200,000 tonnes of nickel, its 60 percent stake in the laterite nickel mine in Indonesia will be pledged as collateral to Glencore.

Sun said he noticed that the 60 percent nickel stake is so crucial that the LME halted trading. Halting trading is actually an attempt to break the contract, which has served as a protection measure to prevent Tsingshan Holding from suffering huge losses.

Actually, the 60 percent nickel stake is equivalent to selling the mine [in Indonesia] to someone else, Sun said.

Xiang Guangda, the chairman of Tsingshan Holding, said after the incident that he had reported the matter to the relevant Chinese government departments and got the reply that the relevant sectors were taking it seriously.

Chinas State Reserves Bureau might help Tsingshan out of the potential losses, according to The Financial Times on March 11, high-grade nickel of national reserves would replace some of Tsingshans low-grade nickel products, which doesnt meet LME metal trade quality standard, a source familiar with the matter said.

Sun believes this is a signal that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is about to take action to rescue Tsingshan Holding. The State Reserves Bureau wont want to see Chinese companies suffer huge losses, and more importantly, it [the CCP] does not want to let others take away the nickel resources it has managed to grasp overseas, Sun said.

There was a rumor circulating that Jinchuan Group, a Chinese leading pure nickel enterprise, was helping Tsingshan Holding to make up the goods. Jinchuan Group denied it on March 11, saying that the companys annual nickel production capacity was only about 100,000 tons and it has no ability to provide additional product to others.

Only the State Reserves Bureau has the ability to do so, Sun said, citing that the state-owned stockpiles estimated at about 100,000 tons of nickel.

According to Sun, Glencore probably wouldnt have expected China to use its national reserves to intervene. Its like using the power of a country against a company, how can it be compared?

China has also taken the occasion to send a warning not to confront the CCPChinese companies are backed by the CCP in their global market dealings, Sun said.

LME

Electronic boards display various stock prices at Exchange Square in Hong Kong on March 9, 2020. (Isaac Lawrence /AFP via Getty Images)

In 2012, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange acquired the LME in London for $2 billion, several times its market value, the offer was seen as too much for the British to refuse.

Notably, whether the LME called a trading halt in line with international practice and whether it is fair for the LME to declare that all trades on March 8 do not count are both questions that are unresolved at this time. If the LME cannot provide a reasonable explanation, this will damage its credibility, while the credibility is paramount in financial markets, Sun said.

Li Xiaojia, former chief executive of HKEx, said on March 10 that the LMEs announcement to suspend trading coincided with the clearing houses activation of a corresponding mechanism to cancel trading, but he did not specify what the corresponding mechanism is.

The clearing house refers to LME Clear, which was set up by the HKEx in 2014 at a cost of nearly $300 million according to Li, said state-owned Securities Times on March 11.

LMEs Suspension and cancellation of transactions are equivalent to a certain problem, which cannot be solved at the table, settled in the backstage, Sun said.

Sun cited an unconfirmed source that Tsingshan Holding is currently alleged to have shipped for Russia amid western sanctions, but it needs time to observe, he said.

With 200,000 tons more in stock in the market, it is unavoidable that nickel prices will fall. On March 10, Jinchuan Group has drastically reduced the nickel factory price by 15 percent.

On March 16, LME announced that trading in the previously suspended nickel contract will resume at 8:00 p.m. London time that day. The LME set daily price limits for all base metal varieties, with the nickel contract price fluctuation limit of not less than 5 percent.

Matthew Chamberlain, CEO of the LME, told CNBC on March 16 that the LME had deliberately prioritized stability by setting relatively narrow daily trading limits, but those limits could be expanded if the exchange observes a more orderly market.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) introduces Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to speak to the U.S. Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. (J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images)

Zelensky Speaks to Congress, Asks for Fighter Jets and No-Fly Zone

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed members of Congress on Wednesday, asking again for the United States and NATO to enforce a no-fly zone over his country and provide fighter planes weeks after Russia started its invasion.

Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities. It went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values, he said via a translator. It threw tanks and planes against our freedom, against our right to live freely in our own country, choosing our own future. Against our desire for happiness, against our national dream, just like the same dreams you have, you, Americans. Just like anyone else in the United States.

In asking for S-300 surface-to-air missile systems and Polish MiG-29 fighter jets, Zelensky invoked the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that thrust the United States into World War II.

Remember Pearl Harbor, he said Remember Sept. 11  Our country experiences the same every day.

Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided. The destiny of our people where the Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to preserve their democracy, the Ukrainian leader also remarked. Russia has attacked not just us, not just our land, not just our cities, it went on a brutal offensive against our values, basic human values.

A no-fly zone over Ukraine has been described by top White House and NATO officials as a nonstarter. Earlier in March, President Joe Biden said that enforcing such a measure would escalate the conflict to become World War III with Russia, a nuclear power.

After the speech, Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said that he believes Congress needs to push for more security assurance in Ukraine, without elaborating.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers a virtual address to Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on March 16, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he will hold a press conference later Wednesday to urge the Biden administration to facilitate the transfer of aircraft, such as MiG-29s, and air defense systems to Ukraine after Zelenskys speech while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote that the White House should be doing everything he can to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, including fighter jets.

Zelensky also demanded that all U.S. companies stop doing business withor leaveRussia until the conflict ends. A number of multinational corporations have already pulled out of the country in recent days amid harsh Western sanctions against Russias economy and leadership.

Some critics of the move have warned that these actions could backfire and strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putins leadership and his narrative that the West wants to destroy Russia.

I call on you to do more Zelensky later asked members of Congress, until the Russian military machine stops.

A destroyed bridge at Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 12, 2022. (Courtesy of Igor Korsun)

Meanwhile, Russian officials including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Wednesday that Moscow wants Ukraine to become a neutral country such as Austria or Sweden. Ukraines leadership hasnt confirmed whether neutrality is a possibility, although Zelensky said Tuesday that it is not likely his country will ever be able to join NATO.

A neutral status is being seriously discussed in connection with security guarantees, Lavrov told reporters. There are concrete formulations that in my view are close to being agreed.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak told the news agency Interfax that a model of neutrality is up for discussion but he said security guarantees must be upheld.

Ukraines allies have provided hundreds of millions of dollars worth of defensive weapons but they have stopped short of providing fighter jets. Theyve also said that no NATO troops will be called to fight in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3, 2022. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky: Ukraine Truly Trusts Its Partners After Visit by PMs of Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovenia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine truly trusts its partners after the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia traveled by train to Kyiv to offer their support.

The meeting between the four leaders in the Ukrainian capital came nearly three weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine. The prime ministers said they were representing the European Council in Kyiv.

They are shelling everywhere, Zelensky told the three EU leaders, according to a clip of the meeting posted on social media. Not only Kyiv but also the western areas.

Zelensky thanked the Polish, Czech, and Slovenian prime ministers, Mateusz Morawiecki, Petr Fiala, and Janez Jansa, for their visit, which he called a powerful testimony of support.

So many other ambassadors have left Ukraine because of the full-scale Russian invasion, he said.

Most important is that we truly trust these leaders. When we are talking about the security guarantees, about our future in the European Union, or when we talk about the sanctions policy, we are 100 percent assured that whatever we are discussing, whatever we talk about, this will reach a positive outcome for our country, the Ukrainian president said.

With friends like this Ukraine can win, he added.

Fiala told reporters that the main goal of the Kyiv visit was to tell Ukraine it is not alone in the ongoing conflict with Russia.

The main goal of our visit and the main message of our mission is to say to our Ukrainian friends that they are not alone, that Europe stands with you, Fiala said during a press conference shortly after the meeting.

The Czech Republic is hosting your wives and children and offering them refuge, he said.

Some 250,000 Ukrainians have fled to the country since Feb. 24, when the invasion began. Meanwhile, the latest United Nations figures show that nearly 2.7 million Ukrainians have fled since the invasion began, with about 1.7 million of them entering Poland.

It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny, the Polish prime minister wrote on Twitter. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance. EU supports Ukraine, which can count on the help of its friendswe brought this message to Kyiv today.

Jansa said on Twitter that Europe must guarantee Ukraines independence and ensure that it is ready to help in Ukraines reconstruction.

Zelensky is expected to deliver a rare wartime speech to both chambers of Congress on Wednesday morning via video link.
Zelensky: World War III May Have Already Started

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 16 that World War III may have already started amid the RussiaUkraine conflict.

When asked by NBC anchor Lester Holt about whether he believes a third world war has started, Zelensky responded, Nobody knows.

Nobody knows whether [World War III] may have already started, Zelensky told Holt, without elaborating. And what is the possibility of this war if Ukraine will fall? Its very hard to say.

Weve seen this 80 years ago when the Second World War had started.  Nobody would be able to predict when the full-scale war would start, Zelensky said, claiming that the current conflict puts the whole civilization at stake.

The invocation of World War III has become increasingly common since the start of the Feb. 24 invasion, by both Russia and the West. Last week, President Joe Biden warned that getting directly involved in the current conflict by either enforcing a no-fly zone or sending troops to Ukraine would escalate the conflict between NATO and Russia.

We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, something we must strive to prevent, Biden said in public comments on March 11.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said days before that a third world war would be nuclear and destructive. While both the United States and Russia possess vast quantities of nuclear weapons with numerous different delivery methods, both generally adhere to the nuclear military doctrine of mutually assured destruction.

Earlier on March 16, in a speech to Congress, Zelensky called on the United States to provide fighter planes, surface-to-air missiles, and enforce a no-fly zone. White House officials reiterated that there are no plans to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on March 16 that the Biden administration has determined that theres not a difference between a no-fly zone that would shut down all airspace over Ukraine and a so-called humanitarian no-fly zone. Both could escalate the conflict with Russia, she said.

Psaki also cited a Pentagon assessment that found that allowing for the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine could also be viewed by Russia as an escalation. Previously, there was confusion after Polish government officials announced earlier in March that they would send MiG-29 planes to a U.S. air base in Germany to be transferred to Ukraine, a plan that the Pentagon rejected.

About 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the conflict started, according to United Nations officials. Ukrainian authorities, meanwhile, estimate that thousands of people have died so far.
In the 1950s, early music saw a budding resurgence with pioneers like Zuckermann Harpsichords. Today, Richard Auber continues that musical legacy

An 18-year-old Richard Auber had just begun his music degree with money he borrowed from his parents. Musicians dont make money, his father, an amateur recorder player himself, warned Richard.

Auber played the flute, and some of the most beautiful music he could play was the music of Bach. Auber played the modern flute, that is, the metal one rather than one made of wood. But that early baroque music, when accompanied by piano instead of harpsichord, sounded too heavy and not quite right.

I didnt even know early music was a thing, Auber said. This was the late 1970s, and his school certainly had no early music program, whereas today nearly every music conservatory has a department dedicated to early music: baroque, renaissance, medieval. So, Auber borrowed $1,505 more from his parents, bought a harpsichord kit, and built the instrument right there in his dorm room. It was a Zuckermann harpsichord from the company founded by American Wolfgang Zuckermann, the pioneer of build-it-yourself harpsichord kits in the late 1950s.

That harpsichord project sparked an interest in woodworking, and Auber later accepted a year-long fellowship in Paris to learn the craft. He loved it so much that he saved and budgeted and stretched his year-long stay into two. But when he returned to the United States, Auber thought no one would pay him to use his woodworking skills, since they certainly hadnt in France. So, saddled with student loan debt, Auber took a job on Wall Street, and decided he was going to become a lawyer.

Auber was miserable and starving. He worked as a paralegal at a very big law firm and made close to nothing. In a fit of fantasy, he bought a lottery ticket. All you need is a dollar and a dream! said the radio ad that played in his car. He brought the ticket with him to dinner with a friend, who asked what hed do if he won. The answer just poured out of him: He knew of a harpsichord company in Stonington, Connecticut, and he wanted to run it.

(Lux Aeterna Photography for American Essence)

Reflecting on this the next day, Auber thought, What was I thinking? His willingness to put all his hard work of preparing for law school aside to work on harpsichords took him by surprise, but that he had that intention to return to the place where hed bought his harpsichord kit, really stuck with Auber. So, he packed up and moved to Connecticut with his fiance to a chorus of youre crazy! reactions from his friends. But he found that, after all, he could make more money working with his hands there, than he ever had on Wall Street.

Auber is the third owner of Zuckermann Harpsichords International, the largest American maker of harpsichords, harpsichord kits, clavichord kits, and seller of parts. There are many smaller workshops in the country, consisting mostly of an individual harpsichord builder, but none of Zuckermanns scale. Were the last ones standing, Auber said. Anything you can dream or imagine that you want to do with a harpsichord, you can do it here.

Finding Zuckermann

Despite its appearance, a harpsichord is more like a violin than a piano in many ways: Its a sensitive string instrumentthe strings are plucked, not hit like in a pianoand it requires tuning every time you play. To own a harpsichord, one needs to have some basic know-how to tinker with it, to change a broken string, to repair a key that stops working, and so on.

Thats how the whole harpsichord kit was born, actually, Auber explained. Back in the 1950s, Wolfgang Zuckermann was so busy with service calls from customers who had bought one of his harpsichords, and needed help, that he barely had time to build them himself. A guy came in one day and he was really angry. Why isnt my harpsichord finished?! Wolfgang said, here are the parts. Ill give you back some of the money, and you can build it yourself. Auber knows this because the man who claims to have gotten that first kit, told Auber the story himself.

Harpsichord repairs are easy enough to do yourself if you know how to do it, Auber noted, but there was no YouTube back then. So, Zuckermann decided that if people built the instruments themselves, they would know how to do everything.

(Lux Aeterna Photography for American Essence)

Auber remembers, A customer came to me looking for parts, and he described this instrument to me. I said, Are you kidding me? Really? It says number one? I didnt believe him. But the customer sent him a picture, and it was indeed No. 1. It was the first kit Zuckermann had ever sold. Auber later purchased this historic instrument from that customer.

Zuckermann eventually hired professionals to do his building, but he didnt keep his company for long. In the 1960s, he sold it to David Way, who put the company on its current path, and transformed the business into an international one. Way took blueprints of antique harpsichordsvarious historical models based on good instruments owned by museumsand built harpsichords and kits based on those models. He set up a network of agents, first across the country, then around the world. At one time, he had a manufacturer in Philadelphia who was making hundreds of kits at a time.

Auber ended up working for Way for a very short time, before opting to run his own antique business not far from there. But one morning, Way came to work, had a heart attack, and died. There was no succession plan in place. The company had several unfinished orders, and the building was in a state of disrepair. Auber decided to purchase the company.

(Lux Aeterna Photography for American Essence)

Most shops can make one harpsichord per year at max, so it would take a decade to make, hear, and evaluate 10 instruments. You have to build a lot of instruments before you even know what to listen for, said Auber, who enjoys working on the actions the most. This constant iteration is what gives the company its expertise.

One of my guys is over 70, Auber said. Hes in better health than I am, and he has no intention to retire. But the other day, he was videotaping and taking pictures of his work, and he was like this is going to be for the next guy. And there certainly will be a next guy.

Early music saw a slow and sleepy resurgence in America in the 1950s, thanks in part to Zuckermann, and it has since become mainstream among classical music lovers, as many share anecdotallylargely among younger players and concertgoers. Right now, the only limitation is the number of parts we can make, Auber said.

He has a team of about a dozen people, mostly longtime employees, and a successful internship program that passes on the knowledge. Auber has ongoing efforts to locate and procure Zuckermann harpsichords, because many of those early harpsichords are no longer playable, and can end up being thrown away.

He said, The phone rings all the time and we get these stories: Oh, my father built this harpsichord for my mother, and we grew up with it, and the sound of harpsichord was always part of my life. Now my parents are gone, and I still have the harpsichord, and I would like to make it play again. Can you still send me strings? Other times these people want to donate the instrument back, and Auber puts those unplayable instruments to good use, letting interns try their hand at a repair.

I was corresponding today with customers who are like 30 years old, and there are a lot of them, Auber said. And there are kids, Auber added, like the 16-year-old in California who had ordered one of their clavichord kits. Afterwards, his mother wrote Auber to say how meaningful the project had been to him during the pandemic. Auber said, He did such an amazing job, and it was such a growth opportunity and salvation for him, that she wanted to get him another harpsichord kit for Christmas, which she did, and hes now finishing that.

A colleague of Aubers in California actually met that young man recently and called Auber to tell him what a brilliant young man he was, and what immaculate work he did. You ask me why I do this; well, thats why, Auber explained.

Harpsichords are adorned with period-accurate decorative elements, masterfully re-created by the shops in-house artist. (Lux Aeterna Photography for American Essence)

(Lux Aeterna Photography for American Essence)

Starry Night Epiphany

Owning a harpsichord shop, Auber had put playing the flute on the back burner for many years, with the strange fear that he would lose credibility in the eyes of his early music colleagues if he played this modern instrument. But no longer. So recently, Ive actually been saying that I decided to come out as a modern flute player, Auber said. It happened after a fall down a flight of stairs a few years ago.

Auber had been taking medication for high blood pressure that had a side effect of sleepwalking, which he hadnt known about until one night when he got up and walked right off the staircasewaking up to unbelievable pain. I couldnt move. I was paralyzed, laying on the ground. I could not move, but I was in incredible pain. And my life was flashing before my eyes. I thought I was going to be in my warm, comfy bed. It was my birthday!

The ambulance came, and it took hours to put a brace around Aubers neck and carry him out of the house. I remember I was lying on the stretcher, bumping along the driveway, and I was looking at the stars in the sky. It was a beautiful, clear night, and I was thinking, My life is over. Im going to be like Christopher Reeve. At that moment, his first thought was how sorry he was that he couldnt play the flute anymore. At the time, he hadnt been playing the flute for about a decade.

It was hours more before Auber learned that he wasnt in fact paralyzed. Instead, what he had suffered was severe whiplash. By morning, he could walk just fine; but for a while, his arms would not extend fully, like T-rex, he said.

Nine months later, Auber was at the family Christmas party, thinking back to his regrets during the night of his accident. He took out his flute, found a quiet corner in an empty room, and started playing Christmas carols. I have a big family, he said. Its like 22 of us when were all together; and one by one, all of the people came into the room when I was playing and started singing along with me. And it just really touched me.

He thought, You know, its a shame that Im not playing. I always, from when I was young, had this belief that my music has somehow had this power to heal people and to bring joy to people, and sometimes, you dont even know that it happened. So, Auber just decided that he was not going to lose that.

The action work is what takes the longest, and it largely determines an instruments sound. (Lux Aeterna Photography for American Essence)

He plays often nowadays, and says, I play better than I ever played before. He still hasnt picked up a baroque flute, because between his harpsichord business, antique business, and a small farm, there are only so many hours in the day. But he has let go of the fears he had, and as a result, he has made various breakthroughs in his music. And of course, he still plays Bach.

Bachs melodies can be so hauntingly beautiful, Auber says, and to be able to play them on the flute is like singing. Its like being able to sing music that you would never be able to sing with your voice. There are times when Ive been playing, and I have tears streaming down my own cheeks while Im playing, because it is so incredibly beautiful. Theres not too many people that do that for me. Theres a sublime quality to his music that really goes right to the soul, like youre in communication with Eternal God or Creator or some fundamental goodness and beauty in the universe.

This article was originally published in American Essence magazine.
STAMFORD  After Stamford court officials said they wouldnt enforce a condition of release for two defendants accused of possessing child sexual abuse imagery, a Superior Court judge needed to reaffirm the need for internet surveillance.

Moses Trujillo, 19, of Wilton, and Thomas Finn, 55, of Norwalk, were both released from custody after their arrests on child pornography charges earlier this year on the condition that Stamford Superior Courts probation officers be allowed to monitor their internet use, among other conditions.

But earlier this week, Stamford Superior Courts Bail Services, a department charged with overseeing pretrial supervision services, informed a judge that they would no longer enforce that condition of release without a direct order from the court  even though the state and both defendants attorneys agreed to the condition at the time it was imposed.

As a result, two last-minute hearings were scheduled for Wednesday to discuss whether bail services would continue to monitor the defendants use of the internet.

I was not given a fair reason as to why they had made this decision; there were only vague allusions to constitutional issues, Assistant States Attorney Daniel Cummings during the hearing for Trujillo. Im honestly astounded that bail went about this situation the way they did. These conditions are imposed to protect the public, to ensure the defendant is complying with the criminal law, given the nature of these conditions.

Cummings said bail officials called for Wednesdays hearing without alerting the States Attorneys Office that they would be asking to remove the condition.

By not conferring with the States Attorneys Office and going directly to the court to try to remove the condition, Cummings said Bail Services created a significant risk to public safety.

Im very troubled that there were ex parte communications involving this issue. Im troubled that the state and the defense counsel were kept out of the loop on this. And Im troubled, most of all, that bail unilaterally decided to make such a drastic decision without considering the impact it could have on public safety here, he said.

A representative of Stamford Superior Courts Bail Services department declined to comment after the hearing.

The imposition of internet monitoring on defendants charged with child pornography possession and similar crimes is very common in Connecticut and around the country, according to Cummings.

He wrote in a motion intended to reaffirm the condition with a court order that it is necessary to ensure that Trujillo and Finn do not possess or promote child pornography or material that is obscene as to minors while out on bond.

Neither attorney Christine Landis, who represents Trujillo, nor Andrew Gould, who represents Finn, opposed Cummings motion, which Judge Gary White ultimately granted.

Finn was arrested in late January on charges of first-degree possession of child pornography and promoting a minor in an obscene performance.

Norwalk police began investigating Finn after the departments Special Victims Unit was contacted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that they intercepted suspected child sexual abuse imagery on the messaging application Kik.

In September 2020, Norwalk police executed a search warrant at Finns home and seized an Apple iPhone that stored at least two images of child pornography and conversations on messaging application Kik where Finn and another man allegedly discussed acts of sexual abuse against minors, Norwalk police Sgt. Nathaniel Paulino said in a warrant for Finns arrest.

Attorney Mark Sherman, who has since been replaced by Gould, said at the time of Finns arrest that the explicit images, conversations and videos obtained by Norwalk police from a cellphone found at Finns home may be related to the 55-year-olds identity being stolen.

Trujillo was arrested in early February on three counts of possession of child porn. Wilton police said the charges stem from an investigation that began in July 2021.

Finn and Trujillo are next scheduled to appear in court on May 11.
CT State Police Troop G / Contributed

After a driver crashed into a cruiser and hit three other vehicles on the shoulder of the highway for an unrelated crash, Connecticut State Police are reminding driver of the states Move Over Law.

Around 2:20 p.m. Monday, two troopers from the Troop G barracks in Bridgeport were on the right shoulder of Interstate 95 north near Exit 14 investigating a crash when a vehicle driving in the right lane crashed into the first cruiser, narrowly missed the second and then sideswiped the three other vehicles on the shoulder, police said.
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A brand-new work of art has taken flight and landed in the new patio at the Edwardsville Public Library.

A butterfly mosaic, made by local artist Jennifer Buchheit, was installed on the patio on March 13. It is made from approximately 2,000 colored pencils.

Jennifer is an incredible artist, and we are blown away by her ability to create something so beautiful for our new patio space, said Megan Prueter, Head Librarian of Youth Services. This artwork will inspire our little patrons for years to come. We are thrilled to be the home of this amazing butterfly.

For Library Director Jill Schardt, the butterfly mosaic is a perfect new addition for the library, which recently completed its EPL  The Next Chapter remodeling project and will be holding an open house on Sunday, March 27.

The entire remodeling project has been exciting, but we have been especially thrilled that our patio will now become usable space, Schardt said. We wanted a beautiful outdoor piece that both kids and adults would enjoy but werent sure how to find the right one. Megan Prueter mentioned that Jennifer Buchheit is a patron of ours and makes beautiful artwork.

As soon as we saw the examples of her work on her social media accounts, we knew we needed to convince her to create something for our space. Fortunately, she was excited and receptive to the idea. We asked patrons for donations of new and used colored pencils for the butterfly, so it really was a community project.

The butterfly mosaic was funded through a donation from Edwardsville Library Friends.

The Edwardsville Library Friends are incredibly generous, and through their fundraising efforts we are able to purchase fun additions like this piece and the new aquarium in the youth library, Schardt said.

Buchheit, meanwhile, hooked up with Edwardsville Public Library thanks to a work of art made by her mother.

My mom, who is a schoolteacher, made a large mosaic of the same butterfly from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (childrens picture book) many years ago and she made it out of old bottle caps, Buchheit said.

Its in my backyard now and about a year ago, I posted a picture of it on my Instagram page. One of the librarians (Prueter) saw it and at the time, they were in the process of adding the new patio for the library, and she asked if I could do something like that.

Buchheit loved the idea of doing a project for the library, but the biggest question was what material to use for the mosaic.

I didnt have time to collect caps and when my mom did her mosaic, her entire school was collecting bottle caps for her, Buchheit said. I was trying to think of another common material that was colorful and I decided on colored pencils.

They put out a box at the library and asked people to donate colored pencils and we collected about 1,000 of them. I reached out to an art supply company called ArtSkills, and they also donated about 1,000 colored pencils.

It took about a month for Buchheit, who is a stay-at-home mom, to put the mosaic together.

After the kids were in bed, I would go to the basement and work on it for about one hour each night, Buchheit said.

For Buchheit, there is a sense of satisfaction in seeing the finished mosaic at the library.

I have a 4-year-old daughter, Rose, and an 8-month-old daughter, Mae, and my 4-year-old just loves the library, Buchheit said.

It feels special to be able to contribute something to the library because we used to go there for story time when Rose was 2 and they had to stop doing story time when the pandemic hit. Our group continued doing story time every week and we would meet at the park, but its nice to be able to go back to the library.

Buchheit, who has her own Instagram page, Studio Rosie (https://instagram.com/studio_rosie/), has emerged as a talented artist in the past few years.

She doesnt have any formal art training or background, but her relationship with her older daughter opened a door to the art world.

I was previously a pharmacist and I have a doctorate in pharmacy from SIUE, but when I had my daughter Rose was born, I became a stay-at-home mom, said Buchheit, who grew up in Lebanon, Illinois, and now lives in Edwardsville with her daughters and her husband, Chris Buchheit, who is a pharmacist. In my free time, I was the music director for Stray Dog Theatre in St. Louis, and I played piano for them, but when the pandemic started, theater was not a thing anymore.

My daughter and I were getting out every day and doing things and then all of that stopped. I started coming up with things for her to do every day, but it also gave me a creative outlet. After a few months, I started the Instagram page to show what we had been up to during the pandemic. I feel like Ive always been kind of crafty and my mom is very good at this stuff, but Ive never thought of myself as an artist before.

The butterfly mosaic has been Buchheits biggest project to date, but shes looking forward to doing something similar.

I would definitely be open to doing more of these projects and I had a lot of fun with this one, Buchheit said. I have a lot of colored pencils left over, so I hope to be able to use them.
Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Due to the statewide unemployment rate in Illinois falling below 5% due to an improving economy, the Employment of Illinois Workers on Public Works Act is no longer in effect as of March 14, the state wrote in a press release.

The law, which requires employees on all public works projects to be comprised of a minimum of 90% Illinois residents, took effect on July 1, 2020, when the jobless rate was above 5% for two consecutive months.
The Houston Fire Department, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and Houston Arboretum & Nature Center will seek to minimize the risk of wildfires at the arboretum by intentionally setting fire to approximately 3 acres of the meadow area in the western portion of the sanctuary one day between March 21 and April 21. (Contributed photo)
You can find your client key on your subscription renewal statement or call us at the Mountain Mail at 719-539-6691.
That release could not be found.
Prof Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, in less than 24 hours from now will make history as the sixth democratically elected Governor of Anambra State

Cee Cee Soludo will go down in history as one of the most inspiring political candidates who received unprecedented support and uncommon goodwill not only from the good people of Anambra but Nigerians across divide

His life has been that of uncommon grace characterized by equally uncommon brilliance and excellence. From his childhood to this very moment, Cee Cee Soludo has continued to showcase exceptional brilliance and excellence in every of his undertakings or anything associated with him

His foray into Anambra politics was largely applauded by all Nigerians including the global community. This was largely due to his unblemished and stellar performances in previous public office as former Chief Economic Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Deputy Chairman/Chief Executive of National Planning Commission and later Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

In all these sensitive public offices, Cee Cee Soludo took the nation by storm with stellar performances yet to be matched by any individual

Soludo is therefore coming into Office as Governor of Anambra with a high pedigree of performance and unassailable intergrity to deliver the elusive dividends of democracy to the good people of Anambra State and by extension to Nigerians

As we congratulate Cee Cee Soludo in advance, let's equally join hands to support his government!
I don't normally criticise politicians in opposition (minus Bobi), but I'm sick to my back teeth, of people asking Norbert Mao to drop his war with NUP. I understand where Brother Erias Lukwago (whom I respect so much) and others are coming from here, but let's not pretend to a consistency that doesn't exist, or fall into the trap of defending the indefensible because Museveni is somehow also benefiting from such fights or misunderstandings. I refuse to accept that ignoring illegalities in NUP -- allegedly protected by the state, is anything other than making the same moral error in reverse. Refusing to debate something does not mean it does not exist.

Whilst there is genuine disgust at the way FDC have been hounded in the past by Mao, Abed Bwanika and several others now in NUP, the issues relating to NUP as a party should concern everyone who's pioneering democracy in Uganda.

There is a certain level of moralising that just isn't correct. Selective amnesia is a big issue at the moment. People who give a damn generally give a damn about anyone and everyone. When Mao and Bobi were attacking Kiiza Besigye at the DP reunion in 2019, I didn't see DP or NUP supporters criticizing them. But now he has turned his guns on their demi- god, their tails are up.

And the hypocrisy is really easy to explain too. NUP is being looked at as a child still teething that should be protected, but it has messed up the opposition big time.

The first stage of dealing with a problem is admitting you have one. Bobi is a problem in the opposition but he has followers, and this should be discussed. He is like a bad pastor in the country with a huge following. People love and hate who they're told it's OK to love and hate -- told, that is, by politicians, tribes mate, the media, and celebs of all types. But it's about focus and integrity, really.

It's very possible that Bobi and NUP are the work of Museveni, and this shouldnt be ignored anymore. I recall that in WWII the US government had no problem contacting the mafia in order to work out a deal to prevent union problems in the docks. I also read that in the 19th Century New York Politicians protected various gangs as they were useful at election time. I think thats where the movie, Gangs of New York emanated from.

If Americans, the champions of democracy, managed to crack deals with gangs, I see no reason why Museveni could not do so with a musician and his Firebase team, as both a short and long term strategy to weaken the opposition and ease his son into power.

Just think about it, here we are all falling out with ourselves over Bobis endless photo shoots, Hon. Zaake and the juicy positions in parliament, but, in the meantime, Mr. Muhoozis visits to Rwanda, Muhoozi s retirement from the army, high prices of goods, Ukrainian war, etc., are topics rarely discussed. Is it all part of a big plan to make us more distracted and subservient?

Just absolutely a melting pot for fascism to eke its way in and there will be possibly some of these NUPs quite well instructed in encouraging it. These discrepancies are so glaringly and disgustingly obvious that you'd have to be wilfully ignorant to be able to ignore them.

Enough said rant over.


In a bid to recover the sum of $91.4 million USD debt, allegedly owned by Mr. Victor Osibidu, his wife, former Ecobank MD, Funke Osibodu, and their companies, three banks and two firm banks have urged a Federal High Court, Lagos, for several orders and injunctions against them and their companies.

The banks and the two firms, which are counter-claimants/applicants in suit marked: FHC/L/CS/239/2022, are; Stanbic-IBTC; Fidelity Bank Plc; Keystone Bank Limited; ALM Consulting Limited and Stanbic-IBTC Trustees Limited.

While those listed as defendants to Counter-Claim/respondents are: Vigeo Holdings Limited (In receivership); VHL International Limited; Global Utilities Management Company Limited; Design Innovation Limited; Mr. Victor Gbolade Sobodu; Mrs. Funke Iyabo Sobodu; Vigeo Power Limited and Benin Electricity Distribution Plc.

The counter-claimants/applicants in their original claims and motion on Notice are asking the court for an order entering summary judgment against the respondents on the undisputed principal amount/credit facilities availed by first to third applicants and absence of conceivable and/or sustainable defence to pplicants Counter-Claim to wit: A. Judgment on the liquidated sum of $22,300 million, USD, against the Respcndents being the principal sum/restructured credit facility advanced by the first Applicant to the first Respondent as at March 24, 2016.

Judgment on the liquidated sum of $55,309,439.13 million USD, against the Respondents being principal sum/restructured credit facility advanced by the second Applicant to the first Respondent as at June 5, 2018.

Judgment on the liquidated sum of N24,785,319 billion, against the Respondents being the principal sum/restructured credit facility advanced by the third Counter-claimant/Applicant to the first respondent as at June 16 2021.

Judgment in the aggregate/cumulative sum of $77, 609, 439.13 million USD and N24, 785,319, billion, as prayed in reliefs a to c above. And Interest on the above stated sums at the rate of 12.5 percent par annum from the date of the judgment till liquidation of the judgment sums.

The counter-claimants/applicants is also asked the court for an order setting down for trial, the determination of the extent of the Respondents indebtedness on the accrued Interest of the above stated principal sums from the date of the restructured facilities being March 2, 2016, 5 June, 2018 and June 16, 2021, till the date the summary judgment above was entered, being the crux of the Respondents alleged dispute.

The counter-claimants/applicants also asked the court for an interlocutory order granting leave to them and the Receiver/Manager (Mr. Kunle Ogunba (SAN) appointeg pursuant to a Deed of Appointment of Receiver/Manager dated the February, 2022 and duly registered at the Corporate Affairs Commission, A {CAC} to take over and preserve the assets of the Respondents Particularly: the seventh defendant to the counter claims (Vigeo Power Limited) 60% in the Benin Electricity Distribution Plc, {being the asset purchased with the facility sums availed the first Defendant to the Counter Claim the first to third Counter-Claimants}: Property lying and situate at 16A Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria; Property lying and situate at 6 Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria; Property lying and situate at 31A, Adeniyi Jones Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; Property lying and situate at Flat 5, 33 Bryanston Square, London, V 2DX,

The second Defendant to the counter claims 12. 5 million, Units of shares in the first Defendant; the Defendant to the counter claims 7, 500 million Units of its shares in the seventh defendant to counter claim; the first Defendant to the counter claims 22. 5 million Units of its shares in the seventh Defendan the counter claim, and The shares of the first Defendant to the counter claim in the fourth Defendant to the counter claim; Funds/monies in any bank account within the jurisdiction of the Court belonging to the Defendants to the counter-Claim.

Any other Asset{s} of the Defendants to the counter Claim/Respondents, be it or personal, wherever may be found and/or traced within the jurisdiction of Honourable court, pending the hearing and final determination of substantive suit before this Honourable Court.

They also asked for an interlocutory order granting judicial protection to the Applicants and/or Kunle Ogunba Esq, (SAN) the Receiver/Manager appointed by the Applicants in the course of the performance of his duties over the assets of the respondents listed in relief 1 abc pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.

An order of Interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondents their directors, agents, servants and/or privies from interfering with or otherwise from obstructing the Applicants and/or Kunle Ogunba Esq (SAN) Receiver/Manager appointed by the Applicants in the course of the performance his duties as Receiver/Manager over the assets of the Respondents listed in re 1 above, pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit before this Honourable Court.

An order of Interlocutory injunction restraining the Responden their directors, agents, servants and/or privies from interfering with, tamperir removing from jurisdiction of this Honourable Court or otherwise dealing with t Respondents funds, bond, stocks and/or. shares in any Bank or financial instituti in Nigeria or outside Nigeria, pending the hearing and final determination the substantive suit before this Honourable Court.

They also asked the court for an order directing all the Banks and/or Finance institutions in Nigeria to furnish this Honourable Court and/or the Counte Claimants/Applicants or the Receiver/Manager {Mr. Kunle Ogunba Esq. (SAN) to details of any sums standing to the credit of the Respondents herein within {seven} days of being furnished/availed the Order of Court in this suit.

An order of the court granting leave to the Claiman Claimants/Applicants to author the prescribed, statutory and procedural Notic depicting the current status of the first Respondent {now in-receivership} as may it deemed fit in any Daily or Nationally circulated Newspaper in Nigeria.

An order of this Honourable Court directing the Assistant Inspector General Police Zone 2, Lagos State; the Commissioner of Police for Lagos State and oth respective states where the Respondents properties may be situated, tf Commandants of Nigerian Civil Defence Corps in Lagos State and other States respectively, their Deputies, officers/personnel as may be deemed appropriate at the Receiver/Manager, to assist the said Applicants and/or Receiver/Manager in execution of their/his powers over the Charged Assets of the Respondents as listed in Relief {2} pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive Suit before this Honourable Court.

The suit is presently before Justice Yellim Bogoro, but no date has been fixed for its hearing.

Report Credit: https://businesslive.ng


1.4kg of ice seized in Phuket raid

PHUKET: Officers from Border Patrol Police Unit 425, stationed in Phuket, seized 1.4kg of crystal meth (ya ice) and more than 160 tablets of methamphetamine (ya bah) in arresting a 28-year-old man who they say was part of a large drug distribution network on the island.

drugscrimepolice

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 16 March 2022, 06:29PM

The drugs seized. Photo: Border Patrol Police 425

Border Patrol Police Unit 425 Commander Col Phimonrat Thammathip announced the arrest and drug seizure at 7pm yesterday (Mar 15).

Joining Col Phimonrat in announcing the arrest were Border Patrol Police Unit 425 Deputy Commander Lt Niphon Ploykhao and Capt Amphol Samorthai, also of Unit 425.

Weerapong Wongkaewmoon, 28, from Lampang, was arrested at the Somruthai Apartment block on Phoonphon Rd in Phuket Town last Sunday evening (Mar 13), the officers said.

A search of his room had discovered 1.48kg of ya ice pills and 164 ya bah pills, they added.

Also seized were drug-taking paraphernalia as well as digital scales and other drug-peddling items, including small plastic bags of various sizes.

Weerapong had confessed that he had received the drugs via parcel delivery, the officers explained.

He received drug deliveries once a month, with each delivery containing about 2kg of drugs to be distributed.

In total, Weerapong had received drug deliveries about seven times. His latest delivery contained 3kg of drugs, of which he had distributed about 2kg before being arrested by the authorities, the officers said.

Weerapong was part a large drug distribution network in Phuket, the officers said in their report.

An arrest of another person on drug-related charges had resulted in a tip-off that led to Weerapongs arrest, they said.

Weerapong has now been charged with illegal possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell, the officers confirmed.










Police search for foreign shoplifter

PHUKET: Police are looking to charge a foreign man for twice stealing snacks from a store in Phuket Town run by a 70-year-old man.

crimepolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Wednesday 16 March 2022, 03:40PM

One of the two formal complaints filed with police. Image: Phuket City Police

One of the two formal complaints filed with police. Image: Phuket City Police

CCTV recorded the man putting the snacks in his trousers and leavnig the shop without paying. Image: Supplied via Phuket City Police

The foreign man is now wanted for two counts of shoplifting. Image: Supplied via Phuket City Police

Niphon Jang-iam, owner of the Kin Fit Fin snack shop in the Phuket Old Town area, filed a second complaint with police on Monday (Mar 14), reporting that the foreign man had returned to the store at 5:33pm on Sunday, this time accompanied by a Thai woman and another foreign man.

Mr Niphon provided CCTV footage showing the foreign man picking up some snacks and putting them in his trousers, and leaving the shop without paying.

The man had stolen two items, together worth B186, Mr Niphon said.

Sunday was not the first time the man had been noticed stealing from his shop, Mr Niphon added.

He filed a complaint with police when the foreign man, again accompanied by a Thai woman, stole snacks when they visited the store at about 4pm on Jan 4, he said.

The woman bought snacks worth B155 and paid using an online banking app linked to a Kasikornbank account, he explained.

While the woman was paying for her items, the man stole snacks worth B228, he said

Mr Niphon reported that theft to Phuket City Police on Jan 5.

Any person who believes they know the man have been asked to contact Phuket City Police.
Prayut concerned over Russia-Ukraine conflict on Apec summit

BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed concern yesterday (Mar 15) over a possible challenge now posed by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to Thailands hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit 2022 in November.

RussianUkraineSafetypolitics

By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 16 March 2022, 08:28AM

Demonstrators wearing face masks in the colours of Ukraines national flag hold a protest outside the Russian embassy in Bangkok to demand an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine while Evgeny Tomikhin, Russias ambassador to Thailand, was holding a press conference at the Russian embassy to address the conflict and relations between Russia and Thailand for the first time since the invasion. Photo: Chanat Katanyu

Well, we will see if the planned meeting can still take place and how it will actually be conducted. That will depend on how the Russia-Ukraine conflict situation unfolds, he said.

Prayut added that Thailand needs to first focus on the organisation of other Apec 2022 meetings earlier in the year, reports the Bangkok Post.

Gen Chalermpol Srisawat, chief of Thailands defence forces, ordered the armed forces and the national police to prepare a security plan to deal with any potential security threats, including acts of terrorism, at the Apec summit.

The order was made at yesterdays meeting of the armed forces and the national police.

After the meeting, a source at the Armed Force Security Centre revealed that security authorities are now focusing on five groups that could pose a potential security threat to the summit.

The first includes pro-democracy political movements eyeing a symbolic move, while the second covers various groups aiming to draw public attention to certain social and environmental issues they are working on, said the source.

The third group comprises activists who are campaigning against the military regime in neighbouring Myanmar while the fourth may include separatist movements active in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, plus extremist Muslim groups operating in neighbouring countries, the source added.

Security forces there are being advised to heighten their border checks, the person said.

The last group comprises lone wolves, or criminals with no known criminal records who act alone.

There have not been any terrorist activities or signs by them that could be of any concern yet. We are more concerned about political gatherings by local groups, according to the source.

Also yesterday, Evgeny Tomikhin, Russias ambassador to Thailand, held a press conference at the Russian embassy to address the conflict and relations between Russia and Thailand for the first time since the invasion.
Slow progress by Phuket police in catching extortionist in police uniform

PHUKET: Police have made little progress in their investigation into a man wearing a police uniform while extorting money from a Phuket expat under threat of jail.

crimepolice

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 16 March 2022, 05:19PM

Screenshots show the man in police uniform who extorted B56,000 from a Phuke expat and the LINE account that was presented to indicate the man in uniform was representing Phuket City Police. Image: Alain Gogniat

A screenshot shows the man in police uniform who extorted B56,000 from a Phuke expat. Image: Alain Gogniat

However, Phuket Town Police Chief Col Sarawut Chuprasit has assured that his officers are not ignoring the case.

Police have already requested Kasikornbank to freeze the account held by Pongdanai Chaya, which long-term Phuket expat Alain Gogniat was pressured into transferring B56,000 early last month.

Officers have also requested the bank provide evidence that the account was actually opened by Pongdanai as many scam operators now use mule accounts to process their ill-gotten gains, he added.

Police a month ago confirmed that Pongdanai is a Chiang Mai native and that officers had already issued a summons for Pongdanai to present himself to police for questioning.

Six weeks later, Pongdanai still has yet to present himself, Col Sarawut confirmed yesterday (Mar 15).

A second summons is now being issued. If he doesnt come to meet the police, the police will collect evidence to request an arrest warrant be issued by the court, Col Sarawut said.

Bank statements show that the funds extorted from Mr Gogniat have already been transferred to another account, and again to a third account, Col Sarawut explained.

Police are now checking the details of the registered owners of the bank accounts that the funds were transferred to, he added.

Col Sarawut explained that many scam gangs were now presenting themselves as police officers in extorting money from their victims, and using fake LINE and Facebook groups set up to dupe their victims.

I have ordered our officers to repeatedly post warnings about this on our Facebook page, he said.

However, the scam that targeted Mr Gogniat stands out from the plethora of scam warnings from police and senior government officials in that the man who presented himself as a police officer was happy to show Mr Gogniat that he was in the full, correct uniform.

Phuket Town Police announced more than a month ago that the extortionist was not one of their officers.

However, they have yet to reveal whether Pongdanai Chaiya is a Royal Thai Police officer stationed anywhere else in the country.
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Local area rates are for Randolph, Chambers, Clay and Cleburne counties in Alabama
GREENWICH  Hoping to sound a call to action to the state legislature in Hartford, the Representative Town Meeting overwhelmingly passed a resolution Monday night calling for reform in state affordable housing regulations known as 8-30g.

The RTM backed the sense of the meeting resolution in a vote of 164 to 22 with nine abstentions. The resolution is nonbinding, but Greenwichs bipartisan legislative delegation is expected to present it in Hartford to seek changes in the law and to show the efforts underway in Greenwich to create more affordable housing.

More Information Sense of the Meeting Resolution To amend Connecticut's Affordable Housing Land Use Appeals Procedure (CGS 8-30g) to better address the needs of vulnerable populations and development oversight in the town of Greenwich. The Representative Town Meeting urges town leadership to increase efforts to develop and plan for the affordable housing needs of our town; and urges the state delegation for the town of Greenwich to work with the governor and the legislature to amend 8-30g to: cap the volume of 8-30g projects that must be considered concurrently by a municipality so that the effect of each project on the municipality can be determined; expand the list of criteria which local housing commissioners may use in an appeal proceeding defending their decision to amend or reject an affordable housing proposal to include issues such as incompatibility with a town's Plan of Conservation and Development, density, height, traffic, environmental and infrastructure impacts, drainage and sewerage; allow municipalities to adopt policies that prioritize affordable housing development rather than allowing private developers to control such policies under 8-30g; and review and update 8-30g's metrics to better reflect the intent of the original statute. See More Collapse

We must quickly, as soon as possible, go on record to Hartford that we are firmly against 8-30g, District 7 RTM member Val Stauffer said. It has a negative effect on our town and is not working for affordable housing.

Lavelle Shields, a vice president of the Northeast Greenwich Association, which represents nearly 2,200 households, later added, We sincerely believe that 8-30g, passed in 1989, is a flawed piece of legislation. It permits developers and builders to bypass local zoning laws.

The RTM also pointed to a petition signed by 150 residents as a show of community support for the resolution.

Under the 8-30g law, each Connecticut municipality must have not less than 10 percent of its housing units designated by deed as affordable. Currently, Greenwich has 1,380 housing units, equaling 5.3 percent, eligible under that definition.

Town officials say the number of units does not include housing owned by private schools or Greenwich Hospital that are not deed restricted but that otherwise might qualify as affordable and help Greenwich to reach the 10 percent threshold.

Over the last 14 months, 13 proposals for housing developments that include some units designated as affordable have gone before the town, town officials said. That compares to eight proposals over the last 30 years.

Under 830-g, those proposals face fewer restrictions than developments with no affordable units. Additionally, many of the proposals have faced significant neighbor pushback due to the size of the housing proposals.

Concerns over 8-30g have grown due to these proposed large-scale developments. Opponents have accused developers of using the law to get larger buildings approved with only minimal affordable units.

During the more than hourlong debate, speakers who supported the resolution stressed their viewpoint that affordable housing should be created at the local level and not by mandate from the legislature.

Backers of the resolution Monday night included First Selectman Fred Camillo, state Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-36 and state Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, R-149. In his remarks, Camillo noted Gov Ned Lamonts support for the work by Greenwich Communities to create more affordable housing in town.

Greenwich does do a lot, Camillo said. Greenwich Communities is doing a great job, and we have added a lot of units. We also are rehabbing the units we have. Armstrong Court is a great example of that. When we were there just a few months ago, Gov. Lamont said Greenwich doesnt need Hartford to tell us what to do because (Greenwich) is already doing the right thing.

State Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-151, also spoke in favor of the sense of the meeting resolution and, as a member of the RTM, voted for it as well.

Although the vote for the resolution was decisive, there were dissenters. District 8 member Peter Berg called it bad public policy because the resolution does not address public housing needs in town. Berg also pointed out there is already a waiting list in town of people who need affordable housing.

We know them, Berg said. They mow our lawns. They clean our houses. They cook and serve our restaurant meals. They wash our restaurant dishes. They stock our supermarket shelves and check us out. They wash our cars. They pump our gas. They are rookie first responders and they are our library staff and teacher aides.

According to the resolution, 22 percent of Greenwich residents are known as asset limited, income constrained but employed, which means they are working but may still lack sufficient income for housing. Berg cited this in his remarks, but District 11 member Michael Spilo pushed back, saying the solution would be more jobs  not more housing.

We all want to help people in the ALICE category, but 8-30g is just a distraction, Spilo said. We dont need 200 new apartments in five years from now. We need new and better jobs now. People who have jobs dont need handouts and affordable housing.

RTM members warned that change in 8-30g law would not come quickly even with the resolution.

Changing anything in Hartford is going to take at least a year or two, despite the best efforts of our legislators, District 7 member Bill Galvin said. There is no chance were going to get relief from (current) 8-30g projects, which means the 13 projects currently before Planning and Zoning will, in all probability, be built. And in the next year, 18 months, two years, there will be another dozen-plus projects coming our way again largely out of the control of Planning and Zoning.

Before considering the resolution, the RTM approved a declaration of trust to allow the formation of a new housing trust fund in town. The fund will be used to persuade developers to include affordable units in their projects, but not in large-scale developments.

The trust will allow private grants and donations to be accepted that can then be used to incentivize developers to include affordable units in projects that are within existing town zoning regulations or to renovate existing affordable units.

The declaration of trust was approved by a vote of 102 to 11, with 10 abstentions.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
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No support from Agglo for Pierrefonds flood prevention

By Rob Taussig (2019) Spring 2019  Corner of Saint-Jean and Pierrefonds Boulevards in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Following the latest council meeting, the Borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro rented six pumps to prepare for potential spring flooding. The pumps were rented from the company Battlefield at a cost of $50,000, drawn from the Boroughs surplus. The equipment will ensure a rapid response to flooding in key locations identified by the Borough, particularly on Saint-Jean and Gouin Boulevards.

We have always been proactive since the 2017 flood. We put plans in place rather than just wait for a state of emergency to be declared, not be stuck at the last minute scrambling to find equipement, Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis told The Suburban.

Beis is calling on other levels of government to provide additional funding to help his borough better prepare. For the entire territory of the borough to be covered, approximately thirty pumps would be needed, however the council focused on six sectors due to a lack of financial resources available for flood prevention in the event of a crisis.

According to Beis, recurring funding from the Montreal Agglomeration or the provincial government would make it possible to find permanent solutions and better ensure prevention. But none has yet been forthcoming. It would allow us to put in place a permanent action plan. It would be an investment, because it would allow us to save when there are crises, Beis explained. However, since it is not certain that flooding will occur, the City of Montreal is reluctant to grant funds.

According to experts from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation from the University of Waterloo, not enough measures neccesary to reduce risks associated with flooding have been taken for prevention in Montreal and the City is not adequately prepared if flooding happens again. An analysis on our territory to see what can be done on a permanent basis has not even been completed yet. We dont wait. We act. Beis said. In addition to the pumps, the borough already put up barriers to contain potential rising water.
U.S. soldiers of the 23rd Infantry, 2nd Division during World War I firing a 37mm machine gun at a German position in the Argonne Forest. Photo was taken during the Meuse-Argonne offensive which ran from Sept. 26, 1918, to the last day of the war, Nov. 11. Thirty-five Attleboro men and 16 North Attleboro men died in the war.
Today

Cloudy skies early, then thunderstorms developing late. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then thunderstorms developing late. Low 61F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Tomorrow

Strong thunderstorms likely. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. High 78F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Litchfield man has been charged with burglary after allegedly breaking into a Collinsville home Friday.

Steven A. See, 33, of Litchfield, was charged March 14 with residential burglary, a Class 1 felony, and criminal trespass to a residence, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department.

According to court documents, on March 14 See allegedly entered a home in Collinsville to commit theft, knowing that one of the residents was in the dwelling.

Bail was set at $75,000.

Other felony charges filed March 14 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 Marquitta M. Davis, 41, of Edwardsville, was charged with unlawful possession of a stolen license plate, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. According to court documents, on March 13 Davis allegedly had a stolen license plate for a 2010 Honda Fit. Bail was set at $50,000.

 Chanda L. McPike, 49, of Godfrey, was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On March 11 McPike allegedly took bedding valued in excess of $300 from the Godfrey Walmart. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Tara J. Deck, 37, of Madison, was charged with retail theft over $300, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On Feb. 15 Deck allegedly took tools and other merchandise valued in excess of $300 from Ace Hardware in Collinsville. Bail was set at $30,000.

 Kaylee M. Southerland, 27, of Troy, was charged with retail theft under $300 (second subsequent offense), a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Collinsville Police Department. On March 12 Southerland allegedly took grocery, clothing and household items from the Collinsville Walmart. She has a 2019 conviction for burglary out of Madison County. Bail was set at $15,000.
We have to clean out the rot of our failed foreign policy establishment, Donald Trump declared at a rally in South Carolina on Saturday.

Part of that rot is due to Republicans in Name Only (RINOs). Trump was in South Carolina hoping to help defeat two of them, Representatives Tom Rice (R-SC) and Nancy Mace (R-SC). Rices response to Trumps visit to the state was illustrative of how clueless many entrenched incumbents are, referring to Trump as a would-be tyrant and comparing the Capitol last year on January 6th to violence in Ukraine.

The invasion of Ukraine would never have occurred if Trump had remained in the White House.

The rot in D.C. bears responsibility for embracing a globalist agenda that allowed the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine to occur. Conservative Poland, one of the poorest nations in Europe, has borne the brunt of the exodus so far of 1.7 million refugees from Ukraine, nearly 5% of Polands population, with almost no help by wealthier liberal European countries.

Ukraine has prohibited men of fighting age (defined as 18 to 60) from leaving the country, which has created another crisis for the transgender agenda. Men who self-identify as women are not allowed to leave, while women who self-identify as men are changing back to their biological gender in order to escape.

The incredibly charitable Poland was recently sanctioned, at an estimated cost of billions of dollars, by the Leftist European countries in part for not being pro-transgender enough. Hungary was sanctioned too, although it is taking in hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

If the Leftist politicians who seized power in Ukraine in 2014 had been more conservative by promoting armed self-defense by its citizenry, as done in Finland and Switzerland, then Russia might have thought twice before invading, and millions of Ukrainians would have less reason to flee. Self-defense is necessary both to repel an invader and to protect against resultant looting and violence.

In 1999 Ukraine reported to the United Nations that civilians are not allowed to possess handguns. In a lawless society that results from bombing, less access to self-defense means more refugees.

Contrast that with Finland, which is generally liberal but has long valued a high rate of private ownership of guns. Finland ranks No. 4 worldwide in gun ownership, while the United States is No. 1.

The Soviet Union unsuccessfully invaded Finland in 1939, and it was Finlands private ownership of guns that saved it. Ordinary Finnish citizens then repeatedly ambushed Soviet soldiers as they took cigarette or meal breaks. The Soviet Union lost six times as many men as Finland did, and the Soviet soldiers quickly retreated back to where they came from.

It was not military jets or no-fly zones or more tanks that saved Finland, but private handgun ownership. To this day Finland allows and encourages a fully armed citizenry, and training is widely available. Switzerland, also a small country trapped between more powerful neighbors, has maintained its independence for over 700 years the same way.

But instead of adopting a conservative approach of self-defense, the rot in our State Department and Europe encouraged Ukraines politicians to expect NATO and American intervention with billions of dollars and fighter jets. Ukraine President Zelensky himself spoke to an unprecedented joint session of Congress on Wednesday, but the United States should not become the worlds policeman again.

The liberal rot in D.C. snuck into the massive Ukraine aid bill more gun control in the United States, without adequate debate. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA) was rushed through a late-night session, with one Republican saying she was just trying to help Ukrainians by enacting the overall bill that sends nearly $14 billion to liberal Ukrainian politicians.

VAWAs new gun control provision authorizes our federal government to deputize state and local officials to enforce federal gun laws. It further requires new federal investigations into all denials returned by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System even though most of those denials are wrongly based on federal database errors.

Many including Trump have called for Biden to allow more drilling for oil to end dependency on Russia. We should also be exporting handguns to arm private citizens in countries that live in fear of invasion by Russia or China, as liberals should have been advocating for Ukraine.
EDWARDSVILLE  Felony domestic battery charges were filed Monday against a Troy man by the Madison County States Attorneys Office.

Bobby Field, 45, of Troy, was charged March 14 with aggravated domestic battery, a Class 2 felony. The case was presented by the Troy Police Department.

According to court documents, on March 13 Field allegedly struck a household or family member in the nose and face with his head, fracturing the person's nose.

Bail was set at $60,000.

Other felony cases filed March 14 include:

 Joshua T. Moruzzi, 19, of Granite City, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Granite City Police Department. According to court documents, on March 13 Moruzzi allegedly had a 12-gauge Iver Johnson shotgun in his vehicle. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Barney J. Stewart, 45, of Cottage Hills, was charged with criminal trespass to land, a Class 4 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On March 12 Stewart allegedly trespassed on property in Cottage Hills. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Isaiah Thurmond, 25, of Granite City, was charged with criminal trespass to a residence, a Class 4 felony, and criminal damage to property under $500 and obstruction of identification, both Class A misdemeanors. The case was presented by the Wood River Police Department. On March 12 Thurmond allegedly trespassed in Wood River and damaged an exterior door frame, causing less than $500 damage. He also is accused of giving false information to a Wood River police officer. Bail was set at $45,000.
ALTON  The YWCA has announced the 2022 Josephine Marley Beckwith Future Leader (JMBFL) Scholars.

Honored are Guadalupe Calixto of Bethalto and Renee Raglin of Alton. Calixto currently attends Civic Memorial High School and intends to major in biochemistry. Raglin is from Alton High and will be majoring in sports medicine.

In addition, Samantha Evanoff of Troy, Taryn Geiger of Bethalto, Ashlyn Green of Alton and Tristan Johnson of Hardin were approved for renewal scholarships.

This year's Josephine Marley Beckwith Future Leaders scholarship recipients are empowered young ladies; an excellent representation of future business leaders and YWCA's Women of Distinction Academy. said Erica Bratton, YWCA Board Member and JMBFL Scholarship Chair.

YWCA, with strong support from the Women of Distinction Academy, is able to offer $1,000 renewable scholarships to deserving young women in honor of Josephine Marley Beckwith of the Woman of Distinction Class of 2002.

As required as part of their renewal scholarships, all women complete community service while maintaining academic excellence during their undergraduate studies.

Evanoff is majoring in Philosophy, Neuroscience and Psychology at Washington University with the intention to become a trauma doctor. She volunteers her time in the Ability WashU program, informing the community about disability issues, evaluating buildings at WashU for accessibility and advocating for inclusion of disabled persons everywhere.

Geiger is majoring in psychology at the University of Alabama, aspiring to attend medical school upon graduation. She is the director of the Greek Xanax Taskforce, an organization that allows for conversation and mentoring regarding the use of Xanax on campus. She is co-director of the Beat Auburn Beat Hunger, a food drive fighting hunger in west Alabama.

Green is a broadcast journalism major at University of Missouri Columbia and plans on being a news anchor upon graduation. She works with younger students in a faith leadership program titled Student Mobilization and connects the young women with mentors on campus.

Johnson attends University of South Carolina majoring in political science. She envisions running for public office one day. She leads YIMPACT, which helps facilitate service and philanthropy events that help on local, national and international levels. She is also active in the League of Women Voters providing outreach for voter registration, advocacy, and poll watching.

The recipients will be introduced along with the 2022 Women of Distinction honorees at a reception on Thursday, April 28 at 6 p.m. at Julias Banquet Center in East Alton. For more information about this years Women of Distinction Event, contact YWCA at 618-465-7774 or check out www.altonywca.com.
LEXINGTON, Virginia  Katherine Peticolas, a native of Godfrey, was recently initiated into the Lake Forest College Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society.

The society welcomed 342 new initiates from 11 universities during February.
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EAST ATLON  New research from terrestrial ecologist Lyle Guyon are changing the game for Japanese hops control and management in large floodplains.

Guyon, who holds a doctorate in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a senior scientist at Lewis and Clark Community Colleges National Great Rivers Research and Education Center NGRRECsm and has more than 15 years of experience in floodplain research.

His recent paper, Japanese Hops (Humulus japonicus) Control and Management Strategies in Large River Floodplains was published in the Journal of Forestry earlier this spring.

Japanese hops is a fairly new invasive species that many individuals may not be familiar with, Guyon said. Unfortunately, it is spreading rapidly and can create a real problem where it takes hold.

His research findings show that the most effective long-term strategy to manage Japanese hops invasion is to pair post-emergent herbicide treatments with tree plantings to restore the floodplain forests to closed-canopy.

Findings from this study will help guide efforts by natural resource managers and landowners, not just in the local Riverbend community, but throughout the Upper Mississippi River watershed, Guyon said.

The study, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, was conducted from 2012-2015 on five different island sites along the confluence of the Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

The study compared different herbicide treatments and tree planting methods to determine which method may work the best when used on Japanese hops.

The three strategies included:

 Pre-emergent, or treating the site before Japanese hops have emerged from the soil

 Post-emergent, or after the plants have emerged

 Both pre- and post-emergent

At all management sites, eastern cottonwood and American sycamore bare root and containerized trees were also planted as part of the study, since Japanese hops is a shade-intolerant species.

Data suggests that herbicide treatments in floodplain forests are only a short-term solution because with each new flood, new Japanese hops seeds are added back into the soil and are able to sprout once the water recedes. Field observations indicate that reforesting an area is likely a more effective long-term control method.

I hadnt even encountered Japanese hops before I started working in the Mississippi River floodplains about 15 years ago, but immediately thought wow  this is going to be a problem, when I finally did, Guyon said. It seemed like not a lot of folks were giving it the attention I thought it deserved, so I took a more active interest in researching control and management options.

Guyon said any landowner who comes across Japanese hops should get rid of it immediately. Hand pulling, mowing and/or spot herbicide treatment can all be effective for smaller outbreaks, he said.

Guyons published paper is available through the Journal of Forestry at https://doi.org/10.1093/jofore/fvab055
COLLINSVILLE  For someone coming out of an Illinois Department of Corrections facility, having a job can make a huge difference and benefit not only the individual, but businesses and the communities.

And for businesses, local workforce development agencies have money to help train those workers.

Those were among topics at a Returning Citizens Employer Roundtable, a workshop held Tuesday at the Gateway Convention Center in Collinsville.

It is one of a series of workshops put on by the Madison County Employment and Training Department and the St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department.

Approximately 40 people, ranging from Illinois Department of Corrections officials to representatives of local businesses, attended.

Its important for us because as workforce boards and workforce agencies, there are a lot of businesses that dont understand that we have federal tax dollars and pass-through grants to help train their workforce, said Lee Reese, workforce development group program coordinator for St. Clair County.

Sharlett Rodgers, warden of the Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center in East St. Louis, said the employment component is very important for those inmates (now referred to as individuals in custody).

Individuals in custody want to be able to provide a solid foundation for their families when they return to the community, she said. The common denominator is employment, and when you are told 'no' due to your background, one returns to committing crimes.

Employment reduces recidivism and individuals need a second chance, she added. Individuals in custody dont want to be released depending upon their families, so its great knowing employers are working with our individuals in custody to provide them an opportunity to support themselves and their families.

The employment component is important because in the past guys are so accustomed to getting out and hearing the word no, she said. Individuals in custody become accustomed to the word "no" and having doors slammed in their faces, so they go back into their old patterns of selling drugs, residential burglaries.

This kind of initiative is great, because once the individual in custody knows that when they leave, they have an employment to go to, to take care of their family, take care of their kids, she added. Its a good feeling and they dont have to go back to those old behaviors.

Lisa Cohn, program manager at Saint Louis Universitys Transformative Workforce Academy said those workers can benefit employers, partly because they can bring a lot of experience to the workplace, and also are very used to routine.

Theyve developed really valuable skills, she said. In many cases they are coming out with skills that employers are saying theyre needing.

Reentry programs also help with other issues, such as soft skills workers need, as well as non-job related issues.

In general these employees are getting a lot of support, she said.

In addition to valuable skills, individuals in custody tend to be very loyal to employers, according to Cohn.

She said there are strong indications that hiring those returning citizens can lead to less turnover for businesses, which is becoming an increasingly important issue.

Cohn said a Northwestern University study shows employers can save more than S700 per worker in turnover costs annually, because former inmates will tend to show more loyalty.

Also speaking was Freddie Buckingham with the Illinois Department of Employment Security, who gave an overview of grant and training opportunities for employers.

The second half of the program was a panel discussion with HR and staffing professionals, IDOC representatives and representative of several local businesses.

Jennifer Parrack, reentry administrator for Illinois Department of Corrections, said one of the reasons these kinds of workshops and roundtables are so important is they receive input that allows them to go back to the institutions and improve their programs.

IDOC provides a variety of programs, ranging from vocational training to actual work, to educational opportunities including GED and community college classes.

Reese said the next event is set for April 5 at the Gateway Convention Center, and will focus on supply chain and logistics.

Were hosting seven roundtable events that are sector specific based on business needs, he said. Talking about challenges, best practices, just information that businesses need to know to connect to possibilities about workforce.

Future programs will deal with health care, education, construction, manufacturing and apprenticeships.

For information about employment and workforce training opportunities, call 618-296-4301, visit the Madison County website at https://www.co.madison.il.us/ or visit the departments Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MCETD.
EDWARDSVILLE  Prospective college students are invited to learn about available higher education opportunities as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville hosts the Illinois Regional College Fair (IRCF) Fair 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 in the Morris University Center.

The event is sponsored by the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC), in conjunction with SIUE. High school students, transfer students and parents in attendance will have the opportunity to meet with college representatives from in-state and out-of-state colleges and universities to learn about academic programs and other aspects of the student experience.

Financial aid representatives will also be on hand to answer questions. In addition, local high school counselors will be present to assist students looking for guidance on post-secondary options.

We greatly appreciate the support of local high school and community college counselors who help provide this opportunity for students and families to explore numerous institutions, all within one setting, during one evening, said Todd Burrell, SIUE director of undergraduate admissions and former IACAC president.

Before the IRCF was initiated, college fairs were held several times throughout the year at various area high schools. This annual event on SIUEs campus serves to consolidate efforts and centralize higher education options for everyone involved.

The SIUE Office of Admissions is excited to host the Illinois Regional College Fair again this year after pausing the event for the past two years due to the pandemic, added Kelley Brooks, SIUE assistant director of admissions. Students from the St. Louis and Illinois metro area will have a chance to speak with colleges from all over the U.S. This is an exciting time of year for high school students as they embark on the journey of selecting the college that will best fit their needs. In partnership with the Illinois Association for College Admission Counselors, we are excited to once again host the fair.

The IRCF will feature StriveScan, which will allow attendees to register in advance or during the fair to gain a barcode via text. They can use that barcode to easily share their contact information with participating colleges. Registration details are available at strivefair.com.

For more information and a list of participating colleges, visit siue.edu/visit/ircf. Registration is not required. Free parking will be available in Visitor Lot B and lots P-4 and P-5.
STAUNTON  This St. Patrick's Day is going to be special for one auctioneer.

Dennis W. Ahrens, of Staunton, will celebrate 50 years in the auction business on Thursday.

According to Ahrens, auctions were always a part of his life. The Ahrens Auction Service was started by his father, Edward Ahrens, in 1942, with a strict business philosophy: If you treat the customer fairly, with professional courteous service, they will continue to patronize your business.

Ahrens said that one of his favorite parts of auctioning is the people and items that come by.

"You deal with all kinds of people," Ahrens said. "They're very interesting to talk to. You find out what they're into, whether it be buying or collecting."

Ahrens attended Missouri Auction School in 1972 and joined the family business following graduation. When his father retired in the mid 90's, Ahrens took over the business under the name Ahrens Auctions LLC.

Over the years, Ahrens has sold real estate, livestock, farm equipment, household items  even coffins and embalming fluid.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a while when Ahrens could not do auctions because state orders prevented groups of people from gathering in one space. So he adapted.

"Everybody kind of backed off not wanting to even go pick stuff up," he said. "We went into the online auctions so we could still do business."

Ahrens said that, as a child, his father would take him to auctions across the area. Now he mostly handles auctions in Staunton, Highland and Pocahontas.

"There's a lot more auctioneers now," he said. "Times are changing."

To mark his 50th year of auctioneering on Thursday, Ahrens has made plans: "Just be working."
EDWARDSVILLE  Two Michigan residents were charged Tuesday with methamphetamine trafficking.

Adriann B. Pypkowski, 29, of Macomb, Michigan, and Charles D. Cowley, 28, of Detroit, were each charged March 15 with methamphetamine trafficking, an enhanced Class X felony; and unlawful possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, both Class X felonies.

The case was presented by the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois.

According to court documents, on March 14 the two allegedly brought more than 100 grams of methamphetamine into the state and had more than 900 grams with intent to deliver.

Bail was set at $500,000 each.

Other drug-related felony charges filed March 15 by the Madison County States Attorneys Office include:

 Kalvontae C. McKenzie, 28, of East St. Louis, was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony; aggravated unlawful use of weapons, a Class 4 felony; and obstruction of identification, a Class A misdemeanor. The case was presented by the Madison Police Department. According to court documents, on Dec. 30 McKenzie allegedly had less than five grams of methamphetamine and had a Bursa Thunder .380 handgun in his vehicle without a concealed carry permit. He also is accused of giving a false identification to a Madison Police officer. Bail was set at $15,000.

 Wesley G. Frost, 51, of Granite City, was charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony. The case was presented by the Madison County Sheriffs Department. On March 14 Frost allegedly had less than five grams of methamphetamine. Bail was set at $15,000.
WOOD RIVER  The First United Methodist Church at 30 N. 6th St. in Wood River will host a musical dedication of its new organ at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 20.

Dale Lockard and Karen Carroll will be providing special music for the event.
To the Editor:

This is Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 13  19. While physicians and other healthcare professionals focus on patient safety all year, it is a good time to raise awareness of the importance of always improving the safety of the healthcare system for all.

One patient-focused issue recently raising concern among Illinois doctors is about reports of ghost networks perpetrated by state-regulated private health plans in Illinois. Insurance company provider directories often list doctors who are unavailable, not taking new patients, are located far away or who dont work at the listed medical facility. This a statewide problem and it puts patients health at risk if they dont have access to the medical care they need.

We call on the Illinois Department of Insurance to enhance its enforcement of the ISMS-initiated Network Adequacy and Transparency Act, signed into law in 2017, including putting forth strict enforcement guidelines and penalties for non-compliance. This law provides important protections for patients, including continuity of care for those with ongoing and urgent medical care needs, such as cancer patients and expectant mothers.

ISMS strongly calls for the insurance companies to do a better job of keeping their published physician network information up-to-date as required by law. The inattention to this important task is impeding access to and continuity of healthcare, as well as the patient-physician relationship.

If youre experiencing ghost network issues, please file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Insurance.

Sincerely,

Dr. Regan Thomas

President, Illinois State Medical Society
Lady Lake, FL (32159)

Today

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 49F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 49F. Winds light and variable.
Port Allen, LA (70767)

Today

Partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy. Low around 70F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
Staying put: LV chief exec Mark Hartigan has been blamed for the insurer's failed private equity takeover

The new chairman of LV has ruled out ousting its beleaguered boss Mark Hartigan  even after he was called an 'unmitigated disaster' by members. Seamus Creedon was appointed as interim chairman of the historic insurer last month after his predecessor, Alan Cook, left following LV's failed takeover.

But despite calls from LV members to get rid of Hartigan in the aftermath of last year's disastrous bid to sell the business, Creedon has thrown his weight behind the chief executive. It is understood that, in conversations with the board, Creedon has vowed to keep the ex-army colonel for as long as he is chairman.

In an attempt to deflect criticism from Hartigan, he has pinned the blame for LV's collapsed takeover by private equity shark Bain Capital on Cook. But the continuing presence of Hartigan is likely to anger LV's members, who own the firm due to its status as a mutual.

They were infuriated with his lack of transparency as he tried to persuade them to vote for the Bain deal last December, especially when it emerged that he stood to make millions of pounds if it went through.

Hartigan admitted that his 1.2million pay package would have been significantly higher under private equity ownership, and he could even have been handed an equity stake. Members, meanwhile, were left unsure about what they would gain.

The business is run for their benefit and not to make money for a profit-hungry shareholder. But under Bain's ownership, that would all have changed.

LV was founded in 1861 to help families protect themselves from the shame of a pauper's funeral. Members were worried that a private equity takeover would cause the business to lose its core values.

Hartigan and Cook claimed LV needed investment from Bain to keep the business alive.

But since members voted down the deal in December, LV's board turned down a rival offer from Royal London and said LV could survive on its own.

The U-turn sparked more mistrust among LV's 1.3million members, and Hartigan has been under pressure to resign.

In a letter to Creedon, LV member John Higgins, who has been part of the mutual for more than 50 years, urged him to appoint a new boss.

Higgins said: 'You claim that you will rebuild the LV board to support the CEO Mark Hartigan.

I, together with many other concerned LV members, consider that Mark Hartigan should have resigned immediately [after he] had lost the crucial vote last December and have repeatedly called for him to go.

'The general consensus among my colleagues and business friends is that, as the CEO of LV, Mark Hartigan has been an unmitigated disaster.

'We do not believe that you will be able to achieve your objective until Hartigan has gone.'

Creedon himself was a controversial appointment as chairman. He had been on the board throughout the takeover talks with Bain  and his promotion flew in the face of calls to install a fresh face at the top.

When he took the job last month, he said: 'I will be working closely with Mark Hartigan who has been doing an excellent job in strengthening the performance of the business.

'The board takes full responsibility for the unsuccessful transaction which Mark actively advocated on its behalf and my colleagues and I have high confidence in him and his team.'
Shares in Pearson jumped to a seven-month high as speculation mounted of a fresh takeover bid.

The stock rose 8.7 per cent, or 65.8p, to 826.8p amid market chatter that the education media group could receive a new offer after it revealed last week it had rejected two swoops by US private equity giant Apollo Global Management.

Pearson turned down an approach worth 800p per share or 6.1billion in November and an improved bid of 854.2p a share, or 6.5billion, last Monday.

Pearson stock rose 8% amid market chatter that the education media group could receive a new offer, having rejected two swoops by US private equity giant Apollo Management

The firm had concluded that, despite the increase, the Apollo offer significantly undervalued the company and its future prospects and its board had rejected it unanimously.

However, many predict a third approach could be incoming.

Roddy Davidson, an analyst at broker Shore Capital, said: [Pearson is] a fairly unique asset in an area that has already seen a degree of consolidation.

Its an interesting time to be looking at the company as it does feel like the supertanker has finally been turned with long-running issues in US higher education much less prominent and its digital transition taking hold.

Berenberg analyst Sarah Simon said a higher bid from Apollo would be the logical conclusion.

The FTSE 100 dropped 0.3 per cent, or 17.77 points, to 7175.70 while the FTSE 250 was down 1 per cent, or 213.59 points, at 20,257.66.

The bloodbath on Chinese markets continued for a second day as a Covid outbreak and its stance on the invasion of Ukraine sparked fears of a downturn that could spread to the wider economy.

Stock Watch - Wilmington Wilmington hit its highest level in nearly five years after it hiked its profit forecasts. The firm, which provides education and training on corporate governance and compliance, noted that its major face-to-face event in the US, Rise National, had taken place successfully. As a result, profits for the year to the end of June are expected to be at least 10 per cent higher than previous market expectations of 18million to 18.1million. The upgrade sent the shares up 4.4 per cent, or 11p, to 260p.

Investors might have become too complacent over the risks of lockdowns returning once again, said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Hong Kongs Hang Seng Index fell 5.7 per cent, sending it down nearly 21 per cent for the year-to-date, while the Shanghai Composite dropped nearly 5 per cent.

Oil prices also continued to decline with Brent crude dropping below $100 a barrel at one point. Shell shares rose 0.7 per cent, or 13.2p, at 1940p while BP climbed 1.3 per cent, or 4.5p, to 361p.

Trading broker TP ICAP tumbled 15.3 per cent, or 20p to 111p after an 80 per cent fall in full-year profits.

Pre-tax profit for 2021 came in at 24million, down sharply from 129million the previous year as a reduction in market volatility dented demand for the groups services.

It also flagged up a 4million hit from sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

Blue-chip exhibitions group Informa gained 3.4 per cent, or 18.6p to close at 568.8p as it swung back into profit.

It reported profits of 137.1million for last year, up from a 1.1billion loss in 2020, as the loosening of lockdown restrictions lifted demand for in-person events.

DIY retailer Wickes slumped 2.3 per cent, or 4p, to 171p after announcing a short delay to the release of its full-year results.

Auditors KPMG had requested more time to complete their assessment of the groups annual reports and accounts.

National Grid gained 2.9 per cent, or 32.2p, to 1155.4p after selling its stake in the St William Homes joint venture to its partner, housebuilder Berkeley (down 2.5 per cent, or 97p, at 3843p), for 412.5million.

The two firms have also signed several agreements for Berkeley to buy additional sites owned by National Grid for around 270million.

Meanwhile, plumbing and heating specialist Ferguson doubled its share buyback to 1.5billion and hiked its interim dividend by 15 per cent to 64p per share following strong first-half results.

Profits for the six months to the end of January soared 68 per cent year-on-year to 991million while sales jumped 29 per cent to 10.2billion. Its shares fell 6.2 per cent, or 720p, to 10,950p.
Russia could today default on its international debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution.

Moscow appears unable to pay 90million of debt interest owed to foreign investors holding two of the countrys bonds.

A default would underline Russias status as an international pariah and cause further ructions on markets still reeling from the invasion of Ukraine.

Red alert: Anton Siluanov, Russias finance minister, with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow

Some experts fear that a default could be the first of many. Jonathan Prin, a portfolio manager at Greylock Capital, said it would be a monumental event on global debt markets.

Professor Christopher Gerry, a Russian political economy expert at the University of Oxford, added: There will be further panic and exit from the Russian market, both domestically and internationally. Pretty soon, a domino effect sets in, exacerbating what is already a collapse of the economy.

Job losses, shortages of products to buy, breakdown of supply chains, shortages of critical medicines.

But Kristalina Georgieva, managing director at the International Monetary Fund, said: When you look at the total exposure of banks to Russia, it is about 92billion. Not negligent, but definitely not systemically relevant.

The Kremlin insists it can pay in roubles. But the money is owed in US dollars  leaving Russia on the verge of defaulting on its international debts for the first time since 1918. It last defaulted on domestic debts in 1998.

A large amount of Moscows debt is financed by bonds issued in US dollars and the country is finding it harder to access its foreign currency reserves because of sanctions.

Anton Siluanov, Russian finance minister, said: If we see complications with executing the order then we will prepare a relevant transfer order in the rouble equivalent.

From Russias point of view, we are fulfilling our obligations.

But the West disagrees and JP Morgan says the two bonds do not contain clauses allowing repayment in roubles.

A missed debt payment would trigger the start of a 30-day grace period for Russia to meet its obligation to creditors. If missed, the default would be viewed across the globe as a sign of weakness.

And if the war continues it could be the first of many. Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group, said: This could be another massive embarrassment for Putin and a sign of what is to come.

It could be the first of many defaults and the start of much financial distress.

It would be the first time the country has defaulted on its foreign debt since 1918 when Lenin refused to pay as the Bolshevik regime would not recognise Tsarist-era debts following the Russian Revolution.

That sent shock waves around the globe. Britain said the Bolsheviks were undermining the very foundations of international law.

The debts were never repaid. Russia also defaulted on its domestic debts in 1998, creating carnage. It led to the collapse of a huge US hedge fund called Long-Term Capital Management, which had to be bailed out to prevent a worldwide meltdown.

Fears are that missed Russian payments could trigger a similar outcome. This will be a monumental default, said Prin. Its probably the most broadly felt emerging-market default since Russia itself in 1998.

But analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou of JP Morgan said foreign investors and banks have already cut their exposure to Russia since the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Bank for International Settlements data shows the total exposure of foreign banks to Russian debt is around $105billion (80billion).
Oil plunged back below $100 a barrel as storm clouds gathered over the global economy.

Brent crude fell as much as 7.5 per cent to a low of $97.44 a barrel, its lowest for nearly three weeks.

Motoring groups called for prices at the pumps to follow suit after the cost of filling a family car topped 90 for the first time.

Brent crude fell as much as 7.5% to a low of $97.44 a barrel, its lowest for nearly three weeks. Motoring groups called for prices at the pumps to follow suit

RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: Its now vital that the biggest retailers who buy fuel most often start to reflect these reductions at the pumps to give drivers a much-needed break from the pain of constantly rising prices.

Crude hit a 14-year high of $139 a barrel last week on fears that the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia would hit supplies.

Now, rising Covid cases in China possibly leading to prolonged lockdowns, damaging the global economy and hitting demand for oil are a concern.

Chinas economy could be severely hit again, say analysts at Japanese investment bank Nomura. We believe Chinas 5.5 per cent growth target this year is becoming increasingly unrealistic.

War has also revived worries in Washington over Beijings alignment with Moscow, with the US warning of isolation and penalties for China if it assists Russia.
The FTSE 100 closed up 115.98 points at 7291.68 and the pound was at $1.31 against the dollar.

Britain's competition regulator has launched an in-depth probe into US cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock's $8.6billion purchase of London-listed Avast, amid concerns the deal could harm competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority said on Wednesday the deal could lead to British customers getting a worse deal when looking for cyber security software.

British soft drink maker Fever-Tree saw revenues jump by 23 per cent year-on-year to 311.1million in 201, with gross profits rising 12 per cent to 130.9million.

The growth was reflected across all markets, according to the group, despite unprecedented global supply chain disruption, which led to a 20.2 per cent hit to adjusted earnings margin.

Online trading platform IG Group now expects full-year revenue to moderately exceed market expectations on strong trading volumes, as the Ukraine crisis fuels market volatility.

The London-listed firm posted third-quarter net trading revenue of 257million compared with 226.7million a year earlier when a retail frenzy in stock markets had driven up trade.

>If you are using our app or a third-party site click here to read Business Live
This time last year Julie Broderick discovered her vulnerable older brother had paid thousands of pounds for insurance policies he did not need.

More than a dozen firms - some operating from the same addresses - were charging the Alzheimers sufferer between 10 and 15 a month to cover household appliances including his television and washing machine.

When Julie, 64, went through his bank statements she also saw direct debits for 200 and 300. In total, she believes he handed over as much as 5,000.

Nuisance calls: Salesman are targeting elderly and vulnerable homeowners to sell insurance products or services for white goods and other home appliances

This was more than his appliances were worth all together. In addition he also had separate insurance with Sky to cover his TV, Sky box and satellite dish, and household contents insurance to cover any damage.

Julies brother, who is 67 and lives alone, is one of thousands of older people targeted by ruthless companies flogging home appliance insurance.

This week one of the firms that targeted him  Home Sure Solutions Ltd  was fined 100,000 by data watchdog the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).

It has also taken action against four other companies for making hundreds of thousands of nuisance calls.

It found salesmen were targeting elderly and vulnerable homeowners to sell insurance products or services for home appliances which most did not need.

One elderly victim was left with just 500 in their account after sending more than 7,500 in just over a month.

The ICO says Home Sure Solutions, in Hove, East Sussex, made almost 230,000 unwanted marketing calls in the pandemic between March and September 2020.

It found another company, UK Platinum Home Care Services, was responsible for 412,000 calls in seven months to homeowners aged 60 to 80.

Julie, who lives in Yorkshire, says her brother was bombarded with calls.

His bank, TSB, has since refunded all the payments, but Julie is worried he could continue to be targeted. She says: These companies are preying on vulnerable people, which is sickening.

Damage to white goods, such as fridges, freezers and washing machines, is typically covered by home contents insurance.

This will not cover mechanical faults, but under the Consumer Rights Act you are entitled to a full refund if a fault develops 30 days after purchase.

UK Platinum Home Care Services says it has appealed on the grounds the calls it made were not unsolicited.

a.murray@dailymail.co.uk
SPARKS [mdash] Mrs. Mattie L. Clements Martin, 93, of Sparks, Georgia, passed away at her granddaughter's home on April 25, 2022. Mrs. Martin was born on January 17, 1929 in Colquitt County to the late Ivey Lane Hart and Ola Gay Hart. She lived most of her life in Cook County and was of the 
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Living Lands and Waters, a nonprofit river cleanup organization, has been cleaning tornado debris out of Kentucky Lake and off the shoreline in Marshall County after the December 2021 tornado outbreak.
A chocolate egg cream is pictured. What exactly is an egg cream? Lexington Candy Shop co-owner John Philis describes it as an ice cream soda without the ice cream.
Kingsport, TN (37660)

Today

Mainly clear. Low near 50F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low near 50F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Kingsport, TN (37660)

Today

Mainly clear. Low 51F. N winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph..

Tonight

Mainly clear. Low 51F. N winds at 10 to 15 mph, decreasing to less than 5 mph.
KINDERHOOK  Mike Abrams will take office as the next village mayor after receiving the vast majority of votes Tuesday night in a contest that drew an unusual amount of attention for an off-year election.

He defeated two candidates: Quinn Murphy, a political science major, and Barry Knights, a former electrician who attracted controversy during the campaign for attempting to justify confronting Black Lives Matter marchers with a handgun in 2020.

Abrams received 322 votes, with Murphy getting 118 and Knights pulling in 28.

Abrams, a current village trustee and Marine reservist, moved to Kinderhook in 2015 after serving in Afghanistan and living in New York City. He is the founder of FourBlock, a service that helps veterans transition to civilian jobs.

Abrams said in an interview during the race he wants to address speeding in the village and keep it "family-oriented." As a trustee, he voted against allowing marijuana lounges, and said he would prefer the village not allow dispensaries, which the board approved.

On Wednesday morning, Abrams thanked his opponents.

"Thank you to Quinn and Barry for running," he said. "I respect them very much for stepping into the arena and taking some fire and doing what they thought was best for the village."

In his coming term, Abrams said he would focus on improving essential services and said his priority was updating the village code to incorporate the municipality's comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 2015.

He will also be focusing on two large purchases: a new fire truck, which would be arriving in two years after being paid for with financing and municipal savings, and improvements on Albany Avenue and Williams Street. Century-old water mains beneath the roads need to be replaced and the roads and sidewalks need to be stripped down and rebuilt.

The village has already applied for a grant for the $1.5 million project, and Abrams said they would be hearing back "within days," adding the village would need to continue to seek state money for the project if the grant was denied.

Abrams also said he would be looking at the village's technology and transparency, including improving the village website, digitizing meeting minutes and creating a way for residents to pay bills online.

High interest in the unusual election translated to exceptionally high turnout. Of 1,086 registered voters in the village, 468 cast votes  including dozens who mailed in absentee ballots  making turnout about 43 percent, closer to numbers seen during national midterm elections.

Downtime is the best time Make the most of your Hudson Valley weekend, every week with our newsletter.

The average turnout for local elections in the U.S. is 15 percent, according to a study by Portland State University.

The unusual election featured a fourth candidate: The Kinderhooker, a popular anonymous Instagram account that creates memes poking fun at aspects of the village and its government. The Kinderhooker urged residents to vote for them as a write-in candidate, but eventually dropped out, posting on their account that they feared their candidacy would split the vote and lead to the election of Knights. The account eventually endorsed Murphy.

During a Black Lives Matter march through the village in July 2020, Knights told his wife to "get my piece," in reference to his gun, after confronting some of the marchers. The handgun was placed on the porch. Knights readily admitted to the incident in an interview with the Times Union, saying he was "sticking up for law enforcement" when he first confronted the marchers, who Knights said had just spat at a police officer.

No arrests were made in the incident, with State Police saying the gun was legally owned and no crimes had been committed.

During the race, Murphy, who commutes to Siena College from the village, made an issue of the village policy of imposing fees on residents who did not shovel their sidewalks. At a candidates' forum, he accused the village Historic Preservation Commission, on which Abrams sits, of "harassing" residents, an assertion Abrams pushed back on. Knights did not participate in the forum.

The candidates were running to replace Dale Leiser, who did not seek reelection. Abrams will take office April 4.
As the muscle-bound lead singer of Black Flag and Rollins Band, Henry Rollins cultivated a following for his intensity and him-against-the-world musical onslaught. But with his music career nearly 20 years in the rearview, Rollins has a different priority than aggressive on-stage catharsis.

What kind of goodness can I do, he said. At my age, between being in my 60s and COVID, my options are severely limited. What can I do with my life? I can be good. Thats a good reason to get up in the morning.

As Capital Region audiences can see at his performance at the Egg on Monday, the Henry Rollins that performs spoken word in 2022 has a much different agenda than the one that started that portion of his career by telling humorous, occasionally mean anecdotes about the life of a touring musician. The goal now is much broader in scope, influenced by his pre-COVID ability to travel the globe.

At one point someone said to me, You travel a lot, and I had to be like, No, I travel for rock n roll, lets not make it what its not, Rollins said. But then I was like, Why havent I? Now, Im fortunate to have the money to go somewhere I want to go and see, I go when Im without tour dates and as much as my wallet will allow.

Ive been to 87 or 88 countries and less than half of those are for shows, he added. I bring all this to the stage. If you have the opportunity to widen your lens and dont, shame on me. But if I can bring something good to the audience, that means the world to me.

Rollins journeys to places in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia that arent exactly known for tourist destinations. By spending time in Iran, North Korea or even countries with Sharia law and discussing his experiences, Rollins hopes to demystify these nations and offer a global consideration.

When it comes to issues such as free speech, poverty and human rights, many of the nations are a far cry from the standards Americans expect and often take for granted. Rollins highlights these differences, not to look down on these nations, but to get audiences to think about the shared humanity of their citizenry and ours. Its a way to get people to challenge their own preconceived notions and rise above the current, fractious fear-based culture to help themselves grow and improve the world around them.

The shows are more humanitarian, less these people suck now, he noted. I punch up as hard as I can and never punch down on people or places. Theres a lot of profit in saying the world is a scary place, that your town is unsafe because the libs let in murderers and rapists.

You turn on Fox (News) and hear, We dont like gay people, diversity will be our downfall, Rollns added. Its bad and its going to get a lot worse before it ultimately gets better, but it eventually will. The world is not to be feared and if you can travel and get out and see the world and people, youll be so much better for it. Doing that is going to be the final nail in the coffin of common bigotry.

On recent tours, the centerpiece of Rollins show was a travel-centric tale. The pandemic made that impossible this time, and possibly forever. This presented a few challenges for him as he put together the material for his current tour, one that saw its February and early March European leg canceled due to COVID-related travel concerns.

They (the tour promoters) said to me, Henry, we love you, please dont come, he lamented.

He wanted to acknowledge the ways his own life has been impacted by COVID-19, while also being cognizant of the fact that many in his audience faced and continue to face far greater challenges. And he had to work harder than ever to compile a routine he felt was worthy of presenting on-stage. Rollins noted that last year he was lucky a thing happened that was sad, but also a little hilarious and absolutely bonkers.

The event was the centerpiece he needed to bring the show together. Without it, Rollins wouldnt be at the Egg on Monday, as the idea of presenting material he felt was substandard was never an option.

Man, my pre-COVID life was bitchin, but I think that bitchin life is over, he lamented. I dont know when or if Ill be able to travel internationally again, considering my age and travel restrictions. But I have to be careful with that; there are people in the audience that lost a parent or a brother or sister. I still have a good life, but I dont want to sit around. Im not 22 anymore.

Ive never had to work as hard to get material to justify going on stage; without the travel and the input it gives you, I didnt have as much to draw on, Rollins continued. But the show is ready and Im very happy with this material. I cant go on stage and sling low-caloric hash. I want to give you something to think about and if it was work to do it, I can sling knowing I put the time in.
BETHLEHEM  The women in the book club were planning to discuss Heart of a Dog, a satirical novella critical of the communist revolution written in 1925 by dissident Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov.

The book was banned by Communist Party censors and driven underground for more than 60 years before it was officially released in the Soviet Union in 1987.

The book club members never got to the book or the life of Kyiv-born Bulgakov, who quit medicine in Ukraine to become a writer in Moscow. He embodies the tangled and fraught history between the contentious neighbors.

The war overshadowed literary talk and all else.

Two of the women emigrated from Ukraine and have family members trapped in the war zone, following President Vladimir Putins unprovoked invasion of the sovereign country by Russian troops on Feb. 24.

The women wrapped their Ukrainian friends in the embrace of comfort food by boiling dumplings known as vareniki, a traditional Ukrainian dish. They coordinated attendance at a Ukrainian solidarity demonstration in Albany, drafted petitions to members of Congress condemning Russian aggression and encouraged donations to refugee organizations.

It was wonderful to see these women from different backgrounds coming together and sharing their strengths in a common purpose, said Susan Pedo, an Albany community organizer and communications consultant who was a newcomer to the group.

The book club friends tried to deflect the constant dread of those with family members trapped in a war zone.

When I cant sleep, Ill call my brother at 5 a.m. just to make sure hes still OK. I worry about him all the time, said Dr. Anna Allen, 49, an ophthalmologist who hosted the book club at her Selkirk home. She is the groups tough, strong-willed leader.

Her brother, 45, is a sculptor living in Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine. It is the countrys second-largest city with a population of 1.4 million people. Allen grew up there before emigrating to the U.S. in 1994. Kharkiv has been bombed relentlessly by Russian forces for the past two weeks and hundreds of apartment buildings and private homes have been severely damaged or destroyed. The vast majority of civilians have fled, but Allens brother stayed.

My brother is a serious sculptor and his entire lifes work is there, she said, including large-scale bronze sculptures. He cannot bear to abandon his art or to leave his country.

She calls him multiple times a day, trying to keep his spirits up. She sent him money, although there is almost nothing to spend it on.

He is hunkered down in his apartment. The shelter of a subway station is a long distance away along a vulnerable road, so he stays put during the frequent wail of air raid sirens.

Ukrainian forces and civilian volunteers have put up stiff resistance against the Russian onslaught, but her brother is an artist, not a fighter. Hes never held a rifle in his life. He doesnt know how to fight, she said. He just wants to live in peace. Its very hard on his mental state.

Some of Allens relatives relocated to a country home outside Kharkiv. Cousins fled Ukraine by car and reached Germany, where they are staying with relatives in Berlin.

Meanwhile, Irina Holden, 58, of Albany, an associate librarian at the University at Albany, worries about her older sister, a widow with serious mobility issues who is unable to flee her apartment in Nikopol. The industrial city of about 110,000 on the Dnieper River has been spared heavy bombardments and fierce fighting so far. Holden grew up there under Soviet control, the daughter of a Russian mother and Ukrainian father. Her father, a wheat farmer, defied Communist Party officials who tried to force him to grow corn  an impractical crop for that area.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Her older sister and older brother with four relatives remain in Nikopol, with no better option. She speaks with them each day.

For now, they have electricity, gas and enough food and water, she said. Other relatives fled Kyiv by car and drove to the western city of Lviv, near the Polish border.

They were being bombarded in Kyiv. Its terrible. Im watching Ukrainian TV all day and night and Im sick over it, Holden said. A normal five-hour drive from Kyiv to Lviv turned into a harrowing two-day ordeal. They reached relative safety, but encountered a refugee crisis with vast numbers of displaced Ukrainians.

Despite historical tensions between Russians and Ukrainians, they dont hold Putins war against their Russian friend, Katya Midgette, 46, of Bethlehem, who grew up in Moscow and has family members living there.

My teenage daughter has Ukrainian friends, I have Ukrainian friends and we are all crying and devastated, said Midgette, a former College of Saint Rose faculty member who now commutes to St. Johns University in Queens to teach literacy.

Its been terrifying to see Putin turn our country into North Korea in three weeks, Midgette said. He cut access to much of the internet and shut down independent media. He arrests demonstrators and silences anyone who dissents.

When she speaks to family members in Moscow, they assume communications are under surveillance and avoid any direct conversation about the war. Everybody is terrified about being sent to prison, she said. Russia is a nation with genetic trauma of war.

While she worries about the fate of her Russian family members, she supports unconditionally her Ukrainian friends and their homelands resistance to Putins invasion.

Having each others support is whats helping right now, she said. We all have a hard time focusing on anything else besides the war. It was nice to get together to make vareniki. We all need a break from the terror.

Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com
QUEENSBURY  A family is suing the Queensbury Union Free School District for $5 million, alleging in a civil rights lawsuit that their children were sexually harassed on a school bus by another student and that the district attempted to hide the severity of the issues.

The lawsuit alleges a student told them to have sex with each other and threatened to rape one of them and her mother.

The family says the harassment went on from October 2020 through January 2021, which the children reported to their mother. She says she repeatedly reported it to the school district, attorney Ryan Finn said.

One child asked to move her bed away from her bedroom windows and showed signs of fear and anxiety, according to the lawsuit. She eventually said a student had threatened to rape her, Finn said.

The other child was called gay and mocked prior to being told to have sex with his sister, according to the lawsuit.

The children were in fifth grade at William H. Barton Intermediate School at the time, and the other student was a sixth-grader.

After the children's mother reported the rape threat to school officials and police, Queensbury school officials first showed her a partial video clip from the bus security camera, which showed that nothing had happened on that day, according to the lawsuit.

Later, after the mother signed a nondisclosure form, she was allowed to see the entire video, the lawsuit said.

It was apparent that the bus driver had no control over the students on the bus as (a) kids repeatedly could be heard yelling out the word rape (b) children were watching and discussing pornography (c) children were openly talking about sexual acts, (d) students were engaging in violent and threatening behavior, bullying other students by making fun of their appearances and other demeaning behavior, Finn wrote in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed March 10 in U.S. District Court, New York Northern District.

Finn said in an interview that the drivers reaction on the video was key to the lawsuit.

She heard several kids talking about pornography and yelling out the word rape and the bus driver was just driving along like it was business as usual, he said.

He thinks the school districts leadership is at fault.

I believe the same bully has said and done the same things to several other children on the same bus, previous to my clients. And I believe the school district knows that and has done nothing, he said.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

Superintendent Kyle Gannon said in a statement that the district took the reports of the bus incidents seriously.

The district is always committed to working with families to ensure the wellbeing of our students. We continue to work to maintain a safe and nurturing environment, he said. We always take these matters seriously and do not believe there has been any wrongdoing by the district or the individuals named in the lawsuit.

Finn countered that he thinks Gannon should be fired.

Absolutely he should lose his job over this, he said. First of all, his statement is a lie. But had he done his job, had he always protected children as he said, we wouldnt have these problems.

He also noted that Queensbury didnt report any cases last year to the states School Safety and the Educational Climate (SSEC) Summary Data Collection Form, even though the parent made a formal complaint and an investigation determined it was founded.

He will likely take additional cases involving bullying at Queensbury schools, he added.

Ive received no fewer than 10 phone calls from parents since this broke. Major issues going on (with bullying) in this district, he said.

The children involved in the case, who are not being identified, are now in private school. They are in counseling and receiving medication due to their experiences on the bus, he said.
COLONIE  On the 20th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, members of the Siena College and Capital Region community gathered Tuesday afternoon at the Loudonville campus' Grotto to pray for peace in the European nation.

Russia continued its aerial assault on Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine on Tuesday, striking residential neighborhoods. See more updates here.
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FULTONVILLE  Backed by four county sheriffs, one of them a former judge, state Sen. James Tedisco implored state leaders Wednesday to repeal the states 2020 criminal justice changes and to grant judges the power to detain defendants they consider dangerous.

The longtime Glenville Republican said bail and discovery changes signed into law by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo have fueled crime surges in New York and established a dangerous "catch and release" pattern. Tedisco expressed hope that first-year New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who supports repealing the measures, could convince Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders to enact Tedisco-backed proposals to scrap the changes and empower judges with more discretion.

"I would say the pressure is going to get higher and higher if this continues like this  this revolving door of danger and disaster," Tedisco told reporters at a news conference inside the Montgomery County sheriff's office.

Pressed by reporters, Tedisco acknowledged that other factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could be contributing to rising crime, which has been seen in other states. Still, he focused on bail changes as a primary reason, saying: "The levels are just astounding."

Under the changes, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, judges cannot detain or set bail for defendants charged with many misdemeanor and felony offenses. The exceptions are "qualifying offenses," a list of charges that include violent crimes such as murder and rape. State leaders greatly expanded the list of qualifying offenses in April 2020, including all cases that result in death.

A Times Union analysis in January showed that during the first year the bail changes went into effect there were nearly 100,000 cases in which adults were released on charges that, prior to the changes, could have gotten them detained or had bail set. Those arrested were later charged with alleged violent felony charges about 4 percent of the time. Between July 2020 and June, there were 3,460 cases in which adults were rearrested on violent felony charges, including 773 with a firearm, after being initially charged with offenses ineligible for bail or detainment.

Tedisco  who slammed the criminal justice measures in late 2019 before they took effect  is sponsoring one bill to repeal the reforms, which does not have a co-sponsor in the Assembly. Another Tedisco bill, co-sponsored by Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, a Rotterdam Democrat, would allow judges to consider a defendants criminal history while awaiting trial.

The results are in See the winners of each category of the 2022 Best of the Capital Region contest, as determined by popular vote.

New York judges cannot consider a defendants potential danger to the community when setting bail, only the persons risk of flight. Judges at the federal level have such an option. Supporters of the bail changes pointed to the case of Kalief Browder, who at 16 went to Rikers Island on a charge of stealing a backpack. Browder committed suicide at 22, after his case was dismissed.

Fulton County Sheriff Richard Giardino, a former district attorney and county judge, told reporters Wednesday that one isolated case should not be reason to reform an entire system. As a judge, he said, he would want the discretion to protect the community.

Also attending the news conference were Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo; Montgomery County Sheriff Jeffery Smith; Herkimer County Sheriff Scherer,; Montgomery County Executive Matthew Ossenfort and Montgomery County Legislature Chairman Mike Pepe, among others.

Zurlo said the biggest upshot in his county has been domestic violence, where perpetrators are arrested and quickly released.
Can Norlite be compatible with its location in densely populated Cohoes?

As the aggregate plant now operates, the answer is clearly no  not when Norlite is spreading dust around its neighborhood, burning hazardous waste to generate energy and chronically ignoring environmental regulations.

Nothing about that is acceptable, especially in a densely populated area. If Norlite doesnt change, the state Department of Environmental Conservation must move to shutter the plant, sooner rather than later.

But Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler, perhaps mindful that Norlite remains a significant employer in his city, hasnt given up on coexistence. In a recent letter to Victor Creixell, the chief executive of Tradebe, the plants Spanish owner, the Democrat outlined steps the company must take to make Norlite a good neighbor.

First, Norlite must cover the aggregate piles where much of the dust is coming from and move to address other sources of fugitive dust emanating from the property. Indeed, the DEC has ordered as much, announcing last month that Norlite must cease its dust pollution or pay daily fines of up to $22,500. With its state environmental permits up for renewal, Norlite says it is actively working on dust mitigation measures.

Second, it needs to stop burning hazardous waste and give up on plans to expand the plant with a research facility dedicated to the practice. As Mr. Keeler wrote, the city would welcome Norlite shifting its fuel source away from hazardous waste (to) experiment on truly clean energy fuel sources, including solar and geothermal.

Also, says Mr. Keeler, Norlite must make investments needed to meet Clean Air Act rules, including emissions limits on hazardous waste incineration, and must stop being a serial violator of federal and state regulations.

Those steps might not make Norlite a perfect neighbor, and they wouldnt erase the need to relocate residents of the adjacent Saratoga Sites public housing complex. But they would go a long way toward showing that Norlite is genuinely concerned about its impact and is looking to make a more positive contribution to Cohoes.

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Unfortunately, that doesnt seem to be a path Norlite is interested in following, given than a recent letter from Mr. Creixell, posted on an image-buffing website maintained by the company, not only discounts the plants impact but is blatantly inaccurate about the situation as it exists  claiming Norlite is not the reason the city and the Cohoes Housing Authority are seeking to move Saratoga Sites families to other locations. As Mr. Keeler notes, that is absolutely false.

Such misrepresentations dont help Norlites cause. They do nothing to suggest the company is trustworthy or cares about being a better neighbor. Whats more, they dont suggest the plant should have a future in Cohoes.

If Norlite wants to remain in Cohoes, it must fix the problems that have long defined its operation. If it doesnt, theres just one solution: The DEC must move to shutter the plant.
Paul Buckowski/Times Union

COHOES - Coldwell Banker Commercial Prime Properties was named the top producing affiliate in 2021 among the six Coldwell Banker commercial brokers in the state, according to a statement released Wednesday. The ranking is based on closed adjusted gross commission income.

Todd Curley, a partner in the Prime Properties venture, would not reveal dollar figures, but said 2021 was special because a collective effort by the 14 active agents led to the distinction.
cristinairanzo/Getty Images

A season of renewal, spring is the time to scour, scrub and remove all messy remnants of a winter confined inside. In addition to purging closets and pantries, its also a wise time to refresh your budget and clean up your finances.

According to a recent survey conducted by cash-back site TopCashback.com, 49 percent of Americans said that aside from the home, their finances could use some spring cleaning.
ALBANY  Gov. Kathy Hochuls campaign has reimbursed taxpayers an additional $10,742 stemming from three days in which Hochul used state aircraft for campaigning but improperly billed taxpayers for the travel.

On Jan. 31, Hochuls campaign issued the check to the state Commissioner of Taxation and Finance, according to a copy obtained by the Times Union through a Freedom of Information Law request.

Her spokeswoman said the reimbursement followed a review by Hochul's office that found taxpayers had been improperly billed for individual plane trips on Oct. 29 and Nov. 16, and for three flights on Nov. 22.

In total, Hochuls campaign has now reimbursed taxpayers about $30,700 for air travel over six days in late 2021.

The Times Union first flagged three initial, problematic days of Hochul air travel in September and early October. Those trips mixed campaign and state business, but the Executive Chamber charged taxpayers with the entire cost of each. In January, the administration told the Times Union it would review all flights; the campaign subsequently paid back an initial $19,949 for the three days of travel examined by the reporting.

The apparent violations of ethics rules, based on a law barring use of state resources to gain unwarranted privileges, emerged from the Times Union's review of Hochuls daily schedules from her first 45 days in office, Aug. 24 through Oct. 9.

Hochuls office has not released any of her daily schedules after Oct. 9, so many of her daily activities over the past five months are unknown. Its currently not possible, for example, to verify whether Hochul's office flagged every potentially problematic use of state planes or helicopters.

Her press secretary, Hazel Crampton-Hays, said the administration was working to release her schedules on a quarterly basis, with the next batch arriving around April 1.

"Gov. Hochul is committed to transparency, accountability, and the highest ethical standards," Crampton-Hays said in a statement. "Our ethics counsel completed a thorough review of all aircraft usage and created additional controls and processes to better ensure consistent adherence to the strictest ethical guidelines. Since taking office, Gov. Hochul has taken numerous actions to change the culture in Albany and restore trust in government, and we continue to take steps to deliver the government New Yorkers deserve."

Across the country, its currently Sunshine Week, an annual initiative meant to highlight the importance of government transparency. On Monday, Hochuls office issued a press release touting the administrations record on that front. While Hochuls office has made certain strides  such as spiking a Cuomo-imposed policy that routed sensitive records requests through his office  it has at times been slow to provide sensitive documents.

Hochul's office says there is an administration-wide effort to reduce the backlog of FOIL requests, but acknowledged there is more work to be done. The state Office of Information and Technology Services is currently working to procure a software platform accelerating and streamlining the process for receiving, processing and responding to requests.

U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi of Long Island, who is running against Hochul in June's Democratic primary for governor, has repeatedly called on her to release her full updated schedules, which would include additional flight information as well as the frequency of Hochuls campaign-related "private events," such as fundraisers and donor meetings.

In early January, Suozzis campaign submitted an open records request to Hochuls office seeking records related to her use of state airplanes and helicopters dating back to 2015  her first year as lieutenant governor  as well as other state aircraft information.

Hochuls campaign referred Suozzi to the State Police, who on Jan. 12 told his campaign there would be no response until at least July 7  two weeks after the Democratic primary.

In January, the Times Union also requested records of Hochuls flights since she became governor. As with Suozzi, Hochuls office responded last week  three months after the request was submitted  by stating the records were maintained by the State Police, and that the Times Union needed to submit a new request with that entity.

In a statement, Suozzis campaign called it absurd that the governor refuses to release her calendar and contended the stonewalling begged the question of what Hochul might be hiding about her use of state aircraft and campaign fundraising.

A State Police spokesman, William Duffy, said Suozzi's campaign had received an "automatic response" from the agency stating the request would take 120 business days to fill. But Duffy said in many cases "a decision is made and records are provided in advance of that date, depending on the quantity of records and capacity of the FOIL unit."

Suozzi, meanwhile, has not released any schedules detailing his daily activities as a member of Congress or his own campaign-related activities. A spokesman told the Times Union on Tuesday that the candidate would release schedules upon request, but further details were not immediately clear.

Suozzi in January called for an investigation of Hochuls use of state aircraft, and asked for the governor to refer the matter to Attorney General Letitia James' office. Hochul declined.

During her first 45 days in office, the governor attended 64 "private events" related to her gubernatorial campaign, including donor meetings and fundraisers  a sprint that allowed her campaign to raise a record-setting $22 million by mid-January.

Initially, all 45 flights Hochul took during those 45 days were billed to taxpayers.

As the Times Union previously reported, before Hochul became governor, her request to take state aircraft to a campaign fundraiser in Buffalo was rejected by a top aide to Cuomo, who argued such a flight for nongovernment purposes would be illegal.

After Hochul became governor, however, she did take a state aircraft from Syracuse to Buffalo to attend a private campaign event on Sept. 19  without conducting any on-the-ground state business before departing the next morning.

Hochul's office, citing a 2013 state ethics opinion, has argued that the Sept. 19 flight was legal because she was returning "home" to a condo in Buffalo  though by then, she had formally moved into the Executive Mansion in Albany.

Her campaign has now reimbursed taxpayers for aircraft use on Sept. 19, but its not clear how much the reimbursement stemmed from the Syracuse-to-Buffalo trip, and how much was tied to a trip earlier the same day that mixed campaign and government business.
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ALBANY Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a number of anti-sexual harassment bills Wednesday at the peak of Womens History Month.

She was joined by advocates from across the state, including Tori Burhans Kelly, a member of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, a collective started by seven people with experience in the state Legislature who alleged they were sexually harassed on the job.

The measures signed into law by the governor include establishing a toll-free sexual harassment hotline; closing a loophole to make all state and public employers subject to Human Rights Law, and prohibiting retaliatory action against an employee who opposes unlawful discrimination practices. Advocates have been fighting for stronger anti-sexual harassment legislation for decades.

"Everyone has the right to a safe and secure workplace where they are valued and respected," the governor said, adding that the moment was personal as she spoke about her daughter, granddaughter and sister, who was with her at the event.

Kelly called the governors action a "major step forward" but stressed that there is much to do. She previously attempted to sue the state Assembly with Chloe Rivera, another aide, alleging that former Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez had harassed them.

The lawsuit was dismissed after a judge determined that the legislative body was not their employer. They later settled for $580,000 in a different case.

"Im very grateful that these three bills are being signed," Kelly said. "But especially the bill to close the 'personal staff' loophole, also known as the 'license to harass,' which was a defense used against me when I was seeking justice.

"I appreciate that the trauma that I have endured has now better informed our laws," she added.

The legislation comes after decades of sexual harassment scandals in the state Legislature. In August, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo resigned in the aftermath of a state Attorney Generals report that concluded he had harassed or acted inappropriately with 11 women.

After one of the women, Lindsey Boylan, a former staffer, publicly accused the governor of harassing her, his staff leaked her personnel file to the press. The bill signed by the governor would make similar retaliatory actions unlawful.

Hochul signed the legislation in New York City as several legislative sponsors, including Manhattan Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes, D-Brooklyn and state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, D-Bronx, attended the signing.
ALBANY  Democrats in the state Legislature are seeking to add to Gov. Kathy Hochul's criminal justice budget priorities by providing more money for the implementation of pretrial discovery measures, gun violence intervention and crime prevention and legal services.

The proposals did not include any direct nod to the state's bail laws, although there would be funding for related issues.

"We have come to a point now where whatever happens the people who want to exploit the fact that we do not want to incarcerate people because they are poor," state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said to reporters Tuesday afternoon. "And so everything becomes a matter of 'bail reform.'"

Instead, the Senate, like the Assembly, provided some additional money for pretrial services, including supervised release, which was intended to be a core tenant to how the state would implement its 2019 changes to bail.

The state Senate added $59 million that could be used for either pretrial discovery or pretrial services, on top of the governor's initial budget proposal. The Assembly included an additional $5 million specifically for pretrial services. The Senate Republican conference called for an additional $40 million in pretrial services.

"What's in there is a recognition that we have not invested enough in pretrial services and that's a huge component of this larger public safety conversation that we're having," state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, D-Brooklyn, said Tuesday.

Myrie noted that the state invested more money in gun violence prevention than it has in recent years. Hochul's budget would increases the amount the former administration decided to spend during a declared state of emergency on gun violence.

"There is a broad recognition by the Legislature that the epidemic of gun violence is not one that can be cast into a headline or a press conference or press release, but requires very serious and deep investment,"Myrie said. "It is a reflection of what every New Yorker knows, which is it's better to invest on prevention than to have to spend on the back end."

Hochul included $10 million in her $216 billion budget specifically for the implementation of pretrial services outside of New York City, which runs its own program.

The Senate wants an additional $40 million for community safety and restorative justice programs, including gun violence prevention initiatives. The Assembly wants an additional $19 million for SNUG and other gun violence prevention programs, which are focused on street outreach instead of traditional policing practices.

A major piece of the criminal justice puzzle for the Senate was to include "Clean Slate," which seals conviction records for certain crimes. The Assembly, choosing to not include policy in its budget, opted to focus on the bill during the legislative session and not make it part of budget negotiations. Advocates contend it's a fiscal issue because it could lead to more people being able to join the workforce.

The Senate and Assembly included $210 million for legal services for indigent defendants. Sen. Jamaal Bailey, D-Bronx, noted Tuesday that the public defender sector has often lagged when it comes to raises for its workers, making it difficult to secure certain representation for people who cannot afford a lawyer.

An additional $250 million for "Raise the Age" was proffered by the state Senate. The fund for the initiative has often not been used for implementation.

Ultimately, Stewart-Cousins, Hochul and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie are not far off from each other when it comes to funding for criminal justice issues. The budget is expected to be on time and concluded around the end of the month, leading to intense negotiations over the next two weeks.

Issues around the question of bail are likely to percolate again after the budget is passed.
Members of Congress took part in seven significant U.S. House votes this week, while U.S. Senators had four key votes this week.
I can think of no other form of travel that conveys the nostalgia and romance of bygone eras than travelling by train on routes that were often built in the 19th century.

Travel experts are predicting the resurgence in popularity of trains as people become increasingly environmentally aware and seek out modes of transport to help alleviate carbon emissions.

The revival of train travel is both eco-friendly and avoids crowded airports and all the hassles that brings.

Train travel is part of the growing slow travel moment that encourages greener travel but also extols the virtues of making and enjoying the journey as much as the destination on a holiday.

Slow travel also means people will have more opportunity to immerse themselves in the local cultures with more opportunity to strike up a conversation with fellow travellers on trains and see awe-inspiring landscapes sail by through the window on the trip.

I have always loved the romance of long train trips since my college days when I got a night train from Munich to Prague in 1991 just after the Berlin Wall had fallen.

There is something magical about getting on a train at night in one country and arriving in the morning in a completely new country and culture.

I love the bustle and noise of the terminal at night and the anticipation when the poster sounds for the doors to be closed and the screech of the wheels as you set off.

We spent the night chatting to people about life in the newly opened eastern Europe.

The excitement and a little trepidation when the Czech border guards came on to check our tickets and passports.

Then the exhilaration of arriving in the centre of Prague and having locals waiting at the train doors with offers of accommodation. I was hooked after that trip.

The most exhilarating and comfortable way to see countries like India is often by train. You really get to see every aspect of the personality of that country on a train trip.

From the chaos of the stations where it takes a lot of patience to find the right place to book your seat and then find your train.

But once you have weaved your way through the crowds to finally get on the train, you then see the country in all its glory.

I have had some wonderful experiences travelling on trains in India where I found the Indians always wanted to know your story and tell you theirs and practice their English.

I have experienced families lay out full home cooked meals and insisted I join them. I also loved how local food sellers with snacks and hot chai would come on the train at every stop.

If you love meeting and chatting to locals, then the train is for you in India. Indeed, this is true of most trains in most countries.

My most memorable trip was on the famous Toy Train from Kalka to Shimla with a narrow gauge track that gave the old rail line its name.

The colourful carriages of red, blue and green climbs relentlessly from 640m to 2060m into the Himalayas through 107 tunnels and crossing fast-flowing gorges to Shimla.

Shimla was the old summer capital of the British empire. Shimla is like an old Victorian village in the mountains where Lord Mountbatten signed over India to Gandhi.

I had other unforgettable train trips through Rajasthan passing Mughal cities like Jaisalmer with ornate places like something drawn for a Disney movie. But really any train trip in India will be remembered forever as it will surely be full of incidents, discoveries, exotic landscapes and chats with inquisitive, friendly locals.

A great trip I would recommend is the Maharajas' Express which is a week-long route from Mumbai to Delhi that takes in the highlights of Rajasthan, including the Amber Fort in Jaipur and the Taj Mahal.

The train is an emblem of classic Indian design with hand-carved furniture, richly coloured fabrics and spacious cabins with full-size twin and double beds.

Many of my guests on the Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast have chosen train trips as some of their most cherished travel memories.

My guest Panti Bliss, who is Irelands most famous drag queen, talked about an epic trip after college over land to Tokyo in 1990 just as the Soviet Union was collapsing.

He talks of the magic of taking the Trans-Siberian Express train from Moscow through Siberia and Mongolia to China just before the communist east opened to the west.

The trans-Siberian Express is one of the worlds most legendary train odysseys over 9,800km linking Moscow with the countrys far eastern Pacific coast.

Stops include the relaxed, Mongol-Buddhist city of Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk  the gateway to the shores of Lake Baikal  and a visit to the Romanovs final hiding place in Yekaterinburg.

The renowned Irish travel writer Manchan Magan also spoke on the podcast about his decision to give up flying for ecological reasons.

This is not a necessary time for everyone to give up flying. But as a travel writer, it was vital that I stopped flying and encouraging other people.

Manchan Magan plans to begin an extensive series of train journeys to explore the feasibility of train travel throughout Europe.

The next few years are going to be pivotal, as everyone on this island reassesses the unsustainable way of life weve been leading and dares to dream up new alternatives.

I'm just so excited about exploring Europe and further afield by train. I just love where one's mind goes to and that slow pace. But really the slower we go, the more we see, the more we encounter, and the more meetings with new people we have. I have so many happy memories of places like India when youre on the train. You meet other families, and they share food, and you end up talking and you don't do that on a plane.

If you have some spare time and love train travel then the longest train journey is the 11,654 miles new route from Portugal to Singapore taking in Paris, Moscow, Biijing and Bangkok and it takes 21 days to complete.

If all this train travel has whetted your appetite then check out the website www.seat61.com which has been a great resource for itineraries and practical information for over 20 years.

You can listen to the Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast episodes of Manchan Magan and Panti Bliss on all podcast platforms. The website is https://shows.acast.com/travel-tales-with-fergal
Irelands tourism industry is once again ready to welcome visitors from across the world after Covid-19, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheal Martin was speaking at a reception hosted by all-Ireland body Tourism Ireland at the Kennedy Center in Washington before watching a special 25th anniversary performance of Riverdance.

It was the latest in his series of engagements in the US capital to mark St Patricks Day.

Mr Martin said it was a cause for celebration to see the return of live performances after Covid-19.

He added: The beauty, the history and the culture of our island has long made tourism one of the most important parts of not just our economy but also our society.

We have greatly missed welcoming American and other visitors to Ireland.

Before Covid-19 in 2019 we welcomed over 11 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland.

Now is the moment for us to again open our arms, to welcome visitors and to show you the extraordinary sights and experiences of a unique island.

The Taoiseach added: This is why Tourism Ireland is running out its biggest ever programme of promotions in 2022 here in the United States and indeed in tourism markets around the globe.

Tourism Irelands Green Button campaign is continuing throughout this year. The campaign champions our strengths and iconic locations from the Cliffs of Moher and the Wild Atlantic Way to Titanic Belfast and the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Ireland is a wonderful place for a holiday, the warmth and hospitality of the people still stands, our scenery is stunning.

Ireland stands ready to welcome back our friends from the United States.

Earlier, Northern Ireland Economy Minister Gordon Lyons attended a business breakfast in New York organised by Tourism Ireland where he took the opportunity to promote Northern Ireland as a holiday destination to US travel industry professionals.
From left to right, Titusville Police Officer Benjamin Stone, Officer Adam Hamilton and Police Clerk Gretchen Douglas, stand outside the city council meeting after Stone and Hamilton were sworn in on March 1.
Tonight we take a quick peek at crime reporting across the metro as the weather warms up and this town becomes increasingly violent. This post includes info on police action, gunfire roundups, ALLEGED misdeeds and, as always, we try to finish with a bit of hope.

Check TKC news gathering . . .



Suspect in custody after armed standoff on Lister Avenue ends peacefully in KC Kansas City, Missouri police have confirmed that a suspect has been placed in custody after a standoff with police late Tuesday evening. There is still a large police presence near the incident at 22nd and Lister Avenue.Police say the incident involves an armed person inside a residence.

Olathe man likely drunk when he fired gun that injured 2, court docs show OLATHE, Kan. - An Olathe man was likely drunk, possibly three-times the legal limit, when he fired an AR-15 that injured two people, according to court documents. Prosecutors charged 19-year-old A'Brian Goines with two counts of aggravated battery in the Feb. 26 shooting.

KCPD: 34-year-old man identified as victim of Kansas City gas station shooting Detectives are working to learn more as police release the identity of the man shot and killed at a South Kansas City gas station Monday. Police were called to investigate a fatal shooting at Phillips 66 gas station in the 8100 block of East Bannister Road on Monday afternoon.

Kansas City man charged in May 2021 deadly kidnapping KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 31-year-old Kansas City man is facing charges in connection to the May 2021 deadly kidnapping and stabbing or beating of 52-year-old Gilberto Gutierrez. Ahmad R. Herring was charged Tuesday in Jackson County with second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree attempting kidnapping, first-degree robbery, abandonment of a corpse and four counts of armed criminal action.

Kansas man sentenced to 20+ years for child sex crimes LEAVENWORTH, Kan. - A 19-year-old Basehor, Kansas man was sentenced to 20 plus years for two counts of child sex crimes. Austin Wiles has been charged with two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. As a result, he will be required by law to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Men face charges, KC family faces problems after shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Bullets were flying everywhere - that's how one witness described a shooting after a Chiefs game almost two months ago. The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office have filed charges against two people in that January shooting.

Pedestrian dies after being struck by SUV in Midtown KC KCPD says a woman has died after being struck by an SUV Tuesday night in Midtown KC. An investigation is currently underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. It appears the SUV and driver that struck the pedestrian remained at the scene until police arrived.

Kansas City man sentenced for role in series of armed robberies KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A 22-year-old Kansas City, Missouri man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court for his role in a string of armed business robberies in the Kansas City and Independence, Missouri area. Henry Simmons was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole. According to court documents, on Sept.

Olathe East High School shooting suspect remains in critical condition at area hospital The 18-year-old student charged in connection with the shooting of two adults at a Johnson County high school earlier this month remains in critical condition.Jaylon Desean Elmore, 18, has been charged with attempted capital murder in the March 4 shooting that injured a school administrator and school resource officer.Both victims, school resource officer Officer Erik Clark and Assistant Principal Kaleb Stoppel, were also taken to the hospital after the shooting.

Appeals court rules Missouri social workers aren't liable in case of 7-year-old killed and fed to pigs The family of a 7-year-old boy who was brutalized and tortured for years and then killed by his father and stepmother has lost its bid to hold Missouri social workers liable for negligence in his abuse and death. The Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court's finding that the social workers were entitled to official immunity.

Olathe Police Department public lobby temporarily moved to Olathe Municipal Court KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Olathe Police Department public lobby will temporarily move March 17 inside the Olathe Municipal Court at 1200 South Harrison Street. The move comes ahead of the Olathe Police Headquarters building project, which is expected to take 18-24 months.

KC officers honored for quick thinking that helped save lives KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Missouri police officers were honored for their valor Tuesday night at the department's annual award ceremony. Around 25 officers received awards. One of them was Sgt. Bobbie King. For many, they say she is a hero, however she doesn't see herself that way.

Developing . . .


A sketchy & renewed plan to save the "houseless" has incurred more resistance.



Kansas City insiders already know that J.E. Dunn shut down this project inside the loop because it threatened to blight their HQ.

Now, the recycled plan has encountered neighborhood opposition.

But first . . .



Remember that last week we reported the bad idea to place homeless people on the polluted Municipal Farm.

Now here's MSM follow-up that mostly focuses on locals feeling like they've been railroaded . . .



A pallet shelter is a temporary transitional unit that would include help with medical care, transportation and social services for homeless individuals. Recently, Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Robinson introduced a resolution directing the city manager to create an assessment and funding plan for a pallet shelter. That assessment plan is for Municipal Farm at Eastwood Hills . . .



How much does Eastwood Hills have to sacrifice? When does it end. We are an easy target, said resident Amelia Burnham. We are not opposed to this. We are opposed to something being ram-rodded through without talking to the people that pay taxes.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com news links . . .

Kansas City neighborhood concerned about plan to create pallet homes for homeless KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City leaders are looking to create a pallet shelter for the homeless, but there's concerns about a potential location in the Eastwood Hills neighborhood, south of the stadiums. A pallet shelter is a temporary transitional unit that would include help with medical care, transportation and social services for homeless individuals.

Eastwood Hills residents hear about proposed pallet shelter location KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lula Lading has lived on Ozark Road in the Eastwood Hills neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri, for almost 60-years. She remembers looking out the window and seeing Kansas City's Municipal Farm, but since, a lot has changed since. "It needs to be shaped down and fixed," Lading said.

'We don't want garbage everywhere': KC neighborhood upset over new planned housing for the houseless Kansas City plans to build a tiny community for the houseless, but neighbors are concerned and don't want it in their backyards.The Eastwood Hills Community Association worries it won't be as ideal as the city promises.The community center was packed tonight. Standing room only.

Developing . . .
It's unclear how much a low-power local radio station REALLY impacts the local discourse.

In fact, there's an argument that their broadcasting doesn't really have much influence at all and hand-wringing over their obvious, clumsy and ineffective Russian propaganda actually reflects the intellectual weakness of some American pundits.

Like so many seemingly fearsome Russian tanks stalled in the mud . . . Hype usually falls apart under the gaze of critical thinkers.



Still, what we've seen over the past few years is a very real "progressive" push to silence any conversation that doesn't comply with Beltway talking points enforced by a handful of social media tech giants.

What stands out to this blog is the free speech issues at stake . . .



As the Russian invasion of Ukraine rages on, scrutiny of Kremlin-sponsored media like Radio Sputnik continues to mount. And for KCXL owner Pete Schartel, that scrutiny comes in the form of renewed pressure for him to stop broadcasting programming that keeps the radio station in business.



Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, businesses from around the world have steadily halted dealings with Russia. Roku and DirecTV last week dropped Russian state-controlled RT, formerly known as Russia Today. That caused RT to close its U.S. branch and lay off most American staff members . . .



Schartel called the National Association of Broadcasters (NABs) request a knee-jerk reaction that trampled KCXLs freedom of speech and led to a maelstrom of angry calls to the station, labeling Schartel and his wife Jonne as traitors.



If I did (cut the program) wed be doing exactly the primary thing we criticize the old Soviet Union and other communist regimes of doing where they dont allow free speech, Schartel said.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Local data regarding declining pandemic stats provides encouragement.

However . . .

Let's not forget that China has 37 MILLION people under plague lockdown right now.

The reality is that, following this historic public health emergency . . . The world is now intently aware that authorities have remarkable power to sequester the public.

Reality check . . .

Nobody guessed that most Americans, including this blogger, would submit to dress code orders enacted by D-list politicos.



Again, here's the bright side for now . . .



"Local officials have reported 451 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, bringing the total number of cases in the Kansas City metro area up to 355,653 since the pandemic began. Thats lower than the 891 cases recorded last week, which was lower than the 1,187 the week before . . . The University of Kansas Health System is treating twelve patients with active COVID-19 infections as of Tuesday, March 15. None of these patients are in the ICU or on a ventilator. Thats lower than the 20 active cases the hospital was treating at this time last week."



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

LOCAL COVID-19 UPDATES: Kansas adds 95 new cases, Missouri reports 566 since Friday WIDESPREAD RAIN AND EVEN A FEW THUNDERSTORMS, THAT IS STILL AHEAD. KELLY: NEW DETAILS ON THE CORONAVIS.RU HOSPITALIZATIONS CONTINUE THEIR DECLE.IN LARA: IN THE STATE OF KANSAS, HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE DOWN 50% OVER THE LAST TWO WEEKS. IN MISSOURI, THEY'RE DOWN 39%.

There are zero COVID patients in KU Med's ICU as case numbers continue to drop around KC COVID-19 numbers continue to improve in Kansas City, with area hospitals seeing a continuing decline in patients with the disease. The University of Kansas Health System's ICU contained zero COVID-19 patients on the morning of Tuesday, March 15. Death totals from the past week are steady, while case totals are down.

Missouri attorney general misses deadline in lawsuit against Lee's Summit schools KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt missed a deadline to respond to a motion to dismiss his case against the Lee's Summit Schools District over their COVID-19 policies. Schmitt cited "excusable neglect" as his reason for missing the deadline. The district filed a motion to dismiss the attorney general's case on Feb.

Two years in, where do we go next with COVID-19? As we cross just over two years since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic and numbers sit at some of the lowest since the beginning, health officials discuss what could be next.

Missouri wastewater continues to be monitored to track COVID-19 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Wastewater samples continue to lead the way for tracking COVID-19. More than 100 locations in Missouri are tested weekly and sent to a lab at The University of Missouri. Samples can tell a lot about the virus a week ahead.

New information revealed about allegations of millions in COVID-19 test overcharges There's new information regarding allegations of millions in COVID-19 test overcharges.KMBC learned that Kansas raised questions about insurance companies being sharply overcharged for tests during the pandemic.Last fall, Channel 9 went to a northland testing lab that belonged to Omaha-based GS Labs. Tests at that lab led to an $810 charge for Ben Lohman of Lee's Summit, Missouri.

Wyandotte County to close mass COVID vaccination, testing site KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The Unified Government Public Health Department announced Tuesday that it will be closing its COVID mass vaccination and testing site at the former Kmart building at 7836 State Avenue. It will be closed effectively on March 30, which will be the last day of testing.

Developing . . .
A rallying cry from the MAGA glory days could help Republicans win back the Ceder Crest Kansas Governor's Mansion.

Or at least the plan is to empower otherwise boring candidates with some of Prez Trump's more lively rhetoric given that they'd likely lose a debate about local economics, education and healthcare without hiding behind culture war rhetoric.



Make no mistake, this strategy is effective and popular . . . Take a peek . . .



Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is poised to face-off against incumbent democratic Governor Laura Kelly in this years gubernatorial race, spoke about his vision for Kansas with Republican political activist and Kansas-native Matt Schlapp.



One issue thats expected to be a big focus for the party this year is whats happening at the border. While Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has not spoken on the issue yet, a national GOP-led push to secure the border is prompting action at the state level.



The Trump administration did a good job of working with our counterparts in Mexico in stopping this craziness we have at the border, Schlapp said.



The Attorney General mentioned his latest move, introducing legislation to ban sanctuary cities in the state.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
COVID-19 vaccination rate jumps for kids as end of masks looms in Ontario schools

Vaccination bookings for children jumped after Ontarios chief medical officer revealed mandatory masking in schools would be lifted next Monday as kids return to school from March break.
A 25-year-old Toronto man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a February homicide in North York.
Dr. Thomas Piggott, medical officer of health for Peterborough, says he will continue to wear a mask beyond March 21 in indoor settings. "Others may feel differently, but should be aware that their decision to wear a mask protects people who are vulnerable around them, not just themselves," he said. - CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT / Toronto Star File Photo
In order to be saved from misinformation, we need to be exposed to it
Brevard, NC (28712)

Today

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Local airport officials said they are confident a U.S. Department of Transportation order gives them the time they need to enable a smooth shift from their current carrier to a new one this summer.
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STAMFORD  The Stamford food scene is about to get a little more crowded.

City officials confirmed Tuesday that Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Shake Shack both plan to expand their empires side by side in Stamford.

The two eateries will post up at 64 High Ridge Road, right in the heart of Bulls Head. The Stamford Building Department filed building permits for their new home  which will replace a Bank of America drive-through  on March 4, according to Operations Director Matt Quinones.

We are excited to welcome Frank Pepes and Shake Shack to Stamford, Mayor Caroline Simmons said. They join a growing list of popular establishments that residents will now have easy access to and enjoy.

Property owner Frontier Development, which owns dozens of commercial properties across the East Coast, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Stamford Shake Shack will be the companys fourth outpost in Fairfield County and sixth in the state. The company also operates locations in Danbury, Westport and Darien.

Similarly, Pepes owns seven restaurants throughout Connecticut. But more recently, the New Haven pizza giant has expanded its footprint beyond New England with locations planned for Florida, Virginia and Maryland.

But within Stamford, the new Pepes location wont be the only celebrated apizza place.

Just a mile and a half away, Sallys Apizza in October opened its first location outside of New Haven on Summer Street. When the other beloved New Haven pizzaria burst onto the scene, lines wrapped around the block on opening day as the lunch and dinner crowd angled to get a taste of the famous pies without taking a drive up Interstate 95.

veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com
It's been two weeks since the hike of fuel prices took effect , yesterday fishermen of the G
At the end of the twentieth day of war, Russian troops failed to break the defense line of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as reach the administrative borders of Donetsk Region and Luhansk Region and complete other tasks.

The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Russian invaders were also stopped in the Mykolaiv direction.

According to the General Staff, the enemy is attempting to enhance its troops with additional tactical groups made of consolidated subdivisions, which had suffered losses over the first 10 days of hostilities, as well as mercenaries from other countries.

According to the available data, the Russian military leadership decided to make the cadets of higher military educational institutions graduate early and involve them in hostilities against Ukraine.

In the Volyn direction, the enemys actions remained unchanged. The enemys efforts are focused on the defense of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. The subdivisions of the 120th separate motor rifle brigade (Minsk) of the North-Western Operational Command of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus moved to the border with Ukraine.

In the Polissia direction, the enemy did not take active actions. Having suffered losses, in violation of the international humanitarian law, Russian troops are chaotically mining the area, creating dangerous conditions for Ukrainian civilians. In addition, the enemy was regrouping, replenishing the combat capability of subdivisions, which suffered losses in previous battles. Thanks to the effective actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy is suffering significant losses in terms of manpower and military vehicles.

In the Siverskyi direction, Russian invaders were focusing efforts on reconnaissance operations. They are struggling with ammunition supplies.

In the Slobozhanskyi direction, the enemy is attempting to enhance the current groups by concentrating reserves near the state border, block the access to Sumy from the south and block the city of Izium. No success has been achieved.

In the Donetsk direction, Russian invaders failed to advance towards Rubizhne, Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, suffered losses and retreated to the initial positions. The enemy is attempting to keep the positions near Popasna and has no success near Avdiivka.

The worst situation is remaining near Mariupol, where the enemy is attempting to block the city in the western and eastern outskirts. Russian invaders suffered significant losses and had to use reserves from the 810th separate marine brigade.

In the Southern Bug direction, the enemy focused efforts on the defense of the previously taken positions and was enhancing the engineering equipment of its current positions. Russian invaders are also attempting to advance towards Kryvyi Rih. Thanks to the effective actions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces near Chornobaivka, seven enemy helicopters were destroyed.

As of March 15, 2022, the enemy lost up to 40% of subdivisions involved in the so-called special operation within the territory of Ukraine.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians in Ukraine.

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The Republic of Poland, the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovenia will provide comprehensive support for Ukraine, which is now fighting not for itself only but for Europe as a whole.

The relevant statement was made by the prime ministers of the aforementioned countries at a briefing in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, they will assist as much as they can and provide support for refugees. Morawiecki expressed hope that Ukraine would receive a EU candidate status as soon as possible.

Morawiecki also noted that Poland would help Ukraine with weapons to protect itself, as we can see you are fighting not only for your country, your life and freedom, but also for us.

Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa stressed that Slovenia would also provide weapons to Ukraine and assist Ukrainian refugees. In his words, Ukrainians are now fighting not only for their native land but for Europe as a whole, for fundamental values, such as freedom, democracy, the right to freely choose friends and alliances.

Jansa emphasized that they would like to give a clear signal that Ukraine should receive a EU candidate status as soon as possible, and this signal is intended not only for the EU but also for the one who attacked Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala noted that the main purpose and message of their mission was to show that Ukraine was not alone, and they were standing with Ukraine.

A reminder that, on March 15, 2022, the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia arrived in Ukraine. It is the first visit by international guests of such a level to Kyiv since the Russian armed aggression against Ukraine started.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians in Ukraine.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

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According to preliminary estimates, $565 billion is needed to rebuild Ukraine after the war with Russia, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

He said this after a meeting with Prime Ministers Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia, and Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Preliminary estimates say that direct one-time losses for Ukraine are currently estimated to be worth $565 billion. In fact, these are the funds that will be needed to reconstruct our state - both at the expense of Russia and at the expense of our partners," Shmyhal said.

He stressed that the Ukrainian government will work to ensure that Russia's funds and property abroad were seized. "We believe that our partner countries will also join this large-scale plan," Shmyhal said.

At the same time, he said that a group has been set up in the government to assess the losses inflicted on the Ukrainian economy due to Russian aggression.

As was reported earlier, Morawiecki, Fiala and Jansa arrived in Ukraine on March 15. This is the first visit by international guests of this level to Kyiv since the beginning of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, Russia caused over $119 billion worth of damage to Ukraine's infrastructure.

Photo: kmu.gov.ua
Hong Kong: Mainland support is still strong: CE

(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

Chief Executive Carrie Lam said today support from Mainland is still very strong despite the difficulties and the emergency situation that they are now facing.

At a press conference this morning, Mrs Lam said the Central People's Government has been extremely understanding and supportive of Hong Kong.

She said: With the COVID-19 clusters now being seen very close to Hong Kong, that is in our neighbouring city of Shenzhen, one would expect that Shenzhen could easily close the border - that no Hong Kong passengers could cross the border into Shenzhen, in order to cut the transmission. But Shenzhen has not taken this act.

And I believe the Central People's Government also does not want to see this happen. So, we still have a certain degree of people flow from Hong Kong into Shenzhen.

As for Shenzhen imposing more stringent pre-arrival tests of polymerase chain reaction within 24 hours instead of 48 hours, Mrs Lam said it is a very legitimate response of the city government due to the public health considerations.

She said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will fully co-operate and support Shenzhen in taking legitimate measures.

Mrs Lam also said that she was assured on supplies coming in from the Mainland.

The Central People's Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government, and the Shenzhen Municipal Peoples Government officials have all told me and assured me that they would try very hard to ensure the smooth arrival of cargo, especially fresh produce and vegetables that will support the people of Hong Kong.

But we need to find alternative measures. So instead of just relying on 8,000 cross-border truck drivers, transporting the goods on a daily basis, we now have cargo coming in by sea. We now have cargo coming in by train. So, this is to illustrate to you that this is a very strong support from my Mainland counterparts, despite the difficulties or the emergency situation that they are now facing.

So we will continue to co-operate fully with the Mainland authorities to take the necessary measures to protect the safety and health of people on both sides because we belong to one country and we are compatriots. And we would love to see both sides of the border coming out of this epidemic as soon as possible.

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
It will take time for talks with Russia to end in Ukraine's interests.

According to Ukrinform, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a video address.

"The meetings continue. As I am informed, the positions in the negotiations sound more realistic. However, time is still needed for the decisions to be in Ukraine's interests," he said.

Zelensky added that Ukraine's defenders give this time to the Ukrainian delegation, defending Ukraine everywhere. "Wherever the enemy wants to break through," the head of state said.

The fourth round of talks between Ukraine and Russia began on March 14. After discussions, the talks were paused until March 15. Negotiations resumed on Tuesday.

On February 28, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations held the first round of talks in Belarus and traveled to their capitals for consultations on further decisions. Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the President's Office, noted that negotiations between the delegations were difficult, but without any mandatory ultimatums.

On March 3, the second round of talks between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations took place.

According to Podoliak, the Ukrainian delegation did not achieve the results it expected in the talks with Russia. At the same time, both parties agreed to jointly provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, as well as for the delivery of medicines and food to the sites of the fiercest fighting with the possibility of a temporary ceasefire for the period of evacuation.

During the third round of talks with the Russian delegation, which took place on March 7, the Ukrainian delegation received positive results in the context of the logistics of humanitarian corridors.
A peacekeeping and humanitarian mission led by NATO or other organizations should be sent to operate in Ukraine.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's deputy prime minister for security and the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party, said this at a press conference in Kyiv, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I think that it is necessary to have a peace mission - NATO, possibly some wider international structure - but a mission that will be able to defend itself, which will operate on Ukrainian territory," Kaczynski said.

He stressed that Ukraine is a sovereign state, and if it agrees to such a mission, it will be enough in the light of international law, and it will not be a casus belli.

Kaczynski added that this could be a pretext for war only for those for whom the existence of a world other than their own is already a sufficient reason for military aggression. According to him, such people attacked Ukraine today.

Prime Ministers Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia, and Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski arrived in Ukraine on March 15. This is the first visit by international guests of this level to Kyiv since the beginning of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.
In response to the seizure of Ukraines Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant by Russian invaders, the Anonymous international hacker group has defaced the website of Rosatom, Russias nuclear energy operator, and its subsidiaries, getting hold of the company's security data.

This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the Anonymous Twitter page.

"Anonymous defaces Rosatom website, starts to leak gigabytes of data," the statement said.

According to Taiwan News, the hackers seized Rosatom's security data. The websites of Rosatom's subsidiaries Rosenergoatom and the All-Russian Research Institute for Nuclear Power Plants Operation were also hacked. To each of these three sites, hackers have added new html-pages with the letters "fckptn).

Read also: Anonymous hacks more than 300 Russian official websites

Anonymous also reported that they have gained access to 1,300 network cameras across Russia and Belarus.

As Ukrinform reported, yesterday Anonymous hacked the website of the Russian FSB and seized the Rosneft database. Earlier, Anonymous hacked all Russian state TV channels, switching on broadcasts of videos about the war in Ukraine and calls on Russians to oppose their governments ongoing genocide in Ukraine. After the "cyber war" was declared against the Kremlin, Anonymous by March 5 had hacked more than 2,500 websites of Russian government agencies, media, and others in Russia and Belarus by March 5 in support of Ukraine.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a massive invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops have been shelling and destroying key infrastructure and residential areas of Ukrainian cities and towns, using artillery, multiple rocket launchers, and ballistic missiles.

On the night of March 4, Russian troops captured the Zaporizhia NPP.
The occupiers have damaged 117 hospitals, seven of which are beyond repair. Forty-three ambulances came under fire.

"21st day of war. The occupiers damaged 117 hospitals. Seven of them are beyond repair. Forty-three ambulances came under fire. The Ministry of Health continues its work together with doctors and partners," Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko posted on Facebook.

According to the minister, despite the hostilities, the Ministry of Health has supplied seven new angiographs to hospitals, preparations are underway to launch the equipment.

Liashko also informed that 18 ambulances had been delivered to Kharkiv. The vehicles are part of a humanitarian aid handed over to Kharkiv region from Denmark under the coordination of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

The minister also received letters from the world's largest pharmaceutical manufacturers  U.S. Pfizer and Frances Sanofi  assuring of their unconditional support for Ukraine. American manufacturer of insulins and anti-cancer drugs Eli Lilly joined them. "These companies have already limited cooperation with Russia, stopped marketing and investment programs, stopped conducting new clinical trials," he added.

Ukraine has been at war against Russian invaders since February 24.

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Russias attempts to redeploy mercenaries from Syria and Libya and parts of its units in the Far East to the war against Ukraine have been unsuccessful so far.

"As for the overall situation around Ukraine and the hottest spots on the front line, they have not changed over the past day and have no chance of change because the Russian Federation has exhausted its resources. Its attempts to redeploy mercenaries from Syria and Libya and their units in the Far East have been unsuccessful so far. That is, they [Russians] have no reserves, both in our opinion and in the opinion of leading Western experts," Oleksiy Arestovych, a non-staff adviser to the Head of the President's Office, said at a briefing, Ukrinform reports.

Arestovych noted that the main efforts of the Russian invaders were focused on the Joint Forces Operation area in eastern Ukraine, but yesterday, according to him, the enemy suffered losses near Izium and Mykolayiv and "get stuck in tactical battles, which to some extent unfold even in favor of Ukraine."

Earlier, the General Staff informed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted devastating blows on groups of occupying troops in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and went on the counteroffensive in some areas as of the morning of March 16.

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Russian troops continue a strategic offensive operation against Ukraine. In particular, over the past day, the enemy tried to advance towards Kyiv, but the attempts were unsuccessful.

Russian occupation forces continue strategic offensive operation against Ukraine. The tasks of defeating the groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and establishing control over the left-bank part of Ukraine have not been fulfilled, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook.

As noted, the enemy is trying to resume offensive operations in the direction of Vyshgorod. During the day the enemy tried to advance towards Kyiv. It was unsuccessful and moved on to defense.

The General Staff informs that the enemy partially reached its goal in Donetsk direction but was stopped in Mykolayiv direction.

The enemy is trying to move additional reserves of the Eastern Military District.

Due to heavy losses in the south, the command of the aggressor country's armed forces refused to strengthen the grouping of troops in Polissya with additional reserve units from the 5th Combined Arms Red Banner Army.

The enemy did not carry out offensive operations in the Volyn direction. Air reconnaissance with the use of the Orlan-10 UAV was noted.

In addition, the General Staff notes that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus plan to rotate units that cover the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.

The enemy was stopped in the northern direction. The occupiers are trying to gain a foothold on the achieved frontiers, are regrouping troops and trying to restore the combat effectiveness of their units.

The enemy does not abandon attempts to capture the city of Chernihiv, however, does not conduct active offensive operations. It regroups troops and tries to organize logistical support, but has no success.

In the direction of Brovary there is a movement of small groups of occupiers' equipment within the occupied area of the settlements Bohdanivka and Velyka Dymerka.

Air reconnaissance of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is carried out with the use of UAVs "Orlan-10".

In the Slobozhansky direction, the occupiers are trying to gain a foothold on the occupied frontiers, regrouping troops and replenishing stocks of ammunition and fuel and lubricants. The enemy continues to blockade the cities of Sumy, Lebedyn and Okhtyrka. The enemy does not carry out active offensive actions. The occupiers continue unsuccessful attempts to block Kharkiv.

In the Donetsk and Tavriya directions, as a result of assaults in the Popasna area, the enemy suffered losses and was forced to withdraw for regrouping.

In the area of Severodonetsk, the occupiers conducted reconnaissance by fighting, had no success, trying to gain a foothold on the eastern and western outskirts of the city of Rubizhne. At the same time, according to available information, on March 15, enemy aircraft fired on the positions of their troops near the village of Smolyaninovo.

In the Volnovakha direction, the occupiers are trying to develop an offensive in the direction of the settlement of Velyka Novosilka.

In the Kryvyi Rih direction, the enemy is trying to resume the offensive in the direction of the settlements of Velyka Kostroma, Mala Kostroma and Kryvyi Rih. As a result of the fire damage inflicted by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the enemy was stopped, suffered losses and retreated to unfavorable borders.

Enemy aircraft continue to launch missile and bomb strikes on military and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Sumy and Donetsk oblasts, actively using the airfield network of the Republic of Belarus and the occupied Crimea.

In the Black Sea operational zone, warships shelled the coast in the areas of the settlements of Lebedivka, Sanzheika, Zatoka and Bilenke.

The Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine draws the attention of military experts, bloggers and active users of social networks to the inexpediency of immediate demonstration of the consequences of hostilities, trophies, and other information that may be used in future defense operations.

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Ukraine has taken about 1,000 Russian invaders prisoner, and they are giving evidence.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a video meeting with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Everyone understands what is happening. There are people, up to 1,000 prisoners; there is video evidence, everything they [prisoners  Ed.] told without pressure, Zelensky said.

The President of Ukraine stressed that all criminals, who brought suffering to Ukraine and took the lives of people away, should be brought to justice.

I would like to thank you for your visit. It is important to us, amid the war, amid Russias aggression against our country, primarily against our people, that you reacted so promptly, so professionally, Zelensky noted.

Zelensky also promised that cooperation would be ensured at the highest level.

Meanwhile, Khan expressed hope for effective cooperation with Ukraine and receiving the necessary information.

Khan had a look at the photos of Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities, as well as suffering people, and stressed that the law should step forward now and be used to protect these people.

Khan noted a historical unity within the international community. Over 48 hours, a total of 41 countries, from Colombia to Japan, many European countries, have realized that the rule of law cannot exist in institutions and courts only. This must be put into practice if we want justice, Khan stressed.

A reminder that ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has arrived in Ukraine and is starting to investigate Russias war crimes against the Ukrainian people.

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Volodymyr Zelensky informed President of Turkey Erdogan about Ukraine's struggle against the ongoing Russian aggression.

Held talks with a friend of Ukraine, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reported on the progress of the Ukrainian people's struggle against the ongoing aggression. Thankful for the important support. Ways to intensify peaceful dialogue were also discussed, Zelensky posted on Twitter.

Held talks with a friend of Ukraine, President of  @RTErdogan. Reported on the progress of the  people's struggle against the ongoing aggression. Thankful for the important support. Ways to intensify peaceful dialogue were also discussed. #StopRussia    (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2022

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops destroy key infrastructure, massively shell residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and ballistic missiles.

Ukraine repels Russian invaders.

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Russian armed forces continue the offensive operation against Ukraine but have not fully achieved any strategic goal.

According to the latest information as of 24:00 on March 16, the enemy continues the offensive operation against Ukraine. The enemy had not fully achieved any of the strategic goals of the offensive, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on Facebook.

In Volyn direction, the russian occupation forces, with the full support of the military and political leadership of the Republic of Belarus, continue to actively use its territory to deploy missile systems, launch missile strikes on Ukraine and organize all types of troops. Also, the armed forces of the Russian Federation are actively using the airfield network and transport infrastructure of the Republic of Belarus.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine notes that the State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus constantly monitors the situation in the areas bordering Ukraine. In order to obtain intelligence information, Belarusian intelligence agencies are interviewing citizens crossing the Ukrainian-Belarusian border.

In the Polissya direction, the enemy continues to focus its main efforts on conducting reconnaissance and trying to organize a counter-battery fight, having no significant success. During the fighting, units of the 36th All-Military Army of the Eastern Military District suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment and were forced to mobilize reserves prematurely.

There are no active offensive actions by the enemy in the Siversky and Slobozhansky directions. The occupiers are trying to gain a foothold on the previously captured borders, regroup troops and replenish supplies.

The enemy did not stop trying to advance south of the city of Izium, probably in order to continue the offensive in the direction of Slovyansk. It is not successful.

In the South Buh area, the enemy continues to try to gain a foothold. After the attack on the Kherson airfield by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is temporarily under enemy control, the occupiers are trying to relocate the surviving equipment.

The naval group of the Black Sea Fleet of the russian federation continues to block shipping in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the United States to take an important decision to protect the Ukrainian skies, i.e. either establish a no-fly zone or provide aircrafts and powerful anti-aircraft defense systems.

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his speech in the United States Congress, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

We are asking for a response. A response from the world. A response to the [Russian  Ed.] terror. Is this too much of a request? Creating a no-fly zone over Ukraine means to save people. The humanitarian no-fly zone, Zelensky stressed.

In his words, the United States also has dark pages in its great history. Thus, Americans can understand the Ukrainian people, who need support right now. Zelensky recalled the horrific attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, when the sky turned black with aircrafts attacking Americans.

Zelensky also recalled the tragic 9/11 events, when peaceful American cities turned into a battlefield, when the innocent people were attacked from the air, and no one could expect or stop that.

Our country experiences this every day. Every night. Over the past three weeks. Different Ukrainian cities Odesa and Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy, Zhytomyr and Lviv, Mariupol and Dnipro. Russia has turned the Ukrainian skies into a source of death. For thousands of people, Zelensky stressed.

In his words, Russian troops have already launched about 1,000 missile strikes on Ukraine. They are using planes and unmanned aerial vehicles to fire on people.

According to Zelensky, if establishing the no-fly zone is too much of a request, Ukraine is asking for an alternative.

You know what defense systems we need. S-300 and other similar systems. You know how much depends in a battlefield on the ability to use aviation. Powerful aviation. To protect our people. Our freedom. Our land. The planes, which can help Ukraine, which can help Europe, Zelensky noted.

In his words, such planes exist but not on the Ukrainian land and not in the Ukrainian skies; they do not protect people.

I have a dream  these words are familiar to each of you. Today I can say: I have the need. I have the need to protect our skies. I am in need of your decision. Your assistance. And this will mean the same. The same you feel when hearing: I have a dream, Zelensky stressed.

A reminder that, on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile and air strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians in Ukraine.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed with Prime Minister of Ireland Micheal Martin methods of counteracting the aggression and crimes the Russian Federation is committing against the civilian population in Ukraine.

Zelensky announced this on Twitter, Ukrinform reports.

"Talked to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin. Discussed countering aggression & horrific crimes of Russia against civilians. Expressed condolences over the murder of Irish journalist Pierre Zakrzewski by Russian soldiers. Thanked for helping the people of Ukraine," the president said.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops are shelling and destroying key infrastructure, massively shelling residential areas of Ukrainian cities and towns using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and ballistic missiles.

On March 15, Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshinova were killed in artillery shelling by the Russian forces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his strong support for the Ukrainian state in the war with the Russian Federation.

Held talks with another true friend of Ukraine, PM of Canada Justin Trudeau. Noted the importance of yesterday's address to Canadian Parliament and people. Thanked for the significant support in the war with Russia. We need to strengthen the anti-war coalition. The common goal is peace in Ukraine, Zelensky posted on Twitter.

Held talks with another true friend of , PM of  @JustinTrudeau. Noted the importance of yesterday's address to  Parliament & people. Thanked for the significant support in the war with Russia. We need to strengthen the anti-war coalition. The common goal is peace in Ukraine    (@ZelenskyyUa) March 16, 2022

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops destroy key infrastructure, massively shell residential areas of Ukrainian cities and villages using artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and ballistic missiles.

Ukraine repels Russian invaders.

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Thousands of people have marched through the main street in the city of Berdiansk, which has been captured by Russian occupation troops, holding a large Ukrainian flag.

The relevant video from Berdiansk was posted on YouTube, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The video depicts thousands of people marching through the main street and chanting Berdiansk is Ukraine, Ukraine above All, Glory to Ukraine!, Death to the Enemies.

A reminder that yesterday one of activists, Vitalii Shevchenko, was abducted in the city of Berdiansk.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, starting a war. Russian troops are shelling and destroying the key infrastructure facilities, launching missile strikes on residential areas in Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians in Ukraine.

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Voting opens March 23 for 2022-23 Student Body President election

The UNCSA Student Government Association is hosting the election for the 2022-23 Student Body President on Wednesday, March 23 through Thursday March 24.



The Student Body President collaborates with representatives from High School Student Government, Graduate Student Council, and the Association of Student Governments. This individual also interface with UNCSA's administration, faculty, and staff, advocating on behalf of the student body. The Student Body President represents the student body as a voting member of the Board of Trustees.



The Student Body President (SBP) candidates are:

William Brickhouse, a rising fourth-year student in the School of Music

Kayli Kimerer, a rising fourth-year student in Design & Production

Kayli Kimerer's Campaign Advocating for Student Health & Wellness Informing Staff and Faculty on student health & wellness needs

Working to improve health and wellness resources for all students and making them widely and readily available

Strongly advocating for student mental health days to staff and faculty Improving Academic Support and Flexibility Working to reform grading policies to support a modern UNCSA students needs

Creating a better structure for students to change a course, withdraw, and give feedback to staff and faculty members Continuing Equity and Accessibility Work Aiming to preserve and improve current equity and inclusion policies, including working closely with the EDIB committee

Pursuing meaningful talks between students and staff & faculty of student experiences with Equity and Accessibility at UNCSA William Brickhouse's Campaign Amplify Student Voices Connecting with students across campus to accurately advocate on behalf of my peers to various governing groups at UNCSA.

Holding open office hours for students and working with other student groups are ways in which I hope to gather tangible feedback. Student Safety and Wellness Work with Administration, Health Center, and Campus Police to create effective mental health and wellness programming as well as continuing to work on campus safety efforts. Interdisciplinary Collaboration Encouraging and supporting cross campus collaboration.

With the upcoming collaborative scheduling initiative, now is a perfect time to push for more opportunities to work in interdisciplinary settings. Sustaining ongoing committees Ensuring that we have members of our team or students on campus who would better serve on these committees.

Maintaining active Board of Trustees participation, EDI accountability, helping with the Collaborative Scheduling Initiative and supporting the new Police Advisory Board launching this semester. Campus and Community Engagement Encouraging diverse programs on and off campus while working with other clubs and orgs to broaden the impact of SGA.

Brainstorming ways that UNCSA can use our artistic resources to educate and inspire the surrounding Winston-Salem area.

How to vote

You can cast your vote starting at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, March 23 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 24. All students (high school, undergraduate and graduate) may cast one vote for their candidate of choice.



Vote



If you have difficulties accessing the link during the above times, please email Aaron Ross and attach a screenshot of any error messages.



Thank you for your participation in voting for your next Student Body President.



- The 2021-22 SGA Elections Committee

Contact: Aaron Ross

March 16, 2022

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Voluntary contributions from government partners and the European Union (EU) are vital to our work, accounting for almost 90% of our annual income.

As of 31 December 2021, our three largest partners were the United States of America, the European Union and Germany, while our largest government partners of unearmarked funds were Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, Netherlands and Denmark. Unearmarked funding provides the backbone of UNHCR's activities on a global scale, allowing us to respond to emergencies as they happen and enabling us to stay and deliver long after the headlines have faded.

For more information on our operations, in-depth information on budgets, contributions and expenditure as well as donor contributions, visit our Global Focus website.
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie meets refugees from Somalia near Aden in Yemen.  UNHCR/Marwan Tahtah

Ten days ago, I was in Yemen to meet some of the four million people displaced by the conflict.

I visited one informal settlement that was home to 130 families. Only 20 of them receiving any food aid at all  and then, it was only when funding is available.

I visited a makeshift school, it was made up of five small, dark rooms. The children sitting on the floor and they hadnt eaten. Nor had the teacher. She is a volunteer, and she told me she walked for at least an hour each day to get to that remote place, to try to give the kids some hope for a future. Because they have nothing. No food. No pens. No desks. No school books. No salary for the teacher. Thirteen-year-olds were sitting next to 3-year-olds, striving to learn to read and write, in a hope for a future that they may never see.

I visited another site where displaced families live in flimsy shelters, with no income and no food at all. Miles away from any water or sanitation. There are no toilets, no showers. And there was no school, and most of the children, because of years of conflict, were illiterate. Many young girls being married off, perhaps to spare the family another mouth to feed, or to receive a dowry that might help the other children in the family to survive.

I met a mother who had lost three of her children to preventable illnesses. Her son was now sick and in the hospital. Even if the hospital has medicine to treat him  which most dont - she wont have the money to pay for it.

This is the reality of an aid appeal that is drastically under-funded, amid a conflict that has gone on for so many years without political solutions.

So let us be clear. As we all know, we cannot point to anywhere in the world where were succeeding in deterring aggression or reducing the number of people forced to flee their homes.

Last year, UN humanitarian programmes were only half funded, and this year we are facing unprecedented needs. Needs that were rising globally even before the effects of the devasting war in Ukraine.

The UNHCR appeal in Yemen itself is only 9 per cent funded. And on top of its own suffering, Yemen is hosting over 100,000 refugees from Somalia, Syria, Ethiopia, among other countries, without any support.

So, it is heart breaking. It is infuriating. And above all, because this is a man-made crisis that must be ended.

We all know that aid relief without political solutions does not work. The two have to go hand in hand, always.

There is nothing more important for Yemen than to end the conflict: so that the people have a chance of living in safety and dignity, not dependent on aid - which no country or people ever wish to have to rely on.

The next pledging conference should be about helping the people of Yemen to rebuild and develop their country, not just about meeting a percentage of an aid appeal to help only a fraction of millions of people in desperate need not to die of hunger and preventable illness. But that is where were at now.

The lack of solutions to conflict and insecurity globally is causing unmanageable levels of human displacement and need and stretching humanitarian relief to the point that we see in Yemen today.

You have an opportunity as governments to address this desperate human emergency and to seek an urgent end to the conflict.

I hope you will take it. I implore you to do so, on behalf of the people of Yemen, of the families I met.

Thank you for your time. Please, do what you can.
As Russia digs in, whats the risk of nuclear war? Its not zero
This 101-year-old surgical pioneer still works every day. And he's not about to retire
Jennifer Ann Hancock was born Nov. 20, 1956, in Atlanta, to William Roy and Martha Jones Hancock. She went home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, April 26, 2022, in Gray. She was preceded in death by her father, William Roy Hancock, and her brother, Timothy Roy Hancock, as well as grandparents
Union Springs, AL (36089)

Today

Some clouds. Low around 65F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low around 65F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi has provided $169,500 in funding to the University of Mississippi Medical Center to support children, their families, and the provider community with local professional sickle cell disease expertise and behavioral health support and services.

"Providing equitable access to care and health education resources to Mississippians is a core part of the UnitedHealthcare mission," said J. Michael Parnell, chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi. "The University of Mississippi Medical Center has the clinical knowledge to address some of our states biggest needs and we are honored to help bring this knowledge to high-risk and high-need communities.

The new funding will go to:



University of Mississippi Medical Centers Center for the Advancement of Youth (CAY)  $84,000 to provide pediatric behavioral health resources for children, their families, and the professionals who care for these children.

University of Mississippi Medical Centers Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology  $85,500 to support rural medical education and treatment of sickle cell disease in the Mississippi Delta.

CAY is using the funding to create a pilot project to determine the effectiveness of Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) programs that improve the developmental, behavioral and mental health of Mississippians 21 years of age and younger.

The goal of our CAY-ECHO program is to increase behavioral health and psychiatric care availability in rural areas by sharing our knowledge with providers in the region, said Dr. Courtney Walker, assistant professor of child development, University of Mississippi Medical Center.

What is so exciting about this program is that, instead of just seeing patients, I get to teach family medicine residents how to care for people with sickle cell disease so they can do this throughout the region for many years to come. The impact is exponential, said Dr. Melissa McNaull, professor of hematology, University of Mississippi Medical Center. McNaull is offering a clinic for sickle cell patients in Greenville through the grant.

These donations are part of several initiatives that UnitedHealthcare, along with its parent company UnitedHealth Group, have launched to address health equity in the United States, including a $1 million investment to support organizations in Mississippi. The company is also investing in programs and partnerships focused on food, housing, transportation, health literacy, behavioral health and social isolation, including more than $500 million invested in affordable housing in underserved areas and $100 million to fight the pandemic and support vulnerable minority populations disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.5 million physicians and care professionals, and 7,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

About Childrens of Mississippi

Childrens of Mississippi, part of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, encompasses all the pediatric services available at UMMC and at clinical sites throughout Mississippi. At the heart of these services is the states only hospital devoted exclusively to the care and treatment of sick and injured children. The Childrens of Mississippi network brings specialized clinical care for children to communities across the state, making it easier for families to get the treatment they need closer to home.

About the University of Mississippi Medical Center

UMMC is the states only academic medical center. Its education, research and health care missions share the objectives of improving the health of the states population and eliminating health disparities. Located in Jackson, UMMC encompasses seven health science schools, including medicine, nursing, health related professions, dentistry, pharmacy, graduate studies and population health. The Medical Centers health care enterprise includes the states only Level I trauma center, only childrens hospital, and only organ and bone marrow transplant program. The Medical Center also is home to a Telehealth Center of Excellence, one of two in the nation.
MEET THE MOVCENTR

Dr. Fabricio Magalhaes, Laboratory Technician for the Movement Analysis (MOVAN) Core

Dr. Magalhaes Story

Dr. Magalhaes previously worked as a lecturer and lead full scale research projects in human motion and performance. He was the manager of the movement analysis laboratory at the school of physical education, physical therapy, and occupational therapy of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (Brazil).

I am thrilled to join the MOVCENTR and MOVAN as a Laboratory Technician.

His professional activities include, reviewing for several scientific journals in the field of biomechanics, collaborate with laboratories around the world (Brazil, Italy, Great Britain, and Colombia), membership with academic associations (International Society of Biomechanics and Brazilian Society of Biomechanics), and has several papers published in peer-reviewed journals.

As an active researcher, he is experienced problem-solving and maintenance of multiple pieces of equipment and have experiences coding in Matlab and Visual 3D.

I look forward to learning more about each lab that MOVAN operates and to keep thinking of new ways to increase services for our current and future users.

REGISTER TODAY: MAY 18-22, 2022

The 3rd Annual Great Plains Biomechanics Conference and the 7th Annual Human Movement Variability Conference





FREE STUDENT REGISTRATION

This years conferences will offer a hybrid format and have both an in-person and a virtual component. This will be a two-day event plus one virtual day and pre-conference workshops. You can attend the meeting in Omaha or from far away!

Featuring Keynote Speakers (Updated):

Great Plains Biomechanics Keynote Speaker: Dr. Veerle Segers, Ghent University of Belgium

Human Movement Variability Barry T. Bates Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jaap Van Dieen, VU Amsterdam

Activity Schedule overview:

Tours of the BRB, socials, keynote presentations, poster and podium presentations and awards

Pre-Conference Workshops, May 16-17, 2022: Phase Space Reconstruction, Measure Phase Space Dynamics, Measures of Uncertainty, Fractals and Multifractals

Virtual Poster Presentations, presented by Podium

Livestream for keynote and podium presentations

STORIES

2021 UNeMed Innovation Awards: MOVAN Core wins award for Most Promising New Invention: Improved Self-Pacing Treadmill

Since the inception of the Most Promising New Invention awards in 2008, this is the first-time researchers from UNO have won this award!

The following story is provided by the UNeMed awards:

The Most Promising New Invention of 2021 is a brilliant twist on an old concept. The device is a self-pacing treadmill developed by Brian Knarr, PhD, Travis Vanderheyden and Russell Buffum at the University of Nebraska at Omahas biomechanics facility.

The improved self-pacing treadmill is patent pending, and Impower Health, a new startup, has licensed the technology. With the support of UNeMed, UNeTech, and Proven Venturesa Burlington Capital FundImpower Health looks to revolutionize the common treadmill with equipment that adjusts its speed to the runner, not the other way around.

Whether a user wants to run, walk, or trot, the treadmill adjusts to the users pace, without needing any other input. In speeding up or slowing down to match a runners speed, the new treadmill will make home and gym workouts safer and more realistic.

The remarkable innovation originally began as an algorithm created that three biomechanics graduate students created in the summer of 2016: Will Denton, Casey Wiens, and Molly Schieber, currently an MD-PhD candidate at UNMC. They developed and successfully demonstrated a robust algorithm, but the project stalled there.

Five years later, Dr. Knarr and his team resuscitated the project, re-writing the algorithm to work with a new sensor array, and creating a module to make the technology work on pre-existing treadmills. The new work sparked additional funding from the Universitys startup incubator, UNeTech, and keen interest from Doug Miller, a biomedical engineer and former executive at Life Fitness, perhaps the worlds most popular and recognizable exercise equipment company.



Seminar Series



RESEARCH CORE EQUIPMENT

Migus Hybrid Cameras from Qualisys

Main Gait Lab now has 8 Miqus Hybrid cameras from Qualisys that can record marker or markerless motion capture. They have these dual modes that makes them very attractive to investigators. This equipment has enabled MOVAN to expand our markerless motion capture capabilities as clinical patients undergoing motion capture in our Main Gait Lab. They can walk into the smaller sport biomechanics volume and get synchronous marker/markerless recordings with only 1 set-up.



RESEARCH CORES

Machining and Prototyping Core

Dr. Brian Knarr, Core Director

Contact: bmchmpcore@unomaha.edu

The Machining and Prototyping Core Facility involves the use of three major facilities within the University of Nebraska at Omaha Biomechanics Research Building: The Machine Shop, Design Studio, and the 3D Printing Laboratory. The most basic function of the Core is to provide services that utilize these spaces and their personnel and equipment. These services are for professional in the University of Nebraska system, the local area, but also to people outside our state to progress their research or other projects. This core can design, prototype, manufacture and repair, maintain, or install a wide range of devices and instrumentation.





Movement Analysis Core

Dr. David Kingston

Contact: bmchmovan@unomaha.edu

The Movement Analysis Core provides resources, education, advisement and services related to the analysis of human movement. Equipment such as motion capture, dynamometry, electromyography (EMG), electroencephalography, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, virtual reality and high-speed digital video are provided. Contact the core for a comprehensive PDF of our facilities, resources and services.





Nonlinear Analysis Core

Dr. Aaron Likens, Core Director

Contact: bmchnonan@unomaha.edu

The Nonlinear Analysis Core provides resources and services necessary for innovative analysis of human movement. These methods go beyond averages by looking at the time-varying characteristics of a time signal. The Core provides access to a multitude of nonlinear analysis tools, assistance in experimental design, data processing, quality assurance, interpretation and dissemination. The Core is also actively exploring and validating new techniques and algorithms for future use. In addition to our nonlinear methods, standard analyses can also be performed.
Thomaston, GA (30286)

Today

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
August 12 2020

Ryder Architecture has revisited plans for a new residential development at 33 Gilbert Street, Glasgow, on behalf of Surplus Property Investments.

Further scaling back plans from last year the latest vision constitutes a total of 20 flats on brownfield land designed to create a coherent urban block alongside 13 parking spots and 34 cycle bays at a density of 255 dwellings per hectare (DPH).

Having witnessed significant residential interest in recent years Ryder will work with the urban grain of the inner city area, despite previous applications to develop the brownfield site having been rebuffed.

Outlining their latest approach the practice wrote: "The proposal is above the recommended 100DPH. However, due to the scale and nature of the predominantly tenemental area, strict application of this policy would result in a development largely out of scale from its context. Its proximity to a high accessibility area and provision of cycle parking for active travel opportunities provide further justification for a higher density of 255DPH.

Topped by a rooftop amenity space the proposal will provide residents with sunrooms, a pergola and covered spaces making the most of expansive southerly views to the river in all weathers.

A sister block is planned to rise at 37 Gilbert Street, framing either side of the junction with Teviot Street.
March 16 2022

Affordable housing provider Dunedin Canmore, part of the Wheatley Group, will break ground on 300 affordable homes designed by Smith Scott Mullan Associates at West Craigs, Edinburgh, later this month.

Part of a larger residential masterplan by Yeoman McAllister for up to 1,700 homes the project will deliver a mix of houses and flats for social and mid-market rent.

Spread over two plots next to a proposed primary school the homes will be arranged as a series of urban blocks.

In a statement Smith Scott Mullan wrote: "Our areas of input include some of the most prominent sites within the masterplan character zones, creating new urban streets with landmark corners using high-quality materials and architectural features. Homes will be Silver Standard and Housing for Varying Needs compliant with carefully considered soft landscaping. Designed for a diverse mix of families and older people, it will create a new community linked to Edinburgh through green travel corridors."

The City of Edinburgh Council has contributed 23.6m funding towards the project as part of its pledge to build 20,000 affordable homes by 2027.

Phase one homes will be ready for occupation from the end of 2024.
(@FahadShabbir)

TAIPEI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Mar, 2022 ) :Taiwan reported 90 new COVID-19 cases, including three locally transmitted infections and 87 imported ones, the island's disease monitoring agency said Wednesday.

All of the three new local infections were reported in Taoyuan City, the agency added.

To date, Taiwan has reported 21,492 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 15,493 were local infections.
Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned for setting up of a separate unit for Dementia and Alzheimer patients at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH).

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th Mar, 2022 ) :Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned for setting up of a separate unit for Dementia and Alzheimer patients at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health (PIMH).

She issued these directions while presiding over a meeting here at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical education Department (SH&MED). SH&MED Secretary Dr Ahmad Javed Qazi, Special Secretary Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti, Additional Secretary Dr Hafiz Shahid Latif, Prof Javed Chaudhry and Dr Ali Hashmi from PIMH were present.

During the meeting, the Minister reviewed steps taken for further improvement in the treatment of patients admitted at PIMH.

Special Secretary Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti presented the details of the new initiatives and status of facilities being provided to the patients at the PIMH.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said that as per vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the PIMH was being revamped, adding that PIMH was providing better healthcare facilities to more than 1100 patients.

She said that the PIMH was being established on modern lines, adding that male nurses were being appointed in the PIMH to facilitate patients.

A special cell would be set up for Alzheimer's and Dementia patients and special training courses for Alzheimer's and dementia patients would be conducted at the PIMH, she added.

She said that a day care center for Alzheimer's patients would also be set up, adding that the PIMH would immediately fill the vacancies of psychologists.
(@Abdulla99267510)

The Austrian Foreign Minister will hold delegation talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to review the whole range of bilateral matters as well as discuss regional and global issues of importance

ISLALAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 16th, 2022) Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg arrives in Islamabad on Wednesday on a four-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The Austrian Foreign Minister will be accompanied by a business delegation.

During his visit, the Austrian Foreign Minister will hold delegation talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to review the whole range of bilateral matters as well as discuss regional and global issues of importance.

The Austrian Foreign Minister is also expected to meet other dignitaries during his visit.

A business roundtable is being organized where Austrian and Pakistani businessmen will get an opportunity to discuss prospective business opportunities.

The Austrian Foreign Minister would also undertake a visit to Lahore.

The two countries have longstanding, cordial relations with growing cooperation in diverse fields.

The visit of Austrian Foreign Minister to Pakistan is expected to impart further impetus to the multifaceted Pakistan-Austria relationship.
FCIC Releases COVID-19 and Vaccination Information Videos for People with Disabilities

The Florida Center for Inclusive Communities (FCIC) UCEDD, in partnership with Diane Wilkins Productions, and funded by a grant from the Administration for Community Living/CDC, is pleased to announce the release of a new series of free educational videos. The grant aimed to provide information about access to vaccines and information to reduce vaccine hesitancy in the disability community.

The What You Should Know Show videos describe COVID-19 and vaccination facts in an upbeat manner using plain language. The videos feature Floridians with disabilities commenting on their experiences, including some members of FCICs Community Advisory Committee. FCIC Associate Director and Research Associate Professor Liz Perkins, PhD RNLD FAAIDD FGSA , the Principal Investigator for the project, narrated the videos. FCICs Training Director, Laura Rodriguez Lopez, M.Ed., narrated the Spanish version. In addition, they are available with American Sign Language interpretation.

The videos can be accessed from FCICs COVID website where easy-read COVID-19 and Vaccination Factsheets, produced as part of this project, can also be downloaded. The videos are also available from FCICs YouTube Channel. The videos are also available from FCICs YouTube Channel.

We are excited to begin dissemination of these videos," said Dr. Perkins. "They specifically highlight the increased risks and challenges that COVID-19 presents to people with disabilities and encourages vaccination. Although it is a serious topic, we hope that viewers will find the videos engaging and informative. Our hope is they become a useful educational resource that will help combat vaccination hesitancy.
Valdosta, GA (31601)

Today

Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable.
Lincoln, RI (02865)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 49F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 49F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Pope Francis sends a letter to participants at a Conference taking place in Damascus and dedicated to listening, dialogue and the future of Christian communities in the region. He assures Syrian Christians of the Church's concern for them and turns his thoughts also to Ukraine asking for prayers for peace.

By Linda Bordoni

Reassuring the Christian community in Syria that it is not forgotten, and that the Church remains particularly concerned for its welfare, Pope Francis conveyed his closeness to the people of the ravaged nation noting that the war, now in its 12th year, continues to cause suffering, hunger, death and the ongoing flight of Syrians.

In a letter read to the ensemble by his envoy, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the Pope reminded the Christians of Syria that they are the protagonists of the mission of Jesus in this land, and said that great efforts are being made to offer hope and future prospects to those who remain.

Read also 15/03/2022 Nuncio to Syria: After 11 years of war "we have fallen into obscurity" The war in Syria  a conflict that has led to half a million deaths  began eleven years ago today, on 15 March 2011. Dont let hope die, says Cardinal Mario Zenari, the ...

The Conference is entitled The Church as a House of Charity  Synodality and Coordination. It is organized by the Congregation for the Eastern Churches of which Cardinal Sandri is Prefect, and sees the participation of Caritas Syria and other charitable agencies.

Noting that the Church is one body, yet it is made up of various members, the Pope called for synodal action that implies listening, sharing, love, reciprocal support and, above all, an awareness of the role that each is called to play.

When one part of the body suffers, the others all come to its aid, sharing in its suffering and doing everything possible to alleviate it.

All of us are members of the Body of Christ, which is the Church, he said, explaining that although members of different churches and traditions, we have the same vocation of testifying to the Lord, journeying together in a spirit of communion and in respect for our diversities.



Pope Francis elaborated on the concept of synodality in the Church that he said has a vertical and a horizontal dimension, and took the occasion to address the various representatives of agencies and NGOs that are active in Syria saying that their initiatives are a tangible sign of the Churchs charity, nourished by the Gospel.

He concluded with thoughts for the immense suffering for our brothers and sisters in war-ravaged Ukraine:
Cardinal Michael Czerny SJ, interim prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, visited Hungary from 8 to 11 March to bring the Pope's closeness to Ukrainian refugees and to those who welcome them. He offers here a reflection upon his return, as he departs for a similar mission in Slovakia on 16 March.

By Cardinal Michael Czerny

I saw the war, but not directly, because the region I've been in so far has been spared by the conflict: I saw it in the eyes of the women and men I've met: uprooted, lost people, who carry everything they have left in a backpack or a shopping bag. They breathe and walk, but one can say that they have "lost their lives", or rather that the war has taken them away, and they have not yet begun to build a new one. This is why foreign immigrants seem to fare better: there were many in Ukraine, about 75,000 students, from Africa, Asia and Latin America. They too are fleeing together with the Ukrainian population, they too have only a backpack or a suitcase, but they have not "lost their lives", even if some have had to deal with episodes of racism during their journey.

The majority of refugees are women and children, and for them, there is the added threat of trafficking. They come from a history - that of the Soviet world - in which they have learned to distrust anything public or state-run; so they stay away from government-organized buses and this plays into the hands of traffickers, who approach and offer a ride in a private car.

But I didn't see only this, on the contrary, I saw something else more: many people engaged in the peacemaking, approaching the refugees, even while the soldiers are engaged in the war, often from a distance, looking at a computer screen, because a technological war is being fought. It is a true army of peace that has mobilized for the initiatives of reception and solidarity, at many different levels. There is the solidarity of the States, which in a few days have set up infrastructures and streamlined the procedures that allow legal entry to refugees, providing buses or allowing free travel on trains; there is also that of the civil servants who carry out the operations. Then there is the solidarity organized by the NGOs, the Churches and the religious communities: all of these were present in the territory I visited - Catholics of Latin and Eastern rite, Orthodox, Protestants and Jews - capable of collaborating in a spirit of practical ecumenism.

Read also 08/03/2022 Cardinal Czerny: A Journey of Prayer, Prophecy and Denunciation The Prefect ad interim of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development departs on his journey to meet with Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons and those who assist ...

What struck me most was the spontaneous solidarity of ordinary people. Of the Hungarians, of course, but also of the many people I met, who had come from Italy, Belgium, Spain...: they left what they were doing and set off, driving thousands of kilometres, at their own expense, to reach the Ukrainian border, to unload the aid they had brought and load up the people they would be hosting at home.

I have seen a Europe capable of putting aside closures and fears, capable of opening doors and borders, instead of building walls and fences. I have seen Europeans capable of behaving again like the Good Samaritan, loading into cars and buses - no longer on a horse or a donkey - strangers found "half-dead" along the roads leading to the border. I pray that once this crisis is over, Europe and Europeans will not turn back, but will remain open and welcoming!

In a nutshell, I saw Fratelli tutti in action, in people's hands and faces, in their actions and words. I think that as a Church we have a great task here: while the Holy See and its diplomacy continue to look for ways to end the conflict, offering themselves also as mediators, at another level, we must commit ourselves to support and reinforce this effort of solidarity.

It will be needed because the crisis could be prolonged, but above all because once peace returns, the same solidarity, perhaps even greater, will be needed to accompany people as they return home, so that they can resume the life they now seem to have lost, overcome the grief, wounds and suffering that the war will leave on the territory of Ukraine, and build a peaceful future for their country.

The commitment of the men and women of Ukraine has already begun. Upon my return to Rome, they told me about something that happened in Medyka, a Polish border town. Some traffickers were trying to convince the fleeing women to get on two buses that would take them to Denmark, in order to get them into prostitution. Other Ukrainian women, already living in Poland, asked for the identity of these traffickers to be checked, and they quickly disappeared. Now Ukrainian women are organizing to prevent such events from happening again. We can only imagine what they will achieve once they can return home, with the same spirit and determination. In order to give Ukraine a future, it is indispensable that the weapons be silenced, but it is not enough: the refugees must be able to return home, get back to work, go back to school... A country cannot live without its citizens!

Last week I left for "a journey of prayer, prophecy and denunciation". So, it was. But on my return, I can say that it was also a journey of witness, love and hope. With this spirit, I am now leaving for Slovakia.

(Translated from the original Italian)
Edgars Rinkevics, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, advocates support for Ukraine amid the widening humanitarian and refugee crisis brought about by the Russian invasion.

By Benedict Mayaki, SJ

Pope Francis received Latvian foreign affairs minister, Edgars Rinkevics, in audience in the Vatican on Monday.

The Latvian diplomat seized the opportunity of the visit with the Holy Father to meet with other officials of the Holy See, during this time when the Holy See and the Republic of Latvia are marking a centenary of diplomatic relations.

Focus on war and refugees

As the world watches the continuing violence in Ukraine, Rinkevics told Vatican News that a lot of the discussions during the encounter were focused on the situation in the besieged nation, particularly as regarding the growing refugee crisis and the humanitarian disaster that is developing.

He added that the parties also discussed ways they can work toward putting a stop to the Russian invasion and an end to the violence, as well as efforts to promote cooperation between international organizations.

Listen to our interview with Edgars Rinkevics, Latvian minister of foreign affairs

Support for Ukraine

Russias invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February, has forced over 3 million people to flee for their lives into neighbouring states, with increasing numbers becoming internally displaced as they move to relatively safer cities within Ukraine.

It is very important that there is strong support for Ukraine when it comes to the humanitarian aspect and helping the refugees, he said, stressing the need to continue employing the strategy of supporting Ukraine in any way we can.

In this regard, he notes that Latvia is providing military and non-military assistance to Ukraine.

Rinkevics endorses the sanctions placed against Russia and Belarus, noting that they act as a deterrent for Russia not to continue the aggression in Europe or to go beyond Ukraines borders.

He also highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen the presence of NATO troops and its allies in the Baltic region, including in Poland and Romania.
SEAN MORRISON is a News and Features Editor for The Vidette. He can be contacted at sgmorr1@ilstu.edu. Follow Morrison on Twitter at @ seanmorr122

IF YOU SUPPORT THE VIDETTE MISSION of providing a training laboratory for Illinois State University student journalists to learn and sharpen viable, valuable and marketable skills in all phases of digital media, please contribute to this most important cause. Thank you.
EMMA BRATT is a News and Features Reporter for The Vidette. Bratt can be contacted at ekbratt@ilstu.edu. Follow Bratt on Twitter at @ttarbamme.

IF YOU SUPPORT THE VIDETTE MISSION of providing a training laboratory for Illinois State University student journalists to learn and sharpen viable, valuable and marketable skills in all phases of digital media, please contribute to this most important cause. Thank you.
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On this edition of Straight Talk Africa, host Hayde Adams and her guests discuss the war in Ukraine. How effective are international sanctions against Moscow and how will they affect African countries? Guests include Philip Crowther, a correspondent for the Associated Press, Myroslava Gongadze, VOAs Eastern Europe chief, J. Peter Pham, Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, Mimi Kalinda, CEO and co-founder of Africa Communications Media Group and Moustafa Bayoumi, a professor at Brooklyn College, City University of New York.
While over 3 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion, a small but growing number are heading in the other direction. At first they were foreign volunteers, Ukrainian expatriate men returning to fight and people delivering aid. Now, increasingly, women are also going back.

Motivated by a desire to help loved ones in trouble, or to contribute to the defense and survival of their country and compatriots in ways large and small, these women are braving the bombs that have increasingly pounded Ukraine since Russian forces invaded on February 24.

Many are not refugees but Ukrainian women who had been living and working abroad. Others had already chosen to stay put in their country but were forced to cross the border to shop for needed goods as supplies dried up under the onslaught at home.

"I will go back and help. I am a health worker, so the hospitals need help," said Iryna Orel, 50, lugging her luggage as she boarded a train from Przemysl, Poland, to Lviv in western Ukraine. "And I will stay until the end."

With Ukraine's government ordering men to stay and fight, most people fleeing Ukraine have been women, children and the elderly. For those who can't or won't leave, the perils they face are many, and images such as those of a mortally wounded pregnant woman rushed on a stretcher from a maternity hospital in Mariupol testify to the dangers.

'Women can fight'

Still, some women have chosen to head back toward the gunfire and bloodshed to contribute in whatever way they can.

Reached by phone after arriving in the port city of Odesa, which has so far remained under Ukrainian government control, Orel said she was frightened at first by the air raid sirens and sounds of explosives, but "sitting and shaking with fear does not help."

She envisions her role as providing medical care, but other women might choose to help defend the country militarily, she said.

"Women can fight," she said. "Many women are patriotic to defend Ukraine  why not?"

Women rushing into war zones or taking part in war efforts is nothing new. Female soldiers were a visible part of the Ukrainian military before the war, including in combat roles. Some women, like many men, are taking up arms for the first time. Plus, gender equality in the workplace as well as the military has traditionally been more common in post-Soviet states such as Ukraine than in many other parts of the world.

Since the invasion, Polish border guards have tallied over 195,000 crossings of people from Poland to Ukraine, more than 4 in 5 Ukrainian nationals, spokeswoman Anna Michalska said Tuesday. That includes people who buy food and other supplies in Poland and go back, or who bring relatives across and return. So, some people are counted several times.

Since the invasion, Poland has taken in more than 1.8 million refugees  over 60% of the total exodus of 3 million people, according to U.N. agencies. The U.N. refugee agency had initially predicted some 4 million refugees would flee  a figure that may soon be eclipsed.

"What to say, really? Three million refugees in the space of just over two weeks. This is frightening and it doesn't stop," the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said in an interview in the Afghan capital, Kabul, where he was visiting to assure Afghans that despite the horrors of the war raging in Ukraine, they have not been forgotten.

"Everybody's asking how many refugees will come out of Ukraine," he said. "The answer is very simple: I simply don't know."

Aid deliveries are making their way into Ukraine, as well as reported flows of weapons and fighters ready to use them. The International Committee of the Red Cross said 200 tons of medical supplies and relief items had arrived in the country, including water, mattresses, blankets, food, first aid kits, plastic tarps and more than 5,000 body bags.

Arriving to help

Less noticed has been the entry or cross-border shuttling of women who are either trying to bring help or stay in the country to continue their lives as best they can.

"I am returning to Ukraine to help people evacuate," said Maria Khalica, who lives in Italy and was headed to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. "I am in a more stable state now than my friends, who are under rocket attacks and bombs."

"I know that Kyiv is also going to be occupied and we are taking the last chance to help other people" there, Khalica said, adding that she believes Russian forces will eventually seize the capital.

Some women are returning to join their families and others to help in any way they can, either as health workers or with the army.

"We plan to return to the family, and we will decide with the family what to do next," said Olga Simanova, 56, who traveled from Germany to return to her family's hometown of Vinnycja.

Meanwhile, the number of those fleeing continues to grow.

James Elder, a spokesman for UNICEF, said some 1.4 million children have fled Ukraine since the invasion  or about 73,000 per day on average.

That, he said, amounts to "55 every minute. So we are almost  since war started on the 24th of February  (at a point where) a child has become a refugee out of Ukraine every second."

They have fled to countries across Eastern Europe. According to the UNHCR tally on Tuesday, Romania has taken in more than 450,000, Moldova more than 337,000, Hungary over 263,000, and Slovakia some 213,000. The Polish capital of Warsaw alone has taken in about 300,000 refugees, about a 15% increase of its population of more than 1.7 million.

"These are enormous numbers," said Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu, who signed an $11 million agreement with Italy on Tuesday to help with the refugee crisis. "The number of refugees represents 4% of the whole Moldovan population."
The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) one year with 13 members of the council voting in favor of the extension. Russia and China abstained; Local leaders in Yei County of South Sudans Central Equatoria State say gunmen abducted five motorcycle operators, commonly known as boda-boda, along the Yei  Ombaci road as they were transporting passengers to a local market; Authorities in the Western Bahr el Ghazal State capital Wau are training dozens of youth who formerly belonged to youth gangs in various vocational professions as part of a youth empowerment program
The director of an online media outlet was murdered Tuesday in Mexico, the latest journalist killed this year in a country long considered the most dangerous in the world for journalists.

Police in the western state of Michoacan said Armando Linares, who ran the Monitor Michoacan website, was shot to death at a house in the city of Zitacuaro. Linaress death came just weeks after Roberto Toledo, his colleague at Monitor Michoacan, was shot and killed.

Michoacan state has long been plagued by turf wars between local drug gangs. The Associated Press says Linares had revealed he had received several death threats after enrolling in a government-run journalist protection program.

Among the journalists killed in Mexico this year are Lourdes Maldonado Lopez, a veteran journalist who covered corruption and politics for several news outlets, who was found shot to death outside her home in the northern city of Tijuana in January; photojournalist Margarito Martinez, who was shot and killed outside his home in Tijuana several days earlier; and Jose Luis Gamboa, the founder and editor of an online news outlet, who was killed January 10 in Veracruz state.

The murders prompted the European Parliament to pass a resolution last Thursday urging Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to end his verbal attacks on reporters and to ensure their safety.

President Lopez Obrador angrily lashed out in response the next day, denouncing the statement as slanderous and accusing the parliament of having a colonialist mindset.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.
The deadly mosquito-borne virus, Japanese encephalitis, is sweeping across Australia, where the youngest patient is four months old. Eighteen people have been infected, so far. Two men have died.



Japanese encephalitis is a disease of the brain. Severe cases are rare and experts have said that fewer than 1% of people who contract the mosquito-borne virus will experience symptoms. But they can be serious and include life-long side-effects including speech and movement disorders.



Most people, however, dont know they are infected, while others might suffer a mild flu-like illness.



Japanese encephalitis is endemic in much of Asia and parts of the Pacific, but authorities do not know how it arrived in Australia.



Outbreaks were common in northern Australia in the 1990s, and scientists have said it has been detected ever since during the southern hemisphere summers.



However, the outbreak in southern parts of Australia is unprecedented.



Migrating water birds are thought to bring the virus into new areas. Farmed pigs are what are called amplifier hosts, which harbor the virus. It spreads when mosquitoes bite an infected bird or pig, and when they bite a person. Human-to-human transmission is not thought to be possible.



Dr. David Williams is the leader of the emergency disease laboratory diagnosis group at the Australian Center for Disease Preparedness.



For the first time, and this is really unprecedented, we are seeing this very large outbreak in southeastern Australia, in the southeastern states of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. We think it has probably been supported by the La Nina climatic conditions that have been prevailing over the last season, Williams said. It has led to generally wetter conditions (and) some of the flooding that we have seen in some parts and that has really supported mosquito breeding sites. But also, those wetter areas in the southeast have attracted water birds. So, migratory waterbirds are attracted to waterways and when that happens, they can bring viruses with them.



The government has recently purchased from suppliers in the Australian market 130,000 doses of a Japanese encephalitis vaccine for at-risk communities. It is also spending millions of dollars advising Australians on how to avoid mosquito bites and eradication programs.



Dengue and Ross River Fever, which can cause severe arthritis and muscle pain, are other mosquito-borne infections in Australia.



Malaria was declared eradicated from Australia in 1981. Although up to 800 cases are reported each year and travelers have been infected elsewhere.
Journalists of Belarus' oldest newspaper were handed prison terms Tuesday in the latest move in a relentless government crackdown on independent media.

Nasha Niva's chief editor, Yahor Martsinovich, and journalist Andrey Skurko each were sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of dodging communal payments they have rejected as politically driven. Martsinovich and Skurko have remained in custody since their arrest in July.

The newspaper was blocked in July and banned as extremist in November on the 115th anniversary of its founding. The ban has exposed anyone who would publish or repost Nasha Niva materials to prison terms of up to seven years.

Most other Nasha Niva journalists have left the country and continued to publish the newspaper online, changing its domain to bypass the blocking.

Nasha Niva extensively covered the massive anti-government protests that erupted after President Alexander Lukashenko was handed a sixth term after an August 2020 presidential vote that was denounced as rigged by the opposition and the West.

Belarusian authorities responded with a sweeping crackdown that saw more than 35,000 people arrested and thousands beaten by police. Overall, 32 Belarusian journalists are in custody, serving their sentences or awaiting trial.

Lukashenko has held on to power amid bruising Western sanctions relying on support from his main ally and sponsor Russia, which used the Belarusian territory to launch an invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

"We upheld the freedom of speech and independence of Belarus, but both have now become hollow," Martsinovich said in a speech at his trial. "The newspaper has survived two revolutions and two world wars during its history, and now it's witnessing another war into which Belarus was drawn. We are its victims."
Marta Havryliuk and her 13-year-old son, Ostap, were living in Busk, Lvivska oblast, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

"At first, there were doubts whether to go or not," Havryliuk told VOA via Skype from Warsaw. "But later, when (the bombings) were getting closer, it became scary. I was scared for my child," she said.

Havryliuk decided it was time to join her sister in the Midwestern U.S. state of Illinois.

She and Ostap got into their car and headed for Poland. They got within 7 kilometers of the border before gridlock forced them to abandon their car and walk.

"The line for the passport control was so cramped. We were pressed from all sides. It was scary. Then, a fight broke out. We were pushed out of the queue. We were pushed out three times and had to get back," she said. Her son became sick. "We spent almost 24 hours within these six or seven kilometers. It was terrifying. Ostap wanted to sleep very much; he was noxious, his face turned green. He was begging to sleep, but how would you sleep?"

When they reached the border, the processing went quickly. When they crossed into Poland, volunteers in Medyka gave them hot soup, tea, napkins and hygiene products, and helped them find their way to Warsaw.

But the mother and son were still a long way from her sister in Illinois.

Though President Joe Biden has said the U.S. should admit Ukrainian refugees, the refugee resettlement process can take three to five years.

"I will welcome the Ukrainian refugees. We should welcome them here with open arms if they need access," Biden said Friday.

Human rights advocates are pushing Biden officials to expedite the process to reunite refugees with relatives in the U.S. CNN was the first to report the administration is considering it.

During a White House briefing Tuesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is discussing the available options.

"There are conversations about helping Ukrainians coming to America.  Obviously, they currently could apply through the refugee process, but we're continuing to discuss what options may exist," she said.

Voice of America asked the State Department about an expedited process, but the federal agency did not confirm or deny the possibility.

State spokesperson Ned Price addressed the issue Monday during a news briefing.

"We have a (refugee) ceiling that is set every year. Within that ceiling, there are categories, including refugees from that part of the world. If there is a need for Ukrainian refugees to be resettled farther afield from neighboring countries, that is something that we will look at very closely."

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, told VOA that knowing refugee resettlement is a complicated, years-long process, human rights advocates have been calling for an expedited process for current applicants.

"They already have their paperwork submitted. We believe they should be allowed to travel to the U.S. and to complete the application process while they're here. There's certainly historical precedent for that and we certainly believe in this situation that it's critically important," Vignarajah said.

The U.S. immigration system includes a patchwork of complex laws for regulating the flow of refugees seeking to enter the United States. The U.S. manages a strict vetting process to determine who to accept for resettlement.

According to the United Nations, more than 3 million people have fled the war in Ukraine, most to neighboring countries.

The refugee process begins when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees officially deems who is a refugee after screening and assessing who will need resettlement based on their vulnerabilities and specific needs.

The U.N. then refers newly screened refugees to governments around the world, including the U.S., for relocation and resettlement.

In 2021, the Biden administration raised the 2022 refugee cap to 125,000. Yet actual admissions continue to lag, and the White House has acknowledged the "goal will be hard to hit" despite Biden's determination to rebuild the program and renew "America's commitment to protect the most vulnerable, and to stand as a beacon of liberty and refuge to the world."

Earlier Ukrainian immigrants

The Trump administration dramatically cut the U.S. refugee program, limiting the number of refugees from countries in the Middle East and Africa immersed in ethnic conflicts and war.

But at the same time, the number of Ukrainians resettling in the U.S. sharply increased. Since fiscal 2001, the U.S. has welcomed more than 50,000 refugees from Ukraine.

In the past, Ukrainian refugees entered the United States through a special program enacted in 1990, known as the Lautenberg Amendment. It mainly helped religious minorities from the former Soviet republics to relocate to the U.S. if they had immediate family members here. According to reports, the amendment was included again in the omnibus spending bill that Congress recently approved.

If applicants can prove religious persecution, then the program "essentially allows those who have family here to apply and to reunify in the U.S. For those who do not have a U.S. family tie, they still have access to the refugee resettlement system," Vignarajah said.

More than 1 million Americans claim Ukrainian ancestry, according to 2019 census estimates.

Other ways to travel to the U.S.

Meanwhile, Havryliuk's sister, Ulyana Vysochanska, helped her sister and her son apply for a U.S. tourist visa. Vysochanska is a green-card holder and has been living in the U.S. for seven years.

She helped them fill out the forms, paid consular fees and set an appointment for an interview at the U.S. Consulate in Warsaw.

But at the U.S. Consulate, Havryliuk and her son were denied the visas because they weren't tourists.

"Refusal is difficult to predict because to obtain a nonimmigrant visa, B1-B2, an applicant must prove that he has no immigration intentions," said Iryna Mazur, an immigration lawyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

She added, "Second, they must prove strong ties with the country of residence, with Ukraine. People fled Ukraine because of the war, so they can't prove that they will return to Ukraine after a trip to the United States."

Applicants also must make an appointment for an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate. Two years of pandemic restrictions have created a backlog, and now the wait for appointments at U.S. embassies in Europe is months long.

The State Department told VOA via email that it is "prioritizing consular support to U.S. citizens and their immediate family members."

"Whenever an individual applies for a U.S. visa, a consular officer reviews the facts of the case and determines whether the applicant is eligible for that visa based on U.S. law. We have no changes to visa eligibility to announce at this time," the State spokesperson wrote.

Applying for political asylum is not an option for those fleeing Ukraine, said Svitlana Ugryn, an immigration lawyer in Chicago, Illinois.

"Only people who are persecuted by their government, their country, or a group of people in their country can apply for political asylum. This status does not apply in cases where the aggressor or persecutor is another country. The Afghans (for example) had a different situation. First, America was officially present; they hired people, thus endangering them. Second, the Taliban are still Afghans; the threat came from the same people, and Ukraine is now under attack from a foreign state," Ugryn told VOA.

Another option would be to obtain humanitarian parole, a special permission given to those hoping to enter the United States under emergency circumstances. Though it does not automatically lead to permanent residency, "parolees" can apply for legal status  either through the asylum process or other forms of sponsorship, if available  once they're in the U.S., but that can take up to a year or longer, lawyers said.

What has the US done so far?

On March 4, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that it would grant Ukrainians temporary protection status (TPS) for those present in the country since March 1, ensuring they can remain in the country for 18 months after their visa or work permit expires.

Then, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) temporarily halted deportations to Ukraine while also suspending deportations to Belarus, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia and Slovakia.
U.S. President Joe Biden answered Ukraines plea for help on Wednesday with an $800 million assistance package that includes a range of weapons and defensive gear  a response that falls short of the no-fly zone Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks as his country faces continued attacks from Russia.

But Biden also raised the temperature in the war of words between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I think he is a war criminal, Biden said, speaking to journalists at an event later in the day. He did not elaborate and walked away.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS news agency Biden's statement was "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric."

The president's remarks speak for themselves, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, when pressed for details. He was speaking from his heart and speaking from what you've seen on television, which is barbaric actions by a brutal dictator through his invasion of a foreign country.

Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago. His forces have struck hospitals, schools and homes. Zelenskyy said that about 100 children have been killed in the full-scale attack.

The new U.S. aid package brings the total of new U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion just this week, Biden said.

This new package on its own is going to provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine, the president added. It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems to make sure the Ukrainian military can continue to stop the planes and helicopters that have been attacking their people and to defend their Ukrainian airspace.

In addition to the 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems that Biden mentioned, the package includes 2,000 Javelin and 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems; hundreds of grenade launchers, shotguns and machine guns; thousands of rifles and pistols; more than 20 million rounds of ammunition and tens of thousands of sets of body armor and helmets.

The Pentagon Wednesday said efforts to deliver the equipment are already underway.

We understand the tyranny of time here, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence and other sensitive matters.

We've already started working on how to source all these all these items and get them there as quickly as possible, the official said, noting that despite Russian threats, things are still getting into the hands of the Ukrainians  Those routes are still open.

The official declined to go into detail about reports that some allies, including Slovakia, are willing to provide Kyiv with the Russian-made S-300 air defense system, capable of shooting down enemy aircraft as well as some ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

There are air defense systems, mobile systems that that we know the Ukrainians know how to use and we also know that there are allies and partners who also possess them and might be willing to provide, the official said. Were actively having those discussions.

The new U.S. assistance package follows an impassioned plea Zelenskyy made Wednesday to U.S. lawmakers, begging them to do more to protect his nation amid a 3-week-old onslaught by Russian forces.

Watch video by VOA's Katherine Gypson:

In his speech before a joint session of Congress, Zelenskyy evoked some of the worst traumas of American history to ask the U.S. to give more military assistance and impose a no-fly zone over Ukraines besieged cities.

Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, Zelenskyy said, speaking virtually to a packed session of U.S. lawmakers in a speech that evoked the painful memories of Japans 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which spurred the U.S. to enter World War II; and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, which launched the U.S.s multifront, two-decades-long Global War on Terror.

The 44-year-old actor-turned-president, who spoke in English for part of his address, also raised the more inspiring parts of American history, including the words of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

I need to protect our sky, Zelenskyy said. I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words, I have a dream.

He reiterated his request for a no-fly zone, a request the White House has said would put the U.S. into direct confrontation with Russia.

Not-too-hot, not-too-cold

Stephen Biddle, a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University, described Bidens response as about the right not-too-hot, not-too-cold solution that will help Ukraine defend itself while avoiding a confrontation between two nuclear powers.

Zelenskyys requests for air support will have only a marginal effect on the military outcome in Ukraine. The primary Russian threat to Ukraine right now is not the Russian air force, which so far has been surprisingly ineffective, Biddle said.

Biden has the responsibility of statesmanship to resist even a powerful dramatic appeal from an immensely sympathetic hero in the form of Zelenskyy and do what we can to help, but not necessarily do everything Zelenskyy is asking him to do, Biddle told VOA, via Skype. Sometimes, statesmanship involves making very hard unpleasant choices, like not doing everything a brave, noble underdog ally would like you to do.

Psaki said Biden watched Zelenskyys speech from the White House. She said the administration is in close contact with the Ukrainian government and that none of Zelenskyys requests came as a surprise.

If we were President Zelenskyy, we would be asking for everything possible as well, and continuing to ask for it, she said. Because he is watching his country and his people be attacked and brutalized by President Putin and the Russian military. But how President Biden makes decisions is through the prism of our own national security, and as we've said before, a no-fly zone would require implementation, it would require us potentially shooting down Russian planes, NATO shooting down Russian planes, and we are not interested in getting into World War III.

Instead, Washington is pursuing what officials say are harsh and effective sanctions against Russia, with a special focus on the wealthy elites who surround Russian President Vladimir Putin. To that end, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland met virtually on Wednesday with officials from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Commission to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) multilateral task force.

This is a lie

Putin seems to be unfazed by the opposition, and told Russian media on Wednesday that he will continue what he describes as a special operation in Ukraine.

The West is trying to convince its citizens that their difficulties are the result of Russias actions, but this is a lie, Russian media reported Putin as saying.

Following a meeting with NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reiterated that the alliance is united in holding firm in their opposition to imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, despite Zelenskyys repeated calls for one.

He also said the alliance must continue to provide significant support to Ukraine, including military supplies, financial help and humanitarian aid. He also called on Russia to stop its attacks on Ukraine.

Allies are united both in providing support to Ukraine, to support Ukraine to uphold the right for self-defense, Stoltenberg told a press conference. But allies are also united when it comes to that NATO should not deploy forces on the ground or in the airspace of Ukraine. Because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict, this war, doesn't escalate beyond Ukraine.

Russia has objected to NATOs presence near its borders and sought a guarantee that Ukraine will never join the alliance. NATO insists countries are free to make their own decisions about security ties.

While Ukraine is not part of NATO, seven NATO countries share borders with Russia, Ukraine or Russian ally Belarus, and that proximity has raised concerns of a wider conflict.

Stoltenberg said Wednesday there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe and another 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, as well as hundreds of thousands more on heightened alert across NATO nations.

Biden is to join other NATO leaders in Brussels for a summit taking place March 24, marking one month since Russia launched its invasion after denying for months it planned to do so.

On the ground in Ukraine, the countrys emergencies agency reported a 12-story residential building was among the targets hit by Russian forces. Ukrainian officials also said Russia bombed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were taking shelter.

VOAs White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and national security correspondent Jeff Seldin and congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.

Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
British-Iranian nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashouri returned to the United Kingdom early Thursday after being released from years of imprisonment in Iran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was detained at Tehran's international airport in April 2016 as she was trying to return home with her daughter to Britain from a visit to relatives in Iran. An Iranian court sentenced the charity worker in September to five years in prison for undisclosed security offenses. She was accused of plotting to overthrow the Iranian government.

Iran-born Ashoori was arrested in Tehran in August 2017 while visiting his mother. He traveled from London, where he, his wife, son and daughter have lived for decades. Iranian authorities later convicted him of spying for Israel and sentenced him to 10 years in the capitals Evin prison.

Human rights groups have accused Tehran of taking dual-national hostages as bargaining chips, something Iran denies.

Iran state media reported that Britain had paid Iran a long-overdue debt of $530 million to Tehran.

The debt was from a 1970s deal for Britain to sell tanks and other military vehicles to Iran, but almost none of them were actually delivered following the 1979 Iranian revolution.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Wednesday the debt was settled in parallel with the hostage releases, and was in compliance with existing sanctions against Iran.

Some information in this report comes from Reuters and The Associated Press.
The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to the embattled Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukraine even as bombardment by the Russian military edged closer to the center of the city.

The three leaders went ahead with the hours-long train trip despite worries within the European Union about the security risks of traveling within a war zone.

"It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter.

The long journey over land from Poland to Kyiv by Morawiecki, Poland's deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Prime Ministers Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia sent the message that most of Ukraine still remains in Ukrainian hands.

But underlining the deteriorating security situation in Kyiv, a series of strikes hit a residential neighborhood in the city again on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy posted a video on Facebook of him sitting around a table with the leaders briefing them on the war's developments. After the meeting, he said he was sure "with such friends" Ukraine would be able to defeat Russia.

"And most importantly, we absolutely trust the leaders of these countries and, therefore, when we speak of security guarantees, of our future in the European Union, or speak of sanctions policy, we know 100% that everything we are discussing will really lead to that positive goal for our country, for our security and for our future," Zelenskyy said.

Fiala said the main purpose of the visit was to tell Ukraine it is not alone.

"We know you're fighting for your lives ... but we also know you're fighting for our lives, our freedom," Fiala said. "Probably the main goal of our visit, the main message of our mission, is to say that you're not alone. Our countries stand by you. Europe stands by you."

The Central European leaders said they were on an EU mission. But officials from the 27-nation bloc insisted that the trio had undertaken the trip independently.

All three countries were once part of the communist bloc and now belong to both the EU and NATO.

Jansa described the visit as a way to send a message that Ukraine is a European country that deserves to be accepted one day into the EU. Two weeks earlier, Zelenskyy made an emotional appeal to the European Parliament on that very subject.

"We are fighting also to be equal members of Europe," Zelenskyy told EU lawmakers on March 1. "I believe that today we are showing everybody that is what we are."

Jansa said the war has awoken Europeans to idea that the bloc represents fundamental ideas that are under threat  and which Ukrainians are defending with their lives.

"Thank you for not only defending your homeland and Europe as a territory, but for defending the very core of European values and our way of life. Your fight is our fight and together we will prevail," tweeted Jansa, a right-wing populist friendly with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Jansa, 63, served as defense minister during the small state's brief and successful uprising against the Yugoslav army when Slovenia declared independence in 1991. Lately, he has been comparing Ukraine's resistance to Slovenia's uprising against a much stronger enemy.

The presence in Kyiv of Kaczynski, Poland's de-facto leader, carried a symbolic significance. He is the twin of the late President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash on Russian soil in 2010 along with 95 other Poles, among them political and military leaders, as they traveled to commemorate Poles executed by the Soviet secret police during World War II.

A Polish investigation determined that the crash was an accident caused by fog and pilot error. Still, Kaczynski, 72, has long suspected that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a role in provoking the accident, a suspicion that has not been proven.

Morawiecki said on Facebook that the visit was agreed by the EU and that the United Nations was also informed. Yet in Brussels, officials said they had been informed of the visit but characterized it as one taken independently into a war zone.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was asked about the visit, didn't endorse it outright but said, "I think it is important that leaders of NATO countries, of European member states, are engaging closely with President Zelenskyy."

The visit had been planned for several days but was kept secret for security reasons, said Michal Dworczyk, chief of staff for Morawiecki.

Shortly before dawn and hours before the leaders were due in Kyiv, large explosions thundered across the city from what Ukrainian authorities said were Russian artillery strikes. The shelling ignited a huge fire and a frantic rescue effort in a 15-story apartment building. At least one person was killed and others remain trapped inside.

Shock waves from an explosion also damaged a downtown subway station in Kyiv that has been used as a bomb shelter. City authorities tweeted an image of the blown-out facade, saying trains would no longer stop at the station.

Before his departure, Morawiecki on Facebook recalled how the Lech Kaczynski had made a visit to the capital of Georgia in 2008 when that ex-Soviet country was under attack from Russia.

He quoted President Kaczynski, who said at the time in Tbilisi: "Today Georgia, tomorrow Ukraine, the day after tomorrow the Baltic states, and then maybe it's time for my country, for Poland."
Experts say the U.S. anti-ballistic missile system may be inadequate to defend against a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) under development by North Korea that could potentially carry multiple nuclear warheads.

"The current system right now would be quite constrained," said Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Right now, the U.S. homeland missile defense system is tailored for fairly simple threats  one missile, one warhead, relatively simple countermeasures."

The United States announced Thursday that the missiles North Korea launched on February 27 and March 5 involved testing an ICBM system, the Hwasong-17, which Pyongyang showcased in a defense exhibition in October 2021.

A senior Biden administration official speaking on the background said the two launches did not demonstrate a full ICBM range. "These launches are likely intended to test elements of this new system before [North Korea] conducts a launch in full range," said the official.

"While the door remains open to diplomacy, the U.S. will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and our allies," the official added.

"The step up here to this new ICBM is its payload capacity," Williams said. The payload capacity is the total weight of warheads a missile can carry.

"It's perhaps the largest road mobile ballistic missile that we've seen in the world," he said.

"The purpose of it is to be able to carry multiple warheads."

US missile defense system

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, the American missile defense system, is designed to intercept an inbound ICBM before it reaches the U.S. homeland. The GMD is in Fort Greely, about 100 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Fort Greely Missile Defense Complex houses 40 of America's 44 anti-ICBM ground-based interceptors (GBIs), missiles that can destroy incoming ICBMs. It is much "like shooting the bullet with the bullet," said Bruce Bennett, an adjunct international/defense researcher at the Rand Corporation.

The other four interceptors are at Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc, California Another missile field under construction at Fort Greely will hold silos for additional 20 GBIs.

But as it stands, the U.S. is equipped with 40 interceptors deployed to defend against ICBMs that would take approximately 40 minutes to travel from North Korea to the U.S. West Coast, Williams said.

The current U.S. missile defense capabilities are unable to defend against even one North Korean ICBM carrying a single nuclear warhead, according to a January report by the American Physical Society.

"Intercepting even a single nuclear-armed intercontinental-range ballistic missile or its warhead(s) in flight under the conditions expected during a nuclear attack is extremely challenging," the report said. "The ability of any missile defense system to do this reliably has not been demonstrated."

Challenge to missile defense

The U.S. missile defense system could fail if a North Korean ICBM carrying multiple nuclear warheads targeted the U.S., experts said.

The missiles North Korea tested in February and March could carry "between three to four" nuclear warheads, said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

They are larger than the ICBM tested in 2017. After that test, the U.S. assessed it would take about a year for Pyongyang to deliver a single nuclear warhead on an ICBM, but no nuclear warheads have been launched to date.

The Hwasong-17 ICBMs tested in February and March are up to 2.5 meters wide and weigh up to 110,000 kilograms when fully fueled.

By comparison, the three ICBMs North Korea tested in 2017 are estimated to be about 2.0 meters wide and 60,000 kilograms.

"The [U.S.] missile defense system [would be] shooting at four warheads instead of one, so there's a less probability of hitting them with accuracy," Lewis said. "You can overwhelm the system."

Usually more than one interceptor needs to be fired to target a single nuclear warhead, Bennett said.

"If you've got an ICBM carrying a nuclear warhead toward you, you're not going to fire just one of those interceptors because even a good design of an interceptor might have a 70% chance of working," he said.

"So you're going to fire at least two." Bennett said. "That means you can only deal with about 20 North Korean ICBMs. If each one has a 70% chance of working, roughly 10% of the North Korean warheads will get through."

If "half a dozen of these giant ICBMs" carrying multiple nuclear warheads are headed toward the U.S., "we simply run out of interceptors before we can get everything," Williams said.

According to Lewis, the elements of the new ICBM system that the U.S. said North Korea tested were attitude control devices or thrusters placed on a part of the missile called a payload bus, or post boost vehicle.

A payload bus is a missile structure that holds the propulsion and control system used to steer multiple reentry vehicles carrying warheads.

Lewis said the attitude control devices are dual usage devices, meaning they could be used for a nonweapon, such as a satellite, or an ICBM. "What it does, is it changes the attitude, or the angle at which the object is facing, so you can use it to point a camera" when a missile is used to launch a satellite.

He continued: "You would use attitude control thrusters [in the same way] to turn the bus around to drop multiple warheads on different targets."

North Korea said the tests in February and March were for developing a reconnaissance satellite.

VOA's Korean Service contacted the North Korean mission at United Nations to ask for its response to the U.S. conclusion that the country recently tested its ICBM system, but it did not receive a reply.
A private trader in India has exported commercial goods to landlocked Uzbekistan for the first time through Pakistan and Taliban-governed Afghanistan in landmark trade activity linking the four countries.

Trucks carrying 140 tons of cargo, mostly Indian sugar, departed Kabul on Wednesday for the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, a spokesperson for the Taliban's Ministry of Industry and Commerce said.

Maulana Zaheer told VOA the shipment arrived in the Afghan capital a day earlier from Pakistan via the Torkham border crossing between the countries. The ministry organized a special ceremony to facilitate the transit of the Indian goods, hailing it as a major step toward turning Afghanistan into a key trade link between Central and South Asia.

The commercial cargo originated from Mumbai, India, and traveled through the Karachi seaport in Pakistan earlier this month before being trucked to its Uzbek importer under a recently inked bilateral transit trade agreement between Pakistan and Uzbekistan, a Pakistani official told VOA.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the agreement along with several other documents during his two-day official visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, in early March.

The Pakistani official emphasized that the Uzbekistan-bound Indian commercial consignment was a privately arranged activity under the agreement and had no government involvement from any of the four countries.

"It will now become a regular activity, and Uzbekistan will be able to import goods from anywhere through Pakistani seaports," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Taliban authorities are bound to facilitate the trade activity because Uzbekistan, like landlocked Afghanistan, also has rights to access Pakistani ports to conduct international trade, the official added.

Islamabad allows Kabul to use its ports and land and air routes to conduct trade with other countries under a long-running bilateral arrangement known as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).

Under APTTA, Afghan traders are allowed to export their goods to India through Pakistani land, air and sea routes, but they can import Indian goods only through seaports because of strained ties between Islamabad and New Delhi.

However, Pakistan recently allowed India to use its land routes to transport 50,000 tons of wheat that New Delhi had donated in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, where millions of people face acute hunger.
India is exploring the possibility of buying oil from Russia amid sanctions imposed by Western countries in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

Indias petroleum and natural gas minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said in parliament Tuesday that the government was having discussions with Russia on crude oil purchases.

I myself have had a conversation with the appropriate levels of the Russian federation. There are discussions currently underway, he told lawmakers. Puri said that the government was looking at issues such as availability and payment for the crude.

A report in the Times of India newspaper said that India is close to finalizing a deal to buy 3.5 million barrels of Russian crude at deep discounts. It attributed the report to people aware of the development but who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.

India is the worlds third largest importer of oil, depending on crude from overseas for over 80% of its needs.

The bulk of its supplies come from the Middle East and the United States, with Russian crude accounting for only about three per cent of its imports.

But the wild fluctuation in international prices following the outbreak of fighting in Ukraine has raised worries about the impact of a ballooning oil import bill on the nascent economic recovery that the country has posted in the last year.

Analysts say New Delhis talks on the purchase of crude from Moscow signal that India will keep the doors to trade with Russia open.

Russia has urged India to increase oil exports and investment. In a statement last Friday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russias oil and petroleum product exports to India have approached $1 billion and there are clear opportunities to increase this figure. He also told Petroleum Minister Puri that Moscow was interested in further attracting Indian investment to the Russian oil and gas sector and expanding Russian companies sales networks in India.

Asked about the possibility that India could take up the Russian offer of discounted crude oil at her daily press briefing on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, Our message to any country continues to be that abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended. But I don't believe this would be violating that (sanctions).

But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written in this moment in time. And support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact, she added.

While the United States has banned Russian oil imports, the European Union has issued sanctions against some Russian companies without banning the purchase of Russian oil.

Resisting pressure from the United States and other Western allies, India has abstained from voting against Moscow at the United Nations. Analysts cite the countrys huge dependence on Russian weapons for its position.

India has called for an end to violence and a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine. But New Delhi has found itself in a difficult situation as it tries to balance its longstanding ties with Russia with its growing strategic partnership with Washington, that is seen as critical in countering China.
For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all times EDT:

11:15 p.m.: Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at pro-Western Russians in a televised address, calling them "scum" and "traitors," CNN reports.

10:37 p.m.: The BBC reports that the mayor of Melitopol, Ukraine, has been released after being held by the Russians for five days. Mayor Ivan Fedorov was released in exchange for nine Russian prisoners.

9:28 p.m.: Facebook on Wednesday removed official Russian posts that falsely claimed reports of Russia bombing a children's hospital in Ukraine were a hoax, a company spokesperson said, even as similar messages appeared on other social media platforms, Reuters reported.

8:12 p.m.: In besieged southern Ukraine, Russia on Wednesday destroyed a theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians had taken shelter, Ukrainian authorities said. The number of casualties is unknown. Up to 1,200 people may have been inside the theater, said the city's Deputy Mayor Serhiy Orlov, as the Maxar satellite imagery firm said images from March 14 showed the word children had been written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the building.

7:02 p.m.: The U.N. Security Council is due to vote on Friday on a Russian-drafted call for aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine, but diplomats say the measure is set to fail because it does not push for an end to the fighting or withdrawal of Russian troops. Russia put forward the text after France and Mexico withdrew their own push for a UNSC resolution on Ukraine's humanitarian situation because they said it would have been vetoed by Moscow, Reuters reported. They instead plan to put it to a vote in the 193-member General Assembly, where no country wields a veto.

6:48 p.m.: The latest intel assessment by the British military of the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

6:12 p.m.: VOA's United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer shares that Western U.N. Security Council members are calling for an emergency Meeting Thursday at 3 p.m. EDT per a tweet by @UKUN_NewYork.

5:01 p.m.: Some military strategists say Russian forces are struggling to hold territory they have seized and have suffered some serious reversals in fierce skirmishes elsewhere, Jamie Dettmer reports from Warsaw.

4:53 p.m.: VOAs Jeff Seldin tweets that Meta has removed a deepfake video that claimed to show Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issuing a statement he never did. 

4 p.m.: VOAs Jeff Seldin reports the latest from a senior U.S. defense official on Russia-Ukraine:

- The Russian shelling of the Odesa suburbs from the Black Sea could be in preparation of a possible ground assault.

- Russian is discussing bringing in reinforcements from elsewhere in Russia.

- The U.S. assessment is that Russia is using 75% of all of its battalion tactical groups (700-900 troops, with motorized infantry, tanks, mortars and engineers and recon capabilities) in Ukraine right now.

- There are no signs of any Russian-recruited foreign fighters/mercenaries in Ukraine yet.

- Russian advances on Kyiv and other main cities still stalled, though Russian rear forces have been moving closer to the front lines.

3:45 p.m.: VOAs Eastern Europe Chief Myroslava Gongadze interviewed Stephen Allen, the USAID Ukraine Crisis Disaster Assistance Response Team leader, in Poland on Wednesday about operations in the region.

WATCH: USAID Talks About Disaster Aid in Ukraine

3:05 p.m.: VOA's national correspondent Steve Herman tweets that, in response to a reporter's question, U.S. President Joe Biden calls Russian President Vladimir Putin "a war criminal." The comment drew a response from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who said Biden's characterization was "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric."

2:58 p.m.: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the ruling Wednesday by the International Court of Justice, which requires Russia to immediately suspend its offensive in Ukraine.

2:47 p.m.: Russia is no longer part of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights monitor organization, following its invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, Russia announced it would leave, and on Wednesday the 47-nation COE made it official, VOA News reported

2:20 p.m. : Russia kept up its offensive across Ukraine Wednesday, The Associated Press reported. Shrapnel from an artillery shell smashed into a 12-story apartment building in the capital Kyiv, wiping out the top floor and sparking a fire, Fighting continued to rage in Kyivs suburbs, as Russian troops sought to sever the capital from transport routes and supply lines. A Russian airstrike slammed into Markhalivka, southwest of Kyiv, and destroyed residential apartments. Russia now occupies Ivankiv, and controls the surrounding region on the border with Belarus. Also Wednesday, relentless strikes pounded the northeastern city of Kharkiv, explosions rocked the region around the Black Sea port of Kherson, as well as near a train station in the southeastern hub of Zaporizhzhia. And Ukraines foreign minister tweeted that a drama theater in the besieged southern port town of Mariupol, which was sheltering civilians, was destroyed.

2:15 p.m.: In Photos: Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, March 16, 2022

2:10 p.m.: Russia's defense ministry denied a report published by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday that its forces had shot and killed 10 people waiting in line for bread in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, and said there were no Russian troops in the area, according to Reuters. The embassy did not say what evidence it had for the attack in a statement posted on its official Twitter site and its Facebook page. Ukraine's general prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation into the alleged incident.

2:01 p.m. : Some of the three million Ukrainian refugees who have managed to escape the war are now moving beyond Poland and Eastern Europe to the farthest stretches of the continent. That includes Spain which is already home to a community of 100,000 Ukrainians. VOAs Alfonso Beato in the Catalonia region has this story, narrated by Jon Spier.

1:52 p.m. : Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill spoke on the phone Wednesday about Ukraine and the need for a just peace, the Russian church said. This is the first known communication between the two leaders since the Kremlins invasion, The Associated Press reported.

The call was all the more remarkable because Francis and Kirill have only met once  at the Havana airport in 2016  in what was then the first encounter between a pope and Russian patriarch in over 1,000 years.

Wednesdays call came just hours after Francis evoked the specter of a final catastrophe of an atomic war that would extinguish humanity during his weekly general audience. While Francis didnt reference Ukraine explicitly in that part of his speech, he did elsewhere call for prayers for Ukraine and for God to protect its children and forgive those who make war.

Francis long-term goal to improve relations with Kirill and avoid antagonizing the Russian Orthodox Church had explained his initially tepid response to the February 24 Russian invasion. He has since stepped up his denunciations, demanding an end to the war."

1:30 p.m. : The White House on Wednesday released a fact sheet detailing U.S. security assistance to Ukraine, including what will be done with the additional $800 million worth of assistance announced today.

1:20 p.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden spoke at the White House Wednesday, unveiling $800 million in new aid to Ukraine. This brings the total U.S. security assistance committed to Ukraine to $1 billion in just the past week, and a total of $2 billion since the start of the Biden Administration, according to an official statement. "America is leading this effort, together with our allies and partners, providing an enormous level of security and humanitarian assistance that we're adding to today and we're going to continue to do more in the days and weeks ahead," Biden said. VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara monitored his speech.



1:00 p.m.: U.S. President Joe Biden delivered remarks on the assistance the United States is providing to Ukraine. Watch his speech here.

12:37 p.m. : NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg briefed the media following an extraordinary meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels Wednesday, to discuss Russias invasion of Ukraine. He said NATO defense ministers agreed that we must continue to provide significant support to Ukraine, including with military supplies, financial help and humanitarian aid. He added that Russias president must stop this war immediately and withdraw his forces now and engage in diplomacy in good faith. VOAs National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin tweeted the highlights.

12:10 p.m. : A few weeks ago, Nargiz Gurbanova was working as a criminal defense lawyer, but now she spends her days sheltering in a hospital basement as the Russian military bombards her city, Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. In an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, she says she is now gathering evidence of war crimes.

11:51 a.m. : Ukraines president welcomed a ruling by the International Court of Justice Wednesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the ruling compels Russia to halt its military offensive in Ukraine.

11:49 a.m.: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Russia on Wednesday to stop the military actions it started in Ukraine on Feb. 24. "The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022 in the territory of Ukraine," the judges said. The judges added Russia must also ensure that other forces under its control or supported by Moscow should not continue the military operation. The ICJ also asked both Ukraine and Russia to refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.

11:39 a.m. : Taiwanese citizens and their government are sending donations to war-torn Ukraine as a show of extra sympathy, analysts say. They argue that many on the Asian Pacific island fear they could become the next place to be targeted by a major military power.

11:15 a.m.: Both Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress gave Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a standing ovation following an address he delivered via video link Wednesday.

VOAs Yulia Yarmolenko interviewed Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska after the speech, who said,  We need to be doing more. The United States Congress was called on today and the United States government were called on today to act like a superpower and we should be doing more.

They need more weaponry. Sasses said. I think we've seen that the Ukrainians have great fighters, they have great courage and they have pilots. So they're willing to engage the battle directly.

Asked about Zelenskyys request for a no-fly zone, Sasse said NATO with 30 countries and complicated Article Five obligations has not made the decision to directly go to war with Russia at this time. And so that's why a no fly zone, I don't think is the central discussion.

Sasse advocated giving Ukrainians a lot more air power, we should be supplying the weaponry. And we know that the Ukrainians will supply the pilots and the fighters. He said, As long as they're willing to fight, we're willing to supply them. If something shoots, we should be giving it to the Ukrainians.

10:51 a.m. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraines president who is actively involved in negotiations with his Russian counterparts to end the conflict, on Wednesday said Ukraines model of security guarantees would entail a rigid agreement with a number of guarantor states undertaking clear legal obligations to Ukraine. Later Wednesday, he also tweeted a link to an interview with the PBS News Hour, in which he said he makes Ukraines position at the negotiations clear.

10:18 a.m.: International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan visited Ukraine, Reuters reported Wednesday.

10:10 a.m.: U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke today with General Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, to reiterate the United States firm and clear opposition to Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement released by NSC Spokesperson Emily Horne. Sullivan told General Patrushev that if Russia is serious about diplomacy, then Moscow should stop attacking Ukrainian cities and towns. He also warned General Patrushev about the consequences and implications of any possible Russian decision to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, the statement added.

10:07 a.m.: While embedded with Ukrainian troops, Current Time journalists Borys Sachalko and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey came under fire during a Russian artillery assault in the combat zone northwest of Kyiv. Current Time is a Russian-language TV and digital network led by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in partnership with VOA.

9:30 a.m.: In a virtual address to the U.S. Congress Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for more support to fight off the Russian invasion and proposed a new alliance of countries that would stand together against such aggression in the future, VOA News reported.



"Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided - whether our people will be free," Zelenskyy said, speaking to the lawmakers in Ukrainian. He said Ukrainians and Americans have much in common, especially a desire to live in freedom.



Zelenskyy also drew parallels between Japan's 1941 attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, saying that Ukraine is experiencing the same kind of assault every day. He again asked for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, but added that if that was not possible, the U.S. supply more weapons to fight off the Russian attacks.

"I can say to each of you today, 'I have a need,'" he said. Zelenskyy said he and Ukraine are grateful for everything the U.S. has done, and asked that the U.S. do more, including more sanctions against Russia. "All American companies must leave the Russian market, because it is flooded with our blood," Zelenskyy said.

He also called for a new association of countries that would oppose aggression like the Russian invasion through economic sanctions and military support.

Zelenskyys speech follows similar addresses to Britains House of Commons, Canadas Parliament and the European Parliament in recent weeks as he pushes for more military and humanitarian support from the international community.

9:03 a.m.: The American broadcasting agency FOX News says journalist Benjamin Hall is safe and out of Ukraine after the attack that killed 2 of his colleagues Monday, according to National Public Radio correspondent David Folkenflick.

8:54 a.m.: The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv sent this report on Twitter Wednesday.

8:44 a.m.: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has arrived in Saudi Arabia, according to state news agency SPA. Johnson is on a visit to the Gulf as part of efforts to secure more oil supplies and increase pressure on President Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

8:34 a.m.: Ukraine has rejected Russian proposals that it adopt a neutral status, Agence France-Presse reported Wednesday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a "compromise" outcome would center on Ukraine becoming a neutral state comparable to Sweden and Austria. But Zelensky's office gave the idea short shrift. "Ukraine is now in a direct state of war with Russia. Consequently, the model can only be 'Ukrainian' and only on legally verified security guarantees," Kyiv's negotiator Mikhailo Podolyak said.

8:22 a.m.: At the Gare de lEst train station in Paris, French Red Cross workers greet newly arrived Ukrainian refugees as they step off trains and direct them to a makeshift welcome center that offers food and other assistance. Most of them are exhausted, says Elodie Esteve, of the French Red Cross. Were here to welcome them, to tell them its OK, that theyre safe, and to orient them depending on what they plan to do after. VOAs Lisa Bryant went to the station and has this report.

8:01 a.m.: Another mayor was reported to have been abducted by Russian forces in Ukraine on Wedensday. Ukraines Foreign Minister Dymtro Kuleba said on Twitter that the mayor and deputy of the Ukrainian city of Skadovsk were kidnapped.

At least two other mayors have been seized recently by invading Russian military forces this week, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The mayor of Dniprorudne was abducted March 13, and the mayor of Melitopol was marched out of city hall by Russian soldiers March 11.

7:52 a.m.: Human rights advocates are pushing U.S. administration officials to expedite the process of reuniting refugees with relatives in the U.S. During a White House briefing Tuesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is discussing the available options. VOAs Immigration Correspondent Aline Barros has the story.

7:15 a.m.: VOAs Eastern Europe Chief Myroslava Gongadze visited a warehouse in Poland managed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It serves as a humanitarian relief hub for many international organizations, according to Stephan Allen, the USAID Ukraine Crisis Disaster Assistance Response Team leader.

7:08 a.m.: Ukraine's Foreign Minister on Wednesday tweeted a message calling for "deputinization" -- in other words, for the world to cut all ties to Russias president Vladimir Putin, his administration and his policies, describing them as toxic.

6:47 a.m.: The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a demilitarized Ukraine with its own army along the lines of Austria or Sweden was being looked at as a possible compromise, Reuters reports.



"This is a variant that is currently being discussed and which could really be seen a compromise," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by RIA news agency. The reference to demilitarization appeared to relate to the idea of neutral status for Ukraine.

Ukraine was promised by NATO as far back as 2008 that it would one day become a member of the alliance. Russia has said it cannot allow that to happen and cited it as part of the logic for what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine.

6:30 a.m.: Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, has arrived in Kyiv on a five-day visit to Ukraine to urge for greater humanitarian access and protection of civilians, the organization said Wednesday.

After enormous suffering by the civilian population and after our intensive virtual conversations with the Russian and Ukraine governments, I find it utterly important that we have person-to-person contacts, that we are able to go in-depth into the understanding of neutral, independent and impartial humanitarian work, and that our licence to operate in the country is fully understood by the authorities, Maurer said in a statement.

People in Ukraine are crying out for help. Needs are massive, conditions volatile. We are sparing no effort to answer their call, Maurer later said in a Twitter post.

5:20 a.m.: NATO defense ministers gathered Wednesday to discuss what Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said would be both the immediate consequences of Russias invasion and long-term efforts to strengthen NATOs collective defense.

NATO has a responsibility to ensure that this crisis does not escalate beyond Ukraine, and that's also the reason why we have increased the presence in the eastern part of the alliance, Stoltenberg told reporters. He has said potential actions could include placing substantially more forces in the eastern part of the alliance, along with increases in naval and air deployments, missile defense systems and holding larger and more frequent military exercises.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin highlighted support for Ukraines ability to defend itself as well as U.S. commitment to aid any NATO ally that comes under attack.

I think our presence here sends a signal to the world that we remain united in our support of Ukraine, and we condemn Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion into Ukraine, Austin said.

Russia has objected to NATOs presence near its borders and sought a guarantee that Ukraine will never join the alliance. NATO insists countries are free to make their own decisions about security ties.

While Ukraine is not part of NATO, seven NATO countries share borders with Russia, Ukraine or Russian ally Belarus, and that proximity has raised concerns of a wider conflict.

Stoltenberg said there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe and another 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, as well as hundreds of thousands more on heightened alert across NATO nations.

4:30 a.m.: The Netherlands and other NATO countries will continue to deliver weapons to Ukraine even as these deliveries could become the target of Russian attacks, Dutch defense minister Kajsa Ollongren said on Wednesday.

Ukraine has the right to defend itself, we will continue to support it, Ollongren said at her arrival for a meeting with NATO defense ministers in Brussels, Reuters reported.

4:00 a.m.: VOAs Yan Boechat documents life in Irpin and Kyiv as Russias military assault continues.

3:30 a.m.: Russia said on Tuesday it has written guarantees it can carry out its work as a party to the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting Moscow could allow a revival of the tattered 2015 pact to go forward.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comments appeared to signal Moscow may have backed off its previous view that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine were an impediment to salvaging the nuclear deal, Reuters reports.

3:00 a.m.: The British Ministry of Defence said Wednesday that Russian troops are struggling to overcome challenges posed by Ukraines terrain. Russias advance has been confined to Ukraines roads and highways, the daily battleground intelligence report added.

The destruction of bridges by Ukranian forces has played a key role in stalling Russias advance, the report said.

The tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adeptly exploited Russias lack of manoeuvre, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces.

2:30 a.m.: Millions of Ukrainians have now fled their country, mostly to Poland, but also to Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Moldova. In Hungary, there are reports of some Ukrainians deciding to turn back. Jon Spier narrates this report from Gabor Ancsin on Hungarys border with Ukraine.

1:30 a.m.: As civilians in Ukraine bear the brunt of Russian artillery attacks, the White House announced that President Joe Biden will head to Brussels next week to coordinate deterrence and defense efforts with NATO allies. VOAs Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.

1:00 a.m.: In his latest Facebook address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered a more optimistic assessment of peace talks with Russia. He said the negotiations are starting to sound more realistic, but time is still needed.

The talks are scheduled to continue today. Ukrainian negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak also said there is room for compromise while cautioning that fundamental contradictions continue to emerge during the talks.

Russia has repeatedly insisted that Ukraine concede the provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea. It has also insisted that Ukraine renounce any intention of joining NATO, something Zelenskyy has appeared willing to do.

12:40 a.m.: A funeral ceremony was held in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Tuesday for four Ukrainian soldiers who lost their lives following the Russian invasion.

12:00 a.m.: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed his condolences Tuesday to the journalists killed in Ukraine on Monday.

I am grateful to all those risking their lives to show the world what is happening in Ukraine. The United States condemns Russia's ongoing violence, which is putting the safety of journalists and other media workers in Ukraine at risk.

Journalists Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova were killed in an attack that also seriously injured Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall.

U.S. broadcaster Fox News on Tuesday announced that cameraman Zakrzewski had died in Ukraine. Kuvshynova, a 24-year-old Ukrainian journalist, also was killed in the same attack.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty contributed to this report. Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
SYDNEY  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said her country will soon reopen its borders to tourists as it relaxes its COVID-19 restrictions, bringing forward plans to allow in international travelers after more than two years of border closures.

The prime minister made the announcement Wednesday saying that vaccinated tourists from nearby Australia can enter New Zealand beginning April 12, followed by vaccinated visitors from visa-waiver countries such as Britain, Canada, Germany and the United States beginning May 2. None of the tourists will be required to enter into a mandatory coronavirus quarantine period after arriving in New Zealand.

Ardern said it is time to reconnect with the rest of the world. We have now received guidance that it is safe to significantly bring forward the next stage of border reopening work to welcome back our tourists, she said.

In doing so, we are sending a very clear message that we are accelerating our economic recovery. Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop COVID-19, over two years ago, and its reopening will spur our economic recovery throughout the remainder of the year.

In addition to showing proof of vaccination, foreign tourists must also test negative for COVID-19 before leaving their home country and once again before they depart.

Australians will be allowed to travel to New Zealand without needing to quarantine or isolate from April 13.

Most international travelers have been banned from New Zealand since March 2020. Border closures and strict lockdowns were at the heart of a COVID elimination strategy that did work, initially. However, New Zealands defenses were eventually overwhelmed by the delta and omicron variants.

Daily case numbers are now above 20,000. Just a few weeks ago they were below 1,000. Even so, the government says it is able to bring forward its plans to reopen the borders by several weeks because of New Zealands strong health response to COVID-19, including high rates of vaccinations. It has recorded only about 115 deaths during the pandemic, according to official figures.

In February, New Zealand said international tourists would be able to return from July, but said this date would likely be moved forwards.



Travel industry officials in New Zealand have welcomed the accelerated reopening of the borders.

Government figures have shown that tourism generated more than 5% of the countrys national income, or GDP, before the pandemic, and employed 8% of the workforce.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA  North Korea tried but apparently failed to launch an unidentified projectile early Wednesday, South Koreas military said, in what could be the Norths first high-profile missile failure in years.

South Koreas military said the unknown North Korean projectile appears to have failed immediately after the launch, which occurred in the Sunan area near Pyongyang.

It is not clear what type of weapon North Korea attempted to test. Earlier, Japanese media reported North Korea fired an apparent ballistic missile, but offered no more details.

North Korea has not commented. It usually offers details about its weapons tests in state media reports the following morning, but very often does not acknowledge missile failures.

U.S. and South Korean officials have warned North Korea could soon conduct a full test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, possibly under the guise of a satellite launch. U.S. officials said North Koreas previous two launches were partial tests of the ICBM.

In response to those tests, the U.S. military said Tuesday it intensified air defense drills in South Korea and conducted an aircraft carrier exercise in the nearby Yellow Sea as part of a demonstration of resolve.

The situation risks a return to tensions not seen since 2017, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged threats of nuclear war before engaging in a series of unprecedented talks. For now, the rhetoric on both sides is much more restrained.

So far this year, North Korea has fired, or attempted to fire, 14 missiles during 10 rounds of launches, as it systematically works through a wish list of strategic weapons laid out by Kim last year.

North Korea has said it is preparing to launch a military spy satellite. Such a launch could also serve as an important weapons development on its own if it utilizes a massive new ICBM, as U.S. officials predict.

Analysts say the Hwasong-17 ICBM, first seen at a military parade in 2020, appears capable of carrying multiple warheads, which would pose a challenge for the missile defenses of the United States and its allies.

In addition to the mystery about the type of projectile North Korea was trying to launch, it is also unclear what went wrong or how that could impact future weapons development.

Since Japan, not South Korea, first reported the attempted launch, the missile likely did not rise high enough above the horizon to be detected by South Korean radars, according to Joshua Pollack, a researcher at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

North Korea experienced a series of high-profile missile failures in 2017, as well as problems with short-range launches in subsequent years. Although it has been years since a reported North Korean missile failure, experts stress that missile malfunctions are not uncommon.

It depends on how mature the technology is. But none of these things are failure-proof, says Pollack, who studies North Koreas weapons program.

Jean Lee, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Wilson Center, warned against dismissing North Koreas failed launches, noting that every test  even failures  moves scientists a step closer to success. And that should worry us, she added.

Wednesdays failed launch occurred in the Sunan area of Pyongyang, presumably near the site of North Koreas previous two tests, which used the airfield of an international airport. Certain flight paths may have taken the missile over populated areas, some experts have noted.

It wouldnt be the first time a malfunctioning North Korean missile struck one of the countrys own populated areas. In 2018, a Hwasong-12 intermediate range missile failed shortly after launch and apparently landed on the city of Tokchon, according to analysts who viewed satellite imagery at the time.

North Korean missile tests also threaten international civilian aircraft. In a statement Tuesday, the International Civil Aviation Organization said unannounced North Korean launches pose a serious risk to international civil aviation.

As an ICAO Member State, the DPRK is expected to notify adjacent countries of any activity or incident arising from its territory which may pose risks to nearby civil aviation routes or operations, the United Nations agency warned, using an abbreviation for North Koreas official name.
Traditional Kashmiri carpet weavers are turning to a 21st century technology already embraced by French winemakers and other international purveyors to boost sales by reassuring buyers that they are buying authentic made-in-Kashmir carpets, not cheap imitations.

The technology, used to authenticate wine from Cabo Verde, watches made in Switzerland, Bashkir honey from Russia and Tushuri Guda cheese from Georgia, combines a digital QR code with geo-locational features to guarantee to buyers that a carpet was actually woven in Kashmir.

Carpets from the region are ranked among the finest in the world because of the fineness of the weaving and the quality of the wool and silk yarn.

Mahmood Ahmad Shah, director of Handloom & Handicrafts in Kashmir, says this is the first time the regions pashmina or Kashmir silk carpets have received QR code-based geographical indications.

With QR code tagging, Shah expects to attract more clients, benefiting local artisans in Indian-administered Kashmir.

We are optimistic that it would give boost to the $40 million [export] business and would benefit 54,000 artisans registered with the Department of Handloom & Handicrafts in Kashmir, he told VOA.

The origin of Kashmirs hand-knotted carpets, locally called as "Kalbaffi," dates back to the 15th century. Sultan Zain-ul-Abidinis is believed to have sent Persian and Central Asian carpet weavers to Kashmir to teach the locals.

But Shah said the widespread sale of misbranded Kashmiri carpets has eroded trust among the consumers and led to the marginalization of local weavers such as Nissar Ahmad, a 50-year-old weaver from the outskirts of Srinagar who told VOA he works from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. earning the equivalent of just $4.15.

I have been into carpet weaving for over 35 years and at this age I cant shift to any other economic activity to earn my living. With this earning, it is hard to manage daily expenses, he said.

Shah said the certification will help the industry to regain customer trust, leading to a better life for the artisans.

From Gruyere cheese to Tequila, appellations of origin are jealously guarded by local growers and makers, especially in industries in which the quality of the product is directly linked to the place where it was made or grown. Many agricultural products, for example, are impacted by factors such as the climate and quality of soil.

The Srinagar-based Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT) started labeling the Kashmiri carpets earlier this month, embedding such factors into the QR codes as the identity of the weaver, district, raw material, size, knots per square inch, pile height, quality and whether the weaver is an authorized GI user.

That information is readable on digital devices including smart phones, marking the first time the technology has been used in India. Every piece of information you could ever want to know about a piece of carpet may be found in its QR code, said Zubair Ahmad, director of the IICT.

Customers who are unable to scan the barcode can verify the products legitimacy by typing an alphanumeric code found on the label into a web browser. Ahmad said the label also bears certain information that can be read with infrared equipment, and which cannot be reproduced or damaged.

In order to participate in the program, artisans and manufacturers needs to register with the Indian federal governments office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks. According to the Geographical Indications Registry of India, so far there are 25 authorized users in Kashmir.

Shah said the government will be able to map the movement of each carpet in order to better evaluate the international market.

When a customer scans the QR-tag through a smart phone fixed on the carpet, the department through block-chain technology will be able to trace the geographic location of the carpet and assess the demand from the various countries and will accordingly formulate market strategy.

The institute has already received hundreds of carpets for labeling and expects the process to standardize the quality of hand knotted carpets. Shah hopes that will lead to Kashmiri carpets being valued on a par for price and quality with the best Iranian and Turkish hand knotted carpets.

A geographical indication can also highlight a products human-made attributes, such as manufacturing skills and traditions. The quality of handicrafts often depends on local natural resources and techniques handed down from one generation to the next.
Russia is no longer part of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights monitor organization, following its invasion of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Russia announced it would leave, and on Wednesday the 47-nation COE made it official.

After the decision, members of the COE went outside the organizations headquarters in Strasbourg and lowered the Russian flag, ending a 26-year relationship.

"Russia's actions alone have led to this outcome," Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said. "We sincerely hope that Russia will one day return to the ideals of peace and democracy and regain its membership."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused NATO and EU members in the COE of "abusing their majority in the council, eventually transforming it into a tool for anti-Russian policy."

Ukraine is a COE member state.

Its foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said there was "no place for Russia in European bodies as it wages a barbaric war of aggression against Ukraine and commits multiple war crimes."

Some information in this report comes from Reuters and The Associated Press.
Russia said on Tuesday it has written guarantees it can carry out its work as a party to the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting Moscow could allow a revival of the tattered 2015 pact to go forward.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comments appeared to signal Moscow may have backed off its previous view that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine were an impediment to salvaging the nuclear deal.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters a revival of the nuclear deal would not be "an escape hatch" for Russia to avoid sanctions imposed because of the Ukraine war.

"We of course would not sanction Russian participation in nuclear projects that are part of resuming full implementation of the JCPOA. We can't and we won't, and we have not provided assurances beyond that to Russia," Price added.

On March 5, Lavrov unexpectedly demanded sweeping guarantees that Russian trade with Iran would not be affected by the Ukraine-related sanctions  a demand Western powers have said was unacceptable and Washington has insisted it will not accept.

Under the deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program to make it harder to develop a nuclear bomb  an ambition it denies  in return for relief from global economic sanctions.

"We have received written guarantees  they are included in the very text of the agreement on reviving the JCPOA, and in these texts there is a reliable defense of all the projects provided for by the JCPOA and those activities  including the linking up of our companies and specialists," Lavrov said.

Speaking at a news conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Moscow, Lavrov also denied that Russia was an obstacle to reviving the 2015 agreement.

"I have heard how the Americans have every day tried to accuse us of delaying the agreement  that is a lie. The agreement is not finally approved in several capitals, and the Russian capital  Moscow  is not one of them."

Oil prices fell more than 6%, pulled down by Lavrov's comments that Moscow was in favor of the nuclear deal resuming as soon as possible, and by doubts about Chinese demand following surging COVID-19 cases in China.

However, Western officials said they were not sure if Russia was satisfied by guarantees it could carry out nuclear projects under the 2015 deal or if it wanted the "right to free and full trade, economic and investment cooperation and military-technical cooperation" with Iran that Lavrov sought on March 5.

Another U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, responded cautiously to Lavrov's comments, saying they might mean Moscow had come around to the U.S. view that Russia's invasion of Ukraine should not torpedo the Iran nuclear deal.

"Perhaps it is now clear to Moscow that, as we have said publicly, the new Russia-related sanctions are unrelated to the JCPOA and should not have any impact on its implementation," said this senior U.S. State Department official.

Eleven months of fitful talks to revive the deal  which then-U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, prompting Tehran to start violating its nuclear limits about a year later  paused in Vienna last week after Russia demanded assurances.

Iran said the United States lacked the "political will" to resolve several outstanding issues in the nuclear negotiations in Vienna. The Islamic Republic has insisted Washington remove human rights and terrorism-related sanctions, including those imposed in 2019 on its elite Revolutionary Guards.

Amirabdollahian said the pause in the Vienna talks could help resolve several of the outstanding issues and suggested that Russia was no impediment.

"If we can reach an understanding with the United States on the few issues that are our red line and get to a final agreement, Russia will stand with us until the end of talks to reach a good, stable and strong nuclear deal," he said.


Here's a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:

US-Russia-Ukraine

The United States continues to support Ukraine in fending off Russian aggression and provides assistance to refugees fleeing the country in search of safety.

Wednesday (March 16,) President Joe Biden described the latest U.S. package of security assistance to Ukraine  valued at nearly $1 billion - shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the U.S. Congress for more help in a virtual address. On Tuesday, Biden signed a spending bill that includes around $13.6 billion for Ukraine.

This week, the State Department announced sanctions on key members of Russias defense enterprise and individuals.

In a statement on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced more sanctions on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for his role as an ally of Russia during the invasion of Ukraine, blocking Lukashenko and his family from accessing U.S. property and limiting the ability of Americans to conduct business with them.

Biden Announces New Assistance After Zelenskyy Asks for More US Help

US Announces More Sanctions on Belarus Leader, Russian Officials

Biden Administration Considers Expediting Resettlement of Ukrainian Refugees with US Connections

US-North and South Korea

Two recent North Korean missile launches were tests of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, according to U.S. officials, who announced fresh sanctions on Pyongyang and warned of a "serious escalation" in tensions. The launches on Feb. 26 and March 4 did not demonstrate ICBM range but were likely meant to evaluate the new system before conducting a future test at full range, potentially disguised as a space launch.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price called the launches a clear violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and said they demonstrated the threat that is posed by the DPRKs illicit weapons and missile programs.

South Korea elected main opposition People Power Party candidate and ex-prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl as the country's next leader. Yoon, a conservative, is expected to take a hardline approach toward North Korea. The State Department congratulated President-elect Yoon and said Washington looked forward to expanding its "ironclad" alliance with Seoul.

North Korea Tested ICBM System, US Says, Warning of 'Serious Escalation'

US Congratulates South Korea's President-Elect on Win

US-Iran-Iraq

Iran has claimed responsibility for a missile barrage that struck early Sunday (March 13) near a sprawling U.S. consulate complex in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, saying it was retaliation for an Israeli strike in Syria that killed two members of its Revolutionary Guard.

No injuries were reported in the attack, which marked a significant escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Hostility between the longtime foes has often played out in Iraq, whose government is allied with both countries.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke with both Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Masrour Barzani to "express solidarity and condemn the recent Iranian attack that violated Iraqs sovereignty." Blinken also discussed Iraqi national unity and Kurdish unity, as well as the need to form a government that protects Iraqis and their territory.



Iran Claims Missile Barrage Near US Consulate in Iraq



US-Afghan

The Afghan embassy and two consulates in the United States will cease operations at noon March 23. Officials from the U.S. State Department met Afghan diplomats on Monday (March 14) to inform them about what they call an orderly shutdown of operation of the three Afghan missions.

The move comes seven months after the fall of the former Afghan government in Kabul and several months of administrative and diplomatic wrangling in Washington.

Under the shutdown plan, the State Departments Office of Foreign Missions will take over the protection and preservation of the embassy in Washington and the consulates in New York and Los Angeles.

Afghan Diplomatic Missions in US Close, Remain Open Elsewhere

Meanwhile, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan women, Rina Amiri, says womens rights in Afghanistan suffered a tremendous setback after the Taliban seized power in August, but that supporting Afghan women is one area where there is solidarity in the United States and international community.

US Envoy Appeals for International Support for Afghan Women

Women of Courage

The United States honored 12 women from Colombia, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries, with the State Department saying they have demonstrated leadership and a willingness to sacrifice for others at an "International Women of Courage Award" ceremony Monday (March 14) in Washington.

Jailed Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang did not attend the virtual award ceremony, since she is currently in prison. "We condemn her unjust imprisonment. We call for her immediate release," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Ei Thinzar Maung, a pro-democracy leader from Myanmar, was honored for her commitment to democracy and work for a strong, inclusive and democratic Myanmar that respects human rights.

"We are not going to ever give up. Democracy must be restored," said Ei Thinzar Maung in a pre-taped message. While being forced into hiding due to torture and death threats, Ei Thinzar Maung continues to speak out against a military coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021.



Pro-democracy Leaders, Jailed Journalist Among US 'Women of Courage' Honorees
The United Nations highest court called on Russia to immediately halt its invasion of Ukraine, in a preliminary decision that is binding but may be difficult to enforce.

The preliminary decision read by Joan Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), was unambiguous.

"The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on February 24, 2022, in the territory of Ukraine."

She also addressed the widening humanitarian fallout of the war.

"The Court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is taking place in Ukraine and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering. The Court is profoundly concerned about the use of force by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which raises very serious issues of international law," Donoghue said.

The ICJ judges voted 13-2 in favor of the ruling. The two opposing judges hail from Russia and China.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the ICJs decision in a tweet, saying it amounted to what he called a complete victory for Ukraine in its case against Russia. He warned that ignoring the courts order would isolate Russia even further.

The ICJ ruling is just a first take by the world court. While it is binding, it may only mark a symbolic victory for Ukraine, since it will be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce.

Kyiv filed its case to the ICJ days after Russias invasion last month, challenging Russias claim the move aimed to halt a genocide of pro-Russian separatists there.

Russian representatives did not attend the courts opening hearing last week. But Moscow argued the ICJ should not impose any measures and had no jurisdiction.

The ICJs own ruling on both its jurisdiction and the merits of the case  much less on the case itself  could take months, or years.
Nigeria has evacuated at least 1,800 of its citizens from Ukraine since Russia's invasion, but says that 80 Nigerian students remain trapped in the southern city of Kherson. Russian forces have captured the city, and the students this week called on the Nigerian government to come to their aid.

It was another cold night in underground bomb shelters for Nigerian students in Kherson. The students have been trapped for about two weeks since Russian forces seized the city on March 3.

The students say gas and internet services have been cut off and that they're running out of food.

Akinyemi Victor, who graduated from the Kherson state maritime academy, spoke about the students situation on Twitter.

"When there's no gas, there's no heating system. We heat now with firewood and we cook there too. Some of us who have tried to go out of the city, Russian armies are sending them back home. No supply is coming into the city, (there's) nothing going out, nothing coming in," Victor said.

Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, was one of the first areas to fall to Russian forces. An estimated 150 Africans are believed to be trapped in the city, according to online groups calling for their evacuation.

This week, the Nigerian students called on their country to come to their aid.

Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama responded and said authorities are working with Nigeria's ambassadors in Ukraine and Russia to assist the students.

Yusuf Buba, chairman of a foreign affairs committee set up by lawmakers to facilitate evacuation operations, says efforts are underway.

"Our only area of concern now is for those students that are still in Ukraine and we will put our heads together with the (foreign affairs) ministry to see how the remaining students will come out to safety," Buba said.

Online groups have been promoting the hashtag #EvacuateKherson to raise awareness about the African students trapped there.

Some recently evacuated students are also trying to help get their colleagues out.

Samuel Otunla was rescued last week from the northeastern city of Sumy and has been creating awareness about the students in Kherson from his new shelter in Hungary.

"All of these embassies need to be aware of the situation so they can keep pushing, keep communicating with the humanitarian aid, the Ukrainian government, possibly the Russian government and military as well to make sure that these people are evacuated. It's not a good experience at all," Otunla said.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Moscow of trying to create a republic out of the captured city and its surrounding areas.
Turkish authorities have rejected the citizenship applications of some Uyghur refugees, telling them they were suspected risks to Turkey's "national security" or "social order," some of the Uyghurs told VOA.

"Phone communication" was the reason Turkey rejected one Uyghur family for citizenship last year. While the family doesn't know what that means, rights organizations say the term could mean that the person applying for citizenship has communicated with someone connected to an extremist organization in another country, such as Syria.

"My whole family's application was rejected, including my wife and children," the Uyghur refugee told VOA. He requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal in Turkey.

Erkin Ekrem, director of the Ankara-based Uyghur Research Institute, said Turkish Deputy Minister of the Interior Ismail Catakli told him and other Uyghur representatives last year that some foreign nationals in Turkey, including Uyghurs from China, were considered risks to national security.

"Catakli told us that it's not only some Uyghurs. There are other foreign nationals as well," Ekrem told VOA. "Catakli also said that it takes time to do background checks one by one."

"He told us that people should wait patiently about their cases," Ekrem said. " 'After we did a thorough background check, we will determine who is eligible and who is not.' That's what Catakli told us."

The Turkish Embassy in Washington did not respond to multiple requests from VOA for comment on this story.

Uyghur foreign fighters have been known to operate throughout Central Asia and the Middle East, although the exact number has been difficult to pin down. In Syria alone, Uyghurs fighting for militant groups range in number from the hundreds to the thousands. Uyghurs have also carried out terror attacks in China in the past 20 years, according to a 2017 report from the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism.

Uyghurs in China

About 8,000 Uyghurs did become Turkish citizens last year, according to a rights group that wished not to be named for fear of reprisal.

Most of them were from China. In recent years, an estimated 50,000 Uyghurs fled to Turkey from western China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where rights groups say the Chinese government is committing human rights abuses on local Turkic populations such as Uyghurs and Kazakhs.

International rights organizations and some Western countries including the U.S. say China has arbitrarily detained more than 1 million Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic groups in internment camps in Xinjiang since early 2017.

Beijing says the facilities are not internment camps but "vocational training centers" where people learn skills and the Chinese language. Beijing has also said it has taken measures to counter "the three evil forces in Xinjiang," namely "ethnic separatism, religious extremism and violent terrorism."

Alimjan Turdi, a Uyghur, left Xinjiang for Turkey in 2013 with his wife and three daughters.

"I came to Turkey escaping China's assimilationist policies in pursuit of a better education for my children," Turdi told VOA from the Netherlands.

He became a rights activist in 2017, after the Chinese government had arrested some of his relatives and former colleagues and had detained them in Xinjiang internment camps, Turdi said.

"Chinese police contacted me on social media and asked me to work for them," Turdi told VOA. "They said that if I want to help my relatives [and] colleagues and have a profiting business, I should work for them."

Turdi refused the request and, along with other Uyghurs, became a vocal activist in Turkey, demanding the release of family members from China's internment camps in Xinjiang.

In October, he stopped his activism in Turkey and decided to leave the country after the Turkish government had rejected his application for citizenship.

"I got excited and thought that my application for citizenship was accepted, after they [Turkish authorities] asked me to bring two passport-size pictures and sign relevant papers," Turdi said.

When he went to the immigration office in Istanbul, he was told his application for citizenship had been rejected.

"I asked for an explanation. They said they don't know the reason," Turdi said. "I thought that my activism wouldn't be harmful to Turkey."

In December, Turdi left Turkey for the Netherlands, where he is seeking political asylum.

Turkey's Uyghur position

The Turkish people have been sympathetic to Uyghurs, observers say.

Uyghurs and Turkish people are ethnically related and have a lot in common, both culturally and linguistically, explained Ilyas Dogan, a Turkish human rights lawyer based in Ankara who is handling 18 Uyghur cases, including Turdi's.

"Uyghurs are treated badly in China, and even genocide is carried out against them," Dogan said. "And almost everyone in Turkish society reacts to the injustice [the] Uyghurs have suffered."

When a 2009 Uyghur-led protest in the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi resulted in almost 200 dead, then-Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs as genocide.

Western countries have also accused China of genocide in its treatment of Uyghurs, which China says is the "lie of the century."

In recent years, however, Turkey has also developed closer ties with Beijing, relying heavily on China's financial support, Dogan said.

The trade volume between Turkey and China increased from $1.1 billion in 2001 to $23.6 billion in 2018, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. In that same span of time, Turkey's gross domestic product grew from $202 billion to $778 billion.

China's growing influence on the Turkish economy has become the greatest obstacle to Turkey's support of Uyghurs, Dogan said.

"China wants the Uyghurs who came to Turkey in recent years to leave Turkey," Dogan said, "because there's such a strong support for Uyghurs from Turkish society."

According to Dogan, one reason given for the citizenship rejections is "risk to Turkey's national security in the future."
Ugandan author Norman Tumuhimbise and journalist Bikobere Pharidah of Digitalk, an online television station, have been behind bars since last Thursday and are likely to stay there for at least several days more.

A court in Kampala issued formal charges against the two on Wednesday.

Lawyer Geoffrey Turyamusima, who represented Tumuhimbise and Pharidah in court, told VOA: "And the two charges, one is offensive communication and cyber stalking of the person of the president. They both pleaded not guilty, though they looked tortured."

Tumuhimbise and Pharidah were arrested along with seven other journalists at the Digitalk offices last week by a joint security team comprising Ugandan army soldiers and police officers.

Other journalists on the scene were released on bond but also face charges of offensive communication.

Authorities have not commented on the allegations of torture.

Turyamusima says that based on his clients' appearance in court, he will ask that a hearing be held on Monday to throw out the charges against Tumuhimbise and Pharidah.

In recent months, the Ugandan government has been accused of targeting writers seen as critical of the state  particularly writers who focus on President Yoweri Museveni and his family.

Tumuhimbise is a well-known critic of Museveni and his son, who is widely seen as a possible presidential successor.

In February, another author who criticized the president, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, fled to Germany to seek treatment after allegedly being tortured for two weeks in a military facility.


Russian warships bombarded targets near Odesa Wednesday morning, possibly as a part of a buildup to an attack on the Ukrainian port city. But some military strategists say Russian forces are struggling to hold territory they have seized and have suffered some serious reversals in fierce skirmishes elsewhere that will likely delay an assault on Odesa.

Britains Defense Ministry in its daily update on the state of battle assessed that Russian forces are struggling to overcome challenges posed by Ukraine's terrain and that Russian units have remained largely tied to Ukraines roads, demonstrating reluctance to go off-road to maneuver. It said Ukrainian forces have also managed to stall Russian advances by blowing up bridges.

The tactics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have adeptly exploited Russias lack of maneuver, frustrating the Russian advance and inflicting heavy losses on the invading forces, the British Defense Ministry concluded.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Wednesday in a tweet that a series of counter offensives in several operational areas had altered the warring parties' dispositions. And Oleksiy Arestovych, another aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said small-scale Ukrainian counterattacks meant Russian forces have not managed to clear the main hotspots around Kyiv and there is little chance they will as Russia has used up its resources.

Two-thirds of Russian rockets are striking civilian buildings and infrastructure, Arestovych said in a video briefing.

Ukrainian authorities said Russian forces continued intense bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraines second-largest city, and surrounding towns. A high-rise apartment block was hit in the latest shelling attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Wednesday, smashing the top floor and igniting a blaze. There were reports of two victims, but there has been no confirmation on whether they were killed or injured. So far, Ukrainian authorities estimate Russia has destroyed 3,500 buildings in 21 days of war, including more than 200 schools.

Ukraines military claims 13,800 Russian soldiers have been killed or captured since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. They also say they have destroyed or taken out of action 430 tanks and 1,375 armored vehicles. The Ukrainian claims have not been independently verified.

A fourth Russian general, Oleg Mityaev, the 47-year-old commander of Russia's 150th motorized rifle division, was reportedly killed. Kyiv said Mityaev, who fought in Syria, died near the city of Mariupol and released a photo purportedly of his body.

Moscow has not confirmed the death.

If the claim is accurate, he would be the fourth Russian general to have been killed and 13th officer since February 24, when the invasion of Ukraine began.

The other generals killed were: Major General Andrei Kolesnikov, commander of the 29th Combined Army; Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, a deputy commander of Russia's 41st army, another combat veteran who fought in Syria, and Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, who was reportedly killed by a sniper. Four Russian colonels have also been killed and a Chechen general, Magomed Tushaev, has been reported by Kyiv as killed in an ambush near Hostomel, near the Ukrainian capital, which has seen some of the heaviest ground fighting since Russia invaded.

Military analysts suggest the high death tally of senior officers is because they have had to move closer to the front lines to sort out logistical supply problems and to coax ground troops forward. Moscow has only acknowledged that 498 of its soldiers have been killed and 1,597 wounded, and that was on March 2 with no updates since.

Western defense officials have lower estimates than Ukraines for the Russian death toll, with a consensus of a likely 6,000 Russian dead, around the number of U.S. service personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq during two decades of fighting.

Russian military spokesmen have a different view of the state of battle, saying its forces shot down in the past 24 hours two Ukrainian Su-25 warplanes and one MiG-29 fighter jet as well as four drones. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov also said Wednesday that Russian forces destroyed 128 Ukrainian military facilities the past day.

Independent military observers and strategists concur with the assessment of Britains Defense Ministry, saying that the outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian defense forces have managed to frustrate Russias invasion force, especially in northern and eastern Ukraine.

Putin has check-mated himself: his armor-mechanized forces cannot enter Kiev [sic] without suffering huge casualties, and neither can they stay outside without being attacked by drones and AT [anti-tank] missiles, tweeted Edward Luttwak, a renowned American military strategist.

In south Ukraine, Russian forces have made more progress but have not been able to subjugate the smaller port-town of Mariupol, which has been besieged and without water, food supplies and electricity for days. And a Russian advance on Odesa has also been stalled because of a dogged Ukrainian defense of the town of Mykolayiv, 120 kilometers east of Odesa, where Ukrainian defenders managed to recapture the local airport a few days ago.

Ukrainian and Western military officials say they still think Russia is planning an assault on Odesa, and Russian warships have been gathering off the coast nearby, they say. One option for the Russians would be to bypass Mykolayiv and conduct an amphibious landing.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said last week that a seaborne assault on Odesa had been planned but was abandoned because of poor weather conditions. Odesa has been preparing for a Russian attack, fortifying streets for close fighting and mining beaches.
The U.N. Security Council voted Tuesday to prolong its peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for one more year, after Russia and China chose to abstain.

The Council's 13 other members all voted in favor of the resolution, which extends the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) until March 15, 2023, at its current level of deployment.

The maximum number of U.N. peacekeeping soldiers for UNMISS is set at 17,000 with an additional 2,100 police officers.

The operation is one of the most expensive for the U.N., with an annual budget surpassing $1 billion.

China indicated that it was in favor of the extension but chose to abstain because the United States insisted on including human rights in the resolution's text.

China's deputy ambassador, Dai Bing, called the draft resolution "very unbalanced," a sentiment shared by his Russian counterpart, Anna Evstigneeva, who was disappointed that Moscow's amendments were left out.

The resolution states that the goal of the peacekeeping mission is to "prevent a return to civil war in South Sudan, to build durable peace at the local and national levels, and to support inclusive and accountable governance and free, fair, and peaceful elections."

At a Security Council meeting in early March, the U.N. and the United States, which played a key role in South Sudan's creation, urged its leaders to move forward with its planned elections, or risk a "catastrophe."

With less than a year to go before the elections, South Sudan risks sliding back into war, the U.N. warned in February.

The world's youngest country has experienced chronic instability since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011.

Between 2013 and 2018, it descended into a bloody civil war between archenemies Riek Machar and Salva Kiir, which left nearly 400,000 dead and millions displaced.

A peace agreement signed in 2018 led to a national unity government that was inaugurated in February 2020, with Kiir as president and Machar as vice president.

Due in part to ongoing feuds between the two rivals, the peace agreement remains largely unimplemented.
The United Nations is holding a virtual pledge conference among its member states Wednesday to raise at least $4.2 billion to fund its humanitarian effort in war-torn Yemen this year.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday announced the U.S. would give almost $585 million to Yemen in 2022.

The European Union said it would provide $407.4 million, and the United Kingdom promised $115 million.

The world body says the money will help more than 17 million people, who are in dire need of food assistance, a number that could rise to 19 million by the second half of 2022.

Yemen has been plagued by turmoil since 2014, when Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and ousted the countrys globally recognized government. A Saudi-led Arab coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, began fighting the rebels several months later. The war has settled into a bloody stalemate that has left tens of thousands of Yemenis dead and triggered the worlds worst humanitarian crisis.

The Houthi rebels, who control large parts of northern Yemen, have been accused of interfering in the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Wednesdays pledge conference comes as much of the worlds attention is focused on Russias invasion of Ukraine, now in its 21st day. The crisis in Ukraine is likely to aggravate the situation in Yemen, which gets nearly one-third of its wheat imports from Ukraine.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
U.S. authorities announced charges Wednesday against five people who were allegedly working for the Chinese secret police to spy on and harass Chinese nationals living in the U.S. who had been critical of Beijing.

Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the charges.

The five allegedly harassed, stalked and spied on their targets.

One person, Qiming Lin  named in the court filings as a member of Chinas Ministry of State Security and currently based in China  allegedly tried to interfere with the candidacy of one target, a U.S. military veteran who was running for Congress. The candidate had been involved in the 1989 pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square, which the Chinese government violently suppressed.

Another allegedly tried to destroy the artwork of one target who was living in the Los Angeles area.

Another, who started a pro-democracy group in the Queens borough of New York City, was charged with collecting information about prominent activists and passing the information to the Chinese government.

"Transnational repression harms people in the United States and around the world and threatens the rule of law itself, said Matthew G. Olsen, assistant attorney general for national security, who added that the U.S. will not allow any foreign government to engage in such activities.

Peace said the charges reveal the outrageous and dangerous lengths China will go to to silence, harass, discredit and spy on U.S. residents for simply exercising their freedom of speech.

Three of the five defendants have been arrested and were set to appear in court on Wednesday. Two remain at large.

The charges are the latest in an attempt by the Justice Department to expose Chinese efforts to harass dissidents in the U.S.

In 2015, the Obama administration reportedly warned Beijing against Chinese agents involved in such activities.

Some information in this report came from Reuters.
The last time U.S.-Pakistan relations turned cold was in the early 1990s, after Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan and the U.S. no longer needed Pakistan's support and regional intelligence. Following last year's U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, after two decades of costly war that forced the countries to work closely, Washington and Islamabad again appear to be distancing from each other on major issues.

"Afghanistan has long been the lens through which Washington views its relations with Islamabad," Michael Kugelman, an expert at the Wilson Center, told VOA.

For Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of some 225 million people, having close relations with a global power is vital in order for it to maintain balance with its arch-enemy India, at least militarily, and ease domestic economic problems.

From the start of the war in Afghanistan to its 2021 conclusion, the U.S. committed more than $32.5 billion in civilian and military aid to Pakistan, according to the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan.

With U.S. military assistance suspended in 2018 and civilian aid reduced to about $300 million for 2022, Pakistani authorities have turned to other countries for help.

Late last month, as Russian troops started invading Ukraine, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the Kremlin seeking closer ties and economic assistance. Khan said Pakistan will continue to import wheat and gas from Russia despite widespread international sanctions.

Of the 193 U.N. member states, 141 voted in early March to condemn Russian aggression in Ukraine, but Pakistan was conspicuously missing from the list.

Khan has defied international calls for Pakistan to condemn the Russian invasion, saying, "What do you think of us? Are we your slaves ... that whatever you say, we will do?"

Chinese weapons

Pakistan spent more than $750 million on weapons imports from China last year, according to a database compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Last week, Pakistan's air force displayed its first batch of Chinese-built J-10C fighter jets. Although Islamabad hasn't said how many aircraft were acquired in the deal, Pakistani officials had spoken of up to 25 jets in prior news reports.

The Pakistani army has long been a stable client for China's weapons market, but it also used to purchase from the U.S.

In 2010, during the height of U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan, Pakistan imported more than $1 billion worth of weapons from the U.S., including several F-16 fighter jets.

In 2021, there were no U.S. weapons sales to Pakistan.

Pakistan and China, long-established regional allies, have recently expanded trade, investment and economic relations.

During the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in February, which the U.S. diplomatically boycotted, Prime Minister Khan was in the Chinese capital to sign agreements on cooperation in several areas including space, digitization, technical assistance and culture.

"The trend lines for Pakistan's relations with China are more positive than they are for its relationship with the U.S.," Kugelman said, adding that the prospects for U.S.-Pakistan relations appear "tenuous at best."

Terrorism concerns

Pakistani authorities have accused the U.S. government of having an opportunistic and sometimes even abusive relationship with Pakistan.

"Whenever the U.S. needed us, they established relations and Pakistan became a frontline state, and then abandoned it and slapped sanctions on us," Khan was quoted as telling Pakistani media outlets on February 11.

In the U.S., however, the Pakistani government is seen as dishonest, particularly in tackling Islamic militancy and terrorism in the region.

Pakistan has "really been nothing short of duplicitous for years," U.S. Congressman Scott Perry told VOA, adding that the country was a hotbed of many terrorist groups.

Last week, Perry introduced a bill that calls for a designation of Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism.

It is too early to say whether the bill will be passed, but when asked why he introduced it now, seven months after the U.S. exited Afghanistan, Perry talked about Pakistan's ties to Russia.

"While we're trying to get the world united against Russia, [Pakistan] won't take a vote at the U.N. and they're actually lobbying Russia to build a pipeline between Russia and Pakistan," Perry said.

Despite inflammatory statements in both Pakistan and the U.S., neither country appears to be seeking a permanent split, said Kugelman of the Wilson Center.

"It would be wrong to suggest that Pakistan's deepening alliance with China and growing partnerships with other U.S. rivals signals the end of U.S.-Pakistan relations. There's still an appetite in Islamabad for some degree of partnership."


Analysts: Xi's 'cultural nourishment' slogan encourages eradication of other cultures

Chinese leader Xi Jinping's slogans of "cultural nourishment" and the "consciousness of the whole of the Chinese nation" are aimed at supplanting ethnic and cultural identities of local non-Chinese groups, including Uyghurs and Tibetans, with Chinese customs and traditions, Radio Free Asia reported.

High school faculty director serving sentence for teaching in Uyghur

A former student and a police officer have confirmed this month that Adil Tursun, a chemistry teacher and a high school faculty director, has been serving a sentence of seven years in prison for using the Uyghur language when instructing students. Tursun was arrested in 2016 and sentenced in 2018.

Uyghurs in Norway not safe from Chinese reach

Uyghur activists living in Norway told Coda Story that Chinese agents are subjecting them to surveillance, intimidation and censorship.

Uyghur incarcerated for saving wife from forced abortion died in prison, officials confirm

RFA reported that local police confirmed that Abdureshid Obul, a Uyghur farmer, died in prison in 2020 at age 50 while serving an eight-year prison term for saving his wife from government-mandated forced abortion. Under government policy, ethnic minority families are limited to two children. Obul had four.

Chinese international students at Cornell University boo Uyghur classmate

About 40 Chinese international students at Cornell University in the United States booed last week when a Uyghur classmate spoke out about the Chinese government's treatment of her brother, who was detained in Xinjiang.

News in brief

 Turkey has welcomed an estimated 50,000 Uyghur refugees from China and has granted some of them Turkish citizenship, but some Uyghur refugees in Turkey told VOA thattheir applications for Turkish citizenship had been rejected.

Quote of note

"They [Xinjiang agents] wanted me to go to Germany and get in with their group [World Uyghur Congress], collect phone numbers and addresses, find out which flights they were taking, which restaurants they ate at."

 Memettursun Omer, Uyghur pressured by China to spy on other Uyghurs overseas
Taiwanese citizens and their government are sending donations to war-torn Ukraine as a show of extra sympathy, analysts say. They argue that many on the Asian Pacific island fear they could become the next place to be targeted by a major military power.

China claims the island as part of its territory and has not renounced use of force, if needed, to bring it under the Chinese flag. Most Taiwanese oppose any formal unification with China. Their dispute goes back to the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalists lost to Communists and rebased in Taiwan.

Since mid-2020, the more militarily powerful China has flown air force planes almost daily over a corner of Taiwans air defense identification zone. Taiwan has followed up with orders for modern weaponry, both built onshore and sourced from the United States.

To be attacked this way and through rather unfair means makes people feel a sense of compassion and empathy (toward Ukraine). So, Taiwanese are quite willing to donate aid, said Ku Chung-hua, a standing board member in Taipei with the advocacy group Citizens Congress Watch.

On February 28, the Taiwan government sent 27 tons of medical supplies to Ukraine.

As of March 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan had massed donations of $10.5 million through a special account. A Taiwan government office in Poland and Polands reciprocal office in Taipei will coordinate delivery of the funds to a refugee agency approved by the Polish government, the ministry says.

Some 1,730 Taiwanese donors have, so far, marshaled cookies, blankets, masks, diapers and feminine hygiene products for Ukrainian war refugees, the ministry in Taipei said on its website. The ministry is taking in-kind donations through March 18.

Taiwans super-wealthy, church groups and overseas advocacy organizations have collected additional donations, according to the islands media outlets as well as individual donors.

Joanna Lei, CEO of the Chunghua 21st Century Think Tank in Taiwan, donated through her Taipei-based Protestant church, which happens to follow humanitarian causes. She said the church decided on day three of the Ukraine invasion to donate several million Taiwan dollars. Taiwanese have a record of donating to humanitarian causes, Lei said. Among them were the March 2011 tsunami in Japan and the 2008 earthquake in southwestern China.

Some Taiwanese have kicked in support because of so many discussions in the international media about Ukraine today and Taiwan tomorrow, she added. If we say solidarity, it makes Russia and China allies, Lei said. Its not solidarity, but humanitarian concerns.

Taiwan political activist Koo Kwang-ming donated $1 million to humanitarian relief, Taiwan-based Liberty Times said. He told the Chinese-language news outlet that Russia had attacked without a legitimate reason.

Among the vibrant Taiwanese population of Los Angeles, four advocacy groups are recruiting donations. Ken Wu, vice president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, pitched in $100 on February 26 and is considering whether to make another donation. Taiwanese donors throughout North America interpret Russias invasion of Ukraine as being about the free world versus China and Russia, he said.

Now the Taiwanese people, I think, they have moved beyond the fright of China, said Wu, whose organization lobbies Congress to take pro-Taiwan action.

Theyre feeling a bit more confident that if they stand behind Ukraine now and save Ukraine, they will be able to stop the aggression once and for all, he said. This is a really good lesson for the Chinese to see the cost of an aggressor.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations opened their fourth round of peace talks Monday after Russia ordered a deadly missile attack on a western Ukraine military base 25 kilometers from NATO-member Poland. At least 35 people were killed and 134 were hurt.

No doubt people in Taiwan feel a special sympathy for Ukrainians, whose situation has many similarities with that of Taiwans people, said Denny Roy, senior fellow at the East-West Center think tank in Honolulu. In the background, Taiwan also wants to show that it did what it could to help another invaded people free, in case Taiwan ever finds itself similarly pleading for the international communitys help against an aggressor.

Taiwanese are backing Ukraine now for the same reasons they sympathized with Hong Kong during the Chinese territorys 2019 anti-government protests, Ku said. He said they wanted then to protect freedoms that they enjoy in Taiwan and felt were under fire in Hong Kong.

Hardly anyone in Taiwan backs Russia and many Taiwanese feel respect for Ukrainians for fighting back against Moscows forces, Ku said. They feel Ukrainians courage is respectable and of value, he said.

China has rejected parallels between its intentions for Taiwan and Russias war in Ukraine. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a news conference earlier this month that the situations are not at all comparable because Taiwan is a domestic matter, according to the state-run China Daily news website.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyy in an impassioned address to Canada's parliament on Tuesday doubled down on his plea for a no-fly zone, asking lawmakers to imagine their own cities being bombed at an appalling human cost.

In the video address, the Ukrainian leader accused Russia's military of "destroying everything: memorial complexes, schools, hospitals, housing complexes."

"They've already killed 97 Ukrainian children," Zelenskyy said.

"We're not asking for much. We're asking for justice, for real support, which will help us to prevail, to defend (ourselves), to save lives," he said, receiving a standing ovation from lawmakers.

He renewed his calls for a no-fly zone over Ukraine to "stop the bombing." NATO allies, including Canada, have rejected the proposal, fearing it would lead to an expansion of the conflict.

"Can you imagine when you call your friends and you ask to please close the sky, close the air space, please stop the bombing?  And they (simply) express their deep concerns about the situation," he lamented. "How many more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?"

Zelenskyy asked rhetorically how Canadians would react if Russia laid siege to Vancouver, bombed the Ottawa airport or targeted the CN Tower in Toronto, while listing off historic sites in Ukraine that have come under bombardment.

"I know that you all support Ukraine," Zelenskyy said to MPs, "but I would like you to understand, to feel what we feel every day."

"Imagine that Canadian facilities have been bombed similarly as our buildings and memorial places are being bombed," he said. "A number of families have died. Every night is a horrible night."

Several times in his 12-minute speech, Zelenskyy addressed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau directly, asking him how he would explain war to his own children: "Justin, can you imagine you and your children hearing all these severe explosions" starting each morning at 4 a.m.?

The Ukrainian leader described cities with no heat or electricity, without any means of communicating, and running out of food and water as they seek cover in bomb shelters.

"This is exactly the situation that our city of Mariupol is suffering right now," Zelenskyy said, as some 20,000 fled the besieged port city on Tuesday.

Canada has the second-largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world with nearly 1.4 million (3.8%) of the total population being of Ukrainian descent.

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy is to address the American Congress, after having spoken to the British and European parliaments.

Earlier, Trudeau announced sanctions against 15 more Russian officials, including "government and military elites who are complicit in this illegal war."

The move brings the number of Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian individuals and entities sanctioned by Ottawa since the start of the war last month to nearly 500.

"Vladimir Putin's blatant disregard for human life is unacceptable," the Canadian leader said, while praising Zelenskyy as an inspiration.

"Democracies around the world are lucky to have you as our champion," he said, vowing that Ukraine "can count on our unwavering and steadfast support."

Zelenskyy thanked Canada for the sanctions as well as military equipment and humanitarian aid.

But, "unfortunately this just did not bring an end to the war," he said. "We all need to do more to stop Russia, to protect Ukraine."

"Please expand your efforts to bring back peace in our peaceful country," he said.


Ukraines president on Wednesday urged U.S. lawmakers to do more to protect his nation amid a three-week onslaught by Russian forces, evoking some of the worst traumas of American history to ask Congress and President Joe Biden to give more military assistance and impose a no-fly zone over Ukraines besieged skies.

Watch the address:

Russia continued attacks on Ukraines capital, Kyiv, Wednesday, as NATO ministers gathered in Europe to discuss Russias invasion.

"Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, speaking virtually to a packed session of U.S. lawmakers in a speech that evoked the painful memories of Japans 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which spurred the U.S. to enter World War II; and the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, which launched the U.S.'s multi-front, two-decade-long Global War on Terror.

The 44-year old actor-turned-president, who spoke in English for part of his speech, also raised the more inspiring parts of American history, including the words of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I need to protect our sky," said Zelenskyy. "I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words 'I have a dream.'"

He reiterated his request for a no-fly zone  a request the White House has said would put the U.S. into direct confrontation with Russia.

"We disagree with the argument that that would be an effective step," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said (on Tuesday). "Because a no-fly zone, which often  people  shorthand, essentially means us shooting down Russian planes and them potentially shooting back at us."

Zelenskyys speech follows similar addresses to Britains House of Commons, Canadas parliament and the European Parliament in recent weeks as he pushes for more military and humanitarian support from the international community.

Instead, Washington is pursuing what officials say are harsh and effective sanctions against Russia, with a special focus on the wealthy elites who surround Putin. To that end, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland met virtually on Wednesday with officials from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission, to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs multilateral task force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be unfazed by the opposition, and told Russian media on Wednesday that he will continue what he describes as a "special operation" in Ukraine.

"The West is trying to convince its citizens that their difficulties are the result of Russias actions, but this is a lie," Russian media quoted Putin as saying.

NATO meets

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said members in Brussels would be discussing both the immediate consequences of Russias invasion and long-term efforts to strengthen NATOs collective defense.

NATO has a responsibility to ensure that this crisis does not escalate beyond Ukraine, and that's also the reason why we have increased the presence in the eastern part of the alliance, Stoltenberg told reporters.

He has said potential actions could include placing substantially more forces in the eastern area, along with increases in naval and air deployments, missile defense systems and holding larger and more frequent military exercises.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin highlighted support for Ukraines ability to defend itself as well as U.S. commitment to aid any NATO ally that comes under attack.

I think our presence here sends a signal to the world that we remain united in our support of Ukraine, and we condemn Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion into Ukraine, Austin said.

Russia has objected to NATOs presence near its borders and sought a guarantee that Ukraine will never join the alliance. NATO insists countries are free to make their own decisions about security ties.

While Ukraine is not part of NATO, seven NATO countries share borders with Russia, Ukraine or Russian ally Belarus, and that proximity has raised concerns of a wider conflict.

Stoltenberg said there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe and another 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, as well as hundreds of thousands more on heightened alert across NATO nations.

U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at the White House Wednesday, unveiling $800 million in new aid to Ukraine that will push the total amount of assistance announced by the United States during the past week to $2 billion.

He is due to join other NATO leaders in Brussels for a summit taking place March 24, the one-month anniversary of Russia launching its invasion after denying for months it planned to do so.

On the ground in Ukraine, the countrys emergencies agency reported a 12-story residential building was among the targets hit by Russian forces.

Despite continued shelling of Kyiv and other cities, Russian ground forces are making limited to no progress  in achieving their objectives in Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday in an assessment shared with VOA.

The official said Kyiv remains under heavy bombardment by long-range fire, with civilian targets to include residential areas being struck with increasing frequency. But leading elements of Russian forces have not appreciably advanced on the city.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine continued Tuesday, and while previous rounds yielded no major breakthroughs, Zelenskyy said in a video message early Wednesday that there were some signs of progress.

The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine, he said.

Zelenskyy suggested a compromise on Tuesday, saying Ukraine was ready to accept security guarantees that fall short of its goal to join NATO.

If we cannot enter through open doors, then we must cooperate with the associations with which we can, which will help us, protect us ... and have separate guarantees, Zelenskyy said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was premature to predict whether the peace talks will lead to progress.

The work is difficult, and in the current situation, the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive, Peskov said.

The United Nations said Tuesday the number of people who have fled Ukraine since the invasion began had reached 3 million.

VOAs White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and national security correspondent Jeff Seldin and Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.

Some information also came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Ukraines president on Wednesday urged U.S. lawmakers to do more to protect his nation amid a three-week onslaught by Russian forces, evoking some of the worst traumas of American history to ask Congress and President Joe Biden to give more military assistance and impose a no-fly zone over Ukraines besieged skies.

Russia continued attacks on Ukraines capital, Kyiv, Wednesday, as NATO ministers gathered in Europe to discuss Russias invasion.

"Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, speaking virtually to a packed session of U.S. lawmakers in a speech that evoked the painful memories of Japans 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which spurred the U.S. to enter World War II; and the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, which launched the U.S.'s multi-front, two-decade-long Global War on Terror.

The 44-year old actor-turned-president, who spoke in English for part of his speech, also raised the more inspiring parts of American history, including the words of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I need to protect our sky," said Zelenskyy. "I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words 'I have a dream.'"

He reiterated his request for a no-fly zone  a request the White House has said would put the U.S. into direct confrontation with Russia.

"We disagree with the argument that that would be an effective step," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said (on Tuesday). "Because a no-fly zone, which often  people  shorthand, essentially means us shooting down Russian planes and them potentially shooting back at us."

Zelenskyys speech follows similar addresses to Britains House of Commons, Canadas parliament and the European Parliament in recent weeks as he pushes for more military and humanitarian support from the international community.

Instead, Washington is pursuing what officials say are harsh and effective sanctions against Russia, with a special focus on the wealthy elites who surround Putin. To that end, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland met virtually on Wednesday with officials from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission, to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs multilateral task force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be unfazed by the opposition, and told Russian media on Wednesday that he will continue what he describes as a "special operation" in Ukraine.

"The West is trying to convince its citizens that their difficulties are the result of Russias actions, but this is a lie," Russian media quoted Putin as saying.

NATO meets

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said members in Brussels would be discussing both the immediate consequences of Russias invasion and long-term efforts to strengthen NATOs collective defense.

NATO has a responsibility to ensure that this crisis does not escalate beyond Ukraine, and that's also the reason why we have increased the presence in the eastern part of the alliance, Stoltenberg told reporters.

He has said potential actions could include placing substantially more forces in the eastern area, along with increases in naval and air deployments, missile defense systems and holding larger and more frequent military exercises.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin highlighted support for Ukraines ability to defend itself as well as U.S. commitment to aid any NATO ally that comes under attack.

I think our presence here sends a signal to the world that we remain united in our support of Ukraine, and we condemn Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion into Ukraine, Austin said.

Russia has objected to NATOs presence near its borders and sought a guarantee that Ukraine will never join the alliance. NATO insists countries are free to make their own decisions about security ties.

While Ukraine is not part of NATO, seven NATO countries share borders with Russia, Ukraine or Russian ally Belarus, and that proximity has raised concerns of a wider conflict.

Stoltenberg said there are 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe and another 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, as well as hundreds of thousands more on heightened alert across NATO nations.

U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at the White House Wednesday, unveiling $800 million in new aid to Ukraine that will push the total amount of assistance announced by the United States during the past week to $2 billion.

He is due to join other NATO leaders in Brussels for a summit taking place March 24, the one-month anniversary of Russia launching its invasion after denying for months it planned to do so.

On the ground in Ukraine, the countrys emergencies agency reported a 12-story residential building was among the targets hit by Russian forces.

Despite continued shelling of Kyiv and other cities, Russian ground forces are making limited to no progress  in achieving their objectives in Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday in an assessment shared with VOA.

The official said Kyiv remains under heavy bombardment by long-range fire, with civilian targets to include residential areas being struck with increasing frequency. But leading elements of Russian forces have not appreciably advanced on the city.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine continued Tuesday, and while previous rounds yielded no major breakthroughs, Zelenskyy said in a video message early Wednesday that there were some signs of progress.

The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine, he said.

Zelenskyy suggested a compromise on Tuesday, saying Ukraine was ready to accept security guarantees that fall short of its goal to join NATO.

If we cannot enter through open doors, then we must cooperate with the associations with which we can, which will help us, protect us ... and have separate guarantees, Zelenskyy said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was premature to predict whether the peace talks will lead to progress.

The work is difficult, and in the current situation, the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive, Peskov said.

The United Nations said Tuesday the number of people who have fled Ukraine since the invasion began had reached 3 million.

VOAs White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara and national security correspondent Jeff Seldin and Congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.

Some information also came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
A Zimbabwean businesswoman, Elizabeth Valerio, has launched an opposition party saying the local and international community should take a proactive role in ensuring that the 2023 harmonized elections are free, fair and credible.

Officially launching the party in Harare today, Valerio, who is the interim president of the United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA), said she is confident of victory in the 2023 elections and the forthcoming council and parliamentary by-election in which her party has fielded four candidates.

She said her party would set up 30 companies in various sectors of the economy before the next elections.

"The United Zimbabwe Alliance is a citizens engagement platform. It brings all Zimbabweans together for the purpose of building our country, building our communities. No one is coming to save us. The people know what we want. We know the work that has to be done. We have the capacity to do it. Only Zimbabweans can build Zimbabwe. United Zimbabwe Alliance as a citizens engagement platform comes at a time when there is no other political party with an agenda that is genuinely for the people of Zimbabwe."

Some ordinary people have welcomed the party's stance on rebuilding Zimbabwe before it is even elected into office.

But some analysts say there are too many political parties in Zimbabwe that normally split votes in critical national elections.

A large number of opposition parties participated in the 2018 general elections, which also featured 23 presidential candidates.
WARSAW, POLAND 

The prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to the embattled Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday in a show of support for Ukraine even as bombardment by the Russian military edged closer to the center of the city.

The three leaders went ahead with the hours-long train trip despite worries within the European Union about the security risks of traveling within a war zone.

"It is here, in war-torn Kyiv, that history is being made. It is here, that freedom fights against the world of tyranny. It is here that the future of us all hangs in the balance," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter.

The long journey over land from Poland to Kyiv by Morawiecki, Poland's deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Prime Ministers Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Janez Jansa of Slovenia sent the message that most of Ukraine still remains in Ukrainian hands.

But underlining the deteriorating security situation in Kyiv, a series of strikes hit a residential neighborhood in the city again on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy posted a video on Facebook of him sitting around a table with the leaders briefing them on the war's developments. After the meeting, he said he was sure "with such friends" Ukraine would be able to defeat Russia.

"And most importantly, we absolutely trust the leaders of these countries and, therefore, when we speak of security guarantees, of our future in the European Union, or speak of sanctions policy, we know 100% that everything we are discussing will really lead to that positive goal for our country, for our security and for our future," Zelenskyy said.

Fiala said the main purpose of the visit was to tell Ukraine it is not alone.

"We know you're fighting for your lives ... but we also know you're fighting for our lives, our freedom," Fiala said. "Probably the main goal of our visit, the main message of our mission, is to say that you're not alone. Our countries stand by you. Europe stands by you."

The Central European leaders said they were on an EU mission. But officials from the 27-nation bloc insisted that the trio had undertaken the trip independently.

All three countries were once part of the communist bloc and now belong to both the EU and NATO.

Jansa described the visit as a way to send a message that Ukraine is a European country that deserves to be accepted one day into the EU. Two weeks earlier, Zelenskyy made an emotional appeal to the European Parliament on that very subject.

"We are fighting also to be equal members of Europe," Zelenskyy told EU lawmakers on March 1. "I believe that today we are showing everybody that is what we are."

Jansa said the war has awoken Europeans to idea that the bloc represents fundamental ideas that are under threat  and which Ukrainians are defending with their lives.

"Thank you for not only defending your homeland and Europe as a territory, but for defending the very core of European values and our way of life. Your fight is our fight and together we will prevail," tweeted Jansa, a right-wing populist friendly with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Jansa, 63, served as defense minister during the small state's brief and successful uprising against the Yugoslav army when Slovenia declared independence in 1991. Lately, he has been comparing Ukraine's resistance to Slovenia's uprising against a much stronger enemy.

The presence in Kyiv of Kaczynski, Poland's de-facto leader, carried a symbolic significance. He is the twin of the late President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash on Russian soil in 2010 along with 95 other Poles, among them political and military leaders, as they traveled to commemorate Poles executed by the Soviet secret police during World War II.

A Polish investigation determined that the crash was an accident caused by fog and pilot error. Still, Kaczynski, 72, has long suspected that Russian President Vladimir Putin had a role in provoking the accident, a suspicion that has not been proven.

Morawiecki said on Facebook that the visit was agreed by the EU and that the United Nations was also informed. Yet in Brussels, officials said they had been informed of the visit but characterized it as one taken independently into a war zone.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who was asked about the visit, didn't endorse it outright but said, "I think it is important that leaders of NATO countries, of European member states, are engaging closely with President Zelenskyy."

The visit had been planned for several days but was kept secret for security reasons, said Michal Dworczyk, chief of staff for Morawiecki.

Shortly before dawn and hours before the leaders were due in Kyiv, large explosions thundered across the city from what Ukrainian authorities said were Russian artillery strikes. The shelling ignited a huge fire and a frantic rescue effort in a 15-story apartment building. At least one person was killed and others remain trapped inside.

Shock waves from an explosion also damaged a downtown subway station in Kyiv that has been used as a bomb shelter. City authorities tweeted an image of the blown-out facade, saying trains would no longer stop at the station.

Before his departure, Morawiecki on Facebook recalled how the Lech Kaczynski had made a visit to the capital of Georgia in 2008 when that ex-Soviet country was under attack from Russia.

He quoted President Kaczynski, who said at the time in Tbilisi: "Today Georgia, tomorrow Ukraine, the day after tomorrow the Baltic states, and then maybe it's time for my country, for Poland."
U.S. President Joe Biden answered Ukraines plea for help Wednesday with an $800 million assistance package that includes a range of weapons and defensive gear. However, the assistance fell short of the no-fly zone that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seeks as his country faces continued attacks from Russia.

That brings the total of new U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to $1 billion just this week, Biden said, adding: This new package on its own is going to provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine. It includes 800 anti-aircraft systems to make sure the Ukrainian military can continue to stop the planes and helicopters that have been attacking their people and to defend their Ukrainian airspace.

In addition to the 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems that Biden mentioned, the package includes 2,000 Javelin and 1,000 light anti-armor weapons and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems; hundreds of grenade launchers, shotguns and machine guns; thousands of rifles and pistols; more than 20 million rounds of ammunitio; and tens of thousands of sets of body armor and helmets.

The new U.S. assistance package followed an impassioned plea that Ukraines president made Wednesday to U.S. lawmakers, begging them to do more to protect his nation amid a three-week onslaught by Russian forces.

In his speech, Zelenskyy evoked some of the worst traumas of American history to ask Congress and Biden to give more military assistance and impose a no-fly zone over Ukraines besieged cities.

Right now, the destiny of our country is being decided, Zelenskyy said, speaking virtually to a packed session of U.S. lawmakers in a speech that evoked the painful memories of Japans 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which spurred the U.S. to enter World War II; and the September 11, 2001, terror attacks, which launched the U.S. multifront, two-decade-long global war on terrorism.

The 44-year-old actor-turned-president, who spoke in English for part of his address, also raised the more inspiring parts of American history, including the words of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

'I need your decision'

I need to protect our sky, Zelenskyy said. I need your decision, your help, which means exactly the same, the same you feel when you hear the words I have a dream. 

He reiterated his request for a no-fly zone, a request the White House has said would put the U.S. into direct confrontation with Russia.

Instead, Washington is pursuing what officials say are harsh and effective sanctions against Russia, with a special focus on the wealthy elites who surround Putin. To that end, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland met virtually on Wednesday with officials from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Commission to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs multilateral task force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be unfazed by the opposition and told Russian media on Wednesday that he would continue what he has described as a special operation in Ukraine.

The West is trying to convince its citizens that their difficulties are the result of Russias actions, but this is a lie, Russian media reported Putin as saying.



NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said ministers meeting in Brussels had agreed that the alliance must continue to provide significant support to Ukraine, including military supplies, financial help and humanitarian aid. He also called on Russia to stop its attacks on Ukraine.

Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin highlighted support for Ukraines ability to defend itself as well as U.S. commitment to aid any NATO ally that comes under attack.

Condemnation of Russia

I think our presence here sends a signal to the world that we remain united in our support of Ukraine, and we condemn Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion into Ukraine, Austin said.

Russia has objected to NATOs presence near its borders and sought a guarantee that Ukraine would never join the alliance. NATO insists countries are free to make their own decisions about security ties.

While Ukraine is not part of NATO, seven NATO countries share borders with Russia, Ukraine or Russian ally Belarus, and that proximity has raised concerns of a wider conflict.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center, speaks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, front second left, during the North Atlantic Council meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, March 16, 2022. Stoltenberg has made it clear that the 30-nation military alliance is set to radically change its security stance in Europe in response to Russia's war on Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said Wednesday that there were 100,000 U.S. troops in Europe and another 40,000 troops under direct NATO command, as well as hundreds of thousands more on heightened alert across NATO nations.

Biden is due to join other NATO leaders in Brussels for a summit March 24, marking one month since Russia launched its invasion after denying for months it planned to do so.

On the ground in Ukraine, the countrys emergencies agency reported a 12-story residential building was among the targets hit by Russian forces. Ukrainian officials also said Russia bombed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were taking shelter.

Hints at progress

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine had continued Tuesday, and while previous rounds yielded no major breakthroughs, Zelenskyy said in a video message early Wednesday that there were some signs of progress.

"The meetings continue, and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic. But time is still needed for the decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine, he said.

Zelenskyy suggested a compromise on Tuesday, saying Ukraine was ready to accept security guarantees that fall short of its goal to join NATO.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was premature to predict whether the peace talks would lead to progress.

VOA's White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara, National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin and Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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(St. Paul, MN)  Minnesota House DFL leaders and legislators released the framework and targets for their budget proposal today. The budget includes significant investments in education and prioritizes assisting those impacted by COVID-19.

The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, but some Minnesotans have been hit harder than others. Our budget will focus on helping those most impacted by COVID  students, workers, families, and small businesses, said Speaker Melissa Hortman. We have to help Minnesotans recover from the pandemic and then thrive once its behind us. Together, we have to ensure that Minnesota is a state where everyone has economic security and opportunities to succeed.

The budget includes:

Significant increases in funding for E-12 education and child care, making new investments after a difficult year of remote learning.

Support for those who have been most impacted by COVID-19: students, families, and small businesses.

Investments to improve economic security, including paid family leave, earned sick and safe time, affordable housing, and worker protection and support.

Progressive, sustainable revenue into the future to make ongoing investments.

Minnesotans are tired of seeing the rich and well-connected do better and better while workers and families cant get ahead. Big corporations and the richest Minnesotans have seen their wealth soar during the pandemic, while so many others have struggled worse than ever, said Majority Leader Ryan Winkler. President Biden's rescue plan is exactly what Minnesotans need now, but in the long run Minnesota must invest more in health and education or we will fall behind.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our entire state, but the hardship hasnt been felt equally. To pull through this crisis, we must prioritize those among us who have borne the worst brunt of the crisis, including students, workers, and small businesses, said Rep. Rena Moran, Chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means. While were nearing the end of the pandemic, the struggles too many Minnesotans face will continue unless lawmakers take deliberate action to help end them. Through bold investments in education, child care, health, housing, and economic security, House DFLers are working to deliver a hopeful, strong future for everybody in our state.

In developing this budget outline, House DFLers are recognizing the tremendous challenges Minnesotans have experienced over the past year, and investing in our states resiliency to help our students, workers, small businesses, and families recover, said Rep. Liz Olson, House Deputy Majority Leader. COVID-19 is just one chapter in our states story, and as we look beyond the pandemic, our budget lays the groundwork for everyone in our state to once again have the opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live or what they look like.

As the chair of the Education Finance Committee, and a parent myself, its important for us to be thinking carefully about strategic investments that put our students first, said Rep. Jim Davnie, House Education Finance Chair. The measures and steps we can take now will help our kids bounce back more quickly from the pandemic, academically and emotionally and be better prepared for their future.

House DFL Committee Targets
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setagaya-ku (289 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / complex motion difficult to describe / 1-2 minutes : Small shaking for 10-15 seconds. break for about 1 minute. more shaking which increased in intensity for more than 1 minute, accompanied by a long moaning sound. Seemed to shift in direction & intensity a few times. | 18 users found this interesting.

Sendai, Miyagi (82 km NW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Heavy shaking, very scary. Apartment a mess | 13 users found this interesting.

Tokyo (295.3 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 30-60 s : was shaking all of a sudden in Tokyo (Setagaya), very strong. Coupe of things fell, was moving sideway and up and down. very noisy. The strongest I felt in 2 years in Tokyo. | 10 users found this interesting.

Hachinohe / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / 10-15 s : I am in hachinohe port in vessel TOLMI. Also we felt the earthquake very very much, even if we at are at sea. | 9 users found this interesting.

Chofu, Tokyo (297.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 15-20 s : In bed sleeping, room started shaking and lasted long enough for me to get out of bed and seek safety | 7 users found this interesting.

Yamato, Kanagawa / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : I was woken up by horizontal movement and jingling of hanging keys. The cats, one of which was sleeping on my bed, did not wake up. | 7 users found this interesting.

Yokosuka, Kanagawa (319.3 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / several minutes : Woke me up from my sleep, come to find out my apartment building shaking and hearing the floors and walls creak | 6 users found this interesting.

Misawa, Japan / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / vibration and rolling / 30-60 s : Lasted very long. Shaking and rolling. | 6 users found this interesting.

Yokosuka (317.3 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) Almost made me consider to run. My dear cat steal not out for fear... | 5 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III)

Tokyo / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : Started slowly, then stopped, then very strong shaking. Household items fell down | 5 users found this interesting.

Saitama-ken Kawaguchi-shi / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vertical swinging (up and down) / 30-60 s : Horrible and terrifying feeling,i thought that everything will crash.Many people like never before got outside the houses | 3 users found this interesting.

Yokosuka City (320 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes : I was in the bathtub. Water almost sloshed out of the tub because of the intense shaking. At least one minute or more. Gradual & consistent shaking - increased in severity, vibrating, swinging, rolling. Woke up child on second floor. Pretty scary! | 2 users found this interesting.

Zushi, Kanagawa (314.2 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / several minutes The first 2 min it was little shake, after that morrintense. More than 5min | 3 users found this interesting. (reported through (reported through our app / Weak shaking (MMI III) / several minutes

Minamirinkan, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa (315.1 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : I was about to sleep then I noticed a very weak shaking after a minute it got stronger and stronger | 3 users found this interesting.

Niigata Japan / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / several minutes : The street light outside was shaking back and forth and I felt dizzy the whole time. | 3 users found this interesting.

Misawa AB (332.1 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 1-2 minutes : Light to Moderate shaking. Kitchen cabinets opened. | 2 users found this interesting.

Misawa' Aomari (333.3 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 10-15 s : Entire 3 story building shook for 10 seconds. | 2 users found this interesting.

Kamakura (324.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / 1-2 minutes : Sleeping upstairs in a bed. Woke up to a low rumbling sound and shaking. | 2 users found this interesting.

Yokohama (301.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : My room hugging my dog | 2 users found this interesting.

Yokosuka, Kanagawa (318.2 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Weak shaking (MMI III) : Sleeping woke me up | 2 users found this interesting.

Yokosuka, japan (318.9 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / several minutes : Woke me up from a dead sleep. | 2 users found this interesting.

37 km of Shimo-furano, Furano-shi, Hokkaido (602.8 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Light shaking (MMI IV) : Lying in bed and everything started shaking pretty visibly. | 2 users found this interesting.

Namie / Very strong shaking (MMI VII) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : I was playing a game on the computer when all of a sudden the monitor fell off the desk, fell on my dog, made me trip over a Hoover, now I have no monitor, a vet bill and nothing to clean it all up with! | One user found this interesting.

Misawa, Aomori (328.7 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / both vertical and horizontal swinging / several minutes : It started fairly weak, but the shaking soon intensified. It knocked some items over and felt like it wouldn't end. Strongest shaking I have felt so far since coming to Japan.

Isehara shi kanagawa ken / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / rattling, vibrating / 30-60 s : Nervous | 2 users found this interesting.

Miura, Kanagawa (327.8 km SSW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 30-60 s : that was intense! | One user found this interesting.

oimachi (285.9 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Strong shaking (MMI VI) : lots of shaking | One user found this interesting.

Nagoya, Chikusa-ku (500.7 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / 5-10 s : I didn't feel shaking of ground or so, but I felt dizziness. | One user found this interesting.

Sapporo Japan (595.4 km N of epicenter) [ Map ] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / single vertical bump / 1-2 s : Shaking of walls but very weak | One user found this interesting.

Ichihasama / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 1-2 minutes : Things falling from shelves, bed shaking | 2 users found this interesting.

Tokyo (281.4 km SW of epicenter) [ Map ] / not felt / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s (reported through our app / not felt / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s
On the sidelines of the China-US summit in Rome on 15 March 2022, the United States exerted heavy pressure on the Holy See, in their intent to transform the conflict in Ukraine into a religious war.

In association with Bernard Lewis, under the George Bush Sr. administration, the Straussians [1] had dreamt of mobilizing Muslims against Russia. This deliberate strategy was later taken up by Lewiss assistant, Samuel Huntington, who promoted it as an inevitable scenario : the clash of civilizations.

However, this strategy which was implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, then in Chechnya, is ineffectual in Ukraine where both camps are Christian. The Straussians, therefore, want to fan the flames of the Catholic/Orthodox divide. To this end, they intend to revive the theology evolved from the visions of Fatima.

During the thirties and the Second World War, the anti-Slavic and anti-Semitic nationalist Stepan Bandera was a Uniate, that is Greek-Catholic, who celebrated an Orthodox rite while being affiliated with Rome.

Three years ago, the Straussians broke up the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by creating the Ukrainian Orthodox Autocephalous Church, not recognized by the Patriarch of Moscow, but by that of Constantinople [2].

In 1917, during the First World War and just after the Russian Revolution, three Portuguese psychics claimed they had received a message from the Virgin Mary, saying:

You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go, To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart. (...) The war is going to end but if people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out during the reign of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions against the Church and against the Holy Father.To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph, the Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.

On 24 March 2022, President Joe Biden will travel to Europe to chair a special summit of NATO heads of state and governments against Russia.

On the following day, 25 March at 5 p.m. (12 p.m. Washington time; 6 p.m. Kiev time; 7 p.m. Moscow time), Pope Francis will consecrate Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as per the wishes of the psychics of Fatima. Accordingly, Russia will be portrayed, as the troublemaker. Fighting against her will become the sacred duty of all Catholics.

The faithful who participate in religious wars lose all thinking capacity and show unparalleled determination and cruelty. For twenty years, the Muslim world has been paying the price. The Christian world is preparing to follow suit.
Superlatives A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers. Thats one of the reasons why its a three piece band  all three of us had high expectations that the band would be where we put all of our artistic chips. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images

This is the Sacred Grove, where my fancy friends come to play, Stewart Copeland tells me within a minute of logging onto Zoom. No, hes not beaming in from a magical wood filled with cymbals and snares: Im getting an impromptu tour of the sun-soaked studio in his Los Angeles home, which frequently hosted his carousel of chuckle buddies before the pandemic began two years ago. Since the apocalypse, I havent been doing very much. Before that, I had Snoop Dogg, Neil Peart, Ben Harper, and Stanley Clarke here, because the room is gorgeous, he explained. I have the largest collection of the cheapest instruments money can buy, and everythings micd up. There are a few cameras to the right; a few more to the left. Behind him, a timpani and a drum kit. Every square foot of the room, theres a mic on everything, he added. So I have these jams and then I cut them all up and put them on YouTube.

Copeland, a hell of an amiable guy, is resting in between some national-tour dates as a symphony-orchestra composer. Hes also celebrating a Grammy nomination for Best New Age Album, the kinetic Divine Tides with Ricky Kej. (I would be the first drummer in history to get a New Age award, he quipped.) But lets be frank: You know Copeland for his work with the Police alongside guitarist Andy Summers and that guy named Gordon, a drummer whose cross-genre mastery and dynamic style somehow managed to make the power trio sound like a power sextet while buoying them as one of the biggest bands  if not the biggest band  of the 80s. Roxanne has a tango edge because of him, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic a frisky groove. And dont even get us started on Walking on the Moon, which was sent from the heavens by the god of hi-hats. But why blather on when Copeland himself can talk about it all, which he does in our newest Superlatives.

Best song

Its a tough choice, because I have personal favorites that I enjoy playing the most that mean something to me. Then there are the ones with the most pristine and cleverest compositions, where Sting really pulled it out of the bag and nailed it. Then other ones where the song wasnt the best song he ever wrote, but the band made it great. There are different ways of picking a winner. So Im going to go with just my own personal taste. Bring on the Night is the most beautiful song Sting ever wrote. The band arrangement of it is okay. Its not even one that I particularly enjoy playing because its quite tricky rhythmically  it teeters on the edge. But its such a beautiful, poignant song. Thats the one that hits me the most emotionally  the music, the emotion in the chord progression, the message of the song, that feeling of bringing on the night. This days been hell, but let me have my tequila shot and lets just change the subject. I know that feeling. Im sure everybody knows that feeling.

Most spontaneous song

One evening after dinner, Andy was strumming his jazz chords and Sting said, Hey, thats interesting. They both like jazz chords. Sting said, I think I got a lyric for that. Theyre sitting there at the dinner table, and Stings pulling out his lyrics and making them fit to Andys chord progression. Theyre kind of working out right there. Twenty feet away is my drum set, because the dining room had a great sound on Montserrat  my drums were set up in a separate building from the studio in the dining room. Andy was in the main big recording room with all of his amplifiers, and Sting was in the control room with just his bass and a microphone stand. So theyre working it out, and Im kind of thinking about what the rhythm ought to be. They said, Lets record that, and they walked downstairs and along the pathway into the studio. By the time they get in there with the engineer, Ive walked 20 feet and am already on the drums banging away, but they can hear my open mics come through the speakers. They start up the song, and they play it down. The songs called Murder By Numbers. That performance was the first time we ever even ran the song down, and its on the record.

But spontaneity was one of the seeds of the bands destruction. In the early years, we were co-dependent, and we thrived off one anothers contributions. Andy had given me cool ideas for the drums, and Id leap on it with enthusiasm, which actually went all the way through the band experience. Every time Sting pulled out a song, we leaped on it. They were just great songs. Whatever World War 18 was going on at the time, those songs were always great. But the spontaneous part became more difficult when Sting got more and more confident in getting hit after hit. Like any musician or artist, as you mature, you learn the craft of your gift and you get better at it. So he would write songs, and theyre fully formed in his mind  pristine perfection. By the way, hes a pretty good arranger. The arrangements in his mind were perfect to him. Now, if I came at it with a different rhythm or Andy came at it with a different guitar part, that became more and more of a struggle for Sting to deal with, the idea that collaboration equals compromise, when he had such a perfect vision in his head. That spontaneity works against the pristine cathedral of perfection. I say this with respect, because he is that talented. The songs were perfect in his mind and wouldve been perfect out in the world that way.

So I dont begrudge that at all, but it did make it very frustrating for Andy and me to get a word in edgewise. Or to be able to use the band as a creative outlet, which is why musicians play in bands, because you play in a band or become a musician to express what you have. It became more and more of a battle to work and collaborate. We all understand these factors now and dont hold any grudges about it. We understand what its all about. It was all about how each of us had a very strong urge to express ourselves in the medium of the band. Thats one of the reasons why its a three-piece band  all three of us had high expectations that the band would be where we put all of our artistic chips.

Song youd rerecord if given the chance

There is, but no one agrees with me. Wrapped Around Your Finger. Like all of the Police songs  unlike the first album and parts of the second album  I would hear a song and record my drum part 20 or so minutes later. Sting and Andy got a chance to redo all of their guitars and vocals and everything else. But the drum parts I played 20 minutes after hearing the song because Sting would only reveal them one at a time. Very clever technique. He would be like, I got one more for you. [Laughs.] So those drum parts are all very spontaneous. In a lot of places, I thought we were going to the chorus, but theres another verse, so that affects the sound. I would change the rhythm thinking that we were going into that other part, but not so. Or it goes into the chorus, but Im still playing what I thought was the verse because Im not hearing the whole song. Im only hearing Andy and Sting plunking on their instruments, bored, waiting for the drums again, and Stings singing some of the lyrics without any great commitment because they both know theyre going to redo everything. Theyre just playing their part so that I can get to mine. Once Ive got my part, then the fun begins. Then we go out and plan it on tour, and I figure out how to get from the chorus back to the verse. This is how I should do that.

I wish Id done different things on Wrapped Around Your Finger, but it still kind of worked. Maybe I wouldve screwed it up. People say, No, thats a great performance, but I can hear my hesitancy. I can hear that I wasnt very comfortable in that rhythm there, but my drummer buddies tell me thats whats so cool about it, that it has an exploratory feel, so go figure. I got another one for you. The end of Message in a Bottle. I put one too many drum overdubs at the end. I went kind of ape crazy at the end. Too much crashy-bashy at the end of Message in a Bottle, I think nowadays. I wouldve cleaned that up. But then again, my tastes are not necessarily the zeitgeist. Sting had a much better idea of what normal people like.

Creepiest love song

You know the answer to that. Everyone knows the answer to that. Every Breath You Take is the creepiest. Who wouldnt love seeing such a song being played at weddings as their wedding song? Whats not to love about that? Dont Stand So Close to Me is pretty creepy as well. But youre assuming that I listen to the words. I dont. Im just banging shit at the back of the stage. [Laughs.]

Song that exemplifies your hi-hat mastery

Walking on the Moon. That was where I also used the delay lines and the repeat echo, which creates these rhythms. I was hearing those as Im playing off the repeat echo  the slap back, which is a different rhythm. Its a dotted quarter-note away from what Im playing. I would play with that and interact with it. Drummers like that spot.

The hi-hat is the upper level of the rhythm. Theres two layers of rhythm: One is the 16th-notes, or the fast notes, which youll normally hear on the cymbals or hi-hat. The other half of the rhythm is the backbeat and kick relationship, or the downbeat and the backbeat. The snare and the kick drum interact to create the meat of the rhythm. But the upper level, the hi-hat and the cymbals doing those 16th-notes  the faster patterns  are the connective tissue for the meat and potatoes of kick snare. Its the interaction of those elements that make a rhythm what it is. The hi-hat contributes to the upper level. Its a particularly useful instrument because its two cymbals pressed together, and how tightly theyre pressed together is controlled by your left foot. If you release your foot a little bit, it opens it up completely. So your left foot is controlling the texture of that upper-level rhythm with a high degree of expression. Theres a whole kind of vocabulary that you can put into that upper level of the rhythms.

Most underrated song

Actually, Id say Murder by Numbers. Because it was a B-side. Whenever we played concerts, it was very popular. I play it now with my orchestra show and its very popular. Im very proud of it. It didnt get a chance, but it sort of achieved cult status in a way. Mind you, Im forgetting Andys song, Friends. But my heart and soul doesnt rest on the fate of one song.

Most overanalyzed drum part

Spirits in the Material World is the one where everyone says, How the fuck do you do that? Im not even sure myself. The rhythm came from a little Casio sequence. You cant buy them anymore. Theyre too complicated now. You used to be able to get a little Casio about a foot long, and it had a little rhythm. I believe that Andy wrote Spirits in the Material World on that, but the rhythm has this uplifting vibe. Its all up. Theres no down. Its skating on the knifes edge. Its one of the most difficult songs. Its the most simple, but its a scary song to play. Musicians fear it because its so easy to fuck up and land on the downbeat. Every musician, they can draw a breath. They need to know where one is. Unfortunately, I have a terrible blot on my personality, a scar in my spiritual tissue, which induces me to hide the one.

I realized later on that a drum break is actually a muscular thing. Its a repetitive action, which gets very strenuous. To do the same action, even if its a little action, and keep doing it is tough. Thats why orchestras hate to play minimalist music  Philip Glass or Steve Reich, for instance, because they have to do the same thing without variation. So with a drum fill, all the muscles get reordered. Okay, now Im back to that groove. I can do it. To get locked into that thing where theres no variation is very, very fatiguing, and a drum fill is a way of relieving the fatigue of the repetitive action.

I learned a couple of things through the years when I was young and vigorous and when I went out there and suffered as a drummer for the first few dates. I discovered, by accident, preparation, which is practicing and getting fit. The Police once did a tour at the end of polo season, and I was super-fit from staying on a polo horse. Thats going to make you fit. We started rehearsing, and unlike what usually transpired, I leaped into those rehearsals with all the energy in the world. Lets rehearse for another two more hours. A few years later, I discovered stretching and warm-up techniques so that by the third song Im really up to cruising altitude. I learned that from an old jazz cat.

Drumming is really hard work. I recently learned something new. I could rehearse all day, all night, days on end, on the guitar. But on drums, Im done by six. I am done. I got to get in the shower. I bring three T-shirts to rehearsals because its physical work. Youve got to carry that band on your shoulders every foot down the highway. As a guitarist, most of the time, youre just standing there looking handsome. I look at young Pete Townshend busting a sweat, and I think, Jesus Christ, its so obvious. The next time I saw Dave Grohl, I told him, Come on man, fess up. Tell Taylor Hawkins that hes working six times as hard as you are. You know its true. Youve been there. Youre here. Come on Dave, fess up. The guitarists, they never let on. When youre playing guitar, you look at the drummer and its obvious. That guy is breaking a sweat. No guitarist or any other musician has ever fessed up.

Geekiest song for drummers

So, I have a story that relates to this. During one of our tours, I was playing Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic at every show. At a certain point in the tour, Sting said to me, You know what? I never liked that drum. Why dont you just leave a space there? Thatd be really cool. I said in response, Ill be hanged, drawn, and quartered. [Laughs.] He says, Nobody gives a fuck about that. Are you kidding? In Drum World magazine, they write editorials about that drum fill. Were kind of laughing and were pulling each others chains about it, rattling each others cages, as we are so fond of doing. So a couple of years go by, and now were on our reunion tour. A fan came up to us in Spain, and hes got the Spanish version of Drum World magazine. He said, Could you sign my magazine? He opens it up, and theres a page with that song and that drum fill. Im sitting next to Sting at the bar. I turn to him and go, Listen, you motherfucker. See that, you motherfucker?

Album with the most esoteric musical influences

I would say theyre about equal in terms of influences. Not that I listen to the lyrics, but Stings world expanded beyond writing a love song for a pop group playing on a stage. He began to see the band, and albums, as being a way of expressing higher consciousness. He was always a deep reader, and he increasingly transitioned that into being a part of his repertoire with Zenyatta Mondatta. Synchronicity was a concept album, for Gods sake. Ghost in the Machine was in its own way too. So literary influences crept in there with the lyrics. Musically, the first album was derivative of the world. We were playing what we felt we needed to play to survive in the marketplace, which were rock songs and punk songs. Then, with every album when we established ourselves and grew more confident in our own material, the influences of the market and other bands we were listening to became less important. Were all music fans, after all. We became less derivative as we got more confident.

It must be said that one of the main outside influences was reggae, which resonated for me because I grew up in the Middle East. With depth key rhythms and ballade rhythms, they have structurally similar foundational principles. Thats something I grew up with, so all the reggae drummers were an outside influence. Before that, it was Buddy Rich and Mitch Mitchell, but that was when I was a kid.

Most mispronounced album title

They all are. Theres no correct pronunciation for Zenyatta Mondatta. Thats a trick question. Its a trick album title. [Laughs.] Reggatta de Blanc is tough. We never could agree among ourselves whether it should be Reg-att-a de Blanc or Rega-ta de Blanc, depending on how sophisticated the company you keep is. For the first three, we had that style of album titling. The last two were named after the central thesis of the songs that Sting wrote. In one case, it was Ghost in the Machine, after a book by that name. The other one was Synchronicity, which was the theories of Carl Jung. I only learned this later. I couldnt give a rats ass about it at the time. There isnt any correct pronunciation for our albums. You choose your own version and be superior.

Silliest Sting story

If there were such a story, I wouldnt share it with anyone. The thing with Sting is that hes a man of implacable dignity. He is absolutely not the person that many people think he is. Hes quiet. Hes quiet and deep, whereas I am noisy and shallow. Hes not a socialite. Hes not very good at small talk. Hes quite shy, in fact, and reserved. People often mistake that for arrogance or disinterest. Its far from the truth  he actually laughs really easily, has a good sense of humor, but his persona is kind of dour. For some reason, when a camera goes on him, he goes into that face. When I see that, I think, Dude, come on. Youre not that guy. But he is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Were just creatures of a different feather. We love and admire each other. The bond we have, the shared history and everything, is a wonderful thing. But were just not birds of a feather. Ive known him for 40 years and have no fucking idea whats going on behind those baby blues.

Why Spyro: The Dragon was the best music you ever wrote

It has to do with the rate of work and the volume of material being produced. For four years, every summer, I produced a triple album of backing tracks quickly under the gun. Id churn them and burn them. I would do three a day over two days and then the next day Id come back and finish them. Bang, three more in the bank. You burn up any ideas you might have had in the cookie jar. You go straight to raw. With Spyro, I just had to keep going. I discovered that with quantity comes quality. Because you would think that it would all be very shallow and ill-considered and too facile. But, in fact, you get into a zone. You get into a sweet part where your subconscious and imagination starts producing. Its like a muscle that you work, and it gets stronger. The momentum of creativity builds up. I think its because I didnt have time for judgment or self-doubt or hesitancy. Every summer, Id be doing Spyro and playing it with my kids. I have four boys and three girls, and it was just like a family in the 50s watching The Jetsons. The whole family in there together, lit up by my music.

Its a funny story. My kids go to private school on the west side of Los Angeles, and they have annual gala events and fundraisers. The parents donate something like two weeks in a Swiss chalet or whatever, and Im the cheapskate, so I say, Drum lesson by Stewart Copeland. At some point, a dad brings his kid over and the kid could care less, but the dads fanboying about the Police. Basically, I tell the dads stories and show the kids how to hold the sticks. But one year, a dad comes over with no kid. He wants a drum lesson. Its a pretty expensive school. He must have achieved something in life. I show him a few things on the drums. Im gently trying to find out, Are you a musician? You play in a band? But he sees my Spyro frame, which says triple platinum. He says, Oh, Spyro. Do you enjoy those games? I said, Yeah. Im actually thinking of taking Spyro and orchestrating it and turning it into an orchestral piece. I just have to find the guy who now owns the copyright. And he responded, I can help you with that. I own them. Im the CEO of Activision. Now that you mention it, we ought to reissue that game. So two years later, they reissued it. They rebuilt it from the ground up.

Most ambitious thing the Police have left to do

We have no intention of doing anything.
Famously white, Jack Harlow. Photo: Michael Tullberg/WireImage

Jack Harlow announced a new album on March 16, called Come Home the Kids Miss You and out May 6. He was also recently cast as the lead in a remake of White Men Cant Jump (given that he is, famously, white). But in a new Rolling Stone cover story, Harlow really just wants to talk about sex. The story kicks off with Harlow  whom the magazine calls a leading Gen-Z sex symbol  reminiscing about fuckin against a tree over on the side of the river in a favorite park in Louisville and only escalates from there. Also back in Louisville? Harlows friend Ciera, who said Harlow had a major role in her transitioning from identifying as a lesbian to dating men. He looks like the girls that I date! she remembered saying at the time.

And dont let that title fool you  it sounds like this is about to be one horny album too. One song, called Blade of Grass, reportedly opens with the lines, Like a blade of grass wants sunlight / I just want that ass. (In album news unrelated to sex, the rapper also teased conversations with Dolly Partons team, saying he wants to put her on some hard shit.) As Harlow put it, I am poetic, but I want some ass. Sorry, but thats  kind of a bar!
Streamliner At your service. Illustration: Martin Gee

If youve recently (or not so recently) moved out of your parents home and expected to keep sharing a Netflix log-in ad infinitum, we have grim news. The largest paid streaming service in the business has decided that its 221 million subscriber accounts are not enough. Netflix decided March 16 that its latest streaming-wars battlefront would be password sharing. In a blog post titled Paying to Share Netflix Outside Your Household, the company announced that its testing measures that would charge accounts extra for allowing users to stream outside of a given household  a feckless ploy that would target both college students and empty-nester parents everywhere.

Asserting that Netflixs existing profile options have created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared, the blog post outlines a test in the next few weeks of two new so-called features for members in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru: The option to add a sub account that you have to pay extra for and alternately the ability to transfer profiles to a new account, which would retain your algorithm-juicing history. Vulture asked Netflix why they chose Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru as their testing grounds for this, and the post will be updated if we hear back, but its common for them to test products in markets outside the United States. Rather than cut the moochers off, they want to convert subscribers into paying incrementally more for the moochers. In the post, Netflix director of product innovation Chengyi Long argues that password cadging impacts our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members. I would argue that its totally fine, actually, and deploying any features that impact my fathers ability to watch Tick, Tick  Boom! on our account are misguided business decisions. But thats just me.

To be fair, this is just a test. For now. Netflix doesnt always widely implement the functionalities that they test. And the current cost of adding a subaccount is not terribly high: In Costa Rica, the charge is $3 a month atop the countrys existing Netflix subscription tiers, which start at $9. Its also not unexpected given that streaming growth across the board is slowing and the company tested an account verification feature almost exactly a year ago. Still, no customer wants to pay more for something theyve gotten for free for years. Netflix, by the way, raised its prices in the States recently, too.
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The city of Rome has put together a guide with practical information to help and welcome people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainians arriving in Italy can stay for a maximum of 90 days before having to apply for a permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay), which is valid for one year and is renewable.

If not in possession of a valid passport, they must contact urgently the Ukrainian embassy or consulate in Rome to obtain a temporary identity document, required to access public services in Italy.

The Ukrainian embassy to Italy is located on Via Guido d'Arezzo 9, and can be contacted on (+39) 068412630 or emb_it@mfa.gov.ua. The embassy is open for appointments Mon-Fri 08.30-12.30 and 13.30-17.30. The phone number for the Ukrainian consulate in Rome is (+39) 0682003641.

If the Ukrainian citizens arriving are the guests of relatives or friends, they must go to the Commissariato di zona (local police station) within 48 hours to fill out the Dichiarazione di Presenza e di Ospitalita (declaring their presence as a guest).

They must be accompanied to the commissariato by one of their hosts, and will need an identity document (the forms are provided by police). For those who are guests in hotels or other accommodation facilities, the necessary information will be provided to authorities directly.

Ukrainians who decide to stay beyond the 90-day period will need to apply for a permesso di soggiorno in advance at the immigration office of the Questura di Roma, on Via Teofilo Patini 23.

It can be contacted on (+39) 0646863911, (+39) 0646864100, (+39) 0646865050 or by email immigrazione.segreteria.rm@poliziadistato.it. The phone lines are open Mon-Fri from 08.00-20.00, Sat from 08.00-14.00.

To avail of Italy's national health system, those arriving can request the STP code (Straniero Temporaneamente Presente or temporarily present foreign national). For details of how to obtain it, contact the number 800 1188 00 operated by the Lazio Region or consult the Salute Lazio website.

Those arriving must undergo a covid test within 48 hours of entering Italy. This can be done without reservation at one of the vaccination centres in Lazio (the list is available on the Salute Lazio website) where you can also request the STP Code or get a covid vaccination.

The Termini hub in Piazza dei Cinquecento is open daily 08.00-20.00 and the Ostiense Station hub is open Mon-Friday 08.00-18.00. For urgent and serious health needs, go to the nearest emergency room.

Ukrainain people arriving in Rome without the possibility of being hosted by friends or relatives can be welcomed temporarily by facilities made available by the regional civil protection agency of Lazio.

To access this service, you must contact the Regional Operations Room 803 555 (active 24/7) or (+39) 0699509292 for calls from abroad, with operators answering also in Ukrainian. Transfer services to reception facilities can also be requested from the regional operations room.

To have basic necessities if they are not provided by the accommodation facilities, or to access services such as legal and school advice, protection of minors and immigration centres, contact the toll-free number 800938873, active daily 08.00-20.00 or email Emergenza.ucraina@comune.roma.it.

The toll-free number also provides information on the offers and donations to be given to the Ukrainian community.

For calls from foreign numbers or after the times indicated above, you can contact the Roma Capitale civil protection hotline, active 24/7 on 800 854 854, (+39) 0667109200 or email soprotezionecivile@comune.roma.it.

For free access to public transport, it will be sufficient to show the STP / ENI regional card or other travel documents issued on arrival in Rome.

Lastly, the guide has advice for people who perceive themselves to be in emergency situations or imminent danger: do not hesitate to immediately request the intervention of the police by calling the Emergency Number 112, and avoid entrusting themselves to unknown people or unrecognised entities that are not part of the public system of hospitality or social volunteering.

Photo Wanted in Rome
The story of Vasilisa who fled Ukraine with her dance shoes.

Vasilisa, a 13-year-old girl from Ukraine, has always dreamed of being a ballerina.

She attended a top dance academy in Kyiv until it closed abruptly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine more than two weeks ago.

Amid the horrors and tragedy of war, Vasilisa's dreams seemed to be crushed, reports Italian state broadcaster RAI News.

Then, on the suggestion of a Japanese dancer, Vasilisa's mother took a chance and sent an email to a prestigious dance school in Spinea, in the northern Veneto region of Italy.

"My name is Giulia. My daughter Vasilisa studies at Serge Lifar's Kyiv Academy of Dance in the classical music department" - she wrote - "Today we are forced to leave our Ukraine. Can we continue our studies in your Academy?

When the heads of the school, dancers Letizia Giuliani and her husband Francesco Marzola, read the unexpected message on Monday last week they replied immediately in the affirmative.

We had set up a collection in our dance school for goods to be sent by bus to Ukraine, we wanted to be useful, to help whatever way we could" - Marzola told RAI News - "The email arrived just as we were filling the parcels."

In Kyiv, a thrilled Vasilisa packed her ballet shoes and her mother bought tickets for the gruelling bus journey to Italy.

However the joy was bittersweet as it meant splitting up their family: Giulia's other daughter is a doctor, specialising in pediatric oncohematology. Her skills are too important for her to leave the children in Ukraine right now.

Giulia's husband also remains in Ukraine, defending his country along with all the men between the ages of 18 and 60.

Last Thursday Vasilisa and her mother made the 1,400-km bus journey, together with their little dog Lily, arriving in the Treviso area 36 hours later.

"When I saw them get off the bus it was wonderful" - Marzola told RAI - "The little girl came down smiling with the dog in her hand, her mother worn out by the situation."

As he was driving them to their new home he received a phone call asking him how it was going. At that point, instead of the right words to answer the question" - he said - "tears and a great cry of emotion came out.

A local woman is hosting Vasilisa and Giulia as her guests, opening the doors of her home in Mirano, about a kilometre from the dance school, RAI reports.

One of the school's students, a 12-year-old girl of Ukrainian heritage, is helping Vasilisa with the Italian language, while Marzola said his own children were able to communicate easily with her using Google Translate.

Once at home the girls talked about dance, they discussed the study programne" - he said - "Vasilisa seemed for a while to have forgotten the horrors of war. Her mother, on the other hand, was thrilled to see this.

And so, one week after Giulia sent the life-changing email from war-torn Ukraine, Vasilisa began her first dance lesson in Italy.

"The girls welcomed her with affection" - said Marzola - They had no problem communicating with each other, it was all so natural: they spoke the universal language of dance."

Photo RAI News - Instagram Serenella Bettin
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Driving into Washington over the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge the other night, I looked over at the Kennedy Center, all lit up in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag. For a moment I was proud: Yes, America stands with Ukraine. Then I remembered: At that moment, Russia was shelling residential areas, mothers and their children were cowering in basements, and innocent lives were being destroyed.

The U.S. and its allies are quite pleased with themselves just now  more than they should be. Perhaps they too need to pause and reflect.

They can certainly point to some achievements. The sanctions theyve put together are vastly more comprehensive and effective than Russian President Vladimir Putin (or anyone else) ever expected. Theyre arming Ukraine and the strength of its resistance has set Russia back. Putin might fail and be seen to fail, they tell themselves, if only the West can keep this up. Its hard work  have you seen what a gallon of gas costs lately?  but freedom demands its price.

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Blue and yellow flags notwithstanding, the people of Ukraine might wonder whether the Wests sacrifice in the name of solidarity quite measures up.

To be sure, the allies actions might be rational. Perhaps its in their interests that Putins invasion humiliates him and leads to his removal  but not enough in their interests to put their own solders lives at risk, much less take a chance on escalating the conflict to the point of nuclear war. So the U.S. and Europe help Ukraine with supplies of weapons (within limits) but not with outright military intervention, and the world punishes Russia with sanctions, hoping its forces are fought to a standstill and domestic opposition to Putin builds.

The troubling ethical question is whether this is really helping Ukraine. Heres a thought experiment: Imagine that the goal of the U.S. and Europe has been to maximize the pain inflicted on Ukraine. Consider which policies might have best achieved that goal. Would they have been any different than the ones they actually chose?

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Before the conflict started, the West encouraged both Russia and Ukraine to believe that Ukraine might join both NATO and the European Union in the foreseeable future  without having any serious intention that this would actually happen. This misdirection put Russia and Ukraine more squarely at odds. As Putin began his military buildup, the U.S. and Europe did nothing to deter him, and kept the friendly non-overtures to Ukraine coming. (NATO has an open-door policy, and so forth.) So Ukraine took a chance on being brave, and Putin took a chance on war.

Once the invasion began, the West applied forceful unanticipated sanctions. If they had been announced earlier, they might have deterred Putin; deployed at this stage, they help to sustain the conflict.

Meanwhile, celebrating its newfound solidarity, the West talks for all the world as though it plans not just to stop Putin but to remove him from power  while continuing to rule out full military support. That makes it harder for Putin to back down while moderating the costs of his continued assault. He might still win this war, he reasons, and he cant afford to lose it. So hell gamble on escalation.

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And what about Ukraines incentives? Zelenskiy can still plausibly hope that the allies will join the battle if Putins crimes rise to a sufficient level. So he makes his case to Western public opinion over the heads of its legislatures. Maybe start by asking for a limited no-fly zone, then a wider no-fly zone, and then by degrees outright war. Ukraine might yet prevail.

All along, the West applauds Zelenskiys resolve. He received a standing ovation after his video address to the U.K. Parliament last week, and can expect the same when he addresses the U.S. Congress on Wednesday. But it does not accommodate his requests. The end result is that Ukraine fights on  maybe losing in the end, maybe winning. Win or lose, however, the country is assured of greater destruction.

In reality, needless to say, what drove and still drives this catastrophic sequence was not calculation but miscalculation upon miscalculation  on every side. In war, it was ever thus. But it ought to give one pause that events are still being pushed toward a terrible outcome for Ukraine as surely as if this had been the Wests purpose all along. No doubt the U.S. and Europe sincerely want to help Ukraine, and their actions are indeed wounding Putin. But their posturing and vacillation over ends and means continues to make things worse for the principal victims.

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Its morally right, of course, to want to avoid escalation that might cause death and destruction on a much larger scale. But its wrong to lead Ukraine to accept bigger losses and Putin to double down unless the allies are willing to bear their full share of the consequences. Its way past time for the West to make up its mind. If it belatedly wants to be Ukraines ally against Russia, it should act like one and join this fight. If it isnt willing to do that, it should stop applauding its own resolve and make ending the war its overriding priority.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Clive Crook is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and member of the editorial board covering economics, finance and politics. A former chief Washington commentator for the Financial Times, he has been an editor for the Economist and the Atlantic.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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A central plank of Indonesias democracy is being gnawed away by allies of President Joko Widodo. Important officials are canvassing the idea that he cling to power beyond the end of his second five-term in 2024, a contentious step the popular leader refuses to disavow. Such a casual view of the constitution, that it can altered when inconvenient, is dangerous and risks setting the emerging market icon back decades.

Prolonging the tenure of Jokowi, as hes known, would put the worlds fourth-most populous country on a path toward authoritarianism. Thats the very thing he was supposed to be the antithesis of when elected as a populist reformer eight years ago. Jokowi isnt about to replicate Suharto, the general who seized power in a bloody anti-Communist purge in 1965 and ruled for three decades. The present intrigue is nevertheless worrying, because it suggests powerful sections of the Jakarta elite clearly find key elements of democracy tiresome. They would love to devise a workaround.

Indonesias presidents are now limited to two terms. Luhut Panjaitan, a minister considered a confidante of Jokowi, told Bloomberg News last week that its possible to change the constitution to let his boss stay on. The constitution is the peoples voice, so we dont need to be allergic about this issue, Luhut said. If there is a change in the document, Jokowi has to follow it, he said. Comments like this have been popping up with increasing frequency, and Jokowi keeps making non-denial denials. He insists hell follow the rules, without committing to leave in 2024.

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This is disingenuous. Jokowi gives the impression hes just waiting to see whether supporters can muster the numbers in the legislature, which requires a two-thirds majority to alter the constitution. The success of this gambit may depend on two senior politicians with their eye on the top job, either for themselves or their family: Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who ran against Jokowi in 2014 and 2019, and former president Megawati Sukarnoputri, leader of Jokowis party and daughter of Indonesias first post-independence leader. Megawati is likely grooming her daughter, Puan Maharani, currently speaker of the lower house of parliament, for higher office. Lawmakers allied with Megawati and Prabowo could block any change, if they see it in their interest.

Jokowis equivocation has set Indonesia, which hosts the annual Group of 20 leaders summit later this year, on a dangerous path. Remarkably, rather than making constructive use of his stature at a seemingly crucial juncture in history, Widodo may instead be on the verge of weakening Indonesias own democracy, Kevin ORourke, author of Reformasi Weekly Review, a Jakarta policy newsletter, wrote last week.

By some measures, Jokowi has had a constructive time in office. He pushed through sweeping changes to the nations wall of labor protections, giving employers and investors a win they had sought for years. The president has also prioritized an upgrade of the nations strained infrastructure and regularly tells executives hes trying to cut red tape. Jakartas subway system, conceived decades ago and dogged by constant delay, finally opened its first line three years ago. Jokowi dismantled limits on the budget deficit in the name of financing the fight against Covid-19. Indonesia also used the central bank to directly finance the budget for three years, an affront to orthodox economics that in normal times would have been a real stretch to pull off without an investor backlash. How many conventions can Jokowi smash? Advocates of constitutional change are unlikely to want to stop at term limits. Why not be rid of the elected presidency? (Indonesians have only voted directly for their leader since 2004.)

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His effort to solve one of the countrys biggest public works challenges is seen as a potential pretext to stay in office. Jakarta is sinking, literally. Seas are rising, and the capitals plumbing, which dates to the early years of Dutch colonization, is creaking. Relocating key parts of the security, financial and political structure had long been discussed. Jokowi settled on the creation of a whole new capital, a long way from Jakarta on the island of Borneo. Steering this mega-project could be used to justify a third term.

Sure, erecting a new city from scratch would solve one problem. Its just as likely to create others. One effect of decamping is to create distance between Indonesias political class and its citizenry. Slowly but steadily, Indonesias freedoms are being eroded. Jokowi may even be grooming his son, Gibran Rakabuming, an up and coming municipal leader, for higher office.

Each day that he prevaricates is a disappointing day for his nation, always seen as the next big thing. Jokowi came to power without a storied military career or dynastic blood ties. That such an outsider could break though was an endorsement of the young, sprawling democracy. How ironic if he presides over the decay of that system.

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More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Indonesia Learns to Love Risky Wartime Finance: Daniel Moss

 Indonesias Jokowi Wants Growth. Its Not Enough: Andy Mukherjee

 Could Indonesia Run Out of People? Sounds Crazy: Daniel Moss

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously he was executive editor of Bloomberg News for global economics, and has led teams in Asia, Europe and North America.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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The U.S. Senates run of legislative productivity continued on Tuesday with the surprise passage of a bill to make daylight saving time a year-round thing. Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican, asked for unanimous consent to pass the bipartisan bill, no one objected, and boom  the bill passed. It now goes to the House of Representatives, and no one knows what will happen there because no one expected the Senate to act so quickly. Or at all.

For those who support ending the biannual time-change ritual, a stand-alone Senate effort was probably ideal. Had President Joe Biden proposed it, the parties would probably have retreated to their corners. Republican voters would have tended to move against the idea, and at least some congressional Republicans would have followed them  either because they were listening to their constituents or because they would want to deny Biden a win or just because they would figure it must be a bad idea if Biden liked it. (The same would probably have happened with Democratic voters and Democratic politicians had President Donald Trump or President George W. Bush proposed permanent daylight saving time when they were in the White House).

And better the Senate than the House. Opposition to extending daylight saving time has generally been especially intense among rural Americans, who have more clout in the Senate, so now its possible that the most difficult part of the fight has been accomplished.

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There is some danger for politicians. Messing with the clocks is something voters are apt to notice. When year-round daylight saving time was tried back in the 1970s in the name of saving energy, people turned against dark winter mornings and successfully pushed to end it. Still, states could opt for year-round standard time (as Hawaii and most of Arizona have done for decades), or designate some areas within the state to do so. Perhaps that would help avoid places where sunrise would be especially late.

Two changes since the 1970s may make permanent daylight saving more successful if it gets another chance. For one thing, theres been a steady rural population decline, among farmers in particular, thus depriving standard time of its most loyal constituency. But the big change that may make winter daylight saving viable is that most kids no longer walk to school. The numbers are difficult to pin down, but at least one widely cited figure estimates that about half of kids walked or biked to school in 1969  just a few years before the first national experiment in year-round daylight saving  while now its fewer than one-fifth, and perhaps even below one in 10.

High-profile accidents involving schoolchildren were the biggest source of problems in that 1973-1974 experiment. There may not have actually been a net increase in accidents, but the news medias bias is always going to be to highlight trouble, not to note the absence of trouble (such as if there were fewer afternoon accidents). Perhaps a handful of similar incidents would derail another attempt at it, but with fewer kids walking or biking to school, high-profile cases may not scare parents as much. Perhaps.

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Anyway, momentum has been building within the states for this change for the last several years, and apparently the Senate was listening. Its hard to know how well proponents have thought through the downside. Several people on Twitter, for example, suggested that school starting in the dark shouldnt be a problem because localities could just change the school day  something that might be a good idea in the abstract, but could also cause a massive disruption in many families daily routines, as well as perhaps straining the resources of a lot of school districts.

Senate passage will alert any interest groups that oppose the switch, and theyll push for the House to take it slow, to hold hearings and perhaps to amend the bill. Thats how Congress usually works. Its not guaranteed to address everyones strongest objections, but its a pretty good system for bringing them to lawmakers attention.

Senate passage is also a good reminder that while the U.S. system is famous for having a multiplicity of veto points  House, Senate, president, courts, and more  it also has an enormous number of initiation points, which is highly unusual by world standards. If any of the 100 senators wants something, he or she can get it on the agenda, and sometimes get it enacted into law, even without strong support from either political party or from the White House. Its not quite as easy on the House side, especially for members who arent on the relevant committee, but it still does happen sometimes.

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To me its a strength of the Madisonian system that it gives more political actors an opportunity for meaningful participation. Others might note that it also gives narrow interests a way to affect public policy without broad-based support. Strength or not, it is certainly unusual.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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FCC bans Chinese firms from market Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The Federal Communications Commission ejected Pacific Networks and ComNet (USA) from the U.S. market, continuing a series of bans of Chinese telecommunications companies over security concerns. Wednesdays 4-to-0 vote follows the agencys January decision to bar China Unicom Hong Kong. Last year the agency barred China Telecom Americas, and earlier it refused to let China Mobile enter the U.S. market.

The move shows potential espionage and data theft by Chinese state-owned companies remain a concern under President Biden.

Pacific Networks and ComNet primarily sell retail calling cards in the United States, the companies said in a January filing. Shareholders include investors from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the companies said.

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Pacific Networks and ComNet earlier told the FCC their operations arent subject to Chinese government control and had complied with FCC requirements. Their parent company is state-owned Citic Group.

 Bloomberg News

Discretionary spending slowed in February

Americans slowed their spending in February on gadgets, home furnishings and other discretionary items as higher prices for food, gasoline and shelter are taking a bigger bite out of their wallet.

Retail sales increased 0.3 percent after registering a revised 4.9 percent jump from December to January, fueled by wage gains, solid hiring and more money in bank accounts, according to the Commerce Department.

Business at furniture and home furnishing stores fell 1 percent in February, while sales at consumer electronics and appliance stores slipped 0.6 percent. Business at general merchandise stores fell 0.2 percent, while online sales fell 3.7 percent. Restaurant sales rose 2.5 percent as shoppers shift more of their spending to services as the threat of covid-19 fades.

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Many retailers are bracing for how the Russian invasion of Ukraine will worsen supply shortages.

 Associated Press

More young workers mulling quitting

More employees are considering quitting their jobs now than in 2021, according to a survey by Microsoft, which also found that more than half of younger workers are mulling a job change within the next year.

Microsofts second annual Worker Trend Index, which examines global employee attitudes, showed an increase in respondents who said they are somewhat or extremely likely to consider a job change in the coming year. The overall number jumped to 43 percent of respondents, up from 41 percent in last years survey. Among workers under age 41, 52 percent in Microsofts poll said they might switch jobs, while 35 percent of older Gen Xers and baby boomers said they were thinking of leaving workplaces.

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Workers who have been doing their jobs remotely some or all of the time arent sure if they want to be in the office at all.

 Bloomberg News



Starbucks chief executive Kevin Johnson plans to retire next month, Starbucks said Wednesday, and chairman emeritus Howard Schultz will return as interim CEO, retaking the reins of the company he grew from a local coffee roaster into a global phenomenon. Johnson, 61, is stepping down on April 4 after 13 years with the company, Starbucks said. He had signaled to the board a year ago that he would consider retirement when the pandemic neared an end, according to Starbucks. This is the second time Schultz, 68, has returned to the companys helm.

A Commerce Department probe of solar imports from Southeast Asia could freeze investment in the United States, industry leaders warned. The agency is set to decide by March 25 whether to formally investigate if solar products from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia circumvent long-standing solar tariffs. A probe could expose the imports to retroactive duties, the Solar Energy Industries Association said Tuesday. Because the four countries supply about 80 percent of U.S. solar imports, the dispute threatens to intensify head winds for Americas solar industry, which is already seeing slower growth amid higher costs, shipping delays and supply-chain disruptions.

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A decade ago, Timothy Lane, deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, posed an intriguing question: Are commodity traders too big to fail? It was just after the 2008-09 global financial crisis, when policy makers were scanning the global economy looking for the next potential nightmare.Lane was among a small group of officials who worried it was hiding in plain sight  that the likes of Glencore Plc, Cargill Inc., Vitol Group and Trafigura Group, the secretive giants that underpinned global trade in natural resources, represented a systemic financial risk.Could the failure of one of the large trading houses cause serious disruption in the commodities markets?, he asked in a speech in September 2012, arguing their size raised the possibility they were becoming systemically important.The events of the last few days, from the London Metal Exchange shutting down nickel trading to commodity titans rushing to raise credit lines, make Lanes hypothetical a crucial question right now. I have long argued that commodity traders dont matter to the global economy in the same way that Lehman Brothers did: the collapse of one wont trigger a global recession. And yet, they remain too big to be ignored  and a possible source of big trouble if left unattended.

In a letter to governments dated March 8, the European Federation of Energy Traders, a trade body that groups some of the largest commodity traders and utilities on the continent, pleaded for help. They warned that the industry was facing intolerable cash-liquidity pressure and may need time-limited emergency liquidity support to weather the crisis.

The federation said emergency liquidity could be provided directly by governments or public-law financial institutions like the European Central Bank (ECB), European Investment Bank (EIB) or Bank of England. It warned in the letter, which was first reported by Risk magazine: The current extreme market conditions lead to liquidity shortages which endanger the functioning of European energy markets.

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The commodity market is witnessing the wildest price swings ever. Nickel, for example, surged 250% in just two days. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot index earlier this month posted a weekly jump of more than 13%  the largest one-week price increase in data going back more than 60 years ago.

The high  and volatile  prices create an enormous problem for commodity traders. They rely on bank credit to finance their cargoes of oil, aluminum, wheat and other natural resources. When prices rise, the value of those cargoes goes up, increasing their need for financing. In early December, the cost of a typical oil cargo of 2 million barrels was about $140 million. At one point last week, the same cargo was worth almost $280 million. The physical cost isnt the only problem. In the world of paper trading, as commodity prices rise and become more volatile, the amount of cash the traders need to back up their deals in the derivatives market rises significantly. Those so-called variation margin calls have run into several billions of dollars per company in recent days, according to industry executives. The surge in margin calls has exposed one of the weakest points of the commodity system. The LME is a case in point. When the exchange shut down nickel trading last week and canceled billions of dollars in trades, it said that without those actions, several brokers would have failed. The move on March 8 created a systemic risk, the LME said. Matthew Chamberlain, the exchanges head, said it would have been extremely difficult for some of our market participants to continue their activities. In a statement last week, the exchange said there was a risk of multiple defaults.

The industry is a hidden giant of the global economy, with the largest four commodity firms moving the equivalent of more than $700 billion worth of raw materials per year. Adding every other firm, and the additional derivatives contracts beyond the physical flow, and the industry handles trillions of dollars worth of natural-resources contracts.The LME nickel affair sounded very much like the stuff the Bank of Canadas Lane worried about a decade ago  although confined to commodity brokers, rather than traders.Now, the nickel crisis was just a short-squeeze that wrong-footed a single Chinese tycoon and his posse of brokers and bankers. What if, instead, it had been a large commodity trading house, and not just in nickel, but across a dozen markets? And what if the commodities affected were not nickel, but rather oil, natural gas, electricity, or, God forbid, wheat and other food staples? That may not be as bad as a Lehman-induced recession but would still be a gut-punch for the global economy.The LME trouble showed that regulators were asleep at the wheel  none saw it coming. They should quickly pay far more attention to commodity markets  not just financial, but also physical. For now, the biggest commodity traders appear well ahead of any regulators, having beefed up their finances. The spike in European natural gas prices in December was for many a wake up call. The current crisis found them better prepared. Then theres access to credit. High commodity prices may sound like wonderland for a trading house, but they can create hazards before generating profits. The higher the price, the more credit is needed  and right now, credit is in short supply, even for giants like Trafigura, which has been holding talks with private-equity groups for additional financing. Commodity prices have come down over the last three days, diminishing the pressure. But the industry as a whole is still under stress. In private, industry executives acknowledge they are skipping some deals to conserve cash. Lots of the price volatility of recent days can be traced by trading houses and others avoiding taking positions. The commodity market is trading risk, rather than supply and demand fundamentals. Liquidity is thin.

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Investors are showing nervousness, selling debt of some of the trading houses. Oil trader Gunvor Group Ltd. notes due in 2026 fell on Wednesday to 69.1 cents, while the Trafigura bonds due the same year dropped to 85.1 cents. Louis Dreyfus Co., an agriculture specialist, saw its debt maturing in 2028 fall to 88.4 cents, according to Bloomberg data.

Commodities trading houses deal in U.S. dollars, but receive credit mostly from European commercial banks. If prices in multiple markets spike again because of, say, renewed sanctions on Russia, traders may struggle to access enough credit to continue buying raw materials. Thats particularly a concern for the medium- and small-sized traders, who lack the deep pockets of the industry leaders. Theres a serious risk that global commodity trade may freeze, even if only temporarily, creating turbulence for their bigger rivals. The number of banks providing commodity-trade finance in large size has shrunk significantly over the last decade, particularly with the departures of one-time industry leaders BNP Paribas SA and ABN Amro Bank NV. Today, the traders rely on the likes of ING Groep NV, Credit Agricole SA, Unicredit SpA and a handful of other largely European banks. Several scandals, including the collapse of Singaporean oil trader Hin Leong last year, have prompted many banks to scale back their lending to the sector or even exit completely.The result is an industry that has fewer doors to try in a crisis. If commodity prices were to spike further, central banks may very well have to step in, making sure the flow of dollars continues, in a similar fashion to emergency liquidity injections the U.S. Federal Reserve and the ECB performed in 2008-09 during the global financial crisis. In public, all commodity traders, small and large, say everything is fine. Talk to executives in private, however, and the anxiety is plain  that their industry is one accident away from trouble. For now, we arent there, but central banks and policy makers should prepare for that eventuality.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

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 Higher Food Prices Arent Making Farmers Richer: Adam Minter

 Inflation Is Bringing Back the K-Shaped Economy: Conor Sen

 The City of London Is the Wild West of Metals: Javier Blas

(Adds letter seeking aid in paragraphs five and six.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Javier Blas is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy and commodities. He previously was commodities editor at the Financial Times and is the coauthor of The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earths Resources.

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Last week, the U.S. Congress failed to approve $15 billion needed to continue Covid-19 precautions, even though todays low case counts are likely to rise, as they are in Europe, with the sub-variant called BA.2. Weve learned that some expensive mitigation measures, such as deep cleaning, are a waste of money, and could be scrapped, but funding for studying Covid should increase  not just for prevention measures and vaccines, but for research into the long-term consequences of infection.

Some people who got Covid-19 early in the pandemic still havent recovered, and what looked like long Covid might, for some people, be a permanent condition if no treatment is found. The lingering symptoms are often different from those associated with acute infection. Patients report changes in memory, trouble thinking clearly or concentrating, mood disorders, sleep disturbances, changes in balance and gastrointestinal problems. Some have a form of fatigue that can get much worse with physical or mental exertion.

The good news is that some of the countrys top medical researchers have jumped on this problem and are gaining momentum. What they learn is likely to apply to other medical problems. Take the work of Mark Albers, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who had been uncovering the weird relationship between loss of sense of smell and Alzheimers Disease. Now hes expanded his research to learn about similar changes in Covid-19 patients.

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A few years back Albers developed a test of what he calls smell memory, which was connected to the earliest stages of Alzheimers disease. Smell, he told me, is the one sense thats physiologically connected directly to our brains memory center, so smell changes are often the first clue something is wrong.

Now hes also studying patients who have persistent loss of their olfactory sense after a Covid infection  something that can drag on for months or, worse, return in a distorted way so that food smells like rotting fish or garbage.

A recent brain scanning study showed that people who had tested positive showed tiny but statistically significant changes in the brain regions that govern smell, which Albers says suggests that Covid could lead to inflammation of this part of the brain  the same part thats associated with early Alzheimers disease.

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In studies in animals, hes found that viral infection in the nose doesnt directly infiltrate the brain, but the inflammation caused by a respiratory infection can. Scientists have already found connections between other infectious agents and Alzheimers disease  including herpes simplex virus and the bacteria implicated in gum disease. These might not be the root causes of dementia but they could exacerbate the diseases progression.

The brain imaging study shouldnt be interpreted to mean that Covid-19 causes dementia. The changes measured were minuscule and not linked to any lingering symptoms, and theres a certain expected natural fluctuation in peoples brain images. Still, Albers said hed like to see more research into the possibility that an infection could accelerate the progression of early-stage Alzheimers.

Bruce Levy, head of pulmonary care at Brigham and Womens Hospital has also shifted gears and is now leading a clinic and research group studying long Covid. He told me that because Boston had one of the earliest surges of Covid-19 back in the spring of 2020, hes seeing patients who havent recovered for nearly two years. We definitely need answers for those patients, he says.

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Some patients have protracted symptoms because they had severe cases that led them to the ICU, and organ damage. But others cases are more mysterious, occurring in people who had only a mild infection. Understanding why this happens is a key step to treating or preventing long Covid. Most researchers favor the explanation that its chronic inflammation, perhaps triggered by an immune response that attacks the bodys own cells and doesnt shut off properly. Others suspect it could be triggered by virus that hides out somewhere in the body.

Other scientists are trying to figure out how to predict who will completely recover and who wont. A big collaboration of scientists just published a paper in the journal Cell using a multi-omics approach to finding hidden risk factors  that is, examining genes, immune system differences, chronic conditions, other viral infections and other factors that distinguish one patient from another. Levy says this kind of knowledge will be extremely valuable.

Levy says funding research into long Covid could help people who suffer from other maladies. Theres definitely an urgent need to learn more about long Covid for the hundreds of thousands or millions of people that are experiencing it. I would also say that there is much to learn from long Covid that may translate to other conditions.

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Why not fund a moonshot program for curing long Covid? Ziyad Al-Aly, chief of research and development at the VA Saint Louis Health Care System, would like to see one. He has reason to think that long Covid is intimately connected to other major health problems. He led a study showing that people whove had Covid-19 are more likely to develop heart disease, and another showing that they are more likely to suffer mental health problems including anxiety and depression.

He said theres been a longstanding neglect of post-viral syndromes  chronic fatigue syndrome, protracted symptoms from Lyme Disease and post-influenza symptoms. Sometimes these were written off as psychosomatic, he said.

Doctors have been slow to accept other instances where infectious agents were involved in chronic diseases  including the link between human papilloma virus and cervical cancer, and between h. pylori bacteria and ulcers. Studying long Covid could help scientists unlock the mysteries of other illnesses, Al-Aly said.

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The majority of people who get Covid are fine, but even if only 5 or 6% have long-term symptoms, that still adds up to a lot of people. With tens of millions of people having been infected, thats many, many people who are still bearing the wounds and scars from it.

In principle, with each new wave of Covid we should be getting smarter  about mitigation, vaccines, tests, anti-viral treatments and long Covid. Funding more research is essential for making sure were channeling resources toward measures that work.

More From Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:



Crispr Might Actually Live Up To Its Immense Hype: Lisa Jarvis



What Do Companies Owe Working Mothers?: Clara Ferreira Marques



Putin Is Finding War Is Hell, and Expensive: James Stavridis

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Faye Flam is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast Follow the Science. She has written for the Economist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Psychology Today, Science and other publications.

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Billions of people around the world are watching helplessly as Russias invasion of Ukraine accelerates into its third week, continuing to kill more innocent people every day, while destroying infrastructure throughout the country and forcing millions of refugees into neighboring European countries. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight There is one positive step that the U.S. and like-minded countries should begin developing immediately to ensure that Russia at least is held responsible for the cost of humanitarian assistance, reparations and eventual reconstruction: Tap Russian foreign exchange reserves that are held in central banks outside the country and that have been frozen by their governments.

According to the most recent data supplied by Russias central bank, as of June 30, 2021, Russias foreign currency reserves totaled $585 billion, though not all of this would be accessible to pay for damages. Thats because Russia holds a good portion of the total in gold at home (22%), a substantial amount of renminbi in China (14%), and some in international institutions (5%). Subtracting these amounts leaves about $350 billion in available reserves for distribution  mostly held by France (12%), Germany (10%), Japan (10%) and the U.S. (7%), with the rest scattered among many other countries.

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In the past, reparations have been paid after hostilities ended by the aggressor country  that was Germany in the first two world wars. Now, the fact that many countries already have control over Russias holdings of foreign currency means that, in effect, reparations for the Ukrainian invasion have been pre-funded by Russia itself. This is an admittedly unique circumstance, but there is a basis in international law for enabling nations that hold these reserves to commit them to pay for damages.

Russia has committed on a massive scale what under U.S. law is considered an intentional tort: unprovoked violence, which requires at a minimum that the aggressor pay damages for human suffering, deaths and property losses. In December 2005 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution affirming a variation of intentional tort doctrine by providing a right to reparations to victims of human rights abuses under international law.

The UN resolution is not self-enforcing, however. Instead, it charges member states to establish national programs for reparation and other assistance to victims in the event that the parties liable for the harm suffered are unable or unwilling to meet their obligations. Its a safe bet that Russia wont be willing to meet these obligations, so other countries now holding Russian reserves can best enforce the reparations principle by agreeing on a common plan.

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In theory, reparations and other assistance for Ukraine would have the most international legitimacy if it were administered by the UN, though theres no precedent for the UN doing so. Moreover, even if the UN General Assembly  which already has censured Russia for its invasion of Ukraine  were to establish such a program, Russia, and perhaps China, would veto it at the Security Council.

Nonetheless, a coalition of willing states could establish their own special reparations task force to rectify the massive human rights wrongs committed by Russia in Ukraine. Ideally, the task force would be a relatively small, nimble new body led by internationally recognized names with a reputation for integrity on par with the late Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General who won a Nobel Peace Prize. It should be staffed by experts provided by countries whose central banks hold Russian foreign currency reserves, along with others from nonprofit and private sectors, preferably with government expertise. Representatives of the Ukrainian government should be involved.

The types of damage outlined above call for a three-part process:

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First, the task force must develop a process to reimburse costs for humanitarian relief borne by the European countries that are taking in Ukrainian refugees. A rough accounting for just the first year could allocate $5,000 a person, which for an eventual five million refugees would amount to $25 billion. Plans should be made for a longer period in case refugees are prevented from returning home after a year. The price tag for humanitarian aid and relocation could easily soar above $50 billion.

Second, a substantial portion of the Russian reserves should be used to compensate Ukrainians for loss of property. (This could be hugely complicated if property records, in paper archives or stored on computer hard disks, are destroyed in the war.) If reparations for 11 million Ukrainian family units (the population of 44 million divided by 4) averaged out to be $20,000 a family, the total would reach $220 billion. Add to this potentially tens of billions to compensate surviving family members for the wrongful deaths of their loved ones, both military and civilian, caused by the Russian invasion.Third, some portion of the reserves should fund reconstruction. This would be implemented only if Ukraine prevails in the war (say, by being able to hold onto some western portions of the country), or if and when Russia returns sovereignty to the whole country. Until then, reconstruction funds would be held in trust and invested in income-producing assets. Russian-inflicted damages already likely exceed $100 billion, and will mount much higher as the war continues.

Once a plan is agreed upon, the nations holding the Russian reserves could fund it in one of two ways: they could agree to have their central banks transfer the money to a single entity, such as the Bank for International Settlements (a central bank for all central banks) ; or each nation could make pro rata distributions according to an agreed schedule.

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Its possible, if not likely, that the available $350 billion would be quickly exhausted by funding all three components of this plan  especially if the countries involved decide to hold back some portion of the reserves to be returned to Russia on the condition that it restores full sovereignty to Ukraine. A holdback might provide an incentive for possible new leadership in Russia to do the right thing in the future, though there would be plenty of justification for not returning a dime.

If theres not enough money to cover everything, then reparations would need to be prioritized and limited. It would be important to move cautiously on spending beyond funding immediate humanitarian aid. Events are fluid and the reparations task force would need to adapt to unexpected developments. It also needs to decide when to begin making payments. Ideally, money could begin flowing as soon as families are reunited, but theres no way of anticipating when that will happen. Another options is to spread out payments over time.

In my view, China would not be part of the proposed task force unless it contributes its own holdings of Russias foreign currency reserves and succeeds in persuading Russia to assure Ukraines sovereignty. If it does that, it would be worth dealing with the potential complications of having China participate in overseeing the distributions.

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To establish the task force and its broad authority, each participating nation would probably need to get the approval of its key legislative bodies  such as Congress, in the U.S. This could be expedited if those legislators immediately authorized their heads of state to dispatch officials to develop the outlines of the plan that would be submitted for legislative approval.

The world may not be able to prevent the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Ukraine for fear of provoking World War III, but a coalition of the willing has the means to alleviate some of the suffering, and to make Russia responsible for funding a substantial portion of the massive reparations that will be required.

More From Other Writers at Bloomberg Opinion:

 Why Countries Want to Sit Out the New Cold War: Pankaj Mishra

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 Positioning for Peace? It May Be Europes Moment: John Authers

 Can EUs Refugee Success Lead to More Cooperation?: Editorial

 The West Needs an Off-Ramp From Sanctions, Too: John Authers

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Robert Litan, a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and shareholder at Berger Montague, was formerly the director of research at Bloomberg Government and associate director of the Office of Management and Budget.

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Howard Schultz is the Tom Brady of the consumer world. Starbucks said on Wednesday that Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson would retire and that Schultz, who stepped down as CEO for a second time in 2017 and left the company a year later, would return as interim CEO early next month. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The companys shares rose as much as 8% as investors welcomed Schultzs return. After all, its hard to overstate the role he played in transforming Starbucks from a boutique coffeehouse to a global dining juggernaut.

But the shareholder reaction is at odds with what seems an unnecessarily convoluted succession planning process, one that could potentially make it harder for Starbucks to recruit a high-caliber CEO to steer it through what could be its most challenging conditions in a decade.

Johnson said he had signaled to the board a year ago that as the pandemic neared an end, he would consider retiring. Starbucks has already begun the search for a successor and expects to name a new CEO by the fall. He will also stay on as a consultant until September, indicating this was a planned transition.

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The company says the arrangement gives it more time to find the right leader. With Schultz at the helm, it will be under no pressure to make a quick decision. But Johnson could just as easily have stuck around in the CEO role six months longer to hand over to his successor without Schultz needing to get involved.

Stepping back into the fray creates the impression that he just cant stay away. He will also be involved with the search and help to settle in the new CEO.

When you love something, you have a deep sense of responsibility to help when called, he said.

Coming into a business with such a strong founder culture can be daunting enough for potential CEOs, and that is even more so with Schultz, who was the architect of the Starbucks brand and its growth story. Popping back periodically, and having a hand in the choice of leader, only reinforces the impression that the longtime executive cant let go. Thats hardly conducive to recruiting top-notch talent.

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And right now, Starbucks needs a strong leader. After navigating the pandemic, the company faces a much tougher consumer climate as customers in much of the world feel their incomes squeezed by rising fuel and food prices. Starbucks is grappling with how to raise prices to cover its own escalating costs  for labor, for example  without pricing its customers out of their morning lattes. So far, the rising cost of the caffeine fix hasnt affected sales, but as incomes increasingly tighten, that could change. The company is also facing a growing unionization movement.

Starbucks and Schultz need to ensure that his presence doesnt prevent it from attracting a leader who is capable of getting a grip on all these challenges. But even more important, if they do succeed in recruiting a high-caliber CEO, they should let whoever it is get on with the job without worrying that Schultz is always lurking in the background.

(Corrects erroneous references to Howard Schultz as a founder of Starbucks.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Nazanin is now in the air flying away from six years of hell in Iran, tweeted Labour MP Tulip Siddiq Wednesday. The release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from detention in Iran brings closure to a hostage case that has gripped the British public and been a source of embarrassment and frustration for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. It provides long-awaited solace for her family and especially her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who fought tirelessly, including through two hunger strikes, to bring his wife home.

The question will be asked, why now? The answer is both straightforward and nuanced. The simple reason is that it is directly related to the repayment of a U.K. debt to Iran owed for the purchase of tanks and armored vehicles before the Iranian Revolution that were never delivered. Other factors no doubt were in play. The timing indicates how Putins war in Ukraine is shifting the global balance of power and blurring previously drawn red lines. Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East North Africa program at Chatham House in London, notes that the release signals progress in the Vienna based negotiations to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.

Like all hostages taken by autocratic regimes, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was a pawn and treated cruelly. We are caught in the middle of what is someone elses game and Nazanin is being used as a bargaining chip by the Iranian authorities to put pressure on the British authorities, and there are wider stakes, her husband noted last year.

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He and others argued that Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested to force Britain to repay Iran for the undelivered tanks. An international court ruled in 2008 that Britain owed the money, but the amount was contested and Britain argued that sanctions prevented repayment.

A shift seemed to come in 2020. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace took the view that the money should be paid. Why it took another two years for that to happen is unclear.

Zaghari-Ratcliffes release, and that of Anoosheh Ashoori, another British-Iranian detainee accused of spying, came after Iran confirmed that the U.K. government paid the 400 million pounds  $475 million today though Iran says the sum was $530 million  that was owed. Irans payment was to the International Military Service (IMS), then a subsidiary of the defense ministry. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the IMS debt has now been repaid in full and that the money is ring-fenced for humanitarian purposes  though, of course, there is no way for Britain to know what the regime does with it. (Morad Tahbaz, another British national, was released from prison on furlough but still detained in Iran.)

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Zaghari-Ratcliffes case is both personal and political for Boris Johnson. A dual British-Iranian national who took her daughter to her birth country on family visits, she was arrested on one such visit in 2016 and charged by an Iranian court for plotting to overthrow the regime. Though no evidence for that or subsequent charges was ever produced, she was incarcerated in Tehrans notorious Evin Prison and suffered both extreme physical and mental effects over the years.

As foreign secretary, Johnson unwittingly played into Tehrans hands in 2017 when he mistakenly suggested she had been teaching people journalism in Iran. He regretted the comment though argued, not implausibly, that Iran was determined to find her guilty in any case. After Johnson and his new wife Carrie had their first child in 2020, they received a hand-knitted beanie from Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who by then had been languishing for four years. Johnson said he was deeply moved by the gesture, writing her back that he would do everything to secure her release.

Such cases are easy for governments to ignore if they are out of the public eye. Richard Ratcliffe ensured that didnt happen, though he was warned by officials that public pressure might play into Tehrans hands. More than 3.7 million people joined his #FreeNazanin campaign with many writing their MPs, downloading songs or standing with him on his hunger strike. By keeping her story in the public eye and focusing on a wife and mother wrongfully imprisoned, he shone a spotlight on others in similar circumstances and moved a sluggish government to try harder.

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Hostage-takings  and whatever the legal pretext, thats what this was  present democratic governments with a dilemma. Negotiate or pay a ransom and terrorists or autocratic regimes like Irans are emboldened. But as my colleague Martin Ivens has argued, the U.K. governments intransigence was both ineffective and wrong. Iran clearly had grounds to demand the repayment of the tank debt and was willing to use Zadari-Ratcliffe to pursue its claim. While both Britain and the U.S. officially refuse to negotiate to release hostages, actual practice has varied. Often it has been possible to secure release through negotiations without directly linking payments or concessions.

Timing can be everything in such cases. The world has changed a great deal since 2016. While Zaghari-Ratcliffe was in prison, there have been three British prime ministers, five foreign secretaries and two U.S. presidents.

Putins invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that were imposed in response creates an urgency in the search to replace Russian energy sources, giving Iran and other petrostates on the naughty list an opening. As the news of Zaghari-Ratcliffes homecoming was released Johnson was paying a visit to Irans arch-enemy Saudi Arabia, hoping to convince the Gulf state to dramatically increase its oil output. In its own signal that the niceties of due process valued in the democratic world are of no consequence there, Saudi Arabia  whose leader has been connected with the 2018 killing and dismembering of the journalist Jamal Kashoggi  executed 81 prisoners just before the visit.

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The end of Zaghari-Ratcliffes harrowing ordeal, and that of Ashooris, is both a welcome relief and a reminder that democracies, unlike autocracies, thrive because they value and protect individual life as well as broader freedoms increasingly under attack. Sometimes messy compromises will need to be made to defend those values.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 Iran Is Misreading the War in Ukraine: Bobby Ghosh

 U.K. Hostage Crisis Shows Principles Can Be Costly: Martin Ivens

 The War Prompts the Kindness of Strangers: Therese Raphael

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Therese Raphael is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She was editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal Europe.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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It rose to prominence when Chinas stock market imploded in 2015, spending billions of dollars on equities as the authorities scrambled to stem the losses. Media and market watchers regularly refer to it, but its rarely mentioned by Chinese officialdom. There were even questions in 2018 about the desire to keep it going. But worry not, Chinese stockholders, the national team is here to (try to) save the day.

1. What is the national team?

Its a nickname for the collection of state-related bodies that Chinese authorities lean on to buy stocks during times of turbulence. State-owned corporations have been purchasing shares since long before the 2015 crash. But the precipitous fall that year -- the Shanghai Composite Index dropped more than 40% from its peak in the space of 2 1/2 months -- stoked fears about the stability of the financial system itself. That prompted a government-directed splurge on mainland shares, or A shares, as well as the injection of liquidity to some asset management companies. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated the national team held around 3.3 trillion yuan ($519 billion) worth of China A shares as of the third quarter of 2020.

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2. Who are the key players?

Goldman Sachs defines the national team as government-related entities formed during the 2015 turmoil as well as those that already existed before the market crash but were actively engaged in the A-share market during volatile times. Although opinions differ, the following are often cited as key team members:

 China Securities Finance Corp. -- founded in 2011 to provide funding to the margin-trading businesses of Chinese brokerages.

 Central Huijin Investment Ltd. -- part of Chinas sovereign wealth fund and established in 2003 to invest in state-owned financial enterprises. During the 2015 rout, a unit, Central Huijin Asset Management, was created to buy equities.

 The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the foreign exchange market regulator.

 The governments National Social Security Fund.

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 Some state-backed brokerages.

3. Why the concern about the national teams future?

During the 2015 meltdown, five mutual funds were formed to purchase stocks with about 200 billion yuan from China Securities Finance. Those funds, however, were reported to have been liquidated in 2018, leaving traders wondering about the status of the national team at a time when the stock market was in freefall. It didnt help that an article by a state think-tank had called for the exit of the national team. But in a rare acknowledgment of its existence, Chinas securities regulator said that the market had misinterpreted news about the funds selling their holdings, assuring investors that relevant institutions had actually increased their positions. Analysts speculated that the government had redistributed money from the funds to other parts of the market.

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4. How active is it?

State funds were said to have intervened in May 2019 as shares dropped after then-U.S. President Donald Trump threatened China with steeper tariffs. In March 2021, they were said to have stepped in again to alleviate a stock market rout that coincided with the biggest political meeting of the year in Beijing. And it happened again in February 2022, after the benchmark CSI 300 Index had its biggest intraday drop in six months.

5. How effective is the national team?

Market participants say the mere knowledge of a big buyer provides a confidence boost when nerves are jittery. Thats especially important in China, a rare market where retail investors dominate trading. The national team helped equities to find a bottom in early 2016, but two years later, long-suffering investors were disappointed. The Shanghai Composite was one of the worlds worst-performing benchmark stock indexes in 2018, falling 25%.

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6. Do other countries prop up their stock markets?

Yes. Japans central bank spent 2.4 trillion yen ($20.3 billion today) on bank stocks to stabilize the financial system from 2002-2004 and 2009-2010, according to the Asian Development Bank Institute. More recently, it purchased exchange-traded funds as part of its stimulus program. In 1998, Hong Kongs government bought billions of dollars worth of equities to stem a market rout. Taiwan set up a fund to support stocks in 2000 and South Korea made a similar move in 2018. Whats different with China is the sheer scale: It was reported in 2015 that, to avert a meltdown, China Securities Finance had access to as much as 3 trillion yuan of borrowed funds from sources including the central bank and commercial lenders.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

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Two years ago, China was being lauded by the World Health Organization for its success in beating the coronavirus. But its insistence on adhering to a so-called Covid Zero policy is leaving it increasingly isolated as other countries, most of which suffered far worse outbreaks and higher death tolls, wean themselves off harsh countermeasures and return to a semblance of pre-pandemic life. Their populations have built up a large degree of protection through previous infections and more effective vaccines. Chinese officials have said vaccines alone arent enough and stringent curbs aimed at wiping out the virus are needed to avoid a health care calamity.

1. Does Covid Zero mean zero cases?

Yes, ideally anyway. Beijings perception of Covid hasnt changed much since the virus first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan: its a public health threat that must be eliminated at all costs, whether its spreading via people or animals or lurking on frozen food or mail from abroad. To achieve this, China requires at least two weeks in quarantine for anyone arriving from other countries. Domestically, even the slightest flareup is met with a barrage of targeted testing, contact tracing and quarantines to nip it in the bud, with citywide lockdowns as a last resort. The approach, which has become known as dynamic clearing, acknowledges that infections occur but aims to prevent future cases by stopping the forward transmission of the virus. But the highly infectious delta and omicron variants are making it more difficult for China, which hasnt gone a day with zero new local cases reported since October. In March the daily tally topped 5,000 for the first time since the peak of the initial outbreak in Wuhan in early 2020.

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2. Why is China sticking to it?

In its calculus, the benefits of Covid Zero outweigh the costs. The government estimates the strategy has avoided 1 million deaths and 50 million illnesses. Fewer than 5,000 people died from Covid in the country, and most of those occurred during the virus initial spread in Wuhan. That compares to more than 900,000 deaths in the U.S., which has a population less than a quarter the size of Chinas. Beijing has used those figures to portray its system of governance as superior. Covid Zero has also allowed the Chinese economy, the worlds second biggest, to grow while other major economies contracted in 2020. Growth continued last year and 2022 got off to a stronger-than-expected start, although the outlook is clouded not only by Covid but the global repercussions from Russias invasion of Ukraine. More frequent virus flareups and restrictions to contain them occasionally snarl supply chains and make it harder for companies to hit production numbers in some locations.

3. Whats the domestic downside?

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As the virus has mutated to become more contagious, its led to more frequent outbreaks, some of which have required hardcore lockdowns to contain. A handful have dragged on for weeks and led to shortages of food and medical care, and even cost lives in the western city of Xian. Movement restrictions were imposed in March on the tech hub of Shenzhen, home to 17.5 million people, while outbreaks in other major cities including Beijing and Shanghai have been tackled without citywide lockdowns. Still, consumers facing travel restrictions and fearing infections have avoided vacations, shopping and dining, dampening retail spending. The gloom has added to weak investment and a broader downturn in the property market. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cut its forecast for Chinas growth in 2022 by 0.5 percentage points due to the increased difficulty of containing the omicron variant. In an extreme case where a national lockdown were imposed, economic growth could plunge to 1.5%, the lowest in more than four decades, the bank said.

4. What are the hurdles to getting back to normal?

There are several:

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 While nearly 90% of the population has been vaccinated and a growing number received boosters, many analysts point to the lower efficacy of vaccines developed in China. The most widely used are inactivated shots, which offered less protection against infection caused by the original strain of the virus in clinical trials than the novel mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc., BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc. The inactivated vaccines also appear to produce fewer protective antibodies against the latest variant, omicron, than those induced by shots developed in the West after three doses.

 Chinese health officials have made it clear that vaccination alone isnt enough to keep the virus at bay, since breakthrough infections are common even with Western vaccines. Modeling by researchers at Peking University estimated China would face a colossal outbreak, with more than 630,000 infections a day if it were to reopen in a similar manner to the U.S.

 The run on hospitals across the world, both in under-resourced places like India and in the developed world, is a constant reminder about how Chinas patchy hospital network could easily crash under a sudden spike in infections.

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 Switching tactics to let the virus infect a large swath of the population could create bad optics ahead of the national congress of the ruling Communist Party slated for later this year, where Xi Jinping is expected to try to extend his power.

5. Whats the cost to the rest of the world?

Covid Zero has sent ripples through the global supply chain. Outbreaks have led to temporary production halts at the China-based factories of top carmakers in the northern port city of Tianjin for people to undergo mass testing. Foxconn briefly suspended operations in March at its Shenzhen sites, one of which produces iPhones. The monthlong lockdown of Xian caused disruption and delays for leading chipmakers Micron Technology Inc and Samsung Electronics Co. But abandoning the policy could cause far greater disruptions, at least temporarily, if workers were too sick to show up at work, given how much the global economy relies on China for everything from raw materials to finished consumer and industrial products.

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6. Whats the endgame for China?

China has given no sign of backing away from its strategy of reacting forcibly to every flareup in the hope that it is quickly contained with few economic and social ramifications. While local lockdowns cause disruptions and spur complaints on social media, the strategy ensures people in the rest of the country can generally carry on with normal life. One of Chinas top Covid advisers signaled in an August interview that the country would consider dropping the strategy when the dividend is gone. He also urged leaders to closely watch reopening trailblazers like the U.K. and Singapore to learn from their experiences. Some experts think Chinas strategy will eventually crumble as the virus becomes too transmissible to control. Another possibility is a new variant may emerge thats mild enough for the government to relent without harming the population.

7. Whats the outlook for Hong Kong?

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The financial hub and gateway to China has prioritized aligning its policy with the Chinese mainland in an effort to reopen the border. Successive outbreaks on both sides have kept that from happening for the past two years. Chief Executive Carrie Lam has vowed to stick with Covid Zero while conceding the city doesnt have the resources to roll out a lockdown and conduct citywide testing as swiftly as the mainland does to extinguish outbreaks. As omicron swept through the city this year, public hospitals became overcrowded and the governments priorities shifted to vaccinating the elderly and reducing fatalities. Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan told Bloomberg Television in mid-March that Hong Kong cant commit to a date for reopening or lifting its flight ban. We are unable to tell how the pandemic will develop, so we are taking a prudent approach, he said.

 Bloomberg Opinions Adam Minter asks how popular Covid Zero really is among the Chinese people, Shuli Ren looks at dynamic clearing, and Therese Raphael and Sam Fazeli examine why China cant loosen up yet.

 Eric Zhu from Bloomberg Economics looks at what might happen if omicron wins.

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 Businessweek digs into the mounting economic damage from Covid Zero, and a Big Take looks at the havoc it wreaks.

 More QuickTakes on what we know about omicron and Covid therapies.

 Bloombergs Covid Resilience Ranking charts the best and worst places to be during the pandemic.

 Some of the stranger things that have been in the crosshairs during the push for Covid Zero.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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7.3-magnitude quake strikes off coast Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight A powerful 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit just off the coast of the Fukushima prefecture in northern Japan on Wednesday evening, leaving two dead and nearly 100 injured, the Associated Press reported, citing the Japanese Fire and Disaster Management Agency. More than 2 million households are without power, according to Tokyo Electric Power.

The main quake, which was estimated to have been centered about 37 miles below the sea floor, was preceded by a lesser-magnitude 6.4 earthquake two minutes earlier. Ordinarily, a 6.4 would be considered a big event, but it was quickly revealed to be a foreshock. Continued large aftershocks are likely for days, and theres a very slight chance  perhaps 1 in 20 or so  that the 7.3 might be a foreshock to a larger quake in the next three days.

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The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said two people were killed and 94 others were injured, four seriously, the AP reported.

The main shock took place at 11:36 p.m. local time Wednesday. A tsunami advisory was issued for Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, but the surge in water levels wasnt expected to crest above three feet.

 Matthew Cappucci

and Lateshia Beachum

Houthis welcome talks with Saudi-led council

Yemens Houthi group said Wednesday that it would welcome talks with the Saudi-led coalition but that the venue should be a neutral country, including some gulf states, and that lifting restrictions on Yemeni ports and the Sanaa airport should be a priority.

It is neither logical nor fair that the host of the talks is also the sponsor of war and blockade, the group said in a statement.

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The Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council was considering inviting the Houthis and other Yemeni parties for consultations in Riyadh this month, two gulf officials told Reuters on Tuesday.

 Reuters

7 inmates killed, 12 hurt in failed jailbreak

Seven prisoners were killed and 12 others hurt when they were shot as they tried to break out of a prison in north-central Myanmar, authorities said Wednesday.

About 50 prisoners tried to escape Tuesday by taking three guards hostage at the Sagaing regions Kalay Prison, which holds about 1,000 inmates, said a spokesperson for Myanmars Prison Department, Khin Shwe.

He said a prisoner who led the attempted jailbreak was among those killed.

A statement posted online by the Chin National Organization, a regional ethnic group opposed to Myanmars military government, identified the prisoner as 28-year-old Salai Shalom Siang Thang Lian, known as Van Dam, a member of the Chin National Defense Force, the groups armed wing.

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Sagaing region and neighboring Chin state are strongholds of armed resistance to the ruling military, which seized power in February last year.

 Associated Press

Author charged in crackdown on Ugandan writers: Ugandan prosecutors charged an author Wednesday with communications offenses and remanded him in custody, the latest target of a crackdown on writers critical of long-ruling President Yoweri Museveni and his government. The author, Norman Tumuhimbise, was detained last week along with eight other individuals who together are activists in a pressure group, their lawyer, Eron Kiiza, told Reuters. Seven of them were released late Tuesday, while two of them, Tumuhimbise and a colleague, were charged in a court in the capital Kampala on Wednesday with engaging in cyberstalking and offensive communication.

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Nowhere on Earth is in as much peril as Ethiopia, WHO says: As much of the world's attention is focused on the bloodshed in Ukraine, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that there's "nowhere on Earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat" than Ethiopia's Tigray region. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the situation in Tigray, his home region, was "catastrophic," adding that the region had been "sealed off from the outside world" for about 500 days. "No food aid has been delivered since the middle of December," Tedros told a news briefing, adding that about three quarters of health facilities assessed by the WHO in the region had been destroyed.

 From news services

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NAPLAN, the national literacy and numeracy test, will be held earlier in the year to give teachers more time to act on students strengths and weaknesses.

Optional assessments for year 6 and 10 students in science, civics and citizenship and digital literacy will also be introduced, but the results will not be reported publicly, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority said on Wednesday.

Students sit the NAPLAN test. Credit:Rodger Cummins

Since it began in 2008, NAPLAN has been held in term two, but a review commissioned by NSW, Queensland and Victoria argued it should be brought forward to make results more useful to teachers.

All state and federal education ministers also agreed to introduce opt-in assessments for years 6 and 10 but rejected proposals to test critical and creative thinking and change the year groups that sit the tests.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has appealed to state Labor voters in Western Australia to consider voting for the Coalition at the upcoming federal election because, in his view, he and WA Premier Mark McGowan are on a unity ticket when it comes to the resources sector.

Federal Labor under Anthony Albanese is not the same as state Labor under Mark McGowan, Mr Morrison said during a press conference on Wednesday morning.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is in Western Australia to kick off his partys election campaign. Credit:Paul Kane/Getty

They are two very different animals. Weve worked very closely with Mark McGowan here in Western Australia to deliver and support the path he has been on and to ensure the economic dividend  especially in our resources sector  can continue to be realised. Weve done the same with our Defence investments.

At the next election, whoever you vote for, Mark McGowan will be the Premier the next day. If were returned at the next election, I will continue to work closely with the West Australian Premier to get the right outcome for West Australians and on the national scene as well.
Construction has not even started on an inner-city university campus in Perth  which politicians hope will revive a dead zone in Western Australias capital  but costs on the mega project have already blown out by $158 million as the state of the labour and construction market bites.

The infrastructure centrepiece of the now $1.7 billion Perth City Deal between federal, state and local governments was originally touted to cost $695 million but is instead projected to now come in at $853 million.

The proposed Edith Cowan University city campus off Yagan Square.

Edith Cowan University  which will use the campus for creative industries, business and technology studies, attracting some 10,000 students  will chip in an extra $60 million while the state and federal governments will both contribute a further $49 million.

The blowout has been labelled a funding boost by the federal government as Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues his pre-election campaign efforts in WA on Friday.
While it may seem straightforward to reveal if a murder has taken place at a home for sale, a principal with LMG Lawyers, David McKenzie, said there had been legal debate about what a material fact is and whether historical cases need to be revealed. Agents and vendors must disclose if a house has a dark past, but what is a dark past? Mr McKenzie said. Because what is a material fact for one person may not be a material fact for another. Inside 147 Easey Street, Collingwood which sold for $1,095,000 despite its dark past. A person could be very allergic to pets and could ask if the home has ever had pets in it  and the vendor could say they never had a cat or dog, but its impossible to know the full history and whether pets have ever lived in the house. It makes for tricky legal interpretations, he said, including whether vendors and agents could be seen to be withholding information even if they were unaware.

Victoria is not the only state with specific real estate disclosure laws, NSW also introduced legislation almost 20 years ago after a real estate agency selling a house linked to convicted triple murderer Sef Gonzales did not reveal the murders to the homes potential buyers. Gonzales killed his mother Mary, father Teddy and sister Clodine in their family home in Collins Street, North Ryde, in 2001. A disclosure also had to be made about this house in Greendale Street, Greenwich, which sold in 2018. Credit:Peter Rae When it was listed for sale in 2004, a couple who made an offer and paid a deposit were only made aware of the murders when they read about it in the newspapers. The couple complained to Fair Trading, resulting in the agency being fined and tighter laws introduced by the NSW government.

Those laws have since resulted in a number of disclosures, including that of a home in Sydneys lower north shore which sold in 2018, where the mummified body of a man was discovered among piles of rubbish. The owner of the Greenwich home, who passed away in 2017, had been a hoarder, leaving behind the macabre discovery for forensic cleaners and a need for agents to disclose what had been found. The land in Greenwich was listed with plans for a new home to be built. The dilapidated home was bought for $2.07 million at auction before being torn down. The land and some associated building plans were put up for sale in 2020. Even though there was no legal requirement to disclose its grisly past in this second sale, Sydney agent Karl Ferguson said they still let buyers know what had happened.

Why hide it when buyers only need to do a Google search on 31 Greendale Street to see all the stories of what took place there? Mr Ferguson said at the time. A similar stance was taken in Western Australia when the former home of convicted serial killers David and Catherine Birnie came up for sale in 2020. Potential buyers of the notorious former home of David and Catherine Birnie, signed paperwork to acknowledge the propertys past. The notorious couple, who lived at 3 Moorhouse Street, Willagee in 1986, were found guilty of the rape and murder of four women  two of whom were killed in the home. A fifth victim who was kidnapped and assaulted on the premises escaped to raise the alarm. While there was no direct legal requirement to reveal the history of the home, with One Residential Palmyra selling agent Tony Papineau advised disclosure wasnt necessary after about 10 years, he still wanted potential buyers to know.

WA and other states and territories are bound by Australian consumer laws to disclose pertinent facts during a sale. In WA, these rules are included as part of a code of conduct for real estate agents, but there are no national laws detailing what material facts should be revealed. The current owner, who paid $425,000 for the three-bedroom home, signed a written statement saying they had been told about the homes past before buying, as had others who inspected the property. People needed to know about the Willagee houses history, Mr Papineau said. Some people were concerned about it, some werent, Mr Papineau said. Some of them were just lookers, and felt they had some psychic connection and wanted to feel the vibe. He said it was important to reveal the homes past, particularly as it was so well known across the globe.
President Joe Biden announced the US is delivering $US800 million ($1.1 billion) in new military assistance to Ukraine. The sum includes money for anti-armor and air-defence weapons, bringing the total announced in the last week alone to $US1 billion ($1.4 billion). Last night Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke with Ukrainian PM to reiterate Australias strong support for Ukraine as they fight to defend their country, and discussed options for further support. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday (AEDT) ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediately, in a preliminary decision in a case brought by Kyiv. The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on February 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine, judges at the United Nations highest court said in a 13-to-two decision.

Although the courts rulings are binding, it has no direct means of enforcing them and in rare cases countries have ignored them in the past. Firefighters work in an apartment building damaged by shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. More apartment buildings have been hit on Wednesday. Credit:AP On Wednesday (AEDT), Zelensky suggested there was still some reason to be optimistic that negotiations with the Russian government might yet yield an agreement. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelensky delivered a desperate plea to about 300 US politicians and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes. US defence officials say they are puzzled by Zelenskys demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isnt often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of other weapons the West is providing, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.

Loading Zelensky said Russias demands were becoming more realistic after their delegations met via video on Tuesday, Kyiv time. Efforts are still needed, patience is needed, he said in his video address to the nation. Any war ends with an agreement. He said Russian forces had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities. Developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground occurred as the number of people fleeing Ukraine amid Europes heaviest fighting since World War II eclipsed 3 million.

Apartment building Zelensky said 28,893 civilians were able to flee through nine humanitarian corridors in the past day although Russian troops refused to allow aid into Mariupol. Shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-storey apartment building in central Kyiv on Wednesday, obliterating the top floor and igniting a fire, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergencies agency. The neighbouring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without saying if they were injured or killed. A firefighter comforts a woman outside a destroyed apartment building after a bombing in a residential area in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday. Credit:AP Also, a powerful explosion thundered overnight in Kharkiv that was heard across the eastern city.

There hospital workers are fighting on two fronts, battling COVID-19 in intensive care units as war rages outside. The Kharkiv Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital, the citys leading facility for treating virus patients during the pandemic, has barricaded its windows. Hospital director Dr Pavel Nartov said air raid sirens go off multiple times daily, forcing fragile patients into a makeshift bomb shelter. Handling ICU patients on ventilators was the most difficult and dangerous part of the process, but also the most crucial, given the dangers of exposing oxygen tanks to bombings and shrapnel, he said. Bombing takes place from morning into night. Thank God a bomb has not yet hit our hospital. But it could hit at any time, he said. Kharkiv has been under sustained fire from Russian forces since the outbreak of the war, with shelling hitting residential buildings and sending masses of people fleeing.

Ukraines official daily COVID-19 cases reached record highs in February. COVID-19 concerns have fallen by the wayside as people focus on fleeing the fighting. In addition to air strikes and shelling by ground forces, Russian naval ships fired overnight on a town south of Mariupol on the Azov Sea and another near Odesa on the Black Sea, according to local officials. Russian forces have intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the north-west and the highway leading west towards Zhytomyr, the head of the Kyiv region Oleksiy Kuleba said. He said Russian troops were trying to cut off the capital from transport arteries and destroy logistical capabilities even as they planned a wide-ranging attack to seize Kyiv. Twelve towns around Kyiv are without water and six without heat.

Russia has occupied the city of Ivankiv, 80 kilometres north of Kyiv, and controls the surrounding region on the border with Belarus, Kuleba said. Across the Kyiv region, he said, Kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing. A senior US defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagons assessment, said the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 15 km from the centre of the capital. Before the latest talks with Ukrainian officials, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would press its demands that Ukraine drop its bid to join NATO, adopt a neutral status and demilitarise.

Loading In a statement that seemed to signal potential grounds for agreement with Moscow, Zelensky told European leaders gathered in London that he realised NATO had no intention of accepting Ukraine. We have heard for many years about the open doors, but we also heard that we cant enter those doors, he said. This is the truth, and we have simply to accept it as it is. NATO does not admit nations with unsettled territorial conflicts. Zelensky has repeatedly said he realises NATO isnt going to offer membership to Ukraine and that he could consider a neutral status for his country but needs strong security guarantees from both the West and Russia. The UN said close to 700 civilians in Ukraine have been confirmed killed, with the true figure probably much higher.

Loading On a day when thousands managed to leave Mariupol, Russian troops seized the citys largest hospital, regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko said. He said the troops forced about 400 people from nearby homes into the Regional Intensive Care Hospital and were using them and roughly 100 patients and staff as human shields by not allowing them to leave. Kyrylenko said shelling had already heavily damaged the hospitals main building, but medical staff have been treating patients in makeshift wards in the basement. Doctors from other Mariupol hospitals made a video to tell the world about the horrors theyve been seeing. We dont want to be heroes and martyrs posthumously, one woman said. She also said it was insufficient to simply refer to people as the wounded: Its torn off arms and legs, gouged out eyes, bodies torn into fragments, insides falling out. AP, Reuters
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A shower or two possible this evening with partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

A shower or two possible this evening with partly cloudy skies overnight. Low 57F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.
Attempted traffic stop in New Albany ends in fiery crash that killed 1, injured 2 others
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear vetoed a Republican-backed measure that would end the COVID-19 state of emergency. Image courtesy of video provided by Ky. Governor's office. March 16, 2022.
Veteran Fox News photojournalist Pierre Zakrzewski, with colleagues. Zakrzewski died on Monday, March 14, 2022, after his vehicle was struck by incoming fire in Horenka, outside Kyiv, Ukraine.
12 Weber State Faculty Honored With Presidential Teaching Excellence Awards

March 17, 2022

OGDEN, Utah  Twelve faculty members received the 2022 Weber State University Presidential Teaching Excellence Awards for their teaching impact based on nominations from students and staff.

Weber State president Brad Mortensen surprised the teachers with the news, popping into their classrooms or Zoom meetings to present the award. Their reaction was captured in this short video. Faculty members will be honored, March 22 at 12:30 p.m., during the virtual Faculty Symposium. To register, click here.

Teaching excellence manifests in a variety of ways and has a profound impact on students and their educational success. I wish to thank all who took the time to submit nominations for our faculty members, Mortensen said. We received a number of submissions proving the exceptional quality of faculty and teaching that goes on at Weber State.

The Presidential Teaching Excellence Awards were given to faculty in disciplines across campus:

Tomono Adachi, instructor of Japanese

Tomono Adachi, instructor of Japanese Melina Alexander, professor of teacher education

Linda Duhadway, associate professor of computer science

Ryan Dunn, assistant professor of child and family studies

Carrie Jeffrey, assistant professor of nursing

Jean Kapenda, instructor of criminal justice

Loisanne Kattelman, instructor of accounting

Brad Marden, adjunct professor of health sciences

Jonathan Marshall, professor of zoology

Connie Merrill, assistant professor of nursing

Alvaro La Parra-Perez, associate professor of economics

Aminda OHare, assistant professor of neuropsychology

Associate professor of economics Alvaro La Parra-Perez and instructor of Japanese Tomono Adachi embody the passion that excellent teachers have for helping their students advance upward.

I love economics, and within economics, I love economic history, La Parra-Perez said. My goal is just to transmit the reasons why I love economics and why I think its a very powerful tool for much more than students typically think. At the end of the day, economics is about understanding, modeling and predicting the world.

For at least one student, La Parra-Perezs passion convinced them to major in economics, writing, his teaching method is his commitment to making sure that everyone in the class is following the material.

La Parra-Perez said he was surprised and thought he might be dreaming when Mortensen presented him with the award during his class.

It was a feeling of real love. It felt very unreal, he said. When you're in academia, you are constantly fighting against the imposter syndrome. I look at my colleagues in the economics department, and its like, why not him or her or her? I am surrounded by such an amazing group of colleagues and teachers that I just feel its an incredible honor.

Tomono Adachi has been teaching Japanese since 2015 and is the faculty advisor for Weber States Japan Club. Adachi was nominated by a student who wrote that she has a friendly, energetic spirit and cares about me, what I think, and what Im learning. The student also praised her efforts outside of the classroom, particularly with the Japan Club where she hosts opportunities for students through cooking lessons, hosting cultural events, and networking with professionals in Japan.

I couldn't believe that things I have been doing outside of the class are also recognized by my students and program, Adachi said. I was very surprised that someone saw what I was trying to do.

Adachi said her favorite part of teaching is seeing students come out of their shells and witnessing their growing confidence in speaking Japanese.

Thanks to donor support, winners each receive a $5,000 award either as a cash stipend or to enhance their teaching through professional development, curriculum development, research or acquiring equipment and technology.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
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Hackney Empire has unveiled its 2022 pantomime.

Clive Rowe (The Prince of Egypt, Blues in the Night) will direct and star in Mother Goose, playing from 19 November to 31 December.

The production celebrates a variety of milestones. Marking the venue's 120th year, the show was also first staged 120 years ago  with Rowe also set to reach 15 pantomimes at the beloved north London venue.

Rowe said: "I'm incredibly proud, in Hackney Empire's 120th birthday year, to be directing and playing Mother Goose, which was first created for music hall legend Dan Leno 120 years ago. Big shoes to fill but I will do my very best to make the walls shake with the love and laughter we've come to expect from Hackney's pantomime."

Cast and creative team are to be revealed.
Quincy, IL (62301)

Today

A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 53F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 53F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
This week's focus takes us just outside of Kalispell, Montana, to Lone Pine State Park.

With 7.5 miles of trails for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and horseback riding, it also boasts breathtaking overlooks, where you can see Flathead Lake, Whitefish Mountain Resort, and Jewel Basin. Lone Pine State Park provides incredible views of the Flathead Valley and year-round and wide-ranging outdoor recreation activities.

Owned initially as part of a large sheep ranch by Ernest and Hazel White, in 1941, the White's donated the land that now makes up Lone Pine State Park for public use and education.

The Whites stipulated that the land be developed for public use and to teach an appreciation for conservation benefits.

The visitor center gift shop is a highlight and is now open year-round. A walk through the visitor center provides a tour of the wildlife and forest ecology within the park.

The visitor center contains a spacious meeting room with audio-visual equipment and wrap-around decks with beautiful vistas. It's an ideal spot for a meeting or social gathering.

Adult workshops, children's activities, and interpretive programs make Lone Pine an exciting stop for school field trips, residents, and out-of-state visitors. Find out more about educational opportunities by contacting the park office.

Open all year 8:00 am - Sunset. The Visitor Center is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Sunday 12:30pm to 3pm, closed Monday & Tuesday. Closed November 26, 27, December 24, 25, 31, and January 1.
Programme Officer (OSPO), Berlin, Germany

Organization: World Health Organization (WHO)

Country: Germany

City: Berlin

Office: WHO Berlin, Germany

Grade: P-4

Closing date: Sunday, 3 April 2022

Programme Officer (OSPO)

( 2201852 )

Grade : P4

Contractual Arrangement : Fixed-term appointment

Contract Duration (Years, Months, Days) : 2 years

Job Posting: Mar 14, 2022, 3:02:04 PM

The WHO Hub for Pandemicand Epidemic Intelligence is a new office of WHO, located in Berlin. It will work with partners to enable the generation of public health relevant information to provide into timely actionable insights in response to health emergencies; improve decision making in response to public health threats. It also aims to reduce data fragmentation and inefficiency by: creating an ecosystem that promotes collaboration across multiple professional disciplines, sectors,and initiatives; and empower decision makers, public health professionals, and civil society to make informed public health decisions.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The incumbent will be responsible for establishing and management of the Open-Source Programme (OSPO) for the development of open-source software and open data guidelines, recommendations, policies, and strategies. The incumbent will partner with WHO legal and information management technologies department, procurement, communication office and other stakeholders in development of guidelines, recommendations, policies, and strategies for WHO open-source software projects and initiatives.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

Establish the Open Source Programme and be responsible for all related activities and deliverables

Engage with WHO legal and information management technologies department, procurement, communication office and other stakeholders in development of guidelines, recommendations, policies, and strategies for WHO open-source software projects and initiatives

Create services and functions to provide legal, procurement, technical, programmatic, capacity building and community management advice to open-source software and open data projects and initiatives within the scope and mandate of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence

Lead the development and optimisation of all aspects of the outgoing open-source software development process, including people, their activities and tooling automation

Steer involvement in the global open-source software community of practice, build awareness of the WHO open-source strategy and recognition of using, releasing, and contributing to the open-source software initiatives internally within the WHO, and externally throughout global health security initiatives and beyond

Work alongside Health Emergency Intelligence and Surveillance Systems and WHO Health Emergency Programme leadership to integrate open-source objectives with the strategic WHO objectives and UN Strategic Development Goals

Establish WHO as a leader and actively contributing member of open-source initiatives for supporting the improvement and maintenance of the global health security

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential: An advanced level university degree in software engineering, computer science or related field from a recognized institution.

Desirable: Specialization or relevant professional training in information technology law, including open-source software, data protection and related disciplines.

Experience

Essential: A minimum of 7 years of professional experience in the software engineering field with specific experience in managing teams engaged in using, releasing, and contributing to successful and widely recognised open-source software projects. Hands-on experience with multiple programming languages, software development tools, distributed version control systems, GitHub and DevSecOps processes and CI/CD tools. Experience with selection of fit-for purpose open-source software and open data licenses and general open-source compliance issues for projects and initiatives in different domains in private and public sector. Experience working across geographic and cultural boundaries. Demonstrated leadership experience at the international level. Experience with governance processes, including risk management and quality assurance as well as with general management, budgeting, administrative and financial management.

Desirable: Experience establishing and/or managing an Open-Source Programme Office of an organisation with an international reach in a public or private sector. Experience working in a large national, multi-national or international organization with inter-agency collaboration or in WHO, UN, UN Agencies, or other international organisations. Professional software development experience for public health, preferably health surveillance and intelligence decision support systems.

Skills

In-depth knowledge of the open-source software and open data eco-systems and a balance of passion and pragmatism for open-source software and open data

Proficient knowledge of the software licenses and general compliance issues, including the advantages and disadvantages of different proprietary, open-source and dual licensing models

Expert knowledge of information and communication technologies and software engineering best practices, including agile frameworks, DevSecOps, cloud native technologies and explainable AI

Excellent communication, inter-personal, negotiation, organizational and leadership skills

Ability to adapt quickly to shifting priorities and situations dAE2pvs Dh7qKS

Real passion for improving global health security through development of efficient and effective health intelligence systems on a global scale

WHO Competencies

Teamwork

Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences

Communication

Building and promoting partnerships across the organization and beyond

Promoting innovation and organizational learning

Use of Language Skills

Essential: Expert knowledge of English.

Desirable: Intermediate knowledge of French. Intermediate knowledge of WHO Language.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 75,602 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 2514 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

A written test may be used as a form of screening.

In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link: http://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.

Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

For information on WHOs operations please visit: http://www.who.int.

WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

WHO prides itself on a workforce that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards and that is committed to put the WHO Values Charter into practice.

WHO has zero tolerance towards sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct (i.e., discrimination, abuse of authority and harassment). All members of the WHO workforce have a role to play in promoting a safe and respectful workplace and should report to WHO any actual or suspected cases of SEA, sexual harassment and other types of abusive conduct. To ensure that individuals with a substantiated history of SEA, sexual harassment or other types of abusive conduct are not hired by the Organization, WHO will conduct a background verification of final candidates.

WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link: http://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.

Link to the organizations job posting: https://unjobs.org/vacancies/1647278967554
Winchester, VA (22601)

Today

A few passing clouds. Low 51F. NNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

A few passing clouds. Low 51F. NNW winds at 10 to 20 mph, decreasing to 5 to 10 mph.
On last Wednesdays broadcast of The Late Late Show with James Corden, actress Edi Patterson (a writer and star on the cable series The Righteous Gemstones) told a startling story of travelling to frigid Winnipeg to shoot a movie.

On last Wednesdays broadcast of The Late Late Show with James Corden, actress Edi Patterson (a writer and star on the cable series The Righteous Gemstones) told a startling story of travelling to frigid Winnipeg to shoot a movie.

The film, which she didnt mention by name, is Violent Night, the Christmas-themed action movie starring David Harbour, John Leguizamo and Beverly DAngelo, directed by Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters). It was recently announced Patterson had joined the cast alongside Cam Gigandet (Tom Clancys Without Remorse, Twilight, Easy A).

Talking to Corden, Patterson told of facing two Winnipeg perils during her work in February: freezing cold and the intersection of Portage and Main.

Needing to pick up lotion and shampoo, she learned of the existence of "a CVS equivalent called Shoppers Drug Mart" 500 feet from her hotel, presumably the Fairmont.

But getting from the northeast corner of Portage and Main to the southwest corner, where Shoppers is located in Winnipeg Square, proved to be logistically daunting due to the barricaded intersection.

"I started going in circles on this corner, and I remember almost going ass over teakettle eight times black ice everywhere."

"And then you find out you cant cross the street, and its just this hellscape of snow and ice."

Adding to the situation, Patterson recalled the famous wind at that corner: "You feel like an invisible giant is bullying you and pushing you."

Coincidentally, Pattersons fellow guest on the show was Bob Odenkirk, who shot the action film Nobody in Winnipeg in late 2020.

CBS / YOUTUBE Actor Edi Patterson, centre, describes the wind at Portage and Main to host James Corden, left, and guest Bob Odenkirk on the Late Late Show with James Corden.

"Its famously the windiest corner in North America," Odenkirk said. "I know exactly where you mean."

Patterson elaborated on her experience in a piece for New York magazines Grub Street column, discussing the weather and Winnipegs culinary options.

"Its almost one of those things thats so extreme, you cant help but laugh at it," she told columnist Chris Crowley. "I dont wonder why people live here because the people here are really nice. I just wonder how they continue to. I think Im convinced that theyve all got some kind of superpower blood, and theyre just the heartiest people on earth."

She evidently figured out how to get to Shoppers. She mentioned stocking up there on pistachios and yellow mustard, and later exploring takeout options including Thailand Foods 1619, and Banh Mi King, both "awesome."

Other actors in the movies cast have been bravely venturing out to restaurants. Harbour and Leguizamo were recently spotted dining at Deer & Almond.

Violent Night is expected to wrap around March 26. Wrapping this week is another action movie King of Killers, starring Alain Moussi, Frank Grillo and Stephen Dorff, written and directed Kevin Grevioux, co-creator of the Underworld franchise. A surprise addition to that cast was Montreal-born mixed martial artist Georges St-Pierre (Captain America: The Winter Soldier).

Now that the temperatures are getting more moderate, other actors are expected to arrive in town for more film shoots. Among these are a horror thriller titled All Fun and Games, scheduled for an April shoot with stars Asa Butterfield (Hugo, Enders Game) and Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things).

The film has been described as a horror-themed variant of Jumanji in which a group of siblings find themselves in a game with a demonic twist.

Another Captain America link: The film is executive produced by Anthony and Joe Russo, who co-directed two Captain America movies and the last two Avengers movies, Infinity War and Endgame. It will be directed by Ari Costa and Eren Celeboglu, who co-wrote the script.

A snowstorm figures prominently in the Christian feature film Ordinary Angels. Winnipeg may yet oblige with the real thing during the scheduled shoot from late March to early May for director Jon Gunn.

The film is set in 1994 in Kentucky, telling the true story of Sharon Stevens, an alcoholic hairdresser who turns her life around when she meets a widower whose five-year-old daughter is in need of a liver transplant. No cast has been announced for that film yet.

Another horror film, The Elevator Game, looks as if it will finally be going up.

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It had been announced more than a year ago, but it finally found its way onto a production schedule, from May to June.

The film is based on the online phenomenon of the same name that suggests supernatural powers may be behind mysterious elevator-related deaths and disappearances, such as that of student Elisa Lam at L.A.s Cecil Hotel in 2013 (the subject of the Netflix docuseries Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel).

In the film, a socially awkward teenager investigating the disappearance of his sister discovers she may have been playing the titular game.

Last year, the announced director had been cinematographer Michael Goi, but new announcements suggest the director will now be Rebekah McKendry (All the Creatures Were Stirring).

randall.king.arts@gmail.com

Twitter: @FreepKing

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  Disney workers are planning walkouts during their breaks every day this week to protest CEO Bob Chapeks slow response in publicly criticizing Florida legislation that critics have dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill.

Marchers make their way toward the St. Pete Pier in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Saturday, March 12, 2022 during a march to protest the controversial "Don't say gay" bill passed by Florida's Republican-led legislature and now on its way to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk. (Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  Disney workers are planning walkouts during their breaks every day this week to protest CEO Bob Chapeks slow response in publicly criticizing Florida legislation that critics have dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill.

The act of protest will culminate next Tuesday with a general walkout by LGBTQ workers and their supporters at Disney worksites in California, Florida and elsewhere, the group of Disney employees said this week on their website.

Organizers asked Disney workers to check in online with their plans to participate in the full-scale walkout for next week. We must make sure we have large enough numbers to be successful," they said.

Marchers wave flags as they walk at the St. Pete Pier during a rally and march to protest against a bill dubbed by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" bill Saturday, March 12, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Florida lawmakers have passed the bill, which forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. It now moves to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it into law.(Martha Asencio-Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

Statements by Disney leadership over the Florida legislation have utterly failed to match the magnitude of the threat to LGBTQIA+ safety represented by this legislation," the group said.

The bill bars instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through grade 3. Republican lawmakers pushing the legislation had argued that parents, not teachers, should be the ones talking to their children about gender issues during their early formative years. The legislation has attracted scrutiny from President Joe Biden, who called it hateful, as well as other Democrats who argue it demonizes LGBTQ people.

The legislation has been sent to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it.

As the state's largest private-sector employer  Walt Disney World outside Orlando had more than 75,000 workers before the coronavirus pandemic  Disney has contributed huge amounts of money to Floridas political parties and politicians and has wielded incredible influence on the states government.

At the beginning of last week, Chapek sent a message to Disney workers affirming the company's support for LGBTQ rights but also saying that corporate statements often dont do much to change minds and can be weaponized by either side.

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Rather than make an early public statement against the legislation, company officials had been working behind the scenes with Florida lawmakers to achieve a better outcome, but they hadnt been successful, despite our longstanding relationships with those lawmakers, Chapek told Disney shareholders a few days later.

With his public responses being panned by some Disney workers and supporters, Chapek last Friday apologized and said the company was pausing all political donations in Florida.

I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community," Chapek said in a message to Disney workers. I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on  and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve."

Disney on Wednesday didn't respond to an email inquiry about whether the walkouts during breaks were having any impact on operations this week.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
Delivery company DoorDash said Tuesday it will refund its drivers for some U.S. gasoline purchases to help offset higher prices at the pump.

FILE - The DoorDash app is shown on a smartphone on Feb. 27, 2020, in New York. Delivery company DoorDash said Tuesday, March 15, 2022, it will refund its drivers for some U.S. gasoline purchases to help offset higher prices at the pump. (AP Photo/File)

Delivery company DoorDash said Tuesday it will refund its drivers for some U.S. gasoline purchases to help offset higher prices at the pump.

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DoorDash said it will give drivers 10% cash back when they buy gas using DasherDirect, the companys debit card designed for drivers. Drivers will get the cash back for any gas purchase, whether or not they are completing deliveries at the time.

The San Francisco-based company said it will also start paying weekly bonuses for drivers who drive the most miles. Drivers who travel 225 miles will earn an extra $15, for example.

Gig companies are increasingly concerned about the impact of higher gas prices on their drivers. Earlier this week, Uber said it would start charging customers a fuel fee to offset higher costs for its delivery and ride-hailing drivers.

Ubers surcharge  of up to 55 cents for rides and 45 cents for Uber Eats orders  will go directly to drivers for at least 60 days.

DoorDash said it isnt passing its costs on to customers right now. Its programs are scheduled to run through April.

The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline hit a record $4.43 per gallon this week. Global supply concerns stemming from Russias invasion of Ukraine are contributing to the higher prices.
A pair of Manitoba entrepreneurs hope to butter up some dragons.

A pair of Manitoba entrepreneurs hope to butter up some dragons.

Landon Kroeker and Rob Sengotta pitched their business  Von Slicks Finishing Butter  to Dragons Den producers recently.

"It was exhilarating," said Kroeker, a marketing professional.

The Middlebro, Man.-based entrepreneurs applied to a call for auditions last July. If chosen by producers, the duo will travel to Toronto and highlight their finishing butters to a panel of five venture capitalists, in hopes one will partner with them and broaden their market.

The pair could hear if theyve made it to the live show this month or next.

"We thought, Theres a lot of potential here, and thats something Dragons look for, is that unique product that has a food category thats pretty open," Kroeker said.

Von Slicks Finishing Butter launched in April. Since then, about 77 retailers sell the products, Kroeker said. Up to 14 restaurants are creating specialty meals highlighting the butters, he said.

The six butter choices are infused with herbs, spices and ingredients like mushrooms and roasted red peppers. Theyre meant to be spread across cooked foods, like steak or salmon, as a final touch.

Kroeker said he and Sengotta, a chef, received an email Jan. 24 from Dragons Den producers saying Von Slicks would have a video call audition  a mock pitch  on Jan. 27. In a whirlwind three days, the Manitoban entrepreneurs peppered each other with questions, set up displays in their headquarters and went over facts and numbers.

"We were pretty confident going in that we had most of the bases covered," Kroeker said. "When it comes to the numbers, and the marketing, and the challenges and the opportunities, (Sengotta) and I have been discussing that since day one."

A typical pitch lasts about 30 minutes, Kroeker said. His and Sengottas surpassed 40.

"At first, its very intimidating when you start your pitch because youre quiet, and youve been rehearsing this thing 100 times over," Kroeker said.

"Once we were able to get into (it) and start rolling with talking about the product it was a ton of fun."

Kroeker said hes not assuming anything but believes he and Sengotta "put on a good performance."

The two wish to partner with dragon Arlene Dickinson, who has a business growth ecosystem that can scale food companies globally.

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Kroeker said Von Slicks would like to expand west, then east and into the United States.

Meantime, he and Sengotta work part-time at Buffalo Point Resort (where they met) and part-time running Von Slicks. Restaurants in the province will unveil Von Slicks meals, like salted caramel finishing butter on pancakes or French toast, in the upcoming months.

Four Smittys locations launched Von Slicks Roasted Red Pepper Finishing Butter wings in January as a monthly feature. The Steinbach locations head chef, Clayton Hadaller, collaborated with Kroeker on the idea.

"The team at Von Slicks was awesome to work with and put a lot of support behind the flavour," Kaely Dick, who co-owns Smittys restaurants in Steinbach, Meadowood and Pembina South, wrote in an email.

Filming for the next Dragons Den season will begin in May, Kroeker said.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
Its time to expand Manitobas industrial reach, according to the local manufacturers association.

Its time to expand Manitobas industrial reach, according to the local manufacturers association.

The provinces Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters branch launched its Manufacturing Accelerator Program Tuesday. The project has received nearly $1.4 million in federal government funding.

"Supply chain issues are huge (right now)," said Ron Koslowsky, the CMEs divisional vice-president. "We can now maybe consider doing business more locally, or more within our own economic region of North America."

Over 95 per cent of Manitoban manufacturers are facing supply chain disruptions, according to a CME-produced survey that circulated in February. Two-thirds of the respondents said the disturbances were "major" or "severe."

"In some cases, companies are looking at saying, Well, maybe we cant count on a supplier from China anymore Maybe we need to look around and find a supplier around the corner," Koslowsky said.

The association will work with businesses on growth strategies and action plans through its accelerator program. Experts will offer improvements in various areas, from productivity to technology to human resources practices, Koslowsky said.

The goal is to increase global competitiveness.

"Were trying to take a really holistic look," Koslowsky said. "We want to build the best group of manufacturers in the world, located here in Manitoba."

Its tough to stay competitive internationally when the cost of labour and goods are cheaper elsewhere, according to Claude Saelens, the operations manager of Hillary Production Machining.

"If theyre finding materials less expensive in their own country, then thats something youre competing with," Saelens said.

Hillary Production has had to raise its prices as supply and transportation costs skyrocket. Usually their steel comes from overseas, Saelens said. But, between the pandemic and Russias invasion of Ukraine, foreign steel is harder to come by. Russia is a major producer of iron ore, one of the materials key ingredients.

Hillary Production has turned to Canadian-made steel  for a higher price.

"Using domestic material just makes it a lot more expensive," Saelens said.

He and other manufacturers also face increased shipping costs. A shipping container is triple the price of one 10 years ago, Saelens said.

"Even pre-COVID, staffing was an issue," he added. "Youve got to find other means to run your manufacturing, whether thats computerized machines or robots. Again, thats more money out of manufacturings pockets."

So, as prices rise, its hard to compare to countries like Mexico, India and China, Saelens said.

Restructuring supply chains so theyre closer to home is, in some situations, happening, according to Barry Prentice, a University of Manitoba supply chain management professor.

However, a lot of United States companies are looking to Mexico, he said.

"Consumers dont want to pay any more than they have to," Prentice said.

Canada has established itself as a high-quality parts producer, specializing in fields like aerospace, Prentice said. Most everyday goods still come from overseas.

"All you have to do is think about a hardware store," Prentice said. "You look closely, youll probably find a whole bunch of it thats from China."

Still, now could be a good time for Manitoba to enlarge its manufacturing footprint, Prentice said.

"We have a relatively cheap dollar, which makes us more competitive," he said. "Theres (also) maybe a trade-off between paying a little bit more for parts but making sure you get them (versus) having delays in production."

Eighty per cent of Manitoban respondents to the CMEs survey said delays and costs from shipping via boat have been "major" or "severe." Sixty-three per cent said the same of transport by truck.

Over 80 per cent reported theyve been forced to increase prices and delay fulfilling orders because of supply chain challenges.

Just 18 per cent of the 890 countrywide respondents said theyd source more from Canada. Many added theres no domestic supplier for their goods.

CME Manitobas new program might level up companies, Prentice said.

"It gives more impetus to change, and sometimes thats all you need," he said.

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CME Manitoba plans to work with between 100 and 150 companies over three years, according to Koslowsky. The program is open to any Manitoban manufacturing business, for a fee.

The industry drives nearly two-thirds of the provinces exports and accounts for almost 10 per cent of the provincial GDP. It had sales of $18.7 billion in 2020  $611.2 billion across Canada  and employs over 60,000 Manitobans.

Approximately 13,000 manufacturing jobs will open in the province over the next four years, according to CME Manitoba.

The association will build checklists and other resources while meeting its accelerator program clients, Koslowsky said. Then, the knowledge can be transferred to the associations Alberta and Saskatchewan locations.

Prairies Economic Development Canada is the federal government arm providing the funding.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  For years Americans have been told autonomous technology was improving and that driverless vehicles were just around the corner.

This 2021 photo provided by John Deere shows an autonomous tractor plowing a field, without a driver, on a farm in Blue Earth, Minn. (Bill Krzyzanowski/John Deere via AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  For years Americans have been told autonomous technology was improving and that driverless vehicles were just around the corner.

Finally theyre here, but to catch a glimpse of them, you'll need to go to a farm rather than look along city streets.

Beginning this fall, green 14-ton tractors that can plow day or night with no one sitting in the cab, or even watching nearby, will come off the John Deere factory assembly line in Waterloo, Iowa, harkening the age of autonomous farming.

The development follows more than a decade-long effort by the worlds largest farm equipment manufacturer, and marks a milestone for automation advocates, who for years have been explaining why driverless cars arent quite ready for prime time.

Im glad to see theyre coming out and will stimulate the other technologies, said Raj Rajkumar, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and an expert in autonomous cars.

This 2021 photo provided by John Deere shows an autonomous tractor plowing a field, without a driver, on a farm in Blue Earth, Minn. (Bill Krzyzanowski/John Deere via AP)

Deere isnt saying yet how much the autonomous tractors will cost but the new technology will be added onto tractors that sell for about $500,000, said Ben Haber, a company spokesman. The company plans to operate the autonomous tractors on 10 to 50 farms by this fall before significantly increasing the number in following years.

For the past decade, the supposedly imminent debut of autonomous vehicles on city streets and freeways has been repeatedly pushed off as companies struggled to guarantee their safety.

But, Rajkumar notes, tractors have it easier because they dont need to contend with other vehicles, pedestrians or the complexities of an urban scene. Tractors can make use of consistent GPS data, unlike cars that can lose contact traveling through tunnels or amid tall buildings.

Or as Joel Dawson, a Deere production director, put it, You arent going to see a crosswalk in most cornfields in Iowa or Nebraska.

Modern tractors already have GPS guides that handle steering and turning to ensure optimum plowing, seeding and harvesting. They also use real-time streams of data to make changes if needed because of soil conditions, the amount of fertilizer applied or other factors.

The autonomous tractor will now let farmers hook up a plow behind a tractor, start the machine with a swipe of a smart phone and then leave it to rumble up and down a field on its own.

The driverless tractors are equipped with six pairs of cameras that work like human eyes and can provide a 360-degree image. When filtered through computer algorithms, the tractor is able to determine where it is in the field and will abruptly stop if there is anything unfamiliar in its path.

Farmers often grow crops on different parcels of land that are miles apart, so while the tractor plows in one field a farmer can work at another, drive into town for supplies or spend time with their families at home. Given that less than 2% of Americans work on farms and rural populations have dwindled for decades, the autonomous tractors also are expected to help with chronic labor shortages.

The shift to ever-more sophisticated tractors is part of a movement that emphasizes planting, fertilizing and harvesting during narrow windows of time when conditions are perfect. If new technology can help farmers complete a job when soil and air temperatures are just right ahead of approaching wet weather, for example, it can mean more plentiful crops months later.

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If I dont get this field tilled today and it rains tonight, that could mean we dont get the field planted for another week and that has real cost implications in a lot of operations, said Ryan Berman, who works on agricultural technology issues at Iowa State University. If you can move an extra 80 or 100 acres into that optimal window, that can be worth thousands of dollars every year, probably tens of thousands.

Still, the tractor wont be for everyone.

Ed Anderson, director of research for the Iowa Soybean Association, cited the substantial cost, and noted that some farmers prefer hands-on work rather than overseeing operations via a smartphone.

Another industry giant, CNH Industrial, also is developing autonomous capabilities for its Case and New Holland tractors, and other companies are exploring using numerous smaller autonomous machines to handle other farm work.

___

Follow Scott McFetridge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smcfetridge
GENEVA (AP)  The World Health Organization said Wednesday its evaluation of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine has been postponed for the time being, due to the uneven situation.

GENEVA (AP)  The World Health Organization said Wednesday its evaluation of Russias Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine has been postponed for the time being, due to the uneven situation.

WHO vaccines expert Dr. Mariangela Simao said at a press briefing that the U.N. health agency's officials had originally been scheduled to visit Russia on March 7 to assess the facilities where Sputnik V is produced  just weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.

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These inspections were postponed for a later date, Simao said. The assessment, along with inspections, have been affected because of the situation, she said, explaining that booking flights had been difficult and that there had been issues with credit cards and some more operational issues.

Western countries largely closed their airspace to Russian planes after Russia invaded Ukraine and slapped wide-ranging sanctions on Russian financial institutions. This has been discussed with the Russian applicants and new dates will be set as soon as possible, Simao said.

The WHO has been evaluating Russias Sputnik V vaccine for an emergency use authorization since last year. The authorization would allow Sputnik V to be purchased as part of the U.N.-backed COVAX effort to distribute vaccines worldwide, and would lend credibility to a shot that has been often maligned.

A late-stage study published in the journal Lancet in 2020 in more than 20,000 participants found that Sputnik V was safe and about 91% effective against infection and highly effective at preventing people from becoming severely ill with COVID-19.

But last October, South Africa's drug regulator rejected the shot, citing some safety concerns the Russian manufacturer wasn't able to answer. South African officials said they were concerned that the technology used in the Sputnik V shot might not be safe in a population with high rates of HIV.

The European Medicines Agency has said its evaluation of Sputnik V remains ongoing. The shot has been given the green light in more than 70 countries. To date no significant safety problems have been identified.
Manitoba wants to attract the best and the brightest, but is prepared to send big medical bills to international students struggling financially who get sick and fall through the cracks, critics say.

Manitoba wants to attract the best and the brightest, but is prepared to send big medical bills to international students struggling financially who get sick and fall through the cracks, critics say.

A GoFundMe campaign of behalf of Calvin Lugalambi raised $56,567  less than half the $120,000 he owes Shared Health after a trip to the ER for a stomach issue ended in surgery and later catching COVID-19.

SUPPLIED Tevin Obiga, an international student who died earlier this month after contracting blastomycosis.

However, the civil engineering student from Uganda considers himself lucky.

Tevin Obiga of Kenya spent nearly two months in intensive care at St. Boniface Hospital after contracting a blastomycosis infectionin his lungs. He died March 3. His family was then billed more than $550,000 by Manitobas health-care system.

Critics say the province needs to reinstate health coverage for international students that was scrapped in 2018.

The province says international students are required to obtain medical coverage when they register for school in Manitoba.

Lugalambi said the problem occurs if there is a gap. In his case, he was between preparatory courses and starting university in Winnipeg when his medical coverage lapsed. Others may be struggling far from home and cant make ends meet.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Calvin Lugalambi, an International student from Uganda attending engineering classes at the U of M set up a GoFundMe acct to raise $122K for Obigas medical bills after he needed surgery.

"All of a sudden, people are facing some challenges that they themselves cannot navigate," Lugalambi said Tuesday. "So some of them have to opt out of school and, if you opt out of school, you dont have medical coverage  even if youre working to to make ends meet."

When such people most need help, theyre scared to seek it because theyre not insured, he said.

"So they they avoid going to the doctors just because they know theyre going to get put in a hospital bed. Its going to charge them so-many-thousand dollars. Its really appalling and very sad."

On Tuesday, the Manitoba Liberals called on the Progressive Conservative government to reinstate health insurance for students from abroad.

The Liberals said the program cost more than $3 million a year  however, it saved money in the long run, with students knowing theyre covered and seeking health care rather than putting it off for fear of incurring a huge medical bill while an untreated illness gets worse.

Asked if the province would consider reinstating health insurance for international students, Immigration Minister Jon Reyes balked.

"I refuse to answer that question," he said in a scrum with reporters.

When pressed, Reyes said students are required to purchase health-care coverage when they register at post-secondary institutions. "We not going to meddle with that. Were not in the insurance business."

An argument for reinstatement: its a good investment in skilled workers more inclined to stay in Manitoba once theyre established, said Uche Nwankwo, co-ordinator of AfriCans of Winnipeg South.

"Early diagnosis, early treatment can save a lot," said the agricultural economist from Nigeria, who tried to advocate for Obiga and Lugalambi  and is currently trying to help another international student in Victoria Hospital facing a huge bill.

"What the government seems not to appreciate is that international students contribute a lot to our economy," said Nwankwo. "They pay exorbitant school fees compared to domestic students. They bring money and they bring diversity and when they finish, they become part of our economy.

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"Tevin Obiga was a computer engineering student. If Tevin was alive and finished his studies, he couldve contributed millions to this economy."

Nwankwo said the bills presented to Obigas family  $517,764 from St. Boniface Hospital , $1,405.55 from Victoria, $28,254 from Grace Hospital and $2,872.52 for doctors appointments and treatment  is "ridiculous."

The young mans single mother needs help raising the $20,000 to repatriate his remains to Kenya. The advocate helped her obtain a visa so she could get to Winnipeg to be at her sons bedside before he died.

Brett Carter, who helped raise money for Lugalambis medical expenses, said he cant understand why the province cut a vital program thats resulting in so much misery.

"Health coverage is the least we could do to help international students contribute to our province and country in a meaningful way," Carter said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Ukrainian children fleeing war will receive copies of a local childrens book that teaches them how to deal with trauma.

Ukrainian children fleeing war will receive copies of a local childrens book that teaches them how to deal with trauma.

The illustrated book, written and designed in Winnipeg, is called Big Feelings Come and Go. It has been translated into Ukrainian after Russias attack on the neighbouring country and is being distributed to families with young children who are escaping to Finland.

The childrens book teaches youth how to deal with trauma. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

The Winnipeg-based Canadian Centre for Child Protection teamed up with New Directions, a local non-profit youth and family services organization, to produce the book in 2018. The centre is partnering with Finnish child-protection agency Suojellaan Lapsia ry to give an initial run of 2,500 copies to Ukrainian children.

Developed by therapists, it explains the bodys fight, flight and freeze reactions to children as young as four. The book was originally meant to be used by local therapists to give children simple ways to cope when they are overwhelmed and scared.

It quickly became more popular with schools, non-profits and health agencies across Canada, with its cartoon animals that depict kid-friendly basics of deep breathing and mindfulness. The book was translated into 11 languages, including Russian. This is the first time its been translated for Ukrainian readers, said Noni Classen, director of education at the centre for child protection. It was one thing the centre could do to contribute to international aid.

"Weve seen the effectiveness of this book, of how many children it has helped cope through really traumatizing situations, and now weve got these kids having to live through the emotional burden of a war," she said. "We feel really honoured to be able to make this book available in some capacity, if theres something we can do to help them have some strategies for coping."

For kids in Manitoba who might be absorbing news of the war, Classen said its important for parents to make sure they provide age-appropriate information and share current events on a "need to know" basis. Children need to keep their daily routines and be reminded they are safe and comforted, she said.

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Despite best efforts, they might be inadvertently exposed to whats happening in the world.

"That can be very overwhelming, and they are unable to process that information. So, its important for families to check in with them to see how kids are making sense of the information, because they have incredible imaginations, and they can make things up in their heads (that) can often cause them a lot more anxiety," Classen said.

Parents and older family members need support, too, especially for the many Manitoba families who have relatives in Ukraine and direct ties to the conflict.

"Their parents also need people and professionals that they can reach out to, to be able to take care of themselves during this time, because its incredibly stressful and devastating," Classen said.

Big Feelings Come and Go is available at http://wfp.to/QlF.

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com
Manitobas health system is prepared to ramp up yet again should COVID-19 hospitalizations spike after public health measures were eliminated Tuesday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon promised.

Manitobas health system is prepared to ramp up yet again should COVID-19 hospitalizations spike after public health measures were eliminated Tuesday, Health Minister Audrey Gordon promised.

A seven-page document detailing the provinces COVID-19 health system recovery plan was published by Shared Health on Tuesday.

"While Manitoba moves into the next phase of pandemic management, with recommendations replacing requirements and public health restrictions, it is anticipated that COVID-19 activity will increase and hospital admissions and ICU admissions may also rise," the document states.

The plan says health system indicators, including surveillance testing, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions, are being "closely monitored to inform decisions in the event of a surge in COVID-19 activity."

The plan supports the incremental expansion of the provinces critical-care bed base, prioritizes staff for redeployment, facilitates the addition of medicine beds and notes inter-regional patient transfers will continue to maximize capacity.

"This is for scaling up or scaling back," Gordon told reporters when asked how the plan aligned with the governments decision to lift all public health orders. "Right now, we continue to decommission beds, we continue to demobilize staff back to their home programs.

"We will continue in that downward trend for the foreseeable future so long as the numbers continue to support that. The plan does not call for Manitoba to return to its pre-pandemic intensive-care unit bed base.

Rather, the province will staff 87 adult ICU beds and 23 cardiac ICU beds, which is an increase of 18 beds. As many as 120 nurses will be able to complete critical care nursing orientation programs annually to support the expanded bed base, the plan notes.

Significant expansion of critical-care beds will continue to be supported by redeploying staff. A five- to seven-day lead time is required to expand the bed base by six to 10 beds.

"Each phase will redeploy or reassign staff from an identified area, resulting in a corresponding decrease to activity and services as workforce shifts occur," the plan states. "Criteria have been clinically determined to establish appropriate prioritization and provincial standardization of services impacted and the sequence by which they are reduced."

In a news release issued late Tuesday, Gordon said all but 235 staff had returned to regular duties as of March 10 and surgical capacity is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels within the next month.

The final phase towards returning to pre-pandemic surgical volumes will depend on "operational readiness and ongoing monitoring of health system indicators," the plan states.

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Inter-regional patient transfers will continue and may increase as weather improves to address congestion and free up beds at higher-acuity hospitals.

"Planning is actively underway to determine the post pandemic medicine bed map as well as to align medicine capacity with the newly expanded ICU bed base. Staffing and resource requirements are being identified with recruitment and training requirements a core component of this planning work," the plan states.

NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara said the plan shows the health care system does not have the capacity to provide timely care close to home as restrictions are lifted.

"Thats a direct result of cuts made before the pandemic, its a direct result of poor decision making by this government during the pandemic, including on going cuts," Asagwara said. "A huge concern that I have is the ongoing crisis of staffing in our health care system, and how our health-care workers are going to be expected to continue to time and time again be working when theyre basically running on fumes."

As of early Tuesday, 410 people with COVID-19 were in hospital, including 18 in intensive care.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
The former commander and a handful of crew members from the navy frigate HMCS Winnipeg have finally been able to visit the city their ship was named after.

The former commander and a handful of crew members from the navy frigate HMCS Winnipeg have finally been able to visit the city their ship was named after.

The annual visit was cancelled the two previous years because of COVID-19 restrictions and scheduling conflicts. A 2020 visit wouldve feted the ships 25th anniversary, but the ship and crew will have to wait until the next milestone to celebrate.

Cmdr. Doug Layton said the visit was a whirlwind affair, with stops at city hall, the legislative building, the Winnipeg Art Gallery, naval reserve unit HMCS Chippawa and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights  and a Jets game Tuesday night.

"Its very, very nice, and very kind of them," Layton said of how he and his crew were treated during the trip, much of which Layton said was organized by former mayor Susan Thompson.

The trip came shortly after Layton officially handed over command of the HMCS Winnipeg to Cmdr. Annick Fortin. Laytons final journey as head of the ship was a four-month deployment in the Pacific Ocean. The mission had two objectives, he said.

"One of them was just to show commitment to all our allies and partners," Layton said.

Allies in the region included the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, he said. The ship also met up with a U.K. naval battle group of four or five ships, including a new aircraft carrier called Queen Elizabeth, which Layton said was unusual. The United Kingdom hasnt had much presence in the region for 30 or 40 years.

"The goal there is really to show presence and to show potential competitors in the world that we believe in the international rules-based order, and that were there to defend it," he said. "Were not taking any sides, but the seas are international, and anybody has a right to use it."

The second objective was to carry out Operation Neon, which is Canadas contribution to United Nations sanctions on North Korea. The ship monitored fuel and other commodities entering the country to ensure no one was violating embargoes.

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Layton said given the Russian invasion of Ukraine, ships such as the HMCS Winnipeg will be "extremely important" as Canada and its allies navigate a tumultuous situation. Two sister ships are currently in the Mediterranean working with NATO allies, ready to carry out whatever orders come in, he said.

"That could be rescuing refugees; that could be rescuing Canadian citizens that happened to be in the areas," Layton said.

Layton said the deployment had many interesting sights, including the Taiwan Strait  which he said was congested with fishing boats  and a powerful display of warships from the Peoples Republic of China.

The last couple years have been a challenge for the crew, he said. Worldwide COVID-19 protocols relegated sailors to the ship for most of its journeys. Crew held parties and other diversions more often to counteract the isolation, Layton said.

The HMCS Winnipeg had 256 crew members on its last voyage. The ship is one of 12 Halifax-class frigates built in an eight-year period, and Layton said its 27 years in service puts it at about two-thirds of its life expectancy. The first ship in the Royal Canadian Navys newest class, called Harry DeWolf-class, launched its maiden voyage in August 2021.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca
A Winnipeg man wanted in connection with an alleged child sex trafficking ring in the Philippines has abandoned a court motion that, if successful, would have forced Winnipeg police to return electronic devices seized during the execution of a search warrant.

A Winnipeg man wanted in connection with an alleged child sex trafficking ring in the Philippines has abandoned a court motion that, if successful, would have forced Winnipeg police to return electronic devices seized during the execution of a search warrant.

On Tuesday, CBC News was notified that Marshall Ruskin, 63, is no longer challenging a Winnipeg Police Service court application to retain his property.

To read more of this story first reported by CBC News, click here.

This content is made available to Free Press readers as part of an agreement with CBC that sees our two trusted news brands collaborate to better cover Manitoba. Questions about CBC content can be directed to talkback@cbc.ca.
AS provincial governments across Canada lift pandemic restrictions, a new poll shows Manitobans are the most uncomfortable with the pace of getting back to normal.

AS provincial governments across Canada lift pandemic restrictions, a new poll shows Manitobans are the most uncomfortable with the pace of getting back to "normal."

Some 44 per cent of Manitobans surveyed told the Angus-Reid Institute this month they feel the Tory government is dropping restrictions too quickly, compared with 36 per cent of Canadians overall.

On Tuesday, Manitoba scrapped its mask mandate and COVID-19 isolation requirements. The change comes two weeks after the province suspended requirements for proof of immunization to access public spaces.

Shortly after that change had taken place, between March 1 and 4, the non-partisan polling firm surveyed 2,550 Canadians, including 162 Manitobans, on how they feel about how provinces have managed the pandemic.

The responses suggest minority support for the recent removal of restrictions.

Among Manitoba respondents, 70 per cent supported requiring masks in indoor spaces and 61 per cent agree with requiring a proof of vaccination for restaurants and stores.

Both measures were less popular among supporters of the Conservative party, and significantly opposed by Peoples Party supporters.

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When asked about the removal of pandemic restrictions, 44 per cent of Manitobans said they felt it was occurring "too quickly" compared with 28 per cent who felt it was the right pace, and just as many who felt the opening was too slow.

That unease is reflected in negative feelings towards the PC premiers who have overseen the COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba.

An overwhelming 78 per cent of respondents said they felt their premiers had done a poor job of handling the pandemic over the past two years. Nationally, that sentiment is only held by 48 per cent of respondents, and is far less pronounced outside the Prairies.

Manitobans largely echoed national responses in their feelings toward how other officials have handled the pandemic.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had done a good job, according to just 46 per cent of Manitoba respondents. Canadas chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam garnered 53 per cent approval. Her Manitoba counterpart, Dr. Brent Roussin, had 51 per cent support.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Indigenous leaders in Winnipeg have a pitch to recruit more First Nations, Metis and Inuit people to become teachers so all students can see themselves represented at the front of their classrooms.

Indigenous leaders in Winnipeg have a pitch to recruit more First Nations, Metis and Inuit people to become teachers so all students can see themselves represented at the front of their classrooms.

The Winnipeg Indigenous Executive Circle will release a report today that outlines a severe under-representation of Indigenous educators in the city, the limited school division and university demographic data available, and a list of calls to action to address both.

"The current system isnt working," said Heather McCormick, chairwoman of the groups education committee, who co-authored the latest State of Equity in Education Report.

"On average, the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba combined graduate 35 Indigenous students per year. Based on that, it would take 20 years to develop enough (classroom representation)."

The 32-page report is the second of its kind. The group released the inaugural review  which is not unlike an education equity report card for K-12 and post-secondary learning institutions  in October 2020.

Drawing on 2013-14 provincial survey data, WIEC estimated in its 2020 report that in order for there to be an equitable and proportionate number of Indigenous teachers for the number of Indigenous students in Winnipeg, an additional 570 educators must be hired in public schools in city limits.

Those nearly decade-old figures indicate just under 17 per cent of the student population self-identified as Indigenous at the time.

McCormick, who is Metis, indicated the number of Indigenous students in Winnipeg is on the rise, a reality that adds to the urgency of addressing the issue of limited representation.

Sheniel Nasekapow, 18, described feeling "isolated" and "unwanted" when she was the only Indigenous student in her early high school career at John Taylor Collegiate.

Nasekapow recalled several uncomfortable situations when classroom discussions about residential schools and Indigenous culture led to her being put on the spot.

The high schooler said there was a shift when she transferred to Children of the Earth High School, which is where she met her first Indigenous teacher  an experience that made her want to become an educator.

"I want to teach younger students It would mean a lot to me if they saw an Indigenous teacher in the classroom, a young role model to them," added Nasekapow, who is enrolled in Build From Within, a teacher development program run by the Winnipeg School Division, University of Winnipeg, and Indspire Canada.

Members of WIEC acknowledge there are many initiatives that aim to graduate more Indigenous teachers, but the collective has a concrete proposal to scale up graduation numbers with a three-part plan.

The so-called Indigenous Teacher Education Strategy would first involve the creation of a one-year job training program with work placement experience and mentorship opportunities for 100 participants every year for five years to become "community teacher service workers."

The Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development would oversee this program and target Indigenous parents and adult learning centre participants interested in a career in education.

Community teacher service worker graduates would then be laddered into a new bachelor of education in Indigenous knowledges program operated by the Neeginan College of Applied Technology.

WIECs pitch is to secure federal funding for living allowances and tuition so participants can study full-time in the hopes the community college can graduate as many as 125 teachers over nine years.

As part of the strategy, Neeginan would launch a similarly-sized educational assistant laddering program to the new bachelor degree so there is a pathway for Indigenous school support staff to become teachers.

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The U of M, in addition to school divisions  including Louis Riel, River East Transcona and St. James-Assiniboia  have all indicated they plan to participate in a working group focused on increasing the number of Indigenous teachers, according to WIEC.

WIEC co-chairman Kendall Joiner said he is optimistic about the current momentum when it comes to the general population of Canada listening to Indigenous people and paying attention to issues that affect them, such as representation.

"Theres probably never been more of a time in history where weve had these windows in so many issues to produce Indigenous-held data, provide recommendations and get representation at the decision-making table, which hasnt been a thing for hundreds of years," said Joiner, a member of the Cheyenne Nation.

The collective is officially launching its new education equity report today.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
Proposed legislation would pave the way for e-scooters to hit roadways in Manitoba, after years of stalled efforts to launch micro-mobility services.

Proposed legislation would pave the way for e-scooters to hit roadways in Manitoba, after years of stalled efforts to launch micro-mobility services.

On Monday, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk introduced Bill 21, which would allow the government to approve pilot projects for dockless e-scooters, low-speed vehicles, and other micro-mobility devices currently prohibited on public right of ways.

"Expanding the use of low-emissions vehicles will help to reduce Manitobas greenhouse emissions," Piwniuk said. "These changes will allow devices like electric kick scooters, low-speed vehicles to be tested safely while ensuring Manitoba keeps pace with other jurisdictions that are already testing and allowing these devices."

Since early 2019, officials with the City of Winnipeg have been preparing for the arrival of dockless e-scooters, which have become popular in urban centres in Canada and Europe.

The e-scooters can be deployed on boulevards, in parks and plazas and rented through a smartphone application.

An administrative report from summer 2020 recommended the city ask the provincial government to approve a trial to operate on its transportation network.

At the time, a provincial spokesperson said the legislative framework to test e-scooters did not exist but could be considered in regulations under the Vehicle Technology Testing Act, which passed into law in May.

Ultimately, the Vehicle Technology Testing Act would only cover autonomous vehicles. Pilot project regulations for self-driving cars are still in development.

In a statement, Ryan Palmquist, executive assistant to public works chairman Coun. Matt Allard, said the proposed legislative changes are welcome news.

Allard was out of town Tuesday and unavailable for an interview, Palmquist said.

"At most recent communication, we understand the industry to still be interested in coming to Winnipeg with both scooter- and bike-share options," Palmquist said. "With these welcome (Highway Traffic Act) amendments from the province, we can now resume working with the public service to develop an appropriate bylaw to allow this new micro-mobility and mode-shift service in Winnipeg."

Chris Iuvancigh, general manager for Lime Canada, said the company is also open to exploring the possibility of bringing micro-mobility services to Winnipeg.

The company currently has a network of electric scooters, mopeds and e-bikes in more than 30 countries and four Canadian cities.

"Lime is glad to see more and more Canadian cities warming to micro-mobility as a way to build transportation systems that are more sustainable, affordable, and accessible to all," Iuvancigh said in a statement.

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Bill 21 would also allow municipalities to designate streets as "shared streets" for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and other users with speed limits of no more than 20 km/h.

Palmquist said an administrative report on the past two years of the citys open streets and enhanced bike route programs is expected in April. Last spring, pedestrians were told to stick to the sidewalk after taking to the streets in 2020, when some seasonal active transportation routes were opened to foot traffic.

Under the Highway Traffic Act, pedestrians are prohibited from walking on roadways where a reasonably passable sidewalk is present

"Its our hope that many of the more successful routes, particularly those which filled gaps and improved connectivity of our active transportation network, can return in their original shared use form from 2020 on a permanent basis," Palmquist said.

"We have already reached out to the public service for their take on how these amendments can strengthen this program."

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
WINKLER  It wasnt just the warmer weather putting smiles on diners faces at Del Rios restaurant Tuesday afternoon.

WINKLER  It wasnt just the warmer weather putting smiles on diners faces at Del Rios restaurant Tuesday afternoon.

For the first time in a long time, diners were permitted to mingle inside the restaurant without masks, after the province lifted the last of its pandemic public health orders Tuesday.

And customers and staff took full advantage; not one wore a face covering.

MALAK ABAS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The sign on the door at Del Rios restaurant in Winkler.

Helena Wall, who was having lunch at the Mexican restaurant, said she hopes the end of pandemic restrictions will help bridge the divide in the southern Manitoba community, where vaccination rates are among the lowest in the province.

"It feels like weve got some sort of freedom back, and thats amazing," she said. "Thats what weve been asking for."

Wall, who isnt vaccinated and has lost several family members to COVID-19, said she believes people who continue to wear masks are living in fear.

"That saddens me, and thats where the divide is, right? Now you will see the divide of people still believing," Wall said.

It feels like weve got some sort of freedom back, and thats amazing.  Helana Wall

A husband and wife, who didnt want to be named, said its time for the community to move on.

"Its a change of seasons," said the husband.

"Its great. Everyones happy, we were all chatting," added his wife.

Both contracted COVID-19 last year, calling it "no big deal."

"Most of this communitys gotten it, gotten past it, and I think are all better for it," the husband said.

At the Superstore in Winkler, only a handful of shoppers were masked.

Two employees who spoke to the Free Press said many customers didnt mask up while the mandate was in effect.

Most of this communitys gotten it, gotten past it, and I think are all better for it.  Husband

One of the workers was masked, while the other said shed regretted going without.

They believe the province moved too quickly in dropping the mandate.

However, they hope the removal of pandemic restrictions will put an end to some of the altercations between customers, staff and those handing out pandemic fines.

"Theres way less stress from customers, but I have the very firm opinion that everyones going to be sick by Easter," one said.

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At a nearby Tim Hortons, Nolan Turnbull ordered his coffee and snack while wearing a medical grade mask. He has followed public health orders since Day 1 of the pandemic and got vaccinated as soon as possible.

I just hope that people are able to be safe moving forward.  Nolan Turnbull

"I just hope that people are able to be safe moving forward," he said.

Turnbull, who works in health care, said his decision to wear a mask wasnt exactly embraced by some members of the community, but hell continue to wear it until he feels safe without it.

"When the mask mandates came around, there was certain businesses in certain areas where people would gawk at you and do whatever else for wearing one and thatll continue too, but I dont care," he said. "I care about other people."

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Winnipeg musician Chantal Kreviazuk said it felt like attending a vigil Tuesday, to sit in the House of Commons as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Parliament.

Winnipeg musician Chantal Kreviazuk said it felt like attending a vigil Tuesday, to sit in the House of Commons as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Parliament.

I wanted to be in the room because I know how the Ukrainian people have suffered and how theyve never given up on democracy, Kreviazuk told the Free Press. Sadly, and yet inspirationally, they are fighting for that value, for everybody right now.

MPs made a special trip to Ottawa from ridings across Canada to take in Tuesdays speech, despite Zelenskyy appearing virtually.

Kreviazuk flew in from her home in Toronto, saying it was important to show Ukrainians they have support from all sectors of Canadian society.

Feeling that history that we share in the room today was really comforting to me, Kreviazuk said, from the Ottawa airport.

Kreviazuk grew up in Manitoba with the stories of Ukrainian relatives who fled Stalins regime, which she said inspired her to join the United With Ukraine campaign, an effort by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to donate protective gear and medical supplies to the eastern European countrys military.

The campaign invited her to sit in the Commons for Tuesdays speech, which was packed with MPs, senators, Indigenous leaders, judges, ambassadors and artists.

Zelenskyy relayed the horrors Ukrainians have suffered through the ongoing Russian bombing of his country. He thanked Canada for its support, while pressing for more military intervention.

After the speech, Kreviazuk said she had a brief discussion with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom she refers to as a friend. She told him Canada needs to not just suffocate Russia economically, but to protect Ukraines airspace from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hes a junkie and he needs detox. He wants money and power; thats his justice  and thats what they need him to cut him off, she said.

Kreviazuk argued Ukraine could defeat Russia if it had adequate equipment, pointing to reports of thousands of Ukrainians abroad returning home to fight in the war. Ukrainians have a feisty soul. Theyve been through a lot, and its in the veins.

Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid said the speech had even more gravity than the handful of dignitaries hes seen address the Commons.

It was a very powerful and inspirational address that touched all of our hearts, said Duguid. The Liberal MPs great-grandparents immigrated from Ukraine, a country he has visited four times, including as an election observer.

I felt I had to be here to support president Zelenskyy, but also to support my community who are pressing our government to do more, said Duguid, arguing Canada could send more aid and weapons, while ramping up sanctions.

Duguid said Canada is lockstep with European and G7 nations in how it will respond to Zelenskyys demand for a no-fly zone.

The Ukrainian government argued Russia will expand its bombing campaign beyond Ukraine if its not stopped, but western leaders argue shooting down Russian planes could trigger a nuclear war.

In our hearts, we want to do more, but there are risks, Duguid said.

In a response to Zelenskyys speech, Conservative Leader Candice Bergen pleaded for a no-fly zone, at least for humanitarian corridors.

We must stand with Ukraine, it is not a choice, it is a moral duty, the MP for PortageLisgar told the House.

We need to protect, at a minimum, the air space over the humanitarian corridors, so that Ukrainians can seek safe passage away from the war zones, and to allow humanitarian relief to reach those areas under siege.

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Her Manitoba colleague James Bezan agreed, arguing the Russian regime will otherwise continue ratcheting up actions that amount to war crimes.

The MP for SelkirkInterlakeEastman cancelled constituency events and made a special trip to Ottawa. It was important for us as parliamentarians to be there en masse to show our support, Bezan said.

He praised Zelenskyy for asking people to imagine the events in Ukraine transpiring in major Canadian cities.

It made it very real for all of us, and it should impact the perspective we have as Canadians, who take our peace and security for granted, Bezan said.

His emotions and his message hit us all like he was standing in the chamber with us.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
AS a new Canadian, I was fortunate to have had the guidance and mentorship of many outstanding Canadian role models. They helped pave my integration into a new society and provided me with invaluable advice for my professional career.

Opinion

AS a new Canadian, I was fortunate to have had the guidance and mentorship of many outstanding Canadian role models. They helped pave my integration into a new society and provided me with invaluable advice for my professional career.

Theres an important lesson here for nation-building in Canada. Bringing immigrants to Canada is only half of a successful strategy to grow our workforce and population. The other half is making sure we have welcoming communities to facilitate their successful integration into the social, cultural and economic aspects of our civil society.

As a young man who left his old and celebrated country of Greece to live in a new country full of promise and potential, I was immediately struck by remarkable comparisons. I was leaving a country with limited economic potential and settling in a country with tremendous economic opportunity. I was also leaving a country that had invented democracy to embrace a country that was fully committed to practising democracy.

However, Canada was a different country, with a different language and a very different way of doing things.

Most immigrants are deeply aware of the challenges and hardships of moving to a new country. Thats when immigrants see the value and benefits of mentorship which offers a clear pathway toward their successful integration in new social and economic environments.

Having outstanding mentors was a foundational trajectory toward my social integration, supporting my first steps in Canada and directing my career to a successful outcome. Two of my early mentors stand out in my memory. The first was Joey Smallwood and the other was George Stanley. Both left an indelible imprint in my personal life and professional career.

As an international graduate student at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, the significance of being in the presence of Smallwood, the only living father of Confederation, was lost on me. But over time, I became more appreciative of this period being foundational in shaping my love for Canadian politics, informing my public speaking and teaching capabilities, and sharpening my understanding of Canadian public policy.

I spent many afternoons at the Newfoundland legislature, sitting in the legislatures public bleachers watching Smallwood in action. He was amazing: a seasoned Newfoundland politician who led his province to join the Canadian Confederation. At a professional level, Smallwood helped me take my first baby steps in Canadian public policy.

One of the takeaways from my exposure to Smallwood was his oratorial strategy to repeat important points three times, using different words and phrases. Its a tactic that I practise to the present day in my lectures, with much success.

Every February, when the anniversary of the Canadian flag is celebrated, my thoughts turn to my friend and mentor George Stanley, who designed the flag. Stanley served for many decades as a professor of history and dean at the Royal Military College in Kingston. Upon his retirement, he served as New Brunswicks 25th lieutenant-governor.

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During Stanleys tenure as lieutenant-governor, one of his official duties was to sign new legislation into law. In that capacity, he would drive deputy ministers crazy. Always the professor, he would carefully read the submitted legislative text. After that, he would circle inappropriate words with a red pen and suggest alternate sentence structures on the margins. Most of the legislative acts that reached his desk were returned to the responsible deputy minister awash in red ink and extensive corrections.

Stanley taught me the power of history. He was an eloquent advocate that history can explain the present and serve as an inspirational compass for the future. This was evident in his ceremonial uniform, his inspiring speeches, and how he defined his role as the Queens representative in New Brunswick.

Few new Canadians have had the honour and the privilege to have fallen in love with Canadian politics because they were inspired by the only living father of Confederation. And even fewer have experienced the thrill of shaking the hand of the man who designed the Canadian flag.

As a new Canadian, I was indeed fortunate to have been guided by the very best mentors and role models Canada had to offer.

Constantine Passaris is a professor of economics at the University of New Brunswick and a recipient of the Order of New Brunswick.

 Troy Media
Truth is always the first casualty of war. Propaganda and disinformation rank alongside smart weapons and dumb bombs as an essential tool of warfare today. Social media acts as a weaponized accelerant, modernizing the old adage that a lie will get halfway around the world before truth even gets its pants on.

Opinion

Truth is always the first casualty of war. Propaganda and disinformation rank alongside smart weapons and dumb bombs as an essential tool of warfare today. Social media acts as a weaponized accelerant, modernizing the old adage that a lie will get halfway around the world before truth even gets its pants on.

But wars create new truths. These are the "truths" we come to believe, as a consequence of conflict. Some require years to take root, congealing into a new historical narrative that shapes public opinion for generations. Others are more sudden, causing abrupt, consequential changes in public policy.

Russias invasion of Ukraine has spawned a new truth that Canada can and should replace Russian oil and gas in Europe with Canadian oil and gas. This obscures another truth: that burning more oil and gas anywhere will simply add to climate change. This collision of competing truths will make for even messier climate and energy policy in Canada, and in the world.

There are good reasons to wean Europe off Russian energy. Bankrolling Russian President Vladimir Putin and his oligarchs with petro-dollars is as distasteful as it is immoral. The rapid imposition of economic sanctions on Russia by Canada, the United States and the European Union is unprecedented. If there was ever an historical moment to act to shift energy demand away from authoritarian Russia to democratic Canada, it is now.

Advocating strongest for this step is Canadas petro-province, Alberta. And why shouldnt it? Awash in black gold once more with record rises in oil and gas prices, Alberta would reap (with Canada) a massive "war dividend" from selling liquefied natural gas (LNG) to European customers and oil to the U.S.

It is why Premier Jason Kenney hastened to Texas the other week to tout Alberta as a secure replacement for "dictator oil." He pressed for the resurrection of the Keystone XL pipeline to the United States by the Biden administration and the Energy East pipeline to Atlantic Canada by the Trudeau government.

None of this is poised to happen. Trans Canada itself dismissed the notion of restarting its Keystone pipeline, while Energy East continues to have no political purchase within either Ottawa or Quebec City, which hold the regulatory and political keys to it moving ahead.

Better news for Alberta is that the Trans Mountain pipeline to the British Columbia coast is still alive, bankrolled by Canadian taxpayers. It will give Alberta oil access to new tidewater markets in Asia and Europe, rather than being forced to sell at a discount in its traditional U.S. market simply because all the pipelines go north-south.

Its not even clear Europe wants our energy, even if we could get it to them. Earlier this month, the International Energy Agency released a "Ten Point Plan to Reduce the European Unions Reliance on Russian Natural Gas." The word "Canada" is not mentioned once.

This does not sound like a continent ready and willing to embrace Canadian fossil fuel, no matter what label we put on it.

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This energy truth is conditioned by a climate-change truth. Just days after Russian warred against Ukraine, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its sixth scientific assessment report on climate impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. It does not make for comfortable reading.

Right now, the world is on track to reach an increase of 2.7 degrees C by the end of the century, not the 1.5 degrees C target we need to stay below to avoid catastrophic climate change.

Climate changes truth will have to compete with a newly emboldened energy-security truth. And vice versa. The clear and present danger of Russia to the international security order constitutes an emerging danger to the global climate order. Russia, the worlds fourth-largest country emitter, remains friendly to, even aligned with, China, the No. 1 emitter and India, the No. 3 emitter. That means tough sledding ahead to rally ongoing global climate action.

At the height of the Cold War, president John F. Kennedy decried the danger of nuclear weapons to humanity in his famous 1963 peace speech  words that take on new meaning today. He said: " our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our childrens future. And we are all mortal."

Mutually assured destruction (MAD) from nuclear weapons was the Cold Wars deterrence totem. How ironic, in the days of "hot peace" to come, if MAD remerges for a whole other reason.

David McLaughlin was Clerk of the Executive Council in the government of Manitoba in 2020-21. He was campaign manager for the PC Party of Manitoba in the 2016 and 2019 elections.
IM staring out my window into a snow drift almost to the eaves. Near-record accumulation and continued freezing temperatures are raising fears of widespread spring flooding, something we havent experienced in several years. Rather, weve lately become more familiar with the unpredictable flooding caused by extreme rain events.

Opinion

IM staring out my window into a snow drift almost to the eaves. Near-record accumulation and continued freezing temperatures are raising fears of widespread spring flooding, something we havent experienced in several years. Rather, weve lately become more familiar with the unpredictable flooding caused by extreme rain events.

Thats the bad news. But last summers widespread drought severely depleted soil moisture, which means theres a very large capacity to absorb excess runoff; and another dry spring could have spelled disaster for farmers. The good news is, with a gradual thaw and not much spring rain, our farmers could be in good shape heading into the growing season.

The U.S. National Weather Service has already forecast a two-thirds probability of flooding at the international boundary, while our own provincial forecasters  we have no national flood forecasting system in Canada  have issued an early alert of a risk of flooding in most southern Manitoba watersheds.

In other words, its too early to tell. What we can say is that most record snow seasons have not resulted in historic floods; that temperature and rain/snowfall during the pivotal mid-March to mid-April period are still critical determinants that can turn a huge snowpack into a gradual runoff or a modest one into severe flooding.

Although there are some benefits to be had with a national forecasting network  and this may be one of the deliverables of the long-promised and yet to be seen Canada Water Agency  we are well served by our local flood forecasting team. Stay tuned; they will keep us and the provinces flood response machinery well informed as spring unfolds.

We are talking about the next two months, the short term. We can, in preparing for the worst, take measures to protect property. We can utilize existing works, such as the Winnipeg floodway, the Portage Diversion, the Shellmouth dam and reservoir and community ring dikes, to minimize damage to community, residential and commercial property.

These works are somewhat flexible. We can control the timing of water movement; we can raise the height of dikes; we can even in extreme circumstances divert water onto agricultural land.

On the agricultural landscape, however, we are pretty much reliant on a fixed and largely inflexible water-management system, designed piecemeal to meet the conditions of the stable hydrologic regime of the first half of the last century. Climate change has rendered that regime unstable. Extreme events are becoming more intense and more frequent. Instability is accelerating as we continue on an almost-certain trajectory toward a global temperature increase of at least three degrees C.

We tend to think of agriculture as just another sector of our economy. Surely world events, climate-related and geopolitical, ought to be shaking that complacency. Prairie agriculture is a national treasure; in an uncertain world, Canada should be striving to render its food supply as self-sufficient as possible.

Of the four environmental inputs to agriculture  water, temperature, soil and nutrients  temperature and water will be dramatically impacted as climate changes. At least at the local level  we may be forced into planetary engineering schemes  we can do nothing about ambient temperature; but theres a great deal we can do about water.

We can construct and manage works to move water off the landscape, or retain it there; move water from where its abundant to where its scarce; and apply it in a controlled manner to crops. To one degree or another, we do these things now. We have a water-management system in agro-Manitoba. Were this, say, 1970, we would probably be content to leave it pretty much as is.

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But its not 1970. Late spring and early summer rain-induced flooding over the last couple of decades has revealed just how vulnerable is our drainage network to extreme events. Last summers drought demonstrated the need for water storage and enhanced infrastructure to apply water to crops.

But weve also seen the perils of simply dumping water downstream, as demonstrated by the devastation visited on several First Nations communities. We now know that without wetland storage we have little chance of arresting the deterioration of Lake Winnipeg.

The transformation of Manitobas agricultural water-management system to meet these challenges will take careful planning and design, time and money. It can be done without environmental carnage, but not without impact. But we are talking about managing an already managed environment.

Only two of Manitobas eight major watersheds  both in the remote North  are without hydrologic controls. All of agro-Manitoba is a created environment, but still natural in that it is governed by the laws of nature.

At any rate, none of this will happen without taking a first step. It seems certain, whatever the pace of melt, that there will be much water on the landscape. Lets seize the opportunity to take that first step, and measure and document the performance of the water-management network as one major (and ongoing) input to system redesign, because in order to change the system, you need to know whats there now and how it is performing.

Norman Brandson was deputy minister of the former Manitoba departments of environment, water stewardship and conservation from 1990 to 2006.
Opinion

Just after noon Tuesday, the food court at Polo Park mall is buzzing.

Although it is the day the public health indoor mask mandate lifts in Manitoba, the vast majority of shoppers  nine out of every 10, at least  are still wearing one.

Its not too surprising: most people, it seems, are inclined to step out of the COVID-19 pandemic cautiously.

After lunch, I take a stroll. Somewhere past the escalators, I tug my mask below my chin, testing what its like to be indoors and bare-faced again.

Even though nobody else is near, it feels strange. After a few seconds, I put it back: content, for the moment, to stick to the former status quo.

In a tweet Tuesday, chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin encouraged Manitobans to be kind to each other, as the end of most COVID-19 restrictions may be stressful to some people, more than others.

Some, he added, may keep wearing masks based on preference or an assessment of their own personal risk.

Throughout the weeks leading up to Tuesday, Id heard much the same.

Some people wrote about how they just arent ready. Some businesses wrote, out of respect to their staff and customers, they would keep mask rules in place. These are kind decisions: some have good reason to fear COVID-19 for themselves or those they love.

For myself, those concerns are not a factor.

Between my age, vaccinations and general good health, Ive never been too afraid of catching the novel coronavirus. On the other hand, if keeping my mask on for a little longer helps bring reassurance and perhaps some protection to those who are most at risk, then count me in for wearing one. Its no big imposition on me.

Yet, theres another reason why, as I wandered the Winnipeg shopping centre, I found myself reluctant to take off my mask.

Its something deeper, more habitual: after nearly a year-and-a-half becoming accustomed to wearing one in certain contexts, going without leaves me feeling exposed in ways that, at least at this juncture, no longer feel natural or free.

Among other things, the pandemic has offered curious lessons in how the ways we know how to be in the world can change.

I remember the first time I tried to wear a mask: it was several years ago, during a trip to Japan. In Kyoto, I caught the mother of all rhinoviruses, a gruesome cold. By the third day, although it had not fully abated, I decided to venture out.

In Japan, it has long been common to wear a face mask when feeling ill, a practice rooted in basic consideration of simply trying to stop your germs from reaching someone else. Knowing this, I bought a pack of surgical masks from a convenience store, and slipped one over my nose as I walked towards a train station.

It felt strange. Although I was in a place where the sight of people wearing masks was utterly mundane, I still felt uncomfortably self-conscious. Within minutes, Id slipped the mask off, noting with interest that, as it turns out, my own cultural training insofar as how we present ourselves in public was far too powerful to undo in a single day.

I rode the train maskless, sniffling back my runny nose and catching the side-eyes from disapproving grandmothers in nearby seats. I was aware I was fulfilling a stereotype of the inconsiderate foreigner; but every time I thought about putting a mask on, it still felt too conspicuous and just too strange.

In the long months Canada was a mask-wearing nation, my tolerance shifted. They became like a second skin, as well as a privacy veil that suited my introverted tendencies and a useful layer of warmth in winter.

Now, I think back to Kyoto and I realize my relationship to masks has become almost the exact opposite of what it was. It may have taken months, but I am now accustomed to wearing them, as I am to any other item of clothing considered appropriate in public; it will take time to wish to be without.

(A side note: it has also become strange, just over two years ago, we considered it normal to be out in the world and interacting with people with visible cold symptoms. Even if widespread mask use does fade away, can we at least consider normalizing them for when one feels sick?)

Theres one more factor, in why I  and I suspect others  were reluctant Tuesday to remove our masks. It has to do with how bitterly the COVID-19 pandemics information wars were waged, and how masks became the battle lines of a much larger cultural and political division.

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At some point, amidst the aggressive protests, maskless mobs, businesses which loudly refused to follow public health orders, and increasingly wild internet claims about the harms of mask wearing, these scraps of cloth or paper became something other than just a minor concession to manage the spread of a deadly virus.

They became a symbol, a tacit statement of where one stood on the pandemic itself, and also on which sources of information one trusted. Consider Roussins urging to be kind to people who still wear masks; consider the incidents in which people wearing masks were harassed by those opposed to mandates.

Those incidents certainly undercut the personal choice rhetoric; clearly, the issue is more loaded than simply that.

So it may be, at this point, the need for orders mandating mask use has passed; we can return to a society that largely lives without them without risking the health-care system.

But those bitter divisions remain. And as I walked through the mall I thought: there will come a time when Ill do this unmasked. It does not need to be on the first day.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
While many Winnipeggers appeared to take a cautious approach as Manitobas last remaining COVID-19 restrictions ended Tuesday, some who happily took off their face masks welcomed the so-called new normal.

While many Winnipeggers appeared to take a cautious approach as Manitobas last remaining COVID-19 restrictions ended Tuesday, some who happily took off their face masks welcomed the so-called "new normal."

The indoor mask mandate, the self-isolation requirement for people who test positive and northern Manitoba travel restrictions were scrapped weeks after the province ditched vaccine cards, capacity limits and other rules aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.

Winkler residents celebrate getting freedom back MALAL ABAS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS At a nearby Tim Hortons, Nolan Turnbull ordered his coffee and snack while wearing a medical grade mask. He has followed public health orders since Day 1 of the pandemic and got vaccinated as soon as possible. Posted: 7:00 PM Mar. 15, 2022 WINKLER  It wasnt just the warmer weather putting smiles on diners faces at Del Rios restaurant Tuesday afternoon. For the first time in a long time, diners were permitted to mingle inside the restaurant without masks, after the province lifted the last of its pandemic public health orders Tuesday. Read Full Story

Masked shoppers outnumbered the unmasked at city businesses visited by the Free Press, as Manitoba became free of public-health orders despite the concerns raised by doctors and immunocompromised people.

Even though restrictions have ended, Whodunit Mystery Bookstore (163 Lilac St.) is requiring all staff and customers to wear masks.

"We are not, for the foreseeable future, having anybody without a mask in our store," said owner Wendy Bumstead. "We dont want people to become infected."

Bumstead said the store may lift the rule when Manitobas infection rate is lower.

MasksMB.com lists businesses requiring customers and staff to cover their faces. As of Tuesday afternoon there were more than 20 names on the list, said Winnipegger Kerri MacKay, who runs the website.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Phil Klein, the owner of Bagelsmith, 185 Carlton Street, is recommending customers still wear masks.

Although masks are now optional for customers at Bagelsmith Winnipeg (185 Carlton St.), owner Phil Klein and his staff will continue to wear them.

"I just figured this was the path of least resistance," said Klein, adding enforcing the mandate was an exhausting challenge for staff.

When a previous provincial mandate ended in August, Klein decided to maintain a mandatory mask policy. Before long, he was getting hate-filled emails and social media messages.

Hes taking a different approach this time after gauging what other businesses were planning to do and considering the vaccination rate, which is much higher than it was last summer.

Within a few hours of opening Tuesday, every customer who walked into the shop had a mask on. But Klein expects to see more maskless customers in the weeks ahead.

"I imagine it will take some time before people feel comfortable removing them," he said.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Heather Smith (right) at Polo Park Tuesday, the first day the mask mandates were been removed.

Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said he expects a 50-50 split when it comes to businesses with some sort of mask policy for customers and/or employees.

He urged Manitobans to be respectful of each other.

At CF Polo Park, shopper Melody Myers, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2020, was among those who went maskless.

"Now that Im alive and cancer-free, Im going to celebrate every second of it, including not wearing a mask," she said. "They dont seem to be all that bothered by (me) not wearing a mask. I think it makes people feel a little bit normal."

Myers is happy to have the ability to choose whether to wear a mask. She hopes Manitobans will continue to take precautions such as hand-washing or staying home when they feel ill now that the mandate, which was reimposed Sept. 3, is gone.

Carrying multiple shopping bags and wearing a winter jacket, Kristen Schultz said she took her mask off because she was feeling hot. At times, she was wearing it around her chin.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Melody Myers wore red lipstick to Polo Park on Tuesday.

"I went into one store and the employee stepped back, so I thought, OK, Ill put it up," said Schultz. "Ultimately, if you want to wear it, wear it. If you dont, dont. Im thankful its back in the hands of people to make the decision for themselves."

Cora Hanson, who took her mask off to sip from a drink while shopping with her husband, Logan, two-year-old son Kayden and one-year-old daughter Amelia, said she will continue to wear a mask in crowded places.

Seeing shoppers faces and a restriction-free CF Polo Park was, to say the least, an unusual experience.

"Its like a flashback," Hanson said. "Everything looks like it did before the pandemic."

Illona Cicansky went maskless as she strolled through the mall with her husband, Bill, who was wearing one. The Winkler couple didnt know what to expect when they arrived.

"I have a bit of a lung condition, and I dont breathe real well (with one)," said Illona.

JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Bill and Illona Cicansky shopping at Polo Park Tuesday.

Bill, a Baptist pastor, said he has no problem if people dont wear a mask.

"Thats their choice," he said.

Most shoppers emerging from the Real Canadian Superstore at Sargent Avenue and St. James Street had masks on, including health-care worker Myra Rosario, who said she has no way of knowing if the person next to her is vaccinated or infected with the virus.

"I will not take my mask off," she said.

While optional in most retail settings, masks continue to be mandatory at hospitals, doctors offices and other health-care facilities in the province. They are optional at city facilities.

Winnipeg Transit riders arent required to wear masks, but face coverings are still mandatory for drivers and other city employees.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 president Romeo Ignacio expected pushback the majority of bus drivers who want the option to take off their masks.

Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 president Romeo Ignacio expected pushback the majority of bus drivers who want the option to take off their masks.

He said at least three union members were sent home after refusing to wear one on the job Tuesday.

Ignacio said the policy is "unreasonable," and the union is considering filing a grievance amid ongoing talks with management.

A Winnipeg Transit spokeswoman said a "very small number" of employees decided not to comply with the city mandate and chose to go home rather than put on a mask.

At the Manitoba legislature, members of the Progressive Conservative government largely ditched their face coverings in the chamber Tuesday.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Premier Heather Stefanson did not wear a mask during question period Tuesday.

During question period, just five of the assembled Tory MLAs wore masks: Kildonan-River East MLA Cathy Cox, Families Minister Rochelle Squires, Natural Resources and Northern Development Minister Scott Fielding, Labour Minister Reg Helwer and McPhillips MLA Shannon Martin.

Most New Democrats in the chamber wore masks, as did the three Liberal MLAs in the house.

Prior to Tuesday, MLAs were required to wear face coverings while moving around the chamber and through the Legislative Building but could remove them while seated at their desks.

Outside the chamber, it was a mixed bag, as clerks and pages continued to cover up in the chamber and some security staff did not.

Media working in the building continued to cover their faces.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Health Minister Audrey Gordon said going forward she will don a mask based on a personal risk assessment, as recommended by chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon said going forward she will don a mask based on a personal risk assessment, as recommended by chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin.

"Today in the legislature and in the chamber I have not worn one because Ive assessed my risk level to be low and I will continue to do that in all the environments that I visit or that Im present at," Gordon said.

 With files from Danielle Da Silva

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded in mid-air in an apparent failed launch on Wednesday, South Koreas military said, amid speculation that the North could soon launch its biggest long-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends at a meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 28, 2022. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  A North Korean missile fired from its capital region exploded in mid-air in an apparent failed launch on Wednesday, South Koreas military said, amid speculation that the North could soon launch its biggest long-range missile in its most significant provocation in years.

Details of the missile explosion weren't immediately known. But the launch, the 10th of its kind this year, shows North Korea is determined to press ahead on its push to modernize its weapons arsenal and pressure its rivals into making concessions amid dormant denuclearization talks.

The North Korean missile blew up while it was flying at an altitude of about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), a South Korean military official said requesting anonymity because he wasn't publicly authorized to speak to media on the issue. He said the cause of the explosion wasn't known.

South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff earlier said in a statement that the launch made from the Pyongyang region around 9:30 a.m. apparently failed. It said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were analyzing details of the launch.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command later said that North Korea fired a ballistic missile but didnt say whether it was a failed launch. A command statement said the launch didnt pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory and its allies but called on North Korea to refrain from further destabilizing acts.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that a flight of a ballistic missile has not been confirmed and that Tokyo is working with Washington and Seoul to further analyze what happened.

People watch a TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea's missile with file footage, at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. North Korea's latest weapons launch on Wednesday apparently ended in failure, South Korea' military said, amid speculation that the North could soon launch its biggest long-range missile in its most significant provocation in years. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Experts say past failures still have moved North Korea closer to its goal of acquiring a viable nuclear arsenal that could threaten the American homeland. Of eight "Musudan" intermediate-range missiles tests in 2016, only one of those launches was seen by outside analysts as successful, which led to debates of whether North Koreas path toward ICBMs had been cut off.

However, the North in 2017 flew more powerful intermediate-range missiles over Japan and conducted three successful test-flights of ICBMs that demonstrated a potential range to strike deep into the U.S. mainland.

North Koreas successful satellite launches in 2012 and 2016  which were viewed by the U.N. as disguised tests of its long-range missile technology  also followed repeated failures.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries said last week that North Korea had tested an ICBM system in two recent launches, referring to the developmental Hwasong-17 missile that North Korea unveiled during a military parade in October 2020.

In the two recent launches on Feb. 27 and March 5, the North Korean missiles flew medium-range distances, and experts have said North Korea could eventually perform a full-range ICBM test.

The North has said it tested cameras and other systems for a spy satellite and released what it said were photos taken from space during one of the two tests, but it didnt confirm what rocket or missile it launched.

Observers say North Korea aims to boost its ICBM capability while trying to place its first functioning spy satellite into orbit. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to acquire an improved ICBM and a spy satellite among an array of sophisticated weapons systems he says his country needs to cope with what he calls American hostility.

The Hwasong-17 is North Koreas biggest missile, which could potentially fly up to 15,000 kilometers (9,320 miles), far enough to strike anywhere in the U.S. and beyond. The 25-meter (82-foot) missile, which was shown again at a defense exhibition in Pyongyang last year, has yet to be test-launched.

The three ICBMs that North Korea tested in 2017 were the Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15. Some analysts say developing a larger missile could mean the country is trying to arm its long-range weapons with multiple warheads to overcome missile defense systems.

If North Korea makes a new ICBM launch, it would be its highest-profile weapons tests since its third and last ICBM launch in November 2017.

North Korea will likely call its potential new ICBM test a rocket launch to place a reconnaissance satellite in space, not a weapons test. That could invite condemnation but likely no fresh U.N. sanctions, some analysts say, since Russia and China wield vetoes on the Security Council and would oppose it.

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Other North Korean missiles tested this year were mostly shorter-range, nuclear-capable weapons which place South Korea and Japan, both key U.S. allies, within striking distance. In January alone, North Korea carried out seven rounds of missile tests, a record number of monthly tests since Kim took power in late 2011.

U.S.-led diplomacy aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program collapsed in 2019 due to wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on the North. Washington has urged North Korea to return to talks without any preconditions, but Pyongyang has rejected such overtures saying the United States must first withdraw its hostile policies.

In January, North Korea hinted at lifting its 4-year moratorium on ICBM and nuclear tests. South Koreas Defense Ministry said Friday it detected signs that North Korea likely is restoring some of the tunnels at its nuclear testing site that it detonated ahead of the now-dormant nuclear diplomacy.

The U.S. Treasury Department last week announced new sanctions against three Russian-based entities that aided ongoing development of North Koreas military capabilities and two individuals tied to those companies. The sanctions block access to any U.S. assets held by them.

__

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
LONDON (AP)  Two British citizens who had been jailed in Iran for more than five years  charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori  returned home to their families' hugs and tears Thursday after the U.K. settled a decades-old debt to Iran.

FILE - Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detained charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, holds her photo outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London, on Nov. 9, 2021. Iranian authorities have returned the passport of a U.K. charity worker who has been detained for more than five years, raising hopes that she could be released. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

LONDON (AP)  Two British citizens who had been jailed in Iran for more than five years  charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori  returned home to their families' hugs and tears Thursday after the U.K. settled a decades-old debt to Iran.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugged her 7-year-old daughter, and her husband and members of Ashoori's family tearfully embraced one another after the two arrived via a government-chartered aircraft at the Brize Norton air force base in Oxfordshire in the early morning hours.

FILE - Handout file taken on March 17, 2020 of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. British lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said Wednesday March 16, 2022 that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran for nearly six years, is on her way to Tehrans airport to leave the country. (Free Nazanin Campaign via AP)

The British government said a third detainee, Morad Tahbaz, who holds U.S., British and Iranian citizenship, was released from prison on furlough as part of the same deal.

The breakthrough was reached as world leaders try to negotiate the return of both Iran and the U.S. to an international agreement designed to limit Tehrans nuclear enrichment program  talks that have been complicated by the prisoner issue. Negotiators have edged closer to a roadmap for restoring the accord, though recent Russian demands slowed progress.

Looking forward to a new life, said Richard Ratcliffe, who had worked tirelessly for his wifes release. You cant get back the time thats gone. Thats a fact. But we live in the future.

FILE - Undated handout file of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, with her daughter Gabriella. British lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said Wednesday March 16, 2022 that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran for nearly six years, is on her way to Tehrans airport to leave the country. (Free Nazanin Campaign via AP)

The release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori came as the U.S., Britain and other countries seek to secure the release of dozens of dual nationals detained by Iran, which doesnt recognize their right to hold citizenship in another country. Family members and human rights activists accuse Iran of arresting the dual nationals on trumped up charges to squeeze concessions out of Western nations.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told lawmakers that the change of government in Iran last summer had been instrumental in moving the talks forward. President Ebrahim Raisi is a hard-line protege of Irans supreme leader known for his hostility to the West.

I was able  to reset the relationship, to be clear that we were serious about resolving the outstanding issues that Iran had, and they were clear they were serious about resolving the outstanding issues we had, Truss said in the House of Commons.

FILE - Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and their seven year old daughter Gabriella pose for the media in Parliament Square, London, to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. British lawmaker, Tulip Siddiq, said Wednesday March 16, 2022 that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been detained in Iran for nearly six years, is on her way to Tehran's airport to leave the country. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

Extensive diplomacy secured the release of the dual nationals and led to agreement to repay the debt in a way that complies with U.K. and international sanctions. Britain agreed to pay Iran 393.8 million pounds ($515.5 million), which will be ring-fenced so the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes. The British government declined to offer details of the arrangement.

While the British government has refused to acknowledge a link between the debt and the detention of the dual nationals, Zaghari-Ratcliffes husband has been outspoken in arguing that Iran was holding her hostage to force Britain to pay.

The debt has been a sticking point in British-Iranian relations for more than 40 years.

Richard Ratcliffe, with his daughter Gabriella, pose for the media outside of their home ahead of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's return, in London, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British charity worker who has been detained in Iran for almost six years, is flying home from Tehran after the U.K. government settled a decades-old debt to Iran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and another dual national, Anoush Ashoori, who was detained in Tehran in 2017, boarded a plane from Tehrans Mehrabad International Airport after the deal was struck. (PA via AP)

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the U.K. canceled an agreement with the late Shah of Iran to sell the country more than 1,500 Chieftain tanks. Since the shahs government had paid in advance, the new Iranian government demanded repayment for the tanks that were never delivered. The two countries have haggled over the debt ever since.

Hope for a deal had been growing since Tuesday, when the member of Parliament who represents Zaghari-Ratcliffes neighborhood in London announced that Iranian authorities had returned her passport.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was taken into custody at Tehrans airport in April 2016 as she was returning home to Britain after visiting family in Iran. She was employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, but she was on vacation at the time of her arrest.

Richard Ratcliffe, left, poses for a photo with his daughter Gabriella, outside the Houses of Parliament in London, ahead of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's return, in London, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British charity worker who has been detained in Iran for almost six years, is flying home from Tehran after the U.K. government settled a decades-old debt to Iran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and another dual national, Anoush Ashoori, who was detained in Tehran in 2017, boarded a plane from Tehrans Mehrabad International Airport after the deal was struck. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was sentenced to five years in prison after she was convicted of plotting the overthrow of Irans government, a charge that she, her supporters and rights groups deny. She had been under house arrest at her parents home in Tehran for the last two years.

Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said his organization was overjoyed that Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been freed.

No one can begin to imagine what Nazanin has endured throughout the past tortuous six years; denied her freedoms, separated from her husband and young child, battling significant illness, thrown in solitary confinement, Zappulla said in a statement. An innocent victim of an international dispute, Nazanin has been one of many used as political pawns. Her treatment has been utterly inhumane.

Richard Ratcliffe, speaks to the media, outside the Houses of Parliament in London, ahead of his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's return, in London, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British charity worker who has been detained in Iran for almost six years, is flying home from Tehran after the U.K. government settled a decades-old debt to Iran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe and another dual national, Anoush Ashoori, who was detained in Tehran in 2017, boarded a plane from Tehrans Mehrabad International Airport after the deal was struck. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Ashoori was detained in Tehran in August 2017. He had been sentenced to 12 years in prison for alleged ties to Israels Mossad intelligence agency, something long denied by his supporters and family.

Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent, was caught in a dragnet targeting environmental activists while visiting Iran in January 2018. The 66-year-old served on the board of the Persian Heritage Wildlife Association, a prominent conservation group in Iran.

Iran convicted Tahbaz, along with seven other environmentalists including his colleagues, on charges of spying for the U.S. He was sentenced to 10 years and taken to Evin Prison.

The plane carrying Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori, who were freed from Iran, lands at RAF Brize Norton in Brize Norton, England Thursday, March 17, 2022. The charity worker and retired civil engineer had been released Wednesday after the U.K. government settled a decades-old debt to Iran. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

Truss tweeted she was delighted with the release of Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Ashoori and said the British government would continue to work for Tahbaz's freedom. Pleased Morad Tahbaz has been released on furlough and is reunited with his family in Iran, but this is far from sufficient. We will continue to work intensively to secure his departure from Iran," she tweeted.

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In France, the family of a French tourist jailed in Iran since May 2020 welcomed the release and urged French authorities to accomplish without delay what British authorities achieved.

Benjamin Briere was arrested after taking pictures in a desert area where photography is prohibited, and asking questions on social media about Irans obligatory Islamic headscarf for women. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on what his lawyer said are trumped-up espionage and propaganda charges. He started a hunger strike in December.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was freed from Iran, arrives at RAF Brize Norton in Brize Norton, England Thursday, March 17, 2022. Two British citizens who had been jailed in Iran for more than five years, charity worker Zaghari-Ratcliffe and retired civil engineer Anoosheh Ashoori, returned to British soil Thursday morning after the U.K. settled a decades-old debt to Iran. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

Wednesday's release comes as negotiators in Vienna say they have nearly finalized a roadmap for both the U.S. and Iran to rejoin Tehrans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, sparking years of tensions across the wider Mideast as the Islamic Republic enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.

Those negotiations were disrupted last week by a Russian demand that Moscow not be affected by Western sanctions over its war on Ukraine. It remains unclear when theyll resume in Vienna.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press reporters Amir Vahdat in Tehran; Isabel DeBre in Dubai; Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui in London; and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terror attacks Wednesday in an impassioned video plea to Congress to send more help for Ukraines fight against Russia. Lawmakers stood and cheered, and President Joe Biden later announced the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons and drones.

In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook Tuesday, March 15, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summoned the memory of Pearl Harbor and the Sept. 11 terror attacks Wednesday in an impassioned video plea to Congress to send more help for Ukraines fight against Russia. Lawmakers stood and cheered, and President Joe Biden later announced the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons and drones.

Biden also declared Russian President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal, the day after the Senate unanimously asked an international investigation of Putin for war crimes in Ukraine.

In a moment of high drama at the Capitol, Zelenskyy livestreamed his speech to a rapt audience of lawmakers on a giant screen, acknowledging from the start that the no-fly zone he has repeatedly sought to close the sky to airstrikes on his country may not happen. Biden has resisted that, as well as approval for the U.S. or NATO to send MiG fighter jets from Poland as risking wider war with nuclear-armed Putin.

Instead, Zelenskyy pleaded for other military aid and more drastic economic sanctions to stop the Russian assault with the fate of his country at stake.

Wearing his now trademark army green T-shirt, Zelinskyy began the remarks to Americans, friends by invoking the destruction the U.S. suffered in 1941 when Japan bombed the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, and the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by militants who commandeered passenger airplanes to crash into the symbols of Western democracy and economy.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, and others arrive to hear Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak to the U.S. Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

Remember Pearl Harbor? ... Remember September 11? Zelenzkyy asked. Our countries experience the same every day right now.

Biden, who said he listened to Zelenskyy's speech at the White House, did not directly respond the the criticism that the U.S. should be doing more for the Ukrainians. But he said, We are united in our abhorrence of Putins depraved onslaught, and were going to continue to have their backs as they fight for their freedom, their democracy, their very survival.

Later, leaving an unrelated event, he declared of Putin: Hes a war criminal."  the sharpest condemnation yet of Putin and Russian actions by a U.S. official since the invasion of Ukraine.

The U. S. Capitol is seen at sunrise in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will virtually address the U.S. Congress Wednesday morning. ( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

While other world leaders have used the words, the White House had been hesitant, saying it was a legal term that required research.

Biden noted that Russia had bombed hospitals and held doctors hostage.

At the White Hose, Biden described new help he was already prepared to announce before Zelenskyy's speech. He said the U.S. will be sending an additional $800 million in military assistance, making a total of $2 billion in such aid ince he took office more than a year ago. About $1 billion in aid has been sent in the past week. Biden said the new assistance includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 100 grenade launchers, 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launchers and mortar rounds and an unspecified number of drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, Pool)

Were going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead," Biden said.

Zelenskyy, in his Capitol livestream from Kyiv, showed the packed auditorium of lawmakers a graphic video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war, along with heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.

We need you right now, Zelenskyy said. "I call on you to do more.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., walks with Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova, left, after watching the video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the U.S. Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Lawmakers gave him a standing ovation, before and after his short remarks, which Zelenskyy began in Ukrainian through an interpreter but then switched to English in a heartfelt appeal to help end the bloodshed.

I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths, he said.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used the global stage to implore allied leaders to help stop the Russian invasion of his country. The young actor-turned-president often draws from history, giving weight to what have become powerful appearances.

Members of Congress applaud as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers a virtual address to Congress by video at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. (Sarah Silbiger, Pool via AP)

The White House has been weighing giving Ukraine access to U.S.-made Switchblade drones that can fly and strike Russian targets, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. It was not immediately clear if the new drones that Biden said would be delivered to Ukraine include the Switchblades.

Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

Sen. Angus King, the Maine independent. said there was a collective holding of the breath in the room during Zelenskyy's address. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, "If you did not look at that video and feel there is an obligation for not only the United States but but the free countries of the world to come together in support of Ukraine, you had your eyes closed. Majority Whip Dick Durbin called the address heartbreaking and said, Im on board with a blank check on sanctions, just whatever we can do to stop this Russian advance.

President Joe Biden speaks about additional security assistance that his administration will provide to Ukraine in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. From left, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Outside the Capitol demonstrators held a large sign lawmakers saw as they walked back to their offices. No Fly Zone=World War 3.

The Ukrainian president is no stranger to Congress, having played a central role in Donald Trump's first impeachment. As president, Trump was accused of withholding security aid to Ukraine as he pressured Zelenskyy to dig up dirt on political rival Biden. Zelenskyy spoke Wednesday from a giant screen to many of the same Republican lawmakers who declined to impeach or convict Trump, but are among the bipartisan groundswell in Congress now clamoring for military aid to Ukraine.

He thanked the American people, saying Ukraine is grateful for the outpouring of support, even as he urged Biden to do more.

President Joe Biden signs a delegation of authority in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus in Washington, Wednesday, March 16, 2022. From left, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

"You are the leader of the nation. I wish you be the leader of the world," he said Being the leader of the world means being the leader of peace.

It was the latest visit as Zelenskky uses the West's great legislative bodies in his appeals for help, invoking Shakespeares Hamlet last week at the British House of Commons asking whether Ukraine is to be or not to be and appealing Tuesday to Dear Justin as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He often pushes for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to provide.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine.

Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III, he has said.

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Zelenskyy appeared to acknowledge the political reality.

Is this to too much to ask to create a no fly zone over Ukraine? he asked, answering his own question. If this is too much to ask, we offer an alternative, he said, calling for weapons systems that would help fight Russian aircraft.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars, grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the U.S. official said.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Mary Clare Jalonick,Ellen Knickmeyer, Farnoush Amiri, Kevin Freking, Alan Fram, Nomaan Merchant and Chris Megerian and Raf Casert in Brussels, Jill Lawless in London, Aritz Parra in Madrid and videojournalist Rick Gentilo contributed to this report.
In celebration of its heritage, Saint Marys University presented awards to beatified alumnus Blessed James Miller, FSC 66, M74 posthumously, as well as one faculty member, one staff member, and two outstanding seniors at its annual Founders Day celebration, which was held on Tuesday.

In recognition of his lifelong dedication (and ultimately tragic death) in service to the marginalized youth in his care, Blessed James Miller received an honorary Doctorate in Educational Leadership posthumously. The recognition highlights Blessed James Millers devotion to youth in Central America at a time of great violence, pervasive injustice, civic unrest and political turmoil, and his faithful and devout life as a De La Salle Christian Brother for 19 years prior to his death.

His family members, sister Patti (and her husband Carl) Richter, and brothers Ralph and Bill Miller, attended the event, and Brother Michael Fehrenbach, FSC, Visitor of the Christian Brothers of the Midwest District, accepted the award on behalf of Blessed James.

Presented each year to a member of the faculty, staff, or administration whose life of faith and service exemplifies the ideals of John Baptist de la Salle, the Distinguished Lasallian Educator Award was presented to Paul Kotz, Ph.D., core professor in the Ed.D. in Leadership program. The award is given by Lasallian institutions like Saint Marys in the Lasallian Region of North America of the De La Salle Christian Brothers to honor contributions and commitment to the Lasallian mission of education.

Kotz, who has worked at Saint Marys for a total of 18 years, is renowned for his kindness, his patience, his dedication, and his positive spirit  traits that he shares with students, colleagues, and through his many involvements and written works. A sought-after adviser and mentor, Kotz models the Lasallian charism in his interactions.

To honor her 18 years of service to the university, Deb Nahrgang, senior communications director, received the Bishop Heffron Award. The Heffron award  named after the founder of Saint Marys University  is awarded every other year to an employee who has contributed positively to the life of the university, has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the values of the university, and has been a model of the Lasallian spirit in interactions with colleagues and students.

Nahrgang regularly demonstrates, through her work and her interactions with other employees and with students, a deep commitment to respect for all persons and to the universitys mission of ethical leadership and service. Her bright smile and infectious laugh lighten the load of employees and are a source of inspiration for many.

The university also announced its Outstanding Male and Female Seniors during the Founders Day celebration. Outstanding Seniors have demonstrated the ideals of scholarship, character, leadership, service to colleagues and the university community, as well as genuine concern for the needs of others.

This year, the honor went to Jordan Keeley, of St. Peter, Minn., and Trevor Paradise, of Colorado Springs, Colo.

The eight other students nominated for Outstanding Senior included Mary Furlong, Terra Lieser, Jordan Modjeski, Destiny Walker, Jack Hatton, Jonathan Krull, Angel Sacta Espinoza, and Elijah Williams.

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Winona Health is offering training for individuals throughout its service area who are interested in becoming hospice volunteers. Winona Area Hospice Services is licensed in Minnesota and Wisconsin and has a 25-mile service area radius. Patients are accepted from all healthcare organizations.

Hospice volunteers provide respite care, emotional and spiritual support to individuals living with a terminal illness and their families, providing compassionate care and support during a persons end-of-life journey. Hospice care is provided in a variety of settings including private homes, assisted living residences, skilled nursing homes, and group homes.

Hospice staff provide extensive training, covering everything from the various roles of hospice volunteers and staff, to how to support patients and their families, and understanding the bereavement process.

Training consists of an initial orientation and an independent online training. After these are completed, there will be an in-person meeting. All meetings are held in the hospice office at Senior Living at Watkins, 175 E. Wabasha St. in Winona.

Those interested in volunteering are asked to complete an online volunteer application prior to orientation. The application can be found at winonahealth.org/about-us/volunteers/. Please complete the online application located in middle of the page.

Those who are interested or have questions are invited to contact Jodi at joolson@winonahealth.org or call the Winona Health Hospice office at 507.457.4468.

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Photo courtesy of the Winona Fire Department

Winona firefighters work to extinguish a major fire at the Anova Furnishings factory in Winona on in the early morning hours of March 7.
Winona, MN (55987)

Today

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 42F. Winds light and variable..

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Partly to mostly cloudy. Low 42F. Winds light and variable.
Submitted photo

.Community members and refugees from Afghanistan go sledding. Some community members raised funds to purchase houses in Winona for refugees from Afghanistan.
JUNEAU  A Columbus man, who was wearing a GPS monitor at the time, entered a not guilty plea in court Wednesday to charges he robbed the Horicon State Bank in Neosho in January by allegedly handing tellers a note demanding money.

Alan Schade, 43, is charged with a felony count of robbery of a financial institution along with six felony counts of bail jumping. In addition he faces a misdemeanor count of theft. If convicted of the most serious charge of robbery, Schade could face 25 years in prison followed up by 15 years of an extended supervision.

Schade appeared before Dodge County Circuit Judge Brian Pfitzinger for his arraignment with his attorney Jacob Van Kerkvoorde. Dodge County Assistant District Attorney Jin Ho D. Pack appeared for the state.

According to the criminal complaint:

A Dodge County Sheriffs Office Criminal Investigation Division detective responded to the bank on Jan. 26 following the bank alarm going off at 3:19 p.m. Two bank tellers said a man  later identified as Schade  gave a note to one of them. The note told the bank employees to put everything in a bag and that no one would get hurt as Schade passed a plastic grocery back to one of the tellers.

The bag was filled with cash including marked money, which had known and documented serial numbers. Schade then left in a truck that he had parked in the parking lot. Schades clothing and description including height was recorded.

The tellers believed that Schade had entered the bank around noon the same day and asked for deposit slips but did not complete any bank transaction before leaving. At that time, Schade was in different clothing, but he left in the same vehicle. Although the license plate wasnt visible in the security video from the bank that police viewed at the time of the robbery, they were able to make out the video in the earlier incident. The license was registered to Schade.

In addition, Jefferson County Sheriffs Office sent a Wisconsin Crime Alert regarding a bank robbery in Jefferson County on Jan. 24. Schade was believed to be the suspect in that bank robbery as well and involved in other criminal activity in Jefferson County. However, there has been no charges filed against Schade in Jefferson County.

Schade was located in Waterloo on Jan. 27 and had the money that had been marked by the bank in his possession, according to the criminal complaint. The owner of the home that Schade was found consented to a search, the complaint said, and law enforcement located clothing that matched the clothes worn during the bank robberies.

Schade was brought to the Dodge County Sheriffs Office where it was noticed that he was wearing a GPS ankle monitor due to a Waukesha County Circuit Court case. The detective was able to get the GPS data that showed that Schade was at a bank in Ixonia on Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. when it was robbed and at the bank in Neosho on Jan. 26 at both noon and 3:17 p.m.

A telephone scheduling conference in Dodge County will occur on April 19.

Follow Terri Pederson on Twitter @tlp53916 or contact her at 920-356-6760.

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The Columbia County Board approved a resolution that will allow ATV/UTV traffic on county highways with a few segments remaining closed due to high levels of vehicle traffic.

A process that began in 2017 was completed on Wednesday morning in Portage during the County Board meeting where supervisors voted to approve an ordinance that would allow ATV/UTV traffic on all county highways with a select number of sections staying closed.

All supervisors voted in favor of the ordinance except Sup. Nancy Long. She stated she has concerns about safety with opening county highways.

Ellen Pulver of the Columbia County ATV/UTV enthusiast club has been attending meetings and doing research on the topic since last August when the Traffic Safety Commission reexamined this topic for the first time in years.

Sup. Jim Foley said this ordinance has been in the works in one way or another since 2017 and in that five years the county has done a lot of work on this topic.

She said it could cost the county $20,000 more to leave select segments of county highways closed to ATV/UTV traffic than it would if the board opened up all county highways to the use.

That figure comes from information from the highway department stating it would cost around $10,000 to post signage for open segments and a total of $30,000 to post signs for all openings and closings of county highways to ATV/UTV traffic.

Columbia County Highway Commissioner Chris Hardy said the reason portions of county highway are closed to ATV/UTV traffic in the proposed ordinance is because those roads experience high rates of vehicle traffic.

Hardy explained the highway department evaluated traffic data of all county highways in the last several months. The department focused on average daily traffic, or ADT, data. If the ADT was over 1,000 the road way was considered to have too much vehicle traffic to open to ATV traffic.

An ADT of 1,000 means about a vehicle every minute, Hardy said at a highway committee meeting earlier this year. With that much traffic, it would be a safety concern to open those roads to more traffic such as ATVs. The goal is to keep the roads safe for everyone and adding ATV traffic to these segments would be unsafe.

At a highway committee meeting in Wyocena in February there was a discussion about connecting routes. Supporters said it could be difficult to get from one place to another if the proposed segments will be closed. Hardy said there are other ways to get from place to place without risking the safety of motorists.

The ordinance passed Wednesday morning opens all county highways to ATV/UTV traffic, except the following segments:

County Highway (CTH) C from State Highway (STH) 16 at Rio south to STH 60, and from STH 60 south to the Dane County line

CTH CS from CTH V in Dekorra east to State Trunk Highway 22 in Lowville; excepting the municipal portion within the Poynette village limit

CTH CX from Marquette County line south to the intersection with Northside Drive in the City of Portage

CTH I from Dane County line north to village of Arlington limit

CTH J from State Trunk Highway 113 in Lodi east to CTH V in Lodi; then from CTH V in Lodi north to Kent Road in Dekorra

CTH P from U.S. Highway 51 east to the Village of Pardeeville limit

CTH P from State Trunk Highway 44 east to the Village of Cambria limit

CTH P from Village of Cambria east limit then east to State Trunk Highway 73 in Randolph

CTH Q from State Trunk Highway 60 in Arlington north to Village of Poynette limit

CTH V from Ryan Road in Lodi east to Smith Rd in Lodi; then from Meadowlark Road in Dekorra north to CTH B in Dekorra

CTH EF from State Road 33 to CTH E

CTH F from State Road 33 to Marquette County Line

CTH CM from CTH CX to CTH F

There are a number of other rules and regulations outlined in the ordinance. These include that all ATV/UTV operators must follow federal, state and local ordinances. All riders under the age of 18 must wear a helmet when operating or riding an ATV/UTV.

Operators must also have a Wisconsin DNR registration number clearly visible at all times. ATV/UTVs are not allowed to go faster than 35 mph and when within 100 feet of pedestrian or 150 feet from house cannot exceed 10 mph.

ATV/UTVs must have working headlights, taillights and brake lights with head and taillights turned on at all times. They also can only be operated on the extreme right side of the paved surface of the road.

The ordinance also states ATV/UTV shall not operate on county highways between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

Sup. Liz Miller asked if the county ordinance could be stricter than the current Wisconsin ATV traffic law. Corporate Council Joe Ruf explained the ordinance cannot be made stricter than the state statute.

This was the topic of discussion at the numerous Traffic Safety Commission and Highway Department meetings.

Ruf said that county had to follow the state law otherwise there could be the potential of 72 different ordinances for ATV/UTV traffic.

Sups. Jon Plumer, Chris Polzer and Harlan Baumgartner all spoke in favor of the ordinance.

Five years has gone into this ordinance and Im voicing my approval for this, Plumer said. The ATV/UTV clubs are very passionate about this topic. I think this ordinance is a good start.

He added the highway committee will continue to monitor ATV/UTV traffic and make adjustments over time.

The ordinance will need to be published now that it has been approved. After the publication of the ordinance, the highway department will begin installing signs showing ATV/UTV riders when the county highway is open or closed to traffic.

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More than two years after his death, prominent Wisconsin Dells community member John Van Wie was permanently honored Tuesday at Camp Wawbeek  a place those who knew him said he was heavily invested in.

Organizers unveiled a memorial boulder with a photo of Van Wie and descriptions of his contributions to the camp serving children and adults with physical disabilities. He is the cousin of the late-businessman Gregory Van Wie, who died in 1996.

Members of the Gregory Van Wie Foundation, which was started by its namesake, and Easterseals Wisconsin, a nonprofit that operates Camp Wawbeek, were on site to witness the unveiling and discuss John Van Wies meaning to the camp and community.

We felt it would be fitting to have a memorial here to John with all of the input he had into everything that goes on here at Camp Wawbeek, said Bruce Rodger, a board member for the foundation. Its been under wraps pretty much since it was set up. Now, we can unveil it for everybody to see when they come here to Camp Wawbeek.

John Van Wie died at age 74 on Jan. 16, 2020.

The Gregory Van Wie Foundation has contributed over $1 million in improvements to Camp Wawbeek, according to Rodger and Carissa Peterson, the vice president of camp and respite services for Easterseals Wisconsin.

John would kind of spearhead the projects, Peterson said. Everything from kind of like hand-drawing the plans to remodel the bathroom or different things like that. We would sit out here and draw out the plans and figure out which contractors to call. He just had his fingers in it from the beginning to end.

Peterson said the improvements have included adding the residence hall, financially helping to rebuild the climbing tower and zipline at the camp, remodels of the dining hall, kitchen, and boys dormitory bathrooms, as well as cabin and pool remodels.

Ken Saville, who held Petersons position before retiring, said that John Van Wie was on the board for Easterseals.

He knew the Dells, inside and out, Saville said. He was on a lot of boards and when I first met him and got him on the board, he jumped right in. He was a contractor, so he knew all this stuff, but he also was a fine human being. Kind, generous and dedicated.

To illustrate John Van Wies dedication to the camp and Easterseals, Saville recalled when he led a project to fix roof damage at one of the buildings at Camp Wawbeek

There was no job out here that he wouldnt do, Saville said.

Ed Terry, another member of the Gregory Van Wie Foundation Board, said that John Van Wie was a resource in the Dells. He said that Van Wie and Rodger were sounding boards for information on worthy causes in the community.
Sustainability in higher education: clean water

In this series, QS has been exploring the innovative and inspiring work being done by higher education institutions to address UN Sustainable Development Goals.

For its second article in the series, QS is celebrating 100 years of academic and research excellence at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa  particularly the institutions dedication to addressing UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: clean water and sanitation for all at CIWaRD.

What is CIWaRD?

At the Centre in Water Research and Development (CIWaRD), the goal is to foster and support water-based research at Wits University from the perspective of the global South.

According to Craig Sheridan, director at CIWaRD, the centre supports and develops the network of academics in the university, with the long-term goal being to raise funding to further support water-based research.

He adds: The centre currently supports (and its members conduct) research in all aspects of water  from riparian ecology to treating acid mine drainage, from understanding and responding to the sanitation challenges, to environmental law, through the lens of the global South.

The role of Wits University in CIWaRD is to provide the physical infrastructure, such as laboratories and lecture theatres, as well as an environment in which academics and researchers can conduct their water-based research with freedom and autonomy.

Read the full article: Sustainability in higher education: clean water with the University of the Witwatersrand
Creating job opportunities for SAs youth

The Wits Entrepreneurship Clinic gets going with programme to drive innovation and entrepreneurship.

The new Wits Entrepreneurship Clinic, based in the School of Business Science, is part of the newly formed Innovation for African Universities (IAU) project, part of the British Councils Going Global Partnerships programme.

A new programme, the Wits Entrepreneurship Clinic Accelerator Programme (WECAP), is a structured entrepreneurship clinic/accelerator setup providing entrepreneurial support and guidance. It will be implemented by the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in partnership with Wits University, the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN), and The University of Edinburgh.

WECAP aims to strengthen the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem and improve student employability outcomes in South Africa.

The Total Entrepreneurial Activity score in South Africa is approximately 11%, while unemployment amongst South African youth grows at an alarming rate of 63%. This is due to the little support for entrepreneurship as a career trajectory historically at the university level despite its significant establishment.

Due to the increasingly poor economic outlook, youth employment will not improve immediately. This, together with burgeoning poverty levels, suggests that employment alternatives need to be explored. Young entrepreneurs are one of the country's best hopes of solving the jobs crisis, which the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened in an environment of weakened economic growth.

WECAP will give a clinic programme focused on experiential learning and evidence-based management, together with a structured mentorship programme, to develop students business acumen and improve their overall employability through exposure to and solving of business problems confronting students, staff, and external entrepreneurs.

WECAP also intends to provide professional and quality business advisory services to the university and its surrounding communities to accelerate viable entrepreneurial opportunities. At the same time, data and research-centric entrepreneurial methodologies such as lean-start-up, evidence-based management, and design thinking will be adopted to accelerate businesses.

The work of the WECAP partnership will be submitted to form learnings that will contribute to formulating a policy framework for universities under South Africa's Department of Higher Education and Training.

About the Innovation for African Universities Programme (IAU)

The IAU programme is implemented by the Centre of Excellence (CoE), a partnership between the City, University of London, Nairobi, and ChangeSchool UK.

The Programme comprises 24 UK universities, Sub-Saharan African universities, and entrepreneurial ecosystem organizations. The Programme is running in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana & South Africa.

We wish this project well as we unite to grow and innovate Africa for youth employment opportunities. We're looking forward to working in partnership with WECAP to exchange knowledge and ideas to strengthen the role of universities in entrepreneurship ecosystems  British Council

To find out more: www.britishcouncil.org/education/he-science/news/entrepreneurship-projects-Africa-have-been-announced
Filmmaker to document Asian history at W&M for centennial

Behind the camera: Marissa Aroy, distinguished film fellow for William & Mary's Asian Centennial, will create a documentary on the Asian Pacific Middle Eastern experience at the university. Photo by Tony Gavin Photo - of - Hide Caption

Documentary filmmaker Marissa Aroy will be on campus in April to begin work on a video history of Asian peoples experiences at William & Mary.

Aroy is serving as distinguished film fellow for the universitys Asian Centennial. Roberto Jamora in fine arts and Rinabeth Apostol in theatre are also centennial arts fellows.

I just feel a lot of privilege, and I feel like I just want to do everyone proud with the work that I do for the centennial, Aroy said.

Aroy is co-founder of Media Factory video production company, which is based in Ireland where she currently lives along with New York City. She teaches filmmaking at Trinity College Dublin and an online class in documentary filmmaking at The New School in New York and has been a guest speaker in several W&M classes.

Aroy won an Emmy Award for her documentary Sikhs in America and received an Emmy nomination for The Delano Manongs: Forgotten Heroes of the United Farm Workers Movement, which along with Little Manila aired on PBS. A Fulbright Scholar, Aroy previously worked as video producer and assignment manager at United Nations Children's Fund. At W&M, Aroy was awarded the first Hatsuye Yamasaki Award for Visionary Leadership, which is named in honor of the first known Asian American woman to attend W&M and one of the universitys first Asian American students.

I focus and found my wheelhouse in making documentaries about under-represented people in the United States, Aroy said. A lot of that is Filipino Americans and Filipinos in the United States, but also its been about Sikhs, Sikh Americans. And then in general, (Ive been) looking at social issues in the United States with different documentaries having worked for other filmmakers and then for myself.

Aroy grew up in Bakersfield, California, with a love of movies that came from her father. He had always watched movies while growing up in the Philippines and enjoyed the experience with his daughter both in theatres and at home after video cassettes came out, Aroy said.

So I always thought that I wanted to be a filmmaker, she said.

Francis Tanglao Aguas, professor of theatre and Asian & Pacific Islander American studies and co-chair of the Asian Centennial Committee, will serve as executive producer for the W&M video project. Aroy will create a documentary on the Asian Pacific Middle Eastern story at W&M along with Deenesh Sohoni, professor of sociology and co-chair of the centennial committee, who is heading up the research component, and Lisa Crawford, director of video and multimedia, as head of production.

Theres been a great deal of help from the Asian Centennial Committee and particularly from some of the students at William & Mary who are helping with the research, Aroy said.

Student research on Pu-Kao Chen 23, who came from China to become the university's first Asian student, is a starting point. His writings describe his journey, treatment by those around him and impressions.

Were going to use that a lot in this telling of the experience for some of the very first Asians to come into William & Mary, Aroy said.

The project will likely take the rest of this calendar year.

It will be sort of this evergreen piece that shows what it was like for Asians coming in, but also as a sense of opening up of William & Mary to people of color, Aroy said. It will also humanize for us now these black and white photos of people from the past and contrast that with some of the students that are there now, particularly the ones who are doing the research.

Were in a different place with how Americans, in particular, feel about Asians, how theyre treated. And I think its good to always be able to  during a centennial celebration and commemoration too  commemorate looking at what was the past and trying to understand what that looked like then but understanding that were looking at it through a lens of us now and thats a very different lens.
Wu Rongjin

"Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School plays a leading role in shaping the learning environment in the 21st century, and it incorporates sciences and new technologies with students' education on social cognitive skills and sentimental values," Andreas Schleicher, Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), wrote in a book, World Class: How to Build a 21st-century School System. He once visited the school, in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, where he met the headmistress, Wu Rongjin. She has worked in education, and she has made endless efforts in the pursuit of her education dream, for the past 28 years.

Aspiring to Teach

When Wu was a child, she often pretended to be a teacher, and she used a tiny blackboard, bought by her father, to teach her "student"  her doll.

Wu was always the last student in her class to be picked up after school, because her parents were often stuck at work. A teacher would stay with Wu until her parents arrived.

Wu began reading the notes her teachers left in her exercise books when she was in middle school. In fact, reading the teacher's notes was the first thing she did when she received an exercise book.

At that time, Wu aspired to be a teacher, and to be a positive influence on her students. In 1994, she chose to become a teacher at Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School, after she graduated from the then-Shanghai Teachers Training College.

Inspired by Cheng Hua, then-head of Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School, Wu was determined to forge ahead, and to write a glorious chapter in the promotion of basic education. She has said she benefited greatly from the love, benevolence and encouragement shared by Cheng.

Wu Rongjin, headmistress of Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School

Original Aspiration

Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School boasts incomparable revolutionary resources, and rich historical resources, to help its students learn about the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC), because the school is adjacent to the Memorial for the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC.

During a visit to the memorial, in 2005, Wu noticed some of the students were not interested in the guides' narration.

Therefore, Wu arranged for the students to revisit the memorial, and to draft their own tour and narration script. Wu wanted to help the students learn about the revolutionary tradition in China, and to cherish their current happy lives.

A group of the students began working as tour guides  especially for visitors their own age  at the memorial. The students' vivid narrations have received warm applause, and high recognition, from visitors of different ages, and especially from children their age.

During the past 17 years, Wu has worked with the students (tour guides) to organize inspection tours, write child-oriented narration scripts, and explore new forms of narration, in Mandarin, the Shanghai dialect and English.

Many former members of the teenage narration team have continued participating in relevant narration activities, even though many of them are now studying in middle schools or universities, or have even started building their careers.

Hu Qicheng, now a middle school student, says he is often stopped on the street and told, "I remember you. You were a member of the teenage narration team at the memorial."

Xiao Lin, another former member of the teenage narration team, is studying abroad. She says she can still recite all of the narration scripts.

Wu says planting a seed of faith (in the revolutionary traditions) in the hearts of children is the holy mission and responsibility of teachers.

Members of the teenage narration team pose for a photo.

Sentimental Education

Wu and her colleagues began providing their students with sentimental education in 2004, because they firmly believe that all-round development of personal character and sentiment is compulsory for young students.

A weekly course, offered by Wu, became popular with students because the course was effective and useful in guiding them to think positively and improve their personal skills, as well as improve their competence in interpersonal communications.

Wu eventually integrated her sentimental education with education on moral grounding, intellectual and physical ability, aesthetic sensibility and work skills.

Wu has conducted that course, which stresses the cultivation of a healthy sentiment and interactive communications between students and teachers, for the past 18 years.

In fact, Wu has not limited sentimental education to the classroom. For instance, she always stands at the school's entrance to greet the students; and, she advises students not to splash water, from their umbrellas, on people during rainy days. Wu hopes the students will learn to show due respect for the feelings of other people.

Moreover, Wu has encouraged her students to speak with their teachers about their problems and difficulties they face in their daily lives.

Running a school filled with love and being a benevolent teacher are Wu's original aspirations as a teacher  and a principal. Her greatest desire is to guarantee every child's happy growth and physical and mental health.

Wu Rongjin takes photos for students while they are eating.

Unremitting Endeavors in Education Reform

As early as 2009, Wu started promoting the informatization of education in Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School. At that time, the introduction of tablets in classrooms by Wu stirred a heated debate among teachers. However, she held firm, and she argued the application of information technology will help teachers provide instruction tailored to the student's individual needs and abilities.

Wu was eventually proven right, and therefore became a national pioneer in the adoption of online classes. Since then, she has continued to explore in-depth integration of information technology and education, with the aim of utilizing the latest technologies to conduct education in suitable ways for all students, and to promote students' all-round development.

With the support of modern technologies, the school has closely monitored the state of students' learning, and advised teachers to make necessary adjustments in content and lesson delivery.

Statistics indicate students in Luwan No. 1 Central Primary School have performed well in their academic studies, and that they have shown strong enthusiasm for learning amid a persistent reduction in their academic burdens over past decades.

Both Wu and the school have been recognized  with many awards  for implementation of in-class education informatization over the years.

Furthermore, Wu helped popularize the innovative online-class mode in more than 250 schools in Qinghai, Shaanxi and Guizhou provinces, for the purpose of narrowing the gap in education between East China and underdeveloped areas of the country.

In 2021, Wu was honored as a Role Model of the Times, by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, and as a National March 8th Red-banner Holder, by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), for her decades-long dedication to education.

Wu says her strong sense of responsibility has sustained her commitment to education over the decades.

Wu Rongjin introduces the construction of digital transformation school.

Photos Supplied by the Interviewee

(Women of China English Monthly January 2022 issue)
, 100 year old Gage, passed Sunday, May 1, 2022 . Funeral services are 10:00 a.m. Thursday, May 5, 2022 at the First Baptist Church of Gage. Burial will follow in the Fargo Cemetery. Read obituary at www.billingsfuneralhomewooward.com
Biden will announce $800 million in security assistance for Ukraine, official says
These women fled Ukraine as Russia invaded but are now going back to help their families in the war.
Zelenskyy to US lawmakers: 'We need you right now' as he invokes Pearl Harbor and 9/11
Ribbon cut on refurbished Crown Buildings that has given tired 1960s monolith new life

Wrexham Council staff will be working in Wrexham town centre for many years to come in a modern workspace in the newly refurbished Crown Buildings.

The structure has undergone a major transformation over the past 18 months, turning it from what the council described as a tired 1960s monolith into a modern, vibrant building  fit for providing modern public services.

Back in 2017 demolition was considered, which would have saved 229,000 a year, however Wrexham Council, with the help of funding from the Welsh Government, have totally refurbished the building in a move that had been priced as part of a 6.7m project phase when it was revealed an extra 1m was needed, and a more recent report has said the project had been within that budget.

Yesterday the offices were officially opened by the Mayor of Wrexham Councillor Ronnie Prince, as well as the Leader of Wrexham Council, Councillor Mark Pritchard, and the Chief Executive, Ian Bancroft.

The opening coincides with a gradual return to the office for many council staff following long periods working from home during the pandemic.

Later this year, Wrexhams new Community Wellbeing Hub  combining health services, social care and voluntary sector support, in partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, will also open at the site.

The Mayor of Wrexham, Councillor Ronnie Prince, said, This has been an incredible piece of development thats given new life to a building that desperately needed modernisation.

Its now a key building in the town centre, and will provide a base for social care staff, as well as a new location for the councils Education and Early Intervention Department.

Councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham Council, said: The transformation has been incredible, and we now have a flexible workspace suitable for delivering modern services for local people.

Around 625 staff will use Crown Buildings as a base, increasing the footfall in the town centre. The offices will include desks, breakout areas, video-conferencing and other facilities providing employees with the tools and environment they need.

Weve also improved the buildings energy performance, which has been a key driver from the outset.

Ian Bancroft, Chief Executive, added: Weve worked closely with the contractor to improve the thermal efficiency of the building, and weve also used the roof space to house solar panels that will further reduce its carbon footprint.

We now have a building thats not only good for employees and the communities we serve, but also better for the environment.

Its everything that a modern, flexible workspace should be.
Wrexham Glyndwr opens doors to school pupils for Childrens University campus visit

School pupils enjoyed slime-making and courtroom drama at Wrexham Glyndwr as part of the Childrens University initiative.

The University hosted the first campus visit from a school participating in the Wrexham and Flintshire Childrens University project this year.

Year 7 learners from Ysgol Morgan Llwyd in Wrexham took part in two interactive sessions with lecturers and enjoyed a full tour of the campus.

They also made a visit to the William Aston Hall, where they will return for a Graduation ceremony in July on completion of 30 hours of extracurricular activities as part of the project.

Activities on the day ranged from making slime to a courtroom experience in the Universitys purpose-built Moot Court, while learning about the lawyer who quizzed Hitler about an attack on civilians in Berlin.

Senior Law Lecturer Dylan Rhys Jones, who led that session, said: This was an interactive session with the students.

We used the courtroom and set up the room for a trial, talked about the different roles within the court and then using a short script I had written we acted out a trial of a man who had been charged with theft.

At the end of the trial the student who had taken the role of the judge and some of the other students decided on the mans sentence.

In the second half of the session, I talked about the German Lawyer Hans Litten and a case that I am currently writing a book about where Litten represented the victims of a vicious attack on civilians in Berlin by the Nazi Storm Troopers.

I believe that the students enjoyed their session.

Jixin Yang, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry hosted the slime-making workshop which taught learners about a substance important to our everyday lives.

He said: This fun-filled workshop was a good opportunity for the participants to learn the definition, properties, advantages and applications of polymer, a special material which has completely changed our world.

Bethan Ellis, Year 7 teacher at Ysgol Morgan Lloyd, said the visit was hugely enjoyable and rewarding for pupils, with feedback ranging from It was fun  I enjoyed making slime to I loved the court case, especially being the Judge.

Ms Ellis said: The pupils and I really enjoyed ourselves, and it was lovely to be able to visit the campus and meet some of the universitys staff.

We loved hearing all about Hans Litten too, and we all loved the slime making. Learning about using polymers in our everyday lives was fascinating. Thanks for the experience!

Wrexham and Flintshire Childrens University is part of an exciting international initiative by the Childrens University Trust and is led in North East Wales by Wrexham Glyndwr, in partnership with Wrexham and Flintshire Public Service Boards.

The Childrens University encourages and celebrates children and young peoples participation in a wide range of inspiring learning opportunities outside of normal school hours.

More details on the Childrens University can be found at https://glyndwr.ac.uk/childrens-university/
For more than three decades, the United States political and media establishment has conducted a coordinated campaign to whitewash the dangers of nuclear war. Using discredited science from the 1980s, US officials have adopted the policy that a nuclear first-strike against Russia could be successful and that the environmental dangers posed by multiple atomic or thermonuclear detonationsso-called nuclear winterhave been disproven.

Such attitudes toward the use of nuclear weapons take on a new and ominous light when one considers the neo-McCarthyite rhetoric being used by congressional Republicans and top Democratic officials against Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as provocations like the deployment of 4,000 US troops and accompanying tanks, artillery and armored vehicles in Poland along Russias border. As significant sections of the United States government are preparing for war with nuclear-armed Russia, they simultaneously reject 34 years of peer-reviewed scientific research showing that a nuclear exchange threatens humanitys extinction.

This perspective is reflected in the media. In 1987, the National Review described nuclear winter as a fraud. In 1990, the New York Times referred to the science as discounted. In 2000, Discover magazine included nuclear winter on its list of The Twenty Greatest Scientific Blunders in History. Since then, the danger of nuclear winter has largely been ignored and the scientists doing the research marginalized.

One of the scientists who has worked to expose the consequences of nuclear war to a mass audience is Steven Starr, an expert on the environmental dangers of nuclear weapons who has been published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies. He has been involved in the research surrounding the climatic effects of nuclear detonations since 2001.

Steven Starr is the director of the University of Missouris Clinical Laboratory Science Program, as well as a senior scientist at the Physicians for Social Responsibility. His most recent publication is on the web site of the Federation of American Scientists, titled Turning a Blind Eye Towards Armageddon  U.S. Leaders Reject Nuclear Winter Studies.

We recently spoke to Starr about some of the history, science and politics underlying the concept of nuclear winter and the fallacy that any country could somehow win a nuclear war.

* * * * *

Bryan Dyne: First, could you tell me something about your background and how you became so involved in exposing the full consequences of nuclear war?

Steven Starr: Ive been fixated on nuclear war ever since experiencing the Cuban Missile Crisis in third grade. I remember the teachers huddled around a little black and white TV set and telling us to not look at the flash and to sit against the interior of the walls. All the duck-and-cover drills left an imprint on me.

Later on, I came across Carl Sagans book A Path Where No Man Thought: Nuclear Winter and the End of the Arms Race which was published in 1990. In it, Sagan talks about the atmospheric research that was done in the 1980s that shows the climatic and environmental consequences that would be caused by a nuclear war. Sagan and four other NASA scientists looked at the data collected on the global dust storms on Mars and specifically were looking at the difference of the Martian surface temperature when there was a dust storm and when there wasnt. Then they asked, What could cause something similar on Earth? The answers they came up with are volcanic eruptions or nuclear war.

This made me realize just how dangerous the nuclear arsenals of the US and Russia really were. Even with the simple atmospheric models of the 1980s, it was clear that the massive firestorms created by a nuclear war would produce enough smoke and black carbon soot to block the majority of sunlight from reaching the surface of Earth. The original nuclear winter research predicted that a war fought with the nuclear arsenals of the 1980s would create temperatures colder than those experienced at the height of the last Ice Age 18,000 years ago. This would leave the Earth virtually uninhabitable. The recent research found that the original studies actually underestimated the consequences of nuclear war.

These peer-reviewed studies done in 2007 predict that even a war fought between India and Pakistan, in which a total of 100 atomic bombs were detonated in their cities, would produce enough soot and smoke to create the coldest temperatures experienced in the last 1,000 years. This would significantly decrease production of rice, corn and grain crops for several years, and the latest estimates from medical experts predict that as many as 2 billion people would starve as a result.

This modern research also shows how the hot smoke in the stratosphere would produce ozone losses of 20 to 50 percent over populated areas in the Northern hemisphere. A fair-skinned individual outside in June during mid-day could get a painful sunburn in as little as six minutes. And a war fought with existing US and Russian nuclear arsenals is predicted to make agriculture impossible for a decade or longer, dooming most people to die from a nuclear famine.

Beginning in the late 1990s, I began to wonder why more research wasnt being done on this topic, especially since the nuclear arsenals had changed significantly and because climate models had come a long way since the first study was done in 1983. Vastly improved computers allowed us to study the impact of nuclear war, not just the effects of a single weapon. What I learned was that there had been an active attempt to suppress this research and it had been done in a variety of ways.

First was a study published by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in 1986 by Starley Thompson and Stephen Schneider, which claimed that the original nuclear winter studies overestimated the amount of soot that would be tossed into the upper atmosphere. Starley and Schneider used a primitive model (with a 20-day run) to incorrectly claim that only 50 percent of the smoke generated from the nuclear explosions would make it into the stratosphere and that the rest would be rained out. The phrase nuclear autumn was derived from this non-peer reviewed study and was used to belittle the previous work.

The nuclear autumn story was published by Foreign Affairs and was then spread to a variety of news outlets including National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Time magazine and the New York Times. In 2000, Discover magazine even included nuclear winter in its list of The Twenty Greatest Scientific Blunders in History.

After the success of the smear campaign against nuclear winter, most people eventually accepted this narrative and funding for new research dried up. This had a big impact on the public, who got the impression that the nuclear winter theory had been disproven. As a result, this issue is hardly ever talked about now in the mainstream media.

BD: Do you think there were political pressures involved in turning nuclear winter into nuclear autumn?

SS: There was definitely a lot of backlash from various industrial and military interests against the first nuclear winter research. The scientists were called frauds and the research labeled bad science. One of the reasons for this is that over the years, trillions of dollars have been spent on nuclear weapons. If the conclusions of the nuclear winter researchthat nuclear war is suicide for all peoples and nationshad gained widespread acceptance and understanding, it is likely that the whole nuclear weapons industry would have been shut down.

The scientists were pressured into stopping nuclear winter-related research because the funding for such research was cut. They should have gotten the highest award for making people aware of these dangers but instead they were persecuted. Taking away funding is a very effective way to silence the scientific community.

It didnt work perfectly. Sagan, for example, continued to give talks and reports about this topic, and many scientists remained interested and concerned. My first attempts in 2001 to help find funding for new nuclear winter research projects were unsuccessful in large part because most people I contacted, including anti-nuclear weapon activists, believed that nuclear winter had been scientifically discredited. When Brian Toon, Alan Robock, Mike Mills and other scientists finally managed to get the newest research done (beginning in 2007), it was mostly self-funded using the resources of their labs. Theyve tried to get funding from the National Academy of Sciences for more detailed follow-up work on the many catastrophic effects of nuclear winter, but they havent been successful.

Even so, the science in their recent studies has been peer-reviewed and has survived all criticism of the global scientific communityit is considered to be top-notch science. Whats more, the scientists were essentially quite conservative in their estimates and predictions. For example, their findings indicated that 7 million tons of smoke would rise into the stratosphere after the India-Pakistan 100-atomic-bomb war, but the scientists used 5 million tons for their estimates on effects. Likewise, for their two models of a US-Russian nuclear war, the largest weapon they used in their calculations was a 100-kiloton bomb, when in reality most Russian weapons are 800 kilotons, and many US weapons are 300 and 475 kilotons. Using these more conservative figures acted to reduce the likely thermal effects and corresponding amounts of smoke released by their hypothetical wars.

BD: So what do politicians and generals think will happen if there is a nuclear exchange between the US and Russia? Do they realize the environmental dangers of nuclear war?

SS: Its hard to get an answer from any ranking elected official. They always have a cadre of assistants surrounding them that make it hard for you to give them something to read. However, my friend Greg Mello, the secretary and executive director of the Los Alamos Study Group, was once able to pose the question of nuclear winter to the US Nuclear Weapons Council. This group includes the head of the US Strategic Command and is what makes US policy on nuclear weapons. Their attitude was essentially, We dont believe in nuclear winter. Their focus is instead stopping nuclear terrorism and other scenarios that only involve a single nuclear weapon.

This makes no sense. The United States and Russia each have about 1,000 of what I call launch-ready nuclear weapons. In the US, this means that the solid-fuel engines of the intercontinental ballistic missiles are powered up 24 hours a day, awaiting the order to launch. It only takes minutes for the president to open the nuclear briefcase, which accompanies him at all times, and give the order to fire these weapons. A similar briefcase also follows President Putin.

These launch-ready weapons are inherently dangerous. They are supposed to act as a deterrent, but think about what deterrence actually means. Its based on the idea of being capable of inflicting unacceptable retaliation on somebody. If you attack us, well destroy you. But classical deterrence doesnt say you have to launch your weapons in 15 minutes or less, it just says you have to at some point be able to launch them. The short time frame came in when the military decided it needed to launch their weapons upon warning of attack, before the attack arrived.

In other words, launch-ready nuclear weapons are essentially preemptive weapons. If the US early warning systems detect a missile launch, the President can order a launch of retaliatory nuclear strike before incoming nuclear warheads take out communication systems and weapons. Of course, if this is a false warning of attack, then the retaliatory strike becomes a first-strike and a nuclear war has started.

Moreover, if somebody has launched a nuclear strike against the silos in which your nuclear weapons are housed in, you dont retaliate by targeting their empty silos. You target their cities. Russia only has about 230 cities with a population greater than 100,000 and the US has 312. So its not that hard to wipe out a couple hundred cities in an initial salvo.

For many years, the entire global dialogue about nuclear weapons has focused primarily on the possible use of a single nuclear weapon by terrorists. This fits the official narrative on terrorism, but it ignores the existential danger posed by a nuclear war fought with existing US and Russian nuclear arsenals.

There is another problem with focusing only on a single nuclear weapon. Lets say NATO or Polish forces attack Kaliningrad, an important but isolated enclave for the Russian navy. Russia doesnt have the conventional forces to stop such an attack; would it use nuclear weapons to prevent the loss of Kaliningrad? Once a US/NATO-Russian war begins, how does it stopwhich side will admit defeat? Once nuclear weapons are used, what prevents more from being used?

The strategists often say, Oh, well, Russia will back down. What if they dont? And why would they back down on their own border? Any US/NATO-Russian direct military conflict will very likely lead to a full-scale nuclear war.

BD: You mention in one of your articles that the US is sleepwalking towards nuclear war. Is this sleepwalking or a deliberate policy?

SS: Thats a legitimate question. I agree with you. Sleepwalking was the most polite way I could say it.

To give an example, Foreign Affairs published an article in 2006 written by Keir Lieber and Daryl Press called The Rise of Nuclear Primacy. It was very disquieting, basically claiming that the weapon systems in the US had gotten to the point where it could undertake a first strike against Russia and Russia would lose any ability to retaliate. Nuclear primacy conveyed the idea that the US could win a nuclear war against Russia should the US attack firstexcept that Lieber and Press took no account of the environmental consequences of such a first strike. Robock and Toon tell us that the resulting nuclear famine from such a nuclear first strike would kill the inhabitants of the side that won the war.

Russia also fears that the US/NATO Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) that has been deployed at sea and on land surrounding Russia could be used as part of a US first-strike. This is because Russia considers BMD to have offensive capabilities, that it could be used as a mop up system to take out any surviving Russian missiles not destroyed in a nuclear first strike.

This has led to Russia targeting the US/NATO Ballistic Missile Defense sites that the US has set up in Eastern Europe, including the operational system in Romania and the one being built in Poland. Russia also sees a special threat from these facilities because they can also be used to launch nuclear-armed cruise missiles. This fact has been widely discussed on Russian mass media and the Russian people are demanding that Putin take some action against these sites.

BD: Given how dangerous nuclear war is, what do you think of the increasingly hysterical denunciations of Russia and the Russian government in the US media and by the Democrats and Republicans?

SS: Its very disconcerting to see the leadership of both the Democrats and Republicans to come out with this type of thinking. These anti-Putin and anti-Russian stories keep coming up on thousands of different media sources simultaneously, including the New York Times and Washington Post, which are supposed to be the newspapers of record, and it acts like a smear campaign. Almost all such stories are based on no information or false information and they have created a narrative that is pushing us toward war with Russia. There are no two ways about it.

A war with China wouldnt be any better. China happens to be a strategic partner of Russia. They also have 20-30 ICBMs that carry three-megaton warheads; each warhead could set 600 square miles on fire. China also has submarine-launched ballistic missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads.

Yet there is no discussion of the existential threat of nuclear war in the US. This has to be the starting place for any discussion on nuclear weapons. If we have the best scientists in the world telling us that a nuclear war would wipe out most of the human race, that should be our primary concern. Why should these arsenals even be allowed to exist?
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is causing many artists and intellectuals who were previously critical of German militarism to topple like dominoes. They are responding to Russias brutal military offensive by throwing their weight behind NATO and ruefully distancing themselves from their earlier criticism of the alliance.

The worlds largest military alliance, which since the collapse of the Soviet Union has permanently waged wars, destroyed entire countries, killed millions and driven countless people into flight, is suddenly seen by them as a defensive alliance that protects freedom and democracy.

Claus von Wagner and Max Uthoff in the satirical programme Die Anstalt on March 8 (screenshot)

Responding impressionistically to war images and anti-Russian propaganda, they forget everything they used to say and write. They close their eyes to the fact that NATO is deliberately escalating the war andjust like Russiaconjuring up the danger of a third world war. What the Greens have long ago accomplished, the transformation from pacifism to militarism, now also finds their support.

The satirist Jan Bohmermann ( ZDFMagazinRoyale ), the artists association Zentrum fur Politische Schonheit (Centre for Political Beauty) and others are following along this path. Cabaret artists Max Uthoff and Claus von Wagner, who have co-hosted the ZDF political satire show Die Anstalt (The Mental Institute) for eight years, are particularly good examples of this. (ZDF is a German public-service television broadcaster.)

The first episode of Die Anstalt was broadcast in February 2014, as efforts to revive German militarism were escalating. Federal President Joachim Gauck, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democratic Party) and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (Christian Democratic Union) had announced the end of military restraint at the Munich Security Conference. Shortly afterward, the German government put its new great power policy into practice in Ukraine. In close collaboration with Washington and right-wing militias, it organised a coup that brought a pro-Western regime to power and planted the seeds for todays war.

Die Anstalt sharply attacked this process at the time, earning it the deserved wrath of the political establishment and the enthusiasm of younger viewers in particular. The first programme castigated German militarism. The second portrayed the revolution on Kievs Maidan for what it really wasnot a freedom struggle, but an uprising by corrupt, right-wing elements.

The third programme exposed the propaganda of the German media. On a large display board, it documented the numerous connections between leading journalists and transatlantic think tanks where military leaders, business bosses and politicians discuss foreign policy strategies in a discreet atmosphere. As a result, Josef Joffe and Jochen Bittner of Die Zeit filed a lawsuit against Die Anstalt, which they finally lost on appeal.

This makes the most recent programme of Die Anstalt, broadcast by ZDF on March 8, all the more shameful. In it, Uthoff and von Wagner distance themselves from everything they previously advocated.

Die Anstalt

They begin the programme with the call to switch off any critical thinking and to refrain from any discussion of the causes and background of the war. We wanted to differentiate, they explain. But then you [Putin] decided to put a vacuum bomb up the backside of the European post-war order and launched a war of aggression. That is why, they say, they shredded two scripts and thought this is not the time to differentiate, but to fight back, and against you.

The rest of the programme consists of Putin jokes, whose level is often below the belt, delivered by various cabaret artists. In between, von Wagner and Uthoff contritely settle accounts with their former positions.

Von Wagner: As a satirist, NATO for me was always something of a... And now I simply believe that if Ukraine had been in NATO, Putin would never have dared to attack Ukraine.

Uthoff: What about the idea of Ukraines neutrality now?

Von Wagner: When Ukraine was neutral in 2014, thats when Putin grabbed Crimea. Countries like Ukraine have a good reason to want to be in NATO.

To the objection that for Putin, Ukraines NATO membership would have been a threat, von Wagner replies: Has NATO expanded, or havent many states joined it voluntarily? NATO was not dissolved in 1991 because it was successful as a defensive alliance. The Warsaw Pact, on the other hand, was only a kind of forced association to secure Soviet domination and was the only military alliance in its history to have attacked only its own members.

Uthoff: Perhaps we, notorious for soiling our own nest, simply underestimated how attractive NATO was to outsiders.

The extent of denial and repression is shocking. Would Uthoff and von Wagner rate the Warsaw Pact more positively if itlike the defensive alliance NATO and its superpower the UShad waged brutal colonial wars in Korea and Vietnam and supported military dictatorships from Greece to Chile?

Have they ever considered why NATO is deliberately fuelling the Ukraine conflict, blocking any approach to de-escalation, arming the country to the teeth and interfering ever more directly in the proxy war against Russia? Do they really believe that a military victory over Russia and a regime change in Moscow, as NATO is striving for, would lead to freedom and democracy?

The same was claimed by bourgeois propaganda three decades ago, when the Cold War ended, and the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union dissolved themselves. There was talk then of the final triumph of liberal democracy and the end of history. But the opposite took place. The imperialist appetites of the NATO powers, to which the very existence of the Soviet Union had set certain limits, now knew no bounds.

In the winter of 1990-91, the US attacked Iraq. Then, together with Germany, it supported the break-up of Yugoslavia and bombed Serbia in 1999. After 2001, the US and its NATO allies invaded Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya under the pretext of the war on terror and fomented the regime change war in Syria.

In the meantime, great power competition replaced the war on terror in the official US National Defence Strategy. The targets of the massive arms build-up are now primarily China, whose rise to the worlds largest economic power the USA wants to prevent at all costs, and Russia, which dominates a large part of the Eurasian landmass and has the worlds second-largest nuclear arsenal.

The proxy war in Ukraine against Russia is targeting the countrys vast raw materials and its strategic importance. If the US and its European allies succeed in eliminating Russia as a geopolitical actor, it will be easier for them to isolate China in preparation for a war. The danger that the confrontation will escalate and that the use of nuclear weapons will destroy the basis of humanitys existence becomes ever greater in the process.

In this conflict, the Ukrainian population plays only the role of a pawn on the Grand Chessboard, as US geostrategist Zbigniew Brzezinski put it in his 1997 bestseller of the same name, upon which the USA is defending its strategic supremacy as the sole world superpower.

The European Union (EU), too, is at best willing to grant Ukraine the role of a supplier of raw materials and cheap labour. It faces the same fate as the Eastern European EU members, where starvation wages and social misery are administered by governments so authoritarian and corrupt that even the EU bureaucracy in Brussels raises its warning finger from time to time.

As for Putin, he was celebrated in the West as long as he kept Russia open to looting by international finance capital and the Russian oligarchs. Only when, for nationalist reasons, he resisted NATO encirclement did he turn villain. As a Great Russian chauvinist and a lobbyist for the oligarchs, Putin is completely incapable of turning to the Russian and international working class, which is the only social force that can stop the spiral of war. Instead, he vacillates between attempts to wring a deal out of NATO and brutal threats of war and military strikes.

It was therefore easy for NATO to lure Putin into a trap, which it is now exploiting for its own ends. In Germany, the federal coalition has tripled the military budget in one fell swoopa move that would have met with fierce protest under any other circumstances.

Building an international working-class anti-war movement to stop the dangerous slide towards World War III requires not only rejection of the Russian invasion but also irreconcilable hostility to NATO militarism.

The adaptation to NATO by artists like Uthoff and von Wagner has both material and political-ideological causes.

They face pressure from well-off middle-class layers who have profited from the huge redistribution of income and wealth during the last three decades and have made their peace with imperialism. The war hysteria of these strata is also expressed in the anti-Russian boycott campaigns in music and science. Influenced by the subjectivist theories of postmodernism and identity politics, they have developed a fierce aversion to the working class and socialism. The Greens embody this most clearly.

In addition, the lessons of the twentieth century are largely misunderstood by them. The great lie of the centurythat the Stalinist dictatorship was the legitimate heir to the Russian October Revolution and the only possible form of real existing socialismhas cut many off from Marxism. The shift to the right of social democracy, the trade unions and their pseudo-leftist appendages has also meant that for some time, the working class has hardly appeared on the public stage as an independent social and political force.

But the same objective factors that are driving NATO and Russia into war are also creating the basis for the revival of the international class struggle, a process that has long since begun. Decades of social cuts while those at the top accumulate billions, the disastrous pandemic policies that have sacrificed millions of lives to profit, and the costs of sanctions policies and militarism now being heaped on the backs of wide layers of the population are driving the working class into struggle.

The international socialist perspective, which the International Committee of the Fourth International has defended against social democracy, Stalinism and the pseudo-left groups, now gains decisive significance in these circumstances. It will also attract the best elements from the middle class. It is to be hoped that critical artists who have presently lost their heads will soon find them again.
Julian Assange was shunted a step closer to his would-be executioners on Monday. The UK Supreme Court issued a one-line decision refusing to hear the WikiLeaks founders appeal against an earlier decision ordering his extradition to the United States.

The case will now be returned to the original court as a formality before being passed to the home secretary, Priti Patel, to give the final order. Once Patel receives the case, Assange could be on a plane to the US in just four weeks time, except for inevitable further appeals.

Julian Assange

The Biden administration intends to prosecute Assange for charges under the Espionage Act with a potential sentence of 175 years in prison. This would be served in barbaric conditions that previous judgements acknowledged could drive him to suicide. His health has already been destroyed by years of incarceration in Britains maximum security Belmarsh prison.

Despite the immense danger faced by the most significant journalist of the 21st century, many major newspapers did not cover the Supreme Court decision. Those that did ran entirely perfunctory stories, largely without comment.

Britains leading liberal newspaper, the Guardian, did not write a single critical line in its cursory 350-word article, quoting just two sentences from his legal team. The US New York Times managed, If Mr. Assange were extradited to the United States and faced a trial, the case could raise profound First Amendment issues. His prosecution has alarmed advocates of press freedom.

These are publications which have spent the last weeks screaming about Russian President Vladimir Putins censorship and attacks on free speech and journalistic freedoms. When speaking out about democratic rights lines up with imperialist war aims, they are fervent advocates. In the case of Assange, who exposed the systematic crimes of US and British imperialism, the democratic principles they so fiercely defend in Russia whither on the vine.

The NATO-Russia war over Ukraine has not only accelerated Assanges persecution, but intensified his long and deliberate isolation by the corporate media.

At a briefing with the Foreign Press Association last month, to introduce his new book The Trial of Julian Assange: A Story of Persecution, UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer accused the mainstream media of failing in their duty as the fourth estate to hold governments to account. Melzers book is based on his three years of efforts to end the illegal mistreatment of the WikiLeaks founder.

Professor Nils Melzer speaking at the Q&A to the Foreign Press Association (screenshot of YouTube video/Don't Extradite Assange Campaign)

In it, he criticises the too little, too late, tame and lame reporting of the British, American and American press, exposing their cynical pseudo-support for Assange:

A handful of half-hearted opinion pieces in the Guardian and the New York Times rejecting Assanges extradition are not bold enough, and so fail to convince. While both papers have timidly declared that convicting Assange of espionage would endanger press freedom, not a single mainstream media outlet protests the blatant violations of due process, human dignity and the rule of law that pervade the entire trial. None holds the involved governments to account for their crimes and corruption; none has the courage to confront political leaders with uncomfortable questions; none feels dutybound to inform and empower the peoplea mere shadow of what was once the fourth estate.

Amid the war frenzy and the need to present Britain and the US as champions of global democracy, even the days of the half-hearted opinion piece are over.

Melzers point extends far beyond the media. The UN rapporteur is one of just a handful of prominent public figures in any sphere with an honourable record on Assange. At his FPA event, he described his inability to seek redress through the diplomatic channels at my disposal, or by alerting the General Assembly [of the UN] or the Human Rights Council in Geneva, describing Assange as the untouchable case, kept behind a wall of silence.

Among the more significant silences is kept by the British left.

In July 2020, only 26 MPs could bring themselves to sign an early day motion, Julian Assange, press freedom and public-interest journalism, which asserted, That this House notes the July 2020 statement by the National Union of Journalists, the International Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and others in relation to the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and affirms its commitment to press freedom and public-interest journalism.

Among the signatories were 16 Labour MPs, including now former party leader Jeremy Corbyn and several of his shadow front benchers: John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Ian Lavery and Clive Lewis.

Of this rump, only one, Claudia Webbe, has spoken on Assange since the Supreme Court decision. Webbe is no longer a Labour MP, having been expelled from the party after a criminal harassment conviction. She tweeted simply, Julian Assange should be free.

Britains Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, left, embraces Jeremy Corbyn, the then leader of Britains main opposition Labour Party during his speech on stage during the Labour Party Conference at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The last time Corbyn, McDonnell, Abbott or Burgon, supposedly leading figures in the campaign for the WikiLeaks founders freedom, even tweeted on Assange was on January 24. Their support has always been for the record, motivated by a concern to preserve their progressive credentials. Under conditions of an escalating NATO war drive against Russia, to which they are all adapting, even nominal support is passing beyond the pale.

McDonnell and Abbott showed the direction of travel earlier this month, withdrawing their signatures from a Stop the War Coalition statement criticising NATO and backing out of the panel at its national rally in London. McDonell instead attended a pro-NATO rally alongside the imperialist shill Paul Mason.

He continued to make his political priorities clear on Monday, ignoring the Supreme Court ruling on Assange while tweeting the incredibly courageous anti-war protest of news editor Marina Ovsyannikova on Russias Channel 1. Ovsyannikova held up a sign during a live broadcast which read, No war, stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.

A socialist might have commented that the same slogan sums up Assanges beliefs, for which he is currently locked in a British prison and threatened with an effective death sentence, commending Ovsyannikova while exposing the hypocrisy of UK and US imperialism. They might also have noted that such a protest was never mounted on a British news channel during the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria, condemning the spineless conformity of the media.

But McDonnell, Corbyn and co are part of the same rotten milieu, committed to the sanctity of the state and its institutions, above all the Labour Party, now fulfilling its role as the party of NATO under Sir Keir Starmer. They can offer no serious opposition to British imperialism and its warmongering and therefore no defence of democratic rights, which will be increasingly curtailed as the war crisis and its domestic implications worsen.

Resistance to these measures will come from an independent movement of the working class. WikiLeaks and Assange won enormous popular sympathy among workers for their work 10 years ago. As the class struggle develops, pitching millions into fierce conflicts with their governments, that sentiment can be reawakened by a determined campaign in the working class to build a movement against war and for the freedom of Julian Assange.
A newly declassified 2008 document from the CIAs inspector general reveals that one of the detainees currently held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility was used as a living prop at a black site in Afghanistan to teach trainees the infamous enhanced interrogation techniques adopted by the administration of George W. Bush.

Ammar al-Baluchi, a Kuwaiti citizen, was rendered into US detention in 2003 from Pakistani custody and taken to a CIA torture facility known as the Salt Pit north of Kabul. According to the declassified document, the CIA was aware that rendering al-Baluchi was illegal because he was no longer a terrorist threat.

Proving that the Bush-Cheney administrations pseudo-legal justifications for torture were themselves a sham, Baluchi was initially subjected to two torture techniques that were not on the approved list. The first was the use of a stick behind the knees in a stress position, and the other involved leaning back while kneeling and dousing with ice water.

One of the approved torture techniques being taught by the CIA and used repeatedly on Baluchi was walling. The CIA inspector generals report says the torture trainees lined up to take turns smashing Baluchi head against a plywood wall.

Camp X-Ray at Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on January 11, 2002. (DoD photo by Petty Officer 1st class Shane T. McCoy, U.S. Navy)

According to the results of an MRI of Baluchis head carried out in 2018, a neuropsychologist found abnormalities indicating moderate to severe brain damage in areas affecting memory formation and retrieval, as well as behavioral regulation. The analysis found that the abnormalities observed were consistent with traumatic brain injury.

The walling of Baluchi involved placing his heels against a specially designed plywood wall which had flexibility to it and putting a rolled up towel around his neck. The heavily redacted report states, The interrogators would then grab the ends of the towel in front of and below the detainees face and shove [Baluchi] backwards into the wall, never letting go of the towel. While Baluchi was naked for the proceedings, the goal of the interrogators was to bounce him off the wall.

While the report states that there was no time limit for the walling sessions, typically a session did not last for more than two hours at a time, they went for as long as necessary for training purposes.

The declassified report also says that the treatment of Baluchi was not to extract information from him because the trainees were only interested in completing an interrogation course and becoming certified. As a former trainee told the CIA investigators, all the interrogation students lined up to wall Ammar so that [the instructor] could certify them on their ability to use the technique.

The report says that the interrogation of Baluchi at the Salt Pit did not yield any useful intelligence because the interrogators focused more on whether Ammar was compliant than on the quality of the information he was providing. It says the CIAs logic in justifying the detention is fuzzy and circular.

Baluchi, who is said to be the nephew of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, has been at Guantanamo Bay since 2006. The reason the CIA document has been released is because Baluchis lawyers are requesting an independent medical examination of him. He is one of five detainees, including Mohammed, whose appearance before a military tribunal on charges of participating in the 9/11 plot is moving forward after 10 years of pretrial delays.

After his time at the Salt Pit, Baluchi was tortured for three more years at a total of six CIA black sites. In December 2005, Human Rights Watch listed him as a ghost detainee held in the CIA prison system. According to a report in the Washington Post in July 2014, officials reported Baluchi was tortured and forcibly dunked into a tub filled with ice water. CIA interrogators forcibly kept his head under water while he struggled to breathe and beat him repeatedly with a truncheon-like object hitting him and smashing his head against a wall.

Baluchi has been accused of facilitating the 9/11 hijackers by transferring money from the United Arab Emirates to the US at the request of his uncle, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He is also charged with acting as a courier for Osama Bin Laden and plotting to crash a plane packed with explosives into the US consulate in Karachi. Baluchi lived and worked for a computer technology business in the UAE from 1999 to 2001.

One of Baluchis lawyers, Alka Pradhan, told the Guardian, If the CIA had not hidden their own conclusions about the illegality of Ammars torture for this long, the US government would not have been able to bring charges against Ammar because we now know that the torture inflicted on Ammar led to lasting brain damage in the form of a traumatic brain injury and other debilitating illnesses that cannot be treated at Guantanamo Bay.
A meeting last Saturday called by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) in Australia provoked considerable discussion on the Ukraine crisis. The questions focused on the underlying forces driving the eruption of militarism, how the danger of a disastrous world war can be fought, and the relationship between these issues and the intensifying onslaught against working class conditions in every country.

The meeting was entitled As the pandemic rages on, the threat of world war looms: Take up the fight against imperialism and for international socialism! Its timeliness was underscored by the war in Ukraine, raising the prospect of a far broader conflict.

Attendees included first-year university students, met during orientation week events, including from Sydneys Macquarie University and Western Sydney University, the University of Newcastle and several campuses in the Victorian state capital of Melbourne.

A high school student participated in the discussion, as did young workers. Attendees joined from across Australia, as well as New Zealand, Germany, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. More than a hundred people logged on.

A video of the meeting can be viewed below.

Socialist Equality Party (SEP) national secretary Cheryl Crisp chaired the event. She explained that the war threat could not be understood outside of the immense crisis of global capitalism, greatly intensified by the pandemic. The COVID crisis had accelerated a longstanding war drive by the major powers. The criminal pandemic policies of governments, subordinating health to profits, had demonstrated that the basic interests of working people were incompatible with capitalism.

Crisp briefly outlined the analysis of the Ukrainian conflict made by the world Trotskyist movement. The war had been provoked by the US and NATO, in line with protracted plans for a direct confrontation with Russia. Crisp explained that socialists opposed the Russian governments invasion of Ukraine, which reflected the interests of a capitalist oligarchy in that country, and fought for a unified movement of the international working class against war.

Evrim Yazgin, the president of the IYSSE club at the University of Melbourne, warned that war abroad means war against the working class at home.

Days before the meeting, the Australian government, with the full support of Labor, had announced the largest increase to military personnel since the Vietnam War, at a cost of $38 billion. Meanwhile, flood victims who had lost everything were being provided with a pittance. The two processesAustralias frontline role in the US war drive against Russia and China, and the criminal indifference to the plight of working peoplewere inextricably linked, Yazgin explained.

Gregor Link, a leading member of the IYSSE in Germany, gave a detailed analysis of the way in which the German ruling elite was exploiting the Ukrainian crisis to intensify remilitarisation. This was supported by the entire political establishment, including the Green Party, which is in the government.

Link issued a sharp warning. The German bourgeoisie was pursuing the same imperialist war aims that had led to the horrors of World War II, including the Holocaust and the invasion of the Soviet Union that claimed 20 million lives. The IYSSE and the SEP in Germany were alone in sounding the alarm and providing a political perspective for the widespread anti-war sentiment.

Oscar Grenfell, national organiser of the IYSSE in Australia, placed the conflict in the broader context of the eruption of American imperialism over the past 30 years.

He detailed decade-long plans by the US establishment for conflict with Russia and China aimed at ensuring the hegemony of American imperialism on the geo-strategically crucial Eurasian landmass. The US had backed a fascistic coup in Ukraine in 2014 and issued a public statement with that countrys right-wing government last November, clearly aimed at provoking war with Russia.

As in the 1930s, capitalism was tobogganing toward disaster, Grenfell said. A central driving force of the militarism was the attempt by governments to divert immense class tensions and social opposition outward. It was necessary, he said, to follow the map of the class struggle, not the war map. The fight for international socialism by the working class was the only means of averting a catastrophe.

Scores of comments were posted into the meeting chat, with many questions.

Addressing a query about the causes of war, Yazgin explained that the issue was not one of a bad government policy or the intentions of individuals. The war drive, led by the US, was rooted in the fundamental contradictions of the capitalist system, above all, between an integrated global economy and the division of the world into antagonistic nation-states, each representing the interests of rival capitalist groupings.

Grenfell responded to a question about whether it was necessary to support Ukrainian sovereignty. He warned that in practice, this meant lining up behind a right-wing proxy of the US and NATO. Grenfell reviewed key points in a WSWS statement, Democracy in UkraineWhat is NATO risking a war for? which outlined the elevation of fascist forces in the Ukrainian establishment and its transformation into a garrison state of NATO.

Nick Beams, a decades-long leader of the Trotskyist movement, explained: We dont approach this conflict from the standpoint of this or that nation, because the nations themselves are divided, fundamentally, into two classes, the working class and the capitalist class. The starting point of socialists was the working class, as a global social force, and the fight to unite it and provide it with a socialist program advancing its common class interests.

In a further contribution, Beams took on the designation by pseudo-left groups of Russia and China as imperialist powers. This description had no scientific content, he said, and was not based on any assessment of the historical evolution of either state or of world capitalism.

The imperialist powers, such as Britain and the US, were the centres of finance capital, Beams explained. Their dominance was demonstrated by the sweeping economic measures they were able to take against the Russian currency and its entire economy. The sole purpose of the designation of Russia and China as imperialist was to legitimise the pseudo-lefts alignment with the war drive of their own imperialist powers.

All the speakers emphasised the need for students and young people to take up the fight for a socialist perspective, by becoming active in the IYSSE and applying to join its parent organisation, the Socialist Equality Party.

After the meeting, Tristan, a Year 12 high school student, said: I had no idea that Germany was rebuilding up the military so much, or that there was a rehabilitation of Nazism, so the meeting enlightened me. I have no source of getting this information except the World Socialist Web Site. Gregor made a lot of good points and provided a perspective for me.

I feel that NATO is more like a representation of American influence. Ukraine is in no way, shape or form a nation that has sovereignty, like the freedom that the current government claims they enjoyed. It is only a pawn for American imperialism against Russia and ultimately China.

I think just looking back to history that World War is very possible. To stop the war drive, we the working class need to lead a revolution against this system right now to replace it with a government that is led by the workers, that works for the interests of working class people. So the only alternative to a World War is a social revolution led by the working class. I agree with it 100 per cent and I fully support such action.

Son, a student at La Trobe University in Melbourne, commented: The meeting was very informative. I gained a lot of insight into the socialist alternatives and viewpoints, I see myself aligned in large part with those viewpoints.

The speakers were really critical of the development of the West and NATO, pointing out that it wasnt just a backseat involvement, but rather a calculated and proactive involvement. That was eye-opening. The role that NATO and the US have played in this conflict has been mostly regarded in Western media as an invalid viewpoint from the Russian government and Russian sympathisers, and downplayed.

Asked about the way forward, Son stated: I think the working class is the most capable of taking a leadership role against war, because governments, officials and companies are representatives of the capitalist class, and the capitalist class is driven by profit. So whatever they do, at the end of the day its still profit that is being prioritised. And to generate profits there must be exploitation of the working people.
In an action clearly designed to ramp up the US-NATO confrontation against Russia, the Australian government announced this week it was joining the Netherlands in initiating legal proceedings against the Russian Federation in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014.

Despite consistent Russian denials of any responsibility for the tragedy and the lack of any supporting evidence, the Liberal-National government, backed by the Labor Party opposition, has maintained since 2018 that Russia is liable under international law for the downing of MH17.

The crash of MH17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, resulted in the deaths of 298 people, 38 of whom were Australian residents. The shooting down of the plane occurred at the height of the Ukraine civil war in 2014, triggered by the US- and German-backed coup in Kiev in 2014, which was led by fascist forces and sections of the Ukrainian oligarchy working closely with Washington and Berlin.

The Ukrainian, US, EU and Australian governments, supported by the international corporate media, rushed to blame Russia for the disaster without any evidence being presented. The dubious military incident was exploited as a pretext for provocative accusations and measures against Russia, which have now been taken to a new level in the propaganda barrage over Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

The reconstructed wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, put on display during a press conference in Gilze-Rijen, central Netherlands, on October 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

In a joint media statement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Attorney-General Michaelia Cash directly linked the timing of the legal proceedings to Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. They said the Russian aggression underscored the need to continue our enduring efforts to hold Russia to account for its blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter.

Like the mounting US and NATO confrontation with Russia over Ukraine, the MH17 allegations cannot be understood outside the 2014 coup, which overthrew the previous elected Ukraine government, and the relentless expansion of NATO toward Russias borders since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Washington deliberately goaded Moscow into a disastrous invasion calculating that it would bog Russia down in a debilitating war inside Ukraine.

Morrison and his ministers asserted that Australia and the Netherlands had overwhelming evidence that MH17 was shot down by a Russian Buk-TELAR surface-to-air missile system in an area under the control of Russian-backed separatists. They declared that the missile could only have been fired by the trained Russian crew of the Buk-TELAR, or at least by someone acting under their instruction, direction or control.

On the basis of these unclear and disputed allegations, the Morrison government declared its intent to hit Russia with a legal case that would add to the escalating economic and diplomatic sanctions being imposed on Russia by the US and its allies.

At the international level we are asking ICAO to suspend Russias voting rights, Attorney-General Cash told Sky News. ICAO is responsible for civil aviation standards and Russia will be voiceless on the international stage if the ICAO does this.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese immediately said the opposition would back the legal proceedings, continuing its bipartisan line-up behind the US-led war drive against Russia. The illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine has shown us the contempt Russia holds for international law, he declared. It must be held to account for its shameful actions.

Media outlets rushed to uncritically hail the announcement. An Australian editorial said it was a vital and overdue step, supposedly to obtain a measure of justice for the families of the victims.

In reality, the legal proceedings are spurious on many levels. In the first place, according to aviation law experts, the ICAO is a UN-affiliated body responsible for setting standards for international aviation and is very rarely asked to settle disputes between nations.

The ICAO can order Russia to return to negotiations over the MH17 disaster, which Moscow allegedly withdrew from in October 2020, but it has no enforcement powers, except to suspend Russias voting rights in the ICAO Council and ICAO Assembly.

Secondly, the ICAO litigation prejudges, and potentially prejudices, the increasingly troubled Dutch national prosecution of four suspects for their alleged individual criminal responsibility in the downing of Flight MH17.

On March 7, Dutch lawyers representing one of the accused men told the Dutch court no witnesses existed who could implicate their client in the incident. Not a single witness can testify to our clients role, position or alleged involvement in the charges, Boudewijn van Eijck told the judges.

Nonetheless, the public prosecution thought that even with so little evidence of his involvement he had to be prosecuted and they demanded the highest penalty against him, Van Eijck said.

Four suspects on trial in a case being conducted despite their absence are: Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko. Each is alleged to have some involvement in the Donbas breakaway provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Prosecutors called for life sentences against the four men when they closed their case late last year. The defence opened for Pulatov on March 7, the only accused man with legal representation.

Thirdly, the overwhelming evidence cited by the Australian government, like the prosecution of the four men, is based on a report by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) set up in 2014 to investigate the crash.

The JIT was never an independent body. It included representatives of the Dutch, Belgian, Malaysian and Ukrainian government and secret services. The Russian government was barred from participating in the inquiry.

In almost five years of this investigation, no proof of Russian state involvement was presented, and significant evidence pointing to potential Ukrainian involvement was deliberately suppressed.

A 2016 investigative report by journalist Robert Parry pointed to numerous gaps and contradictions in the JITs finding that a Russian missile system was brought by the Russian army to the Donbas separatists.

One key piece of evidence was barely audible phone conversations, allegedly tapped from Russian military sources, suggesting that the missile system was deliberately delivered to the separatists. However, these phone conversations did not explicitly refer to the missile system, nor to transport across the Russian-Ukrainian border.

Not only Russian but also US and Dutch intelligence found evidence suggesting Ukrainian involvement, but that fact has always been omitted from the media coverage. In October 2015, for example, the Dutch intelligence service MIVD determined that the only high-powered anti-aircraft missile systems in eastern Ukraine that could have shot down the MH-17 at 33,000 feet belonged to the Ukrainian military.

The JIT operated under an agreement allowing the Ukrainian government to veto the release of informationa glaring conflict of interest. The Ukrainian secret service (SBU), which was heavily involved in the imperialist-backed 2014 coup and subsequent operation of far-right forces in the civil war, was Ukraines official representative on the JIT, heavily influencing its activities.

The Dutch-Australian ICAO case, undoubtedly launched in close consultation with the Biden administration, further demonstrates the lengths to which the US and its allies are prepared to go in their reckless campaign against Russia, which could trigger a nuclear war.
The extreme fragility of the global financial system in the wake of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the Western powers has been highlighted by the negotiations involving some of the worlds biggest banks to resolve the crisis in the nickel market that erupted last week.

Yesterday it was announced that major banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered, had reached an agreement with the Chinese metals firm Tsingshan Holding Group not to press to close out the companys position in nickel trades or to make further margin calls. Such calls are demands for additional cash from the company that result from its failed bets in the nickel market.

Tsinhshan had shorted nickel in a series of contracts in anticipation that its price would go down. However, in the wake of the war crisis in Ukraine, the price shot up, leaving the company with a potential loss of billions of dollars. The company is the worlds biggest stainless steel producer and a big consumer of nickel.

Trader James McCarthy, foreground, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

After trading at around $30,000 per tonne, the price of nickel jumped to $50,000 on Monday of last week on the London Metal Exchange (LME). It then doubled to $100,000 the following day, whereupon the exchange closed its nickel market and left it closed until yesterday.

Following the agreement, the LME is expected to reopen today.

The deal between the banks and Tshingshan does not fully resolve the issue as the company is still on the hook for the money it owes. It is a standstill arrangement aimed at working out an agreement for new credit provisions and for the company to settle its nickel margin and settlement requirements.

In effect, the major banks have decided not to immediately press ahead with their margin calls lest this spark a wider crisis.

While it plans to reopen, the LME has said it will introduce daily price limits for all metals, including nickel. Members will be asked to disclose all contracts in derivatives markets of more than 100 tonnes.

Announcing the decision, the LME said it had noted that a large client of the market has now published details relating to the support of a banking consortium, which could suggest that the potential for further disorderly conditions may be mitigated.

The nickel market is relatively small and Tsinghans losses, while running into billions of dollars, did not in and of themselves pose a threat. But the wider implications of the incident did.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that producers and manufacturers of nickel-related products in China have said their operations have been adversely affected. More than half a dozen Chinese companies have sent notices to their customers and investors warning of problems in supplies, price increases or the inability to meet orders.

Jilin Jien Nickel, which manufactures nickel sulfate and nickel chloride in eastern China, issued a letter to customers last week advising them it was likely to lose money because of the increased cost of imported raw materials.

A ruthless game of capital has come to us with lightning speed, the letter said. It has brought an unprecedented survival crisis to those responsible and hardworking enterprises including us. It warned that huge losses are no longer avoidable.

According to the WSJ, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association, whose members include hundreds of firms, both state-backed and privately owned, said last week it was highly concerned about the irrational surge in nickel prices on the LME which had caused serious damage to companies in the global nickel supply chain.

On top of the effects in the real economy, there is the impact on financial markets and the cloud of uncertainty hanging over all commodities trading and the associated complex web of derivatives contracts that can be hit by violent price swings.

A comment in the WSJ headlined Will Financial Stability Get Nickel-and-Dimed? posed the question of whether the nickel crisis, which left the worlds biggest producer struggling to find billions of dollars to fund margin calls, was the canary in the nickel mine for the whole financial system.

It was common for commodity producers and miners to hedge their prices, the article noted, but when prices swing wildly there could be a mismatch in cash flows and traders must post additional collateral to meet margin calls from their lenders.

Nickel is by no means the only globally traded commodity to experience wild price swings. Coal prices in Asia doubled in February and March before falling back. Aluminium and wheat prices have experienced surges, and the price of oil continues to gyrate. It has risen as high as $130 in recent days and then fallen to just below $100.

Traders who make deals can be caught out to the tune of billions of dollars virtually overnight if they are on the wrong side of these rapid movements.

As the WSJ comment noted: No one knows exactly what lies ahead for commodity prices but the idea that Tsingshan is the only company out there with big hedges that could go very wrong might prove optimistic.

Credit Suisse strategist Zoltan Poszar has likened the present situation to that which set off the global financial crisis of 2008the collapse of prices for collateralised debt obligations (CDOs) based on mortgage-backed securities.

In a note written earlier this month, Poszar said: Russian commodities are like subprime CDOs were in 2008. The financial markets froze then because investors became unsure how much exposure their counterparties had to toxic subprime-based financial assets. Now the uncertainty is how much exposure financial traders and speculators have to Russian assets and Russian produced commodities.

Financial Times writer Patrick Jenkins has also pointed to the broader effects of the sanctions on Russia, saying he was not sure that the potential impact for the world outside Russia has been fully acknowledged.

The spiralling cost of commodities could take out financial operators, large and small, mainstream and marginal, he said, citing the suspension of nickel trading by the LME in a comment piece published earlier this week.

Jenkins likened the present situation to the crisis in 2008, which was set off by the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers. He noted that since then the world has been awash with free money because of central bank policies, resulting in inflated asset prices and debt levels that have risen to new records.

Be under no illusion: Russians will not be the only ones to suffer under Russian sanctions. The world should remember Lehman and brace for a global financial and economic shock, he concluded.
The Omicron outbreak in New Zealand continues to expand dramatically, leading to increased deaths and hospitalisations, and growing anger among working people.

The number of people in hospital with COVID reached 971 today. There are about 20,000 cases being reported per day and roughly 200,000 known active cases, but experts say the real figure is likely far higher.

The death toll has more than doubled since the start of the year to 141. This is still low by world standards because for most of the past two years there was practically no COVID-19 in New Zealand.

The Labour Party-led government abandoned its zero COVID policy in October 2021. Since then it has removed more restrictions, promising to avoid lockdowns and keep schools and businesses open. The government has embraced a policy of mass infection that has unleashed a preventable disaster.

Wellington Regional Hospital | Nga Puna Waiora, in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo: Tom Ackroyd)

Epidemiologist Michael Baker told Stuff that deaths could soon reach 10 to 20 per day. So far, the record for New Zealand is eight deaths in a single day.

The much more contagious BA.2 subvariant of Omicron is now dominant in New Zealand. BA.2 is fuelling a surge internationally, including rising hospitalisations in the UK and record deaths among children in the US. COVID-19 has killed more than 20 million people globally and continues to kill about 50,000 a week.

On March 10, the NZ Ministry of Health revealed that it had previously been undercounting COVID deaths due to overly restricted reporting criteria. Following a reconciliation of figures, nine deaths not previously recorded were added to the toll. Now, the government is reporting all deaths that occur within 28 days of contracting the virus as COVID-related deathsthe same approach used in the UK and many other countries.

The healthcare system is breaking down under high volumes of COVID cases and staff absences due to infection. On Monday, Christchurch Hospital and others in the Canterbury district announced the postponement of almost all non-urgent procedures. Nearly 500 healthcare workers were self-isolating due to COVID.

On Tuesday, it was reported that 15 percent of staff at Wellington Hospital were unable to work. In Auckland, the biggest city, hospitals have reported similar absences, and operations have also been cut back.

In response to the crisis, the Ministry of Health last week announced a criminally reckless decision to allow hospitals to ask workers to return to COVID wards while they still have the virus.

A worker at Taranaki Base Hospital, in the central North Island, told the World Socialist Web Site that the decision was pure discrimination against healthcare workers and a violation of human rights. He said the government had had two long years to make sufficient preparations for a COVID-19 outbreak; they did nothing.

He pointed out that the government had made the hospital staffing crisis worse by failing to recruit enough qualified workers from overseas. Hundreds have been refused entry to New Zealand and others already in the country face needless bureaucratic obstacles to having their qualifications recognised and becoming registered.

The government has also slashed the isolation period for people with the virus, and household contacts, from 10 to 7 days. This will force more people back to work before they have fully recovered.

This week, the government finally declared that three doses of the Pfizer vaccine are required for someone to be considered fully vaccinated. Only just over 2.5 million people are triple-vaccinated, about half the population.

When the outbreak began, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern encouraged complacency by boasting that New Zealand was in a strong position to withstand Omicron because almost 95 percent of the population aged over 12 was double vaccinated. It was already well known at the end of last year that three doses were needed to provide significant protection.

Schools are a major source of infection. On Monday the Ministry of Education announced 42,261 cases in schools over the previous 10 days. Many children are unvaccinated, and younger children are not required to wear masks. The teacher unions, which enforced the reopening of schools, bear responsibility for this crisis.

In the latest move to normalise the pandemic, Ardern announced today that the border will reopen for visitors from Australia on April 13, with no self-isolation requirements. It will reopen to several other countries on May 2.

Despite the governments push to reopen everything, New Zealands city centres are largely deserted, with thousands of people either isolating due to COVID-19, or working from home to avoid infection.

The COVID crisis and the soaring cost of living are fuelling growing anger towards the government. In a TVNZ/Kantar poll released last week, the Labour Party dropped to second place for the first time in the pandemic, with just 37 percent support compared to the opposition National Partys 39 percent.

A parent in Auckland told the WSWS the way [the pandemic] is being handled now is just insanity. People were being told that schools are safe from COVID when they are not, and that they can return to work even if they test positive. She denounced the Ministry of Health for repeatedly stating that Omicron is mild for most people.

Public transport workers in Wellington are concerned about the rapid spread of the virus, which has infected hundreds of bus and train workers in the city in recent weeks.

A train worker, employed by Transdev, told the WSWS: When COVID first arrived, we felt that they were making an effort to look after us, but thats much less so now. They think having the vaccines going to fix everything, but it wont.

The company only recently told workers that they should get a third shot. There is no physical distancing of passengers on trains, and staff are not able to enforce masking requirements.

Drivers for NZ Bus in Wellington are not being informed about the exact numbers of people in the company who are catching COVID. One driver said NZ Bus wont supply RAT [rapid antigen tests] as it costs them money, yet the company had spent thousands of dollars on installing dozens of surveillance cameras.

Another bus driver said they are not required to wear masks inside the depot, despite it being a poorly ventilated area frequented by many workers. Management says they are just following government advice; they do the bare minimum, they dont seem to be concerned that half their workforce could come down with the virus, she said.

The driver agreed that a lockdown would be a good idea: that would protect us, instead of sacrificing us. She added: All those people making the decisions arent on the front lines, are they?

In a statement published on Monday, the Socialist Equality Group called for workers to form rank-and-file safety committees to fight for a properly-funded elimination strategy. This must be done in opposition to all the trade unions, which agree with and are enforcing the let it rip agenda.
Yoon Suk-yeol, from the right-wing People Power Party (PPP), narrowly defeated Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DP) in South Koreas presidential election last Wednesday, securing 48.6 percent of the vote to the latters 47.8 percent. Yoon will be inaugurated on May 10. Voter turnout reached 77.1 percent.

Yoon will replace Moon Jae-in, who won the 2017 presidential election following the impeachment and removal from office of President Park Geun-hye. Mass protests against Park over corruption allegations forced the government to remove her from office to forestall a wider explosion of anger at the political establishment as a whole. Riding this anti-Park wave, Moon was easily elected to office, but was ineligible for re-election as South Korean presidents can only serve one term.

The political crisis surrounding the mass protests and Parks impeachment led to a collapse of support and the fragmentation of her Saenuri Party. The forerunner of the PPPthe Grand Unified New Party, quickly changed to the United Future Partywas only formed in 2020 as the merger of three right-wing parties that all trace their origins to the Saenuri Party.

Yoon was chosen as the PPPs candidate in an attempt to distance the party from the crisis surrounding Parks impeachment. He has never been elected as a legislator but rose to prominence as a government prosecutor. He served as the lead prosecutor in the corruption investigation that led to Parks imprisonment.

South Korea's president-elect Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a news conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022. (Kim Hong-ji/Pool Photo via AP)

Moon appointed Yoon, then officially an independent, as prosecutor general in 2019. However, Yoon rapidly fell out with the ruling Democratic Party over his decision to prosecute Justice Minister Cho Kuk and was ultimately forced to resign in March 2021. He was almost immediately courted by the PPP, which presented Yoon as an anti-corruption figure opposed to Moon who had increasingly become unpopular.

Yoons election and the return to power of the unified conservative party are the result above all of the deep unpopularity of the Moon administration, which is responsible for the social crisis produced by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the assistance of the trade unions, Moon and the Democrats have sought to suppress growing unrest in the working class, reflected in strikes over pay, jobs and working conditions.

Two years ago, the DP won a huge majority in the National Assembly, taking 180 seats out of a total of 300, as people demonstrated their support for the governments initial handling of the pandemic. At first, the Moon administration implemented widespread testing and contact tracing, closed schools, and enforced social distancing measures that managed to keep case numbers low.

However, social conditions have sharply deteriorated. Officially, the 3.7 percent unemployment rate is relatively low, but this hides the reality workers face. Statistics Korea reported on January 24 that more than 3 million people had given up looking for work last year, a number not included in the official unemployment rate.

For young people aged 15 to 29, the situation is bleak. The real unemployment rate is approximately 25 percent when the underemployed and those who have given up looking for work are calculated. Apartment prices have also doubled in the last five years, meaning for many young people securing a job and starting a family is far out of their reach.

Like its counterparts around the world, the Moon administration, under pressure from big business, has largely eliminated the initial public health measures put in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, resulting in a staggering rise in infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

On Election Day, the daily total of infections hit 342,446, eclipsing the previous record high by more than 75,000, and the largest figure reported by any country in the world. Deaths are rising as the hospital system is becoming overwhelmed. More than 1,100 people are in intensive care units, including a number of people in their 30s and under. On average, 167 people are dying a week, including a teenager who passed away a day before the election.

Yoon and Lee Jae-myung largely ignored the pandemic during the election campaign. Neither candidate put forward any serious response to the growing health crisis highlighting the huge gulf between the concerns of working people and the political establishment as a whole.

The hostility towards the two main parties was reflected in the comments of voters. Lee So-jeong told the Chosun Ilbo, We feel that were voting for the lesser evil. Thats not what an election is supposed to be. Ideally, you have a lot of options But these candidates, either one, there will be no real change.

In an election campaign dominated by mudslinging and scandal-mongering, Yoon latched onto the feminism and the Me-too movement backed by the Democrats to blame the lack of jobs for young men on discrimination. He plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality.

The gender politics of both Yoon and Moon is reactionary as it sows divisions in the working class and diverts attention from the real cause of unemploymentthe capitalist system.

Yoon will only deepen the attacks on the working class as he pursues economic policies to boost the profits of big business. In his first press conference last Thursday, the president-elect stressed that his administration will rely on the free market and remove restrictions that hamper its operation.

These will include more flexibility in working hours, putting greater burdens on workers to enable manufacturers to operate around the clock. He also pledged tax breaks for small businesses and the easing of regulations on so-called platform companies offering digital online services.

Under the pretext of addressing the housing crisis, Yoon is promising a lowering of property taxes and an easing of regulations on home loansmeasures that will be a boon to property developers and real estate agents.

Yoon has also foreshadowed attacks on the countrys limited welfare payments, saying, Without growth, welfare, which is necessary, cannot continue.

In foreign policy, Yoon has pledged to deepen cooperation with US imperialism, taking a particularly anti-China tone during his campaign. He has promised to work closely with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, a Washington-led quasi-military alliance targeting China that includes the US, Japan, Australia and India.

Yoons election will only heighten tensions with North Korea. During a February 25 debate, he exploited the war in Ukraine to call for a bolstering of the South Korean militarys offensive capabilities. The situation in Ukraine, he stated, shows us that national security and peace cannot be maintained with agreements on paper. War can be prevented only by securing a pre-emptive strike capacity.

Yoon has also pledged to deploy a second US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea. The first batterys deployment was concluded under Moon. These anti-ballistic missile systems are an integral component of US preparations for nuclear war. Far from being defensive, they are designed to counter retaliation in the event of a US first strike on Russia or China.

The incoming Yoon administration will only exacerbate the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region as it carries out class war measures to further shift the burden of the countrys economic crisis onto the working class.
The WSWS will continue to collect and publish statements of support for striking Minneapolis teachers. Contact the WSWS and tell us why you support Minneapolis teachers.

The strike of over 4,000 Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) teachers and support staff in Minnesota has entered its second week. MPS students showed their support for their teachers Tuesday by joining the picket lines. Educators and workers across the US expressed their support for the striking Minneapolis educators in statements given to the World Socialist Web Site. In their comments, educators and workers connected the present struggle of Minneapolis teachers against intolerable working conditions with the experiences of educators and school staff in districts across the US and internationally. Workers also emphasized the present and ongoing dangers of the pandemic and the drive to war.

A teacher in Tennessee said, I stand with the teachers in Minneapolis and support their brave strike action! It is important to educators everywhere that you stand by your demands and refuse the attempts of the MFT [Minneapolis Federation of Teachers] to concede for less than you deserve! Educators throughout the world have been pushed to the breaking point by low wages and now they are being forced to risk their lives during a global pandemic. You must stay strong and set the example for the necessary action of the international working class against the cruel and inhumane policies of the ruling elites.

Striking Minneapolis teachers, support staff and their supporters rallied outside the State Capitol in St. Paul on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

Janet, a teacher in San Diego, California, read the recent statement on the WSWS on the Minneapolis teachers strike and said, I wept when I read this article about the working conditions of teachers and their fight to get living wages. The Minneapolis teachers are so brave! We should all take heed; soon there will be no one left to teach our nations youth. Janet also mentioned that the poor working conditions and lack of COVID safety measures have led to the mass exodus of teachers from the profession, herself included. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data shows that as of February 1, there are 567,000 fewer educators in public schools in the US than there were before the pandemic. This is more than double the governments 10-year projection of 267,000 educators.

Mental health issues like anxiety, insomnia and stress plague teachers, and teachers relationships with spouses suffer dearly, Janet added. New teachers are coming in to take their places, but not enough of them, and I fear the social emotional problems students have these days may be an extra responsibility young teachers will have to contend with that they didnt bargain for and werent trained to adequately deal with. The absolute lack of concern and of willingness to make the changes teachers are striking for is unfortunately commonplace, I fear, in school boards and administrations across the nation. Expressing her concerns for the recent decision by her former district to lift mask mandates after the upcoming spring break she said, If I hadnt left the classroom already this year, Id be afraid for my life.

Alfonso, a teacher in a neighboring San Diego, California, school district, addressed the striking Minneapolis teachers saying, Teachers in San Diego face the similar problems you do. Rents and mortgages are ridiculous, were asked to do more every year with less. Art courses have vanished, teacher assistants are gone, programs for reading are gone. Compounding that, there is the constant fear of COVID in packed classrooms, the fear of removing masks, and the constant attacks from the far right on our livelihoods.

We support your strike full heartedly. My advice to you is take the fight into your hands. Rank and file teachers! My union has done everything to straitjacket us from defending our new teachers and ourselves.

Alfonso concluded, The US is spending billions to produce weapons built for death. There is more than enough money for high-quality public education. We should be demanding even more boldly: 12 students per class and eight psychologists per site would be a good start. We have to demand more.

Picketing Minneapolis educators (WSWS Media)

Clare, an educator in Alabama and member of the Alabama Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee, also expressed her support. We stand with the teachers in Minneapolis who are walking out WITH their students to save lives and improve working conditions. We stand with teachers and the working class all over the world.

She continued, With so many lives lost to this pandemic, THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR WAR!! Did we not learn anything? Did not the time in solitude allow us to realize what is important? Our lives, our families, and our values are most important and necessary! The ruling class wants us to forget that. HOW DARE THEY put us in the throngs of war when we are still not finished fighting the war against COVID. Money that should be poured into funding the elimination of this disease is now being ripped away to fund a cruel and unnecessary war.

Anthony, an educator and a parent of a public elementary school student in Ohio, wrote: I completely support the Minneapolis teachers strike. Together, teachers and support staff can begin to build the kind of safe, enriching institutions that our students and school workers deserve. For decades, resources have been stripped from our schools while military budgets and corporate handouts abound. Meanwhile, the burden resting squarely on the back of school workers has not lessened. Indeed, while essential resources are increasingly hard to come by, those entrusted with the education of our children are forced to worker harder, more creatively, just to make do with less.

COVID-19 did not cause this problem; the pandemic has merely exacerbated a preexisting capitalist disease that has forced our students and community members back into school despite wave after wave of infection that sweeps through places where people are crowded together, like in schools, for extended periods. Teachers, staff, and students have been forced to weather this storm with the knowledge that the powers-that-be simply dont care how many of us contract COVID-19 or even die. In the United States, we are quickly approaching the million-deaths mark, and as the new subvariant spreads worldwide, we, too, will suffer. It has become all too clear that schools are more about impounding children so that their parents can labor under similarly deteriorating work conditions, generating corporate profits while watching their own compensation and safety diminish. These are not the schools we want; these are not the schools we need.

I encourage the Minneapolis/St. Paul teachers and other support staff to stay the course, to reach out to surrounding districts and cities so that their efforts might spread. I encourage these brave educators to reject the false promises of the teachers unions, the DSA, and the Democratic Party. These insidious entities have made their priorities known, and we have nothing to gain by allowing them a foothold in our protests, walkouts, and strikes. They want nothing more than to profit by channeling our outrage for their own capitalist purpose. The sooner we dump them, the better. I am heartened by what is happening in Minnesota, and I offer my complete support.

Commenting on MFT leader Greta Callahans statement that all we want is competitive pay and the only number we are hard on is $35,000 for ESPs, Alex, a retired teacher from Cleveland, Ohio, said, For what they are expected to do, Minneapolis teachers and ESPs (Educational Support Professionals) ought to be paid double that figure! This is especially given the impending economic conditions soon to be reaped on them by yet another discretionary, for-profit war.

Yet having already substantially reduced its initial, first-year demand for a 20% raise, it is clear that Callahans MFT will lead no such struggle for public education. The MFT says it will be flexible. True! It has no backbone to struggle for teachers, students or to defend public education. That is not in the MFTs or AFTs class interest.

Low wages are an insult. Yet accumulated responsibilities laid blithely on educators over years suggest something more. This pattern points to a deliberate intent to break the public education system so it can be privatized. These conditions negate the very possibility of maintaining an effective education system. Here, understaffing makes a measure of sense if in a heinous way. And the results are seen in the readiness of numerous teachers to leave a profession they love. The effective licensure of pandemic conditions only deepens this crisis.

Minneapolis educators are not unique. The refusal of the MFT to defend their dues-payers is characteristic of all teacher unions. Nor are these conditions limited to educators. Healthcare workers, transportation workers, Amazon workers, steelworkers, mining workers, petroleum workers, agricultural workers, garment workersthe entire working class is made to endure an undemocratic system of non-voluntary union misrepresentation in their own name.

It is essential that the proper lesson be deduced from this. There is no way forward for Minneapolis teachersor any other sector of the working classwith the trade unions. It is essential that workers break from their unions and form independent rank-and-file committees to take up the class struggle which the older unions have refused to lead for decades. Is it time? Yes! Time and past time!

When demands for essential pay increases, manageable teacher-pupil ratios, increased staffing, and protection from global pandemic cause teacher conflict with the Democratic Party and its union bosses, you know that the party and unions alike have abandoned all commitment to public education.

Other sections of workers also expressed their support for the striking teachers. An autoworker at Stellantis Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant denounced the claims that there is no money to fund public education and provide educators a living wage. While the Democratic and Republican Parties have tactical disagreements on certain issues, he said, what they do agree on is to pour a whole lot more money into the military industrial complex and shame teachers instead of paying them what they are worth. Yeah, its disgusting.

The big business parties, he continued, dont care about educating the public. They just want to teach them enough to subjugate them so corporate America can exploit and take advantage of them. A truly educated public would be an informed public, which would make it harder for the government and corporate America to take advantage of you.
In an article published Monday by the right-wing Washington Free Beacon, Virginia Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, revealed that she attended the Stop the Steal rally outside the White House on January 6, 2021, in support of Donald Trumps extra-constitutional attempt to overthrow the election of Joe Biden.

Thomass admission follows recent reporting detailing her prominent role in far-right Republican activities, including the plot, in part via the Supreme Court, to block the certification of Biden and maintain Trump in power. These efforts culminated in the storming of the US Capitol by far-right and fascist forces shortly after Trump and Republican lawmakers and operatives addressed the rally attended by Thomas.

Thomass acknowledgment of her presence at the January 6 rally was evidently aimed at heading off new revelations that will further implicate the Thomases in Trumps coup plot.

For most of her adult life, Virginia Thomas has been politically active in the far-right of the Republican Party, advocating, organizing and helping to implement measures to further empower the most rapacious sections of the financial oligarchy.

Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, arrives to watch Amy Coney Barrett take the Constitutional Oath on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, October 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

In a January interview with the New Yorker, writer Kurt Andersonwho grew up across the street from Thomas, whose maiden name was Virginia Lampexplained that Virginias parents were the roots of the modern, crazy Republican Party.

Anderson continued: My parents were [Barry] Goldwater Republicans, but even they thought the Lamp family was nuts.

In 1968, Virginias mother, Marjorie Lamp, was a Republican National Committee delegate for Ronald Reagan. Eight years later, Virginia volunteered for the 1976 Reagan campaign. She would go on to become a lobbyist for the US Chamber of Commerce and a senior aide to then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey. She later worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Virginia has used her relationship with Clarence, whom she married in 1987, four years before his accession to the Supreme Court, to advance their shared extreme right-wing political agenda. Recent articles have detailed Virginia Thomass numerous ties, current and former, to Republican-backed think tanks and organizations.

* She is one of nine board members of the Council for National Policy (CNP) Action. The New York Times reported in February that CNP Action distributed a document in November 2020 to its members instructing them to pressure Republican lawmakers to challenge the election results and appoint an alternate slate of electorsa scheme nearly identical to that advanced by Trump coup lawyer Rudy Giuliani. In a December 2, 2020, speech at the White House, Trump called on the Supreme Court of the United States to confirm that millions of votes were cast illegally and do whats right for our country.

* Virginia Thomas has been on the advisory board of Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump group aimed at young people, whose founder, Charlie Kirk, has previously boasted of sending busloads of protesters to the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In a recently unearthed interview from January 6, Hitler-admirer Madison Cawthorn, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, called into the Charlie Kirk show during the attack and admitted to being armed.

So you and [Republican Representative] Lauren Boebert, you guys are armed now, right? Kirk asked Cawthorn, who replied, Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. Cawthorn added that being in a wheelchair allowed him to carry multiple weapons at one time ... so you know everyone around me is armed.

* Thomas is the founder of a group called Groundswell, which she created with the support of Stephen K. Bannon, the New York Times reported more than a decade ago. The group, the Times wrote, holds a weekly meeting of influential conservatives, many of whom work directly on issues that come before the court.

As recently as 2019, Thomas described herself as the chairman of the invitation-only network of hard-right conservatives and fascists. Other current and former members of Groundswell include lead Stop the Steal organizer Ali Alexander and former Trump aide and member of the Hungarian fascist Order of the Vitez, Sebastian Gorka.

In the interview with the Free Beacon, Thomas claimed she played no role in planning the far-right rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. She does admit, however, that she was among the thousands of far-right Trump supporters, militia members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists summoned by Trump to violently stop the certification of an election he lost by over 7 million votes and a wide deficit in Electoral College votes.

Backing Trumps lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, Thomas told the FreeBeacon: There are important and legitimate substantive questions about achieving goals like electoral integrity  a democratic system like ours needs to be able to discuss and debate rationally in the political square. I fear we are losing that ability.

Thomas went on to say she was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6.

But in Facebook posts written by Ms. Thomas the day of the attempted coup, she sounded anything but disappointed. In one post reported by Slate, Thomas linked to a news article about the ongoing attack, and wrote, LOVE MAGA people!!!

Shortly thereafter, she posted part of a speech by Ronald Reagan, saying now was A Time for Choosing. This was followed by another update, proclaiming, GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU STANDING UP or PRAYING!

The Free Beacon claimed that while Ginni Thomas admits to attending the rally, the organizers of which have been subpoenaed by the House Select Committee charged with investigating the attempted coup, she got cold and left early.

In the interview, Thomas did not clarify where she went after leaving the rally. However, Rolling Stone reporter Hunter Walker reported on Monday that at least three sources have told him they believe they saw Ginni Thomas at the Willard on Jan. 6.

The Willard Intercontinental Hotel, located across the street from the White House, served as a command center for the various pro-Trump elements, including lawyers, militia members and Republican politicians, who organized the then-presidents legal and paramilitary efforts to overthrow the election following his November defeat.

In her interview with the Free Beacon, Thomas attempted to refute allegations made against her by Dustin Stockton, a mid-level organizer in the Women For America First group, which were recently published in the New York Times. Stockton was previously subpoenaed by the House Select Committee and has been cooperating with House investigators since at least December 2021, no doubt in an attempt to avoid possible prosecution.

In the Times report, Stockton said Thomas played the role of peacekeeping arbiter between various pro-Trump groups in the interests of furthering Trumps coup conspiracy.

The way it was presented to me was that Ginni was uniting the different factions around a singular mission on January 6, Stockton, a former employee of Trump White House advisor Stephen Bannon, told the newspaper. That Ginni was involved made sense, he said, adding that shes pretty neutral and she doesnt have a lot of enemies in the movement.

Less than a month after Stockton was subpoenaed by the House Committee, Thomas co-signed a December 15, 2021 letter, along with dozens of other pro-Trump leaders in the Republican Party, demanding that Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney and Illinois Representative Adam Kinzinger, the only two Republicans serving on the House January 6 Committee, be immediately expelled from the Republican conference.

The signatories cited Cheney and Kinzingers egregious actions as part of the House of Representatives January 6th Select Committee. The letter claimed the two were part of [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosis team, and have deliberately sought to undermine the privacy and due process of their fellow Republicans, and those of private citizens with improperly issued subpoenas and other investigatory tactics designed not to pursue any valid legislative end, but merely to exploit for the sake of political harassment and demagoguery.

In her interview with the Free Beacon, Thomas claimed that her prominent role in Republican Party politics had no bearing on Clarence Thomass judicial rulings. Clarence doesnt discuss his work with me, and I dont involve him in my work, she said.

This claim does not hold water. Over a decade ago, the World Socialist Web Site wrote about Virginia Thomass wide-ranging political activities, including her lobbying with Liberty Central, which she founded in 2009 and still operates today. Such public and partisan political activity on the part of a spouse, let alone activity in pursuit of goals antithetical to the US Constitution, is a gross violation of judicial ethics and arguably illegal.

No spouse, to my knowledge, has ever actively lobbied other branches of government in the public sphere on issues before the justices like Ginni Thomas has, Gabe Roth, the director of Fix the Court, a reformist organization that advocates for judicial transparency, recently told CNN.

This past January, the Supreme Court rejected Trumps request, on specious grounds of executive privilege, that it intervene to stop the House January 6 Committee from accessing White House records from his term of office. Justice Thomas was the lone dissenter in the 81 decision.

That the Democrats have done nothing to challenge Virginia Thomass political activity underscores the total prostration and indifference of liberalism to the steady march to the right by the political establishment and its abandonment of democratic principles, wrote WSWS writer Tom Carter in November 2010.

This process has only accelerated in the last decade, exemplified by the fact that Trump and his co-conspirators, despite near-daily revelations exposing their criminality, remain free to continue their efforts to build a fascist movement and overthrow the Constitution more than 14 months after the failed coup.
Britain is to escalate its armament of Ukraines military forces, including fascist battalions, Downing Street has pledged. The UK is looking to supply the Kiev government with Starstreak high velocity surface-to-air missiles, Prime Minister Boris Johnsons official spokesman said, threatening, Britain will not be deterred by Russia from supplying weapons to Ukraine.

The statement was made after reports that three British ex-special forces personnel were killed in a Russian attack on a military facility close to the Polish border on Sunday. Their deaths have not been officially confirmed and the British government denies its military personnel are on the ground in Ukraine.

Soldiers stand near the anti-tank missile systems 'Stugna' in the Kiev armored plant in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, November 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

This is a lie. Thousands of foreign mercenaries, many from military and fascist backgrounds are active in Ukraine and UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in February that she absolutely backed Britons going to Ukraine to fight Russia. The government subsequently said that it would be illegal for Britons to leave in order to fight in Ukraine, but this was for the record. Nothing has been done to stop anyone from traveling there.

The criminal character of the Russian invasion cannot detract from the fact that NATO has been involved in unending provocations against Moscow since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Having backed the right-wing Maidan coup in 2014, it has stepped up the arming and training of Ukrainian forces as part of efforts for regime-change in Moscow, and the carving up of Russia, in much the same way that NATO dismembered Yugoslavia.

Notwithstanding official denials, evidence proves that NATO is already covertly at war against Russia in Ukraine.

A report from the House of Commons library Military Assistance to Ukraine 2014-2021, was released on March 4. It states, UK military assistance to Ukraine is longstanding. Officially this commenced with bilateral military assistance in October 2014, shortly after the Maidan putsch but unofficial military ties go back to 1991.

That year Ukraine joined NATOs North Atlantic Cooperation Council as a partner country and the Partnership for Peace programme in 1994.

In early 2015, the UKs Operation Orbital was announced, involving non-lethal military equipment and 'guidance and training to the Ukrainian armed forces through several advisory and short-term training teams. In the two years between 2015 and 2017, the UK gifted 2.2 million of non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine. This has been expanded ever since. In November 2019, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that Operation Orbital would be extended until March 2023. The operation includes Training for defensive operations in an urban environment.

Ukraine was given Enhanced Opportunity status with NATO in June 2020, which provides Ukraine with preferential access to NATOs exercises, training and exchange of information and situational awareness, in order to increase interoperability. In September 2020, Ukraine hosted Exercise Joint Endeavour, with British, US and Canadian troops, the first exercise under Ukraines new enhanced status.

In October that year, a Memorandum of Intent between the UK and Ukraine agreed to develop Kievs naval capabilities. Contracts underway involve the sale and integration of missiles on Ukraines Navy patrols, the development and joint production of eight fast missile warships and Assistance in building new naval bases in the Black Sea and Azov Sea.

The briefing states that the UK has trained 22,000 Ukrainian military personnel as part of these initiatives.

Britain has followed the US lead. Ukraine has been a leading recipient of US foreign and military aid since the early 1990s. In the first decade after independence, Ukraine received almost $2.6 billion in US aid. In the years leading up to Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine was receiving an estimated $105 million per annum, including foreign military financing, the Commons report states.

In 2014 the Obama administration provided significant non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine At the time, the Obama administration, with the support of Congress, indicated that it was considering providing Ukraine with lethal weapons if diplomacy fails to end the crisis in the east.

It was the Trump administration that officially decided to provide Ukraine with major defensive lethal weaponry.

It was the withholding of Ukrainian security assistance and specifically the provision of lethal weaponry that was linked to the first impeachment trial of President Trump in 2019, the report states. The pause was lifted in September 2019, after which, in August 2021, the US and Ukraine also signed a Strategic Defense Framework to provide a foundation for strengthening defence cooperation. Among its priorities are defence industry reform, strengthening cooperation with respect to security in the Black Sea, cyber defence and intelligence sharing, and countering Russian aggression.

An indication of who is receiving this funding is given by the Declassified website which published photos of a meeting in Kiev last year, believed to be in September 2021, between three British commanders of Operation Orbital and three officers from Ukraines National Guard (NGU).

The NGU was formed in 2014 to incorporate an array of paramilitary and volunteer battalions which were fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Declassified writes. This included a neo-Nazi unit, the Azov Battalion, which reportedly has a thousand soldiers.'

The MoD believed the meeting to be private and should not have been publicised. There is no mention of the meeting in any UK records that are publicly available but the photo was originally posted by the NGU on social media who reported that Lt Col Andy Cox, deputy commander of Orbital, was in attendance.

The NGU report quoted Cox as promising the British military is ready to involve representatives of the National Guard of Ukraine in the training activities being conducted today for units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to develop their combat capabilities.

An MoD spokesperson denied the claims to Declassified, stating that the meeting was a routine engagement to improve mutual understanding.

Declassified reports that four months before the meeting, the same NGU website posted a statement to mark the Azov Regiments seven-year anniversary. Titled Seven years of victory, it gushed with extravagant praise for the neo-Nazi unit.

Citing a 2021 report from the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies at George Washington University, Declassified discloses that a member of another fascist militia, Centuria, several of whose members currently serve in Ukraines military, received 11 months of officer training at Britains elite military training facility Sandhurst, graduating in 2020.

While the MoD officially denies involvement, Britains media is openly crowing about UKs role in the NATO war against Russia.

Last week, the Daily Telegraph boasted The inside story of how Britain armed Ukraines resistance to Russia.

The true story of how the world armed Ukraine is both fascinating and inspiring, it writes. MI6, special forces, US intelligence and cyber warfare operatives have all played their part.

Ukrainian Colonel Yevgen Bondar told the Telegraph, We are getting a lot of serious help. The NLAWs [Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapons] took out three tanks and one armoured fighting vehicle. Burnt them out. Burnt beautifully.

Describing the NLAWs, an Anglo-Swedish munition, as a great leveller in the battle between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, the Colonel said, The NLAW is a wonderful thing. A Javelin [the American-made portable anti-tank missile] has better rangebut in the city, [NLAW] is better.

Each NLAW costs 30,000 and is single-use, the newspaper reports. Britain has sent 3,615 NLAWs to Ukraine, including 2,000 supplied before the Russian invasion. And that is just a small part of the total. To date, more than 17,000 missiles, including Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, have been sent to Ukraine by the democratic West in the biggest emergency supply mission since the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49. And with every hour that passes, thousands more weapons, bullets, helmets, ballistic vests, high energy rations and night-sights pour in.

The newspaper cites the leading role of the Obama administration in providing military aid and funding to Ukraine that began the organising and training of a 130,000-strong army of reservists. Some are already battle-hardened after fighting in the disputed Donbas region.

US Cyber Command has cyber-mission teams around Eastern Europe, the Telegraph states, to disrupt Russian communications and digital attacks, while US intelligence sharing troop movements with Ukraine.

The US and UK are among 14 countries to have supplied Ukraine with arms. Neutral Sweden and Finland sent thousands of anti-tank weapons, while Germany has supplied Ukraine with 1,400 anti-tank rockets and 500 Stingers. The Netherlands is sending 40 Panzerfaust anti-tank weapons, 400 missiles and 200 Stingers. Other countries are supplying thousands of pistols, assault rifles, machine guns, ammunition and sniper rifles.

The newspaper reports that military experts have speculated that British special forces are on the ground in Ukraine, wearing Ukrainian army uniforms, acting as observers.
US President Joe Biden will provide an additional $1 billion in weapons shipments to Ukraine Wednesday, more than double the value of the military equipment that the US has sent to Ukraine since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war 20 days ago.

The weapons package, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will be announced by Biden in a speech on Wednesday, following the address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the US Congress.

The new weapons package will include anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons. It will be funded from the $13.6 billion allotted for Ukraine in the omnibus budget bill Biden signed Tuesday.

Over the weekend, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the United States would also consider sending Ukraine anti-aircraft weapons.

Ukrainian servicemen load Javelin anti-tank missiles, delivered as part of the United States of America's arms shipments to Ukraine, into a military trucks at the Boryspil airport, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Between 2014 and the start of this year, the US had provided $2.5 billion in weapons to Ukraine.

The White House is also considering sending additional troops to Eastern Europe on top of the 15,000 that have been deployed there since the crisis began, the Wall Street Journal reported.

In his address to the US Congress, Zelensky is expected to repeat calls for the United States to establish a no-fly zone in Ukraine, which would entail the US and NATO shooting down Russian aircraft. Ahead of Zelenskys speech, the parliament of Estonia, a NATO member, demanded that NATO set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

Zelenskys appearance is tightly choreographed with calls by members of Congressincluding both Republicans and Democratsfor the US to implement actions Russia sees as tantamount to war.

Zelensky spoke to Canadas parliament Tuesday, demanding, Please close the sky, close the airspace Please understand how important it is for us to close our airspace from Russian missiles and Russian aircraft.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures during a joint news conference with Estonian President Alar Karis following their talks in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

In a preemptive response to Zelenskys comments, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said yesterday that Biden continues to believe that a no-fly zone would be escalatory, could prompt a war with Russia.

Also on Tuesday, the White House announced that Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium to take part in the March 24 NATO summit in response to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ahead of Zelenskys speech, members of Congress are scrambling to propose new ways to escalate the conflict.

The US Senate Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution condemning Putin as a war criminal. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared after the vote, All of us in this chamber joined together, with Democrats and Republicans, to say that Vladimir Putin cannot escape accountability for the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn are planning to introduce a resolution that would sanction all Russian banks. Blumenthal said of the proposed measure: Putin would be unable to collect the revenue which is the lifeblood of his oil and gas sales, and the move would keep other countries from doing business with Russia.

Blumenthal bragged that if his proposals were approved, they would disrupt Russian energy exports to China. He declared, China could buy the oil, but they couldnt pay for it.

In addition to these measures, Zelensky has called on the United States and NATO to close international waterways to Russian ships, implementing an effective blockade of the countrytraditionally seen as a wartime measure.

The moves come against the backdrop of major NATO military drills near Russias borders. This week, NATO began Cold Response 2022, a series of military exercises in Norway involving 40,000 NATO troops.

Meanwhile, demands for a no-fly zone are escalating in the media and political establishment. On Tuesday, Tom Enders, the former CEO of Airbus and the president of the German Council on Foreign Relations, demanded the US shoot down aircraft over Ukraine.

Enders dismissed the threat of nuclear escalation, saying, Would Putin then escalate further and attack NATO countries in the east or the Baltic, even use nuclear weapons? This is still very unlikely, especially since the West would not be attacking Russian territoryonly Russian aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles in Ukrainian airspace.

He concluded, Establishing such a no-fly zone over western Ukraine is not just feasible, it is necessary. It is time for the West to expose Putins nuclear threats for what they really area bluff to deter Western governments from military intervention.

The press is full of such demands for war with Russia, promoted with media-friendly phrases such as no-fly zone, humanitarian corridor and humanitarian airlift. Writing in the Washington Post, Joe Scarborough, son-in-law of the late US military strategist Zbigniew Brzezinski, declared that it is time for NATO to stop being reactive to Putins ever-changing definition of what constitutes an act of war Biden should change the dynamic by employing his own disruptive tactics.

Scarborough concluded by demanding that the US create humanitarian safe zonesover which the United States and its allies could shoot down Russian aircraft.
Weather Alert

...The Flood Warning is extended for the following rivers in Indiana... White River at Edwardsport. White River at Elliston. Wabash River at Montezuma. .Multiple rounds of rain over the last few days will lead to minor flooding along lower portions of the White River and upper portions on the Wabash River. Additional rainfall later this week should keep portions of the White and Wabash above flood stage through Saturday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Motorists should not attempt to drive around barricades or drive cars through flooded areas. Additional information is available at www.weather.gov/ind. This statement will be updated within the next 12 to 24 hours. && ...FLOOD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL MONDAY EVENING... * WHAT...Minor flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Wabash River at Montezuma. * WHEN...Until Monday evening. * IMPACTS...At 18.0 feet, Montezuma agricultural levee is overtopped. Fourteen hundred acres of low bottomlands flood. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 10:45 AM EDT Wednesday the stage was 13.0 feet. - Forecast...The river will rise to 13.4 feet just after midnight tonight. It will then fall to 13.3 feet and begin rising again early tomorrow afternoon. It will rise above flood stage early Friday morning and continue to rise to 17.1 feet early Saturday afternoon. It will then fall below flood stage Monday morning. - Flood stage is 14.0 feet. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood &&
On Tuesdays episode of Fox Newss The Five, Geraldo Rivera once again found himself as the only one arguing his point. Discussing record high gas prices across the country, the go-to for most of the co-hosts was to point the finger at President Biden. Rivera, on the other hand, brought up the fact that oil companies are reaping profits the likes of which they havent seen in several years.

Exxon, Chevron, BP and Shell are all enjoying the highest profits they have in seven-and-a-half years, Rivera said. Whats your point? co-host Sandra Smith shot back.

Oil companies get billions of dollars a year in subsidies from the United States government. At the same time, permitting for oil and gas drilling has increased under Biden. But oil companies refuse to increase production. When Rivera began to suggest we urge those companies to increase production, he got into a bit of a spat with Jeanine Pirro, who was there to defend them.

I dont see why, just because you are in favor of a green future, you cant do practical  Im a pragmatic idealist, Rivera said. Talk to Chevron, Exxon, BP and Shell, and say, Listen, you guys are doing great Is this capitalism? Pirro loudly interjected. Is this capitalism? Leave em alone. Leave em alone. Unless you think theyre profiteering, leave em alone. They are profiteering, Rivera replied. Alright, then go to the Department of Justice and tell them that, Pirro challenged. Prove it. Rivera responded, Profiteering is not necessarily illegal.

The Five airs weeknights at 5 p.m. on Fox News Channel.

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Not many stories of interrupting generational poverty involve Rembrandt. But in Master of Light, Rosa Ruth Boesten introduces us to George Anthony Morton, who developed his Classical painting skills during a decade in federal prison, then built a career he hopes will help family members see a life for themselves beyond the cycle of poverty, crime and jail.

Much is left unsaid in the beautifully shot doc, which will leave inquisitive viewers wanting many more specifics on both the family front and the artistic one. But sacrificing such detail allows Boesten to develop a more intimate emotional portrait of Morton, a subject whose thoughtful self-invention is affecting practically from the first scene.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Art-savvy viewers who raise an eyebrow at the films superlative title should put skepticism aside. The film itself doesnt argue that this painter youve never heard of deserves a spot in the art-history pantheon, and in fact, we never even hear from a curator, critic or gallerist championing his work. Boesten doesnt even bother to tell us if hes able to make a living by painting, though it seems a very safe assumption. Instead, the beauty of that work and the seriousness with which he approaches it speak for themselves, and have taken him places his family could never have predicted.

Born to a 15 year-old girl whose mother was so continuously high she didnt even realize her daughter was pregnant, Morton lived in a neighborhood drug house in Kansas City and was raised to make his living in that business. No surprise that he was busted and spent all of his twenties in federal prison. Somehow  Boesten doesnt expect us to care how he came to art  he started making paintings in prison that were good enough they gave him leverage: Morton recalls using them, for instance, to justify a transfer to a less dangerous facility. After his release, he found his way to an art school in New York and further opportunities to study the history of painting.

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Again, the movie declines to say how this happened, and how he won some perks we witness, like a chance to have Rembrandts The Night Watch to himself while other visitors to Amsterdams Rijksmuseum must jostle with tourists for a glimpse. However things happened, Morton now finds himself living in Atlanta with a partner, Ashley, whose background is entirely different from his own. Hes raising a daughter, Nuri, whose distance from Mortons family is revealed when she asks, early on, Daddy, do you have a mother?

He does, and dealing with her apparently presents constant emotional challenges. Its unclear whether Morton has been in touch with his mother and siblings since his release, or if the trips we see to Kansas City were arranged for the sake of the film. Whatever the case, their conversations are fraught, with some family members strongly hinting at financial and practical needs while giving no assurance theyre done with the drug life. Boesten pays special attention to Mortons nephew Treshon, an at-risk 11 year-old who seems very open to the wisdom his uncle shares.

The film balances these interactions against Mortons private efforts to assure his own well-being. We watch several sessions with his therapist, talking through his pretty unique kind of trauma, then see him try to convince Ashley that hes not wrong to keep helping the mother who placed him in harms way.

In fact, she may have done much worse: Mid-film, we learn she may have gotten herself out of trouble by giving authorities the information that put him in prison. Boestens failure to follow up on this is the docs most unforgivable omission. Instead, she offers extra scenes of Morton painting a portrait of his mom, giving her a dignity and depth most strangers probably dont see. As Morton continues to seek ways to apply his classical training to the depiction of Black subjects, one suspects his biography will creep more and more onto the canvas, resulting in something more impressive than a gorgeous imitation of Rembrandt van Rijns brushwork.

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Mike Kaplan, the senior vice president of programming at Audacy and brand manager for New York alternative station WNYL, has left his position as the program director of L.A.s KROQ-FM amid declining ratings. Kaplans leadership resulted in significant changes to the stations sound and staff, most notably firing veteran Kevin and Bean Show host Kevin Ryder shortly after he took over in 2020.

Audacy, Inc. (formerly Entercom)  which merged with the Los Angeles-based radio stations owner CBS Radio in 2017  announced Tuesday that the search for a new programming director had begun.

Mike Kaplan has decided to step down as KROQ Brand Manager. Mike has come to the conclusion, personally and professionally, that this is best for him. He also believes KROQ deserves a Brand Manager solely dedicated to the brand and one that lives in Los Angeles 24/7, a rep for Audacy said in a statement.

Mike will continue on as Brand Manager at New Yorks Alt 92.3 and as Audacys Alternative Format VP. Our search for a new VP of Programming for KROQ begins today.

Kaplans tumultuous two years in the role kicked off when Kevin Weatherly resigned and decamped for Spotify in 2017. Weeks into Kaplans tenure, 30-year host Kevin Ryder tweeted that he and his Kevin in the Morning with Allie & Jensen on KROQ 106.7 FM team were physically removed from the building and fired, likely due to poor ratings.

Subsequently, KROQs afternoon show helmed by hosts Kevin Klein and Ted Stryker moved to fill the morning slot. Stryker later left and joined Alt 98.7.

Kaplan also reshaped the stations sound to cater to a younger, more diverse audience. Considering that younger listeners make up a small share of radio audiences, especially in the age of streaming, this strategy seemed to backfire. KROQs ratings have fallen steadily to 26th place in the Los Angeles market. The stations January cume of 1.2 was a marked drop from a 1.9 cume six months earlier.
The audience at the Providence Performing Arts Center was treated to a dramatic encore Saturday night when a lead actor proposed onstage to his long-time partner.

Sinclair Mitchell, who plays a high-school principal in "The Prom," brought partner Joe Kokofsky onto the stage after curtain call, and professed his love in front of friends, family "and some people I don't quite know."

Kokofsky said "yes," and several cast members, standing behind them, jumped up and down, while the audience stood and applauded.

Mitchell and Kokofsky have been together for 12 years.

What an incredible weekend we had at #TheProm! Watch as our amazing Mr. Hawkins, Sinclair Mitchell, took a moment after the show for a once in a lifetime moment!    pic.twitter.com/rImViNC4yc  Prom Musical (@ThePromMusical) March 14, 2022

More: How two actors with Rhode Island ties got invited to perform in Broadway hit 'The Prom'

After Kokofsky left the stage, "a stranger asked him if that was part of the show," Mitchell later told People magazine. "He told her no, that was real life, and she gave him a big hug."

"The Prom" played at PPAC March 8 to March 13. Based on a true story, the musical is about a group of Broadway stars who rally around a high-school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.

jperry@providencejournal.com

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 'Prom' actor brings PPAC crowd to its feet with 'real life' proposal
Marina Ovsyannikova caught the worlds attention earlier this week when she crashed Russian State-TV while holding a sign protesting the war in Ukraine, and now shes speaking out about why she chose to make the stand.

I decided to do it spontaneously, Ovsyannikova, who was an employee of Russias Channel One, told CNNs Christiane Amanpour. But the decision was brewing for quite a long time. Lately, I have been feeling cognitive dissonance, more and more, between my beliefs and what we say on air. It was a growing sense of dissatisfaction that kept increasing every year, and the war was the point of no return. When it was simply impossible to stay silent and I realized that I would either need to do something or we will reach a point of no return.

On Monday, Ovsyannikova interrupted a live newscast on Channel One in Russia, shouting Stop the war! and holding up a sign that said, Dont believe the propaganda. Theyre lying to you here.

The broadcast quickly cut to another video and Ovsyannikova, a former editor at the network, was detained.

The war was the point of no return, when it was simply impossible to stay silent, says Marina Ovsyannikova, after she protested Russias war in Ukraine live on Russian state TV. I was afraid until the last minute that I wont be able to do it. pic.twitter.com/HyatJhorKP  Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) March 16, 2022

During the interview, Amanpour asked Ovsyannikova how she managed to get access to the anchor desk.

Lets say that I was afraid until the last minute that I wont be able to do it, that it wont be able to have the effect that I was expecting because the newsroom on Channel One is a huge open plan area, Ovsyannikova said (her words were translated on CNN). And I was planning to stand back, but then I realized that I would not be visible and the directors will change the layout very quickly. Ill be arrested and it will [be] over at once. But eventually, I watched the scene technically and thought how to organize it correclty and right in the last minute I decided that I would be able to overcome the guard who stands in front of the studio and stand behind the host. So, I moved very quickly and I passed by the security and showed my poster.

According to an English translation of a story from Latvia-based Meduza, The Ostankino District Court fined Channel One employee Marina Ovsyannikova 30,000 rubles (about $280) for walking into the frame with an anti-war poster during a news release. She was found guilty of organizing an uncoordinated public action.

Its not clear whether she could face further punishment, although Meduzas story notes, Ovsyannikova is also being tested under a new criminal article on public dissemination of knowingly false information about the Russian military. Meduza also reports that the fine is for her anti-war video, not for the on-air disruption.
(Reuters) -Russia said on Wednesday that some parts of a possible peace deal with Ukraine were close to being agreed after Kyiv agreed to discuss neutrality, raising hopes of an end to the biggest war in Europe since World War Two.

"Neutral status is now being seriously discussed along, of course, with security guarantees," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said told RBC news.

"Now this very thing is being discussed in negotiations - there are absolutely specific formulations which in my view are close to agreement," Lavrov said.

He said that President Vladimir Putin had spoken about neutrality, along with security guarantees for Ukraine without NATO enlargement, as one possible variant in February.

The euro extended gains after Lavrov's comments and was up 0.4% to $ 1.1005.

Lavrov cautioned that the negotiations were not easy but that there was "some hope of reaching a compromise".

Ukraine has also made cautious positive statements on peace talks. It says it is willing to negotiate to the end the war, but will not surrender or accept Russian ultimatums.

Lavrov said key issues included the security of people in eastern Ukraine, the demilitarisation of Ukraine and the rights of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine.

Announcing the invasion on Feb. 24, Putin blamed the United States for threatening Russia by enlarging the NATO military alliance eastwards into Russia's backyard.

Putin said there was no option but to launch the military operation because Russian-speaking people in Ukraine had been subjected to genocide by "nationalists and neo-Nazis" since Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Ukraine and the West says claims of genocide are baseless.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jon Boyle)
Jazz Fest photo - Courtesy: Erika Goldring/Getty Images

The feature documentary Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story will premiere tonight (16) at SXSW, ahead of a theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles on May 13. This will be followed by wider screenings, to be announced.

The Sony Pictures Classics release is co-directed by five-time Oscar nominee Frank Marshall (who recently made Carole King & James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name and before that The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart) and Ryan Suffern, whose credits include Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records.

The Jazz Fest film is produced by Marshall, Suffern and Sean Stuart, and executive produced by beloved artist Jimmy Buffett and Quint Davis. It features appearances by Buffett, Bruce Springsteen, Katy Perry, and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others. The trailer includes appearances from Gregory Porter, Tom Jones, and more.

The annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, popularly known as Jazz Fest, has been the signature music and cultural event of the Crescent City and Louisiana since its inception in 1970. Now spread across 14 stages, it showcases the regions uniquely rich heritage of the region and is attended by hundreds of thousands every year.

Publicity for Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story notes that the film weaves together live performances and interviews from the 50th anniversary of the iconic festival, featuring some of the biggest names in the music industry, along with a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century. This film not only captures the Festival in all of its beauty and glory, but also delves deep into the rich culture of The Big Easy.

The film also contains a wealth of archival documentary footage from the past half century of the world-famous event. The poster for the documentary advertises the festivals key ingredients: Music. Culture. Resilience. History. Rhythm.

For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music.

uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG.
HAMPTON  A few days after their tragic plight was published on Seacoastonline, three orphaned teenage siblings were astonished at the outpouring of public support from the Seacoast community.

The positive input and number of people who reached out to us has been absolutely amazing, said 18-year-old Isabella Amos, oldest of the three Amos children. We couldnt be more grateful.

Austin, 17, Aria, 16, and Bella Amos, 18, are overwhelmed by the support they have received from the community following the death of both their parents.

Isabella, or Bella as shes known to her siblings and friends, is now the guardian of her 17-year-old brother Austin, and sister Aria, 16. Following the deaths of both their parents, the three, originally from Queensland, Australia, found themselves in the United States in late 2021 without parents, a secure place to live, a steady source of income nor visas that allow them to get jobs.

Incredible unit: Hampton teens fight to stay together after parents death

Their mother, Rachel, lost her life in 2020 following a surgical procedure, and within a year they lost their dad, Anthony, to cancer. Through it all, the three cling together, pledging to stay here in the area so both Austin and Aria can graduate with their class at Winnacunnet High School.

These three are an incredible unit, said Kris Dehnert, a Florida friend of their late father, Anthony Amos. Theyre amazing kids. Theyre more mature than a lot of adults.

It was Dehnert and a group of Anthony Amos other friends from Florida who stepped up with legal and financial help, establishing the initial GoFundMe page for the three teens. The goal was to raise $84,000 to support them until Austin and Aria graduate and they can get U.S. work visas.

Some money, about $25,000, had been raised through GoFundMe before members of the Seacoast community learned fully of the Amos childrens situation. Once their story was known in the first week of March, however, the response was overwhelming, according to Bella. As of March 15, more than $79,000 was pledged through GoFundMe page.

Were almost at our goal, she said. The support has been unreal.

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More: Good Eats restaurant closing in downtown Hampton. Here's what will replace it.

Planning for the future together

More than money is needed if Aria and Austin are to be able to graduate from WHS in 2023. The familys short-term, or winter rental in the Hampton Beach area is up in May. Needed is a hard-to-find, long-term rental somewhere in SAU 21 communities of North Hampton, Hampton, Hampton Falls and Seabrook.

Weve had a few real estate agents reach out to us, Bella said. Some people have offered to help us pay our rent. We dont have anything firm yet. But its made us feel welcome.

Aria Amos, 16, left, her sister Bella, 18 and brother Austin, 17, are grateful for the community support they received after the death of both of their parents.

While her sister and brother are in school, Bella works with lawyers on both the malpractice suit related to her mothers death and the intricate immigration paperwork that will allow the teens to get work visas so they can earn their futures in the United States.

Although born in Australia, the three spent most of their lives in the United States with their parents, who were working to establish a pet grooming business here, similar to the one Anthony Amos sold in Australia.

They were and are still a family dedicated to the care of animals. While here, after learning of the U.S. rate of animal euthanasia, the Amos family traveled throughout the nation promoting animal rescue, as they did in Somersworth in 2017, when they raised money for the Pope Memorial Humane Society - Cocheco Valley .

Were hoping to move forward with our familys grooming business here, Bella said. And we want to continue our parents legacy of animal rescue.

The Amos family traveled the U.S. as part of its "Bathe to Save" tour to raise money for animal rescue organizations. This photo was taken July 20, 2017, in Somersworth, N.H.

The three already are doing quite a bit in the realm of animal rescue. Not only do they have dogs, but Austin has a bigger four-legged friend: a 600-pound pig named Baby.

I rescued her from slaughter about two years ago when she was small, Austin said. This pig has saved me from some dark times. After what happened to mom and dad, she kept me going.

Honoring Desi Lanio: 401 Tavern unveils 'It's only a movie' beer

Baby, currently staying with a farmer in Rye, will have to move soon, Austin said. Hes working with another generous Seacoast farm owner who may be able to find some safe barn space for Baby, with Austin visiting daily to take care of his really big baby.

As for their future, Bella said all three hope for dual citizenship in both Australia and the U.S.

Shes hoping to be able to go to college here, she said, as does Aria.

"Austin wants to work with cars, Bella said. Id like to go into some kind of humanitarian work. Id like to be of support to people who are going through difficult times, as we have.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Hampton NH teens overwhelmed by community support after parents death
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago police officers who shot and killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez in separate foot chases just days apart last March won't face any criminal charges, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx announced Tuesday.

Foxx said neither her office nor an appellate prosecutor's office could find enough evidence to support criminal charges in the two cases. She also said while officers in both cases might have violated Chicago Police Department foot pursuit policies during the two incidents, there is not sufficient evidence that they committed a crime, noting that in both cases, the officers reasonably feared for their lives.

"When we look at these cases, we must now also look at the law as it applies. Under Illinois law, an officer is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or to other such persons," she said. "Police officers are often forced to make split-second judgements in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving."

Adam Toledo was shot and killed by Officer Eric Stillman after a foot chase in an alley near 24th Street and Sawyer Avenue in Little Village on March 29, 2021, less than a second  to be precise, 838 milliseconds  after Toledo dropped a gun he had been carrying.

Video footage released weeks after the shooting shows Toledo and 21-year-old Ruben Roman standing on a street corner when several shots were fired early on the morning of March 29. Both then ran past a church and into a nearby alley. Body camera footage shows an officer chasing Toledo down the alley, telling the boy to show the officer his hands.

"Stop! Stop right f***ing now! Hands! Show me your f***ing hands!" the officer is heard saying.

Adam can then be seen stopping near a gap in the fence in the alley, with both hands at his side, his left shoulder facing the officer. When the video is slowed down, a frame of the footage does appear to show a gun in Adam's hand just before he raises his arms and the officer opens fire. Surveillance video of the same moment from a different angle appears to show Adam with his right arm behind the fence, possibly making a throwing motion, and then turning back toward the officer. However, at the moment when the officer opens fire, the body camera video shows Adam has his hands up, and they appear to be empty.

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Foxx cited that surveillance video footage when describing the decision not to charge Stillman with a crime.

"Officer Stillman believed that Adam had a gun. After running nearly a full block in the alley, Officer Stillman saw a handgun in Adam's right hand, and shouted for him to drop it. Before dropping the weapon, Adam began turning his body towards Officer Stillman, with his left hand raised up in front of his body, and his right hand lowered to his side, behind the wooden fencepost. Officer Stillman saw the weapon in Adam Toledo's right hand, as Adam was stopped near the wooden fence, and began turning towards Officer Stillman," Foxx said.

Foxx noted that less than one second passed from the time Toledo began turning towards the officer and raising his hand, and the moment Stillman shot him.

"Based on the facts, the evidence, and the law, we have concluded that there was no evidence to prove that Officer Stillman acted with criminal intent. Officer Stillman fired only one shot. Officer Stillman explained that, after he fired the one time, he saw Adam's right hand was empty. He assessed the situation, and did not fire again, because he believed the threat no longer existed," she said. "Officer Stillman reacted to the perceived threat presented by Adam Toledo, who he believed at the time was turning toward him to shoot him. After the single shot was fired, and Officer Stillman recognized that Adam Toledo was no longer a threat, he immediately rendered aid, and continued to do so until the assisting officers and the paramedics arrived."

Anthony Alvarez was shot and killed two days after Toledo was. Alvarez was shot by Officer Evan Solano while holding a gun in his right hand as he was running away from Solano and his partner on March 31, 2021.

Surveillance video from the night of the shooting, which happened in the early-morning hours on Wednesday, March 31 - shows a squad car chasing Alvarez at a gas station in Portage Park.

Officer Solano's body camera shows him running down an alley and eventually around a corner onto a front lawn near Laramie Avenue and Eddy Street. Alvarez's back was facing the officer at the moment he was shot, but a gun was visible in his right hand, moving from right to left. Solano shot him in the back and knee.

"As officer Solano rounded the corner, and observed Mr. Alvarez in a crouching position with a gun in his hand, and also observed Mr. Alvarez looking back at him while running with the gun in his hand, he thought Mr. Alvarez was turning to shoot toward him and his partner, who he believed was behind him," Foxx said. "Officer Solano then fired five successive shots in the span of one second, as he veered to the left to avoid any shots fired by Mr. Alvarez, and he stopped once he no longer saw the gun in Mr. Alvarez's hand."

Solano was stripped of his police powers three months after the shooting. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability completed its investigation of the shooting in January, and has presented its findings to Police Supt. David Brown to determine if he will pursue any disciplinary action against Solano before the full report is released.

Both fatal shootings prompted protests over police use of force, and calls for the police to halt foot pursuits altogether until the department completely overhauls its foot chase policy. According to the Chicago Police Department, Officer Solano is relived of his police powers. Officer Stillman is still active on the force.

Foxx said she spoke with both Toledo's and Alvarez's families before announcing she would not be pursuing criminal charges against the officers involved in the shootings, and both families were "heartbroken."

"The grief on their mothers' and their fathers' and family members' faces was almost unbearable. To lose a child is beyond what any of us would want to imagine. To lose a child at the hands of law enforcement was unfathomable for them. And recognizing that we must be bound by the facts, the evidence, and the law; and that it was profoundly disappointing that, here in the criminal courts, to them, there was no accountability, we must be guided as always by the principles of just prosecution, and that is what these decisions reflect today," she said.

In a statement, the Toledo family's attorneys said they are "profoundly disappointed" Foxx declined to prosecute Stillman.

"Despite that decision, we will continue fighting for Adam and have filed our civil complaint seeking monetary damages against Officer Stillman and the City of Chicago in our effort to get justice for Adam and the Toledo family. Officer Stillman's use of deadly force was excessive and posed a threat to the safety of Adam and others. We will be contacting the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to address this horrific travesty," attorneys Adeena Weiss Ortiz of Weiss Ortiz and Joel Hirschhorn of Gray Robinson said in a statement. "Adam obeyed the police officer's commands, stopped running, had his hands up in the surrender position, and was nevertheless shot and killed by Officer Stillman. Despite the painful loss of Adam, the Toledo family continues to call for peace on the streets of Chicago as they pursue justice through the court system."

While Foxx said the evidence in both cases supports both officers' claims they feared for their lives, she also said she has "deep, deep concerns" about the Chicago Police Department's foot pursuit policy after her review of the two cases, and believes the department needs to make sure its policy protects the safety of both officers and civilians.

"We have to ask ourselves, was this worth the effort?" she said. "I think the deaths that we have seen, and the risks to our officers absolutely necessitates that we have a foot pursuit policy that keeps everyone safe."

Foxx said the chase of Alvarez was particularly worrisome, because it ultimately stemmed from a traffic stop the night before. Alvarez had fled a traffic stop the night before the shooting. She argued there was no need for officers to begin chasing Alvarez the night of the shooting, given that he was not committing a crime at the time, and they knew his home address if they needed to question him about the traffic stop the night before. Foxx said Officer Solano also made tactical mistakes during the chase itself.

"While the evidence is insufficient to support criminal charges, it is important to highlight that the officers themselves created the conditions which the use of deadly force became necessary," she said. "It was unnecessary for officers to stop and engage Mr. Alvarez, who was walking through a gas station parking lot, holding food and drink. He was not committing any crimes that were readily apparent to officers at the time."

"This began because they said that they were unable to apprehend him as a result of a traffic stop. A traffic stop the night before. This incident happened the following day, while Mr. Alvarez was on foot. He wasn't in the car, and the manner in which Mr. Alvarez was pursued in relation to a traffic stop; the foot pursuit was unnecessary, and it will be determined by COPA whether it was in violation of Chicago police policy," she added. "But it was the escalation of events that get us to our final conclusion, and it is the sincere hope that we have de-escalating measures, such that we are not putting the officer or the public at risk."

While CPD implemented a temporary foot pursuit policy last summer, the department later delayed full implementation of a new foot chase policy, citing the need for further review, and a newly revised policy was unveiled last month. After allowing for two weeks of public comment, CPD is now analyzing feedback before finalizing the policy.

Foxx said it will ultimately be up to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to determine if the officers in the two shootings violated department policy, but she noted that filing criminal charges has a much higher burden of proof than filing disciplinary charges.

In Little Village, community activists were disappointed and furious about the decisions.

"They literally murdered these two individuals, and it's a shame Kim Foxx is not pursuing criminal charges against them," said Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council.

Enriquez led protests in the days following the shooting that killed Toledo, and pushed for the release of the officer's body cam video.

"It's s like we got shot again, and this time by Kim Foxx's office," Enriquez said. "We're very upset. The community is super upset. This officer, Eric Stillman, should be charged with a minimum of manslaughter."

Mayor Lori Lightfoot released the following statement regarding the decision:

Every shooting death in our city, every loss of life, is a tragedy. The loss of Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez remains tragic and painful for their families, loved ones, and friends. We must continue to support the families of Adam Toledo, Anthony Alvarez, and their respective communities as they continue to grieve.

Keeping their communities, as well as the rest of Chicago safe, remains the top priority for me and my administration. However, in order to accomplish this, trust must be a two-way street between our residents and our officers. This trust is vital to their safety and the safety of entire communities.

Following today's announcement by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office regarding their Office's evaluation of criminal charges related to the shooting deaths of Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez, that work to build that trust continues, in partnership with the Chicago Office for Police Accountability and our Chicago Police Department.

As part of our commitment to reform, over the past year, we have implemented a new foot pursuit policy and have begun working alongside community partners and the City Council to create the new civilian police oversight body. But there remains much more to do."

Russian forces continue to bombard Ukraine

How the world could be affected by Ukraine war

What military support can the U.S. offer as Ukraine's President Zelenskyy pleads for help?
Musk posted a tweet of himself holding a flamethrower. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO then suggested that Putin could "bring his bear" to Musk's proposed fight over Ukraine. Getty Images/ Boring Co.

Elon Musk is upping the stakes on his proposed fight with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.

Musk said on Twitter that Putin can "bring his bear" to the fight if he wanted.

Musk on Monday challenged Putin to "single combat" with the stakes being Ukraine.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is upping the ante on his proposed showdown with Russian leader Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, telling the Russian president he could "bring his bear" to the fight between the two.

Musk on Monday challenged Putin to "single combat," with the stakes being "Ukraine."

He was swiftly rebuked by Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin, who posted a quote from Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, which read: "You, little devil, are still young, too weak to compete with me. It would only be a waste of time. Overtake my brother first."

In response to Rogozin's tweet, Musk appeared to sidestep the retort, posting a tweet on Tuesday that read: "I see you are a tough negotiator! Ok, you can have 10% more pay per view money."

Musk's Twitter retort to Rogozin included a composite image of a shirtless Putin riding a bear, next to what appeared to be an image of Musk with a Boring Company flamethrower, under the words "Choose your fighter."

In another tweet on Tuesday, Musk continued: "He can even bring his bear."

It is not clear if Putin owns a bear, but the Russian leader has debunked claims that he has ever ridden one.

Musk then suggested that he and Rogozin "form a book club," tweeting a quote from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novel "The Idiot" at the Russian space chief.

After throwing down the challenge with Putin, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov mocked Musk. Kadyrov called Musk "Elona," and claimed that Musk would get destroyed in the match-up with Putin.

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Responding to Kadyrov, Musk doubled down on his challenge to fight the Russian leader. Musk tweeted late on Tuesday: "If he is afraid to fight, I will agree to use only my left hand, and I am not even left-handed," signing off with the name "Elona."

At press time, Musk also appeared to have changed his username on Twitter to "Elona Musk."

At around 11 p.m. EST on March 15, Musk's Twitter name had been changed to "Elona Musk." Screengrab/Twitter/Elon Musk

Musk has not offered specific details about how or where a fight with Putin would take place.

In the meantime, Musk is helping Ukraine by sending shipments of SpaceX's Starlink internet system to the country. The Starlink app topped the download charts in Ukraine amid fears that internet services would be disrupted by the Russian invasion.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Mar. 15NEWBURY  A Maine man charged with heroin trafficking last year was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail following his arraignment Monday in Newburyport District Court.

Benjamin Rebello, 31, of Sanford, Maine, was summonsed by state police on June 3, 2021, after a trooper found him passed out on a grassy area near the Scotland Road exit off Interstate 95. Rebello was transported to Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport for treatment. Inside a backpack laying next to Rebello, police found 26.5 grams of heroin and hypodermic needles, according to court records.

The incident took place only hours after Rebello was placed on probation in the same courthouse for stealing a muscle car in Amesbury before being caught injecting himself with drugs behind a CVS Pharmacy in August 2020.

Rebello came to the courthouse on his own Monday morning and was placed in custody moments after his arraignment. He remained in a holding cell adjacent to the courtroom until his bail hearing a hours later.

In his report, Trooper Andrew Kilbarian had just exited Interstate 95 south at the Scotland Road exit on June 3, around 2 a.m. when he spotted a Newbury police officer checking on a truck parked on the side of the road with its lights on. The Ford F-150 pickup truck had a full tank of gas and its engine was running. While the Newbury police officer stayed with the truck, Kilbarian got back in his cruiser and drove around the area looking for the driver. Kilbarian drove as far as Newburyport before turning around and heading back toward the empty truck. After taking the Scotland Road exit at Interstate 95 south, he found Rebello lying in an area of tall grass on the right shoulder about 60 yards away from the truck, a backpack next to him.

"I eventually was able to wake the individual up. Once awake, the man jumped to his feet and began pacing back and forth and jumping in the air frantically. The individual was also slurring his speech and was unaware of where he was and what he was doing. The individual believed he was in Connecticut. Additionally the male had very small, pinpoint pupils which led me to believe he was under the influence of illicit drugs," Kilbarian wrote in his report.

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Rebello told the trooper who he was and that he was living in a sober home due to being a drug addict.

"He also advised that he may have taken heroin recently but did not remember the events of the evening well enough to be sure," Kilbarian wrote in his report.

While Kilbarian was speaking to Rebello, another trooper searched the backpack and found a plastic bag containing heroin and numerous hypodermic needles. The heroin was weighed at the Newbury barracks and was heavy enough to charge Rebello with drug trafficking, according to court records.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
Russian billionaire and businessman Vladimir Lisin attends the congress of Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs in Moscow, Russia on March, 19, 2015 Sasha Mordovets/Getty

Vladimir Lisin said in a letter to steelworkers he hoped Putin could find a diplomatic resolution.

The steel tycoon wrote that the death of people in Ukraine is a tragedy that it is "impossible to justify."

Lisin is the 81st richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index.

Russian oligarch Vladimir Lisin has called for a peaceful resolution to the attack on Ukraine.

Lisin, the chairman and main shareholder of one of the largest steelmakers in Russia, sent a letter along with the board of directors to his staff at Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) saying that he was hopeful that the war could end soon and calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach a diplomatic outcome. Reuters first reported the letter.

An NLMK spokesperson confirmed the letter with Insider.

"I would like to begin by expressing my deepest compassion to all the victims of the armed conflict in Ukraine, the families and relatives of those who died," Lisin wrote. "Lost lives are always a huge tragedy that is impossible to justify. I am convinced that peaceful diplomatic conflict resolution is always preferable to the use of force."

Lisin is one of Russia's richest men and is the 81st richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. The steel tycoon is currently worth about $19.1 billion in US dollars. His wealth is down over $5 billion since Russia began invading Ukraine, according to the index.

Thus far, the Russian billionaire has been able to avoid sanctions, but the UK is eyeing sanctions on his 3,000-acre 17th-century Aberuchill Castle in Scotland, according to a report from BBC.

The oligarch is one of a handful of Russian billionaires to speak out against the invasion into Ukraine. Last week, Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska spoke out in protest of the attack, calling for peaceful negotiations between the two countries.

Russia's wealthiest have not been immune to the impact of sanctions from Western countries. Sanctions targeting Russia's economy and financial systems have cut into their net worth. Meanwhile, the US, Canada, and European nations have also moved to take direct aim at the Russian oligarchs by seizing their Western assets.

One day after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's 22 richest individuals lost a combined $39 billion. Since then, Russia's currency has plummeted to historic lows and brought the nation to the brink of default.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Mar. 16The Ohio governor and the chief of staff for the Air Force will be in Dayton Wednesday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Air Force and attend the First Four game featuring Wright State at UD Arena.

Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. will speak at Carillon Historical Park. The group is also expected to cut a ceremonial cake and then head over to the games.

Confirmed as Air Force chief of staff in August 2020, Brown, a four-star general, is the senior uniformed Air Force officer. He's responsible for the training, equipping, and organization of nearly 700,000 active-duty, Guard, Reserve, and civilian forces, including those based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Wright State University will take on Bryant University Wednesday night at UD Arena and Notre Dame will take on Rutgers after the first game is complete.

Wednesday will be the second night of the First Four games played in Dayton. On Tuesday, Texas A&M-CC and Texas Southern will face off in the first game and then Indiana and Wyoming will play.
Naomi Osaka of Japan sits between games against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia during round two of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., Saturday, March 12, 2022.

While BNP Paribas Open officials said on Monday that they have closed the book on a heckling incident Saturday evening that brought Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka to tears, some of the sport's other big stars are continuing the discussion in post-match news conferences.

The tournament said that security was unable to locate, and therefore did not remove, the individual who shouted, Naomi, you suck! during a silent moment while Osaka was on court with Russias Veronika Kudermetova. The incident happened in the second game of the first set, and Osaka, who was visibly shaken by it, lost the match, 6-0, 6-4.

Still, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Gael Monfils and Daniil Medvedev are among the players whove addressed the heckling that brought Osaka to tears.

Though the heckling came from a single individual, with Osaka otherwise having overwhelming support from the crowd, conversations about the incident have not stopped, particularly since at least one other spectator has been removed from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for comments directed at other players during ensuing matches this week.

During American Reilly Opelkas match versus Canadas Denis Shapovalov inside Stadium 2 on Monday, the match was stopped and security approached a man who was shouting at Opelka. The man was not removed.

Luxury suites at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Stadium One are seen mid-level during the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Monday, March 11, 2022.

More: BNP Paribas Open: Heckler brings Naomi Osaka to tears in match against Veronika Kudermetova

More: Column: Naomi Osaka deserves compassion, not ridicule, but many sports fans aren't wired that way

More: BNP Paribas Open: Rafael Nadal is great at tennis; did you know he's pretty good at golf too?

In the following set, play was once again momentarily stopped after more shouting at the players. Opelka and Shapovalov both asked to have an individual removed. Security approached and escorted out a different man, who was wearing a black shirt.

Obviously, most of the people are great, Shapovalov said. Just certain individuals sometimes. Its difficult. All you can ask is for them to be escorted out. If they do it accidentally, no problem. If theyre continuously or purposely doing something, I think its just not respectful for the players.

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Osaka, 24, has been open about her struggles with mental health. She penned an essay for Time titled "It's O.K. Not to Be O.K." She withdrew from Roland Garros last spring in an effort to preserve her mental health, after she was fined $15,000 for skipping the news conference after her first-round victory.

Osaka later explained that she experienced anxiety before speaking with the media in Paris and revealed that she has suffered with bouts of depression since rising to fame by winning the 2018 BNP Paribas Open, followed by four Grand Slams.

The BNP Paribas Open has signage around Stadium 1 to remind spectators of proper etiquette during matches. Sheets of paper with a reminder of that etiquette were placed on the counters of at least some of the suites on Sunday and Monday.

More: BNP Paribas Open: Heckler brings Naomi Osaka to tears in match against Veronika Kudermetova

More: Column: Naomi Osaka deserves compassion, not ridicule, but many sports fans aren't wired that way

Fans pack stadium one to watch Rafael Nadal of Spain play Sebastian Korda of the United States during round two of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif., Saturday, March 12, 2022.

Tennis icon Martina Navratilova, a Tennis Channel analyst, addressed the situation on-air, advocating for tournaments to remove fans who are disruptive and disrespectful.

I would get rid of these fans, Navratilova said. I would point them out and I would get rid of them. But as a player you just somehow have to deal with it or dont play forever or for now. Just take care of yourself first.

Navratilova also said that its unfortunately part of the sport and that players cannot take that kind of behavior personally.

I would just call them out, the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion said. The next time you get heckled say Hey, say it to my face and lets have a talk. It might be after the match, but I want to see you after the match. They are going to shut up, most likely they are not going to stand up and say that was me. So you just need to own it and get on the positive and get on the offensive in that situation and dont take it personal, most of all.

Players who have been asked about the situation at Indian Wells have had a similar response.

If you go and watch a basketball match, for example, Murray said, and a players taking free throws, I would say like almost every basketball match Ive been to one of the players has been heckled by the crowd as well. While it is wrong for those individuals to be doing it, the athletes, obviously, have to kind of be used to that as well or be able to deal with that too, even though its not pleasant.

So, obviously I feel for Naomi, Murray said. That obviously upset her a lot, but yeah, its always been something that's been part of sport, as well. So, you have to, I guess, be prepared for that in some ways and be able to tolerate it because it does happen regularly across all sports.

Nadal, though empathetic to the situation, was more direct in his remarks.

I mean, the easy answer for me is I feel terrible about what happened, the Spanish tennis star said. That never should happen. At the same time, as we like a lot when the people are supporting, when something like this happens, we need to accept and move forward, no?

I understand that probably Naomi, she suffered a lot with her issues that she has, mental issues," Nadal said. "The only thing that I wish her is recover well from that and wish her all the very best. But the life, nothing is perfect in this life, no? We need to be ready for adversities.

Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA Today Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com and find him on Twitter at @Andrew_L_John.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP: Rafael Nadal, Martina Navratilova talk Naomi Osaka heckling in Indian Wells
Commanders release guard Ereck Flowers originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Commanders will need two new starting guards for the 2022 NFL season.

Washington has released guard Ereck Flowers, the team officially announced on Wednesday. The move comes just two days after Washington's five-time Pro Bowl guard Brandon Scherff agreed to a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

We have released the following players:

S Deshazor Everett

G Ereck Flowers Sr.

DT Matt Ioannidis  Washington Commanders (@Commanders) March 16, 2022

By releasing Flowers, the Commanders save $10 million in cap space. The two sides were reportedly in talks for an extension before Washington ultimately decided to move on.

This is the second time Washington has let Flowers go following a productive season. In 2019, the guard started all 16 games for Washington. The Commanders let him walk in free agency, where he signed a three-year deal with Miami. Then last spring, Washington made a deal with the Dolphins to bring Flowers back to Washington, where he would start 16 of a possible 17 games in 2021.

Flowers was not the only impactful Commanders player to be released on Wednesday, as the Burgundy and Gold also moved on from defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis -- a player who had been with Washington since 2016.

Getting off the books for Flowers and Ioannidis has created $16.9 million in much-needed available cap space, especially considering the $28 million hit acquiring Carson Wentz will cost. However, moving on from Flowers and Ioannidis has created a pair of big holes to fill on the Commanders roster. Ron River and his staff must have a plan in place to replace these two, or their absences will be plenty noticeable in 2022.
Mar. 16Diane Kaplan, who led the growth of the Rasmuson Foundation into a major Alaska philanthropic organization, will step down early next year after 26 years.

Kaplan said the death in January of the foundation's chairman, Ed Rasmuson, reminded her that life is finite, the organization said in an announcement on Tuesday.

In an interview on Tuesday, she said she plans to continue doing work in the industry as something of a philanthropic coach, working with individuals who want to find the most enduring and best way to donate their wealth.

"You can never figure out when it's the right time to leave an organization you're committed to," she said. "I start every morning with the same excitement I had 26 years ago, but all things must come to an end. And I'm committed to giving the board time to have a smooth transition."

Members of the Rasmuson family, which grew National Bank of Alaska into Alaska's biggest financial institution before it was sold to Wells Fargo, built and financially supported the foundation.

In 1995, Ed Rasmuson tapped Kaplan, who had previously managed the Alaska Public Radio Network, to expand it.

Under her leadership, the organization grew from a small entity with $5 million in assets to a charitable powerhouse that today distributes about $25 million annually to nonprofits, tribes, local governments, artists and others, the foundation's statement said. The grants have supported swimming pools, libraries, clinics and other facilities and efforts statewide.

Kaplan said she had important guidance from Ed and his father, Elmer, who died in 2000, and left the foundation with most of his $400 million estate.

Today, the Rasmuson Foundation is worth about twice that much money, and is now the largest provider of private grants in Alaska, the foundation's statement said. It employs a staff of 28 who all share the goal of making Alaska a better place for everyone, Kaplan said.

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Kaplan has led the development of major initiatives including the Pick.Click.Give program, letting Alaskans donate part of their Permanent Fund dividend to charities; the Dental Health Aide Therapist Program that works to improve oral health care in rural communities without dentists; and the Homelessness Initiative that brought together other donors in a $40 million effort to address homelessness in Anchorage.

More recently, the foundation helped lead efforts to distribute $47 million in COVID-19 relief funds to nonprofit organizations and hospitals, according to the foundation's statement.

In one key effort, Kaplan developed a program that brings large, national funders to Alaska to see the state's challenges firsthand. That has brought in more than $300 million in Outside capital to support projects such as sanitation improvements in remote communities and educational opportunities under the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, the foundation's statement said.

"Diane has left an indelible mark not just on Rasmuson Foundation, but on philanthropy and the nonprofit community across Alaska," said Rasmuson Chairman Adam Gibbons, a fourth-generation Rasmuson family member, in the statement. "With her fearless and tireless leadership, we've been willing to tackle some of Alaska's greatest challenges, from oral health care to alcoholism, from abandoned parks to abandoned people."

The foundation expects to find a new chief executive by the end of the year, the statement said.
A judge has dismissed a rarely used felony eavesdropping charge brought against a northern Michigan mom who was battling her school board over curriculum issues.

Presque Isle County Circuit Court Judge Aaron Gauthier said there is no evidence Erin Chaskey was in a non-public area of her son's school when she used her iPhone to record a conversation the superintendent was having with a school board member, inside his office with the door open.

Erin Chaskey

"They did not close the door," Gauthier said Monday, in dismissing the charge. Chaskey was standing in a reception area about 10 feet away from the office and "they should know that people come and go there."

Chaskey, 37, faced up to two years in prison in the case after Chief District Judge Maria Barton of 89th District Court in Rogers City bound her over for trial in December, following a preliminary hearing.

First reported by the Free Press, the case arises from a skirmish in the classroom culture wars taking place across Michigan and the nation. Chaskey, a self-described conservative who had been trying to get the board to rein in or remove a high school civics teacher she believes is too liberal, told the Free Press she began recording the conversation after overhearing two school officials talking about her.

Soon after a sheriff's deputy with a search warrant seized her phone.

"This vindictive prosecution was a wrongful and retaliatory effort to silence Erin," said Daren Wiseley, Chaskey's Hillsdale attorney.

Presque Isle County Prosecutor Kenneth Radzibon could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

More: Onaway mom to stand trial on felony eavesdropping charge

More: Onaway mom charged with eavesdropping after recording superintendent

At the time she made the recording last October, Chaskey's 15-year-old son was a sophomore at Onaway High School, though he was not a student in the class of veteran teacher Kymberli Wregglesworth. Among other complaints, Chaskey has objected to books related to systemic racism that Wregglesworth sought to include in her lessons and an alleged remark in which she told a student his "white privilege" was showing.

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Barton noted that the school superintendent's office was not a place freely accessible to the public. But Gauthier said instead of focusing on where the conversation was held, the district court judge should have focused on where it could be heard.

"A private conversation does not include a conversation to which the public has access," Gauthier said.

He noted Chaskey heard the conversation without using an amplifying device such as a parabolic microphone or a recording device hidden inside the office.

Gauthier said Wiseley also raised "interesting constitutional questions" about whether the charges were a response to Chaskey attempting to "hold government accountable." But he said he did not need to explore those issues in order to decide the case and would not do so, in the interest of "judicial restraint."

Chaskey, who was active in her children's school sports and other school events, said earlier the worst part of the charge was being temporarily banned from school property.

Wiseley said Chaskey showed courage and character in fighting the charge. "Many would have simply accepted a plea and gotten it over with," he said.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge dismisses felony eavesdropping charge against Up North mom
Pfizer and its collaborator BioNTech requested federal permission Tuesday to provide an additional booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty to people 65 and older.

The request is based on data from Israel during a recent omicron outbreak there. One study of more than 1 million Israelis over 60 showed that those who got a fourth dose were half as likely to become infected and four-times less likely to fall severely ill than those who had only three shots.

In a second study of 700 Israeli health care workers, those who received a fourth dose, saw a 10-fold jump in protective antibodies two weeks after the shot.

COVID IS 'NOT OVER,' BUT CDC SAYS MOST OF AMERICA DOESN'T NEED TO WEAR A MASK: Should you listen?

STAY CONNECTED: Subscribe to Coronavirus Watch, your free daily update on all things COVID-19 in the USA

The fourth dose was delivered three months after the third in both studies and neither raised new safety concerns. Neither study has been peer-reviewed.

Other studies show that effectiveness against both infection and severe disease begins to fade about three months after a third dose, so another dose may be needed, particularly in older people who are at highest risk for severe disease.

Right now, people can get a single booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after two doses of the same vaccine, one from Moderna or a single Johnson & Johnson shot.

A vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, as seen on Dec. 2, 2021, at a mobile vaccination clinic in Worcester, Mass.

It's not clear how long the Food and Drug Administration will take to review the request or whether it will convene its expert panel to review it.

The country is enjoying a lull in COVID infections, with only 2% of the nation considered at high risk for infection.

As of Monday, just under 80 million Americans have caught COVID-19 since the pandemic began two years ago, and 557 million doses of vaccine have been administered, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which would also have to sign off on any new use of the vaccine.

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Just under 77% of Americans ages 5 and up have been vaccinated at least once and 44% of those 12 and up have received a booster dose.

Contact Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday.com

Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID: Pfizer seeks FDA authorization for second booster for 65 and up
Mar. 15A "little bit of a roller coaster" of weather patterns is expected to hit New Mexico this week as many residents enjoy their spring break, a meteorologist said Monday.

Experts at the National Weather Service in Albuquerque forecast warm and sunny weather Tuesday and Wednesday but warned a storm is set to move in Wednesday night, bringing rain and snow to some areas.

Once the storm system moves out of the state Thursday, residents are likely to see two days of spring-like weather before another storm rolls in Sunday.

Warmer-than-usual temperatures are predicted early next week.

Although spring officially begins March 20, meteorologist Scott Overpeck said the end of the winter snowfall season in New Mexico often arrives later.

"Usually we see our late-season snow events go into the middle of April," he said. "I wouldn't rule out another storm system or two."

Andrew Mangham, a senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said any moisture is welcome in the state right now.

A snowstorm that passed through last week dropped well over 20 inches of snow in some of the northern regions of the state, building up the snowpack and adding to the expected spring runoff, he said.

Wednesday's storm will likely bring snow to the mountains, Overpeck said. The chance for precipitation in the Santa Fe area is 50 percent  including a chance of snow, he added.

The forecasters were not yet certain whether Sunday's storm would bring rain or snow. But they expect high winds, leading to increased fire danger.
Municipal Center West in Springfield.

On the heels of a meeting last week that attracted some 200 people, the Springfield City Council Tuesday voted to withdraw an ordinance that would have appropriated $530,000 to purchase recirculation equipment for Lake Springfield to address its sometimes-musty smelling and tasting drinking water.

The ordinance had been tabled since Feb. 1.

Ward 1 Ald. Chuck Redpath made the motion, after helping set up a meeting that drew a sizable crowd to the Firefighters Lake Club.

See also: Popular Riverton High School science teacher remembered as 'positive presence'

Most of the participants objected to the plan proposed by the North Dakota company IXOM Watercare Inc. that would have installed the circulators, or "solar bees." Theoretically, the units would have helped drop algae levels down enough to where high-quality carbon could have removed the rest of the algae.

"(People at Firefighters Club meeting) were concerned there wasn't enough research and analysis done," Redpath said after the meeting. "We've only had one spike in several years to this magnitude. We need to make sure we're doing the right thing.

"We were getting ready to spend not just half a million dollars, but there was also a provision in there to put a maintenance agreement together which was another $150,000. It's a lot of money to spend."

Redpath and Ward 10 Ald. Ralph Hanauer both called out IXOM Watercare representative Mike Christensen, who, when he addressed the city council, said he couldn't guarantee the circulators would fully the address the taste and smell of the water.

"I don't want to see the lake filled up with these things," Hanauer admitted. "If this doesn't work, do we put 13 more in?"

Redpath said he talked to some places that have installed the "solar bees" and "there are mixed messages on how they work and if they work."

Redpath also wondered if the spike had something to do with the shutdown of Dallman plants 31, 32 and 33.

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Ward 6 Ald. Kristin DiCenso pointed out that the city has already approved the purchase of chemicals for the coming year "so we are covered by that.

"I smelled (the water). I tasted it. It was not pleasant. I think if this does happen this year, we do have to look at some option. I'm not saying these units are what we're looking for, but we have to be realistic about what might have to happen. We cannot provide that level of drinking water to our residents. It's unacceptable."

City Water, Light and Power officials have contended the water is still safe to drink.

Springfield Fire Department collective bargaining agreement

City council members approved 9-1 an ordinance ratifying a collective bargaining agreement with Firefighters Local 37, but not before the issue of legal use of cannabis was addressed publicly.

See also: Ukrainian mayor allegedly kidnapped by Russian forces visited Springfield in 2018

Beth Rogers of Springfield, who in the past spoke out against the city's opting-in for cannabis dispensaries, said firefighters' use of recreational marijuana was "a public safety issue."

Corporation counsel James Zerkle said it was a negotiated term of the agreement.

A provision in that agreement, Zerkle said, states that firefighters "may not be under the influence or otherwise be under the effect of that legal product on duty or while performing any services."

Chuck Redpath

"They have a right to use it as long it doesn't interfere with their duties," Redpath admitted. "There's (a clause) that says you can't use it 36 hours prior to your duty. It's not much change from what we have in place with our alcohol process."

Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin, who voted "no," said the agreement moved the city into "dangerous territory."

Because council members can't negotiate contracts, they only had the options of rejecting or accepting the agreement as a whole.

Support for Ukraine

With all 10 members as sponsors, the city council passed a resolution in support of Ukraine against the Russian invasion three weeks ago.

The city "stands with the Ukrainian people and the mayors of Ukraine in defense of their sovereign nation, its democratic values, their freedom and their very lives."

The city "will take all possible actions...to support the nation's leadership in bringing awareness to their plight and an end to the Russian government's violent assault on the people and leadership of Ukraine."

Mayor Jim Langfelder, sporting a lapel with the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, said the invasion is "a heart-wrenching, tragic situation."

"You would hope the takeover of another country, especially a democratic one, would not be recreated in history, but that's what's going on before our eyes," he said.

Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, Ukraine, who was allegedly kidnapped by armed Russian soldiers Friday, was part of the U.S.Ukraine Foundation Open World Delegation that visited Springfield in February 2018.

Kiwanis Club centennial

Langfelder presented members of the Kiwanis Club of Springfield-Downtown with a proclamation on the centennial of its founding.

The international service club is dedicated to serving children and children-focused charities in central Illinois.

Saturday it will open its second "laundromat library" at Capital City Cleaners Laundromat, 2912 Ridge Ave., at noon.

This story will be updated.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield IL city council withdraws 'solar bee' ordinance
Tennessee has advanced an even more restrictive version of the anti-abortion legislation crafted in Texas, which has successfully evaded legal challenges because of its unusual enforcement mechanism.

The legislation, which lawmakers on the states House Health Subcommittee advanced Tuesday, would completely ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy unless the mothers life or safety is at risk. It now goes to the full House Health Committee for review.

This bill is modeled directly after the legislation passed in Texas last year, the bills sponsor, state Rep. Rebecca Alexander (R), said at Tuesdays committee hearing. Abortions in Texas, she noted, have dropped 60% since the law went into effect in September.

Alexanders version of the bill is even more far-reaching than the law in Texas, which bans abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Other than that, the bills are nearly identical and were strategically crafted to avoid federal court challenges. Instead of tasking state officials with enforcing the ban, it deputizes public citizens to do so and incentivizes them with a $10,000 reward if they successfully sue someone for aiding or abetting a person seeking an abortion.

Abortion rights advocates gather outside the Tennessee Capitol in 2015. (Photo: via Associated Press)

Multiple legal challenges against the Texas ban have so far been unsuccessful.

Though Alexanders bill specifies that a person who impregnated a woman seeking an abortion through an act of rape, sexual assault, or incest cannot file such a lawsuit, a Democratic committee member said theres an obvious loophole with that.

One in six women are victims of rape over their life, state Rep. Bob Freeman (D) said to her at Tuesdays hearing. A minor who is raped becomes pregnant; they seek an abortion; the rapists mother, father, neighbor, girlfriend decides to sue, the doctor will be responsible for paying a $10,000 fine?

Alexander said her assumption is that her legislation wouldnt stop anyone from suing on behalf of a rapist.

CHOICES Memphis Center for Reproduction Health, an abortion provider in the state, released a statement Tuesday warning of the legislations consequences.

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If this bill is allowed to go into effect, people who need abortions will be forced to either travel out of state, not receive the health care that they need, or seek abortions in unsafe situations. This is a heartbreaking decision and one that sets Tennesseans back decades, the groups statement said.

This ban is unconstitutional and will create dire circumstances in which individuals are asked to serve as bounty hunters for financial reward to the detriment of people seeking care.

Progress on the Tennessee bill comes a day after Idaho became the first state to pass its own version on the Texas law in hopes of evading court challenges. Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) is expected to sign it into law soon and allow it to go into effect next month.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.

Related...
Tonight's episode of This is Us brings us nearly to the midpoint of the show's final season. On the heels of the traditional Thanksgiving episode, tonight's installment  episode number eight  also marks the start of another series tradition: the Big Three trilogy, where each Pearson sibling gets their own spotlight episode. Kevin (Justin Hartley) is up first.

The episode explores incidents in three time periods where Kevin grapples with what he thinks of himself; he gets a swimming lesson around age 6, he drowns in his sorrows after the Thanksgiving Sophie break up, and takes the twins across the country to the cabin on his own, to spend a weekend with Nicky (Griffin Dunne), Edie (Vanessa Bell Calloway), Cassidy (Jennifer Morrison), and Cassidy's son Matty. The beginning of the present-day story is set to the episode-eponymous song "Guitar Man." The song is about a man who earns the adoration of everyone but is always moving toward some new place or goal seeking something. It's a perfect representation of Kevin's story, especially in the flashbacks and present story of this episode.

THIS IS US

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Let's dive in.

Little Kevin and the pool

In a flashback to one of the Big Three's family trips to the public pool, Kevin is determined to jump off the diving board in the deep end and touch the drain at the bottom, like the bigger kids. However, unlike his siblings, he doesn't yet know how to swim. Jack (Milo Ventimiglia) gets in the pool to try to help him finally learn.

After a while, Kevin impatiently asks again about going to the diving board. Jack says only if he passes a test  he has to swim from where they are in the pool to the wall. In the background, Rebecca (Mandy Moore) is trying to convince Kate to get in the pool, but she pauses in panic about Kevin. Jack says he has to learn since he's not going to be a little boy forever, but ultimately picks a struggling Kevin up and sets him out of the pool, declaring him not yet ready for the deep end. Frustrated, Kevin storms off.

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Rebecca finds him sulking. When Kevin claims Jack tried to drown him, Rebecca explains Jack just wants to ensure he can swim before jumping off the board. She then says Jack is really good at building both houses and character, so Kevin should listen to him. Kevin says he's not like his father, but Rebecca insists he is.

That's all that unfolds then, but when Kevin makes that judgment of himself, you can tell that even by then, he'd already put his father on a pedestal he felt he himself could never reach. And that mindset never faded.

College-era Kevin and the pool

After the messy Thanksgiving dinner which was preceded by Sophie walking out upon learning of Kevin's infidelity, Kevin goes to the now closed-down public pool to drunkenly mourn. Randall and Kate find him there, and the three siblings sit by the deep end drain in the bottom of the empty pool.

Kevin says he'd always wanted to touch that drain, but he doesn't belong in the deep end because he's shallow and stupid. He says Randall does because he's a brainiac, and Kate does too  if she could get out of her own way. (A nod to Kate's quiet strength, as we've seen Rebecca do in recent episodes). He says the only solid thing he had was Sophie and he blew it; he himself has no foundation. He ponders quitting acting to become a builder like Jack, since Jack was so solid. Again, Kevin's thinking of himself as not enough  inferior to his siblings and especially his father.

Kate tells Kevin that while he is shallow and stupid and will probably be a screw up for a while, he will eventually figure it out, implying that while Kevin may take time to get to the same place as others, or reach his goals, he always ultimately succeeds. Kate's words seem to cheer Kevin up in the moment, but his crisis of confidence doesn't end there.

Present-day Kevin, the caregiver

This era's story begins with Kevin vowing to live his best life for Rebecca, per her Thanksgiving orders, followed by a montage of Kevin caring for the twins alone. Then, Kevin prepares to head to the cabin with the twins. His co-workers and siblings (and Nicky) all think he's crazy for going with them alone, which makes Kevin feel frustratingly "underestimated." However, the flight is indeed chaos, between dirty diapers and crying, and Kevin's misguided attempts to smooth things over with passengers.

THIS IS US

Ron Batzdorff/NBC

Piling on the stressful day, when he arrives at the cabin, Kevin learns there's been a setback with the construction of Rebecca's house. He rudely demands an explanation from Cassidy, who accepted his job offer of overseeing the construction. The foundation was poured wrong and needs to be redone. (Metaphor alert  flawed foundation that needs work, like Kevin saw in himself). Kevin blames Cassidy's work crew, a team of other veterans. After snapping back at Kevin, Cassidy says his architect misjudged the scales for the back porch, though she takes the blame for not catching it sooner. When the men leave her, Nicky tells Kevin Cassidy's been having a rough time with her war trauma and Matty's reaction to his parents' divorce.

At dinner, Kevin and Cassidy make amends. Then they, Matty, Nicky, and Edie have a joyous dinner and game of Monopoly. As Edie and Nicky subsequently share a dance, Kevin looks adoringly toward Cassidy, while Cassidy seemingly zones out. That night, Cassidy disappears for a drive and gets into a car crash. Arriving at the hospital with Nicky, Kevin laments  in his quick-to-fault-himself way  that his rudeness may have drove Cassidy to drink and drive. However, the doctor says Cassidy was fully sober and had even refused pain medicine, for her sobriety.

Kevin is relieved to hear that, and that she only suffered a fracture and broken arm. But a more worried Nicky tells Kevin that Cassidy's military job in Afghanistan involved putting on a facade (manipulating villagers for support); people like Cassidy don't show when they're not OK and may never get over their war traumas  e.g., Jack and his secret drinking, Nicky being on the verge of suicide before Kevin literally barged into his life. Nicky says to help Cassidy, Kevin needs to just be there, and nothing more.

So, Kevin spends the night. In the morning, as he contemplates a gift for Cassidy, he remembers Jack comforting him after his broken leg. He then rambles to a stranger about how he'd stayed for Cassidy because it was the right thing to do and she's one of the only people he really cares about outside of family. He then suggests he feels like his life is just a performance and he wonders how people know if they really are who they are or if they're just acting like a certain type of person  e.g., the kind of man who does the right thing. Think imposter syndrome but with all of life.

Kevin then visits Cassidy's bedside. He vows to only sit and not ask questions. After a long silence, Cassidy says that thoughts of the people she lost or betrayed in the war, or who survived war but died back in the U.S. keep her from sleeping and she often goes for drives to try to shut them off. The weight of those thoughts is heaviest when her son leaves her to return to his dad. That night, she'd gone for a drive because the evening had been so pleasant, she wanted to live in it longer. As she then makes a deeply painful confession of suicidal ideations  she'd sped up the car as she let fatigue and thoughts of going "somewhere [she'd] never been" take over  and breaks down, Nicky arrives and takes her hand.

Nicky gives Cassidy the name of a readjustment counselor who helped him. Back at the cabin, while Kevin and Matty wait for Matty's father to pick him up, they paint a card for Cassidy. Kevin says he used to paint, but stopped because he was self-conscious over his limited skills (another confidence crisis). Now he's trying something new again: guitar, with a mission to be good at it (as if to make up for not being good at other things)  though he gives the guitar to Matty before he leaves.

To help Cassidy by preventing her from being alone, it's been decided she'll stay at the cabin with Nicky. When she and Nicky arrive back from the hospital, Kevin shares a big idea he's concocted: it seems he wants to start a construction firm like his father's dream, Big Three Homes, but build it around the idea of employing veterans for the construction teams.

The flight home with the twins goes significantly better for Kevin. When the flight attendant says Kevin's good, he says he's getting there. This response suggests he still doesn't think he's up to par but finally accepts he isn't just acting, but genuinely trying. And like Kate that night in the empty pool, he will get where he wants in time.

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Head-to-Tail Grooming owner Elyse Strange grooms a furry client.

McDONOUGH COUNTY/HANCOCK COUNTY  Elyse Strange of Head to Tail Grooming always wanted to work in a vet clinic.

Twenty-five years ago she got her wish: while taking her horses to the vet, they asked if she'd like to work for them as a dog groomer.

Seven years went by and she opened her own grooming studio in her basement, keeping clients in Hancock County.

This is one of the blessings in my life, she said.

It wasn't long before she was contacted by Lisa Sweeney called and asked if she'd like to open a dog grooming studio and self dog bath wash. She has been in her location behind Sweeney's for 12 years. She still grooms dogs in her home as well as grooming for the McDonough County Humane Society. Elyse also travels to groom dogs who can't be brought into the studio.

I'm truly blessed. I get to take my children to work with me and get to work with my clients and people that bring in their clients that want to take care of their babies.

Elyse has several dogs, cats, horses, black angus cattle and other animals on her ranch, Sun in the Sky.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has been adopted, she said.

One of her dogs, Joey, was given to her by a lady who went into a nursing home about five years ago. She wanted Elyse to take care of him.

Elyse has been to several countries on missions trips. She has tended to animals in Uganda and Ecuador, and her ranch is open to many.

I've had the Tennessee Walkers; mission trips come out to the ranch; women from Lydia's House (women in crisis in Keokuk). People I met on a mission's trip in St Louis came up for horseback riding and a barbecue, the Wellhouse Women. WIU students came out one time and Walk to Emmaus is coming this spring to ride.

Part of her mission statement reads: Having a healthy coat benefits your dog in so many ways. By maintaining good grooming habits you are doing far more than just showing that your dog's beautiful. You are also giving your dog the gift of good health!

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Elyse will pick up your animal for $5, bring them in for a grooming, and return them. Nails can be trimmed for $5 per animal. Elyse offers a discount of $5 for each dog for multiple dogs needing grooming. Senior discounts are also offered, and she is available by appointment only.

I'm not doing this to get rich. I just want to help the community, she said.

Head to Tail Grooming can be reached at 309-333-1246.

This article originally appeared on The McDonough County Voice: Animal grooming business serves McDonough and Hancock Counties
A New York City teacher from Rockland County has been accused of child sexual abuse in Orange County.

State police said the suspect, David G. Reinoso, 42, of Suffern, was arrested Friday on a warrant issued by the town of Blooming Grove Court, charging him with one count of first-degree sexual abuse, a felony, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Police said an investigation they conducted with the Orange County Child Abuse Unit and Orange County Child Protective Services determined that Reinoso had sexual contact with a child under the age of 13.

Reinoso was arraigned before Newburgh City Court Judge Anika Mohammed and sent to Orange County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail, $15,000 bond or $30,000 partially secured bond, pending a future court appearance. He has since been released and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Mohammed also issued a temporary full stay away order of protection on behalf of the child.

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Police said Reinoso is a teacher in the Jackson Heights section of Queens. They are asking anyone who might have been a victim of Reinoso, or knows of someone who might have been a victim, to call state police at 845-344-5300 and reference SJS # 10500508.

It could not immediately be learned what relationship, if any, Reinoso had with the child. It also could not immediately be learned whether his job as a teacher had any connection to the case.

The New York City Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request seeking information on Reinoso and his job status.

His attorney, Thomas Mascola, could not immediately be reached.

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: David Reinoso, NYC teacher from Suffern, charged with child sex abuse
Editor's note: This page recaps the news from Ukraine on Tuesday, March 15. Follow here for the latest updates and news from Wednesday, March 16, as Russia's invasion continues.

Ukrainians must realize the country will not be joining NATO and must "count on ourselves and our partners who are helping us" to withstand the Russian onslaught, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday.

Later in the day, the White House said President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations yielded a sliver of hope when Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said there is certainly room for compromise. However, the invading forces continued their bombardment of Kyiv while a siege of the port city of Mariupol prompted about 20,000 civilians to flee. Negotiations are expected to resume Wednesday.

Zelenskyy, speaking to representatives of the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force, said Ukraine has heard for years about "the allegedly open doors of NATO but acknowledged his country will not be able to join. Instead, Ukraine needs separate security guarantees from its allies, he said.

Zelenskyy had been a strong supporter of Ukraine's efforts to join NATO. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has called for a guarantee that Ukraine would never join NATO among terms for an end to the war.

Still, Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for NATO to set up a no-fly zone above Ukraine to ease an aerial assault from Russia that has decimated Ukraine cities since the invasion began Feb. 24. And he said Tuesday that Europe could help yourself by helping us with more military aid. The Ukrainian military is using up weapons and ammunition meant to last a week in 20 hours, he said.

Leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia were traveling to Kyiv on a European Union mission Tuesday to show support for Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet announcing the trip that "Europe must guarantee Ukraine's independence and ensure that it is ready to help in Ukraine's reconstruction."

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Latest developments:

A fourth Russian general was killed in fighting at Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday, identifying him as Maj. Gen. Oleg Mityaev, commander of the 150th motorized rifle division. Russia did not confirm the death.

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday evening repelled an attack on Kharkiv by Russian troops, who tried to storm the city from their positions in Piatykhatky, a suburb 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the north, the head of the Kharkiv region said.

A funeral service was held Tuesday in Lviv for four Ukrainian soldiers killed in a Russian attack on a training base in Yavoriv in western Ukraine. The attack on Sunday killed at least 35 people.

Zelenskyy addressed the Canadian Parliament, again pleading for a no-fly zone over his country. The speech came as Moscow announced it was banning Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from entering Russia.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says at least 691 civilians have died and 1,143 have been injured since the war began. At least four children have died, the agency said.

More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country, the U.N. refugee agency said. "Today we have passed another terrible milestone," tweeted U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "The war has to stop. Now."

A humanitarian disaster is unfolding in Izium, an eastern city of 46,000 people, Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin said. The city lacks basic supplies and extensive Russian shelling has severely damaged infrastructure, he said.

Belarus, a neighbor of both Russia and Ukraine but an ally of the former in the war, continued its crackdown on independent media by sentencing two journalists from the nation's oldest newspaper to 2 1/2 years in prison on charges of dodging communal payments they have rejected as politically driven.

Biden to announce $800 million additional military aid for Ukraine

President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to announce an additional $800 million in military aid for Ukraine, according to a White House official, bringing the total U.S. support for Ukraine to $1 billion in just the last week.

Biden will announce the aid in an 11:45 a.m. ET speech, shortly after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to urge for greater assistance during a virtual address to the U.S. Senate and House earlier in the morning.

Were moving urgently to further augment the support to the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their country, Biden said Tuesday. And Ill have much more to say about this tomorrow  about exactly what were doing in Ukraine.

The additional $800 million will mean more than $2 billion in U.S. aid has gone to Ukraine since Biden entered office. The money has paid for an assortment of military equipment including 600 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, 200 grenade launchers and ammunition, 200 shotguns and 200 machine guns, according to the White House.

In addition, Biden signed into law a government funding bill Tuesday that will provide $13.6 billion in humanitarian aid, economic support and defense assistance for Ukraine and the region.

 Joey Garrison

Russian forces take 500 hostage in Mariupol hospital, Ukraine official says

Russian forces took control of a hospital in the port city Mariupol, holding about 500 people hostage late Tuesday, according to a regional leader.

Pavlo Kyrylenko said on the social media app Telegram that Russian forces rounded up 400 people from their houses in the neighborhood and drove them into the hospital, where about 100 patients, doctors and other hospital staff were. Kyrylenko said Russians were using the hostages as human shields.

Its impossible to leave the hospital, they are shooting hard, Kyrylenko said.

He said staff are continuing to treat patients in makeshift wards set up in a basement despite damage done to the building from shelling.

The siege of Regional Intensive Care Hospital in Mariupol comes the week after Russian forces bombed a maternity hospital in the same city. Three people were killed, including a child.

Biden to attend NATO summit in Brussels to discuss Russias invasion

President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on Russias invasion of Ukraine. White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Bidens attendance after NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg announced the extraordinary summit of all NATO allies at the NATO headquarters.

At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together, Stoltenberg said in a statement on Twitter.

This will be Bidens first to Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago. Vice President Kamala Harris last week traveled to Romania and Poland, where she reaffirmed the United States commitment to defend members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Psaki said Biden will discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine and reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies. She said Biden will also join a scheduled European Council summit to discuss concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia and humanitarian support to those affected by the violence in Ukraine.

When asked, Psaki would not say whether Biden will visit Poland, where the vast majority of Ukrainian refugees have fled. Were still working through the final details of the trip and what it may look like, said Psaki, who did not rule out Biden possibly meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

 Joey Garrison

As advancement stalls, Russia seeks reinforcements

Russian losses on battlefields in Ukraine have stalled its offensive and forced it to seek reinforcements from troops stationed in the Pacific and paying mercenary forces, according to the British Defense ministry. Russia has been seeking mercenaries from Syria and elsewhere to fight in Ukraine.

"Russia will likely attempt to use these forces to hold captured territory and free up its combat power to renew stalled offensive operations," British defense attache Mick Smeath said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Ukrainian resistance has hampered advancement by Russia, whose ability to hold territory it seizes would be degraded by continued losses, according to British military intelligence.

Earlier Tuesday, a senior Defense Department official said the Russian offensive against Ukraines major cities, including Kyiv, was not progressing.

However, Russian forces continue to bombard Kyiv with artillery and missile fire, striking residential areas with increasing frequency, according to the official, who shared battlefield assessments on condition of anonymity.

Russias main force has made minimal progress toward Kyiv. The leading edge of the troops remain about 10 miles to the northwest and about 15 miles to the east of the citys center. Ukrainians continue to mount stiff resistance, including near the city of Kharkiv.

-- Tom Vanden Brook

Fox News cameraman and consultant killed while covering war

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and journalist Oleksandra "Sasha'' Kuvshynova were killed while reporting with correspondent Benjamin Hall in Ukraine outside the capital city of Kyiv, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott announced Tuesday.

The group was traveling in a vehicle in Horenka  nearly 20 miles from Kyiv  when they were struck by incoming fire Monday, Scott said in a statement. Hall remained hospitalized.

"Pierre was a war zone photographer who covered nearly every international story for Fox News from Iraq to Afghanistan to Syria during his long tenure with us," Scott said. "His passion and talent as a journalist were unmatched."

Kuvshynova, 24, was a freelance consultant for the network's team in Ukraine who helped with her knowledge of Kiev and its surroundings as well as her country's language. "Her dream was to connect people around the world and tell their stories and she fulfilled that through her journalism,'' Scott said.

American photojournalist Brent Renaud was killed Sunday when Russian forces fired on a car in Irpin, a town 30 miles outside Kyiv. A second American journalist, Juan Arredondo, was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, police said.

Ned Price, the State Departments chief spokesman, did not directly respond when asked if Russia is intentionally targeting journalists, but said the department is documenting attacks on people who should be completely off limits. He said it would merit a serious response if the department determines there is any intentionality here.''

 Asha C. Gilbert

Russian TV employee who protested war is fined $270, could face tougher penalty

The Russian state television employee who interrupted a live news program by protesting against the war in Ukraine was fined the equivalent of $270 but could face harsher penalties under Russia's new law aimed at quelling opposition to the invasion.

Marina Ovsyannikova was ordered to pay 30,000 rubles by Moscow's Ostankino District Court on charges of organizing unsanctioned actions for her call to demonstrate against the war. CNN reported that Ovsyannikova was questioned for 14 hours before her court appearance.

More concerning than the fine was the possibility Ovsyannikova could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison if found guilty of violating the punitive legislation adopted a day after the Feb. 24 invasion. Russia's top state investigative agency is looking into whether Ovsyannikova broke the new law by publicly spreading false information about the Russian military.

Ovsyannikova, who said in a video that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian, walked into a Channel One studio during Monday's evening news show with a poster saying no war and Russians against the war and warning viewers against believing propaganda spread by the station In the video, she said Russia is the aggressor country and one person, Vladimir Putin, solely bears responsibility for that aggression, and she urged Russians to join anti-war protests.

Speaking in a video address early Tuesday, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Russians who do not stop trying to convey the truth, real facts  And personally to the woman who entered the studio of Channel One with a poster against the war.

Girl who went viral singing 'Let It Go' in Kyiv bomb shelter is now in Poland

A video of a 7-year-old girl singing the song Let It Go from Disneys Frozen in a bomb shelter in Kyiv went viral last week. Now she has made it safely to Poland.

The girl, Amelia, is in the country with her grandmother, the BBC reported. She told the outlet that, It was OK in the bomb shelter.

There were other children there. My classmate, Artyom, was there too, she said.

I would be very happy to be with my mother and father, in Kyiv, of course, she added. She also thanked the millions of people who saw the video of her singing the hit song from the Disney movie.

Last week, Idina Menzel, who voiced Elsa, the character who sings Let it Go in Frozen, shared the video of Amelia singing on Twitter, writing, We see you. We really, really see you.

-- Marina Pitofsky

U.S. supplies another $186 million in humanitarian aid

The Biden administration said Tuesday it would provide an additional $186 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the refugee crisis caused by Russias war against Ukraine. More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled the country since Russia invaded on Feb. 24th, with the majority crossing into Poland.

This will provide further support for humanitarian organizations responding to the crisis and complement the generosity of the neighboring countries that are welcoming and supporting refugees, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken said the new funds would help provide food, drinking water, shelter and emergency health care through international and non-governmental partners. This funding will also help victims of this conflict maintain contact with family members who have been separated and promote family reunification when possible, Blinken said.

-- Deirdre Shesgreen

Kyiv mayor: Men should fight, not 'sit somewhere and sympathize'

Russia stepped up its bombardment of Kyiv on Tuesday, smashing apartments and a subway station as the assault edged closer to the city center. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said barrages hit four multi-story buildings in the city and killed dozens of people. The shelling ignited a huge fire in a 15-story apartment building and spurred a frantic rescue effort.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko stressed that Kyiv is prepared to defend itself and was confident it will not fall. He urged the men who left the capital to return and fight.

Everyone who loves Kyiv and wants it to survive should help as best they can," said Klitschko, a former heavyweight champion boxer. "Kyiv men, come back. We must protect our city and our future. Dont sit somewhere and sympathize."

Russia sanctions President Biden, top national security officials

The Kremlin has sanctioned President Joe Biden and 13 of his top national security and foreign policy aides, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Tuesday. Among the other officials sanctioned are Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin; Secretary of State Antony Blinken; CIA Director Bill Burns; White House press secretary Jen Psaki; national security adviser Jake Sullivan and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

When a country sanctions officials or a company, their assets in the country are seized and they're subject to arrest if they set foot on the country. The U.S. and the European Union have sanctioned a number of top Kremlin military officials, billionaires and members of the Russian legislature over Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine.

It is unlikely the sanctions against the U.S. will have a material effect, given that none of the officials have reported assets in Russia. Western governments have ramped up efforts to seize the wealth of Russian oligarchs and financial institutions in their countries.

 Matthew Brown

Zelenskyy: Russian troops who surrender will be treated 'decently'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Russian troops in an online video early Tuesday that they can surrender and will be treated "decently" and pleaded with European nations to provide his military with more weapons.

"On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I give you a chance," Zelenskyy said in a video translated into English by his office, ahead of his scheduled speech to Canada's parliament Tuesday. "Chance to survive. If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you the way people are supposed to be treated. As people, decently."

NATO leaders focus on bolstering forces near Russian border

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was traveling to Brussels on Tuesday for a meeting of NATOs defense ministers that will focus on bolstering the alliances eastern front following Russias invasion of Ukraine. Austin then is scheduled to visit senior civilian and military leaders in Slovakia and Bulgaria, according to Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby.

The NATO meeting comes after Russias cruise-missile attack Sunday on the Yavoriv military training base in western Ukraine. The attack killed at least 35 people and occurred not far from the border with Poland, a NATO ally. President Joe Biden and other senior officials have pledged to respond to any Russian attack that spills into NATO territory.

 Tom Vanden Brook

Damage in Ukraine estimated at $500 billion and rising

Preliminary losses from Russia's attack in Ukraine are already estimated at $500 billion  and the damage grows worse every day, Minister of Finance Serhiy Marchenko said Tuesday. Supply chains have been broken, some businesses destroyed and others left unable to function because their workers have fled, Marchenko said. The true cost of the war won't be determined until it's over, he said. The International Monetary Fund, which has approved $1.4 billion in emergency financing for Ukraine, said this week that the country's economic output could shrink by up to 35% if the war drags on.

Marchenko said some of the hundreds of billions in Russian assets frozen in the U.S. and Europe could be tapped to help his country rebuild.

China defends position on Ukraine

China's stance on Russias invasion of Ukraine is impartial and constructive while the U.S. has been immoral and irresponsible by spreading misinformation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Tuesday.

Lijian accused the U.S. of spreading misinformation over reports Beijing had agreed to a Russian request for military supplies. Lijian also said the U.S. played a major role in the development of the crisis, a reference to NATO expansion.

Lijian spoke at a press briefing on day after Yang Jiechi, one of China's top diplomats, met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Yang called on the international community to support peace talks and said "China always stands for respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries."

State Department spokesman Ned Price declined to confirm whether U.S. officials believe Beijing has conveyed its support for Moscow's assault on Ukraine but said the U.S. is watching very closely whether China or any other country is providing any form of support, including material, economic or financial assistance.

Poland on edge as Russian airstrikes hit near border

KRAKOW, Poland  After a deadly Russian missile attack in Ukraine just 15 miles from the Polish border Sunday, some Poles are increasingly anxious  saving money, checking to see whether their passports are up to date and making plans to flee if war spills over to their country.

I said to my husband, If only one bomb touches Polish ground, I will pack myself, pack my grandma, pack my mom, and we are going abroad,' local artist Aga Gaj said.

Poles are nervous following a Russian airstrike that killed 35 and injured at least 100 at a military base where Americans had trained Ukrainian forces before the war. The United States and NATO have regularly sent instructors to the base, known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center. Just weeks before the war began, Florida National Guard members trained there. Read more here.

 Katelyn Ferral, USA TODAY Network

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine recap: Biden to provide Ukraine with $800M in new aid
A 16-year-old who was shot in an altercation Tuesday outside Zaepfel Stadium near Eisenhower High School in Yakima has died, Yakima police said Wednesday morning.
Nicholas Antonio Galvan makes a preliminary appearance via Zoom in Yakima County Superior Court March 10, 2022. Galvan is charged with second-degree unlawful firearms possession in connection with what Yakima police described as a shootout between rival gang members March 3.
Yakima police are trying to determine the circumstances behind a shooting outside Eisenhower High School on Tuesday where a 15-year-old is accused of killing his cousin and injuring another student.
The Yakima Valley was in a particularly vulnerable spot when two years ago, on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and the first cases sprang up in the community.
Just when it seemed most critical for the United States to give Ukraine more powerful tools to blunt Russias brutal bombardments, President Joe Biden refused to get the U.S. involved in Polands plan to transfer MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. He did it, he said, to avoid World War III. But in doing so, he inadvertently raised the risk of such a war.

American timidity on air support reduces the likelihood of Russias retreat from Ukraine. Even without direct support from the U.S., the Ukrainian military has valiantly slowed the Russian invasion. But in response, Russia started indiscriminately bombarding cities, block by block, killing and wounding, degrading infrastructure, choking off vital supplies.

Chernihiv (population 285,000), Kharkiv (1.5 million), Sumy (265,000) and Mariupol (446,000) are reduced to a familiar landscape of death and ruin, like Guernica, like Stalingrad, like Grozny, like Aleppo. The capital, Kyiv, is now on the line. The pleas of pregnant women escaping from a bombed-out maternity hospital, the sight of dead bodies piling up in city streets and other horrors of war give Russian President Vladimir Putin confidence that the hurt will eventually bring Ukraine to its knees. A retreat is less likely with every mile that Russia gains.

If Putin succeeds, he wont stop in Ukraine. The specter of popular uprisings and insurgency would haunt him. He would fear the neighboring states, all NATO members, lending support to his foes. He would fear a spillover into Russia. Hed fear being treated as a war criminal if he loses.

Controlling Ukraine would also give Russia more resources to press onward. For one, most Soviet ICBMs were made in Ukraine.

Putin already has good reason to believe he can intimidate NATO into acquiescence as he invades other nations. After threatening to strike NATO states that help Ukraine, he must have rejoiced when policymakers pledged not to provoke Russia.

Putin will have a perfect opportunity to test whether Biden will indeed defend every inch of NATO territory, or will continue to appease. On the map of Europe, you can see a forlorn piece of land on the Baltic Sea, boxed in by two NATO states, Lithuania and Poland. This is Russias province of Kaliningrad, home to the Kremlins Baltic fleet. NATO could blockade Kaliningrad, isolating that outpost of Russia. To reduce this perceived vulnerability, Putin might invade Poland and Lithuania to seize a land corridor to Kaliningrad from Belarus, a Russian ally. The corridor would be the Suwalki Gap, a 60-mile-long sliver of flatland.

Putin will have a strong hand to test NATOs resolve there. If he perseveres with his December ultimatum that NATO should move out of Eastern Europe, masses troops and threatens nuclear retaliation if NATO tries to stop him, how would we respond? The only gambit that might get his attention would be to threaten a nuclear response. But would the American public support such brinkmanship, knowing it could lead to nuclear war? Would we really want to risk sacrificing major American cities just to protect the Suwalki Gap?

Precisely because Putin knows we would face this dilemma  and given our record in Ukraine and Afghanistan  our pledge to defend allies would not deter him from invading. The U.S. will then face its choice: defend allies against the advancing Russian tanks and face the prospect of Russias nuclear blow, or abandon our allies. We may have to decide within hours, even minutes, how to respond.

The MiG-29s from Poland would help us avert this scenario. They would undercut Putins power to hit targets in Ukraine like hospitals and residential areas. Theyd give Ukraine more options to hit Russian bombers and missile complexes that cant be reached by the missiles the U.S. has provided. Ukrainian pilots in Polish MiGs could buy time for economic sanctions to hurt Putin at home, and perhaps time for him to question Russias standing with China and India. Crucially, Putin would see he cannot scare the West into inaction, which might persuade him not to further test our resolve.

But Biden is not signaling that resolve.

I feel less safe here in the U.S. now than before Biden vetoed the MiG-29 transfer. Putin may test NATO sooner rather than later, while Biden is president.

Russian aggression against Ukraine shows that we are entering a moment in world history when caution is riskier than audacity, a moment when we need a president who can lead like Winston Churchill and Volodymyr Zelenskiyy, not like Neville Chamberlain.
Greensboro, NC (27407)

Today

Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 59F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 59F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph.
While on patrol off the Mexican coast on March 20, 1836, the Invincible whipped an enemy man-of-war and seized an American blockade runner on the high seas. All in a days work for the Texas Navy.

During the darkest hour of the Lone Star Revolution, Jeremiah Brown put to sea in a converted slave smuggling schooner. As captain of the Invincible, his mission in the aftermath of the Alamo massacre was to keep Mexican vessels bottled up in port and to stop third countries from supplying Santa Anna with war materiel.

A month before the Battle of San Jacinto, a merchant ship brimming with military hardware slipped out of Matamoros harbor. To ensure that the freighter rendezvoused with ground forces in Texas, the man-of-war Bravo provided an armed escort.

The two-ship convoy made a desperate dash for open water, but the Invincible blocked its path. The Mexican warship accepted the challenge, and for the next hour the adversaries traded broadsides with the Bravo getting the worst of it.

From out of nowhere, a double-masted intruder of unknown allegiance appeared on the horizon. Taking advantage of the lull in the fighting, the Bravo limped away while the Invincible made a beeline for the mystery ship.

To the Texans surprise, the party crasher was flying the Stars and Stripes. Spared a second round of combat, Capt. Brown leisurely pulled alongside the brig bearing the name Pocket. But the refusal of the American skipper to comply with a routine request for destination and papers instantly put Brown back on his guard.

The Texans stormed aboard and took control of the Pocket at gunpoint. The sight of cocked pistols convinced the uncooperative captain to hand over the manifest, which showed he carried harmless consumer goods bound for Matamoros. But why the initial defiance and what was the U.S. Navy doing on a commercial cruise?

Although the very idea of American mariners in league with Mexicans was unthinkable, Capt. Brown decided to inspect the hold. He could not believe his eyes. The Pocket was packed with contraband  guns, powder, ammunition, everything dictator Santa Anna needed to finish off the retreating rebels.

The ship was searched from stem to stern, and moments later a loud commotion below deck signaled another shocking discovery. Into the bright sunlight, the Texas sailors dragged four Americans caught red-handed with commissions in the Mexican Navy.

One of the quaking quartet needed no introduction. Capt. Brown, as well as most Anglo colonists, would have known the hated Thomas Thompson anywhere.

While serving as a Mexican naval officer in the summer of 1835, the Englishman ordered the inhabitants of Anahuac to disband their militia. Infuriated by their refusal, Thompson threatened to torch the town.

Two months after the Anahuac incident, the Texans took their revenge. In retaliation for the unwarranted capture of a private boat, they opened fire on the Brit wounding him in both legs. He was taken to New Orleans and formally accused of piracy.

By the time the case came to court in early 1836, the Texas Revolution was in full swing. The trial degenerated into a shameful circus, as the presiding judge shied away from the political implications of the proceedings and opposing counsels threw books and inkwells at each other. In the end, the Louisiana magistrate turned the defendant loose but jailed the lawyers.

Clapping Thompson and the three American turncoats in irons, Capt. Brown sailed the Pocket to Galveston. Leaving the fate of the prisoners and their ship in the hands of his superiors, he went onto New Orleans for provisions and repairs.

Worked up by a prejudiced press, the usually sympathetic citizens of the Crescent City greeted the Invincible with hostility. Fearing a mob attack, the Texans ran back to ship but hardly cleared the mouth of the Mississippi before being overtaken by a navy cutter.

Detained as pirates, the captain and crew of the Invincible were freed by a local judge, who defied public opinion by tossing the preposterous case out of court. On their second try, the Lone Star sailors made good their escape from New Orleans.

The rebel regime in Texas soon released the Pocket prisoners and purchased the ship, a generous gesture not required by international law. Under the circumstances, Washington should have been more than satisfied, especially since running guns to Santa Anna contradicted official U.S. policy.

But the American government chose to make an issue out of the Pocket affair and demanded compensation for the victims. After refusing to pay a penny in damages, President Sam Houston authorized a settlement of $12,455 in March 1838 to improve the chances of early annexation.

When the Potomac politicians would not give Texas the time of day a few months later, Houston must have wished he had stopped payment on the check.

Bartee welcomes your comments and questions at barteehaile@gmail.com or P.O. Box 130011, Spring, TX 77393 and invites you to visit his web site barteehaile.com.
Hungarian Gripen fighter planes were scrambled twice on Friday to investigate suspicious radar contacts but found no trace of any flying objects, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said.

The Hungarian Armed Forces detected an object flying over Hungarian airspace from the direction of Ukraine in the early hours of Friday, which later turned out to be a drone that crashed in Zagreb, the foreign ministry cited Szijjarto as saying.



Multiple NATO member states, including Hungary, Romania and Croatia were affected by the incident, Szijjarto said, adding that the authorities were investigating it in cooperation with Hungarys allies.



Around noon on Friday, Hungarys air force detected radar signals in the northeast that were similar to the ones seen during the night, Szijjarto said. Gripen fighters were scrambled from the base in Kecskemet, in central Hungary, to inspect the area where the object was detected but found no sign of any flying objects, he said.



The fighters were scrambled again to investigate another radar signal in the afternoon but again found no aircraft, the minister said. Szijjarto said he had informed his Romanian, Croatian and Slovenian counterparts of the radar contacts.



Because there is a war going on in our neighbourhood, it is extremely important for the armed forces and the air force to take a calm and measured approach at all times, Szijjarto said.



It was no different this time and would be no different in the coming period.



We must protect Hungary and the security of the Hungarian people and guarantee that Hungary does not get dragged into the war in our neighbouring country in any way, he added.



Hungarian Authorities Join Investigation Into Case Of Crashed Drone in Zagreb, Reports Hungary Matters



The Hungarian authorities are joining an investigation into the case of a drone that crashed in Zagreb, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Friday.



The aircraft was likely a Soviet-era TU-141 reconnaissance drone that crashed in the Croatian capital just after midnight on Thursday, local news portal Index.hr said citing unnamed experts.



Szijjarto said on Facebook that he had talked with Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic-Radman about the case by phone.



According to data currently available, the airspace of several NATO member states, including Hungarys, have been affected in the flight path of the drone, he said.



During the assessment, we will closely cooperate with the Croatian authorities and other NATO allies, Szijjarto said.
The Engine Drivers Union has desisted from going on strike as planned from March 10, citing the extension of humanitarian assistance to the growing number of refugees from the Russian-Ukrainian war, the union announced.

They will continue ongoing talks with the employer, state railway company MAV, on fulfilling their strike demands.



The union decided on February 2 to go on an indefinite strike in early March affecting rail passenger and freight transportation unless an agreement is reached on compensation for the loss of their earnings in real terms for 2021.



MAV earlier called the strike unfounded and illegal, saying that it had honoured the three-year wage agreement concluded last year.



The railway company welcomed the union decision and stressed it is particularly important in the current situation that the nation can rely on predictable and safe transport services.





MTI Photo: Tibor Rosta
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Hungary must stay out of the war because no Hungarian should come between a Ukrainian anvil and a Russian hammer, and this was why Hungary refused to send soldiers or weapons into the theatre of war.

Addressing a commemoration, Orban said Hungary must represent its own interests calmly and courageously.



It isnt in our interest to become footsoldier victims in someone elses war, he said.



Some countries want to achieve their goals through warfare, but we know that the best war is one that can be avoided, he added. Russia will consider Russian interests; Ukraine will consider Ukrainian interests, but the United States and Brussels will not think with a Hungarian head or feel with a Hungarian heart, he said.



Orban noted that hundreds of thousands of ethnic Hungarians live in Ukraine, and Hungarian soldiers and police must guarantee Hungarys southern and eastern borders with arms. Hungary, he added, was now engaged in its largest humanitarian aid programme of all time. Meanwhile, the energy crisis of western Europe is now knocking on our door.



It has taken two years to defeat a global pandemic  and if thats not enough, now we have the Hungarian left wing to contend with, too. We live in an era of dangers, Orban said, adding that the threat of war did not reduce what was at stake at the upcoming election but rather the opposite: it raises it sky-high.



The prime minister said the right wing would preserve Hungarys peace and security. Orban said Hungary was helping refugees but continued to reject migration. He said: Feel with a Christian heart and think with a Hungarian head!



He said Fidesz was going from strength to strength and its chance of winning was increasing day by day. I can hardly remember the last time when our stars were so well aligned 19 days before the election, he said.



Orban said the united oppositions prime ministerial candidate once seen as a comet was now no more than a cold stone plummeting to earth.



He said that in their last act of despair, the opposition had invited former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk to Hungary.



They have brought here the Pole who is a shame in his own country, one who first totally destroyed his own party and afterwards destroyed the European Peoples Party (EPP) in Brussels, Orban said.



Meanwhile, Orban said the nation had serious things to discuss in the public square such as war and peace and the salvation of the homeland. Strength, as well as peace, freedom, and understanding was needed, he said.



Weak people wont secure peace . a weak nation wont have freedom, he said. Peace, freedom and understanding are the rewards of a strong people, he added.



We want a strong country  that always revolves around its own axis  and does not allow the interests of foreign peoples to set its course. This, the prime minister insisted, required a commanding strength.



We have been collecting this strength and building this strong Hungary from year to year; we have been doing this for the past twelve years.



This is why the government supported families, he said. Thats why we created one million jobs, why we taxed the multinationals, pushed down household utility bills, and thats why we sent the IMF home.



Floods, migration and pandemics have not distracted us, and war and the left wing wont distract us either on April 3, Orban said.



There are 15 million of us in the world, he said. We live within sight of more powerful countries, he said, adding that this was no reason to shrink back or be afraid, because strength isnt simply muscle. First and foremost, it is in its soul that a country must be strong. The world respects only those who have the courage and strength to stand up for themselves, he said.



When the Fidesz government assumed power in 2010, Hungary was at its weakest, he said. Ever since, we have all stood up for Hungary. The prime minister insisted that had the left wing continued in power after 2010, there would now be 200,000 fewer children.



As it is, he said, Hungary was now a place where people wanting to work get work and all 15 million Hungarians had a motherland. One country, one home, and one nation. The prime minister spoke of a foreign policy that can shut borders to migrants as well as a capable army and world-class defence industry.



A competent and predictable government would be needed in the future, not amateurs and dilettantes, he said. Orban pledged to win the referendum on the child protection law to be held in parallel with the general election to halt the gender madness sweeping the Western world at Hungarys borders.



Orban warned of great dangers lurking in Hungary, and he said the best cure against them would be a great victory. Fidesz, he added, had every chance of securing that as long as everyone does their part in the nineteen days before the election.



So lets go forth and win the most important battle of our lives  Lets protect Hungary, he said. Fly the flags high, to victory, the Good God over us all, Hungary before everything! Go Hungary! Go Hungarians! Orban declared.



'We Won't Allow Left Wing to Drag Hungary into War'



"We won't allow the left wing to drag Hungary into war," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday, addressing a March 15 national holiday commemoration in front of Parliament.



Orban declared that voters who wanted peace and security would cast their ballots for the ruling Fidesz-led alliance in the April 3 general election.



Orban insisted that the left wing had lost their common sense and they would sleep-walk into a cruel, lengthy and bloody war. He accused the left wing of planning to send Hungarian soldiers and Hungarian weapons to the war in Ukraine.



We will not allow it. We will not allow the left wing to drag Hungary into this war. We will not allow the left wing to make Hungary a military target and to make Hungarians and ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia military targets, he added.



Referring to the recent presidential election, Orban said the timing of Hungarys election of a woman president had been perfect. He cited the incoming head of state, Katalin Novak, as saying that women want to win peace, not war.



If we want to put an end to war and if we want Hungary to stay out of the war, we must listen to women, he said. Mothers know that it takes twenty years to raise a man, but a man can be destroyed in twenty seconds, he said.





MTI Photo: Szilard Koszticsak
Hungarys trade balance showed a deficit for the seventh month in a row in January, a first reading of data released by the Central Statistical Office (KSH) on Friday shows.

Hungary, an export-driven economy where trade surpluses are the norm, had a 196 million euro trade deficit for the month, with exports rising by an annual 15.1% to 10.288 billion euros and imports up 31.2% to 10.485 billion.



Analysts said growing imports and the weaker trade balance were in large part due to growing domestic demand and skyrocketing energy prices.



Takarekbank analyst Gergely Suppan said that after the trade surplus fell to 1.9 billion euros in 2021, the war in Ukraine further muddled expectations.



Growing grain prices, another consequence of the war, could offset the deteriorating trade balance but this would be dampened by grain export caps, he said.



Foreign trade could show a deficit this year, which could be balanced by building new capacities in the next few years, he said.
YORK  The driver of a semi who was involved in a multiple-vehicle accident in December, on Interstate 80 in York County, has pleaded not guilty to possessing cocaine and methamphetamine the night of the accident.

Chad Chrivia, 32, of Lapeer, Michigan, has been charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, both Class 4 felonies that carry a possible maximum sentence of one year in prison upon conviction.

His arraignment was held this past week in York County District Court.

According to court documents, on Dec. 5, at 9:55 p.m., the York County Sheriffs Department was dispatched to a multiple-vehicle accident near the York exit. When they arrived, they saw a semi overturned on its side.

After speaking with all parties involved, we determined that the semi driver  Chad Chrivia  was at fault, the investigating deputy says in the affidavit filed with the court. He had no injuries but said he did not remember anything that happened.

The deputy said a background check of Chrivia revealed he has a drug use history in Michigan. Canine Nitro alerted to the presence of narcotics in the semis cab. He admitted to having cocaine.

Several McCool area folks say they want more information about solar field project

A box containing cocaine was found during a search, as was methamphetamine. Both substances, found inside the cab, were positively identified as the suspected substances. A methamphetamine pipe was also located in an eyeglass case that was on his person.

Judge James Stecker scheduled a jury trial in the matter for late June.
As Western nations continue to respond to Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, theres no question increasing trade partnerships with countries who share our values would benefit the United States and the world. Realizing the administration seems content to sit back and let others lead on trade, I recently led a bipartisan Congressional delegation to the United Kingdom (UK) to discuss trade opportunities and challenges.

As Republican Leader for the Ways and Means Committees Trade Subcommittee, I take my responsibility to help build and maintain trade relationships seriously, and I have been outspoken in encouraging the Biden administration to pick up where the Trump administration left off in pursuing a trade agreement between the United States and the UK.

This is an historic time for the UK as it untangles itself from the restrictive policies of the European Union (EU). The British people are now able to determine for themselves the direction theyd like to take in terms of economic and trade policy. This means we have a narrow window of opportunity to establish strong trade relations and mutually beneficial trade rules with the UK before our competitors do the same without our input. A strong, mutually beneficial partnership with the UK would also incentivize the EU to come to the table. While we have made solid progress with the EU, we cannot allow them to obstruct the economic benefits that can be reaped through new trade relationships.

While in the UK, our delegation had the opportunity to meet with and gain insight from key UK officials and business leaders, including Minister for Trade Policy Penny Mordaunt, Minister for Europe and North America James Cleverly, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Frazer, and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis. We also participated in productive meetings with both the public and private sectors in addition to receiving a warm welcome from the British-American Parliamentary Group.

During these meetings, I had the opportunity to raise the role agriculture must play in any comprehensive trade agreement between the US and the UK. Nebraskans know free and fair trade is beneficial to our economy, and we know farmers and ranchers can step in to help alleviate some of the anticipated shortages from Russias war in Ukraine. To do so, though, the agricultural community must have new, strong markets to export to. As I said during these meetings, famers are steadfast champions for trade, and any trade agreement between our countries must include agriculture.

We also discussed pending negotiations between the United States and the UK on the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. I have consistently raised concerns with tariffs as they ultimately end up being passed on to American consumers. Agriculture is often caught in the crosshairs of tariff disputes and is one of the first sectors targeted by other countries for retaliatory action. Following agreements with the EU and Japan, I am pleased the administration is finally coming to the table to address these tariffs with the UK, and I look forward to the final result of these conversations.

Finally, we spoke about international taxes and the importance of not putting American companies at a disadvantage. In a global economy increasingly reliant on data and technology, we must ensure we are at the table setting a foundation that does not hurt or hamstring American innovation.

I appreciate the opportunity to meet with my UK counterparts and explore the benefits of potential new trade relationships. Last week the Biden administration released the presidents 2022 Trade Policy Agenda, and I was disappointed with the lack of focus on new trade agreements. Negotiating new trade agreements is never easy, but the time is now. The longer we wait, the harder finding common ground will be and the larger advantage our competitors will gain. As a legislator, I will continue to do my part to move the needle on trade in a way that benefits American producers, innovators, and consumers.
Go First has announced the return of a direct international flight as well as international cargo operations between Srinagar and Sharjah. Under the air bubble agreement, Go First, earlier known as GoAir, was the first airline to launch direct service from Srinagar to Sharjah last year.

"Go First flight G8 1595, after a hiatus due to the Covid pandemic, will depart from Sheikh-ul-Alam International Airport in Srinagar at 7.45 PM and will arrive in Sharjah at 10.30 PM", he said.

On the return, "Go First flight G8 4095 will operate from Sharjah International Airport at 12.05 AM and arrive at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi at 5.10 AM, the spokesman said.

Also read: Russia looks for opportunities as China refuses aircraft parts deliveries

He said, "the airline will operate two flights a week between Srinagar and Sharjah". The resumption of this sector is poised to boost trade and tourism between J-K and the UAE.

"UAE and Srinagar are popular holiday destinations and Go First flights will usher in convenient travel options", he said. "These services will also support burgeoning trade and investment links between Srinagar and Sharjah", he added.

"The airline was also the first to sign the agreement with LULU Group of Dubai for the cargo movement from Srinagar to Sharjah. With the extra focus on the Srinagar market, Go First has the vision to make Srinagar a mini-hub for international air travel and cargo", the spokesman said.

Speaking on the development, Kaushik Khona, Chief Executive Officer, Go First, said the airline shares a special relationship with the region and has had many firsts to its name in J-K. "We are delighted to resume services between Srinagar and Sharjah, which could steer the economic growth of J-K. This connectivity will play a pivotal role in bilateral exchange trade and tourism between the two regions," he said.

With inputs from PTI

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IndiGo began flights between India and Thailand on Tuesday, following a two-year hiatus, according to a statement. Thailand is reopening its borders nearly two years after restricting tourist admission in March 2020, according to the airline's statement.

The country reopened its border to vaccinated travellers from every country on February 1 this year, it mentioned. The airline said it will operate the Thailand flights under the air bubble agreement till March 26 and thereafter as part of its scheduled commercial international operations.

"The flights will connect Bangkok with Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru and Phuket with Delhi and Mumbai," it stated. Earlier this month, the Centre had announced that scheduled commercial international flights will resume in India from March 27.

Also read: Aeroflot to resume flights to Armenia with Russian-made SSJ100 planes from THIS date

The Kolkata-Bangkok flight started operating on Tuesday, the airline stated. "Fully vaccinated foreign travellers from India can enter Thailand without quarantine," the airline mentioned.

According to the new rules, travellers will need a negative PCR lab result before arrival and two more PCR tests after landing, one upon entry and another on their fifth day in Thailand, it noted.

(With inputs from PTI)

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For the supply of airplane parts, Russia now plans to seek assistance from India, Turkey and other countries, as China refused to supply Russia with aircraft parts, reported Global Defense Corp.

After the Russian aviation sector was hit by crippling Western sanctions for war against Ukraine, China took this decision. Russias air transport agency Rosaviatsiya was considering various alternatives for aircraft parts supply after China refused to supply aircraft parts amid sanctions.

Rosaviatsia official Valery Kudinov was quoted by Interfax as saying, "We have tasked airlines with looking for a possible supplier of parts on their own. As far as I know, there is information that a request has been made to China, but China has refused to do it.

Also read: Aeroflot to resume flights to Armenia with Russian-made SSJ100 planes from THIS date

We will be looking (for opportunities) in other countries. Perhaps, via our partners, Turkey, or via India. Every company will reach an agreement on its own while we (Rosaviatsiya) will merely help legalize these parts, Kudinov said.

Most of the aircraft used by Russian airlines are manufactured by Boeing and Airbus. Earlier this month, Boeing and Airbus announced that they will stop aircraft spare parts supply to Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, Kudinov further said.

Apart from these two, many other companies in the aviation sector have cut off their ties with the country, reported Global Defense Corp. Recently, Russias foreign ministry expressed its concerns over the safety of Russian passenger carriers. Earlier this week, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot temporarily suspended all its international flight services, excluding neighbouring Belarus.

Meanwhile, in retaliation to the mounting sanctions imposed on it by the West, Russia has now banned exports of aircraft and drones, among others.

(With inputs from ANI)

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New Delhi: In February this year, Sanjay Dutt started shooting for his next Ghudchadi, also starring Raveena Tandon. While the actor shared the news of the movie-going on floors, he informed his followers and fans about wrapping up the first schedule of the movie.

Taking to his social media, Sanjay Dutt wrote, Heres to wrapping the first schedule of #Ghudchadi in the beautiful cities of Delhi and Jaipur. On to the next one!

The picture that the actor has posted on social media features him along with the entire cast and crew, much to the surprise of his fans, who cant wait to see their favourite superstar back on the big screen.

Besides Ghudchadhi to be directed by Binoy Gandhi, Sanjay Dutt will be seen locking horns as Adheera in Yash starrer KGF Chapter 2 slated to release on April 14, 2022.

He also has Shamshera and Toolsidas Junior in the pipeline.
New Delhi: Festival of colours, Holi 2022 is just around the corner and while it is tempting to celebrate and play with colors, the harsh chemicals in the colors can harm the skin. Even if you use organic colors, you must protect your skin from harm caused by prolonged exposure to the sun and prepare it so that the colors come off easily.

All the color on the skin, along with sun exposure and water splashes, can leave it looking dull and damaged. Here are some pointers by Pooja Nagdev, Aromatherapist, Cosmetologist and Founder of Inaturto to help you play Holi in a way that's safe for your skin and fun for you.

Rub Ice Cubes

Prepare your skin first before applying anything on it. Rubbing ice cubes on your face closes open pores and helps you avoid breakouts after a holi party. You've probably seen that the majority of individuals get acne, which is caused by dangerous substances. After massaging the ice cubes for 10 minutes, apply organic oil.

Moisturize Face and Body

Apply a thick moisturizer or coconut oil on to your body or face before going out. Then give your body a nice massage to absorb it all. This will provide a barrier between your skin and the colors. This makes it easier to remove them later.

Dont Skip Sunscreen

Holi is usually played outside and the continual exposure to the sun, colors, and water can dehydrate your skin and cause tanning. Once your skin gets tanned, it is quite difficult to recover its natural hue. To avoid this problem, it is generally advised to apply a substantial amount of a good sunscreen lotion before venturing out to play.

Apply Nail Paint

The most difficult part is getting the color off your nails and nail bed. You can paint your finger and toe nails with any color you like. This will aid in the protection of your cuticles and nails. You can easily remove the nail color and all of the Holi color at the same time using a nail polish remover. If you don't want to use a colorful nail polish, a clear topcoat would suffice. Providing protection without any noticeable colors.

Lip Care

Petroleum jelly is an overlooked but essential Holi skincare tool. For the day, put away your lipsticks. And apply a thick layer of healthy lip balm to your lips instead to protect them from harmful chemicals and colors. Select a lip balm or petroleum jelly with SPF.

It is essential to keep lips hydrated and nourished all the time.
New Delhi: India's auto fuel sales surged past pre-pandemic levels in the first half of March as consumers and dealers topped tanks in anticipation of a likely price hike post assembly elections.

Dealers, as well as the public, topped up their tanks as they anticipated prices, that have been put on hold in the run-up to the elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, will rise by a big margin to make up for as much as 60 per cent surge in the cost of raw material.

Petrol sales by state-owned fuel retailers, which control roughly 90 per cent of the market, at 1.23 million tonnes during March 1-15 were nearly 18 per cent higher than the same period last year and 24.4 per cent higher than the period in 2019, preliminary industry data showed.

Diesel, the most-used fuel in the country, saw sales jumping 23.7 per cent year-on-year to 3.53 million tonnes. This was 17.3 per cent higher than sales in March 1-15, 2019.

While petrol sales were 24.3 per cent higher than the sales during March 1-15, 2020, diesel sales were up 33.5 per cent over the same reference period.

Month-on-month, petrol sales were up 18.8 per cent and diesel sales surged 32.8 per cent.

Diesel sales during March 1 to 15 is the most in the first half of any month in the last two years and more than the total volume of diesel sold in April 2020 when the country was under a complete lockdown.

Industry sources said while there was a panic buying by individual vehicle owners, petrol pumps dealers topped up not just their storage tanks but also any mobile browser or tanker truck they had. The dealers hoped to make a quick buck by buying fuel at a lower rate and selling at revised higher prices.

Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had on Monday stated that fuel sales had jumped 20 per cent on comments exhorting people to tank up in preparation for an imminent hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Petrol and diesel prices hit the freeze button just as electioneering for five states including Uttar Pradesh picked up in early November 2021. The record 132-day freeze was despite the cost of raw material jumping from USD 81 per barrel to USD 130 per barrel.

It was anticipated that once the elections are over, state-owned fuel retailers will start adjusting the prices, which was as much as Rs 12 a litre below cost. But the rates haven't changed even after the outcome of the state polls, possibly not to give the opposition a handle amid the second half of the budget session that started on Monday.

"On 5th March, a political leader made a statement, saying, fill up your tanks quickly because petrol prices are going to go up as elections are over. And the consumption went up by 20 per cent," Puri said in Rajya Sabha referring to a statement by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. "It is a matter of shame that one statement led to hoarding of 20 per cent."

On March 5, Gandhi had asked people to get tanks up as the "election offer" will end soon.

"Quickly get your petrol tanks full. The 'Election' offer of the Modi government is going to end soon," Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi and used a picture of a petrol pump saying

"Hike" and "Coming back soon to fuel stations near you".

The Congress has been accusing the BJP government of stalling the hike in fuel prices during elections and raising the prices soon after the polls are over. The assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, started on February 10, and ended on March 7. The counting of votes took place on March 10.

Puri said international oil prices had gone up from USD 19.56 per barrel in 2020 to USD 130 per barrel earlier this month and are now down to USD 100 per barrel.

"Oil marketing companies will take their decisions (on fuel prices). They will proceed once they can no longer bear it. If they don't have the margin or cushion, they will take the appropriate step," he had said.

Jet fuel (ATF) sales more than doubled to 232,900 tonnes in March 1-15, 2022 but were 31.1 per cent less than pre-Covid levels of 2019 and 27.5 per cent less than sales in the same period in 2020.

India went in for a complete lockdown, stopping flights, halting rail and road movements and shutting businesses, in the last week of March 2020 to contain the spread of coronavirus. March 1-15, 2020 period was near normal as Covid restrictions were just kicking in.

The aviation sector is yet to resume normal operations. Also Read: PM Kisan Yojana: Farmers to get 11th instalment soon; check how to add name to beneficiary list

LPG sales were up 17 per cent to 1.3 million tonnes in March 1-15, the data showed. Also Read: World Bank to support Himachal become India's first green state

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New Delhi: World Bank Vice-President for South Asia, Hartwig Schafer, on Wednesday concluded a two-day visit to the state with a plan to make it the first green state in India. Schafer met with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur to discuss the progress Himachal Pradesh has been making towards a greener and more sustainable growth path, and its vision for the future.

He congratulated the state for the good progress achieved in the fields of renewable energy, agriculture, forest management, and water and sanitation.

"Himachal Pradesh and the World Bank have had a long and impactful partnership supporting the state`s growth plans," said Thakur. "We look forward to further strengthening our engagement in clean and resilient infrastructure, climate smart agriculture and water resource management. This will help us take forward our vision of becoming the first green state in India."

Schafer also met Chief Secretary and senior officials of the state government who shared a multi-sector approach to realise the vision of a green state.

The World Bank agreed to work with the state to explore areas where its support would have the maximum impact.

"The World Bank fully supports Chief Minister Thakur`s vision of making Himachal Pradesh the first `green` state of India and ensuring that 100 per cent of the state`s energy needs are met through renewable and green energy by 2034," said Schafer.

"The World Bank has been a proud partner of the state`s journey towards sustainable growth since 2005, through projects in hydropower, water supply, roads and agriculture. We look forward to continuing this partnership in the future".

Earlier, Schafer visited the Shimla-Himachal Pradesh Water Supply and Sewerage Services Improvement Program and met with women representatives of the households benefiting from the programme.

He also met with women volunteers, also known as Jal Sakhis, and the independent directors of the utility.

"The women I met in Ramnagar shared with me how their lives have improved with reliable, clean and affordable water supply, and enhanced sanitation services, said Schafer.

"The installation of meters at the household level has ensured that the families are able to minimise water losses and pay per actual usage, so for most of the residents, the cost of water has come down. Lessons from this experience will help cities across the country".

The World Bank has been supporting Himachal Pradesh to move forward with its green and inclusive development agenda through multiple engagements including renewable energy, agriculture, forest management, water and sanitation, and public financial management.

Since 2005, the World Bank has committed over $1.5 billion to support the state in watershed development, green hydropower, infrastructure, and agriculture. Also Read: Next is sukha puri, extra pani: Pizza toppings to attract higher 18% GST; netizens react with memes

Ongoing engagements in the state include horticulture development and improving water supply and sewerage services in the capital city of Shimla. To date, the World Bank has an active portfolio of five projects with total commitments of $473 million. Also Read: iQOO Z6 5G with 120Hz display launched in India: Price, specs, features

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New Delhi: Indias largest homegrown OTT platform, released the trailer of Abhay 3 and from the looks of it, fans can expect this season to be the boldest, darkest and wildest season yet.

After two successful and critically acclaimed seasons, Abhay franchise has created its own niche in the thriller genre and now, with the premiere date set as 8th April, the wait is over for Season 3.

Directed by Ken Ghosh and produced by Zee Studios, Abhay S3 stars Kunal Kemmu, Asha Negi and Nidhi Singh in returning roles and Vijay Raaz, Rahul Dev, Vidya Malvade, Tanuj Virwani and Divya Agarwal as the new cast members.

Kunal Kemmu returns as the determined cop, Abhay Pratap Singh who faces many new unknown threats while trying to balance his professional and personal life. Asha Negi returns as Sonam and Nidhi Singh as Khushboo, Abhays straight-arrow cop colleague.

This season sees the entry of Dr Anant Sinha (played by Vijay Raaz), the head psychiatrist of the city asylum who has a mysterious alter ego and a cult following of devoted disciples (including Vidya Malvades character, Nidhi).

There is also Rahul Devs character, Avatar who is a fearless fighter, sharpshooter, and a threat to Abhay. And lastly, there is the addition of Divya Agarwal and Tanuj Virwani who play social media influencers, Harleen and Kabir but with a dark side.



This season is unlike any other as Abhay faces a new breed of evil; a dark force capable of manipulating anyone in the name of a twisted ideological belief. Will Abhay win this battle with death? Wait to find out!

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:

Ken Ghosh said, After 2 successful seasons, it was challenging to come up with tactics to beat the success of earlier seasons, but challenges always push you to strive harder. Now, after completing the shoot and edit of S3, I am confident that viewers are in for another thrilling ride in S3 and that too, with an amazing cast to keep them on the edge of the seat.

Kunal Kemmu said, The stakes are higher in Abhay season 3 as the crimes get darker and more sinister and Abhay is at a crossroad as his professional and personal life get intertwined. This season charters into new territory both for the audiences and Abhay. Add to that, the exciting new cast members. Im nervous and excited to present this season to the fans of the show and to the new audience that it finds.



Vijay Raaz said, Abhay S3 is dark, twisted and unlike anything, viewers have seen before. Ken has created a gripping alternate universe and all of us are glad to be a part of it. Abhay has taken the genre of crime thrillers up a notch, and it will be exciting to see what is brewing in this season.

Watch Abhay S3 exclusively on ZEE5 in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu from 8th April 2022.
New Delhi: Exposing the fissures within Congress, senior leader Manish Tewari said on Wednesday (March 16) that AAP invited him for Bhagwant Mann's oath-taking ceremony as Punjab's chief minister, however, he was not an invitee to former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi's swearing-in ceremony.

Taking to Twitter, Tewari shared his invitation to Manns swearing-in, adding that he could not participate due to the ongoing second part of the Budget session of the Parliament.

I congratulate Bhagwant Mann on being sworn in as Chief Minister I thank him for inviting me to his swearing in. Due to Parliament being in session I will not be able to make it," the Lok Sabha MP from Anandpur Sahib in Punjab said on Twitter.

"It is ironic I was not invited to Charanjit Singh Channi's swearing in though he was one of my MLA's (sic)," he added.

I congratulate @BhagwantMann on being sworn in as Chief Minister

I thank him for inviting me to his swearing in .

Due to Parliament being in session I will not be able to make it .

It is ironic I was not invited to @CHARANJITCHANNI s swearing in though he was one of my MLAs pic.twitter.com/AyW91uNyYE  Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) March 16, 2022

Channi was sworn in last year after the top Congress brass removed Amarinder Singh as the chief minister. Tewari, a leader of the G-23 group, who has questioned the Congress leadership and sought organisational overhaul, is considered close to Amarinder Singh, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Bhagwant Mann was sworn in as the Punjab CM on Wednesday at the ceremony organised at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in Punjab's Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district. Only Mann took oath during the swearing-in ceremony today.

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain, and newly elected AAP Punjab MLAs were present during the ceremony.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (March 16) called for an "extraordinary solution" and made several recommendations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accommodate medical student returnees from war-torn Ukraine.

The TMC supremo in a letter to Modi informed that around 391 students who have returned to West Bengal from Ukraine are passing through severe stress and anxiety due to their uncertain future. Putting forth various suggestions for the National Medical Commission (NMC), which regulates medical education in India, the West Bengal CM said her government will extend financial assistance to the students who returned from Ukraine to meet the expenses on their course fees.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi requesting his urgent intervention and providing him with suggestions to accommodate and allow Ukraine returned students for internship in the govt medical colleges and admission in private medical colleges of the country. pic.twitter.com/asSsaftOAs  ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2022

Banerjee asked the PM to allow Ukraine returned students for internships in the government medical colleges and admission in private medical colleges of the country. The private medical colleges of the state have agreed to accommodate these students at state quota fees, Banerjee added.

The West Bengal CM also urged Modi to relax the mandatory requirement of qualifying NEET-UG exam to get admissions to medical colleges. The present stipulations of the NMC mandate that only those students who qualify the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET-UG) can only get admission into the medical colleges. Many of the students who have returned from Ukraine do not meet this requirement. It is requested that the relevant guidelines may be relaxed as a very special case to accommodate these students, the letter read.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said, "Despite challenges posed by a serious ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, India ensured the safe return of 22,500 citizens to their homes under `Operation Ganga`. Besides Indian citizens, 150 foreign nationals of 18 countries were also evacuated from conflict zones and brought to India in line with India`s principle of `Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam`, Jaishankar added.

(With agency inputs)

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New Delhi: The CBI has arrested Khalid Moin, a professor in the Department of Civil Engineering of Jamia Millia Islamia, in connection with a Rs 1-lakh bribery case, officials said Wednesday.

The professor has been accused of issuing structural stability certificates to various projects after taking bribes.

Moin had allegedly given the structural safety certificate to the Chintels Paradiso apartment in Gurugram, part of which collapsed last month killing two women. However, his arrest was not connected to the house collapse.

He was arrested while receiving the bribe from a Delhi-based architecture firm.

The CBI also arrested Prakhar Pawar of M/s Vyom Architect, and Abid Khan, an employee of the company.

Searches were being conducted at the premises of the accused, CBI spokesperson R C Joshi said.

The arrested accused will be produced before a designated court in Delhi.

During the searches, the CBI has recovered Rs 30 lakh in cash and bank account details having funds of Rs 1.19 crore, officials said.

"A case was registered against the accused on the allegations that the said professor in conspiracy with the representatives of different private builders, architect, middleman, etc. Was indulging in different activities for issuing structural stability certificates for the projects after taking bribe," Joshi said.

After getting information about one such alleged bribe exchange, the CBI laid a trap and caught the professor along with two others, he said.
The leader of Congress' dissident group, informaly known as G-23, met today to discuss the outcome of party's dismal performance in the recently concluded assembly elections. The group, that has senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Manishankar Aiyer, PJ Kurian, Manish Tewary Shashi Tharoor and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, issued a joint statement, saying, "that the next steps will be anounced soon".

"We believe that the only way forward is for the Congress to adopt the model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all the levels," the leaders said in a joint statement. On Sunday, news agency ANI reported that G23 leaders recommended the name of veteran Congress leader Mukul Wasnik for the post of Congress Party President.

In order to oppose BJP, it is necessary to strengthen the Congress party. We demand the Congress party to initiate dialogue with other likeminded forces to create a platform to pave way for a credible alternative for 2024: Joint statement of Congress' G 23 leaders pic.twitter.com/AsVO1Hm5II  ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2022

The report, quoting sources, came ahead of the high-level meeting of the Congress Working Committee same day, that saw Gandhis offering their resignations, and subsequent rejection of the same by top party leaders.
Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has joined the battery of leaders who have slammed the recently released movie 'The Kashmir Files' for allegedl misrepresentation of facts. Kharge termed The Kashmir Files a "one-sided" movie that is misleading the youths of the country and claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting the film.

Speaking to ANI, Kharge said, "The Kashmir is a one-sided movie and misleading youths of the country. Even our Prime Minister himself is promoting this film and is trying to polarise the society."

Further, Kharge accused the film director (Vivek Agnihotri) of making an attempt to spoil the atmosphere of society through this film.

"His (Vivek Agnihotri) intentions are one-sided. He has made an attempt to spoil the atmosphere of society through this film. Efforts are being made to divide the country again on the basis of religion," he added.

The Kashmir Files is getting into controversies these days as many leaders, intellectuals and other groups of the society are giving their feedback on the film.

The Kashmir Files revolves around the genocide of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 and has been directed by Vivek Agnihotri, known for films like `Tashkent Files`, `Hate Story` and `Buddha in a Traffic Jam`.

The film has been declared tax-free in several states including Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Goa, Haryana and Uttarakhand and has also entered the Rs 50 crore club after minting Rs 18 crore on day five of its release.
Today Bhagwant Mann took oath as the 17th Chief Minister of Punjab. And with this oath a lot changed in national politics today. Now, Arvind Kejriwal has assumed significance in national politics too. From today, such a government has come in a border state like Punjab, which may not cooperate with the Modi government ruling at the Centre.

In today's DNA, Zee News Aditi Tyagi analysed how Bhagwant Mann will fulfil the promise of 25 lakh new jobs and financial assistance of one thousand rupees every month to one crore women in Punjab - a state which has a debt of Rs 3 lakh crore.

The entire ceremony is estimated to cost around Rs 2 crore. The ceremony took place in Khatkar Kalan, Shaheed Bhagat Singhs village. However, not a single member of his family attended the event.

AAPs first promise was to set up 16000 Mohalla Clinics, where people will get free treatment, in Punjab. But in Delhi, where the party is already in power, it has been able to build only 500 Mohalla Clinics since 2015. Therefore, building 16,000 Mohalla Clinics in Punjab will be a big challenge for the party.

The second promise was to give financial assistance of one thousand rupees every month to all women above the age of 18 years.

The number of such women in Punjab is about one crore. That is, only to fulfil this promise, the government will have to spend one thousand crore rupees every month. To put that in perspective, the Punjab government does not spend that much money on Punjab Police every month. The annual budget of Punjab Police in 2021-2022 was about Rs 5,700 crore.

The third promise was that it will make Punjab drugs free in a month. To do this, the government will have to increase its expenditure on the police department. But if the government does this, then it will be difficult for them to give one thousand rupees every month to women above 18 years.
Dr Maqsood Ahmed emerges as one of the biggest names who is working tirelessly with a dream to establish and form Naya Kashmir (New Kashmir). Dr. Ahmed is a relatively known face as he is the founder and CEO of the Nizamia Education Group (NEG) which has worked positively towards revamping the Education Sector in his home state of Jammu and Kashmir.

In a very short span of time, he, through his philanthropic activities, has earned the title of a Yuva Neta (Youth Leader) from the people of J&K. Through Nizamia Education Group (NEG), which is often credited with being the best educational consultancy in India, the young entrepreneur has assisted numerous students in their enrolment in some of the leading colleges and universities in India.

Being born into a humble middle-class family in the Poonch region of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Maqsood Ahmed was familiar with the hardships faced by common people in the pursuit of providing their children with quality education. It is a known fact that the educational infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir had to suffer a lot due to the crisis that has been ongoing in the state for decades. To alter this and help students in every possible way, Dr. Ahmeds Nizamia Education Group (NEG) has catered to around 10,000 students and provided them with scholarships in fields of Engineering, Medicine and etc.

Apart from students welfare, the youth leader is always there for his people, raising their issues and helping them to the best of his capabilities. During the deadly Covid-19 phase, he was on the ground 24*7 providing people with sanitizers, face masks, and life-saving drugs. He was also seen distributing free ration kits to the people of the weaker and marginalized section and Dr. Ahmed has been widely recognized and appreciated for this work. To stop the spread of the Novel Coronavirus, Dr. Maqsood Ahmed also organized several camps

in the remotest corners of the state spreading awareness regarding social distancing and proper sanitization.

Talking about his work and what motivates him to do so, Dr. Maqsood Ahmed, the founder, and CEO of Nizamia Education Group (NEG) said, I believe that if you are in a position to positively influence the lives of people then you must do it as it is your moral responsibility towards the society. With the combined efforts of all, we can achieve the dream of Naya Kashmir and Naya Bharat and I am trying to fulfill my responsibility by helping others.

From promoting Drug-Free India to organizing Blood Donation Camp, from offering 500 cycles to promote Evergreen India to urging youths to take up education, Dr. Maqsood Ahmed is leaving no stones unturned to achieve his dream of a Naya Kashmir. The virtuoso has been widely been recognized for his selfless services in the upliftment of society.

Recently, he has been awarded the Iconic Achiever- Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Kotler at Marketing Summit 2.0. Dr. Maqsood Ahmed also received the Youngest Edupreneur of India by N.C.S at Indian Ethnic Fashion Show. He has also been awarded Honorary Doctorate by Bharat Virtual University for Peace and Education regd under NITI Aayog. After his home state of Jammu and Kashmir, Dr. Ahmed has shifted his focus to the welfare of people in the North-Eastern states as well as the SAARC countries.

(Featured Article)
Beijing/New Delhi: The fresh outbreak of Covid-19 cases in mainland China and Hong Kong has triggered concerns about a possible fourth wave hitting India sooner or later. It may be noted that Chinas new Covid-19 cases more than doubled on Tuesday from the previous day as it now faces by far its biggest outbreak since the early days of the pandemic.

Chinas National Health Commission said that 3,507 new locally spread cases had been identified in the latest 24-hour period, up from 1,337 a day earlier. A fast-spreading variant known as stealth omicron is testing China's zero-tolerance strategy, which has previously kept the virus at bay after a deadly initial outbreak in early 2020.

Most of the new cases were in northeast China's Jilin province, where 2,601 were reported. Smaller outbreaks have broken out around the country, including in the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The Chinese authorities on Tuesday tightened anti-virus controls at ports, raising the risk of trade disruptions after some auto and electronics factories shut down as the government fights coronavirus outbreaks.

China's new Covid cases are low as compared with other major countries or Hong Kong. But authorities are enforcing a zero tolerance strategy that aims to keep the virus out of the country.

It has temporarily shut down major cities to find every infected person. The restrictions come at a time when the global economy is under pressure from Russia's war on Ukraine, surging oil prices and weak consumer demand.

With China reporting a surge in coronavirus infections, Dr NK Arora, chairman of India`s Covid-19 Working Group of NTAGI, has said that Indians should not take the disease "for granted" because new variants can occur at all times in

"Any kind of complacency at this time will not be good just because Omicron wave has subsided so early. We cannot take it for granted and presume that nothing will happen in the future. New variants can occur at all times," Dr Arora said.

Dr Arora also said that INSACOG is expected to expand its surveillance. "The surveillance of INSACOG is already taking place at high intensity. Now there is a proposal to expand the INSACOG surveillance to sewage surveillance just like polio and that sewage material will also be undergoing analysis for COVID viruses," he said.

Speaking about whether the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in China can affect India, he said, "We are waiting for further information about the Chinese outbreak whether it is because one of the already circulating variants or there are its sub-lineages or any new variant which has come in.

"Further, the health official advised people to be watchful about Covid-19 all the time. "One has to be vigilant at all times. Till all the countries across the world are in a stage where we say now the pandemic has come to a halt. But at the moment, it will be premature to do any of those things," he added.

China has also imposed various rules to keep the Covid-19 cases away from the country since the deadly initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan in early 2020 but the fast-spreading variant known as "stealth omicron" is testing China`s zero-tolerance strategy.

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New Delhi: Kapil Sibal on Tuesday (March 15, 2022) said that he wants a 'Sab ki Congress' and expressed that the 'Gandhis should step aside'. The senior Congress leader drew flak from his party members who accused him of speaking the language of the BJP and the RSS.

"Leadership is in cuckoo land.... I want a 'Sab ki Congress'. Some want a 'Ghar ki Congress'," Sibal had told the Indian Express, adding that the Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to lead the party.

The remarks had come after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) met on Sunday and after almost five hours of deliberations, urged Sonia Gandhi to continue to lead the party and initiate changes to strengthen it. The CWC had also rejected Gandhi's proposal to make any and every sacrifice for the party, which was construed by some as an offer from the Gandhi family to step aside, and reposed faith in her leadership.

Manickam Tagore, a staunch Rahul Gandhi loyalist, said that the RSS and the BJP want the Gandhis to be out of leadership positions in Congress to kill the party and destroy the idea of India.

"Why RSS and BJP wants Nehru-Gandhi's out of the leadership? Because without Gandhi's leadership Congress will be become Janata party. It's easy to kill Congress then it's easy to destroy the idea of India (sic)," Tagore said on Twitter.

"Kapil Sibal knows it but why he is speaking the language of RSS/BJP?" the Congress whip in the Lok Sabha asked.

ALSO READ | Congress chief Sonia Gandhi asks 5 state presidents to resign over assembly polls debacle

National spokesperson of Congress Pawan Khera said Sibal should contest the election for the post of Congress president, instead of making public comments against the party leadership.

"Those who want to lead Congress are free to fight upcoming election for the position of party president instead of chanting everyday against current leadership," he said.

.@drharshvardhan did not ask you to step aside from Chandni Chowk. He fought an election and defeated you @KapilSibal. Those who want to lead @INCIndia are free to fight upcoming election for the position of party president instead of chanting everyday against current leadership  Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) March 15, 2022

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot too termed Sibal's comment "unfortunate".

"At a time when the party is losing elections, the leaders should stand united," he told reporters in Jaipur.

"Those who are talking about finishing the Congress party will themselves get finished. The Congress is a years-old party and our leaders have made supreme sacrifices before and after the independence," he said.

 , , ,   ,      , ,     ,                                    pic.twitter.com/HNGHjtx10w  Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) March 15, 2022

Gehlot asserted that Congress is the only party that can fight against the ruling BJP and praised Rahul Gandhi for taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged those aged between 12-14 age group to get vaccinated and others above 60 to take ''precaution'' doses, calling it an ''important step'' in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Today is an important day in Indias efforts to vaccinate our citizens. Now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group are eligible for vaccines & all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses. I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated, PM Modi said.

Today is an important day in Indias efforts to vaccinate our citizens. Now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group are eligible for vaccines & all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses. I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated: PM Modi (File pic) pic.twitter.com/eBtidFSryQ  ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2022

Asserting that India's Covid vaccination drive is science-driven and people-powered, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the country is in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic but people must keep following all precautions.

The Prime Minister further said, Today, India has many Made in India vaccines. We have also granted approval to other vaccines after a due process of evaluation. We are in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic. At the same time, we have to keep following all Covid-19 precautions.

Today, India has many Made in India vaccines. We have also granted approval to other vaccines after a due process of evaluation. We are in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic. At the same time, we have to keep following all COVID related precautions.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 16, 2022

Highlighting the journey of India's vaccination drive, PM Modi said, "We began work to create vaccines in early 2020, to protect our citizens and strengthen our fight against the pandemic." "The manner in which our scientists, innovators and the private sector rose to the occasion is commendable. In late 2020, I had visited three of our vaccine manufacturers and got firsthand details of their efforts to protect our citizens," he said.

In January 2021, India began its vaccination drive for doctors, healthcare and frontline workers, he noted. The aim was to ensure those at the forefront of the fight against Covid get proper protection at the earliest, the PM added.

PM Modi said it should make every Indian proud that the vaccines are free of cost in India for those who want it. The appeal from the Prime Minister came as Covid-19 vaccination for all beneficiaries in the 12-14 age group began from Wednesday (March 16, 2022) at all government Covid vaccination centres.

Corbevax vaccine, manufactured by Biological E. Limited, Hyderabad, will be administered to those aged between 12-14 years. Rajesh Bhushan, Union Health Secretary, in a virtual meeting with all states and UTs, had on Tuesday said that the online registration for vaccination will start at 9 AM.

The states and UTs have been advised to ensure that only those who have attained the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination are vaccinated against Covid-19. The Centre has clarified that if the beneficiary is registered but has not attained the age of 12 years on the date of vaccination, the vaccine will not be administered.

This follows the decision of the Union government to start Covid-19 vaccination for 12-13 years and 13-14 years age groups, those born in 2008, 2009 and 2010. ie those who are already above 12 years of age, from March 16, 2022.

Additionally, all above 60 years of age are now eligible for a Precaution Dose from Wednesday, as the condition of co-morbidity for this age group has been removed. However, the Precaution Dose is to be administered after a nine-month gap from the second dose and will be the same as the previous two doses.

The Centre has sent detailed instructions and operational guidelines to the states and UTs in this regard. The Centre has said that vaccinators and vaccination teams need to be trained to ensure that for the 12-14 years age group, there is no mixing of vaccines.

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Srinagar: Reacting to 'The Kashmir Files', former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti targeted the government of India saying they dont want to heal the wounds of the past and instead by promoting the film, they deliberately want the two committees to remain apart.

Taking to Twitter, the PDP chief wrote, The manner in which GOI is aggressively promoting Kashmir Files & is weaponising pain of Kashmiri Pandits makes their ill intention obvious. Instead of healing old wounds & creating a conducive atmosphere between the two communities, they are deliberately tearing them apart.

The manner in which GOI is aggressively promoting Kashmir Files & is weaponising pain of Kashmiri Pandits makes their ill intention obvious. Instead of healing old wounds & creating a conducive atmosphere between the two communities, they are deliberately tearing them apart.  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) March 16, 2022

The Kashmir Files movie is based on the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in 1990. And its been in the news since it was released on February 11. Kashmir pandits claim that its the first time that reality has come out and demanded justice.

Earlier former chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah had reacted to the film. He was governing Jammu Kashmir as chief minister in 1989 when insurgency started and during the Kashmiri Pandit mass migration in 1990, he was replaced by Governor Jagmohan Malhotra.

Abdullah said on Tuesday that the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits should be investigated. Speaking to IANS, he said, "Jagmohan was the governor at that time. He is no more, otherwise, he would have told (the reality). This is the reason I want the case to be investigated."

He also urged the Union government to take urgent steps for the resettlement of Kashmiri Pandits. Abdullah added that an honest investigation should be held to find out the culprits and why such an incident took place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have met the Kashmir Files team and expressed support for them.

"People who always raise the flag of freedom of expression are restless. Instead of reviewing on facts, a campaign was being run to discredit it..," PM Modi said on The Kashmir Files while addressing BJP parliamentary meeting.

Home Minister Amit Shah after meeting the films team tweeted  A bold representation of truth. It will work to make the society and the country aware in this direction that such historical mistakes are not repeated. I congratulate the entire team for making this film.

BJP is openly supporting the film and, in all states, where the saffron party is ruling the movie has been made tax-free.

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Jaipur: Amid infighting in the Congress party, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has slammed his party colleague and noted lawyer Kapil Sibal for his criticism of the Gandhi family and the top leadership over the recent assembly elections debacle in 5 states.

Gehlot said that Sibal is not rooted in Congress culture, and he doesn`t even know the ABC of the Congress. Gehlot's remarks came after Sibal triggered a row with his comments that the Gandhis should step aside and give other leaders a chance to lead the Congress.

"He (Sibal) is a great lawyer, but he did not work hard as other workers do in Congress culture. He got a chance gradually, and with the blessings of Sonia Gandhi and the support of Rahul Gandhi, he got a place in the Union Cabinet directly, Gehlot said.

"Such words coming from a person whom the Congress gave so much is unfortunate. Kapil Sibal does not know the ABC of Congress, he does not understand the basic spirit of the party. Congress has made sacrifices for the country before and after Independence, which Sibal forgets," he added.

Gehlot said that no person from the Gandhi family became the Prime Minister, Chief Minister or even a Minister in the last 30 years. "The people of the country want the Gandhi family to keep the Congress united... The country stands with the Gandhi family," he added.

Gehlot also said that Sibal is making such statements out of frustration. "What Kapil Sibal has thought is beyond comprehension. At a time when the party could not win elections, the leaders should have at least shown unity," Gehlot said.

"The Congress will be there in the next century as well. The DNA of the country and the DNA of Congress are similar," he added. Sibal had earlier criticised the Congress` decision to hold a brainstorming session in the wake of the party`s poor show in the recent Assembly elections in five states. He also advised the Gandhi family to part ways with the party leadership.

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Washington: India taking up Russia's offer of discounted crude oil would not be a violation of American sanctions on Moscow, the White House has said, as it also underlined that countries should also think about "where you want to stand" amidst Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden last week announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports over the country's invasion of Ukraine, targeting the main artery of Russia's economy.

"Our message to any country continues to be that abide by the sanctions that we have put in place and recommended," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Tuesday.

Asked about a media report on the possibility that India could take up the Russian offer of discounted crude oil, Psaki said, "I don't believe this would be violating that (sanctions)."

"But also think about where you want to stand when history books are written at this moment in time. Support for the Russian leadership is support for an invasion that obviously is having a devastating impact," Psaki added.

The US-led West has imposed a series of financial sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

India has not supported the Russian military operation of Ukraine. New Delhi has consistently asked all stakeholders to resolve differences through dialogue. It has, however, abstained in all United Nations resolutions against Russia.

Officials of the Biden administration have shown an understanding of India's position and have told American lawmakers that New Delhi has a major dependence on Russian military supplies for its national security requirements amidst the challenges posed by China.

Meanwhile, Indian-American Congressman Dr Ami Bera has expressed disappointment over reports that India is contemplating buying Russian oil at a steeply discounted rate.

"If reports are accurate and India makes this decision to buy Russian oil at a discounted price, New Delhi would be choosing to side with Vladimir Putin at a pivotal moment in history when countries across the world are united in support of the Ukrainian people and against Russia's deadly invasion," the Democratic Party lawmaker said.

"As the world's largest democracy and as a leader of the Quad, India has a responsibility to ensure its actions do not directly or indirectly support Putin and his invasion," Bera said in a statement.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Tuesday directed former Janata Dal (United) President Sharad Yadav to vacate within 15 days the government bungalow occupied by him in the national capital, saying that since he was disqualified as Rajya Sabha MP in 2017, there can be no justification to retain the accommodation.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla directed Yadav to "hand over the bungalow at 7, Tuqhlak Road here to the government within 15 days" saying more than four years have elapsed since he was disqualified as Rajya Sabha MP.

The high court said it was not inclined to continue with the interim order passed by a single judge on December 15, 2017, by which he was allowed to avail the official perks and facilities of an MP including the use of his official residence at Tuqhlak Road here till the petition is decided.

However, the Supreme Court in June 2018 had partially modified the high court's order, saying that he could retain his official accommodation but would not be entitled to salary and other benefits.

On Tuesday, the high court disposed of an application by the Centre seeking to lift a stay on the vacation of a government bungalow occupied by him in the national capital as he was disqualified as Rajya Sabha MP in 2017.

"The December 15, 2017 order stands vacated," the division bench said and listed the main petition for hearing on April 21.

The bench said until and unless Yadav's disqualification is set aside, he has no right to occupy the government accommodation and added that the provision of perks, including residential accommodation, are provided to the functionaries of the state to enable them to discharge their functions.

It said the perks are conferred to any individual personally and they are not given for life.

"They are given till you are a member of Parliament. It is given so that the member can discharge duties efficiently while living in the vicinity of the Parliament. Since you are disqualified, you are not required to attend the Parliament," the bench told the counsel for Yadav.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain and central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul, representing the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, said as the council of ministers has been expanded now, the government needs the accommodation for allotting it to newly appointed union ministers.

The government counsel submitted that the particular bungalow has been allotted to a sitting minister who is waiting for months.

Yadav's counsel submitted that his term, assuming that the disqualification is not valid, will come to an end on July 7, 2022, and he was not keeping well and has been hospitalised on several occasions.

Yadav had approached the high court in 2017 challenging his disqualification from Rajya Sabha on several grounds, including that he was not given any chance to present his views by the Rajya Sabha chairman before he passed the order.

On the other hand, Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, leader of JD(U) in Rajya Sabha, had sought disqualification of Yadav and his colleague Ali Anwar on the ground that they had attended a rally of opposition parties in Patna in violation of the party directives.

Yadav joined hands with the opposition after the JD(U) president and Bihar chief minister, Nitish Kumar, had dumped the alliance with the RJD and the Congress in Bihar and tied up with the BJP in July 2017.

Yadav was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2017 and his term is scheduled to end in July 2022. Anwar's term expired in 2018. Both were disqualified under the Anti-Defection Act. His plea said that the December 4, 2017 order had disqualified him in an "extremely casual and callous way".

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In an utterly shocking incident, workers of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers attacked the buses of Indian Premier League (IPL) team Delhi Capitals in Mumbai. As per reports, the MNS workers smashed the windows of at least one of the luxury buses that was were in duty to ferry Delhi Capitals' players. Following the incident, the police have arrested five MNS workers including Prashant Gandhi, Santosh Jadhav, Bharmu Nandurkar.

However, the question that's making rounds on social media is the motive behind MNS workers attack on Delhi Daredevils bus.

Why did MNS Workers attack Delhi Capitals' bus?

While it's clear that the attack did take place, it seems, as of now, that MNS workers didn't deliberately target the bus because it belonged to a team from Delhi.

Speaking to media, MNS's Sanjay Naik said that they were actually protesting at the manner in which buses from outside the state were hired for the purpose of IPL tournament, depriving the locals of employment opportunities though they can provide similar vehicles as needed.

Despite our protests, they have allowed several buses and other smaller vehicles here from Delhi and other parts, which is affecting the livelihood of the local Marathi people, Naik told IANS.

Where did the incident happen?

The Delhi Capitals team is staying at the Taj Palace, a hotel located in the Colaba area of Mumbai. The members of the Rishabh Pant-led team are arriving in Mumbai to begin their preparations for the upcoming IPL 2022, starting March 26. DC will play their opening game of the tournament against five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians on March 27 at Brabourne Stadium.

Police beefs up security

Meanwhile, taking serious cognizance of the incident, the police have beefed up security around the Delhi Capitals' hotel.

As per the images above, it is safe to say that the vandalised bus belonged to the Delhi Capitals side as DC's motto 'We Roar Together' was written on the glass of the bus.
Srinagar: Three Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, who were allegedly involved in the killing of Khanmoh's Sarpanch, were gunned down in an encounter that broke out on the outskirts of Srinagar city on Wednesday.

Sharing more details of the operation, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said, "Jammu & Kashmir police claimed that three terrorists of LeT/TRF have been killed in Nowgam encounter with the security forces in Nowgam area on the outskirts of Srinagar district.''

''Killed terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT/TRF outfit who were involved in the recent killing of Khanmohs Sarpanch Sameer Bhat,'' IGP Kashmir said in a press briefing.

Terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT/TRF outfit involved in the recent killing of Khanmohs Sarpanch Sameer Bhat trapped in Nowgam encounter in Srinagar: IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar pic.twitter.com/1eR9TdvEbE  ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2022

Acting on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the Nowgam area of the city, the security forces had earlier launched a cordon-and-search operation there, a police official said.

An encounter broke out between terrorists and security forces at Nowgam area of Srinagar: Jammu & Kashmir Police (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/XZWq0CPOvj  ANI (@ANI) March 16, 2022

He said the search operation turned into an encounter when the terrorists opened fire at the security personnel, who retaliated. The exchange of fire is underway, and a massive search operation has also been launched in the area to flush out the terrorists hiding in the area. the official added.

On Tuesday, a LeT terrorist was killed in the Charsoo area of Awantipora of Pulwama district. which was the 22nd encounter of the year and, so far, the security forces have managed to kill 39 terrorists until now.

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New Delhi: The maximum temperature in Maharashtra's coastal region, including Mumbai, went up on Tuesday (March 15, 2022) with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting that the mercury may rise further on Wednesday.

The MeT department has a 'yellow alert' (heatwave conditions in isolated parts) for Wednesday and the maximum temperature is expected to remain on a higher side in Mumbai, Raigad and Thane districts.

The Santacruz observatory in Mumbai recorded a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday evening with a departure of 4.6 degrees, said a scientist at the IMD, Mumbai.

"The dry winds from north-west region brought more dryness to Mumbai and adjoining regions. The severity has gone down from Monday," she was quoted as saying by the PTI news agency.

"It has reduced humidity as well. The situation would ease out from Thursday onwards," she added.

The IMD has also said that the heatwave conditions to severe heatwave conditions are 'very likely' to prevail in some parts of Rajasthan till March 18.

The MeT department has also predicted that the heatwave conditions are very likely to prevail in isolated pockets over Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha till March 18.

Heat Wave to severe heat wave conditions in some parts of Saurashtra-Kutch, Konkan & West Rajasthan and heat wave conditions over West Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat region, East Rajasthan & Odisha. pic.twitter.com/elXn3eeVIr  India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) March 15, 2022

Meanwhile, in the wake of severe heatwave conditions prevailing in Mumbai and neighbouring districts, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has appealed to citizens to stay safe and hydrated and avoid going out in the afternoon.

The Mumbai civic body took to Twitter to inform citizens about the do's and don't and asked them to "stay hydrated and safe".

A person suffering from a heat stroke should immediately be taken to hospital, it said, and asked people to increase the intake of water and other healthy fluids.

To minimise the impact during the heatwave and to prevent a serious ailment or death because of the heatstroke, the BMC also asked people to avoid going out in the sun, especially between 12 noon and 3 pm.

It suggested people carry water while going out in the afternoon.

"Drink sufficient water and as often as possible, even if not thirsty," the BMC said and asked people to avoid strenuous activities when the outside temperature is high.

The BMC also suggested that if a person suffers from sunstroke, he/she should lie in a cool place under a shade. Wipe with a wet cloth or wash the body frequently, and pour normal temperature water on the head, it said.

(With agency inputs)

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Noida: Up to four tonnes of explosives could be used to raze down the illegal Supertech twin towers in Noida and the implosion of the nearly 100-metre tall structures on May 22 would take just nine seconds, according to officials.

Also, around 1,500 families living in close vicinity to the towers located in sector 93A would be moved out of their homes for around five hours when the implosion takes place at 2.30 pm on May 22, they said.

Stretch of Noida-Greater Noida Expressway to be shut for traffic

A stretch of the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway close to the site would also be shut for traffic for an hour, while security personnel would be deployed in the area in large numbers on the day, according to the demolition plan shared by Edifice Engineering, the company which has been handed the job.

The Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of Supertech's Apex (100 metre) and Ceyane (97 metre) on August 31 last year as the twin towers had come up in violation of building norms.

The top court had also rapped the local Noida Authority for approval of the project under its watch.

One tower will collapse to ground first followed by other

Sharing a presentation with media on Monday, Utkarsh Mehta, partner at Edifice, said Ceyane (31 floors) will collapse to the ground first followed by Apex (32 floors).

"The building will fall inwards in multiple stages, floor by floor. Ten levels will act as primary blast floors and seven as secondary blast floors. The primary blast floors will have explosives in all columns. In the secondary floors, explosives will be in 40 per cent of the columns," Mehta said, explaining the technical aspects of the process.

The company had previously demolished the 108-metre tall Bank of Lisbon in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2019 with an implosion.

The gap between the structure and an adjoining building there was around seven metres, while in Noida the space is around nine metres, according to officials.

South Africa-based Jet Demolition is providing expertise on the blast for safe implosion and a trial blast would take place ahead of the actual implosion.

"Explosives between 2,500 kg and 4,000kg will be required. A test blast has been planned in the last week of March or the first week of April to optimise the use of explosive vis-a-vis safety measures," Mehta said.

While the actual implosion would take only nine seconds for the towers to be razed, the groundwork preparation is already underway.

This includes removal of structures like electrical fittings, plumbing items, doors and windows. Walls are also being demolished to reduce the amount of rubble the implosion would create.

He said the company is also preparing two to three layers of wired mesh around columns which would be filled with explosives and laying 'geo-textile fabric' on the ground to stop debris from flying off in an uncontrolled manner.

The implosion, he said, would induce a pull away from the premises of Emerald Court, the group housing society where 600 families live and on which the twin towers are located.

Locals assured of no damage to other buildings

According to Noida Authority officials, experts will examine Emerald Court and the buildings in the vicinity for damage assessment after the implosions.

They said locals have been assured of no damage to other buildings due to the implosions and in case of any damage, there will be an insurance cover.

The specially-prepared cushions on the ground would reduce the impact of rubble falling on it and minimize vibrations.

Residents from the exclusion zone (the blast radius) will be asked to move out at least three hours ahead of the implosion and they can return at least two hours after the action.

The exclusion zone includes entire Emerald Court, nearby ATS Greens Village and parts of Parsavnath Prestige, a park and the road in the front of the towers as well as a portion of the Noida Expressway.

Traffic on the expressway would be stopped for an hour, even as security personnel, including police, would be deployed in the area.

"We will need people to evacuate the entire area during the implosion. We have given a report in this regard to the Noida Authority, but a final evacuation zone will be decided in consultation with the police," Mehta said.

"At the time of the blast, only five persons - two foreign experts, one police personnel, one blaster, and the Edifice project manager, will be present in the exclusion zone to execute the demolition," Mehta added.

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New Delhi: Kareena Kapoor is currently vacationing in the tropical islands of Maldives along with her sister Karisma Kapoor, husband Saif Ali Khan and kids Taimur and Jeh Ali Khan. The actress had jetted off to the Maldives earlier this week and seems to be enjoying the summer season at the beach.

On Wednesday, she shared a couple of photographs from the trip on her Instagram, giving fans a glimpse of her scenic trip. In one of the pictures, Taimur and Jeh were seen walking along the beach together and Kareena captioned the photo saying, "Brothers".

In another picture, Kareena was seen wearing a black monokini swimsuit sitting at the shore with Jehangir Ali Khan, her younger son, by her side.

Take a look at her posts:

For the unversed, Kareena Kapoor is set to make her Netflix debut with an untitled murder mystery series, based on Japanese author Keigo Higashino's novel, 'The Devotion of Suspect X.

Apart from Bebo, it also stars Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma.

Streaming platform Netflix announced the film through a video of Kareena, Jaideep and Vijay during a script reading session for the film led by the director.

Kareena will also be seen with Aamir Khan in Laal Singh Chaddha which will release on April 14, 2022, on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi in theatres worldwide and it is one of the most awaited films.
Mumbai: Actor Pankaj Tripathi on Wednesday dismissed the reports that he will be featuring in a Telugu movie with South superstar Pawan Kalyan.

There were reports earlier in the day, stating that the "Mirzapur" star has joined the cast of Kalyan's next film, titled "Bhavadeeyudu Bhagat Singh".

In a brief statement, Tripathi refuted the news but said that he looks forward to working with Kalyan "someday soon".

"Reading the news of doing a film with Pawan Kalyan on social media made me really happy. I'm an admirer of his work. But as much as I want this news to be true, unfortunately it's not. But I do hope I get to work with him someday soon," the 45-year-old actor said.

Tripathi is currently awaiting the release of his upcoming movie "Bachchhan Pandey", in which he co-stars with Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez and Arshad Warsi.

The actor will also star with Kumar in "Oh My God 2", which is currently in production.
NEW DELHI: Mega power star Ram Charan has been busy promoting his upcoming period action-drama film 'RRR', which is scheduled to arrive in theatres on March 25. The actor recently opened up on the current state of affairs in Ukraine and stated that is one of the best countries he has filmed in so far.

As soon as the war broke out, Ram Charan contacted his security-in-charge from Ukraine to check on his safety. He learnt that the security in-charge's 85-year-old father is walking around with a gun and is on the streets. The 'RRR' star further added, "The least I could do from here is help monetarily. None of them deserve to go through this. I hope peace is restored."

Ram Charan has time and again proved that he is there for the people of the country and his fans across the world. Even during the COVID-19 outbreak, he stepped up with several initiatives and helped a lot of families.

Speaking of 'RRR', the film has been shot extensively across India, with a few sequences in Ukraine and Bulgaria. Made on a budget of Rs 400 crore, 'RRR' was initially scheduled for theatrical release on July 30, 2020, which has been deferred multiple times due to production delays and followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the film is scheduled to be released theatrically on March 25, 2022.

The film marks the Telugu debut of Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt. According to reports, Alia is paired opposite Ram Charan in the role of Sita, while Ajay Devgn has an extended cameo.

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New Delhi: 7th Pay Commission latest update: The Central government employees might be in for some good news soon as regards the 18 months-pending Dearness allowance (DA) arrears today.

As per media reports, a cabinet meeting regarding increase of dearness allowance of central government employees could take place on today (March 16) and the issue regardig hike in fitment factor may also be discused.

If a decision regarding any of the above is taken today, it would mean that the Modi government will have a good Holi gift for the employees. Media reports have been constantly speculating that the Modi government may credit Rs 2 lakh in the account of the government employees at one go.

Earlier media reports cited Shiv Gopal Mishra, Secretary (Staff Side) of the National Council of JCM stating that the council has placed its demand before the government however both sides have not arrived at any conclusion as yet. Media reports further said that talks have been held with the Cabinet Secretary, which still remains inconclusive. The Labour union has been constantly pressing demands for a one time settlement of dearness allowance arrears.

According to Mishra, a joint meeting of the JCM with the officials of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure is to be held soon. It is expected that a one-time settlement of 18 months DA arrears will also crop up during the meeting.

The Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief of Central government employees and pensioners were restored to 31% from 17% from October 2021, however the arrears have not been deposited as yet.

A Zee Hindi report, quoting Shiv Gopal Mishra of the National Council of JCM, had previously mentioned that the DA arrears of Level-1 employees range from Rs 11,880 to Rs 37,554. Whereas, for Level-13 (7th CPC basic pay scale Rs 1,23,100 to Rs 2,15,900) or Level-14 (pay scale), the DA arrears in the hands of an employee will be Rs 1,44,200-2,18,200 that will be paid, quoted the reports.

According to the annual report of the Department of Expenditure, there are a total of 48 lakh central employees in the country and about 60 lakh pensioners.

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New Delhi: Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana or PM Kisan Yojana, crores of eligible farmers in the country have received 10 instalments so far. For the unversed, PM Kisan Yojana is a centre-sponsored scheme aimed at providing financial support to poor and marginalised farmers across the country. As part of the scheme, farmers receive a direct cash benefit of Rs 6000 in a calendar year. The funds are transferred in three instalments of Rs 2000 each.

To date, the Central government has transferred over Rs 20,000 crore directly into the bank accounts of above 9.5 lakh eligible farmers in the country, as part of the PM Kisan Yojana.

When will the Centre government release the 11th PM Kisan instalment?

Beneficiaries of the centre-sponsored schemes are now waiting for the 11th instalment under PM Kisan Yojana to reach their accounts. According to media reports, the government is likely to roll out the 11th instalment under the PM Kisan Yojana in the month of April 2022. The government usually rolls out the 2nd instalment under the scheme in a calendar year between April and July.

Farmers listed in the PM Kisan beneficiary list are eligible for receiving funds under the scheme. Moreover, beneficiaries are also required to complete the e-KYC of the PM Kisan account to ensure that they receive the money right on time.

Check how to add a name under the PM Kisan list:

Step 1: First of all, you need to visit the official website of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi at www.pmkisan.gov.in.

Step 2: Secondly, you need to visit the Farmers Corner. The section is located in the left corner of the home page of the PM Kisan website.

Step 3: Now, tap on the New farmer registration option.

Step 4: Fill out the complete registration form. Also Read: Next is sukha puri, extra pani: Pizza toppings to attract higher 18% GST; netizens react with memes

Step 5: In the last step, you need to click on the Submit button to submit the form online. Also Read: World Bank to support Himachal become India's first green state

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Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister-designate Bhagwant Mann will take oath as CM on Wednesday at Khatar Kalan, the birthplace of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Through a video released on Twitter on Sunday, Mann announced his oath-taking ceremony date and invited the people of Punjab to attend the ceremony at Khatkar Kalan.

"On March 16, in Bhagat Singh`s Khatkar Kalan, not just Bhagwant Mann will take the oath and become CM, but along with me all three crore people of Punjab will also become CM. Together we will make Shaheed Bhagat Singh`s Rangla Punjab," wrote Mann.

Further addressing the people he said, "This government will be your own government. On March 16, I request all of you to be present at the ceremony at 10 am in Khatkar Kalan to support your brother."

The swearing-in ceremony of Bhagwant Mann will be a low-profile event with the absence of big political leaders. Mann has invited Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to the oath-taking ceremony.

According to AAP sources, apart from Kejriwal, no other Chief Minister of any state will be present in the swearing-in of Bhagwant Mann. Similarly, no Union Minister or any big leader of the national level has been invited for this oath-taking ceremony. Only AAP leaders and local leaders of Punjab will be present at the swearing-in ceremony.

Sources said current caretaker Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has also not been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of Mann. However, all 117 MLAs have been invited to the ceremony. Further, the family and people close to Bhagwant Mann have been invited.

These include several artists associated with Punjab. Meanwhile, an area of nearly 100 acres is being used for the ceremony in Khatkar Kalan in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district on March 16.

A Venu Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary to Punjab Government, said four-five lakh people are expected to attend the event. "A seating arrangement for 1 lakh people has been done. More seats are being placed. The venue will be of 100 acres area--50 acres for the main event and 50 acres for parking," he said.

He also said that a travel advisory will be issued for the day for the general public in view of the ceremony. On the security of the event, he said, 8,000 to 10,000 police personnel will be deployed.

"DGP has said that more security personnel will be provided if needed," Sarangal added. "As per protocol, three stages will be set up. There would be a total of eight parking places - divided into different sectors," he said.

Speaking about his governing skills, Mann earlier said, "We know how to run the administration. I have been a member of this (Lok Sabha) House for seven years. People have re-elected our government in Delhi. We have the experience," said Mann.

"Many veteran politicians have lost the elections, and new people have won. I am sure new ideas will come in the state. There will be out of the box thinking in this government," he added.

Mann tendered his resignation from the membership of Lok Sabha to Speaker Om Birla on Monday.

On his last day in the House as an MP, Mann said, "I will miss this House. Punjab has given me a huge responsibility. I promise to the people of Sangrur that a bold voice for them will echo soon in this House." Mann, who was contesting from Dhuri assembly constituency in Sangrur district, won by a margin of 58,206 votes over Congress` Dalvir Singh Goldy.

Earlier, AAP registered a landslide victory in the Punjab polls with 92 seats, pushing most of its rivals to the margins. Congress won 18 seats in the 117-member Assembly.

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New Delhi: Income Tax Department raids at real estate builder Omaxes premises continued for the third day. Currently, the raids are going on at 38 locations, including 20 locations in Delhi NCR.

So far, the department has recovered Rs 20 crore in raids that started at 7 am on March 14, with Rs 12 crore recovered from the builder's office in Kalkaji. The agency has also frozen several accounts and seized ledger accounts belonging to the realty group.

During the search operations across the country, the department has also detected unaccounted transactions amounting to Rs 200 crore. In Delhi NCR, the department is searching Omaxes premises at Noida, Faridabad, Gurugram and Delhi.

Besides Delhi NCR, the raids are underway in, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Lucknow and Indore. According to a report by ANI, around 250 officers and officials are involved in the search operation.

The IT team has examined the realty companys transactions of the last three to four years. The department has also recorded the statements of those who were present at the premises at the time of search operations. Also Read: Noida twin-tower demolition: Up to 4,000 kg of explosives and just 9 seconds, here's how Supertech's buildings will be razed

Omaxe Ltd. is one of the leading real estate developers across Delhi-NCR. The real estate company has a significant presence in similar projects in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war: Petrol prices may come down in Europe amidst signs of progress in cease-fire talks between Ukraine, Russia

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Kochi: Actor Dileep has contended in the Kerala High Court that the Crime Branch has levelled false and fabricated allegations of destruction of evidence against him and others, who are accused of conspiring to kill and threaten officials probing into the 2017 actress assault case, as well as their lawyers.

The actor, in his reply to a recent statement filed by the Crime Branch, claimed that the agency and its officers investigating into the latest case against him were peddling lies after lies.

The statement of the Crime Branch was filed in response to Dileep's plea to quash the FIR on murder conspiracy or transfer the probe to the CBI.

Denying the allegations in the statement, the actor contended that baseless accusations have been fabricated by the investigating agency with regard to the phones submitted by him and others, including his brother and brother-in-law, for forensic analysis.

In his reply, filed through advocates Philip T Varghese and Thomas T Varghese, the actor said the purpose of the forensic examination of the phones presently and recently used by the accused was not to find out material regarding the 2017 case, but to conduct a roving enquiry into the data contained in them for making allegations.

"The dishonest nature of the investigation, which has become the trademark of the respondents 2,3 and 5 (police officials), is evident from the stories planted by them in the media about the phones of the accused. The allegation that the petitioner (Dileep) and other accused removed and concealed their mobile phones within a few days of disclosure of offences by Balachandra Kumar is an incorrect and misleading statement," the actor said in his reply.

The actor claimed that the mobile phones were sent to a mobile forensic expert to extract data from them regarding communications with Kumar to confront him with the same if he was made a prosecution witness and the decision to do so was taken much before the fresh case was registered.

He claimed that extraction, restoration or deletion of data from a phone by its user was neither clandestine nor illegal and regarding the clearing of 12 WhatsApp messages from his phone, the actor contended that the same is a regular process adopted by many users of the messaging platform.

The actor contended that no tampering of any of the phones or shredding of any data from the phones has been detected by the Forensic Science Laboratory, contrary to the vague and false claims by the Crime Branch.

He further claimed that the allegation of Crime Branch that the actor's lawyers assisted in destruction of prosecution evidence was fanciful, preposterous and baseless.

"Such an allegation has been recklessly and irresponsibly fabricated so as to scandalise them," Dileep claimed.

Meanwhile, the actress-victim lodged a complaint with the Bar Council of Kerala against senior advocate B Raman Pillai and the other lawyers who represent Dileep and the other accused, and sought an enquiry into whether they were involved in influencing witnesses and tampering with evidence in the case.

The actress claimed she has come to know from news reports as well as various other sources that Dileep's lawyers were not assisting the court in the matter, as they are required to, and instead were acting contrary to the rules of the legal profession.

She urged the Bar Council of Kerala to take appropriate action in the matter.

On March 8, the Crime Branch filed a statement alleging that Dileep's plea to quash the FIR was a bundle of lies and distorted facts.

The agency claimed that the actor and the other accused as well as their lawyers were involved in tampering or destruction of the evidence in the case.

The actor and five others were booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 116 (abetment), 118 (concealing design to commit offence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (criminal act done by several people).

The actress-victim, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films, was abducted and allegedly molested in her car for two hours by some people who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17, 2017, and later escaped in a busy area.

The entire act was filmed by those persons to blackmail the actress.

There are 10 accused in the 2017 case and police have arrested seven. Dileep was arrested subsequently and released on bail.
New Delhi: Samsung is set to launch its entry-level Galaxy smartphones on March 17 and the cheapest of the lot, Galaxy A33, will house a 6.4-inch 90Hz 1080p OLED display, a 5,000mAh battery and four rear cameras.

It is likely to be priced at 379 euros in Europe, according to new leaks posted by Evan Blass and Appuals.

According to Appuals, the Galaxy A33 will be powered by Samsung's Exynos 1280, housing an octa-core CPU. There will be a 48MP camera, a 8MP ultrawide sensor, a 5MP macro lens and a 2MP portrait lens at the rear end, along with a 13MP selfie camera.

Sporting an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, the phone will have an under-display fingerprint sensor, 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage without a charging brick in the box.

Samsung's mid-low tier Galaxy A series is forecast to come in various new models -- A73, A53, A33 and A23 -- a product line the company earlier said would provide "cutting-edge innovations, services and features at an accessible price".

Galaxy A53 may sport a bigger 6.5-inch display with a higher 120Hz refresh rate, with same Exynos 1280 processor as well as a quad-camera at the rear with a 64MP main camera, and a 32MP selfie sensor.

The Galaxy A73, which will be the most high-end among the A series, is widely expected to come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 750G, a 6.7-inch screen and a Super AMOLED display.

Samsung introduced the Galaxy A72 and A52 models at its 'Galaxy Awesome Unpacked' online event in March last year. It was the first time Samsung held a large-scale introduction event for Galaxy A devices.

The A series, designed in part to deal with growing challenges from Chinese rivals in the mid- and low-end handset market, proved to be popular among price-conscious consumers.

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Gonda: A criminal accused of abduction and carrying of a bounty of Rs 25,000, turned up at a police station in Gonda with a placard hung around his neck and a message scribbled on it - `I am surrendering, please don`t open fire at me.

The video of the dramatic surrender has gone viral on social media. This is the first such surrender after the Yogi Adityanath government returned to power last week.

The criminal Gautam Singh and two other accomplices are accused of the abduction of a chicken-feed trader and demanding a ransom of Rs 20 lakh for his release.

SP, Gonda, Santosh Mishra said after the kidnapping on March 7, the police launched a manhunt for the accused and arrested two accused, Zubair and Raj Kumar Yadav, but the main accused, Gautam Singh, was on the run.

"We announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for any clues on Singh. And as police raids continued across the district, he along with his brother Anil came out of hiding a week later and surrendered at Chhapia thana," said Mishra.

The gang members, including Gautam had kidnapped the trader, Sheel Prakash, from his shop and held him hostage in a car for three hours, demanding Rs 20 lakh ransom for his release.

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New Delhi: US President Joe Biden will make his first visit to Europe since the Russian invasion of Ukraine to discuss the crisis with other NATO leaders next week, the White House said on Tuesday (March 15, 2022).

Biden will travel to Brussels, Belgium and will join an 'extraordinary NATO summit' on March 24 to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia's 'unprovoked and unjustified' attack on Ukraine, the White House said in a statement.

He will also join a scheduled European Council Summit to discuss US' shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence, and address other challenges related to the conflict.

Putins aggression against Ukraine has united people across America and the world to act with urgency and resolve. I want to thank Congressional leadership for working so quickly to make sure we have the resources we need to continue our forceful response to this crisis.  President Biden (@POTUS) March 15, 2022

The significant development comes amid over 3 million having now fled Ukraine, according to the United Nations, with over 1.8 million arriving in neighbouring Poland.

President Vladimir Putin calls Russia's actions a 'special military operation' to demilitarise and 'denazify' Ukraine. Moscow, however, has not been able to captur any of the 10 biggest cities in the country following its incursion that began on February 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945.

Meanwhile, talks between Russia and Ukraine via a video link resumed on Tuesday with the Ukrainian officials playing up hopes the war could end sooner than expected and saying that Moscow may be coming to terms with its failure to impose a new government by force.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to predict progress in the talks.

"The work is difficult, and in the current situation the very fact that (the talks) are continuing is probably positive," he said.

(With agency inputs)
Russian hackers broke into the live newsfeed of the TV channel Ukraina 24 and posted a fake statement of surrender by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The President immediately recorded a video suggesting that the Russians lay down their weapons.

The TV channel said, "The news ticker on Ukraina 24 and the Sohodni (Today) website have been broken into by enemy hackers and are broadcasting a message from Zelensky about an alleged `surrender`. Friends, we have given several warnings about this. This is fake! No one is going to surrender, least of all when the Russian army is being defeated by the Ukrainian army," Ukrayinska Pravda reported.

The statement is no longer being broadcast on air, but a recording can be seen.

"With regard to the latest childish provocation alleging that I`m suggesting we put down our weapons, I suggest that the only people who should put their weapons down and go home are the Russian military," Zelensky said.

"We are at home, we are defending our land, our children, our families. So we`re not about to put down any weapons until we have won," he added.
"We cannot live under this condition. What is the use of putting up a retaining wall here if the landslide comes from the other side of the hill; besides, we are close to the river. The Mayor of Pataz, the Regional Government of La Libertad, and the (Peruvian) State are willing to see how we can relocate the families. I call on you to leave the area and go to a safe place where there will be services and schools," he said.

Posteriormente, el jefe de Estado, @PedroCastilloTe, llego a esta localidad para verificar los danos y coordinar el plan de accion ante esta emergencia.#SiempreConElPueblo pic.twitter.com/K6ftdadXfY
Once in the city, he will be admitted to the Regional Hospital to receive specialized care.

#FotogaleriaPresidencia | Luego de culminar sus actividades en la provincia de Pataz, el jefe de Estado, @PedroCastilloTe, superviso el traslado de un herido de Retamas hacia un hospital de Lima. pic.twitter.com/UV4oSFkNGf
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to announce a total of more than $1 billion in new military assistance to Ukraines government as early as Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reports citing U.S. officials.

Ukraines President Volodymr Zelensky is expected to make a plea to Congress for more aid.

The $1.01 billion is expected to include antiarmor and antiair systems, including portable air defenses such as Javelins and Stingers.
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The parliamentary committee on economic affairs approved the bill authored by the government aimed at eliminating possible obstacles for small exporters by not charging customs tariffs for the exports of products worth below 1 million drams.

The bill is dubbed the Volterman bill within the government because the changes were proposed by Volterman, the manufacturer of the smart wallets, explained Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan.

Kerobyan said many companies face the problem when they sell their products online. Basically, doing business around the world and retailing from Armenia is problematic. Therefore we proposed this change and the government expressed support that no customs tariffs should be paid in the event of exporting products with the cost of up to 1 million drams, he added.

The bill includes other similar changes, for example the exemption of state duties for the transit of products priced no more than 200 euros through Armenian borders (excluding exports) under a single transportation document sent by a single forwarder to a single recipient.
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the State Property Management Committee of Armenia Arnak Avetisyan assures that alienation of state property to non-residents is ruled out in Armenia.

Commenting on reporters statement according to which Turkish nationals are acquiring lands in Armenia, Arnak Avetisyan said this question is not addressed to him if the lands are purchased from the second market, from private individuals.

I know that according to the Armenian legislation, lands are not sold to non-residents, it is banned. In other words, only the citizens of Armenia can own land in Armenia. As for the state property, such cases are ruled out, he said.

In response to the reports claiming that in 2020-2021 Azerbaijani nationals have acquired 6 real estate in Armenia, Avetisyan said the real estate and the land must be differentiated. He said their Committee has no data on real estate sales, but state property has not been alienated to non-residents, he noted.
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Peter Maurer, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), is in Kyiv, Ukraine on a planned five-day visit to call for greater humanitarian access and protection of civilians, the organization said in a news release.

Mr Maurer traveled to the country to see the challenges facing civilians affected by the conflict, to meet with members of Ukraines government, and to see how the ICRC can further expand its neutral and impartial humanitarian work, the organization said.
YEREVAN, MARCH 15, ARMENPRESS. As result of the negotiations that proceeded with support of the Armenian government and the Russian peacekeepers, the Azerbaijani side on March 16 began the repair works of the damaged gas pipeline in Artsakh.

The Artsakh Information Center said according to the agreement the gas supply will be restored shortly, and the government of Artsakh is making all efforts for the restoration of gas supply to take place as soon as possible.

The Government of Artsakh apologized to all citizens for the difficulties and is assuring that all problems facing Artsakh can be resolved through unity, decisiveness and patience, the Artsakh authorities said.

The main pipeline supplying gas to Artsakh from Armenia was damaged overnight March 7-8.
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Gnel Sanosyan received the delegation led by Arif Baharudin, the Executive Director of the Board of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Sanosyan attached importance to the opportunity to discuss the deepening of ongoing and future cooperation with the ADB. He underscored that numerous and multi-layered projects are being implemented through the ADB in Armenia.

Baharudin noted that Armenias economy is recovering in a rather good pace after the pandemic and that the ADB is willing to continue the implementation of projects in Armenia. Particularly, the ADB is inclined to continue the seismic safety improvement project in schools. The ADB is also interested in the southern section of the North-South project, and the cooperation in the energy sector is also highlighted.

Sanosyans deputy Kristine Ghalechyan thanked the ADB for their attention and consistency in the projects implemented in the road sector, and presented the projects that are being developed by the ministry.

Sanosyan and Ghalechyan highlighted the construction of the Sisian-Kajaran section of the North-South project and attached importance to the ADBs involvement in this project. The opportunities for modernizing and implementing solid waste management programs in Armenia were also discussed.
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan took part in the 40th special sitting of the Francophonie Ministerial Conference in Paris on March 16, where he delivered a speech.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, the Armenian Foreign Minister drew the attention of the attendees to the actions of Azerbaijan aimed at escalating the situation in the South Caucasus in the light of the current geopolitical realities. The actions of Azerbaijan aimed at creating a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh were presented, in particular, the facts of creating obstacles for the restoration of vital infrastructure, targeting the civilian population, exerting psychological pressure on the population.

Minister Mirzoyan stressed the need for a clear and targeted reaction of the Heads of State and Government of the Francophone countries to the Azerbaijani authorities to refrain from attempts to destabilize the situation in the region. FM Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia is committed to a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict under the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs mandate and is ready for negotiations without any preconditions with Azerbaijan over a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In his speech, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that despite the many challenges, from the coronavirus pandemic to the 44-day war of 2020, Armenia remains committed to the ongoing process of reform based on the values of democracy, protection of human rights, rule of law, and the fight against corruption.
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who is on a working visit to Paris, met with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay on March 16.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the MFA Armenia, Minister Mirzoyan emphasized that Armenia attaches importance to expanding cooperation with UNESCO in the fields of education, science and communication. He noted that Armenia, as a member of the Executive Board of UNESCO, continues to be committed to the promotion of global peace, development and effective multilateralism, which are the pillars of the organization.

During the meeting, the sides referred to the deliberate destruction of the Armenian historical, cultural and religious heritage and distortion of identity in the territories that have passed under the control of Azerbaijan as a result of the Azerbaijani aggression against Nagorno Karabakh. In this context, Minister Mirzoyan drew the attention of the Director-General of UNESCO to the establishment of a state working group for this purpose in Azerbaijan. It was also emphasized that these actions openly go against the December 7, 2021 decision of the UN International Court of Justice on the provisional measures for the protection of the Armenian historical, cultural and religious heritage.

The Armenian FM stressed the urgent intervention of UNESCO in the current situation, the unimpeded involvement in the conflict zone aimed at the preservation and prevention of vandalism of the historical and cultural monuments of Artsakh, which are part of the universal cultural heritage. The implementation of a fact-finding mission in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone proposed by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in line with the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two adjunct protocols of 1954 was emphasized.
For seven years, Western countries have been ignoring Russias calls to put pressure on Kiev to make it fulfill the Minsk deal, Zakharova noted. "They did nothing, made no moves and showed no willingness to do anything, they only kept mumbling into the microphone that everyone should do their job and implement the Minsk Agreements, primarily pointing to Russia, though it was not part of the accords," the diplomat added.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories and the goal was to demilitarize and denazify the country. In response, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries announced sanctions against Russian individuals and entities.
The current negotiations with Kiev are hard and slow-going, but Russia is sincere in its wish to achieve peace as soon as possible, Russias chief delegate, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, has said, Tass informs.

March 16, 2022, 14:39 Talks with Ukraine are hard, Russia for peace as soon as possible  chief delegate

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: "The talks are hard and slow-going. Of course, we would like them to proceed much faster. It is Russias sincere wish. We want to achieve peace as soon as possible," Medinsky said.

"The negotiators main task is to search through the tremendous amount of complex issues to pick those on which agreement is possible, to rely on them, to include these points of agreement in the agenda and to gradually move forward step by step towards the end result that will suit our peoples - the conclusion of peace," he said.

Medinsky remarked that he would prefer not to focus on the problems emerging in the process of negotiations.
Azatouhi Simonyan and Lusine Gharakhanyan, advisers to the President of the Artsakh Republic, who are in France on an official visit held meetings in the Armenian colleges, Azatouhi Simonyan told "Artsakhpress".

March 16, 2022, 14:49 In the Armenian Educational Institutions of Paris Artsakh Presidential Advisers discussed the joint programs

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: "We discussed a wide range of cooperation in the School-loving College of Paris, founded 143 years ago in Constantinople.

The next Armenian school we visited was the Hamazkayin Targmanchats Translators' School in Issy-les-Moulineaux, where Armenian children aged 3-10 receive an Armenian upbringing.

"We presented the concept, goals and ways of implementation of the Sister School program, she said, adding that issues related to joint programs, establishment of bilateral relations between schools, students and teachers, the management of the French-Armenian schools and the educational system were discussed.

According to the Presidential Adviser, the two Armenian schools expressed great desire to participate in the "Sister School" program, through which they will be able to cooperate with the schools of the Artsakh Republic.
He, however, did not elaborate on the lapse last week when an Indian missile got released 'accidentally' and landed in Pakistan's territory

Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the second part of Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. (SANSAD TV/PTI)

New Delhi: Union defence minister Rajnath Singh assured Parliament on Tuesday that India's missile system is reliable and safe and that all safety procedures and protocols are followed and reviewed regularly. Making a statement in both Houses of Parliament over the accidental firing of a missile that landed in Pakistan, Mr Singh added that standard operating procedures (SOPs) for operations, maintenance, and inspection of such systems were being reviewed. He, however, did not elaborate on the lapse last week when an Indian missile got released "accidentally" and landed in Pakistan's territory.

"During routine maintenance and inspection, a missile was accidentally released at around 7 pm (on March, 9, 2022). It was later learnt that the missile had landed inside the territory of Pakistan," Mr Singh said in the Parliament. He said that while this incident is regretted, "we are relieved that nobody was hurt due to the accident."

Mr Singh asserted that the government has taken serious note of the incident. "A formal high-level inquiry has been ordered. The inquiry would determine the exact cause of the said accident," he said.

The defence minister assured the Parliament that the government attaches highest priority to safety and security of the weapon systems. But Mr Singh did not explain why India did not

"I would also like to state that a review of the Standard Operating Procedures for operations, maintenance and inspections is being conducted in the wake of this incident," said Mr Singh. If any shortcoming is found, the same would be immediately rectified, he said.

"I can assure the House that the missile system is very reliable and safe. Moreover, our safety procedures and protocols are of the highest order and are reviewed from time to time," he said.

Mr Singh said that Indian Armed Forces are well-trained and disciplined and are well experienced in handling such systems.

Last week India had admitted that during routine maintenance a technical malfunction led to the accidental firing of a missile which landed 124 kilometres inside Pakistan.

The accidental firing of unarmed BrahMos missile from an Indian Air force base had raised concern as both countries are nuclear armed.

Pakistan military in a press conference had claimed that an unarmed Indian supersonic missile, travelled at a speed of Mach 3.0 had intruded 124 kilometres into Pakistani territory in three minutes and 44 seconds and hit a private property near Mian Channu.
The Queen welcomes Canadas Governor General Mary Simon (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

The Queen has hosted Canadas Governor General for afternoon tea  the day after missing the Commonwealth Day service.

The monarch, 95, carried out the official in-person engagement, welcoming Mary Simon to her Windsor Castle home on Tuesday.

In the Oak Room, the Queen, who is also monarch of Canada, was pictured dressed in a blue and grey paisley-style patterned dress, standing  without her walking stick  as she shook hands with Ms Simon and greeted her husband, the journalist Whit Fraser.

The Queen shakes hands with the Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

The Queens absence from the major Commonwealth event at Westminster Abbey on Monday was understood to be due to comfort rather than a specific illness.

The head of state, who reached her Platinum Jubilee last month, has faced a bout of Covid in recent weeks and also spent more than three months from October on doctors orders to only conduct light duties.

The Governor General is the Queens representative in Canada and acts on the monarchs behalf to uphold the countrys system of responsible government.

Ms Simon, a former ambassador and lifelong advocate for indigenous people, is Canadas first indigenous Governor General.

The monarch chats to her guests (Steve Parsons/PA) (PA Wire)

She took up her post in July in the wake of a scandal over the nations long mistreatment of indigenous people.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Queen held two virtual audiences.

The head of state received the ambassadors of Mongolia and Tajikistan via video-link at her Berkshire royal residence.

Enkhsukh Battumur, Ambassador of Mongolia, and his wife Ganchimeg Purevdorj, are received by the Queen via video-link (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)

Mongolian ambassador Enkhsukh Battumur, in traditional dress, presented his letters of credence as he spoke to the monarch online.

The Queen also greeted Rukhshona Emomali, the republic of Tajikistans diplomat.

On Monday, the Prince of Wales represented his mother in the central London abbey for the annual celebration of the Commonwealth.

Rukhshona Emomali, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan, presents her credentials to the Queen (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)

In her message on Commonwealth Day, the monarch said it had made her happy, during her Platinum Jubilee year, to reaffirm the pledge she made in 1947 as a 21-year-old to devote her life in service.
Woburn, MA (01801)

Today

Cloudy with periods of light rain. Expect mist and reduced visibilities at times. High 54F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 48F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Cayuga County employers filled 22,900 jobs in January, a gain of 300 over the same month of 2021, according to the latest reporting from the state Department of Labor.

The monthly jobs report for the county showed increases in non-farm positions filled by Cayuga County employers in both the private sector, where 100 jobs were added for a total of 17,400, and in government, which posted a 200-job gain to reach 5,500.

A big driver of private-sector job growth was the leisure and hospitality industry, which is starting to gain strength after being impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cayuga County businesses in that industry filled 1,900 positions, a yearly gain of 300, or 18.8%.

Employers adding jobs in Cayuga County also helped contribute to a lower year-over-year unemployment rate. Cayuga County's mark of 4.0% in January was down from 6.6% in the same month of the prior year. In fact, it marked the lowest January rate going back to 1990, the oldest years for which the labor department has jobless rate statistics posted.

The January rate in Cayuga County was lower than both the statewide mark of 5.3% and the national rate of 4.4%. Those figures were not adjusted for seasonal fluctuations.

Cayuga County's rate ranked 24th lowest out of 62 New York state counties. Tompkins County, at 2.8%, had the smallest rate while Bronx County's 10.3% was the largest.

Cayuga County's labor force, the total number of residents employed or unemployed and actively seeking work, was down by 800, reflecting a continue challenge employers in the region face filling jobs. There were 33,300 employed residents in January, representing an annual increase of 100. The number of unemployed residents fell by 900 to 1,400.

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Auburn police are investigating a shooting death outside a city bar early Tuesday morning.

The Auburn Police Department said that John Wesley Smith III, 37, of Syracuse, was found dead in front of Swifty's Tavern, 45 Perrine St., after officers responded to a shots-fired call around 1:40 a.m.

Officers said they found Smith lying outside of the bar, dead from "an apparent gunshot wound." After notifying next of kin, APD issued a press release Tuesday afternoon providing details about the probe and identifying Smith as the victim.

The APD said it has concluded that people either involved in, or who may have knowledge of, the incident fled the scene before officers arrived. The investigation is ongoing, and no additional details were immediately released.

Officers were still outside of Swifty's late Tuesday morning processing evidence. Numerous crime scene evidence markers were visible in front of the tavern and just down the street by an adjacent parking lot.

Police are requesting that anyone "with additional information to include anyone that was in the bar during the shooting incident" to call lead Detective Sean DeRosa at (315) 255-4706 or email him at sderosa@auburnny.gov. Tips can also be made to the APD through the main number, (315) 253-3231, or email communitywatch@auburnny.gov. Tips can be anonymous.

Deputy Police Chief Roger Anthony told The Citizen that since Swifty's is located in a public area, there is a possibility that someone might have seen something regarding the incident or may have video footage of the scene.

Anthony also said police don't believe there's a continuing danger to the community connected with the shooting.

"We don't have any reason to believe this is anything more than an isolated incident," he said.

This is is the APD's first homicide investigation in the city since the death of 36-year-old Joshua Poole at 8 Delevan St. in November 2019. Two of the four defendants in that case, Lucciano Spagnola and Gage Ashley, were sentenced last last year and all four have pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the case.

Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.

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It's not official, but the leader of the state Conservative Party believes U.S. Rep. Chris Jacobs will secure the party's endorsement in the 24th Congressional District race.

New York Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar told The Citizen that Jacobs has "the majority of support within the party."

That assessment is based on endorsements made by local Conservative Party groups. While a few party committees in the 14-county district prefer challengers to Jacobs, the Republican congressman has been endorsed by Conservatives in Cayuga, Erie, Niagara and Orleans counties. Kassar added that Conservatives in Monroe and Oswego counties, along with party members in Jefferson and Livingston counties, are supporting the incumbent.

"I think he represents quite well the principles of the district he has been representing," Kassar said.

Because the district is comprised of multiple counties, the local committees make a recommendation to the state party. The state committee considers the recommendation and makes an endorsement. The state party typically endorses candidates backed by the local leaders.

The Conservative Party's endorsement would be significant for Jacobs, who is facing a few challengers for the Republican nomination. Mario Fratto, Andrew McCarthy and John Murtari are vying for the GOP nod. The primary election will be held June 28.

Fratto and McCarthy have been able to pick off some support from the Republican and Conservative parties. Fratto has been endorsed by the Seneca County Republican Committee and the Conservative Party committees in Genesee and Seneca counties. McCarthy won the Wayne County Conservative Party's backing.

But it's Jacobs who has received most of the endorsements. In addition to his support within the Conservative Party, 10 of the 14 county GOP committees have endorsed his campaign.

Jacobs' opponents paint him as not conservative enough for a district that has over 75,000 more active GOP voters than Democrats. They point to his vote to form a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and his support for stripping U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. Fratto and McCarthy are hoping to win the support of former President Donald Trump, who hasn't endorsed in the race. Trump endorsed Jacobs for Congress in 2020.

On the issues, Kassar says Jacobs "has been good with us."

"To me, it's pretty clear that the (Conservative Party) is heading toward a final endorsement of Chris Jacobs," he said.

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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Small businesses in New York and across the country that received COVID-19 financial assistance from the federal government will have more time to repay the loans.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked Isabel Guzman, who heads the Small Business Administration, to extend the deferment period for businesses that received funding through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

On Tuesday, Schumer announced that SBA granted the request. Businesses will not have to repay the loans for an additional six months. The full deferment period for businesses participating in the program will be 30 months.

It's a major development for more than 330,000 small businesses in New York that received loans through the EIDL program, which was established to assist companies affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In central New York, 4,984 businesses and nonprofit organizations have been approved for loans totaling $470.9 million.

"This will allow our Main Streets to breathe a sigh of relief and ensure that they will not have to take another hit to their bottom line with new loan payments amid ongoing global supply disruptions and economic uncertainty," Schumer said in a statement.

Last week, Schumer wrote a letter to Guzman urging her to extend the deferral period. He noted that after Guzman was confirmed to lead the SBA, she extended the deferral period from 12 to 24 months.

The reason Schumer advocated for the extension is that businesses continue to be affected by the pandemic. They also face other problems, such as supply chain issues and staffing shortages.

"As you know, small businesses are resilient and innovative," he wrote. "The knowledge that debt service will not be a short-term concern is invaluable. Extending the deferment period allows these small businesses to use their cash on hand for operating expenses, pay employees and make long-term planning decisions."

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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The New York State Police are trying to locate a missing teenager thought to be in the Auburn area.

State police are looking for Giovanni A. Spagnola, 15, last seen on Feb. 2 in town of Cicero in Onondaga County, according to a news release. He is described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, weighing 125 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, and he is believed to be in the Auburn area.

Trooper Jack L. Keller, a state police public information officer, told The Citizen Wednesday that Giovanni was reported missing Tuesday by a relative he was living with in Cicero.

"Our main focus is just trying to locate him," Keller said.

Anyone with knowledge on the whereabouts of the teen is asked to contact 911 or call state police Troop D at (315) 366-6000.

Giovanni is a son of Amanda Spagnola, who was in court earlier this month and sentenced to 364 days in Cayuga County Jail on one count of promoting a sexual performance by a child and one count of intimidation. Those sentences are running consecutively, so she is poised to serve about two years in jail.

Another of Amanda Spagnola's children, Lucciano, was sentenced to state prison in December after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the shooting death of 36-year-old Joshua Poole in November 2019. Lucciano was one of four defendants in Poole's death. The Cayuga County District Attorney's Office previously said Amanda Spagnola's intimidation charge was connected to her threatening a witness in the Poole case.

Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or kelly.rocheleau@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @KellyRocheleau.

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Crisis to crisis: To get started you should take a look at the letter to the editor in the Feb. 24 Citizen. This was a well-written synopsis of our southern-border disaster that leads me to the second major disaster the administration has created: our energy crisis.

When Biden came into office our country was pretty much energy independent. Biden immediately reversed many of Trumps policies, mainly relating to keeping the US energy independent from evil actors such as Russia, Iran and the Arab countries. As we all know, or should know, any time you must rely on others for your energy it puts you in a situation where you can be held hostage and manipulated.

Well, here we are, the Woke Green Mob that controls Biden has pushed us to the point that we are buying oil from the Russians and others (as well as the loss of thousands of energy jobs). Now our energy prices are skyrocketing, as well as those products that are affected by petroleum cost and thats just about everything. We and other countries are now buying $700 million a day from Russia, a rich source of funds for Putins war in Ukraine.

When it comes to coal, which the US has almost an endless supply of but few plants if any available for base load and only one in preconstruction. The Green Mob believes this is great for the environment. However, heres what going on around the world (remember the environment is not defined by boarders). Here are the facts, coal plants in preconstruction or under construction by country: China 230, India 48, Indonesia 37, Pakistan 12, Turkey 15 and the US 1. We burn some of the cleanest coal in the world in an environmentally sound manner. The other countries around the world are using dirtier coal and if you believe they will burn it in as clean a manner as the US, you are sadly mistaken.

What the administration has done is to export our energy jobs to other countries, destroyed our energy independence without reducing pollution around the world but making it worse. It appears the Biden Administration has lost their collective mind, their actions will set the US back a decade or more.

Steve Vincent

Auburn

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LOS ANGELESCanadian stars Malik Delgaty and Skyy Knox lead the cast of new Men.com featurette "Hung & Raw Wrestlers," set to debut next week.

The two-part production co-stars Clark Delgaty, Darenger McCarthy and Alex Mecum. We are absolutely thrilled to be releasing this epic series, said Men.com production director Ryan Cash. The whole cast is electrifying. Malik, Skyy, Darenger, Clark and Alex brought their A-game, and all delivered a fantastic performance.

The first scene follows Delgaty and Knox as they face off in the ring. Describes a company synopsis, "Skyy cock-slaps Malik across the face and takes the belt! Two weeks later at Asshole Mania, Malik is ready for his revenge. The wrestlers enter the arena to cheers and jeers, and Malik quickly shows that this time, he's going to be the one dominating. Skyy tries to regain the advantage by squeezing Malik's balls, but to no effect! To the bearded villain's disbelief, Malik effortlessly pushes Skyy to his knees and fucks his face. Malik even picks Skyy up for an upside-down blowjob before bending him over the ropes and fucking him doggie-style. But Skyy won't let the upstart face take his title that easily, tossing Malik to the mat and riding his cock! Malik counters with a piledriver, then cements his victory by pounding the heel in missionary till Skyy cums."

In the second scene, the synopsis adds, "Darenger McCarthy is sure Clark Delgaty's going down during the big Asshole Mania event, after Clark snatched the belt during their last face-off. These two musclebound wrestlers are so heated, they start fighting dirty, and ref Alex Mecum keeps having to separate them. United against the referee's interference, Clark and Darenger join forces to push Alex's face into Darenger's ass, then make him suck both their cocks! The horny wrestlers tag-team the referee right in the middle of the ring until the explosive finale."

"Hung & Raw Wrestlers" begins rolling out on Thursday, March 24, exclusively on Men.com.

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PHOENIXEntrenue is now shipping the latest releases from Dame Products: the angled Com Wand Vibrator, Sex Oil Massage Oil, and pH Balanced Body Wipes. Com marks the first-ever wand vibrator from Dame, and its Sex Oil and Body Wipes round out the company's pleasure product selection with functional intimate accessories.

Com is a waterproof, magnetic USB rechargeable vibrator that features a body-friendly take on the classic wand shape. It also features a flexible neck and Dames most powerful motor to date that delivers five vibration patterns and five levels of intense, rumbly stimulation to any pleasure point it touches. Com also works as an external personal massager for releasing tension and full-body relaxation. This product is available in two colors: Periwinkle (pale blue) and Quartz (pale pink), and retails for $125.

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Dame is also offering an Intimate Touch Bundle; packaged in a bright blue box, it contains three of Dames best-selling products: Arousal Serum, the Pom vibrator, and Alu aloe-based lube.

Entrenue CEOwner Joe Casella said, We love working with Dame and supporting their commitment to sexual wellness activism and equity. Its a joy to bring our customers modern, colorful, sex-positive products from an all-woman management team that is so dedicated and passionate. They recently emerged victorious in their groundbreaking lawsuit against the MTA (look for their ads on NYC subways!) and we are thrilled to celebrate their victory with these new products.

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Don't Miss: What happens in a life when you are afraid to make choices that might hurt those who count on you.

"Listening Still" by Anne Griffin; St. Martin's Press (345 pages, $27.99)



Jeanie's father can hear the final thoughts of the dead. This gift makes him the most sought-after undertaker in their Irish town of Kilcross  he relays messages to the bereaved, reassures the recently passed and sometimes keeps their confessions, almost like a priest.

It's clear at an early age that Jeanie has inherited his gift. She's drawing pictures in the embalming room one afternoon and looks up to chirp that "the lady" wants other music played.

Nobody questions this; Listening to the dead is a gift that runs in her family. But as the book opens it's clear that this gift is about to cement the course of Jeanie's future, whether she wants it to or not.

Her parents are retiring early and moving away, and they are leaving the mortuary to Jeanie and her embalmer husband, Niall. This sends Jeanie into a panic  did she ever actually decide this is what she wanted to do? To stay in the village where she grew up and take over the business? Hadn't she as a young woman fallen in love with globe-trotting photographer Fionn and dreamed of fleeing to London with him?

But instead, the burden of her family's expectations nearly crushing her, she chose to stay and marry sweet, dutiful Niall, who fit into her family perhaps better than she did. Now, at age 32, she finds herself at a crossroads again.

"It was like there was this other, wonderful version of me out there that perhaps I was supposed to be living," she says. But obligation is not shrugged off lightly. Jeanie needs to shut off all other voices (living and dead) and figure out her future once and for all.

In a novel that moves between the past and the present, Anne Griffin (author of the highly praised "When All Is Said") writes about what happens in a life when you are afraid to make choices that might hurt those who count on you  and what happens when you do.

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After a closing scare that threatened to put an end to a 33-year legacy, Flagstaffs Downtown Diner has reopened.

At the helm of the 1950s-style American diner is Mark Gent, son of previous owner and operator Nancy Tracy.

In a previous interview with the Arizona Daily Sun, Tracy had expressed hope, albeit uncertainty, that the business would remain in the family, even though she could no longer operate it. Gent said taking over the diner was an easy decision.

I was raised in this restaurant, he said. It was run by multiple generations in my family.

Even before it was run by Gents family, the diner, which reopened Thursday, had a presence under operation by the Choi family.

To Gent, inheriting Downtown Diner means staying true to its roots. His aim is being here for the community and keeping the staple here for all the customers who have been coming here for 50, 60 years.

Isidro Padilla is one such customer, who has been ordering his favorite dish  the classic burger and fries  for at least 50 years, or since Riordan Mansion was on the edge of town. He was grateful to learn that Downtown Diner would survive.

Diners like this, little hometown things, are fading down, he said, and lamented the spread of corporate fast food Burger Kings and all that.

As he tucked into his lunch, seated in a red vinyl booth, Padilla praised the superiority of Downtown Diners burger.

Theres the size, for one thing, he said. And the quality. You can tell its not a boxed-up, frozen burger.

Gent hopes to preserve and improve upon the quality of food that has kept folks like Padilla coming through the doors. He plans on refining the menu, for instance, to limit what we have and make everything else better.

For the most part, however, hes sticking to the tried and true.

That goes for employees as well as menu items. In the kitchen is Jose Tabares, who has been faithfully preparing Downtown Diners menu for 18 years. To Gent, Tabares is more valuable than we could ever speak. Waiting tables is Karlee Carlson, re-hired by Gent after the establishment's brief period of closure.

During the closure period, Carlson said, she went through the seven stages of grief. Now that Downtown Diner has re-opened, shes overjoyed.

Its a dream, Carlson said. Best job I ever had," adding that the customers are what she loves most.

They come from all over the world, she said, and she often strikes up conversation. Carlson is a student at Northern Arizona University, but said the diners capacity to attract tourism, coupled with its deep roots in the community, offer her opportunity beyond her experience as a student.

I meet more people here and make better connections than I do in college, she said with a laugh. Downtown Diner also connected Carlson with her new favorite dish: French toast. I usually throw some chocolate chips on it, she said. Game-changer. Excellent.

In the near future, Gent could be looking to hire more help. He also hopes to reconnect with community partnerships, such as the Flagstaff Auto Museum and potentially NAU Swing Jacks, who hosted swing lessons in the diners backroom once upon a time.

To all, Gent offers an open invite.

Were here, he said. Come by, support us, and well make sure you leave happy and well-fed.

Sean Golightly can be reached at sgolightly@azdailysun.com

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The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) released public school enrollment data for the 2021-2022 school year, showing an increase in both Coconino County and Arizona overall, though it was more mixed in Flagstaff schools.

The report compiles Oct. 1 enrollment data for schools, districts and counties across the state, as well as Arizona as a whole.

Enrollment rose 1.8% in Arizona overall (by about 20,300 students). District enrollment rose 2.75% across the state this school year, yet charter school enrollment fell by 0.62%.

Coconino County reported a total of 17,185 students in 2022, an increase from 16,869 last year. Student enrollment is similar from kindergarten through sixth grade, rising slightly in seventh grade and again in high school. Ninth grade had the highest enrollment at 1,648. A total of 227 students were enrolled in preschool across the county.

White (37.4%) and American Indian/Native Alaskan (35.6%) students accounted for the highest percentages in Coconino County, followed by Hispanic/Latino students (21.5%).

Flagstaff Unified School District's Oct. 1 enrollment figure increased by a little more 100 students this year, bumping up to 9,094. After a decrease of less than 100 students in the 2019-2020 school year, the district's enrollment fell to 8,945 in the 2020-2021 school year. Prior to that year, FUSD consistently had an enrollment of at least 9,600 since the 2012-2013 school year. Its highest enrollment in the last decade was 9,844 in 2015-2016.

The district's board receives a report on enrollment at each meeting, with totals broken down by school for every 10 days. Its enrollment has been falling throughout the school year, according to these reports, with 9,156 students reported on the 40th day of school (Oct. 7) and 8,985 in the most recent report (Feb. 22, the 120th day of school). State funding is determined by a school's 100th day enrollment -- which is 9,007 students this year.

Enrollment at most Flagstaff charter schools fell slightly this school year, continuing trends from recent years. This was the case for Montessori, the Mountain School and Northland Preparatory Academy. Enrollment also fell at Flagstaff Junior Academy and Basis Flagstaff, but both schools reported an increase the previous year.

With the exception of Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (2020-2021) and Basis (2017-2018), Flagstaff charter schools reported their lowest enrollment levels in the past five years in the 2021-2022 school year. While FJA followed the trend of slightly declining pre-pandemic enrollment, enrollment as Basis had been rising after an increase of almost 200 students in the 2017-2018 school year. FALA also experienced an increase (of around 50 students) that year, though its enrollment had been declining through the 2020-2021 school year. Its enrollment rose this year, by 20 students.

Though school size increased according to level, FUSD's elementary, middle and high schools had similar enrollment rates by grade level. The district reported a total of 3,892 elementary students, averaging 389 per school, with DeMiguel having the most students (566) and Leupp the fewest (134). It had a total of 1,777 middle school students (720 at Mount Elden Middle School and 1057 at Sinagua Middle School), 3,338 high-schoolers (1,699 at Flagstaff High School, 1,552 at Coconino High School and 87 at Summit), with 87 students enrolled in the Northern Arizona Distance Learning program.

FUSD's enrollment by grade level was similar in kindergarten through eighth grade, rising to a higher, though still consistent, level in high school. Ninth grade had the most students (918) and sixth grade had the lowest (558). A total of 96 students were enrolled in preschool through the district.

FUSD's enrollment by ethnicity was similar to that in Coconino County schools overall. White students accounted for the largest percentage (39.4%), followed by Hispanic/Latino (29.8%) and American Indian/Alaska Native students (25.5%). This is the same order as both last year and 10 years ago, although the percentages have been adjusting closer to each other.

While we have more work to do to fully return our student counts to pre-pandemic levels, the trend is now moving in the right direction, said Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffma of the states enrollment numbers. It is imperative for the state to be laser-focused on providing resources to classrooms, and recruiting and retaining qualified educators to meet the needs of our students.

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Twenty years ago, in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, the CIA established an international torture programme rendering people to secret detention facilities around the world. The full horror of what took place in these black sites is still emerging.

We already know of mock executions and sexual violence; of a detainee waterboarded 83 times in a month; of a man dying during an interrogation and another of hypothermia after being left almost naked on a bare concrete floor  on top of the regular use of pain, humiliation and sleep deprivation. This week, we learned that Ammar al-Baluchi suffered brain damage when he was repeatedly slammed against a plywood wall by trainee interrogators using him as a teaching prop. They queued up to hit his head so that the instructor could certify them on their ability to use the technique.

The details emerged in a damning report written by the CIAs own inspector general in 2008, but only now released following a court filing. The war on terror became an end that was used to justify any means  but never openly. Torture was rebranded as enhanced interrogation techniques. Interrogators sought assurances that a detainee would remain in isolation and incommunicado for the remainder of his life before they started work. The programme was pointless as well as brutal. The inspector general noted that the detainee lied to make the torture stop  in line with the 2014 Senate intelligence committee report that found that interrogations frequently produced false testimony (while non-coercive methods elicited useful information). At least 26 of 119 detainees were wrongly held in the first place.

Mr Baluchi now faces the death penalty as one of five men at Guantanamo Bay charged with participation in the September 11 plot. The case has been in pre-trial hearings for 10 years, largely due to disputes over the admissibility of testimony obtained after torture. Last week, another Guantanamo detainee  Mohammad Ahmad al-Qahtani, who was suspected of planning to join the plot  was repatriated to Saudi Arabia for mental health treatment. The US dropped plans to try him after concluding he had been tortured at the facility.

Despite our growing knowledge, we are still very far from a full acknowledgement of what took place  let alone accountability for it. The supreme court recently blocked two psychologists who designed the programme from being called in a case in Poland, where one of the black sites was located. The 2014 Senate report has never been released in full, though there are now renewed calls for its publication. In the UK, parliaments intelligence and security committee produced damning reports on British involvement in kidnap and torture in 2018, but the government refused to launch a judge-led inquiry into UK complicity in the programme.

On Tuesday, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism issued a scathing report on the failure to address the atrocities. Not a single man who was rendered across borders, tortured, arbitrarily detained, separated from family has received an adequate remedy, Fionnuala Ni Aolain said. Many who were returned home continue to live with long-term social and psychological trauma. No one was held accountable for systematic practices of torture and rendition.

This is not only about an injustice to individuals. The rapporteur suggests that the refusal to acknowledge what happened has helped create an environment in which there appears to be impunity for states conducting mass secret detention. An honest reckoning would help to debunk the dangerous myth that torture works and claims that national security requires unfettered powers used in secrecy. It is an essential part of ensuring such crimes are not committed again.
12

Preparing for Defeat

----Francis Fukuyama, 10 Mar 2022, 4:03 pm



Im writing this from Skopje, North Macedonia, where Ive been for the last week teaching one of our Leadership Academy for Development courses. Following the Ukraine war is no different here in terms of available information, except that Im in an adjacent time zone, and the fact that there is more support for Putin in the Balkans than in other parts of Europe. A lot of the latter is due to Serbia, and Serbia's hosting of Sputnik.

Ill stick my neck out and make several prognostications:

1. Russia is heading for an outright defeat in Ukraine. Russian planning was incompetent, based on a flawed assumption that Ukrainians were favorable to Russia and that their military would collapse immediately following an invasion. Russian soldiers were evidently carrying dress uniforms for their victory parade in Kyiv rather than extra ammo and rations. Putin at this point has committed the bulk of his entire military to this operationthere are no vast reserves of forces he can call up to add to the battle. Russian troops are stuck outside various Ukrainian cities where they face huge supply problems and constant Ukrainian attacks.

2. The collapse of their position could be sudden and catastrophic, rather than happening slowly through a war of attrition. The army in the field will reach a point where it can neither be supplied nor withdrawn, and morale will vaporize. This is at least true in the north; the Russians are doing better in the south, but those positions would be hard to maintain if the north collapses.

3. There is no diplomatic solution to the war possible prior to this happening. There is no conceivable compromise that would be acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine given the losses they have taken at this point.

4. The United Nations Security Council has proven once again to be useless. The only helpful thing was the General Assembly vote, which helps to identify the worlds bad or prevaricating actors.

5. The Biden administrations decisions not to declare a no-fly zone or help transfer Polish MiGs were both good ones; they've kept their heads during a very emotional time. It is much better to have the Ukrainians defeat the Russians on their own, depriving Moscow of the excuse that NATO attacked them, as well as avoiding all the obvious escalatory possibilities. The Polish MiGs in particular would not add much to Ukrainian capabilities. Much more important is a continuing supply of Javelins, Stingers, TB2s, medical supplies, comms equipment, and intel sharing. I assume that Ukrainian forces are already being vectored by NATO intelligence operating from outside Ukraine.

6. The cost that Ukraine is paying is enormous, of course. But the greatest damage is being done by rockets and artillery, which neither MiGs nor a no-fly zone can do much about. The only thing that will stop the slaughter is defeat of the Russian army on the ground.

7. Putin will not survive the defeat of his army. He gets support because he is perceived to be a strongman; what does he have to offer once he demonstrates incompetence and is stripped of his coercive power?

8. The invasion has already done huge damage to populists all over the world, who prior to the attack uniformly expressed sympathy for Putin. That includes Matteo Salvini, Jair Bolsonaro, Eric Zemmour, Marine Le Pen, Viktor Orban, and of course Donald Trump. The politics of the war has exposed their openly authoritarian leanings.

9. The war to this point has been a good lesson for China. Like Russia, China has built up seemingly high-tech military forces in the past decade, but they have no combat experience. The miserable performance of the Russian air force would likely be replicated by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force, which similarly has no experience managing complex air operations. We may hope that the Chinese leadership will not delude itself as to its own capabilities the way the Russians did when contemplating a future move against Taiwan.

10. Hopefully Taiwan itself will wake up as to the need to prepare to fight as the Ukrainians have done, and restore conscription. Lets not be prematurely defeatist.

11. Turkish drones will become bestsellers.

12. A Russian defeat will make possible a new birth of freedom, and get us out of our funk about the declining state of global democracy. The spirit of 1989 will live on, thanks to a bunch of brave Ukrainians.
After a two year hiatus driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 14th Empty Bowls Luncheon came back to Beatrice with a passion.

The fundraiser for the Beatrice Backpack Program drew more than 200 attendees to Vintage Venue for the March 16 luncheon and raised over $40,000.

Its just great to be back, Patty Kaufman, the Backpack Program coordinator, said. Im so happy were able to have this again. The community support for this event is tremendous. Everything is donated. It seems like we raise just the right amount of money every year. Its amazing to see it all come together.

The Beatrice Backpack Program reaches 125 kids suffering from food insecurity. The program gets the food from the Food Bank of Lincoln

We partner with the Beatrice community to provide food that goes into the backpacks for children, Michaella Kumke, president and CEO at Food Bank of Lincoln, said. There 125 kids who receive a food-filled backpack each Friday throughout the school year... We bring the food down to Beatrice, and [Backpack Program volunteers] do the packing.

Kumke said rotating menus of food go in the backpacks, but they typically include things like granola bars, pastas, pancake mix and fresh produce.

We want it to be healthy and familiar, she said.

Kumke said the events large attendance testifies to the generosity of the Beatrice community.

I think its proof that this community cares for its own, she said. When you see a gathering like this, it is proof that they believe in the children. They understand that they need that food.

Empty Bowls Luncheon takes its name from the ceramic bowls that line the table near the entrance of Vintage Venue during the event.

The empty bowls signify the empty bowls were filling at home, Kaufman said.

The bowls glistened in the glow of the 72 degree, blue-sky day. Their various shapes and patterns, molded by local artists including students at Southeast Community College, turned in the hands of attendees.

With a $25 donation, attendees got a meal and one of the bowls to take home.

Kaufman expressed her gratitude for the events many sponsors and volunteers. Everything from the soup to the bowls to the cinnamon rolls came to luncheon without charge.

It takes so many people to make this run, she said. We started with 25 backpacks, and now were up to 125 backpacks.

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A Billings man admitted to trafficking more than 9,500 fentanyl pills, nearly a pound of heroin and methamphetamine from Denver to Montana in federal court Tuesday.

Eric Charles Swan, 44, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute controlled substances in U.S. District Court after reaching an agreement with prosecutors. He could be sentenced to life in prison and face a fine of up to $10 million, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson.

Federal prosecutors indicted Swan and co-defendant Elizabeth Ardelle Grace Ronshaugen in December 2021 on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute. The charges came after Billings law enforcement had started investigating Swans possible drug dealing about a year prior, according to a criminal complaint filed in November 2021.

Billings police stopped a vehicle driven by Swan on suspicion of a traffic violation in late December 2020, the complaint stated. After receiving a search warrant for the vehicle, officers allegedly found about 50 grams of heroin, 31 grams of methamphetamine and nearly $3,800 in cash. A subsequent search of Swans phone on a warrant showed an alleged drug distribution network, along with evidence of a relationship with Ronshaugen.

Local agents assigned to the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force continued to receive tips about Swans drug dealing through 2021. In September of that year, officers with the Billings Police Department SWAT Team executed a search warrant of a residence believed to be occupied by Swan and Ronshaugen. Inside the home, they found Ronshaugen, along with meth, heroin and several firearms, according to charges.

Officers interviewed two people in November 2021 who said they bought narcotics regularly from Swan, according to the criminal complaint. One person claimed to buy fentanyl pills every two weeks at $15 apiece. Another said Swan travels to Denver to buy bulk quantities of fentanyl, heroine and meth.

That same month, investigators were granted a search warrant to track Swans cell phone. Historical cell tower data showed Swan made two trips from Billings to Denver and back between September and November 2021, according to court docs. The data also showed Swan was on his way back from Denver in mid-November.

By coordinating with Wyoming law enforcement, officers stopped the Swan's sedan near Buffalo, Wyo. He was traveling with Ronshaugen, and police took both to the Johnson County jail. Following a search, the two were allegedly carrying pills suspected to be fentanyl. The criminal complaint also said Wyoming law enforcement found 9,616 suspected fentanyl pills, prescription pain killers, nearly 467 grams of heroin and about 103 grams of meth. Officers also found about $9,775 in cash, according to charges.

Task force officers interviewed Ronshaugen on November 17. The 29-year-old allegedly said she and Swan had traveled to Denver to pick up the drugs and sell them in Billings, and that she was on her fourth trip back from Denver at the time of her arrest.

In March of this year, Swan entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. In exchange for pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute, according to the agreement, prosecutors will dismiss the charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute drugs. The court will also require that Swan forfeit any assets connected to his drug dealing network.

Swan is scheduled to appear for sentencing July 1, 2022. He is currently in custody at Yellowstone County Detention Facility.

Yellowstone County prosecutors previously charged Swan in Aril 2020 with criminal possession of dangerous drugs after Billings police found a syringe on his person filled with a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, according to those charges. He pleaded guilty to the charge in September 2020, reaching an agreement with county prosecutors, who recommended a sentence of five years to the Montana Department of Corrections and a $1,500 fine. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest when he did not appear for sentencing, which is now slated to occur after his federal sentencing.

Ronshaugen pleaded not guilty to both drug charges at her arraignment in January 2022. However, she is scheduled to appear for a change of plea hearing March 22.

The same day that Swan pleaded guilty in federal court, a Billings man was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison for trafficking methamphetamine into Billings. Joel Zamora, 41, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to distribute after officers caught him traveling on Interstate 90 with nearly a pound of meth, the DoJ stated.

The drug unit with BPD seized nearly 32,000 pill dose units of fentanyl in 2021, BPD Lt. Matt Lennick told the Gazette on Wednesday via email, along with nearly 1,550 grams of fentanyl powder. As of Feb. 28, 2022, BPD had seized 304 pill dose units and over 2,000 grams of fentanyl powder, already surpassing the amount of powder seized for all of 2021. Those numbers do not include the narcotics seized by K9 units and general patrol officers.

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(CNN)  A New York woman was punched more than 125 times in the head and face and stomped on seven times by a man who had allegedly called her a racial slur, the Yonkers Police Department said in a news release Monday.

The victim, a 67-year-old Asian woman, was returning home Friday evening when she saw the suspect, whom police identified as Tammel Esco, 42, in front of her building. Esco allegedly used the racial slur as she passed him, police said in the release.

Police responded to the scene at around 6:11 p.m. Friday, found Esco outside the apartment building and placed him into custody without incident, according to the release.

He was arraigned in a Yonkers City Court on Saturday and held in custody at Westchester County Jail, the release said.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people in the U.S. have been victims of anti-Asian incidents, from verbal abuse to physical attacks.

From March 19, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2021, a total of 10,905 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people were reported to Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that tracks reports of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

In the Friday incident, the victim ignored Esco and entered the vestibule of her apartment building, according to police. But as she attempted to open the second door to enter the lobby, Esco allegedly approached her from behind and punched her in the head, knocking her to the floor, the release said.

In surveillance video of the assault, a man identified by police as Esco is seen punching a woman in both the head and face more than 125 times and then stomping her with his foot seven times. Police said he then spat on her.

The woman suffered multiple contusions and lacerations to her head and face, facial bone fractures, and bleeding on the brain, according to the news release. She was taken to a trauma center and was listed in stable condition, according to police.

Esco is charged with two felonies  attempted murder and assault in the second degree involving a victim 65 or older  online court records show. Each count is charged as a hate crime, according to the release.

His next court date is slated for March 25.

Yonkers is a city of more than 211,000 people in the New York City suburbs, about 17 miles north of Manhattan.

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A Fort Kipp woman appeared in federal court Tuesday after being charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter.

Jo Anne Sayetsitty, 34, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to an allegation that she struck a man with a vehicle, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson.

Federal prosecutors allege that on Aug. 22, 2019, Sayetsitty hit and ran over a man upon a quarrel or heat of passion, with extreme disregard for human life on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. She was indicted in February 2022. The FBI and Fort Peck Tribal Law Enforcement investigated the case.

Sayetsitty was released from custody Tuesday, per the conditions that she not consume any drugs or alcohol, possess any firearms and that she only leave the state with prior permission from the United States Probation Office in Glasgow.

If convicted, Sayetsitty could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison and face a $250,000 fine. Sayetsitty currently has a trial date set for May 17, and has until May 3 to reach a plea agreement.

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Jim Brown, the president of the Montana Public Service Commission, has entered the race for a seat on the Montana Supreme Court.

Brown's campaign is against Justice Ingrid Gustafson's bid for re-election and challenger Mike McMahon, a district court judge in Lewis and Clark County.

"The reason I'm running for this position is because folks from Montana reached out to me in the last several weeks after seeing who had filed for the Supreme Court and asked me to consider running," Brown said Tuesday. That included, Brown said, his clients, colleagues, friends, district court judges and trade associations.

Brown, a 51-year-old from Dillon, was elected to the PSC as a Republican in 2020. He is a private attorney and former lobbyist for the Montana Wool Growers Association.

The concerns about his opponents that sparked his campaign, Brown said, include a biennial review by the Montana Chamber of Commerce of the Montana Supreme Court released in 2020 ranking justices by how business-friendly the chamber deemed their rulings.

"Justice Gustafson scored the lowest of any of the sitting justices in terms of judicial score on pro-business matters," Brown said. "She scored a 64% which would be a D, if you're applying that to grades."

McMahon, meanwhile, has drawn the ire of Brown's supporters for his rulings in both civil and criminal matters. McMahon ruled against the Legislature's so-called campus carry bill, which would have, in part, prohibited the Montana Board of Regents from regulating firearms on college campuses. Brown also mentioned McMahon's ruling in the negligent homicide case of Gregg Trude; during sentencing McMahon revealed that he had a relationship with the victim in the case and the Supreme Court's sentencing review division later found his sentence was "clearly excessive."

McMahon has stood by his rulings and referred to his judicial philosophy as being that of a "strict constructionist."

Gustafson, meanwhile, has pushed back against criticism of her rulings, saying her record has been "consistent and reliable."

Brown is the only candidate who is not a sitting judge, but he has been a practicing attorney for 17 years and, after graduating from law school in Seattle, clerked for the Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court.

The PSC is a five-member quasi-judicial body that regulates monopoly utilities, and Brown said that process should translate to the high court.

"That means we engage in judicial-like functions," Brown said. " Essentially, we serve the same function as district court judges because we do findings of fact and conclusions of law and hear testimony from witnesses and rule on procedural matters and evidentiary matters."

Brown has been leading the PSC for a little more than a year. In episodes that happened before he was elected, the agency fielded broad criticism for an internal email-spying scandal and a financial compliance audit that revealed falsified documents and lax spending practices. Brown said he believes his time spent on the commission so far has helped settle the discord between members.

Asked what he might say to voters who see his campaign for the Supreme Court, roughly a year into his term at the PSC, as abandoning his post, Brown said he didn't take the question lightly.

"That's an equation I certainly took into account when people were reaching out to me to run," he said. "I felt like the experience I bring to the court can do a lot of positive things for the court system in Montana. It's all about public service and moving the state forward."

Brown has also been the staff attorney for the state Republican party and once represented Western Tradition Partnership, the so-called "dark money" group that challenged Montana's election disclosure laws. The group's challenge reached the U.S. Supreme Court and won based on the Citizens United ruling that allowed unlimited spending by corporations in elections. Brown and other Republicans have heralded the ruling as a win for free speech.

"My entire career has been spent representing agriculture, agricultural producers and small businesses, and fighting for the constitutional rights of Montanans," Brown said Tuesday. " The Supreme Court position is one of the most important positions in Montana because the determination of individual rights and the range of constitutional protections and also because an orderly court system is important to resolve disputes between parties, and I think my background on the Public Service Commission for the last 14 months shows that I'm in a uniquely qualified position to strengthen the Montana Supreme Court."

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South Africa: More state funds will be recovered - SIU

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says it is awaiting Special Tribunal adjudication on cases that could recover at least R2 billion which has been looted from public coffers.

This after the Special Tribunal ordered software company SAP to pay back at least R413 million to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) after a licensing and support agreement between the two parties was declared unconstitutional and invalid.

According to SIU spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago, the judgement serves as a warning for errant public servants and private companies.

The SIU and DWS welcome the Special Tribunal order as it sends strong message to officials and companies doing business with the state that collusion and unethical business practice will not be rewarded.

The outcome of the Special Tribunal order is a continuation of implementation of the SIU investigation outcomes and consequence management to recover financial losses suffered by state institutions. There are other matters enrolled in the Special Tribunal which are still awaiting adjudication to the combined value of R2.1 billion and will result in further recoveries for the state, he said.

Kganyago added that department officials that were involved in the dodgy SAP contracts will not escape scrutiny.

[The] SIU made disciplinary referrals to DWS against two senior officials. The SIU was informed that DC against one senior official has been concluded and judgment is expected within this week, while the DWS is considering disciplinary action against the other official.

The SIU has also referred evidence pointing towards criminality to the National Prosecuting Authority, Asset Forfeiture Unit and South African Revenue Service, Kganyago said.- SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
There is only one thing worse than listening to an American citizen propose that we cut up the U.S. Bill of Rights, and that is listening to an American citizen propose that we cut up the U.S. Bill of Rights while pretending they are doing no such thing.

In The Boston Globe last December, Professor Mary Anne Franks did precisely this. As part of a symposium on the U.S. Constitution, Franks argued that Americans should seek to edit the deeply flawed First and Second Amendments so that they are less aggressively individualistic. The first two provisions within the U.S. Bill of Rights, she concluded, are highly susceptible to being read in isolation from the Constitution as a whole and from its commitments to equality and the collective good. And so, they must go.

There is, of course, a reason that the First and Second Amendments tend to be interpreted in aggressively individualistic ways, and that reason is that the First and Second Amendments are aggressively individualistic rightsthat is their purpose, their point, their function. A First or Second Amendment that was not aggressively individualistic would be of no use whatsoever. It would be a dead letternot worth the paper it was written on.

Franks piece is filled to the brim with euphemisms that all mean the same thing in practice. She suggests that, instead of interpreting the First Amendment as we do currently, we should resolve any conflicts that arise in accordance with the principle of equality and dignity of all persons. This means that the First Amendment should have no teeth [...] .....
WASHINGTON  The Senate unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that would make daylight saving time permanent across the United States next year.

The bipartisan bill, named the Sunshine Protection Act, would ensure Americans would no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. But the bill still needs approval from the House, and the signature of President Joe Biden, to become law.

"No more switching clocks, more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work, and more smiles  that is what we get with permanent Daylight Saving Time," Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, the original cosponsor of the legislation, said in a statement.

Markey was joined on the chamber floor by senators from both parties as they made the case for how making daylight saving time permanent would have positive effects on public health and the economy and even cut energy consumption.

"Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary," Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: Americans want more sunshine and less depression  people in this country, all the way from Seattle to Miami, want the Sunshine Protection Act," Sen. Patty Murray of Washington added.

Nearly a dozen states across the U.S. have already standardized daylight saving time.

In Montana, lawmakers passed a bill last year that would let the state move to permanent daylight saving time. It required at least three other Western states to pass legislation to move to year-round daylight saving time and Congress passed a bill to allow states to observe daylight saving time year-round, in addition to getting an okay from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Information from the National Conference of State Legislatures shows Washington, Idaho and Wyoming have passed bills to allow for permanent daylight saving time.

Montana lawmakers also passed a joint resolution calling on Congress to enact year-round daylight saving time.

Daylight saving time is defined as a period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the country are set one hour ahead of standard time. Americans last changed their clocks on Sunday. Standard time lasts for roughly four months in most of the country.

Members of Congress have long been interested in the potential benefits and costs of daylight saving time since it was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. The proposal will now go to the House, where the Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing to discuss possible legislation last week.

Rep. Frank Pallone, the chairman of the committee, agreed in his opening statement at the hearing that it is "time we stop changing our clocks." But he said he was undecided about whether daylight saving time or standard time is the way to go.

Markey said Tuesday, "Now, I call on my colleagues in the House of Representatives to lighten up and swiftly pass the Sunshine Protection Act."

 The Montana State News Bureau contributed to this story.

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Missoulas first known resident grizzly bear family may awake from hibernation to a crowd.

Although the sow and three cubs of the year havent yet been seen this spring in the mountains around Snowbowl Ski Resort, a group of activists have already sent letters to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and other state and federal officials calling for the grizzlies protection.

And although the quartet has a record of raiding human food sources in the Lavalle Creek drainage northwest of Missoula, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks biologists have no pre-set plans for what to do when the bears emerge from their winter den. Theyre not even sure where that den is.

Were trying to be ahead of the situation, said Brett Haverstick of Wilderness Watch, one of 26 environmental and conservation organization members who wrote to Haaland, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams and FWS Grizzly Recovery Coordinator Hilary Cooley about the family group. "Those bears are much more valuable alive than dead  particularly the female. If they get into any human food, that kill order might be sought. We think theyre not only essential for our community and identity, but also for what bears mean for biological recovery and the future of grizzly connectivity in the Northern Rockies bioregion. Theyre particularly important for dispersal into the Bitterroots.

The letter suggests relocating the grizzlies to the Sapphire, Pintler or John Long mountain ranges southeast of Missoula. That region lies outside the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which has around 1,000 resident grizzly bears. It is also outside the Bitterroot Ecosystem, an area designated for grizzly recovery along the Montana-Idaho border wilderness and roadless areas.

FWP Region 2 bear manager Jamie Jonkel said the mother bear has no radio collar or DNA details on file. However, he suspects the sow is the same one that broke into a LaValle Creek chicken coop in 2020, and then did it again exactly a year later in 2021. Last fall, that grizzly and her cubs were tracked breaking into several food sites, including an unoccupied cabin with freezers full of rotting meat.

Jonkel said as of this spring the grizzly and her offspring arent considered conflict animals  yet.

If she comes back out of hibernation and doesnt break into a house immediately, well go out of our way to relocate her or give her another chance, Jonkel said. But once you get a bear breaking and entering home sites, you cant really relocate that to another community. And she learned some bad stuff last fall. If I have to set a trap for a bear that ripped open the front door of a house, that would be a conflict bear.

To complicate matters, the Legislature passed a new law prohibiting state FWP bear managers from relocating a grizzly captured in a conflict situation. That means the state staff must contact federal FWS bear personnel to move the bear, kill it at the site or let it go.

Relocating grizzlies that have become habituated to human food has multiple complications. Some grizzlies return to concentrating on natural food sources and avoid future trouble. Others seek out the first sack of dog food they smell.

Bear managers also have to consider the existing occupants of a relocation site. Jonkel said the last thing he wants to do is move a trouble-prone grizzly bear into a place where people have never had resident grizzlies  and whose food may not be bear-proofed.

Grizzly bears have been spotted and tracked along the northern fringe of the Missoula Valley for at least a decade, but few appear to have denned or become active users of the area. Thats likely to change as the bears explore southern routes into the Bitterroots and the remote areas extending toward the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to the southeast and the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem to the northwest.

To get ahead of that, a group of Missoula volunteers have started organizing a Bear Smart Community project aimed at keeping both people and grizzlies safe. Retired FWS grizzly recovery coordinator Chris Servheen is one of the project leaders.

We need to get off the idea that you just call FWP and they magically make bears disappear, Servheen said. Thats just the symptom. Responding afterward is not the solution to the problem. Its just a never-ending bunch of dead bears.

Bear Smart was developed in British Columbia, and has been successfully deployed in Red Lodge, Virginia City and soon Whitefish. Its first step is to map problem areas  locations like the Rattlesnake, Grant Creek, Butler Creek and Pattee Canyon areas where chicken coops, compost piles, orchards and other bear attractants proliferate.

The next step is an action plan to raise community awareness of the problem and encourage better behavior. Servheen said it would build on Missoulas Be Bear Aware effort, which developed a buffer zone around the city with enforceable ordinances to discourage leaving attractants where bears can get them.

We need to get everybody in the community to feel theyre part of the solution to this, Servheen said. Bears are not an expendable commodity. We can do better than that.

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A man convicted in the shooting death of Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore in 2017 will be sentenced to the Montana State Prison instead of spending more time at the Montana State Hospital.

Thats the bottom line of a judges ruling, finding Tuesday that Lloyd Barrus was paranoid in the days leading up to the crimes but could understand the criminality or wrongfulness of his actions.

A jury in Butte found Barrus guilty of deliberate homicide by accountability in Moores death, and of two counts of attempted deliberate homicide for a subsequent high-speed chase and shootout he and his son Marshall Barrus had with police. Marshall Barrus was mortally wounded in the shootout.

After the verdict, defense attorneys argued that Barrus should remain at the state psychiatric hospital because he suffers from delusional disorders and could not appreciate the criminality of his actions at the time.

They tried to make that case during a two-day hearing in January. But on Tuesday, District Judge Kathy Seeley said they failed.

Defendant almost immediately complied upon arrest, Seeley wrote in a 16-page ruling. He made statements indicating he knew he had committed a crime. He expressed surprise that he had not been shot.

The defense has failed to meet its burden to show that defendant did not appreciate the criminality of his behavior or that he was unable to conform his behavior to the requirements of the law.

Seeley has yet to set a sentencing date, but Barrus future place of incarceration has been settled. He faces up to life in prison.

The case was prosecuted by Montana Department of Justice Attorneys Dan Guzynski and Stephanie Robles and Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson, with help from several others. They wanted Barrus sentenced to the state prison in Deer Lodge.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen issued a statement Tuesday afternoon praising Seeleys ruling.

Im proud that our DOJ prosecutors helped hold this dangerous criminal accountable for his actions and put him in prison where he belongs, he said. Throughout this trial our team has been committed to finding justice for Broadwater County Deputy Mason Moore, his family, and all victims involved. Im glad the court agreed with us and made the right decision today.

Prosecutors say Lloyd and Marshall Barrus were on a suicide mission and shortly after 2 a.m. on May 16, 2017, they provoked Deputy Moore by passing him on U.S. 287 south of Townsend driving 100 mph. They were in a Chevy Suburban Lloyd Barrus was driving.

They say Moore was struck in the face by a bullet through his windshield, his car stopped in the grass just south of Three Forks, and he was alive until the Suburban returned four minutes later and additional gunshots from a semi-automatic rifle ended his life.

Butte-Silver Bow police spotted the Suburban moving westbound on I-90 about an hour later and started a 90-mile chase, ending in a shootout in Missoula County. Bullets fired from the Suburban knocked two Butte patrol cars from the pursuit, but by then troopers and police from several counties were involved.

Marshall Barrus was shot and later died at a hospital. Lloyd Barrus was arrested at the scene.

The trial was held in Butte because of pretrial publicity in Broadwater County, and jurors heard several days of testimony before convicting Barrus on Sept. 21.

Prosecutors say Lloyd Barrus had strong anti-government and pro-militia views which played a part in that days events.

Defense attorneys said their client was only trying to avoid a DUI and keep his son out of more legal troubles when the chase with Moore began, and suggested there was no proof he turned the Suburban around and had a direct role in Moores death. The jury determined otherwise.

Barrus mental health was one reason the case took so long to go to trial. He was diagnosed with delusional disorder and mixed personality disorder with antisocial and narcissistic features, and addictions to alcohol and marijuana.

He was found unfit to stand trial and refused to take antipsychotic drugs to treat his delusional disorder, which manifests in the belief he is either Jesus Christ or Archangel Michael, according to Virginia Hill, head psychiatrist at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs.

Seeley ordered that Barrus be given antipsychotic medications via injection to render him competent to stand trial and aid his defense, since he refused to take the drugs orally. His trial began on Sept. 9 last year.

Seeley said she had to evaluate the persuasiveness of two opposed expert opinions in deciding whether Barrus understood the criminality of his actions that day, and if he should be sent to prison or remain in custody of state health officials.

Hill believed Barrus knew his actions were criminal but said he was unable to appreciate the criminality of his behavior. In other words, he could not comprehend the legal or moral impact of his crime due to mental disorder. Dr. Alan Newman, psychiatrist at the California Pacific Medical Center, disagreed.

Seeley said Hill had treated Barrus at the state hospital for more than four years, but during the hearing in January, it appeared she had become an advocate for her patient. Newmans opinion was not clouded by a long-term doctor/patient relationship, the judge said.

Seeley also cited evidence in the case.

Among other things, she said, Barrus was aware they had passed a law enforcement vehicle speeding and knew Marshall was firing at the officer. Then he turned the Suburban around and returned to the scene, where Marshall fired more shots into Moores car.

Defendants own statements indicate he and Marshall returned because Marshall did not want to face criminal charges, she wrote. This is evidence of defendants appreciation of the criminality of their actions. The only reasonable interpretation of this statement is that Marshall did not intend to leave a witness.

She cited numerous other examples and said Barrus now takes medication because Hill told him he would have to do so to remain at the state hospital.

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Montanans value our relationships and our quality of life. Other than our families, there is no more trusted or important relationship than that between a patient and a doctor. Our doctors provide the calm and trusted care that allows us the ability to live, work and play in this place we all love so much. This is why access to quality health care and qualified doctors is often ranked as a top concern for Montanans.

The existence of exceptionally qualified doctors in Montana is not assured over time. In fact, it can be very difficult to recruit and retain rural medical professionals. That is why Montana WWAMI, our states 50-year-old medical school partnership between Montana State University and the University of Washington School of Medicine, is so critical, and why March 18 is such an exciting day and should matter to all who call Montana home.

Each year 30 Montana medical students are selected for the WA-WY-AK-MT-ID (WWAMI) decentralized, cooperative medical school partnership. Since 1972, Montana WWAMI has helped homegrown medical students match in top residency positions across the country, including right here in Montana, where the final required years of hands-on medical training happen for our future physicians.

It takes a deep Montana work ethic and dedication for these students to complete the first stages of their education just to become eligible for residency positions. All of these future doctors must complete 18 months of rigorous scientific study and at least one year of clinical training clerkships focusing on family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, surgery and psychiatry.

The last stages of their initial training involve clerkships in emergency medicine and neurology and then several elective rotations help the student explore programs and specialties that will define their careers in health care in Montana and beyond.

For the Montana students who will finally complete this entire course in 2022, the finish line will come into view on March 18. After going through a complicated selection and interview process, Montanas medical students get the news of where they matched, as will every other medical student in the country.

Montana WWAMI medical students have a lot riding on this big day and so do we. These are our kids, our students, and within a few years they will be our valued doctors. Nearly half of Montana students who complete medical school through Montana WWAMI stay to practice in the state. When combined with WWAMI graduates from surrounding states, more than 63% of physicians return to practice in primary care, psychiatry, surgery and other needed specialties in Montana.

Because of the wise investment in WWAMI by the Montana Legislature a half-century ago, all Montanans have helped grow this next crop of medical professionals for our great state. Take pride in the fact that within a few years you and your family will be valuing the relationship you have with them and they will be working to help make your Montana life even better.

Dr. Jay Erickson has practiced family medicine in the Flathead for 31 years. He serves as the Assistant Clinical Dean for Montana WWAMI, guiding curriculum, collaborating with the over 500 physician preceptors who teach Montana medical students, and working to advance graduate medical education in Montana. He practices in Whitefish.

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A man accused of tampering with the power supply at the Bismarck Airport before attacking an on-duty police officer in the terminal accessed an electrical infrastructure area that is purposely not locked up so that it's accessible to first responders, according to an airport official.

Bond has been set at $50,000 cash for Christopher Fonseca, 34, who apparently is homeless. He's charged with felony simple assault on a peace officer and reckless endangerment, offenses that carry possible five-year prison sentences, as well as misdemeanors for criminal mischief and carrying a concealed weapon.

Court documents indicate Fonseca will be appointed a public defender. None was immediately listed Wednesday, and no further court dates were scheduled.

Fonseca was arrested Monday morning. Its unclear what prompted the alleged attack in which the officer suffered bruising and cuts that required stitches. A police affidavit states Fonseca had a box cutter in his hands when he was handcuffed at the airport and brass knuckles in his possession when he was booked into jail, but it does not say if the weapons were used on the officer.

Police have not released the officer's name because he has invoked his Marsy's Law victim protection rights and because the case is open. However, the name of Officer Chad Spotts is listed in Fonseca's bond order, which is a public document available to anyone who requests it. Fonseca as part of his bond is ordered to not have any contact with Spotts. Fonseca was still listed as an inmate in the Burleigh Morton Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon.

Police spokesman Lt. Luke Gardiner told the Tribune that Spotts did not want to be interviewed about the incident. Spotts is a veteran of the department and one of five who work full time at the airport by federal regulation.

An airport official told police that Fonseca before entering the main airport building and allegedly assaulting Spotts turned off electrical breakers at the airport's information technology operation building, according to the affidavit. The building controls the airport's internet; security; radios; and runway, taxiway and wind sock lights, the affidavit states. A backup generator kicked in and returned power to all systems. No flights were disrupted, according to police spokeswoman Officer Lynn Wanner.

Fonseca was in an area accessible to the public when he cut the power supply, according to Matthew Remynse, the airports director of marketing and operations.

Theyre designed so if theres a fire or an emergency they (breakers) can be shut off right away, he said.

Airport officials have informed the Transportation Security Administration. Remynse said that agency will investigate or possibly turn the matter over to the FBI. The U.S. Attorneys Office in North Dakota also has been informed of the incident, he said.

Officials also will work with Bismarck police during the investigation -- Take that, and see what we can improve on if needed, Remynse said. The incident likely will lead to security measures around the power boxes and additional staff instruction.

Well need to make sure the staff is trained, Remynse said. If they need to shut it off, this is how you do it.

TSA Regional Spokesperson Jessica Mayle referred the Tribune to city police and airport officials. The federal Department of Homeland Security, which oversees TSA, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The state Homeland Security Division and the state Department of Emergency Services will not be involved in the investigation, according to Eric Jensen, strategic communications chief for Emergency Services.

There have been no requests for support, he said Wednesday.

Spotts on Monday was called to the security line on the second floor at the airport on a report that Fonseca was bothering passengers. The officer was able to get Fonseca downstairs and went to check on his flight status. Fonseca left a backpack near the main check-in area and walked toward the bathrooms. Spotts escorted him back to his belongings and told him he had to leave the airport if he didnt have a plane ticket. Fonseca charged the officer and hit him in the face and body, Wanner said. Airport employees and a bystander helped Spotts get Fonseca in handcuffs.

"This is the first time an incident like this has happened," Bismarck City Commissioner Greg Zenker said. "We're going to have to learn from it."

Authorities arent certain why Fonseca was at the airport. He was not attempting to get through security and did not have a ticket to board a plane. Fonseca also had been in the airport Saturday, and was asked to leave when it was discovered he did not have a ticket, according to Remynse.

Documents obtained by the Tribune show that Fonseca has a reckless endangerment conviction in Connecticut and has been involved in several recent incidents in Bismarck in which police were called. He was not charged in any of those incidents, which occurred at the North Dakota Newspaper Association office, a hospital and a convenience store.

Police reports list Fonseca as homeless. He at one point told officers he was seeking help for mental illness through West Central Human Services, liked Bismarck and planned to stay. It isn't clear how long he has been in the city.

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The North Dakota Auditor's Office is asking the city of Lincoln to open its books after some residents petitioned the department.

The office received an audit request petition with 217 signatures, more than the 150 required by law.

Lincoln is a growing bedroom community just southeast of Bismarck. It's unclear which resident started the petition and why. The list of names on the petition is confidential under state law, as is the audit request itself, Auditor's Office spokesperson Emily Dalzell said.

Lincoln is behind on its annual audits, according to Mayor Gerarld Wise. He said the city for years has been trying to find companies to audit it or have the state do it. One company began an audit in 2016 but never completed it. The city was set to be audited by a private firm this month after delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, he said. That firm was supposed to begin work last fall, and Wise called the process to try to have the city audited "a frustrating ordeal."

Wise said the city council is "excited" for the audit. He added that he thinks it's nice that residents are interested in the city's finances.

"It's their money," Wise said. "They want to know where it's being spent."

The mayor said he's curious to know the results of the audit and that he doesn't think there's been a mishandling of funds.

He added that the auditor's office has provided the city with a list of things it needs for the audit.

Reach Sam Nelson at 701-250-8264 or sam.nelson@bismarcktribune.com.

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A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe stemming from a fatal road washout nearly three years ago, but he said hes troubled that a rule exempting them from liability is extremely unfair.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in a ruling issued Tuesday said the tribe and BIA had no mandatory rules, regulations, policies or procedures to follow in deciding whether to replace a culvert on Standing Rocks BIA Road 3, known locally as the Kenel Road. The culvert was scoured away by heavy rains on July 9, 2019, and the road above it washed away. Two people died and two others were injured when the vehicles they were driving entered the chasm in the dark hours of the early morning.

Both people killed were from Mobridge, South Dakota. Trudy Peterson, 60, was headed from Mobridge to Fort Yates, where she worked at the Indian Health Services facility. Jim VanderWal, 65, was driving a mail truck from Bismarck to Mobridge. Steven Willard and Evan Thompson, both of Fort Yates, were injured and flown to Bismarck hospitals for injuries their attorney said were permanent.

The culvert had been designated for replacement several years before the washout. It was bowing but not considered dangerous, a tribal official said at the time. The culvert itself did not fail but was washed away by a 7-inch rain that fell overnight.

The discretionary exemption function of the Federal Tort Claims Act shields the U.S. government from liability in such suits. The BIA and tribe had the discretion to determine when, where, and how to perform road maintenance, and is therefore shielded, Hovland said.

The conduct of the BIA and tribe in the case is the type of conduct the exception was designed to protect, the judge said.

To conclude otherwise would be to engage in the type of judicial second-guessing the discretionary function exemption was designed to avoid, Hovland said in dismissing the suit.

The judge said he was troubled by this outcome, and very sympathetic to the personal tragedies that occurred as a result of the washout, adding The application of the discretionary function exception in this case is 'extremely unfair.'

This exception to federal tort liability is a concept that needs to be eroded and is in dire need of a correction, the judge wrote.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment to the Tribune on the ruling.

Hovland added that common sense, fairness and justice are absent in the application of the exception in the case.

I agree, said Tim Purdon, the attorney representing the injured and the families of the deceased.

The lawsuit made 11 claims and sought $10 million in damages for wrongful death, personal injury and personal damage. Purdon said in the suit that the BIA had adopted road maintenance standards from the transportation departments of North Dakota and South Dakota, which he said included inspection, maintenance and signage requirements. He argued that the washout could have been avoided if the BIA had adhered to those standards.

Under this ruling there may be no remedy for our clients, Purdon told the Tribune. Not for the two families who had loved ones die in the washout nor for the severely injured who survived. We are heartbroken for these families who, as the court notes, may see no justice here.

The ruling can be appealed. Purdon and his clients have 60 days to file a notice of appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Were still analyzing that and have not made a decision, he said.

Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com

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There is almost no institution in the past 100 years that has more profoundly shaped American public life than the Supreme Court. As a result, the composition of the Supreme Court has become one of the most prominent issues in every campaign seasonwhether it is the presidential election cycle or the midterm congressional elections. Since at least the mid-1980s, the nomination of a potential justice has been a political event with the most potential to ignite explosive partisan conflict given that the stakes are so high. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominated by President Biden to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, now finds herself right in the center of that storm.

It would likely be perplexing to the Founding Fathers that the composition of the Supreme Court has evolved to become one of the nations most contentious political issues. The least dangerous branch can take no independent initiative to act in any meaningful way. The Courts power is largely dependent upon being invited into cases and controvers[sies] either by private parties or those acting on behalf of the other branches of government. So why is Judge Jacksons nomination and potential confirmation so important? Should it be? And what are the implications for liberty if she takes a seat on the Supreme Court?

One of the few Supreme Court decisions unrelated to civil liberties that makes its way into almost every civics textbook is the 1803 decision Marbury v. Madison. In finding that an act of Congress was incompatible with the U.S. Constitution, the Court articulated for the first time the doctrine of judicial review. Today this doctrine is the basis of the power of the courts to determine whether laws are constitutional or unconstitutionalessentially whether they are consistent with or in conflict with the Constitution.

The Marbury Courts decision was uncontroversial and largely unnoticed at the time. This is probably an indicator of the stature and role of the Court as that generation understood it. But it should have been controversial. The articulation of the doctrine is a departure from and abandonment of the common law doctrine known as judicial duty, which had governed the role of judges and informed their understanding of the hierarchy of laws for generations. Marbury represents the first step down a path that has led to the rise of our laws being arbitrary and situational rather than metaphysically grounded and principled.

The doctrine of judicial duty is, quite simply, the duty of judges to make decisions in accordance with the law. The doctrine is deceptively simple and seems obvious. But what is meant by law can elicit significant debate. The differences between judicial duty and judicial review, too, may seem pedantic. They are admittedly subtle, but important things are often subtle.

Both doctrines assume that law exists in a hierarchy, but judicial review only considers posited law. The U.S. Constitution, according to Marbury, is superior to the act that the Court found to be unconstitutional. Judicial duty is, as the name makes clear, a duty incumbent upon judges. And in the context of the writing and ratification of the Constitution, the most superior law was not understood to be posited. Law that is customary and born of common sense and natural reason was considered superior to any posited source of law. Some critics argue that accepting this definition of law and hierarchy of laws opens the door to the assertion of claims that are religious rather than legal. And there is a view of the natural sources of law that is explicitly informed by religion. But the doctrine of judicial review ultimately forecloses the possibility of considering the compatibility of law with natural sources of law regardless of the specific source and arbitrarily identifies the Constitution as the starting point for all legal reasoning and judicial decisions. It should be noted that the Constitution does, in fact, discuss the hierarchy of law, but only in the context of the relationship of federal and state law. It never explicitly identifies the written, posited law as the exclusive source of law or the starting point for all legal reasoning.

In the context of a society with the rule of law, the doctrine of judicial review probably seems just fine. But consider for a moment, however, corrupt systems in which judges make decisions for political reasons or because they have accepted bribes. Most would consider this unjust. But what if the national constitution in which such a system exists allows for this? The judges who accept bribes or make decisions in order to curry political favor would do so under the color of law. Their decisions on these bases would be constitutional. But instinctively we all know that this is not just, even if legal in the strictest sense. This type of judicial behavior is not just even in the face of posited law that permits it, because it runs counter to the natural sources of law that inform our sense of justice.

An Unimagined Power

So what does this have to do with Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? It means that if she is confirmed, she and the other eight justices will have far more unrestrained power to shape our society than our Framers ever imagined. In practical terms it does matter how she understands the law, interprets statutes, and conceives the role of the state in the lives of private citizens.

Before joining the bench, Judge Jackson worked openly for progressive causes and is not, as at least one commentator has labeled her, apolitical. But more importantly, Judge Jackson has served on two unique federal courts. Her eight-year tenure as a district court judge and months-long tenure as an appellate judge has been in jurisdictions that normally hear specialized types of cases that do not afford judges opportunities to entertain broad questions of law. In fact, in response to questioning about her philosophy of constitutional interpretation during her last confirmation, she surprisingly, but honestly, replied, I have not had any cases that have required me to develop a view on constitutional interpretation of text in the way that the Supreme Court has to do and has to have thought about the tools of interpretation. It is hard to see how her few months as an appellate judge and her publication of just two appellate decisions since July 2021 has remedied that.

But there is a case that stands out from her time as a trial judge that provides a window into her attitude about the role of the courts in the American system. Judge Jackson was quite willing to lean on the doctrine of judicial review to an extreme and radical extent in subjecting Trump-era immigration policy to judicial review even in the face of a statutory provision that granted sole and unreviewable discretion to the executive branch. An Obama appointee on the appellate panel that reversed her wrote, there could hardly be a more definitive expression of congressional intent to leave the decision about the scope of expedited removal, within statutory bounds, to the Secretarys independent judgment. Jacksons was a blatant example of judicial activism recognizable even to a judge that likely shares many of her ideological and political sympathies.

Two aspects of Judge Jacksons background that should be of some comfort to those who value liberty include two unique things. First, if she were to join the Court, she would be the first justice in more than a generation to have presided over a trial that included a jury, which is a unique institution critical to American democracy. Second, having served as a public defender, she would be the only current justice who had spent any portion of her career defending citizens against the state rather than representing the state and its interests. There is no question that we need more judges at all levels of the judiciary with such experience.

Ultimately, however, Judge Jacksons confirmation would almost certainly prove problematic for the causes of preserving individual liberty and stemming the tide of encroaching government involvement in the lives of ordinary citizens. Shes demonstrated a willingness to exert judicial power beyond its already strained boundaries. The bigger problem that lovers of liberty should wrestle with, however, is that her confirmation matters to any substantive extent given that the courts following Marbury have far exceeded their place in American government and public life and proven not to be, as they were once described, the least dangerous branch.
This month mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Chinas Cultural Revolution. Here are five facts you should know about one of the darkest times in modern human history:

1. The Cultural Revolution  officially known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution  was a social and political movement within China that attempted to eradicate all traces of traditional cultural elements and replace them with Mao Zedong Thought (or Maoism), a form of Marxist political theory based on the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong, the Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the Peoples Republic of China. Mao governed as Chairman of the Communist Party of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976.

2. The beginning of the Cultural Revolution is traced to May 16, 1966, when Mao issued a document that included indictments against his political foes. In what has become known as the May 16 notification, Mao claimed that, Those representatives of the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into the party, the government, the army, and various cultural circles are a bunch of counter-revolutionary revisionists. Although Mao unveiled his intention in May, it was not until August that the Communist Party issued the Decision Concerning The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which outlined the Chairmans goals. The two primary institutions that Mao wanted to eliminate were education and religion, the main threats to Mao Zedong Thought.



3. In the summer of 1966, groups of students  from middle school to college age  began to form violent paramilitary units. Mao, who believed being violent was a sign of a true revolutionary, sponsored the radical students. He ordered the nations schools to be shut down and encouraged these students  known as Red Guards  to dedicate themselves to revolutionary activity. Much of this activity included violence against the elderly, teachers, and other traditional authority figures. Mao and his allies held several rallies which were attended by over ten millions children and teens who identified as Red Guards. At an August rally for the Red Guards, the students were told to attack the Four Olds of Chinese society (old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas.) Over the next two months hundreds of thousands of homes were looted by Red Guard members, stealing money and valuables and destroying books, magazines, and works of art. The students also destroyed religious institutions and cemeteries, libraries, and cultural and historical artifacts.

4. Along with destroying property, Red Guards members also humiliated, tortured, and murdered innocent people. In August and September of 1966, note historians Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals, the Red Guards murdered more than 1,700 people in Beijing. In Shanghai in September there were 704 suicides and 534 other deaths related to the Cultural Revolution. During this wave of violence Mao issued a directive ordering the police not to interfere with the student movement. Because the death toll is considered a Chinese state secret, no one knows for sure how many people died during the Cultural Revolution. Estimates by various scholars range from one-half to eight million.

5. By December 1968, Mao had reestablished his cult of personality and restored his influence. Having achieved his objective, he grew tired of the chaos and violence he had unleashed. He implemented the Down to the Countryside Movement, an expansion of a program in which young intellectuals from the cities were sent to the rural areas of the country to live with a work with the peasant class. (Maos definition of intellectual was very loose, and included children who merely had a middle school education.) From 1962 to 1979, about 17 million sent-down youths were displaced, leaving the country with an entire generation of undereducated people.
The AHD 4 produces one entertaining page on the word 'get.' It helped that I

had met many of its meanings as transitive and intranstive verbs and its

phrasal verbs and idioms. I especially enjoyed the usage notes at the end

which solved a couple of long-standing puzzles that I did not know even how

to phrase.

The use of 'get' in the passive, as in 'We got sunburned at the beach,' is

generally avoided in formal writing. In less formal contexts, however, the

construction can provide a useful difference in tone or emphasis, as between

the sentences 'The demonstrators were arrested' and 'The demonstrators got

arrested.' The first example implies that the responsibility for the arrests

rests primarily with the police, while the example using 'get' implies that

the demonstrators deliberately provoked the arrests.

In colloquial use and in numerous nonstandard varieties of American English,

the past tense form 'got' has the meaning of the present. This arose

probably by dropping the helping verb 'have' from the past perfects 'have

to, has got: We've got to go, we've got a lot of problems' became 'We got to

go, we got a lot of problems.'

In the last paragraph, however, 'past perfects' seems to be a mistake. From the

context, I think it should be 'present perfects.'
The Stylophone is the tiny synthesizer most famously used by David Bowie on "Space Oddity." First invented in 1967, its played by touching a built-in stylus to the metal keyboard. Still readily available, the instrument has become a cult favorite among experimental musicians. For some wonderful contemporary Stylophone music, I recommend the new album Stylophoinika by the Kingston University Stylophone Orchestra. Listen above. The leader of the orchestra is musician, writer, and professor Leah Kardos who directs the university's Visconti Studio, a recording and research facility co-founded with esteemed Bowie producer Tony Visconti. From Bandcamp:

Through legendary producer Tony Visconti, Leah was introduced to Stylophone manufacturer Dubreq, who donated a collection of new and vintage instruments to Visconti Studio's analogue instrument archive, based at the University. At the sight of a car boot full of Stylophones, Leah found herself wondering aloud if a musical ensemble using the unique electronic instruments might be possible.

A notice went up, and a handful of intrepid students showed up to a first rehearsal.

Though the musical palette of the Stylophone initially appeared limited, its restrictions quickly inspired creativity and ingenuity.

With the orchestra made up of current and ex students, plus staff from across the University, the instantly recognisable sound of the original Stylophone has been augmented by the full range of Dubreq instruments, mixed in with Theremin, Omnichord and Volca sequencers, as well as the members' collective voices.
I've been looking forward to Boys From County Hell for a few years now. For one thing, I'll watch any horror movie named after a Pogues song. In this case, the film also pulled from the same obscure Irish folklore that I used in my (as-yet-unpublished) novel Pints of 'Gansett Make You Strong, so I had to know what was going on. That particular legend involves a blood-drinking beast named Abhartach, who's most famously described as such in The Origin and History of Irish Names of Places:

There is a place in the parish of Errigal in London derry, called Slaghtaverty, but it ought to have been called Laghtaverty, the laght or sepulchral monument of the abhartach or dwarf. This dwarf was a magician, and a dreadful tyrant, and after having perpetrated great cruelties on the people he was at last vanquished and slain by a neighbouring chieftain; some say by Fionn Mac Cumhail. He was buried in a standing posture, but the very next day he appeared in his old haunts, more cruel and vigorous than ever. And the chief slew him a second time and buried him as before, but again he escaped from the grave, and spread terror through the whole country. The chief then consulted a druid, and according to his directions, he slew the dwarf a third time, and buried him in the same place, with his head downwards; which subdued his magical power, so that he never again appeared on earth. The laght raised over the dwarf is still there, and you may hear the legend with much detail from the natives of the place, one of whom told it to me.

This has long lead to a rumor that the stories of Abhartach are what inspired another Irishman by the name of Bram Stoker to come up with the idea for Dracula centuries later. (Coincidentally, "droch fhola" means "bad blood" in Irish and is also pronounced like "Dracula," which probably has nothing to do with anything.)

In The Boys From County Hell, writer/director Christopher Baugh takes this folktale and spins it into a unique take on a vampire story that also bleeds with the lifeblood of its geography. Errigal (called Six Mile Hill in the film) is in a remote part of County Derry, where there's really nothing much to do except drink at the local pub, The Stoker, so named because Bram Stoker once supposedly visited the town one time (hence the inspiration). A modern construction project threatens to demolish the pile of rocks under which Abhartach is said to be buried, which has some of the locals infuriated  both because of superstition, and because it's the only damn reason anyone comes to visit their remote town anyway.

These are all fairly standard horror tropes, albeit refreshingly transported into the desolate greenery of northwestern Ireland (western Northern Ireland?), complete with the region's trademark gallows humor. What made the movie stand out for me, however, was the relationships at the heart of it. At the beginning of the film, we're introduced to Eugene, who lives in his late mother's house adjacent to the plot where Abhartach is buried, and his buddy William, who is planning to ditch his girlfriend (Derry Girls' Orlaith, Louisa Harland) and move to Australia to find work. Meanwhile, Eugene has a difficult relationship with his father, Francie, who runs the local construction company that's slated to knock down the evil dwarf's dolmen (and thus making him the enemy of the town). Boys From County Hell uses the simultaneously threats of gentrification and undead fuckery to explore the damaged relationships between these two young men and their parents, and particularly the ways that the expectations of masculinity have affected them in a place where it's just as important to be provincial as it is to be a provider. The only other mild-spoiler I'll give is that, while this is ostensibly a vampire movie, Baugh smartly exploits the zombie movie trope of seeing your loved ones resurrected as mindless, hungry monsters, to fantastic emotional affect.

Boys From County Hell is currently a Shudder exclusive, but if you can also rent it on Amazon Prime (which is basically free if you already have Prime and choose that shipping option that gives you digital credits for slightly-later deliveries). It's a bloody one, and perhaps not quite as comedic as the trailers and reviews make it out to sound, but I recommend it.
To an artist, there's nothing more imprisoning than success. Well, I guess actual prison counts too. And, you know what, poverty that renders you incapable of pursuing your art in a meaningful way can be pretty imprisoning as well. Scratch that; there's a list of things that can imprison an artist. Comedy legend George Carlin often felt imprisoned by a list of his own making. At the height of his career in the 90s, Carlin hated that people couldn't stop associating him with his seven dirty words bit.

Emanating from his iconic album Class Clown in 1972, Carlin's hysterical list of seven obscenities haunted him for decades. It's not like he regretted the bit or anything, but rather that he felt his comedy had dramatically matured since. As he mentioned in his posthumously released autobiography, Last Words, Carlin found the correlation so annoying due to his conscious efforts to weave his artistic and personal maturation into his act. The George Carlin of the 60s was a completely different beast than the foul-mouthed hero of the counter culture that he became in the 70s. Throughout the latter half of the 70s and into the 80s, Carlin began to further strip away the fraudulence of his tame public persona to reveal his true self. And while his final artistic transformation didn't bear fruit until 1994's Jamming in New York, Carlin's glacial evolution always occurred in the public eye.

One step along Carlin's journey of self-discovery is the bit showcased in the video above. As he began to shave away the excess around his comedy to zero in on his now trademark style, Carlin worked through a host of sets that now seem bizarre in retrospect. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, I find the video to be an interesting piece of the mosaic that is Carlin's epic career.
Ukraine policy described by the Biden administration and NATO leaders just does not seem to make sense. We are supplying large quantities of smart weapons for use by Ukrainian ground forces to attack Russian armor and aircraft. But the transfer of MIG-29 fighter aircraft from Poland to be flown by Ukrainian pilots to do the same thing is not tenable. Somehow supplying these vital aircraft is deemed to create more risk of expanding the war than missiles fired by Ukrainian troops on the ground or even from drones they pilot.

It is said this is a war that Vladimir Putin cannot lose, so it is feared that if it continues to go badly, he will turn to ABC weapons  atomic, biological or chemical  in desperation. Does this mean we have already conceded Ukraine? How does his ABC capability affect our pledge under Article 5 of the NATO charter to protect every inch of NATO soil? In reality, we may have little choice but to rely on the fear of Mutually Assured Destruction before this war is resolved. Do we do it sooner or later?

While the indiscriminate pummeling of Ukrainian cities continues, Putin has made it pretty clear he intends to expand the war. There is, for example, his stated intent to help Belarus gain access to the Baltic Sea. Lookout Lithuania, (a NATO member.)

The comments recently made by former Russian foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, may provide the answer NATO is waiting for. He noted it is the tradition in Russia that removal of the president is only done by force or assassination. It suggests our future may be in the hands of a Kremlin cook.

Try to get some sleep, folks.

Andrew Graham

Buffalo
Real Estate & Development: Thinking smaller with new tax break guidelines

Say goodbye to the big special tax breaks for mega projects. Say hello to more incentives for smaller projects that reuse vacant or underused buildings.

Developers will have an easier time getting tax breaks on smaller-scale projects and solar farms, after industrial development agencies throughout Erie County  which control those tax breaks  changed the policy that sets the guidelines for awarding them. At the same time, the agencies are scrapping a rarely-used option that offered the most lucrative subsidies to the biggest projects.

Those changes reflect the new nature of economic development across the Buffalo Niagara region: There are dozens of small-scale infill projects taking place, while mega projects are few and far between.

Sign up for the Buffalo Next free newsletter The News' Buffalo Next team covers the changing Buffalo Niagara economy. Get the news in your inbox 5 days a week.

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency and four town IDAs in Amherst, Hamburg, Lancaster and Concord are adopting a new countywide tax-exemption policy that takes effect April 1. The changes are designed to encourage more private investment in these smaller ventures, while responding to the growth of new industries and real estate development  like solar farms.

IDAs, whose purpose is to support and spur more economic development, have been criticized for doling out too much in tax breaks for businesses and developers, and for competing with each other to lure employers.

The goal of the new framework is to ensure consistency by having all the IDAs in Erie County follow the same rules. That prevents competition among IDAs, so that a business can't shop around for the best deal by playing one town off against another. At the same time, it "allows for flexibility to tailor programs to meet the specific the economic needs of their municipality, said ECIDA CEO John Cappellino.

The latest version of the IDA policy eliminates an option that offered enhanced incentives over 10 years and allowed large companies to pay no property taxes for up to seven years in exchange for big job-creation pledges.

It creates a new five-year incentive plan to encourage smaller, mixed-use and adaptive-reuse projects, which have grown in popularity over the past decade but have little job creation, Cappellino said. It retains the standard seven-year tax break schedule.

And it formalizes a special policy offering up to 25 years of property tax breaks for renewable energy and solar projects, based on the number of megawatts of power produced. Language was also adopted to encourage senior housing and mixed-use projects.

Those changes reflect newer trends and conditions, particularly related to the type of projects and investments that are considered. With a notable few exceptions, there aren't many big employers proposing the type of super-project that would bring many hundreds or even thousands of jobs, so these are no longer the focus of economic development attention.

Instead, most job-oriented projects are much smaller, enabling them to fit in the standard seven- or 10-year PILOTs. There also are more mixed-use real estate development projects, and especially those that restore vacant buildings. And the region's aging population is driving more need for senior housing.

Meanwhile, solar farm projects are becoming more common, particularly in the more rural and outlying counties with abundant land. However, because of the nature of the investment and construction, they don't fit neatly into existing tax-break programs, requiring IDAs to authorize special exceptions.

 Jonathan D. Epstein

Want to know more? Three stories to catch you up:

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, IN CONTEXT

What: Whitesand Family LP's new District West Lofts project is quickly filling up.

Tell me more: The new mixed-use building on Elmwood Avenue has 26 one- and two-bedroom apartments and three retail spaces. So far, two of the three commercial spaces are leased, with Apricot Lane Boutique  a national franchise with another store in Orchard Park  and The Village Juicery, a new local business with the same name as a Toronto-based chain. And 15 of the residential units are spoken for.

Why it matters: District West is one of the newest developments in the Elmwood Village, and the four-story building drew controversy because its height exceeded the Green Code. The project's success may indicate the strength of demand for living and shopping in the neighborhood, and may justify further projects.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH...

Then: Howard and Leslie Zemsky's Larkin Development Group constructed the 85,000-square-foot building at 799 Seneca St., with 70 market-rate rental apartments  including studio, one- and two-bedroom units  and 13,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The apartments range in size from 582 to 1,239 square feet.

Now: The apartments are fully leased, with a waiting list. And the ground-floor retail space is getting some occupants: Breathe Organic, Buffalo Expendables, Toasted, Magic Bear and Plating Society are taking up the five storefronts along Seneca. Larkin is now seeking to put up new signage on the front, to identify each of the businesses. Four of them will share two entrances, while Plating Society will be in a squat section at one end of the building.

ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. Erie County Clerk warns of foreclosure wave: Mickey Kearns is cautioning that a surge in pre-foreclosure default notices to delinquent homeowners portends a tsunami of lender filings to seize homes, but he's also telling people to stay in their homes even if they get a notice.

2. Work begins at Heritage Point: Developer Nick Sinatra has kicked off the environmental remediation and construction work at Canalside, where he plans to put up two new six-story buildings with apartments and retail space right along the canals.

3. Erie County seeks developers for second phase of Renaissance Commerce Park: Fresh off the launch of work on the first phase of Renaissance Commerce Park in Lackawanna, Erie County officials are now putting out the call for firms to buy and redevelop two more parcels of former Bethlehem Steel land along Route 5 as they seek to create a new destination for businesses.

4. Hundreds of apartments, townhomes poised to come to Grand Island: Buffalo developers Frank Chinnici and Roger Trettel want to invest as much as $100 million in a plan to create Rivertown Center, a new mixed-use community on Grand Island that would be located in a broad swath of forested and grassy land.

5. Sinatra plans to reuse Cadet Cleaners: After initially proposing to tear down the former Cadet Cleaners building and replace it with a new condominium building, developer Nick Sinatra now plans to reuse it, with 18 apartments and a small office space.

THE BIG PICTURE

How Silo City hopes to create a new neighborhood along the Buffalo River: Generation Development Group, the firm behind the planned conversion of the American and Perot malting warehouses into several hundred apartments and commercial space, are seeking to transform an area better known for its grain, shipping and industrial past into a trendy new place for living.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Reach Real Estate & Development reporter Jonathan D. Epstein at (716) 849-4478 or email him at jepstein@buffnews.com.

Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com.

Buffalo Next Must-read local business coverage that exposes the trends, connects the dots and contextualizes the impact to Buffalo's economy. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.
The Buffalo police officers who shot a man who reportedly lunged at them with a knife in the midst of a mental health crisis tried three times to diffuse the situation before they opened fire, their attorney told The Buffalo News Tuesday.

"The cops retreated three times," said Thomas H. Burton, the attorney for the Buffalo Police Benevolent Association who is representing the two officers who shot at the man early Monday on Hertel Avenue. They are now on administrative leave as the incident is investigated.

Burton described a tense situation that rapidly escalated, despite what he said were the officers' attempts to calm things down.

Police on Tuesday named Philip Edwards and Michael Ramos as the officers who discharged their weapons during the incident. Both officers are assigned to the Northwest District (D District). Edwards has been on the force for seven years and Ramos for two years.

Police also released the name of the man who was shot, Dominique Thomas, 30, of Buffalo. Thomas remains at ECMC, according to police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge. Charges are pending against him, police said.

Two pairs of police officers from D District were the first to respond to a 911 call from a man in the upper unit of 1945 Hertel Avenue who said that "someone's trying to kill him," according to archived police radio transmissions on broadcastify.com.

The officers went inside the building and saw a man at the top of the stairs.

One of the officers noted that the man appeared to have a knife in his pocket, Burton said.

"As soon as he warned the other officers, he pulled it out," he said.

Police officials said the knife was a "survival knife."

The officers backed down the stairs and "tried to talk him down," Burton said. "They used words to the effect of, 'We can help you. Take it easy. Put the knife down.' "

The officers exited the house, after which "the guy advanced on them a second time," Burton said.

The officers backed away again into the middle of Hertel Avenue.

Burton said that, according to the officers, the man "came running at the officers" with the knife in an uplifted position.

"That's when they fired," Burton said.

Two officers fired their weapons.

A man lunging at police with a knife after being told repeatedly to stop should be considered "an imminent threat of deadly force against officers," Burton said.

Under New York penal law, officers aren't required to stand down in such situations, whereas ordinary civilians would if it would be safe to do so, Burton said.

"There's no duty to retreat, but they did so to try to diffuse the situation," he said. "That is a tactical decision to avoid the use of a deadly force. That's not required by the statute."

Burton confirmed that none of the officers had a Taser, which uses electroshock to incapacitate someone. The Buffalo Police Department is in the midst of training officers in using Tasers and has begun distributing some.

"Would it have made a difference?" Burton said. "It's hard to tell that, especially if someone is delusional or taking drugs, but in many instances, the use of a Taser stops one of these events before the use of a handgun is necessary."

Most encounters between police and people having mental health crises end without violence, said Dr. Alexis Piquero, a University of Miami criminologist who serves on the Violent Crime Working Group of the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank.

"We never hear about the cases where the situation is calmed down in a better way," he said.

He agreed that Tasers could have helped resolve the situation better. But he also pointed out the man who was shot got the services and treatment he needed earlier, none of this would have happened.

"Police are responding to things they didn't create," he said.

Piquero supports programs like the Buffalo Police Department's Behavioral Health Team, which teams up officers with crisis intervention training with social workers to respond to mental health calls. But those have limitations, too, including budgets.

"This is one more piece of the puzzle that every city should think about," he said.

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Leonardo da Vinci High School will be moving out of its space in DYouville College in 2023.

A likely new location for da Vincis 400 students is Buffalo State College, according to Buffalo Public Schools officials.

The school district and DYouville have mutually agreed that the available space on campus is no longer ideal for the continued operation of the school, according to a lease extension through June 30, 2023, that the Buffalo School Board is scheduled to vote on at tonights meeting.

The extension will allow time for da Vinci to find a new location.

The board tonight also will consider approving $297,000 for Canon Design to conduct a feasibility study for moving the school to Buffalo State.

Da Vinci named National Blue Ribbon School Da Vinci is among 317 public and 50 non-public schools recognized this year, but was the only school in Western New York honored for 2020.

What sets da Vinci apart from most high schools is that its students can take college classes at DYouville, at no cost to the students, and earn up to 24 credits by the time they graduate from high school.

In their sophomore and junior years, students can take one college class per semester. In their senior year, students can take up to two college classes each semester.

The cost of students college tuition and books is covered by the Buffalo Public Schools annual lease with DYouville. Da Vinci routinely has one of the highest graduation rates in the school district.

Eleven years ago, the school district proposed moving da Vinci into Grover Cleveland High School, a few blocks away from DYouville, in the interest of saving money. But officials shelved the plan after it met with fierce opposition from da Vinci students, families and teachers.

Da Vinci currently leases about 26,000 square feet on DYouville's Porter Avenue campus, most of it in Madonna Hall. The schools students also have access to the Montante Family Library, gym, locker rooms and fitness center.

At the Buffalo School Board meeting tonight, the board will consider a three-year extension to the districts lease with DYouville, which expired on Aug. 31, 2020. The terms of the lease extension call for the district to pay $455,257 for 2020-21; $517,241 for the current school year; and $543,114 for 2022-23.

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It took a couple of minutes for it to sink in.

I was watching Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources," CNN's splendid contribution to Sunday morning's TV news ghetto. It's the show that was started and originally named by former UB student Howard Kurtz until he was successfully wooed by Roger Ailes to take his act to Fox News and tellingly rename it "Media Buzz."

Stelter is TV's premier on-air TV news analyst and reporter, a smart and hardworking fellow to whom it is always profitable for media folks of all stripe to pay heed. (Media-savvy civilians, too.)

What I get from Stelter is usually reliable, if familiar, insight and new wrinkles to established stories. You don't often get major news or revelations or gripping drama.

Not this time. Not on last Sunday's "Reliable Sources."

We watched as Stelter told us about the new laws oppressing journalism in Russia, if not making it all but impossible.

His way of doing it was to interview 63-year-old Russian investigative journalist and editor Yevgenia Albats, whose educational background includes both Moscow University AND Harvard. Her accent was thick but her grasp of our language was serviceable.

What took a while to sink in as I watched her report from Russia is this: We were, in effect, seeing an intensely dramatic and personal act of defiance aimed directly at Russia's newly brutalized autocracy.

She was telling us about the oppressive new Russian laws virtually prohibiting her profession. As she told us about them and their curtailments, it slowly sank in that what she was almost certainly defying those laws endangering her ability to function and indeed her ability to survive at all.

Yes, she was doing it on American TV but going back to Ted Turner, CNN has never been just American TV; it was always a window on America closely scrutinized by nations everywhere. That was one of Turner's objectives.

"150 to 160 of the best reporters have left," she told us. Was she afraid for her self, Stelter asked.

"It's too late for me to be afraid. I'm a known enemy ... I am not a martyr but I feel that somebody has to do that." (That is, stay in Russia and write the truth.)

About the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has disgusted and enraged and saddened the majority of the Western world and literally caused more European refugees than at any time since World War II, she said "I am ashamed ... I am so ashamed of my country. I am so ashamed that my taxes go to bombs that kill people in Ukraine ... I want to get on my hands and knees and say 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry my country is doing that to you guys.' "

This is not the sort of thing one usually hears on TV on the Sunday morning news shows, where the talking heads are more commonly concerned with infractions to the protocols of American journalism and not life and death defiance to tyranny.

It was unexpectedly gripping television and the last thing I expected to see on one of my usual stops on Sunday morning TV.

But then, it wasn't alone on TV recently, where the Russian invasion has caused wholesale rethinking of what TV is supposed to do in the first place.

The hideous and brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought to the fore all kinds of brazen and dramatically shameless seriousness in places where we've been accustomed to seeing more decorous and less dramatic behavior.

Stephen Colbert interviewed Anderson Cooper on his late night show while Cooper was covering the war from the Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Colbert and Cooper have a history of going very far afield indeed from the usual comedy and hype of late-night TV. They were famous for having a lacerating and soul-baring discussion of grief in their lives.

Cooper, from his Lviv hotel room, told us he was, among other things, covering what happens when there are "50,000 people a day arriving at the train station" to flee Russian soldiers and bombers, often with just their luggage and the clothes on their backs.

Was it dangerous where Cooper was, Colbert asked.

No, but he admitted "Sirens go off periodically" to warn of approaching Russian aircraft. Which meant that hospitals containing "kids with cancer are unplugged and moved."

It is indeed a strange thing to be a worker in the media in the 21st century  especially for those of us in the world of print where we might have spent decades denying kinship to electronic media and simply called ourselves "journalists" and "reporters." (Or, with irrefutable minimalism, "writers.")

In an era when so many of the accepted protocols of journalism have left people hungry for stark truth, whatever the form or rules for its presentation, some of us can't help but be excited and proud of what is being presented during this horrendous period in Russia and Eastern Europe.

The extraordinary irony of all this has been self-evident from the beginning. The ongoing story that we in the West have marveled at is the incredible Churchillian heroism of Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy, a man who, before politics, was a comedian and indeed an actor who played a president on television.

He became what he portrayed.

It might be tempting to say, therefore, that he was roughly analogous to an American TV reality show host who became an American president. Except that Zelenskyy has turned into an inspirational one-man bulwark against oppression, tyranny and atrocity.

Watching what Jon Stewart, John Oliver and Stephen Colbert have done on TV since Letterman shouldn't surprise us anymore. In the era since George Carlin, so many people desperately need to supplement what orthodox journalism gives them with the truths that TV comedy and commentary offer.

I submit to you that in this tragic era, so many of those people understand how basic is their role and how crying is the need for them to step it up.

To the very degree that they seem admirable  perhaps even noble  it should surprise no one that they're decried by those who would rather see their reputations crash.

It seems to me, though, that among rational, thinking TV consumers of hard information, those reputations are among the few heartening things around.

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One village in Erie County had a close race that required a manual recount during elections Tuesday to select village officials.

But after the recount, the vote for Springville mayor was 317-311 in favor of Timothy P. Michaels over Allison K. Duwe. The result was too close to announce Tuesday night, according to Village Clerk Liz Melock.

A state law requires a manual recount of any contest where the margin of victory is 20 votes or less, or if the margin is 0.5% or less.

The Erie County Board of Elections recounted the ballots today.

Mary Padasack and Lindsay Buncy were unopposed for two trustee positions in Springville.

In other races Tuesday:

Alden: Loren Prucnal beat Trustee Mary Refermat for mayor, 95-58.

Angola: Incumbent trustees were unopposed. John Dybowski received 67 votes and Valerie Stonitsch had 68 votes.

East Aurora: Mayor Peter M. Mercurio, who was unopposed, received 450 votes for another term.

Three candidates were elected to seats on the Village Board. Ernest S. Scheer had 353 votes, Mary A. "Molly" Flynn received 439 votes and Katherine Grace Viger won the third seat with 351 votes. Peter A. Schwan was fourth with 187 votes.

Gowanda: Incumbent Trustees Wanda J. Koch and Peter A. Sisti were unopposed for new terms.

Hamburg: All the candidates ran unopposed. Longtime Trustee Thomas P. Tallman was elected mayor with 212 votes. Holly McClure Park had 194 votes and Jeffrey A. Davis received 174 votes for two trustee positions. Michael J. Biehler was elected village justice with 202 votes.

North Collins: Incumbent Mayor Vincent George easily won re-election over two challengers. George received 91 votes, Michael Gullo had 65 and John Mrozek received 49 votes.

Trustee Corinne Leone won re-election with 117 votes and Charles Lantaff captured the other trustee seat with 112 votes. Incumbent George Jablonski received 83 votes. Richard Bley won the two-year trustee seat, 144-53, over Ryan Maggio.

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Although it is Robert Restainos prerogative as mayor of the City of Niagara Falls to call special meetings of the City Council, the routine practice suggests either disarray in the administration or an inappropriate effort to silence residents. Well choose to believe the former, but, either way, the practice needs to end.

In meetings designated as special, members of the public are not allowed to speak, as they are in regular city meetings. They stymie comment, said Paul W. Wolf, president of the New York Coalition for Open Government.

The City Council should not allow the mayor to continue calling special meetings where the public is not allowed to speak, Wolf wrote in a letter to the Council.

While the city charter provides the mayor the power to call a special meeting, he said, and to limit the business items on the agenda, the Council also has powers that it can utilize to address this situation. It should.

The Open Meetings Law does not require public comment. But, in a democracy, it should be demanded.

Councilman Donta L. Myles has refused to attend many of the special meetings because he believes they are, for the most part, unnecessary and either a power play by the mayor or simply the result of poor management.

The question about the frequency and reasoning behind so many special meetings should be explained and in a forum open to the public. Restaino may very well have good reason to call special meetings, but Myles is asking the key question. Why so many?

One of those special meeting occurred on Feb. 25. Restaino called it with three days notice, on seven items on the agenda. Only two of those items were time sensitive contracts  one for the states USA Niagara Development Corp. to continue to manage Old Falls Street programming, the other allowing the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority to fund trolley service in the city this year.

Both are important items, but given that the contracts had to be approved by Feb. 28, they should have been resolved earlier, during regular meetings. The non-time sensitive matters could have waited.

The meeting was certainly efficient: All the agenda items were quickly and unanimously approved. The vote took just eight minutes, with Myles absent. But democracy isnt designed for efficiency. Its messy. Thats part of the deal.

The number of occasions for special meetings  others occurred on Nov. 15 with seven agenda items; Dec. 20 with 10 agenda items, and Jan. 14 with five items  begs the question as to whether these items could have been dealt with during regular council session and in a manner in which the public could have its say.

Council Chairman John K. Spanbauer is open to exploring alternatives in which the public is allowed to speak on agenda items. It would mark an improvement, but these guerrilla meetings  irregular and called with little notice  are bound to attract fewer residents. We hope thats not the aim.

The answer is to know when contracts are due, to schedule votes on them during regular meetings and, above all, to respect the right of citizens to take an appropriate part in their government.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
Happy St. Paddys Day for Western New York anglers looking to hit local waters. Remember that walleye and pike seasons are now closed until May. We will have to wait and see what happens with the new proposed regulations. The opening will either be May 1 or May 7.

Lake Erie and tributaries

Streams were looking great last weekend, Buffalos Danny Jankowiak said. He was hoping the runoff doesnt kill the week but expects the weekend to be great, despite rain being on the way. Egg patterns have been productive of late, with winter stoneflies and other smaller insects working well in the tributaries. There should be a push of steelhead some time soon. Guide Andy Full, of Full Fishing Guide Service, reports that creeks were on a slight rise Tuesday. He expects them to get high and muddy, but fish were starting to move in as of last weekend. All phases of trout were present, including freshies, spawners, and drop backs. Jigs and beads were working best for Full. Shub Stevens, with Catt. Creek Bait and Tackle in Irving, said have been a few trout reports from Walnut and Chautauqua creeks. Fresh steelhead were caught on white and pink marabou jigs. Night crawlers also have been working, too. Clear Creek is another good one that is producing fresh fish.

Niagara River

Shore casters have been struggling a bit, according to Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls. He hit the river at 6 a.m. Monday and was rewarded with one steelhead on a white with orange dot No. 4 spinner. However, he didnt connect again until he left at noon. Steelhead numbers seem to be down. Water clarity below the NYPA power plant was 3 feet, and 5 feet-plus above the power plant upriver. There was no ice in the lower river at the time, but ice will fluctuate with the winds and direction on Lake Erie. The March full moon Friday combined with rain could help pull some more steelhead into the lower river, Ziehm said. Water conditions have been good for boaters. The steelhead bite has gotten better than it has been all winter, reports Capt. Connor Cinelli of Grand Island. It has been more of a minnow bite than an egg bite, and the best spots have been Artpark and Devils Hole. The Niagara Bar has been picky but decent whenever boaters can get out there. Capt. Ryan Shea, of Brookdog Fishing Company, has been picking off some steelhead using live minnows and orange 10 mm beads. Tyler Cane of Randolph had the surprise of his life when he caught a big brown trout  his first ever  fishing with his brother and Capt. Frank Campbell on the Niagara Bar this week. He is hooked.

Lake Ontario and tributaries

The Mike and Mike angling duo  Mike Ziehm and Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls  hit some of the smaller Niagara County tributaries recently and they reported a couple of feet of visibility with low water. They connected on some decent brown trout using jigs. Some fish are starting to show up in the tributaries, but overall guide Scott Feltrinelli, of Ontario Fly Outfitters, has been disappointed in numbers of fish. Sandy Creek conditions were good earlier this week and he did connect with a big brown trout that took a purple woolie bugger. Dark colors on cloudy days work best as they silhouette against the sky well when a fish looks up at the moving object. Also, baitfish (all fish) reflect light. On a low light day (cloudy), baitfish look darker in color because of less reflected light. Dark flies on dark days; light flies on lighter/sunny days, Feltrinelli said. To the east off Oswego, some early trollers have been using stickbaits to start hitting some spring brown trout in the lake.

Flows in the Oak Orchard River are responding nicely to a few days of previous cold with dropping and clearing conditions, reported Ron Bierstine, with Oak Orchard Tackle. Water color is nice at a slightly stained 2 feet of visibility so drift chances are the best they have been so far this late winter/early spring period. Hook ups on some fresh fish are coming a little easier than the previous few weeks. Look for flows maintained around the slightly high/slightly stained for now. Other area smaller tributaries are at medium and slightly stained. Steelhead should be spread through the waterways and reports of a few fresh, silver browns are coming in, too. Lake casters should start to see some action at the piers soon. Wilson, Olcott and the Oak are all good spots to cast a spoon or a spinner.

Chautauqua Lake

A few rogue ice fishermen were out last weekend, and they did get some walleyes, according to Mike Sperry, with Chautauqua Reel Outdoors. However, its not safe now because there is a lot of open water. The walleye season ended Tuesday so the lake is in the transition from ice to open water. Hopefully, the crappie run is strong this year.

Ice fishing update

Bobby Joe Frost of Alden went to Chaumont Bay on the eastern end of Lake Ontario on Sunday, and Lake of the Isles on Monday. Both had 16-plus inches of good ice. He was heading to Cranberry Lake on Tuesday and Red Lake on Wednesday. That will probably conclude ice fishing for him this year. On Chaumont, they caught mostly perch. Ice team pro Scott Brauer had hoped to hit Oneida Lake last weekend, but the shore ice was going fast there so they went to northern Vermont near the Canadian border. They found some great ice that they could still drive trucks on. The female perch are sliding up under the flats in the grass to start laying the eggs; the males are staging in 18 to 20 feet of water waiting for the opportunity to go in. The colors this time of year, in many cases, follow the color patterns of year of the young fish, shrimp and aquatic insects, Brauer said. Look for what the fish are spitting up and match the color and body style the best you can. The heavy feed will start shortly. Fish now will have to sit on a nest for a period of time.

March Inland Stream Stockings

Inland stockings will be taking place in Western New York from March 22 to 24 when the Allegany County streams of Little Genesee Cree, California Hollow Brook, Root Creek, the Genesee River (at Wellsville and Amity), and Dodge Creek receive early plants of trout.

On March 25, Elton Creek in Cattaraugus County and Cattaraugus Creek in Wyoming County will be receiving some brown trout. On March 28, the Randolph hatchery will be heading to Goose and Cassadaga creeks in Chautauqua County, as well as Dyke and Cryder creeks in Allegany County. On March 29, the stocking trucks will be dumping trout in East Koy Creek and Letchworth Park Pond in Wyoming County, as well as Ischua Creek in Cattaraugus County.

On March 30, Wyoming County will be receiving some more stockings in Little Tonawanda Creek, Tonawanda Creek and Buffalo Creek. March stockings will conclude March 31 in Cattaraugus County with plants at Little Conewango Creek, Paisley Park Pond, Science Lake, Red House Brook, Quaker Run, and Quaker Lake. Check out the sites and numbers at www.dec.ny.gov. The Randolph Hatchery stocking hotline can be reached at 716-358-2050 if you want to hear the numbers for the above locations.
Biden to head to Brussels next week for show of unity with NATO leaders

President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels next week to meet with NATO leaders in his first European visit since Russian President Vladimir Putin started invading Ukraine, the White House announced Tuesday.

At the show of unity on March 24, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden will "reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies."

MORE: Limits emerge to blame-Putin politics: The Note

His trip follows the prime ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic heading to Kyiv on Tuesday, as shelling continues there, in a show of support to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the danger on the ground.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, on March 14, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Just before the White House announcement, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg tweeted, "I have convened an extraordinary Summit on 24 March at #NATO HQ. We will address #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence & defence. At this critical time, North America & Europe must continue to stand together."

Biden will also join a scheduled European Council summit "to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence and address other challenges related to the conflict," Psaki said.

MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates: NATO leaders including Biden to meet next week

The goal of Biden's trip to Brussels will be to meet "face-to-face" with his European counterparts to assess Russia's invasion of Ukraine, she said.

PHOTO: Firefighters work at the scene of an apartment building bombing in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 15, 2022. (Felipe Dana/AP)

"We've been incredibly aligned to date. That doesn't happen by accident," Psaki added. "The president's a big believer in face-to-face diplomacy. So, it's an opportunity to do exactly that."

She said that the NATO meeting is the "real focus right now," and wouldn't say if Biden will be making additional stops in Poland or to meet with refugees. Nearly three million people have fled Ukraine since the invasion began, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

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MORE: Map: Where Ukraine refugees are heading

Russia fired a barrage of missiles into Western Ukraine over the weekend, hitting a large military base near the Polish border and raising concerns an attack could hit neighboring NATO ally Poland, potentially triggering an Article 5 response.

Zelenskyy is scheduled to deliver a rare and historic, virtual address on Wednesday to members of Congress, which Biden will be watching, Psaki said. In an address to Canadas Parliament Tuesday, Zelenskyy wasnt shy to call out Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by name in an emotional appeal for more help to Ukraine.

PHOTO: Raquela, 2, and Manuela watch cartoons on an iPhone at Dumbraveni sports arena which has been converted to a temporary shelter, after they fled with their families from the beseiged Ukraine in Suceava, Romania March 15, 2022. (Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

While the U.S. has imposed a slate of economic and trade sanctions to isolate Putin, it's unclear what still remains available at the Biden administration's disposal since it has said there would be no no-fly zone, no U.S. troops in Ukraine and no help in delivering planes that NATO ally Poland wants to get to Ukrainians.

MORE: NATO's Article 5 could pull the US and its allies further into the Russia-Ukraine conflict

NATO has not agreed to Zelenskyy's central plea to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, with Psaki saying Tuesday the measure "essentially means us shooting down Russian planes, and them essentially shooting back at us."

Next week will mark Biden's third foreign trip and second to NATO headquarters in Brussels. It comes on the heels of Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken making stops in Europe this month.

Biden to head to Brussels next week for show of unity with NATO leaders originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
PARIS (Reuters) - Poland, Sweden, Estonia and Malta blocked on Tuesday a French-proposed compromise on how to implement minimum corporate tax across the European Union, dealing a blow to the global overhaul of cross-border tax rules.

As tax issues require unanimous backing in the 27-nation European Union, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that he would put the issue back on the table the next time ministers meet in April.

"Tax justice takes a long time but in the end it's important that tax justice wins," Le Maire told a meeting with top tax officials from EU countries.

After years of negotiations nearly 140 countries reached a two-track deal last October on a minimum tax rate of 15% on multinationals and agreed to make it harder for companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook to avoid tax by booking profits in low-tax jurisdictions.

France, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, has been pushing for quick EU implementation of the overhaul of cross-border tax rules.

However, in the face of concerns from some EU countries that they would not be ready, France proposed a compromise that pushed back implementation of the new rules until the end of next year, rather than the beginning.

It also proposed a firm political commitment to not let the two pillars of the overhaul be separated, but Poland said that did not go far enough and it needed stronger legal assurances.

"Tax justice means both pillars are implemented together," Polish revenue chief Magdalena Rzeczkowska told a meeting in Brussels, adding that Warsaw looked forward to a "more balanced" proposal.

Swedish, Estonian and Maltese officials also said that they could not sign on to the deal as it currently stands although Ireland and Hungary, which have had strong misgivings in the past, said they were satisfied.

The global tax reform is supposed to be brought onto countries' lawbooks next year, although that has long been seen as highly ambitious in large part because the U.S. administration has struggled to push it through Congress.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
(Bloomberg) -- Shareholders approved the merger of PropertyGuru Pte. and blank-check company Bridgetown 2 Holdings Ltd., paving the way for the online real estate marketplace to start trading in New York even as investor interest toward such deals wanes.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The proposal passed Tuesday at a special shareholder meeting of Bridgetown 2, the special purpose acquisition company backed by billionaires Richard Li and Peter Thiel. The combined entity will start trading March 18 on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PGRU, the company said in a regulatory filing.

PropertyGuru, led by Chief Executive Officer Hari Krishnan, is attempting to list at a challenging time for SPACs. After a flurry of listings last year, the market has now been hit by diminishing investor interest, a crackdown by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and falling stock prices.

Investor redemptions -- or the portion of Bridgetown 2 shareholders that chose to redeem their shares for cash -- was 59.3%, the company said in a statement. The number of SPAC deals that havent crossed the finish line has risen this year partly because of investors ability to redeem their stock. Redemptions also affect how much cash the company is left with.

Grab Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asias biggest ride-hailing and delivery company, has plummeted about 65% since the transaction was completed in December amid a broader tech sell-off and a disappointing earnings report. It was the largest SPAC deal.

The difficult conditions echo past challenges for PropertyGuru. Back in 2019, it scrapped plans for an initial public offering in Australia amid a rocky market and valuation concerns.

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PropertyGuru, founded by Steve Melhuish and Jani Rautiainen in Singapore 15 years ago to help residents to search for real estate online, has become a household name in the city-state. The company has since expanded into verticals such as home loans and data analytics, and moved into markets including Indonesia and Malaysia.

PropertyGuru is expecting total sales to rise 44% to S$145.1 million ($106 million) in 2022, banking on growth across all markets as economies reopen after the pandemic, according to a statement in February. The company also said it expects to return to positive adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Bridgetown 2 shares, originally sold at $10 each, fell 1.8% to $8.11 on Tuesday in New York.

(Updates with redemption rate in fourth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2022 Bloomberg L.P.
VAUGHAN, ON, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - Canada's iconic full-service family restaurant, Swiss Chalet, announces an upcoming restaurant re-opening in Sault Ste. Marie.

Swiss Chalet will be re-opening their restaurant located at 332 Great Northern Road, Sault Ste. Marie, ON in the spring of 2022. "We are excited to welcome back our Sault. Ste. Marie guests with our new franchisee partners," said Ron Simard, Chief Operating Officer at Swiss Chalet. "We continuously strive to serve our guests with excellence and look forward to having them visit us in our new space".

The Breen family, who are the new Swiss Chalet franchisee partners for this location, stated that "our team is thrilled to be able to host Guests within the region of Sault Ste. Marie again! We are a community brand and we plan to serve the community well for years to come."

This opening is one of several planned for the brand across various regions over the next few years.

About Swiss Chalet

Swiss Chalet was founded in 1954 with more than 200 locations across Canada under the operation of RECIPE Unlimited Corporation, Canada's oldest and largest full-service restaurant company. As a Canadian brand, Swiss Chalet prides itself in bringing Canadian families together for mealtime by serving real, delicious and wholesome comfort food. The brand is known for its iconic Swiss-inspired rotisserie chicken served with Signature Chalet Dipping Sauce. For more information, visit SwissChalet.com.

About Recipe

Founded in 1883, RECIPE Unlimited Corporation is Canada's largest full-service restaurant company. The Company franchises and/or operates some of the most recognized brands in the country including Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, St-Hubert, The Keg, Montana's, Kelsey's, East Side Mario's, New York Fries, Prime Pubs, Bier Markt, Landing, Original Joe's, State & Main, Elephant & Castle, The Burger's Priest, The Pickle Barrel, Marigolds & Onions, Fresh Since 1999 and Ultimate Kitchens. RECIPE's iconic brands have established the organization as a nationally recognized franchisor of choice. As at December 26, 2021, Recipe had 21 brands and 1,261 restaurants, 83% of which are operated by franchisees and joint venture partners, operating in several countries including Canada, USA, Saudi Arabia, India and the UAE. RECIPE's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol RECP. More information about the Company is available at www.recipeunlimited.com.

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SOURCE Swiss Chalet

Cision

View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2022/16/c0716.html
Just as the U.S. has finally turned the corner on a wave of COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant, multiple countries in Europe are showing an increase in infections  fueling concerns about the possibility of another global surge.

The United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Italy were among those that saw an upswing in cases this past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Germany saw a spike in cases from a low of 1,570 cases per million people on March 2, to 2,330 cases per million people as of March 12, and cases in the Netherlands are up from a recent low of 1,956 cases per million people Feb. 27 up to 3,955 cases per million people March 12, the data shows.

Among the countries whose data has charted an increased in cases, some have also seen a rise in hospitalizations, including Ireland, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

The possibility of a new variant or a spike in cases always exists given the nature of viruses, said Ogbonnaya Omenka, an assistant professor and director of diversity at the Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Science.

"A wave in Europe and other countries for that matter, might occur in the United States as well," Omenka told USA TODAY. "Because it is an infectious disease, unless we eradicate it, there is bound to be that possibility of its return ... As the virus variants have shown, even the possible return is not predictable in terms of its severity or degree of similarity to the previous forms."

Another factor at play in the rise of cases and a possible next wave: human behavior surrounding virus prevention measures. Omenka said human activities are among the factors that "can influence how things unfold."

England, Spain and France are among European countries that recently announced a shift in pandemic strategy: treating the virus as a part of daily life without full shutdowns.

NEW VARIANT?There may be a new COVID variant, Deltacron. Here's what we know about it.

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In England, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the end of all domestic COVID-19 restrictions at the end of last month, including lifting the legal requirement to self-isolate after testing positive.

A man walks past a health campaign poster from the One NGO in an underpass leading to Westminster underground train station in London.

"An 'endemic approach' indicates focus on living with the virus rather than eradicating it. As a result of the relaxation of certain guidelines, it is left for individuals to decide whether to continue measures such as mask-wearing or not," Omenka said. "It is not unusual for the public to start lowering the levels of their perceived risk of a threat, after dealing with it for an extended time."

The possible European surge also comes alongside conflict in Ukraine after the Russian invasion, leading to rising concerns about a public health crisis in the region sparked by densely crowded shelters and forced travel across borders. The WHO said earlier this month that the conflict may cause a surge in infections, straining scarce resources and contributing to more suffering and death.

OBAMA TESTS POSITIVE: Former President Barack Obama tests positive for COVID-19

Europe isn't the only part of the world seeing a spike in COVID-19 cases. China ordered a lockdown of the residents of the city of Changchun, closed schools in Shanghai and urged the public not to leave Beijing this weekend amid a new spike in cases in the area likely from omicron.

In the United States, cases are still trending downward following the initial wave of omicron: an average of 34,805 new daily cases, the lowest case rate since July, according to CDC data.

But only 44.3% of the U.S. population has received a booster dose, despite CDC data showing booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines have proven highly effective at preventing omicron-related hospitalizations. Just this weekend, former President Barack Obama tested positive for the virus after experiencing some symptoms for a "couple days." He is fully vaccinated and boosted.

"At this point, a new wave COVID-19 anywhere ought to be viewed as a potential new wave worldwide," Omenka said. "This is a more beneficial approach regardless of the outcome."

On a global level, the World Health Organization recently reversed its stance on booster shots and now "strongly supports urgent and broad access" to booster doses after previously insisting that boosters weren't necessary and contributed to vaccine inequity.

BA.2, known as the "stealth" omicron variant, is making up a growing number of cases in some countries, and some studies show that it may be up to 30% more transmissible than the original omicron variant. Cases of BA.2 made up an estimated 11.6% percent of cases in the United States as of March 5, according to CDC data, up from 6.6% Feb. 26.

'VERY SOBERING':Global deaths from COVID may be more than 3 times higher than official toll, study says

While viruses always mutate, there's a higher threat for populations when COVID-19 is active and able to spread in communities, according to Omenka.

"The common expectation is that new variants will keep arising from the virus," he said. "Since the relationship is like an arms race, we are left with modifying our approaches according to best available evidence. So, the forecast is made with ample room for uncertainty."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 cases rising in Europe: What this could mean for the US
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Boris Johnson in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 16, 2022 (via REUTERS)

Just weeks after Boris Johnson called on the worlds leaders to show "conviction and courage" in slashing global emissions at the UK-hosted Cop26 climate summit, the prime minister finds himself in Saudi Arabia urging Riyadh to help generate a major increase in global oil supplies.

Russias brutal war in Ukraine has prompted a rapid desire to end dependence on imports of Russian oil and gas, but even before the invasion, prices of these commodities had already soared, leading to record fuel prices.

Both the war, and a rise in demand have contributed to the record prices, leading to a cost of living crisis in Europe. The UK remains dependent on both oil and gas, and will do so for many years, despite enormous strides in the renewable sector.

While the UKs dependency on Russian gas for electricity generation and home heating has been a key focus in recent weeks, there has been less coverage of the UKs dependency on Russian oil.

While between 1 and 4 per cent of all gas burnt in the UK comes from Russia, around 8 per cent of all our oil is Russian, and diesel vehicles are particularly dependent on Russian oil, with 18 per cent of all diesel used in Britain made using Russian oil supplies.

With the prime minister promising to phase out all Russian oil by the end of the year, he is now seeking new sources.

Most of the UKs oil comes from Norway and the US. Russia is the third biggest source of oil in the UK, while smaller percentages come from a range of other countries including Canada, Nigeria, Algeria and Turkey.

As such, the prime minister is now turning to oil-rich Saudi Arabia in the hope the kingdom can increase production levels enough to help drive down the price of oil on the international market  lowering prices for European consumers, and with anti-Russian sentiment soaring, allowing Saudi Arabia to increase its share of the global oil market.

Johnson is said to "personally" know Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, with Number 10 officials failing to deny this week that the prime minister sends WhatsApp messages to the prince.

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But any oil agreement following Johnsons visit remains a tall order.

The prince has largely been shunned by the West after US intelligence concluded he ordered the murder of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdoms consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Meanwhile, Saudi concerns about US dealings with Iran on redrawing a new nuclear agreement are also casting shadows over Western interests, particularly as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are at war with Yemens Saudi-backed government.

The Crown Prince reportedly declined to speak to Joe Biden on a phone call about the global energy crisis.

In what has been interpreted as a further sign that Saudi Arabia is in no mood to negotiate, just last week the kingdom executed 81 men  mostly on charges of terrorism  in the biggest mass execution in the kingdoms modern history.

Johnsons trip is not being lauded at home either.

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has said Johnson going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy.

And in the House of Commons on Wednesday, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said Johnsons efforts to stop buying oil from Putin meant the prime minister was going "from one dictator to another on a begging mission.

She added: "The government have had 12 years to end their reliance on foreign oil and invest in homegrown energy to secure our supplies. Their failure has left us all vulnerable, reliant on another murderous dictator to keep the lights on and the pumps open."

Even setting human rights concerns aside, experts have repeatedly stressed the fastest way for the UK to end dependence on foreign fossil fuels is to invest in insulating homes and speeding up the roll-out of electric air source heat pumps.

Instead, Johnson is at pains to maintain our addiction to climate-altering hydrocarbons - even if it means cosying up to regimes which abuse human rights.
WAVERLY  Store-bought cards and Facebook messages have long been the birthday wish communication methods of choice. But a recently launched Waverly business is giving customers a new way to say Happy Birthday with greeting card displays that fill a front yard.

The business is the brainchild of Brianna Gable, a 2019 Waverly High School graduate and a junior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with majors in economics and communications and a minor in entrepreneurship.

As part of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Engler Entrepreneurship Program, Gable is enrolled in a course that challenges her to start her own business for a semester. The college provides $50 in seed money, and students are turned loose to build a brand in the span of a few months.

And hopefully you make a profit along the way, Gable said.

Gable has already succeeded on that front. She launched her business, Life of the Yardy, in early February and is fielding increasing interest from Waverly residents planning for celebrations and get-togethers. She invested $200 of her own money and has already made the money back.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Gable watched as outdoor greeting card displays popped up on her social media feeds and in front yards around Lincoln and Omaha.

I really loved them and thought they were super cool, but no one was doing it in Waverly, Gable said.

She said the existing players in the front-yard displays business hadnt spread to Waverly yet, likely because of the added cost of travel. The market remained untapped when Gable was brainstorming business concepts for her class. Why not bring the idea to Waverly?

Its just really nice to be able to offer a service that hasnt been here before, she said.

After what she called a slow start, she served six customers in her first month, and business is shaping up to stay steady beyond the end of UNLs spring semester. She said she has bookings lined up until fall. Her displays start at $55 per day.

Right now, Gable is Life of the Yardys sole employee, but that may have to change in May when graduation season rolls around. Shes received inquiries from 15 potential clients asking about graduation displays.

Thats going to require expanded inventory and some extra hands, but she thinks she can make it work by setting up two displays per day over the course of a few weekends.

The setup process calls for some stealthy movement  Gable tiptoes onto her customers front yards at night so the displays are a surprise the next morning.

You have to be a little bit sneaky, which I was a little bit worried about at first, but I havent run into any problems, she said.

Gable hasnt seen any of the big reveals in person yet, but feedback she has received online suggests that the displays are a hit.

Ive seen a few pictures and comments on Facebook from people who have received (the displays), and theyre always super excited about it and just love the added decoration that it brings to a birthday, Gable said.

As Life of the Yardy grows, Gable said, she hopes to expand her options to offer more customization for her clients. To have that as a possibility is a luxury, she said  many of the students in her class faced supply chain issues early on in their business ventures. Gable sources her displays from a supplier in Davenport, Iowa.

Because the business is part of a class, education is the objective. She said what shes learned the most so far is how to communicate with customers. The experience has been a learning opportunity, but its also provided gratification getting to know her clients and being a part of their celebration.

Its super neat to learn about their special occasion and why they want to make that persons day special, she said.

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Cheri Schrader said as the Platte County Historical Society Museum executive director, its her goal to maintain the areas history for future generations to learn and explore.

Schrader has also done that with a yearly visit to the Platte County Board of Supervisors, asking them to make a proclamation about maintaining the local history. On Tuesday, the board did just that -- the supervisors approved a resolution, proclaiming this upcoming May as Platte County History Preservation Month.

Its important to observe all history but particularly here we want to preserve Platte County history, said Schrader. Im the director of the museum so thats a big part of my job.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation created Preservation Week in 1971 as a way to highlight preservation efforts around the country. Half a century later, the week became an annual tradition observed through small towns and big cities across the U.S.

We would like to get the people of Platte County to realize we are trying to save the history of Platte County, Schrader said.  They can come to the museum and see it as well.

The resolution reads, Historic preservation is an effective tool for managing growth, revitalizing neighborhoods, fostering local pride and maintaining community character while enhancing livability.

It is important to celebrate the role of history in our lives and the contributions made by dedicated individuals in helping to safeguard the tangible aspects of the heritage that has shaped us as a people and enhanced our lives.

The resolution also says historic preservation is relevant for all ages and ethnic backgrounds. It ends by calling for the people of Platte County, Nebraska, to join their neighbors in recognizing and participating in this special observation.

Also, at the meeting, the board approved $5,000 from Speicher Electric to perform electrical work in the district courtroom. The work entails adding eight additional outlets to the courtroom, said Platte County District Court Clerk Marlene Vetick.

There are currently three outlets in the courtroom, however, with technology becoming more prevalent the current number isnt enough, Vetick said. Theyve had to use extension cords to fill the demand as of right now, she added.

This wont be the only upgrade coming to the local courthouse.

The Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts is also going across the state and updating courtrooms, Vetick said. The office is adding electrical upgrades that include digital recording systems.

These additions wont cost anything for the county, Vetick said, as the Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts is completely paying the bill. She added the overall price for the upgrades will be around $48,000.

We will need more electrical outlets, she said. Thats the bottom line.

Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net.

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Linda Egger began  and still maintains  a career in cattle but she said community members might best recognize her from helping younger generations with swine.

For the last 13 years or so, Linda has assisted area families and 4-H members in swine events like jackpots, showcases, state and county fairs and more.

Eggers work hasnt gone unnoticed.

The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee recently named Egger as the Outstanding Woman in Agriculture as part of the 2022 Rural Recognition Banquet recipients. A ceremony that will honor her and the other recipients will be held at 6 p.m. March 22 at Ag Park, 822 15th St.

Egger was humble about receiving the honor, saying she jokingly asked if she could decline the award.

I dont think Im deserving, Egger said, with a chuckle. I dont do that much. The people who I have known who have received it are way more involved in the industry and do a lot more than I do. Im just flabbergasted that Im receiving it, honestly. I just dont see that Im doing above and beyond. Im just doing what Im supposed to be doing.

Eggers daughter, Kylie, said her mom is quite humble about such honors.

She goes above and beyond, Kylie said. She doesnt give herself enough credit.

Egger grew up on a farm and ranch in Salina, Kansas, where she was involved in 4-H and first experienced raising and showing cattle. Egger said she quite enjoyed the time as she initially started showing heifers. She wound up doing this on a state and national level.

From there, Egger  who graduated from Kansas State University - and her father created an Angus operation, Don Johnson Angus, which is run out of Salina.

Although Egger and her family raise cattle to this day, she said she got involved with swine because of her children.

Similar to their mom, her kids began showing cattle, however, Egger was also raising commercial bulls around that time. She said the two worlds dont really flow together.

They ultimately decided to raise pigs instead. Egger said she and her son developed a strong interest in this field. It also led Egger and her family to help other kids with their swine.

I did this too when we were showing cattle, Egger said. If I can help a family or take a kid with us, we did a lot of times. I think whats been recognized in the community is my willingness to help kids with their projects.

Kylie said shes amazed by her moms work.

For the 4-H program, specifically, to continue to grow is huge for our area, Kylie said. The people she helps really appreciate it. Without Lindas help, they would not be as successful as they are.

The decision was a no-brainer for Egger. She said when she was younger, several folks would assist her with showing her cattle.

My mom and dad werent always able to go and my neighbor, she would take me with her brother and sister-in-law, Egger said. Or another family in Kansas would help transport me to these national shows. Growing up that way, thats what we would do. If you want can help someone along the way that has an interest in it, its good.

Andrew Kiser is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach him via email at andrew.kiser@lee.net.

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After months of discussion and impassioned pleas from parents and staff of West Perry School District, a proposal to allow Sadler Health Center to establish a primary care clinic on school campus was defeated by a 4-4 board vote Monday night.

School board member and treasurer Denise Bidwell was not present at Monday nights meeting, but Bidwell would probably need to abstain from the vote given an unconfirmed connection to Sadler, meaning theres unlikely to be a change to the final vote.

Substitute Superintendent Nancy Snyder said the vote is likely the end to the proposal. I dont think theres any interest for it to be reintroduced.

We are very much saddened for the students who will not be able to get the help that they need, said Manal El Harrak, CEO of Sadler Health Center. Were actively discussing the next step. We hope that it will come to an amenable outcome.

El Harrak said Sadler remains open to extending a helping hand to provide services to Perry County in its current Loysville location with the possibility of expanding in the future.

Though this is the end for the clinic, its not the end of the discussion.

West Perry School District signed a memorandum of understanding with Sadler Health Center for it to move ahead with upgrading a trailer on its campus for a clinic. Sadler received a grant from the Partnership for Better Health for the effort, and those upgrades have already been completed.

With the failed lease agreement, West Perry has broken that memorandum and is now potentially liable for the costs.

Snyder said that based on just two invoices for construction costs, upgrading the trailer cost $58,885.89. Any potential bill to the school district could also include legal fees incurred by Sadler during the process of creating the memorandum.

Snyder said board members were aware of this potential cost to taxpayers, though she said it remains to be seen if they will agree to pay it should such a bill arrive.

Clinic vote

The vote on the clinic boiled down to four recently elected school board members against those elected in 2019. Cassie Miller, Joyce Rogers, Wesley McKee and Krista Wills voted no on the clinic, while board president Crystal Summers, vice president Jean Rice, Shannon Morris and George Fishel voted in favor of the clinic.

Only Wills, Miller and Rogers voiced the reason for their no votes on Monday night, arguing that mental health services are already provided by Laurel Life and that a clinic could help students evade parental involvement in services.

Wills echoed some of the concerns brought up at the meeting and earlier by parents of students in the district. She said that Sadler Health Center failed to provide data they were seeking that proves a need for Sadler to operate a clinic on a school campus. She said that the two needs identified by the Perry County Health Coalition were transportation and mental health. She argued Laurel Life and other third-party agencies are potentially able to provide mental health services, and the clinic would not help alleviate transportation issues, so there was no reason provided to establish the clinic.

Their votes and explanations came after a series of public comments. A little more than half of those who spoke Monday night were in favor of the clinic, but many of those in favor were staff members and former school board directors, while nearly all those who opposed the clinic were parents.

During the meeting, some of the parents expressed concern about the emphasis the school district and other districts are placing on mental health, the lack of data on how a clinic would affect education and what they felt was robbing the parents of their right to take care of their children.

Proponents of the clinic argued that last talking point, referencing the number of students who live below the poverty line or who are homeless and those who dont have parents who can take time out of their work day to transport them to a primary care doctor if theyre sick.

Some of those who argued for the clinic included Amanda Davis, one of three certified school nurses, who spoke about the students she sees who are struggling with hunger, depression, chronic diseases, grief and addiction that she cant treat, but which she watches fester because of a variety of factors, from loss of parental medical insurance to lack of reliable transportation.

Another staff member emailed her story of grief over the loss of her daughter who suffered from an eating disorder, while another staff member talked about her sisters struggle with homelessness and the lack of parental involvement.

The proposed clinic had become so contentious the last few months that a few of those who spoke simply talked about the need to come together as a community and end the behavior they argued was trickling down to student behavior in school.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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Carlisle Police on Tuesday said a Carlisle man faces charges in connection with a 2018 burglary at Frog, Switch and Manufacturing Co.

Jayden Darrius Galloway, 20, was charged with felony burglary, criminal trespass and criminal mischief, as well as misdemeanor theft by unlawful taking in connection with the April 1, 2018, incident.

Police had responded that day at 9:15 p.m. to Frog, Switch on East High Street and discovered someone had forced their way into the administration building. Once there, the person deployed dry chemical extinguishers, which damaged electronic and computer equipment, and police found additional damage in the office of the manufacturing building.

Police said a pellet gun was also taken from an office, and the total amount of damage was in excess of $53,000.

Police linked Galloway to the scene through DNA analysis, and a criminal complaint was filed on March 10. The charges were filed via summons, and Galloway is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 4.

Email Naomi Creason at ncreason@cumberlink.com or follow her on Twitter @SentinelCreason

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HARRISBURG  New maps of General Assembly districts that reflect the past decades population changes in Pennsylvania survived legal challenges Wednesday when the state Supreme Court unanimously cleared the way for candidates to begin circulating petitions to get on the spring primary ballot.

The justices rejected objections to the district lines that were drawn by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission for the state House and Senate. As a result, the new districts will be in effect for the coming decade.

The justices adjusted the elections calendar, letting candidates begin to collect signatures starting Friday and lasting 10 days, until March 28. The primary election is May 17.

Mark Nordenberg, the former University of Pittsburgh chancellor who chaired the commission, said that after about 10 months of work the result was a very good pair of maps.

The process is not perfect, though few things that human beings do are, said Nordenberg, a Democrat appointed by the state Supreme Court. I am proud of the result and very gratified that the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed our plan as meeting all of the requirements of the governing law.

The commission approved the new maps 4-1 more than a month ago, with only House Republican Leader Kerry Benninghoff of Centre County voting against them.

Benninghoff issued a statement expressing his disappointment with the result and saying he was looking at our remaining legal options.

Nordenberg said there were no legal channels in Pennsylvania courts to challenge the maps.

Beyond that, Im really not sure about the theoretical possibilities, Nordenberg said.

Benninghoff called the House map a result of deliberate racial and political gerrymandering and said it generally diluted the voting power of minority groups  and Latino voters in Allentown in particular.

The commission majority aimed to expand the number of legislative districts in which Black, Latino and Asian voters have an opportunity to select the candidates of their choice.

It really means that we have swung away from some of the historic practices of either cramming too many members of minority groups into a district, which resulted in there being too many votes than they needed, or cracking those votes and distributing them so widely that they really could not influence elections, Nordenberg said. And this really strikes a better balance.

Benninghoff launched one of the nine appeals the justices denied, along with challenges from some Butler County residents, a couple state lawmakers, math and science professors at Pennsylvania schools, a candidate running for a state House seat and others.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, described the maps as fair, reasonable and supported in a bipartisan way.

Todays decision means we can proceed with our election calendar and folks can begin preparation to run for office or learn who their potential representatives will be, Costa said.

Democrats hope the reshuffled legislative maps will help them make inroads into the Republicans firm control over both chambers. The GOP currently has a 113-90 House majority and a 29-21 Senate majority based on maps that have been in place since the 2014 election.

The states new map of congressional districts was produced by the state Supreme Court after the Republican legislative majorities and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf failed to reach a deal. The U.S. Supreme Court a week ago turned down a request to overturn them.

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The crash on Interstate 81 southbound between Exit 52, US 11/Middlesex and one mile south of Exit 49, High Street, has been cleared, PennDOT says.

Reported earlier on Cumberlink:

A crash on Interstate 81 south has closed all southbound lanes Wednesday afternoon and is causing delays in the northbound lanes, according to PennDOT's website.

PennDOT's 511pa.com shows that traffic is backlogged southbound from the Middlesex exit, near where the crash occurred, to the Mechanicsburg exit as of 5:15 p.m.

PennDOT said rubbernecking is also causing some backlogs on the northbound lanes in the Carlisle area, and traffic is stop-and-go to nearly the South Hanover Street exit.

Heavy traffic was also reported in Carlisle as motorists on I-81 sought other routes.

Pennsylvania State Trooper Megan Ammerman told ABC27 that the road was closed due to a fuel leak that happened during the crash. State Police are also telling people to avoid the area.

No further details about the crash were immediately available.

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With confidence, the close-knit friends have it all sewn up.

Since mid-January 2016, Doriss Quilters for Vets have been on a mission to comfort those who have served in the military.

Working from home, this group of volunteers have made and gifted 901 lap quilts to veterans in all 50 states across all service branches.

As long as we can, we will continue it, said Doris Fahnestock, group founder. We feel very strongly that veterans need something to know they are being appreciated. We really need to give as much as we can to them.

Quilters for Vets can trace this pattern back to its early days when American Legion Post 674 of Mount Holly Springs donated money toward the purchase of fabric and other supplies.

The group was formed after the late Ronald Horn, a legion member, approached the local United Methodist Church to ask if quilters would be interested in making quilts for patients at the VA Medical Center in Lebanon.

The church quilting circle was already busy making products for a variety of charities including Project SHARE and the Sadler home. A church member, Fahnestock decided to take on the challenge of making a quilt for each bed at the VA medical center. She reached out to friends and brought them together at her home on Jan. 14, 2016, to gauge interest.

For Fahnestock, the mission was personal. Her husband Max was a Korean War veteran. She also heard stories of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan struggling with physical and emotional wounds. She wanted to do her part and comfort them.

Back then, the group consisted of five seasoned quilters and about seven novices. To maximize efficiency, the workload was broken down into tasks in an assembly-line fashion, where each person took work home to bring back to group meetings held every two weeks.

Over the years, people came and went and the means of production changed to where each member completes each quilt from start to finish.

One woman delivers the goods despite a bout with liver cancer, Fahnestock said. And a member in South Carolina works long-distance, receiving bundles of unfinished quilts from Pennsylvania, she said.

COVID-19 prevented the group from meeting in-person for almost two years and made it difficult for the quilters to visit veterans in local nursing homes and retirement communities. Today, members meet every six to eight weeks in Mount Holly Springs for a gab session and dessert.

To scout out prospects, the quilters routinely attend local Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies. Every time we see a veteran, we reach out to them and ask if they need a quilt, Fahnestock said.

Weve received numerous letters thanking us, she said. Weve received quite a few hugs. The veterans are just so happy that somebody recognizes that they did something for the country. Were just so happy to do it for them.

David Toner of Mount Holly Springs has been with the group since its inception. As the only male in the group, he has learned and practiced every step in the quilt-making process.

I wasnt familiar with quilts and quilt-making until I joined this group, Toner said. Its been very rewarding to see the veterans receiving these quilts.

He credits the group and its achievements to Fahnestock. It has been a very successful venture because of Doris, Toner said. She has been the backbone of the whole thing.

Doris is the person in charge and we all listen, said Karen Shirey of Mount Holly Springs. Believe me, shes one tough taskmaster.

The wife of a retired Army colonel, Shirey was a novice quilter when she joined the group. Her skills improved and she branched off into other areas, such as securing for the quilters a $2,000 grant from the G.B. Stuart Charitable Foundation to purchase fabric and other supplies.

In 2018, Quilters for Vets embarked on a project to broaden their reach. Since many of us were military wives, we had contacts across the United States, Shirey said. Between those contacts and friends in the military, we were able to gift quilts to veterans in all 50 states. We started that around 2018 and just wrapped that up in 2021.

There is no doubt we are totally committed to helping the veterans, she said. The ongoing support of veterans and their activities is at the center of what we do. Its our small way to show our appreciation.

Email Joseph Cress at jcress@cumberlink.com.

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If incarceration was a character, who would they be? The public is invited to a talk by Adelle Sefton-Rowston on Tuesday, March 22, at 4 p.m. at Pebble Hill.

What can an Aussie learn about prisons, not so much from going inside, but from books shes reading in Alabama? Celebrate world storytelling day this March with a meditative reading of texts and carceral arts from different continents to better understand a human-centered approach to prison reform. Adelle will share her experience teaching creative arts in prison in Australia, alongside insights shes acquired while teaching in prisons in Alabama. From deep understandings of Forrest Gump to critical applications of Just Mercy  there is so much to consider about incarceration before going home.

Sefton-Rowston is a visiting Fulbright scholar from Darwin, Australia. She is working with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project to teach and observe classes in several correctional facilities. She is a poet, essayist and researcher exploring how creative writing informs a human-centered approach to prison reform.

The program is co-sponsored by the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project, a program at Auburn University dedicated to bringing educational opportunities to prisoners in Alabama. The program helps the adult prison population gain a quality education and also fosters a relationship with learning that will continue to grow for the rest of their lives.

The Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts & Humanities at Pebble Hill is located at 101 S. Debardeleben Street, Auburn. For more information on this or other programs, call 334-844-4903 or click here.
For decades, being a student in Tokyo meant you had to look a certain way. Under the public school systems dress code, all students had to dye their hair black, certain hairstyles were prohibited and even their underwear had to be a designated color.

But these rules, which have recently come under scrutiny and been criticized as outdated, will now be abolished, the citys authorities announced this week.

A total of five rules will be dropped by nearly 200 public schools across the Japanese capital, including regulations on hair and underwear color, and a ban on two block hairstyles, which are long on top and short at the back and sides  a style currently in fashion in many countries.

Other rules being cut include the practice of punishing students with a form of house arrest, and ambiguous language in the guidelines on what is considered typical of high school students.

The policy changes go into effect at the start of the new semester on April 1. The move came after Tokyos board of education conducted a survey last year that asked schools, students and parents about their views on the policies.

Tokyo isnt the only Japanese city with a strict dress code  similar rules are in effect around the country, with many schools requiring students to wear shoes and socks of a designated color.

Schools in Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu, also have rules restricting students hairstyles and dictating both the color and pattern of their underwear, according to CNN affiliate Asahi Shimbun.

Like Tokyo, Fukuoka conducted a public survey last year, in which students complained that the dress code caused them stress and limited their self-expression, Asahi reported.

The issue was thrust into the spotlight in 2017 when a high school student in Osaka prefecture sued her school, a case that attracted national attention and prompted widespread public debate on restrictive dress codes.

She alleged that she had been forced to dye her naturally brown hair black when she first joined the school, and was told to re-dye it every time her brown roots grew back, according to Asahi. She was eventually given academic penalties for not dyeing it often enough.

Story continues

Her lawsuit complained that the frequent coloring had damaged her hair and scalp, and caused her mental distress. Last year, she won 330,000 yen (about $2,790) in damages.

Other students and families have since spoken out with similar complaints, while several schools have announced changes to their dress codes.

This spring, a school in Ube, Yamaguchi prefecture, will become the first in the city to introduce a genderless uniform, with students of all genders given a choice between slacks and skirts, Asahi reported  a major break from the strictly gendered dress codes still widespread in Japan.

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Lawmakers in the Missouri House wrapped up the first half of the 2022 legislative session with a productive week of work and a long list of legislative accomplishments. As the General Assembly heads into its annual spring break, House members have been able to send the majority of their legislative priorities to the other side of the building.

House Speaker Rob Vescovo, Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher, and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann touted the passage of key policy items such as the No Patient Left Alone Act, voter ID requirements, school funding equity and school choice bills, protections from burdensome vaccine mandates, stronger Second Amendment rights, and safeguards to prevent efforts to defund law enforcement.

Our members have worked hard during these first months of session to address the issues the people of Missouri care about deeply. Were extremely proud of what theyve been able to accomplish and were hopeful the Senate will be able to take up many of these measures and pass them into law in the final eight weeks when we return from break, said Vescovo, R-Arnold, Plocher, R-St. Louis, and Wiemann, R-OFallon.

In total, the House has sent more than 35 pieces of legislation to the other chamber. To date only one measure, a supplemental budget bill, has received final approval in the Senate. Vescovo, Plocher, and Wiemann said the House will continue to advance its priorities with the hope many of them will be approved by the Senate and sent to the governors desk to be signed into law.

As the legislature heads into its week-long break, some of the key items approved by the House include:

 Protections from Burdensome Mandates - HB 1686 and HB 2358 & 1485 are two bills designed to protect Missourians from mandates that would take away their right to decide whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

 No Patient Left Alone Act - HB 2116 would protect the rights of patients to have visitors during a hospital stay.

 School Funding Equity - HB 1552 works to secure fair funding for all students in public education in areas where public charter schools can currently function

 Public School Open Enrollment Act - HB 1814 is designed to make students and their families the center of the states educational focus by allowing inter-district transfers in the public school system.

 Congressional Redistricting - HB 2117 would establish new boundaries for Missouris eight congressional districts that are compact and contiguous as required by the constitution while also keeping communities of interest and like-mindedness together.

 Enhanced Election Integrity - HB 1878 and HJR 94 would give voters the option to reinstate a voter ID requirement that was approved by voters but struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2020.

 Initiative Petition Reform - HJR 79 and HJR 91 would give voters the option to reform Missouris initiative petition process to require a two-thirds majority vote at the ballot to change the Missouri Constitution.

 Medicaid Reform HJR 117 - A proposed constitutional amendment that would allow voters to decide if key reforms should be enacted for the states growing Medicaid program.

 Law Enforcement Funding Protections - HB 1986 is designed to ensure the Kansas City Police Department receives the funding it is entitled to under state law.

 Strengthened Second Amendment Rights - HB 1462 will expand and strengthen the rights of law-abiding gun owners in Missouri by allowing a concealed carry permit holder to lawfully carry firearms on public transportation, reducing the age requirement for a concealed carry permit to 18, and removing the prohibition on carrying of firearms in churches and other places of worship.

 Support for Ukraine - HR 3658 expresses support for Ukraine and its people, and condemns Russias attack on the sovereign nation. The resolution condemns the attack in the strongest possible terms and strongly endorses swift and severe economic sanctions and stringent export controls on Russia.

The Missouri House will return from its break Monday, March 21. Lawmakers have until Friday, May 6 to complete work on the state operating budget and Friday, May 13 to secure final passage for all other legislation.

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Area firefighters responded to a fire at a vacant mobile home in northern St. Francois County Monday night.

Bonne Terre/Big River Fire Chief David Pratte said the dispatch came in at 8:13 p.m. Monday for a fire in the 3000 block of Crow Lane off of Berry Road near the county line.

Pratte said the crews arrived to find an abandoned trailer engulfed in flames. The chief said firefighters contained the fire without incident and were on the scene for approximately 45 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Pratte said the structure would be a total loss. The chief noted that the cause of the fire was not determined and said the fire was not currently under investigation.

Assisting the Bonne Terre/Big River Fire Department with Monday nights containment efforts were firefighters from Farmington, Desloge, Festus Fire District, and De Soto Rural Fire District.

Bobby Radford is a reporter for the Daily Journal. He can be reached at bradford@dailyjournalonline.com

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The Daily Progress

For a decade Valerie Goodman decorated Easter eggs for fun. Now, shes doing it for money to help Ukraine thwart Vladimir Putins Russian invaders. Goodman is organizing Psanky parties. Psanky is a traditional Ukrainian egg decoration method. Goodman learned how to do it from a friend. She hopes to teach it to dozens of small groups until Easter. She charges $25 for each egg a student paints. All proceeds go to Ukrainian relief funds vetted by CNN.

She recently sent a check to UNICEF, but will send to other properly vetted relief groups.

To date, Goodman has signed up about 70 egg decorating students. She wants as many more as she can handle. Goodman, a registered nurse, still works two days a week at the University of Virginia Medical Center. She calls herself semi-retired. She will be anything but if her fund-raising campaign takes off.

She thinks she can handle two Psanky parties per day with each party taking roughly two hours. Thats the amount of time it takes to decorate a single egg using the elaborate coloring scheme.

Goodman set a goal of collecting $250 for war relief from each party. It will likely be a stretch without extra largesse from participants. At $25 per egg, she will need 10 participants per class to collect $250. She averages six per class at present, but says that may be the optimal number for the hands-on instruction Psanky requires.

Still, she is willing to do what it takes to make her idea reality. She can handle small painting parties at her house, but, if necessary, will go to other homes and larger venues up to 15 miles from Charlottesville. She looks for places such as wineries or art centers that not only provide free space but will match whatever the class chooses to donate.

Like so many Americans, Putins Hitleresque invasion of Ukraine shocked Goodman. Although she has a long history of service, including mission trips to the Dominican Republic, she felt paralyzed, frustrated at her inability to do anything about Ukraine. Then, she chose to do small things with great people.

Goodman believes in her product. She calls it beautiful Ukrainian art. It includes hot wax, a copper and wooden writing implement called a kitska and colorful dyes.

I wish the people in Ukraine could be making eggs for their families this Easter, she said. But they cant. So she does it symbolically and donates dollars to funds that she hopes can relieve the suffering of people bombed out of their homes and trying to live without clean water, electricity and sufficient food.

Social media should help Goodmans cause. She set up a Facebook pageCharlottesville Egg Aid for Ukraineto make it easy to schedule Psanky parties. A web linkhttps://tinyurl.com/2p8rae5wallows folks interested in learning the craft and donating to Ukraine relief to use an online calendar to arrange to host a party. Venues willing to donate space and matching funds can use the calendar. To work out details or make direct donations, people and organizations can reach Goodman at valbgoodman@yahoo.com.

Her end point for the egg decorating campaign is April 17, Easter Sunday. She hopes the bounty of her efforts resonate in Ukraine after that. She counts on generous strangers like the Psanky class she taught recently. Only three people showed up for the party. But when it ended, they were so impressed that they covered the entire $250 donation to war relief.

Thats philanthropy worth duplicating hundreds of times over.
Kara McClurken has been advocating for a more inclusive and accessible playground for children with disabilities in Charlottesville since 2018, the same year her son, Bennett, died. Now, plans for a playground are moving forward with the backing of the city.

Bennetts Village, a nonprofit named for McClurkens son, is dedicated to building Central Virginias first accessible playground.

There is no place in central Virginia where folks of all ages and all abilities have play space, access to structures that really let them have inclusive play, McClurken said during a city presentation Tuesday.

Bennetts Village first proposed the playground project to City Council in 2019. The campaign now has the support of the city and is working with the Charlottesville Department of Parks and Recreation to make the playground a reality.

Bennetts Village held three public input sessions in partnership with the city, one in person at the site Monday and two via zoom Tuesday.

Working with the city, it was determined that Pen Park is probably the best location in the system for such a playground. We have a large parking lot and its easy to get to, said Chris Gensic, parks and trails planner with the city.

Bennett had a terminal form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy type I, a genetic disorder that causes muscular weakness. While he couldnt access activities at many traditional playgrounds because he was in a wheelchair, he loved visiting PARK365, an accessible playground in Richmond.

McClurken was inspired to start a similar park in Charlottesville.

When I talk about this village, this is not just a playground for kids. We think of this as a space where all ages, all abilities can come together and enjoy our outdoor play spaces, McClurken said.

Bennetts Village and the city are seeking input from the community as they move forward with the project. Gensic said Parks and Recreation staff will analyze the input and work with city management staff as well as Bennetts Village. The plans and input may eventually be presented to City Council.

We have monthly conversations with the city now, with Parks and Rec, to talk about sort of next steps. Now it is a matter of making final decisions about what we think we want and then running it to the [Americans with Disabilities Act] coordinator in the city and getting feedback from them, McClurken said.

McClurken has been working with parents and families of children with a variety of disabilities, as well as special education teachers in Albemarle County Public Schools to get ideas so that the playground will serve a wider population.

The nonprofit hired an architectural firm, Mahan Rykiel, which designed a plan for the playground that has won multiple awards.

We chose them in part because the lead architect has a daughter whos on the [autism] spectrum and so it was a research interest of hers. She has education and training, but also has very personal experience with her own family. Weve tried to let personal experiences drive that design, McClurken said.

The playground is designed as accessible to wheelchairs and those with mobility issues. It is also designed for children with other issues such as autism. There are hiding pods for children who may want to step away and be alone if they are overstimulated.

The design also includes donut swings, which a child can lay on, and a cableway, similar to a zip line, that would be accessible to children in wheelchairs.

The first part of the project will be a treehouse, which Bennetts Village hopes to complete in 2023. The next parts of the playground will be built in phases as funding comes in. Community input is vital and will help determine which parts of the playground are built first, McClurken said.

Funding, however, is a major barrier. McClurken said the project will cost an estimated $5 million while Bennetts Village has raised a little over $170,000.

While the group primarily plans to gather through grants and fundraisers, there are plans to at some point request funding through the citys Capital Improvement Program and seek a possible financial commitment from Albemarle County.

The nonprofit has also been in touch with state representatives.

This is going to be a community project, so we are open to all possible funding sources, McClurken said. There is a process. It takes time. It takes years, but we are looking at all avenues,

Donations can be made at bennettsvillage.org. Suggestions for the project can be sent to gensic@charlottesville.gov. Individuals and families of individuals with disabilities are encouraged to reach out to bennettsvillage@gmail.com to take a bigger part in the project.

I can tell my story and I will continue to tell my story about Bennett, but its not about Bennett anymore, McClurken said. I do this work in honor of my son and in memory of my son, but its really about creating safe and inclusive spaces for my friends and neighbors.

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Courtesy of U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger and President Joe Biden, $200,000 in federal money is coming Culpeper Countys way, to replace the decades-old flat roof on The Carver Center near Cedar Mountain.

The multi-purpose center, housed in the former George Washington Carver Regional High School, is being developed as a rural community education campus. Until 1968, Carver educated African American students from Culpeper and three other area counties before the state desegregated its public schools.

On Tuesday afternoon, Biden signed into law Spanbergers legislation earmarking money for the roof, which is integral to continuing to convert the decades-old school building into a home for classrooms, a commercial kitchen and Virginia Extension offices.

It means Abigail Spanberger has put Carver as a top priority in this community, Carl Stafford, Culpepers senior extension agent, said of the news in an interview. Securing this federal funding is an achievement. Spanberger taking this to Washington, in the form of a budget request, was a big, big deal to me.

The 7th Congressional District lawmaker secured the funding for Culpeper as part of a fiscal 2022 appropriations package passed by the House and Senate. The Carver Center roof is the first Virginia Extension project, statewide, to receive money from Congresss new Community Project Funding, once commonly referred to as earmarks, a spokesman for Spanberger said Tuesday.

After major reforms, Congress created Community Project Funding to ensure members, in concert with the communities they represent, can directly apply for federal money to support locally planned projects during the annual appropriations process.

Gary Deal, chairman of the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors, expressed gratitude for the appropriation.

These funds will directly contribute to the Carver Centers revitalization as a cultural, agricultural and vocational education campus, Deal said in a statement. As a lifelong resident of Culpeper, I am very proud of the Carver initiative, and the benefit and camaraderie it brings to the region. 

The Carver Center holds great potential and continues to gain momentum in direct response to the tireless effort put forward by the George Washington Carver Regional High School Alumni Association, 4-County Museum, George Washington Carver Agricultural Research Center, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Culpeper County staff, and the Culpeper County Board of Supervisors, Deal said. The story of the Carver Center continues to be written by the many organizations and individuals working in collaboration for the preservation of this important landmark.

The appropriation will support creation of a Carver-campus food processing center that includes a commercial kitchen for educational use and small business operations. That project will help sustain food businesses and small and medium-sized local farms, Spanbergers office said.

The money will also help The Carver Center continue addressing unemployment and poverty, reducing the loss of farmland, and improving the local economy, the congresswomans office said.

The George Washington Carver Regional High School Alumni Association appreciates all efforts to restore, maintain and enhance our historical facility, said the Rev. Frank D. Lewis Sr., chairman of the alumni group. As the building is re-purposed and new programs and activities are housed, it is important that physical updates are made to ensure its longevity. ... The roof project will also provide an opportunity to achieve one of the associations major goals, the restoration of the schools original name to the building.

Spanberger said she is proud to have worked with Culpeper leaders to aid The Carver Centers incredible mission.

Since coming to Congress, I have been focused on bringing federal resources home to Central Virginias communitieslike this funding, the Democratic legislator said in a statement. I am encouraged that the $200,000 allocated to this project will now be going straight to Culpeper, and I want to thank Culpeper Countys local officials for their engagement with my office and their commitment to their neighbors.

The Carver Center serves Culpeper and neighboring communities by housing vocational training, agricultural education programs, and a museum dedicated to educating the public on the inequities of segregation.

The Carver 4-County Museum, housed in the schools former library, receives visitors for tours and has earned acclaim in the region for its exhibits and programs, Lewis said.

Stafford said he has told his colleagues in Virginia Extension he appreciates that, now, people in the nations capital know what and where The Carver Center is, thanks to Spanberger and Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel H. Bronaugh. The latter official, who has taken part in programs at Carver, was previously Virginias commissioner of agriculture and consumer services and state director of the U.S. Department of Agricultures Farm Service Agency.

Spanbergers office said she worked with community leaders in all 10 counties of the 7th District to gather their requests for Community Project Funding. For the full list of her submissions, click here. To be eligible, projects must be sponsored by local or state governments or nonprofit groups and otherwise meet qualifications for federal grants.
A trio of people appeared before the Lebanon City Council to fight what they fear will become high-density rental housing and urban encroachment on farmlands as part of a request to add about 80 acres into the city.

The law won.

Speaking during a public hearing Wednesday, March 9 commenters sounded the alarm, saying the annexation of 79.8 acres of farmland will lead to new apartment complexes, change tax rates and increase traffic on Stoltz Hill Road where it serves as a boundary between rural and urban Lebanon near the citys southwest corner.

The council pushed back for more than 20 minutes, arguing those questions dont strictly apply to Lebanons annexation process and that private property owners are entitled to rights and freedom. The message: Come back if and when the propertys owner applies to develop the land.

Lindsay Pehrson, a licensed nurse who announced a run earlier this year for Lebanon mayor, was the third to speak and reiterated concerns that annexation will lead to high-density rental housing rather than add single-family homes that she argued give buyers a sense of pride in the town where they live.

You already know supply and demand is insane, so if we continue chopping up farmland  which I know you cant say thats happening  but if we annex it in, thats a potential, right? Pehrson said.

Ward 3 Councilor Jason Bolen pointed to Pehrsons shirt, which read respect liberty, and asked Pehrson whether she respects personal freedom.

I certainly do, Pehrson said.

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Then whats happening tonight is youre trying to infringe on the right of a property owner to do what he legally is able to do with his property, Bolen said. The city is not in any place to stand in the way of an American citizen doing what they are legally entitled to do with their property.

G&F McAdams Farms LLC, represented by George McAdams of Corvallis, applied to annex the property into Lebanon city limits. The citys Planning Commission unanimously agreed at its Feb. 19 meeting to recommend annexation to the council, which has final say by passing an ordinance.

The council voted unanimously to grant the annexation.

What happens to the property after annexation is up to the owner, city Development Director Kelly Hart said in an interview. Annexation brings property inside the boundaries of the city, qualifying the land for such municipal services as water and sewer and building homes in line with city code, but those changes are approved through separate processes.

As of present, no buildings or improvements to the land have been proposed.

Annexations in Lebanon generally lead to development, Hart acknowledged. But thats a mix of single-family, detached houses; high-density apartment complexes; and duplexes that sometimes are regarded as middle housing which fits a niche between rentals and track homes.

Theres no correlation of annexation equals apartments, Hart said.

Proposed annexations, she added, have drawn over the years commenters who generally are concerned with increasing the regions supply of single-family houses or preventing changes to sparsely populated neighborhoods that would cause influxes of people.

Its not the first time weve seen that level of opposition, and its not the last, Hart said.

Annexation in Oregon is a quasi-judicial process, meaning the city has very specific criteria that the applications either check off or they don't. City officials have to consider how the proposal fits under Lebanons strategic plan and development code. Those codes in turn are informed by state requirements to periodically measure how much housing the city needs based on predicted growth of its population.

Councilors at the meeting last week argued they could only hear comments related to those criteria, i.e., is the property inside the urban growth boundary, alongside city limits, and can it be annexed without a change to the citys policies?

Lebanons most recently sold lots or homes sat on land measuring between .13 and 2.5 acres. The median was .23 acres or about 10,000 square feet. Many of Lebanons annexations after the start of 2020 have been about .5 to 2 acres.

Alex Powers covers business, environment and healthcare for Mid-Valley Media. Contact him at 541-812-6116 or alex.powers@lee.net.

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A 161-unit multifamily housing project in Albany is a step closer to breaking ground following a vote by the Albany Planning Commission on Monday, March 14.

The 14.18-acre parcel known as Honey Grove would include 41 lots for single-family homes and one large lot for an 120-apartment complex. Each would sell at market-rate prices.

According to the development plan, the project would set aside nearly 2 acres for improvements to Three Lakes Road Southeast as well as the construction of two internal streets.

Honey Grove would include 210 automobile parking spaces, 30 bicycle parking spaces, some 25,000 square feet of open lawn area and a playground, the plan shows.

City documents show the site neighbors a manufactured home park to the north, a single home to the south, an undeveloped farmland parcel to the east and two light industrial properties to the west.

Albany-based developer Jay Conser & Sons LLC submitted its application for the project on Nov. 18. The application was completed as of Jan. 14.

The Honey Grove site also includes 3.94 acres of continuous wetlands in the development zone, none of which would be developed.

According to conclusions from the Oregon Department of Transportation included in the plan, the site is projected to have a "non-significant impact" on local traffic.

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"It definitely would provide additional housing and a community that really needs it," Albany Lead Current Planner David Martineau said in an interview.

The builder

Conser & Sons has built a variety of housing projects in Salem, McMinnville, Millersburg, Philomath and Corvallis. The family construction firm also built housing subdivisions in Albany throughout the '80s and '90s.

Matthew Conser, a manager of Conser & Sons who also serves as president with his brothers on a rotating basis, credits its success to his ancestor, Jacob Conser, who helped found the city of Jefferson.

"It's in our blood," Conser said in an interview. "We've been doing this for decades. We're not new to this."

According to Conser, Honey Grove is one small step in solving the supply and demand problem plaguing the housing market in Albany and at large.

"The key is supply for all housing types, of all shapes and sizes, so that you build a nice home someone can move into, and free up their entry level home for the first time homebuyer," Conser said.

He hopes the project could begin construction this summer with the Albany City Council's go ahead.

Zone of contention

Honey Grove is the latest effort in Albany to help meet demand for "middle housing."

Middle housing is a term for smaller attached or clustered housing types built at a similar scale as detached single-family homes. For lower-income residents, middle housing like apartment complexes can be cheaper and present them with more options.

In January, Albany updated its zoning codes in line with House Bill 2001, a 2019 state law requiring Oregon cities to diversify their housing options in residential areas by permitting middle housing by June 30.

Today, Honey Grove is considered a low-density residential parcel, barring residential construction like multifamily units.

At a virtual Monday meeting, the Planning Commission recommended the Albany City Council amend its zoning codes to reclassify Honey Grove as a medium-density residential parcel, allowing it to move forward for approval by the Albany City Council.

The vote followed concerns voiced by Albany resident James Phillips of Spicer Wayside Southie that the new homes could worsen water runoff.

In response, Conser referred to the project's storm water management plan, which concluded its effect on water runoff will be "net zero."

"The water runs off the roofs of those apartments, it goes into a detention base, and we meter it out as if it was the pre-development site," Conser said. "So that's all we can do and that's all we're required to do."

Filling a need

By 2040, Oregon will need 583,559 new homes to meet projected demand, based on findings from the state's Department of Land Conservation and Development. The Willamette Valley alone needs 146,589 homes in that time.

A 2019 Portland State University study pegged Albany's average annual growth rate from now until 2040 at 1.27%. By 2040, Albany is projected to add as many as 23,300 new residents who may need up to 6,750 new housing units, the study found.

Upper income households make up 35% of future demand in Albany or the single greatest share. Low- to extremely low-income households making $30,000 per year or less comprise 45% of future demand combined.

The Albany Housing Task Force reported in February around 27% of Albany households earned less than $35,000 in 2019.

Honey Grove's homes are meant to be starter homes for first-time buyers, Conser told the Planning Commission at Monday's meeting. What they'll sell for in this market is an open question.

"Two things that we can control are the size of the homes and the size of the lots," Conser said.

The Honey Grove project is tentatively scheduled for debate by the Albany City Council on April 13.

Albany is also actively recruiting participants for a focus group this week to discuss housing issues online and in-person.

The Albany Planning Commission and the Albany City Council will hold a joint work session on housing and other issues for East Albany, online and in-person, at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, March 21 in the Albany City Council Chambers.

Editor's note: This article has been edited to better state the topic of the joint City Council-Planning Commission meeting.

Tim Gruver covers the city of Albany and Linn County. He can be contacted at 541-812-6114 or Tim.Gruver@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter via @T_TimeForce.

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Auburn University Libraries Discover Auburn Lecture will host Will Gulsby in a program titled Whats in a gobble: understanding and addressing wild turkey declines in Alabama and the Southeast. The program will be held March 23 at 3 p.m. in the Caroline Marshall Draughon Auditorium on the first floor of the Ralph Brown Draughon Library. Attendees may attend in person or join virtually via Zoom here.

Once considered for the national symbol of America by Benjamin Franklin, who considered the wild turkey a bird of courage, wild turkey populations are in decline throughout many parts of their range. Second only to the white-tailed deer, wild turkeys are one of the most popular game species among hunters in the U.S., and as such play a significant role in hunting license sales and the conservation funding they generate. Gulsby will discuss the history and current status of turkeys in Alabama as well as his ongoing research to address turkey population declines, which is funded by the Alabama Wildlife Federation and Turkeys for Tomorrow.

Gulsby, who holds both a master's degree and doctoral degree from the University of Georgia, is an associate professor of wildlife management in Auburn's College of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences where his research and teaching focus on applied management of wildlife populations and their habitats. His research is funded by the Alabama Wildlife Federation and other nonprofit conservation organizations, and uses data gathered from both public and private lands.

The program is open to the public and there will be a question and answer period after the lecture.
Oregon households behind on their rent will have a few more days to apply for emergency rental assistance because of a late infusion of $16 million in federal aid.

The new deadline for applications is 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 21. Incomplete applications, which must be started by the first deadline, must be completed by March 28.

The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department had announced last week it would close the online portal for applications on March 14. It had closed the portal on Dec. 1, then reopened it on Jan. 26. Since the reopening, almost 25,000 new applications have been filed in addition to thousands that have not been processed.

Under state law, tenants are shielded from eviction proceedings for nonpayment of rent if they show proof of application to their landlords, and as long as the application is under review. Approvals are based on need, not on a first-come, first-served basis.

The $16 million from the U.S. Treasury is in addition to $100 million approved by the Oregon Legislature at a Dec. 13 special session, plus $1.1 million released by the Treasury afterward and $13 million that the state housing agency was able to divert from housing stabilization programs.

Still, Gov. Kate Brown and Oregon's congressional delegation had urged the Treasury for $198 million in addition to the state's original allocation of $289 million, which the housing agency and its partners have now committed or spent to help more than 40,000 households. Oregon also has spent $200 million in state funds approved in December 2020.

"Our message to U.S. Treasury remains loud and clear: If other states have money they can't use, send those dollars to Oregon," Jill Smith, interim director of housing stabilization for the state agency, said in a statement.

Oregon is among the top states in its share of emergency rental assistance paid out, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. The Treasury is in the process of reallocating emergency rental assistance that other states and communities failed to spend.

The state program is assisted by Public Partnerships LLC and community action agencies throughout Oregon. Five counties and the city of Portland also received federal money for rental assistance.

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Inside the legal battle for Thai Ocha

Jeff Woo/DRC The exterior of Thai Ocha on March 8. The restaurant is at the center of a legal dispute between family members.

For many people, the phrase family-run business might carry with it a dose of the warm and fuzzies. Its the old American dream  work hard and carve out a piece for you and yours. But for the family of a beloved Denton restaurant, it has quickly turned into a nightmare.

Wijittra Rogers and her niece, Suphanee Elzubeir, purchased Thai Ocha for $180,000 in March 2018, running the business together since then. In December, Rogers sued Elzubeir for fraud, and Elzubeir filed suit right back, alleging her aunt had mishandled hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds.

Buckle up, folks. Its going to be a wild ride.

Suits & countersuits

Copies of bank records show that Elzubeir purchased 60 shares of the company at the time of purchase, depositing just over $100,000 into the Homsin Investments Inc. account, with Rogers depositing $80,000 for a total of 40 shares. But that wasnt because Rogers didnt plan to be an equal partner, according to her attorney, Aubry Dameron.

They decided that they were going to invest in this business so that she [Elzubeir] could come on an E-2 Visa, and the problem with that is the business cost only $180,000, Dameron said. The immigration attorney advised them that (Elzubeir) needed to, on paper, invest at least $100,000, so (Rogers), wanting to help her niece, agreed that they would invest equally, but on paper it would show (Elzubeir) as the majority owner with $100,000 at the initial investment.

Both parties claim there was an agreement to equalize contributions, but while Rogers says she gave Elzubeir that amount in cash, Elzubeir claims that never happened  meaning Rogers self-distribution of 50% of the companys profits over the next several years was unlawful.

Serious questions arose early on about Rogers handling of company funds, according to Elzubeirs counterclaim, with Rogers treating the company account as a cash till. Elzubeir asserts that Rogers wrongfully distributed over $128,000 to herself and cannot account for another $310,000 in cash transactions over the past two years. She also took $33,000 in funds for personal use, the suit claims, though the full amount cannot be accounted for unless (Rogers) turns over her accounting records.

They are equal investors, but (Elzubeir) is now taking advantage of the paperwork that was done so she can obtain her visa to the detriment of (Rogers), Dameron said.

Rogers, meanwhile, says Elzubeir used Thai Ocha assets and vendor accounts for a new Thai restaurant she has registered as a director of, Simply Yum, in Fort Worth.

Elzubeirs husband, Mohamed, is registered as the president and director of ALLCONTENT Corporation, which does business as Simply Yum, public records show. Elzubeir was added as a director in May 2021.

Given the ongoing disagreements over the management of Thai Ocha, you might think its time for one of the parties to bow out  but even those efforts have created turmoil.

In 2020, Rogers claims, Elzubeir hired counsel who sent a letter proposing terms for the sale of the restaurant, valuing it at $1 million. Elzubeir offered to sell her shares to Rogers for $500,000, but when Rogers suggested a neutral valuation of the restaurant instead, she refused, Rogers said.

But Elzubeir did try to leave the restaurant in September 2021, Rogers petition asserts. Through her husband as power of attorney, Elzubeir informed Rogers that month would be her last, and the hiring of a new general manager was discussed, Rogers said.

The abrupt departure caused revenue losses for the business, Rogers said, and after a few weeks of absence, Elzubeir began demanding a salary again.

But according to minutes from the shareholders meeting Sept. 24, Elzubeir told Rogers she would need to step back as kitchen manager for at least three weeks because of her health, with Niti Nick Diotragool replacing her in kitchen duties at a $4,000/month salary.

A letter sent by Damerons office Oct. 22 recounts the supposed back-and-forth and demanded Elzubeirs resignation for breach of fiduciary duty, claiming she was no longer fit to act as a director or entitled to a salary. The letter gave Elzubeir the option of resigning within three days or presenting a buy/sell offer.

When Elzubeir didnt, Rogers filed suit.

Of course, Elzubeirs filings say thats not the way it went down.

Not long after she began investigating Rogers use of the company account, she received the letter demanding without justification that (Elzubeir) simply resign from her position, the defendants response reads. Around this time, Rogers also bought her own Thai restaurant, Tuk Tuk Thai (formerly Khao San on University Drive). The restaurant is run by Rogers daughter, Naritsara, and Rogers is a silent shareholder, Dameron said.

Alongside disputes over shares and company accounts, the family members accused each other of a slew of bad behavior. Rogers interfered with staff and threatened to do the same with the restaurants lease, Elzubeirs suit asserts, while Rogers suit accuses Mohamed of trying to intimidate her.

There were a lot of times where (Rogers) would be in to help with management, help make food or train people, that sort of thing, and now with him present, he makes her very uncomfortable, Dameron said. Mohamed came on in 2020, initially doing marketing at Elzubeirs request but eventually becoming more and more involved in the business, according to Dameron.

William Scazzero, Elzubeirs attorney, said that despite the back-and-forth, the case is pretty straightforward.

Ms. Rogers failure to refer to a single statute or case to support her claims confirms that this lawsuit is baseless and was likely filed in response to the decision by Homsin Investments to audit her financial activities over the past several years, reads a statement sent to the Denton Record-Chronicle by Scazzero. For now, Homsin is in good hands, and will not be affected by the litigation against Ms. Rogers, despite her best efforts to the contrary.

Ultimately, Dameron said, the family members need to part ways.

Since theyre not getting along, they need to find a way to separate and figure out whos going to keep the business, Dameron said. (Rogers) is hoping to keep the business going and just get her fair share of it.

Editors note: This is the latest edition of the Denton Record-Chronicles newest newsletter, Your Money, Your Home, which publishes the first and third Tuesdays monthly.
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Auburn University student Allen Li has been named a finalist for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship and will interview virtually Friday for one of the 60 available Truman Scholarships nationwide.

Li, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, is an Honors College junior majoring in political science and economics with a minor in philosophy within the College of Liberal Arts.

Among his many activities, Li serves as a member of War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen, vice president of Pi Lambda Sigma Pre-Law Honor Society and member of Human Rights Campaigns Asian American and Pacific Islander, or AAPI, Queer Visibility Working Group.

Li has been heavily involved in the Student Government Association, or SGA, serving as assistant vice president of academic affairs as a junior, director of diversity, equity and inclusion as a sophomore and on the Lobby Board as a freshman. Li interned last summer for the Human Rights Campaign, as well as received an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from Auburn.

He has been on the forefront of LGBTQIA issues at Auburn. As a sophomore, Li developed the Inclusive Housing Project, which specifically addresses LGBTQIA student issues regarding the roommate matching process. Li developed a three-phase plan with SGA that focuses on prioritizing a safe space for students who may be dealing with harassment, misgendering, fear and anxiety.

Im so proud of the work Ive done, said Li. It means a lot to show the nation and the Truman Foundation how much Auburn University has changed and improved with LGBTQIA issues and how far weve come in just a few short years. The power of diversity, equity and inclusion is real, and this work is highlighting to the nation that Auburn understands and is working toward a better future.

Alex Sauer, coordinator for scholarship and research in the Honors College, said, Allen is an exceptional student and experienced public servant with a drive to give a voice to the voiceless. I am so proud of Allen for being selected as a Truman finalist, and regardless of the outcome, he is well on his way to changing the world for the better.

The Truman Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who are committed to a career in public service. Created in 1975 by an act of Congress, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship is awarded to approximately 60 college juniors each year on the basis of four criteria: service on campus and in the community, commitment to a career in public service, communication ability and aptitude to be a change agent and academic talent that would assure acceptance to a first-rate graduate school. More broadly, Truman Scholars possess intellect, leadership skills and passion that would make them a likely force for the public good in any field.

Scholars receive an award of $30,000 that goes toward post-graduate education. In addition, Truman Scholars participate in leadership development programs and have special opportunities for internships and employment with the federal government.
It looks as though Malaysias plans for one, state-owned 5G network, rather than two  or indeed rather than any form of private provision  will now go ahead. However, the government has made at least one significant concession to operators.

It plans to offer up to 70% equity in the wholly state-owned 5G agency Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), which is tasked with deploying 5G. Allowing operators to hold equity stakes will, the finance and communication ministries have suggested, speed up the construction of infrastructure. It seems the government also wants to maintain policy continuity by not changing its 5G plans at this stage.

The government will retain a 30% equity stake in DNB. The agency itself will be regulated by the communications ministry.

As we reported two days ago, this announcement was promised after the matter was raised in Cabinet last week. There is, however, still some uncertainty about the final shape of the proposed equity deal.

Reuters quotes the finance and communication ministries ministries as saying: "Ownership, equity value, and other aspects related to this proposed equity participation are subject to negotiations between DNB and telecommunications companies, with an agreement set to be finalized in the near future.

So will this be enough? We are still waiting for a response from major operators Celcom, DiGi.com Berhad and Maxis Berhad.

However, we know that they have long been lobbying for a structure based around two networks, because they feel that a single, shared 5G network functioning on what appears to be a wholesale basis could stymie competition and be more costly than if they deployed 5G networks themselves. DNB, however, believes they will pay less for accessing its 5G network than they incurred for 4G.

Apportioning spectrum to service providers had been considered, but this approach was abandoned last year.
Huawei has kept its place as the number one shipping equipment vendor on the back of high domestic operator demand, despite losing ground due to sanctions.

The company has been banned from US networks since 2019 but is the leader of global telecoms gear with a 28% revenue share of the US$100 billion market (up 7% YoY), according to DellOro Group. The Chinese market accounts for almost a quarter of that market.

In second place was Nokia followed by Ericsson, both of which took around 16% share in the whole of 2021.

Huawei continued to lead the global market, underscoring its grip on the Chinese market, depth of its telecoms portfolio and resiliency with existing footprints, said DellOro VP Stefan Pongratz, reported South Morning China Post.

However, efforts by the US government to rally allies to cease buying Huawei gear has had some negative effects on the company, said Pongratz.

Huawei alongside ZTE supplies Chinas incumbent operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom. Collectively the operators expect to have two million 5G base stations installed this year.
The Chilean Ministry of Transport and Telecommunications (MTT) has confirmed that it has completed the deployment of its 247 kilometres long Southern Fibre Optic (Fibra Optica Austral, FOA) rollout, delivering connectivity to more than 536,000 users in 15 districts of the southern zone of Chile.

The infrastructure will also benefit 19,000 companies located in the Los Lagos, Aysen, and Magallanes regions through land and underwater routes.

FOA will provide service to 30% of the Chilean territory and, together with Fibra Optica Nacional (FON) and regional last-mile projects, will improve Chile's fibre optic infrastructure.

According to local media reports, the section inaugurated this week is the Los Lagos land trunk line (drawn in the photo), awarded to Silica Networks. The section is 247km long and crosses the municipalities of Hualaihue, Cochamo, Puerto Varas and Puerto Montt.

Subsidies for the construction of this project reached 64,000 million pesos (US$78.8 million).

The Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Francisco Moreno, said: The inauguration of the last stage of the FOA project is great news in terms of digital inclusion for users in the southern part of the country. After four years of hard work, today we can say that the Austral Fibre Optic is a reality that promotes digital inclusion in the southern part of the country.
Ireland marks St Patricks Day 2022

Press release

Ireland will mark St Patricks Day 2022 in solidarity with the people of Ukraine, acknowledging their resilience and courage and assuring them of our unwavering support, as we express our Irish identity including our strong commitment to democratic and humanitarian values.

A priority focus of our national day will be to highlight that Ireland is an active, engaged, and fully committed member of the international community of free and democratic nations.

In addition to expressing Irelands support for the people of Ukraine, a core message of this years St Patricks Day is that Ireland is reopening. Our international programme is focused on the theme of rebuilding connections and supporting our communities across the globe, acknowledging the importance of Irelands global diaspora.

The official St Patricks Day international programme will see visits by the Taoiseach, Tanaiste, other members of the Government to 62 cities in 28 countries. Nine visits are already complete; the Taoiseach to London; the Tanaiste to Chile, and ministers to Finland, Estonia, Cyprus, Japan, Slovenia, Chicago and Croatia.

Building on the digital diplomacy of 2021, 60 of Irelands Embassies and Consulates around the world are maximising Irelands international reach and impact by holding virtual receptions and publishing localised online content to connect with our Diaspora and key stakeholders. A St Patricks Day hub on Ireland.ie has been developed to bring together all of the activity happening on the day throughout the world.

A special St Patricks Day video greeting from Ireland to the world, with Paul Bradys iconic The Island song, has been published to mark Irelands solidarity and support with the people of Ukraine.

In addition, the Taoiseach has encouraged Irelands network of Missions that would usually light up green, to light up in blue and yellow, the colours of the flag of Ukraine, and has invited partners who normally take part in the Global Greening to join us in doing so.

Ireland is also presenting a special St Patricks Festival at the World Expo in Dubai, highlights of which include a world premier concert of new music curated by the National Concert Hall led by renowned musician Martin Hayes, and the launch of The Irish Songbook (Vol 1) album of 10 iconic Irish songs recorded by new Irish artists.

All official Ministerial programmes involve intensive engagement to promote Ireland and Irish interests throughout the world. Ministers will underline the centrality of Irelands membership of the European Union, reinforce Irelands commitment to protecting the hard-won peace in Northern Ireland, and celebrate our heritage and renew our links with our global diaspora, international partners, multilateral fora and business leaders. Each programme includes a number of high-level meetings and engagements in support of Irish business, all promoting Ireland as a great place to live, visit, work, invest, trade with, and study.

As well as the visits outlined above, Ministers will be in the following locations on St. Patricks Day:

Taoiseach Washington D.C, (already visited, London 11-13 March)

Tanaiste Colombia (14-18 March); Chile (already visited 8-13 March)

Minister Ryan New York City

Minister Donohoe London, UK

Minister McGrath Vancouver, Canada

Minister Martin Buenos Aires

Minister OBrien Expo 2020 Dubai, & Abu Dhabi

Minister Foley Boston

Minister OGorman New York, USA;

Minister McEntee Savannah

Minister Donnelly San Antonio &Austin

Minister of State Hackett Athens

Minister of State Naughton Sydney

Minister of State Byrne Rome

Minister of State Smyth Madrid

Minister of State Madigan Vienna

Minister of State Heydon UNIFIL Post

Minister of State Rabbitte Budapest

Minister of State Brophy Mexico City

Minister of State Burke Seoul

Minister of State Troy Mumbai

Minister of State English Stockholm

Minister of State Butler Brussels

Minister of State Feighan Paris

Minister of State Fleming Edinburgh

Minister of State Browne Prague

Attorney General Washington D.C., USA

ENDS

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Statement by Mr. Martin Gallagher at the UNSC Briefing on the situation in Yemen

Statement

Thank you Mr. President, and thanks also to the Special Envoy and to USG Griffiths for their briefings today.

Mr. President,

The conflict in Yemen has caused unthinkable suffering for too long. Yemenis have endured more than seven years of conflict, which has savaged their country. As we heard from Martin, they continue to battle everyday with extreme levels of hunger. As we know from the IPC report, this year 19 million people across Yemen will face acute food insecurity, with 160,000 living in famine-like conditions, the highest number in years.

The humanitarian community is providing lifesaving assistance on the ground, in challenging circumstances and we commend their efforts. However, we are increasingly concerned that a lack of funding is forcing many humanitarian programmes to scale back or shut down entirely. This risks leaving millions without access to food, water, and other life-saving services. Half of those in need of such life-saving assistance are children.

The High-level Pledging Event, taking place tomorrow, is therefore very welcome, and Ireland is pleased to participate. It is clear that Yemen still needs the strong support of the international donor community. It is also clear that sustainable solutions are required. The UN Economic Plan for Yemen provides that opportunity, and we call for progress in its operationalization. Ultimately, however only an end to the conflict can truly lead to long-term stability and prosperity for the Yemeni people.

Mr. President,

Yemenis rely upon commercial and humanitarian imports for up to 90 percent of their food, medicine, and fuel. This is a reality that we are all familiar with here. We know that the timely and unimpeded flow of these commodities through Yemens ports is essential. We call on all actors to ensure this, without delay. As Martin has said, this is particularly vital at a time when tragic events elsewhere in the world are unfortunately likely to push Yemenis further into hunger.

Mr. President,

We fully support the Special Envoys work, and welcome the launching of his consultations last week with a broad range of Yemeni actors. We reiterate our call on all parties to meaningfully engage with him towards establishing an inclusive Framework.

Only a negotiated political solution will bring peace to Yemen. We reiterate that all efforts to this end must include the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, and extensive engagement with civil society. Young people, who have a right to shape their own future, should also be central to these efforts. The exclusion of these groups from the table over recent years is simply inexcusable.

Furthermore, we believe that negotiations towards peace can only take place when there is a serious effort towards de-escalation in violence, including an end to the Houthi offensive on Marib. We condemn in the strongest terms the cross border attacks against Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Ireland also condemns the detention of Yemenis who are currently or formerly employed by the UN, or by the United States. We call for their immediate and safe release, and that at a minimum, they be afforded contact with their families. We also reiterate our call for the release of the Rawabi vessel and its crew.

Innocent civilians have suffered for too long. Airstrikes, and all other attacks where civilians and civilian objects bear the brunt of the impact are unacceptable. Let me take this opportunity, once again, to remind parties of their obligations under International Humanitarian Law.

Finally, Mr. President,

We welcome the recent progress made on the UN-coordinated proposal to address the threat posed by the Safer Tanker, which we have often referred to in this Council as a ticking time bomb. The Memorandum of Understanding signed last week was a positive first step towards stopping the clock, and we hope this momentum continues. The humanitarian and environmental imperatives are indisputable, and the vital livelihoods of many Yemenis rely on it.

Thank you Mr. President.

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Following news that the Supreme Court may overturn Roe V. Wade, pro-choice protesters took to the streets of Moscow, and Planned Parenthood officials want to remind people that its health centers are still open and abortion services are currently legal.
For the second year in a row, M1 Support Services and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 75Local 2003 were recognized by the American Cancer Society for generous contributions in support of the Relay for Life campaign.

In 2020, M1 was the #10 national top fundraising team and #3 Alabama top fundraising team. In 2021, M1 was the #13 national top fundraising team and remained the #3 team in Alabama. Even though employees of M1/IAM have been contributing for many years, the 2020 and 2021 awards are characteristic of how they continuously give of themselves for the benefit of others.
CCTV: According to reports, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said about US military biological laboratories, There are hundreds of such laboratories, including almost 30 just in Ukraine alone, which pose life-threatening dangers to a huge number of civilians. And many were set up in a number of former Soviet countries precisely along the perimeter of Russias borders, as well as on Chinas borders, and on the borders of the other countries located there. He added that Russia will demand that this problem be considered within the context of the commitments for all countries participating in the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and double and triple our efforts to make the Americans stop blocking our proposal ... about the need to establish a special verification mechanism under this convention. Does the Chinese side support Russias demand?

Zhao Lijian: We have noted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs remarks. Biological security bears on the common interest of all humanity. The US has the obligation to comply with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and to offer clarifications on matters the international community is concerned about. In fact, the international community has long-held severe concerns about the biological military activities conducted by the US at home and overseas. This is neither about US labs in Ukraine alone nor a new problem caused by the current situation.

We welcome the international communitys joint assessment of the documents revealed by Russia under the framework of the BWC and the UN. At the same time, US clarifications will also be heard in a fair and just manner. The international community can take this as an opportunity to restart the negotiation process for the establishment of a verification mechanism. Once again, we call on the US to change its position of standing alone in opposing the establishment of such a verification mechanism. It will help restore the international communitys confidence in the US fulfillment of its international obligations and will also be conducive to improving global biosecurity.

AFP: According to the readout of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yis call with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, China doesnt want to be affected by western sanctions on Russia. Could you provide any more details on what affected means in this context? Was the foreign minister warning countries against imposing new sanctions on China? Was he saying that China opposes any indirect effects of the current sanctions on its own economy or was he saying something else?

Zhao Lijian: We have released the relevant readout. Chinas position on opposing sanctions is clear. The US lately has made many provocative remarks about China. For example, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that China will face significant consequences if China supports Russias invasion. The US side also said that China and Russia only make up 25 percent of the worlds economy. The G7 countries make up more than 50 percent. So there are a range of tools at the US' disposal in coordination with their European partners even if China ignores US warnings and helps Russia deal with the impact of sanctions.

The US remarks reflect thinly-veiled bullying and coercion and expose the ingrained Cold War zero-sum mentality and bloc confrontation. They represent another product of the US philosophy of doing things from a position of strength.

On the Ukraine issue, China has been independently making its judgment and expounding on its proposition based on the merits of the matter itself in an objective and just manner. China has been calling for dialogue and negotiation, working for deescalation of the situation and putting forward Chinas initiative to resolve the current crisis. Any disinformation that dismisses Chinas efforts, misrepresents Chinas intention and slings mud on China with lies is irresponsible and unethical.

I want to reiterate that sanctions are never effective means to solve problems. China opposes all forms of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction by the US. We will resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals. Wielding the baton of sanctions while seeking Chinas support and cooperation simply wont work. We urge the US not to undermine Chinas legitimate rights and interests in any form. If the US insists on having its own way, China will definitely take strong countermeasures.

Bloomberg: Chinas Ambassador to the US Qin Gang said in an op-ed yesterday that China had no prior knowledge of Russias military operation and would have tried to prevent it. How does China see Russias decision not to inform it of something so consequential for global stability? Is this consistent with the partnership that President Xi Jinping reaffirmed last month with Vladimir Putin?

Zhao Lijian: I think Ambassador Qin Gang has made Chinas position clear enough in his article. As a sovereign country, Russia has the right to make its own decisions. There is no necessary connection between this and China-Russia relations.

Beijing Youth Daily: It is reported that on March 15, the Chinese representative expressed concerns over the violation of childrens rights in the US when speaking at the interactive dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children during the 49th session of the Human Rights Council. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: The prolonged violation of childrens rights in the US is saddening and disturbing. Statistics show that the US government has detained as many as 45,000 illegal migrant children in fiscal year 2021. Over the last several years, among the 266,000 migrant children detained by the US, 25,000 have been detained for more than 100 days. The relevant detention facilities operate under chaotic management with frequent occurrence of abuse, forced labor and other violations of human rights. The children held in custody are suffering from serious physical and mental trauma. It is even more heart-breaking to learn that the US government forcibly separated migrant children in custody from their parents, resulting in family separation of many migrants. Many children are not reunited with their parents yet.

Besides, many children have fallen victim to shootings on campus due to the proliferation of guns in the US. A relevant study reveals that gun violence increased by more than 30 percent in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic and the number of children admitted to hospitals for gunshots has soared. In the US, in 2021, 44,750 were killed in gun violence and 1,533 of them were teenagers and children under the age of 17; and 40,359 people were injured in gun violence and 4,107 of them were teenagers and children under the age of 17.

We often say that children are like delicate flowers that should be tended with care and nourished by sunshine and dew. Looking at these children whose rights have been violated in the US, one cannot help but ask, do American children have their human rights protected? Do they have freedom to begin with?

Yonhap News Agency: According to reports, the DPRK launched a ballistic missile today, marking the 10th launch this year. What is Chinas comment?

Zhao Lijian: China has noted relevant reports. Im not aware of the specific situation at the moment. Chinas position on the relevant issue is consistent and clear. China hopes that peace and stability will be maintained on the Korean Peninsula and advocates that all parties should actively work to promote peace talks and exercise restraint.

Reuters: In response to claims by US officials that Russia has sent requests to China for military hardware, China has responded by calling these claims disinformation. Ambassador Qin Gang had an op-ed in the Washington Post where he stated Chinas position on this issue as well. I was wondering in the future, what other methods will China use to convince nations, especially partners with whom it has cooperative relationships, that it is not considering sending military hardware to Russia? Is it going to do any more diplomatic outreach of this kind?

Zhao Lijian: I want to quote a Chinese saying that goes, Some people are so good at lying that they do so without making a draft first. Some US officials spread such lies on condition of anonymity. Why are they too timid to make their names public?

As to your question, we have elaborated Chinas position many times. Just now, I also responded to the US provocative remarks. We have elaborated on the development of China-Russia relations on multiple occasions and dont see the need to go into detail.

TASS: Russian foreign ministry officials told TASS the other day that while warning Russia not to use bio-chemical weapons in Ukraine, the US is in fact evading responsibility for its own bio-chemical activities in Ukraine and concealing a large-scale provocative action the US and Ukraine are preparing. Does the foreign ministry have any comment on the US blame-shifting behavior?

Zhao Lijian: As I just said, the international community has long had serious concerns over the US biological military activities. According to what has been submitted by the US, the country has 336 bio-labs in 30 countries. This is not a problem confined to US labs in Ukraine alone, or a new issue arising from the current situation. The US has the obligation to abide by the BWC and clarify what it does facing the concerns of the international community. It cannot muddle through by deflecting attention.

For decades, the US has casually accused other countries of not complying with agreements and demanded others to accept verification, which the US cited as grounds for initiating military operations and imposing sanctions. Why does the US exempt itself from verification and try to convince others simply by saying it is in full compliance? Besides, the US can hardly earn trust from the international community with its credibility. We still remember that someone decided to illegally invade Iraq with a vial of detergent in his hand.

We once again urge the US to act in a responsible way, give full clarifications on its biological military activities and stop opposing the establishment of a BWC verification regime single-handedly. This will help the US regain the worlds confidence in its fulfillment of its international obligations and improve global biological security.

AFP: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that Ukraine should accept that it wont become a member of NATO. Im sure you know that Russia has used the threat of NATO expansion as a reason for its invasion of Ukraine. What is the foreign ministrys response to this statement by President Zelenskyy?

Zhao Lijian: The Chinese side has noted the remarks by President Zelenskyy. We encourage all relevant parties to engage in dialogue on an equal footing, face up to the disputes and problems that have been accumulated over the years, take seriously the negative impact of NATOs consecutive rounds of eastward expansion on Russias security environment, and work to build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism following the principle of indivisible security.

Reuters: Yesterday, the Chinese ambassador in Ukraine had a meeting with local officials of Ukraine. We were wondering whether the foreign ministry had any comment on the ambassadors statement that China would provide help to Ukraine?

Zhao Lijian: Im not aware of the information you mentioned. Chinas position on developing China-Ukraine relations is consistent and clear.

AFP: State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is reportedly planning to visit India later this month. Is the Chinese side able to confirm those plans? And can you give any more details on the topics that will be discussed?

Zhao Lijian: We will release information in a timely manner if any.

Macau Monthly: The US State Department spokesperson said the other day that the basic tenet of the international order that big countries cannot bully small countries has been violated in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. What is your comment?

Zhao Lijian: How ironic it is for the US to say big countries cannot bully small countries. If the US can reflect on what it did to Cuba and Panama in 1960s, Grenada in 1980s, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1990s, Afghanistan and Iraq at the start of this century, and Syria and Libya afterwards, it would find that these are textbook examples of big countries bullying small countries. Why hasnt the US said a word about these facts? The US should wear label of the big bullying the small well.

The fundamental way out of the Ukraine crisis is dialogue and negotiation, rather than rules-based order unilaterally defined according to ones own standards, still less coercing others to pick sides and creating the chilling effect of dividing countries into friend or foe.

The world needs peace, not war; it calls for justice, not hegemony; it aspires for cooperation, not confrontation. This is what the vast majority of countries in the world are hoping for. There is only one system in the world, which is the international system with the UN at its core. There is only one order, which is the international order underpinned by international law. There is only one set of rules, which is the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. If the US is sincere about easing the situation in Ukraine, then it should stand on the side of peace and justice as most countries do in the world.

Reuters: The US Customs and Border Protection said on Tuesday that since March 14 it has detained goods by Chinese sportswear giant Li Ning at all US ports, saying a probe it conducted found North Korean labor in the companys supply chain. Is the foreign ministry aware of this and does it have any further comment?

Zhao Lijian: I am not aware of the situation you mentioned. China firmly opposes all forms of long-arm jurisdiction and unilateral sanctions.
Spring Farm Day is one of Landmark Parks oldest events held for more than 35 years, hosting demonstrations of old skills like plowing with a mule, blacksmithing, and churning butter.

Its where we showcase what would have been done on the farm in the 1890s in this area, Landmark Park Executive Director Laura VanLandingham said.

Spring Farm Day will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for senior adults and military, $4 for kids, and free for park members as well as children ages 2 and younger. Landmark Park is located at 430 Landmark Dr. in Dothan, just off U.S. 431 about three miles north of the Ross Clark Circle.

Saturdays event isnt just about history. There will also childrens activities including a petting zoo as well as hands-on activities in the Alabama Agricultural Museum. Food vendors will also be on hand as will about 20 arts and crafts vendors. Celtic and bluegrass music will also be part of the festivities.

The parks historic buildings will be open, including the Shelley Store and the Martin Drugstore, popular for its ice cream and milkshakes.

One new activity this year is a lawn mower pull.

In the fall, we do a tractor pull; we have a track back there where we load weights onto a sled and the tractors pull the weight, VanLandingham said. For spring, were going to try something new, and this will be our lawn mower pull. So, it will be similar to the tractor pull, but itll be souped-up lawn mowers  like riding lawn mowers. People love seeing the tractor pull, so we thought this would be a neat way to kind of do something similar but maybe get some new participants in with it.

The lawn mower pulls will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and a parade of antique tractors will be held at 11:30 a.m. Landmark Parks membership meeting will be held at noon around the parks gazebo. During the membership meeting, Landmark will honor its volunteer of the year and the winner of its Heritage Award.

Memberships can be purchased during Spring Farm Day either when entering or before leaving. Saturdays admission costs will be deducted from the cost of membership for anyone who becomes a park member prior to leaving the event. A family membership  $60 a year  provides free daily admission to the park and the planetarium for two adults plus any children and grandchildren ages 18 and under as well as program discounts and early registration for summer camps.

Along with the plowing, other old-time skills that can be viewed during Spring Farm Day will include turpentine demonstrations, spring pole lathe woodturning, chuck wagon cooking, shingle riving, and a demonstration on how twine chair bottoms were done. In the historic Waddell farm house, there will be demonstrations on sewing, tatting, spinning, and knitting as it would have been done in the late Victorian era.

This is just a really fun event, and I think people will enjoy it kicking off the spring, VanLandingham said. You can learn some things and also have fun while you do it. One of the neat things about this is there are a lot of hands-on activities, so you can try your hand at some of these old skills.

Spring Farm Day is intended to pay homage to todays farmers as much as to the history of life on a Wiregrass farm, VanLandingham said.

We live in such an instant gratification world, VanLandingham said. To go back in time and realize if you wanted a new shirt, you had to start thinking about it a good year in advance.

Peggy Ussery is a Dothan Eagle staff writer and can be reached at aussery@dothaneagle.com or 334-712-7963. Support her work and that of other Eagle journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at dothaneagle.com.

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AIA and VPBank agreed to a new 15-year exclusive bancassurance partnership agreement on March 15, extending cooperation by an additional four years.

Brought together by a shared set of values, with AIA's Purpose of helping people "live healthier, longer, better lives" and VPBank's mission to thrive "for a prosperous Vietnam", the companies have developed a strong working relationship since the initial partnership was signed in 2017.

Wayne Besant, AIA Vietnam CEO (R), and Nguyen Duc Vinh, VP Bank CEO, signed an agreement to extend their strategic partnership. Photo by AIA Vietnam

The partnership will continue to provide customers with access to holistic financial products and services, including market leading life insurance and comprehensive health care programs. Further innovative products and a strong focus in enhancing mental, physical and financial well-being among Vietnamese will be a core focus of the enhanced partnership during the extended term.

VPBank and AIA Vietnam are two of the leading financial institutions in banking and insurance industries. Since the agreement on exclusive distribution of insurance was initially signed in 2017, VPBank has been among the banks with the highest sales of life insurance. Currently, the bank ranks third in the market. So far, AIA life insurance has been deployed in more than 250 branches of the bank.

Furthermore, VPBank is the leading bank in Vietnam in consumer finance and voted the leading digital bank by domestic and international organizations for several years. VPBank received the Digital CX Award by Digital Banker, winning the Best Mobile Banking Initiatives category in 2021.

AIA is the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group with a strong and growing presence in Vietnam. It is also the first and only life insurer in Vietnam to win the Asian Technology Excellence Award in 2021.

During the pandemic the two partners provided financial assistance to customers impacted by Covid, and also supported the country's focus in proactively managing the pandemic.

The launch of financial solutions to AIA and VP Bank target clients. Photo by AIA Vietnam

"The extension of the exclusive partnership between VPBank and AIA Vietnam will allow AIA to continue to enhance the protection, long-term savings solutions and health and wellness needs of more families in Vietnam, enabling them to live healthier, longer, better lives," Wayne Besant, AIA Vietnam CEO, said.

Nguyen Duc Vinh, VPBank CEO, shared: "In addition to enhancing the service proposition to our customers, we are excited through the extension of our partnership with AIA to bring further innovative products and services to the market, providing more financial solutions to our customers for their future well-being."

AIA Vietnam is a 100 percent foreign-owned life insurer and a member of AIA Group. AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets - wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Macau SAR, Mainland China, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Vietnam, and a 49 percent joint venture in India.

AIA Vietnam officially started operations in Vietnam in February 2000. AIA Vietnam has established a network of more than 200 offices across 53 provinces and cities nationwide and offers more than 1,500,000 policies across the country.

Established in 1993, VPBank is currently one of biggest private banks in Vietnam. The bank operates in wide ranges of business including retail banking, corporate banking, wealth management and consumer finance. Since the end of 2021, total assets held by VPBank amounted to nearly VND548 trillion, increasing by 30.7 percent year-on-year.
An employee pours gasoline into a motorbike in Ha Dong District, Hanoi on March 10, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

Gasoline imports will continue until Nghi Son, one of the country's two refineries, resumes normal operation, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has said.

The role of domestic refineries is "unknown in the gasoline supply equation," he told lawmakers during a Q&A session at the National Assembly Wednesday.

When Vietnam did not have a single refinery, there was no shortage, and the same goes for some other neighboring countries that do not have refineries, he said.

The Binh Son (also known as Dung Quat) Refinery has been operating steadily and meeting 30-35 percent of domestic demand, he said.

But Nghi Son, owned by foreign companies, has not been operating efficiently, he said.

The plant's biggest issue is finance, and Petrovietnam, which owns a 25.1 percent stake in it, is urging the other two main shareholders, Japan's Idemitsu and Kuwait Petroleum International, to fulfill their commitments to supply to the local market, he said.

Only when PetroVietnam guaranteed that the plant could operate normally would the trade ministry stop importing gasoline and diesel, he said.

The trade ministry recently instructed 10 gasoline distributors to increase their imports by 2.4 million cubic meters in the second quarter.

Supply has been erratic in the last two months partly because Nghi Son has had to reduce production from 105 percent to 80 percent and then 55 percent.

With the Russia-Ukraine crisis causing oil prices to spiral up, Vietnamese gasoline prices have risen by 28 percent this year to an all-time high of VND29,820 ($1.30).

Dien said the domestic increase has been less than the hike in global rates thanks to the stabilization fund. But since the fund is dwindling, authorities are considering reducing taxes, he added.
Many HCMC manufacturers are expanding to other localities, especially the Mekong Delta, to utilize a readily available labor force.

There remains a shortage of thousands of workers in large cities due to the usual post-Tet phenomenon of people staying back in their hometowns but also because of Covid-19 and the increasing cost of living.

Garment maker Nhabe Corporation is offering salaries of VND10-15 million ($440-660) a month plus bonuses at its plant in HCMCs District 7, relatively high in the industry, to attract workers since production has recovered.

"However, recruiting workers in the city is never an easy task," Le Thi Ha Chi, deputy director of the company said.

A worker at Nhabe Corporation's factory in HCMC's District 7. Photo by VnExpress/An Phuong

Thus, the plant has yet to be fully staffed despite months of effort though the shortfall was just 20 percent, the lowest rate in any of the companys factories.

Its plants in other localities received two to three times the number of applicants in the same period, and VND7 million is the average monthly wage, Chi said.

Nhabe has been expanding into 10 provinces in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands and on the central coast in the last five years so much so that only 25 percent of its 20,000 workers are in HCMC.

This has helped the company lower labor costs and enhance its competitiveness, Chi added.

Garment maker Samho Vietnam in HCMCs Cu Chi District also built a plant in the delta province of An Giang to attract workers.

Do Truong Hoang Phuc, its head of human resources, said the An Giang factory receives up to 100 applications a day, triple the number in HCMC.

It has been fully staffed since the beginning of March, and is now hiring for the HCMC plant, he added.

Vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Union, Nguyen Thi Thuy, revealed that most textile companies are planning to expand into provinces, and this should help them resolve their worker shortages while reducing labor costs.

But she also warned companies about pitfalls they could face in rural areas.

Many workers live with their families and close to their extended families, and so frequently take days off, she said.

Transportation is other major concerns since ports and hubs are far away and roads are often poor, she added.

Workers at Vinatex factory in Mekong Delta province Bac Lieu. Photo by VnExpress/Le Tuyet

But public policy expert Nguyen Quang Dong viewed the movement as beneficial for society.

The pandemic outbreak has exposed the gaps in support policies for migrant workers in cities, and so for them to work close to their hometown would be of benefit both to themselves and their employees since it reduces the risks of disruptions at the workplace.

"Workers have been paying prices for 30 years of industrial development. This must end soon".

Low wages and high living costs drove workers back to their hometowns at the peak of the pandemic and kept them from returning though the outbreak has been brought under control, he said.

He called on the government to take measures to move factories to provinces so that workers could remain close to home like increasing investment in infrastructure and providing low-interest credit to build new factories.

He also said labor-intensive industries should be moved out of urban areas, which would then be forced to focus on technology and highly skilled workers.
An employee refills a motorbike at a gas station in Hanoi, March 10, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Chieu

Vietnam has enough gasoline for the second quarter even without the supply from Nghi Son Refinery, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assured.

The refinery, which accounts for around a third of domestic supply, has no plans to deliver products in April and May. It also has not made clear its production plan after that, the ministry reported to lawmakers Tuesday.

For this reason, the ministry will not take into account Nghi Sons supply for the second quarter, but would ensure enough supply "in every scenario".

It has tasked 10 gasoline distributors to increase its import quota by 2.4 million cubic meters for the second quarter.

Vietnams gasoline supply has met with difficulties in the last two months, partly because a cash crunch forced Nghi Son Refinery, one of two such plants in the country, to reduce production from 105 percent to 80 percent, then 55 percent.

The other refinery, Dung Quat, has increased its supply to 105 percent since earlier last month to bolster the market.

With the Russia-Ukraine crisis sending oil prices up, Vietnams gasoline prices have risen by 28 percent since the end of December to an all-time high of VND29,820 ($1.30) now.

The government has proposed to lawmakers that a 50 percent cut on environmental tax on gasoline and diesel be implemented to reduce prices.
A Facebook logo is displayed on a smartphone in this illustration taken January 6, 2020. Photo by Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Vietnam taxed cross-border platforms like Google and Facebook some VND5 trillion ($218.53 million) in 2018-2021, Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc informed lawmakers Wednesday.

During the four-year period, Facebook was taxed VND1.69 trillion, Google, VND1.62 trillion, and Microsoft, VND577 billion, Phoc said.

Last year, Vietnam earned VND1.32 trillion from taxing cross-border platforms, up 15 percent from 2020, he added.

Vietnamese authorities have been calling for properly taxing tech giants like Facebook and Google, saying these companies account for around 70 percent of the online advertisement market, but use different means to evade tax.

The General Department of Taxation said last year that Facebook, Google, Netflix, YouTube and other cross-border platforms were not fulfilling their tax obligations in Vietnam.

Vietnam is also looking to tax online sellers, both on e-commerce platforms and social media, as e-commerce sales have been surging by double-digits in recent years.
Hanoi's Transport Department is planning to provide 1,000 public bicycles, with half run on electricity, in five downtown districts, following the Ho Chi Minh City model.

As planned, the bikes will be placed within this year at 70-80 stations in the districts of Ba Dinh, Tay Ho, Dong Da, Thanh Xuan and near stations of the Cat Linh  Ha Dong metro line, the first of its kind in Hanoi and Vietnam that started operation late last year.

In the second phase of the project, 3,000 more bikes will be put into use at 350 stations between 2023 and 2024, Vietnam News Agency reported.

The project is estimated to cost VND26 billion ($1.14 million) from the investor, Hanoi-based technology firm Tri Nam Group JSC, which will collect fees from bike users for capital recovery.

It is planning to charge users VND20,000 per hour for electric bicycles. The price for normal bikes has not been planned.

Tri Nam has proposed city authorities set up charging stations to better serve users.

The company has been operating the public bicycle service in HCMC since last December.

There are currently 43 stations across the cities, with each providing 10-20 bicycles. The cost to rent one is VND5,000 (22 cents) for 30 minutes, and VND10,000 for an hour. Users have to download and install the free TNGO app on their smartphone and make a deposit to rent a bike.
Construction of My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway between Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta, November 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Cuu Long

The Ministry of Transport has instructed five Mekong Delta localities to speed up land acquisition so that construction of the Can Tho  Ca Mau Expressway can begin in November.

By that deadline it wants Can Tho City and the provinces of Hau Giang, Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, and Ca Mau to hand over 70 percent of land since it wants construction to be completed by 2025, it said at a meeting with them on Tuesday.

The expressway will run 156 km (97 miles) between the delta's economic hub, Can Tho, and the countrys southernmost province, Ca Mau, passing through the other three provinces and boosting connectivity in Vietnam's agriculture hub.

In its first phase, estimated to cost VND37.6 trillion (US$1.63 billion), the expressway will have two lanes. In the second, costing VND64 trillion, it will be widened to have four lanes and allow speeds of up to 100 kph.

Tran Van Thi, director of the ministry's My Thuan Project Management Board, said so far land has been acquired to build 36.5 km, and the task has to be completed by the second quarter of next year.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Duy Lam has instructed that all procedures related to land use conversion, clearance, environmental impact assessment, and public consultation must be completed before Jun. 30.

The expressway would mainly go through agricultural lands that need to be reinforced before construction, he said.

The section between Can Tho and Bac Lieu will be built using public funds, and the rest under the public-private-partnership model.

It is among several highways being planned or built in the delta, home to 12 provinces with over 17 million people. The region is one of Vietnam's most important economic hubs, and contributes 17.7 percent of GDP.

The government earlier this month released a master plan for the delta's development this decade, which envisages 830 kilometers (515 miles) of expressways and 4,000 kilometers of national highways by 2030.

It says the delta will become "a sustainable, dynamic and highly efficient agricultural economic center of the country, region and world."
Vietnamese who fled Ukraine fill out immigration forms on arrival at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi on March 8, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Foreign minister Bui Thanh Son on Tuesday called on Russia to continue to keep humanitarian corridors open and ensure the safety of civilians, including Vietnamese, in Ukraine.

Son raised the issues in a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release.

He reiterated Vietnam's consistent stance that international disputes and disagreements should be resolved through peaceful means in compliance with the U.N. Charter and international law, especially the principle of respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

He said both sides should exercise restraint, reduce tensions and continue to talk to find a lasting solution in conformity with international law and taking into account their legitimate interests.

Vietnam is willing to join the international community in facilitating this process, he said.

Lavrov said Russia would try its best to assist in the safe evacuation of Vietnamese citizens from the war zone.

He expressed deep appreciation for Vietnam's role in and contribution to global peace, stability, development, and cooperation.

Over 4,500 Vietnamese nationals have evacuated Ukraine and reached neighboring countries so far. There were around 7,000 of them in Ukraine, mainly in Kharkiv, Odessa and Kiev, when Russia launched its attack in late Feb.
Foreign tourists on Bui Vien pedestrian street, one of Saigon's most popular hangouts, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

The Ministry of Health said Wednesday foreigners entering Vietnam only need to furnish a negative Covid-19 test certificate and are not required to quarantine.

The test must have been done using the RT-PCR method within 72 hours before departure or the rapid antigen methods within 24 hours.

Those who cannot take a test before arrival have to be tested within 24 hours after entering and can leave their accommodation if they are not infected.

They are required to monitor their health for the first 10 days after arrival and notify medical staff if they have symptoms of Covid.

They must also use the PC-Covid app during their stay in Vietnam.

Children under two years are exempt from testing.

Vietnam fully reopened its borders on Tuesday after nearly two years of closure.

The same day the government announced the resumption of visa waivers for citizens of 13 countries, including Japan, South Korea and several in Europe.

Vietnam closed its inbound tourism and halted grating visas for foreign tourists in March 2020. It partially reopened to tourists under a vaccine passport program last November and has received over 10,000 arrivals since.
Two Singapore-designed artefacts are now orbiting around the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS), as part of Moon Gallery.

These artworks were successfully launched into space recently as part of a test flight by the Moon Gallery and will come back to Earth after 10 months.

Currently consisting of 64 artworks made by artists all around the world, the Moon gallery will eventually consist of 100 artworks, which will then be placed on the moon by 2025. Out of these 64 art pieces on the ISS, only two are Singaporean artworks.

To mark this historic milestone in our nation's history, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) held a hybrid event today (14 March) to celebrate the successful launch of the Moon Gallery to the ISS.

The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour, Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance & National Development.

These artworks are two metal cubes featuring unique artworks, each measuring 0.98 cm all around, designed by Singaporean artist and architect Ms Lakshmi Mohanbabu, who sought to create new artworks using technology and to revolve around concepts of unity, diversity, and complexity in humankind.

Both cubes were borne out of a partnership between Ms Lakshmi and scientists from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), supported by the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), a national programme office which accelerates the adoption and commercialisation of additive manufacturing technologies.

The first cube, titled "The Cube of Interaction", was prototyped in collaboration with NTU Assoc Prof Daniel New from the Singapore Centre of 3D Printing, where they printed two iterations of the cube in different materials and identified the most suitable material. The final version was then manufactured by a local vendor via machining.

The second cube named "Structure & Reflectance", features four unique faces that is made by changing the crystal orientation of the steel during the 3D printing process. This is a proprietary technique developed by Asst Prof Matteo Seita and his team from NTU's School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the School of Material Sciences and Engineering.

Both cubes were successfully launched on Northrop Grumman's NG-17 Cygnus spacecraft, also known as the S.S. Piers Sellers, from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia last month, on 19 February 202.

The artworks are held securely in an 8 cm x 8 cm grid tray, which is a "plug and play" research module provided by Nanoracks, a United States space services company.

Each artwork is smaller than 1 cm all around and thus is free to float around freely in space within their cube space. This allows for the experiment to see how the materials and designs will behave in the microgravity of space.

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The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, or COP26, last November, generated a great deal of momentum toward reaching the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, it is now up to the world to deliver on those commitments to protect lives and livelihoods while creating millions of new jobs and delivering a healthier, cleaner planet.



At COP26, almost 200 nations came together to limit the earths warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by reducing global carbon dioxide emissions by a minimum of 45 percent by 2030, to achieve net zero emissions around the mid-century, as well as deeply reducing other greenhouse gases.



Now we are preparing to turn those ifs into imperatives at COP27, at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt in November, said Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.



This is where the Implementation Plus plan comes in. It means delivering on existing commitments, strengthening commitments that are not strong enough, and creating new commitments and efforts where none exist, said Mr. Kerry. Countries representing 65 percent of global gross domestic product have already signed up to targets that keep the promise of 1.5 degrees alive. For those countries, they must now deliver on those commitments.



Then there is the plus part of the equation. That includes the 35 percent of economies that need to do more to remain in line with what scientists say must be done to ensure survival.



The fact is that there are many other commitments which require implementation, such as the Global Methane Pledge, declarations in support of zero emission shipping, phasing down coal and ending fossil fuel subsidies, and ending deforestation, said Mr. Kerry. Implementation Plus applies to all countries, he said.

In addition, he called on the world to help protect vulnerable people and communities from the impacts of climate change.



In too many places, its business as usual, with people choosing the path of least resistance We have to break the mold. Nothing excuses business as usual  not given the severity of what were facing, said Special Envoy Kerry. We have a roadmap. We just need to follow it.

Its up to all of us to decide what will be  through our action or inaction.
DENVER  Newmont Corporation announced it has committed $5 million to support humanitarian efforts relating to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The company will provide direct support to Project C.U.R.E., the American Red Cross and International Medical Corps. All three organizations have a mission to provide relief and medical supplies to those in need and are actively working in Ukraine and neighboring countries to support the millions of people affected by the crisis.

Newmont has a culture rooted in its values and a deep commitment to and respect for human rights, said Newmont President and CEO Tom Palmer. As citizens of the world, we believe that our values compel us to provide meaningful support to the people of Ukraine who are suffering due to this tragic conflict. It is our basic duty to provide what relief we can in the face of such terrible atrocities.

In addition, Newmont is facilitating employee contributions to the American Red Cross by providing a double match to those contributions as well the corporate contributions.

Newmont, the worlds largest gold producer, owns 38.5% of Nevada Gold Mines. Barrick Gold is the 61.5% owner and operator.

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ELKO  Two candidates vying for Elko County Sheriff are seeking changes in leadership of the department.

Former deputy John Gaylor and current Sheriffs Sgt. Mike Silva this week discussed their reasons for filing to run against Sheriff Aitor Narvaiza.

They each cited problems with training staff and other issues within the department, promising to reorganize the Office for better efficiency and retention of deputies.

John GaylorGaylor attended Spring Creek schools, went to college in Utah and returned to work as a deputy in the Elko County Sheriffs Office for seven years.

He served in outlying areas before patrolling in the Elko and Spring Creek area. Then I spent the last few years as a plainclothes narcotics detective working for the Elko Combined Narcotics Unit, he said.

Today he works as a site safety superintendent for a local construction company, but he said he decided to run for sheriff because I feel like Elko County deserves better.

Gaylor cited issues within the office over the last four years including inmate deaths, high turnover, low morale and financial decisions as his reasons for running.

If you look at the track record of in-custody deaths, the amount of turnover the office has had, the lack of morale, and some of the poor choices in spending, I think theres a lot to be done and there can be a lot better leadership, Gaylor said.

Seven inmates died while incarcerated in the past four years at the Elko County Jail, according to Gaylor.

Its a big deal. Thats a lot more than a lot larger counties, he said. Theres things I think they could have done to prevent those.

Gaylor said he understood running for office would draw public criticism, but also your law enforcement shouldnt be above criticism either.

I feel like theres a lack of transparency that goes on at the Sheriffs office, not only with spending, but officer turnover, treatment of personnel and staff that the public doesnt know about, he added.

Gaylor said more should be done to lower recidivism rates, particularly among substance abuse offenders. Pointing to his work with the Narcotics Unit, the number one prevention for people who use substances is education. What it does to you, what the addiction means and how you can combat it.

With Assembly Bill 424 on the horizon that requires a bail hearing within 48 hours, Gaylor said if elected, he believed more could be done on the law enforcement side to improve training and education in duties such as evidence collection and report writing.

I think we may have a bit of a gap there where deputies and peace officers need a little bit better training on articulation to better specify certain types of crimes or the actual incident that occurred, he explained.

Concerning plea agreements, a lack of convictions, or if cases are dismissed, it typically comes back to training and education. I think your job as a sheriff is to make sure your people are being properly trained and they are getting the maximum opportunity to better themselves and to better the Sheriffs office as a whole.

I think the more educated your workforce is and the more enabled they are to do their job, the better prosecution rates we would have overall, Gaylor said.

If elected, he said the first step is meeting with your people and meeting the needs and demands of your deputies.

I understand as a sheriff youre extremely busy and a lot goes on, but nothing should be of more value to you than citizens of Elko County and the employees that work for you, Gaylor added.

I love this community, and I firmly believe we deserve better out of law enforcement, specifically at the Sheriffs office, he said.

Sgt. Mike Silva

Its time to run, said Silva regarding his decision. Theres issues that need to be addressed within the department and the community.

I feel like I can lead the deputies in a direction and bring them together so the community will have better service from the Sheriffs office, Silva said. Its not about me, its about everybody who works for the Department and the County.

Silva, who entered the military at 19, served for two decades in the Armed Forces, first serving in the active Army stationed in Germany before he was deployed to Desert Storm.

He joined the Nevada Army National Guard before 9/11 working as airport security before heading to Iraq on a transportation company moving cargo, vehicles and equipment up and down the roads of Iraq. Later he served in Afghanistan

Silva said he applies his military training and experience as a convoy commander, which relies heavily on communication and planning, into his law enforcement career. If you dont know what part you play in the plan, youre going to go in whatever direction you feel is right.

Nineteen years ago, Silva began working at the Elko County Sheriffs Office in the jail division, starting as a reserve deputy.

He said he was also motivated to run for office to serve as a mentor for current employees who will be very, very good assets in the future.

I want to pass on my leadership abilities and mentorship to the new generation of deputies, and know I left the County in a better light, he explained.

Silva, like Gaylor, also pointed to training for deputies. To better the deputies is to give them the best training they can get in the direction they want to go. So Ill have a more diversified department with deputy experts in search and rescue, diving, traffic stops, commercial vehicles and trafficking.

Improving the jails work environment is another goal for Silva, if elected.

Its a very dark, negative part of the Sheriffs office, he said. Trying to make sure theyre safe and secure and that we are safe and secure.

Running for sheriff is also about building a well-rounded department rather than separate divisions, Silva added.

I feel like everybody is doing a lot of work. Theyre doing over and above, and things are getting missed, things are getting left behind. Priorities are moving around constantly. The laws are changing, and the county is growing. Everything is changing constantly, so we have to keep up with that, he explained.

They need to be empowered and trusted and respected and listened to, Silva said. I feel like Im the person who gets it.

Regarding AB 424, Silva said it was a legal issue and the Sheriffs office would not have much say over the new law. He said the jail is 50-60% full and steadily creeping back up from the reduced numbers due to Covid-19 over the past couple of years.

The only thing law enforcement can do is keep working and catching the criminals when they commit a crime, Silva said. I know its a revolving door, and patrols talk to the same people, they go to the same houses and deal with a lot of people.

It is demoralizing for the patrol guys to go out and arrest somebody, bring them to jail and then they get out in a matter of hours and have to re-arrest them again for whatever reason, Silva added.

Silva said he wanted voters to know they can trust me. I respect the community greatly, the deputies and even the inmates, I respect them. The administration, the County, I respect those who are doing their job.

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Authorities say three men have been arrested for allegedly stealing more than 10,000 gallons of fuel from Las Vegas gas stations. According to court records, Raidel Amador Blanco, Luis Gomez Medero and Javier Ramos Gomez each are facing charges of theft and conspiracy. Las Vegas Metro Police say the three men allegedly altered their trucks and the sensors at a gas pump to steal about 9,900 gallons of diesel fuel from a Chevron station on April 7. An employee called police to report that the station was short about 1,500 gallons of fuel in the past 24 hours and also found security footage that showed two trucks parked at the pump for hours. Authorities say the losses totaled more than $8,000.
Nye County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend the county clerk ditch electronic voting machines and move to all-paper, hand-counted elections for both the 2022 primary and general elections.

But facing some pushback from Nye County Clerk Sandra Merlino, those changes may not be enacted in full. Merlino said she is required by law to have one electronic voting machine at each polling location to ensure the countys elections comply with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Merlino, who did not oppose the measure outright, also cautioned that her office does not have the resources to make such major administrative changes with just weeks left before the first mail ballots are sent out for the June primary election.

The vote came after testimony from several prominent 2020 election deniers and conspiracy theorists who alleged  citing debunked evidence  that electronic machines used in Nevada, including Nye County, are vulnerable to cyber attacks that could change the outcome of an election.

It is also the latest attempt by a rural Nevada county to greatly overhaul election administration in response to unproven conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.

With the paper ballots, hand-counted at the precinct level, decentralized  were going against what the forces want, Jim Marchant, a Republican candidate for secretary of state, told the board. They want centralized [systems] so they can manipulate it. So if we go against that and get back to decentralized  thats how were going to guarantee that we have a fair and transparent election.

The final effects of the vote  which requested but did not order that Merlino make the changes  remain unclear. The position of Nye County clerk is elected and not appointed, meaning jurisdictional issues prevent the county commission from ordering the clerks office to take a specific course of action.

Though Merlino said she would look into making the changes for the 2022 general election, she pointed to serious logistical challenges that would likely prevent a sweeping shift to all-paper elections and hand-counting during the primary election.

With this ballot, or paper shortage, my ballots are ordered I do not know if I can get more, Merlino said. Theres no way right now for me to gauge how many people are going to show up in person, so I will probably have to order an additional 20,000 ballots to have at the polls, even though were sending out 31,000.

A switch to hand-counting all ballots would also come with a high cost. The time-consuming process is often mired by human error but has gained widespread attention and support amid false narratives about the security of electronic vote tabulators.

If you have an issue with the hand count, if were off and we have to hand count again and again, you just have to think about the cost of doing a hand count more than once and also the impact it has on the voters of Nye County, Merlino said.

Republican Commissioner Debra Stricklands original request for the agenda item on the issue points to concerns about the integrity of the voting process raised by many Nye County citizens and states that it will help reassure voters that their voice is heard, and their votes are accurately recorded.

In November 2020, nearly 70 percent of Nye County voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump for President, a significantly larger percentage than the share of voters registered as Republicans in the county that month (48 percent).

Strickland told The Nevada Independent in an interview Monday that the proposal would eliminate the use of the countys Dominion Voting Systems electronic machines during the elections, if accepted by Merlino.

Dominion, which provides electronic voting machines to 15 Nevada counties, has been subject to widespread and fantastical allegations of fraud since the 2020 election, though the company has fought those claims through defamation lawsuits.

Merlino said she will ensure there is one electronic Dominion voting system at each location for voters with disabilities because she does not have the means to provide ADA compliant voting otherwise.

The proposed election changes also directly cite a report on voting systems in Mesa County, Colorado, alleging election violations were caused by the countys electronic voting machines, though the findings have been debunked by state election officials. The report was prepared by Doug Gould, a cybersecurity expert affiliated with MyPillow CEO and prominent election denier Mike Lindell, and supported by Tina Peters, the Colorado countys former election clerk, who was recently indicted on charges related to a breach of election security.

Strickland said Monday that she brought the item forward after hearing a four hour-long presentation on election integrity during a meeting of the Nye County Republican Central Committee. The commissioner said she was concerned after hearing the electronic election machines could be hacked, and said the county would be better off using paper ballots that are entirely counted by hand.

Her concerns were echoed throughout a 45 minute-long presentation delivered by a series of election conspiracy theorists, including Marchant, who argued that the Dominion voting machines are easily hackable, but presented no evidence of fraud during the 2020 election and no evidence specific to Nevada.

Marchant, a former one-term assemblyman, earlier this year touted his membership in a coalition of America First secretary of state candidates working behind the scenes to try to fix 2020 like President Trump said.

The speakers also included retired army colonel Phil Waldron, who contributed to a PowerPoint circulated ahead of Jan. 6 that proposed challenging the results of the 2020 election  in part by declaring a national emergency and seizing paper ballots  and who said he briefed White House officials multiple times in the days before the Jan. 6 insurrection. Waldron has also backed unfounded election conspiracies, including claims that the election was hacked by a host of actors, including China and billionaire George Soros.

Waldron argued that a better election system would involve precinct-level voting using only paper ballots that include anti-counterfeit measures, such as a rare earth mineral sensor, and a QR code. He said election officials could then take pictures of the front and back of each ballot and upload them by precinct to the county website to allow anyone to audit the election, so Mrs. Jones fifth grade class can do an audit of their precinct if they choose to.

Two more speakers, election denial activist Mark Cook and Russell Ramsland Jr., a Republican businessman who for years made baseless claims of large-scale vote manipulation, presented a more technical picture to the board, saying election systems were easily hacked by outside actors because Dominion machines and voter rolls were connected to the internet when they were not supposed to be.

However, neither cited evidence of such security lapses specific to Nevada or the county, and Merlino, the county clerk, later clarified to the board that at no point were Nyes voting machines connected to the internet.

Though it mirrors a wider push by local Republican politicians to move away from electronic voting machines  including a proposal to switch to all paper ballots in Lander County  the request falls short of more wide-reaching election changes proposed elsewhere.

That includes an idea in Washoe County that, in addition to so-called stealth paper ballots, would also have sought to station National Guard troops at polling places and ballot boxes. That proposal was shelved days after it was proposed, however, on the advice of the county district attorney amid concerns the measure had not received a proper legal review. The proposal is expected to appear on a future county commission meeting agenda.

Lyon County commissioners soon could also be considering similar election changes to those proposed in Nye County. Though no similar items appear on the agenda for the county commissions Thursday meeting, Strickland said she believed Lyon County would be doing the same thing on March 17.

The push to overhaul elections in several Nevada counties comes in spite of messaging from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt, a prominent proponent of conspiracy theories regarding the 2020 election. Speaking to voters in Humboldt and Elko counties, Laxalt said elections in those rural counties are legitimate, while the problems with Nevadas elections are concentrated in populous Clark County, NBC News reported.

Nationwide, Republican lawmakers in at least six states have introduced legislation that would require all election ballots to be counted by hand instead of machine, according to the Associated Press.

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Russian invasion of Ukraine headlines

- President Biden held a two hour call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the White House has said China is not looking to join the West in condemning the Russian invasion.

- Over 3.2 million Ukrainians, half of which are children, have fled since the invasion by Russia began

- Negotiations betweenRussia and Ukraine continue, while reports have been more hopeful many experts do not believe an agreement will be reached at this time.

- Russia has imposed sanctions on US officials including President Biden and former First Lady Hillary Clinton

- Mariupol mayor confirms that around 350,000 people are still trapped in the city. Officials report that the city's "last reserves of food and water are running out

Russia - Ukraine conflict information

- Can families in the US sponsor Ukrainian refugees?

- How have sanctions impacted the Russian economy?

- What are the key dates for Russia to pay its state bonds?

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Mir, meaning 'peace' or 'world' in Russian, is a payment system in the Russian Federation. Mostly, it is used for bank transfers and initially all welfare and pension payments go through the Mir system.

The Mir programme was started back in 2014 when Russia faced what were then the first wave of sanctions. At the time, Russia had occupied the Crimea from Ukraine, territory it still administers today. There were worries, like what has happened now, that Russia would be cut off from international payment systems.

According to the NPCS, in the summer of 2021, more than 50 percent of Russians had at least one Mir card. By September 2021, payments on these cards accounted for 25.2 percent of payments in the country, with a total of 112 million cards issued. According to the company itself, 2020 saw 75 percent more uses of the cards compared to 2019. It's pretty popular.

Related stories:

Russia has been keen to bring other countries with them in their Mir venture. So far, eleven other nations accept the payments, although two of these are not fully internationally recognised: Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The others are: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

It's not just Russian businesses that use the system, since 2016 American businesses have been involved with Mir payments. However, Mir has come to the forefront in the last month as the Russian war in Ukraine has boosted its profile.

Why are Mir payments so important now?

Russia has been hit by a multitude of sanctions that ranging from import bans to the closing of fast food stores. But one of the most impactful on Russians has been the blocking of access to global banking systems like Visa and Mastercard on March 10. Therefore, the country has had to turn inwards with their own systems to help people pay for things.

Central Bank of #Russia temporarily stops selling cash currency to citizens



Bank customers may withdraw not more than $10 thousand in cash. The rest is only in rubles at the market rate on the day of withdrawal.



There are queues at ATMs in #Moscow again. pic.twitter.com/whwajTw7Mx  NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 9, 2022

Ukraine has encouraged the other countries using Mir to cease using it.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed the discovery of a strain of coronavirus known as Deltacron, which contains a genetic combination of both the Delta and Omicron variants.

Independently both the Delta and Omicron variants have caused concern due to their greater contagiousness, the latter having fuelled the rapid rise in case numbers over the holiday period.

The variant was first identified by Leondios Kostrikis, a Cypriot virologist, who had found 25 cases of the new strain in January. Initially some health experts called the findings into question but greater investigation from the WHO has led to the organisation confirming the "first solid evidence for a Delta-Omicron recombinant virus.

Related news:

Is Deltacron more contagious?

Over the winter months Omicron proved more contagious than previous variants but studies suggest that Omicron typically causes less severe infections than Delta. However it has still caused fatalities and pushed healthcare systems to the breaking point. In certain Omicron hot spots hospitals received more covid-19 patients than at any time during the pandemic, forcing the suspension of non-emergency procedures.

Thus the question, just how contagious is this new potential strain? Experts agree that its too early to tell. The variant has not recorded enough confirmed cases over the past few months for any proper study to be performed so there is no data yet on the severity of infections. Kostrikis, head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology at the University of Cyprus, was unsure whether the Deltacron could ever become as prominent as the Omicron variant.

He said: We will see in the future if [Deltacron] is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail.

Co-infection with multiple variants and viruses is possible

Deltacron is thought to be a recombinant variant, meaning that it is comprised of a combination of different mutations common in other variants. This is a fairly common concept in the field of virology and not one that should prompt undue panic.

Recombinant is not restricted to different varients of the same virus either. There have been many cases of flurona during the pandemic, occuring when an individual is infected with both covid-19 and influenza at the same time.Similar occurrences have been documented since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic.

Fortunately in most cases, when vaccinated, there is no more to fear than contracting covid-19 or the flu one at a time. Both can cause severe illness, but for those who are vaccinated it would generally mean feeling crummy for a few days.

With two variants in high circulation, as was the case with Delta and Omicron, there exists an increased possibility of variants recombining to create a new strain.

Here's what you need to know about the "deltacron" variant https://t.co/QOQT6FSl8A  NYT Science (@NYTScience) March 16, 2022

Its true of viruses in general and particularly of coronaviruses, Christian Brechot, head of the Global Virus Network told FRANCE 24. And it wouldnt be the first time this kind of mutation occurs.

Health experts advise that the best way to mitigate the problem of dual infections is through vaccination.

So long as variants continue to thrive around the world, we will be at the mercy of this type of development, Christine Rouzioux, virologist and professor emeritus at Paris-Descartes University said. This situation is further evidence of the fact that a strategy based on giving rich countries preferential access to vaccines is doomed to fail.
The opening ceremony (Source: VNA)

According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Italy, the event drew the participation of representatives of the Naples city government, the leadership of the IAN and the Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Naples Silvio Vecchione.

At the opening ceremony, Silvio Vecchione, Honorary Consul of Vietnam in Naples, affirmed the importance of professional education and training, calling it a key lever for the career development of the new generation, including Vietnamese students.

He said that in the time to come, he will continue to promote cooperation with IAN, focusing on cultural and educational exchanges and other events contributing to the promotion of the Vietnamese culture, tradition, and history in Italy.

Founded in 2008, IAN is a top training facility in Naples regarding the professions of design, fashion, tourism, hotel management, and food.

About 100 Vietnamese students are studying in universities in the Italian region./.
RTHK: Iran confirms release of two British-Iranians

British-Iranians Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anousheh Ashouri have been released after years of detention in Iran, Iran's judiciary spokesperson Zabiollah Khodaian said on Wednesday.

The pair were set to leave Iran after London paid a US$530 million debt to Tehran, reports on Iranian state media stated.

Neither the British nor Iranian governments have acknowledged any connection between the debt and the case of Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

However, Iranian state media last year reported unidentified Iranian officials as saying she would be freed once the debt was paid.

Iran's clerical rulers say Britain owed the money that Iran's Shah paid up front for 1,750 Chieftain tanks and other vehicles, almost none of which were eventually delivered after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 toppled the US-backed leader.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, was arrested at a Tehran airport in April 2016 and later convicted by an Iranian court of plotting to overthrow the clerical establishment. Her family and the foundation, a charity, deny the charge.

Ashouri was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2019 for spying for Israel's Mossad and two years for "acquiring illegitimate wealth", according to Iran's judiciary.

Asked by a reporter whether he saw signs of optimism on Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday: "I don't want to tempt fate but clearly the negotiations about all our difficult consular cases have been going on for a long time and really I think it would not be sensible for me to comment until we have got a final result." (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Trend

Russian Aeroflot airline will resume regular flights to Azerbaijan from March 21, Trend reports referring to the air company.

According to the company, flights to Baku will be carried out by the Russian regional jet Sukhoi Superjet 100.

On March 5, 2022, Russian airlines suspended flights to Azerbaijan upon the recommendation of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya).
Officials and staff of Vietnam Level 2 Field Hospital Rotation 3 in Bentiu, South Sudan, receive the UN Peacekeeping Medal.

The medal awarding ceremony in recognition of dedication during the entire term was held on March 15, in Bentiu, by the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS).

Brigadier General Dhananjay Joshi, Acting Commander of the UN forces in South Sudan, applauded the hospital's efforts to participate in the joint military-civilian operations (CIMIC), despite the fact that the medical staff are very busy with their professional work. These are HIV/AIDS counseling and testing programs, support of Bentiu hospital, sharing of drugs and equipment with local authorities, and donation of school supplies for students.

Colonel Waleed Elazizy, Chief of Military Medicine of the UNMISS Mission, highly appreciated the role of the Vietnam field hospital in preventing and controlling the pandemic at Bentiu base, preventing COVID-19 from spreading in hospitals, and ensuring a safe environment for patients.

Lieutenant Colonel Trinh My Hoa, Director of the hospital, said that since its deployment on March 26, 2021, the hospital has taken care of health and treated more than 1,400 patients who are UN employees and local people. Doctors have successfully performed more than 16 complicated surgeries, and transported 15 cases by air.

The hospital has applied many new techniques in patient diagnosis and treatment, suitable for field conditions; well organized pandemic prevention and vaccination against COVID-19; and provided oxygen and treated all medical waste for level 1 hospitals in the mission.

UN peacekeeping operations, established in 1948, is a special mechanism assigned by the UN to the UN Security Council in the form of missions to help facilitate the end of conflict and peace-building, through the deployment of forces contributed by member states under the command and control of the UN.

Vietnam has sent officers and employees of the Ministry of National Defense to work on UN peacekeeping missions since June 2014. On October 1, 2018, Vietnam sent a field hospital for the first time to perform a mission in Bentiu, South Sudan./.
BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Song Taiping, a former senior legislator in north China's Hebei Province, has been indicted on a charge of taking bribes, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Tuesday.

Song, former vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Hebei, took advantage of the posts he held to seek unjustified gains for others and accepted money and gifts in colossal amounts in return, which merit a criminal charge of bribery, the indictment said.

The prosecution was brought by the procuratorate of Yuncheng City, north China's Shanxi Province, upon the designation of the SPP following the closure of a probe by the National Commission of Supervision.

Prosecutors had informed the defendant of his litigation rights, interrogated him and listened to the defense counsel's opinions, the SPP said. 

Editor: JYZ
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Winter Olympics have showcased China's new artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technologies, The National Interest, an American bimonthly conservative international relations magazine, has reported.

"The robot chefs making burgers at Olympic facilities and the smart beds measuring athletes' vital statistics weren't just gimmicks for the cameras: they're a symbol of how China has quickly eclipsed the United States when it comes to the deployment and use of AI technologies," said an article published by the magazine on Sunday.

According to the article, Pentagon's first chief software officer Nicolas Chaillan said that there's no way Washington is going to catch up to Beijing's cyber and AI capabilities.

Graham Allison of the Belfer Center, recently noted that many American officials are far too complacent about Western supremacy in technology, said the article.

Editor: ZAD
A woman prepares to fly a kite at the Redondo Beach in Los Angeles, California, the United States on March 13, 2022. Thousands of people on Sunday gathered at the Redondo Beach Pier in Los Angeles for its 48th Annual Festival of the Kite. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of people on Sunday gathered at the Redondo Beach Pier in Los Angeles for its 48th Annual Festival of the Kite.

Hundreds of kites in a wide variety of shapes, including birds, eagles, swallows, princesses and space robots, were flying in the sky. Prizes were awarded for the best hand-made kite, the highest-flying kite and the youngest kite flyer.

The annual festival, which is one of the longest-running kite festivals in the United States, also featured live music, local dance and martial arts demos.

Cathy Smith, a local resident living in Torrance, flew a goat-shaped kite featuring a character in Chinese animated television series "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf," which has been enormously popular with Chinese children after its debut in 2005.

"The kite festival symbolizes the start of spring," Smith told Xinhua, adding it was her third time to participate in the annual event.

Photo taken on March 13, 2022 shows a view of the Redondo Beach's festival of the kite at the Redondo Beach in Los Angeles, California, the United States. Thousands of people on Sunday gathered at the Redondo Beach Pier in Los Angeles for its 48th Annual Festival of the Kite. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

A man flies a kite at the Redondo Beach in Los Angeles, California, the United States on March 13, 2022. Thousands of people on Sunday gathered at the Redondo Beach Pier in Los Angeles for its 48th Annual Festival of the Kite. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

Editor: WXL
Direct one-time losses for Ukraine due to the invasion of the Russian Federation exceed $500 billion, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said.

"In our government, a corresponding group, which assesses the losses for the economy as a result of Russian aggression has already been created and is working. Preliminary calculations say that now the direct one-time losses for Ukraine amount to more than $500 billion. And, in fact, these are the funds that will be needed to restore our state - both at the expense of the repatriation of the Russian Federation, and at the expense of our partners - in order for Ukraine to recover and become the same as it was before the war," he said in a press statement jointly with the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia on Wednesday night.
ENTSO-E agrees to start trial synchronization of continental European power grids with those of Ukraine, Moldova from March 16

Continental European energy system operators have agreed to start a trial synchronization of the energy systems of Ukraine and Moldova with the continental European energy system.

"Following an urgent request by Ukrenergo and Moldova for emergency synchronization, the TSOs of Continental Europe agreed to start on March 16, 2022 the trial synchronization of the Continental European Power System with the power systems of Ukraine and Moldova. This acceleration of the synchronization project ongoing since 2017 has been possible thanks to the previous studies carried out and the adoption of risks mitigation measures," the report reads.

"Continental Europe TSOs are now supporting the stability of the Ukrainian-Moldovan power system following a positive analysis which confirmed that an emergency synchronization is technically feasible with a number of measures to ensure safe and secure power systems," it says.

"This is a significant milestone for the Continental Europe TSOs working in collaboration with Ukrenergo and Moldelectrica that are operating their respective power systems under extremely difficult circumstances. ENTSO-E would like to thank the European Commission, all TSOs involved and their national authorities for their support and assistance in the synchronization process,"
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed economic pressure on Russia and ensuring the security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine.

"Call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Grateful to the United States for the new round of personal sanctions against Russian officials. I also underscored the need to step up economic pressure on Russia. We both agreed it is important to ensure safety and security of nuclear facilities in Ukraine," he said on Twitter.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law banning the production and distribution of information products aimed at promoting the actions of the Russian Federation, the website of the Verkhovna Rada reports.

According to the information published in the card of the relevant bill No. 5101, the head of state signed this document on March 14.

The law prohibits justifying, recognizing as legitimate, denying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, including by presenting the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an "internal conflict", "civil conflict", "civil war", denial of the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine.

At the same time, it is prohibited to glorify persons committing Russias armed aggression against Ukraine, representatives of both the armed formations of the Russian Federation and armed gangs and groups of mercenaries, including by defining them as "rebels", "militias", "polite military people".

The law also provides for the possibility to stop the activities in Ukraine of parties, religious and public organizations engaged in war propaganda or justifying the actions of the aggressor country. According to the decision of the court, their activities may be terminated.

As reported, on March 3, the Verkhovna Rada adopted bill No. 5101 at the first and at the second reading.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, some 103 children have been killed and over 100 wounded, Russia is killing at least five Ukrainian children a day, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova said.

"The Russian war against Ukrainian: some 103 children were killed and more than 100 wounded. The occupiers kill at least five of our children a day. This morning, the official figure crossed the critical and terrible mark of 100. The data is not final, in hot spots and in temporarily occupied territories from prosecutors and law enforcement officers are not able to inspect the places of shelling," she said on her Facebook.

Venediktova also said the aggressor had already bombed over 400 educational institutions, some 59 were wiped off the face of the earth.

On this occasion, she addressed the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Violence against Children.

"It is important that the UN specialized agencies make a decision as soon as possible on the implementation of the mission to assess the violation of children's rights in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine," Venediktova said.
No one injured amid missile attack near Nikopol  Dnipropetrovsk region authorities

The Russian military fired near Nikopol, no casualties have been reported, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration Valentyn Reznichenko has said.

"Anxious night. Missile attack near Nikopol. People were not injured. The situation in the region is tense, but stable and controlled," he wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday.

There are no enemy troops in the region, Reznichenko added.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and the United Arab Emirates' Energy and Infrastructure Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei have discussed new opportunities for bilateral energy cooperation.

The discussion took place within the groundbreaking ceremony for the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant on March 15.

During the meeting, the parties assessed the laying of the foundation of the Garadagh SPP as an indicator of the two countries' strong relations.

They rated Azerbaijan as a country that welcomes foreign investment and has great opportunities for multifaceted energy cooperation.

Furthermore, the parties discussed various aspects of renewable energy, as well as the potential for collaboration in the fields of natural gas, hydrogen, and power energy.

The Gulustan Palace hosted the groundbreaking ceremony for the 230 MW Garadagh solar power plant, which will be built in Azerbaijan by the Masdar company of the United Arab Emirates.

Following the groundbreaking ceremony, Parviz Shahbazov and Suhail Al Mazrouei spoke at a joint press conference. The ministers responded to questions about the significance of the new solar power plant being built for the country's energy system, increasing the annual volume of electricity production at the expense of green energy sources, increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the field of electricity, the significance of the documents signed, and other topics.

In addition, during the press conference, Azerbaijan and the Masdar company of the United Arab Emirates signed four memorandums of understanding on renewable energy cooperation.
The State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine has called on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to recognize Belarus as a country proliferating weapons of mass destruction and blacklist it by the FATF.

"The Russian Federation, with the support and assistance of the Republic of Belarus (logistics, airports, military bases, weapons and military equipment, military personnel, etc.), continues open aggression against Ukraine... In fact, the territory of the Republic of Belarus, with the assistance and support of the political leadership of this state, acts as a springboard to carry out armed aggression against Ukraine. In this regard, the chairman of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine initiated an appeal to the President of the FATF with a call to recognize the Republic of Belarus as a country that, through its actions, carries out the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to blacklist it by the FATF," the authority said on Facebook.

In addition, the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service initiated an appeal to the chair and executive secretary of the Egmont Group with a persistent appeal to stop Belarus' access to a secure communication channel and expel it from this organization.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine are carrying out a counteroffensive in a number of tactical directions, which radically changes the dispositions of the sides, adviser to the head of the President's Office of Ukraine Mykhailo Podoliak has said.

"What's going on right now. First, counteroffensive of the AFU in several operational areas. This radically changes the parties' dispositions. Second, Russian journalists start quitting TV channels. Third, Russia leaders are trying to find allies whose soldiers will be ready to die in Ukraine's fields," Podoliak said on Twitter on Wednesday.
Over the past day, rescuers of Kharkiv garrison of the State Emergency Service made 32 trips to remove fires and dismantle the rubble of destroyed buildings caused by enemy shelling.

"In total, on this day, rescuers rescued four people from under the rubble, found and removed two dead from under the rubble of building structures," the press service of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service in Kharkiv region said.

Over the past day, as a result of an artillery strike on high-rise buildings in Nemyshliansky district of Kharkiv, several apartments in two residential high-rise buildings were destroyed, as well as their ignition. Rescuers extinguished the fire on a total area of about 200 square meters, carried out the rescue and evacuation of people, and also removed the body of the deceased from under the rubble.

At night, around 03:00, enemy shells hit one of Kharkiv schools. The three-storey part of the building was destroyed on an area of 800 square meters one person was injured.

The pyrotechnic units of the State Emergency Service carried out 22 trips to neutralize unexploded ordnance.

"Only according to confirmed data, since the beginning of the war in Kharkiv, the invaders cynically killed more than 500 civilians, some 88 of them had to be rescued from the rubble by rescuers. Search work does not stop," the service said.
The Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announces the elimination of two Russian Su-30cm fighters in the south of the country.

"Today, at 5 am, in the south of the country, two Su-30cm fighters of the Russian fascists were sent in the direction of the Russian ship. A pair of occupiers' fighters tried to attack one of the villages in Odesa region," the Command said in a Facebook post.

The anti-aircraft missile unit of the Pivden Air Command destroyed both aircraft.

"The pilots ejected and fell into the Ukrainian Black Sea following the planes," the Command of the Air Force said.
The sides are close to agreeing on a number of wordings in the agreements with Ukraine concerning its neutral status and security guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"The neutral status [of Ukraine] is being seriously discussed, clearly, together with the security guarantees. This is exactly what President Putin said at a press conference in February: any acceptable variants, any mutually acceptable guarantees of security for Ukraine and all countries, including Russia, except NATO enlargement," Lavrov said in an interview with the RBC television channel.

"This is what is being discussed at the negotiations. There are absolutely specific wordings and, in my opinion, the sides are close to agreeing on them," he said.
The European Union is seriously concerned that nuclear facilities in Ukraine are being subjected to military attacks by the Russian Federation and supports the IAEA's position on the need to ensure their safety, EU Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Marjolijn van Deelen said during the eighth EU-IAEA Senior Officials Meeting in Vienna on Tuesday.

"EU Special Envoy for Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Marjolijn van Deelen, conveyed the EU's grave concern over the growing nuclear safety and security risks in Ukraine, as a result of Russia's military aggression and indiscriminate attacks on several nuclear sites," the IAEA said in a press release on its website.

According to the report, she reaffirmed the EU's full support for the initiative of IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi to ensure the safety and security of all nuclear facilities in Ukraine.

"The EU remains categorically committed to defending multilateralism, especially at this time when its foundations are being questioned. The EU's support for the implementation of the IAEA's mandate remains strong," she said.

According to the report, nuclear safety in Ukraine was a priority issue of the EU-IAEA meeting.

The IAEA, in another press release on its website, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator, said that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, after repairing the power line by Ukrainian power engineers on the evening of March 14, "had been re-connected to the national electricity grid and no longer relied on emergency diesel generators for power." According to the report, it is also supplying electricity to the nearby city of Slavutych.

However, the IAEA said that it remains unclear for the regulator whether it will be possible to repair the second high-voltage power line that feeds the Chornobyl site, and whether it is possible to rotate the Chornobyl personnel, who have been staying at the station for twenty days from the date of its capture by the Russian troops.
Vinnytsia's TV tower is under fire by occupiers, broadcasting temporarily turned off  service

A television tower of the broadcasting, radio communication and television concern came under fire by Russian occupiers in Vinnytsia on Wednesday, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine said.

"On the morning of March 16, the occupiers fired on the television tower of the broadcasting, radio communication and television concern (part of the State Special Communications Administration) in Vinnytsia. On-air broadcasting in the city is temporarily not working," the service said.

Earlier, Head of Vinnytsia regional military administration Serhiy Borzo, said that Russian invaders launched a missile attack on Vinnytsia on Wednesday night.
The spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) will be held in the capital of Lithuania, and not in Kyiv, as previously scheduled, because of the events in Ukraine.

"Lithuania would become the centre of NATO's political life for three days," Lithuanian parliament member Audronius Azubalis said, presenting this initiative at a meeting of the Seimas board.

According to him, Lithuania will benefit from this event also since it will be possible to touch upon the issue of strengthening the eastern flank of NATO.

The NATO PA spring session will be held May 27 till May 30 in the building of the Lithuanian Seimas.

The NATO PA is an inter-parliamentary organization in which parliamentarians from NATO countries discuss, together with parliamentarians from countries outside the bloc, key political, security and defense issues in the Euro-Atlantic region.
Early data estimates suggest that 90% of the Ukrainian population could be facing poverty and extreme economic vulnerability should the war deepen, setting the country  and the region  back decades and leaving deep social and economic scars for generations to come, according to the early projection released today by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

"In the event of a continuing, protracted war in Ukraine, 18 years of socio-economic achievements could be lost, with almost one third of the population living below the poverty line and a further 62% at high risk of falling into poverty within the next twelve months, according to an early projection released today by the UNDP," UNDP said in a press release on Wednesday.

UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner said that the war in Ukraine is causing unimaginable human suffering with a tragic loss of life and the displacement of millions of people.

"While the need for immediate humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians is of the utmost importance, the acute development impacts of a protracted war are now becoming more apparent. An alarming economic decline, and the suffering and hardship it will bring to an already traumatised population must now come into sharper focus. There is still time to halt this grim trajectory," he said.

Based on its longstanding, trusted partnership with the Government of Ukraine, UNDP has been working in all 24 regions (administrative districts) of Ukraine with more than 332 municipalities, 15 civil society organizations hubs, and more than 17 business membership associations across the country. As part of the coordinated United Nations Country Team's response, UNDP is now leveraging this extensive network for immediate and scaled up support to the people of Ukraine, focusing on immediate crisis response and maintaining core government functions for emergency response management and public service delivery.

"In order to avoid further suffering, destruction and impoverishment we need peace now. As part of the United Nations' unwavering commitment to the Ukrainian people, UNDP's primary focus is to help preserve hard-won development gains. That includes supporting the government to sustain critical governance structures and services, which constitute the bedrock of all societies," Steiner said.

UNDP said that according to government estimates, at least $100 billion worth of infrastructure, buildings, roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, and other physical assets have been destroyed. The war has caused 50% of Ukrainian businesses to shut down completely, while the other half are forced to operate well below capacity.

Among the largest UN agencies on the ground in Ukraine, UNDP has remained operational throughout the conflict and is now boosting its presence with targeted, specialized deployments in key areas such as debris management, damage assessment and emergency livelihoods including cash-based assistance, and also offering operational entry points and platforms to development and humanitarian partners to channel and scale support to the Government and people of Ukraine.

UNDP said that a series of policy measures in the coming weeks could assist and mitigate a freefall into poverty as the conflict rages on. In view of the scale of the needs and priorities, and of the countrys strong banking and financial services infrastructure, UNDP joins the UN Crisis Coordinator in promoting the use of multi-purpose cash assistance which could help reach the largest number of people in desperate need across the country.

"For example, UNDP's initial estimates are that a large-scale emergency cash transfer operation, costing approximately $250 million per month, would cover partial income losses for 2.6 million people expected to fall into poverty. A more ambitious temporary basic income (TBI) that provides a basic income of $5.50 per day per person would cost $430 million a month, based on initial estimates," the organization said.
Ordnance disposal experts have defused more than 350 unexploded ordnance dropped by Russian invaders on Ukrainian land, Head of the National Police of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko has said.

"The National Police of Ukraine constantly receives messages about detected explosive objects both on hotlines and through the cyber police chat bot in Telegram @ukraine_avanger_bot. In addition, the explosive ordnance disposal service of the National Police provides assistance to the units of the State Emergency Service in cleaning the affected objects," the National Police said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

"In total, police ordnance disposal experts defused more than 350 unexploded ordnance dropped by Russian invaders on peaceful Ukrainian land. Police ordnance disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion of a cruise missile," Klymenko said.

According to the report, the remnants of ammunition are seized as evidence of Russia's war crimes against Ukraine.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are working to draw up a roadmap to explore the potential of offshore wind energy in the country within the framework of joint cooperation.

State Agency for Renewable Energy Sources Director Tabriz Ammayev made the remarks during a media tour of Garadagh, Trend reported.

He noted that work is underway to sign agreements with a number of private companies for cooperation in this direction. In this regard, he recalled that a memorandum of understanding was signed with the United Arab Emirates Masdar on cooperation in the sphere of integrated renewable energy at sea on March 15.

"It is planned to carry out research work in the field of production and export of electricity, also further development of Azerbaijan's offshore wind energy within the framework of this memorandum," he said.

BP's solar power plant

Ammayev added that the project for the construction of BP's solar power plant in Azerbaijan's Jabrayil will cost nearly $200 million.

He stated that research is being conducted as part of the signed agreement for the construction of a solar power plant.

"Besides, its planned to restore small hydroelectric power plants in Karabakh. To date, four small hydropower plants have already been restored. This year, its also planned to build about five small hydroelectric power plants," he said.

The agency's director underlined that one of the main priorities in Azerbaijan's energy sector development is the implementation of projects jointly with the private sector. He added that a number of similar projects are planned to be implemented as part of Azerbaijan's socio-economic development strategy until 2030.

Garadagh solar power plant

Speaking about the Garadagh solar power plant, Ammayev noted that this plant will generate 500 million kWh of electricity per year.

He added that the construction of this power plant will reduce gas consumption by 110 million cubic meters and emissions into the environment by 200,000 tons.

"At the first stage, its planned to create nearly 700 jobs at this power plant. Since the plant will be built on the basis of high technologies, about 30 additional jobs can be opened," he said.

The official also mentioned that the electricity produced at this solar power plant will be included in the overall energy balance of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, he noted that the solar power plant is scheduled to be put into operation by the end of the first half of 2023.

"The solar power plant will provide electricity to about 110,000 households. The area of the territory where the power plant will be located will be 550 hectares. More than 500,000 solar panels are planned to be installed on this territory," he said.

Ammayev also added that the investment cost of the project will be about $225 million.

Electricity generation from solid waste

Moreover, he noted that a project to generate electricity from solid waste is planned to be implemented in Azerbaijans Ganja city within the memorandum signed between the Azerbaijan Investment Company and UAEs Masdar company.

He stressed that currently, the work is underway to prepare technical documentation for this project.

"The implementation of such and a number of other energy projects in Azerbaijan strengthens the role of our country as a player with a sustainable economy and stable macroeconomics. We see that major global energy companies are interested in investing and implementing projects in Azerbaijan, and we continue to receive proposals and recommendations from them," he said.
The model of Ukraine's neutrality can only be Ukrainian, Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, has said.

This is how he commented on the words of the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, that Ukraine allegedly proposed an "Austrian" or "Swedish" version of its neutrality.

"Certainly, we understand the attempt of our partners to remain the proactive side in the negotiation process, hence the words about the Swedish or Austrian models of neutrality. But Ukraine is now in a state of direct war with the Russian Federation. Therefore, the model can only be "Ukrainian" and only about legally verified "security guarantees." And no other models or options," Podoliak said in a comment given to Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, this means that Ukraine needs absolute security guarantees.

"Effective, not protocol or Budapest. And this means that the signatories of the guarantees do not stand aside in the event of an attack on Ukraine, as they do today. But they take an active part on the side of Ukraine in the conflict and officially ensure the immediate supply of the necessary amount of weapons to us," he said.

"And, secondly, Ukraine no longer wants to depend on bureaucratic procedures that allow or do not allow closing the sky from the same cruise missiles. We need direct and strict guarantees that the sky will definitely be closed," Podoliak added.

As the adviser to the head of the President's Office said, Ukraine has never been a military state that attacked or planned to attack its neighbors.

"Unlike these very neighbors. That is why today Ukraine wants to have a really powerful pool of allies with clearly defined security guarantees," he said.
Zelensky: We will not lay down our arms until we win

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has reacted to the appearance of a fake statement allegedly by the head of state in a ticker on one of the TV channels on Wednesday.

In his video message, Zelensky called this provocation "childish" and said that the Ukrainian army would not lay down its arms until the victory over the invaders.

"Regarding the latest children's provocation that I allegedly propose to lay down their arms. I can only offer to lay down their arms to the military of the Russian Federation and return home. And we are already at home. We are defending our land, our children, our families. We are not going to lay down any weapons before our victory," Zelensky said.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said he had signed an order on a national minute's silence.

"Today I signed an important order. About a national minute's silence in honor of the memory of all those who died in our Patriotic War," he said in a video statement on Wednesday.

"Everyone we lost because of the Russian invasion. Due to the terror unleashed by the occupiers," he said.

"Every morning at 09.00 throughout the territory of our state we will remember the Ukrainians who gave their lives. Military and civilian. Adults and children. Everyone. Everyone who could still live if Russia had not started this war," the president said.
Ukrainian defenders shot down another enemy Su-34 fighter in Chernihiv, and the search for pilots continues, the press center of Pivnich Task Force Command has reported.

"The defenders of Chernihiv shot down another Su-34! In the morning, the occupying troops of the Russians again tried to break through the defenses of Chernihiv with the support of aviation and artillery, but the attempts were again unsuccessful and the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled all attacks. Another enemy aircraft was shot down! Su-34 plane bombed the city, but the air defense specialists of one of the subdivisions of Pivnich Task Force have definitely curtailed his "work," the press center said on Facebook.

The pilots landed, the search for them continues.
Ukraine, at the cost of numerous human losses, is holding back the Russian aggressor on the threshold of the EU and NATO, therefore it calls on partners to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine as soon as possible and strengthen its defense capabilities by providing Ukraine with air and missile defense systems, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said.

"At this decisive moment in the history of Europe, when Ukraine, at the cost of numerous human losses, is holding back the Russian aggressor on the threshold of the EU and NATO, we once again call on our partners to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine as soon as possible and strengthen our defense capabilities by providing Ukraine with air defense and missile defense systems. Only by joint efforts will we be able to curb the Russian aggressor, restore international order, and neutralize threats to security and stability in Europe," the Foreign Ministry commented on the eight anniversary of Russia's illegal 'referendum' in Crimea.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said Russia must cease the war against Ukraine, withdraw its troops from the entire territory of Ukraine, including the Crimea peninsula, release all illegally detained residents of Crimea and compensate for all the damage caused by Russia.

In addition, the Foreign Ministry said Ukraine highly appreciates the support of the international community, including the participants of the International Crimea Platform, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as solidarity with Ukraine in a difficult period for it, is grateful for all the military-political and humanitarian support, rendered to Ukraine and its citizens by foreign partners.

The ministry said that on March 16, 2014, Russia, having seized power in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by force, held the so-called "referendum on the status of Crimea." The ministry said the illegal "expression of will" at the gunpoint of the Russian military was contrary to the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, grossly violated international law, Russia's international obligations under bilateral agreements with Ukraine and the Budapest Memorandum.

"As time has shown, this was the first stage in the implementation of Moscow's plan aimed at destroying Ukrainian statehood and expanding Russia's geopolitical dominance in the region. Eight years later, the total militarization of Crimea and the Russian military buildup, the Kremlin committed the next act of armed aggression and vilely attacked Ukraine, unleashing a full-scale war in Europe," the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine drew attention to the fact that the territory of the peninsula and the waters of the Black and Azov Seas have become springboards for an offensive ground operation of the Russian armed forces in southern Ukraine and barbaric missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilian facilities.

"Conscripts from Crimea were thrown into the maelstrom of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Russia has again cynically violated the norms of international law, international humanitarian law, as well as the foundations of humanity and morality," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

It is also noted that in 2014 Russia embarked on the path of international isolation, it was expelled from the Group of Eight, deprived of its vote in PACE, became the subject of lawsuits in international courts and a defendant in international sanctions.

"At present, the isolation of Russia has become virtually complete, and Russia itself has become the absolute leader of the restrictive measures imposed on it by the international community. The Ukrainian diplomatic service will continue to work with partners in order to further strengthen them," the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said in the commentary that Russia continues the persecution and illegal imprisonment of the indigenous people of Crimea, in particular, three Crimean Tatars were detained on Wednesday, human rights activist Abdureshid Dzhepparov, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020, as well as Yakubov Fevzi and Muhammed-Ali Dzhepparov.

"We will return Crimea and every piece of our land temporarily occupied by Russia, and we will force Russia and its leadership to answer for all the crimes it has committed in Ukraine. The relevant proceedings initiated by Ukraine are considered in international judicial instances. Already today we are waiting for the decision of the International Court of Justice in the case 'Ukraine v. Russia' on the charges of genocide in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
The European Commission has condemned the murder of journalists covering Russia's war against Ukraine: these crimes will not go unpunished.

The relevant statement was made on Wednesday in Brussels by representative of the European Commission Eric Mamer.

The official said the commission discussed the situation in Ukraine, the needs of the Ukrainian side and the reaction of the Commission to them. In this context, the commission condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks on civilians that occur on a daily basis, in particular the murders of Fox News journalist Pierre Zakrevsky and Oleksandra Kuvshynova yesterday, literally the day after the assassination of American journalist Brent Renaud. These are crimes that cannot and will not go unpunished, according to Mamer.
Russian invaders near Kyiv went on defensive - Ministry of Defense of Ukraine

Russian invaders tried to resume their attack on Vyshgorod near Kyiv, but they did not achieve success and went on the defensive, the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"The enemy is making attempts to resume offensive operations in the direction of Vyshgorod. During the day, the enemy tried to advance towards Kyiv. There was no luck, they went on the defensive," the message posted on Facebook says.

It also notes that the Russian occupation forces are trying to continue the strategic offensive operation against Ukraine.

"The tasks to defeat the groupings of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and establish control over the left-bank part of Ukraine have not been completed. The target is partially reached in Donetsk direction, the enemy is stopped in Mykolaiv direction," the Ministry of Defense says.

They specify that in the direction of Brovary, there is a movement of small groups of equipment of invaders within the occupied area of the settlements of Bohdanivka and Velyka Dymerka. Aerial reconnaissance of the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is carried out using the Orlan-10 UAV.

In addition, the invaders are trying to move additional reserves from the Eastern Military District.

"Due to significant losses in the southern direction, the command of the armed forces of the aggressor country refused to strengthen the grouping of troops in Polissia with additional reserve units from the 5th Combined Arms Army," the department notes.

They add that the invaders try to gain a foothold on the achieved lines, regroup troops and try to restore the combat capability of their units.
USA considering all options to hold Russia accountable for any brutal crimes in Ukraine  embassy

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine has condemned the Russian troops shooting of ten people who lined up for bread in Chernihiv and said the United States is considering all options to hold Russia accountable for any brutal crimes in Ukraine.

"Today, Russian forces shot and killed ten people standing in line for bread in Chernihiv. Such horrific attacks must stop. We are considering all available options to ensure accountability for any atrocity crimes in Ukraine," the embassy said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing U.S. congressmen, said that Russia is conducting a brutal attack on the values of Ukraine and the whole world, freedom and free choice of the future.

"Currently, the fate of our country, the fate of our people, whether the Ukrainians will be free, whether they will be able to maintain their democracy, is being decided. Russia has dealt a blow not only to us, not only to our cities, to our land. It is conducting a brutal attack on our values. On the main human values. It throws its tanks and planes against our right to live freely in our own country, to choose our own future," the president said.
Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. in March 2021, having completed the purchase of the Ukrainian IT company GlobalLogic, will transfer $3 million in assistance to Ukraine, GlobalLogic said in a statement released on Wednesday.

"GlobalLogic has never worked in Russia and has never done any business with the Russian government or the private sector. In addition, GlobalLogic's parent company, Hitachi Ltd. is also donating $3 million to help Ukraine and has announced the suspension of operations in Russia," the statement said.

In addition, GlobalLogic, with the help of WeSpire, launched a donation platform so that customers and partners can transfer funds that will go to help Ukraine and its citizens.

The company has selected five specific organizations that can provide immediate assistance directly to Ukraine. Ukrainian organizations in the U.S. include Nova Ukraine (emergency resources for both refugees and citizens who have remained in Ukraine), Razom (emergency response providing critical medical supplies to hospitals and citizens) and Revived Soldiers Ukraine (providing assistance in support of fundamental human rights and medical rehabilitation of soldiers).

The list of global aid organizations includes Save the Children Ukraine (helping children and families) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (helping refugees).

The message emphasizes that transfers through WeSpire are safe, GlobalLogic pays all fees for processing payments, so all 100% of donations go directly to Ukrainians. Now GlobalLogic is attracting partners and friends of the company to join in helping Ukraine and its citizens. At the same time, since the beginning of the war, the company itself has already sent UAH 0.5 billion of such assistance.

As previously reported, Japanese conglomerate Hitachi Ltd. announced the completion of the acquisition of U.S. software development services provider GlobalLogic Inc. in accordance with the final agreement signed on March 31, 2021.

IT-company GlobalLogic Ukraine is the largest software developer in Ukraine. It has offices and more than 7,500 specialists in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Mykolaiv.
By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Tamerlan Taghiyev, executive director of the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has stated that Azerbaijan will be provided with 5G internet in the coming years, according to Trend.

He noted that the primary goal is to use 5G technology and that the development of the digital economy necessitates certain factors, such as the creation of digital infrastructure and ensuring complete coverage of the country with high-speed Internet.

"The development of the digital economy also requires expanding access to financial resources, creating appropriate conditions for venture capital, financing start-ups," he said.

Cooperation with World Economic Forum

Taghiyev also stated that Azerbaijan is currently collaborating with the World Economic Forum on three major areas: artificial intelligence and machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT) and urban transformation, and digital commerce.

He recalled that the official opening ceremony of the Center for Analysis and Coordination of the Fourth Industrial Revolution was held on February 23, 2022, and that artificial intelligence sessions were planned.

"An exchange of views took place on the preparation of a national strategy for artificial intelligence, also the application of technologies based on artificial intelligence," he said.

He also mentioned that Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on digital trade in April 2021.

"A working group of 11 state structures has been created, the coordination of which is entrusted to our center. Our center also carries out activities within the framework of the development of the fourth industrial revolution, the digital economy in Azerbaijan. A working group of 22 state structures has been created. Coordination on it is also entrusted to our center," he said.

Green solutions

The executive director mentioned that the center will bring green solutions to Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan's leadership has set a goal to revive Karabakh through the introduction of 'smart' and 'green' technologies. This is the purpose, task, and duty of each of us. We also hope that our center will contribute to the restoration of Karabakh," he said.

He added that the center will also promote the attraction of advanced technologies to Azerbaijan, as well as green solutions for use not only in Karabakh but also in other parts of the country.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, addressing the U.S. Congress, said that Ukraine needs air defense systems and aircraft to repel Russian aggression.

"Russia has turned the Ukrainian sky into a source of death. For a thousand people. Russian troops have already fired almost a thousand missiles at Ukraine. Countless aerial bombs. They use drones to make it more efficient to kill. This is terror that Europe has not seen. Hasn't seen in 80 years! And we ask for a response," Zelensky said.

At the same time, the head of state once again asked to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine, respectively, the conditions under which "Russia will no longer be able to terrorize peaceful cities every day and every night."

"Is this a big request? ... If it's too much, we offer an alternative. You know what kind of defense systems we need. S-300 and other similar systems. You know how much depends on the ability to use aircraft on the battlefield. Powerful aircraft. To protect your own people. Your freedom. Your land. Planes that can help Ukraine. What can help Europe. And you know they are. But on the ground. Not in the Ukrainian sky. They don't protect our people," he said.

"Today I can say: I am in need. The need to protect our skies. The need for your decision. Your help," Zelensky concluded.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of a new association of states - U-24. United for Peace.

Speaking via video link to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, he noted that "the institutions that should be protecting us from war ... do not work." So, he said, we need new institutions and unions.

"And we propose to create an association - U-24. United for Peace. A union of responsible states with the strength and conscience to stop conflicts. Immediately. Provide all necessary assistance within 24 hours. If necessary, with weapons. If necessary, with sanctions, humanitarian support, political support, money. Everything we need to keep the peace," he said.

In addition, Zelensky said such an association "could provide assistance to those who are experiencing natural disasters, man-made disasters, who have become victims of a humanitarian crisis or an epidemic."

Remember, he also said, "how difficult it was for the world to do the simplest thing  just give everyone vaccines. COVID vaccines. To save life. To prevent new strains."

"The world wasted months and years on something that could have been done much faster. So that there are no human losses," the president said.
Japan sent a batch of military aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, the country's Self-Defense Forces reported.

According to reports, an American C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft took off from the Yokota air base in western Tokyo with 38 tonnes of cargo.

In particular, non-lethal equipment  helmets and bulletproof vests  will be delivered to Ukraine. It is not reported where the plane should deliver the cargo.

The first batch of Japanese military aid to Ukraine was sent on March 8.
Number of those who left Ukraine on March 15 for EU, Moldova up by about 5%  Border Guard Service

More than 75,000 people crossed the state border of Ukraine to the EU and Moldova on March 15, which is about 5% more than the day before, the State Border Guard Service said on Wednesday.

"The indicators show that over the past two days, passenger traffic has a tendency to slightly increase. There are no queues of pedestrians and vehicles in almost all directions. The exceptions are the Krakovets checkpoints, as well as Uzhgorod and Tysa, where there are slight accumulations of cars and buses," the statement said.

According to it, as before, 65-69% of those who left the country in the west first cross the Ukrainian-Polish border.

At the same time, the State Border Guard Service notes a steady flow of people entering Ukraine, the number of which on March 15 amounted to 16,000, including citizens of Ukraine  more than 13,000. "The vast majority are men who are ready to defend the country. Since the beginning of open armed aggression, about 273,000 of our countrymen have returned to Ukraine," the service said.

The State Border Guard Service recalled that all checkpoints on the western border (except Dzvinkove) operate around the clock.

It also said that over the past day, more than 800 vehicles with humanitarian cargo were registered at the western borders.

According to the UNHCR, as of 13:00 on March 15, a total of 3.06 million people have left Ukraine since the beginning of the war, of which Poland received 1.86 million, Romania and Moldova  555,300, Hungary  272,900, and Slovakia  221,000.
The Verkhovna Rada plans to further develop bills on the normalization of the Ukrainian economy, strengthening the state's defense capability, support for domestic business, as well as legislative acts necessary to receive assistance from abroad, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk said.

"The next bills, which we will consider and submit together with the government, with the Office of the President, will primarily concern the normalization of issues related to the economy of Ukraine, will continue taxation issues in order to create all the conditions for business, and of course, adopt legislative acts, which are essential to strengthen the defense capability of our state, to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other units that are fighting for Ukraine," the speaker said on the air of the 1+1 TV Channel on Wednesday.

In addition, according to him, the parliament will continue to prepare the bills necessary to receive assistance from international partners and the world community as a whole.

At the same time, he informed that on Wednesday he would address the speakers of the G7 countries and raise the issue of the need to provide "more thorough and real assistance to Ukraine, which will include, among other things, a no-fly zone in order to close the skies over Ukraine, as well as economic and military assistance."
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the EU members for completing the synchronization of the Ukrainian and European power systems.

"Ukraine has become a member of the Energy Union. The unification of Ukrainian & European energy systems has been completed. Now Ukrainian electricity flows in the EU & vice versa. Grateful to EU members, personally to Ursula von der Leyen, Kadri Simson & everyone, thanks to whom we now have a single energy system!" Zelensky said on Twitter.
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) confiscated gold and foreign exchange valuables worth about $1 million from one of the employees of the Ukrainian embassy in an EU country while trying to illegally export them abroad, the funds were transferred to the state budget of Ukraine and can be used for the needs of the Ukrainian army, the agency reports.

"On February 28, at the Yahodyn checkpoint of the Volyn customs of the State Customs Service, investigators from the SBI inspected a diplomatic minibus, in which almost EUR68,000, more than $140,000, more than 12 kilograms of gold bars, 13.8 kg of jewelry with gold, as well as a large number of cigarettes, all of which the embassy employee tried to take out of the country under the guise of a diplomatic bag," the SBI said on its Telegram channel.

The State Bureau of Investigation emphasizes that on the basis of a court decision, cash, jewelry and gold in the amount of about $ 1 million were confiscated into state ownership.

"The court found the representative of the embassy guilty of committing an offense under Part 1 of Article 483 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and fined him in the amount of UAH 26.8 million," the report says.
For 3 weeks, Kharkiv region receives more than 200 wagons, 100 trucks of humanitarian aid from other regions, abroad - Sinehubov

For 21 days, more than 200 wagons and more than 100 trucks of humanitarian aid arrived in Kharkiv region, Oleh Sinehubov, the head of the regional military administration, said.

"We are distributing everything received to the distribution points of Nova Poshta, Ukrposhta, the community, with the help of volunteers - to places of shelter. Over the past 24 hours, we have distributed 17 wagons and 2 trucks: these are food, water, clothing, hygiene products, medicines," Sinehubov wrote in his Telegram channel.

He thanked for the constant help from Poltava, Zakarpattia, Ternopil, Lviv, Khmelnytsky, Ivano-Frankivsk and other regions, as well as Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland, etc.

According to him, on March 16, medicines and equipment, ventilators, and personal protective equipment arrived from the Czech Republic.

"Thanks to the efforts of local authorities, volunteers, drivers, the cargoes go even under shelling to the communities. The other day, about 20 tonnes of humanitarian aid were delivered to Balakleya," Sinehubov wrote.

"In conditions of war, all fronts of the struggle are important. We are grateful to all partners for supporting Kharkiv region," he stressed.
Russian invaders fired multiple rocket launchers at residents of Mariupol, Donetsk region, who were evacuated to Zaporizhia, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

"Today, at about 3:30 p.m., Russian occupiers-monsters fired at a convoy of civilians evacuated from the city of Mariupol to the city of Zaporizhia with BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers. According to preliminary information, there are dead. There are children among the injured and wounded. The number of victims is being specified," the General Staff said on Telegram.

At the same time, the Pryamiy TV channel reports that the occupation troops fired multiple rocket launchers at a convoy of cars moving from Mariupol near Zaporizhia.

"So far, five wounded are known, one child is in serious condition. It is being operated on with the remote involvement of doctors from Okhmatdyt," the report says.

The death toll is not reported.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereschuk said that no response had been received to the proposals sent the day before to the Red Cross on opening humanitarian corridors on March 16, and therefore the question of organizing humanitarian corridors for Izium and Mariupol remained open, and the evacuation of people could not be safe.
Russia must suspend hostilities on the territory of Ukraine, President of the International Court of Justice Joan Donoghue has said.

"In its Order, which has binding effect, the Court indicates the following provisional measures. By thirteen votes to two, the Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on 24 February 2022 in the territory of Ukraine," Donoghue said, reading out the decision of the International Court of Justice in the case Ukraine v. Russia concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Also by 13 votes to two, the court ruled that the Russian Federation shall ensure that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed or supported by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control or direction, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations.

Unanimously, both Parties shall refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.

Donoghue said that, at this stage of the proceedings, the Court has no evidence supporting the Russia's allegation that genocide was committed on the territory of Ukraine.

"Moreover, it is doubtful that the convention, in the light of its object and purpose, allows the contracting parties to use force unilaterally on the territory of another state in order to prevent or punish an alleged genocide," the President of the International Court of Justice emphasized.

According to her, given these circumstances, the Court considers that Ukraine has a real right not to be subjected to military actions of the Russian Federation in order to prevent and punish the alleged genocide on the territory of Ukraine.

Donoghue drew attention to the fact that the interim measures taken by the court are not identical to those requested by Ukraine.

The President of the International Court of Justice has stated that judgments and provisional measures under Article 41 of the UN Statute are binding and thus create international legal obligations for any party to which provisional measures are addressed.
By Trend

The State Service for Property Issues under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan held a regular auction for the privatization of state property on March 15, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Economy.

According to the agency, 16 vehicles were privatized as a result of the auction.

The offer for one of the vehicles exceeded the starting price by 2.5 times. A Honda CR-V car with a starting price of 6,000 manat ($3,529) was purchased for 15,700 manat ($9,235).

Hyundai Sonata car was also purchased for 13,331 manat (#7,841) with a starting price of 6,500 manat ($3,823).
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg states that the allies are united in the fact that the forces of the alliance will not be involved either on the ground or in the sky of Ukraine. The responsibility of the alliance is to ensure that this war does not go beyond Ukraine.

So he answered the question of journalists at a press conference on Wednesday in Brussels, as during an extraordinary meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of defense ministers, the allies raised the issue of ensuring a no-fly zone in the Ukrainian sky.

The Allies are united both in providing support for Ukraine and its right to self-defense, and united that NATO should not deploy its forces on the ground or airspace of Ukraine, because we have a responsibility to ensure that this conflict, this war does not escalate outside of Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, continuing: We see death, destruction, human suffering in Ukraine, but it will be even worse if NATO takes actions that turn this into a full-scale war between NATO and Russia.

Stoltenberg once again stressed that the position of the allies not to send NATO troops to Ukraine is the same.

He gave a similar answer to a question regarding Poland's proposal to send NATO troops as part of a peacekeeping mission. We support peace efforts, we call on Putin to withdraw troops, but we have no plans to deploy NATO forces on Ukrainian territory, Stoltenberg repeated.

At the same time, the Secretary General stated that peace is needed in Ukraine. Therefore, Russia and President Putin must stop the war and withdraw their troops. We support all efforts aimed at finding a solution, all efforts aimed at a diplomatic solution. We support and welcome the negotiations that are now underway between Ukraine and Russia. At the same time we support Ukraine, he continued.

Stoltenberg also believes that the results of the talks between Ukraine and Russia are closely linked to the situation on the battlefield. I am convinced that one of the reasons  and the Ukrainians say they see some steps in the right direction  is because they were able to repel a blow, that they were able to fight the forces of the Russian intervention. Alliance support for the Ukrainian armed forces is also very important in terms of what they can achieve at the negotiating table with Russia, the NATO Secretary General said.
Russian invaders dropped a high-power bomb on the building of the Drama Theater in Mariupol, Donetsk region, where residents of the city were hiding from shelling, according to the Telegram channel of Mariupol City Council.

"The plane dropped a bomb on the building where hundreds of Mariupol civilians were hiding. It is still impossible to assess the scale of this terrible and inhuman act, because shelling of residential areas continues in the city. It is known that after the bombing the central part of the Drama Theater collapsed, and debris blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located in the building," the message says.

MP of the Batkivschyna faction Serhiy Taruta reported that fierce battles were going on in Mariupol and no one could get to the rubble.

"We don't know if there are survivors. And the worst thing is that we can't get them out of the rubble. Many Mariupol residents were hiding in the theater with small children," the parliamentarian said.

"We undertake an obligation. To the dead and survivors of the Russian bombing. The obligation to find every pilot who drops bombs on Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities. We will find everyone. We will find and destroy. We will not stop until at least one of them breathes. This is our sacred duty!" Taruta summed up.
A Ka-52 helicopter of the Russian occupation forces was shot down near the city of Mykolaiv on Wednesday, according to the Telegram channel of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"Near Mykolaiv, another Russian Ka-52 helicopter was destroyed," the message says, to which a video of the destroyed aircraft is attached.

As reported, Russian troops have lost 108 helicopters in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion and as of the morning of March 16.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is convinced that by unleashing a war against Ukraine, Russian President Putin underestimated Ukrainians, and warned that the Kremlin's ability to continue this war with brutal methods should not be underestimated.

So he answered the question about the possible end of the war waged against Ukraine by Russia at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

He said President Putin underestimated the Ukrainian armed forces, the unity of the Ukrainian people, as well as the courage of the Ukrainian leadership. This, combined with the massive support that the Ukrainian military are receiving and have already received over the years from its allies, made Putin change his plans and realize that his quick victory, a blitzkrieg to take control of Kyiv in days, failed. But we should not underestimate the Russian ability when it comes to continuing the war, as well as the ability to continue to attack, including cities - we have seen how Russia was responsible for the brutal war in Chechnya and Syria, Stoltenberg said.

The NATO Secretary General stated that Russia has significant capabilities, and Moscow also uses nuclear rhetoric. Russia is a nuclear force and we have seen them threaten with nuclear rhetoric  both  NATO allies and Ukraine, he said. We must not underestimate the danger of Russia's military capabilities, including their desire to use force to destroy others, he stressed.
The data on a draft treaty between Ukraine and Russia, published in the Financial Times, reflect only Russian demands, Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the President's Office, said.

"Briefly. FT published a draft, which represents the requesting position of the Russian side. Nothing more. The Ukrainian side has its own positions. The only thing we confirm at this stage is a ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees from a number of countries," Podoliak said on Twitter.

Earlier, the Financial Times published a report about an allegedly joint plan between Ukraine and the Russian Federation to end the war, which provides for the neutral status of Ukraine and the reduction in the size of the Ukrainian army.
On Tuesday, March 15, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, during which the current situation in Ukraine was discussed, the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine reports.

The "Four Necessities" pointed out by Chinese President Xi Jinping are our clear and authoritative position: the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states must be respected; the purposes and principles of the UN Charter must be respected; important attention must be paid to the legitimate security concerns of all states; all efforts aimed at a peaceful resolution of the crisis must be supported. All measures carried out and promoted by the Chinese side meet the "Four Necessities." China is a peace-loving state that always resolves conflicts peacefully through political measures. China is ready to work together with all parties to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, Wang Yi said.

He also noted that the Chinese side has already transferred the first batch of urgent humanitarian aid to Ukraine and will continue to provide assistance as needed.
Zelensky discusses with Erdogan ways to intensify dialogue on ending war with Russia

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky discussed with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Ergogan ways to intensify dialogue on ending the war with Russia.

"Held talks with a friend of Ukraine, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reported on the progress of the Ukrainian people's struggle against the ongoing aggression [of Russia]. Thankful for the important support. Ways to intensify peaceful dialogue were also discussed," Zelensky said on Twitter.
Ihor Zhdanov, Information Defence

Informational Defence of Ukraine provides a daily review of the military-political situation in Ukraine, morning of March 16th, based on an analysis of open sources.

1. The russian occupiers have not achieved success in any of the operational areas and have sustained heavy losses as a result of counterattacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the position and nature of the actions of defence forces have not changed significantly over the last 24 hours.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to inflict devastating blows on groups of the occupying troops in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and, in some areas, to counterattack.

A separate Special Forces unit, Azov, reported on the destruction of a russian general-major and a large number of enemy equipment.

The russian occupiers tried to storm Kharkiv from Piatyhatky. The Armed Forces of Ukraine imposed significant losses on the enemy. The enemy was pushed out of its previous positions.

The russians have focused on gaining a foothold in the occupied frontiers and continue to shell infrastructure and densely populated areas.

The losses of the aggressor are growing. The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02 to 16.03 were approximately these: combatants - about 13,800 people, tanks - 430 units, armored combat vehicles - 1375 units, artillery systems - 190 units, MLRS - 70 units, air defence - 43 units, aircraft - 84 units, helicopters - 108 units, motor vehicles - 819 units, ships / boats - 3 units, fuel tanks - 60, UAVs operational and tactical level - 11, special equipment - 10.

The Security Service of Ukraine reports that during the day of March 14th, it detained more than 60 collaborators in various regions of Ukraine and identified 20 sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The secret services also document the crimes of the russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories.

According to Western allied intelligence, the russian invaders have lost a significant part of their combat potential and are now forced to attract reserves. According to the Pentagon, as of March 15th, the russian occupation forces had lost up to 40% of the units that russia had recruited for the war against Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the invasion, russian troops have fired more than 950 missiles at targets in Ukraine. But the United States estimates that russian troops have made limited or no progress in achieving success at their ultimate goals.

The UK Ministry believes that russia has faced prolonged combatant losses in Ukraine and is redeploying reinforcements from across the country, even from its Eastern Military District, Pacific Ocean Fleet and Armenia and is increasingly using other sources of militants such as private military companies, Syrians and other mercenaries.

Russia is likely to try to use these forces to hold the occupied territory and release its combat power to resume stalled offensive operations, the British intelligence agency stated.

2. The russian occupiers continue to violate international humanitarian law by killing civilians in Ukraine.

As a result of russia's aggression against Ukraine, millions of Ukrainians have been forced to go abroad. According to the International Organization for Migration, the number of Ukrainians who have left the country since the start of the full-scale war reached 3 million as of March 15th. Of these 3 million, about 1.4 million are children and about 157,000 are citizens of other countries living in Ukraine.

At least 5 children die every day in Ukraine under fire from the russian occupiers. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, as of the morning of March 16th, 2022, as a result of russia's armed aggression in Ukraine, 103 children have been killed, and more than 100 children injured.

As a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in less than three weeks, at least 28 buildings of spiritual significance in at least six regions of Ukraine were damaged.

Among the affected churches are these ones: Sviatohorsk Lavra in the Donetsk region, Second Mitrofanivskyi Church in Lysychansk, St. Catherine's Church in Schastia of the Luhansk region, St. Joasaph Bilhorodskyi Church in Kyiv, St. George's Church in Nizhyn, the Holy Tamara Church in Kharkiv, and the synagogue of the united Jewish community of Ukraine in Kharkiv.

Due to the hostilities, 17 combatants have been killed by the SSES (the State Services for Emergency Situations), 32 injured and one held captive, who was captured on March 11th in Hostomel during the evacuation of civilians.

Defiantly ignoring the norms of international humanitarian law, the russian invaders are launching missile and bomb strikes on critical infrastructure of Ukraine, civilians, residential areas, schools, and kindergartens.

In the Mykolaiiv area, over the last few days, 80 people, including two children, are wounded; some people are dead after an air strike on a school in the area that occured on March 13th. As a result of the attack, seven people were lost, three had injuries.

Last night, the russian occupiers fired on houses, markets, a hospital and a kindergarten in Kharkiv and the region, killing a 16-year-old boy during the shelling of Chuhuiiv.

At night, the enemy attacked the airport in Dnipro, destroying the runway and damaging the terminal.

As a result of airstrikes on the town of Malyn and the village of Yuriivka on the afternoon of March 15th, one person was killed and two were injured.

According to satellite images, military experts noticed the approach of three groups of warships of the russian fleet in the direction of Odesa, and in the evening of March 15th, Ukrainian authorities confirmed shelling and 2 wounded.

On March 15th, at approximately 1:30 p.m., russian servicemen fired artillery shells at the village of Zolochiv, in the Kharkiv region. Two women and three men were killed and three others were injured in the shelling.

3. The war crimes of the russian aggressors are becoming systemic, and they are taking hostage peaceful Ukrainian citizens.

The abductions of civilians, and looting of the local people have become widespread. The Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrskyi stated, teams of leaders open fire on civilians, and there are several facts at the moment. The order (from the invaders) for looting and theft from private houses, shops, ATMs and banks located in the occupied territories is sounding absolutely clear.

The russian military kidnapped activist Vitalii Shevchenko at a rally in Berdiansk.

The russian military has taken hostage doctors and patients of the Regional Hospital for Intensive Care in Mariupol.

The russians are holding hostage Oleksandr Musienko, the village head of Chulakivka, the Kherson region.

4. The evacuation of the Ukrainian people through humanitarian corridors continues, despite provocations by the russian invaders.

As of March 15th, 9 humanitarian corridors have been agreed in Ukraine for evacuation from settlements attacked by russian troops in various regions.

According to the head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko , on March 15th, almost 20,000 people left Mariupol via the humanitarian corridor. Of the 4,000 cars that left the city, 570 have already arrived in Zaporizhzhia.

The situation in Izium, the Kharkiv region, is not better than in Mariupol, and the city needs humanitarian corridors immediately. As Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin stated, The city of Izium has been under siege for two weeks. Without water, without light, heat, food, medicine, and communication.

5. The Ukrainian government, business and citizens are demonstrating solidarity and consolidating their efforts to confront the enemy.

Most Ukrainians believe that the country is currently moving in the right direction. 75% of surveyed citizens of Ukraine support the state policy, according to a poll conducted by the group "Rating" from March 12-13th, 2022. Only 15% of Ukrainians believe that the country has chosen the wrong way, and 10% have not decided what to answer yet

Due to the war with russia, the self-esteem of the Ukrainian people is growing. Now, compared to European countries, 34% of respondents see Ukraine as a leader, and 42% believe that our country is in a middle position in the list of European powers. Also, 63% of respondents see Ukraine as a leader among the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Expenditures on the Ukrainian army continue to rise. The Verkhovna Rada (The Parliament of Ukraine) has increased budget revenues and expenditures by UAH 67.6 billion, which will be used for the purchase, modernization and repair of weapons and military equipment.

Yesterday economic laws drastically changed the economic situation in Ukraine for the better - significantly reducing taxes and simplifying business conditions. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for a law providing for a simplified system of taxation for big business, the abolition of excise taxes on fuel and VAT, the exemption of private individuals from paying the single social contribution, etc. This preferential tax regime will last until the end of martial law.

Taxes on fuel. From now, the excise tax on gasoline, heavy distillates, and liquefied gas is 0 euros per 1,000 liters. The rate of value added tax for the import of fuel was reduced from 20% to 7%.

Simplified for everyone. Big business will be able to take advantage of the simplified taxation system and pay a single tax. The annual income limit was raised from UAH 10 million to UAH 10 billion, and restrictions on the number of employees were lifted. The tax will be 2% of turnover regardless of the type of activity.

Taxes of sole proprietors. Simplified companies of the second and third groups are allowed not to pay SSP (Single Social Payment) for mobilized workers. Such amounts will be paid from the state budget. From March 1st until the end of martial law, private individuals of groups 1-3 do not pay SDRs.

Also, for the period of martial law, private individuals do not pay SSP if they do not receive income. For the first three months of martial law, fines and penalties for SSP shall not be applied and no inspections shall be carried out.

Tax holidays and mortgages. Liability for late payment on consumer loans is removed. For another month after the war, it is forbidden to foreclose on property and evict residents.

Actual checks for cash. Actual checks may be carried out in relation to the refusal to pay by card. For violation - a fine of UAH 8,500. All factual inspections are resumed, including those prohibited during quarantine. Violations of the RRO law will not be punished until the end of martial law.

Charity. Charitable assistance provided to combatants and persons living on the territory of hostilities is not subject to personal income tax. Also, all non-targeted charitable assistance to persons affected by the armed aggression of the russian federation is not subject to personal income tax.

According to UNDP, up to 90% of Ukrainians will face poverty and extreme economic vulnerability if the war drags on into next year.

The State Emergency Service urges Ukrainians not to report the addresses of buildings damaged by russian military shelling, and not to ask about house numbers on social media, so as not to help the enemy navigate, as 80% of enemy information comes from open sources.

Ukrzaliznytsia begins the nationalization of russian cars in Ukraine As the chairman of the board of UZ Oleksandr Kamyshyn explained, this became possible after the President signed the law aboutbout the basic principles of forcible seizure of property rights in Ukraine.

After his actionable remarks in support of the invasion, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine deprived Illia Kiva of his mandate as a Member of Parliament. This decision was voted by the deputies at the Verkhovna Rada on March 15th, and 335 deputies voted for it.

6. International support and assistance to Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi believes that Ukraine will not become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance despite NATOs open door policy. He stressed, our people begin to understand and rely on themselves and our partners who help us.

At the same time, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, states that the Alliance is stepping up the provision of modern air defence systems to Ukraine.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba expressed surprise at the official position of Budapest on the de facto refusal to help Kyiv in the face of russian aggression, recalling that Hungary was once in a similar situation.

US President Joe Biden has signed a two-party funding law that provides $ 13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. With this assistance, $1 billion is provided for anti-tank and air defence systems, including Javelin and Stinger.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers of Poland, as well as the Prime-Ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovenia in Kyiv. In a statement to the press made by the Ukrainian head of state, he thanked them for not being afraid of anything.

Following the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Chairman of the ruling Law and Justice Party Jarosaw Kaczynski have said that the Polish leadership proposes to send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine.

The Prime Minister of Poland Tadeusz Morawiecki believes that the EU should give you a candidate status as soon as possible; and in addition, you should get defensive weapons.

Despite the sanctions, EU countries continue to purchase russian energy resources, sponsoring the aggressor state. Starting from February 24th, the European Union countries spent 12.6 billion euros on russian coal, oil and gas. In particular, as of March 15th, the EU spent 6.2 billion euros on oil, 5.8 billion euros on gas and 590 million euros on coal.

At the same time, ordinary people support Ukrainians. Over 100,000 people and organizations in the UK have expressed interest in providing homes for Ukrainians fleeing the war with russia.

Editor of the First Russian TV Channel, Marina Ovsyanikova, protested live against russian aggression and was fined 30,000 rubles by the Ostankino District Court of Moscow. The court found her guilty of organizing a public rally without permission from the local authorities.

She was charged over her video, in which she called for protests against the war, and not for her speech with a live poster. For issuing the poster, criminal proceedings were instituted against Marina Ovsyannikova under the article public dissemination of false information about the russian military.

7. Provocations and fakes of russian aggressors.

The enemy is planning mass deforestation of Ukrainian forests, according to a letter from russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, About the possibility of deforestation in defense lands, addressed personally to russian president putin, a copy of which the Ukrainian intelligence agency has.

The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has said that the country has been hit by a Point-U missile, but says he is not going to take part in the war and is not called there. He did not specify where the missile hit in Belarus, or who sent it, but said that they and the Russians intercepted and destroyed it over Prypiat two days ago. And were silent, because they understood what was happening there.

According to the analysis of the founder of Conflict Intelligence Team (SIT) Ruslan Leviiev, a cluster munitions attack in the center of Donetsk on March 14th from the complex Point-U was carried out from the territory controlled by russia.

His analysis proves that the rocket arrived, apparently, from the southeast. And in the southeast, the entire range of 120 km - a radius of reach of the complex "Point-U" - is an area controlled by the russian forces and separatist forces. There are no Ukrainian forces there.

SIT journalists have been investigating various military conflicts since 2014, and have always noticed the regularity of the tail of a falling missile when using Point-U missiles, indicating the direction of a launch.

A new type of information threat appeared on the information front during the war in Ukraine.

On social networks, users of bots have been noticed, as well as "live" accounts that send messages in chats with the same content. Example: "What do you have in Frankivsk? Although I am far from home, but my heart aches with every anxiety.

Their goal is to find out the extent of the bombing in a particular locality. Answers to such questions can lead to hostile attacks and strikes.

8. Sanctions against russia are intensifying, and more and more companies are leaving the russian trade market.

EU countries have agreed on a fourth package of sanctions against russia, which includes trade restrictions on iron and steel, as well as a ban on imports of russian luxury goods.

The EU bans any transactions with a number of state-owned companies in russia. In addition, new investments in russia's energy sector are banned, and comprehensive export restrictions on equipment, technology and services for the energy sector have been introduced.

From now on, the EU is not allowed to provide credit rating services to any russian individuals or legal entities.

The fourth package of sanctions contains a broader list of companies associated with the russian defence industry. They are a subject to stricter export restrictions on dual-use goods.

The EU is also imposing trade restrictions on iron, steel, and luxury products. The new sanctions will affect even more oligarchs and kremlin propagandists. As previously mentioned, the list will include Roman Abramovich and 14 other people.

The sanctions will target key companies in the aviation, military and dual-use sectors, shipbuilding, and engineering.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, despite Moscows attempts to avoid punishment, decided to expel russia, and also called for providing Ukraine with airspace protection.

The decision was made unanimously - 216 people voted in favor, 3 abstained.

The foreign debt of russia and its companies reaches $ 150 billion, and a default may be declared on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, March 16th, the country is due to make a coupon payment in dollars. Depending on what russia does with this issue, Bloomberg economists believe that the following three scenarios could be implemented:

1. russia will pay off the debt in dollars. This will mean that the default is postponed until at least April 4th, when it is time to pay the next coupons.

2. russia pays in roubles. Some contracts do allow such a payment - but not all. In particular, the payment on Wednesday will be considered made only in foreign currency, otherwise it will mean a default.

3. russia does not pay at all. Non-payment on Wednesday will launch a 30-day grace period, after which there will be a default that will cut off russia, which has already been cut off from financial markets, until the end of lawsuits and payments.

VK Company Limited, which owns Russian Vkontakte social network, has allowed a technical default on $400 million in bonds maturing in 2025.

British tobacco company Imperial Tobacco transfered its assets and operations in the Russian market to a local legal entity. In fact, according to Information Defence experts, this is an attempt to circumvent Western sanctions and stay in the russian trade market.

The largest oil company Equinor is suspending trade in russian oil and petroleum products.

Allianz, the largest German insurance company and one of the world largest companies, will stop insuring new businesses and will not make new investments in russia.

Korean Air has suspended all passenger and freight traffic to Moscow. One of the world leading tire manufacturers, the French Michelin Group, has suspended industrial activities in russia and exports to russia.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has imposed restrictions on licenses for carriers related to russia.
By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Baku Music Academy (BMA) continues to celebrate its centenary with a series of events. Another concert has been successfully held as part of the celebration.

At the concert, students of professors Kamala Neymanova, Farida Akhmadbayova, Tovkha Babayeva and Talekha Aliyeva demonstrated their virtuosity performing works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonin Dvorak, Edvard Grieg, Omar Taktakishvili, Eric Evazen, Darius Milhaud, Semyon Frank, Gustav Mahler, etc.

Young musicians were greeted with applause from the audience.

Baku Music Academy celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

One of the country's major musical institutions has a rich history connected with Uzeyir Hajibeyli, known as the first composer of an opera in the Islamic world.

The legendary composer played an invaluable role in creating musical institutions in the country.

The outstanding composer raised the issue of musical education.

In 1920, Uzeyir Hajibeyli presented a report to the Azerbaijan Commissariat of Public Enlightenment.

In his report, the outstanding composer expressed the need of establishing a higher educational musical institution.

On August 21, 1921, the Council of People's Commissars of the Azerbaijan SSR made a decision to approve the Charter of the Azerbaijan State Conservatory.

Uzeyir Hajibeyli became one of the teachers, soon founding the eastern department, where Azerbaijani music was taught both orally and from sheet music.

In 1939, Hajibeyli was appointed as the rector of the conservatory, which was named after his death in 1948.

In 1991, the Azerbaijan National Conservatory was renamed to Baku Music Academy.

With a rich history spanning 100 years, Baku Music Academy offers a high-quality education for many young talents.

Since 1991, eminent pianist and composer Farhad Badalbeyli has been the rector of the Baku Music Academy.

The Academy also holds a number of concerts with participation of world-famous musicians.

The Academy's anniversary was solemnly marked within the 12th Gabala Music Festival that brought together the country's most talented cultural figures.

The festival featured marvelous concerts that brought together students and professors of Baku Music Academy.
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis made a phone call to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on March 15.

During the phone conversation, the sides exchanged views on the expansion of bilateral relations. They pointed out that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Romania, during which the bilateral ties have developed on the basis of strategic partnership.

During the phone talk, they discussed prospects for energy cooperation, the export of natural gas and electricity from Azerbaijan in terms of ensuring Romania's energy security and diversification of energy supply.

The sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest.
Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:
By Trend

The Azerbaijani Parliament congratulated President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva on Novruz holiday, Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova said at the plenary session of the Parliament, Trend reports.

The Speaker wished President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva good health and success in their future activities.

She noted that a congratulatory letter would be sent to them on behalf of the Parliament.
Ukrainian civilians fleeing Russian-occupied parts of the country allege violence, extortion, and theft at the hands of Russian troops, not to mention daily humiliation at checkpoints.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Canadians Tuesday to imagine bombs landing in their communities as he urged the Canadian Parliament and government to exert greater economic and military pressure on Russia.

Zelenskyy asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and lawmakers for help to enact a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

``Justin, can you imagine you and your children hearing all these severe explosions, the bombing of the airport, the bombing of the Ottawa airport?'' Zelenskyy said. ``Cruise missiles are falling down and your children are asking you `What happened?'''

Speaking by video from Ukraine to a packed House of Commons chamber, Zelenskyy said the Russian war on his country is designed to annihilate Ukraine and subjugate its people.

``Dear Justin, dear guests. Can you imagine that every day you receive memorandums about the number of casualties, including women and children?'' he said. ``You heard about the bombings. Currently, we have 97 children that died during this war.''

Zelenskyy evoked British wartime leader Winston Churchill as he told the U.K. Parliament last week that his country would fight Russia's invasion to the end in Ukraine's cities.

Zelenskyy also was to speak Wednesday to members of the U.S. House and Senate, an event that will be live-streamed for the public.

Canadian lawmakers gave him two standing ovations before he even spoke.

``Can you imagine if the famous CN Tower in Toronto was hit by Russian bombs?'' he said. ``This is our reality.''

The video of Zelenskyy, wearing a green military t-shirt and sweater, was projected onto big screens in the Canadian Parliament. He thanked Canada for its humanitarian and military support and called the country a steadfast ally.

``Please close the sky, close the airspace,'' he said. ``Please stop the bombing. How many more cruise missiles have to fall on our cities until you make this happen?``

Zelenskyy said allies are expressing their deep concern, but it's not enough. ``When we talk to our partners, they say please hold on, hold on a little longer,'' he said.

Trudeau said Zelenskyy is inspiring democracies and democratic leaders around the world to be more courageous and united.

``Democracies around the world are lucky to have you as their champion,'' Trudeau told Zelenskyy.

``Your courage, and the courage of your people, inspires all of us.''

Meanwhile, the Russian Embassy website said that Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, and Defense Minister Anita Anand are among multiple Canadians who have been banned from Russia.

Canada, for its part, announced new sanctions on 15 more Russians. Canada has also provided weapons to Ukraine.

Canada is home to 1.4 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent.

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The Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) General Kenneth F. Mckenzie said on Tuesday that US was going to provide Egypt with F-15 aircrafts.

In the case of Egypt, I think we have good news, in that we are going to provide them with F-15s, which was a long, hard slog. They felt it was too long, it took too long." General Mckenzie told a US Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing today.

McKenzie did not reveal details on how many F-15s jets would be provided or when they would be delivered.

On Thursday, the US Senate backed Thursday with an overwhelming majority in an 81-18 vote a massive arms sale, including military cargo planes, to Egypt worth $2.2 billion.

Last month, Mckenzie visited Cairo as part of a Middle East tour where he met with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

In an exclusive interview with Ahram Online during his visit, General McKenzie stressed that Egypt and the US have an enduring strategic relationship given Egypts nature as the cultural, historical and geographical centre of the Arab world.

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The presence of foreign fighters in the Ukraine war brings the risk of encumbering it with the complications of other conflicts.

At the outset of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the authorities in Kyiv announced plans to welcome a large number of foreign volunteers to defend Ukraine against the Russians. Moscow, in turn, said it would recruit non-Russian fighters to join its forces in Ukraine.

It thus appears that foreign fighters will become as much a feature of the current conflict in Ukraine as they were of the wars in Afghanistan in the 1980s and Chechen and Bosnia in the 1990s. Tens of thousands of foreign recruits also joined the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria and Iraq.

Who are the foreigners fighting in Ukraine today? Where do they come from and what do they want?

Foreign nationals arriving in Ukraine to fight the Russians vary considerably in terms of their countries of origin, political outlooks, and military experience. Ukrainian dual nationals or foreigners of Ukrainian origin are the largest group, numbering around 66,000, according to the Ukrainian defence minister.

These volunteers have been drawn to fight the Russians today just as their ancestors had fought the Soviets in previous wars. The motive is personal. Family history combines with patriotic fervour to defend Ukrainian sovereignty and independence from the Russian giant next door. The vast majority of individuals in this category have no combat experience.

The second category consists of foreigners from other Western countries. They have no Ukrainian roots or shared history with Ukraines wars. Their main motive is to represent the Western powers in the war, but in an individual capacity since NATO has resolved not to get involved in the conflict unless it expands to a NATO member state.

These volunteers are mainly from NATO countries such as the US, UK, and Canada. Many have previous combat experience as former soldiers who have taken part in their governments military operations abroad. Some are still enlisted personnel who have gone AWOL in order to fight in Ukraine, leading the authorities in their countries to caution that any such soldiers risk court-martial upon their return.

Many volunteers on Ukraines side come from Eastern European countries that were either former republics or satellite states of the Soviet Union. While they do not have Ukrainian roots, they strongly empathise with the Ukrainian peoples desire to free themselves of Russian influence and to join the Western camp.

Members of this group come from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Belarus. They also come from republics that are still part of the Russian Federation, such as Chechens opposed to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Most share the concern that if Russia achieves its aims in Ukraine, this will automatically have adverse repercussions for their own countries sovereignty. Some fear that Moscow will try to continue its military advance in order to regain former Soviet possessions or at least try to install pro-Russian governments.

There are also foreign nationals from non-Western countries and countries outside the former Soviet republics in Ukraine. Quite a few are from Israel, although many of these might be grouped together with fighters of Ukrainian origin.

More than 16,000 people have applied to enlist in Ukraines International Legion, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian foreign minister subsequently reported that the number had reached 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries, a figure that does not include medical volunteers or activists involved in collecting and delivering food and relief supplies to Ukrainians.

Undoubtedly, Zelenskys emotional appeals to the effect that Ukraine is fighting on behalf of Europe, the West, and the civilised world for democratic values and freedoms have deeply moved many ordinary people in the West, and the Ukrainian governments official invitation to volunteers has settled the legitimacy question for many.

An official government website for volunteers to apply online has been set up. The next step is a face-to-face interview with the military attache at the Ukrainian embassy in their country, after which they are informed of the gear they need to equip themselves with before coming to Ukraine.

Arrangements are then made for them to enter the country through border crossings with neighbouring countries.

Western governments are at odds over whether to encourage or discourage this phenomenon, which has become the subject of increasingly heated debate. The Belgian government has urged its citizens not to volunteer, while the Danish prime minister said it would be wrong to keep people from fighting in Ukraine to defend European security. The Latvian government has actively encouraged its citizens to join the fight in Ukraine.

In the UK, where it was discovered that soldiers had gone AWOL from their barracks to go to Ukraine, the British foreign secretary said she would back British nationals wanting to fight Putins forces in Ukraine, then subsequently changed her mind.

In response to the Ukrainian recruitment drive, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that he had approved plans to recruit 16,000 fighters from the Middle East to take part in the war in Ukraine. While no details were given and the number elicited some scepticism, there was speculation that most of the recruits would come from Syria, where Russia has militarily backed the regime in Damascus since September 2015 and operates out of military bases overlooking the Mediterranean.

In Syria, Moscow could draw on the expertise of trained fighters accustomed to protracted urban guerrilla warfare, and it is believed it would deploy such fighters for a similar purpose in Ukraine, in Kyiv for example.

Observers believe that Russia would prefer to deploy foreign fighters in any operation to seize control of the Ukrainian capital, as resistance would likely be fierce, and this strategy would enable the Russian military authorities to keep down their official casualty counts.

Reports from Syria have confirmed a Russian intention to recruit Syrians into Moscows Ukraine operation. According to these accounts, the Wagner Group, owned by a close associate of Putin, has opened recruitment offices in Latakia, Hama, and Deir Al-Zor and has so far received 4,000 applications.

The number is likely to increase in the light of prevailing economic straits, including in areas controlled by the Syrian government where Russian influence is considerable. Because of this economic factor, Syrian recruits would be less expensive than others, including official Russian conscripts.

On 25 February, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov offered a force of 10,000 troops to help Russia in its operation in Ukraine. Most likely, the Chechens in this force would not be from Kadyrovs army but from the national guard that falls under Russian command and takes its orders directly from Putin.

Meanwhile, the largest portion of Chechens fighting in Ukraine today supports the Ukrainian government, fired by an intense animosity towards Russia. In fact, the Chechens acquired their reputation as fighters from their war against the Russians. Two Chechen battalions have been fighting on the Ukrainian government side in the Donbas region since 2014.

While Chechens are fighting for both sides in Ukraine, the same thing does not appear to apply to the Syrians. While Syrian opposition members might support Ukraine through various peaceful means, so far there have been no documented attempts to recruit members of Syrian opposition militias into the Ukrainian governments war effort.

Perhaps one reason for this is that most Syrian opposition militias are based in Idlib and generally defer to Ankara which, up to now, has tried to remain neutral on the Ukraine crisis.

While the extent to which the contributions of foreign fighters could swing the course of the war one way or another has yet to be seen, their presence in the arena could add to the types of complications seen in other conflicts.

For example, Syrians or Chechens coming to Ukraine will be bringing with them the complexities of their battles at home. Their enlistment on one side of the confrontation is a kind of invitation to their adversaries to enlist on the other.

There are many precedents for the phenomenon of foreign fighters. Many have likened the wave of westerners rushing to side with the Ukrainian government with the European and US volunteers who travelled to Spain to support the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

In both cases, the volunteers are being seen as political idealists fired by a zeal to defend democracy and human rights against fascists or other such terms currently being used to describe Russia.

However, others have likened people travelling to join the war in Ukraine to jihadists who went off to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan and who subsequently became the core of the Al-Qaeda terror group and an ideology that evolved into transnational terrorism.

Forty thousand radical Islamists from around the world also travelled to Syria and Iraq to sign up with IS after 2012.

Whatever their motives, the presence of foreign fighters in the war in Ukraine will have a tendency to protract the conflict even if the original adversaries decide to conclude a ceasefire. The foreigners bring with them their own agendas, and they forge certain tribal bonds among themselves. Often they carry sufficient weight to impose conditions on the course of the conflict or on agreements to end it.

It is also important to consider the role played by shifting narratives. In Syria and Chechnya, for example, a nationalist and democratic cause quickly segued into a religious calling. At the outset of the Ukrainian conflict, Zelensky made several television appearances in a shirt with a cross on it. Although he has now abandoned this symbolism, could it have been an attempt to sow the seeds for change in the narrative?

Many doubt whether a holy war narrative could achieve traction. They argue that most of the young people who have volunteered to fight in Ukraine are leftist or liberal rights advocates set on defending a democratically elected government and are unlikely to be lured into extremist agendas.

However, people change in the course of combat, both because of the horrors they experience and because of their close contact with comrades in arms who espouse different ideologies.

Such factors could render them vulnerable to radicalisation. Conceivably, some westerners fighting in Ukraine could fall under the influence of extreme-right extremists involved in the Ukrainian resistance, regardless of the fact that they originally set off to fight Putin, also generally supported by the European extreme-right.

Some observers have also ventured that radicals from the European extreme-right might have signed up to fight in Ukraine in order to gain combat experience. Afterwards, they could form the core of paramilitary wings with which xenophobic ultranationalist movements could attempt to impose their anti-democratic ideologies through force.

On top of this are problems associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), such as an elevated risk of violence and aggression among combat veterans after returning home.

Finally, it is impossible to ignore some of the double standards that have surfaced against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. One is to be found in how the phenomenon of volunteer foreign nationals tends to be condoned in this case because they are not Muslim, as if Islam were the only faith that could spawn an extremist ideology.

Thus, Western governments tried to keep their citizens from travelling to Syria to fight with IS, but they did not do so when their citizens went there to join the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units, and they are often looking the other way when their citizens go to fight in Ukraine today.

Islamist jihadist ideology is dangerous and should be stopped, but any wave of zeal for joining an armed conflict abroad should arouse concern because of the potential radicalisation and militancy that could be channelled into the expansion of violent political activity in the country the volunteers have gone to fight in or back home.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly

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The United States will unveil a new round of security assistance to Ukraine Wednesday, as Western leaders faced mounting pressure to stop Russia's bombardment of civilians and peace talks made halting progress.

A White House official said President Joe Biden will unveil another $800 million worth of military aid, expected to include more of the anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles that have helped slow Russia's three-week-old invasion to a crawl.

The package will bring "the total (aid) announced in the last week alone to $1 billion," said the official.

The move will coincide with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's landmark virtual address to the US Congress -- when he is expected to intensify pleas for NATO allies to intervene directly to stop Russian attacks.

Kyiv was subjected to a fresh round of bombardment overnight, with columns of smoke rising high into the morning sky.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said 12-storey residential building was among the targets hit, with at least two people injured, 37 evacuated and a nearby building damaged.

Hours before, in a late-night video message, Zelensky urged his beleaguered compatriots to fight on against Russia's vastly larger military, even as he suggested the conflict would end in a negotiated settlement.

"All wars end with an agreement," he said, pointing to a "difficult" but "important" ongoing round of talks between representatives from Kyiv and Moscow.

"Meetings continue," he added. "As I am told, positions during the talks now sound more realistic. But we still need time, so the decisions are made in the interest of Ukraine."

Recent days have seen an uptick in Russian strikes on civilian targets, including in Kyiv and the besieged port city of Mariupol where there is a critical lack of food, water and medicine.

Some 20,000 residents of the southern city have been allowed to leave, but exhausted, shivering evacuees speak of harrowing escape journeys and rotting corpses littering the streets.

One of them, Mykola, who asked not to give his full name, drove his wife and two young children through a minefield to escape and to avoid Russian checkpoints.

"This is the first time I have been able to breathe in weeks," he said.

The conflict has already sent more than three million Ukrainians fleeing across the border, and a peaceful resolution still seems beyond reach.

Peacekeepers?

Western military experts believe Russia is increasingly turning to air bombardments after an initial ground invasion stalled -- and as possible leverage in negotiations.

"They have found that their ground operations are not succeeding very well and where they are making gains they are at massive costs that are not sustainable," Mick Ryan, a retired Australian major general, told AFP.

"They have had to change to 'Plan C' -- which is bombard cities and terrorise civilians in the hope that the Ukrainians will reach some kind of political accommodation," he said.

"What the Russians are doing is using our own humanity against us and Zelensky's humanity against him."

Zelensky earlier told Ukrainians they may need to put aside thoughts of joining NATO. That was always a faint prospect, but one which Russia has repeatedly cited as a justification for its invasion.

Putin accused Kyiv of "not showing a serious commitment to finding mutually acceptable solutions" according to the Kremlin's account of a call with EU Council leader Charles Michel.

The latest series of attacks coincided with the visit to Kyiv of a trio of Polish, Czech and Slovenian leaders and the introduction of a 35-hour curfew.

The three countries have been among the most forthright in calling for a tougher Western approach to Moscow.

During the visit, Poland's Vice Premier Jaroslaw Kaczynski called for the deployment of a NATO or other international peacekeeping mission "that will be able to defend itself and that will operate on Ukrainian territory."

Such appeals have so far received little support in the West, where there is fear such moves could trigger a catastrophic war with nuclear-armed Russia.

Instead Western nations have opted to isolate Russia diplomatically and economically.

They have introduced crippling sanctions that have pushed Russia towards a possible default on its debt, and forced Moscow out of many international political and sporting forums.

Facing expulsion from the Council of Europe, Russia on Tuesday said it would pull out of the pan-European rights body.

Ireland joined the condemnation of Moscow Tuesday, after French-Irish Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, and Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova, were killed when their vehicle was struck by incoming fire outside Kyiv a day earlier.

"We condemn this indiscriminate and immoral war by Russia on Ukraine," said Prime Minister Micheal Martin.

The news came after the Ukrainian parliament's human rights chief said three other journalists had been killed since the invasion began, including a US reporter shot Sunday in Irpin.

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The Egyptian Youth Council (EYC) launched on Tuesday the Middle East and North Africas (MENA) first agenda on climate change.

The agenda, Dealing and Adapting to Climate Change and Mitigating its Negative Effects, was drafted by civil society institutions in cooperation with the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation.

It comprises topics on energy efficiency, eco-friendly technologies, measures to mitigate the effects of global warming, and applications of environmental standards and laws, stated the EYC.

The three-session event marking the launch of the agenda was attended by parliamentarians and public figures.

The first session tackled the role of civil society and political parties in preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference COP27, which Egypt will host in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

The second session discussed the role of legislation and laws in reducing environmental pollution, while the third exhibited the outcomes of training workshops the participants attended.

The agenda was prepared by a number of political parties represented in parliament, such as Mostaqbal Watan, Humat El-Watan, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, Congress Party, in collaboration with 15 civil society organisations focused on environmental issues, activists, experts, and academics, said Mohamed Mamdouh, chairman of the EYC Board of Trustees.

The College of Environmental Studies and Research, and specialists from the environment, energy, and planning and budget committees in the House of Representatives participated in drafting the agenda as well, Mamdouh added.

Preparations for the EYC agenda kicked off in 2020 with sessions and workshops periodically held in cooperation with entities concerned with the environment.

Egypt launched the National Climate Change Strategy 2050 in November on the sidelines of COP26 in Glasgow to achieve five objectives, including fostering climate change action governance, increasing sustainable economic growth, strengthening adaptation and resilience, and enhancing scientific research.

The country quickly became among the first developing countries to adopt decisive policies regarding climate change, whether by green transformation through building green cities, switching to clean transportation, or issuing green bonds.

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Egypt and Israel have agreed to expand direct flights between the two countries, launching next month a direct flight route between Tel Aviv and Sharm El-Sheikh during the Jewish holiday Passover, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts office announced on Wednesday.

According to the Israeli PMs office, the new agreement was formulated over the last few days and was finalised on Tuesday in Egypt by an Israeli delegation led by the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) and the Egyptian government.

Although the Israeli statement confirmed that the direct flights are expected to begin during the intermediate days of Passover in April, no official confirmation has been announced by the Egyptian Civil Aviation Ministry so far.

The Egyptian flagship carrier has no direct flights between Sharm El-Sheikh and the Israeli capital except for transit flights.

This agreement will further warm the relations between Israel and Egypt, Bennett was quoted as saying in the statement, adding that the cooperation between our two countries is expanding in many fields and this is contributing to both peoples and to regional stability.

According to the Israeli PMs office, the expansion of flight routes was discussed during a meeting between Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Israeli PM Bennet during his visit to Sharm El-Sheikh in September.

Bennetts visit was the first visit by an Israeli prime minister to Egypt since 2011.

Following the visit, Egypts state-owned airline EgyptAir announced that it would operate four direct flights weekly from Cairo to Tel Aviv for the first time in decades.

In October, the first EgyptAir flight arrived at Israels Ben-Gurion airport.

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President of the National Council for Women Maya Morsy has affirmed Egypts commitment to tackling climate change while taking into account womens empowerment, as she addressed the opening of the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66).

The CSW66, extending from 9 to 25 March, is held under the theme, Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.

In her speech at the opening session, Morsy highlighted the Egyptian governments tireless endeavours to address climate change along with empowering Egyptian women in various fields.

She also invited all the participants in CSW66 to visit Egypt and partake in the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP27), which is set to be held in November in Sharm El-Sheikh city.

During the session, Morsy explained Egypts global multidimensional perspective to promote efforts to protect the environment, tackle climate change and enhance womens empowerment.

The Egyptian perspective highlights the need for promoting gender sensitive perspectives within climate adaptation, mitigation, and responses, Morsy said.

The Egyptian perspective is also based on enhancing womens voices, active participation in environmental governance, and providing leveraging opportunities for women within the framework of achieving just environmental transition to the green economy and green consumption habits, Morsy said.

The NCW president underscored Egypts initiatives, programs, and projects to promote climate adaptation and mitigation, while also enhancing womens empowerment.

This includes an initiative to raise awareness among women about methods of reducing greenhouse gas emission as well as holding environmental camps to educate women to engage in eco-friendly industries, she explained.

She also mentioned the Hayah Karima (Decent Life) national program, which dedicates EGP 800 billion to improve the lives of 58 million citizens in the countryside, 50 percent of whom are women.

Furthermore, Egypt launched its Vision of 2030, which includes the environmental dimension and the integration of women empowerment principles, as well as the National Strategy for the Empowerment of Women in the context of the pillars of protection and economic empowerment, she said.

Preparing for COP27, empowering women

Egypt is preparing to host COP27 this year with the presence of international partners as well as youth and representatives of civil society organisations that operate in the field of the environment.

On Monday, Egypts Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad said the country will launch a national dialogue on climate action by the end of March to engage the public, including youth and women, in the country's plans to mitigate the impacts of climate change ahead of COP27.

Over recent years, Egypt has also worked on promoting climate-focused programmes, including launching a package of economic tools to finance green projects in the fields of renewable energy and electric vehicle manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the country has exerted much efforts to empower women and include them in the decision-making process, including through increasing the number of women ministers as well as on parliamentary seats and judicial institutions.

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Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday that two issues remain with the United States in paused negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

"We had four issues as our red lines," but "two issues have been almost resolved," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA, adding that "two issues remain, including (an) economic guarantee".

He did not elaborate on the second issue.

Iran has been engaged in direct negotiations in Vienna to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with France, Germany, Britain, Russia, and China.

The United States, which unliterally pulled out of the deal in 2018, is participating indirectly.

"If the American side fulfills our two remaining demands today, we will be ready to go to Vienna tomorrow," Amir-Abdollahian said.

More than 10 months of negotiations had brought the parties close to renewing the landmark accord.

But the talks were halted after Russia this month demanded guarantees that Western sanctions imposed following its invasion of Ukraine would not damage its trade with Iran.

Amir-Abdollahian's remarks come a day after his visit to Moscow where counterpart Sergei Lavrov said Russia had received the necessary guarantees from Washington on trade with Iran.

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Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Wednesday urged the United Nations for financial support to help Lebanon host Syrian refugees on its territories, a statement by Lebanon's Presidency reported.

"Lebanon has suffered greatly from the repercussions of the displacement of Syrians since 2011, and the country is in dire need of urgent international assistance that contributes to alleviating the great financial burdens," Aoun said during his meeting at Baabda Palace with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed.

Aoun added that Lebanon needs not only humanitarian aid, but also development assistance to launch needed reconstruction projects to help the country reach sustainable development goals which require investment in people, especially women and youth.

For her part, Mohammed said that the UN appreciates Lebanon's efforts in hosting Syrian refugees and will continue to support Lebanon in all fields.

She added that the UN will support the Lebanese government in its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, and for the ongoing preparations for parliamentary elections on May 15.

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By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said that journalists from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries have spotted Armenian vandalism in liberated Aghdam and Shusha.

He made the remarks on his official Twitter page on March 16.

"Pleased to meet with the group of journalists from Organization of Islamic Cooperation member countries. They have visited liberated Aghdam and Shusha cities and witnessed vandalism and plundering perpetrated against more than 60 mosques and other cultural and religious monuments," he tweeted.

Armenia's aggression and illegal occupation caused irreparable damages to Azerbaijan's cultural heritage, which includes thousands of cultural values, including monuments of the world and national importance, mosques, temples, mausoleums, museums, art galleries, sites of archaeological excavations, libraries and rare manuscripts.

At the same time, Armenia deliberately and constantly planted mines on Azerbaijani territories, in violation of the 1949 Geneva Convention, thereby being a major threat to regional peace, security and cooperation.

A Moscow-brokered ceasefire deal that Baku and Yerevan signed on November 10, 2020, brought an end to six weeks of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani army declared a victory against the Armenian troops. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s.

The peace agreement stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Armenian-occupied Kalbajar, Aghdam and Lachin regions and withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it has occupied since the early 1990s. Before the signing of the deal, the Azerbaijani army had liberated around 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historic Shusha city.

Currently, the work is underway to restore Azerbaijan's liberated lands. Azerbaijan will rebuild its recently liberated areas in four stages. The initial stage includes the solution of the issues of governance and security, infrastructure, while the subsequent stages include the solution of the issues of social services activities, reconstruction, and development of the economy.
Slovakian defense officials expect to discuss a possible transfer of their Soviet-era S-300 air defense systems to Ukraine when US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits there Thursday, a Slovak military spokesperson said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned the S-300s by name when he spoke to US lawmakers by video Wednesday, appealing for anti-air systems that would allow Ukraine to ``close the skies'' to Russian warplanes and missiles.

Slovak Defense Ministry spokesperson Martina Koval Kakascikova said Slovaks expect the issue to be on the agenda when Austin comes to Bratislava for talks.

Slovakia has no objections to providing its S-300s to Ukraine, she said. ``But we can't get rid of a system that protects our air space if we don't have any replacement.''

The S-300s use long-range missiles that are capable of flying hundreds of miles and knocking down cruise missiles as well as warplanes. The Soviet-era anti-air defense systems could be valuable in thwarting Russian air attacks on cities and other targets.

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the US would help provide long-range air defense systems to Ukraine, but gave no details.

US officials had no comment on any S-300 swap.

Three NATO members, Slovakia, Greece, and Bulgaria _ are reported to have S-300s.

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The Ministry of Health and Population revealed on Wednesday the launch of the first e-platform for mental health and addiction treatment under the auspices of Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar.

The launch took place in cooperation with the general secretariat of mental health and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Menen Abdel-Maksoud, the secretary-general of mental health and addiction treatment hospitals at the health ministry, said the platform aims to provide government services free of charge for addiction treatment for Egyptians and non-Egyptians staying in Egypt.

She added that the platform is the first of its kind in the Middle East and is the fruit of cooperation between the general secretariat of mental health, the health ministrys information centre, the WHO, and the University of British Colombia in Canada.

Abdel-Maksoud also affirmed that the platform will greatly contribute to getting information on mental health problems with full privacy through http://nmhp.mohp.gov.eg/mental/web/ar.

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Chief-of-Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Osama Askar and his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Othman Al-Hussein discussed boosting military cooperation and joint exercises in a meeting in Cairo.

Leading a Sudanese delegation, Al-Hussein is currently on a visit to Egypt to attend the eighth meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese Military Committee, Egyptian Armed Forces spokesman Gharib Abdel-Hafez said in a statement on Wednesday.

During their meeting, Askar and Al-Hussein agreed on enhancing the exchange of expertise between Egypt and Sudan and discussed cooperation between the two countries in various fields as well as issues of mutual concern.

Al-Hussein highlighted the deep and historic relations binding Egypt and Sudan, hailing Egypts intensified efforts to support security, stability, and development in Sudan, the statement said.

The Sudanese military chief-of-staff also affirmed consensus with Egypt on formulating a joint strategy to achieve the interests of both countries.

Askar expressed hopes that the coming period will witness further cooperation between Egypt and Sudan in all fields within the framework of the firm strategic relations between the two countries.

A number of Egyptian and Sudanese commanders attended the meeting, according to the spokesman.

Egypt and Sudan have intensified coordination and enhanced bilateral relations throughout the past decade, with the two countries exchanging high-level visits, conducting several joint military exercises, and exchanging views on key issues of mutual concern.

During the seventh meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese Military Committee in March last year in Khartoum, former chief-of-staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces Mohamed Farid signed a military cooperation agreement with Sudan.

High-level visits between the two countries have included a visit by Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Khartoum in March 2021 and a visit by former Sudanese foreign minister Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi to Cairo in the same month.

Egypt and Sudan have also adopted similar visions on their dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that Addis Ababa is building on Blue Nile, expressing fears over their water interests due to Ethiopias unilateral filling and operation of the mega dam.

In February, both Egypt and Sudan condemned Ethiopias commencing with the GERD operations as a breach to Addis Ababas international commitments and the Declaration of Principles signed in 2015.

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Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad announced on Wednesday that Sharm El-Sheikh would be a city completely free of single-use plastic bags as of this June, in parallel with various other measures to turn it into a green city, coinciding with its preparation to host the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) this November.

Fouad noted that the national event of the National Climate Dialogue at the end of March aims to engage citizens in the process of confronting the effects of climate change, providing an opportunity for the local community of the city to choose appropriate alternatives to those bags.

The minister said the step comes within the national strategy to reduce single-use plastic bags and is in line with Prime Minister Mostafa Madboulys announcement to transform the Red Sea resort city into an eco-friendly city in parallel with its hosting of the COP27, according to a statement on Wednesday by the cabinet.

Fouads remarks came during her meeting with Japans Ambassador to Cairo Oka Hiroshi on Wednesday, where they discussed cooperating in reducing plastic waste and other climate projects in preparation for the COP27.

According to a Back to Blue Report produced by Economist Impact in association with the Nippon Foundation, Egypt ranked 22 overall on the Plastics Management Index (PMI) out of 25 countries in relation to plastics management, systemic capacity, and stakeholder engagement. The report said that when compared to other countries, Egypts stakeholders had a late start in dealing with plastic waste.

In addition to combating single-use plastic bags in Sharm El-Sheikh, Fouad explained that the city is witnessing a set of other measures and various environmentally-friendly projects in the fields of electric transportation, waste management, use of renewable energy, and green tourism in hotels and diving centres.

Concerning cooperation with the Japanese side, the Egyptian minister hailed the Japanese role in providing technical support for the environment ministry since its inception, welcoming further discussion in reducing plastic waste, especially in marine areas, said the statement.

For his part, Ambassador Oka stressed that the environment field is one of the most successful fields in the Egyptian-Japanese partnership over the years.

He proposed to build on this cooperation by leveraging Japanese expertise in reducing plastic waste  especially Japanese technology  proposing biodegradable bags as an alternative for single-use plastic bags.

Moreover, they discussed the possibility of supporting the implementation of the first package of projects of the 2050 National Climate Change Strategy, especially in the fields of renewable energy, agricultural crops, managing coastal areas with nature-based solutions, and solar plants, in addition to electric transmission.

The Japanese official referred to an agreement Japan signed during a G20 meeting to reduce plastic waste and protect marine life, and further welcomed the possibility of cooperation with the Egyptian side in this regard.

Oka also emphasised his countrys interest in climate finance  which is evident through a commitment of $100 billion to support climate action in developing countries along with the allocation of $12 billion for five years to climate finance, which was increased in Glasgow to $14 billion  with a commitment to discuss a collective goal for climate finance and climate technology.

Late last year, Egypt  on the behalf of Africa  was selected to host the COP27, garnering massive attention from policy and decision-makers to combat climate change.

During the COP26 that was held in Glasgow in November 2021, Egypt launched the 2050 National Climate Change Strategy 2050 on the sidelines of the conference to achieve four objectives, including fostering climate change action governance, increasing sustainable economic growth, strengthening adaptation and resilience, and enhancing scientific research.

The country has become among the first developing countries to adopt decisive policies regarding climate change, whether by green transformation through building green cities, switching to clean transportation, or issuing green bonds.

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Egypts cabinet decided on Wednesday to grant wheat farmers an incentive of EGP 65 for each ardeb (1 ardeb is equivalent to 150kg) to encourage them to increase the quantities they sell to the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade.

The cabinet also authorised the supply ministry to take the necessary measures to establish a pricing mechanism for unsubsidised bread to curb price hikes.

The wheat incentives will be added to the pre-determined wheat prices, bringing the total price of wheat to EGP 865 for an ardeb of 22.5 carats; EGP 875 for an ardeb of 23 carats; and EGP 885 for an ardeb of 23.5 carats.

The disbursement of the incentive comes in implementation of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis directives to support farmers and encourage them to increase the quantities of wheat they sell to the supply ministry, a statement by the cabinet read.

The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade expects to receive nearly six million tonnes of homegrown wheat this year, up from nearly four million tonnes in 2021. The wheat season will start early April to shore up the country's strategic reserves to cover nearly eight months  up from the current four months  with local wheat supplies.

Egypt, which imports 80 percent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, is attempting to diversify its wheat imports due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The country has been recently seeking 14 alternative markets, including non-European countries, such as the US, Argentina, Canada, and Paraguay to meet its wheat needs.

The fixed pricing mechanism for unsubsidised bread is set to curb the unjustified price hikes, the cabinet said, adding that the move is in line with El-Sisis directives to assess the cost of producing the unsubsidised bread as well as its pricing.

The pricing mechanism, the cabinet said, will be implemented for a period of three months.

The price of unsubsidised bread in Egypt, which is highly dependent on imported wheat, has soared by nearly 50 percent over the past week against the background of an increase in prices of wheat globally due to the Russia-Ukraine war.

In preparation for the holy month of Ramadan, which will start on 2 April and typically witnesses an increase in the rate of consumption of food products, the Ministry of Trade and Industry imposed on Saturday an export ban on cooking oil, corn, and all types of cracked green wheat (fereek) for three months.

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Paris could offer Corsica "autonomy" to calm tensions between the Mediterranean island's fierce independence movement and the French state that have flared this month, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said ahead of a visit Wednesday.

"We are ready to go as far as autonomy. There you go, the word has been said," Darmanin told regional newspaper Corse Matin.

But he added that "there can be no dialogue while violence is going on. A return to calm is an indispensable condition."

As France heads into a presidential election next month, violent demonstrations have broken out in Corsica following a savage prison attack on Yvan Colonna, one of a group who assassinated Paris' top official on the island in 1998.

Prosecutors said some 102 people were injured on Sunday alone, 77 of them police officers, during clashes in Corsica's second-largest city Bastia.

Corsican nationalists have blamed the French state for the attack on Colonna, regarded by many as a hero of the independence cause.

But Darmanin said the convicted killer had been attacked by a jihadist fellow inmate over "blasphemy" in "a clearly terrorist" act.

"This talk of a crime by the state is excessive, not to say intolerable," he told Corse Matin.

Nevertheless, the government has already tried to soothe nationalist anger by removing an "especially notable prisoner" status from Colonna and two of his accomplices.

That could allow for their transfer to a prison on Corsica rather than the French mainland, a key nationalist demand for all prisoners they see as "political".

Darmanin is set to meet elected officials in Corsican capital Ajaccio Wednesday, including the pro-autonomy president of the regional council, Gilles Simeoni, who expressed hopes for "a real political solution".

Autonomist and nationalist Corsicans are frustrated that a reform of the island's status has been on ice since 2018.

"The government's poor management of the Corsican question has created the extremely tense situation in which we find ourselves," said Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis, the nationalist president of the regional parliament.

Darmanin will later visit a gendarmes unit in port town Porto-Vecchio, which came under attack by demonstrators Friday.

During the minister's visit, "we imagine that things will get lively, but we don't have a clear idea yet," one police source told AFP.

So far just one demonstration has been planned for outside a local police station.

But France has deployed an additional unit of 60 special riot police to the island as a precaution, the source added.

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Cairo and Moscow are keen to protect bilateral economic relations from the fallout of the war in Ukraine.

On 9 March, days after Egypt joined 140 countries voting for a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a halt to the war in Ukraine and an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin talked by phone.

The conversation was the first between the two leaders since the eruption of the war in Ukraine on 24 February. The last time they spoke was in December 2021, when they discussed ways to boost Egyptian-Russian military, economic, business, industrial, and energy cooperation. They also reviewed Russias growing projects in Egypt, including the $26 billion Dabaa nuclear power plant, and investments in the Suez Canal Economic Free Zone.

Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radi said the 9 March conversation touched on enhancing strategic cooperation between the two countries through joint development projects currently underway, and confirmed the strength of the deeply rooted relations between the two states.

A Kremlin statement gave more details. It said the two presidents discussed further development of the strategic partnership between Russia and Egypt, including major joint projects in nuclear energy and industrial production. Both parties also expressed interest in continuing close cooperation in areas of tourism and agriculture, said the Kremlin, and the two presidents agreed to maintain contacts at various levels to discuss the development of bilateral relations.

Since the outbreak of war, Egypt has taken a neutral line. Although it voted in favour of the anti-Russia UN resolution on 3 March, it also said it rejected economic sanctions outside the framework of the international multilateral system given that they aggravate the suffering of civilians.

In their most recent phone call, Al-Sisi and Putin were keen to stress that there is a strategic partnership between the two countries and that they are keen to preserve and consolidate it, said Gamal Zahran, a professor of political science at Suez Canal University.

According to Zahran, President Al-Sisi also used the call with Putin to clarify the position Egypt and most Arab countries had taken in the UN General Assembly, and stress that condemning Russias invasion of Ukraine did not mean Egypt was joining the West in its economic war against Russia.

Journalist Abdallah Al-Sinnawi pointed out that Egypt and other Arab states have been developing stronger ties with Russia and China in recent years. Arab Gulf countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have become increasingly aware of the dangers of depending on just one superpower, and as a consequence have been keen to forge closer relations with Russia and China.

Russia was the first to support Egypts revolution in 2013 and moved to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation in 2014, said Al-Sinnawi. Putin was also the first world leader to congratulate Al-Sisi on his election as president of Egypt in June 2014, and the two countries have coordinated policies on Libya. Cairo also supported Moscows role in Syria.

Political and military commentator Samir Farag stressed the importance of Egypts 2014 decision to diversify its arms suppliers.

Instead of depending for military support on one source, Egypt under Al-Sisi sought to seek other reliable army suppliers, turning to Russia, China, and France, said Farag.

Timothy Kaldas, a policy fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, noted in a press interview that since coming to office in 2014, President Al-Sisi has worked to forge close relations with Russia in a variety of fields, including not just arms, but also energy, transport, and agriculture.

Al-Sisi has sought to use his relations with Russia and China to help Egypt absorb Western pressure in the area of human rights and the harm this pressure could cause Egypts internal security and economic needs.

Over the past eight years Egypt has also become a major buyer of Russian wheat and train carriages, and opted for a Russian company, Rosatom, to construct its first nuclear power plant at Dabaa near Alexandria. Just as significantly, says Farag, Russians now represent the bulk of foreign tourists to Egypt.

Gregory Borisenko, Russias ambassador in Cairo since 2020, told Sky News Arabia last week that Egyptian-Russian relations prospered greatly in 2021.

Close personal relations between the presidents of the two countries have pushed economic and military cooperation between Egypt and Russia to new heights, said Borisenko. The commercial exchange between the two countries hit $3.5 billion between January and September 2021, and in April 2021 Moscow announced the return of direct air flights between Russian cities and Egypts Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.

Zahran and Al-Sinnawi both warn that Egypts relations with Russia could face a setback if the Ukraine war continues for long and Western sanctions begin to bite.

Progress in the construction of the Dabaa nuclear plant could slow, and importing wheat from Russia will become very difficult now Russian banks have been excluded from the SWIFT payment system. Russian tourists could also find it hard to come to Egypt, said Al-Sinnawi.

The Russian industrial area in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, construction of which was scheduled to be complete this year, and which was predicted to attract $7 billion in investments, is now expected to come to a halt.

Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala Al-Said said last week that there was no doubt that sanctions against Russia would negatively affect Egypts vital tourism sector. On 5 March, Russias Ural Airlines announced that it was suspending flights to Egypt from 14 March to 20 May.

Zahran is also concerned that the West may try to pressure Egypt to do more to isolate Russia. This conflict could end up polarising the world, leading to new alliances and arrangements which will compound the challenges Cairo faces. Egypt might find itself obliged to scrap its strategic relations with Russia, he says.

Al-Sinnawi argues that Egypt should endeavour to maintain its extensive ties with both Russia and the West. I think it is in Egypts strategic interest to maintain a neutral line even if the conflict continues for some time, he said.



*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 March, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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Russia's military forces blasted Ukraine's capital region and other major cities Wednesday as they tried to crush a Ukrainian defense that has frustrated their progress nearly three weeks after invading.

With Russia's ground advance on Kyiv stalled despite the sustained bombardment, a glimmer of optimism emerged that talks between the two sides could make progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiations would continue and Russia's demands for ending the war were becoming ``more realistic.''

Russia rained shells on areas around Kyiv and within the city, where a 12-story apartment building erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

Zelenskyy said Russian forces had been unable to move deeper into Ukrainian territory but had continued their heavy shelling of cities. British and U.S. intelligence assessments supported the Ukrainian leader's view of the fighting.

``Efforts are still needed, patience is needed,'' he said in his nightly video address to the nation. ``Any war ends with an agreement.''

A senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon's assessment, said the Russians were using long-range fire to hit civilian targets inside Kyiv with increasing frequency but that their ground forces were making little to no progress around the country. The official said Russian troops were still about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the center of the capital.

Zelenskyy was preparing to make a direct appeal for more help Wednesday in a rare speech by a foreign leader to the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, defense ministers from NATO member nations planned to meet in Brussels on Wednesday.

Developments on the diplomatic front and on the ground occurred as the number of people fleeing Ukraine amid Europe's heaviest fighting since World War II passed 3 million.

The artillery shrapnel that hit the 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv on Wednesday obliterated the top floor and ignited a fire that sent plumes of smoke over the area, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergencies agency.

The neighboring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without saying if they were injured or killed.

Russian forces have intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, regional leader Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Twelve towns around Kyiv were reported to be without water and six without heat. Across the capital region, ``kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing,'' Kuleba said.

He said Russian troops were trying to cut off transportation links to the capital and to destroy logistical capabilities while planning a wide-ranging attack to seize the capital.

Russian forces succeeded in occupying the city of Ivankiv, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Kyiv, and control the surrounding region on the border with Belarus, Kuleba said.

In addition to airstrikes and shelling by ground forces, Russian naval ships fired overnight on a town south of Mariupol on the Azov Sea and another near Odesa on the Black Sea, according to local officials.

Ukraine also appeared to have successes, with satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showing helicopters and vehicles ablaze at the Russian-held Kherson International Airport and Air Base after a suspected Ukrainian strike on Tuesday.

Zelenskyy's office said Ukrainian forces thwarted Russian efforts to enter Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, which was pounded by almost non-stop strikes over the last 24 hours. A powerful explosion thundered across the city overnight.

Hospital workers found themselves on two frontlines, battling COVID-19 in intensive care units as war rages outside. Air raid sirens go off multiple times daily, forcing fragile patients into the the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Infectious Diseases Hospital's makeshift bomb shelter, the hospital's director, Dr. Pavel Nartov, said.

Handling ICU patients on ventilators is difficult and dangerous given the dangers of exposing oxygen tanks to bombings and shrapnel, he said.

``Bombing takes place from morning into night. Thank god a bomb has not yet hit our hospital. But it could hit at any time,'' Nartov told The Associated Press.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed Russian forces have destroyed 111 Ukrainian aircraft, 160 drones and more than 1,000 tanks or other military vehicles since the start of what Russia calls its ``special military operation'' in Ukraine.

The Russian military's daily public statements on the war focus almost exclusively on fighting in the separatist-held Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and on Ukrainian military targets, without acknowledging attacks on civilians.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk expressed dismay Wednesday at reports that Russian forces took 400 medics and civilian residents hostage Tuesday at a hospital in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, which the war already had produced some of the greatest suffering.

The Russians are using the hospital as a firing position, Vereshchuk said. She said Russian forces have fired on humanitarian convoys and gathering points for evacuees, complicating work to open aid and evacuation convoys Wednesday after thousands managed to leave Mariupol on Tuesday.

Ukrainian officials gave varying figures on how many people were successfully evacuated from Mariupol so far and how many made it to Zaporizhzhia, a city 227 kilometers (141 miles) west designated as the end of the evacuation route.

Regional leader Pavlo Kyrylenko said Tuesday tht Russian troops forced about 400 people from nearby homes into the Regional Intensive Care Hospital and were using them and roughly 100 patients and staff as human shields by not allowing them to leave.

Kyrylenko said shelling had already heavily damaged the hospital's main building, but medical staff have treated patients in makeshift wards in the basement.

Doctors from other Mariupol hospitals made a video to tell the world about the horrors they've been seeing. ``We don't want to be heroes and martyrs posthumously,'' one woman said. She also said it was insufficient to refer to the patients being treated as wounded: ``It's torn off arms and legs, gouged out eyes, bodies torn into fragments, insides falling out.''

A Russian state television employee who was arrested after interrupting a live news program by protesting the war in Ukraine was fined about about $270, but still could face a prison sentence.

``These were very difficult days of my life because I literally went two full days without sleep, the interrogation lasted for more than 14 hours and they didn't allow me to contact my family and close friends, didn't provide any legal support,'' Marina Ovsyannikova said after she was released.

Ovsyannikova, an employee of Channel 1, walked into the studio during Monday's evening news show with a poster saying ``stop the war, don't believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.'' In English, it said ``no war'' at the top of the poster and ``Russians against the war'' at the bottom.

Two journalists working for Fox News were killed in a vehicle hit by fire Monday on the outskirts of Kyiv. Fox identified them as video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra ``Sasha'' Kuvshynova, who was helping Fox crews navigate the area. Another journalist was killed Sunday in Ukraine.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the U.S. Congress, the actor-turned-wartime leader's latest video speech as he uses the West's great legislative bodies as a global stage to orchestrate support against Russia's crushing invasion.

Zelenskyy's livestreamed address Wednesday into the U.S. Capitol will be among the most important in a unique and very public strategy in which he has invoked Winston Churchill, Hamlet and the power of world opinion in his fight to stop Russia.

Nearing the three-week mark in an ever-escalating war, Zelenskyy has used his campaign to implore allied leaders to ``close the sky'' to prevent the Russian airstrikes that are devastating his country. It's a singular request and now a rallying cry in popular culture. It has also put Zelenskyy at odds with President Joe Biden, whose administration has stopped short of providing a no-fly zone or the transfer of military jets from neighboring Poland as the U.S. seeks to avoid a direct confrontation with Russia.

Instead, Biden will deliver his own address following Zelenskyy's speech, in which he is expected to announce an additional $800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, according to a White House official familiar with the matter. That would bring the total announced in the last week alone to $1 billion. It includes money for anti-armor and air-defense weapons, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Appearing in his now trademark army green T-shirt as he appeals to world leaders, the boyish but unshaven Zelenskyy has emerged as a heroic figure at the center of what many view as the biggest security threat to Europe since World War II. Almost 3 million refugees have fled Ukraine, the fastest exodus in modern times.

Invoking Shakespeare's hero last week, he asked the British House of Commons whether Ukraine is ``to be or not to be.'' On Tuesday, he appealed to ``Dear Justin'' as he addressed the Canadian Parliament and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Zelenskyy called on European Union leaders at the start of the war to do the politically unthinkable and fast-track Ukraine's membership _ and he has continued to push for more help to save his young democracy than world leaders have so far pledged to do.

''I know he will ask for more help,'' said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Biden has insisted there will be no U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine and has resisted Zelenskyy's relentless pleas for warplanes as too risky, potentially escalating into a direct confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

``Direct conflict between NATO and Russia is World War III,'' Biden has said.

U.S. defense officials, for their part, say they are puzzled by Zelenskyy's demand for more warplanes. They say Ukraine isn't often flying the planes it has now, while making good use of other weapons the West is providing, including Stinger missiles for shooting down helicopters and other aircraft.

While officials are anticipating that Zelenskyy may once again call on the U.S. and the West for fighter jets or help establishing a no-fly zone, the Biden administration is looking to send Ukraine ``more of what's been working well,'' according to an official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Already the Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than 600 Stinger missiles, 2,600 Javelin anti-armor systems, unmanned aerial system tracking radars; grenade launchers, 200 shotguns, 200 machine guns and nearly 40 million rounds of small arms ammunition, along with helicopters, patrol boats, satellite imagery and body armor, helmets, and other tactical gear, the official said.

Even though Zelenskyy and Biden speak almost daily by phone, the Ukrainian president has found a potentially more receptive audience in Congress.

This won't be the first time he has appealed directly to members of the House and Senate, who have remained remarkably unified in their support of Ukraine with some feeling they have made a commitment to do as much as they can in the fight against Russia. Nearly two weeks ago, Zelenskyy delivered a desperate plea to some 300 lawmakers and staff on a private call that if they could not enforce a no-fly zone, at least send more planes.

``We think the United States needs to do more,`` said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., returning from a weekend visit with other lawmakers to Poland.

Congress has already approved $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and the newly announced security aid will come from that allotment, which is part of a broader bill that Biden signed into law Tuesday. But lawmakers expect more aid will be needed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Zelenskyy asked for help in rebuilding his country when they spoke last week.

It was in that call that Zelenskyy asked for the opportunity to address the U.S. Congress, something the Democratic leader readily agreed to.

``The Congress, our country and the world are in awe of the people of Ukraine,'' said Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a statement Monday announcing the address.

They said Congress ``remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin's cruel and diabolical aggression.''

Zelenskyy's next stop could be Spain. The speaker of Spain's Congress of Deputies has invited the Ukrainian president to address Spanish lawmakers via videolink.

In a letter to Zelenskyy, Speaker Meritxell Batet wrote that the address ``will be a magnificent opportunity for the chamber, all Spanish people and the thousands of Ukrainians living in Spain to listen to your message and express our firmest support.''

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for an end to the ``bloodshed and tears'' from the conflict in Ukraine during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart.

Speaking after a meeting with Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Wednesday, Cavusoglu also called for an immediate cease-fire for the besieged city of Mariupol to allow the evacuation of stranded civilians, including Turkish citizens.

``This state of events must come to an end, the bloodshed and tears must be stopped now,'' Cavusoglu said. ``There can be no winners in war and no losers in peace.''

Cavusoglu is visiting Moscow as Turkey, a NATO member, has maintained close ties to both Ukraine and Russia, positioning itself as a mediator between the two sides. He is scheduled to travel to Ukraine on Thursday.

Dozens of Turkish nationals and others have been sheltering inside a mosque in Mariupol, seeking refuge from the Russian attack on the encircled port.

Cavusoglu said Turkey has so far evacuated more than 15,000 of its citizens from Ukraine.

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By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Azerbaijans State Security Service (SSS) has detained a suspect engaged in anti-Azerbaijan collaboration with Armenia, the service reported on March 16.

An Azerbaijani citizen, Mammadov Emil (41), was detained as part of the initiated criminal case, the report added.

Grounds for suspicion have been established as a result of the State Security Service's investigation into Mammadov's secret cooperation with Armenian special services on the territory of a third country in exchange for financial interest in order to aid them in carrying out duties that threaten Azerbaijan's sovereignty, territorial integrity, state security, and defense capabilities, the service said.

Furthermore, substantial suspicions were established that he had been instructed to collect information that could be used against state security, to act in accordance with the given instructions, and to comply with the confidentiality and conspiracy requirements with the Armenian special services.

Mammadov was charged with treason under Azerbaijani Criminal Code Article 274 and arrested under a court ruling. The investigation into the case is currently underway.

The State Security Service maintains comprehensive counter-intelligence measures to detect and prevent threats to Azerbaijan's national security interests as well as foreign special services' intelligence-disruptive activities, the service said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia resumed their second war on September 27, 2020, when Armenia began firing on Azerbaijani civilians and military positions. A trilateral cease-fire agreement signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian and Armenian leaders put an end to the war on November 10.

The Azerbaijani army declared victory over the Armenian forces. The agreement required Armenia to withdraw its troops from Azerbaijani territory that it had occupied since the early 1990s.

In the war unleashed by Armenia, Azerbaijan's Ganja, Barda, Yevlakh, Beylagan, Tartar, Gabala, Goranboy, Aghjabadi, Khizi and other cities and regions, fairly far from the war zone, came under Armenia's missile and artillery fire.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have confirmed that Armenia used prohibited cluster bombs and missiles in its attacks on Azerbaijani cities.

As a result, 100 Azerbaijani civilians, including 12 children and 27 women, were killed. There were 454 people injured, including 35 children. One hundred and eighty-one children lost one parent, five children lost both parents, and one family died. In total, 12,292 residential and non-residential structures, as well as 288 vehicles, were damaged.
The number of refugees who have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion grew by more than 90,000 over the past 24 hours, the United Nations said Wednesday.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 3,063,095 Ukrainians had fled across their country's borders since the war began on February 24, a figure up 93,495 since Tuesday's update.

The UN's International Organization for Migration added that 162,000 third-country nationals had also fled.

The IOM estimates that millions of people are still stuck inside the country or internally displaced within Ukraine -- and warns that even beyond those, "millions more may be affected if the war does not end".

The UNHCR initially estimated that up to four million people could leave, but last week admitted that figure might well be revised upwards.

Before the conflict, Ukraine had a population of 37 million in the regions under government control, excluding Russia-annexed Crimea and the pro-Russian separatist regions in the east.

The refugees are mostly women, children, and the elderly.

UNICEF, the UN children's agency, said around half of those who had fled were children.

Here is a breakdown of where Ukrainian refugees headed to, according to the UNHCR:

Poland

Six in 10 Ukrainian refugees crossed the Polish border, with some 1,857,045 having done so.

The Polish border guards said incoming numbers were down seven percent on Tuesday compared to Monday.

Tens of thousands of people are also entering Ukraine from Poland -- mostly those returning to fight but also others seeking to care for elderly relatives or returning to bring their families out to Poland.

Before the crisis, around 1.5 million Ukrainians lived in Poland, the vast majority working in the EU nation.

The data of arrivals into Ukraine's neighbouring countries which are in Europe's Schengen open-borders zone -- Poland, Hungary and Slovakia -- only represent border crossings into that country.

"We estimate that a large number of people have moved onwards to other countries," UNHCR said.

Romania

The UNHCR said 467,703 people had made their way into neighbouring Romania, including people who had crossed over from Moldova to reach the EU member state.

The UNHCR figures per neighbouring country are 257,684 higher than their overall total -- a difference which the agency says reflects the number of people who crossed between Moldova and Romania.

The vast majority are thought to have made their way onto other countries further into Europe.

Moldova

The UNHCR said 344,454 Ukrainians had crossed into the non-EU state. It is the closest border to the major port city of Odessa.

Many Ukrainians fleeing the fighting transit through Moldova, a small nation of 2.6 million people and one of the poorest in Europe, en route westwards to Romania and other countries beyond.

Hungary

A total of 272,943 Ukrainian refugees crossed into Hungary.

Hungary has five border posts with Ukraine and several frontier towns, including Zahony, where local authorities have turned public buildings into emergency centres for refugees.

Slovakia

Some 220,977 refugees made it across Ukraine's shortest border into Slovakia. Another 7,977 Ukrainians entered Slovakia on Tuesday.

Russia

Some 155,841 refugees have sought shelter in Russia.

In addition, UNHCR said 50,000 people had crossed into Russia from the pro-Russian Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine between February 21 and 23.

Belarus

Some 1,816 refugees have made it to Belarus, the UNHCR says.

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French prosecutors have opened a war crime probe into the death of Franco-Irish Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski who was shot near Kyiv while covering the war in Ukraine, an official statement said Wednesday.

The probe by France's specialized anti-terror prosecutors will investigate possible charges of causing "deliberate harm to a person protected by international law" and a "deliberate attack against a civilian who was not taking part in hostilities."

Related Fox News videographer killed in Ukraine after vehicle struck

French prosecutors routinely open cases into the violent deaths of citizens overseas.

Zakrzewski and Ukrainian producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova died and Fox correspondent Benjamin Hall was wounded when their vehicle was struck Monday by incoming fire in Horenka, outside the capital.

Zakrzewski was an experienced war zone cameraman who had previously covered conflicts for the US network in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian sent his condolences on Wednesday, adding that "armed forces have an obligation to protect journalists in accordance with international humanitarian law."

Other media workers have been killed in the three weeks of conflict so far, including US documentary maker Brent Renaud and Ukrainian reporter Evgeny Sakun.

The Ukrainian parliament's human rights chief Lyudmyla Denisova said Tuesday that another Ukrainian journalist, Viktor Dudar, was killed in fighting around the southern port city of Mykolaiv.

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Despite the continued shelling, Russian ground forces are making "limited to no progress in achieving their objectives" in Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday in an assessment shared with VOA. The official said Kyiv "remains under heavy bombardment by long-range fire, with civilian targets to include residential areas being struck with increasing frequency. But leading elements of Russian forces have not appreciably advanced on the city."

Russian shelling hit Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, early Tuesday, including one that struck an apartment building, killing four people and starting a fire that sparked a frenzied rescue effort, officials said. Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko announced a 35-hour curfew for the city beginning Tuesday night.

Biden told reporters Tuesday afternoon, "Putin's aggression against Ukraine has united people all across America." The administration is expected to announce additional aid measures Wednesday following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech to the U.S. Congress. "It's exceedingly difficult to get supplies into Ukraine while the Russian onslaught continues," Biden said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Biden's travel plans hours after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for the meeting, tweeting that alliance members "will address Russia's invasion of Ukraine, our strong support for Ukraine, and further strengthening NATO's deterrence & defense."

U.S. President Joe Biden will travel next week to Brussels, where he will join an "extraordinary" NATO summit set to take place on March 24 -- one month after Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine.

Fox News reported that video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski was killed when the vehicle in which he was traveling was struck by incoming fire on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and State Department officials have been in touch with Fox News' management regarding correspondent Ben Hall, who was injured while on assignment with Zakrzewski. Spokesperson Ned Price said, "All of us here at the department are rooting for Ben and rooting for his speedy recovery." "We have engaged at multiple levels with Fox News. We've made very clear that we will do everything we possibly can to help Ben and any others who may have been involved and injured in this horrific attack."

Despite Russia's attacks on Kyiv, three European leaders headed to the capital as Russian forces bombarded the area and other cities nearly three weeks into the invasion. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he was traveling to Kyiv on Tuesday along with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa to represent the European Council in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. "The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," Fiala said. "The aim of this visit is also to present a broad package of support for the Ukraine and Ukrainians."

The European Union announced a new round of sanctions against Russia, including bans on transactions with certain state-owned companies or new investments in Russia's energy sector, as well as tighter trade restrictions on iron, steel and luxury goods. There are also sanctions targeting "key oligarchs, lobbyist and propagandists pushing the Kremlin's narrative on the situation in Ukraine, as well as key companies in the aviation, military and dual use, shipbuilding and machine-building sectors."

Much of the international response has been focused on punishing Russia through economic sanctions. Japan on Tuesday announced new asset freezes for 17 Russians, including 11 members of the Russian parliament, billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and family members of banker Yuri Kovalchuk.

Russia on Tuesday announced that Biden and a dozen other senior officials have been banned from entering the country, in response to the sanctions from Western countries.

"We've made President Putin's war of choice a strategic failure," Psaki said Tuesday. "The unprecedented costs we've imposed with allies and partners have reversed 30 years of economic progress, something President Putin himself pushed for."

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine began more talks Tuesday following a meeting on Monday, held by video rather than in person in neighboring Belarus like previous sessions, which yielded no major signs of a breakthrough.

But Zelenskyy suggested a compromise on Tuesday, saying in a video message that Kyiv was ready to accept security guarantees that fall short of its goal to join NATO. "If we cannot enter through open doors, then we must cooperate with the associations with which we can, which will help us, protect us... and have separate guarantees," Zelenskyy said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was premature to predict whether the peace talks will lead to progress. "The work is difficult, and in the current situation, the very fact that [the talks] are continuing is probably positive," Peskov said.

Psaki told reporters the United States supports the negotiations, but that it is looking for signs that Russia is willing to pair talks with a pullback in violence. "We're not seeing any evidence, at this point, that President Putin is doing anything to stop the onslaught or de-escalate," Psaki said.

Meanwhile, Biden on Tuesday signed an appropriations package that includes US$13.6 billion for emergency military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. That will be followed Wednesday by an address to Congress by Zelenskyy, who has appealed for international help, including a no-fly zone over Ukraine, that the Biden administration has ruled out.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said the government hoped to be able to open nine humanitarian corridors Tuesday to evacuate civilians and deliver aid to those in areas besieged by Russian forces, including the southern city of Mariupol where Russian shelling prevented deliveries on Monday.

In a rare positive development Monday, Ukrainian officials in Mariupol said a convoy of civilian cars was able to leave after many previous attempts to evacuate civilians collapsed. Officials said 160 cars left in the first two hours that the corridor was open. On Tuesday, the city council said 2,000 civilian cars had left, but it was not immediately clear if the 160 cars that left on Monday were included in the tally.

Also Tuesday, Ukraine's parliament voted to extend martial law for another month until April 24, barring men between 18 and 60 from leaving the country so they can be called to join the military.

The United Nations said Tuesday the number of people who have fled Ukraine since the invasion began had reached 3 million.
A Russian state media employee detained after her anti-war protest on live TV has appeared in court and was fined $280.

Marina Ovsyannikova held up a sign during a live broadcast on Russian's Channel One on Monday that read in Russian, "NO WAR. Stop the war. Don't believe propaganda. They are lying to you." The bottom line, in English, read, "Russians against war."

She was accused of violating the country's protest laws. It is unclear if she will face additional charges. The Kremlin on Tuesday said Ovsyannikova's actions amount to "hooliganism."

A spokesperson for the UN human rights office said at a briefing Tuesday that Russia should ensure that Ovsyannikova "does not face any reprisals for exercising her right to freedom of expression."

Ovsyannikova appeared unexpectedly Monday behind the host of Russia's main evening TV news program, Vremya, as the host sat at the studio desk discussing the Kremlin's plans to ease the effects of Western sanctions applied to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Ovsyannikova shouted "Stop the war. No to war," as she held up a sign. After several seconds, the channel switched to another report.


"This demonstration was carried out in international airspace by 4th and 5th generation aircraft from the USS Abraham Lincoln, along with regionally-based U.S. Air Force aircraft."

On its website Tuesday, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command publicized the exercise "as a demonstration of our resolve and commitment to our regional allies."

The U.S. on Tuesday conducted an aerial show of force in the West Sea by mobilizing stealth fighters from an aircraft carrier amid fears that North Korea is preparing to launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

It included pictures of F-35C stealth fighters, saying they made a long-distance flight to the West Sea from the Lincoln in the Philippine Sea.

The U.S. also released a video clip of F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets and an E-2C early warning aircraft, as well as F-35Cs, taking off from the Lincoln.

Until recently, U.S. aircraft carriers and military aircraft were reluctant to operate in the West Sea because of fears of agitating China. But it apparently felt a highly publicized show of force is necessary to warn North Korea off further missile and nuclear tests.

In another press release Tuesday, the U.S. Forces Korea said that the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade of the U.S. Eighth Army "validated their armistice and wartime mission requirements" following the Indo-Pacific Command's "enhanced ballistic missile defense directive" in response to Pyongyang's "frequent projectile launches this year."

Meanwhile, North Korea on Wednesday morning fired a projectile that appeared to be a ballistic missile. Military authorities here said North Korea fired the projectile on 9:30 a.m. in Sunan near Pyongyang, but it apparently failed shortly after launch. They added that they are closely cooperating with the U.S. to analyze what happened.
Korean tour operators are breathing a sigh of relief after the government announced the end of seven-day quarantine for fully vaccinated people arriving in Korea from March 21.

Many other countries have already scrapped quarantine requirements for travelers, so Koreans can go abroad again and return without much hassle.

At ticketing website Interpark, airline ticket bookings surged more than eight times on-year over the weekend soon after the government announced the change. A staffer there said, "Resort destinations like Guam, Hawaii and Saipan are popular, but there are also many bookings for long-distance routes such as Barcelona and Zurich."

Budget-travel agency Very Good Tour said its first group of 21 people is going to Greece on March 25, while 26 are flying to Turkey on March 30.

A travel industry source said, "Most of the customers already made their reservations last year and have now decided to pay the balance and go ahead."

Yellow Balloon Tour is offering a coast-to-coast family package tour of the U.S., while Hanatour, Korea's largest travel agency, plans to roll out a honeymoon package to France, Italy and Switzerland.


"Yoon wants to ratchet up military operations, and perhaps strengthen the U.S.-South Korea military relationship to make it better prepared to deal with potential threats," said Bonker. "So I think our relationship is going to be stronger than ever."

U.S. President Joe Biden called Yoon just five hours after Yoon's victory speech, which was seen as a signal that they share the same goals. Yoon pledged to bring U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises back to scale and make efforts to improve relations with Japan, another important American ally.

In the webinar, three members of the Association of Former Members of Congress, a bipartisan alliance, discussed the future of the U.S.-South Korea alliance during Yoon's administration. They were Don Bonker, a Democrat who represented Washington state; Curt Weldon, a Republican who represented Pennsylvania; and Jay Kim, a Republican who represented California.

Former members of U.S. Congress, at an online event organized by the Chosun Ilbo, broadly welcomed the shift.

With the election of the People Power Party's Yoon Seok-youl, Seoul's foreign policy will change as Yoon promised a more hardline stance on North Korea and China while repairing the alliance with the U.S.

The war in Ukraine has reminded many in South Korea of the importance of Washington-led alliances, according to Kim. "If you look at South Korea's geography, we're surrounded by China and Russia. China and Russia are partnering, so is China going to get involved? What will happen to North Korea?" Kim said. "I'm concerned, because South Korea could be stuck in the middle."

The webinar was moderated by ex-Ambassador to Washington Ahn Ho-young, who said, "In South Korea, we're closely watching the developments in Ukraine. On one side, some people are saying that we should strengthen our military capabilities and our alliance with the U.S. On the other side, some are arguing that we should avoid becoming involved in big power politics."

But Weldon said he is hopeful that Yoon's prioritization of the alliance will also help secure South Korea's security. The U.S.-South Korea alliance "has to be strong," he said. "[South] Korea is our strategic ally, and it needs a strong defense, not just to fight conflicts, but to show China and North Korea that our allies are strong. We don't want war in the end."

Both countries must prioritize dialogue, Weldon emphasized. "I led delegations to Pyongyang and sat across the table from North Korean leaders," he said. "I can tell you that, contrary to what I thought, they did want to have a dialogue."

That is not to say that Weldon thinks dialogue should be the only solution. South Korea should continue to work on defense capabilities. "But in that process there must be dialogue," he added.

In terms of trade, Ahn noted that the recent U.S.-led sanctions against Russia have accelerated a trend of "fragmentation of the international economy."

Yoon's revitalization of the alliance with the U.S. could lead South Korea to reverse this trend and establish stronger economic ties with the U.S. and its allies, he suggested, including potentially joining the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad.

"What it comes down to is that economic and security relationships are connected," Bonker said. He also pointed out that democracy was the winner in the latest South Korean elections.

"The election last week was a crown jewel of democracy. It was the closest election in more than 30 years, and yet integrity was the message," he added. "The U.S. today is struggling with how we elect presidents, with controversy over whether our elections are free and fair. South Korea, with its smooth transition of power, is a wonderful example for democratic countries."
The number of daily coronavirus infections has crossed 400,000 and already there is a shortage of Pfizer's Paxlovid treatment. The daily number of critically-ill patients reached 1,196 on Tuesday, while fatalities totaled 293 and almost 70 percent of dedicated ICU beds are filled.

If the government had secured enough Paxlovid in time, we could have seen a far lower number of critically ill patients and deaths. Studies suggest that taking Paxlovid within five days of displaying symptoms will lower the chances of hospitalization and death by 88 percent, but many senior citizens who contract COVID-19 are unable to get their hands on it because health officials are hoarding them. In a grim echo of the vaccine debacle last year, the government ordered 760,000 courses of Paxlovid but has only received 160,000, and of those only around 40,000 have been administered over the last two months. What does the government want with the stockpiles at a time when people need more than ever?

Once again, this would not have happened if the government secured enough supplies, but Korea contracted a much smaller amount per head of the population than Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. for example. The same short-sighted bungles are happening again and again. People had to wait in long lines to buy masks when the pandemic erupted, and last year the vaccine shortage led to needless delays while Koreans languished in lockdown. The government still seems to live in the past, where it was briefly praised for its early response to the pandemic, before everything fell to pieces. Koreans sacrificed their civil rights and livelihood to abide by lockdown rules in the name of "flattening the curve" and now have to pay again for the government's blunders.

Korea now has the highest daily infections in the world, and 300 deaths a day are a serious matter. If the government knew it would be unable to supply oral treatments on time, why did it ease lockdown restrictions just ahead of the election as infections surged? Yet government officials still seem to be dreaming by repeatedly saying that the number of fatalities is lower than expected. This administration, now on its last legs, will not be missed.


KYODO NEWS - Mar 15, 2022 - 22:44 | All, Japan, World

Japan designated Tuesday nearly 300 items and technologies as subject to an export ban on Russia and Belarus from later this week to prevent them from boosting their military capabilities, as part of Tokyo's sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The embargo on exports of 266 products, such as semiconductors, communication equipment and cutting-edge materials, and 26 technologies, including design programs for chip-making machines, will take effect on Friday, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In addition, exports of oil-refining equipment and related technologies to Russia, one of the world's major oil producers, will be prohibited, the ministry said.

All exports to 49 military-related Russian entities and two Belarusian organizations, including government agencies and manufacturers of aircraft and ships, will be strictly forbidden.

The move came as Japan and other Western nations, including members of the Group of Seven major developed countries, have been ramping up economic sanctions on Russia as the situation in Ukraine shows no sign of improving with Moscow stepping up its attacks on the former Soviet republic since Feb. 24.

Belarus has been accused of aiding the Russian aggression.

The United States and European nations have similarly banned shipments of products for military use and general-purpose commodities that could be used to strengthen Russian forces' capabilities.

As an exceptional measure, the ministry said exports to the two countries for humanitarian purposes could be allowed.

After Moscow's attack on Ukraine, Japan tightened screening on 235 export products, such as semiconductors, to Russia and Belarus.

In 2021, Japan's exports to Russia amounted to about 860 billion yen ($7.3 billion), with shipping vehicles and auto parts among the major items. The figure accounted for about 1 percent of the nation's 83 trillion yen in total worldwide exports, according to the Finance Ministry.

In an attempt to isolate Russia from the global financial system and economy, the G-7 nations have removed key Russian banks from the SWIFT international payment system and limited transactions with the Russian central bank.

Last week, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, also agreed to take steps to strip Russia of its status as a "most favored nation," which has granted the country the best possible trade terms on key products.

Related coverage:

Japan asks crypto exchanges to halt deals subject to Russia sanctions

Japan to work closely with G-7 after U.S. ban on Russian oil: Kishida

Japan to freeze assets of 4 more Russian banks to align with EU
KYODO NEWS - Mar 16, 2022 - 17:28 | All, Japan

Japanese prosecutors on Wednesday appealed a Tokyo court's ruling earlier this month, acquitting former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly on almost all counts after he was accused of helping former CEO Carlos Ghosn underreport his remuneration for many years.

The Tokyo District Court found Kelly guilty, giving him a six-month prison sentence, suspended for three years, for falsifying Nissan's financial report for fiscal 2017. But it found him innocent on other counts over the Japanese automaker's financial reports covering the previous seven years.

Kelly, an American lawyer who was Ghosn's right-hand man as a Nissan representative director, has also appealed the court's ruling on March 3, saying he is completely innocent. The 65-year-old has already returned to the United States from Japan.

The prosecutors had sought a two-year prison term for Kelly, who was accused of conspiring with Ghosn in understating his remuneration by around 9 billion yen ($76 million) over eight years through March 2018.

The court recognized the existence of "unpaid remuneration" for Ghosn but concluded there was not enough evidence to establish that Kelly was aware of such deferred payments for the period from fiscal 2010 to 2016.

The court had also ordered Nissan, Japan's third-largest automaker, to pay fines of 200 million yen, the amount that prosecutors had demanded, for submitting inaccurate financial statements for fiscal 2011 through 2017 to regulators.

Nissan decided not to appeal the court's order.

The ruling for Kelly, who was arrested with Ghosn, 68, in Japan in November 2018, was widely seen as an effective defeat for the prosecutors.

In an interview with Kyodo News this month, Ghosn, who jumped bail and fled to Lebanon from Tokyo in late 2019, criticized the ruling, saying it was only to help the prosecutors save face.

The former auto tycoon has also insisted on his innocence.

Related coverage:

Ex-Nissan exec Kelly given 6-month suspended sentence over Ghosn pay

Ex-Nissan CEO Ghosn raps ex-aide's guilty verdict as "face saving"
RTHK: Japan to remove more Covid curbs as infections ebb

Japan said on Wednesday it is lifting Covid-19 restrictions imposed on Tokyo and 17 other prefectures as a wave of infections caused by the Omicron variant ebbs.

An Omicron wave led to record infection rates in the capital and throughout Japan in February, the nation's deadliest wave of the pandemic so far. Tokyo logged 10,221 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, down 13.6 percent from a week earlier.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told a news conference that quasi-emergency restrictions would be lifted as of March 21 and the country would slowly start returning to normal.

"Exit from the sixth wave of infections has clearly come into sight," he said. "From now on, for the time being, it will be a period in which we bring back ordinary lives as much as possible while maintaining the maximum caution and ensuring safety and security."

After a slow start, the government's Covid-19 vaccine booster programme has accelerated, with about 71 percent of Japan's vulnerable elderly population having received a third dose.

The so-called quasi-state of emergency curbs currently applied in 18 of Japan's 47 prefectures have centred on limiting hours for eateries and other businesses.

Officials in the western prefecture of Osaka had considered requesting an extension to the restrictions due to high hospitalisations, but ultimately decided to let them expire.

The measures have weighed on the economy, particularly the service sector.

"A certain amount of services demand will be unleashed if the curbs are lifted as households have quite a lot of savings now and it coincides with the spring holidays," said Daiju Aoki, chief Japan economist at UBS SuMi TRUST Wealth Management.

Health experts have said the current Omicron wave is not over, and new variants could emerge at any time. But the restrictions, used repeatedly during the two-year pandemic, have lost their effectiveness on public behaviour, said Tohoku University professor Hitoshi Oshitani.

"We need to have a different strategy to suppress the transmission at this stage," said Oshitani, a lead advisor on the government's pandemic response. "It's still premature to discuss a kind of exit strategy from this virus."

Kishida had been widely expected to announce a further easing of border restrictions by lifting the daily quota of arrivals, according to media reports, but did not touch on border measures at all in his hour-long news conference. (Reuters)

This story has been published on: 2022-03-16. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Baku has said that Armenia must show readiness to start substantive and result-oriented negotiations with Azerbaijan, the ministry reported on March 15.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry made the statement in response to Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan's proposals for normalizing bilateral ties between the two nations.

If Armenia also takes the issue seriously, then it must present its concrete proposals and thus must demonstrate its readiness to start substantive and result-oriented negotiations, the ministry said.

It emphasized that Azerbaijan's position on restoring relations with Armenia is clear and consistent, adding that "we do not need to repeat the position we have repeatedly stated".

Azerbaijan has proposed ideas in this regard and is willing to go further in this direction, taking into account the importance of normalizing relations between the two countries as well as peace-building activities in the region in the aftermath of the conflict, the ministry added.

Mirzoyan told Armenian media that both Armenia and Azerbaijan had already mutually recognized the territorial integrity and absence of territorial claims towards each other by signing the "CIS Agreement" on December 8, 1991.

"For Armenia, the main and fundamental thing is to guarantee the rights and freedoms of Karabakh Armenians and the final clarification of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. For us, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not a territorial issue but a question of rights," he said.

On March 14, Azerbaijan made public the five basic principles for normalizing relations with Armenia.

For the normalization of relations, Azerbaijan proposes the following principles:

- Mutual recognition of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of internationally recognized borders and political independence of each other;

- Mutual confirmation of the absence of territorial claims against each other and acceptance of legally binding obligations not to raise such a claim in future;

- Obligation to refrain in their inter-State relations from undermining the security of each other, from the threat or use of force both against political independence and territorial integrity and in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the UN Charter;

- Delimitation and demarcation of the state border, and establishment of the diplomatic relations;

- Unblocking of the transportation and other communications, building other communications as appropriate, and establishment of cooperation in other fields of mutual interest.

To recap, after submitting fundamental principles to Armenia on the normalization of relations between the two countries, Armenia turned to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for peace talks.

Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov earlier told Anadolu news agency that Azerbaijan had sent a five-point proposal to Armenia to normalize relations and was awaiting a response from the opposite side.

"The message is this: the factor of occupation is gone. In this situation, the Azerbaijani side, despite all the difficulties and problems of the past, is in favor of normalizing relations with Armenia," he said.

He stressed that Armenia has not responded to Azerbaijan's proposal for almost a year.

The minister described Azerbaijan's recent new proposal to Armenia as a sign of goodwill.

"We have proposed to the Armenian side some fundamental principles, which include the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We expressed our readiness to develop relations on the basis of certain principles. Armenia should consider this and give its answer," he said.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 16, 2022 - 13:26 | All, World, Coronavirus

New Zealand will reopen its border to Australians in April and international travelers who do not require visas in May, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday, bringing forward the move by several months as the country passes its peak of infections with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Vaccinated Australians will be able to enter the country isolation-free from April 13 and fully vaccinated travelers from visa-waiver countries such as Japan, the United States, Britain and South Korea from May 2.

Ardern had said in February that tourists from Japan, Australia and other visa-free countries would not be allowed in until July.

"Closing our border was one of the first actions we took to stop COVID-19 two years ago," the prime minister said in a statement. "It did the job we needed. But now that we're highly vaccinated and predicted to be off our Omicron peak, it's now safe to open up."

All visitors must be fully vaccinated and provide a negative COVID-19 test result prior to departure, and will be tested upon arrival and again five days later, Ardern said.

A full reopening of the border to travelers from the rest of the world is not expected until October under the existing plan, but Ardern signaled that this could also be brought forward.

New Zealand's border has been closed to most travelers since March 2020 and only fully reopened to returning citizens and residents from anywhere in the world earlier this month.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 16, 2022 - 20:54 | All, Japan

The case of a now-deceased man was referred to prosecutors Wednesday for suspected murder and arson at an Osaka mental health clinic last December that resulted in the deaths of 26 people and the suspect, police said.

The investigation into the suspected arson on Dec. 17 has come to an end, with prosecutors expected to drop the case after the suspect, 61-year-old Morio Tanimoto, died before police were able to question him.

Tanimoto is suspected of spraying gasoline and starting a fire at the clinic, killing 26 people, including regular visitors to the facility and its director, Kotaro Nishizawa, 49. He is also suspected of igniting a fire at a house he was living in just before the incident.

Tanimoto had been a patient at the clinic in the western Japan city's Kita Ward since 2017 and visited there a total of 114 times. He died on Dec. 30 after being taken to a hospital from the clinic in critical condition.

The police found from data on his smartphone that he was looking into "extended suicide," in which individual who wishes to die commits mass murder, in October last year, investigative sources said.

At the time of the incident, he had no money in his bank account and no log of phone calls with acquaintances.

On the day of the incident, a number of people visited the clinic for a scheduled group therapy session to help individuals on leaves of absence to return to work.

Data on the smartphone's schedule app indicated he started checking the flow of patients in June last year, the sources said.

Police believe Tanimoto was planning an arson attack on a Friday when the clinic is typically crowded.

His motive remains unclear but the police suspect he felt alone and wished to die by suicide.

Related coverage:

Death toll of victims from Osaka mental clinic arson in Dec. rises to 26

Suspect in fatal Osaka mental clinic fire dies
KYODO NEWS - Mar 16, 2022 - 13:16 | Arts, All, Japan

Famed Japanese author Haruki Murakami will broadcast a special one-hour radio program this week calling for peace amid Russia's continuing invasion of Ukraine, the broadcaster Tokyo FM said Wednesday.

On the program, to be aired from 11 p.m. Friday, Murakami will feature around ten musical pieces chosen from his personal record and CD collection that call for an end to war and focus on the preciousness of life, the broadcaster said. He will also explain the social background behind the music along with his translation of their lyrics.

"A war in Ukraine which no one has desired has begun," the 73-year-old novelist said in a statement. "Can music end war? Probably not. But surely, music can make listeners feel like 'I have to stop war.'"

An internationally recognized writer, Murakami has won multiple overseas and domestic awards for novels such as "Norwegian Wood," "Kafka on the Shore," "1Q84," and "Killing Commendatore."

Related coverage:

Haruki Murakami to leave legacy with library at alma mater Waseda Univ.

"Drive My Car" wins British Academy award for non-English film
KYODO NEWS - Mar 16, 2022 - 22:53 | All, World, Japan

Four Russian warships were spotted sailing through a strait in northeastern Japan Wednesday, possibly transporting troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.

Four Russian tank landing ships were confirmed to have passed through the Tsugaru Strait between Japan's main island of Honshu and its northernmost main island of Hokkaido from the Pacific Ocean into the Sea of Japan.

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force first spotted two Russian tank landing ships about 70 kilometers east-northeast of Shiriyazaki, Aomori Prefecture, at around 8 p.m. Tuesday, and two others about 220 km east-northeast of Shiriyazaki, at around 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The four vessels then entered the Tsugaru Strait, about 700 km east of Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 16, 2022 - 18:28 | All, World, Japan, Coronavirus

The estimated number of foreigners arriving in Japan in February was 99.4 percent lower compared with the same month in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 at 16,700 people, government data showed Wednesday.

Compared with a year earlier when Tokyo and some prefectures were under a COVID-19 state of emergency, the figure was up 127.1 percent.

In February, the largest number of arrivals came from Vietnam at 2,600 people, followed by China at 2,400, India at 1,700 and the Philippines at 1,000, according to the data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The government's border controls limited the number of new entrants at 3,500 a day since November until the cap was raised to 5,000 on March 1 and to 7,000 on March 14 to allow in more business travelers, technical trainees and international students.

The number of Japanese nationals going overseas in February rose 89.1 percent from a year before to 46,900 but was still 96.9 percent lower compared with February 2019, according to the data.
KYODO NEWS - Mar 17, 2022 - 12:25 | All, Japan

Residents in northeastern Japan's Tohoku region were shaken after a powerful earthquake struck the region late Wednesday, bringing back memories of the megaquake that brought death and devastation there just over 11 years earlier.

Tsunami warnings rang out after the earthquake, bringing back memories to many in the area, that includes Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, of the calamities of March 11, 2011. Then, people were forced to flee to the safety of higher ground as tsunami surges caused destruction along the coast.

On Wednesday night, buildings were damaged as walls and ceilings were shaken, while millions of homes, including some in parts of Tokyo, were left without power as local authorities scrambled to grasp the extent of the damage.

Akiko Ogai, a 48-year-old woman in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, left her home by car after the shaking stopped and headed for higher ground, making her revisit the trauma of 11 years ago when her home was swept away by a tsunami.

Later, she and eight family members went to a gymnasium that served as an evacuation center to spend the night.

"As I couldn't sleep well, I'd like to return home after I receive food and water. I'm so glad that the whole family is safe," she said.

In Fukushima Prefecture, a blackout hit a city office in Soma, not far from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled by the 2011 disaster.

"I felt two big quakes and saw parked cars bouncing up and down because the ground was shaking," a guard at the office said.

The quake struck at around 11:36 p.m., unlike the 2011 disaster, which struck in the afternoon. Traffic signs ceased functioning in front of JR Sendai Station and fire truck and ambulance sirens blared in Sendai.

There were many calls for emergency assistance and rescue services across a wide area of the Tohoku region and the magnitude 7.4 quake left at least two people dead and more than 140 injured.

"The shaking was tremendous," said a 46-year-old woman in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. She was at home when the quake hit the area and immediately fled to a nearby junior high school.

In the town of Zao, a piece of the ceiling at a venue used for COVID-19 vaccinations fell due to the quake.

"The tremor was so big that I had to hold a pillar to keep standing up. I recalled the Great East Japan Earthquake 11 years ago," said Zao's 70-year-old Mayor Hideto Murakami.

In Shiroishi, over 70 passengers exited a derailed shinkansen bullet train at around 4:30 a.m., about five hours after the quake.

"It was a great shaking that made me feel like I was bouncing," said 37-year-old passenger Akinobu Kanno.

Shoma Kitagawa, 28, said the power went out after the tremor and passengers gathered in one car to ward off the cold. "It was a really long wait," Kitagawa said.

In Tokyo, people lined up to get taxis home as train operations were temporarily suspended. There were reports of people trapped in elevators and train cars.

"I have no idea how I can get to my hotel," said a man who was in Tokyo on a business trip.

A wide area of the fashionable Ginza district, known for its nightlife, was plunged into darkness.

COVID-19 quasi-emergency curbs are in place in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures, until Monday to curb infections.

"I told our customers to go home, but I couldn't finish my work because the power was out," said Yoshiki Motomiya, a 43-year-old worker at a Japanese-style izakaya bar in Tokyo.

Related coverage:

Powerful quake rocks northeastern Japan, small tsunami observed

Japan marks 11 years since quake disaster, Fukushima crisis
Aerial photo taken on Dec. 18, 2021 shows the Nusa Dua Beach in Bali, Indonesia. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

Indonesia's resort island of Bali will receive fully-vaccinated international travelers without quarantine from March 14.

JAKARTA, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government will conduct a trial on receiving international travelers without quarantine in the country's resort island of Bali beginning March 14 under certain conditions, a senior minister said on Sunday.

The trial may be launched before March 14 if the government sees positive development in the next one week for the continued downward trend in the COVID-19 cases in Bali, Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan told a virtual press conference.

People visit Tanah Lot in Bali, Indonesia, Dec. 18, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Qin)

Foreign visitors have to show proofs of hotel booking payments for at least four days if they want to enter Bali, while Indonesians who arrive in the holiday island from abroad are required to show proofs of domicile in the Goddess island, said Panjaitan, who is also coordinator of the public mobility restrictions (PPKM) policy for Java and Bali.

The international travelers who want to enter Bali should have been fully vaccinated or received booster jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine, besides conducting entry PCR tests and waiting at hotels for negative test results, he said.

"If the tests show negative results, the international travelers are allowed to do other activities under health protocols," the Indonesian official said, adding that they should also carry out PCR tests again on the third day at their hotels.

In addition, the requirement to have a guarantor sponsor for tourist e-visa requests will be revoked because it is considered burdensome for foreign tourists, he said.

He pointed out that Bali was chosen as the pilot project location because the rate of two-dose vaccination in the province is higher than in other provinces. If the trial in Bali is successful, the government will expand the non-quarantine policy across Indonesia on April 1, or sooner.
More countries have seen a rising number of COVID-19 infections again after further relaxations of pandemic restrictions.





In Britain, from 4 a.m. local time the coming Friday, all COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form for arrivals into the country, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated.





Britain on Tuesday added 492,103 COVID-19 cases and 714 deaths over the last seven days.





Official figures show that the coronavirus infections are rising in all four UK regions for the first time since the end of January, with Scotland already reporting record-high infection data.





France has also proceeded to lift restrictions on the mandatory vaccine pass and masks in indoor areas.





Starting from Monday, masks are no longer required in most indoor public places, such as shops, shopping centers, bars, restaurants and schools.





According to data released by the WHO on Tuesday, 419,632 new cases had been reported in France from March 7 to 13.





Turkey has also been gradually easing coronavirus restrictions.





In early March, Turkey eased several COVID-19 restrictions in public spaces. The outdoor mask requirement has been lifted, while masks are not mandatory indoors when there is enough ventilation and if the distance rule is respected.





Turkey on Tuesday reported 24,614 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 14,600,701.





Meanwhile, in Ecuador, students returned to classrooms on Monday following two years of lockdown sparked by the pandemic.





The return to the classroom comes after the country achieved high vaccination levels against COVID-19, with 85 percent of the target population aged five and older, or more than 13.6 million people, fully vaccinated.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service




CANBERRA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Feral cats and foxes kill billions of animals in Australia every year, research has found.

According to a study led by Charles Darwin University, which was published on Wednesday, cats and foxes collectively kill 2.6 billion animals each year.

The toll includes an estimated 1.43 billion mammals, 697 million reptiles and 510 million birds.

The authors said the findings demonstrated the need for greater control of Australia's native species in order to protect native wildlife.

"We already had good information about the cats' impact on other species. This research gave us a clearer picture on the impact of both species nationally and in different and more remote environments," lead author Alyson Stobo-Wilson said in a statement.

"People think that a couple of cats and foxes aren't having an impact, but it adds up."

The report found that every year Australia's 2.8 million feral cats kill 815 million mammals, 466 million reptiles and 265 million birds, accounting for more than 1.5 billion of the total animals killed.

When killed by pet cats is included, the number of mammals increases to over 1 billion.

The 1.7 million foxes, which cover 80 percent of Australia, kill fewer animals than cats but are capable of taking down larger prey such as possums and wallabies.

Of the 367 million mammals killed by foxes every year, researchers estimate that 29 percent are native species.

Sarah Legge, a co-author of the report from Australian National University (ANU), said that without improved control procedures a number of threatened species would face extinction.

"The central rock rat, that's at risk from cats," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

"Without any cat control, it's got a pretty good chance of going extinct in the next 20 years." 
UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy called on the parties to the conflict in Yemen to seek a diplomatic solution.

The seven-year-old war has brought irreparable harm to the people of Yemen and caused immeasurable losses to national development, said Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations on Tuesday.

Over the past seven years, the fighting has repeatedly proved that a military approach cannot achieve the expected goal. Instead, a Yemeni-led peace process is the only way forward, Dai said.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg recently held consultations with the relevant parties on political, security and economic issues. China welcomes this development, he said.

"Having noted that the parties emphasized the need for a nationwide cease-fire and the urgency to resume negotiations, China calls on all parties to the conflict to heed the call of the Yemenis from all sectors of society" to end the fighting and commit to a diplomatic solution to the crisis, he said.

Last month, the Security Council adopted a resolution on Yemen sanctions and the extension of the mandate of the Panel of Experts that assists the Sanctions Committees. China's position on sanctions is consistent, and it will pay close attention to the impact of sanctions, Dai said, noting China hopes that these restrictive measures will help encourage the parties to the conflict to renounce military solutions and return to the right track of political negotiations at an early date.

Dai said China condemns all the attacks targeting civilians and civilian facilities and calls for the immediate cessation of cross-border attacks and security threats against the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The government and people of Yemen need the international community's help as the country is mired in a humanitarian crisis, he said. China supports the Yemeni government's efforts to stabilize the currency and build back its economy, he added.

Dai urged the parties to the conflict to guarantee the import, transport and supply of oil and essential commodities, and allow and facilitate humanitarian operations. 
By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Baku and Amsterdam held their next round of political consultations on March 15, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has reported.

The delegations, led by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov and Dutch Foreign Ministry Director-General for Political Affairs Thijs van der Plas, discussed future cooperation and regional issues during the consultations.

At the meeting, the sides discussed the current state of relations between the two countries and exchanged views on prospects for cooperation. It was noted that there are wide potential opportunities for bilateral trade and economic relations.

It was noted that the two countries will mark the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in April 2022, as well as the achievements made in all areas, including political, cultural, and humanitarian, during this time.

The parties emphasized the importance of holding political consultations between their respective foreign ministries and expressed interest in continuing political cooperation.

Furthermore, Khalafov briefed the Dutch delegation on the 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, the trilateral statements signed to end the conflict, the regional situation, particularly the destruction committed by Armenia in the liberated lands, and Azerbaijan's reconstruction activities on these territories

The parties also discussed other topics of mutual interest, such as regional and international security, as well as the situation in Ukraine.

During his visit, Khalafov met the chairman of the Dutch Senate's standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and development, Ernest Bastiaan von Apeldoorn, and discussed prospects for the development of bilateral relations.

It should be noted that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and the Netherlands amounted to $127.4 million in 2021, with export amounting to $39.6 million and import to $87.7 million.
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The late autumn of 2015 beheld a memorable occasion in Chinese history: At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward a new development philosophy featuring innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared growth, setting in motion a profound reform of China's economic development.

In the following years, this philosophy, key component of "Xiconomics," or the economic wisdom of Xi, has been continuously developed and enriched, producing a growing resonance across the world and an increasingly far-reaching impact.

With a strong awareness to balance human and nature, the economy and the society, the economic foundation and the superstructure, efficiency and equity, as well as the present and the future, the philosophy not only offers a guide to high-quality development in China, but also enlightens the global community in addressing development challenges.

CONSERVING NATURE

In desert-capped northeastern Kenyan county of Garissa, neat and dense solar panels line up to form an "energy oasis" to benefit thousands of local families and businesses. This Chinese-built plant, also the largest solar power station in East Africa, has set Kenya on the path of achieving green energy sufficiency.

The Garissa solar plant is a miniature of China's years of overseas implementation of the concept of green development, a vision Xi has kept advocating against the backdrop of pressing environmental degradation and fragmented global environmental governance.

"Clean waters and green mountains are just as valuable as gold and silver." This aphorism of harmony between environmental protection and economic development, also dubbed the "two mountains" concept that Xi has repeatedly brought up on various occasions at home, made its international debut in September 2013 when the Chinese president visited Kazakhstan, and has been reiterated by him on global occasions ever since.

"To protect the environment is to protect productivity, and to improve the environment is to boost productivity," Xi said in a speech at the Leaders Summit on Climate via video link in late April of 2021.

"We need to speed up efforts to foster a green way of development and secure a win-win economic growth and environmental protection, so as to build a homeland of coordinated advancement of economy and the environment," he said several months later at the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Xi's thought on coexistence between the humankind and nature has not only set the course for the green transition of the Chinese economy, but also resonated with the rest of the world.

In 2013, the United Nations Environment Programme's 27th council meeting adopted a decision on promoting China's ecological civilization. Besides, the "two mountains" concept has become the work philosophy of Laos' Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

"Xi's overarching thesis," The Diplomat wrote in December 2021, "allows mankind to go beyond the mode of production and consumption triggered by the Industrial Revolution, and enter into a more advanced stage of development, marked as a harmonious co-existence with nature."

PROMOTING EQUITY

"Today, the world is very unequal indeed ... half of all assets around the world are now controlled by the richest 1 percent of the global population," founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab wrote in "The Fourth Industrial Revolution."

The global development imbalance Schwab noted in his book in 2016 has even worsened amid the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and new technology applications. In this context, the new development philosophy proposed by Xi, with a focus on promoting equal development opportunities, has not only set a guideline for China's own development, but also offered a recipe for narrowing the global development gap.

"The international community should keep its eyes on the long run, honor its commitment, and provide necessary support to developing countries and safeguard their legitimate development interests. Equal rights, equal opportunities and equal rules should be strengthened, so that all countries will benefit from the opportunities and fruits of development," Xi said in January 2021 at the World Economic Forum Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda via video link.

"We need to work together to steer global development towards a new stage of balanced, coordinated and inclusive growth. To this end, I would like to propose a Global Development Initiative," Xi said via video at the general debate of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2021.

Guided by Xiconomics, China has been trying to promote common prosperity with a series of measures, such as adjusting overly high incomes through channels like taxes, offering more help to low-income groups through the provision of stronger public benefits, and expanding the size of the middle class.

To realize common prosperity, the nation should first "make a bigger and better cake" through joint efforts of the people, and then divide and distribute the cake properly through rational institutional arrangements, read a statement released after China's annual Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2021.

Moreover, China has been walking the talk to help developing countries enhance their self-reliance and sustainability through a variety of projects, such as promoting the Belt and Road cooperation, establishing the South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund, and building agricultural technology demonstration centers in Africa.

Xi's economic thought, which focuses on improving people's well-being in a long-term and effective way, is worth learning as it reflects a comprehensive and profound philosophy on governance and development, said Naeem Bukhari, chief executive of Pakistan's Human Capital Management Institute.

Noting Xiconomics' emphasis on balance, Stephen Perry, chairman of Britain's 48 Group Club, said keeping balance in many aspects is very important for avoiding tensions and conflicts.

BUILDING FUTURE

"We need to focus on current priorities, and balance COVID response and economic development. Macroeconomic policy support should be stepped up to bring the world economy out of the woods as early as possible. More importantly, we need to look beyond the horizon and strengthen our will and resolve for change. We need to shift the driving forces and growth models of the global economy and improve its structure, so as to set the course for long-term, sound and steady development of the world economy," Xi said in January 2021.

One year later, Xi said at the 2022 World Economic Forum virtual session that "countries around the world should uphold true multilateralism. We should remove barriers, not erect walls. We should open up, not close off. We should seek integration, not decoupling. This is the way to build an open world economy."

The remarks by Xi, with a thorough analysis of the constraints facing world economic recovery and a good grasp of the global development trends and economic rules, came in time for a worldwide sustainable development agenda challenged by COVID-19, a weak world economy, poverty and turmoils.

Guided by Xi's wisdom, China has adopted strong measures to coordinate pandemic control and economic growth, expanded high-level opening-up, actively built a "dual circulation" development paradigm, and upheld multilateralism and win-win cooperation to share its development opportunities with the rest of the world.

While China's solutions have facilitated consensus in the international community, its actions have injected a fresh momentum into global sustainable development.

Xi's economic thought emphasizes that the right to development should be shared by countries around the world, said Natee Taweesrifuengfung, president of the Thailand-based Siam Think Tank, adding that the thought, which calls for jointly building an open world economy, is devoted to pushing forward global sustainable development. 
Photo taken on Feb. 27, 2022 shows smoke rising in the sky in Kiev, Ukraine. (Xinhua/Lu Jinbo)

"All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China," the ambassador said.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- China did not know in advance about Russia's plan for a military operation against Ukraine, nor did Beijing support it, wrote Qin Gang, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, in an opinion piece appearing Tuesday in The Washington Post.

"Let me say this responsibly: Assertions that China knew about, acquiesced to or tacitly supported this war are purely disinformation," Qin said in the article, which he said aims to explain "fully" to the American people China's stance on the Ukraine conflict and "dispel any misunderstandings and rumors."

"All these claims serve only the purpose of shifting blame to and slinging mud at China," the ambassador said.

Noting that there were over 6,000 Chinese citizens in Ukraine and that China is the biggest trading partner of both Ukraine and Russia, Qin said that conflict between Russia and Ukraine "does no good for China" and that China would have tried its best to prevent the war had it known about it in advance.

Photo taken on March 7, 2022 shows a view of the third round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. (Belta news agency via Xinhua)

"On Ukraine, China's position is objective and impartial," the ambassador said. "The purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter must be fully observed; the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, including Ukraine, must be respected; the legitimate security concerns of all countries must be taken seriously; and all efforts that are conducive to the peaceful settlement of the crisis must be supported."

Regarding threats from some U.S. officials about sanctioning Chinese entities and businesses in a scenario -- purported by Washington -- where China provides assistance to Russia, Qin said the threats are unacceptable.

"Neither war nor sanctions can deliver peace. Wielding the baton of sanctions at Chinese companies while seeking China's support and cooperation simply won't work," he said.

The ambassador also denounced those who have been trying to link the Ukraine crisis with the Taiwan question, saying doing so "is a mistake" and the two "are totally different things."

"Ukraine is a sovereign state, while Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory. The Taiwan question is a Chinese internal affair. It does not make sense for people to emphasize the principle of sovereignty on Ukraine while hurting China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on Taiwan," Qin said.

The ambassador reiterated China's resolve for national reunification, saying China is "committed to peaceful reunification, but we also retain all options to curb 'Taiwan independence.'"

"We hope the United States earnestly abides by the one-China principle and does not support "Taiwan independence" separatism in any form. To ensure long-term peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, China and the United States must work together to contain 'Taiwan independence,'" he said.

Humanitarian aid supplies sent by the Red Cross Society of China to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society are transported in Warsaw, Poland, March 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Chen)

Qin also highlighted China's efforts to push for peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and prevent a humanitarian crisis induced by the conflict.

The long-term peace and stability of Europe, the veteran diplomat said, "relies on the principle of indivisible security," adding that China, whose ultimate purpose in the ongoing crisis is to seek an end to the war and support regional and global stability, "will continue to coordinate real efforts to achieve lasting peace." 
A passenger checks in at the Helsinki Airport, Finland, on June 21, 2021. (Photo by Matti Matikainen/Xinhua)

Krunoslav Capak, director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, said that the new BA.2 variant, a subvariant of the Omicron virus, was spreading faster in Western European countries.

HELSINKI, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Some European countries have seen a rising number of COVID-19 infections again after further relaxations of pandemic restrictions. More experts warned of severe consequences if giving up all restrictions too early, especially with the spread of a more transmissible subvariant of omicron.

FURTHER RELAXATION

On Tuesday, Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuiper announced that the government would further scale down COVID-19 rules from next Wednesday. The mask obligation in public transport will disappear. The advice to work from home will be canceled. A negative test is no longer required at events with more than 500 participants.

In Britain, from 4 a.m. local time the coming Friday, all COVID-19 travel restrictions will be lifted, including the passenger locator form for arrivals into the country, as well as all tests for passengers who do not qualify as vaccinated.

France has also proceeded to lift restrictions on the mandatory vaccine pass and masks in indoor areas on March 14.

On March 9, the Austrian government suspended its sweeping compulsory vaccination mandate, which has been in effect since early February. The Alpine country lifted most of its COVID-19 restrictions from March 5, scrapping entry requirements such as vaccination, recovery from the virus, or a negative test result, for most places.

The Spanish Ministry of Health has informed that it will now update the number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths twice a week instead of every weekday.

Germany could see the removal of most COVID-19 protection measures from March 20. People will only be required to wear masks in hospitals, care facilities, and public transport.

People visit a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, on Dec. 3, 2021. (Photo by Stefan Zeitz/Xinhua)

RISING INFECTION

The coronavirus infections are rising in all four UK regions for the first time since the end of January, with Scotland already reporting record-high infection data, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

Official figures on Tuesday showed Britain added 492,103 COVID-19 cases and 714 deaths over the last seven days.

In early March, infection numbers have surged in Austria since the further easing of COVID-19 restrictions. On March 10, the country reported 49,432 COVID-19 infections in the previous 24 hours, a new daily record since the pandemic outbreak.

Austrian media reported that the high infection numbers had caused severe teacher shortages in schools.

In the Netherlands, over the past week, the number of people admitted to the hospital rose sharply by 14 percent, and the number of patients in the ICU also increased by 6 percent.

The number of infections remained high in the country. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) reported on Tuesday that for the past seven days, 429,252 new positive tests came in.

Signs commemorating victims of the COVID-19 pandemic are seen at the National COVID Memorial Wall in London, Britain, March 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

TOO EARLY?

Krunoslav Capak, director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, said that the new BA.2 variant, a subvariant of the Omicron virus, was spreading faster in Western European countries.

With the arrival of warmer weather and the fall of new cases, people relaxed, thinking that the epidemic was over, he added.

"That is not correct. The virus is still here, and the numbers are still high. We need to be careful and think that the virus is still among us and can be dangerous again," Capak said. Therefore, "everyone still needs to adhere to epidemiological measures."

Ahmad Hamwi, an Austrian physician, said he shares the same view with many experts that lifting COVID-19 restrictions in Austria is too early. He advised mandatory mask-wearing indoors and efforts to further boost the vaccination rate.

According to Dutch experts, it is not yet clear whether the peak has already been reached. They cautioned that a further relaxation of the rules might cause a continued increase of positive cases, and the health system will come under intensified pressure as a result.

"Experts are skeptical about when the pandemic will end. Historically, each pandemic has a different outcome, and it is noted that many more chapters remain to be written in the book of the COVID pandemic," said Maria Theodoridou, president of the National Vaccination Committee of Greece, on Monday.

People hold candles to mourn the victims of COVID-19 during an event in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)
A Pakistani student presents cheongsam, a traditional Chinese women's dress also known as Qipao, during an international cultural festival at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on March 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

An international cultural festival was held at the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, with students performing Chinese songs and classic dances to welcome the spring season.

For Khadija Hassan, studying Chinese is about learning Chinese culture, not just reading books to understand the language.

ISLAMABAD, March 16 (Xinhua) -- At the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad, Syeda Rimsha Ali Shah and her friend Muhammad Irfan have been rehearsing a Chinese pop song to present it in front of Chinese and Pakistani audiences.

"Chinese is my major, but I found the song very difficult. The notes were hard to catch," Shah said after her performance.

The event, which was held here Monday, welcomed the spring season through performances of complex Chinese songs and classic dance by students from the university. Pakistani students also performed traditional tea ceremonies for Chinese guests.

A student performs Chinese tea art during an international cultural festival at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on March 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

For Khadija Hassan, studying Chinese is about learning Chinese culture, not just reading books to understand the language. She started learning about Chinese culture from videos, documentaries and movies in her second semester. She wore hanfu, the traditional dress of China's Han ethnic group, to the event. It took her a lot of time to find a suitable style of the unfamiliar garment, and a lot more time practicing before she could carry it off.

Some of the audiences noticed similarities between Pakistani and Chinese cultures, including a fondness for tea, a love for vibrant colored costumes, and welcoming the spring season with joy and celebrations.

Students learn to write Chinese calligraphy during an international cultural festival at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on March 14, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal)

"Students take a lot of interest in every Chinese event at the auditorium. The Chinese department is one of the healthiest in the university in terms of the number of students," Syed Nadir Ali, director general of the school, told Xinhua.

Pakistan and China were close friends, said Ali, explaining that it was good for ordinary Pakistanis to get a chance to know more about China through its cultural diversity.
UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was saddened by the death of former Zambian President Rupiah Bwezani Banda, said a UN spokesman on Tuesday.

Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved family, as well as to the government and people of Zambia, said Farhan Haq, Guterres' deputy spokesman, in a statement.

"Former President Banda was a visionary statesman who made significant contributions to peace and unity in Zambia and across the African continent," it said.

The United Nations stands with Zambians in this period of national mourning, said the statement.

Banda died in Lusaka on Friday at the age of 85. He served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011. 




KIEV, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Russia-Ukraine conflict continued on Wednesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution.

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, also a member of the delegation, said Tuesday that Ukraine and Russia would continue their peace talks on Wednesday.

The Kremlin said in a statement that Russian President Vladimir Putin and European Council President Charles Michel had a phone conversation on Tuesday, during which Putin outlined his assessments of the ongoing negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations on a possible settlement of the crisis.

Meanwhile, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a lawmaker, said on Telegram that the Ukrainian parliament has extended the current martial law for another 30 days from March 26.

Kiev imposed martial law after Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Also on Tuesday, the Russian UN ambassador said Russia will table its own draft Security Council resolution on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine after France and Mexico announced their intention to move their draft to the General Assembly.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service
UNITED NATIONS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about Sunday's missile attack in Erbil, Iraq, said Farhan Haq, his deputy spokesman, on Tuesday.

The attack came at a critical moment for Iraq's path to peace and stability. The secretary-general renewed his call on all concerned sides to exercise restraint and avoid escalation, said the spokesman.

Guterres urged Iraq's partners to support Iraqi efforts to advance regional peace and security in accordance with the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and good neighborly relations, said Haq.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday confirmed that it launched the attack on what it said an Israeli intelligence base in Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The operation was in response to an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital of Damascus on March 7, in which two IRGC officers were killed, the IRGC said in a statement. 




BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) --The third batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies sent by the Red Cross Society of China to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society has arrived at Warsaw, Poland, and would continue its journey to its destination, Ukraine.





The new supplies, including milk powder for children and quilts, left Beijing on Monday.





The first batch of supplies has arrived in Ukraine and has been distributed by the Ukrainian Red Cross Society to the displaced most in need.





Produced by Xinhua Global Service




SANAA, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi militia announced on Wednesday that it is ready to negotiate with the Saudi-led coalition to end the country's seven-year civil war.

The Houthis said they "welcome dialogue with the coalition countries in any neutral country" which did not join the war in Yemen, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV quoted a statement by the Houthi militia as saying.

The Houthi militia did not provide further details.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthis forced him into exile. 
BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson of China's top legislature on Wednesday voiced firm opposition against negative China-related contents in the United States' omnibus spending bill for the fiscal year 2022.

The U.S. side, in complete disregard of the Chinese side's solemn representations, signed into law the bill, which consists of multiple negative articles related to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, said You Wenze, spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress.

This is an act that seriously undermines China's national interests and grossly interferes in China's internal affairs, the spokesperson emphasized.

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory, this is a fact based on history and jurisprudence, said You. He noted that by manipulating the mapping issue of Taiwan, the U.S. side is challenging and damaging the one-China principle. This is an extremely dangerous political provocation.

You reiterated that Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang affairs are purely China's internal affairs, adding that the U.S. side's agenda to contain China's development and undermine its national security and social stability has no chance of success.

"China's determination to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interest will not falter," said You, urging the U.S. side to clearly understand the hazardous nature of the aforementioned articles, restrain from aiding "Taiwan independence" separatists, and cease interfering in China's internal affairs. 
By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijan evacuated over 9,500 citizens from Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities there, State Migration Service Head Vusal Huseynov has said.

According to Huseynov, there are citizens of Ukraine among the evacuees.

"Within 15 days, 2,800 Azerbaijani citizens of Ukraine were evacuated to Azerbaijan," he added.

Due to the situation in Ukraine, Azerbaijani citizens are still being evacuated via charter flights and buses across neighboring countries' territories.

Azerbaijani citizens who have left Ukraine can contact Azerbaijan's diplomatic missions to return home.

It was noted that in connection with special cases, Azerbaijani citizens can contact the Azerbaijani Embassy in Kyiv by phone: (+380 73) 5050000 and by e-mail: [email protected], the Honorary Consulate in Kharkiv by phone: (+38057) 7000531 and by email: [email protected]

Ambassador Vladislav Kanevsky earlier thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani government and all the Azerbaijani people for providing Ukraine with humanitarian aid at "such a critical and difficult time for Ukraine".

"Azerbaijan provides the necessary needs - medicines, medical equipment, food. This is what Azerbaijan and Ukraine have demonstrated for many years. We are not just strategic partners, we are friends," Kanevsky said.




For young college students in Madagascar, singing is an effective way to learn the Chinese language.

by Eric Laperozy, Ling Xin

ANTANANARIVO, March 16 (Xinhua) -- "Language is a part of culture. And if you want to master a foreign language, singing is an effective way," said Zo Rasendra, co-director of the Confucius Institute of the University of Antananarivo.

"We observe that young Malagasy people have singing potential," Rasendra told Xinhua last Saturday on the sidelines of the finals of the inaugural Chinese singing contest, "The most beautiful voice of Madagascar," in the capital, Antananarivo.

The contest, co-organized by the Confucius Institute of the University of Antananarivo, the Confucius Institute of the University of Toamasina and the Ecole de la Francophonie, was aimed to encourage young people to learn Chinese.

About 100 competitors participated, 24 of them advancing to the semifinals.

Andriantsiferana Rutha Esther, one of the 10 finalists, won the first place in the competition.

"Happy! I'm overjoyed!" said the second-year student at the University of Antananarivo's Confucius Institute, who also has a Chinese name, Xu Tianyu.

Esther said she looks forward to traveling to China to compete in the "Learn Chinese by Singing" World Contest.

"This is also my initial objective in studying Chinese. To participate in international contests at the top level (in China)," she said.

Malagasy songs were also featured at the finals. Zhang Shanyi, who uses Lina GPE as her stage name, was invited to sing a song in the local language she wrote by herself.

Zhang's is another example of the role played by singing in learning a language and immersing in a culture.

"My father and mother are both Chinese. We live in Madagascar," she said. "I only learned Malagasy two years ago. I adore Malagasy music and vocalists, as well as the culture here." 
Photo taken on March 15, 2022 shows the container vessel Ever Forward in the Maryland portion of the Chesapeake Bay, the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

The "grounding has not prevented other ships from transiting into or out of the Port of Baltimore," the port authorities said.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Efforts are underway to refloat a giant container vessel stuck in the Chesapeake Bay, the largest inlet in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the eastern United States.

William Doyle, executive director of the Port of Baltimore, tweeted on Wednesday that technical experts boarded the Ever Forward Monday and Tuesday to evaluate its condition.

"A salvage team, Naval architects, and divers are working to determine the best course of action to free the ship," Doyle wrote, adding that the U.S Coast Guard is lead federal agency in this matter.

The 334-meter cargo ship became stranded on Sunday evening after departing the Port of Baltimore for Norfolk, Virginia. There have been no injuries or pollution-related spills.

The ship's location is just off Gibson Island near the Craighill channel in the Chesapeake Bay. According to vessel tracking website VesselFinder, it remains "aground."

The "grounding has not prevented other ships from transiting into or out of the Port of Baltimore," Doyle continued. "Business and commerce-related activities at the Port of Baltimore continue as normal."

The U.S Coast Guard has put in place a safety zone around the Ever Forward. Nearby vessels are required to slow down and conduct one-way traffic.

The Ever Forward is believed to be operated by Evergreen Marine Corp., whose Ever Given got stuck in Egypt's Suez Canal in March 2021, blocking the waterway for days and causing delays in global shipping. 
MAPUTO, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The trial of Mozambique's former Labor Minister and Ambassador to Angola Helena Taipo on corruption charges began here on Tuesday.

Together with 10 other senior officials from her ministry, Taipo was accused of diverting more than 110 million meticais (about 1.8 million U.S. dollars) from the National Social Security Institute (INSS) in the period between 2010 and 2014.

All the defendants are charged with the embezzlement through the diversion of pensions of the Mozambican miners and the bribery used to favor certain contractors of INSS.

Helena Taipo allegedly authorized improper payments to contractors and catering services in clear violation of the law. The accusation says the contracts and services were over-priced.

In efforts to recover part of the money, vehicles and properties that belonged to the defendants were seized and some bank accounts were frozen.

Taipo had been Labour Minister under President Armando Guebuza from 2005 to 2015. She was appointed as the provincial governor of Sofala, and then the ambassador to Angola by Guebuza's successor Filipe Nyusi, until she was arrested on corruption charges in April 2019. 
RABAT, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Police arrested on Wednesday five people with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

The suspects were arrested in simultaneous security operations in the cities of Kenitra, Larache, Souk Sebt, Taroudant and the rural commune of Souihla in Marrakech, said a statement by the Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations, Morocco's intelligence bureau.

Initial investigation revealed that they were involved in the incitement and the preparation of terrorist acts, the statement said.

They advocated eliminating elements of the security forces and members of government departments, it said.

The arrested will be brought to justice upon the completion of the investigation under the supervision of the public prosecutor's office, the statement said. 
LAGOS, March 15 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen attacked a police station and headquarters of a local government in the country's central state of Niger, killing 10 people, Nigerian police authority said Tuesday.

Monday Bala Kuryas, the police chief in Niger, told reporters in the state capital city of Minna that the gunmen killed three officers while attacking the Magama police station, and later killed three police officers and four vigilantes when assaulting the local government headquarters.

A detachment of police tactical squad and military personnel were deployed to the area to track the attackers, he said.

"We appeal to residents in the state to assist the security personnel deployed to the area with reliable information that could help in apprehending the criminals," he added.

In recent months, armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings. 
HANOI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Tuesday seems to be a big day for Nguyen Hai Phong, a 34-year-old international tour guide in Hanoi. He is excited to resume work at a travel company after nearly two years of "frozen career" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last month, the Vietnamese government decided to fully open borders to international visitors from March 15, which rekindled hopes for millions of people in the service sector, including tour guides like Phong.

"I can't wait to see my customers, the foreign visitors, again," Phong told Xinhua, recalling the beautiful days guiding the tourists through corners of his city, telling them about the unique cultural features and introducing to them the must-try street food.

In March 2020, the Southeast Asian country was forced to close its borders and ground all international flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anti-COVID-19 measures, including social distancing, forced tourism businesses and personnel to spend their last two years essentially on ice.

Tran Thu Huyen, the founder of a travel agency based in Hanoi's Long Bien district, spent the last few days recruiting employees and getting ready for the normal operation of her business.

"It's the proper timing for reopening international tourism in Vietnam," Huyen said, noting that the country would host the 31st Southeast Asian Games in May, which will help "attract more visitors to the country, particularly those from ASEAN nations participating in the region's largest sporting event."

However, the service provider is worried that Vietnam may lose its attractiveness as a destination if detailed guidance on entry fails to come out soon, especially when other regional countries have already been working very actively to welcome back international travelers.

At a press briefing held Tuesday to announce the border reopening, general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said all foreigners can now enter Vietnam by air, road, sea routes and railway at all border gates as long as they meet the COVID-19 prevention and control requirements.

Prior to this policy, foreign tourists could only travel to Vietnam by air after booking a tour package with a designated travel agency under the trial vaccine passport program. Despite being offered a quarantine waiver, foreign tourists were restricted to visit just a few localities under heavily monitored conditions for COVID-19 prevention and control purpose.

On Monday, the Vietnamese government ordered its health ministry to ease entry requirements for foreign tourists, which aims to exempt them from most travel restrictions as per a proposal submitted in February.

Under the drafted plan, international tourists will only have to prove that they have been fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19, and show a negative test result as per requirements by local health authorities. They are also required to have insurance coverage of at least 10,000 U.S. dollars for possible COVID-19 treatment in Vietnam.

As part of the efforts, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said that from Tuesday, immigration procedures for foreigners will be restored like before the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has also resumed the visa exemption policy for citizens from 13 nations including Japan, South Korea, and Russia from the same day.

Vietnam received a record number of over 18 million international arrivals in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from its General Statistics Office. In 2020 and 2021, the number of international arrivals to Vietnam respectively plunged 78.7 percent and 95.9 percent, mainly due to impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

In addition to an urgent need for reviving the tourism sector, a vital part of the Vietnamese economy, high vaccination coverage is believed to back the government's decision for reopening.

As of Tuesday, the country had administered over 200.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for a population of about 98 million, with 183.5 million shots on people aged 18 and above, according to official data. Most of the 63 localities nationwide had completed inoculating the primary two doses for the adult group, while being urged to accelerate the third doses as a booster.

However, a new round of infections triggered by the fast-spreading Omicron variant is challenging Vietnam's ambitious plan.

In the past week, the Southeast Asian country logged nearly 166,700 COVID-19 cases per day on average, up 24 percent compared to the previous week. The total COVID-19 tally has doubled in just over two weeks, reaching 6,552,918 cases on Tuesday.

According to Vietnamese health authorities, the recent infection hike is mainly due to the spread of the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant, which has been detected in most of the analyzed samples across the country.

"It's quite worrisome. Foreign travelers will not favor a destination where the pandemic situation remains complicated," Huyen expressed her concerns, hoping that the infection wave will subside in the next few days. 
KABUL, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The security forces of the Afghan caretaker government arrested eight people after they raided a suspected hub of drug smugglers and sealed a hashish factory in Greshk district of southern Helmand province, the government said on Wednesday.

The government said in a statement that the raid was conducted on Tuesday and the security force personnel "also seized a large quantity of drugs in the factory."

Without providing more details, the statement added that the security forces would continue to target illicit drugs and those involved in drug trafficking. 
Thai Assistant Professor Kuapan Nakbubpa gives a lesson at Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 22, 2013. (Xinhua)

by Xinhua writer Chen Qianci

BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The distance from Chiang Mai to Beijing is nearly 3,000 km, and Kuapan Nakbubpa never imagined that she would one day throw herself into educational work in a place so faraway from home.

The 77-year-old Thai assistant professor has been working in China for 18 years since she retired in 2005. She now considers Beijing her second home and spares no effort to spread knowledge here.

Kuapan started teaching in Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) in 1992, during the late winter and early spring in the Chinese capital, yet "it was much colder than the coldest time in Chiang Mai."

"I love teaching so much," said the Thai teacher, adding that she was so excited that she woke up at 3:00 a.m. on the first day of the new semester this year, and kept teaching for four hours straight that morning without taking any break, "I don't feel tired at all."

The thin and silver-haired professor seems no different from any ordinary old Chinese lady except that she knows little Chinese, nor does she know anything about a mobile phone or computer. Her teaching "weapons" are only chalk and blackboard.

Though being a "low-tech" teacher according to Kuapan's self-mockery, she tried everything to get her class on track, such as learning Chinese pinyin and using English expressions and gestures to communicate with her Chinese students.

Kuapan recalled that when she first arrived in Beijing, she inevitably encountered some difficulties in life, including language barriers, but there was always someone to lend a helping hand.

"It is the kind help from teachers and students at BFSU that has supported me in Beijing for so many years," Kuapan said with emotion.

In the eyes of students enrolled in the Thai major at BFSU, Kuapan is like a "perpetual motion machine." She always arrives in class earlier than students and can even lecture through a two-hour class without rest.

Kuapan is more than willing to spend her spare time tutoring students, to the extent that her students jokingly call her residence their "second classroom," as it is where she teaches them everything from pronunciation, word combination, sentence-making, dialogue, speech, and composition, to thesis writing.

Whether it is day or night, weekdays or weekends, Kuapan welcomes students whenever she has time. "My spare time is not that important. If students make progress, I will be happy."

Most students realize how lucky they are to have such a dedicated teacher and prefer to affectionately address Kuapan as "granny," which is to the foreign professor's delight, as she considers every Chinese student her own child.

Kuapan is also trusted by teachers of BFSU. Whenever they encounter any problems related to Thailand or the Thai language, they can always turn to the knowledgeable "granny" for help.

Kuapan also answers questions even for graduates on the phone, which she calls "after-sales service". With her tireless cultivation, the graduates are now active in various fields such as diplomacy, journalism, education, economy, and trade.

Kuapan also contributed to the compilation of Thai literature textbooks and dictionaries, all of which have won her many awards from the Chinese government, such as the Friendship Award for 2005, the title of "the most favorite foreign teacher of Chinese students" in 2014, and the 2016 International Educator in China Award.

No matter how many awards she has received, she still considers herself "an ordinary Thai teacher," and her only reason to stay in China is "for the students."

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuapan has not been able to return to Thailand for more than two years. Given her advanced age, she plans to return to her hometown next year.

"I won't just walk away. If teachers in BFSU need to name freshmen in Thai, they can contact me one day in advance," Kuapan said. 

Thai Assistant Professor Kuapan Nakbubpa gives a lesson at Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 22, 2013. (Xinhua)

Thai Assistant Professor Kuapan Nakbubpa grades students' assignments at home in Beijing, capital of China, March 16, 2022. (Xinhua)
WASHINGTON, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Rising violence and threats in U.S. schools are impacting many students' mental health, according to a report by the Daily Journal newspaper.

The Safe2Say Something Program, a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, received 10,495 anonymous tips about such incidents as bullying and school threats for the 2020-2021 school year, said the report published on Monday.

The tips include 900 pieces regarding hate crime, discrimination, harassment or intimidation, it noted, adding that "despite the numerous assemblies and counseling services provided in schools, many people do not receive the help they need." 
UN:

The United States tweeted its support for Taiwan's participation in the United Nations Friday, provoking a sharp response from China expressing 'strong indignation and firm opposition.' The tweet from the US Mission to the United Nations said the 193-member global organization was founded to serve all voices, welcome a diversity of views and perspectives and promote human rights. It said Barring #Taiwan from setting foot on UN grounds is an affront not just to the proud Taiwanese people, but to UN principles.

It was retweeted by US Ambassador Kelly Craft. The decision by the US administration to suddenly raise the Taiwan issue follows President Donald Tump's criticism of China over the coronavirus pandemic after weeks of elaborate praise of President Xi Jinping's performance in tackling the crisis. Trump is now blaming China for not acting quickly to inform the world of exactly what was happening and halted US contributions to the World Health Organization, accusing it of parroting Beijing.

China claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and uses its diplomatic clout to stop the island from joining any organizations that require statehood for membership. Taiwan left the United Nations in 1971 when China joined and is excluded from all of its agencies, including the WHO's assembly where its observer status has been stripped. At the same time, it has one of the most robust public health systems in the world, and has won praise for its handling of the virus outbreak.

The spokesperson for China's U.N. Mission called the U.S. Mission tweet 'a serious violation' of the General Assembly resolution that gave China the U.N. seat, three U.S.-China joint communiques and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. It gravely interferes with China's internal affairs and deeply hurts the feelings of the 1.4 billion Chinese people, said the spokesperon, who was not named.

There is only one China in the world. The government of the People's Republic China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. China's mission accused the United States of 'hypocrisy' for citing the U.N.'s welcome of diverse views while repeatedly using its power to issue visas to block or delay U.N. member states and civil society organizations from attending activities at the United Nations.

China strongly urged the United States to abide by the one-China principle, the three joint communiques between the two countries and the General Assembly resolution and immediately stop backing the Taiwan region, politicizing, and undermining international response to the pandemic.While the coronavirus is raging across the world, people of all countries are calling for international solidarity in fighting the pandemic, the Chinese spokesperson said. Political manipulation by the United States on an issue concerning China's core interests will poison the atmosphere for cooperation of member states at a time when unity and solidarity is needed the most.

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By Trend

The first large-scale scientific forum will be held in Bishkek, Chairwoman of the National Certification Commission under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Bakyt Tynalieva said during a press conference in Bishkek on Tuesday, Trend reports citing Kabar.

She noted that preparations for the event are currently underway. The forum is entitled "World Science and Modern Challenges in the Era of Globalization and Digital Transformation.

"We will hold such an event for the first time, where scientists from almost all over the world have been invited. We would like to discuss the problems of science. Unfortunately, little attention is given to this sphere in the Kyrgyz Republic, and we proposed the idea of holding the event to president a year ago, and he approved it," Bakyt Tynalieva said.

The chairwoman of the National Certification Commission added that the forum will be held for two days, on April 22-23. Plenary session will be held at the Ala-Archa state residence.

Then five breakout sessions will be held in specialized universities.
China has reported 14 new COVID-19 cases, including 12 asymptomatic ones, taking the number of infections in the country to 82,877 while over 4,630 people have succumbed to the deadly virus. (Photo Credit: News Nation Photo)

Beijing:

China has reported 14 new COVID-19 cases, including 12 asymptomatic ones, taking the number of infections in the country to 82,877 while over 4,630 people have succumbed to the deadly virus, health officials said on Sunday. China's National Health Commission (NHC) said the two new confirmed cases were reported on Saturday which included one imported and another locally transmitted. The death toll remained 4,633 as no fatalities due to the coronavirus were reported on Saturday while the total number cases increased to 82,877 with 531 still undergoing treatment, it said.

China has reported a total of 1,672 imported cases so far, of which 451 Chinese coming from abroad are still being treated with six in severe conditions, the NHC said. Also on Saturday, 12 new asymptomatic cases were reported in China. So far, 968 asymptomatic cases, including 98 from abroad, are still under medical observation, it said. The central Hubei province which was cleared of confirmed COVID-19 cases on April 26, reported 651 asymptomatic infections as of Saturday.

Asymptomatic cases refer to people who are tested COVID-19 positive but develop no symptoms such as fever, cough or sore throat. However, they pose a risk of spreading the disease to others. The Chinese government has banned foreigners from entering the country and reduced the number of international flights, making it difficult for Chinese citizens to return from abroad. The novel coronavirus which originated from the Chinese city of Wuhan in December last year has claimed 243,829 lives and has infected over 3.4 million people, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

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New Delhi:

The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 1,583 with 194 fatalities reported since Monday evening, while the number of cases saw a big jump of 3,875 to go up to 46,711 cases on Tuesday, according to the Union health ministry. The ministry also released a data for cases and deaths from Monday 8 am to Tuesday 8 am. It said in this 24 hours period, India registered a record single day increase of 195 deaths and 3,900 cases, taking the total number of COVID-19 fatalities to 1,568 and cases to 46,433.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 31,967 while 13,160 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, according to the ministry's updated data on Tuesday evening.

"Thus, around 28.17 per cent patients have recovered so far," joint secretary at the health ministry Lav Agarwal said during a press briefing on the COVID-19 situation in the country. The total number of cases include 111 foreign nationals. A total 194 deaths were reported since Monday evening, of which 98 fatalities were reported from West Bengal, 35 from Maharashtra, 29 from Gujarat, 11 from Madhya Pradesh, eight from Uttar Pradesh, six from Rajasthan, two each from Punjab and Karnataka and one each from Chandigarh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

Of the 1,583 fatalities, Maharashtra tops the tally with 583 fatalities, Gujarat comes second with 319 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 176, West Bengal at 133, Rajasthan at 77, Delhi at 64, Uttar Pradesh at 53 and Andhra Pradesh at 36. The death toll reached 31 in Tamil Nadu, 29 in Telangana, while Karnataka has reported 28 fatalities due to the respiratory disease. Punjab has registered 23 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight, Haryana six and Kerala and Bihar have reported four deaths each.

Jharkhand has recorded three COVID-19 fatalities. Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and Uttarakhand have reported one fatality each, the data stated. According to the health ministry data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country are from Maharashtra at 14, 541 followed by Gujarat at 5,804, Delhi at 4,898, Tamil Nadu at 3,550, Rajasthan at 3,061, Madhya Pradesh at 3,049 and Uttar Pradesh at 2,859.

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 1,717 in Andhra Pradesh and 1,259 in West Bengal. It has risen to 1,233 in Punjab, 1,085 in Telangana, 726 in Jammu and Kashmir, 659 in Karnataka, 529 in Bihar and 517 in Haryana. Kerala has reported 500 coronavirus cases so far, while Odisha has 170 cases. A total of 115 people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 102 in Chandigarh. Uttarakhand has reported 60 cases, Chhattisgarh has 58 cases, Assam has 43, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh have registered 41 cases each so far.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Tripura has registered 29 cases, Meghalaya has reported 12, Puducherry nine, while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases. Manipur has two cases. Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each. "Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website. State-wise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

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New Delhi:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said Arogya Setu mobile application is a "sophisticated surveillance system" outsourced to a private operator, raising serious data security and privacy concerns.

Technology can help keep us safe, but fear must not be used to track citizens without their consent, he said. The mobile application helps users identify whether they are at risk of the COVID-19 infection. It also provides people with important information, including ways to avoid coronavirus and its symptoms.

"The Arogya Setu app, is a sophisticated surveillance system, outsourced to a pvt operator, with no institutional oversight - raising serious data security & privacy concerns.Technology can help keep us safe; but fear must not be leveraged to track citizens without their consent," he said on Twitter. The central government has made it compulsory for all its employees to download the app and urged private entitles to also ask their employees to use it.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said various experts have raised multiple issues of privacy regarding Aarogya Setu app. "We are looking at the privacy issues, as also the compulsory deduction of amount and hopefully within next 24 hours we will come with a more comprehensive and a calibrated response on the issue. But, these are areas of concern, we have noted," he said at a press conference.

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Ahmedabad:

Hospitals from four cities in Gujarat will participate in the World Health Organisation's 'Solidarity' international clinical trial to help find an effective treatment for COVID-19, a senior state health official said. The trial, to be conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at hospitals in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot, will compare the effectiveness of four drugs and standard care on coronavirus patients, principal secretary (health) Jayanti Ravi told reporters on Monday.

The four drug regimes to be tested on patients are - Remdesivir, Lopinavir, Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine and Interferon, she said. The other aspects to be assessed in such patients include improvement of health condition, mortality rate, need for ventilator support and severe drug reactions, she said.

The medical facilities selected for the trial are - BJ Medical College and and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society (GMERS) Medical College in Vadodara, New Civil Hospital in Surat, and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Medical College in Rajkot, the official said.

Nearly 100 countries across the globe are participating in the exercise, she said. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), four treatment options will be compared under the trial to assess their relative effectiveness against COVID-19. "By enrolling patients in multiple countries, the solidarity trial aims to rapidly discover whether any of the (four) drugs slow disease progression or improve survival.

Other drugs can be added based on emerging evidence," the WHO says on its website. WHO is facilitating access to thousands of treatment courses for the trial through donations from a number of manufacturers, and also inviting developers and companies to collaborate on ensuring affordability and availability of the treatment options if they prove effective, the website says.
New Delhi :

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday condoled the death of 16 migrant labourers after being run over by a goods train in Aurangabad and said one should be ashamed of the treatment meted out to "nation builders". Sixteen migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra on Friday morning.

In a tweet in Hindi, he said, "I am shocked at the news of the killing of labourers after being crushed under a goods train. We should be ashamed of the treatment being meted to our nation builders. My condolences to the families of those killed and I pray for the early recovery of the injured". Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also termed the incident as extremely sad and disturbing and demanded that adequate compensation be given to the families of those who died.

"During the nation-wide return of labourers, the incident that took place in Aurangabad is extremely sad and disturbing," she said. In a tweet in Hindi, she said the lockdown has "destroyed" the lives of the poor. "They have no means to make a living. All the families who suffered in this incident should get compensation and all possible help," she said.

The workers were returning to their home state Madhya Pradesh and due to exhaustion slept on the rail track, a police official said. We bring the World to you" Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you.

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New Delhi :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed anguish over the death of 14 migrant workers in a train accident in Maharashtra's Aurangabad. He said all possible assistance is being provided. At least 14 migrant workers sleeping on rail tracks were crushed to death by a goods train in Aurangabad district on Friday morning.

In a tweet, the prime minister said, "Extremely anguished by the loss of lives due to the rail accident in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Have spoken to Railway Minister Shri Piyush Goyal and he is closely monitoring the situation". The workers were returning to Madhya Pradesh and? had been walking along the?tracks. They later slept on the rail tracks due to exhaustion.

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Palghar:

One of the persons arrested in connection with the Palghar lynching case, who was lodged in a police lock-up, has tested coronavirus positive, an official said on Saturday. Police have so far arrested 115 persons, including nine minors, in connection with the lynching of three men, including two seers, at Gadchinchale village in Palghar last month. The accused tested positive for the infection on Friday night, the official said.

"He was kept in a police lock-up at Wada in the district along with 20 others. After testing positive, he was admitted to a government hospital in Palghar," district civil surgeon Dr Kanchan Wanere said. "Twenty others kept in lock-up with him have been quarantined along with around 23 police personnel, who came had come in contact with him," she said. The health department is now trying to find out how he contracted the infection, Wanere said.

According to sources, on April 18, a test was conducted on all the accused arrested in the case till then to know whether they were infected. However, all of them had tested negative at that time. The second test was conducted on Friday and the result came at night, in which the accused was found COVID-19 positive, the sources said. The accused had been presented before a local court on April 30 along with other accused, they said, adding that his family members will be quarantined now.

The state police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) had on Friday arrested five more persons in connection with the incident of lynching, which took the number of accused held to 115. The incident took place on April 16 when the two seers were heading towards Surat from Mumbai in a car with a driver to attend a funeral. A mob of villagers stopped them and beat them to death on suspicion that they were thieves, even as a few police personnel had reached the spot. PTI COR NP NP 05021

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Raipur:

At least 22 migrant labourers, who had returned from Andhra Pradesh, escaped from a COVID-19 quarantine centre in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said on Friday. The labourers escaped from a quarantine facility in Dantewada late on Thursday evening and a search was launched to trace them, Dantewada superintendent of police Abhishek Pallava told PTI.

As many as 47 migrant labourers, who had travelled to their home districts from the neighbouring state, were quarantined at a facility in Aranpur police station area, he said. Of these, 22 labourers, who hail from Nahadi village, fled from the centre, he added. "They were examined for primary coronavirus symptoms on Thursday and all of them were found to be asymptomatic," Pallava said.

The district administration has informed the sarpanch and secretary of the concerned village panchayat, Pallava said, adding that the police have launched a manhunt to track them down. So far, no case of COVID-19 has been reported from the Bastar division, which comprises Bastar, Kanker, Sukma Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bijapur districts.

Chhattisgarh has so far reported 59 COVID-19 cases, of which 38 patients recovered from the infection, while 21 are undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Raipur.
Kolkata:

A day after a BSF driver who escorted a central team tested positive for COVID-19, five other troopers attached to the South Bengal frontier were found infected with the disease, the paramilitary force said. Out of these five positive cases, three were engaged in escort duties of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT), officials said. "Five more personnel were found to be positive. Their reports came late in the evening. They have been admitted to M R Bangur hospital," a senior BSF official of South Bengal Frontier said.

The contact-tracing exercise has started and some have been sent on quarantine, the official said. According to senior officials of BSF South Bengal Frontier, the troops have been on high alert and efforts are on to ensure that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and other guidelines are strictly followed by the troopers of the border-guarding force. "After the driver of one of the escort cars was found positive, we sent him at an isolation facility and more than 51 personnel with whom he came in contact have been sent on quarantine.

"We have also tested more than 25 people so far, including other drivers of the escort team. None of them found to be positive. But still, all of them have been kept on quarantine as a precautionary measure. The process of testing is on ," a senior BSF officer said. The senior officer said the BSF was on high alert since the beginning of the pandemic.

And after the first case in the South Bengal frontier was reported on Monday night, senior officers have been asked to ensure that the troops follow the SOP and other precautionary measures. The officer said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been informed about the BSF constable's infection. A Central team to look into the COVID situation in Kolkata and adjoining areas was staying at the BSF guest house in South Kolkata and all its logistics such as vehicles, escort personnel, security personnel were provided by the paramilitary force.
This loan, especially for wage payment, will be backed by a proposed credit guarantee fund so that lenders' money is secured in case of default by any borrower. (Photo Credit: News Nation)

New Delhi:

As part of a stimulus package for the coronavirus-hit economy, the government is working on a credit guarantee scheme to enable banks to provide additional 10-15 per cent working capital to MSMEs for payment of wages, sources said. Currently, banks are offering an extra line of credit of 10 per cent based on working capital limits, which the government intends to increase further. Since units are closed due to lockdown and there has been no operation for the past two months, most micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) do not have money for paying wages and financial assistance for them is under consideration of the government, the sources said.

One of the proposals under consideration is to provide 10-15 per cent additional line of credit by banks over the working capital limit of the MSME sector, which is the largest employer in the country after agriculture. This loan, especially for wage payment, will be backed by a proposed credit guarantee fund so that lenders' money is secured in case of default by any borrower, the sources added. The MSME sector contributes over 28 per cent of the GDP and more than 40 per cent of exports, while creating employment for about 11 crore people.

Public sector banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 42,000 crore to the MSME sector and corporates since the start of the lockdown under the COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility to provide liquidity for survival. With the lockdown coming into effect from March 25, state-owned banks opened COVID-19 Emergency Credit Facility under which 10 per cent top-up loan is given over their working capital limit, subject to a maximum of Rs 200 crore. Till now, the banks have sanctioned Rs 27,426 crore worth loans to MSMEs, as per data collated by the government.

In addition, corporates with deep pockets have availed Rs 14,735 crore loans. In terms of numbers, about 10 lakh MSMEs and 6,428 corporates have availed the benefit so far. At the same time, many MSMEs and corporates have also availed the three-month moratorium offered by banks as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last week said as many as 3.2 crore borrowers have taken advantage of the three-month moratorium scheme on repayment of loans announced by the RBI to help people tide over liquidity issues caused by the coronavirus crisis.

"PSBs complemented RBI on loan moratorium. Their effective communication & proactive actions ensured that over 3.2 cr. a/c availed 3-month moratorium. Quick query redressals allayed customer concerns. Ensuring responsible banking amid #lockdown," she had tweeted. She also said state-owned banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 5.66 lakh crore to borrowers during March and April, and disbursement will start soon after the lockdown is lifted.

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By Trend

Germany will buy 35 U.S. F-35 fighter jets to replace its ageing Tornado, it said on Monday, announcing a first big defence deal since Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged a 100-billion-euro upgrade to the military, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The move appeared to be part of a tectonic shift in German security policy, including a pledge to reach NATO's 2% target for defence spending.

"After looking thoroughly into all available options, I decided to initiate the purchase of F-35 aircraft as replacement for the Tornado in the role of nuclear sharing," Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement.

The Tornado is the only German jet capable of carrying U.S. nuclear bombs, which are stored in Germany, in case of a conflict. But the German air force has been flying the Tornado since the 1980s, and Berlin is planning to phase it out between 2025 and 2030.

As a replacement, the F-35 offers unique opportunities for cooperation with NATO allies and other European partners alike, Lambrecht said, referring to the fact that many other nations have ordered the stealth jet built by Lockheed Martin (LMT.N).

Berlin will also purchase 15 Eurofighter jets equipped for electronic warfare, a capability yet to be developed by Franco-German producer Airbus (AIR.PA), according to a confidential document sent to lawmakers to inform them of government plans.

The F-35 purchase will be a blow for Boeing (BA.N), whose F-18 was favoured by former German defence minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to replace the Tornado.

The decision could also upset France. Paris monitored Germany's deliberations over the F-18 or more advanced F-35, fearing a deal could undercut the development of a joint Franco-German fighter jet that is supposed to be ready in the 2040s.

In an effort to assuage French concerns, Lambrecht echoed Scholz in stressing continued German support for the joint fighter programme.
New Delhi:

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,223 and the number of cases climbed to 37,776 in the country on Saturday, registering an increase of 71 deaths and a record jump of 2,411 cases in 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry.

The number of active COVID-19 cases stood at 26,565, while 10,017 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, the ministry said. "Thus, around 26.52 per cent patients have recovered so far," a senior health ministry official said.

The total number of cases includes 111 foreign nationals. A total of 71 deaths were reported since Friday evening -- 26 from Maharashtra, 22 from Gujarat, eight from Madhya Pradesh, four from Rajasthan, three from Karnataka, two each from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and one each from Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

Of the 1,223 deaths, Maharashtra accounts for the maximum with 485 fatalities, followed by Gujarat (236), Madhya Pradesh (145),Rajasthan (62), Delhi (61), Uttar Pradesh (43) and West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh at 33 each.

The death toll reached 28 in Tamil Nadu, 26 in Telangana, while Karantaka has reported 25 fatalities due to the disease. Punjab has registered 20 COVID-19 deaths, Jammu and Kashmir eight, Kerala and Haryana have reported four deaths each, and Jharkhand and Bihar have recorded three COVID-19 deaths each. Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Assam have reported a fatality each, according to the ministry data.

However, a PTI tally of the figures reported by various states as on Saturday evening showed 37,707 COVID-19 cases and 1,232 deaths due to the disease in the country.

There has been a lag in the Union health ministry figures, compared to the number of deaths announced by different states, which officials attribute to procedural delays in assigning the cases to individual states.

According to the health ministry data updated in the evening, the highest number of confirmed cases in the country is from Maharashtra at 11,506, followed by Gujarat (4,721), Delhi (3,738),?Madhya Pradesh (2,719), Rajasthan (2,666), Tamil Nadu (2,526) and Uttar Pradesh (2,455).

The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to?1,525?in Andhra Pradesh and 1,057 in Telangana. It has risen to 795 in West Bengal, 772 in Punjab, 639 in Jammu and Kashmir, 598 in Karnataka, 498 in Kerala and 471 in Bihar.

Haryana has reported 360 coronavirus cases, while Odisha has 154 cases. A total of 111?people have been infected with the virus in Jharkhand and 88 in Chandigarh.

Uttarakhand has reported 58 cases, Assam and Chhattisgarh have 43 cases each, while Himachal Pradesh has registered 40 cases so far.

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while Ladakh has recorded 22 cases of the infection.Meghalaya has reported 12 cases, Puducherry eight while Goa has seven COVID-19 cases. Manipur and Tripura have two cases each, while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have reported a case each.

"Our figures are being reconciled with the ICMR," the ministry said on its website, adding, "179 cases are being assigned to states for contact tracing." Statewise distribution is subject to further verification and reconciliation, it said.

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Mumbai:

In an attempt to prevent smuggling of liquor from neighbouring states during the lockdown, Maharashtra has sealed its borders with them and deployed adequate manpower at a dozen checkposts, an official said on Friday. The move by the excise department has come in the wake of lifting of certain coronavirus-induced curbs, which included allowing reopening of liquor shops.

As the demand for alcohol has increased in Maharashtra, there is a possibility of liquor smuggling by inter-state organised syndicates, the official said. Considering the threat from such syndicates, the excise department has deployed its flying squads and vigilance teams in districts located along the borders with neighbouring states, he said.

To avoid any smuggling activity during this period, we have increased our vigil on 12 checkposts and sealed borders with adjoining states," he said. This will help in curbing illegal transportation of liquor or spirit, the official said. With the help of local police, the excise department has initiated action against persons involved in smuggling and transportation of liquor, he said.

Since the lockdown came into force in late March, at least 4,829 offences have been registered for illegal liquor transportation and 438 vehicles seized, he said. Besides, at least 2,104 persons have been arrested so far in such cases, the official said, adding liquor and other material worth Rs 12.63 crore have been seized since the shutdown.

The excise department has started a control room, where people can provide information related to illegal manufacturing or sale of liquor, he said.

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New Delhi :

The number of novel coronavirus infections in Delhi mounted to 5,532 on Wednesday after 428 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the biggest single-day spike so far, the government said. The death toll due to the COVID-19 pandemic rose to 65 with a fatality after a gap of three days, according to the Delhi government.

As many as 1,542 patients have recovered so far, while there are 3,925 active cases, the Health Department said, adding that 84 patients were in the ICU and 12 on ventilators. In the last 24 hours, 428 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Delhi, taking the tally to 5,532, it said. This is by far the largest single-day spike in coronavirus infections in Delhi.

The previous highest jump was 427 on May 3. The number of containment zones in Delhi have reduced to 88, the department said. A total of 71,934 COVID-19 tests have been conducted till date. The number of COVID-19 patients under home isolation stands at 695, it said. Health Minister Satyendar Jain told reporters that the coronavirus cases were now doubling in 11 days, which was earlier 13 days. "It is so because lot of pending reports were there whose results have now come out," he said.

Jain also visited the newly-constructed hospital at Burari with the health secretary and other officers of the department, with an aim to initially start this hospital as a 450-bed COVID-19 care centre, the bulletin said. Out of the total 5,532 cases recorded so far, at least 1,299 are admitted at various hospitals like the LNJP Hospital, RML Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and AIIMS Jhajjhar, it said.

An order has been issued on the standard operating procedure for shifting asymptomatic or mild symptomatic COVID-19 patients from hospitals to care centres, and shifting of moderately or severely-affected patients from the care centres to hospitals, the bulletin said.

According to the statement, an order has been issued on guidelines for effective tracking and monitoring of people, who are suspected to be infected with COVID-19 and getting themselves tested at various accredited labs across Delhi. An order has also been issued regarding mobilisation of district teams to ensure timely action and proper follow up of cases under home isolation, it added.
New Delhi:

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday asked officials to firm up a plan to provide employment to nearly 20 lakh people in the state after studying the Centre's advisory on lockdown and the permitted economic activities amid it.He also asked them to compile all details including names, addresses, mobile numbers and work competencies of labourers returning to the state to facilitate their employment.

"A work plan should be made to provide employment to 15-20 lakh people. During COVID-19 pandemic, the state government has paid salaries to 16 lakh state government employees and 12 lakh retired employees," he said, while chairing a meeting of senior state government officials at his residence.

Adityanath also directed officials to study the Centre's advisory pertaining to the lockdown, and, restart economic activities accordingly."Even during the lockdown, it is necessary to search possibilities. Industrial activities should be conducted while following all anti-infection measures," he said.

The chief minister observed that sugar mills have been allowed to operate and no case of Covid-19 infection has been reported from that sector. Similarly, no such case has been reported from brick kilns, he pointed out.

Effective policing should be done so as to ensure that any illegal inter-state or inter-district transportation is not allowed, the chief minister said. To register a decisive victory over Covid-19, it is necessary to break the infection chain, he said.

Seeking identification of Covid-19 and non- Covid-19 hospitals in every district should, he said, "It should be ensured that Covid-19 patients are given treatment at the designated hospitals only."

The prevention and precaution can stop the spread of infection, he pointed out. Adityanath said doorstep delivery should be improved, and quarantine centres should be increased in the state. Community kitchens should also observe social distancing, while cooking food. "Arrangements should be made to ensure that one employee of the Revenue Department remains available at every quarantine centre," he said.

He also said social distancing should be strictly adhered to in the mandis, which should be regularly sanitised. Members of women self-help groups should be engaged in making masks, pickles, murabba and papad, he added. "If any 'nirashrit' (destitute) person dies, the government will bear the expenses of his last rites," he said in the statement.
Guwahati:

Three more persons have tested positive for COVID-19 in Assam on Friday, taking the tally in the state to 89, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. All the three cases have been reported from Guwahati in Kamrup (Metro) district. "Three persons tested #COVID19 + in Kamrup Metro.

One person is from Sarusajai Quarantine camp, 1 indoor patient of GMCH (Guwahati Medical College Hospital), & one has migrated to West Bengal," Sarma tweeted. Out of the total 89 cases, 44 are active, two have died, two migrated and 41 recovered and discharged from hospitals. There has been a spike in positive cases in Guwahati with 27 cases reported since Monday while six cases were reported last week, including a 16-year-old girl who was confirmed COVID-19 positive after she had passed away.

The highest of 15 cases were reported on a single day on Wednesday and all were the contacts of a migrant worker who tested positive on Monday. As many as 340 people were traced as contacts of these 15 persons and their sample results are awaited. Seven persons, including three cancer patients, three of their attendants and a 13-year-old girl, who underwent a heart surgery recently, tested positive on Thursday.

They had returned recently from Mumbai by bus. Meanwhile, one person was released from Silchar Medical College Hospital on Friday after his repeated tests came negative. In Assam, 28,178 samples have been tested in seven laboratories of the state and out of these, 89 came positive, 25,431 were found to be negative and the remaining results are awaited, officials said.
New Delhi:

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday sought an audit of the PM CARES Fund, saying transparency will be good for the government and public in times of coronavirus crisis.On March 28, the Centre set up the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund with the primary objective to deal with any kind of emergency situation like the one currently posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and provide relief to those affected.

She said when the public is anguished and there is scarcity of food, water and cash, "the authorities are taking Rs 100 from everyone for the PM CARES Fund and thus it would be appropriate to have an audit of the same".The Congress general secretary also posted on Twitter a letter of the district authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi where officers have been asked to ensure donation of Rs 100 from all concerned.

"A suggestion: When the public is anguished and there is scarcity of ration, water and cash, and the government is taking Rs 100 from everyone for PM CARE fund, then it would be appropriate from every aspect to have a government audit of the fund."There should also be accountability for writing-off Rs 68,000 crore of bank thieves who fled the country," she said in a tweet in Hindi.

"Transparency before the public is important at the time of crisis. It will be good for both the public and the government," she said. The Congress has questioned the government over setting up of a separate PM CARES Fund by the prime minister for fighting coronavirus, demanding that the same be merged with the PM National Relief Fund.

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New Delhi: The country's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat was a name that would make the enemy sweat. The patriotism in him was so full that if anyone looked at the country with a raised eye, he would not take long to smash that eyes. He also did not hesitate to cross the border to respond to India's enemies. Today (March 16) is the birth anniversary of CDS Bipin Rawat.

When broke the back of the militants after entering Myanmar:-

This is the case in 2015, on the intervening night of June 8 and 9, when 21 para commandos from India enter Myanmar. The jawans, divided into three teams, surround and attack militants of the militant group The National Socialist of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K) in Unjia near Myanmar's Ponyo area. The brave sons destroyed all the camps of the militants built here and return safely to the Indian border without any loss. This operation is completed in only 8 hours.

This was the Indian Army's response to the militants who had attacked the Dogra Regiment of the Indian Army in Chandel district of Manipur on June 4, 2015. In the attack carried out by about 50 armed militants, 18 jawans were martyred, while 15 were injured. When the operation took place, the commander of the 21 Para 3rd Corps was Bipin Rawat at that time. It was the para commandos of his unit who carried out this operation.

Gave a befitting reply to the terrorists who carried out the Uri attack:-

On September 18, 2016, terrorists carried out a dastardly attack at the Army's 12th Brigade headquarters in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. In this attack, India had lost 18 of its brave soldiers. In response, on the intervening night of September 28 and 29, 25 Indian commandos enter Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and destroy terror camps and sent 38 terrorists to Hell. After this surgical strike, Bipin Rawat, while talking to the media, had said in strong words that this is a message for Pakistan and we want to tell that there can be more such operations.

In 2018, while being the Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat had said that India needed to carry out another surgical strike. Not only this but general Bipin Rawat's role is also said to be in the Balakot air strike carried out after the terror attack in Pulwama. He used to attend the planning of this airstrike and emergency meetings.

12 to 14-year-old Children will get vaccine from today, 60+ will also get precaution dose

St Mary's School punishes two children for saying Jai Shri Ram...

SC's big verdict for people living on rent
New Delhi: In the year 2021, 509 cases of Naxalite violence have been reported in the country. 147 civilians and security forces personnel have lost their lives in these violence. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai presented the figures in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (15 March 2022) while answering a question. The Union Minister told that in 2009 (under Manmohan Singh's tenure), the violence of Naxalites was at its peak. There were 2,258 such incidents recorded that year. In comparison, there has been a reduction of 77 percent in such incidents in 2021.

It is worth noting that at the time when Naxalite violence was at its peak, at that time there was a Congress government at the center under the leadership of Manmohan Singh. In 2010, 1005 civilians and jawans were killed in Naxalite violence. Nityanand Rai said that the decrease in these figures has come due to the national policies and efforts of the states. There has been a steady decline in this type of violence because of the successful implementation of the policies. He further informed that in the districts which are known to be affected by Left Wing Extremism, the security related expenditure in the district has been reviewed twice in the last four years. Rai has given a written reply stating that, 'The districts reporting LWE violence have also come down from 96 (2010) to 46 (2021).'

Giving information about the development in the states affected by Naxal violence, Nityanand Rai has said that many flagship schemes are being run by the central government for such areas. Special attention is being given to expansion of roads, improvement in communication, skill development and financial inclusion in these areas. 2423.24 crore has been released to the states in the last 3 years under the special assistance scheme of the Central Government. During this 7815 works have been successfully completed. 480 crore has been allocated in the current financial year. The rehabilitation package, inter alia, includes providing an immediate grant of Rs 5 lakh for high-ranked extremist cadres to surrender and Rs 2.5 lakh for others.

Holi to be celebrated for two days, Yogi govt announces holiday of both days

India to buy crude oil from Russia at lower price, US said- 'This is not a violation of our sanctions'

PM Modi urges all eligible children to get vaccinated
President's Office says Ukraine wont accept any model of neutrality offered by Russia 16 March, 15:22 The President's Office insists on guarantees of protection from the West in the event of a new aggression by Russia (Photo:president.gov.ua)

Ukraine will not adopt the so-called "Swedish or Austrian model of neutrality" to end the war with Russia as proposed by the Kremlin, advisor to the chief-of-staff of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak told the Novoye Vremya weekly news magazine on March 16.

Earlier, a representative of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, said that the sides had discussed the issue of "Ukraine's demilitarization under the Austrian or Swedish model" at talks between Ukraine and Russia.

However, no evidence of this has yet been provided.

"The model can only be 'Ukrainian' and only with legally verified 'security guarantees.' And (there can be) no other models or options," Podolyak said.

 

He emphasized that the "Ukrainian" model provides for two key aspects:

 Absolute security guarantees. Valid ones, not protocols or Budapest (memorandum-style) ones. This means that the signatories of the guarantees do not stand aside if Ukraine is attacked as they do today, but take an active part on the side of Ukraine in the conflict and officially ensure the immediate supply of the necessary weapons to the country.

 Ukraine should no longer depend on bureaucratic procedures that allow or do not allow protecting its skies from cruise missiles, and insists on direct and firm guarantees that a no-fly zone will definitely be imposed.

"I would like to add that Ukraine has never been a military state that attacked or planned to attack its neighbors. Unlike (a certain one of) these neighbors," the advisor said.

"That is why today Ukraine wants to have a really strong pool of allies with clearly defined security guarantees"

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Home  Just In  Apple iPhone SE: The most affordable iPhone is arriving in Nepal. Know its features and price

Apple iPhone SE was recently launched in Apples first event of the year 2022, along with iPad Air and Mac Studio. The phone is expected to arrive in Nepal within a few weeks.

iPhone SE is the most affordable Apple smartphone. Yet, it features the powerful A15 Bionic, 5G, better battery life, improved durability, and a new camera system with advanced features. Lets know about the phone in detail.

Specifications

Dimension Height: 138.4mm

Width: 67.3mm

Thickness: 7.3mm

Weight: 144 grams Display 4.70-inch Retina IPS LCD, 625 nits Sim Dual sims Resolution 750*1,334 pixels OS iOS 15.3 Chipset Apple A15 Bionic (5nm) GPU Apple GPU (4-core graphics) Storage 64/128/256 GB SD card slot No RAM 4GB Camera Front: 7MP, f/2.2

Rear: 12MP, f/1.8, PDAF,OIS Sound Loudspeakers with stereo speakers

No 3.5mm headphone jack Battery Li-ion, non-removable

Fast charging 20W Sensors Touch ID fingerprint sensor (front-mounted)

Barometer

Threeaxis gyro

Accelerometer

Proximity sensor

Ambient light sensor Colours Black, white, red Price (Expected) Minimum Rs 60,000

Design and display

Photo: Apple

The new iPhone SE has retained the same design as its predecessor. There is the presence of huge bezels on the top and bottom of the phone. There is also the home button on the phone with Touch ID support. On the back, there is a similar single camera module along with a flashlight. The phone has a build of glass front and glass back with an aluminium frame. It is also IP67 water- and dust-resistant. The phone is 7.3mm thick and weighs lightly at only 144 grams.

Photo: Apple

There is a 4.7-inch Retina IPS LCD display on the phone with a resolution of 750*1,334 pixels. The display can achieve a peak brightness of 625 nits. The company claims this phone features an aerospace-grade aluminium and glass design with the toughest glass in a smartphone on the front and back.

Cameras

Photo: Apple

iPhone SE only has a single camera, both on the front and the back. There is a 12MP f/1.8 camera on the back while there is a 7MP selfie shooter on the front. With a new and powerful chip integrated into the phone, the camera on the phone offers incredible photography benefits to the users, including smart HDR 4, photographic styles, deep fusion, and portrait mode.

Other photography features include digital zoom up to 5x, portrait mode with advanced bokeh and depth control, portrait lighting with six effects, panorama (up to 63MP), wide colour capture for photos and live photos, burst mode and many more.

The main camera on the phone is also able to capture 4K resolution videos while the front camera is limited to 1080p only. For the video, the camera includes optical image stabilisation, digital zoom up to 3x, timelapse video with stabilisation, night mode timelapse, and cinematic video stabilisation to name a few.

Performance and storage

iPhone SE runs on iOS 15.3 and is powered by Apple A15 Bionic (5nm) chipset. This is the same chipset that was introduced along with Apples flagship iPhone 13 and is arguably the best chipset on a smartphone. The graphics on the other hand are handled by Apple GPU.

The phone only has a single variant of 4GB RAM onboard which is coupled up with 64GB, 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. There is no option of memory expansion with a microSD card.

Battery life, connectivity and price

Photo: Apple

iPhone SE has a built-in rechargeable li-ion battery that offers a battery backup of up to 15 hours of video playback, up to 10 hours of video streaming and up to 50 hours of audio playback. The phone gets charged with a 20W fast charger. The fast charger can get Up to 50% charge in just 30 minutes.

As for the connectivity options, the phone supports a 5G network, WiFi 6 with 22 MIMO, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, GPS with GLONASS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and Beidou. The phone can also be connected with other devices with a USB-C lightning vable.

iPhone SE has been priced at USD 429 for 64GB, USD 479 for 128GB and USD 579 for 256GB variant. The phone will be available to order from March 18 in the US. When it is launched in Nepal, one can expect the starting price of Rs 60,000 for the 64GB base variant.

In a similar price range, there are lots of Android phones that will give a tough fight to the iPhone SE. The Android smartphones in that price range have a lot to offer in terms of design, aesthetics and features than the iPhone SE.
By Trend

Report on the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan in 2021 was discussed at the plenary session of the Parliament of Azerbaijan (Milli Majlis) on March 15, Trend reports.

Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov presented the government's report at the meeting.

The chairmen of the parliamentary committees and parliamentarians expressed their opinions and proposals on the report.

The government's report on activities in 2021 was put to a vote and adopted after discussions.
Kathmandu, March 16

Unexpectedly enough, India has delayed sending the agrement for Nepals ambassador nominee Shankar Sharma.

Nearly three months after receiving the nomination, the southern neighbour sent the approval just Tuesday, according to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Parliamentary Hearing Committee in December 2021 had approved nominations made by the government for appointing new ambassadors to India, the United States and the United Kingdom.

A meeting of the panel representing members of both houses in the parliament had approved Shankar Sharma as the ambassador to India, Shreedhar Khatri to the US and Gyan Chandra Acharya to the UK.

Whereas Acharya and Khatri have already been appointed to the positions and begun working, Sharma was yet to be to receive an agrement from his host country.
Kathmandu, March 16

The Ministry of Health and Population has informed that Nepals Covid-19 tally has reached 1,118,102 as of Wednesday afternoon.

The ministry said 82 new cases were confirmed in the country in the past 24 hours.

In this period, 4,790 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which returned 41 returned positive. Likewise, 1,385 underwent antigen tests for the virus, of which an additional 41 tested positive.

Of total tests, 0.85 per cent of the PCR and 2.96 per cent of antigen samples returned positive, keeping the overall per-day positivity rate at 1.32 per cent.

As of today, there are 4,574 active cases across the country.

In the past 24 hours, 213 people have achieved recovery whereas the government says there were zero deaths today.

Of the total cases so far, 961,561 people have achieved recovery. Likewise, 11,950 died, according to the ministry. The countrys recovery rate is 98.3 per cent and the death rate is 1.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, 105,422 people were vaccinated today.
Pokhara, March 14

Provincial transport ministers from all seven provinces of Nepal have decided to make vehicle tax rates uniform among them.

Currently, the provinces have been imposing rates on their own. But, a meeting of the ministers held in Pokhara on Wednesday decided to make it uniform. They have asked the Federal Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport to facilitate the process. Federal Transport Minister Renu Yadav was also present at the meeting.

The two-day meeting made 22 decisions in total to make the transport sector more systematic, according to them.

One of the decisions is that they will allow vehicle owners to pay vehicle taxes in the provinces they feel comfortable in regardless of where their vehicle was registered. In the long run, however, they say an online system will be developed to let the owners pay their taxes to the provinces where the vehicle was registered.
* Suspected missile launched from Pyongyang airport - S.Korea says

* U.S. condemns launch as violation of UNSC resolutions

* Debris landed in or near city - report

* N.Korea has been testing large ICBM system - U.S., S.Korea say (Adds S.Korea defence minister, USFK chief comment)

By Josh Smith

SEOUL, March 16 (Reuters) - North Korea launched a suspected missile that appeared to explode shortly after liftoff in the skies over Pyongyang on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, amid reports that the nuclear-armed North was seeking to test-fire its largest missile yet.

The United States and South Korea have warned that North Korea may be preparing to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range for the first time since 2017, in violation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The projectile was fired from the international airport in Sunan, outside the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.

"It is presumed that it failed immediately after launch," the statement said. It was presumed to be a ballistic missile and seemed to explode in mid-air while still in its booster phase, at an altitude below 20 kilometres (12 miles), a JCS official told Reuters.

A U.S. Department of State spokesperson said it was a "ballistic missile launch" and condemned it as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, but declined to comment when asked about the reported failure.

Debris fell in or near Pyongyang after the failed test, Seoul-based NK News reported, citing unnamed witnesses and a photograph of the test showing a red-tinted ball of smoke at the end of a zig-zagging plume that traced the rocket's launch trajectory in the sky above the city.

The failed launch underscored the danger behind North Korea's decision to use an airport so close to heavily populated civilian areas as a site for test firing large missiles, analysts said.

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In 2017, an intermediate-range ballistic missile launched from another location in North Korea failed shortly after liftoff and crashed into an industrial or agriculture complex in the city of Tokchon.

The Sunan airport has been the site of several recent launches, including on Feb. 27 and March 5. North Korea said those tests were for developing components of a reconnaissance satellite and did not identify what rocket it used, but Seoul and Washington said they were tests of a new ICBM system.

SERIES OF NEW MISSILE TESTS

Reclusive North Korea has fired missiles at an unprecedented frequency this year, conducting its ninth weapons test on March 5, drawing condemnation from the United States, South Korea and Japan.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defence artillery at Osan air base in South Korea intensified drills in response to the increased North Korean missile activity, U.S. forces in Asia said on Tuesday.

South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera called for maintaining strong defence posture during Suh's visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the largest U.S. overseas military base.

"Our combined military forces provide a credible military deterrence to any adversary or threat who oppose us," LaCamera said, according to a statement released by USFK.

North Korea's newest and largest ICBM system, the Hwasong-17, was first unveiled at a military parade in 2020 and reappeared at a defence exhibition in October 2021.

The Feb. 27 and March 5 launches did not demonstrate the missile's full range, and analysts said the North might have used only one stage of the missile or adjusted its fuel volume to fly at lower altitudes.

North Korea has not tested an ICBM or nuclear bomb since 2017, but has said that it could resume such testing because denuclearisation talks with the United States are stalled.

The government also appears to be restoring some tunnels at its shuttered nuclear test site, U.S. and South Korean officials said last week.

REGIONAL RESPONSE

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan voiced Washington's serious concerns about the recent escalatory actions" by North Korea during discussions with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Rome on Monday, while holding talks that focused on Ukraine.

Last week, the United States and 10 other countries bemoaned the failure of the U.N. Security Council to condemn North Korea's repeated missile launches.

Washington imposed fresh North Korea-related sanctions on Friday, targeting Russian individuals and companies after the two recent launches.

Russia and China, which backed U.N. sanctions after North Korea's last ICBM and nuclear tests in 2017, have since argued that sanctions should be eased to encourage dialogue. (Reporting by Josh Smith in Seoul; Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin in Seoul, Kantaro Komiya in Tokyo and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Stephen Coates & Simon Cameron-Moore)
LONDON, March 16, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of "bb" (Fair) of Uzbekinvest Export-Import Insurance Company JSC (Uzbekinvest) (Uzbekistan). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Uzbekinvests balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.

Uzbekinvests balance sheet strength is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best expects the companys BCAR scores to remain comfortably above the minimum required for the strongest assessment, supported by good internal capital generation and low underwriting leverage. In addition, the company has a conservative investment allocation strategy, with approximately half of its investments held in bonds and other fixed income securities outside of Uzbekistan, which are predominantly of excellent credit quality. Offsetting factors include the companys relatively unsophisticated capital management capabilities, as well as its quantification and management of catastrophe exposure.

The marginal operating performance assessment considers Uzbekinvests high combined ratio, with a five-year (2016-2020) weighted average of 117.6%, as calculated by AM Best. Whilst the non-life loss ratio is low, overall underwriting results are negatively affected by Uzbekinvests high expense base. The company is taking actions to reduce expenses by streamlining its operations. However, these actions are yet to yield material tangible results.

Uzbekinvests limited business profile assessment reflects its high geographic concentration in the small, albeit growing, Uzbek insurance market. The companys premium is concentrated in Uzbekistan, where Uzbekinvest has a leading market position; however, in 2020, the company has started to grow its inward reinsurance business, which is primarily written in foreign markets.

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Uzbekinvest is majority owned by the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The companys leading market position and the relative independence of operations from the state mean that no lift or drag is applied to its 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 specialising 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  2022 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/20220316005646/en/

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A new market study published by Global Industry Analysts Inc., (GIA) the premier market research company, today released its report titled "Digital Education Content - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" . The report presents fresh perspectives on opportunities and challenges in a significantly transformed post COVID-19 marketplace.

Digital Education Content

FACTS AT A GLANCE

What's New for 2022?

Global competitiveness and key competitor percentage market shares

Market presence across multiple geographies - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial

Online interactive peer-to-peer collaborative bespoke updates

Access to our digital archives and MarketGlass Research Platform

Complimentary updates for one year

Edition: 7; Released: February 2022

Executive Pool: 53079

Companies: 54 - Players covered include Adobe Inc.; Allen Interactions Inc.; Aptara, Inc.; Articulate Global, Inc.; Cengage Learning Holdings II, Inc.; City & Guilds; Discovery Education; Echo360, Inc.; Educomp Solutions Ltd.; McGraw-Hill Education Inc.; MPS Ltd.; N2N Services Inc.; New Oriental Education and Technology Group Inc.; Pearson Education; Saba Software; TAL Education Group; Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd.; Trivantis Corporation and Others.

Coverage: All major geographies and key segments

Segments: End-Use (K-12, Higher Education)

Geographies: World; USA; Canada; Japan; China; Europe; France; Germany; Italy; UK; Spain; Russia; Rest of Europe; Asia-Pacific; Australia; India; South Korea; Rest of Asia-Pacific; Latin America; Rest of World.

Complimentary Project Preview - This is an ongoing global program. Preview our research program before you make a purchase decision. We are offering a complimentary access to qualified executives driving strategy, business development, sales & marketing, and product management roles at featured companies. Previews provide deep insider access to business trends; competitive brands; domain expert profiles; and market data templates and much more. You may also build your own bespoke report using our MarketGlass Platform which offers thousands of data bytes without an obligation to purchase our report. Preview Registry

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ABSTRACT-

Global Digital Education Content Market to Reach $108 Billion by 2026

Digital learning has witnessed steady growth over the past decade, with the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic providing a major fillip to the industry. COVID-19 along with a number of socioeconomic factors like increasing cost of higher education, lifestyles of modern learners and equitable access to education is poised to help digital learning in garnering considerable attention in the coming years. The education industry is leveraging advanced technology related to online learning for democratizing education, motivating learners and optimizing outcomes. The industry is also being transformed by increasing collaborations among e-learning companies, universities, colleges and governments to promote the idea of online education. Accessibility for online education becomes extremely imperative during the covid-19 pandemic crisis. In the evolving educational environment, several institutions are already using this education mode, while new technologies are being embraced and the requirement for institutions in prioritizing accessibility is becoming critical. Online education technology (EdTech) firms such as India's BYJU's have witnessed a surge in usage while companies such as Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba in China and Lark in Singapore rolled out a range of educational delivery platforms. Local governments across the US have initiated partnerships with schools to deliver educational broadcasts while the BBC in the UK has initiated a similar campaign.

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Digital Education Content estimated at US$70.9 Billion in the year 2022, is projected to reach a revised size of US$108 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 11.1% over the analysis period. K-12, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to record 12.6% CAGR and reach US$61.1 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After a thorough analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Higher Education segment is readjusted to a revised 9.8% CAGR for the next 7-year period. A large number of students in the US and other nations had been already participating in digital learning from K-12 virtual or online education. COVID-19 has considerably accelerated the transition and is expected to pave way for increasing reliance on virtual K-12 schooling in the coming years. The transition of higher education institutions toward the digital platform can be credited to several benefits, especially convenience and flexibility, which are expected to drive a large number of students to prefer online learning over the conventional classroom option.

The U.S. Market is Estimated at $27 Billion in 2022, While China is Forecast to Reach $19 Billion by 2026

The Digital Education Content market in the U.S. is estimated at US$27 Billion in the year 2022. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of US$19 Billion by the year 2026 trailing a CAGR of 13.4% over the analysis period. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 9.1% and 9.5% respectively over the analysis period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 10.7% CAGR. The e-learning market in developing regions is evolving into a dynamic growth sector as public universities, governments and local providers push into the market. There are several factors driving eLearning market in developing countries, for instance eLearning helps to decrease infrastructure costs and reduce expenditures e.g., cost on classroom space along with textbook purchase or rental leading to lesser education costs for people in developing nations. Increased adoption of cloud-based solutions is also expected to further create growth opportunities for eLearning in developing regions. The benefits of just-in-time training and promising ROI is expected to increase adoption of eLearning in corporate training in countries such as China, India and Brazil. In Middle Eastern countries, eLearning has witnessed growth due to government initiatives combines with efforts by private corporations and schools.

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SOURCE Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
ReportLinker

Major players in the anesthetics market are Baxter, Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, B. Braun Melsungen AG, AbbVie Inc. , Hospira, Aspen, Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH and Eisai Co.

New York, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Anesthetics Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06245022/?utm_source=GNW

Ltd.



The global anesthetics market is expected to grow from $9.24 billion in 2021 to $9.88 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0 %. The change in growth trend is mainly due to the companies stabilizing their output after catering to the demand that grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The market is expected to reach $12.24 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 5.5%.



The anesthetics market consists of sales of drugs that cause a relaxing sensation to calm patients during surgery and remove the sensation of pain.These drugs are used to give a sense of calm to patients through muscle relaxation which also causes amnesia.



The anesthetics market is divided into general anesthetics, regional anesthetics, and local anesthetics.



The main types of anesthetics are general anesthetics and local anesthetics.A medically induced coma with lack of defensive reflexes is known as general anaesthesia.



It is caused by the injection of one or more general anaesthetic drugs. The different routes of administrations include Inhalation Anaesthesia Drugs, Intravenous Anaesthesia Drugs, Topical Anaesthesia Drugs and is used in various applications such as General Surgeries, Plastic Surgery, Cosmetic Surgeries, Dental Surgeries, Other Applications.



North America is the largest region in the anesthetics market in 2021.Middle East is expected to be the fastest growing region in the forecast period.



The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.



The increase in the number of surgeries is one of the major drivers of the anesthetics market due to the applications of anesthetic drugs during surgical procedures.This rise is mainly due to increasing incidents of injuries and accidents that require surgeries.



For example, according to WHOs Global status report on road safety, the number of road accidents reached 1.35 million, with approximately 64 deaths for every 100,000 vehicles.



Stringent guidelines and regulations imposed by regulatory bodies are one of the important restraints for the anesthetics market.These guidelines include conducting clinical trials of newly developed drugs, standards related to patient safety, and monitoring of patients under anesthesia.



Complying with these guidelines and getting regulatory approvals consumes a lot of time and negatively impacts the growth of the anesthetics market. For example, the American Society of Anesthesiologists imposes various standards that apply to anesthesia care and monitoring of patients including standards for pre-, basic- and post-anesthesia care and monitoring.



Increasing consolidation in the form of acquisitions is an emerging trend in the anesthetics market.This is mainly due to the high level of R&D and intellectual property (IP) investment needed to establish companies that manufacture anesthetic drugs.



In this regard, mergers and acquisitions are considered as time and cost-effective methods. Some of the notable acquisitions in recent years include the acquisition of MyoScience by Pacira for $220 million in 2019, acquisition of Claris Injectables by Baxter for $625 million, acquisition of GSKs anesthetics portfolio by Aspen for $238.7 million, and acquisition of Hospira by Pfizer for $17 billion.



The countries covered in the anesthetics market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and USA.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06245022/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




This article is adapted from CoinDesk Brasil, a partnership between CoinDesk and InfoMoney, one of Brazil's leading financial news publications. Follow CoinDesk Brasil on Twitter.

Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is looking into acquiring banks and payment processors in Brazil, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said Wednesday.

Speaking at EthereumRio, an Ethereum community event held in Rio de Janeiro, Zhao also said the company is looking to strengthen its 100-person team in Brazil.

Zhaos statements come after Binance signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to acquire Brazilian securities brokerage Sim;paul Investimentos on Monday.

According to Zhao, the exchange plans to work closely with regulators and government agencies to find ways of fostering the development of the crypto industry in a healthy and collaborative way.

On his visit to Brazil, Zhao met with regulators and politicians, including the governor of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, Joao Doria, on Monday.

Pending legislation in Brazil would require crypto exchanges to be properly licensed, which would require either opening a local office or acquiring an existing operator.

Last week, Zhao said that Binance plans to buy more companies in non-crypto industries as a way of expanding the appeal of digital assets.

Read more: Forbes Receives $200M From Binance as It Eyes NYSE Listing

This article was translated by Andres Engler and edited by CoinDesk. The original Portuguese can be found here.
Amazon

Chesnot/Getty; Getty

Boise State University is the latest addition to join Amazon's list of education partners from across the country to provide access to a free college education for its employees.

On Tuesday, Boise State University announced its collaboration with the company, offering opportunities that include full college tuition, certifications, high school diplomas and GEDs, KTVB reports.

"We are delighted to partner with Amazon, one of the Treasure Valley's newest major employers, to offer flexible academic programming," Boise State president Dr. Marlene Tromp said, per the outlet. "These kinds of partnerships improve access to higher education and benefit all of us. Providing a variety of educational opportunities to Amazon's employees enables them to advance their careers and helps prepare Idaho's workforce for the future."

RELATED: Amazon's Headquarters Has Over 6,000 Dogs Enjoying the Perks of a Lavish Canine Office Culture

Boise State University

Getty

Earlier this month, Amazon introduced its plans to provide its 750,000 hourly employees a variety of education and advancement opportunities through its Career Choice Program by partnering with more than 140 universities and colleges across the U.S.

Among other schools that were already selected for the program include several colleges and universities in Texas as well as national non-profit online providers Southern New Hampshire University, Colorado State University  Global, Western Governors University, and National University

The program, designed to help its employees pursue advancement in their careers, is available to hourly workers who have completed 90 days of employment at the company, according to an Amazon press release.

Employees will have access to education funds as long as they remain at the company.

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The initiative was initially launched in 2012 but has recently been expanded in order to reach the company's mission to assist more than 300,000 employees by 2025. As a result, the company has invested $1.2 billion into the program to help its employees improve their skills as well as their career growth.

Additionally, Amazon also is making education more accessible for its workers by building classrooms on-site in many of its buildings, giving the employees the freedom to take their classes wherever is convenient for them.

RELATED: Dolly Parton's Dollywood Theme Park to Pay Full Tuition for Employees Pursuing Education

Tammy Thieman, Global Lead of Amazon's Career Choice Program, said the company is thrilled to welcome the participation from Boise State University into their program, according to KTVB.

"We're looking forward to Boise State coming on board as an education partner for Career Choice, adding to the hundreds of best-in-class offerings available to our employees," he shared. "We're committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that's with us or elsewhere."
Lawsuit Alleges Media Companies Have Suffered Billions of Dollars in Damages

LOS ANGELES, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Byron Allen's media companies Weather Group, LLC ("Weather Group") along with Entertainment Studios Networks, Inc. (ESN) and CF Entertainment, Inc. ("Entertainment Studios") have filed suit against The Nielsen Company (US), LLC ("Nielsen") seeking billions of dollars in damages for fraudulent misrepresentation and fraud by concealment.

. (PRNewsfoto/Allen Media Group)

Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, SC. Allen Media Group owns 27 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and twelve 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 220 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO.TV, THIS TV, LOCAL NOW TV, and PATTRN. Allen Media Group will add its thirteenth network, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPANOL in 2022. Allen Media Group also owns the free-streaming AVOD services THE GRIO, HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV and LOCAL NOW. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for more than 68 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and multimedia digital platforms worldwide.



Nielsen is a global data company that provides audience measurement services for the television industry, among other businesses. Its ratings have been called the "currency" for what advertisers will pay for television time. For decades, Nielsen measured television audience viewership through its "panel system." Nielsen recruits households (so-called "Nielsen families") to serve on a research panel, and provides them with hardware designed to track the families' television viewership. The panel system was introduced over 60 years ago when television was consumed over the air by way of a few early television channels. The panel consists of approximately 40,000 households in a country of over 330 million people, less than 1% of television viewers. Per the lawsuit, there's been tremendous fragmentation in the industry and proliferation of channels, rendering the Nielsen panel ratings system antiquated, highly unreliable and fundamentally flawed.

Also, per the lawsuit, Nielsen told Allen's companies that its panel system could reliably rate ESN even though the networks had limited distribution at the time. The lawsuit alleges that Nielsen knew, but failed to disclose, that the panel system was unreliable across all networks, and that the system was totally unreliable for networks like the ESN. The lawsuit further alleges that Nielsen concealed these facts and thereby caused Entertainment Studios and the Weather Group to pay millions in fees. The lawsuit identifies several other networks who similarly received fundamentally unreliable services from Nielsen.

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Recently, the Nielsen panel system has come under scrutiny for how poorly the system performed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Per the lawsuit, Kelly Abcarian of NBC/Universal, who worked at Nielsen for 16 years and left as its General Manager and Head of Product Advanced Video Advertising, publicly acknolwedged that the industry can no longer rely on the Nielsen outdated measurement systems. Industry groups, such as the Video Advertising Bureau ("VAB"), have said that Nielsen underreported viewership across all networks, costing the industry billions of dollars in losses. The entity charged with regulating and accrediting Nielsen, the Media Rights Council ("MRC"), released findings showing the degree to which Nielsen underreported viewership during the pandemic. Recently, during an audit by the MRC, Nielsen unilaterally declared a "hiatus" from MRC accreditation. In other words, Nielsen told its regulator that it was no longer prepared to face regulatory scrutiny.

Per founder, owner and CEO Byron Allen: "The industry has suffered billions of dollars in losses, and we can no longer afford these damages. Nielsen needs to quickly address these issues. If not, I highly expect that Nielsen will soon face a $10 billion-plus class-action lawsuit."

The Plaintiffs' counsel is Skip Miller, a partner in Miller Barondess, LLP in Los Angeles. Per Miller: "This case goes to the heart of the Nielsen television ratings system. It's going to be up to a judge and jury to determine the system's viability, and I look forward to our day in court."



About Allen Media Group / Entertainment Studios

Chairman and CEO Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Charleston, SC. Allen Media Group owns 27 ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations in 21 U.S. markets and twelve 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 220 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICE CENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO.TV, THIS TV, LOCAL NOW TV, and PATTRN. Allen Media Group will add its thirteenth network, THE WEATHER CHANNEL EN ESPANOL in 2022. Allen Media Group also owns THE GRIO, HBCUGO, SPORTS.TV and LOCAL NOW, the free-streaming AVOD service powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 68 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. Allen Media Group International Television continues to extend its corporate branding and content around the globe. It currently has active license agreements and programming in South Africa, The United Arab Emirates, Australia, The Bahamas, Canada and New Zealand. With a library of over 5,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and multimedia digital. Our mission is to provide excellent programming to our viewers, online users, and Fortune 500 advertising partners.



Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures is a full-service, theatrical motion picture distribution company specializing in wide release commercial content. ESMP released 2017's highest-grossing independent movie, the shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN, which grossed over $44.3 million. In 2018, ESMP also released the critically-acclaimed and commercially successful Western HOSTILES, the historic mystery-thriller CHAPPAQUIDDICK and the sequel to 47 METERS DOWN, 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED. The digital distribution unit of Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures, Freestyle Digital Media, is a premiere multi-platform distributor with direct partnerships across all major cable, digital and streaming platforms. Capitalizing on a robust infrastructure, proven track record and a veteran sales team, Freestyle Digital Media is a true home for independent films.



In 2016, Allen Media Group purchased The Grio, a highly-rated digital video-centric news community platform devoted to providing African-Americans with compelling stories and perspectives currently underrepresented in existing national news outlets. The Grio features aggregated and original video packages, news articles and opinion pieces on topics that include breaking news, politics, health, business and entertainment. Originally launched in 2009, the platform was then purchased by NBC News in 2010. The digital platform remains focused on curating exciting digital content and currently has more than 100 million annual visitors.



For more information, visit:

www.entertainmentstudios.com

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SOURCE Allen Media Group
By Azernews

By Sabina Mammadli

The Amnesty Act, which Azerbaijan passed on November 5, 2021, on the occasion of Victory Day, has pardoned 17,267 people.

It was applied to 5,971 convicts serving their sentences in places of deprivation of liberty. Of them, 2,710 were released from punishment and 3,261 had the unserved part of their punishment term reduced by six months.

The amnesty also affected 8,559 people whose punishment did not involve deprivation of liberty. Of them, 5,722 were released from prison, and 2,837 had their sentences reduced.

Thus, 1,909 people sentenced to confinement, 2,471 to corrective labor, 86 to public works, 1,202 to fines, and 54 to other types of punishment were released. The amnesty was also extended to 62 people sentenced to probation or whose sentences were suspended. Furthermore, the amnesty was extended to 890 people involved in court proceedings and 1,785 people involved in preliminary investigation bodies' proceedings.

In total, 12 acts of amnesty have affected about 135,000 people; over 32,000 convicts have been released from prisons since 1995.

It should be mentioned that on November 5, the Azerbaijani parliament passed a law announcing a Victory Day amnesty. The decision took effect on the date it was adopted. The amnesty measure was projected to benefit 15,000 people.

Prisons, interior, executive structures, and preliminary inquiry committees were directed to complete the amnesty procedure within four months of the document's entry into effect.

Close relatives of those who participated in the 44-day war and other military actions to safeguard Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as those who received orders and medals, would be freed under the legislation.

Furthermore, close relatives of people with disabilities or murdered as a result of military provocations, as well as individuals who have committed crimes that do not constitute a significant public threat, will be exempt from criminal prosecution.

At the same time, negligent offenders, those who committed a less serious or first-time grave crime for which the unserved part of the sentence is less than six months, and those who are serving a sentence in a precinct-type penitentiary institution less than one year before the end of their sentence will be released from the unserved part of their sentence.

The statute is intended to apply to persons who have been punished, condemned to public or correctional work, restricted from military duty, or held in a disciplinary military facility.

The amnesty will remove convictions from individuals who do not pose a major public threat or who have committed less serious crimes.
Travellers are invited to embark on CAA's new Premier Collection tours of five one-time-only itineraries that include travel on CAA's exclusive private Air Canada Jetz charter jet

WINNIPEG, MB, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - Longing for your next adventure? Look no further because CAA Manitoba has unveiled a new set of luxurious travel packages designed for travellers who are ready to embark on an iconic Canadian adventure.

Longing for your next adventure? Look no further because CAA Manitoba has unveiled a new set of luxurious travel packages designed for travellers who are ready to embark on an iconic Canadian adventure. (CNW Group/CAA Manitoba)

As part of each package, travellers will be flying on a CAA chartered jet with all business class seating, offered in partnership with Air Canada. They will be joined only by those travelling on a Premier Collection tour. Itineraries are curated with affordable luxury in mind.

"Our research has shown us that Canadians are looking to experience travel in a more intimate setting and at this time, many are still looking to stay closer to home," said Susan Postma, regional manager, CAA Manitoba. "By coupling the best of Canadian culture, food and heritage, with the safety and luxury of travelling on a CAA chartered plane, we are confident that these packages will give travellers a delightful option to start exploring again."

Travellers will rediscover the nation's greatest sights, sounds and smells on one of five journeys showcasing Canada's unforgettable wonders and hidden gems.

"For many of us, travelling again for the first time is a momentous occasion and we wanted to make that extra special by cultivating a premium experience with the utmost attention to health and safety," said Postma. "Each destination encourages travellers to immerse themselves in every moment and create lasting memories."

Packages feature everything from stargazing to whale watching; enjoying a pancake brunch on a maple farm to World Famous "Digby Scallops" in Nova Scotia; witnessing the highest tides in the world in New Brunswick to taking in Quebec's most breathtaking waterfall and many more unique experiences in between.

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"We are very pleased that CAA is recognizing our superior customer service in choosing Air Canada for its unique, luxury travel packages. Our private charter service, Air Canada Jetz, is specially designed for ultra-premium customers, such as pro athletes, celebrities and music stars, ensuring CAA's explorers will travel in extraordinary style wherever their adventure takes them," said Eric Bordeleau, senior director, Network Scheduling and Charters at Air Canada.

Tours and dates include:

Glorious Lakes and Glaciers: Banff, Jasper and Beyond (August 13-20, 2022)  8 Days

Savour Quebec: A Culinary Journey Through Quebec City, Charlevoix and Montreal (August 15  24, 2022)  10 Days

Rich and Enticing Quebec: Explore the Spectacular Gaspe Peninsula (August 15  24, 2022)  10 Days

Magical Maritimes: Acadian Culture, Delicious Flavours and Historic Charms (September 10-19, 2022)  10 Days

Platinum Journey - Mountains and Memories: Wonders of the West and Rocky Mountaineer (September 13-21, 2022)  9 Days

CAA Travel has over 50 years of experience in helping members plan and book unforgettable travel excursions around the world.

CAA's new Premier Tours Collection packages are part of CAA's Extraordinary Explorations collection and range in price starting at $6,300 CDN.

Extraordinary Explorations is CAA's collection of unique travel adventures designed for adventurous travellers looking to embark on a luxe vacation for an affordable price. Experience one-of-a-kind destinations, intriguing itineraries and exceptional excursions. Available as escorted and hosted packages, every exploration is guaranteed to create lasting memories.

The 2022 Premier Collection packages can be purchased at all CAA stores or by phone at 1-844-202-8045. Click here for more information.

About CAA Manitoba

CAA Manitoba is a trusted Member-based organization that provides products and services that are essential to Members' safety and peace of mind. With over 210,000 Members in the province, CAA Manitoba advocates on issues such road safety and infrastructure, the environment, seniors' mobility, and consumer protection.

From legendary 24-hour emergency roadside assistance to expert automotive, travel and insurance services, a CAA Manitoba membership offers a great range of savings, rewards, and benefits. For more information, visit caamanitoba.com.

CAA Logo (CNW Group/CAA Manitoba)

SOURCE CAA Manitoba

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WASHINGTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Students from Los Angeles will have an opportunity next week to hear from NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The space-to-Earth call will air live at 12:25 p.m. EDT Monday, March 21, on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA Logo. (PRNewsFoto/NASA) (PRNewsFoto/) (PRNewsfoto/NASA)

NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn will answer prerecorded video questions from students studying science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) at the Orville Wright Middle School STEAM and Gifted Magnet. The downlink supports the school's goal of cultivating learners' interest and curiosity and is part of a year-long initiative to increase student awareness about spaceflight.

The event will be virtual. Media interested in covering it should contact the school's Myla Jacques at: 310-258-6600 or myla.k.jacques@lausd.net.

Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance, and interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through the Near Space Network Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS).

For more than 21 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Through Artemis, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon in preparation for future human exploration of Mars. Inspiring the next generation of explorers  the Artemis Generation  ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery.

See videos and lesson plans highlighting International Space Station research at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation

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SOURCE NASA
Chiesi USA, Inc.

Chiesi in the Community, Chiesis CSR initiative, provides significant contributions to the Triangle community and patient-focused nonprofits

CARY, N.C., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chiesi USA, Inc. (key-A-zee), a Cary-based specialty pharmaceutical company, contributed more than $815,000 in 2021 through its Chiesi in the Community (CITC) corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. As an employee-led program, Chiesi employees supported 85 unique charitable organizations with 1,124 hours of time or donations in 2021.



Chiesi in the Community was born from our desire to create positive change in the communities where we live and work. This year, we are proud to have continued our mission to support local nonprofits and organizations that serve those in need, said Jon Zwinski, General Manager and CEO of Chiesi USA. We could not do this without the dedication of our employees, who inspire us with their passion for making a difference. We are grateful for their active engagement to advance this program year after year.

In 2021, Chiesi increased contributions to its local partners Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Activate Good, Childrens Flight of Hope and Refugee Hope Partners to advance their efforts in food security, volunteer mobilization, medical care and financial stability. Some of this support was achieved through the Chiesi recurring partnership with the Durham Bulls as the 2021 Presenting Strikeout Sponsor, in which Chiesi donated for every home strikeout by the Bulls.

Through national and local partnerships, Chiesi also supported patient organizations in neonatology, critical care and cystic fibrosis. Its work with March of Dimes rose awareness and critical funds to nourish all aspects of motherhood, and its partnerships with five local NICUs included event sponsorship, product support and financial support for patients and their families. In addition to neonatology, Chiesi partnered with the Ronald McDonald House to sponsor two suites for families with children receiving care from local hospitals. Further, ongoing efforts with multiple cystic fibrosis-focused organizations, such as Boomer Esiason Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Research Inc. and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, advanced research, deepened education and supported those affected by the condition.

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Additionally, CITC continued to aid underserved children in the Triangle area as a Community Partner of the annual WRAL Coats for the Children clothing drive and through the Elementary Engage Program with Millbrook Elementary School, in which Chiesi provided employee volunteer and financial support for interactive physical education, supplemental learning materials, sustainable nutrition programs and outdoor learning and beautification initiatives.

Recognized as a Certified B CorporationTM in 2019, Chiesi demonstrates its commitment to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. The B CorpTM certification is provided by B Lab, a leading global sustainability nonprofit that assesses companies impact on workers, customers, community and environment.

About Chiesi USA

Chiesi USA, Inc., headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on commercialization of products for the hospital and target office-based specialties. The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of family-owned Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A, a global R&D-focused pharmaceutical company based in Parma, Italy. In the United States, the Company delivers therapies and enhances care for patients in the areas of acute cardiology, neonatology and cystic fibrosis. Recognized as a Certified B Corporation, Chiesi is dedicated to improving the health and well-being of its communities through its employee-led corporate social responsibility program, Chiesi in the Community. Innovation, collaboration and impact are the cornerstones of the Chiesi culture. For more information, visit www.chiesiusa.com.

About Chiesi Group

Based in Parma, Italy, Chiesi is an international research-focused pharmaceuticals and healthcare group with over 85 years experience, operating in 30 countries with more than 6,000 employees (Chiesi Group). To achieve its mission of improving peoples quality of life by acting responsibly towards society and the environment, the Group researches, develops and markets innovative therapeutic solutions in its three focus areas: AIR (products and services that promote respiration, from new-born to adult populations), RARE (treatment for patients with rare and ultra-rare diseases) and CARE (products and services that support specialty care and consumer-facing self-care). The Groups Research and Development center is based in Parma and works alongside 6 other important research and development hubs in France, the U.S., Canada, China, the UK and Sweden to pursue its pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory programs. Chiesi, since 2019, is the worlds largest B Corp certified pharmaceutical group. The global B Corp movement promotes business as a force for good. Moreover, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. has changed in 2018 its legal status to a Benefit Corporation, by incorporating a double purpose for the creation of shared value, and to generate value for its business, for society and the environment. As a Benefit Corporation, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. is required by law to include objectives of common benefit in its bylaws and to report annually in a transparent way. The Group is committed to becoming carbon neutral by the end of 2035.

For further information: www.chiesi.com.

Contacts

Media: FleishmanHillard, Elizabeth Comtois, (919) 334-3786, elizabeth.comtois@fleishman.com

Chiesi USA: Neha Suryavanshi, +1 (919) 678 6611 x1533, neha.suryavanshi@chiesi.com

PP-G-0839 v1.0

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BOSTON, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The China Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CHN) today announced its financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2022.

For the quarter ended January 31, 2022, the Fund recorded net investment loss of $(686,054) or $(0.07) per share versus net investment loss of $(745,621) or $(0.07) per share for the quarter ended January 31, 2021. Net realized and unrealized losses on investments and foreign currency transactions for the quarter ended January 31, 2022, was $(36,047,907) or $(3.49) per share, compared to net realized and unrealized gain on investments and foreign currency transactions of $50,710,836 or $4.86 per share, for the quarter ended January 31, 2021.

The Fund's total net assets on January 31, 2022 were $201,506,557 and its net asset value per share was $19.51 based on 10,328,734 shares outstanding. A combined distribution of $7.2669 per share from net investment income and realized gains was declared in December 2021 and paid in January 2022.



January 31, 2022 October 31, 2021 January 31, 2021 Total Net Assets Per Share $201,506,557 $314,302,451 $355,031,181 Net Asset Value Per Share $19.51 $30.32 $34.00 Shares Outstanding Per Share 10,328,734 10,366,808 10,443,315

The China Fund, Inc. is a closed-end management investment company with the objective of seeking long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities (i) of companies for which the principal securities trading market is in the People's Republic of China ("China"), or (ii) of companies for which the principal securities trading market is outside of China, or constituting direct equity investments in companies organized outside of China, that in both cases derive at least 50% of their revenues from goods and services sold or produced, or have at least 50% of their assets, in China. Whilst the Fund is permitted to invest in direct equity investments of companies organized in China, it presently holds no such investments. The Fund is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CHN". The Fund's investment manager is Matthews International Capital Management, LLC.

For further information regarding the Fund and the Fund's holdings, please call (888)-CHN-CALL or visit the Fund's website at www.chinafundinc.com.

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Cision

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-china-fund-inc-records-first-quarter-20212022-results-301504469.html

SOURCE The China Fund, Inc.
Virtual Investor Conferences

Event open to institutional and individual investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend real-time, interactive presentation

DERBY, Vt., March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Community Bancorp., (OTCQX:CMTV) the parent company of Community National Bank, a 12-branch community bank located in Vermont, today announced that Kathryn Austin, President and Chief Executive Officer; Louise Bonvechio, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Chris Caldwell, Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer, will present a company overview live at VirtualInvestorConferences.com at 10:00am ET on Tuesday, March 22nd.



DATE: March 22, 2022

TIME: 10:00am ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/3t8eenj

The presentation will be a live, interactive online event where investors are able to ask the company questions in real-time. An archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation on the day of the event and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

Recent Community Bancorp. Highlights

Q4 2021 earnings were $3.4 million or $0.62 per share, a 6% increase from Q4 2020

2021 full-year earnings were $13.1 million, a 22% increase from 2020

Total assets as of December 31, 2020 were $1,019.1 million, an 11% increase from 2020

About Community Bancorp.

Community Bancorp. is the parent company of Community National Bank, a 12-branch community bank located in Vermont, with headquarters near the Canadian border. Serving Vermont communities for 170 years, the bank offers a complete line of personal and business financial services, with a commercial customer base that includes everything from hardware stores to hotels, loggers to high-end furniture makers, as well as maple syrup producers, artisanal cheesemakers and craft brewers. The bank also supports non-profit organizations and local governments.

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About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly-traded companies to meet and present directly with investors.



A real-time solution for investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences is part of OTC Market Group's suite of investor relations services specifically designed for more efficient Investor Access. Replicating the look and feel of on-site investor conferences, Virtual Investor Conferences combine leading-edge conferencing and investor communications capabilities with a comprehensive global investor audience network.

CONTACTS:

Community Bancorp.

Beth Kurth

Conway Communications

bkurth@conwaycommsir.com

Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

johnv@otcmarkets.com




SEOUL, South Korea, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- DEKRA is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) to develop cooperation opportunities within the scope of testing and certification services. The areas of interest cover explosion protected electrical equipment, electric vehicle charging systems, cellular 5G devices, connected and automated driving components and vehicles, cybersecurity and products that need to be tested in-country specific laboratories.

With this collaboration, DEKRA and KTL strengthen the support offered to their customers in the automotive, ICT, consumer, industrial and medical sectors. The objective is to help manufacturers access faster the market while preserving safety, to enable more services and to develop coordinated activities.

The signing ceremony of the MoU took place at MWC 2022 in Barcelona, Spain.

About DEKRA

DEKRA has been active in the field of safety for almost 100 years. Founded in 1925 in Berlin as Deutscher Kraftfahrzeug-Uberwachungs-Verein e.V., it is today one of the world's leading expert organizations. In 2021, DEKRA generated turnover totaling almost EUR 3.5 billion. The company currently employs around 46,500 people in approximately 60 countries on all 6 continents. With qualified and independent expert services, they work for safety on the road, at work and at home. These services range from vehicle inspection and expert appraisals to claims services, industrial and building inspections, safety consultancy, testing and certification of products and systems, as well as training courses and temporary work. The vision for the company's 100th birthday in 2025 is that DEKRA will be the global partner for a safe, secure, and sustainable world.

SOURCE DEKRA
ReportLinker

Major players in the drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market are Novartis AG, Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc. , Novo Nordisk A/S, Eli Lilly and Company, Abbott, Mylan Laboratories, Merck & Co, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co Inc, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

New York, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Drugs For Hormonal Replacement Therapy Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06245003/?utm_source=GNW

, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc., Orion Pharma AB, Allergan Plc, QuatRx Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth, Amgen Inc., Roche, Genentech and TherapeuticsMD.



The global drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market is expected to grow from $11.13 billion in 2021 to $12.00 billion in 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $15.25 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 6.2%.



The drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market consists of sales of drugs for hormonal replacement therapy and related services.The drugs for hormonal replacement therapy are used to treat patients with growth hormone deficiency caused due to conditions such as dwarfism or menopause (a condition which describes changes a woman goes through when her menstruating cycle stops).



The drugs for hormonal replacement therapy help to replace low level hormones from the body, maintain growth hormone deficiency and prevent women from vaginal dryness, mood swings, weakening of bones and others.



The main types of drugs for hormonal replacement therapy are estrogen replacement therapy, human growth hormone (HGH) replacement therapy, thyroid replacement therapy and testosterone replacement therapy.The various routes of administration are oral, parental and others which are distributed hospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies and online pharmacies.



The therapies are applied for hypothyroidism, male hypogonadism, growth hormone deficiency, menopause and others.



North America was the largest region in the drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market in 2021.Middle East is expected to be the fargest growing region in the forecast period.



The regions covered in this report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East and Africa.



Increasing population of aging and postmenopausal women is driving the drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market growth.Hormonal replacement therapy drugs such as Estrogen, Progestin and others are used to treat medical conditions caused due to menopausal conditions.



According to a report by The Indian Menopause Society, New Delhi, in India there are 65 million women over the menopausal age affected with menopausal symptoms.According to European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) report, women aged over 60 are expected to reach over 1 billion by 2050.



In South Korea, the female population is expected to exceed male population by 2060, out of which 59.6% of female population is expected to suffer from postmenopausal symptoms. Thus, growing women population suffering from menopausal symptoms and aging population drives the market for hormonal replacement therapy drugs market.



Increasing occurrence of side effects due to the intake of drugs for hormonal deficiency may hinder growth of drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market.The side effects include vagina dryness, irregular heartbeat, breast swelling, osteoporosis (weakening of bones) and other effects when women undergo hormonal replacement therapy.



High dosage of drugs for hormonal replacement therapy may cause rapid heartbeat, bloating (a build-up of gas in the stomach and intestines), nausea, indigestion, vaginal bleeding, blood clots, heart attack, breast cancer and others.According to an online study, decrease in the intake of drugs for combined hormone therapy showed a decrease in breast cancer cases by 126,000 and cardiovascular disease cases by 76,000.



Thus, the increasing side effects of drugs hinders the growth of drugs for hormonal replacement therapy.



Companies in the industry are increasingly developing of drugs for hormonal replacement therapy with better safety profiles and novel drug delivery mechanisms.The drug delivery mechanisms include transdermal estrogen, varginal estrogen and others.



Transdermal estrogen drug delivery is in the form of estradiol transdermal gel, patch, and spray that are used to treat symptoms of menopause, vaginal dryness, itching, burning and others occur due to low estrogen levels.Varginal estrogen in the form of cream, vaginal ring, vaginal tablets are used to get the hormone estrogen into the system.



For instance, Novo Nordisk, a multinational pharmaceutical company provides novel drug delivery mechanisms and low dose drugs for hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) to cater to the rising demand of patient needs. Some of the brands offering of novel drugs include Climara, Divigel, Elestrin, Esclim, Estraderm, Estrasorb, EstroGel, Evamist, Oesclim, Rhoxal-Estradiol Derm 50, Vivelle 100 Mcg, Estradot Transdermal Therapeutic System and others.



Department Of Health And Human Services of Food And Drug Administration (FDA), a federal agency, is a regulatory body monitoring, controlling and regulating the drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market.For instance, FDAs Department Of Health And Human Services has revised the requirements of specific hormone-containing drug products for human use.



These hormones include estrogens, progestins, androgens, anabolic steroids, adrenal corticosteroids, and synthetic analogs. The purpose of the revisal of existing regulations by FDA is to establish effectiveness and ensure safety for any over-the-counter drug use of these ingredients.



The countries covered in the drugs for hormonal replacement therapy market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK and USA.





Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06245003/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Eloro Resources Ltd.

Figure 1

Geology of the Iska Iska Caldera Complex showing locations of Major Breccia Pipe targets, the Santa Barbara Resource Definition Target Zone and diamond drill holes completed and planned.

Figure 2

Preliminary W-E Geological Cross Section with Drill Holes METSBUG-01, METSBUG-02 and DSBU-03 (looking northwest)

Includes higher-grade sections in hole METSBUG-01 of: 261.14g Ag eq/t (24.65g Ag/t, 0.15% Zn, 0.14% Pb, 0.81% Cu and 0.19% Sn) over 22.56m 599.26g Ag eq/t (208.14g Ag/t, 0.28% Zn, 0.51% Pb, 0.56% Cu and 0.41% Sn) over 17.60m 324.72g Ag eq/t (12.49g Ag/t, 1.88% Zn, 1.26% Pb, 0.02% Cu and 0.31% Sn) over 30.01m 292.78g Ag eq/t (55.64g Ag/t, 2.70% Zn, 1.31% Pb, 0.02% Cu and 0.12% Sn) over 31.72m

Hole DSB-25, drilled approximately 400m northwest of hole METSBUG-01, intersected 25 reportable intersections with a best result of 205.13g Ag eq/t (25.01g Ag/t, 0.11g Au/t, 0.13% Cu and 0.25% Sn) over 81.11m including a higher-grade section of 428.83g Ag eq/t (55.88g Ag/t, 0.19g Au/t, 0.28% Cu and 0.53 %Sn) over 17.93m

TORONTO, March 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF; FSE: P2QM) (Eloro, or the Company) is pleased to announce assay results from an additional two (2) diamond drill holes from its on-going drilling program at the Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in the Potosi Department, southern Bolivia. Hole METSBUG-01 is an underground hole drilled for metallurgical sampling purposes from the Santa Barbara adit, while step-out hole DSB-25 was drilled approximately 400m northwest of hole METSBUG-01. Both holes intersected major new extensions of the already large Santa Barbara mineralized zone.

The Company has completed 53,445m in 83 drill holes, including three holes in progress, as shown in Figure 1. Table 1 lists significant assay results from holes METSBUG-01 and DSB-25. Prices used for calculating Ag equivalent grades are as outlined in Eloros February 1, 2022, press release. Table 2 summarizes drill holes with assays pending. Highlights are as follows:

Santa Barbara Mineral Resource Target Area

Hole METSBUG-01, an underground hole drilled for metallurgical sampling purposes from the Santa Barbara adit, was drilled at azimuth 10 degrees at a dip of -35 degrees to intersect the midpoint of an intercept of 184.97g Ag eq/t (29.53g Ag/t, 0.08g Au/t, 1.45% Zn, 0.59% Pb, 0.08% Cu, 0.056% Sn) over 257.5m in discovery hole DHK-15 (see Eloros January 26, 2021 press release; 164.87g Ag eq/t recalculated, up from 129.60 g Ag eq/t, using current metal pricing) to provide a representative sample in the higher-grade mineralized area of the Santa Barbara breccia pipe (Figures 1 and 2 and Table 1).

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This hole intersected 182.34g Ag eq/t (29.85g Ag/t, 1.01% Zn, 0.64% Pb, 0.11% Cu and 0.11% Sn) over its full length of 351.0m including higher-grade sections of:

261.14g Ag eq/t (24.65g Ag/t, 0.15% Zn, 0.14% Pb, 0.81% Cu and 0.19% Sn) over 22.56m from 2.94m to 25.50m,

599.26g Ag eq/t (208.14g Ag/t, 0.28% Zn, 0.51% Pb, 0.56% Cu and 0.41% Sn) over 17.60m from 46.66m to 64.26m. This section included a remarkable sample over 1.42m from 55.43m to 56.85m which assayed 5,106g Ag eq/t (1,730g Ag/t, 0.42g Au/t, 2.15% Bi, 6.33% Cu and 3.55% Sn) ,

324.72g Ag eq/t (12.49g Ag/t, 1.88% Zn, 1.26% Pb, 0.02% Cu and 0.31% Sn) over 30.01m from 92.89m to 122.90m,

292.78g Ag eq/t (55.64g Ag/t, 2.70% Zn, 1.31% Pb, 0.02% Cu and 0.12% Sn) over 31.72m from 241.28m to 273.00m

As shown in Figure 2, a SW-NE cross section looking northwest, hole METSBUG-01, along with previously released drill holes METSBUG-02 (see Eloros February 23, 2022 press release) and DSBU-03 (see Eloros March 1, 2022 press release) define a major high grade mineralized area that extends across a width of approximately 600m to a depth of a least 600m and is open along strike to the northwest and at depth. It is significant to note that hole METSBUG-01 was mineralized from top to bottom and terminated in mineralization.

Importantly, mineralization, especially areas with higher tin grades, appears coincident with elevated magnetic susceptibility (Figure 2). Areas of elevated magnetic susceptibility appear much more expansive than current volumes of rock that have been drill tested, a good indication that more mineralization is yet to be discovered.

Step-out hole DSB-25, drilled approximately 400m northwest of hole METSBUG-01, intersected 25 reportable intersections with a best result of 205.13g Ag eq/t (25.01g Ag/t, 0.1 g Au/t, 0.13% Cu and 0.25% Sn) over 81.11m from 356.93m to 439.04m including a higher-grade section of 428.83g Ag eq/t (55.88 g Ag/t, 0.19 g Au/t, 0.28% Cu and 0.53 %Sn) over 17.93m from 379.18m to 397.11m. This hole continues to confirm the extent of significant mineralization in the northwest extension area of Santa Barbara.

Tom Larsen, CEO of Eloro, commented: We are continuing to intersect wide areas of higher-grade mineralization which will enhance our planned inaugural National Instrument 43-101 mineral resource estimate. Longer holes are planned in this very prospective area of the Santa Barbara target to better define the full extent of the higher-grade areas which remain open both along strike and downdip.

Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Eloros Executive Vice President Exploration, added: We are continuing to expand the extent of the remarkable silver-tin polymetallic mineralized system at Iska Iska. Additional holes are in progress to test the downdip and along strike extent of the high-grade zone in the southeastern part of the Santa Barbara target area. Drilling is also in progress, as outlined in the Eloro press release of March 1, 2022, to test the major targets in the Porco area indicated by the 3D inverse magnetic susceptibility model.

Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo., General Manager of Eloros Bolivian subsidiary Minera Tupiza S.R.L. (Minera Tupiza), further commented: Recent assays from drillholes METSBUG 1 and 2 and DSBU-03 have intersected highly enriched zones of Sn, Ag, Pb and Cu with local Au and Bi in stockworks, disseminations and a variety of breccia types including both volcanic explosive and later structurally controlled breccias. The strength and intensity of mineralization in these holes along with the elevated magnetic susceptibility which extends much further along strike and downdip suggests the possibility of a major feeder in this area.

Table 1: Significant Results, Diamond Drilling, Santa Barbara Resource Definition Target Area as at March 16, 2022.

SANTA BARBARA RESOURCE DEFINITION TARGET ZONE UNDERGROUND METALLURGICAL DRILL HOLE Hole No. From (m) To (m) Length (m) Ag Au Zn Pb Cu Sn Bi Cd Ag eq g/t g/t % % % % % % g/t METSBUG-01 0.00 351.00 351.00 29.85 0.03 1.01 0.64 0.11 0.11 0.02 0.01 182.34 Incl 2.94 25.50 22.56 24.65 0.05 0.15 0.14 0.81 0.19 0.01 0.00 261.14 Incl 46.66 64.26 17.60 208.14 0.07 0.28 0.51 0.56 0.41 0.21 0.01 599.26 Incl 92.89 122.90 30.01 12.49 0.03 1.88 1.26 0.02 0.31 0.00 0.01 324.72 Incl 241.28 273.00 31.72 55.64 0.02 2.70 1.21 0.02 0.12 0.00 0.01 292.78 NORTHWEST EXTENSION DRILL HOLE DSB-25 28.46 29.80 1.34 13.00 0.25 0.01 1.97 0.05 0.00 0.042 0.001 112.56 74.10 114.60 40.50 7.34 0.04 0.00 0.17 0.01 0.08 0.002 0.001 64.16 147.02 148.40 1.38 30.00 0.07 0.01 0.27 0.01 0.08 0.014 0.001 97.17 188.92 191.96 3.04 53.79 0.04 0.00 0.98 0.01 0.02 0.001 0.001 101.78 205.45 232.46 27.01 39.47 0.05 0.01 0.37 0.06 0.04 0.003 0.001 89.29 253.43 260.90 7.47 1.10 0.03 0.09 0.75 0.03 0.03 0.001 0.010 53.58 268.39 284.96 16.57 16.47 0.03 0.18 0.84 0.02 0.04 0.002 0.004 80.33 308.96 347.97 39.01 6.71 0.05 0.18 0.08 0.09 0.04 0.002 0.003 55.16 356.93 439.04 82.11 25.01 0.11 0.01 0.03 0.13 0.25 0.031 0.001 205.13 Incl. 379.18 397.11 17.93 55.88 0.19 0.01 0.04 0.22 0.53 0.086 0.001 428.83 463.20 511.86 48.66 1.09 0.02 0.03 0.47 0.01 0.12 0.001 0.029 94.26 539.20 542.20 3.00 4.50 0.08 0.87 0.20 0.01 0.01 0.006 0.030 67.28 564.70 570.69 5.99 2.61 0.04 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.09 0.006 0.003 65.41 591.03 593.99 2.96 4.48 0.07 0.01 0.00 0.15 0.14 0.035 0.001 120.46 612.04 615.03 2.99 6.99 0.12 0.00 0.01 0.08 0.08 0.005 0.001 73.20 630.04 643.52 13.48 3.99 0.17 0.01 0.00 0.09 0.04 0.005 0.001 57.42 663.01 664.51 1.50 7.00 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.57 0.02 0.363 0.001 168.61 682.50 685.53 3.03 10.53 0.02 0.05 0.00 0.26 0.14 0.004 0.001 133.31 691.50 697.50 6.00 4.37 0.16 0.10 0.01 0.05 0.04 0.078 0.001 67.41 703.50 713.87 10.37 9.46 0.53 0.39 0.01 0.08 0.06 0.183 0.001 145.81 719.90 725.82 5.92 4.29 0.03 0.39 0.15 0.06 0.05 0.014 0.001 67.07 739.43 742.41 2.98 3.00 0.07 0.30 0.07 0.06 0.04 0.061 0.001 69.46 755.97 760.52 4.55 4.89 0.17 0.18 0.03 0.08 0.07 0.043 0.001 86.36 766.54 768.03 1.49 7.00 0.04 0.19 0.03 0.19 0.09 0.032 0.001 101.64 772.54 778.59 6.05 6.23 0.10 0.75 0.05 0.20 0.06 0.042 0.003 121.20 796.54 798.03 1.49 3.00 0.09 0.11 0.09 0.06 0.03 0.347 0.001 107.40

Note: True width of the mineralization is not known at the present time, but based on the current understanding of the relationship between drill orientation/inclination and the mineralization within the breccia pipes and the host rocks such as sandstones and dacites, it is estimated that true width ranges between 70% and 90% of the down hole interval length but this will be confirmed by further drilling and geological modelling.



Chemical symbols: Ag= silver, Au = gold, Zn = zinc, Pb = lead, Cu = copper, Sn = tin, Bi = bismuth, Cd = cadmium and g Ag eq/t = grams silver equivalent per tonne. Quantities are given in percent (%) for Zn, Pb Cu, Sn, Bi and Cd and in grams per tonne (g/t) for Ag, Au and Ag eq.

Metal prices and conversion factors used for calculation of g Ag eq/t (grams Ag per grams x metal ratio) are as follows (Prices updated as of February 1, 2022, to more accurately reflect current metal prices):

Element Price $US (per kg) Ratio to Ag Ag $722.56 1.0000 Sn $42.56 0.0589 Zn $3.30 0.0046 Pb $2.33 0.0032 Au $57,604.00 79.7221 Cu $9.68 0.0134 Bi $12.76 0.0177 Cd $5.50 0.0076

In calculating the intersections reported in this press release a sample cutoff of 30 g Ag eq/t was used with generally a maximum dilution of 3 continuous samples below cutoff included within a mineralized section unless more dilution is justified geologically.

The equivalent grade calculations are based on the stated metal prices and are provided for comparative purposes only, due to the polymetallic nature of the deposit. Metallurgical tests are in progress by Blue Coast Ltd. to establish levels of recovery for each element reported but currently the potential recovery for each element has not yet been established. While there is no assurance that all or any of the reported concentrations of metals will be recoverable, Bolivia has a long history of successfully mining and processing similar polymetallic deposits which is well documented in the landmark volume Yacimientos Metaliferos de Bolivia by Dr. Osvaldo R. Arce Burgoa, P.Geo.

Table 2: Summary of Diamond Drill Holes Completed with Assays Pending and Drill Holes in Progress at Iska Iska from March 16, 2022 press release.

Hole No. Type Collar Easting Collar Northing Elev Azimuth Angle Hole Length m Surface Drilling Northwest Extension Santa Barbara DSB-14 S 205283.0 7656587.2 4175.0 225 -65 968.5 DSB-16 S 204973.1 7657053.8 4165.0 225 -65 862.0 DSB-17 S 7656765.4 205131.3 4173.0 225 -40 841.0 DSB-18 S 7656676.3 205207.1 4175.0 225 -40 890.4 DSB-19 S 7656676.3 205207.1 4175.0 225 -65 803.3 DSB-22 S 7657208.4 204799.4 4145.0 225 -40 258.4 DSB-23 S 205341.0 7656535.0 4177.0 225 -40 661.3 DSB-24 S 205341.0 7656535.0 4177.0 225 -65 343.4 DSB-26 S 205044.5 7656982.6 4150.0 225 -40 815.4 DSB-27 S 205044.5 7656982.6 4150.0 225 -65 800.4 Subtotal 7244.1 Underground Drilling Santa Barbara Adit DSBU-4 UG 205285.2 7656074.8 4165.0 180 -20 570.0 DSBU-5 UG 205285.2 7656074.8 4165.0 0 -40 491.7 DSBU-6 UG 205285.2 7656074.8 4165.0 0 -65 253.5 DSBU-7 UG 205284.5 7656080.0 4167.1 235 -50 800.9 Subtotal 2116.1 DSBU-8 UG 205284.5 7656080.0 4167.1 200 -50 In progress Surface Drilling South Extension Santa Barbara DSBS-01 S 205300.0 7655563.0 4204.0 30 -30 700.8 Subtotal 700.8 DSBS-02 S 205300.0 7655563.0 4204.0 0 -45 In progress Porco Target Area  Surface Drill Program DPC-04 S 205457.2 7655110.9 4175.0 0 -60 371.4 DPC-05 S 205457.2 7655110.9 4175.0 90 -60 407.5 DPC-06 S 205457.2 7655110.9 4175.0 243 -60 716.4 DPC-07 S 205090.0 7655343.7 4310.0 235 -65 791.4 DPC-08 S 205456.2 7655113.4 4175.9 243 -60 800.4 Subtotal 2295.7 DPC-09 S 205090.0 7655343.7 4310.0 235 -65 In progress TOTAL 12,356.7

S = Surface UG=Underground; collar coordinates in metres; azimuth and dip in degrees. Total drilling completed since the start of the program on September 13, 2020 to December 17, 2021 is 40,468 m in 73 holes (26 underground holes and 47 surface holes). From re-start of drilling on January 17, 2022, an additional 12,977m has been completed bringing the overall total to 53,445m in 83 drill holes (28 underground drill holes and 55 surface drill holes) including 3 holes in progress.

Figure 1: Geology of the Iska Iska Caldera Complex showing locations of Major Breccia Pipe targets, the Santa Barbara Resource Definition Target Zone and diamond drill holes completed and planned.

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ddad13c1-182e-4aef-a844-9d1ecde42769

Figure 2: Preliminary W-E Geological Cross Section with Drill Holes METSBUG-01, METSBUG-02 and DSBU-03 (looking northwest)

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0f84cd4c-4e09-41a7-b3de-9ae3b13d66dc

Qualified Person

Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P. Geo., General Manager of Minera Tupiza, and a Qualified Person in the context of NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Executive Vice President Exploration Eloro, and who has more than 45 years of worldwide mining exploration experience including extensive work in South America, manages the overall technical program working closely with Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo., Manager of Minera Tupiza. Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor to Eloro and Independent Technical Advisor, Mr. Charley Murahwi P. Geo., FAusIMM of Micon International Limited are regularly consulted on technical aspects of the project.

The magnetic survey was carried out by MES Geophysics using a GEM Systems GSM-19W Overhauser magnetometer. Dr. Chris Hale, P.Geo. and Mr. John Gilliatt, P.Geo. of Intelligent Exploration provided the survey design, preparation of the maps and interpretation from data processed and quality reviewed by Rob McKeown, P. Geo. of MES Geophysics. Messrs. Hale, Gilliatt and McKeown are Qualified Persons as defined under NI 43-101. Mr. Joe Mihelcic, P.Eng., P.Geo., a QP under NI 43-101, of Clearview Geophysics completed the 3D magnetic inversion model in consultation with Dr. Chris Hale, P.Geo. and Mr. John Gilliatt, P.Geo. of Intelligent Exploration.

Eloro is utilizing both ALS and AHK for drill core analysis, both of whom are major international accredited laboratories. Drill samples sent to ALS are prepared in both ALS Bolivia Ltdas preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia and the preparation facility operated by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent to the main ALS Global laboratory in Lima for analysis. More recently Eloro has had ALS send pulps to their laboratory at Galway in Ireland. Eloro employs an industry standard QA/QC program with standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into each batch of samples analyzed with selected check samples sent to a separate accredited laboratory.

Drill core samples sent to AHK Laboratories are prepared in a preparation facility installed and managed by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent to the AHK laboratory in Lima, Peru. Au and Sn analysis on these samples is done by ALS Bolivia Ltda in Lima. Check samples between ALS and AHK are regularly done as a QA/QC check. AHK is following the same analytical protocols used as with ALS and with the same QA/QC protocols. Turnaround time continues to improve and it is hoped that most of the sample backlog will be cleared in the next 4-6 weeks.

About Iska Iska

Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly controlled by the Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi in southern Bolivia. Eloro has an option to earn a 99% interest in Iska Iska.

Iska Iska is a major silver-tin polymetallic porphyry-epithermal complex associated with a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera, emplaced on Ordovician age rocks with major breccia pipes, dacitic domes and hydrothermal breccias. The caldera is 1.6km by 1.8km in dimension with a vertical extent of at least 1km. Mineralization age is similar to Cerro Rico de Potosi and other major deposits such as San Vicente, Chorolque, Tasna and Tatasi located in the same geological trend.

Eloro began underground diamond drilling from the Huayra Kasa underground workings at Iska Iska on September 13, 2020. On November 18, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of a significant breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. On November 24, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of the SBBP approximately 150m southwest of the Huayra Kasa underground workings.

Subsequently, on January 26, 2021, Eloro announced significant results from the first drilling at the SBBP including the discovery hole DHK-15 which returned 129.60 g Ag eq/t over 257.5m (29.53g Ag/t, 0.078g Au/t, 1.45%Zn, 0.59%Pb, 0.080%Cu, 0.056%Sn, 0.0022%In and 0.0064% Bi from 0.0m to 257.5m). Subsequent drilling has confirmed significant values of Ag-Sn polymetallic mineralization in the SBBP and the adjacent CBP. A substantive mineralized envelope which is open along strike and down-dip extends around both major breccia pipes. Continuous channel sampling of the Santa Barbara Adit located to the east of SBBP returned 442 g Ag eq/t (164.96 g Ag/t, 0.46%Sn, 3.46% Pb and 0.14% Cu) over 166m including 1,092 g Ag eq/t (446 g Ag/t, 9.03% Pb and 1.16% Sn) over 56.19m. The west end of the adit intersects the end of the SBBP.

Since the initial discovery hole, Eloro has released a number of significant drill results in the SBBP and the surrounding mineralized envelope which along with geophysical data has defined a target zone 1400m along strike, 500m wide and that extends to a depth of 600m. This zone is open along strike to the northwest and southeast as well as to the southwest. The Companys nearer term objective is to outline a maiden NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource within this large target area. This work is advancing well with the mineral resource targeted to be completed in Q2 2022. Exploration drilling is also planned on other major targets in the Iska Iska Caldera Complex including the Porco and Mina 2 areas.

About Eloro Resources Ltd.

Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 99% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in southern Bolivia. Eloro commissioned a NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited and is available on Eloros website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barricks Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silvers La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. La Victoria has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,150 m to 4,400 m above sea level.

For further information please contact either Thomas G. Larsen, Chairman and CEO or Jorge Estepa, Vice-President at (416) 868-9168.

Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Companys plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




FILE PHOTO: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday voted to revoke authorization for Chinese telecom Pacific Networks and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet to provide U.S. telecommunications services.

The 4-0 vote to revoke the authorisation first granted in 2001 is the latest move by the American regulator to bar Chinese telecommunications carriers from the United States citing national security concerns. The FCC said Pacific Networks and ComNet are indirectly and ultimately owned and controlled by the Chinese government.

Jeffrey J. Carlisle, a U.S. lawyer representing Pacific Networks, declined comment. In January, he told the FCC that Pacific Networks and ComNet are owned by CITIC Telecom International Holdings.

The FCC says the carriers are ultimately controlled by CITIC Group Corp, a Chinese state-owned limited liability company.

Carlise's letter said the carriers "engage in very limited and small scale facilities-based operations in the United States that do not pose national security concerns....The primary business of the companies is providing retail calling cards."

The Chinese commerce ministry criticised the U.S. actions, and said China would adopt measures necessary to safeguard the legitimate rights of its firms.

"The U.S. should stop the groundless crackdown on Chinese firms right now and the wrongdoings of politicizing trade and economic issues immediately," Gao Feng, a spokesman at the ministry, said during a regular press conference on Thursday.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks noted the three-year commission effort to address Chinese telecom carriers. "Taken as a whole, our actions have strengthened our national security," Starks said.

In March 2021, the FCC found Pacific Networks and ComNet had failed to "dispel serious concerns regarding their retention of their authority to provide telecommunications services in the United States."

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In January, the FCC voted to revoke a similar authorization for China Unicom's U.S. unit to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.

In October, the FCC revoked the U.S. authorization for China Telecom (Americas), saying it "is subject to exploitation, influence and control by the Chinese government." Chinese Telecom failed to convince a U.S. court to reverse the decision.

In 2019, the FCC rejected China Mobile Ltd's bid to provide U.S. telecommunications services, citing national security risks.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Jing Xu, Ellen Zhang, Ryan WooEditing by Chizu Nomiyama, David Gregorio & Simon Cameron-Moore)
Improving health outcomes for people at risk of substance use harms and overdose

HALIFAX, NS, March 16, 2022 /CNW/ - The opioid overdose crisis is a serious public health crisis that has taken a tragic toll on families, friends and communities across the country. The recent data on opioid overdose deaths confirms the negative effect COVID-19 has had on the overdose crisis, with many jurisdictions reporting record high rates of harms, including deaths, throughout 2020, 2021 and now into 2022. In the first half of 2021, 23 people died of opioid overdose in Nova Scotia. The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all Canadians have access to the life-saving substance use services and supports they need.

Today, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, and Associate Minister of Health, announced federal funding through Health Canada's Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP) for a project led by the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax. This project will help to improve health outcomes for people who are at risk of experiencing substance-related harms and overdose by scaling up prevention and harm reduction outreach efforts across Nova Scotia, including in Indigenous communities, as well as by expanding peer and professional health networks throughout the Atlantic region.

Today's announcement includes nearly $250,000 to support the expansion of Direction 180's Substance Use Network of the Atlantic Region (SUNAR), a peer-led, regional network of people with lived or living experience of substance use across Atlantic Canada that seeks to enhance and save lives. This funding will help increase the reach of their existing services and programs.

The federal government will continue to work with all orders of government, partners, Indigenous communities, stakeholders, people with lived and living experience of addiction, and organizations in communities in Atlantic Canada and across the country to end this national public health crisis and ensure people have access to the lifesaving substance use services they need.

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Quotes

"The Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax is doing incredible work in supporting their community and others across Nova Scotia, and I thank them for their steadfast dedication to help address the overdose crisis while engaging people with lived and living experience. By supporting initiatives like this one in Atlantic Canada and across the country, we can help Canadians receive the health services and peer support they need in a culturally safe and trauma-informed environment. Together, we will work to end this national public health crisis and save lives."

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

"To confront the deadly opioid overdose epidemic, which worsened significantly during the pandemic, we need a community-led response based on harm reduction and public health principles. This requires access to both treatment and support, as well as education and overdose prevention training. By supporting Direction 180 - with their more than two decades of experience doing this work - the Substance Use and Addictions Program funding being announced today will help save more lives across our city, while significantly improving health outcomes for those who use drugs".

Lena Metlege Diab

Member of Parliament for Halifax West

"Being part of SUNAR has increased the vast majority of participants' knowledge and skills about safer substance use practices and overdose prevention. Beyond the knowledge and behaviour impact, SUNAR is having significant psychosocial impacts among people who use substances. In fact, all evaluation respondents agreed that SUNAR has had a positive impact on their lives, including increased confidence, enhanced engagement and connection, and feeling of empowerment. We have seen some members go back to school, obtain employment and housing, and meet goals they have set for their substance use health".

Katie Upham

SUNAR's Harm Reduction Educator, Direction 180

Quick Facts

Since 2017, the Government of Canada has taken urgent action to address the overdose crisis through significant investments of over $700 million.

Through SUAP, the Government of Canada provides grants and contributions funding to other levels of government, as well as community-led and not-for-profit organizations, to respond to current drug and substance use issues in Canada. Since 2017, it has supported over 200 projects across the country. This investment includes over $60 million invested on safe supply.

The $116 million allocated through Budget 2021 builds on a $66 million investment from the 2020 Fall Economic Statement for community-based organizations responding to substance use issues, including helping them provide services in a COVID-19 context.

Direction 180, a program of the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre, is a non-profit community-based opioid treatment program located in Halifax. In operation since 2001, the program aims to reduce the inherent risks associated with substance use by offering a range of services, including harm reduction education, peer support, overdose prevention training and home naloxone kits.

SUNAR is a peer-led, regional network of people with live and living experiences of substance use across Atlantic Canada, that started in 2020. It unites and informs service providers and other partners to increase awareness about harm reduction practices and decrease the stigma that people who use substances can face when accessing services. SUNAR's harm reduction work also includes providing naloxone kits and fentanyl strips. In total it has received over $760,000 in SUAP funding.

Associated Links

SOURCE Health Canada

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View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2022/16/c9390.html
By Trend

Member of the Azerbaijani parliament Shahin Seyidzade has refused from the parliamentary mandate, Trend reports.

The application was sent to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC). The CEC is expected to consider Seyidzade's application in the coming days.

Seyidzade was appointed chairman of the board of the Icherisheher State Historical-Architectural Reserve upon the order of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev dated March 3.

The CEC meeting is scheduled for March 17.
Pioneer in the Field of Immuno-Oncology Brings Unique Expertise to Support Company's Advancement of Lead ERAP1 Inhibitor Development Candidate into the Clinic in 2H 2022

Grey Wolf's Proprietary Neoantigen Generation Technology Platform Represents Potential New Pillar in Oncology Therapeutics

OXFORD, United Kingdom, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Grey Wolf Therapeutics, a biotechnology company spearheading a new therapeutic approach to immuno-oncology driven by targeted neoantigen generation, today announced the appointment of Cassian Yee, M.D., to its clinical advisory board. Dr. Yee is a professor in the department of melanoma medical oncology and the department of immunology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, as well as director of the solid tumor cell therapy program at MD Anderson. He is a highly regarded immuno-oncology thought leader, and widely considered a pioneer in the field of adoptive cellular therapy.

Grey Wolf Therapeutics (PRNewsfoto/Grey Wolf Therapeutics)

Today, the Yee Lab is developing adoptive cellular therapy as a treatment modality for patients with malignant and viral diseases. Over the last 18 years, Dr. Yee's research has been focused on the isolation of autologous antigen-specific T cells from the peripheral blood, manipulation of immune modulating parameters to enhance effector function and persistence and their expansion to numbers sufficient for adoptive transfer and in vivo tracking. He is a co-leader of the Stand Up to Cancer/Cancer Research Institute Immunotherapy Dream Team.

Prior to his current appointments at MD Anderson, Dr. Yee previously held the position of professor in the division of oncology at the University of Washington and was also a member in program in immunology within the clinical research division of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He holds more than 15 worldwide patents on ex vivo generation of antigen specific T cells, memory reprogramming and antigen discovery in an effort to establish immunotherapy-based cancer treatments on a global scale. Dr. Yee received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, in Canada.

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Dr Yee will join Aurelien Marabelle, M.D., Ph.D. and Rachel W. Humphrey, M.D., on the Grey Wolf Therapeutics clinical advisory board. Together, they will provide the company with key guidance to support its planned advancement of GRWD5769, the company's lead ERAP1 inhibitor development candidate, into first-in-human clinical studies in the second half of 2022.

"Dr. Yee has established himself as one the world's foremost authorities on T cell receptor-based therapeutic modalities and the translation of those approaches into impactful treatments for cancer patients. We believe that his expertise is particularly relevant to the work we are doing at Grey Wolf Therapeutics based on what we believe is the unique potential to combine TCR-based approaches with our first-of-its-kind ERAP inhibition platform," said Peter Joyce, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Grey Wolf Therapeutics. "We are excited to have access to Dr. Yee's expansive knowledge as we move closer to advancing our unique approach to immuno-oncology into the clinic later this year. Together with Drs. Humphrey and Marabelle, Dr. Yee provides Grey Wolf with an impressive clinical advisory board ideally suited for our company's focus and stage of development."

"Grey Wolf is advancing a completely new immuno-oncology paradigm which holds significant promise as a standalone therapeutic modality, as well as a potential combination treatment alongside a variety of other anti-cancer approaches including TCR-based therapeutics and immunotherapy. I welcome the opportunity to provide my insight and expertise to the Grey Wolf team to support its ongoing efforts to translate the promising preclinical research supporting this cutting-edge science into patients in clinical trials," said Dr. Yee.

Grey Wolf Therapeutics' first-of-its-kind immuno-oncology approach is centered on dramatically increasing the visibility of tumors to allow for their identification and destruction by the body's immune system. This is achieved through targeted inhibition of the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP1 and ERAP2), causing the generation and presentation of novel and potent neoantigens to the surface of tumor cells. The appearance of these neoantigens uncloaks the tumor cells, illuminating them to the immune system and setting in motion powerful, differentiated T cell responses against the tumor. Importantly, this unique approach is orthogonal to a broad range of other cancer therapy modalities, including, but not limited to, immunotherapy. Grey Wolf Therapeutics is developing a portfolio of ERAP inhibitors that it believes represents the first ever application of direct neoantigen generation to the treatment of cancer.

About Grey Wolf Therapeutics

Grey Wolf Therapeutics is a UK-based drug discovery biotechnology company spearheading a new therapeutic approach to immuno-oncology driven by targeted neoantigen generation. The company's first-of-its-kind immuno-oncology approach is centered on dramatically increasing the visibility of tumors to allow for their identification and destruction by the body's immune system. Based on this approach, the company is developing a portfolio of first-in-class small molecules that inhibit the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP1 and ERAP2), which play a key role in the antigen presentation pathway. The company's lead development candidate, GRWD5769 is a potent and selective ERAP1 inhibitor that is expected to enter the clinic in the second half of 2022. A second program, focused on ERAP2 inhibition, is advancing through the discovery process.

For more information, please visit: www.greywolftherapeutics.com

Contacts:

Grey Wolf Therapeutics

Peter Joyce

Chief Executive Officer

+44 (0) 01865 292 038

enquiries@gwt.bio

Vida Strategic Partners (on behalf of Grey Wolf Therapeutics)

Tim Brons (Media)

415-675-7402

tbrons@vidasp.com

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SOURCE Grey Wolf Therapeutics
The OBX Northern Beaches Bring New And Nostalgia Together

NAGS HEAD, N.C., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau is inviting the public to consider taking a road trip to the OBX this year, as generations of families have been doing to unwind and chase simple adventures on the fringe of the North Carolina coast. "Where else can you play in the same sand and water where pirates raided wooden ships, a devil of a drink was put on the map and the Wright Brothers made history?" suggests Lee Nettles, Executive Director. "It'll take a little driving to get here, thankfully, but a short trip across a long bridge instantly rewards road trippers with a choice of three islands. Roanoke Island, Hatteras Island and the Northern Beaches each have their own personality, like siblings, but they're all Outer Banks. Depending on how you like to vacation, one area will appeal to you most to book your accommodations, and we're here to help you figure out what would work best for you."

Jockey's Ridge State Park is one of nature's greatest playgrounds at more than 400 acres of giant sand dunes where visitors to the Outer Banks' northern beaches can hang glide, hike and enjoy amazing sunsets from 80 feet high vistas. Explore the OBX's many national parks and preserves at OuterBanks.org

For example, on the Northern Beaches, visitors are vacationing hard in the towns of Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores and Duck jumping off giant sand mountains, enjoying windmill-brewed beverages and eating wild caught seafood delicious enough to make you dance. "Our timeless towns make the perfect vacation headquarters for families who want to taste a little bit of everything that the Outer Banks has to offer, with easy drives to explore Roanoke Island and Hatteras Island for the day," explains Nettles. Nags Head was one of the first places in North Carolina where folks started building and visiting oceanfront cottages at the edge of the continent. The town's name was born out of a now centuries old legend of local pirates who'd get ships to crash on the beach using a lantern strung about an old nag's neck. Then they'd pick the cargo for goodies. Kill Devil Hills gets its moniker from a mountainous sand dune where some shipwreck salvagers centuries ago hid a cargo of rum that was strong enough to defeat the devil.

Today, you don't have to work so hard to properly equip your vacation. The OBX has plenty of fun places to shop and restaurants you can't find anywhere else in the world. We also believe inspiration and exercise can pair well together. With a stroll to the top of Wright Brothers National Memorial, enjoy a bird's eye view of the island to appreciate Orville and Wilbur's work to get people flying. Kitty Hawk gets a share of the First Flight credit, since it was the biggest community on the beach in those days. Did you know Duck gets its name from the plentiful waterfowl and a place in the history of feather forward fashion? Southern Shores has homes as beautiful as the ring to its name.

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"The Outer Banks has its own reputation for helping start the modern vacation rental home movement and provides the best experience in the country for families needing anything from a cute little cottage to a luxury home fit for destination weddings and reunions." Die-hard fans know the Northern Beaches also have popular brand hotels, historic motels on the National Register, cool condo resorts and even a little camping. The beach towns allow you to stay in the middle of the OBX and quickly get to both indoor and outdoor fun such as fishing, surfing, paddling and even hang gliding down soft sand dunes.

For a deeper dive into all the OBX offers as a destination (pun intended, we have spearfishing and wreck diving) take your first steps toward that legendary beach vacation with a visit to OuterBanks.org

About The Outer Banks

The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau is a public authority and the lead marketing and promotional agency for Dare County's Outer Banks, a 100 mile stretch of barrier islands off the North Carolina coast. OuterBanks.org

Media Contact:

Aaron Tuell, Public Relations

Outer Banks Visitors Bureau

252.473.2138 office

tuell@outerbanks.org

The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau is a public authority and official promotional agency for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. outerbanks.org

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SOURCE Outer Banks Visitors Bureau
Backed by Web3 Investors, Including ParaFi Capital, Digital Currency Group and Multicoin Capital, OXIO Raises Series B Funding to Expand Presence Globally

NEW YORK, March 16, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OXIO, the first telecom-as-a-service platform for brands and enterprises with a white-label, fully-customizable solution to help turn brands into telecom carriers, today announces it has raised $40 million in Series B funding.

The round was led by ParaFi Capital, with participation from Digital Currency Group, Ascend, and Leyden; as well as existing investors Multicoin Capital, Monashees, Atlantico Capital, FinTech Collective; seed investors Allan Green of Candel & Partners; and angel investors from LightShed Partners and Sea Group. The Series B follows OXIOs $12 million Series A in November 2020, which together with earlier seed rounds brings total proceeds raised to $65 million to date.

The funding will support OXIO to accelerate its continued growth in Mexico and to launch its business in the largest mobile market in the world, the United States. OXIO's innovative web3-built technology, combined with the latest funding, strengthens the company's pioneering role in creating the telecom-as-a-service (TAAS) category.

Telecom-as-a-Service: Web3 Meets Telecom

Launched in 2018, OXIO is the first, fully-customizable mobile TAAS platform for brands and enterprises. The company allows organizations to offer telecom services for end-users and to create bespoke enterprise solutions, easily accessing and packaging 4G and 5G carrier infrastructure capabilities through modern UI and API methods.

This white-label technology makes it possible for any brand to launch a customized mobile service, effectively acting as a mobile operator, without the cost or complexity. The result provides end consumers with a fast, affordable, and reliable mobile service from a well-loved brand they already interact with on a daily basis.

For example, in Mexico, OXIOs clients include some of the largest brands in the country, such as Grupo Bimbo, (the world's largest bread maker); Grupo Coppel, (Mexico's premier white goods 1,200-store retail chain); and Rappi, (Latin Americas (LATAM) preeminent food delivery and services app).

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This approach of turning brands into mobile carriers is poised to revolutionize the telecom industry, which is ripe for change, and it is especially relevant today as businesses compete on the basis of how much they know about their users.

Web3 technology is a key driver of OXIO's innovation in telecom as it is the basis for how the company is rebuilding the traditional telecom stack. With this edge, OXIO is poised to lead an emerging telecom marketplace for mobile data, where the credibility and neutrality of blockchain and web3 will be critical in securing carriers trust in the platform and subsequent adoption. This view is shared strongly by some of the top funds investing in blockchain today, which came in as top investors in OXIO's Series B round.

"We are excited to have captured the support of this group of investors, who are embarking on this journey with us as we extend our TAAS solution to the U.S., Brazil and globally," stated OXIO Co-founder and CEO Nicolas Girard. "This funding round is punctuated by a handful of web3 investors  ParaFi Capital chief among them  because they understand how new technologies are disrupting and fundamentally reshaping traditional industries. Telecom is one of the oldest industries, akin to Fintech in the early 2000s, and now its our turn to innovate. We believe we are on the brink of solving something big."

"Girards vision to create a modern, next-generation telecom anchored in web3 is exactly the kind of innovative thinking we look for in our portfolio companies," stated Ryan Navi of ParaFi Capital. "OXIO is fundamentally changing how the telecom industry is built and, through that foundation, enabling a superior customer experience."

Continued Growth

This round of funding will fuel significant growth for OXIO, with focus on accelerating the business in Mexico and on expanding its network into the U.S. by rolling out its telecom platform to large U.S. clients. The company also plans to expand into new markets in LATAM, most notably Brazil, LATAMs largest phone market with over 250 million mobile users. Funding will also be used to grow the companys team in the U.S. and Mexico, starting with senior roles in revenue and in finance alongside aggressive hiring in product and engineering.

To learn more about OXIO, visit oxio.com, or find us on Linkedln, Facebook and Twitter.

About OXIO

OXIO is the first telecom-as-a-service (TAAS) platform for brands and enterprises that unbundles mobile telecom infrastructure, capturing the powerful data and true value that it emits. OXIOs 100 percent cloud-based solution blends the wireless infrastructure of many providers, enabling something that wasn't possible before  a custom-purposed, asset-light network delivered to each brand in a matter of days. OXIO's B2B SaaS solution unlocks the full and uncompromising control of the wireless experience for brands, including actionable intelligence that drives clear value and results. Mobile data, long locked up in telecom silos, allows brands to get closer to their customers than ever. OXIO is headquartered in New York, with offices in Mexico City and Montreal, Canada. For more information, visit oxio.com.

About ParaFi Capital

ParaFi Capital ("ParaFi" or the "Firm") is a leading digital asset investment firm focused on blockchain and an early pioneer within decentralized finance. Founded in 2018, ParaFi is one of the largest investors, users, and governance participants within the DeFi ecosystem. The Firm invests across three main strategies: public and private crypto assets, systematic credit and market neutral DeFi strategies, and blockchain-focused venture capital and growth equity investing. ParaFis multi-disciplinary team combines deep backgrounds and expertise across institutional asset management, digital assets, and technology to develop differentiated insights and add value for our portfolio companies and networks. For more information, please visit www.parafi.capital.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005441/en/

Contacts

Gustavo Andriani

Chief Marketing Officer

gandriani@oxio.io
The company will showcase its latest Closed System Drug-Transfer Device, Chemfort, at this year's EAHP 26th Anniversary Conference

KIRYAT SHMONA, Israel, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Simplivia Healthcare Ltd., a leading global medical device developer, has announced the upcoming launch of Chemfort, its newest closed system transfer device (CSTD). Chemfort reduces the risk of exposure for healthcare professionals when preparing and administering hazardous drugs.

The company will showcase its latest Closed System Drug-Transfer Device, Chemfort, at this years EAHP 26th Anniversary Conference

Simplivia will launch Chemfort for the first time at the 26th Anniversary European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) Conference. The conference will be held from March 23-25, 2022, in Vienna. The Chemfort CSTD portfolio of products suits any protocol and is compatible with all known hazardous drugs. Chemfort is backed up by peer-reviewed articles that demonstrate the efficacy of Simplivia's Toxi-Guard, air cleaning technology, and its user-friendly design.

Simplivia introduce for the first time the Chemfort Closed Administration portfolio, which is designed for use by nurses when administering hazardous drugs. This portfolio provides simple, complete integration to nurses' workflow. Tested with real hazardous drugs, the addition of the Chemfort Closed Administration portfolio enables a complete vial to vein solution to ensure the medical professional safety while maintaining sterility throughout the entire process.

"We are excited to showcase the Chemfort Closed system transfer device portfolio, which has received CE and FDA ONB product code," said Simplivia CEO Oded Grinstein. "As market leaders, we are committed to offering our customers a broad range of innovative closed system solutions. The launch of our newest product line, Chemfort, is our latest effort to continuously bring pharmacist, nurses and other healthcare professionals' peace of mind and keep them safe while handling hazardous drugs".

During the conference, Simplivia will participate in a wide range of scientific discussions and events enabling participants to get first-hand experience of the new technologies.

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Simplivia will host a satellite symposium on Wednesday, March 23rd at 14:45  16:15 CET (Hall K1), featuring international speakers who will address the topics of "Novel solutions and Advanced Technologies for Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs in the Pharmacy".

The symposium will be hosted by:

Dr.Robert Terkola President, Austrian Society of Oncology Pharmacy.

Dr. Gabor Batka, Chief Pharmacist at Zala Megyei Szent Rafael Korhaz, Hungary.

Dr. Paul Sessink, Founder and Managing Director of Exposure Control, Sweden.

In addition, Simplivia will present 3 new studies demonstrating different aspects of the Chemfort closed system device as follows:

On March 23rd at 16:30-18:30-Simplivia will host a "Meet the Expert" and happy hour event with drinks and appetizers hosted by Dr.Robert Terkola at Simplivia's Booth # 22.

On March 24th at 11:00-11:30, Dr. Paul Sessnik will host an additional "Meet the Expert" discussion at Simplivia's booth # 22.

For Simplivia activities at the EAHP 2022 please click here: https://simplivia.activetrail.biz/meet-us-EAHP

Visit the EAHP website to learn more about the conference.

About Simplivia

Simplivia Healthcare Ltd. is dedicated to developing and manufacturing high-quality medical solutions for drug delivery to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals. Simplivia's Tevadaptor and Chemfort products are approved by the world's leading regulatory bodies. In the US, Simplivia products are distributed by B. Braun under the brand OnGuard. The company's manufacturing facility in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, meets the most rigorous FDA and CE standards. Please visit www.simplivia.com to learn more.

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Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1767746/Simplivia_EAHP.jpg

Contact:

Nivi Apple

Nivi.apple@simplivia.com

+972-4-6908706

Simplivia Healthcare Ltd. Logo (PRNewsfoto/Simplivia Healthcare Ltd.)

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SOURCE Simplivia Healthcare Ltd.
STELLANTIS N.V

Stellantis Ventures Launches with 300 Million Fund to Propel Innovation Uptake

AMSTERDAM, March 16, 2022  Stellantis today announced the launch of its first venture capital fund with the creation of Stellantis Ventures. The fund will initially invest 300 million in early and later-stage startup companies developing innovative, customer-centric technologies that could be deployed within the automotive and mobility sector.

We are moving fast in our transformation to a mobility tech company while reimagining the future of mobility for generations to come, said Ned Curic, Stellantis Chief Technology Officer. The market is changing, the technology is changing, and the way we relate to our customers is changing. Stellantis Ventures will accelerate our transformation as we adopt new technologies developed by innovative startups, while fostering their growth potential.

Stellantis Ventures will act as a strategic investor and help startups integrate new technologies within the Company in compressed timeframes  allowing the adoption within months versus years. Investments will not only impact Stellantis' efforts around sustainability, competitiveness, and in-vehicle technology but will also transform customer experiences around vehicle marketing, sales, and finance.

Announced as part of Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, Stellantis Ventures is committed to supporting aspiring entrepreneurs and fostering innovation driven by customer satisfaction, sustainability, and a comprehensive portfolio of mobility technology.

For entrepreneurs and startups seeking funding, visit

https://stellantis.ventures

# # #

About Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE / MTA / Euronext Paris: STLA) is one of the worlds leading automakers and a mobility provider. Its storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and todays customers in their innovative products and services, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep  , Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves  aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.

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@Stellantis Stellantis Stellantis Stellantis



For more information, contact:







Nathalie ROUSSEL + 33 6 87 77 41 82  nathalie.roussel@stellantis.com



communications@stellantis.com

www.stellantis.com

Attachment




AUSTIN, Texas  We're all chasing the shiny, futurist Amy Webb said in a talk at the SXSW conference here Sunday morning.

That info-pundit was speaking of metaverse hype in particular. But the description also applies generally to this talkfest that marked its 35th birthday and its first re-birthday. The festival, which continues through Sunday, is happening in person after 2020s pandemic-imposed cancellation and 2021s digital-only event.

As in the Before Times, SXSW panels veered between starry-eyed forecasts of the future and stark warnings about the same. Webbs talk, for example, spotlighted best- and worst-case scenarios for such budding technologies as artificial intelligence and digital identities.

The largest social network in the world figured in many of these conversations. Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen lit into the company in a talk Monday morning, saying Facebook still teems with toxic misinformation because it makes more money running the system the way it does today."

TALKING TECH NEWSLETTER: Sign up for our guide to the week's biggest tech news

Facebook has claimed third-party fact checking will save us; AI will save us. And the reality is it doesnt, Frances Haugen said.

She urged Facebook to make re-sharing a little slower (for example, by adding Twitters nag to read a story before sharing a link to it) and stop pushing giant groups. But she also suggested that Elon Musk should block Facebook from his Starlink satellite-internet service in countries in which Facebook cant effectively moderate content in local languages (spoiler alert: he wont).

Mark Zuckerberg then made an appearance via video Tuesday afternoon that could have come from a parallel universe. He ignored Haugens criticism, instead touting the virtual- and augmented-reality ambitions that led him to rename his company Meta.

"I think this is pretty clearly the next evolution of how you experience media and moments, he said.

IPHONE UPDATE: Apple users can unlock Face ID with mask in iOS 15.4

Remedies to reel in the largest tech companies were harder to find at SXSW. European Union competition chief Margarethe Vestager endorsed strong regulation in an onstage interview Sunday, brushing aside suggestions that American tech firms might flee Europe to escape its rules.

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"It's for any company to decide, what is their business strategy?, she said. And so far, it has been a good business strategy to do business in Europe."

But what flies in Brussels may not take off in Washington  or Austin. Beto ORourke, Democratic candidate for governor of Texas, alluded to that Saturday in a critique Saturday of incumbent governor Greg Abbott  and by extension, politics.

"We talk about Putin and the oligarchs there in Russia as though its some kind of foreign concern, ORourke said. We have them right here."

Two Sunday speakers described another way to curb toxic online behavior: pressuring advertisers to block their ads, and therefore ad revenue, from the worst disinformation merchants.

"This playbook works, said Check My Ads co-founder Clare Atkin. We have already taken millions out of the disinformation economy."

But as she and co-founder Nandi Jammi related, the online-ads industry also abounds with unaccountable operators. As Jammi warned: There are no rules in ad tech."

NETFLIX FIGHTS PASSWORD SHARING: Streaming network tests feature urging users to pay more

The latest hope for a healthier online world is the decentralized web, a sometimes-vague concept of an internet built on blockchain technology outside the grip of giant tech companies.

"The Web we want should have many winners, not just a few platforms that control everything Wendy Hanamura, director of partnerships at the Internet Archive, said at the start of a day-long decentralized-web panel track Tuesday.

But hours later, Freedom of the Press Foundation executive director Trevor Timm warned that the cryptocurrency industry was already coalescing around name-brand firms.

"Are we just transitioning to a system where there are other centralized giants than the ones we don't like now?, he asked. "The onramp to cryptocurrency, if you're not using any large centralized companies, is very very hard."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SXSW 2022: Speakers sound a warning that tech must be tamed
- SK Siltron CSS has started a $300 million expansion to bolster semiconductor, electric vehicle supply chain

- Expansion is part of broader SK Group plans to invest $30 billion and create 16,000 new U.S. jobs

- Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, "We are committed to helping reduce carbon emissions through U.S. investments focused on eco-friendly businesses."

BAY COUNTY, Mich., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo commemorated today the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) with a visit to SK Siltron CSS, a U.S. subsidiary of South Korea's SK Group. The visit also recognized the expansion of SK Siltron CSS' Michigan operations that will support the fast-growing electric vehicle industry.

(Left-to-right) U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, South Koreas Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo, and SK Group Vice Chairman Jeong Joon Yu tour the SK Siltron CSS facility in Auburn, Mich., on Wednesday as part of the 10th Anniversary of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. The SK Siltron CSS facility produces silicon carbide wafers used to make semiconductor components for electric vehicles.

SK Siltron CSS produces a semiconductor wafer  a thin disc of silicon carbide crystal  that can be used to make semiconductor chips for components in electric vehicles. It recently began a $300 million expansion that will add a second R&D and manufacturing site in Bay County, Mich., and create up to 150 additional U.S. jobs, doubling its Michigan workforce and quadrupling manufacturing capacity in the next few years to meet increasing demand for EVs. The company has an existing site in Auburn, Mich., with a second site under development in nearby Bay City, Mich.

Ambassador Tai and Trade Minister Yeo met with top executives from SK Siltron, the parent company of SK Siltron CSS. SK Siltron, and its subsidiaries, are part of SK Group, South Korea's second-largest conglomerate.

The tour and meetings marked the 10th anniversary of KORUS, a milestone free trade agreement that went into effect in March 2012. By allowing most industrial and consumer goods to flow between the U.S. and South Korea without tariffs, the agreement continues to strengthen economic ties between the allied nations.

"Beyond increased exports, the Agreement has also strengthened the investment ties between our two countries and that's why I'm here today," Ambassador Tai said at the event. "I am particularly excited that SK will be investing $300 million in Bay County over the next several years, which will double the number of people they employ in the state and increase our semiconductor production capacity. This partnership between our two countries is an excellent example of how we can harness the innovation and talent of our citizens to create a cleaner, more sustainable economy  while also creating good-paying jobs."

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Trade Minister Yeo commented on the positive impact for both nations as well.

"SK Siltron CSS is an exemplary case of mutually win-win investment cooperation between South Korea and the United States in the global supply chain, based on the decade-long Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement framework," Trade Minister Yeo said. "We will continue to support cooperation with the United States to build a more resilient global supply chain in new industries, such as semiconductors as well as EV batteries and biopharmaceuticals."

South Korea is one of the ten largest trading partners for the U.S. and a major source of foreign direct investment in U.S. businesses. In 2020 alone, foreign direct investment by Korean companies in the U.S. totaled more than $60 billion with Korea-based companies supporting more than 94,500 jobs in the U.S., according to U.S. Department of Commerce data.

"SK Siltron is honored to represent how positive Korea-U.S. trade relations are creating jobs, driving investments and building supply chains critical to our global economy," said SK Siltron CEO Jang Yong Ho. "SK Siltron CSS and its Michigan team members, with the highest standards for quality and performance, are playing an important role in supplying the advanced materials needed to support the growth of EVs and speed the transition to more environmentally-friendly vehicles."

Last December, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won presented his vision of SK's broader contributions to addressing global climate change during a Trans-Pacific Dialogue (TPD) event in Virginia. The event was sponsored by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies.

"SK Group is not only committed to creating jobs but also contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions in the U.S. and around the world," Chey said. "SK's investments in the United States are centered on eco-friendly businesses that help address global climate change and have a positive impact on the environment."

SK Group Planning $30B in U.S. Investments

In addition to SK Siltron, other SK Group companies are ramping up U.S. expansion plans. Across its companies, SK Group plans to invest more than $30 billion and create more than 16,000 new jobs in the U.S. by the end of 2025. The new investments are largely focused on supporting innovative industries and technologies to support a sustainable future. Investments and expansions by other SK Group companies include:

SK On , one of world's top makers of EV batteries, is investing $4.45 billion to build EV battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee through the Blue Oval SK joint venture with Ford Motor Co. SK On's first U.S. EV battery plant has been built and is in operation in Georgia with a second plant under construction at the same site as part of a $2.6 billion investment.

SK E&S , another SK Group energy company, and SK Inc. jointly invested last year $1.6 billion in Plug Power, a New York-based leading hydrogen fuel cells and fueling solutions company, and has partnered with the company to explore the Asian hydrogen market. SK E&S also invested last year $1 billion in Key Capture Energy and REV Renewables, leading energy solution providers in the U.S.

SK Inc ., SK's investment arm, is making investments in a broad range of U.S. businesses in the bio sector, eco-friendly energy sector and alternative food sector. SK Inc. invested $350 million in the Center for Breakthrough Medicines, a leader in cell gene therapy based in the Philadelphia area. SK Inc. also is investing in Monolith Materials in Nebraska, a clean hydrogen producer, and Perfect Day in California, which produces alternative proteins.

SK hynix, the world's second-largest semiconductor memory manufacturer, acquired last year Intel's NAND memory division for $9 billion and created a new U.S. subsidiary, Solidigm. SK hynix believes that by expanding solid state drives (SSD), a NAND storage device, to replace hard disk drives (HDD), a more traditional storage device, greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 93%. Moreover, SK hynix plans to invest $1 billion to build an R&D center in California's Silicon Valley.

SK Siltron CSS Part of Focus on Sustainability

Like these other investments, SK Siltron CSS in Michigan is supporting a new global supply chain to advance environmentally friendly industries. The SK Siltron CSS wafers are made from silicon carbide (SiC), a material that's more efficient at handling high power s and dissipating heat than silicon wafers. The SK Siltron CSS wafers are used by other companies upstream to make microchips for power electronics  the parts of the EV that help transfer electricity from the battery to the motor.

When used in EV system components, SiC can allow a more efficient transfer of electricity and weight saving, resulting in increased driving range of an EV by 5% to 10%. A single 6-inch diameter wafer from SK Siltron CSS can be used by its customers to make about 450 power chips, or enough chips for the power systems of 6-8 EVs.

"The wafers made at our SK Siltron CSS sites in Michigan are designed to help improve the energy efficiency of EVs, enabling EV drivers to go further on every charge and charge faster at each stop," said Jianwei Dong, CEO of SK Siltron CSS. "Ultimately, we believe this can help make EVs more attractive to consumers and more practical for their daily driving needs."

About SK Group

SK Group is a collection of global industry-leading companies driving innovations in semiconductors, sustainable energy, telecommunications and life sciences. Based in Seoul, South Korea, SK invests in building sustainable businesses around the world with a shared commitment to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy.

SK companies combined have more than $106 billion in global annual revenue and employ more than 100,000 people worldwide. SK companies are investing billions of dollars in expanding their U.S. presence with business operations or partnerships in hydrogen energy and fuel cells, EV battery manufacturing and technology, energy storage solutions, pharmaceutical manufacturing and development, semiconductors, and advanced materials. For more information, visit sk.com.

SK Group is South Koreas third-largest conglomerate with major operating companies in semiconductors, telecommunications, energy and life sciences. (PRNewsfoto/SK Group)

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SOURCE SK Siltron CSS
DUBLIN, March 16, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "United Kingdom Energy Storage Systems Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The market for energy storage systems in the United Kingdom is expected to witness a CAGR of more than 5% during the forecast period. The outbreak of COVID-19 in Q1 of 2020 has negatively impacted the market, and the impact was mainly on the supply of raw materials used for manufacturing batteries like lithium-ion and lead-acid that are used as energy storage systems.

Factors, such as the growing renewable energy sector, supportive government policies and schemes for energy storage systems (ESS), and improving energy storage economics, are expected to be the major drivers for the energy storage system market in the country. On the flip side, the closing of FiT and other supporting schemes in the country has led to a slowdown in rooftop solar PV installations since March 2019. Thus, this is expected to restrain the growth of the energy storage systems in the country during the forecast period.

Key Highlights

The battery energy storage systems segment is expected to witness significant demand owing to the increasing demand from the residential sector in the United Kingdom.

The increasing adoption of ESS by the commercial and industrial sectors is likely to create huge opportunities for the market in the coming years.

The increasing demand for energy storage systems due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, is expected to drive the market during the forecast period.

Key Market Trends

Batteries Energy Storage Systems to Witness Significant Demand

As the battery technology prices have declined, energy storage projects in the United Kingdom have soared up in recent years.

According to the Renewable UK, as of 2021, there were 1059 energy storage projects in the country, the increase in the number of energy storage projects will spur the growth of the segment during the forecast period.

Additionally, according to the Renewable UK, as of 2021, pipeline for utility-scale battery storage reached more than 20 GW of battery storage capacity operating, under construction, or being planned in the United Kingdom across 800 projects.

Flexible technologies like batteries energy storage will become part of the UK's smarter electricity grid, supporting the integration of more low-carbon power, heat and transport technologies, It is estimated that it could save the UK energy system up to USD 60 billion by 2050.

In December 2020, InterGen, which currently supplies around 5% of the United Kingdom's power generating capacity, has been given consent by the UK's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for a lithium-ion battery energy storage project as part of their Gateway Energy Centre development on the banks of the River Thames in Essex. The project is said to be more than ten times the size of the UK's largest operational battery project and it will be one of the world's largest project globally.

Also, According to the National Grid's lowest carbon and lowest cost scenario, around 18.3 GW of battery storage is expected to come online by 2040 which in turn will support the growth of the segment.

Therefore, the upcoming energy storage projects in the country and the need to integrate renewable sources with the national grid are expected to drive the demand for battery energy storage systems over the forecast period.

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Growth in Renewable Energy Sector to Drive the Demand for Energy Storage Systems

Renewable power is an intermittent energy source. Therefore, to maintain the constant power distribution of renewable power generation, storage of the electricity is essential. Thus, in comparison to conventional electricity generation sources, renewable power generation has a higher need for energy storage.

Renewables produce more than 40% of the United Kingdom's electricity, In 2020 renewables produced 127.8 terawatt-hours of electricity up from, 114.6 in 2019. From 2020, renewable energy has been an important part of the strategy to reduce carbon emissions. To achieve this, a range of technologies will need to be used, such as onshore and offshore wind farms, biomass power stations, or hydropower systems.

In July 2020, the government announced it will relax planning legislation to make it easier to construct large batteries to store renewable energy from solar and wind farms across the United Kingdom.

Like many European electricity networks, the United Kingdom's power infrastructure is well developed, and offers excellent coverage across the country. There are four transmission systems in the United Kingdom, one in England and Wales, two in Scotland, and one in Northern Ireland. Each is separately operated and owned.

Provinces in the United Kingdom are making significant pushes to rapidly increase the renewable energy share. The Government of Wales has set a new goal to get 70% of the electricity from renewables by 2030.

Therefore, with government assistance, energy security concerns, and declining costs, the renewable power sector is expected to register significant growth over the forecast period, in turn driving the demand for energy storage systems.

Companies Mentioned

Tesla Inc.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA

Voith GmbH & Co. KGaA

Electricite de France SA (EDF)

General Electric Company

BrightSource Energy Inc.

ABB Ltd

NGK Insulators Ltd

UniEnergy Technologies LLC

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/fihjcs

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220316005781/en/

Contacts

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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Jordan Crenshaw, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center conducted a nationwide media tour to discuss new commission.

New York, New York --News Direct-- YourUpdateTV

Artificial intelligence is increasingly prominent in our everyday lives from smart home devices to navigation and music streaming. 70% of businesses are expected to be using AI by 2030. What does this mean for individuals and businesses in your area of the country?

The US Chamber of Commerce is teaming up with thought leaders and academics and, most importantly, members of the public, to find the best way to responsibly move AI forward. The U.S. Chamber believes this emerging technology can be a tremendous force for good and we must leverage AI to compete globally. To do so we need reasonable and responsible rules to harness its potential while minimizing risks.

With this in mind, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has announced the launch of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Commission on Competition, Inclusion, and Innovation to advance U.S. leadership in the use and regulation of AI technology.

The Commission will request input from all relevant stakeholders, meet with top researchers, and conduct field hearings to see AI issues firsthand. The Commission will then recommend durable, bipartisan AI policy solutions to ensure the United States continues to lead in innovation while fostering fairness in deploying this revolutionary technology.

Jordan Crenshaw, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center conducted a nationwide media tour to discuss:

How Artificial Intelligence is already impacting local economies

What the AI commission hopes to accomplish to propel the US into global leadership in AI

How to prepare the workforce for the 21 st century digital economy

Ways for people to get involved

For more information on the open comment period and the Commissions work, visit AmericanInnovators.com/AICommission.

Contact Details

YourUpdateTV

+1 212-736-2727

yourupdatetv@gmail.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/us-chamber-launches-commission-on-artificial-intelligence-to-advance-u-s-leadership-504730866
Saudi Arabia has annnounced more than 60 water projects, worth SR35 billion ($9.33 billion), that will cement the kingdoms position as the worlds largest water desalination market, a top official told delegates at the 3rd Mena Desalination Projects Forum 2022 being held in Abu Dhabi.

Once completed, these projects will increase the desalination capacity to 7.5 million cu m of water per day by 2027, from 2.54 cu m per day in 2021  nearly tripling the capacity in just six years.

Saudi Arabias National Water Strategy published in 2018, adopted a sustainable approach to the water sector, committing to safeguarding the natural resources and the environment of the Kingdom and providing cost-effective supply and high-quality services

"Saudi Arabia has been increasing its investment in clean energy, power and water. In the water sector, we have integrated the desalination and wastewater treatment and have been expanding our capacities across the industry," stated Engineer Khaled Al Qureshi, the CEO of Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), in his keynote address.

Al Qureshi pointed out that SWPC had been increasing the number of water projects over the last few years.

In 2020, it had approved 11 Independent Water Projects (IWPs) and 9 Independent Sewage Treatment Projects (ISTPs), while last year it gave the nod to 8 independent water and power projects (IWPPs), 14 Independent Strategic Water Reservoir (ISWR) projects and 7 Small Sewerage Treatment Plant (SSTP) project clusters, he stated.

"However, I am happy to announce that this year, we have approved more than 60 water and sewerage projects, worth more than SR35 billion, that will increase water desalination capacity as well as increase strategic water reserves and the capacity to treat more wastewater in the coming years," he added.

SWPC, one of the leaders in public-private partnership projects in the GCC, has successfully achieved financial close of $2.5 billion during the last two years.

Saudi Arabias population is expected to grow from 35 million in 2021 to around 40 million by 2026. This growth in the population will put pressure on basic infrastructure. Being an arid country, Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in its water infrastructure, stated the top official.

"We are developing strategic water reserves that should supply enough water to Saudi consumers in case of emergency. By 2029, we plan to raise the capacity to hold 45.7 million cubic metres of water  that will serve the entire country for a few days, if the water supply stops for some reason," explained Al Qureshi.

According to him, there are more than $5.5 billion of water projects currently under construction. Saudi Arabia has adopted Public-Private-Partnerships as a procurement strategy, with 70 per cent of its water processing infrastructure projects procured on this basis.

"We are developing a network of 147 SSTPs with 14,925 km of wastewater collection network that will recycle a large amount of wastewater across the country," he added.

SWPC had recently announced that commercial operations on the Jubail 3A independent water producer (IWP) project will commence in the last quarter of 2022.

According to a recent study, seawater desalination now contributes to more than 90% of all daily water requirements in the GCC region.

Desalination capacity of GCC countries is expected to grow further by 37% during the next five years, with investments of up to $100 billion.

The global desalination market is predicted to grow from $17.7 billion in 2020 to $32.1 billion by 2027, it added.

More than 150 C-Suite Executives (CEOs and MDs) including over 30 speakers, panelists are participating at the conference and exhibition where more than 30 exhibitors and sponsors display the latest innovation and technologies at the two-day event.

Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management and organiser of the 3rd MENA Desalination Projects Forum, said: "The depth of the water scarcity is getting from bad to worse. The governments of the Mena countries are seeking alternative ways to generate clean water, without harming the environment. Although there are new sustainable sources of generating water, such as from air, desalination still now remains one of the most viable sources to feed large communities."

"That way, the forum is one of the most important industry conferences that highlights the challenges as well as opportunities," she stated.

"We are happy to curate such an important industry conference and bring all the major stakeholders in this important event where senior government officials, private businesses, contracting companies, project consultants and water experts will discuss key issues such as new technology, reducing the cost of desalination, sustainability and energy efficiency at the two-day conference," she added.

Rory Weaver, Marketing Director, Fedco, said the Middle East was leading the way for the desalination industry in delivering larger projects than ever, at water tariffs that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

"The Mena Desal Forum is a crucial space to share the expertise and experience necessary to drive further innovation for the industry," he added.
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FROM STAFF REPORTS

In April, the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce will welcome nearly 500 high school and college students to the Fredericksburg Expo Center for its first Intern/Extern Expo.

As we prepare the future workforce, events such as the Intern Expo are extremely important, Rene Daniels, director of communications and community engagement at Spotsylvania County Public Schools, said in a news release. The hands-on experience a student gains from an internship or externship builds student confidence and provides valuable insight of career opportunities.

The chamber is seeking businesses in a variety of industries to take part in the event, which will take place April 26 from 9 a.m.5 p.m.

The Intern Expo will allow our area employers the opportunity to see the vast wealth of potential employees coming from our public school systems and local institutions of higher education. Specifically, Germanna students will be able to showcase what they are learning in their classes and demonstrate their abilities for our local employers, said Rebecca Morris, internship and work-study counselor for Germanna Community College. The Intern Expo will help to solidify our regional partnerships, foster new relationships, and help our community retain great graduates as members of our workforce. These are the connections we need to identify and promote.Two participating students will receive a $1,500 scholarship at the expo.

Participating businesses include Mary Washington Healthcare, Fredericksburg Area Museum, LifeCare Medical Transports, Dominion Raceway, Fraser Wood Elements and Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.

This event and pilot program is supported by Go Virginia and sponsored by Rappahannock Electric Cooperative.

For information on sponsorships or scholarship contributions, contact Carley Swaim Walker, the chambers senior director of membership and community advancement, at cwalker@fxbgchamber.org.

To register for this event, go to fredericksburgchamber.org/events/workforce-now-intern-extern-fair.
As a child, Bernadette Chimner was a precocious reader. She said that when she was in elementary school, she asked her school librarian for more books like Anne of Green Gables. 

The librarian brought her a stack of books from the high school library. Chimner picked up one and read a couple of pages.

It took her a few minutes to process what she was reading, but it was a description of a sexual encounter that she hadnt been prepared for. She shoved the book back into the stack, gave all the books back to the librarian and stayed away from the high school library after that.

Chimner doesnt remember the name of the book that upset her, but said it had a chilling effect on her reading and that she recalls limiting herself to juvenile fiction for a while.

I came from a small, conservative town, and I know the librarian who handed me that book didnt give it to me knowing about that passage, she said.

When the issue of explicit sexual content in public school libraries erupted in Spotsylvania County this past fall, Chimner recognized the fear behind the concerns of parents wanting to pull books off shelves.

The fear we really all have as parents is, my kid goes to the library and I dont have any way to know what theyre checking out when theyre there, she said. They might check out something that is quite intense and might merit some conversations, and I dont have a way to know that.

But Chimner also doesnt want to see books removed from shelves so that no one can check them out.

I dont ever want to deny a book to a kid, she said. I want to find ways for parents to know the content of a book and to make that information really easy to see and more crowdsourced.

Parents are able to let school librarians know that their children arent allowed to check out books with certain content and librarians can make a note of that request in the childs library account.

The problem is that no librarian can know whats in all the books in the library, Chimner said. Book lists and reviews arent useful, because there is a diverse community of concerns. Thats where this website kind of came from. Lets get to a situation where we can rate the booksomething that is crowdsourced, for parents and specific to our county.

The website Chimner developed, which is located at bipartisanbookclub.com, lets parents and community members search for a specific book by title and rate its content based on the intensity of sex, violence, language, drug use, alcohol use and smoking or tobacco use.

It also lets users add tags to flag certain more specific content, such as condoned gun violence or pubescent sexual encounter. Users can see how many times others have added that specific flag and also indicate whether they disagree with that tag.

Theres a section for adding notes and posing reading guide-type questions to student readers.

For example, in Chimners review of Judy Blumes Forevera book that deals with teenage sexuality and is on the American Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 19902000she asks students to think about the fact that the book was published in 1975, before the AIDS epidemic, and that it depicts a sexual encounter in which the partners decide not to use a condom because the female has started birth control.

The websites ratings feature also contains a section for noting any pages or chapters the reviewer thinks a reader might want to skip.

Chimner said she hopes the website can be a tool for parents, students and librarians to increase their knowledge of whats in the school library and that it will help the community feel more invested in the school library.

Chimner, who has a degree in peace and conflict resolution from American University, also established a Bipartisan Book club that meets semi-regularly to discuss some of the books that have been challenged by parents across the country in recent months.

The book club has discussed 33 Snowfish by Adam Rappthe book that parents of a Riverbend High School student challenged last falland will be discussing George Johnsons memoir All Boys Arent Blue, which has been the subject of multiple censorship campaigns, this month.

Chimner said she has learned from the book club and from discussions with multiple community groups that all parents have concerns when it comes to what their children read.

Some parents are concerned about sexual content that is too descriptive, Chimner said, while other parents are concerned about gun violence or want to ensure that any sexual encounter their child is reading about is clearly consensual.

Anyone can see the website and review the ratings, but only residents of Spotsylvania can rate booksthey will be required to turn on their browsers location tag before they can rate, Chimner said.

Thats because Chimner envisions the site as being by Spotsylvania parents for Spotsylvania students.

Her hope is that it keeps books on shelves.

We dont want to pull things, she said. We want to find ways for parents to know [whats in the books] and to make that information really easy to see.

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin seems to have decided that the Virginia Community College System is a convenient whipping boy for his new regime.

Every new leader, whether president, governor or mayor, seems to assume leadership with guns blazing from Day One, intent on showing the populace that a new and better world is at hand. The unspoken message (or sometimes the spoken one) is that the last administration made a royal mess of things.

So, Gov. Youngkin feels free to take a swipe at the VCCS, demanding involvement in the selection of a new chancellor. He accuses the State Board of misfeasance because he feels it hasnt collaborated sufficiently with him. He also seemed to take a swipe at the leadership of Chancellor Glenn DuBois, who announced his retirement last August after 20 years on the job.

Without more information, Youngkin wrote, I can only assume this board is continuing down the same path in choosing a chancellor that has led to the current state of the system.

The governor has the numbers to back up his concern for the current state of the system. Over the past 10 years, the 23 colleges that comprise it have seen enrollment plummet 27 percent.

However, there are reasons for that drop-off that were beyond the control of Dr. DuBois or anyone else.

Low unemployment works against community colleges. Higher rates of joblessness, as we saw in the Great Recession, drive people to reinvent themselves or hone their skills.

The number of potential college students is shrinking. In Virginia, there were 1.4 percent fewer residents under age 18 in 2020 than in 2010, despite a 7.4 percent growth in the commonwealths overall population.

The state cut per-student spending 22.5 percent from 2008 to 2018, putting more of the onus on the students and making it more expensive to get a community college education.

So, low unemployment, a smaller pool of possible students and a drop in state support have played a big role in community colleges shrinkage.

It should be noted that the Fredericksburg areas Germanna Community College happily has not followed the trend that has our new governor so concerned.

Over the past 10 years, Germannas student body has suffered a decrease of two. Not 2 percent, but two students.

Enrollment was 10,524 credit-seeking students during the 201011 school year, according to Germanna spokesman Michael Zitz. For the 202021 school year, enrollment was 10,522.

More impressive, over the past four years, the school has grown by 15.65 percent.

Kudos to Germanna for making progress in the face of the aforementioned headwinds.

And some unsolicited advice to Gov. Youngkin: Give the community colleges a break. They are making the best of a tough situation, and they do not deserve to be pummeled over circumstances beyond their control.
When Heath DeGroot tested positive for COVID in October 2020, his only significant complaint was the inability to taste and to smell.

He recovered well from that, said his sister, Heather Circo, of Lincoln. Shortly after, he contracted it again.

This time, the virus hit DeGroot harder, with fever and fatigue.

Again, said Circo, he seemed to have a full recovery. A few months after that, he woke in the middle of the night thinking he was having a heart attack.

The situation would lead to tests and scans that revealed a genetic heart disorder and resulted in major surgery.

Now, Circo hopes the public will help her brother.

Circo and her sibling have fond memories of Fremont, where they lived with their parents. Their late father, Dave, was a Vietnam veteran and their late mother, Marta, an active community member.

After the initial episode with his heart, Heath DeGroot continued to have several others, including palpitations and arrhythmias.

Thankfully, due to his occupation, Circo said, he was able to get appointments with a couple of renowned heart doctors in Texas.

The first appointment revealed that DeGroot had Marfan Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the bodys connective tissue.

Connective tissue holds all the bodys cells, organs, and tissue together, Circo said. It plays an important role in helping the body grow and develop properly. This condition mainly affects the heart, blood vessels, bones, joints and eyes.

After more tests and scans, it was discovered that DeGroot had an enlarged aortic valve.

This can lead to an aortic dissection, Circo said, and be very life threatening, and usually isnt discovered until its an emergency situation.

Circo points out this same condition took the life of actor John Ritter in 2003.

Further tests revealed that DeGroot not only had an enlarged aortic valve, but also a bicuspid rather than a tricuspid valve.

This was concerning, Circo explained, because it was discussed that he might need an artificial valve instead of the team being able to repair his.

She also said her brother is only 45 years old and his doctor wanted to do everything he could to repair his existing valve, because an artificial valve would eventually need to be replaced.

And this was a procedure that Heath did not want to go through twice, Circo said.

As a physical therapist for a hospital in Anna, Texas, DeGroot had devoted his days to helping geriatric patients cope with their ailments.

Following six hours of open-heart surgery, however, he was the one in need of care.

DeGroot and Circo grew up in Fremont. Their parents both died of cancer in 2001, within three months of each other.

Mom was a very supportive parent, Circo said. She never pushed us to do anything we didnt want to do, but she was very involved in the activities we enjoyed.

Marta DeGroot was an active member of the PTA, serving as president while her children attended Grant Elementary School.

Heath and I are five years apart, Circo said, so that was a big commitment. As we went into middle and high school, she was there for every event  orchestra, band and choir performances.

Circo recalled her mothers enthusiasm.

She loved going to marching band competitions with us and probably knew the routines better than we did. When it was high school musical time, Circo added, she was at every show, knew all the songs and most of the script.

Another fond memory Circo shared was receiving a gift from her mother following each performance.

She created a keepsake box for all of our shows, Circo said.

Circo added that her mom had become a fixture at school events.

If she wasnt there, the teachers and kids noticed, Circo said. There was always laughter and hugs whenever Mom was around all of her kids.

David DeGroot served in the Vietnam War. He was a Private First Class.

He rarely talked about his time in the war, Circo said. And when he did, it was usually a funny story that he recalled  like when he almost got court-martialed for getting so sunburnt while messing around in the ocean in his undies one day. He was so burnt he could barely move.

Circo said her dads skin condition was something he blamed on the war.

He left with a clear complexion and came back all scarred up from being around harsh chemicals, I guess, she said.

It was only after Circos grandmother passed away that her dad at last shared the story of his homecoming.

His sisters had found an old envelope that their mom had kept all those years, Circo said. It had letters from Dad to the family, his dog tags, and a few pictures. Dad never got emotional, but going through that envelope with Mom, Heath and I actually made him tear up.

Circo recalled the overwhelming compassion she and her brother had received upon learning that their parents were losing their battle with cancer.

The outpouring of support for Heath and I was incredible, and we can never thank everyone enough for that, Circo said. When you go through a traumatic event like that, you kind of become numb. So I know I wasnt great at thanking people at the time, but their generosity still sticks with me 20 years later.

Circo continued expressing her appreciation for her hometown.

Fremont is an amazing community that we are happy to be a part of, she said. Although we dont get back as much as we used to, there are still ties there, and we enjoy showing our kids our favorite spots from when we were growing up.

Circo told how her brother has demonstrated resilience since his operation.

Less than 24 hours following surgery, DeGroot was on his feet.

Even with the amount of pain he was in, Circo said, he still managed to do everything that physical therapy and staff asked him to do.

Throughout the entire process, DeGroots wife, Jennifer, has been by his side.

Even though they have three kids at home, Circo said, she was living at the hospital with Heath to help care for him around the clock. Fortunately, her parents were able to stay with the kids and the zoo of pets they had waiting for them at home.

DeGroot and his wife have 7-year-old twins, Harrison and Hanna, and two daughters from Jennifers previous marriage, Reygan and Raye Ann.

They recently became grandparents for the first time.

Circo has provided a detailed progress report on her brothers recovery. For further information regarding DeGroots hospitalization as well as his recuperation at home, visit her GoFundMe page, gofund.me/20e518e7.

As you can probably imagine, Circo said, the medical expenses over the last two years have been staggering. There have been so many doctors and specialists appointments and tests run to determine his diagnosis.

DeGroots follow-up appointments are just beginning.

It is his sisters hope that she and everyone concerned can show some support by easing the financial burden.

Heath and Jennifer are always willing to stop everything to help a friend or family member, Circo said. So Im hoping that, as his village, we can return the favor.

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More Nebraskans are returning to such activities as concerts, movies and sporting events as the states COVID case counts continue their downward trend.

The state reported only 650 new COVID-19 cases last week, the lowest number in nearly eight months. Nebraska continues to have among the nations lowest case rates, last week trailing only Louisiana. Cases were down 98% from omicron peak levels seen seven weeks earlier.

An average of 180 Nebraskans were hospitalized with the coronavirus last week, down 28% from the previous week. The 152 people hospitalized on Friday represented the lowest number since mid-July.

Dr. Mark Rupp, chief of the infectious diseases division at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said Monday that its now OK for residents to enjoy the easing of the pandemic.

I think we do have this hiatus right now that Im telling people they should be enjoying, he said.

That doesnt mean throwing caution to the wind, he said, but enjoying some of the venues they havent visited for some time.

Many people, Rupp said, already are voting with their faces and choosing not to wear masks in indoor public places. Some venues and retail stores, however, continue to require them, as do health care facilities.

Rupp said Nebraskans need to realize that the situation can  and likely will  change. If it does, people will need to adapt to changing public health recommendations and return to such measures as masking and distancing.

Some countries in Europe and Asia are seeing upticks in COVID cases, driven by omicron or its relative, a variant known as BA.2.

In the meantime, Rupp said, its critical to boost defenses by encouraging more people to get vaccinated and boosted. From what researchers have seen so far, a third dose continues to provide protection from serious illness, hospitalization and death.

Health officials have, however, already been advising people with compromised immune systems to get a fourth dose.

Albert Bourla, CEO of vaccine maker Pfizer, told CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday that people eventually will need a fourth dose to help fend off another wave of COVID-19.

Many variants are coming, and omicron was the first one that was able to evade  in a skillful way  the immune protection that were giving, Bourla said. The protection we are getting from the third (dose) is good enough  actually quite good for (preventing) hospitalizations and deaths.

But protection after three doses, he said, is not that good against infections and doesnt last very long when faced with a variant like omicron. Pfizer, he said, will be submitting data on fourth doses to the Food and Drug Administration.

Federal health officials have not yet weighed in on the likelihood of recommending a fourth dose.

Rupp said he has not yet seen Pfizers data; the FDA typically makes it available to the public after it is submitted. But one small study in Israel indicated that a fourth dose didnt provide much additional protection. Breakthrough infections still occurred, although protection against serious illness continued.

I dont think theres an imperative right now for otherwise young, healthy people to be clamoring for a fourth dose, Rupp said.

He added that his guess would be that fourth doses may be recommended for more people this fall, which will be about a year out from the third shot for many people.

Nebraska recorded 13 confirmed and probable deaths last week, bringing the total for the pandemic to 4,026. That was down from 57 the previous week. The state has recorded 476,844 cases of COVID-19.
OMAHA -- Charles Herbster's campaign said it pulled a TV ad featuring law enforcement officials amid concerns that the ad may have violated state law.

Nebraska law appears to prohibit sheriffs from campaigning for candidates while in uniform  but three elected sheriffs and a captain wore their uniforms and badges while endorsing the Republican gubernatorial candidate, who is considered a frontrunner in the race to replace Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The World-Herald reached out to Herbster's campaign about the apparent violation Tuesday morning. Spokesperson Emily Novotny responded that, while the campaign does not believe the ad violates state law, they took it off the air.

No taxpayer funds were used in the making or airing of the ad, she said.

"Nebraska Sheriffs are elected officials and have earned the right to proudly wear their uniforms and, as elected leaders, to have a voice on important matters and issues," she said. "We understand that some have raised concerns, and out of respect for the sheriffs, Herbster for Nebraska has pulled the advertisement from the air. We remain grateful for the outpouring of support from law enforcement across that state, and we proudly back the blue."

The campaign said they pulled the ad on Thursday.

In the ad, Seward County Sheriff Michael Vance, York County Sheriff Paul Vrbka and Lincoln County Sheriff Jerome Kramer all appear in uniform. So does Capt. Josh Gillespie from York County. Captains are appointed, not elected.

Former Nebraska State Patrol Col. Tom Nesbitt is the only person who appears in street clothes. They all say lines that, taken together, amount to them vouching for Herbsters support of law enforcement.

Im voting for Charles W. Herbster, the four uniformed officials say in unison at the ads conclusion.

The World-Herald attempted to reach all three sheriffs Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning and had not received a response as of midday Tuesday.

Buffalo County Sheriff Neil Miller, who is president of the Nebraska Sheriff's Association, said the association has not and will not endorse a candidate for governor or other offices with multiple candidates. He referred the World-Herald to the individual sheriffs to answer any questions about their appearance in the ad.

Asked for his opinion whether its OK for sheriffs to appear in uniform in an ad endorsing a candidate, Frank Daley, the executive director of the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, pointed to an advisory opinion from 1994 as the commissions official position.

The commission in that opinion concluded that an elected and serving county sheriff couldnt engage in "overt and deliberate campaign activities" while wearing their sheriffs uniform. But they could use photos of themselves in uniform for campaign literature, it found, and respond to the public's questions while in uniform and on duty.

Relevant state law has changed since 1994. However, Daley said current law essentially codified things from some of the commissions opinions. Theres no more recent opinion that applies to that current law.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln law professor Kyle Langvardt said the changes seemed to make the law more explicit.

Current law states that public officials and employees cant use or authorize the use of public resources for the purpose of campaigning for or against a candidate or ballot question, with some exceptions.

Back in 1994, the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission found that a sheriff's uniform was a public resource.

Another Nebraska law states that, while no employee of the state or a political subdivision (like a county) can be banned for participating in political activities outside of office hours or while performing their official duties, they cant engage in any political activity while wearing a uniform required by the state or any political subdivision thereof.

Those statutes seem very straightforwardly to prohibit this kind of campaigning in uniform, Langvardt said.

That's especially clear in the case of the captain, according to Langvardt. There's a little more ambiguity when it comes to sheriffs, he said, but the law still appears to prohibit them from campaigning in uniform.

Not all states have laws that would come down the same way on this question, he said. But "every state does have some kind of law that restricts the use of ... public resources in a campaign, and I think that when police departments are involved in campaigning, you know, that that feels especially dangerous or sensitive.

"It shouldn't be surprising that the law would try to restrain the use of the badge or a police officer's uniform in campaigning for a candidate."

You don't want to create the impression that the government or the police department, specifically, is endorsing a candidate and putting a "huge thumb on the scale," he said. And regardless of intent, it can create that appearance.

Law enforcement officers show up in at least one other ad for a candidate for statewide office this election season: an ad for state Sen. Mike Hilgers of Lincoln, whos running for attorney general.

That commercial features footage of Hilgers talking to a group of apparent law enforcement officials. Theyre wearing matching polo shirts, not uniforms. A campaign spokesperson said that decision was made by the Omaha Police Officers Association.

Anthony Conner, president of the association, confirmed it was his decision. He said he always wants to keep a clear distinction between when he is wearing a uniform and representing the police chiefs vision and when he is representing the union and can speak politically.

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Afghanistan's Taliban rulers are closing the country's diplomatic missions in the United States seven months after they took power in Kabul, according to diplomatic sources.

Afghanistan's embassy in Washington and its consulates in New York and Los Angeles are to cease operations as of March 16, an Afghan diplomat who wished to remain anonymous told dpa in Washington.

The diplomat named a lack of resources as one reason for the closures but did not go into detail.

The diplomats working in the United States until now were appointed by the former Western-backed government in Kabul that was overthrown by the hard-line Taliban in August last year. They have not been paid for months.

The Afghan diplomat said efforts had been made to keep operations going until the very end. A message was last published on the Washington embassy's Twitter account on December 30, saying: "In the absence of funds from any source, we are working hard to keep the embassy open and to continue providing our services. We remain hopeful that one day Afghanistan will achieve a sustainable peace."

After the missions are closed, Afghan diplomats will have 30 days to apply for a further stay in the United States before being deported, the New York Times reported, citing U.S. State Department sources.

They would not be sent back to Afghanistan, but it is not clear where the diplomats would go. Around a quarter of the roughly 100 Afghan diplomats in the United States have not yet applied to stay in the country, according to the report.
Construction technology startup Mastt has raised A$9.5 million ($6.8 million) less than 12 months after its seed round, as it aims to almost double its headcount and continue expansion abroad.

The round was led by VC firm OIF Ventures, with participation from Assignar co-founder and CEO Sean McCreanor, Assignar Chief Revenue Officer Chris Peterson and Mastts own Chief Technology Officer David Jablonski.

Existing investors Artesian, Significant Early Venture Capital, Investible and Gravel Road Ventures, the venture fund of Aconex co-founders Rob Phillpot and Leigh Jasper, also contributed to the heavily oversubscribed round.

Since Mastts last round of investment, the company has gone on to remotely expand into the US and Middle East, said the statement.

The company has quadrupled its monthly recurring revenue and is now used across over 500 global projects, totalling over $25 billion in value, it added.

Founded in 2019 by Doug Vincent, Raman Nambiar and Jamie Cerexhe, Mastt provides capital and infrastructure portfolio offices with a cloud Saas platform that provides a simple and transparent means to manage and report on their complex construction programmes.

In less than two years, the company has served federal government organisations and Fortune 500 companies.

Vincent, the Co-founder and Managing Director, said: "Our goal of clearing up the clutter of spreadsheets for large capital and infrastructure projects is resonating with the industry. The last 12 months showed were solving a real pain for capital program & portfolio owners."

"This funding helps us capitalise on the huge data potential our platform gives customers to drive predictive decision making and insights," noted Vincent.

"Well invest more in machine learning capabilities to help infrastructure portfolio managers make faster decisions, which is a big change considering managers previously made decisions based on over 60-day-old data," he added.
Gender segregation was a hallmark of the Talibans brutal regime in Afghanistan in the 1990s, when unrelated men and women were barred from mixing in public places.

Since regaining power in August, the militant group has gradually resurrected its discriminatory policies, enforcing strict segregation in universities, government offices, and on public transportation.

Rights groups have accused the Taliban of imposing gender apartheid in Afghanistan, with fears that girls and women will be excluded from public life.

The Taliban has dramatically rolled back womens rights in recent months, including closing most girls secondary schools and banning women from most forms of employment. Women who have demonstrated for greater rights have been arrested and, in some cases, disappeared.

The Talibans Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice earlier this month sent a letter to the Health Ministry ordering it to segregate male and female employees.

The offices for men and women should be separate, said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by RFE/RLs Radio Azadi.

The ministry, which is the enforcer of the Talibans radical interpretation of Islamic law, also warned that health care should be denied to female patients who do not observe the Islamic hijab.

Several employees of the Health Ministry, who talked to Radio Azadi on condition of anonymity, confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

The Taliban did not respond to messages from Radio Azadi seeking comment.

The Taliban initially ordered women not to return to work. But it later called female health workers back to clinics and hospitals, although many were too scared to resume their work.

Rights groups say gender segregation has created barriers to women and girls accessing health care. At many facilities, patients are only treated by a health professional of the same sex.

Hindering Education

In September, the Taliban imposed gender segregation at private universities and colleges in Afghanistan.

According to a decree issued by the Taliban's Education Ministry, classes must be segregated by gender -- or at least divided by a curtain. The order said that female students must be taught only by other women. But it added, though, that "elderly men" of good character could fill in if there were no female teachers.

A lack of female teachers and facilities has complicated womens access to higher education. In some cases, female students have been told that some courses will no longer be available to them.

Before the Talibans return to power, Afghan women studied alongside men and attended classes with male teachers. Government schools, however, were segregated by gender.

In recent months, the militants have also expanded gender segregation to public transportation.

Sanga Lemar, a university lecturer in Kabul, told Radio Azadi that the restrictions have made her daily commute unbearable.

"Women are banned from sitting in the front seats [of buses], which forces us to wait an hour or more to find an appropriate car or bus, she said.

Lemar accused Taliban fighters of violating their own gender segregation rules. She recalled how a male Taliban fighter went through her purse when she was stopped at a security checkpoint.

"It is strange that they want to keep unrelated men and women separate yet allow a stranger to go through a woman's purse," she said.

Despite promising to show more moderation than during its rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on the behavior, movement, and appearances of women and girls.
Cabbage is a traditional dish for St. Patrick's Day, but there's more than one way to devour the healthy green and we learn how to get it done.